episode_0082

“Mom! How am I?”

“Wow, our daughter is so pretty!”

“Hoyo, don’t run, it’s dangerous! And what’s Mom saying? This is your seat, so behave yourself.”

Hoyo ran down and hugged Count Miho excitedly, and Sir Iron Foxtrot scolded Hoyo for this, but he could tell from her smiling face that he really loved his daughter.

“That male…”

“I thought Marquis Jude was flirting, but he really is a great beauty.”

“And you even took a test of courage at Tri Conflict.”

The nobles are whispering to me, but I don’t think they’re whispering anything bad, because their expressions aren’t bad or anything. It’s just a feeling. I’m not a superhuman, so there’s no way I can hear them whispering on this street.

“Oh my, Bandi, our daughter! She is the most beautiful!”

Marquis Jude also smiles and hugs his daughter, Bandi. Bandi beams and boasts that the males of the group chose her dress.

“Wow, your son-in-law has a great eye for beauty! Doesn’t he really suit your daughter? And he looks comfortable too.”

“I was just doing what a male in a pack would do, Mother-in-law.”

“Haha, how humble.”

“Mother-in-law, could you please introduce the distinguished guests who have gathered here?”

Marquis Jude laughed loudly at my tactful remark, and the other nobles’ eyes lit up.

“Then, of course! Of course. Okay, the beautiful male over here is our daughters’ group male. What did I say? He’s really beautiful.”

“Hello, I am meeting you, my precious blue blood. I am Baron Youngsik of Ain Frostgarm.”

The nobles who gathered around my polite greeting happily greeted me.

“You are truly beautiful. You are the Marquess of Glenmoril.”

“I was impressed by Tri Conflict. I am the Count of Brightacre, and this is my wife.”

“You are much more handsome than I heard. This is Viscount Goldenglass, a friend of Marquis Jude since childhood.”

“Haha, son-in-law. The Marquis of Glenmoril has mastered the art of vision engineering. The Earl of Brightacre has golden fields that never fail… and my friend Viscount Goldenglass here has a port estate in the south and trades with the country that brought it. This side…”

Marquis Jude actively takes me around, introduces me to various nobles, and gives me brief explanations. When I asked why, he said that since he already knows all the other females in his group, he introduces me to them even though I am a complete stranger.

“And of course, if I don’t introduce my proud son-in-law myself, who will? I have all the precious things and valuables in the world, and a lot of money, but there is nothing more valuable than you, son-in-law. It is a great honor for me to introduce you in person.”

“Thank you, Mother-in-law. You are too kind.”

“What kind of compliments are you! Isn’t that right, Golden Glass Viscount?”

“Your son-in-law is really humble. If only our son had been half as humble as Ain Young-sik, I wouldn’t have had to worry. Hahaha! ”

The Goldenglass Countess, a female plover, laughs heartily.

After my introduction, the females and their parents, as well as the visiting nobles, greeted each other warmly and exchanged news.

“Are you only seeing some of them now? Aren’t there a lot of them?”

At my question, the Duchess of Lys Knight Sustained, the Mother of the Night, smiles faintly.

“Son-in-law, even if you don’t include your family, there will be a gathering of friendly nobles from six families, including the royal family. Of course, many will come. Even though they say they’ve cut out some, there will be nobles waiting in line with us, so it will be quite large.”

I nodded faintly at the Duke of Reese’s words. Well, if you only mention the three families, it’s already eighteen families, so it would be strange if the party was small, with the royal family, two dukes, two marquises, and a count as the main figures.

I was an idiot for vaguely thinking it would be a small-scale event just because they called only close families.

“Huh? Ina Youngae. Isul Youngae too?”

As I was looking around the banquet hall, I was surprised to see some familiar females.

“Nice to meet you, Ain Youngshik.”

“As a result of helping Ain Yeong-sik pass the test of strength, our family was invited to Marquis Jude. Our territory is also close to the capital.”

Ina Youngae and Isul Youngae also greet me while dressed up nicely.

In particular, Ina Youngae went up to the test of courage and trembled in fear, but she did not give up and showed her efforts, so I was especially grateful to her because she had a positive influence on the goal of ‘raising a declining family’.

“I can’t thank you enough, Ain Youngsik. Iseul, too, and our family have been greatly indebted to you.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. It’s a natural result since everyone is so talented.”

Behind them, who greeted me several times, their parents, Baron Foxflame and Viscount Stella Deu, also greeted me.

“Another winner of Tri-Conflict, Ain Youngshik! It’s an honor to meet you in person. This is Baron Foxflame.”

“Count Stella Dew. I should thank you first.”

Baron Foxflame, a female fox like my daughter, and Viscount Stelladue, a female badger, greeted me warmly.

“Thank you for your kind words. This is Baron Youngsik Ain Frostgarm.”

The two families were deeply grateful for the good reputation they had gained thanks to their daughters and me, and for the support they received from Marquis Goldbunny and Viscount Starstream, which helped the family rise.

“Thank you for your kind words. Since all of your daughters are outstanding, this would have been the result even without me.”

“How humble of you! If it weren’t for the pressure, I would have bowed my head and asked you to take care of my daughter. But, haha. You’ve already made a family.”

I smiled awkwardly at Baron Foxflame’s teasing, and Ina and Isul blushed lightly.

“Then have a good time.”

As the two noble families bowed and withdrew, and the time for the ball drew near, I took my place at the entrance of the banquet hall with the group of females and their noble parents, and was busy greeting the countless number of nobles who streamed in.

“Ohhoho, Ain Youngshik. You’re quite beautiful, aren’t you?”

Even the Marquis of Layla Violet Storm, who had fought until the end, came to greet her as if she was happy, and surprisingly, the male friends Damyeon, Nari, and Viscount Youngsik of the sea also came to visit.

“Umm~ Marquis Jude invited me~ And thanks to your friend, I was able to come~ Today was awesome!”

When I see Nari, Damyeon, and Bada, who say things like that, they are so handsome that it’s ridiculous, but they don’t hold back on praising me.

“Have fun.”

“Then~ Our females are nervous.”

From Nari’s words, it was clear that his females were anxious that another female might attach herself to Nari.

The banquet hall was soon crowded, and the nobles who came to visit never stopped. I never thought I would get tired just from greeting people…

“Oh my.”

“Son-in-law, you’re doing really well. If it were another male, he would have already gone in and said it was hard.”

The Duchess of Moratium, Ion’s mother, pats my shoulder as if to say thank you.

“It’s a ball hosted by the in-laws, so that can’t be happening. I can endure it.”

“Hoohoo.”

Duke Moratium smiled as if he truly believed my answer, and shook hands with the other nobles with a solemn look.

The nobles stopped coming almost an hour after the scheduled ball time. The loose time was an hour long, so the nobles really had no choice. Most of the nobles who arrived late were high-ranking nobles, at least counts.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the blue bloods of the great Perion Empire who gathered at the Gold Bunny Imperial Mansion! ”

Marquis Jude, who is the mother of Bandi but does not shy away from attention, skillfully grabs the attention of the numerous nobles gathered in the hall with loud clapping.

“Today, we have invited you, our nobles, who have close and frequent contacts with our five families and the noble royal family, to share a little joy.”

The Marquis Jude quenches his thirst with fine wine and then speaks again in a high and noble voice to the nobles in the hall.

“First of all, our family’s children have formed a group and we would like to share that joy with you.”

The nobles gathered around her applauded with a light murmur.

“Also, as you all know, the ball is hosted by the Imperial Palace, but we would like to congratulate Her Highness Princess Erpeion, who has won the Tri-Conflict, as well as our proud son-in-law, Ain Frostgarm, who fought together and passed the test of courage!”

As Marquis Jude shouted loudly, the nobles applauded even louder than before.

I felt it clearly after the end of Try Conflict, but as a male, I went through the test of courage in Try Conflict, and the newspapers even talked about me as ‘another winner’ or ‘the true winner’.

Of course, I know there are backstories that go along with it. Some say they got there because they were lucky, or they got there because they were ‘tempted’ by using artifacts. There are also the conspiracy theories, jealousy, and belittling that often follow.

But it’s true that I took the lead in the Test of Strength, and the Test of Wisdom has the characteristic of having almost no luck involved, so it’s literally like nitpicking.

So the nobles who gathered together gathered without any major disputes, and with the sole purpose of congratulating each other. As the saying goes, they are also people who are close to the parents of the female members of the group.

“We held a small but modest banquet, so I hope you all enjoy it to your heart’s content. Now, please play some music!”

The Marquis Jude had indicated that there were many famous musicians gathered there, and Hamu was there at my request. He seemed quite nervous, but he played professionally without any mistakes.