The Meeting Commences

"The king!?" Fei almost fell from being seated after discovering the identity of the man she was speaking with.

The man chuckled, seeing Fei's flustered expression.

"I am sorry for my rudeness before! Please, don't publicly execute me or throw me into the dungeon!" she pleaded, her eyes on the verge of crying.

"Miss Fei, I don't think that castle dungeons are a thing," Sofia whispered beside her.

"Execute? Dungeon? Ha ha ha ha! I won't do such a thing," the King laughed upon hearing Fei's words. "I'm not a tyrant. Besides, I find your attitude somewhat ... relaxing. It's quite tedious for everyone to approach me with nothing but respect and fear of my position. YOu meant no harm, so I don't mind. YOu can continue addressing me the way you used to,"

"But, my King, she is-"

"I won't say it twice, Rembrandt,"

"... Yes, your Majesty,"

Rembrandt tried interjecting but was immediately shot down by the king.

After hearing his words, Fei finally let out a sigh of relief, before taking her seat. That sure gave her a big scare, speaking with the king and all.

"But still, aren't Kings supposed to be ... older? And have a mustache with a haughty attitude?" she asked him.

The king thought for a bit, before answering her.

"Well, there are times that a king needed to be haughty, but sporting a mustache? I don't believe that is necessary to rule a kingdom," he said. Fei was sure that in the books she read about kingdoms, kings always have a mustache. "age should not be a determining factor to rule a kingdom. I may not look like it, but I am almost in my thirties now," he added.

"Is that so?" Fei commented, not fully convinced by the king's answer, but still, a king is a king, no matter the age. Perhaps she should have read more books about kingdoms in the past. "Sorry for the unnecessary comment, your Majesty," she said, hoping that her question did not further offend him.

"Lecter," the King said.

"Eh? What?" Fei was bewildered by the king's comment.

"You can call me Lecter. Being called 'his Majesty or 'King' every time is too boring for me," he repeated.

"No, no, no, no. I can't possibly call the king of Drethia by his name alone. I would be charged with blasphemy!" she replied, stating the repercussions of addressing the king without honorifics.

"Then treat this as a royal decree by the King himself. Surely now, you wouldn't mind then, right?" he asked Fei.

"If it's an order by the King, then I have no right to object," she said after being left with no choice but to heed the command.

"Alright. With everything settled, I now declare this meeting to have officially started!" the King announced. Soon after, several servants entered the room, each holding a piece of paper. Everyone in the room, including Fei and Sofia were given the same documents. They read the contents of the paper.

"This is-!" Fei was surprised at what she just read.

The contents of the document are the detailed events that she and Eisen experienced while in Presling. From the new monster type to their ruin exploration, the mage's note, and the encounter with the demons. It was all written perfectly to the dot, that even she did not know some of the specifics of it. She turned toward Eisen and asked him if he was the one who wrote the report. Eisen shook his head.

"No, it was Dantalian that made that detailed report," he said. Dantalian was the book/girl that Eisen had with him. Fei wasn't aware that aside from combat, she can also make detailed reports of the events that she witnessed, much like a third-person point of view in books.

"As you can see, the document contains details regarding Eisen and Fei's latest excursion into the Northern Province, where they met with two powerful members of the Demon race," the king addressed them.

"Aren't demons supposed to be ... reclusive?" asked one of the assessors at the table. She is sporting a red hat with a rose design. On her glove is the same rosette design, while a thorny whip can be seen on her waist. Despite her getup, her beauty contrasted with her clothes seamlessly making her stand out among the many new faces.

"Yes, Rose. And that is why this meeting was held. Together with us are Fei and Eisen, the ones who encountered them firsthand. If you have any questions, you can directly ask them of the specifics," he replied towards the assessor, Rose, from across his sea on the table.

"But sire, if were are to believe what is written here, then that would mean that this girl is able to hold her own against a 'Demon'? And a B-ranked one at that? I can't seem to wrap my head around this detail," exclaimed Rembrandt.

"Are you implying that what was written in the report is false, huh? Rembrandt?" the King asked him, his shape gaze turned towards the man.

"No, your Majesty. I believe everything that was written except for THAT one," he replied.

"Is that so? Well, I thought that this might happen, so I asked Eisen to bring her here with us during the meeting," the king replied after hearing what Rembrandt has to say. "Fei, can you show Rembrandt that everything written is accurate?" the King asked Fei.

"Huh? What do you mean 'show'?" she asked him, clearly not understanding what the king is implying to her.

"Uhmmm, I can vouch for the accuracy of the document, but only on the part that Miss Fei held her own against a demon folk," Sofia interjected, expressing her own opinion on the matter.

"What Dantalian has written is purely factual. I vouch for the credibility of the report," Eisen added, reaffirming that the report made by his grimoire does not contain any falsehoods or the sort.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. What I mean is for Fei to show Rembrandt that she is indeed capable of holding her own against a demon," the King explained. "A mock battle, between you and Rembrandt. That ought to clear up any doubts. Right, Rembrandt?" the king asked the man in question.

"If the King wills it, then I must comply," was Rembrandt's short reply.

"OK, with that settled, let us all meet at the training facility," the King announced.

Hearing no objection from the other members, the King stood up from his seat and headed to the training facility. As soon as he left the room, the other assessors followed him close behind.

The trio was the only one left in the room.

"Uhmm... Miss Fei?" Sofia checked on her. Fei was seated just beside her, but she can't quite clearly see her expression from this angle.

"!"

Fei slammed her hands on top of the table, before turning towards Eisen. She grabbed him by the collar and started shaking him violently back and forth.

"Wah! Why is this happening?! You never said that I have to fight once I for here, you jerk!" she complained. Eisen was totally quiet, his thoughts are probably racing to come up with something that can appease her mind. Finally, he thought of something.

"I thought I told you before ... that the King is eccentric," he said.

"That doesn't mean anything!"

Fei can only hope that this mock battle ends sooner rather than later.