The Banquet

After enjoying lunch, Nicolia and Galen returned to the open-air arena once again.

For their squad, they still had to find the final candidate.

At the same time, they were able to kill the afternoon by watching the match.

Although she had changed out of her pure white mage robes, Nicolia's appearance and hair color were too conspicuous.

Her arrival instantly caused a flurry of sideways glances from the audience.

The degree of attention even exceeded that of the adventurers in the arena, who were killing each other.

"Look guys, is that woman the Law Cleric who beat up her opponent with her wand in the ring in the morning?"

"Yes, yes, yes, that's her. I remember she seems to be surnamed Michelle, at that time I was only shocked at her strength, but now it seems to be really beautiful."

"In terms of body, in terms of looks, in terms of strength ... this young lady's charm is already not inferior to the Snow Eagle Adventure Group, that female leader, right?"

"Oh, so fast into people's fans? The Snow Eagle leader is a master level adventurer! However, identity and strength aside, this Miss Michelle's beauty can indeed be compared to the Snow Eagle leader."

"Eh you guys, look, behind Miss Michelle, who is that limber guy? They seem to know each other."

"The appearance is quite circumspect, seeing that he doesn't even have a piece of equipment, he should be a servant, attendant type of status. It's normal for a superior adventurer like Michelle to travel with one or two attendants, right?"

Listening to the unconcerned chatter.

Galen rubbed his chin with some thoughtfulness.

He himself was at least a former grand master of the manor.

How come he was defined as a servant?

"Am I going to get a whole set of fashion enhancements as well? But that stuff is quite expensive, I heard. The cheapest fashion enhancement is more expensive than my set of armor."

At that moment, Nicolia, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.

Holding up the written version with the words written on it, she held it up in front of Galen.

[Don't take it to heart, these guys don't even understand your strength senior!]

Nicolia had the intention to defend Galen, but since she couldn't speak, she had to comfort Galen.

Galen laughed and didn't take it too seriously.

He just came over next to a few of the most talkative audience members, blending in without any trouble, and said:

"Hey, brothers, that strong man who beat the White Falcon in the morning, have you guys seen him?"

A man twisted his head to look at Galen.

Seeing that although he was Miss Michelle's servant, his eyes were filled with curiosity, he knew that this was also a man of his own kind, and opened his mouth:

"That strong man, it's not convenient to show his face freely. He has something to hide."

"Oh? What kind of secret?" Galen also wanted to know what he was not comfortable showing.

The man came closer to Galen and said mysteriously:

"You haven't seen how tightly he covers his face when he fights in the ring? I've inquired about an inside story, saying that the one called Galen

is in fact a master-level adventurer invited by several adventure troupes to participate as an intermediate-level adventurer! He pretended to be an intermediate-level adventurer to participate in the competition in order to ruin the White Falcon's reputation as a genius!"

"Oh!" Galen made a sudden realization and asked, "Then why did he have to hide his appearance?"

The man said, "If you don't cover up your face, how else can you pass yourself off as an intermediate level adventurer? I suspect that the name 'Galen', too, is an alias."

Galen talked to a few more people individually.

Gaining knowledge of several unknown identities of his own.

As well as several bizarre and twisted life stories.

"I don't think that Galen is anything great, he's a master adventurer and still hides his head, not domineering at all." Galen said with feigned disdain.

A spectator snorted, "Heh, see how sour you are, the thoughts of a master level adventurer, is that something you can understand?"

Another audience member said, "But this old brother is right, if I had Galen's strength ..."

The happy moments were spent in various thoughts of "If only I were Galen".

Galen laughed and listened to everything, occasionally winking at Nicolia who was not far away.

Physical and mental relaxation, came so simple.

...

It was five o'clock in the afternoon.

Only then did the second round of screening matches finally end.

Although there were quite a few matches, there weren't many adventurers who could truly defeat the three major adventuring groups and successfully advance to the third round.

Out of the total of twenty advancers, only Galen and Sean were intermediate level adventurers, the rest were all upper level!

And in the case of forming a three-member squad as the mandatory criterion for participation.

Undoubtedly, there would be two more adventurers who would be forced to lose their qualifications because they couldn't form a team.

Those who were able to make it to the third round were the elite of the adventurers.

No one would be willing to be the two left to be picked.

And tonight's banquet at the Lazar Mansion.

It just so happened to provide a platform for these superior adventurers, to group up and exchange ideas.

...

Amidst the clattering of the wheels, Galen, who was riding the carriage for the third time today, handed twenty copper coins to the driver.

Fortunately, the first two times, Nicolia paid, which made Galen not feel so distressed.

"Money isn't saved, it's earned. But when there's no money, money is made by saving."

How big a spender Galen was when he was a lord of the manor.

How calculating was Galen after returning to his old job.

Entering the gate, the duo entered the banquet hall under the guidance of the underlings of the public house.

Bright and unobtrusive light poured down from the magic crystal chandelier.

It fell on the polished and neat marble floor, and among the dancing men and women on the dance floor.

In the area further in, men and women in formal dresses were chatting with each other, or drinking and eating.

Together, they created an elegant atmosphere worthy of high society.

"Tsk, the charcoal grilled veal steak, flaming meat sausage, and crab meat assorted ... Lazar Mansion's special chef is as powerful as ever."

Greeting Nicolia, Galen walked to the pickup area, loaded himself with two plates of food, and began to enjoy it in silence.

"Hey uncle."

A familiar voice startled Galen who was eating.

He looked up, and it turned out to be his previous temporary teammate, Miss Diana.

Dana's makeup today was exquisite and she was dressed quite appropriately, but her mage robe was not worn out.

After all, most of the guests at today's banquet were upper level adventurers, and her lower level mage robe would only cause jokes if she wore it.

Diana sized up Galen for a while, and said with some hatred, "Uncle, I know you usually don't pay attention to dressing up, but do you know how important today's banquet is?"

Diana looked around and saw that no one was close before lowering her voice:

"The guests who came to attend today can all be superior adventurers. These people are not only strong, but they are also elite figures who are the backbone of the adventuring world. To be able to get to know these people is an opportunity that Ivo has taken great pains to arrange for us, and you're just here to eat and drink?"