15 Glory to the Round Table (3)

"Aye, my Lord. I have yet to drink a barrel of ale these days." The dwarf chuckles while holding his round belly from violently shimmying to the King's side. "We should come to the tavern and share a glass of brew with the three of us some time,"

"It will be my pleasure, Draven," Markus replies with a grin shaping beneath his lips.

"I would bet that you have been busy after the kidnapping news about your family," Elanor changes the subject and remarks about the incident while passing over a bottle of liquid to Markus.

Markus happily accepts his offer and takes an immediate sip from its content. His cheeks quickly paint into beating red, hinting that the water inside has a strong liquor mixed within.

"Yes, Elanor. It was really a good thing that we made it on time." Markus replied while safekeeping the extravagant flask on his leathered belt. "And these goblins saved their lives."

Their eyes swiftly switch to us after hearing the words that Markus spoke. I, who stand in the middle, bow elegantly and introduce ourselves once more.

"The lady goblin is Izz, and the male goblin to my right is Grer." my hands present the two goblins at my side whilst lowering their heads while I call out their names.

"My name is Lake White, as Markus had previously mentioned." I institute myself while bowing my head. "Although I am a bit inexperienced in working as a viscount, I will try my best to meet your expectations."

"What is the worst thing that could happen?" I thought to myself while affixing my gaze at the three individuals. Maybe being an official is like what a student council would do for a university, and they nominated me to be the president of my class back in my school days. Eventually, I would have to deal with other nobles with their foul personalities compared to these three.

"For a goblin, you have more charisma than this grandfather," Cece smirks while studying my appearance closely akin to before. This time, she entangles her four tails around me like a pillow of some sort, cushioning my sensitive parts.

I express a faint smile while soothing myself from her soft fur. She was a goddess up close, and I can feel ecstatic running into my senses.

Noticing my reaction, the crimson fox retracts her cauda and resumes back to the conversation with the three men.

"You are much older than me, Cece." Dwarven reacts and points out his fist to the sly fox. Although they may glare at each other, it seems they still have a firm sense of comradery in their relationship.

"Pardon me, but I cannot help but ask what your relation of the three of you with the King?" My curiosity begets the better of me as I witness their careful peer into my eyes.

"We have once partied together," Elanor was the first person to speak, minding his politeness in front of the royalty. "Adventurers'"

"We fought for the betterment of the Kingdom where you are standing your grounds, kid." The dwarven continued his speech as if the story was a legend that came true.

"Markus was our vanguard. The noblest amongst the knights we have encountered." Cece speaks with her eyes trailing towards the horizon, reminiscing the events. "At first, we thought that this man was a dangerous bloke. He wounds his arcane like nothing out of thin air; in which most humans cannot achieve. He defiled all means and earned the boldest foe we had faced in the last few years. However, he proved his worth and set an allegiance between our three races. Hence, our diplomatic relationship between the Kingdom of Joker and the forest; alongside the dwarven race."

"Although the dryads, spirits, and the ancient marine beasts-which have the closest ties with our kind, have yet accepted our proposal." Cece continued her story but got abruptly breached by the footsteps of the servant.

"It would be best to leave the past behind our backs," Markus at once ends the matter and turns to face his butler, Thomas.

Cece and the others agree while they shift their attention towards the approaching man wearing a formal silver suit akin to the valet.

"What brings you here today?" Markus greets the squire with respect, as if he was talking to his fellow royals in his castle.

"Princess Therese is looking for you upstairs, milord." The butler said while distributing a cup of herbal tea to the guests.

The aroma of the pekoe eases my nerves and senses, making me more energised than I was ever before. It even stimulates my arcane vessels, which I can almost feel stretching wildly inside of me. The untamed cells run rampant at the immense amount of mana adding in my capacity, making my system pop up yet again in another interaction.

[Due to the effects of the pekoe tea you earned +2 levels!]

[Congratulations! You have levelled up! You are now level 7]

[Level 7] {Next Level-> 0/23,000 Experience}

[Stat points]-{12+14}

— [Health] --- {10/10 [+0.5 Hp regeneration per minute]

— [Arcana] --- {160/160 [0+0.33 Arcane regeneration per minute]}

[Congratulations! Your party members also levelled up by +1 level!]

[Name: Grer]

[Goblin {Male} lvl 8]

[STR]- 20 [VIT]- 10 [MEN]- 10

[DEX]- 35 [INT]- 11 [LCK]-10

[Name: Izz]

[Goblin {Female} lvl 6]

[STR]- 35 [VIT]- 31 [MEN]- 8

[DEX]- 5 [INT]- 14 [LCK] 10

It is peculiar to see that both of my friends have also levelled up. However, I cannot fiddle my hands on their status points, unlike what I could do to mine. The theory may be because of their independent ability from their unique class; meaning that their class will automatically place their status points on what they need the most.

There was no need for me to analyse the herbs mixed with my cup. And even though I could try to understand the plants included, the system said that I do not have sufficient knowledge to know the meaning behind the alchemy used.

"Alchemy," I murmur to myself once again, thinking of having that eccentric division. Whenever I would hear the words alchemy, people who want to make gold out of nothing springs into mind. However, there is more than that! It involves such ideas where a matter that has similar components and can achieve a different but interchangeable form.

"Would you three mind paying a visit to my daughter?" Markus said and invited his comrades over further inside the fort. "She may reconsider her persona once she sees your faces."

They were all puzzle at the description that Markus gave. But having nothing to do, they concur and follow our trail back from Therese's messy room.

By the time that we arrive, we see Therese and her mother, Claire, reading a pair of books with the title "Saint Arcane spells." in its text. It was the first time that I have heard this certain rank of magic, but it is not quite new from my antecedent world.

"Have we deranged you in the middle of your conversation, your highnesses?" Elanor speaks first and greets the Queen and Therese, both of them seated at a feathered goose couch.

"Elanor, please grant me the service of initiating a conversation to my family members," An embarrassing exhale liberates Markus from his constricted lungs, unsure of what to do after losing himself from grabbing the first attention of his daughter.

"Uncle Elanor!" Therese reels over from her placement and grabs one of his legs out of position.

She then veers her line of sight and eventually catches us tailing from behind.

"Uncle Draven, Aunt Cece, and Mr. Lake, Grer, and Izz!" Therese calls out our names. "Father, they are all here!" But it seems she had almost forgotten to greet her own parent.

Brushing off the event, Markus cheerfully nods his head and goes towards Claire and grabs the arcane book.

"Is our pumpkin pie finally etching an interest over the realms of magic?" Markus commented while striding forward to our direction.

"Yes, my dear." The Queen speaks with glee while standing up from her seat to meet with the company. "It is great to see you all,"

"Likewise," The three chanted concomitantly while politely addressing the Queen. Each of them, as always, lowered their heads but gets abruptly halted by the Queen, saying, "I am your friend when we are all together like this." while revealing a beam on her delighted face.

Everyone complied and soon chatted about the occurrences they had missed from the last couple of months shrouded in peace. However, the topic goes back to the upcoming war, where everyone will soon prepare for the Kingdom to come.

"In the meantime, why don't we hold a magic lesson for your daughter, Therese, to prevent that incident from happening again?" Cece suggested while resting her cheeks on her palm. She then averts her gaze and stares at me with interest.

"Plus, we can also test whether that goblin, Lake, has the potential to stand for himself." She added and zoomed beside me. My body jerks on its own and reacts poorly at her blasting speed like a bullet in disguise.

I obey my instincts and block an invisible attack coming from my knees; a cheap tactic that most fighter games would do to distract their enemies.

My hand hits her smooth and tender palm, which mesmerised me awhile ago. After gripping her arm, I twisted my leg and jolted above while conjuring multiple water projectiles aimed in her way. However, that attack was just a diversion for me to use the water puddle I had left before jumping to strangle her knees.

Cece defends herself with the use of her fire remnants passively active around her body. She focuses her blaze and melts the liquid, moreover turning them into high-temperature mists without chanting. She then casts her embers towards my direction, aiming for my unguarded thighs, expecting me to have surface wounds afterwards.

Luckily, the spilt liquid wraps around her foot and rattles her balance, making her plummeting off on the ground. She cushions her fall with the pillow thrown by Elanor, making the two of us stop our quick quarrel.

Discerning a shock on everyone's face, my senses came rushing back to me and realised that I almost injured the great goddess of all time! Hopefully, by the time she picks herself back, she would forgive my actions and give me a warm hug.

Instead of what I had expected, she gradually stands and walks close to me and gives me a gentle kiss on the cheeks.

"You're strong," She said and turned around as if nothing had happened.

"There she goes again," Markus said while loafing his hand over to his head accompanied with an embarrassing long sigh.

"That old bitch," Draven said and mimicked Markus' actions, refusing to believe the scene in front of him.

Elanor quietly watches everything and gives a strange and forceful cough to comment on the setting.

"That was uh-," He said and could not continue what he was saying.

Claire uses this opportunity to block her daughter's eyesight with her hands, not wanting to see such rated eighteen conduct for such a young age.