The Banquet

After the ceremony, there was a banquet where we could socialize with important nobles. The banquet was meant as a celebration of a successful baptism. However, the royal family probably planned it to show us off in front of other nobles and increase their own influence that way.

It's a classic trick that my own father had used many times. For example, you manage to buy more land and then find out about the huge oil reserves under it, so you organize a birthday party and invite all of your competitors. It's a way to make your newfound status official in upper social circles.

However, the truth is that a king cannot rule alone. He needs trustworthy allies and loyal subordinates. Well, I plan to exploit this opportunity they accidentally gave me. If there is one thing, I am good at it's networking. As an heir to a giant oil conglomerate, I was forced to learn etiquette and how to socialize properly from a young age. To my father not having the talent to manage the conglomerate was entirely acceptable as not everyone was born a prodigy, but everyone could learn to go along with the pretenses present in noble society.

The giant metal doors that led to the banquet hall opened and I was almost blinded by the glamour. The marble pillars, enormous moving baroque paintings, and the shining chandeliers. While I was used to seeing such riches, this was a bit over the top even for me.

The banquet had already started before we arrived, and the nobles were eagerly waiting to introduce themselves. There were many small tables scattered throughout the hall. I assumed that the nobles were ordered based on their hierarchy and my assumption was quickly proven correct as a group of girls my age approached me and Leonard.

"My name is Theresa. I am Baron Monty's daughter, and these are my friends," she said while she curtsied.

"My name is Daniel Reinhart and I have been summoned here as a hero," I answered with a relaxed smile.

"Which one of you is named James?" one of the girls asked while her eyes darted all over my classmates completely ignoring me.

I kind of expected this to happen. They don't know about how great I am yet, but I expect this trend to quickly reverse.

The first step is always to gather information.

"My friend Leonard can introduce you to James since they are best friends."

"I am best friends with James?" Leonard asked me.

"Of course, you are now please introduce these beautiful ladies to James."

He seemed to have gotten the hint and just as they were leaving, I said:

"Theresa, could you do me a small favor?"

She stayed with me while everyone else went to harass James.

"What is it?"

"I don't know anyone here and I would need someone to introduce me to them. Could you be that person for me?"

"Of course."

She replied with a smile.

I noticed a hidden glint in her eyes. She was helping me for a reason. Lower nobility usually can't interact with higher nobility freely but using me as a pretense she will be able to strike up a conversation with children of the high nobility.

We were supposed to gradually move from table to table towards the royal family. This is the real reason the banquet was organized in this way, but the lower nobility decided to sabotage the event by gathering around James and preventing anyone from advancing. Or maybe they just didn't get the memo.

Me and Theresa visited the tables of Barons, Viscounts, Earls, Marquises, and even Dukes. I politely greeted everyone while scouring the hall for any potential clients.

It was an unwritten rule to only talk with the kids of nobles as my social status was not high enough yet.

"The blonde guy over there is the son of Duke Griffin. His father is the guild master of the alchemist guild."

"The girl with pigtails over there is the daughter of the Marquis Donovan. He presides over the ministry of magic."

"Who is that girl with the eyepatch?"

"Oh, she is the only daughter of Duke Redflame, the strongest swordsman in the kingdom. However, after her mother died from a sickness her family's influence has been on a decline and there are also some nasty rumors surrounding the whole event," she whispered to me.

In the end, we ended up walking all the way to the table where the royal family sat.

Theresa seemed nervous but I pushed forward. It was time to return the favor. 

"Hello, Prince Marvin. This is Theresa and she was kind enough to introduce me to everyone when no one else wanted to."

Marvin was the one who was supposed to be responsible for the heroes' needs and he was also the one who the royal family decided to task with the burden of keeping the heroes on the side of the royal family.

This was both a responsibility and an opportunity for him as he could gain a lot of recognition for 'helping' us.

This royal court, just like any court, has factions.

The first prince and the first princess are both dead, and the third princess gave up her right to the throne, so they only have Telles and Marvin. 

However, there is also the second prince. When I was standing far away from their table, I thought that the second prince was just tired and was sitting down but the moment I got close I realized that he was sitting in a wheelchair. 

Theresa then explained to me that he was once the favorite to inherit the throne but then he became paralyzed from the waist down in an accident. The second prince is neither very smart nor skilled with magic, but he used to be very good at hunting. His secret weapon is his charisma. Even now he is surrounded by three noble women who are feeding him sweets.

If Telles and Marvin knew what I was about to do, then they would surely try to stop me. It was time for the second step: demonstrate your value.

I approached the second prince and bowed:

"Your Highness I apologize for interrupting your lunch, but I would like to speak with you in private for a moment."

The second prince's name was Romeo. He had blond hair like me but unlike my gray eyes his were cerulean blue and right now they were shimmering with intrigue.

"I'll be right back ladies."

I pushed his wheelchair into a private room. No one really paid much attention to this as most of the nobles were busy trying to find out every single ability the heroes had and then ranking them in terms of usefulness.

A few minutes later me and Romeo both walked out of the room grinning from ear to ear as if we had just reunited with our long-lost brothers.

When the people saw the prince who was previously bound to a wheelchair walking next to me smiling, they quickly connected the dots and suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by utter silence. I could hear the sound of Telles' fork dropping onto the ground and I could see Marvin paralyzed from shock.

Now when all the attention was on me it was time for the third step: cashout.