The Banquet

Chapter 187: The Banquet

Soon, Oscar gave his answer.

He looked at Black and extended a sincere invitation.

“Sir Black, if you are interested, I would like to invite you to join the Dragon Scale Society. What do you think?”

“The Dragon Scale Society?”

A thought stirred in Black’s mind.

‘So that was his idea.’

He, of course, knew of the Dragon Scale Society.

The so-called Dragon Scale Society was Oscar’s own private faction, similar to a think tank.

Inviting Black to join the Dragon Scale Society was equivalent to inviting him to serve under him.

Once he joined, the benefits would naturally be extremely generous.

And if Oscar had the opportunity to inherit the throne in the future.

As a member of the Dragon Scale Society, being ennobled and becoming a high-ranking minister of the empire would be almost a certainty.

For Oscar to extend such an invitation after only meeting him a few times.

It showed how highly he regarded him.

Although it was most likely on account of the Demon-Cleaver.

Unfortunately, Black had little interest in becoming Oscar’s subordinate.

He bowed slightly and responded tactfully.

“I am grateful for Your Highness’s favor. This matter is of great importance, so please allow me some time to consider it carefully.”

“Of course. I look forward to your reply.”

Oscar did not seem surprised and maintained his composure.

“Ah ah! Brother is so mean!”

Aphra expressed her dissatisfaction at the side.

“You have no sense of first-come, first-served! I was the one who invited him to Hermes Province first!”

In any case, this commotion at the Thousand-Blade Corridor ended with Black unexpectedly obtaining the Demon-Cleaver.

This matter quickly caused quite a stir within Dragonheart Academy.

And it naturally made the headlines of all the major newspapers in Servia.

After all, four six-star weapons had appeared in this year’s Thousand-Blade Corridor at once.

It was almost the most in Dragonheart Academy’s hundred-year history!

Last year there was only one, and going back further, there were many years without a single six-star weapon appearing.

Not to mention a weapon choosing its own master.

Moreover, among these four six-star weapons.

Skyrend and the Demon-Cleaver were both top-tier among six-star weapons.

In addition, to everyone’s great surprise.

The one who had claimed the Demon-Cleaver was once again that familiar name: Dragon-Slaying Guard Black.

For a time, Black’s fame in the imperial capital rose once again.

However, as the person at the center of the storm.

Black only felt speechless and very annoyed.

For example, when he wanted to go to the commercial district in the afternoon to buy a formal suit for the academy banquet tonight.

As soon as he entered the shop, he was recognized by the staff and customers, which attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

“Look! That’s Black!”

“The master of the Demon-Cleaver!”

“I heard he also killed that Phantom Dragon before…”

“So young! So amazing!”

This feeling of being watched like a monkey made Black extremely uncomfortable.

He hastily chose a well-fitting black suit and paid for it as if fleeing.

Then he used his movement skills to quickly shake off the crowd and returned to Uncle Victor’s house.

Closing the door, Black looked at the quietly lying Demon-Cleaver in his hand and sighed helplessly.

Fame, sometimes, was really not a good thing.

…

Night fell.

Seeing it was time to go to the academy for the banquet.

Black simply told Denise not to save him any dinner, as he was going to a banquet at the academy.

As a result, he was nagged at by Denise for a while.

She said why didn’t he say so earlier, she had prepared so much extra food, and now it was all wasted.

Black escaped from his aunt’s resentful gaze with a wry smile.

He quickly blended into the night of Servia.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive at Dragonheart Academy.

From a great distance, he could hear the melodious music and faint sounds of laughter and conversation coming from the grand hall.

After walking for a while.

Standing in front of the steps of the grand hall, Black was lost in thought.

Attending the banquet was secondary; getting the formula was the key.

He planned to slip away to find that book when the banquet moved to the ballroom dancing segment.

After all, at that time, most people’s attention would be captivated by the dancing.

After taking a deep breath, Black stepped into the magnificent grand hall.

A wave of heat, mixed with the aroma of food, high-end perfume, and youthful energy, washed over him.

The luxury of this banquet, held to celebrate the Golden Feast, far exceeded Black’s expectations.

As a banquet planned and hosted by the students themselves.

The participants were almost all young faces.

The young men wore crisp formal wear, their youthfulness tinged with a heroic air.

The young women’s skirts swayed lightly, their pretty faces shyly blooming.

The students of Dragonheart Academy were either rich or noble, most coming from upper-class noble families.

The entire banquet was decorated with the utmost luxury.

Crystal chandeliers refracted a brilliant light.

The long tables were set with exquisite silver tableware.

Expensive champagne, desserts, caviar, high-end meats… a dazzling array.

And the faint, romantic, and melodious tunes were played live by the empire’s top orchestra.

It added a lot of sentiment to the banquet.

Luxurious as it was.

Unlike those traditional noble banquets, which were full of strict rules and red tape.

This place was filled with the youthful atmosphere of the academy.

The decorations used more elements of the golden ear of wheat and water magic runes, which represented the academy.

The music was also more upbeat and lively.

There were also many interactive segments planned by the students themselves, with a hint of playfulness and immaturity.

There was less rigidity and more liveliness and freedom.

Black stood by the door, his gaze sweeping over the noisy crowd.

He soon spotted many familiar faces.

Cyril, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, was seated among them.

He was chatting and laughing with a few friends.

To Black’s surprise, Ivo was also in a corner, sipping wine by himself.

When their eyes accidentally met, the other’s face darkened, and he gritted his teeth.

But in the end, he turned his face away and continued to drink his sorrows away.

He must have been warned by his father.

Irena and Jianye were naturally present.

The little bunny Irena was engrossed in tackling a towering plate of desserts in front of her.

Her cheeks were stuffed, completely immersed in her world of food.

Jianye, on the other hand, stood quietly not far from her side.

She was discussing something with a few students, her expression as serene as ever.

The focus of the banquet was undoubtedly Prince Oscar and Princess Aphra.

They had a natural aura, and they were surrounded by enthusiastic students.

Oscar wore a gentle smile, gracefully handling the pleasantries from all sides.

Although Aphra also maintained the proper etiquette of the royal family, a trace of imperceptible impatience could be seen in her eyes.

She was clearly not fond of this kind of superficial social interaction.

Just as Black was scanning the entire hall, his gaze met another.

Eliyas.

‘He’s here too?’

Black felt a little surprised.

Based on his understanding of this character’s personality, Eliyas should have disdained such a boring group activity.

In his arrogant eyes, this was probably just a gathering of ants.