Chapter 79: Dinner

In human history, from the early days of the empire’s establishment until around 300 in the new calendar, there was a golden age for knights. At that time, dark magic had not yet been fully refined, and the existing magical systems were far too inadequate to help the empire conquer other lands; the main force of the empire was still the knights.

Knights back then, regardless of their status, were undoubtedly of higher rank than those today, and the trials to become a knight were even more stringent. Every honorable knight had to start as a servant or attendant to another renowned knight, gradually learning how to become one.

To become an honorable knight, there were three steps. First, when a child was around seven or eight years old, his father would send him to the home of a famous knight to serve as a page, taking care of the knight’s daily needs and performing various chores. In return, he could learn knightly etiquette, cultural knowledge, as well as skills such as singing and playing musical instruments.

When the child grew to about fourteen, he would become his master’s retainer, essentially a bodyguard, and could be seen as a prospective knight. At this point, he began to learn knightly skills such as horsemanship, swimming, javelin throwing, swordsmanship, hunting, poetry, and chess—skills that knights of that era were required to master. These were known as the seven knightly arts, some used in warfare and others to win over women.

Only when the child reached around twenty could he shed his “servant” status, be formally invested as a knight, and become a full-fledged knight.

In the age of knights, before the rise of magicians, every knight was a lord of the empire, enjoying noble privileges and reporting directly to lords or even the king. They were the backbone of warfare.

As history progressed, the Saxon magicians gradually refined dark magic. Although some spells lost in power, they became easier for ordinary people to master. As a result, the proud and honorable knights gradually faded from the historical stage, replaced by magicians.

By the time of Saxon King XI, the previous emperor of the empire, he bestowed upon magicians the honors once reserved for knights, further elevating their status. The once-glorious knights gradually declined, and even the royal knightly corps could not change the fact that knights were relatively weaker than magicians.

Compared to the past, today’s nobles would never send their daughters to other knights’ homes, not even to the Imperial Royal Knights Academy. Rather than knights, nobles prefer their children to become outstanding magicians—this is also why the Rexos Academy is so famous. Of course, not everyone chooses to become a magician. To take a distant example, Efrey OGil, the count of Galic, graduated from the Imperial Royal Knights Academy at the age of eight, became an apprentice knight at fourteen, and was sent to his family’s territory of Galic to learn combat skills. At twenty-two, he was knighted by King Saxon XI, and at twenty-eight, he assumed the position of lord of Galic. Thus, the OGil family has held the position of lord of Galic for over two hundred years, making them one of the few established knightly noble families in the empire. Just as magicians look down on knights, knights also despise magicians. They don’t believe those frail magicians possess extraordinary powers. After all, in one-on-one battles, magicians are indeed at a slight disadvantage, as ordinary magicians have relatively weak resistance to physical attacks and cannot deal with knights equipped with high-level defensive gear. However, in large-scale battles, the role of a single knight is clearly much weaker than that of a magician. Therefore, during the empire’s nearly two hundred years of warfare, knights were mainly used to capture cities and fortresses, while magicians were used to attack the enemy’s main forces. There were exceptions, though—at least in the wars between Galic and the barbarians, magic was never utilized, even though Galic had a branch of the Imperial Magic Association there. Efrey OGil, the count of Galic, not only distrusts magic but also feels a near-aversion toward it, as it was magicians who ruined the glory of knights. Thus, Galic’s branch of the Magic Association can at most report the current situation to the empire or assist Galic’s army slightly; beyond that, it serves no purpose. The weak strength of the magicians in Galic’s branch stems from the fact that some magicians are unwilling to come here and be overlooked. Nevertheless, it must be said that even without the help of magicians, Galic’s army remains one of the top three strongest military forces in the empire, on par with the soldiers of Altak who live in harsh conditions, and it has repeatedly repelled barbarian invasions.

Compared to Altak soldiers, Galkic soldiers are the most disciplined warriors in the empire. They will strictly follow orders from their superiors, even if those superiors are fools—something Altak soldiers cannot do. The unruly Altak people only obey those who are stronger!

The one leading this army now is Count Efray O’Gilbert, an old knight who has been promoted to marquis several times but demoted back to count due to conflicts with the nobles of the Saxon Imperial City. Perhaps knights have truly declined—at least Jiang Zhe had never heard of this Galkic lord at the Riox Academy. All he had heard of were certain magicians, certain great magicians. Of course, what he heard from Scott didn’t count, as that lord was his grandfather.

When he first met the lord, Jiang Zhe didn’t notice anything unusual. On the contrary, he thought the old man wasn’t as rigid and stubborn as Scott had described. But after just one meal, his opinion changed…

“Please sit, children!”

Jiang Zhe was sure those words came from the Galkic lord, Scott’s grandfather. But when they sat down, he suddenly felt something was off in the room’s atmosphere.

In fact, it wasn’t just him who felt it—several children also sensed something was wrong, as the old count was frowning slightly as he studied them.

“Ahem!” Scott coughed softly, drawing his companions’ attention.

Seeing his upright posture, the children glanced at the old count and quietly straightened their bent backs.

“Hmm!” The old count finally smiled slightly. He crossed his fingers and rested them on the long table, nodding at the children. “You must be Scott’s friends. He never mentioned you to me. How did you all meet?”

“We’re from the same academy!” Lisa said cheerfully. “And Mr. Connel is friends with Avi and Sos, so of course he’s also our friend!”

“Oh, you’re from the same academy—that Riox Academy?”

Amid Scott’s helpless, sighing laughter, Lisa replied seriously, “It’s Riox, the Heliriox Magic Academy!”

“Oh, a magic academy…” The old count nodded slightly. Jiang Zhe could tell that the old man’s interest had clearly diminished. Glancing at the children, he said indifferently, “Are you all… magicians?”

“Not yet,” Lisa shook her head and stuck out her tongue. “We’re just magic apprentices right now!”

Perhaps it was Lisa’s adorable appearance that won over the old count. Smiling, he said, “I’ve seen magicians before, um, that was several years ago. There was a magician who could use fire who got into a conflict with one of my men. In the end, they decided to settle their dispute through a duel. Well… hahaha, the winner was decided right away. That magician’s fireballs had no effect on my man in his heavy armor… Sigh! On the battlefield, would the enemy give you time to cast spells?”
“That magician was just too weak!” Unaware of Scott’s repeated gestures, Lisa retorted indignantly, “Fireballs are just low-level magic. If it were high-level magic, the magician would definitely win… Thors uses fireballs too—he can cast dozens of them at once!”
“Dozens of fireballs?” The old count was stunned and asked, “Who is Thors?”
“Him!” With Scott’s helpless expression, Lisa pointed at Jiang Zhe and said, “I heard that high-level fireballs can pierce through heavy armor!”
“Oh? Is that so?” The old count looked at Jiang Zhe in surprise.
With Scott shaking his head insistently, Jiang Zhe said dryly, “Piercing steel armor? That’s impossible…” What he said was true, but it clearly concealed one thing: although high-temperature flames couldn’t pierce steel armor, it was still quite easy to kill a knight in it. After all, a knight in armor, moving slowly, was like a target for a fire mage. If the knight didn’t remove his armor, he would either be killed by the mage or die from the heat of the armor—nothing unexpected would happen.
“Impossible?” Lisa asked curiously.
Jiang Zhe shook his head with a wry smile and said, “Impossible!”
“Haha, I told you it was impossible!” The old count laughed heartily and nodded at Butler Black, who was standing not far behind, telling him to bring in the prepared dinner. Meanwhile, Scott secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead.
In no time, the servants brought in the dinner. It was simple but abundant—there was meat soup, rabbit meat, salted pork, roasted pigeons, as well as some chicken and duck, along with vegetables, bread, cheese, and desserts. Alcohol was omitted, with only red wine served to Connel, as there were still children and adults present.
“Wow!” Allen exclaimed. He hadn’t had such a lavish meal in ages. Just as he rubbed his hands, ready to devour the food before him, Scott’s coughing sound came from beside him.

Without understanding why, Allen raised his head and was stunned to see several attendants coming out, each carrying a copper basin.
“What’s this for?” Allen asked in confusion. As soon as he spoke, he saw Scott stand up and wash his hands in the basin—it turned out the basin contained water for washing hands.
Good heavens, isn’t there a simpler way? At least we have knives and forks…
With a wry smile, Allen glanced at the attendant before him. Jiang Zhe helplessly washed his hands in the basin, feeling somewhat strange. After washing his hands, he dried them with a towel. The old count sat upright in his chair again and said with a smile, “Please!”
Looking at Jiang Zhe and then at Scott, Allen swallowed hard and whispered, “Can we eat now?”
Like him, the other children also watched Scott. Only after seeing him pick up his knife and fork and put a piece of food in his mouth did they breathe a sigh of relief.
Carefully putting a small piece of food in his mouth and chewing it just once, Allen’s eyes lit up. Mumbling, he said, “Mm, this is good…” Before he could finish, another cough came from beside him.
Good heavens, is this even eating?
“Cough, cough!”
The chewing sound was too loud…
“Cough, cough!”
The sound of the knife and fork rubbing together was too loud…
“Cough, cough!”
The spoon used for soup was the wrong one…
“Cough, cough!”
Forgetting to wipe his mouth with a napkin after eating meat…
“Cough, cough!”
…
Can’t I just eat in peace? Looking at Scott’s helpless and innocent expression, Jiang Zhe felt an indescribable sense of powerlessness.
Actually, it wasn’t his fault. After all, he had no similar experience. Aside from him, there was Allen, needless to say, and even the girls made several mistakes. Even Dia did… except for…
Ravia!
Jiang Zhe could no longer remember how many times he had been surprised and astonished by this girl from Altak. Usually, she didn’t pay as much attention to dressing like other girls, often wearing the gray magic robe given to her by Riox just like him. Her personality wasn’t as gentle as that of ordinary girls either; instead, she was more resilient and competitive like a boy, with a strong sense of justice, a firm tone of voice, considerable strength, and a meticulous attitude toward learning. She was the complete opposite of Jiang Zhe—after all, Jiang Zhe was a carefree guy with no ambitions, ideals, or desire for revenge, living day by day. Being around Ravia often made him feel tired, because Ravia was too serious…

But at that moment, watching her skillfully cut the food with a knife and fork, put it in her mouth, then pick up a towel to wipe her lips—those graceful movements made Jiang Zhe have a slight illusion… After all, she was still a girl after all… Seeming to notice the gaze from the boy beside her, Lavia’s face turned slightly red as she lowered her head and whispered, “W-what’s wrong?” Jiang Zhe shrugged and said softly, “Nothing, go on!” “Go on…” Feeling a bit puzzled, Dia glanced at Jiang Zhe. Seeing him staring at her directly, she grew nervous and accidentally knocked over the glass filled with juice. Once again, Scott’s coughing sounded… As everyone, including the old count, turned their attention to Lavia, they saw her calmly pick up a towel to wipe the table, then turn to the retainer standing by the wall and politely say, “Could I have another clean towel? Thank you!” “Hm?” Seeing Lavia’s composed and graceful expression and movements, the old count was slightly surprised and nodded in approval. But he didn’t see that after taking the towel from the retainer to wipe her hands, Lavia glared fiercely at Jiang Zhe. “Idiot!” Jiang Zhe just rolled his lips speechlessly. And so, the tense dinner came to an end. Although the dishes were abundant, Jiang Zhe still didn’t get full, and I think the others were barely satisfied either—except for Lavia and Connel. Leaving Lavia aside, Connel continued eating regardless of Scott’s coughing, even tearing food with his hands a few times. After all, in his era, people never used knives and forks when eating. Scott was also a bit helpless with him, but he didn’t care much. After all, he wasn’t familiar with Connel. What he cared about was his grandfather’s opinion of his friends. “Huh!” After drinking the last drop of red wine from the bottle, Connel grinned rudely, burped loudly, then looked at the old count seriously and said, “Thank you for your hospitality. I have a question for you!” The old count glanced at Connel, then nodded as the retainer quietly removed the dishes, saying, “You may ask, Mr. Connel!” “Thank you,” Connel said, taking a deep breath before speaking sternly, “Count, do you know a city called Wardrob?” “Wardrob?” The old count was slightly stunned. He glanced at Connel and frowned, saying, “Do you mean within Galic?”

“Yes—maybe not in Galic, but definitely in the northeast!”
“Well…” The old count frowned and thought for a moment before saying, “I’m sure there’s no city called Wardrob in Galic!”
“Is that so…” The werewolf sighed in disappointment.
“Wait,” said the old count, as if remembering something under the werewolf’s disappointed gaze. “I seem to have heard this name somewhere before… Wardrob? Wardrob… Hmm? Could you mean Old?”
“What do you mean?” the werewolf asked, frowning.
“If I remember correctly, Wardrob was a name from hundreds of years ago; it was the territory of a count named Vlad…”
“Vlad?” A hint of excitement appeared in the werewolf’s light gray eyes as he growled, “Yes! That’s right! It was his territory! Do you know where it is?”
Glancing at Connel with a frown, the old count said solemnly, “That count named Vlad didn’t have a good reputation. He made many enemies during the chaotic times back then. After his death, several nearby lords joined forces to take over his territory and burn down his castle. Hundreds of years later, the empire unified this land again… If the records are correct, Wardrob should now be called Old…”
“Old?” The werewolf was momentarily stunned, then his eyes took on a red glow as he whispered, “Then do you know where Wardrob… no, Old is?”
Staring deeply at the werewolf, the old count said doubtfully, “If I’m guessing right, there’s only ruins there now, um, and a graveyard… What do you plan to do there?”
“I just want to go take a look…”
“Is that so?” Glancing at Connel, the old count said seriously, “But your eyes don’t say that, young man. Your eyes are filled with hatred!”
With intense excitement, Connel said firmly, “Tell me, where is Old!”
Blowing on his beard, the old count said sternly, “Are you threatening me, young man? I ask for nothing, but at least be careful with your tone. Humility is a virtue, young man!”
Seeing Connel’s growing agitation, Ravia stood up and said softly, “Excuse me!”
Glancing at Ravia, Connel took a deep breath to calm his anger and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Count. Please, you must tell me where Old is!”

Staring deeply into Connel’s eyes, seeing the sincerity and remorse in them, the old count finally nodded and pointed southeast. “About a hundred miles from Allicock in that southeast direction lies a vast ruin of an old castle… I’m curious, young man. I don’t understand why you want to go there, nor the hatred and anger in your eyes. Believe me, no one has lived there for a long time—nothing at all, except ruins and graves!”
“I have reasons why I must go!” Connel nodded at the old count and said in a low voice, “Thank you!” With that, he glanced at Lavia and turned toward the door.
“Make way!” Lavia called softly.
“What an impulsive young man,” the old count said, shaking his head as he watched Connel’s retreating figure. Then, as if remembering something, he turned to Lavia and asked, “You just… called him Make Way? Is that his name?”
“Yes, Count,” Lavia replied politely with a nod. “His name is Jean Connel. He’s a friend of mine and Thos’s!”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe sitting nearby, the old count nodded and said doubtfully, “Is that young man named Jean Connel? Hmm… I seem to have heard that name somewhere before…”
“Huh?” Lavia was slightly surprised. “No way… It’s just an ordinary name…”
“Hehe!” The old count smiled, then glanced at the family emblem on Lavia’s chest and said with a smile, “Maybe so. By the way, how is the Grand Duke of Phavalia doing these days?”
“Huh?” Lavia looked at the old count in astonishment. “You… you know my grandfather?”
“Hehe, how could I not? Back at the Royal Knights Academy, we shared a room. After graduation, he returned to Altak, and I returned to Galic. We haven’t seen each other since… We used to correspond by letter, but with those barbarians in the north causing trouble, I gradually forgot… Is he in good health?”
“Mm!” Lavia nodded. “My grandfather even hunted a Maltz Snow Wolf a couple of years ago!”
“A Maltz Snow Wolf?” The old count was slightly moved. He snorted defiantly before nodding. “I once had a necklace made of Maltz Snow Wolf fangs too, but it was taken by my unfilial son… Ahem!” He glanced at Lavia, recalling her composure when she accidentally knocked over the cup earlier, and nodded in approval.

“Master!” At that moment, Old Black came over and pointed to the pocket watch in his hand, saying, “It’s time. You should deal with military affairs!”
“Mm!” Nodding, the old count turned to Scott and said, “Scott, cancel tonight’s etiquette class for now. You can spend time chatting with your friends. Well… how about giving you a day off tomorrow as well? Go out with them. I’ll inform your tutors!”
“Really?” Scott looked at the old count in disbelief.
“Do you even need to ask? Have I ever gone back on my word? But you must make up for the missed lessons within a week!”
Amidst Allen’s sneers, Scott nodded helplessly. “Yes…”
“Mm?” Frowning at Scott’s weak response, the old count frowned.
Instinctively, Scott straightened up and said, “Yes! Grandfather!”
“Mm! Go then—Black, arrange rooms for these children!”
“Yes! Master!”