Chapter 93 Pre-war Banquet

During the midday meal, the soldier delivering food brought Shaoke news. It turned out that new mages would be joining the group of mages in this courtyard in the afternoon, so a banquet would be held in the evening to welcome them, since they weren't just being transferred from other fortresses.

The evening banquet proceeded as scheduled, unlike the first time Shaoke arrived, nothing troublesome happened. Sitting in a corner, Shaoke noticed that the number of female mages at this banquet had increased significantly, and there were even a few mixed-gender cleric teams present.

"Mage Xueye, I can't believe we've already been here a year," said Mage Roland, who, instead of immediately going to invite the female mages for conversation as usual, approached Shaoke with a sigh. "Those mages are really out of luck. The war is about to begin, and they've arrived now."

"I'd say we're the unlucky ones, Mage Roland," Shaoke replied, noticing that there were many more mages this time, though most were second-tier mages, with only a few third-tier mages sitting off to the side chatting with their friends. After giving the room a once-over, Shaoke didn't see the mage he'd seen at that first banquet and guessed that the other might be on a mission.

There were roughly a hundred newly arrived mages, including several female mages. After carefully observing the newcomers, Mage Roland pointed at a few of them and said, "Those guys look like they're from noble families. I really don’t understand why they’ve come to this courtyard."

"Not our problem," Shaoke said with a smile. "You should be figuring out how to ask those ladies to dance later." As he spoke, Shaoke noticed several more female mages entering through the door, with the white-haired Mage Roman at the front. He recognized the other female mages around her as the third-tier mages he'd gotten to know at the tavern.

"Look! There's your mage friend. Hurry up and invite her over. I think her companions would be happy to come along too," said Mage Roland, who had long had his eye on the female mages who frequented the tavern. After several failed attempts to hit on them, he had noticed that Shaoke, thanks to his familiarity with one of the female mages, quickly managed to chat with the others, which made him quite envious.

Shaoke shook his head. "They probably have business to take care of and won’t come over."

Just as Mage Roland was about to argue, he saw that the female mages, as Shaoke had predicted, made a beeline for the few third-tier male mages under the gaze of the surrounding mages. "It seems we're not even in the same league; there's no way to communicate," Mage Roland complained.

Perhaps due to the impending war, the long period of repression had given the mages an excuse to cut loose at this banquet. Shaoke even noticed some mages holding wine glasses who were already showing signs of drunkenness. One mage and his companions kept pestering the newly arrived female mages, which angered their companions and led to a dispute.

"Mage Xueye, I think I should go and mediate. You can't treat female mages so roughly here. They're completely disgracing the mage profession," said Mage Roland, unable to stand it any longer. Ignoring Shaoke’s advice, he picked up his staff and went over to talk to the mages who seemed intent on venting their frustrations. Sure enough, Mage Roland ended up in the thick of it too.

The squabble drew the eyes of every mage at the party. Perhaps due to the long-term invisible pressure that had built up, most mages simply sat and watched the argument unfold, with only a few scattered individuals stepping forward to mediate.

As the argument escalated, Shaoke saw Mage Roman and her companions go over to talk to the mages involved. Shaoke couldn’t hear what they were saying, but suddenly, Mage Roland raised his staff. A surge of powerful magic made all the mages tense up. The chaotic argument ceased, and the entire banquet hall fell silent.

"You shouldn’t insult a proper female mage here, especially when they are about to become our companions," Mage Roland’s agitated voice echoed around the room. Sensing that the usually cheerful Mage Roland was unusually emotional, Shaoke quickly picked up his staff and walked over.

"It’s just a female mage, isn’t it? I don’t think we need to argue over this. Besides, such things happen often in the capital," said the male mage who had been harassing the female mage, shaking his head in confusion at Mage Roland’s sudden outburst.

"You there, mage. Return to your seat," Mage Roman said sternly, her face tense as she raised her staff. "If you had invited her and she agreed, no one would stop you no matter what you did. This is the front, not some backwater border post you were guarding."

The mage was also young, and his staff seemed even more valuable than the female mage’s. The shaft was studded with several gemstones, and the gold traceries of magic script occasionally flashed with streams of light. A magic circle slowly rotated within the crystal at the top, though it was unclear what tier it was.

Some mages gathered around to watch. They were originally from this fortress and were annoyed to see outsiders bullying mages who were about to join their side. After what had happened to the mage Shaoke had killed at the previous banquet, they never expected a similar incident to occur again today. They itched to teach this clueless outsider a lesson about local customs.

"They’re just a few second-tier female mages! What's wrong with getting to know each other a little?" said the mage, growing increasingly worried as more and more mages gathered around, all supporting the newly arrived female mages. "I didn’t know you had different rules here compared to other places."

"Female mages rank a lot higher than men around here. I think that explanation should make things clear. Don’t apply the capital’s rules here. How long has it been since you last spoke to a female mage? Why not bother the maids instead?" Mage Roland sarcastically criticized the other’s earlier rudeness and quickly offered a perfect solution.

After awkwardly apologizing to the female mages for their behavior, the mages hurriedly left the banquet, not wanting to be mocked by the other mages any longer.

The tension from all that built-up stress faded fast. After signaling to Shaoke, who had been watching from the sidelines, Mage Roland enthusiastically engaged in conversation with the newly arrived mages, though Shaoke still felt his main targets were the few beautiful female mages.

As the mages dispersed, the banquet returned to normal. Mage Roman, sharp-eyed, noticed Shaoke about to turn and leave and quickly caught up to him. "Mage Xueye, are you hiding something from me? Why do you avoid me when you see me?" Mage Roman was quite dissatisfied with Shaoke’s earlier behavior and continued to pick at him. "Why haven’t you been to the tavern for so long? Don’t you have enough money to pay for drinks? I was thinking of introducing you to a few female mages!"

Shaoke pointed to his original seat and said to Mage Roman and her companions, "Let’s talk over there." He then led the female mages back to his spot under the envious gazes of some mages.

"I was just about to go see you, but I noticed you seemed to have matters to discuss with those mages, so I didn’t approach," Shaoke made a weak excuse before somewhat boldly observing Mage Roman and her companions.

The female mages didn’t mind Shaoke’s bold observation at all. One silver-gray short-haired female mage even straightened her posture slightly to better reveal her figure beneath the loose robe.

"Alright, Mage Xueye, there’s something I need to tell you," Mage Roman said, her smile fading as she glanced around and lowered her voice, leaning close to Shaoke’s ear. "In just a few days, the war will truly break out. You must be prepared. I don’t want the Blizzard Legion to have wasted so many medicines on you only for you to break your promise prematurely. Such things have happened many times. Good luck." After saying this, she leaned back in her chair, picked up the wine her companions had prepared for her, and began to savor it with the other female mages.

Only after feeling the warmth of Mage Roman’s breath fade away did Shaoke recall the new information she had just shared. "Mage Roman, you really shouldn’t have told me. It only adds to my pressure," Shaoke said, unconsciously rubbing the ear she had been close to, as if trying to erase the lingering sensation of her presence.

Shaoke’s response only elicited laughter from the surrounding female mages, with no other reply forthcoming.

After a long period, the banquet finally reached its main event. As more and more female mages arrived, the mages decided to start inviting them to dance. Mage Roland was the first to take action, and a female mage he had just helped gladly accepted his invitation, dancing lightly to the music.

Fortunately, there were still enough female mages to go around, which reassured the mages who hadn’t managed to secure a dance partner in time, allowing them to wait calmly for the next round of invitations.

Mage Roman’s companions were also invited by the few third-tier mages. Mage Roman smiled at Shaoke and said, "Well? Don’t you want to invite me to dance?" She glanced back at her companions, who had already started dancing to the music, and then extended her hand to Shaoke.

Shaoke dumbly grasped her slightly cold hand and awkwardly said, "I... I don’t know how to dance, Mage Roman."

Upon hearing Shaoke’s stammered reason, Mage Roman burst into laughter. "You should learn to dance, no matter the purpose. I think few female mages would be willing to have detailed conversations or get to know a male mage who doesn’t know how to dance."

Shaoke opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to say, only blankly holding Mage Roman’s small hand. Suddenly, Francis came to mind. "That can’t be right! I feel like we mages aren’t really suited for dancing. Look, we’re all wearing these robes. I think it would be more appropriate to change clothes first."

Mage Roman gently withdrew her hand, shook her head, and smiled. "But we’re on active duty now! We’re not allowed to change into other clothes. Well, actually, there are many beautiful robes, but you’d need to reach the fifth tier or become a wandering mage to wear finely crafted robes of your own making."

Mage Roman had intended to teach Shaoke how to dance with her, but Shaoke refused. He had no interest in dancing and only enjoyed watching others dance.

When a second-tier mage mustered the courage to invite Mage Roman to dance, Shaoke quietly slipped away from the banquet. He wanted to make one more effort to improve his strength before the war arrived.