I spent the day fighting in the Labyrinth as usual. Once evening came and I had finished my preparations, I warped to Bode Castle.
I had my First Job set to Adventurer.
I no longer felt any of the old anxiety.
"I will summon the Commander immediately. Please wait a moment."
As soon as I arrived at the castle, a guard addressed me. This was a change of pace. Normally, I was told to just head inside on my own—if they even bothered to speak at all, rather than just gesturing dismissively. I wondered if the treatment was different because I had been officially invited to a banquet, or if it was simply because I wasn't alone today.
Even if they were accompanied by someone the guard knew, the Knight Order couldn't exactly allow people of unknown lineage and background to meet the Duke without a formal reception.
"Lord Michio, you have arrived. Please, follow me."
Gosler appeared. It seemed that even for a man as proactive as the Duke, he wouldn't be coming out to greet us personally today. The Knight Order's security protocols were apparently quite sound.
We were guided to a large room where the Duke waited. Several other men who appeared to be members of the Knight Order stood by. It was a spacious, empty room with beautiful wood paneling.
"Lord Michio, you have come well."
"Thank you for the invitation, Excellency."
"Enough, enough. Dispense with the stiff greetings."
"As you wish."
As expected, a Duke was a Duke.
"And are these ladies Lord Michio’s?"
"Yes. These are my party members: Roxanne, Sherry, Miria, and Vesta."
The four of them bowed toward the Duke.
"I am Duke Harz."
"It is an honor to meet you," Roxanne said, offering a greeting as our representative.
"Hmm. Lord Michio, did you only bring four people?"
"They are my party members, after all."
"You could have brought your parents, siblings, or even just some acquaintances."
"Ah. I see."
The Duke looked puzzled, but his explanation made sense. In other words, he wouldn't have minded if I had filled the remaining slots in the group to reach the six-person limit, even if they weren't people I actually fought with. Since it was a rare chance for a banquet, that was likely the standard social move. He wouldn't have known whether they actually entered the Labyrinth with me or not.
However, I didn't actually have anyone else to bring. Besides, I couldn't bear the thought of bringing some random stranger who might behave inappropriately in front of a high noble.
"I see you truly are from a distant land," the Duke muttered.
I wondered for a second how he knew that, but then I remembered Luke. I had told Luke that I came from far away specifically to discourage him from digging into my past. It seemed that information had already reached the Duke's ears.
The walls had ears, and the paper doors had eyes. Information traveled fast in these circles. That must have been what led to today's invitation. I had previously hinted to the Duke that I had connections with the Knight Order back in my "homeland" as a way to discourage him from being too overbearing.
But if I were from a distant place, my local connections would naturally be weak. It would be one thing if I were just a traveler passing through, but I had been fighting in the local Labyrinth for a long time now. If I had left my home due to some sort of trouble, those ties would have been severed entirely.
Perhaps the Duke's target today wasn't Roxanne after all.
"This is the woman who fought when I served as the witness, is she not?"
Perhaps sensing the growing tension in the air, Gosler interjected. As expected of a man who spent his life managing a difficult superior, his timing was perfect. I was glad he was here.
However, it seemed my initial suspicion was right. Gosler hadn't forgotten Roxanne either. Here it came.
"This is Roxanne."
"A posture with no openings. She looks quite formidable."
When I re-introduced her, the Duke offered genuine praise. I wondered if that was really the case, or if she simply looked strong because they expected her to be. It was probably the halo effect.
"Indeed. Her stance is magnificent," Gosler added.
Even Gosler was being taken in, though he had actually seen her in combat before. To me, she looked like she was just standing there.
"I suspect even my own attacks might not land on her."
"Her strength is truly noteworthy."
Was she really that obvious? Could they honestly tell just by looking?
"What about you?" the Duke asked, turning to one of his men.
"Yes. If I may be so bold, I would like to request a sparring match."
"Lord Michio, what do you think? This man is the most skilled in my Knight Order. I would very much like to see him test his mettle against her."
The Duke spoke with one of the knights, who then requested to spar with Roxanne. The man’s job was Paladin, the same as the Duke's. He was likely the Paladin who had been part of Gosler’s elite party. He was the best of the best in the Duke Harz Knight Order—the "strongest of the elite" type.
"Oh, no. I doubt she would be any match for him."
"We will use wooden training swords. There is no danger."
"Master, I would like to try as well."
You too, Roxanne?
It seemed a sparring match was unavoidable. Several wooden swords were brought out by the other knights. Were we really doing this right here? The room was certainly large and empty enough for it. I began to wonder if the Duke had received us in this specific room just to make this match happen. He was shrewd. This had probably been the plan from the very beginning.
Roxanne unbuckled the rapier from her waist and handed it to Sherry. She was clearly motivated.
"Don't push yourself too hard. Try not to get injured."
I had no choice but to give my permission. Since she wanted to do it, I had no reason to stop her.
"Yes. Thank you very much."
Roxanne selected a wooden sword. It was a one-handed sword. The Knight Order also provided her with a wooden shield. Roxanne and the Paladin moved to the center of the room and faced each other at a distance.
"Begin."
The Paladin gave a short signal and rushed forward, swinging down a wooden sword held in both hands. He was using a two-handed sword style. Roxanne met the strike with her own sword and parried it effortlessly.
Without a second's pause, the next blow came flying in. Roxanne dodged by tilting her upper body just a fraction. After that, a literal surge of attacks followed.
The Paladin swung his blade in a frantic rhythm—right to left, left to right, a diagonal slash from top-right to bottom-left. He reversed the motion, slashing from top-left to bottom-right, then spun into an upward sweep from the bottom-right. The attacks were fast, but more than that, they were incredibly powerful.
Roxanne dodged every single one with the smallest possible movements. She swayed, stepped, and let the blade whistle through empty air. Using her shoulders, waist, and sometimes just shifting her feet, she deviated from the sword's trajectory with millimeter-level precision.
Roxanne occasionally thrust her sword back, but the Paladin managed to knock it aside. Using the momentum of the deflection, the Paladin stepped in deep for a horizontal sweep at her torso. Roxanne stepped back by the exact same distance, as if she had measured the blade with a ruler. The Paladin's sword cut through nothing but air.
"That's enough."
The Duke's voice rang out.
Is it over? I let out a long sigh of relief. The match hadn't actually lasted very long, though it had felt longer because of the tension. Since she had perfectly avoided every single attack, I suppose Roxanne's ability had been proven beyond doubt. I was just glad it had ended without anyone getting hurt.
"Thank you very much."
"Thank you very much."
The two of them stepped back and lowered their wooden weapons. Roxanne immediately returned to my side.
"Roxanne, well done."
"Yes. I am glad I did not bring shame upon you, Master."
Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if she had lost. Especially if it meant staying off the Duke's radar.
"Lord Michio, you have an exceptional party member."
"She is a member I am very proud of."
"As expected of your party. At the end, he was dodged so perfectly that his posture broke entirely. She showed him mercy."
The Duke spoke to me, his eyes gleaming. I made a mental note: I was definitely not giving her up.
"You flatter us."
"She was strong. It was exactly as Gosler described."
So Gosler really was the one who had talked her up.
"It was a magnificent display. It must have been a great lesson for the others. Your Excellency, I believe it is time."
"Indeed. Preparations for the meal should be finished by now. Come."
I thought he might have more to say, but when Gosler nudged him, the Duke simply agreed and was the first to leave the room. He didn't immediately demand that I hand Roxanne over to his service. That was a relief. I suspected I owed Gosler for that as well.
We followed after the Duke. We walked down a long corridor until the Duke had a set of doors opened, revealing a room as large as a hall. A massive table sat in the center, crowded with an array of dishes.
Just inside the room, Cassia stood waiting with two women on either side of her. Perhaps because it was a formal dinner, she looked even more dressed up than usual. She was stunning.
"We have been waiting for you. Welcome to our home."
As we entered, Cassia offered a bow. She was wearing a dress of bright light-blue that suited her perfectly—though Cassia would likely look good in anything. It wasn't a revealing robe décolleté style, but I assumed it was still considered formal wear here.
The two women with her were in similar dresses. They were in chic dark-blue and madder-red, almost as if they were intentionally complementing Cassia's radiance. Both were beautiful Elves, but Cassia's beauty was on an entirely different level.
"These are Lord Michio's party members: Roxanne, Sherry, Miria, and Vesta."
The Duke announced their names. I was stunned. The Duke was actually quite impressive. Had he memorized them just now? Aside from Roxanne, I had only mentioned the other three names once. I wondered if he actually possessed the Appraisal skill.
I remembered hearing about a historical politician named Kakuei Tanaka who supposedly remembered the names, faces, districts, and terms of every single member of the Diet, as well as the entry years of every career bureaucrat. By knowing that, he could tell exactly when someone was due for a cabinet position or who the rivals were for the next director-general post. It was essential information for a man in his position.
This was likely the same thing. Remembering names was a necessary skill for a high-ranking noble.
The Duke then introduced Cassia and the other two women. It might have been my imagination, but he seemed to put a lot of emphasis on the words "My wife, Cassia." One of the other two women turned out to be Gosler's wife.
"We will take your swords, if you please."
A castle servant spoke up. We all handed our weapons over. Even Gosler surrendered his sword. The Duke went to the other side of the table and handed his sword to a personal guard.
"Lord Michio, everyone, please, take a seat. Let us begin the meal."
The Duke sat down in a chair at the far left on the opposite side of the table. There were six chairs on each side, presumably to accommodate the party members. That meant I was likely supposed to sit directly across from the Duke.
I took the seat opposite him. Roxanne sat to my left, followed by Sherry, Miria, and Vesta. On the other side, Cassia sat next to the Duke, followed by Gosler and then his wife. My instincts about the seating arrangement seemed correct, and Sherry didn't give me any signs to the contrary.
"Would you care for alcohol with your meal?" a servant asked respectfully.
"If you have herb tea or something similar, I would prefer that."
"Certainly."
Alcohol was too dangerous. If I got drunk and said something stupid, the consequences could be disastrous. The servant went around the table taking drink orders. On our side, no one except Sherry chose to have alcohol.
"Now then, I would like to begin this banquet in honor of Lord Michio and his party. Thank you for coming. Please, eat your fill and enjoy yourselves this evening."
With the Duke's greeting, the dinner party officially began. While some dishes would likely be brought out as the night went on, the main spread was already on the table. It seemed they prioritized the visual luxury of the initial presentation over having everything serve-temp hot.
I noticed there were fish dishes included, which clearly put Miria at ease. Roxanne began engaging in polite, safe small talk with Cassia, who was seated directly across from her.