Chapter 308: The King’s Banquet
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"What? You two know each other?" the king said with a look of surprise on his face.
Benjamin came to his senses and with an odd look on his face he said, "no... we've only met once, and at that time I didn’t know that Master Aldrich was the chairman of the Mages Freemasonry."
How was he supposed to even think about it?
It was already an amazing coincidence to bump into the chairman while wandering around, and now the chairman was also invited to the king’s banquet.
At that moment, he was seriously doubting if it really was a coincidence.
As he watched Aldrich and his thoughtful smile, Benjamin suddenly thought if this was all planned by that old mage.
"Your Majesty, please forgive my impertinence." Aldrich said softly, "but I am very interested in this new star of the mage world, so this afternoon I met up and chatted with him for a while."
"Oh I see, since you already know each other, then there is one less job for me to do." The king chuckled.
Benjamin just shook his head slowly.
Was this a premediated strike?
All things aside, he was still shocked that he could pique the interest of the chairman of the Mage Freemasonry.
Didn’t Tony mention earlier that the Mages Freemasonry treated Benjamin’s name as a taboo, they didn't discuss him at all, and all the rumors that Finch spread would have definitely found their way to the chairman.
With these thoughts in his head and this scene before him, it really was amazing.
"Alright then, since you already know the chairman, next is this guy." The king waved his hand and gestured to another middle-aged man at the table, "this is the General Barrett, he is the hero that helps me protect the country."
Benjamin looked at the general and said, "General Barrett, my name is Benjamin, it’s a pleasure to meet you."
Barrett looked like someone who doesn’t talk much so he nodded his head as a greeting.
"These two are my guests that whom I invited," the king smiled and then turned to a woman who looked to be about the same age as him and said, "Lastly, this is my beautiful wife."
The queen laughed, she did look pretty decent as she said, "how embarrassing."
Benjamin just nodded his head and said, "it’s a pleasure to meet you."
After speaking to the queen, Benjamin looked around the table. Even with so few people at the banquet, he still could not find the little princess.
However the presence of these people were already shocking enough.
Benjamin felt confused.
The king, the queen, mage leaders from multiple levels, and the representative from the army of the country. With such a huge lineup and he who was an outsider – he had this gut feeling that something was going to happen.
He couldn’t understand why the king would introduce him to these people so warmly and he wondered what the point was.
Was it because they wanted to bring him onboard too?
So, with these thoughts, after speaking to the king, Benjamin tried to find an opportunity to make a toast. When the atmosphere at the table was good, he yelled with no regards for his appearance, "I am a young mage that recently came to Ferelden, and I have never seen so many important people in one room."
As the king gestured to the servant to serve the meal, he turned and laughed, saying, "Master Benjamin, you underestimate yourself. You are so young yet so powerful, in the future, you may yet become a successful person!"
It that the reason for the banquet?
Why would he call a representative from the army?
Doubt filled Benjamin’s heart.
"Thank you for your kind words. But, there are so many gifted people in the world, but only I have favor from his Majesty. This makes me a little scared."
"No, you don’t understand." The King lifted the wine goblet and took a sip before saying slowly, "for these past few years, Aldrich and I kept a close eye on the mage world in Ferelden, there are plenty of average people, but the ones that truly stand out were few and far between. We were all worried that when mage Aldrich got a little older, then who would carry the world of the mages in Ferelden?"
Alright.
Benjamin did not know how he should react.
He could only lower his head and drink his wine, acting like he knew nothing.
It looks like the other leaders had the same opinion in wanting to keep the useful people in their country. Only the queen’s body language and attitude was a little harsh, but the king of Ferelden was playing the emotions card.
"Master Benjamin, to tell you the truth, it hasn’t even been ten years since Ferelden was established and it looks like things are stable. But you know what kind of person my sister is seeing as you are from Icor." Then, the king became quite the chatterbox as he continued saying, "I don’t know what move she is going to make, but she will choose one from the three countries to challenge. Until then, I don’t want my country to fall into her hands.
The atmosphere became heavier and heavier as the king spoke.
"Your Majesty, I swear to protect the land of Ferelden, and the day will never come when that woman steps here!" Suddenly General Barrett said determinedly, he stood up and knelt before the king.
The king was shocked but suddenly he laughed and said, "look at that, what am I saying? Get up General. This is a private banquet, we shouldn’t be speaking of the country, I just hope everyone here tonight will have a great time."
As he said all these, he helped General Barrett up and led him to his seat.
The servants on standby, at the king’s command everyone began eating and the atmosphere became normal again.
Benjamin sighed a breath of relief, because the king stopped talking to him.
Mostly it was just "What was life like in Icor?" or "How was your journey on the road of magic?" or "What is your impression of Ferelden?", it was getting boring.
Benjamin already had a list of prepared answers and he answered them one after another. Once in a while, he would put in a joke to lighten up the atmosphere. It may be the king’s banquet but it felt more like an entertainment dinner.
Throughout the entire time, Aldrich talked quite a bit, speaking of the issues in the Mages Freemasonry. Even though there weren’t any really juicy stories, but the more Benjamin heard about it the more he understood of issues that he did not understand before.
For example, even though the Mages Freemasonry involves both Ferelden and Carretas, but their influence in Carretas was weak. The mages there had all sorts of secrets, hiding in the mountains. And they rarely left their house, how could they possibly gather together and be a force to reckon with?
So, their conversations did not involve Carretas much, seeing as it is a country governed by the elder prince. The weak ones who could only hide behind the second prince and the little princess had everything to fear.
At that moment, Benjamin remembered the letter that the church sent to the king of Carretas.
No wonder the elder prince was so willing to rely on the church.
Benjamin was hesitant whether he should tell the king about this. But after giving it some thought, he still didn’t say anything. Moreover, he couldn’t explain the origin of this story.
He already decided not to tell anyone that he was from the kingdom of Helius.
If he were to say something, that meant that he was on Ferelden’s side. He did not want to get involved in the fight among the three countries.
So, just as the king mentioned, they did not discuss any "political matters". He just considered as an opportunity to let him get to know a few big shots and forget about everything else.
After a few hours of relaxing exchange and banter, the banquet came to an end.