Chapter 267: 267 Genius Girl of the Codelion Family (Request for monthly tickets! Request for subscriptions!)
The capital city Leyrov, at the urban center.
In the northwest direction here, there is a noble restaurant named "Honey Wine."
The restaurant and the Royal Marketplace stand opposite each other, located at completely opposite ends, but it appears that they are both operated by the same person behind the scenes.
Both the Royal Marketplace and Honey Wine restaurant are social venues open only to the nobility and wealthy merchants, strictly prohibiting entry to ordinary citizens.
Thus, at the entrance to the restaurant, not only are there numerous carriages of noble families parked, but there are also groups of extravagantly dressed young nobles chatting and laughing as they come and go, creating a spectacle of a high-society social circle.
A carriage bearing the Franzer family’s crest arrived slowly at the restaurant’s entrance at that moment.
"Lord Reiger, we have arrived,"
This time, the driver was not Ai En or Ian, but a knight from the Franzer Knights.
He respectfully called out to the carriage, signaling for the two inside to alight, one after the other.
"Is this the place?"
Reiger looked at the Honey Wine restaurant in front of him and murmured.
The restaurant appeared like a small palace, not only entirely splendid but also guarded by people dressed as guards.
Like at the Royal Marketplace, these individuals were responsible for maintaining order and verifying the identities of the visitors, allowing only nobles and wealthy merchants to enter.
Honestly, Reiger wasn’t very fond of such places.
Sorting people clearly into different classes felt to Reiger as nothing more than snobbery, a place designed to flaunt the superiority of privileged individuals and the lowliness of commoners.
But what could be done when this was a medieval world?
Human rights simply couldn’t compare to special privileges here.
If it were any ordinary time, Reiger wouldn’t even think about dining at such a place.
However, after Reiger had replied to Kaliya’s letter, Kaliya chose this location, so he had to make the trip.
This time, not being an occasion like a knighting ceremony, Reiger was dressed quite casually, looking nothing like a noble or a rich merchant, causing the guards at the restaurant’s entrance to involuntarily direct their gaze at him.
If this were some clichéd story, Reiger might even have been snubbed by these doormen for his attire, blocked from entry and thus triggering a trite scene of showing off and face slapping.
Luckily, Reiger was no clichéd protagonist.
As the newly honored seventh Sword Saint of the kingdom, Reiger was riding a wave of renown, and with frequent duels in the arena, his face had become widely recognized in the capital.
Thus...
"It’s the Thunder Light Sword Saint!"
"It’s Lord Reiger Brillhaut, the Sword Saint!"
"Is he that newly appointed youngest Sword Saint?"
"Definitely, look at the crest on the carriage behind him—that’s the Franzer family crest!"
"A swordsman appearing in a Franzer family carriage can only be that Thunder Light Sword Saint!"
The people around began to buzz and make noise.
"Let’s go in, Liz."
Reiger said impassively, and stepped forward.
"Yes."
Liz, holding the Moslo sword and dressed just as casually, still caught the eyes of many men and women around, whose expressions showed amazement at her looks and figure.
The two of them entered the Honey Wine restaurant in front of many onlookers, and as they entered, the two stationed guards hurriedly bowed to Reiger, not showing the slightest intention of stopping him.
Although Reiger had only received the Sword Saint medal and gained the title of Sword Saint, without having been granted a noble title by the kingdom, he was still formally a commoner rather than a noble. But who would treat this newly famous Sword Saint as a commoner?
Even without any special privileges or noble titles, the mere words "Sword Saint" alone elevated his status and influence above most nobles, obliging even prominent nobles like dukes and marquises to treat him respectfully, to say nothing of Reiger also being a Tactical Level Magician who could achieve nobility status anytime he wished.
In essence, with Reiger’s current prestige, he could gain access and treatment that most nobles couldn’t.
In such a situation, the two guards didn’t even dare to stop Liz, who was Reiger’s attendant, unless they wanted to be thrown into the river to feed the fish by the restaurant’s secretive owner the next day.
"Welcome to Honey Wine, Sword Saint Brillhaut."
It seemed the manager had received prior notice, for as Reiger entered, he came rushing out from inside, personally welcoming Reiger.
"I have an appointment," Reiger wasted no time and said straightforwardly, "Where is Kaliya Liat?"
"Miss from the Liat family, right?" the restaurant manager quickly replied, "She’s in a private room on the third floor, I will lead the way, please come this way."
Saying so, the manager respectfully took the lead and escorted Reiger to the third floor.
As Honey Wine was a restaurant open only to the upper class, there naturally were some rules to adhere to.
There were no public areas here, only private rooms.
That is to say, there were only private boxes and no places for communal dining except for some ballrooms and meeting halls specifically for hosting aristocratic banquets. The rest were all single rooms to ensure no disturbance to the nobility during their meals.
The first floor was designated for ballrooms and banquet halls, while the second floor had private rooms that could be reserved by lesser nobility such as viscounts and barons. The third floor was reserved for higher nobility such as earls, marquises, and dukes, and even royal family members dined there if they visited.
Although the Liya Family was neither marquisate nor ducal, it was an earldom, which categorized them among the higher nobility. Therefore, Kaliya naturally reserved a private room on the third floor.
The restaurant manager personally took Reiger and Liz to the third floor and led them to a door resplendent in gold.
"Miss Kaliya, Sword Saint Brillhaut is here."
The manager knocked on the door politely and spoke through it.
It wasn’t long before a somewhat familiar voice came from inside.
"Let the Sword Saint come in."
As the voice subsided, the glorious golden door was promptly opened.
Inside, a room appeared, resembling a presidential suite complete with partitions, a tea room, a hall, and even a bedroom.
In the hall, a pricey dining table was set.
Three young girls in formal dresses appeared beside the dining table. As the door opened, all three stood up in unison.
Two of these girls were ones Reiger had met briefly after coming to this world.
One had strikingly bright red hair.
The other was a young girl, her face innocent and naively cherubic.
It was Kaliya and Shafni.
These two girls, who had previously accompanied Reiger to the Royal Market and had met him after his transformation, were today dressed in elegant formal dresses, no longer the mischievous young ladies they once were, but true daughters of nobility.
"It’s been a long time."
Kaliya stared at Reiger, who entered the door accompanied by a strikingly beautiful attendant, her expression complex.
"It’s been a long time."
Reiger, meeting Kaliya’s complex gaze, nodded.
There seemed to be an invisible distance between them, making it impossible to tell that not long ago, they were part of the same small group and classmates at the Sprille Academy.
Even Shafni was timidly peeking at Reiger, her large eyes filled with curiosity about him, yet also full of reverence for a Sword Saint.
After all, as the saying goes, "a person can change immensely in just three days."
Gathering here again, Reiger was no longer the same person Kaliya and Shafni once knew. To Reiger, Kaliya and Shafni were just two strangers. They could no longer relate as they used to under the superficial bond of "friendship."
Especially Kaliya, who would never have imagined that one day, the countryside magic apprentice, whom she thought was expendable and who, flattered by his own talents, fell into usage and alignment by Aquil, often coaxing and showing her unequivocal intentions, would turn into not only a Tactical Level Magician but also the highest-ranked swordsman on the continent—the Sword Saint.
The name of the Thunder Light Sword Saint was already resounding throughout the kingdom and the continent, with his popularity at its peak.
Therefore, facing this reunion, Kaliya found herself feeling a trace of nervousness under Reiger’s gaze.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation today."
Kaliya, suppressing her nervousness, took a deep breath and, lifting her skirt, bowed courteously to Reiger while speaking thus.
"You’ve even brought out that mad Prince, could I not come?" Reiger smiled faintly at Kaliya, saying, "That should not be an excuse, should it?"
If that was merely an excuse Kaliya used to lure him out, Reiger would have turned around and left right there and then.
To him, Kaliya was really just a stranger. Whatever feelings the original host harbored towards her were irrelevant to him, and he would not give her any special treatment because of them.
Luckily, Kaliya was not so irrational.
"Of course it is not an excuse," Kaliya shook her head, then added, "But before we discuss His Highness, let me introduce someone to you."
Kaliya’s words did not surprise Reiger.
"You mean the girl next to you?"
Reiger looked towards the third girl who appeared alongside Kaliya and Shafni.
She had waist-length golden hair, a face quite delicate and beautiful, her figure alluring, her demeanor also quite outstanding, and particularly, a pair of sparkling, bewitching large eyes, her looks even surpassing Kaliya’s.
Upon being glanced at by Reiger, she immediately revealed a beautiful smile.
"I am Saint Charia Codrillon, pleased to meet you, Sword Saint Brillhaut."
She introduced herself as such.
The famous prodigy of the Codrillon Family was quietly present here.