Chapter 270: 270 Transferring Affections? (Requesting Monthly Tickets! Requesting Subscriptions!)
The banquet finally lasted for over an hour.
After more than an hour, out of the eighty or so dishes served, not a single one was left; all were completely consumed.
This caused everyone present to cast curious glances at one person when they finished eating.
"Uh..."
Liz lowered her head forcefully, so much that it nearly buried in her chest, and her ears were all red, clearly showing she was extremely shy.
Of the eighty or so dishes, about sixty had ended up in the belly of this little princess.
Otherwise, with a group comprising Reiger and the other delicate young ladies, it would’ve been impossible to finish so many dishes.
Kaliya prepared so many dishes not for everyone to finish them, but for the sake of display and grandeur.
Having a dinner invitation from the family of a Duke for a Sword Saint, no matter if it’s a hundred dishes, and each only tasted once, it would still be worthwhile.
This is the way of noble socializing; inviting honored guests for a meal is not only about standard but also about display. The dishes need not be finished, but they must be abundant, of high quality, and exquisite.
It could be said that the Honey Wine Restaurant welcomed so many nobles every day that by end of the day, the number of leftover dishes was unthinkable, truly epitomizing opulence and waste to the utmost.
But today, at least, this meal had left no leftovers.
Everyone could only stare at this extremely shy little princess and begin to wonder at the slight figure in front of them.
"Where could all that food have possibly gone?"
No sooner had this thought arisen than everyone involuntarily shifted their gaze to the princess’s chest, suddenly understanding their puzzle.
To extricate his attendant from this deeply awkward situation, Reiger could only take her away, bidding farewell to Saint Charia and the others.
Saint Charia and her two companions immediately stood up.
"Reiger, you should have communication magic crystals, right?" Saint Charia suggested, "How about we exchange crystal frequencies?"
Indeed, Reiger did possess communication magic crystals, a gift from Yuri when he first returned from Earth Mistake World, intended to facilitate easy contact with her anytime.
However, in the two months since, Reiger hadn’t used it once.
After all, the only people who had the magic crystal frequency were Yuri and Marilyn, who lived and ate with Reiger, so there wasn’t any opportunity to use this communication magic crystal.
"And me as well," Kaliya pulled out a magic crystal from her embrace, saying, "Let’s exchange frequencies too."
Reiger thought it over and decided to agree in the end.
Although he didn’t want to get too closely involved with the important figures of the Duke’s faction or get entangled in noble affairs, with Solok’s recent matter, Reiger had already accrued a debt of gratitude towards the Codelion Family, and it wasn’t a good time to refuse.
Besides, everything has its pros and cons; maintaining contact with the figure supported by the Codelion Family might come in handy when necessary.
With this in mind, Reiger agreed.
Thereupon, Reiger exchanged the magic crystal frequencies with Saint Charia and Kaliya.
Then, Reiger took Liz and took his leave.
Saint Charia and others accompanied Reiger to the door of a private room, watching as Reiger took Liz away and disappeared down the staircase before they turned back.
"This Thunder Light Sword Saint is much more interesting than I expected."
As soon as they returned, Saint Charia shed her demeanor as the daughter of a Duke, like a lively young girl, and she revealed a cheerful smile.
Contrasting this, Kaliya and Shafni didn’t sit down as they had before with Saint Charia, but stood behind her respectfully, like two subordinates.
"Miss, how do you think he compares to Lord Dihart?"
Kaliya ventured to ask this question.
"Not sure," Saint Charia shook her head, saying, "I haven’t seen this new Sword Saint fight at full strength, so it’s hard to say; but Lord Dihart once said that in terms of speed and burst power, he can’t hold a candle to this Thunder Light Sword Saint."
"...That’s a very high appraisal."
Kaliya was silent for a moment, then sighed.
"What’s wrong?" Saint Charia looked at her companion, brought into her service from a vassal family, and spoke somewhat teasingly, "Feeling quite conflicted, are you?"
"Yes," Kaliya sighed, "Sometimes I still feel as if I must be dreaming. That Reiger Brillhaut suddenly became a Sword Saint, an existence we look up to, and even the kingdom itself places immense importance on him, it really feels... complicated."
"I also feel like it’s a joke," interjected Shafni with a grumble, "That country bumpkin who used to pester Sister Kaliya has turned out like this, I really can’t believe it."
At this, Saint Charia became really intrigued and very puzzled.
"Hey, little Shafni, did Brillhaut really used to like Kaliya?" Saint Charia said, puzzled, "I just can’t see it at all."
"I’m not lying," Shafni immediately said, "You could tell just by looking at him back then; he was definitely interested in Sister Kaliya. Not only did we notice, but Aquil’s people did too, and more than once, they mocked him behind his back, calling him a country bumpkin who had never seen the world and was bound to have absurd fantasies."
In the eyes of Aquil and the others, aside from having talent, the protagonist had nothing else; whether he could ever become a Tactical Level Magician was still unknown. Yet, he dared to dream of a good match with the Earl’s treasured daughter, like a toad lusting after swan meat.
For this reason, Aquil’s followers indeed ridiculed Reiger more than once in private, even in front of Kaliya – and that is the absolute truth.
Saint Charia had also gathered information about Reiger and was naturally aware of this situation.
The problem was...
"I really can’t see any signs of his interest in Kaliya," Saint Charia said with furrowed brows. "Since I walked in here, he hasn’t given Kaliya a proper look, not even when speaking to her. His gaze is calm and clear, almost translucent, like that of a selfless saint. He doesn’t at all resemble the smug, self-deluded, secret admirer you speak of."
In this regard, Saint Charia was indeed qualified to make such judgments.
With her looks, achievements, talent, and family background, countless people pursued her, including some highly skilled noble youths who performed countless splendid plays in front of her in hopes of winning her favor.
Saint Charia had seen many such acts and gradually came to see through them; she believed herself capable of discerning what someone in love would look like.
And Reiger gave Saint Charia the feeling of not at all being interested in Kaliya as mentioned in the reports.
It would be more accurate to say that Kaliya, in his eyes, might not even qualify as a friend but was just a familiar stranger.
This truly surprised and puzzled Saint Charia.
"Who knows what’s going on?" Shafni said noncommittally. "Maybe he’s just pretending not to care?"
"No, that kind of calm can’t be faked." Saint Charia shook her head, denying it, and turned to Kaliya to ask, "What do you think?"
"This..." Kaliya looked embarrassed.
She didn’t really want to join in on this topic.
However, Kaliya believed that Saint Charia was right.
She herself could also tell that she appeared completely different in Reiger’s eyes now compared to before.
Previously, Reiger’s gaze, whenever he looked at her, always contained a form of infatuation and admiration that made Kaliya want to frown.
But now, Reiger’s gaze was only calm and indifferent; not to mention infatuation or admiration, there wasn’t even a hint of familiarity.
This told Kaliya that she was no longer the subject of this man’s love.
Thinking of this, and considering the miracles Reiger had recently achieved, Kaliya couldn’t help feeling a slight loss and regret.
Most people are vain.
If they know that a highly accomplished person likes them, they will likely feel smug about it.
Conversely, if this person used to like them but has since risen above others and no longer feels the same, seeing their success would make anyone feel a sense of loss.
Such is human nature.
That’s exactly how Kaliya felt right now.
It’s fair to say that humans are quite complex beings; they take things for granted when they have them and feel regret when they don’t, contradictory and foolish.
In such a situation, Kaliya could only respond casually.
"Maybe he was just pretending to be that way before, and the person he really likes must be Yuri Franzel?"
No sooner had she spoken than Kaliya regretted it.
Because she knew very well what kind of consequences mentioning someone in front of Saint Charia might provoke.
"Hmph!"
Sure enough, Saint Charia’s expression immediately vanished, her pretty face fell, and her mood visibly soured.
"Yuri Franzel again?" Saint Charia said irritably. "Why does that woman always come up wherever we go?"
"What does she have that makes such a young Sword Saint like her?"
"And pretending? I think that woman used some tricks to bewitch Lord Brilliant, leading him to fall out of love."
"Yes, that must be it."
Saint Charia spoke these words angrily, lacking the grace and wit she had shown while dining with Reiger just moments ago.
"Sigh..."
Kaliya could only watch her mistress fume about Duchess Franzel with a headache and sighed a long, deep breath.
It looked like there was trouble ahead.