Dinner Banquet

After the first Holy Spirit Preliminary Competition ended.

Joshua received an invitation from Empress Yekana to attend a banquet at the Steel Country Embassy.

Joshua had never been fond of attending noble banquets, but Madam Ma Linna told him, "This might be a good opportunity to find craftsmen from Steel Country."

So Joshua could only bring Ciri along under the perfectly legitimate excuse of mooching a meal.

By coincidence, Joshua encountered the opponents Iron Forger had faced in the first match at this banquet... the members of the Kroshiel Team.

"Did that Queen capture you as prisoners and plan to take you back to Steel Country?"

Holding a glass of juice, Joshua walked up to the Kroshiel Team members. They looked extremely restrained amid this banquet filled with nobles.

Four of the five team members came from commoner backgrounds, and those four wore Kroshiel-standard mage robes rather than luxurious formal attire.

In that sense, their style fit in with Joshua and Ciri better than anyone else at the banquet.

"You're... the person we saw at the Magic Arena."

Brela, the team leader, recognized the stranger who had suddenly come over to greet them.

"My name is Joshua. As for my identity, all I can say is that I'm someone who can help you."

Joshua looked over the three team members beside Brela in turn. Their performance in the first match had been utterly miserable against Iron Forger's overwhelming strength.

Yet their talent for the game was clearly exceptional from their ladder rankings alone.

"Brela."

She had not recognized Joshua's true identity. Only a small number of people remembered him as either the creator of the Magic Net or a film director.

If Tylinn had been standing before them, Brela probably would have immediately asked her for an autograph.

"Enough introductions.