Attending the Banquet

Red Maple Town is a prosperous settlement. As one of the three wealthiest towns in North Shire, it is far more bustling than any territory belonging to Viscount Macbeth of Giant Stone City or his subordinate nobles, surpassed only by the capital of North Shire itself.

Despite this, the Baron of Red Maple has never built a castle of his own. According to the laws of the Kingdom, a hereditary knight among the landed nobility is permitted to construct a castle and recruit a private militia of up to one hundred men to protect their territory and resist enemy incursions.

The greatest enemy of the Kingdom of Selt is not the various powerful nations of the continent eyeing this land, but the savage orcs of the Northwest Highlands. Furthermore, with several spatial rifts leading to the Abyss scattered throughout the kingdom—allowing small bands of evil creatures to slip through—the military strength of the Kingdom of Selt has always been formidable. Their basic forces include powerful heavy infantry legions and cavalry units mounted on the fierce, purebred steeds of the Northwest, not to mention the three great legions of the kingdom, which serve as its strongest martial force and are in no way inferior to the elite armies of any continental power.

It is hard to imagine such a powerful military force existing in a remote kingdom in the north of the continent. This may be one of the reasons why, despite the great interest various continental powers have in this land, they have never had the opportunity to invade.

However, the entire North Shire faces very little threat from orcs; only at the Bloodstone Fortress in the far west can one catch a glimpse of them. Thus, the Baron believes there is absolutely no need to spend vast sums of money to build any castle in Red Maple Town.

This is also because the family of the Baron of Red Maple originally came from a merchant background. If it were an ordinary noble, especially one of knightly descent, the first important task upon receiving a fief would not be how to make money, but how to secure and stabilize their territory.

The Baron of Red Maple has only held his title for two generations; the family was previously merely gentry and had never produced a knight, so they had no particular attachment to the idea of a castle. For many years, they have only built a villa in the center of town to serve as the lord's manor, and most of the time, both generations of Barons have preferred to live on their own estates.

Instead, both generations of Barons have placed great importance on the commerce of the territory. To attract investment and convince people that Red Maple Town is safe, they have spared no expense in using large amounts of Gold Sol to strengthen the outer defenses of Red Maple Town and its subordinate villages, protecting against the occasional magical beast straying from the Green Cloak Forest.

It must be said that this approach has been successful. In just over a dozen years, the excellent crops and high-end wines produced on the Red Maple estates, the sweet maple sugar, and the vast resources of magical beasts provided by the Green Cloak Forest have led to the prosperity of a large number of subjects, making Red Maple Town the wealthiest commercial town in North Shire, second only to Flash Gold Town.

Such a style of governance has often led the nobles of North Shire to mock the Baron as a nouveau riche full of the stench of copper, lacking even a shred of noble grace. Yet, they all flock to the products of Red Maple Town.

Donald finds this planning for Red Maple Town somewhat similar to the commercial cities of his past life, and while he appreciates it, he does not entirely agree with it. In an era of stability and prosperity, such a town would certainly bring the lord great wealth, but in times of chaos, it would undoubtedly become a target for others—a piece of fat meat for everyone to fight over, with absolutely no ability to resist.

Moreover, even without war, such wealth is enough to make people envious. If one lacks the corresponding power to protect one's wealth, it is simply inviting outsiders to plunder it. When the time comes and one's life is in the hands of others, what use is a room full of gold?

Donald does not know what this lord is thinking, but if it were him, he would certainly prioritize building military strength to keep the territory firmly in his own hands before doing anything else.

At this moment, Donald is riding in a carriage, looking out the window. The bustling scenes passing by are visible at a glance.

It takes only a few minutes to travel from the commoner district where he lives to the Baron's estate outside the town. Donald has not placed much importance on this invitation from the Baron of Red Maple, and he has brought no one with him except Clinton.

Furthermore, he is wearing only a newly tailored, ordinary noble formal suit. Aside from the apprentice badge pinned to his chest, the two rings on his left hand, and a cane resting diagonally on the carriage seat, there is not a single decoration on his person. Compared to Sir Jesse, who would love to have gold trim even on the corners of his clothes, Donald's attire is extremely plain.

Soon, the carriage arrives in front of the Baron's estate outside the town, where a middle-aged man who looks like a butler is standing outside the gate, waiting.

Donald has a vague impression of him and knows that this is the Baron's butler, Mr. Krien.

As for this butler, the former Donald had seen him from afar in town a few times when he was down on his luck, so he knew of his existence.

To have his own butler wait outside to welcome him—it seems the Baron of Red Maple holds him in some regard, but also harbors a slight sense of contempt. According to the noble etiquette of this world, regardless of rank, sending one's butler to welcome a visiting noble is a perfectly normal and polite practice. However, that applies to nobles who are already acquainted or on friendly terms. Between two nobles of similar rank, when one is visiting for the first time, the host should temporarily set aside whatever important business they are doing to welcome the guest in person, as a sign of respect.

The Baron of Red Maple clearly believes that Donald Melina has not yet reached the level where he can be spoken of in the same breath as himself, and Donald's status as a fallen noble also invites his disdain, hence why he only sent his butler to greet him.

Donald does not care much about this slight. After all, when he finally makes a name for himself, it will be the Baron's turn to look up to him!

Passing through the lush vineyard, Donald secretly observes the state of the estate.

He discovers that the perimeter of the estate is lined with sturdy wooden walls three meters high. These multi-layered, thick walls are sufficient for a hundred militiamen to use as a base to repel an attack by an ordinary force of several hundred, and they also provide excellent protection against some of the more cumbersome magical beasts.

It seems this merchant Baron is not as indifferent to military power as rumors suggest; at the very least, he maintains tight defenses around his greatest economic asset, the vineyard.

Led by the butler, the group soon arrives at the magnificent villa in the center of the estate and meets the Baron of Red Maple, who is seated in the host's chair.

Donald still has some impression of the Baron, an old acquaintance of his father. This veteran noble, skilled in business, had a heart that was not too bad compared to other people who kicked him while he was down, though the relationship eventually fizzled out later because the other party showed no intention of offering any help.

Approaching the slightly stout, middle-aged noble dressed in merchant attire, Donald bows first.

"Lord Ernest, Donald Melina has come to visit at your invitation!"

By rights, Donald should have called him 'Uncle', but he could not bring himself to say it to this snobbish noble before him.

"It has been many years! Little Donald has grown into a man! How I miss the wonderful times spent gathering and hunting with your father back then!"

Regarding Donald's attitude, the merchant noble, who is skilled in conversation, is very enthusiastic. If it were the original Donald, he might have been moved by the memories stirred by the other party's emotional offensive and developed a sense of goodwill, gradually falling into the other party's grasp.

However, although the current Donald has little experience in social interaction, his subjective judgments—largely derived from his past life—are quite firm, and he does not change his attitude just because of a few words of nostalgic affection.

For someone like this, who only sees profit in his eyes and is willing to sell almost anything, it is better to speak only of profit. Once emotions are involved, it is only oneself who ends up getting hurt!

"Indeed! Speaking of which, Donald must thank Lord Ernest for your help ten years ago, which allowed us to settle in town. Otherwise, I might not have survived until now, let alone achieved what I have today!"

"Oh! Given the friendship between our two families, there is no need to mention such small favors. To celebrate your certification as a mage apprentice, I have prepared a celebratory banquet for you later. It is just family, with no outsiders involved, so you need not be restrained—just treat it as if you were in your own home!"

Seeing Donald's lukewarm attitude, the Baron of Red Maple, Ernest, clearly realizes that his offensive did not move the youth before him. It seems that someone capable of becoming a powerful professional like a mage, even an apprentice, is not a simple character.

However, the middle-aged merchant is not discouraged. The more this is the case, the more it proves that this youth is worth spending a large sum of money to befriend.

During the time before the noon banquet, the Baron of Red Maple takes Donald to tour his proudest asset: the wine workshop.

However, the brief tour does not provide Donald with much useful information, which leaves Donald—who has his own estate and also wants to set up a profitable industry—somewhat disappointed.

Returning to the villa, the Baron of Red Maple and Donald sit and converse, and the Baron naturally steers the topic toward Donald's recent major moves.

"I hear you purchased those two estates in the northwest of my territory?"

Donald answers truthfully: "Yes! Lord Ernest. The profession of a mage requires too much funding to grow, even for an apprentice. If I have a stable income now, I can advance to a formal mage immediately! Therefore, setting up an industry is imperative!"

The middle-aged merchant frowns, appearing worried, though a trace of secret joy flashes in his heart as he says:

"As far as I know, the fate of that neighbor of mine in the Red Maple territory decades ago was not very good. Many say that the former baronial fief, now those two estates, is actually cursed land. Anyone who accepts it will be visited by misfortune, and the previous owners have indeed all met with miserable ends. If you need funds, little Donald, you can tell me. For the sake of the friendship with your late father, as an elder, I will not stand idly by!"

Upon hearing this, Donald looks at the person before him earnestly, and only after a few seconds of silence does he smile and say:

"Curses are actually a branch of our mages' craft—the specialty of wizards who excel in the school of necromancy. If a curse truly exists, I will not fear it. At worst, I will ask Teacher Messer to intervene personally. I believe he would be quite willing to dispel a curse from the kingdom's land!"

"As for seeking Lord Ernest's help, I will certainly do so when necessary!"

"Oh? My dear little Donald, your relationship with Master Messer..."

The middle-aged merchant had originally seen the youth fall silent and thought he had taken the bait, and was considering whether to accept his financial aid, but the youth's words immediately shocked him! As the premier mage of North Shire, Master Messer holds a status not inferior to Viscount Macbeth. With his own status, he had only had two brief contacts with him, and never had the opportunity again, let alone becoming close friends. If this little apprentice had a close relationship with that master, he would not be someone an ordinary person could afford to offend!

Ernest grew more alarmed the more he thought about it, while Donald replied with a smile:

"My apprenticeship happened to be tested and certified by the Master himself. He appreciated the slight talent I showed on the path of the mage, so he took me in as his apprentice! This ring is one of the gifts my teacher bestowed upon me; I am deeply grateful for his help and guidance!"

Only then did the Baron of Red Maple, Ernest, carefully observe the ring and scepter he had previously dismissed as mere jewelry. The more he looked, the more he felt that each item seemed to radiate a mysterious power.

As a local noble, even if he held power and wealth in his grasp, he had little understanding of mysterious mages. Let alone a minor baron like him, even the King of Celt knew only what was recorded in the royal archives regarding mages and other spellcasting professions.

However, while the Baron of Red Maple did not understand the grading of magical items, he was well aware of their value.

One must know that as a famous wealthy noble in North Shire, excluding the crystal lamps in his home, he possessed only three magical items. Two of them were household tools used for lighting kitchen fires and cooling or preserving food, and only one was a spell amulet used for personal defense—which he had purchased from a Black Iron Mage for over a thousand Gold Sol. Even if he had the money, he lacked the connections to purchase high-level magical items, and if he attended auctions, he dared not bid with full force out of fear of the influence of greater nobles.

In reality, this was because the Baron of Red Maple had been a noble for too short a time; families with long histories usually possessed heirlooms accumulated over generations, which were not only of immense value but also served precious functions.

The time for conversation quickly drew to a close, and the diligent servants of the Baron of Red Maple had already prepared the banquet, ready to begin at any moment.

Seeing that he could not extract any useful information from Donald, the middle-aged merchant took the opportunity to invite him to the banquet.

Donald knew quite a bit about the etiquette of noble banquets; after all, the noble education he received as a child had left a deep impression. Although he had lost his territory and become a fallen noble, the elders of House Merlinar had never given up on his noble education as their heir until the day they died.

After both parties were seated, the first appetizer was served by the attendants.

The dish consisted of appetizing wild sour-berry marinated beef tenderloin, accompanied by a small Thorn Bird Egg.

The small plate of fragrant, sauce-sautéed beef tenderloin, marinated for half an hour in the juice of a few sour-sweet wild berries, offered a rich, tangy flavor that truly whetted the appetite. Beside it, the boiled, crystal-clear Thorn Bird Egg had no added seasonings, yet its original flavor alone was already incredibly smooth and delicious.

The Thorn Bird was a species similar in size to the quail of his past life. People here usually consumed their eggs as food. The Thorn Bird Egg was about the same size as a quail egg, though slightly rounder. Because their population was vast but they were agile in flight and often nested in high places, they were difficult to obtain. Furthermore, since they could not be raised artificially, the price of their eggs had always remained high.

Because Thorn Bird Eggs were highly sought after by nobles, one could generally only buy three for one Silver Moon, which was equivalent to the food budget of most poor families for an entire month. Donald had only been able to eat a few since coming to this world and unlocking the Book of Truth.

Come to think of it, spices in this world were rare and expensive, something only the noble class could enjoy regularly, yet the varieties were quite limited. This had made Donald, accustomed to the rich cuisines and flavors of his past life, very uncomfortable when he first arrived.

He held no affection for this noble, the Baron of Red Maple, but that did not stop Donald from enjoying the delicacies provided. However, before the second course could even be served, the pleasant atmosphere of the banquet was interrupted by an unexpected guest.