Dinner Party and the Young Girl

116 Fes Street

Outside the Karl Family Residence.

Li Si, dressed in a black evening suit, stepped down from the carriage. A servant hurried over and led him toward the main banquet hall, while Bende and the carriage were naturally arranged elsewhere to rest.

Li Si loosened his tight collar. He still wasn't quite used to such elaborate formalwear.

Following the servant into the banquet hall, he found the several-hundred-square-meter venue extravagantly decorated. A massive Magic Crystal Lamp, pieced together from countless polished, crystal-clear gems, hung directly above the hall and cast a gentle glow. The nearby dining tables were already filled with fragrant delicacies and fine wines for the guests, and several attendees were already raising their glasses in lively conversation.

The Karl Family truly deserved to be the actual controllers of the Golden Vine Merchant Guild, one of the top five merchant guilds in the Fies Kingdom. They had enough power to "purchase" a baronial title from the kingdom, and the residence they had acquired in the noble district was equally grand and luxurious. It was plain to see just how deep the Karl Family's coffers ran.

Li Si looked around with interest at the guests in magnificent formalwear scattered around the dance floor. Since his predecessor had rarely attended gatherings like this, even though these people were likely the gentlemen and ladies of Fies City's upper society, they all looked unfamiliar to him. There wasn't a single familiar face.

At that moment, Mora Karl, who had just finished accompanying his father in entertaining an earl, happened to spot Li Si standing out from the crowd some distance away. His eyes lit up. After quickly informing his father, he headed toward Li Si.

"You rascal, why didn't you come find me when you arrived? Are you really our esteemed Viscount? Standing here all alone without even talking to anyone."

Li Si shrugged. "You know I almost never attend parties like this. I don't know any of these people, so how could I have anything to talk about with them? I saw you talking to that old man earlier, so I didn't go looking for you."

"What old man? That was His Excellency Count Dion Duval, the kingdom's Minister of Finance!"

Mora stared at Li Si speechlessly. He truly hadn't expected him not to recognize even that man. In the end, he simply pulled Li Si along and began introducing the distinguished guests around them.

"That's Arsen Hardt, Duke Hardt's youngest son. I heard he's been highly favored by His Majesty the King lately."

"The man talking to my father over there is Monte Oraya, president of the Oraya Merchant Guild. The Oraya Merchant Guild is no weaker than ours, though he and my father are on very good terms."

"That's Madam Pasha Koi, Can Guang City's famous social butterfly. You'd better be careful not to get bewitched by her!"

Mora secretly pointed at the woman in the purple tasseled gown, who was smiling brightly as she chatted with several gentlemen in the distance. He raised his brows at Li Si.

Li Si took a careful look. Damn, she really was impressive. After examining her closely through a scholarly lens, he concluded that she was indeed the real deal. As expected of a renowned social butterfly. He had learned something today!

For the first time, Mora and Li Si shared a profound meeting of minds in an academic exchange. The two reached a unanimous conclusion.

"You rascal, don't tell me you've already conducted field research?" Li Si eyed his friend suspiciously as Mora's eyes gleamed.

"I'm merely appreciating art, all right? She's nearly old enough to be my mother!"

Mora nearly jumped up and swore a poisonous oath to prove his innocence after being questioned, though in Li Si's eyes, the man was practically black to the core already.

"I'm not talking to you anymore." Seeing his father beckon him over, apparently needing to receive another distinguished guest, Mora hurried away. "I'll come find you later. Don't sneak off!"

After all, this was Mora's birthday banquet. Though most of the guests had come to expand their connections and cultivate relationships, as the host, he still couldn't be absent for too long.

Li Si was perfectly happy with that. It was good that he wasn't familiar with the other guests. No one would come disturb him.

As Li Si listened to Mora's father, Vim Karl, thank all the banquet guests and deliver the usual pleasantries, he walked over to the long table and began selecting food onto a plate.

Fragrant roasted lamb chops, snails braised in herb sauce, beef tenderloin with oil-poached foie gras, Bertie Sweet Shrimp Salad, cheese-and-ham chicken cutlets, hazelnut caramel cake, coconut cherry pie.

Li Si happily piled an entire plate with food. Ignoring the servant's somewhat astonished gaze, he went to sit in a corner of the banquet hall and began thoroughly enjoying his meal.

As expected of one of the kingdom's five great merchant guilds. Bertich Sweet Shrimp only lived in a few areas of Bertich, the eastern coastal kingdom of the Fanor Continent. Such fresh texture was truly rare. He had no idea how they had transported them from the seashore thousands of miles away to the inland Fies Kingdom.

He had never even seen them in the Fies Kingdom during his previous life's game. He had only tasted this ingredient after going to Bertich once for a quest. They truly were tender and springy, a supreme delicacy among seafood.

"Thunk."

As Li Si enjoyed his food, a plate was placed on the table beside him. He glanced at it and was stunned. Good lord, it held even more food than his plate!

Two lamb chops were buried under a heap of assorted dishes, with two servings of hazelnut cake added on top. The precarious stack was enough to make anyone worry it might collapse.

Just as Li Si focused on this "tower" of food, a figure appeared from behind the plate and sat down in the chair beside him.

Li Si looked over this person, who, unlike the other guests socializing around the dance floor, had also carried a plate into a corner to enjoy food like him.

She wore a fiery red off-the-shoulder evening gown, and her equally red hair fell simply down to her waist. The tailored design outlined the young girl's perfect curves. Layered openwork patterns and delicate tassels set off her pale skin. Her features were somewhat ordinary, but her grayish-purple eyes held a lively, soaring spirit.

The young girl curiously looked Li Si over, apparently not expecting to meet another "unconventional" foodie like herself. She gave him a small smile, then began enjoying the delicacies before her.

Li Si felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, but he didn't dwell on it. Perhaps he had seen her once in the game during his previous life.

The two then launched an assault on the "two mountains" before them. Though neither stopped eating, their table manners remained impeccable, while the food on their plates vanished at a visible rate.

Although Li Si had started first, they finished their food at almost exactly the same time.

"Scrape."

The chairs were pushed back. Both rose at once, ready to replenish their supplies at the dining table.

"Pfft."

A silver-bell-like laugh rang beside Li Si's ear. Turning his head, he saw the young girl smiling as she studied him with curious eyes.

"You're strange. Don't people usually come to parties like this to get acquainted with powerful and influential people? Why are you hiding here eating?"

Li Si looked at the plate in her hands, then said somewhat speechlessly,

"Aren't you doing the same? I just can't be bothered flattering those people."

"I'm different!" The young girl waved a hand. "I came with a friend to broaden my horizons and grab some tasty food while I was at it. I heard the Golden Vine Merchant Guild specifically arranged for a caravan to purchase many precious ingredients from Bertich in the east for this banquet. I didn't want to miss out."

What she said at first sounded quite normal, but the rest immediately exposed her as a true foodie.

"That's true. The Bertie Sweet Shrimp Salad is good. I'm planning to get some more."

At the mention of food, the young girl's eyes practically lit up.

"Right? Right? It's amazing! You can't buy it even if you have money normally!"

Li Si grew interested in talking as well.

"But I think Bertich Sweet Shrimp would taste even better as Golden Silk Shrimp Balls."

The young girl looked surprised.

"Golden Silk Shrimp Balls? What's that? Is it a dish? I didn't realize you could cook."

"Of course!" Li Si, who had grown up in an orphanage in his previous life, had developed excellent cooking skills.

Hehe, I hope everyone will keep reading. Thanks!