54. Dinner Party (1)
54. Dinner Party (1)
Anyone who has ever dreamed of a fantasy world has likely imagined the social gatherings of that world at least once.
A boisterous, macho drinking party thrown by a Viking or mercenary band right after a hunt.
A dinner buffet laden with every kind of feast imaginable, where you could pick and eat whatever food you wanted.
On a more modest scale, even a tea party where noble ladies gathered.
However, the most frequently imagined gathering was undoubtedly the ball that always, without fail, appeared in romance fantasy.
- Seeing all of you here, active in every corner of society, makes this old body feel young again.
The middle-aged noble currently on the podium was the host of this party. Although now retired, he was said to be a figure who still had many disciples in the political circles of the Haisen Kingdom.
Thanks to that, even now, having stepped down from both his title as family head and feudal lord, he held more influence than a family head and was actively carrying out the work of pulling talent from the private sector to bring them into the kingdom's service.
In his old age, to simultaneously build fame and achievements to contribute to his house and remain loyal to the state... one could call it a truly admirable way for a noble to conduct himself.
It was also nice that I got this opportunity thanks to him.
- This gathering has been prepared in the hope that you might show off your talents and find companions suited to them. I hope you enjoy the social gathering comfortably, and find good people with a keen eye.
- Please, send your applause and cheers to His Excellency as a token of gratitude!
Waaaaaah—!!
I was a young lady who had come up from the countryside, Sonia and Maria were my maids, and Shue was inside the party hall acting as my escort.
Clapping along with the others, I looked around.
I was comparing the signals that had been stimulating my senses for a while to what I could see with my eyes.
Pit.
Ah. Again.
The person who caught my eye was someone who had already made a name for himself—one of the swordsmen who had been drawing the crowd's attention a moment ago.
My new 'sense' was emanating from him.
To be precise, from his talent.
Pit. Pit.
'It bothers me a little that I don't know where this ability came from.'
This sense, which I guessed perceived the value of human assets since it had mostly been felt from people others described as 'talented', was actually an ability that had existed before.
The ability to intuitively measure a person's value.
Like when I saw Mammon Company's deputy head Grimm du Rol and perceived the perfection of his etiquette or sensed part of his strength.
Or like when I felt a greater sense of possessiveness upon seeing people like Sonia or Leonis, who had been confirmed through 'Sacrifice Appraisal' as having 'high value as a sacrifice.'
If I thought about it, it was highly likely that I had it from the very beginning.
『Traits - ... Nobility, Alpha Tester, ...』
I didn't quite know its exact origin.
Since it was an ability not specified in either of the two traits.
I guessed it was probably the influence of 'Nobility', but it could have been an ability of 'Alpha Tester'.
Anyway, what was important was that I could recognize it. And that I could sense it even more clearly now that my mana and strength had increased.
I didn't know how well my insight into people could be used now or in the future...
But it was better than not having it. Much better.
Pit. Jjirit.
Right now, that sense was coming at me from all directions, so the downside was it was a bit tiring.
If it couldn't be turned on and off, it would've been really exhausting.
Fortunately, the relief was that I could hardly feel the 'possessiveness' right now.
Truly a relief, really.
In a place like this full of such talented people, if I felt possessiveness towards every single one of them, wouldn't I feel like a pervert myself?
Perhaps as the sense itself became sharper, the ability to perceive the target's value improved while the 'possessiveness' decreased at the same time...
"Young lady? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"I'm fine."
...Or perhaps it was because I already had top-tier talent right beside me.
Compared to the countless talents here, the sense I felt from Leonis, Sonia, Maria, and Shue was superior to what I felt from most of them.
That was satisfying.
If this ability to grasp a target's talent or value was correct, didn't it mean my people were better than the many, many talents scattered around?
"Perhaps it is because there are too many people. I shall find a place for you to rest."
"You wouldn't be wrong, but right now I find this bustle not too bad. It's fine, Maria."
"Yes. Please, do not hesitate to call on me whenever you need."
...Mm.
While Maria, who acted strictly by the manual because the 'education' had taken hold too well, was a little awkward, that demeanor actually suited her more than I thought.
Was it because Maria was a beauty, too?
"Hey. Young lady. Are you free tonight?"
"I'm sorry. I have a prior engagement."
"Yeah? That's a shame. Still..."
"Hmph."
Alexis seemed to be having poor results today.
Though I had no choice but to change his face since the world believed him dead, he was still handsome. Yet the guy didn't seem to realize that his fundamental attitude wasn't working here.
Even if it was said that etiquette wasn't necessary yet...
"What the? Just now, something creepy..."
Seeing him not even think about fixing his habits, it was quite insolent of him. I should order extra hours from Eve.
"Leonis! Good to see you again today!"
"Young master."
"What young master. Just call me young sir. Come over here. I'll introduce you to my friends!"
Not far away, I could see Leonis talking with noble youths who had approached him.
It seemed that being the head disciple of a mage guild branch around these parts gave him the status to converse without reservation with the younger children of baronial families, at least.
"Ah, that's..."
"Do you perhaps have a prior arrangement?"
"No, nothing of the sort. Let's go."
"Look over there, young lady! The chandelier is so pretty...!"
"Yes. So it is."
Leonis seemed to be inwardly struggling, wanting to spend time with Sonia and gauging my reaction, but amusingly, Sonia hadn't even thought of looking that way and was instead looking around the party hall with eyes full of curiosity.
He'd have to try a bit harder.
"There are so many unpleasant smells..."
Shue had been suffering somewhat for a while because of her keen senses.
Even if they were called nobles, they were ultimately nobles of a medieval fantasy world. The thick scent of their perfumes and body odors, which could never be completely masked by normal means, could never be pleasant for someone with her keen sense of smell.
"The smell of beasts in heat is driving me crazy. I want to sweep them all away... especially those eyeing the Lady, even more so..."
"...That side?"
"Yeah..."
Well, it did seem the unpleasant smell was the right cause. Pheromones had a smell too.
Hearing her growling tone, it seemed the feeling was closer to 'want to kill them all' or 'want to beat them up' rather than 'want to sweep them away.' Seeing her not express it directly like that and how she was showing such patience, she seemed to be enduring well.
I stroked her head and asked.
"Doesn't your head hurt?"
"I'm okay. Because the Lady is next to me, it's bearable..."
Snfff...
"Yeah. Recharging."
"I see."
Ever since entering the party hall, she often came close and took deep breaths to inhale my scent, and sometimes clung to the nape of my neck like this, which made me feel strange.
Shue wasn't the type to care much about timing or place.
It wasn't exactly unpleasant, and thinking of it as a way to lessen her pain made it even more acceptable, but...
"Still, let's be careful of people's eyes."
"Yeah..."
Still, I couldn't just let it go, I guess I should say.
- Oh my.
- They are awfully... close.
- Young people these days...
Because it attracted attention.
Just what on earth were those noblewomen imagining, blushing and enjoying it like that? Because my ears were too good, I could hear them whispering with enjoyment while pretending not to.
"Wow..."
And Sonia, why were even you acting like that?
When I looked at Sonia, who was blushing deeply as she watched us, she averted her gaze as if she found it strange and began fanning herself with her hand deliberately.
No matter how I looked at it, she seemed to have something on her conscience.
What on earth had she been thinking?
Pit. Pajit.
'I'm already getting tired.'
To the point that my earlier hopes felt pointless, I had already grown weary of the party and the people.
The main reason for my negative mood was the stares and conversations I was picking up when I amplified my senses to the maximum, and the new sense for detecting talent that came packaged with them.
Should I change my appearance entirely next time I disguise myself? So I'd draw a bit less attention.
Or perhaps...
'Was it a mistake to bring Shue as my escort?'
No, that wasn't it. What kind of thought was that, born of momentary annoyance?
A little attention wasn't a reason not to have her along. For a mage's escort, 'reliability' was the most important aspect, after all, and she was one of the two best in that regard.
"..."
'This is a little too embarrassing to say out loud, though.'
More than anything, it was because I wanted to be with her that I brought her along.
Right now, I was just momentarily irritated by the sensory overload, and my thoughts were heading in a bad direction.
- As for this young lady here, she is the next-generation talent of the nearby mage guild...
- I wish to provide support for you...
- The Count is a hypocrite, I tell you. In public he supports people but in truth...
We had come up to the second floor, where we could see people well and hear conversations clearly.
Since the superior physical abilities of a Dungeon Lord granted me the hearing and perception to distinguish the conversations of that multitude of people, I had positioned myself where the most conversations converged.
- He will be made to pay the price.
I glanced sidelong at the woman with reddish-gold hair who looked like a noble and was saying something worth noting, then shifted my focus back to where the talk I had originally meant to listen to was coming from.
'Though it sounds ominous...'
I would be leaving this place within a few days anyway, and there seemed no need to get unnecessarily involved in their affairs. If I couldn't find the rumors here, I'd have to move on to another party immediately.
So it would be nice if I could quickly find the rumors I wanted here...
For example, something like this.
- At the western underground market auction...
"Lady?"
"Just a moment. Shue."
After calming Shue, who wondered why I'd suddenly stopped moving and perked up my ears, I concentrated my senses.
The place the voice came from was near the first-floor terrace. It came from one woman and three men who appeared to be from outside.
I made a magical shift in perception, shutting out all other conversations from my scattered senses and focusing my hearing solely on that spot.
- ...I heard a rumor that an interesting item is coming up this time.
Right after, their conversation began to reach me in detail.
The moment I had shut off the senses I'd been using to take in all surrounding conversations, both the headache and the irritation had already vanished.
- An interesting item, you say?
- If it's coming from you, it can be trusted.
- Quickly, tell us.
They all looked to be young nobles, and the one relaying the information was the woman.
They seemed to know it was a secretive story, keeping their voices as low as possible, but unless they used magic, they could not escape a Dungeon Lord's hearing.
- Well, that is...
Since their conversation was lengthy, I'll roughly summarize the main points: an underground market would be opening in the city of Sonyataff, which bordered the Kiza Kingdom in the northwestern part of the Haisen Kingdom.
The items handled in the underground market were rare as always, but an item of a kind absolutely unseen in auction houses these days was scheduled to come out.
And that item was...
- A dungeon core?
'Bingo.'
It was the thing I had been looking for, the dungeon core presumed to be Serica's.
- Wait. That, don't tell me...
- Hey. Are you sure it's safe?
- Heh heh. You've heard my information more than once or twice, haven't you?
Accordingly, the men, who seemed to have guessed the item's origin as well, reacted with shock, but the woman was quite triumphant.
- The laundering is completely finished, of course. The Dungeon Lord has been subjugated, and only the core remains—completely clean.
Listening to her additional explanation, it was convincing.
Because it was said that in this world, the core of a Dungeon Lord that hadn't grown much was considered a 'high-grade magic stone' that was 'ordinarily' traded.
If it were a dungeon core below 'low-rank', there would be no reason for her to act so triumphant in the first place.
She probably knew that Serica had been successfully subjugated and was acting on that, but it seemed she was unaware that it could still become dangerous.
'If I were a noble of the kingdom or Copherin, I'd never forgive the one who stole that core.'
They had been forced to suffer greater military and economic damage to kill a Dungeon Lord that could have been captured more easily.
This wasn't a simple act of deviance, but one that had to be seen as betrayal or treason.
'Is this also a kind of safety insensitivity, I wonder?'
Because it was closer to common sense that Dungeon Lords were to be placed 'under management,' the dangers of their byproducts also came to be relatively underestimated.
Just like talking about a secret listing right here in the middle of the social gathering.
They probably thought their words would be obscured by the noise and it was a conversation they had routinely, but wasn't that an action that didn't consider the existence of someone like me with sharp ears?
"I didn't think I'd be able to hear it this soon. What luck."
"Hm?"
"I've found what I wanted."
"Congratulations..."
- Tak!
"Thank you."
I had thought I would have to reel in two or three nobles very interested in curios, hold onto them for a long time to get close, and then obtain related information. Instead, moving that slowly might have meant I wouldn't get any information at all.
Since information on an already sold item couldn't be obtained unless you happened to figure out the buyer by sheer luck.
- The auction is already a month away?
- We'll have to hurry.
I turned my gaze back and looked at the nobles who had let me hear such good news.
To be precise, the woman still smiling triumphantly among the men.
From what they were saying, this woman was publicly known as a collector of rare items, but seeing how she acted, her true identity seemed to be someone connected to the underground market.
If so, right now she was probably the one single person among the countless people in this social gathering who was most necessary to me.
- Kirrrrr...
'Watch her, and let me know when she slips out.'
Feeling something transparent, like a spider, slip out from inside my sleeve, I engraved the command to 'monitor' onto it.
"Everyone, shall we have a drink?"
"Yeah..."
"Sounds good."
I received drinks from the maids of the party hall and toasted with my companions.
Because now, all that remained was to wait for that woman to slip away and enjoy the rest of the social gathering.
The social gathering was still only in its early stages.