The dining room was located on the second floor, right above the mayor’s office, and built primarily out of stone bricks. The walls were decorated with mounted heads of bears and carpets, like in the hallway downstairs. However, behind the carpets were indentations in the walls, in which were slotted torches, giving the room light. Fire safety was apparently not a priority in here.

The stone dining table was a big prism shaped slab with carved space along the lower sides to make room for legs. The corners were rounded, and the edge of the table was carved with intrinsic carvings. The three here for dinner sat on the broad sides of the table, in order to be closer together.

I and Thomas sat on the side opposing Eric. This was making him feel entirely out of place, judged and somewhat mocked, as was apparent from his slightly subdued expressions. One thing was for certain though; he truly wanted to know who this stranger in their home really was. He would also like to know if he should have known who I was from the beginning, and recognized me as one of his distant relatives. This was merely speculation on my part though.

Despite his son’s frantic expressions, the father remained as lively as ever. In fact, I’d say the situation was making him merrier by the second, only adding to the confusion of his son. Truly, he was the epitome of a loving father.

“So, about this trial tomorrow, I assume you, Eric will be testing him personally?” He said with an evil glint in his eye.

“What!? But that would mean-“His son put up a purely surprised expression at the question posed.

“I know what that would mean, son. It is precisely why I ask it of you.” The evil in his eyes was slowly spreading downwards to his smile.

“It would mean what, exactly? “ I interjected. This was beginning to sound like a trap of some kind.

“The winner would be able to ask something of the loser. But traditionally, the request after such a test would be to attain the right to champion the city in the annual tourney of the capital” He looked at me with an ounce of surprise. As if this was something I’d been after all the while.

“But why would I, or anyone for that matter, want to participate as the city’s champion, rather than just participating through normal means?” I still had no clue as to why he thought I, a stranger, would want to help his city.

“Why you would receive numerous benefits! If you win, you still get to make a direct request to the emperor. But as champion of a city, you will bring honor and fame to the city as an additional benefit to us. Thus, we will be more than happy to grant you a title of nobility, land and a place in the city council. Although this is very good, these benefits only apply to the winner. What most contenders seek is the benefit of skipping the qualifiers.”

“I see” Perhaps he thought I was provoking his son on purpose to get a brawl with him?

“Dad, please. How can this nobody beat me? I have defended my honor the entire year, what makes you think this stranger- now that I think about it, what is your name?” Admirably, his bluntness gives him the edge over his father here. Through being rude, he has posed a question that will raise alarming amounts of suspicion if not answered in the same direct way.

Thomas looked at expectantly. Was this his scheme? Was this the reason for inviting me to dinner, or was he simply, truly as charismatic and welcoming as rumors would have?

“Sorry for the late introduction, my name is Alphonse” The introduction only confused Eric even more. He was probably expecting me to say that I was his uncle or cousin. In fact, he was looking at me as if I left out that part, and was waiting for it to come. Thomas on the other hand looked disappointed for a second, before returning to his meal.

“Like I said father, why would you think this Alphonse here has any chance of besting me in combat?”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Well, I genuinely think he has enough strength to earn bearskins of such quality by himself. When you take that into consideration, do you not think he is worthy of a fight against you? In fact, you should be honored to test your skill against someone of a similar level, if anything.” He begun smiling again at the last part.

“I don’t there is ANY proof of him acquiring those bearskins by himself. Why do you believe this man?” Tensions were rising. Honestly, their manner of speaking in front of a guest showed disrespect for said guest. I did not particularly care for such mannerisms at the moment though.

“Think about it son. Why would a man, who claims not to know us or our family, walk into this city wearing what he is?”

“Maybe he DOES know about who we are and is LYING. Honestly, dad, you are too naïve!”

“Well, if he does know who we are, and still chooses to wear what he is, why is he here?”

“I guess he wants to become champion.” He muttered in a calmer voice and looked questioningly at me. I returned the look with a smile.

“Well, is that so bad? If he wants to prove that he is worthy, should we not allow him the opportunity?”

“Well... Maybe he is a spy!, and wants to stay here, in the city hall, to snoop on documents!” This he spouted rather enthusiastically.

“Eric, please. If he is a spy, he is the worst spy I have ever met. Dressing up in that kind of attire, just to make an attempt to get in here? There are better and safer ways to go about collecting information.” He almost looked sad. With an emphasis on the “almost” part of that statement. As in, he still had a shit eating grin of victory and smugness, but his voice conveyed some emotion. In their minds, was I even in the room? I’m not even sure if they would notice me leaving right now.

Eric looked frantic and ashamed. He had lost the argument, however he was stubborn. This was clear as he kept giving me frustrated and suspicious looks. I only reacted to the gestures by smiling. The remaining part of the dinner was characterized by this. There were long pauses of silence only broken up by the odd questions like; where I was from or what my intentions in the city were. I answered them vaguely with things related to hunting.

After dinner, nighttime and bedtime descended quickly upon the household. The bears went to sleep shortly after a big meal, leaving me to my room on the second floor. Their bedrooms were on the third floor, which seemed to be reserved for them. I was in a smaller room, but it had a bed so I had no right to complain. Not that I was going to use the bed anyways, Eric’s earlier statement had peaked my interest. What documents would be worth taking a look at?

Spreading out my spirit to sense any patrols, I headed downstairs to the Thomas’ office. Each time a patrol neared I Jumped to the ceiling using life magic to strengthen my body. Once there I attached my limbs with earth magic and covered my body with a thin layer of earth the color of the ceiling above.

Once inside the office, I found nothing but older reports on taxes, nearby monsters, significant people within the adventurer’s guild and pirate activity near the westernmost village of the empire by the name of Ebonmyst harbor. Interestingly though, the fireplace in the sitting room had remains of a book in it. From the remains of the book’s green and faded binding, I could tell that this book had been particularly old. If I had to guess, it was somewhere around half a millennia old. Which begs the question; was the timing a coincidence? What was the old bear really up to?

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A/N

If you don't know what a shit eating grin looks like, don't look it up on google images.

Or do, I'm not the boss of you.