The humans here seemed to appreciate the calm and serene atmosphere just as they did.

Drahomir had introduced his family to Caleb, although it was a bit awkward because they technically knew ‘Caleb’ before this day. And not just because they knew the entity existed. Namely, Judita Lydi Basca – the Princess definitely had a predetermined perception of Baron Ashling.

She kept turning back and forth between the entity and Queen Cecile Du Basca – her mother. Face twisted, grimacing for reasons only known to her. The two were silently communicating with their expressions, though the queen was less conspicuous. Whatever method they were using, mother and daughter seemed to be having an animated conversation.

Even though they were curious, Caleb wasn’t going to peer into their minds; privacy is a valuable thing.

They locked their eyes onto the Prince, who had moved up a seat to be closer to Drahomir, and gauged the beckoner’s reaction. Rudrick Arseni Basca wasn’t shaking anymore, but the boy had refused to even glance at Caleb after the greeting.

Children, no matter the species, were entire worlds unto themselves. It was hard to read them.

Having drawn no response from the old Caleb, they decided not to bother the thing anymore. The entity had predicted its usefulness was limited, after all. With that, Caleb decided to make a bit of small talk while they waited for the others.

“Before we begin,” the humans jolted lightly at their voice. “can you enlighten me on the dining customs of your culture, King Basca? Lacking the experience, my demeanor might unknowingly cause offense.”

“There’s nothing complicated,” Drahomir chortled. “Act as you have been until now, Sir Caleb, that would be enough.”

“Is that so?”

“His Majesty shouldn’t discourage those with an interest in etiquette,” Cecile cleared her throat. “I will help you familiarize yourself with the proper usage of dining utensils. If you wish, Sir Caleb.”

Staying firmly in her seat while keeping her eyes on the entity, Queen Basca explained the way to handle the silver tableware, pointing each of them out in order of application. From spoons, knives, and forks, these implements were separated by which ones were used for the main course and which were used for desserts. With some additions in-between like a butter knife, salad fork, fruit spoon, etc.

“Your posture is quite exemplary, Sir Caleb,” she smiled faintly. “Were you tutored?”

“I’ve picked up a few things since last night.”

Tilting her head slightly, Cecile poised to continue before boisterous chatter penetrated the hushed atmosphere in the dining room. As the group of summoned heroes was announced in, Drahomir sent servants to have the meal brought up.

Didn’t take long for the noise to diminish, however, for the jolliness abated the moment they saw Caleb sitting at the table. The entity seriously considered maintaining the radiation. While it was easy for them to tune out everything from the environment, they had begun to enjoy these creatures asserting calmness without their input.

While weak, the humans could be quite thoughtful, all things considered.

Filling in the seats, the heroes settled down at the table. And as expected, males sat to the left of the king and females to the right. They all gave Caleb space; no one sat beside them and not even on the opposite seat. A subtle scowl cracked the queen’s face for a moment then vanished. It appeared she didn’t approve of their choices but abstained from commenting.

The comfortable silence only went so far. After the entrée of crispy garlic-butter bread with dipping sauce, some salad with pink-ish fish and onion soup, Drahomir urged the heroes to speak of their experiences on the training grounds.

Ryuji wasted no time and began regaling his exploits – of punting dummies into the air; it was good to know humans considered decimating hunks of solid metal impressive. Everyone was more surprised by how quickly he became accustomed to [Force Manipulation]. The baldie had done some amazing trick shots, according to Stephanie.

Speaking of the brunette, her abilities worked as expected. All objects leaving her hands functioned as guided projectiles. As long as she didn’t aim them the other way, none of them would miss their mark.

Aside from the obvious implications of their Gifts from the names alone, it was interesting to hear Joaquin’s [Consecration] recovered mana and stamina as well as health. Not beyond expectations, of course, and its limits hadn’t been tested extensively. Still, the Gift empowered his confidence; the tall guy seemed more cheerful.

Just as the heroes suspected, Nakao’s [Faceless] didn’t simply deal in something conceptual such as tracking falsehood. It also provided her with the ability to mimic actions in great detail. Down to the smallest muscle movements.

Even though she couldn’t hold out for too long – severe lacking in stamina aside – the Gift would allow the ill-tempered girl to train her Skills easily. So long as she was provided with sufficiently skilled trainers.

Caleb wondered if they should tell her to try [Polymorph].

Sun Myung could gain Skills through [Synchronize] as well but in a different manner. The languid shrimp could match his Skills with others. Increasing their potency, in a sense.

But only the same, exact Skills would be affected, and not all the time. A link between the carrier and himself must be maintained. It might not sound as impressive as his fellows’ abilities; however, the Gift would be a powerful tool once it evolved.

If it evolved.

And finally, [Fortune]. Either it didn’t work as everyone thought it did, or Thomas had no idea how to employ the Gift in a fashion that benefitted him and the others. While his title as a [Hero] helped the blond guy along with Skills, a dysfunctional Gift would only drag him down.

For his own good, Thomas needed to pick up the slack with a lot of effort. However long Caleb’s vessel remained in the physical realm, the Gift would never manifest. Not at its fullest.

During the meal, the others engaged in polite conversations with Caleb even though they had few common points to speak of. The entity didn’t disclose their findings to the heroes, not because they thought these creatures wouldn’t understand the issues, of course. But they had to figure things out themselves.

Somehow, they veered into the topic of comparing things to game mechanics yet again. Which earned Ryuji a side-eye from Nakao. Drahomir, however, seemed quite taken by the idea. After all, Otrea’s residents couldn’t afford to throw lives into endless trials and errors to seek out the most optimal path to power in most respective fields of combat.

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Further and further along, the diners kept glancing at Caleb as they talked. Until eventually, someone finally had enough and broke the careful line the summoned ones had drawn. And like her father, the princess didn’t beat around the bush.

“Caleb, why are they looking at you like that?”

“I don’t hold the answer to that question, Princess,” they raised their brows.

“Why are you looking at him like that?” Without hesitation, Judita whipped her head to Stephanie; who happened to sit closest to her, just two chairs away.

Pushed into the spotlight so suddenly, the Canadian girl fumbled with her fork but didn’t drop it. Just moments prior, they were having a lively conversation. But now, most of the Earthers pretended to not have heard Judita’s question and Thomas subtly urged Stephanie to spill the beans.

She took a moment to calm her nerves before leaning towards the young princess. “You see, Your Highness, Caleb can create things out of nothing-”

“You can do what!? Show me!” The princess rounded on Caleb immediately.

“No.”

“Baron Ashling, I demand you make something appear at once! Not those petty magic tricks of yours but a real item, like-like-”

“Princess Judita Lydi Basca,” a soft voice at her side made the rowdy princess pause at once. Though she didn’t go pale or anything like that, Judita’s face twisted as if she had swallowed a lemon whole. “That is not the proper way to treat a guest, is it?”

The girl gulped and straightened her back, “Yes, mother.” Not hearing a reply, she snuck a glance at the queen and froze as she saw Cecile casually staring down. Pouting, the princess turned to Caleb and quietly muttered. “Please excuse my behavior, Sir Caleb.”

*****

After that little incident, the issue wasn’t brought up again. The heroes still looked as though they had more to say, but saved their words for later.

Unfortunately, Caleb would be on their way after a final word with the king.

“These games the heroes speak of, do you know of them, Sir Caleb?”

Instead of the conference room they’ve been in before, Caleb and Drahomir were in a study. The king had invited them to speak here since it was closer and provided more privacy. Certainly, this place was warded with more obscuring enchantments as opposed to fortifying ones in the other location.

Behind the ornate wooden desk where the owner would sit were two large bookshelves, filled to the brim with leather-bound tomes and various scrolls.

A long, straightforward cabinet lined one wall with small miniatures above it. Caleb could see they acted as focusing catalysts for [Message] spells, linking to many distant targets. Above the cabinet hung a map, the same one shown on the enchanted parchment located in the conference room.

Facing the window bay taking up the entire wall was a sitting area with cushion couches and armchairs, placed at an angle where most of them could see the one at the desk.

While the king’s study was not immaculately organized to the degree of the library, everything had a systematic order to their placement; making the visitors feel more like guests, distant. Unlike the welcoming familiarity of the conference room.

The two sat at the lounge while Toval stood behind Drahomir after serving tea.

“Similar ones, yes.”

“This knowledge,” King Basca didn’t use the handle as he drank the tea. “will it affect our deal?”

“Of course not. With some help, your mages may be able to recreate them to the others’ specifications.”

Drahomir looked thoughtful for a few moments. “We don’t know enough for it to be effective,” Caleb nodded at his conclusion.

Even if they successfully mimic the [System] on a minor scale, Otrea’s residents didn’t have enough concrete data to even speculate how attributes and Skills would act after scaling them to a degree. Reaching out to other nations posed a problem as well. As their history showed, species of this realm couldn’t maintain peace for too long. Joining hands against demons was one thing, but a project that benefitted every party involved? Difficult.

Then again, it mattered not if they succeeded. For everything would come crashing down after Caleb gathered the necessary data and triggered the change.

Collecting himself with the confirmation, the king continued. “Let’s move on then.” He linked his hands together. “The magic to see demons’ [Status], is it real?”

“It is, if you believe,” Caleb smiled behind the cup. “Nakao can tell you whether my information is true or not.”

“We haven’t tested how effective Dame Nakao’s Gift is just yet.” He sighed and carried on after a long pause. “The deal can be sealed later, you say. How long can it wait? How far will you go?”

“I’m not the greedy sort.” They grinned. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“The right to see our [Status], how much is that worth, really?” Drahomir furrowed his brows.

“Nothing,” Caleb laughed. “or everything. Depends on who you ask.” They added upon noticing Toval shivering where he stood. “Only I am allowed to look at them and I won’t tell. Isn’t that enough?”

Worry crossed the king’s face as he kept his eyes on the entity, unmoving; Caleb didn’t urge Drahomir to make a decision. A bargain like that always came with some hidden agenda, in the end. Even kindness had attachments, and this was no different.

While it wouldn’t affect those who willingly open themselves to the entity in a negative way, Caleb might never even look at them a second time, in fact. But the channel would still be something they could never retract. Not without aid from another major entity, and even then, almost impossible without Caleb’s consent.

“I will have to consult the council,” the king finally spoke up.

“Understandable. It is an important thing, after all,” they inclined their head. “Contact me after you’ve reached a decision. In that time, I will head for Chissinor. Is there any official document I should be aware of before the departure?”

“When will you be leaving, Sir Caleb?” Drahomir raised his brows.

“As soon as possible,” the entity smiled. “Immediately if there’s no other business I need to take care of.”

The king and his steward glanced at each other for a moment then Drahomir nodded. “Toval will produce a transport permit shortly and provide you with some supplies for your journey.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. But I do appreciate the gesture.”

“Alright,” he leaned back on the lounge chair as the steward left to take care of things.

Drinking tea in comfortable silence, the king began as the visor snapped into place on Caleb’s face. “That artifact on your face, it isn’t of Dwarven make, correct?”

“They’ve made something like this?”

“It’s a visor, isn’t it?” he continued as Caleb nodded. “Their designs are bulkier, like a helmet.”

“Can you tell me what they are like?”

The discussion about Dwarven’s inventions pulled the serious mood away for a while; Drahomir was describing the hollowed-out mountain of Gallantos when Toval returned with the paperwork. After taking a brief glance at them, the papers in Caleb’s hands disappeared. Unlike other objects the entity handled before, these were deposited in a dimensional inventory, similar to the [System]’s [Inventory] Skill instead of terminated.

Before they bid Drahomir farewell, Caleb mentioned Stanik as a minor beneficiary of their favor and to be rewarded should the mage-assistant asked.

“Jorgensen’s assistant, is it? I’ll keep him in mind.” The king stroked his chin. “If he asked, you say…”

“Sometimes, the courage to speak one’s mind can do wonders,” Caleb grinned as they stood up. “I appreciate your hospitality, Basraeca’s ruler. May our paths cross again.”

“We shall welcome you, honored guest,” both sides inclined their heads. “if you come in goodwill.”

Drahomir did have a good head on his shoulders.

The entity made to leave then paused. Both king and steward were mildly surprised by the sudden halt of Caleb’s stride. They turned back to Drahomir and cleared their throat.

“Another thing… How much was that silver candelabrum in my room?”