Bolrema left the living room immediately to make her preparations for our departure.

In the meantime, my host peppered me with some polite conversation while he awaited her return. He pointed at my butterfly adorned scabbard and asked, "Is there any significance to the butterflies?"

I looked at the scabbard and smiled. "Yes, there is. The butterfly is the symbol of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship in Tregome. I was a student at the school and I trained with the late Grandmaster and the current Headmaster."

"I see." The host stroked his beard. Suddenly, he remembered something. "Did you participate in the Melee Tournament this year? Um, where was it held?

I nodded. "It took place one and a half weeks ago in Bristol. Originally, my dojo was planning to send another student. But due to various circumstances, the candidate could not participate and I was chosen as a last-minute replacement." Maisen was the original choice but after the wererat invasion of the town, Maisen was forced to bow out of the tournament because she was chosen as the new Captain of the Watch and she could not leave Tregome.

The late Grandmaster chose me to represent the school at the tournament for three reasons. He became aware of my encounter with the drows and wanted me to leave Tregome ASAP. Second, Bristol was far from Tregome and he was confident that the drows would not dare to enter this major city of the kingdom and thus, going to Bristol would help me escape them. Third, Kalistro believed that I was good enough to win a few matches, obtain a high placement in my division at the tournament, and bring great Honor to the school.

In the end, his faith in me was justified when I officially became a Finalist (via the disqualification of another participant). All in all, fighting in the Melee Tournament was a great experience which gave me confidence in my swordsmanship, along with substantial increases in my personal experience and reputation.

"So how far did you get in the tournament?" the white mage grinned.

"Finalist." Seeing the look of disbelief on Mordekai's face, I quickly added, "but only in the lowest division."

My host stroke his beard again as he gave me a look of disapproval. "Brother Mulligan, you should not diminish your personal accomplishments. For a mage to be good enough to become a Finalist in the tournament is a marvelous feat!"

"Ah, but I wasn't a mage then. I was a swordsman and then switched my profession to mage after the tournament ended," I clarified. I was surprised that my host had assumed I entered the tournament with my profession set as a mage rather than a fighter specializing in the sword.

In return, his eyes bulged because he knew that very few humans who became dual-classed swordmages. And he personally had never met one before. But before Mordekai could follow up and ask another question, he saw Bolrema standing at the door.

She had changed out of her black and white maid outfit and was wearing a green woodsman outfit. Brown gloves covered her hands and a brown hood obscured her face. She was holding a wooden staff.

The white mage smiled at her and said, "My servant is ready to escort you out." The host rose to his feet and offered us an elaborate bow. "I will contact you in the upcoming days."

It was a polite but firm dismissal. We rose to our feet and bowed deeply to him. Then we followed Bolrema out of the apartment. When we returned to the hallway, the maid reached out and touched my shoulder.

The party members knew what to do; they immediately joined hands and Rijana touched the half-elf's shoulder.

Bolrema whispered a word of power and teleported us to an unknown destination.

When the world stopped spinning like a kaleidoscope, I saw that we were standing inside a well-furnished lobby with small tables and chairs along the walls. The two heavy doors before us slid open automatically. Beyond the doorway were pedestrians passing by. Noise immediately filtered into the lobby.

Without a word to us, Bolrema walked through the doorway and entered the busy street. The half-elf led us through throngs of pedestrians and several city blocks until we stood in front of a building made entirely of wood. There was a heavy door and atop the door was a sign in the shape of a large, brown leaf with the words," Big Oak Tree" painted in yellow. The escort then turned around, bowed deeply to us, and returned the way she came.

"Not a very sociable person, is she?" Dovarata commented as she watched the maid's figure slowly shrink in the distance until the pedestrians blocked our view of her back.

"It can't be helped when she had a traumatic childhood," Bjoukin noted with a sympathetic tone of voice.

"Half-elves are treated very poorly even in The Elven Nation," Bjoukia admitted with a sorrowful expression. "The younger generations, like ourselves, are more accepting. But it will take a few centuries for us to take positions of power in our country and change our elven society to become more open to the mixed-blood."

I blinked my eyes several times. The two siblings rarely offered any real insight into their elven culture. It was so out-of-place that I couldn't respond.

However, Rijana intervened before anything else could be revealed. "Let's go inside and have lunch," she said and entered the Big Oak Tree.

Her two constant companions quickly followed her and thus, the conversation was neatly ended just like that. To my chagrin.

"It would be easier to draw blood from a stone," Dovarata chuckled. "Let's go inside, milord," she said and pushed me lightly on the back.

Unfortunately, the dracon was correct and I gave up trying to get more information about The Elven Nation from the elven siblings. I entered the building, which had no windows on the ground floor for me to peer inside. When I walked through the door, I was surprised to see a lot of elves busy working.

An elf wiped her hands on her apron and approached us. She had curly silver hair, which was braided around the back of her head, and light green eyes. "Are you here for lunch or a room?" she asked with a nice smile.

"May the Blessings of Gaea be with you," Bjoukin greeted. "We wish for both. For seven guests."

"A mage named Mordekai the Wiseman recommended your inn," Bjoukia added. She was hoping that the name dropping will result in either lower prices for the rooms or better services.

"He did, eh?" the elf muttered softly. "Okay, I understand," she nodded. "My name is Yasketa. How long will you be staying?"

The siblings turned to look at me.

"Well met! My name is Lawrence Eugene Mulligan and we're planning to stay for a week," I answered with a friendly smile. "Can we get two rooms with double beds and a larger room with triple beds?" I asked. I planned to share a room with Van, Bila with Dovarata, and Rijana with the two siblings.

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"We don't have three beds in a room," the maid replied with a shake of her head. "But we can put a cot on the ground between the two beds. So it'll be three rooms in total. The cost is 20 silver pieces per room per night and this includes meals but no alcohol. The cot will cost 5 extra silver per week. Three rooms will cost 60 silver per night and one week will cost 420 silver. Plus the cot, the total cost will be 425 silver pieces. Payment is required upfront." Yasketa held out her hand.

Oh-ho! This demand for upfront payment brought back an old memory. It was the first time I visited The Noble Lady on the first day of my arrival in this gaming world. I ordered a simple drink and Amelica was asking for payment upfront. I then had her look at my coins and pick out what was needed after she explained the values of each coin, including the platinum coins.

As it so happened, Kalistra was sitting at my table and watching the interaction. From that moment, the cat girl concluded that I was sorely lacking in common sense and treated me as such. But then again, she was my first friend in this world and I truly hoped that her rebuilding of the dojo was successful. Whenever I add Recall to my spellbook, I would like to return to Tregome and then cross the bridge to visit the new village of Kalistro, named in honor of the late Grandmaster of the school.

I smiled broadly at the memories of my recent past as I opened my sack and took out five gold pieces. I gave them to the elven maid, who then went behind a counter to retrieve some change and the room keys.

"Here are 75 silver pieces as your change. The room keys are numbered 4, 5, and 6. Please visit your rooms and confirm that they are satisfactory. A staffer will bring up the cot if you tell us which room to bring it to. When you return, I will escort you to a private dining room."

"Thank you, Yasketa," I nodded as I took the keys from her. I walked up the staircase, which was on the left side of the lobby. When I reached the second floor and looked for the rooms rented to us, I found them in the middle of the hallway. Fortunately, the three rooms were adjacent. I decided to take Room 5 and I handed the key to Room 4 to Rijana while Bila received the key to Room 6.

I opened the door to Room 5 and entered with Van. I looked around and saw that the room was clean. It had two beds, each leaning against a wall. In between the beds was a nightstand with a candleholder. On the wall were two shutters which were closed. I tried to open the left shutter and discovered that it opened inward. When I did so, sunlight, air, and noise filtered into the room. I stuck my head out the window and saw the pedestrians walking on the street below me.

"Which bed will you take, milord?" Van asked.

I pulled my head back inside and said, "I'll take the left side."

The paladin nodded. He sat on his bed to test if it would hold his weight. Thankfully, it did.

"Aren't you going to remove your armor?" I asked him as I took off my messenger bag and set it on the bed. Unfortunately, there was no chest or else I would stow my bag away. I sat on the bed and I was very surprised to discover that the mattress was soft.

"We're going to report to the Church. I need to present myself as a properly equipped paladin to my superiors," he explained. "That means I have to wear my plate mail armor."

"Ah, I see," I nodded. "Let's visit a bathhouse afterward," I suggested.

"Yes, I appreciate that," Van agreed with a smile. "Milord, let's leave the room. I'm sure the others are waiting for us right now."

"Okay." Ignoring the soreness in my back, I reluctantly rose to my feet and opened the door. To my chagrin, my bodyguard was correct and my companions were already waiting in the hallway.

"What took you so long?" Bila asked while tapping her left hind paw on the ground. Her tail swished back and forth dangerously.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting," I said and bowed.

The cat girl turned away with a "hmph!" and quickly descended the staircase.

When I joined her downstairs, I saw that Yasketa was already waiting for our return. "Please bring the cot to Room 4," I told her.

The maid nodded. "Please follow me, Lord Mulligan," she said and led us to a private room.

As we passed through the dining room, I saw patrons of different races enjoying their lunch. They took note of our passage and whispered behind our backs. Fortunately, I saw no hostile faces.

Yasketa led us to a room centered by the dining table; it was a long piece of a log which was smooth on the surface. The chairs were all made of smaller pieces of logs with a cushion on top of each chair.

I took the seat at the head of the table. Bila sat to my immediate right while Dovarata sat to my left. Van sat next to Bila while Bjoukia and Bjoukia sat next to Dovarata. Rijana claimed the seat on the far end of the table across from me.

"What would you like to order, milord?" the maid asked once we were seated.

"What's today's special?" I asked.

"Minestrone soup with carrot cake," she answered.

"Got any meat or fish?" Bila interjected. She did NOT want a vegetarian lunch!

"For meat lovers, we have venison steak today," the elf replied with a mischievous smile. She already knew that the cat girl would balk at eating a vegetarian meal.

"I'll take it!" Bila replied and gave her approval with a thumbs-up.

"Me, too!" A chorus of voices, including mine, joined in.

"I'll take the special," Rijana said.

"What would you like to drink?" Yasketa asked.

"Honey mead, please," I requested.

Everyone nodded.

The maid bowed to me and left the room.

Once she was gone, I waved my hand toward Bjoukin and Bjoukia. "Is this place run by The Elven Nation?" I asked.

The two siblings exchanged grins but remained silent.

"Why do you think that?" Rijana asked.

"This is the first time I've seen so many elves in one place and they seem to be employees," I noted.

"I wouldn't make assumptions like that," my magic instructor replied. "While it appears to be owned and operated by elves, they may not be affiliated with The Elven Nation at all. In fact, there's also a possibility that they had severed ties to the country for some reason."

"I see," I said. I didn't want to intrude and stick my nose into the private affairs of the elves. Thus, I kept silent.

As we waited for our meals to arrive, Bila tapped my shoulder and asked, "What's the schedule for this afternoon?"

Van gave me a pointed look and I nodded back. "I need to report to the Church with Van. The rest of you are free to do whatever you want. I'm under the impression that Mordekai will not contact me until tomorrow at the earliest," I answered.

"Considering that demi-humans are barred from church grounds, I guess I can't follow you," the cat girl noted in a sad tone of voice. Her ears were bent.

"Let's go shopping together!" Dovarata suggested with a smile.

Bila's ears sprang back to life. "That sounds great!" she replied with excitement in her eyes.

"What about you guys?" I turned toward Rijana and the two elves.

"We have some personal business to attend to," the mage said.

"Please tell Gaea I said, 'Hello!'" I replied with a grin.

Rijana rolled her eyes at me. "I'll be returning home to do some enchanter work," she explained. "Bjoukin and Bjoukia will spend time with nature to recharge."

I waved my hand. "Sorry I misunderstood."

"It's fine," she waved back.

Thankfully, Yasketa returned with three other elven maids. Each maid held a tray with either plates or drinks. Soon thereafter, every person at the table received a platter of venison chop aside from Rijana, who had a big bowl of soup in front of her plus a carrot cake on a small plate. We also received our large mug of ice cold honey mead.

Yasketa bent toward my ear and said, "The drinks will cost 7 silver pieces."

Once I paid her, she bowed deeply and said, "Please enjoy your meals." She walked out with the other employees and closed the door behind her.

My companions devoured the delicious meat like hungry wolves. No surprise that Bila was the first to finish her plate. However, I was truly surprised to see that Dovarata was the second person to finish and just a mere few seconds behind the cat girl. Van took the bronze medal in the impromptu competition.

Unlike those three, I took my time enjoying the meal. It was the first time I ate venison meat. The cook served the venison well done with mushrooms and onions in a thick brown sauce. The steak was tender and juicy. It was truly a memorable dining experience.

By the end I finished eating, everyone else was waiting politely for me. Taking a sip of the mead, I turned toward Van to ask him something important. "Van, can you tell me about the leadership in both the city and the church?"

The paladin gave me a sheepish look. "I know nothing about the city's governance. I can tell you a bit about the Church hierarchy, though. The most important site in London is the Westminister Abbey, where the Coronation has taken place for centuries. King Merlin kept this tradition when he founded his own kingdom and received his own coronation at the abbey."

"The Church hierarchy is organized around twelve Archbishops, who have the voting power to elect the king. Each Archbishop takes responsibility for the church located in an important city within the kingdom. The one in charge of the Abbey is the unofficial leader of the Archbishops and called the 'Saint.' The man currently in charge is Saint John the Kind, known for his kindness to the poor and beloved by the commoners of London."

"So we'll be heading to Westminister Abbey next?" I asked.

"Yes," he confirmed.

The church bell tolled once. *DONG*

I finished my mead and said, "Let's go."