When we arrived at the mansion we were directly ushered to the front of a long line of carriages.

A Duchess naturally couldn’t be forced to wait, so when we stopped, we directly stepped out onto a tiled stone path.

Umara held my arm as we walked up the entrance. And at the door was the President himself, Yottra Carrion. He was dressed in a grand white suit and side cape. His presence was valiant, like a general who a million soldiers might follow into battle. I couldn't help but notice though how he was actually my height.

When he smiled at the Duchess, I could sense faint superiority. It wasn’t malicious, but simply a matter of fact. Although Carrion and Talerria were equal in status and Authority, it seemed there was more than met the eye which might deepen a divide between them.

But the Duchess didn’t seem to care, simply approaching him as if they were two friends meeting for a drink.

“Greetings, Duchess. I’m glad you could grace us with your presence tonight.”

“I’m glad you’re having us, Duke Carrion.”

“Please, allow me to show you in.”

Carrion waved, guiding us into his home and toward the event area.

There were two halls that would be the focus of tonight's gathering. One seemed to contain all the parents and guardians, while the other would be where the students themselves mingled.

Of course, there was nothing stopping anyone from moving between, but it seemed that the parents wanted to maintain some distance and allow their children to take care of themselves.

We didn’t walk for long. At some point, we arrived in the hall where more parents than students resided. Carrion led the Duchess to a table, and once there, I felt him turn to look at Umara and I.

Or, more specifically me. I could feel his curious gaze on me, his Aura a bit stifling from so close.

“You’re John Cooper, right? I’ve heard many things about you. Your performance thus far has been eye catching.”

“Oh, thank you, your grace. But I could never do as well as I have without the support of my squad. I have them to thank for keeping me safe.”

“Indeed. As a summoner, you naturally rely more on your team. Nevertheless, you’ve become an Elite in record time. It is lucky that you earned your spot so quickly. For some time, I had been worried that you were biting off more than you could chew considering you were directly inserted into the fourth year class, not to mention working with the Elites while lacking merits. I’m glad that you are at least up to standard and won’t hold your team back.”

“...Thanks.”

For a second I was a bit baffled. Could he at least try to hide his attitude? I could almost taste the derision. The night hadn't even begun!

After I gave a late response, Carrion faced Umara, who was also a bit jarred by his obvious distaste.

“Umara, it’s good to see you well. I can imagine your mother has taught you plenty in the way of spell formations?”

“...Enough to put me to sleep, your grace.”

“Haha, indeed. I don’t know how you warlocks manage. Still, I hope your amazing progress can continue through the year. It would be a shame to get distracted by those unworthy of your time and fall behind all those who are about to emerge.”

“Indeed, your grace. Thankfully, the people around me are more than worthy of my time and attention.”

“Hm.”

Carrion nodded as Umara tightened her grip on my arm a bit.

Suddenly, I wasn’t smiling as much. I looked the Duke straight in the eye, but all I got in return was a dismissive glance.

It seemed the President was a passive aggressive asshole. How fun.

After a second or two, Carrion turned to the Duchess and gave her a smile.

“I’ll take my leave. Please, enjoy your night.”

“Likewise.”

She nodded back as he walked off. I also watched his back as he disappeared from the hall.

When he finally left my field of view, Umara mumbled.

“His son was one of my suitors.”

“Oh. So he’s bitter. Nice.”

I chuckled a bit, my mood being boosted.

It seemed my very presence here would piss people off, but I was okay with that.

Although the Duchess’ support couldn’t be wholly relied on, seeing how she did nothing to defend me from the President’s verbal attacks, that didn’t mean that I couldn’t somewhat use it.

No matter what, I was with her daughter. The name Talerria demanded a certain level of respect.

To slander my name would be fine, but Umara couldn’t be easily touched. And there was only so much they could do or say to me without also slandering Umara.

I had a certain bubble of protection, but I knew that to some people, that simply wouldn’t matter.

I couldn’t wait to meet those people.

A grin appeared on my face as the Duchess suddenly tapped Umara’s shoulder.

“Go mingle. I’ll call for you if I need it.”

“Okay.”

She responded before the two of us walked off to the other hall.

Our carriage didn’t arrive until well after the stated arrival time, so there were already plenty of people here.

And I recognized many faces, including those of my squad.

I saw Feiden, Vetsmon, and Tana lingering around one of the tables, and they all stood when we walked in.

“John!”

“Hey guys.”

“Damn, you look good!”

Vetsmon came over and pat my shoulder while checking out my suit. I just laughed a bit as his huge paw hit me like a hammer.

“Thanks man, you look good too.”

“Well, it’s my best suit. I initially thought it might be too much, but now that you’re here, I don’t have to worry.”

He took a step back as if admiring a work of art. I checked him out at the same time.

Instead of black like mine, his suit was pure white with blue trim and designs on it. There was also a symbol on his chest of what I could only assume was his Peerage.

The white made it a bit flashy, but otherwise, it wasn’t particularly spectacular. Still, with how large he was, I couldn’t help but think there was nothing else to look at but this bright statue of a man.

After that greeting, I looked at Feiden.

His suit was a bold maroon with some black designs across it, literally the opposite of Vetsmon’s suit. It was slim and defined his figure, making him look like some kind of devilish lady killer with that pretty face of his.

And then there was Tana. I was surprised at how pretty she looked as she wore a medium length green dress with some frills. Her blonde hair was curled and done up in a bun as well. She looked refined, contrary to how she normally was while fighting. In fact, it was such a stark difference that she looked older, like a mature woman.

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I smiled and nodded at her.

“Good evening, Tana.”

“Hi, John! Nice of you to finally show.”

“Fashionably late.”

I smiled and gave her a hug.

Feiden chimed in after, coming over and giving me a handshake.

“With a suit like that, I can understand. How much did that thing cost?”

“Take a guess.”

“Hm, 20 thousand.”

“Nope.”

“50.”

“Nope.”

“80.”

“Nope.”

“110.”

“Getting closer.”

“...150?”

“Bingo.”

I laughed and smacked his shoulder while he gawked. Vetsmon and Tana looked shocked too.

If only they knew that was just a fraction of the true bill. Even Umara sighed knowingly.

“Are you actually a noble?”

“I’m not.”

“The fact that a normal man has a better suit than most nobles here speaks volumes.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call him normal.”

“Alright, I’m getting food.”

Dodging their banter, I left Umara with the group to go grab some snacks.

Dinner was supposed to be served here, and I didn’t intend to let the good food go to waste out of pedantic decorum. There were a dozen long tables just filled with all kinds of meats and delicacies that were calling my name.

So I loaded myself a huge plate, grabbed a drink, and went back to the table my squad had claimed.

The others had also gotten food, and deciding she didn’t want to be the odd one out, Umara ended up getting some too. So for a while, we all sat and ate while observing all those around us.

I especially was keeping an eye out. Ever since I had walked into the mansion, I felt like I was constantly being stared at. And few of the gazes were merely curious.

I felt hostility, mostly from those I didn’t know. As for the Elites, I knew most of them and we were relatively friendly. So unless they were just being two faced, then I shouldn’t have much issue with them.

But the unfamiliar outnumbered the acquaintances. There seemed to be plenty of nobles that hated my presence here, especially by Umara’s side. I didn’t know why they had issues with me when most of them probably never had anything to do with Umara anyway, but I also knew that some people simply didn’t need a reason to hate somebody.

I could disregard it for the most part, simply ignoring everything I felt through my Aura. But I had to admit that it was irritating.

Unfortunately, the night hadn’t even started.

“Greetings, ladies and gentlemen.”

Suddenly, President Carrion stepped up to a podium, overlooking all his guests with a bright smile.

“I thank everyone who has graced this annual event with their presence. Tonight is a celebration of a new year and the beginning of a long road of achievement for all those talented enough to make it to their fourth year at the Magisterium. Some familiar faces are also coming back to participate in the upcoming excursions. We welcome them, as well as those who have recently joined the ranks of Elites through great feats of strength.”

*Clap Clap*

Everyone applauded as he paused, going for a few seconds before settling.

After that, he gave the rest of his opening speech, little of which I cared to listen to. And once he was done, a nearby stage was populated with some musicians who started to play music.

With that, everyone began to mingle, walking between tables and chatting with familiar friends.

“Sorry, I’m going to go say hi to someone.”

Tana stood from her seat, suddenly walking off to go greet what looked like a good friend.

Not even 10 seconds after, a girl walked over.

She was dressed in a slim red dress, a simple one without any frills or designs on it. Yet, she still looked amazing.

She walked over to Feiden, tapping his shoulder.

“Hi!”

“Oh, Mira.”

Feiden quickly stood, giving the girl a hug before both of them turned to us.

Mira waved.

“Hello! Nice to meet you all.”

“Good evening.”

“Hello.”

We all smiled back, Mira looking between us and Feiden.

“I was… hoping we could grab a drink.”

“Oh…”

Feiden didn’t immediately respond, looking toward us first as if we needed to give him our approval.

I scoffed a bit.

“What, are you going to say no? Hurry up and take care of your lady.”

“R-Right.”

Feiden scratched his head in embarrassment before putting his arm out and letting Mira take it.

As they walked off, Mira gave me one last smile and wave, which I returned.

Vetsmon chuckled as they disappeared.

“What a good friend.”

“Hey, you guys did it for me. Isn’t that right?”

“Y-Yea.”

Umara dodged my smile as I hugged her.

Getting some alone time was always essential for a budding relationship. Sometimes, friends just needed to take a step back and let things happen.

Of course, there were the exceptions. Feiden had to be led around. Thankfully, it seemed that Mira had a good grasp on that and took the initiative, otherwise Feiden would sit in a corner all night by himself.

After that, it was just Umara and I plus Vetsmon. Just when I started to get worried about the third wheel though, Vetsmon stood and pat my shoulder.

“Hey, I want you to meet my parents.”

“Your parents? At least take me to dinner first.”

“Haha, come on. I’ve told them about you and they’re curious.”

“Alright, alright. Umara?”

“You go on ahead.”

Umara unlinked her arm from mine, smiling.

“I have some friends to meet too.”

“Okay. I’ll find you later then.”

“Mm.”

She waved as I walked off with Vetsmon.

The two of us crossed halls, heading to where all the adults were lounging.

There were some students there as well, talking with relatives or the parents of friends. Most people here knew each other in some fashion, so there was lots of social activity.

And around one table, there was a group of adults dressed in white. I took a guess and assumed that they were all related to the Church in some way.

We approached, catching their gaze. Once there, Vetsmon spoke.

“Mom, Dad, this is John.”

“Ah, Mr. Cooper. Our son has spoken a lot about you. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

I shook the hand of a man and woman, both of which were rather huge.

Vetsmon was pushing 7 feet tall himself, and it seemed he got that from his father, because the man was just as big.

He looked more grizzled though. If Vetsmon were a pure man, then his father was a veteran who looked like he’d seen it all. Through his brown beard and bushy eyebrows was a deep gaze that almost looked like a thousand yard stare.

But he still seemed relatively lively as he smiled while shaking my hand. As for the mother, I honestly thought she was Vetsmon’s sister.

She looked amazingly young. The only indication of her age was the way she carried herself. But even that was overshadowed by her smile which made her seem like a youthful woman in her prime. Seeing her out of context, I wouldn’t place her a day over 25.

She was dressed in a white dress with lace sleeves covering her arms. It was modest, but she was without a doubt a beautiful woman no lesser than any other noblewoman here.

However, she was as tall as I was, throwing me off a bit when she stood.

This whole Verga Family was a bunch of giants.

After greeting them, I looked toward the others. Vetmon’s father introduced them.

“These are the parents of another fourth year. He’s not an Elite, so I’m not sure if you’d know him.”

“Probably not. But it’s nice to meet you all anyway.”

“Likewise.”

I shook hands with another pair of parents. After that, Vetsmon and I sat down at the table.

Mr. Verga spoke.

“So, John. Are your parents here?”

“Oh… No, they aren’t.”

“Ah, unfortunate. But I can understand. Being in the presence of so many nobles must be suffocating. Especially for you. Even we’ve heard rumors about you and the daughter of Duchess Talerria. There are a lot of very unhappy suitors here.”

“Yes, there are. I suppose it’s quite unfortunate for them, suffering where I’ve succeeded.”

“Huhu, how bold.”

He gave a deep chuckle. Even his wife couldn’t help the smile.

She chimed in.

“You’re not a fan of nobles, are you John?”

“Well, I didn’t have much of an issue before. But I haven’t even been here an hour and they’ve already gotten on my bad side. So yes, my already low fondness is decreasing into the negative.”

“Yes, I can understand. In recent years the noble class hasn’t been kind to those of the Church either. All I can say is, they’re going to find an issue with you anyway. So if you can’t avoid the hate…”

“I may as well do as I please anyway, feelings be damned.”

“Exactly!”

She almost shouted in agreement, making me laugh a bit as her husband pat her shoulder.

“You’re getting excited.”

“Ahem, I’m fine. Anyway, there’s no reason you shouldn’t just continue. But do be careful. There are very few things a noble won’t dare to do to a commoner when they’re upset, regardless of your relationships. So if you need help then just call my son, he’ll give you some assistance.”

“That’s right. Can’t let anyone touch the best summoner in the Magisterium.”

Vetsmon smacked my shoulder, causing me to grunt at the heavy impact.

“Yea, thanks.”

“So you’re a summoner, John? What type?”

Mrs. Verga suddenly asked, causing me to turn to her with a bit of curiosity.

“I’m a cold summoner.”

“Oh! I’m a cold summoner too.”

“John’s summons are amazingly lethal. He has even more killing power than I do.”

Vetsmon explained a bit, and with each word, his mother became more interested, staring at me with brightening spirit as if meeting a long lost friend.