Reward Ceremony

A few more days had passed as the city recovered from the aftermath of the battle against the Lich. The meeting with the Count had been delayed as it had been decided that an award ceremony would be held in the upcoming days to celebrate their victory. This decision had kept the Count very busy.

In fact, the ceremony was scheduled to happen this very evening. That was why Mateo found himself currently being surrounded by servants helping him put on a set of fancy clothing for the occasion. Just a couple days ago, he and the rest of his classmates had been measured by the Count’s personal tailors.

The doublet was a golden brown paired with a black hose and mantle. The only reason Mateo even knew the names of the clothing was because it had been drilled into him by the tailor as he presented them.

Once he was finally fully clothed, he exited the room to see the others either already waiting outside, also exiting like himself, or still being dressed by the servants. The group gathered and observed with interest how everyone was dressed. What had caught everyone's attention was that the color scheme they wore appeared to differ based on which party you belonged to.

As stated earlier, Mateo’s party was an assortment of golden brown and black. Gerard’s party sported gold and red clothing, Jessica’s was gold and white, Blair’s party was a mixture of blue and purple, and finally, Fredrick and his party finished with green and orange.

While the men wore clothing much like Mateo’s, the women on the other hand wore gorgeous velvet dresses. The men couldn’t help but take second glances at their classmates, unused to them wearing such girly clothing. In their own world they would only see each other in class uniforms, while in this world they were always wearing armor.

The reason they wore such elaborate clothing instead of their usual armor was that the event was also a social event where the nobles and knights of the city would mingle together. It wasn’t just the Vlark family that would be present but also some noble households from the nearest cities.

Once everyone was dressed they were brought down several hallways until they reached a set of doors. They had been informed that there was a set of procedures for how the ceremony would start. As for themselves, they were to wait behind these doors until it was their turn to receive their rewards.

Nearly half an hour passed before they were motioned to enter. Once the doors in front of them were opened they were met with the sight of a large group of people sitting at tables with small plates and glasses of wine set out in front of them.

These people included members of noble households , the city’s administration, and several merchants of sizable businesses. Along the back were several knights that had been rewarded before them, all of them sporting medals that had been presented to them, be it from this ceremony or previous ones. The students themselves were already sporting the emblems that had been provided to them while they were in the capital.

The first to step forward were the normal party members, separated by the party they belonged to. The only person to hang back with the party members was Alicia. Finally each of the Party Leaders and Alicia were called forward with a bit of more grandeur.

Finally when it was Mateo’s turn he stood before the Count. While he had seen the Count on the castle walls with the other wizards during the battle, this was Mateo’s first time meeting him face to face like this. The Count was a handsome, middle aged man with streaks of gray in his beard. His hair was of medium length, and all of it currently combed back. His eyes were a steely blue, ones that belied a vast experience with fighting and death.

“Hero Mateo, I award you this medal for your bravery, intelligence, and willingness to carry out your duty for the sake of Humanity. You have both stood by our side during the battle against the demons and also helped us by dispatching the Bandits that plague this land.”

After a shower of applause, Mateo went to stand by his other classmates as he watched the others also follow suit. Once all of the medals had been presented, the celebration moved onto its second stage, with all of the tables and chairs being carried out by servants. The people would then stand with their groups and talk, while others used this chance to gain connections or to introduce themselves.

One thing that was apparent was that everyone in the room was trying to build some type of connection to the students, especially so for the party leaders. Mateo found himself surrounded by several nobles and merchants. They talked about having him visit either their lands or their shops and also hinted at possibly providing him with monetary sponsorship and equipment in the future should he ever come.

After several hours the students were able to extricate themselves from those that crowded them, except for a few that welcomed the attention. Once they were left to their own devices, they either went and talked with the other knights who had been rewarded, grouped together with other classmates, there were even those that got a little close with the sons and daughters with noble lineage.

Honestly, Mateo would be more than happy if his classmates decided to settle down and live in this world. It was apparent though that the nobles themselves were spurring on their children to get close to them. Even Mateo himself had to take a few minutes to exchange words with a few daughters of different houses before excusing himself.

The funniest sight so far was watching several noble scions try to woo Alicia, only for them to be met with a cold stare, causing them to just give up. However, that wasn’t to say that those boys were inept at seducing the fairer sex, the girl was just dense like a block of wood. Most of his classmates had zero romantic experience, always preoccupied with studying and training since childhood.

Finally, it was late enough that the party had to finally wrap up and the guests left in droves, either to their residences or to the rooms prepared by the Count. Mateo and his classmates had been asked to stay, so here they were talking amongst each other. They were sharing their experiences during the party, some bragging about their romantic escapades.

Finally the hall emptied out and they were met by the Count personally. The man stood before them, all formality dropped as the man knelt down on one knee before them. The group were stunned by the sight, but before they could help him stand up he spoke.

“Young Heroes, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for all that you have done for this city. I apologize for the danger you were placed in and I am deeply regretful for the losses that you have suffered. Know this, in the future if you ever seek aid, I will stand at the forefront.”

The group looked at each other before their eyes all moved onto the usual spokesperson. Gerard gave a helpless smile as he stepped forward and helped the man up.

“Your words mean much to us and we are grateful for both your feelings and your promise. Since we decided to stay and fight we were always prepared for the difficulties we would face. This might not have been the first loss we have faced, nor will it probably be the last, but we will always face adversity head on.”

The man let Gerard help him up and he gazed into the eyes of all the children that stood before him. He could see the determination in their eyes as they met his own. He smiled as he truly felt honored to have met such honorable heroes.

“Thank you.”

With that the students were finally free to leave and were guided back to their own rooms by the servants. The students made sure to rest up as tomorrow would finally be the day of departure. They had been staying in Defy long enough and everyone had recovered with the help of the priests from the church.

The next day the students gathered at the castle wall on horseback as they stared out upon the road they would travel upon. While they might be short three people compared to when they first arrived, they were stronger now. They had witnessed first hand the struggles the people of this world faced as they tried to survive against the demons. This war was no longer one they were merely learning about or had a brief encounter during ambushes, they were now fully involved.

As the group set out, Mateo, at the rear, looked toward the figures ahead of him. The war for this group had officially started. Not just the heroes against the demons, but also his own personal war.

This time three had fallen, and he had even gotten his hands on the Demon Blade. While he had been fortunate this time and none had suspected his involvement in their deaths, he knew that eventually he would be discovered. More so than ever he desired strength for that fateful moment.

Mateo looked upon the lead figure, and he felt daunted by the thought of having to fight against that man one day. Would he be strong enough? Could he defeat that monster of a genius? Or would Mateo’s own end be the final outcome instead?

Mateo shifted his focus to the road ahead, knowing this journey would be a long one.