Chapter 20: The Hero’s Banquet

Cael Horais Sirius POV

Two days have passed since the noble tailor went to Sir Faust's mansion.

“Cael, how do I look?” Talya asked slowly, turning around to show her blue dress.

“You look cute and lovely in it,” I said.

“Really?!” Talya said as she showed me a wide smile.

“Aunt Eleonor said you will love the color of the sky, so I decided to choose this blue dress,” Talya said as she stared at me for a few seconds.

I was never asked about the color of my clothes, I thought as I looked at my bluish coat with golden embroidery all over it, while a blue cloak hung over my back, also filled with golden embroidery.

It is paired with white trousers, black boots, and black gloves that fit perfectly on my hands and feet.

A black belt with a round gold medallion wraps around my small waistline.

I haven’t looked at myself in the mirror yet, but I feel like I’m wearing something that was worth a lot of gold coins.

“I’m glad we match in color. You look very handsome and cool in your clothes, Cael,” Talya said as she walked around me.

“Amber did a perfect job. You both look great,” Sir Faust said as he approached us.

“Thanks, Sir Faust,” Talya said as she bent her knees and elegantly lifted her blue skirt with her hands.

I feel like I need to show Sir Faust a bit of what I learned from Gavis.

“Thanks, Sir Faust,” I said as I stood straight, sliding one foot slightly back as I bent at the waist while keeping my head down and both arms at my sides.

“You both did well,” Sir Faust said as he gave us both a gentle head pat.

“Gavis is a great teacher,” I said.

“Talya, I’d like you to wear this,” Sir Faust said as he handed Talya a necklace made from gold with a giant blue gemstone in the middle.

“It’s beautiful,” Talya said as she held the blue gem in her small hands.

“It’s an enchanted necklace,” Fragarach said.

“There are strong defensive spells enchanted on the blue sapphire stone,” Fragarach said.

“What kind of spells are you talking about, Fragarach?” I asked.

“Rank 4 Personnel Holy Magic High Cure, Rank 4 Personnel Holy Magic High Protection, and Rank 4 Personnel Holy Magic High Heal,” Fragarach said.

“High Cure can treat any illness, including plague-type illnesses, while High Protection halves any incoming damage. Lastly, High Heal can restore missing limbs and even cure serious injuries,” Fragarach added.

“M.I.C.,” I uttered as I read the small letters on the back of the setting of the blue sapphire.

“Maria Iatros Cygnus,” Sir Faust said.

“It was a gift for my late wife. She died before the jeweler finished making it,” Sir Faust said.

“It has a decent defensive spell enchanted on the blue sapphire. I felt that it was kind of a waste sitting in my drawer,” Sir Faust said.

“But this is your wife’s memento. I can’t take it,” Talya said as she was about to return the necklace.

“It’s okay. I want you to have it, Little Talya,” Sir Faust said.

An order-made piece of jewelry with defensive spells, that definitely cost a fortune, I thought.

“It probably cost hundreds of gold coins,” Fragarach commented.

“Those clothes fit you two perfectly,” Mom said as she hugged both me and Talya.

“Oh! This necklace looks great on you, Talya,” Mom added.

“Dad, do I look great?” Talya asked as she twirled, showing her blue dress that was perfectly complemented by the white shoes and gloves.

“You’re like a princess,” Uncle Ray said.

“I bet my son Cael is stunned for a moment when he sees you, Talya,” Dad teased.

“He is,” Talya agreed with a smug face.

“Sir Faust, it’s time,” Gavis said.

“Let’s go then. Everyone, gather around me,” Sir Faust said.

“Fragarach!” I called, and instantly, Fragarach levitated in front of me.

Sir Faust then tapped his walking stick on the floor.

Suddenly, a large magic circle appeared below us, and then a door appeared in front of us.

I almost forgot that he is known as Faust the Gatekeeper.

“Everyone, enter the door one at a time,” Sir Faust commanded as the mysterious door opened, connecting us to the castle directly.

The door led us into an empty room.

“That felt a bit weird,” Talya complained.

“It’s like I went through a pretty long, dark tunnel, but it only took a few seconds,” Talya added.

“What you felt there is the compressed duration you need to travel the distance between my mansion and the castle,” Sir Faust explained.

“Didn’t you feel it, Cael?” Talya asked.

“A bit,” I replied, as I knew the sensation was similar to whenever I used Long Hands.

I looked at my parents and Uncle Ray. I could tell from their faces that they certainly felt it too.

“Using Teleportation Magic Circle is fundamentally different from my Dimension Gate since the body is converted to light particles and then reverted at the next location. That’s why the body can’t feel the compressed time,” Sir Faust explained.

“Is that the name of your Special Skill, Sir Faust?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s called Dimension Gate. It allows me to connect two places that I’ve been to by creating doors from where I’m at to where I’m going,” Sir Faust said.

“The door will stay connected for at least ten minutes or until I forcefully close it,” Sir Faust added.

“For every door I open, a fixed thousand points of my Psyche will be consumed, no matter how far the location where I manifested the other door is,” Sir Faust continued.

“Is it okay for you to tell me that?” I asked.

“It’s more favorable for me for you two to know it,” Sir Faust replied.

“Just beyond that door is the entrance that will lead to the main hall.

As much as I wanted to escort you there, I still need to use my Dimension Gate to get the other nobles from different kingdoms and the empire,” Sir Faust added.

“Gavis, guide them to their designated place and make sure that they are comfortable,” Sir Faust commanded.

“Consider it done, Master Faust,” Gavis said as he walked towards the door.

No wonder it’s an empty room. It’s not meant for people to stay in, I thought.

“That’s a pretty convenient Special Skill,” Fragarach commented.

“Does that mean Sir Faust already went to all the Kingdoms and even the Empire?” I asked.

“Most likely, since he can travel to the Empire first using a carriage and then from there travel to the different Kingdoms surrounding it,” Fragarach explained.

“But the Elven capital Fawaris is far from the Empire, and it’s inside the Great Caligo Forest,” I said as I followed Gavis, who entered the main hall first.

“If I remember correctly, there’s a secret route from the Kingdom of Mimosa to the Elven Capital Fawaris,” Fragarach said.

“Fragarach, can I ask? I thought you were sleeping inside some chamber in this castle for hundreds of years. How come you know a lot about the Continent of Olor?” I asked.

“Are you seriously asking if I just stayed put for several hundred years without doing something that would kill me of boredom?” Fragarach replied.

“So it’s Aegis that has been sitting there all this time in that chamber?” I asked.

“Yes, and a little Mirage of mine,” Fragarach mischievously answered.

“So what were you doing during all those times?” I asked.

“Reading a lot of books, preparing myself for the time the new hero would arrive, and I kept watching,” Fragarach answered.

“Eh! So you can share with me the memories of those books you read, can’t you?” I asked greedily.

“I can, but I won’t. As we talked about before, we won’t use Telepathy to share memories unless you truly need it, since it will consume a lot of your mental age.

It’s better if you read those books at your own pace,” Fragarach said.

As Gavis suggested, Talya stayed with his father, walking behind my parents, who followed closely behind me.

Across the corner, we saw the large open door, about twice the height of an average adult human.

We’re really inside a castle, I thought as I was surrounded by stone brick walls, floors, and ceilings.

The small windows with ironwork grilles made it less suffocating. As much as I wanted to look through them, I was too small to peek, although they did provide us with natural light to see where we were walking.

There were two castle guards at the entrance, both fully armored and holding halberds in both hands.

“My name is Gavis, and I’m here as the representative of Faust Gnosis Cygnus, the fifth prince. Behind me is the Hero and his family,” Gavis said in a clear, loud voice.

“Hero,” I heard one of the castle guards whisper.

“Let us enter,” Gavis added.

The castle guards didn’t budge.

“You need your master or his decorative sword to enter the main hall,” one of the castle guards whispered.

“Fragarach,” I uttered, and instantly, Fragarach appeared at my back as small bolts of lightning covered my body.

Instantly, the castle guards retracted their halberds that were blocking the way.

As soon as I passed the castle guards, I stopped walking and waited for my parents, Talya, and Uncle Ray to pass by.

As much as I didn’t want to cause any commotion, I felt bad for Gavis, who was being disrespected right in front of me.

“It’s okay, Hero Cael. I forgot to ask Master Faust to hand me the decorative sword of the Gnosis Family,” Gavis said.

“The castle guards are just doing their job,” Gavis added.

“If you’re okay with it,” I said as I continued walking.