Servants placed dish after dish on the large mahogany table with practiced movements.
Following his instructions, the steaming premium pig was placed right in front of Momon, its tantalizing smell filling the room as soon as the silver lid was removed.
It was so tempting that Reginald felt his drool threatening to spill on the table.
The memory of his wife complaining about his overindulgence at the table came to mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
Patting his proud belly, which grew prouder each year, he addressed the man of the hour.
"What are you doing, my friend? These dishes were especially made by my personal chef, and as you can see, the man has me wrapped around his finger, ha ha ha!"
He cut the pig's leg and personally placed it on Momon's plate before taking one for himself.
Delicious juices quickly ran from his mouth to his beard, in a movement lacking the grace expected of someone of his standing.
From his experience, when dealing with lower-class people who may not be familiar with noble etiquette, it was best to show that you don't care about such things.
"I'm honored by your hospitality, Mr. Mayor, but regretfully, eating with other people goes against the creed of my order, so I won't partake in the delicious-looking food that you have served us."
After apologizing, Momon gave the pork to the young boy with a silver plate on his chest.
The little thing seemed flustered and quickly glanced at him, no doubt seeking his approval before accepting.
A smile graced his lips as he nodded.
A knight order, huh?
"That's a shame, but if it goes against your order, then there's nothing we can do."
Reginald put the pig's leg back onto his plate.
"But if you don't mind, may I know which order it is that you follow? Since it trained a man as powerful as yourself, I'm sure it is a mighty organization."
"I don't mind at all. It's called The Dark Warrior Order."
Dark Warrior Order?
He quickly went through his memories, trying to find any mention of such an organization, but he couldn't find anything.
I'm pretty sure I would remember an organization with such a lame name if I came across it.
As the mayor of one of the most important cities of the Re-Estize Kingdom, and a fiercely loyal subject of the king, Reginald prided himself on being very well informed on domestic and international news, so for him not to know of such an organization could only mean that either Momon was lying or it was from a place very far away.
There's no mention of a warrior named Momon either, and his face doesn't match any of the famous warriors in the region…
Could he be someone from the Slaine Theocracy?
Reginald remembered his conversation with Gazef Stronoff when the man stopped by on his journey back to the capital.
The Slaine Theocracy seemed to be targeting the Re-Estize Kingdom, going so far as to frame the Baharuth Empire for the massacre of villages.
If it was the mysterious Slaine Theocracy, then it might be possible to secretly cultivate a powerful warrior to use as a spy.
The Theocracy was far older, and he was sure that far more powerful than either the Re-Estize Kingdom or the Baharuth Empire.
The notion that both countries were targeting them gave him plenty of sleepless nights.
"Dark Warrior Order," he pronounced the words with great emphasis.
"I'll be sure to remember this name in the future, but who might this enchanting lady and promising young man be?" He said while pointing at the other two people at the table.
"This here is Lupita; she's my party companion, and also a 4th-tier priestess."
The beautiful young woman then looked at him and smiled.
It was an enchanting smile, but for some reason he felt cold sweat forming on his back when she looked at him.
"And this is Ninya, a friend from another party who was helping Lupita register on the Magician's Guild."
The boy stood and gave him a curt bow, one that showed he wasn't completely oblivious to noble etiquette.
Probably imitating what he saw others do.
Reginald quickly dismissed Ninya with one thought, focusing instead on the other two.
A warrior who might rival the warrior captain, and a divine caster with the power of an adamantite adventurer.
Where have you two come from, and more importantly, what do you want to do in my city?
"Can I ask something too, Mr. Mayor?"
"Of course, Momon."
"Why have you called us here?"
"I just arrived in the city yesterday, and I don't think I did anything that would call for the attention of the mayor."
Well, I guess this is a reasonable question.
The night before, he had just fallen asleep when his butler knocked on his door with what he deemed urgent news.
He had initially dismissed it as another of his butler's dramatic episodes, but after seeing the man's face, he changed his mind and looked at what it was.
After looking into it, he had to applaud his butler's restraint; the news was so dramatic that, were it not for the many more informants who came throughout the night with similar testimonies, he wouldn't have believed it.
"There's no need to be so humble, Momon. If defeating one of the strongest adventurer parties in the city by yourself wasn't enough to make me pay attention to you, then people would start to question my ability to govern this city."
He patted his belly and laughed out loud,
"After learning of what happened, I needed to see who it was that was receiving so much praise from everyone."
And I also needed to see how valuable or how threatening you are to my kingdom.
"Oh? So it's about that."
Momon seemed to finally understand his motive, and visibly relaxed.
"Then. What do you think after seeing me in person?"
Momon cut another piece of meat, and this time put it on Lupita's plate.
The woman, who had been incredibly aloof this whole time, then became flustered, with a clear blush on her brown skin.
Are they lovers?
That would explain why they are together, and really, with such a looker by his side, it would be weird if nothing happened.
"That you are as formidable as the rumors show."
And very mysterious.
Too mysterious.
From their brief conversation, he only got the name of an organization that might or might not exist, a briefing about his companion's capabilities, and the relationship between him and a Silver Plate party.
I need to send people to inquire with the members of this party to see if I can get any useful information.
"But I must say, Momon, for someone like you to be placed as a copper plate seems like such a waste… Tell you what, why don't you leave this adventurer job and come work for the city? I could even put you in charge of the security of E-Rantal, and depending on your performance, you might even go to the capital to work directly under the king, and who knows, maybe he might even grant you a noble title if your performance is good."
This was his real objective with this meal.
Suspicious as he was, Momon's strength was undeniable, so by putting him to work for the crown, they could not only monitor him, but also put him to use.
Adventurers couldn't participate in wars between countries, but knights could.
With the Empire's siege closing in on them with each year, the Re-Estize Kingdom needed powerful soldiers more than ever, and he was sure that Momon was someone who could change the tide of this war.
***
"Take out the dishes."
Reginald lost his appetite after Momon and his companions left the mansion.
The servants appeared and quickly removed the dishes, leaving the large table looking very lonely.
What a complete failure.
Momon had refused him explicitly and implicitly throughout their hours-long meal.
What is so good about being an adventurer anyway?
Isn't it better to be a renowned knight? I heard that many noble ladies are completely hooked on romance novels with knights.
Momon said he wanted to be an adventurer to complete his pilgrimage, and he stubbornly refused to budge or consider any other job.
After a while, Reginald gave up on recruiting him and just focused on building a good relationship with the man.
At least on this front, I think I succeeded.
It was hard to tell since the man wore his helmet throughout the meal, but from the way he talked, his impression of Momon was that he was easygoing, easy to like, and hard to offend.
Going by the reports, he seems to value this boy called Ninya.
Apparently, he faced Kalgra largely because of this boy, and since he accompanied them without his party and Momon served him meat, their relationship should be very good.
Is Momon into men?
Maybe I should try to win over Ninya first, and then use him to get to Momon?
"Richard!"
Feeling that a plan was forming, he called for one of his subordinates.
Hearing his name, a short, thin man with large, dark-ringed eyes emerged from the false door where he had been hiding.
Was it that bad?
Seeing the man struggling to stand up with his trembling legs and the large wet spot on his crouch, Reginald had a bad feeling.
"H-Here, my lord."
Richard got close and dropped to his knees.
The smell of ammonia reached his nose, and Reginald tried his best to prevent the disgust from showing on his face.
"What was your impression of our guests?"
He tried to spare Richard's feelings because of his useful talent.
By looking at someone for five consecutive seconds, Richard could feel how powerful they were.
There were no metrics to go by, but by training, Richard reached a point where he could accurately estimate someone's power by the sensations his talent produced.
"Powerful. Very powerful!"
Richard's voice was hoarse, and he identified a great deal of fear in it.
"I already know they are powerful; what I want to know is how powerful they are."
"I'm sorry, my lord, but I don't know."
"You don't know? What does that mean?"
"The silver plate was normal. His power was what you would expect for his rank. But the others…"
"Wh-When I looked into the lady with red hair, I-I felt so afraid that my legs started trembling, and I felt a suffocating surge of bloodlust, stronger than anything I have ever felt, so I couldn't keep looking. I'm sorry, my lord!"
Seeing the man, who was comparable to a Mithril-rank adventurer, bawling his eyes out like a little child gave him a chill that spread through his body.
"Was she stronger than the Warrior Captain?"
He had made a similar setup when Gazef Stronoff came to his mansion, and he remembered how Richard had reacted and spoken about the man's strength.
Back then he had been composed and calm, save for his clear excitement at feeling the power of the man he admired.
It was nothing like the pathetic mess he was seeing right now.
"YES! YES! A thousand times yes! There's no comparison between the two of them!"
Seeing the confirmation, Reginald went over his conversation with Momon.
If she is so much stronger than the Warrior Captain, then she is certainly in the Realm of Heroes.
If that's the case, then her only being able to cast 4th-tier spells must be a lie.
I just don't know whether Momon lied deliberately or he is also unaware of his companion's power.
Thinking of this, Reginald remembered that he hadn't heard of Momon.
"What about Momon? Did you see his power?"
At the question, Richard stopped trembling and went completely still.
"What's wrong?"
"Death."
"What, death? What are you talking about?"
He was starting to think that Richard might have suffered some damage to his mind.
"When I looked into Momon, I only felt death. Silent, calm, and ruthless death."
Richard then turned his vacant, empty eyes to him.
"My lord, please, don't ever do something to anger that man."
"I fear that neither you nor the kingdom could survive his wrath."