Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 797: Dinning With The Ambassador

CH797 Dinning With The Ambassador

***

Looking at the enormous feast spread across the table, Alex’s face couldn’t help but twitch ever so slightly.

‘I know I asked for a feast, but I didn’t mean something this large,’ Alex thought to himself. ‘Isn’t it about time you forgave me? You already forgave Zora. Aren’t you supposed to be “man’s” best friend?’

However, Alex didn’t let his surprise show. Instead, he picked up his cutlery and began eating as though everything had gone exactly as he expected.

Seeing this, Fabien Ingram had little choice but to begin eating as well.

Fabien gave a slight nod of thanks to the maid who had placed the food before him before she quietly withdrew. He then picked up his spoon.

He took a spoonful of grain and placed it into his mouth.

His hand froze midway.

His eyes widened in shock.

‘So delicious!’ Fabien screamed inwardly.

He wanted to moan as the rich flavours melted across his taste buds.

He barely managed to retain the last shred of his composure as he fought the urge to abandon all etiquette and wolf down the food.

Noticing this, Alex nodded inwardly.

‘Of course it’s delicious. Whose Beast Companion chef do you think prepared the food? Do you know how much I’ve spent training and supporting him?’ Alex shamelessly attributed Fen’s culinary skills to himself.

“There isn’t much food in our Frontier Domain right now. I hope it’s to your liking,” Alex said as he continued eating.

“No, you are too kind, Sir Count. This is more than sufficient, and the food is exquisite. Even at the Stronghold, we rarely enjoy a feast this delicious,” Fabien replied.

“In that case, please eat your fill,” Alex said with an easy smile.

“Yes…” Fabien nodded.

Fabien had initially intended to eat only a little. However, once he started, he simply couldn’t stop. It was only when he was almost full that his hands suddenly froze.

He stared at the empty plates before him in horror, unable to believe he had eaten so much.

This was a gross breach of etiquette, and his eyes immediately darted towards Alex, afraid that he might have offended the Count.

However, he found that Alex was still calmly focused on his own meal.

Fabien found that the Count ate with such grace and poise that it was like watching a work of art. Yet, unbelievably, the Count still ate faster—and far more—than he did. At the very least, three times as much.

Fabien was utterly stunned.

There was simply too much for his mind to process.

‘How can someone eat so quickly and so much, yet still look so graceful and composed while doing it?’ he wondered.

Little did he know that Alex was actually somewhat disappointed in himself.

‘Sigh… I still can’t do it as flawlessly as Father,’ Alex sighed inwardly.

He recalled the few occasions he had dined with Earl Drake Fury. The man’s mouth had been like a black hole that food simply vanished into, yet every movement had been so graceful that not even the most critical observer could have found fault with his table manners.

Soon, both men had eaten their fill. Alex had unbelievably cleared more than half the food on the table by himself, yet he didn’t look bloated in the slightest.

‘It’s been a while since I ate this much, yet I don’t even feel that full. I could probably clear the entire table and still have room for more,’ he thought inwardly.

He swirled the red fruit juice in the goblet in his hand while the maids cleared away the empty plates and the remaining food.

“Thank you for the meal, Sir Count,” Fabien said.

“You’re welcome. This is a feast worthy of the Stronghold’s representative. We wouldn’t normally prepare this much,” Alex admitted with a chuckle.

“As you must know, our Frontier March doesn’t produce much in the way of agriculture. Most of the food you see here was sourced from other domains in the region. It only arrived recently, making this feast possible,” he added.

“The other domains in the region? The Empire’s north-east?” Fabien asked.

“Yes,” Alex replied with a smile.

He appeared to study the crimson liquid in his goblet. After gently swirling it a few more times, he finally drained it before setting the goblet back on the table.

“Now that we’ve eaten, how about we get down to business?” he said.

“Yes,” Fabien nodded. “Sir Count, I am here on behalf of the Frontier Stronghold to inform you that the delivery date for the ore trade has long since passed.

“The Stronghold has already prepared the food for the exchange to be sent to Fonterra, but we have yet to receive the ore shipment…”

“The thing is… an unfortunate incident occurred in the domain shortly after I took over,” Alex said as he poured himself another cup of fruit juice. “An unknown group attacked Castin Town and massacred the major families there. They also stole a portion of the planned ore shipment. As a result, we are unable to meet the required quota.”

“In that case, why not deliver the amount you have now? The Stronghold will provide an equivalent amount of food in return,” Fabien suggested.

Alex stopped idly turning his goblet and took a sip before setting it back down and looking directly at Fabien.

“The amount of food I would receive wouldn’t be enough to feed my people until the next exchange,” Alex replied.

He shook his head before continuing.

“I was informed that a few years ago, a similar incident occurred in which the domain was unable to provide the required ore quota. Not only did the Stronghold reduce the already unfair amount of food paid in exchange for the ore, but it also left the citizens of the domain to starve during the minor Beast Tide that followed.

“Since that is the case, I decided not to continue bartering with the Stronghold. Instead, the ore was sold to the other domains of the north-east in exchange for Berserk Stones—currency that we then used to obtain food and other goods within those domains.

“Things we could never obtain from the Stronghold,” Alex said, looking directly at Fabien.

He pushed the goblet aside and rested his forearms on the table.

His demeanour became solemn and authoritative.

Regality!

A trace of the regal aura from his Solmir True Name seeped into the surroundings.

“Too many people of this domain have died because of the food shortages caused by the Stronghold’s unfair trade practices. Therefore, from this day forward, the Frontier March will no longer barter ore for food with the Stronghold,” Alex declared.

“I will never allow my people to starve to death again.”

***