The black sun hangs high

Chapter 309 Banquet Hall

"You don't expect me, your teacher, to teach you how to change clothes, do you?"

If such words come from other people, they must carry some special meaning or implication.

But when the same sentence was uttered by Weilin, it seemed to have only its literal meaning.

For a moment, Hugh genuinely wanted to try giving a definite answer.

He wanted to see how Vera would react to such an answer, but his reason, deeply rooted in his body, ultimately stopped this strange impulse, so he took the box back to his cabin.

While Hugh was busy changing into his more formal mage uniform, Verin found the other members of the Dawn Society and gave them a brief overview of the problems they might face.

These members of the Dawn Society, or "Swords of Dawn," had multiple responsibilities on this trip. They not only had to record and report on the meetings of Merlinle and others like normal mission officials, but also had to learn "anti-mage techniques" under the guidance of the sword-wielding hermits within the Legal Committee.

This was an arrangement that the Dawn Society had already negotiated with Merlinle.

For the Dawn Society, this special knowledge and skills, which had been monopolized by Merlin and others for thousands of years, were naturally extremely important. Without these things, it would be difficult for them to gain the upper hand in their subsequent confrontations with the Black Sun Society.

For Merlinler, this was a crucial opportunity to quickly win over the Dawn Society and exert sufficient influence over it. Although the two seemed to be on relatively equal footing at the moment, some key figures within Merlinler believed that the Legal Committee's position in Vanne was still not to be shaken by outsiders. They argued that so-called cooperation and support were ultimately just the basis for annexation and unification.

The Dawn Society members who accompanied Hugh and Felix were carefully selected by Darth Vader and Felix; they were all very intelligent and resolute enough to fight against the Black Sun Society.

Logically, they were supposed to act as "bodyguards" for Hugh and Violet on this trip, but after they set off, Hugh relieved them of this task and instead assigned them to better protect themselves.

These members are destined to play an important role in the future development of the Dawn Society, so their own safety is equally important.

Hughes believed that if these talented individuals were drawn into high-intensity conflicts and perished as a result, the losses suffered by the Dawn Society would be even greater than those directly attacked by the Black Sun Society.

Ten minutes later, Hugh, who had changed into a complete set of clothes, walked out of the cabin.

Vera was already waiting at the door. When she saw Hugh come out, she took a step back and carefully looked him up and down.

That gaze made Hughes a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the strict female scholar eventually revealed a faint smile. She pursed her lips, walked up, and reached out to straighten Hugh's collar slightly.

After making this gesture, she tilted her head towards the other end of the corridor: "Let's go, let's go to the banquet hall... it's about to start."

The two then walked together along the corridor.

There were hardly any people left; most of the passengers had gone to the banquet hall, so Hugh finally had the opportunity to observe his surroundings.

However, just as he was busy analyzing the surrounding rituals and magic circuits in his mind, Countess Alexandra's voice suddenly rang in Hugh's mind.

“Child, it’s not right for you to treat a young and beautiful female companion like that… The time before attending an important banquet is precious.”

She adopted the air of someone who had been through it all and patiently advised Hugh: "No matter what your relationship is, once you walk into the banquet hall, everyone will naturally put you together... At that time, you need to show enough understanding, and it would be best if you could be even closer, so that you can have more freedom in terms of communication and choice of words."

Hugh couldn't help but roll his eyes, but the Countess continued her tirade: "From your personal perspective, you should be even more proactive in finding topics to talk about..."

"Madam, your advice doesn't apply to me, does it?"

"Ha, child, this is not the time to play dumb!"

As if she were disappointed in someone, Alexandra spoke even faster: "We just saw it all. Don't you know what this girl is thinking? You've written so many works, you can't possibly still think that your relationship is just a simple teacher-student relationship, can you?"

"Wait, you saw something? What did you see?"

Then another woman from the Ernst family chimed in, suppressing her laughter as she said, "Sorry, we just happened to be passing by and accidentally saw her adjusting your collar. In the highlands, that's a very important hint and signal for girls!"

The string of words gave Hugh a headache. He quickly used some magic to completely block out the voices of these old-fashioned noblewomen, Ernst. After his mind cleared up, he turned his head and looked at the female mage beside him.

Hugh then realized that what Vera was doing now seemed to be exactly the same thing he had been doing before.

As she walked down the corridor, her gaze fell upon the walls not covered by blankets, where magical circuits were clearly visible in operation. Her hands rested on the softly fabric-covered handrails along the corridor, as she tried to sense the magical kimonos set up there.

As if sensing Hugh's gaze, Vera turned her head. She looked just as usual, with even a thoughtful glint in her eyes.

"It seems that the Legal Committee has made quite a few preparations to deal with those potential troubles... They actually made considerable changes to these common magic circuits in such a short time. Hmph, at least they have some sincerity."

Vera removed her fingers from the armrest beside her: "What were you trying to say just now?"

"nothing……"

Hugh shrugged. "I just noticed that you don't seem to really like eating fish? But on this trip, I guess we can't avoid seafood." Seemingly surprised by the topic Hugh brought up, Vera raised her eyebrows slightly, and then she said, "It's alright. I don't hate fish that much. It's just that many times, chefs can't remove the fishy smell."

As she spoke, she gently flipped her fingers and produced a transparent alchemy jar about the thickness of a finger from somewhere. Under the light, the crystals inside the jar emitted a faint yellow glow.

"what is this?"

"Hmm... a seasoning brought back by maritime merchants. It is said to be made from a mixture of several spices from the Eastern world and sea salt. The countries there have been plunged into war, so these things have become scarce."

Vera shook the crystals with a hint of pride before putting them away: "I've already tried them. They're very effective with seafood, and they also contain a small amount of magic, which is slightly helpful for the mind."

After saying that, her gaze immediately fixed on Hugh's face: "Why do you have that expression? Is something so funny?"

"No, it's nothing."

Hugh quickly shook his head: "I was just doing something similar, but it just felt like a coincidence, so I asked..."

"Hmm... This is a good habit. As a spellcaster, especially a scholar who leans towards the lake, one always needs to absorb as much knowledge and important information as possible from the surroundings. The mystical instruments and circuits set up on this Windless Ship are very representative. You should pay more attention to them; you might need them later."

And so, Verine naturally took the initiative in the conversation, followed by a series of magical academic terms that Hugh was already used to, and the discussion that followed.

Before the banquet, Hugh did indeed have frequent conversations with Verine, but the content of their conversations seemed to be quite different from what the experienced members of the Ernst family had expected.

……

The Legislative Affairs Commission has done a very thorough job of preparation.

Those mages who were extremely arrogant in the past did not lower the treatment they received because the Dawn Society was a newly established Vaan organization; in fact, they treated them with more than they should have.

The banquet hall on the Windless is similar to most banquet halls and restaurants on other cruise ships of similar size to the Vain. It is generally long and narrow, and at first glance, it seems quite similar to the large restaurants with good decorations in the city. However, some adjustments have been made to the layout to adapt to some rules and traditions on board.

Some basic desserts, snacks and drinks are placed on a large food counter fixed to one side of the restaurant. These items are mostly replenished as needed and passengers can take them at any time. For more food requests, passengers can call the ship's waiters to order.

Two tables belonging to the Dawn Society were located at one end of the restaurant, next to the dining table of the captain, first mate, and others. To indicate the ownership of these two tables, the waiter specially put two temporary flags of the Dawn Society on the tables. Next to these two tables was a table marked with the emblem of the Law Committee's lake and valley, which belonged to several well-known magic scholars within the Duchy of Burt.

These three tables were clearly the most important; the rest of the tables were then reserved for officials and nobles from the various duchies and the Kingdom of Deland—who also needed to travel to Mehringle and participate in that important multilateral meeting.

Hugh and his group arrived a little late, so when they entered the banquet hall, they naturally attracted the attention of all the passengers present.

As in other settings, humans are the majority here, but other races also exist.

With just one glance, Hugh spotted several goblins with giant ears dressed as officials of the Duchy of Burt. Then, at another table not far away, he saw several plain elves dressed as scholars. Unlike the mountain elves of the highlands, these plain elves often had some green and narrow markings on their profiles, which looked like leaves falling from the forest. These special markings added a touch of strange beauty to them.

The giant-eared goblins and plain elves were quite friendly to Hugh and his party, who represented the Dawn Society. The giant-eared goblins who served in the Duchy of Burt were particularly enthusiastic. One goblin even stood up and raised his glass in Hugh's direction to show his welcome.

Compared to the gentle and enthusiastic elves and goblins, the plains dwarves sitting on the other side were relatively indifferent.

Most of them were renowned alchemists and weapon craftsmen, and they were also invited to Merlinle. The dwarves' special professions gave them a deep understanding of the previous wars, so they were quite cautious when they saw Hugh, who had Ernst family blood.

Besides these, there are the human elites.

Compared to their previous demeanor in the cruise ship corridor, they now appeared more restrained, their gazes showing a mix of outward enthusiasm and cautiousness.

The intense gazes exerted considerable pressure on the members of the Dawn Society.

Weilin, who usually only attends meetings and academic occasions, was not used to this kind of scene. Although she was not timid, her movements became somewhat stiff. As for the members of the Dawn Society, they were even more cautious. While observing their surroundings, they silently recorded some details in their minds that might come in handy in the future.

Hugh noticed the changes in the people around him, so he naturally quickened his pace and came to the front of the group. His vast memory began to be rapidly mobilized, and those fragments that had been deposited like sand at the bottom of the sea of ​​memories after escaping from Seren were directly brought to the surface.

Knowledge that rarely had the opportunity to be used under normal circumstances appeared in his mind with unparalleled clarity. These skills from different nobles, officials, and scholars merged in an instant and were smoothly applied by Hugh.

At this moment, Hugh chose to surrender his body to the powerful inertia hidden within these memories.

When he greeted the goblin with the large ears who was offering a toast, he skillfully bestowed upon him the motto of "God of Commerce and Wealth," and as he passed by the elves, he raised his left hand and gently brushed it across his left eyebrow, a simple gesture used by the plains elves to express daily greetings and goodwill.

When faced with officials and nobles of all kinds, Hughes would greet them with different greetings and etiquette, each time perfectly satisfying the traditions and customs of the other country and region.

As for those cold-faced dwarves...

Hugh knew very well that politeness and greetings alone wouldn't be enough to win these guys' favor; he might need to find some time to have a couple of drinks with them and have a proper chat.

(End of this chapter)