Chapter 92

◈ Chapter 92: Celebration Banquet (2)

A banquet to celebrate the arrival of the new teachers at Seorun.

As I entered the banquet hall on time, gazes flew at me like arrows, as if they had been waiting for me.

'There are so many people.'

The looks were filled with such intense interest that I was momentarily taken aback, but I maintained a natural demeanor as I moved inside.

More than that, don't banquets usually have music to maintain a gentle atmosphere? Why is it so quiet?

'Has the banquet not started yet?'

Thinking this to myself, I approached one of the walls and leaned against it to get a better view of the entire hall.

Suddenly, the time that had seemed to stop began to flow again.

People who had been conversing among themselves continued their previous conversations, and someone else laughed with a twinkle in their eye, finding it amusing.

But beneath those actions, there was a pretense that was hard to hide.

It was so overwhelming that it felt as if it was spilling over, spreading like a black fog around me.

'They're all watching someone else, not their conversation partners.'

Especially me.

It might sound like an overactive self-awareness, but I, who am sensitive to such gazes, couldn't miss it.

Most people were glancing at me or staring at me outright.

I could easily guess why.

'This is a celebration banquet, but it's also a kind of gathering to foster connections.'

The new teachers at Seorun.

Young and with verified magical abilities, they would be valuable to have a connection with, even if it's just a little.

Sure enough, people who had been sizing each other up began to move one by one, confirming my suspicions.

"Ah, Miss Selina. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Charles, a member of the lower house."

"Are you Miss Merida? I'm Walt Miller, a board member of a potion manufacturing company. Are you interested?"

"Oh, Lord Chris Benimore. You're as handsome as the rumors say."

I observed the people gathered at the banquet.

All of them were wealthy and noble.

City councilors, nobles, wealthy businessmen, and so on.

'They are all sponsors of Seorun.'

Seorun requires a huge budget to operate.

Research on magic, textbooks, special materials, all kinds of infrastructure, and so on.

Considering the cost of raising a single mage, the amount of money spent by an academy that produces many elite mages every year must be astronomical.

Just the starting salary for a new teacher like me was enough to make one's jaw drop.

The money spent on the salaries of new teachers alone is considerable.

Considering other miscellaneous expenses, the exact amount is hard to imagine.

'Seorun Academy can't cover this money on its own.'

Seorun is not an international bank; it can't print money like a factory and circulate it.

To invest such a large amount of money, it inevitably needs external support.

And there are always people who can smell money from a mile away.

People who need money.

People who have money but want something else.

This banquet is the place where their interests align like puzzle pieces, forming a flourishing transaction.

'Seorun belongs to the empire, but it's not purely an imperial institution.'

Seorun's investors include various countries.

Not just the Exilion Empire, but Delic, Queoden, Yuta, Bretus, the Fatima Dynasty, and so on.

And borderless, massive capitalists who don't care about nationality.

It's not strange for them to try to establish connections with potential talents who might become famous in the future.

This is a regular event that happens every time, to the point where asking for the reason has become tiresome.

It's a place to build connections under the pretext of celebrating a new teacher.

Watching the scene where desires stir, someone approached me.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Rudger Chellis?"

I nodded slightly in response.

"Yes, that's me."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lord Decker, one of Seorun's sponsors."

I wondered why he hadn't moved until now, but he must have been sizing up the situation.

As Lord Decker took the lead, people who had been sizing each other up began to move.

It's hard for someone to step up first, but it's easier after that.

I didn't like this.

'What should I do? If I let this continue, all sorts of flies will stick to me.'

I didn't come here to have formal conversations with people I don't know.

I came to find the First Order of the Black Dawn, who had infiltrated the banquet.

The process needed to be natural, and I didn't want to be disturbed by anyone, but it was getting complicated because people were sticking to me from the start.

In this situation, I had to be a bit more forceful.

"Excuse me."

I deliberately created a heavy atmosphere and firmly told Lord Decker.

"I don't feel like talking to anyone right now."

"What, what did you say?"

"I said I would appreciate it if you could step aside for a moment."

A blatant tone that made it clear I didn't want to be here.

Narrowing his eyes, Lord Decker swallowed hard and nodded hurriedly.

"Oh, um, right. Sorry. I didn't mean to waste your time. Heh, heh!"

Thankfully, he was quick to catch on.

And so were the people around him.

"Cough, cough."

"Hmm."

As Lord Decker stepped back without doing anything, people who had been watching from a distance cleared their throats and moved back.

They were clearly of a lower rank than Lord Decker.

Since he couldn't even speak to me, they immediately gave up on trying to talk to me.

'The first round of thinning out is done.'

The problem is that many people haven't given up yet.

I don't know exactly who Lord Decker is, but considering his position, he must be in the upper-middle class among the people gathered here.

The fact that people are still giving me persistent looks even after he stepped back proves their high status.

'They are definitely quite troublesome people.'

I don't like the idea of such people approaching me directly.

While I was thinking about how to deal with this, a woman with pink hair and a pink dress caught my eye.

Miss Selina.

She was flustered by a young man's overt advances.

Hmm, maybe.

I detached myself from the wall and walked towards Miss Selina.

Some people looked at me with curious eyes as I moved.

I ignored them.

Someone tried to speak to me, but I gently waved them off.

"Miss Selina, how about a drink in a nice spot? I know a good place."

"Eh, eh, sorry. I don't really like unfamiliar places..."

"Come on, don't be shy. It's a place that ordinary people can't easily go to."

"Ah, no, that's not what I meant..."

"Let's stop there."

As I stepped in, the person who had been pestering Miss Selina looked at me.

"What's this?"

He seemed annoyed that he was being interrupted.

I silently observed him.

'Late 20s, expensive clothing, flashy accessories, a bad posture, and a challenging, self-confident gaze.'

I looked around.

'The people who were eyeing Miss Selina have all backed off.'

Miss Selina, though a commoner, is a capable teacher at Seorun at a young age.

She's also a noticeable beauty with a good personality, so she must have been quite attractive to people looking to build connections.

The fact that she's a commoner rather than a noble might have made her more approachable, but the reason the others backed off when this young man stepped up must be one thing.

'He must be a young noble with a high status.'

From a family so prestigious that even minor nobles can't speak out of turn.

But.

That doesn't concern me.

"Approaching a woman who is clearly uncomfortable is rude."

"Who are you to say that?"

At that moment, Miss Selina turned to look at me, her eyes wide.

"Mr. Rudger!"

"Rudger? Who's that?"

He didn't recognize my name?

I was quite surprised, seeing that he genuinely didn't know.

I was considering introducing myself as a new teacher at Seorun when an elderly man hurriedly approached the young man and whispered something in his ear.

He was dressed according to the party's dress code, but I could sense that he was a mage.

He must be telling him who I am.

"So what?"

But the young man's reaction far exceeded my expectations.

"Rudger Chellis? He's a new teacher here, but what does that have to do with me?"

"That, that is..."

"Hey, you there, Rudger or whatever."

The young man, who was openly pointing at me and speaking rudely.

I was so taken aback that I didn't respond, just stared at him. Eventually, he pointed at himself and asked brazenly.

"You. Don't you know who I am?"

Do I need to know?

I stared at him blankly, and he sighed in exasperation.

"Really. Are you a fallen noble or something? You have nothing in your head."

The faces of the nobles who had been watching the situation turned cold.

But some people who knew about him seemed resigned, as if they had expected this.

Judging by their reactions, this kind of mischief wasn't a one-time thing.

"I'm Ivan Luke. Heard of me? Don't know Luke? Even the beggars in the back alleys have heard of the Luke Corporation."

How could I not know?

I am