Manuke FPS Chapter 89

The banquet at La Vienne Rose the largest ballroom in the city was about to begin. As we waited at our table for the last group, the first to arrive was Veneers City Lord and his wife. Along with the Veneer couple, another person arrived; maybe one of their sons. Marquis Venatos group sat at the head of their tables as hosts of the event. The Marquis took the sit to my right, probably thinking the other chairs were taken. With this, the group had been seated As for Lord Dragranges group

This should be our table, Leader!

Please have a seat!

Ooh-, is it here, or here?

I heard voices behind As the voice ca closer and closer, I turned my head and found-

A short-statured man in a tuxedo with a raccoon face. His white undershirt was prominent due to his protruding potbelly, while his black jacket was made scarce as itd been pushed off to the side. And standing next to him was a woman with a. Slender rat face? Behind them was a 2-ter tall car-eared man I an woman, in a brown evening dress. E? Was this person a transvestite? I stayed seated, making sure that I was ready to stand at a monts notice as I watched the trio warily.

Oh, the Dragrange family has arrived. Please, have a seat.

Marquis Veneer, whod been seated next to , greeted the trio. So these weirdos were the people from the Degrange frontier?

My eyes followed their movent. So far, they seed docile, but that cat-eared woman made wary Unaware of how I felt, Laptiricia-sama greeted her as she sat beside her. Sohow, I felt sothing strange. What about Ashley whod been seated closer? She didnt seem to hold any suspicion of them, or did she?

Oo, if it isnt Laptiricia Barga!

Nice to et you, I am Laptiricia-sama.

I am the eldest daughter of Lord of the Degrange frontier, Ophelia De Lagrange. This man here is my escort

Escort Virginia Parrenberg.

I am also an escort, my na is Edelhart!

In return, Laptiricia-sama introduced both Ashley and I. Ashley replied without trouble, but I was at a loss for words. Because I felt stifled when Ophelias eyes and mine t. However, it was only for a mont as the venues lighting dimd. Marquis Venato, as the host, erged on the stage; probably signaling the beginning of the event. Ophelia had turned away, as she didnt seem to hold any interest in anymore. She clapped her hands in response to Marquis Venatos speech.

After the greetings, a small orchestra began to play beside the stage. Their elegant and flowy music played as the servants distributed the food. The first served was a soup. The Marquis and Laptiricia-sama spoke as they enjoyed it slowly. The Degrange trio drank it at once. One even asked for seconds. Next ca the main course, dishes of fish followed by other at dishes. Then salads and lastly, desert. There were 10 or so dishes being served.

It may have been the first ti Id attended a banquet, but I knew enough to keep it simple; to enjoy just enough of the dish. But one thing prevented from enjoying my al was Ophelia. I watched her and the other two eat, specifically, I kept my eye on the silverware in their hands. Id made sure that my knife was ready to be thrown at a monts notice. Unfortunately, no matter how I concentrated, the display on the panther mask showed no guiding line. Apparently, the targeting system only worked with VMBs weapons.

I watched them diligently, too high strung to even rember the taste of the at I ate tasted like.

The first ti Id t them was at the Fort City of Barga. Back then, I thought they were just so adventurers. The second ti Id t them was when I took the request for the Marida Company. While those guys had given themselves a cool sounding na, they were the first to flee the mont the bandits appeared. The third ti was at this very banquet. I thought to myself as I watched the giant of a person, who seed confused on whether theyd be a he or she, enjoyed the dishes joyfully.

From their attitude, I could clearly tell them apart from a real noble like Laptiricia-sama. Dont tell they only attended the banquet just to eat? Did they really have to disguise themselves as a giant cat-eared lady with her escorts, the rat faced lady and little raccoon man just for that? I didnt know which unnerved more. realizing who they were, or everyone else not having the smallest inkling of suspicion of them. Not only those who sat at the table, not even the wait staff seed to see the strangeness of these guests.

What was going on here?

In the end, the banquet ended without any incident. After arriving back at the inn, I finally had ti for a break and asked Ashley.

Degrange territory? Its in the furthest most north of the kingdom. If we take a carriage there, itd take two months to get there.

Have you ever t a mber of the Degrange family before this?

No, I havent. But Ophelias beauty was famous even in the capital. Shes a beautiful elf just as rumoured.

Elf?

But what I saw back at the banquet was a beastkin. anwhile, the elf race was part of a very different fairy race So that Ophelia was a fake. But why did no one else notice? They couldnt have possibly mistook a beastman for an elf, right? Its so ridiculous it mustve been magic

Magic?

Of course, in other words, theyd used so sort of magic spell or tool to conceal themselves. However, it didnt work on who was a Manuke. Perhaps it was an illusion that interfered with the sight and sound of those with magic, making them see sothing different. I wouldve been deceived as well if itd been a shapeshifting ability instead. But one that worked by interfering with ones magic wouldnt work on . But what was their purpose? Just to attend the banquet?

In any case, those were the sa trio of adventurers and that I encountered during the Marida escort request. Could anyone else see through their illusion? The trip to Veneer ended with that quest in my mind. We would leave tomorrow to return to the capital. There wasnt another attack either that night. This journey might prove more difficult as we had another five days ahead.

We had a talk with the convoy leader. Hed ntioned that the most dangerous area would be the rest area, since wed spend the night there. And it wasnt just Laptiricia-sama we had to protect. It was also the horses and carriages as they were equally as important to keep our schedule. If we failed to attend the ball held in the capital, thatd been a major blunder. No only would the eting of the Third Prince be delayed, itd put a huge obstacle for her to beco his fiancee.

With so many other nobles attending the banquet, her chance of getting to know the prince would plumt. And regardless of her rank, another person would replace her if she missed it. Therefore, although protecting Laptiricia-sama was important, keeping our transportation intact was just as vital.