Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Rearren standing from his seat warranted everyone to start moving to their own seats if they weren't seated already. The tables were placed for groups of four to sit comfortably after all.

Soon, the hall had grown silent as everyone keenly paid attention to what the Head of the EverSword House would want to say.

What was this gathering for anyway besides the obvious introductions and conversing?

At the end of the hall where the prestigious host Household members sat, Darwel could also be seen, along with Brenn and the veiled guards.

They couldn't be mixed in with everyone else, after all.

"A fine evening, isn't it? I have every reason to believe that many of you will remember this night quite fondly, regardless of the results at the end of the Premium Age Royale," Rearren said. "No doubt however, for some, the next stretch of days will be their last. There are many feuds among your Families that many of you will no doubt seek to settle in rather... blood ways. As stated by the rules, that is permitted."

"That aside, besides fellowship, I organised this gathering to speak about the hidden rules and regulations of the Premium Age Royale. Rules that have no reason to land in the minds of civilians."

Most Contenders had thought about this.

Surely all that they had received in the way of rules wasn't the entire package, right? Besides some reveals, the rules didn't specify details about some very, very concerning matters. One such matter was...

"First, allow me to elaborate on the barring of all experts above the Master Stage from participating. As you know, the population of powerhouses at that level rests only at a measly few hundred or even less in Pelian. Something that I would say is owed to the Ashing of Time. But I digress."

"As there are so few, our community is close knit. Bandit, Mage, Family Head, whatever they are, we have our appetites in check. The only ones to control us is us. I ensured that my peers understood. As such, that is why you will find no Incandescent Stage experts or higher in this event. That would be unfair wouldn't it? Hahaha," Rearren explained.

Many nodded.

This made sense.

There were a few Family Heads that were actually at the Incandescent Stage and they were barred from being anything but witnesses in the Premium Age Royale.

The others were among the ranks of the Capital Service as Honoured Level combatants, a rank above Capital Order Knights.

It was sad to see that throughout the years, the number of mighty powers that transcended Master did not grow by much, but then again, as Rearren had stated, this was owed to a phenomenon that only a handful of individuals in the entirety of Aigas understood.

The Ashing of Time.

"Beyond this, I also wanted to formally introduce a contender in the Premium Age Royale that has not been given proper welcome, Her Highness Darwel of Opungale," Rearren said as he gestured towards the gorgeous Sif who sat on this platform.

A lull ensued in the hall as the previous topic had caused hushed discussions to occur but this...

As Darwel stood with a smile on her lips, everyone was shocked!

"She'll be participating?!"

"What! That's absurd!"

"Why?! That just makes the event unfair! Who would risk fighting her?!"

"Damn it! Is this some kind of joke?!"

It wasn't a secret that most humans did not favour the Sif at all.

Racial issues were prevalent in every continent.

For the most part, everyone could tolerate Darwel's presence as a witness but the fact that she was participating...

"Well that, is so... very... interesting."

Vali Kinn who sat on one of the tables said with a sly smile as she set on leg of hers over the other while sipping on her drink.

She was one of the few who wasn't really shocked, but more so intrigued about this revelation.

Her reaction was closely followed by Aurolio's.

Somewhere between the frames of this reality, he had gotten a grip of himself. He breathed into his hands while quivering as he eyed Darwel calmly.

"What a surprise but she isn't the one either. I'm running out of surprise contenders to pin THAT identity onto. Tsk. I sincerely hope this wasn't all for nothing. I hate public spaces," Aurolio growled to himself.

"Please be patient. You can take your time scouting later," Idline who sat beside the white haired man said.

Silrat had nearly choked on his wine when Rearren announced this shocking burst of news. What he had told Skullius earlier was blown out of the water, proven to be false. Darwel was a contender not a witness!

Skullius folded his arms.

The competition kept growing and growing.

"Please calm down," Rearren struck his wine glass with a spoon, the ring causing everyone to hush down. "I know how it seems, but I assure you no one will come to harm simply by trading blows with Her Highness Darwel. I give you my word. Instead of counting her out as a combatant since she is of a very high standing, I would take her seriously if I were you."

The crowd seemed to relax a tad bit but everyone noticed how Rearren phrased his statement.

No one would come to harm simply by trading blows with Darwel.

That meant doing anything else, perhaps wounding her would cause problems?! Obviously!

Unfortunately, Rearren did nothing to quell the concerned hearts of the contenders above this and many started to wonder...

Who were the unlucky fools that would have to face off against her in the Preliminaries?

"The last issue I would like to address is the match ups. Unlike the popular method of random selection, the Game Master will decide who will battle against who in the Preliminary rounds. Granted, he does not know most of you by name, so it might as well be the same as random selection."

This announcement didn't bother many as much as there was nothing to draw from it.

Bottom line, all matches were going to be pre-planned by the Game Master but ultimately it was all left to the mercies of one's Direction whether or not they would face up against someone absurd or not.

Unlike the case with Darwel, most were willing to accept that they could be unlucky enough to battle with Vali or Aurolio or perhaps even the other individual that everyone had not spoken about who had publicly announced his interest when this event was announced months back, at least the rumours said so, since win or loss didn't have nearly as much terrifying external consequences.

"Ah. Enough with the sombreness. All the formal talk ends here. Beyond this, please enjoy the company," Rearren said. Everyone was relieved.

At least there were no more hidden surprises.

The EverSword House Head turned to his right where Rias was sitting.

"Go on, son. Socialise and mingle with the other. You deserve it," Rearren said with a fatherly smile, if it could be identified as such.

"Yes father," Rias said as he rose, everyone gazing towards him with a mix of emotion as he began walking among them.