Epic Of The Demonic Sage

"Greetings! Is there any chance that we can join you five this evening?" Lucius smiled and held up the second bottle of Humble Blaze that he had been saving.

"Y-Young Lord Asher?" All five of the minor nobility spluttered in shock, but then quickly bowed and gave their respectful greetings to him and his companion. "Greetings to you too, Viscount Felldan. To what do we owe the pleasure of the two of your presence?"

"Since I have made my speech from earlier, it has come to my attention that I did not finish greeting each and every noble who has come to celebrate my father's victory against Viscount Drew," Lucius said with a well practiced smile.

"You are a busy young lord, Young Lord Asher. It makes sense that you will not be able to greet all of us. We do not take any offense in it, none at all." One of the nobles said. "Should you need to leave to greet the others in the banquet, we would also understand well."

"Oh, are you guys turning me away?" Lucius asked.

The five minor nobles all cursed inwardly in their own way. They didn't need to show their blatant dislike for the young lord and quickly thought of an excuse that would save their faces.

"Please do not take what my companion said in the wrong way, Young Lord Asher. The truth is that we are most honored by your appearance and that of Viscount Felldan. It makes us so gratified that it feels like you could have greeted other people instead of us." Another noble said.

"In fact, we are most surprised that you would approach us. There are far many nobles with higher ranks and stations than us. It would be a lot more beneficial for you to speak and greet them than us. I think Viscount Felldan knows it well."

The five minor nobles did not wish to offend Young Lord Asher's feelings and it made them feel like they were stepping on glass, and in addition to that, the presence of Viscount Felldan was also not helping them in the slightest.

With the addition of the Viscount Felldan in their midst, despite the amount of alcohol they had intoxicated themselves with, the five minor nobles found it within themselves, sobering up quickly, lest they find themselves at the wrong end of the conversation.

Everyone was aware that Viscount Felldan was a great supporter of Count Inanis and with the man's son around, the five minor nobles were exceptionally frightened that Count Inanis might suddenly arrive and join them in for the conversation as well.

Lucius knew that they were underestimating 'Asher Inanis' already and it was because of that reason that he used it to his full advantage.

"Far more beneficial to speak with others?" Lucius raised a brow. "I do not think that we must only engage with those who benefit us in one way or another, my dear friends. Each one of us here supports a common ideal, and so it makes sense to not look at things such as rank or status."

"Oh, Young Lord Asher, you speak humbly, but it is simply the truth." One of the oldest of the five minor nobles spoke with a hollow smile on their face, the age in their face most visible. "Once upon a time when you are elevated in rank, the people flock to you, but when they see that you are no longer at your highest, then they will simply leave you for something else."

"Let us not bore, Young Lord Asher with such things now. Tonight is that of a celebration, is it not?" A much younger face in the five nobles spoke with a slight scowl at his elderly counterpart. It was clear from their appearance that they were one of the nobles that were trying to scale up the ranks.

"On the contrary, I am actually quite curious about what they have said," Lucius said. "All of you five must have heard my speech earlier, did you not?"

Viscount Felldan couldn't help but keep his expression placid when he saw the slight shift in the demeanor of the five nobles.

Young Lord Asher knew exactly what to say to make them react in such intriguing and interesting ways.

"A-ah yes! We have indeed, Lord Asher."

"You spoke of needing change and reform in the Land of Etara did you not, Young Lord Asher? We were listening quite well about it."

"We have given it much thought even, as we were most impressed with what you have pointed out. The City of Inanis truly has greatly improved in a vast amount of time with these sudden changes you've brought in."

"Even from the time of Count Inanis, they have already introduced good ideas like the academy for servants who wish to improve their skills, and now it is Young Lord Asher's turn to share his knowledge with us. It is most humbling."

"Is that so? Based on how you have spoken earlier, it seems like there might be some issues that you are facing from earlier before?"

"O-oh that's… that's just age speaking. Please ignore it and do not give further thought to what I have said, Young Lord Asher."

"I have not spoken and addressed everyone earlier to simply ignore the troubles that are being experienced by my fellow nobility," Lucius said. "Please, I would be most interested to hear about your territories and whatever problems that you and the others here might be encountering."

"Is that so, Young Lord Asher?"

"Yes, I'm quite earnest in this regard," Lucius said with a smile.

The five minor nobles exchanged looks. Some of them looked a bit suspicious of what the Young Lord Asher suddenly said, but others also seemed like they were finally acknowledged by the young lord which gratified them.

"It would take too long for us to throughly discuss this, Young Lord Asher. We may briefly tell you about our lands and what issues that we face, but it will not be an interesting thing."

"Nor does it seem possible that you would quickly be able to think of a solution as you did with the crime reduction in Inanis City… but only because we have faced such incidents for a long time."

"If there is not enough time tonight, then it seems like the solution to that is simple enough. I would like to invite all of you to go to Inanis territory," Lucius said.