NOVEL WEB Chapter 9 – The great banquet (Part one)
Orok sighs, standing up and dragging his feet towards the entrance, not bothering to cover his half-naked body as he opens the door. "Yeah?"
Olivia stands by the other side with a gentle smile on her lips. "Hello again, ambassador. I came to-" She starts talking, suddenly interrupting herself as she notices the lack of clothing on the huge orc, pupils darting to the sides as she lowers her voice tone to a confused whisper. "Are you in the middle of something...?"
"Nah, don't worry. I'm not really in the mood for it right now." He dismissively waves his hand. "What were you going to say?"
"Uhm..." The royal advisor professionally clears her throat, regaining her composure. "Ambassador, I came to let you know that the banquet we talked about earlier is just about to begin, I could guide you and your assistant there if you desire... This event could be a fantastic way to get to know the influential people of the Capital you will be cooperating with, maybe shake a few hands and make some allies, if you-"
"Food!" Orok happily exclaims, red eyes opening wide and lips twisting upwards into a big grin. His previous gloominess instantly replaced with utter joy.
"Yes, there will be delicious food. But also-"
"Gahahaha, finally!" The orc laughs, excitedly rubbing his hands together. "Give me a second to put on some clothes!" He quickly shuts the door in the advisor's face.
Nova nervously taps her foot against the floor and chews on strands of her hair, now worried sick about her TTRPG collection. "H-hey, you locked the door of the house properly before we left, right?" She stutters, looking at the orc as he frenetically gets dressed.
"Who cares." He simply says, not even remembering what had him anxious minutes ago. "Hey, get dressed! It's time to eat, Gahahaha!" He grabs the elf's skirt and dressing shirt scattered around, tossing them toward her face.
Olivia guides the orc and his slave toward the great hall of the castle, politely nodding her head at them before walking away to greet a couple of guests who just arrived. "Goddess, this is... we are so out of place here..." Nova dumbfoundedly whispers as she looks around the place.
The great hall is a gigantic, rectangular room with a high ceiling. The walls are covered with intricate paintings and tapestries depicting Malena's royal crest, while the floors are lined with red carpets adorned with golden details. Tables and tables are spread across the middle of the room, covered with mouthwatering meals and desserts.
Nobles, wealthy merchants, knights, and other distinguished guests sit around the banquet tables, feasting and drinking. Servants hurry around the room carrying trays of food and wine, dutifully refilling cups and doing their best to please. In the background, bards give the banquet a happy, relaxing ambiance with their instruments. Everyone seems to be having a great time, the room is filled with laughter.
Orok's eyes sparkle in amusement as he swiftly grabs an expensive bottle of wine from the tray of a servant that passes next to him. "Thanks!" He laughs, heartily gulping down the drink. The young servant sighs and rolls his eyes, walking away to get more wine.
"Hey, behave!" The elf next to him hisses, getting on her tip-toes, trying to take the bottle away from him. "For one time in your life, don't act like an idiot!"
The orc ambassador chuckles, setting the half-empty bottle on top of the tray of another servant that passes. "Relax! We should have fun, smile a little bit." He places his thumbs on the grumpy elf's cheeks, pulling them upwards and forcing a smile on her pouty lips. "Gahahaha, that's better!"
Nova huffs, pushing the orc away from her. "Just... just eat and don't bother anyone, okay? I'm going to take a look around and see who we should be on good terms with." She sighs, removing her glasses to rub her tired eyes. "And don't even think about having more wine, you idiot! You are insufferable enough when you are sober."
"Pft, okay mom." Orok says, instantly skipping toward the closest table of feasts, grabbing an entire roasted chicken, and happily munching on it. A nobleman and his wife sitting close confusedly look at each other, then grab their plates and discretely drift away to another table.
Frowning at her master's poor manners, Nova takes a deep breath and starts casually wandering around the great hall, keeping her ear up for any interesting conversation or mention that could prove useful.
"Boooooring..." Princess Francesca sighs, childishly puffing her cheeks. "Sooooo booooooooooooringgggggg..."
The eighteen-year-old teenager sits at a small table separated from the rest of the guests. Her adorable height of four foot nine meaning that her feet simply dangle from her chair. Francesca sports a slim, graceful ballerina build, with toned legs and tiny mosquito-bite breasts. Her eyes green as emeralds, on top of a tiny nose covered in freckles, while her long, silky ginger orange hair reaches down to the small of her back.
She wears a very, very impractical frilly sleeveless dress of pastel colors that reaches a couple of inches above her knees. High heels cover her dainty feet and a tiara rests on the top of her head.
"Bo-o-o-o-oring..." She continues, idly stabbing the plate of salad in front of her with her fork.
The handmaiden standing next to her tiredly sighs. "Princess, if you are so bored, then why don't you try socializing a bit?"
"But that's the most boring part! I couldn't care less about what the simpletons that come to these things have to tell me!" She complains, putting her fork down and crossing her arms with a frown. "They are so dull and uninteresting... Even the knights! You would expect them to at least have good stories about fighting monsters or something like that, but they only talk about mundane matters..."
"I'm sure there has to be at least one person in here able to entertain you, princess..."
"I doubt it." Francesca sighs, standing from her seat. "I'm going back to my room."
"The king said he wanted you to stay here. And you are an adult now, princess, you should look for a husband. This is the perfect opportunity for that..."
The princess rolls her eyes, sitting again, placing her elbow on the table, and boredly resting her cheek on her palm. "First, my dad isn't even here, so he has no right to force me to stay. And second, I'm never going to marry. Never."
"That's what every girl your age says until they met the right man." The handmaiden softly smiles. "Let's take a look around... What about him?" She points at a young nobleman in the distance.
"Ew. His nose is huge."
"And that one?"
"Too skinny. And I've never seen so many pimples on a face before."
"And that other one...?"
"Are you serious? He is shorter than me."
The handmaiden sighs, irritatedly rubbing her forehead. Francesca's eyes disinterestedly scan across the room until... "Who is that?"
"Hmm? That young man? I think he is the son of a very important-"
"No, not that! I'm talking about him." Francesca points her slender finger at the gigantic orc voraciously eating like his life depended on it. A fascinated look appearing in her bright emerald eyes.
"T-the orc? He is the ambassador of Garro, I think. Why?" The handmaiden alarmedly glances at the young princess with a raised eyebrow.
"My gosh, he is huge! I don't think I've ever seen an orc before..." She says, determinedly standing up from her seat once again, smiling widely. "I'm going to talk to him."
