Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Imperial Banquet: Uncovering Facades

'Isn't that what I get in the latter parts of the novel after killing that scum? Why would it be in the Imperial Treasury?' Amael wondered, skeptical.

{No, that is possible. The question is, how does he know of it?}

Amael, agreeing with the system's words, could do nothing but become more cautious of this so-called friend of his.

After all, Amael Blake and Jash Ramille were supposed to be friends, so it would be far easier for Jash to notice the changes in Amael.

In fact, Jash was already contemplating multiple possibilities, hoping to figure out the cause of change in Amael's personality.

'So he knows?' Jash thought, noting the subtle shifts in Amael's expression—from confusion to shock to surprise.

It was truly a wonder how Jash could read so many emotions others missed on Amael's seemingly indifferent face.

Fortunately, the Emperor was focused on Jash and missed the minute reactions from Amael, or both of them would have garnered his attention.

As if on cue, Jash suddenly felt creeped out, prompting him to look around, trying to locate the source of the discomfort.

However, he suddenly stopped as a dark realization settled in. 'Could it be that darned Emperor again?' he thought grimly.

Unable to do anything about the greedy and power-hungry Emperor, Jash pretended to have not noticed it.

Next to him, Amael stood confused about the strange reactions from Jash, but chose to wisely stay quiet.

He couldn't afford to get caught, especially by the one guy who would die at the first arc itself.

Naturally, he didn't believe Jash could change that fate, especially since even the protagonist and Amael were helpless in that scenario.

So, how could someone weaker and less talented than them manage to do something like that?

'And to boot, I even have a system,' Amael mused to himself, wanting to steer clear of the suspicious Jash Ramille for as long as possible.

Fortunately, Jash was of the same mind, wanting to figure out the changes in Amael, but maintaining a safe distance as well.

Just as the two were busy in their own thoughts, the Emperor announced the beginning of the banquet and the hall became abuzz with excitement.

Some nobles eagerly whispered about the event that just occurred, some chiding or praising their kids for their performance.

There were also the aloof ones, who remained indifferent and chose to not comment on any happenings of today.

As the banquet went on, a lot of complicated stuff happened.

'One can't truly use their mana after the banquet begins,' Jash noted, trying to use his mana inside the hall.

He attempted to enhance his vision with mana to locate his parents or the one he dreaded meeting, but still wished to see.

'They really like to splurge,' Jash cursed inwardly, recalling the event where one could use mana and everything freely.

As his prediction turned out, only the ones inside the illusion could use mana, not anyone who didn't participate or got disqualified.

Even the size of the banquet hall expanded to almost four times after the official announcement.

Several tables filled with tantalizing dishes came into view, begging to be devoured by the guests.

The guests—not limited to just nobles, but also including dwarves, elves, merchants, and the associations—began feasting.

Yet Jash had a different expression as compared to the rest of the guests when looking at the food.

'The Elves don't eat meat, while dwarves prefer meat... what a crazy coincidence that both are present here.'

His thought really made it hard for him to ignore their presence as his observing nature came to picture, diverting his attention.

In the end, he failed to find anyone to talk to besides Serron and Caera.

'At least I don't have to act like I'll puke at the sight of meat anymore,' he mused, glad that the numerous dungeon runs allowed him to "adapt".

Of course, only he knew that he didn't need to adapt.

His past life memories of humans eating even dead and decaying corpses made him immune to a little meat.

Heck, even he could vividly recall the scenes of eating food while sitting at the body of a demon or human.

Even being drenched in the blood of demons or humans couldn't stop him, let alone well-cooked meat dishes.

'Though it did help me fake being sick to skip training,' Jash reminisced, a small smile briefly flashing by his face.

He continued to roam the banquet hall, trying to gather information or finding someone he could talk to.

Because of his seemingly "lackluster" performance, he wasn't surrounded by other participants like Amael and Ava.

No one dared approach Avon as he appeared to be in a terrible mood despite him trying his best to mask it.

'Idiots,' Jash labeled them, focusing on the more important part.

The fake promises of dealings, lies about blessings, tricks of cheating, or veiled threats from some maniacs were quite noticeable.

'That Emperor, I am sure, knows of it but doesn't care,' Jash thought, his impression of the Emperor falling further.

It wasn't that the Emperor didn't care. Rather, it would change nothing no matter how many times he interfered.

Simply because the people present at the party weren't weak-minded idiots; they had lived through such deception all their lives.

They knew better than to act on impulse, and tarnish their relationships, who knew if the other part would even follow their words or not.

They might just deny any such agreements and laugh out loud, looking at them making a fool of themselves.

After all, many cunning and snarky nobles in high ranks had done these things in the past too.

Everyone was well-versed in world history, aware of instances where some people randomly attacked or other different tensions.

It was common knowledge that over the 2000 years of history, there were many instances where people gathered and shit went south.

So people kept their cool despite all the enticing deals and promises, pretending to be interested while not.

'Still, some young and arrogant nobles fall for these tricks,' Jash thought, finding a few of the boring conversations amusing.

Although the conversations themselves were extremely boring and seemed repetitive, Jash found some funny ones.

One such conversation was about letting another noble have their dungeon since they were weak and asking them to not take loot.

'As if! That would never work as long as the nobles are still selfish,' Jash sneered at the idiot of a noble who genuinely praised the idea. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Even the one proposing didn't expect such an outcome, his sleazy smile almost faltering for a second.

Excluding the animated chatter Jash focused on, there was another more important matter he chose to ignore.

That was matchmaking.

Many young and old, noblemen and noble ladies were present, adding weight to their world.

Of course, even if someone was stupid enough to fall for the tricks, and wanted to do something, they'd rather not.

'The security measures placed around the palace are next level,' Jash mused, remembering the numerous guards on duty.

Not just the imperial guards, the shadow guards of Dukes and Marquises,.high-ranking hunters—were all present in the vicinity.

Therefore, one wrong move from anyone suspicious would be met with the opposition of several hunters.

Hence, the party continued peacefully and people continued to chatter around, waiting for the hosts of the event to conclude the event.

'When will it end?' Jash wondered. The banquet had switched from interesting to annoying with time for him.

As if not wanting it to end, a smooth mellifluous voice interrupted his walk.

"Jash!"