The days went by quickly in the city of Armadura and now it was the evening of the several celebrations meant to boost morale before the large-scale mission to retake Houten's former capital began.
Being mithril rank adventurers, Marcus and Mrazivý were getting dressed up in formal wear to attend the Banquet meant for Houten's army's top officers, and the highest ranked adventurers.
"So, how do I look?"
Having just finished applying some light makeup and her jewelry, Mrazivý twirled around slowly for Marcus.
"Stunning as always. That silver dress enhances your natural beauty. I almost don't want to let anyone else see you." Marcus said, laying out his honest feelings.
"Why thank you. Naturally, you look great yourselves. I may have to beat the women at this banquet away with a stick to keep them off you." Mrazivý said in jest. Though, Marcus wondered if she might really pull out a weapon on anyone that got too close to him.
Her dragon instincts made her very possessive of her treasures, and she always called him her greatest treasure. Not that he minded of course. She was the only one for him.
Once they were certain that everything was in order, they exited their room and walked down to the guild hall's reception area.
There they found the driver for the carriage they had rented waiting and boarded their ride for the evening.
The carriage ride took around an hour thanks to the bustling streets, but Marcus and Mrazivý had accounted for this and arrived on time.
After passing through a few checkpoints, the carriage pulled up to the back of the city's castle where the viceroy lived. The normally mostly empty grounds were bustling with activity and pretty much all of the guest rooms were filled.
"Your invitation?" A guard asked as they walked up to the entrance. They'd already needed to present the document multiple times, but it seemed that with so many VIPs attending tonight's banquet that security was not going to be laxed in the slightest.
Mrazivý pointed to one section of the Great Hall, and it was quite obvious who the adventurers were from how much they were putting away.
Wanting to find the ideal group to begin interacting with, Marcus scanned the area until his eyes stopped on an individual that was walking right towards them.
To his surprise it was someone that they both knew. An old acquaintance they had not seen in several years.
"Fancy meeting you here Princess Mrazivý. This really is quite the surprise, your pretty far from home."
"Novak! It's good to see you again. But what are you doing here? I thought that you were traveling across the continent Borealia was on. Last time we met you told us that you had already finished exploring all of the guild affiliated nations on this continent." Mrazivý said, a shocked expression on her face.
(A/N. For those that don't remember, Novak is the leader of an adventuring party that Marcus and Mrazivý met during Borealia's tournament. He first appeared in chapter 276 and last appeared in chapter 335.)
"Yeah, we just finished up over there and came back home before setting off again. However, we heard about the big operation here and decided to earn some major cash before setting off again." Novak said a jovial smile on his face and his cheeks slightly flushed from alcohol.
"I guess congratulations are in order. If you're here, you must have rank up from platinum to mithril." Marcus said joining in on the conversation.
"Oh? Yes, my party achieved mithril rank last year. But I don't believe that we have met before. My name is Novack, and you are?"
"What are you talking about? I'm the one who introduced you to Mrazivý back during the tournament's banquet. Perhaps you remember the person that beat you party member Clay in the final preliminary round." Marcus said, pointing to himself and trying to jog Novak's memory.
Nevertheless, the man just looked at Marcus in bewilderment. He had no idea who he was.
"I'm afraid that you must be mistaken. It was Irene Geist that introduced me to her Highness Mrazivý and defeated Clay during the tournament. I don't know who you are."
It was at this moment that Marcus realized he had messed up. During Borealia's tournament, he had still mostly been going around as Irene. Except right now, he was his normal self. Of course, Novak did not recognize him. He'd finally majorly slipped up because of his two main identities.