The prince's advisor looked stunned by the way things were developing, but there was little he could do now.
His muscle, one of the Cerdo's guard knights, was still being held back by Novak. And it was clear that neither Marcus nor Mrazivý cared about the prince's status. They did not live in Houten, and being mithril rank adventurers, the two of them could easily leave the nation whenever they wanted.
"How dare you insult his highness in such a manner!" The guard knight yelled.
He then attempted to shake Novak off, but to no avail. His strength stat wasn't even half of what Novak's was.
"Why don't you take a nap."
Moving incredibly quickly, Novak brought his free hand up to the knight's head and flicked him.
The force of the strike rattled the man's brain and despite his training and relatively high level he was unable to remain conscious.
"What are you doing?!" The advisor said in shock.
"I'm saving this man's life. You do not want to mess with those two. It will only end badly for you." Novak warned.
In fact, he had intervened from the start to protect the guard knight. It was easy to see how things would have ended had he not from the murderous glint in Marcus' eyes.
With everything going against him, the advisor concluded that his best bet of action was to beat a hasty retreat. He could see that the other female adventuers had turned away the people the prince had sent to persuade them to meet with him. None of them were the usual doe eyed young girls hoping to curry the prince's favor nor were any of them afraid of his status.
In utter defeat everyone the prince sent out to pick up women for him returned to him.
Naturally a self-centered prick like him was furious despite him being in the wrong, and when he discovered that one of his guard knights was knocked unconscious, he became livid.
'Yeah, I figured that this was how things were going to go down.' Marcus thought seeing the prince glaring over towards him, Mrazivý, and Novak.
"Should I just preemptively deal with the problem?" Marcus asked Mrazivý with a hushed voice.
For a few moments she thought about it, but ultimately shook her head.
"No, it will be more fun to just embarrass him. He can come air his grievances all he wants; I've got a couple trump cards to play. Just back me up and we should get through this easily enough. Though if it comes to it, go ahead and do whatever you need to."
"Knights, seize them. If they resist, kill them." Cerdo said, a sadistic smile on his face.
At once the prince's loyal knights drew their weapons, but before things could escalate further, a single man stepped in between the two groups to put an end to things.
"I believe that is enough. This is hardly the time or place for something like this. A banquet is mean to be enjoyed."
Sato Tachibana stood in front of both Marcus, Mrazivý, and Novak, as well as Cerdo and his followers.
The imposing aura he was emitting stopped everyone in their tracks and a heavy tension spread throughout the entire Great Hall.
Except there was one person too dense to grasp the severity of the situation.
"Sir Sato! As your commander, I order you to assist in capturing these criminals that dared to insult me!"
Cerdo's lips bent upwards into a confident grin now that he believed a powerful ally had shown up to assist him.
Yet instead of following the entitled prince's command, Sato gave him a bone chilling glare.
"Shut up. I'm trying to prevent any bloodshed. If things escalate any further, I will have to side with my fellow adventurers."
Sato then turned his full attention towards Marcus and Mrazivý. He could see that they were on edge, but neither of them showed any fear towards him. There was no doubt in his mind that out of everyone here, they were the only ones in the same league as his own party. To fight them in a populated area would be a catastrophe.
The prince looked shocked that he had just bene told off by someone he expected to listen to him, but this time he did not snap back. Unlike with Marcus and Mrazivý, he knew how powerful Sato was and was terrified of having the man as his enemy.
"I understand that you have your grievances, but could I ask you both to stand down. I'll personally ask General Xiomara to confer with Houten's King so that Prince Cerdo is suitably punished." Sato said to appease Marcus and Mrazivý.
"Sure, that is fine. I don't care to think about him for another second. Just keep him away from us and there will be no problems." Mrazivý replied. She had wanted to put Cedro in his place since he reminded her of her detestable former brother. And while events had not proceeded exactly as expected, this was an acceptable outcome.
Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Sato motioned for the prince to leave, and despite normally being obstinate, he did as he was told. Fear was a powerful motivator and Cerdo hastily left the Great Hall like he was running away from an especially nasty monster.
"Thank you for your assistance. If possible, I would like to show you my appreciation later, Tachibana Sato." Marcus said, wearing a knowing smile.
It was only for a moment, but a look of astonishment appeared on his face. It had been a very long time since anyone had addressed him with his family name first like he had been during his first life. Only someone from Earth with at least a little familiarity with his former home would know to do so.
"Yes, I would like that. Actually, if it is fine with you, we can speak right now?" Sato responded, an intense fervor in his eyes.