“Companions of a hero?” Hecaris III repeated. It was a strange thing to hear.

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. Four of these youngsters once shared paths with a Karthian hero.” Myron explained as he turned to face Elric. “It is as I say, is it not?”

Elric and his friends nodded their head, silent. Was there anything else they could say?

This news was, of course, enough to shock the area into silence. But was it so strange to think it impossible? For a magibeast capable of living for millenniums like a three-headed wolf, five hundred years was but a small passage in their lifespan. Fame and status within humanity was meaningless for magibeasts, so it was without a doubt an honor for Elric and his three companions to have once share paths with a hero from five hundred years ago.

The glares of jealousy and envy Elric was getting was all he needed to know that the old wolf was highly idolized amongst these people as well.

“Ah, Your Highness, given the upcoming Day of Triumph celebration, perhaps we should invite these youths to show us their story of their chance encounter with Hero Vantus? Would this be satisfactory to Your Highness?” Kebrilio suddenly suggested.

“Hm, yes. That indeed sounds like a wonderfully pleasant show to watch. Honored guests, it would please me greatly for you to accept this request.” Hecaris III spoke.

Flania immediately answered on behalf of Elric and the others. “It would be a great honor, Your Imperial Majesty. We will do our utmost best.”

“You’ve my thanks.” Hecaris III nodded. He turned to face the servants behind him.

“Do what you must to help these guests with their needs. Offer them all that you can.”

Afterward, Hecaris III and Myron continued the retelling of the stories on each of the reliefs.

Hecaris III’s storytelling was fascinating, and the subject matter was already a very impressive one, but everyone’s attention was no longer on these stories and were on the three youths instead. Only etiquette was preventing people from completely tuning out Hecaris III’s voice. Though that being said, Elric wasn’t even paying full attention to what Hecaris III was saying anymore.

After the tour of the inside, the group walked out from the back of the temple to arrive at a giant circular plaza with twelve marble pillars equally spaced around it. Each pillar was about thirty meters in height and two meters in diameter. At the center of the plaza stood four bronze statues, each one of them four meters tall and looking at one of the four cardinal directions. The one facing east was one depicting a majestic-looking wolf almost identical to the same wolf Elric and his friends saw back in the Forest of Illusions. The one who sculpted this statue must’ve been very particular to capture the essence of the wolf. Every strand of fur must’ve been meticulously sculpted with the wolf’s heroic image in mind.

But it wasn’t an exact replication. Elric could see some parts of the statue that differed to his memory of the wolf. The biggest distinction was the expression. He didn’t remember the wolf being so solemn and strict-looking like what the statue was depicting. If the wolf somehow became a human, Elric was sure he’d be just as much as an oddball as Victor, Crazy, or even Charle. That was perhaps the biggest tell of this non-human hero.

That was a thought Elric was planning to keep to himself. Letting anyone else know what he was thinking would definitely cause those who idolized the Karthian heroes to do everything they could stamp out Elric’s perversion (maybe even literally). In fact, Elric knew there was one person within the four that was still ardently trying to protect the sacred image of Vantus. This person, without a doubt, the one who worshipped heroes, Kite. Kite could agree with Elric’s viewpoint of the old wolf being a bit of an oddball, but only if he conveniently forgot that the wolf was also the hero Vantus. Kite would be the first after this revelation to try and brainwash Elric.

As they observed the statue, Elric and the group traversed to the other end of the plaza where a crescent-shaped single-floor building was. They walked through a set of semicircular doors and entered the building. Ever since Elric arrived here in Waldsk, he had been in a state of culture shock. He’d never see this type of circular-centered architecture back in Sovereign, but here in Karth, he was marveling the Karthian ingenuity of incorporating arches. They were able to take a simple shape like an arch and use it in so many ways Elric never would’ve thought of! For example, the bridges being in an arch made it so they didn’t need to add anything extra to better stabilize and connect two pieces of land divided by water. Not only was it more practical, but it was also aesthetically pleasing and left Elric sighing with amazement.

And this new building he had just entered was most definitely the culmination of Karthian architecture. Pearly-white walls of marble were sculpted so that they looked like waves as they spread left to right. Curved marble slabs were inlaid and tessellated on the roof in a way that made the shadows of the support beams and pillars practically invisible. Upon further inspection, these beams up in the rafter didn’t even look like they were powerful enough to support any weight.

Spaced two meters apart on the walls, silver mirrors were suspended against them at angles to reflect sunlight and keep the room bright. Another architectural design Elric was fascinated by. Back in Sovereign, he’d have to use magic or special tools to keep a room lit, none of which common enough to be used by the ordinary household. In fact, the only building Elric could think of as having them as a light system was the Sovereignian palace.

Next to catch his attention was the center of the room. A giant circular table was placed there with all sorts of tableware on top and two maids on two sides of the table. In their hands were platters of food that smelled absolutely aromatic to Elric.

It went without saying by now that Elric absolutely abhorred the diplomatic and political etiquette when it came to court matters. The only silver lining when it came to these types of affairs was the banquet that followed. Of course, there were still plenty of social rules and etiquette to follow during the banquet, but that mattered little in when it came to gourmet foods. For the sake of these delicacies, Elric was willing to bear the burdens of anything. Perhaps it was in that aspect where he took after his teacher, Victor, most.

But he remembered the princess’ culinary ban. He had no doubts a harsh penalty was waiting for him later especially after the last piece of humiliation he gave her. Having her go through a three-peat during the banquet would most definitely see to his final days being harsh ones. It was possible those final days would be soon, even.

He inched closer to the princess and secretly tapped her back, “What should we do now, Your Highness?”

Covering her lower face with a fan, the princess replied, “Be mindful of your actions and don’t embarrass me. You’ll regret it if you do.”