Diablo was, internally, panicking. He had talked to the Empress of the most powerful nation on the continent. Not only that, if anyone found out they would most-likely cut out his tongue. That's only the most minor punishment too. He'd heard stories while working at the Adventurers Guild about people trying to use the young Empress to gain power. Apparently, they would often have their privates cut off, then sent wandering out into the wastelands without food or water. While also being nude. That's what they did to the nobles, let alone a mere commoner like him.

Needless to say, Diablo felt himself go very, very pale. So much so that a nearby girl tugged at his arm and asked if he was ok. The young man merely waved her off and went to go find his seat. The King was going to address the feast, then retire to a proper feast with other nobles. He was merely here as a morale boost to the people.

Once everyone was seated, the King stood from his seat and addressed the gathered former children. "Ladies and Gentlemen. You are now formally an adult of The Kingdom of Plains. As such, you will be expected to follow her laws and protect her in times of need. Now, enjoy the feast!" The King shouted the last part. Most likely to make up for the fact his speech was rather monotone and wasn't well given. Yet people cheered anyway. More for the food than anything else.

The King himself was an unremarkable man. Fat, loose clothes to try and hide the fact. A rather poor excuse for a beard to hide his eight chins. There was even a fresh wine stain on his shirt. It was rather clear he had been drinking rather early in the day. He was sweating like a pig even though it was only spring. Apparently, he was once a strong young man, but Diablo couldn't see it. What the young man did see was the bald patch that the King was trying to comb over. But his blond hair didn't hide it well.

On the King's right was a young man, the Crown Prince. A chubby man of roughly twenty-two who seemed to be quickly taking after his father in both looks and size. On the left was another young man. This one was only thirteen. He was very different from his father and brother. The Second Crown Prince was lean, with muscle beginning to grow. His hair was also a dark brown. To the Second Crown Prince's side was the Empress, in all her glory.

Once the feast began, servants came out from doors with trays of food. Each being placed slightly below the one before it. During all the hustle and bustle, no one noticed at the King and Crown Prince both left. Yet both the Second Crown Prince and the Empress stayed behind.

The food consisted of many different things. Soups of different kinds, fresh meats, steamed vegetables, and fruits. The first thing that went was the meats. Most people here had never had anything better than dog or horse meat, so this was a real treat. Diablo had venison on many occasions via buying food through the guild, but outside of the guild, there were no real chances to have proper meat.

After the meal was consumed, rather quickly at that, people were not really sure as to what they were meant to do. Luckily for them, the Second Prince spoke up. "My people!" He started with a deep voice that sounded like homey. "The feast was only the first part of the celebration! Now, I know many of you will be unsure of yourselves, but do not worry! For tonight, we are all friends here! Now, let us dance!"

At the end of his speech, the Second Prince held out his hand to the Empress. But she merely shook her head and said in a barely audible voice, "Sorry dearest Jake, but I owe the first dance to another."

Rather than seeming embarrassed at being rebuked, the Prince seemed rather relieved. Instead, he walked over to the nearest girl and offered her his hand. The Empress meanwhile looked Diablo straight into the eyes and began walking towards him. The young man in question just stood planted in place like a rock.

Once the Empress reached Diablo, she held her hand out to him. "May I have the first dance?" She asked, her accent turning her words ever so slightly musical.

Diablo meanwhile just nodded like the idiot he was and took her hand, letting himself be lead back to the front of the room. He felt the stares of every single boy on him all at once. "I-i'm not a g-good d-dancer." He managed to croak out.

"Oh, do not worry about that. I am sure my feet will be very sore by the end of the night. Just try not to tread on me, yes?" Just as the Empress finished talking, music began to play. Diablo was unsure of where it came from, but that was not what bothered him at this moment.

Diablo had not noticed how much taller he was than the Empress. She was tiny in size. Barely reaching 5'2. Compared to his 5'11, she looked like a child. Being two years younger, she actually was. Even though she was shorter and younger, the Empress took the lead. Placing Diablo's hand on her waist and holding his other hand lightly. She lead the pair into a simple dance, moving around in a circle.

"I believe I did not introduce myself last time we met. My name is Diana Karn. I am the Empress of Great Karn. Although I suspect you figured that out for yourself." Diana ended her introduction with a light laugh as if she was making a joke instead of a statement.

"Umm, yes. I-i am Diablo. Just Diablo. I-i'm an orphan, so I don't really have a last name. W-we are meant to use Plains, b-but I planned to make up my own name w-when I reached adulthood. S-so that means I should have thought of one b-by now, b-but I d-didn't." Diablo stuttered onwards. He was making a fool out of himself, he knew that, and yet the Empress continued to smile at him.

"You are interesting Diablo. You are also different. I can feel it. Your footwork is too good. You have more muscle than most the boys here. Yet you clearly don't work a physical job, as you speak clearly and properly when you are not stuttering." Diablo, in his panic, began to look down at his feet to see if he was actually dancing properly. All that ended up happening was Diana scolding him.

"Do not look down. You are no longer a child. Have some confidence in yourself. Now. Do tell me why your stats are higher than everyone else here, other than the Second Prince and the guards."Diana stared into Diablo's eyes, her gaze piercing into his very soul. But the young man merely shook his head.

"I-i can't. I-i'll get in trouble if anyone finds out." Diablo answered. Diana meanwhile merely scoffed lightly, yet in a very feminine way.

"Do tell.I am an Empress. If I cannot keep a few secrets than there would be no Empire." Although this was an attempt by Diana to help Diablo trust her, it only seemed to make him even more nervous. Yet he did manage to tell her.

"A-alright. I-if you promise n-not to tell." Diana rolled her eyes at this but nodded in agreement.

With his voice just above a whisper, Diablo confessed everything to her. "I-i sneak out at nights and listen to the extra lectures at the Mage School. I also fight monsters with both spear and magic. I-i enjoy the thrill of the fight I guess. I don't know, something just draws me out there to fight and get stronger."

The young man felt strangely relieved to admit what he was doing at night. Like a sudden weight was lifted off his shoulders. Diana meanwhile just stared at him for a second, then blinked out of her state of shock.

"Well. I certainly was not expecting that. Both magic and a spear? Not many chose more than once path until they get at least twenty [Levels] into it. I take it you are looking to join the army then? Getting a headstart and all?" After she finished speaking, Diana's left eyebrow rose slightly, in a questioning way.

Diablo meanwhile just shook his head some more. "N-no. Nothing like t-that. I-i never even thought about j-joining the a-army. I want to be an A-adventurer."

This fact took Diana a little too much by surprise. Adventurers were on the lowest rung of society. Even the strongest were looked down on by those with proper professions. Not many with proper talent went down that path. It had taken her by surprise so much she almost stopped dancing, causing Diablo to have to take the lead.

"But Adventurers are a bunch of savages. Barely better than bandits in most cases. They gain from other people's desperate attempts at stopping loss. Why would you want to be one of them?" The distress in Diana's voice was barely hidden.

"N-no they are not. At least here they aren't. I've been working with them since I was ten. Almost five years now. T-they are no more violent than any normal person. They are just better at breaking things since they are stronger. B-besides, they also work as guards, often cheaper than normal guards as they can take multiple jobs at once and complete them on the way. It's faster, cheaper and more efficient than being an official guard. A-after all, the more guards there are, the more the people need to be taxed. For a village that is attacked by a monster once every ten years, is it not cheaper to pay ten slivers all at once, then a single sliver every month for those ten years?"

Diablo didn't stop. He didn't even notice that he had stopped stuttering. His movements were becoming more precise as he softly spoke. Steps wider, spinning slightly faster. "Besides, because Adventures travel so much, they are often the only thing keeping smaller towns alive. Whereas a merchant may come along once a week, they will only rent a room for themselves. The servants often sleep in the stables and watch the items. They then move on without buying anything. Adventures often work in groups, meaning they would either rent a larger room that is more expensive or multiple rooms. They often also pay a small fee to the local blacksmith to use their equipment for general maintenance, buy stuff like rope, torches, and oil at the local general store, as well as exterminate any monsters they find around the village, often for free. Not only that, but they are also a lot more common. Getting a group every day or two. Speaking in terms purely economical, the more Adventures you have, the more likely you are to succeed. To a limit depending on the size of the village anyway."

Diana merely stared while Diablo went on about the advantages of having Adventurers around. She couldn't find a flaw in his logic. Even with the part where they normally do not fight normal people, often going out of their way to avoid a fight. She knew because most reports of property damage she got were of two adventurers fighting, not an adventurer and a civilian.

Thus the night went on. Diablo had finally come out of his shell, and Empress Diana was blown away by how confident and intelligent he was. To her, it was like he was a completely different person than the boy she met in the garden. Although her original plan was to talk to the young man for only a short while, then move on to a different boy then rinse and repeat, instead she ended up dancing the night away listing to Diablo passionately talk about his dream.

Diablo

Level 8

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 13

Constitution: 4

Intelligence: 26

Wisdom: 17

Charisma: 3

Titles

[Fire Duelist]

Skills

[Flame of the beginning (Max)] [Candle's Flame (Lv.3)] [Sneaking (Lv.3)] [FireBolt (Lv.6)] [Spear Mastery (Lv.4)] [Power Thrust (Lv.5)] [Double Shot (Lv.2)] [Firebal (Lv.2)] [Dragon's Heart (Lv.1)]