“It is auspicious to run into old friends one had not seen for a while prior to a happy occasion.” - Old folk saying from the Al-Shan Empire.

From the south-eastern port - there were five separate ports around the island itself, to serve the needs of the Empire, as Al-Shan island was also the trade hub of the empire itself as a whole - of Al-Shan to the Imperial City was a short ride by carriage. Cal, together with the rest of her group, left the port by carriage in the morning, and had arrived by the evening, before the sun had even set.

Arquivaldo, Avigeya, Iosif, and Uruza had come along with them, as per Cal’s invitation, while the captain also allowed the rest of his crew to have shore leave for the duration of their stay, which they happily obliged to. After all, Al-Shan was not on his usual trade route, so they had no prior arrangements or business to handle there, and thus were free to rest and relax.

The carriage itself was a simple, open-backed one, though it had folded structures of wood and fabric that could be raised to shelter the occupants from the rain when needed. When they left, it snowed gently, so the coachman had left the roof unraised, allowing the passengers to enjoy the “pleasant autumn day” by local parlance.

While the locals seemed to enjoy the cool winds and light snow just fine, some other passengers - the carriage was large enough that Cal’s entire group only occupied half of it, though Lumi and Ida flew and ran alongside it, respectively - who were clearly visitors from abroad were visibly shivering in the cold. The locals seemed to find mild amusement when they watched the foreigners’ predicament, though most were also kind enough to offer hot beverages to help fight the cold.

A couple of the passengers, an elderly old couple Cal could tell were native to the island, also offered cups of steaming hot tea to her group. They gratefully accepted it and thanked the old couple before they drank from the cups. The fragrant tea had a slightly bitter, spicy taste, likely infused with ginger to help fight against the cold, and warmed them from their stomachs.

In exchange, Cal offered some dried fruits to the old couple, exotic ones from the other side of the mainlands, for them to snack on. The old couple happily accepted the offered fruits and nibbled on them slowly with the few teeth they had left. They conversed happily with Cal throughout the journey, though most of the others couldn’t understand what they chatted about since they talked using the local language.

When they arrived at the Imperial City late that afternoon, Cal bid her goodbyes to the old couple, who were apparently visiting their children in the city. She herself went with her group towards the central section of the city, where their destination was located.

Many years ago, before Xain celebrated his first marriage, Cal had given a sizable sum of money to an old retired soldier who had started a small restaurant with his family after a sumptuous dinner at his place. The old man had used that money to expand and renovate his business, and then word of mouth spread of Cal’s visit to his establishment.

That resulted in a deluge of customers, most of them former or current soldiers, practically all of which were veterans of the Civil War, to visit the place. From there, the old man’s good cooking won their taste buds and made them return often, at times bringing on more friends or family to the restaurant, which continued the cycle all over again.

Within the past few years, the once-small restaurant which was located at the ground floor of a small, two-story building, with the second floor being where the old man and his family lived, had been renovated and rebuilt to a massive six-story pagoda that occupied nearly a third of the entire city block. The restaurant had earned its fame as being one of the very best in the Imperial City, and rumors had it that even the Emperor himself frequented the place from time to time.

Whether the rumors were true or not, the place remained a firm favorite amongst the military officials, as it was run by one of their own old comrades, and their patronage alone ensured that the old man’s business thrived. The old man himself almost couldn’t believe the sudden fortune that literally fell onto his lap, and he, along with his family, gave thanks to Cal in their prayers at night, every night, for the new life they had been able to enjoy thanks to her patronage that night so many years ago.

As such, it was of no real surprise that when Cal and her group arrived at the restaurant, just as the concierge on duty asked them whether they had a prior reservation, a richly dressed man - who Cal recognized as the old man’s son from back then - shushed the concierge and bowed deeply before her, before he bid her party to follow him into the establishment.

While they walked up the stairs behind the old man’s son, Cal noticed how the first four floors of the building were mostly built the same way, a massive dining area that dominated the place, where servers walked around and delivered meals while they took orders from the customers. The place was positively packed as well, which was likely why the concierge at the reception asked for their reservation.

The fifth floor of the establishment was dominated entirely by a large, open kitchen. There Cal spotted the old man busy at work as he directed many other chefs at work, while he himself worked several woks full of dishes on the stove before him. Cal prevented the old man’s son from disturbing him over her presence, and just smiled as she shook her head when he looked at her questioningly.

Led by the old man’s son, Cal and the rest of her group were brought to the top floor of the pagoda. The sixth floor was their exclusive dining area, where the important people would be ushered for a more quiet and relaxed eating environment. Surprisingly enough, out of the six tables on the floor, four of them were occupied at the moment.

And Cal was all too familiar with the occupants of each table, even as they looked back at her in surprise over her unexpected arrival.

One table was filled with many civil officials of the Empire, with Halmout himself at the head of the table, and his apprentice Lee-Kun seated next to him. The table next to theirs were filled with military officials, though Cal noticed that Mustafa and Hu-Lao had also brought their three daughters with them, and the same applied with many of the other officials present.

The table next to theirs held many of the most important figures of the Empire’s Navy, which included the captains of several of the largest merchant fleets in the Empire on top of the military ones, who were considered a separate branch from the army. Old Sada headed that table, though Cal had not missed how Layla’s twin brother Lakhsman was seated to Sada’s left.

And the last table was one where the Emperor himself was seated.

Xain sat at the head of the table with Layla and Ying Xiao seated to his left, Layla still looking a bit pale from her recent childbirth, while three palace maids were seated next to them, two of them carefully cradling a sleeping infant in their arms, while the third held Farah on her lap and helped the toddler eat her food.

The reason for Xain’s presence was quite obvious, as Cal noticed Aideen seated to his right, with several of the important people from Paradise like Hans-Grell seated next to her. They were likely visiting for reasons related to Xain’s impending marriage, and thus he probably decided to entertain them himself, which led to the scene before Cal’s sight.

A genuine smile graced her lips as she walked over and greeted everyone in the room.