Almort says "It's time. Are you ready?"

"I guess so."

Lin says "Yes! Let's go!"

Almort says "Alright. How long do you need to be ready?"

I put away my papers, stand up, and shift my clothes into a gray formal suit. Lin puts away her books, stands up, and shifts hers into a white and silver ball-gown that leaves her shoulders bare. She looks absolutely stunning and from the look on his face, Almort agrees with me.

"We are ready."

Almort says "That is totally cheating! Is Zachariah going to be selling clothes like that?"

"I don't think so, we haven't discussed it. We only made these yesterday."

Almort says "If you decide to sell them, you will probably make a fortune. Not to mention that I will be one of your first customers."

"I am already going to make a fortune off of the weapon sales. I don't really need to make more money. Besides, these clothes are a lot harder to enchant than weapons."

Almort says "Okay, forget selling them. What would it take for a suit just for me?"

"You would need a suit of exceptional quality and at least a pound of mana rich silver."

Almort says "Is that all? What about paying you for the enchantments?"

"Figure out a way for my elves to visit the city without being in danger and I will call it good."

Almort says "That's easy. We can just assign adventurers to act as their guides and escorts. No one in the city is going to mess with our adventurers."

"And I can trust the adventurers to not harm my elves? They won't be tempted to sell them into slavery?"

Almort says "No. We simply need to issue a quest. The association has bureaucracy just for this kind of thing. They will track all activity, any adventurer who tried anything shady would be caught immediately."

"Hm, that actually sounds promising. We would need to make sure none of the adventurers who take the quest have issues with elves."

Almort says "That is easy enough. We just need to make the quest posting descriptive enough. Considering that the elves are your people, I don't see anyone being brave enough to mess with them. Especially with the association and Zachariah's merchant group backing you."

Stolen novel; please report.

"That could be true. There might still be problems, but I would like to let the elves get off the ship for a bit."

Lin says "As long as they stay in groups and don't all come ashore at once, I think it will be safe enough. If you are still worried, you can always make an item for the elves. Something that would allow them to call for help if anything goes wrong."

"That's a good idea! Yeah, I can easily make something like that. That should be enough to make sure the elves are safe. Alright, we will do it. I will contact Stillwater later and tell him to bring the ship to the city."

Almort says "Sounds good. I will start preparing the quest notice after the ball. I will post it once your ship arrives."

Lin says "Now that we have a plan, can we go to the ball?"

Almort says "You are the guests of honor, it is normal for you to be late."

"Alright, let's go."

With a nod, Almort leads us out of the library and through the building to the ballroom. Like the library, the ballroom takes up the space of two floors and has multiple entrances. The one Almort takes us to, enters at the top of a set of stairs leading down into the ballroom.

Almort says "How should we announce the two of you?"

"Just go with King Ash and Queen Lin."

Almort says "Got it."

Someone with a powerful voice announces the two of us as we step through the doors. There is a platform at the top of the stairs where we pause for a moment. All eyes in the ballroom turn to focus on us and stare at us as we pause.

Then after a few seconds we start down the stairs as everyone stares at us. There are at least several hundred people in the ballroom, more than I was expecting. Luckily, I have gotten used to being stared at so I am not nervous even with so many people.

Lin doesn't seem to be bothered by it either, in fact she seems to be enjoying this. By the time we reach the bottom of the stairs the members of the council are there waiting. They welcome us and thank us for attending, but it is all a political show.

When they move away and others approach, Almort arrives behind me and starts whispering. He gives me information about who is coming up to talk to me before they arrive. It would be useful information if I actually cared about any of the people I am meeting.

There are two types currently trying to talk to us, young men and old men. The young men are trying to talk to Lin despite me standing right beside her. The old men are trying to talk to me, probably to form some type of connection.

The most annoying ones are the merchants, they are all trying to get an advantage over each other. However, I don't need anything from any of them and just end up saying no repeatedly. Zachariah is attending the ball, but he doesn't bother trying to talk to me here.

There are just as many women as men at the ball, but they don't bother coming over yet. There are also adventurers mixed in with the group of young men, but none among the older men. It is easy to tell them apart, the adventurers are dressed much more casually.

They are here to enjoy themselves, not to try and impress their peers. Eventually, I get annoyed with the merchants and can't take anymore. So, in a voice all of them can hear, I announce that I have already formed a partnership with Zachariah's merchant group.

Immediately, all of the merchants look like they just swallowed a bug and I can hear Zachariah laughing. Most of the merchants leave me alone after that, leaving the nobles and association bureaucrats. Mostly they just want to be able to brag that they met and spoke with me.

The group talking to me slowly thins out, but the one around Lin doesn't. Even those that have managed to talk to her don't leave, they just keep trying. Honestly, I really want to tear them all apart, but I know I shouldn't do that.

Not only would it cause problems with the association, but Lin wouldn't like it. She is okay with me getting jealous, but slaughtering a bunch of people is going too far. Besides, if any of them try anything stupid, Lin is more than capable of handling them.