Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 803 - 142: Pet Party (Part 2)

It was apparent that the old butler had deceived them under the pretense of the banquet.

The theme of this banquet had nothing to do with a minor character like him from Gear City. The real protagonists were Duke Ash and Henry VI, gathered here to celebrate the victory over the Demon King and to crush those who dared to resist the Silver Radiance Empire in their cradle.

Ethan was also glad about this state where no one spoke to him.

He took some food that Lindong and Little Dark liked, carrying the tray to the corner of the banquet hall.

He listened silently to the conversations of the nobles around him, but the nobles spoke only of meaningless pleasantries, giving each other insincere compliments, with no useful information to be heard. It was only half an hour into the banquet when someone finally noticed them, a noble young lady of distinguished bearing appeared, dressed in a pristine white gown, elegantly walking up to him with a wine glass in hand.

Her golden hair was woven together, and a gentle smile sat upon her face.

A quintessential image of a noble lady.

"Thank you, Mr. Ethan, you solved a big trouble for the empire."

The noble young lady took the initiative to speak, "I am Ilya."

Hiss—!

The name was like thunder in Ethan's ears, inevitably stirring his painful memories.

Due to the side effects of Rowena's magic, he was once mistaken for Ilya's heroic brother, earnestly calling him "brother" all along, causing him to now have shadows associated with the term "brother."

By comparison, even Little Dark's suggestion of the nickname "Senzi" was much more agreeable.

He knew that this elegant young lady before him had another prominent identity—the Holy Mage of the Silver Radiance Empire, at least on the surface, she was the most outstanding mage of the empire and a peer of theirs.

Based on Ethan's understanding of the Mage role in recent days, it seemed more like a combination of Elemental Shaper and Magician, knowing spells from both paths, yet excelling at neither, with primary attack means leaning towards elemental magic.

Ethan examined the noble girl before him, and it was certain she used this same harmless smile when poisoning Lance's drink.

Despite that, maintaining appearances was still crucial.

He immediately stated, "That has nothing to do with me; it was actually Duke Ash's subordinates in collaboration with the Imperial Army who arrested the rebels, I just happened to be there."

"Happened to be..."

Ilya smiled meaningfully and continued, "Did you notice something? There are no people of our age in the banquet hall."

To be honest, Ethan hadn't noticed.

His attention had been focused on Little Dark. The black cat found the decorative edge of a nearby plate attractive, and in his inattention, swallowed the entire plate, mentioning that it was a memento worth bringing back.

When they were at Baron Fulin's mansion, this black cat had also stolen things.

She had swallowed an instrument for branding iron found in the torture chamber.

Theoretically, as an Elemental Elf, Little Dark didn't need to eat; she was purely gluttonous, and her cravings extended beyond food. If something piqued her interest, she would swallow it into her collection, with the entire black hole analogous to Little Dark's "stomach."

Even she didn't know what she had swallowed over the years.

Compared to Little Dark, a human stomach's capacity was still too small.

But since the Holy Mage had stepped in, Ethan could only respond out of courtesy, "I thought they weren't invited."

"They certainly were invited, but are staying in another venue."

Ilya explained, "They are friends of Fabius, invited personally by him... Perhaps you're not accustomed to the atmosphere here, would you be interested in visiting the other venue?"

Since the Holy Mage of the empire had spoken, what could he say?

Ethan scooped up the black cat, while Lindong, always a reliable presence, perched on his shoulder without wandering around.

Ilya examined the black cat in Ethan's arms, and after a lengthy pause, suddenly spoke, "Speaking of which, Fabius and his friends also enjoy keeping pets, maybe you'll find common topics among you."

Keeping pets?

This could potentially serve as an entry point for conversation.

Those who knew Ethan were well aware of his expertise in managing relations with magical creatures; the empire's Monster District always welcomed his presence, regardless of the size of the beasts.

The Hunter's Guild, having learned of this, had the elderly guildmaster specifically send him a letter, earnestly inviting him to write a treatise on developing healthy relationships with magical creatures. However, he hadn't yet found the time to pen it down, being swamped with tasks lately.

So, what sort of magical creatures would a noble family like the future successor of the Simpler Clan typically keep?

Would it be sub-dragons or those rare magical creatures from folklore revered by residents of small towns and villages as "Beast Gods"?

Ethan even had experience in rearing pureblood dragons.

Currently, the black dragon baby he brought back from the "canopy" plane was thriving at home, recently learning some lightning element magic. The lightning-related senior element seemed quite interested in this baby black dragon, bringing it even closer to the legendary Zekrom.

Throughout the journey, Ethan had been silently brewing topics in his mind.

Following Ilya, he arrived at the other venue. Even through the venue's main door, one could hear the lively atmosphere inside, where the young folks were much more genuine compared to the nobles in the banquet hall resorting to mere pleasantries.

What magical creature discussions were Fabius and his friends having?

With such questions, Ethan entered through the door of the other venue.

But the next moment, his expression froze on his face.

The first sight was of a woman wearing cat ears and a collar, her attire so revealing it barely covered her, being led by a young noble, crawling on the cold floor. A closer inspection revealed that the cat ears and tail were "artificially" made props.

There were many such "pets" in the venue, Fabius and his friends having opened numerous bottles of wine, flooding the venue with a strong alcohol scent.

Ethan admitted he was too young, failing to keep up with the perverted extent of Silver Radiance Empire's nobility.

He originally thought keeping exotic pets was the limit.

But in reality, the "pets" at this gathering were neither animals nor magical creatures; if anything, this was more accurately described as a "role-playing" gathering.

Ilya, noticing Ethan's gaze, took the initiative to explain, "That's a leader of the Rebel Army, her role was a Swordsman, having once led the Rebel Army to capture three border towns of the empire."

She was referring to the young woman crawling on the ground, who seemingly, during her time as a pet, had long lost the pride of being part of the Rebel Army, fully tamed.

Ilya continued, "That one over there is a Saint from a small country, seen as a divine earthly embodiment in their kingdom; the other is a pureblood vampire, one of the only remaining 'ancestors,' possessing immortality and self-regeneration, able to grow back an arm in no time even if cut off."

Ilya seemed to understand well the nature of gatherings among the young nobility of the Imperial Capital.

Each "pet" here once held a resounding identity, but now they appeared fully tamed, following their masters just like genuine pets.

But they were not the stars of this gathering.

"You've come at the right time."

Ilya spoke.

At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on a woman leading a pet. The pet she was leading had its head covered by a burlap sack, and Ilya took the initiative to introduce Ethan, "That is the Third Princess of the empire."

The young nobles inside the venue hadn't even noticed their arrival. They were all watching that man with his head covered by a burlap sack, his upper body naked, with whip marks covering his exposed skin.

Then, the burlap sack covering his head was removed.

His eyes, devoid of sparkle, fixated on the ground as the Third Princess brought her white boots to his face, prompting him to tamely lower his head and rub his cheek against the tip of her shoes.

The taming was complete, pushing the venue gathering atmosphere to its climax.

"That's Zophie, his role is an Assassin."

Ilya then timely revealed the "pet's" identity, "He was once a member of the Hero Squad."