Jonathan, the head steward, led Finn to the Lord after that. Although there was obvious guardedness—with him assigning two guards to ’escort’ him at all times—at least he got inside.
Finn was led inside the halls, and he observed the whole palace. The walls were made completely of stone mortared together, while the floors were polished stone slabs. The only decorations with some color were the rugs and the occasional decoration.
Although it was a palace, he couldn’t help but be... disappointed.
Well, he had to admit Earth pop culture really made him biased about the beauty of palace interiors, but a lot of medieval palaces like this one actually were quite drab and plain.
In retrospect, the opulent palaces he saw on TV were probably of a different time period, at least definitely not the palaces of border town Lords. He didn’t know much about Earth’s history to say for sure, so he shrugged in the end, moving on and assuming everything was medieval.
"I need to check every area, as soon as possible," he said.
"What?"
"My masters aren’t from here and could get sensitive or allergic to some things!" he yelled, acting as if he was offended that they did not even consider this.
"You can have several escorts with me for safety reasons if you’re so worried." He was stuck with scouting for now. If he couldn’t go around at all because they were guarded against him, then he wouldn’t be able to do even that.
Jonathan sighed. "I will ask the Lord," he said. "You will stay here with the guards."
This was indeed the safe choice. They let him into one of the lobbies, in case he was the real deal, and keeping him outside would’ve offended the entire party greatly.
At the same time, he was kept in there and far from the Lord himself in case he was an assassin, albeit a very weak one. The open setting would also allow them to contain him in case he made some trouble.
Finn heaved a deep breath as he was left alone, two guards by the door watching his every move.
To be honest, if he wasn’t so pressed in time, he’d probably come up with a better plan, but what could he do? Although there were still a few days left, he had no idea where his sister was exactly. Who could spend another day planning with such a counter over his head?
A couple of minutes later, he was summoned to the Lord’s office and did the standard greetings. However, he slightly modified the ones that the commoners did to show he was higher than them. In this case, it was a slight bow but with eye contact.
The Lord of Lotus Town was a man named Lingen, a man in his late 40s, and was a man of Fortified Tier 2 rank. This was a fairly high level for his age.
He was known for being solemn, serious, and brave, which also earned Lotus Town a reputation as one of the safer border towns.
At the same time, the off-putting thing about him (at least according to the adventurers) was that he married a woman named Morgia, who was the Lotus Town Mercenary Hall Guildmaster’s daughter. From what he heard, she was in her early 40s and had quite a bad temperament.
As a person, though, Finn had no idea what kind this Lord was. It didn’t seem like he was overtly evil (otherwise Marcus and the others would’ve told him), but he didn’t seem particularly likable either.
Anyway, that was not his problem. He just needed to go around before the so-called guests arrived.
"I’m sure your guards had already mentioned why I am already here," he said. "Other than the fact that I arrived early due to my condition, I am also here to make sure the masters are satisfied—for both of our sakes."
He seemed quite sincere about this. After a pause (the tension was killing him), the Lord finally nodded.
"I can imagine that the guests would indeed be quite... particular."
Finn smiled. He didn’t know who the guests were, but he could at least be sure they were higher nobles and therefore had higher standards.
"Well, if you’d allow me, I’d like to go around the palace—with escort(s), of course—so I can check every area for improvements and point out anything that could spite them.
"I only need a few hours, but I need unfettered access."
"It is not that I cannot grant it, but I hope you understand why we’re asking so many questions," the Lord said. "You mentioned that you are here to assist, including the menu."
"...yes."
"Are you confident that what you’d say will match the instructions they have sent to us?"
Finn froze, but he did not show anything on his face.
Was this a trick question?
Would his visitors have sent something specific in their letters? According to the adventurer guild intel, the visit was quite rushed, and the palace was informed literally the day before.
At the same time, he had also heard of some instructions going around, through the servants going to and fro. They were intermittent, and some were disconnected, but he could piece together a few things.
Overall, the instructions felt vague. If the guests were really so particular, and they had indeed sent specific instructions and preferences, then the movement among staff would also be the same and more targeted.
They would not be going around, just cleaning, and hurrying to arrange things without changing anything specific.
In the end, Finn surmised that the Lord was lying, but he didn’t show it on his face.
Finn looked confused. "I was not told by the masters that they sent word," he said. "Are you absolutely certain that it is from my masters? Because I can leave now and just wait for them—"
The Lord stared at him, and he stared back.
"Then go to the kitchen," he said. "If the chef approves of your food according to the results of our research, then I will grant you the access you so request."