"When are they due?" Zeke asked.
"Any moment now, young Lord," David responded.
The pair was observing the gate from the second floor. Zeke had been productive all day, supervising the last of the preparations. Only now that he had nothing more to do, did his nerves start to show.
"How much longer?" Zeke asked a minute later.
With a sigh, David answered again. "It should be any moment now."
"What if nobody shows up?"
David snorted disdainfully. "We have letters of acceptance from 28 households on the third layer, 13 from the second layer and even King Midas promised to send someone. Tell me, young lord, how likely do you think it is for nobody to show up?"
Zeke remained silent. David was right of course; there was little danger that nobody would come. However, taut nerves were not known for following the rules of logic. Instead of pestering his bodyguard, Zeke just stared at the gate.
Minutes passed in silence, until eventually, there was movement in the distance. Zeke could see the outline of a vehicle on the road to the estate. For gatherings such as these, most people arrived in a carriage instead of a flying vessel. The reason for that was simple: there would be no space for dozens of the monstrous ships. This thought calmed Zeke considerably. He would overturn this convention in the near future.
The horseless carriage moved noiselessly until it came to a halt in front of the entrance of the mansion. Zeke was no expert when it came to those vehicles, but even he could tell that this was a luxury model. The entire hull was made from a polished, white metal that reflected the light. In the morning sun, it appeared like a shining jewel.
One of the waiting attendants opened the door of the carriage and took a step to the side, clearing the way for the occupant. A smile spread across Zeke's face when he saw who had come. His gaze was immediately caught by a pair of sharp golden eyes. However, they softened as the woman waved toward him with a twinkle in her eyes.
Lara Sonnenstrahl had arrived. Zeke immediately left his position on the second floor to greet her properly. When he arrived downstairs, she was just about to enter. As an official representative, she didn't wear a dress, but her uniform instead. Even her long blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail. This look made her appear even fiercer than the last time he had seen her.
"Milady Sonnenstrahl," Zeke said with a slight bow. "May I tell you how beautiful you look this fine morning?"
Lara rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap, Zeke. I told you to call me Lara."
"I didn't think you would make it, Lara. Your embassy didn't reply to our invitation."
"Of course, you would think that, you naive little brat. Thats exactly why I came," Lara explained.
"What do you mean?" Zeke asked, genuinely confused.
"How many people do you expect?" she asked instead of answering the question.
"We have 42 definite confirmations, so maybe 60 parties?"
"Hmm," Lara hummed noncommittally, "how many invitations did you send?"
Zeke checked his mental library. He had memorized a list of all the invited parties, including pictures of relevant members of their households. "183 have been sent out."
Lara nodded seriously. "Expect every single one of them to show up."
"What? Why? No matter how good my product is, I don't think I have the social standing to draw that many people."
"Fuck your product," Lara exclaimed in exasperation. "Most aren't going to come for that anyway. There is a rumor going around that King Midas is sending one of his advisors. Did you know that?"
"Well, yes. We did receive a confirmation from the first layer," Zeke said grumpily. He didn't like the idea of people showing up exclusively to socialize. "What's the big deal anyway? He is only ruling over a single city, not a country. Furthermore, the man isn't even going to be here in person."
Lara slapped her forehead and took a deep, calming breath before she trusted herself enough to speak. "Stupid brat!" was all she managed, followed by another deep breath. "Who do you think the king of Tradespire is? Some cabbage vendor down the street?"
"Hey, I like my cabbage vendor—"
"Not the time, Zeke," Lara interjected. "You have no idea how big of a deal this is."
Even though he enjoyed teasing the foul-tempered woman, Zeke realized that Lara was dead serious about this. "Fine, what am I missing?"
"A lot," Lara harrumphed. "First and foremost, the king has never appeared publicly in his centuries of reign. Getting a visit from a representative is as close to a visit from the king as you could get."
Zeke nodded, slightly intrigued. Despite his extensive book collection, he knew next to nothing about the king of Tradespire. This had led him to believe that the title was largely symbolic. However, by Lara's reaction, it now appeared as if he had been mistaken.
"I still don't see how it's that big of a deal. The Merchant Union is led by a council, not by a king. He only presides over one city."
"Listen closely, Zeke," Lara said in a voice more serious than he had ever heard from her. "King Midas of Tradespire is by far the most powerful man on the continent. You would do well to remember that."
"How do you figure?" Zeke asked.
"This is not a matter of opinion, brat. Everybody who is anybody knows about this. Not only is the Midas Trading Company the exclusive supplier of every nation's military, but the king himself personally employs three of only nine known Exarch-level Mages. Three out of Nine, Zeke, on the entire continent! Your Arkenheim empire has exactly one!"
Zeke stood there, mouth agape. This was exactly why his reliance on books was such a bad habit. Important knowledge that was only available in certain circles would be missing. He had been completely blindsided by this turn of events. Zeke's mind spun. He tried to calculate how this would change his plans for the day. However, he was interrupted right away by a firm hand on his shoulder.
Zeke noticed that David had walked up beside him. The man nodded toward the gate, where many carriages could already be seen approaching the mansion. "Too late to change anything now, young Lord."
"Don't worry too much," Lara said. "I'm here as well, after all."
"…much good that will do," Zeke muttered under his breath. Before Lara could respond, the first carriage arrived in front of the mansion.
Out of the vehicle stepped a gigantic figure. The man had dark brown skin and was wearing an ornate silken tunic. On his chest, there were more medals and decorations than Zeke had ever seen. It was as if he had tried to fill up every possible spot.
What drew the most attention, however, was the man's headdress. He had a scarf wrapped around his head. Aside from the many pearls, the fabric was adorned by a single, enormous white feather. The elegantly curved decoration was reminiscent of a swan's neck. Zeke recognized it as the traditional headpiece of Korroven.
Following him, five women emerged from the carriage. Compared to the man's dark skin, they had lighter complexions. Zeke noticed that all of them were wearing collars, marking them as slaves. They meekly followed behind the man with bowed heads as he ascended the few steps toward the entrance.
Zeke used the few remaining moments to search his mental library for the man's name. By the time the figure reached the front door, Zeke had already retrieved all relevant information. "Greetings, Lord Raja. You honor me with your presence."
"And who might you be?" the man asked as he scrutinized Zeke from head to toe. He wasn't outright dismissive, but the way he instantly disregarded Zeke after looking him up and down showed how little he thought of him.
"He is Ezekiel von Hohenheim, acting head of the von Hohenheim household, owner of the estate you came to visit — and a personal friend."
The giant looked over Zeke's shoulder, searching for the source of the voice. His eyes widened comically when they landed on the figure of Lara who was casually standing in the foyer. "A-Aurora? I didn't expect you to be here. It is an honor to meet you once again."
"Honor my ass," Lara scoffed. "You've got some nerves bringing your slaves, Malik. Especially someone like her. If you are just here to create trouble, you can fuck right off."
Zeke was confused by the comment and inspected the woman Lara had indicated. She was incredibly beautiful and appeared to be not much older than himself. Under his intense scrutiny, the girl turned away with a blush. Inadvertently, this movement revealed one of her pointed ears. He immediately understood what Lara had meant — the girl was an elf. Now that Zeke was taking a closer look, he noticed that she wasn't the only one with special characteristics.
One of them, an athletic-looking woman with dark hair, actually had three bushy tails wrapped around her waist. Zeke had taken them for belts at first glance but now recognized them for what they were. Through his spatial awareness, he also noticed that she hid two furry ears under her headdress — this clearly marked her as a member of the Demi-human race.
A third woman had silver hair and green eyes. In addition to her Wind affinity core, it was a safe bet that she was a member of the Windtänzer family. He didn't recognize the characteristics of the other two girls but assumed that they were of similarly troubling origins.
Zeke's brows narrowed as he glared at the man. The collar around the silver-haired woman had soured his mood more than he wanted to admit. Under the combined pressure of Zeke and Lara's glares, the giant faltered. He turned toward his driver and commanded in a stern voice, "Take them home, Rao. I'm not gonna require any company today after all."
When he turned back around, he had a radiant smile on his face. "Apologies, young man. I didn't mean to cause any problems."
Zeke nodded reluctantly and opened the way. "You are one of the first to arrive, Mr. Raja. One of the maids will guide you to the banquet hall for the time being." The man followed the instructions without complaint and was out of sight a moment later.
"Me being here won't do much good, was it?" Lara teased with a smug grin. Usually, Zeke would quip back, but he had nothing to say. To have someone as famous and powerful as Lara Sonnenstrahl by his side would be a huge advantage when receiving guests.
"I owe you for this," Zeke said honestly.
"At least you know how the game is played, brat. I'll collect that favor once you're a bit stronger. Better be ready."
Over the next hour, dozens of carriages arrived, carrying hundreds of guests. To the surprise of Lara and many of his visitors, he never once failed to identify anybody. His mind's library made him appear like a social butterfly as he managed to inquire about recent happenings in every and all households.
Despite his calm façade, Zeke was barely able to keep his composure at times. Only now did it really dawn on him how different from the empire Tradespire truly was. From black to white, red to blue, thin to fat, enormous to minuscule, every color, shape, and size was present among the guests. He finally got to see all the races he had only read about. Lara had been right: everybody showed up. Not a single embassy's delegation was missing. From the Irochian druids to the Valorian knights, Zeke met them all.
As a representative for the elves, a single man appeared. He was not how Zeke had imagined them to be. He had read that they were gentle beings that lived in harmony with nature. However, the man's face seemed to be carved from ice. Without slowing his stride, he nodded curtly at Lara before stepping past them.
The dwarven representatives were just the opposite. They arrived in a group of fourteen and appeared to be in good spirits. With their long beards and stout frames, they all seemed to be half-size versions of Jettero. Needless to say, Zeke immediately took a liking to them. The fact that they asked him about his product right away made him raise his evaluation even further. He directed them toward Jettero for all their questions, as he didn't have the time to explain everything himself.
Finally, after over two hours of waiting, a certain carriage arrived. Zeke had to suppress a smile when he saw who emerged. It was a group of three, and Zeke recognized them all immediately. It was the Goldfinger family. The three men were Gilderoy and Godfrey Goldfinger, alongside an Arch Mage with a Space affinity. Instead of greeting them, Zeke acted confused.
"What are you doing here, Gilderoy?" he asked. "I don't remember inviting you. You have no right or reason to be here."
A smug smile emerged on Gilderoy's face. "If you didn't invite us, then why do we have these?"
Zeke accepted the letters from Gilderoy and studied them carefully. His face turned pale. "Those were not addressed to you. Why do you have them?"
"Because I own those businesses," Godfrey Goldfinger said. "Now, if you would excuse us," He and his group tried to step around Zeke. However, all three of them froze when they saw Lara glare at them.
"It's fine, Lara," Zeke said in a defeated tone. "I don't want people to say I turned away my guests."
Reluctantly, she let them pass. "I don't like that family," she said to Zeke after the group had vanished around a corner. "There is something off about them."
"If you use your favor, I'll tell you what," Zeke offered slyly. His pale face had returned to its usual color and he was now sporting a wide smile.
"Is the secret worth the favor?" Lara asked.
Zeke considered the question for a beat and then nodded. "If it's you, then yes."
"Fine, tell me," Lara said.
"They are a cover for one of the Great Families of the empire."
Lara's eyes widened. "Which one?"
"Wellenrufer."
"How do you know?"
"Can't say," Zeke said. "But the intel is absolutely dependable. You have my word."
Lara looked at him for a long moment and then nodded. "This is well worth a favor. Thank you."
As the two talked, a last carriage had entered the estate grounds. It was plain, compared to many of the others Zeke had seen today. However, the emblem immediately demanded his attention. A spiral tower pointing at the sky — the emblem of King Midas.