In the banquet hall,
a long table had been set
for tens of guests - to the right of the emperor’s seat,
a seat had been left
open for Rojan as the guest of honor.
Sitting across from Rojan, was the Krohan Empire’s chief strategist. Down the table to Rojan’s right, sat various ministers and advisors. Across the table from them, several esteemed generals had arrived, devoid of their usual armor.
Despite the merry nature of the banquet, Rojan could feel that something felt out of place. Was this all an elaborate ruse to kill him?
No, they could’ve done that as soon as he’d entered the city. So, it shouldn’t be a plan to kill or harm him. But then, what was the issue at hand?
From outside the hall, a voice sounded. “The emperor has arrived!”
With that, everybody, including Rojan, stood up and remained standing as the emperor strolled into the banquet hall and took his seat.
Then, everyone sat down again. Almost
immediately
after, a hundred servants flooded into the room, placing plates of food and goblets of wine in front of each guest.
Once all the plates had
been placed
, the Emperor stood, and
proudly
announced to his guests, “Let the feast, begin!”
Rojan dug into his meal without a care in the world - it’d been too long since he’d had a “proper” meal, such as the one in front of him right now.
Ah, the flavor in this chicken leg! The healthiness he could feel in the spinach! Even the vegetables he so
typically
loathed tasted delicious after months without. As the meal continued, the servants continued to bring out plate after plate of delectable delights, from pork ribs, to beef neck, to even more flavorful dishes.
Unfortunately
, a few flies
continuously
distracted Rojan from
truly
enjoying the meal. Several of the ministers and generals
employed
different tactics to “feel out” Rojan’s stance. Some acted aggressively, demanding him to serve the emperor, while others
calmly
pointed out benefits to doing so. Still others
openly attempted
to bribe Rojan with resources from gold, to land and servants, to even women.
Finally
, as the feast was nearing its end, the emperor himself raised his goblet and addressed Rojan. “Sir Rojan, please accept my toast. Peerless geniuses like you are a rare resource in this world. For the glory of the Blair Continent, may your future be as bright as the North Star.”
Rojan glanced at the emperor, but didn’t respond. Then, he grasped his goblet, but instead of responding to the emperor’s toast, he drank all his wine without a care in the world.
A general jumped to his feet. “You! How dare you be so disrespectful to the emperor! Your highness, please let me engage this guest in a show of martial skill.”
The emperor glanced at the chief advisor, then admonished the general. “Sit down! Rojan is my guest of honor, and shall not
be subject to your slight
s!”
Rojan chuckled, then stood up. “Your imperial highness, if you may, it would be my pleasure to compare my skill with that of one of your finest generals.”
Once the banquet ended, those present
slowly
trickled out of the hall and made their way to the imperial estate’s training field. The training field was just an empty clearing, with weapon racks on each of the four edges.
Rojan
calmly
walked up to one of the weapon racks and examined the
available
weapons, then turned to the general.
“What weapon are you using?”
“Humph. I’ll give you this handicap. I’ll be using the spear!”
“Then, I’ll use a spear too.”
The two faced off, then charged toward each other, exchanging blows. The entire while, Rojan stared into the eyes of the general, a mocking smile on his face.
After a few bouts, the general jumped backward, a slight cut on his right forearm.
Rojan
flashily
spun the spear around his body a few times, then stabbed the butt of the spear into the ground next to him.
“You’re not my match. Any other takers?”
Rojan noticed that a few of the generals glanced at the chief advisor before clamping their mouths shut.
The emperor likewise
subtly
glanced toward the chief advisor, then clapped, applauding Rojan’s victory. “Rojan Cheru, you truly do live up to your name. Truly, I do wish for you to pledge yourself to my Krohan Empire. Tell me, what will it take?”
Rojan stared at the emperor, then abruptly threw his spear at him. With a thud, the spear embedded itself into a wooden post behind the emperor’s head.
Instantly, the training field flooded with guards, who surrounded Rojan. However, Rojan looked to be strangely relaxed.
The emperor shook his finger at Rojan, shouting in anger. “You! How dare you attack me! Do you not wish to live?”
Rojan tilted his head to the side. “You asked me what it would take for me to pledge myself to the Krohan Empire, yes? For starters, a bit of sincerity would be nice. You’re not the emperor, are you?”
Upon hearing Rojan’s words, the “emperor” staggered slightly, then straightened back up. “I - Of course I’m the emperor! How dare you slander my name?”
Rojan turned his gaze away from the “emperor” and stared at the chief advisor instead. “Come on, tell me where the real emperor is. Do you really expect me to believe that an oaf is the emperor? You’re insulting my intelligence here, I’ll have you know.”
Clearly, Rojan had dropped his earlier respectful and polite guise and had reverted to his usual, arrogant self.
Despite this, the chief advisor only smiled. “Tell me, Rojan Cheru. What gave it away?”
“Lack of presence, lack of perceived respect. The list goes on. However, to have prepared such a show for me, the real emperor must be here, yes?”
At this time, a diminutive minister, who’d sat several seats down from Rojan during the banquet, stood forward as those around him parted to allow his way forward.
“Rojan Cheru, meeting you has been a pleasure. My apologies for the subversion - it can sometimes be hard to tell apart the truly talented from those a tier below. Now that you’ve passed my little game, could I invite you to indulge me a little longer?”
“But of course.”