NOVPUBA banquet held in celebration of Seorn’s newly appointed instructors.
As I entered the banquet hall at the appointed time, gazes flew at me like arrows, as if they had been waiting for me.
‘Quite a crowd.’
I was momentarily taken aback by the sheer intensity of interest flooding every glance, but I maintained a natural composure and walked inward.
Still—doesn’t a banquet hall usually feature some soft music to maintain a graceful mood? Why is it so quiet?
‘Perhaps the banquet hasn’t officially started yet.’
Thinking that to myself, I walked over to one side of the hall and leaned my back lightly against the wall to get a better view of the entire space.
And in that moment, the halted flow of time began to move again.
The people who had been chatting among themselves resumed their conversations from before, and someone even burst into a chuckle, as if amused.
But beneath their gestures, a heavy layer of pretense was impossible to ignore.
To the point where it almost felt like the hypocrisy was spilling out into the air, spreading like a black mist around the room.
‘No one’s actually conversing. They’re all watching someone else.’
In particular—me.
That might sound like the delusion of a self-important narcissist, but I’m far too sensitive to these kinds of stares to be wrong.
Nearly everyone was either sneaking glances at me or outright staring.
And I could easily guess why.
‘They call it a celebration banquet, but this entire gathering is just a means of building connections.’
A newly appointed instructor at Seorn.
Young, with proven magical ability. They were clearly thinking it wouldn’t hurt to form some kind of tie with me now, while they could.
And just as I suspected, people who had been merely observing began to move.
“Oh, Miss Selina. A pleasure to meet you. I’m Representative Charles from the Lower Assembly.”
“Are you Miss Merilda, by any chance? I’m Walt Miller, director of a magic potion manufacturing company. Might you be interested?”
“Oh my, Count Chris Bennimore. You’re just as dashing as the rumors say.”
I took stock of the people gathered here in this banquet hall.
All of them affluent, dressed in finery.
City councilmen, nobles, wealthy entrepreneurs, and so on.
‘So they’re all Seorn’s patrons.’
Seorn requires an immense budget to operate.
Magical research, class materials, rare ingredients, extensive infrastructure—just thinking about the cost to raise a single mage is enough to make your head spin. For an academy that produces numerous elite mages every year, the money involved is astronomical.
Even just looking at my starting salary as a new instructor is enough to make someone’s jaw drop.
That’s just the amount spent on a single new teacher’s monthly wage.
Factor in all the miscellaneous costs, and the total sum is beyond imagination.
‘Seorn Academy can’t possibly fund itself with internal revenue.’
It’s not an international bank, nor can it print money like a factory and distribute it.
To invest that kind of money, external support becomes absolutely necessary.
And people with an uncanny nose for money—they exist everywhere.
People who need money.
People who already have plenty, but want something more.
This banquet hall is the fertile ground where those two types of people intersect in perfectly calculated transactions—like interlocking puzzle pieces.
‘That’s why, though Seorn is within the Empire, it doesn’t solely belong to the Empire.’
Seorn’s investors include all sorts of nations.
Not just the Exilion Empire, but Delike, Queoden, Yuta, Bretus, the Fatima Dynasty, and so on.
And of course, the borderless capitalists who don’t care for flags or frontiers.
It’s not strange at all that they’d want to rub elbows with talents who might become famous down the line.
This kind of gathering has become such a predictable annual event that asking “why” would almost be gauche.
A place to “celebrate the new instructors”—but more truthfully, a place to build one’s network.
As I watched the desires writhing beneath the surface, someone approached me.
“A pleasure to meet you. Would you be Mr. Ludger Cherish?”
I gave a small nod.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Ah, excellent. ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) I’m Count Deckers, one of Seorn’s patrons.”
So that’s why no one else had made a move until now—they were waiting to see how the pieces would fall.
Now that Count Deckers had taken the lead, the others who had been hesitating began to stir.
It’s always difficult for someone to be the first to step up, but once that’s done, the rest follow easily.
And I didn’t welcome that at all.
‘This is no good. If I leave this be, I’ll have all sorts of flies buzzing around me.’
The reason I came to this banquet wasn’t to exchange hollow formalities with strangers I’d never met.
I came here to find the First Order member of the Black Dawn Society, who had infiltrated this hall.
The process had to appear natural. I didn’t want to be interrupted by anyone—and from the start, things were already getting tangled.
At this point, I had no choice but to be a bit more forceful.
“My apologies.”
Adopting a noticeably heavier tone, I spoke firmly to Count Deckers.
“But I’m not in the mood to converse with anyone right now.”
“Uh... pardon?”
“I said I’d appreciate it if you’d kindly step aside.”
The bluntness in my voice made it clear that I hadn’t even wanted to attend this event to begin with.
As I narrowed my eyes and said that, Count Deckers swallowed hard and gave a hasty nod.
“Ah, uhm. Yes, of course. My apologies for taking up your time. Ha, hahah...”
Fortunately, he was perceptive.
And so were the people around him.
“Ahem.”
“Hmm.”
As Count Deckers stepped away without having accomplished anything, the others who had been watching from a distance coughed awkwardly and backed off as well.
They were clearly a rung or two below Count Deckers in terms of status.
If even he couldn’t manage to speak to me, they figured they had no chance—and immediately gave up.
‘That takes care of the first round of cleanup.’
The problem was, quite a few still hadn’t given up.
I didn’t know exactly who Count Deckers was, but judging by his presence here, he must’ve been upper-mid tier among this gathering.
If someone of that level had backed off, yet some people were still sending me persistent looks, that meant only one thing.
‘They’re a real pain in the neck.’
Having people like that approach me directly was something I definitely wanted to avoid.
As I was debating how to deal with them, I spotted a woman with pink hair and a matching pink dress.
Instructor Selina.
She looked flustered as a young man aggressively approached her.
Hmm. Perhaps—
I stepped away from the wall and began walking toward her.
A few people noticed me move and watched with curious eyes.
I ignored them without hesitation.
Someone even tried to intercept me with a word, but I brushed them off with a slight wave of my hand, cutting them off entirely.
“Miss Selina. How about a drink somewhere quieter? I know just the place.”
“Ah, eheh... I’m sorry. I’m not really comfortable in unfamiliar settings...” 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝔲𝔟.𝔠𝖔𝖒
“Oh come on, don’t be so shy. It’s not the kind of place just anyone gets into.”
“N-no, it’s just that—”
“That’s enough.”
I stepped in and interrupted, and the man pestering Instructor Selina turned to look at me.
“What’s this now?”
His face twisted in annoyance, as though irritated at being interrupted.
I silently examined him.
‘Late twenties. Expensive-looking clothes. Lavish accessories. Lazy posture, leaning on one hip. Arrogant, challenging eyes full of entitlement.’
And I surveyed the surroundings.
‘Everyone else who’d been eyeing Instructor Selina has backed off.’
Though she was a commoner, Instructor Selina was skilled enough to be appointed a teacher at Seorn at a young age.
She was a striking beauty with a kind personality, and to people here looking to build connections, she must have appeared incredibly appealing.
The fact that she was a commoner probably made her seem more approachable.
Yet the moment this young man stepped forward, the rest retreated.
There could be only one reason for that.
‘He must be from quite a high-ranking household.’
So high, in fact, that even minor nobles wouldn’t dare oppose him.
But that didn’t concern me.
“It’s rude to trouble a woman who’s clearly uncomfortable.”
“Oh yeah? And who exactly are you supposed to be?”
At that moment, Instructor Selina turned to look at me—and her eyes widened.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Mr. Ludger!”
“Ludger? What? Who the hell is that?”
He heard the name and still didn’t recognize it?
Judging by how he said it, he wasn’t trying to provoke me—he genuinely had no idea. Even I was a little thrown off.
I was debating whether I should introduce myself as one of Seorn’s newly appointed instructors when—
An older-looking man hurried over through the crowd and whispered something into the young man’s ear.
Though he was dressed to match the party’s formal dress code, I could tell.
The man whispering now—he was a mage.
He was clearly explaining to him who I was.
“So what?”
But the man’s reaction blew far beyond my expectations.
“Ludger Cherish? So what, he’s some newly hired instructor? What the hell does that have to do with me?”
“Well, it’s just that...”
“Hey. You. That Ludger or whatever.”
The man jabbed his finger straight at me and talked down without an ounce of hesitation.
I stared at him in silence, too dumbfounded to respond, and then he pointed at himself with a smirk and asked shamelessly,
“You seriously don’t know who I am?”
Am I supposed to?
I just stared blankly, letting him draw his own conclusions, and he let out a theatrical sigh.
“Ha. Seriously. Must be ‘cause you’re some fallen noble bastard. Got nothin’ in that head of yours.”
At those words, the surrounding nobles who had been watching grew visibly cold.
But some of the people who recognized the man only looked resigned, like they had seen this coming.
From their reactions, it was clear this wasn’t his first time acting like a complete jackass.
“I’m Ivan Luk. Ring any bells? You seriously don’t know Luk? Even gutter rats know the name Luk Corporation.”
How could I not?
I was already familiar with Luk Corporation.
Founded by Theodor Luk, the company was one of the wealthiest conglomerates in the Empire.
If there’s money to be made, they stretch their hand into every field imaginable—Luk Corporation’s capital has spread its influence across the entire Empire.
Naturally, the name “Luk” carries immense weight in the business world.
More importantly—
Luk Corporation owns Kunst, the auction house hosting the upcoming event.
And given this guy’s last name is Luk, he’s almost certainly a descendant of Theodor Luk.
Thinking of him as just another arrogant second-gen chaebol suddenly made a lot more sense.
“I’m an executive there, got it? Someone like you—some has-been noble—has no business even looking me in the eye, let alone speaking to me.”
“......”
“So how about you move along, yeah? I’ll overlook this once since you just ruined my night.”
Things were getting messy.
All I’d wanted was to shoo away the leech harassing Instructor Selina—and, conveniently, chase off the gnats hovering around me in the process.
And yet the one I happened to get tangled with turned out to be none other than a director from Luk Corporation.
An obnoxious second-gen heir.
I’d swatted a fly only to poke a hornet’s nest.
But—
Grip.
Behind me, I could feel Instructor Selina’s slender hand clutching the sleeve of my coat. It was trembling.
If I backed down here, that bastard would surely drag her off against her will.
......There was no avoiding it, then.
“Hey. I said move your ass.”
“My apologies.”
I looked Ivan square in the eye, my gaze unwavering, and spoke.
“But I already have prior plans with Instructor Selina.”
The lie came out of my mouth smoothly, without even a flicker of hesitation.
“Isn’t that right, Instructor Selina?”
“Ah.”
She must’ve picked up on something in my tone, because she immediately nodded in a rush.
“Y-Yes, that’s right.”
Ivan Luk’s face twisted into something ugly.
“You messing with me right now?”
“Do I look like I’m playing games?”
“The hell did you say? Tch. You’re real funny, aren’t you? So what if you’re some Seorn instructor—you think I’d just back off if I heard that?”
Ivan marched up to me with heavy steps.
Then he raised his right hand, intending to shove my shoulder.
But he didn’t get the chance.
Because I was faster—I caught his wrist mid-motion.
“You—what the hell do you think you’re doing? Let go!”
“Since that’s how you talk to me, I’ll return the favor in kind.”
I tightened my grip on his wrist and spoke.
“You really thought I’d back down just ‘cause you’re some executive from Luk Corporation?”
