It was the next day, just before lunchtime. Lucas sat at the head of the long table in the royal dining room, with Aislyra seated to his left. He was waiting for Caesar and his party to arrive. He had already been informed that they were inside the palace, so he had sent Katerina to welcome them and escort them to the dining room. Sequoria had decided to accompany her.
There was, however, one more person who had yet to arrive—Luvrio. Strangely, he was running late. He was usually one of the first to arrive, often even earlier than the kitchen staff.
'Sequoria seemed really sad last night… I left as soon as she answered my question, thinking she wanted to be alone… but maybe I should have stayed and tried to comfort her,' Lucas reflected as he waited for the guests.
But his thoughts were swept aside when the door opened, and Katerina entered, followed closely by Sequoria, Caesar, and the rest of the hero's party.
"Your Majesty, I have brought your guests," Katerina announced in her usual emotionless tone.
"Thank you, Katerina. Please return to your place," Lucas replied warmly.
Katerina bowed lightly and returned to Lucas's side without another word.
"Has Luvrio arrived yet?" asked Sequoria as she scanned the table.
"No, not yet," Lucas replied.
"That's strange. He's not the type to be late," Sequoria said, furrowing her brow slightly. "He's probably helping one of the ministers and lost track of time."
Then she turned to Caesar and his party with an apologetic tone in her regal voice. "Forgive us, Hero Caesar. My younger brother Luvrio appears to be running a bit late, and so—"
But before she could finish, the doors at the back of the room burst open.
"My deepest apologies for the delay, Your Majesty," said Luvrio as he stepped into the room, followed by his personal butler. "I was in the Yggdrasill Forest testing the new deterrent against mutant Over Beasts that Minister Macro developed using data I provided. I must have lost track of time."
"Don't worry about it, Uncle Luvrio. You're just in time," Lucas said kindly, smiling at him.
"If that's truly the case, then I'm relieved," Luvrio replied, still catching his breath. He quickly approached Caesar and extended his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Luvrio Elenlora—twin brother of the Minister of Economy, Lucrio, younger brother of former Queen Sequoria, and uncle to the current queen. You must be the new hero summoned by the Kingdom of Leore, correct?"
"That's right," Caesar replied with equal politeness, shaking Luvrio's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Gaius Julius Caesar."
Just then, a maid stepped out from the kitchen and whispered something into Katerina's ear.
"I see," Katerina said to herself, then turned toward the group. "The kitchen is ready. I kindly ask everyone to take their seats."
Everyone began to move to their places around the table. Sequoria returned to her seat beside Aislyra, with Luvrio taking the seat next to her. Caesar sat across from Aislyra, beside Lucas, while the rest of his party seated themselves in a row beside him—Enea taking the place directly next to Caesar.
Once everyone was seated, the maid returned to the kitchen, likely to inform the chefs that the food could now be served.
"Welcome back, Caesar. Have you had the chance to tour the capital yet?" Lucas asked, his tone both kind and refined.
"Yes, although we haven't managed to see everything yet, of course," Caesar replied with a graceful smile. "Still, it seems like a truly beautiful city with fascinating architecture. The way you've used trees to create homes is something I've never seen before—something that would probably be impossible in my own world. I also noticed that your citizens seem to genuinely admire you. Very few people spoke ill of you."
"Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I'm very proud of this city," said Lucas, returning the smile—though in his mind, he thought, 'Even though I haven't actually had the time to explore it yet… I WANT TIME TO EXPLORE IT!'
At that moment, the kitchen doors opened and several servants entered, carrying platters piled high with food. The table, already set, quickly became filled with the aroma of freshly prepared dishes.
As soon as the food arrived, Caesar's attention visibly shifted toward it. For a moment, it looked like he was about to abandon his manners and dive in with his hands—but instead, he picked up his knife and fork and began to eat with gusto, maintaining his regal poise even while devouring his food with a ravenous appetite.
A few minutes passed. Caesar had already asked for seconds multiple times when Lucas, who had been waiting for the right moment, finally spoke.
"Caesar, there was a question I meant to ask you yesterday. May I ask it now?" Lucas asked politely.
"Of course, Queen Alberia. Though I can't promise I'll be able to answer, depending on the nature of the question," Caesar replied.
Lucas nodded, then asked, "Why did you decide to accept the mission given to you by the Kingdom of Leore? It's essentially equivalent to taking on an entire country by yourself, for a kingdom you barely even know. From what I understand, even if you had refused, Leore would've provided you with everything you needed to live comfortably in another nation without issue."
He did his best to phrase the question respectfully. It wasn't that he couldn't understand the sentiment behind Caesar's decision—after all, Lucas himself had accepted a daunting responsibility—but the Caesar he'd read about in history books didn't strike him as the type to sacrifice his second life for a foreign kingdom.
Caesar poured himself some wine, took a slow sip, and then answered.
"I must admit, I too had initially considered refusing. The king of Leore promised me a sum more than sufficient to live comfortably, and he'd already arranged with one of his allies to grant me citizenship if I wished. And, of course, you cannot know this—but my death was not a noble one on the battlefield. I was stabbed twenty-three times by people I fairly trusted." He paused. "Although I once told my wife, Calpurnia, that I preferred a sudden death over a slow decline with age, after experiencing such a betrayal… dying of old age no longer seems so bad."
He paused again to take another sip.
"So, at first, I thought I'd live this second life in peace—away from politics, away from treachery. But during the three days I was given to decide, I thought long and hard. And I realized something: even if I had no desire to rule again or become entangled in politics, this new body—young and stronger than I ever was in life—trembled with the desire to fight. It reminded me of the thrill I felt during my early campaigns in Asia and Mytilene."
He straightened his posture slightly, his golden eyes glinting with energy.
"So I decided: my peaceful life could wait. I would take on this mission—perhaps my final campaign. I agreed to fight. That said," he added with a wry smile, "I would have preferred to command a somewhat larger army. Managing grand campaigns was always one of my strengths, after all."
The excitement in Caesar's voice during the last few lines was nearly palpable, as if recounting a fond memory—or anticipating a future glory.
That explanation made much more sense to Lucas. Caesar hadn't accepted the mission purely out of altruism or a sense of duty—he had a personal reason, distinct even from the rewards he would receive.
"I see... Then why did you decide to stop in my kingdom and participate in the Tournament of the Golden Trees?" Lucas added, his curiosity piqued.
"Apart from the thrill of fighting in this young body," Caesar began in his regal tone, "I want to take advantage of this mission to explore as much of this world as possible. This world is full of new countries and cultures—entirely different from those that existed in my time. I am very eager to experience and understand as many of them as I can. Your kingdom seemed like a perfect first stop, considering its proximity to Osidarap and the alliance it holds with Leore. Furthermore, I wanted to test this new body and its abilities before entering the Demon King's territory—and the Tournament of the Golden Trees struck me as an excellent opportunity to do just that."
"That makes perfect sense. Before entering such a dangerous place, it's only wise to test your limits," Lucas said with a smile, then took a sip of his wine. "Anyway, I hope you enjoy your stay in my kingdom, and that the Golden Tree Tournament lives up to your expectations."
Lunch continued for several more minutes, with the guests chatting casually about a variety of topics, until—
"HEY! Kid... aren't you drinking?" shouted Aislyra suddenly, addressing Enea. Her cheeks tanned were flushed from alcohol, and her voice was slightly slurred. It was obvious she was already drunk.
"No, thank you. I don't drink—I've never liked the taste of alcohol," Enea replied calmly.
"Hmm... child," muttered the drunk elf, clearly losing interest.
"Say what you want, but I won't drink anything," Enea repeated, still unfazed.
"I apologize for my daughter. When she gets drunk, she becomes even ruder than usual," Sequoria said in a maternal voice.
"Don't worry, Lady Sequoria, I'm not offended," Enea replied with a slight smile.
"How old are you, kid? Fourteen?" Aislyra asked in a teasing tone.
"More or less Twenty-two," replied Enea casually.
"Twenty-two? I thought you were younger..." Lucas blurted out before realizing he'd said it aloud. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth and muttered, "I'm sorry," in a sheepish tone.
"Don't worry, Queen Alberia," Enea said with an amused look. "I already said, I'm not offended. Besides, how old did you think I was?"
"About eighteen," Lucas admitted honestly.
"Then there's even less reason to apologize. You're not the first to make that mistake, and it's not a big deal," said Enea, trying to reassure him.
Lucas nodded, relieved.
Meanwhile, the tipsy Aislyra had clearly lost interest in the exchange and was now completely focused on her food.
"Mr. Enea, you're the highest-ranking adventurer in Leore's Adventurers' Guild, which is why you were chosen to be part of the hero's party, correct?" Sequoria asked.
Enea nodded.
"But when I visited the guild about a year ago, Mr. Brasto still held the top position in the white class—and he'd held that title for over twenty years. Did something happen to him?"
"Don't worry, Lady Sequoria, Mr. Brasto is perfectly fine. He's just been pushed down to second place in the white class. This villainous individual arrived a few months ago and, in less than two months, completed most of the guild's most difficult missions on his own. Before long, he surpassed Mr. Brasto and set the record for the fastest promotion to white rank in the history of the Kingdom of Leore." The irritation in Emeralda's voice was hard to miss.
Sequoria and Luvrio sat momentarily stunned, while Aislyra—now somewhat recovered—simply grinned with excitement.
After collecting herself, Sequoria replied, "Thank you for the explanation, Emeralda. I'm glad to hear that Brasto is still doing well. For a moment, I thought I'd lost another drinking companion." Then, turning a stern gaze to the ranger, she added, "But Emeralda, you shouldn't insult your traveling companions."
Emeralda looked away without a word.
Lunch continued for a while longer, and it seemed everyone was enjoying themselves. The first to finish was Roterberg, who made his way over to Macro, as Lucas had asked earlier. Eventually, after nearly three hours of dining and conversation, the hero and his party took their leave—satisfied and in good spirits—and so this pleasant and significant lunch came to a close.
The next day, wandering through the capital of the elven kingdom, were two elves who looked almost identical to Alberia and Aislyra. The only real differences were in their coloring: the one resembling Alberia had fiery red hair tied into a ponytail and brown eyes, while the one who looked like Aislyra had loose chestnut-brown hair and amber eyes.
"Big sister, where do you want to go now?" asked the elf who resembled Aislyra.