Chapter 120: Formal Dinner
Karl didn't miss the disapproving look that Dana gave him as he took his seat, with the bubbly blonde sitting next to him and discussing the difficulties of arranging a mission for clergy students.
"You see, since we're not fighters, we have to wait for a Professor, or a group of guards to be going to the region that we're looking to visit, and convince them to help us with what we're after. Greed isn't encouraged among the church members, so it has to be for a good reason, and even then, it's up to the goodwill of others.
Mostly we only go out once or twice a year unless there is an Awakened Rank or higher mission for the Elites, and they call on the clergy for a healer." She was explaining.
"So that's how it works. My power grew faster than my knowledge of the wider world, you see. It's one of the side effects of reaching the Awakened Rank in the first year, but it is good to know that I can just call the school and request that they send out a healer." Karl replied with a polite smile.
One of the girls across the table from him took out a sheet of paper and passed it across to him.
"You can ask for us personally. Most of the active Elites, the ones who volunteer to go on higher ranked missions, have a preferred team. Obviously, we're still students, and we're not on one yet, but other than the end of semester social events, we don't get many chances to meet people from the other Academy.
It's not easy to make that sort of connection in a crowded hall with loud music and half the students drunk on some illicit punch." She explained, rolling her eyes so far that they were almost entirely white.
"While that does sound like it might be interesting, and like it might lead to a number of adventures, it doesn't sound like the sort of event to pick a quality party member." Karl replied, making one of the girls choke on her water, and the others struggle to keep their laughter from interrupting everyone's dinner.
Karl flipped the paper over, and found that it was a diagram of the table with everyone's names on it. That would be useful later when he was trying to remember who was who. The names were on the back of the chairs, so he couldn't see any of them while he was sitting, but with the sheet in front of him, he could cheat.
"Aren't you afraid of monsters? I heard that there are some terrifying ones out in the wilderness." The little blonde asked in a coy voice that had all her classmates wondering if she had forgotten that the professors could hear them.
"Oh, my specialty involves beasts. I have the most adorable pet named Rae." Karl suggested.
[Do it. Let me out.] The spider demanded, eager to tease these strange new humans for a moment. Her thoughts were filled with the shock and horror that would surely ensue if someone as magnificent as her appeared in their world.
It was rather dark in the dining hall, with a single overhead chandelier, but that was perfect for the dinner ambience. Unfortunately for the students, it was also perfect for Rae.
"Can we meet them? I heard that you have pets, but I didn't realize that they were monsters. They won't attack, will they?" The blonde asked, and Karl noticed Dana smirking at him from her table.
"Of course not. Rae is a very gentle and shy girl. She wouldn't harm a soul. Hawk is more solitary, but Thor, he likes to cuddle a bit too much, and his enthusiasm can overwhelm people."
[I'm not going out if I can't fly around the room.] Hawk warned Karl before he could be involved in this game.
"Please let us see. It's not a common thing to see magical beasts here, other than the Nekomata that prowls the grounds, looking for students out of bed after hours." The blonde pleaded.
Karl called Rae out behind him, forgetting just how large the Bloodbath spider had gotten. There was no way that she was going to hide behind the chair without falling flat to the ground and changing her coloration, but she didn't intend to do that.
Instead, she moved right to the girl's chair and stared at her, wondering if the girl had the nerve to stroke her head the way everyone did to Thor.
There had to be something to it, or the big softie wouldn't keep demanding it. But she had never tried it herself.
"EEEEKKKK!"
The girl's squeal of horror drew the attention of everyone in the room, and a number of clerics shot out of their chairs, preparing magic.
"It's not a threat. Rae is a pet, and they asked to meet her." Karl shouted, calming the clerics, while Overlord Drake laughed himself to tears at the front of the room.
The student in the second chair from Karl caught the blonde as she passed out, and tilted her upright to wait until she recovered, but Rae had a better idea, and tied her to the seat with a single strand of silk, before looking at the rest of the students.
The dark-haired girl on Karl's left got up out of her seat and walked over to the spider.
"She's beautiful. I had a tarantula at home, but nothing like this. Is she intelligent? Or do you have to give explicit orders? Rae, right? What a lovely big girl." The student crooned as she approached the Bloodbath Spider, doing her best not to alarm her.
When she was close enough, she gently stroked Rae's head, and the spider sent Karl a confused thought.
[I don't see the appeal.] She commented, confused about why Thor loved it so much.
Then Rae studied the cleric, tapping her with her legs as she circled the girl, and most of the room watched on, unsure if they should be horrified or amused.
"She won't be injured, right?" One of the other students asked cautiously as the spider circled her classmate as if staring at her next meal.
"Of course not. Rae is just curious, as she doesn't get to interact with people much. After they have properly met, I will return her to her resting area so she doesn't freak out the entire dinner party."
Rae ran the side of her leg over the coarse woollen robes in dismay, not impressed with the quality.
Then she aimed her head high, and spun out a large, thin sheet of white silk a metre wide and three metres long. The girl caught it as it fell to the ground, unsure what to do in this situation.
[Tell her to stop wearing ugly things, and thank her for satisfying my curiosity about head rubs.] Rae announced, then returned to the taming space.
"She says thank you for satisfying her curiosity, and to make clothing from that silk. She doesn't like wool." Karl explained with a smile.
A man at the front of the room tapped a spoon against his glass, catching everyone's attention.
"Now that we have all had our fun, the Matron is about to arrive. Please inform our new guests of the protocols." He announced.
The spider lover took her seat after carefully folding the cloth into a small square, and leaned over to whisper to Karl.
"Stand when she enters, and don't sit until she sits. When the food is served, she takes the first bite, and then we eat. Don't leave the table until she is finished, and then we all leave together. That's the basics of it, along with no talking above a whisper.
She has very sensitive hearing, and she doesn't like loud noises while she is eating." The girl explained.
The sarcastic one across from Karl smirked in a way that said the Matron just didn't like overly talkative people, so she had ordered everyone to shut up during dinner. But rules were rules, and if she was in charge here, she set the rules.
If Karl wanted to get a regular supply of healers for missions in the future, it would be best to stay on the good side of those in charge at the various monasteries and especially the Seminary Academy.
Everyone rose as the woman walked in, and was pulled into a friendly hug by Overlord Drake, then they all sat after the two of them took their seats again, and the food was brought out. Large platters were placed in the middle of the tables, and then the servers retreated to a side room, where Karl could hear them taking more platters back to their own tables.
It was most likely a chore rotation, and not the same students every day, a duty that reminded them that service was part of their oath, but it worked well enough, and within minutes everyone in the building would be served.
Karl noticed that the Matron waited until the sound of platters hitting tables in the other room stopped, and then she took the first bite and the dinner started. So, she really did have enhanced hearing. Karl's was much better than the average human, and the sound of the trays been quiet even to him, while she was on the far side of the room, not near the side door to the other dining hall.
That made him wonder how many people here actually understood the timing, and how many thought that she was just randomly making them wait, like some test of patience, before they could begin to eat.
Karl knew the reason now, but it was obvious that the students didn't, and he wasn't entirely certain why it hadn't been clearly explained to them in advance.