Chapter 302: VIP Lunch

When I heard his name, I was about to burst into laughter. Clay Hardbrick. It was as if he was born to be someone who would create something. And his parents seemed to be unable to decide what kind of brick his son would be made of.

As a joke, I decided to ask Sandra.

"Is Earl Hardbrick's first son's name Concrete or Ash?"

"Yes, the first son is Ash Hardbrick while Earl Hardbrick's name is Concrete Hardbrick."

Alright, this family was strange.

Was this the Goddess' prank or something? Their first name was the main material to create bricks. And their family name was Hardbrick.

Reining myself from bursting into laughter in front of Sandra, I coughed into my hand and nodded.

"Good job. That information is sufficient. Tell Milea about your reward and have her make your sandwiches. Feel free to request the filling too. But remember not to eat too much in a day."

"Yes, Master! Sandra understands! I shall only eat 10 sandwiches a day!"

"Do 5 so it can hold on for 10 days."

After I said that, Sandra deflated and looked rather gloomy. Her shoulders dropped, and she looked at me with a shocked expression.

"C-Can I take 6? I-I hate odd numbers."

"Fine, 6 sandwiches for 10 days because you also bring his family information. Tell Milea about it."

"Yes! You're the best, Master!"

After that, Sandra pulled up her mask and left the area by skipping around. I looked at her swaying ass for a second before heaved a sigh.

"Most of the money the church gave Garcia will go to Sandra's meals if she eats that much."

I wasn't really worried about money, as I had more than a trillion Gold, but I was worried about Sandra's condition. Wouldn't she get fat if she ate that much? I didn't meet fat people except for Earl Lawrence in this world, so maybe getting fat was really difficult.

However, I should show that pig Earl to Sandra sometime to tell her to stop eating too much.

"Clay Hardbrick, the second son of Earl Hardbrick. His family stays in the Capital City a lot because they have no fief to take care of. His position was a Minister of Village and City Development and didn't really participate in the political scene."

Somehow, I wasn't surprised that he had the position that best suited his name. I could imagine Concrete Hardbrick ordering his subordinate to build a paved road made of Asphalt, which would be his third son's name if he had it.

Or he might yell at his subordinate that the concrete wasn't dry yet with an angry face.

"That's not important. I have the name of the magic item maker, so I will leave the rest to Alesia right now."

Also, I planned to join the lunch for the VIP, so I returned to the balcony area where Alesia was. It was also to tell her the new information I got from Sandra.

The fight between Oliver and the Temperantia Academy's student had ended, and the other headmasters had already gone to the VIP dining room with Pope Juriel and the Royal Family.

However, I saw Alesia was still on the balcony for the Virtue Royal Academy, so I went there.

When I walked down the corridor, I saw the headmistress standing in front of the door. She crossed her arms and turned to me with a displeased expression when I showed up.

Seeing her expression, I made a guess.

"Did Oliver lose?"

"No." Alesia shook her head.

'Then why?' I asked that question inside my mind as I stopped in front of her, wearing a confused look.

As if she could read my mind, she continued.

"It was really close. Just a wrong move and student Oliver Coppertree would lose. I should change the academy curriculums to make sure we win all tournaments next year." She said.

Then she turned to me with narrowed eyes and a questioning tone, "You will also enter again, right?"

Hearing her question, which sounded like an order, I couldn't help but laugh bitterly. I didn't give her an affirmative or refusal, leaving her on hold.

Instead, I decided to change the topic by mentioning that I had found the magic item maker's name. As expected, she became interested in it and wanted to talk about it as we walked toward the dining hall where everyone had gone.

Apparently, Alesia wasn't a stranger to the name Hardbrick. In fact, that family was a bit famous for being good at building something. So she wasn't really that surprised if they produced someone who was talented at creating magic items from their family line.

After talking for a while and making Alesia forget about 'next year's tournament,' we arrived in front of the double door located on the second floor. The doors were white in color and had a golden intricate design.

Alesia didn't stand with the ceremony and pushed the door open. With the strength of Level 78, pushing a big door open was as easy as pushing a normal door.

The interior of this dining hall was also luxurious, with two long tables standing in the middle filled with various kinds of foods, ranging from fried ones to desserts.

It was a buffet party style, where people just brought a small plate and took the food. They also ate while standing, except for the Royal Family and Pope Juirel, who had tables at the end of the room. She was sitting with Sana, and Ertha stood beside their table. They were VIPs among VIPs.

Of course, Duke Blacktomb was also standing, talking with Earl "pig" Lawrence, who tried to curry his favor.

When the door was opened, and we entered, the attention immediately shifted to us. They were curious about why we, VIPs from the Royal Academy, were late and entered together.

Before I could speak and give them my excuse, Alesia beat me to it.

"We were just from the toilets. Together."

Her voice reverberated in the room as the door behind us closed with a soft bang. The room fell into silence. Only Juriel's giggling could be heard after a second.

"That was funny, Alesia." The Pope spoke in a calm tone. She moved her head toward me for a second before smiling warmly. "I kindly requested His Holiness to bless the final outside the arena hall with a prayer. It's not logical if he went to the toilet with you."

The headmistress nodded and said, "I was just joking."

"Fufufu, I knew about it."

The atmosphere immediately returned to normal as both women, who were older than everyone combined here, ended their little talk. There was nothing wrong with joking; from the look of it, everyone knew about their relationship.

'I guess that's what you get from being famous. Everyone knows who your friends are, and you have little to almost no privacy.' I lampooned with a little sigh, relieved that everyone in this room didn't take Alesia seriously.

Looking around, I noticed Juriel waving at me and gesturing for me to sit beside her. Sana also stood up and gave spice, smiling at me and beckoning me to sit in that place.

I nodded at them and pointed at the pile of plates near the long table. With my gaze, I told them I needed to get some food before going to them.

My choice was meat. There was nothing wrong with the other dishes, but the meat was especially tantalizing.

After I got my meal, I went over to the table reserved for the church. On my way, Queen Eve looked at me, and I nodded casually at her as my position was higher than her, but I didn't know her to talk closely.

She returned my nod with a smile and turned her focus to her meal. Behind her stood Beatrice in her young form, invisible to anyone else but me and apparently Juriel. That primordial Succubus tried to tell me through her gaze that the Pope had seen her.

This time, I winked subtly at her to tell her that it was okay. Then I sat beside Juriel and put my plate full of meat on the table.

Just as I sat down, the Pope giggled playfully and leaned closer.

"You're truly a lady-killer, Paladin Arthur. You didn't even spare the Goddess' stray Devil."

When I heard that, I couldn't help but chuckle. She was truly able to see Beatrice even though the primordial Succubus had used <Illusion Magic> to hide herself. But the Pope didn't end it with that. She continued to tease me.

"Will you conquer her Angel next? Fufufu." She backed away and began to giggle lightly, covering her mouth with her hand.

I pretended that nothing was wrong and ate my meat. What? Did she want me to say yes in front of those important people?

Alesia even looked at me with a sharp gaze as she stood close to the Humanitas Academy headmistress, Ivy. Her gaze told me not to embarrass the Royal Academy by doing something lewd in this room.

Indeed, this place was still within her academy, and she warned me not to have sex in the academy area before.

'That won't happen. I will answer her when we are alone. That way, if something happens, no one will see us.'

And so, I continued eating silently until I finished the meat I had taken. The Pope didn't eat anything at all and only enjoyed the atmosphere.

No one tried talking to us, mainly because the Royal Family hadn't moved yet. And it was when the King and the Queen finished their meals they stood up and approached us.

"Just leave it to Sana, Paladin Arthur. She will handle the Royal Family with no problem." Pope Juriel whispered. "We just need to answer their greetings."

"Alright."