Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 409 Pet Party
Ethan finally got his wish and boarded the express train to the capital.

After learning of Lance's identity, the Imperial Army displayed unprecedented efficiency, and they all showed a wolf-like hunger for this unexpected honor.

Grand Duke Ash was no exception. This express airship was specially supplied to the Simpler family. As one of the most prominent families in the Silver Empire, they had their own air routes and airships exclusively for family members and guests. The airship's construction was different from the transport airships they had taken in Gear City; it was smaller and more luxuriously decorated.

The airship had a private banquet hall, and the finest wines and ingredients were replenished before each voyage. It is said that even Henry VI was a frequent guest on this airship, named "Imperial Pearl".

If it weren't for Grand Duke Ash's eagerness to meet the legendary rebel leader Lance, Ethan probably would never have had the chance to ascend this jewel of the empire in his life.

Naturally, the facilities on the airship were not open to them. Even the servants on the airship maintained an arrogant demeanor. Clearly, young noblemen like Ethan, whose titles were unclear, were not worthy of their attention. Those who could be treated as VIPs on this airship were at least counts or higher.

They knew every count in the empire, as well as their hobbies and habits, but Ethan was clearly not among them.

However, Ethan always had a clear sense of self. For example, during this trip, he knew very well that he was just there to hitch a ride and didn't take the servants' arrogant attitude to heart. Not long after boarding, he happily took Winter and Darkness for a stroll on the airship, and the three of them broadened their horizons together.

Although their airships set sail much later than the nobles of Gear City, they arrived at the capital's airport before those fallen nobles—located less than a kilometer west of the transport airport and also within the territory of the Simpler family.

In the empire they knew today, no noble family could compare to the Simpler family, not even Prince Freeman during Julius's time.

It was already night when they arrived at the airport. The Simpler family's private army was already waiting there, with a dense musket squad and a tense atmosphere.

The handover was completed in silence; they covered Lance's head with a linen sack and escorted him into a car.

This fully demonstrates the Simpler family's unique privilege; even for serious criminals like Lance, they can bypass the Imperial Army and the judicial authorities and directly transfer him to their own mansion for interrogation.

While at the Imperial Army camp, the young hero also participated in the planning. Given his extremely special status, he decided to go to the capital on his own.

“Mr. Ethan, Grand Duke Ash has prepared a welcome banquet for your arrival. Please come with us.”

After the handover was completed, the Simpler family butler went straight to Ethan and conveyed Grand Duke Esch's arrangements to him in an unyielding manner. Although he used polite language, his tone was commanding. Without waiting for Ethan's reply, he walked to the old black sedan that the Grand Duke had arranged for him.

Perhaps in his view, no one could refuse Grand Duke Esh's invitation.

The Silver Empire's technology was always ahead of theirs, about 50 years ahead. Now, in the empire's major cities, cars were already circulating among the nobility, becoming a symbol of their status.

Ethan got into the car and headed straight for Grand Duke Esh's estate.

He felt that history always repeats itself in surprising ways. Not long ago, he had also received a warm invitation from Baron Flin in Gear City. This was probably the Simpler family’s tradition of hospitality, and even as the illegitimate son of Grand Duke Esch, Baron Flin had inherited this excellent quality.

As the car pulled up at the entrance to the estate, Ethan was deeply impressed by the magnificent palatial architecture. From a distance, the Simpler family estate looked no different from a private castle. When the car arrived, guests were arriving in droves, all dressed in formal attire and wearing polite smiles.

Compared to this magnificent private castle, Baron Flint's mansion seems rather insignificant.

However, Ethan didn't have time to visit Baron Flynn's mansion while in Gear City, as the hospitable Mr. Flynn had unfortunately passed away due to health reasons before he could formally invite them into his house.

Many truly important people attended the banquet.

Ethan immediately noticed the imposing figure in the castle banquet hall, wearing a crown and a red cloak. However, the woman accompanying Henry VI was no longer Queen Margaret. After making a few inquiries, he learned that the Silver Empire did not seem to have a Margaret family.

Unfortunately, he didn't encounter any mirror image of Ivy in the banquet hall.

The iconic ahoge (cowlick) was absent from the foreheads of any of the nobles. Their hair was meticulously styled, and they wore the most dazzling jewelry before leaving home. Compared to these carefully dressed nobles, Ethan's appearance was rather shabby, and his travels had made him look even more travel-worn.

Fortunately, Frost had been perched on his shoulder like a pendant the whole way, and even dozed off with its tail gently hooked around his neck, leaving him with the pleasant scent of snow cherries. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been good if the other people in the banquet hall had smelled the blood.

It was obvious that the old butler had deceived them under the guise of a banquet.

The theme of this banquet had absolutely nothing to do with him, a nobody from Gear City. The real protagonists were Grand Duke Ash and Henry VI, who had gathered here to celebrate their victory over the Demon King and for nipping any rebellious forces that dared to defy the Silver Empire in the bud.

Ethan was also happy with this situation where no one talked to him.

He got some of Winter and Dark's favorite food and carried the trays to a corner of the banquet hall.

He listened silently to the conversations of the nobles around him, but they were only saying meaningless platitudes and insincere flattery. He couldn't hear any useful information. Only half an hour after the banquet started, someone finally noticed them. It was a well-mannered noble lady who, wearing a white dress and holding a wine glass, walked gracefully to him.

Her long, golden hair was braided together, and she wore a gentle smile.

A typical image of a noble young lady.

"Thank you, Mr. Ethan, you've solved a major problem for the Empire."

The noble lady spoke first, "I am Ilya."

hiss--!
The name was so famous that it inevitably stirred up painful memories for Ethan.

Because of the side effects of Rowena's magic, the young hero who mistook him for Ilya called him "brother" in a coquettish voice the whole time, which has now given him a phobia of the term "brother".

In comparison, even the name "Moriko" suggested by Xiao An sounds much more pleasant.

He knew that the elegant young lady in front of him had another important identity—a Holy Mage of the Silver Empire. At least on the surface, she was the most outstanding mage in the empire and could be considered one of their peers.

Based on Ethan's understanding of the Archmage class over the past few days, it's more like a combination of Elemental Evoker and Magician. They know a little bit of both spells, but are not proficient in either, and their main attack method is mainly elemental spells.

Ethan sized up the noblewoman in front of him. She must have used that same innocent smile to poison Lance's wine back then.

That being said, it's still important to maintain appearances.

He immediately stated, "This has nothing to do with me. In fact, it was Grand Duke Esh's men and the Imperial Army who joined forces to arrest the rebels. I just happened to be there."

"happen……"

Ilya smiled meaningfully and said, "Did you notice? There are no people our age in the banquet hall."

To be honest, Ethan hadn't noticed any of this. His attention had been entirely on Little Dark, who thought the black cat's plate had pretty lace trim and, taking advantage of Ethan's inattention, swallowed the plate whole, saying that since they were already there, they should take some souvenirs home.

While at Baron Flint's mansion, this black cat also stole things from other people.

She swallowed one of the torture instruments used for branding in the torture chamber.

Theoretically speaking, as an elemental spirit, Xiao An doesn't need to eat. She's just greedy. And her greed isn't limited to food. If she encounters something that interests her, you'll be swallowed up by her if you're not careful, and added to her collection. The entire black hole is essentially Xiao An's "stomach".

Even she herself didn't know what she had swallowed into that container over the years.

Compared to Xiao An, the reserves of a human stomach are ultimately far too small.

Since the Holy Mage had spoken, Ethan could only politely reply, "I thought they hadn't been invited."

"They will certainly be invited, but they will all be staying at a separate residence."

Ilya explained, "They are all Fabius's friends, and he personally hosted them... I think you might not be comfortable with the atmosphere here. How about we go to the annex together?"

Now that the Holy Mage of the Empire has spoken, what else can he say?

Ethan picked up the black cat, while Winter, who was always well-behaved, nestled on his shoulder and never ran off.

Ilya gazed at the black cat in Ethan's arms for a long time before suddenly speaking, "Speaking of which, Fabius and his friends also like to keep pets. Perhaps you two will have a lot in common."

Keeping pets?

This could be a good starting point for starting a conversation.

Anyone who knows Ethan knows that he is quite adept at dealing with monsters, and monsters of all sizes in the Imperial Monster District always welcome his arrival.

When the Hunter's Guild learned of this, the elderly guild master sent him a letter, sincerely inviting him to write a book about a healthy relationship between humans and monsters. However, he had been busy with other matters recently and had not yet found the time to write the book.

So, what kind of monsters would a noble family like the future heir of the Simpler family keep?

Is it a dragon, or a rare monster that is worshipped as a "beast god" by residents of some towns and villages in folk legends?

Ethan has experience in raising even pure-blooded dragons.

Now, the black dragon baby he brought back to the Empire from the "Crow's Canopy" plane is thriving at home. Recently, it has learned some lightning elemental magic, and the electric elemental senior seems to be very interested in this black dragon baby, so it is one step closer to the legendary Zekrom.

Along the way, Ethan had already silently prepared a topic of conversation in his mind.

He followed Ilya to the villa. Even through the villa's doors, he could hear the lively atmosphere inside. Compared to the nobles in the banquet hall who only exchanged polite words, the young man was much more sincere.

What kind of monsters are Fabius and his friends talking about?

With this question in mind, Ethan walked through the gate of the annex.

But the next moment, his expression froze on his face.

The first thing that catches the eye is a woman wearing cat ears and a collar, dressed so revealingly that she is barely clothed. She is being led by the collar rope by a young nobleman and crawling on the cold floor. If you look closely, you will find that the cat ears and cat tail are "artificial" props.

There were many such "pets" in the villa. Fabius and his friends opened a lot of wine, and the villa was filled with a strong smell of alcohol.

Ethan admitted that he was ultimately too young and unable to keep up with the perverse nature of the Silver Empire's nobles.

He originally thought that keeping some exotic pets was the limit.

In reality, the pets participating in this party were neither animals nor monsters; if you had to describe it, it was more like a "role-playing" event.

Ilya noticed Ethan's gaze and offered to explain, "He was a leader of the resistance, a swordsman, who once led the resistance to attack three border towns of the empire."

She was referring to the girl crawling on the ground, who, during her time as a pet, had long since lost her pride as a rebel and had been domesticated.

Ilya continued, "That one is a saintess from a small country, regarded as the incarnation of a god in their kingdom; that one is a pureblood vampire, one of the few remaining 'progenitors,' possessing immortality and the ability to regenerate. Even if an arm is cut off, a new one will grow back in no time."

Ilya seemed to know a lot about how young nobles in the capital city gathered.

Each of these "pets" once had a prestigious identity, and now they all appear to have been domesticated, becoming like real pets following their owners.

But none of them were the main focus of this party.

"You came just in time."

"Ilya said."

All eyes were now on a woman leading a pet whose head was covered by a linen bag. Ilya introduced the pet to Ethan, saying, "That is the Third Princess of the Empire."

The nobles in the villa didn't even notice their arrival; they were all staring at the man whose head was covered by a linen sack, whose upper body was bare, and whose exposed skin was covered with whip marks.

Immediately afterwards, the linen bag covering his head was removed.

When the Third Princess brought her white boots close to the man's face, his eyes, which had lost their luster, were filled with a sense of submissiveness. He lowered his head and rubbed his cheek against the tip of her boots.

With the domestication complete, the atmosphere at the annex gathering reached its climax.

"That's Zoffy, his class is Assassin."

Ilya then revealed the "pet's" true identity: "He was once a member of the hero's party."

(End of this chapter)