Chapter 101: Invitation to the Baron’s New Year Banquet

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Invitation to the Baron’s New Year Banquet

Vili walked out of the smithy.

Flurries of snow drifted through the air. The ground was already covered in a thick, white blanket, and all of Fandou Village was wrapped in the heavy snowfall.

Vili walked through the snow, the ground crunching under his feet.

The heavy snow had been falling for several days, and as it continued, the temperature dropped lower and lower. To ensure the beans and Star-Spotted Snow Roots could continue to grow properly, Old Yor and Lake had made a special trip to Diamond Town a couple of days ago to buy some rough oilcloths.

Through the efforts of the villagers, the oilcloths were stretched over iron frames and set up around and above the beans and Star-Spotted Snow Roots to protect them as much as possible from the biting cold.

"Vili, look here!"

Before Vili even reached his front door, he heard Vilia calling his name from a short distance away.

He looked over instinctively, just in time to see a white blur—a fist-sized snowball—hurtling straight for his face.

Vili tilted his head instinctively and dodged the snowball with ease.

"Boring."

Vilia pouted and sighed, feigning the air of a grown-up.

Her little friends behind her all looked at Vilia with envy. They would never dare to play such a joke on the Lord Village Chief.

Beside Vilia, Wally was rolling around endlessly in the snow. Ever since the first day it snowed, it had been constantly tumbling and rubbing against the fresh powder, seemingly captivated by this new novelty.

If Vili didn’t know that Wally’s Ability was lightning, he would have suspected it had polar bear genes in its body.

"Did you go see that boring guy again?"

The "boring guy" Vilia mentioned was Alek. As the queen of the Fandou Village kids, Vilia felt it was her duty to recruit the newcomer into her fold.

But after trying to get to know him, she discovered that while the boy named Alek was about the same age as her friends, his personality was completely different. In Vilia’s eyes, he was like a boring adult who only cared about his hammer and forge, his head filled with nothing but smithing.

Naturally, Vilia had no intention of recruiting such a single-minded person into her gang.

"Yeah, I stopped by the smithy."

Vili didn’t say much more.

He walked into the backyard and began practicing the Frost Knight Breathing Technique again.

Vili had previously wondered if the cold weather would grant a bonus to his training speed with the Frost Knight Breathing Technique, but reality proved otherwise. The Frost Knight Breathing Technique failed to live up to its name. Even in the ice and snow, Vili’s training speed didn’t increase at all. In fact, the intense cold made his joints stiff, forcing him to warm up several extra times.

An hour later, Vili finished his practice. Just as he was about to return to his room, he saw Yadon approaching with a guard in full armor.

Vili sized up the guard and immediately identified him. He was one of the Lord Baron’s personal Messenger Soldiers.

"Captain Vili."

The guard bowed to Vili and handed him a letter. "The Lord Baron will be holding a reception and banquet at the manor on New Year’s Day. This is your invitation."

Hearing this, Vili instinctively raised an eyebrow.

It was only then that he remembered: in five days, this world would enter a new year. He felt a little dazed. Unconsciously, more than half a year had passed since he arrived. It all felt like a dream.

"Captain Vili?"

Seeing Vili looking slightly dazed, the guard called out to him cautiously.

"Ah..."

Vili put on an apologetic expression, accepted the invitation, and said to the guard, "Thank you for your trouble."

"In that case, I will take my leave."

The guard didn’t linger. Led by Yadon, he walked out of the yard, mounted his fine steed, and disappeared into the distance amidst the snow.

Vili glanced over the invitation in his hand.

It was filled with pleasantries, the gist of which was that with the New Year approaching, all friends were invited to the Baron’s Manor in Diamond Town to celebrate the holiday. On that day, the Baron and his family would dine with the invitees.

The invitation was obviously not written by the Baron himself, but merely in his voice. It was likely penned by the Civil Servant secretaries at his side.

Vili had heard of this tradition before.

Every New Year, the noble lords of each territory would send out invitations, gathering high-ranking officials and prominent local merchants to celebrate together. To be invited by a noble lord was a great honor, reserved for those of the highest status within the territory.

For certain officials and merchants, being invited was a recognition of their status. Some keen observers could even glean deeper information from the changes in the guest list each year.

As Diamond Town’s most sought-after figure and youngest new nobleman of the year, Vili naturally received an invitation.

However, Vili wasn’t particularly interested in it. He would much rather have New Year’s Eve dinner with his family.

"What’s this?"

Vilia leaned in, her eyes full of curiosity as she looked at the exquisite card in Vili’s hand.

Vili glanced at Vilia and replied, "An invitation to Baron Kels’s New Year’s banquet."

"Whoa..."

Vilia gasped in amazement.

A nobleman’s banquet was something every commoner child dreamed of. Even though her family’s circumstances had improved, this childhood dream had always lingered in Vilia’s heart.

Seeing Vilia’s expression, Vili asked her, "Do you want to go?"

"Yes!"

The word burst out of Vilia almost instinctively. But she quickly caught herself, and with a mix of hesitation and hope in her eyes, she asked softly, "Can I... really go?"

"Of course."

Vili nodded.

After receiving an invitation, guests were expected to bring their partners and younger family members to the banquet. More people made for a more festive New Year’s atmosphere.

As his younger sister, Vilia was naturally qualified to be brought to the banquet. He could even bring the Lake couple and his older brother, Sopps, if he wanted to, but he knew they would definitely refuse.

Faced with so many important people, they would be too nervous to eat. Vili knew this very well.

"This is great!"

Vilia cheered loudly, then began to run and jump joyfully around the snowy yard, with Wally following close behind her like a little pug.

"I need to go to town to buy a nice dress! I’m going to tell Mom right now, I’m sure she’ll agree!"

The thought suddenly struck Vilia, and she turned and ran into the house.

Watching the jubilant Vilia, Vili smiled faintly.

’Since my arrival, this family has truly changed so much.’

’That’s something to be proud of.’