When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#504 - Dinner

The Black Serpent Bay delegation entered Kush Castle, the venue for the evening banquet.

As the secret society leaders and their entourage stepped into the black brick castle, their rough wooden shoes padding on the luxurious wool carpets, they couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

The fireplace in the main hall blazed with a roaring fire, and bright candles and glowing stones embedded in the walls illuminated the room brilliantly.

Two rows of pillars carved with saints and angels supported the multi-layered ceiling.

Ceramic plates held date-red roasted suckling pigs, sizzling steaks lay on iron platters, and thick creamy mushroom soup was passed around by maids.

Of course, there was also plenty of charcoal-grilled pork belly, a renowned Norn dish of sauerkraut stew with pork knuckles, cold-cut pork ham, and sauerkraut and pork bone soup served in wine barrels.

Thanks to this year's bumper harvest, the opening of mountain forests and lakes, and the widespread cultivation of sweet potato roots, nearly four or five out of ten households raised livestock such as chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep.

The Salvation Army even had a boar breeding farm that sold piglets at low prices and popularized the technique of castrating pigs, successfully removing the boar taint from the pork caused by eating sweet potato roots.

On the side tables of the banquet were delicate silver platters containing almond biscuits and baked pastries, made by Truth Speaker Madelaine of the Hall of Truth herself.

For Madelaine, being a Truth Speaker was a job, but baking was life.

The milky white soup was topped with finely chopped celery leaves, sea salt, and pepper, its rich aroma captivating.

"Hey, hey, where do you think you're going?"

If Wengken hadn't pulled him back, a young wizard would have been lured away by the aroma.

"Pay attention, don't let people make a joke out of Black Serpent Bay... slurp... Black Serpent Bay people," another middle-aged wizard scolded in a low voice.

"Is this how nobles live?"

"Are we a little too plainly dressed?"

"Look, look, they even have cheeseburgers! I haven't eaten beef in almost ten years!"

Due to Black Serpent Bay's tropical climate and abundance of rainforests and swamps, arable land was scarce, resulting in low grain yields.

Making grilled or seasoned food, especially livestock meat and dairy products, was extremely difficult.

The best food they had ever eaten was the cream of tomato soup and cinnamon rolls at the secret society's joint wizard banquet in Skyreach City.

This was merely a common middle-class family dinner in the Empire, but it was the highest-level banquet in Black Serpent Bay.

They usually ate various fruit platters and snake meat paste, and they didn't even get four hot dishes a year.

Besides adding spices like there was no tomorrow, it was slightly worse than the diet of an average farmer in Thousand River Valley.

Compared to those young and strong wizards, these secret society leaders were quite sentimental.

To be honest, many of them had never even been inside a noble's castle in their lives. The only chance they might have was if they were captured, escorted to the castle to be judged, and then hanged.

But now, they were standing in the noble's castle hall in broad daylight, enjoying food that only nobles could afford.

"This is really..." Shillingman, an elder of the Black Tortoise Society, couldn't help but sigh, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything more.

Chattering in the bustling hall, the thirty or so main members of the delegation looked around, some even timidly hesitant to go any further.

Just as they were at a loss, Catherine stepped forward, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're here quite early," Catherine said, wearing a purple dress with her long hair pinned up, a few strands of burgundy hair falling from her temples, casually elegant.

"We were bored, so we walked all the way from Wayne Manor, where we're staying, to see the scenery of Jeanne D'Arc Fort," Wengken said, being one of the more composed members of the Black Serpent Bay delegation.

Truthfully, this was because he was a Norn, a first-generation affiliated member, who later joined the Flame Rose Society.

"Cough, cough," Shillingman coughed a few times. "This is too awkward. What's the etiquette here? Court etiquette or local etiquette?"

"There's nothing to pay attention to. The Salvation Army isn't a noble family. Just don't mess with the food, and you can do whatever you want," Catherine explained with a smile.

"I thought it was like Skyreach City," Shillingman complained in a low voice. "If you had told me it was this level, I would have brought my tailcoat and silk shirt. I look like a clown standing here in this."

Catherine glanced at his neatly pressed coat and frilly shirt, then at his hairy body and shiny bald head, and then at his companions behind him wearing linen robes, open vests, men's skirts, and faces painted with various colors.

"My mistake. I'll be sure to let you know in advance next time," Catherine decided to humor him.

Under Catherine's guidance, the Black Serpent Bay delegation followed closely behind.

Their movements were stiff, and they didn't know what to do with their hands and feet, instinctively forming a line, walking shoulder to shoulder in the incongruous house.

"Cathy (Catherine's nickname)," Loulouse said, sitting on Sister Sefi's shoulders, stopping Catherine. "Who's coming to the banquet this time?"

"There are some high-ranking monks from the Papal States, some officers from the Salvation Army, then there are the Kush Knights, and Dean Ludwick from Kasha County, and then there's you."

Catherine introduced the participants of the banquet to them one by one: "The total number won't exceed one hundred people, all of whom are key figures from several parties."

"Monks from Kasha County are here too? What a coincidence!" Wengken blinked.

Because Juanno was able to attend university with the support of the Joan Faction, the Braga Monastery under his leadership had some tacit cooperation with the Joan Faction.

Although both sides had been accused of "communicating with witches" and "communicating with the church" because of this, the relationship between the two sides had always been pretty good.

When Juanno's believers fled, they would sometimes even go through the Joan Faction's underground organization.

"I thought there would only be a few minor priests," Loulouse said, playing with her white hair. "I didn't expect Ludwick to come."

"His Holiness said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We all have an enemy called the Church, and unity is the right way," Catherine didn't forget the mission Horn gave her, and was still subtly trying to gauge Loulouse's thoughts.

"Where's Horn? Tell him to come see me," Loulouse asked, holding Sefi's head. "Why isn't he here to greet me? Where is he?"

"Didn't some awkward things happen before? Your Holiness, he was afraid of an awkward scene, so he asked me to smooth things over."

"What's so awkward about that?" Shillingman, who was on the side, asked strangely. "I almost forgot if you didn't say so."

Shillingman wasn't lying. If Catherine hadn't said so, they would have almost forgotten.

For the big-hearted people of Black Serpent Bay, what could this be considered as a diplomatic incident? It didn't even lead to a fight.

When the two secret societies met, the two leaders fought on the spot because of whether the salted red soup or the sweet red soup was better, and both of them had an egg pierced. That was called a diplomatic incident.

Isn't it just hugging your future mother-in-law and pinching her face a couple of times? What's the big deal?

"I told His Holiness, but His Holiness didn't believe me," Catherine spread her hands. "If you insist on seeing him, he's on the second floor right now, and Dean Ludwick is also there."

"Go, take me to see him," Loulouse said concisely.