Let’s Talk Outside

Just as Black and Ilka were talking about Josh, Josh was following Kane toward the banquet hall with a disgruntled expression.

He had known long ago that he would have to attend some damned carnival banquet tonight, so after the match, he had not rushed off to do anything strange.

However, when the banquet was about to begin, Kane had run over to Josh and told him, "Brother, you can only go by yourself." That left Josh extremely annoyed.

It would have been one thing if Josh had only brought a few guards, but the problem was that he had come with his friends and the person he liked. And now Kane was telling him to go alone and leave all his friends here?

Josh had nearly decided not to go at all.

But in the end, after Garen and Natasha comforted him and Kane talked him into it, Josh agreed to go take a look.

No matter what, Josh had taken second place in this Four Nations Invitation. If even he did not attend, the hosts of this Four Nations Invitation would be humiliated.

Josh did not care in the slightest if the Kingdom of Kars lost face, but Kane told him that even the Augustus Empire would face criticism because of his actions. It might affect his reputation back home and could also have a negative impact on his fief. Only then did Josh decide to go take a look.

"Anyway, it’s just a boring hookup party. I’ll go have a look and come right back. I should also find Avila. I still don’t know when she’ll hand over my gems and gold."

With no other choice, Josh put on a noble’s robe and left with Kane. Heaven knew why the Kingdom of Kars had made such a baffling decision, inviting only competitors and those of noble status.

Still, Josh could understand them. After all, it was only a small kingdom, and it needed to expand its social connections and interests.

Besides, it was likely intended to let married nobles enjoy a pleasant night as well. Imagine a noble bringing a lover, only for the lover to be allowed into the carnival too due to a lack of relevant rules. Both the noble and the lover would probably feel rather unhappy about that.

"What a pity, Josh. You were only one step away from becoming champion."

As Josh’s thoughts wandered, Kane suddenly spoke. He truly felt it was a shame for Josh. Josh had been on the verge of winning the championship, only for someone else to turn things around after his magic power ran dry. Anyone would find that kind of misfortune hard to accept.

"It doesn’t really matter to me. I achieved what I came here for, didn’t I?" Josh smiled. He really could not speak carelessly about this matter.

"That’s true. You did achieve your goal. Congratulations, Josh. You also brought honor to the Augustus Empire. It’s just a pity about Vison. Since you beat him up like that, he couldn’t take part in the third-place match."

"Maybe he didn’t want to participate either. Don’t we already know why he came to the Four Nations Invitation?"

"That’s right. Still, I think he must be very envious of you now. After all, you fought the goddess he had dreamed of meeting."

Josh smiled but did not answer Kane. Vison most likely knew about Avila’s promise too. They were both elves, after all. Josh would not believe it even if someone beat him to death and told him Vison did not know.

And Vison regarded Avila as a goddess. If he learned that Josh had defeated Avila, Josh’s life probably would not be very comfortable afterward.

They chatted casually along the way, and before long, the two arrived at the banquet hall. Since only two of the four great emperors had arrived so far—the Dwarf King Bonnot and the Orc King—the banquet had not officially begun.

At a glance, Josh spotted Ian and Dennis with his other two brothers.

The moment Josh and Kane entered, they drew the attention of the entire hall. They were both princes of the Augustus Empire and powerful representatives of the younger generation. Quite a few people tried to approach them for a conversation, and many young noblewomen boldly offered them their affection.

But neither Josh nor Kane had any interest. Kane was already married, and to put it bluntly, even his lovers were no worse than these girls. Naturally, he was uninterested.

Josh’s reasons were even simpler. He had only come to make an appearance and planned to leave after staying a little while. He had no time to waste chatting nonsense with them.

After casually dealing with the people who approached them, Josh and Kane quickly headed over to List and the others. They had naturally noticed the two of them as well, especially Ian, whose strange expression as he looked at Josh caught Josh’s attention.

"Ian, what’s with that look?"

"It’s nothing, Josh. Um, my sister is looking for you."

"Your sister? Avila? Why is she looking for me?"

"I don’t know. She’s waiting for you somewhere in a corner on the second floor. Say, did you do something to her? Um, what I mean is, she’s become a little strange."

"What does it have to do with me whether she’s become strange? What a pain. I only just got here."

Wasn’t it normal for Avila to be a little strange?

In Josh’s eyes, that woman had always been rather strange. Even among rangers, no one else wore a hood and never lowered it from beginning to end. Josh grumbled inwardly. As for the fact that he had defeated her, he had no interest in spreading it around.

Josh turned and headed directly for the second floor. Even if Avila had not asked for him, he would have sought her out anyway. After all, he had not received any of his rewards yet.

It would be far better to discuss things properly with that woman than to keep waiting around here.

As for Ian staring at him strangely from behind before turning to tell the others how his sister had become strange, Josh could not even be bothered to care.

He could not control other people’s mouths, and he believed Avila would not reveal that she had lost to him. That promise placed quite a lot of pressure on Avila.

When he reached the second floor, Josh looked around briefly before losing interest.

If the first floor belonged to the young, then the second floor belonged to the middle-aged. Those gathered here were mostly rulers of various nations and older nobles.

When they saw Josh come upstairs, they did not approach to strike up conversations as the young people downstairs had. Instead, they merely nodded to him from afar.

This sort of environment made Josh feel much more comfortable. These people understood boundaries far better than the young people downstairs. They would neither deliberately get close to him nor deliberately distance themselves from him.

They made their presence known without making him feel offended. No wonder Avila had chosen to come straight up here.

Josh casually stopped a waiter and asked for directions. He quickly learned where Avila was, and before long, he found her sitting alone in a corner.

To be honest, if Josh had not spent over half an hour trading blows with this woman earlier, he probably would not have recognized her at once.

The elven race truly had been blessed by nature. Before Josh stood a woman with long silver hair, delicate features, and slightly pointed ears. Her perfect figure, framed by a uniquely elven robe, made her exceptionally beautiful.

But Josh could not help shaking his head. She was too cold.

Her expression was as icy as her hair color, giving off an exceptionally cold feeling. Josh had felt that way while fighting her before, but now the impression was even stronger, even though she was indeed the most beautiful woman Josh had ever seen.

Shaking his head, Josh walked straight toward her. An icy woman might stir the desire to conquer in men with certain tastes, but unfortunately, Josh had no such thoughts.

Avila saw Josh as well, so she stood and gave him a slight nod.

"I heard from Ian that you were looking for me?"

"Yes. There are some things I need to tell you. Come take a walk with me. It’s too stuffy here."

Avila’s invitation stunned Josh for a moment. He had no idea what this woman meant. Looking around, he thought the place seemed quite quiet, and the ventilation was good. It did not seem stuffy at all.

But considering that his rewards were still in this woman’s hands, Josh nodded indifferently. He did not like attending this banquet anyway.

"As you wish, my lady."

"Let’s go."

The two went downstairs one after the other and headed directly out of the banquet hall. Countless nobles along the way stared wide-eyed. Wasn’t this moving a little too fast?

They were leaving already? The banquet had not even begun!

Kane and the others watched the pair blankly. After quite a while, Kane silently sighed for his friend Vison.

Ian’s mouth fell wide open. He rubbed his eyes hard, then opened them and looked again, only to see the backs of the two as they left. Ian was instantly left speechless.

Josh naturally sensed the strange looks from those people—some envious, some jealous, some shocked, and some furious.

But Josh could not be bothered with them. After he finished talking with this woman, he might head straight back. Who would waste time tangling with these inexplicable people?

They strolled to a small garden behind the banquet hall. Josh looked at the quiet surroundings and nodded slightly.

Though this place would probably become somewhere unspeakable later in the night, it was quite nice at the moment.

They casually found a stone bench and sat down. After loosening the noble’s robe that felt somewhat tight around him, Josh asked, "What did you want to see me about? You can tell me now, right?"

"Yes. I wanted to talk to you about your rewards."

Avila nodded. She had noticed that Josh was not looking at her with any particular kind of gaze, especially not the kind of gaze she disliked. That made Avila feel much more at ease.

"My rewards? I happened to come tonight to ask about that too. Looks like we were thinking alike. So, where are my rewards?"

"I’m very sorry, Your Highness Augustus. My father has not given me the rewards yet."

"Just call me Josh. Ian and I are close, and you’re his sister, so you can just call me by my name. When will His Majesty Ilka give you the rewards?"

"Well… I’m sorry, Josh. I can’t guarantee that. I’ll definitely ask my father for the things you need as soon as possible. Of course, I can think of a way to deal with the gold."

It was hard to imagine what it felt like for a woman as frosty as her to say so much at once, but unfortunately, Josh felt nothing at all.

Only one sentence remained in his mind: she could think of a way to deal with the gold? Josh was rather curious what kind of method she had.

"Avila, uh, can I call you that?"

"Of course."

"Avila, tell me about your plan."

Avila hesitated slightly, but soon took out a small box she had prepared long ago.

It looked like a gift box, but judging by Avila’s expression, it seemed to be rather precious.

Taking the gift box Avila handed over, Josh thought for a moment before opening it directly. To his surprise, there was a necklace inside.

"This was a birthday gift His Majesty Black gave me when I was born. It is said that the necklace was made entirely from an eighth-rank Magic Crystal. I think it should be worth quite a lot of money."

Because a friend is getting married and I’m the best man, my updates have been rather unstable lately—so tiring.