The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 478: Early Arrivals

"Gentlemen, welcome to Wistover. I am Duke Dominic Wavemates, and I will be your host for the duration of your stay.

There are a few things you should know, given the unique circumstances.

We have well over a hundred Noble ladies present for the debutante balls, and we are expecting more. So, the housing within the Manor itself is quite limited."

A young blonde Nobleman laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Even if you put us up in the barracks, I’m sure we will be fine."

"Funny you should say that. We have moved the ladies’ servants into the barracks to make more room for the young ladies in the manor and attached housing.

So, we will be housing the gentlemen in the town itself. There are many new units available, but we will be assigning rooms dorm style, to fill every bedroom.

Fear not, there are restaurant options for every meal of the day, if you are not a formal event in the Manor.

There is no need for you all to learn to cook."

The men from Lympsbury laughed. "Well, that’s good news. Splitting wood, we can do. Cooking, we might not survive to greet the ladies."

"There is no need to split wood. Every house in town has a magitech fireplace. If you are cold, just light the fire.

It has helped immensely with the air quality."

The men looked at the city, and saw that there were no telltale smoke plumes from chimneys, though every house still had one. But they also noted the massive warehouses, the distinctive aura of magic in use, and the fact that there were ten very large, very heavily armoured Trolls behind Dominic.

"A question. Should we be expecting a variety of monster species in town?" One of the men asked.

Dominic shook his head. "There are Trolls and Sorcerers, but that’s about it. If you happen to see a Goblin or Ogre in town, you can be reasonably certain that it is not friendly."

The Noblemen laughed, and so did Dave.

"Tell Dave if there are Goblins. I smash Goblins good."

There was no doubt that he was telling the truth. The trolls had their shields on their backs and their clubs slung over their shoulders, looking as casual as they could. But in a contest between a hundred kilo spiked club and a twenty kilo goblin, they knew which side they were betting on.

"Now, I will show you to the dorms, but you’ll have to forgive the lack of furnishings, they were intended to be new homes for sale to residents. They were simply pressed into service to house Noble guests."

The mage who had been piloting the airship stuck his head out a window.

"They did come prepared to camp, don’t let them tell you otherwise."

The mage winked at Dominic and sent him a greeting in the Wavemates hand language.

{The Guild made sure they all knew that the Manor was full of eligible ladies, with no space for men without senior titles.}

Now, that was considerate.

"How many of you have military service records?" Dominic asked.

Most of them raised their hands, with only a few of the younger ones not joining in.

"Is there a reason you ask?" One of the younger men asked, worried he would be excluded from the events.

"Soldiers are already accustomed to cramped quarters and rough sleeping. So, I will make sure that the younger men are spread between dorms. The others can help keep you up to speed with how things go.

Honestly, I don’t even know all of it. That’s the dominion of the Princess and the Royal Family members from the allied states."

The airship from Castle City landed, and the first group of Noblemen quickly explained the situation to the new arrivals.

Then, a familiar face stepped out of the airship, wearing a mask that he likely assumed hid his identity.

"Your Highness. This was, please. I will have Dave bring you to the Manor." Dominic called.

"How did you know?" Prince Nathan of Chip asked.

"For one, you’re a ginger. The only one around. For another, your magic gave you away. I was there when you went with the Second Prince to hunt Kaizon." Dominic explained.

The Prince took his mask off, and a number of the Nobles bowed slightly in greeting. Not strictly necessary for a foreign Prince, but he was also an Archmage.

"Will you be sending a delegation of ladies our way?" Dominic asked.

"Indeed. But we had no idea where Wistover was. I had to catch an airship here just to find the place so I could open a Portal home."

Chip bordered West Keria on the north. There was no good reason for them to have anyone in the Royal Court who had been to what was formerly a backwater Earldom on the border of Cygnia and Wavemates.

Dominic pretended not to notice the young Noblemen quietly cheering for the arrival of ladies from Chip.

They were well known for their beauty, as well as their temper, living up to their fiery hair colour. But that wasn’t going to dissuade these suitors. They had come to find just the right match, from the widest possible selection of lovely young ladies, and the more nations that participated, the better.

One of the men in the first group sighed. "To think, I almost missed the cut. If I hadn’t managed to get commendations from the King for the assault on Midgexe I wouldn’t have a title of my own to stand behind."

One of the other men clapped him on the shoulder. "Don’t get too down on yourself. Your father has how many shops? That’s enough money to impress at least one of the ladies with that face.

Maybe two if the lights are dim."

"You’re right. And I don’t need to pad my codpiece. Perhaps I won’t do as poorly as I had feared."

"Get it out of your system now, lads. You’ve got until dark to get settled in, showered up and ready for the first round of garden parties.

The official event doesn’t start for a few more days, but you’ve arrived more promptly than expected, before the last of the ladies." Dominic warned them.

"We appreciate you giving us the chance for a head start, Your Grace."