The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 223: Tutelary Dinner - Part 2

Chapter 223: Tutelary Dinner - Part 2

After a few more rounds of small talk, during which everyone seemed to comment on his robe-wearing, Kir stepped out to "change" out of his robe, letting Mimzy reabsorb that layer as soon as he was out of sight.

His return trip took him back through the frontward hall, but as he was about to cross the entrance to the dining hall, two of the guards barred his path with their spears crossed.

"The Queen comes, you will wait," one guard, an armadillo beastkin, declared in a basso voice. All of the door guards were armadillo beastkin. Now that Kir noticed, they seemed identical. Quadruplets?

A moment later, Kir watched as a matronly seven-tailed fox woman stepped into the building at the head of her procession. But Kir’s eyes were drawn to two people behind her. One was Kordia, dressed in what he could only think of as a shrine-maiden-style robe of red and white, and the other was Lapins, wearing a rather boyish gold-trimmed blue coat and pants with her blonde hair up in a bun.

Kordia shot Kir a glance, blushing a little, and after noticing, Lapins also stared at him for a couple of steps. Behind Lapins, Mercy stared daggers at Kir for far longer than two steps before returning her attention to scanning the dining hall for trouble.

Music started playing, a light sound, just before everyone applauded the arrival of Queen Fruhe van Gra’Rhuel.

The rest of the Queen’s procession featured various wealthy-looking merchants - mostly beastkin - but Kir’s eyes were drawn to the four wearing uniform grey capes, clasped with the tri-chain symbol of the Syndicate.

Those men did not even spare a glance for Kir as they stepped confidently into the dining hall.

Only once everyone had passed, and what felt like five minutes later, did the guards lift their spears and allow him to pass.

Kir arrived at his seat to discover that he was seated near the Syndicate members and several merchants. Everyone to his right was a Professor.

The Queen was seated centered, facing the room, next to Chancellor Lumin, and the mayor of Norneau was on her other side.

As Kir took the time to memorize the faces of the Syndicate members, first Chancellor Lumin and then Queen Fruhe gave speeches that seemed right out of some manual for how to talk up a bunch of teachers.

He did catch a few snippets though, like how Heaven had heavily donated gold to finance the reconstruction of the city. Queen Fruhe’s not-so-subtle hints about wanting to bring Norneau into her Queendom’s fold. Chancellor Lumin’s reassurances that the new school would soon be safer than ever.

Then, after a long half-hour, the meal finally started.

The dull chatter of the teachers amidst the music occupied most of the next hour. First a salad round was served, and Kir found a few other teachers staring as he ate before remembering that he was currently impersonating a carnivore. With a cough, he polished off the small amount of meat in the salad and left the rest be.

After the salad round came a round of soup, and Kir mostly poked at the orange, bisque-like substance after a single taste. It tasted oddly citrusy and savory at the same time, and definitely was not to his palate. He did note that Kordia’s ears twitched in delight, especially for the small cubes of tofu that briefly appeared on her spoon.

Soup was followed by an entree, and Kir’s was a rare dragon tailbone steak, spiced to perfection and cooked in so much butter it melted with each bite. The bread was placed on the tables in tiered stands, with lighter loaves of bread on top. Kir preferred the more flavorful wheat bread with his steak.

The wine was served as well, in generous quantities, but Kir ignored it. He did not need his first impression to be that he was a lush.

As most peoples’ entrees started to disappear, the servers brought out carafes of fresh coffee. Kir noted that across the room Professor Tawre added cream and sugar to hers - for which she had a cup that had a spout, perfect for her beak.

Her delight became apparent a moment later as her plumage flared just a bit, and she started talking excitedly to those around her, inviting them to try their coffee the same way. Within minutes, sections of the table were asking servers for cream and sugar, and Kir shared the method of coffee preparation with those around him.

Unfortunately, this meant he became indirectly responsible for bringing smiles to the faces of the nearby slavers, who commented vociferously about wishing to acquire the beans and the one who discovered them.

After such a heavy meal, the dessert served was a very light cheesecake, garnished with berries. Remembering his gift, Kir made a mental note to offer his tarts during the social hours to follow.

A few minutes after dessert was served, the music abruptly changed to something a bit more vigorous. Several Professors and their wives took the chance to stand up and head to the center of the room, where space had been left for dancers.

A familiar twitch of a platinum-blonde ear drew his eyes to Kordia, and Kir saw a hopeful expression on her face and in the slight wag of her tails.

Giving her a wink, he stood and started making his way to the dance floor, where only a dozen or so couples were circling and swaying.

After a minute, Kordia also stood, departing from the high table with a curtsy in Queen Fruhe’s direction before making her way toward him.

Right before she arrived, however, Professor Tawre cut in front of Kir.

"Professor Nasumi! I must thank you for showing me that wonderful preparation for coffee. Would you like to dance?"

"I, ah-" Kir was slightly distracted by Kiryu’s laughter as Professor Tawre took him by the hand with her taloned fingers and pulled him onto the dance floor.

As if wishing to compound his discomfort, the music switched a moment later to something with more tempo.

He stumbled to perform a bit until Professor Tawre finally realized and took the lead, turning her part of the dance into an oddly birdlike allegretto of foot stomps and spins. When it was finally over, Kir noticed they’d become the center of humorous attention, and even Lumin was smiling wickedly.

Professor Tawre, once they were back at the edge of the dance floor, exclaimed, "Phew! I haven’t danced like that in years! So hard to find someone tall enough to keep up... Would you like some lessons?"

It was hard to tell, but Kir suspected from her breath that she was drunk. "Perhaps later," he smiled - more of a grimace, really. He looked around for Kordia and found her on the dance floor with Lapins in the lead.

Nearby, Mercy mercilessly led some hapless man as she kept her head on a swivel and her eyes locked on her ward, at one point spinning him around the circumference of her waist like an expert sign-spinner, before placing him back on his feet.

After a few more minutes, the song slowed, and Kordia took the opportunity to curtsy to Lapins before the two left the stage. Mercy dropped her dance partner and followed, and a moment later the fallen man was swept to the edge of the dance floor with magic, where a couple of professors checked on him.

Kir tried to look disinterested as Kordia thanked Lapins for the dance before approaching him.

Instead of asking him to dance, she curtsied. Kir returned it with a bow.

"Kiryu Nasumi," he introduced himself in case anyone was listening. "Would you like to dance?"

"A pleasure to meet you, Professor, I am Kordia van Mora." She giggled a little, her ears twitching a bit, as she enjoyed their little game. "I would dance with you, but as a student, it would hardly seem appropriate."

"A shame we will not be meeting in class," Kir had already talked to Kordia about his role for the next semester. She’d been saddened, but there was nothing to stop him from tutoring her at the sibliary house. Or, technically, anything that would stop her from walking next door.

Socially, however...

Kordia held up a small box. "Professor Nasumi, the Chancellor asked me to deliver this to you." She presented it to him with both hands.

Accepting it with both hands and a slight bow, Kir opened the box to find a small pin with the symbol of the Academy on it. The way it glowed with magic suggested another purpose though, as did the illusory note that read "Wear this at all times while on campus. The new alarm will be active starting tomorrow," before it disappeared.

Kir stored the box and presented Kordia with his two boxes full of tarts. "A gift for the Chancellor. I think you’ll love them as well." My place? he mouthed, hoping his wolfish illusory mouth would properly form the words for her to recognize.

Kordia accepted both boxes with a nod. "I’ll deliver them right away."