Back to Dick, he brought Rita to the island, and as soon as they showed up, they attracted a lot of attention from the people around them.
There are generally two types of people who can come here to participate in the elite conference. One type is the second generation of the top nobles in the imperial capital. These people were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. In this great empire that emphasizes hereditary succession, they are all future dignitaries who are destined to hold power.
The other type is the latecomer "newcomers", who are the fresh blood that the old nobles intentionally absorb. They need an introducer from the old nobles to enter this circle.
Dick's situation is rather special. His surname allows him to be classified as an "old noble" faction, but the fact that he can appear here at this moment is because he has taken the promotion path of the new nobles. The third prince can be considered his introducer.
Of course! Dick himself had no interest in forcing himself into this circle. After the enthronement ceremony was over, he immediately left the imperial capital and returned to his Laguge.
Amid the scrutiny and contemptuous looks from people around him, Dick took Rita into the rose garden.
After entering the barrier, he could clearly feel that the temperature around him suddenly rose by five or six degrees, and suddenly returned from the coolness of early autumn to the warmth of midsummer.
From Dick's professional perspective, it is not difficult to create a constant temperature barrier. The difficult part is to create such a huge constant temperature barrier and to keep it unfolding. The amount of magic power required is extremely astonishing.
In addition to this constant temperature barrier, all kinds of flowers and landscape plants in the garden are also stimulated to grow with the help of magic potions. Otherwise, the constant temperature alone cannot keep them blooming all year round.
The cost of building and maintaining such a garden is undoubtedly huge, but the purpose is simply for the imperial family to satisfy their selfish desires and show off their supreme noble status.
Dick was not very interested in appreciating flowers, all he had in mind was corn!
After entering the garden, Dick looked around and soon found the buffet table he had been longing for. Although he had eaten something before coming, who knows how long this elite club will be open, he can't afford to spoil himself by eating a little more.
However, just as Dick started eating, he heard some unappetizing noises around him.
"Look, isn't that the little bastard from the Best family?"
"Humph! Even a guy like this can come. It really lowers the quality of the Yingcai Club."
"Yes, yes!"
Dick didn't bother to pay attention to these annoying noises. But his disregard was obviously regarded as weakness by some guys. They seemed to want to deliberately anger Dick so that he would make a fool of himself in public. The gossip became louder and louder, and the content became more and more excessive!
Dick felt annoyed, while Rita narrowed her eyes and murderous intent grew.
"Master, it's really noisy here."
"Don't worry about them. There's no need to cause trouble before leaving the imperial capital."
Young nobles are often conceited and like to compete. If there are elders watching over them, they may be more restrained, but Yingcai is composed of only young people, and the situation is most likely to get out of control.
Dick knew the routines of these people. They would first use sarcastic words to try to irritate you, then bring you into his rhythm, and finally lead to a duel. This was an old tradition in the circle of young nobles.
It is worth mentioning that such provocative fights are usually committed by groups rather than individuals.
The dandies all have their own small circles, usually a group of people huddled together, with those who are good at talking being responsible for making ridicule and attracting hatred, and then those who are good at fighting will come up to duel.
After all, duels between nobles allow for someone to play on their behalf, just like his Pokémon duels!
If Dick plans to stay in the imperial capital, he will beat up every one of those who provoked him today, and use his blazing fireballs to blow the buttocks of these bastards into pieces!
But he would have to go back to Laguge in two or three days, so this duel would be meaningless, and Chunchun would be wasting precious magic energy.
At this moment, Dick suddenly felt a huge wave of magic power coming from under his feet, and then the whole ground began to shake, and his body sank down, and then returned to normal.
"Oh, it's flying."
The flying rose garden will rise about two hundred meters, becoming a real sky garden, and emit a dazzling seven-color glow at night. As long as people on the ground are within the imperial capital, they can see it as soon as they look up.
It’s a pity that for such a large floating island, the only way to move is straight up and down. Otherwise, this thing can actually be used as a super flying battleship.
All we can say is that there is truth to the saying “spectacles can ruin a country”.
Soon, the rose garden rose to its highest point and hovered steadily in the air.
The guests who were originally gathered in groups of three or four in the garden to chat all gathered towards the terrace. Then everyone saw the Third Prince in full dress leading a group of entourage. Dick spotted his adopted elder brother Reinhard at a glance, who was the first one to the left of the Third Prince.
It can be seen that the Third Prince was very excited to be in charge of organizing the Talents Club for the first time. Even though Hesse VII had not yet issued an edict to appoint him as the new Crown Prince, the Third Prince's status had already been raised to that of the Crown Prince.
Anyone could see that the Third Prince was very pleased with himself at the moment, but in Dick's eyes, these reactions were undoubtedly "minus points".
Dick had only heard of the Third Prince Bailey before, but had never actually met him, so he didn't dare to make any rash judgments. He only knew that this man was known for his enthusiastic and generous character, and he liked to make friends with all kinds of wise men.
But now it seems that this person is indeed very enthusiastic, but not cunning enough.
Even if you are really anxious and want to make progress too much, the old prince just died more than two months ago, and the emperor has not issued any official decree. He only asked you to be responsible for organizing a talent show. It is somewhat inappropriate to be so impatient and make progress.
102. Damn it, I am...
At this time, His Royal Highness the Third Prince did not know that his rating had been falling in the eyes of someone. Instead, he was immersed in the atmosphere of being the center of attention, and he began to feel elated.
He stood on the podium and delivered an impassioned speech, loudly promoting his political ideas and future vision after taking office to the young talents present. In the end, he even raised his arms and shouted in a rather childish way, "Let the empire be great again," which attracted many supporting actors to cheer along.
Dick clapped along and tightened his toes to bite the soles of his shoes.
Brother, do you want to listen to what you are saying? Make the Empire great again? If this word reaches the ears of Hesse VII, who is still in power, what do you think that stubborn old man will think?
Of the three original princes of the empire, one died of old age, one died of malnutrition, and one died of tuberculosis. This situation looks doomed no matter how you look at it!
After the third prince finished his speech, some other people came on stage to continue speaking.
The original intention of the so-called talented people was to provide a stage for the empire's real young talents to speak freely, so that the future heirs of the empire can build relationships with these talents in advance.
So even if the activity gradually changed, at least the process remained unchanged.
Dick hid in the corner of the crowd. After listening for a while, he couldn't help shaking his head. He simply focused on eating with Rita and soon finished a plate of his favorite beef.
He was about to get some more, but a plate was handed to him. Dick thought it was from Rita, so he took it and said thank you.
"You're welcome."
"Ok?"
Hearing a man's voice coming from beside him, Dick turned around in surprise and found that a strange nobleman was standing next to him.
The other person looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, handsome, and extraordinary. He had black hair, which was relatively rare like Dick, but his dark red pupils were vertical like those of snakes.
Seeing this, Dick immediately guessed the other party's identity.
"Your Highness Prince Heinz?"
"It is me, Your Excellency. What is your name?"
"Dick, Dick Best."
"Haha, seeing how absorbed you are in eating, Dick, I know that you, like me, have no interest in the comedy on stage."
"You're joking. I'm just a bit dull. I couldn't understand what you said, so I just ate in silence."
Hearing Dick's explanation, Prince Heinz just smiled and said nothing. At this time, Rita came back with a plate of meal she had carefully selected for her young master, but saw that Dick already had a new plate in his hand, and a stranger was standing beside him. She immediately became alert.
Prince Heinz looked at Rita with interest, his smile becoming more playful.
At this time, Rita had disguised herself and hidden her beautiful face and hot body. At first glance, she was just an ordinary-looking girl with glasses, flat chest and thick waist, in sharp contrast to the beautiful maids around the other second-generation people present.
You have to know that most people have a competitive spirit, and young people regard "showing off" as a necessity for survival, especially these noble young men. Therefore, everyone not only compares family background, talent and clothing, but also the maids they carry with them.
There were even some who were eager to make progress and had the idea of "presenting gifts" from the very beginning, hoping that His Royal Highness the Third Prince would be sexually interested in the "maids" they brought with them.
But Prince Heinz did not look at Rita with an obscene look. He only glanced at her twice and then said something meaningful to Dick.
"Master Dick's maid is very capable."
"She is really capable. She takes care of me so well that I can't leave her."
Dick chatted casually with Prince Heinz who showed up out of nowhere. Although he could see that he was trying to get close to him, he was at least easier to get along with than the overly familiar Third Prince.
On the other side, the Third Prince, who had finished his speech, stepped off the stage and was surrounded by a group of young nobles. Some of these young people who were praising the Third Prince were originally his supporters, while some of them had supported the First Prince before, but after the First Prince's death, they quickly changed sides and joined the Third Prince's faction, which seemed to have a better chance of winning.
The third prince Bailey enjoyed the flattery of the crowd, which greatly satisfied his vanity.
However, while feeling secretly proud in his heart, the Third Prince was also looking around. He remembered that the Imperial Uncle who was younger than himself was also here today.
But when he found Prince Heinz, he discovered that he was having a pleasant conversation with Dick, the person he wanted to win over. This made the third prince feel a little unhappy.
After the death of the eldest prince, the third prince, in order to expand his faction, tried to win over young talents everywhere. Dick was an "A-level talent" carefully selected by his headhunting team.
Otherwise, he would not have condescended to go to the Magician's Association to "accidentally meet" the other party.
According to the intelligence gathered by his subordinates, Dick first had impressive personal strength and was extremely talented as a magician, but he had been deliberately hiding his strength. Secondly, he was also quite capable in both military and internal affairs. After arriving in Laguge, he quickly formed a team of military and political staff and managed his territory in an orderly manner.
Such talented people are exactly what the Third Prince needs right now.
In comparison, half-elf bloodline is not a big problem.
The third prince even felt that if others despised Dick because of this, but he chose to use him regardless of the intangible cultural heritage, then Dick would definitely be moved and even more loyal to him.
Thinking of this, the Third Prince couldn't help but want to praise himself as a "genius". He felt that he had completely seen through people's hearts and could manipulate others at will.
Then he saw his little uncle committing adultery in front of him.
So, leading the moving crowd around, they walked towards Prince Heinz in a mighty manner.
"Uncle Heinz, why are you here? I was just looking for you everywhere. Oh! Isn't this Brother Dick? It happens that you are here too. Come on, let me introduce you to everyone..."
Without further ado, the third prince Bailey, whose character is "passionate and generous", directly pulled Dick to his side and introduced him to a group of familiar young men around him.
Things like "the youngest son of the Duke", "a magical genius who was promoted to a high level at the age of 19", "the iron-fisted governor of Laguge", etc., all these flattering words made Dick himself feel a little embarrassed.
Outside the crowd, Rita looked at her "petite and cute" young master being fought over by a group of grown men, and inexplicably felt a sense of crisis.
It is said that the upper class nobles of the empire play with flowers, and gender is no longer an obstacle. Although the young master is lustful and cute, he is not afraid of ten thousand, but afraid of one!
No! We have to find a way to get the young master out, so that he can fully experience the good of women. He must not be led astray by these playboys.
In fact, Dick also wanted to run away at this moment. He had only one thought in his mind.
Damn it! I'm surrounded by fags!
He had always felt that there was something wrong with the Third Prince, and now he suddenly realized that this guy might not be "upright" enough in some aspects.
His fear of Nantong made him want to make a fireball and blow him away.
If the third prince could hear Dick's voice at this moment, he would definitely cry out in injustice.
Some of his behaviors just look a bit like him, but he is really not like him!
However, although the Third Prince was not one of them, it did not mean that he did not have any around him. Therefore, when some people saw His Highness flirting with a beautiful and charming boy, they were not happy. Dick inexplicably attracted a wave of hatred without knowing it.
Fortunately, someone finally came to the rescue. A court waiter came behind the third prince and whispered something in his ear. Bailey's face immediately showed a smug smile.
"Everyone here is the best of the young generation in the empire. It's a rare occasion for us to gather together. In previous years, the entertainment activities were all banquets and dancing. I'm sure everyone is tired of it after so many years. We should do something more interesting, don't you think?"
"Your Highness is right!"
"Yes, I'm tired of dancing."
Hearing someone's praise, the third prince smiled even more brightly, and then pointed to a huge bronze plate that was lifted by a group of magicians using telekinesis not far away and said.
"I think everyone is familiar with summoning. The prosperity of the empire today is inseparable from those Earthlings. So I discussed with the School of Magic and decided to use this year's Earth talent introduction quota to let our young talents help them draw. What do you think?"
103. Freeloading
The Third Prince's words made all the young masters present excited. Those who could appear here were basically the top few people in the second generation of aristocrats in the entire imperial capital.
The birth and status given by the family make these second generations feel that they are noble upper class people, completely different from those lowly lower class people. So in order to show off their self-righteous nobility, each of them attaches great importance to pomp and circumstance. The higher the title, the more they will pursue extravagance and luxury in enjoyment.
The master in our imperial capital is the master. He does nothing but eating, drinking and having fun all day long!
And using summoning as entertainment is obviously in line with their aristocratic style.
After all, the resource consumption for a summon is there, at least tens of thousands of gold coins, and high-level magic stones are rare materials with restricted trading in the market, which is something that you may not be able to buy even if you have money.
As a result, the Third Prince just said one word and made this year's empire's summoning indicators available for everyone to play with.
This is like a group of people gathering together to draw cards, and whoever delivers first is the dog!
When Dick heard this, he was initially interested, thinking that this was a free opportunity that was delivered to his doorstep, and he would be a fool not to take advantage of it. But he quickly regained his composure, realizing that "drawing cards" in public would expose his cheat code, and he felt that it was not worth it.
So Dick retreated to the back of the group, deciding not to participate in this tempting activity.
Soon, the staff of the School of Magic set up the summoning array on site and brought in several boxes of high-level magic stones. The main body of the array was an alchemical copper plate, and the runes for summoning magic were pre-engraved, so the plate could be used repeatedly, and only the magic stone needed to be replaced at the center of the array.
The Empire's official annual summoning target is 300 people, betting that among these summonees there will be a few technical talents that the Empire needs, but the "shipment rate" is actually quite touching.
Because summoning magic will give priority to summoning those with unstable mental states and a strong desire to escape. Their mental fluctuations are like fireflies at night and are more easily captured by summoning magic, so fugitives, stowaways, and middle school students who want to go to another world are often summoned.
However, the top scholars and scientists that the empire really wants are completely focused on their own research. They don’t have so many weird thoughts at all, and their hearts are as calm as water, so it is difficult to capture them.
Ultimately it all depends on luck. It’s worth it if you can get an SSR out of these 300 draws.
After the formation was set up, the person in charge of the Mage Academy came out to explain. The general meaning was that although they gave this year's summoning quota to the young masters as a recreational activity for the sake of His Royal Highness the Third Prince, they had to select all the summoned Earthlings first, and if there was anyone who met their requirements, that person must be handed over to the Mage Academy.
