The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - 151

Chapter 151: Klaus’s Social Debut

The ennoblement ceremony gave way to a party.

I’d gone through this flow before as a national adventurer, so it wasn’t my first time, but there was one big difference this time around.

“Brother, are you nervous?”

It was that every single person here was a noble.

“Yeah, honestly, stuff like this isn’t my strong suit.”

After all, this party—where nobles from across the country gathered—was my debut as one of them.

“Luckily, the highest-ranking folks attending seem to be counts at most…”

Princess Olivia had planned it that way to keep me from dealing with anyone too far above my station.

People with titles of marquis or higher attended parties where the king showed up, so they wouldn’t be here.

“Even so, these are nobles we’re talking about! I have no confidence I can act properly around them.”

Celia pressed a hand to her chest, her face clouding with worry.

“You’re fine, brother. You’re a noble now, so just carry yourself with confidence… But me, I’m not a noble at all…”

Noble parties were basically for couples. For women, a father could stand in if there was no partner, but men had to bring a woman of marriageable age.

Princess Olivia had pointed that out two weeks ago, and suddenly, the role fell to Celia.

“I’m sorry about that.”

Celia wore the dress I’d given her before, furrowing her brows as she shot me a look full of resentment.

“That dress looks beautiful on you anyway, and it’s good to show it off.”

“Mu, come on! Flattery won’t get you out of this, you know!”

Celia’s cheeks flushed pink as she turned her face away with a huff.

“Besides, if you make a name for yourself here, it could improve your standing at the academy, right?”

“…That’s exactly why I hate it.”

Since noble sons and daughters were attending this party too, I figured getting on the good side of some ladies could help, but she seemed unhappy about it.

“Yawn…”

As we waited to enter, a yawn slipped out.

“You look pretty worn out, brother.”

“Yeah, lately I’ve been a bit…”

I’d been hit with a rush of demands recently, cutting into my sleep, and the fatigue lingered.

“Can you even handle mingling with nobles in that state? Your guardians aren’t stepping in to help, right?”

When I became a noble, my guardian relationship ended. Nobles had even wider networks than before, stretching beyond what guardians could shield.

On top of that, I’d turned in my national adventurer qualification.

The whole point of that status was to take on mandatory quests in emergencies, but as a noble, that didn’t apply to me anymore.

National adventurers got treatment on par with nobles from the start, but now that I was one for real, Marguerite had told me to focus on that side of things.

“No problem.”

I’d prepared countermeasures for exactly this.

“If you say so, brother, I’ll trust you…”

Even as she said it, Celia’s face held a hint of unease.

This was her first noble party too, so she had her worries.

“Baron Luminous, it’s your turn to enter, so please prepare.”

I took Celia’s hand and headed into the party venue.