"Hello, Matriarch Strogueher. It''s been a long time since we''ve seen each other, hasn''t it? In case you don''t remember, I am Jefford, one of Emperor Cant''s three chief butlers. We were expecting your arrival."


    Everyone looked at Jefford, and immediately noticed something different about him, about his aura. It was evident to everyone that he was no ordinary butler.


    "Hello, Mr. Jefford. It''s a pleasure to see you again after so long." Matriarch said. She also put her right foot back, her left foot slightly forward, rotated her right hand and ced her left hand on her lower back, concretizing a normal curtsy.


    Everyone in the half-wolf pack made the same gesture, because they were instructed to do so by the Matriarch. However, their curtsy was much less graceful than Ayumi''s.


    Jefford closed his eyes, snorted briefly, and began to remove his ck jacket. Demanding and strictness were exactly the reasons Ayumi had asked that all members of the gang learn to bow properly.


    The butler, whose gray hair was tied back in a ponytail, tossed his jacket to one of the two guards in white armor who were apanying him. Both guards were wearing full armor from head to toe, but you could still see the guards''ck of surprise through the three stripes on their helmets. This pointed out that it was not unusual for Jefford to be strict.


    With his white glove of soft fabric, Jefford ced his right hand on his chin and began to circle the group, analyzing their position.


    His attentive eyes noticed the sweat dripping from Zack''s forehead, thergest of them all. Then he noticed the well-groomed hair on Meredith''s and Luke''s chaps, and smiled briefly, yet something else was obvious, and that was what displeased Jefford.


    "Your curtsies are...okay. It is clear that you have had great instructors, especially the women. However, there is something that bothers me. The clothes of you, you, you, and you, are totally against the norms of etiquette for a meeting with the Emperor." Jefford pointed at Luke, Zack, John, and Ynosuke. "Also, you need to trim the loose hair on your faces, and trim the strands of your hair properly. As it is, you look like animals."


    Ayumi simply sighed upon hearing Jefford''s notes, because she had warned the boys about these issues, but they all said she would not beautify herself just to find another man. Well, that stubbornness only dyed the inevitable. All the men had to give in, after all their goal was to talk to the Emperor.


    Then they all crossed the marble bridge, which was personally protected by dozens of imperial guards, whose white armor reflected the gracefulness of the ce. In the background, one could notice the presence of a gigantic pce with many domes, towers and a huge staircase. This construction was even more than the Cardinal Church, as well as more graceful and rich in detail than the Central Pce.


    As they entered the domains of the Imperial Pce, it was noticeable that there were not many normal people circting around, but rather many schrs, just as there were in the other important buildings throughout the Broteforge Empire.


    So, a little over an hour after the gang had entered the Central Pce, the men were finally ready.


    The servant girls trimmed their beards in both directions, except for Zack''s, who eagerly refused to remove what he called his ''symbol of bravery''.


    Unlike everyone else, Zack also refused to let them cut his hair, and the only way they found to make him more presentable was to throw his hair back and keep it that way with Vaseline. Thanks to this, every time everyone looked at Zack they felt an uncontroble urge tough, even Ayumi, not because he looked ridiculous, but because of his disgruntled expression.


    After everyone was officially ready, they were escorted by no less, and no more, than fifteen imperial guards to the Emperor''s Hall.


    Without exception, everyone was quite nervous on the way to the hall, because they didn''t know how the Emperor would react. He could simply reject vehemently the chance of the Melki Empire invading them, and expelling everyone from Sheltered Halvoy for such a serious charge, but he could also believe what they had to say, and maybe even avoid war. At that moment, everything depended on the Emperor''s decision, and how reasonable he would prove to be.


    When the thud of two gigantic doors opening was heard, Jefford stretched his arms forward, directing everyone to move on.


    Before even entering the next enclosure, Luke saw a long table, which had at least twenty seats. There was no one seated, except for the man at the end of the table.


    This man was young, too young to be the Emperor, or at least that''s what Luke thought.


    Hearing the door to his hall open, Cant finally stopped looking at the book he was reading right in the middle of a bountiful table. He looked forward and saw nine people enter the room. Cant did not recognize most of these people, but he did recognize Ayumi and Amelia.


    Then, when everyone finally entered the hall that was partially circled, and fully lit by dozens of ss panes, Luke saw ten guards standing around the table. These guards were totally different from those who roamed around the Pce.


    Most of the guards wore white armor, which hid their true faces. These normal helmets were almost round and had three vertical stripes for the wearers to see. However, the helmets of the guards inside the hall were different. They had several spikes sticking out of the sides of the head, and the whole armor seemed sturdier, even though there were dozens of spines on each part. On the parts where there were no spines a thinyer of ck Scales, a rare drop from Dragon Level Bosses, was noticeable.


    Noticing all this in just a second, Luke Lange concluded that that young man in front of him was indeed the Emperor.


    "Hello, guests. I am honored to finally wee you to my home..." said Emperor Cant, cing his right hand on his chin and propping himself on the back of his chair.