140 Playing Dumb (2/2)

The person who received them was still John Junior.

After not seeing each other for a while, John Junior was still as handsome as he was before. When he saw Roland and them, he bent slightly at the waist and said, ”The four of you are finally here. I've been waiting for a long time, please come in.”

He volunteered to be an attendant and personally led the four of them into the castle's banquet hall.

Several thick candles were placed in each of the four corners of the banquet hall. These candles were magical creations that burned for a long time and were extremely bright, and they didn't give off any odor or black smoke—it was a luxury item, the price relatively expensive, and the average small noble dared not use it.

It was one thing to be able to afford it, but using such precious things without the corresponding status would easily lead to the other nobles secretly ridiculing one for not knowing their status.

This was already an unspoken rule.

Roland and them didn't recognize this. When they came in, they just felt that this candle was a bit brighter than usual, almost as good as household LED lights.

So they just took one more glance and then shifted their gazes.

Their actions were also seen by the Johns.

John Senior was sitting at the host's seat, and when he saw Roland and them coming over, he didn't get up. He simply gently raised his glass and said, ”Finally, the four of you are here.”

When guests arrived and the host didn't stand up, it was just a matter of seeing that the visitor was not of high enough status to merit his standing up.

That in itself was a rather impolite thing to do.

Although Roland and the others didn't understand these hidden noble rules, the ”lack of etiquette” was something that both worlds had in common, so Roland and the others all frowned slightly.

But they were fine with that and just started looking for a place to sit down.

This was also a gesture statement. It was considered rude for a guest to directly sit down when the host had not asked them to sit down, and it was a strong act of contempt for the owner— unless the visitor was very close to the person, then an exception would be made.

This meant roughly the same in both worlds, and both John Senior and John Junior were a little surprised to see them sit themselves down.

Both father and son then hid their emotions well, their faces still wearing hospitable and gentle smiles.

When they sat down, Roland looked at John Senior.

John Senior's appearance was very similar to John Junior's, but the former looked much more mature and much stronger.

Roland looked at the other side for a moment and smiled. ”The mayor invited us over, but is just sitting down and watching us without talking. Why is that?”

”I was wondering how I should open up to you.” John Senior laughed aloud, his gaze sweeping over the other three before finally landing on Roland's face. ”After all, what I'm about to say, It might be a bit forceful.”

”If it's a bit forceful, then please don't say it, Mayor.” Roland waved his hand dismissively. ”So as not to hurt the feelings of both parties. After all, we have a pretty good relationship with John Junior, and if there is any conflict with you, it would be hard for John Junior to be caught in the middle. A friend on one side, a close relative on the other, pains on both sides.”

Upon hearing this, John Junior felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly.

He really didn't expect Roland to be so shameless.

So shameless as to say such words.

John Senior smirked inwardly. He was quite experienced and knowledgeable, and he had seen such a situation before.

He chuckled and said, ”However, these words, even if they are forceful, even if they will cause some misunderstanding between us, they still have to be said—they're very important.”

Roland sighed. ”Since you insist, Mayor, then please speak.”

”How about we talk while we eat?”

”No, let's get down to business first.” Roland waved his hand and said, ”I'm not even in the mood to eat until I've heard the main business.”

Meanwhile, Hawk, Link, and Jett, all three of them were gorging on food. When they heard Roland's words, they smiled slightly and started to wolf down their portions.