Ten, beautiful woman comes in wind and snow

  Ten, beautiful woman comes in wind and snow

  "It is scheduled for 6:00 pm on November 30th at the revolving restaurant on the top floor of Gray Castle. Hope you can attend."

  Xuān Nóm

  Looking at the golden invitation in his hand, Philip Taylor felt a headache. He was well aware of the nature of this dinner party. After all, he had crossed two worlds and seen many political struggles on TV shows, so he had some insight into this matter. This was actually a surrender banquet, on one hand to appease those big shots who had bet on the wrong camp, and on the other hand to show off his own camp's strength, dispelling the opponent's illusions. He couldn't stay out of it like he did a few days ago.

  "This is to recruit and surrender, and by the way, I'm going to make an exhibition of myself!" He sighed, adjusting his newly mended pink long gown in front of the mirror. Wearing a black student's mage robe to this kind of social gathering was basically equivalent to announcing that he was a rookie who had just entered society, and he didn't have a suitable formal attire - men's formal wear in this era were also decorated with lace and feathers, which were difficult to clean and ridiculous, and Phil had not bought one, so when it came to the crunch, he was at a loss.

  Zena, the Speaker of the House, offered to lend her a dress, but looking at the rows of cute princess dresses and Zorvath's mischievous smile, Phryne Taylor decided to take matters into her own hands. She spent a whole day mending her alchemist's robe, even putting off her erotic goods business for it.

  Ferli has basically recovered from that terrible fire in appearance, the scars on his body have completely fallen off, and the place where he was burned bald now has shoulder-length black hair, and that oily wig can finally be thrown into the trash.

  "It's really not fun drinking with a group of middle-aged men, but it can't be helped since it's the boss's order." Phil put on the small deerskin boots borrowed from Speaker Zena, turned around in front of the mirror, nodded in satisfaction. Although he didn't like the banquet, since he decided to go, he still had to do his best, this was his style.

  A discordant singing voice came from downstairs, and the severe noise pollution caused Fili to frown. Zena, who had been clamoring to leave yesterday, suddenly seemed 100 years younger when she heard there was a banquet to attend, humming strange songs as she tried on clothes one by one from noon until sunset without finding any that fit. She also forced Fili to enchant all her jewelry without paying a single copper coin in labor fees. Considering she had let him eat and live for free for so long, Fili could only agree.

  "Do all women like social gatherings this much?" He plugged his ears in distress, defending against the terrifying singing voice of Chairwoman Chorl that was comparable to a female demon's wail, thinking that he must prepare soundproof barriers and hide far away from now on.

  "Xiao Feili, what do you think of my outfit?" Although Feili wanted to get away from the terrifying singing voice, unfortunately, the source of the noise continued to sing off-key songs all the way to her doorstep.

  "……" was very pretty, really pretty, and though Phil still winced at the severe damage to his hearing, he couldn't help but admit that Speaker Zena's current image was quite a visual treat.

  The sapphire-blue evening gown perfectly complemented her figure, leaving one breathless. Her neck, as if carved from the finest ink jade, was adorned with a sparkling rainbow-colored necklace that made her chest radiant. Her silver hair was styled in an intricate and ornate coiffure, with a hairpin encrusted with various gems adding a dreamy luster under its reflection.

  "What's wrong, isn't it suitable?" Seeing Felipe not responding for a long time, Speaker Zhuo couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. "In that case, you wait for a while first, I'll change into a few more outfits and come back."

  Do you want to change again? Phil looked at the darkening sky outside the window, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "No, no, this one is very suitable! Your beauty has left me speechless! Let's go to the banquet earlier!"

  "Really?" Zena glanced at the sun which was about to dip below the horizon, and hastily rushed downstairs. "I still need to hurry up and take a shower, you go wait by the door first!"

  Feili was speechless.

  ****

  Tonight, the Gray Castle is ablaze with lights and music. The top floor's revolving restaurant has been decorated with the most magnificent decorations. The floor is covered with a silver fox fur rug worth thousands of dollars, and long tables are filled with all kinds of delicious and luxurious food. The marble sculptures and wall paintings on display are all masterpieces by famous artists. A huge crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, casting a dreamy glow. In the grand hall, many maidservants politely hold trays laden with exquisite delicacies and fine wines, weaving through the guests. Beautiful socialites flit about like butterflies between the pot-bellied politicians and tycoons, occasionally letting out silvery laughter.

  The charmingly dressed Zena, Chairwoman of the Council, and the aged Thorn, Governor Norm, stood at the entrance to greet their guests. Despite their vastly different appearances, no one could have guessed that this man and woman were actually the same age. General Godrick, resplendent in his dress uniform, was chatting with Chairman Ludwig, wine glass in hand, showing no signs of the heated argument they had engaged in just yesterday. The young and handsome Governor Lyle had become the target of every female in the room, at least two dozen ladies and misses hoping to introduce themselves or their daughters to him surrounded him, while many more stood on the periphery, eagerly waiting for an opening to insert themselves.

  Ferli? Taylor wore a social smile on his face, holding a glass of red wine, and responded awkwardly to the guests who also showed hypocritical smiles. He had to remember everyone's appearance, complete countless clinking glasses, compliments, smiles, and promises, paving the way for his own future. Now, magicians can no longer rely solely on their powerful magic to stand out; without the appreciation of politicians or military personnel, even mastering the most advanced arcane skills could only be used at the bottom of society. For anyone who aspires to improve their social status, proper social skills are indispensable.

  Charlotte and Vinnie, who were supposed to make an appearance together, are now nowhere to be found. Charlotte hooked up with a slender half-elf socialite at the beginning of the party and is now God-knows-where. As for Grand Druid Vinnie, although the local police have sent out search parties into the mountains to deliver invitations, there has been no response yet, and it's likely he won't make it to the party on time. As a result, all the socializing tasks of the Bear Army have fallen onto Fili alone, whose head is spinning just trying to remember everyone's names, and those ambiguous polite phrases are far beyond his comprehension, so he can only respond with a uniform smile.

  It wasn't easy to wait for the lively dance music to start, and Fei, who was already feeling dizzy, politely declined the invitations from others, citing that she couldn't dance as an excuse. She dragged her tired body away from the center of the hall and found a vacant seat by the window, where she sat down and took deep breaths of the warm air, planning to rest for a while.

  "It's still not working, just a little while and can't bear it." He casually picked up a few small pastries and stuffed them into his mouth. From the beginning of the banquet to now, he hadn't eaten anything at all, drinking on an empty stomach was really unbearable. Next, he still had to get familiar with several naval officers, guessing that he would have to drink a lot, not eating something to fill his stomach was really unbearable.

  "No wonder politicians need to have a good capacity for wine, it seems I still need to practice well. In the future, if I can climb up again, this kind of socializing will be even more frequent." Although they were in the same hall, he always felt a sense of alienation that came from nowhere, perhaps because he was not yet adapted to the hidden intrigue and struggle beneath the fragrance of clothes and praise.

  The revolving restaurant is called "revolving" because it can rotate 360 degrees at a speed of half an hour per week. The center of the restaurant is fixed with a dance floor and stairs, while the surrounding rotating part is the dining table and seats. Perhaps to show off, the walls and part of the ceiling of the revolving restaurant are made of huge crystal glass blocks. In this era when flat glass craftsmanship was not yet developed, it was really an astonishing luxury. Maybe that's why Governor Norn arranged the banquet in this crystal palace.

  After eating two small pastries, a string of roasted meat and a piece of steak, Phil felt much more comfortable, wiped his mouth, raised a cup of juice, and began to leisurely appreciate the night view outside, but was surprised to find that the six-pointed star spirit was floating down.

  "Good heavens, it's even snowing here?" He hadn't had time to express his astonishment when a sudden transmission spell made him jump up.

  "I'm here, Little Fei, hurry up and pick me up!"

  He strained his eyes and soon discovered some movement near the large gate below. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was the red-haired female pastor who was arguing with the gatekeeper!

  Wow, that's great! Being able to bring Lenny to a place like this would definitely make her happy. Phil, who was infatuated with beauty, suddenly forgot all about his social obligations and rushed out of the banquet hall without greeting anyone.

  Half a minute later, Governor Norm found that all three of his important subordinates had slipped away. He was holding the central government's reply he had just received and his face turned iron-green with rage.