Chapter 80

　　"Five hundred years!? You`re five hundred years old?" Cid exclaimed, looking at the young man sitting across from them. Merit smiled at the question, shaking his head.

　　"No, I`m five hundred and twenty-two." Merit replied. To his surprise, the group accepted his identity relatively quickly. Whether it was their lack of knowledge regarding the rebellion or the time they spent together on Beluth, they interacted with him easily, the tension draining away as they talked.

　　Despite Mare`s best efforts of trying to turn them against him, she seemed to have failed. The culprit herself was sitting at the end of the table, her arms folded crossly.

　　"Are you hiring house guards?" Micah asked again, and this time no one stopped him from asking. It was clear that the Baron was rather easygoing.

　　"I`m not sure. I haven`t been back to Caledon since I was injured. You can message my Guard Captain Tamara, to find out." Merit responded.

　　"You aren`t on Caledon? Where are you?" Mare asked, looking up from the table and focusing on Merit`s face. The Baron shrugged his shoulders, not put off by the question. He had come to expect inquiries into his personal affairs from her.

　　"Terra. I won`t be able to leave until I`ve been given medical clearance. My guardian is quite adamant that won`t happen anytime soon." Merit answered, frowning slightly at the thought. Amelia had denied his requests to return, implying that it would be some time before he would be able to leave.

　　Guardian?` Mare wondered quietly. Kalen Caledon was on Terra, which is something her grandmother would undoubtedly know. Could she be involved with him somehow?

　　"You`re on Terra! That`s great! We`ll be there in June for the birthday celebrations. Maybe we can all go together?!" Cid exclaimed, bubbling with excitement.

　　"You are? How did you all get invitations?" Merit asked, looking at the group. Access to Terra was restricted to only the most loyal imperial servants. It would be strange for this group of young people, who have nothing to do with Imperial politics or service in its ranks, to obtain an invitation to visit.

　　"Mare got them for us. Oh, I almost forgot. Do you and Mare know each other? She`s a noble as well!" Cid stated, looking from one of them to another.

　　"They know?" Merit asked, raising an eyebrow at Mare. He had thought she was keeping her identity a secret from everyone. The ordinarily cold woman was flustered as the attention turned back on her.

　　"I had to tell them. My family invited them all to Terra for the celebrations without letting me know. It was likely an attempt to keep me from playing the game anymore. And no, we don`t know each other! He`s much older than I am!" Mare stammered out, pointing at Merit.

　　He laughed at the remark. They were around the same age if his time in stasis was removed!

　　"Oh, I just thought you might be friends outside the game. You both were acting very friendly with each other when we were on Beluth." Cid continued, and Merit laughed as Mare flushed red in embarrassment at the insinuation that there was something between them.

　　"No, we haven`t met outside the game. I don`t meet many people. I don`t even know what family you`re from, Mare?" Merit asked, waiting for the young noblewoman to respond. Mare hesitated for a moment before speaking.

　　"The Havencroft Ducal house," Mare replied, observing Merit for any sign of doubt on his face. It was true her father was the second son of Duke Havencroft, which technically made her a part of that house, although her status in the Royal Family was much higher.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

　　Better yet, her cousin, Katherine, also her best friend, made the perfect person to emulate and copy to protect her secret. Katherine preferred to keep a low profile, unlike many Nobles, so there wasn`t much known about her on the Imperial Net. Mare could easily mimic her background.

　　Merit quirked an eyebrow at her reply, surprised at the revelation. She was of much higher status than he thought. Havencroft was incredibly loyal to the Emperor. During the rebellion, they had been one of his staunchest supporters.

　　It made sense that she disliked him, recognizing his father`s rebellion as the ultimate betrayal of the Emperor.

　　Learning that Mare was a noble had been a shock to the others, but the disclosure that she was from a Ducal household was even more surprising. There were tens of thousands of Nobles in the galaxy, Barons, Counts and Earls, but only eleven remaining Ducal lines. They were second only to the Emperor.

　　Ty whistled, looking impressed as he saw Mare shift uncomfortably at the attention. Cid clutched her arm tightly, smiling at her while Micah and John simply stared.

　　"That`s incredible! No wonder you could get us invitations! Oh, I know! Merit, since you`re going to be on Terra for the celebrations, do you want to come with us? Unless you have plans?" Cid`s smile slipped a bit as she realized that Merit, as a Baron, might have other responsibilities or wouldn`t want to attend the celebration with commoners.`

　　"Sounds good. I have to attend a ball, and a few other obligations will take up some of my time, but I would be happy to. Oh, I`ll also be bringing some guests. Are you fine if they join us?" Merit replied. Cid nodded eagerly while glancing at Mare from the corner of her eye.

　　"We should return. The matches will be starting soon." John said, punctuating his words by pushing back his chair and standing. Merit nodded, joining him.

　　"I should be returning as well," Mare said, only for Cid to clutch onto her even tighter.

　　"But you just got here. Stay for the matches!" Cid pouted, and Mare lost the will to fight her. She joined the others as they returned to the arena stands. The other fans also began to appear, bringing with them a surprise of their own.

　　Banners waved in the air with the rookie Pilots name, joining the throngs of others. Many of the crowd wore black tops with a white circle symbol on the chest. A picture of Merit and his Scout Mech was on the front, while on the sleeves, it proclaimed that all proceeds would go to charity.

　　Mare looked at the crowd in astonishment. It was surreal to think that the son of the Traitor, the instigator of the rebellion, would be celebrated like this. She wanted to know if anyone had discovered his identity. Pulling up her holo, she looked at several of the Mechtech Battlewarrior forums.

　　To her surprise, there was an entire thread dedicated to it. From a quick glance, people seemed rather accepting of him. The rebellion was five hundred years ago, and even with how long the average person lived, it was still multiple generations since it occurred.

　　Unless you were one of the Nobility, with their exceptional longevity or the wealthy who could afford expensive rejuvenation, few people who had fought in the rebellion remained alive.

　　Closing it, she stared at the colourful spectacle, trying to remind herself of her grandmother`s remarks regarding Kalen. She couldn`t stand seeing his smug face or hearing his voice. Maybe he was different from his parents, she could even see it for herself. But why, then, did she find him so distasteful and irritating?

　　Shaking away the thoughts, she settled back into her seat to enjoy the show.

　　"Welcome back to the 34th annual Light Class Invitationals sponsored by Delphi Optics! If you`re just joining us, you`ve missed a hell of a show."

　　"We`ve gathered over five hundred of the top Players in the galaxy for you today! Merit of Caledon took first place in the preliminaries, securing his spot in the tournament. Will he be able to cinch the win against his opponents in the one-on-one eliminations?" The announcer shouted, his voice amplifying across the stadium.

　　"But there`s more! We have a surprise prepared for you today! Twelve representatives from the top clans are seeded into the matchings, all of which are scouting for recruits! Defeat them, and you may just earn your place within their illustrious company!"

　　The Pilots who were waiting in the storage rooms heard that announcement, and their minds ran wild with the possibilities. Joining a clan was the goal for many of them in the game, and it even had real-world importance. House Guards, even the Imperial Guard, were often recruited from within the Clans.

　　"The rules are simple. Each player will be matched against another. Two pilots enter the arena, and only one can leave. If your Mech leaves the boundary of the competition area, you will be considered a forfeit! All weapons are allowed, and all styles of combat are encouraged!" The announcer finished while the crowd roared.

　　Five separate arenas began to fill with various obstacles and terrain. The arena below them expanded, and a square of white light surrounded them, separating them into smaller areas. There were cityscapes, forests and even sandy areas with giant dunes.

　　"Let the tournament begin!"