In the dining hall of the majestic palace, Gammon sat in the middle of the table while Nathan sat at the VIP seat.
All of Gammon's officers sat at the two sides of the table.
Gammon raised his glass and greeted Nathan with a smile. “Once again, a warm welcome to the Chief Military Governor of Eurasia!”
Nathan, too, raised his glass. The lower half of the Leviathan mask disappeared as if someone had activated the button. Though he had revealed the lower half of his face, it was hard to tell how he looked.
“Here's a toast to you and your men, Mr. Gammon.”
Nathan raised his glass and made a toast to all the Remdikians.
The Remdikians reciprocated by raising their glasses.
But some had an apparent grim expression on their faces as they were displeased with Nathan's etiquette.
They felt it was rude for Nathan to wear his mask during the welcoming dinner. They thought the Chief Military Governor from
Eurasia should show more respect to Gammon since he was on a diplomatic mission.
One of the generals started expressing his dissatisfaction. “I understand you're a respected figure in Eurasia, Chief Cross, but now that you're in our country, shouldn't you show our president some respect?”
He continued, “You should have at least removed your mask out of courtesy when our president gave you a toast as a friend.”
Upon hearing that, Nathan knitted his brows.
Nathan glanced at the Remdikian general and noticed he had a star on his epaulet. Based on his insignia, Nathan deduced that he was a one-star Watchdog.
There were five levels of generals in the Remdikian military—one-star Watchdog, two-star Warhound, three-star Cheetah, four-star Tiger, and five-star Lion King.
The man standing in front of Nathan was a one-star Watchdog. Though he was at the lowest rank of all the other generals, he was Gammon's most distinguished subordinate, Dante.
Gammon took pride in Dante as the latter had extraordinary combat skills. That was why he could dine at the table with all the other high-rank generals, even though he was just a one-star Watchdog.
Dante voiced out what the other Remdikian generals had in their minds.
At this point, everyone turned their attention to Nathan as if they were waiting for his explanation.
Nathan responded calmly, “My identity is a military secret in Eurasia.
I believe all of you are military officers, and you should know that we must protect military secrets at all costs.”
He felt he did the right thing when he questioned Nathan's sincerity. He should have removed his mask to prove that he takes us seriously!
After Dante's departure, Gammon gave Nathan an apologetic smile, “I apologize on behalf of my men. They can appear to be a little rude at times, please forgive them, Chief Cross.” Nathan responded, “I totally understand. In fact, I don't enjoy wearing this mask when I'm out drinking with friends too.”
Gammon chuckled. “Don't we all put on a mask to construct an identity that we want people to see?
“Compared to those invisible masks that people put on to please others, I prefer to deal with someone as direct as you, Chief Cross.”
Gammon's remark instantly defused the tension between both parties.
He was indeed an intelligent man.
Nathan held up his glass and grinned.
“Wise words, Mr. Gammon. I take my hat off to you. Here's to Mr. Gammon and all our Remdikian friends!”
All the Remdikian officers and generals reciprocated. “Cheers!”
After several rounds of toasting with the alcohol-loving Remdikians, the atmosphere finally lightened up.
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