A grand welcoming banquet was held within the feudal lord's mansion, marking the first event of such scale since the completion of this large building.
Gawain was not a person fond of banquets, and despite Aunt Heidi and Rebecca being of noble descent, they were not particularly enthusiastic about such events either (primarily due to their poverty). Nonetheless, they understood the necessity of such occasions in upper-class social circles—carefully planned banquets often hold multiple meanings in political, economic, and even military realms. They could showcase the host's economic strength and facilitate transactions under a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere that might otherwise require negotiations through swords elsewhere, making them quite a bargain.
