Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: The Family Crest
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As the night deepened, the atmosphere of the banquet ripened.
"Are you sure you don't need to eat outside? The food at the banquet hall is good, but it doesn't actually fill your stomach."
"Hm. Well, it's not that late yet."
Just savoring this atmosphere was enough.
A peaceful world.
The continent that my comrades and I had sought to create.
Of course, a new threat had appeared on this continent, but the situation was much better than the despair of a thousand years ago. Even in a world without gods, the humans of this continent had established their own systems and were prepared to stand against the demons. And they also had external help in the form of 'adventurers from the stars.'
Chris lightly touched my somewhat bare shoulder, then snatched her hand back with a start.
Chris's face had been slightly flushed all day. She would gaze at me intently, then suddenly her eyes would go unfocused as she let out a heated breath.
It wasn't just Chris; the children of the surrounding noble families were also showing strange reactions. When they met my timidly glancing eyes, they would blush and look away.
I quietly looked down at the pure white dress I was wearing.
Is this why?
I guess clothes really do make the woman. My face is pretty, of course, but the reaction wasn't this intense when I was in my adventurer's gear.
The food was cleared away, leaving only a few drinks. Then, the music in the hall changed.
The movements of the nobles and their children shifted. Men asked women to dance, and they went hand in hand to the center of the hall.
"Oh, dance time!"
Chris clenched her fists, her eyes sparkling.
This was the flower of high society, the ball.
Gentle music and elegant dancing. A classical atmosphere that didn't suit ignorant adventurers like us.
As their dance neared its climax, the faces of the guild members gathered around us turned pale.
"...Are we even supposed to be here? This feels like a party for really important people, you know?"
"Hey, what did you hear earlier? Didn't the Division Commander say to enjoy ourselves regardless of etiquette?"
"You mean the Emperor, not the Division Commander. Oh, the music changed."
As more cheerful music began to play, most of the nobles dancing in the center of the hall exited, leaving only a few. Soon, they were stepping in time with the rhythmic music. Their partners matched their footwork.
Watching the dance, I was overcome with a strange feeling.
I remember this dance.
It was a traditional dance of the people who lived in the eastern part of the continent back then, the region where the Alpharion Empire now stood.
Even after a thousand years, the dance and music from my memory still existed in this world.
To think I could feel a sense of nostalgia from the past even in a place like this.
My vision blurred slightly.
I hastily covered my eyes and wiped them so Chris wouldn't see them turning red.
"Ooh, that one!"
"A dance like that, I think we could do it too?"
Seopseobi and Go Seung-woo, the ranger duo from the Red and White guild, rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward.
They advanced to the center of the hall and began to perform a cheerful step.
"Oh, that dance! Hahaha!"
"Pffft!"
The warrior duo, Gandal and Hopkins, clutched their stomachs and laughed.
The Kkokjitjeom Dance, was that what it was called? I remembered seeing celebrities do it on a classic entertainment show. It looked ridiculous at first glance, but their surprisingly synchronized moves earned them gasps of admiration and applause from the nobles who had gathered around.
"Oho, the NPCs are really into it."
"Kyaa! Show them the traditional dance of Korea, Go Seung-woo!"
"I wouldn't go so far as to call it traditional, would you? Phew, this is embarrassing."
The female members of Red and White, led by Beimerung, along with RedHotChicken and Dalboreum, reacted in various ways, giggling amongst themselves.
There was movement from the seemingly prim and proper Skada's Attack Squad as well. It was amusing to see Skada grab the hair of her tank, Park Jeong-gwon, who was twisting his hips and about to step into the hall.
*Swoosh.*
"Rain."
"Eh?"
Chris's gaze was unusually intense as she took my hand and looked toward the hall.
Surely not?
"Do you want to go out and dance too?"
"...Chris, do you know how to dance?"
"Uhm...? Can't we just go out there and shake it around?"
My jaw dropped. But Chris's eyes were serious.
"Heh."
I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
*Chris, shouldn't you be a little more formal when asking someone to dance?*
"Okay."
Leaving Go Seung-woo and Seopseobi to exit amidst applause.
I smiled brightly, took Chris's offered hand, and walked to the center of the hall.
The music. The footwork.
*Tap, tatak, tatak.*
"Here, you step to the beat like this, *tatak tatak*. This is the basic step of the traditional Eastern continent dance."
"R-Rain. That's amazing. Have you ever learned how to dance?"
"No? I don't need to learn; I can do this much just by watching."
For me, it was a few years ago; for them, a thousand.
I once spent a long time watching the soldiers dance in their barracks.
The same dance as back then.
I can hear the sound of applause from all around.
I can hear the sound of music.
But they all sound so distant.
All I can feel is Chris's touch.
All I can see are her feet.
Holding Chris's hand, guiding her, I lead my taller companion.
It's a light dance, we don't put our hands on each other's waists or anything, but my heart pounds as if our bodies were pressed close together.
This is fun. And my heart is fluttering.
Chris seems to be enjoying the dance too. With a bright smile and slightly flushed cheeks, she meets my gaze directly.
*Thump, thump.*
The pleasant pounding of my heart.
Chris.
For everyone else but me, the synchronization rate on this continent is limited, right?
The same must be true for you.
Still, the emotions everyone feels here are 100%, aren't they?
Is your heart pounding just like mine right now?
This fluttering I feel, are you feeling it too?
I danced with Chris.
With two legs that could move to their heart's content.
The ball was drawing to a close.
The music changed a few more times, and the center of the hall emptied. The men and women who had danced together were now having their own private time.
The same was true for us.
For some reason, Chris and I had stopped talking after that.
Chris, her cheeks flushed red, was idly fidgeting with her fingers. Was the dance tiring?
I looked at Chris and let out a soft laugh.
"Chris, shall we get some fresh air and then go home to eat?"
"Uh, u-uh!? Should we!? ...Haa, today was quite something in many ways...."
I was almost startled myself by Chris's reaction, her body jumping as if shocked.
Chris let out a deep sigh. She, who had been looking forward to the banquet the most, seemed completely drained.
I took Chris's hand again. For some reason, it felt a little warmer than before.
Just as I met her slightly trembling eyes and was about to head outside, feeling a little flushed myself, a thought occurred.
"Hm...?"
As I rose from my seat, my eyes caught sight of a person entering from the banquet hall's entrance.
That person, is she a female knight?
A tall woman with turquoise hair braided into a ponytail. Judging by her face alone, she was quite beautiful. But her figure was hidden beneath sturdy armor.
The armor was impeccably maintained, but it wasn't ceremonial. It was clearly for actual combat.
A magnificent scabbard was fastened at her waist. Naturally, it held a sword. But bringing a real sword into a banquet hall? Even the players had all put theirs away out of sight.
Her combative appearance, as if she had just come from the battlefield, seemed to startle not only me but others as well.
"Marquise Roeid."
"The only Master in the current empire, right? The only person permitted to carry a sword in the Emperor's presence."
"Even so, to come to a banquet wearing armor and a real sword."
*Clank, clank.*
The female knight, called Marquise Roeid, paid no heed to the nobles' whispers and advanced with the sound of her greaves.
She arrived before the Emperor.
*Thud.*
The sound of her greaves' knee plates hitting the banquet hall floor echoed crisply. In the silent hall, her clear voice rang out.
"Your Imperial Majesty, Marquise Roeid is here."
"Oh, Marquise Roeid, I'm glad you could make it. Still, this is a banquet hall, isn't the armor a bit much? Hah hah! I was hoping to see the Marquise in a dress."
Ignoring the Emperor's pleasantries, Marquise Roeid continued.
"I am well aware of Your Majesty's concern for the empire. However, I find it difficult to accept your intention to have such riff-raff adventurers assist in the East, a region my family is responsible for."
Her sharp gaze turned toward the players.
Ah, there's always one of *those* people. Upright and overconfident, but completely unable to read the room.
Calling players riff-raff, she must be incredibly confident in her skills.
"It is a pity you could not be dispatched to the North. However, the situation in the East is not so favorable either, is it? You are a blessing to our empire. I hope you will cherish your body."
"A body dedicated to the sword from birth, I will go wherever Your Majesty calls. The battlefield does not matter to me."
Her loyalty was also remarkable.
Aside from her flaw of not being able to read the room, she was the epitome of a knight. However, that flaw was a major one. We were here to enjoy a banquet, not to be put on the spot like this.
"I guess that's the person the empire was going to send to deal with the Northern Corps Commander?"
"Hmm, a Master, she said? Impressive. Could a top-tier player with a full set of legendary items manage a 1v1?"
"She's probably top-class among NPCs. What's her combat style like? In a way, she might be on the level of a raid dungeon named boss."
Skada's Attack Squad and the members of Red and White also began to comment on the female knight.
I was annoyed.
Her hostile reaction to the players was one thing, but I couldn't forgive her for ruining the nice atmosphere between me and Chris.
And perhaps it was because she was overconfident, or because she was a human of a peaceful era. She had no sense of what the demons were really like. No matter how powerful she was personally, how well could an NPC with only one life fare against a Corps Commander leading countless demons? Did she think I also had strong comrades in the past?
*Step.*
I took a step forward. I wanted to give that female knight a piece of my mind.
As my line of sight shifted, the crest engraved on her scabbard came into view.
"Oh."
A crest I had seen on this continent in the past, and had seen again since my return.
That's.
It was the family crest of the female knight who was a comrade in the Hero's Party.
The crest of Melissa's family.