Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Who Are You Dancing With?
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Who are you going to dance with?
Title: Have you guys been to a banquet?
Author: Kim Muggle
Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention this earlier, but it turns out there's some kind of opening banquet a few days after classes start.
I heard about it when I went to the student council room. Apparently, we have to go with male-female partners.
Back then, the president asked if I wanted to go as her partner. No idea why.
At the time, I instinctively refused because I thought going with the student council president would draw too much attention, like some basement-dwelling loser.
But now that I think about it, something's off.
Why would the student council president ask me to be her partner? Dragging me into the student council was weird too.
And is there anything I need to watch out for at the banquet?
No way, you bastard, you're just telling us now?
White-haired beauty student council president... You blew your chance for some steamy banquet sex like that?!
Orgasm) Ahhh, it's gone! It's goooone!!!
How do you tell us a day later? Spill these stories right when they happen!
Honestly, this is way more fun than flight training or remedial classes lol.
You'd believe I was just waiting for this...?
But then who's going to the banquet with you? You don't have friends.
Yeah, what now that you turned her down, you loser?
Shit; MammaTong said she'd go with me.
Ooooooh?!
MammaTong faction wins!!!
This is it!!
Hawawa, MammaTong is so nice and sweet~ Lulu-chan approves.
Nooooo!! This isn't Redhead!!!
Kraaaah!
I just got here after writing papers... where's Redhead?
Where's the top student anyway?
The top student... is waiting...
The cheetah is eyeing her chance...
No, the top student is a guy, you idiots; I heard he's going with Redhead as partners.
Oooh, this is very intriguing.
Did the rivals team up to check the winning candidate MammaTong?
Things are getting interesting.
XXX it's goooone!!
The situation is unfolding perfectly. Just keep it going like this.
Damn these guys, I was trying to talk about the student council president's intentions and banquet tips.
Why is the cheetah suddenly eyeing a chance? Typical.
So what do you think the president's goal is? Doesn't seem like a bad person, but something's off.
What else? She wants to eat the hooba.
Eat the junior = bang the underclassman.
She saw you practicing. Of course she'd take you along out of curiosity. Like I said, what you did isn't easy at all.
A freshman internalizing it in a few hours? She'd drag you along for sure.
If a professor saw that, you'd be hauled off to grad school immediately.
Is that it? Now that I think about it, the professors' gazes have been getting weirder lately.
In Professor Jury's case, it was because she misunderstood me as a taboo mage.
Excluding her, the other professors have been talking to me a lot.
Especially in classes with frequent practicals like calculus.
Professor Plma seemed particularly nice to me too.
What? Maybe I'm more impressive than I thought.
But I can't get complacent just because I'm doing decent as a freshman.
Thinking about the barbecue joint fight, I need to get way stronger.
For banquet stuff, learn from MammaTong. She's from a prestigious family, so it'll help.
Yeah, you're a commoner anyway, what does it matter?
But you never know what might happen at the banquet, so prepare just in case^^ I've pinned a few 4th-circle or lower spells good for escaping :)
The gallery archmages didn't care much about banquet etiquette tips.
Makes sense; they don't have to worry about anyone's eyes on them.
For banquet manners, I'll just roughly learn from Hisenna.
And as the gallery said, prepare for any potential threats.
With steady training and magic practice, the banquet day arrived quickly.
"Got it, Ian? Step like this."
"Whew... This is hard. Why do we have to dance something so complicated?"
Before entering the banquet hall, Hisenna reviewed the dance steps with me once more.
At the banquet, cadets dance with each other or discuss magic to build camaraderie.
The dancing is an extension of noble culture. Since mages require high education, many enjoy noble pursuits.
"You don't have to dance with others if you're not confident. You'd just step on toes and cause trouble. If it's hard to refuse, stick by my side. Trust me, Ian! I'll take responsibility and... no, help you!"
"Thanks, Hisenna. I doubt anyone will ask me to dance anyway."
I learned it just in case, but I had no intention of actually dancing for real.
No one would ask a commoner like me anyway.
And my partner Hisenna promised to help.
"More importantly, Ian, you look great all dressed up. Hold on, your tie's crooked. Let me fix it."
"Ah, no, I can do it."
"It's fine. It's hard alone. Friends help each other, right? I can do this much for you anytime."
She takes good care of Elrim too. Hisenna really looks after people.
With that big heart. MammaTong fits her perfectly.
Hisenna stepped closer to fix my tie.
Her forehead was near my chin. She bowed her head, fiddling with my tie.
Up close, a pleasant scent wafted over.
Beyond just nice—it made my head itch with a strange, alluring feeling.
Not perfume, but today her unique body scent felt especially good.
"Thanks, Hisenna."
"Of course! Wait, there's a loose thread here. Oops, something on your shoes. Hold on, let me wipe that. A bit of hair..."
But Hisenna didn't stop there.
Like a mom, she checked me from head to toe.
Hmm. MammaTong is spot on. Hisenna really takes care of people.
"Phew... All done. Perfect, Ian. No one will look down on you now. And in the hall, just stick close and follow me!"
"Y-yeah. Thanks."
I even got help from Hisenna's family servants for grooming today.
Thus, perfectly managed down to the last thread, I headed to the banquet hall.
Whew, kinda nervous. To relax, I opened the gallery screen.
Title: Doesn't MamacTong's work make me look MTCH?
Author: Kim Muggle
(Full-body photo from the neck down, fully dressed up)
MammaTong even mobilized her family servants to dress me up.
She fixed my tie and clothes herself.
Heading to the banquet now, kinda nervous.
So jealous.
Shit, I wanna heart-pound with MammaTong too!!!
MammaTong really gives generously. Did you at least say thanks?
Oh yeah. Come to think of it, I haven't thanked Hisenna properly yet.
She's already doing so much by coming to the banquet with me, plus teaching and caring.
"Hey, Hisenna. Thanks for being my partner and taking care of me. I just realized I never said thanks."
"Huh? No, it's all stuff I wanted to do. As long as you enjoy the banquet, I'm happy."
Sniff. As expected of Lady Hisenna.
From today, her enemies are my enemies.
Perfect. When the banquet heats up, slip out the back with MammaTong. With booze and night, history can be made. Especially on nights like this, hearts are light and more amenable. Chance to bang in a dress doesn't come often.
Garters?
It's goooone!!!
No, you crazy bastards;
And sure enough, the crazies popped out.
Don't look at Lady Hisenna like that!
That said, Hisenna looked even more beautiful today than usual.
Her subtle dress enhanced her elegant vibe without being flashy.
The moderately glamorous makeup gave a different feel from her everyday look.
Did you compliment MammaTong? It's manners to praise a girl who dressed up pretty.
This guy's clueless lol.
Oh, right.
Reading Environmentalist's comment, I glanced at Hisenna.
Sure enough, she was peeking at me with expectant eyes.
Of course complimenting her dress is basic.
A basement loser like me wouldn't know. No social awareness.
"Hisenna, you look prettier than ever today. The dress suits you great."
"R-really? Hehe. Thanks."
Hisenna accepted the compliment naturally.
About then, we arrived at the banquet hall.
"If we dance up there, we'd get the most attention, right?"
"That's not a stage, it's the VIP seats. But dancing blatantly in front of the VIPs would be fun."
The first thing we saw upon arriving were Elrim and Chayuri Floridel.
They were staring at the VIP seats for the chancellor and visiting nobles, having a deranged conversation.
Then, as if agreeing on something, Hisenna grabbed the two heading for the VIP seats.
"Ah! It's Hisenna!"
"You're late."
"Wait. What are you two doing? That's not a stage, it's VIP seats. Dance there and you'll get in trouble."
"That's why! Doing what no one else does gets the most attention?"
Indeed an attention whore—Elrim wore a dress so flashy it bordered on bizarre.
Her looks kept it in 'beautiful' territory, but it was the most eye-catching.
And dancing on the VIP seats? This crazy attention whore.
Realizing Elrim wouldn't listen, Hisenna turned to Chayuri.
"Chayuri. That's VIP seats. You know that, right?"
"Yes. But dancing blatantly there would feel liberating, wouldn't it?"
"..."
This guy's crazy too.
As they bickered, someone approached us.
Even from afar, strikingly white and distinctive aura.
Student council president Harisha approached us.
"You just arrived?"
"Y-yeah. Not used to this."
The three instantly shut up as Harisha came and spoke.
"I see. Then you're not used to dancing either. Want me to teach you one song? Once the banquet starts properly, I won't have time."
"Uh, but I have a partner."
"You don't have to dance only with your partner. Junior, mind if I borrow Ian for a bit?"
"I..."
Hisenna visibly panicked at Harisha's request.
I'd heard from her earlier: the first dance is basic etiquette with your partner.
Dancing with others comes later. Harisha's request was quite rude.
But since it's the president, Hisenna couldn't do much.
In this case, I should refuse.
But unexpectedly, someone else spoke first.
"Sorry, President. Ian hasn't danced with his partner yet."
"...Chayuri Floridel, the top freshman at enrollment? Understand, won't you? I won't have time to dance later due to hosting duties."
"Hisenna looks troubled. And after Hisenna, I'm next to dance with Ian. Even as president, please wait your turn."
?? What the hell is this guy saying.
No way am I dancing with you! Don't sneak in scary lines like that!
"Dancing guy-on-guy isn't weird, but I don't want to yield?"
Apparently guys dance together sometimes. Not that I want to with Chayuri.
Anyway, the mood turned tense due to Chayuri's declaration.
Hisenna showed no intention of yielding.
Chayuri openly told the president to wait her turn.
Meanwhile, Elrim, eager for student council, just eyed Harisha.
"H-hey. You really gonna dance second with Chayuri?"
"Asked if I will. I don't dance well anyway. Gotta do one with Hisenna, but no plans after."
"Why not, idiot! After Hisenna, dance with me! Dancing with me gets way more attention than with Chayuri?"
"Yeah, seems like it. The bad kind."
Elrim slipped behind me to avoid the stare-down between the president and Chayuri.
"Q-quick, say you'll dance with me next!"
"No. And why whisper behind me? Go tell Chayuri and the president yourself. Not that I want to."
"Declaring you'll cut in line on the president means no student council! You say it!"
"No..."
Elrim penguin-shoved my back with her palms.
"Ian. Will you dance with the president?"
"Ian junior. You will, right?"
"I-Ian..."
"Say it quick, you scrub...!"
Pressure from all sides. Quite the pickle.
Honestly want to say no dancing, but I couldn't handle the backlash from all four.
For some reason, messing up here felt like I'd get beaten to death by everyone. Tense atmosphere.
The four stares were scary.
Why this trial for me.
Only way: ask the gallery. They'll have an answer.
I quickly posted, and comments flooded in.
Perfect. Take turns XXing them.
5P goooone!!
This guy's getting stripped tonight.
Damn wanna sex.
This is hot af.
If sex, spill the 5P story.
Just creampie MammaTong gg.
Bang white-haired prez and XXX with XXX.
Fuck. Not helpful at all.
At that moment, someone approached us.