Reverse Giant Swing
Cron, with his eyelids scarred top and bottom, pulled them wide. Fabian, his lush golden hair whipping as he turned his head.
"………?"
"………?"
It was the moment they both wore stunned expressions.
As if on cue, the ones who snorted were none other than the vice-captains.
A snicker.
The Golden Knights' vice-captain, who hadn't witnessed the robed giant's movements last time. And the Black Horse Knights' vice-captain, who had only seen him beat Cron in an eating contest and thus skipped the training grounds.
The two shoved each other's shoulders and stepped forward, addressing the giant blocking Nadia with utterly opposing attitudes.
"Pardon the interruption, but what did you just say?"
The Golden Knights' vice-captain spoke with surface-level courtesy, but his voice carried the dignity to pressure his opponent.
"I must have misheard you."
The Black Horse Knights' vice-captain made no effort to hide his displeasure.
The two vice-captains opened their mouths to the giant in their contrasting styles, stepping in for their captains.
"It sounded like you just lumped our captain together with some mercenary leader."
"We saw plenty of your eating yesterday. But you don't think you're on the same level just because our captain humored you, do you? Why would a mere escort spout such nonsense?"
"Escort? Why would an escort dance with the lady?"
"Hold on, just a moment. Is it that our captain dancing with this lady here bothers you?"
"I wouldn't know the reason."
"Or is it—"
That was the moment.
A thick shadow fell over the faces of the two vice-captains, who were shoving each other to show their loyalty to their captains.
Thud—.
Just one step. The giant took a single step toward them, unleashing an immense pressure that crushed them.
From his mouth came a simple question.
"……Got a problem?"
The overwhelming pressure washed over the vice-captains like a tidal wave! In that instant, horrific visions bloomed in their minds.
Unconsciously, they scowled and reached for the weapons at their waists without realizing it.
But it stopped there.
Cron and Fabian stepped in, blocking the vice-captains with one arm each.
"I recall you came as an escort……."
"Hey, Hans."
"But suddenly deciding to dance with the lady—pardon my rudeness, but I find it a bit hard to understand. If I've been impolite, I apologize."
"Isn't that joke a bit much?"
As expected, the atmosphere was worlds apart from the vice-captains.
They were among the strongest on the Eastern Continent. One a full-fledged Swordmaster, the other a monstrous mercenary leader who looked down on even Swordmasters.
Their slightly hardened expressions were like a declaration: from now on, no holding back.
"A joke……."
The robed giant called Hans showed no intimidation whatsoever.
Smooth—.
What? On the contrary, he slowly alternated glances between the Golden Knights' captain and the Black Horse Knights' captain, drawing out a bizarre tension that made sweat bead on the foreheads of everyone watching the exchange.
In this precarious moment, right before the murderous tension blooming in the corner of the vast ballroom could spread to the surrounding tables—
A woman's voice cut in between the three, releasing the bowstring-taut tension like a snap.
"No more arguing!"
Nadia waved her hands wildly.
In her flustered, wide-eyed panic, no one thought something stupid like, 'Fuck, does that mean fight with fists instead of words?'
And then—
Everyone's attention snapped to Nadia's follow-up action.
"You all wanna dance with me that bad?!"
The shoulder dance she'd shown Hans before. Her sudden bubbly moves and cheerful grin brought amused laughter to the lips of the tense onlookers.
Pfft—Haha!
Weapons down, just like that.
Cron, Fabian, Hans, and even the vice-captains all wore expressions that were a mix of bewilderment and sheepishness.
As Nadia kept shimmying her shoulders, her words continued.
"Here's the deal! First Hans here, then Cron—er, Cr…on! And our Fabian captain! In that order, let's dance!"
She pointed out each powerhouse present, arbitrarily setting the lineup.
That brazen attitude.
Someone might have objected to the order, but—
"But that order—"
"No more questions! What was that?"
They scowled like they might fight again, but with Nadia's eyes sparkling in excitement at the same time, the watchers just chuckled and nodded.
"……No questions."
.
.
.
Amid the golden lighting.
Tantan—♪—!
The orchestra's music echoed through the vast ballroom.
Tatantan—♪—!
I was dancing with Nadia.
'What a weird girl.'
Recalling her negotiation skills from moments ago.
'That easy?'
Thinking back, it was the same in the original novel.
True to the title 'The Lady Monopolizes All Attention', Nadia magnetically drew everyone's focus no matter what.
When I first read the novel, I thought it was exaggerated, but now that I'm beside her, I get it.
It wasn't just about being pretty or whatever.
Kyarak—!
This hearty yet cute laugh. And her 100% positive, upbeat vibe that blew away everyone's worries.
You can't teach that kind of unfiltered charm.
Even now.
Throughout the dance, Nadia giggled so infectiously that anyone watching felt their mood lift.
"Heeheeheeaaaaah!"
……Ah, right. One thing to note.
To be precise, we weren't really dancing.
Whoosh—!
"Hans, is this ballroom dancing? This is too fun!"
"Honestly, calling this a dance is a stretch."
"Huh?"
"Reverse giant swing."
"Pardon? What?"
"Never mind… as long as you like it…"
"Eeeeeek!"
Right now, I was gripping Nadia's shoulders with both hands and swinging her wildly through the air.
Like a bonfire spinner, whirl her around in the air, lightly brush the floor on landing! Launch her body again for another thrilled spin, land! This time, a whirlwind from floor to ceiling, spin and land!
With every rotation, Nadia laughed as boisterously as her flapping clothes at the far end.
Her flowing hair flying as she grinned at me—I gave a wry internal smile watching her.
"This is ballroom dancing—!!!"
As if…… I wouldn't know……
"So fun, Haaaans—!!!"
Of course it was…… you're riding a solo rollercoaster right now……
'Feels like some kind of living amusement ride.'
Not that it was bad.
Since I completely controlled the so-called dance, swinging her every which way let me scan the gazes fixed on us from all directions.
With my sharpened senses honing in on the info pouring from the floor's edges, I clocked my first win.
'They're staring holes through me.'
Cron and Fabian, arms crossed, glaring this way. Pretending nonchalance, but complicated emotions simmered on their faces.
Success in redirecting the attention of those two who'd been growling at each other.
They were good.
'And—.'
Still spinning, I flicked my gaze elsewhere.
Me insisting on dancing with Nadia first wasn't just to steal those guys' focus.
For my plan to succeed, there was someone else I wanted pulling eyes toward me.
Whoosh—!
"Kyaaaa!"
An over-the-top dance in the palace ballroom, drawing all eyes. Among those watching intently was someone I needed close for Ascension intel.
Princess Bella. Her gaze was fixed here.
***
Princess Bella.
After the opening dance, she sat at the golden table, sipping champagne with her white-gloved hand, murmuring softly.
"……Who was that?"
Pointing at those in the central floor pulling off dance-like acrobatics.
Her butler bowed and answered.
"My apologies. I'll remind them of decorum."
"Just a simple question."
"She's the heir of the Luminis family."
"Luminis……."
"Yes. The ducal house that fell in the last continental war."
"The family cursed by the Spirit King."
"Correct."
The butler's monocle gleamed.
As sharp as that glass lens, he immediately grasped it.
"But—."
The princess's interest lay elsewhere.
"Who's that man?"
And in this vast ballroom, more than a few chased the princess's curious gaze.
'Huh?'
'Never seen 'em at the ball before?'
'What the…… fuck is that guy?'