Are you enjoying yourself?

"Let's practice dancing."

While I was checking the morning schedule, Elisia suddenly spoke up.

I looked back down at the schedule in my hands to check if there was such an itinerary.

Nowhere on it was the phrase dance practice.

Which meant she wanted me to do it using my own free time.

"I refuse."

"You haven't even asked what we're going to practice yet."

"Didn't you just say dance practice?"

"Did I?"

"Yes."

"Then you heard correctly. Teach me."

"I refuse."

Exhausting, right from the morning.

What do you mean, dance practice?

I don't know how to dance either; I was just quickly copying others and improvising on the fly back then.

Why ask me to teach her instead of having an instructor assigned?

Elisia swung her legs lightly while sitting perched atop my desk.

Looking at her with eyes that had grown accustomed to reading her psychology, she was clearly fully set on learning from me.

"I don't know how to dance."

Elisia stopped swinging her legs.

Her blue eyes filled with doubt.

Did she seriously think I knew how to dance?

How would I know when I'm just a possessor who lived in modern times?

"What was that last time, then?"

"I was merely imitating."

"Liar."

"Why would that be a lie?"

"You danced well."

"It wasn't to that extent."

Seriously.

Because the other pairs dancing around me were far more graceful.

What we had was just the combined result of our status, the situation, our antics, and our visual weight class.

"Let me ask first. Why are you trying to learn how to dance from me? If you wish, I can assign an instructor for you."

"I want to learn from you, I have no need for anything else. Besides, isn't it only natural that I hate the idea of you, who belongs to me, dancing with other things?"

She answered so naturally that I lost my words for a moment.

Elisia looked nonchalant, as if she didn't even realize what she had just said.

Of course she would.

Because Elisia was a woman who felt possessiveness rather than jealousy.

She was the type to get angry when something that rightfully belonged in ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her hands ended up in the hands of something else.

"Becoming good at dancing and me not dancing with someone else are two separate matters."

"They're not."

"Why?"

"If I dance better, there won't be any reason for you to dance with other things."

"Even if you dance well, Saint-nim, there is no reason I must dance exclusively with you."

Divine power blossomed from Elisia's fingertips.

I folded the schedule with dignity.

Well, mimicking some dance moves is easy enough.

"I will go learn a bit, so let us go practice in the afternoon."

No schedule is more important than one's life.

Ugh, that damn sparkling, seriously.

The practice venue was the Saint's Palace's small banquet hall.

Even if it was smaller than the grand banquet hall, it was spacious enough for dozens of people to dance.

After entering, Elisia locked the door herself.

"Why are you locking it?"

"So that no one can come in."

"Aren't you learning this to show it off in front of people?"

"Do I really need to show them?"

"You mean you don't want to be caught dancing poorly. I understand completely."

"Do you want to die?"

Instead of answering, I placed my hand on the Sacred Artifact.

A calm tune began to spread through the small banquet hall.

Because it was a slower song than the one heard at the banquet, it seemed suitable for a beginner to grasp the rhythm.

"First, let's start with the basic steps."

"I know that much."

"Those aren't words coming from someone who stepped on my feet three times in three steps at the banquet."

"You placed your feet in weird spots."

"Let's go with that. Ouch...."

My shin snapped again.

It feels like it's breaking pretty frequently these days.

Taking her anger out on my defenseless shin, as usual.

Trusting in my Regeneration, I calmly took Elisia's right hand.

I placed her slender fingers neatly over my hand, and wrapped my other hand around her waist.

The soft curves beneath her thin Saint's robes touched my palm.

Elisia followed suit and took her stance.

"This time, maintain a moderate distance."

"Like this?"

Elisia pressed her body right against mine.

The Saint's overwhelming voluptuousness pressed softly against my breasts.

I'm pretty sure I said moderately.

While catching the scent of cold roses, I subtly pulled back to widen the distance.

"You're too close."

"We were stuck even closer than this last time."

"The circumstances were special back then. Normally, people don't stick this close."

"This is more comfortable."

Elisia's arms naturally wrapped around my neck.

This is not a posture for dancing.

It's just a posture of leaving everything up to the other person.

If she's going to learn to dance, this can only be seen as a truly improper posture.

"Saint-nim."

"What?"

"Put your hand on my shoulder."

"Here is comfortable."

"Did you come to learn how to dance, or do you just want to be embraced like last time?"

"Moving around is bothersome."

This woman named Elisia is truly consistent.

Since she's so atrociously bad at physical coordination, it makes sense that she just wants to be led along.

But still, since I grabbed a noble lady passing by and learned just for this, she has to learn.

I took Elisia's arms hanging around my neck and set them down on my shoulders.

She made a dissatisfied expression, but didn't wrap them around my neck again.

"When I take a step forward, pull your right foot back, Saint-nim."

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know."

"One."

I took the first step forward.

Since I stepped forward as if pushing, Elisia's foot now had to pull back.

Naturally, Elisia's right foot moved as well.

Forward, not backward.

The tip of her shoe accurately stomped on the top of my foot.

With such a blessed body, to have that level of physical uncoordination.

Is her head playing separately from her body or something?

"Saint-nim."

"Why didn't you dodge?"

"How am I supposed to dodge when I'm moving forward?"

"You should have dodged properly."

As if having not a shred of shame, Elisia raised her head proudly.

I decided to save my words, caught my breath, and resumed the stance.

"Please do not step on my foot this time."

"Why?"

"It hurts. And look at me."

"I am looking."

Her blue eyes directly met mine.

It was an excessively earnest gaze.

Those eyes, which always looked down on people or glared as if to kill, were now holding only my face straight in their view.

There was no trace of annoyance.

Seeing this, it doesn't seem like she dislikes learning.

She really is acting like that just purely because she has no body ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coordination.

"Like this?"

"Yes."

"Continuously?"

"While we are dancing."

"I like that."

Well, I don't really want to keep staring at your face either, you know?

If I look at you like this normally, you'd try to poke my eyes out asking what I'm looking at.

"One."

As I stepped while counting, fortunately, Elisia's foot pulled back properly this time.

"Two."

As I moved to the side, she followed along, albeit a little late.

She can't follow sharply right from the start.

I, who at least went and learned, have to lead.

"Three."

The moment I tried to turn as I had learned, Elisia's steps got tangled.

The heel of her shoe stepped on the hem of the dress she had changed into just to get into the dancing mood.

My and Elisia's bodies staggered.

While there was no way Elisia would get hurt falling while dancing, I quickly regained my balance and reflexively wrapped my arms around her waist.

Elisia's body was drawn softly into my embrace.

Elisia also reflexively wrapped her arms around my neck to balance herself.

The distance between our faces was less than a couple of finger-widths.

The startled breath of fluster ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spilling from her red lips brushed against my cheek.

"Are you all right?"

"Of course."

"Then why aren't you getting up?"

"You're holding me."

"I will let you go."

"I don't want to."

Strength surged into Elisia's arms.

Wrapping around my neck, she pulled her upper body even closer.

It seemed she had no intention of getting up anytime soon.

"If you keep this up, we cannot practice."

"Do it like last time."

"Which part do you mean?"

"Putting my feet on top of yours."

"That isn't dancing."

"Then show me an example at least."

That's true.

Come to think of it, even if I went and learned how to dance properly, Elisia hadn't.

I lifted Elisia by her waist with both hands and gently set her down to the side.

Then, restarting the song from the beginning, I began to dance alone with the mindset of becoming Elisia and dancing with an imaginary version of myself.

While I danced, Elisia never took her eyes off me, to a somewhat overwhelming degree.

When the song ended and I stopped dancing, Elisia declared with confidence.

"I've got the hang of it."

"Then please show me."

We took our positions once again.

Only this time, I waited for Elisia to move first.

"Please begin."

"Don't order me around."

"Then I shall make a request. Please begin."

"Consider it an honor."

"Of course."

Elisia immediately pulled her right foot back.

Fortunately, whether showing the example from Elisia's position helped or not, it was in the proper direction this time.

I also stepped in time with Elisia.

From then on, it proceeded quite smoothly.

Her movements were still stiff and occasionally late, causing the tip of her shoe to graze mine, but it definitely felt like dancing together with a partner.

Compared to the beginning, it was tremendous progress.

"It's a bit better now."

"Of course it is."

"Thanks to whom?"

"Because I'm good."

"Yes. Let's just say that's the case."

"What."

I'm the fool for expecting a word of thanks.

Still, perhaps happy that she had actually managed to dance, a faint smile lingered around the corners of Elisia's mouth.

It seemed she also knew that she had improved a little.

Gradually, the latter half of the music began to play.

I took the lead back from Elisia and began to guide her.

By now, even if I led at the proper tempo, she should be able to follow.

Even though the tempo suddenly sped up, as a universally acknowledged genius, she naturally shifted her feet following my body's movements.