Can Praise Make Even Yune Dance? (3)
Can Praise Make Even Yune Dance? (3)
The third day of dance practice. Today, I asked Mar to be my dance partner.
She gladly agreed, even taking leave from the knight order, but...
"Just what I'd expect from the young master! A genius of dance! Such fluid movements after only three days! I, Max, am deeply moved!"
"Heheh. It's nothing that special."
"...That special? It's just normal, isn't it?"
"...Huh?"
We were running through yesterday's steps, polishing the details of movement and tempo, when Mar threw out that question.
"I mean, it's not a difficult dance. Everyone does at least this much. I learned it all on the first day."
"Lady Margarete? That's because you..."
"Albert managed it too. And considering you're a boy, Yune, isn't this a little on the slow side?"
She asked with a genuinely puzzled look. Sir Max went deathly pale and covered his mouth with his hand.
Seeing their reactions, a suspicion flashed through my mind.
"Don't tell me... you've just been forcing yourself to praise me all this time? Sir Max?"
"No! Not at all! It's just... I do have a slight tendency to exaggerate my praise..."
So you really were just gassing me up.
The panic in his face at my pressing said it all. I glanced down at my outfit — the pathetic sight of myself in tight white tights.
At that, my head finally cooled a little.
Then again, what talent for dance could I possibly have, when all I'd ever studied was magic?
"Haha... I see. Right. I'll just step out for a moment. To pick some flowers."
"Huh? Ah, yes."
I phrased a bathroom break in the flowery way a noble young lord might, then headed outside.
Only... it wasn't the bathroom I went to, but my own room.
There, I changed back into my properly manly clothes, and —
-Fwip.
— I flung the tights I'd been wearing right out the window.
Then, after sneaking some cookies from the kitchen...
'As punishment for lying to me, I'm going on strike from today's lesson!'
I slipped away into the gardens.
I said I was going to pick flowers, so it's not a lie.
* * * * * *
I was hiding in a thicket in a corner of the garden, lying back and gazing at the sky.
Around me, I could hear the frantic voices of the servants searching for me.
—Young master~! Where are you~!
—Oh my. Head Butler, is Young Master Yune hiding again?
—It would seem so. Goodness. To think the young master dislikes dancing this much.
'I feel so bad for them. I'll have to massage their shoulders later or something.'
But even feeling sorry for them, I absolutely refused to come out.
The reason: to mess with Sir Max. ...I'd swallowed my embarrassment and worn those tights, dancing my heart out because he praised me, and it was all a lie. I'm not here to be made a fool of.
I had no intention of skipping dance practice entirely, but with my motivation utterly crushed, I decided to play the brat and run away from it for a little while.
Today, I'm a very naughty manly man. An extremely bad manly man who sneaks out of class, eats snacks, and takes a nap.
With that, I flopped onto my back and gazed up at the drifting sky. The clouds floated freely like tufts of wool.
Staring at them, thoughts about the future abruptly began to surface.
'I want to become an adventurer and roam around as freely as that.'
I hold the memories of both Ryu Si-u and Yune, but in neither of them have I ever tasted real freedom. Ryu Si-u couldn't escape the orphanage, and Yune was so sick he spent nearly every day bedridden.
Now, of course, I've become Yune and Ryu Si-u combined, and I'm working hard in my own way to grasp the freedom both of them wanted. But the immediate suffocation couldn't be helped. My heart has already raced ahead to wander the world, while my body is stuck practicing dancing in tights. Seriously.
"Haaah~."
'What pointless stuff am I brooding over now? I told myself I wouldn't agonize over things only time can solve.'
Ultimately, my thoughts circled back to the same old conclusion: enroll at the Academy, scoop up every fortuitous encounter I can, become an archmage by graduation, and then run away from home. Until then, I'll endure and wait.
Having settled my thoughts, I yawned long and loud.
"Hwaaah~."
'Ugh, sleepy. Guess I'll eat a cookie and nap for a bit.'
The slightly boring magic lesson this morning. A stomach full of lunch. Warm sunlight. Fresh breeze. The occasional sound of servants searching for me in vain.
All of it conspired to make me drowsy, and I was just about to drift off to dreamland when —
"Young master? Good grief. What are you doing in a place like this again?"
"Hyaak!?"
Chloe suddenly stuck her face right above mine as I lay there, scaring me so badly I jolted. Sleep fled me in an instant.
Without ceremony, she scooped me right up... and after a brief tussle with her...
I was whisked away by the head butler, who had come running with the tights I'd thrown earlier clutched in her hands, and carried off like a package.
'Ugh. I was going to come back after a quick nap... This makes me look exactly like some spoiled brat who ran away and got caught.'
* * * * * *
Contrary to my expectations, Sir Max didn't get angry that I'd run off. Apparently it's not uncommon for young lords of a certain age to bolt from lessons now and then.
Still, feeling awkward, I endured the embarrassment and kept practicing.
"Young master. Let's change into your practice clothes..."
"Sir Max? Hsss."
"...There's no helping it. It's a little uncomfortable, but let's specially proceed in that outfit for today."
Of course, I didn't put the tights back on. Because that kind of outfit clearly doesn't suit a manly man like me, and saying it did was obviously a lie. Not a chance.
"Then, let's begin. One, two, three, four."
-Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
I moved in circles to the rhythm of his claps, and Mar effortlessly spun me around with practiced ease.
As we danced, we chatted about this and that.
"Little brother, I'm sorry. Maybe rolling around with smelly women every day has made me lose all sense of consideration."
"Nah. Honestly, it's better this way, not lying to me. Way better than believing it and acting all cocky only to embarrass myself later. I'm the one who's sorry. I called you over to help and then ran off. My head got a little hot and I didn't think about you."
"Our adorable little brother, knowing how to apologize — what a good boy~ there, there~ Besides, it was less than twenty minutes, so it's absolutely fine~."
"Ugh."
Even as I teased and got teased as usual, our dance never stopped.
The movements were far smoother than yesterday. Whether it was thanks to my sister's excellent lead or the short break I'd taken, today I managed to practice dancing for a full two hours, unlike yesterday.
"Sis~ carry me to the bathroom~."
"Sheesh. Fine. Sir Max, thank you for your hard work. Please continue to look after our Yune well."
"Okay. Fufu."
Of course, the moment the dance practice ended, my stamina completely drained and I went limp. Ugh, so tired.
* * * * * *
After washing up in the bathroom, I was piggybacked by Chloe back to my room. But I couldn't rest comfortably until my energy returned. Because the Merchant Company Head, Nibuer, had arrived.
"Greetings, Young Master Yu... ne...?"
"Nibuer. It's been a while."
"Young master. May I ask why you are being carried by a servant? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"Dance practice wore me out for a bit... Anyway. It really has been a long time since you came in person. What's the matter?"
I had come to meet Nibuer while being held by Chloe in a princess carry. When I explained that my legs were too wobbly to walk, Nibuer looked back and forth between Chloe and me with a peculiar expression, then smiled softly.
"Seeing you practice so diligently, it seems the day you bloom in imperial high society is not far off."
"Flattery. Anyway, what's the matter?"
"First, please take a look at this."
Nibuer opened a box that was clearly high-quality. Inside lay a luxurious outfit.
This was definitely the artifact I had commissioned — the splendid attire I'd bet on showing to Sir Max.
"Just two days? You got this really fast."
"Haha. It is a request from you, Young Master Yune. The merchant company would turn itself inside out to find it. Moreover, young master... no, Her Grace the Northern Grand Duchess has my constant gratitude."
"Right. I'm always grateful for her."
I praised her for obtaining it so quickly. But as if that wasn't all, Nibuer produced an additional, smaller box.
"And this is a personal gift from me for you, Young Master Yune."
"A gift? Right. You did say you'd give me something."
Only then did I recall Nibuer mentioning a gift.
I'd thought it was just empty words, but apparently not. Well, how many people would be bold enough to lie about giving a present to the youngest son of the Grand Ducal House?
And what lay inside was...
"My word, what is this?"
"Haha. You intend to become an archmage, do you not? I procured it with great difficulty."
A crimson inner core. Attached to the side of the box was something densely covered in explanation, like a certificate. Probably verification from a magic tower.
But even before reading the certificate, I recognized it. The inner core gave off a very faint fishy smell. And there aren't many inner cores that smell like fish.
The identity of this inner core was most likely... the Inner Core of the Solar Fire Carp.
An attribute damage amplification item, rare even in the game — consuming it permanently and greatly boosts fire-element magic damage, as it is brimming with solar energy.
Because it was one of the methods to cure the status ailment "Nine Yin Severed Meridians," Ryu Si-u had known of its existence, though not how to obtain it. How on earth did Nibuer get it? Isn't this incredibly expensive?
"Can you just give me something this precious...? Isn't this the kind of thing money can't buy?"
"Oh. Just what I'd expect from Young Master Yune. You've already discerned its true worth, I see. You have a superb eye."
"Well, of course. With fire-element mana practically brimming off it like this, how could I not?"
I accepted it with a dazed expression, and Nibuer's face lit up in a full smile.
"You can use fire magic as well, can you not, young master? If you consume this, you will be able to handle fire far more skillfully."
"But still, it's so precious..."
"I would be grateful if you could consider it a token of my loyalty toward you, Young Master Yune."
A wide smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I expressed my thanks.
"Yeah! Thank you!!"
Nibuer is seriously such a kind girl. I'll have to repay her later by telling her how to get even better artifacts.
* * * * * *
After seeing Nibuer off, only when I returned to my room and was alone did I appraise the item. Mother told me not to do this sort of thing in front of others, so I'd held it in.
"Appraisal."
At once, a status window unfurled before my eyes. It read:
[The inner core of the Solar Fire Carp (太陽火鯉), a carp that lived for ten thousand years basking in the fire energy near a red dragon's lair. Permanently increases fire-attribute damage by 25%.]
[※The fire energy, which should have stabilized over a long period, appears unstable for whatever reason.]
This was the description of an elixir I'd never encountered before — the "Solar Fire Carp's Inner Core."
But the moment I saw the word "unstable" in the appended note, I muttered under my breath without thinking.
"This thing isn't an elixir — it's a bomb."
In the game, "unstable" meant one thing: an explosive-type item. The kind of description that typically came with single-use items that would harm you if mishandled.
But I'd never seen an elixir with this effect attached. ...Will it detonate in my mouth if I eat it?
After mulling over what to do for a moment, I picked up the would-be elixir and headed straight for the Head of House's Office.
The Northern Grand Duchess's special trait: if you ask her, she'll solve anything.