Chapter 94: The New Year's Party That Happens Around This Time
"No thanks."
"...Huh?"
Adlen's face went blank in shock at my response.
Then, bit by bit, it twisted in anger.
She hadn't even dreamed I'd reject her so bluntly. Sure, we weren't exactly close, but she was still a woman. No matter how reversed this world was, when a woman asked a man to dance first, turning her down cold like this was unheard of.
"You're such a jerk!"
Adlen's voice trembled with fury.
"You got a guarantee you won't step on my feet?"
"W-what?"
"That's why you wanna dance, right? To stomp on 'em."
I grinned and dropped my gaze downward. Adlen followed suit, looking down—and there were her shoes, sporting incredibly sharp heels. I remembered what she'd been wearing earlier; they were sensible flats, not these stilettos.
"......"
"Huh, your height bumped up a bit, and I wondered why. New shoes?"
"Kuh..."
"Come on. You don't think I'm that stupid."
"......"
Adlen clamped her mouth shut again, never imagining I'd catch on. I let out a snort at the sulky glare from this pint-sized SS-grade hero. I almost pitied all the people who had to put up with her idiocy day in and day out.
"Promise not to step on me, and I'll dance."
Her eyes lit up at my words.
"Promise? Yeah, I promise—"
"Swear on So-young Mom?"
"......Huh?"
"Step on me, and you don't see So-young Mom for a year."
"......"
Adlen wasn't an idiot.
She'd planned to pretend it was an accident and step on my feet during the dance, but if she couldn't, there was no point. Backing down now, though, would be admitting her scheme outright—and with all these eyes on us, that stung.
Even a spoiled brat like her—especially her—cared about her reputation. Get underestimated as a brat, and you weren't feared anymore; you were just a joke. Adlen couldn't stomach that.
"F-fine. Let's dance. Whatever. You probably suck at it anyway, you trash."
She finally caved.
I extended my hand to the scowling shrimp.
"Shall we?"
"Hmph!"
My third dance partner of the night.
But I was pettier than Adlen gave me credit for.
I shot a quick glance at Hildear. No prior discussion, but she caught on to what I was scheming right away. Shaking her head like she couldn't stop me, she headed over to the orchestra still playing away.
And the music shifted.
"Huh...?"
Gone was the light, upbeat melody from before. In its place, something sticky, sultry—positively lewd.
The kind of tune you'd hear at a late-night young folks' ball. The nobles' reactions were surprisingly muted, though. It wasn't outright pornographic, and plenty of them had a taste for this sort of thing.
A few women were even dragging men by the hand toward the dance floor, eager for it. Male heroes too—their party members or any noblewoman who caught their eye—were leading ladies out to enjoy the brief interlude before the emperor arrived.
"Y-you... this...!"
Adlen, though, couldn't process the sudden change. She panicked.
"Oh, Adlen, too much of a kid for this kinda music?"
"You trash...! Who's a kid?!"
She pressed up against me like she was trying to one-up me.
Of course, just to match the clingy rhythm.
But her scrawny frame did nothing for my lower half. I pulled her even closer. Her tiny body shivered. My arm around her slender waist felt every bit of it.
She's ripe for the plucking.
Small stature and flat chest aside, Adlen was a full-grown woman—older than me, even. Her proportions were just a scaled-down adult female: short upper body, but legs long for her height, thighs toned and firm. Years as a hero had packed just the right amount of muscle everywhere.
I'd been on the fence until now, but wrapping my arm around her waist confirmed it. A light brush of my fingertips revealed a body firmer and softer than most warriors'.
In short, Adlen was squarely in my strike zone.
"......"
We stuck tight to the fast tempo, whirling through flashy, intricate steps.
Adlen tensed as I pressed close enough to feel every curve, but when I didn't say a word, her confidence surged. She figured I was the nervous one.
That smug Adlen smirk returned, laced with mockery.
"Hmph, trash♡ Can't even talk when you're up close to a girl, huh, trash♡ With that tiny gut, think you can satisfy a woman? You dick-rice♡"
"......?"
I'd been pondering how to bed her without hassle when her sudden taunt made me look down at her, baffled.
Sensing my fluster, Adlen doubled down. No way she'd waste this golden chance—she unloaded her favorite insults: trash, loser, dog-trash.
"Trash♡ Retard♡ Do~g-tra~sh♡ Dancing with a girl and you can't even speak, you pervy nerd♥"
The song was midway through, volume cranked up. No one else caught our exchange. That's what let Adlen vent so freely at me.
Kyahaha! Ah, that felt good. Gotta remind clueless dick-rice like him exactly how trash he is—
"...Hng?!"
Adlen giggled inwardly, all smug—until something pressed against her lower belly. Her mind went blank.
A-ah...?
Adlen was a virgin.
With her picky personality and sky-high standards, few men could satisfy her. Plus, an SS-grade hero losing her virginity meant a national-level power loss—not just personal.
She rarely even interacted with men, but she knew damn well what was poking her stomach.
W-what is this?! Why is it so huge?!
I smirked at Adlen, frozen stiff in shock.
What a riot.
I knew she hadn't shown up to the academy graduation. But even without that, my massive dick and skills were infamous. She'd researched me, so she knew—and this reaction? Hilarious.
"Aren't you the real trash, Adlen?"
"W-what?!"
"Yapping 'dick-rice' like some clueless virgin pussy who doesn't know dick."
"Eut...!"
"Or are you provoking me 'cause you wanna get fucked? Dog-perv who goes into heat just brushing a cock? Looks like you're heating up from my monster already."
"......?! Y-you... youuu...!"
Casual jabs at her sore spots. Insults cranked to eleven. A casual drop to banmal.
Each one a gut punch; with her weak silver tongue, Adlen was speechless.
I quickly checked the glances around us. Perfect timing—I spun us so our backs faced the nobles. The dynamic choreography made the moment brief, but enough for what I wanted.
Her lips flapped like a stranded goldfish. I dipped my head and claimed them in one swift motion.
"...Mmwah."
"...?!?!"
A peck too chaste to call a kiss.
I pulled back with a grin, whispering in her ear.
"Trash pussy SS-hero lips. Thanks for the meal."
"......"
The shock hit her hard—her face stayed blank.
The remaining two minutes of choreography? I led her limp body solo. We were so glued together, it wasn't tough, and no one noticed.
Song over, I released her. She stumbled dazedly to a corner seat.
"Whew."
"Uh, um. Good work, Siu."
"Work, my ass."
With Han So-young as my invincible shield, Adlen was just a pesky kid.
Handling her was a minor hassle, but stealing an SS-grade hero's lips? Worth it. Not a deep kiss—just a quick peck—so it didn't fully balance the effort, in my book.
Back from the floor, Helena finished her business and rejoined me.
"What was that about?"
"Nothing major. Just a little issue in one of my territories."
Her face, though, wasn't cheerful.
"Issue... ah."
Something clicked despite my fuzzy memory. One of Helena's territories was about to face an epidemic. Small scale, quelled by holy power in months, but it'd wipe out the year's harvest.
And the culprit only surfaces years later.
That's how I'd learned of it back at the academy when it blew up.
"Princess. Check the river and its upstream, not the wells."
Her eyes went wide.
"...Siu?"
"Can't lose on this advice."
"...Got it. Thank you."
The iron-blooded princess bowed slightly. Another debt from my future fiancée—I smiled. Whatever she thought, helping Helena made me happy.
As she relayed it to her subordinates, a maid's booming voice pierced the noisy hall. Masculine enough to pass for a man's—all eyes turned.
"The glorious 43rd Emperor of the Great Glazer Empire, leader of the 17-nation continental alliance against the Demon God, His Majesty Emperor Adolf Glazer enters—!!"
And she knelt.
I followed Glazer etiquette, dropping to my left knee and bowing my head.
Footsteps echoed: thud, thud.
Soon, a heavy thump as he sat, then the emperor spoke.
"Raise your heads, all of you."
At his command, the maid beside me bowed backward, and we lifted our gazes.
The emperor, huh...
I took in my first glimpse of Adolf Glazer.
In my first timeline, I'd never even caught a glimpse of his feet.
The ruler of the continent's mightiest empire cut an imposing figure from the start.
Muscles bulging on a thick frame you wouldn't believe belonged to this reversed world's man. A bushy beard rare among local males. He had the vibe of a great empire's sovereign—a hulking brute—but I knew the truth.
The Boldness Blessing in Glazer's bloodline, bulked up further with secret arts.
In one word: natural? Nah, full steroid mode.