The Night Spirit's Dress
As he carved his path through this world, Jain relied heavily on his knowledge from the game. He had skipped the event for obtaining the Night Spirit's Dress, and finding a solution to that problem had taken him quite a while.
Just buy the Night Spirit's Dress and give it to her as a gift. The answer was so simple it felt almost ridiculous. That was why he had come to this shop—the only place in the imperial capital likely to carry the Night Spirit's Dress—only to run straight into Elaine.
"I'll buy you an outfit for tomorrow. Anything you want?"
"Pardon? Oh, um… not really?"
"All right. Then I'll choose for you?"
"W-wait a moment!"
Elaine, worried he might torment her the same way Safinya had, hurriedly picked out a dress. It was the cheapest and plainest one in the store.
"That one! That one's plenty!"
"Why is it so tight? Owner, what's the most expensive piece you have?"
The owner hesitated before bringing out the Night Spirit's Dress again and repeating the explanation he had given earlier. Safinya, who had been dazed by the unfolding situation, finally snapped back to her senses and prepared to sneer.
Hah, there's no way a country bumpkin like her could buy something even I, the Grand Duchess, couldn't afford…
Then her face froze solid. Jain had silently pulled out a pouch of gold coins and dropped it onto the table with a heavy clink. It was clearly more than enough to buy the Night Spirit's Dress and still have plenty left over.
"Prepare the fitting room immediately. And while you're at it, ready a suit that looks like it would fit me."
He tossed a single gold coin to the clerk as a tip.
"Understood, young master! You have a most distinguished air!"
The clerk bowed at a perfect ninety degrees. Safinya was so stunned by the sudden appearance of this man that she couldn't collect her thoughts. She barely pulled herself together and searched for new ammunition to mock him with.
Hmph. Judging by his clothes and manners, he's clearly a peasant. Probably the same level as that beggar saint. That money must have been scraped together without any real foundation. At best, he's just a lowborn nouveau riche…
"Wait!"
The store manager suddenly shouted and grabbed the clerk by the neck. The clerk's eyes widened in shock as he had been happily dashing toward the fitting room. The manager kept glancing back and forth between Jain's face and a portrait he had been handed. His complexion had turned deathly pale.
"You fool! Return the money at once!"
"What?"
"There's no mistake! This is the very person His Excellency the Chancellor ordered to receive the Golden Eagle's courtesy!"
The Golden Eagle's courtesy. A ritual in which no payment was accepted from members of the imperial family. The clerk's face turned ashen as well.
"I have committed a grave offense! We will return the payment immediately! It is the greatest honor that you would visit our humble shop!"
"Huh? The Chancellor arranged that? Then I'll accept it gratefully."
Jain took back the pouch. He left the tip untouched. The clerk bowed once more in profound gratitude.
On the other side of the room, Safinya looked as if she had been struck by a club. Golden Eagle? Then… r-royalty? So this man is a hidden imperial who joined the hero's party, defeated the Four Heavenly Kings, and came back?
Skill, wealth, status. There was nothing left to criticize. And that flawless man was now gently taking Elaine's arm and leading her toward the fitting rooms.
"We should check if it fits properly, so let's try them on together first."
Flustered by Jain's sudden kindness, Elaine whispered in a voice too soft for Safinya to hear.
"Did you eat something strange? Why are you suddenly being so sweet?"
Jain answered with the same guilty expression he had worn earlier.
"I'm sorry. I said I would take responsibility, but I couldn't follow through."
"R-responsibility?"
Elaine's face flushed bright red as she spoke loudly. Of course, what Jain meant was his responsibility for deciding the party's grand strategy through a speedrun. Yet his voice sounded utterly sincere.
"Consider this an apology. I really want to buy it for you. Don't refuse."
"Wh-what! It is only because I possess a devil's face yet an angel's heart! If you insist that much, I suppose I could accept it."
The simple-minded Elaine flashed her fangs in a bright smile. From a distance, the pair looked exactly like a lovey-dovey couple.
Safinya chewed her lip after overhearing them. That stupid cow saint hooked a premium specimen like him?
Once again, a base rage surged all the way to the top of her head. While she ignored the clerk and gnawed on her nails, Jain finished changing and stepped out of the fitting room. He plopped down arrogantly on the sofa opposite her.
He looked ordinary when his bangs were messy earlier, but now that they're styled, his face is actually quite handsome.
Safinya kept stealing glances at Jain's gelled-back hair and refined suit, mentally calculating his value. Jain waited for Elaine with a bored expression.
If his type is a cow saint like that, he must simply prefer large breasts. In that case, there's no reason I wouldn't work. In fact, I'd be a far better match.
Deciding it was worth approaching him, Safinya plastered on a mask-like smile, stood up, and sat beside Jain. She spoke with perfect courtesy.
"I fear I have been late in introducing myself to such an esteemed person. I am the unworthy daughter of the Northumberland ducal house—Safinya Northumberland. Your illustrious name is already shaking the entire capital. I am but a maiden who has been anxiously awaiting word of your deeds."
Then she pressed her chest against his arm and continued.
"I heard you defeated the Archdemon of Despair this time. Could I possibly hear the full tale of your exploits at my villa? My father has been watching with great interest as well."
She had even invoked her father, the Northern Grand Duke. She believed no one could refuse such an offer. Yet when Safinya confidently looked up at Jain, she flinched. The eyes gazing down at her were colder than an iceberg.
Those rigid lips moved and delivered a single sentence.
"Maiden? What a load of crap."
Safinya Northumberland was a spoiled brat. True to form, she had committed every lewd act imaginable during her school days. She even had a tattoo on her lower belly. Jain, of course, knew all of it. That was why the creature clinging to his side filled him with unbearable disgust.
He could not stay silent.
Hearing such unexpected vulgarity, Safinya froze with a smile still plastered on her face, unable to process reality.
"Pardon?"
At that exact moment, Elaine emerged from the fitting room wearing the Night Spirit's Dress, looking shy. She lifted the hem carefully as she walked, then shrank at the familiar harsh tone.
"Get lost, you filthy cum-rag milk-tit bitch."
S-see? I knew he was only being nice for a second. What did I do wrong this time…
Then her eyes widened. The insult was not aimed at her, but at Safinya.
Safinya, hearing such degrading words for the first time in her life, turned white as wax and stood frozen. No matter how hard her brain worked, it produced no answer on how to respond.
Jain ruthlessly shook off her arm and stood.
"Don't come near me. Your disgusting non-virgin filth might rub off."
Safinya collapsed to her knees. Jain left her there, strode straight to Elaine, and took her arm.
"Let's go."
"Y-yes? But the Duchess…"
Elaine, who possessed a commoner's sensibility, feared the consequences. But when she saw Jain's confident face as he pulled her along, her worries melted away like snow.
In the now-empty Lavian Rose, only the collapsed Safinya remained. Soon her attending servants rushed in from outside.
"My lady, are you all right?"
Yet Safinya gave no response. She was lost in thought.
To suddenly insult me—a Grand Duke's daughter—with such contempt?
Even a prince would not dare act that way. There had to be a reason. It was clearly because he had noticed that plan.
Safinya beckoned a servant closer and whispered.
"Tell Father to halt the assassination plan. The royal party member has already caught on…"
"Is that true?"
"Hurry! If they catch our tail it'll be too late!"
The servant mounted his horse in a panic and galloped toward the mansion.
*
Meanwhile, Jain walked through the capital streets with Elaine. He had bought the dress instead of earning it through the proper quest, an act of game system abuse that had unknowingly twisted causality on a massive scale, yet he remained completely unaware of it.
Elaine, led by the hand, muttered softly.
"Why are you suddenly acting like this? It's… unfamiliar."
Elaine was not particularly wise, but she understood one thing to her bones: there was no such thing as a free favor. Therefore the kindness frightened her more than it pleased her.
Jain strode forward, his profile gleaming under the yellow glow of the streetlamps.
"You were planning to skip tomorrow's ball by pretending to be sick, weren't you?"
The completely unexpected question left Elaine momentarily stunned. She lowered her head and admitted it.
"Yes…"
"Because you didn't have anything to wear?"
"Y-yes…"
"Don't do that."
Elaine lifted her head. All she could see was Jain's back as he continued walking while holding her arm.
"Now that you have a beautiful dress, make sure you attend."
"Y-you noticed… No one else realized…"
"Of course. We're comrades."
For a completely different reason than before, tears threatened to spill. She had always assumed he hated her because of his constant harsh insults, yet it seemed he had thought of her as a comrade after all.
Is he one of those obsessive sub-male-lead types who thinks "I can bully you, but no one else can"?
Once she thought of it that way, Jain began to look different in her eyes. Walking with her head down, Elaine soon let her imagination run wild.
Could it be that insisting I come to the ball is for the same reason? Maybe he wants to dance with me there?
She even convinced herself it was possible.
The chances are high. After all, I have large breasts and I'm cute!
Her expression suddenly brightened and she smiled shyly, nodding.
"I'll definitely go."
"That's a relief."
When Elaine answered, Jain stopped in his tracks and rubbed his chest. A rare smile had formed on his lips.
Seeing that expression, Elaine became certain.
Look at that relieved face. He definitely wanted to dance with me!
Good. That fulfills all the event conditions. Now I just have to stop Altrich's assassination.
And so the preparations for the ball were complete.
*
The next day, at the ballroom entrance.
"My word, are you truly that same shabby battle saint from before? Those clothes are like wings upon you."
"Thank you kindly for the compliment!"
It was time for Elaine to make her entrance. Since Altrich had officially dispatched her, the two were preparing to enter together. Wearing the Night Spirit's Dress, Elaine radiated both purity and bewitching allure. Even among the empire's most distinguished figures gathered at this ball, no woman would be wearing a finer dress.
Elaine's cheeks were faintly flushed. Beyond the entrance doors, she could see Jain seated in the distance. He sat with legs crossed, looking bored as he sipped his drink. Then he suddenly began staring intently in her direction.
Huhu, you don't have to gaze at me so eagerly. This cute and beautiful me will be sure to ask you for a dance!
Elaine wore a smug expression. Soon the sound of trumpets rang out, followed by the booming voice of the announcer.
"Now presenting Saintess Elaine Enfield and Chancellor Altrich Sebald!"
The curtains swept open and Elaine walked confidently into the ballroom.