57. Dinner Party (4)
57. Dinner Party (4)
- 1 -
Knowledge about this world's dances already existed in my head. I had even practiced beforehand with the two of them.
But actually dancing felt different from practice, no matter what.
The stage and attire were different, the mindset I approached it with was different, and most of all, the way my partner treated me was different.
♩ - ♪♪ ♩
I hadn't heard some of these songs even on Earth, so I couldn't say what they resembled, but in any case, the music I could only identify as this world's 'waltz' resonated powerfully.
It was probably amplified by magic—a rich sound that enveloped the entire body without hurting the ears or head.
'They say it's like music seeping into your whole body. So this is what that feels like.'
It was as if I were lying down in a space made solely for music, but I wasn't there alone.
Because what made the music seep into me wasn't the music itself, but my partner, Shue.
- Fuu... Haa...
Even as the sound of the music struck my whole body, my breathing followed the rhythm of Shue's breath brushing past my ear rather than the beat of the music.
"One. Two."
For the first thirty seconds or so, I followed that voice she had whispered while smiling at me.
The sensory assault on my entire body didn't stop there.
When I spun around once and met her eyes again.
"...!"
Just like now.
Every time Shue looked my way, she flashed a radiant smile as if she couldn't help herself, and every time I faced that smile, my heart did something strange.
Du...-geun!
It pounded even harder, skipping the beat entirely.
Perhaps it was because she was so openly displaying her adoring heart, her face slightly flushed.
"Ah."
Tak!
That irregular pounding made me forget the rhythm of the dance.
Why aren't you doing your job, 'Nobility'?
Do you not have to come out if there's a partner capable of covering for it? Or is it better to accept 'love' as it is?
"Sorry."
"It's okay."
So sometimes I stepped on her foot, and whenever that happened, she would say that, looking even more delighted.
"Wait...?!"
"Hm? I said it's okay."
Then she would pull me completely into her embrace and shift to a static movement.
It was a method that made my heartbeat so loud I couldn't even care that it didn't match the music.
Du-geun. Du-geun.
At times like that, I would instead steady myself by listening to the sound of her heart beating louder than usual.
Feeling that I wasn't the only one who was nervous.
Seueuk.
Meanwhile, she would sometimes touch various parts of my body with subtle movements that didn't match the dance steps.
Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, my body would make slightly larger movements, and afterward, I would realize that my dance lines had become flashier or more beautiful than before.
So, in other words, Shue was making me stand out the most right now.
"You really dance well."
"Hearing that from Lady makes it all worthwhile..."
She truly danced well.
To a degree that couldn't even be compared to when we practiced.
So... it's embarrassing for me to say it myself, but I ultimately had almost no leading movements and was simply led along the entire time.
'Ah...'
I realized that dancing together makes you feel as if you've placed only each other in each other's worlds.
Matched breathing and gestures, intersecting smiles and glances.
'This is fun.'
Before I knew it, I too had let go of all tension and was simply smiling.
Feeling my heart fall deeper for her.
- 2 -
Sonia and Leonis.
Me and Shue.
And lastly, Maria and Alexis, who weren't exactly keen on it but had become partners to blend into the ball's atmosphere.
By the time those three couples had each had their own time and gathered again on the terrace, quite a while had passed.
"You're here?"
"You were here first."
"Dancing is tiring, you know..."
To be precise, only Shue and I, who had overflowing stamina, had arrived at that point; the other couples had danced once and then taken their seats there early.
"So..."
As I sat down and turned only my gaze to the others, the first thing that caught my eye was a strangely heavy atmosphere.
The source of that atmosphere was one couple.
"What happened? The mood is heavy. Sonia."
"Ah, um, that's... I-I'm sor..."
"I'm not asking you to take the blame."
"But..."
I saw Sonia, sitting at the table and not knowing what to do as she read the room, and Leonis, who was talking with others far away but wore a dark expression.
I had sent them off together hoping they would get closer, but for some reason, the two of them had now grown more distant from each other.
"... Hmm."
I had a few ideas about what might have happened, but asking them directly felt like it would be rude even for a master.
'I doubt Leonis did something.'
I looked at Sonia; she wasn't so much dejected... as she seemed extremely surprised.
It didn't look like a major incident, but you could say she appeared as if all the memories of her first party had been blown away.
I pondered for a moment, but the decision was quick.
- Eve, Shue.
I could easily guess, considering how they usually acted around me, that there had been something like a negotiation with Eve underlying Shue's asking me to dance.
So I should make a show of asking both of them for their opinions.
Even if they opposed what I was about to do, I wouldn't stop. But in return, just the fact that I asked for their opinions would give them relief.
- Dalkak.
- Hm...?
My heart felt somewhat heavy, thinking I would have to say something apologetic to Shue and Eve, but wasn't this the scene of my disciple and retainer's first memories?
I already had one sweet memory myself, so I wanted to give this young woman a memory that was just purely enjoyable.
- If I take this child to dance right now, would you two dislike it?
- Heh...?
- Tak!
As expected.
Shue's expression went blank for a moment, then became a mixture of annoyance and jealousy.
The waves of those emotions were accurately rising from the shadow as well, so it wasn't difficult to guess what their feelings were.
- ...
Though they didn't say it in words, it was a change in emotion that made me instantly realize just how much these children liked me, to an odd degree.
So I approached Shue, knelt down in front of her, and met the eyes of her slightly bowed head.
"Can't I?"
"Do as you please... asking us for our opinion is honestly ridiculous anyway... what Lady wants is best..."
- Tak.
Shue's face as she uttered those words of affirmation was still very sulky.
Lin Xue, having become a large, dejected wolf, and Eve, who gave off an atmosphere no different from hers.
Thinking about the enjoyable memory Shue had just given me, I couldn't exactly be shameless either.
So, agonizing over whether I could ease their minds even a little, I impulsively did something I would absolutely never have done normally.
Jjok.
I pressed a kiss to the tip of my finger, then brought it near the cheeks of Shue and of Eve, whom I had called out slightly from the shadow.
"Huh...?"
- Dalgeurak.
I heard a sound as if the two of them were breaking down, but I immediately turned and hurried over to Sonia without looking at the result.
It bothered me that Sonia and Maria were staring blankly at me with wide rabbit eyes, but I ignored that as much as possible too.
"Sonia. Won't you dance with me? I think I'm still a bit lacking, so I'd like you to join me."
When I reached out my hand and said that, Sonia, her rabbit eyes growing even wider, pointed at herself and answered in a fluster.
"Huh...? Me? I'm doing the male dance..."
"Naturally, you're the male part then?"
"Ah, no, that's not what I..."
"Don't worry. Shue just taught me well. I'm confident in either part now."
I stretched out that flustered hand of hers and held it with mine, then led the bewildered Sonia by the hand back to the dance floor.
My stamina was naturally at its peak.
Both from my attributes and the original physical performance of a dungeon lord, my stamina was vastly superior compared to other intelligent species.
My technique was also without issue.
Thanks to Shue, who had danced with me, I had roughly figured out how to lead a partner dancing the male part as a female.
The dance with Sonia would be like that kind of practice.
"Huh..."
- ...
Shue's face, which I glimpsed in passing, was still dazed, and Eve was also maintaining her silence.
They must have been quite shocked... As I thought that, heat seemed to rise to my own face as well.
'What the hell did I just do?'
I was definitely drunk on the affection they always sent me and couldn't come to my senses.
There was no way I would do such a thing in my right mind.
It wasn't even a direct kiss, but an act like the innocent expression of affection between children.
"Um, I really am not confident..."
"Unless you came all the way here to embarrass me, give me your hand."
"Ah, yes...!"
At Sonia's words, I hastily pulled my mind away from focusing on them, placed her hand on my waist, and interlocked fingers with her other hand.
I smiled first.
"Don't feel burdened."
"Master...?"
You could tell just by looking at her face that Sonia was extremely nervous.
Fortunately, just a few more words were enough to ease a lot of her tension, but moments ago, she had been wearing an expression like someone was strangling her.
It might be that I was a nerve-wracking partner for her, but she must have also been bothered by being in the male role, which was originally the leading role.
"We aren't here to debut in aristocratic society, are we? We came to have fun."
"... Yes! You're right...!"
What I heard was lively music that seemed to express a young girl's pounding heart.
The music itself was something I was hearing for the first time, but the underlying rhythm was one I had danced with Shue just moments before.
"Now. One, two."
"Ah, yes...!"
The time after that was, in its own way, enjoyable.
At least, it was to the degree that I felt I understood half of the emotions Shue must have been feeling as she led me.
"Ah, um, sorry...!"
"Don't mind it."
Because Sonia, stuck to me and not knowing what to do while occasionally making mistakes, was incredibly cute.
Of course, it was only possible because those mistakes held no real consequence. If it really hurt, it's hard to just let a mistake slide as a mistake, you know.
Although I couldn't completely embrace her and lift her while moving like Shue did.
"Like this. Slowly."
"Ah... yes!"
Instead, I could naturally turn evasive movements into dance, so it didn't matter.
I didn't have Shue's level of proficiency, but it was possible because my 'technique' was greater than hers and I had the calmness to maintain while finding Sonia cute.
As we danced, whittling away such mistakes one by one, I could see that Sonia too had started dancing something closer to a proper dance at some point.
Around then, her smile had completely returned as well, to the point where I could feel she was enjoying herself.
'Hm. I hope the strange mood between Leonis and Sonia wasn't because the dancing didn't go well.'
It probably wasn't. It must be because she's doing the male part right now.
If anything, it would be fortunate if that were the case.
From the standpoint of someone gradually nurturing affection, that kind of thing becomes a memory later on too.
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes! Ah... well, that's..."
"Then that's all that matters."
Sonia's bashful smiling face after the dance ended seemed to have shed some of that atmosphere she always carried, of staying one step back.
If we gradually drew one step closer like this, wouldn't we end up with a much better atmosphere later on?
I looked forward to that time.
- 3 -
"I got rejected."
"Oh dear."
But that good atmosphere, it seemed, was probably only on my side.