Ruby's Blush and the Requiem's Chaos
Ruby came to find me on the morning of the second day. She had come straight to me and asked me to be her partner.
"You want me to pretend to be your lover?"
"Yeah. Can you do it?"
"I need to hear the story first."
After hearing my words, Ruby seemed to realize she had been too hasty and hadn't explained properly. She cleared her throat a few times with an "ahem" and began explaining why she had made such a request.
"There's a party tonight where all the club presidents gather."
"A party?"
"Yeah, it's a gathering for club presidents within the Academy to build friendships. I need a partner to go with me."
She went on to say that she didn't want to be looked down on by other club presidents and that networking with various club leaders would be beneficial for me as well. I listened quietly to her words, then tilted my head as something felt off.
"Isn't that a partner, not a lover?"
"Yeah, that's right. A partner."
"You just said lover earlier."
"……Did I?"
"Yes."
"Ah, a-aah……"
Ruby covered her face as if she had said something she shouldn't have and spun around. Even from behind, I could see her ears turning bright red. Chuckling at the sight, I spoke to her, who was still blushing and embarrassed.
"Alright. I'll be your partner."
"……Really?"
"Yes. Is there a dress code or anything?"
"Just a decent suit. If you don't have one, the uniform is fine too."
After promising to meet at the party venue that night, she dashed off. From afar, I could hear her muttering something, so she must have been quite embarrassed. Well, it would have been embarrassing for me too if I had made a slip like asking someone of the opposite sex to be my lover.
Impressive.
Marveling that Ruby hadn't bitten her tongue and committed suicide on the spot, I enjoyed the second day's performances with Yuri. Yesterday, on the first day, some first- and second-years had performed. Today, on the second day, it was the second- and third-years. The third-years, who were about to graduate, put on performances believable as professional level. This was something you wouldn't easily see even on Earth. Didn't that mean the Academy was producing dozens of artists of that caliber every year? There was a good reason why most artists starved to death. In an industry where only the best survive, new talents close to the top were being injected every year.
"Kyle, Kyle."
"Huh, what?"
"Let's go over there this time."
Yuri seemed to have gotten excited after watching the third-years' performances and took the lead in dragging me around. I let her pull me here and there as we enjoyed the cultural festival. That was how the second day came to an end.
* * *
Evening. Dressed in a suitable suit, I stood at the place I had promised to meet Ruby and waited for her. Not long after, Ruby appeared wearing a passionate red dress that matched her hair color exactly.
"D-did you wait long?"
"No, not really."
I scanned her outfit from top to bottom and let out an admiring remark. Complimenting a woman other than my fiancée felt a bit wrong, but I couldn't help but praise her after seeing her toned body.
"The dress suits you well."
"Ah, yeah. Thanks. The suit looks good on you too."
Ruby said that and lowered her head deeply, pressing her lips together. Watching her chew on her lips, I tilted my head and asked.
"Where's the party venue?"
"Ah, this way."
Finally snapping out of it, she led me toward the party venue. It was a party only Academy club presidents could attend. My heart was already pounding at the thought of what kind of eccentrics might be waiting inside. Following her into a building, the manager standing at the entrance immediately began checking our tickets. After verifying them, he guided us straight inside, and I let out an exclamation at the dazzling interior of the building.
"This place……"
"Flashy, right? Previous club presidents each donated one or two of their items before leaving. Decades of that piled up and turned it into this."
"Looks like something someone would steal."
"Steal? Who? The moment they did, rumors would spread through the entire nobility. They're not beggars—they'd be called thieves stealing things left by their seniors."
Thinking about it for a moment, she was right. Nobles weren't so desperate for money that they'd steal and sell things like this. While I was passing time looking at flashy paintings and gold-made pottery, people who had arrived earlier began showing interest in us one by one and approaching.
"Ruby, who's that kid? Are you doing the virgin-hunting thing again?"
"……Barbara, what nonsense."
The one who approached had distinctive voluminous curly hair. After checking the flesh clinging to her abdomen and forearms, I could tell she wasn't from the knight department. From the faint mana I felt from her body, she seemed to be from the magic department. I didn't know her year, but since she spoke casually to Club President Ruby, she was likely also a third-year.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Barbara Pasier, president of the Divination Research Club. And you?"
"Kyle Meyer of the Swordsman Club."
"See? I told you it was virgin-hunting!"
Upon hearing my identity, Barbara shouted while looking at Ruby. Ruby began waving her hands in protest, looking wronged. Seeing Ruby like that, I let out a chuckle.
"Does Club President Ruby do that often?"
"You didn't know? After this party ends, you'll probably—"
"I said I've never done it! Be quiet!"
Ruby forcibly covered Barbara's mouth as she tried to say something and turned to look at me.
"……Just in case, let me say this—nothing like that ever happened. I'm still a virgin. Got it?"
"Yes, well. I'll believe you."
"It's not a lie!"
Leaving the shouting Ruby behind, I went further inside. Quite interesting presences had been washing over me from deep within the party venue. The killing intent of knights sizing me up, the mana of mages, and unfamiliar energies were crashing into me one after another.
"Is everyone here now?"
As we entered the party venue, a man who had been sipping champagne in the very back stood up abruptly and raised his glass.
"Welcome, Kyle Meyer. Welcome to our Noblesse."
"Noblesse?"
"You could call it a new club made by club presidents gathering together. Or a club within clubs."
He said that and began introducing himself.
"I'm the president of the Theater Club, Ka……"
Leaving the man who had started his introduction behind, I looked around. I was searching for the unidentified energy that had been poking at me since earlier.
Not that, not that— this one?
I caught the energy trying to brazenly burrow into my body with my aura. The other party seemed not to have expected their ability to be detected and quickly fled, but an Aura Master's aura manipulation was as fast and precise as blood flowing through the body. Tracing the energy led me to a small girl less than half my height trembling.
Small stature, small chest too. As I tilted my head wondering why this kid was here, Ruby, who had been behind me, quickly approached and stopped me.
"W-wait! Kyle! What are you doing!?"
"Huh? What……"
"—Kyaaaaah-!"
Seeing the girl suddenly let out a scream, I quickly raised both hands and stepped back. It was a gesture to show I hadn't done anything. However, the girl had already screamed and fainted, and everyone's gazes were flying over and stabbing into us. I didn't know about anything else, but this one thing was clear.
The party's over.
Today's party was ruined. Ruby was also looking this way with a rather despairing expression.
* * *
Right after the girl fainted, Ruby took me and left the party venue.
"Don't worry. These things happen!"
"I'm sorry. Because of me."
"No no. Princess Hela fainting is a pretty common occurrence."
"Princess?"
"You didn't know? Princess Asuka Hela. She's been weak since she was young, so she faints often."
She tilted her head as if wondering how that could be. However, something else was bothering me more than the princess's name I was hearing for the first time.
"You use honorifics within the Academy."
"Can't be helped. We're graduating next year. The Academy's talk of equality only applies to first- and second-years."
And since her family was practically a vassal house to the Asuka family, it couldn't be helped. Ruby shrugged her shoulders. Though she was a noble, she was from a baron family that had barely made the cut, so it was inevitable.
"Ah, you really don't need to worry about what happened today. If you're really sorry, come again next time it happens."
"It happens often, I see."
"Yeah. Almost once a month?"
"Ah."
I had thought it was a special party that happened once a year because it happened to be today, but apparently not. Thinking it would be fine then, I nodded and greeted her.
"Then I'll see you next time, Club President."
"Yeah, see you next time."
Whether because she had ruined today's party or because we were parting without any gains— she saw me off with a bitter smile. Looking at her face like that, I recalled the story I had heard at the party. The story that she was a master at virgin-hunting.
Don't tell me it was real?
* * *
The third day of the cultural festival began. One of the few days when the Academy was open to outsiders. The Academy's guards, having welcomed numerous guests, were on edge and prepared for any possible incidents.
"—Did you hear? About today's performance……"
"What? Is that true?"
People were chattering noisily about the grand performance, as if they were already looking forward to it. It was the grand performance where students who had performed well on the first and second days would once again showcase their skills to outsiders. Since it was effectively a performance featuring only the elite of the elite even within the Academy, people's expectations were through the roof.
Aria, is she in the dorm?
And naturally, the list of who would appear in the third-day performance had already been released. Kyle, unable to find Aria's name on that list, felt something was strange. Her performance hadn't been lacking, so was it because the audience numbers were insufficient? In the end, she had been eliminated.
She must be heartbroken. Because she's a commoner, like this……
He wanted to at least comfort her, but since he didn't know where she was in the first place, he couldn't. Kyle headed toward the grand performance hall, thinking he might as well see how impressive the performance that eliminated Aria was.
"—Everyone, welcome!"
The grand performance that began right after was surprisingly filled with talents not inferior to Aria. It was a shame Aria had been eliminated, but it wasn't at a level that was completely incomprehensible. At least, there were no students so incompetent that it was hard to understand why they had been chosen over Aria. Thinking that, Kyle waited for the next performance to begin.
"One, two."
"Lord Carlos-!"
"Kyaaaaah-! Young master!"
Students and people began cheering in advance. The final highlight performance of the cultural festival. The one scheduled to appear was Carlos, the Theater Club president he had met yesterday. However.
"Who's that……?"
"I don't know, never seen her before……"
What actually walked out from behind the stage was Aria wearing a white dress. Dressed in a white and glamorous dress like a wedding gown a bride would wear on her wedding day, she stood on stage with a beautiful gait.
If she had been the true owner of this performance, people would have greeted her with cheers. But that wasn't the case.
Aria wasn't even a scheduled performer for today—she was an unknown newcomer.
"What are you doing! Drag her off quickly!"
From behind the stage, the voices of art department professors shouting at the guards could be heard. However, no footsteps could be heard.
At that moment, Kyle realized something was wrong. The professors were shouting so loudly, yet no one was moving?
What?
The strangeness became concrete when Aria cleared her throat and began speaking.
"Welcome, Academy students. And distinguished guests."
Even in this bewildering situation, Aria captivated the crowd with her sweet voice.
"—My name is Aria. Aria Vesta."
Upon hearing her introduction, questions erupted one after another from the audience. It was because, as far as they knew, the Vesta marquess family had no daughter.
Just as they wondered if she might be a hidden child of Marquess Vesta, Aria stomped her foot. Tap! The sound of her heel echoed throughout the performance hall, and immediately after, her singing voice reached everyone.
"Requiem æternam dona eis—."
"Urk, ugh, e-eek……"
"Kuuuugh……!?"
It was a singing voice like a heavenly harmony, but those who heard the song began glowing and clutching their heads.
And— the audience that soon stood up began attacking the person next to them.
"W-what!?"
"What's wrong with you!?"
"Dies iræ."
She sang. Those who heard her song began attacking those around them as if controlled by something. Even in the midst of the chaos, the singing continued.
After confirming that most of the audience had been dominated, Aria stopped singing and grinned, spreading both hands dramatically like a theater actress.
"I hope you all enjoyed it."
My Aria.