Since then, the triumphant return to Main Street was over, and we had next come to a large auditorium in this city. There, the General gave his speech and once again I had to say a few words. Well, I'll skip that this time. However, I'm sure everyone was excited by my words.

　The next event was to be held at the castle.

　The next event was to be held at the royal castle, and the party was to begin.


".........


　I changed my outfit from a military uniform to a tuxedo. I'm not very good at this kind of dress, but I can't help it. I've been told that this is the first time that Princess Liane and I will be the first to dance in the public eye.


　By the way, the people who will come to this party are of course the masters of magic, but also the top brass of the military, royalty and nobles. I can't afford to expose my clumsy appearance.

　In fact, I've been practicing for a long time when it comes to dancing. Of course, it's only for a short period of time so it's a stopgap measure, but it's still better than no practice.

　The person I asked to practice with was Princess Liane.

　She was busy with her military duties and official duties as a royal, but she found the little time she had to practice with me.

　I can't thank her enough for that.



'....Good.


　Check your outfit in the sight. The clothes were perfect. And what a surprise, they're going to do my hair and makeup for this dance. I headed to the bathroom in the castle and saw a woman there.


I'm not sure if I'm right.　Could it be Yulia-kun?
"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Colonel Julia Curtis. Well, good to see you today!
'Oh dear, that's very kind of you. I'm not...


　And after we introduced ourselves to each other, I was immediately asked to get my makeup done. That process is sadly familiar to me because of the cross-dressing thing, but this time the makeup was for men, not for women.

　Blush, eyeliner, and eyelashes are not raised with burlers or anything like that, but rather just applied foundation and kept to the extent of increasing the brightness of the skin.

　Also, she said she would apply a lightly colored lip balm to her lips. I heard that if you pull out the gloss for women, it will make your lips stand out. As a man, I'm going to make the most of the natural look of the material.


　Finally, I get my hair done. Once the hair is wet with a mist, I let it dry and form it into a shape. From there, I would lightly apply hair oil to the hair and set it up. This time, my hair was made with a boldly raised bangs.

　It's called an up-bang.

　I've always left my bangs down, so this was something new to me.


'Okay!　It's perfect!　Julia, the material is so good that it turned out great!
Thank you.


　I bowed my head and left the place.


　Then I got in front of the party venue. It's a very good idea to have a good time with your friends and family.

　The chandeliers on the ceiling illuminate the room, and the bright red carpet is laid out in a way that makes it shine. The table and all of the dishes were so luxurious that even a layman like me could tell at a glance.


''Oh, it's Julia, isn't it?''
'Mr Roy, and Johan. Thank you for your hard work today.
Ha-ha-ha. What do you mean by that? It's just the beginning.
That's right. Julia-kun has a dance coming up later, right?　Well, I'm counting on it.
Well, yes.
What?　Are you nervous?
Yeah, that's one thing I'm nervous about!
'Oh, I see. Julia-kun isn't used to this kind of party yet~. Well, Roy-san. It's nice to be a youngster here, you know.
'Yes. You're a bucket of strength, but these things are age appropriate.


　What a horrible thing to say. Well, he already enjoyed fruit wine, so he didn't mind this kind of light talk.

　I don't care about this kind of frivolous talk because I can't take in the words of a drunkard.



　While we were chatting, the air in the room suddenly changed.

　The murmur is spreading like ripples on the water, and I look in the direction of everyone's eyes.

　Then I look in the direction of everyone else.

　She smiles at her surroundings and walks forward in a leisurely manner.

　Her hair was pulled back in an updo, and although she had even more makeup than usual, I didn't know if I should ever describe it as thick.

　She was just genuinely beautiful.

　It was like the beauty of this world had been pinned down. A beauty that looked as if it had been designed on purpose.

　The dress was also a bright red one with a bold open back. The heels were also quite high, which was completely different from her usual.


''Yulia-san?　How can I help you?
''Oh...what?　Um, well...!

　I was completely dumbfounded. So much so that I didn't realize it until Princess Riane was right beside me.

'How am I today?'
I mean...
The?
They look great together!
Hmm, what's with that tone of voice? That's not your usual tone of voice, is it?
Because you're so beautiful, I'm nervous...
Is it that pretty?
Yes!
''Hmm. Well then, it was worth the effort.


　And as they were chatting together, the lights went down and only a light was lit in the center.


'Well, everyone. Let's have an entertainment for today's party. First, Uriah Curtis, who is the Zeroth rank in the order of special class anti-magician. Then, let's get this party started with a dance by the Third Princess Liane. Now, the two of you, please.


　Derrick was the emcee of the event. His voice echoed through the room and I took her hand.


'Shall we go, Liane?'
You have to escort me, Julia.


　In a small voice, whispering only to each other, we go to the center of it.

　Then I take her hands and the music begins to play as we get into a position to dance.

　We've practiced it so many times already that my body remembers it.

　We begin to dance. We stepped into each other's steps and let that body ride the music while flowing from side to side.

　It may be awkward, but I try my best. But I try my best. We dance, keeping our eyes fixed on Princess Liane's eyes as we breathe in time with each other.


'Julia-san, you're better than usual. Are you the type of person who can handle the show?
Well maybe I do and it's a relief that you're managing to dance.
Well, I knew you could do it.


　The music ended for a moment as we continued to dance, interspersed with these conversations.

　We let go of their hands and bowed reverently to the audience.

　Instantly, we were greeted by an overflow of applause.

　Then the others started to dance. Everyone danced in pairs to the music.


'Yu, Yulia!'
...Senpai, is it?
Yeah, why not?
It's beautiful. They look great together.
'Uh-oh!　You think so?


　When I was wondering what I was going to do alone after I left Princess Riane, a senior citizen approached me with a tottering little footstep. I've always been walking along in a zigzagging manner, but today she seemed strangely wilted.

　He is looking up at me and curling his hair with his fingertips.


　It would be tactless to mumble words here.


"Senpai. Will you dance with me, senpai?
...yes!


　She smiles at me like a single flower in the wilderness.

　I'm thrilled by her unusual smile, but I take her small hand in mine.

　We spin around.

　We continue to spin around in this place. We continue to dance through the night as if this world is spinning and rolling.


　When this is over, we will return to our daily lives.


　The everyday life of a counter-magician. It's a battlefield. Although we have regained the land of dusk, it's only part of it. We will continue to move forward.


　But for today let's just forget about this one night.

　Let's enjoy this small, happy moment.

　And we'll keep turning in this world.