--a dinner party.

It is also a ceremony, celebrating the successful hosting of another year's game against the school.

The spacious gymnasium on the grounds of Heil Kuwait has been magically transformed into a spacious gymnasium, decorated like a hall in a royal castle.
Chandeliers adorn the ceiling, illuminating the entire room in a spectacular way.
A number of round tables are set up at the venue, and the food is so extravagant that even just looking at it makes you want to drool.
But that's not the only thing on offer.
A number of long tables are placed at equal intervals.
There, too, there are a variety of soups, desserts, meats, and other dishes lined up in abundance.
These tables were placed around the empty space created in the center of the venue.

And a musician is placed in the hall, and you can hear the sounds of a more uplifting mood.

I don't think they're going to dance here, do they? .........

I got into the hall first, and Nem and I were choosing our food.

Meat, meat, meat, meat...and meat.
There was nothing but meat on Nem's plate.
There is not a single vegetable on the plate.

"Do the cat people only eat meat?

No, I like Nem.

So you don't like it.
Well, it doesn't matter.

The two of us find a random seat, and we eat there first.

"Excuse me, sir, but may I sit next to you?

Then one student spoke to me.

'I don't mind.'

Nem starts to eat, sticking to me, as if in alarm.

'Thank you,'

The student, dressed in a blonde all-back and black tuxedo, looked at me and Nem's face with a scowl.

'My name is Tim Lloyd. I will be fighting with Nem who is over there in tomorrow's match against the school. I would like to say a few words to you this time to say hello.

Well, this is Tim Lloyd he just looks like a nice guy.
Is he older than me?　You're a senior.

'Well, that's...'

But I didn't think my opponent would be such a little girl.

Then Nem reacts to those words.

'Nem is not small!　It's still strong!

'No, no!　Don't get me wrong!　I don't mean to make light of it. I'm just genuinely surprised, you know?　I'm sorry....

What a low-key guy.
He has no clue and is elusive.
Hence, I'm not interested.

'See you tomorrow.'

I bowed my head instead of Nem's.

'Please. Then I'll take my leave.

Then Tim simply disappeared somewhere else.
Apparently it was really just a greeting.
But still, I said hello to him in a flowing stream, but he must have mistaken me for Nem's guardian or something, right?
Well, actually, I'm kind of a guardian, but...

Nem took a single bite from Tim and didn't say a word after that.
He seemed more preoccupied with the meat in front of him than that.
Speaking of the match against the school, this is the culmination of the school battle that has gone on so far, but isn't Nem not nervous?

'Wow!　She's so beautiful!'

Just then, I heard a buzzing voice from the entrance.

'Who could that girl be?　It's so beautiful!'

"Isn't the girl next door pretty too?

The students, each in a dress, surrounded the entrance and were making some kind of noise.
What is all the commotion about?

Then out of that group appeared a Sufilia in a blue dress and a Toa in a black dress.
The reason for the commotion is the two of them........sure, beautiful.

It's as if there's some kind of light shining just around the two of them.
And when they noticed me and Nem, they smiled shyly at me.

The two of them are looking at me now.
Even if I'm used to seeing them, they're both immensely beautiful.
In the previous world, they would have been models or actresses....or celebrities first.
Those two people are looking at me now.

I waved my hand in a random manner.

"You don't look good in a black suit and a red mask, do you?

That was the first thing Toa said.

What can I do?　I can't take it off.　Besides, I asked Tom to change the specs to allow me to open my mouth, and I'm not really inconvenienced myself.　See?　You can drink with it on, right?

I poured the beer down the drain with my mask on.
It's a great specification, Tom, as expected.

'If that's okay with you, Nito-sama, that's fine, but it makes the mask, which is just a scary shape, look even scarier. Besides, it's conspicuous.

You two stood out, didn't you?　You got some great praise coming in, didn't you?

'It's my reputation as a former princess. Come to think of it, Toa was a princess too, wasn't she?

I don't think I'm going to...

For what it's worth, Toa always gets a dark look on her face when it's mentioned that she's a princess.

'Beautiful I knew you'd look good in it.

They're with people like me.
Praise will not be punished.

'Thank you. I am pleased that you are pleased with your satisfaction, Nito-sama.

'Oh, uh, thank you...'

Sufilia smiled gently.
The Toa is still extremely shy when I praise her.
When I stare into her eyes, she looks away as if to tell me not to look.

''Nem looks good in it, too.''

Munching and wriggling!

Nem didn't know what he was talking about, probably because he had meat in his mouth.

'More importantly, aren't you going to eat something?　Nem's already been eating all the way through for a while now.

The meat is delicious today!

Nem was in a better mood than usual.
A red dress and a flesh-covering nem.
It's a rather novel combination.

''We're having another one!

Then Nem flattened the meat on his plate.

Just right.
Let's all go and get our food.





-- The four of them got up from their seats and seemed to have decided to go get their food once.
And then there were those who looked at Masamune and the others with suspicion.

''Saijo-san, it still doesn't look like Hidaka-san by any stretch of the imagination, does it?''

You can't see it from the outside, but I'm sure Masamune's face is under that mask.

'I don't think it's Hidaka-kun by any means. Because it's strange that Hidaka-kun has two beautiful girls like that with him.

Kamii, Mitarai and Kotori.
The three of them were talking in hushed tones as they watched Nito's condition.
One person in particular, Mitarai, was belittling Masamune, saying that he couldn't possibly have a beautiful woman with him.

And there's another person who gives Nito a look.

-- Saeki.

Saeki is looking at Nito, who's holding a flower in his hands, and is getting more and more annoyed.
And beside him were the dumbfounded faces of Joanna and David.
Kida is separated from Saeki and is talking to another group of students.

Saeki was biting into the meat in his right hand, pouring it down with the beer in his left, and eating like an octogenarian.
The two men are dismayed by the situation.
Saeki seemed bored and calm, but the two could see in their hands that Saeki was annoyed.

''Saeki-sama?''

What?

''Apparently, Saeki-sama hasn't yet figured out that the other party is a dungeon conqueror hero, right?

....

Saeki ignores Joanna's words in an aggravated manner.

'If you think that's a rivalry, then I think you should look at yourself, Saeki, not him, don't you?

David said.

'Rivalry?'

Because isn't it?　You've been thinking about him a lot lately. You don't have to think about it. We'll fight anyway. If you don't call it rivalry, what do you call it?　But you have to stop doing that too. I've said it before and I don't want to say it again, but you have to realize who you're dealing with.

What's wrong with ... observing your opponents?

'That's bad. Because in your case, you're not observing, you're just staring, you know?　Observation is more like looking at things objectively. I wouldn't call it observing to look at your emotions in a bare manner.

Saeki didn't say anything else back.
He didn't ask for their consent in the first place.
Saeki had no choice but to watch.
Whenever it came into view, he couldn't help but follow it with his eyes.
That was annoying, but it couldn't be helped, since the perspectives fit together on their own.
Saeki was not in control of his emotions.

The two of them looked at him in a comical way.
Right now, Saeki was annoyed with everything.
Whether it was Nito, who seemed to be enjoying himself, or the two people who were talking down to him.

Then the mood of the music that had enveloped the hall changed.
Following it, the students leaned forward in the center and began to dance with their partners, each one with a partner.




　I don't know what it was, but the guys around me suddenly started dancing.

'Master!　You have to dance with me!

Nem suddenly said this and held out his hand to me.

'What do you mean?　Master Nito will dance with me, won't he?

Quickly, Sufilia breaks in.

'Nem is first!

Suddenly, Nem and Sufilia started to fight with each other.
Apparently, even Nem knew about the dance.
I had no idea.
No way, a dinner party is a dance?
I don't know. What do you mean?

'Excuse me, miss!　Would you please dance with me?

Then a handsome man with a cocky face started hitting on Toa without permission, knowing that I was there.

''I'm sorry ... I'm ...''

'My lady, I am of the House of Dines. My father is a duke. Please don't embarrass me here.

What a bullshit, messed up guy.
Is this what it's like to be a nobleman?
You're a bum.
This is blackmail.

But it will have no effect on the Toa.

'Excuse me, sir, but she's with me.

Then the guy glares at me for a second.

What did he mean by that?
It's not like you don't know me.

You're not supposed to know me.

I politely declined.

'Excuse me, but I see that you already have two partners over there, so give it to me...' "Didn't you hear me?

I interrupt him and answer a little more forcefully.

'Now I asked you to refrain. 'That's what I said, right?'

You don't have to do that, just hand it over, okay?　It's just a little dance, okay?

A man who speaks with a smirk and a half-challenged look down on me.

Good grief, what the hell is this guy thinking?

Toa is smiling bitterly.
I could see a sense of disgust for this man from his expression.

''........Stupid, isn't it?''

I muttered a word.

Then the man's expression changed drastically.

'What did you just say?　Foolishness, it sounded like...

The man couldn't hide his anger behind a face, his expression twitching, clearly annoyed.

'Yes, that's what I said, right?'

What?

'Stupid ... stupid enough to be stupid.　'Aristocrats?　What's that?　What in the world is it good for?　I don't understand it at all. If you're going to wield power, don't mistake your opponent.　I'm a student, but above all, I'm an adventurer, you know?　Adventurers are in the habit of thinking of things in terms of profit and loss only. And they don't think much about the future. If there is no benefit in keeping the other party alive at present, they will kill him or her without a second thought. That's what being an adventurer is all about.

Is that a threat?　I'm the son of a duke, remember?　You don't think you're going to live to make an enemy of the Duke, do you?

He's a pain in the ass.
If it were a place, I'd just blow his head off and be done with it, but that's not going to happen.
If you do that, you'll be expelled.

''For example, what in the world am I at a disadvantage with that duke or whatever he is against?　Are we talking about sending an assassin to me?　If that's the case, then those assassins have the power to destroy a country, right?

I don't have to explain that to you, do I?

The man seemed to be very comfortable.
No matter how much he threatened, he wouldn't back down.
He glanced at Toa and didn't seem to have given up yet.

Then let's change the way we do things.
It's important to show these idiots.
I mean, this guy doesn't believe it.
He doesn't believe that I'm an S-ranked adventurer.
He probably thinks it's just a title.

I took one of the forks from the table.

'Would you mind holding this fork?'

What?

It won't take long. We're just having fun. It won't take long.

Then the man naturally grabs a fork.
He is still a fool.
I guess he doesn't feel that he is being held by a fork.

'Then could you pierce my right hand with that fork?

What!　What?!

'I told him to use that fork to pierce my hand,' he said.

Are you... are you insane?

Before you doubt me, you should doubt your own head.
But the man doubted me.
Apparently, he thinks I'm joking.

"I'm not joking, sir. 'Don't worry. No amount of force can hurt me to you. You could have used a sword, but that's the only thing I can get for you right away, so please be patient with that.

Now there's only a fork here.

Then the Dines man grinned and raised the corners of his mouth.

"Huh ... you're so cool. You don't have two words for me, do you?

Where was the tone of voice from earlier?

'Of course. This is just for fun, so feel free to go along.

Then I'll take you up on your offer!

The man then thrust his fork vigorously into my palm with a grin and a scowl without hesitation.

'Nah!'

But the result is exactly what I imagined it would be.

-- the fork is bent in front of my palm.

The three prongs are bent so that they branch off in different directions.
The man looks at the fork, and then he looks at me and the fork in turn, with a frightened look in his eyes.

'How do you like it?　I would avoid any more useless questions and answers if I could.

This is....

'As you can see, there is no point in you sending me an assassin, if you want to send me an assassin. It's the same with this fork. Whether you attack me with a knife or poison me, there is no point in that action. If you want, let me show you a suitable poison to drink.　But to me, it's just like water.

'Ugh! .....

Then the eyes of the man who was supposed to be looking down on me just now turned to fear.

''Hmmm.........I'll let it slide this time. I'm getting a little bored with it myself........

The nobleman tries to smile somehow, with his face twitching.

''What are you confused about?''

"Huh?

'You've done something wrong, haven't you?　You know that best yourself. So what do we do?　What do you do when you do something wrong?

What's going on?　What do you mean...

"...kneel...

The moment I said that, the man's face changed completely.
There is no longer the expression on his face that he had barely been able to mend earlier, only the face of someone who understands the situation.
Sweat trickled down the man's forehead.

'Please I'm sorry. Don't embarrass me any more.''

Unlike the joking around earlier, the nobleman pleaded desperately for help.
The man said that in as quiet a voice as possible so that the people around him wouldn't hear his voice.
He doesn't want to embarrass himself that much.

''Shame?　That's rude. Then it seems that I am insulting you, don't you think?　You must have acted unclassified yourself, didn't you?

Then Toa, who couldn't see it coming, said.

'Hey, I'll forgive you.　And I think you already know that.

That's not true.
That's the worst thing you can do.
This guy doesn't feel sorry for himself.
He just wants to get away with it.

"You're not going to make an apology. "You have no desire to apologize. You only want to be forgiven and to be forgiven and to be let off the hook. But there's no such thing as a good story. You're the one who got involved in this in the first place.　So I suppose there should be some sort of punishment, then?　The punishment for taunting the adventurers is...

I put my face close to the man's ear and spoke in a whisper.

'You said the Dines or something, right?'

Yes, sir.

The man also replies in a whisper.

'I'm done with you and your house.　'Shame?　How wrong are you?　As soon as you start fighting me, you're done. You're a dead man. And by ignoring me, you'll lose the House of Dines itself. Now, you're going to get the hell out of here. Then go home and cherish the last few days of your life with your family. But don't get your hopes up, all right?　A life that will be gone in a few days.

And I slowly backed away from the man.

The nobleman seems to be speechless now.

'Do you understand?　Adventurers are free creatures. They are not bound by law or authority, they just live their lives as they see fit. Therefore, they kill those they want to kill without mercy. The Dines will end in your generation. The reason is because you taunted me. Duke Daines of Daines you would find your lordship in a heartbeat if you knew what you were up against. Now, in the meantime, take care of your family.

Huh!

The aristocrat's expression is twitching.
Then, backing away, he slowly distances himself from me.

Hey!　You're kidding, right?　I am! .....

Get out of here, you piece of shit.

When I said this, the nobleman almost stumbled and sashayed out of the hall.

Thanks to the fact that the dancing had started and the music, our conversation wasn't overheard by the guys around us as much.
Even the guys nearby pretended not to see us and didn't pay much attention to us.
The only thing that stood out was the nobleman who left in a hurry.

''Nito, I mean... you're kidding, right?　What did you just say?

Yeah. You wouldn't really kill him, would you?　I don't have time for that idiot.

Then Toa pats his shoulder, relieved.

I'm not going to kill you, honestly.
You can ask Francesca about it, but I can't go to the trouble of looking for territory.
There's no benefit to it.
Is this guy one of Ficianatica's students?
Is that why you don't know me?
I have no idea what it was all about.

I'd rather enjoy the dinner party now.

"Toa will you dance with me?

I held out my hand to Toa.

'....Yeah.

Toa replies softly, embarrassed.

'Master!　Nem is the first to go!

No, I was the first!

The two of us, who had become more mature as the nobles interrupted, started fighting again.

Nem clings to my leg and Sufilia grabs my left hand.
Toa grabs my right hand to match it.

'So why don't we dance together?'

Then the two of us, who had been musing, became calm.

Then we leaned forward to the center of the hall.

To be honest, I don't know anything about dancing.
I don't really like it, and I've never been interested in it.
The Sufiria and Toa, though, apparently know about it.
Is it the etiquette of a princess?

We were hand in hand, spinning in circles, circling in circles.
That's all.
It's not what you would call a dance.
The students around us are chuckling too.
But some of the less confident students, as if encouraged by seeing us, held hands and leaned forward.

It was just that, but I kind of enjoyed it.
And it was kind of funny.

Blue flames and red roses and black flames danced around us.
They enveloped us, creating our own space.

'Hey?　Can you call this dancing?

'Well?　But it's fun, so why not?

Nem is fun too!

I've never done a dance like this before but it's not bad.

We just turned.
Looking up at the red and blue and black that danced around and above us.

That's all the fun we had.
That's all that matters.

As long as the four of us could be together forever, that's all that mattered.



I've been trying to ...




I wish I hadn't left things as they were, but....