When the nobles heard the king's announcement, the topic of conversation for the nobles became the only choice for Jin and the others 'Sword of Dawn'. Amour, who had been following them around about Chris-san earlier, was in a better mood now that Chris-san was no longer being talked about, so he went to refill his plate with a new one.

'This is going to make a lot of noise,'
Well, it's bad for the Djinn, but it'll make things easier on us.

　I and the other members of the 'Oration' are supposed to be backed by the royal family (Amur is a Southern Viscount, but they are treated as a set with us), and since the strength and influence of the Otori family has been widely known in the past few years, they don't get into as much trouble as they used to, but still. There are those who seem to be willing to take a chance. Particularly after winning a tournament, sometimes people say they are distant relatives of your father and mother, or that they used to take care of you in the past, so some fools go along with that and make a bad deal out of it. By the way, I have asked Mary and the king to confirm whether they really know each other or not. If he is a friend of Mom and Dad, there is a high probability that Mary and the King also know him, so I can tell right away. By the way, when you meet people who claim to be your friends, Maria and the King and Grandpa will also be present.

'Temma!　Isn't it about time you came over here?

　As I was talking with my grandpa and the others about The Sword of Dawn, Rion called out to me from outside the space reserved for tournament participants. Normally, the act of a noble calling out to participants like this is reprehensible, but when they found out that it was me who was being called out and Rion who was calling out, the nobles and participants who were wondering around them went back to their respective conversations as if to say, 'Is this the usual thing?

''Oh!　I'm coming!
'Mm. Have something good ready to go!

　As he was about to reply and head to Rion's place, Amur followed him, saying something pompous, but those who were listening around him didn't seem to think anything in particular when they heard his words. It was the same with Rion, rather, "I'm already prepared! He replied proudly.

'You're right, the three of you will get a good spot.
Three of us!

Don't praise me. You're embarrassing me.
I don't think I'm complimenting you in particular?
'When it comes to Amur, I feel rather foolish. Well, as usual.

'I suppose you could say that about Mr. Leon.
That's a bit...
Sister-in-law (nee), that's a bit too much......don't you think?

　The place where Rion took me was the terrace of the party hall, and perhaps because of the presence of Albert and Cain, the other nobles were only watching from a distance.

''Mm!　Drill and Primera ... and who?
So it's not a drill!　You're definitely saying that on purpose!
Yeah?　I have no idea what you're talking about. Mr. Dril the Twin Guru?
What's that dubious name?　How can there be anyone with a name like that!
'I made a mistake. Mr. Gruffuddin' von Zindrill.
No!

Would you two gentlemen like to stop there?

　The two of them were joking around (Dori..........Eliza just got caught up in it), but Primera stopped them. Next to Primera, a familiar woman was looking at Amur and Eliza with a surprised look on her face.

'Right. I'd better introduce you to her first, something Temma and Amur don't know about.

　Cain changed the subject before Amour and Eliza's protests and moved on to introduce the woman.

'Temma, this is my fiancée,'
'My name is Sierra von Ibrick, second daughter of the Countess of Ibrick. Please call me Sierra.

　If I thought I'd seen him before, it was the fiancé Cain had mentioned. Well, I had only bailed lightly when I was in the royal castle archives or in the city's library, but this was the first time I'd heard his voice.

''Mmm!　Mmm ... just in time!

　Amur stared at his chest before exchanging greetings with Sierra and began to say such rude things. Sierra felt something ominous in Amour's gaze and fled to hide behind the primera. Incidentally, Cain had said later that Sierra was about average, by the way, and that she was probably bigger than Chris, or something else that was hard to react to. For God's sake, I didn't want to talk about my fiancé's breasts like I was talking about my own fiancé's breasts to another man. No, seriously.

'But then again, you've lost your taste for betting on Temma.
'Yes. It's almost like a payback. Everyone is betting on it, as if it were a must, and one of the people I know who works for Master Zain has been complaining about how little money he's made in the last few years. When this happens, we'll have to make a raffle to not only predict the winner, but to guess the second and third place, or to guess the first and third place!　

　It would be like a single win, a double win, or a trifecta in horse racing, but unlike the previous world where everything is handled by computer, in this world where everything is handled by human hands, the calculations would be more complicated, so the idea would be good but difficult to execute.

'The quickest way would be for His Majesty to ask Temma to withdraw from the competition, but that would be impossible as the public would probably be very critical of him.
'Then why don't we just say Temma is in the Hall of Fame or something and not let her compete, but let her fight the winner of the tournament?

　Rion gave Albert an idea, but when he heard it, Albert shook his head.

'That won't work either. The idea of entering the Hall of Fame might be a good one, but having him fight the winner would mean that Tenma would have to be held for the duration of the tournament. There's also the issue of how much reward we have to prepare for holding an adventurer as long as Temma for a long period of time, and to begin with, Temma is an adventurer, not a knight or a soldier belonging to the country. I'm sure the reformers will make a loud noise that not allowing them to participate is an act of depriving adventurers of their freedom in the name of His Majesty the King.

　Even though they are smaller and more mature than before these days, they still hold the second most power after the royalists, so they will try to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes their way.

''If you don't want me to answer, then I don't really need to answer...''
'Even if the Temma is good, the people won't be convinced. If the reformers mention around there that His Majesty had a hand in it, the people will think that it was the royalists' ... or rather His Majesty's doing.

　That was the troublesome part. Because no matter how much the king and I said it wasn't so, the question of whether there was some kind of deal between me and the royal family is known throughout the kingdom, so the question of whether there was some kind of deal would remain no matter how anyone explained it.

''I don't want to get involved because it's too much trouble, but I'm sure the king will come to talk to me about it... seriously, it's too much trouble. Let's just go to the south for a while or something?
"Mm. It's the best thing to do!　The South is welcome!

　The south will be noisy in the south, but there's little political difficulty there because it's basically the noise of brainy ideas. Well, it's easier to call it a fool's errand, and since there are many people who will treat you favorably if you show your ability, and since it's far away from the royal capital, it's a great way to escape from all the trouble.

　When I was thinking about escaping from the capital.

'I don't want that. I'd rather you didn't travel to the South until after we've talked about next year's convention, wouldn't you?

　The king has come to this place. Next to him, Caesar-sama and Zain-sama are also there. The smell of trouble was pungent.

''You were talking about something interesting, but what were you talking about?

　The king looked at Albert and the others as he said this. Since I wouldn't talk about it, he wants me to talk to three of his subjects. And just as the king wanted, the three of them told the king and others what they were talking about without hesitation.

Hmm. I'm sure the Temma and the others think so too.
Your Majesty, this can't just be a bother. You must take this more seriously.

　The king made a look of heartfelt annoyance, but he was chided by Zain-sama, who was next to him.

It's a problem that must be solved, even if it's troublesome. And so, Tenma. What do you think we should do?
I don't know. Please don't leave it to me. You'll have to discuss those things with Master Caesar and the others before you bring them to me.
'Well, that's the way it is. But to take what we've discussed with you to Temma means that the decision has already been made. In other words, it's an order from the royal family. We want to avoid that, and that's why we want to talk about it with Temma. Understand.

　To the king of the roundabout, Caesar-sama politely and retreatingly explained to him.

''Isn't it okay for Caesar-sama to take the throne now?
Well I'm beginning to think so.

　I muttered, and the king agreed with me, but....

''Your Majesty is still very quiet and well, so we need you to stay on the throne for a while longer.

　That's why Master Caesar said he would not take over the throne yet. Maybe he thinks that if the king quits the throne while he's still healthy, he'll start doing whatever he wants at will. Well, I think so too. And since I feel that I'm the most likely to be the biggest victim of this, I want Caesar-sama to be right and give up the throne when I'm a little weaker...and more mature. Then Maria-sama will be able to restrain me even with a collar on.

''Well, well, Caesar is right, I want to talk to Temma once about the future with Temma, so I want you to wait to leave King's Landing until that's over.
Well yes, sir.

　The king took his words from me and left, saying that he would not be able to relax any longer here.

'When the king shows up in a kingly manner, that's usually when he brings trouble, isn't it?
'No, Temma. Isn't that disrespectful, indeed?

'Call me disrespectful, but I'm not a vassal and I'm the one being asked to do it... and as expected, I don't have as much respect for you as Albert and the others who sold you my information.
'No!　I'm sorry about that, but you can't blame Albert for... hey?
'Yes!　Even Albert didn't mean....no offense....to be offended, did he?
Albert, selling out your friends to get ahead I got a word for you!

　When Albert returned the warning with a half-serious, half-teasing response, Rion and Cain got on board (but there's a good chance Rion said it plainly), and Amour composed a haiku that wasn't really a haiku, just to stop him.

'No, wait!　I didn't mean to!　Elsa!　Primera!

　Albert may have been betrayed by Leon and Cain and turned to Eliza and Primera to hang on...

'Rion-san, Cain-san, and Amur notwithstanding, Temma-san is not wrong, and...'
'Regardless of the way you say it, from Temma-san's point of view, you can't help but say that your brother's conduct is so, and from a stranger's point of view, it looks like Amur is right.

　Neither of them said it was not a mistake and did not cover for Albert. Sierra smiled bitterly the whole time Eliza and Primera were talking, but didn't deny it.

'Let's leave Albert out of this, we still have some time before the dance, so I guess I didn't need to tell you that we're going to have some food first...'

　Me, Amour and Leon were reaching for the food and drinks that Albert and the others had prepared while the Primera's were denting Albert.


'So, Temma, who are you going to dance with first this year?　Last year was Viscount Hana, and before that it was Amour, and even before that it was Lady Mary, right?

　When I asked him how he remembered it, Cain replied, "That's how much attention you're getting. The way you put it, there must be others who remember it too.

'I don't really need to dance but it's weirdly expected of me.

　The first year the party was cancelled before the dance because of the kidnapping frenzy between Jeanne and Aura, but the next year's dance went on as planned and they were halfway kidnapped by Mary for the dance. Well, after that, they were talking to Mary and the kings, so no one tried to ask them to the dance. The next year, I announced that from the next year, I would limit my dance partners to people I knew or winners of competitions... and in the middle of my words, Amur snatched me away. And last year, I was kidnapped by Hana-san, who had heard about it from Amur, just for fun. Well, by limiting the conditions of my dance partners, I didn't have to dance with a woman I didn't know, but... I didn't know many women from the aristocracy to begin with, so I was always with the same kind of members, and furthermore, among this year's prizewinners, the women were Amour and Chris. Well, both of them don't seem to be too eager to dance, even if they are invited to the dance in terms of their personalities.......but I decided to ask them anyway. If I ask them out and they refuse, I will not dance this year.

''Then, Miss Primera, would you be willing to dance the first song with me?

　Of the two people who had never danced before, I invited the one I was closest to (Primera) first. It was possible that Primera's personality would have made her too shy to dance, but in that case it would only be a funny story about how she invited someone she knew and was rejected. But.

Yes, with pleasure!

　In two words, I accepted the invitation. It was unexpected, but I'll be happy that I found a dance partner. Well, it bothered me that when I asked Sierra out afterwards, for some reason she gave me a cold look and refused.......except for Sierra, Amour and Rion, who gave me a look that said I had no choice, so I must have made a mistake in my manners of some sort.

'Temma, then me!

　Amur is going to book the next one for the Primera, but

I'm going to be the only person I know who's never danced before today, so I'm sorry, but give me a break.
Mmm.

　I wasn't convinced by those words alone, so I wasn't sure what to do, but Cain and Eliza convinced me to do it, so I was saved. It was helpful, but the fact that these two moved at the same time was a bit scary, as there might be something behind the scenes.

''Well then, it's almost time to move closer to the venue, shall we move closer to the venue?

　At Cain's word, we asked our respective partners to move together, closer to the venue, but...

'Wait a minute!　I don't have a partner for me!
I don't care if I can't dance with Temma. Leon, Gamba.

　Amur reflexively rode up to Leon's shout, but he immediately remembered that I said I wouldn't dance, and he lost interest in the process.

'In Rion's case, don't you have a partner to dance with in the first place?　And my potential fiancé is training in a frontier county.
'It would be a bad idea to ask another woman out under those circumstances, wouldn't it? Well, isn't that what happens every year?

　

''Dancing with Brother Rion isn't quite the right thing to do...''

　Even Primera is evaded by Rion's dance, which is pretty low-rated. According to Albert, it is difficult to dance with Rion unless you have a much higher level of dance skill, because he has the skill but learned it wrong and never got a chance to fix it. For that reason, he said, his evaluation was the same as mine four years ago. By the way, it was four years ago when my dance was rated the same as Rion's, and I'm better than him now. Well, even if I say I've improved, it's not a skill I can brag about, so I can't make a mockery of Rion when it comes to dancing.

''Well then, it looks like it's time... shall we all just leave Rion alone and go dancing?
'Right. I don't want to be too cavalier with Rion and have everyone here say they're not participating.

　As Cain and Albert said, the heir apparent of a great aristocrat representing the royalist faction could not possibly miss the dance all together, and we started moving, ignoring Leon who ran off to look for his partner.

　When we went to the dance hall prepared in the center of the party hall, it was crowded with pairs fighting each other to secure a prominent place... but when the pair of Albert and Eliza and the pair of Cain and Sierra appeared, the pair that had blocked the front of the room. We all gave way at once, so we were able to proceed to the center of the hall without difficulty. Incidentally, Primera and I agreed to dance as inconspicuously as possible, so we tried to move to the end of the hall, but Eliza forcefully pulled Primera away, so naturally we were close to Albert and his friends... the most visible part of the hall. He was to be taken to the center.

'Temma came too?'

　There was also a pair of kings and Maria, Caesar and Isabella-sama in the central area. Other than that, all of the high ranking nobles were gathered in the central area, so I, the only commoner, was also out of place.

''And so........Primera, let's move to the edge.
Yes.

　It would be either someone who has himself a dance or a very stupid person who would dance in such a place. So when I suggested to Primera to leave the place and dance in a discreet place, Primera understood the meaning without asking why and immediately started to move... but...

You may dance here.
'Temma is a guest of the royal family and her partner, Primera, is the daughter of the Duke of Sangha. No one will complain about that.

　The King and Master Caesar grabbed me by the shoulders and stopped me from moving.

'Primera. If you've come this far, be prepared for the future.
'Coming here and running away is like tarnishing the Duke of Sangha's sign.

　Lady Maria and Lady Isabella had cut off the primera's retreat. The royal pair convinced us to return to the center and dance near Albert and his friends, but we had no choice.

'Welcome back, Temma. If those two catch you guys, no amount of Temma will be able to get away with it.
There's no way the Primera could have come so close to running away.

　I took refuge near Albert and his friends, and I was immediately approached by two of them. Cain had a way of teasing me, but Albert said it in a dumbfounded way. It's true that it's uncool to come here and run away, or perhaps as a nobleman, it's an action that would be licked by other nobles, but....

Shouldn't Albert and the others have never forced you to come here in the first place?　　

　I'm not a noble, so I don't care if I get licked, and since Primera has said that she will get out of the noble register in the future, it doesn't matter much. Well, if the Sangha dukes are brought up, that wouldn't be the case, but even if he knew that and ran away, I think the Sangha duke would just laugh out loud.
　To make such a point.

'Ah!　Here, Temma. It's about to start.
Yeah. You two better get ready to go.

　And then he got away with it.

'Totally, those two ... well, there's no point in mourning, and we should get into position.
Yes.

　So that's how the dance started I think we managed to avoid major embarrassment.......... Well, there were a few small mistakes, but we didn't have any fatal ones, so that's good.

''I'm tired as expected.......if this is the case, I'd feel better if we had another individual match................Good job Primera too.
'Good job, Temma-san. But that way of thinking is absolutely ridiculous.
Well, that's the right response...
It's a tenma. Well, I'd rather dance than have a game.
My grandfather was like this. You can't blame him for thinking like that.

　After the dance, me and Primera moved to the table where Grandpa and Lady Ernest were making themselves at home.
　We had originally planned to dance only one song and then go back, but Lady Maria caught us after the first song, and then we danced with Lady Isabella, Eliza, and Sierra, and then danced with Primera again.
　Even though it was an unexpected number of times, I ran away from the dance hall because I was tired of dancing six songs in a row... but even so, there were noblemen who came to invite me, so I ran away to the place where the most important person in the hall was bored and yet the most important person in the room. By the way, Primera also danced with the king and Caesar-sama while I was dancing, and she seemed to be mentally quite tired. At the same time, I guess she had become somewhat tolerant of royalty, and even when I said I was going to Ernest-sama's place, she followed me without saying a word.

Your first dance was terrible, but you've gotten better and better. Your last dance was like a different person. It's like a beginner became an intermediate dancer.

　Master Ernest's phrasing is a bit awful, but let's assume he's complimenting you on your improvement.

'Indeed, it was easier to dance the second time around than the first, wasn't it?
Well, there were too many gorgeous role models around.

　Master Caesar, Albert, Cain, and the other nobles... by the way, the king was good at what he did, but he was also good at what he did... but he was like a backwards replacement for Caesar, and compared to Albert and the others. I didn't use them as a role model because they were a bit underwhelming as well. Also, it would have been nice if Maria-sama and Isabella-sama had also led the way so that it was easier to dance.

''Now, I'm sure I'll get better at it after a few dances... but I don't really like dancing itself, so it's good if I can dance at least. By the way, Primera is a good dancer. That's the daughter of a duke.
'Well, dancing is like a required subject for the aristocracy. But I'd rather move my body outside of dance, too.

I see. So we're all partners in the same thing, aren't we?
You don't know what you're talking about.

　Ernest-sama teased me, but I ignored him because he would only be happy if I reacted. Primera was about to react, but she couldn't make a sound because the timing of her grandfather's shove at Ernest-sama coincided with the timing of his shove at Ernest-sama.

'Temma, do you have a minute?'

'Master Lyle, where have you been all this time?'

　Lyle-sama, who I hadn't seen before in the hall, approached me discreetly and spoke to me in an unusual whisper.

''I have a little favor to ask. The 'Sword of Dawn' that is being talked about will soon be summoned to the royal capital. It is likely that a dispute will arise as to which nobleman will take care of it...well, there is going to be a dispute as to which nobleman's lodging facility they will be allowed to stay in. There is no problem as long as they are lodged in a royal castle or a place related to the royal family, but it is said that the royal family already has Temma and the rest of the Oration surrounded by them.

So you want me to take care of the djinn at the Otori household?

Well, to put it simply, yes.

　As long as the royal family is supposed to be surrounding us, it's better to give the djinn to other nobles, but since the dungeon captured by the Sword of Dawn is located in Seigen, which is under the direct control of the royal family, we don't want to let other nobles take the djinn away from us. Therefore, he wants to prevent other nobles from touching them by having them stay with me, who is an acquaintance of the djinn, and indirectly show them that they are royalists.

''If it's okay with the djinn and the others, I don't mind, but if you explain it to them and they refuse, you'll have to give up.
That's fine, thank you.

　After saying that much, Lyle-sama left somewhere else.

'I thought I could get away from all the trouble, but I ended up getting involved... well, it can't be helped.
Hmm, sheltering the djinn may cause more resentment than we need to, but since it's the noblemen who are in rivalry with the royalists who will hate us, we can only assume that there will be no change.
'Well, it's not going to make more enemies. The resentment will run deep though...

　The royalist faction and the nobles who side with the royalist faction might give up on the fact that even if I ruin their chances of winning the djinn and the others, they might give up on the indirect benefits, but for the hostile faction like the reformers, they'll have more enemies, so they'll be resentful. Well, it's a little late for that now, since the Reformers don't like us.

Whatever the case may be, it's all about what the djinn think of it.
Well, that's true, but I'm sure the Djinn don't want any trouble, so we'd better assume that they're almost certain to stay at our house.

　Those djinn are going to cause me a lot of trouble!　........and so on, but after this party, my indiscretion caused a lot of noise to be made because of my indiscretion.