“Damn dude…” Jared and Noah commented when Cain was finished stretching. “Are you done?” Victoria asked from the side. Cain nodded his head then stood up and stretch some of his muscles; Athena stayed floating a few centimeters from Cain’s chair. “Dresil, would you like to dance to the next song with me?” He turned towards Dresil and asked her. “I don’t think we can dance to the Beethoven songs though.” She replied while contacting Bob to distribute the coins.
“We can’t. I’m going to skip those two and jump right into electro swing and swing. Plus the nobles need someone to show them how to dance to this style.” Cain retorted then offered his hand to her. “Sure I guess… Although most of them are wearing heels so they won’t be able to dance properly.” Dresil replied then took Cain’s hand and followed after him. “Meh, they’ll figure something out if they really want to dance.”
Veronica looked at the duo with a slight look of envy. Cain turned around and winked at her, causing Veronica to immediately avoid his gaze and turning the tips of her ears red. “What song are we doing?” Dresil asked Cain as he led her through the crowd to the middle of the dance floor. The nobles made way for them as he walked, eager to see their performance.
“New Ground by Balduin & Wolfgang Lohr feat. J Fitz, if I remember right. Bear with me though, I’ve only seen this done and have never done it.” Cain replied. “That’s all you need though.” Dresil commented, turning around to face Cain. “How fast are we going?” She asked, wary of what was to come next. “Sanic fast.” Cain replied with a smirk and he started the song.
Cain started shuffling his feet along the floor to the beat of the song. Dresil watched him for a moment then began to mimic his movements. They locked hands and glid along the dance floor, bending their knees and and ankles to every beat. [Let’s face them so they know what to do.] Cain transmitted to Dresil. By “them,” Cain was referring to the crowd that was gathering.
Cain spun Dresil out, letting go of her hand when they were arms length apart. Dresil started doing a variety of “Running Man”’s while Cain clapped to the beat. He bent his knees outwards and alternated each ankle that flew out, twisting the flat end of the foot that was on the ground. He then transitioned into rotating each leg at the knee followed by some spins, continuing to clap to the beat. Once a few nobles started to clap on their own, Cain gestured for them to continue the beat then grabbed Dresil’s hand and spun her inwards.
They smoothly traveled across the dance floor showing off a variety of moves, flips, and turns. The duo mystified the nobles that were gathered. From how they could move without moving to how their knees and ankles bent in ways they didn’t even think was possible. There were a few nobles that mimicked some of Cain’s moves, but could not properly grasp the technique before the song ended.
Cain led Dresil back to their table, greeted by the party’s applause. “Damn… that was awesome!” Jared said excitedly. “You want to try it?” Cain offered him while Dresil sat down. “Nah, there ain’t no way I can keep up with that pace.” Jared replied then distracted himself with some fresh pastries. Cain walked over to Veronica and offered his hand, “You’re up next. The next song isn’t as wild as the last one.”
“Can you make it the same?” Veronica asked Cain, a smidge of jealousy was hidden in her tone. “You sure? It’ll be pretty fast.” Cain warned her, to which Veronica nodded with certainty. “Alright, the-” “Wait, I’m wearing heels though. Will it still work?” Veronica interrupted Cain with something she just realized. “Hm? Not anymore you aren’t.” Cain replied with a teasing smile.
Veronica looked under the table, at her feet, to see Dresil replacing her heels with flat, comfy shoes. She thanked Dresil then took Cain’s hand and fled to the dance floor, her ears somewhat red from embarrassment. “Just follow my pace, you’ll get the hang of it soon.” Cain instructed her, then started the song.
—Group Chat: Cain, Dresil, Bob, and Rex— (8ms)
Bob: So what song is it now?
Cain: Lost in the Rhythm - Jamie Berry ft. Octavia Rose.
Rex: Why are you even doing this?
Cain: Stress relief and I’m bored.
Rex: [https://media.tenor.com/images/743666c385590f747a6e5596f73d3b6c/tenor.gif?imageMogr2/thumbnail/280x280|imageMogr2/strip]
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Cain showed off a few moves to Veronica, this time joined by a few young nobles. Veronica slowly copied his movements then went with her own flow. “There you go, just go with the rhythm.” Cain commented then reached out to spin her around. Veronica shyly grabbed his hand, but was yeeted under Cain’s legs instead.
Cain grabbed Veronica by both wrists then threw her under his legs. He held onto her until she was nearly perpendicular from the ground, completely upside down. Before Veronica’s dress could flip, Cain let go then guided her legs with his mana and caught her at the waist. Veronica panted lightly with a slight smile. Never before has she done something so wild, and she was the most energetic of her family.
Cain spun Veronica around while holding onto her waist, using his mana to make sure her dress didn’t fly up unexpectedly. He set her down on the floor then spun her outwards, back in, then out again. He continued to shuffle to the beat while Veronica copied some of his movements. By this time, there were a few couples who managed to keep up with the beat. Cain spun Veronica closer to him and the duo shuffled around the crowd while performing twists and spins.
Cain, Veronica, and the rest of the young couples continued to dance to the beat while the older nobles scoffed, clapped, or cheered them on. Cain, without a doubt, significantly changed the culture of the younger generation during this night. And all he wanted to do was yeet some energy and relieve his stress.
The song ended a few moments later and the nobles went back to their cliques to share their experience. The conductor who had been scribbling notes like mad handed out new music sheets for his musicians. All of them shook their heads after reading through it, saying they needed to practice it first. The conductor sighed and instructed them to do some light classical music instead.
When the music started, Cain and Veronica were back at their table. Veronica slumped onto her chair, putting her arms on the table and resting her head on it. “How was it?” Victoria asked once Veronica was comfortable. “I can’t feel my legs…” Veronica whined, causing Noah and Jared to cough on their drinks due to thinking of something else.
Cain laughed silently as he sat down. “How do you have so much energy…” Veronica asked while trying not to fall asleep due to exhaustion. “Because I eat a lot. I eat a lot because I have a fast metabolism. I have a fast metabolism because I move around or exercise a lot, and I do that because I have lots of excess energy. Oh dear…” Cain realized the conundrum he was in after he rambled on.
Before his body was introduced to mana, the limits of his muscles and time would prevent him from exercising too much thus increasing his energy. He used to ride 100 miles per week on his bike, and occasionally did that within a day, but could not perform more due to the previously mentioned constraints. Now that Cain had access to mana, he could speed up his metabolism with it, or use any complicated spells that would require the same amount of energy as a bike ride. Thus further speeding up his metabolism to digest the needed food and propelling the cycle.
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“You basically have infinite energy as long as there’s enough food…” Victoria commented then looked at Jacob. “Why are you so quiet, you big lug? Oh… hohohoho.” Victoria chuckled slightly with a playful smirk. Jacob had been watching someone this entire time, unable to take his eyes off her. Victoria realized this when she followed Jacob’s line of sight and glimpsed his crush moving throughout the crowd.
When Jared tried to do the same, Jacob turn his lead to look at the party. “H-huh? No reason…” He said while blushing slightly. “Aw come on, tell us. You’ve never been interested in a girl yet.” Jared tried to egg Jacob into spilling the beans, nudging him in the side lightly. Jacob opened his mouth to speak, but before he could do so, another guest walked up to the table.
“You and your familiar sure know how to dance.” An alluring, elegant young lady in a golden dress walked up to the party. She wore subtle accessories, yet each one complimented and enhanced her beauty. Victoria scoffed silently, expecting Jared to be head over heels for her. Yet, when she looked at him, Jared eyed her suspiciously, which brought a light smile to Victoria’s face. Cain immediately let out a small frustrated sigh when he recognized her. Dresil tensed up but still made no preventative efforts and watched from the side. She figured Cain had relieved enough of his stress while dancing and wouldn’t do something rash.
“Greetings, Sister.” Noah greeted Freya in a cold tone. “Oh, Brother? So you were here…” Freya sneered, looking at him from the corner of her eyes and using the fan she was holding to cover the lower part of her face. Jared and Jacob looked at each other in shock, completely baffled to find out Noah was the prince of this country. They peered at Cain and Victoria, expecting to see the same reactions; yet they both had poker faces on. Veronica was still struggling to not fall asleep while watching Freya with suspicious eyes.
“...you guys knew?” They both asked simultaneously. Victoria nodded while sipping her wine and Cain just shrugged. “Well, looks like my cover is blown. Let’s meet again some time.” Noah scooted his chair back to leave, but was momentarily stopped by Cain. “You can stay here still. We don’t care where you come from, just how you behave.” Noah sighed while stuffing a few leftover pastries into his storage ring.
“Maybe, next time. I’m about to fall asleep from eating too much.” Noah replied while pushing his chair back in. “Try to keep your room warm when you do, makes for a good nap or sleep.” Cain said as Noah departed. Noah nodded and waved his hand on his way out. Freya’s eyebrows contorted in a very small moment of scorn. She then turned towards Cain, “Where did you learn how to dance like that? Those movements were very captivating. I’m afraid we might have to host an event just for this now.”
Veronica narrowed her eyes when Freya spoke. Cain just sighed and said, “Why are you here?” “To propo-” Freya’s response was instantly cut off by a stern glare from Cain. He enveloped the space around Freya and himself with mana then covered this small zone with sound-proof magic circles. The magic circles made a sound-proof mini room where Freya and Cain could speak freely.
“I said, why are you here.” Cain demanded with an icy voice, sending chills down Freya’s spine. “...follow me. We need to go somewhere where we can talk privately.” Freya responded. “We can talk here.” Cain coldly retorted. “H-” Freya tried to speak but was instantly cut off by Cain. “Watch. Veronica, you are the most beautiful woman in this room. Even more so than Freya.” Cain stated while tilting his head towards Veronica.
—Group Chat: Cain, Dresil, Bob, and Rex— (17ms)
Rex: oooooh, does this mean you're committing to Veronica?
Cain: Nah, not yet.
Rex: …but you danced with her though.
Cain: Ye. I have to help her somewhat or she’ll be too shy to do anything.
Cain: I’ve shown her I’m interested in her, so now I just need to wait for her to make a move. Although right now her affection is still teetering towards extreme admiration.
Rex: …Bob do you understand this?
Bob: Barely… Human interaction is truly mystifying…
Cain: Ye… and troublesome, it would be so much easier if it was straightforward.
Dresil: I’m afraid humans are too complex and emotional for that.
Cain: Sadly so.
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Freya stared at Cain, completely appalled he thought that the elf was more beautiful than her. She then glowered at Veronica, expecting some sort of reaction, yet Veronica only stared back with a confused and tired expression. “Huff… You really think that horrid, animalistic tree-hugger is prettier than me?” Freya jeered while looking at Veronica with disdain and contempt. She was known as the prettiest among every being in the capitol, yet this man just said Veronica was prettier?
“Insult Veronica again and I’ll teleport you to a cliff. Now tell me why you came here and don’t beat around the bush.” Cain coldly retaliated. Freya’s knees nearly collapsed from the threatening atmosphere Cain created. Having seen first hand at what he was capable of, Freya knew that he was going easy on her with teleporting her to a cliff.
“I came here to propose a marriage alliance between you and me.” Freya meekly stated. “You mean you want to use me to avoid a political marriage in the future.” Cain sighed after he spoke. “I told you to not beat around the bush.” He ate a cookie while Freya shuddered slightly in fear, expecting something to happen.
“Y-yes. You probably don’t have anyone who is capable of managing foreign relations. So I wanted to marry you on the terms that I would fulfill this role.” Freya meekly explained her plans to Cain then awaited his response.
—Dms: Cain and Dresil— (7ms)
Cain: …is what she said true? Thought Aurora could handle that role.
Dresil: For now she can, but not in the long term. She has no experience so it’d be best if Freya or someone similar took that job.
Cain: :sigh: Ok.
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“If you can leave this country without implicating me in a marriage, or dragging down the party in any way, then I’ll let you take over that position. I don’t care how you do it and you have until I leave the capitol, so around three months to do so.” Cain laid down his ultimatum while snacking on whatever was left. The food on the table was slowly drying up, a sign the banquet was close to finishing. “I’ll do my best to be ready by then.” Freya said then departed from the table. Cain dispersed the sound-proof mini room the moment she left.
“What did you guys talk about? Thought I heard my name somewhere.” Veronica groggily asked. ...Her senses are sharp, despite not having much romantic experience… Is this because she’s trained most of her life in that time dilution zone Bob mentioned a few days ago? But then where did she learn her social skills? Cain thought while responding to Veronica, “Just some stuff about the country I made.”
“Oh, is that rumor actually true?” Jared jumped into the conversation when he heard Cain. “Yep, Although it doesn’t really have a name right now.” hah… it’s been a long day. Cain sighed as he answered Jacob. “You could name it Crestbreeze or Crest-Dormer.” Victoria playfully suggested. Veronica’s ears perked up when she heard her last name being called, but was too tired to process what it meant.
“Whittle-Albania also works.” Cain responded in kind, combining Jared and Victoria’s last name. Victoria blushed slightly when she heard Cain. “Huh? Why would you do that for?” Jared’s dumb ass responded. Victoria sighed while Cain said, “Oof… Good luck.” “I’m used to it… sadly” Victoria replied, suppressing a tear that was welling up.
“I’m thinking about Somnum Draconis or Requiem Aeternam.” Cain stated while drinking soda that was recently converted from wine. The party nods their head, with the exception of Veronica who is slowly dozing off. Although they didn’t really understand what it meant, it sounded nice and unique.
“You’re not going to drink alcohol?” Victoria asked when she saw Cain drink soda instead. “Nah, I hate the taste and smell of alcohol. I could always taste it as long as it was there.” Victoria nodded then took a sip. Jared pointed to his glass while looking at Cain; he understood the signal and turned his wine to soda. The party sat in silence while occasionally snacking or talking about minor things until an unwelcome guest disturbed their peace.