“...”
“....”
Currently, I was sitting at a table with two beautiful women at my side. The music hadn’t started yet so we still had time to talk. Even with my head down, I could feel everyone’s eyes on this table.
The whispers weren’t pleasant to hear.
“Huhu. It looks like sir Clyde was caught cheating and is being admonished by his wives.”
“Indeed. Do you think the wielder of the King’s Sword will become his bride as well?”
“It’s a shame but yes. I sent multiple letters of engagement to the Luxembourg household and yet none had been replied to.”
“We should face it, she will not marry anyone else.”
“She’s wasted on that little kid. Just look at her body. It’s like they are parent and child.”
‘You fuckers. I’ll use the necromancy ring and summon wraiths to haunt you tonight.’
I tried to ignore their conversation which was heard even though they were whispering. Lustful eyes were directed at Artoria who was dressed in a rather revealing outfit.
She crossed her arms which caused her chest to pop out even more. It was like she wanted to show Diane—and all the other women here—her assets.
“So...This is Diane, your first wife. How lucky. She’s gorgeous.” Artoria spoke first.
There was no light in her eyes as Artoria spoke. Her mouth had a grimace as if she smelled something unpleasant.
It was the kind of look a rich guy would give a beggar.
“Thank you for the compliment, lady Artoria. However, I cannot compare to you in beauty. Even her majesty pales in comparison.”
“Why are you referring to me as lady?”
“Why, you’re a famous person after what happened a year ago. To be in the presence of such a person is truly a wonderful thing. You turned into a woman, was it?”
“...Mhm.” Artoria nodded furtively.
“I keep wondering about something, do you still miss your—” Her eyes wandered down Artoria’s body.
“Diane.” My voice was cold as I spoke to her. I could tolerate a lot of things but not that.
“I apologize. It was on reflex.” Diane lowered her head.
“...It’s alright. A lot of people asked me the same thing and my answer is the same: I do not. I had no need for it at all.” Artoria’s face flushed as she looked at me. She twirled strands of hair around her finger.
‘What does that mean!?’
Before the conversation took a strange turn, I changed the subject.
“A-Anyway, how are you here?”
“I am also wondering that, lady Artoria. I thought the containment would last a few years at most.”
Artoria shrugged.
“I made a deal with them so I’m free until they come back.”
“A deal?” My curiosity was piqued. “What kind?”
“Let’s not pry, sir Clyde. It could be classified.” Diane cut me off with a strict tone. “It’s not every day that national class prisoners get let out every day. They did this because they trusted her.”
“Ah, right...”
It wasn’t like I was thinking that Artoria was too dangerous to be let out. I mean, when she was a kid, she wouldn’t even hurt a fly.
I felt someone’s hand on my thigh at that moment.
My entire body stiffened. When I saw Artoria’s face, all I could see were the eyes of a predator. It was like I upset her because of what I did. The way how hard she was gripping my thigh was proof of that.
What did I even do? Why was she mad at me for no reason?
‘Wait...Is she jealous?’
“Where’s the sword, lady Artoria?”
“Can you stop with the ‘lady’, Diane?”
“Ah, okay. Then I will speak without reserve.”
“Good. Regarding your question: I had to lock it away somewhere. It was adamant on following me so it was tough to have it agree.” Artoria removed her hand from my thigh. She ‘accidentally’ dropped her napkin and picked it up while facing me. The valley between the divine mountains were right in front of my eyes.
“It has a will? Amazing...” Diane muttered with her hand on her mouth.
Was she astonished? I couldn’t tell. Her expression rarely changes.
“A weapon with a will? Are they that amazing?” I didn’t really know much when it came to weapons.
There weren’t any encyclopaedias of unique weapons just lying around after all. Those were often items passed down in families for generations.
“They are rare artifacts so not many people can have them. It doesn’t matter what amount of money you have.” Artoria gave an explanation. “My sword, Misteltein, is a sword that was forged by the Dryads.”
“Really?” Diane looked unconvinced. “Haven’t dryads been extinct for millions of years?”
“Yes, but some lived in the shadows. The last known dryad was caught by human poachers. She was killed in the Second Age of the Red Era.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard of this. My mind has been broadened. I should interest myself in the culture of other races as well.”
Artoria cooked up a lie. The Dryad Queen was very much alive so their race being extinct wasn’t true. With the right male species, she could copulate and restore her race to its former glory.
‘That said, which race would be suitable to copulate with....’
Perhaps high elves? Miya and her mother were currently the only high elves living right now. If Xantha planned to copulate with the royal family then she’d have to wait until Zefra bore a son.
“Speaking of other races; why haven’t I seen a single dwarf around here?” I asked what was on my mind. “I have only seen them in the Habsburg Kingdom.”
“They are not that common in the northern continent. Although racial discrimination has been resolved, dwarves believe there is no reason for them to associate themselves with humans.” Diane answered the question.
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“Why? Aren’t they in need of humans’ help?”
All races associated themselves with humans. Look at dragons. Even though they are the mightiest race, they coexist with humans. The Draconic kingdom was crawling with dragons.
“Not quite, sir Clyde. Dwarves are master craftsmen by nature and are a race full of pride. They also hate us humans because they think our methods of fighting are weak and stupid.”
“....?”
Diane sighed. It was like she was a teacher answering questions that had nothing to do with the lesson.
“During the Magic Industrial Revolution, they were the ones who were against magic the most. They believe that the art of craftsmanship is better than magic. You have seen airships before, no?”
“Yeah.”
“They were originally the creators of the first model before the monarchs of the United Empire stole their inventions. That was the first breakthrough for the humans in magic engineering. Much of our technology today are inspired by theirs. The Dwarven King issued an edict that separated humans and dwarves forever. To them, us humans are vile beings. Thieves who only steal from others. To this day, humans and dwarves have never made contact ever again.”
“If that’s the case then how did my father buy me a staff from the Hermit Sage collection...”
It was a fine piece of work that had lasted for more than eight years. Although, it was merged with that World Tree branch, the effectiveness of the magic staff only increased.
“Ah. I know how.” Diane spoke again. “The Hermit Sage is also a dwarf that wanders around human settlements. They say that he wants to prove the first king of their nation wrong. That magic is not inferior to their crafted weapons at all. To go even further to prove that, he devoted his youth to studying magic and thus he became a famous magic item creator. He was banned from ever setting foot on their soil. Forever wandering the world...”
“You know quite a lot, miss Diane.” Artoria said with a whistle.
“I spent my entire childhood reading if I was ever bored. Mostly, those pertaining information about other races. I can speak the tongue of elves, halfling, dragons, mermaids and beastman.” Diane counted all of that on her fingers. “I can speak the language of fairies as well. Although, they are quite rare here in our territories.”
“Whoa! That’s incredible!”
“R-Really? You think so, sir Clyde?” Diane seemed to be caught off guard by my amazement.
That was some crazy talent she had. No matter how many times I tried to read the language of a different race, I never manage to learn it at all.
“Not only are you beautiful, but smart too!” I gave a thumbs up.
“Ahem, we were going off-topic a bit there.” Maybe it was my imagination but I saw a red flush on Diane’s face.
The lights suddenly dimmed down a bit.
“It was a fruitful experience talking about the things I have read. Many find my conversations boring. Thank you for listening.” Diane stood up. “The musicians are gathering on the podium.”
As if it was perfect timing, her father spoke on the mic again.
-We will now begin with the first song of the night. As this is the first song, the main person of tonight should take the stage.
The stage light suddenly shone above me again. I could see Diane stealthily move away. It seemed that she was giving me the chance to dance with Artoria.
The person in question was looking at me with sparkling eyes.
“Would you like to dance...?” I took Artoria’s hand and kissed the back of it.
Her shoulders jerked up in surprise at my bold actions. It made me chuckle a little bit.
“Y-Yes. It will be my honour to take the first dance.”
I could hear disappointed sighs from the young group.
Sorry girls. I’m scared over what Artoria will do if I don’t dance with her first.
I led Artoria by the hand as we walked to the dance floor. Neon lights followed the path we took through the sea of people. Many were memorised by Artoria’s gorgeous figure.
She had the perfect body, face and was powerful as well. Amongst the mesmerised eyes, I could see a few with perverted gazes and well. It was like they were licking her with their eyes.
When I glanced back at Artoria to see how she was doing, I saw that her head was lowered. Through the gaps in her hair, I saw her blushing furiously.
‘Where’s that confidence from earlier?’
She was like a middle school girl who was just confessed to by her crush or something.
After walking for a few more seconds, we reached the middle of the hall. There was a circle of people around us. All of them looked at our figures standing on the dance floor.
I got into position by taking Artoria’s hand and putting my right hand on her lower back.
“....” When I pushed her close to me in a waltz pose, she averted her eyes while biting her lip. It looked like steam would come out of her ears at that rate.
The music began.
Tap.
I made the first move. A few seconds later, she followed me. Although her face was a bit red and her body stiff, she earnestly tried to match my movements.
“Hey, Ria.” I casually spoke to her as we moved with the flow of the music.
“Y-Yeah?” Her voice was a little high pitched as she replied.
“It seems that you didn’t know Diane back at the table. Was I not engaged to Diane in your previous lives?”
“Well...No. The Astley household was revived in another way.”
“Another way? What do you mean?”
I asked when I twirled Artoria. Our arms pulled us together again. We began dancing slowly when the tune returned to normal.
“....”
“What is it?”
“I-It’s...” Artoria seemed to hesitate over what to say.
“If it’s something concerning the future that’s important, can you give me the gist of it then?”
“Okay...” She frowned as she tried to remember. “You did a deed that made you achieve a rather handsome reward. You requested for the fallen Astley household to be affiliated with the Kingdom of Colchis.”
“A great deed, huh...” The other people slowly starting dancing as well when the second song came up. Of course, we were still in the spotlight. “Who was the ruler of the kingdom in your previous lives?”
“There were many after the king died. Olivia. Melodia. Lyle, the first prince. And Margareta.”
“Huh? The king’s sister?”
“She succeeded in getting the throne. However, she didn’t last long.”
“I see...”
Margareta had been locked away in the Inner Palace for two decades now. She wasn’t thrown in prison for her crimes against the royal family. She murdered her parents but before she could take the throne, Melodia and Philip, including the dukes of the north beat her to it.
“Did the Republic play a big role in your previous lives?”
“Well, no. They were only being led by the nose by a higher power. It’s rather ridiculous that the king views them as a threat.”
My guess was that that higher power were the Immortal race. They had played a key role in the disaster of this kingdom. Since there was this other guy that appeared to rescue Zero then there was no doubt that there were more of them.
Maybe they were much stronger than Zero.
Sync, was it? He beat the White Order—that was consisted of master class warriors and 8th stage mages—in under a minute. If anything, he was the bigger threat.
It was weird how he didn’t follow Zero’s example of destroying the kingdom.
‘No one would’ve survived.’
That was because no one could stand up to them. The White Order went to the Red Abyss’ most difficult worlds. It was too optimistic to think they’d get stronger with just that.
‘Isn’t it common for demon lords to be the enemies of humanity?’
It was a common trope isekai. I kept forgetting that this was my reality. It wasn’t a game or a dream.
‘Well, even if war or something else breaks out and it reaches this kingdom then I should escape with my family.’
They were more important. Of course, my friends were too. Erica could look after herself but the same couldn’t be said for Charlotte. She had to have Helen by her side so it was inevitable that they had to be together if a disaster were to occur.
I had no obligation to fight for this kingdom. I wasn’t a royal or a noble tied to this nation. If a disaster happened again then I would only escape.
Now that I thought about it, wasn’t I a coward? It was better than being dead, I guess.
“Something else on your mind?” Artoria seemed to have recovered from her flustered state; she asked me with smile.
“Ah right. I wanted to know if you can tell me about these dreams I keep having. They stopped after a while but in the arena, I suddenly started having visions. It was at that moment when I saw Damian using that weird power.”
Artoria frowned.
“As expected, it’s close...”
“What is...?”
When I wanted to ask, the music suddenly stopped. Everyone clapped their hands while looking at us. It seemed that we were attracting the most attention.
Artoria let me go and stepped backwards.
“Where are you going?””
“Sorry...I need some fresh air for a while.”
“Oh...”
She headed for the direction of the back door and left into the garden.
When I was about to follow her, I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder.
She was a cute girl with medium length blonde hair and a well-endowed body.
It was someone I didn’t expect to see.
“Heey~”
It was Erica. She jumped into my arms.
◇
“I thought you were busy with your assignment at the tower. Did you finish it in time?”
Erica and I walked over to a corner while the other people were dancing. I took a glass of punch for her and myself.
“I was finished in the first week. The reason I couldn’t see you sooner was because I had to earn money to buy this dress.” She twirled in her red dress. She had a matching red rose ornament in her hair. “It was annoying having to stay under the radar as an adventurer but I managed to earn enough money.”
“What did you do with that money we earned from the fight with the dragon ?” I narrowed my eyes.
Erica scratched her cheek.
“I w-was stuck in that tower for so long so I splurged on fancy food. I-It was so delicious that I couldn’t stop.”
“Ha...” I sighed.
In the end she was still a human despite being the Saintess.
“A-Anyway, there’s someone here to see you. I brought him here.” She pointed at my back.
“Eh?” I was dumbfounded by who I saw.
It was a guy with blue hair and eyes. He was that bastard that humiliated me in front of the first year students during lunch break.
“...Ryan Rosenberg.” I was itching to throw a fireball at his face.
“Y-Y-Yes, it’s m-me.” He stuttered as if he was afraid of something. When he made eye-contact with Erica, he shivered.
“What’s your business with me?” If the bastard was here to mess up this party then I wouldn’t show him any mercy. I was done allowing people to walk all over me. All of them will get a spell in their stupid faces from now on.
“I’m sorry!!” Ryan kowtowed by my feet in front of everyone.
...
...
“...Eh!?”