After a nice cool-off of sitting around and eating some sausages. I finally get myself to a calm enough state and am ready for the awards ceremony.

I am frustrated by the ending of the last fight against that hero guy or whatever. I mean he talked all that good shit but just surrendered after apparently having a schizo meltdown or something. I wonder what he saw when he got so scared? It doesn't matter I just wanted to have a good competition, this whole tournament was somewhat of a distraction, and a way to help me feel... well in more control. I hate winning when my opponent just gives in. Zandra was different, I kinda like her and didn't want to hurt her, especially since we live together and I'm sure Zindri would never let me live it down if I hurt her badly, I think I'm going to get an earful due to the headbutting.

I am summoned once more by the golden light and head down the disappearing hallway into the arena once more. I am introduced by a fanfare coming from unseen musicians. I put on a friendly smile and wave to the crowd who cheer for me as I am motioned by a worker to go to the podium in the center. I walk up the steps and stand at the highest point and raise my arms in victory.

Beside me is the "hero" who stares at the ground in front of himself. Also next to me is the Princess who side-eyes me with a deflated expression, much different from her normal bravado. At the lowest in fourth place is Karl who gives me a smirk and a wink, I can see parts of his nice clothes are a little singed around the edges. I assume his consolation semi-finals were against Zandra.

Headmaster Holt motions for the arena to become silent which it quickly does. He then begins a speech,

"Good evening students and other spectators. Our combatants today showed their full hands and gave us a wonderful show! We saw some wonderful examples of magic today, and some amazing skills when it comes to an arena fight. These young men and women are going to be a major part of our wonderful kingdom and will do amazing things with their magic and their skills.

Tonight we will celebrate their success and honor them all, especially our grand champion. Only son of the Hasslerouge family, Isa Hasslerouge!"

The crowd cheers loudly for me and I can't help but smile as I start to head down memory lane remembering my last life and the one I've led so far. Winning high school tournaments and being cheered for by friends and family, in this life, a few times back with the Frontiersmen winning victories in the sanctioned fights growing up and becoming an honor guard. It's honestly cathartic, a sense of pride welling up in my chest it almost brings tears to my eyes considering how well things have gone since I lost my home. I mean the Hasslerouge thing was really nice, but still, I am not really free, this tournament was purely something I did. I wasn't ordered to do it, the decision was mine, and I did well. That's all that matters.

After a few more minutes, we are ushered off the podium and out some hidden doors. We are let out of the arena before the main crowd and are told to get ready for a celebratory supper. Quickly I hurry back to the villa hoping to all that is holy I am not forced to wear anything overly fancy...

After an hour of being tortured by both Mekare and one of the other servant women, I am crammed into a very nice set of clothes. It's another one of those uncomfortable button-up shirts with the fancy shoulder cover things. I am forced to wear one of those pompous one-shoulder half-cape things and some shiny leather shoes. The clothing is dyed the Hasslerouge family colors with golden accents. The crest of the Hasslerouge family displays prominently over my heart. They brush my hair and shave my little whispy beard and even powder my face somewhat. I am treated to a complete make-over for a few hours and when I look in the mirror I look retarded, but passable.

I am then escorted by Zindri and Zandra to the celebratory supper as the sun barely peeks over the horizon painting the sky a beautiful orange that fades into purple as night arrives. The two girls without warning take each of my arms in theirs as Zindri quietly guides me to a building that more resembles a fairy-tale castle, but much smaller.

The girls also share a color palette with me but are inversions of one another. Zandra has more red, while Zindri has more black on her dress. The dresses are identical with all kinds of frills and lacey parts. I would argue they are too low cut on the chest area, but for these two it isn't that much of a problem.

Inside the building, which I learn is called the "Royal Formal Building" I a greeted by utter splendor.

Everything appears to be at least plated with precious metal or gemstone. The dull glow of the crystal chandeliers lighting the halls creates intricate patterns on the walls which are left plain, but the halls are lined with incredibly decorated, and seemingly useless suits of armor. I note each one's helmet is crowned, I assume this means the armor sets belonged to past rulers or other royals of this kingdom.

Eventually, I find myself in a large open ballroom with tables lining the far wall. The tables are being loaded with food by servants who are busting their asses to get the table filled. The room is mostly empty aside from us and the servants, but the few other attending people clap politely for me as I enter with the girls. I smile and them and thank the ones within earshot for their support. Once inside I am released and I watch Zindri wipe her arm with a handkerchief as if I had gotten some sort of gunk on her. I take note of this to get back at her later.

No one is tucking into the food or drink so I don't either despite my grumbling belly. The food appears to be prepared for looks, each platter having an artistic display of colors and really showing the talent of the kitchen staff here. It also smells really good, to distract myself I ask Zandra,

"So...what's the purpose of this royal building or whatever?"

She replies in her usual tone,

"The purpose of this building is mainly to be a show of influence and wealth of the royal family, basically a big sign to the colleges saying, "we own you". It acts as the primary formal building and is also the place where large gatherings of nobles and other such important people take place at the college. It serves no purpose aside from that."

I nod and then ask,

"You okay from earlier? I knocked you pretty hard."

She nods and replies,

"Thank you, but I allowed you to get that close to me despite my skills with fire magic. The fault completely lies on me."

I nod in acknowledgment and begin looking for something to do. Everyone appears to be having polite and quiet conversations with one another as people slowly trickle in. Zandra disappears somewhere and Zindri is happily conversing with some friends. A servant woman approaches me with a tray of some strange drinks. She offers me one and I take it without asking what it is. One sip and I find it a pleasant fruit flavor, but I can't put my finger on which fruit exactly. There is a hint of a chemical taste so I know it's alcoholic so I will make sure to pace myself.

Being left to my own devices I take note of one of the servants being an elf or something. Short, long ears and those really far-apart eyes. I start thinking about how this is a fantasy world, what other races exist here? If there are elves, it's safe to assume there are other breeds of elves. Then furthermore are there human-animal hybrid races? Beastfolk if you will. How do they look if they do exist, are they horrifying, or are they cute? I keep pondering these questions wondering how each race would look in real life and if I would be disgusted by them or not.

I am pulled from my thoughts as the room gains a sudden influx of people, all dressed to the nines. I can't help but admire some of the beautiful ladies that make their way into the ballroom. I then notice that hero prick or whatever he called himself. He stands off on his lonesome in a far corner of the ballroom, staring at me. I mean I'm standing alone, but at least I'm in the middle of the room, still though I am by my lonesome as well. I then start walking toward him.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

I approach him and clap him on the shoulder. I then begin speaking to him in English,

"So. Tell me, what the hell was that show? You just kinda gave up."

He frowns and doesn't make eye contact. He responds with a question,

"Who the fuck are you, or what are you?"

I give a confused laugh and respond,

"This life or last one?"

He shakes his head and answers,

"This one. The one that matters now."

I nod and give him my honest answer,

"I'm Isa, and I'm a Frontiersman. I got adopted by the Hasslerouge family to be a consort... trust me man if any of those girls like you be my guest and take your pick. I don't want 'em."

This causes him to get defensive and say sharply,

"I can't believe you would see a lady like that! I don't understand why a nice..."

I raise my hand to cut him off and I reply,

"My man. You aren't a 'nice guy' like you think you are. You have proven you get your flirting skills from a fucking anime, and on top of it you still would treat a woman like those so-called 'jerks', but unlike them, you don't take care of yourself.

My man, you're a worse deal overall."

This deflates him quickly upon realizing he is trying to fight a losing battle. He then asks in a morose tone,

"Don't think less of me, but those things you said about me... well... they hurt man."

I nod and reply,

"That was kinda the point, but I have my reasons. I had to train since I was little to get physically capable and skilled at using any weapons, I worked my ass off day in and day out. I got cursed and can't get any stronger than I am now so I had to get more and more skilled and conditioned to compensate for my weakness... then I was a slave for a few years and had some bad experiences during then too. To be honest I got mad when you were so entitled to shit.

I mean just look at you. Your arms are tiny, you have a few extra pounds on you that you could lose easily. Then you have free blessings from your goddess. Is it jealousy that you had a free ride? Yeah, probably a little, but you reminded me of those people I used to work with back on earth. People who got rich because they inherited a business for free or never actually worked a day in their lives, making me pick up all the slack.

It frustrated me, and also your abilities as you described them to me seem broken as shit so I was trying to piss you off so you would make a mistake."

He processes what I told him and he hangs his head before replying,

"Yeah... I guess that would be frustrating...I... guess I got carried away with having all this power and stuff for once..."

I nod and pat him on the shoulder, my middle-aged self coming through as I tell him,

"It's a power trip. I get it, I probably would act the same. That's what I meant by no discipline. You were tripping because you didn't really earn your power. I recommend working out some and training your power. You can't rely on that blessing at all times, like for example, you face some demon lord or something and he has an anti-magic barrier or a castle that the goddess cannot reach. What then?"

He thinks about this for a moment and nods understandingly,

"I see. That does make sense. I understand now, I was granted the ability to be the hero... I have to become the hero!"

I smile happy to see he understood my side of things. Maybe this guy isn't too bad, he just needed a kick in the pants.

3rd person narrator's perspective shift

Blake completely misinterpreted what Isa said and will now spiral down a path to become even worse.

Back to Isa

Happy with that discussion I head into the now-expanding crowd. I am approached by some other students and politely converse with them, they seem to be brown-nosing me pretty badly, but I really don't give more than half a shit, they are acting as proxies for their parents. I humor them and have a fairly decent conversation with them

Eventually, most of everyone arrives and the Headmaster calls attention. Everyone looks up and he announces the reason for this banquet. The anything goes tournament was the last one to happen so this banquet is to honor all the victors. The headmaster calls up the three champions, Of the casting magic tournament they call someone called Blake up, I am impressed to see that it's the hero guy. The champion of the body modification tournament was Princess Alrius. Then the champion of the final tournament is called up and I take my place in the front. We are all given medals to wear around our necks and we are applauded. Then the banquet is set into motion.

Banquets in this kingdom are similar to those royal balls but there is a massive table of awesome food.

As soon as it's socially acceptable to start eating I go to the table and load up that plate. I enjoy the various cooked meats and sweets available and wash it all down with that really good fruit drink. I am enjoying myself with simple small talk with some of the other attendees. I watch the dance with interest but make no moves toward the floor. I have no clue how to dance. The dance appears to be some manner of waltz, but with strange steps, I don't understand.

I am suddenly pulled from my current conversation by a sharp tug on my arm. I turn around to see a large group of noblemen and the one with an iron grip on my arm is the Princess. She speaks to the group and says in a tone as if she were annoyed,

"I'm sorry, but I must give my first dance of the night to Isa here. "

Understanding the message I face the group and say politely,

"If you don't mind I would like to borrow the princess from you for a time."

She nods and the group disperses and we make our way to the floor. I whisper to her sharply,

"I don't know the dance."

She whispers back,

"Doesn't matter. I refuse to even touch those lowly people."

I laugh and ask back,

"Am I finally not a wild animal to you?"

This makes her give a light and surprisingly cute laugh. She replies,

"No, but I'd rather be in the company of a wild animal than the company of that desperate lot."

I chuckle and we are finally on the floor and a new song starts. She doesn't help me at all or give me a hint on how I should dance. We stand there frozen for a moment, with her barely holding onto my arm. To break the awkwardness I take the lead, letting the rhythm guide me.

Back on earth, my mother made my brother and I take a year of ballroom dance lessons. It was supposed to help us get faster feet for sports. I have since forgotten most of these lessons, but some basic footwork and moves still remain. I do as I normally do, I go with the flow and make the best out of the situation.

I pull the princess in close, I grab her left hand with my right, place my left hand on her hip, keep at least a foot between our bodies, and proceed to match the rhythm of the music in a hybrid cha-cha and jive. The music is quite lively and fast in contrast to what I assume is a normal waltz so I am able to easily match it. Using my hands I am able to move her feet and her entire body in the way I need it to go to avoid stepping on her toes.

She at first is surprised at my suddenness but quickly hides her surprise and slowly gets a feel for what I am doing with my footwork.

After she starts flowing with me I am able to add a few spins into the pattern of steps and slides I had put us into. We stand out like sore thumbs, but slowly my awkwardness fades, and as I loosen up so does the princess, we just do whatever flows the best, ignoring the rest of the room.

I take note of how nice the princess looks dressed up nicely like this. The purple and gold dress she wears greatly flatters her hair and eyes. If it wasn't for her normal demeanor she would be what I consider an absolutely gorgeous lady, but I know how she can get. Therefore I will not get caught up in her beauty, no matter how hard it is to do.

The song winds down and we are both left breathing heavily. She has a nice smile on her face and we leave the dancefloor together. She thanks me for giving her a great dance and she leaves to speak with some other people. I am left with a big-dumb smile on my face as I simply enjoy the rest of my night.

But a thought goes through my head,

"This is like one of those fantasy stories from anime... the tournament arc went without a hitch... when does the bad guy attack on the school begin?"

Eventually, the ball begins to end and people begin leaving. Zandra approaches me and tells me,

"It's time to leave. Zindri has... enjoyed her drink too much."

I nod and go find the slurring and unsteady girl. I tell her it's time to go and thankfully she is cooperative. Her friends bid her farewell as I leave with both girls on my arms. Once outside Zindri pulls my arm close and leans into me heavily. She mutters something incoherent and grips me tightly. I have to borderline carry her drunken ass all the way back to the villa. Once inside I turn the servants loose on her to get her to bed. They have to pry her fingers off of me and once she is gone to bed I do the same.

I undress carefully so as not to damage the nice clothes. Of course, once I am undressed Mekare enters the room. I sigh frustratedly and ask,

"What is it?"

She smiles and replies,

"We have a job to do, and about a month to plan it."

I sit on my bed in my underpants and motion for her to continue. She hands me a large book and says,

"Duke Hasslerouge wants you to use this book to help with the plan."

I skim the book in the pale moonlight and see it is a book about runes, ones I've never seen before. I give her a wide smile and ask,

"What's the job?"

She nods, while for some reason undressing herself and explains,

"In a month there will be a large ball in the building you were just in. Most if not all of the royalist faction nobles will be there. We are to attempt to kill them all, or at least most of them. How this is done is up to you, and it has to be done in a way that cannot incriminate the Duke."

I nod and say to no one in particular,

"Well, shit... looks like I've got to plan a terrorist attack now..."

I can't help but laugh realizing I am the hidden conspiracy that is to perform an attack on the school, and in order to disconnect the attack from the Duke and myself... I'm gonna have to make a show of it.