“Why do we have to wear something like this?”
As I glanced down at the constricting suit, Tana, in her yellow dress, looked at me with a puzzled expression as if asking something obvious.
“Should I just go dressed as a servant then? You’ll have no time to do anything, busy running around serving people.”
“……”
Her response was so logical that I couldn’t even think of something to say. I just stared blankly at Tana as she fixed my outfit.
“You seem surprisingly interested in dressing up.”
“Well, I’m a female student, of course I am!”
Thinking back to the time when she dressed Eve up, Tana seemed to have a genuine interest and talent for dressing up.
“You have this strangely wild side, so let’s just unbutton a few buttons and style it this way.”
“If being wild means going around half-naked, shouldn’t that be the case?”
My attempt at humor seemed clever, but Tana immediately punched my stomach in annoyance.
“Do you know you sound like an old man when you joke?”
“……”
“Just keep your mouth shut. If you have to open it, at least just say hello. Don’t think you can brush over your lack of manners with weird jokes.”
That punch was harder than I expected.
After Tana dressed me up, I could definitely see the difference in the full-length mirror. She seemed satisfied, smiling and nodding her head.
“Looks good!”
“As I mentioned before, what do you think about going into this field? I think you’d do well with Hayun.”
“Me?”
Tana responded with a face that said she never imagined such a prospect. As she turned in front of the mirror, she suddenly rested her chin on her hand and began to ponder.
“Hmm, I do enjoy dressing up. And with Hayun, I think she could make whatever outfit I want.”
“You’ve shown good sense when dressing up Eve and me. I think it’s definitely possible.”
“……I might need to think about it a bit more. Even if I’m branching out, being in the Maya family makes it feel a little awkward to open a clothing shop.”
It’s common for nobility to have their dreams dictated by the status they hold. Hayun was in a similar situation.
“Then let’s go. Let’s at least go and dance a little.”
“Hmm, what if my face gets revealed?”
“Hey, this place is going to be filled with a few hundred nobles. Even if a prince is here, he’ll hardly even notice you.”
Especially Oliver, who would probably be too busy supporting the aging current king.
“Then let’s go.”
Following Tana’s lead, I headed toward the banquet hall, opened to wish for the current king’s health.
I had never seen a place as extravagant and grand as this banquet hall in my entire life. Tana and I could only shrink back in awe, like country mice in the city.
“Ow……”
“Wow, they really pulled all the stops.”
It seemed we weren’t alone in our astonishment. Even nobles, who usually attended many banquets, appeared intimidated by the scale of this one.
“The food is insane!”
“Wow, isn’t that caviar?”
Since the banquet hadn’t started yet, we couldn’t eat anything right away. Sitting down, Tana and I discussed tactics on what to tackle first.
We had been so focused that we nearly missed Prince Oliver’s opening remarks that signaled the start of the banquet.
The current king, gasping from illness, was forcing himself to stay seated, while Prince Oliver held the microphone, jabbering about this and that.
The content was predictable.
Wishing the king long life and the kingdom a bright, endless future, blah blah blah. Honestly, I wasn’t even listening, caught up in food talk with Tana, while the rest of the time I was gazing at another girl.
“……”
It was more like I was playing a staring game with the Priestess of Time sitting in the VIP section arranged by the prince, but it seemed silly that we were wary of each other, as she smiled and raised her hand to greet me.
When the prince finished his speech, Tana and I made our way to the most expensive-looking dish being grilled by the chef.
“What kind of meat is this?”
The smell was so strong that Tana laughed and asked first in line. The chef smiled and replied to the little girl.
“This is meat from a magical beast called Bigship.”
“Eh? This is Bigship?”
A magical beast that serves as a rare prey within the Forest of the Demon Realm. It had quite the massive body, making it a valuable creature for feeding on other magical beasts.
I had read in the Beast Encyclopedia that they were more common outside the Forest of the Demon Realm. I recalled trying it a few times, but the strong fishy smell and tough meat had made me give up on it altogether.
“Haha, you seem surprised. This ferocious magical beast was brought by our kingdom’s knights after a difficult hunt. Although it’s tough and fishy, we’ve processed it with special seasonings for a long time.”
Sure enough, when it was placed on the plate, it sliced smoothly. The delicious waft of steam rose from the meat. I never thought the day would come when I’d think Bigship meat looked appetizing.
Along with that, we returned to our table piled high with foods that I usually never got the chance to eat. Tana had filled her plate generously as well, and we grinned, holding our forks and knives.
“Let’s eat well!”
“Let’s eat well!”
We started inhaling the food right away.
I felt like praising myself for skipping breakfast this morning, because the feast was absolutely delicious.
I’d heard Prince Oliver had put in a lot of effort for this banquet, but I never imagined the food would be this good.
“It’s melting, it’s melting.”
Since I didn’t want to be too stuffed to move around, just one plate would have to do, which was a bit disappointing.
Tana was also licking her lips as she gazed longingly at more dishes.
Then, the classic music began to play. It was time for the dance, something that couldn’t be missed at a banquet. I wasn’t sure what was so fun about spinning around with a partner, but Tana came over and took my hand to lead me.
“Let’s go! Let’s dance!”
“Ah, why? I don’t want to.”
“It’ll be fun!”
Dragged by Tana’s hand, I found myself on the stage. I was worried about what would happen if Prince Oliver noticed me, but he seemed busy running off somewhere.
The Priestess of Time was clapping, enjoying the music, which bothered me a bit, but I stood on stage following Tana anyway.
After all, the stage was big enough for a battle soccer match, and there were so many people it wasn’t likely we’d stand out.
As the music started, I began to dance in time with Tana’s steps.
“Hmm? What? You dance better than I thought?”
“I’ve danced a bit before.”
“That’s kind of weird.”
Memories of dancing with Elise at the masquerade were still fresh in my mind. I didn’t expect a knife fight to break out there.
‘Thinking about it, wasn’t that the catalyst for all the incidents that followed?’
Back then, I had rashly confronted Elise. Had I not gone, she wouldn’t be going crazy after me now.
“Ha.”
“What’s with the sigh? Did you dislike it that much?”
Recalling Elise, I let out a sigh without thinking, and Tana wiggled her eyebrows, questioning me.
“No, just thinking about the past a bit.”
It felt like such a long time ago, yet when I looked back, it wasn’t that long. Maybe it was the nostalgia that prompted Tana’s beaming smile.
“Hey, but when you think about it, haven’t we known each other the longest?”
“Rin and Ares are here too, you know?”
“Come on, they don’t count. They’re childhood friends. You became my first friend since coming to the academy.”
“……Well, yeah, that’s true?”
Thinking about it, it was indeed the case.
“You came to my room jealous because I was hanging out with Ares, complaining about why I was with him.”
“Ah, I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
Tana clicked her tongue and turned her head away slightly. It seemed like a rather embarrassing memory since her words came out in a rush.
“I thought that was true love back then! How could I understand something as complicated as love at such a young age!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Even at the age of 28, I finally grasped the notion of love after being proposed to by Eris, only to die afterward, so who was she to know anything?
“Tch, annoying. I didn’t mean to bring this up.”
“Hmm? Was there something you wanted to say?”
Tana typically spoke a lot, but today it felt especially abundant. I was curious, but she chose the moment when the performance transitioned to another song to speak.
“I wanted to say thank you. For coming along with me and for not letting me become a maid.”
“……”
“If I were alone, I would have given up. I would have just accepted it as destiny. Even Eve, Hayun, Sen, and May are growing and shedding their shells. But I couldn’t.”
I couldn’t deny that she was wrong.
In reality, if I hadn’t helped her, she might have suffered a humiliating defeat against the twins.
But now that she had overcome that, I firmly believed she would surely move forward.
“I know I made you go through unnecessary trouble. I’m really thankful and sorry.”
“It’s okay, we’re friends.”
Tana might not realize it, but she was a pretty precious part of my life. It was rare to have someone I could speak so comfortably with, without any irrational concerns.
“That’s right, we’re friends.”
Tana flashed a gentle smile.
She seemed to have a word on the tip of her tongue, but ultimately swallowed it, choosing to say something else.
“But you’re not just friends with me. You’re friends with Eve too.”
“Really? That’s true.”
The grip in our hands tightened as we prepared to dance again. Tana smiled like a mischievous village rascal and warned me.
“So don’t make Eve cry, understood?”
“……”
I recalled having received this warning at least once before.
For sure, in Batian, Lucia, the Saint, had declared she wouldn’t let it slide if May cried.
“Not going to answer?”
“That’s…… not a question I can answer.”
“Hey.”
“No, you know I like someone else.”
“Ugh, I don’t know about that! Just make sure to handle it!”
“Seriously, you’re too much.”
As I sulked, Tana couldn’t hold back her laughter and let out a soft chuckle.
“Don’t act cute. It’s annoying.”
“I’m not trying to act cute.”
Hearing someone say I was cute was something new for me, making me feel oddly bashful. Tana let out a long sigh as she observed my reaction.
“Why does everyone end up liking a guy like you?”
“Seriously, you have a foul mouth. I don’t even know.”
As we continued to bicker, the performance came to an end, and our dance wrapped up. Suddenly, Prince Oliver appeared, smiling and holding the microphone.
The Priestess of Time began to move.
Just as I was about to follow her, I felt a small palm on my back.
Glancing back, Tana was smiling reassuringly, pushing me forward.
“Go do what you do best. I’ll save some meat for you when you’re done.”
“What I do best?”
When I asked curiously, Tana crossed her arms and shook her head.
“Don’t you know? I was talking about beating everyone up.”
“Ah……”
Indeed.
“It’s my specialty.”
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