Chapter 57

* * *

The knowledge of dancing in this world already existed in my head. I had even practiced beforehand with the two of them.

However, actually dancing felt different from practice after all.

The stage and attire were different, the mindset approaching the dance was different, and lastly, the way my partner treated me was different too.

♩ – ♪♪ ♩

A music sound that I can tell is this world’s ‘waltz,’ even though I can’t tell what song it resembles since I haven’t heard many, even on Earth, rings out intensely.

Probably amplified by magic, it’s a rich sound that immerses the whole body in the music without causing pain to the ears or head.

‘They say it feels like the music permeates your whole body. So this is what that feels like.’

I felt a sensation as if lying in a space just for music, but I wasn’t alone there.

What was making the music permeate wasn’t the music itself, but my partner Xue.

-Huu… Haa…

Even though the music sound was hitting my whole body, my breathing was following Xue’s brushing past my ear rather than the music’s rhythm.

“One. Two.”

For the first 30 seconds or so following that voice, she whispered while smiling at me.

The stimulation of the five senses hitting my whole body wasn’t just that.

After turning my body once and meeting eyes again.

“…!”

Like now.

Xue smiled brightly every time she looked at me in between as if she couldn’t hold back, and every time I met that smile, my heart showed an abnormal phenomenon.

Thump!

It beats more strongly, off-beat.

Along with a slightly reddened face, perhaps because it fully revealed her loving heart.

“Ah.”

Tap!

Such irregular heart palpitations made me forget the rhythm of dancing.

Why aren’t you working, ‘Nobility’?

Is it okay not to come out if there’s a counterpart worth recovering? Or is it better to accept ‘love’ as it is?

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Sometimes I stepped on her feet like that, but when I did, she seemed rather more pleased and said so.

“Wait…?!”

“Hm? I said it’s okay.”

She completely embraced me in her arms and changed to a static motion.

Although it didn’t match the music, it was a method that made my heartbeat so loud that I couldn’t even care about such things.

Thump. Thump.

Instead, at those times, I also calmed down while hearing her louder than usual heartbeat through my ears.

Feeling that I wasn’t the only one nervous.

Swish.

Then again, she occasionally touched various parts of my body with subtle movements that didn’t match the dance moves.

Then, surprised by the sudden unfamiliar stimulation, I make my body movements a bit larger and afterward more flamboyant and beautiful than before.

In other words, Xue was making me stand out the most right now.

“You really dance well.”

“Hearing that from you, Lady, feels very rewarding…”

She truly danced well.

Incomparably better than during practice.

So… it’s embarrassing to say with my own mouth, but in the end I hardly had any proactive movements and was just being led the whole time.

‘Ah…’

I realized that dancing together makes you feel like you’re putting only each other in each other’s world.

Synchronized breathing and gestures, exchanging smiles and glances.

‘It’s fun.’

Before I knew it, I, too, had let go of all tension and was just smiling.

While feeling my heart falling for her.

* * *

Sonia and Leonis.

Me and Xue.

And Maria and Alexis who became partners to blend into the ball atmosphere, though they weren’t willing to.

When those three teams gathered again on the terrace after having their own time, quite some time had passed.

“You’re here?”

“You were here first.”

“Dancing is tiring…”

To be precise, only Xue and I, with overflowing stamina, arrived at that time, while the other couples had danced only once and had already settled there long ago.

“So…”

As I sat down and just turned my gaze to the others, an unusually heavy atmosphere caught my eye first.

The source of that atmosphere was one couple.

“What happened? The atmosphere is heavy. Sonia.”

“Ah, um, that’s… I’m, I’m sorry…”

“I’m not trying to blame you.”

“But…”

I saw Sonia sitting at the table, not knowing what to do while looking around nervously, and Leonis, with a dark complexion talking with other people far away.

I had sent them together to get closer, but for some reason they were in a state of being more distant from each other.

“…Hmm.”

There are a few reasons I can guess, but it would be rude to ask them directly even as their master.

‘I hope Leonis didn’t do something.’

Looking at Sonia, she seemed very surprised rather than… disappointed.

It doesn’t seem like anything too serious, but it looks like all memories of her first party have flown away.

I pondered for a moment, but the decision was quick.

-Eve, Xue.

It’s easy to guess that there was some kind of negotiation between Eve and Xue behind the action that allowed Xue to ask me for a dance, considering how they usually behave towards me.

So I should act like I’m asking both of their opinions.

Even if they oppose this, I won’t stop what I’m trying to do now. Instead, the two of them will be relieved just by the fact that I asked for their opinion.

-Clatter.

-Hm…?

My heart feels a bit heavy as I’ll have to say something apologetic to Xue and Eve, but this is the scene of my disciple and vassal’s first memory.

I already have one sweet memory, so I wanted to give this young woman just one more purely enjoyable memory.

-If I take this child to dance now, would you dislike it?

-Eh…?

-Tack!

Sure enough.

Xue’s expression became momentarily blank, then turned into a state mixed with irritation and jealousy.

That emotional wave was rising exactly from the shadows too, so it wasn’t difficult to guess what their emotions were.

-…

Though they didn’t say it directly in words, it’s an emotional change that quickly shows how much these children unusually like me.

So I approached in front of Xue, crouched down, and met eyes with her, who was slightly bowing her head.

“Is it not okay?”

“Do as you please… It’s actually nonsense for you to ask our opinion… What Lady wants is the best…”

-Tack.

Xue’s face letting out words of affirmation, was still very gloomy.

Xue became a dejected large wolf, and Eve exuded an atmosphere not much different from her.

Thinking of the pleasant memory Xue gave me just now, I, too, can’t be shameless.

So while pondering how to relieve their hearts even a little, I impulsively decided to do something I would never be able to do if I were my usual self.

Chu.

After kissing the tip of my finger once, I put it near the cheeks of Xue and Eve, who I slightly called out from the shadows.

“Huh…?”

-Clatter.

I heard a sound like the two of them breaking down, but I didn’t look at the result and immediately turned around to hurriedly approach Sonia.

I was concerned that Sonia and Maria were staring at me with rabbit eyes, but I ignored even that as much as possible.

“Sonia. Won’t you dance with me? I still seem a bit lacking, so I’d like you to accompany me.”

When I held out my hand and said that, Sonia, who made her rabbit eyes even bigger, pointed at herself with her finger and answered in bewilderment.

“Huh…? Me? I don’t know men’s dance…”

“Of course, I’m the man’s part?”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Don’t worry. Xue just taught me well. Now I’m confident in either side.”

I opened bewildered Sonia’s hand and grasped it tightly, then led Sonia’s hand directly to advance to the stage again.

Stamina is, of course, perfect.

Both in terms of attributes and the inherent performance of a Dungeon Lord’s body, I’m quite superior in stamina compared to other intelligent races.

Technique is no problem either.

Thanks to Xue who danced with me, I roughly know how to lead a partner dancing the man’s dance as a woman.

Dancing with Sonia would be like practicing that.

“Um…”

-…

I saw Xue’s face in passing, but it was still blank, and Eve was also in a state of silence.

It must have been quite a shock… I was thinking that, but my face seemed to be heating up too.

‘What on earth did I do?’

It was certain that I had been intoxicated by the favor they had been sending me all along and couldn’t come to my senses.

There’s no way I would do such a thing in my right mind.

Such a puppy love expression like that, not even a direct kiss.

“Um, I really don’t have confidence…”

“If you’re not trying to embarrass me after coming this far, give me your hand.”

“Ah, yes…!”

At Sonia’s words, I quickly gathered my thoughts that were drifting towards them, then put her hand on my waist, and interlocked fingers with one of her hands.

I smiled first.

“Don’t feel burdened.”

“Master…?”

Because Sonia was so nervous that I could tell just by looking at her face.

Fortunately, I was able to relieve a lot of tension just by adding a few words, but until just now, she was making an expression as if someone was really strangling her neck.

She’s probably nervous about me being her partner but also conscious that she’s originally supposed to be in the leading male role.

“We’re not here to debut in noble society, are we? We’re here to have fun.”

“…Yes! That’s right…!”

What I hear is cheerful music that seems to express a girl’s fluttering heart.

Although the music itself was something I was hearing for the first time, the rhythm underlying it was one I had danced to with Xue just before.

“Now. One, two.”

“Ah, yes…!”

The time after that was quite enjoyable.

At least to the extent that I felt like I understood half of what emotions Xue was feeling while leading me.

“Ah, um, I’m sorry…!”

“Don’t mind it.”

Sonia, not knowing what to do while stuck to me and occasionally making mistakes, was very cute.

Of course, it was possible because those mistakes had no meaning. If it really hurt, it would be difficult to just accept mistakes as mistakes.

Although I couldn’t completely embrace and move while lifting Sonia as Xue did.

“Like this. Slowly.”

“Ah… yes!”

Instead, I could naturally turn evasive movements into dance, so it didn’t matter.

Although I didn’t have Xue’s proficiency, it was possible because I had more ‘technique’ than her and the composure to maintain while finding Sonia cute.

As we danced while shaving off those mistakes one by one, I saw that, at some point, Sonia began to dance something more like a proper dance.

By that time, her smile had completely returned, and I could feel that she was enjoying it.

‘Hmm. I wonder if the strange atmosphere between Leonis and Sonia was because the dance didn’t go well.’

It can’t be. It must be because I’m playing the male role now.

Rather, if it’s something like that, it would be fortunate.

From the position of calmly building up favor, such things will also become memories.

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes! Ah… that.”

“Then that’s good.”

Sonia’s smiling face after the dance ended seemed to have stripped away some of that one-step-back atmosphere she always had.

If we gradually get closer like this, one step at a time, won’t we have a much better atmosphere later?

I looked forward to that time.

* * *

“I was rejected.”

“Oh my.”

But it seems that good atmosphere was probably only on my side.