CH 89

“Phew, that was exhausting.”

I let out a sigh and loosened the tie that was strangling my neck.

“Hey, Elt-kun. The party isn’t over yet.”

Alice whispered into my ear.

“But then again, I don’t have time to eat my food because they keep greeting me one after another.”

The sumptuous dishes that had been laid out on the table at the start of the event were already devoured, and everyone was enjoying the conversation with a drink in hand.

I was looking forward to tasting some of the most sumptuous food I’ve ever seen, but the constant round of greetings prevented me from eating any of it.

“You’ll be invited to parties regularly from now on, so why don’t you just eat the food then.”

Alice handed me one of the cups she had received from the waiter. The contents of the cup seemed to be wine. The rich aroma caresses my noise, and the red liquid naturally makes my throat burn.

“Fuuh! It’s delicious!”

Alice’s eyebrows furrowed as I gulped it down in one gulp since I had been standing and talking.

“Elt-kun, you know you shouldn’t chug those things, right? It’s common sense to toast to me first and then compliment the woman you’re escorting…”

“I, isn’t it alright to do that when we’re alone?”

I had no idea that there were etiquette rules even for a single glass of sake, and my face contorted as I looked at Alice.

“Well, there aren’t that many people who follow such detailed etiquette.”

Alice sipped from her cup as she looked around.

I can’t help but be grateful for Alice’s suggestion, as she has been searching for the enemy while I’ve been distracted. I was especially grateful for the two weeks she spent with me before the party started, teaching me everything I needed to know. She taught me everything from dance practice to costume fitting. She made sure that I wouldn’t embarrass myself at school.

“You were really helpful this time. Thank you.”

“What is it, all of a sudden?”

Alice’s eyes widened as I suddenly thanked her.

“Because if it weren’t for you, I would’ve been thrown in the middle of all these people and I would have been helpless.”

I had gotten used to the killing intent from the Evil God and the other vicious monsters, but I wasn’t used to people whose intentions I couldn’t read just by looking at them.

Sometimes they would ask me about politics, but as I didn’t have any knowledge, I had no way to answer.

Some of them offered to donate money for the Evil God’s bounty, but it was really helpful to have Alice here.

If it hadn’t been for her, I might have been offered some strange deal or been scammed.

When I thanked her again, she said..

“It’s not like I was only doing it for you, Elt. I just thought it would be a pity for Alicia and Serena if you had a strange woman attached to you.”

It didn’t sound like a joke. I’m getting a lot of hot looks from the ladies at the party, and a lot of stares from the boys.

I’m sure half of them are just jealous because I was with Alice, but…

I was staring at the source of the problem, Alice’s profile.

“I don’t know what you’re feeling, Elt-kun, but don’t ignore the woman who confessed to you and turn your attention to another one.”

Alice moved her face to stare at me.

“Yeah, I swear I’m not going to do anything half-hearted.”

As I answered, the atmosphere of the party began to change. The musicians took the stage and began to prepare their instruments.

“It looks like the place is warming up. Let’s hope you can take it from here.”

“Honestly, I’m ready to go home.”

Alice’s words made me cringe. I’ve been told that it’s going to be dancing from here on out.

The first person to dance is always Alice, but it seems that at parties like this, you change partners when the music changes.

Since this was a social event, it was necessary to dance with as many partners as possible, and it seemed that Alice had to play the role of a princess on this occasion.

Therefore, it is expected that I’ll be asked to dance by the ladies whom she has been restraining so far.

“That might be a good idea. If you want, why don’t you take me out of the party?”

Alice reached out her hand to me. I took her hand and pulled her into a hug.

“I just said I wouldn’t do half-hearted things.”

I glared at her and began to dance to the music.

★

“My plan failed this time.”

A young man and woman were dancing in the party hall.

The music just started, so the music was slow and relaxed.

In the midst of all this, the people around me were paying attention to the dance of a beautiful man and a beautiful woman who caught my attention.

The man’s movements were somewhat awkward and his face was stiff, but the woman was assisting him well, making it a beautiful dance.

The man was moving awkwardly at first, but after the woman whispered something to him while he was dancing, he seemed to have lost his tension and was smiling. This was probably his true expression.

“I didn’t expect the Ilkut Kingdom to be so blatant about it.”

“However, the hero’s hometown is Ilkut, and this time it was a sacrifice from there that defeated the Evil God.”

Basically, the hero who accomplished the Evil God’s defeat becomes neutral in order to balance the power between nations. But no matter what, the influence of their own homeland would remain.

Even if the other countries denounce the situation as “unfair”, they would not be able to pursue the matter further because the answer would be “We are just talking because we know each other.”

This is because the other countries think that there was a certain amount of communication between the kingdom and elt, especially since the sacrifice was prepared by them.

“Is she the first princess of Ilkut, Alice-sama?”

In front of everyone, Alice was smiling with an elegant fake smile on her face. However, the gestures she makes show how close she is to Elt.

“If Ilkut’s princess were to become his wife, it is still possible that we would be able to be his second or third wife. In any case, it will be after this song is over.”

The ladies became wallflowers. Some of them have been asked to dance, but they were waiting to dance with Elt.

If they can make an impression by dancing here, they’ll have an excuse to invite him to the tea party later.

If I can get to that point this time, I’ll be good. However, one of the people who was watching this relaxed his mouth.

“I think we might be able to work something out with Princess Alice.”

“What do you mean by that?”

One of them tilted his head, asking the question.

“I have some information about the First Princess of Ilkut. It seems that she’s pledged herself to the temple.”

“Hoh. Can you tell us more about that?”

Everyone in the room was intrigued by his words, and they began to talk about getting rid of their common enemy, Alice.