063. Justia Banquet (2)

“I’ll give you an invitation tomorrow, in class.”

After ordering a dagger from Alen, Iriel headed straight to his mansion.

Serena stretched as she completely disappeared.

It was a cool face, as if a tooth had been knocked out.

“Finally gone!”

“Umm, it’s a banquet. Did you say you’d invite all the students in the swordsmanship class?”

That meant that he would eventually invite the 1st and 2nd princes, and even the soy spoon.

‘People of interest are gathering guns.’

In fact, all I did was train by beating monsters, so in a way, it finally felt like a romance fantasy.

Originally, dancing at a ball and splashing drinks on one’s face would not be a romance.

“Yes, it doesn’t make any noise. If only the instructor and I are invited, we might find out that we captured Iriel.”

“Even if everyone was invited, it would still be the same as inviting Joheiden, so why?”

First of all, it was Serena’s own plan, so I decided to follow it.

I wondered if it was too flimsy.

“Aristocrats basically risk their lives for ‘justice’ and ‘face’.”

“Mmm.”

“First of all, there is the 2nd Prince in our class, and there is also the 1st Prince, although not directly.”

“yes.”

Zeke nodded.

“For Iriel to invite them to a banquet is to catch two rabbits: ‘justice’ and ‘face’. If they come, the dignity of Justia’s banquet goes up. I couldn’t invite you.”

Even Zeke could understand that.

Certainly, if the imperial family came to the banquet, it would give Justia a sense of empowerment indirectly, if not directly.

“It’s not a good idea to secretly invite them, though, as it could lead to the misconception that it’s a political back-and-forth using your children.”

“So, is it class time?”

“Yes, if you send an invitation in an open place during class, you can avoid such a misunderstanding. However, because I am in that class, ‘face’ is at stake.”

Serena had a nice confident smile.

“The imperial family invites everyone, but they don’t invite me, the princess of the duchy? No matter how close Justia and us are, if you show that way, it gives the impression that the distribution is small and petty. More specifically, Justia Keep Joheiden in check. Even.”

“Hoo.”

“So, as an act of common sense, you should give me an invitation too. Of course, Iriel is the only Justia I really think will come.”

“Right…….”

Zeke admired Serena’s wit.

Rolling in a dark fantasy in a way you’d never think of yourself.

It was a move that precisely penetrated the loophole called ‘face’, which the nobles here valued.

‘Serena is smarter than Iriel.’

Saying that an assassin is aiming, rather than Iriel, who is ignorant and ignorant

Serena had the upper hand, assuming a number of cases and choosing the best number and putting it into practice.

“However, there may be some problems…”

Serena looked at Zeke with a troubled expression.

“Problem?”

“……That day, maybe the instructor and I should dance…… Instructor, have you improved your dancing skills……?”

Jack’s face hardened.

‘Shiba, hey, Serena… … . Can’t you really not dance?’

*

“Ouch! Seventy-fourth!”

Dance practice continued until that night.

Piano music flows in the background. In the middle, Serena’s scream interrupted as she stepped on her instep.

The accompanist who played the piano also looked tired from playing for a long time.

Serena’s instep turned into a sloppy look from the practice that continued until late at night.

He stepped on her feet with his shoes so much that Zeke was dancing with his shoes off.

“Instructor, what the hell is the problem!?”

Serena couldn’t stand it any longer.

What’s wrong?

First of all, Zeke couldn’t stand still and watch someone move his body from such a close distance in the first place.

Like a long-standing habit, as soon as the opponent’s feet come within his range, he attacks unconsciously.

He tried to restrain himself, but the moment her foot came in from a very close range, his foot was already on Serena’s instep.

Of course, there was no such thing as breaking the bones in the instep by straining right before stepping on it.

Still, isn’t dancing all about moving in sync with each other?

‘I’m going crazy, really.’

Zeke said with a tired expression.

“On that day, if I don’t dance, is there any reason why I can’t do it?”

“Yes. Ballroom dancing at banquets is the most effective way to show one’s dignity in public.”

“…”

“Especially, since Instructor is not known at all in the social world, it’s more. If other nobles had seen the Instructor’s appearance on a regular basis, how could they have been persuaded, but… are there any nobles close to them?”

“Am I not close to you?”

Zeke replied curtly in a disgruntled voice.

Serena flinched.

“……That, that’s true! Not me!”

“…I don’t think anyone remembers that much.”

“That’s right, I’m the only one…… Kheum! Anyway! In order to protect Instructor politically, we have to show people. Oh, that person is not someone to be ignored.”

“It has to be a dance, but is there any other way? For example, a duel.”

Wouldn’t there be no one to ignore if you just grab someone and beat them up? It was Zeke I thought.

“……We are going as nobles, not knights. Instructor. And knights don’t beat nobles for no reason.”

Even if there is a reason, I won’t lose. Serena muttered and let out a sigh.

“Meeting and talking to each person is also a way, but since it’s Justia’s banquet, no one looks at us favorably.”

ha-

Zeke felt stuffy, as if a sweet potato had been shoved down his throat.

I just couldn’t understand how important it was to flounder like this inefficiently.

‘What is this? I’d rather do sword dance!’

At that moment, it felt like lightning struck in my head.

‘Sword dance?’

The corners of Zeke’s mouth went up.

“Serena.”

“Yeah?”

“Are there rules for dancing?”

“Hmm. First of all, there is a formal dance that is basically danced like now. Depending on the music, there is some freedom, but… dance is a trend, so there are not that many types.”

“……That’s right. Then, by any chance, could something like this be possible?”

Serena’s eyes widened.

* * *

next day.

Students gathered during swordsmanship class.

Zeke winked at Iriel.

I’ll give you time, so if you’re going to do it, do it now.

Receiving the signal, Iriel stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“Hmm!”

Then, the eyes of the students focused on Iriel.

“Your Highness Rosnante Leonine.”

Although they decided to talk to each other, Iriel used an honorific title in the sense of handing the invitation to the royal family.

“What.”

“We’re planning to hold a banquet at our mansion on the weekend in a week, so please come and brighten up the event.”

“Um…”

Rosnante made a troubled expression while accepting the invitation.

Glancingly, he turned his gaze to Serena.

If he accepted this invitation now, he would be openly supporting her, so he had to be cautious.

And now, it was a moment when his support base was severely shaken, so he had to be more careful.

But Serena just smiled.

The next place Iriel headed was the first prince’s contact, Yuri Gilbert.

“Yuri, tell the first prince. Please come to Justia’s banquet to brighten up the place. And yours is here too.”

“…”

Yuri let go of Iriel as if asking what she was doing, but accepted the invitation.

And then. The place Iriel headed was Serena Joheiden.

“Lady Serena Joheiden.”

“Yes, Lady Iriel Justia.”

“It’s an invitation to the Justia Banquet.”

“Yes. I got it right.”

Indeed, it was a straightforward exchange, but those who knew the circumstances of the two families had no choice but to harden their faces.

What followed followed quickly.

One for Soy Spoon and finally one for Zeke.

“It will be a big event that everyone will be satisfied with, so please, please attend.”

Iriel nodded and said.

“Okay, is it over now?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s start the class. First of all, I’ll start by accepting the mana load application that we decided to do last time. Oh, Rosnante, you’ll do it in this class, so it’s okay.”

“Why, why…?”

It’s true that he doesn’t want to do hard training, but Rosnante, who didn’t want to be the first, asked Zeke with a frightened face.

‘Why? yes you are a man Is there going to be a problem if I put on some tops outside?’

“It’s just that.”

“That, that kind of word…”

“Yuri and Elise. Request a date.”

Then, Soy Spoon looked at Iriel and Zeke alternately.

“Iriel also received it yesterday.”

Soy Spoon’s cheeks puffed out.

‘I heard they don’t discriminate against nobles and commoners!’

Serena looks after Iriel first, then Rosnante during class.

What does this mean if it is not discrimination?

Chit.

But there was no choice but to click his tongue.

*

Sieg gave Serena mana circulation and basic physical strength training for the rest.

Iriel still needed more basic physical strength.

“Instructor.”

Rosnante, who remained seated, called for Zeke.

“Well.”

“Iriel said he received it, but why are you still doing basic training?”

“Because it is necessary for his swordsmanship.”

“……Does everyone learn a different swordsmanship?”

“I don’t know. If we have similar constitutions, we can learn the same swordsmanship.”

Rosnante’s eyes twitched.

I realized Zeke’s ability with my own body, but what the hell is this human limit?

Usually, a swordsman who trained for a long time would dig deep into one swordsmanship.

It was an established theory that no matter how many swordsmanships you learned, you couldn’t win at depth.

‘But you’re going to teach each other a different swordsmanship? According to the constitution?’

gulp.

saliva passed I really thought that if I properly learned from him, I might be able to become stronger myself.

“So, what should I do now?”

“…Take off your shirt for now.”

“Yes?”

“It’s because I can’t look properly if I need to put my hand on my back and the cloth is in the way.”

“Then why don’t you put your hand inside your clothes?”

Rosnante asked back as if he didn’t understand.

“That’s, if there’s an obstacle near your hand…”

Zeke, repeating the explanation he had given Serena earlier, widened his eyes.

‘Oh, fuck. All I have to do is grab the clothes with my other hand and pull them slightly to keep them out of my hands.’