“So what’s the star of the party doing in the corner?” Graziella said after clearing her throat, changing the topic as if nothing had happened. “Men aren’t suited to be wallflowers.”
“Standing in the center will just stress me out, so I was wondering what to do...” Reiji said.
“You’ll get accustomed to it the more you do,” Graziella told him.
“Was there a time when you weren’t used to it, Graziella-san?” Mizuki asked.
“No,” Graziella answered. “To me, a party is no more than another battlefield. Losing focus will lead to being devoured. There was no time to worry about being accustomed to it.”
“Wow... I’ll never get used to that...” Mizuki mumbled in despair.
The hurdle now seemed impossibly high. But since this was a onetime thing and they’d been given plenty of consideration and support, Reiji didn’t think Mizuki needed to worry about it that much.
“If you dislike the idea that much, you can simply intimidate everyone around you,” Graziella said. “By doing so, only those with considerable spirit will approach you. You’ll have fewer people to deal with.”
“That’ll mean the people who do come will be really stubborn,” Reiji refused. “Won’t that tire me out even more?”
“That depends on your perspective,” Graziella said, waving aside Reiji’s anxieties.
Another familiar figure then entered the banquet hall through the main doors. It was Titania, also wearing a dress. She approached the group with elegant strides.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said, joining the group diffidently.
“Making the star wait and arriving last?” Graziella commented candidly. “Is that truly appropriate for the host’s princess?”
“Oh my, I was preparing so that Reiji-sama could enjoy himself that much more,” Titania retorted. “I believe my efforts balance things out perfectly.”
“Hmm?”
Titania twirled on the spot. In complete contrast to Graziella’s, her dress was a light blue. It had a halterneck style with a wide-open back, emphasizing her slim curves. After showing off her figure, she slid toward Reiji and looked at him with upturned eyes.
“H-How do I look?” she asked.
“M-Mm. Beautiful... It suits you very well,” Reiji said, repeating his previous words of praise.
“Hngh...! Thank you very much!” Titania smiled brilliantly.
As Reiji reflected over his complete lack of vocabulary, he noticed Graziella was stifling a laugh. Both he and Titania turned quizzical looks her way.
“Heh heh, what splendid dorsal muscles,” Graziella said.
“Huh? Wha? My back’s not that muscular!” Titania yelled.
“Really? It’s far lumpier and more rugged than I imagined,” Graziella told her.
“Th-That’s not true! R-Reiji-sama! I don’t have that much muscle, right?!” Titania turned her back to him in a panic, as if insisting he check for her.
“Ah. No. You’re fine,” he said. “You have a very beautiful and tight back.”
“See?! Reiji-sama says so too!” Titania shouted.
“He’s obviously just being considerate,” Graziella said, maintaining her smile.
Graziella seemed to take great fun in teasing Titania about her back, since she couldn’t see for herself. Mizuki, meanwhile, was simply watching the two with that “Aah, there they go again” look.
“P-Princess Graziella!” Titania yelled rebelliously. “Compared to your splendid abdominal muscles, my back is but a trifle!”
“I-I don’t have any abs!” Graziella yelled back at her. “You’ve never even seen them! Don’t spout such rubbish!”
“Oh? Is that so? Since you’re a close-combat specialist, don’t you have a six-pack?” Titania asked teasingly.
“Th-There’s no way...”
Graziella denied it, but her reaction was a little too over-the-top. Judging by her suddenly flustered state, the way she was trying to dodge the topic, and her tight corset...
“Um, Princess Graziella? Don’t tell me you actually—” Titania started to say, her smile vanishing.
“That’s enough of that topic!” Graziella shouted, forcefully bringing the conversation to an end.
Even Reiji wasn’t dense enough to press on here. He tried to think of another topic, when suddenly, Graziella drew nearer to him.
“Um... Do you dislike muscular women?” she asked.
“Huh? No. Isn’t it fine?” he answered.
“I-I see! That’s good, then...” Graziella muttered.
“Huh? What was that?” Reiji asked, not quite able to hear her.
“No, it’s nothing!” Graziella exclaimed. “Ahem! It’s about time to get going.”
“So I really hafta go...”
Somewhat forced by Graziella, Reiji moved to the center of the banquet hall. If he actually saw such muscles, Reiji thought to himself, what would he actually think? And with those thoughts in mind, he walked none too willingly into the banquet.
The day after the party, Reiji’s group was having breakfast with Almadious when unbelievable news reached their ears.
The castle’s servants were in a complete panic. A chamberlain burst into the room, forgetting to even knock, let alone follow etiquette, before practically collapsing to a knee.
“What’s going on?” the king asked.
“I-I bring grave news!” the chamberlain shouted in a fluster. “A demon army has been confirmed within our borders!”
The room was at once flooded with tension. The time had finally come. If that was the case, the man’s discourtesy was reasonable.
“Understood,” the king replied calmly. “How are the northern defenses doing?”
“No, the situation has already escalated beyond that point...”
“What is it? Speak plainly,” the king commanded.
“Sire! The demon army has already arrived in the vicinity of the capital!”
For a moment, Reiji had no idea what the man was saying.
A demon army was in the vicinity of Metel.
He repeated those words in his head, analyzed them, and repeated them once more. Only then did he understand what had been said. Titania realized at around the same time and shot up to her feet, knocking back her chair.
“What do you mean they’re near the capital?!” she yelled.
“Ma’am! The demon army is already within seventy kilometers of the capital! We’re still confirming the scale of their forces!”
“What?!” the king shouted, unable to maintain his composure any longer.
“That’s impossible...” Graziella muttered, also in an astonished daze.
Everyone in the room was speechless for a while.
“I-Is that really true?” Titania asked.
“Yes! At their current speed, we estimate they’ll be at the walls within two days,” the chamberlain answered.
“What are the nobles at the border doing...?” Almadious said. “They can’t possibly have missed a demon invasion.”
“We’re currently waiting on word from them,” the chamberlain said. “According to eyewitness accounts, it’s as if they suddenly appeared out of nowhere.”
“What’s going on...?” Almadious muttered. “Never mind, you’re dismissed. Once you find anything out, report to me at once.”
“Sire!”
With Almadious’s permission, the chamberlain excused himself from the room. Silence sank over them once more, and after a short while, Mizuki raised a trembling voice.
“R-Reiji-kun! A demon invasion?!”
“Yeah...” Reiji said. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m sure it’s true.”
“And less than a hundred kilometers away?!” Mizuki shouted.
“Yeah...”
There was no time to waste.
“Your Majesty,” Reiji said, turning to the king.
“It’s hard to believe, but I doubt it’s a lie,” Almadious said. “Nobody would mistake such a sight for anything else.”
“It’s far too foul for a joke. It would warrant a beheading,” Graziella commented harshly.
Almadious nodded stiffly back to her.