“I see the two of you went out together again. Could you please invite me one of these days?”
“Meg…” Rosalia sighed. “We were out surveying the city. We weren’t having fun. I can promise you that.”
“Huh, that so? Then why don’t you explain why you woke up early to do your hair, put on fashionable accessories, and even wear the perfume you never use?” Meg asked with a big grin, causing Rosalia’s face to go bright red.
“W-w-well,” Rosalia stammered through her blush.
It was true that Rosalia was at least two times cuter than she normally was today. I should have complimented her more…
“Listen to this, Lord Weiss,” Meg continued, clearly enjoying our reactions. “Yesterday, Rosalia was in front of her mirror, and she repeatedly…”
“Meg,” Rosalia said with a terrifying smile, “speak further and you know what will happen to you, right?”
“Ah! I forgot I have work to do! Pardon me!” Meg fled in a panic.
What was Rosalia doing in front of the mirror, though? I was curious, but I had doubts that she’d give me a proper answer if I asked.
“Don’t concern yourself with what Meg said” was all that she told me.
“O-okay…”
“You can change into your formal attire after your bath. I believe everyone will have arrived by the time you are finished,” Rosalia explained, gazing at me with a smile altogether different than the one she gave Meg.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Oh, Divine Beast, please save me…”
“Kew, kew?!”
What awaited me after I finished changing into my formal attire was the sight of Astesia cuddling with White while he chirped in bewilderment. She was going to attend the party as well, so she wasn’t wearing her usual priestess attire. Instead, she was in a pale-lavender dress. She also wore a deeply concerned look on her face.
Quite frankly, neither her cuddling with White nor her worried expression came as a surprise to me. For years, Astesia had been exposed to an endless number of people who had nothing but hatred and loathing for her. If anything, I was grateful that she was pushing through her distrust of others in order to attend my birthday party.
In the game’s timeline, it would have been unimaginable for her to present herself in front of so many strangers during this period.
“Are you okay, Astesia? If this is too much for you, you can just rest for today. It’s fine.”
“I’ll be all right… I’m your personal priestess, after all.”
Upon noticing my presence, she swapped to her usual blank expression as though nothing had happened, then swiftly rose to her feet. However, her legs were still quivering, and I could see the fear in her eyes.
“Astesia, thanks for sticking with me.”
“Wh-what are you…?”
I took her hand in my own and smiled in the hope of relieving some of her anxiety. The fact that she gripped my hand back must have meant she was okay.
Heh heh heh, I’m one of my faves, holding hands with another fave. Am I in heaven?
“White, I want you to stick with Astesia tonight, okay? There’s nothing quite as striking as a priestess and Divine Beast hanging out together, after all.”
“Kew, kew.”
“Thank you,” Astesia said softly. “I don’t mind your protective side, you know.” She gripped my hand more firmly despite wearing no readable emotion on her face.
I was trying to play it smooth with her, but she ended up seeing right through me. That wasn’t a problem, but I wanted to surprise her a little, so I leaned over to whisper in her ear.
“By the way, that dress really matches your hair and skin color.”
Her face turned bright red as she glared at me. “What?! That should’ve been the first thing out of your mouth, you jerk!”
“Kew, kew!”
With Astesia too annoyed to be nervous, we made our way to the party venue together.