I opened the door to see a bunch of familiar nobility and merchants chatting among themselves. Aigis and Nyarl stealthily waved at me. When Reinhard shot me a quick smile as he carried on his conversation, I felt like his eyes were telling me to calm myself.
Rosalia and Meg were endlessly attending to the needs of our guests to make sure they had everything they needed, while Angela and Astesia (with White on her shoulder) were together, watching over me.
This was it. Do or die. My…Weiss’s big moment.
Unfortunately, Firis was stuck at a school event in the capital, so she couldn’t be here. To be honest, I was glad that was the case. I wasn’t mentally ready to confront her yet.
In front of everyone, I took a deep breath, then spoke.
“All of you, thank you for attending my birthday party today.” I formally greeted my guests and bowed like I had countless times in front of the mirror—and was met with applause. When I raised my head and continued, I was thinking of the many things that had led me to this point. “Given the occasion, I will spare you the formalities. I have a surprise for all of you as thanks for coming all this way! Rosalia, if you please!”
“But of course!” she replied. A moment later, she brought out the shroomboar steaks and the alcohol we had found in the hole of that tree trunk. “This is shroomboar meat that Lord Weiss personally hunted, as well as Divine Spirit Booze!”
The whole “Divine Spirit Booze” name was something I came up with on my own. In my other life, this stuff was called Monkey Booze, but there were no monkeys in this world. This new name had more of a mysterious aura, so it was working out.
“Oh, so this is the shroomboar I’ve heard so much about? I was surprised that the stalls were selling it, but to think Lord Weiss actually hunted them himself…”
“Divine Spirit Booze? Is it different from wine?”
My little surprise was a success; the guests were all excited over the reveal. I let out a relieved sigh.
Suddenly, someone poured Divine Spirit Booze into my glass. As always, it was Rosalia.
“I’ve been trying to lay off the alcohol because of what happened before, you know,” I said to her.
“I think it would be all right if you let loose tonight,” she said. “If it looks like you’re straying from the path again, I have a lecture prepared this time, so worry not.”
I shuddered. “Terrifying! But, really, thank you. I won’t ever binge drink again with that threat over my head.”
We exchanged a little more banter before I downed my glass. The sweet flavor of condensed fruit and alcohol shot right through me.
Whoo, now this hits the spot!
That was a private thought, though. Wearing a calm smile on my face, I went around to greet my guests.
I greeted everyone and even joked with Nyarl a bit. Reinhard and Aigis wished me a happy birthday, and after saying my hellos to everyone else, I noticed Aigis kept glancing over at me and taking a few steps, only to retreat.
I’d already said hello, so what was the matter?
Reinhard seemed to be grinning at my confusion. Then, once he realized I was looking at him, he pointed at Aigis and nodded slightly.
Did he want me to go up to her?
“What’s up, Aigis?” I tried.
“Oh, Weiss…” she said. “Well, um, I practiced how to dance. I’m not very good, but I worked super hard.”
“Ah, I see,” I replied without thinking about what her words might mean. “That’s amazing!”
“Grrr…” Aigis pouted at me.
Honestly, I was pretty confused. In the game, she didn’t have a dance sequence. Despite being a daughter of nobility, it was more her style to cut through enemies than it was to dance, so why was she practicing?
It took me a moment of thinking, but I finally figured it out.
“Wait, are you saying you’re willing to dance with me?”
“Yes, I am,” she said as her face reddened, “Of course, only if you want to…” Aigis held her hand out to me as she fidgeted in place. Her fiery-red hair almost seemed to reflect off the surface of her cornflower-blue dress, making her look that much more adorable.
Plus, the way she raised her eyes pleadingly, asking me to take the lead, was tremendously charming. Could anybody say no to such a beautiful girl?
“Please, I’m the one who should be asking you for a dance. Um, I’m not very good, though, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“Heh. Don’t worry,” Aigis replied. “I’m just happy that I get to dance with you.”
Once I took her hand in mine, the sound of a waltz filled the room. I was surprised; it almost felt like they’d waited for us to be ready.
We began to dance. I could hardly call her a skilled dancer, but even then, I could tell from the look on her face how hard she was trying. At a time like this, it was a man’s job to lead!
Now, I obviously had no dance experience from my previous life, but I’d practiced like hell with Rosalia before Aigis’s party. Weiss must have learned how to dance before I reincarnated into this world because his muscle memory took me through the steps.
Gently, I took Aigis’s hand in mine and smiled at her while she inexpertly stumbled through the steps along to the music. That must have calmed her nerves, as her expression softened little by little, until she had a big smile on her face by the time the song came to an end. It was as though the bloodlust-filled girl from the game was nothing but a big lie.
Those around us began to dance as well, and the party ended up being a huge success.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Phew, I’m beat, but that sure was fun.”
“Kew, kew!”
After seeing everyone off once the party finished, I was just kind of zoning out in the empty party hall with White on my shoulder.
“So, this is where you are.” Rosalia’s voice reached me. “You must be exhausted from today’s events. If you don’t get some rest, it’s going to affect your work tomorrow.”
I turned to her. “Hey. I was just basking in the joy of today… How everyone showed up, you know.”
“I’m also very glad that everyone celebrated your birthday.”
Rosalia walked up to my side and looked around the hall with me. Her face spoke of her happiness, and I could tell that we shared the same feelings even though we stood in silence.
This party was the result of all of our hard work. Weiss was supposed to have been used and abandoned by the Hades Church, but I successfully changed his future, which directly led to today’s birthday celebration. I was also able to save Aigis, Astesia, Kaiser, and everyone else who lived in my territory.
But I didn’t do that alone. I only succeeded because I had someone who never stopped believing in me… In Weiss.
“Rosalia, thank you.”
“Lord Weiss?”
I couldn’t help but smile, looking at her confused face. Maybe she didn’t quite get why I was thanking her. I needed to be direct with my words.
“I’m grateful to you for always supporting me.”
“Oh, hee. You’re quite welcome, Lord Weiss. Is there a chance… Would you possibly listen to a single unreasonable request of mine?”
We exchanged glances, then Rosalia smiled bashfully. With no idea about what she might ask, I waited for her to proceed.
“Um…” Her face turned red. “I know it’s rude for a maid such as myself to ask this, but could I share a dance with you?”
“What?”
“I found myself a bit jealous after seeing you dance with Aigis and… Ah!”
I had already taken her hand. “Please, is that all? It would be my pleasure.”
She fidgeted a little longer, then stepped forward. As always, Rosalia quickly matched me. Of course she did. Rosalia knew everything there was to know about me.
Events were diverging from the game in enormous ways. I didn’t know what awaited us going forward, but I had the feeling that I’d be able to get through anything as long as Rosalia and the others were with me.