I couldn’t help but laugh. This unbelievably handsome man being so attached to me felt absurd.
“Actually, I was thinking about you,” I replied. “You probably would have been an international celebrity in my previous world.”
“Do you mean that in a good way?” he asked.
“Of course,” I responded with another laugh. “There are no men as dashing as you in my previous world. If you existed on Earth, you would have been so far beyond my reach that we never would have met.”
Embert tightened his grip around me. Naturally, this drew our bodies closer together. My cheeks flushed as the warmth of Embert’s body pressed closely against mine.
“I-I can’t dance like this,” I complained, hoping he would loosen his grip.
“Ally,” he responded while embracing me even tighter. “Even if I wound up in your previous world, I would do everything in my power to find you.”
His earnestness astonished me, rendering me momentarily speechless. Yet, after a moment of bewilderment, I shook my head.
“I was just joking, Em,” I assured him. “Please don’t take it so seriously. I only meant to say how beautiful you are.”
Even so, Embert didn’t loosen his grip. Unsure what else to do, I eventually kept speaking despite my embarrassment.
“In that case, if the two of us end up leading completely different lives in my previous world, please come find me. Promise you’ll never stop searching for me, no matter how different I look.”
Embert’s expression softened. “Of course. I’ll do everything in my power to find you, no matter what world we’re in. You’re my destiny, after all.”
With that, Embert swept me up in his arms and spun us around in dizzying circles. Based on his delighted expression, my words must have made him quite happy. Just looking at him filled me with joy as well.
“Hold on!” I exclaimed with a laugh. “You’re making me dizzy!”
After spinning us around in countless circles, Embert set me down lightly and embraced me. We’d drawn stares from the entire ballroom, and without my notice, the music had stopped. Usually, I’d be mortified at this point, yet for some reason, the comfort of being inside Embert’s arms outweighed my embarrassment. Perhaps I was excited that our engagement had been announced.
“I love you, Ally,” Embert said. “If you so wished, I would conquer the world for you.”
He must have been a little overexcited, too. I would never ask him to conquer the world for me. As I opened my mouth to say this, a certain divine beast floated over to me with a cookie in both hands.
“World domination, eh?” Custode asked. “Not a bad idea.”
“Huh?” I asked. “When did you get here?”
“How could I miss my precious holy woman’s coming-of-age celebration? Besides, I suspected plenty of delectable treats would be here.”
Instead of joining the celebration, he’d flown straight towards the desserts without even greeting me. Honestly, how much did this dragon love sweets? Though I narrowed my eyes at him, he didn’t seem bothered in the least.
“So, Embert, you’re planning world domination?” Custode asked.
“Yes, if Ally wishes it,” Embert replied.
“I see.”
Could you guys not get so carried away? I’d prefer that you didn’t start saber-rattling while everyone’s watching us.
“We’re not doing that,” I replied firmly, looking between Embert and Custode.
Custode looked disappointed. Were divine beasts with an eye on world domination even a thing? In any case, the next song began, indifferent to us. At this point, I wanted to escape the spotlight, but Embert showed no signs of moving.
“Ally’s father would be on board with world domination, don’t you think?” Custode asked.
Smirking, he glanced over to where my father was standing with a few other men. Despite being in the middle of a conversation, his eyes were fixed on us. Upon seeing my father, Embert’s lips quirked into a wicked smile that might have seemed charming at a glance.
“Apparently, my future father-in-law still doubts our love,” Embert said with a sinister chuckle. “Or, perhaps more likely, he’s simply a doting father who can’t stand to give his daughter away.”
“Hey, Em, could we move away from—”
Before I could finish speaking, my vision went dark. By the time I realized that Embert had kissed me, the ballroom had already begun to stir. Flustered, I pushed my hands against his shoulders to escape. Unfortunately, I couldn’t budge an inch due to his tight embrace around my waist. Though I asked him to let me go between kisses, it had no effect.
“W-Wai—”
Embert seemed to enjoy not letting me finish my sentences. Custode merely laughed, showing no indication of coming to my rescue. The idea of everyone watching us caused me to flush with shame.
Holy moly, this is apocalyptically bad! My fennec ears are going to pop out!
“We need to show your father how much we love each other,” Embert said breathlessly, ignoring my panic.
However, something unexpected happened when he tried to smooch me again.
“Get him, Squishy!” Father’s dignified voice rang out.
Squishy flew towards Embert as if I’d ordered it myself. As usual, the slime latched onto Embert’s face.
“Why did you obey Duke Vistriano’s order, Squishy?” Embert asked, tearing the slime off his face and flashing a wicked smile. “You’re Ally’s familiar, are you not?”
“Squishy,” the slime cheeped happily, not understanding Embert’s words.
Meanwhile, Father smirked at Embert, exuding an aura frigid enough to freeze the people around him.
“Maybe Father really is the Demon Lord,” I mumbled, finally free of Embert’s barrage of kisses.
After clucking his tongue, Embert looked at me with a serious expression. “I’ll never lose to him. No matter what anyone might say, I have the holy sword in my possession. According to Custode, I’m the Hero; therefore, I can’t lose to the Demon Lord.”
Somehow, those words sounded adorable coming from Embert. Thus, I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Yeah, keep up the good fight,” I said with a smile.
Embert returned the smile, and his face drew close to mine again. “I love you, Ally.”
His emerald eyes sparkle so beautifully. As that crossed my mind, I decided to express my feelings as well.
“I love you too,” I said.
At some point, the surrounding noise had stopped reaching my ears, and I softly closed my eyes.