“Well, I do agree that we don’t need to act more familiar with each other than necessary.” Satsuki sighed despite herself.
“Indeed. We’ve all established our own positions too, after all. That being said, I’m sure there are things we want to ask each other, so some compromise may be necessary,” Rui agreed.
“Oh, what kinds of things were you thinking of?” Satsuki smiled innocently.
“Ahaha, how harsh of you. Well, if I had to say, then perhaps something about the sorcery hidden in the sacred stones used to summon us to this world?” Rui said, trying to ask about a way to return to Earth in a roundabout manner.
“Unfortunately, there’s no way of returning to Earth,” Satsuki replied bluntly.
“I see, so it’s as I feared. The other possibility I considered was the sorcery hidden in the equally-powerful divine arms... You saw a dream about how to handle the divine arms too, right?” Rui asked Satsuki in an intellectual tone.
“Yes, the one where an unknown voice lectured me, right?”
“Right. It seems like everyone who possesses divine arms sees a dream, then. In my case, I was given no information other than how to handle the divine arms. What about you?”
“Me, too. It didn’t seem like I could hold a conversation with them, and I woke up before I knew it. What about you, Takahisa?” Satsuki shook her head exaggeratedly to emphasize her point.
“Nope, mine was the same as the two of you,” said Takahisa.
“I haven’t introduced myself yet — my name is Shigekura Rui.” Rui gave a friendly smile to Takahisa and Miharu and Lilianna beside him. “As you can see, I’m half-Japanese and lived in the United States until I was sixteen, but I’m a Japanese native, and I was a seventeen-year-old high schooler.”
“That makes you my upperclassman by one year. I’m Sendo Takahisa. Likewise, I was a high schooler. Though I only just entered...” Takahisa said with a bitter smile. When Rui stuck out his hand for a handshake, Takahisa returned it.
“I see. It’s nice to meet you. By the way, you’re Japanese too, right?” Rui asked, looking at Miharu.
“Yes. I’m Ayase Miharu. I’m the same age as Takahisa and one year below Satsuki. Pleased to meet you.” Miharu seemed to be slightly nervous, as she straightened her posture and introduced herself in a stiff voice.
“The pleasure is mine. Your dress suits you very well. I always thought Japanese women suited Japanese-styled clothes better, but I’ll have to reevaluate that thought.” Rui looked into Miharu’s eyes, extending his hand for a handshake like he’d done with Takahisa.
“Umm, thank you very much,” Miharu said hesitantly. She faltered for a moment, wondering if she should return the handshake, before Takahisa stepped in first.
“Sorry, Miharu isn’t very comfortable around men,” he informed Rui curtly.
Rui’s eyes widened slightly before he smiled. “Ah, is that so? Do excuse me. It was custom to use handshakes over bowing in the U.S.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry for the trouble,” Miharu said with a friendly shake of her head. “Takahisa, don’t be rude,” she added quietly, this time offering her own hand out for Rui.
Rui shook hands with Miharu before smiling happily. “Thank you very much. I’d like to ask Haruto and the other two there for a handshake too, but I fear they may be with Takahisa and Haruto. I’ll hold back.” He looked at Lilianna and Charlotte and smiled jokingly.
“No, I am simply her partner for tonight — here by Her Highness’ will. Pleased to make your acquaintance, great hero,” Rio chuckled, offering his hand out for Rui to shake. Rui returned the gesture happily.
“Same here, great hero,” Rui replied with no sign of sarcasm.
“Oh, am I not worth getting jealous over?” Charlotte pouted cutely. Rio could only give a strained smile.
“It’s an unspoken rule that men and women only shake hands in official settings if they have a close relationship. Otherwise, it may be best to refrain from doing it during a first meeting. No one will dare speak against the hero, but there may be people who are bothered by it on the inside. At any rate, I am Lilianna Centostella. It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Shigekura,” Lilianna said succinctly.
“I see. I learned something new today.” Rui nodded cheerfully.
“Miharu, Lily, do you guys have a moment?” Takahisa took Miharu and Lily’s hands, moving them a short distance away.
“Huh? O-Okay.” Miharu casually disentangled her hand and moved with Lilianna. This left Rio, Satsuki, Charlotte, Rui and Christina behind.
“Hehe, it looks like Sir Takahisa and Sir Hiroaki are both gentlemen with a strong possessive nature,” Charlotte said once Takahisa left.
“H-Hey, Char, you can’t say that,” Satsuki chided with a half smile.
“Hahaha. Every man has a little bit of a possessive desire within them. Even I do.” Rui laughed heartily.
“Why, is that so? Then Princess Christina...?” Charlotte asked with excitement, exuding curiosity.
“Princess Christina is a lovely woman, but I have someone I love already. I don’t consider myself possessive over her.” Rui shook his head bluntly.
“Yes. I’m only here as a royal figure. Like Haruto over there, I am simply acting as a partner for one night,” Christina said with a small smile. It almost seemed as though she was mocking herself, but the reason didn’t appear to be because Rui’s feelings weren’t directed towards her.
Charlotte could sense that the relationship between Rui and Christina was a businesslike one and sighed in disappointment. “Why, how candid of you to say so. But this leaves those three to wonder about. If I may ask, Lady Satsuki, were Sir Takahisa and Lady Miharu going out with each other?”
“Hmm, I wonder. There were rumors in middle school that they may have been, but...” Satsuki said, then glanced at Rio.
“...” Rio was watching Miharu and the others in silence. Just then, the door to the hall opened and a knight stepped in.
“Lady Charlotte, preparations in the venue are complete,” the knight reported.
“Everyone, it sounds like they’re ready. Please, this way.”
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, on the first floor of the social hall, the royalty from each small kingdom had finally finished entering the venue and were eagerly awaiting the entrance of the four heroes. In the corner of the hall, the Rubia Kingdom’s First Princess Sylvie and her attendants were chatting with the royalty from neighboring kingdoms.
“Introducing the Galarc Kingdom hero, Lady Satsuki Sumeragi, the Restoration’s hero, Sir Hiroaki Sakata, the Centostella Kingdom’s hero, Sir Takahisa Sendo, and Beltrum Kingdom’s hero, Sir Rui Shigekura!” The voice of the announcer echoed. The royalty and nobility in the hall burst into chatter as the door on the upper floor opened.
The first to appear was Satsuki, escorted by Rio and Charlotte. The men from the smaller kingdoms were familiar with Charlotte already, so their attention was focused on Satsuki and Rio.
The younger princesses were watching Rio with particular interest. With his glossy gray hair, his androgynous but sharp and intense features, and his confident attitude while escorting a hero and princess, Rio truly was picture perfect.
As that was happening, Hiroaki appeared next in the doorway. He was accompanied by Flora and Roanna, but unlike Rio, there was no element of surprise here. And so, the nobles in the hall applauded loudly to welcome them, but otherwise didn’t make a fuss.
“Ooh!”
Next to appear was Takahisa, Lilianna, and Miharu. The Centostella Kingdom had shut down all diplomatic relations with their neighboring kingdoms; despite being a large kingdom, the faces of their royalty were pretty much unknown, so the amount of attention they received was quite high. There were bigger cheers for them than for Hiroaki, and the people in the venue strained their eyes to burn the image of the three into their minds.
Finally, the last ones to appear were Shigekura Rui and Christina.
“Ooh...”
The nobles in the hall raised their voices. Rather than cheers, this was closer to the stirring that occurred as with Rio. The reason was, of course, because of the internal issues the Beltrum Kingdom was currently experiencing.
The Beltrum Kingdom’s First and Second Princess, representatives of opposing factions, were both attending. In other words: Christina and Flora. The attendees were extremely curious about how the two would interact with each other.
Ah, did it seem like the nobles had a weaker reaction towards me? Is it too predictable of me to bring the same partners two days in a row? Or are faces what matter more for heroes in the end? Tch, I should have asked Liselotte to come too... Hiroaki was displeased with how the cheers for him were weaker in comparison to the other heroes and frowned unhappily.
In contrast to Hiroaki’s mood, the royalty and nobility on the lower floor were reaching the peak of their excitement now that the four heroes had arrived, their eyes glued to them. Behind them, Duke Huguenot, Charles Arbor, and all the other official figures entered the venue and continued to make their way down the stairs, but not many paid attention to them.
Afterward, the opening speech that Francois was to give before the second day of the banquet finally began. During said speech, one person quietly attempted to slip through the cheering crowds. It was Reiss, who had snuck in among the Rubia Kingdom attendants.
“Oi, Rei— Jean. Jean Bernard, where do you think you’re going?” Sylvie noticed Reiss trying to sneak away in the commotion and immediately called out to him. She had been constantly aware of Reiss the whole night, unwilling to let her guard down.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little business with the wall. Worry not, I shall be back soon. If you’re anxious, you may have someone else accompany me,” Reiss said with a cheery grin. For the record, “business with the wall” was slang for “going to the toilet.”
“...Tch, be back within ten. Hey.” Sylvie ordered Reiss, then sent a signal to one of her female knights to follow him.
“Understood. If you’d excuse me.” Reiss nodded respectfully, then departed with the female knight. He proceeded to leave the hall and head for the restroom.
The corridors were packed with patrolling soldiers, strictly ensuring that no one wandered where they shouldn’t be. In particular, several soldiers had taken up positions before the door to the upper hall to make it impossible to reach Satsuki and others inside.
Reiss narrowed his eyes when he spotted the staircase that led to the upper floor.
“...Hey, walk faster,” the female knight ordered Reiss unhappily.
“Rushing someone in need? I can’t say I’m impressed. Ten minutes is plenty of time to return, so there’s no need to be impatient,” Reiss replied airily.
“Tch.” The female knight clicked her tongue in annoyance, but continued to follow Reiss to the restroom in silence. The toilets were in individual stalls and quite spacious inside. There was a small window for ventilation, but no entrance other than the door.
The female knight opened the door and checked there was no way to escape before hurrying Reiss along. “Make it quick.”
“Yes, I’ll be out soon,” Reiss said, stepping into the stall alone. “As expected of a social hall toilet. They’ve built it so pointlessly large, it’s like they’re asking for intruders to be invited. Perhaps I shall leave it around here, then.” Reiss took out two essence crystals the size of a fist from his breast pocket and placed them both on the floor. One was a magic artifact to set coordinates for teleportation sorcery, and the other was an artifact with sealing barrier sorcery to prevent the fluctuation of ode and mana from being externally detected.
Preparations complete. All that’s left is for the troops set to ambush to arrive once it’s time. But with the boy we confronted in Amande in attendance, this may turn out interesting. I couldn’t sense his contract spirit around, but it could either be lying in wait inside his body in spirit form or moving about on its own. Reiss looked down at the artifacts on the floor in satisfaction, recalling Rio’s face when he entered with Satsuki and Charlotte.
However, his presence won’t be a hindrance this time. As long as the troops rush into the venue as planned, it will be plenty sufficient as an opening move. No matter which way it goes afterward, my mission is complete. Thinking of it that way makes it so easy. I think I’ll spend the rest of my time watching the chaos of the hall and how he intervenes, Reiss thought, a sneer at his mouth. Then, roughly ten seconds later, he opened the stall door as though he had just finished his business.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Now, let us head back,” Reiss said and returned to the banquet hall.
◇ ◇ ◇
About one hour later, large numbers of royalty and nobility took turns visiting the upper floor to greet the heroes from each power. However, as Satsuki and Hiroaki had completed their greetings of the Galarc and Restoration nobles yesterday, they only had the officials from small kingdoms greeting them.
Because of this, they had fewer people gathering around them than Takahisa and Rui, and the burden was lessened on Rio and Charlotte.
At the same time, Miharu, who was acting as Takahisa’s partner, was being pressed to respond to a greater number of people than yesterday, partly due to the rarely-seen Centostella Kingdom. Furthermore, King Francois and First Prince Michel were proactively moving around to engage the foreign nobles in conversation.
“Speaking of which, Princess Charlotte. Do you need to greet the foreign officials along with His Majesty and Prince Michel as well?” Rio asked Charlotte during a break in the rush of people.
“No, I’m fine. Father said I should focus on being an assistant to Lady Satsuki and a partner to you, Sir Haruto. Thankfully, that means I am able to stay with you two for the whole night.” Charlotte smiled happily, closing the distance between herself and Rio by stepping closer to him.
“...Be that as it may, Char, you seem fairly fond of Haruto there.” Satsuki noticed how close Charlotte’s sense of distance was and gave her an inquiring look.
“Why, of course. Sir Haruto is a very well-mannered and kind gentleman. It’s like I’ve made a new older brother,” Charlotte answered, leaning coquettishly against Rio’s arm.
“Hmm...” Satsuki looked at Rio with slightly reproachful eyes. “Don’t you think you’re a little too close for that? Right, Haruto?” she asked implicitly.
“Princess Charlotte. While it’s an honor to have you say that...” Rio trailed off, showing his discomfort in a roundabout way.
“Am I a bother?” Charlotte tugged gently on Rio’s arm, bringing him closer to her still-growing breasts.
“No, not at all...” Rio struggled to reply.
“Good for you, Haruto. Congrats on your new, cute little sister.” Satsuki said in a standoffish way, pouting slightly.
...Hmph. Why am I feeling a little irritated? Satsuki thought, feeling confused by her own state of mind.
“People may misunderstand our relationship if you act too familiarly, so it may be better to refrain from anything excessive,” Rio persuaded Charlotte softly.
“Why not let them misunderstand?” Charlotte looked up at Rio’s face, giving him a bewitching expression unfitting for her age. Or so one would think.
Charlotte giggled cheekily and stepped back from Rio, then peered up at his face and batted her eyelashes. “Jokes aside, Sir Haruto, what happened to the promise you made me about asking me out for a dance?”
“Hmm, so you promised such a thing,” Satsuki said curiously.
“Yes. As a woman, I would have liked to have been asked for a dance first, but as a princess, I shall yield the first turn to Lady Satsuki. Now, why don’t the two of you go and dance?” Charlotte said.
“No... Well, if Haruto asks me for a dance, I suppose I shall give him a dance.” Satsuki’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she turned away from Rio.
“May I have your hand for one song, Lady Satsuki?” Rio extended his hand dramatically, a slightly amused smile
on his face.
“Then, for just one song...” Satsuki took Rio’s hand hesitantly.
However, just at that very moment, the door on the upper floor of the hall burst open with great force. Everyone in the hall — including Rio and the others — reflexively looked towards the door. Masked men dressed in black outfits and wielding daggers came rushing through the door.
“K-Kyaah!” the women in the hall screamed. The intruders coming through the first floor door ran towards the stairs, sneaking past the chaos of the hall to aim for the staircase leading to the upper floor.
“What?!”
“Get away! Go!”
“Run for it!”
The guests on the first floor all panicked.
“C-Calm down!”
“Let us through!”
“Repel the enemy!”
The security knights patrolling the venue yelled above the commotion. They tried to intercept the assailants, but most of them were being shoved back by the crowds and unable to take action. The attackers took that chance to close in on the staircase, ignoring the other attendees.
Meanwhile, the intruders on the upper floor were trying to attack the heroes and royals who had been chatting away with the guests.
“Protect the royal family and heroes!” Security on the upper floor was stricter than below. Including royalty from the Galarc Kingdom, the heroes, and officials from the other kingdoms, there were only about thirty attendees on the upper floor, making it easier for the knights to move in and create a wall to block the attackers.
There were twenty assailants that had come in through the upper floor door, so with thirty security guards they had the advantage in numbers to repel them, but the attackers were desperate, putting their lives on the line to break through the wall of knights. “Charge from the front and sides! Break through!”
“Don’t let them through! Everyone, gather together behind us!” The commanding knight of the upper floor yelled.
“This way, you two.” Rio immediately moved Satsuki and Charlotte towards the back of the human shield the knights were providing. Miharu, Takahisa, Lilianna, Christina, Rui, Flora, Hiroaki, and Roanna, as well as Francois and Michel, swiftly moved as they were told, knowing they were key targets.
Heroes in the Moonlight Page 20