Chapter 106: The Melancholy of a Certain Kanban Girl* (3)

「Ahhh, what the hell happened to those three? Were Mina-chan and Lily really that aggressive? As for Hell…she was the same as usual.」

Recalling the scene from earlier, I complained as I went out to the balcony, where I found a woman sitting on a chair looking out at the view outside.

「Ah, sorry. Can I sit next to you? 」

「Huh? Yes, please…eh, Kyou-san? 」

「What? 」

I turned around when the woman unexpectedly called my name.

What was reflected in my eyes was a pure white “angel” wearing a pure white dress.

She had white hair and white skin and was truly an obvious beauty. I couldn’t help but be drawn to her soft, fairy-like appearance.

I felt like someone similar had caught my eye somewhere before…

「Papa! 」

Then, before I knew it, Rock, who was sitting on the woman’s lap, jumped onto my lap.

That’s right, Rock came to this castle with us, but he left during the dance from earlier. It seemed he went straight to the balcony and sat on this woman’s lap.

Or rather, was there anyone else besides me that Rock felt attached to?

After thinking that much, I looked again at the white woman in front of me and realized who she really was.

「Ah, are you maybe…Tsurugi-san? 」

「Ye…yes, that’s right. 」

Saying that, the beautiful girl in front of me smiled, her snow-like skin turning slightly red.

It seemed so.

As far as I knew, there was no other person other than Tsurugi who was inhumanly beautiful.

To put it bluntly, in terms of her appearance and beauty, she exuded an aura much more like a goddess than that certain Lolita busty goddess.

「Tsurugi-san, you also came to the party. 」

「Yes, well, actually, I was invited by the Emperor. Since it was a special party, I tried wearing a dress for the first time in a while, but when I tried it on, I felt embarrassed…」

Tsurugi-san spoke as she slightly averted her gaze from mine. But her cheeks were still colored.

She was so beautiful. It was a shame that she usually wore a hood to hide her true identity.

If she revealed her true identity more fully, she would probably explode in popularity.

No, perhaps she was not good at that kind of thing.

As I thought about this, I looked at Rock on her lap and remembered what I had to tell Tsurugi-san.

「By the way, Tsurugi-san. You taught Rock your abilities, right? Thanks to that, it became the deciding factor in the fight against the Emperor. Thank you very much.」

「What? …Ah, yes, well, you’re welcome. 」

For some reason, Tsurugi-san seemed to have an ambiguous attitude towards my words.

Was it my imagination?

I thought that Tsurugi-san’s ability was teleportation.

「Hey, bro, would you like to watch the starry sky on the balcony too? 」

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

When I turned around in response to that voice, there was Jack wearing a tailcoat, and a woman, Esth, walking next to him.

「I heard there was someone Jack wanted to take with him after receiving an invitation from Rostam, so I thought it would be you, and it turned out to be true. 」

「Well, Miss Esth took care of us too. I have to repay her for this much. 」

「Don’t worry about that, Jack. It’s enough for me to have you come back safely. 」

Miss Esth wore a beautiful dress that was different from the time we met, and she looked happy as she walked next to Jack.

Since then, Jack seemed to have evolved into the top race of pumpkin-like monsters called Pumpkings, but his appearance hadn’t changed much, and if I had to say, he had only gotten a crown and a cloak.

However, he really had the charisma of a king if I looked at him from behind.

While we were having a chat with Jack and Esth, who had come to the balcony, Rock, who was sitting on my lap, seemed to fall asleep before I knew it. Rock rested comfortably on my lap and was taking a deep breath.

I couldn’t help but gently stroke Rock’s head, and Tsurugi-san, who was watching me, suddenly came to ask me something.

「Can I ask you something? What does Kyou-san think about Rock-chan? 」

「That’s obvious, I care for her as my precious daughter. 」

I answered Tsurugi-san’s question without hesitation, and I could see a gentle smile on her face when she heard that.

「Ah! Brother, what are you doing in a place like that!? 」

Just as Tsurugi-san and I were relaxing in a quiet atmosphere, a loud voice echoed from behind us.

Well, I thought it was about time.

「Hey, Kyou! Why did you leave by yourself! How can you decide who to dance with if you left the place!」

「Huh!? When did that happen!? 」

「Kyo…Kyou-san! You’re going to dance with me today, aren’t you? 」

「Kukkkkkkkkkkkkkkk no! Brother, there’s nothing to worry about. If you just say you’re going to dance with your sister, everything will go smoothly. Yes, if you dance with your immediate family, there won’t be some strange conflicts. So, big brother! Let’s dance together! 」

「No! Please, stop arguing like that! 」

At that moment when we were having such an intense time, a flower of light bloomed in the starry sky.

When I looked above, I saw countless flowers and decorations in the starry sky, and art created by light.

Apparently, by emitting magic towards the sky it created an illumination of light.

Lily and the others who had been arguing earlier were also captivated by the illusion of light that appeared before their eyes, and they all looked at it from the balcony, exclaiming in admiration.

「I hope you like it. This is a technique that a hero of our country came up with the other day. It’s an illumination using light magic, a work of art created in the starry sky. Magic is not used on the battlefield, but by these people. It has become a form of entertainment that entertains people. I think that’s also a wonderful evolution of our civilization.」

Then, when I looked, Rostam, who had been trampled by the three of them earlier, came up from behind and explained that to me.

Indeed, from here on out, instead of fighting, it would be enough to evolve in another way.

From now on, what this world needed was not a war, but heroes who contributed to culture.

In fact, even on Earth, where I was, many cultural figures had contributed greatly to the promotion of culture.

A hero in battle was certainly highly honored.

However, I now believed that the people who created, discovered, and spread new civilizations, cultures, and technologies, were the true heroes of human history, and the brave men who accelerated the evolution of the world. That was what I thought.

「There’s still a little more left in tonight’s banquet. I want you to enjoy it till the end if you like. Also, Lily and Miss Hell have come to my castle, so I think you can spend some time here relaxing. Fortunately, there are as many guest rooms as you want, so you can use them as you like.」

「Ah, thank you…I’ll accept your invitation. 」

「Kukkukku, well, if you insist on it, I can’t help it, so I’ll be a nuisance to you for a while. 」

Both Lily and Hell obediently nodded at Rostam’s proposal.

Eventually, the illusion of light shining in the starry sky came to an end, and I felt everyone’s expressions seemed to be filled with emotion, enjoying the afterglow. Suddenly I saw the expression on Mina-chan’s face as she stood next to me.

There was no nervous expression on her face anymore, and the feelings of remorse that she had been blaming herself for seemed to have faded.

In addition to the party at this castle, she also had a vivid interaction with everyone earlier.

I was relieved when I saw that expression on Mina-chan’s face, thinking that she finally had the usual atmosphere.

Eventually, Mina-chan seemed to notice my gaze, and our gazes met, and we both looked away slightly, both of us blushing. Then, I heard Mina-chan’s mumbled voice reach my ears.

「…Thank you for today, Kyou-san…I hope we can go on a date again next time…」

When I heard Mina-chan’s voice, my heartbeat increased for the umpteenth time today.

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* Kanban Musume – a pretty girl who attracts customers to come inside a shop.