Chapter 171: CH 170

It was finally the day of the ball.

The event was not taking place in the Imperial Academy, but instead, in one of the dance halls owned by the Empire.

It was quite spacious, and the building itself was luxurious – something that you wouldn’t see very often around in Bauer.

All of the buildings we’d seen in the Empire up until now were all simple with vigor to them, but because of that, you could really tell that this building was extremely fancy just by looking at it.

That was what I was thinking as I gazed up at the huge chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling.

Since it was a dance party, it was currently evening time.

The sun had mostly set by now, and the venue was illuminated by lights that were powered with magic.

In the midst of all of this, there were a lot of young men and women in full formalwear chatting among one another while waiting for the ball to begin.

“Whoa whoa whoa……”

Since I wasn’t used to wearing high heels, I nearly fell over while walking in them.

This was definitely going to cause some blisters later.

Even in my past life, I wasn’t very good with such feminine outfits.

“Are you alright?”

The one who supported me by the arm as I nearly fell over was none other than Claire-sama.

Her long hair was all tied up, and along with the sleeves draped on top of her evening dress and the perfect amount of makeup, Claire-sama looked like the embodiment of beauty.

She was so dazzling that I couldn’t even look straight at her.

But at the same time, she was the only thing that I could see.

“Y-You don’t have to stare so hard at me. As expected, it’s quite embarrassing.”

“Is there anything about you that would make you feel troubled if it’s seen?”

“No, but still!”

With her cheeks red from something other than rouge, Claire-sama abruptly turned away in a huff.

Yep, she’s cute.

“Rei-sensei, you look cute! Wow, sensei, who knew you were such a hidden beauty!”

“…… How insolent.”

Lana and Eve also came our way.

Both of them were wearing different hairstyles than usual as well.

Lana usually only wore a headband along with her long hair, but she tied it up for today.

Perhaps she had an obsession with headbands since she was still wearing one.

Eve typically had her hair tied up into three braids, but she had it in a bun now.

She had a cap for her chignon hairstyle, which gave her a slightly exotic atmosphere.

All I wanted to say was that being able to see all of these cute girls made me incredibly happy.

“You guys are already here, huh. I’m a bit late.”

Joel arrived as well.

His hair was all slicked back now, and he was wearing a tailcoat.

As usual, he looked handsome.

“Good evening, Joel. That tailcoat looks nice on you.”

“Thank you, Claire.”

“Joel, we saw you in the city the other day heading straight for the red light――”

“Hold on, Rei!”

On the day we went shopping for our dresses, I had wanted to go and check up on him, but for some reason, Claire-sama covered my mouth.

“Are you planning to lecture him right here, right now? I think you should stop that.”

“But there are a lot of dangers in those types of places. There are so many things I have to inform him about.”

“Even if that’s the case, you shouldn’t be talking about something like that in public. You should find an opportunity to speak with him in private at a later date while being a bit more subtle about it.”

“That’s true.”

In twenty-first-century Japan, it was acceptable to scold people in public, but there were also some problems with that kind of culture.

By the way, I found out later that the dangers Claire-sama and I thought of were completely different.

More specifically, while she was worried about criminality, I was concerned with the potential of contracting sexual diseases.

It should be noted that the moment Claire-sama made that realization, her face turned as red as a tomato.

“It looks like it’s about to start.”

Right as Claire-sama said that, the lights in the venue were turned off.

“To everybody that has gathered here today, I would like to thank you for attending the ball.”

Philine stepped into the spotlight at the very front of the venue, and with the help of some wind magic, she greeted us.

“This event will also serve as my official public debut. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”

Philine bowed gracefully. As expected, perhaps because she was the Imperial Princess, the gesture looked incredibly refined.

She was wearing a cream-colored draped dress.

You could tell immediately that it was one of the finest works made by one of the best tailors around.

Although, even without the dress, Philine looked amazing.

For some reason, I’d always thought of Philine as a pitiful beauty, but seeing her like this, she truly looked like an elegant princess.

“I think we can leave the greetings at that. Please feel free to make yourselves comfortable and enjoy yourselves tonight.”

After finishing up with her greeting, there was loud applause for Philine.

Once the applause ceased, triple-measure music started playing in the background.

“It’s finally time, huh.”

This marked the beginning of the ball.

“Now then, Claire-sama. May I have this dance?”

There were many men and women that wanted to dance with Claire-sama.

Up until now, there had been about five to ten people who kept sneaking glances her way.

But as her partner, I had the privilege to claim priority with her.

“Fufu, of course. I’ve always wanted to dance with you while being all dressed up like this, you know?”

A slender, pale hand overlapped with the one that I held out to her.

“Can you show me the results of all of your practice?”

“It’s just what I wish for.”

I put a little bit of strength into my arm and pulled Claire-sama by the hand.

Claire-sama’s small body quickly fit into position.

I was nervous.

What was I going to do if I accidentally stepped on the foot of such a beautiful person while we were dancing?

However, thanks to all of the dance steps Claire-sama drilled into my head, I was able to move so smoothly alongside her that it even surprised me.

“Fufu, you’re doing well, Rei.”

“Please don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not trying to make fun of you. You really are dancing quite well. Fufu, this is the most fun I’ve had ever since we arrived in the Empire.”

After saying that, Claire-sama flashed me a smile that looked like a flower was going into full bloom.

Ah, I can’t.

With her smiling like that while we were so close together, I couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Rei, your face is bright red, you know?”

My foot was stepped on.

“I-I’m sorry!? B-But it’s because you were suddenly so…….!”

“Please calm down, Claire. Come on, one, two, three.”

“R-R-R-R-Rei!?”

I mean, it can’t be helped.

At least today I wanted to show off.

I couldn’t embarrass myself while I was dancing with my beautiful partner.

I put more strength into the hands that were currently trying to support Claire-sama’s body.

“……. You’re so unfair.”

“You knew that already though, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. You really are a sly person. But even so, I love you, Rei.”

Geez, what am I going to do if she says something even cuter than that?

If there weren’t other people around us, and if we weren’t at the venue for the ball, I would’ve pushed her down and stolen her lips by now.

I was overflowing with affection for Claire-sama, it was almost getting unbearable.

“This is fun, isn’t it, Rei?”

“Yes it is, Claire.”

If only this would go on for eternity.

That was something I couldn’t help but wish for.

At that time, I hadn’t realized it yet, though.

Eternity―― and what that word really meant.