Monster Wave (2)

About five minutes had passed since I began slowly matching my steps to Ethan’s request at the center of the stage.

As I followed the choreography while holding my partner’s hand and neared the end of the first song, the thought that came to my mind was surprisingly simple.

‘Huh, this is easier to follow than I expected?’

Of course, I was aware that Ethan was moving slowly to accommodate me, a beginner at balls. I wasn’t so dense that I couldn’t tell even while moving in sync with him.

But aside from that, it was also true that following the choreography wasn’t particularly difficult.

First, since the song itself wasn’t very fast, the dance didn’t require particularly quick movements.

And second, perhaps I had unconsciously become familiar with the choreography while searching for Agnes and other characters from the game.

‘The game often had ball events, after all. Maybe I got used to it from those.’

With over 2000 hours of playtime, even if you just extracted the ball-related events, they probably accounted for 1-2 hours.

So, while thinking that I might have unconsciously become accustomed to it, I matched my steps with Ethan’s to the slow music.

“You dance well, Lily. Did you learn somewhere?”

“Hmm. Maybe I got used to it just by watching. Or perhaps it’s because Ed is leading me so well.”

“…I appreciate you saying that.”

“Are you feeling a bit better now? If not, would you like to dance another song, Ed?”

“…You’ll keep me company?”

“One or two more songs, sure.”

“Then I’ll take you up on that, Lily.”

“Alright, Ed.”

After exchanging those brief words following the first song and starting to move to the second song, around the middle of the orchestra’s performance, a dozen or so soldiers suddenly burst through the hall’s entrance.

-Bang!

“Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please!”

“……?”

The nobles chatting at the edges of the ballroom, the couples dancing in the center like Ethan and me, and even the orchestra playing classical music against one wall of the Evening Rose Hall-

Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on the knight who seemed to be the leader of the soldiers who had entered.

And the words that soon came out of his mouth were enough to shock everyone in the hall.

“An abnormal monster proliferation has been confirmed at Verdan Lake south of the Imperial Palace! There is a possibility of a monster wave, so all distinguished guests are requested to gather in the palace’s main hall under the protection of the Imperial Guards!”

“A m-monster wave?!”

“…V-Verdan Lake isn’t even that far from here!”

“N-no way…!”

The guests at the masquerade ball reacted with shock and panic to the guards’ sudden announcement.

Well, given the crowd gathered here, such reactions were only natural.

Since this was the Third Princess’s birthday banquet, most of the attendees were guests around Seraphine’s age.

Most of them probably hadn’t even entered the academy, let alone graduated.

Even if they had enrolled, they’d likely only be first or second-year students at best.

Especially for noble mages raised in greenhouses, it wasn’t uncommon for them to encounter monsters for the first time only after entering the academy, so hearing about a monster wave would naturally send them into a panic.

“Aaaah! I-I’m getting out of here! Get my carriage ready now!”

“That’s not possible! It’s dangerous outside the palace right now! You must remain under our protection inside until the situation is resolved-“

“Let go of me! I need to get out of here-!”

Amidst the chaos, one young lady, unable to bear her anxiety, struggled violently as she was restrained by the guards.

Seeing her likely to cause even more panic in the already uneasy crowd, I felt a pang of concern-

Just then, a man stepped forward from the crowd and recited a spell, causing her to collapse into the arms of a soldier like a puppet with its strings cut.

“…Nature, grant her a night of peaceful rest.”

“L-let me… go…”

As the young lady fell into slumber in the soldier’s arms, the green-haired man stepped forward.

The moment I saw his appearance and heard his voice, I was certain he was a character from [Luminor Academy].

“She seemed troubled, so I put her to sleep for a while.”

‘…Ah.’

Green short hair, an androgynous voice, and a sleep spell-one of the nature-based magics.

There were countless ways to identify him, so it would’ve been stranger if I hadn’t recognized him at a glance.

One of the main characters of [Luminor Academy], and a recruitable ally if desired.

Orion the Verdant Sage. This was the first time he had appeared before me.

“W-who are you…?”

“Orion, second-year Magic Department at Luminor Academy.”

As if to confirm my guess wasn’t wrong, Orion introduced himself briefly to the soldiers.

I had vaguely speculated that he might be attending the party too.

However, finding Orion in a crowd was even more challenging than locating Agnes, who used transformation magic, so I had given up searching for him early on.

As someone specialized in nature magic, Orion could easily conceal his presence in a crowd.

Though he enjoys meeting people and always attends such parties, he shows little interest in those he finds uninteresting.

Thus, to avoid unnecessary attention, Orion always moves around erasing his presence-that was his characteristic.

In other words, unless he revealed himself first, it was impossible for me to find him.

‘This might be an even rarer encounter than meeting Agnes…’

No matter how much Agnes was one of the main heroines, her presence was always hard to miss wherever she went.

In contrast, without an emergency like this, I might never have gotten the chance to see Orion at all.

After Seraphine, he was the second main character I’d encountered, and my gaze was fixed solely on him.

Though my heart didn’t race as it did when I first met Seraphine, meeting a main character from [Luminor Academy] was always a joy for me.

“……”

For some reason, I felt Ethan giving me an uncomfortable look, but…

…Well, it must’ve been my imagination.

“Orion…?”

“The top student in the second-year Magic Department, right…?”

“I didn’t see him in the ballroom earlier…?”

Given his reputation within the academy, the audience buzzed at Orion’s appearance.

Thanks to his presence, all attention had completely shifted away from the unnamed young lady sleeping in the soldier’s arms.

Seeing the soldiers’ bewildered expressions, Orion continued.

“I’ll join the fight to stop the monster wave. Evacuate everyone else to the shelter, and guide me to the front lines where the external troops are.”

“N-no, Sir Orion! We can’t let a guest of Princess Seraphine’s take on such a dangerous task!”

“Don’t worry. Despite appearances, I’m the top student in the second-year Magic Department. I should be of considerable help.”

“B-but…”

“You know as well as I do that rounding up all the noble youths into one room to wait isn’t the best solution. It’s better to gather those who can fight and resolve the monster wave directly, right?”

“That may be true… but…”

Orion took control of the conversation with the guard captain the moment he appeared.

Seeing his straightforward demeanor, it was no wonder he was a popular character in [Luminor Academy].

While Seraphine dragged out the main story with unnecessary frustration-inducing arcs, Orion was the type to skip tedious episodes with his sharp wit.

For example, suppose there was an episode where the entire party participated in a quest to defeat a certain monster.

In such scenarios, whether Orion was in the party or not could sometimes change the playtime.

Even in episodes requiring proof of skill to hunt dangerous monsters, having Orion in the party occasionally allowed skipping additional quests.

Thanks to his unique eloquence and status as the top student in the Magic Department.

‘A must-have for speedruns. I’ve skipped a few episodes thanks to Orion and progressed faster too.’

…If only he didn’t have that suspicious squint and somewhat gay appearance, he’d be even better.

Probably half of [Luminor Academy]’s female player base was thanks to Orion.

As I entertained such trivial thoughts while watching him, Orion gave me a strange smile and then began openly ‘recruiting’ attendees in the ballroom.

“Anyone here with experience hunting monsters or confident in their skills? I’m looking for people to join me in stopping the monster wave.”

“……”

“You don’t have to be an academy student if you have experience or confidence. Of course, I can’t offer any rewards, but the imperial family might express their gratitude to those who fight hard later, right?”

“…T-the imperial family…”

“B-but a monster wave is a bit…”

“Hmm, really no one?”

Despite Orion’s bold recruitment of noble mercenaries, few stepped forward.

Most academy students would have experience hunting monsters, and even those not yet enrolled would likely have some.

Yet, the hesitation stemmed from fear of monsters or unfamiliarity with such situations.

If the party had included more upperclassmen, some might have volunteered.

But with a gathering of academy hopefuls and lowerclassmen, few had confidence in their abilities.

‘I’d love to be the first to step forward, but…’

The problem was that doing so would reveal my identity behind the mask, and the fact that I was a commoner maid, not a noble.

Having just calmly accepted greetings from nobles while pretending to be one, being exposed as a commoner now wouldn’t end well.

Moreover, I had no dagger to use as a weapon, and considering others’ gazes, I couldn’t freely use magic in my current position.

As I suppressed my disappointment and watched Orion, suddenly-

“…Ahem.”

An unexpected voice responded to Orion’s ‘recruitment’ from beside me.

“…If it’s alright even for non-academy students, I’ll join.”

“Oh, really?”

“……?”

A familiar head of black hair suddenly stepped forward ahead of me, leaving me slightly bewildered.

As I stared at the back of his head, my ‘partner’ began speaking to Orion.

“Ethan Richard Blackwood, eldest son of Duke Blackwood. Specializes in magic swordsmanship using body enhancement magic.”

“…Hmm.”

“My skills are modest, but I promise not to be a hindrance.”

…What?

Why are you volunteering all of a sudden?