strictlysupreme Chapter 1024 The Last Routine 203
Chapter 1024 The Last Routine 203
Chapter 1024 The Last Routine 203
Alice invited them to a banquet today, and nobles from all over the capital flocked to the event. Kobayashi and Aqua, dressed in magnificent gowns, came to meet the most powerful noble family in the kingdom—Princess Alice.
"Hehehe..." Aqua, feigning the air of a noble lady, covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "Lady Alice, thank you very much for inviting us to the party."
"What a magnificent dress, Lady Alice." Kobayashi, adopting the demeanor of a noble youth, praised her respectfully, "Today's events will surely become a lifelong memory."
Seeing the two praising her so much, Alice awkwardly tugged at the corners of her mouth and said somewhat reluctantly, "You two... I feel like you're being too respectful today, and it just doesn't feel quite right."
That's because she's too familiar with Kobayashi and the others. Even Kobayashi wouldn't want to act nonchalant in such a formal setting. After all, even if the other nobles don't gossip, Claire would kick him out if she was unhappy. She couldn't bear the embarrassment!
Wiz bowed slightly and said respectfully, "I never imagined I would be able to come to such a place to express my deepest gratitude to Princess Alice..."
"Please rest assured, Your Highness Alice." Youyou also bowed slightly to show the appropriate etiquette and respect, and whispered, "We will definitely behave in a manner befitting Your Highness's guests."
That's right. Neither Xiaolin nor anyone else wanted to appear disrespectful. Even if they pretended to be relaxed, they couldn't act recklessly or make a scene, as that would embarrass Her Highness the princess.
But Alice didn't seem to mind. She smiled and said, "It's great that everyone is different from usual, but today is a day for everyone to enjoy themselves regardless of status. It's fine to do things the same way as usual, okay?"
"No, how could that be?" Kobayashi said with a polite and reserved smile, "Because, Princess Alice is a princess... Ah, aren't you cold? Would you like me to drape a shawl over your shoulders?"
He said it in such a gentlemanly manner, which was completely different from his usual scumbag aura. This made Alice take a step back uncomfortably, as if she was afraid that Kobayashi would do something bad.
"N-nothing..." Alice forced a smile, then quickly added as if she had just remembered something, "It's almost time for the opening speech, so I'll take my leave now."
She walked away quickly in her high heels, seemingly feeling very uncomfortable being with her reserved companions.
Meanwhile, Claire, who had been watching Kobayashi and the others with murderous intent, nodded in satisfaction upon seeing their impeccable manners and actions—good, everything should be fine. My hard work was worth it.
That's right, these were all Claire's demands, and Kobayashi and the others had no choice but to comply, even though Alice was a little sad.
The story goes back a few days.
In Axel's suburban mansion, Aqua lay lazily on the living room sofa, stretching and saying, "Ahhh—so boring. It's a rare holiday, but Darkness and Megumin have both gone back to their hometowns..."
Adventurers aren't always on the move; they also need rest to relax and recharge. It's just that for lazy people like Kobayashi, the holiday was a bit too long, to the point that even Aqua got bored.
"Don't you want to do something fun, Kobayashi?" Aqua said listlessly, glancing at Kobayashi sitting by the fireplace. After a moment of silence, she asked, "...By the way, what have you been so focused on since earlier?"
"Huh!?" Upon hearing her say that, Kobayashi hurriedly looked up from his book and explained, "It's just a novel that was sent by a friend... I borrowed it from Megumin, and it's quite interesting."
"...A novel that's really good? That's suspicious." Aqua didn't believe such nonsense at all, and that flustered look on her face was really unlike Kobayashi's. Most importantly, "Have you never said anything interesting even once before?"
"Aqua, novels can become masterpieces or rubbish depending on when they are read... Ugh!?"
Before Kobayashi could finish his long-winded explanation, Aqua rushed over and tried to snatch the book from his hand, startling him. When she failed, she immediately grabbed him by the neck.
"This is absolutely strange! What are you hiding?!" Aqua stared intently at him, demanding loudly, "Come on, confess now!!"
"Stop, stop... my neck is going to break...!"
"Humph!"
After Kobayashi begged for mercy, Aqua let him go and took away Kobayashi's precious novel.
"Never mind, let me read this novel instead."
"Hey, don't look around like that!!"
Kobayashi tried to snatch it back, but Aqua had already run far ahead. She opened the 'novel' in her hand and read: "Um... dear brother, a banquet will be held in the courtyard of the royal castle. Four invitation tickets are enclosed with this letter. Please be sure to bring your friends and family to come and have fun. Alice."
After reading what was supposedly a novel but was actually a letter, she looked up at Kobayashi with hostility and questioned, "Mr. Kobayashi, what's going on here? This doesn't look like a novel at all; it's clearly an invitation letter, isn't it?"
"Oh, Alice is so thoughtful," Kobayashi said with a chuckle, turning her head away from Alice as she added, "Since I didn't specify who I'd like to come with, I'll think about it carefully—"
"Of course I want to go too! Hurry up and get the invitation ticket out!"
"Well……"
Kobayashi, still crying, handed her an invitation. He genuinely didn't want the idiot goddess to come along, knowing she'd definitely cause some trouble at the banquet. However, he also understood that once Aqua found out, there would be no chance of refusal; no matter what, that girl would cling to him.
"Why can't you just be frank!?" Aqua rolled her eyes, happily snatched an invitation ticket, and said with a smile, "Megumin and Darkness aren't here, so we have two invitation tickets left. What a waste! Who should we invite to come along?"
Alice clearly wanted Kobayashi and the others to come along, but Megumin and Darkness had just gone back to their hometown, so they left two invitation tickets behind. To avoid wasting them, they had to invite others to come along.
"Never mind, we'll decide later." Aqua waved her hand casually. She didn't care as long as she got the invitation ticket; she didn't care who else went. The most important thing was, "I'll show you the Goddess Stream's blessing at the royal capital's party. Look forward to it—"
"Wait a minute!!!"
Before Aqua could finish speaking, the door to the mansion was suddenly pushed open, and a familiar figure rushed in, panting heavily and impatiently, which was quite frightening.
"Claire!?" Upon seeing who it was, Kobayashi gaped in surprise. "Why are you here...?!"
"I heard that Lady Alice sent an invitation to Lord Kobayashi, and I felt uneasy about it, so I came to check it out." Claire made no attempt to hide her unease, "because I have a feeling that you guys are up to something."
"Am I really that untrustworthy?" Kobayashi rolled his eyes, looking quite annoyed. However, considering what Aqua had just said, he couldn't bring himself to argue further.
Claire snorted heavily through her nose, then raised her chin and said with her nostrils pointing to the sky, "Since I've been invited, there's nothing I can do to stop it. But there are some things I need to know before that."
"If you have an intense feeling of wanting to enjoy it, then you already have that feeling, so don't worry about it, okay?" Aqua said with a silly look on her face.
"No, that's not it!!" Claire shouted angrily, then said very seriously, "What you need to master is... that's right, etiquette!! I will guide you properly. Please gather everyone attending the banquet here immediately!"
So, Kobayashi went to look for the remaining two people.
"—Why me!?" X2
Youyou and Wiz said this in unison, both of them showing great surprise after being invited to the royal capital for a banquet.
"You two must be really free, right?" Aqua shrugged nonchalantly and said, "So, let's go to the party together. For that, you'll need to take an etiquette class."
"You've even managed to make a formal gift with incredible speed. You must be incredibly motivated." Kobayashi tugged at her white dress, which Aqua had made in just one day.
"A banquet?!" Youyou exclaimed in surprise, then whispered, "Going to a place like that, maybe I can make some friends...?!"
"That's right, I can guarantee that many people will want to talk to Yu-Yu." Aqua had no bottom line when it came to lying, making this a sure thing. But Yu-Yu really looked beautiful in her dress; I bet many people would want to talk to her.
"Really?!" Yu-Yu's eyes widened with excitement. "Miss Aqua, thank you for the invitation! I will do my best!"
Hey, hey, hey, I'm the one who received the invitation ticket, so why am I thanking Aqua? ... Kobayashi, sitting in a corner, pouted somewhat unhappily, but he didn't want to dampen the spirits of the excited, lonely child.
“It’s good that you’re motivated.” Claire nodded in satisfaction when she saw Youyou’s serious expression, and said to everyone, “Then, let’s begin.”
Then, pointing to Kobayashi and Youyou, she said, "So first, Your Excellency Youyou and Your Excellency Kobayashi, you need to learn the dance steps."
"Not just etiquette, but dance too?" Kobayashi stared at Claire in disbelief, then quickly waved her hands, saying, "No, no, no, I'm not suited for this—"
"This is for Lady Alice!" Claire interrupted loudly, her tone forceful. "Lady Alice said that everyone, regardless of status, should enjoy themselves to the fullest at this party. You may very well be dancing with the nobles, and if you do anything strange there, it will be a disgrace to Lady Alice! Do you hear me? Dancing is also a very important part!"
Does that mean I also have a chance to dance with Alice? If so, then I'll give it a try.
Because he might have to dance with Alice, and since Yu-Yu was his dance partner, Kobayashi reluctantly joined in the training. However, being an adventurer, he wasn't very skilled at dancing, so he almost stepped on Yu-Yu's foot every time he danced. Of course, Yu-Yu did the same. Their shaky movements, like newborn fawns, looked quite comical.
"No way! Those dance moves aren't suitable for the party," Claire said bluntly, clenching her fist and threatening, "Put in more effort!!"
It's not like I'm asking for extra effort from the rider; it's really making things difficult for me.
Youyou, on the other hand, said excitedly, "Okay, okay! I'll do my best! If I can do it, I'll definitely have friends... Waaaaaah!"
Distracted, Youyou was nudged by Xiaolin and snuggled into his arms.
Xiaolin also said, "Yoyo, the rhythm is off. It's not good for me to dance—"
"Stop!" Claire called out to the two, saying, "The purpose of the ball is to dance happily; criticizing each other is a breach of etiquette. Understand?"
The two shut their mouths and danced silently again. Without external influences, they gradually caught up with the rhythm and began to dance to the beat.
Seeing that they were gradually getting the hang of things, Claire nodded in satisfaction, then looked at the silly goddess and said, "Lady Aqua, come and learn some dining etiquette. How are you going to drink this soup?"
"Huh?" Aqua paused for a moment, then picked up the spoon as if it were a given and said, "Use a regular spoon, like this to drink—"
"Stop!" Claire quickly stopped her, explaining, "When drinking soup, you should start from the outside and work your way in. If there's not enough soup, you can lift the front left side of the dish slightly and drink from the right side."
"What a hassle..." Aqua pouted unhappily. She thought that even a goddess like herself didn't have so many complicated etiquettes, but a mere nobleman had to do so much. It was really annoying.
Claire ignored her and turned to the lich, saying, "Lord Wiz, perhaps you should learn some etiquette. What should you do if someone pours you tea when you visit a client?"
"Yes, thank you, drink it right away—"
"That's rude!! Please say 'I'm starting' when things are over before you drink."
"I see..." Wiz was a little scared after being scolded and said in a low voice, "I didn't know. I think this was used when we were negotiating magical items."
"You've observed very carefully. Well then, please study hard."
Claire complimented her.
Just then, Youyou suddenly said, "By the way, Miss Claire, if there's any etiquette for making friends, could you teach me? Knowing that might help me make more friends!"
"Huh?" Claire paused for a moment, then said awkwardly, "Well, unfortunately, I don't know much about making friends."
Come to think of it, she didn't have any friends.
(End of this chapter)