Gathering (6)

The young lady of House Rechillis and a freshman in the Academy's literature department, Marie was in an exceptionally good mood.

She had always hated attending events like gatherings more than anything, but she was the type to make thorough preparations so she could someday be of help to her family.

Even possessing knowledge superior to others meant nothing without the experience to put it into practice. That was why she put the ideals she had learned from her family into practice.

Since each experience had actually proved a great help, Marie attended despite herself.

Thus, although she made sure to apply her makeup properly, she wanted to finish as quickly as possible; today, however, she meticulously checked for any shortcomings. The makeup process, which usually took only about an hour, ended up taking over three hours.

The effort paid off: her painstaking makeup had turned out beautifully, and the dress she had brought from the estate was neat and flawless. Satisfied with her own beautiful appearance, Marie gladly headed to the gathering.

"Oh my! Are you perhaps the young lady of House Rechillis?"

"Yes. I'm Marie Hausen Rechillis."

"I'm Xenia Clutton Hirtu of House Hirtu."

"House Hirtu... Ah! Are you the daughter of Viscount Mad?"

"Yes! You know of us after all. It's an honor to meet you, Lady Marie."

"You were in the Department of Magic, weren't you, Lady Xenia?"

On her way to the gathering, someone recognized Marie, but she handled it smoothly. As the daughter of a ducal family, she had learned how to deal with people by attending 'social gatherings' since the age of fourteen.

Of course, unlike someone she knew, she did not wear a 'mask' when dealing with people. It was partly because she was naturally bad at acting, but rumors had already spread far and wide throughout high society.

The young lady of House Rechillis, Marie, was known to have an outgoing personality.

Put less kindly, she had the personality of a tomboy, but with her backing, no one openly badmouthed her. Instead, they were too busy flattering her with saccharine words whose ulterior motives were obvious.

Marie truly hated that sort. Hypocrites who hid knives inside while buttering people up on the outside. Jackals waiting to reveal their true intentions and profit from it someday.

'This feeling again. I really hate it.'

Although Marie was bad at acting, she could tell from people's expressions whether they were sincere toward her. The difference between her and observant Rina was that Marie sensed it instinctively, one might say.

She got a strong sense of that even from the student named Xenia, who was treating her warmly. It was calculated behavior meant to forge a connection with a high-ranking noble. Though she did not show it outwardly, Marie was extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

'I never felt that way with him.'

Even as she conversed with Xenia, Marie was thinking of the red-haired male student she had recently become acquainted with. A man with vivid scarlet hair that stood out even from a distance and golden eyes that gleamed like a beast's.

Their first meeting could hardly be called a good one, but the longer she spent with him, the more she realized that he was about as far from being fake as a person could get.

Even when he lied, it was all written across his face, and although his manner of speaking was blunt, he put sincerity into every answer.

'The red-haired student seems to hide something sometimes, but...'

That was a personal secret, not the kind of hypocrisy Marie hated. She was not the sort of person who enjoyed digging through other people's private affairs with a fine-toothed comb.

In any case, Marie thought about the male student who had recently caught her interest while chatting with Xenia. By the time they had talked for a while, they had already arrived in front of the grand auditorium where the gathering was to be held.

"We're here already. That's a shame."

"We can keep talking after we go inside."

"Would that really be all right?"

"Of course. But I have someone else I want to meet, so I think we'll have to part ways here."

"Ah..."

Whether Xenia was genuinely disappointed or not, Marie wanted to leave this spot as quickly as possible. All she wanted was to hurry over to his side and chat idly with him as usual.

What sort of outfit had he worn to the gathering? He had apparently bought a cheap formal outfit that cost less than eight gold, but somehow she felt anything would suit him. He was of average height, but his slender build would make clothes look good on him.

Marie then left the disappointed Xenia behind and stepped into the grand auditorium. Even for someone who had been through countless social gatherings, the auditorium's interior was quite well decorated. It was impressive enough to satisfy even her discerning eye.

But something more important than the auditorium awaited her.

'Red hair... Red hair... Red hair...'

The moment Marie entered the auditorium, she began searching for none other than the red-haired student. He might not have arrived yet, but finding him came first.

Before long, her quick-moving gaze caught sight of the red-haired student—and the black-haired woman standing in front of him.

'...Cecily?

It was a familiar face to Marie as well. The princess of Helium and a woman she had gotten to know at the Academy.

That woman was currently chatting amicably with the red-haired male student while wearing a highly revealing dress. The red-haired man, too, had his face flushed red as he exchanged words with her in a warm manner.

"... ..."

For an instant, Marie's eyebrows twitched. At the same time, an indescribable emotion welled up from deep within her chest.

Seeing the two of them chatting so affectionately with her own eyes made her feel... deeply uncomfortable. She wanted to separate them immediately, if possible.

At that, Marie moved toward them.

Without realizing it, she had hardened her expression.

*****

There is a saying that a woman's transformation is no crime. It is a sort of maxim born from the fact that even an ordinary woman often becomes beautiful when she adorns herself with makeup.

Men, however, laugh it off, saying they do not care as long as she looks pretty. In reality, it is extremely rare for a man to break up with his girlfriend because she is ugly without makeup. Most people instead curse the man who announced the breakup.

Of course, this only applies when an ordinary woman becomes beautiful with makeup; when a woman is beautiful even bare-faced, makeup often covers up her looks instead.

Moreover, with Cecily as she was now, people's eyes were drawn to somewhere other than her face.

"Isaac's face is really red."

"... ..."

I stared blankly at Cecily, who had spoken in a teasing voice. Perhaps because my face was so hot, I could not even realize that it was red.

'Seriously...'

In the end, I covered my face with one hand and let out a groan. Then I desperately suppressed the desire rising from the depths of my heart.

I wasn't impotent, and seeing Cecily like this made my instincts as a man threaten to break free.

But any man would understand how I felt. What man could fail to react when a breathtakingly beautiful woman, wearing a highly revealing dress, teased him seductively right in front of him?

For now, it would be best to focus all my efforts on desperately preventing my manhood from shooting straight up! I exhaled a heated breath and quietly opened my mouth.

"Phew... Noona...?"

"Why?"

"...Isn't the... outfit a little... excessive?"

"What about it is excessive?"

Are you asking because you don't know? No, you were definitely doing this on purpose.

I let out another sigh as Cecily asked, still maintaining her playful mood.

"Well... The outfit is a little..."

"Sexy?"

"...Yes."

Once my heart had calmed down somewhat, I lowered the hand covering my face. The moment I lowered it, my gaze fixed on Cecily's face kept drifting downward.

I wasn't some sage, so there was no way to stop my instincts.

In the meantime, Cecily gazed intently at my wandering eyes, then gave a faint smile and opened her mouth.

"You don't have to make a point of trying not to look."

"...It would still be rude."

"Wouldn't the person calling it rude be the strange one, even though I'm wearing something like this? Besides, most of us demonfolk wear clothes like this at social gatherings. Men in particular are honest about their desires, aren't they? It's a way to see how much they can restrain those desires."

Well, that's... a rather admirable custom. I nodded reluctantly at her explanation.

If someone else wore an outfit like this, I would have spoken ill of them, but it definitely felt different because Cecily was wearing it. Along with her allure, the dignity she had possessed from the beginning had been elevated into grace, making her charm shine even more brilliantly.

Even so, fundamentally, I still couldn't easily take my eyes off her.

"...Are you going to keep walking around dressed like that?"

"Hm? Of course. Are you worried that other people might look at me strangely, Isaac?"

"... ..."

"You must be, since you're just blushing silently."

Cecily wagged a finger at me as if calling me a naughty boy. I felt as though my blood pressure was rising in real time.

Afraid I might get a nosebleed at this rate, I hurriedly changed the subject.

"A-anyway! What were you doing just now?"

"I was talking to people I'd just met before coming here. It wasn't particularly pleasant. Most of them, men and women alike, gave me lustful looks. Humans really are honest about their desires."

Despite her calm tone, the content was rather unpleasant. I slightly furrowed my brow and asked in a tone that conveyed my incomprehension.

"Didn't that make you uncomfortable? Even if that's how demonfolk live..."

"Isaac. Don't carelessly impose human standards on other races. We have our way, and humans have theirs."

"... ..."

"Although we demonfolk want to live as humans, if we accept what others force upon us, it'll be nothing more than imitation. Like you said before, demonfolk should live as demonfolk."

I could only press my lips tightly shut at Cecily's stinging admonition. It felt as though I had been struck on the head with a hammer.

As she said, forcing human ways upon another race was utterly foolish. Perhaps my actions had made her uncomfortable.

"...I'm sorry. I misspoke."

"No, I know you were just being considerate of me. It feels good to know you care."

Cecily shrugged at my apology, then smiled brightly. I, too, smiled gently and met her gaze.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hm?"

In the midst of our pleasant atmosphere, a familiar woman's voice cut into our conversation. Both Cecily and I turned our heads toward the voice.

When I turned, a stunning beauty who rivaled Cecily stood there with her arms crossed, looking self-assured. Whatever it was, she looked thoroughly displeased.

For a moment, I did not recognize who the beauty was, but I realized it from her pure-white hair and keenly shining blue eyes.

"...Could that be Marie?"

"Why are you calling me?"

When I called out Marie's name, the beautiful woman answered curtly. I looked Marie up and down with a slightly dazed expression.

Her white hair, grown long to her waist, was tied in a ponytail, revealing a delicate, deerlike nape, and perhaps because of her makeup, she exuded a mature air overall.

Her white dress with a subtle blue tint was also rather daring, though not to Cecily's extent. It fully exposed her shoulders, clearly revealing an alluring line of collarbone, while partially exposing her moderately large breasts and radiating sensual appeal.

Finally, she wore expensive-looking jewelry befitting a duke's daughter, but next to her beauty, it seemed almost irrelevant.

If Marie as a student had radiated the liveliness of a girl, the Marie before me now looked like an adult exuding a mature charm, much like Cecily.

"Why are you staring so intently? Do I look strange?"

While I stared blankly at her appearance, Marie asked again in a curt voice.

Judging by the way she slightly avoided my gaze and her cheeks flushed, she seemed embarrassed.

So I hurriedly came to my senses and voiced my honest thoughts first.

"No. It's just... I was so taken aback. You became so beautiful that I didn't recognize you for a moment."

"...Beautiful?"

At the word beautiful, the sullen expression on Marie's face relaxed a little. Then she looked Cecily up and down before carefully opening her mouth.

"...How beautiful am I?"

"As beautiful as you boasted last time—beautiful enough to make someone fall in love at first sight?"

"...Huh?"

The moment I answered that way, Cecily beside me expressed her confusion. From the look on her face, one eye was raised slightly, as though something had offended her.

Marie, however, seemed satisfied enough with my answer that the corners of her lips curved into a smile. Then, facing me directly, she spoke as if it were obvious.

"You were so blunt when you answered before, but you can give pretty words after all? You know you're not getting anything out of it, right?"

"When have I ever given pretty words? If I had, I would have called you the goddess of beauty and piled on every flowery expression there is."

"It would've been nice if you'd done that, then. I might have gotten something out of it."

"Want me to do it now?"

"Forget it. Anyway..."

While chatting with me, Marie let her words trail off and shifted her gaze from me to Cecily. She quickly looked her up and down, then, after gauging the situation, spoke cautiously.

"Cecily is, um... daring, isn't she? I don't know where I'm supposed to look."

Marie seemed to feel much the same as I did. Well, anyone would probably react similarly upon seeing Cecily.

Cecily, meanwhile, smiled broadly at Marie's assessment and then made an unexpected move.

"Yeah. That's what you think too, right, Marie?"

She subtly took hold of my arm and pulled it toward herself, then pressed it against her chest.

The movement flowed so naturally that I reacted too late. When the soft yet yielding sensation traveled plainly up my arm, the heat that had barely subsided surged again.

"W-what are you doing...?"

"I was curious to see how Isaac would react if I wore this dress."

What was she talking about now? After hearing Cecily's answer, I was beyond flustered and utterly bewildered. It was clearly a different answer from the one she'd given moments ago.

Judging by the playful tone peculiar to her, she was obviously teasing me, but even that made no sense.

"...What does that mean?"

Marie also seemed dumbfounded by Cecily's answer. With one eye narrowed, she made her confusion plainly evident.

At that, Cecily tightened her grip on my arm. She must have been determined, because no matter how I tried to pull it free, it did not budge at all. Rather, every time I struggled, the soft sensation was merely conveyed more vividly.

"Just what you heard. I was curious about Isaac's reaction."

"No, Noona Cecily? You clearly said earlier..."

"...That's enough teasing, isn't it? Can't you see Isaac is having trouble?"

Before I could say anything, Marie strode over and grabbed the arm Cecily was holding. However, there was no way someone as close to an ordinary person as Marie could overpower Cecily's strength.

As a result, the two women faced off with my arm between them. Cecily maintained her playful attitude even as the atmosphere instantly turned cold.

"I'm not teasing. And linking arms like this is a sort of reward given to someone who has overcome their desires. It's an old Helium custom."

"That's a story that applies to you demonfolk. We humans probably wouldn't look favorably on what you're doing now, would we? What you're doing to Isaac is something only lovers do. It could make people question your chastity."

"I told Isaac earlier, but it's not good to impose human standards on other races. Besides, we demonfolk are actually quite conservative about chastity."

"Now that you've come to the human world, shouldn't you follow human customs? At least, that's what I think."

A fierce exchange with neither woman yielding an inch took place between them. The notable point was perhaps that while Marie's face had grown stiff as a board, Cecily wore a playful smile the entire time.

But I didn't care. Looking around, I saw more and more gazes fixed on us with interest.

The princess of Helium and the young lady of House Rechillis were fighting over a single man. What an exciting development.

You may have heard a saying like this before.

Life is a comedy when viewed from far away, but a tragedy when viewed up close.

'...I want to go home.'

That was exactly how I felt right now.