"No worries~ I can teach you!" Elysia beamed at Silas. Him not knowing how to dance? Even better!
Honestly, even though he had a rough idea of the kind of feelings Elysia and the others harbored toward him, he still found it hard to accept.
He had thought about the reason—maybe it was because of the transition from a two-dimensional fantasy to the three-dimensional reality.
There was always that lingering feeling that he wasn't worthy of something this beautiful…
Mobius ground her teeth in irritation. She couldn't dance either, nor could she drink—just one sip and she'd be drunk. Besides, she never attended these kinds of banquets anyway. First, because she wasn't interested; second, because the higher-ups wouldn't allow it. They feared she might charm new recruits into helping her conduct some downright insane experiments.
Of course, Vill-V wasn't allowed to attend either. If a magician decided to cause an explosion mid-banquet, things could get… entertaining. Wait, come to think of it, the magician had been a lot more well-behaved in this life. Tch… maybe she should have Klein file a request with the higher-ups later.
"Dancing…" Pardofelis drooped her shoulders. "I don't know how to dance either…" That meant she'd just have to watch Elysia and Silas dance together? Uu… Then the next round of romance rumors involving Silas would shift from Lilith to Elysia?
Sakura, on the other hand, glanced at Silas hesitantly, then looked at Ato. "May I bring a family member?"
"Oh, you mean your younger sister? Of course." Ato replied, sweeping a glance across everyone present, while silently thinking: I've set the stage for you, Elysia. Now go for it.
Among the women here, Mobius and Pardofelis couldn't dance, and Sakura… well, she probably hadn't found her rhythm yet.
This round—guaranteed win.
Sakura nodded, recalling events from the previous life. Strictly speaking, Rin had met Silas even before she did. After Sakura had been rescued by Silas during the Ninth Herrscher incident, she had told Rin about it, and Rin had said: "Silas-nii is amazing. I think he's not much worse than Kevin-nii. If I had to choose, I'd probably like Silas-nii a bit more."
Maybe… it was time for them to meet again.
Silas was always an action-oriented person. Since they had agreed, there needed to be a plan right away. "In that case, once I finish my training goals for the day, I'll start learning to dance with you."
"Mm, I have no objections at all~" Elysia smiled.
Silas then turned to Mobius. "And of course, Doctor, you also have an exercise goal for tonight. Morning and evening—you must work out each day."
Mobius's eye twitched. How did this suddenly involve her? She immediately refused. "…I'm not doing it!"
Silas crossed his arms, wearing a cold expression. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but you don't get a choice."
Think you can skip training? Not a chance, Doctor. Just look at your physical condition—it's already way too weak. For your health, you're not escaping this.
Mobius looked at Silas with a pitiful expression. Just as he said, she really didn't have a choice—not even Klein would take her side here. What else could she do?
She decided to bargain for something. "I want instant noodles!"
Silas thought for a moment. It was good that Mobius was willing to compromise, but she absolutely couldn't eat too many instant noodles—too little nutrition. The only option was this: "If you complete your training goal tonight as planned, I'll make them for you."
Noodles made by Silas? …That didn't sound too bad.
The resentment in Mobius's eyes faded considerably. She pursed her lips and said, "Hmph, I suppose that's an acceptable compromise. At least you know your place."
Silas: "…"
Once again, he had been reminded what it meant to face most stubborn mouth in the Elysian Realm.
Elysia: "…"
Why did she suddenly feel like an outsider again? And Silas could cook? Mmm… Somehow, she couldn't help but feel envious of Lilith.
Ato: "…"
All of a sudden, things didn't feel so certain anymore. Why was Dr. Mobius starting to act like a normal shy girl?!
Pardofelis: "…"
Noodles made by Silas… she wanted to eat them too…
Helix Workshop
In the Helix Workshop, Vill-V absentmindedly fiddled with the Śeṣa core inside a container while muttering to herself.
"A banquet, huh? Now that I think about it, I suppose we really don't know how to dance."
"That's you who can't dance—don't lump me in with you. I've actually trained in it before."
"Right, there were a few times I woke up and found a dance manual next to me… so it was you, Pure Evil, practicing?"
"Dancing is, in its own way, a method of pleasing others. Don't get the wrong idea—I only ever intended to dance for Silas. After all, if I were going to be locked away with him, I'd need some way to keep life from becoming too boring, right?"
"…You really didn't need to share your twisted thoughts out loud."
"Heh, you're too hung up on imaginary worries. Think about it—we're currently restricted by the MOTH high command, meaning our chances to see Silas are lower than others'. If I hadn't thought to hide a bug in Silas's badge, would you even know any of this?"
"…As much as I hate to admit it, you're not wrong."
"With you all dragging your feet like this, forget about Elysia right in front of us—what happens when Lilith joins MOTH? Don't forget, even if Silas has never admitted to being in a romantic relationship with her, their bond is still strong enough to affect his attitude toward her."
"…What if I perform a magic trick at the banquet?"
"You trying to get us banned from ever going again?!"
"What is with your misconception about my magic? I meant I could perform a trick to make Silas appear right beside us—then we could get to him before Elysia does and dance with him first."
"…Among us, only Pure Evil knows how to dance, right?"
"And what's the problem with that? Pure Evil is still one of us."
That afternoon, Silas arrived at the location Elysia had given him for their dance practice.
Elysia was already there, waiting. "Right on time, Silas."
"You're just early, Elysia," Silas replied.
"Well, since I'm practicing dancing with you, of course I'd be a little impatient~" Elysia smiled and extended her hand. "Shall we begin?"
Silas hesitated for a moment, but then reached out and took her hand.
The two followed the music, taking a few simple steps. Elysia looked at him in surprise. "Silas… are you sure you don't know how to dance?" His steps, while a little stiff, didn't seem like those of a complete beginner.
"Actually, I was wondering the same thing about you," Silas countered. "You learned from Eden, didn't you?" He knew well that Elysia had never even received formal schooling—she had once mentioned in her travels that she'd stood outside a campus and looked in. Yet her dance steps were so refined that they had to have been taught by Eden later on.
After throwing her the question, he answered hers. "Lilith taught me. It was back when I was sent to suppress the rebels—she had to help me handle certain affairs I couldn't deal with myself. In exchange… she made me learn a few simple dance steps from her."
In short—he'd been played by Lilith again.
Elysia: "…"
Even after all that, Lilith still hadn't managed to win Silas over? Or maybe she had—at the very least, she clearly held an important place in his heart.
She continued, "Yes, I learned from Eden. But Silas, if you already knew a few dance steps, why did you say at the start that you couldn't dance?"
Perhaps it was tied to his reason for not wanting to attend the banquet. That made sense to Elysia—after all, Silas really did dislike such events…
After the Ninth Herrscher incident, the only reason he went to a banquet at all was because of Lilith, and even then, he never showed himself in the hall from beginning to end.
If she already knew the answer, then why ask?
Because she wanted to hear it from his own lips. She didn't want him keeping things from her anymore. She had already felt the pain of that once, and it was a pain she never wanted to relive.
He… he's always been like this. Always throwing himself into the fight for humanity's sake. And what has humanity given him in return? Suspicion, slander, harm! When has he ever wronged them?!
Every ordinary night that others take for granted is a luxury for him. After the Seventh Herrscher incident, he couldn't even sleep without sedatives.
What did he do wrong?
She had always been watching him—always had her eyes on him—and yet, in the end, she hadn't even known the weight of the pain he carried.
In the end, all she could do was stand on the other side of a glass window, watching as his life hung by a thread, powerless to do anything.
"…I guess it's because I don't really like being in the spotlight," Silas said with a wry smile. "It feels like too much trouble."
"Then why agree to me?"
"Because it's your invitation. I… won't refuse you again."
"…"
"Ah, the mood's gotten a bit heavy, hasn't it? That look doesn't suit you, Elysia. Well… since this will be my first time attending a banquet, I'd like to do my best to make it perfect. At the very least, my dance steps should be worthy of you. So—let's continue our training."
"…Mm."
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