The banquet was in full swing, but Silas felt it had nothing to do with him. He was still reflecting on his actions during the Twelfth Herrscher incident.
Just then, Kevin's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Silas."
Silas turned toward the voice. Kevin, Su, and Kosma were all dressed in formal attire. Speaking of which, it seemed Pardofelis had been getting along quite well with Dystopia lately. Kosma, shouldn't you at least show some concern for your childhood friend?
Kevin gave Silas a once-over.
"This is… Lilith's recommendation?"
Su, standing beside him, already had his hand in his pocket, ready to whip out a handkerchief and stuff it into Kevin's mouth at a moment's notice.
Silas nodded.
Kevin gave a faint smile. He knew it—Lilith had told Mei that her leader never cared about clothing coordination and had asked for her help. So the moment he saw Silas, he figured this was probably Lilith's doing.
Kosma looked at Silas silently.
(As expected of that woman—utterly flawless… But you always follow Silas's orders without question, never caring whether he's right or wrong. Silas… you can't walk down the same path as in the previous life.)
Noticing Kosma staring at him, Silas glanced back with a teasing look.
"Kosma, there's going to be dancing next. You and Dystopia are going to have a song together, right?"
Kosma's body stiffened, and his gaze turned evasive.
"…Well, I… probably won't…"
(Why did he bring up Dystopia…? I've been so busy training these past few days, I forgot all about this… And besides, I can't dance…)
Kevin gave Kosma a sidelong glance.
"She's been looking forward to your invitation."
Honestly—one after another, they were all a headache. No, Silas was a special case, and for now, he really couldn't go see Lilith. But Kosma, you…
Kosma: "!"
The boy's cheeks turned crimson, and his voice lost the usual mature tone.
"Kevin, what are you talking about…? I… she… Ahem. Silas, have you found a dance partner yet?"
That was a clumsy change of subject if he'd ever seen one.
Silas thought about making a snarky remark but decided against it—Kosma looked about ready to explode. Instead, he took the cue naturally.
"It's Elysia."
Elysia, who had just finished pinching Bell's cheeks, heard the answer and felt a rosy blush bloom across her face again.
Silas… admitted it so naturally.
At first, seeing Kevin approach had nearly triggered her PTSD—this guy never showed up without mentioning Lilith, and annoyingly, he was never wrong.
Thankfully, this time Kevin said nothing beyond what she expected. She was still a little deflated, but at least Silas had no intention of seeking out Lilith right now. She didn't know why… but that was enough.
"Elysia?" Kevin glanced her way. After sizing up the fact that he probably couldn't beat her in a fight anymore, he decided not to say anything further. Besides, if Silas had already acknowledged her as his dance partner, there was nothing more to add.
Kevin knew full well about Elysia's feelings for Silas—after all, he had attended that final banquet. Still, he always thought Lilith and Silas were a better match.
He never did figure out why Elysia had beaten him up at that final banquet; he simply assumed she wanted to test who was stronger.
Seeing Kevin finally hold his tongue, Su let out a quiet sigh of relief and loosened the grip on the handkerchief in his pocket.
Keeping Kevin alive was far too much work.
I can dance a little, Sakura thought, a faint notion crossing her mind.
Before long, the banquet's chatter gave way to the start of the dance.
Participation in the ball was entirely voluntary. For Ato, there was no need to take part—he had only stayed to assess the situation. Most of the older warriors had already left; this was time for the younger ones.
"Hm? Vincent? I thought you'd lost interest in these things." Ato noticed the blond youth beside him had no intention of leaving.
"I'm well past that age," Vincent said with a smile. "But lately, I've found myself a little curious about the stories between the younger generation."
Ato's eyes shifted, and he hooked an arm around Vincent's neck, speaking quietly.
"Elysia and Silas?"
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't expect you to care about that sort of thing, Ato."
"Well, they're both exceptionally talented juniors." Ato grinned.
"Yes… both excellent indeed." Vincent looked toward the center of the hall. "The beautiful feelings between a young man and a young woman… always make an almost-thirty-year-old uncle like me a little envious."
Vincent only looked young—he and Ato were of the same generation.
Ato's smile faded slightly.
"It's about time you moved on from that incident, don't you think?"
Vincent's smile was faint.
"No need to worry, Ato. I've gotten used to it. Besides… Elsa would never want me to stay in despair forever."
He continued,
"Speaking of which, it was Elysia—always bringing light to others—who helped me out of that darkness. As her senior, the least I can do is give her my blessing. Oh, and when your daughter Griseo was born, I never managed to send a gift. I'll make up for it later."
"Then I'll look forward to it. That aside, Elysia has always been a good kid," Ato said with a gentle smile in his eyes. "Silas too. He may still be caught up in the past, but as long as Elysia is by his side, he'll come around eventually."
Music began to play.
Kevin walked toward Mei and reached out his hand to his lover. Before the banquet began today, he had already told her that, although Mei believed she wasn't very good at dancing, Kevin was—and he had said that all she needed to do was follow his steps slowly, as he would go at a gentler pace.
After all he had experienced in the previous life, Kevin now treasured every moment he could hold Mei in his arms.
That was why, going against his usual demeanor, he insisted on dancing a song with her tonight.
"How nice…" Silas sighed as he watched the two of them. As long as Mei could survive, Kevin wouldn't have become so unhinged like in the main storyline.
Come to think of it—why hadn't he let Mei be reborn with her memories? Was it really only the Thirteen Flame-Chasers and himself who were reborn? What was the reason behind this rebirth, anyway?
Elysia glanced at Silas, then took a few steps forward toward the edge of the dance floor, extending her hand to him.
"Well then, it's our turn now~"
"Mm." Silas nodded, taking her hand, and the two of them stepped into the center of the hall together.
Meanwhile, Kosma was still standing at the edge of the floor, without even the courage to glance at Dystopia beside him.
(Uh… why hasn't Dystopia left yet? Would it be awkward if I left now? But if we just stand here like this… should I say something? Or should I just keep quiet?)
Pardofelis could hardly stand to watch anymore. So this is the real Kosma, huh… Well, a moment of silence for Sister Dystopia.
At least Brother Silas wouldn't just stand around doing nothing—he'd probably just walk away…
She walked over and gave Kosma a push toward Dystopia.
"Hey, Kosma, didn't you say you wanted to dance with Sister Dystopia?"
Kosma: "???"
When had he ever said that?
Before he could get a word in, Dystopia had already grabbed his hand.
"My, my… I didn't expect you to have that in mind, Kosma."
"I—no, I didn't…" Kosma tried to explain in a panic.
But Dystopia didn't give him the chance, pulling him toward the center of the floor and giving Pardofelis a quick encouraging look on the way.
Pardofelis watched the two of them walk away, then turned her gaze to Silas and Elysia, who were now dancing together. She had to admit—they were practically the highlight of the whole ball. A perfect match of talent and beauty.
"Looks like a lot of people are watching us. Are you nervous, Silas?" Elysia asked with a soft, teasing smile.
"Mm… a little, I guess. I'm not used to so many people staring at me…" Silas replied.
"Mhm… shy Silas is cute too~"
"Don't say that… I'm worried I'll miss a beat…"
When the song ended, Silas finally breathed a sigh of relief—only for Elysia to smile and say,
"Well then, I'll be stepping out for now~"
"?" Silas blinked.
Before he could figure out what she meant, Pardofelis timidly stepped forward from behind, speaking in a small voice.
"Brother Silas… would you dance the next song with me?"
Silas froze. So that's what Elysia meant? He had thought she might mind—especially since he knew that Pardofelis had been practicing dance with Dystopia these past few days.
Just the invitation alone must have taken a huge amount of courage.
Although Silas thought her courage might be directed toward the wrong person, there was no way he would turn it down. He reached out his hand to her.
"Of course."
When he took her hand, he could even feel her trembling slightly. He chuckled softly.
"Don't be afraid—I'm not some man-eating monster."
"Mm…" Pardofelis steadied herself a little.
Elysia, meanwhile, casually picked up a bunch of grapes and smiled as she watched Silas and Pardofelis dance. She wasn't worried about this at all—after all, she had been Silas's first dance partner tonight.
More than that… she still thought Lilith was far more dangerous. Maybe she really should find a chance to bury Kevin somewhere? Elysia let her thoughts wander freely to ideas she would never actually act on.
"That girl's pretty brave," Vincent remarked.
"Yeah. That's how young people are—how else would they learn to turn back without running into a few setbacks?" Ato nodded.
Before long, the second song ended.
"You did great, Pardofelis," Silas praised.
"No, there were a few times I almost missed the beat, and I had to rely on you to correct me," Pardo said a little shyly.
"As a beginner, you're already doing very well," Silas replied with a smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of another girl seeming to approach, perhaps to invite him.
Better turn that down, he thought.
Suddenly, all the lights in the hall went out.
Ato and Vincent's bodies tensed immediately. While the younger warriors were left unsure of what to do, Vincent's voice rang out first: "Stay calm! This could just be a power outage!"
In the darkness, Silas remained calm—he already knew whose handiwork this was. Then he felt someone grab his hand, pulling him in a certain direction.
The lights came back on, focusing in a spotlight at the center of the hall.
"Welcome… to the dance of the century's greatest magician and the most dazzling rising star of the Fire Moth!"
"Of course… Vill-V," Silas muttered, looking somewhat exasperated at the girl holding his hand. He had wondered why, after arriving, he'd only seen Vill-V once—he'd already suspected she was up to something. Still, at least she hadn't knocked him out and locked him in a dark room.
Well, what could he do now? He simply followed her lead and gave the audience a polite bow.
The third song began.
Vincent relaxed his tense stance, letting out a small, helpless chuckle. "It seems our rising star is even more popular than we imagined. Even that lunat—magician—has taken a liking to him."
Hen once again wondered if Silas had saved the world in a past life.
"I knew you'd go along with me, Silas," Vill-V said with a smile.
"Pure Evil…" Silas addressed this particular personality directly. "As long as it's nothing too outrageous, I'll cooperate."
"Oh? Sounds like you've figured something out." Her eyes curved slightly. To the onlookers, it was just a pleasant smile—but up close, it carried something far more unsettling.
"You planted a bug and a tracker in my badge and weapon, didn't you?"
"Mhm~ You don't mind?" Vill-V tilted her head.
Silas chuckled lightly. "Mind? Would it matter if I did? I have nothing worth hiding, so if you want to plant them, go ahead." He knew even if he removed them, Vill-V would just find other ways to watch him—so he might as well let it be.
Her smile returned to something more genuine as she whispered, "That's why… I can never leave you."
When the third dance ended, Silas had no intention of continuing. His body wasn't tired—but his mind was.
He glanced over to where Kosma had been, but Kosma was nowhere to be seen. Dystopia was chatting with Pardo, while Elysia was, as usual, teasing Mobius—who looked utterly exasperated yet unable to do anything about it.
Just as he was about to leave, Sakura appeared at his side and spoke softly: "Silas, when the ball is over… could you take a short walk with me?"
Could he refuse? No—and he wouldn't.
He simply asked, "Where's Rin?"
"I've already sent her back."
No wonder he hadn't seen Sakura since the ball began.
Since she had asked, he stayed until the event ended. When the guests began to leave, he told Elysia that he was going with Sakura. Though she seemed a bit reluctant, she didn't follow—planning instead to ask about it the next day.
The two stepped into the courtyard outside the venue. Moonlight spilled across the grounds, stirring Silas's memories. It was on a night just like this that Lilith had confessed to him…
Lilith… I hope you're happy now. No—that's not right. You always said you hated the life you had before… Sigh…
Sakura seemed to hesitate for a long time before finally extending her hand. "Silas, will you… share a dance with me?" Then she quickly explained, "I… still don't like the feeling of being watched by so many people."
"Ah, no problem... of course."
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