“…Guess I was worrying over nothing.”
Elaine stood awkwardly, slightly holding up the hem of her uncomfortably tight dress while staring blankly at Ryu, who was dancing elegantly in a black suit alongside Lady Yuria Prisis.
Not just Elaine, but the eyes of many other students, subtly lingered in Ryu’s and Yuria’s direction.
Elaine watched Ryu, who danced with surprising ease, and realized anew: Worrying about Ryu was a futile act, whatever the reason. She had been concerned that as a commoner, he might be unfamiliar with this kind of refined culture, but Ryu completely dispelled that worry in an instant.
He didn’t appear lacking at all, even when compared to Lady Yuria Prisis.
It wasn’t just his dancing; everything about him—from his choice of attire to the regal aura surrounding him—seemed perfectly suited for this environment, blending naturally with someone from one of the great six families. Elaine even admitted to herself that it almost seemed like these two were meant to be together.
“…Sigh.”
“A, Emily.”
Elaine turned to the side after hearing a quiet sigh from nearby. There stood Emily, who hadn’t bothered to put on a dress, looking troubled as she gazed at the same spot Elaine was fixating on.
“I never would’ve guessed Lord Ryu would be so at ease in such a party setting.”
“…Yeah, I didn’t expect it either.”
Emily continued murmuring under her breath without taking her eyes off of Ryu and Yuria. Elaine followed her gaze and noticed Ryu’s furrowed brow contrasting sharply with Lady Yuria’s cheerful smile. A pang of envy shot through her as she realized Ryu’s apparent discomfort didn’t deter Yuria one bit; she still laughed and seemed completely relaxed.
‘If I asked him to dance, would he accept?’ Elaine thought, imagining herself twirling across the floor with Ryu, their fingers lightly interlocked. Though the image felt foreign and embarrassing to entertain, it wasn’t altogether unpleasant in her mind. Despite her traditional knightly upbringing, Elaine wasn’t overly confident in her dancing ability, but she was at least proficient enough to match the others.
“Looks good, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Elaine absentmindedly agreed with Emily’s comment. It was true—they both made an impressive couple.
As the song concluded, applause erupted from various corners of the room. Ryu and Yuria let go of each other’s hands naturally and stepped apart.
Elaine hesitated, ready to charge toward Ryu in an attempt to ask him to dance, then froze. She longed to run straight to him and request a dance for the next track, but…
“…Ahem.”
“I’ll go check on things.”
“Huh? Oh, yes, certainly.”
Before Elaine could decide what to do, Emily had already excused herself and disappeared. Elaine looked around, realizing they were the only two left from their group of six. Ryu was still near the center of the party, and Emily had just left. She hadn’t seen where Anes, Marie, or Cynthia went.
‘When there’s no one around, it’s my chance!’ Elaine reasoned. But when she searched for Ryu again, she couldn’t find him. She had only looked away for a fraction of a second, but he was already gone.
Just as Elaine was scanning the crowded party with wide eyes, searching for him…
“Hmph. That was exhausting.”
“Eek! Lord Ryu, Ryu-sama!”
“Why are you so surprised?”
“But… I thought you were down there just a moment ago?”
“Didn’t I just walk up?”
Elaine quickly averted her eyes from Ryu’s puzzled expression. His sudden appearance beside her wasn’t nearly as important as the fact that Ryu was right next to her now. This meant they didn’t need to wait and descend to the first floor for the next song.
“This is a great spot. We can see the whole ballroom from here.”
“Indeed. I was also enjoying the view.”
“Ugh. Honestly, I hate this kind of thing. Dancing isn’t my style. Feels awkward.”
“Hmm.”
Elaine immediately halted her thoughts at Ryu’s comment. Asking him to dance might not be wise after all.
“Weren’t you just dancing with Lady Yuria a moment ago?”
“I only did it because she asked. Ugh.”
Unexpected. He seemed completely unconcerned about others’ gazes, but clearly even Ryu had his limits. Elaine wondered if he’d dance with her if she asked.
“What about Cynthia and Emily? Where did they go?”
“Ah. Emily was just with me earlier and then went off somewhere. As for Cynthia… I don’t know.”
“Hmm, I can’t find them with all these people crowding in.”
“d*mn. If they hadn’t gone to that stupid far corner…” Ryu grumbled while scanning the area around him, his face slightly contorted in annoyance.
Elaine watched him carefully and resolved further: asking him to dance might truly be a stretch today.
“Of course, it would be difficult to look around in the midst of such a chaotic, crowded space.”
Ryu didn’t respond.
Though it hadn’t been an invitation for a reply, the lack of answer still left Elaine feeling awkward.
“Oh, by the way, have you tried the food at the buffet? The apple pie was really delicious.”
Another silence. Ryu remained unresponsive.
Finally noticing his unusual lack of reaction, Elaine glanced at him beside her. Ryu stood stock-still like a statue, grabbing the railing tightly. His expression was unusually stiff, far removed from the mild discomfort he’d shown while mentioning his dislike for dancing.
Elaine had seen that face before. Back during the inter-class competition, when the undead rider appeared at the finish line, the same kind of fleeting but intense seriousness flitted across his face as he told her to run.
“Lord Ryu…”
Ryu’s expression was completely unyielding.
It dawned on Elaine how serious the situation might be, though she didn’t understand it yet. She felt herself becoming somber, mirroring his intensity.
“Hell, d*mn it.”
“Why…”
The question died in her throat. In the middle of asking, an explosive booming sound shook the building, making standing difficult. Elaine managed to steady herself and reflexively looked up.
The source of the commotion.
A plume of dust rose from one side of the building’s outer wall.
“What… is that…!”
The once lively party fell into an eerie silence.
BOOM—!
The silence shattered into screams.
“KYAAAAAAAA!”
Elaine instinctively reached for her waist, but her familiar sword was missing. Her view eventually cleared enough to notice something moving within the clouds of dust.
It hovered there, its bony form adorned by massive, leathery wings.
WHOOSH—
The undead wyvern flapped its wings, sending a gust of dust-filled wind down toward the students crowded on the floor below.
That was when the chaos broke loose. The panic in the room exploded like wildfire, and everyone began rushing to escape.
“Lord Ryu!”
Elaine turned toward him in panic, but Ryu had already disappeared.
—
“d*mn. Didn’t think they’d come from underground.”
Ryu had immediately moved to a small hidden room he had identified earlier with Yuria. He tore off his formal suit jacket as if shredding it, revealing the guild uniform underneath.
There was no time to waste. Erika had called, summoning Yuria to join her in the commotion, but things weren’t looking good outside. The immediate priority was dealing with the wyvern that had busted its way into the building.
“Leader!”
“Quickly!”
RUSTLE—
By the time Yuria flung open the door, her dress had already been discarded, and she, too, appeared in her guild uniform.
“The undead are trying to invade from outside too. The other professors are taking care of that. I’ll handle this flying skeleton.”
“This seems to be an undead wyvern. Who would’ve thought they’d summon something like that.”
“Got it. I’m going.”
Now wasn’t the time to leisurely discuss the finer details of their opponent.
An undead wyvern.
‘This thing looks way more stylish than Green.’
Although perhaps inappropriate to think about now, the comparison between this majestic creature and Green flashed through Ryu’s mind. Though it lacked Green’s fiery breath, its design was undoubtedly sharper and classier.
WHOOSH—
When Ryu returned outside, the ballroom had transformed into pure chaos in just the span of a few seconds.
The undead wyvern hovered above, surveying the situation below with apparent calm, while the students on the lower floors scurried about in blind terror, running toward the entrance without a second thought. The professors were doing what they could to manage the situation.
SWISH—
Summoning the Black Shadow Sword from subspace, Ryu prepared for action. Speed was key. More important than hiding his identity.
‘Where’s the Vice Chancellor…’
He glanced around as he unsheathed his sword, seeking the whereabouts of Landgar. Given the flair with which the evening began, Ryu expected the Vice Chancellor to make an appearance somewhere. Yet, he was conspicuously absent.
‘The b*stard will show up once we grab him.’
He moved directly in front of the wyvern, which was preparing to dive down.
WHOOOOOSH – CRASH!
Ryu swung the Black Shadow Sword, aiming for one of the wyvern’s massive wings. The black blade clashed with the dusty gray bones, emitting an unpleasant grating sound.
‘Tough bones.’
Swinging just with brute force wasn’t going to do much. Even a simple shock wasn’t enough.
“We’ve got a lot to get done. Let’s wrap this quickly.”
The Black Shadow Sword emitted a faint vibration and began to surround itself with black mana.
First priority: deal with whatever was riding atop the wyvern.
