Chapter 79 : Steel Shoes Are Better Than Glass Shoes (part 2)
I thought it was stupid at first, but the result of thinking that I’m wearing blunt weapons on my feet was unexpected.
Rhythmically hitting something with a blunt instrument was the thing I always did when I was working as a carpenter and learning blacksmith back then, so of course I’m really good at it.
I changed the ‘un deux trois’ counting in my head to ‘don don don’, the sound of a hammer hitting something.
After I started thinking that I wasn’t dancing, but I was just using a blunt instrument normally, my awkward movements were gradually getting better and better.
Eventually, I mastered what Slad-san called ‘blunt dancing’.
「Yes, yes! Just like that!」(Slad)
Slad-san finally showed a relieved expression after he saw me dancing properlyー No, hitting the floor with blunt weapons properly.
Actually, I had two problems at first.
The first one was the floor cracked every time I stepped on it with these heavy shoe-shaped blunt weapons.
However, it was solved thanks to my blunt weapon skill,【Hammering Power Control】, that allows me to reduce or increase the power of my hammering precisely.
In addition, I also reduced the hammering sound with【Silent Hammering】so that my movements looked more elegant.
With combining those two skills, my heavy shoe-shaped blunt weapons would look just like ordinary shoes.
The other problem was my lack of concentration.
Occasionally, I thought, “What am I doing right now?”, and my movements would become stiff when I realized that I was ‘dancing’.
And as a countermeasure, I tried to empty my mind and I practiced over and over again so that I could move even with an empty mind.
Eventually, “dance = hitting the floor with blunt weapons” was written in the dictionary in my head.
As a result of my hard practice, I was now able to make excellent dancing movements that wouldn’t bring me shame.
Viva, blunt dancing!
My only concern now was stepping on my partner’s foot.
Well, if my partner was Cecil, I’d gladly step on her foot, but my partner now was Prince Elion, it would be bad if that happened.
When I looked around while continuing to dance with the Prince, I felt like less and less people were paying attention to us now.
The king and Marian-chan were still watching us, but the chairman seemed to have completely lost interest and chose to talk with other aristocrats.
When I was distracted by people around us, Prince Elion suddenly pulled my body even closer to him.
His face was so close to mine. I could even feel his breath.
Hey, aren’t you over-familiar!? I’m not your lover or anything!
Although we are dancing, I want him to stay a little further away from me…
Should I step on his foot? I don’t care anymore if he’s the Prince.
Besides, Marian-chan asked me to give this man a lesson.
When I was looking at his feet, about to step on it, Prince Elion suddenly brought his mouth closer to my ear and whispered.
「You’re awesome to be able to overcome your weakness in this short period of time. As expected… Hanna Falsett, I have a request for you.」(Elion)
「…What is it? If you want me to join the prince faction, then forget it.」(Hanna)
「Prince faction…? Haha, who cares about those stupid people? That’s not what I want to ask you.」(Elion)
Did he say, “stupid people” to his own faction…?
Aren’t those people who support him to become the king?
When I was confused, Prince Elion continued whispering.
「My sister would probably be killed during this ceremony under Bazel Sortlarc’s plot… I want you to prevent it.」(Elion)
「……………..Eh?」(Hanna)
What did he just say…?
Did I hear it wrong…?
「Umm… can you not make me repeat it? I even invited you to dance so that I could whisper to you like this….」(Elion)
「Wait a minute….. Aren’t you Princess Marian’s enemy?」(Hanna)
「Ahh… I’m not surprised that my sister would think that way. But the truth is I don’t really want to be the king.」(Elion)
「….You’re lying, aren’t you? Didn’t you invite me to dance to embarrass your sister?」(Hanna)
「Ah, don’t get me wrong. I was just acting to make Bazel trust me even more and put him off his guard.」(Elion)
「But, didn’t you respect him so much that you made him your guardian…?」(Hanna)
「Who said that? My respect for him was fake. He forced me to make him my guardian. His influence in the royal palace gradually became powerful. Even me, the Prince, can no longer do anything to him…」(Elion)
…..So, in other words…..
Marian-chan didn’t want to fight over the royal throne with her brother, so she pretended to be a bad-mannered woman.
While Prince Elion tried to protect his sister in his own way by pretending to be obsessed with becoming the king.
Moreover, they both wanted to get rid of the chairman from the center of the kingdom.
Each one of them didn’t even notice each other’s thoughts…..
「Haahh….. As expected of twins… Not only are you two similar in appearance, but also in way of thinking…」(Hanna)
「Hm? What do you mean?」(Elion)
It would be bad if I did it, but I really want to line up these twins together and hit their heads all at once with my hammer!
They have a lot of similarities, but why don’t they ever talk to each other properly!?