Chapter 21

We went back to the inn and changed into our formal wear. Well, it wasn’t anything particularly fancy; I just changed into a suit that someone had prepared for me. Sophia was oddly pumped up about this party. She wanted to put makeup on my face, which I turned down, but I couldn’t stop her from doing my hair.

“Hmm, how does this look?”

“…You know you didn’t have to do all of this…”

“No! You have to be looking your best tonight!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

And so, my hair had now been styled to look a little rough. It was shiny with oil and looked a little ruffled. I had to admit, I looked rough and masculine now, rather than cute. She added a little waviness to my bangs with a curling iron, which she was really excited about.

“Won’t this look weird?”

“It’s fine! I think it looks perfect!”

After Sophia was done with my hair, Sherry entered my room.

“Um, does it look weird?”

“…I honestly didn’t recognise you. I had no idea she’d go this far…”

“Do I look different?”

“‘Different’ doesn’t even begin to cover it; you look like a different person!”

“Hm… I guess hair really is that important…”

“Well, yeah. If, for instance, you shaved your head, you’d look completely different.”

“That’s a bit of an extreme example…”

Listening to us speak, Sophia nodded. “Yep, it’s perfect! I’ve created the ultimate masterpiece!”

“Uh, masterpiece?”

“Yep. My masterpiece! Take a good look at yourself, Yuria.”

“Okay…”

She handed me a mirror and I looked at my new hair. In the back, my tied-up hair was made to look a little rougher, and my bangs had been cleaned up, with a little waviness added to them. My hair was shiny now, too. Looking at all those changes combined, I could understand why I might look like a different person now…

“Alright, let’s go!”

“You’re in awfully high spirits, aren’t you, Sophia?”

“Of course! Are the two of you nervous?”

“Obviously! Going to a party like this…”

Sophia and Sherry were in dresses, by the way. They were rather bold dresses, with the backs completely open. Sherry’s was in red, and Sophia was in blue. They also had their hair done up, and they looked very cute… No, it would be more accurate to call them beautiful.

And so, the three of us headed to the party at the castle.

***

“This place is huge…”

“Well, Sherry and I have to go greet people now, bye!”

And just like that, Sophia and Sherry went off. Sherry’s the daughter of a Headmaster, and Sophia is the daughter of a Special Rank Exorcist, after all. They had a number of people that they had to talk to at the party. Sophia seemed used to it, but apparently Sherry wasn’t very good at this kind of thing. She was very nervous.

And so, I ended up alone again. I always end up alone, huh, I thought. Then I noticed a small girl walking towards me. Wait, that’s…

“Eira-senpai, it’s nice to see you,” I said, bowing.

“Ugh, I’m tired… So tired… Who was it that made up this stupid social custom? Why do I have to go around greeting everyone?”

While she was complaining, I noticed she was also in a dress. She’s wrapped up her hair into curly twin-tails, framing her face. As for her chest… Yep, it’s still not there. There’s the slightest little bulge, but, well… I’m looking forward to the future! Although, it may be too late for hope…

“Senpai, do not despair! There is hope!”

“Huh?”

“Uh… Well, you should always think positively! Think about the future!”

“…Well, yeah, I guess. Anyway, are you alone?”

“My friends are going around greeting people, so yeah. I don’t have anyone to talk to.”

“…Then come with me. Having you around would be helpful.”

“What?”

“This party has been a little… annoying for me. People keep trying to shove an engagement onto me.”

“Really?!”

“Well, yeah. There are all sorts of important people here, after all. Obviously, they’re gonna want to mix the genes of strong Exorcists together. For the sake of humanity, you know?”

“It’s pretty direct of them to just come out and say it, though…”

“Well, they can’t ignore genetics. The royal family, of course, but the nobles have also produced strong Exorcists for generations. It’s just how things are.”

“I see… That all seems quite difficult.”

“…By the way, you look awfully sharp today. Did you style your hair yourself?”

“Oh, no, one of my friends did that for me.”

“Huh? Your friend… a man?”

“…I don’t have any male friends. Just the two female friends…”

“Wow… You’re worse off than me.”

“Yeah. I’d like to hang out and goof off with some male friends…”

“Well, life can be like that sometimes. In your case, since you were stuck out in the Twilight for two years, it makes sense you haven’t found many yet.” She put her hand on my shoulder.

She’s… So kind… She may be a small person, but her heart is so big… I’m so happy I met her. “Eira-senpai. I’d follow you to the ends of the earth!”

“Uh… What happened?”

“I’ve just realised what an amazing person you are! You really have an incredible heart!”

“O-oh?”

”

”

“Yes… Such an incredibly big heart!”

“Ah… Really?”

“Yes!”

As I stood there praising her, a man I didn’t recognise walked up to us. “It’s weird to see you in such a good mood, Eira,” he said.

“Ugh, it’s you, Derrick…”

He was quite tall. He was at least 10 cm taller than me, so he was definitely somewhere in the high 180’s. He had short hair and his face was… I would call it sensuous, rather than simply handsome. He had a gentle air around him, but I could sense an adult’s elegance around him. Who is this man? Someone Eira knows?

“I’m Derrick. It’s nice to meet you, Yuria.”

He offered me his hand, so I shook it. His hand is strong. I can tell just from his shake that he’s held a sword with this hand tens of thousands of times.

“Why do you know my name?”

“I asked Eira about you. We get along quite well,” he replied.

“What?! I hate you!”

“Haha… You’re as adorable as usual, Eira.”

“Grrrrrr….”

She tried to take a swing at him, but the reach disparity between their arms was too great. He put his hand on her head and held her out of striking distance. Wow… I can’t believe he would treat Eira this crudely, I thought.

Completely ignoring her, Derrick smiled and continued introducing himself. “I’m also a Special Rank Exorcist. It’s nice to meet you.”

“…A Special Rank Exorcist?! Oh, um… I’m very honoured to meet you…” I bowed my head.

Derrick looked a little confused. “That reminds me, have you heard about that?”

“What might you mean?”

“This party’s main event…”

“Huh? Are there usually events at these parties?”

“Not always. Usually, Cyrus just greets the royal family on behalf of all the S-Rank Exorcists.”

“…With the way you phrased that, I have to ask: is something happening this time?”

“Oh no. Have you not heard? Cyrus… he’s always slow to communicate the important things. This is sad. You’re going to be completely unprepared…”

For some reason, the two of them had pitying looks on their faces. Even I could tell that much, but I couldn’t understand why. What on earth is going to happen?

“Now then. Please allow me to invite on stage the main character of tonight’s festivities: Yuria Curtis, the 13th Special Rank Exorcist,” came Cyrus’ voice through the microphone on the stage.

Huh… Was that why that stage was there? I thought maybe someone would address the crowd, but… Cyrus had mentioned that I’d been accepted as a Special Rank Exorcist. Considering the incident with Dan, I decided I didn’t necessarily want to flaunt it, but… I needed to have a solid position and a solid idea of what I wanted. I didn’t want them to make fun of me anymore. I’d have to show them that I wouldn’t take that anymore.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I’d decided to stand tall. After all, I’d decided to move forwards from my past. I’d decided I needed to make my resolve clear to them and to myself, and to put the past behind me… But I definitely wasn’t expecting this, so I was more than a little confused.

“Come on, Yuria. Come up here.”

With my position as an S-Rank Exorcist announced in a way I never even dreamed it would happen, I headed to the stage nervously…