/
Act 3-14: Northern Capital 2
「It’s nice to meet you, Milady. My name is Parsish. It’s an honor to get the chance to dance with a beauty like you, Milady.」
Parsish bowed to Kyouka as he gave his greeting. Upon seeing his face, Kyouka’s face twitched. She glanced at Kaya only to see her place her hand on her forehead. Shirone’s expression was no different. Though she didn’t like deprecating someone’s face, she felt that this case was an exception; that man’s face resembled a goblin’s and was… really ugly.
Though Shirone wouldn’t have made it a big deal out of it if it was just his appearance that was the problem. The real problem was that this man was clearly looking at Kyouka’s body without even trying to mask his perverted gaze. She felt like there was not even one woman in this place who would offer to become his dance partner.
（Uuh, let’s stop with these negative thoughts, it’s not like he asked to be born with an ugly face.）
Shirone silently gave her condolences to Kyouka. She didn’t know how the young girl would deal with him since they needed to be on their best behaviour.
There was another thing about this man that lingered in her mind though, she had noticed that this man called Parsish was using magic to change his appearance to that of a beautiful man. This kind of magic couldn’t fool her nor Kyouka and her attendant since there was an overwhelming disparity between their mana and Parsish’s. It was clear as day to the three of them that, undisguised, Parsish had an ugly, disgusting, and lustful face.
Even if he did have a considerable amount of magical power when among humans, it was still a far cry from Shirone and co’s magical power, which was comparable to that of divine beings. Shirone could use magic as soon as she came to this world, without any prior training. Yet, the same couldn’t be said for the humans of this world. Even if they had a considerable amount of magical power, they couldn’t use magic without proper training.
That’s why Shirone knew that Parsish must have been trained in magic. She theorized that the reason he learned how to change his appearance with magic was probably because he had previously had a hard time because of it.
Parsish expressed his gratitude toward Kyouka with an elegant gesture. In contrast to his delighted figure, Kyouka’s face twitched several times as she tried so hard to hide her disgust. She couldn’t believe that she was literally introduced to a man whose appearance she hated the most.
Eclas had previously declared that he would introduce Shirone and the others to fine men who didn’t have dance partners, and these men were none other than Omiros and Parsish. Eclas had paired Kyouka with Parsish, and Shirone with Omiros.
They couldn’t blame Eclas for this matter since in Eclas’ eyes, Parsish definitely looked like a beautiful man. And, since Kyouka was the de facto leader of Shirone’s group, Eclas chose the “handsomest man” in his eyes for her. But, if he could see Parsish’s real appearance, everyone would agree that Omiros was far better looking than Parsish.
「It’s truly the birth of a beautiful-handsome pair. I can’t wait for tomorrow evening’s ball.」
Eclas spoke with a gentle smile on his face, thus confirming that Parsish really did look like a handsome man in his eyes.
Shirone wondered whether she should tell Eclas about Parsish’s true appearance. However, she decided to give up on that notion since Parsish might simply have a problem with his appearance. Yet, she knew that she had to do something to prevent Kyouka from ending up with Parsish.
「My apologies, Milady.」
Kaya apologized to Kyouka. She wouldn’t be dancing in the ball so she couldn’t help her and take her partner instead. Shirone thought it was really unfair since she didn’t want to join the ball either, but she couldn’t say anything since Kaya would be working behind the scenes during the event. Though they all talked about participating, Kaya had explained that one of them shouldn’t appear in the ball. Shirone and Kyouka had no idea what she was up to.
「Pssh! Hey!!! I’m willing to switch with Shirone-san’s partner.」
「Sorry, Kyouka-san… That’s a little bit…」
Shirone bowed to Kyouka, apologizing while refusing her to exchange partners. Shirone was also reluctant to be partnered with Parsish. She averted her gaze from Kyouka, pretending to ignore her reproachful gaze.
「Uuh…」
Kyouka could only groan in frustation.
「Is something the matter?」
「No, it’s nothing… I’ll be looking forward to the ball tomorrow… Lord Parsish.」
Finally, Kyouka resigned to her fate and muttered those words while hanging her head down. She couldn’t even complain since, in his eyes, Eclas had introduced the handsomest man to her.
Parsish smiled delightfully upon seeing that. His fake handsome face might have revealed a refreshing smile, but for Shirone and co who could see through his facade, it was an obscene laugh.
「Well then, I shall leave you young’uns to get along.」
Eclas left the room with a smile on his face, leaving behind the five of them in the room.
Parsish offered Kyouka many interesting topics to start a conversation with her.
（Is he really that happy to be able to dance with Kyouka-san? Well it’s not like I can’t understand, Kyouka-san is really beautiful after all. She’s easily the most beautiful amongst us; even back in Japan. But, did her beauty become even more refined after we came to this world?）
Shirone pondered about it as she looked at Kyouka. Kyouka’s bright-coloured hair had transformed into a shining golden colour after they came to this world, and her already white skin became even more beautiful and glossy. In short, even without Parsish, there was still mountains worth of guys who wanted to dance with Kyouka.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Kyouka’s mood was really gloomy right now, there was a shadow cast on her beautiful visage. Shirone decided to play the fool and then headed toward her dancing partner, all while offering a silent prayer for Kyouka.
「Greetings… Uhm, can I just call you Omiros-san?」
「Greetings, Shirone-sama. Yes, that’s fine. Let me properly introduce myself, I’m Omiros from Algore.」
Omiros bowed to Shirone as he introduced himself, his introduction catching Shirone’s attention.
「Algore? Princess Regena’s country?」
「YOU KNOW REGENA!!」
Omiros suddenly raised his voice the moment Shirone spoke Regena’s name.
「Yeah… I saw her when we visited Algore before.」
「I see, it’s only natural for you two to meet since you always travelled with Hero-sama. I just happen to be away from Algore during that time…」
Omiros spoke while hanging his head down.
His expression was really gloomy, Shirone felt that an extremely complicated matter had happened after they left Algore back then.
「Hey, Omiros-san. Did something happen to princess Regena?」
So Shirone decided to ask since Reiji seemed to be worried about Regena as well.
「Yes, the truth is…」
Omiros started to tell Shirone what happened in Algore.
「To think such things happened…」
Shirone was completely dumbfounded upon hearing Omiros’ story.
She never expected that Regena would meet such a tragic end.
「That’s truly a sad story.」
Kyouka, who had at some point come closer to them, heard the story and was moved to tears.
「Two people got separated due to the conflict between their families. It just like a story I read in the past.」
Kaya also joined them, listening to Omiros’ story.
「Yeah, I read that story too… It’s an extremely tragic story.」
「I also read that story. It’s the story of ninjas clashing against each other in the 10 representatives’ meeting, right…? It’s such a sad story.」
Kyouka and Kaya looked at Shirone with puzzled look on their faces after they heard her remark.
「I think we’re talking about a completely different story…」
「Yes, I also don’t recall it being such a gory story.」
「EH?! Why are you looking at me with eyes filled with pity?!」
Shirone got flustered upon receiving the look of pity from Kaya and Kyouka. That was only natural since she had no idea why they were looking at her with such a gaze.
「I also feel really sad about what happened to Princess Regena, my prince. That’s why we should enjoy this ball to the fullest in order to forget about such a sad event! Don’t you agree with me, Princess Kyouka.」
Parsish spoke as he took Kyouka’s hand.
Colour drained from Kyouka’s face when she felt his touch.
「Y-Yeah, indeed.」
Kyouka responded while pulling her hand away from Parsish.
Shirone felt uncomfortable with the way Parsish dealt with Kyouka. She felt that he deserved what had just happened to him, though of course, she didn’t remark it loudly. If put in the same situation, she would’ve reacted the same way.
A bit away from them, Omiros was looking at the sky with a melancholic look on his face.
（Is he thinking about Princess Regena again?）
Unlike Parsish, Shirone really wished for Omiros to cheer up a little bit with this ball.
◆
The silver-haired beauty, Kuna, was meeting Karon’s queen again. She had come by herself without telling Kuroki because, other than coming at the Goblin’s request, she had a personal request to make from Queen Datie. She had come as Kuroki’s representative as she didn’t want Datie to act the same way she did previously; she had found it rather distasteful.
「Uhm… Your Excellency?」
The Goblin Queen, Datie, was looking for Kuroki’s figure.
「Kuroki isn’t coming. Now tell your business to Kuna.」
The Goblin Queen made a disappointed face upon hearing Kuna’s remark.
（That’s natural. Like hell I’m going to bring my beloved Kuroki to meet an ugly goblin-like you. In the first place, all of this can be done through messengers, yet you expect him to come himself, foolish goblin!）
Kuna directed her cold-piercing gaze toward Datie. The goblin, on the other hand, looked so disappointed since Kuna wrecked her plan.
「So what’s the matter this time, Goblin Queen?」
Queen Datie heaved a sigh and then started telling her about the situation.
「It’s the matter about Algore’s hero, Parsish, who I mentioned in my previous report… The truth is, Parsish turned out to be my son who disguised himself as a human with magic. He came and said that he had no intention to turn Nargol into his enemy.」
Upon hearing the Goblin Queen’s remark, Kuna recalled the meeting she had with Parsish a few days ago. No matter how much he changed his appearance with magic, he couldn’t deceive Kuna’s eyes.
「Sure enough, that ugly face was that of a goblin’s. So, what’s the matter?」
「I feel bad for previously forcing His Excellency to make a move, but…I want to end this matter now.」
The Goblin Queen spoke as she bowed her head to Kuna.
At her remark, Kuna started pondering for a while.
（Sorry, but I have no intention to let go of this matter. Those people were speaking of Regena back then after all. How do they know her?）
Kuna had no idea why Parsish and the others knew of Regena. That’s why she wanted to question them about it. She wanted to remove Regena from Kuroki’s side as soon as possible.
「Understood, I’ll relay your message to Kuroki. So, what is that son of yours doing right now?」
Kuna asked Parsish’s whereabouts in a roundabout way to hide her intention. She wanted to know what he was up to now.
「I didn’t ask him about what he’s going to do after this, but… wait, he did say that he’s going to attend a ball in the human country called Velos.」
Kuna became even more curious upon hearing the Goblin Queen’s remark.
（A Ball?）
Kuna remembers that this “ball” event was mentioned several times in the stories Kuroki would read to her. For some reason, Kuna was always extremely attracted to these stories. The scene of her dancing with Kuroki resurfaced in her mind yet again—it looked absolutely wonderful.
「A ball, huh…」
「Yes, a ball. He also asked for some aphrodisiac before he left.」
「Aphrodisiac?」
「Yes. It’s a drug that invigorates humans. It’s made from the honey of a charm bee that lives in the Forest of Darkness, west of the Demon King’s castle. Any man who drinks it will swing his hips like a prime centaur, and any woman who drinks it will shimmy her butt like an elf in heat.」
Kuna’s interest piqued upon hearing Datie’s explanation.
「If you want, I can give you a bottle of aphrodisiac?」
「Really!!」
「But, there’s a condition.」
「Uhm… what’s the condition…?」
Kuna raised her vigilance upon hearing that it wasn’t free.
「It’s okay, no need to raise your vigilance. All I want is a strand of your hair.」
Kuna felt something was amiss upon hearing the goblin Queen’s remark. But, she felt a strand of her hair for that aphrodisiac was a cheap price to pay.
「I understand. Just a strand of my hair?」
In the end, Kuna agreed and pulled a strand of her hair and gave it to the Goblin Queen.
「Thank you. Please wait for a moment while I get you the drug. You should mix this drug into His Excellency’s tea. Gufufufu.」
The Goblin Queen confirmed the transaction and added some tips while letting out a creepy smile on her face.
（She might be thinking about Kuroki right now. But you must endure that disgusting sight for now, Kuna.）
Kuna desperately contained her killing intent.
Soon enough, a goblin came bringing the drug with him.The drug was contained within a transparent small bottle.
「Thank you for this drug, Goblin Queen.」
Kuna left Karon kingdom after she received the drug.