A moment after Silvia’s flute melody echoed through the venue, Floria began her dance with a sword.
The dance Floria was about to perform, though a sword martial performance, was not accompanied by the fierce movements seen in battles.
Rather, the dance was emphasized, with most of her movements being graceful and slow.
However, although the audience was initially disappointed, expecting the intense battle they had witnessed from the temple side, that atmosphere vanished in an instant.
This was because each movement Floria displayed was captivating to watch.
In addition, the divine sword Floria held also shone brightly, in time with her dance.
When Floria moved her sword, trails of light ran along with her movements, and small lights of various colors scattered around her.
Despite the performance taking place during the day, the dance of light was clearly visible from the audience seats.
The light further enhanced Floria’s dance, making it more mystical.
Floria’s martial performance was primarily characterized by slow movements, but at times, she executed fierce moves akin to those in normal combat.
Among the spectators watching the sword movements, several strong individuals inwardly groaned at their sharpness.
They could intuitively grasp from the mere swing of her sword that Floria would be exceptionally strong even in a regular battle.
One of them was even a priest warrior who had been fighting with a divine sword until just before.
“…This is no good.”
Realizing he stood no chance of winning if he fought her, the priest warrior muttered.
Furthermore, the priest warrior occasionally performed martial dances for believers, wielding ceremonial swords.
Witnessing the dance unfolding before him, he clearly understood that the sword he had wielded until now was for ritual, not actual combat.
He felt like complaining that the situation was different from what he expected, but he also realized his own inadequacy for not noticing it the moment he held the sword.
The priest warrior, understanding he could not win as either a priest or a warrior, let out a sigh of admiration while watching the dance before him.
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Floria’s dance captivated many spectators, including the priest warrior.
Among them were, of course, Kousuke and his companions.
Not only the management layer women but also the Doria couple, who had rushed over after being contacted by Kousuke, and all of Kousuke’s children were present.
“Is that… Mother?”
Towa, who was blending in with the audience in inconspicuous clothing, said with a slightly bewildered expression.
Mia and Riku, watching beside him, had similar expressions.
“Surprised?”
Alex’s expression turned gleeful at his grandson’s murmur.
Of course, his gaze remained fixed on Floria.
“She never danced publicly in the past, worried about how others would react, and after becoming Queen, she likely had no opportunities to showcase her dance. It’s understandable that you’ve never seen it.”
As Alex said, the children had, in fact, never seen Floria perform a dance before.
Moreover, they had never even heard that she could dance.
This was partly because Floria herself never mentioned it, and partly because those around her didn’t think it was their place to say anything.
As a result, they had never had the chance to learn about Floria’s surprisingly (or perhaps not so surprisingly) hidden talent until now.
“Mother Floria looks so beautiful~”
“Yeah.”
In contrast to Floria’s children, Towa and the others, Silvia’s children, Kokoro and Luca, were calmly enjoying Floria’s dance.
They were calmer than the other three because Floria was performing the dance, and they had heard Silvia’s flute many times before.
Kokoro, in particular, had been thoroughly trained in various instruments used in rituals, just like Silvia.
Because of this, Kokoro was well aware of Silvia’s skill.
“Mother is amazing as expected.”
“She sounds better than usual today.”
Luca, who had heard Silvia play the flute several times, said while looking at Silvia.
“That’s true. She seems more spirited than usual today.”
Kokoro replied to Luca, glancing briefly at Kousuke.
Kokoro understood the reason why Silvia was more spirited than usual.
Kousuke watched the children’s reactions with a warm smile, but as Floria’s dance progressed, his expression gradually grew serious.
“Master.”
Kohi, noticing Kousuke’s change in demeanor, called out his name as if on impulse.
Mitsuki, sitting next to Kohi, was also looking at Kousuke.
“Ugh… Is this… bad?”
“Kousuke? What’s wrong…?”
Shurein, who noticed their reactions with a delay, asked, but Kousuke didn’t answer and instead looked at Mitsuki.
“Mitsuki, I’m sorry, but…”
He prefaced his words before giving Mitsuki several instructions.
Because it would be too conspicuous to have Kohi appear in Seichun, Mitsuki was the best choice.
“…Understood.”
Mitsuki nodded while receiving Kousuke’s instructions and, unusually, stood up with a slightly flustered expression.
Colette, watching Mitsuki hurry away, asked Kousuke, tilting her head.
“Did something happen?”
“No, it’s not that something happened, but rather that something is about to happen. You’ll see if you just watch.”
Kousuke, believing it was more important to observe the state of the divine tool Floria held rather than talking, focused his gaze on Floria’s dance.
Seeing this, Colette shrugged and stopped asking further questions.
She knew something was happening, and she understood that they were trying to deal with it using Mitsuki.
She had no intention of hindering their efforts with unnecessary questions.
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The next to notice the anomaly, as expected, was Silvia.
It was visually apparent to everyone that the divine sword Floria held drew trails of light through her dance.
Whether those trails were merely light or something more, Silvia couldn’t tell – whether by coincidence or by design.
However, she was certain that Floria, dancing at that moment, was not consciously aware of it.
Silvia was faced with a decision: whether to stop Floria’s dance or let it continue.
If she were to stop it, she knew that Floria would also wrap up her dance at an appropriate point if she stopped playing her flute.
Torn by indecision, Silvia turned her gaze to Kousuke.
Just as Silvia looked towards Kousuke, she noticed Mitsuki disappearing from somewhere.
After confirming that Kousuke gave a small nod, Silvia decided to continue playing.
She considered the possibility that stopping the song in its current half-finished state might cause something peculiar to happen.
This was also evident from Kousuke’s decision to send Mitsuki out purposefully.
If it were better to stop, there would be no reason why an instruction wouldn’t have flown through Divine Power Telepathy.
With that thought, Silvia resolved to play her flute to the very end, ensuring the current ritual was completed properly.
I’m not sure if it’s a martial performance or a dance, but this is the title I ended up with.
Anyway, this is Floria’s moment to shine!
It’s no exaggeration to say that I specifically made the third sword a “劔” (Ken – a more formal/divine sword character) for the sake of this highlight.
Samuel didn’t even exist. (muttering)
What Floria is about to do will be revealed in the next chapter.
By the way, as a side note, Kohi is not showing her bare face.
