“So, where are we headed now?”
“You’re right, I haven’t told you our destination. We’re going to the castle. From here, we can get there quickly by carriage.”
The four-seater carriage, which was a private room, had two seats facing each other. Kent and the female knight sat facing each other. Kent was surprised to learn that their destination was the castle. The castle was close to the aristocrat district, and it wouldn’t take long by carriage.
“Actually, today there’s an introductory party for the person who will be my direct superior at my new assignment. I want you to accompany me to it as my partner. You only need to attend, listen to the speeches at the beginning, and then as long as you don’t leave my side, you can freely eat and drink.”
The female knight began to explain the day’s events to Kent.
“Originally, this was a party for upper and middle aristocrats, where lower aristocrats like me wouldn’t normally be invited. However, since this is for my direct superior, I was ordered to attend. My colleagues who will also be attending have said they’ll bring partners, and although I’ve never actually dated anyone before, I ended up boasting and said I’d bring a date too… Then, my thoughtful superior arranged for a pair of invitation tickets.”
The female knight said, looking dejected.
“Can’t you enter with just one invitation?”
“No, I can enter. But I’m worried about what my colleagues at the venue will say… I was agonizing over it, but since this party was a rather sudden decision, I didn’t have time to ask around. When it came down to it, I was planning to attend alone, but I happened to run into you in town, Kent, so I asked you.”
It seemed Kent had to attend the party for the sake of the female knight who had boasted.
“Speaking of which…”
“Hmm? What is it, Kent?”
“I have a girlfriend I’m dating, and she mentioned she’d be participating in a similar introductory party.”
He recalled that Elnet and Josette had received an invitation to a similar party at the Duke’s family residence the other day.
“That’s impossible. This is a party for upper and middle aristocrats, so how could Kent’s commoner girlfriend… You’re joking again. If that were true, your girlfriend would be an aristocrat.”
“She is noble, though…”
“Yes, yes. Because you don’t have a girlfriend, you’ve imagined an aristocratic daughter as yours, haven’t you?”
The female knight still didn’t believe anything he said.
“Kya!”
“Whoa!”
The carriage suddenly jolted, and the female knight flew towards Kent. Kent hastily caught her.
“I’m sorry. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
“I’m glad you’re not injured.”
They tried to adjust their positions, as they were holding each other, but due to the narrow interior of the carriage, it was difficult to regain their posture.
“My apologies, customers. Someone suddenly darted out.”
The coachman called out from outside. After stopping briefly, the carriage resumed its journey.
“…”
“…”
The female knight’s face was close to Kent’s, and for a while, they stared at each other while still holding each other. She was wearing a slightly revealing dress with a low neckline, rather than armor. Kent’s nose was tickled by the soft touch of the female knight and the sweet, feminine scent, mixed with a slight sweat from her work.
“Actually, this is the first time I’ve hugged a young man like this. Can you stay like this for a little longer?”
“Sure, but if we get too close…”
As the female knight pressed herself even closer, Kent also began to get excited.
“Something’s pressing against my lower body… are you perhaps excited?”
“Well, when such an attractive woman presses against me, it can’t be helped.”
“Attractive, you say…”
The female knight blushed and said.
“Customers, we’ve arrived!”
“Hya!”
“Whoa!”
The carriage stopped, and the coachman announced their arrival at the destination. Having been lost in their own world, both Kent and the female knight were startled by the sudden announcement.
“Thank you. Please take care of us on the way back too.”
“Got it.”
The female knight thanked the coachman.
“Wasn’t that carriage owned by your family?”
“As expected, my family doesn’t have the luxury to own a carriage as we can’t even afford servants. That was a rental carriage. Lower aristocrats, who aren’t even provided with a waiting room, have no place to change unless they wear their dresses from home. Since I can’t very well walk around in these clothes, I arrange for a carriage.”
“I see.”
Kent, who had found the conversation between the female knight and the coachman strange, finally understood.
“So this is the castle. Actually, this is my first time here.”
“Really? Even commoners come to the castle for various procedures. In that case, you’d enter through that gate over there. If you ever need to enter for something, Kent, you’ll go through there. I rarely enter the castle myself as I work outside, but aristocrats enter through this gate.”
Saying this, she moved not to the gate previously mentioned, but to the adjacent one.
“Here is the invitation to the party.”
“Yes, it’s a pair ticket. This person must be your companion.”
“That’s right.”
“Yes, I’ve confirmed it. Please go ahead.”
When the female knight showed the invitation, they were easily able to enter the castle.
“Normally, there would be a waiting room for the party, but since this is for upper aristocrats, there are no waiting rooms for lower aristocrats. I apologize for the inconvenience, but please bear with it. Well then, let’s head to the venue.”
Guided by the female knight, Kent proceeded towards the party venue.
“Yo, breasts.”
“What? She actually brought her boyfriend, breasts.”
“It’s true. Her breasts did.”
As they entered the venue, knights who appeared to be the female knight’s colleagues gathered around. They were accompanied by women who seemed to be their girlfriends or wives, all dressed up. The colleagues looked at Kent as if they were appraising him.
“I’m not breasts, I’m Otsupain!”
“Yeah, yeah, Otsupain. Got it, breasts.”
“I said…”
The female knight was called “breasts” by her fellow knights.
“Breasts?”
“I didn’t mention it before, but my name is Otsupain. Everyone calls me breasts. Even though I’m used to it, I don’t particularly like it.”
Otsupain said, half-resigned.
“For now, it’s just me and my fellow knights, but as time goes on, higher-ranking individuals will enter the venue. Let’s wait in a corner of the venue so as not to get in the way.”
Inside the venue, there were only Otsupain, her fellow knights and their companions, and servants hurriedly moving about to prepare the venue. Middle and upper aristocrats were expected to arrive later.
“Still, what an amazing room.”
“Yeah. This is one of the largest rooms in the castle. Parties like this are often held here. Commoners don’t usually enter these rooms, so take a good look.”
The room was luxuriously decorated, with several large tables set up, laden with various dishes and drinks. Judging by the setup of the venue, it appeared to be a standing reception.
“It seems the attendees are starting to gather. By the way, lower aristocrats like us don’t usually attend parties like this as participants, although we might accompany them as guards. The raised area at the back is for royalty and the main guests, the front area is for upper aristocrats, and then from behind them, it’s for middle aristocrats. It’s not considered rude for those of higher status to go to the area of those of lower status, but the reverse is rude, so it’s not allowed. That’s why we can’t move from this area within the venue, so be careful.”
“Understood.”
Although there were no assigned seats, Otsupain explained the standing positions according to rank. Kent thought that the distance from their current position to the royal area at the very back was considerable, making it difficult to see the faces of those standing on the dais. It seemed the attendees had gathered, as the doors partitioning the venue were briefly closed, and the room quieted down.
