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/Showdown/ #07 The Socialite And The Socially Awkward Dork

  After a morning of a certain loud-mouthed misbehaver trying to steal my miso ramen, we pick out outfits for the [Trono Palido] girls and day quickly turns to night. Thus, the curtain rises on the main plot.

  Or as Madi-san likes to say, "It's finally HAPPENING!" [1]

  In the north-western side of New Coimbra, a revolving door of darkly covered carriages arrive at the front steps of a white-walled chateau. The Chateau Le Galopin is fronted by a garden with a single long concrete carriageway, fnked by two streams of flowing water and adorned with light, but well-tended shrubbery. The garden's floating nterns illuminate the single path towards the mansion with the same orange glow that radiates out the chateau's windows.

  It is here that the carriage doors of the center carriage swing open, and a single long heel meets the well-dusted pavement. Stepping out of the carriage first is a pink-haired girl wearing a bck party dress. The back of this eborate dress reaches the floor, while the front of her dress is open, showing off her long legs up in dark stockings. Parts of the dress are fitted with lighter-see-through ce just enough to be attractive, yet prevent any yabai [2] moments.

  In all, clothing thoroughly unsuited for Oracion.

  "Atchoo!"

  Oracion sneezes in the cold autumn air, scanning the surroundings for the source of her discomfort.

  But she doesn't find anyone!

  "I feel... like the meido pyed a prank on me."

  "I think you look great, senior~"

  Stepping out of the carriage next is a familiar golden-haired girl. Val-sama's movements are much more used to the delicacy of her wide-brimmed dress, sides dabbed in light blue. A row of cute pink ribbons run down the length of her chest until it is parted by the soft, full white ces of her skirt.

  "I swear, when I said I wanted something I could move around in..." As Oracion tugs lightly at the short-hemmed fabric of her front skirt, the dark-covered carriage behind the two pull away, leaving them to adjust their feathered eyemasks while they ascend the short flight of steps to the front door.

  The doorperson who greets them is a tall, heavyset thing, muscles bulging out of the poorly fitted butler's tuxedo. Its upper body is shaped more like a waffle that had too much yeast stuffed into the dough when baking, a stark contrast to its more normal lower body.

  I say person, because that thing has the head of a horse.

  Either that, or a very, very realistic horse mask.

  I am not a stranger to goatgirls in suits, but literal horseguys are new.

  The Horseguy at the door crosses its arms, blowing a visible stream of air through its elongated snout.

  "Invitations?"

  It receives the pair of invitations in a single gigantic gloved hand. Looking down and delicately thumbing through them with his other gigantic gloved hand, it passes the pair of cards back to Oracion and Valerie.

  "Hmm."

  Horseguy puts a hand on the handle of the white chateau door, pushing it open; other hand hung low at its waist, gesturing for the two to be welcomed into the orange light. When our friends pass through the doorway, it closes the door once more, an unpersuadable bouncer with both palms before its body.

  In the distance, a pair of bushes rustle.

  Following Oracion and Valerie was a bad idea. Why couldn't we have just had a nice storytelling dinner with Sachiko-senpai back home and pressed the 'End Day' button? What kind of madness drives Madi-san to go where she isn't invited? Didn't you hear Oracion warn you to not follow the [Trono Palido] girls on their mission? Yet, here we are. These are all useless questions because Madi-san will do what Madi-san wants, even at great risk to her accomplice's (me) life...

  "Shut it, Aya-chan! Horseface is looking our way!"

  Horseguy did indeed make a cursory gnce in the direction of the nicely trimmed bushes Madi-san and I are hiding under, but Madi-san insists that bushes give a +30% to camo value, whatever that means. I don't even dare peek over the bushes, hunched over on all fours like a quivering sea otter. Madi-san on the other hand is taking this all too well, peeking above the bushes, sliding down, then peeking from the side again. If we DO get spotted, I'm running at the first chance, I don't want be chained up in a water torture room with you again!

  "There! Horseface is reading off invitations again! Go! Go! Go!"

  Madi-san sps my crawling butt from behind, causing your detective to fall face-first on the ground while she makes a mad dash for the treeline at the side!

  W-wait for me, Madi-san!

  The pink and gold-haired arrivals instantly attracted the attention of the other guests. Oracion and Val-sama come down a flight of red-carpeted steps. Heads turn with lingering gazes as they pass through the guest-filled ballroom, finding a spot at one of the many long tables covered with white cloth. While Val-sama lifts a silver covering off the buffet table to reveal the steamy shrimp in lemon sauce and olives underneath, Oracion leans herself against the table, holding herself up against it with an under grip from both palms.

  "Twenty-seven... twenty eight."

  Oracion counts the number of guests wearing eerie taxidermized animal masks and formal wear on the checkered floor. Then her gaze turns to the pair of identically dressed, identically muscur horse-headed butlers who stand at the sides of the staircase; gazing upwards, the sharp-eyed girl notices another three, maybe more, on the second floor, their backs against pilrs that do little to hide that unnatural frame.

  "... that hallway up there is unnaturally guarded."

  "I think so too, senior."

  While the main ballroom was lit up in bright orange light from the ornate iron mps that float in mid-air, no doubt a magick spell possessing them, the hallway on the second floor is not even lit up, yet guards are made to stand there, as if waiting for something to happen. From this angle, even Oracion could not see past the solid wall that the long hallway runs into.

  "Did Master say what is it we are looking into?"

  "No, he just said to keep a lookout for his insider."

  Naturally, [Trono Palido] isn't as frivolous as a certain purple-haired idiot to come here on a whim, but if Avalon suspects that there is something wrong with the party, the hentai bird probably has only the vaguest idea of what it is either. Right now, on the inside of this ballroom, unnoticed by all the other guests without an agenda, there was definitely something amiss with the second floor. If the girls want to take a gander, they will have to find a way onto the second floor.

  "Hoo." Our pink-haired friend rubs her eyes with two of her fingers from one hand, considering her options.

  At this moment, a mousey-masked guest comes up in trembling champagne gss to Oracion, who looks down upon it with narrowed eyes and half-shaded distaste. Before it could even squeak out a word, Oracion made the first move!

  "Scram."

  Suddenly taken aback by this burst of coldness, mouse-face nearly drops its champagne gss in fear! Feet shaking and yellow liquid slightly spilling from the overfilled gss, it probably wanted to try talk up the two beauties but unfortunately ran into an ice wall that had Oracion's name on it!

  Not too far away, there is some chortled ughter from a trio of mouse-masked guests observing this scene from a safe distance, a cue which our target-eyed piinku completely missed!

  But it wasn't one that Val-sama missed.

  Between the snickers and the exchange of "Told you ratty wouldn't make it!", Val-sama caught onto what was going on. The poor fellow's acquaintances were probably setting it up for failure, themselves too cowardly to approach the table. Having been pushed to try and talk up the girls...

  Why not make the best of the situation?

  There are far too many unknowns right now.

  We could learn something important here~

  Turning on her socialite grace, Val-sama beams at the newcomer,

  "Oh, please don't be offended by Misai here, my fellow apprentice is not always this unnaturally grumpy." Val-sama cleans her hands of shrimp sauce with a silk napkin, before stretching a hand out to the scared, mousey fellow.

  "Where are my manners, my name is Virginia Torres, and this is Misai Aguirs. And yours...?"

  Val-sama obviously has zero qualms about using fake names, as expected of a veetuuba who is an anime girl online!

  Seeing this unexpected and radiant kindness from the other girl, mousey grabs onto it like a rat diving headlong onto a piece of mousetrapped cheese! Awash with relief, it csps onto its lifeline with both hands, perhaps a little too tightly and a little too long, which earned it another round of demerit gres from Oracion!

  "Eeep! This... this little one is called de Frommage..."

  Looking around rapidly, as if looking for its next sentence,

  "Do you two... come here often?"

  This might be the worst attempt at talking up a pair of strangers, but Val-sama skillfully maneuvers right into this shortfall,

  "Ohohoho! Frommage is an Olden family name isn't it, we might have been retives a very long time ago! Sadly, this is our first time here, and Misai and I are a little lost. Perhaps an esteemed senior could give us some pointers...?"

  Val-sama purposely, but quite subtly projected her voice with a higher volume, directing it to the trio of mousey's acquaintances behind. Giving a small wink to nudge mousey in the right direction, Mousey of Frommage, too overwhelmed by her radiant affection, does not notice anything wrong with Val-sama's obvious contradiction! Now filled with courage, the Frommager's chest puffs up considerably, squeaking into its savior's face,

  "W-w-well! I don't come here often either! But its the Restorationists isn't it? If anyone is going to be able to pull it off, it has to be the Restorationists! The grand revival of all the Olden families! All of us gathered here in one spot..."

  "Grand... revival?"

  Val-sama's deep blue eyes log this unusual wording, silently pondering to herself. Before she can ask further, the brusque Oracion cuts in before her,

  "What's going on upstairs? How can we get there?"

  Oracion doesn't have time for trivialities and sideplots, and motions with her head to the dark hallway on the second floor!

  There is some flustered squeaking before mousey speaks,

  "U-upstairs? I hear there's an auction ter, but...

  But that's [Inner Circle] stuff...

  I can't get up there...

  B-but...

  The ballroom is where the party is!

  'Fine Dining, Fraternity---"

  "That's so very helpful." Oracion snaps at a recoiling mouse-like figure.

  "Now, now, Misai. Young master Frommage has been very helpful so far." Val-sama bowingly nods her head, "Thank you." Picking up an untouched pte of shrimp and fork to kindly signal that their conversation had ended...

  "Now, perhaps we might break for a moment to enjoy the erstwhile company of some other friends---"

  "... b-b-but I can introduce you to my sister-in-arms in the [Inner Circle]!"

  "Oh? Misai and I would be most interested."

  Go Go And Learn Moonrunes Conspiracies With Aya-chan Madi-san![1] "It's HAPPENING!" - "It's HAPPENING, Aya-chan!" "What's happening?" "It is ALWAYS happening, you only had to listen!" "Listen to WHAT, Madi-san?!"

  [2] yabai - To be lewd or obscene, it's a veetuba term! By the way, the opposite of 'yabai' is 'seiso'! "Stop murdering my nguage, Madi-san."

  HouseDerouxScribbles

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