Episode 45: Keep the Party Tricks Moderate
In the end, I couldn’t bear the silence and decided to talk to Elmia.
If we both kept quiet, the atmosphere would become heavy and awkward.
“The weather was nice today, Lady Elmia.”
“…Yes, it was.”
“The food is delicious, isn’t it, Lady Elmia?”
“…Yes, it is.”
“You look beautiful as always, Lady Elmia.”
“…!”
I was glared at sharply.
This was what it meant to be completely unapproachable.
As I was pondering my next move, Nicoletta’s plan was put into action first.
“I’m Dante!”
“I’m Nogihon!”
“I’m Rotten!”
““““Uー, Limbo!”””
Nicoletta had planned a ‘Hidden Talent Show’ by the Military Officials.
The idea was that if we could make Elmia chuckle, she would surely be in a better mood.
The first act was a limbo dance by the Three Idiot Military Officials.
These were the fools who charged ahead of everyone else during fortress sieges.
“Hot! Hot! Uー, Fire Limbo!”
In the end, Rotten ended up engulfed in flames with a burning stick.
It was quite a lively start for the first act.
Now, what about Elmia…?
…Yeah, not a single twitch in her facial muscles.
Let’s try again.
“I’m Josef. I will show you a most bizarre disappearing trick.”
The second act was a magic trick by an intellectual-looking, bearded Military Official.
Josef took out several silver coins.
He put the coins into his prized beard, and they vanished from his hand in a flash.
Amazing, how did he do that?
Cheers erupted as he stuffed more and more coins into his beard.
“I can also take them out like this.”
This time, silver coins emerged from his beard.
““Ooh!””
“Please, Princess, verify if they are real.”
The classic magic trick, audience participation.
With this, Elmia would surely enjoy it…
“I don’t really want to touch it.”
“…”
…No good, huh?
I actually felt sorry for Josef.
Several others tried after that, but they all failed miserably.
The reason was probably that there were few acts that would appeal to women, and the performance was half-baked.
…There’s only one person left.
“Cheers! I’m Dadinga! I’ll be performing the ‘Muscle Ripple Style’!”
A burly, middle-aged man with a buzz cut appeared, his tension unusually high.
…Is this guy alright?
I exchanged glances with him, and Dadinga flashed a bright smile and gave a thumbs up.
He seemed confident.
I was full of anxiety though…
“First, the usual ‘Magic Martial Arts’… Haa, hah hah! Ei! Ei ei!”
He took a firm stance with his lower body and threw a straight punch.
It was a form of martial arts called Magic Martial Arts, a type of hand-to-hand combat that used Magical Power.
Every time Dadinga swung his fist, a sound like hitting the air echoed through the venue.
“…Eisha! Eisha! Eisha! Aaryoryoshaa!”
Oh, this is an intense performance.
Roundhouse kick, followed by a back roundhouse kick.
In close combat without weapons, the outcome is determined by the skill of Magic Martial Arts.
Dadinga didn’t go for a strange gag, but came at it head-on.
This could be promising.
“From here on, it’s Muscle Ripple Style… Hey, bring that over here!”
What the Military Officials carried over with multiple people was a large rock.
It was bigger than Dadinga’s height.
“To think that I would be able to show this Muscle Ripple Style in front of the Muscle Apostle-sama, what a stroke of good fortune.”
Dadinga said something strange.
Then, he took a deep breath and exhaled, taking a stance with his fist.
“Hmph.”
With Dadinga’s shout, the clothes on his upper body burst off.
It seemed he had ripped his clothes just by flexing his muscles.
What a certain stable master feeling.
However, Elmia was already grimacing at this point.
This was starting to look ominous…
“Muscle Ripple Style Third Form, Bone-Crushing Fist! Hyo!”
Dadinga shouted in a high-pitched voice and slammed his fist into the large rock.
“…Hyo, hyo, hyo, hyo, Hyoooooodorooooowiiiiich!”
He struck it again and again with his shout, eventually shattering the rock into pieces.
It was quite an output for a Satella-Class.
I wasn’t confident if I was measuring it correctly with my standards.
““Ooh!””
Cheers erupted from the Military Officials, and applause broke out.
I, too, clapped, succumbing to peer pressure.
“In the end, it’s no different from ordinary Magic Martial Arts…”
Elmia, in front of me, leaked a voice of dissatisfaction.
I thought so too, but you shouldn’t say such things out loud.
“Muscle Apostle-sama!”
For some reason, Dadinga came over to me.
Hmm, Muscle Apostle?
“How was it, my Muscle Ripple Style?”
“Hmm? Ah, it was pretty good, wasn’t it?”
“Ooh! To receive words of praise from the Muscle Apostle Lord Sharka-sama, this Dadinga is extremely honored!”
Hmm, didn’t he just say something I couldn’t ignore?
“Wait a minute, who’s the Muscle Apostle?”
“Of course, the Muscle Apostle is Lord Sharka-sama.”
“Huh?”
Elmia’s gaze narrowed.
This was a bad flow.
“Don’t you remember? About eight years ago, you showed me, who was stuck in the path of martial arts, the path of training muscles.”
“No, I don’t know.”
“No! It was definitely the Muscle Apostle Lord Sharka-sama who gave me the famous quote ‘Muscle training is justice’ at that time!”
Ah.
Now that he mentioned it, I did have such a memory…
Remembering that there was an unprecedented muscle training boom in my previous life, I felt like I said it in front of a troubled Military Official.
Elmia turned a sullen gaze towards me.