Even though I said I trust her the least, here I am dancing with Delania. In fact, I feel like I found out more about myself.

I am too lazy to be vigilant towards someone I cannot comprehend. Thus, I just went with the flow. We did pretty good, but…

“Don’t you even dare start blaming me.”

I am not used to swinging this type of blade around, especially in such a ridiculous manner. Oh well, I have the timing and speed down, so I just need to get the movements, which shouldn’t be too long. Actually, it sometimes feels like Delania pulls me along.

“I am.”

Do you need a rest? Alright.

“Well then. Anyway, want to give someone else a try?”

“No.”

“Nolan, let me! Ilya is apparently dizzy.”

“Okay, Gina.”

Or maybe it is because she is super sensitive with her fur and ears.

Gina and I dance a little, but I had to pull my weight and hers.

“Now you know my pain.”

Hush, Delania, I am trying to focus.

Actually, Gina’s back feels nice. I can kind of smell her hair as it swings all over the place…

“Hey, watch out, stupid!”

Ah, thanks, Delania. Hm? Looking over at Emeril, he and Ophia seem to be going faster and faster. Oh, are they about to complete the dance already? Nice, they are almost as fast as the statue.

Oops, I guess something happened.

The statues broke away from each other and charged towards Emeril and Ophia. The white one headed towards him while the black one rushed at the princess.

“Guys, use the dance! Quickly!”

Isn’t this like a tutorial? You work on the moves, then you apply what you learned. If they truly know how to use the dance, then they can easily repel and counter these statues.

I guess not yet.

“Here you go.”

I blasted the two statues when it started to look dangerous, but that meant the dungeon run was finished. I healed up Emeril’s cut on his arm and helped up the fallen Ophia. They tripped on each other at the last moment, though I can see no problem with them. They already managed to figure out the dance!

“Congratulations, bro. It seems you and the Princess have some…compatibility.”

Ophia blushes, but the Saintess seems a little jealous. Damn, Emeril. Watch your back.

“…Nolan?”

“Hm? Ilya? What’s up?”

“I haven’t tried it yet with you…do you think we could come again next time and do it together?”

Umm…oi, watch your word choice, I may need to soak my head and cool off when we get to town.

“Pfft.”

“Alright, next time we can dance together, just you and me.”

“What?! Nonono, that’s not what I meant at all!!!”

“…I’m just joking.”

No I’m not.

“No he’s not.”

Oi, Delania, shut up.

“Hehehe.”

Well…time to make my exit.

After we leave the dungeon, Emeril took Ophia and Josine back to the academy.

And I was left with three cute girls.

Hey, Delania, come here.

“Hm? A gift for me?”

Yep, hehe.

“I…do I want to open it?”

Oi, open it.

“Hah…fine. Hm? Isn’t this one of those weird swords?”

Yeah, in case you want to practice for the future.

“…Is this some sort of proposition for another date?”

You can take it as such.

“Hehehe, you are funny! Alright then, I will accept this gift!”

Whatever, it is like handing a person some pig feed only for them to back to buy the pig as well.

Delania smirked as she walked off and Ilya was a little embarrassed as she skipped back home.

Only Gina and I were left.

“Nolan…my parents seemed like they completed the dance.”

“Mhm.”

“And you said that completing that first part means the two people have a close connection, right?”

“Seems so.”

“…and my mom wanted us to complete the dance together…”

“…”

“Uhh, what I mean to say is, you don’t have to force yourself to listen to my parents! My dad is a brute and mom is always getting involved in the things I do!”

“That just shows they love you.”

“Love…”

“Yep. My parents doted on me and gave me whatever I wanted, only because they thought that that was the only way to receive my love to them.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was regarded as a genius.”

“You are one.”

“Well, that must mean I am different and need different things. If I asked for greasy food, my parents were quick to get the chef. It wasn’t because they wanted me to be happy, they thought that being this way was the only way to appear useful. It wasn’t until last year when they realized otherwise.”

“What happened?”

“My mother broke one of my favorite toys from when I was a kid. I still used it, as it was actually a tool, but my mom was reminiscing too hard and dropped it, making it broken. Mom was about ready to kill herself from the shock.”

“You wouldn’t get angry at her for that, right?”

“Of course not. I would just bring it back to normal. I mean, I made the thing, for crying out loud. I can easily repair it. However, it would never be as good as the old one, so I left that one for her to keep care of. And I gave her a nice big hug.”

“Huhuhu, I never heard of a guy admitting to hugging his mom before.”

“Laugh all you want, I was never really that close to my parents until that point.”

“Wow. I mean, I was really close to my dad when I was growing up, but I was always moving away from mom.”

“That is why she tries so hard to get involved for you. Well, you just need to sit down and pretty much do one thing.”

“What?”

“Start something new together. If you have already started something, and your mom wants to participate, then just start something together and work for it side by side. Then you have something to talk about and enjoy.”

“Oh! Then I will try that over the holiday break in the future!”

“Hahaha, can I go?”

“…of course.”

Oh. Don’t turn shy all of a sudden. You went from determined to withdrawn. Oi, come back!