The Royal Ball is the most important yearly even in the whole of Kieris, a day for all the most important nobles, generals and Church members to reunite and talk between themselves about the most sophisticated of arguments, particularly politics and innovations. The ball is obviously held at the Royal Palace, and with all the luxurious things that are prepared for it, an entire village could stop farming and working for two generations, and still have some money left. King Stolz is particularly famous for how much care he puts into it, even hiring high rank adventurers in case he deems it necessary. While he says it's for the safety of all, most people think he's just overprotective towards his two children, Prince Weisheit and Princess Apathie. Queen Eitelkeit is also famous for always wearing the most expensive dress. While normal people usually think of it as a great party, it can quickly turn into a dean of venomous snakes.

The Royal Ball, Opinion from an hired adventurer

"Andrew, you can get out now, he's gone"

Dles opened the chest where Andrew was thrown into, letting him go. He was a bit confused due to the sudden imprisonment, but recovered quickly, and saw that Edresia looked like she was feeling quite down. He heard the whole conversation but he had no idea what to say, he looked at Dles in sign of request of help but she just pushed him towards the bench where Edresia was now sitting. He looked back, but she just gave him signs to sit down and talk. He did as he was told, feeling quite awkward.

"Ehm.. Edresia... you, ehm, need to talk?"

Edresia raised her head and smiled a little bit.

"Thank you very much Andrew but there's no need, i'm ok"

"You know, there's a limit to how much you should fake something"

".... I guess you're right.... You know, i really hate the fact that i always have to fake around other people, i feel so.... hypocrite"

"It's not your fault though... it's, well, your job, and then again you don't need to feel so bad, at least you know that you're much better than all of those guys"

"... I'm thankful that you think that... yeah, maybe you're right, it is my job, still i would prefer not doing it"

"You gotta do what you gotta do"

"So right, indeed.... I JUST GOT AN IDEA!"

Edresia jumped from the bench, scaring both Andrew and Dles, the latter watching behind a column.

"W-what?"

"You'll come with me to the ball!"

"Eeeeeeeeh?!?"

Andrew's jaw hit the floor, most likely breaking it, while Dles just smiled excitedly like a girl watching a teen drama.

"WAITWAITWAITWAIT! I can't do that, i'm no noble, royal or important person! I'm just a nomad from out of nowhere! NONONONONONON! Bad idea! Bad idea! I don't even know how to behave properly!"

"My dear Andrew, that does not matter, just my recommendation will be enough to get you in, and regarding manners, i can just teach you"

"We have a week! It's not nearly enough!"

"Don't worry, i'm a very good teacher"

Andrew looked around in search of help, but he only noticed that Dles began shivering at what Edresia said.

*WHAT KIND OF TEACHER IS SHE?!?* He began trembling too.

"I don't care! Let's find an alternative!"

"Andrew, i don't think you understand..."

She began releasing a very menacing aura.

"You, don't have a choice. As an Arch-Cardinal of the Church of Lux, i hereby order you to accompany me, else you be excommunicated"

"I don't even worship Lux!"

Her aura got darker and darker.

"That means you will be shunned in every territory with any faithful of the Goddess, including of course Kieris"

"Then i'll avoid them!"

The aura was now completely black.

"You will probably end up in the Church's dungeon before that"

"Edresia, i want to help you, but this just seems impossible, as such, i'll stand my ground"

Andrew didn't actually have problems with accompanying her, but he was just so tired of being pushed around, he acted a bit childishly and refused to help her.

"As you wish"

He could feel a lot of malevolence in her voice and the next second he was engulfed in white, luminous ropes. He was captured, and he obviously couldn't use his power to free himself.

"Edresia, what are you doing?"

"Andrew, do you remember when you said to me that i was a much better person than all those politicians i have to deal with?"

"Yeeees....?"

"You may have been wrong"

She smiled creepily, then began walking, dragging Andrew on the floor in the process. He tried to free himself with brute force but he failed, so he resorted to the last option.

"Dles, help me"

She began whistling and looking at the roof.

"Dles, help. Me"

She was fiddling around with her fingers now.

"Dles, HELP. ME"

She walked away towards the garden.

"Dles, HELP. ME. HELP! ME! DLES!"

She was gone.

"Surrender Andrew, you're stuck with me"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

*WHY DO THE SADISTS ALWAYS FLOCK TO ME?!? I MEAN, AS MUCH AS THIS FEELS FAMILIAR, COME ON! Wait, familiar? No, why is my brain not working, i meant painf... it feels strange* His mind was very confused.

And so the daily bon ton lessons began. He immediately regretted to not have took advantage of Nero's knowledge when he had the chance, as rough as it could have been.

Two hours later, dining room

"And those are all the ways to kneel and pay respect to someone"

"Yay, we're.... done... uh"

"What are you talking about, you still have to learn to do them properly"

"......Where's the dungeon?"

For the last two hours Edresia had been teaching Andrew all the ways to greet high-status people. There were so many things, some for royals, some for nobles, some for high ranking Church and military members, it seemed to never end. His back and legs were feeling itchy from all that kneeling. He would have preferred to just fight the whole Church alone. Without armor. And using only a stick. He was sitting down on the floor to rest for a little bit, when Edresia gave him a cup of cold water, smiling.

"Uh, uh, thanks... i was really thirsty for some reason"

"You're welcome..... Ehm, Andrew?"

"...cooooold, that's so good. Uh, oh, yes?"

"I know i can seem very harsh, and... authoritative but i still want to say that i'm immensely grateful for what you're doing for me, even though we've met only a few days ago. i mean, i don't think there's many people that would do that... well, it's obvious but still..."

"....Don't worry about it, i like passing time with you. Also, it's obvious but still, i'm not like most people, aren't i?"

She blushed a little bit, but she didn't turn around or try to hide it, she only played with her hair while looking at Andrew.

"Sorry, but, what did you say?"

"I'm not like most people"

"No, no, before that"

"I like passing time with you"

"Oh, yeah, i didn't hear it well before"

She got redder, but this time she turned her head sideways to hide it, trying to look like she was thinking.

"Um, ok then, what do we do now?"

All the redness disappeared from her face, and she went back to her tyrant teacher mode.

"Now, you have to master all the greetings! If we do it well and quick, it should take us seven hours! That is, if we don't take breaks"

"So, where's the dungeon again?"

She released the menacing aura again.

"Andreeeeeww, after all that i said, please don't joke like that"

"Sorrysorrysorry, i'll do whatever you want"

"That's the spirit!"

And so, once again began the painful training, but there was no eye of the tiger to help poor Andrew.

After exactly seven hours, 37 uncomfortable postures to master, 478 hits on various parts of the body to change position and all hopes and dreams being broken, Andrew had finally finished the first part of the training as the night fell. He was now trying to crawl out of the room, having forgotten that the training for that day was now done, and that Edresia was also very tired.

"Must... run......"

"Don't worry Andrew, i'm tired too, the lesson is over"

"Lieeeees... all lieeeees, it's a trick, to take my precious sleep, damn those tricksy midgets, they want my precious pillow, but they won't have it.....zzz... neveeer"

"You reeeeally need to sleep Andrew. Come on, you can sleep here today, i'll bring you to the bed"

She lifted Andrew from the floor and brought her head under as his arm, so as to support him. Normally she would have been a little embarrassed, but she was too tired to care. She walked trough the silent and eery church, her tired mind crafting false creatures and playing tricks on her, making her go faster. After a long minute, she reached the sleeping quarters, where she could hear Dles snoring like a wild boar. She ignored it, since she was used to it, and went straight to the closest bed she found. She carefully and slowly dropped Andrew on bed and covered him under the sheets.

"There, just.....zzzzzz....fine"

Edresia, much more tired than what she thought she was, fell on the bed, asleep, right next to Andrew. Nothing good could come from it.

The next day, morning.

"Uhm, uh, wa, no..... stay away... tricksy midgets... it's.. m-what?"

Andrew suddenly woke up from a very weird dream. He noticed he was on a bed, and deduced that Edresia brought him there. He looked around, bathing himself in the morning light and absorbing the reinvigorating smell of flower. Then, he turned around. Edresia was there, sleeping as peaceful as a baby.

"Wait, why am i...?"

He tried to remember what was the last thing that happened the past day, but the only thing that came to mind were midgets and a magic pillow.

"Dammit, how did this happen?!?" He wanted to shout, but he contained himself and whispered.

He deduced that the only thing to do was to get out of the bed without waking Edresia, else there would be a great misunderstanding. He slowly and carefully lifted the sheets, trying not to make the slightest sound. He put his right foot down, followed by the left, and finally he got up. He gasped in sign of relief, and tried to walk out, but the wooden floor betrayed him.

*Creeeeeeeak*

"Oh shit"

"Ah, that was... a great sleep"

The noise woke her up. She lifted herself up from the pillow and looked around tiredly, then she saw Andrew.

"Oh, hi..... Andrew. Why are you in my room?"

She asked, still sleepy.

"W-well...."

She tilted her head in confusion, before realizing where she was.

"Wait, this isn't my room.....*gasp*"

She remembered what happened the past day and her face became as red as the sun. She began panicking, then quickly turned towards Andrew, startling him.

"A-A-Andrew, where yo-you perhaps in the bed with me?"

"Ehm, no?"

Her face turned redder and her expression was one of pure embarrassment.

"AAAAAAAAAH, SO EMBARASSING!"

She rolled around the bed chaotically, holding the sheets tightly, almost ripping them apart. Andrew had no idea what to do.

"Edresia, calm down! Nothing bad happened!"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!? WE SLEPT IN THE SAME BED! I CAN'T GET MARRIED ANYMORE!"

"You're exaggerating Edreisia, we just slept together, nothing happened!"

"STOP SAYING IT LIKE THAT!"

Andrew held his head, no amount of apology could solve this. While he was thinking about what to do, he saw Dles at the door, the smuggest smile on her face.

"Dles, a little help here"

Her smile got wider.

"Now, why should i? This is just so amusing! Things got spicy while i was sleeping, uh?"

"NOW DLES KNOWS! I WANT TO DIE!"

Edresia was not stopping any time soon.

"Dles, for the love of God, if you're here to make things worse, go away!"

"Nonononono, i'm enjoying this too much! Also, shouldn't you, as a man, take responsibility?"

"Nothing happened!"

"That may be true, but you still slept at the side of a pure, untainted maiden, didn't you?"

".....Yes.... but it's not my fault!"

"It's your fault regardless if you did it voluntarily or not. Now, there's only one way to solve this"

"What? I need her to calm down"

"Give her this"

She took out a ring from her pocket. It was golden, with the symbol of the Church made with some kind of precious stone on it.

"If i give her this she's going to calm down?"

"Exactly! What girl doesn't like rings!"

"Uuuuuhm... fine then"

Andrew took the ring walked up to Edresia with it in his hand. He was about to offer it to her when he heard Murgin's voice in his head.

"Kiddo, i reaaaaally wouldn't give it to her if i were you"

"Murgin? You know what this is?"

"It's a.... wellll.."

"Andrew, what are you waiting for, give it to her!"

Dles was still in the room, motivating him to give Edresia the ring.

"Wait a second! So, Murgin?"

"It's a wedding ring"

"Eh?"

Andrew.exe stopped working. It activated all emergency rage systems.

"DLES! YOU THINK I'M DUMB?!? THIS IS A WEDDING RING!"

"Uh, you got me, i though you wouldn't notice since you're a foreigner"

"A WEDDING RING?!?"

Edresia jumped off the bed and grabbed his hand.

"ANDREW, I UNDERSTAND YOU WANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY BUT IT'S WAY TOO EARLY! I MUST PREPARE MYSELF MENTALLY!"

"NO, DLES TRICKED ME! DLES EXPLAIN IT TO HER!"

"Oh, Andrew, you're SO bold!"

"DLES FUCK YOU!"

"ANDREW! DON'T TALK TO HER LIKE THIS!"

Edresia slapped him and he fell on the ground.

"OH NO, WHAT DID I DO?!? I HIT SOMEONE WHO JUST PROPOSED TO ME!"

"DLEEEEES!"

Andrew was trying to explain the situation, but in vain, as Dles was trying to contain her laughter. After a while, everyone finally calmed down, and Andrew managed to make everything clear with Edresia. While Dles was dealt with harshly, they made up with each other and Edresia apologized for her reaction. They were now in the main hall of the Church, sitting besides each other on one of the benches in front of the statue of Lux.

"It's a really beautiful statue, isn't it?"

"It is, Andrew, it is"

"......I gotta say, apart form the embarrassment, that was pretty funny"

"It was"

"Though there's something i'm curious about"

"What is it?"

"Why did you panic so much?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you have to deal with demons, evil cults, politics, faithfuls etc. I didn't expect you to not be embarrassed by it, but your reaction was beyond my wildest imagination"

".... I know.... it's just that i never have to deal with men that way. I'm..... quite inexperienced in being close to males, if i say so myself. I think you're the man i got more intimate with in my whole life"

"I see..... So, when's the next lesson?"

"I would do it right now, but there's such a relaxing aura inside here at this time of the day"

"Yeah, you're right. Let's stay a while"

"..... Hey Andrew?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that the next lesson is going to destroy you right?"

"I though we were okay now!"

"That's your punishment for seeing something that you should have not"

"WHAT?!?"

"An embarrassed Arch-Cardinal"

"C'mon!"

"Ahahahahahahahah"

"This is unfair! I refuse!"

*I wonder when was the last time i had so much fun with somebody that wasn't my family?* Edresia began thinking to herself.

*He's just so honest, a bit too much actually. And he doesn't really care about who i am. He treats me normally.... it just feels.... so nice. When was the last time i met someone so kind? I don't remember........ After my parents died i only met people that cared exclusively about my talent and power, the only people i could trust were Leind, Trask and Dles..... Dles.... i hope she learns her lesson if i leave her chained on the the roof for another while..... Andrew forgave her easily after she admitted what she had done, even i'm still a little bit mad. I mean, she made him give me a wedding ring, that fox..... though i must say...."

She looked at Andrew, who was trying to sneak away, but stopped immediately when she saw him, then proceeded to sit down.

*I don't think it would be so bad*

Hello guys! Liked the chapter? Hope you did! Next time, it seems Andrew will have to deal with his worst enemies yet: POLITICS! POKER FACES! DARK PLOTS! SEVEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF FORKS! AND LOTS, LOTS OF GOSSIP! Will Andrew be able to survive it? Yes, since he still needs to find a fuck to give about such things. BUT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF ALL! WILL. THE. SHIP. SAIIIIIIIIIIL?

ONLY TIME (AND ME) WILL TELL!