Having decided to introduce Greene-san to Lilia-san first, I talked to Greene-san as we moved along.
[Greene-san, would you mind if I formally introduce you to Lilia-san…… to Duchess Lilia Albert? When it comes to nobles I’m acquainted with who are knowledgeable about social circles and are kind and easy to talk to, I feel that Lilia-san is the most applicable……]
The runner-ups would be Amalie-san, Orchid, and Chris-san, but all of them are royalty, so I thought Lilia-san would be a better choice…… No, Lilia-san is also royalty but……
Thereupon, upon hearing my words, Greene-san’s eyes lit up.
[H- Her Excellency Duchess Lilia Albert!? T- The one that’s currently Top 1 in the noble ranking in terms of momentum…… I- Isn’t she the great noble everyone looks up to……][Noble ranking? Is there such a thing?]
[Ah, Kaito-san, please don’t mind her. That’s apparently some kind of ranking that’s only in Greene-san’s head……]
I don’t really understand what’s going on, but for the time being, it seems like she’s receiving it favorably…… It seems like Greene-san sees her as someone to look up to, and that isn’t exactly something I would have any objections to.
[To be introduced to Her Excellency Duchess Lilia Albert, I’m so moved! I had given up the thought of talking to her because of the difference in our status, feeling it would be too presumptuous but……]
[You don’t have to be too nervous. Lilia-san is truly a very kind person……]
As we were chatting like that while I was using my Sympathy Magic to search for Luna-san, I began to see a slightly strange sight. I did find Lilia-san, but I found Luna-san standing at a distance, observing Lilia-san from afar.
[……Luna-san, what are you doing?][Ahh, well, my mother seemed to be doing well at the party, so I went back to MIlady’s side and am now observing Milady as she draws hardship to herself.]
[……I don’t really get it, but what about helping her?]
[In the first place, my status basically doesn’t allow me to be part of their conversation, and I don’t really want any part of those stomachaches……]
I feel like the latter part might be the truth there. After exchanging a few words with Luna-san, I headed towards Lilia-san…… who is currently talking to someone who I presumed is Astaroth-san.
The reason I say “presumed” is because the person Lilia-san was talking to was wearing a stuffed cow costume that clearly looked like something Alice had made. I had heard from Pandora-san that Astaroth-san usually wears the stuffed animal costumes that Alice gave her, so that should be the case here.
As for the reason why that cow is currently wearing formal wear, I’m not sure if it was originally designed that way or something added to match the party……
“If it isn’t Miyama-sama.”
[Hello, Astaroth-san. Excuse me, are you busy chatting?]
“No, I have already completed my brief greeting to Duchess Lilia. If you wish to speak with Duchess Lilia, please go ahead, as I’m about to head off elsewhere……”
[I’m sorry to have bothered you guys. I hope you enjoy the party, Astaroth-san.]
“I’m unworthy of your kind words. Well then, if you’ll excuse me.”
From what I heard from Luna-san earlier, it seems that Lilia-san was quite overwhelmed and was quite exhausted, so I approached somewhat forcefully to intervene in the conversation.
Before I could call out to them though, Astaroth-san noticed me, politely excused herself and then kindly stepped aside. After giving her a slight bow, I turned towards Lilia-san, who was kinda looking at me as if she had seen her savior.
[Kaito-san…… You came at a really good time……]
[Luna-san told me something about Lilia-san having trouble, but is something the matter?]
[No, it’s just that the Six King Executives who I hadn’t interacted with before came one after another, and to deal with that…… Luna and Sieg fled as soon as possible.]
[T- Thank you for the hard work…… Ahh, errr, I actually have someone I’d like to introduce to Lilia-san……]
[………………….]
That’s strange, why is she suddenly looking at me with dead fish eyes? It’s like she’s silently saying “You made me think I was saved, only for you to unexpectedly come attacking here? Don’t you have any compassion in your heart?”, but I can’t really complain considering my past behavior.
[Who is it this time? A God of some world? An authority from the otherworld?]
[No, I don’t blame you for thinking so, but they’re ordinary people…… I’ve met them when we participated in the Flying Board competition before. This is Greene-san……]
[N- Nice to meet you! I- I hope Your Excellency is in excellent spirits today, ah, errr…… My name is Greene.]
[And this is Anne-san.]
[I- I- I- It’s a pleasure meeting you for the first time. My name is Rimegithe Lenoria Githurd Armetes Anne of the Kruels. P- Please call me Anne……]
Both of them seemed extremely nervous, and for some reason, Lilia-san also looked bewildered, as if she was seeing something unusual.
[……Kaito-san, come to think of it, I’m actually quite the distinguished person, aren’t I?]
[You are a Duke after all.]
[Right, I am…… No, well, it’s just refreshing seeing the people Kaito-san brought along being so clearly nervous about meeting me……]
Indeed, people having this kind of reaction around her might be a first. Although Acht and Eva weren’t used to formal speech, they interacted with Kuro and other distinguished people on the Demon Realm side regularly and weren’t nervous around Lilia-san. Akane-san is also someone with nerves of steel, so while she might have been respectful of Lilia-san’s social standing, she wasn’t overly nervous, so people having such a reaction around her really is rather refreshing.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [That’s right, she’s a Duke. If you think about it normally, she should have had a higher position than most people…… but because Kaito usually brings along people who don’t fit the norm, even the person herself has also become somewhat desensitized……]
