Chapter 71: Fuu~~... Fuu~~... Fuu~~...

Back in the dungeon, while Freya’s real body still had its face completely smothered in the newcomer’s chest, she suddenly felt the weight disappear.

She opened her eyes and saw the dragonoid’s body being lifted into the air.

Aria was holding her by the back of her collar, at the nape, exactly the way you pick up a kitten by the scruff. Her face had become a doll’s, the smile perfect and immaculately drawn, her eyes almost entirely closed.

She turned her head to the side, never once losing that smile, and spoke in a perfectly calm, level tone.

"What—did—I—tell—you?"

Every syllable was detached and drawn out with great care, which conveyed rather precisely how angry she was, and which made every person in the room flinch, starting with the little cat dangling in midair, and above all Freya.

Except Freya understood something else entirely.

This is my chance. Probably my last one. Time to take it.

And this time, I’m not regretting a thing!

She sprang to her feet, moved to Aria’s side and slipped her arm through the free one, holding on firmly to make the closeness between them unmistakable.

Then, driven as much by fear as by a genuine desire to show Aria that she was entirely on her side and could not care less about the woman suspended in the air, she decided to lay it on thick.

And for reasons that escaped her completely, the image that surfaced was that of a villainous noble from an academy, straight out of a visual novel she’d played in her previous life. The kind who humiliates a lesser noble in the middle of a ball, in front of the entire court.

So she raised a hand to her mouth, unfurling an entirely imaginary fan, and let out a petty, haughty little laugh behind it.

A laugh which, consequently, was not remotely hidden.

"Fuu~~... Fuu~~... Fuu~~... Did you truly believe you could lay your hands on me, here of all places, in front of the woman I love?"

The dragon’s eyes went wide at that, while the demon on her arm nodded slowly, a smile on her lips.

Freya immediately felt the aura around them drop a notch, and saw that Aria had returned to something approaching a normal state, or at the very least considerably more normal than before she’d stepped in.

It’s working! So let’s push the role!

She then threw her head back, looking down on the dragonoid from an even greater height, and extended the hand holding her invisible fan to point it directly at her.

"Have you no shame whatsoever? Throwing yourself at your hostess, in public, without so much as announcing yourself!"

She shook her head with an air of profound dismay.

"Were you never taught, wherever it is you come from, that a lady introduces herself before all else, and conducts herself with a minimum of decorum?"

At those words, Aria could only nod again, while the dragonoid still seemed to be in shock for reasons that entirely escaped Freya.

Freya herself, meanwhile, was already far more caught up in the role than strictly necessary, to the point of half forgetting why she’d started playing it in the first place, simply enjoying this closeness with Aria that she had missed so much.

So she let the imaginary fan drop, turned into the demon’s body and brought her arm around her neck to hold her completely.

"What are we to do with this impudent creature, Aria?"

"I am but a servant, my lady. Give the order, and it shall be done."

Freya then slid her arm along her shoulder until her hand came to rest against Aria’s cheek.

And the two women simply looked at each other, no longer playing anything at all.

There was nothing left in that exchange but love, and they completely forgot everything happening around them in that moment. The cat hanging in midair very much included.

Freya eventually came back to herself, pulling free of the spell of that intoxicating gaze without once leaving those two magnificent violet eyes, and resumed speaking with far more tenderness in her voice while keeping hold of her character.

"But you know perfectly well, Aria. To me you were never merely a servant."

A line with a double meaning, thrown out in direct echo of their conversation earlier, and which soothed the demon further still.

Who by now had entirely forgotten she’d ever been angry at the dragon in the first place.

Meanwhile Mei, Laïa and Naïa were enjoying the spectacle, each as captivated as the others, savoring every word coming out of their mouths as though they were watching a play.

Not one of the three dared speak, for fear of cutting short this thoroughly unexpected entertainment.

Aria then turned toward the dragon herself, fully swept up in her rapport with Freya, and let go of her without warning.

Kaguya dropped back onto her feet, still dazed.

Then Aria raised her own free hand to her mouth, unfurling a perfectly imaginary fan of her own, imitating her mistress flawlessly.

"Fuu~~... Fuu~~... Fuu~~... Did you hear that, dragon? Madam’s heart is unfortunately already taken. And on top of that, you made a very poor impression on her from the very first moment. Fuu~~... Fuu~~... Fuu~~..."

A little heavy on the Fuu~~... Fuu~~... Fuu~~..., but you’ve got it, Aria!

Freya picked it up at once, completing her sweet and haughty servant’s words.

"So what are you waiting for? Introduce yourself properly!"

The dragon, finally realizing she was being addressed directly, shot to her feet.

A radiant smile spread across her face and she immediately struck an utterly ridiculous pose, one hip cocked halfway, a peace sign formed with each hand, all with the confidence of someone who had very obviously rehearsed it in front of a mirror.

"I am the dragon among dragons, the demigoddess among demigods, the perfect union of the two!"

She then raised one hand toward the ceiling, the other folded in front of her chest, in a stage-idol pose so pronounced you could practically hear the transformation music playing behind her.

"I am the superb and magnificent firstborn daughter of my father, the magnificent demigod Myrphès, and of my mother, the equally magnificent Dragon-Queen Ōgami!"

Then she moved into one final pose, two fingers in a V in front of her face, one eye shut and a full-toothed smile, leaning forward in a motion that made her chest bounce considerably more than necessary.

"Pleased to meet youuu~! I’m Kaguya Ōgami! But you can just call me Kaguya!"

The imaginary fan hit the floor.

And Freya, her villainous noble persona collapsing entirely in the space of a second, could find only one thing to say.

"What the fuck..."

She looked around her, searching the others’ faces for the same stunned expression as her own.

Except there wasn’t any.

At the back of the room, Mei was applauding softly. Naïa was nodding politely. Laïa, for her part, had evidently already memorized the pose and was attempting to reproduce it in her corner with both little hands.

And Aria, still on her arm, hadn’t so much as blinked.

So she’s already introduced herself like that in front of the others?!

Freya finally forgot her role for good, her haughty noble bearing dropping along with her shoulders.

"But why would you introduce yourself like that?!" she asked, eyes wide.

The dragon tilted her head to one side without losing her smile, visibly delighted that someone was finally taking an interest in her.

"My father taught me to do it this way! He told me that in the world he came from, it was fashionable!"

Freya blinked.

"Fash... fashionable?"

"Yes, fashionable?"

She’d answered in exactly the same tone, with the same rising inflection, as though waiting for Freya to confirm the meaning of the word for her.

And it was precisely at that moment that something clicked into place in Freya’s mind.

Wait. Wait wait wait.

The world he came from? Don’t tell me the demigod Myrphès was a reincarnate from Earth, like me?

She let go of Aria’s arm and stepped forward, every trace of the act gone.

"Your father, by any chance... did he come from a world called Earth?"

"Yes! How did you know?!"

The question came out with perfectly genuine surprise, the kind belonging to someone this had clearly never once happened to in her life.

Freya felt a chill run up the back of her neck.

So there were others before the Dungeon Lords? And one powerful enough to become a demigod, father several children with a dragon queen, and rule as far as Nymeria?

And what if there are still others out there? What if they’re all that powerful, ruling this world from the shadows, or worse, having become gods capable of moving against me?!

She shook her head from side to side, forcing herself back into the present.

Because there was still a far more pressing question at hand.

"And... he told you that this was fashionable?"

"Uh... yes..."

She scratched her cheek, looking mildly embarrassed for the first time since she’d walked in.

"I’ll admit I don’t really know what fashionable means. But that’s what he told me, yes."

What the hell kind of father is that?!

How awful do you have to be to inflict that on your own daughter? How long exactly has she been introducing herself this way? In front of how many people? Has she done this in front of everyone, every single time, sincerely believing she was doing it right?

And that horrible father, how did he even come up with it? Was he one of those light novel nerds completely detached from reality, the sort who’d find it hilarious in the moment?

Freya considered the alternative, out of pure intellectual charity.

Perhaps the man had retained a shred of conscience. Perhaps he’d told himself that in this world, where the conventions were different, nobody would find anything objectionable in an introduction like that.

She glanced again at the three girls at the back, still enthralled, and at Laïa, who had just nailed her idol pose with absolute seriousness.

She shook her head from side to side once more, letting out a long sigh at the sight.

Anyway... thank goodness there are people of sound mind like me among the reincarnates! It raises the bar a little...

She let the thought settle, took a breath, then recovered her entire composure at once by taking Aria’s arm again and holding on to it lovingly, before turning toward the room at large.

"Anyway! Everyone to the table, we have a tremendous amount to talk about to celebrate our reunion..."

Then she caught the dragon’s eye, still planted in front of her with her smile intact and her hands clasped, in obvious expectation of something more.

Freya sighed.

"...and to discuss our newcomer, of course!"