The Villainess Will Crush Her Destruction End Through Modern Firepower Chapter 27

After securing the venue, deciding the date and sending the invitations away, we begun preparing for the social gathering suggested by Laursenpai.

The dresscode for the gathering is to be evening party dresses, so I plan to wear a navy blue dress with little exposure along with evening gloves¹, while I plan for my straight hair to be put up to a chignon. I plan to have someone do it for me. I should be well prepared now.

“An evening party with the Round Table, I see. Truly wonderful. I hear that the alumni are people of high n.o.bility, correct? You should behave yourself accordingly so you can grow closer to them, okay? I hope you can get closer to his Highness Friedrich too.”

“R-Right…”

No waaaay! I don't want to deal with that landmine! Get a prisoner of war to do it!

“So who would you like to escort you to the venue?”

“How about you, father?”

From what I learned since I came to this world, usually girls would be escorted by guys in events like this. At first, since I read too much military magazines, I thought “why would I need to be guarded to the venue”, but an “escort” here refers to lovers or fiancées.

But I'm still 8 years old, so obviously I wouldn't have a lover or even a fiancée. I'm not that precocious.

“Hmm, that's a problem. I have a meeting in the afternoon that day.”

“Eehh…”

No waaay…I mean I can still partic.i.p.ate even if I don't bring an escort with me but I'll be so out of place, like they're going to say “look at that loner over there”. I'd really want to avoid that.

“Is there any boys in the academy that might be able to escort you?”

“Hmm…I do not think I have a lot of people that I am close with…”

Are there any even? The other boys and girls look like they'd have a partner to go with, but I…might be by myself…Well, I feel lifeless.

“Very well then. If there are no other options, I shall postpone our meeting. The Oldenburg name would be sullied if I bring shame upon my daughter, but try to look for a partner from the academy if possible.”

“Yes!”

With that, three days before the event, I spent my time running around looking for a partner.

“Senpai! Can you please be my partner for the gathering?”, I asked the senpais I'm close with.

“Sorry, I'm already partnered up with my cousin.”

“My elder sister had got no partner yet, so I can't…”

“Man…sorry, I've decided to go with a cla.s.smate…”

Uuggh…three days is too sudden as expected.

As I sat teary-eyed on the chair, Iris called out to me sounding worried.

“Onee-sama…are you okay?”

“Iris…can you be my escort?”

“Okay! Or rather, I would love to be escorted by you, onee-sama.”

“No, I'm just joking, okay?”

This cousin of mine is taking it really seriously.

Thinking about it though, it might be nice if I could just dress up as a man and be Iris' escort. The one who will escort Iris is ME! I will make sure her convoy could go from the East Coast of America to mainland Britain!²

But it's not the time to joke around. I need to seriously look for a partner.

“How about you, Iris? Who do you want to escort you?”

“Father will escort me…even though I prefer onee-sama to do it.”

So Iris is also going to be escorted by her father, huh.

Right, we're just elementary schooler after all, right?

Also, Iris, you can't say that you prefer me over your father in front of the person, okay? He's probably going to cry if you do.

“Hey you, you said you're looking for someone to escort you?”

Geh, look who it is. Mr. landmine #2, Adolf.

“T-That's right, but I'll be fine. If push comes to shove I can have my father accompany me there.”

“Then shall I be your escort?”

Huh? How does it come to that?

“I-I think I will be fine…”

“Rather, I'm the one who'd like to ask. Let me escort you.”

Gaaah, why'd you have to do it today!?

“D-do you not have Miine-san to go with…?”

“Y-yeah, I am very close to Miine, but she's not a member of the Round Table so she can't partic.i.p.ate. It's not a bad idea for me to escort you instead, right?”

What?! Listen here you little s.h.i.+t, you acknowledged that you've got a girlfriend and you're still leering at me like this!? This is technically NTR you know! Miine-kun is gonna cry!

“T-then…please, Adolf-sama.”

“Yeah, I'll be going with you, miss Astrid.”

But…in the end I was so afraid of the possibility of setting an early destruction flag if I refused, so I ended up accepting his offer…sorry Miine-kun…I'll be borrowing Adolf just for a bit. I'll wash him and return it to you, I promise.

“By the way, who is his Highness Friedrich planning to go with?”

“It's Laursenpai. The organizer and his Highness would go well together, don't you think?”

I see, so that landmine named Friedrich is being taken care of by Laursenpai, huh. That's a relief.

“I wanted onee-sama to escort me…”

“I'm sorry, Iris, I'm not a boy.”

Iris looks dissatisfied, but it's not like I wanted this either. With me being so close to him it would only increase my chance of accidentally stepping on the landmine, I'd be betraying Miine-kun's trust, and it doesn't clarify why he wanted me to escort him in the first place.

“It's going to be rough day…”

I was looking forward to the gathering, but now I feel scared.

The day of the gathering.

Clad in the dress I prepared for this event, I boarded the carriage and headed for the Havel Grand Hotel.

Perhaps because of the event, the front door of the hotel is packed with carriages.

We've reserved the hall on the topmost floor, and so the event is held there.

“There you are.”

Adolf was waiting on the top floor…smugly, for some reason.

Despite still being 8, he's wearing a tuxedo. Can't expect less from someone who's expected to be the next leader of the chivalric order. I have to admit that you have the making of a good capture target.

“I apologize for the wait, Adolf-sama.”

“It's alright. I've heard that ladies take more time to prepare if they were to go out.”

Woah, so you have the knowledge about girls, huh, this precocious child.

“Shall we?”

“Yes, we shall go.”

I joined my hand with his and with him in the lead, we opened the door and entered the hall.

The hall is truly a splendid place. When we came to look at the place, it was a large room filled with nothing, but now there are countless tables lined up with food and snacks placed on top of them. I feel like my stomach is going to rumble just by seeing them.

Meanwhile there was an orchestra playing some sort of beautiful music in front of the hall, livening up the gathering.

Finally, there are the gorgeously-dressed members and alumni of the Round Table. Everyone is dressed so luxuriously. The men are dressed sharp and nice with their tuxedos, while the ladies are dressed in brilliant, exquisite dresses.

“It's an amazing sight…”

“Yeah. I didn't think I could go this far.”

It seems like Adolf was also as taken aback as I was.

“For now I think we should greet the organizer, Laursenpai.”

“Right, we also have to go and greet Friedrich.”

We walked through the splendid venue to look for Laursenpai and Friedrich.

“Aah, there they are.”

We found Laursenpai and Friedrich pretty sharpish because they were surrounded by a lot of other guests. A lot of guests wanted to make a connection with the imperial household, so this would obviously happen. His idea of attracting guests had worked perfectly.

“Aah, Astrid-chan! Over here!”

Laursenpai had spotted us over the crowd, so she lightly waved her hand towards us.

“Good evening, Laursenpai. You look stunning tonight.”

“Thank you, Astrid-chan. You also look nice in your dress.”

Laursenpai is wearing a cream-colored dress, which are the fas.h.i.+on trend recently. Laursenpai's chest is pretty voluptuous, seeing that she's the type of person who won't get fat if she eats a lot since the nutrition would go straight for her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

I-I'm still 8, so there are still chances for me to grow…!

“I thank you for your invitation, Laursenpai.”

“You don't have to be so formal, Adolf-kun. Just stay as you usually are.”

Adolf greeted Laursenpai with a splendid gesture. I'll bet he was tempered by his father or someone from the Chivalric Order to do that. His salutation is really proper. I get why Miine-kun falls for him.

“Good day to you as well, your Highness Friedrich.”

“Aah, good day to you too, Astrid. I see that you chose Adolf to be your partner.”

I've got to greet Friedrich too…I've got to. It's a part of being a n.o.ble.

“That's right. Think of it as returning the favor.”

“I heard about it. I am sorry for not being able to help.”

“It's not something you should apologize for.”

Returning a favor…? D-did I accidentally step on a landmine and blew my legs off!? W-When!?

“Alright, please enjoy the gathering.”

“Y-Yes…”

I don't think it's time to enjoy the gathering, honestly. I've only got myself a shotgun, handgun, automatic rifle, machine gun, and a grenade launcher. I don't have the firepower to go against an entire country yet. If I went on a coup right now I'd just get suppressed and knocked down.

“Something wrong?”

“N-no, there's nothing wrong.”

Adolf looked at me suspiciously, but I replied to him as always.

If anything I'm the one who wants to ask what's wrong.

So anyways, I was escorted around the place. I couldn't think of anything but danger when he said something about “returning the favor” though.

As I was in anguish, a cheerful voice called out to me.

“Onee-sama!”

“Iris! That's a very cute dress you're wearing!”

“Your dress is also very pretty, onee-sama!”

Oooh, my comforting little sister. Iris' dress is also navy blue, matching mine, but she was also wrapped in fancy big ribbons, as if she had fairies circling around her. She's reaaally cute. As expected of my little sister. I'm so proud as her elder sister.

“Hey, seems like you've been taking good care of my daughter.”

“Oh, your Excellency Duke Braunschweig. I also thank you that Iris has been taking care of me.”

Here comes the big shot. The 12th head of Braunschweig Family, his Excellency Diethard. If I recall correctly, Iris chose to have her father escort her, huh? He doesn't have a governmental position like my father does, but he's still a very much influential person.

“I was quite worried when I had to send Iris to school, but thanks to you, Iris always came back with a smile on her face. I am truly thankful.”

“I have done nothing worth your praise, your Excellency.”

Alright! Seeing that he's in a good mood, his impression of me isn't that bad! If my house is to be taken down, please cooperate with us!

“Father…I truly wished to be escorted by Astrid onee-sama…”

“Haha, I see that you really love Astrid-kun.”

Iris…I had thought that you shouldn't say that to your father…

“Alright, now that a lot of familiar faces are here, I must excuse myself. Please greet Paul for me.”

“Understood, your Excellency.”

With that, his Excellency Braunschweig left with Iris in tow.

His Excellency Braunschweig was having fun talking with his former cla.s.smates, while on the other hand Iris looked a bit bored. I should invite her to play around from behind her.

But then, I saw a familiar face

“Astrid-san!”

“Varysenpai!³”

It's Varysenpai.

I'm guessing her partner is Eugen from the Schlesweig house. He's a tall young man. He's showing a friendly smile, so I don't think he's that bad of a person.

“How's school, Astrid-san?”

“My cousin had enrolled to the school, and every day has been fun. How is your married life, Varysenpai?” I returned a question with a smile.

“It's full of…trial and error, I suppose. It's difficult to satisfy this man. If I take my eyes off him for a bit, he'll start gawking at other girls, so I had a hard time satisfying him to bring him back.”

“No, no, that's not right. I don't look at girls other than you.”

What's this? This newlywed couple seem to get along.

“So you are Astrid, I see. I heard that you are a genius in magic. If you choose to continue to study as a bachelor, please let me read your thesis. I too still have an interest in magic.”

“He graduated top of his university, you know. I'm sure you two will get along.”

Hoho, so duke Schlesweig is interested in magic.

“When the time comes, by all means.”

“Very well. I look forward to your development.”

As I politely bowed my head, Varysenpai and Eugen-san took their leave.

“…Miss Astrid. One moment please?”

“Y-Yes! What is it…?”

C-Come on then, bring it on. I have the Oldenburg, Braunschweig and probably the Schlesweig family behind me!

“There's a bit too many people here. Let's go to the terrace.”

Without answering my question, Adolf headed out to the terrace.

“So, what do you need to talk about?”

If it's a death flag, then at least I could retaliate even if it's just one shot.

“It's about Blood Magic. Sorry that I haven't said anything since then. Think of tonight's escort as my thanks for my selfishness.”

Hmm? It's not a death flag?

“…I've tried to circulate the mana in my body from then, but it's not going well, so I didn't say anything to you out of embarra.s.sment. You told me that Blood Magic is still to early for me, but maybe that is the case.”

Right. I was kind of uncertain since he didn't talk about Blood Magic anymore, but it seems that he was busy practicing on his own. Working hard on your own…you have the quality of the son of the head of the chivalric order, I'll give you that.

“But I'm worried if I could really use Blood Magic or not. Everyone in the Order can use Blood Magic, and it is indispensable in combat. It's just that…I can't bring up the image of using Blood Magic” Adolf said. Then he looked at me. “How did you learn Blood Magic?”

“Uhm…a private tutor taught me, and I learned everything I could” I replied.

“Really…You're really a genius in magic, huh. It might be impossible for an ordinary person like me…”

Huh? You're usually so full of yourself so what's with the self-deprecating words…?

“It is still to early to determine whether you can use Blood Magic or not. We will study the basics on middle school and we'll learn its practical use in high school. If you are discouraged by that now, it might be the cause of your failure in the future.”

Your woes will be Miine-kun's as well.

Adolf muttered, “Right…we still have time, huh…” and clenched his fist.

“Don't try to worry about it by yourself. You can try to seek advice from those around you. I believe Miine-san can be a great advisor.”

“Miine, huh. She's got a good score in magic I heard.”

That's right. Learn Blood Magic from Miine-kun and flirt with her a lot.

“Well, sorry for a lot of things. Let me apologize”, Adolf said, showing a smile.

Haah…my mental state is like that of a bomb disposal squad.

Anyways, now that Adolf's back on his feet, let's enjoy the gathering!

¹ Also known as opera gloves; a set of gloves that reaches beyond the elbow

² I a.s.sume she's referencing to some North Atlantic naval convoys during WWII, mostly around 1942 and 1943

³ Might be my misunderstanding from the start, but since the (family?) names of the characters had been taken from places in Europe, Varya's name (kana writing of Vaaria) might have been “Vaglia”, a munic.i.p.ality in the city of Florence, Italy (the G is silent and the A is stretched, so it's p.r.o.nounced Vaalia). I'll keep it as Varya for now but let me know if you'd prefer Vaglia or Varya if it's used in the future.

I was expecting Astrid to go “if I can't find an escort I'll be the escort” and chose to do a big boi move and  go with Iris instead but alas Astrid is trying to stay safe and go with Adolf instead.

As always, hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a great day!