-Clamp!
The dance was coming to an end. I was holding her close. The music had suddenly become slow, so we were moving slowly, but everyone knew what was coming.
They just knew so, when the time came and the music took a sharp jump, they were ready to lift their partners.
It was familiar to them, but the next step was going to be even more fun.
-Clap, clap!
Two claps. That was a new thing. But the music was still far faster for them to stop.
Their legs just moved on their own, surprising even them with how they were doing what they were doing. But it was just how the simple law of synchronization worked.
They were following us after this long dance and their bodies followed us in most cases.
There were some people who fell on each other, but they just laughed with the spectators about this fun thing.
But some of them were still naturally following us.
-Clamp, clamp, clamp!
The tempo was very high and few could actually follow that fast speed, but experts like mom and others were following us perfectly.
They had almost connected to us now, so they did what we did as naturally as a trained group of dancers.
When we clapped, they were clapping. When we tapped our shoes on the ground, they were doing the same.
When I lifted her, they also lifted their partners and when we took various spins, turns, and circles, they were doing it with us.
It was fun, and these amazing movements happening in a perfect sync were unbelievable for the spectators and the people who had lost or given up midway.
It looked good from above, so people watching from above must be feeling even more excited.
-Final high music.
It was here, so I looked at my gorgeous partner and our eyes were everything we needed.
She smiled and nodded as we separated when the music was on a high note, and the others followed us, so it confused those who weren't in a zone like us.
But the dancers who were with us also understood some of them couldn't do this next thing even if they wanted to. Many of them couldn't, at the very least.
Rein was a few steps away from me, same for the others who were confident in their magic, Aura, skills, and partners, and, when she ran towards me, a slow gust of wind covered my hands and her body at the same time…
-Thump!
She took a jump with the winds as support, landed on the wind on one of my hands, took three impeccable turns, same for me in opposite directions, and with the same winds supporting her, holding both my hands, she gently cascaded down to the ground.
"WHAAAAAAAAA!"
Cheers and claps full of surprise filled the room, which had fallen silent just a moment ago.
They were astonished by this unique movement that none of them were expecting, not even the ones who followed us.
They didn't even know what they did themselves, but that was the fun of a shared zone. They were drunk on the boundless fun.
But a few couples definitely pulled off something that took us the practice of an entire month.
These people were amazing. But this just showed how blindly they trusted their partners.
It wasn't something just anyone could pull off. The main element wasn't magic, after all. Those who could use Aura or those with special skills and artifacts like uncle El could definitely pull it off. The trust of their partner was the key element.
These people were amazing, and this dance was at its end.
-Ending melody.
And after that stunt, the end had to be a slow one. Not many possessed as high of stamina as a few of us, so the end came, and we just held each other in these last moments.
She was amazing. And… well, she was amazing.
'You're amazing.'
She said through her eyes, and I nodded with a smile.
'We are amazing.'
She laughed at that remark and in these last slow moments where the other couples were kissing their partners, we could only hold each other, enjoy the other's beautiful eyes, and feel our entire being.
She wanted something like them, but there were these damned restrictions in place.
She was sad, but what we had at this moment, just the way we had each other at this moment, even while the world was watching, was enough for her.
She was happy, those clear eyes, those curved lips, her wild heart, and her warm breaths said it all.
She was cute… and the best.
"Thanks."
I couldn't help but say it out loud when our feet finally stopped with the music.
"The pleasure was all mine."
She slightly lifted her dress with both hands and politely bowed.
It wasn't that long, but we just had our very first official and the best-ever dance.
She was tired, just like the other people who had already fallen down to the ground with exhaustion.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
But they all were smiling. That much was true for all of them. And most of the people were smiling, cheering, or clapping for our legen—dary performance.
It was fun, but now that the music stopped, even the two of us understood how difficult the thing that we just pulled out was.
"Hahaha."
"Hehehe. Still, it was some of the most fun things ever~!"
We both laughed, and she almost fell back from exhaustion, but I caught her hand and helped her to one of the closest chairs.
The ball had taken a short break. Even the musicians were tired and excited like all of us, so a break was a must.
Well, there were others who could take their positions so they can take as long of a break as they wanted.
We all also needed breaks. People couldn't just stand still after watching that amazing performance.
They started coming to the two of us and commanded the two of us for our coooooooooool performance.
They had fun, and the ones who had continued till the end with us were even more interested in us now.
They had a great time just now. And just a small thank you could never express their genuine heart.
So, we were now being invited to their estates. And they were prominent figures, so there was no way to politely refuse their honest invitations.
It was a chaotic time, but I handled it so well that she didn't even have to say a word.
And this impressed the older ones even more.
We just had a great dance, and I was as composed as I had been before.
The approachable air around me was the same, so they continued coming and talking about worldly things.
[ "Let's just go." ]
She had no interest in them and her now stoic face, too different from her warm one from just some moment ago, was familiar to me.
[ "Wait for a bit more. We have to check him, remember?" ]
And the person I was talking about was walking towards us, so she remembered there was this person too.
He was good at vanishing from people's eyes and minds.
He was almost like a presenceless ghost. No one actually noticed him and those who did just ignored him. Or… he made them ignore him.
He was probably obsessed with lying low. But those tricks and wishes were of little importance before Lucy and my curiosity.
Even at this moment, he just walked through the people, as they were unconsciously giving way to someone who wasn't even there.
He was something… and when he stood before me, I could tell he was one of those MC material characters who loved hiding their strengths.
"That was a gorgeous performance, master Axion. I couldn't take my eyes away from the two of you."
"It is our pleasure you enjoyed it, your highness, prince Alpheus.
I was looking forward to greeting you for a while. You're quite a unique person yourself."
I offered him a hand for a handshake and I knew he sensed something was fishy from that very subtle change in his expression, but… he had to accept it.
'Lucy. Analyze.'
[[ *Yes! Finally~!* ]]
A familiar small bird of light only visible to me came out of my hand and directly went inside him.
His eyes widened at that moment, and he tried retracting his hand.
[ What do you think you're doing!? ]
He openly used mental telepathy. A difficult technique that mostly eastern martial artists and stronger species on this continent use.
[[ It's best to not do that in public, your highness. People are able to sense it nowadays. ]]
It was a technique that, if not used perfectly, could be tapped in by the people with good control over Mana and knights with higher senses.
His execution was very good for his age, but it wasn't perfect. And I couldn't take the risk.
The bird of white light finished its survey after thoroughly scanning the person before me and came back.
[[ *As we thought, his status window was masked.* ]]
A new status window opened before my eyes and his face was filled with visible fear, astonishment, and confusion.
[[ Y-you… how did you do that?! And what is this thing… a mental connection used with an origin bond…? No, wait! A crystal butterfly!! ]]
He figured it out quickly, too much quickly actually. It was so quick that there were only a few answers to how he did what he just did.
[[ *Who would have thought…* ]]
'I definitely didn't. It's unexpected, even for me.'
This was just that much unbelievable and absurd.
===Status===
Name: Alpheus Trion Madeline Wito M. Franklin Canoton August Xino Roxana
Race: High human (Conditional)
Age: 12
Strength: 74
Dexterity: 78
Stamina: 76
Magic Power: 138
Intelligence: 147
Luck: 84
Charm: 57
[Skill: Solodinel, Evolution trigger, Universal mental protection, Mana mastery, Octagram space, Azure eyes, Summon Goliath, Wall creation, Earth domination, Imprisonment, Healing wave.]
[Origin Skill: Cosmic shelter: Beginner mastery.
-Ruby brickwork (Stage-1)
-Labour of truth (Stage-1) ]
[Possessor of pinnacle]
[Blessing of golden flames]
…
============
This person before me, this weak-looking imperial prince, was someone who possessed one of the fourteen main pinnacle skills.
But even more surprising than that was his second unique skill.
It was doubtful something like that should even be possible. But there was one way someone could justify the existence of something so absurd as this…
'Just like us… an anomaly.'
And this fact made this person even more unbelievable.
