CH 15.2

We were at the Azbel family’s training ground again. 

Shael’s eyes had a strange light, as if she was reliving the memory of the time where she had been flicked on the head by me. It was as if she was going to take revenge today. Anyway… I invited her to the dance.

“Take my hand.”

It was an offer that would normally have been despised and rejected. However, Shael surprisingly did not refuse. No, rather she was grinning. It was a sign that Shael was about to start harassing me. 

‘What on earth are you so happy about?’

Shael held my hand. Unexpectedly, the feeling when I held her hand was new. It was quite cold.

And… it was heavy.

Since I was thinking about other things, Shael urged me on. It was a signal that probably meant, [Come on and teach me how to dance!]

“Please follow my lead and move your feet in the same way.”

Shael did as I said and moved her feet after me. While dancing, a sound that was not expected in the situation echoed throughout the training ground. It was the sound of her heel hitting the ground.

“What is this?”

“What is this??”

The villainess answered my question with a question. It was a strange situation.

‘Was it normal to hear that kind of sound when a person steps on the ground?’

Moreover, the place she stepped on was right next to my feet. My foot was almost stepped on by the villainess!

“Hmmnn. Let’s do that again.”

We resumed the dance, which had been forced to stop by Shael, who looked at me like an insane person.

“…”

The sound of her heels stamping the ground continued to resonate. The place it hit was always right next to my feet. The villainess was clearly targeting me. 

‘Are you trying to pierce a hole in my foot?’

Finally, the heavy vibrating sound started again.

The villainess stepped on the ground with all her might. She somehow seemed to think she would really be able to step on my foot.

‘Of course, that not going to happen.’

She must have thought that she would hear my scream, but she heard something different.

Udud… uk!

It was the sound of her heels breaking. The shoes must have been made by the attire mages of the Azbel family. The fact that it broke… proved just how much force she put into her feet.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

It wasn’t because her leg was hurt when the shoe broke. The villainess seemed to be “not okay” in a different way. Yes, it was clear that she regretted not being able to step on my foot.

I tried to lift Shael up from the ground, as I wanted to take her on the bench at the training ground.

I tried to help her up, but I found it hard to my straighten my knees and almost collapsed.

She was ridiculously heavy!

It was then that a memory popped into my mind. It was a memory from the auction house. Yes, it was that Heavy Pollen or something. I remembered the auctioneer’s explanation.

[This time it’s Heavy Pollen! When sprayed, the object temporarily gains weight. You can also secretly spray it on nasty people. Let’s start with 500,000 gold!]

‘Aha, so you sprinkled that pollen on yourself!’

It was clear that the villainess herself had made her body heavy so that she could pierce a hole in my feet. 

She must have asked the family mage to make sure that she herself would not be affected by the heavy weight. Come to think of it, she went somewhere for a while before coming to the dance practice.

After thinking that far, I looked at Shael.

“You’re heavy.”

“I am light.”

“You must have gained weight.”

Shael stood up and glared at me, ignoring the heel of her broken shoe.

“Looking at it now, it seems that your figure has changed a little.”

“…”

“No, it seems to have changed a lot.”

Shael maintained her silence. Her expression became even colder than before. The expression on her face earlier was just because she was angry at being told that she looked like she had gained weight. 

But not now.

The change in her figure was probably not due to the Heavy Pollen. She must be trying to convince herself that my words were lies. But so what? She had actually gained weight. Not enough to call her fat, but very slightly.

Perhaps it was due to the food that she had consumed to relieve her accumulated stress. She, too, was aware of that fact.

“Come to think of it, dancing is an excellent exercise for losing weight.”

“…!”

That day, the villainess became my student and she learned to dance from me.

The villainess was surprisingly easy to handle.