"Excuse me for a second." I put my utensils down and stood up.
"Arthur?" Eliza asked, looking up at me curiously.
"Just a minute, alright?" I answered her with a smile and leaned slightly. "I need to use the bathroom."
"Oh!" She exclaimed shortly and nodded. "Alright."
"Have fun." I walked away and put my hands in my pocket.
The worst thing about this world was that there was no elevator or lift, making mobility between floors a bit tiring.
More importantly, Alesia was with Duke Blacktomb in this place. For what reason? Discussing the Annual Tournament? Or was it just a polite greeting from the headmistress?
No. A polite greeting could be done in Duke Blacktomb's current residence. And discussion could be done within the Academy or the church.
Besides, Alesia's stance was neutral. She wouldn't bother meeting Duke Blacktomb alone.
But why? Not to mention, she didn't reserve this place even though she should've known that she should make a reservation beforehand. That meant… She had another and concrete goal of getting the Duke here.
'Is it to meet me with Duke Blacktomb?'
That was a possibility. Emilia must've been caught by the headmistress when she was snooping around to find Duke Blacktomb. Then the headmistress thought it would be faster just to meet the person himself with me directly.
"I know she wants simplicity when it's unrelated to the Academy, but I don't quite like this arrangement. Especially because she ruined my enjoyment after dressing Eliza beautifully."
Emilia wasn't in the wrong, but I would talk to her and ask her what she wanted, a reward for succeeding in her effort to make me meet the Duke or a punishment for being found out by the headmistress.
And Alesia… I needed to show where I stood today. She went too far this time.
For now, I would just greet the headmistress first.
Arriving in the lobby, I saw Alesia holding her witch hat with a man two heads taller standing beside her.
The man had an unpleasant aura around him. Even the receptionist looked uncomfortable around him. People from the Sin Kingdom indeed didn't wash their Sins with Virtues and keep the aura around them thick.
He looked rather old, with a chiseled face and short gray hair. His clothes consisted of black color with a long coat extending to his legs.
"Good evening. What a coincidence that we meet here, headmistress."
I announced my presence with a smile. The waitress sighed in relief as I gestured for her to back away while Alesia and the man, who was supposed to be Duke Blacktomb himself, looked in my direction.
"Arthur."
"Hoo?"
Alesia nodded slightly while the man raised his voice in interest when he heard my name.
I kept a poker face as I stopped in front of them, putting a barrier to keep people away from me, and pulled a magic item in the form of a small black sphere to isolate our voice from the surroundings.
"What might be a problem here, headmistress? I heard a commotion from above."
"This restaurant is full." The headmistress answered shortly. Her eyes twitched slightly as she noticed the use of a magic item from earlier. But she ignored it and continued, "And I have a guest here."
"Please, Madam. I didn't mind dining in a simple bar as long as we could talk about our business."
The man smiled amicably, not showing any kind of displeasure. It seemed like he was a Mage himself, though not as strong as Alesia, as his glance indicated that he noticed the presence of the isolation I put up but not my barrier.
Then he turned toward me.
"But this is such a blessing and guidance from Goddess Tera. To think I would meet the vanguard of her twin sister here. It's an honor, Sir Paladin. This individual identifies himself as Jordan Blacktomb, a simple Duke serving under the Superbia Royal Family."
I nodded my head politely. "I've heard about you from the announcement for the Annual Tournament, Duke Blacktomb. I've heard that you would attend the final of the tournament."
"Indeed." He nodded. "I have the honor to be invited by Madam Alesia as a spectator."
"I see." I nodded back. "Should I invite you to join my group for dinner? I believe the restaurant can bring another table for us, as the space is wide and accommodating."
"Please, no need to bother. I will find a bar and eat there tonight. While I am a Duke, I quite enjoy going to such a place. I quite like alcohol."
"Is that so? May we meet again then, Duke Blacktomb?" I extended my hand to him, which he took with a soft smile.
"Me too, Sir Paladin. Let's meet again. We can talk a lot if the Goddess gives us a chance."
"Indeed. Let's meet again on another occasion. Truthfully, I was quite busy tonight, so this worked for me too. Hahahaha." I shot a glance at Alesia while laughing, implying she shouldn't do something like this again.
The headmistress pretended not to notice my intention, put on her witch hat, and turned around.
"I know a good bar," Alesia said to the Duke.
"Really? Let's visit that bar then, Madam Alesia." The Duke smiled happily and turned to me, nodding gently. "See you in the future, Sir Paladin."
"Yes. I hope to see you again."
'Because I have many questions for you.'
I stood there, watching the headmistress and Duke leaving as I deactivated my barrier. She looked over her shoulder and mouthed, 'See me in my room tomorrow,' before disappearing.
"Haa… Troublesome woman." I muttered tiredly and deactivated the sound isolation from my magic item.
'Tomorrow, huh? I hope she has a reason why she is disturbing my dinner.'
Alesia was someone who I liked and didn't want to turn into my enemy for various reasons. However, the first and second reason was that she was hot and loved her allies.
'She has thought of me as her ally, so she must have something in mind.'
She had been moving in the shadows all this time. It was time for her to tell me what she had been planning.
The receptionist that greeted me earlier approached and thanked me. She said I didn't need to pay for tonight because I saved her from the possible anger of the Duke or Alesia. While she didn't know the Duke was from the Sin Kingdom, the other party was still a Duke, according to the headmistress.
Furthermore, she seemed to be scared because of the unpleasant aura emanating from him.
Free stuff was always welcome, so I shamelessly said thanks before returning to the others who were waiting for me.
"Why are you going so long? We almost finished the food." Eliza complained with a pout.
"There is a line in the bathroom, my bad. More importantly, I don't think you're quite a glutton, Eliza."
"I am not! It was Karin who ate a lot!"
"But you ate twice as much." The orange-haired girl refuted. "Isn't that so, Oliver?"
"Y-Yeah." The boy nodded after he noticed his fiancee's gaze.
"You guys are so mean!"
After teasing her, we laughed together. They didn't know that the headmistress had just visited with the guest from the Sin Kingdom.
We spent a few minutes after dinner drinking the wine. Oliver poured it for me as a sign of his respect, or so he said. As long as he was happy and didn't mean anything hostile, I would let him do anything. However, there was still a certain limit.
Eliza got a little drunk, and her gaze turned vivid. That was when we decided to finish it up and left the room together.
"That was great," Karin exclaimed as she gently patted her stomach. As a noble girl, she certainly didn't act like one.
"Yes." Oliver nodded, agreeing with the orange-haired girl. "Thank you very much for this occasion, Sir Arthur."
"No problem." I waved my hand, showing him that it was no big deal. "Make sure to escort Karin back to her dorm. I will rest a little bit and let Eliza recover."
"I am not drunk!" My little lover complained and grabbed my arm. "I was just a little dizzy!"
"That's what we call getting drunk, silly," I responded with a chuckle.
"Hahaha, she drank too much," Karin added with a giggle. "Well then, Arthur! Thank you for inviting us to this dinner. Somehow… I am sorry to intrude on your date."
"As I said, it's not a problem. Eliza also had fun, and that's what matters to me."
"I guess so." She nodded. "Let's go, Oliver. Escort me well, alright?"
"Yes, Karin."
Both of them then left. When they were a bit away from us, the boy braved himself to take Karin's hand and hold it. That was such a romantic show.
"How envious," Eliza muttered in her drunken state as her friend disappeared to the second floor.
"Envious?" I asked, looking at Eliza. My hand went to her lower body, caressing her round butt, which was emphasized due to how the dress was designed. "I will give you plenty of love if that's what you want."
"Un." She nodded, her face turned as red as a tomato. That wasn't just from her being drunk but also because she was excited. "Love me a lot."
"As you wish, my Princess."
I whispered to her and brought her to the so-called 'after party' room which was located right across the balcony earlier. I already had the key from the waitress when I gave her Gold earlier, so I just needed to enjoy my time.
There was a large bed in the room, and it was designed luxuriously.
Right after I entered, I grabbed Eliza's breasts and devoured her lips. She accepted and inserted her tongue inside my mouth. With a skilled movement, I took off her dress and undressed her.
Eliza's naked body was beautiful and alluring. Added to her drunken state, which made her more honest about her feelings, she looked so erotic, and my cock was already erect.
"Look only at me, Arthur. I want your full attention right now."
"You're so spoiled." I teased, leaning closer and kissing her nape.
She giggled, circling her arms around my body.
"Yes. I am your spoiled little bitch."
