My 5th Reincarnation: I Was Born in Another World as a Demon - TWOB 4

The post-tournament celebration was in full swing when Arch-Mage Magnus cornered Raegan, his eyes twinkling with their usual mischief restored.

 "Quite the performance," the old mage said casually. "Though we both know your 'very stumbling' abilities were precisely why I asked your headmaster to enroll you in this tournament. Drakmire's experiments needed… observation."

 "Now then," Magnus continued, his smile turning suspiciously paternal, "about my granddaughter…"

 "Your… what?" Raegan managed, just as Zia approached to congratulate him.

 "Ah, perfect timing!" Magnus beamed. "I was just discussing potential engagement arrangements with young Raegan here."

 The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as Zia froze mid-step, her face turning the color of sunset. Ice crystals began forming in increasingly elaborate patterns of embarrassment.

 "G-grandfather!" she stammered, creating an accidental ice sculpture of what appeared to be a wedding scene before frantically trying to destroy it.

 "He'd make an excellent addition to the family," Magnus continued cheerfully, either oblivious to or enjoying the chaos. "Sir Leo has told me all about his… what was it? 'Very lucky' ways with women?"

 From across the room, both Luna and Aria's heads snapped around at this conversation. The temperature somehow managed to both drop further (Zia) and rise dramatically (Aria's fire magic acting up) at the same time.

 "Sir Leo said WHAT?" Luna's tail puffed up to twice its size.

 "Way with women?" Aria's royal composure cracked slightly, several decorative flames springing to life around her.

 "Oh yes," Magnus continued, clearly enjoying himself. "Apparently he's quite popular. Something about making the Ice Princess create entire galleries of sculptures?"

 "Those were accident— I mean, I never—" Zia's attempts to deny this only resulted in creating more incriminating ice art, including a surprisingly detailed scene of Raegan's "Stumbling" fighting style.

 Fin, watching this unfold, was taking dramatic notes for what he declared would be "the greatest romance tale ever told." Ace was actually calculating the probability of Raegan's survival given the current female-to-ice-sculpture ratio.

 "Perhaps," Raegan tried diplomatically, "we should focus on the tournament's implications for Drakmire's activities…"

 "Oh, plenty of time for that," Magnus waved off the serious topic.

 "Sir Leo also mentioned," Magnus added, his eyes twinkling with maximum mischief, "something about your 'very lucky' effect on several other young ladies…"

 "I'm going to kill him," Luna decided. "Very painfully," Aria agreed. "After we deal with this situation," they both concluded, turning to Raegan.

 "Would you believe this is all a misunderstanding?" Raegan tried.

 The resulting combination of ice floor, wolf growls, and royal fire aura suggested they would not.

 'You know,' Vivaan commented unhelpfully, 'for someone who just handled corrupted enhancement mana, you seem to be having trouble with basic social situations.'

 Magnus just smiled, clearly considering this the perfect entertainment after such a serious tournament.

 Some battles, it seemed, even centuries of combat experience couldn't prepare you for.

Next Day... The Barthopia Academy assembly hall buzzed with excitement. Principal Hymen's monocle gleamed with pride as he addressed the gathered students, his collection of demon head trophies seeming to smile down at the proceedings.

 "Our champions return!" he announced grandly. "Not only did they secure the team victory, but our very own Raegan claimed the solo championship through… er… very unique methods."

 "As promised," the principal continued, producing several glowing cards, "your rewards. First, the team prize—SS-rank skill cards for each member!"

 Fin immediately struck a pose with his new card. "The dramatic possibilities are endless!"

 "The mathematical applications…" Ace was already calculating.

 Luna simply smirked, her tail swishing with satisfaction.

 "And for our solo champion," Principal Hymen produced a special crystal card that radiated power, "an SSS-rank skill card, plus full dungeon access."

 From the guest section, Arch-Mage Magnus watched with twinkling eyes as Zia tried very hard to look disinterested.

 "Speaking of achievements," Magnus spoke up, causing Zia to suddenly find the ceiling fascinating, "the Imperial Kingdom would be most interested in further… collaboration with Barthopia's rising stars."

 "To all the amazing students gathered here, do visit us soon," Magnus said as he prepared to depart. "The Imperial archives contain much knowledge about various mana techniques." 

 After the official ceremony, the team gathered in their usual spot in the academy courtyard, now dubbed "The Champions' Corner" by other students.

 "We actually did it," Fin marveled. "We're legends! Though I still think we should have used my team name suggestions…"

 "No," everyone chorused, falling into their familiar dynamic.

 "Raegan, you somehow collected quite the interesting fan club," Ace added, noting how both ice crystals and royal flames tended to manifest whenever Raegan was mentioned.

 "Very interesting," Raegan maintained, though he was careful to keep escape routes clear.

 As they celebrated their victory, sharing stories and laughing about their "Unusual" journey to championship, Raegan felt genuine warmth that had nothing to do with maintaining cover or completing missions.

 These friends—the dramatic swordsman, the calculating mage, the perceptive beast-girl, and yes, even their royal advisor and a certain ice princess who definitely wasn't watching from behind a conveniently placed ice sculpture—had become something real.

 "To Team…" Fin started.

 "If you say 'Rabbit Slayers,' I swear…" Luna threatened.

 "To the champions!" Raegan suggested quickly.

 Everyone laughed, and for a moment, all the complications of corrupted enhancement, political intrigue, and romantic tension faded away.

 Though they did have to eventually deal with the small ice garden that had mysteriously appeared around their celebration, complete with surprisingly detailed replicas of their tournament victories.

Next Day... The royal invitation arrived via a messenger who looked entirely too pleased with himself. Raegan's system assessed the gilded envelope with dread:

[Vivaan - Invitation Analysis]

Event: Annual Royal Ball

Attendance: "Strongly Encouraged" (Royal Speak for Mandatory)

Dance Skills Required: Unknown

Past Life Dance Experience: Limited to War Dances and Tandav

Current Situation: Problematic

"You can't skip this one," Aria announced, materializing in his study. "Father's quite insistent on having the 'Solo winner of the world academy tournament join his ranks.'"

 "I could fake my death?"

 "You've apparently done that four times already," Luna quipped from the window, making Raegan choke on his tea.

 Fin burst through the door, already in full theatrical mode. "Fear not! I, your social guide, shall teach you the ways of noble dancing!"

 "You tripped over your own cape twice today," Ace pointed out, not looking up from his newest theory notebook titled 'Dancing and Its Relation to Spatial Magic: A Novel Hypothesis.'

 The dancing lessons were… interesting. Fin's idea of waltz instruction involved a lot of dramatic cape swishing and declarations about "feeling the music in your soul." Raegan's demon core kept automatically shifting into combat stance every time Fin approached with arms raised.

 "Stop trying to counter-attack the waltz!" Fin exclaimed after the fifth time Raegan flipped him.

 "In his defense," Ace mused, "the traditional waltz does share movement patterns with several ancient combat forms, which might explain Raegan's instinctive—"

 "NOT HELPING!"

 The night of the ball arrived with all its dreaded pomp. Raegan stood at the entrance, tugging at his formal attire while his system helpfully pointed out all escape routes.

 "You look like you're planning a tactical retreat," Luna observed, stunning in a silver gown that matched her fur.

 "I'm calculating the structural integrity of the windows."

 "They're reinforced," Aria supplied helpfully. "Father had them upgraded after a noble tried to flee last year after getting caught for corruption."

Later that evening... The ballroom was a sea of polite warfare—nobles executing complex social maneuvers that made demon combat look straightforward. Raegan watched in horror as a duchess weaponized her fan to devastating social effect.

 "Remember," Fin whispered, "just like we practiced. Though maybe with less combat rolls."

 The first dance was survivable, mostly because Aria led while making it look like she wasn't. But then the musicians started playing something that made Raegan's ancient memories stir. A rhythm that called to his past life, to nights of dancing for Lord Shiva under the moon.

 Before he could stop himself, his feet moved in the familiar patterns of Tandav, the cosmic dance. His demon core resonated with the ancient steps, mana swirling around him in visible patterns.

 "Oh no," he thought, then saw Luna moving perfectly in sync with him, her wolf grace matching his steps as if she'd known them all her life.

 The other dancers stopped to stare as Raegan and Luna performed a dance that definitely wasn't on the approved royal repertoire. Ace was frantically taking notes, probably calculating the metaphysical implications of ancient sacred dance combined with wolf-beast agility.

 "That's… not a traditional noble dance," King Thundra observed from his throne.

 "It's a… creative interpretation of classical forms?" Aria suggested diplomatically.

 "Actually," Ace piped up, "the rhythmic patterns suggest a possible correlation with ancient ritual dances, which when combined with Raegan's unique ability to—"

 Fin, showing unexpected tactical awareness, started a coughing fit loud enough to drown out the rest. The dance ended with Raegan and Luna in a perfect final pose, the gathered nobles too stunned to react. Then Queen Elara started clapping, and the room erupted in applause.

 "Well," King Thundra said dryly, "I suppose this beats the time Lord Pembroke's son tried to liven things up by teaching his pet monkey to juggle."

 Later, as they escaped to the garden for air, Luna raised an eyebrow at Raegan. "So… ancient sacred dance, huh?"

 "Would you believe it's a very specific type of allergy that made me move like that?"

 "You really need new excuses."

 Raegan and his friends left the grand ballroom, their laughter echoing through the palace corridors. The night had been a whirlwind of unexpected events, from Raegan's accidental performance of an ancient sacred dance to the nobles' stunned reactions. As they made their way back to their quarters, Raegan couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that the evening was finally over.

 "Well, that was certainly an eventful night," Luna remarked, her tail swishing with amusement. "I don't think I've ever seen the nobles so speechless."

 Raegan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I didn't exactly plan on performing an ancient dance in front of everyone. But hey, at least it was memorable."

 As they reached their quarters, Raegan's system, Vivaan, pinged with a notification. He glanced at the holographic display, his brow furrowing in confusion.

 "What's up, Raegan?" Fin asked, noticing his friend's expression.

 Raegan tapped the DSS band, bringing up a message from King Thundra. "It's a summons from the king. He wants to see me first thing in the morning."