"Wh, what do you mean... I mean, ah..." (Lorenz)
For a moment, Lorenz was frozen in shock, but he quickly seemed to remember.
The rumor was that all girls who joined the Society became incredibly beautiful girls...
Mitsuha responded by explaining, "It doesn't make them more beautiful. It just removes the parts that have been hiding their beauty and getting in the way."
Well, it's the same as the description of the sculpture.
The beauty of the sculpture was inherent in the stone from the start; the sculptor simply removed the parts that were in the way.
...Of course, that's a big lie.
In reality, they paint, draw, and process them in various ways.
Anyway, Loterica was showing off her beauty in its truest form.
What's really great about her wasn't her appearance, but what's inside her...
...What a shame.
That thought filled Lorenz's mind.
At the very least a baron title, and at best a viscount title.
Of course, the title was important, but the connection with Society was also significant.
Society, which was said to value its associates very highly, was home to many daughters of influential nobles, and its influence extended not only among the nobility, but also among commoners.
And...and with such beauty, having an affair was not even an issue.
Only a fool would give this up and marry the second daughter of a mediocre count.
Thinking this, Lorenz tried to approach Loterica to talk to her, but the members of Society surrounding Loterica and the others got in the way and prevented him from getting close.
Of course, in a situation like this, it was completely unacceptable to touch a woman's body, push her away, or loudly order her to leave.
So, he had to wait for the members to scatter and fly around the venue...
Those guys never seem to split up! And they keep introducing Loterica to the men of the higher nobility!
He wanted to yell at them, "She's my fiancee," but it seemed he had to restrain himself.
After a while, some of the members finally dispersed, creating a hole in the encirclement.
Now!
Then Lorenz hurried over to Loterica and called out to her.
"Hey, Roterica!" (Lorenz)
At that moment, Micheline stood in front of Lorenz.
"Lady Loterica, is this gentleman your brother, your fiancé, or a very close friend?" (Micheline)
"No, I have no connection to him at all and have no contact with him." (Loterica)
Loterica answered Micheline's question immediately.
"So, this gentleman… no, this rude man is an unreasonable person who has harassed a woman who has no relationship with him, calling her by her first name without her permission.
Member of Society, assemble! Someone has appeared who is acting with malicious intent towards the member of our Society. We will do everything in our power to protect our friends!" (Micheline)
"Ohhh!!" (Everyone)
Then, the members gathered from all over the venue and took up positions to protect Loterica.
It seemed that in addition to those who had come with Lotelica and Micheline, there were quite a few other members who had come to the party venue separately.
…If you thought about it, that would be simple.
Nowadays, if a member of Society said to them, 'We'd like to be invited to the party you're holding next...,' no noble would refuse.
Well, before that, unless there were issues with faction relations or the like, members of Society were invited to most parties...
Of course, it's impossible to attend every party you're invited to, so you'd end up turning down the majority of invitations.
So, the organizer of the party, whose invitation was accepted by so many members of Society, must had been delighted.
"...No, that's not true! I'm Loterica's fiance!" (Lorenz)
Lorenz shouted, but...
"Is that what you said?" (Micheline)
In response to Micheline's confirmation, Loterica smiled brightly.
"Yes, that was certainly the case before, but I was falsely accused and slandered in front of many people, and my engagement was unilaterally broken off, so now we are unrelated and like complete strangers. Regarding the false accusations and defamatory acts, we are gathering evidence and witnesses and are preparing to file a lawsuit. We are also filing a counterclaim against that person for claiming compensation. In that sense, it might be more appropriate to say that you are the enemies rather than unrelated. There is a possibility that you will take some action to silence me..." (Loterica)
"Huh..." (Lorenz)
A timid woman who couldn't say what she wanted to say.
Therefore, if you kept talking loudly and unilaterally, you would not be able to respond properly and would end up doing what they said.
Lorenz was surprised by Loterica's strong, clear, and aggressive words.
It's true that Loterica, who had almost no friends and was timid and kind-hearted, was not good at arguments.
...Until just a few days ago.
Now, surrounded by many friends, she enjoyed talking about all sorts of interesting things, debating her own theories with people who shared the same hobbies, and discovering the joy of expressing her own opinions.
A discussion was different from an argument.
It was fun to exchange opinions, express a thought to others, and have them understood. Because of this, even the timid Loterica was rapidly improving her ability to summarize and express her opinions in easy-to-understand words.
...And she no longer felt so afraid to say harsh words to men she didn't like.
She had friends. Strong friends who would protect her from those who yelled at her or used violence against her.
With that in mind, she was able to speak calmly and with a smile, surprising even herself.
Her appearance was bright and lively, and combined with the makeup, she was an incredibly attractive girl.
"I see… So, this rude ruffian is less than a ‘mere ignorant person,’ a ‘malicious enemy’…
Everyone, level 1 alert!" (Micheline)
"Yes!!" (Everyone)
Following Micheline's instructions, the members of Society pushed Loterica back and formed a defensive formation.
Great control. Great response.
And the courage to stand in the way of aggressive and dangerous men, even at risk to himself, for the sake of their friends.
No one could stay still when they saw such a sight.
Not only male guests, but also female guests surrounded Lorenz and restrained his actions.
As expected, they did not restrain Lorenz, who had only spoken words and not yet taken any action, but what would happen if Lorenz tried to get any closer to Loterica and Society?
"Eh……" (Lorenz)
Lorenz seemed shocked by this situation.
The woman he was having an affair with was no longer there.
Women appeared to be more capable of detecting danger.
Micchan always hates being the center of attention, but she's really into it...
I guess that's just why she's angry.
...Or maybe she discovered the joy of acting?
This time Mitsuha had no intention of coming out unless something happened.
As expected, Mitsuha seemed to have enough wisdom to realize that it might be bad for a noble from another country to belittle a member of a noble family.
However, she had planned to step in as a relief if Micheline was too embarrassed to say her lines, but it seemed she didn't get a chance to do so.
Author's Note
This is an announcement regarding the comic adaptation of "Roukin", "Potion Sequel", and the Potion spin-off comic "Hanano and Lotte's Journey". (^^)/
It is still not possible to register new episodes on Nico Nico Manga, but new episodes have begun to be released on Comic DAYS.
Like NicoNico, the latest episodes can be read for free without points.
(Currently, the first three chapters, chapters 106, and chapter 107 of "Roukin" are available to read for free.)
Please look forward to the comic as well as the novel version! (^^)/