I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

353 - Side Story - Roland at the Ballroom

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

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[Maybe this chap could be considered 15+? Not an important chap, so feel free to skip.]

Lavishly adorned chandeliers, musicians lined up along the walls, tables filled with desserts costlier than an adventurer's life.

A single slice of cake worth three comrades' lives is so absurd it doesn't even spark anger. Just as a struggling student in Noryangjin[1] craves sizzling pork belly over cup noodles, not an Arab oil prince's feast.

The sum spent on this ball alone could hire an entire mercenary band with gold left to scatter across the floor.

"My, are you nervous? I thought you were just dependable... how adorable."

Smiling coyly beside me is the noblewoman who gave me my first private commission. Five years into my adventurer's life, and I've got connections with nobility. No leads on escape, but I might end up settling in this fantasy world.

From that angle, this job isn't bad. She claims she posted the escort request to show off meeting a handsome, promising adventurer, but I've got nothing to lose.

I can earn a year's savings just by awkwardly playing trophy at a party and forcing a few smiles. Money begets money – climbing from intermediate to advanced rank changed the scale of job payments entirely.

"Well, it's my first time at an event like this."

"I suppose such a refined setting might feel foreign to a stalwart warrior always exploring uncharted territories."

This woman handles people skillfully. An inexperienced college student might not notice, but after five years in the mercenary and adventurer business, I can pick up on these things.

This noblewoman brought me as a trophy, but she doesn't look down on me. She wants to show me off without belittling others. She treats me purely as an exhibit to display, not as a way to put others down.

She's not like those obnoxious types flaunting luxury goods on social media with a "You could never afford this" attitude. Rather, she's like someone sharing beautiful scenery photos to spread joy.

It's beneficial that the person paying to drag me around is decent. It's actually advantageous if she's not some bitchy young miss straight out of a novel, treating people like objects just because she paid.

"Oh my, is this gentleman the one who...?"

"Yes, he's the one who protected our household's servants."

As I pondered this, docilely offering my arm while being led around, a group of noble young ladies flocked over.

The sweet scent of powder and perfume from these well-groomed ladies tickled my nose, a far cry from the sour stench of those living in poverty. Flawless pale skin, waists cinched tight in corsets, luxuriant hair styled elaborately.

While the poor live like animals in squalid hovels, wealthy nobles use magical tools for grooming, creating a stark difference. As I discreetly rolled my eyes, the conversation flowed on without me.

Soon, hungry wandering orcs became evil army commanders leading terrifying hordes. The troll that charged in at the scent of blood became a great demon descended upon the mortal realm. And I, who protected the family's carriage, became the protagonist of an epic tale bestowed by the Goddess.

'...Is this because they lack entertainment?'

The exaggeration is absurd no matter how you look at it. This embellished tale doesn't just gild me – it's like pouring an entire gold vault over my face.

But the young ladies listen to the noblewoman's story with delighted laughter, as if such tales need no basis in reality. Judging by their age, they're at that stage where even watching leaves roll by is amusing. But their overenthusiastic reactions make me, standing silently, feel oddly out of place.

Perhaps the hefty gold coins are actually a fee for enduring this embarrassment stoically. Maybe it would be easier to show off my strength and do strongman tricks for drunk noble gentlemen.

The noble young ladies giggle at my blank face and slight nods, while the noblewoman watches with an enigmatic smile. Like a leaf carried by the current, I drift along until the banquet hall outside grows dark.

Only then did I realize why this noblewoman had praised and promoted me so lavishly.

"Have a pleasant night. ...Be gentle and gentlemanly with her, as it's truly her first time. You understand, don't you?"

---

Raei Translations

---

How did it come to this?

"Um, well..."

Following the soft grip on my arm, I found myself led not to the banquet hall, but to a secluded bedroom.

Waiting there was not the noblewoman with her gentle smile, but one of the young ladies who had been listening to my exaggerated adventure tales with sparkling eyes earlier. Soft golden hair, scented with perfume, spread across the bed like silk.

Disheveled golden locks and fair skin barely concealed by a sheer négligée that clung to her curves. Beside the bed, candles emitted a fragrance different from her perfume, while rose petals decorated the bed beautifully.

'...Wait, aren't the genders reversed here?'

This isn't a bachelor party before marriage, but deflowering a virgin before a political marriage? What kind of situation is this?

No wonder they'd gone to such lengths to paint me in a glowing light. Saving the noblewoman's servants, maintaining humility, behaving properly at the banquet, treating women respectfully... They must have been evaluating all those traits, giving me a passing grade.

All to create one sweet night of memories for a young lady being sold off in a political marriage.

Of course, there was no reason to refuse.

"Roland, wasn't it? I enjoyed your stories. An adventurer who travels freely, helping people..."

I may have been in this world for a few years, but I'm not completely ignorant about women. I gently placed my hands on the young lady's body as she mumbled, speaking more to herself than to me.

Her slender thighs trembled with tension. To calm her slightly labored breathing and quickening mutters, I slowly moved my palm. Not caressing her thighs, but patting them gently.

I sat down beside her, carefully avoiding her messy hair, and patted her thigh very slowly, as a parent might soothe a child's back. Her fair skin flushed bright red at just this touch. Her skin was so fine it really did feel like patting a baby's bottom.

"..."

"So, um, that is... Ah!"

How could words come at a moment like this? As I silently moved my hand from patting her thigh, a small hiccup escaped her lips.

But was it thanks to the face I gained upon arriving in this world? Or perhaps due to the oil making her skin glisten, or the candles emitting that strange fragrance? Though her face was filled with tension, it showed more anticipation than fear.

The hand patting her thigh moved upwards, slipping inside her négligée to caress her soft, toned belly. My other hand savored the silky fabric as it snaked around to support her back and shoulder.

As I gently fondled the soft female form now literally in my arms, the noble young lady's breathing grew increasingly ragged.

"...Huu, it's just... one night's memory anyway."

Her chatter continued, perhaps to ease her nerves. She paid no mind to her hiccupping or the gasps that escaped when I firmly pressed her soft belly.

But thanks to her adorable rambling, the awkwardness quickly faded. She didn't seem to want my replies as she prattled on about herself, and I could respond perfectly to her chatter with just a slight smile.

The second daughter of a count's family, a caring father and strict mother, a close-knit clique of young ladies, the noblewoman who taught etiquette, and a risqué trend spreading secretly among the ladies of high society...

"A trend?"

"Well, originally... it was with servants or knights from other houses..."

What followed was quite lecherous, yet interesting.

In a world where it's an open secret for male nobles to keep mistresses or lovers, female nobles also seek partners to share lonely nights. Because of this, some couples omit vows of loving only each other when making political marriages, to avoid lying before the Goddess.

But even an open secret is still a secret. Unlike men who openly keep lovers, noblewomen engaging in nocturnal trysts must guard their secrets even more closely. In a world where even orphans lack basic human rights, how could there be gender equality?

"Do they arrange this too?"

"It's... part of our education. A form of sex ed..."

Servants stay in the mansion, so contact is too frequent. Knights often treat a night with a noble lady as a trophy to boast about. So the solution that appeared before the worried noblewomen was me, Roland.

My looks were obviously satisfactory, and investigating the adventurer community showed I'd never abandoned a comrade, suggesting a good and honest nature. Unlike servants, I wouldn't be staying in a noble house, and as an adventurer, I'm not in a position to spread rumors in high society.

Truly, in every sense, a man to give one sweet night's dream before vanishing to the four corners of the continent. That must be why I'm here.

Now I knew what was desired, and why I had been chosen. All that remained was a pure white virgin, flushed with arousal from my playful touches. I started to tear off the cumbersome négligée, then gently removed it instead, wary of marking that delicate skin.

For one night of romance, ever so tenderly.

---

[raei. a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea, known for its seafood market and being a hub for students preparing for civil service exams.]

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