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I went to the party hall ahead of Olivia so I’d be able to offer her some support at her arrival, but I can’t help but feel even more nervous than when I taught a class in the Magic Academy.

Lorraine and Stella tried to stop me, saying that I’m just as new to such social interactions as Olivia is, so there’s nothing I could do. But I don’t feel at ease without knowing the place where she’ll be stepping into.

The hall slowly becomes more populated by guests, so I go hide amongst some flowers near a wall, trying not to stand out, but I still feel gazes from time to time, and I can tell they’re whispering about me. I asked for my dress to be made so my joints are hidden, but have they noticed I’m a magic automaton somehow then?

“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Jasper Roe Plowright.”

Suddenly a young noble speaks to me. I’d wager he’s around seventeen or eighteen years old. He looks mainly human, but there’s a few patches of fur on his body too, so I guess one of his grandparents might’ve been a demihuman.

He offers to accompany me, but I say I’m waiting for someone and decline. That doesn’t get him to step away though.

If I knew this was going to happen I would’ve asked Lorraine or Stella for a more effective excuse to keep him away.

Either way, I don’t think Jasper has any intention of going away. As I feel like I’m dying inside, the hall doors finally open and the Gardelands enter, their arms linked, with Oswald and Olivia behind them. Olivia’s grandfather, the previous Marquis Gardeland, would be arriving later.

Everyone turns to look at them, so I use the window to escape and move through the crowd to be closer to Olivia.

Surprisingly enough, actually saying that might be rude, but Olivia actually introduces herself properly to the noble guests.

Now that I think about it, Olivia always spoke of her parents with respect, and watched her language when addressing her superiors. As much as she hates studying, she doesn’t lack manners, which I guess goes to show how good her parents were. Or maybe since Ophelia was born a noble, she anticipated Olivia might be in this situation one day.

“My niece is also accompanying us today. She also just graduated from the Magic Academy recently, so let’s celebrate for her as well as for my son.”
“I can see Oswald is quickly becoming a fine man himself, and the Gardeland family is united once again. I can’t congratulate you enough!”
“I heard Olivia graduated with honors from Ingralowe’s Magic Academy as their best student. She’s truly inherited her mother’s talents.”

And here comes that pesky boot licking nobles love so much.

I get that proper manners and etiquette are important for society to work, and that the world would fall apart if everyone spoke their mind without mincing words, but this is just too much.

It’s obvious they’re trying to shower her with flattery to gain something.

“To think Lady Ophelia passed away after rearing her all on her own for so long, it must’ve been a tragedy…”
“But seeing Ophelia’s orphaned daughter grow into a beautiful lady, looking at her just brings me back images of her mother.”
“Me too! I can still remember Lady Ophelia’s serene and yet kind smile! Olivia is her spitting image!”

They probably mean no harm, but they’re really glorifying Ophelia too much.

From my experience with Ophelia, she could be rather moody and use brute force to push through problems. Though I can’t argue with the fact that she was a genius of peerless beauty.

While I’m thinking of that, Otis turns around a little and nods at me, and I reply with a nod.

That’s a signal we agreed on before to let Olivia retire for a bit and rest, since she’ll get overwhelmed really easily in such an unknown setting. It’s my cue to go and take her away.

I try walking forward to approach Olivia, but then I’m stopped by someone pulling on my arm.

“Stop, there’s a proper order to introduce yourself. It won’t look good to break in line like this.”

You’re really getting in my way now.

Actually, he looks really agitated, I guess he’s trying to avoid a social disaster from happening. I can only call it an unwelcome favor though.

“Wait, you…aren’t human¹?”

On top of that, he noticed that I’m not a human from grabbing my arm. This is bad…how do I get out of this now?

“Umm, I’m…”
“A magic automaton?!”

An elderly dog demihuman interrupts my hasty attempt at covering for myself.

“What material is this? It’s certainly nothing plain, I can say that. A composite material? Or is it a complex structure… No, that would limit mobility. Whoever made this certainly knew what they were doing…”
“Umm…would you mind keeping some distance please?”

The old demihuman just keeps groping around my body.

Having my body touched like that is bad enough, but that’s something I could live with. The problem is that my identity as a magic automaton has been revealed. Magic automatons are commonly known as monsters in this world, so they aren’t allowed into social gatherings like this, but I have to help Olivia here so I had no choice.

I really need to get Olivia out of here before my cover is fully blown.

“You call this thing a lady? Look closely boy. This is a magic automaton, and considering how it reacts it’s fully autonomous, this is a monster.”
“…A monster?!”

But almost as if making fun of my desperation, Jasper raises his voice and startles all the guests.

“Did someone say a monster?”
“Do they mean that person?”
“She just looks human to me though…”
“I think they said she’s a magic automaton?”
“But that wouldn’t be a monster, just an object².”

The guests seemingly forget about greeting the hosts, and instead turn curious and suspicious looks at me.

This is bad. What should I do? Should I try denying it? Can I try to pass as a human and get out of this? But Jasper also noticed that I’m not human though…

What should I do?
What should I do?
What should I do?

“Is there a problem with my companion?”

While I go insane trying to find a way out, a piercing and calm voice pulls me back to reality. The crowd of guests also opens up, and I see Olivia standing with a serene look.

“Oh, does this magic automaton belong to you, Lady Olivia?”
“Yes. My mother left her behind for me, and she’s my Servant.”
“I see, Ophelia’s involvement explains its complex construction. But at the same time I can’t say I condone bringing a pet to an important gathering like this.”
“She’s not a pet. Natalia is an important part of my family.”

Olivia’s voice doesn’t waver as she replies to the elderly demihuman, who’s looking at her with a questioning look. But all of this has already stirred a big commotion amongst the guests.

“Family? Didn’t they say that’s a monster?”
“I thought magic automatons weren’t even alive.”
“Didn’t she talk earlier though?”
“Oh, if talking is the baseline then I guess the parrot I have back home counts as family too then.”

One of the noble girls makes a rude joke and everyone chuckles.

I can tell she’s just making fun of me, but I don’t really care. It’s true that I’m a magic automaton, and ones that are fully autonomous are so rare that not many people are aware of them.

Then again, cruel jokes at someone else’s expense to undermine them is also a common trend amongst noble gatherings. At the very least I can reason about it and wave it off. Though Olivia doesn’t do that.

“Don’t say that about my family!”
“Stop that, Young Lady!”

I notice a surge of mana from Olivia, so I rush to her side and try to calm her down.

If she goes berserk in a place like this, not even her noble relatives will be able to protect her. Maybe things are already going wrong, but at the very least I want to avoid the worst scenario.

“Let go, Natalia!”
“Calm down! I don’t care what they say about me.”

Olivia keeps trying to wrestle herself free, and I desperately try to restrain her arms more. It seems that my reaction appeared comedic to the crowd though, as they all start cackling loudly.

“Oh wow, they’re like savages³.”
“I guess she’s still a child and can’t stop playing with dolls⁴.”
“I guess Ophelia wasn’t the best mother after all⁵.”

These people, they went from insulting me to sullying Olivia and Ophelia’s names too! But I have to keep calm. If Olivia lets her emotions take over, we won’t be able to undo whatever happens. I have to stop that from happening no matter what.

Each second feels like an eternity, until I notice that everyone falls silent all of a sudden, and a certain set of footsteps are the only noise that remains.

“It’s oddly lively in here.”

I hear a hoarse voice behind me. Then I feel Olivia’s arms give, and I turn around.

There I see an old man with a magnificent beard, his back slouched from age, though he doesn’t have a cane to aid his support. Otis is behind him, I guess he left our side at some point.

“I was told we were celebrating my grandson’s progress, but what is this disturbance?”

His grandson..? Then he must be Ophelia’s father, the previous Marquis Gardeland.

“Father, actually…”

Otis leans down and starts whispering something into his ear. Meanwhile all the nobles that were making fun of us fall dead silent and turn pale like they’ve been sentenced to death. I guess they have no issue laughing at Olivia’s expense but dread getting on the bad side of an experienced noble.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, grandfather. I’m Olivia, Ophelia’s daughter.”

Olivia steps forward with a stern look and carefully introduces herself to her grandfather, who she’s meeting for the first time.

“Hmmm.”

He brings a hand to his beard and ruffles it a little, narrowing his eyes as he smiles a bit.

I heard he had a falling out with Ophelia, but he seems pretty good natured, so maybe they can still mend their relationship. But then he says something that completely overturns my expectations.

“Who are you talking about? Oswald is my only grandchild⁶.”

1. Robinxen: Uh oh-.
2. Robinxen: This makes so much more sense to me honestly. I don’t get why they classify her as a monster. I suppose it would enter a vague territory if there were naturally occurring golem monsters. But something that has to be constructed and maintained clearly isn’t an independent entity.
3. Robinxen: Wow
4. Robinxen: Wow 2
5. Robinxen: Wow 3
6. Robinxen: Wow, that’s one hell of a sentence to end on.