More fanservice, more girl time, more bonding. Enjoy!
Chapter 83 – Girls' Night (Ethereal Moon)
Hilda couldn't help but chuckle at seeing Ingrid try to struggle out of Dorothea's and Annette's grip. The two mages were trying to get the blonde to apply some makeup so she could learn to look her best for the ball, but Ingrid clearly did not like gussying herself up. She wasn't the only one, as Lysithea and Leonie could attest.
The girls were all gathered in a lounge in Garreg Mach, practicing with makeup and trying on dresses. Hilda had organized the get-together in preparation for the ball, so the first-year girls were all present. Byleth, however, was busy and could not attend, much to their disappointment. Flayn was also absent, attending to Church duties. Still, the girls were making the most of the gathering, trying on various dresses that Anna had provided as rentals. The redhead was now supervising the girls, mostly to make sure none of them damaged the dresses.
"Hey, Anna, are you going to be attending the dance?" asked Leonie.
"Me? Nah, I've got plans that night," said Anna. "I'll be having a drink or two with Jeralt."
"Mind if I join you?"
Anna laughed a bit at Leonie's question and said, "I think you're a bit too young to be drinking at a pub, Leonie."
"Hey, I'm already 20, you know!"
"Give it another year."
Leonie let out a groan of defeat and said, "No fair…"
"Why would you wanna get yourself plastered instead of going to the dance anyway?" asked Hapi. "At least you're allowed to go."
"Captain Jeralt's a big drinker, so I figure I gotta be able to hold down a beer or two if I'm gonna make it as a mercenary someday."
"That's… not a good example to follow," said Anna.
"But hey, Hapi, aren't you going to the dance?"
"Nope. The Knights think I'd be too much of a risk if I sighed."
"What?! That's so unfair!" said Hilda.
"It's fine, Hilda. I'm not that big on dancing anyway, and I don't wanna get in the way of you guys having a good time."
"Even so…"
"Ow! D-Dorothea, that hurt!" yelped Ingrid.
"Well, you need to stop squirming!" Dorothea said firmly as she continued working on the blonde's hair. "
"W-Why do I have to do this anyway?"
"Because you want to be looking your best at the ball, silly. Haven't you ever been to one before?"
"No, actually!"
"Well then, if this is gonna be your first dance, you gotta look the part!" said Annette.
"Annie's right, Ingrid," said Dorothea. "When we're done with you, you'll have boys begging for you to go with them!"
"W-Well, they're going to be – Ow! – disappointed, because I'm a-already going with Sylvain."
"Really? Why that pervert?" asked Hapi.
"To make sure that he doesn't break the heart of every girl at the dance."
Hilda couldn't help but laugh as she said, "That's awfully considerate of you, Ingrid." Then, turning to the others, the pinkette asked, "Hey girls, out of curiosity, who's going with who?"
"Well, I have no one I plan to go to the dance with," said Edelgard. "But surely there will be many seeking to share a dance with me. That is, if they can get past Hubert."
Dorothea couldn't help but snicker at this.
"On that note, Hilda, who are you going with?" asked Edelgard. "You first asked the question, so it should fall on you to be the first to share."
"You got me there, Edelgard," said Hilda. "I was actually going to go with Caspar."
"Really?" Dorothea asked incredulously. "Even after all the times he's gotten a feel on you?"
The other girls couldn't help laughing at this, which made Hilda blush in embarrassment.
"H-Hey, those were all accidents! And if I'm being honest, he's kinda cute at times."
"I've got more boys asking me to the dance than I can count," said Dorothea. "Part of being the winner of the White Heron Cup, I suppose. What about you, Mercedes? Anybody ask you out?"
"Well, Ashe asked me to go to the dance with him," said Mercedes.
"He did? When?" asked Ingrid.
"It was after he was wounded when we were at Pallardó's fort. I was treating his wounds and he asked if I wanted to go to the dance with him."
"And you accepted, Mercedes?" Constance asked in disapproval. "He is hardly up to your standard."
"It's not about standards, Constance. Ashe is a really nice person."
"Speaking of standards, what about you, Coco?" asked Hapi. "I'm guessing it's the Ferd, right?"
"Indeed, Hapi. Ferdinand was quite the romantic when he presented me with a flower and asked me to accompany him to the ball. How could I refuse?"
Dorothea had to roll her eyes at this. Constance noticed this and gave a small scoff at the singer.
Petra then said, "I am having the invitation to dance from Claude."
"Ooh, Claude asked you? Lucky you, Petra," said Hilda. "What about you, Lysithea? Anybody you're interested in?"
"No, I am afraid not," said Lysithea. The girl was tucking herself away in a corner as she fiddled with her dress, her back turned to the others.
"Me neither," said Leonie. "Doesn't mean I won't show up, but I don't think too many of the boys are interested in a country girl."
"Oh, don't go saying that, Leonie," said Dorothea. "You might not compare to someone like me in the looks department, but I've met more than a few guys who like a tomboy."
"Tomboy? But Leonie is not a man," said Petra. Then, seeing the others were giving her a familiar look, Petra said, "I am having misunderstanding again."
After a short giggle, Dorothea then turned and asked, "Well, what about you, Bern?"
"W-What, me?" Bernadetta squeaked. "I barely know anybody. What makes you think anyone would want to dance with me? I don't even wanna go! There'll be so many people there."
"Bern, come on, it's not that bad. And there's gotta be someone you'd want to go with."
"Annie, what about you?" asked Mercedes.
"Me? Oh, I actually asked Felix, but he–"
"Felix?" Dorothea interrupted.
"He said he wasn't interested, but I really wanted to go with him."
"Well, knowing him, he's probably not much of a dancer. Don't worry, Annette, I'm sure someone will be glad to join you there."
As Annette sulked a bit, the girls suddenly heard Lysithea mumble, "C-Come on, get in there!"
"Lysithea, what are you doing back there?" asked Edelgard.
"Huh? Oh, nothing important!"
"Do you need some help with your dress, Lysithea?" asked Mercedes. The blonde then stepped toward the diminutive white-haired girl to see what the problem was.
"N-No! I'm fine! There's no need to–"
Upon reaching Lysithea, Mercedes looked down at the girl and made a gasp of surprise. Curious, Dorothea stood up from working on Ingrid's hair and walked over to Mercedes.
"What is it, Mer…cedes?"
As she looked down at Lysithea, who was trying to fit into a long violet ballroom gown, she saw that one of the girl's flat breasts now looked far larger, but it was only on one side. Upon a closer inspection, the singer saw something underneath the girl's undershirt and brassiere.
Boldly, Dorothea reached into Lysithea's undershirt as the girl let out a surprised yelp.
"D-Dorothea!" Lysithea shrieked. "What are you– No, don't!"
A second later, Dorothea pulled her hand out, now clutching a peculiar piece of padded fabric. The others looked on silently as Lysithea's face began to turn red.
Hilda was the first to burst out laughing as she said, "I-I-Is that a pad?! L-Lysithea, were you t-trying to…?" Unable to finish, Hilda burst out in hysterical laughter.
"S-Shut up!" Lysithea snapped as she stormed over to Hilda. "Don't you go judging me when you've got these fat things!"
Hilda stopped laughing and let out a yelp of surprise as Lysithea gave her breasts a hard grab through the pinkette's dress, which was made to show a large amount of cleavage. Lysithea dug her fingers deep into Hilda's tits, leading to the pinkette crying out in pain.
"OW! OUCH! L-LYSITHEAAA!"
"Did they get BIGGER?! You're going to be having boys all over you at the ball because of these things! And what's with this dress of yours, anyway?! Maybe you should just let them see everything!"
Before anyone could stop her, Lysithea pulled back hard on the blouse of Hilda's dress, ripping it down the middle along with Hilda's bra. Hilda's breasts spilled out of confinement, making her shriek in embarrassment as she covered herself. Leonie stepped in at this moment, grabbing Lysithea by the collar and hoisting her off the ground.
"Hey! Don't go ripping it!" said Anna. "You're renting those dresses, remember?!"
Lysithea didn't hear Anna as she thrashed about in Leonie's grip.
"Oh no, Hilda, let me see," said Mercedes.
"L-Lysithea, why'd you go and do THAT?!" said Hilda.
"That was… rather uncalled for," said Edelgard.
Growling, Lysithea calmed down a bit as she said, "B-But she's just so huge…"
"Lysithea, that's nothing to be ashamed of," said Dorothea. "Why were you trying to pad out your chest, anyway?"
"Because I wanted to look more mature for the ball. Everyone here just keeps treating me like a child. I thought, maybe, if I could make myself look bigger, they might take me seriously."
"Lysithea, you don't need to look bigger to seem more mature. You're one of the smartest people I know. You're the best mage in our year."
"A-Ahem!" Constance snapped, but Dorothea ignored her.
"But still, I just…" Lysithea blushed as she was set down by Leonie.
"You need to be more confident in your body, Lysithea," said Dorothea.
"Confident in my body?! But I'm so frail and short and flat compared to you!"
"That's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, Edie's the same as you."
"Dorothea's right, Lysithea," said Edelgard. Then, realizing what Dorothea had said, Edelgard said with a blush, "Wait, what?! Dorothea!"
This prompted the others to laugh at Edelgard's expense.
"The point is that you don't have to be tall or buxom to look beautiful, Lysithea. You just need a little makeup and you'll be fending off the boys in no time!"
"Yeah, Lysithea! Just leave it to us!" said Annette.
"Well… alright," Lysithea said in disappointment. "But I'd still like to pad out my chest a little, if it's all the same to you."
Dorothea had to let out a sigh at this. "We'll see what we can do," she said as she led Lysithea to a chair so she and Annette could get started.
As Lysithea allowed the two mages to start gussying her up, Hilda said crossly, "She didn't have to ruin my dress."
"I think I can fix it, Hilda," said Mercedes. "But you'll need to take it off for now."
"Oh, alright. Hey, Anna, keep an eye out for perverts, would you?"
"You got it, Hilda," said Anna. "Oh, and Lysithea, you damaged it, so I'm taking that out of your wallet. Got it? Good."
Lysithea was about to protest, but upon realizing Anna was right she simply let out a defeated sigh.
Hilda then stripped out of the dress, leaving her just in her panties, stockings and a set of garters. Realizing she was still topless, the pinkette looked around to find another bra her size.
"Here, Hilda," said Marianne, the bluette handing Hilda an undershirt.
"Thanks, Mary," Hilda said as she slipped the undershirt on. But as soon as she did, she said, "Uh, Mary, is this supposed to be a large?"
"What?"
Marianne looked at Hilda's chest and blushed as she realized the undershirt was too small. The pinkette's breasts were stretching out the fabric, causing the outline of her nipples to be visible through the shirt.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Marianne said sheepishly. "I'll find another one!"
"It's okay for now, Mary. Just a little tight, that's all." Hilda brought her hands down to her breasts, giving herself a short grope before saying, "Lysithea's right, I think I got bigger again."
"A-Again?!" Lysithea said in comical dismay. Next to her, Annette let out a short groan of disappointment.
Then, upon realizing something, Hilda said, "Hey Mary, we never asked you who you were going with to the ball."
"M-Me?" Marianne said in sudden fearfulness.
"Hey, you're right," said Dorothea. "So, come on, Marianne. Have you asked anybody out to the dance yet?"
"I… um…" Marianne began to blush again.
"You have, haven't you?" said Hilda. "Who is it? Is it Ignatz? Lorenz? Oh, maybe someone from the second-year class?"
"N-No, that's not…"
"Come on, Marianne," Annette said enthusiastically.
"It would be unbecoming of you not to reveal your dance partner for the ball, Marianne von Edmund," said Constance.
"I am having wonder at your partner in dancing," said Petra.
"Can't say I'm not curious," said Leonie.
"Come on, Mary! Tell us!" Hilda said cheerfully.
The others curiously began bombarding Marianne with their requests to know who she had asked out to the ball. The pale bluette squirmed where she stood, and it was clear she was being overwhelmed by peer pressure.
Then, shutting her eyes, Marianne blurted out, "P-Prince Dimitri!"
This left everyone in the room silent.
"I asked Dimitri to go to the dance with me! And… And he said yes…!"
After another moment of silence, Marianne finally realized what she had blurted out, and now she was trembling where she stood. Her mortified face was positively glowing bright pink.
Hilda then said, "Whoahohoa! Way to go, Mary! You got the big catch!"
"Congratulations, Marianne!" said Mercedes.
"Very impressing– er, impressive," said Petra.
"Not that I disapprove," said Edelgard, "but why did you ask out Dimitri?"
"H-He's saved my life so many times over this year," said Marianne. "And I… I wanted to repay him for it all."
"Well, good for you, Marianne!" said Dorothea. "Once we're done with Lysithea, we'll make sure to spruce you up so Dimitri will fall head over heels for you!"
"W-What?! No, that's not–"
It was at this moment that Petra made a short, audible breath as she realized something was amiss. She began darting her eyes around the room, an act that did not go unnoticed.
"Petra? What's going on?" Bernadetta asked as fear began to overtake her. "We're under attack, aren't we? I just know it!"
"We are being watched," said Petra.
Alarmed, the girls looked around the room, but could find no sign that anyone was peeping at them. Hilda was particularly concerned, as she was still dressed in her undersized undershirt. She wasn't shy about showing off her body, but she preferred it on her terms.
"If it's Sylvain again, I'm going to make him wish he was never born," Ingrid said crossly.
Then, Hapi noticed something above one of the low cabinets. Close to the ceiling there was a hole in the wall.
She saw someone's brown eye peering through the hole. It blinked as it realized Hapi had spotted it.
"There!" Hapi shouted as she readied a Miasma Δ spell and fired it at the crack in the wall. The wall exploded as a much bigger hole was blown in it, and the girls heard a loud yelp come from the room next door.
The girls rushed over as the dust settled, revealing Balthus groaning as he lay on his back.
"B!" Hapi snapped angrily.
"Oh, hey ladies," Balthus said nervously. Then, trying to look cool, he said, "Love the dresses."
"Balthus von Albrecht, are you truly so shameless?!" said Constance as she was about to ready a fireball.
"And here I thought only Sylvain was bold enough to spy on us while we're dressing!" said Ingrid.
"You pervert!" Annette said angrily.
"Hey, come on, no need to get all upset," said Balthus. "I just couldn't help myself."
"Really? You couldn't help yourself?" Leonie said in a tone that showed she didn't believe Balthus for a second.
"Yeah, sure. You lovely ladies are all looking so fine right now, a guy like me can't resist a peek."
The girls all let out angry scowls at Balthus, but he kept his cool. That is, until he saw Hilda shaking in fury at him.
She had realized that Balthus had seen her topless. And even now, she saw his gaze centering on her stretched out undershirt.
"Baltie…" Hilda seethed.
"Uh, Hilda…?" Balthus began to break out in a cold sweat.
"YOU ARE THE WORST!"
…
Sylvain moved as silently as he could, creeping up to where the girls were gussying themselves up. He knew a perfect hole in the wall where he could peek into the room without being noticed.
But as he turned a corner that led to the rooms, he saw Balthus laying on his back. The self-proclaimed King of Grappling looked as though he had been beaten within an inch of his life.
Balthus groaned in pain on the floor as Sylvain wisely chose to walk away from the scene.
Wise choice, Sylvain. Wise choice.
This chapter does contain a lot of the pairings I'm planning on having long-term, but not all of them. I'm sure there are a few you think aren't the best pair-up, but a lot of these are my preferred pairings for the cast. Especially Marianne/Dimitri; that one is just so precious (and their support chain is very well-written).
And yeah, more fun poked at Hilda's funbags, and Lysithea's lack thereof. Am I taking too much away from Lysithea's identity in giving her a flat-chest complex?
And you might think I'm being mean to Hapi since she won't be at the ball, but don't worry. She'll still have a good time.
Anyhow, I plan to have the Ball start after the next chapter. Next chapter is going to be the promise of reunion, and is going to be my own take on such a thing. Wish me luck!