"A man should always be reasonable," Roger added.
That made sense!
The other guests all nodded in agreement with his view.
"You're good at fighting, and now it turns out you've got a sharp tongue too. Damn, you're something else," Thor admitted, though he still felt bitter about the whole thing—losing like that was humiliating.
If it weren't for the need to maintain his image and keep some grace, he probably would've gone all out and flattened Roger already.
After all the fuss, Annie's dance partner somehow ended up being Roger.
This was not the outcome Roger had hoped for.
If he'd had a choice, he would've gladly given up the opportunity. He really didn't want to be the center of attention like this.
"Beating that guy was just the beginning. There's a whole lineup of challengers waiting for me now. Even if I wanted to quit, I couldn't."
Roger frowned inwardly.
Just then, Annie walked up to him. "You're really brave! And pretty thick-skinned too—daring to challenge someone stronger than you at an event like this."
Her words were sharp and snide. On the surface, it sounded like praise, but there was mockery tucked neatly underneath.
You couldn't really blame Annie—she was genuinely worried Roger had rushed into the spotlight and wouldn't be able to handle what came next.
"It was an accident. I didn't plan for this," Roger said with a wry smile.
He could already see the miserable end that awaited him.
That first young noble at least got to dance with Annie, even if he lost.
Then came Thor—stronger than the first—yet before he even got close to Annie, Roger had knocked him out.
Now Roger faced the same awkward situation.
Everyone knew he wasn't that strong. A whole crowd of young nobles were already shouting, itching to challenge him.
"Hey! You! Yeah, you! Fight me if you've got the guts!"
"Pick me!"
"I promise I won't make it too embarrassing for you. C'mon, choose me!"
"…"
A chorus of young noble heirs were yelling at Roger.
The situation was quickly spiraling out of control. Roger had only two options: either accept the challenges or surrender outright.
But he still wanted to save some face.
Admitting defeat like that? That would sting worse than death.
"You already did great by beating Thor. Just come down now," Norna walked up and gently tried to persuade him to step away.
But Roger's brain was swimming with competitiveness. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Why panic? I'm still standing, aren't I?"
Norna looked at him in disbelief. "You actually want to keep fighting?"
Roger's voice was firm. "Even if it's just for myself, I can't bow out and act like a coward."
There was a fierce determination burning in his eyes.
Annie shook her head. "Forget it. You're not going to beat them."
Roger was strangely calm. "It's not just me— even a ninth-rank Mage wouldn't be guaranteed to beat everyone here. All I can do is give it my best."
"You're such a freak," Annie muttered, completely baffled by his mindset.
The challengers couldn't hold back anymore. Everyone wanted to be the one to knock Roger down first.
Some even rushed toward him, surrounding him in a tight circle and launching their attacks.
Seeing the situation completely spiral out of control, Annie hurriedly shouted, "One at a time, for god's sake!"
Her voice managed to calm the group of challengers a bit.
But there were still a few who didn't listen and started attacking Roger anyway.
Roger didn't even have time to react—he was suddenly knocked to the ground in a complete mess.
As soon as he hit the floor, several challengers jumped in, yelling and kicking him. The scene turned into utter chaos.
What was supposed to be an orderly one-on-one duel had devolved into a gang beating, with the challengers ganging up on Roger all at once.
Annie was completely stunned by what she was seeing.
"Calm down, all of you! Stop it right now!" Norna stomped her feet in frustration, trying to push through the crowd to stop them, but she couldn't even get close.
Roger was surrounded by over a dozen frenzied challengers. Who knew what kind of beating he was taking in there?
At this rate, unless they literally beat him to death, it'd be a miracle if he came out in one piece.
"Norna, your little joke's gone way too far," Celine said, her face full of worry.
"It's my fault," Norna said in frustration. "We've got to figure out how to get Roger out of there. If someone ends up dying, we're screwed."
Meanwhile, Annie had already gathered over ten helpers, trying to pull the crazed challengers away from Roger.
But it was no use—they couldn't pry anyone off or talk any sense into them.
Even the helpers got caught up in the chaos and took some hits themselves. Forget saving Roger—they couldn't even protect themselves.
"This whole thing's gone to hell," Norna slumped hopelessly to the ground. "Unless we bring in someone seriously powerful, we're never gonna stop those maniacs."
Just as she sank into despair, a battered figure suddenly stumbled over to her side.
The figure was a man wearing a red goblin mask. The oversized nose—more than twenty centimeters long—almost jabbed right into Norna's mouth.
"Scared me half to death," the goblin-masked man said, patting his chest in relief.
When she heard his voice, Norna's eyes lit up. She looked at him in disbelief. "Ro... Ro... Roger?! You're not dead?!"
Roger gave her a deadpan look. "Wow, thanks. Am I really that easy to kill?"
Norna chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry, poor choice of words."
She genuinely couldn't imagine how Roger had managed to escape from the middle of all that madness.
But the truth was…
Faced with the onslaught of attackers, Roger couldn't avoid getting hit. But in a flash of desperation, he grabbed onto one of the noble boys, yanked off his own witch mask, and swapped it for the other guy's goblin mask.
Then, using the chaos to his advantage, Roger slipped out of the circle.
Now, all the challengers believed the one wearing the witch mask was still Roger. They might not beat him to death, but he was definitely going to suffer.
"These kids are too hotheaded," Roger said, still shaken. "I didn't even finish my sentence before they all rushed in to beat me up. Good thing I'm smart—otherwise, I'd be in serious trouble right now."
"Well, that's what happens when you're too weak," Norna replied. "You look like an easy target. Of course they wanted to knock you down first."
After a few minutes, the out-of-control challengers finally quieted down.
They had finally realized—the person they had been beating up wasn't Roger at all.
Even though the guy was wearing a distinctive witch mask, his voice was obviously not Roger's.
Everyone was wearing masks, so no one could tell where Roger had gone.
To avoid being recognized, Roger had even taken off his black leather vest.
With Roger disappearing from sight, the challengers gradually calmed down.
Annie had no choice but to pick a new dance partner.
A new round of challenges began.
Roger didn't participate in any of the events that followed.
Instead, he spent the rest of the night with Norna, Celine, and the others—singing, dancing, drinking, and having a great time.
The challenge rounds lasted for quite a while, and the final victor would face the ultimate test—defeating Annie.
Everyone knew Annie was a genius Mage. No one her age could stand a chance against her.
Three hours later, deep into the night.
The masquerade ball came to an end.
Surprisingly, Annie hadn't chosen a fiancé.
All the challengers fought to the bitter end—some of them even managed to defeat their rivals—but none of them won Annie's heart.
It wasn't that Annie was overly picky.
The truth was, none of the challengers were good enough.
If they couldn't even beat her now, how were they supposed to protect her for the rest of her life?
With the ball over, Roger found himself in yet another awkward situation.
He'd been completely drunk under the table by Norna and the others.
God only knew how much he drank—he was blackout drunk, stumbling and swaying like a fool.
But it wasn't just Roger. Norna and the girls had gotten drunk, too.
When Roger woke up the next morning, he couldn't even remember how he made it home.
But the moment he saw the noble girls sleeping beside him, it all became crystal clear.
On the large bed.
Roger was squished to the edge, one leg hanging off the side.
Norna, Celine, and three other noble girls were all tangled up together, fast asleep.
The worst part?
Celine was completely naked—her sexy body fully exposed—and one of her hands was tucked inside another girl's pants.
The scene was both ridiculous and absurdly erotic.
"Holy hell... What am I even looking at?" Roger stared, eyes wide, locked onto the naked Celine.
Stimulated by her bare body, Roger's manhood suddenly stiffened, his desire flaring to life.
Thankfully, he was a decent man—level-headed and self-controlled—so he didn't do anything reckless.
To avoid being tempted by Celine's nudity, he quietly left the bedroom and walked over to the window, gulping down fresh air.
He didn't wake any of the girls.
After washing up and pulling himself together, he went downstairs alone and opened the shop for business.
Near noon, the girls finally began to stir.
Norna blinked awake. "Where... where are we?"
Celine rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, seriously. How did we end up here?"
One of the other girls muttered, "We were all wasted last night. Who knows how we got here?"
Norna glanced around and said, "This looks like Roger's tailor shop... Whoa! Celine, your boobs are huge! Let me cop a feel!"