《The Villainess That Was Once A VRMMO player》 CH 1 Chapter 1: The Villainess Young Lady Hello, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. I have just died. You may be thinking, ¡°What is this person saying all of a sudden?¡± But, I didn¡¯t die because I wanted to. My family was wealthy in its own way. My father was an entrepreneur. A mother who was a cookbook author. A talented and cool eldest son. The youngest daughter, who was very popular and cute. What an ideal family! ¨D¨D¨D¨DIf it weren¡¯t for me, the middle of the siblings. I don¡¯t show much emotion, I don¡¯t get angry or laugh. So I was the only one floating around in the house. Puka¡­ And¡­. It¡¯s not that I have no feelings. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m a little awkward. I don¡¯t show my emotions very often, but my good friends say that I¡¯m easy to understand because I don¡¯t have any back and forth. Simple and clear. If there is a problem, it is that my family doesn¡¯t understand it. Whenever I had an argument, I would argue back with a straightforward argument, and my emotional brother and sister hated me for it. My mom and dad stopped paying attention to me around junior high school. They stopped talking to me, which led me to do nothing but play video games. They didn¡¯t invite me to dinner either, so I had a lot of time on my hands. One day, when my high school teacher asked me what I was going to do, I decided to leave home, which I had been thinking about for a long time. The attitude of my siblings had become troublesome. I had my first conversation with my dad in six months, and he gave me a small apartment the next month. Well, I still have almost two years until graduation¡­? That¡¯s how I started living on my own. When I went out with some friends who were worried about me to buy some things for my independent life, I met a small foreign boy. Is he lost? He must be confused. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a large foreign man holding a knife ¨C and when I came to, I was holding the boy defensively, and he stabbed me in the back with a knife. Incidentally, the cause of my death was the damage to my internal organs caused by my kicking the thug in the groin while the knife was still embedded in me. I¡¯m belligerent. Well, I had no choice. I didn¡¯t want to die, but if I could die for others in the end, isn¡¯t that a good thing? When leaving home, I secretly slipped the ¡°yaoi book¡± into my family¡¯s bags, so please keep it as a memento. The reason why I¡¯m talking to you is that in a strange white space, this kind-looking ¡°grandpa¡± in front of me told me that I died. ¡°Are you God, by any chance?¡± [No. Not exactly.] Not exactly, he answered. Apparently, when a normal person dies, they immediately become a soul and are either reincarnated or returned to the world, but I was specifically stopped at that preliminary stage. I was told that the boy I protected was a Son of God. A Son of God is said to appear in the world every 1,000 years and is born as a human being in order to save the world, but this time he was attacked by evil when he was careless. That¡¯s terrible. The grandpa, who was a little different from God, was a Son of God from a thousand years ago, and he was happy that his successor had been born, so he could finally rest in peace. However, he was very saddened by the fact that I lost my young life to do so. [Therefore, I will use the last of my power to reincarnate you in a place of your choice.] ¡°In a game world, please.¡± He froze for a few seconds. I¡¯ve been playing a VRMMORPG since I was in middle school. I am a respectable hardcore gamer. I¡¯m sorry for my friends, but I don¡¯t want any chance of getting involved with that family again. If there is a world based on games, I would like to make it my ¡°reality¡±. As I said this without hesitation, the Grandpa looked a little troubled. [There¡¯s no such thing as a game world, you know?] ¡°Seriously?¡± The Grandpa said that there are worlds that are very similar to game worlds, but there are no actual game worlds. A world that closely resembles a game means that sometimes, a person can see that other worlds like a prophetic dream, and if that person happens to be a game creator, a game with that world view may be created. In short, it is a world that has magic and skills like those in existing games. There are worlds of [swords and magic] like such games, but such worlds have a lot of dangers and a high mortality rate for ordinary people. I don¡¯t want that. What I want to do is to have a relaxing and fun adventure, like the VRMMO I was playing. Me, yes, I¡¯m selfish. [I understand. As much as I could, I would try to make your wish come true.] ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re wonderful.¡± As luck would have it, there¡¯s a world that¡¯s very similar to that VRMMORPG I¡¯ve been playing. In that game, it was like you increased your power by growing your skills, and your level increased with your skill experience, but that world is real, not a game, so they don¡¯t have the concept of levels. It seems that the skills you grow and your inner magic power are combined to raise your power to the biological limit. That sounds more realistic. He said that with reincarnation, my current consciousness will be preserved as much as possible, but if I reincarnate as it is, my survival rate will be low even if I have some memories. So, the Grandpa said that he¡¯ll take all the things I¡¯ve done in the game, such as [my total play time], [my passion for the characters I¡¯ve trained], [my love for the rare items I¡¯ve struggled to get], and turn them into soul power, and strengthen my reincarnated body more than a normal person. I¡¯ll say it again. Grandpa, you¡¯re wonderful. [Then I¡¯ll send your soul to the other world. Thank you for your service to this world. I, too, can go without any worries. ¡­This time, live a long and happy life in your new life.] ¡°Grandpa¡­ Yes, I¡¯ll do my best. I¡¯ll definitely live long and be happy.¡± I felt like crying a little, but I can¡¯t cry without my body. Grandpa smiled gently at me and patted me on the head like I was his grandson. ¡°Thank you, Grandpa. I love you.¡± [Un, un, that¡¯s right]. And so my soul crossed over to that world, and I was reborn in a new world. Perhaps it was because my brain capacity and stamina were low, but when I was a baby, I slept a lot and my memory was muddled, but at the age of three, my consciousness finally cleared up and I began to understand what was going on around me. My name is Carol Nym Arceides, and in this world of swords and sorcery¡­ Huh? I feel like I¡¯ve heard that before. ¡­¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡°A¨D¨D¨D¨Dh¡± I remembered what it was. This was the name of a character in Otome Game, a game I played for a while in junior high school. But let me just say one thing. God, Grandpa, this is not the game I wanted to be, I didn¡¯t want to be a ¡°villainess¡± with a lot of death flags, you know? Translator¡¯s Thoughts: Hi, everyone. I have already read the whole story. It was honestly a good read. I hope that you liked the starting. Unlike most villainess novels, our MC is going to be a ruthless person who kills whoever threatens her life. The premise is quite interesting as you will find it in upcoming chapters and it is written by a well known author, Haru no Hi. Hope that you like and have a nice day. CH 2.1 Doujin Otome Game [Part 1] ¡°What should I do?¡± Grandpa, did you just pull a prank on me? Or misinterpret my request? I¡¯m actually quite upset, but there¡¯s no emotion shown on my face or in my voice, so I¡¯m not very convincing. It¡¯s possible that it¡¯s just a coincidence that I share the same name, but given this aristocratic-looking house, aristocratic-looking clothes, and the same black hair as the character, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a coincidence. Come to think of it, the reason why I¡¯m still feeling neglected at the age of three, even though I seem to be wealthy, is because I am a [Disliked Child]. For that matter, I have hardly seen Papa and Mamma in this life. When I was in junior high school, I played a little bit of an Otome Game called¡­let¡¯s see¡­Koi no Kaname. I don¡¯t remember the title of the game, and I don¡¯t remember most of the details of the game either. The reason why I remembered the name of the ¡°villainess¡± in such a game was because I had a ¡± villainess fetish¡± at the time. What a chuunibyou, right? I don¡¯t remember clearly, but I think the story went something along these lines. The cute and energetic hero, who was loved by everyone, turns out to be a [Beloved Child of Spirits] and is admitted to a magic school for nobles at the age of 10. And then, after all this and that, there are 5¡­ or 6 capture targets? It was an unimportant story about how I captured the targets and defeated the evil emperor and achieved a happy ending in the game. In any case, it was a ¡°doujin game,¡± and the game¡¯s creator mentioned in the comments that ¡°God descended¡± or some such nonsense, so you can imagine what it was like. Still, I bought this game because it was cheap (for 500 yen), the still pictures showed the author¡¯s obsession, the heroine was a natural beauty, and¡­ ¡­perhaps, I liked this game a lot? Though I¡¯ve only cleared it once though. (editor¡¯s note: It is very common for Japanese games to have multiple playthroughs to fully unlock every bit of the game, and also every bit of the story in the game.) And also because the villainess was pretty weird. That¡¯s it. In that otome game, there were two villainesses. They were known as {Silver Rose} and {Black Lily}. They¡¯re beautiful. The first one is the Duchess of Silver Rose, Flare Mercury Prata. She has wavy silver hair and fiery blue eyes. She¡¯s a stunningly beautiful woman with well endowed breasts to die for, but she¡¯s not afraid to do outrageous things. She does it with zero hesitation. She doesn¡¯t back down, she doesn¡¯t flatter, she doesn¡¯t care. She is a wonderful girl who proudly serves poison to the heroine who is trying to seduce the prince, and laughs in front of the prince, wondering what is wrong with that. The second is {Black Lily} Carol Nym Arceides, the Countess of the Frontier. She is a Disliked Child, the opposite of the heroine¡¯s Beloved Child. She has black hair, golden eyes, and a witch-like appearance. She is a shy, hidden-behind-the-scenes-boss-type girl who uses her icy good looks to deceive men, curses those around her to make them unhappy, and ultimately ends up on the side of the demon tribe. No matter how I look at it, this girl has the makings of a villain. You might want to consider getting rid of her at an early stage. But don¡¯t worry. The villainess is filled with so many ¡°death flags¡± that it¡¯s a wonder how she¡¯s survived since she was a child, so she¡¯ll be exterminated long before she grows up. ¡­So how did this happen? The {Black Lily} Carol in question is me, and come to think of it, the magic and tactics in this world seem to be very similar to those in that MMORPG, and there was talk on a certain message board about it being a ¡°Clone with just a different name¡±. ¡­Is that why you made a mistake? Grandpa. Translator¡¯s Note: Hi, my initial idea was to release one chapter per day but it turned out that there are a lot of POV changes at some places. I have tried to smoothen out those area with the help of Spirit Song (editor). Chapters will be split in two parts. Next part will be released tomorrow so stay tuned and have a nice read. CH 2.2 Doujin Otome Game [Part 2] ¡­Is that why you made a mistake? Grandpa. If I¡¯m {Black Lily}, the biggest problem is that, as I said before, there are so many death flags that it¡¯s almost impossible to discover all of them. When I cleared it once, Flare was already on the beheading block and Carol was burned at the stake. And after the torture, she was dragged through the streets and stoned by the people, which is a full course of events. In this game, there is no such thing as a gentle ending as sending the villainess to a convent in the cold or deporting her with nothing but her clothes on. As I recall, the least painful way to die is to be stabbed to death in a revenge attack. Flare¡¯s smile was really beautiful as she was made to look up from the beheading table, and she was laughing until the very end. Still, there was one route for each of them that just barely avoided death. In case you were wondering, as a villain fetishist, I checked out the strategy site (created by the game creator himself). In the case of Flare, if you kill the prince and the heroine at the same time and succeed in usurping the throne, you will be ousted from the throne by the other players and will be under house arrest for the rest of your life, and you will survive. In this case, however, Carol will also be killed in the process of killing the heroines. In Carol¡¯s case, if the heroine falls in love with the hidden character after forming a harem and elopes to a foreign country, the hidden character will kill Flare for trying to interfere, but Carol, who helped her elope, will be kept as a pet by the Yandere capture target for the rest of her life. An impossible game¡­ Who is this ¡°hidden character¡± anyway? What¡¯s the point of having a ¡°pure love route¡± after a ¡°reverse harem¡± has been formed? Is there no choice but to run away? How can I run away when I can¡¯t rely on anyone for help being a ¡°Disliked Child ¡°? Is this a dead end? Calm down. It¡¯s not showing on my face, but I have to calm down. I wiped the sweat from my palms with my clothes and thought of a way out. As I recall, Grandpa told me that using my ¡°passion for the game¡± to power up my soul, he could strengthen my body to match the world, but would that work in this situation? I hobbled over to the canopy bed and lifted it up with all my might. ¡°¡­Hnnn.¡± It¡¯s not time to panic yet. It¡¯s only natural for a three year old if the bed won¡¯t budge after trying to lift it. The next thing I noticed was a carved wooden horse that looked like a hand-me-down. This is the kind of horse that small children ride on and play with. This is a toy for boys, isn¡¯t it? I tried lifting it up, and this time I could raise it. ¡°¡­haah, haah.¡± I did it. I was able to move three steps with it. A three year old can¡¯t help it. I¡¯m out of breath from all this, but for now let¡¯s calm down. Grandpa, this is not what you promised me. I¡¯ve calmed down. As for my physical abilities, I expect a miracle to happen when I grow up. After all, the quickest way to get out of this is to assassinate the heroine, right? However, I don¡¯t know who the heroine is at this point, I only know for a fact that she is a ¡°commoner¡± until she turns ten. Assassinating her after that would be¡­ dangerous. However, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that bad to kill a civilian who hasn¡¯t done anything. ¡­Is my way of thinking already turning into that of a villainess? At best, I want the protagonist to go down the pure love route with the hidden character, but the trouble with this game is that the actual easiest route to take is the [reverse harem route]. The protagonist is too much of a womanizer, which makes the bad endings and pure love routes more difficult to achieve, making this already a ridiculous game. (Editor¡¯s note: He¡¯s just too handsome that women throw themselves at him!? Something like a ¡®women killer¡¯) By the way, the execution full course I mentioned earlier was part of the reverse harem route. ¡°¡­Haah~¡± I can¡¯t help but sigh. It would be nice if me being a villainess in this was a misunderstanding, but the current evidence alone doesn¡¯t allow for such naive expectations. Not only did I have black hair, but I also had evidence that I was treated as an Abomination. I walk briskly around the room and move to the front of the full-length mirror. The reflection of me in the mirror is a beautiful young woman, although I am only three years old. I have golden eyes and lustrous black hair. Skin is clear and white, and the cheeks look healthy and slightly pink. Although the facial features are reminiscent of the ¡°me¡± of my previous life, each part is well-defined and exquisitely balanced. It¡¯s exactly the ideal image of myself from my previous life. And then there are the characteristic long ears which are the proof of being an abomination. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m a fairy. But there¡¯s something ¨C strange? No, it¡¯s a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen her before, because she looks like me in my previous life, but I have a strange feeling of deja vu that¡¯s different from that. ¡ª- Ah~~~, I see. ¡°This face¡­ doesn¡¯t only have the same face as the player character in that VRMMORPG. It¡¯s the identical face as the player character I specially made in another VRMMORPG.¡± See you in next chapters. CH 3.1 Zanbatou ¨C Ridil [Part 1] It was an unintentional blind spot. I had unconsciously excluded the Game, because it shared some similarities with aspects of my previous life. But it was strange. Why does she look like my VRMMORPG player character instead of Carol? Carol¡¯s face was definitely my favorite, with her dark hair and golden eyes, which influenced me to model my character after Carol¡­ Was Carol¡¯s face like this from the beginning, or was it a coincidence? Or was it a given from the start that I would be Carol? So many questions¡­ ¨CKnock* Knock*. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door of my room. Before I could make a sound to reply, the door opened and someone who dressed like a maid walked in, glared at me and gave me a look of disgust that she didn¡¯t even bother to hide. ¡°¡­Excuse me, Carol Ojou-sama, I¡¯ve brought you some food.¡± At least mention that before you go in, right? She was followed by an older woman and a child maid pushing a trolley in. ¡°You two, once you¡¯ve fed the young lady, let her change once, go to the bathroom, and let her sleep. And while you¡¯re at it, finish cleaning her up. Okay?¡± ¡°Ye-, yes¡± They both replied, and she headed for the door without even looking at me, just as it was about to close. [Tch, you little abomination.] I faintly heard. ¡°¡­¡± The woman and the girl heard it too, and the atmosphere became a little tense. At least say it in a way that I can¡¯t hear it. Did you think I wouldn¡¯t understand because I¡¯m a three-year-old? Either that or they think it¡¯s okay for me to hear, but either way, I can clearly see that they don¡¯t like me. In any case, they at least [give] me food and [let] me sleep. In addition, they are making someone dust and clean next to the place where I¡¯m sleeping. ¡°¡­Now, now, Carol Ojou-sama, let¡¯s eat while it¡¯s still warm¡­Maia, set the table.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± It¡¯s great that the ones who remain can read the air. ¡°Come to the table, young lady.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± I¡¯m not used to speaking, so my [yes] sounded a bit weird. The woman¡¯s eyes widened as I replied, and the girl dropped her cutlery with a bright red face. I had kind of expected it, but it seems that I will be eating my meals here by myself. I¡¯m used to it, so it¡¯s okay, but would it be wrong if I asked about Papan and Maman? The woman took me by the hand to the table and lifted me to a special chair to sit down. The woman frowned slightly when she saw the food served from the tray. ¡°Hmm~?¡± ¡°No, it seems to be a little cold. I¡¯ll reheat it.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± I indicated that it was fine as it was, and she looked a little lost as she put the dish in front of me. It looked like a loose risotto with finely chopped vegetables and bacon, and a small amount of apple-like fruit. The woman gave me some cutlery to hold, and I took a bite in my mouth, and was relieved to find that it was just plain good. ¡­It doesn¡¯t seem to be poisoned, either. But it certainly would have tasted better if it was warm. It was cold, or rather, it was almost close to the temperature of human skin. ¡°¡­Is it good?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± I replied to the woman who asked worriedly, and the girl maid began shivering with a red face for some reason. Do you have a cold? The girls said that the reason they were acting strange was because I had barely spoken a word to them before. My memory was cloudy up until now after all. The thirty-something woman¡¯s name was Meiya, and the little girl was Maia, ten years old. They were both commoner maids hired by my parents along with her family, and Meiya had been taking care of me for over a year now. And that disgusting Maid is Ilaria, the third daughter of a baronet, who is a bastard child of the Arceides family, and is apparently working as an prospective apprentice Maid more than being an actual employee. So these three are the people who are taking care of me at the moment. ¡°What about Tohsama and Kaashama?¡± I ask about my parents, and their faces become sad. ¡°You two seem to be very busy, so¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll come to visit! Carol Ojou-sama is such a lovely girl.¡± Her daughter Maia comforted me as she leaned forward. Her face looks so cute. The two commoners didn¡¯t seem to mind that I was an abomination. Maybe it was only the aristocrats who cared about it to begin with? I touched my long ears, which popped out as I brushed through my hair. Abomination. A person with non-human abomination blood in their veins. Carol, the villainess, is a Half Elf called [Switched Child], born from a nobleman who believes in human supremacy. [Switched Child Changeling] is a form of ancestry reversion. In this world, there are {sub-human races} like elves, and those unprincipled {human races} that can interbreed with various races have mixed various blood in their long history, and it is said that when a child with the blood of another race is born from parents who are both human, this is what the term they use to describe them derogatorily. I don¡¯t think there are any pure human lineages any more unless they live in isolated island countries, but the very rare [Changeling] children born to aristocrats who are human race supremacists are an object of targeted disgust. However, in this world, the sub-human race blends in with the human race and lives normally. So, as commoners, they did not despise me even if I was Half Elf. In conclusion, only the human nobility are troublesome. ¡°Oh my, you¡¯ve eaten a lot. Are you full?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± CH 3.2 Maybe it was because I was a child, or maybe it was because I was Half Elf, but I couldn¡¯t eat much. When I stroked my stomach, Meiya¡¯s face broke into a smile and Maia trembled. Then they let me change and go to the bathroom. The potty was there. I was taken care of so that I could do it properly. I¡¯m not too ashamed to say that my mind is affected by my body now, despite the knowledge I have retained of my previous life. ¡°Maia, I¡¯m going to clean up before her nap, so you can take the young lady out into the garden for a little while so Lady Ilaria doesn¡¯t find her.¡± ¡°Hai!¡± Maia straightened up at her mother¡¯s words, looking like a new recruit on a serious mission. ¡­Are you okay? She¡¯s very restless. But it¡¯s good that we can have a look at the garden. I want to see plants from other worlds and stuff. ¡°Wo, wo, would you like to hold my hand?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± I have a limited vocabulary. But it can¡¯t be helped because talking a lot is a hassle. I hold hands with Maia, whose face is bright red, and she walks off as if she were skipping. ¡­Are you sure you¡¯re okay? When I went out to the garden, I saw various small plants and flowers growing. ¡°What are these?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Well, I also don¡¯t know the names of these weeds. When I looked at the other plants, I found that they were slightly different in color and leaf shape, but not much different from what I knew. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a greenhouse. I heard they grow medicinal herbs and stuff.¡± ¡°Can I take a look?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a¡­¡± ¡°What are you doing here!?¡± I heard a high-pitched, childish yell from the side. He had gray hair and brown eyes. About the same age as Maia? The boy walked up to me with his broad strides, and when he saw me, he blatantly scowled at my beautiful face. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s you¡­ Father says you¡¯re a disgrace to the Arceides family. Don¡¯t let her out of her room.¡± ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m sorry, Dirk-sama.¡± ¡°Get her out of here! Mother said that commoners are incompetent and can¡¯t even use magic, I guess she was right.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± At the boy¡¯s words, a tearful Maia looked down and bit her lower lip. This is Carol¡¯s ¨C my big brother? He seems to be a typical aristocrat who takes his parents¡¯ word for it even though he is still small. ¡°Hmph.¡± With another final sniff, Dirk walks towards the greenhouse, and I, who was a little further away, approaches Maia and gently holds her hand. ¡°Ojou-sama.¡± ¡°Ai.¡± Guki¡­ And then, when we were far away, Dirk suddenly lost his stance. He looked back at us with a red face, then kicked a pebble under his foot as if to cover up for something, and headed for the greenhouse with a slight limp on one leg. I discarded the remaining pebbles in my hands at random and walked away from Maia, who was still groggy and looking at me with wide eyes. ¡°Go back?¡± ¡°Hai!¡± Maia replied cheerfully, and her hand remained tightly clasped with mine until we returned to our room. * I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I¡¯m too aggressive, but in the world of VRMMO, or in the world of the Otome Game, I might needlessly make a lot of enemies. I also won¡¯t have any allies among the nobles. After returning to my room, Maia read a picture book to me until I fell asleep in bed, but then Ilaria came and took the two of them to do chores. It was time for another round of abandonment. Since this is a good time, let¡¯s continue with the ¡°discussion of the current situation¡± I mentioned earlier. The fact that I am Carol has been established ¨C assuming that the events in the Otome Game are not a story of the past, but an event in the future. The creator of the game saw Carol¡¯s appearance in a prophetic dream, so he created the still images of her, and I created my character based on that. Leaving aside which came first, my current appearance looks a lot like the still image of Carol, but more closely resembles my character in the MMORPG. The past doesn¡¯t change, but the future can change. Just as the future route of the story diverges depending on someone¡¯s actions, the ¡°Me¡± of today may not be the same as the ¡°Me¡± in the Otome Game. The magic and worldview of the VRMMORPG and the Otome game closely resembled each other. If I didn¡¯t know anything about it, I would have just said [This is a pain], but if both worlds exist in reality, there is a possibility that they are not similar but the same world. ¡­¡­It¡¯s not that [the world] that is wrong, but rather [the place]. However, my body has not been visibly enhanced. But the way I look now is very similar to my player character. With the small possibility that struck me, I gently put my hand out in front of me and utter the [Text Command]. ¡°Set [Ridil].¡± Gong¨C A huge sword that I couldn¡¯t hold in my hand fell out of it and tumbled on the carpet. This is¡­ that, huh. This is one of my main weapons in the VRMMORPG, the [Zanbatou Ridil]. CH 4.1 4 Magic Gun ¨C Break Revolver Zanbatou Ridil. [Ridil] It has a blade length of 120 centimeters. Including the hilt, the total length of this huge weapon is over 180 centimeters, but it is classified as a Bastard Sword. It is about the size of a two-handed sword, but lighter, and can be used with either two or one hand. The shape of the sword is a slightly curved, broad sword, with a long handle and no tsuba, not designed for fierce and furious close quarter engagement, but rather a weapon similar to a spear or naginata that can kill a rider from horseback with their horse. Well, it was a game equipment, not designed to kill a player with a single blow, and it was not as sharp as a one-handed sword and less powerful than a two-handed sword, so it was treated as a weapon of passion. * It was very difficult to obtain this one. It took 12 high level players and 10 real days of persistence to finally loot it out of the belly of a giant dragon. The material was worth good money, so I negotiated for it at the cost of my share, but I¡¯m really glad that I was able to get my hands on this weapon. This weapon was unpopular because it was honestly too weak to be used by a serious vanguard, but it works well for me. I still have other favorite clearing weapons, however. Well, that¡¯s about it. The VRMMORPG weapon ¨C the thing that used to be data ¨C appeared out in front of me. God, or to be more precise, the ¡°Son of God,¡± told me that he would turn my time and passion for the game into the power of my soul. But he said that the power was to strengthen my reincarnated body, right? If I were to put it in layman terms, should I express that I became Carol and that Carol¡¯s physical resemblance to my player character had changed the law of cause and effect? As a result, the game data that should have been converted to the power of my soul was integrated directly into me, as Carol? It¡¯s a potentially ¡®game-breaking¡¯ bug. This really is different from what you said, Grandpa. ¡°Ah¡± The zanbatou that fell to the floor disappeared like a haze. It only took about ten seconds. But it didn¡¯t really disappear, I could feel it returning inside me. It was a double rare attribute that couldn¡¯t be transferred to another person, so it probably came back to me after a certain amount of time when it was out of my hands. Single rares are transferable, but can only be owned by one person. Double rares are non-transferable and can only be owned by one person. Triple rares are non-transferable and can only be acquired once per character. Even with this, I was a broken character. Most of my equipment is double rare or better. I can¡¯t even sell them, even if I need to. Not like I would sell them. Back to the topic at hand, the ability to use game items means that my character¡¯s other abilities can be used as is, right? But I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good thing. I really only have the strength of a three-year-old. Although I seem to have enough strength not to fall asleep without a nap, I couldn¡¯t even hold the Zanbatou Ridil in my hand and dropped it on the floor. If I had had the strength to keep my grip on it, my fingers might have been crushed on the floor. Could it be that my character has to be of a certain age to be able to use my abilities? It¡¯s quite possible¡­. It could also be a limiter to prevent stress from being placed on my young body. ¡­If it wasn¡¯t for the bug, I would have been physically strengthened even in my current state. Now that we¡¯ve got that out of the way, let¡¯s take a look at the ¡°race settings¡±. In that VRMMORPG¡¯s character creation, you could choose from multiple options for [race] and [age]. There are five races: Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Beastman, and Dwarf. There are three age categories: Teen, Young Adult, and Adult. The half-elf I chose had lower strength and durability than the human race, and lower MP than the elf race, so it was good for support jobs, but not a very popular choice amongst players in the VRMMO world. Moreover, the game developers set the HP and durability lower to avoid bias amongst teenagers, which made the game quite thorny, but I couldn¡¯t help it because I liked the way they looked. Thanks to this, teen half-elves were quite a rare breed in the game. In the VRMMORPG, there was no concept of [Profession], all players were [adventurers] and could use weapons and magic as they liked. There was no upper limit to the level, but the most they could reach would be around 100 even for the most hard core players. There are benefits to leveling, but in this VRMMORPG, you don¡¯t gain experience by defeating enemies, you gain [Experience] by improving your combat skills and production skills. Skills can be raised up to 100, and if you boost your most frequently used weapon skills, your attack power will reach almost the upper hardcap limit. If you raise more than one skill to 100, you can get above level 100, but if you want to raise a weapon skill from 99 to 100, you must beat enemies stronger than you for dozens of hours. It was more efficient to use the [Body Enhancement] that comes from combat skills, rather than physical status that increases along with level increases. The reason I wanted that zanbatou was because I wanted to use it with the [Sword Dance] skill. The best match for a sword dance is a double-edged [one-handed sword], but isn¡¯t it more appealing to see a slender half-elf girl dancing with a big sword? As for me, I also loved adult male dwarves who had a lot of muscle and danced with swords, but I didn¡¯t get much support from them (players and community). I got really serious with the character design. CH 4.2 The reason why this VRMMORPG has more female players than any other is because it has a natural feel to it. This is because of the realistic feel of the game. I was attracted by the fact that I could create a character that looked really realistic, rather than just a super-beautiful woman with big breasts or an erotic beauty with broad shoulders, like in some MMOs that charge a fee. So, using my own face as a base, I spent two whole days creating the ideal character for my hobby, and this is my player character. I¡¯ve spoken so passionately, but what was I talking about? Oh yes, I was talking about the fact that if this body doesn¡¯t grow, the character¡¯s abilities might not be usable. Luckily, the character¡¯s age is set as ¡°teen¡±, mid to late teens. If I had chosen an ¡°adult¡± character who looked to be in their thirties, I would have been in trouble. My character was about 15 years old in appearance. As a half-elf, even if I grew slowly, I should be able to use all my abilities and equipment by my late teenage years later. ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± Was the final condemnation event of the academy when the heroine was at her graduation ceremony? Carol was around 15 years old at that time, I believe, so¡­ ¡°¡­¡± I climbed up on the huge canopy bed, crawled under the soft futon, and decided to sleep until dinner. I¡¯m not going to make it to the condemnation event, you know. Good night¡­kuh. £ª Good morning. It¡¯s evening now. ¡°Now, Carol-sama, your supper is ready.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t Maia or Maia who woke me up from my futon, but the mean maid, Ilaria. What¡¯s wrong with her? In the daytime, she didn¡¯t even seem to want to be within my sight, but now she¡¯s in a very good mood. As I rubbed my eyes and looked around, I saw that the faces of Maia and the others waiting by the wagon had turned blue. Maia looked like she was about to cry. ¡°I¡¯ve prepared the same meal for you today, Mistress. It is very good, and Mistress would like you to have it as well. Get it ready, ladies.¡± At Ilaria¡¯s instruction, they began to prepare the meal in a sluggish manner. ¡°Hurry up, the food is going to get cold! That¡¯s enough. I¡¯ll do it, you two take the young lady to her seat.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Ilaria started to prepare the meal quickly, and Maia, who picked me up, muttered a small [I¡¯m sorry¡­] in my ear. What¡¯s this all about? ¡°Come on, young lady. Please eat a lot of it.¡± With a good-humored mean smile, Ilaria opened the lid of the tray and there was a beautifully grilled steak that you could tell was superb just by looking at it. ¡°¡­¡± Yup. Looks good, right? The meat was small but thick and plump, with juices spilling out from the surface of the grilled meat, and although the only garnish was watercress, the rich red wine sauce was sparkling. But just meat? There¡¯s no salad or bread, but I¡¯m a toddler, so do they think the meat alone is enough to fill me up? ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll carve it for you.¡± I nod my head as I hold the cutlery, and Ilaria cuts it into small pieces for me. The meat is cooked to a medium rare, slightly red. The juices flowed from the cross-section, and the aroma of spices and sauce tickled my nostrils. I put a piece of meat in my mouth, wondering what was wrong with it, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Meria and Maia turn away, looking pained. I slowly chewed it. It¡¯s good beefy meat, and it doesn¡¯t seem to be poisonous. I continue chewing the meat normally, and¨C ¡°Kefu!¡± I couldn¡¯t take it and spit out a piece of meat. What is this? It smells so foul. It was delicious at first, but every time I chewed it, it smelled more and more foul, and the inside of my stomach started to churn. ¡°Young Lady!¡± As Meiya and her daughter were about to run up to me, Ilaria interrupted them. ¡°Oh my goodness, young lady. You can¡¯t be selfish just because you¡¯re a half-elf. The Mistress has instructed me. You mustn¡¯t leave any behind.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡­Oh, right, the VRMMORPG. In the setting, the forest elves do not eat the flesh and blood of beasts, even if they hunt them. To be precise, it was a setting where they were constitutionally unable to eat meat. Half-elves are still good and can eat bacon, but I can¡¯t accept meat that smells like blood. ¡­It was the same in this Otome Game¡­ Is this just a form of harassment? I don¡¯t want to kill her for something like this, but I do want to punish her just because I don¡¯t like her. I¡¯m sure Ilaria won¡¯t allow me to throw up until I¡¯ve eaten everything. Can I use VRMMORPG magic? I wondered. But with my young body, I might be in danger of going berserk. Can I use any of my items? The size of my armor is too different to be of any use at the moment. I¡¯m sure there were some items of interest, but I feel like I¡¯m about to throw up, and I¡¯m too sick to remember anything. Something¨Csomething that I normally used and that¨C ¡°Set [Break Revolver].¡± I whispered the command, and a black lump of metal appeared in my hand. But it was too big and too heavy for me, and as it fell under the table, it bounced on the floor¨Cand fired. *Dooon!!! The bullet from the gun that was fired drilled a bullet hole in the ceiling, blowing a tuft of hair off the side of Illaria¡¯s face, who had still sported a nasty smile on her face. Oh, by the way, I don¡¯t have the safety mechanism on with the gun loaded so that I can pull it out at any time to shoot. That¡¯s dangerous. Ilaria¡¯s red hair was blown off and scattered all over the place, and the fragments of debris fell from the ceiling. Ilaria looked up awkwardly with a frozen, nasty smile still plastered on her face, and then she looked at me again and¨C ¡°Kiiiiiyyyaaaaaaaa!? It¡¯s the curse of the ¡°Abomination¡±¡­!¡± She screamed and ran away, leaving me with my cutlery and Meiya and Maia with their mouths open. By the way, what happened to my food? CH 5.1 5 Witch Equipment Magic Gun ¨C Break Revolver. [Break Revolver] This is one of the story weapons I own, and it is also one of my main weapons for shooting. There are firearms in the VRMMORPG, the world of swords and sorcery, and they are very powerful weapons, but they are also difficult to handle. First, you have to load each bullet manually and shoot it with magic power. It consumes a small amount of MP, and the process takes as much movement time comparable to a large two-handed melee weapon. Moreover, the accuracy is poor. If you are not a high level archer, you will not be able to hit the target from a distance, so you need to get almost as close as a melee weapon to increase your hit rate. Furthermore, the bullets are ridiculously expensive. Inexpensive copper bullets would be fine, but using high-powered silver bullets could bankrupt an average player. When information came in that a pirate ghost ship captain was going to drop a six-shot revolver-type gun, the disadvantaged gunners were delighted. All the disgruntled players went out to get it. But then they got disillusioned with the loot. The gun actually shoots a salvo of six rounds with just a pull of the trigger. Wonderful. But firearms in this world are based on rifles, and even an archer couldn¡¯t hit a target from a distance using a gun that was relatively compact. Moreover, each shot consumes MP and is only half as powerful as a rifle. But that¡¯s okay for me, though. It¡¯s all about romance. However, in VRMMORPGs, whether it¡¯s swords, spears, or bows, there are [battle skills] that can be unleashed using MP. Although the recast is long, and it cannot be used in succession, a single hit is 5 to 10 times more powerful than a normal attack, so it was standard for vanguards to fight the enemy by timing their attacks with their remaining MP. However, its power depends on the status and the basic power of the weapon, so when the leader of the attack party found out about this during the fight against the pirates, he gladly offered me this [Break Revolver]. It is a large revolver made entirely of black metal, with a 30-centimeter square tube attached to the barrel. It¡¯s pretty big, so a toddler can¡¯t even hold it with two hands. ¡°Miss Carol, can you drink soup? Our sous-chef made it for you with just vegetables and eggs.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± I¡¯m currently sitting on my bed enjoying a warm egg and vegetable soup. Is the sous-chef a commoner? The thinly sliced root vegetables and leafy greens are cooked tenderly, and the golden beaten eggs swaying fluffily in the clear soup is very appetizing. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°The cook will be pleased.¡± I replied, and Meiya and Maia broke into a smile as well. Maybe they feel guilty of not being able to stop Ilaria, or maybe they don¡¯t really understand what happened, but they still continued to take care of me even though they heard that mean maid Ilaria¡¯s earlier screams of ¡°curse of the abomination¡±. But still, a ¡°curse¡±? I thought it was just a setting, but now that I¡¯m Carol, I seem to be on my way to becoming a ¡°Cursed Young Lady¡±. It¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it? Isn¡¯t it standard in such reincarnations to live a modest life so as not to become a villainess¡­ After that, there was quite a commotion, and soldiers rushed in to the scene. [How can a three-year-old girl do such a thing? Do you know who you¡¯re pointing your sword at?] A butler-like person who came in after admonishing the soldiers and took care of the situation. But the butler also frowned when he saw me at the end, so I¡¯m worried about Meiya and Maia. My expression hasn¡¯t changed, but I¡¯m still worried about them. *Bang! ¡°Kyaa!¡± Suddenly, the door of the room opened with great force, and I ¨C not me, but Maia ¨C let out a cute scream. I am perfectly normal. ¡°We¡¯re going in!¡± Please mention that before you enter. Mister. A gorgeously dressed man in his thirties walked in. Based on my faint memory, it was probably Count Arceides, my father. A beautiful woman who came in after him is probably my mother. I think. My father saw me on the bed and walked over to me, spitting words at me in disgust. ¡°Carol, I heard you used a curse, how much more do you want to smear my Arceides family?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I stared back at him without fear, and my father blatantly scowled. ¡°She really is a creepy girl, Mary, you gave birth to her!¡± He yelled at the woman, and Mother (temporary) silently and quietly bowed her head, while Father looked at me again, then at Meiya and Maia. ¡°Anyway, I can¡¯t leave you here in this castle with your curses. There is a detached house in the forest of the estate. You¡¯ll have to move there in a few days. And the maids there too.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± ¡°Mary, do not meddle with this anymore. She¡¯s going to be sold to Marquis of Cairo¡¯s lecherous old man, you understand?¡± ¡± I understand, my Lord.¡± Father left with the same shuffling footsteps as when he came in, and Mother followed him out of the room, and just before the door closed¨C ¡°¡­¡± She stared at me with a face that made me think she was wearing a hannya mask, and then left without saying a word. (editor: basically super creepy smile with malice) That was scary. Anyway, please refill the soup. CH 5.2 That¡¯s how I and the two maid mothers and daughter ended up leaving and going to live in a remote place that was apparently in the forest on the property. When I apologized for getting them into trouble, Meiya gave me a gentle hug, and Maia was getting ready to organize my room with a skip in her step. ¡­Are they sure everything is okay? I¡¯ve gotten a little more information. From what I¡¯ve heard, it seems that ¡°mother¡± has a lot on her mind about me, since father blamed her for giving birth to me, an ¡°abomination¡±. Could it be father¡¯s blood in me? I know she won¡¯t listen to me saying this, but maybe mother believes that if I die, she can restore her honor? I¡¯ve heard that I¡¯ll be sold to some lecher when I grow up, so I don¡¯t think mother¡¯s wish will ever come true. I thought Carol had a fianc¨¦, but what¡¯s up with them? In the end, the cleanup will start tomorrow, and I¡¯ll be sleeping in a room with bullet holes in the ceiling. Will I be able to take this soft bed with me? It¡¯s bedtime for a three-year-old, but I don¡¯t want to sleep too much, since I slept from lunch to dinner. Let¡¯s examine my abilities a little more, it would be nice to at least have a way to protect myself before I reach the age of 16. Zanbatou ¨C Ridil, Magic Gun ¨C Break Revolver, I was able to get these two out. Maybe they were in my [bag]. Players had a [bag] to keep their personal belongings in, and a [storage] to keep the stuff they couldn¡¯t carry in their base, which was their room. There are 100 items in my bag. The storage one is 2000, but if it is left in a distant city, it cannot be retrieved immediately. I say bag, but I think it¡¯s subspace storage, because I haven¡¯t seen anything like that in my gaming days, and I don¡¯t remember what I had in my bag in my last¡­ I don¡¯t remember what equipment I had chosen last time, but I don¡¯t see myself needing to use a zanbatou and a magic gun at the same time, so why would I have these two? At any rate, let¡¯s take out the equipment that might be in my bag, shall we? ¡°Set [Witch Dress] Head Head.¡± Bingo. I found that the red circlet headdress wasn¡¯t attached, and it fell to the bed with a plop. It¡¯s not the right size, after all. But if I have this, it means that what I have in my bag is solo equipment specialized for magic warfare. Weapons and armor in VRMMORPGs are basically obtained through quests, production, or drops from boss monsters, but this is my ¡°special equipment¡± that I made by doing [charged quests]. Because of my elaborate design, I was given the ¡°painful¡± nickname ¡°The Rose Silk Velvet Witch¡± in the game. It¡¯s scary to be an adult and pay for special equipment on a monthly basis. I¡¯ve customized it so that I can use it solo, but I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to use a magic gun or a zanbatou well with this equipment. A dagger would not be a problem¡­but then again, the knives I have are double rare weapons. A knife that looks just like a kitchen knife that increases cooking skills. As I was thinking about this, the double-rare witch-only equipment disappeared and returned to me. I was disappointed that I couldn¡¯t equip it because it was one of my favorites, but let¡¯s get back on track and try some decorations. As a result of verification (of all possible equipment that I may have on myself), rings are no good. They¡¯re too big and I¡¯ll drop them. I wonder if earrings will be okay when I get a little bigger. The only thing I can wear now is a collar. For now, I¡¯ll wear the [Collar of Protection]. It¡¯s double rare, so I won¡¯t lose it. And then there¡¯s magic¡­ but for some reason it doesn¡¯t work. Is there a way to activate it that is unique to this world? I can¡¯t even use first level magic, or is it just impossible to use magic? It¡¯s like pudding that¡¯s not sweet, when I can¡¯t use magic despite being equipped for magical warfare. If it was in a game, I could just chant the name of the spell, and it would work, but this is like a sour pudding. It¡¯s still pudding, though. When I was thinking about this, I became sleepy. I¡¯m going to take a nap again. So, good night¡­. Ugh. It seems that I was still careless. I suppose I still haven¡¯t gotten over the feeling of living in a peaceful world. When my father said he was going to sell me, I assumed that nothing would happen for a while. I didn¡¯t understand, you know, my mother¡¯s hatred. I had been taken away by bandits who had snuck into my room that night. CH 6.1 Velvet Witch [Part 1] The man, Rolf, was born as the third son of a not-so-affluent family. It seems that his ancestors were of nobility, but as of a few generations ago, they were tricked by a commoner merchant and stripped of their title, territory, and even dishonored. A merchant family taking over a noble family. It was not uncommon at the time, but Rolf, who grew up hearing about it, came to despise the commoners who took the honor of being part of nobility from him. Rolf was the only one in his family with a talent for magic. Although there were commoners who were sorcerers, almost all the nobles above the rank of count in this country were sorcerers, and this fact made Rolf very aware of the fact that he had noble blood in his veins. Rolf could not forgive his family for bowing down to the commoners to do their work. Rolf¡¯s family was angry with him for acting so arrogantly and mocking the commoners who came to their house, and thus kicked him out of their house. The Young Lady, who was the daughter of a count, saved Rolf from the fallout because she herself could not work alongside the commoners. Fascinated by her beauty and aristocratic power, Rolf fell in love with the Young Lady, trained further in magic and martial arts for her, and began to serve under her. The Young Lady, Mary, also fell in love with him and was romantically interested in him, but Mary already had a fianc¨¦ arranged by her parents. Rolf, wishing for Mary¡¯s happiness, pledged a vow to serve her as her butler and protect her for the rest of her life. Mary married into a frontier family and gave birth to a legitimate son, but her happiness did not last long. The second child she gave birth to was an Abominable Child, which was an abomination in the aristocracy of human supremacy. Mary was grieved and wished not to have this Abominable Child, but she was stopped by a priest who had come to bless the child and suggested that she sell the child to another nobleman who had a bad reputation instead, leaving her with nothing but shame. Mary and the Count, who had forced the disgrace on his wife alone, were separated, and Rolf began to meet with her in secret at a spring on the outskirts of the forest, comforting her body and soul. Before Mary¡¯s heart could heal, the Abominable Child caused her further set of problems. To her horror, the Abominable Child had somehow placed a curse on her apprentice young lady, who was working diligently. The Abominable Child also cast a curse on Dirk, his legitimate son, causing him to sprain his leg. As a butler, Rolf took care of the situation, but when Mary embraced Rolf in a dark corner of the hallway, she asked him to ¡®take care¡¯ of the Abominable Child in secret. To protect the honor of his beloved ¡°Young Lady,¡± Rolf nodded his head in agreement to her request. Rolf could not forgive the commoner for stealing his honor as a nobleman, as well as tainting her with the blood of the Abominable Child. Rolf then took care of the Abominable Child by kidnapping her that night. £ª£ª£ª It¡¯s late at night ¨C as I pass from shadow to shadow in the trees under the bright moon, a man is running soundlessly with me in his arms. I¡¯d like to scream like a baby girl, but I¡¯m wrapped up in a blanket up to my mouth, so it wouldn¡¯t have much effect. It might have the effect of irritating him, but it¡¯s too much trouble to do that, because he¡¯ll just hit me. Maia said that the ¡°remote house¡± was roughly a quarter of an hour¡¯s walk away, so the abandoned house may be at the periphery of the boundary of the property, or maybe even beyond it. A little while later, when I could smell water, the kidnapper threw me onto the ground. If it hadn¡¯t been for the thick blanket, I might have scraped myself. But it almost didn¡¯t hurt, probably because of the [protective collar] I was equipped with. ¡°You don¡¯t even cry¡­ Do you even have human emotions?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Under a bright moon. In a spring-like place surrounded by trees, the person said that. It¡¯s a beautiful place¡­ It looks like a good place for a man and a woman to meet, but unfortunately, we don¡¯t have time for such a pleasant mood around us. A problem occurred. The kidnapper who called out to me as I sat down on the blanket was a brown-haired man of about 30 years old ¨C the same butler who had taken care of the magic gun incident. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never been good at expressing my emotions, but that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t have them. I¡¯m still scared. I¡¯m just calm enough that it seems troublesome to be distraught. Could it be because I became a Player Character? When I quietly nod my head at such a question, the butler¡¯s face contorts in disgust and he spits out the words. ¡°Can¡¯t you even understand human language, you dirty blood?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Dirty blood¡­ Maybe he¡¯s referring to subhumans? I don¡¯t know the details, but for now, let¡¯s not be so naive as to think that this person will take pity on me and let me escape from that house. This person alone? No matter how much I despise him, will he ignore the wishes of the head of the family and try to harm me? If that¡¯s the case¡­ ¡°Mother?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare call her that, Abominable Child!¡± I think I pressed the butler¡¯s wrong buttons. The butler, who until then had been calm even with a scowl on his face, twisted his face in anger and kicked me. ¡°Huh?¡± Ouch! It hurts quite a bit. I was kicked away, and I curled in a fetal position, unable to speak due to the shock. Normally, such a kick would have caused broken bones¡­no, as a three-year-old toddler, my internal organs would have ruptured as well alongside other internal injuries, but thanks to the [collar of protection] I¡¯m equipped with, I didn¡¯t suffer any serious damage. ¡°I wish you experience even a millionth of what Young Lady is going through, you little pest!¡± ¡°¡­¡± This person called the mother [Young Lady], not [Madame]. In other words, this butler was not hired by the Arceides Count, but someone who came from mother¡¯s family. That¡¯s why he cares so much about Mother. ¡°Do you know how much the Young Lady was hurt by your birth? Do you know how much suffering she has endured because of you? If only you hadn¡¯t existed in the first place, Mary-sama would have been happy!¡± ¡°¡­¡± See you in the next chapter. It is going to be really exciting. Thanks for reading. CH 6.2 Would a mother kill the daughter she gave birth to because her own mother rejected her? I guess I¡¯ve been a little too passive for my own good. I couldn¡¯t seem to avoid the death flag even if I tried to, and even though I was able to get away from that family (original family), my new family made me feel even more helpless, and they all did nothing but continued to curse me and scorn me and even tried to kill me. What a crappy world we live in, really. I¡¯m getting a little¡­ vexed. It¡¯s not like me to cry myself to sleep and run away. Isn¡¯t that right? Gramps. I was stupid enough to fight back against a street thug and died, remember? ¡ªThis time, I want you to live a long and happy life¡ª ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You little brat, are you still trying to resist!¡± I grab the butler¡¯s arm, and he resentfully puts his hand on my neck. I scramble to my feet as fast as I can. A switch was flipped inside me. Escape? Who will? Me? No. I will fight you head on. As a villainess. I don¡¯t want to be defeated by anyone. I¡¯m going to outlive Gramps, and I¡¯m going to make him proud. ¡°¨D¨DSetup [Witch Dress] ¨D¨D¡± £ª£ª£ª *Guooooooo!!! Rolf received a strong shock to his entire body and was blown into the air for no apparent reason. ¡°Gah, nah!¡± Rolf was knocked to the ground, coughing and feeling a strong presence approaching, he leaped backwards, holding back the pain in his body. ¡°What? Rolf¡¯s face twitches in fear as he looks at the ground that has just been swept up by the storm and the clumps of earth that have rolled up in a huge pile. What¡¯s out there? What¡¯s happening? Rolf¡¯s face twitched with fear in confusion as he realized that he had just tried to put an end to the Abominable Child, but suddenly he was being attacked by something else. The ¡°red shadow¡± that had run past him made a sudden stop as if it were crushing the earth, and through the curling smoke, it lunged at Rolf again. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± He screamed and used a nearby tree as a shield. However the tree was also shattered into smithereens by the blow, and Rolf was blown away along with the debris, and while his face was warped, he used his inner magic on a humanoid shadow that he could see for a moment as it passed by. ¡°[Oh, flame that controls all things! Be an arrow of fire and pierce my enemy] [Fire Arrow] !¡± A few flaming arrows appeared in the spell he cast and shot out into the red shadow. An attack spell of the first rank. Rolf, who was a double attribute of fire and earth, was immensely confident in his magical power, saying that it was due to his noble blood. As the [Fire Arrow] was fired, the red shadow wavered faintly in the dust cloud that danced in the air under sudden movement¡­ ¡°[Fire Arrow]¡± With an unknown language, the Red Shadow also shot out a [Fire Arrow], knocking down all of Rolf¡¯s Fire Arrows. ¡°What is this nonsense¡­?¡± The launching of a single syllable spell. This meant that it was not ¡°magic¡± controlled by a researched spell, but instead it was ¡°magic¡± controlled by a magician who understood the spell. ¡°Huh.¡± Rolf, who felt the difference in physical and magical abilities, once again fled into the surrounding woods when he sensed the approaching presence again. *zapaaaaan!!!!* ¡°Hiiiiiii!¡± At that moment, several trees so thick that looked like they could only be hugged by up to a hundred people were cut down with a single blow, and they fell to the ground making the earth tremble. In the midst of it all ¨C Rolf¡¯s eyes caught sight of a beautiful girl with one foot on the trunk of a tumbling tree against the bright moon amidst the soaring leaves. ¡°You¡­are¡­¡± A face with golden eyes shining like the moon, long ears spilling out from jet-black hair darker than the night sky. Her red mini-dress with a glossy velvet surface was embroidered with black roses and black thorns, and her knee-high boots and the ¡°skin color¡± of her legs that could be seen through the short, fluttering hem stimulated Rolf¡¯s brain. She was probably about 15 years old. Her untamed beauty made her seem like a fairy lured by the light of the moon. However, the sheer size of the sword on her shoulder, which was as tall as Rolf, made his body tremble unconsciously. ¡°¡­Who¡­are you¡­¡± ¡°I am¡­¡± A clear voice spilled from the girl¡¯s lips, and an icy smile appeared on her pretty face. ¡°I am¡­Witch¡± CH 7.1 7 Determination ¡°¨D¨DSetup [Witch Dress] ¨D¨D¡± The moment I made up my mind, the English [Command], which is not the language of this world, spilled out of my mouth. The butler was easily blown away by the blow of my outstretched palm. A feeling of overflowing power. My body, which had jumped out in pursuit of the butler, had begun to move before my consciousness could fully adapt to it and by the time I realized what was going on I was already running through the ground, gouging the ground my legs were treading on. The earth shattered and crumbled up just by changing direction due to the sheer force and speed. As I kicked and crushed the trees in my way and ran at high speed, I heard the butler chanting a ¡°spell¡±, and the spells of this world were converted into the language of the game in my mind, unlocking the magic of the game I had memorized. ¡°[Fire Arrow]¡± (Carol) My Fire Arrow intercepts the butler¡¯s Fire Arrow. Chasing after the butler who was trying to flee into the woods, I took out my zanbatou Ridil and slashed through the trees, and in my wide field of view, I saw the butler staring at me with wide open eyes. The height of my vision has shifted back to what I¡¯m used to. Wrapping around my enlarged hand is a black glove reinforced with metal. Wrapped around my figure was a velvety red mini-dress embroidered with black roses and thorns. My entire body was reinforced with black metal parts, and my long, knee-high heeled boots were the same red and black dual tone as my dress. I decided to fight with all my might, and sought equipment that would allow me to fight with ¡°all my might¡±. That thought became the key word, and in order for me to fight with all my might, I needed a set of equipment that I was familiar with from the game¡­ I had to use [Command] to equip it. Partial armor was not good enough. It had to be a complete [Series], so it could all be equipped and worn at the same time, and my body could be adjusted to it¡­ and thus I was able to change my appearance to be able to fight at full strength. In that game, the person I was now, wearing [My equipment is Unique], was called¡­ ¡°I am [Witch]¡± When I said my name, the butler¡¯s eyes wavered as if he was confused. I remembered that in the fairy tales Maia had read to me, the standard name for an evil wizard was Witch. I¡¯ve calmed down slightly. I don¡¯t know how it works, but it seems that I have transformed into my own player character from the VRMMORPG. This body seems to be able to use Ridil, but the problem is that my consciousness can¡¯t keep up with the reaction speed of this body. The fact that I was able to cut down several trees in a single slicing motion was an accident caused by momentum¡­ I was actually half conscious. My body seems to have moved on its own because I was half unconscious, but I feel like I could only control my body now if I calm down. I put Ridil away in my bag because it was dangerous, and the butler also seemed to have calmed down, glaring at me and taking out a gorgeous dagger from his pocket. ¡°Witch¡­you¡¯ve got to be kidding me. I don¡¯t know what kind of adventurer you are, but where did you hide that Abomination? ¡° I see, even if I am a half-elf with the same hair and eye color, he was unable to recognize me as ¡°Carol¡±. The butler was wary for a while, but after I kept quiet for a while, he seemed to feel that I could be easily dealt with, and he looked at my body and smirked. ¡°Did you hear the rumors about our people? It is wasted on you elven people. If you give it to me quietly, I¡¯ll put on a good show for you, okay? ¡° (Editor¡¯s note: Please don¡¯t be a pedophile. You¡¯ll get into jail for the rest of your life. Seek treatment.) ¡°¡­¡± I tilted my head, not understanding the meaning, and the butler took advantage of the moment of lull and stuck out his dagger. Well, a momentary gap in time is meaningless. ¡°Set [Hermes].¡± *Gakkin!* ¡°What the!? ¡° I took out [Hermes Dagger], and deflected the butler¡¯s dagger stab. This is one of the weapons I¡¯m using, but more importantly, the butler¡¯s movements seem sluggish right now. This is something that needs to be examined further in detail. As I readied Hermes for the butler¡¯s attack, he was wincing at the sight of the gorgeous dagger in my hand. ¡°How dare you destroy the dagger that was given to me by the young lady!¡± Oh, a large portion of the blade is missing. This Hermes is double rare, but it doesn¡¯t even have that much attack power. ¡°Is it something cheap? ¡° ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!!!!¡± He was offended. Oh, I see, the young lady was my mother, wasn¡¯t it? They seem to be very close. ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± You won¡¯t forgive me? That¡¯s SUPPOSED TO BE my line. *Gakkin!* ¡°Tsk!¡± The dagger I lightly thrust out caused part of the butler¡¯s dagger to break off again. See you in the next chapter. Things are getting more heated. (¡ñ¡¯?¡¯¡ñ) CH 7.2 Then I swing it a few times, but for some reason I can¡¯t successfully connect an attack. It¡¯s partly because I¡¯m moving so fast that my consciousness can¡¯t keep up, but it¡¯s also because my body moves according to a fixed attack pattern moveset, probably due to my combat skills, so I can¡¯t move well. (Editor: Think of fighting games like street fighter, or tekken, where every character has a very specific moveset, down to how they move, punch, etc) Hmm¡­ [Type] is it? *Gakkin!* ¡°Ggh!¡± The butler stepped back as if dismayed by the sharp thrust I made. I changed my way of thinking. If this is a fixed [Type] of movement, then why not just think of it as a martial arts [Type]? Snap, snap, snap! Suddenly, I began to attack as if I had changed my personality, and the butler expressed a visibly impatient yet angry emotion. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you hitting me! Are you looking down on me!¡± ¡°Eh, because this is a kitchen knife.¡± Hermes is a kitchen knife from the looks of it. I don¡¯t want to cut somebody¡¯s flesh unless it¡¯s for food. ¡°Tsk.¡± The butler clicks his tongue and steps back while he starts chanting the spell again. ¡°[O earth that governs all things. Become stone rubble and crush my enemies] [Stone Blitz]!¡± At the butler¡¯s spell, pebbles float up from around us and fly towards me. Oh, it unlocked them again. But with so many of them, it¡¯s impossible to strike them down with the same magic. So¨C Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga! While spinning around, I use [Sword Dance] to strike down all the flying debris with my dagger. ¡°This, this monster! [Triple Edge]!¡± That¡¯s rude. He was probably trying to exploit the gap with Stone Blitz. The butler¡¯s thrusts, which seemed as slow as the flying debris, reminded me of the existence of [Fighting Spirit]. As I recall, it says in the instruction manual that it¡¯s a monosyllabic non-attribute magic that consumes MP and is released through the medium of a weapon. ¡°[Gale Edge]¡± The dagger [Fighting Spirit] I unleash catches the butler¡¯s [Fighting Spirit], causing him to look aghast. ¡°Nonsense¡­ why do you know [Gale Thrust]!¡± That¡¯s what they call it here, huh? It was a verification, but my power is sufficient here as well. I heard that there is no concept of [Level] here, only the increase of abilities through skills, but my Level in VRMMO was 95. By the way, in the early days of the game, the limit of skill increase was limited to 50, and it was difficult to raise your level past that. But now by doing quests one power level up to reach level 100 skills, reaching that would make one go beyond level 100. Therefore, If we assume that 50 is the limit of a human, then there is a big difference in power between a normal human and me. ¡ªDokun¡ª. ¡°¡­¡± Oh, no. I took too much time to verify. My heart starts to beat faster, and my body suddenly feels heavier. My movements visibly slowed down, and the heat leaving my body caused me to step back and hug myself. ¡°¡­Ah!¡± The butler gave me a dumbfounded look as the Witch Dress I was wearing came off with a bang, and I returned to my small Carol form. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­Ha, hahaha, what¡¯s this? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been transformed by magic! You really are a Witch!¡± The dumbfounded butler finally understood my situation as I slumped to the ground, and a twisted smile appeared on his twitching face. ¡°Time is up? You¡¯ve run out of magic, you stupid little abomination! That¡¯s all there is to dirty blood!¡± That¡¯s right. I thought I was prepared for this, but I guess I wasn¡¯t. I was unconsciously hesitant to kill him ¨C a human being. ¡°Either way, you¡¯re finished! You can die for the sake of the young lady¡¯s heart!¡± The butler approached, holding a dagger with a spilled blade. The butler approaches me, ready to take my life for the sake of his beloved ¡°young lady¡±. I was ready, but not ready enough. But I will not hesitate anymore. I will continue to resist until the end. ¡°Set [Break Revolver].¡± *Do-on-do-on! Bullets are released from the magic gun that appears as if it is pressed against the ground, calling out and embedding its grip in the ground. I can¡¯t hold it. I can¡¯t even aim. That¡¯s why I was waiting for him to come closer to the line of fire. ¡°¡­,¡± The butler put his hand on his own chest with a surprised look on his face, and with a look like a tearful laugh at the overflowing blood, he collapsed, spitting out blood. ¡°¡­Bye-bye.¡± I made up my mind not to give up. I am now prepared to face my fate as a ¡°Villainess¡± in this world¡­ Hope that you liked this chapter. See you in the next one. CH 8.1 There was a editing mistake in chapter 2. Updated version of mistake: The heroine is too much of an attraction, which made the bad endings more common and pure love routes more difficult to achieve in this game. (Editor¡¯s note: She is just too beautiful that men throw themselves at her!? Something like a ¡®man killer¡¯) Side Story: Maia¡¯s Perspective on the Young Lady The Caenista Kingdom, which was a medium-sized nation on the continent until a hundred years ago, is now one of the largest nations on the continent after uniting the surrounding small nations in a war with the demon race. After several decades of waging war with three demon nations, the human nations united under the Caenista Kingdom banner eventually defeated the two demon nations, and the war ended when the last demon nation retreated with the remaining demons. The human nations had prevailed and won. The human nations won a pyrrhic victory for they were unable to physically reclaim any of the previously lost territories. Neither could they obtain any form of reparations from the demon nations, so they almost slumped into an era of decline. Other nations once suspected that the former Caenista Kingdom had been reluctant to provide troops and funds for war, for more insidious reasons. However, because so many generations had passed since the end of the war, this rumor and suspicion were gradually forgotten along with time. One such country was Arceides, a frontier county located in the east of Caenista Kingdom. It used to be a small independent country since then but lost half of its territory due to its proximity to one of the demon nations. Later it became a part of the Caenista Kingdom to receive reinforcement troops and obtain logistics support. Before the assimilation, the lands of Arceides had a lot of sub-humans mingling in the society. With the arrival of the nobles of the Kingdom, the landscape has changed considerably. Ever since then, the Human Supremacy ideology has already taken root among the nobles living here. In the past, there existed the royalty of the Duchy of Arceides. In the present, however, they are now part of the senior nobility of Caenista, having married off their heir princess to the Caenista Kingdom of the previous generation. A half-elf [Abominable Child], a [Changeling], was thus born into the Arceides frontier family. The baby¡¯s biological mother refused to raise the child from the moment it was born. The poor child who was not even afforded a noble nanny was wet-nursed by hired commoner women and raised by other commoner servants. Maia was a commoner girl who was hired by the young lady¡¯s family to do menial work at the feudal house ever since she was five years old. She later became an apprentice maid at the age of ten and became the maid and nanny to the Abominable Child¨CCarol. Maia¡¯s mother; Meiya, had been taking care of Carol for a while now. Maia, who had heard about the young lady from her mother, took pleasure in personally babysitting the young lady. The aristocracy of the Caenista Kingdom had been subjected to [Human Supremacy] ideology due to the damage caused by the demon tribe, but this was not the case amongst the common folk. The commoners outside the capital accepted sub-humans as normal because sub-human mercenaries and adventurers hunted many demons during the war. Even though, it was not common to see them roaming around the old capital of the kingdom (of Arceides). Therefore Maia harbored no such racial prejudice. On the contrary, she even admired the young lady who was a half-elf since elves, called forest people were rarely present in human cities except for those who were adventurers by profession. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m so looking forward to serving the Young Lady together with you¡± ¡°Maia, don¡¯t call me mother when you¡¯re working, okay? Also, Miss Carol is a bit of a pitiable person¡­¡± Maia was very surprised when she saw Carol for the first time. It was true that all half-elves were good-looking, and many of them had beautiful faces, but their beauty was a byproduct of their mixed blood. Carol, on the other hand, seemed more beautiful than any other elf Maia had previously seen in the city, even though Carol was only a half-elf. Her black hair shimmered like the night sky of a new moon without a cloud. She had a beautiful face with no distortions. In this continent where there is no such thing as a pure-blooded elf, a high elf, and a half-elf born of a pure-blooded human being, it was almost impossible for such beauty to be found. (¡­But¡­) The child, who was only three years old, did not smile. She neither cried in pain nor smiled in delight. She did not show any emotion. It was as if she was a cold ¡°doll¡±. Maia finally understood the meaning of what her mother had said. A child who was not loved by her family nor her mother. A child who was shunned by all the nobles. A child who was mistreated by the high-ranking maids who were children of other nobility households. A child who behaved like a doll, who did not raise her voice in rejection even when she was blatantly belittled. Her appearance was so well-groomed that it made Maia feel very sad. But then one day, things changed. It was only a subtle change, but Maia, who had been staring at the young lady every day until she could bore holes in her young lady¡¯s face, definitely noticed it. The Young Lady¡¯s glassy eyes, which she had thought to be amber, became golden, and she stared at everything, including Meiya and Maia, with great interest. Ilaria, one of the senior maids, didn¡¯t even look after Carol as much as she should have. However, Maia felt a sense of superiority over the mean Ilaria when Maia realized that if she took care of her young lady properly, she would one day bear the privilege to hear that cute voice of her Young Lady. The young lady only made a slight movement, but the gesture was agonizingly cute. It took a lot of effort for Maia to resist the urge to drop everything she was working on and hug the Young Lady. Maia felt sorry for Carol, who commented that the food tasted good even when it was cold, and almost cried on her behalf. At the same time, Maia clenched fists shook, wishing that Ilaria hadn¡¯t started chatting with the other senior maids while she was bringing the food to be served. (editor¡¯s note: chatting [especially as a maid] while serving the aristocracy is basically beyond rude, as in contempt, which is punishable) As a routine, when it came time to clean the room, Maia¡¯s mother, Meiya, would be tasked to bathe the young lady while Maia shouldered the other responsibility of cleaning and making up the room. Still, when Maia discharged her duties, by which when she and the Young Lady would go out for a stroll together, Maia¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but skip a beat every time. Carol¡¯s maple leaf-like hands felt smaller than a normal three-year-old¡¯s, but they were plump and smooth, and Maia had to resist screaming with cuteness at the warmth of the little hands that gripped her fingers as she glanced up and down at Maia. The young lady was surprisingly curious and wanted to know the names of the flowers and plants. Perhaps it was because the young lady was a half-elf that she was so fond of plants, trees, and everything green. Although she didn¡¯t speak much, Maia was very happy to be able to hear the young lady¡¯s voice. The young lady seemed to be interested in the greenhouse, but it pained Maia so much on the fact that she couldn¡¯t take the Young Lady there. Sorry for delay in release. CH 8.2 T/L Note: I somehow missed translating a paragraph in the last chapter. Thanks Saisou for pointing it out. I have fixed the last chapter. That missing paragraph was: After decades of war with the three demon nations, the human nations defeated the two demon nations, and the war ended when the last demon nation retreated with the remaining demons. But the demon nations, not wanting to lose their territory, released monsters into the territory they had occupied, turning it into a dangerous territory that not only humans but even demons could not easily enter. Side Story: Maia¡¯s Perspective on the Young Lady [Part 2] There was a time when the old gardener who tended the greenhouse once told Maia that for generations, the previous ladies of the Arceides house residing in the castle grew medicinal plants and herbs for their beauty and health benefits. When the nobles from the Caenista capital arrived, the ladies gradually started to stop paying visits to the greenhouse. In the end when the current lord married the current lady, the now, lady of the castle didn¡¯t bother to visit it anymore. Even though the greenhouse garden was no longer in use, it could not be neglected. However, Dirk, the legitimate son of the castle owner had already set his eyes on the place making other ordinary servants hesitant to enter the greenhouse due to his bad behavior. Maia was not fond of Dirk despite him being eight years old, a good two years younger than Maia. Dirk was big-bodied, physically strong, and often played pranks on Maia who was close to his age. Having a convenient greenhouse as a playground, Dirk typically played pranks on the servants by putting herbs with strong flavors and aromas in their meals and beds. It was a relief that there were no poisonous herbs in the greenhouse, but Maia was frustrated to the point of tears to witness him put herbs into the commoners¡¯ food, which was already suffering from inferior quality compared to the food for the senior ranked servants. One day, while Maia and Carol were approaching the greenhouse, they discovered Dirk approaching the place. Maia wanted to quickly leave the area near the greenhouse, but unfortunately, Dirk spotted the duo as he approached the greenhouse. Dirk scorned Carol as a matter of course and mocked Maia as a commoner. Most of the commoners could only use non-attribute life magic. Yet in the eyes of the nobility who can cast magic with elemental attributes, in these nobility¡¯s eyes; it was the same as not being able to use ¡®proper¡¯ magic. Thus, Dirk naturally grew up learning to despise and look down on commoners with contempt for their lack of ability to cast elemental attribute magic, claiming it was due to their ¡®dirty¡¯ blood. Maia¡¯s father and mother were also human in appearance, but they had a sliver of beast blood running in their lineage. Maia had no choice but to bite her lip and endure Dirk¡¯s scorn for Maia¡¯s low magic power, but when Dirk was about to leave them, he suddenly twisted his ankle on a pebble. Maia was surprised to notice that it was Carol discreetly flinging a small stone to strike Dirk¡¯s legs. Maia couldn¡¯t stop the tears flowing down her cheeks as she realized that this little one, the young lady, was trying to protect Maia as her ¡°Lord¡±. As Maia cried while being pulled by the little hand, she vowed herself that she would serve Carol until the end, no matter what her position was, be it high or low. Maia vowed that she would believe and put her trust in her young lady, no matter what the circumstances were. But more trials would soon follow. The wife of the Lord and the nasty head maid Ilaria was very terrible with the food treatment. The elves do not consume animal flesh. To be more precise, they reject dead carcasses, be they cooked or processed, as impurities to themselves. So even if they do consume meat, it would have to be something like a small amount of processed meat like a slice of bacon or ham. In other cases, the meat would have to be carefully cooked for a long period to carefully remove the scum and fat. Thus, even if Carol is born half-elf, which is ¡®technically¡¯ better than an elf (inability to consume meat), there was no way she could eat a full rare steak still dripping with blood. But Maia and her family were told that if they complained about it, they would be kicked out of the castle. Both Maia and her mother, Meiya, wanted to raise objections and prevent this from happening. However, Maia¡¯s father and Meiya¡¯s husband, who was a chef, reasoned with them that should they be kicked out of the castle, then there would be nobody left who would protect Lady Carol. Thus, the mother-daughter duo had no choice but to endure the foul treatment of the Young Lady, with both of them almost bursting into tears every time. Still, even at a tender young age, young Carol was no ordinary girl. As narrated in fairy tales, in this country (Arceides Kingdom) it is once said that those who possess multiple magical attributes are more likely to be loved by spirits. The spirits are especially fond of girls with pure and innocent hearts, and if someone they like is harmed, they will grant them a blessing and even retaliate on their behalf. Thus, when the Young Lady was about to be forced to eat meat, something black appeared at her side, and with a roar, it tore off Ilaria¡¯s hair. Ilaria continually screamed the word ¡°curse¡± and fled away, but Maia was convinced that it was a blessing from the Spirit of Darkness and made small guts pose behind her stunned and surprised mother. (Editor¡¯s note: the ¡°guts pose¡± referred to is a fist pump or double fist pump, but it is referred to such in Japan) The Spirit of Darkness is rare and is almost avoided by every nobility just because of the impression it gives, but from a commoner¡¯s point of view, all spirits are equally respected, and the Spirit of Darkness is an important spirit that grants them peace at night by protecting them. The elf race was on good terms with the spirits, and the sleepy vibe that Maia sensed from Carol was probably because Carol was loved by the Spirit of Darkness. It would be such a loss to the world if such a lovely, wonderful, and very pretty young lady Carol was abused and hated by the nobility. Maia continued to write about the young lady¡¯s incredible loveliness in the diary she had been given as a gift for becoming a maid¡¯s apprentice, and went to sleep to dream about Carol, thinking that she would tell everyone about the Young Lady tomorrow. CH 9.1 Ability Verification My exclusive equipment¨C[Witch Dress]. This was a product of the management¡¯s outrageous decision to sell personal equipment via microtransactions despite the VRMMORPG having a monthly subscription on top of it. There were more than a hundred types of armors available in the VRMMO, each with its standards of level requirements and performance output. Every player can also customize the skins for these armors, as well as improve their performance. When it was announced, the hardcore players were ecstatic even if they had to pay for it. However, only about 10-20% of the players paid to get the gears. The first reason is that it¡¯s expensive. The gears cost half a year¡¯s worth of monthly subscription fees, which already made it sound ridiculous in the first place. The second reason was that the max stats of the gear were not very good, and if you wanted to roll for more than one perk, it would still be inferior compared to existing drops. (Editor¡¯s note: These are all gamer terms, basically=the paid-with-real-money armors don¡¯t perform as well as armors that you can obtain in-game. Specifics at the end.) The third reason was that it required not only real money but also in-game currency. It costs 100 in-game credits just to alter the color. By the way, a normal in-game meal costs 5 to 10 credits, so you could already begin to see how expensive it is. So, even if you paid for the equipment, many people would only make minor cosmetic changes and didn¡¯t bother to min-max the gears. ¡­As for me? I went all-out with the min-maxing. The amount of in-game currency I¡¯ve poured into this [Witch Dress] equipment is over 100 million in-game credits. There were a lot of limitations in terms of performance, but still: Head [25% MP reduction] Reduces MP consumption for magic. Body [Increased MP recovery 40%] Increases the natural recovery rate of MP. Hips [30% magic defense] Reduces damage from magic attacks. Arm [5% increase in status] Increases the ability value by 5%. Resistance to natural fire, cold, and lightning. Wand [15% increase in attribute effect] Increases the power of attribute magic and reduces the resist rate of enemies. This is a magical warfare gear set suitable for solo play. It would have been nice to be able to stack more magic defense and MP recovery, but it was not possible due to the game laws. For example, if you equip gears with 10% and 20% magic defense at the same time, the higher 20% will be the maximum value. By the way, I have made two other similar ¡°special sets¡±. Well, they¡¯re all completely hobby-related sets. I was awake all night for two days customizing them, and I got into a lot of trouble. Aside from the black roses and thorns embroidered on the dark red velvet, the dress¡¯s mini skirt was a bit too short. No, it goes up to about the middle of the thighs, but I made it so that it flutters softly. Even so, that set I¡¯m wearing comes with over-the-knee boots with heels, I can sometimes see glimpses of my exposed thighs. What¡¯s with the black garter belt and black patterned stockings on the waist? I don¡¯t know what to say, but I was amid a cooking fever at the time, so I don¡¯t remember much about it. I don¡¯t know why, but the hidden effects of the set included a +10 to hit against members of the opposite sex packs a +5% increase in attractiveness, but thanks to this appearance-oriented gear, my avatar was often asked [Can I take a picture?] by many¡­ (Editor: Look at the note at the end of the chapter.) Well, let¡¯s put that complaint aside for a moment. Good morning, Carol here. After that incident with Rolf, I was ¡®protected¡¯ by soldiers who rushed in with swords. Their captain was an arrogant prick, but the young soldier, who was a commoner, was surprisingly sympathetic to me. I thought about the possibility of being killed outright in the worst-case scenario. Yet for better or worse, the captain didn¡¯t seem to have the guts to ignore the frontier count¡¯s wishes and harm me. My father looked slightly unsure if he was unhappy or happy to have me back, but it was my mother who was the actual problem. [What happened to Rolf? What happened to Rolf?! You put a curse on him, didn¡¯t you, you filthy blood!] Because of her half-crazed ranting and raving, my mother had to be sent away to a resort to recuperate for a while. Thus it is not that I had a problem because of her, but if I had to pick a problem, it would be that even some other servants had become afraid of me. Words like [I heard you¡¯re a cursed witch.] I can¡¯t deny it. My brother Dirk glared at me while my mother went a little crazy and got teary-eyed, but Meiya and the others said I shouldn¡¯t worry about it, so I didn¡¯t. But because of that, my father gave me another sarcastic look, and my moving date has been moved up. Maybe he heard me once say to him, ¡°Are you that immature to be sarcastic to even a three-year-old?¡± My new home is a small house in the forest, about a half-hour walk from the castle. It¡¯s small, but compared to my previous castle, it has 10 rooms. ¡°¡­It¡¯s very charming.¡± ¡°Ai~¡± Meiya-san, you can honestly say that this place is deserted, you know? This place had been used by the patriarch of the previous generation after he retired, and ever since his death, no maintenance had been conducted. Editor¡¯s notes: There¡¯s just too much to explain because there are a lot of punchlines and other things that the author randomly drops that cannot be properly translated as is just like that, else the joke flies way above people¡¯s heads. But here you go. I¡¯m sorry if it feels like I¡¯m holding your hand forcibly like a toddler, but reading the comments from chapter 1-7 made me realize that there are a lot of things that need to be explained properly, but once it¡¯s explained, it won¡¯t be repeated. [1] These are gamer terms. Drops = loot obtained from rewards, dungeons, monsters, quests, etc. Gears = every form of equipment, including ¡°set¡± gears (a set of equipment that grants either a specific bonus when all / partial matching sets are equipped on players). Min-max = the act of minimizing bad/unwanted stats & bad debuffs, maximizing good stats/buffs to obtain skewed optimal performance for players. This is normally done for ¡®end-game¡¯ content to maximize player performance. In many highly competitive games (which includes MMO), if players do not min-max, they are not performing ¡°at elite standards¡±. In this case, what the story tried to convey is that our dear MC, ¡®Carol¡¯, actually paid subscription fees, and also paid for a ¡°DLC gear set¡±. The gear set doesn¡¯t perform as well as a god-roll drop, but our MC her has already min-maxed her ¡°DLC gear set¡± (which is the witch set) to the absolute ridiculous limits, which means she has invested a lot of time and money. In Japan, there¡¯s a description called ¡°counterstop¡± where players with a combination of stats and gears, min-maxed to the point where the counter is useless. Since ¡°counterstop¡± (a very common Japanese gaming term) isn¡¯t mentioned here, I would not elaborate on this. However, if you truly make some calculations on MC¡¯s gears, it¡¯s already quite godly as it is, and all she needs to do is to have her stats ¡®pumped¡¯ in a certain manner where her mana regeneration would be beyond consumption = infinite mana due to regen buffs. Yes, our MC¡¯s already OP from the get-go, thus breaking every ¡°OMG I¡¯m so weak¡± perception she has from chapter 1. [2] On a second note, this epic legendary meme (was an actual song) shows exactly what this chapter¡¯s 1st half was saying. https://youtu.be/urNyg1ftMIU (¡®Do you want to date my avatar¡¯ ¨C The Guild featuring ¡°Felicia Day¡±). Enough said. This is an in-joke, but it best represents what is said in this chapter. That said, do not be a child predator/pedophile. Not even ¡°Yes, Lolita! No touch¡± that this author is making references to ¡°Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku¡±. Readers can and should think that the start of this webnovel borrow that trope. CH 9.2 Ability Verification [Part 2] The commoner servants helped with the cleaning and moving. I also helped a little, too. I secretly carried the fluffy bed with the canopy. You may think, how could such a helpless three-year-old do it? But to my surprise, it all fits inside my magical bag. The butler Rolf¡¯s dagger had his family crest etched onto it, so I thought I¡¯d bring it home with me as a trophy. Meiya and the others were curious about the bed that had been put there before they even realized it, but since I was acting normal, it turned into a mystery to them. The mansion was in a bad state. The carpet had faded and there were stains on the walls. Hello, is anyone buried here? But there were some good things. The best thing was that Ilaria, the mean maid, was no longer in my charge. More importantly, not only Meiya and the others but also the cook, Meiya¡¯s husband, and Maia¡¯s father also came to take care of me. In a sense, I¡¯ve been moved to the rear of the lines. Also, there was a small room behind the empty bookshelves on the second floor where the previous owner had hidden many books. I averted my eyes from the fact that half of the books were adult-themed steamy books, some were damaged books, and so on. However, there were still more than a dozen readable books, so I asked Meiya to read them to me while she taught me how to read. It¡¯s been three years since I was born, and I¡¯ve learned some vocabulary on my own, but not the individual letters and alphabets yet. There was also a grimoire that looked like a beginner¡¯s book, but let¡¯s wait until I have learned to read that one on my own. The reason I couldn¡¯t use magic was that the language of spells was different from the language I originally used to cast mine. The chanting in that unintelligible language that the butler was using was a language used by spirits to command nature but degraded so that it could be pronounced by humans. When I heard the butler chanting [Fire Arrow], the same magic spell I remembered from the game came up rewritten in [the language I know]. (Editor: Look at the editor note.) Maybe it¡¯s because my player character was assimilated into my physical being in this world, so what I think happened was when I hear anyone chanting a spell, to be it gets ¡°translated¡± into a language I know. Just like the spells in the VRMMO game. Then again, perhaps I won¡¯t be able to use the other spells without hearing the chanting at least once. I wish I could just read the book and learn the contents and be done with it. Also, when I was equipping the set gear, my physical body got bigger to match it. In the VRMMO game, any equippable gear automatically adjusts itself according to the body shape of the players to an extent. Over here, I think there is a ¡®bug¡¯, and what happened instead is the avatar in the VRMMO game that I created surfaced instead to suit the gear set that I (as Carol) wanted to wear. (Editor: Look at the editor note.) At the time, I got carried away and drained my magic power, but I think the real reason I¡¯m back to normal was that I lost my base strength. With the basic physical strength of a three-year-old, I probably couldn¡¯t maintain the body of an avatar for long. But then again, what¡¯s the old saying about using magic as a child and then becoming an adult, was it ¡°witchcraft¡±? To be honest, the encounter with Rolf was quite a dangerous situation. At that time, I had the physical abilities of my player character, but my HP and MP remained as low as Carol, a three-year-old, and I was on the verge of death. If I were to continue to rely on that power in the future, I would have to consider extending my transformation time. In both MMORPGs and other Otome games, the avatar didn¡¯t need to have a ¡°normal life¡±, so I didn¡¯t pay attention to it, but now that I¡¯m living a normal life, I¡¯ve learned a lot. The place I live is smaller, and the bathroom is closer, so I¡¯ve graduated from using a potty. Toilets in this world are half-flush. The reason why they are half-flush is that after using the toilet, you can flush it by yourself using ¡°life magic¡±. There is a small room in the basement where a breed of slime is kept and reared, and it is said to be capable of taking care of various things. The slime had dried up since no one had used it for a while, but it was revived after being given water. Now it¡¯s doing well. (Editor¡¯s note: It is paying homage to various slime-related works. Look at the note below for more information.) The fire and lights in the kitchen were powered by [magic tools] made from [magic stones]. I could have done something similar with life magic, but it would have been tiring to continuously use magic all the time. It seems that even the refrigerator and air conditioning could be managed using magic tools. It was very convenient. In the game, the ¡°magic stones¡± that come out when you defeat a demon were exchanged for money in the city, but I didn¡¯t know they were used for such things. They look like batteries to me. I also learned some life magic for the bathroom. This was quite interesting because it was something I hadn¡¯t seen in the game. I also learned that life magic is not an ¡°attribute magic¡± like I was using, but non-attribute magic. I was surprised to learn that the only non-attribute magic in this game was [Fighting Spirit] and body enhancement. Meiya and her friends knew of four life magic techniques. [Ignition] to light a fire while the magic is flowing. [Flowing Water], which allows you to use water like a tap while flowing magic. A candle-sized light is lit for about 15 minutes [Light]. While the magic power is flowing, only the area you touched will be cleaned [Clean]. Looks useful for outdoor use. It might look like fire or water or some other attribute, but if it¡¯s this level of magic power, does that mean it doesn¡¯t need attributes? Now that I had a good nap and it was midnight, let¡¯s move on to the verification of the ability. Editor¡¯s Notes: [1] MC uses Japanese to cast spells. The language that¡¯s used in that world is that world¡¯s language. The spelling however uses a different language but has been ¡°crudely¡± translated/broken down to make pronunciations simpler and easier. Has zero relationship to Japanese. Very convenient for our dear MC. [2] To understand why Carol starts referring to herself in 3rd person perspective, it is important to note that there¡¯s this ¡°Isekai 3rd person POV syndrome¡± where many isekai-ed characters behave as they¡¯re a spectator to their own life or people around them, despite living so many years INSIDE it, some even dying in it. This is only specifically mentioned in certain mangas, but most authors don¡¯t touch on this subject in their works (be it visual or written form). So I¡¯m not too sure if this author specifically wants to do it now in this work. Again, many things are very subtle (like a lot of Japanese works) and don¡¯t mention these out in the front. [3] It pays homage to the various slime-related works. Yes, it¡¯s a thing. Slimes are no longer just ¡°the level 1 mob¡±. In a lot of works now slimes have evolved into super creatures. CH 9.3 Ability Verification [Part 3] ¡°Setup [Witch Dress].¡± When I recite the ¡°Command¡±, which is not the language of this world, the [Witch Dress] set is equipped, and my body morphs from a three-year-old to a player character, who is about 15 years old. ¡°No problem, I guess.¡± Bugs are a feature if they can be used continuously and consistently. (Editor: Look at the editor.) I couldn¡¯t verify this last time because I didn¡¯t have enough time, but when I calmly turned my attention to my inner self, I found that my HP and MP quantity had indeed gone down. As I expected, I couldn¡¯t see it numerically like in the game, but it was just a general feeling. I opened the window quietly, hung my fingers on the window frame, and slipped out. My muscle strength is not a problem. I can support myself with just my fingertips. But I need to practice my strength. The window frame I pinched with my fingers was slightly crushed. While moving into the forest so that no one can find me, I would like to review a little bit about my status here. Here¡¯s the initial status of a typical human. [Human Race, Level 1] Young Adult (20s) HP100 MP50 [Strength 50] [Endurance 50] [Agility 45] [Magic 40] [Charm 40] There are differences between men and women, but this is what the players of the human race looked like. And my, my final status in VRMMORPG is¨C [Half-elf, level 95] Teen (teen) HP340 MP520 [Strength 225] [Endurance 170] [Agility 240] [Magic 250] [Charm 205] It might not seem like a huge increase when you look at it like this, but I am level 95. The status increase by level is only ¡°1¡± per level. Most of the increase comes from the bonus value of the increased skills. Attack and defense increase by 1% per skill in the corresponding category. MP also looks low for my level, but MP consumption is reduced by 1% for every 2 skills in the corresponding category, so I can reduce it by 50% at the maximum skill level of 100. As a vanguard, my highest skill is [Shooting] at 90, so I can use it up to [Physical Enhancement Rank 4]. Rank 4 is an 80% increase, so in terms of muscle strength, I can reach a maximum of 405, so even with such thin arms, my power is almost 10 times that of an average person. ¡­Does that mean that if it wasn¡¯t my body, I¡¯d be buffed up? Or is it because skills and magic power are combined and enhance each other, so my appearance doesn¡¯t change into something that resembles a buffed-up monster? The question was, what level of strength would an average person have in reality? How strong was that butler named Rolf? In the meantime, now that I am away from the mansion, I will use my [Racial Abilities], which was my goal for today. ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t even need to command it, and my HP and MP recovered at a very fast rate. This is an elven racial ability [Breath of Life]. It absorbs Ki from the air and nature and restores your strength and magic only once a day. I¡¯m glad I could use it¡­ If I couldn¡¯t use it, I would have been unable to continue my activities. My basic stamina would still be that of a three-year-old, but I feel much more comfortable, so my activity limit in this state might have increased. If only I didn¡¯t have to fight, I would probably have more time to be active. My HP has recovered, but I mustn¡¯t let my guard down. This world is not a game, it is reality. If I am careless and get stabbed in my vitals, I could die instantly, just like that butler. ¡°Set [Hermes].¡± The golden knife ¨C [Dagger of Hermes] appears in my hand. It¡¯s the legendary weapon that chopped off the head of Medusa, but for some reason, it¡¯s an [all-purpose knife] with the same appearance and with a [Cooking Skill +5]. It only cuts meat. But in the game, it¡¯s dropped when you kill a [Legendary Killer]. There¡¯s no deep meaning to it, though. ¡°Ha!¡± With a light swing of the knife, the tree trunk was cut roughly without any particular resistance. This is too sharp. Maybe because it was a game item? I¡¯m not sure if it was because it was a game item or not, but I¡¯ll have to see if I can use other weapons with it. ¡°Set [Break Revolver].¡± Now I¡¯m equipped with a large, black pistol ¨C [Break Revolver]. It¡¯s a pistol, not a two-handed rifle, so I¡¯m still left with the Hermes dagger in my left hand, but I want to shoot with both hands this time anyway, so I¡¯ll put the knife in the bag. ¡°¡­¡± I hold the gun with my right hand and put my left hand on the bottom of the grip, aiming at a suitable tree from about 10 meters away. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. The sound of the gunshot echoes in the quiet forest, and the birds fly out of the forest. I¡¯m sorry. The first time I heard it, it sounded loud because it was quiet in the room, but actually, it wasn¡¯t that annoying. Come to think of it, why does it make so much noise when no gunpowder is used? Is this an adult thing? (Editor: It is referring to the adult ¡®chunibyou¡¯ tendencies. Look at the editor note for more info.) Editor¡¯s Notes: [1] This is a play on the phrase ¡°it is not a bug, it¡¯s a feature!¡± It¡¯s something you have to google, and it¡¯s more to use as an accusatory argument to say a game developer is lazy in fixing bugs, but in this case, our MC is abusing the bug thinking that it¡¯s a feature, and it won¡¯t be nerfed. [2] It is referring to adult ¡®chunibyou¡¯ tendencies, like for example, switching exhaust pipes on single/dual-piston motorcycles below 250cc so that it sounds louder, (or any cars for the matter), going around carrying the largest boomboxes back in the 90s, etc) CH 9.4 I fired four shots, but only one hit the tree trunk, and in VR it hits pretty well because of the correction¡­ but this would require practice. Did I have the shooting accuracy ring in my bag? ¨Cclick. ¡°Hmm.¡± I¡¯m out of ammo, I can fire six shots, but I haven¡¯t reloaded since I fired twice. I pulled all the bullets out of my bag for now. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± I found a lot of bullets in a wooden box. Did I bring them all with me? I have a little over 1,200 [Bronze Bullet] and 300 [Silver Bullet]. The reason I went out this time was for verification, but I also wanted ore and magic stones to make bullets. I could make bullets, at least. I even raised my blacksmithing skill to 40 just for that purpose. For the time being, the number of bullets won¡¯t run out anytime soon, but I wouldn¡¯t be too sure. After all, when you use a gun for leveling up, you¡¯ll consume this much very quickly. I opened the cylinder of my revolver and loaded it with Bronze Bullets. It takes longer than a rifle to load one bullet at a time. It was very troublesome. Let¡¯s get back on track and try the Zanbatou. ¡°Set [Ridil].¡± I swung the huge Zanbatou I took out. I¡¯m pretty sure my current transformed height should be around 160 centimeters plus 5 centimeters of heels, but even Ridil, that was over 180 centimeters. It looked like there wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem with Ridil. However, when I swing it around in a wide circle, my body might be swept away slightly. But I think I can use [Sword Dance] with this. ¡°¡­¡± I hold Ridil up with one hand and place my other hand about halfway up the blade. I then let go of my hand and rotate it so that it winds around my waist, and I jump forward while rotating with the Ridil, and swing-out with one hand to strike my imaginary targets with Ridil. *Zupan! The distance of more than five meters between me and my target was reduced in an instant, and a sizable tree was easily cut down like a piece of bamboo stick. My fighting skills include 90 [Shooting] and 70 [Sword Dance]. [Sword Dance] is a combined skill that allows you to use [swords], and you can use two-handed swords, one-handed swords, and daggers, but there are some troublesome restrictions. The calculated attack power for a typical [One-Handed Sword] skill is (100% Strength + 50% Agility) / 4 + [Weapon Skill x 1%]. For the [Sword Dance] skill, it is [Strength 50% + Agility 50% + Attractiveness 50%] / 4 + [Weapon Skill x 1%]. What this means is that if I don¡¯t dance in a combination of hundreds of predetermined dance patterns, the charm value bonus won¡¯t be applied to my attack power. I found the most efficient dances on a strategy site, but if you want to be efficient, you have to dance like in a Bon Odori¡­ That is not good. That¡¯s why, although it was a combined skill, there were almost no users, but I decided to wield it like a one-handed sword, which works well with [Sword Dance] and use a longsword technique to spin around to create a dance that can produce maximum power while dancing beautifully. Well, it was because I am a half-elf with high charm value. While rotating Ridil around my body, I decided to do a backflip. ¡­This reveals the inside of your skirt, doesn¡¯t it? It¡¯s a show-off, but I¡¯ve always worn special spats around my waist when I¡¯m doing my sword dance, so what else should I do? Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped, I should give up. Surviving was the priority. ¡°¡­Fuah.¡± I started to feel lethargic from all the movement. It¡¯s only been three to four hours since I took this form, right? It¡¯s been far longer than last time, but I should leave quietly today to allow more time to spare. One month has passed since I was like that, studying in the morning, napping from noon to evening, and verifying combat skills at night. The concept of time in this world was different from that of the Earth, and it was said that a year consists of 350 days of 25 hours a day. If you calculate it, it would be almost the same as a year on Earth. An hour might be the same for both. This past month was more comfortable for me than in my previous life, but I think it must be difficult for Meiya-san and her family who were taking care of me. ¡°Miss Carol, please excuse me while you are reading, Maia, please take the young lady upstairs to her room immediately.¡± ¡°What, mom, what¡¯s wrong?¡± In the living room, while reading [Beginner¡¯s Introduction to Magic], which I¡¯ve recently been able to read, a pale Meiya appeared and Maia unexpectedly shifted to a normal tone. ¡°Maia, when you¡¯re working, call me by my name. Ma¡¯am, Miss Ilaria is here to see you. I thought it would be best if the young lady did not see her.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± That wicked maid, Ilaria, showed up. I wonder what kind of change of heart she had after not even approaching this place and avoiding me for so long? CH 10.1 The Adventurers Guild [Part 1] Ilaria, the mean maid, had arrived at our residence by the time we reached, so Maia and I quickly retreated to the second floor. ¡°¡­¡± The atmosphere was subtly heavy. I would like to continue reading the rest of the Beginner¡¯s Grimoire, but Maia was distracted by constantly worrying about Meiya confronting Ilaria. The grimoire only contained spells for the first level, but so far, all the parts I¡¯ve read have been unlocked, so I couldn¡¯t help but be curious about the rest too. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a faint voice outside the window, and as I turned my attention in that direction, my long ears, which were performing well in vain, caught the sound of someone talking from outside the window. [Ilaria-sama, I will prepare some tea for you inside¡­] [Why do I have to enter the house where that cursed child is? I don¡¯t even want to come here¡­] [¡­I, I¡¯m sorry¡­] [This is that thing¡¯s living expenses for this month. Please accept it.] [Um¡­ what¡¯s this?] [Oh, even this is too much for that abominable child. Do you have a problem with that?] This situation should not be allowed. It seems that Ilaria brought me some money for my living expenses, but the amount that Meiya received for my use was minimal. I could not tell if your father was being mean or if Ilaria was embezzling, but this is not a situation that can be left alone. ¡°Window.¡± (Carol) ¡°Eh, young lady.¡± (Maia) I go over to the window, and Maia, who followed me in a hurry, gasps. Outside, there was Ilaria and a flirtatious-looking knight who was probably her escort until she got here, and the two of them were intimidating Meiya. ¡°How can you not even provide a proper education for the young lady?¡± (Meiya) ¡°That is not necessary for an abomination that will eventually be sold away. That thing has conjured a cursed black monster against me. Be thankful that I¡¯m still here to support her.¡± (Ilaria) ¡°That¡¯s because of the spirits¡­¡± (Meiya) ¡°Spirit? That¡¯s a lie!¡± (Ilaria) ¡°Haha, Ilaria-dono, if it were a spirit, it would be an abominable spirit of darkness. I¡¯ll cut it down and throw it away.¡± (Escorting Knight) ¡°Well, knight-sama, I am counting on you.¡± (Ilaria) Are you referring to the Magic Gun¡¯s outburst? Even dark spirits were usually afforded the proper respect but did the nobles perceive it differently? Ilaria suddenly started flirting with a flirtatious knight, but I wonder what she wanted? ¡°Anyway, I can¡¯t give you any more than that. You¡¯ll have to make do with that. Also, the week after next, the Dirk lad will be taking his knights on a deer hunt. You three should go back to the castle and help him.¡± (Ilaria) ¡°The young lady¡­¡± (Meiya) ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting that abomination into the castle! As long as she has food, she won¡¯t die even if we leave her alone for a day or so! Such is the Master¡¯s decision, and I won¡¯t allow you to defy it!¡± (Ilaria) ¡°¡­Yes.¡± (Meiya) ¡°So, Ilaria-dono, should we head back? Would you like to have dinner in the city sometime? I know a good place to eat, you know?¡± (Escort Knight) ¡°That would be great. I just¡­ I¡¯ve got a lot of money on me, so let me buy you a drink.¡± (Ilaria) ¡°Haha, that would be fun.¡± (Ilaria) They¡¯re the pretty comical bunch. I watch from behind the curtain as Ilaria and her escort knight chat and laugh, their brains turning peachy, and I point at them with my finger through the slightly open window, muttering quietly in my mouth. ¡°[Aero Cutter]¡± A small whirlwind soon formed after my chanting, and a sharp [Wind Blade] precisely cut Ilaria¡¯s waistband¡­ Only Ilaria¡¯s waistband was severed. ¡°¡­What?¡± (Ilaria) At the same time, Ilaria¡¯s long skirt fell to her ankles. Nice shot. ¡°Kyaaaaaaaa!!!?¡± (Ilaria) ¡°Ilaria-dono!¡± (Escort Knight) Ilaria used her hands to hide her bright red underwear, and the flirtatious knight was visibly upset, but his gaze never left Ilaria¡¯s lower body. ¡°Hiiii! It¡¯s the abomination¡¯s curse again!!!¡± (Ilaria) ¡°Ah, wait¡­¡± (Escorting Knight) Ilaria ran away with her lower half exposed, and the flirtatious knight hurriedly picked up the skirt Ilaria had left behind and chased after her, looking somewhat uncomfortable while running after her. ¡­ A red thong, huh? That¡¯s quite a look. ¡°Blessings of the Spirit¡­¡± No, it was not. Maia was muttering something behind me, but it was an ordinary wind attribute magic. Aero Cutter is the first level of wind attack magic. Any thick armor can repel the magic attack, but I can still aim it at any gap. I was relieved to see that I could use this level of magic even in my three-year-old state. But then again, they call it the curse of the abominable child (LOL). I¡¯m well on my way to becoming a villainess. Still, it would be easier for me if Meiya and the others directed their malice to me rather than continually being tormented because of me. Anyway, leaving that aside, money was an issue¡­ Come to think of it, I did have some in-game currency. Can I use it for something? ¡°Meiya, here.¡± When Meiya came back from outside with a somewhat sad and stunned look on her face, I took out a 500 yen coin, ¡°1 credit coin,¡± from my bag and handed it to her. ¡°Oh, Miss Carol, did you find it in a hidden room? It¡¯s a silver coin from another continent.¡± ¡°Continent?¡± When I asked her about it, she told me that there are three continents in this world and the Isbell continent minted this silver coin, which is located about half a year away by sailing via a large sailing ship. When I asked how Meiya came to know about it, she told me that a few years ago, a group of merchant ships came from the Isbell Continent and traded with the silver and gold coins, and she had a chance to see them once. Isbell Continent is¡­ Wasn¡¯t Isbell Continent the original starting point setting in the VRMMORPG, right? I was reincarnated in the wrong location, Grandpa. CH 10.2 Each country had its currency in this continent and other continents, but most of the time, they used the [ standard coin] minted by the major powers. In the Kingdom of the Caenista and the surrounding countries, the currency minted by the Caenista is the de-facto standard currency. The standard currency was supposed to be made of gold or silver with no impurities, and other countries often checked the coins for any impurities at random. And when I was given a rough idea of the currency¡¯s value, I think it goes something like this. 1 large gold coin = 10 small gold coins. 1 small gold coin = 10 silver coins. 1 silver coin = 10 small silver coins. 1 small silver coin = 10 large copper coins. One large copper coin = 10 copper coins. It was said that with two or three small gold coins, a young commoner couple could live for a month. That means that one silver coin is worth around 10,000 yen, 100 dollars, or 100 euros. That¡¯s roughly what it sounds like. And I own a silver coin provided by Isbell, but the exchange rate is said to be the same for a single Caenista silver coin. Let¡¯s see; one credit is one silver coin? ¡°Miss Carol. That silver coin was probably left here by the previous lord of the city. Please keep it in a safe place.¡± ¡°¡­Aye.¡± I was one of the early game players in that VRMMO, so I still have about 300 million credits left. However, in this continent, it could only be used by the foremost merchants in the royal capital at present, so there were some issues using that. ¡­ after all, it would be harmful to use game money in real life, right? Let¡¯s keep this stashed away until it becomes inevitable. But I needed money, so let¡¯s go to the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild], which was the standard way to make money in VRMMORPG. *** There were a variety of guilds on this continent, including the Adventurers Guild. But Adventurers as a profession was a complicated subject. Most people who call themselves adventurers were either out of work in the countryside or were uneducated roughnecks. The general public saw them as ¡°day laborers¡± who specialized in rough physical work. The Guild, which caters to these adventurers, didn¡¯t have the prettiest receptionists, just a few bulletin boards, chairs and tables, and a row of ¡°barred¡± reception areas. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild is nothing more than a ¡°purchase window¡±. The Guild buys materials from monsters, medicinal herbs altered by magic, and information about dangerous areas from adventurers for a fixed price. The current economic loop existed because the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s parent organization was the Commercial Guild, and the Commercial Guild sold the materials purchased by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. The buildings of the Commercial Guild are located on the front street, and behind them are offices and warehouses that are connected to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild on the back street. The commercial guilds sell the materials to the guild¡¯s member merchant associations at a 10% to 30% premium, and the merchant associations are prohibited from buying directly from adventurers. Adventurers were simply roughnecks who sold monster materials to make a few bucks a day. The Adventurer Guild only bought and sold and did not support the adventurers. It did not divide them into ranks or offer them jobs. Adventurers¡¯ lives were cheap, and they were responsible for their own deaths, and the Guild had nothing to do with it. If there were problems in a village or town related to demons, the lord would send knights and soldiers to deal with them. Such was the reason why the residents paid taxes. Lords who didn¡¯t protect their people had no value, and the only people who would go to the trouble of spending their own money to hire adventurers were those who felt guilty because they couldn¡¯t rely on government officials. There was also an Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the city of Arceides. In a simple warehouse-like space with only five reception desks, people drowned in cheap wine and made noise even in the daytime. They were drinking and occupying the tables that were originally set up for recruiting fellow adventurers and holding simple business meetings because they simply didn¡¯t have the money. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild didn¡¯t sell alcohol. Still, since the number of such people increased, retired adventurers began to set up stalls outside the building to sell cheap alcohol that ordinary people wouldn¡¯t touch, such as roasted demon meat and cheap haphazardly made moonshine. There were two main types of people who claimed to be adventurers. While most of them are roughnecks who just want to earn a few coins a day, some were former mercenaries or knights who had undergone some form of formalized combat training. Naturally, so-called ¡°strange people¡± did not get along well with the rough day laborers. Many magicians could use magic, and they were well-equipped with weapons and equipment, and they were jealous of those who earned several times to several dozen times more than the day laborers. CH 10.3 The Adventurer¡¯s Guild was open all day, but the number of adventurers who came to sell late at night was sparse. Thomas, the third son of a merchant family, had been working for the Commercial Guild for fifteen years, but his work at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was what one would call ¡°off duty.¡± He knew that the Adventurers Guild was full of roughnecks who needed a barred counter, but he exhaled heavily, feeling the unreasonableness of society. Today, the idiots made a lot of noise, drinking something that may or may not be alcohol or just alcohol. There was no way they were going to clean up after themselves, and it was the job of the security guard and his staff, who had hired a relatively decent retired adventurer, to do it, so I sighed again as I watched. At that moment, the front door of the adventurer¡¯s guild opened, and a female adventurer who looked like an eccentric in a strange outfit entered with the fresh night air. There are women adventurers, too. Most of them were eccentrics, but the woman who entered was young enough to be a girl, and everyone gulped at her lovely beauty. Her outfit was also quite eccentric. The girl¡¯s outfit was not eccentric, but in a way, it attracted people¡¯s attention more than any other. The shiny red dress was embroidered with black roses and thorns, something you wouldn¡¯t see even in the top-notch clothing stores in the capital, and although some eccentric women wore equipment that deliberately showed off their bosoms and legs, the young adventurer men were leaning forward to admire the glimpse of legs from the short skirt of the innocent and pretty girl. The girl, who had been looking around curiously in the quiet Adventurer¡¯s Guild, walked straight up to the reception desk where Thomas was standing. ¡°Is this the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, it is.¡± It was there that Thomas, the receptionist, first noticed that the girl was an elf species. Her dark hair meant that she was probably a half-elf.It is said that all high elves, which are pure elves, have silvery-white hair, and even normal elves with mixtures of other races usually have blonde or flaxen hair, so it is safe to assume that elves with dark hair color are usually half-elves. But was it possible to have jet-black hair this stunning, even if she was half¡­ ¡°I¡¯d like to register with the guild.¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t need to register. I¡¯m just buying stuff here.¡± The girl¡¯s voice interrupted Thomas¡¯ thoughts. From the way she was dressed, he assumed she was an adventurer from the capital or some other city, but was she dressed like this because she was rich and wanted to have fun? ¡°Don¡¯t you have a card or something?¡± ¡°A membership card? If you want proof of identity, I¡¯d recommend another guild.¡± Thomas¡¯s demeanor turned meek as he thought he was being subjected to the antics of a rich person as the girl started to spout ridiculous nonsense. ¡°So, do you have any job to offer me?¡± ¡°Yes, I do. Please bring some monster materials or medicinal herbs that grow from places with a lot of magic essence. I¡¯ll buy them any amount you bring.¡± ¡°Yes. I understand.¡± The girl looked like a well-bred noble and surprised Thomas by her polite bow and thanking him, even though he had only given her a rough explanation of what adventurers do. Perhaps the girl was simply naive, he assumed. Children who know stories sometimes lump heroes and adventurers together and develop a strange admiration for them. As Thomas concluded, his annoyance on the girl in front of him faded. Elves live for 500 years, and half-elves live for more than 300 years, but even when they grow old, they only look like teenagers and maintain their youthful appearance until they die. However, this half-elf girl was probably not even twenty years old yet, even taking that into account. He was beginning to worry about such a naive young girl, even though they were strangers to each other. ¡°You, for now, if you want to know something, go to the Commercial Guild out front. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild is not a place for a beautiful girl like you to come¨C¡° ¡°Hey, that girl over there, she¡¯s dressed up pretty fancy!¡± He was too late to warn her, and a drunk adventurer got involved. The adventurer was a large man famous for his roughness even in this Guild. He was skilled, but because he was stupid, he didn¡¯t make much money, and he would consume cheap alcohol to make up for his lack of funds and get involved with weirdos who were earning some good money. The girl was unlucky that this big man was present only today. Fundamentally, the Guild and the city would not get involved in a dispute between adventurers. Still, it was indeed unpleasant to have this naive young lady as a victim from that, and when Thomas started thinking about calling the guards, the girl spoke to him again without seemingly being bothered by them. ¡°What happens if there¡¯s trouble here?¡± ¡°As long as they don¡¯t die, people can do anything but ¨C oh, never mind that you, get out of here!¡± ¡°You little brat, don¡¯t ignore me!¡± The girl lightly dodged the big man¡¯s hand as he attempted to grab her, only by moving half a step to the side. ¡°As long as there are no dead people, the Guild will pretend not to see us?¡± ¡°No, well, neither the Guild nor the city officials are concerned with disputes between adventurers¡­¡± ¡°I see, and now that you mention it¡­¡± ¡°You son of a b*tch.¡± Perhaps the alcohol had gotten to his head, but the large man suddenly punched the girl. *Gasp. ¡°I¡¯m relieved.¡± Thomas was momentarily taken aback ¨C and horrified ¨C by the well-displayed smile that the expressionless girl wore as she caught the big man¡¯s fist with one hand, which was more than twice her size. ¡°¡­Hey, you¡­you¡­¡± The girl¡¯s thin hand grabbed his arm, but he didn¡¯t move a muscle, and his face gradually turned blue. ¡°Gyaa!!!¡­ No, stop, it¡¯s going to break!!¡­¡± ¡°You b*tch!¡± ¡°Let him go!¡± The two adventurers, the big man¡¯s companions, pulled out their swords while shouting. If it was a fight within the Guild, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild wouldn¡¯t have gotten involved in it, but as expected, the guards watching over them tried to stop them in a panic when they drew their weapons. The girl glanced at the two adventurers as they approached. ¡°Set [Break Revolver].¡± *Bang, *Bang! ¡°Gyaah!¡± ¡°Aaaaah!¡± After a series of loud bangs, the adventurers spurted blood from their legs and rolled around, screaming. Thomas recognized the object in the girl¡¯s hand as a [Magic Gun] similar to those from another continent. The Magic Guns were traded by a captain of a trading ship from the Isbell Continent for thousands of gold coins, and have been analyzed by the state, the Mage Guild, and the Forge Guild. The reason for the lack of numbers was that manufacturing Magic Guns requires very advanced casting techniques and alchemy, as well as the fact that they are troublesome to handle. Magic powder, which was created by grinding magic stones into powder and applying unique magical alchemy, was poured in through the gun¡¯s muzzle. Then the user would insert a metal bullet. This process alone takes about 10 to 20 seconds, even for an experienced user, so although it may be difficult, an individual could only use one bullet at a time even if prepared from the start in battle. However, the half-elf girl shot them in succession. In addition, to maintain strength and accuracy, guns are basically ¡°rifle-type¡± guns that are held in both hands. Still, the magic gun that the girl had, which could be used with one hand and was powerful enough to penetrate the legs, was something he had never seen anywhere. ¡°Gueeh!¡± The girl let go and the big man, and he then fell backward, falling on his butt. The man, after seeing his friends squirming around, despite he himself palling and holding his aching arm, got enraged and reached for the one-handed ax at his waist, and¡­ Boom! ¡°Hiiiiee!¡± At that moment, the floor was shot so close to the big man¡¯s place between his legs, making him faint and wetting his crotch. After that, the girl cast a [Heal]-like spell on the two people who had been shot in the leg, to the extent that they didn¡¯t die, and then politely bowed to the people who were still stunned and left. After that, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild started calling her ¡°The Rose Witch¡± out of fear because of her unrelenting attacks and eccentric appearance. * ¡°If you can¡¯t reach someone, shoot them at a distance where you can.¡± A few days after that, when I would occasionally show up at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to trade in something that looked like medicinal herbs I found in a distant forest or monster materials, the adventurers would give me a reception. I guess it was a good thing that I was polite to them initially. According to the man at the reception desk, the three adventurers who got involved with me had retired from adventuring and become manual laborers. I was glad to hear that they had found honest work. Even though it was the middle of the night, there were many more people here than at the beginning. Then a blonde-haired man with a knightly look in shiny silver armor came up to me with a fresh smile on his face. ¡°Hi, you must be the rumored [The Rose Witch]. Would you mind listening to us for a moment?¡± *** Editor¡¯s note: The fact that our dear Carol here still has 300 million Isbell coins (or VRMMO game credits) is pretty insane. Remember, she invested 100 million just to min-max her ¡®Witch Set¡¯. That¡¯s a very, very, very hardcore in-game farmer by my standards. (Do we know if Carol has invested similar/huge sums of money in other gears? We¡¯ll know in the future, but the point stands.)That grandpa gave her some ridiculously OP benefit just on her effort in maintaining her VRMMO avatar in the previous world). Also, Carol is now capable of equipping the Witch Set for a way longer set of time. CH 11.1 Eccentric Adventurers [Part 1] ¡°Mom, I found money under my pillow again.¡± ¡°Oh, my.¡± Maia showed up early in the morning in her nightgown, and her mother, Meiya, responded to her with wide-eyed amazement. As a mother and maid in the service of the frontier count¡¯s family, she thought about scolding her daughter, but now there was something more important that she needed to check. ¡°Did they leave it again?¡± ¡°Yeah, look at this!¡± Maia proudly showed her mother the small gold coin she held in her fingers. For the past week, money had been discovered under Maia¡¯s pillow every few days, and this was the third time. The previous two times, it had been a few silver coins, but it was small gold coins this time. A small gold coin was not a large amount of money, but it was not a small amount either. It was more than Maia¡¯s monthly salary as a 10-year-old apprentice maid. ¡°I¡¯m sure the spirits gave it to you, Maia.¡± (Meiya) ¡°Oh, the spirits, huh¡­. But it would be nice to think that an ancestor probably did it for Carol.¡± (Maia) The current nobles were bad, but the previous generations who retired to this mansion typically employed even beastmen in the estate. But when the royal family of Caenista married into the family, there stopped hiring subhuman servants, and there were rumors that his wife had a hand in his early retirement and his premature death. The lord was trusted even by the subhumans, so he must have taken pity on her, a half-elf, from the other side of the world, just as he left Carol that silver coin. ¨CThat¡¯s how the mother and child decided to interpret it. ¡°Predecessors, we will surely protect Carol, so please watch over her.¡± ¡°Thank you, Spirit!¡± *** ¡°Hi, you must be the [Rose Witch] I¡¯ve heard so much about. Would you mind listening to us for a minute?¡± (blond-haired adventurer) ¡°No.¡± (Carol) After quickly declining the invitation of the flamboyant, blond-haired, silver-plated, armor-clad brother who looked like a pickup artist, I slipped past him and headed for the purchase window. ¡°Thomas-san, I picked up some herbs.¡± (Carol) ¡°Oh, Kesera grass. We haven¡¯t had many deliveries lately, so I¡¯ll pay you a lot for it.¡± (Thomas) ¡°It¡¯s not called herb C.¡± (Carol) ¡°¡­It doesn¡¯t have such a simple name, but where did it grow? There is a colony nearby that a demon wolf has recently attacked¨C¡± (Thomas) ¡°Hey, wait a minute, honey.¡± (blond hair adventurer) I was having a business meeting with the receptionist uncle ¨C brother figure when that shiny silver blond-haired brother called out to me again as if to interrupt. I didn¡¯t like pick-ups. I was a quiet person with long black hair in my previous life, so I had never had any stalkers in my life, but that doesn¡¯t mean I am used to dealing with them. ¡°Would you just listen to me for now? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad proposition for you, either.¡± (blond hair adventurer) ¡°I¡¯ve been told not to follow strangers.¡± (Carol) That¡¯s what my teacher at school told me. I was especially reminded not to many times. ¡°It¡¯s not that long of a story. Look, I¡¯ve got a buddy over there at the table, and it won¡¯t take long, okay?¡± (blond hair adventurer) I glanced at the table and saw a warrior-like human male, a sorceress-like human female, and a bandit-like feline beast girl. The beastman girl was cute at a glance, with animal-ears, but she was very hairy. It was infrequent to see a woman in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. I was certainly relieved to see a girl there, but I was also curious about seeing a female adventurer for the first time. ¡°¡­If only for a little while.¡± (Carol) ¡°Oh, great. Then let me introduce you to my friends.¡± (blond hair adventurer) I follow the relieved Shiny Silver brother to that table after handing over the rest of the Kesera grass to be assessed for the time being. As I walked, even though it was in the middle of the night, the young adventurers, who are becoming more and more numerous these days, were always keeping their stances low and following me with their eyes. ¡°Well, let me introduce you. The burly warrior over here is Kenneth. The pretty lady is Marie, the sorceress, and this is Helga, the ranger.¡± (blond hair adventurer) ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± (Kenneth) ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Marie.¡± (Marie) ¡°¡­¡± (Helga) For some reason, the Beast Girl glared at me. Also, there were rangers instead of thieves in this world, which was the norm compared to thieves in the VRMMORPG, known for their [Thief Skills]. ¡°And I¡¯m Jimmy the Free Knight, and this is [Rose Witch]. What¡¯s your name?¡± (Jimmy / blond hair adventurer) A free knight¡­you mean a self-proclaimed knight. That¡¯s fine, but¡­ ¡°¡­By the way, what is this [Rose Witch]?¡± (Carol) It reminds me of [Witch of the Velvet Rose Silk], a ¡®painful¡¯ nickname I have from my VRMMORPG days, so please stop calling me that. ¡°Everyone calls you that, though, right?¡± (Jimmy) ¡°Everyone¡­?¡± (Carol) I looked around, and several people blithely turned their heads away. I memorized their faces. Bam!!! ¡°I disagree!!! We¡¯ve managed just fine on our own so far, you know!¡± (Helga) Helga, a feline beastman who stood up to slam the table, then suddenly shouted. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± (Carol) ¡°Helga, calm down. We wanted to invite you to join our party.¡± (Jimmy) ¡°A person who looks so mature and dressed in a skimpy outfit trying to lure men like that isn¡¯t a decent person anyway.¡± (Helga) ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me that.¡± (Carol) Helga was probably in her late teens. You would be more embarrassed wearing light clothes and having (hairy) thighs sticking out of your hot pants, no? ¡°What nonsense¡± (Helga) ¡°Oh, come on, Helga, calm down.¡± (Marie) Marie, a woman in her mid-twenties, turned her attention to me, calming Helga, who was in a rage. CH 11.2 Marie, a woman in her mid-twenties, turned her attention to me, calming Helga, who was in a rage. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about this girl, okay? We heard you could use recovery magic, so we thought we¡¯d ask you to help us with our next job. I¡¯m a dual-attribute magician, but I can only use earth and fire. But¡­ even if you¡¯re a half-elf, you really look like a Picture Book Witch¡­ I wonder if half-elves can use magic dressed like [Picture Book Witch]?¡± (Marie) Marie looks at me with a questioning gaze as she stares at my outfit. She was dressed in a black robe that made her look like a witch, but her breasts were unnaturally exposed, showing her cleavage. Are all the eccentric people that the receptionist brother said were like this? Jimmy in his shiny silver armor and the taciturn Kenneth do not follow up with any of these fellows. ¡°Jimmy-san.¡± ¡°They¡¯re like this, but they¡¯re a nice bunch. How¡¯s it going? How about a trial run on your next adventure?¡± (Jimmy) ¡°Absolutely not.¡± (Carol) ¡°What? Are you¡¯re not confident in our abilities? Then test me for a sec. You, you don¡¯t need to be nervous if you are a capable adventurer, okay? ¡°Exactly, she doesn¡¯t have a weapon or a wand! Her magic is probably bogus, too.¡± (Helga) ¡°Oh, Helga, you¡¯re in trouble. Witch? If you want, I can [Test] for you, can¡¯t I? Hmmm.¡± ¡°Oh, I almost forgot.¡± (Carol) Ignoring the people communicating with some unknown randoms, I walked back to Thomas¡¯s reception desk. ¡°Miss¡­those people are pretty competent¡­¡± (Thomas) ¡°Was it the Demon Wolf in the swarm? I¡¯ve been hunting them down, so please assess them for me.¡± (Carol) I took the head of the demon wolf I had slashed off from my Bag and put it on the counter. Ah, yes, it was in an actual [Bag], which was not the one I assumed to be my item Bag. I was wondering why there were so many other things in the Bag, which holds only 100 items and should be packed with equipment and objects, but it was not in my carrying [Bag], but an item [storage] for my ¡°base.¡± Even if I called it a bag, it contained all the items of all my bases. No wonder why they had so many things in there. I was like, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you notice when I was carrying all the bullets?¡±. In the game, though, I got a list of items, but there is no such thing in reality. It¡¯s a pain to be only able to retrieve the items I can remember. As I continued to pile up the 50-centimeter-long horned wolf heads, Thomas¡¯ face turned blue as he realized that he couldn¡¯t fit five of them on the table. ¡°I don¡¯t know which part is the material, so I just brought the head. Do you sell horns or tusks or something?¡± ¡°¡­The horns will sell for the most. Did you get all of these by yourself?¡± ¡°¡­Half of them have already escaped, but I think they are still around, so please be careful.¡± I could sell the pelts, but I dislike blood, so I couldn¡¯t dismantle them, of course. I also stepped away from the heads I placed in a row briefly. ¡°I can bring the whole thing to you if you want, though.¡± ¡°¡­It certainly fetches a higher price than a regular wolf, but the horns are 70% of the whole wolf¡¯s price¡­ More importantly, where were you storing it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a maiden¡¯s secret.¡± Is there some kind of item bag that could hold a large amount of stuff? ¡°Oh, really¡­? But still, I didn¡¯t expect this much. I wonder if that magic gun will be enough to defeat them?¡± ¡°No? That¡¯s a waste of ammunition.¡± I took out of my Bag a 180-centimeter-long Zanbatou, Ridil, and wielded it over my head like a naginata, using its 60-centimeter-long handle, and the adventurers who had approached to see the demon wolf¡¯s head shrieked and moved away. Come to think of it; there were people around. No one would like me to brag about items, so I¡¯ll keep it to myself. Then I turned around, remembering the party from earlier, and they were all looking at me with open mouths. Oh, by the way, you said [Test] or something like that. I turned to look at Marie as I spun Ridil around in one hand and carried it on my shoulder, and she twitched. ¡°¡­Wonderful!¡± (Marie) Stunned, the flashy Jimmy in his shiny silver armor turned to me with sparkling eyes and a smile, as if he was impressed. ¡± It took five adventurers to defeat a single demon wolf, and it took five of us to defeat five demon wolves! A sorcerer who can use [Recovery] and an outstanding swordsman, how wonderful!¡± Were those Horned Wolves that strong? In VRMMORPG, the enemy was around Level 10, but it was an easy win since I had gotten used to Ridil¡¯s precise positioning. In the game, I had to slash the enemy several times, but in the real world, just chop the head off, and they die, so once I got used to it, it was easier than in the game. ¡°I won¡¯t say the word Test anymore. No one will complain about you. You are the right person for my party! Come on, we¡¯ll welcome you.¡± I smiled a little at the flamboyant Jimmy, who extended his hands with a fresh smile, moving the muscles in my face that I don¡¯t use very often. ¡°Absolutely not.¡± (Carol) CH 12.1 Trouble [Part 1] ¡°I¡¯ll ask you out again, so don¡¯t be shy next time, okay?¡± I firmly refused, but that flashy Jimmy in his shiny silver armor said so again with a look of superiority and returned to the inn. Helga and Marie, the group¡¯s female members, glared at me disapprovingly behind Jimmy¡¯s back. Do these people not understand why they were turned down? Kenneth, a taciturn warrior, frowned a little when he saw the behavior of the members. His pitch-black armor with spikes on it makes me feel somewhat close to him as if we had something in common. These people are going to cause another stir. Regardless of such trifles, that demon wolf carcass sold for a pretty good price. I got the magic stone back, but the horns and fangs alone came to three small gold coins. That is the equivalent of one month¡¯s living expenses for an average family. Let¡¯s leave it by Maia¡¯s bedside again. Now that I have the magic stone I¡¯ve been longing for let¡¯s use it right away. The magic stone of a weak demon did not contain that much magic power, so I could finally experiment with it. ¡°Set [Synthesis] Bronze Bullet.¡± Synthesis of bronze bullets. ¡­If I forgot the ¡®Command¡¯, I would not be able to open the control panel, so it was pretty serious. Synthesizing items in VRMMO was performed by using ¡°magic stone.¡± I could have used a smaller one, but the bronze ingot I got from the Commerce Guild was 1 kg, so a small magic stone would not have been enough for the task. The bronze ingot in my hand changed its shape, and when it glowed, it was ready to be used. It was as easy as using a microwave oven. ¡°What?¡± The synthesizing magic was completed without any problems. There were 33 bronze bullets. Typically, this number of ammunition could be made with one batch of material, but isn¡¯t the number of bullets generated getting smaller? It seems like the produced quantity of ammunition was cut in half. I did not understand it, or at least I am not convinced. I feel as if I lost something to a con, even though the copper ingot only cost me a silver coin. Money was important. Should I go and get the ore myself? But where can I get it? A mine? Miner¡¯s marathon should be played only in mobile games. (Editor¡¯s note: Basically ¡®farming/loot¡¯ runs, that¡¯s optimized to get as many resources as possible within a very short time frame) Where else can I find bronze? ¡°¡­¡± A thought occurred to me, and I stared at the ¡°copper coins¡± I had taken out of my bag. In the end, I was able to do it¡ªtwenty small copper coins for 33 copper bullets. I will need some small magic stones, but it¡¯s an excellent deal since 100 small copper coins equal to 1 silver coin. Moreover, small magic stones were inexpensive, so all in all, using small magic stones and small copper coins as a conversion material into bullets was a reasonable price. ¡­Really, guns are literal [money-guzzlers]. Then, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to process that large amount of 300 million credit worth of silver coins into silver bullets? Yes and no. I guess this world synthesizing magic could not process in-game coins after all? Or perhaps the coins of this continent do not belong to the ¡°coin¡± category. I suspect that the minting technology in this country might be somewhat subpar. As I was doing this, the time when Meiya and her family were summoned to the castle for the entire day approached. The content of the meeting was Dirk¡¯s ¡°Hawk hunting¡± or ¡°Falcon hunting¡±. Was he hunting for foxes? He was going to take his knights and servants along with him, so the servants outside the castle would be called in to help with the staffing shortage. ¡°After all, I¡¯d like to stay by your side, even if it¡¯s just me.¡± ¡°Maia, we all feel the same way about that¡­¡± On the day of the event, Meiya rebukes her daughter for being a spoiled brat, with Maia¡¯s hand holding mine. If they don¡¯t comply, they¡¯ll be fired. I don¡¯t care about that castle personally, but I don¡¯t want Maia and the others to be gone. I pat Maia¡¯s hand, holding mine, and then slowly speak up to Maia, who looks back at me. ¡°Maia, keep up the good work.¡± ¡°Oh, young lady!¡± Meiya heaved a small sigh as Maia squealed. ¡°Really, this girl¡­.Miss Carol. I¡¯ve prepared food and your room, and you can already use life magic, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to stay at home, but if you need anything, please use this magical tool to contact me. I¡¯ve already explained how to use it. Are the explanations clear?¡± ¡°Ai.¡± I nodded my head in response to Meiya¡¯s various precautions with only one word. Me being taciturn, I couldn¡¯t help it. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t have a good vocabulary other than this, but I don¡¯t use my expression muscles or mouth muscles much, so conversing was tiring and cumbersome. The magical device for communication that the servants gave to me was not a communication device like a cell phone. I heard there were such devices, but since they are costly, only the father, the lord of this frontier count¡¯s territory, had one. So what exactly were these? Simply put, it was colored [Fireworks]. I am an [[Abominable Child] and [The Cursed Witch] at the age of three, but because I am the daughter of a frontier count, I should be able to use the item¡­. they wouldn¡¯t want any problems with the [Cursed Witch], so I¡¯m handed these things, you see. ¡°Please be really careful. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be back in the evening¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Young Lady, I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± ¡°Aye.¡± Now begins the free time. Until now, I acted like a quiet three-year-old during the day, so the time I could move around while the sun was still up was precious. CH 12.2 Until now, I acted like a quiet three-year-old during the day, so the time I could move around while the sun was still up was precious. In the past few days, I also read all the beginner-level grimoires, so I could use almost all the spells of the first tier. I said ¡°almost¡± because there were ¡°Original Spells¡± in the game, but I could not chant them because some characters were still garbled. However, it would be nice to use some higher-level spells someday as I go through the various spells, since they would be unlocked by ¡°letters¡± and not by a spell. (editor¡¯s note: basically, our MC has to recite the verses still) Speaking of which, in an ¡°Otome games¡± like this one, the heroine was said to be able to use ¡°All Attributes¡±, but in a VRMMO, every players have ¡°All Attributes¡±, was this OK or not in my situation? ¡°Setup [Witch Dress]¡± The bright red, exclusive set of equipment transformed me into a 15-year-old or so, magically. I took out sandwiches from the magical fridge, cut fruits for lunch and dinner, and put them away in the [Bag] before they were completely cold. It was beautiful to make sure that I could consume the food without lighting a proper fire. The Bag, however, seems to keep what I put inside in its original state. The Bag¡¯s space was not something that would stop time or consume a lot of magic power, but rather it was [converted into data] as the result of a lot of research, which was the reason as to why there are no living creatures able to be put into The Bag. Let¡¯s go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the daytime today. It was troublesome to go there in the middle of the night because there was a high probability of meeting that flamboyant adventurer Jimmy. I went out the window, maxed out my physical enhancements, and charged through the forest in mid-day. [*gyan] ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± I kicked something which looked like a Hound Dog-like creature that I bumped into on the way, and it went flying about 10 meters unbound. It was an accident. It was not intentional. But it was less than a few kilometers away from the house¡¯s vicinity, so I needed to get rid of it for Maia and her family. Why were they here? Annoying¡­ Arriving in the city in daylight, I was the center of people¡¯s attention on the street. Come to think of it, in this world, my outfit is so flashy that it would be called [Eccentric] or something similar. But the way the men looked at me was not the same as the [May I take a screenshot?] look I get in VR games, but the same as the men who sneakily take hidden photos of me from a low vantage point. ¡°Hey there, little elf girl! Our apples are sweet like pears, and they¡¯re only one copper apiece, buy them!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wouldn¡¯t that be pears, not apples? I was kind of curious, so I bought it. ¡°Thanks, come again!¡± ¡°Onee-san, where is the weapons shop?¡± ¡°Weapons shop? Is there such a thing in other towns? You can¡¯t make money selling weapons that people don¡¯t buy in a town like this, can you? ¡°¡­ I suppose so.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t they sell weapons at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± ¡°I see. Thank you very much.¡± After all, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was the only place to shop and sell adventurer-like products. By the way, the apples I bought were pears with bright red apple-like skin. It was the first time I went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the daytime, but the rough adventurers gave way to me even in the day. They were gentlemen. I did not see any Jimmys here. The usual older brother was not at the reception desk. Still, when I asked about weapons at a different reception desk, I was informed of the existence of a directly managed store selling equipment and weapons for adventurers by the Commerce Guild on the front street. ¡°All they have are cheap weapons that break easily, you know? If you want something proper, why don¡¯t you go to the Commerce Guild and ask for custom-made items?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± What they sold at the direct store were standard issued gears the nobility ordered in large quantities, gave to their soldiers to equip, and then traded them in when they became old. Used goods. Weapons that were slightly bent. There were even sticky metal armors. Also, the leather armors stinks. Of course, without hesitation, I headed straight to the Commerce Guild. I asked the charming receptionist at the Commerce Guild, who glanced at my equipment and introduced me to a Custom-Made representative. It seemed that she could tell if I was a customer or not by how I was dressed. Adults are scary. ¡°Welcome half-elf lady. I am Jess, the Custom-Made representative. I see you have some unusual equipment, as they say.¡± ¡°Well, you can call me the Witch. Nice to meet you, Uncle Dwarf.¡± The person who came out was a dwarf with a pure white beard. There were novels about elves and dwarves not getting along, but their interaction with each other was a common occurrence over here, so we shook hands. I love muscular, lanky Uncle Dwarves. Apparently, Jess-san knows about the rumors about me in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. If I were involved with the Commerce Guild, I would prefer not to tell them my real name, and Carol was a common name. Did I mention my name to Thomas, the receptionist? I¡¯ll keep it quiet for now and later on. But Carol was a commoner¡¯s name, which was appropriate because she was an Abominable Child. ¡°I heard that the Witch has great equipment and weapons. Do you have any unusual ¡®weapons¡¯?¡± ¡°¡­Would you like to see it?¡± ¡°Yes, please!¡± It seems that Jess-san, who appeared to be in a much higher position, met me out of the blue because he wanted to have a look at my weapon. ¡°Here it is.¡± ¡°¡­this¡­this is¡­¡± When I showed him the Ridil zanbatou, which I had secretly taken out, Jess-san blinked and shuddered, probably because Dwarves were fond of blacksmithing. Was it because the original blade was made of data? The graceful, flowing curves looked more beautiful than any famous sword without flaws or distortion. CH 12.3 When I showed him the Ridil zanbatou, which I had secretly taken out, Jess-san blinked and shuddered, probably because Dwarves were fond of blacksmithing. Was it because the original blade was made of data? The graceful, flowing curves looked more beautiful than any famous sword without flaws or distortion. ¡°¡­Witch, if you were to sell this to the Commerce Guild, how much would it be worth?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯d have to calculate the cost of acquiring this and other expenses¡­¡± After 12 high-Level players taking turns and persisting for 10 real days in a vast area with ancient dragons that would spring up at any moment, the item finally dropped after hunting dozens of them, and with the cost of my personally paid part-time job money and the cost of the materials¨C ¡°Two million large gold pieces for expenses alone. Whether or not I could get that for immediate money is the minimum for negotiations, and I had a tough time acquiring it, and I have a lot of feelings about it, so from there, multiplied by how high¡­ The negotiation is to see if you can pay up to that.¡± ¡°What a¡­¡± Jess-san¡¯s face trembled with fear. The minimum amount would be about 2 trillion yen, you know. How many years of this country¡¯s national budget is that? But, well, I am calculating with 1 credit to 1 silver coin. It couldn¡¯t be sold anyway, though, because it was a double rare non-transferable item. ¡°Well, forget about this sword covered in the stomach juices of some ancient dragon.¡± ¡°¡­ancient dragon.¡± ¡°This is what I wanted to show you today.¡± ¡°¡­Ho-ho.¡± Jess-san¡¯s eyes narrowed at the sight of a ¡°normal sword¡± taken out of the bag. Oh, Jess-san, you can¡¯t tell where I took it out of, even if you look hard enough, can you? This is a maiden¡¯s secret. This was a [ Steel Sword ] that I made before with my blacksmithing skill. I had to get my skill up to 40 to make silver bullets, so I made a lot of them back in the day and sold them off. I remembered that I had a few of them stashed in my Bag, as I recalled, and came to ask if I could sell them. ¡°¡­how precise. You can tell the purity of the steel just by looking at the color. Where did you get this?¡± ¡°I made it with magic alchemy.¡± I am not lying. Blacksmithing skill synthesis in games is, in my opinion, magic. ¡°What?! If you could, can you sell me the process of making this?¡± ¡°Do you think you can buy the ¡°secrets¡± of the Isbell Continent with money?¡± As I said this, a look of surprise and understanding came over Jess-san¡¯s face. ¡°What, Isbell Continent! The Witch had a new type of magic gun because she is from Isbell!¡± ¡°¡­New type?¡± The Magic Gun Break Revolver had six bullets, and the magic gun sold here by Isbell Continent was the old type that used magic stone powder as gunpowder. The new type could fire only with magic power, similar to the game¡¯s specifications I was familiar with. Jess-san also wanted to see the Break Revolver, but I decided not to because I didn¡¯t want any strange technology to leak out. ¡­After all, VRMMORPG had [Worst Demon King Invasion from Another Continent] as a new downloadable content super high-level quest. If the other continent was here, the Demon King¡¯s army might be strengthened if strange technology was leaked. I hope this (event) was originally only in the game¡­. (Editor: She hopes that DLC event won¡¯t happen in this world) ¡°So, how much can you get me for this sword?¡± ¡°¡­how many swords can be prepared?¡± ¡°¡­ I currently have about ten swords. If I can obtain good materials in this continent, I may make more.¡± ¡°Good, I want them all!¡± The Commerce Guild agreed to buy them for five small gold coins each. Steel Swords cost two to three small gold coins at the guild, so that was a reasonable price. I am not interested in how much Jess-san will sell it for afterward. I wouldn¡¯t build my own sales channel or negotiate with the nobles because it would be too much trouble. Also, Jess-san said that he could give me samples of various materials to see if I could make them from materials in this country. Nevertheless, I got five large gold coins for this. It would be equivalent to the annual income of an average family here. Would this give me some leeway? Jess-san and I signed the contract with a smile on our faces and were about to leave the Commerce Guild warehouse with a few ingots when Jess-san gave me some information. ¡°I would also like to tell you about the area around Demon Forest in the southeast, don¡¯t go there for a few days. I have not reported it to the lord yet, but I was approached by a party of eccentrics who saw a wyvern in the mountains leading from the Demon Forest and asked me to buy information from them.¡± ¡°Wyvern?¡± Wyvern was a so-called ¡°sub-dragon¡±. It was a smaller, armless dragon that specialized in flight. Perhaps the Hound Dog I killed earlier was chased away by this Wyvern. A Wyvern should not be a threat to me since it would be around Level 40, whereas a dragon would be at least Level 60. However, I would not want to fight a flying Wyvern if I were not in a perfect condition to use all my magic because it would be too much of a hassle for me at the moment. By the way, the information buy-in was just a report from a rough-and-tumble adventurer, so he would be paid if the Commerce Guild could confirm the information. ¡°As I recall, it¡¯s a party with a guy in fancy armor named Jimmy or something. Maybe they¡¯re going to hunt it.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Could it be that they were pretty strong? Indeed, a party of late Level ¡¯30s can hunt them, so there would be no problem. So today, I decided to suspend hunting in Demon Forest and pick up some medicinal herb-like leaves around the front of the forest. If I am lucky, I may find some Level 20 monsters. Although picking medicinal herbs was a meager income now, and even though I could see at night due to my character correction, I still wanted to be healed by the forest in the daytime. I might even find some matsutake mushrooms or something. ¡°¡­hmm?¡± While I was enjoying the forest bathing and wondering if I could eat the green mushrooms I had foraged, I saw something like a fireworks display in the distance, emitting red smoke. Could that be fireworks for emergency communication? But they wouldn¡¯t go up high if they flew up at that angle, would they? I should be careful when I use them. ¡­Do I have to go towards it? Those items were for children of aristocrats when they went out, weren¡¯t they? I get the feeling that something troublesome awaited me. But I wouldn¡¯t feel good if I didn¡¯t go, so I maxed out my physical enhancements and charged through the forest. Since my agility and endurance were nearly ten times those of Level 1, I was running through the forest as fast as a sports car, and after about ten minutes, I found people who looked like knights crouching down. ¡°Are you all right?¡± They all seem to be badly injured somehow, so I applied [Heal] for the time being. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ Damn, you¡¯re subhuman. Heal them quickly! We got hurt fighting to help that little boy!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I see. I understand the situation. If he could talk this much, he wouldn¡¯t need to recover. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh, hey, I¡¯m still¡­¡± ¡°Well, good day to you.¡± The bleeding seems to have stopped, so the noble knight would be able to return on his own. Good luck with that. As I dismissed the fussing knights and proceeded deeper into the forest, I heard what sounded faintly like a human voice in the distance and changed direction. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Hey, what a subhuman, you startled me! You, help me. I¡¯m a frontier heir, you know. I¡¯m the legitimate son of a frontier count! There was a young man, protected by several servants who looked like commoners, came out of the forest and gave me orders in a high-handed manner. I knew it was trouble. What are you doing? Dirk Onii-sama. CH 13.1 Archer¡¯s Cloak ¨C Arjuna Cloche [Part 1] ¡°Listen, just make sure I¡¯m safe¡­¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Dirk doesn¡¯t say much anyway, so I speak to the servant. ¡°Well, um¡­¡± I see that some of them helped me move in on closer inspection. All three of them are young women. One of them looks at my outfit, and after a short hesitation, she speaks up. I guess they don¡¯t recognize me as ¡°Carol,¡± even though I¡¯m a half-elf with black hair and blonde eyes. ¡°Actually¡­¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t ignore me. That¡¯s disrespectful!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± ¡°Ugh!¡± I cover his mouth as I grab the bothersome Dirk in a back hug. He may be a silly brother brainwashed by half aristocrats, but I am not a demon either, so I would not hit a child, unlike my parents. The servants told me about the wyverns they heard about in the Commercial Guild. Was it a flag after all¡­? But why in the forest? I wondered. ¡°Actually, it seems that those adventurer-like people in their flashy silver armor escaped after meddling with the wyvern¡­¡± ¡°Oh~¡­¡± I see. So this group led the enemies they couldn¡¯t defeat here, forming the so-called [monster train]? Therefore, they were slightly wary of me, who appeared to be a bit of an oddball. ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± ¡°No, no.¡± What is that fancy Jimmy doing anyway? It¡¯s one thing to mess with the wyverns, but to flee from combat with those monsters trailing behind them? Maybe their levels were not high enough? As I recalled, there was no concept of leveling in this world, but one should grow reasonably with magic power by improving their skills. That was the equipment worn by a mid-level person in the level 40s, right? If this were a game, they would be called MPKs who intentionally dump their monster aggro to other players. ¡°¡­¡± I remembered that Dirk, who I held in my arms, was very quiet. He was still struggling and flailing around the moment I picked him up, but he gave up halfway through because I was holding him tightly over my shoulder with my over 200 strength. I released Dirk because I had heard most of what was going on, but he was probably suffocating because I was holding his mouth, and he hurriedly moved away from me, his face, even his ears, turning bright red. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re subhuman. You can¡¯t try to seduce me by making me sniff your good scent. That¡¯s not going to happen!¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Scent? I use soap in my bath every day, so I shouldn¡¯t smell anything, but did the smell transfer from the medicinal herbs and plants I was gathering? (editor¡¯s note: what he¡¯s saying is that as a human male, the female half-elf body odor attracts him, do not say these kinds of things to the opposite sex, it¡¯s considered sexual harassment, kids). For some reason, the servants stared at me. I tilted my head sideways with a lukewarm smile, and I saw Dirk¡¯s face turning red. ¡°Oh, um, Adventurer-san, could you escort our little lord to the house of our lord? I don¡¯t have any money with me right now, but when we get to the mansion, my lord will thank you for your services rendered.¡± ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t know how good is a sub-human woman as delicate as you are, but you can be my escort!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I doubt that that father would reward any adventurer who was a half-elf like the abomination. On the contrary, he would probably drive a hard bargain and even enslave them if not working for peanuts. Dirk may be a child, but all he did was complain, and it was not very cute. But the servants are innocent, and it wouldn¡¯t feel good to abandon that child. ¡°I don¡¯t want any reward. I don¡¯t need a reward, just an escort to town.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°However, you must listen to me.¡± ¡°Of course, Master Dirk, this half-elf adventurer has accepted the offer.¡± ¡°You should be honored to be my escort, subhuman.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± The servants apologized. They may be insignificant, but they are still nobles, right? Should I abandon them this instant? Anyway, we set out. Even if we walked from our current position in the forest, we could reach the town before evening. On the way to Dirk¡¯s group earlier, I met a few wounded knights. I believed they had more people with them initially. Then I remembered (how I met the previous group) and asked. ¡°Where are the other guards?¡± (Carol) ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± (The servants) ¡°Not those guys. They ran away without me.¡± (Dirk) I heard that at first, the lower-ranking knights and soldiers ran towards the wyvern. But when they were blown away by a tail swipe, the remaining senior knights and senior servants said they should make a strategic retreat, and eventually, they fled for their lives, leaving only Dirk behind. However, the wyvern instead chased after the knights, and the commoner servants took advantage of the opportunity and fled with Dirk. CH 13.2 Come to think of it, the senior knights who met along the way, who had self-proclaimed [injuries from fighting to escape], were wearing shiny armor. Dragon species, as I remembered, have a crow-like habit of collecting shiny things, so the wyvern must have been attracted to them due to that and chased after them instead of chasing after Dirk and the remaining servants. Wasn¡¯t there a major war a few decades after the war with the demons ended? The quality of the knight squadrons seems to have declined so much that they can be defeated by a wyvern or so. Or maybe, just maybe, the dragon species in real life may be stronger than it was portrayed in VRMMOs. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m tired. And I¡¯m hungry!¡± ¡°Sorry, Dirk-boy. All our luggage was in the wagon¡­¡± ¡°What the heck? Go get it right now!¡± What a selfish boy. I would like to tell him to starve on his own, but the servants, who could not resist, began to wonder whether they should return or not, so I offered my help. ¡°Let¡¯s have lunch. I have a little.¡± ¡°Really?¡± These were my lunch and dinner, but those apple-like pears were so good that I bought a few more, so I should be able to make it through lunch. ¡°What, a sandwich? There¡¯s no meat!¡± Suddenly, Dirk complained and tried to reach his hand out, so I stopped him by slapping his hand with a smack. ¡°Wha, what are you?¡± ¡°First, wash your hands, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± I grabbed Dirk¡¯s hand with one hand while I materialized water with the [Running Water] of life magic with the other hand. ¡°Young, young master¡­¡± Boom! ¡°Get out of my way.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I grabbed Dirk, and the servants tried to stop me from doing so, so I shot the sky with an unplugged Break Revolver to silence them with sound. They were kind servants, but their inability to reprimand a nobleman¡¯s child was not good for Dirk¡¯s education. ¡°Wash your hands?¡± ¡°¡­¡± This time, Dirk washed his hands quietly, with a mortified look on his face. ¡°Good job.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± I patted his head, but Dirk brushed my hand away with a red face as if he was angry. I felt like an older sister scolding her naughty younger brother, and it was kind of fun, although it was forced. ¡°Well then¡­¡± ¡°Wait.¡± I grabbed Dirk¡¯s hand quickly to stop him when he suddenly tried to bite into his sandwich. ¡°I washed my hands!¡± ¡°When you eat, you have to say ¡®Itadakimasu¡¯, right?¡± ¡°What the hell is that?¡± ¡°You can pray to God, but you have to be thankful for the people who procured, made, and prepared the food.¡± ¡°¡­Hmmm, you subhumans have some weird customs.¡± When I stared at him, Dirk looked away and prayed to something god-like before starting to eat. I say it in the mansion too, you know. I¡¯m three years old, so it¡¯s [ita-ki-asu]. The sandwiches were not enough, so I also gave him some fruit and asked him to eat it with everyone. I am a half-elf, so to frankly say, just pears would be enough for me. For dinner, let¡¯s buy something edible from a food stall in town and go home for dinner. As I am eating with [Hermes Dagger], peeling and cutting up the pears, Dirk, who was really hungry, quickly finishes his sandwich. ¡°Wash your hands again when you¡¯re done?¡± ¡°¡­hmmm.¡± When we finished eating, we set out. I took the lead, and when a wolf or something demon-like came close to us, I shot it with my magic gun to drive it away. If it were 10 meters away, it would be hard to hit it, so I had no alternative. ¡°Hey, subhuman woman, that¡¯s a [magic gun], right? I know it! Let me use that one.¡± ¡°¡­fine.¡± If he leaves me, it disappears in 10 seconds, so I have to stay behind Dirk to back him up. ¡°Chi, close¡± ¡°Concentrate.¡± Boom-boom-boom, he suddenly fired three shots in rapid succession. ¡°Hiii!¡± ¡°This is dangerous stuff. Dangerous if your body is weak and small.¡± Dirk drops the magic gun as if numb from all the recoil coming on his arm because I let him shoot it just by supporting his hand. This was another lesson for him. ¡°Don¡¯t carry a weapon without being prepared. Give me your hand. [Heal].¡± ¡°¡­¡± I healed his arm, and Dirk turned over with a mysterious look on his face. ¡°¡­I¡¯m tired.¡± After walking for a while again, Dirk started to whine. I also got carried away, which may have made him a little depressed, and he became very quiet. But maybe it¡¯s too much for an eight-year-old aristocrat to walk for three hours on a bumpy road? ¡°Do you want me to carry you?¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m a nobleman. I¡¯m an aristocrat. I¡¯d be ashamed to be carried by a woman!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Dirk shook his head hurriedly, red to the ears again. Was he angry? If he said he would do his best, I would have him do his best, even if it means working himself to death. CH 13.3 The servants have not spoken a single word to me since the beginning. They seemed willing to help me with my discipline and education, and when Dirk was tired, they would inform me about it. ¡°Ah, subhuman woman, you can continue working for me as my bodyguard.¡± Dirk suddenly started saying such things, perhaps because the city was getting closer, and he had more time to spare. ¡°Please don¡¯t speak of such things until you earn your own money.¡± ¡°¡­¡± When I simply answered, he bit his lip and fell silent. There was no way that father and mother would allow a subhuman to be by their side. Still, Dirk complained about something, either because he was frustrated or because he was criticized. ¡°You, your skirt is too short! You shouldn¡¯t show your legs. That¡¯s why subhuman women are so barbaric.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± I couldn¡¯t argue with this one either. It couldn¡¯t be helped because this was a passion item for me. ¡°Don¡¯t be a disgrace. Don¡¯t show your skin in front of a man.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t find any man here, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a man, too. I¡¯m a¡­¡± ¡°¨CWait.¡± Tension flashed across the faces of the servants as I suddenly became alert with my Break Revolver at the ready. My ears caught the sound of a wind slash approaching at high speed from far away. This is¨C [Guuuuuooooooooaaahh!] ¡°Oh, adventurer, it¡¯s that!¡± ¡°So be it..¡± Would you really not be so generous with your flags? A huge blue-green body spotted us from above, spreading its massive wings and threatening us with a screech. ¡°A wyvern¡­¡± It was smaller and dirtier in reality than its appearance in the game. ¡°You guys, we¡¯re close to the city now, so run. I¡¯ll hold it back.¡± ¡°No, I know you¡¯re going to say that and run away, too!¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re coming with me¡­¡± *Dun*Dun*Dun*Dun*Dun*Dun! I grabbed the wyvern¡¯s attention with a full salvo of Break Revolver as I backed away from them because I didn¡¯t have time. ¡­wouldn¡¯t it be nice if I could hit it at least once? I had changed my ring to increase ranged weapon accuracy, but I still couldn¡¯t hit it at all while the wyvern was in the air. ¡°Set [Witch Wand]¡± This was a unique wand made together with this Witch Dress set. I specifically made it in mind to be used in magical battles with a party, so its physical attack power was only about that of a metal bat, but it increased the effect of attribute magic by 15%. Considering that there would only be a 12% attribute increase for each attribute with existing wands, you would understand how much of a performance breakthrough it was. However, the penalty for obtaining this performance was that I could not choose the shape, so it ended up being a cute little thing with a heart-shaped object on the end of a silver rod about 50 cm long. A very cute little witch staff. ¡°[Fire Arrow] ¡° [Guuuuuooooooooaaahh!!!!!] The dozens of Fire Arrows that shot out accurately hit the wyvern¡¯s head, causing it to roar in rage. ¡°Get out of here, quick!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Dirk and the others apparently ran away in a quiet escape. Even among dragon species, wyverns tend to be easily affected by fire, but the first rank magic has little effect on them. At the very least, I could knock them out of the sky with 6th rank magic¡­. However, even with that crappy magic, the wyverns did target me as an enemy. I only had a couple of hours left in this form. Wyverns also did not have breath attacks, so it will be from the air with its claws when it attacks me. Could I successfully strike it down with my Ridil at that time? Endurance fights would be troublesome for me. What other weapons could provide more firepower¡­oh¡­ ¡°Hey, subhuman woman! I thought you were coming with me.¡± ¡°¡­Eh?¡± My thoughts were interrupted by the voice I heard. There I saw Dirk, who should have fled, returning, after shaking off the servants¡¯ hands. He didn¡¯t have to show any manliness only to cause trouble for all of us in a place like this, you know? Really, don¡¯t¡­. [Guuuuuooooooooaaahh!!!!!] ¡°Hiii¡± From the wyvern¡¯s attack, whose attention was diverted to Dirk, I snatched Dirk from the side with all my strength enhancement. ¡°¡­ah, aaaah, subhuman woman!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Maybe he was concerned about me, but I was a little angry at his lack of awareness of the danger. ¡°Hiii¡± ¡°Can you be quiet for a second?¡± I grabbed Dirk by the collar with one hand and lifted him up, tossing him haphazardly behind my back. ¡°Hey, you¡­¡± ¡°Stay there and watch.¡± I coldly dismissed him and muttered ¡°Command¡± for the Special Equipment I remembered earlier to fight with ¡°my full power¡±. ¡°Setup [Arjuna Cloche] all.¡± A huge bow far exceeding my height appears in my hand, and my entire body is wrapped in a fluttering cloak made of dark green fabric, with tight-fitting, pure white leather armor inside. If what I have with me was not a [Bag] but a [Storage], then two [Special Equipment] other than the Witch Dress would also be stored. One of them was equipment for a remote attack battle, [Arjuna Cloche]. CH 14.1 Siblings¡­Bonds? [Part 1] One of the three exclusive equipment I created for VRMMORPG was the Ranged Attack-oriented, or rather, the ¡°Extreme¡± Archer Equipment, which could only attack from a distance. I had forgotten entirely that I could use it¡­ Headpiece [Increase Ranged Hit Rate 40%] Increases the hit rate of bows, guns, and projectiles. Body Armor [Increase Ranged Attack 20%] Increases the attack power of bows, guns, and projectiles. Waistband [Ranged Skill Damage 5%] Bonuses from Ranged Skills are increased by 5%. Hand gear [Increase Arrow Speed 40%] Increases the speed of arrows and prevents the enemy from evading. Leg Armor [Combat Skill Hit Rate Up 40%] Increases the accuracy of Combat Skills. Bow [Combat Skill Damage Increase 20%] Increases the power of Combat Skills. It indeed was extreme. The Physical defense was also lower than Witch Armor, so it was a liability in large scale higher level PVP battles. However, if I were allowed to activate [Combat Skill], even high-level players would usually be killed in one-hit it, so my friends called this set [paper-armored fixed turret] or something like that. Long live firepower. (editor¡¯s note: basically a total glass-cannon build; super high dmg output, super low / next to zero defense) The figure I changed into wore dark green with a slender cowboy hat and a fluttering cloak. It also comes with a short-sleeved, very mini skirt, body-hugging tight leather armor, and white-colored knee-length boots. Not forgetting black shorts. This was also a product of my geeky days. I decided to go with a design that showed off my bare arms and thighs, as short sleeves and shorts are the norms for an elf hunter. And for some reason, a hidden effect was added to the set of equipment, +5% increase to hit rate against the opposite sex. It physically aims and shoots at the heart of the opposite sex. As I suddenly changed into this outfit, I heard a gasp from Brother Dirk behind me. But I couldn¡¯t be bothered with the wyvern looming, so I took out my silver arrows and readied my silver magic bow [Gandivam], Arjuna Cloche¡¯s exclusive weapon. The bow was also enormous and had zero hit assist compensation, so I couldn¡¯t use it outside of Arjuna Cloche. But this time, it¡¯s time to go all out. ¡°Set [Doubling] ¡° A glowing ¡°magic circle¡± about 60 centimeters long floats in front of my eyes at my ¡°Command¡±. It was a type of [Combat Skill Ability] that you can acquire with a level 70 Combat Skill, which doubles the power of the following [Combat Skill] you execute. However, it consumes triple the magic power, and the Combat Skill activation time and recast time will also be doubled. The hit rate would also be slightly reduced, so it would hardly be helpful against any opponent¡¯s close combat [Combat Skill]. I really would not be confident in handling it with anything other than this equipment. [Gyooooooohh!!] I draw my magic bow Gandivam, aiming at the approaching wyvern. In the perceived time that flows slowly with physical reinforcement, I could hear Dirk¡¯s screams from behind me as I slowly progress with the magic charge. ¨D¨DWatch closely. When the approaching wyvern was ready to bare its huge fangs, I unleashed my [Combat Skill]. ¡°¨D¨D [Empyreal] ¨D¨D¡± [¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D] Flash, a silver arrow shot through the wyvern¡¯s brow, and a meter-diameter light from [Empyreal] shattered the head and the torso behind it, burning everything up and leaving behind not even a trace of the wyvern¡¯s carcass nor signs of its demise. ¡°¡­¡± It was a mistake. It was a complete overkill. Who said that the dragon species in this world might be stronger than in the game? They were just normal strength, were they not? [Empyreal] was a single fivefold blow with the magical attribute [Combat Skill] learned at Ranged Skill 85 and Offensive Magic Skill 70. Gandivam¡¯s base attack power is 60 + 15 from the silver arrows, and with my level 95 status correction and skill bonuses, my attack power was 247. With body enhancement and equipment correction, my normal attack would be around 330. The wyvern¡¯s defense value was 200, score rank C, so with 50% physical resistance and 50 point physical resistance, my normal attack would be 115 score. Making a 5x attack with a +20% [Combat Skill] damage bonus would result in damage around 940 score. T/L Note: (330x5x1.2¡Á0.5)-50 = 940 Then, the [Doubling] for a finishing touch. By the way, a wyvern¡¯s HP was around 800. It was unnecessary to use [Doubling] with its HP, but I still used it¡­ I didn¡¯t think it would end up pulverized. In the game, the loot items would drop no matter the condition of the carcass. In this case, I don¡¯t think it would be possible. I did expect a bit of its carcass to remain, though, since it looks like I could sell it for a lot of money. Well, I beat it, but I didn¡¯t think I would get a reward because no one would believe that I could defeat it with one blow anyway, and if they believed it, it would probably cause problems with the nobility. Should I pretend this never happened? ¡­Nn? At that moment, I grabbed something that fell from the sky with one hand to reveal that it was a wyvern magic stone about the size of an adult¡¯s fist, glowing white-hot from the effect of my Combat Skill. (Editor¡¯s note: If you¡¯re confused, basically a ¡®loot¡¯ did drop, even if the entire carcass was burnt to crisp, so the game cheat worked for her even though she is in reality) Was this all that remained? I put it away in my bag and looked around, and as my eyes met Dirk¡¯s, who slumped over, I gently put my index finger to my lips. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone.¡± CH 14.2 After that, perhaps the wyvern was visible from the city, the soldiers of the city came quickly, so I handed Dirk over, and I promptly left the city. As a matter of fact, I was on the edge of my physical condition. But I was able to return to the house with enough time to buy a taco-like dish made of corn flour baked into a crepe with vegetables sandwiched in between from a street vendor. According to Meiya and the others who were able to return properly at night, Dirk, who returned to the castle, testified that, aside from the junior knights and soldiers who first charged into the wyvern, the senior knights and senior servants of the household who fled were sentenced to several months¡¯ pay cuts. ¡­ I was surprised the stragglers made it back alive. And sure enough, the noble knight blundered, so the wyvern¡¯s appearance itself was assumed to have never happened. Noblemen were indeed dishonest. With that, the responsibility of the flashy Jimmy and his group who brought the wyverns with them became unaccountable, but I properly tipped off the commercial guild, so the reward for the wyvern discovery information also disappeared. However, I received the rewards that were supposed for Jimmy¡¯s group instead. Maia also told me that Dirk stopped playing childish pranks since that day. Did my education work? A few days later, Dirk and I, the three-year-old, had a chance encounter. In order to increase my physical strength, I usually performed some kind of radio exercises in the garden of the house and took a 30-minute walk around the house, and Maia usually followed me, but when I took my eyes off her for a moment, Maia disappeared. I couldn¡¯t see her anymore. Lost? Perhaps I was. I had no choice. Should I look for her? Why I, the one who got lost, decided to look for her was a mystery to me, but I guess I had let my guard down and thought that I would be able to return to her as soon as I switched to my adult form. Why would I need to build up my strength? To increase my physical strength and to increase my transformation time. What would happen if I moved around in my current state when I still have no physical strength? I was walking around with such a feeling and ended up stuck in a place I didn¡¯t know. I would probably be scolded if I went back. Well, there was no use in being impatient, so I took a snack out of my bag and was recovering my strength while eating when Dirk passed by. Why was he strolling around here? There was only our mansion on this side of the property, right? ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± ¡°¡­?¡± That was supposed to be my line. Dirk seem strangely flustered. I thought my education might have helped him mature, but he doesn¡¯t seem to have changed that much. ¡°What a pity, you subhuman women are all so unsociable. That¡¯s why Father and Mother don¡¯t like you. Get up quickly!¡± ¡°¡­¡± That in itself might be partially correct, but the other side hates me, so I wouldn¡¯t be willing to step up to meet them. And I also didn¡¯t feel like getting involved because it would be too much trouble, so I shake my head, and Dirk clicks his tongue quietly. ¡°Tsk, anyway, what are you doing here Carol? Are you lost? I can¡¯t let anyone see that someone like you is my sister.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be helped, you little brat, come here.¡± Dirk, who had complained so much about me sitting down and not moving (because it was too much trouble), called me [sister] and held out his hand. ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you back there personally. I will lead you by the hand, so you won¡¯t get lost again!¡± ¡°¡­Un¡± I took Dirk¡¯s offered hand and gently stood up. How do I say this¡­were we like siblings this way? Just barely. I had siblings in my previous life, but I was never offered a hand like this. Perhaps there was a chance that I could have walked hand in hand with my brother in my previous life. As I walked alongside Dirk on the forest path leading to the mansion, I felt that having siblings was a good thing for the first time in my life. £ª£ª£ª But that was a lie¡­ I didn¡¯t need a brother like this. Since then, Dirk started to show up at our mansion every few days without fail, even without accompanying attendants. I thought it would be nice to have a sibling for a while, but I didn¡¯t want an older brother like him. ¡°Hmmm, Carol is too light. Are you eating properly?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Today, Dirk was carrying me on his lap, eating snacks, and reading storybooks with me. ¡°I¡¯m worried that you won¡¯t be feminine and soft in the future when you¡¯re this small. You need to eat a little more food, or you won¡¯t have beautiful legs!¡± While stroking my legs and, out of a sudden he blurted ¡°Hmph, long ears. That¡¯s why you are a subhuman woman.¡± He then touched my ears with his fingers, ¡°This hair is so black that I can¡¯t show it to anyone. Carol is my sister, so she can stay in my room all the time without being seen by the other nobles!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ehh~~¡­What is this? I¡¯m getting a bad feeling of obsession. Maia watches from behind a pillar, chewing a handkerchief, her expression full of chaos. What the¡­? I¡¯ve seen this situation somewhere before. Wait a minute¡­ From Dirk¡¯s expression of excitement¡­ maybe this big brother was one of the ¡°Capture Targets¡±? ¡°Carol doesn¡¯t need to be strong or monstrous! If you stay quiet, I¡¯ll keep you in my room, so you won¡¯t have to leave for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°¡­Eh?¡± I was horrified. I was creeped out. Did I just enter the [Confined Pet Route] event? Thanks for reading. CH 15.1 Side Story: A Witch¡¯s Wonderful Day [Part 1] ¡°Lady Witch, are you feeling kind of tired?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m being followed.¡± Jess, a member of the Arceides Frontier Territory Commercial Guild, Custom Order Department, raised one eyebrow at the half-elf¡¯s words with whom he had formed a partnership a few months earlier. The half-elf called herself ¡°Witch,¡± and the blades she made with her magic alchemy, which she delivered regularly, were as beautiful as the surface of a calm lake, and were highly praised by buyers. When Jess found out that someone was trailing Carol, he understood that Carol was more than upset. She was an adventurer with an eccentric mood who would dish retribution on anyone who got in her way. Despite her radical personality, she wore a high-quality dress that was so tight-fitting that it showed the lines of her body, and the hem of her skirt was surprisingly short. Moreover, since a pretty half-elf girl was wearing it, she attracted the eyes of men. Even Jess, a dwarf, would probably consider her very high class in appearance. She had no expression on her face and spoke only when talked to, but her upbringing was good. Her behavior was so polite that it was hard to believe that she was an adventurer. Jess nodded sincerely and wondered if that stoicness was giving the wrong signals to the young men trying to get along with her. ¡°Well¡­ But why don¡¯t you just chase them away like you always do?¡± ¡°There are some people against whom force of arms won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± Jess imagined ¡°nobility¡± for a moment when he heard that but then reconsidered that it might be someone related to her. Even the most influential members of the commercial guilds, who typically use their power and military might to deal with most matters, could hardly stand up to a nobleman of the rank of knighthood. If they let their emotions get the better of them, their very lives would be threatened, so they have to proceed with caution. ¡°¡­Oh, right, Witch, the magic books have arrived again.¡± ¡°Yey!¡± When Jess changed the subject to dispel the heaviness in the air, the Witch was more than happy to hear it. Her emotions and tone of voice remain flat, but her reaction gestures grow cute and loud, which even Jess could recognize. What the Witch had ordered was an intermediate-level grimoire. It contained spells for the second and third ranks. Still, it was not a product always available in this frontier territory. Even ordinary magicians only learned up to the first rank due to the scarce amount of resources of magic and grimoires they had access to. ¡°Uncle, is it hard to learn the higher ranks of spells?¡± ¡°The higher ranks are divided by lineage, and they come at a high price. What do you want?¡± ¡°Everything.¡± ¡°¡­Hey, you can¡¯t use anything but your own attributes, you know? You call yourself a [Witch], so maybe you collect them as a hobby¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s strange. I want whatever you have.¡± ¡°Haah?¡± There were such things as memorandums left by mages in the past with obscure spells, but only those mages who understand and study the meaning of the spells would seek them out. ¡°Then ask the [Magicians Guild], maybe the commercial guilds in Royal Capital can gather them, but it will be more expensive. Is there a reason why we can¡¯t rely on the Magicians Guild?¡± ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s a maiden¡¯s Secret.¡± ¡°Again¡­¡± Little was known about this girl, who called herself Witch, even in the information network of the commercial guilds. The only thing that was known about her was that she was from the Isbell continent across the sea and that she carelessly utilized equipment and technology that seemed state-of-the-art. Jess, in particular, was curious as to where they were getting a large amount of luggage out of, but she would not tell him, always using ¡°It¡¯s a maiden¡¯s secret¡± as an excuse. It was said that there existed a magical tool called ¡°Big Bag¡±, which could hold several carriages¡¯ worth of luggage and a treasure of the royal family, but she didn¡¯t even sport a purse. Perhaps she was also wary of such secrets leaking out since she would have to reveal her true identity if she asked the Magicians Guild. ¡°I¡¯ll ask, but if possible, ask the Commercial Guild of Royal Capital directly. I¡¯ll at least write you a letter of introduction.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you, Uncle.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind it¡­¡± Being in a commercial guild, it was rare to be thanked so openly, which made Jess feel itchy. ¡°So, how would you like to pay for the magic book? It¡¯ll be one large gold coin.¡± ¡°Was that thing sold?¡± ¡°That thing¡­. Are you sure you want to sell that to another country? It could be worth more than ten large gold coins at auction in this country. It¡¯s a wyvern magic stone, after all, you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to attract any more attention than usual. Please deduct the cost of the book from that.¡± ¡°¡­ all right.¡± The country¡¯s nobility pretended that the attack against the wyvern had never happened because of the blunder of the nobles. The girl who brought the magic stone did not want to be identified and was willing to sell it to another country even if she had to pay a commission. As a merchant, it would be an ironclad rule to keep customer information strictly confidential, but how much he could make a profit by reporting this girl to the government¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Jess, who had been mulled about such a thing, lost his color when he noticed that the girl in front of him was holding a ¡°magic gun¡± before he realized it. Appearances could be deceiving. She may look like this, but she was a skilled adventurer capable of defeating a wyvern single-handedly. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll give you some information. The Count of the Frontier has heard rumors of you and is searching for you. He is interested in the tool that managed to defeat the wyvern.¡± ¡°Thank you, Uncle.¡± CH 15.2 The Witch walks alone in the city at night. She rarely appeared during the daytime, and her activities were limited to the time when the children went to bed and until dawn. The Witch received some information from Jess, but to tell the truth, she had noticed that there had been some non-adventurers loitering around the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for the past few days. The adventurers, in general, were rough, day laborers and those with ability were called ¡°eccentrics¡± because they didn¡¯t want to be seen as the same as them and dressed eccentrically. If there were clean, non-smelly people in dirty armor who didn¡¯t stand out from the crowd, they would stand out in their way. But since she didn¡¯t know what they were, knowing that they were people she had no problem engaging on was enough. There were always stalkers from her previous life, so she was not panicked by the fact that they were following her now. ¡°Stop there, subhuman woman!¡± She deliberately chose a place where few people were walking around, and in a deserted area where she did not see even a drunken man, a stranger called out to her. ¡°¡­?¡± At any rate, The Witch turned around and tilted her head to see a man with dirty armor and shiny hair giving her a sharp look. ¡°I¡¯ve had you looked into. In the meantime, let¡¯s have you come over. If you stay quiet, I won¡¯t make it worse.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± The Witch tilts her head again at the man¡¯s words, and a blue streak appears on the man¡¯s forehead at his demeanor. ¡°Don¡¯t subhumans understand human language? Savages. Hey, take this person into custody.¡± As the man calls out somewhere, several similarly dressed men emerge from the alley¡¯s darkness. ¡°Be careful. We heard that she is carrying a magic gun. Don¡¯t break it.¡± ¡°Haah¡± ¡°¡­?¡± The Witch, still tilting her head, remained still as the men surrounded her, moving from side to side as if they wanted to use magic guns themselves. ¡°Set [Ridil].¡± Witch, who turned with a graceful, dance-like spin, took a swing of her huge single-edged sword and carried it on her shoulder, and all the men who tried to surround her fell down at once, spurting blood from their chests. ¡°¡­Hah?¡± The only one left, the first man muttered to his fallen comrades, stunned. As his companions sprawled around in shock from the sudden pain and blood loss, The Witch again tilted her head and called out to the man. ¡°What do you want to achieve with only this level of force?¡± ¡°¡­Kuh¡± The man was a knight in the intelligence unit under the direct control of the Count of Arceides. He had received orders directly from the Count of Arceides to secretly capture a half-elf believed to be involved in the disappearance of the wyverns that had kicked out the knights and to seize her magical tools and other items used for that purpose. The status of subhumans was low in this country. If they were to make a public move, they might incur the animosity of the common people, but it was not a crime in this country for a nobleman to capture a half-elf and turn him/her into an enslaved person. Although the Count of the Frontier himself dislikes subhumans because he had an ¡± abominable child¡±, the Knight who saw the beauty of this half-elf called Witch planned to have her handed over to him as an enslaved person when the matter was over. The man was a knight baron who had served under the Count of the Frontier for many years in this frontier and was both trustworthy and capable. He was capable of defeating a demon wolf in the forest of demons by himself. His men were not as good as the man, but they had hunted Goblins many times. Such subordinates have been beaten¡­ in a single blow. The frontier count thought that this half-elf had used a unique magical tool to drive off the wyvern. If the adventurers had defeated the wyvern, the wyvern¡¯s materials would indeed have been brought to the city through the Commerce Guild, there was no way that this would not have reached the ears of the Count of the Frontier. But what if an adventurer had defeated the wyvern and the material had been hidden away? ¡°¡­¡± Such thoughts came to the man when he saw the half-elf in front of him and his ability. A knight commander of the Royal Capital, a renowned ¡°Master Swordsman,¡± might be able to defeat a monster like a wyvern single-handedly, but if such a young girl could do it, she really was the same as a ¡°Wicked Witch¡± mentioned in a fairy tale. ¡°¡­ugh¡± At that moment, the man turned his back on the ¡°Witch¡± and ran away. He had a position and a home to protect, and he could not die fighting this Witch. First, he had to report to the frontier count. It was an important mission, and he was not running away. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Guwah!¡± The Witch¡¯s fist slams into the man¡¯s stomach, and he crumples to the ground with a look of agony on his face. The following day, the city¡¯s residents awoke at the morning bell and went to work, only to be surprised to find frightened men tied to the plaza walls. The men were terrified, and according to the Magicians Guild, which was asked to assist in the investigation, they had been put into a state of sustained third-degree of [Fear] of ¡°Dark Magic¡± and was probably applied by the use of a large amount of magical power, and even if the men came to their senses, they would require several months of treatment. Incidentally, after that, men were regularly found in the same state, and when the number of men exceeded 30, the frontier county gave up sending knights, feeling that the situation was not good enough for the outside world. The residents rumored that it was a ¡°Witch¡¯s Curse¡±. ¡°Miss Carol, you are in a good mood today.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Maia, the apprentice maid, beamed at Carol, who looked refreshed, as if she had just released stress, but ¡°Miss, Master Dirk is here¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± At Maya¡¯s troubled look, Carol and Maia frown with the same expression. ¡°Carol, you look funny in the morning! This is why subhumans are no good. I brought you some snacks, I¡¯ll hold you and feed you, so fix your mood.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Three-year-old Carol¡¯s face contorted in stress as she clenched her tiny fists against her brother, who seemed to be in an unusually good mood. CH 16.1 Life in the Royal Capital [Part 1] ¡°You will be moving to a villa in the Royal Capital with Dirk. You understand? Don¡¯t cause trouble for Dirk!¡± ¡°¡­Hah?¡± It was not my fault that I unintentionally reacted that way. At that moment, Father¡¯s face turned bright red, and blue streaks appeared on his forehead, like a real instantaneous water heater. But this was the hall right after the entrance. Father, who didn¡¯t want me to step a foot inside the castle, realized that many servants were watching around him, and he had just barely restrained himself from outright yelling at me. I felt like he was going to break a blood vessel. Had your blood pressure got too high from overeating? ¡°¡­Anyway, this is decided. Understood?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When I replied with a flat face and voice without tension, father peeled his eyes away from me. ¡°Now get the heck out of here!!¡± I would not stay long, even if he didn¡¯t tell me to. In the end, he yelled at me. The beautiful maids that Father interviewed and hired after I left the castle, whom only he knew him as a gentleman, looked very surprised, didn¡¯t they? Two years had passed since the Wyvern Incident, and I, Carol, had now turned five years old. Still, two years, already two years had passed by. It would be ten more years until the biggest death flag to occur. However, I am somehow living with the dilemma of not being able to be independent if I don¡¯t grow up, and the stress of detailed death flags makes me wonder how I could have grown up even in this Otome Game setting. The most significant cause of stress to me was Dirk, but I can¡¯t kill an innocent child, so I¡¯m waiting for him to commit a crime deserving death punishment. It was probably my fault that Father¡¯s blood pressure, the Count of Arceides rose. Even in a frontier town that had little connection to the social circles of the royal capital, I had to appear at the castle at least once a year. Every time I did, father would say to me, ¡°Because of you, the blood of the abominable child is mixed in the family¡±, and the amount of alcohol he consumed would also increase. And after repeatedly getting involved with the adventurer [Rose Witch], the intelligence unit of the family was nearly annihilated, and later on, the wyvern¡¯s concealed blunder case came to light, making him vulnerable to his political opponents as well. It was a tough time. But I did not sympathize with him because he blamed me, his daughter, for every little thing. ¡°¡­Haah.¡± ¡°Carol Ojou-sama, are you alright¡­¡± Maia, the maid, approached me with concern as I sighed. She also became my personal maid at the age of 12, and she would accompany me when I went out for visits to the castle and so on. I didn¡¯t have anyone else in the Arceides family who wanted to be my personal maid. At any rate, let¡¯s quickly return to the remote mansion before Dirk finds us. But still, how did it come to this? The reason why I endured Dirk¡¯s excessive and sexually harassing skinship to the point of almost blowing up the entire castle with [Combat Skill] was that I knew for a fact that in two years, when Dirk turned ten years old, he would leave for the Royal Capital to enroll in the Academy of Magic. If events turned up the way they should, I would undoubtedly have had fewer opportunities to be in contact with Dirk during the six years until he graduated, and I would have been able to push forward with my preparations to be independent. So, you were working behind the scenes to get into Father¡¯s good graces, Big Brother. Before the Wyvern subjugation incident, even though he was an arrogant nobleman¡¯s child, he had a certain amount of smarts, and I could not hate him. Still, he developed a ¡®toughness¡¯ that was typical of a nobleman for some reason. Perhaps this was because he had been educated by me too intensely. Seeing his aristocratic face, I realized that Dirk was one of the [Capture Targets] in the Otome-game. Am I slowly edging closer and closer to becoming the Otome-game ¡®in-game¡¯ me instead of the real me? If what I know of the events that occurred in the Otome-game was the ¡°future¡± and not the ¡°past¡±, then I didn¡¯t become Carol, but rather, it should be that Carol was me, to begin with, am I right? For example, instead of a game villainess recalling memories of her previous life and changing her fate in the game world, as depicted in most spin-off novels, I might transform into a proper villainess just by living ¡®as I am¡¯. My life is an absolute heck of a game. I need to stop sighing. Happiness was escaping me. About 20 milligrams of happiness were dispersed each time I heave a sigh. Maia and I held hands, and it took 40 minutes to get back to the forest mansion on foot. There was no way my father would provide a carriage service for me. There was not a single wolf left in the area anymore. Ever since I kept testing my abilities, this area had become known as an area where a powerful individual ruled. Currently, my basic physical abilities have improved a lot, too, being at five years old. Now, I could probably stay in ¡®adult form¡¯ for a whole day, give and take a few hours. When I arrived back at the house, Meiya welcomed me, who could now focus on the housekeeping since Maia had become my personal maid. ¡°Welcome home, Miss Carol¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Carol, you¡¯re late! I brought you some rare fruit today, but you need this brother of yours by your side.¡± ¡°¡­¡± CH 16.2 We had relocated. We were now living in the house of the Arceides family in the Royal Capital. It was indeed the royal capital. The servants entrusted with the house in the royal capital were poisoned by the [Human Race Supremacy], which was closer to how nobility approached things, even if they were not nobles. They showed me their disgusted faces without even hiding it when I showed my face to them. ¡°Welcome back, Dirk-sama.¡± ¡°Good day to you all. Today, I will not need to be attended to, and don¡¯t worry about Carol.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Well, it didn¡¯t matter. Meiya and her family came with me to take care of me, and we now live in a different place in the garden. It was no different in size from our previous residence. At first, there was a plan to have Dirk ¡®watch¡¯ me in the same room, but the house servants objected and gave up the idea. ¡­ So he was serious about it. Also, the mansion has a greenhouse adjacent to it, and it seems to be equipped with alchemy facilities. Alchemy. Finally, time for some Alchemy. I could only move at night in the frontier so that I couldn¡¯t do alchemy, but eventually, I could do alchemy, but the tools were a little rough, probably because nobody had used them for so many years. I finally could demonstrate my ability to make a fortune by reaching level 100 alchemy mastery, having achieved the world¡¯s first to do so on the VRMMO server in my previous life. I bought up all the advanced medicinal herbs that I didn¡¯t know how to use at that time and produced high-grade elixirs, each one costing 1 million credits, and they sold as fast as I made them. The basic synthesis method only involved the use of magic stones. Still, in the game, the number and quality of the products produced increased dramatically with alchemy equipment, so dedicated alchemy facilities were essential. I earned a good amount of money as an adventurer, but the money deposited in the commercial guild was only about 80 large gold coins. Although this may be a lot of money, we need several times more than this amount to be able to flee the country with Maia and her family. Besides, it costs a lot of money. And so, finally, my life in the Royal Capital, which I did not want, started. £ª ¡°Carol, eat properly. You won¡¯t become fluffy if you eat so little. I¡¯m going to school today, so I can only eat with you in the morning!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Get the heck out of here. Sure enough, as the physical distance between us grew closer¡­no, Father¡¯s eyes stopped bothering us, and Dirk¡¯s binding became stronger. He still cradled me in his lap and tried to feed me honey toast full of honey with his own hands. Dirk¡¯s left hand, held stiffly, touches my leg accidentally, and I get creepy goosebumps all over. Why do you like legs so much? Someone, please do something about this pervert. Everything was out of control already¡­ I tried to scare him before by darkening his vision with the first level dark magic [Blackout], but for some reason, he resisted. Thank God that this was only in the morning. Because until yesterday it was also happening in the afternoon. Dirk wanted to have dinner with me as well, but the senior servants begged him to have dinner at the main residence. ¡°Listen, Carol, you subhumans are a nuisance out there, and you must never leave the residence. You can only stay by my side for as long as you want!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡­At what age could I use a magic gun on this body? I will decide on the perfect crime plan later, but a predictable problem has surfaced now that Dirk started regularly attending the academy. ¡°Um, I¡¯d like to get today¡¯s ingredients¡­¡± ¡°Oh, dear, that¡¯s all I gave you this morning for today. Half-elves only eat grass, don¡¯t they? There¡¯s plenty of grass around here. ¡°Do you know how much the other houses mock the Arceides because of that? You, country folks, should eat grass and make do with it.¡± When Meiya went to the kitchen to get some ingredients, the senior maid servants and butlers were waiting for her to jeer her or were waiting to taunt her by saying such things. Not all people look down on subhumans, even in this mansion, but since this royal city was the center of human race supremacy, most people related to the nobility hated subhumans. The only decent ones would be the old gardener who helps them grow greenhouses and some kitchen servants. ¡°[Confusion]¡± (whisper). ¡°Hyah!¡± ¡°What are you doing!?¡± A senior butler in his 20s squealed like a maiden when he was suddenly pushed down by a 30-something senior lady-in-waiting. Me, Maia, and Meiya, who were in front of them, who were secretly watching from the shadows of the greenhouse, were stunned, and their mouths dropped open. This was second-grade dark magic [Confusion]. The fifth level spell [Frenzy], which could make a demon go wild regardless of its will, could be used, but [Confusion]had less impact and was only as effective as moving a weak-willed animal ¨C instinctively ¨C to the point of making the animal go wild. I thought it might only surprise them a little, but they were very startled. It was an unexpectedly favorable result. ¡°Spirit-sama bless us¡­¡± Wrong, Maia. Oh, by the way, that means maid Ilaria had a baby, and she became a bride. The other party was that frivolous knight. I am the cupid of love. Something must have happened to the two of them that day. I remembered it well because the sky was blue. Well, there was no need to worry about such unimportant matters, but as for the food, the money I have should take care of that, so I will ¡®remind¡¯ the servants of their position for a moment. I am a [Villainess], you know? CH 17.1 In a sense, it was a Fateful Encounter [Part 1] For now, let¡¯s just tease the people who don¡¯t like me in particular. ¡°Maia, did you find any sand?¡± ¡°¡­Eh, ah, yes¡­you know, the silty stuff you find in rivers and springs? Tom-san, the gardener, knew about it, so I asked him to get a bag of it for me. Would you like to see it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I asked Maia to collect the sand for me after I arrived here. What was it to be used for? I would use it in alchemy. The sand she showed me had some impurities, but it looked normal. This would probably be okay, right? ¡°Young Lady?¡± ¡°I will make you some medicine.¡± I poured my magic into the few leaves harvested from the greenhouse and transformed them. According to what I was informed at the Commerce Guild, medicinal herbs like those used in the game are found in lands with a strong magical presence, where demons also spawn. This means that magic in the atmosphere transformed those leaves into herbs with medicinal properties. Couldn¡¯t I use my excess magic power for something similar if that was the case? I tested my hypothesis for the next few days, and my magic had slightly transformed the ordinary herbs. This might be a good alternative for [Medicinal Herb A] which I could use for various purposes. This time I found something rosehip-like, so I should use that. First, when I cast [Synthesis] while pouring magic power into an old ordinary alchemy facility, the facility started to shine, and I could perform ¡°alchemy synthesis¡±. Then, I poured water into the container with life magic, synthesized sand and rose hips with a magic stone, and created [Lotion A] in a glass bottle. Voil¨¤. The sand I¡¯ve asked to procure was used to create this glass container. I guess there were a lot of impurities in it, so the transparency was not good, and the shape was a little warped, but I think it was an acceptable result. ¡°¡­O, o, Young Lady! What is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alchemy. I read about it in a book.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± That¡¯s enough for an explanation. ¡°This is [Face Lotion], which keeps your skin plump and young. I have thirty bottles available, so inquire the Commerce Guild in town if you can sell half of them. I¡¯ll gift the other half to you and your good friends¡­¡± ¡°Really!¡± Meiya suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stared at the lotion with an earnest face. ¡°¡­May I try it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When I nodded, Meiya opened the bottle¡¯s lid, sniffed the scent, and slowly smeared the Face Lotion all over her arms to see the effect. The item [Face Lotion] was something that Players don¡¯t use in VRMMOs. It was a product of a quest when players joined the in-game Alchemy Guild. The Guildmaster of the Alchemy Guild was an old lady in her fifties, and when you join the Guild, you will be tasked to make a Guild item when you raise your Guild rank to Skill 30, 50, 70, or 100. By the way, all of them were beauty products. When Players used the beauty products, nothing would happen to them. However, despite it having no effect on players, it was an item made through the game¡¯s power. Judging from the results, face lotion seemed to be more potent than the real thing I used in my previous life. ¡°Young Lady Carol, this lowly one will take full responsibility for all¡­ I will take care of it.¡± ¡°Sell it. Distribute it.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, I understand.¡± Take good care of it. I would make another batch if we ran out of [Face Lotion]. If the Commerce Guild correctly valued it, this endeavor should earn me more at the times when I wasn¡¯t out adventuring as [The Witch], but as a product made by the daughter of a frontier count. As I expected, it was becoming a little dangerous to sneak out of the bedside of a sleeping 12-year-old Maia and put money on her pillow. ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done a lot today, young lady.¡± ¡°Because I talked a lot.¡± ¡°¡­ I see.¡± The next day, Meiya notified me that after testing the waters by selling the products to the Commerce Guild, they were willing to buy them for one silver coin per bottle. This product is indeed a cash cow for [Face Lotion] to fetch such a good price, isn¡¯t it? Maybe there are not many good beauty products that exist in this world yet. ¡°Use that money to buy foodstuffs.¡± ¡°But¡­yes, Young Lady.¡± Meiya bowed deeply, and I wondered what she had read from my blank expression. ¡°And as for the remaining Face Lotion, I gave one bottle to each of the seven people who were nice to me yesterday.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The bait had been cast. I wonder what kind of response the rest would show? The truth was that I could have asked Dirk to procure the ingredients and also deal with the servants, but I didn¡¯t want to ask that thing to take care of me, so I was left with no choice. I did not want to rely on others. It should be done with my own fist when I want to strike. Thanks for reading. Things are going to get exciting~ CH 17.2 That evening, I received an immediate response. ¡°Um, Young Lady, Carol. Three people asked me if they could have more Face Lotion.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, I understand.¡± There was no way people could consume that amount of products created that fast in a few days. Those who didn¡¯t get it must have wanted it because they realized how potent it was. ¡°Next time, hand this cream to the four tight-lipped people who did not reveal anything about it.¡± ¡°This, this is¡­¡± This time, the product I gave her was [Beautiful Skin Moisturizing Cream]. Players in the VRMMO game made it for the Alchemy Skill 30 quest. ¡°Sell away half of it.¡± ¡°I, I understand.¡± There were whispers and badmouthing of my ¡®evil deeds¡¯ in the mansion from the next day on. Neither Meiya nor Maia spoke a word about these acts, but I could hear them over the other servant¡¯s theatrics. Many words were used to put me down, such as ¡°abomination¡± and ¡°subhuman,¡± but to sum it up, I was labeled as ¡®stingy¡¯. The three people who asked for more [Face Lotion] also apologized directly to me, so I gave them some Mochimochi Cream. It was apparent at a glance that between the two groups of women who obtained and utilized the cream and those who didn¡¯t, because those who did show a different skin glow. As I did so, I could see a tinge of impatience in the women who did not get their hands on the cream. Their badmouthing lost its venom too. Is something wrong? Oh, dear. In the meantime, the Commerce Guild stores started selling the cream. The products were priced several times higher individually than the wholesale price. There were plenty of creams waiting for shipment. Also, that 30-something senior lady-in-waiting tried to steal cream from a commoner maid, so I cast [Confusion] on her again, and this time, she attacked a teenage boy. I became giddy just by imagining what would happen. ¡­Huh? Casting a spell on somebody without them knowing had turned up more enjoyable before I knew it, but it was not something that I planned on enjoying in the first place. I wasn¡¯t sure, but I suspect the Commerce Guild may have leaked the information away. Perhaps someone placed a bounty, but bad actors who noticed that I was the source of the beauty products managed to sneak a handful of people onto the castle premises. My counterattack was surprisingly quick. This castle was, after all, the villa of a frontier count. Without an insider mole, one cannot possibly easily enter, let alone navigate the corridors, without alerting any patrolling knights or staff members. Did someone who disliked me snuck them in? ¡°[Imperial]¡± A pillar of light fell into the courtyard, and in the aftermath ¡­ A few figures evaporated in an instant ¡­ They just disappeared, disintegrated. The pillar of light formed a large crater in the courtyard. Well, I¡¯m ¡®sure¡¯ it was ¡®surely¡¯ an ¡®accident of unknown cause¡¯. There was a bit of a commotion, but a few senior servants started scaring people away the next day, and the overt harassment ceased. I overheard what happened was described as the ¡°Curse of the Abominable Child¡±. The outcome deviated from what I had planned for, but it turned out alright. If I had been able to control magic better, I could have taken more peaceful measures, but there were still many magic spells that I had yet to unlock and learn. I had the Commerce Guild of the Frontier Domain collect grimoires for me, which mostly turned up as useless scribbles, but some grimoires obtained were legitimate. However, the intermediate-level grimoires I had obtained only had spells up to the third level. So what are intermediate-level magic spells like? Well, it was a bit dull. It was like a very poor pudding. I heard that even the advanced level spell books only go up to the 5th level spells, and beyond that, there were rumors that court mages in the royal capital were rumored to have acquired the 6th level spells. No way, was there really a human growth limit of 50 skills? Certainly, players in the VRMMOs completed several [Divine Test] quests and released their skill limits to 100, but¡­. But, well, one could never be too careful. There may be people who have transcended skill restrictions, and if there were 100 Players at least Level 50 or so, such a group would be enough to defeat even me in my prime. There might be a possibility that the frontier territories¡¯ fighting force was not good enough. I couldn¡¯t believe that the knight who protected the country was only as weak as a Level 10 Demon Wolf. How is that even possible? That was why I decided to find as many letters of incantations as possible and increase the number of magic spells that I could unlock. Thanks to the purchased grimoires, I unlocked and learned some high-level spells, but it was still not enough. I was able to purchase light and dark advanced magic grimoires. However, it is only possible to buy more grimoires in the Royal Capital. So I decided to take a nap, changed into my Witch Dress and left for the Royal Capital late in the afternoon. -and before that. ¡°Set [Marking]¡±. CH 17.3 In the game, if one died, one could resurrect at the place marked with this ¡°mark¡±. But in the real world, which was not a game, I do not think that self resurrection would be possible. Among the high-level spells that could be unlocked was the Class 6 Light Magic [Resurrection] ¨C a spell to resurrect the dead. Such a spell does exist, but¡­in this world, it may not be possible to fully resurrect the dead. The resurrection spell probably only works when the person is dying or in a state of suspended animation. I tried it on a defeated monster, and it could be revived up to 10 minutes after death, but definitely not after 30 minutes have passed after death¡­ I could compare it to how electric shock was being used in medical practices to make the heart move again even after it stopped. So a full revival was impossible, but if that was the case, so why did I put a mark here? Teleporting freely was not possible, however, the user could teleport to their own marked points. At my current Level, I could mark five locations, but I only marked three locations. I placed one of them in my room in the royal capital, one inside a hidden room in a mansion in the frontier region, and one in the shade of the walls of the royal capital. If I put more than three marks, I can get lost when I teleport jump on the spur of the moment. It would be dangerous. ¡°[Warp]¡± [Warp] was a Dark Magic category Class 6 magic spell. To learn it, a user must attain the prerequisites of achieving 5th Class Light and Darkness magic mastery. In this world, Light and Darkness magic mastery can be reasonably attained and their magic spells unlocked. Currently I¡¯m able to unlock the 8th Class Light Magic spells as one of my many repertoire in magic. My body was enveloped in darkness, and when I selected a marked point that floated in my mind, the view in front of me instantly changed. Casting teleportation spell still consumed a certain amount of magic power, after all. If I use it to escape as a last resort, I would often run out of MP, which happened a lot in my video game days, so I should be careful. ¡°Now then.¡± Which way should I go? If I wanted to buy an advanced spell book, I should go to either the Commerce Guild or the Mage Guild. It would be hard to buy magic grimoires at Commerce Guild because they would cost one large gold coin per book even though they were separated by attribute, but I heard that Mage Guild would not sell them to me unless I showed my ID, so I would have to go to the adventurer¡¯s guild to obtain my adventurer ID. My name as Witch alone wouldn¡¯t work, right? But if I obtain magic grimoires from the Mage Guild, there could be a lot of written materials that were being researched and their meanings that were not yet understood. ¡°I guess I should try going to the Mage Guild at least.¡± They might be able to show me if they thought that I was competent. If not, I would honestly go elsewhere. Walking around the city in the afternoon in my bright Red Witch Dress, I¡¯m sure I would attract attention. Although I am more relaxed than in the frontier territory in terms of my outfit, there might be a lot of contempt stares at me for being a subhuman. I stopped by at a food stall that caught my eye on the way. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ll have 10 of those skewers, please.¡± ¡°¡­Thanks for the purchase. You¡¯re a half-elf, but you can eat meat?¡± The stall uncle mumbled as he reached for a skewer that had been grilled earlier and was now cold after being left on display. ¡°You have 10 skewers on the grill right now, right.¡± ¡°Huh? They taste the same.¡± ¡°Then, 10 freshly grilled meat skewers. They taste the same, right?¡± ¡°¡­Tsk.¡± The stall uncle wrapped up the freshly grilled meat skewers while clicking his tongue at the passerby¡¯s imploring glances. Looking at it this way, I am led to believe that probably only 20-30% of the people held negative sentiments towards subhumans? Next time, I would buy from another store instead. This mystery meat skewer was not for me to consume. I am buying ninety-nine pieces of each ready-to-eat meal or food so that I could escape with Maia and the others at any time. The exact quantities of each type of food didn¡¯t hold any significant importance. As I was walking along, buying more food to be stored away (in the Magic Bag), I discovered the Mage Guild that I heard about at the kinder mystery meat stand. ¡°¡­Nn?¡± There was some kind of stall outside the Guild, where an old lady was selling pretzels. However, the stall was very crowded. I went up to her and asked her if she was so good that I should buy one too. Then I heard, ¡°Thank you very much, dear Uncle!¡±. A very pretty blonde girl, about five years old, was serving a man. She served with a sparkling, mocking smile and gestures. From a woman¡¯s point of view, it was deceiving, but that presentation was very effective (at winning customers) and it is something I would like to emulate. But she didn¡¯t do it intentionally. She looked natural, but this girl¡­I think I felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. No, no way¡­she¡¯s not the [Heroine], right? Thanks for reading. CH 18.1 Mage Guild [Part 1] Fluffy golden hair like a chick. Jade green eyes are reminiscent of young leaves. Her hard-working figure, with a well-shaped face and an innocent smile, made adults want to protect her, and she even seemed to sparkle. ¡°¡­¡± Oh no. I know that sparkle, though other people did not notice it. Probably because I am a ¡®Player¡¯, I have the ¡°Eye¡± to see it because I usually encounter it. That sparkling thing was¡­ a [Spirit]. Spirits used to be a dangerous enemy, even in the VRMMO. They have 90% resistance to physical attacks and 100% elemental resistance based on what element it is, and they recover 1% of their HP every second it takes damage. Lower-level Spirits only had magic mastery up to the 2nd class spells and only 100 HP, so if the player was of a certain level, they could kill them by pure brute force. Still, low-level players had no choice but to run away. The only thing that generally saved them was that the spirits were easy to escape from since spirits never leave a specific area. Poof. That little girl now had multiple Spirits following her around. But I didn¡¯t think she was a Spirit User. Summoning a spirit would deplete any user¡¯s MP in about 10 minutes. It was a difficult skill to use. Does this mean those Spirits had attached themselves to the girl voluntarily? In other words, is the Spirit on the loose? That would be extremely dangerous. If someone were to attempt to harm that girl directly, there would be a hellish scene in the blink of an eye. If I were in my prime, I would be able to destroy her with an 8th Class or higher ranged attack magic, but if I did that, this area would be burned to the ground, which would not be possible right now. It would be best not to get involved. Let¡¯s pretend that I didn¡¯t see anything and head for the Mage Guild. But as I approached, I started to overhear their conversations, even if I didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Hey brother, the honey pretzels over here are delicious too!¡± ¡°Uh, no, the sweet ones are¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, brother. It will be fine. Here¡¯s a bag for six large copper coins.¡± ¡°Eh, ah, I guess I don¡¯t have a choice¡­¡± ¡°Wow, I love you, brother. I love you, Mister, and I have three servings of the butter flavor left.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need that many¡­¡± ¡°Here¡¯s a souvenir for your wife. It¡¯s a freebie because it¡¯s got a little burnt stuff. It¡¯s for one small silver coin. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m no match for Alice-chan.¡± That girl, Alice, was quite a pushy vendor. What would have happened if she hadn¡¯t been a pretty little girl? No wonder there were only male customers. Well, it might be alright if they were soothed by buying the damaged and burnt products. ¡°Oh, you little elf lady over there! Would you like a pretzel?¡± And, I got tangled up. ¡°Now, this freshly baked¡­oh.¡± Alice dropped the freshly baked pretzel from the tongs she was picking, and the pretzel rolled on the ground. ¡°¡­um¡­¡± Alice picked it up again with tongs, brushed off the sticky soil with her bare hands, put it in a bag, and presented it to me with a smile. ¡°It tastes the same, you know. Here, for a large copper coin.¡± ¡°[Fire Arrow]¡± I burned the stuff in her hands for now. This is a short (split) chapter as we are trying to split chapters from places where it will not cut off story awkwardly. Thanks for reading. CH 18.2 Mage Guild [Part 2] The Spirits behaved oddly in that they would not consider any actions an act of [hostility] unless it was perceived to be a direct harm to the beings they attached themselves to. For example, if you throw something and it hits the target, that would be considered a hostile act, but if somebody threw something and the target was not injured, it would not be considered a hostile act. In short, even if Alice was startled when the dirt-covered pretzel in her hand burned, Spirit couldn¡¯t understand if it was an attack or not because it was not a direct attack on her. But, well, I got stares from the male customers around me, as expected. Only one, an old lady, the stall owner, apologetically bowed to me as I paid for the food. I might have been shortsighted, but I instantly decided that persuasion was impossible. When I was about to get tangled up with the male customers, a female staff member from the Mage Guild intervened. I put away my break revolver, which I prepared for the moment to shoot everyone in the knees, leaving my hands open. ¨C When I entered the Mage Guild amidst the needle-like stares from the male staff, I was greeted by a female staff who meditated without me having to say a word. ¡°I am sorry. We have no prejudice against subhumans, but that little girl seems to be a comfort to the male staff, and we couldn¡¯t risk causing problems with aggressive customers¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. So, how may I help you? I understand that you are not a regular adventurer, but are you here to buy spellbooks?¡± ¡°Advanced spellbooks. And may I see the grimoires you are researching?¡± ¡°That is kind of¡­¡± After all, identification was required for the sale of advanced spellbooks. It would be like buying a gun in the US. To see the spells being researched, I needed to join the guild, but since I was hated by the male staff now, it might be challenging to join the guild, I was told. Either way, I didn¡¯t have any proper identification. Then I muttered something about buying from a Commerce Guild, which was fine, and the female staff member who heard this grabbed my hand. ¡°Do you by any chance have a Commerce Guild ID?¡± ¡°Nn¡± The ID for the Commerce Guild did not require any personal information. Only actual performance ¨C how much you sold and how much you bought ¨C determined the rank you achieved, which was a guarantee in trust. The female employee was surprised at the silver card I showed her. I have delivered quite a few weapons and purchased quite a few grimoires in the past two years. This silver card was something that a medium-sized trading company with a dozen or so employees would have in the Royal Capital. ¡°If this is the case, I can sell directly to you, although it will be a bit informal.¡± It would seem that selling spell books to the Commerce Guild was also a business that took advantage of the inadequacies of the law, such as trusting the identity of someone from the Commerce Guild, and that I, with the ID of the same Commerce Guild, would be allowed to buy them, broadly speaking, considering that I am a member of the same Guild. ¡°However, only direct personal purchases from me, not from the surface. For the business coming from the Commerce Guild, both guilds will add a charge of 10% each for a total of 20%, but if you buy them directly from me, how about 5% on top of that to cover direct expenses?¡± ¡°Deal.¡± The female employee and I grin and shook hands firmly. We made good business. I was also able to get a copy of the pre-research memos to be handed over to the Guild in exchange for information once I knew the spells. ¨C Time went by, and I continued my research with Spell Books and Grimoires provided by the Guild. I continued my life, dividing it to research and making cosmetics with Meiya¡¯s continued pestering when one morning, my brother Dirk suddenly announced. ¡°Today in the evening, a friend from the academy, a legitimate son of the Duke of Prata¡¯s family, will be coming to visit me. A subhuman like you should not leave your room, don¡¯t let him find you, okay? You never know what anyone might be interested in, including a subhuman like you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t answer without being told. What¡¯s that? The Duke of Prata¡­ as I remembered, that family was where the other Villainess belongs to, the Villainess Flare. CH 19.1 The Real Villainess [Part 1] Let¡¯s look back at another villainess, [Silver Rose] aka Flare Mercury Prata. She was the daughter of the Duchess of Prata, whose mother was a princess and sister of the king and was also royalty. In the Otome Game, she was the same age as the heroine and Carol and entered the school at age 10, but this person was a complete monster, different from the heroine. She was portrayed in-game as a gorgeous woman with silver hair that swirled like flames and blue eyes that shone like jewels, oozing the strength of her will. At the age of 16, she had already developed a well-endowed body. Unlike the heroine and Carol whose bodies looked like the Great Plains, her feminine features were evidently clear from the time she entered the school. Thus, she could seduce many upper-level students to become her underlings and servants. According to the original setting, several pieces of ornaments in the kingdom were inhabited by spirits, and the royal family had the spirits¡¯ protection. ¡­ I wonder what it would be like to have a spirit betray an oath. The villainess¡¯ character was uncompromising. She also does not flatter, nor does she show any concern for anyone. I¡¯m impressed with her character since she behaved more like an empress, than the actual Empress or any of the royal family. The heroine and I were not only water and oil, but we were [natural enemies]. I didn¡¯t mind it, though. As long as the conflict was on the other side of the screen. (Editor: meaning as long as the conflict doesn¡¯t affect our MC) That¡¯s why I decided to stay hidden. Today, it might be Flare¡¯s older brother, the eldest son, who would come to visit us. Even if I was an ¡®abomination¡¯, he might take an interest in me, knowing that I was a daughter close to the age of his younger sister. I really would like to leave this mansion, but Dirk ordered Meiya and the others to keep an eye on me. Even Maia won¡¯t leave my side during nap time. ¡°Miss Carol, it seems that Master Dirk returned with the Prata family¡¯s young master just a few minutes ago. He has the blood of a royal princess running in him, so he¡¯s technically a prince. It¡¯s wonderful, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± If Flare succeeded in the Royal Human Bootlicking Route, he would become a prince. Maia seemed curious, but I wouldn¡¯t sneak off to see them and raise unnecessary death flags. I would live a sober and solid life until I grow up and have a little dream of finally shooting some 10th-grade annihilation magic at the Royal Castle and then fleeing to somewhere I wouldn¡¯t be tracked. *Bang*. ¡°Ca, Carol Ojou-sama!¡± Meiya, who was usually concerned about etiquette, opened the door briskly and entered the remote mansion. ¡°Oh, what a shabby Bunny hutch! Where is the long-eared Bunny-chan?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Why are you here? My cheeks, which had remained expressionless, twitched slightly at the sound of the voice I heard. What? Wasn¡¯t the one who came today the heir of the Duke of Prata? Why did the worst kind of monster also come here? ¡°Is Bunny-chan here?¡± A girl of about five years old with luxurious silver hair appeared. She was dressed in extravagant clothes and had a well-toned face. Maia was as stiff as a puppy dog staring at Medusa. The visitor was none other than the other villainess of this world ¨C Flare. ¡°Oh my goodness, what a cute little black Bunny-chan, I¡¯m so glad I forced big brother to come along.¡± Upon finding me, Flare smiled adorably with narrowed eyes and pinched the hem of her skirt for me, showing off her stunning curtsy. ¡°Nice to meet you, Bunny-chan. My name is Flare Mercury Prata. I hope you would like to become friends with me.¡± ¡°¡­My name is Carol.¡± Thanks for reading. CH 19.2 The Real Villainess [Part 2] As I returned the greeting, Flare approached me and held out her right hand as if to shake mine. *Pan!* The unsightly maids behind Flare immediately moved when I brushed her hand away, but Flare stopped them by raising one hand. The maids behind her are definitely guards and assassins. Flare smiled smugly, not caring that I brushed her hand off. ¡°Oh my, that¡¯s rude. What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°You should wash your hands.¡± ¡°Oh, my, pardon me.¡± She wiped [poison] on her hands with the handkerchief she received from the assassin maid behind her and used [Flowing Water], a life magic, to wash her hands on the carpet. The floor was soaked with water. Good thing I remembered the Flare event. That was a yucky-looking [deadly poison], which permeates through the skin. ¡°Fufu. Don¡¯t worry. If you wash your hands within a quarter of an hour, the poison won¡¯t penetrate. Oh, by the way, poison doesn¡¯t work on me.¡± When Flare tossed the poisoned handkerchief into the air, it instantly burned away, and the soggy carpet immediately dried. ¡°It¡¯s too hot. Keep it away from me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an abomination, indeed. I can¡¯t believe you can see this child. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s more than I expected, like what happened just now.¡± That handshake with the poisoned hand was not an assassination or anything like that. It was just a ¡®GREETING¡¯. Annoying. The Spirit of Fire was clinging around that Flare. So, she was using the spirit of the flame. How did they tame it?¡± ¡°More importantly, how long are you going to keep me standing there?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I nodded lightly and headed towards the couch. The assassin maid radiated a deadly intent toward me, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered with that. As expected of the villainess Flare, I felt a strong presence and a sense of intimidation, as if I was confronting some end-of-the-century champion. ¡°You¡¯re using some pretty nice furniture for a rabbit hutch, aren¡¯t you?¡± The assassin maids prepared tea for Flare and me, stopping Meiya with their eyes as she was about to serve tea. Apparently, they knew me from the beginning as an [abominable] half-elf. When Flare heard that her brother was going to visit this mansion, she forced him to bring her along to judge my worth with her own eyes. If I didn¡¯t meet her expectations, I would have been dead after she left, though. I heard that she allowed her maids to roast tea for her because she was not concerned about being poisoned but because she doesn¡¯t like cheap tea leaves. ¡°Alright, this should be fine.¡± This girl is just¡­ ¡°Ah, right, I wanted to tell you something. You don¡¯t need to overthink things, but I did have a purpose in coming over. You see, I promised this one, the spirit, that I would eventually wrap this country in flames.¡± ¡°¡­¡± As expected of Flare, the assassin maids were pale when she swore to the spirits that she would destroy this country as casually as if she were talking about yesterday¡¯s weather. A promise to a spirit sounds as dangerous as a devil¡¯s pact. ¡°¡­why are you going to burn it?¡± ¡°Oh? Because what is the point of having a country where I am not the ruler?¡± Flare tilted her head in wonder at my question. Flare in the Otome Game was also a very dynamic person. Even when she was put on the guillotine by the heroine, she was still smiling broadly to the very end. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you. I like you, so come under my protection and be my property.¡± [TL: I Smell Yuri] [Editor: Yandere Yuri you mean] ¡°I decline.¡± It was a slightly enticing proposition, but it was not the direction in life I was interested to head to. I immediately declined, and Flare laughed in amusement, not even offended by my rejection . ¡°Well, that¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s get down to business.¡± I thought that was the main issue. ¡°I hear you make quality cosmetics. Is that an elvish skill? From now on, instead of wholesaling to commercial guilds, you will deliver everything to the Dukedom of Prata. Good.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I see. Was that a flag? I thought it odd that she would come to see me because I was an abomination. To keep that cosmetic product to yourself, to monopolize it¨C ¡°How much will you buy it from me?¡± I asked, and Flare¡¯s smile deepened. ¡°Double the price when sold to a commercial guild.¡± ¡°They earn five times as much. And there are other stuffs, too, you know? How much would you price it at?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­okay. I¡¯ll pay five times. You understand what I¡¯m saying, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course. A good deal.¡± Of course, I wasn¡¯t trying to please anyone with those cosmetics. I just want to make money. Making a lot of cosmetics and selling them for cheap would be too much of a hassle. Of course, I do not need to antagonize Flare. I wouldn¡¯t be directly involved, but I wouldn¡¯t be hostile either. That would be the agreement. ¡°It¡¯s been worthwhile. You can put poison in the cosmetics you deliver, right? I wouldn¡¯t mind. Fufufu. Have a good day, Carol.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, Flare.¡± I also muttered to Flare, who left with a broad smile on her face. That¡¯s Flare. To think that she was only five years old. How scary. CH 20.1 Aristocratic Boys [Part 1] The storm had passed. Really, again, I didn¡¯t need these death flags. Flare in the Otome Game was intense, but she was even more intense in reality. She was only five years old. Five years old, mind you. I wonder what would happen to her when she entered the magic academy? By then, I would need to unlock as many spells as possible and raise my basic physical strength as well. As long as I could increase my base strength ¨C to be precise, to the point where I¡¯m strong enough to battle 100 or so knights in the capital, I didn¡¯t know how strong I¡¯d be. I wouldn¡¯t blame Flare or Dirk, but I¡¯d like to avoid encountering other capture targets or anything like that (seriously). ¡°Carol Ojou-sama, would you like to take a walk in the garden for a change of pace?¡± ¡°¡­Nn¡± Should I take a walk to take advantage of Maia¡¯s kindness in taking care of me? ¡°Well then, young lady, let us hold hands!¡± ¡°Nn¡± I didn¡¯t have to hold hands with her, but she insisted on holding my hand. She also stayed by my side when I read books, and the skinship was getting more and more intense year by year, but it was too much trouble to persuade her to stop, so I begrudgingly held her hand quietly. I was probably just a bit distracted after Flare¡¯s arrival departure, which came and went like a hurricane. Don¡¯t tell me¨D¨D ¡°Oh, are you the Bunny-Chan my sister told me about? I see, you¡¯re a lovely girl.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had no idea that after Flare left, the Duke¡¯s heir apparent who came with him was still there. ¡°Carol! Why did you come out of your room! A subhuman like you should never be seen by other nobles!¡± No, I have already met Flare, big brother. ¡°Well, well, Dirk, don¡¯t scold Bunny-chan so much. I¡¯m the one who wanted to tour the gardens.¡± The beautiful boy with silver hair and blue eyes, similar to Flare¡¯s, smiles so kindly that it is hard to believe that he and Flare are brother and sister, and bows gracefully. ¡°Hello again, Bunny-chan, I am Cashmere Flute Prata, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m Carol.¡± Could it be that this man was a ¡®decent¡¯ person, which is rare for an aristocrat? ¡°Hmph, subhumans can¡¯t even greet properly. I guess I shouldn¡¯t let her out of the house after all.¡± Dirk was behaving obnoxious as usual. ¡°Well, that¡¯s okay. It¡¯s much better than my sister, who comes to stab me when I greet her absent-mindedly. My butler got stabbed the other day, and it was a bloody mess.¡± Flare was also being Flare as usual. ¡°And I originally came here to talk to you about Flare because you have a sister who is the same age as mine, and I¡¯d like to talk to Bunny-chan about it.¡± ¡°¡­Tsk, I suppose it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°¡­¡± But still, Dirk and Cashmere seem to get along very well. Perhaps they had a good time talking about his no-good sister? Then, regardless of my consent, it became a tea party with me included. ¡°Cashmere, please get the heck out of here¡±, I thought to myself. ¡°Well, my sister, who was supposed to arrive in the carriage with me, has hastily departed in a different carriage by herself.¡± ¡°¡­¡± That Flare, seriously¡­ Cashmere and his guards were getting ready to ride in another carriage departing from our house, so they were free until the carriage was ready. ¡°Bunny-chan is so cute compared to my Flare. Would you like to be my adopted sister?¡± ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m not letting her out. She¡¯s staying with me all the time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± For some reason, I have been seated in between Dirk and Cashmere on the sofa. I received numerous stares from the servants who were serving the aristocrats. I disliked being in this position, but Cashmere was relatively decent for an aristocrat, so that was my only relief in all this discomfort. ¡°Bunny-chan, you can come to me anytime you want. I have a special dragon-skin ¡®collar¡¯ for you, sweet Bunny-chan.¡± ¡­Nn? ¡°Cashmere, I told you I wouldn¡¯t let you have her. Carol, I¡¯ll get you a golden collar and shackles.¡± ¡°What are you talking about, Dirk, dragon leather can¡¯t be broken even by half-elf magic, so they can never escape? And drugging people to take away their freedom is not my cup of tea.¡± ¡­Nn? ¡°Oh-ho, it has that effect?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll let my Flare be your fianc¨¦e, and you can give me Bunny-chan. I¡¯ll be responsible for her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want such a scary young lady. I don¡¯t want a strong woman. I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m going to raise her to be a lady and keep her in short skirts, so Carol, wouldn¡¯t you prefer it that way?¡± ¡°¡­¡± It is not a good thing, you idiot! What the heck was wrong with these guys? Is this the default state of aristocrats in this country? The servants were nodding in agreement, at least on the duke¡¯s side, that they wanted to keep me. These folks are no good. They were rotten to a level that is impossible to correct anymore. Thanks for reading. CH 20.2 These folks are no good. They were rotten to a level that is impossible to correct anymore. ¡°[Confusion]¡±(Weak) I secretly chanted [Confusion], which expanded the range of magical power consumption by five times, and dark-colored magical power overflowed from me, making the servants with weak magical resistance ¡°confused¡±. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, some of them started taking off their clothes on the spot, others got down on their knees to facing the clock tower to ask for forgiveness, and others started confessing about their embezzlement. ¡°Haha, what¡¯s this, Bunny-chan, are you haunted by the Spirit of Darkness?¡± ¡°Damn, Spirit of Darkness again. This person is really no good. I¡¯m not letting her out for the rest of her life.¡± As expected , Cashmere and Dirk managed to resist the spell. Since the two most important people in the room didn¡¯t care at all, my outburst was considered an outburst of [Spirit of Darkness] and I was not to be blamed for it. I was too short-tempered for my own good. Though I behaved in a slightly calculative motive that if I caused a problem here, I might be able to leave the capital, you know? But I feel like I have raised yet another death flag in vain again. One boy knight in his mid-teens with short-cropped brunette hair, who resisted dark magic in addition to Dirk and Cashmere, stared at me with a contemptuous expression. What now? Are you going to do something? Would you try to even fight with a five-year-old? ¡°¡­¡± As I stared at the boy knight without looking away, Cashmere noticed and called out to him curiously. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Abel, are you really so bothered by this little bunny?¡± ¡°No, I mean¡­¡± Abel, the boy knight, stammered at the words of his master, Cashmere. ¡°Recently, I heard that a half-elf adventurer called The Witch has been causing all kinds of trouble in the capital and that a subhuman is showing off her face magnificently in the capital¡­.¡± I wonder who he was talking about. ¡°What? That subhuman woman!¡± ¡°Dirk, do you know her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s an incredibly destructive woman. She¡¯s strong and a show-off, so watch out for her.¡± No. I am not a show-off. ¡°Haha, such a cute Bunny-chan is glaring at you, probably because they¡¯re both half-elves? Hey, Bunny-chan, this Abel is the son of a knight captain called [Master Swordsman] here in the Kingdom of Caenista, and he¡¯s not a bad guy.¡± ¡°¡­Master Swordsman?¡± Abel¡¯s father, the Knight Commander, was somehow the best swordsman in the country. Was there anyone like that in Otome Game? In the Otome Game, there were no exact strength parameters, so I wouldn¡¯t be so sure if he had nothing to do with the game. ¡­I am concerned about the level of the best knight in this country. He might become my enemy in the future, you know. ¡°Oh, Bunny-chan is interested in knights too? They are popular with the girls, after all. If you like, I¡¯ll let you observe the training of knights with my grace.¡± ¡°Hey, Cashmere! I¡¯m not letting her out of the house!¡± ¡°Come on, Dirk, even Bunny-Chan is stressed out from being at home all the time, and the dark spirits are playing tricks on her.¡± ¡°¡­Tsk¡± No, I didn¡¯t ask. Is my will going to be ignored again? It seemed certain to me that the nobles of this country, like Dirk and Cashmere, do not regard subhumans as human beings. After all, Cashmere thinks nothing of me but a [pet]. He still refused to call me by my name. In that respect alone, Flare, who called me by name and treated me as an equal as a business partner, was still better. But at the core, Flare was really the same as the Flare from the game in her every word and action. What should I do with all this resentment? Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t visit the Adventurer¡¯s Guild yet after arriving in the capital, so I might as well go there. I wonder if such pent-up resentment was showing on my face. Seeing my face, Cashmere frowned on Abel. ¡°Abel, you have frightened little Bunny-chan. To make up for it, you should serve that thing you bought.¡± ¡°Eh¡­that, that is.¡± ¡°What is it, Cashmere?¡± ¡°They¡¯re pretzels, Dirk, have you heard of them? There¡¯s a stall in front of the Mage Guild, and Abel loves their honey butter pretzels.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Is that thing from the ¡°Heroine¡± after all? I preferred not to take it from Abel either, so don¡¯t prepare anything else, was what I tried to project with my gaze. CH 21.1 Adventurers¡¯ Guild of the Royal Capital [Part 1] Five years have passed since I was reborn into this world. It had been two years since I recovered from the memory haze, and now it was time to try to unwind my memory about the [Capture Targets]. Although, I don¡¯t remember much, to begin with. From the beginning, as far as my memory was concerned, I only [retained as much of my original ego as possible], so I couldn¡¯t even recall the names of my family members from my previous life. Regardless of such unimportant things, what matters now is the information about the capture targets. I have captured five¡­ Or was it six targets when I played the game? I only completed each only once, but I did it efficiently, and as a result, it turned out to be a brilliant reverse Harem End achievement. I only remembered¡­ first, the crown prince of this Caenista kingdom. Then probably my big brother, Dirk. And then the son of the Knight Commander¡­ was it Abel or another sibling? And the man with glasses who looked intellectual, who was the son of the Prime Minister. And the frail son of a Court Mage. Oh, and there was also a shorty who was the grandson of an archbishop. The description was a bit vague because I didn¡¯t remember their names, and I didn¡¯t recognize Abel either, and it¡¯s been ten years since I last met him, so I might not recognize him even if I met him now. There must be other hidden characters. I only completed the game once, so I had never properly remembered their physical outlines. Well, living an everyday life as a shut-in, I wouldn¡¯t have met them until I was ten years old and entering the magic academy, but I had already met a few of them¡­. I was forced to observe the Knights¡¯ training, but I wonder if it would be okay. If I told them that I didn¡¯t feel so good, wouldn¡¯t I be able to escape? ¡­For now, let¡¯s think about the disturbing things later and visit the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for a change of pace. After eating dinner and taking a bath, I said I was tired already today and got into bed earlier than usual, and it felt so good that I almost fell asleep as usual, but I set out for the night town. ¡°Setup [Witch Dress]¡± After all, this would typically be the easiest gear to move around in. There were three complete sets of charged equipment, including this Witch Dress. Still, the Arjuna Cloche and the other one, which were designed for exclusive purposes, were made to have very high performance but bad on other points overall, so the Witch Dress, which was designed for general use and capable of magic-based weapon combat, was recommended for everyday use. However, it was inferior to the other two when it came to min-maxing for specific situations and operations. It was still nighttime. The streets of the Royal Capital were still brightly lit. In the Royal Capital, magic stones are used in abundance, so all the stores were illuminated by the twinkling lights of the grimoire lights. Yet, I ignored this until now. In the frontier area, people obtained magic stones by hunting demons in the Demon Forest, but where do adventurers in the Royal Capital obtain magic stones? In the VRMMO game, players and NPCs attacked ruins and settlements of orcs, ogres, and other subhuman beasts, but I wondered if the same situation is happening in this reality? Even if they were constantly hunting, they wouldn¡¯t respawn once they were wiped out, would they? There was information on the guild¡¯s bulletin board in the game, but the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in this world was just an over-glorified buy-and-sell shop, so you had to buy information from other adventurers or the Commerce Guild. People still stare at me in town. Was it because I am a subhuman? I went into the backstreets to escape such stares as the Commerce Guild came into view. In every city in the country, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was conveniently located behind the Commerce Guild, so it was always easy to find it. Once I entered the back alley, it became dark. There were streetlights on the front street, and in the evening, students of the Academy of Magic were often seen pouring their magic into the streetlights as a part-time job, but there were no such things in the back alleys. There would be no honest stores or eateries but relatively deserted cheap bars and suspicious stores with hardly any light leaking out. Since it was such a place¨C ¡°Hey, hey, you fancy-looking girl there, can I borrow some money for drinks?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Well, these kinds of cliche situations often happen, doesn¡¯t it? In a sense, this was also a common sight. It would be a tradition at this point. Thanks for reading. Story is going to enter a new ¡°arc¡± from hereon so stay tuned. CH 21.2 I think the only half-elves who dress like this would be adventurers with leanings, but when a young, slender woman is alone, she would be highly likely to be involved in some form of shenanigans. ¡°Hey, listen,¡± *Gakin*. ¡°Gaaaahhh!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He almost grabbed my shoulder, so I ended up grabbing his arm and twisting it, which made an excellent sound. Even without physical strengthening, my muscle strength exceeded 200 points¡­. I still couldn¡¯t control my strength when I moved reflexively. Or rather, I am too different from the 5-year-old Carol and cannot adjust my strength at all. Then two red-faced guys who looked like his friends came running up to me. ¡°What the hell are you doing, b*tch?¡± ¡°Oh, you son of a b*tch, if you don¡¯t want me to call the guards, I¡¯ll ask you to leave money for my medical treatment.¡± I see. A two-step approach would not leave any openings if he got hit. ¡°In other words, you¡¯re saying I should only make you keep your mouth shut here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I tilted my head and held up my magic gun, and the men dragged the fallen man, his red face turning blue, as if they knew it was a weapon even if they didn¡¯t know what it truly was. Although it was quite a bit out of order, this ended up happening in the end without me doing anything, so it saved me the trouble of dealing with them if I threatened them. They were lucky I didn¡¯t shoot them in the knees the moment I got involved. As I started to walk away as if nothing had happened, the thug-like people turned away from me to make way. ¡­ Is this how the [Witch] attained notoriety, wasn¡¯t it? As I walked down the back alley, I suddenly saw a building like a warehouse, so I immediately recognized that it was the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. However, the building looked a little different from the guilds in the frontier territories. How should I put it ¡­[smell]? I am not trying to say that it smells terrible, but it simply doesn¡¯t have the smell of older adults who haven¡¯t taken a bath. Once inside, I understood why. More than half of the adventurers there¡­ No, 70% of them were all dressed up in fancy clothes. What¡¯s more¨C ¡°Uncle, aren¡¯t you tired of eating the same old preserves that don¡¯t taste good? How about these hard-baked pretzels?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll fall apart if I hold it¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. An adventurer of the capital will be fine. Two bags for a small silver coin.¡± ¡°Alice, you, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Wow, I love you, uncle. Oh, knight brother, I saved five bags of honey butter pretzels for you. They¡¯re a little crumbly, but they¡¯re delicious. ¡°Five bags? Oh, of course, I¡¯ll buy them.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I love you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Was it d¨¦j¨¤ vu? An auditory hallucination? From the crowd of male adventurers, I heard voices and names I had heard somewhere before. This is not a good situation. Let¡¯s go home quickly. The moment I turned on my heel. ¡°Oh, the elf lady was mean to me the other day.¡± I got entangled. ¡°Alice-chan, did this half-elf do something to you?¡± ¡°Yes, uncle. I¡¯m just trying to be nice ¡­ I brought her freshly baked pretzels and was surprised when she burned them.¡± ¡°What?¡± She was still out of my sight, but she seemed to have spotted me through the small gap between the adults and got involved. ¡°Ah, you, you¡¯re that half-elf woman who¡¯s been doing stuff lately!¡± ¡°¡­¡± A young boy knight who came out with Alice from the crowd saw me and raised his voice. Why would Abel, a ducal knight, be in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild? I wondered how he knew about the pretzels sold in front of the Mages¡¯ Guild, but I guess he bought them from Alice here as well. I only stepped into the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and I landed myself in a tricky situation within a few seconds. Abel was staring at me as if he was about to draw his sword. But he can¡¯t seem to pull out his sword because he held five pretzels bags. Pfft. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?!¡± Thanks for reading. CH 21.3 I chuckled, and Abel put his hand on the sword. Do you want to pull it out? Will you pull it out? If you pull out your sword in the guild, I¡¯ll¡­ chop you up too, you know? I narrowed my eyes quietly, and the guild fell silent, perhaps sensing my intimidation. In the midst of it all, Abel dropped the bag of pretzels, and Alice was moving around a bit, retrieving it and secretly putting it back on the sales floor. Amazing, this girl. ¡°I know your rumor, half-elf [witch]. I heard that you defeated a wyvern with a dubious spell, but if you have the materials from that hunt, let¡¯s have you hand it over to us!¡± ¡°Are you mugging me?¡± ¡°No! If the wyvern were out there, my father would have hunted it down, and we would have used the materials to craft my equipment¡­¡± Ah, I see, so that¡¯s why you have me in your sights. I was amazed, for reasons I have no control over. In the game, the son of the Knight Commander gave the impression of being a bit more calm and mature, but this guy (that same Knight Commander) in reality, still seems like a child. ¡°As a knight, I can¡¯t forgive what you did to Alice. I challenge you to a duel! If I win, you will hand over all the materials you harvested from the wyvern.¡± ¡°So you are trying to mug me?¡± ¡°No! Let¡¯s go!¡± What¡¯s the difference? It looked like they were trying to pick a fight with me and take away my belongings. The guards who would come to stop adventurers when they pull out their swords, for some reason, didn¡¯t try to stop them either. He looks a little troubled, so perhaps it would be legal in this country for a ¡°nobleman¡± to do this to a ¡°subhuman¡±. Abel attacked me with a luxuriously decorated one-handed sword drawn from his waist. The physical reinforcement that was triggered by my will to fight made his movements seem very slow, so I dealt with him without any panic. ¡°Set [Ridil] ¡° *Gakin!* ¡°What! What¡¯s with that sword? Abel exclaimed as he was in a position ready to clash with the sword I was holding. Compared to the Zanbatou Ridil, a 180 cm long sword, Abel¡¯s sword, with a blade length of 120 cm long; it looked just like a toy in comparison. Abel¡¯s sword does look ornamental, but as I recall, a knight¡¯s one-handed sword was considered a spare weapon on the battlefield, so it wouldn¡¯t be comparable to be a proper primary weapon. Abel himself seemed to possess a certain amount of skill, or maybe his muscle power was high due to the combination of skill and magic power. *Gugugu¡­* ¡°What the heck?¡± In that flash of clashing steels, my Zambatou Ridil easily destroys Abel¡¯s sword blade like snapping a twig. ¡°Ahh!¡± There were screams from those around me as the broken blade was flung away, and Abel, who had fallen on his buttocks, looked up at me as if he could not believe what he was seeing. ¡°Ki, you¡­¡± ¡°If you want good weapons, I¡¯m wholesaling them to the Commerce Guild. Why don¡¯t you buy those?¡± Anyway, I ignored Abel and went to where the sword blade had stuck, and there I found the blade stuck in the floor and Alice, who had fallen and was bleeding from her knees. I see sparkling things again, so did the spirits protect her? ¡°There.¡± ¡°¡­Eh.¡± It was not a wound that would require recovery magic, but I am not a demon either. I took a silk handkerchief out of my bag and offered it to her, and Alice accepted it, despite her questioning look. Although there was blood, however, the wound had already disappeared just as Alice wiped it with her hand. Perhaps the spirits had already healed it. As expected of a super cheat level character. She looked around, a bit flustered about what to do with the handkerchief she had received for wiping the wound. Suddenly, she used the silk handkerchief to polish her dirty shoes and offered me the muddy handkerchief with a big smile¡ªA smile filled with pride of accomplishing something. ¡°Thank you, onee-san!¡± ¡°[Fire Arrow]¡± I set the handkerchief in her hand aflame for now. £ª For some reason, I¡¯m getting more stares from people around me again. On the other side, Abel and Alice were¨C [I¡¯m not sure what the difference is between the two. What the hell was that weapon?] [I¡¯m not going to let that bother me. I¡¯ll sell another five bags of lost pretzels to make up for the ones I lost.] ¡ª I heard such a conversation, but Alice was tough. In the midst of all this. ¡°Oh, I knew she was the witch from back then. What are you doing?¡± When I turned around at the sound of such a voice I heard, I saw a Cat-Beast Woman dressed like a bandit I had seen somewhere before. Who was she again? CH 22.1 Underground Ruins [Part 1] ¡°It¡¯s been so long. You¡¯ve done it, Witch. Sneakily poaching our wyvern hunt from the side.¡± (Editor¡¯s note: Basically, kill-stealing, a gamer term) I remembered them by looking at the chest of a woman in her mid¡­to late twenties with her arms crossed to emphasize her well endowed bosoms with a thin smile full of sarcastic remarks, and the (hairy) thighs of a cat girl about twenty years old who was at the same table glaring at me with an upward glance. They were the delightful companions of the eccentric adventurer, the silver-haired Jimmy, whom I had met at the frontier. Marie and Helga, I think? It¡¯s been two years, hasn¡¯t it? ¡°¡­I thought you fled away from your so-called [your wyvern]?¡± ¡°No, we were just trying to move into a better position!¡± Helga, the cat-beastman, shouts a retort in response to my quip. The girls found the wyvern, challenged it to a fight, and fled to the city¡¯s outskirts with the wyvern in tow¡ªbasically, a monster train. The knight squadron of the frontier count suffered damage because of this. Still, to maintain their reputation, the frontier count pretended that it had never happened and that they were not responsible, but it did not stop the rumors. They were forced to leave the frontier territory with the cold, unforgiving gazes of the people around them. The reason as to why I am invited to sit at the same table with these girls, even though it had been two years, is because I had tormented Alice, a young pretzel-selling girl. She was about to get tangled up with some men, so I used the table as a temporary shelter. ¡°By the way, where are Jimmy and Kenneth?¡± ¡°¡­Oh, that.¡± I asked about the flashy Jimmy in his silver shiny armor and Kenneth in his spiky black armor when I didn¡¯t see those two. Marie, the sorceress, addressed the pair as ¡®that¡¯ with a dumbfounded look on her face while pointing them out in a corner of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. The male duo Jimmy and Kenneth started buying pretzels from that Alice, and were struck by her cuteness like a small animal. They were buying so much as if they were paying tribute to her. ¡­ Seriously? ¡°That girl¡­she¡¯s a kid, right?¡± ¡°Yes, she is! Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange? Sure, she¡¯s cute compared to other kids, but she¡¯s only five years old, right? What are they expecting from that kid?¡± Helga chimed in to agree with my words about how they reacted to Alice. Even if she was a heroine, what was going on with her, deceiving men at the tender age of five? And even Helga, who found it funny, said she was pretty. Could it be that she has an incredibly high charm value? I believe she was a [beloved child] of the spirit, so the spirit¡¯s blessing may have boosted her stats. I also possess several times the charm value of an average person, but for some reason, all I get around me are stalkers of the wrong kind? Could this be the difference between a [beloved child] and a [abominable child]¡­I don¡¯t get it. Was it essential to make a good impression in general? ¡°I don¡¯t care about those guys. I¡¯ve got something good to say to you girls.¡± Marie grinned as she dropped Jimmy and the others off. Even though she was in her prime, she had already cut the guys off, Marie? ¡°¡­If you just ask.¡± The Adventurer¡¯s Guild did not provide us with detailed information, but it was mentioned that there were ruins spread out under the royal city and some strong monsters in the area. The Knights of the Royal City managed the several entrances, but the Commerce Guild bought the troublesome entrances around the edges of the Capital and had adventurers come and go from there. Ah, I see. That¡¯s why there were so many well-equipped adventurers of the eccentric type. I didn¡¯t know that because there was no such thing as an Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the Otome game. But as I recalled, there was a story about dragon zombies appearing from underground in an event to capture the crown prince, wasn¡¯t there? Could those zombie dragons come from the ruins? Marie said that from where they entered through the entrance meant for adventurers, Marie and her friends found a door leading to the depths. ¡°We found some strange footprints there, and Helga thinks it¡¯s probably a Minotaur.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I believe its level was lower than wyverns, but by the time I reached a high enough level to hunt them safely, the foodstuffs were not worth much income, so I hardly ever hunted them. ¡°It¡¯s a hassle, so I¡¯m leaving this one off.¡± ¡°¡­you.¡± Apparently, their behavior was like a suicide attempt, so I basically refused to go along. Also, being a half-elf, I wasn¡¯t attracted to grilled meat. But, well, I got some good information. I was a [witch] with a bad reputation among adventurers, so it was hard for me to get information from my peers. But that being said, there was no way I would work with walking time-bombs like these girls. It was alright with me, I had a good relationship with the Commerce Guild, and I was able to get some good information from them. So, while selling my usual steel swords, I also obtained information about the ruins. The next day, after a good nap, I set out for the ruins at night. CH 22.2 The next day, after a good nap, I set out for the ruins at night. The place was further away in the western part of the Capital, but I marked it with [Warp] yesterday, so I could immediately jump there. ¡°¡­¡± As expected, she wouldn¡¯t be selling her pretzels every consecutive day. Somehow, I felt that my encounter with her became a personal trauma. I greeted the guard and entered the ruins, but there were few other adventurers as expected at night. There were no demons either, but this was not a game, so it was impossible to be surrounded by demons right from the entrance. Still, the compound was not entirely empty. As I passed by an adventurer who was finishing off a goblin-like creature, a warrior carrying a kitchen ax stepped toward me as if he wanted to say something. ¡°[Fire Lance].¡± A [Flame Lance] was fired in a quick chant, passing by the warrior and instantly scorching the goblin thief who had been sneaking upon him. ¡°¡­¡± With that shot, the warrior was stunned, as if rooted in a cold sweat, but quickly regained his composure and readied his ax. ¡°Damn you, you Witch, you messed with a comrade¡¯s prey¡­¡± ¡°Wait! I didn¡¯t see it either. She just saved us!¡± A man who looked like a Ranger hurriedly stopped the warrior from behind him. The warrior, still unconvinced, turned to a man who looked like a magician at a distance, but the magician looked blue and shook his head at the power of the [Flame Lance]. [Flame Lance] was a 3rd class attack magic, but even adventurers in the Royal Capital didn¡¯t seem to have high levels with them fighting this close to the entrance. I continue on, passing by the adventurers who silently cleared the way. I bought a general map from the Commerce Guild, so there was no need for mapping, but it was my first proper adventure in a long time. And it was the first dungeon I had ever seen. My gamer¡¯s blood was boiling. [Bumooooo] *DonDonDon!!!! The orc-like demon that appeared at the beginning of the encounter was submerged in a sea of blood after a three-round headshot from the Break Revolver. ¡°¡­urgh.¡± This was a failure. In the underground ruins, there was no wind, so the smell of blood was harsh. I could go deeper since I would be able to return using [Space Transition] anyway. As I went on without taking any materials from the orcs to escape from the unpleasant smell of blood, I heard something like a scream from far away when the smell disappeared. ¡°¡­¡± Another flag of some sort? [Ggoooooooooooooooooo!!!] Ah, it was surprisingly close. It couldn¡¯t be helped. It looks like someone was being attacked, and I still don¡¯t feel good about abandoning them to their poor fate. ¡°Hiiii!¡± ¡°[Ridil] ¡° The big humanoid that was attacking the adventurer had its arm cut off as I drew my zanbatou and attacked it. [Ggooooooooooooooooo!!!] ¡°Ah, You.¡± ¡°Stand back.¡± As I made the adventurer back down, I quietly held my Ridil at the ready as the enemy swung a battleaxe with only one arm remaining, without losing its will to fight¡­ was that a Mino-tan? [Ggooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!] ¡°¡­Disruption.¡± I spun the Ridil around my waist, dodged the huge battleaxe, and thrust the Ridil into the Minotaur¡¯s back until it pierced through. [gugoo¡­] Zuzun¡­and the Minotaur crumbles to the ground. Goodbye, Mino-tan¡­ ¡°¡­Mi, a single blow to a Minotaur?¡± ¡°More importantly, why are you alone?¡± The adventurer was not like those eccentrics but an ordinary young adventurer in dingy armor. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sorry. They¡­Marie and Helga¡­used me as bait when they were about to lose¡­¡± ¡°Ah~¡­¡± I could easily imagine the situation happening without being told the end of the story. ¡°For now, can you go back on your own?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. I can manage. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll be sure to thank you later.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Oh, did that girl beat that, by any chance? That¡¯s quite a feat.¡± Suddenly, a rather austere uncle with a large sword slung over his shoulder and dressed in a knight¡¯s outfit called out to me. Who was it this time? CH 23.1 Exploring the Ruins [Part 1] The man who appeared at the back of the ruins was a rather stern-looking man with short gray hair, a good-looking stubble beard in his early thirties, and wielded a ridiculously large two-handed sword. But I did not know how old he actually was. Nobles¡­or rather, people with strong magic power appear young in appearance and would have radiant skin. ¡°Miss, the way you¡¯re dressed¡­are you an adventurer? These ruins are managed by the Knights. It is not a place for adventurers to enter without permission.¡± ¡°What? This place is the site managed by a commercial guild, no?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± According to the uncle, he entered the site through the Knights¡¯ Guild-controlled entrance and had been hunting down a growing herd of Minotaurs for the past few weeks along with members of the Knights¡¯ Guild. ¡°My men and I were chasing them, but we got separated. I didn¡¯t think there was a passage left that led this way.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why Minotaur came up here, too.¡± ¡°Sorry to have bothered you unnecessarily. Hey, you there.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The uncle approached an ordinary adventurer who had been attacked by the Mino-tan before. ¡°I¡¯ll write you a note. Please deliver it to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. This road will be blocked. The knights will take care of the situation later.¡± ¡°¡­I understand.¡± The ordinary adventurer received the letter written by the uncle, a handkerchief with his family crest on it for identification, and a silver coin as a reward. Then he fled towards the entrance. ¡°Well.¡± The uncle turned to me and smiled like a naughty boy. ¡°You beat the Minotaur, didn¡¯t you, young lady? That¡¯s quite a feat. Now, can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°¡­What is it?¡± I had a bad feeling about this, so I took a step back. ¡°Oops, it¡¯s nothing strange. You killed it with that long sword, didn¡¯t you? And I noticed that you are a Magician. Would you be interested in working under me from now on?¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± The uncle said that he was separated from his men, but he wanted to take care of the Minotaur, who had driven him to this point. But it was too much for him to take care of alone, so he wanted to hire me as an adventurer because I am capable of defeating it. ¡°¡­I can¡¯t do it for too long.¡± ¡°I was not planning on taking this long into the night, either. I just want to get this over with before morning. I don¡¯t want the hassle of hunting them down all over again.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be happy to do it if it¡¯s worth it, but¡­ is that okay with you?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°¡±I¡¯m a half-elf, remember?¡± I brushed back my black hair, revealing my long ears. As The uncle was a friendly man, but he was a nobleman in this country where human race supremacy prevailed. ¡°Oh, beautiful ears. I used to be a curious adventurer myself. Now I have become a nobleman, so I don¡¯t mind, you know?¡± ¡°Nn, I see.¡± And so, I ended up staying with him, exterminating Mino-tans until morning. The reward was one large gold coin for persevering. The uncle was disappointed that he had no more money to pay for drinks. ¡°You said you had subordinates, Uncle. Are you a distinguished person?¡± ¡°I was just swinging my sword, and before I knew it, I already had subordinates. Oh, you can call me Bert. As for you, missy¡­¡± ¡°I go by [Witch] at the guild.¡± ¡°Witch, is it? Well, I guess I¡¯ll just call you missy. Nice to meet you.¡± We proceed to the depths with such small talk while Bert and I cut down the two Orcs we encountered in a single blow. ¡°Missy, you have a very skilled hand. That long sword is spectacular, though.¡± ¡°Bert-san also has a good two-handed sword.¡± ¡°I prefer this because I can still smash enemies with it even if it loses some of its sharpness. I¡¯ve been telling my son to use two-handed weapons, but he¡¯s a classy brat that only uses a one-handed sword.¡± ¡°You have a son?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a cheeky little boy. Oh, it¡¯s another Minotaur.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± We encountered a single Mino-tan who seemed to have strayed. ¡°Oryaa!¡± [Gwwwuuuoooooooooooo!] Bert slashed with his sword, which was parried by the Mino-tan with its two-handed ax. ¡°Hoooorrrraaaaaa!!!¡± Bert¡¯s arm muscles swelled up and pushed Mino-tan¡¯s huge body back while I snuck up behind it and thrust Ridil to its heart area. Uncle Bert was pretty strong. He would be higher than level 40, by my estimation. Was this the level of a knight in the royal capital? Compared to the knights of our frontier territory, this would be unparalleled. ¡­If there were many knights like Uncle Bert in the Royal Capital, I wouldn¡¯t underestimate them. CH 23.2 ¡­If there were many knights like Uncle Bert in the Royal Capital, I wouldn¡¯t underestimate them. ¡°Missy, don¡¯t you collect materials? Aren¡¯t you an adventurer?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t like the smell of blood.¡± ¡°Oh, ¡­ right, Missy is an elf.¡± As I covered my mouth with a handkerchief, the convinced-looking uncle pulled out a magic stone from the heart area and gave it to me. ¡°The other things you can sell are the horns. The meat will fetch a good price, though you probably don¡¯t want to take it home with you. Would you like to try some right here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a half-elf, you know.¡± .¡±¡­right¡­Missy, would you mind sharing some of your portable rations with me? I¡¯m running low on food by the time I reach here.¡± ¡°You must be hungry.¡± ¡­No wonder why he was talking about meat. I then offered him some mystery meat skewers that I had bought in my bag. ¡°Oh, oh? Where did you get that from? And it¡¯s freshly grilled?¡± ¡°Just eat it.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m told there are items like that in the treasures of foreign lands and royal families, but if you show too much, you¡¯ll attract the nobility. Oh, the mystery meat skewers are delicious after all.¡± ¡°(Maybe) I¡¯ll be careful. ¡­What kind of meat is mystery meat?¡± ¡°They say it¡¯s a demon, but it¡¯s a mystery.¡± ¡°More importantly, most of the demons here are of the subhuman beast type, aren¡¯t they?¡± After we finished our meal, I tried to broach other topics as we proceeded to the depths of the ruin. It was tedious to talk, but there were not many opportunities to ask a knight many questions. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor that there¡¯s a breeding ground of monsters at the depths of this place, or that it¡¯s connected to the Demon Forest.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± ¡°¡­Missy, you have a blank expression on your face, and your reactions are so indifferent, I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re impressed or making fun of me.¡± I get told that a lot. ¡°But then again, Missy, you are very skilled. Even as a woman, if you weren¡¯t in this country, I¡¯d invite you to join the Order¡­¡± ¡°But I am a subhuman.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. My men are not good, and I would like to recruit strong people.¡± I wonder if even the Knights of the Royal Capital are not that strong, probably only those who work under the uncle. As I recalled, the head of the knighthood was said to be a [Master Swordsman] or something like that, so if he has many people like Bert under him, they might be strong. *** ¡°Missy, it seems like we¡¯ve finally caught up with the rest of them.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Finally, we caught up with the Mino-tan herd that Bert had cornered. There were about 10 of them? Even Bert, who was estimated to be over level 40, would have a tough time with this many 30-level Minotaurs. If Bert was considered the standard for knights in this country, it would be okay for me to show a bit of my ability. Now for the opening blow. ¡°¨D¨D[Acid Cloud]¨D¨D¡± [Gwooooh!!?]] The group of Mino-tan, was wrapped in a 5th Class water area attack magic [Acid Cloud] and cried out in anguish as their mucous membranes were burned. ¡°Mi, Missy!¡± ¡°Here they come.¡± Calling out to Bert, whose voice was muffled, I readied my zanbatou and plunged forward. With Body Strengthening 4, I could reach a distance of 30 meters in 10 strides. I would like to cut them down with an incredible double strike, but it would look bad if I failed to do so, so I safely pierce them through the heart. DODON DODON DODON DODON!!!! Then, while drawing my sword, I fired my [Break Revolver] three times at a nearby Mino-tan, shattering its head. [Ggooooooooooooooooo!!!] As expected, burning the mucous membrane did not stop their movements. Several Mino-tans attacked with axes and clubs. ¡­How could they know my position when their eyes were damaged? Well, how about one shot of the 5th class flame area attack magic¡­? ¡°Missy, don¡¯t do anything rash!¡± I was scolded. Uncle Bert slashed a Mino-tan¡¯s side, and when it staggered, he slashed at its head. Uncle Bert was in range, so I had to abort the area magic. I wanted to take down half of them while they were confused, but I had no choice. I left the decision to Bert-san, who was my employer. ¡°Missy be careful!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± I spun and slashed at the approaching Mino-tan using [Sword Dance], and Bert-san didn¡¯t seem to have any problems either¨Cbut then I thought, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? ¡°Damn, these guys are in a death struggle!¡± Oh, I see. The monster was in [Frenzy] mode, huh? I messed up, didn¡¯t I? When a monster was in a state of [Frenzy] for an extended time ¨C specifically, more than one day in the game ¨C its status would increase by a factor of 1.5. This was a measure to prevent some players from hogging the monsters in the VRMMO, but it seems to be happening in reality as well. Maybe it was because the knights chased them for a long time, and my ranged attacks became the final trigger. I had no choice but to clean this up. CH 23.3 I had no choice but to clean this up. ¡°Bert-san, avoid properly.¡± ¡°Haah?¡± ¡°I¡¯m striking.¡± I hold the zanbatou with both hands and swing it to the side as I twist my body while keeping my stance low. ¡°¨C[Blade Cyclone]¨C¡° My slashes hit the Minotaurs while spinning around intensely as if dancing. This was a special two-handed sword [Combat Skills], the Blade Cyclone, learned at [Sword Dance] skill 50. This move was an AoE attack with low damage, but a level 30 Minotaur that was damaged by [Acid Cloud] would quickly be finished by this skill. [gugooh¡­] *grumble *grumble The last Mino-tan crumbled down to the ground. The damage calculation for the attack would include Zanmato Ridil with a base attack of 60, including level 95 status corrections, skill bonuses, and body enhancements. The total damage output would be around 256. Minotaur¡¯s defense is rank D at 120, so with a physical resistance of 40% and a physical reduction of 30, it would receive a double strike of 226 from blade cyclone and would be further reduced by its resistance. A Minotaur had around 350 HP, but [Acid Cloud] would have shaved it off a good amount. ¡°¡­Missy.¡± I heard Bert¡¯s muffled voice. Did I startle him a little? I turned around, and there was Bert-san with a big smile on his face, his eyes shining, pointing the tip of his two-handed sword at me. ¡°The world is a big place to have a strong person like Missy around. Come on, want to have a bout with me!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Is he a ¡®battle junkie¡¯ by any chance? If he was behind a monitor, he would be less of a pain, but this is my reality right now. Why not fight the Knight Commander closest to you and win first? ¡°It¡¯s too much trouble, so I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°Please, Missy, I just want to know my power!¡± With that, Bert slashed in. It was really becoming a hassle¡­ Maybe he wanted to do a light sword match first, but there was more than double the difference between us in status to begin with. ¡°Haah¡± I pummeled him down to the ground in the blink of an eye. I pinned him with my fully activated body strengthening, making him immobile. ¡°You need to train more. Try again when you become a little stronger.¡± ¡°¡­ah¡± After waiting for things to calm down, we collected materials from the group of Mino-tans, and I received a large gold coin from him, finishing our work before morning arrived. And there was one more harvest. Bert didn¡¯t seem to notice it, but there was a faint light at the end of the cave behind the ruins where the group of Mino-tan had gathered. That was probably the light from outside. *** PoV Bert: ¡°¡±Master, welcome back.¡±¡± ¡°Oh!¡± The servants who greeted Bert upon his return from his morning duties tilted their heads dubiously at their master, who was in an unusually good mood. However, since Bert was constantly searching for a strong partner, the servants were convinced on their own that he had met a strong demon on his mission. ¡°Father!¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re up already. What¡¯s up?¡± Bert responded in a good mood to his son¡¯s voice, but his mid-teenage son looked so grim that Bert couldn¡¯t help but ask what was wrong. ¡°Father, please teach me how to use a two-handed sword! I have someone I have to beat!¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± He didn¡¯t know what had happened, but Bert was happy to oblige. ¡°Father, you seem to be in a good mood¡­¡± ¡°I just met a great fellow. It¡¯s a big world out there.¡± ¡°I see. If Father says so, then they must be excellent.¡± ¡°Yeah. I need to get back in shape.¡± Abel, the son, was happy to see his father¡¯s high-spirited appearance, which he had not seen in a long time, but worriedly glanced anxiously at his father, who usually did his knightly duties on a whim. ¡°Please don¡¯t strain yourself too much. Father is the strongest and an irreplaceable [Master Swordsman] in this country.¡± CH 24.1 The Valley of Demons [Part 1] I felt like I raised a nasty flag, but I am somewhat in good spirits. Today, I did my morning radio exercises and went for a walk in the garden. ¡­I used to be able to walk in the woods around the house for about 30 minutes, but in such a small yard, it only took me 5 minutes to finish. I couldn¡¯t push myself too hard since I was only five years old. Still, my dilemma was that I wanted to improve my basic physical fitness as soon as possible so that I could spend more time being in an adult form. And then, as always, breakfast on Dirk¡¯s lap. ¡­Really, this pervert, how should I deal with this? He is only 10 years old. I was worried about what he would become in the future. Dirk provided me with information I wanted to avoid hearing. ¡°Cashmere told me about the tour of the Order, but it will be a week after next. Before that, I was told they¡¯re going to go to the vicinity of the Demon Forest for a training exercise. It really is horrifying to see a subhuman like you exposed to the eyes of the other nobles in the royal castle. Come on, you need to eat more, or you won¡¯t have beautiful legs!¡± ¡°¡­¡± So, why were you stroking my legs? Are you transforming into a leg-lover? After breakfast, which gave me goosebumps because my 10-year-old brother was awakening to such a bizarre sexual habit, I was busy deciphering spells and making cosmetics in the morning. Still, recently, I also added noble studies to my daily routine. Basic education and etiquette. I used to think that I didn¡¯t need it because I would be sold to some noble. Still, I received a notice from my father in the frontier territory that it was necessary even if I was sold to a noble. ¡­It was a hassle, though. ¡°Nmah! You are the abominable child Zamasu. How horrid you really are. A Viscountess like me to a subhuman like you¡­¡± ¡°[Confusion]¡± (mumble) ¡°Kiiiiiiiiiiii! I won¡¯t let the young ones be allowed to act young all the time! I¡¯ll drink their blood and make them mine!¡± ¡°[Confusion]¡± (mumble) ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll wear a short hem skirt! I¡¯ll seduce the ladies with my legs and make them pay for my services!¡± [Mrs. Debra, you are causing a disturbance!] [Stop her, ahhhhhh!] Mrs. Deborah (51), who played the role of a teacher, suddenly became confused and ran outside for some reason. The servants were having a hard time, too. There were rumors about the ¡°curse of the abominable child¡± again. Still, the Viscount couldn¡¯t raise a complaint to the Count of Arceides just based on rumors alone, so the teacher was replaced by a merchant lady instead of an aristocrat. And as expected of a merchant, they did not care if the student they were teaching was a subhuman or a normal guest by order of a Duke. And even if they wanted to complain, Dirk and his friend Cashmere couldn¡¯t ignore the orders of a Duke. *** It would be troublesome encountering that Uncle Bert, and I didn¡¯t want to go on to a place crawling with knights of that level. Well, aside from the usual routine, I wonder about the [light] that was faintly visible at the back of those ruins. To me, that looked like light shone from the outside. It was night at the time, but it would have looked much brighter than inside those ruins even by moonlight. Roughly calculating the location of the ruins and the distance and direction of travel, I believed the place I saw was somewhere around the area where there was a ravine and a large forest. That area also separates the royal capital and the territory of the Arceides frontier counties. That area was far from the Demon Forest, but perhaps demons flowed in from there, and there might be a substantial population of demons. I would like to collect materials and make money¡­but more than that, I would like to level up my skill level, you know? To be precise, I would like to improve my [Sword Dance] skill because I would need to be able to deal with dozens of knights simultaneously, especially if they were at Uncle Bert¡¯s level. However, to raise the skill of [Ranged Weapon] to 90, I have to hunt ancient dragons continuously, yet in the case of [Sword Dance] at level 70, I should be able to raise it a little even if the opponent was somewhat weak. That was why I took another nap and left in the middle of the night. I had secretly marked the ruins, so I used [Space Transition] to jump there. I arrived at the ruins, but there was no particular danger. I could still smell the slight odor of blood, but not enough to make me sick. In the VRMMO, I could only mark safe zones. However, despite the fact that now that I could mark anywhere I want as a jump point, I still need to be careful because if I was not careful, I could end up jumping in the middle of a densely populated area of demons. I would like to have a safe zone somewhere, but were there any good places out there that suit the criteria? ¡°Set [Ridil]¡±. These days I could take it out on the spur of the moment just by thinking of it in my head. On the other hand, when I am calm, I tend to have many miscellaneous thoughts, so there were times when I had to take it out by saying the commands verbally for it to come out properly. CH 24.2 These days I could take it out on the spur of the moment just by thinking of it in my head. On the other hand, when I am calm, I tend to have many miscellaneous thoughts, so there were times when I had to take it out by saying the commands verbally for it to come out properly. When I walked towards the passage where I could see that light outside before, I was still able to see the light. It was hard to see at night, but it was actually a good thing. If it had been daytime, Bert might have noticed it. After about 30 minutes of walking through the passage, killing the giant rats and skeletons that appeared sporadically, I found myself at the end of the passage. ¡°Ah¡­¡± The bottom of a deep canyon that seemed to go on forever, spread out before us, illuminated by moonlight. I was able to get out properly. I didn¡¯t show it on my face or voice, but I was surprisingly moved. But¨C [Gurruu] ¡°¡­¡± A few Hellhound-like demons that I inadvertently encountered were snarling at me, glaring at me. Inadvertently. [Gaaaw!] One of them spat flames from its mouth and showered me with it, so I ran up the rock surface of the canyon, which was 10 meters wide and about 50 meters high, and fired a Chant of an AoE spell. ¡°[Ice Storm]¡± [gyann] Hellhounds scream as they were caught in the 5th class¡¯ combined AoE magic of water and wind [Ice Storm]. Ice Storm¡¯s base attack power was 60, plus magic power and skill bonuses, giving it an attack power of 194. The Hellhounds¡¯ magic defense was 50 at rank E, so the damage that could pass through would be 123. The Hellhound¡¯s HP was 300, so it was still healthy. But the reason I shot the ice magic first was to slow them down by lowering their body temperature. ¡°[Fire Ball]¡± I followed it with a 5th class flame AoE attack magic [Fire Ball]. Hellhounds spit flames, but they didn¡¯t possess resistance to fire. The flame system would cause the status effect to burn, so an opponent who was not resistant to it would be set on fire and take additional damage. With these two shots, the total damage exceeded 250, so what was left was to finish¡­ Huh? There were five of them, but only two remained. Oh well. I¡¯ll cut the rest of them down with my zanbatou. [Gyaan] Could there be individual differences between monsters? Thinking about it, that should be obvious. Unlike in the games, there were people ranging from macho to skinny, and there were differences in their abilities, so from now on, I need to take that into account when I fight. Well, anyway, let¡¯s leave that for another time¡­. ¡°¡­¡± The demons in the canyon came close to me because of the loud battle. Starting with a few level 20 equivalent trolls. ¡°[Ice Storm]¡± The opening ice storm was the way to go. Now, time to raise some skills. [GYaaaaooooh!!!] £ª Boom! I shook my Zanbatou and sent the blood and gore off. Actually, this action didn¡¯t mean much. It¡¯s just me making it look cool like an old man who wants to look good. Since then, I fought for two hours and hunted more than 50 demons while advancing through the canyon, but the Zanbatou did not have a single chip, not even a cloudy spot on the blade. Well, I wouldn¡¯t want the blade to chip because it was one of a kind, but this thing was too sturdy, right? I didn¡¯t take good care of it for two years, but it still looks brand new. I had a hypothesis, but it was so out of the ordinary that I turned my eyes away from it. What I noticed was that when I was inadvertently attacked, there was both impact and damage, but not a scratch on the Witch Dress. There was not even a scratch on my Witch Dress. My Witch Dress was made of cloth. It may be reinforced with metal at key points, but it was basically a cloth-like material. It was surprising to find out that it did not even splinter when subjected to blades, similar to bullet-proof, blade-resistant armor. It was a game item, so it probably would not break? But my rational mind whispers to me that such a setting would be impossible in the real world. So, I came up with something even more ridiculous than that. For example, this Ridil, the blade portion of which, was created using the game¡¯s polygons as a single shape. So, it might have become a ¡°mono-molecule¡± in the form of a blade, now that it became real¡­. It would be more than an artifact, an ¡°OOParts¡±. What about the cloth? Was it possible that the fibers were mono-molecular too? I wondered. Well, let¡¯s not think too deeply about it. Even if it did not break, the impact and damage would still happen, so there would be no change in the way I fight. Anyway, I wondered if this was the valley that separated the royal capital from the Arceides frontier territory. It may be far from the Demon Forest, but the area was filled with magic. I pushed through for two hours fighting, but it felt like I still had a long way to go. According to my player experience, it was around 1:00 a.m. I could go back to my room immediately by using [Space Transition], but my MP had decreased by about half after all the fighting I had done up to this point. I was still recovering slowly, but if I had continued to fight at this pace, I would probably need another hour to recover. After another 30 minutes or so, I left the canyon and entered the deep forest. What¡¯s that? The magical elements were thick. Did I end up in the Demon Forest? Was it really that close? The distance from the royal capital to the frontier region should be about 250 km in a straight line. Yet it would take 10 days by horse-drawn carriage to actually go there without going through the valley and the large forest. I was unable to investigate the extent of the magical forest, so maybe it had reached the outskirts of the Capital. I didn¡¯t have a choice. If I found someplace better, I would move one of the markings over here. Even though this was called the Demon Forest, players would still come over because of their night vision, even though the forest was untouched by humans, it still felt fantastic to be near it. ¡°¡­Nn?¡± My long ears, which were also wasted on performing well, caught what seems to be a scream from far away. ¡­another strange flag? ¡°I doubt that there would be any decent ¡°people¡± in such an eerie forest¡­. I was still somewhat curious, so I turned my feet in that direction. What if it was just a goblin being attacked by orcs? After a few minutes of running through the forest at the speed of a sports car, the sight of a village suddenly opened up in front of me. I stopped in my tracks when I saw the dark-skinned inhabitants being attacked by a group of demonic wolves. ¡°Could it be¡­ Daemons?¡± CH 25.1 Village of the Daemon Tribe [Part 1] Daemons ¨C were portrayed as enemies of humanity in the VRMMOs and Otome Game. Animals and plants become Daemons when they accumulate enough magical elements. Yet, strong-willed humans and other living creatures do not usually turn into Daemons even if exposed to magical elements. Magically transformed creatures absorb magical elements present in the area. Magic Elements are used as both nutrients and poisons for the living creatures. Any creature exposed to a large amount of magical elements would transform or die. Daemons look like humans, with dark skin and slightly pointed ears. Their basic abilities were higher than those of humans, and they had a lifespan of about 150 years. The Daemons in VRMMOs were usually strong enemies, appearing as boss characters. They were boosted in the game recklessly because they were supposed to take on a party of high-level players. They were around Level 150, after all. Although level does not equal strength, raising multiple combat skills increases HP and MP. As for the Daemon Tribe boss characters, they had about 1,000 HP and MP. Furthermore, Daemon armor was typically Rank A Extremely Strong Cheat Items with 400 defense, 70% physical resistance, and 100 physical cut, requiring nearly 500 attack power to do any damage. That alone was already broken by game standards. And adding that to a Level 150 with only combat skills would be too much of a cheat. Because I only knew the Daemon Tribe from the game, I thought that the Daemon Tribe running away from the Daemon Wolves, who were only around level 10, was some kind of trap. Some strong people could go toe to toe with the Demon wolves, but were ordinary Daemon tribe members weak? It was only natural, given that even humans had to begin at level 1. It couldn¡¯t be helped. They may not be good people, but I would support them. ¡°[Lightning]¡± ¡®Gyain¡¯. This was a 4th class combined wind, and water magic [Lightning] spell. As expected, I didn¡¯t feel comfortable with a ranged attack that would involve various creatures, so I used a [Lightning] spell that damages all creatures in a straight line. I was able to kill four of them, since a Daemon wolf with magic resistance rank G could be easily defeated with a single strike. By the way, magic resistance rank G equals that of the human species, which included humans and elves, so you can see how important it was to have the right equipment. When I wear Witch Dress, my defense would be rank C for physical resistance and rank D+¦Á for magic resistance. ¡°Wha, what the, was that you?¡± ¡°Yes, anyway, later.¡± Dismissing the warrior-like Daemon tribe, I rushed into the pack of Daemon wolves with my zanbatou in my hands. A level 10 Daemon wolf would not be a challenging enemy. After about five minutes of quickly cutting off their heads, the remaining Daemon wolves ran away. The Daemon warriors guarded against me with their crude spears, as if they were wary of me. ¡°You, you are not a human race¡­are you? Are you a half-elf? What do you want in this village? Are you part of the recently discovered human tribe?¡± Maybe they were on bad terms with the humans after all? ¡°I live in the land of humanity, but I¡¯m just an adventurer.¡± ¡°Damn, an outlaw adventurer. I wonder how you knew about this place, but don¡¯t think you¡¯ll make it back alive.¡± The Daemon warriors surround me in the distance. They were supposed to be watching me as I quickly defeated the level 10 Daemon wolves, but what could they be hiding? Well, if they were hostile, I would show no mercy. As I was raising my magic to see if I could get a head start with a wide-area [Acid Cloud]¨C ¡°Stop it! What are you doing to the person who helped us!¡± The small old man who came walking from the village shouted. He appeared to be the master or something, and I sensed a certain amount of magical power from him. ¡°But, but, Elder¡­¡± ¡°You guys back off right now. Don¡¯t you know what you¡¯re dealing with? ¨CSo, my guest. Would you like to have tea with me and a chat?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± As the Master Elder led me into the village, I saw women and small children watching me from the shadows. I was led to a large tent-like structure, similar to those used by nomads in the middle of nowhere. Inside, there were furs on the floor, and the walls were decorated with things like masks to ward off evil spirits, but it looked too simple to be an elder¡¯s house. When I entered and sat down on the furs on the floor, a woman of the Daemon tribe served me something that looked like yellow herbal tea with a hint of mystery. Now, in this tent, there was only me, the elder, and a few of the warriors I had met earlier. ¡°Now, then, could you please tell us how you found this place?¡± ¡°I found it accidentally. And I didn¡¯t intend to talk about it.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± For some reason, the elder muttered regretfully as I answered quickly. ¡°How can you believe such a thing! Even subhumans live in the land of humanity¡­¡± *Don! A bullet from the break revolver I fired shattered the mask next to the face of the warrior standing by the wall. ¡°It missed.¡± ¡°You were going to hit me!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care either way, but can you please clarify whether you are hostile or not?¡± I was going to hit him in the shoulder, but I missed. The warrior¡¯s face twitched slightly as he realized I was serious. Please be reasonable. If you want to antagonize me, it would be a waste of time, so you should just shut it for now. I tried to avoid being aggressive. ¡°Oh, no, I¡¯m not. Sorry, my guest, but I will have to ask you to put up with this for now.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I didn¡¯t like antagonizing them either. But when I nodded with my finger on the trigger of the break revolver, sweat ran down the elders¡¯ faces. ¡°¡­Well, for now, please listen to us.¡± CH 25.2 The Daemons here were the people who were left behind when the war between humanity and the Daemon race broke out about a hundred years ago. At that time, there were three Daemon nations, two of which were destroyed by the human nations, and the remaining Daemon nation united their army and withdrew, leaving the Daemons in the forest. They lived in the forest, fearful of monsters, and led a peaceful life. ¡°Recently, however, human races have been seen in the forest. The worst of humanity in the Kingdom of Caenista were recently found in the forest. If they encounter a Daemon tribe, they would kill the men, capture the women and children, and turn them into slaves.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to live so close to the outside though¡­¡± Certainly, the nobles in this country, even I, who was a noble, would only be viewed as pets for being a subhuman. ¡°Originally, we used to live in a more remote area, but we were attacked by a herd of Orcs. We escaped to this area.¡± I see. That¡¯s tough. Even if they escaped, there would still be monsters everywhere in the Devil¡¯s Forest. And if they leave this forest, they will be attacked by the humans. Nevertheless, what kind of people would come to a place like this to hunt people to be used as slaves? ¡°I would like to ask you a favor if possible.¡± I had a feeling that trouble was on the way. ¡°This place is already dangerous. Everywhere is dangerous, but it¡¯s better than being attacked endlessly by humans. I would like to ask for your help in defeating the Orcs.¡± ¡°Elder! I¡¯m not going to let this person¡­¡± ¡°Shut up! If our guest were serious, we would already be destroyed by now.¡± The elder seemed to recognize my power. And he wished to return to where they originally came from, to avoid the slave hunters of the humans targeting them, who had recently appeared. I would not be needlessly hostile to them just because they were Daemons, but I would not cooperate with them out of the goodness of my heart. ¡°What¡¯s the reward?¡± ¡°I have some gold and sand, but¡­ oh, yes. I have some old magical tools used by soldiers in the land of the Daemons. How about that?¡± ¡°May I see them?¡± Some of the magical tools he showed me were broken, but there were also some interesting ones that I had seen in the game. Well, if they paid me in advance, I¡¯d take it. The job was to exterminate the Orcs nesting in their old village. And then I had to escort them back there. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll start tomorrow.¡± ¡°Starting tomorrow¡­¡± It was almost 3 a.m., you know. It would be morning if I went there now, and sleep was necessary. That¡¯s why I came to the village of the Daemon tribe again the next day. *** ¡°You came well without running away. I¡¯ll show you the way.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The person who greeted me and led me to the village was Harry, the warrior from the Daemon tribe who had gotten involved with me the day before. I didn¡¯t get angry or hold a grudge just because he was so hostile to me from the beginning. ¡°How far is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about a whole day straight east. If you don¡¯t follow me properly, it will take even longer.¡± ¡°It would take too much time.¡± ¡°Haah?¡± I grabbed Harry by the neck and suddenly ran through the forest at full acceleration with Body Enhancement 4. ¡°Hiiiieeeeeeeee!¡± It was annoying. Please don¡¯t make a fuss about a mere 200 kilometers per hour run, mister. Just for the record, I was still holding back. ¡°¡­There it is. ¡­ugh.¡± An hour later, on top of a small hill, the pale-faced Harry informed me of where the village used to be. ¡°¡­Uppu¡­how are you going to attack it? The last time I saw them, there were about 50 of them. I can fight them, but only one at a time, you know? ¡­ugh.¡± At least about 50 Orc¡­ it was nighttime, but I could see wriggling objects all over the place. Maybe there was a higher-level species or something. I doubt that they were the same monsters that the Daemons faced, but all the Orcs I had encountered so far attacked me the moment I met them, so they were my enemies. ¡°Then please step back.¡± ¡°Oh, hey, what the¡­¡± ¡°Set [Witch Wand].¡± I took out the exclusive weapon for the Witch Dress, a wand with a 15% increase in attribute effects, and channeled my magic power into it. ¡°¨C[Thunder Rain]¨C¡° The 6th class ranged magic [Thunder Rain], which required double the magic power and increased the power by 50%, rained down on the entire village, and screaming Orcs could be heard in the distance. The advanced spell book only went as far as the 5th class, but after researching the text, this spell was unlocked. The base Attack Power was 70. From a total of 260 with skills and wand boosts, I increased the damage to 390 by spending twice the magic power. Regular Orcs had a magic resistance of rank E, so the damage that could penetrate them was 243. An average Orc¡¯s health was around 250, so they would be on the verge of death and unable to move even if they survived. ¡®Bumoooo!!!!¡¯ A few Orcs rose from the rubble with a roar. They were big. Could those be Orc generals or¡­ maybe an Orc King? CH 26.1 Orc King [Part 1] ¡°Wha, what are those big orcs?¡± ¡°¡­¡± *** Beastmen, Generals, and Kings. These are the types of bosses you will find in the forest¡¯s depths when you attack a Beast Sub-human type monster base or other types of bases. There were two types of Orc General: the Warrior type had 500 HP, 180 Physical Defense, Rank D, and had two-handed weapon skills. The sorcerer type was Rank D with 350 HP and 120 Physical Defense. Depending on the individual, it would use either offensive or healing magic. And the Orc King was around level 50, Rank C, with 800 HP and 300 Physical Defense, and was a ruthless boss, so players had set their sights on defeating it. ¡­That was until the level 50 skill limit was lifted. ¡°[Ex Silent]¡± ¡®¡­!?¡¯ ¡®Bummooo!!¡¯ Two General Mages received my range version of the 3rd Class [Silence], and the 6th Class [Area Silence] magic panicked. The three General Knights and the Orc King yelled in anger and surprise. It would be troublesome if they recovered from the damage I had just inflicted on them. ¡°[All Protection]¡± I cast a higher version of [Barrier] on myself, increasing my 3rd class defense by 10%, and a 6th class [Holy Barrier], which increases my physical and magical resistance by 15%. This increased my physical defense from 270 to 310, increasing my Rank from C to C+. My magic resistance barely increased, and it was now at Rank C. ¡®Bummmooooo!!!¡¯ The Orc King, who had noticed me self-reinforcing, screeched as he swung his axe. ¡°[Acid Cloud]¡± ¡®Bummmooooo!!!¡¯ I pulled out my Zanbatou Ridil and slashed at one of the General Mages, who could not resist the first hit of the ranged magic [Acid Cloud] and collapsed. The [Acid Cloud] did not only damage but also lowered the enemy¡¯s perception and gradually reduced their physical defense, but I was lucky enough to take out one of the mages with my damage. ¡®Bummmooooo!!!¡¯ As I rushed in, one of the General Knights slammed an ax into me. Still, I lightly dodged it because of the lowered hit rate and stabbed the Zanbatou deep into the other Mage, who still had the Silence effect, and reaped its life. ¡®Bummmooooo!!!¡¯ The Orc King roared in rage as his subordinates were defeated one by one; come at me. However, I planned to leave it after clearing up the mobs. ¡°[Fire Ball]¡± I blasted a [Fire Ball] between the King and me to create a gap. The magic created by my magic will not harm me. I was able to surround the general knights in the range, but I couldn¡¯t defeat even one of them due to their high HP. However, it was great that I eliminated all the mages who might have been able to resist my magic. I wouldn¡¯t be able to cut them down all at once if they were healed or protected. ¡°[Blade Cyclone]¡± The two-handed sword-range [Combat Skills] Blade Cyclone chipped away the remaining HP of the General Knights. The General Knights crumble, and the last remaining Orc King glares at me with eyes filled with anger, but it cautiously holds up an ax as I hold my Ridil in both hands, closing the gap between us. *Clank! The next moment, Ridil and the battleaxe collide, and sparks fly. ¡®Buumooo!?¡¯ The Orc King¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment as I, who was several times smaller than him, managed to parry his ax strike. CH 26.2 The Orc King¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment as I, who was several times smaller than him, managed to parry his ax strike. It would appear we were evenly matched in terms of power, but I had the advantage in terms of speed. We clashed blades several times, and each time the Orc King was slashed by me. I still needed a clean hit to do significant damage. The Orc King¡¯s remaining HP would be around half by now. A few seconds left¡­. ¡®Bumooooooo!!!¡¯ The Orc King brandished his battleax in a unique stance. Perhaps it used a [Combat Skill] for a two-handed ax, or [Hughley], a triple strike. The more damage it takes, the more powerful it becomes. Even with my current defense, it would easily cut me down to half if I took on the blow directly. But¨C ¡°I am faster, I guess.¡± Pulling out my Break Revolver with my left hand, I pointed it at the Orc King¡¯s defenseless torso as it raised its ax. ¡°[Death Slug]¡± *Dogooon!!! With a roaring sound, a large hole was drilled into the torso of the Orc King. It was a [Combat Skill]¨CDeath Slug from the Magic Gun skill set. An attack that increases the power by 5x. The advantage was that it could be shot without the need for a buildup, which was the characteristic of a magic gun, but the disadvantage was that the hit rate was low. In the VRMMO, it could miss even if shot at close range, but in reality, it hits properly if shot at close range. Break Revolver¡¯s basic attack power was 30 + 10 from Copper Bullets, 176 including correction. Even with the Orc King¡¯s defense, the damage reached over 380 with a 5x shot. The Cooldown Time of Combat Skills was short, so my arm was sore. For reference, high-level players with skill limits released up to 100 could solo hunt the Ancient Class Boss Characters. It consumed a lot of MP, as expected, but not so much that it became a problem for me. *** When I returned to the location where Harry was with my magic gun, Break Revolver in my left hand and the Zanbatou Ridil slung over my right shoulder, he looked at me with a stunned expression, his mouth hanging open as if his jaw would fall off. ¡°Is this the end of the request?¡± ¡°¡­O, Ooh.¡± I called out, and Harry, who had finally returned to his senses, replied in a panicked voice. I thought about shoving a skewer of mystery meat into his gaping mouth. Nonetheless, I decided against it because it would have been a terrible waste. I picked up Harry again and ran back through the forest. I could have returned by myself using [space transfer], so he shouldn¡¯t complain. The villagers of the Daemon Tribe did not cheer when we returned with the Orc King¡¯s head in less than three hours, and for some reason, they kept us at a distance. How terrible. That was the end of the day, and the move would happen later. I couldn¡¯t make plans right away because the villagers needed to prepare, and I needed to schedule my own half-day away from home. Could I, however, take that much time during the day? *** Two days later, after I realized that it would be impossible, I went to the village of the Daemon Tribe, hoping that they could move at night. ¡°¡­Eh.¡± Several Daemons had fallen, and the village was razed to the ground. I rushed over to them and found a few people who were still breathing, so I asked them what was going on while performing recovery magic. ¡°Ah, they¡­ a group of humans attacked us.¡± CH 27.1 Armor of the Saint [Part 1] What a disaster. While I was away, the Daemon Village was attacked by a group of humans. It may appear to be someone else¡¯s problem,but I had already established a working relationship with them, and they were simply wary of me and never thanked me. ¡°¡­and where¡¯re the others?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡­¡± Still, I was not strong enough to overlook the crisis before me. I would feel guilty if I left too many people to die. As I cast recovery magic on the few still alive, I asked them about the situation. They told me that people in armor had attacked them from the forest, leaving only a few of their soldiers on the ground to hold them off. At the same time, the other villagers fled deeper into the forest, and the humans chased them. Were the people I saw recently scouting for them? But armor¡­Are slave hunters so heavily armed these days? I was thinking of the bandits in furs. They must be making a lot of money. The slave hunters seemed to be upbeat. Then I proposed that we hurry up and go after them. It would be bad if they caused further damage. After all, there was no such thing as ¡°Resurrection Magic¡± in this world. VRMMOs had spells for Resurrection of the Dead. Well, that would be given for an MMO game. I wasn¡¯t certain if this world had a spell like that. Still, after researching existing spells, I have unlocked the 6th Class of recovery magic, [Resurrection]¨Cthat [Resurrection] magic. But no matter how many times I tested it on monsters, it was no more effective than cardiac electroshock immediately after death. In the VRMMO, I could use Resurrection even after a whole day in-game had passed¡­ I wonder if it was a soul problem or a life force problem. Still, I think it would be acceptable in a life-or-death situation but ineffective in a case where the person had been clearly dead for some time. For now, I say let¡¯s go after the slave hunters who went after the Daemons. It would be a hassle for me to feel responsible, so I had no choice but to help them. Therefore, I should not be misunderstood. ¡°[All Protection]¡± I cast a self-protection spell and headed for the forest. Originally, I would have applied an automatic recovery type for physical and magical strength and a speed increase type, but they were not unlocked yet. I headed in the direction I was told to go using body enhancement. After about 10 minutes, I came upon a group of four people dressed in dark cloaks. Were these the humans on a slave hunt? I couldn¡¯t tell if they were allies or enemies, so I made a quick noise as I approached. ¡°There they are, the Daemons!¡± ¡°Cheeky Daemons!¡± One of them shouts, and two of them draw something resembling a bow. Yes, they were confirmed to be my enemies. ¡°[Ice Storm]¡± ¡°¡±Gyaaaaah!?¡±¡± ¡°¡±Gaaaah!¡±¡± The 5th Class Range Magic Ice Storm was released, without giving them any time to escape. It was a small round with normal magic power, but it would be enough against low-level humans. If they were lucky, they would still be alive. I kept searching and found another group of four people with the same dark cloaks as the ones I had left behind. They were also silenced with Ice Storm. [Ice Storm] was slow, but it didn¡¯t make too much noise. ¡°Hmm?¡± After another few minutes in the forest, I found the same group again, but they had captured two young Daemon women and were pointing their spears at them. ¡°[Ice Lance]¡± ¡°Agh!¡± ¡°What was that!?¡± ¡°Something¡¯s coming!¡± The opening [Ice Lance] killed the one who was pointing the spear at them, and then ¡°[Blackout]¡± ¡°What?¡± I used [Blackout] magic with an expanded range to take away their vision, and then hit them with a zanbatou to knock them down. Even if it was unavoidable, it would be pitiful to take their lives immediately, but since the opponent was only a slave hunter, there was only a marginal difference in our abilities. Even though they were against Daemons, they were ready to harm others for their own reasons. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°¡±Ye, yes.¡±¡± I called out to them, and the two women, who were a little older than me, responded cautiously. ¡°Where are the others?¡± ¡°Over there, yes. The elders are being chased by the humans.¡± ¡°Please, help us, Witch-sama!¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I¡¯m relieved that I wasn¡¯t mistaken for someone else, since they were the ones who asked me to help them. While I went after the other villagers, I asked them to take the injured people in the village and evacuate them. A few minutes later, I heard the sounds of metal clashing a short-distance away. ¡°I found them.¡± CH 27.2 ¡°I found them.¡± As I headed in that direction, I came across dozens of cloaked men and warriors, including Harry, fighting to protect the women and children. ¡°¨CWhy did they attack us!¡± ¡°You Daemons are not welcome in the land of our noble people. You will die here, but you can rest assured that your women will be used as slaves.¡± ¡°Damned you¡­¡± ¡°[Acid Cloud]¡± [Gugyaaaaaaaaaa?] I apply an opening of [Acid Cloud] to stop the humans from moving, holding back so as not to get the Daemons involved. Then I hit [Fire Ball] to those who were outside the range of the Acid Cloud to get in between the humans and the Daemons. ¡°Gooo!?¡± ¡°What, What the?¡± ¡°Daemons¡¯ reinforcements!¡± ¡°Sh*t! Fall back! Fall back!¡± What? They retreated so quickly, didn¡¯t they? I expected it to be difficult because there were so many of them, but it appeared that the recent slave hunters were very well organized. They were wearing pretty good-looking armor. ¡°Oh, you are here, Witch!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk later. Let¡¯s move first.¡± ¡°Oh, oh, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll take you to the elders.¡± Thus, the attackers were quickly dispatched. He appeared to be well-prepared, but who was he? But when I took a closer look, I noticed that there were quite a few wounded people. A child was bleeding from the head and a warrior who had lost his arm. I had a feeling that if I left the situation as it was, not only would they have problems moving, but some of them would probably be dying by morning. ¡°Elder, gather the wounded.¡± ¡°Witch-sama, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Just do it!¡± ¡°I, I understand.¡± After rushing the villagers to gather the injured in one place, I utter a certain [Command] while calculating my remaining magic power consumption. ¡°Setup [Saint Cloche] all.¡± At the sound of my voice, the bright red Witch Dress was replaced by a pure white Chinese Dress, and the Daemons stared at me. The third of the three charged Equipment Set, the last one, the Saint¡¯s Armor set¨CSaint Cloche. I prepared the long staff dedicated to Saint Cloche with both hands and put my magical power into the staff. ¡°¨C[Extra Heal]¨C¡° This was the only unlocked 8th Class magic that I currently have, Extra Heal. This had a massive impact. Except for death, it heals all injuries and abnormalities perfectly. Still, it was a difficult magic to use, not only because it consumed a lot of MP, but also because its area of effect was so limited. It couldn¡¯t heal unless the injured person was within 2 meters, and it was unable to tell the difference between friend and foe. Saint Cloche and its Wand specialized in reducing MP consumption and expanding the spell¡¯s area of effect, and only offers recovery and defense. The Daemons were astonished as the magical light spread out and enveloped all the injured. ¡°¨CThis girl¡¯s consciousness has returned!¡± ¡°Oh, my arm is back! ¡°It¡¯s healed!¡± ¡°Ooooh, this is¡­¡± ¡°Witch-sama¡­¡± That was good. I forced a small smile on my face, and I noticed the change in the Daemons¡¯ eyes. *** I met up with the surviving Daemons. Since it was too dangerous to go back to the village, we decided to continue our half-day trip to the place where the original village was located. Everyone seemed to have regained their strength and were upbeat. This village was ravaged by me and the orcs, and there were orc corpses everywhere, but they had to bear with it for now. I didn¡¯t get a good look at the village before we arrived, but there are many old facilities. Furthermore, there are large buildings that give the encampment the appearance of a town rather than a village. ¡°Oh, Witch-sama, how can I help you?¡± ¡°Oh, Elder. I was just wondering how old the buildings are.¡± ¡°Yes, well¡­ This place was once a Daemon trading post that operated until about 500 years ago, and some buildings are still around.¡± ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Isn¡¯t this the land that the Daemons invaded about a hundred years ago in a war? *** There was something else I didn¡¯t get. Is it possible that the history I know is incorrect? Well, I¡¯ll look into that later, but I hope it won¡¯t cause more trouble. I heard that two squadrons of knights on a training exercise met a terrible enemy in the area and suffered a lot of damage. I wonder what the terrible enemy was. What happened? The Knights of the Royal Capital were affected, so I should take precautions. CH 28.1 Frail Young Boy [Part 1] Exclusive equipment ¨C [Saint Cloche]. This was one of the three types of exclusive equipment I created in the VRMMORPG, and it specialized in recovery and defense, and it also had ¡°radical¡± performance. Head [Recovery Magic MP Consumption Reduction 40%] MP consumption is reduced only for recovery magic. Body [Physical Attack and Magic Attack Resistance 20%.] 20% resistance to all attacks. Waist [HP 10% + MP 15% Increase] Increases maximum HP and MP. Arm [Increase effectiveness of light attribute magic by 20%]. Feet [HP/MP recovery speed increase 20%] HP and MP natural recovery speed is increased. Wand [Magic Activation Range Extended by 3 times] The activation range of ranged magic is increased. The performance was quite risky, and a little too focused. The idea was to be able to heal without dying during boss fights. The defense was Rank B at 350, equivalent to a shield, allowing the user to continue the recovery process even if the boss attacked the user due to gaining too much hatred from the boss, or if the user was caught in a ranged attack. That¡¯s why I got the nickname [Indomitable White Tower] when I equipped it¡­. But, in order to achieve this cheat-like performance, I had to pay a pretty steep price, and I couldn¡¯t even run while wearing this equipment. Let me say it again. I cannot run. I couldn¡¯t jump, I was unable to avoid attacks, I was unable to move, I could only walk. I would need to change my clothes after arriving at the site, so my [bag] was ready. And as for her appearance, of course, it strongly reflects my gamer brain. The body equipment was a pure white Chinese dress with fine silver thread embroidery. The hem of the dress goes down to the ankles, and the slits on either side go all the way up to the top of the thighs. ¡­I often wonder what I was thinking when I created this. The bodysuit was cloth, but the shoulders and arm guards were silver metal armor, or gauntlets. It even had spikes on the fists, but I have never used them to hit anything. By this point, I had only raised my grappling skill to about level 40. The head was a silver half-helmet covering my ears, forehead and eyes. The feet were silver metallic short boots. And the waist equipment was¡­ white stockings. They were not bare legs, so please stop shooting photos of them. Lastly, the two-meter-long wand was disguised as a war hammer. However, the cane¡¯s power was mediocre. I used it to defeat the assassins who attacked me suddenly and without warning. With this, I have finished transporting the daemons back to their original village and received the magical tools as a reward, but I wonder if I could still use them. There was a simple defensive barrier for the base among them, which was also found in the VRMMO, and although the shape was slightly different, if it was usable, it could be used when I leave this country. With that in mind, I grabbed some magic tools and headed for the magic guild. But before I left, I felt a little tired, so I decided to take a long nap later, which was why I left in the middle of the day. Well, I was actually tired. Although it was an unexpected situation, I had to fight against dozens of people in a chase. I even used 8th-class magic at the end, so I felt fatigued. It was not a problem for my original player¡¯s strength, but Carol, the five-year-old one, was in tired mode. Anyway, it was fine if I went out for a bit. I changed into the witch¡¯s equipment and went out. This was still the most reassuring, when it comes to strength. The saint¡¯s armor had better defense, but I couldn¡¯t run! (Important) ¡°¡­¡± Taking a peek at the entrance to the Magician¡¯s Guild to see if Alice was selling pretzels¡­ I was seriously starting to get traumatized by that presence. Apparently, she won¡¯t be here today. Is she at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild? Not that I was going to go there to check. CH 28.2 When I entered the guild, I was met with a ¡°what are you doing here?¡± look from a male staff member who knew me, a sympathetic look from a female staff member, and a serious look from a female staff member who had signed a contract with me. ¡°Welcome, Witch-san. How can I help you today? Did you find another new spell?¡± ¡°Not today. I want this item to be checked.¡± ¡°This is¡­ an unusual item.¡± When I showed her the simple magical tool, the female staff member ¨C her name was Jill-san (early 20s, no boyfriend) ¨C her eyes lit up. ¡°It¡¯s something the daemon tribe used to use. Other continents have some devices similar to this, but they are more powerful than the ones we use in this country. ¡­Can you sell it to us?¡± ¡°This time, I want it to be usable. What I¡¯ll give you is a sample for now.¡± ¡°I see. Then how about we buy it as research material and coordinate with you to make it usable in exchange for the money?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± The deal was made. Jill-san won¡¯t make a bad deal out of it. I would then have to wait about two hours for them to give a light examination and tell me the uses of the other magical tools and the most recent magical letters they were researching that I had requested. I could have gone outside for shopping, but I was tired today, so I decided to wait in the backyard of the guild. It seemed that this area also served as a rest area for the staff, and Jill gave me permission to use the women¡¯s wing freely. She said it would cause fewer problems than if I just stayed there. In my previous life, I would read a book on my mobile to pass the time, but now I took out a book directly from my Bag and read it. Which was more convenient? I think I am more comfortable with the way things are now. ¡°¡­Fuh¡­¡± Not good. I was getting really sleepy. My body doesn¡¯t feel tired now, but it feels as though something heavy has accumulated deep inside my body. This might have been a bad idea. If the transformation breaks loose on my way home, it would be troublesome. ¡°¡­¡± I did not have a choice. I made sure there were no other people around and mumbled a ¡°Command¡±. ¡°¡­Set Off [Witch Dress].¡± The Witch Dress popped off and went back into the bag, and I was back to my five-year-old self, dressed in a regular one-piece dress. ¡°Fuwaaah¡­¡± After returning to normal, I felt really sleepy. Would it be inappropriate if I slept here? I walked out of the rest area and into the backyard, where I lay down under a tree near the pond. After a half-hour nap, I should feel much better. Good night. ¡­¡£ ¡°¨D¨DHey, hey, you¡± ¡°¡­¡± When I opened my eyes slightly to see someone shaking my shoulder, I noticed a small child staring at me with a slightly terrified expression on his face. ¡°¡­Who?¡± ¡°¡­have you awakened? My name is Maro. ¡­you¡¯re an elf, are you alright? ¡° ¡°¡­¡± The boy, Maro, was about my age ¨C I was a little smaller than most five-year-olds, so Maro must have been about four. I wondered if he was one of the staff¡¯s children. ¡°You were asleep, are you hurt?¡± ¡°Sleepy.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± Apparently, he was worried about me. Is he a typical, well-behaved kid? But I think he was a bit timid and lacked courage. ¡°I¡¯m a Half-Elf, are you scared?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I asked him, and Maro looked a little surprised, then shook his head hurriedly. ¡°No, I¡¯m not scared. ¡­I was scared when I saw Elf-san for the first time, but you¡¯re not scary.¡± ¡°Nn¡± Good. I had been involved with so many unusual kids lately, like Alice and Flare, that it was a relief to see a normal kid. ¡°What¡¯s Maro doing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m staying here until my father is done with his business. I¡¯m a little weak.¡± Because of his fragility, he was told to relax in the backyard. He must be concerned about my health because of this. He was a fine young man. But since he said [Father], maybe he was a child of a nobleman or a great person? However, he did not seem to be a sub-human hater? If that¡¯s the case¨C ¡°Maro, do you want to play?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± CH 29.1 Stalker [Part 1] I recently made an acquaintance of the same age, Maro-kun. We were not exactly friends. I¡¯d probably never see the five-year-old again because I¡¯m a recluse who never leaves the house. Maro was sickly, frail, and very nice, but¡­Maro? Maro? I think I heard of that name somewhere. Where was it? ¡­Then, chills ran through my body. ¡°Carol ojou-sama. I¡¯ve been seeing some strange people around the mansion lately, you should be careful too, Miss.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± Meiya, the maid, anxiously warned me. Aside from me, who was an abomination and a ¡®hated daughter¡¯, Meiya¡¯s daughter Maia was already a 12-year-old respectable young lady, although she was still very young. Wouldn¡¯t it make everyone anxious if you noticed a strange person in your neighborhood? It was possible that someone had just moved into the neighborhood, but as I recalled, this area was full of aristocratic residences, so it was unlikely that someone new would move in. ¡°Is it really suspicious?¡± ¡°Well¡­they look like ordinary merchants or regular passersby, but they seem to be investigating something¡­¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Perhaps it has something to do with the cosmetics I wholesale to Flare? I didn¡¯t put out enough to make a big sale, but I heard that Flare uses them to negotiate with other nobles, so maybe nobles who were hostile to her were investigating me. I should look into it and eliminate them as soon as possible. But before I do that, should I find out who¡¯s behind this? *** I was also busy, so I put off doing things I didn¡¯t particularly enjoy. It was just too troublesome. Then one day, Maia, my personal maid, didn¡¯t look so good. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am¡­¡± Maia told me that when she went out shopping, she was followed by strangers, and that some people were peeping at her from outside the mansion. Could it be a stalker? In my previous life, I was also a quiet person with long black hair, so a stalker had been following me since I was in the upper grades of elementary school, convinced that I was someone else, so based on that thumb rule, I think the possibility was high. Even though I didn¡¯t know who the stalker was, I obtained information from an unexpected source just as I was about to start a full-fledged extermination mission. ¡°Hello Carol, how have you been? Oh, Bunny-san would be fine as long as she eats grass, right? I envy you savage sub-humans. It¡¯s not easy for a human body because it can die so easily.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Are you talking about yourself or the people you tried to kill? Flare came to our house after a long time, spitting venom. What the hell was she doing here? The cosmetics I wholesale to Flare were collected by the assassin maid under her command, so there should be no need for us to meet in person. ¡°The next batch isn¡¯t ready yet.¡± ¡°Oh my, do you really think I¡¯m going to show up for something as trivial as collecting an order? If you¡¯re so incompetent as to miss a deadline, I¡¯ll send an assassin out that very day, just like I did with the merchant who tried to find out about your relationship with me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Flare was being Flare as usual. It was not a bad situation, but she didn¡¯t seem to understand the importance of at least giving a warning before visiting. ¡°¡­What do you want?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so boring. I¡¯ve come to warn you because my friend Bunny-san is in trouble.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°Recently, a certain noble family has been looking into you. The Bunny-san here. He¡¯s the same age as us, but I think he¡¯s taken an interest in you. He¡¯s got bad taste.¡± ¡°¡­who?¡± ¡°Ho-ho-ho. Did you think I¡¯m going to tell you that? They are looking for a young, dark-haired half-elf, so I told them. That sounds like fun. Oh-ho-ho-ho!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sigh, yeah, Flare is just being Flare. Flare had apparently come to inform me that I was being investigated and to see me in distress. And it was me who was being stalked. What nonsense. Flare did not tell me who this aristocrat bonbon was anyway. I didn¡¯t remember encountering that dangerous-looking person¡­. Okay, time to get rid of the stalker. Stalkers must die. Stalkers should not be given human rights, so I doubt that eliminating them would be a crime. Maybe. ¡°Setup [Arjuna Cloche]¡± CH 29.2 When I sneaked out of the house at night in hunter mode, I saw two men standing outside the mansion, along the wall of a neighboring mansion. It was suspicious. I should take them down as soon as possible. If I could find evidence after defeating them, I would report them as guilty (Distraction). ¡°Set [Snipe Bow]¡±. I took out a bow with a special effect from my Bag. I didn¡¯t want to get the area around my house dirty because if it was the magic bow Gandiva, the main armament of Arjuna Cloche, it would just turn them into pieces of meat if I made a bad shot. Arjuna Cloche had a white Body and Legs, but it would be much better to completely cover it with my dark green cloak, which would increase my concealment. After all, the set is basically paper armor. Covert snipe would be ideal. From the top of a tree, I slowly draw the bow with a copper arrow and shoot the two of them. ¡°[Double Shot]¡± This was a Range Skill Level 40 [Combat Skill], Double Shot. This won¡¯t change the power, but it allows the user to shoot at two targets at the same time. Only one arrow is consumed by this¡­. I wonder how this skill does it? ¡°Augh! ¡°Ggh!¡± One of them collapsed, and the other one, bewildered, gave up on his motionless partner and quickly ran away. Tsk, he was alive¡­what a joke. Well, I actually didn¡¯t intend to kill them that easily. The other one was just knocked unconscious by the special effect [Paralysis] from the snipe bow. I descend from the tree and examine the unconscious man¡¯s belongings. ¡°¡­¡± How come this guy had a girl¡¯s underwear that seemed to be Maia¡¯s? There must be some mistake. How could he do such a thing? I was so upset that I took the underwear and put it on his head, broke the bones in his arms and legs, and left him there. Now then, time to start tracking down the other one. That was right, I let him go on purpose. I didn¡¯t change my plans because the Paralysis effect didn¡¯t work. I pursued the man by sprinting on a wall while wearing the Arjuna Cloche. I wondered what I would do if he ran into the guards, but it looked like he was able to make it back to his base. He was circling through various locations while fleeing, perhaps fearful of being pursued, but after a while he entered a large mansion. I wonder whose mansion it was? It was quite heavily guarded. Still, it would not be enough to prevent a high-level player like me from tracking him. ¡°[Eagle Eye]¡± I used the Range Skill [Eagle Eye]. This allowed me to increase my hit rate in low visibility areas and find hidden objects. ¡°¡­bingo.¡± I found what looks like an entrance to a basement in the garden. Should I try to break in from there? ¡°[Open Lock]¡± I used a lock-opening spell, probably an original one from this game, to break in. It was the first time I used it in real life, but I wondered how it works. It was dimly lit inside, but to a player¡¯s eyesight this was not a problem. After a while, there was a door again, and after confirming that no one was there, I entered it and found some paper-like objects¡­ pictures? I went into a small room with a large amount of paper. I wonder what it is¡­ I turned on Magic Light to see what it was. ¡°¡­ugh¡± I froze for a few seconds before leaving the hidden passageway and walking away from the estate, climbing to the top of the clock tower, which was about a kilometer away. Yup. This looks like a good place. ¡°¨C[Imperial]¨C¡° *Dogoooooooon! A roar echoed from the city, and people screamed. After confirming that I was able to destroy that basement from the outside, I ran away before I was discovered. No mercy for stalkers. CH 30.1 ¡°Young Lady Carol, do you know? I heard that there was an explosion at the mansion of the first court mage. Everyone is talking about a failed magic experiment, but the mage himself seems to be denying it, but it¡¯s scary, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­Heeeh.¡± The world is a dangerous place, isn¡¯t it? I couldn¡¯t even go out for a walk at night if such a scary thing happened in the city. But¡­ so that was the mansion of the first court mage, wasn¡¯t it? I wonder why I didn¡¯t notice it? I think the first court mage was the parent of the captured target with a weak constitution. How did I forget about that? ¡­A child with a weak constitution? No, wait? I shouldn¡¯t think about it too much because it sounds like a frightening thought. I shall live in the future. Let¡¯s go to the Daemon Tribe for a little life reassessment. I was not trying to escape reality. I believed that by now, everyone was enjoying life with a bright smile on their faces in a peaceful village surrounded by demons. *** ¡°Witch-dono, I¡¯ve been looking forward to your arrival as I have something I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± As soon as I went to the village in Witch mode, the elder, who looked exhausted even though it was nighttime, came running up to me and started saying such things. That was strange¡­. They had just escaped a raid by human slave hunters and returned to a peaceful land where there were only weak demons who were so afraid of me that they hid their appearance even if I casually went out for a walk. ¡°It¡¯s not like that; it¡¯s about you! I thought you were the Demon Lord in the legend of the Daemon Tribe after you destroyed the pack of demon wolves that attacked us with a single blow of ranged magic.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Well, according to what I read, there was no such thing as a Demon Lord. I thought that it was the king of the Daemon tribe who was the ¡°Demon Lord¡±. I thought that the Demon Lord was the person who united the demon tribe when they fought against the human tribe in the past, but apparently no one has been given the honorary title of Demon Lord in the past 100 years. Two of the three demon kings vanished during the war against humans, and the third king withdrew from the war, but he, too, has not claimed the title Demon Lord. I wonder what was the Demon Lord of the other continent who appeared in the new VRMMO? But when they withdrew, did they unleash demons on the lands occupied by the humans out of spite, or were there demons already living in those places? ¡°Nn? Witch-dono, what are you on about?¡± ¡°Nn?¡± I think there may be some discrepancy in our perceptions. Anyway, if I ask what they want from me, the new village that was attacked by humans is only about a day¡¯s journey from here. Because the village¡¯s warriors were reduced after the previous battle, I am worried that they will be attacked again, and with fewer warriors, the demons around here will become a danger as well. Oh, there should be some old ruins a few days¡¯ walk away, so why don¡¯t I relocate them there? Moving there would be easier. The demons there might be weaker than those here, though I¡¯m not sure. *** ¡°Why didn¡¯t you live there from the beginning?¡± ¡°There is a strong demon there who is the master of the forest!¡± ¡°¡­ah, is that so?¡± I knew what was coming. And I was not dissatisfied with their expectations. To tell the truth, the sound of ¡°Lord of the Forest¡± tugged at my heartstrings, and I also wanted to see how powerful my player character, which I happened to have acquired by reincarnation, was. After all, there existed a strong sword saint in that country. I would not feel comfortable until I could take on the entire Order of Knights on the same level as the Sword Saint. A strong opponent would be a chance for me to practice my skills. After getting the location from the elder, I decided to go to the place to do something about it. I felt like I was being used for a good cause, but it wasn¡¯t for free. I was told that whatever they discovered at the site would be given to me, even if they discovered it later. Normally, it would take me a few days to get there on foot, but that distance was nothing for me. On the way there, I decided that I would only prioritize eliminating the ferocious demons so that they could travel without worry later. But the deeper I went, the less I saw of the powerful demons. Leaving the less ferocious demons behind, I proceeded deeper into the forest and saw the ruins illuminated by the moonlight. ¡°¡­Hoh.¡± It¡¯s quite a nice view. As expected, there were no buildings left, only foundations, but it looked reasonably spacious, and if a house could be built, it would soon be habitable. But there was no water. Should we explore the ruins a little? CH 30.2 But there was no water. Should we explore the ruins a little? Flowers and grass were swaying in the gentle breeze; the sounds of insects and rabbit-like monsters with horns were grazing on the grass. As I slowly made my way through the ruins, I came upon a fountain surrounded by trees. ¡®Someone with the blood of elves. This is my home. Why have you come here?¡¯ ¡°¡­¡± It was a black dragon with large wings that spoke human language. But it was different from ordinary dragons. A black dragon would have glossy black scales, but this one had bushy hair, was slender, and had a beastly appearance with large front legs, rather than the usual rounded appearance. ¡°Bone, want some?¡± ¡®¡­I¡¯m not a dog.¡¯ He doesn¡¯t seem to like eating bones. ¡°You are different from ordinary black dragons.¡± ¡®Of course I am, I am not like those unintelligent ones. I am the ¡®Dragon of Darkness¡¯, an ancient dragon species!¡¯ ¡°Heh.¡± It¡¯s very different from the ancient dragons I know. Nidhogg, from whose belly I retrieved Ridil, is the only ancient dragon I¡¯m aware of. ¡®So, what do you want, little one?¡¯ ¡°I would like to bring people to live here. Is that alright?¡± ¡®No, of course not! You elves, who can be blown away by a dragon¡¯s breath alone, shall die with the fear of dragons etched into your souls!¡¯ Negotiations were broken. It probably didn¡¯t even want to negotiate, but this dragon was really short-tempered. ¡°[All Protection][Holy Enchant]¡± Time for me to get serious, then. I used [All Protection] for defense and for offense, I used Holy Enchantment, which gives weapons a holy attribute. It was originally a spell for the undead, but it would also be effective against a dark opponent. ¡°[Acid Cloud]¡± ¡®Guh, you!¡¯ The dark dragon spits out a breath of flame. Nidhogg¡¯s level was 90 when I faced it. When I was attempting to get Ridil, I was also only around level 70, so it was a threat to me at that time, but later in the game, when level caps were increased, a high-level player could hunt him normally with only three people. I did not know the level of this dark dragon, but I should be serious for now. I ignored the breath of fire. The defense of Witch Dress works great in times like this. ¡°[Death Slug]¡± ¡®Guuuoooh!?¡¯ When I unleash a [Combat Skill] with my magic gun break revolver, the dark dragon lets out a pained groan and retreats. I was also damaged by fire breath¡­huh? It didn¡¯t hurt that much, and not even 10% of my HP was dropped. ¡®You dare to inflict this much pain on me!¡¯ ¡°¡­¡± The dragon screamed in pain as I caught its fangs with Ridil and slashed at it while spinning with [Sword Dance]. What happened? The dragon did not look much different from a level 60 dragon. No, it may be high level, but it seems to have raised its level through non-combat skills. The level 90 Nidhogg was 90 with mostly combat skills, so its attacks were extremely painful¡­. ¡°¡­Set [Saint Cloche]¡±. Changing into Saint Cloche, which had the highest defense, I slowly approached the dark dragon, who looked alarmed now that he had felt the pain. ¡±Don¡¯t come near me!!!¡± ¡°Nn [Enchant Strength]¡± I caught the roaring dark dragon and cast a spell on myself to temporarily increase my muscle strength, then pushed the dark dragon to the ground. ¡®Ki, you!¡¯ ¡°Yoshi, yoshi, yoshi!¡± ¡®No, stop, let go of me! Don¡¯t stroke my chin! Don¡¯t stroke my belly, stop it, oh¡­¡­¨C¡± After enjoying the fluff of the dark dragon for a while, I realized that two hours had passed, and the huge dark dragon was limp in my arms. ¡±¡­Stop, stop¡­¡± ¡°Oh, right. ¡­Sorry.¡± It seemed that I had won before I knew it. It was no wonder that the dark dragon¡¯s fur was more fluffy than I had expected. At any rate, having made peace with the dark dragon, I decided to stop trying to eliminate it and keep it as a guard dog here. It had lived in this land for thousands of years, but it didn¡¯t have much experience in battle because everyone ran away when the dragon came. `Even the demon tribe that lived in this land ran away just at the sight of me, so¡­¡¯ ¡°Eh?¡± There was another perspective of history found here. Weren¡¯t these areas the land that the daemon tribe took from the humans during the war a hundred years ago? CH 31.1 Village Development [Part 1] ¡°[High Heal] on Pochi.¡± I applied a 3rd Class Recovery Magic High Heal to the wounded dark dragon. It didn¡¯t feel like what I used was a High Heal, though. Although I could recover its HP which has been dropped halfway, I probably won¡¯t be able to cure its heart. ¡®¡­Pochi?¡¯ ¡°Your name. The proof that you have become my new pet subordinate.¡± ¡±¡­I¡¯m willing to follow you, but does that name have any meaning? It sounds like you¡¯re making fun of me.¡± ¡°Abbreviation for Pomeranian Chow Chow, a brave beast. Cool, right?¡± ¡±Mm. You may call me Pochi, then.¡¯ I was happy to hear that he appreciated the name I had given him. Apparently, dragons had a habit of paying respect to strong individuals, and the dark dragon, Pochi, who looked like he had lost without even a single scratch, slowly locked gazes with me as it laid down its huge body. Even though it was enormous, it might be smaller than an ordinary old dragon. It was slender, with large forelegs and bushy hair instead of scales, so the overall impression was similar to that of a wolf. But as a dragon, its tail is as long as its body, and its wings are about the same size. Was it a subspecies? The large wings and tail make it look comparable in size to a normal dragon, but the body was small in comparison, so even I managed to hold it down. Even though I was worried about the fluff, I was surprised that I could hold down a dragon that was bigger than a horse by just holding down its body¡­. The dragon also melted at my hand technique. ¡°Yoyoshiyoshiyoshii.¡± ¡°Stop it, aaaaaaa¡­¡± I was more concerned about something else. According to the history of the Kingdom of Caenista, the nation of humans, an invasion was launched by the Daemons, and the Kingdom of Caenista took the lead in defeating two of the Daemon nations, making the last Daemon nation retreat, but because the Daemons released demons on the land they invaded, it became demon territory, and they never got their territory back. But the Daemons have been here longer than the kingdom¡¯s history, and there were even Daemon remains here. Even if Daemon did unleash demons, it would be strange for the area to have turned into a demon forest dense with magical elements in just a few decades. If that was the case, then this area was originally a demon forest, and the human tribe launched an invasion war against it? It was also possible that Daemon initiated the war against them, and they invaded in the opposite direction, but since they claimed Daemon¡¯s territory as their own, I was not able to tell which side was right. Did they become subhuman-haters as a result of being attacked by Daemons, or did they attack the Daemons as a result of their determination to maintain human race supremacy, and who exactly led the attack? Which country started the war against the Daemons? It was a little suspicious. I would have to look into it. For now, I would like to ask Pochi to take the lead and bring the Daemon people here. That concludes my request. Well, it didn¡¯t look like anything interesting would come out of the ruins, but it was a good thing that I had Pochi to help me strengthen my skills. I reported to the eldest of the Daemons, and when I came back here a few days later¡­ ¡°Witch-dono! We¡¯ve been waiting for you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± What could it be? Was there trouble again? CH 31.2 What could it be? Was there trouble again? I listened to the elder¡¯s story with a more blank expression than usual, and found that it was good that they had moved here, but there were too many rocks at the site of the ruins, making it impossible to cultivate a field. Even if they could get the rocks out of the way, the water was too far away to make life easier, so they asked me for some good advice. ¡­Were they thinking of me as a handyman or something? ¡°If you need a watering hole, there is a spring not far from here, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°No way, we can¡¯t go to the place where the great dark dragon lives to get water!¡± So, that was the problem. From my point of view, it was a dragon that lacked fighting skills, but from an ordinary person¡¯s point of view, it was a terrifying creature. The daemons, similar to dragons, paid respect to the strong, so apparently they were in awe and couldn¡¯t approach the dwelling just to get water. To be frank, I thought about leaving it alone, but when I felt the expectant gazes of the children and the girls, I couldn¡¯t resist helping out the Daemon¡¯s village, so I lifted my heavy shoulders to assist. ¡°¡­I guess I don¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°Oh, Witch-dono!¡± But I won¡¯t make it so easy for them. In this case, the quickest way would be to have Pochi move to a new residence, but people would be corrupted if they thought they could have all their requests fulfilled. I was a person who doesn¡¯t really want to be bothered, so let¡¯s have them work for it (my real intention). ¡°Setup [Arjuna Cloche] all¡±. I changed into my archer¡¯s cloak and climbed to the top of the tallest tree, which appeared to be several hundred years old. There seemed to be no water sources in this area, but a short distance away, there were several small but gushing springs of water. I assumed there would be a water vein underground, so I thought that if I dug a well, they would be able to get water, but I have no idea how deep I or these people would have to dig. So¨C ¡°Set [Doubling]¡± Using the power multiplier ability, I hold up my magic bow Gandiva and jump as high as I can. ¡°[Sniper Shot]¡± *Dogooooooooon A penetrating [Combat Skill] was shot directly down from above, piercing the ground, and water began to ooze slightly afterwards. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± ¡°Please make the rest of the well as you see fit.¡± I said to the stunned Daemon villagers, as I changed into my Witch Dress and went to the planned field site. ¡°Set [Witch Wand].¡± I readied my wand for magical warfare and put my magic power into it. The Daemons who had come to see what was going on ran away with blue faces when they felt the strange magical power I suddenly collected and filled my wand with. As more magic power continued to accumulate¡­. Pebbles shatter and the earth shakes as the magic becomes a physical force that swirls around me. I loosely swing my wand, like a Magical Girl, and release a spell to use the magic I have accumulated. ¡°¨C[Blast]¨C¡° The maximum destructive magic I could use at the moment. The 6th Class Magic of wind [Blast]. The reason I had never used it before was that it was too powerful to use. The MP consumption was great, but it was only a magic that destroyed things over a wide area with no penalty in power, so in the VRMMO, using this in the wrong hunting spot would get you exposed on the forums as if you were some sort of criminal. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± ¡°The big rock is gone, please take care of the rest.¡± I passed by the stunned villagers¡¯ heads, tapping him on the shoulder as he opened his mouth so wide that his jaw appeared to be about to fall off. I have complied with their request, so there was no reason for them to complain. ¡°Please do your best. It¡¯s your village.¡± As I was about to leave, I noticed what appeared to be some villagers kneeling out of the corner of my eye. What happened to them? It had been almost a year since I moved to the capital after living such a harsh life. It was not peaceful, but it was going reasonably well, wasn¡¯t it? I must quickly grow up and regain my full strength. As I returned to the capital with such thoughts in my mind, an outrageous baptism from the Otome game awaited me. CH 32.1 Moonlit Dance [Part 1] ¡°Carol, you can thank your brother for this. Thanks to me, there is no more talk of selling you to the old lecher, and because of me, there will be no more half-witted subhumans like you who can go out and tarnish the name of my House of Arceides. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.¡± ¡°¡­Yes?¡± Dirk, who had returned from the academy unusually early, said something bizarre. No, Dirk¡¯s eccentricities had always been unusual, but the story of my being sold to some perverted nobleman had been decided between our families, so even if he was the legitimate son, it was not a matter that a 10-year-old boy could overrule. Dirk, who had grown to be tall, lifted me, who was smaller than an average five-year-old child, gently and with a fresh smile on his face. ¡°Today, this older brother of yours will bathe and wash you with me.¡± ¡°No!¡± Dirk, who hadn¡¯t expected me to refuse, widened his eyes in surprise. ¡°Dirk, I¡¯m sure Bunny-chan won¡¯t be able to understand you if you do that¡­¡± ¡°Cashmere¡­¡± Ah, there you were. Flare¡¯s older brother, the Duke¡¯s young master, snatched me from Dirk, his classmate¡¯s grasp, with a sparkling smile and held me in his arms. ¡°You¡¯re cute as ever, Bunny-chan, and I¡¯ve prepared a dragon-skin collar for you, so you can be mine whenever you want.¡± ¡°I told you I won¡¯t give you this one. Give her back to me now!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again. Right, Bunny-chan?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was horrified. Both of them were beautiful boys, so I felt disgusted by them. They didn¡¯t even treat me as a ¡°person¡±, let alone a young lady of noble birth. They treat me like a pet bunny. ¡°Well, let me tell you something, Bunny-san.¡± According to Cashmere, Dirk consulted him about how to handle me, Cashmere consulted his father (to make me his own), and the Duke of Prata made a move. I would never believe that the Prata family was kind enough to do this for me. I just had a bad feeling there was something behind it¡­ I mean, what could it be? ¡°Your sale story, I mean, the story about being adopted when your body grows up, is gone. A certain place is paying that penalty, and I want Bunny-chan to come all the way to the royal castle for that. There is a party tomorrow night at the castle. The nobles I want you to meet will be there, so I thought it would be a good time.¡± ¡°Of course, Carol won¡¯t be at the actual party. A subhuman like you is not permitted to attend a party in the castle. But, of course, I¡¯ll be there.¡± ¡°I will also be there, so I can¡¯t be with you, but I¡¯ll bring you some carrots afterwards, so bear with it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I should be praised for being able to resist the urge to transform into an adult and smack them. We were supposed to go to the royal castle tomorrow to meet with the investors, but I had a bad feeling about it. Did Dirk truly believe the Pratas were also cooperating with us? The next day, while I was waiting in my usual attire because I wasn¡¯t going to be at the castle party anyway, Dirk came home early, and Cashmere also came over to see me again. ¡°Dirk doesn¡¯t appear to want to show Bunny-chan to the other nobles, but I want everyone to see the adorable Bunny-chan, so I¡¯ve prepared this.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± A slightly young, pale butler behind Cashmere brought a box. ¡­Oh, was this the guy who got stabbed by Flare for not liking his attitude? ¡°See, isn¡¯t she pretty?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Cashmere brought a pure white dress that looked custom-made. CH 32.2 Cashmere brought a pure white dress that looked custom-made. I was forced to change into cosplay-style clothing, with bare shoulders, white fur around my neck, wrists, and ankles, and fur on my buttocks like a bunny tail. I was really being treated like a pet. What kind of nightclub companion did he think I was? We departed for the castle with Dirk and Cashmere in the Duke of Prata¡¯s carriage. My stomach was seriously aching. Dirk must have liked my outfit because he kept me on his lap the whole time, and said something sickening with glee. ¡°When you grow up, I¡¯ll make you the same dress with a shorter hem, so I can see your legs.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sorry, I humbly refuse. When we arrived at the castle, there were indeed no little girls like me. I was taken into a reception room after being stared at with disgust by the castle staff, while Dirk and the others went to the party hall. After several minutes of being left alone without being served tea, the door opened without another knock and three adults entered. ¡°Oh, is this the abomination from the Arceides family?¡± ¡°It¡¯s filthy. But it¡¯s convenient. And she looks pretty decent, too.¡± ¡°Hi, you must be the Bunny-chan the boys told me about, Flare¡¯s favorite, but I¡¯m going to have to ask you to bear with us this time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The well-dressed man from before, a woman with a bunch of jewels on her head, and finally, someone who could be the Duke of Prata entered the room. Oh well, Flare might end up in a bad mood if they mess with me, the wholesaler of cosmetics. ¡­I hope everything will be fine. The two uncles looked at me with a frown, as if they were trying to judge me, while the stern-looking woman scowled at me, and finally, after saying whatever she wanted to say, she added. ¡°This should not be a problem, Prime Minister. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Well, shall we go back?¡± And so, without any explanation, they went away. With a clank, the maid set a plate of sweets and a cup of tea on the table as if to slam it down, and then she too left. Ah, they must have been instructed to just give me sweets and leave me alone until Dirk returned, I see. But even if she didn¡¯t poison me, I wouldn¡¯t touch sweets that might be mixed with insects just to harass me. I thought of killing time by taking out my own snacks and books from [Bag], but after an hour, I could still hear the party music coming from far away, and I was getting tired of it. How long did these parties go on for? The tea got cold, and the maid didn¡¯t come to replace it, so I decided to make a move. ¡°Setup [Witch Dress]¡± After transforming into Witch Mode, I sneaked out of the room by opening the window. I see, this was the castle of the Royal Capital¡­. The interior was not much different from the castle of the Counts of Arceides, but the scale of the castle was very different. I briefly considered taking money from the treasury for the national budget just to harass them, but it was difficult to tell where it was in this huge castle. ¡°¡­hmm.¡± At any rate, there was a magnificent stone statue in a courtyard-like place, so I scribbled all over its face with black ink. The party music sounded much louder when I got here. ¡­I was a little curious. I was not interested in the nobility of this country, but I was a girl after all, so I longed for something glamorous. Moving to a terrace away from the venue, I took a sneak peek at the party venue from there. CH 32.3 Moving to a terrace away from the venue, I took a sneak peek at the party venue from there. I thought there might be some new style because it was a different world, but there wasn¡¯t anything particularly noteworthy. If I had to pick one thing, it would be that the sound of the musical instruments and the dancing were a little off. I wasn¡¯t much of an athlete in my previous life, but in my current body, I could move as freely as I wanted to. I became a little interested in it and began dancing to the music, taking the steps as I saw fit. It was surprisingly easy to dance with this body. I was having a little fun, so I just kept on dancing by myself. ¡°¨CWhat are you doing?¡± ¡°Huh!¡± I was completely caught off guard. I quickly turned around to slash down the person with my Ridil to shut them up, but the person I saw was a dark-haired boy about the same age as my current self¨Cprobably 14-15 years old¨Cstaring at me curiously. ¡°Are you¡­ a half-elf?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oh, sorry, I didn¡¯t mean anything bad. I just didn¡¯t think there were non-humans in this castle.¡± The aristocratic-looking boy hurriedly apologized to my alarmed face. ¡°Half-elf, what?¡± ¡°I recently returned from studying abroad in another country and was surprised to find that there were also elves and beastmen attending the school. Of course, I am friends with them.¡± In short, was he saying that there was no need for me to be cautious? He looked very calm even though he was still a boy, and he didn¡¯t even confirm who I was and why I was here, but when I let my guard down, he let out a light breath and looked up at the night sky while leaning his hand on the terrace railing. ¡°I finally realized that the nobility in this country is strange when I was away from it. In other countries, it¡¯s not unusual to find subhuman nobles, you know? Oh, and don¡¯t mention this to anyone, okay?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± ¡°Yes, will you dance with me for a moment? Apparently, I¡¯m not well-liked by the nobility of this country, so I don¡¯t have a partner.¡± I wonder if he saw me dancing alone earlier. A little embarrassed, I involuntarily took the hand that was offered to me. ¡°¡­If only for a bit.¡± In the moonlight, we danced quietly to the music that could be heard in the distance. My dancing was still inadequate, but he seemed to be used to it and took the lead. After dancing for a song or so, we both pulled away and distanced ourselves. ¡°Can we¡­meet again?¡± ¡°¡­If you stay the same.¡± We just exchanged those words, and I disappeared into the darkness of the night, and he stared at the place where I had disappeared. *** ¡°Your Highness, Your Highness Camille, there you are!¡± ¡°¡­Prime Minister.¡± On the empty terrace, the dark-haired boy frowned at the grinning face of the man who came to call him. ¡°Today is your homecoming party after returning from your study abroad. What will it be like without the star of the show, right, Your Royal Highness?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Camille thought to himself what did the man who had sent him away to another country have to say about this? He was the younger brother of the current king, and had a different mother. Born to the third queen, he had been sent away a year before the previous king¡¯s death, and his brother had ascended to the throne during that time. ¡°And, rejoice, we have at last found a noblewoman to be your wife.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Of course, a daughter with problems would be assigned to him, so as not to get in the way of the crown prince, who himself was his brother¡¯s son. Camille, who had walked out of the room without even asking, stopped at the Prime Minister¡¯s final, mocking tone behind his back. ¡°The abominable child of the Arceides frontier count family. She¡¯s a half-elf with black hair, though.¡± CH 33.1 [Setting and Characters ¨C Part 1] [World Setting] A game world was a place where a person who could see beyond the other worlds and was also a game creator could make a game with a setting that closely resembled the events of the other worlds. Although the original world was very similar to the game, it was referred to as a ¡°Game World,¡± despite the fact that it was a real world, not a fictitious one. The VRMMORPG and Otome Game took place in the same world, but on different continents. The settings of both games were similar from the source, and both settings remained valid in reality, unless they were original things made up by the game creators. Both games were based from a future-view of another world, and the future could change at any time, just as the game¡¯s route would change depending on the actions of the protagonist. The Otome Game took place in the Kingdom of Caenista, where the heroine and two villainesses turned 10 years old, at the time of their entrance into the Magic Academy. [Main Characters] -[Black Lily] Carol Nym Arceides Female Race: Half Elf She was reborn as a ¡°villainess¡± in an Otome game with the power of a VRMMO player character after a misunderstanding with God that resulted in a variety of bugs. She remained physically young, but by wearing a set of VRMMO equipment, she could temporarily take on the form of her player character. It could be that Carol was not reincarnated as ¡°the villainess Carol who appeared in the game,¡± but was instead a future-version of Carol herself. In the Otome game, Carol was born as a subhuman-an ¡°Abominable Child¡± ¨C from the perspective of a nobleman who believed in the supremacy of humanity, and although she began with a negative likability rating towards most nobles, she fought back without attempting to dispel it, making her even more recognizable as an ¡°Unlikable Daughter.¡± Player Character. She was 160 cm tall. When equipped with heels, she stood at 165 cm. Straight, lustrous black hair that goes down to her chest. Originally, the hair color of half-elves was a mixture of various dark colors, but in the game¡¯s settings, it was set to a solid black. Her eyes were golden. Her skin color was based on Caucasian, with a little yellow added according to her taste. Level 95 Basic HP 340 MP 520 -[Silver Rose] Flare Mercury Prata Female Race: Human A true villainess. She was known for her beauty, with her magnificent silver hair and jewel-like blue eyes. She was protected by a great spirit of fire, and her character was harsh. She does not retreat, does not flatter, and does not care. What she did was supreme, and although she was a villainess, she was not bound by the framework of good or evil. Although she was a duchess, she was more like an Empress than any other member of the royal family, a true ruler. She was the embodiment of a fairy-tale Demon King. Anyone would fear her as an enemy, but even as an ally, she would be feared. She and the heroine got along like water and oil. Neither of them understands the other¡¯s inner life or actions. Although she and Carol were not friends, they acknowledged each other to a certain extent and had a sense of camaraderie, but they would not hesitate to eliminate each other if they got in each other¡¯s way. -[The Beloved Child of the Spirits] Alice Lannon Female Race: Human The heroine of the Otome Game. She has fluffy golden hair and gentle jade green eyes. She was always cheerful, healthy, and energetic, and was popular with everyone. With her cute appearance and cheerful personality, she naturally attracted the Capture Targets and any Male person without restraint. Despite her pretty appearance, she was a shrewd and tough person on the inside, and she often misleads Males by unintentionally using kind words to her own advantage. Therefore, she was not well received by Females. She was loved by many spirits, and they protected Alice, who attracts them unconsciously regardless of attributes, although her innocence could also be considered as a good-natured or childish attitude. She was discovered to be a beloved child of the spirits, and at the age of ten, she was admitted to a nobles-only magic academy, where she became involved with numerous Capture Targets. Her personality was optimistic, and she interpreted everything that happened in the world in a positive way. CH 33.2 [Setting and Characters ¨C Part 2] -Dirk Toll Arceides Male Race: Human [Capture Target] He was Carol¡¯s older brother and the eldest son of the Count of Arceides. He was five years older than Carol and the others, but in the Otome Game, he first appears as a senior and later as a teacher. He was a nobleman devoted to Human supremacy, but due to a traumatic childhood experience, he developed a fetish for half-elves and plans to imprison Carol, his own sister, and keep her as a pet. In the game, the normal ending was for him to confine the heroine and live with her. -Maron Magi Arella Male Race: Human [Capture Target] He was the son of the first court mage. He was the same age as Carol. Despite being sickly, slow-growing, and timid, he had an insatiable interest in his favorite things and the temperament of a stalker who took voyeuristic photographs of his favorite things on a regular basis. Although he may appear harmless to the outside world, he was also an underwear thief who used his power and financial resources to his advantage. -Abel Ramma Bash Male Race: Human [Capture Target] Son of the current Knight Commander ¡°Sword Saint¡±, and a Capture Target. He was 10 years older than Carol. At the beginning of the game, he returned to the Order and appeared in the academy as a knight guarding the royal family. He admired his father, the Sword Saint, and occasionally worked as an adventurer in order to strengthen himself. He developed feelings for Alice, who was tormented by Carol for her dislike of sub-humans. He was a bit of a pedophile. He never listened to what others had to say, and instead acted on his own initiative. -Bert Ram Bash Male Race: Human Current Knight Commander and [Sword Saint]. He was originally an adventurer, but was only interested in getting stronger, and in game terms, he was someone who only strengthened his combat skills. After defeating a dragon with his party, he gained the power equivalent to level 40 and became a knight commander in his twenties. He had no prejudice against subhumans, but his only interest was strength, so he had a troublesome personality and had a habit of messing around with Carol in her witch form. -Cashmere Flute Prata Male Race: Human Duke of Prata¡¯s son. He was Flare¡¯s older brother and Dirk¡¯s friend. Although he didn¡¯t appear much in the game, he appeared as a nobleman in the game and was not interested in Alice, a commoner, but wanted Carroll as a slave. -Camille Aschuk Coenicasta Male Race: Human[Capture Target] Younger brother of the current King. He was nine years older than Carol. Caught up in the struggle for succession to the throne, he was sent to study in another country by the current king¡¯s faction. However, as a result of this experience, he became aware of the distorted nature of the Caenista kingdom and began to doubt human supremacy. To prevent him from succeeding to the throne on behalf of his brother¡¯s son, the crown prince, he was betrothed to Carol, an abomination within the human supremacy system. Compared to most nobles of the Caenista kingdom who were all perverts, his proclivities were relatively normal. Perhaps even decent. [Other People] -Carol¡¯s servant. A person who was very understanding. Maia, the resident maid. She was a bit of a dreamer, loves pretty things, and was fascinated by Carol. Maia¡¯s mother, Meiya, was a maid, and her father, Danny, was a cook. -The demons who live in the Demon Forest. The elder. Harry. Others. They are indebted to Carol. -Pochi, the Dark Dragon. The name was an abbreviation of Pomeranian Chow Chow, a great and brave beast. It was a subspecies of an ancient dragon that had lived for thousands of years, but it had little combat experience, only used production skills, and had the same level of combat power as an ordinary dragon in the VRMMO, so it easily succumbed to Carol and became her pet. Its form was that of a winged wolf, with fluffy hair growing on its body instead of scales. CH 34.1 Magic Academy [Part 1] ¡°Look, if you are not going to move, you¡¯ll be hit, now to the right. [Lightning]¡± [Dooowaaaaaah!] The [Lightning] magic I unleashed caused Pochi, the dark dragon, to scream and roll around in order to avoid the lightning strike. In the VRMMO, the power and resist rate of magic would change depending on the amount of [Magic Power] used, but I have a feeling that the power had increased even though I was not adding any magic power to it. I wonder what the reason for this was? I think it was because of the ¡°experience¡± of using magic. In the game, as skill levels increased, the power of magic increased and MP consumption decreased, but the amount of magic power consumed was the same for all spells, such as attack magic. In short, spells that were frequently used in the same system would have their effects increased. Of course, there were disadvantages as well, like spells that were used for the first time would be slightly less powerful. However, it would be more practical to simply use a weakened spell because reducing the magic power used to cast it would be much easier. But, you know? I could still beat my enemies with the same power calculations I did before, couldn¡¯t I? I know this wasn¡¯t a game and there may be individual differences, but people in this world were not that strong, right? Unlike me, who had my Player Character¡¯s ability, although there were no levels. There were no status increases or HP and MP increases due to leveling up¡­ but I had no idea that even one status increase at a time like this was so important¡­. [Carol! You¡¯re not on the right, you¡¯re on the left!] ¡°From my point of view, it was on the right. From Pochi¡¯s point of view, it¡¯s the side that holds the bowl.¡± [What¡¯s a ¡°bowl¡±?] Pardon me, the doggie was basically eating like a dog. I received a grand complaint from Pochi, who was emitting a buzzing, scorching smoke from all over its body. Pochi was also desperate because he had not received any recovery for quite some time, which was stressing him out. It had been almost five years since we moved to the Royal Capital, and as an owner, I kept on training Pochi in my spare time to improve its fighting skills. Pochi was really a no-good dragon. I wish I had noticed this when it was being held down by me. Even though there was a level difference between us, even though it had been alive for more than 1,000 years, it had only improved its production skills and had hardly improved its combat skills. If this were a game, it would be possible to level up and gain some HP and status even with all the production skills, but Pochi was probably only at its starting point. Well, dragons have high basic stats, so I suppose he was able to get by most of the time, but despite having nearly 10 times the stats of humans with levels and body enhancements, he was only as strong as me, a half elf. That was not allowed. As a gamer, I would not allow it. A dragon must be strong and good-looking. When I stressed this to him, Pochi appeared to be deeply moved by my words. [O, oh, is, is that¡­so?] Pochi was very enthusiastic and agreed to improve its combat skills. Since then, I continued training for more than four years, but I still had trouble strengthening my skills because the real world was harder than I thought it would be. That was because I was comparing it to a game. A day in a mobile game would be about 1~2 hours, but in the VRMMO, the perceived time was 5 times longer than normal time, and users would complain that they had to train for years to increase their power, just like in the real world. Still, I believe that Pochi had become strong enough to win against ordinary dragons without any problem, if not against legendary-class ancient dragons like Nidhogg. CH 34.2 Magic Academy [Part 2] The other day, Pochi proudly placed a giant scorpion that it had apparently hunted by itself in front of me, reminding me of the cat at my friend¡¯s house in my previous life that proudly showed off the G it had caught, and it made me smile. My friend was screaming, not with joy, though. The Daemons¡¯ village had grown quite a bit. Demons with some intelligence wouldn¡¯t approach Pochi out of fear, and even the weaker monsters were blocked by the barrier magical tools that I got from Daemons before and were fixed by the Mages¡¯ Guild, so they could raise more children with peace of mind. ¡­Every time something happened, they [Requested] me to do something, and I did my best. The elders were old but in good health. They claimed to be around 120 years old, but Daemons have a life expectancy of about 150 years, so they would still request a lot of things from me. But the Daemons made a home for me. Everyone there (except the elders) were good people. It looked like a shrine or a temple, but what was the meaning of it? As for me personally, I was having a mock battle with Pochi, so I was able to strengthen my skills a little. The skills that I raised above 90 were tough, but [Sword Dance], which I had only raised to 70, seemed to have improved. I think that it was Pochi¡¯s dedication that helped me. Also, Pochi, who unexpectedly was an intellectual, or rather, a dragon who has a habit of collecting things like a crow, owned some old books from the Daemons¡¯ library, including an ancient grimoire. The contents were not that great, but it was a big help to have access to a large number of unknown words that had not been recorded in the human community. I unlocked many spells, not all of them, but a significant number of them, and I could now use many high-ranking spells. Also, I, a little nobleman, turned ten and finally entered the magic academy, which I had been dreading for years¡­ Somehow, without my knowledge, I had become engaged to the king¡¯s younger brother. How did this happen? The world was a terrible place where you could not just say, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad that the story of being sold to a perverted aristocrat is over¡±. I didn¡¯t know how I became the fianc¨¦e of Camille-san, the king¡¯s brother, but since he agreed to marry me, a half-elf who was nine years older than him, there must be some kind of sinister motive behind it. Even if he wasn¡¯t, he was a nobleman and royalty in this country full of perverts, you know? He must be a pervert of the highest order. You could see it in Flare and Cashmere, who have royal blood. It had been more than four years since my engagement and I still hadn¡¯t met him. Even in such a state, because I was engaged to the king¡¯s younger brother, it was impossible for me not to attend the Academy of Magic, which is only open to nobles. Haaah¡­this is such a hassle. So on the day of the entrance ceremony. There was no way those parents would come to my entrance ceremony, and even if they did, it would be a problem, but Dirk, who had become more restrictive since I got engaged, was going to be there with me. ¡°Look, don¡¯t get carried away, okay? It¡¯s just a formal engagement to tie Camille-sama¡¯s chain of command, and you¡¯ll never have to leave home. You can wear a collar and stay in my room for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Dirk remained a pervert. Dirk, who was in his final year at the academy and would turn 16 this year, was nearly 180 tall and looked quite handsome on the outside, but on the inside he was worse than before. As my body grew, he began scheming to bathe with me. It was very difficult for me to shift the time of bathing every day because of this. Why was this the target of Otome Game¡¯s strategy? Which one was it? The heroine who could have a pure love affair with this guy must have a strong heart or a terrible love brain. Oh, Alice was the heroine, wasn¡¯t she? If that¡¯s the case, I believe the target of her attack would be considered beautiful regardless. ¡°Are you listening to me? And don¡¯t talk to me so casually in the school, okay? You, a subhuman, are a disgrace to our Arceides frontier family!¡± If that was the case, would you please stop trying to force me onto your lap or sneakily stroke my thighs? At 10 years old, I had grown physically, but more importantly, my status had finally increased. Perhaps the current Carol was starting to merge with my Player Character as I grew up. Thanks to this, I am now able to avoid Dirk¡¯s sexual harassment. CH 34.3 Magic Academy [Part 3] My basic physical strength has increased a lot, so I can be an adult for a longer period of time, but I still have to avoid the perverts until I can fight for about 10 days straight while protecting Maia and the other servants. Well, we finally arrived at the Magic Academy. There are many new students dressed in brand-new uniforms just like me. I am still small, even though I have grown up. If the others look like they were in the 4th~5th grade, I only have the size of a 3rd grader. Five years ago, I was the size of a 4-year-old child, so I thought I had grown a lot, but it would appear that half-elves were slower to grow. ¡­How many more years would it take for me to regain my full strength? ¡°Well, then, don¡¯t embarrass yourself too much!¡± Dirk moved away while saying that. What? Did he leave me alone? Okay, but please find yourself a wife as soon as possible. Didn¡¯t you have a fianc¨¦e in the game? At any rate, as I walked in the direction of the new students, I was met with a number of stares. First they were surprised at how small I was, then they noticed my long ears and frowned or looked at me strangely. There were noble children from outside the Royal Capital as well, and aside from the upper and middle-class nobles, the lower-class nobles from the countryside may not have as much prejudice against the subhuman. In the future, I became the [hated] young lady of the school, but the future could always change. If I stay mature here, I could at least get rid of my image a little, couldn¡¯t I? ¡°¡­Nn?¡± I found a gathering of boys among the new students. I wonder what was in there? Could it be a class assignment? I took a quick peek to see what was there¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Oh, no. I saw a fluffy blonde-haired person among all the sparkling effects. I had avoided her for a long time, but I knew she was here¡­ Alice. She was the heroine of Otome Game, of course¡­. And her cronies, who used to be all low and middle-class spirits, had now grown up to be several high-class spirits. Even if I dumped her in an Orc nest, she would probably come back fine and annihilate them all. I must not get involved with her. I should get away from her as fast as I can. ¡°Ahhhhh, this school has elf kids too!¡± I was involved. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t think there were elves here. Me and¡­ kya!¡± Perhaps because I was a rarity, Alice, who had abandoned the others and rushed over to me, somehow slipped and fell on the empty ground. [Alice-chan, are you okay?] Several boys ran up to her. A cute little boy among them, who looked a bit young, rushed over to her and offered her a handkerchief, and Alice smiled cutely with a blooming smile. ¡°Wow, thank you, but I can¡¯t use such a beautiful handkerchief because it will get dirty. But I¡¯m glad you feel that way! It¡¯s nice to be kind.¡± ¡°Oh, umm¡­¡± The boy¡¯s face turned bright red as he smiled at Alice, who was wiping mud from her knees with her bare hands. He was a bit of a fool, but I thought it was acceptable. ¡°Oh, Elf-san, wait! I know a dark-haired elf like you. I¡¯d like to have a little chat with you.¡± Saying this, Alice held out her hand for me to shake. Muddy hands¡­. ¡°¡­Your hands are dirty.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, it¡¯s okay. I grew up downtown, so I don¡¯t mind!¡± Saying that, she grabbed my hand a little forcefully. ¡°[Water Ball]¡± The 1st class water magic [Water Ball], whose power was reduced to the point of not causing damage, explodes in Alice¡¯s and my hands, washing away the mud cleanly. It was self-destructive. We both got covered in water for quite a while, and that was how I became a [hated young lady] on my first day at the school. CH 35.1 Heroine and Villainess [Part 1] Another day. ¡°Wow, senpai, thank you so much!¡± Alice thanked him cutely as she jumped up and down, and the face of the older male student who was carrying her luggage suddenly broke into a sloppy smile. When a girl was in trouble, you¡¯d want to help her (but only if she was a beautiful girl). Sure, it looked heavy, but it was just a regular piece of luggage, similar to what other female students carried. Because Alice was a commoner, and the only people around her were low-class country aristocrats and heiresses of big merchants, the nobles looked at her with suspicion at first, but she was always surrounded by spirits, so she always had a sparkling effect like what you see in a shoujo manga, which made her stand out in an unusual way. Then it would be known that she was allowed to enter the school not only because she was a beautiful girl, but also because she was a Beloved Child of the Spirits, and the noble pupils would become interested in her. The senior nobles were still waiting to see what would happen, but as Alice, who is only 10 years old, grows up and becomes a more beautiful girl, the Capture Targets would probably start to make their move. Up to this point, it was almost the same as in the Otome Game. It was strange¡­ I knew what the game was about, and yet almost nothing changed. The boys gathered around Alice, who was sprinkling glitter effects like insects attracted to a carnivorous plant. ¡°Thanks everyone, I¡¯m so happy!¡± No, you didn¡¯t need that much help with the luggage, did you? The guy on the other end of the line only has a pencil case. Alice was really great. Even the overweight boy looked her in the eyes and thanked her for her generosity. But was it just a coincidence that all the boys holding her hand were pretty boys? Well, she also held the hand of a not-so-good-looking boy. Apparently, I was prejudiced because of how I had known Alice. ¡°Please come and shop at our store again!¡± Oh, he was a rich boy, and I was relieved to see that Alice had not changed. Alice walked through the courtyard with a group of boys in tow. I didn¡¯t mind, but they were a large group, so the other students had to make way for them. They didn¡¯t seem to notice at all, though, as if they were having a good time talking. *Clank. ¡°Kyaaaah!?¡± [Alice-chan!?] Alice, who was walking in front, without looking ahead, was scooped up by a leg, spun around, and fell head over heels just as she passed one of the ladies walking directly in front of her. ¡°Oh, I thought I smelled doo-doo, but it turns out that the country¡¯s doo-doo rats had gathered around the rotten cheese. Oh, stinky smell, you¡¯re really disturbing me.¡± The High Lord was finally here. Flare, the incarnation of evil, dashingly appeared, accompanied by assassin maids who were not ordinary to look at (there were more of them) and a few students, and gave Alice a scornful glare and words of contempt while hiding her mouth with a fan made of peacock tail feathers. ¡­She was incredibly beautiful, wasn¡¯t she? Was she really a ten-year-old? Unlike Alice and me of the Great Plains, a glimpse of the bulge was visible even on her uniform. Her long, wavy hair appeared wavy due to the constant updrafts caused by the fire spirit she keeps. Aside from the assassin maid, who was constantly emitting a killing spirit, the two girls and boys walking behind Flare, wearing collars and, staring at Flare with a groggy look on their faces, appeared to have more of a hint of madness than common sense. ¡°Oh, you, what are you doing all of a sudden?¡± ¡°You rotten things use other people¡¯s words nowadays. Get out of my way or die!¡± ¡°You¡¯re being cruel!¡± Flare scowled when Alice complained with a bloody nose. As expected, of Flare. I, too, am the type of person who puts my hands over my mouth to cover it, but unlike me, who just can¡¯t be bothered to talk, she had no hesitation in executing her plans. (* Carol was not aware that she was also the type of person who would not hesitate to do things she wanted to do). But how could she harm Alice, who was guarded by several spirits? Flare appeared to have scooped up Alice¡¯s legs with her feet rather than kick her off. Thanks to my position, both Alice¡¯s cat-print pants and Flare¡¯s silk lace pants were in full view, but neither of them had the presence of mind to be ashamed of it. Did she let her fall without causing any damage (nosebleeds don¡¯t count?). The two women were in a state of conflict, and the spirits of Alice and Flare¡¯s fire spirit were glaring at each other above their heads. To put it another way, Flare¡¯s Spirit was one size larger than those that surrounded Alice. Could it be a Great Spirit? CH 35.2 Heroine and Villainess [Part 2] ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t make noise where I can see you. You¡¯re in my way.¡± ¡°Yo, you!¡± Alice was about to attack Flare, when the boys in the group moved her to the side of the road to avoid eye contact with Flare. It was just their first encounter with each other, but it was very [intense]. In comparison, the encounter scene between me and Alice was adorable, as if there was nothing wrong with it. *** Since that day, my position in the school has turned into something complicated. Even though it was only a simple accident, it took the form of me harming a bright, healthy, and beautiful girl, but I was only kept at a distance in the class. I didn¡¯t mind too much because I was always a quiet person and didn¡¯t have many friends. Some upperclassmen boys gazed at me passionately, but I didn¡¯t need any stalkers or perverts. The looks I get from others around me varied. There were the boys from the Alice group who looked at me like I was their enemy. Girls and boys who were concerned about my small appearance. Aristocrats who despised subhumans who were abominable children. And the female students who disliked Alice, a boy magnet, and pity me a little. Well, I¡¯d say there were more enemies than friends, and the incident with Alice was the first step toward becoming a [Tainted Child], but it wasn¡¯t all that bad yet, you know? This amount was tolerable enough. I had a feeling that some of the girls who had boys they were interested in might try to do something to me who was disliked by the boys, but I would deal with that at that time. My immediate goal is to maintain the status quo. The crown of true Villainess should go to Flare. *** Now that Flare and Alice¡¯s event had concluded successfully, I should make a quick exit since both Alice and Flare were present, and this was the danger zone. I didn¡¯t really want to see them either, but I happened to witness it on my way back from the bathroom, and there was nothing I could do about it since they were both in the direction I was going. In the game, I saw it from the heroine¡¯s point of view, but from the edge, the impression is somewhat different. ¡°Oh, the Elf-san at that time!¡± But I was still tangled up with her. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Carol, it¡¯s been a while. I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re still alive.¡± And Flare found me too. Now Alice knows my name, too. ¡­It couldn¡¯t be helped. If I run away here, there would be a lot of trouble later¡­for example, everything that happened here was going to be rumored to be the curse of the abominable child or something, so instead, I stepped forward with dignity. For now, I would like to go out while wearing a shadowy aura so that I could invoke mental-type dark magic at any time. I dislike doing that, though. ¡°Carol is as dark as ever. Wearing such a dark aura, you are indeed an abomination, right?¡± ¡°Um, Carol-san? Why did you leave the other day?¡± Flare started to speak, but Alice appeared next to her, nose blood running down her face, so I stepped away from her and Flare. ¡°Why did you¡­ Eh?¡± ¡°Here.¡± I didn¡¯t want blood on my hands, but I wasn¡¯t a demon either. I held out an embroidered handkerchief that I had embroidered myself, and Alice, who had scowled at me for a moment, finally understood what I meant and gave me a big smile. ¡°Oh, thank you, Carol-san. That¡¯s beautiful embroidery.¡± A heroine indeed. Perhaps this simplicity is a good thing because Alice took the handkerchief from me and¨C *Zubibiii. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± Alice not only wiped her face but also suddenly started to blow her nose vigorously, and I felt not only me but even Flare¡¯s face twitched for a moment. Alice, after blowing her nose several times, finally looked around and carefully wiped the nosebleed on her shoes with the handkerchief. ¡°Yes, thank you very much!¡± Alice not only wiped her face but also began to blow her nose vigorously, and I felt that not only mine but also Flare¡¯s face twitched for a brief moment. ¡°[Fire Arrow]¡± ¡°Kyaa!¡± ¡°Ahahaha!¡± Alice screamed and Flare burst into laughter as my Fire Arrow burned the former handkerchief. Thus, Flare and I took one step up the stairs to become the [Villainess] together. ¡­I was not very tolerant, maybe? CH 36.1 Church of Compassion Part I I completely became a drifter in my class at the Academy and was kept at a distance. I hadn¡¯t had any normal friends my own age since I was a child (Flare and Alice were not considered friends), so I couldn¡¯t think of anything to talk about with them because it would have been too much trouble. But it was different from bullying, I suppose. Since almost more than 90% of the students were nobles at the Magic Academy, I thought that as a subhuman, there would be some kind of persistent bullying, but it was more like they were avoiding me. Come to think of it, this happened to me the other day. * The food served in the cafeteria here was dangerous, so I got my own lunch in my private room for senior nobles, and when I returned to the classroom, my teaching materials, which I had inadvertently left there, were soiled and torn. ¡°Well, that¡¯s pitiful. But isn¡¯t it natural to leave one¡¯s own things in a classroom used by everyone?¡± ¡°Oh, you mustn¡¯t talk about such things. They are barbarians.¡± ¡°They only eat grass, don¡¯t they? I¡¯m worried about the plants in the courtyard. Hohoho.¡± It didn¡¯t say who in particular, but such voices were heard from a little distance away. They were middle-class noble-like daughters of barons and viscounts. They were wearing very flashy ornaments, so they looked like gals, I imagine? I was not well-liked by some boys because of the incident with Alice, so they wanted to draw attention to themselves using me as an excuse and also because, despite being subhuman, I was a high-ranking aristocrat. I assumed the reason for the bullying was not only that I was subhuman, but also that I looked like an eight-year-old and was one size smaller than everyone else. It was really troublesome¡­ ¡°¨C[Freeze]¨C¡° I chanted [Freeze] spell, and the stained teaching materials instantly froze along with the entire desk, and when I walked away, the vibrations made it crumble away into ice dust. I had grown up and became able to use magic much better with this body. However, the best I could do was a single destructive spell, which consumed the least amount of magic power of the 6th class. The classroom was so quiet that even the temperature seemed to have dropped (physically) with diamond dust dancing in the air. Those young ladies who were almost caught in the aftermath dodged to the side, so I stopped and glanced at them. ¡°You.¡± ¡°Hiiii, ha, yes.¡± ¡°Where do they sell the teaching materials?¡± ¡°¡­at the purchasing counter of the school.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± * And because of such a minor incident, they started to avert their eyes when they looked at me. I was just cleaning up the trash. It seemed that the teachers and staff were not involved in the disputes in the school unless there was an injury or something. The biggest reason could be that the female etiquette teacher who chastised Flare on her first day at school was now working as a miner in a cold place. Really, that Flare. I wouldn¡¯t want to be lumped in with those people, but it was nice to have a quiet environment around me. It was a magic academy, so as long as I didn¡¯t harm anyone, I wouldn¡¯t be bothered too much, so there were not many people who got involved with me. ¡°Young Lady is very enthusiastic. I take it you like books?¡± ¡°¡­¡± While I was studying a magic book in the academy library, an old man with a white beard spoke to me with a smile. He was dressed loosely and looked wealthy, but not aristocratic. ¡°Oops, excuse me. I¡¯m just an old man who works for the church in the royal capital. I was watching my grandson at school, but I¡¯m on a break now. By the way, what book is the Young Lady reading?¡± ¡°Nn¡± At any rate, he didn¡¯t seem to be a subhuman hater or an aristocrat, so I turned the cover of my book to the old man in response to his question. ¡°This¡­is a really old book you are reading. Do you like mythology?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I¡¯d been studying magical scripts to unlock spells, but I¡¯m finding fewer and fewer new words these days, so I¡¯ve been researching mythology-related topics lately. ¡°You are a studious Young Lady to be able to read such an old book. Come to the church in Royal Capital once. There are a lot of old mythology books there too.¡± ¡°¡­can I read them?¡± ¡°They are not open to the public, but if you are a book lover, you won¡¯t make a mess of them, and God won¡¯t mind if I show a few to a studious Young Lady.¡± The old man said, winking mischievously and smiling. What kind of person was this man? He said he was just an old man, but he looks quite wealthy, so I assumed he must be in a certain position, although I didn¡¯t know which church he belonged to. I wouldn¡¯t put my trust in the upper echelons of this country to say he wasn¡¯t an aristocrat, but as the saying goes, if you don¡¯t go into the tiger¡¯s den, you won¡¯t get the tiger¡¯s children, and mooching takes precedence over everything else, so I figured I might as well get on board with the old myth of the church. As soon as I decided, I went out to that church on my next day off. CH 36.2 ¡°It¡¯s a big place I¡¯d say so myself, what do you think, Young Lady?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The church was dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy, also found in the VRMMO, a minor goddess on the other continent, but a major goddess on this continent. Gods were not so necessary in the VRMMO. It was just a place to receive quests to obtain special recovery magic. But this goddess was the goddess of the human race, wasn¡¯t she? When I entered with Maia, the maid, they did not reject me, but they looked at me as if to say, ¡°What are you subhumans doing here?¡±. ¡°Oh, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Nn?¡± Suddenly, a voice called out to me, and I turned to see a young boy, not as young as me, but younger looking, staring at me. ¡°Young Lady Carol, do you know him?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t. ¡­who?¡± ¡°You were so rude to Alice at the entrance ceremony, weren¡¯t you!¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡± I somehow remembered. It was the boy who offered a handkerchief to Alice when she fell down. But still¡­ ¡°Are you really 10 years old?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be told that by you!¡± Hmm. That¡¯s a reasonable argument. But this boy looked familiar¡­ no, this look and this way of talking¡­ somewhere¡­ ¡°Luka, what are you making a fuss about?¡± ¡°Grandfather!¡± I heard a voice I had heard somewhere before, and I turned my head again to see the old man. ¡°Oh, Young Lady, you have come.¡± ¡°¡­.Nn.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think you and Luka were friends. Luka, I¡¯m still busy. Can you take this Young Lady to the library?¡± ¡°Eh, but¡­¡± ¡°You understand?¡± ¡°¡­hai.¡± ¡°Well, take your time. And show around that lovely Young Lady over there.¡± ¡°Ye, yes.¡± The grandfather smiled at Maia, the maid, and left the place. He wasn¡¯t intimidating until the last moment, when he faced Luka. He was not a simple old man, after all. But still, this was a small world, I didn¡¯t expect the grandfather and the boy to be blood relatives. ¡­Luka? ¡°You are a guest of my grandfather¡­. It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll show you around, but please don¡¯t do anything strange.¡± ¡°¡­Nn.¡± Luka as in¡­Luka, the grandson of the Archbishop and Capture Target, the shota type? I was caught off guard, wasn¡¯t I? I only caught him once, so I couldn¡¯t recall much about him, but based on his youthful appearance, I had assumed that he was a junior. Luka was in a bad mood, but he was unable to disobey his grandfather, so he guided me obediently. By the way, was he already captured by the heroine on the first day? No, should I praise Alice, who was able to capture him on the first day? ¡°Your grandfather, the archbishop¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, he is a very great man whom I respect very much. He has built an orphanage in this church to help unfortunate children.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I knew I shouldn¡¯t look at him with prejudice, even though he was a great figure in the Royal Capital. ¡°Look, you see that building over there?¡± ¡°¡­.Nn.¡± There was a neat little building in the corner of the church¡¯s yard where the public was not allowed to enter, and all kinds of girls were in similar short, thin dresses between the ages of 5 and 15 years old, washing and cleaning outside. ¡­Nn~~? They all look so cute. I mean, I wouldn¡¯t mind seeing a little girl, but wouldn¡¯t it be bad for a teenage girl to be showing her legs in a church? ¡°¡­Why are there only girls?¡± ¡°My grandfather said it was God¡¯s will. Grandfather is a kind man, and if a girl is lonely, he invites her to his bedroom every night to sleep with him.¡± ¡­Nn? ¡°Look, you should see it too. I heard that after eating delicious food, her skin and hair became shinier. My grandfather, who is very nice to them, says that even the older kids bathe and wash with him.¡± Nn~~~¡­? ¡°There are not only humans, but also subhuman children like you. That dog-eared girl is already 13, but she is a lonely girl who visits Grandfather¡¯s room.¡± ¡°¡­Ah, I see.¡± I feel like I witnessed something behind the scenes that I shouldn¡¯t have seen. No, maybe, the Grandpa was simply very fond of children. He really likes kids, right? Hmmm¡­ ¡°¡­Let¡¯s leave¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to go? Not many places are filled with God¡¯s love like this.¡± ¡°¡­your grandfather sure loves children.¡± ¡°Yes, my grandfather really loves little girls.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Look at those little girls.¡± Luka spoke proudly of his grandfather¡¯s greatness, pointing to the small children praying in the garden corner and looking at them with compassionate eyes. ¡°Little children are good. ¡­They don¡¯t disobey.¡± Nn~~~¡­? CH 37.1 Church of Compassion Part II I think I heard some strange words. Liking little children because they don¡¯t disobey you, those were not words I was expecting to hear out of a 10-year-old boy¡¯s mouth. It was probably an auditory hallucination. ¡°¡­Come to think of it, you¡¯re pretty small, too.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had the creeps. It creeped me out! When I saw Luka with a dark look in his eyes beginning to say something perverted, I hurriedly tried to cover it up. ¡°How did you meet Alice?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s a wonderful person, isn¡¯t she?¡± Luka¡¯s eyes, which had lost their light at my words, began to sparkle again. ¡°She taught me that submissive women are not only little girls. Yes¡­and that trust can be bought with money!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wow¡­ It would appear that Alice had not only stayed the same, but had grown up in many other ways. In the Otome game, it was like comforting Luka, who was concerned about his young appearance and showing him a new world, but outside of the context, she was making such underhanded deals¡­ I could only admire Alice¡¯s marketing skills. But what kind of trust would you gain by paying a girl? She must have no guilty conscience, right? ¡°For a mere five small gold coins a month, Alice has become my ¡®friend¡¯ who always smiles at me.¡± ¡°Friendship¡­¡± I was relieved to hear that the relationship seems to be a healthy one. Let me calm down for now. It was still too early. It is not yet time to burn this place down with annihilation magic. At the very least, I should check the collection of books in this church first. After all, it would be a bad idea to take them out without permission¡­. Besides, those little girls were completely innocent. They weren¡¯t a part of it, were they? I couldn¡¯t possibly burn them all down along with this place. Let¡¯s see what kind of books they have today and leave quickly. Maia, our resident maid, turned 17, and I¡¯m not sure if it was because she had some beast blood in her, but she seemed a little younger than the others. We couldn¡¯t take too many chances because earlier she appeared to be a bit on the grandfather¡¯s radar. ¡°Maia, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°¡­ah, yes.¡± Apparently, after hearing the series of conversations, the novice Maia was stunned to the point of blacking out as she stood still. ¡°Oh, wait, please. I told you not to do anything without my permission!¡± ¡°Nn. We should go quickly.¡± Luka hurriedly caught up with us as we started walking without permission. Have you noticed? It would have been easier if he had continued to talk about Alice in the emptiness, but right now, our priority was to finish our errands. ¡°Heh¡­¡± ¡°How is it? Isn¡¯t it great? It¡¯s small, but the value of this collection is comparable to that of the royal castle¡¯s storerooms. A subhuman like you wouldn¡¯t normally be able to even look at them.¡± This guy had a lot to say, didn¡¯t he? ¡°If you listen to me and become my friend, you can come and read it anytime you want.¡± ¡°Are you talking in your sleep?¡± ¡°What the heck are you talking about? I¡¯ll even pay you for it!¡± ¡°¡­¡± This guy was up to no good. Maybe it was already too late. Anyway, let¡¯s assume that Luka was not here and read the books. Even though there wasn¡¯t a lot, it was comparable to the royal castle¡¯s library and the Mages¡¯ Guild, so there was plenty to read. ¡°Oh my, you are a lovely elf, Young Lady.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± A bewitching woman in her late twenties dressed as a Sister appeared from the back where she was organizing the books. CH 37.2 ¡°Are you a friend of Luka-sama?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s not my friend because I haven¡¯t paid her yet, but she¡¯s a guest of my grandfather¡¯s.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? ¡°¡­Nn.¡± Are you sure you were working in the right place? ¡°Sister-san?¡± ¡°Yes, I am, aren¡¯t I? I have been a member of this church since I was a child.¡± Since you were a little girl? Then, as a woman, what do you think of the orphanage? That orphanage¡­ ¡°Did you see it? It must have been a wonderful place. I am from an orphanage myself, and the Archbishop was very kind to me. Now that I am an adult, I am serving guests from the outside, I am sure you could be the Archbishop¡¯s favorite as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Apparently, the occupation was not wrong. Growing up with the Archbishop¡¯s love as a child, and then as an adult, being in the business of giving love to outside customers ¨C perhaps the nobility? It sounded like a very reasonable system, that was, if you were fooling yourself. Well, it was better than being thrown out and ending up in a much worse situation when you grew up, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°¡­¡± At that moment, I heard footsteps approaching me from the hallway, and after thinking about what to do, I decided to pretend to be asleep. A few seconds after I pretended to sleep, there was a faint knocking sound and the parlour door gently opened. ¡°Oh, well, I see you¡¯ve had a good night¡¯s sleep. This can¡¯t be good.¡± I thinly open my eyes and see that old archbishop. He looked at me and Maia, then smirked at Maia, who was more relaxed than I, who was curled up in a ball. ¡°Hmmm, it¡¯s hard to miss eating a fruit when it¡¯s ready to eat, so shall we have this one first? It¡¯s okay. They won¡¯t remember anything when they wake up.¡± As he said this, the archbishop extended his hand beneath Maia¡¯s feet. I see, so it was not a kidnapping, but an intended one-time mischief. ¡°Setup [Saint Cloche] all.¡± Equipped with Saint Cloche, the saint¡¯s armor, a pure white armored china dress, instantly, I interrupted him by swinging my staff that resembled a huge war hammer between them. ¡°What! Who are you? How did you get into this holy church?¡± ¡°¡­You don¡¯t need to know.¡± I transformed right in front of him, but he was so focused on Maia that he couldn¡¯t recognize that me and Carol were the same person. ¡°You dare to interrupt my holy ritual, you treacherous, God-fearing infidel! Look at you, you are still an immature young girl! With my love¡­ Gufu!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I lightly nudge him with the handle of the war hammer, and the archbishop rolls away. ¡°Koh, to do this to me, gofuh!¡± After being lightly hit with the war hammer again, the archbishop rolled on the carpet. It would seem that the purging was perfect as there was no sign of the guards coming even after all this. ¡°Ki, you, gyaa!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°My love, gufu.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°S, Sto, Stop, Gyaaa.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was so uncomfortable that I beat him several times in silence. He was, after all, an archbishop, and so he nipped at my feet as he collapsed with fortitude. ¡°Hit, hit me more. My Goddess¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡­Did I hit him a little too hard? Apparently because I was wearing Saint Cloche, the archbishop misidentified me as a goddess or an incarnation of one, and I was able to obtain powerful connections and the Book of the Inner Sanctum without incident. ¡­I really hate this country. CH 38.1 Reunion [Gugaaaaahh!!!] The roar of a great goblin lord echoed through the magical forest, and thousands of goblins and hobgoblins marched in like a tidal wave. The goblins attacked and defeated the lizardmen and ogre settlements in the same way that army ants swarm large insects or a pack of rats attack a wild dog. Innately, goblins were cowardly demons that were only crude and cunning, and if their opponents were strong, they would quickly run away. The reason why these goblins were fighting without fear of death was the existence of goblin lords born from among goblins, and above all, the collective mindset of goblins who had thousands of allies¡ªthere was no way they would be defeated if they had allies. Even if they die, someone other than themselves could be killed. The nerve centre that felt fear was paralyzed, and they were just intoxicated by the violence and blood. [Guga?] One of the hobgoblins, the group¡¯s leader, notices something on the cliff. Goblins were omnivores and would eat anything, even dead meat. The hobgoblins soon forgot that there was anything on the cliff, thinking that they could eat soft meat like the ¡°elves of today¡± rather than hard, stringy meat like the ogres. ¡°¨D¨D[Dragon Breath]¨D¨D¡± A crimson ray of light shot out from the cliff, cleaving away the great army as if drawing a line straight across with its rays, and the earth that received the ray boiled up like magma and erupted in a blast of flame. [Gugooooh!]. The goblins who had been burned by the high heat let out a decisive scream, and among the goblins who were screaming in confusion and fear, the goblin lord saw the figure of a girl in a crimson gown on the cliff from which the rays had been released. Her knee-length skirt and long hair flutter in the heat of the flames, and long ears peek out from her black hair. She was a young half-elf with dark hair. Looking up at her who was on the cliff¡¯s edge with her golden cold eyes peering out from her well-groomed, expressionless features, the Goblin Lord feels ¡°powerful intimidation¡± and takes a step back. [Gu¡­, Gugaaah!] The Goblin Lord roared in anger at himself. As king, he should not be afraid of a single elf. She was a fearsome foe who had slaughtered hundreds of his own people with a single blow, but there was no way she could use such great magic over and over again. At the Goblin Lord¡¯s yell, the goblins who had escaped from the magical damage rushed toward the cliff at once. There was only one enemy. With so many goblins to deal with, such a thin elf would turn into a piece of meat in seconds. ¡°¨C[Blast]¨C¡° Great magic was unleashed again¡ªThe impact of the blast simply scattered destruction, and the hundreds of goblins who had been steadily closing in were blown away, tearing apart the surrounding trees as if they were all being torn apart. Looking down at them coldly, without showing any emotion, the half-elf quietly raised one hand and snapped his thin fingertips with a snap. ¡°Do it, Pochi.¡± [Gaaah!!!] A jet-black dragon with the silhouette of a wolf appeared from behind the girl and attacked the goblin pack with a roar. The roar of a dragon that terrified the weak. Terrifying speed. Fearful power. A fearsome form. Spitting fire from its mouth, the black behemoth swept through the goblins like a gale. [Gugaah¡­] Instantly, the goblin lord¡¯s huge body was crushed in the jaws of the dark dragon, and the remaining goblins, as if awakened from a dream, cried out in terror as they fled the way they came. £ª ¡°¡­¡± I used [Dragon Breath], the strongest flame extermination magic of the 7th class, for the first time in the real world, and it was a hell of a magic. Even in the VRMMO, the part that was fired explodes, signaling the end of the romance cannon in the game, but in reality, the earth turned into lava, spreading even more death. I almost said [burn them all down] like some demon lord. Goblins were weak, but one strike from the attack neutralized 30-40% of the army of about 4,000, you know? After that [explosive blast] and Pochi¡¯s pursuit made them run away, I doubt they would consider attacking us again. While I was stunned by the result that I had achieved, Pochi, who had been running around and playing in the flames, came back to me. [Carol, I did my best. Am I strong?] ¡°Nn.¡± Placing the large goblin it had caught in front of me, Pochi wagged its tail vigorously and puffed out its chest as if it was proud of it. No, even if I get this big goblin, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder¡­would I be able to sell it? But Pochi wants me to praise him, so I pat the fluff around his throat area. ¡°Uh, Um¡­Carol-sama.¡± ¡°Nn, I¡¯m done.¡± The elder Daemon and Harry, the warrior head, approached me as I was rewarding Pochi. Their dark skin paled at the sight of the devastation below the cliff. CH 38.2 7-9 minutes As usual, I was asked to do a favor for the elder who had detected the goblin attack¡­ Huh? When did they start calling me by my name instead of [Witch]? And it was ¡°Witch¡± before, but now it was followed by ¡°-sama¡±¡­.well, not like I mind it. ¡°Well, then, collect the goblin¡¯s magic stone.¡± I won¡¯t work for free, either. I asked them to collect all the magic stones. ¡± All right, everyone!¡± ¡°¡±Uooh!¡±¡± I thought they would be reluctant because there were more than 1,000 bodies left in good condition, but when Harry called out to them, women, children, and even elderly people came running from the village, all smiling and ready to deal with the situation. What was wrong with them? Could it be that they have become more friendly? A few weeks ago, I was able to read an old book called ¡°The Forbidden Book¡± in the church dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy. It truly was a ¡°forbidden book.¡± It contained no dangerous magic that could destroy the world, nor any sealed and dangerous existence, but was simply a history book about Daemons. It was just a history book, but I found out that the area around the Devil¡¯s Forest was originally Daemon land, and that Daemons were not ambitious and crude people, but a very cultured race. This would make the history taught in this country that [Daemon suddenly launched an invasion war and seized the territory of the human race] frowned upon. It was a dangerous book for the nobility of this country. The fact that this kind of thing remained unburned, must mean that there were still sane people left during those days. ¡­The upper echelons of the church today, though, were already beyond help. Not only that, but I was also able to obtain some of the magic letters that I had aimed for. The [Dragon Breath] I used this time was one of the spells unlocked by that, and other self-enhancement spells such as automatic MP recovery as well as speed increase were also unlocked, so I think I got much closer to my time on the VRMMO in terms of physical combat. Well, it looks like they were done taking the magic stones, so I¡¯m leaving¡­ I should hand over about 30% of them to the Daemon Tribe for the hassle, and take the other thousand or so. ¡­Pochi seems to want more praise, so I should put the big goblin in the bag too. Pet discipline was not only about scolding, but also about praising. *** I went to the adventurers¡¯ guild in the Royal Capital a few days later to sell some magic stones, and it seemed that the big goblin I sold was of a higher species, so I got a pretty good price for the material. I was told that this kind of high-ranked goblin didn¡¯t appear very often, and that laboratories and magician guilds would buy them at a high price as experimental materials. The rest of the magic stones, on the other hand, did not sell for much, most likely because I was using the larger ones and there were only small ones left. I estimated that if I could sell them normally, all of them would amount to five large gold coins, but I had heard that if there were too many of them, the price would plummet. So I had no choice but to sell only enough to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to keep the price reasonable and the rest to the Magician¡¯s Guild. I had my bag, so it didn¡¯t matter much if I didn¡¯t sell all of it. ¡°Ah, Witch-san, welcome!¡± ¡°Nn.¡± As usual, the male staff members didn¡¯t like me, so when I entered, a female staff member would take care of me. Since then, there have been a few encounters with Alice here, but even though it was in her character as a heroine, could she please stop talking to me normally each time? Every time she did so, the male staff members would look at me in an increasingly annoyed way. ¡°How can I help you today?¡± ¡°Please purchase this.¡± I jingled a small bag of magical stones in front of the usual lady, who was surprised by the quantity and frowned slightly. ¡°We can¡¯t buy them in such large quantities. We use them for experiments even if they¡¯re slightly broken, but if they¡¯re too small, we can¡¯t use them.¡± ¡°I see.¡± That is to be expected, I guess. I kept the larger magic stone for my own use as well. ¡°If it was this magic stone¡­¡± The sister took out something that looked like a notebook and started checking something. ¡°If you go to the research building in the magic academy, I¡¯m sure they would buy even small magic stones, since students use them for their classes. Should I write you a letter of introduction?¡± ¡°¡­please.¡± I felt that some nobleman might get involved, and it might be troublesome, but I want to open up new sales channels, so I should be lenient. This lady has been a great help to me, you know. My appearance remained the same, but it had been five years since she took care of me. The lady easily wrote a letter of introduction and handed it to me with a smile, then let out a small sigh. ¡°Witch-san¡­ are there any good men anywhere? Could you please find someone for me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± It had certainly been five years. Well, I might be rambling a bit, but this time I visited the Magic Academy. I had a letter of introduction written for me, but it was for outsiders to enter the academy, so it was of little use to me as a student. But there was a simplified map, so I relied on it and went through the school, which was quite large and unnecessary. ¡°¡­Where is this place?¡± I was lost. What should I do? At worst, returning in adult form would be easy, but if a subhuman adventurer was found in a place like this, it would be a problem again. Should I have used the letter of introduction in my adult form from the start? I didn¡¯t like the idea that they might say something about me being a subhuman¡­. ¡°Ah, Carol-san.¡± ¡°¡­Eh?¡± I turned around when I heard my name being called and saw a cute-looking but skinny and tall boy looking at me with a surprised expression on his face. ¡°I recognised you right away because you don¡¯t look much different as an elf.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Who was he¡­? I felt like I recognized him from somewhere. I tilted my head at the boy, and he chuckled before introducing himself again. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell because I¡¯ve changed a little? I¡¯m Maro.¡± ¡°¡­ahhh.¡± I remembered. It was a sickly boy I met in the garden of the magician¡¯s guild a long time ago. Even now, he doesn¡¯t look so healthy. ¡­I don¡¯t remember much about him. Did he have a strong shock to his psyche? ¡°Maro has grown up, hasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Only in height.¡± We used to be about the same size, but now there was quite a difference. ¡°Carol-san, where are you going? I know the area pretty well and I can show you around.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Since he was here, I should take advantage of his kindness. But¡­did I ever tell him my name? CH 39.1 5-6 minutes Sick and Frail Capture Target When I was five years old, I met a sickly boy ¨C Maro ¨C in the garden of the Magician¡¯s Guild. He used to be as small as me, a slow-growing half-elf, but now he was taller than me, with almost a head difference between us. He was a little on the short side, but I guess you could call him a beautiful boy. But still¡­how could I have forgotten about Maro until now? It was as if my brain had refused to recall him, and I had completely forgotten about him until now. ¡°Carol-san, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll show you around.¡± ¡°Nn¡± Since he was offering to show me around, I decided to take advantage of his hospitality. By the way, Maro is fine now. His skin may have been a little pale, but his gait was smooth and light¡­ ¡°Guhah!¡± Suddenly, Maro spins around, spitting blood from his mouth. I caught him unexpectedly, and Maro collapsed onto my shoulder¡­ so light! What was this weightlessness? Even after accounting for the fact that my status had been increased, it was still roughly equivalent to that of an eight-year-old child, you know? ¡°Nn?¡± I looked down when I noticed a glint of light under my feet. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Carol-san, I¡¯m all right now.¡± Maro quickly withdrew his hand from under my foot, wiped the blood from his mouth with a handkerchief, and carefully tucked the pendant-like object away. That pendant¡­ It was the one he never took off when we took a bath before, right? It seems to be significant, but what is it? By the way, he looked healthy, but suddenly, he vomited blood. When Maro was younger, I made him take a bath, but was that a bad idea? I¡¯m not sure if that was a bad idea or not. We bathed together¡­ When I tried to remember something, my palms started to sweat. ¡°¡­Oh, by the way, did I tell Maro my name?¡± ¡°Na, now, Carol-san, we introduced ourselves to each other.¡± ¡°¡­Maybe I just forgot?¡± Did I simply forget about it? ¡°So, Carol-san, where do you want to go?¡± ¡°I was looking for a place to sell some small magical stones that I had lying around.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure the receptionist in the research building will buy them for the class, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Nn¡± Maro, who was speaking very fast, led me to the reception desk of the research building. Like Maro, they didn¡¯t seem to mind that I was a subhuman in the research building. Or rather, they were not interested in me. There were still many magical stones in my storage, but I was afraid to take out 500 of them all at once, so I decided to limit myself to about 100 for the time being. At the very least, I was able to get 5 small gold coins. ¡°Thanks, Maro. You know a lot about this stuff, don¡¯t you? You must be a new student like me, right?¡± ¡°This is where my father¡¯s laboratory is. I¡¯ve been using one of the rooms.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Oh, I remembered that he was also at the Magician¡¯s Guild because of his father¡¯s business. I wondered if he was a professor somewhere. ¡°You get a room?¡± ¡°Yes. ¡­A long time ago, there was an explosion in the room I was using for research, and my collec¡­precious materials were reduced to ashes. It was really¡­ really valuable material.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Maro was spitting up blood (he did just now) and looking very frustrated, so it must have been a very valuable document. I once blew up the basement of a nobleman¡¯s mansion using a battle technique. Why did I do that? As I recall, Maia was being stalked, so I snuck into some mansion that served as a hideout¡­ as I tried to remember, my palms began to sweat again. ¡°They claimed it was a magic accident, but I didn¡¯t have anything that could actually cause that. It was in a basement, and there was nothing dangerous in there! That¡¯s why I wanted a more secure place to store it, so I got this room.¡± ¡°Heeeh¡­¡± Maybe he was rich? Or perhaps Maro was from a fairly good family. At any rate, my business was done. All I needed to do now was to go home. CH 39.2 ¡°Which direction are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll walk you home.¡± Maro was a good boy after all. I wondered if he had changed because he was a nobleman, but he was still the same with me, a subhuman, as he had been in the past. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes. All I have to do now is collect¡­ organize the materials. I¡¯ve accumulated a lot of materials in the past five years, but now that I¡¯m here at the academy, I have to collect more.¡± ¡°¡­Nn?¡± I thought they were materials on magic, but what kind of materials could only be collected in the academy? Maro escorted me back, looking around warily as we approached the area where there were more students, as if looking for his prey. What was he looking for? ¡°Oh, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Nn¡± Before I could reply, Maro was already on the move. As I stood there waiting to see what he would do, Maro took out a pendant and walked past a group of senior female students chatting on a bench, while saying, ¡°I¡¯m looking for something¡­¡± ¡°Huh!¡± ¡°Kyah!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Maro was dazed in front of the two pretty girls and fell into the chest of a concerned female student who called out to him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m a little weak¡­¡± ¡°Oh, my goodness, are you all right?¡± ¡°Yes, thanks to you, kind lady, I¡¯m fine. Thank you.¡± ¡°Oh, my¡­¡± When Maro, a sickly beautiful boy, made a spoiled gesture, the senior class¡¯s older sisters could only shyly blush. ¡°¡­¡± What could he be doing? Maro was indeed physically frail, but I felt a strange discomfort when I looked at him. What was he doing at their feet with that pendant? Then Maro, who had been chatting with them, breaks off and slips into the shadows of the shrubbery in a strangely quick movement before staring at them from a distance through the crystal part of the pendant, only to return a few minutes later with a very surprised expression on his face, as if he had just remembered I was there. ¡°Did, did you see that?¡± ¡°¡­You were quite preoccupied, what were you doing?¡± ¡°Well¡­I was just looking for some valuable materials¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°¡­Well, it¡¯s a biology resource.¡± Maro looked away from me as I stared at him. Biology? Insects or medicinal herbs? I didn¡¯t see anything like that. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± I was still staring at Maro¡¯s face, and he looked all over the place. ¡°Oh, I had something to do! I¡¯ve come this far, so you can go on your own from here, right? Sorry, Carol-san!¡± ¡°Nn, it¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t mind.¡± Maro disappeared as if running away. How could he be okay with running when he was so sickly that he was vomiting blood and dizzy? What should I do now? Returning to the classroom would only create a silent space, so I would like to kill some more time until my next class, but what should I do? ¡°¡­Ah.¡± I went all the way to the research building, but I forgot to look at what they were researching, didn¡¯t I? I should go there one more time while I still remembered the way, since I had to sell more magic stones anyway. I headed back the way I just came, and this time I arrived at the research building without any problem. There were other research buildings, but were they funded by Maro¡¯s father? If I asked him, would he show me around? I thought that it would be a good idea to ask. For now, I found someone and asked if I could look around a little. ¡°You can look around if you like.¡± ¡°Nn¡± The researcher said this without even looking up from his own research material, so I took the liberty of looking around. CH 39.3 I wondered if it was OK to show their research so easily, but it seemed like they didn¡¯t care about other people¡¯s research as long as it didn¡¯t interfere with their own. At the very least, they should have seen who came in, but they didn¡¯t even turn their heads in my direction. ¡°The door is heavy¡­¡± I knocked and, as usual, there was no answer, so I entered on my own, but they really didn¡¯t pay attention to anything but their research. The materials were scattered around, and the doors were stuck half open, with some being difficult to open due to rusted hinges. It seems that in this research building, they were doing experiments on improving the efficiency of spells and creating new spells. Looking closely, I also found words for spells that I had sent to the Mage¡¯s Guild. I would not teach dangerous spells to this country, though they would surely advance their research at a rapid pace if I disclosed the spells I had. I was expecting to find research on spells above the 6th class that have not been disclosed, but it seemed that this was not the case here. I was disappointed, so I put my hand on another door to look at a few more places before leaving, but it was stiffly locked up. ¡°Again¡­¡± t I wasn¡¯t just a tiny 10-year-old girl because I, too, was becoming more and more like my player character, and my status was improving. As I put more strength into my hands while being aware of my strength status, the door, which had not even twitched, made a creaking sound. *Bakin¡­! ¡°¡­¡± Excuse me. It appeared that the door was unlocked. As soon as the door opened, something that appeared to be a part of the lock fell out, so I pushed it into a corner with my foot. Ah, it was rusty. I was sure it wasn¡¯t because I put a lot of stupid force into it. What should I do anyway? Sorry, but since I¡¯m already here, let me take a look around the room. When I entered the room, it was dark, and even the windows seemed to be tightly shut. I wondered if there was something that would change in quality when exposed to sunlight. This kind of feeling reminds me of a dark room for photography. If so, I wouldn¡¯t let in too much light. I wonder what they were studying, but I should close the door and return it to its original state. ¡°Nn?¡± My night vision appeared to be working as well, albeit not as well as my player state. My eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, caught sight of something that appeared to be a photograph all over the wall. I felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu about something. As I approached it with a bad premonition, I noticed a large box with the lid open and several cloth-like objects curled up in the middle of the box. ¡°¡­[Light]¡­!?¡± Although I knew I shouldn¡¯t, I used the living magic [Light] and felt a chill run through my entire body at the sight that unfolded before me. The photo-like pictures on the wall showed many girls and the tops of their feet, and the box I had just seen contained a large amount of small fabrics that were supposed to be for girls. ¡°¡­[Fire Ball].¡± That day, in one of the research buildings of the magic academy, a magic accident occurred from what seemed to be a 5th class [Fire Ball], and a corner of the building disappeared. Scary. * My foggy memory had come back. It was quite a shocking event, so it seems my brain subconsciously forgot about it. Maro, he was Maron, the son of the first court mage, the sickly capture target. There was no description of Maron in the game, but the reality was frightening. Also, in the game, when I tried to capture Maron, the villainess Carol appeared. As I was reflecting on my carelessness after returning to the mansion from school, about becoming involved with that thing, and inadvertently burning the evidence of the evil deed, Dirk, who had just returned from school, came to the room where I was with a face full of bitterness, and slammed an envelope on the table. ¡°¡­What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an invitation from the royal court, telling you to go to the castle this weekend because Camille is going to meet you. Don¡¯t get me wrong. It¡¯s a political decision for a subhuman like you to be the fianc¨¦e of Camille. You¡¯ll be kept by me for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Camille¡­could it be my fianc¨¦e who had neglected me for five years? What exactly does he want to do now? CH 40.1 The King¡¯s Brother and the Witch (1) ¡°Your Highness Camille, may I have a word?¡± The Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Caenista. The royal palace and the castle occupy the largest area in the center of the city and are the tallest buildings overlooking the entire city. Even if you ran lightly, it took more than 20 minutes to go around the perimeter of the site. There were 3,000 civil servants and 2,500 maids and servants working in the building. Camille, who was working in the civilian wing of one of these buildings, looked up the local city¡¯s security report and frowned slightly when he saw a small, fat man enter without knocking. ¡°¡­The Prime Minister, huh?¡± Camille had returned from his study abroad five years ago and was now 19 years old, but his position was not so subtle. He was born as the current king¡¯s younger brother, the son of the former king and the third queen, but his mother, a princess from another country, died of illness (probably assassination) when he was five years old. His other brothers died one after the other, and he was only able to survive because he was the youngest and weakest of his siblings. ¡°Why don¡¯t you at least knock?¡± ¡°Well, well, well, I apologize. I¡¯m a busy man myself. Please excuse me.¡± Camille ruffled his black hair, which was inherited from his mother, and sighed lightly as the Marquis de Cadeau, the Prime Minister, bowed to him in a light manner. His mother was a quarter Elf, and Camille, who was of Elf blood, was slender but good-looking, and had grown up a lot in the past five years. It could be said that Camille¡¯s good looks were the reason he was targeted in the first place, and also the reason he was able to survive for as long as he did. Although his elder brother, the king, was also a very handsome man, Camille¡¯s popularity among the people had grown by the time he was ten years old, surpassing that of his brother, who was the crown prince at the time. Camille himself had never wanted the throne. He did not believe that he, who had a small amount of subhuman blood, would be able to ascend to the throne in this country, and seeking it would be the equivalent of being targeted and killed. Camille honed his wits and gained ground to protect himself. Hence, despite the opposition of the old aristocrats, he was able to gain the protection of the noblewomen, who were attracted to his beauty. Although he was capable of laying the groundwork so that he could not be easily assassinated, he was estranged from his elder brother and forced to go to his mother¡¯s country to study abroad. His brother had ascended to the throne during that time, but he still seemed to be wary of Camille. The sudden recall from his studies was probably due to the fear that Camille would gain ground in his mother¡¯s homeland. The current crown prince was his brother¡¯s son, but since Camille was much older than the crown prince, there was a possibility that Camille would take the throne if something happened to the king or the prince. And after Camille was recalled, he was, as expected, immediately put in shackles. ¡°What is your business?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, of course. It¡¯s been five years now¡­ but would you like to know about your fianc¨¦e?¡± ¡°¡­¡± A fianc¨¦e who was bound to him. A half-elf, an ¡°abomination¡±, born to a nobleman of human supremacy. If she became Camille¡¯s legitimate wife, the senior noble families would no longer offer him a daughter as his second wife, and his position in this country would almost completely collapse. ¡°There¡¯s nothing special about it. The other woman is only ten years old, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good. We are planning to have you married as soon as she graduates from the academy, so you must get to know each other now, or she will be in trouble, right?¡± CH 40.2 Camille needed to establish himself as an aristocrat to survive. Even if he lost his position, he was willing to marry any troublesome young lady, even in the most remote locations, as long as his brother would give up trying to assassinate him. ¡°¡­(That person¡­}¡± A black-haired half-elf girl he met at his study-abroad return party. She had the beauty of a doll, and her golden eyes were joyful as she danced alone on the terrace at night. Her black hair fluttered in the moonlight, and her short crimson dress made her look like a moon elf. The encounter was as brief as a dream, and Camille did not even know her name, but her image was seared into his mind. When Camille heard that his fianc¨¦e was a dark-haired half-elf, he was excited to see her, but when he was told that she was only five years old, he was disappointed, even though he thought it was a selfish thing to do. So, he subconsciously turned away from the half-elf who reminded him of her. [We will meet again. As long as you don¡¯t change.] Whatever she meant by that, Camille stubbornly continued to ignore his fianc¨¦e, believing that they would meet again. ¡°Meanwhile, please take the opportunity to interact with Lady Carol. This is a ¡°request¡± from the queen, who is concerned about your highness¡¯ well-being.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, I will.¡± The three most outspoken members of the faction that seeks to eliminate Camille. The Marquis de Cadeau, the Prime Minister. The Duke of Prata. And the queen. The queen, who wants her child to be the next king, is the most dangerous of these. If Camille did not do what she wanted, she would go after him at any cost, and if she had no more use for him, she would easily take the life of the girl to whom he was betrothed. In his office, after the Prime Minister had left and the attendants had been dismissed, Camille sighed loudly and started to make plans to meet with his fianc¨¦e. *** ¡°Ca, Carol-sama. Can I really come with you to the castle?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I held her hand and tapped it reassuringly as Maia¡¯s eyes swam around in the luxurious carriage. Finally, the day had come for me to go up to the castle to meet my fianc¨¦e, the king¡¯s brother. Dirk was upset and wanted to follow me, but a carriage had already arrived from the castle to pick us up, and since only one attendant was allowed, Maia and I had to go alone. It was a hassle. The knight who came to pick us up also had a bad attitude. He looked at me with a look that said, ¡°Why is this thing here?¡± He smiled at Maia, but didn¡¯t even escort me to the carriage. But why do I feel indignation from him rather than contempt, unlike the nobles I have met so far? I didn¡¯t understand, so I decided to keep my guard up for the time being. After a while, we arrived at the castle¡­ ¡°(Ah, Ca, Carol-sama¡­)¡± ¡°(Nn. It¡¯s fine}¡±¡± Maia was frightened because the attendants who were guiding us looked at us as if we were their parents¡¯ enemies. There was no need for her to be frightened. If Maia were to be harmed, I would use freezing magic to turn them into ice dust. Please be patient, OK¡­? Nothing was more important in this country than Maia and her family, so in the worst-case scenario, I¡¯ll use my annihilation magic to turn the royal castle into a sea of fire and escape, you know? My strength may not be at its peak yet, but even in this state, I could fight for three days straight. I may sound belligerent, but if I were weak, I would not be unable to protect the things I needed to protect. It would be best if I could be friendly with them, but it was better to be feared and avoided than to be attacked and harmed. Perhaps influenced by the fact that I had recently been using only ice-type magic to avoid conflict, when I filled my entire body with magic power, the surrounding temperature dropped and my footsteps made frost flakes, which made creaking sounds. As they sensed my magical power, the attendants guiding me turned slightly blue, and the mocking stares they had given me inside the castle turned away. ¡°¡­This way, please.¡± ¡°Nn, thank you.¡± Nodding in response to the completely pale lady attendant¡¯s words, I reduced the magical power that had been flowing through my entire body to about half and went through the door that I was asked to open. CH 40.3 It was neither a sunlit terrace with pastries and tea, nor a reception room with soft sofas, but a simple office with only a simple reception set and a large desk with bookshelves. A man rose from his large office desk, approached me quietly in the backlight of the large window, and spoke softly. ¡°¡­that look.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The dark-haired young man, who muttered something incomprehensible, suppressed his speech as if in a rush, and then looked at me again. ¡°Are you Miss Carol of the Arceides?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness Camille, isn¡¯t it?¡± After confirming this, I showed him my curtsy, which I had learned over the past five years, and as he led me to a sofa, he blurted out, ¡°You¡¯re so small¡±. I know I¡¯m small, but¡­. But¡­I had a feeling that I had seen him somewhere before. Where was it? Did I ever know such a grown man before? Well, I think I once met a dark-haired boy on the terrace of a castle at night, but he seemed kind and cheerful, which was different from the impression I had of him neglecting his fianc¨¦e for five years. As Maia lined up with the line of attendants next to the door with a frightened look on her face, Camille, sitting directly in front of me, saw the expressions on Maia¡¯s and the attendants¡¯ faces and let out a faint sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯ve caused you some discomfort. The ladies need to be there to consider my position.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Well, even I could understand what it would mean to have a subhuman fianc¨¦e in the Caenista kingdom, where human race supremacy was the norm. I could understand, but it would be a different story if it made us look bad. Nevertheless, should I suppress the magic I was spreading a little? ¡°Sorry.¡± Perhaps noticing the change in the air, Camille-sama smiled with a boyish face. ¡°¡­¡± I feel¡­strange. ¡°Mistress Carol must have been bewildered as to why you were suddenly engaged to a man nine years older than you when you were still a little girl. I have no intention of doing anything to you. I don¡¯t have the power to do anything about it now, but if you are unwilling, I will see if we can break off the engagement before you come of age, though not immediately. You must stay with me until then.¡± ¡°¡­Nn.¡± A decent¡­person? Either way, I honestly didn¡¯t think it would matter since I was planning to gather my strength and leave this country by the time of the graduation event¡­but it really feels weird. After saying that, he had his attendants prepare fine pastries and tea, and then went back to his work. I guess you could say that he left me alone, or perhaps he really only had political concerns about my engagement, and this time he was just creating an alibi for meeting with me. That was fine with me, but I was also bored with simply passing the time. The attendants continued to stare at me, but when their eyes met mine, they turned away, and I couldn¡¯t touch the snacks because I didn¡¯t know what was in them. Would an hour be enough? Just as I was starting to feel sleepy with nothing to do, a piece of paperwork from Camille-sama¡¯s desk fell softly at my feet. ¡°What is this¡­?¡± A simple income and expenditure report for the Arceides frontier territory? It looked like a part of it. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± When Camille-sama looked up, one of the attendants came over to retrieve the document. I restrained her with my hand and took it to Camille-sama¡¯s desk by myself. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Camille-sama, there is no such department in Arceides territory, you know?¡± ¡°Muu?¡± I motioned for Camille-sama to look at the paperwork. A heavily armed unit to protect residents from large creatures like wyverns was supposed to have been in operation for seven years in the Arceides frontier territory adjacent to the Devil¡¯s Forest, and a good budget was spent on it, but I have never seen such a unit. After the wyvern, a huge worm appeared five years ago, but it only harmed the Knights, and they were able to escape. It was just a random occurrence. ¡°In that case, they don¡¯t need the grant from the special budget line, do they?¡± ¡°I see ¡­but, are you certain? It¡¯s your family home, isn¡¯t it? Would it be alright to betray your family?¡± Master Camille asked. I looked him in the eyes, a little sad, though I doubt he was trying to accuse me of anything. ¡°Because I have been struggling to survive since I was a little girl without their help.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± Master Camille, who had realized this, averted his gaze from me and muttered something. He must also have been through something similar. Both of us had our lives threatened by our families. ¡°¡­We are scheduled to go on an inspection tour to the frontier next month.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± I was about to hand over the papers and return to the sofa when Camille-voice sama¡¯s called to my back, and when I turned around, his eyes were fixed on me. ¡°Are you coming with us?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Nn~~¡­? Could he be planning to do something? CH 41.1 The King¡¯s Brother and the Witch (2) I was invited by Camile-sama to visit three territories, including the Arceides Frontier Territory. What on earth was he thinking? Even if I ignored the fact that I still did not trust the nobles of this country, there was no way I would accept such a troublesome offer. ¡­I nodded my head in agreement, even though I was not willing to accept. Huh? If there was a problem, it would be the people at home. Not only did they not want to see my face, they didn¡¯t even want to hear my name, but when Camile-sama approached them, they readily agreed. Were they just happy to have a connection with the royal family? Or were they planning something fishy? In a sense, those people were even more untrustworthy than Alice and Flare, so I should be wary of them. And my brother Dirk, as I had expected, was very stubborn and insistent. ¡°Carol! How dare a filthy subhuman like you cause trouble for Camile-sama! Camile-sama only feels sorry for you, a subhuman who can¡¯t even leave the house!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Then don¡¯t bring me all the fruits I like and try to force-feed them to me while putting me on your lap. What you were saying and what you were doing are two different things. And stop stroking my legs. ¡°[Blackout]¡± (mumble) ¡°Noooooo! It¡¯s the spirit of darkness again. I will not be defeated by the spirit¡¯s harassment!¡± Dirk yelled at the spell [[Blackout]], which enveloped his vision in darkness. I had grown up enough that even the first level spells could no longer be resisted, and Dirk¡­ well, it seemed a little cute that he still thought it was the work of the spirits of darkness, but what he was doing was sexual harassment, so I wouldn¡¯t forgive him. However, because people in this world were very religious, or rather, saw spirits as messengers of God, most of the things that spirits did were forgiven. It would be the same for the spirits of darkness, whom the aristocrats purposefully avoided. That was why Alice was so popular as the [Beloved Child of the Spirits], I guess. *** Dirk was an aristocratic student, but there was no way he would be allowed to accompany the royal carriage, and so the inspection trip began. Since I was nominally the daughter of a nobleman, I was also allowed to take Maia and her whole family along as an attendant. However, I really wondered what Camile-sama¡¯s intentions were. We were riding in the same carriage, but Camile-sama continued to do his work quietly at a simple table, so there was no particular interaction between us. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± And when the most important person was working, I couldn¡¯t chat with him. Maia and his butler looked like they were having a hard time breathing. I don¡¯t mind, since I find it a hassle to talk to people, and I am more concerned about the young butler¡¯s sobbing than the sound of the papers that Camile-sama rolled up at the same rhythm. Well, then, I should have some time to myself. As I began reading a grimoire the size of an encyclopedia from my bag, the butler, who had no idea about subspace storage, tried to peer down at my feet and returned to his position after being glared at by Maia. I was silently reading the grimoire in such a situation when suddenly I felt a gaze and looked up to see Camile-sama, and our eyes met. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± I stared back at him, wondering what was going on, but nothing happened and time passed without any further incident. ¡°You don¡¯t have any sisters, do you?¡± ¡°No.¡± I had one brother who was a pervert, and Camile-sama remembered that, too. ¡°Oh, right. Sorry.¡± And just as Camile-sama was about to go back to his work, suddenly¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, what were you thinking!?¡± That young butler stood up in the carriage and yelled angrily at his Lord. ¡°You let the ¡°Mere Old Man¡± do this to you after you went on a journey and returned to that? I didn¡¯t come all the way from Solvet to see this!¡± ¡°Nicholas, stop being so annoying!¡± ¡°Annoying!?¡± Solvet was a neighboring country, I believe, right? The butler, called Nicholas, was aghast at Camile-sama¡¯s words and turned his face to me. ¡°Say something to him, young lady!¡± ¡°Noisy¡± ¡°Noisy?¡± I said shortly, and Nicholas sat down on the bench with another shocked look on his face. After that, Nicholas kept mumbling, and to summarize what he said, Nicholas was a schoolmate from Solvet, where Camile-sama was studying, and he was so worried about Camile-sama that he followed him here to the Kingdom of Caenista. The reason he didn¡¯t show his face last time was because he was doing a job that was difficult for a nobleman of Caenista to do, but the servants last time were not very nice to me, so he was urgently called back because he was not prejudiced against subhuman people. That sounds tough. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Shall I step in a bit? ¡°Is this all the documents you have?¡± ¡°No¡­ there¡¯s more.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°¡­okay¡± Camile-sama, who looked a little surprised at my offer, showed me the remaining documents. ¡°Is checking local tax affairs a job for royalty?¡± ¡°¡­they don¡¯t want me to get involved in central affairs, so¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± A random official would just stamp it without even reading it first. But if there was a flaw, and they didn¡¯t notice it, it would be a blunder. How bothersome. As they worked silently and quietly, Nicholas, who wanted to say something, sat down without saying anything and was consoled by Maia, who patted him on the shoulder. CH 41.2 ¡°My Lord Camille, welcome to our humble home, and thank you for coming all the way here.¡± ¡°Count Arceides also looks well.¡± Ten days had passed since we left the capital, and as soon as we arrived at the Arceides estate, the knights came to pick us up and take us to the castle, which I had not seen in five years. Father had aged a bit, but he was still in good health. Behind him, I could also see mother. Her spirit seems to have recovered, and she was cheerfully glaring at me with a demon-like face. ¡°Your Highness must be tired from being with such an abominable child. We will prepare a banquet for you, so please take it easy for a few days.¡± Would you call your own daughter, who was engaged to His Highness, an [abominable] child? I was relieved to hear that neither father nor mother had changed. ¡°No, we can¡¯t take our time. I would like to visit the heavy knight squadron here, which one is it?¡± ¡°No, well, you see, they are currently on a training exercise¡­¡± Sweat broke out on my father¡¯s face as he was asked to show us a heavy knight squadron that didn¡¯t exist. ¡°For now, His Highness can see the knight squad¡¯s training grounds¡­ Carol, you come here. We need to talk.¡± I looked into my father¡¯s eyes as he spoke in a calm and seemingly peaceful manner, but I slowly shook my head. ¡°I will be assisting Camile-sama.¡± ¡°Carol, you!!!¡± He didn¡¯t expect me to defy him, so his mask was torn off as he began ranting angrily. ¡°Count Arceides, she will be assisting me.¡± ¡°¡­I see¡­¡± Camile-sama gave me some backup fire, and father just managed to contain his anger ¡­or so it appeared to me. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. The heavy knights were training at a nearby campsite near the Devil¡¯s Forest. The Devil¡¯s Forest is dangerous, so it¡¯s not the kind of place His Highness should be going¡­¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll stop by there.¡± ¡°¡­Are you sure you want to do this? It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± As His Highness said this, a fierce smile appeared on father¡¯s face, as if he could not suppress his anger. ¡°I¡­I warned you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± What was he up to? I went with Camile-sama because I was afraid that they would do something to me if I stayed behind, and also because I was afraid that Camile-sama might be in danger. But still, father, would you allow me to go to the training ground of the heavy knights, which did not exist? Or perhaps¡­ We returned to the carriage and headed for the Devil¡¯s Forest before even having a cup of tea at the castle. ¡°Nicholas, when we get into town, find us a place for us to stay.¡± ¡°We are not staying at Arceides¡¯ castle, are we?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask me that.¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Camille answered Nicholas¡¯s question, and they both grinned. They both know what they¡¯re doing, don¡¯t they? ¡°¡­There could be an assassination attempt.¡± Nicholas said. ¡°Miss Carol should stay at the inn while in town¡­¡± ¡°[Ice Lance]¡± Silence settled over the carriage as the [Ice Lance] shot out of the carriage window pierced the tree trunk. ¡°Are you up to the task?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The guard knights of Camile-sama appeared to be loyal, and these two were probably capable individuals in their own right, but there was nothing better than having a large force. It would be enough to leave only non-combatants like Maia and the others at the inn. ¡°Are you sure about this? It is dangerous. If you are worried about my safety¡­¡± I stopped Camile-sama, who was about to say something, by raising my hand. ¡°I want proof of the Arceides family¡¯s misdeeds.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± I wasn¡¯t lying, okay? CH 42.1 T/L: Hi, I posted wrong chapter yesterday. This is the correct one. I have also deleted the wrong chapter to avoid any further confusion. Sorry for the issue. The King¡¯s Brother and the Witch (3) ¡°¡­Is this really what you wanted?¡± The Count of Arceides, who had dared to make Camille insist on the heavy knights¡¯ inspection, returned to his office in the castle and held his head in his hands with a gloomy face. In this country, any nobleman with a certain amount of territory could cheat on his income and expenses to reduce the number of taxes he pays to the government. Part of the money went to the prime minister and other powerful people in charge of domestic affairs, so there was never a problem. The Count of Arceides Frontier was ridiculed among the nobles for having an [abomination] born, but he had gradually dispelled his bad reputation in the royal capital by increasing his payments to the prime minister and by offering the abomination as a tool for the prime minister. ¡°It is all right, Count Arceides.¡± ¡°Gallus-dono¡­¡± The only other noble-looking man present in the room, who was around 30 years old, exhaled purple smoke slowly while shaking his cigar. ¡°The Prime Minister believes that if His Highness lets you off the hook, then he can use your daughter as a shackle for His Highness to bind him; or if His Highness is a man with a strange sense of justice and cannot overlook injustice, then it can¡¯t be helped if he ends up in an accident on the frontier.¡± ¡°Hou, it really won¡¯t cause any trouble for my family, will it? What would the neutral nobles say if His Highness were to die in my domain¡­¡± ¡°Well, some trouble is inevitable, but I don¡¯t think it will be that bad. It would have been more troublesome if he had died in the capital, but the Devil¡¯s Forest is extremely dangerous, and there are no nobles in the capital willing to blame you and then face the demons on your behalf.¡± ¡°I wish that were the case, but¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a shame to lose a tool like that¡­¡± ¡°Carol¡¯s a fool! If only she could live, so that she could be used to negotiate with the other nobles again. Who do you think is to blame for the ridicule of my House of Arceides? I raised her, and now she¡¯s repaying that debt!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure your wife will feel better once that thing is gone.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Gallus, the prime minister¡¯s chief advisor, inwardly scoffs at the outraged Count Arceides. It was absurd to ask his own daughter to feel indebted to him after he had persecuted her almost to the point of not giving her adequate support. The [Abomination] was such an abhorrent existence in the Kingdom of Caenista, but thanks to this abomination, the Count of Arceides could not refuse to do Gallus¡¯s dirty work. (And yet¡­) The abomination was a bit of a letdown, he thought. She was a half-elf, so she still looked very young, but in ten years she would be a beautiful girl with the grace of a noblewoman. The nobles who wanted her as a slave would pay any amount of money to get her. Not only that, but she possessed great magical power and was said to be favored by the spirits of darkness, so she would be a valuable asset to their army if she could be trained to become a slave. Gallus, as the prime minister¡¯s faithful advisor, was glad that he could get rid of Camille so easily, while sneering at the Count of Arceides, who did not know the value of a golden egg and was willing to sell it off for a low price. (Then, shall I also see the end of His Highness?) CH 42.2 ¡°Why are you going?¡± I am at a loss for words myself. The nobles in this country were corrupt anyway, so it would be useless for him to be serious about it. Moreover, he was in a vulnerable position and was even under threat of assassination, so I didn¡¯t think he could afford to make more enemies by going out of his way to expose the evil of the nobility, you know? I wanted to say something like that, but I was exhausted from talking too much. When I suddenly said such a thing in the carriage, Camille-sama, who had guessed what I meant after a few seconds of silence, quietly answered me. ¡°I can only hope my brother will be relieved by the extent to which I have behaved myself. That man is paranoid. More than that, as long as I live, the queen will not be at ease. So, I need to be vulnerable in order to live¡­ Are you disappointed? ¡° ¡°No.¡± I didn¡¯t have high hopes from the nobility in this country in the first place. But thank goodness. I wondered what I would do if he said he wanted to make this country a better place, with a flimsy sense of justice. But Camille-sama was pretty blunt. Two hours after leaving Arceides¡¯ castle. We dropped Maia and the other non-combatants off at a town along the way, and when we started to feel strong magical energy as if we were approaching the Devil¡¯s Forest, I sensed something like a murderous aura around us, perhaps due to my elven sense of smell or due to the benefit of my player character. ¡°We¡¯re surrounded. Twenty to thirty.¡± Camille-sama and Nicholas, the butler, turned to face me when I said this. ¡°How well can you tell? Is it a demon or¡­?¡± ¡°Probably humans.¡± The magic power was too low for it to be a demon. If it were such a weak demon, I doubt it would try to attack a carriage with 10 or so escorting knights. Oh, but a goblin or something would most likely be stupid enough to attack. ¡°Stop the carriage. Prepare to intercept. They came in the most direct way, didn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I thought that they might prepare a suitable knight squad to make a mess, but Camille-sama seems to have agitated Count Arceides a bit too much.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a bit surprised that he made fun of my fianc¨¦e, you know.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I wonder how serious he is¡­? Camille-sama probably didn¡¯t want to marry me, and I was still wary of him being a nobleman of this country, but I think we were close enough to talk casually. [A demon is aiming for us!] I heard a voice from outside that sounded like the Arceides¡¯ guide. But, he was speaking in a very hushed tone, wasn¡¯t he? There were no TV dramas broadcasted here, unlike on Earth, so I guess acting performances were only seen a few times a year, but it was too predictable. Camille-sama gave me a questioning look when I got off the carriage after the two. ¡°You should stay in the carriage. Even if you can use magic, the danger is¡­¡± ¡°[Ice Lance]¡± I unleashed [Ice Lance], which shot through the guide who was trying to sneak away. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± ¡°They¡¯re about to appear. It¡¯s the Dark Knights division.¡± As if my magic was a signal, knights in black armor appeared from the forest. They were a unit specializing in counterintelligence from the Arceides territory, who had attacked me many times before when I was a Witch. At one point, they were on the verge of extinction, but it would appear that their numbers have increased again since then. ¡°How does the young lady know about the dark side? ¡° ¡°Nn~? ¡° CH 42.3 T/L: We have mistakenly skipped chapter 42.2 before. We have fixed it now. Sorry for the issue. Nicholas asked me a question that ordinary young ladies wouldn¡¯t know the answer to, so I just tilted my head to fool him for now, and he became resigned because I was usually a quiet person. ¡°Knights, don¡¯t let them get too close to His Highness!¡± Ah, the escort knights moved forward. I wanted to use [Frenzy Upset], which had a preemptive disorientation effect, in a group fight, but I couldn¡¯t use it in a melee because of the risk of misfiring. The speed of the projectiles was so slow, that if someone moved, they would not be able to hit. But well, even though I said I had grown up, I was unable to cast magic as fast as [Witch], so I should stay in the back, like in group fights in my VRMMO days. ¡°[All Protection]¡± I applied [Sanctuary], which increases physical and magical defense, to all our allies. There were 14 of us in total, so it was a bit tough with the current Carol. This magic of the 6th class works visibly, so the rude knight who came to rescue me, surrounded by multiple enemies, looked at me with a surprised expression on his face. Look, behind you, don¡¯t look away. There were many opponents. Even with a threefold difference in numbers, the knights who dedicated their swords to Camille-sama, who was in a delicate position, were more than evenly matched; perhaps their loyalty was different, which boosted their strength. ¡°That¡¯s astounding.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Camille-sama said as he came running back to me, seeing that there was no chance of losing, but when he saw me nodding, he gave me a dumbfounded look. ¡°You¡¯re the great one. What¡¯s with all this defensive sorcery? I did prepare a good amount of force, but I didn¡¯t think it would be such an easy battle.¡± ¡°Nn~? ¡° I heard that some court mages class could use the magic of the 6th class and above? Maybe they were keeping them a secret? But, more importantly, half of the Dark Knights were killed, giving us more leeway on the battlefield. It was probably difficult for them to recover so much from the brink of destruction, but they were now reduced again. ¡­Eh? [Bumooooo!!!] ¡°Mi, it¡¯s a Minotaur!!!¡± Three Minotaurs suddenly rushed out of the forest and smacked several dark knights and one of the escort knights. Huh? Why would there be Minotaurs in such a place? Those were demons that didn¡¯t go out of caves and dungeons. That¡¯s not good. Me and Uncle Bert had easily defeated it, so they might look weak, but for a normal knight, one or two Minotaurs would be more than enough for a group, but three would be too much. Moreover, something seemed strange. It was as if they had been drugged by [Frenzy]. When I looked around to see if I could find the cause of the problem, I saw something like a shadow in the distance. Could that be a person who wanted to kill the Mino-tan? ¡°Watch out!¡± [Bumooooooo!] I realized that one of the Mino-tans was closing in on me, and just as the club was about to swing down, Camille-sama jumped out of its way, carrying me in his arms to dodge it. ¡°Kuh!¡± Camille-sama yelped in agony, and then another Mino-tan closed in on him. Neither Nicholas nor the escort knights have noticed us, having been attacked by the other two. I didn¡¯t think¡­they would go so far. Did they want to kill us that badly? ¡°Setup [Witch Dress]¡± [Bumoo] Instantly, my crimson dress enveloped me, and as I became an adult, I thrust my Zanbatou head-on and sliced Mino-tan¡¯s head in half right above me. ¡­are they prepared for this? CH 43.1 The King¡¯s Brother and the Witch (4) ¡°Y-you¡­!¡± Camille-sama gasped in surprise at my sudden transformation. That expression, along with his boyish smile, reminds me of a single person in my memory. (¡­He¡¯s the boy from that night.) ¡°We¡¯ll talk later. First, I¡¯m going to exterminate them.¡± After fully recovering my HP/MP using my race abilities, I applied my full physical strengthening and leaped out onto the battlefield. ¡°[Fire Lance]¡± [Bumooooooo.] A [Fire Lance] shot out by discarding the chanting shoots one of the Mino-tans in the back. ¡°You [Rose Witch]. Where did you come from?¡± There appeared to be a former survivor among the dark knights. Even though they were being attacked by Mino-tan, the Dark Knight who found me slashed at me. ¡°[Freeze]¡± As expected in this situation, I couldn¡¯t go easy on him, could I? The knight¡¯s armor instantly froze and crumbled away, and everyone¡¯s eyes turned to me as if they had only just realized what had happened. Could it be that the transformation was hidden by Mino-tan¡¯s back? They were attacked by two other Mino-tans, after all. ¡°¨D¨D[Lightning Slash]¨D¨D¡± Lightning Slash was a high-speed [Combat Skill] that slashed down the Mino-tan who was at a distance. It was a triple-hit Combat Skill called Lightning Slash, which could travel up to 30 meters in a second while slicing through the side of a target. It was unpopular in the VRMMO due to the complicated distance required to hit a target while using it to run across the battlefield, but once players got used to it, they could move around the battlefield at high speed, so it was commonly used by the experts. [Bumoo¡­] As Mino-tan collapsed, slashed almost to the point of severing its side, the knight with the bad attitude who had been fighting up until then looked at me with wide eyes. ¡°You, you are¡­¡± ¡°That one is an adventurer on our side! Only a few more of our enemies are left!¡± ¡°¡±¡­Haah¡±¡± At the right moment, Camille-sama shouted that I was on their side, and the escorting knights regained their energy and composure. I felt that Mino-tan would be no problem since he could only rampage around, so I called out to the knight with the bad attitude who was standing nearby. ¡°Are you sure you handle the rest of it?¡± ¡°Ye, Yeah, of course. But what about you?¡± ¡°I will leave it to you then.¡± With these words, I return my attention to the forest where the Mino-tan first appeared and where I had earlier spotted a figure. ¡°I¡¯m going to eradicate the rats that are hiding.¡± * ¡°What the¡­?¡± Gallus, who was hiding in the forest with a few of his men, let out an involuntary gasp at the sudden appearance of the enemy. Gallus did not have much faith in the Arceides soldiers. In order to be sure, he had ordered some of the Knights to capture Minotaurs in the dungeon and was planning to use drugs to temporarily strengthen them and make them kill Camille. Two of the Minotaurs were defeated in quick succession by a woman in a crimson dress. As he recalled, she was a half-elf adventurer called [Rose Witch], famous even in the capital for her violent temperament. They had not seen her until now, but she must have been hiding in the carriage. She was said to have appeared in Arceides¡¯ territory and defeated a wyvern. Gallus, who was gathering information for the prime minister, was aware of the existence of this adventurer because the Arceides had been harmed by her meddling in their affairs, but she was only an adventurer after all. He was under the impression that she posed no threat, but if she could defeat the Minotaur so easily, it might be true that she had defeated a wyvern on her own. ¡°You are a disgrace to the Kingdom of Caenista for hiring subhuman adventurers. Retreat for now.¡± If that thing was hired by Camille, direct means could fail. The worst that could happen was that the [Sword Saint] appeared with a legitimate reason, but Gallus was not a fan of that man who was obsessed with strength and did not move for money. He ordered his men to retreat, but the next time, he planned to take out the [Witch] and the others with a coordinated assassination attempt. ¡°Retreat! Hurry!¡± ¡°¡±Ha!¡±¡± He saw the Witch running toward them. He wondered how she discovered him when he was so far away from them. Gallus muttered to himself as he and his men retreated. Elves and beastmen had higher senses than humans, and this was why he didn¡¯t like subhumans. ¡°Guah!?¡± ¡°Naa¡­¡± Suddenly, one of his men was pierced by an ice spear and rolled across the ground. ¡°Get in the forest!¡± Was it the work of the Witch? It would be difficult for anyone other than a court mage to use an ice spear at this distance to kill a man with a single blow, unless the mage could use [magic] without chanting, and could increase the distance and power of the magic by adding more magic power. But once in the forest, she will not be able to follow. Gallus used a ¡°Demon Repellent¡± that was rare even in the kingdom. These were made using powerful demons like dragons and wyverns, and were made by processing materials offered by the Sword Saint after he defeated them in the past. There were very few of them, and the one Gallus used was worth several large gold coins. ¡°¡­¡± But there were still signs that she was following them. Was that Witch using a demon repellent too? Or perhaps, like the Wicked Witch in the fairy tale, the demons were afraid of her? ¡°You, hold her back.¡± ¡°What? Uwaaah?¡± Gallus slashed a subordinate running alongside him with his dagger, knocking him down, and then, perhaps lured by the smell of blood, a beast-like creature attacked his subordinate. [Uwaaah¨D¨D¨D¨D] Gallus was the only one with demon repellent. Hearing the screams of his men echoing behind him, Gallus ran further into the forest, hoping that the gathered demons would slow the Witch down. After running as fast as he could through the forest for a few minutes, he slowed his steps to see if it was okay, when the forest atmosphere suddenly began to discharge an electrical charge. ¡°Why¡­, Guaaaaah!¡± Lightning rained down over a wide area of the magical forest. All the magic defense talismans he had stocked in large quantities for his work burned up at once, and yet the lightning continued to pierce Gallus¡¯s body. ¡°¡­No¡­way¡­¡± Even so, the talisman was useful to some extent, and Gallus was barely able to breathe under that much lightning. Could it be that this was also Witch¡¯s magic? Even the most powerful court mage would struggle to use such powerful magic. If this was truly the Witch¡¯s work, her presence could be a threat to the kingdom. I must return to the capital and report to the Prime Minister as soon as possible. As Gallus crawled forward with his battered body, a huge shadow suddenly appeared. [¡°I am Pochi, the great dark dragon. I was in this area on the Lord¡¯s orders. Are you the one who wears the scent of other unpleasant dragons? ¡°] ¡°¡­A¡­ah¡­¡± Demon repellent uses the scent of powerful demons to make weaker demons avoid them. Only strong demons could overcome it. Gallus suddenly remembered something a teacher had said at school decades ago. [The only enemy of a dragon is another dragon. If they meet, there will always be a fight.] Although it was not known due to the small number of dragons, if one were to use a dragon as a material to avoid demons, it would be synonymous with fighting against dragons. ¡°Ha¡­haha¡­¡± [Then die, fools!] CH 43.2 I knew I couldn¡¯t let him escape, so I used 6th class area magic [Thunder Rain], but this would normally kill a human being unless his magic defense was high, right? If he died within five minutes, he could be revived, but searching for him in such a dense forest would be too difficult. I wanted to know their background, but there was no point in dwelling on what had already been done. ¨CI suppose Camille-sama and the others might ask me why I didn¡¯t catch him? I had no choice. I returned to Chibi Carol, and then left. When I returned from the forest, Nicholas, who seemed to be looking for me, found me. ¡°Oh, miss, I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re all right. I was worried when you suddenly disappeared. ¡°The Minotaurs?¡± ¡°We managed to defeat him along with our enemies. Oh, by the way, that adventurer Witch, Camille-sama, told me that the young lady hired her as a kindred spirit.¡± I see. So, that¡¯s how Camille-sama, the only one who saw my transformation, explained it. Then I should go along with that. ¡°It was too troublesome, so she left.¡± ¡°¡­Is, is that so?¡± Then I returned to the carriage, and while I was applying High Heal to the knights who had been beaten by Mino-tan, the escorting knights awkwardly bowed to me. Oh, by the way, [Witch] was supposed to be the escort I hired. I won¡¯t retaliate against them for being rude to me, it¡¯s not even a concern compared to Alice. That being said, ¡­I noticed that Camille-sama was snuggled up to my side since I returned. ¡°¡­Camille-sama?¡± ¡°Can you please call me Cam?¡± Cam, aka Camille-sama, knelt so that we were eye-to-eye, and as he took my hand in his and said in a sweet voice, Nicholas, who was drinking from his canteen, spewed out the water. Eh, what was with this sudden change¡­ ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°¡­N¡­o¡­¡± Close, close. The moment I agreed, a face with a big smile on it appeared 10 centimeters in front of me. Oh my, this guy had a terrible sense of distance. I ended up spending the entire trip being treated like a princess. The servants were all left with their mouths hanging open because of the sudden and unexpected doting attitude of this man. I could only walk around the inn without being pulled by the hand. Why did this happen all of a sudden? Compared to the other nobles in this country, he was much more decent, but¡­ well, he just made me feel tired. CH 44.1 Conclusion and Retaliation ¡°Count Arceides. Could you please explain what this is all about?¡± ¡°¡­gugu.¡± Now that the Count of Arceides¡¯ assassination attempt on the royal family had been discovered, it appeared that the situation would no longer be the same. According to Cam, or rather His Royal Highness Camille, His Majesty the King was involved behind the scenes, and even if the charges were presented as they were, there was a chance that they would be covered up. Father grunted bitterly at Cam¡¯s words and looked at me, who was sitting beside him, with such hatred in his eyes that I felt as if beams were coming out of them, so I couldn¡¯t help but sigh of relief. ¡°Carol, you! You¡¯ve neglected to thank me for everything I¡¯ve done for you!!!!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I silently tilt my head slightly at Father¡¯s words. ¡°I forgot.¡± ¡°Youuuu!!!¡± ¡°Count Arceides! Please be quiet.¡± ¡°¡­Kuh.¡± Cam gave him a quick shove to calm father, who had started screaming. I thought his blood vessels were about to burst; was he okay? That seemed like a lot of trouble. If this were a period drama, it would be [This is it, people, come on out, come on out!], but the dark knights had been nearly destroyed, and the ordinary knights had been sent out to stop the weak demons that had overflowed from the demon forest, so there were few left around here. Well, Pochi was responsible for driving them out, under my orders. It seemed like Cam had decided to make the Arceides family owe him a favor. Still, a crime was a crime, so Father retired and went to the countryside to recuperate with Mother. The inheritance would be passed down to Dirk when he came of age, and Cam would try to persuade him to become an ally of ours if possible. ¡­Can I make a suggestion about that? ¡°Are you unhappy about it?¡± Cam asked me in the carriage on the way home, probably thinking that I wanted to destroy that House, but I didn¡¯t. ¡°¡­Not really.¡± I would not complain because Cam was doing what Cam needed to do to survive. As for me, I would prefer no setbacks, but even in the current situation, the dark side of the Arceides family has been destroyed. I had also carefully crushed the suspicious units of the knights and confiscated almost all of their hidden assets, so it was obvious that Dirk, who was handed over the reins of the family, would have a hard time, so it was good that he would be troubled by it. The reason I looked dissatisfied was because I didn¡¯t know how much I could trust Cam. After all, almost all the great men in this country were perverts, so there might be something wrong with him like the others. It would be wrong for me to be so easily persuaded just because he seemed nice. I had been attracting stalkers since elementary school in my previous life, simply because I was a quiet person with long black hair, but I had also recently learned a lot. ¡°I¡¯m serious about this, you know.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Well, whatever the case may be, I also needed to move on with my life. The people who followed Father were only connected by money, so I thought that we could almost neutralize my family¡¯s relationship with me. The question was where the surplus money was going, but when I told Nicholas, the butler, about the description of the man I saw in the forest, he told me that he was probably one of the Prime Minister¡¯s confidants. I see¡­the Prime Minister. Hmmm¡­ According to Nicholas, the prime minister was doing many things behind the scenes, and many noble families, including my own, donated money to him, but it seemed that his two main sources of income were trade with the other Continent and large-scale farms. The amount of money they moved was simply too large for that, so they could have been dealing with forbidden goods, but there was no proof, making it impossible to find a weakness. CH 44.2 Political players have it tough. Cam and Nicholas would like to find evidence to use as a foothold to move things in their favor, but will that happen before my death flags arrive? ¡°Setup [Switch Dress]¡± That¡¯s why I was working undercover this time. What was the reason? To put it simply, I was angry and wanted to retaliate. With an item that I found in the depths of my bag for an event, I temporarily dyed my dress black, put on a visor to cover my eyes, and went down to a farm in a rural mountain area. ¡°Oh, I was right.¡± As expected, or perhaps because I am a stubborn person who never misses a point, I found out that everything at the back of the farmland consisted of pharmaceutical plants of the bad kind. The security and traps had been unusually tight since halfway through the journey, so it was easy to understand. I suspected there were some counterintelligence agents mixed in, so it would be better to at least clear away some of those special agents. ¡°¡­hmm?¡± I feel a presence approaching from afar. To be more specific, it was as if red spots of light had sprung up on a radar in my head. At this speed, I wondered if it was just dogs. I also felt magical power, so maybe a type of monster? If I leave them unattended, the security people would be alerted. ¡°[Fire Ball]¡± Without worrying about being engulfed in flames, I scatter fireballs over a wide area. Oh, it¡¯s hot, so hot. Better not to breathe the smoke. From everywhere, Dog-like screeches and angry shrieks echoed. I ran around and shot [Fire Ball], cut down the monsters that were on the way, and finally used another magic attack from a distance. ¡°[Typhoon]¡± I chanted and a huge gust of wind blew over a wide area, instantly magnifying the flames. This was a 5th class wind area magic [Typhoon]. It was magic that simply blasted away low-level enemies over a wide area, so of course it was not as powerful as an actual typhoon. ¡°Pochi¡±. I called its name amidst the flames, and a few minutes later, a massive jet-black body descended, illuminated by slightly vermilion flames, as if to fill the starry sky. [Did you call me, Carol?] ¡°I¡¯ve done what I had to do, let¡¯s go to the next place.¡± [Let me have the next one.] ¡°Nn.¡± Oh, and I almost forgot about the dragon bracelet. I¡¯d have Pochi wear it the next time. After two hours of flying on Pochi¡¯s back, a port town came into view. [Which ship are you looking for?] ¡°The big one.¡± [¡­Got it.] The ship was used for intercontinental trade, so I assumed it would be much larger than other vessels. Well, joking aside, since the ship belonged to the Prime Minister, it was said to have an insignia on the mast, but it would be troublesome to search for them one by one. Even if we found them, the sailors could be carrying them without knowing anything about them, so it would be a better idea to just sink them as is. [Carol, there is a big ship offshore. There¡¯s a small one, too.] ¡°Nn.¡± There was a big ship floating in the night sea. How did you notice it? As a reward, I stroke its neck and look closely at the ship¡­ ¡°Pochi, go in there and burn the big boat.¡± [What? Is that all we have to do?] ¡°Just hurry up.¡± [Hmm.] Pochi flapped its wings once and flew toward the big ship, while I prepared to shoot my magic at the same time. ¡°¨C[Dragon Breath]¨C¡° [Guooooooooooooooh!!!] My [Dragon Breath] and Pochi¡¯s flame breath burned away the deck of the huge ship. [Smaller ships next?] ¡°Not those.¡± The sudden appearance of the black dragon and me in a black gown riding it frightened the sailors of the small ships, and they turned back toward the harbor. [What¡¯s wrong?] ¡°That big ship. Pirates.¡± I could see from a distance that those little ships were being attacked by a bigger ship. I couldn¡¯t tell which side was bad, but the crew of the bigger ship looked like bandits, so I assumed they were pirates. ¡°Oh, look.¡± The pirate ship was engulfed in flames and I picked up a flag that was floating in the sea. ¡°It¡¯s the insignia of the Prime Minister, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± [Oh, oh¡­ I see¡­] I felt a little better, having dealt a major blow to the Prime Minister¡¯s wallet. A few days later, [Woman in black dress riding a Black Dragon] was the topic of conversation in the port town, and for some reason there were rumors that the Demon Lord had attacked. I didn¡¯t understand it at all. Then, one day, the knight who had been accompanying Cam and had been behaving badly only towards me, asked me with a puzzled look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the other day. ¡­And, um¡­¡± ¡°Nn?¡± When I tilted my head at the knight, who seemed to have a blank expression on his face for some reason, he said with a bright red face. ¡°I want you to introduce me to that adventurer woman called Witch!¡± ¡­Hah? CH 45.1 Confession ¡°Why?¡± Why did the knight, who had only misbehaved with me because I was a subhuman, want me to introduce him to the adult version of Carol? Maia, who knew about his attitude, gave him a sharp look, and the knight, with his face slightly tense, whispered. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that¡­ the way she fights¡­¡± ¡°Yes!!! Be careful of that subhuman woman, she¡¯s very dangerous and dishonorable!¡± ¡°Kyaaaaaaaah!¡± Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Dirk announced loudly as he went inside, and I ¨C not Maia ¨C let out a cute girly scream. ¡°Carol! Do you know that subhuman woman? No, no, no! You will become violent if you associate with that woman! His Highness will be bored with you anyway, so why don¡¯t you just be a lady, wear short skirts in my room, and trample me to your heart¡¯s content! Father has retired and there is no one to stop me, so from now on, you can rest assured¨C¡° ¡°[Wind Bomb]¡± ¡°Whoaaaaah!¡± Dirk took a direct hit and flew to the other side of the open door, where he was retrieved by Dirk¡¯s servants, who were making a lot of noise. I thought that the Arceides family¡¯s position would weaken, and they would become more mature, but they remained completely unchanged. Nonetheless, now that the father and mother have retired and I am being cared for by Cam, the servants seem to understand that the power dynamic in the mansion has changed. But the other party was a pervert, so I can¡¯t let my guard down. ¡­why did you ask me to step on you? ¡°Continue?¡± ¡°Oh, no, I mean¡­¡± The knight, who was looking at the door that had been left open, grumbled in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s a personal matter, so if possible, I¡¯d like to ask the person in question¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much of a subhuman hatred for Witch-san¡­¡± It was becoming tedious by now, and just as I was about to decline, the knight looked up and said sharply. ¡°I have something I need to convey to Witch-dono.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I wonder what it was? Somehow, I was forced to tell him that the Witch would be at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild at night. I didn¡¯t say this because I wanted him to go home early. A few days later¡­ ¡± Witch-dono, it¡¯s been a while. I¡¯m Gunter.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After three days of hard work in the dungeon, I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to cash in my materials when someone suddenly approached me. Huh? Do I know him from somewhere? ¡°¡­Ah¡± ¡°Are you well, Witch-dono?¡± It was the knight. I didn¡¯t notice him because he was wearing normal clothes. Come to think of it, he said he wanted to meet the adult version of me. I had forgotten about that. I¡¯d never heard his name before. But still¡­ ¡°You¡¯re really dressed like an eccentric.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Adventurers in the countryside look stinky in dirty and tattered second-hand armor, but in the adventurers¡¯ guild in the Royal Capital, almost all of them wear bizarre [Eye Catching] outfits, so in any case, compared to people wearing a clean outfit walking around the city, I would certainly look out of place. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m here to see Witch-dono¡­¡± ¡°Wait for a bit.¡± ¡°¡­yes¡± First, I went to the reception desk to exchange the materials for cash. I spent about an hour negotiating with the man at the reception desk who had become acquainted with me, and when I returned, Gunter was still standing in the same spot. He was very calm and quiet. ¡°Witch-dono, please wait!¡± ¡°What?¡± I was about to walk past him when he stopped me. ¡°I have something I would like to discuss with Witch-dono today.¡± ¡°¡­Carol mentioned it.¡± It couldn¡¯t be helped. It would be a hassle to meet again, so I decided to listen to what he had to say. Gunter seemed to know a restaurant that was open late at night, so we went there for dinner to hear what he had to say. CH 45.2 ¡°This restaurant is also well-known for its vegetable dishes, so even elves could probably eat here.¡± ¡°¡­Nn.¡± In the private room where I was led to, I bit into a grilled root vegetable that seemed to be their signature dish, and gently put down my cutlery. It was too greasy! I couldn¡¯t eat it because the sauce was made with meat fat, even though it was a vegetable dish. ¡°So?¡± I asked with a cynical look as I washed the grease from my mouth with a glass of whitish wine, and Gunther answered. ¡°Well¡­ um¡­ Witch-dono, we¡¯d really like you to join us, not just with Miss Carol, but officially.¡± ¡°¡­Hah?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but laugh quietly. ¡°I helped Carol because we belong to the same tribe. But you are a subhuman-hating aristocrat, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not. We are not prejudiced against subhumans, we just didn¡¯t like Miss Carol, the subhuman who was forcibly engaged to Camille-sama to undermine Camille-sama¡¯s position.¡± ¡°¡­Oh?¡± Were you picking a fight with me head-on? Should I just shoot you through the limbs and belly with my break revolver, then shoot you right between the eyes one last time? ¡°Well, after being treated by Young Miss Carol, my friends were also regretting their lack of maturity.¡± At Gunther¡¯s next panicked words, I gently removed my finger from the trigger of the magic gun I was holding under the table. ¡°To be honest, I still can¡¯t believe that Camille-sama would be so concerned about such a young girl, but if she is the one he chose, we have to accept it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Do you still want me to shoot you? Carol and I may be different people to them, but I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I was being belittled, even though he said he approves of Carol. Still, when I thought about it calmly, when he was talking to me just now, I didn¡¯t feel even a little prejudice against subhumans, and Carol was a political force that was reducing Cam¡¯s power, so I could see that they had mixed feelings about it. ¡°You could have sent the message through Carol. Why are you here to ask me to join directly?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­¡± That was the only part of the conversation that was unclear to me, so I asked, and Gunther, who had been speaking lightheartedly up to that point, clammed up with a red face before he inquired. ¡°¡­We will always follow Camille-sama, but it is preferable to have a woman close at hand to be a companion¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Could this be¡­ could this be? This was my first time hearing such words from someone other than a stalker. But¨C ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Because I wasn¡¯t used to this, my words were flatter than usual, but Gunter laughed and scratched his head as if he were troubled as I replied. For now, I was curious as to why he had chosen me in this land of Human Supremacy. ¡°Why me?¡± ¡°¡­I found it beautiful to see you fight.¡± Gunter gently turned his gaze upward, as if remembering something. ¡°I felt this way about your visage as you ruthlessly slashed through the Minotaurs and burned the forest to the ground as the spies fled. Ah¡­I want to be abused, I thought.¡± ¡­Nn? ¡°The side of Camille-sama, which has few allies, was a good place for me, but I still wanted to have you look down at me with cold eyes as I lay on the ground and sipped mud, and to call me a dog with your beautiful figure.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Nn~~~¡­? ¡°There are others like me in my group. Please, just once.¡± Gunther turned his hot gaze on me, and I hit him with a kick off the table, pointing the muzzle of my magic gun at Gunther as he fell down. ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say? You perverted maggot.¡± ¡°Thank you for rewarding me, Mistress!!!¡± I felt nothing but anxiety about how things would proceed from now on. CH 46.1 My Fianc¨¦e¡¯s Residence I wasn¡¯t sure why Cam¡¯s followers were following him in his dire situation, but I guess they were all the type of people who enjoy being tormented. ¡°No, that¡¯s not true! Some of us are following Camille-sama because we believe in him, so please don¡¯t put us together with them.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Nicholas, the butler, who overheard my muttering, explained with a flurry of body language and hand gestures. ¡°Got it¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting like I¡¯m a complete idiot, but do you really understand?¡± ¡°Nicholas, you¡¯re being rude to Miss Carol!¡± Maia, the maid, hugged me to protect me from Nicholas. As usual, Maia was overprotective of me. ¡°What are you freaking out about?¡± When Cam appeared, dressed rougher than usual, just as the conversation began to get messy, Maia and Nicholas hurriedly returned to their positions. Now, how am I supposed to explain this? ¡°The story of Nicholas becoming an attendant.¡± ¡°I see. He was a friend of mine when I was studying abroad, but he followed me because he was worried about me, so you¡¯ll have to cut him some slack.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I see, so that was the reason. I was here because I had been invited to Cam¡¯s mansion. Cam used to live in a detached mansion on the castle grounds, but he recently bought a mansion in the Royal Capital, so I was invited to live with him at his mansion. Cam had started to become much more involved after learning that the [Witch] was Carol. It required great effort because I was terrible at socializing, but whenever I tried, Dirk would get all upset, as if he had lost his nerve. ¡°Well then, shall we go out in the garden?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± The moment I tried to get off the couch, Cam took hold of my hand and started walking beside me. Cam was as close as ever, but not sexually harassing me like Dirk, but I admit I had difficulty dealing with him because he frequently held my hand the entire time I was with him. But it hadn¡¯t been that long since we moved here, so I wouldn¡¯t say it gave me a sense of home yet, nor did I feel that it was ready for visitors. And when we arrived at the garden, sure enough, it was a large garden, but it looked bleak with no flowers. I wondered what was going on and looked up at Cam, who kneeled next to me and, instead of making eye contact, brought his face close to mine and whispered in a sweet voice. ¡°It¡¯s a garden that will eventually be yours, so you can do whatever you want with it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Is he really okay with this? I could tell that he was seeing the adult version of Carol in me, but it seems dangerous to my sensibilities that he was treating me, a little girl, the way he would treat a young lady of his age, but was he really all right with this? Well, the other nobles were all perverts, who talked about selling me while I was right in front of them, tried to keep me as a pet, wanted to chain me up, drugged me, poisoned me, followed me around, took spy photos, were happy to be violated and coldly cursed, etc. So, maybe this is why I felt surprisingly fine with my current situation. CH 46.2 ¡°¡­Rose.¡± ¡°Eh? Rose?¡± ¡°I want bright red roses.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± I didn¡¯t know how to respond to him, and I didn¡¯t understand what this itchy sensation meant, so I just randomly said I wanted roses. That was the only time Cam gave me a boyish smile instead of a mature response. ¡­Somehow ¡­it bothers me. ¡°¡­Have you settled down with the nobility lately?¡± ¡°Nn? Ah, I guess so.¡± I changed the subject without a second thought, and Cam told me a lot of things. In any case, it appeared that the Prime Minister, whose coffers I had destroyed, was no longer in a position to play tricks because he was too busy cleaning up various things. For a while, he was so angry that he was actively searching for the culprit, but he couldn¡¯t put out a warrant because the sighting [of a woman riding a dragon] was as credible as a ghost on a ship, even if he could somehow cover up the incident at the plantation. The damage at sea occurred on a ship that looked like a pirate ship, and a flag with the emblem of the Prime Minister was found in the port with what appeared to be smuggled goods, which made it look like the Prime Minister had been involved in the smuggling of the goods. Since the flag with the Prime Minister¡¯s insignia was washed ashore with some smuggled goods, it seems that they are working hard to cover it up, and Cam can now spend his spare time as he wanted to. Well, I was the one who brought it to the port, though. ¡°The Queen has been a little more docile, too, with the funds flowing from the Prime Minister getting cut off. More importantly, we are now having problems with the young nobles.¡± ¡°Young?¡± ¡°Many of the nobles your age, especially the Crown Prince, have strong personalities, and they are causing all sorts of problems.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I could think of many problems. ¡°Among them are Miss Flare of the Prata House and Miss Alice, who is not a noble but is enrolled as a [Beloved Child of the Spirits], both of whom have caused various problems and have now become a problem at the castle as well.¡± ¡°Heh¡­¡± Those two, huh? ¡°Come to think of it, you and those two were classmates at the academy. Are you friends with them?¡± ¡°No, not really.¡± Cam took a step back for a moment as I, who didn¡¯t say much, denied it flat out. ¡°Well, okay. But be careful because you might get involved with them at the academy. I¡¯ve heard a little about them, so I¡¯ll tell you what I can.¡± ¡°¡­Nn.¡± I don¡¯t want to get involved with those two, but I still had to ask about what they were up to. I have a bad feeling about it, though, so I don¡¯t want to hear about it ¡­would that not be good? CH 47.1 The Beloved Child Alice Lannon Alice Lannon was born the only daughter of a small shopkeeper in a downtown neighborhood on the outskirts of the Royal Capital. She was a very lovely child with fluffy golden hair and jade green eyes. She inherited her mother¡¯s beautiful appearance, who was popular as a signboard girl of the store, and was adored by everyone around her from an early age. Incidentally, her mother¡¯s hair was brown and her father¡¯s hair was dark red, but she did not care because all the male patrons, not to mention her timid father, turned their faces away awkwardly at the mention of it. ¡°My sweet Alice, would you like to help me in the store?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Alice started helping out in the store when she was three years old. However, as a small child with no physical strength, there was no way she could work behind the scenes, so she used her pretty appearance to help out by attracting customers. Her mother had taught her well, especially how to attract male customers, and the simple-minded Alice gradually fell in love with the business as the male customers paid her whatever she asked them to. It was when Alice turned four years old that her life took a turn for the worse. When Alice¡¯s mother suddenly¨C [I found True Love. I wish you all the best from afar.] ¨D¨DShe left a note and disappeared. By the way, I realized later that what my mother always said [my sweet Alice] was not [my sweet, my Alice] but [my sweet, my, Alice]. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± The father and daughter stare at the letter left behind in silence. After his beloved wife left him, the father, who was forced to live alone with his daughter, who looks nothing like him, thought that his daughter was hurt by the loss of her mother and was about to call out to her when Alice said something he did not expect to hear. ¡°Wow, Mom, you finally found [True Love]. It¡¯s so beautiful!¡± ¡°Oh, Alice!¡± At that moment, it seemed to her father that his daughter had suddenly turned into something unidentifiable. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Father, I¡¯ll make sure we could eat¡± ¡°¡­o, ou¡± Those were the same words his wife, his childhood friend, had said to him when he was a child, and he was terrified that his daughter, who had the same look as his wife when she said it to him, would abandon him one day in the same way his wife did. Alice, however, was thinking of running her own store and living with her father. She believed she needed money more than anything else, and she became obsessed with making money because she was too innocent for a four-year-old girl. Her positive, pure, and innocent heart, which did not think things negatively, brought about a certain change in her surroundings. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s beautiful¡­it¡¯s like gold coins!¡± Before she knew it, Alice was surrounded by colorful, sparkling objects. Alice had no idea what they were, but she, who loved sparkling things, welcomed them with all her heart, and the sparkling things came to stay with her. This was most likely due to Alice¡¯s magical power of all attributes, which was uncommon even in this world, and the fact that she thought of everything in her own good way, which was pure and innocent. ¡°Uncle, welcome. I left a barrel of butter for you. One silver coin for you.¡± ¡°A barrel? No, I don¡¯t need that much butter¡­¡± ¡°Then you can eat it with these potatoes. Yes, two sacks of potatoes cost six small silver coins, but they¡¯re almost all sprouted, so I¡¯ll take four small silver coins.¡± ¡°Alice-chan, I guess it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Yay, I love you, uncle!¡± The female customers eventually stopped coming, but as soon as the business became more prosperous than before, a new problem arose. CH 47.2 Since even the purchasing was done by well-meaning male regulars, her father had nothing to do in the business she had been involved in, so he began to escape by drinking and going to nightclubs where women would serve him drinks. Of course, the regular customers and sensible adults accused him of abusing his young daughter, who was working so hard, but the devastated father did not listen to them. Although Alice smiled so cheerfully at her father that it brought tears in the adults¡¯ eyes, she was unhappy that her father had left her, and she was also worried about her father¡¯s other problems. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone to use the money in the store without my permission. All the money is mine, so I can¡¯t let Father take it away. What? You¡¯re all going to solve this problem for me?¡± Alice¡¯s simple mind had already forgotten her original goal of earning money, and now the goal was to earn money efficiently. The sparkling things heard Alice¡¯s wish, and that night the corner where the night store was located disappeared, and her father never came back. Alice thinks positively of her father. ¡°So, Father found [True Love], too!¡± Alice was still young and all alone, but an old pretzel seller in the neighborhood took pity on her and took her under her guardianship. Alice felt it would be difficult to expand the business of her current store, and so, with the reluctant old woman in tow, the five-year-old girl planned to expand her sales channels by visiting the rough and rowdy adventurers¡¯ guilds and various guilds that included aristocrats. With her mother¡¯s good looks and sales techniques, Alice managed to increase her (male) clientele. She caused various problems along the way, but she overcame them with her natural charm, business spirit, and positive attitude to think of everything positively. And in this way, Alice was finally accepted to the Academy of Magic. There, too, Alice drew many people (male students) with her natural beauty and charm, but she came to the academy for only one reason. ¡°I want to open a big store in Royal Capital.¡± She wanted to make a lot of money, then open a store in a prime location in the Royal Capital and make even more money. Alice¡¯s goal now was to count the gold coins while taking a big gold coin bath, surrounded by her favorite shiny things, and use the money to find herself a [True Love]. She was earning [Friend Charge] from several boys at the academy, but that was not enough for Alice, and when she sold [one small gold coin per pretzel with a handshake ticket] in the academy, someone found it and took an interest. This was Julio Von Caenista, the Crown Prince of Caenista Kingdom. It was not clear why someone like him would be interested in Alice, a commoner, but Julio was kind and gentle and had a fastidious nature, so it was presumed that he might have defended her when he saw a noble girl who hated Alice. If only that was the case, it was still good. However, as the son of the king, it was thought that defending the weak would be good for his education, and from there, Julio started to get involved with Alice more than he should have. ¡°Julio-sama, this dragon-fang-like stamp is now worth 20 large gold coins, but if it¡¯s Julio-sama, I¡¯ll give you a bonus: only five large gold coins. Don¡¯t tell anyone else because it¡¯s only for Julio-sama.¡± ¡°The dragon¡¯s fangs are a wonderful thing, Alice, but why are you making so much money? I don¡¯t know the exact amount, but it¡¯s probably enough to pay for school, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Julio-sama, once a month, I donate 100 pretzels (1 large copper coin per-unit price) to the church orphanage. All the orphan girls are so thin and naked that they are happy to receive the food, and the church remembers me and gives me some flexibility in my business.¡± ¡°What a wonderful person you are. I¡¯ll be glad to buy them from you.¡± ¡°Wow, Julio-sama is wonderful! Thank you for everything.¡± Since the queen was buying dresses and jewelry that cost several large gold coins every month, no one in her entourage could speak out against Julio, who, as royalty, was ignorant of the financial sensibilities of the common people, because it might lead to criticism of the queen. Julio and Alice, a beautiful boy and a beautiful girl in appearance, were becoming closer and closer to the general nobility, while the senior nobility, including the grandson of the archbishop and the son of the prime minister, began to get involved with her. Except for one person¡­the Duchess of Prata, Flare Mercury. ¡°Ho-ho-ho-ho, you are doing something very interesting.¡± CH 48.1 Silver Rose Flare Mercury Prata Flare Mercury Prata was born to the Duke of Prata, the closest to the royal family in the Caenista Kingdom and the family that had produced many queens and from which the princess was descended. She had an ambitious and discerning father. A beautiful mother, a former princess who was likened to the flower of the kingdom, a gentle and talented older brother, and many servants who upheld a long tradition. Flare was raised by them with love and care, and grew up healthy and happy. She had the beauty of an eye-catching doll and the intelligence of a bright young woman at the age of three, but instead of acting selfishly toward those who pampered and cared for her, she tilted her head in wonder. ¡°Why am I in the position of having the foolish ones teach me?¡± She couldn¡¯t understand why she, who was clearly superior to others, had to be treated by the servants like an infant who was unable to do anything. ¡°It is our role to guide the inferior. In return, the inferior is to bow down to the superior and offer everything to serve them.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± It made sense to her when she was told that. But Flare looked at the king, her cousin princes, and others she¡¯d met before and couldn¡¯t understand why she, who was superior to them, should bow down to them instead of becoming a member of the royal family. She knew the simple reason. Because they were born into royalty, and she was born into a ducal family, she must support them. Still, Flare could not tolerate bowing to their inferiority. ¡°Everything in this world is mine, and yet¡­¡± From then on, Flare stopped bowing. She decided to take back everything that was rightfully hers. If it doesn¡¯t belong to me, then she didn¡¯t need it in this world. The moment she came to this conclusion, the irritation vanished from Flare¡¯s mind. If it became hers, she would cherish it. If it wasn¡¯t, she¡¯d throw it away as useless. Flare, who had decided that she would eventually kill everyone, even the royal family, regained a composure and intelligence that was hard to believe at the age of three, but the Duke of Prata, sensing the capacity of the High Majesty that oozed from her, made a proposal to his daughter to calm the danger hidden within. ¡°If Flare is the best in the country, she could be the crown princess, couldn¡¯t she?¡± The crown prince, who was the same age as Flare, had a gentle disposition and was somewhat fastidious. In times of peace, he would be fine, but if something were to happen, Flare¡¯s name had long been mentioned as someone who could handle the situation. Flare accepted the proposal. Flare did not dream of becoming a Queen like an ordinary young lady, but only thought that it would be easier to gain the kingdom by eradicating the royal family after becoming the Crown Princess, rather than just assassinating them. But their means were not enough. Although her own security maids had completed their training, she still thought it would be difficult to assassinate the royal family by themselves. The royal family had one [Spirit Contract] for each of them to protect them. It seems that this contract was made by the founding king with the spirits, and at that time, the founding king fulfilled the wishes of the spirits and made them swear to protect the royal family from then on. According to The Founding Fathers¡¯ Chronicle, ¡°The spirit disappeared after many years and went somewhere else.¡± Some spirits had disappeared over the years, but there were currently four spirits of earth, water, fire, and wind remaining. The Spirit Contracts had been weakened over time, but they were still more powerful than the higher level spirits, and could destroy about ten assassins in the blink of an eye. CH 48.2 The king, queen, and crown prince currently have spirits attached to them, but the remaining one was assigned to Flare¡¯s mother, who was married off to another noble family due to the accidental deaths of several royal family members when the current king ascended to the throne. So, would it not be right for the spirit to be assigned to the Crown Princess herself? Flare knew that the spirit of fire assigned to her mother was always with her. Flare, who was born with powerful magical abilities, understood through her senses that the only option was to take it away from her temperamental mother, who had a tendency to throw tantrums among the royal family. The founding king listened to the wishes of the wind spirits and built a country where the wind blows. He listened to the wish of the spirit of water and built a canal in the country. He listened to the wish of the spirit of earth and made his country next to a huge forest. And hearing the wish of the spirit of fire, he burned down the country of the indigenous people of the land. While the wishes of the other spirits were still being fulfilled, only the Spirit of Flame was bound by a past contract. So, Flare visited her mother, who was enjoying a cup of tea on the terrace of a quiet villa near the forest, and said, smiling, not to her mother but to the spirit. ¡°I wish to plunge this Royal Capital into the flames.¡± At that moment, the spirit of the flame left her mother and possessed Flare. With the new contract, Flare became the master, and the spirit regained [Great Spirit¡¯s] original power through its mighty will and magical power. ¡°Flare!!! What are you doing! You two, restrain this child, quickly!!!¡± Turning her cold gaze on her mother, who was screaming in a tantrum, Flare smiled spectacularly at the knights, who were bewildered but were moving toward her at her mother¡¯s behest. ¡°Annoying. Burn.¡± At that moment, a huge pillar of flame rose to the heavens, burning the villa and the surrounding forest and boiling the clean spring. Flare and her mother were the only survivors of the fire, but her mother had to leave the Royal Capital due to a mental illness. The mother survived not because of Flare¡¯s intervention, but because the spirits showed mercy to the former contractor. After that, there was nobody in the nobility who could hinder Flare. There were nobles who saw Flare as a danger and tried to win her over, and there were nobles who tried to assassinate her, but they were all burned to the ground along with their blood relatives in Flare¡¯s retaliation. The king also thought that he could defeat Flare by using the sword saint and the knights, but the prime minister advised him to use Flare for national defense, as it would almost certainly be a battle with all the knights, and so all of Flare¡¯s actions were cleared of all blame. This was in the spring when Flare was just four years old. Flare gradually increased the number of noble families who supported her, crushed those who opposed her, and while the royal family treated her as the Crown Prince¡¯s first fianc¨¦e on the surface, they took measures against Flare. There, Flare met someone she had never seen before. ¡°¡­nasty.¡± The only person Flare recognised at her age was that [Abominable Child], who looked Flare in the eyes and spoke to her as an equal, but that girl, Alice, seemed in every way the opposite of both Flare and the Abominable Child. Although not as powerful as the spirits of Flare, she was also guarded by a number of spirits. CH 48.3 If a battle broke out here, Flare would not care if thousands of people died because she would eventually burn it down, but she would have to take steps to exterminate this country and the surrounding countries afterwards, or it would be too much trouble. Above all, she thought it would be unfortunate if the Abominable Child who came into her view got involved and died. Therefore, she was left alone with only a little help, but the commoner girl got carried away and began to ally herself with a number of nobles. Among them was Julio, the crown prince, who was also Flare¡¯s fianc¨¦e, and Flare smiled ferociously at the girl ¨C Alice, who was the one she would eventually kill but who was wrecking her hunting ground. ¡°Ho-ho-ho-ho, you¡¯re quite funny, aren¡¯t you?¡± While Julio, Alice, and her cronies, the male students, were having a tea party, Flare interrupted with her own cronies. ¡°Flare! What¡¯s going on? You just barged in.¡± ¡°Oh, I heard that Julio found a girlfriend, so I just came to see her.¡± ¡°Oh, no, Julio-sama and I are just friends!¡± While those who knew Flare were turning blue, they almost lost their souls when Alice suddenly called out to her, transcending her status. ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. Get the tea ready.¡± Flare, ordering Julio¡¯s entourage as a matter of course, sat down gracefully on top of a boy on all fours, not paying attention to the empty seat after someone ran out. ¡°You¡¯re awful! What are you doing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s tea. You should drink it too.¡± The entourage re-distributed tea to everyone. Flare waved her hand lightly, and a girl in Flare¡¯s entourage poured something from a bottle into Alice¡¯s tea, causing Julio to sit up. ¡°Flare, what did you put in Alice¡¯s cup?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just poison. What¡¯s so strange about it?¡± ¡°Poison!?¡± ¡°A commoner speaks to me without permission, so she deserves the maximum punishment.¡± Flare tilted her head curiously, as if wondering why he didn¡¯t understand the obvious, and when everyone stepped back, Alice took the cup and stood up. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Julio-sama, Flare-sama is just testing me. You see, just like this, guh!¡± ¡°Alice!¡± Alice, who had put her mouth on the cup, suddenly vomited blood and collapsed, and her body began to glow in front of Julio and the others who tried to rush over. ¡°¡­ugh! See, it¡¯s nothing!¡± Alice smiled and said she was fine while her mouth was covered in blood. Perhaps the spirit of light had healed Alice. Flare¡¯s smile deepens at Alice¡¯s ability to move normally after taking the poison that would have killed Julio, even though those protected by spirits can resist any harm. ¡°You¡¯re dirty. You should at least wipe your mouth.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind this!¡± Above them, the Great Spirit of Fire and many spirits were glaring at each other. Clouds formed due to the rising air currents that were closing in on the clear sky, and thunder rumbled as a result of the magical power of the two clashing people. ¡°Phew, that¡¯s enough for today. Hurry up and die.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let this kind of torment get the better of me!¡± Thus ended Flare and Alice¡¯s second encounter, and several of the entourage and maids were hospitalized with stomach ulcers and submitted their resignations. *** ¡­Carol desu. I just finished listening to both of them, but I didn¡¯t know that was happening¡­. When I was playing the game, Alice had an event in school that was treated as a mini-game for earning money for school fees, but I was wondering how she could get money just for listening to the boys, but I didn¡¯t think she was going around collecting [friend fees]. Is it really okay for Alice to be the heroine? I thought the dark background of Flare and Alice¡¯s event was a psychological portrayal, but it really was dark. Again, objectively listening to them, they are two people who encounter nothing but misfortune when they get involved with each other. More than that, I am worried about the mind of the creator of the Otome game, who saw such two people in the future and said [God has come down]. There are now regular Alice and Flare events in the academy, so some students have been hospitalized, and a very few sensible people have switched to home study. As for me¡­.I have no lingering feelings or interest in the academy in the first place, but as Cam¡¯s fianc¨¦e, I guess I need to graduate. CH 49.1 Beautiful You [Gahahaha, you foolish living beings, be the foundation of my empire of the undead.] A skeleton emerged from the depths of the forest, clad in a black robe that seemed to cloak the surrounding night, and with a wave of his staff, a horde of adventurer-like zombies in filthy armor appeared among the corpses of goblins, kobolds and lizardmen. There were thousands of them. The skeleton leading the horde was an undead monster called Lich. Lich were monsters that had been turned undead by a necromancer¡¯s mystic arts. Generally speaking, the older an individual was, the more powerful they were. The highest level, the Elder Lich, had hundreds of thousands of undead followers and would be considered a disaster or natural calamity in the land of humanity. [Go on, my army! Destroy the living!] Where did this Lich come from? What was his purpose? The only thing we knew was that there was a village of demons in the direction they were heading, and if things continued as they were, they might be wiped out. But¨C ¡°¨C[Dragon Breath]¨C¡° A crimson ray of light cleaves the zombie horde to the side at that moment, and the surrounding zombies are engulfed and burned as the earth explodes into lava. [What the heck is this!? ] The Lich looked around, angry and exasperated, and finally noticed a crimson figure on a hill, illuminated by a flaming light. [Who are you? What have you done!?] The elf-like girl, her long black hair flowing in the wind and dressed in a short crimson gown, looked down at Lich coldly, and with a sword as tall as she was, charged into the crowd of the dead with the speed of a gale. ¡°[Holy Enchant]¡± The single-bladed great sword was bathed in white light and spun in a dancing motion as it pierced through the zombie crowd, annihilating them as she passed by. [Lightning! Shoot the enemy, [Lightning]!] A lightning bolt was fired in a straight line from Lich¡¯s staff, but the girl avoided it as she stepped to the side and pointed one hand at Lich and the other at the undead as a counterattack. ¡°[Acid Cloud]¡± [gwoh!] [¡ªkuh!!!]. The [Acid Cloud], which expanded its range, enveloped the remaining zombies, including Lich, and the less durable ones crumbled to pieces. [Oyoree! How dare you challenge my army! Crush that fool!] Compared to the normal zombies, physical attacks are ineffective against the Lich, who was a half-ghost creature. But the zombies were still in pain, and when he angrily commanded the remaining zombies to crush the girl, nearly a thousand of them rushed in like a tidal wave. [Gahahahahahaha! Did you see that, you fool! I will personally finish you off with my own hands.] A faint voice was heard from within the mass of zombies that rose like a small mountain as the Lich approached the girl he thought to be crushed by the zombies with a high-pitched laugh. ¡°¨C[Typhoon]¨C¡° [What!?] A storm blew as if exploding from the centre of the zombies, and a crimson girl wrapped in white light jumped out from the midst of the blasted away, holding a large sword. ¡°[Lightning Slash]!¡± [Guuuooo!?] The girl¡¯s [Combat Skill], which leaped out like a bolt of lightning, cleaved the Lich¡¯s torso, and when the Lich, who had received a painful blow even though its power was reduced by half because of its half-ghostly body, involuntarily backed away, the girl thrust her single-edged great sword into the earth without following him. ¡°Setup [Saint Cloche] all.¡± As the girl¡¯s figure changed into a pure white china dress and silver armor, the great sword also changed into a huge staff before long, and the pure white girl raised it high above her head in a great sweep, reaping the oncoming zombies with the staff. ¡°¨C[Holy Bless]¨C¡° With that, she slammed the wand into the earth, and a dazzling light radiated in all directions, with the girl at the center of it. [Gah, this is ridiculous, how did you know [Holy Bless]! ] CH 49.2 This Lich was originally not a mage but a pagan priest, and had seen once, a thousand years ago, an ancient scroll that could only be used once by the Pope at the time, but it was a legendary eighth-grade magic that is now without a user, and the spell itself should have been lost in time. [Stupid, stupid ah!!!] Since it radiated around her, the only way to use it was to get in the midst of her enemies, but the Lich, who had suffered tremendous damage to both his mind and body as a result of seeing all the zombies crumble under its light, turned away and ran away as if to escape reality. ¡°¨CFuu.¡± The girl let out a breath as the light subsided, and she thrust her white cane into the earth again as she stared intently at Lich¡¯s smaller, fleeing back. ¡°Setup [Arjuna Cloche] all.¡± Her figure changed to white leather armor with a dark green cloak, and this time, instead of a staff, she held up a huge bow and slowly drew a silver arrow. ¡°¨C[Imperial]¨C¡° A light as long as a meter in diameter shot out from the bow, blowing around Lich¡¯s waist as he fled, vaporizing the lower half of his body. [Gyaaaah!!!] The Lich¡¯s remaining upper body rolled over with a scream, crumbling to pieces under the bow¡¯s [Combat Skill] and [Holy Bless], glaring hatefully at the girl who had instantly caught up to him. [Don¡¯t think¡­you¡¯ve won. Even if I am destroyed, the Demon Lord who resurrected five years ago¨C] ¡°¡­¡± Spoof! The girl waved her huge bow like a horse whip, annihilating the Lich. * ¡°¡­Demon Lord?¡± Was there such a thing? Yes, there was. Additional downloadable content in the VRMMORPG. That would be [The Worst of the Worst Demon Lord, Attacks]. It was about a demon lord and his army launching an attack from another continent, but unfortunately, I came here before it was released. I vaguely recall the announcement that the Demon King was not originally from the Isbell continent, where the VRMMO was set, and that it would be coming to reclaim something, or something like that. It was probably the kind of opponent that could not be defeated by a single party of crippled players, so even if it really existed, it would be better not to get involved with it. Even if I leave them alone, they would cross over to Isbell continent on their own, and adventurers over there would do their best to defeat it. If they haven¡¯t been able to limit their level, though, they would be in a lot of trouble. But still, five years ago? There was nothing like that, but what happened five years ago? The biggest incident five years ago was when I was seen smashing a large ship with Pochi. That¡¯s strange. Yes, five years have passed since I entered the Magic Academy, and I am now in my final year of school, which will be filled with many events. ¡­I have nothing but anxiety. In the Otome Game, the events involving the villainess are concentrated in the first year and the final year, and the main focus in the middle of the game would be raising the likability and prestige of the player and earning money. The reason why money-making was so important was because the price of dresses for the event would change the likability, and donations to the orphanage would also increase the likability. If you get to the reverse harem end, you have to earn very hard, but Alice would have no problem with that. After defeating the Lich, the village of the demon tribe had been transformed into a town or a city in terms of size. When I returned there, the inhabitants greeted me with cheers, and an elder even came out to give me a helping hand. ¡°Carol-sama, thank you very much! Now, the feast is ready!¡± ¡°Nn.¡± To be honest, I wanted to go home and sleep early, but I nodded at the residents, who lacked entertainment and looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if they were enjoying the event. CH 49.3 The number of people in this demon tribe¡¯s village increased a lot since there were fewer external enemies. As the number of people increased, problems occurred at an accelerated rate, so I had no choice but to show them examples of attack and recovery magic from common books and teach them how to fight, which in turn made me busy. It was troublesome. The house that was prepared for me was becoming temple-like before, but now, for some reason, it became like a small castle. I could tell that I was welcomed strangely, but I couldn¡¯t stay there long because the elders would bring troublesome things to me. I heard about the Lich¡¯s sudden appearance a few days ago, and although I¡¯d like to say I¡¯m glad I made it in time, to tell the truth, I was inwardly horrified, wondering what I would do if I was dealing with an Elder Lich. A Lich was around level 50, but an Elder Lich was around level 80, so a one-on-one would be possible, but in the VRMMO, an Elder Lich would summon endless numbers of minions in battle and would rarely fight one-on-one. Fighting it alone would be really tough. Therefore, I had put a great effort into preparing the battlefield, but eventually, it was just a Lich, and there were certainly many mobs, but it took me less than 5 minutes to finish the battle. I spend my spare time with Pochi to strengthen my skills, so my basic level may have improved. Pochi had also grown stronger. I think he could compete with a Nidhogg now. In this battle, I asked Pochi to stand by for a surprise from behind if the opponent was an Elder Lich, but I was able to defeat him easily, so now Pochi was sulking and sleeping in a daze. Maybe I should bring Pochi some honey later. Now, putting aside Carol, the player, and I, the aristocrat, after five years, I had grown up in my own way. I stayed up until the late hours of the morning attending the banquet after I had defeated the Lich, but even though I had gone back to being a little Carol instead of my player body with its physical strength, I didn¡¯t doze off during class anymore. I was not a small child anymore, not even small enough to be called a chibi. * ¡°Welcome, Carol-sama.¡± Nicholas, Camille¡¯s friend and chief butler, welcomed me, Camille¡¯s fianc¨¦e, at the gate of the mansion. When Camille¡¯s fianc¨¦e was chosen 10 years ago, people said that it was too much to have a subhuman as his fianc¨¦, and when they first met 5 years ago, people said that they felt sorry for Camille-sama because I was such a young child. However, their discomfort gradually eased as a result of me healing the knights with magic, and they were sorry for treating me with contempt, even though I was not at fault at all. Behind the scenes, Nicholas had to work hard to keep the quiet girl in line with everyone, but it was not without its rewards, so he never thought of it as a hardship. ¡°Carol-sama¡±. The other servants, with their heads bowed, glance sideways at the girl walking quietly in the young green dress given to her by Camille, followed by a faint sigh. She still looked small in comparison to a 15-year-old daughter of the same age, but she was half a head taller and appeared to be about 13 years old. If she had grown this much at this age, she would not have looked so out of place next to Camille. The main reason for the change in attitude of the servants, and the fact that many of them greeted her with smiles, was probably her appearance. In the past, Camille was shunned simply for being a half-elf, but over the past few years, he has developed the kind of good looks that were rarely seen even among the elves, many of whom are good-looking, and he had become quite famous even among the nobility. Nicholas was glad to see Camille now, knowing how gloomy he was when he returned from his study abroad. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you, Carol.¡± ¡°¡­hmm.¡± Camille, who greeted me at the door, smiled in a way that made people embarrassed to look at him, but the girl returned it wordlessly as usual, though it wasn¡¯t their imagination that she didn¡¯t seem to be overwhelmed these days. The girl did not seem too bothered by the age and height difference in their outward appearances currently, but time will tell. As Nicholas walks through the door, followed by Camille who entered the mansion with the girl, Nicholas could faintly hear his friend¡¯s voice in his ears. ¡°¡­Just 10 more centimeters to go until we are matched¡­¡± CH 50.1 New Invitation I was finally a senior student at the Magic Academy. Ah, it was so troublesome. Thinking back to when I was three years old and decided not to run away from my fate, believing that the death flag of the Otome Game would not be able to defeat me. Besides, there was also the matter of Cam. He seemed much more decent than the other nobles, and although his attitude toward me was quite aggressive, he didn¡¯t do anything I didn¡¯t like, and he was a prince and a cool adult, but¡­ Well¡­ I didn¡¯t completely trust him yet, you know. After all, Cam was a nobleman in this country, so there must be something hidden about him too. Even so, he had been very accommodating to me and took good care of me. Anyway, without me, Cam would have been in trouble¡­. Um¡­uh¡­oh, yes, Maia, our exclusive maid, turned into a lovely, beautiful woman. But she was over 20 years old, and so I had wondered if it would be all right for her to stay with me and not be able to find a suitable lover, but then I found that she and Nicholas, the butler, were getting into a good relationship. ¡­When did that happen? Well, I think it would be fine. He was from another country and had no prejudice against subhumans, so it would be good for Maia, who had beastman blood in her lineage. But, well, I wouldn¡¯t say he was unbiased, but more like a beastman fan, but that much should be left out of the equation. Perhaps because I had recently been on the side of such decent people, I had let my guard down a little¡­ ¡°It is a pity that a dirty [Abominable Child] like you is Camille-sama¡¯s fianc¨¦e! Why would anyone do such a terrible thing?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Excuse me, but I have no idea what you were talking about. She seemed to be a junior¡­ maybe a young lady in third grade, but she wasn¡¯t put off by me, who appeared to be her age, and she was criticizing me with a flustered expression, as if she was talking about something obvious. It was an engagement between two nobles, and it was decided without regard for our intentions, but for some reason, she was blaming me for it. But still, these days it is very rare. In third grade or so, it was more the norm for her friends to be standing about 30 meters away, gesturing and trying to stop her. No matter the circumstances, you guys were too far away. They were being too thin-skinned. After five years of attending the academy, there were roughly four kinds of reactions from people regarding me. The first was people who, like this young lady, sulk about Human Supremacy and make unintelligible accusations for no good reason at all. The second was people who dislike subhumans but do not actively try to get involved and ignore me as if I were not there. The third was those who were only interested in the children of merchants or those who studied magic and would treat me normally as a business partner, even if I was a subhuman. The fourth was people like her friends who, because of my extreme nature, would be frightened or look away when I approached them or give way by sticking to the wall in the hallway. ¡°Hey you! Are you listening to me? That¡¯s why you subhumans are¡­!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Oh, it was still ongoing, huh? In the upperclassmen, the number of people who wanted to mess with me has decreased because of Flare¡¯s antics, but in the lower classes, there were still many people who didn¡¯t get it. I think this was due to fewer people getting involved as a result of the bad publicity, as well as the fact that I had calmed down a bit, so more people only knew about me through rumors. These days, even if a young lady gets involved, at most I break the hooks of her uniform skirt with wind magic and expose her pants completely, so in a way it couldn¡¯t be helped. When I thought about dealing with her like that, she suddenly said something strange. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Camille-sama is even staying engaged to a rude subhuman like you! I¡¯ve always admired him, but I bet he¡¯s got dozens of subhuman women surrounding him!¡± ¡°¡­[Freeze]¡± The atmosphere was tinged with an extremely low temperature, enveloping that young lady, and only her clothes froze and crumbled away into crystal dust. ¡°¡­Kyaaaaah!?¡± The completely naked Lady crouches down with her face bright red. CH 50.2 I was proud of my excellent control of magic power. It was a new experience for me, since I couldn¡¯t achieve such a level in the VRMMO. I did it without thinking, but did I overdo it? It could not be helped. I should give a bribe (anti-aging cosmetics) to the Vice-Principal, Onee, who had become very tolerant of disputes between students. For now, I covered her body with the cloth from my bag and left. It would be a disaster if she catches a cold. As I walked away without hesitation, I heard faint voices calling me [Black Lily], [The Ice Witch] etc. from her friends who had come to collect her. It was Carol¡¯s alias that was mentioned in the Otome Game, but before I knew it, I was already referred to as such. It was strange because I had nothing to do with the Otome Game and was simply going about my business. ¡­By the way, which route was Alice taking now? I didn¡¯t go straight back to the classroom, but headed for the lab. At the academy, basic education was completed in the third year, and the remaining three years consisted of only magic demonstrations and reports, so I hardly attended any classes. Even so, I couldn¡¯t afford not to return to school, so I got the help of the Magicians¡¯ Guild, the Commerce Guild, and the vice principal I mentioned earlier to set up a laboratory for me. Long live greed. ¡°Welcome back, Miss Carol!¡± ¡°Nn, I¡¯m back.¡± The lab also served as Maia¡¯s waiting room, so it was neat and tidy. I read an old document I took out of my bag while sipping the tea Maia brewed for me. Although it was a laboratory, the only things kept in the room were ordinary books and materials for cosmetics for bribes, and the important things were kept in the bag. After all, a book with words that unlock 8th or 9th-class spells is too dangerous to show to the people in this country. The book I was reading now was also the book needed to unlock the 10th class spells. I believe I will use it when confronting this country, but more importantly, I will need it to counter Alice and Flare, who will be protected by higher ranking spirits and the Great Spirit. ¡­As expected, I would run away when a Spirit King class would appear. In the VRMMO, they only appeared in an event movie, but they were not something that one could control. And the reason why I stayed in the lab was because I might meet Dirk if I wander around. He¡­ I thought he had been quiet for a while, but last year he suddenly got a teaching license and became a lecturer at the school. He tried to get involved with me at every opportunity, so it was very troublesome. As I was sighing as I recalled the incident, my uselessly capable elf ears caught the faintest of noises. ¡°Maia, I think someone¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go check it out.¡± ¡­If it were Dirk, I would have decided to stay away, but at this time of the day, Dirk would have been in class, so who could it be? A few minutes later, I heard Maia¡¯s troubled voice coming from outside the door. ¡°Oh, no, sir, you can¡¯t come in here without permission¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you commoners disturb me. I am here on the orders of royalty.¡± And then the door slammed open, and a nervous-looking boy with glasses looked around the room and stopped to look at me at the table. ¡°It¡¯s a dirty room. Hey, you subhuman. The Crown Prince would like to see you. Get ready as soon as you can.¡± ¡­Is this the same type as that kind of person again? CH 51.1 Prime Minister¡¯s Son ¡°Walk quickly. Even though I went out of my way to pick you up, you subhumans are still inferior creatures.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was currently following the man who suddenly barged into my lab. Our strides were different because we were almost 30 centimeters apart in height, and it was only natural that I would be lagging because a boy of high school age was walking faster than me, who looked like a junior high school girl in a skirt. He should be in the same grade as me, so I think he was only 15 to 16 years old, but he was perfectly committed to Human Supremacy, this glasses person. Shady glasses¡­this guy was that one, wasn¡¯t he? He was the son of the Prime Minister. I believe that he was sent to watch over the Crown Prince Capture Target, whom I had not met yet, so I think that he was probably a pawn in the plot. But this was strange. From my faint memory, I remembered that in Otome Game, he was a tsundere who was troubled by the fact that his father was a bad Prime Minister who did all kinds of things to him, and he confided in the protagonist by meeting her several times. But I didn¡¯t remember him being this harsh. Well, he may have been only a dere to Alice, the main character, and remained tsun to everyone else, but what did he and the main character talk about? In the Game, the only time they had a proper conversation in the game was during an event scene, and normal conversations and consultations would just end with a log that said [Let¡¯s hear your problems today], so I had no idea what was going on. ¡°Oh, Ian.¡± ¡°Oh, Alice!¡± Ian didn¡¯t slow down, and as I was getting closer to him, Alice, who happened to be passing by, called out to him. ¡°Ian, have you settled down at your new place?¡± ¡°Yes, as I told you before, the farm was restored, but the ship was not easy to rebuild, and it was difficult to get enough tight-lipped sailors¡­ Moreover, there was even a rumor that the woman riding the dragon who attacked us was the Demon King, and the sailors are scared. I¡¯m sure they were just hallucinating from drinking too much, but still¡­ darn it.¡± Ah, he was referring to the pirate ship disguised as a trading vessel that was destroyed five years ago. After all, it was a large ship that could trade between continents, so it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to rebuild. And since it was also a pirate ship, it had to be manned by a crew of tough-talking tight-lipped criminals. The Prime Minister was making a lot of money from it, so it must have hurt him when he lost it. According to the way he talks about it, Ian was heavily involved. Was this why things turned out worse in the Game? But the Demon King? Was there such a rumor? It would be someone who had to be at least a level 50 dragon knight, I suppose. ¡°Ian, you just have to keep your spirits up. If you try to be positive, even if it¡¯s not working now, I¡¯m sure the sailors will understand you.¡± For someone like Alice, this was a surprisingly decent thing to say. ¡°But really, bad things keep happening. I can¡¯t even get hemp or¡­ or the weed that makes one feel better into full-blown production yet¡­¡± ¡°Ian, I¡¯ll sell you this nice pot.¡± ¡­Nn? ¡°I made this pot because I felt like I had the power of the spirits, and it will bring you a lot of good luck if you display it in your room.¡± ¡°Is that so? A pot filled with the power of spirits¡­ but it looks expensive.¡± ¡°Now, Ian, I¡¯ll loan it to you for 1% per month of the net profit from the business you¡¯re doing. If your monthly net profit is 100 large gold coins, you¡¯ll only have to pay one per month, but I bet you¡¯ll earn 10 times as much!¡± Hmmm~~? ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a bargain, Alice, what a wonderful woman you are!¡± ¡°For good luck with money, fill this yellow pot with water and hang it on the west side of your room. And in this book, I¡¯ve written many ways to improve your luck, and I¡¯ll give it to you for 5 small gold coins. It¡¯s special!¡± Ian¡¯s cheeks turned red as Alice wrapped his hands in hers and pressed her face unnecessarily close to his, smiling cutely with a big smile on her face. As usual, this kid was wonderful. And Ian seemed to be an idiot. Ian was completely conquered, or rather caged in, so I slowly backed away, thinking I should leave before he remembered me. ¡°Oh, Carol-san! Why are you here!¡± I was involved. ¡°Oh, I was on my way to bring that subhuman with me. Come along quickly, you dusky subhuman. We¡¯re late, you know.¡± ¡°¡­¡± This guy¡­ should I cut him down? ¡°No, Ian, even if Carol-san is a mean person, we should all get along.¡± ¡°Alice¡­you¡¯re so kind.¡± ¡°Carol-san is an elf, she¡¯s just frustrated because she¡¯s not surrounded by greenery. See?¡± Alice looked around and pulled out some grass growing next to the sewer lid, offering it to me with a genuine, completely selfless smile. ¡°Yes, you can eat this! Elves are nature-oriented, so you don¡¯t need to wash it and can directly eat it, right?¡± ¡°¡­[Fire Arrow].¡± My magic burned through the grass, and the girl¡¯s cute scream echoed around the area. CH 51.2 Well, a lot happened, but it was not a problem. Alice was so surprised that she fell on her buttocks. Ian got angry when he saw that, and the general students who heard the noise started accusing me of being a bad person. I usually get harassed just by saying [Abominable Child], so I wouldn¡¯t mind that much. Face-to-face business meetings with Flare would be much more life-threatening. Still, it was bothersome, so I released magic power while converting it into cold air, and it became quiet in no time. Among them, only Alice, who was automatically protected by the spirits, was puzzled as to what had happened, but for some reason, she decided to accompany us to the crown prince¡¯s gathering. ¡°Carol-san is just embarrassed. She has been cursed and chastised by everything in the world, so she doesn¡¯t know what to do when someone is nice to her. So, I¡¯m sure she will do terrible things to Julio, the crown prince, so I¡¯ll accompany you both on your visit to the crown prince.¡± It was none of your business. But how did she manage to think so positively to suit herself? If we only saw that scene without knowing anything else about the situation, Alice would probably look like an angel. I knew Ian, who was intoxicated by such an Alice, would not have refused, and I didn¡¯t think I could have a conversation with such an interdimensional brain, so I didn¡¯t comment on anything in particular. I was tired before even meeting with the Crown Prince, which was the main topic of the day. I hope there wasn¡¯t anything more to it. ¡°Oh, Carol, where are you off to with that brooding scum-glass and gold pig in tow?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Let me add a little more to this, or rather explain, that this academy had a basic principle of equality, and even senior nobles were not allowed to walk around with their attendants. As expected, royalty required escorts, but they were guarded with moderation and at a distance, and I was also accompanied by Maia only on my way to and from school and in the laboratory, and even Ian, the Prime Minister¡¯s son, came to pick me up by himself. But this person not only had a few assassin maids in attendance, but also student cronies in tow¡­ or is she leading them? To me, it looked like a strong male student on all fours with his upper body naked, happy to be pulled by the chain attached to his collar. ¡°Who are you talking about, Flare?¡± Ian bravely attacked that person ¨C Flare, the end-of-the-century king. I forgot to make a comment because I had stopped thinking about what she usually did. ¡°Who else is there in this world besides you?¡± ¡°This¡­this¡­¡± ¡°How could you be so cruel, Flare-san, Knowing that if Ian lost his glasses, he would have no features at all?¡± That was much more outrageous than anything I or Flare could have said. ¡°Alice¡­you¡¯re defending me¡­ ugh¡­¡± ¡°Get out of my way.¡± What? Brainwashed? Ian was about to utter a line like that of a brainwashed man when Flare delivered a precise front kick to the jaw, stomping on Ian¡¯s anguished stomach repeatedly with her heel, while she turned a bewitching smile on Alice. ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re still alive. Did you forget I ordered you to die? That¡¯s why I dislike bugs who rely solely on their reflexes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say anything bad about bugs! I caught some cicadas because they are free to catch and eat, but when I fry them up, adventurers cry and happily pay me for the food!¡± Don¡¯t show it. ¡°I¡¯m not into pigs¡¯ diets, but maybe I should feed Julio some shiny black bugs? Hmmm. He doesn¡¯t like bugs, so I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°What a terrible thing to do!¡± The Crown Prince¡­poor guy. ¡°Ho-ho-ho, now that¡¯s something to look forward to. And Carol, you didn¡¯t answer why you¡¯re here, did you?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I knew she wouldn¡¯t let me escape. I had no choice but to pull out the weed that was growing beside the sewer lid, with Alice by my side as I began to capture the insects around there. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll make some weed dishes to compete with.¡± ¡°Ho-ho-ho, that¡¯s lovely!¡± ¡°Carol-san, I won¡¯t lose!¡± It was too much trouble to explain that I had been summoned by the Crown Prince without understanding what was going on, so I gave a good reason, and somehow we ended up having a cooking contest. The world was full of wonders. CH 52.1 What the Crown Prince Wants The three headaches of this school, myself, Flare, and Alice, along with Ian, the Prime Minister¡¯s son, all head for the Crown Prince¡¯s room. Flare suggested simply summoning the Crown Prince because it would be a hassle, but Alice blamed me for taking up too much of their time, and I was too tired to waste any more time, so I appealed to them to let him eat the weeds (that were growing next to the water outlet) as soon as possible, and Flare agreed to go see the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince, you poor thing. Ian, Flare, and the Crown Prince Julio had been childhood friends, and Ian had been a proud boy since he was a child, but Flare seemed to have knocked him down at every turn, and he grew up to be a rather gloomy character. ¡°Look, you only wanted to show off to a pretty girl, didn¡¯t you? Now you have deteriorated beyond help, and it¡¯s annoying, so I¡¯m torturing you.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Well, if that was the reason, I couldn¡¯t blame her. In fact, he also happened to meet me around that time, though I doubt there was any connection. And as for why I was walking alongside Flare, Ian wanted to walk next to Alice and didn¡¯t want me or Flare in his sight, so it was inevitable that I and Flare would be together. ¡­No, it¡¯s inevitable, isn¡¯t it? I couldn¡¯t be distracted because she would try to kill me every once in a while as a test. By the way, if it hadn¡¯t been for the poison resistance that began to fuse with me and my player character, I might have died two or three times already. But Flare laughed happily when I didn¡¯t die. Maybe this feeling was similar to the female skinship in my previous life, when my friends would suddenly tickle me at a girls¡¯ school. Though could you please stop trying to kill me with your playful banter? ¡°We¡¯re here. I¡¯m going with Alice to report our arrival to His Highness, and you guys can wait here¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming along, Carol.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± ¡°Ah, wait!¡± Ian said as soon as we arrived at the royal family¡¯s special wing, and Flare led the way, followed by me and Alice. ¡°Hey!¡± I heard Ian¡¯s voice from behind me. I could hear Ian¡¯s voice behind us, but I didn¡¯t think it was appropriate to ignore Alice, let alone Flare, so I decided to go with them. *Chirin. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the sound of a copper coin falling.¡± I drop the coins on the floor, and they bounce around before Alice jumps up and stuffs them into her pockets. It¡¯s good to know she¡¯s not deaf after all. Also, why aren¡¯t you returning the coins to me? *Slam! Flare opened the door without knocking, completely unconcerned with this exchange. ¡°Julio, I¡¯m coming in!¡± ¡°Flare-san, it¡¯s not polite to come in without permission.¡± Julio and Flare were already in the room. ¡°Flare? What¡¯s wrong, and Alice is with you too?¡± The boy at the office desk stood up from the back of the room that resembled an office. Ian didn¡¯t recognise him right away because of his disfigured appearance, but I recognised him because of his blond hair, blue eyes, and princely appearance, which matched the Otome Game artwork. ¡°Julio, eat your worm.¡± ¡°Julio, you want to eat my cicada, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean!¡± Well, as expected. Julio looked around as if looking for help, and his eyes widened a little when he spotted me. ¡°The dark-haired half-elf¡­you must be Miss Carol, my uncle¡¯s fianc¨¦e. I am Julio, the King¡¯s son. I heard that the young lady who was engaged to my uncle and is not good at socializing was a half-elf, and I wanted to meet her, but my mother wouldn¡¯t give me permission.¡° Julio smiled softly and calmly, then kneeled in front of me, took my hand, and lightly touched it with his lips. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Did I make you feel uncomfortable about being my uncle¡¯s dainty fianc¨¦e?¡° ¡°¡­¡± I was rather baffled by the impression I got from him compared to what I know from the Otome Game. Huh? He seemed like a pretty decent guy. I thought that since he was the head of the nobility in this country and the son of the king, he must surely have had strange interests, but there were also people like Cam who became normal in other countries, so maybe I was looking at him with a prejudiced eye. ¡°Oh, I really like your elf hair. Do you mind if I touch it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I felt something strange and unintentionally took a step back. If it were a normal young lady of noble birth, it would be a scene that would make her swoon, and though it was much better than Dirk touching me in a sexually harassing manner, the light in his eyes seemed strange to me. ¡°Oh my, Julio has become quite a man that you would touch a woman in front of your fianc¨¦e, even if said person is someone else¡¯s fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°Flare¡­¡± Oh, did I mention that Flare and Julio were engaged? When Flare interrupted, Julio blatantly frowned. ¡°Well, for now, eat my insect dishes! You¡¯ll get triple points for it!¡± Was this the time for that? And what was she talking about? In the midst of the awkward atmosphere, Alice pulled a bag of cicadas from her pocket. ¡°Ugh.¡± Julio, who hated insects, groaned when he was shown a larger number of cicadas than expected, and¡­for some reason, he nodded his head, his eyes glowing brightly. ¡°If you say so, I¡¯ll eat them¡­¡± CH 52.2 What? He was really going to eat it? The Alice and Flare team, who were already eagerly preparing for the meal, seemed to be unstoppable, so I turned my attention to Ian, who was in a deep daze among the crowd. ¡°Hmph. Unlike you filthy subhumans and the vile Flare, Julio is a virtuous and honest man. He listens to everyone and attempts to judge them impartially.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± If that was the case, it was uncivil for me to interject. I turned on my heel to leave, asking them to do as they pleased, but Flare and Alice got involved, and I had to prepare a weed dish too. Alice started preparing cicadas, Flare had her cronies catch insects, and I had no choice but to pull out random weeds from around the area. But weed cooking? How do you cook weeds? I didn¡¯t know how to cook weeds because in my previous life I was an ¡°Instant only Cook¡± person, and in this life, Maia and her family do it for me. I knew there was such a thing as cooking skill in the VRMMO, but the weeds I picked up were not recognized as ingredients. An hour later, when the food was served, Julio and Ian¡¯s faces twitched. Now, let me tell you what kind of food came out. (*Reader Warning!) A colorful stew full of cicadas, by Alice. Plenty of cicadas were stewed whole from the water, and when they began to lose their original shape, fuse, and turn an odd color, they were chopped up and sprinkled generously with raw nematodes and seasoned with only a small amount of salt, making this an economical gem with almost zero ingredient cost. Hell¡¯s Kitchen. Skewers of black jewels, by Flare. Where did they catch them from? Beetles, stag beetles, and other shiny insects were skewered and lightly roasted to bring out the flavour of the ingredients in this grilled dish, which were still slightly moving. Bizarre Cooking. Carol¡¯s creation, an elf-style salad of weeds. A very wild gem of a dish made with stringy weeds I didn¡¯t know the name of, pulled up by the roots, manually shredded, served with the soil still on them without washing, and topped with aphids to complement what the other two prepared. Plenty of fiber. ¡°¡­ugh, ugh¡­ugh¡­¡± Julio, staring at the three of us with tears in his eyes, carried the three kinds of objects in his mouth and vomited profusely. Someone stop him. Ian, who could have stopped him, also takes a bite of the stew at Alice¡¯s suggestion and collapses white-eyed at the texture and taste of it. Julio takes a mouthful of Flare¡¯s skewers and, as expected, his soul rejects it and he collapses into a rolled heap. ¡°¡­Are you okay?¡± I called out to Julio, who rolled to my feet righteously, and for some reason he, who had teary eyes, became ecstatic and muttered quietly in a voice that the others didn¡¯t notice. ¡°More¡­more filthy things to defile me with¡­hmmm. How disgusting to be touched by dirty commoners and subhumans.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Oh¡­I see. He was a person who [desired to be defiled]? So that was why he seemed so clean, huh? Julio was apparently ecstatic at the idea of his [perfect prince] beautiful self being defiled by being touched by a commoner like Alice or a subhuman like me, wasn¡¯t he? I think he was a kind of masochist in a way, but I have no desire to understand him. I had abandoned the idea that it was an Otome Game, but if you think about it, the royal family would normally not engage in a proper love affair with a commoner, would they? ¡°Come on, you can touch me too¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had no choice. As requested, I shoved dirt-covered weeds and a still-moving, shiny black insect into his mouth. Perverts¡­are so deep, aren¡¯t they? CH 53.1 Flag Events I was afraid that I would be caught for disrespect if I grabbed a beetle or a piece of grass and shoved it into the crown prince¡¯s mouth, even though I had done it accidentally. ¡­Why was he so happy and ecstatic? Julio was a pervert who was thrilled to be defiled, and his entanglement with Alice and me seemed to stem from his desire to be eroded by filth as he came into contact with the filthy commoners and subhumans. Julio¡¯s adoration for Cam was as if he felt sympathy for both me as a subhuman and him as a normal fianc¨¦e. Do not mix us together, you idiot. In a way, I think he would be happiest to be married to Alice. But if only that part was taken out of the story, it would certainly be like an actual ¡°Otome Game¡±, wouldn¡¯t it? I wondered why Ian, the Prime Minister¡¯s son, was attracted to Alice, but I was certain that he also had some hidden preferences (I am sure of it). ¡°Ian, are you all right? I¡¯ll give you a discount for the de-worming medicine.¡± ¡°Thank you, Alice, what a wonderful woman you are¡­¡± Alice was the one who had given him the parasite, but as he paid one small gold coin for a mere antiparasitic, Ian saw Alice¡¯s (disgusted) smile as dreamy, which was reflected in his eyes. ¡­Perhaps Ian was happy to be mistreated? I wondered why the son of the prime minister, who seems so obsessed with money, spent so much money on Alice, but it made sense when I thought about it that way. Julio was stimulated by being defiled, and Ian took pleasure in being abused. They really made a great duo¡­to have such preferences at their age. ¡°So, the next time we meet, I¡¯ll take you on a tour of the forest. And I¡¯d be happy to use the ingredients from the forest to make another dirty¡­ wonderful dish.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Eeh~¡­? Did he want to eat another of those? How masochistic could he be? Flare also refused to go to a place like a forest, but Alice said she would accompany him, so he ¡°begged¡± us to come with him. I refused to go to the forest, but Alice said it was fine if she would go with him. I think I could avoid this by asking Cam, the king¡¯s brother, to come with me, but I wonder if doing so would make Cam¡¯s position worse¡­ Speaking of which, there was an event where they went out to the forest. ¡­What was it about? If this were the case, I suppose I could actively work with Alice and the crown prince to improve their impressions of me in order to avoid the death flag, but if I thought about it, it would be very unusual for things to change now, because I would need to be recognised as the villainess who is normally disliked. So ended the first encounter event with the crown prince Julio. ¡­This was an [Otome Game], wasn¡¯t it? Why were all these perverts here? I didn¡¯t notice it at all because the game only showed their beautiful sides. But it was impossible for a heroine with a beautiful heart to have not just two, but five or six partners, or even a reverse harem, as one would normally think, right? I was wondering if other Otome Games with reverse harem endings contained all perverts in a hidden part of the game. Well, aside from this farce, I had a lot of hard work to do. The final event, the graduation party, would be less than a year away. CH 53.2 As far as I could remember, Alice should have already conquered almost all the puzzles except for the hidden character, if she had been doing things the normal way. ¡­It didn¡¯t seem too difficult, did it? In a way, it was now more difficult to avoid the death-flag events, but by then I needed to increase the number of people like my brother Dirk and the Archbishop who, at the very least, would not turn against me. And I also need to secure adventurers that could be hired when I escape with Maia and the others. So, in parallel with the magic unlocking process, I also needed to earn money as the adventurer [Witch]. Speaking of which, where could I find the hidden character? I didn¡¯t meet him in Game, and I didn¡¯t see anyone who looked like him, but the only flag for Carol¡¯s survival was her exile when he and Alice, the main character, eloped. In the end, I intended to flee the country after taking a blow from the people who resented me, so it would save Maia and the others from unnecessary danger, but I wondered what would happen after that, right? That¡¯s why being an adventurer was so important to me. Usually, I simply hole up in the Dungeon and hunt trolls and Mino-tans, but I should be going out to the Demon Forest to train Pochi as well. ¡°¨C[Thunder Rain]¨C¡° Deep in the Demon Forest, a widespread storm rages and Lightning pours down with my magic. Unlike in the VRMMO, which was managed by the system, I had to control this spell myself, so I couldn¡¯t be distracted. [Guooooooooooooo!!!] From deep in the forest, a huge animal-like demon jumped out, burned by lightning. A lion¡¯s head that breathes fire. The head of a goat chanting dark magic. The head of a gigantic snake that spits venom at the tail of a lion¡¯s body. A Chimera with its dark cloud-like body hair and immense size would make one think that it was a higher level species, around level 70, surpassing even lower level dragons. ¡°Pochi.¡± [Oooh!] When I called out its name briefly while controlling the magic, the dark dragon Pochi, which was behind me, flew out like an arrow and attacked the Chimera. [Goooooh!] [Gaaaahhh!!!] Huge demons over 10 metres long tear each other apart with their claws and fangs, showering each other with fire breaths. Pochi would have been in danger in his previous shut-in days, but the Pochi of today may be able to win this fight on his own. But that wasn¡¯t the goal this time, so Pochi didn¡¯t go overboard, keeping the opponent within the magic area, and when I glanced at it, he left the magic area, kicking Chimera away with its hind legs. ¡°¨C[Mjollnir]¨C¡° At that moment, the Lightning that had been pouring down around us converged and became a huge thunderbolt that shot through the Chimera. [¡ª¡ª!!!] Unable to scream, the Chimera was scorched black and fell to the ground. This was a 9th class attack magic, [Mj?llnir], a.k.a. the Thor Hammer spell. To be precise, the first use of [Thunder Rain] of the sixth level was a preparatory spell for this magic, and by using [Mj?llnir] afterwards, the range became narrower, but the power jumped up to about 10 times. ¡­Control over this was troublesome. As expected of a 9th class spell, the power was outrageous, but the control of the spell became complicated as a result. I could adjust the range to some extent by controlling the magic, but it would be more reliable to have my allies stop in their tracks, or escape before the spell is launched. CH 53.3 [wafuu]. Pochi came to take the corpse of the Chimera in its mouth and placed it in front of me for praise, wagging its tail around with a smug look on its face. Was this really a dragon? Pochi was becoming more and more like a dog, right? At any rate, let¡¯s pet its fur and heal its battle wounds with light magic. But¡­ ¡°¡­scorched.¡± [Carol¡¯s not good at holding back.] It was a Chimera, but more than half of it had been burned away. It was not a very profitable material. But, well, I could ask the commercial guild to auction off the best materials in other countries, so I couldn¡¯t process too many of them. ¡°But the experiment was a success. Next time, I could launch it faster.¡± [¡­Don¡¯t shoot that at me, okay? ] ¡°¡­¡± [Don¡¯t even joke about it!] ¡°Nn.¡± I understand. Why couldn¡¯t it trust me? I was just doing damage calculations to see if it could survive a direct hit. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go back to the village of the demon tribe for now.¡± [It¡¯s not really a village anymore, though. The number of demons increased a lot in the past 10 years. They seem to be feeling uneasy because Carol doesn¡¯t show up much.] ¡°¡­What¡¯s going on?¡± [A hunter was worried because he saw more humans in the Demon Forest, which was close to the human territory.] ¡°Not adventurers?¡± [I don¡¯t know.] Are they hunting for slaves again? I had previously given them a hard time, but they were strangely well-equipped for slave hunters, and they were working together like an army, so I had to be cautious. *** I went to the commercial guild and the adventurers¡¯ guild to see if I could pick up any information, but as usual, the crowd was split up like the Ten Commandments. ¡°Oh, you, subhuman Witch!¡± One of the young men pointed at me and shouted. Who was it? ¡°You are still in this Caenista Kingdom! You filthy subhuman, get the hell out of my country!¡± ¡°Abel, what are you yelling for?¡± ¡°Father!¡± Behind the young man, a middle-aged man, almost mature, slowly emerged from the crowd, and his face broke into a smile when he saw me. ¡°Oh, Young Lady, it¡¯s been a long time. As expected of an elf, you haven¡¯t changed at all.¡± ¡°¡­Bert-san?¡± He was the former adventurer knight I met in Dungeon, who seemed to be a strength supremacist and challenged me, but I couldn¡¯t deal with him because our basic stats were too different. ¡°Father, do you know this Witch?¡± ¡°Oh, she is the one I mentioned before. Was this Young Lady, by any chance, the adventurer who was the reason you started using a two-handed sword? That¡¯s a coincidence, hahaha.¡± ¡°Kuh.¡± The young man in his mid-twenties grunts in frustration and glares at me. Abel¡­Abel¡­? Ah, could it be Abel, who was the escort for the duke¡¯s son and was sold the pretzel that Alice dropped? At that time, he was dressed like a knight with a one-handed sword and shield, but I didn¡¯t recognize him because he was equipped with a two-handed sword now. I remembered that Uncle Bert said he had a son, and I remembered that Abel¡¯s father was a high-ranking knight, wasn¡¯t he? ¡°Oh yes, Young Lady, you should fight with me! I¡¯ve trained a lot since then, and I think I¡¯m getting stronger. But I don¡¯t know how strong I am if I fight with someone other than the Young Lady.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want to!¡± ¡°¡­l will pay you for it.¡± ¡°One large gold coin per challenge.¡± ¡°Ten days¡¯ worth of booze¡­ let me think about it.¡± Yup. I knew it was impossible for such a person to be a high-ranking knight. Abel changed from his mid-teens to his mid-twenties, the same age as Cam, so his impression changed quite a bit, but Uncle Bert¡¯s hair turned a little whiter, so not much has changed for him. I guess it was true that people with greater magical power have a slightly longer lifespan. ¡°Father, let¡¯s get going! You came all the way here so that we could select people with our own eyes.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. The Young Lady was also a great adventurer, wasn¡¯t she? Are you familiar with the Devil¡¯s Forest? I¡¯d like to hire you as a guide.¡± ¡°¡­Hah?¡± ¡°Father, she¡¯s a subhuman!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve become quite an aristocrat in this country¡­oh well. So, Young Lady, a big shot, decided to go on an inspection tour of the Demon Forest, and he¡¯s supposed to destroy the city of the Daemon Tribe that they found the other day as a showpiece. So, they wanted a guide.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The city of the daemon tribe in the Devil¡¯s Forest? Eradication? Showpiece? The fact that the tribe¡¯s village could be in danger was a bit shocking, but could this be an Otome Game event, a raid on the tribe¡¯s stronghold? The event was about the Crown Prince who attacked the stronghold of the demon tribe, the advance guard of the Demon King who was planning to invade Caenista Kingdom, and I think¡­didn¡¯t the hidden character appear in this event? Those words brought forth the information from the depths of my memory that I had forgotten. The hidden character¡¯s fianc¨¦e, who was accompanying the heroine, was paralyzed in the attack, and the heroine consoled the grieving hidden character. A route occurred, and in the end, the jealous fianc¨¦e was abandoned in the forest, and there was a happy ending¡­ The fianc¨¦e who was dumped ¡­could it be me? CH 54.1 Preparing for Battle So, the hidden character was Cam? No, it wasn¡¯t confirmed, and I haven¡¯t played that much, so I¡¯m not sure how much of what I remember is true, but at this moment, the only thing that should be an issue is the humans¡¯ [Attack on the Daemon City]. That¡¯s the only Daemon settlement in the Demon Forest right now, right? Actually, there were other small settlements, but they gathered together because they heard a rumor that it was safe, and it grew to become a city of about 2,000 people. But would they really raid it? It seemed to me that a large number of Uncle Bert class knights would be enough to destroy it, but would they risk the knights just to gain fame with the Crown Prince? It would be possible for them to attack when they enter Demon Forest, but if it was marked as just a picnic and a training exercise, they might invade with a serious intention to destroy by blaming the Daemons as if they attacked the Crown Prince. No, it would be a disaster if they really attacked, but then, where do I intercept them? If I did so, I might have to be so thorough as not to let anyone escape. But then if Alice was among them¡­. To be frank, one Alice would be much tougher than a thousand knights. I would have to be serious to fight Alice, who was protected by multiple advanced Spirit and intermediate Spirit. I had been thinking about the premise of escaping during the graduation event, but¡­ what should I do? ¡°Young Lady, what¡¯s the matter? Were you thinking of fighting someone powerful? The Daemon Generals were pretty strong in the previous war, and I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡° Oh, I was still in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. And you were still there, Uncle Bert. ¡°¡­You know the other side might be civilians, right?¡± I blurted out, and Abel, who had overheard me, spat dismissively. ¡°You¡¯re a coward. This is why subhumans are no good¡­ Daemons are no better than demons¡­ Adventurers defeat demons, too¡­¡° Convincing them¡­seems impossible¡­even in the game they were 100% enemies just because they were Daemons, and even more so because of their Human Supremacy belief. Except for Uncle Bert. I think I could convince Uncle Bert, but he enjoys fighting strong people, so I had a feeling that it would be troublesome. ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± ¡°Well¡­I was hoping I could fight the Young Lady on the road.¡± ¡°Hmmp, let¡¯s go, Father. Subhumans are just a bunch of untrustworthy people.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I might have to fight them, huh? For now, I declined Uncle Bert¡¯s invitation. It would be physically impossible for me to attend the same event as a noble. But if I could refuse Julio¡¯s order, who was royalty to begin with, I would be excluded from the event. And¡­there was also the matter of the content of the Game event. I didn¡¯t play the hidden character route and only got the information from the game creator¡¯s website, and during the raid, I (Carol) was paralyzed and Cam was saddened, but in the first place, could I, as my Player Character, be paralyzed? To be honest, even if I was hit by something that causes instant death, I could revive even if I was half in ashes, you know? I¡¯m going to speculate from now on, but the creator of the game created a doujin Otome Game with many routes by foreseeing the future of the other world. He probably saw many more futures than the route, and I wonder if some of them were futures in which I was not a Player Character. But the contents of that Game might not necessarily be true. The aspects that can be seen vary depending on the creator¡¯s subjective impression, and I may have created different futures, just as he may not have seen the future perfectly in the first place. I doubt that the author was in a sane state of mind when he wrote on his blog that a [God descended], or that he must have been jealous of [Villainess] as a game, so I simply backed away from all the other information. The Capture targets were also [Perverts] but were masked with [Pure Love]. Also, although I lived my life as I did, I still ended up as a [Villainess] without problems, even though there were a few deviations from the Game¡¯s route. Multiple routes mixed up? Some events have not yet occurred? I would say that the future was not definite, so I have a feeling that their personalities might be a little different from those in the Game. ¡­Mainly because all of them ended up in a terrible state. CH 54.2 After much thought, I asked Cam to exclude the [Not accompanying the inspection] option. The best way to find out if they were really going to raid Daemon¡¯s settlement was to stay by their side. And if they really were going to attack, I would have to stop them right then and there. If I did stop them, I would have to consider the worst-case scenario¡­ Meanwhile, I should also prepare for the eventuality. I collected many gold coins and food in the past 10 years, but I should also go all the way to a town near the border to exchange food and ores using high-grade materials that I did not put out until now with merchants from other countries. Next, I would go to the Mage Guild and the Commerce Guild and buy everything I could afford in Spirit stones and other dangerous-looking items that could be used for the event. Items that go into my [Bag], which was a subspace storage, were converted to data, so theoretically I could fit an entire country in there, but if I packed in such a large amount, it would indeed be [heavy] to open as data. After that, stop by Daemon¡¯s settlement¡­ The population increased again. I asked the Gatekeeper Daemon to call for the elder. The elder was looking old after 10 years had passed, but as expected of Daemons, who had a life expectancy of 150 years. The elder came sprinting from the back at an unbelievable speed. ¡°Oh, Carol-sama!¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I wondered, since when did he start using [-sama] on my name? Some Daemons kneeled and bowed when I passed by, and I wondered where [I] ranked among them. ¡°Let¡¯s get the whole town ready for a banquet¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± I grabbed the elder by the back of the head, and stopped him as he was about to turn on his heel and run off to prepare for the banquet. ¡°Is there somewhere you can evacuate the city¡¯s inhabitants?¡± ¡°¡­Did something happen?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± I informed the Elder of the possibility that the Knights of the Caenista Kingdom would attack, commanded by the Crown Prince. ¡°Oh, no! ¡­We can go deeper into the Demon Forest from behind the ruins. There should still be Daemon lands that survived the previous war, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on there anymore.¡° ¡°Meanwhile, please ensure that everyone can take shelter.¡± ¡°I understand!¡± At least he had a voice that everyone would listen to. Finally, I headed towards Cam¡¯s mansion to meet him. Cam himself came to greet us before we got off the carriage when I arrived at the mansion with Maia. He escorted me straight away, and we sat down at a table set in the garden, where the crimson roses I previously requested were in bloom. ¡°Julio mentioned that they were going to ask for permission to bring you along. There will be a female student from the academy accompanying them, so they would like their friend, Carol, to come with them for her sake. If you are being coerced by Julio, should I say no?¡± That Crown Prince, was he making the first move? ¡°But won¡¯t that put Cam in a bad position?¡± ¡°¡­No problem.¡± The brief pause said everything. He was shunned by the King, Queen, and Prime Minister, and who knows what kind of consequences he would have to face if he tried to overturn the Crown Prince¡¯s order. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Cam¡­trust me? No matter what happens from now on.¡± ¡°Of course. If there are rumors that you and the Crown Prince are in love, rest assured that I don¡¯t believe a word of it.¡± That¡¯s not what I meant¡­ I wished I could tell him everything, but it wasn¡¯t because I didn¡¯t trust him yet; it was because I was afraid that telling him everything would put him in danger. And then¡­the day of the Crown Prince-sponsored Demon Forest inspection arrived. CH 55.1 Battle of the Demon Forest (1) On the day of Crown Prince Julio¡¯s plan to attack the Daemons¡¯ village, called the ¡°Demon Forest Inspection¡±, I was picked up by the castle, but this time I had to leave Maia, my personal maid, behind because she would be in danger. ¡°Then who will take care of Young Lady Carol?¡± ¡°There will be servants from the castle, so I will be fine for a few days.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going to happen, so if I¡¯m late returning, please open this.¡± ¡°¡­I understand.¡± She didn¡¯t seem convinced, but I was different from usual. I think I looked the same because I always have a blank expression on my face, but Maia somehow sensed it and accepted the box I offered her. Inside the box was a letter telling her to rely on Cam if she needed anything, and about 100 large gold coins. ¡± Young Lady¡­please come back safely.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± The worst that could happen is that the entire country turns against me, but I had been prepared to deal with them anyway. When that happened, it would be difficult to avoid causing trouble for Cam, but he was more mature than me, so he would manage somehow¡­I hoped. As usual, I went to the castle, guided by a senior knight who wouldn¡¯t even say hello (to a subhuman), and found Alice, who got off the carriage at the same time, so I tried to hide behind the knight. ¡°Oh, Carol-san!¡± I was caught. ¡°Julio, she is very sensitive, so please refrain from doing whatever you like. I appreciate you hanging out with me, though!¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Would you please treat us both the same instead of thanking one and humiliating the other? Still, if the person in question was already on the verge of being insane, others could let it slide. ¡°It would have been nice if Flare-san could have come too.¡± ¡°¡­¡± No, neither Flare nor I were your friends, you know? Why were you talking as if we were a group of three girlfriends? As expected of a ¡°Heroine¡±. A useless positive attitude. ¡­Also, we never paid any of that friendship fee or anything, remember? But still¡­ ¡°Alice, ¡­more Spirit?¡± ¡°Yes, I went around with Julio-kun and Ian-kun, and the Spirits there started to follow me and protect me¡­!¡± I knew it¡­. Aside from the small, low-grade Spirits, there were probably about 30 mid-level and high-level Spirits. This was bad, really bad. Maybe it was an event I was ignoring to avoid getting involved in, and they were going to different places, but every time Alice did something in that area, she attracted and brought the Spirits in that area to herself. Of course, it was bad in terms of combat, but how bad? Let me explain a little bit about Spirits here. There was only one Spirit king for each attribute, and they govern the world itself, including day, night, and the seasons. The Great Spirit possesses the power of natural disasters such as volcanoes, typhoons, tornadoes, floods, etc. Flare¡¯s Spirit of Flame was an example of the Great Spirit. The Spirits that protected Alice were less powerful than the two aforementioned types, but they were responsible for regulating the nature of the land. In fertile lands, there would be advanced Spirits of water and earth, and in dry lands, there would be only weak Spirits, or the land would be devoid of Spirits. In other words, the land where Alice stopped by would become a wasteland as the Spirits were taken out, and only the area around the Royal Capital where Alice was located would flourish. ¡­I wondered if this country would be destroyed in a few decades without me or Flare doing anything¡­ CH 55.2 Then the Crown Prince and Ian came, and we were off, but I was forced to join them because Alice was the only young woman going along with them, right? However, Alice was in the same carriage as the Crown Prince and the others, and I was in a different carriage. I was about to pat her on the shoulder for a job well done. But then I realized what the point of my being invited was when, in the end, I would still have to ride a different horse-drawn carriage alongside. So, as punishment, I turned their carriage into a refrigerator. ¡°Haksyu!¡± ¡°Ian-kun, do you have a cold? I¡¯ll give you this cold remedy for only one small gold coin right now¨C¡° I heard such a conversation from them as they got out of the carriage at a rest stop along the way. By the way, the price of the cold remedy was one silver coin. It seemed that Alice did not feel the cold because she was protected by Spirits. It really seemed that Spirits were only interested in Alice, but why did they love her so much? It was probably because Alice was an ¡°idiot¡±, and the Spirits were said to like innocent people. I expected to see an idiot every now and then in the world, but a genuine idiot who grew up to be an adult would be extremely rare and precious. Let me get out of the carriage and straighten my back too. My status had increased, so I was sturdier than an ordinary lady, but sitting all the time was still tiring me out. I had no servants. Even if I did have one, it was a noblewoman-like maid who looked down on me, so I let out some cold air around me, and before I knew it, she was gone. Still, even with all of the senior knights, there were only about 100 knights. I understood that there were almost no ordinary soldiers because all of them were on horseback, but would they really attack Daemons with that group? While I was looking at the knights like this, one of them approached me. ¡°Wow, you really are a subhuman woman. You¡¯re a subhuman woman, but you¡¯re good-looking to boot. I¡¯ll make you my slave, so you should be honored to accompany me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was alone, and it was a man of about 30 years old, dressed like a senior knight, who approached. My appearance had become more mature, and I was more noticeable to people, but there were fewer people who approached me after learning that I was Cam¡¯s fianc¨¦e, yet there were still people like this. There were other knights too, but they just didn¡¯t mess with me willingly, and they grinned and watched the King¡¯s brother¡¯s fianc¨¦e in trouble. I wondered what I should do¡­. I wouldn¡¯t be too patient, so should I let one of them [Freeze] so it¡¯s quieter around me? ¡°You, why are you not saying anything when I¡¯m talking to you?¡± ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± Someone grabbed the senior knight¡¯s hand as he reached for me and stopped him. ¡°Hey, Bert-dono!¡± ¡°Hey, what are you trying to do with the women and children?¡± ¡°Kuh¡± It was Uncle Bert who stopped the senior knight. ¡­He really was a great guy, wasn¡¯t he? But the senior knight shook Bert¡¯s hand and moved away, rubbing the arm that had been grabbed. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, Bert-dono, I will report this matter to the Prime Minister first!¡± ¡°Oh, please give my regards to the Prime Minister.¡± The knights who were around and just watching also hurried away while averting their faces. ¡°Sorry, little elf. This time, many of the knights were close to the Prime Minister, who doesn¡¯t listen to me.¡± ¡°N, thanks.¡± I see, so many of the knights from the Prime Minister¡¯s side were all scums. And Uncle Bert was a bit of a rascal, but when I thanked him honestly for saving me, he said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡­hmm?¡± Bert, who had been smiling cheerfully, tilted his head curiously at the sight of my face. ¡°Elf girl. Do you have any sisters or something?¡± ¡°¡­No.¡± I guess I did look a lot like the adventurer ¡°Witch¡± now, didn¡¯t I? From now on, I would look more like her, so I should change people¡¯s impression of me a little or be careful about how I speak and behave. ¡°I see. Well, they say that all other races look the same.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Thank goodness, Uncle Bert was an amicable person. ¡°Tell me if the idiot does something stupid again, okay?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Since I was offered some help, I should also help him out. ¡­He may have been a battle maniac, but he was basically a good guy. However, his son was a jerk. After a few days, we finally arrived at Demon Forest, although I was somewhat anxious. I was tired, even though the real work had yet to begin. CH 56.1 Battle of the Demon Forest (2) The knights were all senior knights and not many in number, and yet the Crown Prince and the others were having a picnic, and there was even a time when I thought we were here to do an exercise to prepare for the Daemons. ¡°Your Highness, the Second and Third Knights are all here!¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you!¡± Near the Demon Forest, many knights had already arrived and were waiting. From what I could vaguely remember, the Second Order was the group of knights defending the area around the Royal Capital, with a total of 400 members. The Third Order of Knights was to guard and maintain the perimeter of the Royal Capital, with a total of 600 members. The First Order of Knights protected the royal family and the royal castle, with a total of 200 members, so the 100 knights who were accompanying Julio this time must be from the First Order. As for the strength of the nation, the nobles in each region had their own separate Knight Orders, so their numbers would be considerable, but the knights here would be the bulk of the Royal Army¡­ all but the Fourth Order, which maintained the security of the entire country, and half of the Royal Guards. There were about 1,100 knights alone. Including the general soldiers and logistical support, there would have been about 4,000 people. ¡°Wow, look Carol-san, there are as many people as ants!¡± ¡°¡­. Nn.¡± No, Alice, you should choose your words carefully since you are the heroine of the story. ¡°If this was the case, I should have come with the pretzel stall. I could have made a lot of money. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a shame?¡± Would you stop asking me to agree with you? The good thing about Alice was that she was not only obsessed with making a fortune, but she was also content with a profit of five coppers per pretzel. ¡­Alice¡¯s presence ruined the atmosphere, and since Julio and Ian were going to give a speech to the Knights, Alice was left with me. Just in time for me to ask her a few questions? ¡°Alice doesn¡¯t think anything of the attack on the Daemon¡¯s?¡± ¡°If Daemons were to attack and start a war, the cost of pretzel ingredients would go up and that would be a problem.¡± ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± That¡¯s to be expected of her, I guess. ¡°Also¡­what if Spirits following Alice means that the blessings of the land will be lost?¡± I wasn¡¯t going to ask, but I couldn¡¯t help it, and Alice looked at me for a moment, then looked around at the surrounding Spirits. ¡°Those Spirits are so kind to put me before themselves! If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll respect whatever my friends¡¯ wishes are. I¡¯d be delighted if more Spirit became my friends.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Impossible. I couldn¡¯t see a future in which I could convince her. ¡°And even if that happened, if I went there, the problem would be solved, right?¡± Please stop visiting them. I was afraid that if I told the truth improperly, they would go around the country and take the Spirits from various locations. If that happened, not only would the people be in trouble, but even mine and Flare¡¯s individual combat power combined would make it very hard for us to compete with Alice¡¯s large number of Spirits. The people would have a very hard time, but I would also be desperate because my life would be at stake. ¡°Oh, Julio and the others are back.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Finally, I was relieved. The real event was yet to begin. Alice was with Julio and the others in a special seat in the centre ¡ª the most heavily guarded part of the stage, and I was just a little further back than they were. Officially, they said they couldn¡¯t let Cam¡¯s fianc¨¦e out in front of them, but it was obviously not the case. The guards were simply a bunch of boisterous knights, chugging alcohol-like beverages from small bottles and occasionally grinning or laughing at me in a mocking manner. I was still not sure if they were really going to raid Daemon¡¯s stronghold, even though I had followed the Crown Prince all this way. CH 56.2 The soldiers seemed to think it was just an exercise, and cheered when they hunted monsters and found materials. [Gyaaah, stop it, stop it already!] ¡°Hahaha, this demon is yelling something!¡± One of the knights laughed and stabbed a harpy with his sword as it fell after being shot by an arrow. I sometimes fight them when I meet them in the forest, but it made me feel uncomfortable to see them being tormented in this way. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t feel well, so I¡¯m going to step back.¡± ¡°Oh, was that too much stimulation for you, little girl? Or maybe you were offended when your friends were beaten¡­oops, my bad. Ha ha ha ha.¡± At my words, the knight who was escorting me laughed like a fool. Because I was subhuman, they associate me with monsters. That might have been the common perception of humans, poisoned by Human Race Supremacy. ¡°That¡¯s not good, Carol-sama. We will take you to the rear.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A few thin knights, who looked like civil servants, offered to escort me. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys have to fight?¡± ¡°Our role is not to fight directly. Come on, this way.¡± They treated me as if I were a normal young lady, but unlike the simple escort knights earlier, their smiles were like masquerades and I couldn¡¯t read their emotions. A few minutes into our walk, they moved away from the battlefield and toward the back of the forest. ¡°That way is not behind them, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, we have a tent over here. You don¡¯t feel at ease in the company of people like the man who was speaking earlier, do you?¡± Yes, that was true, but more importantly. ¡°Are they really going to attack Daemons? What if they are civilians?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ Even within the country, nobles and others who are unfamiliar with local affairs are saying such things, so they are sending out their troops for practice this time as well.¡± The knight smiled as if troubled, and sighed grandly. ¡°¡­I guess it¡¯s about time.¡± The surrounding knights surrounded me and drew their swords the moment he muttered that. ¡°¡­What is the meaning of this?¡± I asked, narrowing my eyes, and he smiled as he pointed the tip of his sword at me. ¡°You said it yourself, didn¡¯t you? That they are civilians. But all Daemons are an enemy of all of us.¡± A common enemy created outside to unite the country. It was a common but simple and effective measure. The knight was just as narrow-minded as his appearance, but he had a solid sword. And maybe he had even higher status than the knights at the front. ¡°You can scream in terror, can¡¯t you? Or do subhumans not have delicate emotions like humans?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I stared at him silently as he shrugged his shoulders in a theatrical gesture. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter either way, but to answer your question at the end, to make Daemons enemies of humanity, Miss Carol, a subhuman, must betray humanity and cause damage to the troops, so that she will be killed here. Well, if that were not the case, I would have asked you to drink poison that would have put you in a vegetative state, but the Prime Minister seems to have suffered damage because of the Daemons, and he wants me to kill you, a subhuman as well.¡° ¡°¡­¡± The Prime Minister¡¯s dog¡­. Apparently, the future has changed because I destroyed the Prime Minister¡¯s smuggling ships and drug farms. I was supposed to be poisoned, which would have saved my life to the point of paralysis, but the Prime Minister¡¯s hatred of subhumans spurred him to order them to kill me instead. Before the change, the future would have had no such spoilers¡­. Make the Daemon a complete enemy of humanity, take another Daemon territory, make me, Cam¡¯s fianc¨¦e, the bad guy, ruin Cam¡¯s reputation, and also make him despair. But this time, the Prime Minister put his emotions first, even though the route he took before the change was probably less problematic, the fact that Cam would be devastated when I died did not change. Overall, even if the future changed, the fate it followed was the same. ¡°Isn¡¯t it time for you to go? I¡¯d like to say that you don¡¯t have to suffer¡­ but my friends and I hate subhumans to the point of repugnance, so please show us the face of your suffering.¡± ¡°¡­¡± If I died here, they would be right, and Human Race Supremacy might spread even to the commoners. Even if I fought against the knights, the outcome might go according to their intentions. ¡­ But¡­ Still¡­ ¡°¨CSetup [Witch Dress]¨C¡° ¡°Gogh!¡± Instantly, a woman dressed in crimson, her skirt embroidered with roses and thorns fluttered, gripped the black metal-reinforced gloves tightly, and with ten times the status of an average person, she struck the knight squarely in the face, and the man screamed in a strange voice as he flew ten meters away. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± In the forest, which was stunned into silence by the sudden events, I quietly announced to the remaining knights of the Prime Minister while holding the Zanbatou Ridil in my right hand and the magic gun Break Revolver in my left. ¡°I will not be defeated by fate.¡± CH 57.1 Battle of the Demon Forest (3) ¡°Wha, what, she transformed!¡± ¡°Calm down! She probably just transformed herself with magic!¡± The other knights were taken aback by my transformation, but they quickly regained their composure and pointed their weapons at me. ¡°¡­Kuh¡± The first knight I hit staggered back to his feet, bleeding from the nose and mouth. I thought that the impact was very light, but he must have cushioned the blow when I sent him flying. Perhaps his skill level was higher than his appearance suggests. ¡°You, you look like a [Witch]¡­¡± *Bang *bang *bang! ¡°¡­Go back to sleep.¡± I fired three magic shots at the knight¡¯s midline, who was on the verge of getting up, to quiet him down. ¡°[Witch]! It¡¯s [Witch], the subhuman adventurer!¡± ¡°Someone, go back and tell the Prime Minister about this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going¡­Goho!¡± The word ¡°Witch¡± made one of them flinch for a moment, and then I thrust Ridil into one of them like a spear. ¡°[Fire Ball]¡± I shot [Fire Ball] into the other two who had stopped moving, enveloping them in a blast of flame. ¡°¡­¡± Dusting off the skirt, I dispelled the flames and took out a potion from my [Bag], dyed my crimson dress jet black just like when I attacked the drug farm, put on a visor to cover my eyes, and took a doping drug to speed up the recovery of my MP. The attack on the Daemons conducted by Julio and his group was confirmed.Moreover, it was not a small-scale battle to provide merit for Crown Prince Julio. The Prime Minister wanted to slaughter the people with one-sided charges in order to incite hostility against Daemons and subhumans throughout the country. By trying to stop them, I might really turn humanity¡¯s wrath against Daemons and subhumans. But I would not stand by and let them kill me or the Daemons, who have done nothing to deserve it. ¡°¡­I will stop this.¡± I muttered a few words of determination before charging out into the forest toward them as they marched forward. * ¡°Captain! The adventurers who were out scouting have discovered traces of the Daemons.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Then the Knights will be heading that way. Prepare to march!¡± ¡°Ha! How would you like to report this to the First Order?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The captain of the Second Order, who was responsible for 40 knights, stroked his proud mustache with his finger and glared at the knight who made the suggestion. ¡°Are you an idiot? Do you really think I¡¯m going to give all this credit to a bunch of skanks who are always holed up in that castle? Besides, think about it. If we¡¯re the first, we can have as many Daemon girls as we want as slaves, right?¡± ¡°¡­Well, yes.¡± The young knight who came to report to the captain had a sneer on his face. ¡°Do you understand? If you find a Daemon, you can burn them alive or kill them if they get in your way. We can do whatever we want with them. Tell that to the others as well.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll be the first to choose. Ha ha ha.¡± ¡°¨D¨D[Acid Cloud]¨D¨D¡± [Gyaaaaaa!?] Suddenly, a white mist-like substance enveloped the area, corroding the armor of the knights at the center of it, and they too were burned and sprawled around. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The knights under his command collapsed and scattered, and the captain, himself burned by the acid, fell to one knee with a look of anguish on his face. ¡°What the heck was that?¡± A soldier, who was lucky enough to be out of range of the [Acid Cloud], shouted, and all eyes caught sight of a girl in a short, jet-black dress standing on top of a large tree. ¡°Daemons! Get up! Soldiers, fire your arrows!¡± The captain of the knights yelled to the soldiers while holding the collar of the unmoving knight, and the soldiers, hesitant to shoot arrows at the girl, did as ordered and readied their bows. The arrows were released from the archers, and the jet-black girl gently held her hand in front of her. ¡°[Typhoon]¡± A massive amount of magical power and a storm of wind blew through the air, cleaving the hundred-odd soldiers and remaining knights with every arrow that was shot out. ¡°Guho, ku, dammit, where are you?¡± The knight captain, who was blown away and rolled on the ground, looked at the jet-black girl while spitting out the dirt in his mouth, and the girl¡¯s great sword, which came in like a gale to blow away the dust, cut off the captain¡¯s head. ¡°¡­Hii!¡± Most of the knights were knocked down, and the faces of the remaining soldiers were filled with fear. Even so, the commander of the soldiers and the experienced soldiers readied their weapons, but the girl remained silent and lightly hoisted a great sword as tall as she was over her shoulder, and the soldiers were eventually unable to move, let alone touch her, until she vanished as she leisurely ran off. CH 57.2 ¡°¨D¨D[Blast]¨D¨D¡± *Dogooon!! Explosive spells shattered the earth and blew away the forest, and large amounts of dirt and flying debris struck the flanks of the army in a wide area. ¡°They¡¯re here, Daemons!¡± ¡°Filthy Daemon! Take this hammer of justice!¡± Seeing that the damage was extensive but not too severe, the knights in the vicinity raised their spirits. Due to the repeated attacks in the forest, the knights felt like this was just some sort of exercise, but by the time they realized it, hundreds of knights had been defeated or neutralized. The second and third knight commanders who noticed the situation urged the knights to be on alert, and the knights finally got serious, but they still did not know what [the enemy] was capable of. Sprinting through the forest at a speed that even the horses could not keep up with, the girl fired her magic at the knight corps she spotted. ¡°¨C[Ice Storm]¨C¡° ¡°Ggh, it¡¯s ice magic.¡± ¡°Hold your shields up. How many times can she fire such great magic?¡± As one of the captains tried to inspire the knights under his command, the [Ice Storm] blew again. It was not just one, but a series of blasts, and after the Ice Storm blew through, more than 50 knights turned into ice statues and glistened in white. ¡°The enemy is a sorcerer! Those who can use fire magic, build a wall!¡± ¡°The enemy is a single sorcerer! Crush it!¡± The other knights immediately rushed in to deal with the situation and tried to crush her with their mass. However, what was different from before was that the knights, who had only rushed forward in their haste to gain success, fell back. Knowing that the enemy was using high-powered magic, they brought forward ordinary soldiers with their shields up. The jet-black girl quietly points her finger at the young soldiers, who had no experience in war, as they rush in with blue faces. ¡°¨C[Lightning]¨C¡° The magic of [Lightning] flying in a straight line pierced through the center of the hundreds of soldiers, and as the jet-black girl ran through the center of the hundreds of soldiers, where the front line had collapsed due to being cut off and paralysed, she held her magic gun up to the knights in the rear, who were hurriedly holding their shields. ¡°¨C[Death Slug]¨C¡° *Doooon!!! The magic gun¡¯s [Combat Skill] crushed more than a dozen knights in a straight line with their shields. ¡°Damn! How dare you, Daemon!¡± As the leader of the Third Order, who was standing behind her, mounted on his horse and approached the girl with his spear ready, she put away her magic gun, held up her slightly warped single-edged sword with both hands, and cut the knight leader in half with his horse as they passed each other. Without using high-powered magic, she overwhelmed the knight commander with her swordsmanship. However, although a third of the knights had already been defeated, there were still nearly 700 knights gathered one after another, and the soldiers remained almost whole, as if the girl was prioritizing defeating the commanders. The central core of the Second Order was defeated, but the girl was surrounded by 2,000 soldiers. For now, the soldiers were not attacking out of fear, but once the other knights arrived, she would be truly exposed to the violence of their numbers. In the midst of all this, the girl looked up to the heavens, put her fingertips to her lips, and whistled high in the air. And then¨C Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! A jet-black shadow descends from the heavens. It was a black dragon with the silhouette of a terrifyingly fast and terrifyingly huge beast, spraying flames and blasting the soldiers. A swirling breath of flame. The sight of the ancient dragon, which had not been seen in decades, and its roar that crushed the spirit of the weak, caused half of the soldiers and low-ranking knights to flee, losing the will to fight, and they collided with the knights who were still trying to fight, causing chaos. Some soldiers and knights who knew of the rumor muttered its name with stunned faces. ¡°¡­It¡¯s the Demon King!¡± Five years ago, there were rumors in the port town of a Demon King riding a black dragon who crushed a huge trading ship. Even if it had appeared out of nowhere, neither the soldiers nor the knights would have lost their will to fight to such an extent. However, seeing the deaths of their comrades up to this point, as well as the girl¡¯s terrifying strength, broke the hearts of the soldiers and knights who had never been on a proper battlefield and were terrified. In terms of the number of defeated soldiers in the army as a whole, it was less than 10%. However, if most of the defeated knights were, in fact, the mainstay of the army, it would have been a considerable blow that would have jeopardized not only the Crown Prince¡¯s reputation, but also his ability to advance further. Still ¨C the Knights of Caenista had this man. ¡°What a dragon! Hey, demon king¡¯s young lady, come down here! I¡¯ll be your opponent!¡± The soldiers, who had been on the run, looked up at his words and his majestic appearance. He received the title of ¡°Sword Saint¡± for presenting the king with a dragon slain as a solo adventurer, and became the most powerful knight in the Caenista Kingdom. ¡°I, Bert Ram Bash, will defeat you!¡± CH 58.1 Battle of the Demon Forest (4) ¡°Bert Ram Bash will defeat you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bert-san stood in front of me. To be honest, I had been training under the assumption that there were many knights of his caliber in the kingdom, but none of the knights in the kingdom were as strong. Bert-san was strong. And if there was more than one knight in his class, they would have a chance to beat me. As far as I could understand¡­. he was once as strong as a level 40+ knight. That was before, and it seemed like he had trained since then, probably reaching around level 50, the limit of the humans. If he had trained this much in only 10 years, most of his skills should have been focused on the combat aspect. I believed that the current Bert-san could defeat even a lower level dragon single-handedly. [Bert! Bert! Bert!] Soldiers who had lost the will to fight and were fleeing came to a halt, turned their heads, and yelled his name. Hero ¨C such a word came to my mind. One who had approached the limits of human strength. On the battlefield, where the noble commanders were the first to flee and only ordinary soldiers and low-ranking knights remained, Bert¡¯s presence boosted morale and lit the light of hope in their hearts. The strongest warrior of humanity. Perhaps Bert was the [Sword Saint]. No wonder he was exceptionally strong. [Carol, you want me to go and beat them?] ¡°No, I¡¯ll do this. Thanks.¡± I stroked Pochi¡¯s fur, who said something cute, and stepped forward, fluttering down to the ground from Pochi¡¯s back, while Bert, a battle maniac, approached from the other side with a delighted gait. ¡°Hey there, demon lord¡¯s young lady. Thanks for agreeing to this fight! Oh, have I seen you before?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just your imagination. We¡¯ve never met before.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I don¡¯t know any Demon King.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Thank God, Bert-san was a simple guy. I think he has only strengthened his combat skills, and as a result, his INT skills have not improved as much as they could have. ¡­I was about to come up with some terrifying ideas, but we should get started. I wouldn¡¯t go easy on you this time, okay¡­? *Click! ¡°Whoa!¡± Bert barely caught the sword fight with his big sword as I took a step over a dozen meters away. Even if the level did not exist, Bert¡¯s skills were sufficient to be equivalent to a high level. ¡°Dorya!¡± I quickly repelled Bert¡¯s sword on reflex with the small reinforced metal of my glove and then hit Bert in the jaw with the hilt of my Ridil, which was in proximity and badly spaced. ¡°Gooooo, that was nasty!¡± If it were a normal knight, that attack would have shattered his jaw, but once Bert got his distance, he jumped up and swung his great sword at me in a sideways cleave. ¡°There¡¯s someone I want to beat! I can¡¯t stop here!¡± Could it be [Witch]? Bert had clearly been training with this in mind ever since our brief encounter. The results of that training showed in his skills and status, and even though he was almost at the highest limit for humans even before, he was one step stronger than when we fought before. But¡­ ¡°[Enhance Strength]¡± *Bakin! I neither avoided nor received the great sword that was swung at me, but directly grabbed it and crushed it in my grip. ¡°What? Ugh!¡± I grabbed Bert¡¯s face as he was distracted for a moment by the shattering of his beloved sword, and slammed the tip of the Ridil right in front of his face as he rolled on the ground. CH 58.2 ¡°Surrender.¡± ¡°¡­haha, wow.¡± I thought killing him was a matter of course, but I still didn¡¯t want to kill Bert-san. ¡­Would that be naive? [¡­] The excited heat of the battlefield was replaced by a freezing silence. Despair was on the faces of the soldiers. Were they Bert¡¯s men? The knights, who looked like they had made a tragic resolution, were readying their spears and looking for an opportunity to leap out of the way. How Bert answered would determine what would happen next. At worst, he¡¯d have to fight me in front of everyone here until the bitter end. ¡°I¡­¡± [Spirit-san and the others, protect us all!] Suddenly, a girl¡¯s voice rang out on the battlefield, sounding out of place, as if magnified by a loudspeaker. What was that voice¡­? I hurriedly searched for the voice and found Alice, surrounded by the Crown Prince, Ian and Bert¡¯s son Abel, on a hill quite a distance away, calling out to the Spirits with both hands raised. ¡°Spirit-san, get rid of the evil Demon King!¡± At Alice¡¯s ¨C the [Spirit¡¯s beloved child]¡¯s call, Spirits gathered from the surrounding forests, and nearly a hundred Spirits, including lower-class Spirits, were glittering and forming an attack position above Alice. ¡­That idiot! The Spirits were willing to help her, but they were only interested in protecting Alice and would try to take me down along with all the surrounding soldiers to finish the job quickly. The magic power was gathering in the sky above us. If this continues, in a few tens of seconds, this whole area will be cleaved by the magic of Spirits. ¡°Pochi, Bert-san, get behind me!¡± ¡°Oh, hey!¡± [Carol!] There was no time. I haven¡¯t experimented or tested it yet, but now I have to rely on it. I drew another MP recovery potion from my bag and gulped it down in one gulp. My body aches slightly as a result of the drug, but I continued to take it without regard to side effects, only for its fast acting effect. ¡°[I am the one who pursues the truth, the one who seeks the art of ruling reason.]¡± This magic was not something I could cast without chanting yet. I commenced the chants by voicing the incantation that floats in my mind. ¡°[To thee, buried in ancient time, struck down by the water maiden, I give thee, by the pact of my blood, a temporary manifestation]¡± Alice¡¯s Spirits began to glow, about to use the greatest magic each of them could unleash. That¡­ .kuh, it was a serious all-out attack¡­Spirits were said to be highly intelligent, but to me, they looked like children who were trying in vain to show [their beloved child] how good they were. When the soldiers sensed something strange, they began to flee, but if they continued in this manner, everything on this side would be annihilated. ¡°[Howl, shatter, let your voice be a hammer that shatters the earth!]¡± My chanting was completed at the same time as a torrent of seven-colored destruction was released from Spirits. Tenth Grade Magic¨C ¡°¡ª[Summon Behemoth]¡ª¡° [Gaaaaaaaah!!!] A phantom of a magical beast with a body resembling an enormous bear, more massive than a mountain, and the horns of a bull rose into the sky above us, unleashing a roar of shockwaves that collided with Spirit and the others¡¯ magic in between me and Alice, enveloping us all in a gigantic shockwave and white light¡­. CH 59.1 The result of the Battle ¡°This is¡­terrible!¡± The girl¡¯s grief-stricken voice echoed through the ruins of the battlefield. The blow from the Demon King and the Spirits created a crater a hundred meters in diameter in the Demon Forest battlefield, and when the massive cloud of dust cleared, the Demon King had disappeared along with the Dark Dragon. Despite this destruction, there were not many casualties. Although the blast site was hapless, many soldiers were able to escape because the range of the attack did not widen, probably because the two sides were in a competitive situation. ¡°Spirit-san¡­¡± Gusun¡­ the blonde girl bursts into tears. Most of the lower-class spirits had been extinguished in the exchange of fire with the Demon King. However, spirit life forms such as Spirit and Demon revive in the spirit world over time, even after they have perished. ¡°Alice, the Spirits must be pleased to be able to protect you.¡± ¡°Oh, those Daemons! I¡¯ll never forgive them!¡± [¡­] The wounded soldiers looked at the grieving Alice, who was comforted by Crown Prince Julio and Ian, as if they didn¡¯t care about their battered appearance. The number of those who died in this battle was more than 600, or more than 10% of those who participated in this event. Nearly 400 of them were knights, who fought a girl who appeared to be the Demon King and lost, but it was the Spirit¡¯s attack, as requested by Alice, that killed most of the ordinary soldiers. It is true that many soldiers were involved in that mighty attack, but it is also true that the soldiers who were first killed by the many Spirits would have been killed by the Demon King if not for the Demon King¡¯s counterattack. Somewhere in the back of their minds, they understood that there would have been many more casualties, but they bit their teeth in frustration that their comrades and friends died because they were shot from behind by their allies, instead of dying while fighting the enemy. The problem was that most of the casualties in this battle were knights, the main fighting force, although they only accounted for about 10% of the total. The Crown Prince was supposed to be just an addition to gain fame as the next king for defeating the invading Daemons, but the loss of many of the nobles who made up the majority of the knights was, in terms of battle results, a disastrous defeat. In particular, the loss of [Sword Saint] Bert, who went missing after engaging in a one-on-one battle with the Demon King, was a considerable blow to the Caenista Kingdom. Away from Alice and Abel, who were consoling her, Julio and Ian began to whisper to each other. ¡°This is a grave situation¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s all the Demon King¡¯s fault. If only that thing hadn¡¯t come out, we only had to take care of the filthy Daemon village, and we could have gotten Alice recognized by the nobles.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all for being a little bit dirty, but¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. If things continue as they are, there will be nobles who will complain about my succession. Father may also give the succession to Flare, who, despite her personality, is more like royalty than any other. If that happens, it will be bad.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re suffering, but¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°No, no. If this continues, it will at least make it difficult to make Alice a Crown Princess of Julio-sama.¡± ¡°Is that okay with you, Ian? Are you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with Alice tormenting me regularly¡­no, it¡¯s enough for me to be able to see her face. Just the thought of Alice as queen and being forced to do all kinds of impossible things to me makes my heart skip a beat.¡± ¡°I also cringe at the thought of sharing a bedchamber with a commoner.¡± Julio and Ian smiled a dreamy, sickening smile. ¡°Of course, we blame Daemons for everything, but I think we should take more concrete steps.¡± ¡°Do you have any ideas? Ian.¡± ¡°Of course I do. I¡¯m certain this will work!¡± *** ¡°¡­. Nn.¡± [Carol!] When I woke up, Pochi¡¯s face was all over my field of vision, licking me all over my face. ¡­you¡¯re becoming more and more doggy-like, aren¡¯t you? ¡°Is this¡­?¡± I only raised my upper body and looked around. Apparently, we were still in the Demon Forest, but even if we disregard the lack of any sign of creatures due to fear of the dark dragon Pochi, it appeared to be quite secluded, with no sign of human intervention. When I tried to stand up, my vision blurred, accompanied by a terrible feeling of weakness. There may be some backlash from the use of 10th class magic, but even though I was stronger in terms of combat because my skills were better than before, I still couldn¡¯t compare it to the time when I was a Player in terms of strength and endurance. ¡°What has happened since then to the Daemon City?¡± [Okay, I¡¯ll explain!] Great. Pochi told me that the my and the Spirit¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t completely cancel each other out, but they did narrow the area considerably, and a lot of the ordinary soldiers survived. ¡­Good. I concentrated it on the nobles, since most of the knights were nobles, but I didn¡¯t want to bring along the ordinary soldiers, who were also commoners. However, since the Spirits who confronted me and I were near the center of the explosion, we were directly hit by the shockwave, and many of the lower-class Spirits were extinguished as a result. I fainted after running out of magical power, and I heard Pochi had to carry me away in its mouth. ¡°Thanks, Pochi.¡± [Mm. No big deal.¡±] Pochi said pompously, but its tail was still wagging around. It seems like we passed over the Daemon city on the way here, but the Daemons had already evacuated. Pochi thought about joining them, but since there was ¡°baggage¡± to carry, Pochi decided to evacuate. So, was that the baggage? [Mm-hmm.] ¡­That looked like ¡°Uncle Bert¡± to me, though. I wondered why Pochi brought him here, but he seems to have just fainted, since there was no noticeable injury and his chest was moving. At any rate, I poke him with the heel of my high-heeled shoes while sitting down, and he groans, ¡°¡­ughh,¡± as if in a daze, then suddenly gets up as he sees me. ¡°Yo, girl!¡± ¡°¡­Good morning.¡± He seemed to have been sleeping well. Bert-san appeared to be hurt there, but he gulped and stretched his shoulders as he sat on the ground, sipping water from a canteen on his hip. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s [Witch]¡¯s young lady doing here?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I didn¡¯t understand the meaning for a moment, but then I noticed that the effect of the chemical had worn off, and my dress had turned back to red. ¡­Should I fake this? ¡°There¡¯s also the Demon King¡¯s dragon¡­the Demon King is¡­Nn~?¡± ¡°¡­¡± This was a brilliant piece of evidence, but Bert-san didn¡¯t seem to understand it well, even with all the circumstantial evidence. I sometimes encountered this in games, but it was not funny to see a real muscle brain who was extremely focused on his fighting skills. ¡°I am the Demon King.¡± ¡°Oh, really! That¡¯s why you¡¯re so strong. I¡¯m convinced.¡± It was too much trouble to explain, so I told him straight up. To be honest, I felt a bit embarrassed to be called the Demon King, but this was the quickest way to explain it in a way that even a muscle brain could understand. So, what should I do now? Because [Witch] and [Demon King] were just different colors, perhaps some of the witnesses noticed. But I couldn¡¯t let Bert-san go home because even if I let him go without warning him, some people might be able to deduce the truth from his testimony. ¡­If I hit Bert-san seriously on the head about 10 times, would his memory be affected? CH 59.2 ¡°¡­. Nn.¡± [Carol!] When I woke up, Pochi¡¯s face was all over my field of vision, licking me all over my face. ¡­you¡¯re becoming more and more doggy-like, aren¡¯t you? ¡°Is this¡­?¡± I only raised my upper body and looked around. Apparently, we were still in the Demon Forest, but even if we disregard the lack of any sign of creatures due to fear of the dark dragon Pochi, it appeared to be quite secluded, with no sign of human intervention. When I tried to stand up, my vision blurred, accompanied by a terrible feeling of weakness. There may be some backlash from the use of 10th class magic, but even though I was stronger in terms of combat because my skills were better than before, I still couldn¡¯t compare it to the time when I was a Player in terms of strength and endurance. ¡°What has happened since then to the Daemon City?¡± [Okay, I¡¯ll explain!] Great. Pochi told me that the my and the Spirit¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t completely cancel each other out, but they did narrow the area considerably, and a lot of the ordinary soldiers survived. ¡­Good. I concentrated it on the nobles, since most of the knights were nobles, but I didn¡¯t want to bring along the ordinary soldiers, who were also commoners. However, since the Spirits who confronted me and I were near the center of the explosion, we were directly hit by the shockwave, and many of the lower-class Spirits were extinguished as a result. I fainted after running out of magical power, and I heard Pochi had to carry me away in its mouth. ¡°Thanks, Pochi.¡± [Mm. No big deal.¡±] Pochi said pompously, but its tail was still wagging around. It seems like we passed over the Daemon city on the way here, but the Daemons had already evacuated. Pochi thought about joining them, but since there was ¡°baggage¡± to carry, Pochi decided to evacuate. So, was that the baggage? [Mm-hmm.] ¡­That looked like ¡°Uncle Bert¡± to me, though. I wondered why Pochi brought him here, but he seems to have just fainted, since there was no noticeable injury and his chest was moving. At any rate, I poke him with the heel of my high-heeled shoes while sitting down, and he groans, ¡°¡­ughh,¡± as if in a daze, then suddenly gets up as he sees me. ¡°Yo, girl!¡± ¡°¡­Good morning.¡± He seemed to have been sleeping well. Bert-san appeared to be hurt there, but he gulped and stretched his shoulders as he sat on the ground, sipping water from a canteen on his hip. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s [Witch]¡¯s young lady doing here?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I didn¡¯t understand the meaning for a moment, but then I noticed that the effect of the chemical had worn off, and my dress had turned back to red. ¡­Should I fake this? ¡°There¡¯s also the Demon King¡¯s dragon¡­the Demon King is¡­Nn~?¡± ¡°¡­¡± This was a brilliant piece of evidence, but Bert-san didn¡¯t seem to understand it well, even with all the circumstantial evidence. I sometimes encountered this in games, but it was not funny to see a real muscle brain who was extremely focused on his fighting skills. ¡°I am the Demon King.¡± ¡°Oh, really! That¡¯s why you¡¯re so strong. I¡¯m convinced.¡± It was too much trouble to explain, so I told him straight up. To be honest, I felt a bit embarrassed to be called the Demon King, but this was the quickest way to explain it in a way that even a muscle brain could understand. So, what should I do now? Because [Witch] and [Demon King] were just different colors, perhaps some of the witnesses noticed. But I couldn¡¯t let Bert-san go home because even if I let him go without warning him, some people might be able to deduce the truth from his testimony. ¡­If I hit Bert-san seriously on the head about 10 times, would his memory be affected? CH 59.3 While I was thinking about such insolent thoughts, Bert-san suddenly stood up and knelt down on one knee like a knight in front of me. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Hey, girl. I was defeated by you. I thought I had trained pretty well, but I was defeated so perfectly that I couldn¡¯t even make a sound. So, my life is yours. I have no complaints if you kill me here, and if you want me to be your subordinate, I¡¯ll gladly swing my sword for you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± This was unexpected. To be frank, I thought Bert-san was the type who would repeatedly challenge me until he won. But¡­ ¡°You are a knight of the Caenista, right?¡± ¡°Oh, no problem. Knights and nobles didn¡¯t suit me to begin with, and those guys are a pain in the neck!¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Good, he was not thinking about it. Did he not care about his son, Abel? But I can sympathize with him in some ways, so I should be honest and ask for his support. That didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t any issues. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll ask Bert-san to be strong.¡± ¡°What? Can I still get stronger?¡± Bert-san¡¯s strength was the strongest of all humans. I could estimate his strength to be level 50. However, he couldn¡¯t fight hundreds of knights, let alone a few, and if they used magic, he¡¯d be easily defeated. There were several ways to go about it, but let¡¯s make Bert-san do his best, trying desperately until he was on the verge of death. I healed Bert-san¡¯s wounds and gave him the items I took out of my bag. ¡°¡­What¡¯s this? Amazing.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± What I gave Bert-san was not something I made with my skills, but a number of armors with rarities that I got from the game. These were things I used to limit break when I was level 50. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s pitch black.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Black full-body armor, full plate and a jet black greatsword. It was an item I collected when I was in full role playing mode, and it looks wonderful and villainous. The only functions were a slight vitality absorption (3% of damage) on the great sword and some magic resistance on the armor, but since it was rare and indestructible, it was great. ¡°Awesome equipment, but would this make me stronger? It¡¯s not what I expected, but¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± This was just the preparation. I still had some of the ¡°potions¡± I made a long time ago, so I had him take those as well. ¡°It¡¯s mild and rich, yet not overpowering¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s poison.¡± ¡°Buh.¡± It was a medicine that temporarily lowers skills. To put it bluntly, it was poison. But this was a trigger needed to complete a certain event, and at the time I had a few bottles left in reserve because I failed several times. It was not an Otome game event, but a VRMMORPG event. It was the [Limit Breaking] event, which removed level restrictions. In the VRMMO, people do this every 10 levels, and eventually they could extend to 100 or more, and Bert-san needed to do the first one. The contents of this¨C. ¡°I¡¯m going to throw you into an ogre settlement, and you have to kill 100 of them alone within a day. If you can¡¯t kill them in time, or if you get help from someone else, you¡¯ll have to start over.¡± ¡°Seriously¡­¡± The event consisted of defeating 100 level 30 or higher enemies in one day while poisoned. One might think that if they were level 50, it would be a piece of cake, but their skills would be down, and if they would be fighting alone, and the fight would be in a village. There would always be about 5 to 10 of them attacking, so it would be a very tight battle. If that were the case, one might be tempted to just hunt outside the village, but that would require a lot of luck to hunt in a single day. I failed at that, too, and in the end, I eradicated them while gulping down MP restoring medicine. ¡°Pochi, if Bert-san is about to die, please help him. He will have to start over, though.¡± [Oh, oh¡­] ¡°Seriously¡­¡± This was good for Bert-san. I know it would be dangerous, but I should go back to the Royal Capital once to check on Maia and the others. I hoped that nothing happened to them¡­. CH 60.1 Innocent Absolution Part 1 After a day or so of recovering my strength, I changed my equipment to an archer outfit [Arjuna Cloche] that was different from my usual, just in case, and returned to the vicinity of Royal Capital. ¡°¡­¡± However, something was different. It would be strange for me to appear in the Royal Capital after being separated on the battlefield, so I planned to use [Space Transition] to get closer and then return to Carol, a noblewoman, near the Royal Capital¡¯s gates to go inside, but unlike before, the air seemed tense. Since the Royal Capital had a large population, workers and others settled outside the outer walls, and the area in front of the gate was in the form of a small inn town. I stopped by a stall selling fruit and other items to get some information. ¡°Give me one of those oranges there.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s six small copper coins.¡± ¡°Keep the change. I have a question.¡± I removed my hood as we exchanged the orange for a large copper coin, and the lady¡¯s face turned blue at that moment. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re an elf, I won¡¯t say anything bad about you, just get out of the Royal Capital.¡± ¡°What?¡± When I tried to ask her what had happened, she threw the copper coin she had received back at me. ¡°You should go now. If we get involved with the subhumans, we¡¯ll get caught too.¡± With that, the aunt retreated to the back of the stall as if frightened. What happened in the Royal Capital? I looked around and saw people whose eyes met mine looking away, and a young woman who looked like a mother picking up her child in her arms hurried away. There was more prejudice against subhumans in Royal Capital than in other parts of the country, but it was not as bad as this. This¡­ I probably shouldn¡¯t go back. I put the hood of my cloak back on and, using my Concealment Skill, I left the secluded area and then climbed over the five-meter-high outer wall, going under the watchful eye of the patrolling soldiers. There were very few subhumans living in the Royal Capital. However, there were people who came here on business, like adventurers, so I saw a few of them when I walked down the street, but when I looked from the roof while using the Concealment Skill, I couldn¡¯t find anyone who looked like a subhuman. [What the hell are you doing out of the blue!] [Shut up!] I heard such voices coming from the back alley on my way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and as I approached the roof, I noticed a strange-looking wolf-beast man struggling with the guards. ¡°What did I do? I just came back from the dungeon!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know the official notice? All subhumans in this country have been ordered to be captured. I ask you to keep calm and follow us.¡± ¡°What do you mean!?¡± Ordered to arrest? All subhumans? What¡¯s going on? He looks familiar. I knocked him down once because he was an adventurer who used to get into trouble with women. Should I help him? But even if I helped him here, he could be captured by the guards again unless he escaped from the Royal Capital, which was a big place. If I tried to help him escape, I would have to deal with a number of guards. Fortunately, the guards seem to be from a commoner background and seem rather sympathetic to him, so I doubt they would harm him as long as he stays docile. ¡°Hmph, no need to worry about filthy subhumans.¡± At that moment, a knight appeared from the shadow of a building in my blind spot, and before I could react, he thrust his sword into the adventurer¡¯s chest. CH 60.2 ¡°Ggh, ha¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t think that subhumans like you can make a big face in the land of the humans!¡± ¡­ Out of nowhere, he just stabbed him? I sincerely prayed for him, who was killed before I could help him. I memorized the knight¡¯s face. He was not a good man, and I did not get along very well with him, but I would avenge him someday. She didn¡¯t know if there was a miscommunication or if they were capturing the subhumans from the outside in order to prevent them from escaping, but in any case, the noble knights, who despised subhumans but had never messed with them before, made a move on the subhuman without hesitation. I was worried about Maia and the others. Even though they look human, Maia and her siblings have Beastman blood in their veins. If that was considered a crime, then all the current humans would be guilty because they should have some kind of subhuman blood mixed in their veins, but the nobles believed they were pure humans, so there was no telling what they would do. ¡°[Warp]¡± I would not head there covertly, but use [Space Transition] to a marker in my room. ¡°¡­¡± I opened the door and went downstairs where I found Maia and her son looking exhausted. ¡°Carol-sama!¡± ¡°Young Lady!¡± ¡°Thank God you¡¯re okay¡­¡± Maia hugged me before I could call out to her. Meiya and her husband were in tears, relieved that I was safe rather than wondering why I was here. ¡°Maia, what in the world¡­¡± ¡°Young Lady Carol, it¡¯s not safe here, please run away!¡± Maia looked up and said this with great vigor as she stroked my head and hugged me. I decided that asking Maia, who was emotionally unstable, any more questions would be difficult, so I turned my attention to Meiya, who nodded seriously and told me what I wanted to know. ¡°Actually¨C¡° The other day, there was an [Official Notice] from the castle. When the knight army led by the Crown Prince went to fight off Daemon¡¯s advance troops who had gathered in the Demon Forest to invade Caenista Kingdom again, they were trapped by vile magic, but those attacks were averted by [Spirit¡¯s beloved child], who followed them with a pure heart. The damage, however, was significant, and it was found that the Daemons were aware of their movements and that it was the Daemon¡¯s advance guard, the subhumans, who had informed the Daemons of their intentions. Therefore, the nobles and people of Caenista should seize all subhumans who joined the vile Daemons in the name of justice, and if they resist, they should be dealt the hammer of justice in the name of Caenista Kingdom. ¡°¡­¡± ¡­What kind of reason was that? It was a very unrealistic setup. I couldn¡¯t help but be stunned, but perhaps it was a [convenient truth] for the aristocrats, who believed in human supremacy. ¡°Therefore, you should leave the country immediately¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen!¡± *Bakin! The doorway to the remote house opened, and a few figures rushed in. ¡°¡­Dirk¡± ¡°Carol¡­how dare you come back here, you disgrace of the Arceides family.¡± Dirk, my brother in this life¡­the current acting head of the House of Arceides, looked at me and said this as if to throw up. ¡°At least if you had died, I could have apologized to His Majesty¡­ Carol, report to the royal castle immediately, where His Majesty will pronounce judgment on you. You are no longer a member of the House of Arceides!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t have any aspirations to be a noble, but I didn¡¯t like the way he was talking to me. Dirk seemed to be slightly intimidated when I silently glared at him, but he immediately gave me a foolish smile. ¡°Hmph. I know you¡¯re a dark Spirit user, but you¡¯re okay with letting it run wild? You may be fine with it, but even your servants will be considered just as guilty there, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Meiya and her husband seemed concerned that their daughter might be involved, even if Maia was not. CH 60.3 ¡°¡­Can you guarantee the safety of these people?¡± ¡°Carol-sama!¡± I said with a sigh, and Maia¡¯s wailing voice echoed. It was difficult for me to escape safely with the three of them in such an alarmed state. ¡°Fine. If you say you will not let the Spirit of Darkness run rampant, then I, Dirk, will take responsibility for the custody of those people.¡± ¡°¡­Nn.¡± Nodding at Dirk¡¯s words, I give Maia and the others a look, indicating that they should move. Their safety was my top priority right now. As I approached Dirk, he patted my shoulder with a sickening motion of his hand and started chatting uncomfortably in my ear. ¡°Kukuku, don¡¯t worry Carol, perhaps your status will cease to be a noble, and you will be placed in the custody of the state, but I will buy you back as a slave with this reward money. Hahahaha.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Should I kill him right here after all? A few hours later, a group of knights from the royal castle came and took me away to the castle, where I was shackled with [magic shackles]. The shackles may not have been very effective, but they certainly kept magic from being activated. In the carriage, I tried to sort out the current situation until we reached the king¡¯s castle. The current state of affairs is close to the execution of the harem end, but it is still too early and there were so many other flags in the mix that I honestly could not predict what was going to happen. At worst, I would be dragged through the streets and burned at the stake for aiding the Daemons ¡­I would fight back as soon as Maia and the others were safe, but how much of what Dirk said could be trusted? I doubt they¡¯d let down their guard at any point, but would Maia and the others flee that night after the King¡¯s judgement was passed? How would I know where they would be at that time? The timing would be difficult¡­ Dirk being untrustworthy would be the most troublesome. Maybe I should have shown up at Cam¡¯s place first after all. When I arrived at the castle, surrounded by a large group of knights, I made my way to the simple audience room where the trial was to take place, and a familiar face spotted me and shouted. ¡°Carol!!!¡± ¡°Cam¡­¡± A few senior knights stopped Cam as he was about to run up to them. A man in a luxurious costume in the upper seat ridiculed him. ¡°Camille, I know you probably have a lot of feelings for your ex-fianc¨¦e, but please don¡¯t embarrass me.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Cam clenched his fists so hard they bled. I¡¯d never seen him before, but is that the king? The man who murdered his father while his half-brother Cam was abroad and ascended to the throne. I knew I was biased, but he appeared to be the type who would do it. ¡°Then, let me state the charges against Miss Carol.¡± The Prime Minister announced, and the trial for a crime that never happened began. There wasn¡¯t much to say about the contents. It was a denunciation of me, an agent of the Daemons because the righteous Caenista Kingdom had been harmed by cowards when they attempted to punish the wicked Daemons. ¡°That is an extreme punishment. But you are my brother¡¯s ex-fianc¨¦e. If you have something to say, I¡¯m listening, okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Death penalty? Perhaps¡­ he wanted to humiliate and torment me by having me cling to Cam because I was so terribly distraught. ¡°Nothing¡­ I have nothing to do with him.¡± ¡°Carol¡­¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s very suspicious, subhuman girl. Take her away!¡± The senior knight gave me a strong push on the shoulder to take me out of this place, and seeing that the King and the Prime Minister¡¯s eyes were momentarily away from me, I conveyed my thoughts with my lips only to the dejected-looking Cam. ¡ª-Believe in me¡ª- No matter what happened, even if it was a capital crime, even if it was against me ¨C I would still be there for you. CH 61.1 Innocent Absolution Part 2 ¡°Hey, get your ugly face out of here, you filthy subhuman!¡± ¡°You subhumans are really disgusting. To think that you¡¯re not frightened at all, even when you are in this state.¡± In the long, dimly lit corridor, two senior knights shouted curses at my back as I walked ahead of them. I wish they would walk slower and not compare my stride, which is less than 5¡¯5¡å, to those who are over 6¡¯5¡å. The king sentenced me to the death penalty and ordered that I be imprisoned in the dungeon until it was decided how I would be executed. Normally, aristocratic criminals would wait for execution in a room similar to a guest room unless they committed a serious crime, but as a subhuman, I was sent straight to jail. To be honest, I think I could escape if I wanted to, but in order to retrieve Maia and the others without causing too much trouble for Cam, I would prefer to escape without going berserk if at all possible. ¡­I wondered if Cam would be okay with that. He was more mature than me, and calm and smart and relaxed and dynamic and awesome, but he did have a sensitive side to him, so I was a little worried. Don ¡°Ora, don¡¯t stop.¡± ¡°¡­¡± My legs stopped after thinking for a bit, and a knight pokes me in the shoulder from behind with a spear point. I was fine, but wouldn¡¯t a normal young lady be unable to move with her shoulder pinned down? ¡°What the¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± I turned slightly and stared at him, and the knight who poked me took a step back. The knight, who had noticed this and turned red in the face, swung at the tip of the spear rather than the body of the spear. ¡°You, you!¡± ¡°Stop it!¡± A voice of restraint echoed in the dimly lit passageway, and two boys appeared from a side passageway. ¡°Yo, your Highness!¡± ¡°Even if she is a sinner, you should not be violent towards a weak woman.¡± ¡°Let that one pay for his sins in front of the public. Don¡¯t inflict unnecessary wounds.¡± ¡°¡±Ha!¡±¡± At the instruction of the two boys, the large knights bowed. It was Crown Prince Julio and Ian, son of the Prime Minister. What were they doing here? Even though they were inside the castle, they appeared without any companions and approached me with the same attitude as usual, even though I was bound with shackles that sealed off their magic. ¡°Hey, you look better than I expected. I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°I never thought you¡¯d come back on your own after you went missing on the battlefield. You traitor.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡­Well said. I assumed it was all because of the convenient reports you guys made to cover up your own blunder. Still, the original plan was to kill me and frame me, a subhuman of treachery, so I guess that excuse was acceptable, but it still didn¡¯t make me feel any better about it. I would love to escape from here, but for now, I would be patient and be ready when Maia and the others were safe. ¡°So, I¡¯m here to offer you a proposal. Will you listen to me?¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Julio whispered softly to me, his usual thin smile twisting into a disgusted grin. ¡°If you are to be mine, I can talk to Father about you. I can¡¯t make you my favored consort, but I can make you my pet, you know?¡± ¡°Please stop dreaming with your eyes open.¡± Ian raised his voice from behind Julio, who seemed momentarily taken aback when I answered without a pause. ¡°You, you, you subhuman, are you denying Julio-sama¡¯s mercy!¡± ¡°Ian, stop it. I see, Fufufu¡­. I like your dirty words. Well, let¡¯s just back off this time.¡± ¡°Julio-sama!¡± Julio rebuked Ian and walked away, as if he wasn¡¯t so attached, but Ian glared at me until the end, as I walked with the knight to the prison. CH 61.2 ¡°¡­not yet?¡± ¡°Walk, hurry up!¡± We arrived at the dark, dank, dirty and smelly dungeon¡­ and for some reason, I had to walk endlessly through the dimly lit underground corridors. Not that the dungeon was any better, but where did this path lead to? It already went beyond the limits of the castle, which was uselessly spacious, didn¡¯t it? ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s up here.¡± After that, I was made to climb a spiral staircase to reach a single door. ¡°Enter!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The room was a stone warehouse-like room that was not very clean. A large window overlooked the huge royal castle directly in front of us, just a few hundred meters away. But it didn¡¯t matter. This was most likely the spire at the castle¡¯s end. At the back of the room, surrounded by maids, was a silver-haired woman with a veil over her face. ¡°I¡¯ve brought the subhuman woman!¡± ¡°Yes, thank you for your help.¡± The silver-haired woman exerted herself lightly, and the knights smiled with a sneer, as if they were waiting for something. ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t get your reward yet.¡± The knights seemed to have brought me here on this person¡¯s orders. The silver-haired woman quietly steps forward to hand the knights their reward and points her white fingertips at them. ¡°Burn.¡± ¡°¡±¨CGyahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡±¡± Instantly, the two knights burst into flames, screaming and flailing, and within seconds they were charred and crumpled, and a rising wind of flame rolled up the woman¡¯s veil. ¡°Ho ho ho ho, how about that for a reward?¡± ¡°Flare¡­¡± The silver-haired woman was Flare. It seemed like the situation had changed. I would have been put in the dungeon, but perhaps Flare bribed a knight to bring me here. ¡°Carol, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°¡­Flare, why?¡± I asked, and Flare smiled bewitchingly as she trampled the black ashes that had turned to dust with her high heels. ¡°I wasn¡¯t amused that you were being treated so poorly by those small fry. Why aren¡¯t you doing anything? It¡¯s not like you to not do anything, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t expect Flare to tell me off¡­. But indeed, it was true. I was worried about Maia and the others and Cam, so I was very distracted, which was probably out of character for me. ¡°Flare, may I ask for another favor from you?¡± ¡°Sure, you can ask me for anything you want.¡± Flare crossed her arms as she lifted a very overgrown part of her body. ¡°Can you get the family of my servants out of here?¡± ¡°Oh, is that all? You could entrust them to me. And¡­? What does Carol have to show me in return?¡± Cam would be able to manage on his own. But I was worried about Maia and the others, so I entrusted them to Flare. I would never trust the nobles in this country at all, but the only one I could trust was Flare the Villainess. This country was just that bad. ¡°What¡¯s at the top of that castle?¡± Flare¡¯s assassin maids approached me to remove my magic-sealing shackles, but when I declined and asked, Flare comfortably informed me. ¡°It¡¯s the treasury, as I recall. I¡¯ve never seen it because only the king can enter, but I was told that it was filled with junk.¡± ¡°Fu~n.¡± Nodding, I approached the large window where I could see the castle. ¡°¨CSetup [Witch Dress]¨C¡° Instantly, I was dressed in a crimson dress. As the shackles shattered and fell to the floor, the assassin maids gasped, and Flare¡¯s eyes lit up with delight when she saw me, as if she had discovered something delightful. I went out through the large window onto the terrace and held up my hand to the heavens, concentrating my magical power. ¡°¨C[Thunder Rain]¨C¡° In the blink of an eye, the clear sky was covered with dark clouds, and thunder roared through the clouds. Normally, I would have let [Thunder Rain] descend over a wide area like this, but I took out my Zanbatou Ridil in my hand held up to the sky and raised it to the heavens in precise magic control. ¡°¨C[Mjollnir]¨C¡° Lightning converged, and a huge thunderbolt fell from the heavens. But this was not aimed anywhere, and the huge thunderbolt struck Ridil directly, causing a pillar of lightning to rise from the tip of Ridil. ¡°[I am the one who pursues the truth, the one who seeks the art of governing reason]¡± ¡°[Hear me O heavens, howl upon the earth, Iron Maiden, chain of the heavens and the earth, open a path path descending from the sky, a beacon of death, I will bring down upon you the wrath of God¡­]¡± ¡± [shout] !¡± 10th Class Magic¨C ¡°¨C[Exa Donner]¨C¡° At those powerful words, the huge lightning emanating from Ridil became a blade, and with a downward swing of the blade, it ripped through the atmosphere with a sound like a stringed instrument hitting a series of high-pitched keys. It slashed and blew apart the top of the castle, the highest point in this country, the symbol of the castle¡¯s authority. Dogoooon!!!! Screams echoed here from the castle as a large amount of debris rose. I turned around with the still electrified Ridil in one hand and pinched the hem of my skirt with the other hand to perform a curtsy, and Flare burst out laughing, holding her stomach. Goodbye, Royal Capital, the next time we meet I wouldn¡¯t be so forgiving. CH 62.1 Farewell and Departure The top of the Royal Castle, the highest point in the Caenista Kingdom and a symbol of royal authority, built for the first king to look down on his people while surrounded by treasures, was destroyed. ¡°My God¡­ what has happened? What happened to my treasure!?¡± ¡°Well, fortunately, only the spire was broken, and since no one usually goes near that area, no one died, although some people were seriously injured by the flying debris¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about that! What about the treasure!¡± A civil official, who appeared to be a middle-class nobleman, reported the situation, and the King of Caenista approached the civil official, shouting as if he was about to grab the official. The treasury in the spire, which only the king could enter, was filled with gold coins and gold given to the king as a favor by nobles from other countries and within the country. These were the personal assets of the king, not of the state, and he used the money to keep a large number of mistresses and to indulge in extravagant spending. But that was not a bad thing. The king circulated a large amount of money on a budget separate from that of the state, and this was part of the reason why the economy, albeit only in the Royal Capital area, was able to keep going. Generation after generation of kings has spent the majority of the money they acquired before dying, rather than passing it down to their children, the next generation of kings. However, because the previous king collapsed due to an unexpected death, many assets remained, and when combined with the assets collected by the current king, he personally owned the largest assets of all the kings in history. ¡°Well, umm¡­ the treasury, along with the spires, has been completely blown away, so most of it is either gone, or scattered throughout the Royal Capital along with some minor debris¡­¡± ¡°What! There were over 10,000 large gold coins in there! And now¡­. Damn you! Prime Minister! Find out the cause of this matter at once! And recover the scattered treasures immediately! The commoners must have stolen it!¡± ¡°¡­Yes, sir.¡± According to eyewitness accounts, a massive thunderbolt from the heavens swept down like a sword, destroying the spire, and most of the treasure was thought to have vanished. And although the civil officials reported that it was scattered throughout the Royal Capital, most of the gold, which was of great weight, was, in fact, scattered throughout the castle courtyard and other areas, where it had all been embezzled by the castle workers. It was obviously foolish to steal the money and then blame it on the commoners, but the nobles were relieved that the king¡¯s wrath had not been directed at them. The incident, dubbed ¡°God¡¯s Wrath,¡± was dismissed as a natural disaster, with only dozens of people seriously injured by debris in the castle, a few people missing, a few slightly injured by flying debris in the Royal Capital, and a few knights and nobles killed by unlucky direct hits from the debris. Among the missing was the subhuman young lady, the former fianc¨¦e of the king¡¯s brother, but this was soon buried by the king¡¯s subsequent outburst. *** ¡°Setup [Arjuna Cloche]¡± I was currently hiding in the Royal Capital. Flare was supposed to be working behind the scenes to get my servants out of the Royal Capital, so it would be best to wait outside the Royal Capital, but before I escape from the Royal Capital, I¡¯d like to complete the tasks that have been bothering me. The Royal Capital was in quite a commotion, which was understandable since the entire top portion of the castle, which could be seen from anywhere in the Royal Capital, disappeared. In the Royal Capital, subhumans would risk being reported and entangled if they were discovered, but in the current chaos, it would not be difficult to lurk for a few days. But when I arrived at my destination, I found myself in a bit of trouble. ¡°Cam¡­¡± I was hoping to make sure Cam was safe and to have a little chat with him before I left, but it seemed that the king still considers Cam to be a danger. To prevent Cam from acting suspiciously, the castle¡¯s knights and soldiers, whom I had never seen before, surrounded Cam¡¯s house and restricted access to it. But this deftness might be the Prime Minister or the Duke of Prata rather than the King. I also had [Concealment Skill], but it wasn¡¯t very high, so sneaking into a guarded area with a large number of people, even if it was just to check on them, was difficult. The access was restricted so the butler, Nicholas, didn¡¯t come out either, so I couldn¡¯t contact him. Should I write him a letter to let him know I was safe? No, I believe it would be reviewed regardless, and I couldn¡¯t leave any evidence of my survival after Flare made me disappear. Still¡­I owe Flare quite a bit. Flare was still a terrible person, but I guess there was a subtle camaraderie between us that made Flare look cool, which was troublesome. I quietly wait for night to fall and try to get in by relying on my status from the high wall, where the security seems to be weak. After all, there were many knights inside. The Prime Minister and the Duke of Prata use pretty good knights, so I didn¡¯t see any soldiers drunk on liquor like I saw in the Arceides frontier territory. I thought about using dark magic to confuse them, but I dismissed the idea because Cam might be blamed if a commotion broke out. I tried to figure out if I could break into the building somewhere on top of a tree in the yard. ¡­Oh, the rose that Cam planted for me was trampled¡­ I was about to leave, feeling a little down, when a window on the third floor terrace opened and a man appeared. ¡°¡­Cam.¡± Thank God he was okay. He was safe. Because this world used magic to build, I assumed there would be no damage inside the castle, which was stronger than reinforced concrete, but it was still a relief to see him unharmed. Cam looked up at the moon at the night sky in silence. I wondered what he was thinking about right now¡­. I would like to talk to him, but knights were patrolling in the yard in plain view, so I doubt I could get any closer. Time to go home¡­ I thought and turned my back to look at Cam one last time, and at the same time my eyes met with Cam¡¯s, who lowered his face. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡±¡± He looked like he was about to cry¡­. Cam tried to say something, but I stopped him by shaking my head. Then, after staring at each other from a distance for a bit, I turned away and left the place, using the space transition to escape from the Royal Capital. I did not know how much of that exchange got through to him, but I didn¡¯t want him to do anything too reckless¡­ CH 62.2 A few days later, a nobleman¡¯s carriage with the insignia of the noble family removed was quietly driving its horse along the road from the Royal Capital to the frontier. It was escorted by only one man with a bad look in his eyes, who also served as a guard. The decorations had been removed to make it less conspicuous, but it was still more magnificent than commoners¡¯ carriages, and it appeared to be a carriage used by a traveling noble or merchant. *Ton¡­ ¡°¡­Ugh.¡± An arrow shot from the woods along the road pierced the driver¡¯s head, and as the man collapsed on the side, about six men dressed in filthy armor and wielding rusted weapons jumped out of the woods. ¡°Kill them! Seize the young woman!¡± ¡°Hiyahahahaha!¡± Probably fugitives from past battles who had become bandits or taken their equipment. Although there were no bandits near Demon Forest because of the threat of demons, many bandits roamed in the other areas of the region. As the bandits ran to their wagons, another voice echoed from the opposite side of the forest. ¡°¨C[Ice Storm]¨C¡° I appeared in my aristocratic robes where the white storm blew through, and the white-frosted bandits clattered down after that. ¡°Young Lady Carol!¡± The carriage door opened and a young woman with chestnut hair -Maia, the maid- ran up to me and hugged me with all her might, crying. ¡°Maia, I apologize for worrying you.¡± ¡°Young Lady¡­¡± As I was patting Maia¡¯s head as she hugged me, Meiya and Danny appeared from the carriage and smiled with relief when they saw me. ¡°Young Lady¡­. it¡¯s good to see you safe and sound.¡± ¡°Hmm. Are you guys okay? And the gentleman over there?¡± ¡°He was probably commissioned from one of the Guilds¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± A guild¡­which guild would be it? They wouldn¡¯t take this kind of stuff in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, so it¡¯s probably the Criminal Guilds. Flare most likely didn¡¯t mean to let them go out with this kind of escort, but she just couldn¡¯t care less about other people¡¯s lives or anything else in general. ¡°So, what do you guys want to do? If you want to live in peace, you can do whatever you want with the money I gave you, and I¡¯ll send you wherever you want.¡° ¡°I¡¯m going to join you, Young Lady!¡± I was about to give her the chance to choose, when Maia immediately declared. Was this a good idea? I turned to Maia¡¯s parents and they both chuckled, then nodded deeply at me. ¡°If it¡¯s not too much trouble for you, we¡¯ll follow you too because we can¡¯t leave Young Lady and Maia alone.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± To be honest, I was happy that they decided to join me. I could do many things, but I couldn¡¯t do everything. So, I won¡¯t hide anything from the three of them anymore. ¡°¨CSetup [Witch Dress]¨C¡° When they saw me in my transformed form, their eyes widened and their mouths dropped open. ¡°This is [me]. I know there¡¯s a lot more to come, but will you still follow me?¡± Maia answered with a strong ¡°yes,¡± and Meiya and Danny nodded with smiles. Now it was time to go. To a new country. CH 63.1 Messenger from the Daemon Kingdom Part 1 After a few days of rattling around in a horse-drawn carriage, we arrived at the Arceides Frontier Count¡¯s territory. As expected, we could not use the dungeon-based shortcut with Maia and the others, who were civilians, so instead we took the horse-drawn carriage to the vicinity of the Demon Forest. For the past few days, I stayed in the [Witch] state except when I went to bed to prepare for unforeseen circumstances, but it seemed that everyone was finally getting used to it. As expected, no Official Notice to capture subhumans had yet reached this remote area, but [Witch], the adventurer, had defeated a number of dark knights here, so I was equipped with my archery gear just in case. My parents in this life¡­what are they doing? I remembered them doing a lot of things to me, but to be frank, they didn¡¯t interest me anymore. I was worried about where to run away with the three of them, but eventually, I decided to take them to the Daemon settlement. There was another country nearby, one of which was the hometown of Cam¡¯s mother, and I heard that it was tolerant of subhumans, from when he had studied abroad, but I did not confirm if this was actually the case, and if it really was a good country, I did not want to cause any trouble if my true identity was discovered. I was also a little nervous about taking everyone to the Daemon village¡­. Maia and her family possessed Beastman blood, but they looked almost human. I was a little worried about whether it would be safe to take them to a place where they hated humans so much, but those people were good people at heart, so I think it would be fine ¡­at worst, I¡¯ll make Pochi go berserk. For the time being, I took Maia and the others to the downtown area of Arceides territory to buy necessities for the three of them, who had arrived with almost nothing but their clothes on. ¡°¡­phew.¡± ¡°Maia, are you tired?¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not tired. I am full of energy.¡± When I called out to Maia, who was sighing, she turned around and smiled. Maia seemed to get along well with Nicholas, Cam¡¯s butler and friend, so I suppose she was sad to be away from him. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­¡± ¡°¡­Young Lady.¡± I lightly tapped her on the shoulder to encourage her, but Maia looked up at me with an even more saddened look on her face. ¡­That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to do it. I knew what she was going to say, but if I tried to be friendly and give her advice, it was definitely going to end up being about me. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t have my own thoughts on the subject, but even in my previous life, I was terrible at talking about them. ¡°Shall we go then?¡± ¡°Young Lady Carol, where are we going¡± I packed my belongings and placed them in my [bag], and we were about to leave when Meiya asked. ¡°A nice place.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± I didn¡¯t tell them much. It wasn¡¯t because I thought it would be too much trouble. I feared that if I told the others, who were regular people, that we were going to Daemon¡¯s place, they would become uneasy. We then proceeded as far as we could with the cheap waggon and a big horse that was only strong enough to carry us for a short distance before selling it for a couple of dollars in a village along the way before it became impossible to proceed on the mountain road. As we entered the Demon Forest, I muttered a few words as I watched the blood drain from the three of them¡¯s faces as the presence of the demons grew stronger. ¡°[Release]¡± This was not magic, but an ability that VRMMO Players have. In the VRMMO game, as the level increases, the lower-ranked demons would become afraid of the Player and stop attacking. This would be fine if that were the only reason, but the weaker demons would run away and hide and not come out. It would be nice to be able to feel powerful, but I would like to avoid doing so. It would be impossible to collect materials. Additional features were added because when there was only one strong Players in the area, low-level Players could not hunt prey and the site would be in chaos. [Restriction] and [Release]. It wouldn¡¯t limit my abilities, but if I restrict them, the weaker, more aggressive demons would attack me energetically. The only time I removed the restriction was when I pet Pochi and the last time I had a major battle. *Basabasabasa! As soon as I let go of my original high-level presence, all the bird-type demons in the area flew away, and the beast-type demons curled their tails and fled at once. As expected of demons, they were quick to sense danger. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°¡±Yes, yes!¡±¡± CH 63.2 For some reason, I felt like everyone was more nervous than when the demons were around, but if I cared about that, I would lose¡­. But what exactly was the difference between me now and the way I usually was? Was there some kind of subtle substance dripping out of me? Then, we went deeper into the Demon Forest for about an hour, taking a bath in the now completely peaceful forest¡­ [Carol, I have arrived to pick you up!] ¡°¡±Hiii!¡±¡± Maia and the others screamed as a huge, jet-black shadow suddenly descended from the sky without a sound. It was Pochi, the dark dragon. It appeared exactly like a dog that jumped out to greet us, but thinking about it, Pochi¡¯s speech seemed to be in old magic language, and it probably sounded like the roar of a dragon that no one but me could understand. It would certainly be frightening. As I was racking my gray brain cells trying to explain how this dragon was just a pet dog, a figure as black as the dragon¡¯s protective fur that rode on its back fell down. ¡°Ji, young lady¡­ I did it!¡± ¡°¡±Hiiiiiiiiiii!¡±¡± Black armor in the shape of a Demon or Demon God. The armor, which had once been brand new, was indestructible and not even scratched, but it was stained with blood and mud and appeared to have been used to kill everyone in some village. Uncle Bert, you did your best. I didn¡¯t think you could make it through on the first try even after all that careful preparation. The next step would be to strengthen your skills¡­ it would be a hassle. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The man inside is a good-natured uncle.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± Bert-san was a little depressed at the sight of the girl hiding behind me as I comforted a tearful Maia by saying something reasonable. Remove that helmet, please. You actually like it, don¡¯t you? When I looked at it again, I realized how bizarre my surroundings were. Compared to that, I appeared ordinary. ¡°What¡¯s going on with the people in the village?¡± I asked Pochi while casting a recovery spell on Bert-san. It seemed that the invading army of Caenista Kingdom had completely retreated, and the Daemons who evacuated had returned to their villages. Hmmm¡­there was a chance that some adventurers stayed behind to scout the area, so I wondered if they¡¯d be discovered if they returned too soon. We¡¯d have to start thinking about concealment and defensive measures all over again. There was still some distance to the Daemon¡¯s village, so I thought I would ride back on Pochi¡¯s back. [What¡­ you want all of them to ride on my back?] ¡°It¡¯s okay. Pochi is a strong and cool dragon, so even if a hundred people ride you, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± [Mm-hmm. Indeed, I am strong and cool.] He was originally an NEET dragon, so it was important to praise him moderately when trying to make him work. We rode Pochi to reach the Daemon¡¯s village. However, when I tried to get them all to ride on Pochis¡¯s back, Maia and the others seemed afraid. Meiya and Maia ended up clinging to me with their eyes closed. But Danny, the male, was clinging to Bert-san. I didn¡¯t realize it because we always came and went using [Space Transition], but it was quite a long trip. ¡°We can see it.¡± ¡°Woooah¡­¡± Maia, who was clinging to me, opened her thin eyes and let out an amazed sigh at the city stretching out into the forest in the distance. ¡­It really was a [city], huh? I had not seen it from above for a long time, but didn¡¯t it spread out considerably? There are now several thousand people in what was once a village of a few hundred¡­. Surely, this could not have been helped if the humans found it. When Pochi went down the plaza, the Daemons, who noticed us, greeted us with cheers. It was a terrible battle, but seeing everyone so happy like this, I could honestly say that I was glad to have been able to protect them. But¨C *Zazazazazaza!!! ¡°¡­Eh.¡± The moment I landed, the smiling faces of Daemons and the others twitched and fell flat all at once. What¡¯s going on? I was thinking when a blue-faced elder jumped out from among the prostrate Daemons. ¡°Carol-sama, please calm down.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Speaking of which, I was still releasing my pressure. I had forgotten about it because the high-level (or dull) Pochi and Bert-san were acting normal. ¡°Also, there is someone here who would like to have an audience with Carol-sama¡­¡± ¡°Who¡­?¡± Someone who would come to visit me in the village of Daemons? Could it be a Bert-san class adventurer? ¡°So where are they?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I asked the elder to show me the way, and followed his blue-faced gaze to a corner of the front row of prostrate people in heavy armor. ¡­I quickly turned off my pressure. CH 64.1 Messenger from the Daemon Kingdom Part 2 ¡°I am in awe that you, a half-elf woman, is pretending to be the Demon King.¡± A group of men in armor had come to see me. They appeared to be Daemons, judging by the skin visible through the gaps in their helmets, and when I hid the pressure of being a high-level player, the one who seemed to be the leader suddenly said so in a proud manner. ¡­ I was a little baffled, you know. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that, though.¡± ¡°What? They said they were swearing allegiance to the new Demon King!¡± ¡°¡­Who?¡± I turned my gaze toward the Elder, who blatantly looked away and whistled suspiciously. It was you, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°Elder¡­¡± ¡°Wait a minute! I don¡¯t know if we would all be alive if it weren¡¯t for Carol-sama. It is only natural that we should pledge allegiance to Carol-sama. And I didn¡¯t mention a Demon King. You have the power to lead the Daemons¡­. Right? Don¡¯t all of you think so!¡± Sweating profusely, the elder looked back at the Daemons in the village as if to ask for help, and they, sensing my threatening attitude, turned away from the elder with cheerful smiles on their faces. They adore you, Elder. ¡°That is unimportant to me. We will defeat you, you irreverent half-elf. How dare you claim to be the Demon King!¡± The elder, who was in grave danger, was saved by the group of men in armor. They held up spears and battleaxes, while the surrounding Daemons held up scythes and small swords to protect me, and Pochi, who was lying down, stood up loosely, making the men step back as if they were being pressured. ¡°It¡¯s fine, everyone step back.¡± I wouldn¡¯t want the Daemon people to get hurt because of me. There were six opponents. They were wearing armor, but their faces were not covered, so if I shoot them one by one, it will be over. I loaded the break revolver with silver bullets and turned the cylinder part and aimed at them. ¡°Hey, if you want to challenge the young lady, then, I¡¯ll be your opponent!¡± The battle was about to begin when Uncle Bert appeared from behind Pochi. He was dressed in jet-black full-body armor in the shape of a Demon, with spikes all over the place, making him look like a villain in his own right as he lightly pulled out a large, ominous sword. ¡°Who is this guy? He¡¯s not just an ordinary person, despite his hideous appearance!¡± ¡°I¡­ Yes, I¡¯m the Black Knight, Bert, the protector! Come on, come at me from anywhere!¡± ¡­I guess you really like your outfit, don¡¯t you, Bert-san? But would it be okay? I wondered if it was okay to leave it to him, because even though he had passed the first level limit, he had not yet improved his skills, and despite their small fry behavior, I had a feeling these people in armor were strong. ¡°Fine, Black knight, let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± *Clank! A large warrior from among the armored people attacked with a huge battleaxe, and Bert-san caught him with his greatsword, sending sparks flying wildly. Bert-san was also large for a human, but he and the Daemon Warrior were locked in a fierce battle, even though the difference in their physiques was almost twice as large. ¡°Dorya!¡± But Bert-san didn¡¯t continue to clash with the warrior, he spun the blade of his greatsword to parry the axe, and kicked the warrior in the stomach, knocking him out of his stance. ¡°Only one Daemon Warrior like that is not enough! Come at me, all of you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re so cocky! You will regret your arrogance in the afterlife!¡± The armored warriors, provoked by Bert-San, surrounded him with all their weapons at the ready. He used his greatsword and gauntlets to catch and parry the spear attacks coming from both sides. He could do that because he was equipped with indestructible equipment. I made him do reckless things to train, but he seemed to have really grasped the characteristics of the equipment and built his own way of fighting using it. Except for attacks that would knock him out of his stance or impact his armor, he ignored them because of the armor¡¯s performance and instead blew them away with strong attacks that were counter-attacks in response to the warrior¡¯s large swinging attacks. ¡°Is this all you could do! An ogre swarm was worse! I really thought I was going to die then, you know!¡± ¡°What are you talking about? ¡°¡­¡± After all, it might have been a little much to ask him to do in real life what a player would do in the game. The next quest to break through the limit was to randomly summon Demons from the demon world and make them obey you¡­. CH 64.2 If one was lucky enough to only summon a [Greater Demon] class and was well prepared, one could beat them, but if one was unlucky, an [Arch Demon] class (minimum level 100 or higher) would appear and kill them in an instant. In such cases, one would have to accept the death penalty without question or flee, but it was too dangerous to gamble one¡¯s life in the real world. ¡­Bert-san was surprisingly lucky, so maybe I should let him try? ¡°You¡¯re a fool!¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re good!¡± While I was thinking about this strange thing, most of the men in armor were defeated, and it was a one-on-one battle between Bert-san and the remaining leader of the group. Luckily, or rather, perhaps Bert-san was taking it easy on them, the men who had fallen were barely alive, although they had been beaten quite severely in a fit of rage. No, they would have died if they had been left alone. Then, with their greatswords at the ready, Bert-san and the group¡¯s leader charged at each other, fighting closely without stepping back. The sound of the metal clashing resonated in the area. The sound of metal striking metal was so loud that the Daemons who were watching cowered every time. The weapon I had given to Bert-san was a piece of art, but the greatsword that the leader was using seemed to be quite tough as well. Even though it had been struck so violently with an indestructible weapon, the blade had not yet been broken. Despite wearing indestructible armor, I thought the weapon would be more than enough to inflict damage on Bert-san. The group¡¯s leader finally let go of his defensive posture and swung his greatsword in a wide arc, ready to strike a full-fledged blow. ¡°I¡¯ll bet everything on this blow!¡± ¡°Oh! I¡¯ll take it! Bert-san howled in response, taking off his helm, which obscured his vision, and holding his jet-black greatsword in the upper position. ¡°What, you¡¯re a human!¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, but what¡¯s that got to do with our fight?¡± ¡°¡­kuku. Indeed, it doesn¡¯t! My name is Boris!¡± ¡°Come on, Boris!¡± The fact that Bert-san was a human made the crowd a bit uneasy, but the Daemon Warrior Boris, who prioritizes strength, recognized Bert as a fighter, and with a wry smile on his face, he fired up his fighting spirit. The two men¡¯s skills and warrior spirits clashed, and a painful silence settled over the place. Perhaps this would be the deciding factor. Those watching gulped as they realized that this blow would surely result in the death of one of them¡­or both of them if it was not a good one. ¡°Haaaaah! ¡°Uryaaaah!!!¡± *Kashin! ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°¡±¡­Hah?¡±¡± At that moment, I, who applied physical reinforcement, intervened and caught the two great swords that were swung down with my hands. ¡°Ki, you, to interfere with a man¡¯s match¡­¡± ¡°No matter how much you didn¡¯t like it, young lady, this is just¡­¡± ¡°Annoying.¡± ¡°¡±What the?¡±¡± I grabbed their big sword and swung them around with the two of them, throwing them far away before they could complain. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± The Daemons who were watching wanted to say something, but when I turned around, they looked away. No more complaints, I guess. ¡°Patch up those people there. They¡¯re still alive.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I yelled, and Maia and a few Daemons who had been hiding burst out, tending to the men who had been knocked out by Bert-san. ¡°¡­Can you ¡­spare them?¡± Boris, who had been hit badly after being thrown, came back with Bert-san on his shoulder. Are you guys good friends now? ¡°That remains to be determined¡­¡± ¡°Young Lady Carol! This one is not breathing!¡± Everyone gulped for a moment after hearing Maia¡¯s report, and Bert-san, who thought he was holding back, slightly strained his expression. ¡°Bert. It¡¯s natural to die in battle. It¡¯s not your concern.¡± ¡°Boris¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s too early to give up.¡± Bert and Boris looked up as I muttered this, and everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to me. ¡°¨CSetup [Saint Cloche] all¨C¡° My appearance changed from red and black [Witch] gear to white and silver [Saint Cloche] armor, and I raised my huge staff to the heavens. ¡°¨C[Resurrection]¨C¡° This was the 6th class magic [Resurrection], a magic that could normally Resurrect the dead in the VRMMO, but in reality it was only as effective as an electric shock in a hospital. The maximum time for resurrection to be effective was about 10 minutes after death. It was barely enough, but with Daemon¡¯s toughness and their high status, it could be¨C ¡°¡­.kuh.¡± ¡°Young Lady! They came back to life!¡± ¡°Oooooohh¡­¡± A groan could be heard from the surrounding area, indicating that either the Wand with the [Extended Range] effect or the additional effect of [Resurrection], which restores 20% of the HP, caused the other men who had also fallen to stand up. ¡°¡­¡± Boris saw this and looked at me silently, then knelt down in front of me and bowed deeply, not with intimidation, but with his own will. I was then invited to accept an invitation from the King of the last remaining country of Daemons. CH 65.1 Boris¡¯ explanation made a little sense to me. But then I thought about the situation and asked, ¡°So why did you attack us?¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t believe that a single person could fight off an army of humans, so we thought there was something more to it and decided to test your skills on our own¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Boris¡¯s voice faded away as if he was choked by my gaze as I stared at them silently, narrowing my eyes. As I continued to stare, greasy sweat began to run down Boris¡¯s forehead, and they pressed their foreheads to the floor once again. ¡°I got carried away! I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°¡±We¡¯re sorry!¡±¡± ¡°Nn.¡± If he wanted to apologize, he should have done it the first time I had intimidated them, but he decided to give it a shot after the intimidation was gone, perhaps because it was in the Daemon¡¯s nature. I couldn¡¯t say anything that great about the humans, though, because it was largely Pochi¡¯s work that made them withdraw, not mine alone. ¡°But I didn¡¯t call myself a Demon Lord, you know? And isn¡¯t ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ the king of Daemons?¡± ¡°No, the king of Daemon is not a ¡°Demon Lord¡± because he is simply a king of Daemon Kingdom, while a Demon Lord is a symbol against the tyranny of the humans, which is different from a king. Also, this time, our purpose is to bring those who defeated the humans.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± Boris was a knight in the king¡¯s personal guard, and from what I could see of him, his actions were not suspicious, since he was only here to arrange an invitation, though I still didn¡¯t know what the invitation was for. I would like to think that I won¡¯t suddenly be caught in a trap when I go out there, but this makes me a little uneasy. To be honest, it was very troublesome for me to travel far away after I had finally settled down. ¡°Also, His Majesty said that if you want to defend this city, we can provide you with magical tools.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Here in the town, the defensive magic tools left behind by Daemon¡¯s army during the Great War several decades ago had been repaired and were in use. The Mage Guild was trying to analyze them and make duplicates, but there were some parts that could not be analyzed, so they were never put into practical use. Nonetheless, the repaired ones were a sufficient number, but because this town had grown so large, it could no longer cover the entire area, which is why the Caenista Kingdom had discovered it. ¡°¡­Okay. I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Oh, Carol-dono, thank you very much!¡± ¡°¡±¡±Thank you very much!¡±¡±¡± It couldn¡¯t be helped. I want to have the defensive equipment in place before the next hired adventurer could come over to scout. It may seem useless since they found us once, but since our exact location was not known by satellite like on modern Earth, they would hesitate to march towards this place next time if they could not pinpoint our location. If we could then catch the scouts who were trapped by the defense equipment, the kingdom would probably not know our exact location anymore, though I doubt that there would be many scouts or parties that could come this far deep inside the Demon Forest. It was troublesome, but for the time being, I prepared to leave once more. ¡°Miss, why am I staying here! Take me with you!¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Your answer is too fast!¡± Bert-san wanted to go because he was probably interested to know about Daemon¡¯s stronghold, but I would need Bert-san to guard this place while I was gone. ¡°In exchange, I¡¯ll give you this.¡± ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this? eh?¡± I handed the note to Bert-san and a strange voice replied. Bert-san successfully broke through the level limit, but just because he broke through did not mean he became stronger. If he raised his level to just below the limit without training his skills, it would not go up. A level 1 skill would go up immediately, but I needed him to raise it to at least 10, which is the next limit. For the time being, I¡¯ve chosen some enemies nearby that will most likely increase his skills, so let him try being on the verge of death again. ¡°Rather than just letting them beat you, try to take a moderate beating.¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡± It was just me and Pochi who were heading to the Daemon Country. They said it would take about 3 days to get there by riding a trained demon wolf, so it would be about 10 days by carriage in terms of distance. ¡°¡­Young Lady.¡± Maia, whom I would be leaving behind this time, looked at me with an anxious face. Was she worried about being left behind, or was she worried about letting me go by myself? ¡°Even if I am not around, don¡¯t be picky with your food, okay?¡± ¡°¡­Nn¡± I couldn¡¯t eat meat, so it couldn¡¯t be helped, you know. ¡°Then Carol-dono, let me guide you.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Many Daemons saw me off as Boris and the others led the way. While riding on Pochi, we matched our pace with Boris and the others. Pochi, the indoor dragon, was not pleased that we were leaving again so soon, but when Pochi saw the terrified expression on the Demon Wolves that Boris and the others were riding, Pochi felt better. CH 65.2 Boris¡¯ explanation made a little sense to me. But then I thought about the situation and asked, ¡°So why did you attack us?¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t believe that a single person could fight off an army of humans, so we thought there was something more to it and decided to test your skills on our own¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Boris¡¯s voice faded away as if he was choked by my gaze as I stared at them silently, narrowing my eyes. As I continued to stare, greasy sweat began to run down Boris¡¯s forehead, and they pressed their foreheads to the floor once again. ¡°I got carried away! I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°¡±We¡¯re sorry!¡±¡± ¡°Nn.¡± If he wanted to apologize, he should have done it the first time I had intimidated them, but he decided to give it a shot after the intimidation was gone, perhaps because it was in the Daemon¡¯s nature. I couldn¡¯t say anything that great about the humans, though, because it was largely Pochi¡¯s work that made them withdraw, not mine alone. ¡°But I didn¡¯t call myself a Demon Lord, you know? And isn¡¯t ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ the king of Daemons?¡± ¡°No, the king of Daemon is not a ¡°Demon Lord¡± because he is simply a king of Daemon Kingdom, while a Demon Lord is a symbol against the tyranny of the humans, which is different from a king. Also, this time, our purpose is to bring those who defeated the humans.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± Boris was a knight in the king¡¯s personal guard, and from what I could see of him, his actions were not suspicious, since he was only here to arrange an invitation, though I still didn¡¯t know what the invitation was for. I would like to think that I won¡¯t suddenly be caught in a trap when I go out there, but this makes me a little uneasy. To be honest, it was very troublesome for me to travel far away after I had finally settled down. ¡°Also, His Majesty said that if you want to defend this city, we can provide you with magical tools.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Here in the town, the defensive magic tools left behind by Daemon¡¯s army during the Great War several decades ago had been repaired and were in use. The Mage Guild was trying to analyze them and make duplicates, but there were some parts that could not be analyzed, so they were never put into practical use. Nonetheless, the repaired ones were a sufficient number, but because this town had grown so large, it could no longer cover the entire area, which is why the Caenista Kingdom had discovered it. ¡°¡­Okay. I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Oh, Carol-dono, thank you very much!¡± ¡°¡±¡±Thank you very much!¡±¡±¡± It couldn¡¯t be helped. I want to have the defensive equipment in place before the next hired adventurer could come over to scout. It may seem useless since they found us once, but since our exact location was not known by satellite like on modern Earth, they would hesitate to march towards this place next time if they could not pinpoint our location. If we could then catch the scouts who were trapped by the defense equipment, the kingdom would probably not know our exact location anymore, though I doubt that there would be many scouts or parties that could come this far deep inside the Demon Forest. It was troublesome, but for the time being, I prepared to leave once more. ¡°Miss, why am I staying here! Take me with you!¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Your answer is too fast!¡± Bert-san wanted to go because he was probably interested to know about Daemon¡¯s stronghold, but I would need Bert-san to guard this place while I was gone. ¡°In exchange, I¡¯ll give you this.¡± ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this? eh?¡± I handed the note to Bert-san and a strange voice replied. Bert-san successfully broke through the level limit, but just because he broke through did not mean he became stronger. If he raised his level to just below the limit without training his skills, it would not go up. A level 1 skill would go up immediately, but I needed him to raise it to at least 10, which is the next limit. For the time being, I¡¯ve chosen some enemies nearby that will most likely increase his skills, so let him try being on the verge of death again. ¡°Rather than just letting them beat you, try to take a moderate beating.¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡± It was just me and Pochi who were heading to the Daemon Country. They said it would take about 3 days to get there by riding a trained demon wolf, so it would be about 10 days by carriage in terms of distance. ¡°¡­Young Lady.¡± Maia, whom I would be leaving behind this time, looked at me with an anxious face. Was she worried about being left behind, or was she worried about letting me go by myself? ¡°Even if I am not around, don¡¯t be picky with your food, okay?¡± ¡°¡­Nn¡± I couldn¡¯t eat meat, so it couldn¡¯t be helped, you know. ¡°Then Carol-dono, let me guide you.¡± ¡°Nn.¡± Many Daemons saw me off as Boris and the others led the way. While riding on Pochi, we matched our pace with Boris and the others. Pochi, the indoor dragon, was not pleased that we were leaving again so soon, but when Pochi saw the terrified expression on the Demon Wolves that Boris and the others were riding, Pochi felt better. CH 66.1 Country of the Daemons (2) Nothing special happened on the way to Belias, the last Daemon County. I stayed in Carol mode to save my strength, but I was able to ride on the back of Pochi, the dark dragon, without being attacked by any of the less intelligent demons who might have attacked us along the way. If there was a problem, it would be that there were no accommodations in the forest, so we would have to stay in the wild. I was the only girl in the group, so I hoped the men would do their best to take care of me. ¡°Carol-dono, about the encampment¨C¡° ¡°I don¡¯t need it, except for meal breaks. The Demon Wolf can run for three days, right?¡± ¡°¡­Eh?¡± [I want to sleep, too.] I didn¡¯t hear you. Pochi would be fine without sleep for a week, and I would be fine as well, because I would be dozing off on Pochi¡¯s back. I didn¡¯t think my previous life skill of dozing off in a half-awake state while staying up all night playing games for a few days would become helpful in this way. ¡°Carol-dono, I think I¡¯ll hunt for a meal¨C¡° ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have it.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Boris¡¯s eyes lit up as I pulled the mystery meat skewers, fried noodles, fish paste, fried bread, and other items that I had purchased from stalls all over the place over the past ten years out of the [Bag] in a warm temperature. ¡°Have some too, Pochi. There¡¯s water here, too.¡± [Carol¡­how much have you bought?] ¡°A lot¡­ probably enough to feed that Daemon settlement for three months.¡± [Seriously.] I worked very hard to get ready for everything. I even had 10 tonnes of refined wheat on hand so that we could engage in siege warfare. I also had about 5 tonnes of refined iron ore and copper ore as well. By the way, if I put clothes in my [bag], I could change clothes in an instant. The inside of the [bag] became data and was saved, so even a dirty outfit would become as good as new if you placed it in and took it out. Hurray for cheats. It was a forced march, but we were able to arrive in Daemon Country in the morning, three days later. If we had traveled normally, we would probably have arrived this evening or night, so we got there about half a day earlier than we would have otherwise. The plan was to arrive a day earlier and stay overnight at an inn, but that would have been unreasonable. ¡°Hey, that group there, stop!¡± As we approached the walls surrounding the city of the Daemon Country, we were stopped by the soldiers guarding the gates, which was understandable since Pochi was with us. Then, Boris took a step forward and called out to the gate guard. ¡°I am Boris, second knight captain of the Royal Guards! I have brought a guest by the order of His Majesty. Open the gate!¡± ¡°Boris-sama! But that dragon will frighten the people!¡± Even though it was the king¡¯s order, the soldiers guarding the gate looked at the dark dragon with disapproval. ¡­I was impressed when I saw a serious gatekeeper because the gatekeepers in the Caenista kingdom were either energetically demanding bribes or playing around doing nothing. But what they said was correct, and Boris frowned a little worriedly, then looked at me, as if trying to confirm the situation. ¡°We can¡¯t keep Pochi-dono waiting around here¡­¡± ¡°Pochi, what do you want to do?¡± [I want to sleep in a decent place at least for today!] ¡°Is it not possible to stay here?¡± ¡°¡­I will ask.¡± Boris was taken aback by our conversation. Of course, everyone wishes to sleep in a warm place. Some may question whether Pochi, a dragon, truly required a place to sleep. But Pochi was clean and loved to keep his dwelling covered with straw, changing it as soon as it got dirty. Eventually, after an hour, we received an order from the king to open the gate using a communication magic tool, and I was able to enter the city of Daemon while riding on Pochi. I may appear selfish, but I wanted to keep my allies together in case it was a trap, and Pochi¡¯s presence was also a good deterrent. [Carol, do you think they have good food? I¡¯m looking forward to it]. ¡°¡­I¡¯m looking forward to it as well.¡± CH 66.2 And you know, I was actually imagining what the place was going to be like. The land of Daemons ¨C when I heard that, I had the impression that it was a frightening place, with thunder rumbling under a dark sky and residents with weapons sneering from abandoned buildings, but it was no different from the land of humans. As we continued to move through the main street while riding on Pochi, the inhabitants ran and hid like spiders, peering at us from the shadows with frightened gazes. And I also saw not only Daemons but beastmen, dwarves, elves, etc. mixed in with the Daemons. A multi-ethnic nation? The vegetables and fruits sold at the stalls were almost the same as in Caenista Kingdom. Though the place was somewhat larger than Caenista¡¯s Capital. Perhaps there was less conflict because the land was more fertile than in the areas where humans lived. The city itself was huge, so much so that it could be called a metropolis. ¡°His Majesty has built a barrier by gathering the Daemons¡¯ magical power to protect the remaining Daemons and those of other races here, as well as to prepare for an invasion in the Demon Forest or by the Humans.¡± ¡°That¡¯s remarkable.¡± Boris provided an explanation in response to my questions. Bringing the people together and surrounding them with a wall. It was easy to say, but to protect not only your own people, but also refugees of other races, and to erect a barrier across an entire metropolis with a population of more than 300,000 people, was outrageous. Even in the capital of the Kingdom of Caenista, only the middle-class and upper-class areas were covered with protection. As we approached the castle, we were surrounded by knights who had come from the castle to greet us. The castle where the king lived was beautiful, slender and tall, like a pure white tower. ¡°It is my first time meeting you. I am Veritris, Lord of Belias.¡± ¡°Carol Nym¡­¡± The king of Daemon was a kind-looking old man with a long, white beard. I wouldn¡¯t say he looked weak¡­but did he have a young body sealed up somewhere? I almost suspected it. The king welcomed us not in the audience chamber, but in the castle courtyard with tea and sweets for Pochi to enjoy. I had the impression that Daemons and the other members of the group were looking at me in surprise, but I felt no hostility. Well, some of them looked pompous staring at me, but that was nothing to worry about because to some extent, there were people like that everywhere. ¡°I heard that you were a young lady, so I had someone prepare this for you, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t know if it would be to your liking.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± The king himself ate first and offered me some sweets, while Pochi was also served a whole live cow. There was a possibility that he was just a pervert with a good face like that old bishop, but if I doubted him further, there would be no point in visiting, so I sipped my tea and urged him to talk to me. ¡°By the way, [Nym]¡­could you be related to ¡®Arceides¡¯?¡± ¡°¡­I had given up that name.¡± My second name, which I used as my family name since I had given up the family name, was Nym, which I believe means ¡°demon¡± or ¡°fairy,¡± and was used as a derogatory term in the Arceides family for a long time. Dirk had once proudly told me that it would become my family name. It was a word that I certainly had never heard elsewhere, but I was no longer related to the Arceides family and had no regrets, so I didn¡¯t want to hear anything about it now. ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry I said something strange.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± The king, perhaps noticing my subtle scowl, or perhaps remembering that Caenista was a human race supremacist, bowed his head in a humble manner. Then¨C ¡°Your Majesty! There is no need to bow to such an unknown little girl! I do not recognize that person as the Successor!¡± The uncle who had been staring at me earlier suddenly shouted. ¡°¡­Successor?¡± ¡°Quiet, Barbas! I¡¯m sorry, my guest. I know you have many questions, but could you please listen to this old man first?¡± ¡°¡­Nn¡± It would appear that the reason he called me here was not simply to see me, the rumored Demon Lord, but for some other purpose as well. *** A little over a month had passed since [Abominable Child] Carol Nym Arceides, a subhuman daughter born to a noble family, went missing during the destruction of the royal castle. As for the events that occurred during that time, first, a member of the Arceides family was found guilty of a crime. The head of the family, who had left the line, took responsibility and retired, and Dirk, who had been the temporary head of the family, officially became the new head of the family. Then, Alice Lannon, a commoner, was given the rank of baronet, albeit for one generation only, for her services in the battle against the Daemons, which started the whole affair, and was even adopted by a Viscount Family on the recommendation of several noblemen. The Viscountess of Yogle, who lost her estate and son in the war with Daemons several decades ago, was now an aristocrat in name only and was living on an aristocrat¡¯s pension. She adopted Alice making her now a full-fledged member of the aristocracy and Alice had now become Alice Lannon Yogle. It was then that a dark shadow began to shroud the kingdom of Caenista. CH 67.1 Country of the Daemons (3) Creatures in this world turn into [Demons] when exposed to a large amount of magical elements. Such creatures were rarely seen on the plains where people live, but in mountainous areas, deep forests, or places where a strong amount of magical power existed, such creatures appeared in large numbers. Intelligent creatures like humans were less likely to become demons, but after a few dozen generations of living in areas with high levels of magical elements, they may become ¡°demonized¡± to adapt to their surroundings. The human-turned-demon creatures were called subhumans. Dwarves were transformed to live in mountainous regions. Beastmen lived in the tropics and deserts. Elves ¡°evolved¡± from humans to subhumans to survive in the forest areas. Daemon was one of them. They became a race of strong beings by living a nomadic life in a variety of environments, adapting to the highly magical environment, and acquiring a strong body to protect themselves from the threat of demons. However, this ¡°evolution¡± was only useful in a few areas, and subhumans were scarce. Humans dominated the world, having been designed for procreation rather than adaptation to magical elements. In the beginning, subhumans and humans were not on bad terms. The humans could not expand their sphere of life because of the threat of demons, even if they had more offspring. They needed support. The kings of humans sought the cooperation of the subhumans. So, the elves learned the art of magic, the dwarves learned the art of blacksmithing to make weapons, the beasts learned the art of surviving in a harsh environment, and a race that was not called Daemon at the time protected the humans from the threat of demons as warriors, and in this way, humans flourished greatly. As the population increased, even the weak survived and began to try to take advantage of the situation. Elves and dwarves were not so feared because they lived in different areas and only a few of them were beneficial. Beastmen were looked down upon for their high physical abilities, but lack of magic and education. However, the last race of subhumans was not accepted. They possessed a longer lifespan than humans, strong magic, strong bodies, and high intelligence. The kings of humans, fearful of losing their position to them, persecuted them as [those who gained their power by selling their souls to demons] ¡ª [Daemons] ¡ª and drove them out of their safe havens by sheer force of numbers. ¡°¨CThat was about a hundred years ago or so.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡± I exclaimed as I listened to Grandpa Veritris, the king of Daemons, telling his tale. I thought I was listening to a very old tale, but it was something that happened very recently¡­ I did expect elves with a long life span to know about what happened. ¡°Many of the subhuman races that were previously friendly with humans have joined our cause. The subhumans who are still involved with humans are most likely from other areas and have never interacted with us before.¡° ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Even if they were not the victims, they would be angry if they were suddenly betrayed after having been kind and friendly to them up to this point. ¡°They are the real demons!¡± I wasn¡¯t certain how much of this story to believe, but there was an elf grandfather who was alive at the time and was in the king¡¯s entourage, and he tearfully expressed his anger at the time. He claimed that the elves were the only nation that existed at the time that was cooperating with humans, but when the royal family was found to have connections with Daemons, they were executed on the spot and the entire royal family was slaughtered. He mentioned that these things happened a hundred years ago, and it was also around the time of the biggest war against the Daemons. The Arceides family became the nobility of the Caenista kingdom at that time, so the dates matched. ¡°To remember the anger of that time, we took the name [Daemons] and, to confront the threat of the humans, the most powerful of the subhumans took the name [Demon Lord] and led the people.¡± ¡°Not the King of Daemons?¡± ¡°No, I am Daemon, but I was not in a position to even meet the Demon Lord then, and I was told that it was an elf with Daemon¡¯s blood ¨C a half-elf.¡± ¡°Half-elf¡­¡± I guess the half-elves were much more mixed blood back then compared to now. According to the stories, the humans with darker hair were most certainly mixed with subhuman blood. ¡°Carol-dono had a mysterious hair color. The [Jet Black] that was not mixed with any other color, like the [Pure White] hair of the High Elves.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± It was probably because of my player character. I simply picked the end of the color palette. CH 67.2 ¡°The Demon Lord died from wounds sustained during the Great War, and the powerful magical tool that he used was taken with his body by the High Elves who granted it to him, sealing off the path to their village.¡± ¡°Do you want me to find that magic tool and [inherit] it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to do that. However, this is the first human invasion in a hundred years. To prepare for that, I think we will need that magic tool once more.¡± After hearing various people¡¯s stories and reading literature, I felt uneasy, but the story that was taught to humans was [that Daemons invaded the human tribe because they wanted their land; but for the Daemons, it was [that they were persecuted by those whom they had helped]. I heard that there were three countries of Daemons at that time and that two of them were lost due to war, one of which was the elven country mentioned earlier. The story that when they retreated, they released demons and turned the place into the [Demon Forest] where humans could not enter was also the result of the contracted spirits going out of control after the elven royalty was killed. ¡°I called Carol-dono because I thought she might be able to break the seal on the road leading to the village of the High Elves with her strong power. And would you mind asking the High Elves in the village beyond to lend us their magical tools once more? Of course, we will provide full security for the settlement, guarded by Carol-dono.¡± ¡°What if I refuse?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t really force you, can we? I know this is a sudden and reckless request. Even then, we will still send a part of our army to protect the village, so you don¡¯t need to worry. Our country will be in danger next if that village is destroyed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± That was pretty blunt. I had been poisoned by the Caenista kingdom¡¯s thought process for a long time, too, thinking that since he was the king, he would have said something like, ¡°I am the king, so why don¡¯t you sell your gratitude and work under my name¡­?¡± When I see a great person, I believe them to be terminally ill, wondering if they were some kind of pervert. ¡°¡­OK. I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll do it!¡± I still had many questions, but I think it was probably easiest to ask the High Elf what¡¯s going on. I didn¡¯t know what that magic tool was, but I had a feeling I would need it to fight the Kingdom of Caenista as well. The seal blocking the way to that High Elf village was located surprisingly close to the Daemon Kingdom. That day, I was allowed to stay at the castle and enjoyed a bath and a bed for the first time in a long time. After all, it was not refreshing to just wipe the body with a wet towel. Boris and the others led me to a rocky hill in the forest which was about half a day¡¯s distance from one of Daemon country¡¯s gates, along with the Daemon uncle who was glaring at me ¨C Barbas. ¡°Hmph, what can a little girl like you do? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re playing house.¡± ¡°Barbas-dono, you can¡¯t just stand there and¡­¡± Boris was trying to quiet down Barbas, who was complaining about me. He seems to be the leading royal court magician of the Daemon Kingdom. ¡°Listen, little girl, the heir of the Demon Lord should be Daemon. You don¡¯t look like someone strong enough to break the seal of the High Elves.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was saying, ¡°I told you, there¡¯s no such thing as inheritance.¡± but I ignored it because if I said anything, he would continue talking again. ¡°Setup [Witch Dress].¡± ¡°Wha, what can you do even after changing?¡± When I transformed into Witch, it seemed that I was expecting it, probably after hearing about it from Boris, but as expected, Barbas still complained to me while widening his eyes in surprise, as if he realized that all this equipment was the highest grade of magical equipment. ¡­.This was becoming a pain in the neck. I returned my gaze to the rocky hill, thinking. A large metallic door suddenly appeared on a rocky hillside. That was the seal of the High Elves. The door itself seems to be imbued with powerful magic, but the problem was the existence of a giant slime that had fed on the magic and grown to the size of a small mountain over the course of a hundred years. The slime grew so large that even after it was burned with fire, it didn¡¯t get affected. And even if they tried hitting it with a weapon, the nucleus was too far away; weapons piercing it would melt in a few seconds. I guess I had to use that ¡°thing¡± again. The first time I used it, it was all I could do to activate it for a bit, but this is the second time, so I should be able to use it reasonably well. CH 67.3 I took out my magical girl-like wand, and when Barbas saw it, he started talking sarcastically again. ¡°You don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t tried ranged attack magic? Even the most powerful 7th class magic I can handle [Fire Storm] was recovered in the blink of an eye.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Why were you so happy to talk about your own failures? But I see that you could survive 7th class [Fire Storm]¡­ I heard rumors that the top magician of the Caenista Kingdom could only use the 6th class magic, but this was the first time I heard of someone who could use a higher class than that. Hmmm¡­ the ¡°strongest¡± 7th class magic, huh? ¡°¨C[I am the one who pursues the truth, the one who seeks the art of controlling reason]¨C¡° As I began chanting, Barbas frowned at the spell, since it was probably the first time he had heard of it. ¡°¡­What is that spell? Such a random spell¡­¡± ¡°¡­¨C[To thee who was buried in ancient time, struck down by the water maiden, I give thee, by the pact of my blood, the temporary first manifestation of my body]¡­¡± Further chanting released an enormous amount of magical power, and the slime that had enveloped the sealed door turned its attention toward us, and Barbas¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°What, what is that¡­ I don¡¯t know such a spell!¡± ¡°¨C[Howl, smite, thy voice shall be a hammer that shatters the earth]¨C¡° The slime left the seal due to the magic that became bigger than the seal door, and spread its huge body to cover the sky in an attempt to swallow us like a tidal wave. But it was too late¨C ¡°¡ª[Summon Behemoth]¡ª¡° [Guaaaahhh!!!] A huge mountain-like demonic beast appeared to split the wave of giant slime, its roar trembling the rocky mountain and Daemon Country, which shaved not only the slime but also the surface of the rocky mountain beyond it, even shattering the sealed gate. ¡°¨CPhew.¡± After the behemoth disappeared as if melting into the sky, I exhaled, wiping the sweat from my forehead from the huge consumption of magic power. ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± The people from Daemon Country were frozen in a pose trying to escape from the slime, their mouths wide open after witnessing 10th class attack magic for the first time. ¡­I did it because I was a little pissed off at Barbas, but I felt like it was too much to make even the sealed door disappear. ¡­I wondered if the High Elves would be angry with me. *** ¡°Retrieve my treasure!¡± The spire of the castle was destroyed along with the king¡¯s treasury, resulting in the disappearance of gold and silver treasures equivalent to around 10,000 large gold coins that had been stored within the castle. Although the King, who was unaware of the disappearance, believed that most of the treasures had been embezzled by the people, he had ordered the recovery of the treasures. He issued an order. ¡°Even we are in trouble, because of His Majesty. ¡­It can¡¯t be helped. Put this before the council.¡± ¡°¡­Prime Minister, this is¡­¡± The civil official looked over the prepared agenda and involuntarily turned to his superior, the Prime Minister, who frowned and spoke to his subordinate as if he were telling a child. ¡°Okay? If this doesn¡¯t pass, will His Majesty collect from the noble families? Tell the people in the castle who have put the money in their pockets to do the same. Understood?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. But¡­it¡¯s one thing to arrest the common people who have been embezzling money, but to raise the tax rate by 10%¡­¡± ¡°This level of increase should not be a problem. Caenista¡¯s national power is not that fragile.¡± The tax rate in the Kingdom of Caenista is 40% to 50%, depending on the nobility. In the capital, taxes on merchants tended to be high, while taxes on farmers tended to be high in rural areas. However, because the country was huge, it was able to successfully adjust tax rates on imports and exports with other countries, so the people did not go hungry and were even able to live somewhat comfortably. Although the uniform 10% increase in the tax rate was a considerable burden, the people could still afford it, and since they were able to enjoy a certain ¡°relief,¡± they did not complain too much. About 10% of the king¡¯s treasures were recovered from the melted gold and scattered in the castle yard. Only about 5% of the items had been deposited by those in the castle before being recovered, and the king assumed that all the remaining treasure had been scattered throughout the royal city. In reality, however, most of it evaporated, and less than 10% of it was scattered around the city. CH 67.4 There were several hundred people in the city who picked up the treasure and boasted about it to those who could not pick it up at bars and other places, causing them to be envied. They were sent to the mines to make up for the lost treasure. That much is an issue, but it¡¯s not a major one. As long as the treasure was made up for, the 10% tax rate increase would end in a few years. However, one person¡¯s action could cause a small issue to have a significant impact on the kingdom. ¡°Yes, leave it to me!¡± A fluffy blonde girl replied cheerfully with a beaming smile. It all started a few months ago during the Dauphin¡¯s expedition to the Devil¡¯s Forest. No, there had been several areas in the country where the springs had dried up more than a decade ago, reducing the bounty of the forest and making it difficult for crops to grow, but this was not seen as a major problem since crops were growing well around the royal capital. According to the magicians and spirit users who investigated the situation, the number of spirits decreased in the affected areas, while the number of spirits increased in the areas surrounding the royal capital. The latest problem was that the number of spirits in the area leading from the Royal Capital to the Demon Forest has been decreasing to an unusual degree, and crops have begun to wither in some areas due to the decrease. In response to the recommendation of the crown prince and his entourage, the order was given to Alice, the [Beloved Child of The Spirits] and daughter of the baroness, to restore the spirit power. ¡°Spirits, heal the land in this area!¡± When Alice went to the land and called out to the spirits, water gushed from the dry wells, the withered crops grew fresh leaves, and the inhabitants began to praise Alice. ¡°Let¡¯s go look around the rest of the country anyway! I¡¯ll give you a discount now!¡± The reward for one location was three large gold coins. The lords of each region added more to the price to get her there first, since Alice¡¯s visit would fertilize even the ordinary land. But while the land seemed to be temporarily enriched, over time the springs and wells dried up again, and the forest lands lost even more of their vitality. The spirit users were troubled by the complete absence of spirits from the land, and the farmers asked their lords to lower their taxes because they could no longer grow crops, but the lords refused, forcing the people to pay even heavier taxes to finance the return of the [Beloved Child of The Spirits]. The people who suffered the most were the subhumans who still remained in the area. Although the subhumans had already fled the area around the capital, there were still many subhumans left in rural and remote areas. They used magic to stop disasters, made weapons and armor as well as high-quality ironware necessary for daily life, and used their strong bodies to do hard work that could not be handled by humans. Even if their lives were somewhat difficult, they remained in this country because they believed that their disappearance would cause trouble for the human commoners. However, the nobles and lords brought up the order to capture the subhumans, which had been issued before by the government, and forced the subhumans to pay a tax nearly double that of humans. The tax rate was 90%. Those who could not pay were captured, and their property confiscated, and young men and women were sold into slavery to the nobility. Most of the subhumans left the city at night with their families, and some lost their lives fighting to save their fellow slaves. With the disappearance of the subhuman population, part of the economy began to stagnate, and in a country where only the royal capital prospered, people¡¯s dissatisfaction swelled, and the country began to be greatly burdened by the darkness. CH 68.1 High Elf Village Part 1 [¡­] The silence from everyone was a pain. I was supposed to go to the village of the High Elves, that had been out of contact for many years, to ask them to lend me a magical tool they had lent the Daemons before. And it was a relic of the Demon Lord who died a hundred years ago. However, the seal of the entrance and the elimination of the slime that had grown like a small mountain was too troublesome to deal with, so I went ahead and used 10th Class magic to destroy it, along with blowing away the entire door with my magic. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped, could it? It was the fault of the Giga Slime, on which ordinary magic was useless. I decided to enter through the gaping hole while I still could, as Boris and the others who came with me as guides were still shocked and frozen. ¡°¨CWait, wait!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Barbas, who came to his senses as quickly as he could, tried to stop me. But I didn¡¯t want to wait because I knew that if I stopped, things would become troublesome. ¡°Wait, wait! Wait for me!¡± As I walked quickly, Barbas¡¯s panicked voice followed me from behind. ¡°Ah, wait, Carol-dono!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I stopped and turned around, even though I didn¡¯t want to, because he had changed the way he had been calling me from you [you] and [little girl] to my name as if he were in a desperate situation. ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°What is that spell! I¡¯ve been studying magic for over fifty years, but I¡¯ve never seen magic like that before!¡± ¡°¡­¡± It had become troublesome, after all. ¡°That destructive power¡­ is it 8th-class class¡­ no, it could be 9th-class magic. In the legend, even the dragons were supposedly defeated with a single blow thanks to that destructive power!¡± ¡°10th Class¡­¡± ¡°Right, I knew it ¨C no, wait, 10th Class? 10th-class Class Magic? Lost Magic used in mythical times! Is it really the actual one?¡± ¡°Noisy.¡± *Click ¡°Agh!¡± I twisted Barbas¡¯s neck and forced him to quiet down. He was getting more and more excited, and there was a possibility that he might not snap out of it if I didn¡¯t do this, so I had to force him to stop. ¡°¡­phew.¡± I exhaled with a sense of accomplishment next to Barbas, who twitched on the ground. At times like this, I would have calmed myself down by fluffing Pochi, but he had run after the large animals that had sprung up all over the place the moment the magic exploded. After a while, it would certainly come back to show off with the prey it had hunted in its mouth. ¡°Ba-barbas-dono!¡± At that moment, Boris, who had finally come to his senses, raised his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I hit him with a dull edge.¡± ¡°What do you mean by a hit? You twisted his neck as if you were strangling a bird!¡± It seemed that he had witnessed the actual crime. I had no choice but to forcefully recover MP with a potion and use the 6th Class magic [Ressurection]. He is not (yet) dead, but [Ressurection] was not just a magic that could bring people back to life; it also healed fatal wounds and regenerated missing parts so that they would not die again so soon. I did not know if it was a bug or not, but since it could be used even if the person was not dead, I often used it to heal injuries that were debuffs in the game, something it was not originally intended to do. ¡°[Resurrection]! I thought there would be no one left who could handle this magic now that the priests have been corrupted!¡± As soon as he was resurrected, Barbas was excited and noisy again. Come to think of it, Barbas was a royal court magician. I was not going to get anywhere with this magic geek, so I went straight into the cave in the rocky hill where the sealed door was located. ¡°Wait for me, Carol-dono! About the 10th Class magic, gefu.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± I turned around, hearing a sound similar to a frog being crushed, and saw Barbas crouching at the entrance of the cave with his nose held in his hands. Boris and the others who came after him were also repelled by something invisible at the entrance. ¡°What in the world is this¡­?¡± ¡°The seal, it looks like it¡¯s still in place.¡± ¡°Why is Carol-dono unaffected?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I didn¡¯t understand what was going on, but it seemed that I was the only one who could enter. I tilted my head as I honestly did not understand, and Barbas, who appeared to have thought he would be able to observe the High Elf magic, fell to the ground with his hands and knees in shock. ¡°Boris, can you explain this to Pochi and everyone in the village?¡± ¡°Yes. Please be careful. ¡°Nn, I will leave the rest to you.¡± CH 68.2 It seemed more than just a rocky hill that had been dug out. The inside of the cave was filled with an unusual amount of magical power, and my MP, which was on the verge of depletion, was quickly recovering. It didn¡¯t look like a proper pathway, and I didn¡¯t know how long it would take to reach the end, so I decided to leave everything else to Boris from this point on as I went inside. Now¡­ onward to the end before another round of break. At first, it was a rocky cave, but as I advanced deeper into the cave, where no light could reach, I couldn¡¯t tell where the ceiling and walls were, and I was even unable to tell if the ground I was stepping on was dirt or stone, flat or uneven. I was in my player character form, so even in a pitch-dark dungeon I should be able to see through the darkness, similar to a view on a night with a full moon, but even with my eyes adapted to the darkness, I could not see what was ahead of me. That did not mean that the darkness was dense because I could still see my own hands and legs normally, so this passageway was probably not normal. ¡°¡­¡± After a few minutes¡­or days, in a space where even the sense of time was vague, a world full of light suddenly opened up in front of me. ¡°¡­What?¡± A colorful mass of steel passed in front of my eyes with great force. Looking up, I saw a narrow, slightly hazy sky between the rows of square towers. Looking around, men and women, young and old, dressed in a variety of clothing, passed by at a brisk pace, paying no attention to others. Automobiles. Skyscrapers. Businessmen. Students. Asphalt ground¡­ Earth? ¡­I really couldn¡¯t tell. The scene spread out before my eyes was a certain downtown area on Earth, that I used to pass with my few friends on my way home from school. But, I was not so out of touch with reality that I would say, ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve come back to Earth?¡±. The fact that I was dressed as a magical girl attracted no attention, even though the situation was too suspicious. But the question was, what kind of situation was this? Whether it was just an illusion, or a temporary reflection of a scene on earth, or a thing partially formed on our side, or if these people were even real people in the first place? I didn¡¯t have enough information¡­anyway, there was one thing I wanted to try. ¡°Uncle, one cream taiyaki.¡± ¡°Yes, that will be 180 yen!¡± I didn¡¯t have their money with me here. I had no choice. It might be made of some suspicious substance, so it¡¯s dangerous to eat it. Damn. But at least I knew that we could talk to each other. I wondered if it wasn¡¯t an illusion, or if there was some kind of advanced magic being used¡­ I could use my physical abilities as they were. I didn¡¯t have the money to take the train, but it didn¡¯t matter because I could travel faster than a train. ¡­I missed it. As I was walking around aimlessly and eating fried bread from Bag, sprinkling sugar on it, a pigeon came close to me, so I gave it a couple of pieces of bread. As I walked around and kept looking, I noticed that it was getting dark and that I was right next to my former parents¡¯ house. I decided to head to my parents¡¯ house to get something from my room while I was at it. Suddenly, the door to my parents¡¯ house opened and my former family members appeared. Father, mother, brother, sister¡­they had finally become an ideal family without me, and when they saw me, they smiled broadly and opened their arms as if to embrace me. ¡°¡±Welcome back!¡±¡± ¡°[Fire Storm]¡± The 7th Class Magic [Fire Storm] erupted around me, burning an area of about 100 meters in diameter, completely eradicating both people and buildings. I was horrified. This was just a bad replica of that world. How could that prick family speak those lines? Even if they were real, I would have done the same thing unintentionally if they said those lines to me. ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Noise filled the sky as the scene in front of me burned, causing all the creatures to lose color as they melted and crumbled. Could it be a slime-like magical creature? Perhaps the slime outside was also the one that escaped from this place. ¡°You¡¯re being awfully flashy, aren¡¯t you? Who are you?¡± When the sky, walls, and ceiling disappeared and nothing was present, a voice resounded through the hazy area, revealing a woman¡¯s appearance. Her hair was pure white and glossy, her skin was translucent white, her eyes were bright red, and her ears were a little longer than those of ordinary elves. The first high elf I met was a beautiful, slightly luscious lady. CH 69.1 High Elf Village Part 2 ¡°Well, we can¡¯t just stand here and talk, follow me. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a visitor. I¡¯ll offer you some tea.¡± ¡°¡­Nn¡± The image I had of where we were going was a deep forest with large trees thousands of years old and several houses on top of them, deer and rabbits grazing freely without fear of people, and a sparkling spring, but in reality, it was as if a deep fog had settled over the place. The only thing that appeared in a blank space was a tea table set. The high elf sister waved her hand and suddenly a teapot and cups popped into existence. The older sister¡­her attitude was so normal that one could not help but notice that although she looked young, she lacked a sense of supremacy, or seemed somewhat tired. When I had no choice but to sit at the table and take a sip of the herbal tea she poured for me, she leaned forward slightly to rest her elbows on the table as she stared at me. ¡°Who are you? You look like a half-elf, but there are no elves with that kind of hair, and that seal is not supposed to be accessible to those with predestined lives.¡± ¡°Predestined¡­?¡± ¡°High elves like me don¡¯t have a predefined life span. Well, what¡¯s your name anyway? I¡¯m Celurial, you can call me Celia.¡± ¡°Carol¡­¡± Sweat beaded slightly on my forehead. I¡¯d always assumed that once I¡¯d matured to my original form, I wouldn¡¯t change my appearance again¡­ but I didn¡¯t expect that I would not have a lifespan. ¡°I see, Carol. By the way, what did that slime thing show you? It was supposed to show you a vision of seeing your family back home.¡± ¡°My family¡­the people who tried to pretend I didn¡¯t exist? Or the people who tried to kill me because I was in the way?¡± ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s why¡­¡± The smile disappeared from Celia¡¯s lips at my answer. She seems to have understood that, let alone a half-elf, even normal people experienced a certain amount of persecution. And I guess the reason why the slime or whatever showed my family in my previous life instead of my family in this life was because I didn¡¯t consider my blood relatives in this life to be my family at all. But still¨C ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°¡­Did you come here without knowing? This is the Fairy World, a world between the Physical World where mortals live and the Spirit World where spirits live.¡± ¡­That¡¯s why the magical element or rather ¨Cspirit power¨C was so strong. According to Celia¡¯s story, there was the Physical World, where people and animals live, and the Spirit World or the Magic World, where spirit life forms such as spirits and demons live. In between, there was the ¡°Fairy World¡± where fairies live. Fairies were those so-called tiny winged creatures, but it seemed that elves, dwarves, and other creatures that appeared later were also included to be residents of the fairy world. In the Fairy World, even human-like creatures could barely exist. The difference was that if a person with low spiritual power or weak resistance to magic elements ¨C in other words, a Low-Level Person ¨C spent a certain amount of time in the Fairy World, they would easily turn into a demon. And they won¡¯t just become common subhumans like beastmen or elves, but rather creatures like harpies or centaurs, which seem to be on the verge of becoming monsters. That was terrifying. ¡°There¡¯s no one like that around here. This is my territory, you know. Anyone who loses their intelligence ends up returning to the Physical World.¡± ¡°What about the other High Elves?¡± When I casually asked the question, Celia¡¯s expression darkened slightly. ¡°About the High Elves¡­there are none left, except for me. Even if we don¡¯t have a lifespan, we could still die in accidents and conflicts. Everyone has been dead for thousands of years now except for me.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s not something to worry about now. So, Carol¡­ why don¡¯t you tell me what brought you here?¡± ¡°Actually¡­¡± The humans had been trying to persecute and invade the subhuman races again. When I honestly told her that I had come to ask if I could borrow the Demon Lord¡¯s relics, Celia blatantly scowled. ¡°Are humans still doing that? My children risked their lives to teach them the pointlessness of war¡­.¡± ¡°Who are those children¡­ wait, the Demon Lord?¡± ¡°That was my son.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I never thought that the Demon Lord was Celia¡¯s child. ¡°Carol¡­I won¡¯t speak ill of you, but give it up. That child¡¯s power increased because of the magical tool I gave him, but his life was cut down a lot because of it. That thing can only be endured by a pure species like the High Elves.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I have two children¡­my son Karm died as a Demon Lord to unite the subhuman race. My daughter was of strong elven blood and did not become half Daemon, but she promised to change humans from within, and she ¨C Nym ¨C married into a human royal family of a small country and finally died in the middle of a war.¡± ¡°¡­eh.¡± She lived alone for thousands of years and lost the two children she finally had because of humans. The Demon Lord -Karm- was a rare being, half Daemon and half High Elf, and her daughter was born as a normal elf. But that name [Nym]¡­ CH 69.2 ¡°¡­that little country of humans¡­was that Arceides?¡± ¡°Ah¡­that was the name¡­the Principality of Arceides¡­if that country still exists today, perhaps the descendants of that child¡­¡± ¡°Nym.¡± Celia stopped what she was saying and looked at me, possibly sensing something in my voice. ¡°Carol¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. My name is Carol Nym¡­Arceides, an [Abominable Child] born to the Arceides family.¡± When I released my transformation and took the form of little Carol, Celia¡¯s face remained frozen; only her eyes widened. She saw something in my face and suddenly reached out her trembling fingers to touch my cheek before hugging me. ¡°That girl¡­Nym¡­oh, the look in her eyes¡­ I see you have some of Nym¡¯s blood left in you. That girl¡¯s decision wasn¡¯t in vain, was it?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± Then, after a long hug, Celia suddenly forced me to call her [Grandma]. But maybe because Celia was a high elf, or perhaps because she looked like a beautiful older woman in her late 20s, she was more like an [Older Sister] than a [Grandma]. She looked like she was going to cry when I said that, so I had no choice but to call her [Grandma]. She asked me to live with her here for a while, but that¡¯s not possible at the moment. ¡°Grandma. Can I borrow that magic tool?¡± ¡°Carol! That thing will kill you if you¡¯re not of the purest species!¡± ¡°I think I can handle it.¡± I felt like I could trust Celia, so I decided to tell her everything about me. About my previous life. That my current body was in a state of Fusion with an imaginary being. And because of this as Celia wondered, my hair color was like that of a pure species, so even though I was a half-elf, I might also now consist of a pure original species similar to that of a High Elf (My Player Character) and a mixed species of human and elf (Carol). ¡°You went through a lot too. I don¡¯t want you to use it if possible, but if Carol is such a being, that magic tool might be useful.¡± ¡°What kind of magic tool is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a [fusion] magic tool.¡± The Magic Tool was originally made for Karm, who was a rare half-elf and half-Daemon. Half-breeds of Daemon and Elf were not common, and these half-breeds were unable to use their Elven or Daemon abilities well, so Karm used the [Fusion] Magic Tool that Celia had created to become powerful. ¡°If what you say is true, you have not yet fully Fused your current body with that imaginary one. From what I could see, it would take another ten years or so before you could fuse, but as it is now, it would certainly be difficult to beat that [Beloved Child].¡± She also told me about [Beloved Child of The Spirits], who was loved unconditionally by the spirits. Celia told me that in ancient times, the High Elves created several Magic Tools to contract with spirits. There was one Magic Tool that was powerful and could use multiple spirits. Along with that Magic Tool were several Magic Tools that could be used to contract individual spirits to assist their contractor. They were entrusted to Karm and Nym, but after their deaths, those tools were scattered all over the land of the humans, while the unique one that could do multiple contracts became a Magic Tool that resides in the soul. That tool had now created the person who became known as the [Beloved Child of The Spirits]. ¡­Magic Tool residing in the soul? How did that even happen? ¡°This is it. This is the Magic Tool that I gave to Karm.¡± Celia showed me the Magic Tool used by Demon Lord Karm, a glowing ball of immaterial material made of High Elven technology. ¡°Are you sure you want to use it? Not that I don¡¯t trust that you could use it, but¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, Grandma. I would like to use it.¡± I nodded to Celia and extended my hand towards the ball, but then the ball of light that had been floating around suddenly flew towards me and was sucked into my chest. ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°Carol!?¡± I kneeled, knocking over my chair, and Celia rushed over to me. ¡°Why did Magic Tool do that on its own¡­, Carol!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m¡­ fine.¡± My insides felt like they were being stirred into a mess, and I became nauseous and dizzy, unable to stand. Celia said that the Magic Tool moved on its own¡­ but I understand why it happened. This Magic Tool, made for Karm, recognized me as its new master. But I was at my wits end¡­I told Celia that I was okay for now, then my consciousness was enveloped in darkness. CH 70.1 Confusion in the Kingdom of Caenista A shadow fell over the Kingdom of Caenista, the great land of Humans. The Spirit¡¯s power throughout the country had been diminished, the forests withered, water sources dried up, and crop yields dropped to less than half of what they had been a few years earlier. Fortunately, thanks to the presence of a girl who was the ¡°Beloved Child of the Spirits,¡± the withered lands visibly recovered when the girl went to visit, but this was only temporary, and after a few weeks, even the lands that were not yet withered began to wither. The lords also forced heavy taxation on the people in need of funds to give priority to the [Beloved Child]. The taxes were so high that those who were still able to stay in the country could not survive, and as they left, many conveniences were taken away from them. To compensate, the people were forced into slavery, further complicating their lives and increasing their dissatisfaction. However, the nobles in the Royal Capital did not see this as a big problem because the area around the Royal Capital was more fertile and full of spirit power than ever before. Some of the lower nobles in the provinces, who were closer to the people in power, complained about the anomaly and asked for tax exemptions, but the nobles in the Royal Capital scoffed at them for their negligence. Then bandits began to appear along the roads leading from the Royal Capital. No one was born a bandit. Most of them were peasants who required food.To survive, they tried to satisfy their hunger by attacking merchants returning from the Royal Capital, and if that wasn¡¯t enough, they attacked the nobles¡¯ farmlands to obtain fertile crops around the Royal Capital, but when the damage began, the knights and soldiers suppressed them. Banditry was often caught in areas far from the city and was usually executed on the spot without trial. One soldier who retaliated against bandits who attacked his farmland was surprised to find old men, women, and children among the dead bandits, and his complexion turned blue, and he swallowed his spit in anxiety. The country began to wither from the outside, and only the central area, centered on the Royal Capital, flourished. Every night there was an evening party in honor of the [Beloved Child], and the nobles rubbed up against each other to get a share of the concessions she was getting. ¡°You¡¯ve come! Camille-sama!¡± ¡°¡­Miss Alice?¡± As the younger brother of the king who lost his fianc¨¦e, Camille was unable to refuse the invitation of high-ranking nobles who wanted to sell their daughters to him. So he responded coldly to Alice, who approached him without common sense or knowing the customs of the nobility. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m already¡­¡± ¡°I know! Carol-san and I were ¡°friends¡±, so if I tell you about my memories with Carol-san, it will make you feel a little better.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Camille clenched his fists and gritted his back teeth as he replied with a smile that sounded as if he was remembering the deceased. Alice had chosen Camille as the only person she really wanted to talk to about Carol, but the way she spoke to him, with no sense of distance, as if she were stepping into his shoes, made Camille feel a dark sensation, as if his insides were becoming heavy. Even so, the other party was [Beloved Child of the Spirits], the only person who was believed to be able to suppress the Spirit anomalies in the country, and was also a candidate for the Crown Prince¡¯s fianc¨¦e. Unable to treat Alice with such disregard, Camille played along with her with a blank smile on his face, and the gossiping nobles irresponsibly asked if this was a love affair between the Beloved Child and the King¡¯s Brother. ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t feel well, you¡¯ll have to excuse me.¡± ¡°Really? Let¡¯s talk again!¡± ¡°¡­Phew¡± ¡°Good evening, Camille-sama.¡± Nicholas chuckled as he offered Camille a glass of water flavored with citrus fruits. CH 70.2 After downing it in one gulp and returning the empty glass, Camille leaned back and let out a sigh. ¡°That [Beloved Child]¡­ she made it sound like Carol was already dead. ¡­oops.¡± Camille realised there was another person in the same situation after spitting it out like a complaint, so he bowed his head to his friend from his abroad days, despite the fact that their relationships were that of a master and servant, and Nicholas nodded in response as if it were normal for him to do so. Nicholas was in love with Carol¡¯s personal attendant, Maia, and they were to be married as soon as Carol graduated from the academy and moved to Camille¡¯s mansion. However, Carol went missing during the destruction of the royal castle, and Maia also disappeared from the Royal Capital and has been missing ever since. ¡°Of course Maia will be fine if she is with that young lady.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ But she¡¯s a lovely woman of a good age, so she may have been courted by men in some other land.¡± ¡°Hey¡­you¡­¡± Camille¡¯s casual remark brought Nicholas to their student days. Camille had confirmed Carol¡¯s safety but had not confirmed that she had safely escaped the Royal Capital, and even though he knew that Carol was a skilled adventurer known as the Rose Witch, he was worried about her. After a short pause for some light banter, Camille reduced the subject to a hushed whisper. ¡°Nicholas, did you get in touch with Solvet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve used some noble contacts from our student days, and I know that Solvet is also wary of Caenista¡¯s situation. We can bring the conversation to them, they say, but depending on the content, it¡¯s still difficult right now.¡° ¡°¡­I see.¡± Solvet was the neighboring country where Camille studied and where his mother, the late third queen, lived. Camille had approached King Solvet, who was also his uncle, through a noble friend from his student days, to see if he could help intervene in the Kingdom of Caenista. He had simply wanted Solvet to protect him, Carol, and those related to them, but he did not receive a good response because of the tension that could arise between the two countries if the King of Caenista did not allow a royal that could usurp the throne to live in another country. And King Solvet would not cooperate with Camille simply because he was a blood relative; he would probably even consider using Camille to usurp the throne if the Caenista Kingdom was in disarray and their national power was reduced. ¡°Nobles are troublesome¡­¡± Camille and his colleagues are not the only ones who have noticed the current situation in the Kingdom of Caenista and have begun to act. The Prime Minister, the Marquis de Cadeau, the Duke of Prata, and others were seeking ways to take advantage of the turmoil to make more money, and at the same time, they were taking some of their assets out of the country. The most aggressive among them was a silver-haired girl who was still a student. ¡°Oh-ho-ho-ho! Ugly maggots, kneel at my feet!¡± The true villainess, Flare Mercury Prata, was taking advantage of this chaos to crush all the troublesome noble families. First, she would select ¡°decent¡± noble families on the frontier and in the countryside who were starving due to the turmoil, and offer them assistance. They were mainly aristocrats who disliked the idea of too much power and wealth being concentrated in the center. Among them, there were few decent nobles who thought about the people, but the less decent nobles could also not betray Flare even though they knew how ruthless she was, and Flare rationally increased the number of nobles who were on her side. The nobles that Flare considered obstructive were not those that were hostile to her. They were [Royalist] nobles who supported and coveted the king¡¯s rights. Flare instigated the peasants who had lost their livelihood to raid their lands and have their crumbling fiefdoms controlled by the nobles who had aided them from behind the scenes. At the same time, Flare did what she could to draw in the Third Order, which was currently in a poor state while defending the country¡¯s perimeter. The leader of the First Order was killed in the battle at the Demon Forest, and was replaced by Abel, the son of Bert, who had been the previous First Order Commander. Abel was given that position as First Order Commander despite his young age. CH 70.3 Flare ordered the local nobility of the noble faction to buy large quantities of food without taxation to aid the Third Order, which was beginning to fall behind in food supplies, and to bring them to her side by promising to make them the First Order when she became ruler. Flare Mercury Prata personally orchestrated a coup d¡¯¨¦tat. Normally, this would have taken years to complete in secret, but Flare saw the turmoil in the kingdom as the best opportunity, and she was moving quickly. Flare understood that in a few more years, the country¡¯s power would be weaker than it was now, and the coup might succeed more easily. But Flare did not want such a weakened country, and sought the power of the entire national army to ensure the destruction of the [Entity] that was devouring the country. That entity was Alice Lannon Yogle. As a contractor of the Great Spirit, Flare was aware of the dangers of Alice. She did not denounce it because she did not believe that a mere person could understand the peculiarity of Spirits. Flare did not stand idly by and watch. There had been countless assassinations, poisonings, flying debris made to look like accidents, building collapse, rampaging horses, and more assassinations than it would be silly to count, all of which were prevented by the ever-growing number of Spirits. Of course, it was impossible for such a spectacular move to go unnoticed by the paranoid King or the cunning Prime Minister, but all assassinations against Flare also failed because Flare was a contractor of the Great Spirit. More than that, Flare¡¯s followers, fascinated by her ruthlessness and brutality, literally risked their lives to protect her, and her enemies were unable to get their hands on her in order to retaliate. But Flare¡¯s own father, the Duke of Prata, used her brother, his son, to trap Flare and her followers to temporarily separate them and take her to another place outside the Royal Capital and isolated them in a villa on the outskirts of the Royal Capital. ¡°What are you doing? Brother Cashmere?¡± ¡°Flare you have gone too far.¡± Flare, Cashmere, and the others had no family affection for each other. Therefore, when Cashmere offered his allegiance by killing a royalist noble as a sign of loyalty, Flare did not trust Cashmere because she trusted him, but because she was drunk with the brutality that would one day lead her to murder her own brother. Separated from her followers, Flare was left alone. His brother Cashmere, the knights of the House of Prata, and Abel, now the First Knight Commander, and his knights surround him with their weapons drawn, but they would still not be able to defeat Flare, a contractor of the Great Spirit. Except for the only one person in the country¨C ¡°Come on, Flare-san, even as a friend, we won¡¯t tolerate you, surrender!¡± A fluffy blonde girl appeared at the door with a bang and said that in the shimmering light, accompanied by a slew of Spirits. Flare only had one Spirit, but her contracted Great Spirit was powerful, and Alice had many Spirits but was not contracted, and even if she were strong, the strongest among her spirits was limited to the advanced Spirits, so the two were almost evenly matched in strength. Because they were evenly matched, Flare was hoping to use the power of the national army to win, but when she was surrounded by a large number of knights and cornered, a ferocious smile appeared on Flare¡¯s face. ¡°When did we become friends? Neither Carol nor I are crazy enough to make friends with a dull headed b*tch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrible! I¡¯ll let you apologize later, but I won¡¯t share my pretzels with you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a pain in the neck¡­ just die already¡± Flare¡¯s silver hair surged like flames as she glared at Alice and Cashmere, and a giant Great Spirit of Fire appeared, scattering flames. The next moment, a huge pillar of fire pierced through the mansion and rose to the heavens. CH 71.1 Battlefield of the Girls Flare vs. Alice A tornado of fire arose from the Prata family¡¯s villa on the outskirts of the Royal Capital, blasting the villa¡¯s upper floors into the sky. ¡°Flare-san, we won¡¯t let you escape!¡± A blonde girl with the sparkling light of multiple Spirits took off from the roof of the destroyed mansion, and when Flare saw Alice following her and Abel still alive in the broken mansion, she scowled as if she had seen filth. ¡°Burn!¡± *Guuuooooooooo! A huge flame shoots out from Flare¡¯s fingertips like a flamethrower toward the ground. ¡°Spirit-san!!!¡± At Alice¡¯s request, Spirit of water, ice, and wind flew out and collided with Flare¡¯s flames, creating a huge steam explosion. Flare was shielded from the steam explosion by the massive Great Spirit of Fire that surrounded her, while Alice was shielded from the steam explosion by the many weaker spirits that surrounded her. [Gyaaah!] Screams could be heard from Abel and the other nobles directly below, as well as from the neighboring noble family¡¯s mansion, and fully armed knights and soldiers rushed out. ¡°Tsk.¡± Flare gives a small click of her tongue when she sees the knights who were hiding before now trying to stop Flare, perhaps having already evacuated the nobles in the vicinity. Humans in this world may not have [level], but as their skills developed, their status also increased, making them less likely to die. Even with that much steam, nearly half of them were still alive. ¡°Flare-san! What a terrible thing to do!¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re the one who increased the damage, no?¡± Alice used a Wind Spirit to reach the sky above Flare, but Flare, who only had a Fire Spirit, could only free-fall into a soft landing by using updrafts. As Flare fell, dozens of massive arrows were fired at her from the ballista set up in the mansion, which had somehow escaped the range of the steam explosion. ¡°What an overreaction to one little girl!¡± Flare waved one hand, and the giant iron arrows melted in midair, and the molten iron rained down like rain, setting the soldiers and several noble houses ablaze after being exposed to it. ¡°I won¡¯t let Flare-san do anything worse! Spirit-san!¡± At Alice¡¯s request, the Earth Spirits threw several boulders in the air. Originally, Earth Spirits could not use their power while separated from the earth, but lower level Spirits who were not participating in the battle connected the earth and Alice with their Spirit power, allowing them to use their formidable power even in the air. There were about a hundred rocks created, each about one meter in diameter. The rocks began to spin like drills at high speeds, and Wind Spirits shot them out like bullets with compressed air, and Flare, as expected, stopped free-falling and took evasive action. ¡°Tsk!¡± The rock bullets that were fired were smashed by Fire Spirit, but nearly 80% of the rock bullets that missed Flare reached not only the noble town, but also the city centre several kilometres away. ¡°Aaah! What if it hits my store!¡± ¡°You deserved it.¡± Several buildings in the city center collapsed as dozens of rocks rained down, and smoldering smoke rose in several locations, most likely from rocks touched by the Fire Spirit. Flare narrowed her eyes as she glanced sideways and ordered the Spirit of Fire. ¡°I don¡¯t want an annoying b*tch in my world after all. Here, have it back!¡± With that command, the Fire Spirit turned some of the rocks it had caught and returned fire at Alice, who was now in a state of shock and awe. ¡°Kyaaaaaah!¡± Alice screamed, causing Ice Spirits to leap out and cool the lava. However, because of the cooling, the rocks filled with Spirit power became flying debris, causing several weaker Spirits that were trying to protect Alice to disappear, severing their connection to the world. ¡°Oh, Spirit-san! Flare-san, I won¡¯t forgive you anymore!¡± There were ranks in Spirit¡¯s strength, which was why Flare was able to compete with Alice¡¯s multiple Spirits with a single Spirit. Lower level Spirits utilize fallen rocks, bonfires, whirlwinds, and pond water. Intermediate Spirit would be rain and snow, fire and landslides. Life being born. Advanced Spirit possessed the power to cause storms, forest fires, lightning, and small earthquakes. As one would expect, advanced Spirits were not so common, but a good number of Spirits could be found in locations surrounded by Nature. Greater Spirits were powerful enough to trigger natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, typhoons, tsunamis, and major earthquakes, and were only seen in rare instances. When it comes to a Spirit King, they could control the seasons, day and night, and since there was only one of each in the world, they could not even be perceived by humans, so they were excluded. However, this equilibrium was shifting with time. The Spirit power that could be used by one Spirit rank was ten times greater than that of another rank. Flare had grown up to be able to use the power of the Great Spirit, but in the past few months, the number of Spirits who were attracted to Alice had increased several folds. ¡°Spirit-san!!!¡± ¡°Kuh!¡± The knights and soldiers who had been waiting for Flare to descend to the ground after the simultaneous attack by Alice¡¯s Spirits rushed in. [Take down the rebel, Flare!!!!!!!] This was originally a move that Flare would use on Alice after she had purged the royalty. It was supposed to be used first on the Crown Prince and the other nobles who had been imprisoned by Alice, but Alice had affected them faster than expected. ¡°¡­Huh, that¡¯s good too. I wonder if you little fish can stop this Flare? Ahahaha!!!¡± Still, Flare laughed fearlessly and loudly. CH 71.2 The 2nd Knights and soldiers protecting the Royal Capital had underestimated their opponent when they heard that she was only a 15-year-old girl. On the contrary, some of the nobles among the knights knew of Flare¡¯s beauty at the evening party and were expecting to take possession of her limbs. When Flare waved one hand at the approaching knights and soldiers, flames equivalent to a 7th Class [Fire Storm] raged and hundreds of knights and soldiers were engulfed in flames. [Gyaaaah!] Soldiers were scorched to death, and knights cried out in agony. Flare picked up a burning sword with her bare hands, even though her palm was seared, and grabbed the hair of the knight captain who was trying to escape on all fours, chopped off his head, and raised it high. ¡°Ahahaha!!! Is this a Caenista knight! If you¡¯re a soldier! Fight! I am here!!!¡± The elegant silver hair and expensive dress were stained with soot and blood, and the beauty of the ghastly figure, stained red by the reflection of the flames, frightened the surviving knights and soldiers as if they were little children terrified by a nightmare. The only thing that could stand against it was¨C ¡°Flare-san, that¡¯s enough! ¡°You idiot! You have no idea what you¡¯re up against!¡± Protected by the Spirits, Alice jumped out of the sea of flames and was met by Flare. Responding to Alice¡¯s will to fight, the Spirits shoot snowstorms and thunderbolts at Flare. Flare caught them in flames, but the wide-area attack by Spirits, who had no control, tore into the dying knights and soldiers, spreading the flames further to the city center. ¡°How far will you go, Flare-san, before you atone for your sins?¡± ¡°You idiot, you crazy fool!¡± Dozens of fireballs appeared in Flare¡¯s rage and attacked Alice at once. ¡°Gyaahhhh!¡± As Alice shrieked and cowered, intermediate and lower rank Spirits protected her by using themselves as shields without fear of annihilation, and the burns she received were instantly healed by the Light Spirits. Spirits who have not entered into contracts with others use magic by consuming their own Spirit power; if they used it too much, they would disappear. From the perspective of Flare, a contractor of the Great Spirit, protecting only one person, a [beloved child], seemed to be a curse to spirits. [Flare-sama! Sorry, we are late!!!] The Flare reinforcements, who had been separated from the Second Order, appeared behind them at that moment. Followers of Flare and noble soldiers and a portion of the Third Order, which had made a small payment, began fighting with the remaining Second Order. ¡°You¡¯re late, heh¡­¡± Flare¡¯s face changed while speaking in a swear-like manner, and when her follower, the Lady, who found her, ran up to her master, Flare, with a smile on her face, Flare shouted. ¡°Get back!!!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you escape, Flare-san!¡± Alice¡¯s Spirits, having sacrificed a few of their own Spirit to repel the Fire Ball¡¯s flames, shot countless ice arrows at Flare and her reinforcements. The ice arrows pierced the Third Order with the surviving Second Order, and one of them struck the Lady who was her follower who had rushed to the scene. Dos¡­. ¡°¡­ah¡­ah¡­¡± ¡°You Idiot¡­¡± The ice arrow pierced Flare¡¯s back as she stood in front of her follower, who slumped down stunned. Flare grabbed her by the neck and raised her up with one hand, yelling at her. ¡°You fool! You are in my way! Get the hell out of here, or I¡¯ll kill you with my own hands!¡± ¡°¡­Fl¡­a¡­re¡­sama¡± Seeing her master injured and angered, the young lady turned blue in the face and gnashed her teeth. The moment she heard the voice calling her name, Flare¡¯s eyes widened, and she threw the young lady in the direction of the other followers. Dos, dos, dos, dos! ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you do something terrible to that girl!¡± Flare¡¯s back was pierced by several ice arrows shot by Alice¡¯s Spirit. Flare¡¯s Fire Spirit blocked the ice arrows that continued to be fired. ¡°Kuh!¡± ¡°Flare-sama!!!¡± Flare spit blood from her mouth, as her followers screamed. [Now! Strike Flare down!] The First Order, led by Abel, finally arrived and attacked Flare. No matter how high-status the Great Spirit contractors were, if they were caught off guard, they would be nothing more than a slightly stronger person. The adults of the First Order attacked one girl in high spirits, saying that she no longer had the strength to resist. ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do! I will lead her away¡­¡± Abel, who had burn marks all over his body, swung his sword and smiled a crooked smile, as if to torture the motionless Flare with his sweat-soaked face. But¨C ¡°¡­gah!¡± *Gakin¡­! ¡°¡­shut up.¡± Flare suddenly grabbed Abel¡¯s face in an eagle grip, and steam rose from between Abel¡¯s sweat-soaked face and Flare¡¯s white hand, distorting the view in a shimmering way. ¡°¡­Gu, ha, ha, haa, guaaaahhh!!!¡± Flare¡¯s palm bursts into flames and scorches Abel¡¯s face. Abel, who had already dropped his sword, smacked Flare¡¯s arm with his cuirass, but the girl¡¯s thin arm was undaunted, and the knights who moved to save Abel involuntarily cowered at the sound of the low, audible laugh. ¡°Ahahaha!!! I am still alive! Knights, if you want my head, you¡¯ll have to pay for it! Ahahaha!!!!¡± Not only the knights and soldiers, but even Alice was pale and unable to move at the gruesome sight of the knight commander¡¯s face burning as she laughed hysterically. The nightmarish, all-mocking laughter echoed through the Royal Capital, and when the night sky, which had been tinged with red by the flames burning the Royal Capital, had started to turn white ¨C the royal family was notified of the capture of the rebel Flare. CH 72.1 The Siege of the Daemon City (1) The rebel Flare Mercury Prata was captured by the First Order, the Court Mages, and volunteer collaborators. In capturing Flare, 20% of the Royal Capital was burned down in the battle between Flare and a volunteer collaborator ¨C the Beloved Child of the Spirits, Alice. The First and Second Knights suffered more than 200 casualties; nearly 300 soldiers were killed or wounded, and dozens of civilians were killed or wounded, leaving thousands of citizens homeless. Of the 50 members of the Third Order who cooperated with Flare, 32, including the Knight Captain, were beheaded or killed on the spot; dozens of nobles and soldiers who were followers of Flare were also killed, a dozen nobles were captured, and the rest fled. Flare, the main culprit, could not be killed on the spot, and the court magicians placed her under strict Spirit seal and imprisoned her in a special dungeon for serious criminals. The damage caused by this incident exceeded 50,000 large gold coins, but the Duke of Prata refused to pay for the damage, claiming that they had cut ties with Flare before the incident, and the royal family also refused to pay for the damage because the King lost his assets before that, and they lost over a thousand knights and soldiers in the case with a hypothetical Demon Lord a few months ago. The reconstruction of the city was put on hold, and a large number of refugees were created. The royal family couldn¡¯t afford to compensate the noble families who had offered their houses in exchange for the capture of Flare, so they agreed to cut the next tax from those noble families in half. However, this made the royal family¡¯s cash flow even more difficult, so they issued a decree to pay more taxes to noble families other than the Royal Capital. The nobles other than those living in the Royal Capital were mysteriously taxed. Noble domains other than the Royal Capital experienced a mysterious reduction in crops by half due to a decrease in spirits. The tax rate had risen to compensate for the King¡¯s assets, and now the commoners of the territories, who not only had to pay more taxes but also had to accept refugees from the Royal Capital, became highly distrustful and dissatisfied towards the Royal Family and the nobles. The same distrust was felt by the lower-class nobles who had been in contact with the commoners, and they began to informally contact Camille, the king¡¯s brother, to see if there was any way to get a better deal before the next payment of taxes. This was not lost on senior nobles such as the Prime Minister, the Marquis de Cadeau, and the Duke of Prata. However, cutting them all off would further reduce tax revenues. Since the situation had grown to this level, public execution of Flare, the main culprit, was not enough to resolve the people¡¯s discontent. So, after repeated consultations, they advised the King to divert the discontent elsewhere, and a few days later, a decree was issued in the King¡¯s name. [The destruction of the Royal Capital is a conspiracy of the Daemons. Many innocent knights and soldiers lost their lives protecting the people, and many citizens lost their homes and families in this matter as well.] The daemons were sneaky, targeting crops and wells, and trying to create discord among the humans, who ruled this great world. Humans will not be defeated by the daemons. We will march on the Daemons¡¯ stronghold to defeat the Daemons¡¯ leader! The force consisted of approximately 3,000 knights and soldiers recruited from the noble families of the Royal Capital, mainly from the First Order. Although there were still some forces left in the local noble families, they could not be used because of their distrust, and this was almost all the remaining forces of the Royal Capital, which already had a minimum of protection. This was the same level of strength as the previous invasion of the Demon Forest, and last time they were defeated by a single Demon Lord with that force, but this time they had countermeasures [against the Demon Lord] in place. To restore the royal family¡¯s trust, a member of the royal family with Spirit as a guardian was to accompany them as a ¡°countermeasure¡± against the Demon Lord. CH 72.2 The four Spirits protecting the royal family were the Spirit of Fire, which had been stolen by Flare; the Spirit of Water, the Crown Prince Julio¡¯s Spirit; the Spirit of Wind, protecting the king; and the Spirit of Earth, protecting the queen. Queen Sylvia was sent as the general-in-chief to protect Julio, the next king, whose character was ill-suited for battle. In addition, there were 50 court magicians capable of using magic of 3rd class or higher, and Count Arella, the first court mage, was capable of using 6th-class magic. From the First Order, there are 80 members of the ¡°Magic Gun Corps¡±, which possessed magic guns and was mostly composed of children of the First Order. The Duke of Prata and his knights joined the army as its general staff, and Abel, the commander of the First Order, was appointed as the commander of the strike force. Although the number of knights and soldiers were the same, the force was much larger than the previous one. The purpose of the invasion this time was not only to divert their dissatisfaction, but also to sell all the captured demons as slaves to other countries to obtain funds. Even now, the Prime Minister, who remained in the Royal Capital, was going around embassies of other countries, making contracts for the sale of daemon slaves. ¡°Damn them, they attacked us at a troublesome time!¡± Bert, now a black knight as well as a sword saint, took off his helmet and slurped water in a tent. The Daemons were supposed to provide them with magical tools for concealment and defense, but Carol, who had gone to their land for this purpose, did not return, so it was delayed. About a month after Carol entered the village of the High Elves, when the King of Daemons decided that things were getting out of hand, he dispatched a 2,000-strong Daemons army to the city of Daemons. Three months have passed since then, and still there is no information about Carol. The delay in dispatching the Daemon Army was partly because they were waiting for Carol to return, but also because the King of Daemons had prepared food and a simple base for them to reduce the burden on the city. The problem was that the Caenista army, which had been forcibly recruited and deployed, moved unusually faster than expected. By the time the Daemon Army led by Boris, who had been appointed as commander, arrived, the Caenista army was too close to the city to provide cover. Against the Caenista army of 4,000, the Daemon Army was joined by 2,000 volunteers from the city and the black knight Bert. But the Caenista army, which had collected all the food from the villages along its march, began a day-and-night offensive, and the Daemons army, which was protecting many civilians, was gradually pushed back. There were several times when Bert, the strongest force in Daemons¡¯ army, could have overturned the war situation if he had fought on the front line, but the Queen¡¯s Spirit of the Earth targeted Daemons¡¯ city directly, and Bert was forced to defend the city. However, the Caenista army, which had planned to crush the Daemons¡¯ stronghold in one fell swoop with Spirit¡¯s attack, was disrupted by the presence of the black knight, who could inflict damage on Spirits by himself, and the war reached a stalemate, and ten days have already passed since the war began. But this situation would not last long. Most of the lowly forest monsters that had sporadically attacked the Caenista army have been exterminated, and the Caenista army now had more time to spare. Even so, after ten days of continuous fighting, the soldiers would be exhausted and the offensive would weaken, and the queen¡¯s patience was also reaching its limit. Inside a huge tent set up in the Demon Forest, the queen, clad in a knight¡¯s ceremonial dress for women, threw a glass of expensive wine, which was running low, at the maid and raised her voice in frustration. ¡°I can¡¯t stay in this filthy place any longer, set fire to the fort! Get those Daemons out of the city!¡± CH 72.3 Bert, a warrior, was able to prevent Spirit¡¯s attack on the city. Adding to that was the fact that she had been told to be careful not to attack indiscriminately, as the purpose of the march was to enslave the Daemons. Duke Prata had hoped to lead in the invasion of the Daemons, but he was afraid of what the queen might do if he irritated her any further, so he reluctantly ordered Abel, the Knight Commander, to take over. ¡°Women and children are enough slaves. Kill the others.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Abel, who still had burns on half of his face from the battle with Flare, smiles ferociously. In this world, there was recovery magic and potions using alchemy, and with the introduction of these, the mortality rate of newborn babies decreased drastically, and humans increased in number. However, due to their pride and conceit, they lost the benefits of the higher-class magic used by High Elves and Daemons. Even with the ointment made from materials sold by Alice for three gold coins, normal medicine was unable to heal Abel¡¯s burns caused by the flames of strong Spirit power. Abel was told by the Crown Prince and Alice that this burn and the disappearance of his beloved father, the Sword Saint Bert, were all the Daemons¡¯ fault, so he tortured and killed many Daemon warriors in this war. But it was not enough. Ever since he saw Daemons¡¯ strongest warrior ¨C the Black Knight ¨C on this battlefield, he always wanted to fight him. ¡°I will defeat the Black Knight of the Daemons!¡± The next morning, the Caenista army went on the offensive with all its might. Oil-soaked fire arrows and the Flame Spear fired by the Court Mages pierced the fortress, and the Fire Ball, a fifth-level spell fired by Count Arella, the head court mage, set the fortress on fire. ¡°March!¡± Abel, who had been in the back until then, took the lead and slaughtered the Daemons with his father¡¯s great swordsmanship, while the sweeping fire of the magic rifles used by the Gun Squad broke the ranks of the Daemons¡¯ army. ¡°Come out, black knight! Fight me like a man!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not enough!¡± Hearing a familiar voice calling out to him in the distance, Bert reacted while he struggled alone against the Spirit of the Earth that was attacking him in the city center. Bert had Daemons¡¯ subordinates who volunteered to follow him, but they were blown away by the Earth Spirit¡¯s ranged attacks, and only Bert, wearing indestructible and slightly magic-protective armor, was barely able to fight the Spirit. ¡°Clank! ¡°So hard!¡± The Earth Spirit looked like a huge rock golem in the shape of a beast. Compared to the Wind and Water Spirits, Bert, a warrior, was able to fight this spirit because it had substance, but even with the great sword Carol had given him, even Bert was unable to overcome the mithril-like hardness of its outer skin. ¡°¡­If only Pochi were here¡­¡± The dragon¡¯s breath was not physical fire, but more like a magical attack. The dragon¡¯s breath could deal a blow to Spirits. Boris said that he had called out to Pochi when he was about to return to this city, but Pochi waited for his master, Carol, and did not move from the front of the sealed rocky mountain. ¡°Ah, crap¡­¡± The Earth Spirit roared in front of Bert¡¯s eyes as it began to shake the atmosphere, and a cold sweat broke out on Bert¡¯s face. This was probably the [Earthquake] that blew away Bert¡¯s men earlier, but it seemed stronger than before to Bert, perhaps due to the Queen¡¯s irritation. ¡°Oh, screw it!¡± Daemons did not run away without a fight. The Daemons, who respect strength, would not run away, leaving Bert to fight on his own, and even now, when Bert realized that a few Daemons remained in the neighboring houses, he stood in front of Spirit, shouting as if to inspire himself. ¡°Aim at me, damn it! ¡­hmm?¡± At that moment, Bert heard the whispered voices of the remaining Daemons in his ears. The sound was startling¡­exultant¡­and it bothered Bert so much that he looked up while making the mistake of taking his eyes off the Spirit in front of him and saw a black dot approaching from the distance, like a drop of ink in the pale blue sky. *Guuuooooooh! Jet-black wings, cutting through the wind and soaring through the sky. A red and black figure riding on the back of the dragon¡¯s huge body leapt out of the sky faster than the dragon, and with a long, single-edged sword that exceeded her height, she plunged in like a bolt of lightning, interrupting Bert and the Spirit of the Earth. ¡°¨C[Lightning Slash]¨C!¡± Slashing through the mithril-hard skin of the Earth Spirit like a machete splitting an apple, the girl spun around with her long, lustrous black hair, not even looking at the crumbling Spirit. ¡°I made it in time.¡± ¡°Young Lady Carol, your reaction was too lax!¡± CH 73.1 The Siege of the Daemon City (2) With the return of the girl who had protected them from all external enemies and threats for the past ten years, the Daemons, who had not lost their will to fight but were almost crushed with anxiety by the onslaught of the human tribe, appeared to leap out of their hiding places and cheered. ¡°These guys¡­¡± Bert muttered, not sure whether to be happy or angry, about the fact that more women and elderly Daemons were hiding without evacuation than expected, and Carol, who was expressionless as usual¡ªno, she seemed slightly embarrassed. Carol poked Bert¡¯s shoulder with her finger and held her Zanbatou loosely. ¡°Not over yet.¡± Bert turned back in response to her muttering, and saw the Earth Spirit, which should have been severed and crumbled by Carol¡¯s war technique, restoring itself as if it were absorbing the earth. ¡°You, that wasn¡¯t enough¡­¡± ¡°¡­Spirit?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s ridiculously hard,¡­ yet you cut it down so easily, missy.¡± ¡°Is Alice here?¡± Carol stepped forward, narrowing her eyes. She gave off a strong, intimidating feeling that was different from before, and even Bert and the Daemons who were far away, gasped and quieted down, as if sensing that something was wrong. Even the Earth Spirit took a cautious step back and sank into the earth, disappearing without a trace. ¡°¡­¡± Carol, who had been holding Ridil for a few seconds, realized that the Spirit was not hiding but retreating, so she released the intimidation, and Bert finally called out to her as the pressure faded away. ¡°Alice¡­that [Beloved Child]? I didn¡¯t see her this time, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯s there, but the Spirit we saw earlier is the Spirit of the Royal Family. The Earth Spirit was probably from the Queen.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ But more importantly, who else is in town?¡± ¡°Oh, most of them, including your servant, should have been evacuated. Miss¡­. What happened? Your atmosphere is different¡­ your clothes also seem to be a little different¡­¡± Carol¡¯s presence was different; as Bert said, she had a strong sense of power compared to the previous Carol, but she seemed strangely calm and at ease, unlike the previous Carol, who seemed overwhelmed by a lot of things. The dress was still the same red-based mini-dress mixed with black reinforced with black metal plates, but the black portion had increased as well as the metal portions. The most unusual part of the dress was the skirt. The fluttering mini-skirt was now split down the center to the left and right, and there was a shorter black flare skirt inside. ¡°Perv.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking at your legs!¡± Still, despite the change in clothing and atmosphere, Carol remained the same on the inside. Bert was relieved that the change in atmosphere made her look even more relaxed, but to put it more simply, her tense atmosphere as she prepared for the death flags had disappeared, and she was back to Carol from her previous life. Zzzn¡­! [Carol, I¡¯m too tired to move anymore!] As Pochi landed, after flying at full speed from the Daemon Country, Carol approached him and patted him on the throat. ¡°Umm, thanks, Pochi, you and Bert-san get some rest.¡± ¡°Oh, hey, missy, you know what¡¯s going on, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Carol responded quickly to Bert¡¯s words and looked in the direction of the ongoing battle between Daemons and Caenista forces. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± *** ¡°Kuh!¡± ¡°Your Highness?¡± The Queen, who had sent the Spirit on a rampage inside the enemy stronghold, suddenly stumbled inside the tent, and Duke Prata rushed over to her. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°My Spirit has had a strong shock¡­it¡¯s unstable.¡± ¡°¡­I understand.¡± Unlike the [Beloved Child], in which Spirits voluntarily cooperates with the contractor, Spirit¡¯s contractor was connected to the contractor by magical power, so that when a Spirit was damaged, the contractor was affected as well. Since the contracted Spirit will be anchored in the material world by the contractor¡¯s magical power, it was known that they would be more durable than a free Spirit. Therefore, the queen and the contracted Spirit were sent out as trump cards against the Demon Lord, but the Demon Lord, who was said to have defeated hundreds of knights, had yet to appear. The Demon Lord was a symbol of evil, like something out of a human fairy tale, and the commoners were strangely afraid of its existence, but the Duke of Prata did not believe that such a being actually existed. In fact, he believed that the black dragon that was with the Demon Lord went on a rampage, and that the soldiers were too frightened by the name [Demon Lord]. The Queen¡¯s Spirit was to dispel the fears of the soldiers and to counter the black dragon, and he expected the battle with the Daemons to end in a one-sided slaughter. However, when the battle was about to begin, it turned out that Daemons had a large number of soldiers in their stronghold, and even their trump card, the Spirit, had not achieved much success because of the Black Knight from the Daemon Army. So far, she had been using the Spirit to defeat that Black knight, but Duke Prata thought that if the Black knight was powerful enough to damage the Spirit, she should instead use the Spirit to strike the Daemons¡¯ army in front of them before the Demon Lord and the dragon emerges to settle the matter early. ¡°Your Royal Highness, the Spirit should be here¨C¡° At that moment, a multitude of yelping voices sounded from the direction of the battlefield: had either the Caenista or Daemons forces crushed the enemy? But it was unusual for soldiers to raise their voices on this long-drawn-out and exhausted battlefield. As Duke Prata had a bad premonition, a messenger jumped in from the tent¡¯s entrance, a terrible expression on his face. ¡°Report! Someone who looks like a Demon Lord is in the Daemons¡¯ army!¡± ¡°What?¡± As he approached the messenger to find out what the report was about, the Queen stepped forward even faster than he did. ¡°You have finally appeared, Demon Lord! I will slaughter you with my Spirit! Ho-ho-ho-ho!¡± CH 73.2 ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°Ah, hey!¡± I left Bert-san behind and dashed towards the front line. I could use up to 150% of my body enhancement now, so there was no need to use magic for this level of movement. Coming out of the High Elf Village, I was informed by the King of the Daemons that this city was under attack via a transmission from a magic tool. They appeared to be in a bad situation, and so even if I tried to teleport using magic, the coordinates mark had been broken, so I could not transfer. That¡¯s why I buffed up Pochi with [Agility Up] and flew for about half a day to reach the city, a journey that would have taken more than two and a half days on ground. As I flew out onto the battlefield, the vigor returned to the faces of the townspeople and Daemons troops who knew me, and the whispers gradually turned into shouts of joy. ¡°Analysis¡± I muttered quietly, and a simple map of the battlefield was projected in my brain, showing those who were hostile to me, those who were neutral, and those who were on my side, in red, white, and blue. (Enemy 2834. Normal 792. Friendly 1570.) Are most of those in neutral status because they were drafted into the militia and more frightened than willing to fight? The number of people both here and there was much smaller than I had heard. I had not paid much attention to the flow of time in the fairy world, but it seemed that I had been taking it too easy. But¨C ¡°I won¡¯t let anything terrible happen to anyone anymore.¡± I landed on top of the crumbling tower and took out a huge silver staff, about two meters long, and raised it to the heavens. ¡°[I am the one who pursues the truth, the one who seeks the art of ruling reason].¡± As I began chanting, a magical circle of light floated around me. [The old gods, the heavenly tunes, the singing of the messengers, and the horns of the battlefield. Be proud, glorious warriors!] The magic circle of light soared into the sky and spread to encompass the entire battlefield. ¡°Grant to the precious souls of my heroes the strength to stand and be at peace.¡± 10th Class Light Magic¨C ¡°¡ª[Sanctuary]¡ª¡° Particles of light fell like snow from the magic circle, transforming the entire area into [Sanctuary], healing the bodies of those not hostile to me and giving those on my side the strength to fight. 10th Class Light Magic¨C[Sanctuary]. The Daemons who received the power of that light rose to their feet with a yell, and the Caenista militia dropped their weapons and looked up at me with stunned faces. In the VRMMO, HP/MP automatic recovery of enemies with dark attributes would be Disabled. Magic Nullification effect on allies and an HP/MP auto-recovery increase effect, but now it applied to all enemies, making it much more prevalent. Well, it can¡¯t be helped, can it? As my Grandma would say¨C ¡°Oops.¡± The beast-shaped golem that I chased off earlier ¨C Earth Spirit ¨C reappeared on the front lines and started preparing to attack, vibrating the atmosphere to take out Daemon¡¯s army and me. (Arch Elemental: Alignment Earth. Status: Bad. MP13200/56000) Is that a Great Spirit of Earth? Even so, it was really severely weakened. It only had the power comparable to that of several advanced Spirits. Is this the Spirit bound by the magical tool that Grandmother mentioned¡­? [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!!!] Dozens of huge rocks appeared at the Spirit¡¯s cry, and a dozen or so were shot at me and the Daemon Army ¨C and the militiamen who were fighting them. (7th Class Magic: Rock Cannon Damage 1300) Only a 7th Class Magic, [Rock Cannon]? As screams and shouts echoed from the Daemons and humans involved, I jumped from the top of the stronghold using my physical enhancements and used [Homing] on all the boulders smashing them down as I hopped over them at a high speed. ¡°¨C[Death Slug]¨C¡° *Dododon!!!!!! With a deafening roar, I smashed the remaining rocks with a six-shot barrage using my Magic Gun Combat Skill. Putting away the break revolver, whose black-gold color was scorched red by the continuous use of Combat Skills that should not be possible to activate continuously, I pointed my fingertips at the Earth Spirit while staying in the air, and the blue sky began to discharge electric charges. ¡°¨C[Mjollnir]¨C¡° [¡ª¡ª¨C!!!!] The battlefield became silent as a huge thunderbolt fell from the heavens and the Earth Spirit, pierced by the 9th Class Magic [Mjollnir], fell to pieces with an inaudible scream, and what sounded like a woman¡¯s scream could be heard from the distance. As long as I knew what Spirit I was facing against, I would have no problem defeating it, since even that Great Spirit was weakened. After all, according to my grandmother, I am now¨C (Carol: Status Level 213. HP765/770 MP890/1235.) [Carol, you have set a foot in the realm of the Gods.] Is what I ended up doing after that event¡­ CH 74.1 The Siege of the Daemon City (3) Let me tell you a story about my time at the High Elf Village ¨C the fairy world. When we discovered that my ancestor from several generations ago was her daughter, Nym, Celia forced me to call her Grandmother-chan, but since she looked like she was in her late twenties, it was not quite comfortable for me. From such a grandmother, I was finally able to borrow the magic tool that was the relic of Demon Lord Kam, but that semi-spiritual material magic tool, made with the best of High Elf¡¯s magic technology, was suddenly absorbed by me, and I lost consciousness. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± I found myself alone in the middle of nothingness and darkness. But it was not like the fairy world, which was always empty and hazy. Where did Grandmother go? What was strange was that, despite the darkness, I could tell there was nothing around me. And I could not only see my body, but I could also see it from an objective point of view. This sensation was similar to¡­ well, looking at a first-person and a third-person screen in a video game at the same time. Now I was the normal little Carol ¨C a half-elf who was 15 years old and looked about 12-13 years old in human terms. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Suddenly, something resembling a glowing ball appeared in front of me. I touched it with my finger, not perceiving it as a danger, and suddenly a large amount of information flowed into my head. ¡°¡­¡± I see¡­ so that¡¯s what happened. This was the High Elf¡¯s [fusion] magical tool, made for Kam, who was half Daemon and half High Elf. This [fusion] magical tool was created for Kam, who was born as a half who should not have existed in the first place and who could neither use the power of Daemons nor the power of High Elves well. However, the act of [fusion] was not something that the creatures of the material world could bear, as they would be in constant pain and their lives would be torn apart. The biggest reason for this was that Kam¡¯s predestined soul could not [fuse] with the magical tools of semi-spiritual substance, even if he was a High Elf-like existence with eternal life. Even so, Kam sought its power to save the subhuman species threatened by the humans, at the cost of his own life. The magical tool had a ¡°Sentience¡±. It was like a simple AI attached as an arithmetic function to fuse powers and souls, and it had no will or emotion, merely experimenting with the fusion process. The Artificial Intelligence, which repeated the ¡°fusion¡± process 7,474,600,295 times until Kam passed away, and finally came up with an answer at the last moment. (I¡¯m so sorry¡­) It couldn¡¯t fuse with Kam, so it couldn¡¯t fully harness Kam¡¯s power. It was unable to stop Kam from suffering, nor was it able to stop Kam from becoming the person it was created for. That tool, that was created for Kam, could not save Kam. Kam died not because he was defeated by pain or because he lost the battle. It was because the tool was unable to draw on his strength. To restore Kam¡¯s honor, the AI wanted to show that if it could fuse with something or someone perfectly, it would not be defeated by anyone. The AI waited. Soon a new master would emerge that it could fuse perfectly with. And so, I was chosen. A being with a perfectly controlled semi-spiritual body within. A being with infinite growth beyond the framework of a 3D organism. But that perfect body was sealed inside a life form that was related to Kam, and could not be perfected as it was. I could pull out this body with full control ¨C my Player Character ¨C from inside and fought to live, but it was an empty body that was Carol but also not Carol. (Fusion? yes/no) CH 74.2 Did it want me to fuse with me¡­? I silently nodded to the voice that asked me that, as I stared at the glowing ball. ¡°Yes.¡± As soon as I agreed, the ¡°fusion¡± between the two ¡°me¡± and the fusion magical tool began. The magical tool merged with my soul, and the empty landscape in front of me was changed into a nostalgic screen. As I stared at the distorted lines and white stains, I could see letters and numbers overlapping with the third-person view of myself. This was¡­ a VRMMO character status screen. ¡°¡­What is this?¡± Why did it suddenly turn into a game screen? Well, I have an idea, but what surprised me was the status itself. Player: Carol Nym Arceides Race: Ancient Elf Age: 15 Level 213 HP: 770 MP: 1235 Strength: 497 Endurance: 415 Agility: 536 Magic: 550 Charm: 430 Attack-Magic: 158 Healing-Magic: 151 Enchant-Magic: 150 Long-range Attack: 145 Sword dance: 124 etc¡­. ¡­I didn¡¯t see any increase in skill or status, not even in level. What does this mean? I thought I had strengthened my skills a lot, but¡­ ¡°Hmm?¡± I looked closer and found a scroll key at the edge of the screen. When I touched it, the page switched and a new status screen appeared. Player: Carol Nym Arceides Race: Half-Elf Age: 15 Level ? HP: 120 MP: 230 Strength: 139 Endurance: 76 Agility: 193 Magic: 180 Charm: 185 Attack-Magic: 70 Healing-Magic: 55 Enchant-Magic: 50 Long-range Attack: 70 Sword dance: 75 etc¡­ ¡°¡­¡± What could I say, I thought I was strengthening my Player Character skills, but it seems I was ¡°Power Leveling¡± Carol with my Player Character? Power Levelling was that thing. It was where you make a strong character fight and get experience to raise the level of the other character. When I regained consciousness, I was three years old, and my skill level must have been 1. In the 12 years since then, I surpassed Bert-san, who has been training for decades. I assumed that because of my age, the little Carol¡¯s Player¡¯s power had been restored, but I soon realized that her status had simply increased, despite the fact that her basic level had never changed to match this world without levels¡­ The hidden status of little Carol¡¯s ability also seemed to increase the Player¡¯s power. (Fusion? yes/no) Was this a fusion of my Player Character and ¡°me¡±? But now that we¡¯ve come this far, there¡¯s no going back. ¡°Yes.¡± When the Player¡¯s display wavered and disappeared, the values were added to ¡°Me,¡± and my level and status started to increase, and the little Carol, who was visible in my third-person view, grew up to be a 15 ¨C 16 years old child. The grown-up version of myself was the same as my Player Character, but I felt like it was more human-like or rather more ¡°alive¡± than when it was just my Player Character. As I looked at the numbers going up¡­what? Huh? Huh? Wasn¡¯t it increasing more than I expected? Player: Carol Nym Arceides Race: Half-Elf Age: 15 Level ? HP: 120MP: 230 Strength: 139 Endurance: 76 Agility: 193 Magic: 180 Charm: 185 Attack-Magic: 70 Healing-Magic: 55 Enchant-Magic: 50 Long-range Attack: 70 Sword dance: 75 etc¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Wasn¡¯t the upper limit for skills 100? My status increased considerably because of that, but my level also increased quite a bit. Could it be that even the lifestyle skills acquired during my 12 years of living were also added to my skills? And the [BONUS POINTS] text that appeared the moment the fusion was over¡­. I guessed it was a bug that I was able to use the Player Character¡¯s ability. God, that¡¯s not what I was expecting! Well, that¡¯s OK, this [Bonus Point] was what the [Child of God] Grandpa gave me, which was supposed to be added to my soul, converting my passion, time, and love for the game into power. (Fusion? yes/no) CH 74.3 This one, too. But ¡°no¡± was not an option. ¡°¡­Just do it.¡± Once I accepted, my abilities started to increase all at once. Here are the results. Player: Carol Nym Arceides Race: Ancient Elf Age: 15 Level 213 HP: 770 MP: 1235 Strength: 497 Endurance: 415 Agility: 536 Magic: 550 Charm: 430 Attack-Magic: 158 Healing-Magic: 151 Enchant-Magic: 150 Long-range Attack: 145 Sword dance: 124 etc¡­ ¡­What are these numbers? They simply doubled my ability, right? More importantly¡­ I just realized that my race has changed. Half Elf changed to [Ancient Elf]. Ancient Elf? I stared at the letter to see what it was about, and the magical tool that had become [System] by fusing with me, as I thought it would, gave me the details. [Ancient Elf] [The first subhuman race born in this world. Born of pure magic power from when the world was still full of primordial magic power. The Rulers of All Demons, different from the subhumans who have been transformed into daemons by magic power. They boasted of eternal life, strong bodies, and mighty magical powers, but it was believed that they perished in a conflict with the gods of antiquity or after fighting each other.] Could this be the reason for this bizarre growth in ability? Calculating from the levels and skills, there were at least 100 more extra stats. I think my ears were longer than when I was a half-elf, too¡­. Then, after adjusting some settings again, I returned to the normal space, and my grandmother¡¯s face, who had run up to me in worry, had a grand twitch the moment she saw me. *** Well, there may be other explanations for something like this, but for now, let¡¯s get back to the present. When I used my magic to repel the Great Spirit of the Earth, both my enemies and allies fell silent and stared at me. (Report: Enemy 2460 Normal 790 Friendly 1895.) Hmm? When I turned my attention to the report from the system, I found that somehow the number of allies had increased on the battlefield. I pulled up a simplified map to see if it was the civilians from the city of the daemons who had gotten carried away and joined the battle, but instead of the city, I saw a number of blue dots of light indicating allies approaching from the surrounding forest. This is¡­ [Gugoooh!!!] With a yell, a huge beast appeared and began to overrun the Caenista army. Griffon. Manticore. Cerberus. Hydra. Chimera¡­ dozens of demons of level 50 or 60 appeared and joined the daemon army in fighting Caenista¡¯s army. Is this submission to me¡­or rather to an Ancient Elf? ¡°Gather around.¡± I called to the demons that chased after the militia that was about to flee, and they gathered under me, hanging their heads as if they were a pack of giant beasts submitting to me. ¡°U¡­ahhh!!!?¡± The knights and soldiers who had frozen at the sight became panicked and began to flee, throwing down their weapons. Some of the knights did not flee and remained behind, but at this point, it would no longer be possible to maintain the battle line. ¡°You! Those who run away will be executed! Come back and fight!¡± In the center of the defeated soldiers, a knight in luxurious armor with burn marks on his face was shouting. Where have I seen him before? ¡°Miss, can you leave him to me?¡± When I turned around at the sound of that voice, I found Bert-san, who had caught up with me before I knew it, climbing the fort and staring straight at the knight who appeared to be the group¡¯s commander. ¡°Parents should do something about their children¡¯s misbehavior¡­¡± ¡°¡­hmm¡± Ah, is that Bert-san¡¯s son, Abel? Bert-san¡¯s voice sounded oddly amused, and I understood that it was a ritual between muscle brains, and decided to leave Abel to Bert-san. Should I go to their main camp and destroy it? CH 75.1 The Siege of the Daemon City (4) ¡°Hey, you¡¯re looking a lot better than you have in a long time, Abel.¡± ¡°Kuh!?¡± When Abel, Knight Commander of the First Order of Caenista Kingdom, heard that voice close by, he instinctively turned around and swung his greatsword sideways. ¡°Oops!¡± The owner of the voice easily avoided the blow of the sword, which even caused a whirlwind, and confronted Abel at a distance of several meters. ¡°You are the Black Knight of the Demon Army, aren¡¯t you?¡± Abel aimed the tip of his great sword, which had a faint lustre, at the warrior in all-black armor. The Demon Army¡¯s Black Knight. He was thought to be one of the Demon Army¡¯s strongest swordsmen, judging by how he was the first to take the lead on this battlefield, slaying 30 knights in the blink of an eye and giving a high laugh as if provoking them. As proof, he was able to repel the Royal Family¡¯s Guardian Spirit several times and was able to stop the invasion of the numerically superior Caenista army. The figure was dressed in full face and full-body armour that completely covered his entire body, including the movable parts, which Caenista, which had eliminated most of the subhuman craftsmen such as dwarves, could never have produced. Black full-body armor was an oddity, but it was not unheard of among adventurers with eccentric tastes. Abel¡¯s father, Bert the Sword Saint, also said that he favored black armor when he was an adventurer with eccentric tastes. However, it was not just a mere imitation of black painted over iron, but a slightly shiny ¡°black¡± without irregularities, as if it were not painted but made of black metal, with precise patterns like scales, shining slightly reddish-black as if it were breathing, which was truly befitting armor for A Daemon. He could only think of it as ¡°evil¡±. Abel drew his sword at him, and the black knight waved his fingertips left and right as if to deny him, returning in a slightly amused voice, though he couldn¡¯t see his face. ¡°No, no. I am the Black Knight, but I am not part of the Demon Lord¡¯s Army.¡± ¡°Nonsense¡­¡± Nonetheless, Abel felt a cold sweat run down his entire body as he felt threatened by the alleged Demon Lord, who was being tucked away in the midst of a crowd of higher level demons, any one of which could be a threat. He was not sure from a distance, but the figure in red dress looked a lot like the adventurer [Witch] who knocked him down ten years ago. However, the intimidating presence was incomparable to that time, and he was convinced that whatever that presence was, it was a presence that should not be allowed to go to the back where the Queen and the Duke of Prata were. ¡°In the name of Abel, the First Knight Commander, I will not allow you to do as you please any longer!¡± ¡°Well¡­ the little boy certainly has risen to the occasion.¡± ¡°Shut up, you fool!¡± *Clank! Abel¡¯s greatsword and the black knight¡¯s greatsword collide and sparks scattered. ¡°You¡¯ve strengthened your skill, haven¡¯t you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re still mocking me!¡± Abel strikes again and again with his sword, but the black knight was able to catch and parry with his rough but steady movements. The black knight¡¯s jet-black greatsword was not even nicked by the beating, but on the contrary, the mithril greatsword was worn away little by little. However, as they clashed, Abel felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu and discomfort in the black knight¡¯s voice, attitude, and, above all, in the black knight¡¯s swordsmanship, and he involuntarily distanced himself from the black knight. ¡°What, are you tired?¡± ¡°Who are you? How do you know me? Show yourself, you coward!¡± ¡°What, you still don¡¯t get it?¡± At Abel¡¯s words, the black knight lets out a sound of amusement and dismay, then removes his helmet to reveal his true face. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°What? Father!¡± When he realized that the black knight was Bert, the former leader of the First Order who had gone missing, not only Abel but also the knights of the First Order who were watching the battle let out a shriek. CH 75.2 ¡°Father was supposed to be missing and dead!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t kill me on your own. Well, I lost, but the Demon Lord young lady told me to do what I wanted, so I became her subordinate. Look at this weapon and armor, isn¡¯t it cool?¡± Stunned by his father¡¯s attitude, which was so selfish and lighthearted, Abel¡¯s hand gripped tightly and began to tremble slightly. ¡°¡­What are you doing, Father?¡± ¡°An?¡± ¡°I have always respected your strength even when it was inappropriate, but you are too random and too stupid! That¡¯s why mother died after so many hardships!¡± Bert scratches his cheek with a troubled face at his son¡¯s angry words that made him spit blood. ¡°Ah~, that¡¯s a lie.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mention it when you were young, but I heard that she had a crush on a young minstrel, paid him a tribute, eloped and went to another country.¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± Abel¡¯s gaze swept from side to side as he vaguely wondered if his mother¡¯s grave, which he had certainly thought was strange and nowhere to be found, was in the grave of a relative of her family. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you still believed the stories from when you were a child¡­. I thought one of the servants had already informed you¡­¡± ¡°A, any, anyway, that¡¯s not relevant! Bert, the traitor has dishonored the Kingdom of Caenista and our Order! You are no longer my father, and in the name of justice, you will be destroyed!¡± Bert¡¯s eyes narrowed silently as Abel stepped forward with his greatsword ready to ward off the lukewarm stares from the knight¡¯s men. ¡°Justice¡­? Do you really think this is justice?¡± ¡°Of course! For the sake of the Caenista Kingdom, for the honor of the Order, it is my mission to slaughter the evil demon tribe! And then¡­¡± Abel¡¯s eyes, which had been filled with anger, became gentle, as if gazing into the distance. ¡°For the sake of the kind-hearted Beloved Child Alice, I have decided to fight, no matter who the enemy is.¡± Bert, the father¡¯s, eyes softened slightly at the sight of his son Abel. ¡°Beloved Child¡­. Come to think of it, you¡¯ve been concerned about that girl for a long time. Why do you swing your sword for her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s obvious.¡± Abel declares with a refreshingly fresh smile. ¡°Because her chest is flat.¡± Silence enveloped the battlefield, as if people were afraid to even breathe. While enemies and allies alike were motionless as statues with their mouths agape, one manticore that was relatively close by slowly opened its eyes with a somber expression and dexterously rubbed its brow with its beastly forelegs. ¡°Alice is wonderful. I used to love little girls, thinking that such women could only be young children, but Alice has shown me how wonderful human potential can be, even as a young woman nearing adulthood!¡± Abel, without regard to the surrounding atmosphere, continued his confession like a stage actor¡­ ¡°Just stare at it from afar. Compared to that great cliff, an ugly lump of fat like Flare, gah! Abel, who was still speaking, was blown away, and everyone around him followed with an open mouth stare. Bert chased Abel down and mounted him, punching him in the face and liver area with his gauntlet. ¡°Ha ha ha. I see.¡± *Gokin, *gofu, *gakkun, *bokkun! ¡°Nah, old man, this¡­ah, gufu!¡± ¡°Ah-ha-ha. You don¡¯t have to open your mouth anymore!¡± Bert continued to beat Abel with an almost terrifying smile, as if he were playing a percussion instrument in a steady rhythm. Gleaming blood, scattered front teeth. After a few minutes of this, when Abel¡¯s voice was no longer heard, and he stopped twitching, Bert was stopped in his place by Boris and the other demons, who had finally come to their senses, and were pinning him down with their wings. CH 75.3 It was a ritual between muscle-brained people, after all. I just glanced at it out of curiosity, but I couldn¡¯t help but watch it all the way through, couldn¡¯t I? Alice¡­you didn¡¯t grow in that place, huh. I¡¯m normal, by the way. Whatever the case may be, let¡¯s get this over with. My vision zoomed in as I stared into the distance, and I noticed a luxurious tent in the distance that could accommodate dozens of people. From there, I saw a haggard looking lady surrounded by a few knights and¡­ Duke Prata? was seen coming out and turning his back and walking away as if in a panic. I could not let the Duke of Prata run away, but if that woman was the Queen who controlled the Spirit, I definitely couldn¡¯t let her get away as well. ¡°Set [Gandivam]¡± I took out my magic bow Gandivam, grabbed a silver arrow and gave it a big draw as I slowly inhaled. ¡°¨C[Enperial]¨C¡° The silver arrow became a pillar of light like a comet, vaporizing the queen¡¯s upper body and the surrounding knights in an instant. In the aftermath, the Duke of Prata, who was still alive and rolling about, covered in dirt, abandoned his noble appearance and fled, and as I prepared to fire my silver arrow at him, several soldiers rushed up from the Duke of Prata¡¯s side and ¡ª oh, he was stabbed. *** ¡°Hiii, kiiiiiiii!!!¡± ¡°Your, Your Royal Highness¡­¡± Duke Prata turned pale and took a step back as the queen suddenly burst into foam and collapsed, sobbing and making strange noises as she clutched her throat. The attendants who had been tending to the queen rushed out to the entrance of the tent as if frightened, and a knight of the Prata family, catching the Duke of Prata¡¯s gaze, slashed down the attendants. The Demon Lord must have defeated the Queen¡¯s guardian Spirit. After being bound for a long time, the royal guardian Spirit appeared to have lost its power, and the queen¡¯s magic power was not strong enough to begin with, so it could not reveal its true power. The only exception was Flare, who was able to re-contract with her high magic power, but she was imprisoned under a strict Spirit seal. The queen could be a source of strength for the soldiers who were terrified of the Demon Lord, and if the terrified maidens made a fuss while he was fleeing, he would be unable to withdraw easily. ¡°We are retreating. The queen will be brought back as well, so get ready.¡± ¡°¡±Hah?¡±¡± Two of the knights lifted the queen, who was still moaning in pain, and the Duke also got ready with the least amount of luggage possible because his knights had been reduced to a bare minimum. Abel, though young, was second only to Bert the Sword Saint in swordsmanship. He was about to leave the tent and head for the concealed carriage, hoping to retreat in time while he could. [¡­!] Suddenly, a light pierced through, leaving an inaudible scream as the knights vanished, and the queen, with only the lower half of her body shaking, fell over on her side, and the Duke of Prata, who had survived and escaped the line of fire, crawled away, his face twitching in fear. Then a group of soldiers with cloth covering the lower half of their faces appeared, and Duke Prata¡¯s eyes lit up as he commanded them. ¡°You there, escort me out of the battlefield!¡± One female soldier nodded, approached quietly, drew the dagger from her waist, and stabbed Duke Prata deeply in the abdomen. ¡°Aghhhh, you, you, you!¡± The arm he moved to shake her off smacked the female soldier in the face, revealing her true face. ¡°Ah, you are Flare¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I will never forgive you for betraying Flare-sama despite being her family!¡± The girl was the daughter of a follower who had been sheltered by Flare during the battle of Royal Capital. ¡°Let, let me go.¡± The girl stepped forward with angry eyes as the Duke of Prata tried to move away, and she thrust her dagger deep into him with a twisting motion. The Duke of Prata finally collapsed, and his life was extinguished. The girl had defeated one of her intended enemies, and her companions rushed to her. ¡°¡±Kuh?¡±¡± At that moment, they felt a formidable intimidation as if they were surrounded by a pack of giant dragons, and as they began to wobble to their knees, a shadow in a red dress swooped down on them. The soldiers, who had hidden their faces, gulped nervously as they kneeled in the presence of the [Demon Lord], and the girl from earlier raised a voice as if clinging to her. ¡°¡­Ah, even though this is my first time meeting you, I would like to ask a favor. Demon Lord-sama. Please¡­please save my master, Flare-sama!¡± CH 76.1 Caenista Capture Operation 1 Help Flare? What had happened since I had left Caenista? The girl in front of me was frightened, but she stepped forward desperately and turned her strong eyes on me. I looked at her friends, not knowing what was going on, but they were all so stiff that it felt like they were struggling to breathe, so I stopped ¡°pressuring¡± them. Then, one man¡¯s eyes widened as he collapsed, as if his strength had been drained from him. ¡°¡­Eh? Eh? Why is Witch-san here? Or rather, Demon Lord¡­.sama?¡± His stunned voice and expression reminded me of that person as well. ¡°Are you Nicholas, by any chance?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, it¡¯s Nicholas! Are you really Witch-san?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. But well, I am now called [Demon Lord-san] I guess.¡± I answered lightly, and Nicholas, Cam¡¯s friend and butler, was astonished. After inheriting the former Demon Lord¡¯s legacy and coming this far, it was difficult to say that the Demon Lord had nothing to do with me. But how could he, Cam¡¯s first aide, be here with Flare¡¯s followers? Anyway, I need to find out what is going on with them. As I looked at them sideways, who were beginning to be puzzled whether they knew about the [Rose Witch] that was famous in the royal capital, as I returned a little the way I came, I retrieved the desired object from the queen¡¯s body, whose upper body had been blown off. ¡°There it is.¡± ¡°¡­What is that?¡± ¡°Something that allows one to contract with a spirit.¡± A glowing ball of semi-spiritual matter, similar to my fusion tool. It was a magical tool for making a contract with a spirit that had fused with the queen. I carelessly crushed the magical tool with my power in front of Nicholas, who was staring at it with interest. ¡°Aaahh!¡± ¡°That¡¯s annoying Nicholas.¡± As the shattered magical artifact disappeared as particles of light, the nearby earth rose to reveal a huge rock beast. (Arch Elemental: Alignment Earth. Status: Bad. MP7700/56000) The Great Spirit of the Earth seemed to have become even more emaciated because of the fight with me. Still, it looked a little happy because of its liberation. But why did it not return to the spirit world? Perhaps it felt indebted to me? If it didn¡¯t want to return, I would ask it to mix with the land around here. Looking around, I could see that the number of spirits had decreased considerably. When I mentioned this, the Great Spirit of the Earth nodded slightly and quietly disappeared into the ground. Because of Alice, there have been very few spirits. If the Great Spirit settled in, I think the other spirits would naturally come back. I nodded to myself, thinking that I had done a good thing, and I received another message from the [system]. (Message.Earth Arch Elemental>> Erde) Message from the Great Spirit? Erde? It had a name¡­ I wonder what the message was? ¡°¡®I will return to the city and take a look¡¯ it said.¡± I left my thoughts for later, called out to Nicholas and the others, and looked back toward the city. The Caenista army was beginning to lose ground, so I guess I could leave the rest to the others. Anyway, there were many things I didn¡¯t understand. CH 76.2 ¡°Nicholas!¡± ¡°Maia!¡± When I returned to town, Maia and Nicholas, who had sought refuge there, rushed up to each other and hugged tightly. As I watched them smiling at each other, Maia turned bright red and pulled away from Nicholas. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Carol-sama! I¡¯m uh¡­¡± ¡°Carol-sama¡­? Carol-sama! Oh, I was thinking why she looked so familiar, but how?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cam knows.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t mention anything about it!¡± Nicholas was getting on my nerves. I entered the reception room of the temple-like building that served as my residence and started the conversation. Nicholas and the girl from earlier exchanged glances, and the girl ¨C Lilia ¨C gulped as I began to speak. ¡°I will tell you the story from the beginning.¡± I escaped from the kingdom by smashing the top of the castle, but it seems that the king¡¯s property was in there, and to make up for it as well as to force the people to pay heavy taxes, they tried to oppress the subhumans and started a war with the daemons to compensate for the money that they lost. That¡¯s a lot of work. I knew about that part, but I heard that the heavy taxation had worsened the crop failure problem due to the decrease in the number of spirits outside the royal capital, which had been a problem for some time, and that recovery was carried out by ¡°the Beloved Child of the Spirits¡±, but even though there was recovery, it was temporary, and the number of spirits decreased even further afterwards. Because of Alice¡¯s efforts to gather the spirits, the area around the capital was said to have a better harvest than before, but it was still not enough to supply the entire kingdom. In the first place, there were many lands of high nobles around the royal capital, and there were few nobles who shared their lands with other fiefdoms, so the nobles on the frontier and their fiefdoms were complaining. The Kingdom of Caenista was in trouble. Flare saw this as an opportunity. She was going to support the impoverished nobles from behind the scenes and accumulate power by making allies of the frontier fiefdoms to overthrow the royal family. ¡­Perhaps Flare also realized that as long as Alice was around, the country would only continue to decline. But Flare¡¯s plot was foiled by her own father, the Duke of Prata, and her brother, Cashmere. They trapped Flare and tried to reduce her power. Flare should have been able to chew through the trap, but they had a trump card. It was Alice, the spirit¡¯s beloved child. At the request of the Crown Prince, the battle between Alice and Flare set the royal city ablaze, and it seemed as if their powers were a close match. ¡°Flare-sama was captured because of my foolishness¡­¡± ¡°It seems like she had a hard time.¡± Flare was protected by a spirit, so they couldn¡¯t kill her. They could only capture her by sealing her with the spirit, so no one could get to her, and she was imprisoned in a dungeon with no medical treatment for her wounds. Ah~ this was Flare¡¯s only route to survival, the route of imprisonment after the usurpation of the throne. The situation was similar, though slightly different. After that, Lilia and her followers fought hard to secure Flare, but nearly half of them were killed or captured, leaving young people like Lilia behind. They had sworn an oath to rescue Flare, but there were no longer many places to hide in the Royal Capital, so Lilia and her family, who were holed up in a lowly noble family of the Flare faction, were approached by a man they had not expected. CH 76.3 ¡°His Highness Camille has managed to get us out of the capital and in contact with the scattered followers of Flare-sama.¡± ¡°Cam¡­¡± Nicholas followed up quietly, knowing that I did not understand the reason why Cam, who was being watched by the king, would do such a dangerous thing. ¡°Camille-sama said that Carol-sama is alive with Maia and the others. He decided that he would need Miss Flare¡¯s help to prove Carol-sama¡¯s innocence.¡± ¡°Since we cannot rely on other countries, we are worried about our strength, so we have disguised ourselves in the Kingdom¡¯s army to join forces with the demons who were currently at war with the Caenista¡­ and to defeat Lord Prata.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Cam was working for me¡­. You made a dangerous move, you idiot¡­. ¡°Okay, but why is Nicholas here too?¡± ¡°Well, I was just wondering if the subhuman forces would have additional information about Carol-sama¡­¡± ¡°You were wondering about Maia¡¯s safety, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± Nicholas clammed up, and Maia¡¯s face reddened as she waited by the wall. ¡°Please, Demon Lord¡­no, Carol-sama! Please help Flare-sama!¡± Lilia¡¯s frantic voice broke a little towards the end of the explanation, and the eyes of her followers turned to me. Flare huh¡­ I would like to help her if I can because I owe her a debt. At the same time, I wanted to take a look at Caenista, and even more than that, I wanted to break their ties with Cam. ¡°I understand.¡± My words brought joy to Lilia and the others¡¯ faces. ¡°I will crush Caenista.¡± The words that followed made everyone except me turn blue. ¡°Carol-sama¡­? Are you trying to destroy Caenista?¡± Nicholas screamed as if he represented everyone¡¯s feelings. They must have seen my power as a Demon Lord and the monsters who were bowing down to me on the battlefield, so they thought that I was going to destroy their country by force. Those demons must have followed me because I became an Ancient Elf, but I was also surprised when they suddenly came close to me when my presence became known through the use of 10th class magic. There were many commoners in the kingdom who knew nothing about the situation, as well as the nobles who fell victim to Alice. If I led the monsters and the daemons to invade, many people would be harmed. ¡°No, I won¡¯t destroy it. I will simply crush those people.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Nicholas, Lilia, and the others¡¯ eyes shook with confusion. ¡°As I recall, Flare was supporting the nobles on the frontier, right? Did you get them on your side?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. We used our private funds to secretly buy food from neighboring countries and give it to the impoverished nobles¡¯ territories, but the damage was too great, so it was only about a third of the total¡­¡± ¡°Can merchants from other countries use any currency?¡± ¡°¡­They should be fine, in my opinion. Of course, only coins that are trustworthy can be used, but even in the royal capital, there are several large merchant houses that should be able to use any currency.¡± ¡°Can I use this?¡± I command [System], dropping a silver coin from my palm. ¡°It¡¯s the official silver coin of Isbell Continent.¡± ¡°This is, I think it can be used¡­¡± The silver coins were followed by a flood of similar silver coins that spilled from the table and spread across the floor, making Lilia scream in shock. ¡°How many more do you need?¡± ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± One credit from the VRMMO was one silver coin. One silver coin was equivalent to 10,000 yen¡­ It was more than enough money to destroy a country through inflation. Now, time to start the calculations of how to destroy Caenista. CH 77.1 Caenista Capture Operation 2 Harvest time had arrived in Caenista Kingdom, the land ruled by the humans. Thanks to the presence of the Beloved Child, the farmlands around the royal city had an unprecedentedly good harvest. Although the city still bears deep scars from the fire that ravaged the city and reconstruction is not yet complete, the stalls in the city are overflowing with food, and the city is beginning to regain its liveliness. However, if you look closely, you can see adults dressed in rags sitting in alleys off the streets in King¡¯s Landing, with lethargic faces. The area outside the walls surrounding the city was inhabited by laborers and others of low status who had left the city. Although the area was not damaged by the fire, the number of vagrants had increased due to the influx of victims from the fire in the city, and many fights involving snatchers and robbers had caused merchandise to disappear from stalls, giving the area the appearance of a poor neighborhood. Most of the land around the capital is the property of the upper-class nobles who live in the capital. They did not want to give their harvest to the affected people, but instead sold it at a high price to other areas where the harvest was poor. In the periphery of the kingdom outside the capital, there were many areas where the harvest was less than half that of the previous year due to the decrease in the number of spirits. The lands ruled by some nobles who had received support from Flare and the lower nobles who had bought crops anticipating a bad harvest were still better off, but security deteriorated to the point where farmers, unable to make a living due to ever-increasing taxes and refugees from the capital, became wild thieves. The people on the frontier, whose livelihood had been weakened by the departure of many subalterns and powerful adventurers, began to riot and skirmish with the knights of the fiefdom, and when the frontier lords asked the royal capital for support, it was brushed off. The nobles and merchants in the capital, who had a good harvest, did not feel threatened. On the contrary, they saw the turmoil on the frontier as a good opportunity to make money. Originally, the king did not have to do his royal duties because the senior nobles, such as the Prime Minister and the Duke of Prata, ran the kingdom, so until now, no major problems have arisen. This delayed the handling of the problem. The royal family and the nobles of the capital have no sense of crisis. Tonight, too, a night party boasting of the nobles¡¯ wealth was being held somewhere, and in the royal palace, night parties and tea ceremonies were being held every day in honor of Beloved Child Alice. Even so, complaints and requests for assistance were received from the frontier, and in the capital, where only a minimum number of knights and soldiers were left to defeat the demons, the Prime Minister, the Marquis de Cadeau, disposed of the nobles who complained about the kingdom as a mob, in the name of maintaining security, but the Prime Minister alone was not enough to completely stop the rumours. Alice Lannon Yogle, Viscountess Yogle. For her efforts in capturing Flare, who rebelled against the royal family, Alice replaced Flare as the Crown Prince¡¯s official fianc¨¦e. She was the only one who could deal with the mysterious decrease in the number of spirits that was consuming the kingdom as the [Beloved Child of the Spirits], the head of the Lannon Conglomerate, who had the royal family¡¯s support, and the next queen, to whom many lustful nobles and wealthy people flocked. When Alice overheard one of them mention the growing dissatisfaction of the people, she smiled prettily and clapped her hands. ¡°Then let¡¯s have an event at my graduation to relieve everyone¡¯s resentment. How about we have the commoners join in the entertainment at our graduation party and behead Ms. Flare? Let¡¯s see¡­ admission is three small silver coins for adults and half price for children¡­¡± CH 77.2 ¡°¡­Seriously?¡± ¡°¡­You won¡¯t believe it, but it¡¯s true.¡± Hearing Flare¡¯s follower Lilia¡¯s explanation, the demons who were listening along with me were also stunned. This was Otome the Game¡¯s [Reverse Harem Route Villainess Execution Full Course], wasn¡¯t it? To settle the dissatisfaction of the common people, they were dragged through the city and made to throw stones at the common people, then Flare was guillotined with her face turned upward as a standard, and Carol was burned alive at the stake. The route was quite a mess because they did as they pleased. But still¡­entrance fee? I have heard that executions were a form of entertainment for the masses even in medieval times on earth, but to execute someone you knew and then turn it into a show to make money¡­ that¡¯s quite the feat, Alice. ¡­I have lived as Carol for fifteen years, and I never imagined that the other side of the [Otome Game], of which I had seen only the beautiful part, would be so terrible. In the game, the main character was just a bright, energetic, cute girl, but in reality she was an extreme money-grubber who suffered from the Psychopathic Pollyanna Syndrome. The characters were not the good-looking, single-minded purists they appeared to be, but rather outrageous perverts who preferred freaks like Alice. But surely that might have been as expected. There was no way anyone in their right mind would prefer a person who would create a harem by messing around all over the place, right? ¡­I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to read romance novels properly from now on. ¡°When is Flare¡¯s execution¡­ When is the graduation ceremony?¡± ¡°¡­Three months from now.¡± I¡¯ve heard that Flare hasn¡¯t been treated for her injuries, but unlike Alice, she was a contractor of the spirits, so she would not die easily from being sealed with the spirit. I think the reason the kingdom did not execute Flare before now was simply because Flare could not be killed. Poison does not work, her body has been strengthened so that blades will not pierce her, and her wounds will heal gradually even if her powers cannot be used. To kill Flare, they would have to weaken the spirit or use a blade that used a spirit as a sacrifice, but¡­well, Alice would sacrifice a spirit without a care in the world. For money. I decided to destroy Caenista to save Flare, but I still think that Alice would be the obstacle. If she were a spirit¡¯s contractor, using her power would also consume the contractor¡¯s magical power, but Alice¡¯s spirits were disposable, and repeated battles would not weaken Alice. Defeating them would decrease Alice¡¯s strength, but if all the spirits disappeared, then the land of Caenista would turn into an uninhabitable desert in less than a hundred years. The surrounding countries will be affected by the large number of refugees generated by the chaos. If that happens, the Solvet nation, Cam¡¯s mother¡¯s family home, would no longer be on Cam¡¯s side, so if possible, I would like to smash only the upper echelons of the Caenista Kingdom. ¡°Nicholas, I¡¯m sorry, but could you look into some things for me?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± First, information about Alice¡¯s trading company. What were they selling, where were they buying it from, how was the money being moved from the capital, what were they doing with it? Information on neighboring countries. Lilia and the rest of Flare¡¯s followers were going to work together with Nicholas. ¡°Leave it to me!¡± I intended to use my funds to shake things up, but I decided to use only about 40 million of the 340 million Isbell Continent silver coins that I have. The reason for this was because 40 million silver coins was quite heavy. The total weight was about 400 tons. It would take 1,000 to 1,500 horse-drawn carriages to transport them. Moreover, when converted into large gold coins, it amounts to 400,000 coins, which exceeds the number of large gold coins in circulation. It would be better to build a base somewhere within Caenista and transport them from there, although it would only be 40 million coins. I decided to consult the Demon King after reporting back to him in a hurry. ¡°¡­¡± As soon as I arrived at the castle in the Demon Kingdom, the thousands of Daemon and subhuman soldiers who greeted me all simultaneously fell to their knees. ¡°We have been waiting for your return, Demon Lord-sama.¡± ¡°¡­Nn?¡± I was greeted by that nagging court mage, Barbas. I wondered what was going on, but it was too much trouble, so I continued on my way, and there she was, standing next to the throne, with the demon king Beliteris. ¡°Welcome back, Carol.¡± ¡°¡­Grandmother.¡± Celia, a high elf, greeted me. The demon king stepped forward as I stopped, not expecting her to be there. ¡°I have heard everything from Celiarial-sama. We, the demons and our fellow subhumans, will now follow Carol-sama as Demon Lord.¡± ¡°¡­¡± This was becoming something over-the-top, wasn¡¯t it? It was good to have so many collaborators. At any rate, I told my grandmother and Grandpa Veritris what I wanted to do, and after hearing that, my grandmother told me where I should make my base in Caenista. ¡°The old Principality of Arceides. Let¡¯s have a visit over there.¡± The Principality of Arceides. The current territory of Arceides. It¡­ was where my ancestor Nym had died. CH 78.1 Caenista Capture Operation 3 ¡°Carol-sama, please deliver this one.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± Nicholas handed me a smaller box the day before we were supposed to start making some moves. As I recalled, this was a magical tool that could hold large items, right? An item bag similar to my [Bag] which were very rare in this world, and even if you could find one, the biggest would have a capacity equivalent to a carriage and cost tens of thousands of gold coins, but this one was a well-researched and manufactured magical tool that was as big as a travel trunk. It would be a great thing if they could make it as big as a book, but the problem with that would be the cost which would be around one large gold coin for one of these, and since they were disposable, they would only be used by wealthy people who wanted to give gifts to distant places. ¡°It was entrusted to me by Camille-sama. If I miraculously met Carol-sama, I was told to give it to you.¡± ¡°Cam¡­¡± He told me that inside of this was a dress that I could wear if I were ever to return to Caenista. But it was made in little Carol¡¯s size, so Nicholas wasn¡¯t sure whether he should give it to me or not, but he decided to give it anyway. ¡°¡­Thanks.¡± We were now going to infiltrate Arceides territory on my grandmother¡¯s recommendation. I did not know if we could use it as a base, but we could make it happen for sure. Lilia and others had already left with as much silver as they could take with them in a few wagons. First, they intended to go to the border area to buy food. I heard that the price of food was already skyrocketing, but I asked them to buy as much as ten times what they needed as long as they could afford. ¡°Are you ready to leave?¡± ¡°Yes, Carol-sama!¡± A woman from the knights of the demon tribe immediately replied to my voice. They were the knights from the demon tribe who volunteered to be my escort. This time, since we were going undercover with a small group, there were three from among the Daemon Knights and three Hippogriffs, their cavalry beasts. Bert-san, whom we had left behind last time, was insistent that we take him along, so he and one of the griffons he rode. One Sleipnir, that could run fast enough to keep in touch with the daemons, then me and Pochi. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Young Lady, this ain¡¯t gonna give you away, is it?¡± Although our group was small, Pochi was 10 meters long, and the griffons and Hippogriffs were also over 5 meters long, so the pressure was too great. ¡°I think I don¡¯t have a choice. Since that¡¯s the case I will ride Sleipnir and Pochi will¡­¡± [I, for one, do not want to stay at home!] ¡­Didn¡¯t you say before when we arrived that you were tired after flying for a long distance? They were all selfish, but it was too much trouble to persuade them to stay, so I took them with me. We flew around 4000 meters above the ground just to be safe. Due to the high altitude, everyone was cold and shivering, and I could not tolerate any more selfishness. We flew quite high above to avoid detection, but it was pretty bad down there¡­. Since it was harvest time, I thought the wheat fields would be either bearing crops or mowed to reveal the soil, but there were many fields that were withered and littered. Not only the regular forest, but the adjacent Demon Forest was also eroding with a dead brown color, so I wouldn¡¯t expect any blessings from the forest. Enhancing my eyesight and looking down, I did not see any local person at all in the rural areas. There must have been tens of thousands of people in Arceides territory alone, but when I searched for where they might be, I found a large group of farmers in the largest town in the territory, where the commercial guilds were located. CH 78.2 ¡°Change of plans!¡± ¡°Young Lady! [Carol!?] Fluttering down as I jumped off Pochi, I skydived from 4,000 meters up in the sky. My red dress kept fluttering, as I cut down at the wind, adjusting where I fell, applying physical reinforcement to my entire body and releasing magic directly below me as I approached the ground. ¡°¨C[Typhoon]¨C¡° [Gyaaaaaah!?] [Geeaaaahhh!] The storm blew away the soldiers and the rioting peasants! And I landed with a loud sound, and enough force that created a crater on the ground of the area that was vacated by my attack. [[[¡­]]] As I stood up amidst the people who were blasted away and were frozen in fear, they turned their eyes to me, and the first to return to their senses was a commercial guild member. ¡°Witch-san¡­?¡± ¡°Ah, Jess-san, long time no see.¡± It was the Dwarf uncle who used to buy weapons from the commercial guild. I had heard that most of the subhumans had left, but he was still here. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked, now that things had quieted down, Jess-san gulped and spat at the people who were still immobile after being blown away and were still laying down on the ground. ¡°¡­No, I mean, the farmers asked for food¡­¡± ¡°There is none?¡± ¡°The Lord has taken most of this year¡¯s portion¡­. I still have some left over from last year, but still, as a commercial guild, we can¡¯t give it out for free.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± That made sense. One might think that since there was a famine, commercial guilds should give the food out if they have it, but even after the famine passed, the peasants would not necessarily bring in the money. Usually, the Lords pay the peasants to circulate the money. But instead there would be a very high probability that the peasants would be forced to give it to the Lords. If that were to happen, not only the merchants would suffer, the distribution of supply in the city would also stop, which would cause many problems all over the place. Besides, once a precedent was set, the peasants would repeatedly ask the commercial guilds for help, and even if they refused to give anymore, the starving peasants would attack the guilds and the merchants. ¡°Ah, money.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± I dropped a pile of almost 10,000 silver coins in front of Jess-san, and everyone¡¯s eyes who witnessed this along with Jess-san widened in shock. ¡°Can you use this?¡± ¡°¡­Witch-san¡­what the heck are you¡­¡± ¡°Demon Lord-sama!!!!¡± ¡°Young Lady!!¡± At that time, the voices of the Demon Lord¡¯s guards who had caught up with me from above, and most importantly, the sight of a dark dragon, griffons, and other advanced demons descending on me, caused a panic among the peasants and people in the town. [Demon Lord!] [Dragon!] I failed. I was about to signal Pochi to calm them down with a spirit-crushing dragon roar, when a voice echoed from a different direction. ¡°What the heck is that demon? Knights, step forward! Soldiers, fire your bows!¡± A group of knights and soldiers on horseback suddenly appeared. They seemed to be the knights of Arceides. But they were trying to shoot arrows at the peasants as well, so to avoid the casualties I suppressed the knights and soldiers with an ice storm. ¡°Damn, if it¡¯s only this much¡­¡± While more than half of the knights were immobilized by [Ice Storm], someone who looks like a commander stepped forward while cracking the ice sticking to his body with the hilt of his sword. Hey, that person¡­? ¡°Brother Dirk?¡± ¡°¡­Witch!¡± Come to think of it, Dirk was traumatized by me, the Witch one, wasn¡¯t he? But why would he be here, anyway? Did the King send an order to subdue his domain? Dirk, who was looking at me with an astonished face as I was thinking this, suddenly frowned. CH 78.3 ¡°¡­Brother? You can¡¯t be¡­Carol?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When I lightly affirmed it, not only Dirk but also almost half of the knights and soldiers widened their eyes. ¡°Carol, why are you dressed like that?! I admire your legs, but if you¡¯re going to dress like that wretched Witch, you¡¯ll have to become my slave, and I¡¯ll get you a shorter skirt!¡± ¡°¡­¡± [[[¡­]]] Shouldn¡¯t you have something else to say about Pochi and the others, or about the fact that I went missing in the castle first¡­? As some of the knights and soldiers¡¯ gazes turned cold on Dirk, who was making perverted remarks to his own sister, even though she was a changeling, Dirk drew his sword and ran towards me. ¡°Haha, this is an opportunity! It was troublesome to have to go all the way back from the capital to suppress the riot, but if we capture you here, His Majesty will not say no to making you my slave! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°¡­Elma.¡± ¡°Leave it to me, Carol-sama.¡± As I called out a name, a woman from among the guards responded in a low, raspy voice and jumped in front of Dirk, who was heading this way. ¡°Get out of the way! If you¡¯re going to get in my way, you first, Gefu!¡± Elma, with an advantage of her tall height kicked the abdomen of Dirk, and he was easily blown off his feet as if he were gasping for air. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re such a weak boy.¡± ¡°¡­you!¡± Elma quietly removed her helmet and her long ears popped out through her brunette hair. Elma of the Daemon Kingdom, who wished to be my escort, was a half-elf woman who had served as Nym¡¯s apprentice escort a hundred years ago. She was from a destroyed Elven nation, and became an apprentice knight escort when Nym was taken in by the Arceides, but was killed by a plot by Caenista, and had been training hard ever since, swearing revenge against the Caenista Kingdom. When she found out that I am a descendant of Nym, she happily pledged her allegiance to me, Carol, instead of the Demon Lord. She looked like a beautiful woman in her late twenties, but she had a big and muscular build, probably because she worked out a lot. She¡¯s cool. ¡°Hmph!¡± ¡°Aaahhh! No! I don¡¯t want a strong and scary half-elf!¡± Dirk, who was traumatized by strong half-elves, screamed as Elma grabbed Dirk and pushed him down into submission, and the knights and soldiers who were still immobilized by [Ice Storm] looked at Dirk with a mixture of pity and envy. ¡°Hmph, I wonder if this is the right place?¡± ¡°Aaahhh! Help me, Carol, I really do love you¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Indeed¡­ after meeting me as a Witch when I was merely a 3 year old little girl, Dirk stopped showing his dislike for elves, prepared sweets and fruits that he thought I would like, and separated me from the senior servants who were very racist against subhumans¡­. Then he tried to touch me, patted my belly, stroked my ears, fondled my thighs, tried to bathe with me, attempted to make me wear a magic collar to be his slave¡­. ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Aaahhh!!!¡± Oh, it broke. ¡°From now on, this land has been conquered by this Carol Nym Arceides. Anyone who has any objections, step forward this instant.¡± I indicated that I was Carol of the House of Arceides, and intimidated them with high-level full force intimidation, and the knights along with the soldiers lowered their weapons at the sight of Pochi and Bert-san, who came forward in response, and the commoners volunteered happily to capture the noble knights who still looked dissatisfied. The nobles, as I thought, didn¡¯t like me after all¡­ The commoner soldiers, on the other hand, knew me when I was a little girl, when I was persecuted, and they were itching to be able to help me. ¡°From now on we will follow Carol-sama.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ then, please return the tax crops to the farmers, the same amount that you usually give to the Caenista Kingdom. Arceides is no longer a territory of Caenista.¡± The farmers cheered with resounding shouts when they saw the soldiers moving at my word and command. I tilted my head while I was cooking a proper oatmeal with wheat, lard, goat¡¯s milk, sugar, and salt in a huge pot that I had the commercial guild prepare for the farmers. ¡­What was I going to do here again? CH 79.1 Caenista Capture Operation 4 ¡°Bert-san, please.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m on it. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Hah¡±¡±¡± The former swordsman Bert-san, who had revealed his true face, was followed by the decent, low-ranked knights of Arceides with joy filled faces. The knights, who were nobles but had only a farming area, were close to the commoners and far away from the royal family, so when I promised them food aid, they were all tearful and happy. From now on, Bert-san, knights, soldiers, and others were going to persuade (physically) along with the demon army the nobles and knights that were close to Arceides and their neighboring territories. The kingdom-leaning nobles in Arceides¡¯ castle have already been captured, but there were few kingdom supporters left, probably because they were weakened by the confiscation of their assets by Cam five years ago. Also, the commercial guild of Arceides had offered their full cooperation. They said that they were troubled by the nobles and the royal family who did nothing despite the current bad harvest and the stagnation of distribution, so they would put the word out to the guilds in the various regions. They said they felt foolish to be alarmed by the sight of me, the ¡°Demon Lord,¡± making oatmeal with a single-minded devotion. However, it seemed that many of the guilds in the royal capital had the Prime Minister¡¯s support, so it would not be that easy. For now, I gave about 20 million silver coins to the Commerce Guild so that they could get food from the Royal Capital, which had the only good harvest this season. The silver coins in Isbell Continent could be used in limited places, but even if they did not deal in food, there were many wealthy merchants close to the royal family and the Prime Minister, so it was possible to exchange them for money. ¡°The exchange rate is 1 to 1.2, and you can spend up to five times the exchange rate on your purchases.¡± ¡°Then the negotiations will be easy. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you, Carol-dono.¡± Jess-san of the Commerce Guild took care of it with a smile. He was responsible for blacksmithing, but since the original branch manager was leaning toward the kingdom, I asked him to be the branch manager instead. The adventurers who were out of work were asked to take the place of the missing knights to deal with demon-related matters and to catch anyone who tries to escape from here and inform the royal capital. At first, they rebelled, but after we broke every bone in their body, they all agreed to help us half-heartedly. Well, I still couldn¡¯t trust them, but I heard that soldiers and demons from the daemon kingdom would come to support the security, so it would probably be fine. ¡­I wondered if demons who had sworn obedience were more trustworthy than humans. As for Dirk, when I was thinking about what to do with him, Elma approached me and asked me to take him into custody. ¡°I¡¯ve been so squeamish about him crying his gooey tears after he¡¯s been broken by me. I¡¯d like to make him cry with a better voice.¡± ¡°¡­ok.¡± Normally, I would have dismissed this request, but Dirk had been planning to train a half-elf as his exclusive pet, so in a way, it was close to what he wanted. I¡¯m kind. That Abel was also going to be a farmer in a roundabout manner under Bert-san¡¯s supervision, so I hoped he could get along with Dirk as well. And then there was the matter of father and mother¡­ CH 79.2 To be clear, I had no feelings for those two. They harassed me in many ways, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about anything I had to say about those two. They were already out of power, and the title of nobility, which was the only thing on which they relied, disappeared when I took over Arceides. There were many people in Arceides today who held grudges against the father, so it would be better for him not to go out in public. Well, this time, what was supposed to be an infiltration mission turned into a surprise raid. At this rate, it would probably be easy to take over other areas as well, but I didn¡¯t want to do anything that would lead Alice out of the royal capital by letting her know of our presence. Even now, the number of Spirits in the surroundings had been decreasing, and if Alice moved from place to place again, many areas would seriously start to become a desert. Alice, were you a Goddess of Poverty? And what brought me to Arceides. I was looking for a base, and Celia, my grandmother, told me to head for Arceides. She didn¡¯t say that this place was suitable for a base. Maybe something¡­something that originated from Nym? With that way of speaking, perhaps grandmother gave up on collecting in the land of the humans. If so, would it be in the castle of the Arceides family? I had lived in that castle until I was three years old, and I was under house arrest in my room all the time, so I never even walked around the castle, which meant anything was possible. *** With the sound of my heels on the stone floor echoing, I walked alone in the castle, which was no longer bustling with the crowd. Most of the servants who were in the castle were either captured or sent out on leave, so now there were only menial workers who maintained and cleaned the garden. ¡°¡­Nn?¡± I was walking around the corridor, heading to the back of the castle, but before I knew it, I ended up in the courtyard. I didn¡¯t know that the castle was this intricate. I went down a different path again and somehow ended at the entrance of the corridor. I was suspicious¡­. I tried to go back in, but stopped halfway and looked around. (Illusion Defense) Ah~ I see. Illusion Defense. It was the kind of thing that made things that were in a maze look like they weren¡¯t there, or things that weren¡¯t there seem like they were. When I paid close attention, the [System] which had reported it to me displayed a simplified map of the castle as more detailed data. The light spots that appear in some places would have an illusion effect. But when I stared at it, it looked as if those light spots were moving. ¡­This was troublesome. It wasn¡¯t just an illusion, but once I passed through it, I couldn¡¯t go back, and it was like a puzzle game. This advanced magic must have been done by the elves, not the humans. But no matter how troublesome the trick was, if I took my time and didn¡¯t give up as I could see the map, I would surely be able to solve this puzzle and find the place I was looking for. ¡°Ei!¡± *Dogon!! However, it was too much trouble, so I decided to break the wall in a straight line and proceed, and the light spots on the map blinked and all the light spots had now disappeared. ¡°¡­It¡¯s broken.¡± I was going to fix the wall later, but even the illusion magic was broken¡­. Would my grandmother scold me later for this? Well, since it had already been done, it could not be helped. I learned from Flare and Alice that I had no regrets about what I did. CH 79.3 As I continued to the back of the room, I found a stairway down to the basement, and as I went down the stairway, there was a hidden room with a door without any particular traps. When I touched the door, the magic key was automatically unlocked, and the door opened. Was it because I was an elf? Or because I was a descendant of Nym? I walked in and found that the room, about eight tatami mats in size, had a table and chair where I could write letters and a small jewelry box. I put the jewelry box last and somehow opened a book that was on the table. ¡°This is¡­¡± [My heart is a little jewelry box. Today, as I pray to the moon, the jealous clouds hide the moon and bless me with rain instead. Don¡¯t stare at me so much. In the morning, even the sun gets jealous and melts me into a mush, and the fairy inside me gets shy and hides. Lulalalala~¡±] Slam. ¡°¡­¡± ¡­It seems to be a forbidden grimoire created by Nym. I see. No wonder it¡¯s so heavily guarded. Let¡¯s seal this up and send it to my grandmother. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and touched the small jewelry box, wondering if this was what Nym had left behind. ¡­Was there something sparkly in there? I opened the jewelry box, and something like a shiny ball emerged from inside, as if it couldn¡¯t wait to get out from there. ¡­ Was this Spirit¡¯s magical tool? The same one used by Flare and the royalty. It was the magical tool of the contract that sealed the Great Spirit. Then I knew what I should do. When I crushed the grimoire, a strong light flooded the room, filling it with white and existing there. (Arch Elemental: Alignment Lux. Status: Bad. MP3100/62000) ¡°Light¡­Great Spirit.¡± Sealed in the magical tool was the Spirit of Light. After all, it had been sealed away for over a hundred years without any magical power supply, so it had weakened considerably. I was asked by my grandmother to release the Spirit from this grimoire. The grimoire, which could use multiple Spirits, had disappeared somewhere after the death of Nym, who owned it, and was lost among the humans who could not handle it. Nym, the ¡°beloved child¡±, who was supposed to be protected from all dangers, was trapped and died because Nym had complete control over it. So Nym kept Spirit away from the discussion with the human tribe who betrayed the demon tribe for fear that Spirit would go off on its own, and that was why the trap could not be prevented. To protect Nym and Kam, they prepared six magical tools that contained the Spirit of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, and Darkness to assist [the beloved child], but these tools, which were owned by Kam and Nym¡¯s aides, were taken away by the humans in the war. The royal family of Caenista possessed four types of Spirit: earth, water, fire, and wind. I wondered where the rest of Spirit went, but Spirit of Light was hidden here. ¡°¡­Spirit-san?¡± For a few moments, the great Spirit of Light shimmered and illuminated me, then disappeared somewhere, leaving behind a somewhat nostalgic pale light. (Message: Lux Arch Elemental>> Licht) ¡°¡­Licht? Is that your name?¡± It seems that the Great Spirit of Light also told me its name. I wonder what this could be. I had a feeling that it would be beneficial to collect them. The remaining Great Spirits on the enemy side were only the Wind and Water Spirits of the Royal Family, minus the Flare¡¯s Flame Spirit. I did not know where the Dark Spirit was, but if I could neutralize just those two, ¡­I could fight Alice head to head. CH 80.1 Caenista Capture Operation 5 The Caenista invasion of the demon stronghold in Demon Forest was reported by the survivors and returned soldiers as a disaster, losing about half of their troops. The reason for the small number of returned soldiers was thought to be that the commanding officers had been targeted and lost control of their troops, leading to many deserters, which was why the number of returned soldiers in the Royal Capital was small. In reality, however, the fact that so many soldiers had not returned had not yet been discovered, although this was partly because none of the other soldiers who had fled to Arceides¡¯ territory had returned. At a meeting of the Royal Capital¡¯s senior nobility, the Prime Minister, Marquis Cadeau, was busy with the nobles, who were angry and continued to say that this was why the militia could not be trusted, but did not offer any constructive opinions. Various problems were occurring in the Kingdom of Caenista. The area around the Royal Capital was experiencing an unusually good harvest, but the outer areas were experiencing a mysterious decrease in the number of spirits, which, combined with heavy taxes, were causing many riots among the peasants. The heavy taxation, one of the causes of the riots, was to compensate for the loss of the king¡¯s assets due to the destruction of the castle, and the reconstruction of the great fire that had destroyed 20% of the Royal Capital due to the battle to capture the rebellious flares was not completed, creating a large number of refugees. To supplement their financial resources, they attacked the daemon tribe, obtained a large number of slaves, and dispatched troops to sell them off to other countries, but the Queen, who was a contractor of the spirit they sent out to fight against the Daemon King, Duke Prata, the chief strategist, and Abel, the leader of the First Order, were killed or disappeared. The Knights of the First, Second, and Third Order, who had lost Bert, the Sword Saint, the hero of the Kingdom of Caenista, in the previous battle, and who had no one to unite them, were now virtually non-functional as the survivors of the First, Second, and Third Order were engaged in a sterile power struggle. And the senior nobles¡¯ council, which was meant to break through the chaos, had turned into a mob of crows seeking only their own interests, unable to be controlled by the Prime Minister alone due to the absence of the Duke of Prata, who had been coordinating the nobles. Normally, in such a situation, the king should take the lead and unite the nobles, but to collect the lost treasures, the King was desperate to seek bribes from shady merchants with whom he had never had a relationship before. They were addicted to alcohol and women. The Queen, who was responsible for the previous merchants and the economy of the Royal Capital, who should admonish them, was nowhere to be found, and even the next King, the Crown Prince, along with the son of the Prime Minister and the first court mage, was devoted to the girl they loved, and despised his office. And the Prime Minister, Marquis Cadeau, was looking for a country to which he could go into exile, while using diplomacy to check other countries which might take advantage of this opportunity and risk invading the kingdom. Some of the nobles, feeling a sense of crisis, secretly requested an interview with Camille, the King¡¯s brother, and asked him to overthrow the current King and take his place as the new King. Camille, however, did not approve of this and declared that he would never stand as king CH 80.2 When the nobles who came to seek his audience had left in exasperation, Camille exhaled heavily and sat down deeply on the sofa, while his second butler took away the cold tea and brewed a new cup of tea. ¡°Is that all right, sir?¡± ¡°No problem. The problem will not be solved just because the King has been replaced now. They just want to suck the sweet sap after the King has been replaced.¡± It was true that if Camille became king, confiscated the property of the nobles of the Royal Capital, and distributed the crops around the Royal Capital to the bad harvest areas, the chaos would temporarily stop. However, with the subsequent decline in national power and the aristocrats of the Royal Capital as enemies, it would take overwhelming charisma and a politics of fear to repel even the interference of other countries. Camille envisioned three girls who could do it, and laughed at himself. ¡°Camille-sama¡­?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m really realizing how small my capabilities are. I can never be a King. I¡¯m the kind of person who still thinks first about his fianc¨¦e who left the country, rather than the future of this country.¡± The trusted servants in the room look at Camille with warm eyes as he mocks himself. Camille had not yet left the country, partly because he was under close surveillance by his brother, the king, and another reason was he was in great danger of assassination on his way to his mother¡¯s homeland, but also because he was investigating the cause of the people¡¯s suffering to end it quickly. Some of the sorcerers¡¯ guilds and commercial guilds ¨C those who had been in close contact with Carol, the adventurer ¨C were cooperating with this investigation. As part of the process, it was reported that the existence of the ¡°beloved child¡± was relevant, but the investigation was apparently having difficulty because the atmosphere in the Royal Capital was such an atmosphere that even a further suspicion of the beloved child could lead to imprisonment. ¡°Camille-sama, a letter was just delivered from that commercial guild from Nicholas, the first butler who went on an inspection tour.¡± ¡°Let me see it.¡± Unexpected to receive a report from Nicholas so soon, Camille leaned forward to receive the letter, opened the seal, and examined its contents. The contents of the letter, ostensibly in consideration of censorship, described the contents of his inspection of the countryside, but there were certain key phrases, and after reading them, Camille leaned back against the sofa. ¡°I see¡­ that¡¯s good.¡± The message said that Carol was safe. She was staying with a daemon tribe. The Queen and Duke Prata were found dead. And Carol apparently wouldn¡¯t stay on the run, but would make things happen in time for Flare¡¯s execution. ¡°I would have preferred her to be in a safe place if possible, but¡­ it¡¯s certainly not like her.¡± This time, Camille¡¯s eyes had regained their vigor as he chuckled. ¡°Then I still have to work too, don¡¯t I?¡± CH 80.3 At some point, there was a slight movement around the Royal Capital. The wealthy merchants of the Royal Capital were reluctant to sell their crops at a low price to the provinces where there had been a bad harvest, and were looking for a place where they could sell at a higher price. However, it was difficult to raise prices in the Royal Capital, which had been enjoying a good harvest, to the point that they even sold it to local noble families. Peasants who had become wild thieves were appearing on the streets, and the soldiers who were fighting them were unable to completely suppress them, as the knights¡¯ order was still not functioning properly. Clothing and other necessities of life, which have nothing to do with food, could not be produced without the arrival of wagons from other regions and countries. At this time, I was introduced to a merchant who wanted to buy food from a commercial guild. The guilds were not happy with the stagnant economy, and the local guild branch had just come to buy from the Isbell Continent and offered them the opportunity to use their merchant ship. Isbell Continent ships come once every few years, but this year was not one of those years. However, the merchant ship was not from the usual country, and they were looking for food that had not been harvested in that country. The Isbell Continent merchant had also been trading near the border, bringing in cloth and a large quantity of goods from the neighboring country. The merchant from Royal Capital gave them food in exchange, and succeeded in selling the surplus for more than double the usual price. ¡°Do you have more food? We will buy as much as possible. Unfortunately, we only have Isbell silver coins currently, but even if you don¡¯t have any food, we would be truly grateful if you could exchange it for cash. Even merchants who do not deal in Isbell silver coins would be willing to sell them to you.¡± The Isbell Continent merchants negotiated to sell the food for as high a price as possible, and sold it for four times the price. The merchants who did not deal in food also realized that they could make as much as 20% profit from the exchange of a good amount of money, so they exchanged all the gold they had on hand. The leading figures in the guilds who were close to the Prime Minister also began to exchange their accumulated food and personal wealth for Isbell silver coins. The largest amount of silver coins was exchanged by the Lannon Trading Company, one of the fastest-growing companies in the Royal Capital. Alice, the head of the Lannon Trading Company, even used raw materials that were to be processed and sold in her store, and exchanged most of the gold she had made so far for Isbell silver coins. Alice and other wealthy merchants close to the Prime Minister released a large number of foodstuffs and exchanged them for silver coins from other countries because the Royal Capital still had room to spare. In addition to the farms owned by the nobles, each of the wealthy merchants had farms that they were in close contact with and could still afford to purchase food. At the same time, however, there was another development. Small and medium-sized merchant associations in the Royal Capital, which had been doing business with commoners without any connections to the prime minister or high nobility, began to pay tribute to the king through the commercial guilds. The merchants were scoffing at the King, saying that they could not compete with them, who had been the driving force of the economy, but with the Queen¡¯s absence, the royal family did not call on the merchants, and the King enjoyed the banquets they held and favored the new merchants. CH 80.4 ¡°Why don¡¯t you have the materials?¡± Alice, the president of the Lannon Trading Company, screamed at the empty warehouse and store. The food that had been there for so long had disappeared from the Royal Capital. This was because the Isbell Continent merchants, who had bought up all the food in just a few weeks, had visited all the farms in the Royal Capital area and purchased most of the food at five times the normal price. The plantation managers, who had been beaten down by the wealthy merchants because of the good harvest, were happy to sell their crops for five times the price. It was said that they all believed that if they sold their crops, what more the nobleman¡¯s plantation also had a good harvest, so they would not be troubled by food shortages. At the same time, some stores began to sell large quantities of food in their stores. They were not in the area near the royal castle or the noble district, where the wealthy merchants had their business associations, but in the commoners¡¯ area near the walls surrounding the Royal Capital. These were the merchants who were beginning to be favored by the king. ¡°What is this price?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to buy it if you don¡¯t want to.¡± The price was ten times the normal price. Surprised at the wildly inflated profit, the wealthy merchants tried to threaten and harass the small store commoner merchants, but they were all stopped by a group of volunteer commoners. The small store merchants, however, had the commoners completely on their side, as they held daily soup kitchens in the artisan district outside the city walls. The wealthy merchants could not get in touch with the Prime Minister, on whom they relied on, and when they asked the knights and soldiers to crack down on them, however the small store merchants had provided the castle and the soldiers¡¯ quarters with enough food for their needs free of charge, and the wealthy merchants¡¯ request was brushed aside. Even so, they could not survive without food, especially if they were food vendors. The wealthy merchants gritted their teeth and offered to sell the food to the small store merchants, but their offer was never fulfilled. ¡°A small mercantile house like ours can¡¯t handle Isbell silver coins. Please pay in Caenista gold coins.¡± The cornered small store merchants, who had been introduced to good adventurers through the guild of commerce, decided to take wagons loaded with Isbell silver coins to the border of a neighboring country to buy food. The area had experienced a bad harvest, and merchants from neighboring countries would be coming to sell food. The price would probably be several times higher than what they were willing to pay, but even so, the only people who could spend this large amount of Isbell silver coins were the merchants from the neighboring country. However, the wealthy merchants who entered the area that had suffered a bad harvest saw an incredible sight. Churches and lords¡¯ mansions were providing food for the people, and the stores in town were stocked with crops, though not many. Perhaps a merchant from a neighboring country had gone mad with humanitarian spirit and sold food at a low price? There were no traders from the neighboring country selling food there, but they talked to the few remaining traders who were willing to talk. ¡°Oh, if it was food, some merchant bought it for a large amount of Isbell Continent silver coins. We were reluctant because we didn¡¯t want to have many silver coins from a different continent, but they said they would pay five times as much, so we sold it all without a second thought.¡± CH 80.5 Neighboring merchants selling food had indeed come. But either the Isbell Continent merchants had bought up all the food here as well, or some other shrewd merchant who had done business with them had made the first move, and all the surplus food in the neighboring countries had been bought up. ¡°We don¡¯t need any more Isbell Continent silver, as expected. If you want food, why don¡¯t you ask your lord for some?¡± Following the merchant¡¯s advice, the wealthy merchants went to the lord who had been running a soup kitchen to ask for food aid, only to be met with a cold stare and a sneer from the lord. ¡°I only have enough food here for my people. When I asked you in the Royal Capital for help before, you refused. What are you talking about now? And the crops sold in the city are sold with my support so as not to raise the price as much as possible. If you try to take them with you, I will charge you ten times as much as the tariff on food when they leave my territory.¡± In despair, the merchants could only return to the Royal Capital with what little cloth they had bought with their meager Caenista gold and a large amount of Isbell silver. Food was in short supply. Supplies began to stagnate. The commoners were being fed, they did not need to buy new clothes every month like the upper class, and they could make their own daily necessities from the bounty of the forest if necessary, but the merchants, officials, and others above a certain level had no choice but to buy everything in town. Prices of commodities continued to rise along with food prices, and Royal Capital was already in a state of inflation, with prices increasing more than tenfold. A dramatic change in just a few months. Although wages remained the same, the food sold yesterday had doubled in price already by today. The workers in the stores and in the aristocratic districts were unable to make a living, and the wealthy merchants gave away goods in lieu of wages, but the scarce food was not provided. The same was true for the Lannon Trading Company, which was making great strides. The Lannon Trading Company¡¯s main product was processed food, so when the store ran out of products to sell, not only the customers but even the employees disappeared. Of course, there were products other than food, but who would buy a suspicious-looking pot, a suspicious-looking seal, or a lucky pendant in such a time of need? There were enough Isbell Continent silver coins to fill the basement, but they could not buy anything at the Royal Capital with those silver coins. Alice, with a typical expression on her face, joins the refugees, thinking of a way out of this situation while eating another bowl of soup. ¡°Hmmm¡­we should just collect the food.¡± At the ¡°request¡± of the [beloved child] Alice, the crown prince Julio and his companion Ian, the prime minister¡¯s son, lead the Royal Guard and tried to collect food from the new stores, but the commoner soldiers and low-ranking knights who had been receiving food aid oppose them. They left the country and formed a camp to protect the new merchants with the commoners who were receiving food aid, leading to a standoff with the Royal Guards. The Kingdom of Caenista began to decline rapidly. The Royal Family and the high nobility refused to acknowledge this. The day of the execution of the renegade Flare, sponsored by [beloved child] Alice, was approaching. Little did the people know that the threat of the [Demon Lord], who defeated the Caenista Kingdom¡¯s army, was at their throats. CH 81.1 Graduation Event Flare¡¯s Execution A special prison for serious criminals in the basement of the Royal Castle of Caenista. In the center of the 30-meter-long stone prison, with a magical circle on the floor that sealed magic and spirits, and water running from the top to the ankles, Flare was being held, bound from the neck down with magic charms, while her hands and feet were bound with shackles that sealed her spirits. The poisoned food on the tray with feet placed in front of her had been given to her on the first day, and it was already rotten and stinking. More than three months have passed since Flare¡¯s capture, but she had not been given any medical treatment, and she had had only one meal, the first poisoned one. She was unable to lie down due to the water on the floor, and even though she was still in her dirty dress, only Flare¡¯s eyes were glowing with a fierce light. Even though the spirit was sealed, the flame spirit was still inside Flare, the contractor. The flame spirit had converted its own magical power into life force and given it to Flare, so Flare was still alive, but if the spirit¡¯s magical power ran out, Flare¡¯s fate would run out as well. The soldiers were so frightened by Flare, who was threatening them with just a glance, that no one dared to approach the dungeon, but for the first time in a month, there was a visitor. *Pishan With the steps of the visitor with two guards, the splashing water flew to Flare¡¯s cheek and flowed quietly. ¡°Hello Flare, how are you?¡± The person was Cashmere, the heir apparent to the Duke of Prata and Flare¡¯s own brother. Cashmere greeted his sister with a fresh smile, who had been tied up in the dungeon for more than three months like he was greeting her in the morning, and his eyes narrowed tenderly as he looked at Flare¡¯s condition. ¡°I wonder if you can¡¯t even speak anymore? Your eyes are as lovely as ever. If it weren¡¯t for the Spirit, I¡¯d crush your limbs and want to keep you.¡± Cashmere glanced at the submerged arrowheads and broken spearheads. They tried to execute Flare several times when she was first sealed up in the dungeon, but they couldn¡¯t penetrate her even once. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I finally finished a few days ago an iron beheading stand that I found in an old document for Flare, using spirits as sacrifices. Thanks to Mistress Alice who graciously supplied me with a spirit, a friend, at the cost of 100 large gold coins.¡± Spirits were resistant to physical attacks. If it were a great spirit, almost all physical attacks would be ineffective, and the effect would also be granted to their contractor, Flare, although not completely. The magic attribute could also hurt them, but in the case of execution by magic, there was a risk that the seal would break first, so no one could kill the Flare. The iron weapon that could harm Spirits could be made by sacrificing other Spirits, and a small amount of production was finally completed with the cooperation of the Beloved Child. ¡°Your execution is tomorrow at the graduation party. Good for you. You get to graduate with your classmates. I would like to thank Miss Alice for suggesting it. I hear it will be held in the school¡¯s courtyard and will be open to the public, so I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Cashmere happily described his own sister¡¯s planned execution with a fresh smile. The knights of the nobility, many of whom have a penchant for perversion, stepped back slightly from the unusual mood of the execution. CH 81.2 Cashmere seemed to be having a good time, and without noticing the knights, he gently moved his face close to Flare¡¯s ear, as if he were tormenting his sister with exaggerated gestures, like a stage actor. ¡°Let me tell you something good. I have confirmed information that Father has passed away.¡± Flare¡¯s one eyebrow, which had been following Cashmere only with her gaze, rose slightly at those words. ¡°Did they want you to kill him? Hmmm¡­ so do I. The queen probably won¡¯t be coming back either. With Lord Bert and Abel gone, Caenista is in disarray. And I have taken control of the Duke of Prata and the Council of Senior Nobles, and I am the hero of this country¨Cgasp.¡± At that moment, Flare bit into Cashmere¡¯s throat and chomped it down. Cashmere¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief, and he fell back and collapsed, and Flare spat out the piece of meat and scowled slightly as she licked her bloody, red lips with her tongue. ¡°¡­Tastes bad. Brother, are you sure you haven¡¯t been eating poorly? Please be careful.¡± The knights at his side couldn¡¯t understand what had happened, and the blood that gushed out like a fountain from Cashmere¡¯s neck as he fell on his back stained Flare, and the blood that flowed began to hide the magic circle on the floor, and the blood stained talismans that bound Flare began to burn. ¡°Well, sorcerers, hold Flare back!¡± ¡°Quickly, help Cashmere-sama!¡± The knights, after coming back to their senses, shouted to the court magicians, who were waiting for them, to move the already exhausted Cashmere away from Flare, who was beginning to burn. As the burnt-out talismans began to peel off and the water on the floor began to boil, the court magicians rushed in to suppress Flare with layers upon layers of spirit-sealing magic. After that, Flare was given more than twice as many charms to seal the spirits and seal her magic, and she was put on high alert by the magicians and knights until her execution tomorrow. ¡°Heh. That was a nice way to die. Onii-sama.¡± *** In the Royal Capital, the Crown Prince had moved the Royal Guards to collect food from merchants, causing some knights and soldiers to desert from the national army and putting them in danger, but the King, who received tribute from the merchants, had the Kings Guards withdraw, so there was no bloodshed. But, as a result of the incident, there were no more incidents of outlaws attacking stores in the noble district in the Royal Capital, and on the surface, the city had regained its calm. The King, to maintain his dignity, asked those merchants to provide supplies for the Magic Academy graduation party, and the merchants, in return, asked for and were granted a royal warrant for access of wagons to the Royal Capital. As announced, a graduation party from the Academy of Magic and the public execution of Flare, the rebel who destroyed the Royal Capital and tormented the people, took place. The purpose of the event was to divert and relieve the people¡¯s discontent, and at the offer of Alice, the beloved child of salvation, an admission fee was charged so that the commoners could watch the execution. The standing buffet-style party held in the garden was attended not only by those concerned but also by the royal family, including the King, and all the nobles of the Royal Capital, and among the graduates and current students who were pressured by them were the Crown Prince Julio, Ian, son of the Prime Minister, Maron, son of the first court mage, and Luka, grandson of the Archbishop. surrounded by these beautiful boys, was Alice, who was putting this month¡¯s ¡°Friend Fee¡± into her pocket. At the same time, Flare was being carried out of the dungeon at the royal castle, guarded by Maron¡¯s father, the first court mage, the court magician corps, and the Royal Guards. CH 81.3 In front of the royal castle, a large crowd had gathered to catch a glimpse of the renegade Flare. Some looked at her with hatred. Some stared in derision at the sight of the fallen daughter of a nobleman. Some stared in horror. Some looking with pitying eyes. Flare, who was tied to a horse-drawn cart in a standing position, did not even turn her head, but stood proudly with her chest out, and her figure even showed the grace of a champion. [Die quickly, you rebel!] [The crops are dying because of you, you Witch!] [How many people have died because of you?] As Flare headed down the main street toward the school, she heard a shout of abuse from the crowd, soon a stone was thrown and hit Flare on the cheek. As Flare silently turned her blue eyes toward the one who had thrown the stone, the crowd moved away from the man who had thrown it with frightened faces, and the one-man left behind turned pale with dismay. ¡°That one, I remember.¡± The words she just muttered reached the crowd, which had quieted down for a moment, and the crowd jumped away from the men who were hurriedly cursing at Flare, who slowly looked around at them. Among them must have been a few cherry-pickers who were blaming Flare for their crime. The people were frightened of Flare, who was smiling with amusement at them, and the knight, who was holding up his short whip to stop the sinners from speaking out of turn, remembered Cashmere¡¯s horrible death and was unable to lower his whip to the end, as if frightened. When Flare arrived at the magic academy, the public began to enter through a separate gate. Among them, there was a blonde girl who tried to sell the admission tickets at a high price, acting like a duffer, but it was not certain. The carriage carrying Flare was lifted onto the stage, and the King, accompanied by the new Commander of the Knights, the first court mage with a pouty face, the Archbishop of the Royal Capital Church, and the King¡¯s brother Camille, went up on stage, followed by the Crown Prince Julio, Ian, Maron, Luka, and finally Alice the [Beloved Child], who was gasping for air as if she had run to the stage. ¡°Julio, begin!¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Julio nodded at the dignified words of his father, the king, and escorted Alice¡¯s sweaty hands forward with an ecstatic smile, like she was crying and laughing. Julio looked around at the assembled people and nobles, and finally turned to Flare, who this time was even fitted with a collar that blocked his words. ¡°Flare. You and I have been betrothed since childhood, but your misdeeds will not be forgiven. Your fate ends here. I, Julio, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Caenista, formally break my engagement to Flare and hereby announce my formal marriage to the [beloved child] Alice Lannon Yogle, the Saintess of Salvation!¡± Julio announced, taking Alice¡¯s hand and stepping forward, the nobles gave an outpouring of applause, and most of the crowd cheered as Alice waved her hands in the air. ¡°Now, Alice, your first task as Crown Princess.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m at your service.¡± Alice stepped forward and gave Flare, who was staring at her blankly, a cheerful, bright, childlike smile, and spoke in a slightly quieter voice. ¡°It¡¯s your fault, Flare. You¡¯re so mean all the time. I don¡¯t like to execute your friend, but please give up. ¨CNow, put Flare-san on the execution table.¡± ¡°¡±Ha!¡±¡± At Alice¡¯s words, several knights came out and pushed Flare to the guillotine, a decapitation table made just for killing her. CH 81.4 ¡°Oh, wait. If we put her face down, can¡¯t we all see her? Please turn Flare on her back so that her face is up.¡± The knight¡¯s face turned blue at Alice¡¯s words as she clapped her hands and said as if she had just thought of a good idea. Turning a sinner¡¯s face down at the decapitation was partly for a clean cut, but it¡¯s also a final mercy so that he didn¡¯t feel the fear of impending death. When Alice said that the face should be turned upward for fun, Camille and some others gulped at the abnormality of it. The king called out to Flare, who could now speak, after the collars that blocked the words that hindered him from the decapitated criminals were removed from her. ¡°Flare, the rebel and murderer of your brother. If you have anything left to say, I will listen. But I will not accept your pleas for your life.¡± Flare glanced towards him at the King¡¯s words, and instead of begging for her life, she smiled wryly. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s very kind of you. By the way, where is the Queen, who is nowhere to be seen? I don¡¯t see my beloved father either¡­¡­.could it be that the Demon Lord killed him after sending out your troops several times?¡± ¡°¡­Let the executions begin.¡± The crowd began to murmur at the words [Demon Lord] that Flare let slip, rather than the bitterness he wanted to hear, and the king immediately ordered the execution. ¡°Yes, do it please, then.¡± At Alice¡¯s words, the executioner pointed the blade of the guillotine at the thick rope from which it hung and raised the axe in a great swing. ¡°¡­¡± Camille, who was moving among the people watching to see if he could somehow reduce the sentence, but it didn¡¯t happen, and he just looked away from Flare, who was about to be killed, and noticed a white line like a shining path stretching out in the sparse clouds in the blue sky. (¡­is that? ) ¡°Ahahahahaha! Hear me, children of this land, my dear fools! I will not die, and you will not be spared. Hahahahahahaha!¡± As Flare¡¯s mocking laughter echoed, the executioner¡¯s axe severs the noose, and an iron blade, weighing several dozen kilograms, fell on Flare¡¯s neck¨C *BAKIN¡¯!!! At that moment, a white figure jumped in like a light shining from the sky, and just before the iron blade touched Flare¡¯s neck, a white fingertip stopped the blade piercing through the blade. A graceful white dress fluttered softly. The golden eyes that shone on her doll-like face. Her long, distinctive ears protruding from her shiny jet-black hair that reached down to her waist. In the silence that made everyone forget to breathe¡­ Camille, who had presented the dress to a certain woman, to a beautiful elven girl who seemed to be between 15 and 16 years old. Flare widened her eyes and smiled at the girl, who looked up at her with her slender fingertips that had pierced an iron blade. The invader narrowed her eyes at Flare and said. ¡°Sorry, am I late?¡± ¡°Fufu, the party¡¯s already started ¡­Carol.¡±