《Tricked Into A NewLife, God Must Be Screwing With Me!》 1-1 Jaded Streamer Psycholor Firstly, this is an Isekai. Truck-kun doesn''t visit until chapter three though. Instead of doing mid story flashbacks to the past life, I front loaded a lot of that. Chapter one and two serve to "introduce" a lot of the concepts that will show up in the world, via the process of creating the character. Secondly, this story is slow paced for the most part, but when shit flies, it flies fast. A lot of the foreshadowing is done subtly, sometimes to my detriment when it gets missed and new events seem like they just pop up. But personally I detest Deus Ex Machina and random occurrence, so when something major happens, it will usually have been getting background set up for some time. Stahlia (DW), 19 Years Old, Year 1350 of the Age of Man. Crawling forward on her stomach as she came upon the edge of a valley, Stahlia looked down upon the Black Wyrm. Edonith, Wyrm of the End. This foul creature had razed four kingdoms already and at present was eating from a mountain of corpses. Stahlia could see the bodies of a variety of species, remnants of the Dule Kingdoms subjugation force. There was no time to mourn their passing, once the Wyrm was done eating it would move on to the next region. Stahlia checked the wind was blowing towards her before slowly standing and drawing an enchanted arrow from her quiver. The Arrow of Slaying was an ancient divine artifact that bore the enchantment the color of the Underking. Carefully drawing back on her bow, Stahlia took aim. A wolf howled, causing the Wyrm to swing its head around. A single crimson eye glared at Stahlia, fully exposed at the rim of the valley as she was. Damnable cur! she spat before making the split-second decision to loose her arrow. The arrow let fly, as Stahlia tossed aside her bow and began running down towards Edonith. Edonith followed the arrows trajectory with his massive eye and then, unfurling his wings he sent out a gust of wind knocking it off course. Stahlia could swear the creature was grinning at her. That smile would not last long, however, as Stahlia thrust out her hand towards the arrow. May the winds of war and fortune smile upon thee! Trajectory Correction! As her spell took effect, the arrow curved back towards Edonith and struck his wing near the base of his shoulder. Edonith let out a roar of pain, his wing slowly turning to ash radiating out from the wound. Stahlia had never intended for the arrow to bring victory; that would have been hoping for too much against an opponent such as the King of Wyrms. She had only wanted to narrow the playing field. True to her expectations, Edonith curved his neck around and grasped his wing at the base. With a sickening crunch and a popping sound, he wrenched his own wing off of his shoulder. However, without wings, a Wyrm may as well be a large lizard. Albeit one that weighed as much as a castle, could breathe fire, and channel magic. As the wing fell to the ground and finished crumbling to ash, Stahlia finished closing distance and stood abreast of the lizards foreleg. She drew her Magic Blade, a longsword possessed of a hand and a half hilt and capable of physical enhancement sorcery. Invoke! Strength of a Hundred! Stahlias body began to emit a faint glow. If she had had more time, she would have liked to get a sword capable of stronger enhancement. Strength of a Thousand or, ideally, Strength of an Army. But if she delayed any longer then Edonith would have finished off the Dule Kingdom. Edonith glared down at her. For that, I will have your life. Pitiful insect, rather than accept the fate of this world you would cry to the gods and resort to base tricks! His voice thundered like a rolling storm, the force of it actually managing to physically knock her back an inch. Stahlia opted not to respond, after all, the lizard was right. The Arrow of Slaying had been given to her by the Underking after much pleading on her part and was not her own strength. Hefting her sword, she jumped up the side of the lizard, catching a spike that was four meters in the air. Swinging herself up and rotating around to avoid the lizards snapping jaws she swung her sword in a wide arc towards the outstretched head. Hot blood sprayed across her face and Edonith roared in pain, pulling his head back. Stahlia kicked off the Lizards neck and landed 10 meters away. Just in time, as Edonith had rolled onto his back in a vain attempt to crush her. Edonith swung his head around wildly; he only had one good eye now, which made it rather hard for him to find her. Giving up his search he jumped backward whilst inhaling deeply. Stahlia allowed herself a momentary smile, making any Wyrm retreat in fear was a great accomplishment. Let alone Edonith himself. She crouched low, placing her free hand on the ground, and searched for the flow of mana. Invoke! Longstride!. Stahlia vanished from where she was crouched just as the flames reached her position. Edonith was slowly looking around the burned area hoping to find a charred corpse. Stahlia slowly stood; she was back on the crest of the valley where she had dropped her bow, her free hand closed around its grip. Her bow was another magic item; it was enchanted with Longstride. She could use this enchantment to travel instantly to either the bow or to a fired arrow if it was within a kilometer. Now clutching the bow she again started running towards Edonith. Her physical enhancement would only hold out for another few seconds but likewise, Edonith would not be able to produce his black flame again for some time. As she approached Edonith clearly heard her footsteps slamming the ground and turned to face her. Consumed by rage he charged, opening his mouth wide to swallow her whole. Stahlia smirked; it was finished now. Holding up the bow she drew back her sword and took aim towards the gaping maw. At the last possible moment, she let loose the shot and jumped aside. The sword flew true and burrowed into Edoniths brain just as her physical enhancement ran out. Edonith staggered a moment before collapsing, his momentum gouged at the earth as he slide forward another dozen meters. Stahlia walked forward and dug her sword out of his head. Looking down at the lizard she spat. That was for my family. There would be no knighting, no parades in her honor. In fact, nobody in the kingdom even knew she existed. As far as the world was concerned, Edonith was defeated by the Dule Kingdoms subjugation force. Stahlia turned away and began walking out of the valley, humming a lullaby her mother had sung to her when she was little. George, 22 Years Old, August 2020. Staring at my LCD screen I watched the back of my avatar as she left the battlefield and credits rolled. Flashing across the top of the screen was a list of achievements. Unknown Hero: Finish the game without pledging allegiance with any kingdoms. Lone Wolf: Slay Edonith, Dragon of the End in a party of one. Speedrun: Save the world before the destruction of the Dule Kingdom. Hero of the Proletariat: Start your quest with the Serf Origin setting, and do not seek the aid of any nobility. Suicidal Hero: Earn the Unknown Hero, Lone Wolf, Speedrun, and Hero of the Proletariat achievements in a single run, while playing on Suicide difficulty. As far as I was aware, I was the first player to earn the Suicidal Hero achievement, making my run a world first. In a normal playthrough, Edonith would destroy several kingdoms as he sought to usher in the age of dragons. The valley encounter would be the first time the player encounters him after your home village is destroyed. Edonith would beat you handily and then leave you barely alive as an act of mockery. The player would then travel the world, chasing after him while gathering allies and magic items in preparation for a climactic battle in the Last City. Most people assumed the developers only added the Suicidal Hero achievement as some kind of joke, but I was able to get it after hundreds of hours of practice and routing out the most efficient progression path. Not that it matters I checked my live stream chat and let out a sigh: 0 Viewers was displayed prominently at the top of my chat window. I was probably the best player in the Dragon War community, and nobody cared. Stretching back I watched as Stahlia, my character, walked over the crest of the valley and the screen faded to black. I should have made her ass bigger. Since I took an abnormal progression route, I had not had any way of obtaining any of the end-game female armor like Mithril Bikinis or loose-fitting Priestess Robes. At least if her derriere had been larger, I would have been able to enjoy the games industry-defining jiggle physics. Well, not that there is anybody watching, but I think Im going to end the stream here for tonight. I glanced at my computers time display. It was only 9:00 pm, but I did have a test tomorrow. Just as I was moving to switch off the broadcast, my notifications dinged. EvilGod is now Following. I did a double-take, my stream chat was now displaying 1 Viewer. I gave a sardonic smile, Thank you for the follow EvilGod. Unfortunately, I was just about to head out for the night. 9:02 pm: EvilGod: Thats OK. I was just looking for some smaller streamers who have talent when it comes to RPGs. 9:02 pm EvilGod: I saw Dragon Development Studios make a chirp about how a player had actually managed to get their joke achievement without using hacks and thought you might be exactly what I was looking for. Is that so? While I wasnt expecting them to actually announce when someone did it I was honestly a bit bashful now. This was pretty cool all things considered, maybe I had finally hit a stroke of good luck. 9:03 pm: EvilGod: Well, if youre heading out for the night then thats cool too. I represent an indie development studio Gods of Creation. Weve been looking 4 a skilled individual to test out a new project and maybe do some promotion streaming. 9:04 pm: EvilGod: Do you have a business email I can reach out too? I stared at the screen with a blank expression. This honestly sounded kind of fishy too me. But if it was true I made up my mind. 9:07pm: [Broadcaster]-RPGelitePLAYS-: [email protected] You can use that one, I really do have to take off now though. I have a Chemistry test tomorrow. I shut my stream off and started going through the process of shutting down my computer. Like always, before logging off I went to check out the front page of Spasm. All the top streams were names I recognized, and without fail, every single one of them was of the top-heavy variety. Letting out a sigh, I was about to log off when I noticed the top streamer was playing Dragon War. I clicked onto their stream and was immediately greeted by the sight of an early twenties blonde wearing a bikini lounging in a hot tub holding an Xbox controller. What the hell?! Dragon War Isnt on Xbox though?! Indeed, Dragon War had been a PlayStation exclusive for a year before being ported to PC last month. Then I noticed something else. The streamers in-game character looked oddly familiar. In fact, It looked extremely familiar. This was Edith! Edith was the character I played in my first PC playthrough. This leech was using my stream vod. I considered my options. If I said anything in her chat I would just get instantly banned by one of her mods. One does not simply accuse the queen of being a hack. I settled for reporting her stream to the site admins. Not that it would matter. Females played by different rules on Spasm. Technically, she shouldnt be in a bikini on stream as that violated their terms of service. But none of the hot tub streamers ever got banned or even suspended. Logging off Stutter finally, though in a much worse mood than I had been in a minute ago, I set about closing my various applications. As I was preparing to shut down my computer, I heard a ding. I thought I closed all my messaging apps though? Checking the notification, I saw it was for my email. The sender was listed as [email protected] I glanced at my clock. It was only 9:40 pm That was fast. Curious, I opened the email. Thank you for expressing interest in our project. Gods of Creation is currently recruiting for a closed beta of our newest project: New Life. New Life is an RPG with an emphasis on realistic gameplay. Players can choose from many playable races and classes and embark on their journey set on a large map made up of seven continents and three oceans. The total explorable landmass is roughly twice that of Earth, however due to advances in link technology we have been able to bring the download size in-line with other games. New Life has no main questline, as our focus is to provide a sandbox for players to create their own stories. A new life if you will. Rather than develop an overarching storyline we have instead sought to develop the world itself. Populating dozens of major and minor kingdoms, every person in the world of New Life has their own history and their own goals. How you interact with them will shape your own journey. If you are interested in embarking on your New Life-tm, then follow this link to our website and fill out the application survey. Then, follow instructions to download the game client and prepare for your journey. I snorted. This sounded impossible. There was no way you could fit a map that big into a file size that anyone would deem acceptable, and the amount of development effort it would take to tailor every single non-player-character was just insane. EvilGod had called Gods of Creation an Indie Studio. Indie as in Independent Developer. Those kinds of studios had small teams and smaller budgets. Still, he certainly put a lot of effort into this. I guess it wouldnt hurt to check it out, as long as Im careful. My curiosity was sufficiently piqued, I copied the link destination with a handy right-click and launched a virtual machine. This way, my computer would be isolated from any viruses I was about to encounter. Opening up Google, I copied the link into the address bar. The webpage I was taken too actually looked very professional. I was expecting something slap dashed together with only the minimal amount of effort to maintain presentability. Contrary to that expectation, the site looked incredibly clean. Near the top of the page was a large button labeled Beta Signup. Below that was some more information about New Life. Consider me impressed, if this is a phishing scam its very well made. Reading the listed information, I gathered some more details. Apparently, New Life utilized a new type of network infrastructure to minimize its impact on your system. Rather than installing the whole game, you would only install a small application of about eight point five gigabytes. When you were ready to play, you would receive whatever you needed as you needed it. The last part wasnt very clear, but I suppose if they had developed such a revolutionary technique, they would use obfuscating terminology. As near as I could figure, the game probably stored files in RAM, and erased data it didnt need. This meant the game would always require a server connection, but it definitely would reduce the install size. The eightish gig application probably accounts for the server connection files and local storage for anything you change about the world state as you play. The main game files are likely stored on their server and sent to players via the internet. Sufficiently impressed, I scrolled to the top of the page and clicked on the Beta Application. Page one of fifteen? What the hell kind of survey is this? I stared at the screen in disbelief. I looked at the clock. It was almost 10:30. I sat back in my chair and cracked my neck. I had a chemistry exam tomorrow, so I knew I really should get to sleep. On the other hand, the test wasnt until noon. I could cut my morning classes to study, its not like I was struggling. In fact, I had solid grades. I considered the material I knew we were going to cover in my morning classes. It was all basic stuff. I made up my mind and read the first question. Are you a boy, or a girl? I blinked slowly while staring at the screen. Asking that sort of question in 2020? This company is insane. Theyre going to get reamed on Chirper when this game releases Still, the question was easy enough to answer. I selected boy and moved on to the next question. The first three pages were about what you would expect. Basic demographic information about me is likely used to categorize my beta feedback. Page four got weird though, What is your opinion regarding religion? I read the question out loud, as if to reassure myself I hadnt been mistaken. Im pretty sure you could get in trouble legally for asking something like this The question was a short answer, so after a bit of hesitation, I quickly highlighted my opinions regarding religion. Namely, if God was all-powerful, then he shouldnt allow the church to be so corrupt. This answer caused the next question to change. Thats a pretty fancy dynamic question system. Analyzing a short answer response and selecting a new question based on key info in Real-time Impressive. The new question was straightforward, What is your opinion regarding polytheistic religion? I guess it picked up on my use of god with the big G. This answer was also fairly straightforward. With more than one god, the gods tended to be vain assholes across virtually every polytheistic religion. I did not have a high opinion of them. I moved on and kept answering questions. Sometimes a question would dynamically change based on a previous answer and, after a while, it stopped impressing me. Based on how high quality this survey was, I was now basically completely convinced this was not a phishing scam. Making a survey like this would have taken way too much effort for something like that. The tenth page changed tone again. The first question was very personal, On a scale of one to 10, with one being horrible and ten being perfect, please grade your relationship with your mother. The question after that was another short answer; Why do you feel this way? Furthermore, the next two questions were identical, except being in regards to my dad. Why does Gods of Creation care about this? What could this possibly have to do with a beta test? Not seeing a reason for these questions, I put seven for both of them, and in the short answer stated that I had an uneventful childhood. The next question changed again. True or false: You answered the previous four questions honestly. thats kinda creepy. I answered false with a frown. A notice popped up; We apologize if the previous questions were too personal. If you do not wish to answer that information, we will utilize the national average as a substitute for your personalized information. Well, thats nice of them. Still frowning, I moved on to the next page, and promptly dropped my jaw in surprise. The next questions were similar to the previous page but instead focused on my siblings. The first one asked how many siblings I had, and in what position I was born. After some hesitation, I decided that being honest couldnt hurt me here. Since I was an only child its not like I would be giving away anything too personal. After answering thusly, the remaining questions on the page disappeared. The remaining pages went back to being normal. The questions on these were just about how I approached playing RPGs, what got me interested in them, what kind of other media did I consume, that sort of thing. I answered these questions to the best of my ability and finally reached page fifteen. I looked at the clock as I hit submit. It was now 2:12 am. After submitting, I was redirected to a page asking me to create an account to save my survey. Using my business email, I was able to finish this fairly quickly. I was met with a page congratulating and thanking me for expressing my interest in New Life and informing me that once my survey had been processed, I would receive an email with my download link for the Beta. Stretching my back, I felt a satisfying pop. I hadnt realized how tense I had gotten whilst I was filling out the application survey. I closed out of the internet browser and instructed the virtual machine to shut down. Although I no longer held any doubt about the legitimacy of Gods of Creation this would erase any malicious software I had inadvertently downloaded. Just as I was about to shut off my PC, I got another email ding. Feeling somewhat excited, I aborted the shutdown and clicked to open the new message. From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Beta Activation Key Thank you for expressing an interest in New Life! On behalf of Gods of Creation, We would like to extend an official invitation for you to take part in our beta test of New Lifetm! Please follow the link below in order to download the beta client and use the provided authentication key to activate your client. You will not be able to connect to our server without the key, so we recommend saving this email. DOWNLOAD Activation Key: FCRK-H52F-IJIE-7XAG-XFHZ-LL35 That was pretty fast I was getting excited, or maybe I was just tired. Glancing at the clock, I determined that I still had about three hours before I HAD to get to sleep. With my heart aflutter, I clicked on the download link. This opened a web browser and began downloading an executable file. A bit belatedly, I realized that I had forgotten to launch my Virtual Machine. It should be ok, I mean, if this was actually a scam, they got me hook, line, and sinker. They put so much effort into making it look legit that at this point, they would deserve to scam me. The executable finished installing and I selected clicked to run it. The install wizard was nothing special, anyone, who has ever installed something has probably seen something like this before. I got to the screen requesting an authentication code and quickly copy-pasted the one I had received into the answer field. The installation finished in just a couple of minutes, and I was prompted to log in. Upon logging into my account, I was greeted with the bane of all gamers and software users, a line reading Please agree to the following terms and conditions to use this software. I dont have time for this, I have to be asleep in three hours! I scrolled to the bottom and clicked accept. The next window got a chuckle; WOW! It took you 3.67 seconds to read our terms&conditions! You must be a world record speed reader. Please note that even if you did not thoroughly read them, by clicking I Agree you are still entering a binding legal contract. Are you sure you want to proceed? After laughing, I blithely clicked the option indicating I was sure of my decision. The application proceeded to launch without any more contrivances, and I was greeted by a notice. Thank you for installing New Lifetm. Based on your application survey, a NewLife has been prepared for you. If you would like to use this life, select Confirm. If you would prefer to review and edit the settings of this life, please select Edit Life. Well, isnt that impressive Still, thats some odd language. Then again, this is inside the game now, so I imagine they are going for a specific flavor by calling the player character a life. Either way, no way am I going to use the default settings! The game was advertised as having thousands of choices for every character. I am definitely checking those out! I selected Edit Life. The screen that greeted me seemed to be a basic summary of my character. Name/Age: Eric Growson, 19 Gender: Male Class/Level: Farmer, 20 - Ranger, 1 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Commoner Starting Gift: Enchanted Steel Longsword (Random Weak Effect) Ability Improvement Values: Fighting Style: Dragon Sword Style[Swap Style] Talents: Sword Fighting I, Bowman I, Scythe Fighting III, Field Plowing [MAX], Animal Handling IV, Mathematics II, Memorization I, Balance I, First Aid I, Situational Awareness I, [] . Skills: Ranged targeting Correction, Farming Enhancement Mastery, Brute Strength, Language Proficiency[Local], Fighting Style [Dragon Sword]. Accompanying this were two buttons; Edit Life and Create New Life. Chuckling to myself, I selected Create New Life. 1-2 Creating Life George, 22 Years Old, August 2020 I selected Create New Life and the game pulled up a screen showing the symbols for male and female captioned Select Gender. Hovering over the male icon caused the background to change to the depiction of a buff black-haired Adonis wearing a loincloth with a leather strap running diagonally across his chest. On his shoulder, he was balancing a large club. Erstwhile, the female icon caused the background to depict a blonde-haired woman possessed of the perfect buxom figure. draped with an ornate robe holding aloft some sort of staff in her outstretched arm. Lightning was crackling around the end of the staff that gave the impression of raw untamed elemental power. Talk about gender stereotypes, between the survey question, and this gender screen I get the impression the developers have some pretty old-fashioned views. In any case, it did not really matter to me. As a rule, I always made my characters female as, given the choice, I would prefer to spend hundreds of hours looking at the female form in menus and in gameplay. As a bonus, based on the somewhat questionable disposition this company was exhibiting so far, I would bet money on the end-game female armor being exquisite. I selected female and turned my attention to the next page, labeled Select Archetype. It gave me three options: Humanoid, Demi-Human, and Monster. This game lets you play as a monster? Curious, I selected the option for monster and was met by notice and a list. The notice read, Warning: Monsters have unique life requirements and are often attacked on sight by Humans and Demi-Humans. They are not intended for new players. I mean, I wasnt planning on actually playing a monster in the first place, that notice sounds like common sense for an RPG, I was just curious. Slightly miffed at the warning assuming genre ignorance, I turned my attention to the list. At first, I thought it was only eight entries, but upon noticing that all eight of them started with the letter A and were otherwise in alphabetical descending order, I realized that this was a scroll list. Excitedly, I scrolled my mouse wheel and wound up somewhere in the middle of B. I blinked for the umpteenth time tonight. I had scrolled Really far. Glancing at the right side of the list I noticed a millimeter-high grey bar. I gave another experimental scroll. The grey pixel moved about a centimeter. I sat back in my chair and spoke my thoughts aloud. It was that unbelievable. This game lets you play as any monster?! There must be so much potential for game-breaking exploits with this, how in the world did they balance the sandbox? I read the eight names currently displayed. I consider myself fairly fluent when it comes to my knowledge of fantasy tropes but for the life of me, I could only place one of the monsters off the top of my head. Cocytus: An S rank Monster. I checked to make sure there was a back button and then clicked on Cocytus. A popup notified me Cocytus requires 15,000 Life Points, your balance of 1,000 Life Points is insufficient to select Cocytus So thats how its balanced, the stronger monsters cost more LP. I wonder how you are supposed to get access to them then if you only have 1,000 LP to spend on character creation? The existence of Life Points did not concern me overmuch, I had played other RPGs before that had you spending currency to create your character. All things considered, it was an effective method of balancing. As far as getting more Life Points to spend, two possibilities stuck out to me. Firstly, it would function as a sort of new game plus, based on your performance in one life you would earn more Life Points to spend on your next playthrough. Very Buddhist of them, maybe thats why they were asking me about religion on the survey. The second option was that it was related to achievements, so many games were adding them now that it was a distinct possibility. Each achievement would permanently increase your Life Point count, with easier ones being worth a small handful and hard ones being worth a large sum. I hope its the first option, that would give the game a lot of replay value. I scrolled down to G, looking for a monster I was sure would exist, and was equally sure would be fairly cheap. It took me actual minutes to scroll four letters before I found what I was looking for. Goblin: an E rank Monster. I selected Goblin and the scroll menu changed to what looked like a flow chart. Starting at the entry Goblin, Basic [E Rank] 50 LP it flowed out into several options, each of which had several options flowing off it. Some of them were greyed out even though I had enough Life Points. The greyed-out ones looked really strong, one of them, in particular, stood out Goblin, Emperor [A Rank] 1,000 LP. Is this even a goblin anymore? The icon looks like a certain green rage monster. I wonder if the Goblin Emperor can disguise himself as a human physicist? I laughed at my own joke before turning my attention back to the first entry. Likely the greyed-out ones were not available on a first playthrough, like the Life Points total they probably were related to achievements or something, and intended for replays. Branching off the first Goblin were the ubiquitous mainstays of goblin culture. Goblin, Shaman [D Rank] 150 LP, Goblin, Warrior [D Rank] 100 LP, and Goblin, Scout [E Rank] 75 LP. Experimentally, I selected Goblin Warrior. I was brought to a character summary screen like what I had first seen before opting to create my own character. At the bottom of the screen, there were two options displayed: Play this Life and Go Back. I had no actual desire to play as a Goblin Warrior so I was grateful there was a go-back option. Though as I was reading the character summary, I had to frown. Theres a lot less info here than on the other character summary. Notably lacking were the fields for class, social strata, and talents. The only skill listed was Evolution Candidate. The skill entry was helpful, contextually. I could assume that meant that upon reaching a level threshold I could then evolve into a higher form of goblin. That meant that the flowchart from earlier was probably an evolution tree. A lot like that one anime about 10-year-old kids forcing wild animals to fight in arena deathmatches huh. Something else had caught my attention, however; save a Strength stat of E+ all of the Goblin Warriors stats were E. Suitable for such a weak monster. Having Satisfied my curiosity, I clicked on Go Back I navigated back to the three Archetype options, and this time selected Demi-Human. Demi-Human did not have a scroll list. Instead, three further options were displayed. Beast-Type, Spirit-Type, and Insect-Type. Another notice was displayed prominently under the options. Demi-Humans, while not as polarized as monsters, still have extreme stat distributions making them challenging to play. What sets Demi-Humans apart from monsters is their lack of a magic stone and capacity for learning. Demi-Humans are either physically or magically stronger than Humanoids, however, their populations tend to be lower, leading them to be exploited in most Humanoid Kingdoms as a matter of course. Demi-Humans are considered a challenging life. I read the notice without giving it too much thought, that setting was a standard trope. Selecting Beast-Type, I was greeted by a list containing about what I expected; humans with animal features like ears and tails. I checked a few of them and they had predictable stat distributions and talents. Wolf Demi-Humans had keen smell as a talent, as well as high strength and constitution but low mana. I made my way back and, briefly, looked over Insect Type and Spirit Type. I had already decided to do my first playthrough as a humanoid, based on the notices it sounded like that would give me the most options to experiment with; this was a beta test, after all, I needed to be able to try a variety of things in order to give the developers good feedback. Insect Type was predictable, the list was populated with things like Arachne and Abeil. Spirit-Type was more interesting. I was expecting to maybe see elves and dwarves, but both were absent, meaning they were probably considered humanoid in this setting. I did catch sight of an Elfling that, based on its summary page and icon, I determined was similar to a Santa Elf or the Elves from that German fairy tale about a lazy shoemaker. I made my way back to the Archetypes page and selected Humanoid. Displayed center screen, with no notices this time, was the expected three options: Human, Elf, and Dwarf. I decided to go left to right so that I would end up on Human, as I had decided to play a character with a fairly standard kit for my first playthrough. Dwarves and Elves were usually specialized, whilst Humans were the most adaptable in most settings. The Dwarf page had three options: Mountain Dwarf, Plains Dwarf, and Deep Dwarf. I glanced at my phone. It was almost 3:00 am, given I was starting to run out of time I decided not to explore the dwarf subtypes; I could learn about the differences as I played. Backing out I peaked into the Elf section and saw what I expected to see: High Elf, Wood Elf, and Dark Elf. I navigated back and selected Human. The human page gave me two options; Pureblood and Mixed-blood. Mixed-blood had a helpful notice displayed under it. Mixed-blood humans have at least one ancestor of another race, either an Elf, Dwarf, or Beast-Type Demi-Human. The mixed blood applies a bonus to one or more of the humans Ability Improvement Values and will fade within three generations if not renewed. If they have more than one nonhuman ancestor, only the bonus from one ancestor will be applied although appearance modification options will be available from all ancestors. Furthermore, Demi-Human Mixed-bloods are treated no better than a normal Demi-Human and are viewed as abominations. This was fairly interesting. I bet I can come up with a pretty good build using this mechanic This is actually a tough choice. I was stuck in thought for a length of time before remembering that I was supposed to be a beta tester. Well, If I want to experience a lot of content my character having a long lifespan would be beneficial, and elves tend to have the longest lifespan out of any mortal race. Hell, sometimes they are even outright immortal save for blade or poison. I selected Mixed-blood. I was taken to a new screen showing the options for Elf, Dwarf, and Beast-Type. I guess the more abnormal Demi-Humans cant breed with humans. Makes sense, Insect Type probably lays eggs and Spirit Type is almost certainly heavily based on some sort of magic. In any case, I selected Elf and as expected was then prompted to choose Between High Elf or Wood Elf. Yea I could have guessed as much, Dark Elves are stereotypically reclusive and xenophobic to a fault. No way would a Dark Elf get with a human. I debated for a moment and selected Wood Elf on the grounds that High Elves tended to be prudes and I didnt want my ancestor to have an abrasive personality. This brought me to a Life Summary Screen showing my stats, with the options to Customize Appearance and to Go Back. Life Point Investment: 100/1000 (Mixed-blood [Wood Elf] +100) Name/Age: NULL, 56 Gender: Female Class/Level: Not Selected Species: Human (Mixed-blood [Wood Elf]) Social Strata: Not Selected Starting Gift: Not Selected Ability Improvement Values: Talents: Determined by Class Skills: Wood Elf Ancestry* All my stats are D except Mana? And thats only C because of my Wood Elf Blood. That confirms Wood Elves are magic-focused at least. Going to ignore the fact that gender influences stats Twitter is going to have a field day with this game jeez. I suppose D must be the base for humans then, the default character probably got ability improvement from his class levels then. As I was ruminating over the character summary, I noticed the symbol next to the skill. Curious, I hovered my mouse over it, this prompted a descriptor menu to pop out of it. Wood Elf Ancestry: Due to Elven Ancestry, the player receives a bonus to Mana Improvement Value. Hidden Stat; [Lifespan] is expanded by a random value from 100 to 500. Warning: a Lifespan greater than 120 years will result in reduced experience gain proportional to the length of the lifespan. Longer lives require more time for change to take effect. Well, I wasnt going to play a mixed-blood then. Based on the notice I could assume that a human lifespan was likely 120 years, though it was probably influenced somewhat by social strata, money for medicines, and all that. I simply didnt want to deal with an overly slow leveling process. I quickly navigated back and selected Pureblood. Life Point Investment: 0/1000 (NULL) Name/Age: NULL, 56 Gender: Female Class/Level: Not Selected Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Not Selected Starting Gift: Not Selected Ability Improvement Values: Talents: Determined by Class Skills: Determined by Class, Ancestry Alright then, no warnings about my character being abnormally grindy, lets see what the appearance editor is like. I selected edit appearance and pointedly ignored my clock. I was presented with a highly detailed 3d model of the woman from the gender select screen, sans robe and staff, though she was wearing underwear. Strangely, I did not see any sliders with which to adjust proportions or select a hairstyle, only some color options for all the usual areas every game tends to have. Stuff like skin tone, hair color, iris shade, and so on. At the bottom of the screen were the now-familiar options to proceed to the next section, in this case, class selection, or to go back. After some fiddling, I realized the mouse became a sculpting tool when hovering over a region of the body; by highlighting the bust, I could scroll the mouse wheel to deflate or inflate, though there was an upper and lower limit. I could also click and drag to make them perkier or saggier, though this also seemed to be influenced by the amount of hot air I pumped into them. This was in all honesty, a highly detailed appearance editor. I set about sculpting my character based on the playstyle I had in mind. Yup, playstyle. Im totally not making her based on what I personally find attractive I wound up with a lithe build, roughly 160 centimeters tall. A Modest bust that was perhaps a bit on the small side. Her hair was a shade of red that was almost black, with a natural wavy pattern. I had spent about twenty minutes fiddling with said hair before a box popped up telling me that hair would grow at a natural rate while playing and thus attempting to set a style would simply result in odd growth patterns. That message honestly startled me, it was almost like someone was watching me work, but everything else about the game seemed so advanced I just wrote it off as just another smart feature, aimed at players who were extremely picky like myself. Her eyes color was a very light Azure that was approaching silver, it went very nicely with the hair. I left the face mostly intact; I knew better than to try and sculpt something that didnt look like an abomination. Though, I did smooth it out a bit and round some of the sharp edges just slightly. In all honesty, she wound up looking slightly indistinct Asian with a bit of German. I selected an appropriately light skin tone to match the general shape and then set the lips to a slightly redder tone of that. Looking over the model, I decided it was pretty good for my first session with this editor and clicked on the button to advance to class selection. While the new page was loading, I glanced at the clock on my phone. Grimacing, I decided I had not looked. It was almost 4:00 am. The class selection page was populated with five lists, each one conveniently labeled with Tier One-Five respectively. Each list consisted of a familiar scrolling menu populated by terms that would be familiar to any RPG player, each one of which also listed Life Point cost. As a rule, the classes in higher tiers seemed to cost gradually more and more. The cheapest class in Tier Five had a displayed cost of 6,000 LP. Directly underneath each list was a small label displaying a prominent 0/1. Along the very bottom center of my screen, I saw a counter displaying my available Life Points. It currently readout that I had 1,000 remaining. Thankfully, each class had the small * symbol next to its name, indicating that I could hover over it to get a small blurb about its effects. Piecing together everything on this screen, it seems like as long as I can afford it, I can pick one class from each tier simultaneously. No way to tell if I would get them all at once or if some other mechanic would come into play. I would guess the latter. Those scroll bars are so small too this is going to take a while isnt it. As a starting place, I went into Tier One and selected a cheap class, Beekeeper, for 300LP. As expected, the 0/1 for Tier One became 1/1 and all of the classes except Beekeeper Disappeared from the Tier One list, while Beekeeper was highlighted in a manner that indicated it had been selected. Not as expected, however, was the fact that the lists for the other tiers shrank considerably. It looks like a bunch of classes in higher tiers just got removed looking through Tier Two, it seems like all the magic-related classes went away. That probably means that I can only take classes from each list if they relate to each other. Then again, Great Archer is still available in Tier Two how is Archery related to Beekeeping? I unselected Beekeeper and started scrolling down the first list. The majority of the first list seemed to consist of civil classes like Beekeeper, Farmer, and Jester, although there was a small number of classes that may have some combat potential, though they all sounded rather weak. Things like Bandit, Hunter, or Kickboxer. I periodically selected a class to see what change it would have on the other lists, and through experimentation arrived at a few conclusions. Classes that carry an inference of physical activity seem to preclude classes that infer intellectual pursuit, although there are some exceptions. The Magic Knight Class was still available in Tier Three even after I selected two physical type classes from Tier One and Two. I suppose one of the things that makes a higher tier class more powerful is the potential to mix magic in with physical ability. I wish I could figure out why I can pick more than one class at once, usually, you would only get one class. Im too tired for this shit. Saying that, I was still too engrossed to consider turning in. It was only 5:20, and I would be fine as long as I was in bed by six. I continued scrolling down the first list of classes until I reached the bottom. Passing through the Zs nothing really caught my attention. I had tried to ignore the weak-looking Tier One class and pick only from Tier Two and Three, seeing as I couldnt afford anything above three, but when I selected a higher tier without a lower one, the button proceeded to grey out, which indicated that I had to fill out from the bottom up. Then I finally reached the bottom. Whats this now? Custom Class* 0LP? I hovered over Custom Class to get the info blurb. Custom Class unlocks a modified developer toolkit used for designing classes. By expending Life Points, you can build your own class from the ground up. Warning: Custom Class Feature is in Early Alpha. I cautiously selected Custom Class. To my surprise, every class from all five classes disappeared. All save for one, in each tier, there was one option left for me to take; Custom Class*. I selected all five of them and hit the button to proceed to the next section. The next section showed my Character Summary but had several new icons and altered details that I could only assume had been added by Custom Class. Life Point Balance: 1000 Name/Age: NULL, 0 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 1 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Not Selected Starting Gift: Not Selected Ability Improvement Values: Talents 0/1: [Browse Talents] Skills 1/1: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]* The first thing I noticed was the change from Life Point Investment to Life Point Balance. That makes sense I guess, the class description said something about spending LP to build my own class. Considering Custom Class cost a grand total of 0LP, it would seem that its been changed into a form of currency. Kinda like skill points, I guess. Then there are these arrows next to my Ability Improvement Values. Looks like I can Spend LP to improve them. Browse Talents and Browse Skills seems pretty self-explanatory, but it looks like I have a cap on how many I can have and this [Divine Authority] is taking up my skill capacity. Feeling a bit irritated, I hovered over Divine Authority to see what its effect was. Divine Authority[Class Features]: Represents the individuals ability to influence the Divine Realm. Specifically, removes the restriction placed on the Talent and Skills System, allowing for limited direct interference. Enables in-life access to the Life Summary Menu I sat back in my chair. That effect sounded damn powerful. I guess according to the setting of the game, this skill would make me some kind of demigod. Isnt that a little powerful for a level one skill?... I cant get carried away, it does say its only limited access, and of course, it wouldnt be so kind as to specify exactly where the limit lies. I decided, for now, I should play around with the new options and move on to the next screen. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered one of the previously mentioned limits. When I tried selecting the [Browse Skills] option, I was given an error message, Skills can only be browsed when available capacity is greater than zero. At least that seemingly confirmed that I would be able to get more capacity somehow. Probably has something to do with leveling up. I went for [Browse Talents] next and quickly found another limitation. While the list of talents was extensive and even included a search function that seemed to parse based on both talent name and the contents of the talent descriptions, Almost every single one was greyed out. This is kinda weird. Even though the game called Custom Class an Alpha feature, it seems like theres way more development effort put into it than the rest of the game. I mean, every talent has that * symbol, it tells me the effect as well as the prerequisites If I had to guess, Im getting access to the description comments left by the developer in the code file, with this many options you would have to have the effect written down somewhere. Divine Authority must be giving me access to that file. Still, prerequisites huh Each talent seemed to have a set of prerequisites made up of minimum Ability Improvement Values, as well as a minimum level. Some of them even required other talents or skills. Frankly, the list was huge and even with the search function, I was having trouble making heads or tails of it. I started browsing the talents that resulted from searching for level 1 since that effectively filtered to only the ones I could currently get the prerequisites for when I found something that sounded insane. Prodigy I(500LP): [Acquisition Effect]: applies +1 to all Ability Improvement Values and Improves Intelligence to S. [Level Up Effect]: Provides a random beneficial bonus based on class. [Acquisition Source] Randomly assigned at birth to one in one million individuals. Selected the option for Acquire Talent and a confirmation window opened asking me to confirm I wanted to spend the 500 LP, while also informing me that I could not refund a purchased talent. Without hesitating I selected confirm. My LP balance decreased by 500, and all of my ability scores ticked up by one, while Intelligence jumped up to S. I was left with 500 LP to spend on my ability scores so I started playing with the arrows. Unlike when I bought Prodigy, it seems I could use the down arrow to undo a purchase. After fiddling for a while I had more or less figured out how it worked. Firstly, I could not reduce an individual score below its minimum value. That minimum value, rather than E, was the value the scores had hit after I purchased Prodigy. I suppose buying Prodigy and then refunding the S rank intelligence to get more LP than I spent would have been a bit broken. fuck me. I could have raised my skills first then bought prodigy I was a bit dejected by this, but there didnt seem to be a way to replace [Prodigy I] now that I had bought it. I decided to look into this on my next character and moved on. The next thing I noticed; the cost for increasing an attribute increased by a factor of two for each improvement; increasing Endurance from C to B cost me 100LP and further increasing it to A cost an additional 200LP. This meant I could either improve one stat twice and two stats once, or five stats once. If I chose to improve Dexterity, it would cost me 200LP for the first improvement, making the decision slightly complicated. After giving it some thought, and bearing in mind that This would affect the talents and skills I was able to acquire by way of prerequisites, I opted to increase Endurance, Dexterity, Charisma, and Mana each by one. This cost me my remaining 500LP, but I was confident I would be able to improve the scores in-game somehow. Feeling pleased with myself, I clicked the button to confirm my selections and advanced to the next screen, confirming through the window that warned me that due to using Custom Class, I could no longer return to previous menus to change my selections. This must be what they meant by Alpha, it doesnt play nice with the other game systems. The next Screen was labeled Life History. Compared to what I had just been doing, this section was almost refreshingly simple, possessing only one option. Being as tired as I was, I didnt question it and clicked on the selection box labeled Social Strata. I felt like a bucket of Ice water had been dumped over my head somewhere in the back of my head I knew I had messed up. Reading through the options, all but two of them were greyed out. The reason they were greyed out was really easy to discern; the three available options cost 0LP, anything else had an LP cost. In my giddiness over the power of the custom class, I had forgotten that LP was originally used for designing every aspect of the character, and I had spent it all on my class. Glancing down at the back button I sighed. Just like it said on that warning, I cant go back; its greyed out. Resigned, I looked at the pair of options I had available for 0LP; Commoner, and Fallen Noble House. Both of them were listed under the heading Challenging Start I decided to list out the pros and cons in my head. Pros of being Commoner; I have some upwards mobility if I become successful, with my Divine Authority I should be able to make quite the living for myself. Cons of being a Commoner. I would be at the mercy of the nobility, if this is anything like other medieval fantasy RPGs, then the nobility is formed out of assholes who look down on everyone beneath them. There might even be something annoying like the Right to Strike where a noble can get away with striking down a Commoner for any reason. That settles it. I selected Fallen Noble House and confirmed. Even if it wasnt fully a noble, there was the chance that I might be able to do something like leverage past connections. The next window casually informed me that, Due to having maxed out the Life Point Investment the remaining options for customizing your birth family have been locked to Randomized Lottery. Not having control of your birth family is considered a Challenging History, do you want to return to the class selection screen in order to reclaim some of your Life Points? Of course, the option to return was greyed out due to Custom Class. The game is actually mocking me I advanced to the next window where I was supposed to select my starting gift. Like my family, I only had a handful of options. Specifically, three. I could pick a Strange Potion, a Small Seed, or a Light Coin Purse. None of them sounded particularly useful. Well, I can officially say I screwed up. I dont think it really matters which one I pick. The coin purse is most likely pointless, with my custom class ability I can likely find a way to get money no matter what. The Strange Potion or the Small Seed then Eeny Meany Miny Moe I selected the Small Seed. The only option was to Finish and Name Character. Selecting it, a text entry box appeared. Probably because the name was still fresh in my head, I entered Stahlia and confirmed. My character summary appeared, now fully populated, with a loading bar labeled Preparing Your New Life, Please Stand By! Life Point Balance: 0 Name/Age: Stahlia, 0 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 1 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Fallen Noble House Starting Gift: Small Seed Ability Improvement Values: Talents 1/1: [Browse Talents] Prodigy 1* Skills 1/1: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]* I vaguely noted that the arrows for my Ability Values had gone away, but I had more or less expected that the ability to improve all of them to max just by spending LP would have been a little too strong. I glanced at the clock it was 8:45 am now. I would have to log out as soon as I got in-game so that I could sleep for a couple of hours before my test. The loading bar had reached 95% when I noticed a burning smell. I looked around my room in a panic and saw there was smoke rising from my computer. Jumping up in a panic, I lunged at the power cable to yank it from the wall. I was too late, although I managed to shut off the computer, I could see the case was horribly blackened. What the hell. This game ruined my PC! I stared in abject disbelief at the still smoking wreck that used to be a PC. Sagging backward onto my bed, I was too tired to really get angry, but I was sure I would be livid after I woke up. Pulling out my phone, I sent an email to EvilGod telling him I had found a major problem with their game, and asking if there was any way I could get the computer replaced; I still really wanted to playtest New Life. From everything I had seen it did in fact sound like an amazing game. After sending the email, I confirmed that my alarm was set for 11:00 am and grimaced as I fell into a far from restful sleep. 1-3 New Life George, 22 Years Old, sometime in the 2020s. After only a couple of hours, I stumbled out of my bed and into the bathroom. Almost fell asleep again under the shower, brushed my teeth, gave my hair a quick comb-over, dressed, and dashed out the door. I headed down to the subway stop near my apartment complex and got on the line that would let me out near my university campus. It was only a fifteen-minute ride, but that gave me enough time to reflect over what had happened last night, or rather, what had happened this morning. In retrospect, everything seemed very surreal. I had received a random message that led to a site with a complex survey that enabled me to play a game that was more complex looking than anything on the market, more complex than anything that likely would be on the market for at least another decade. Probably two or three decades. Just as I was convincing myself that it had actually been malware and the purpose was to wreck my PC, I got an inbound message notification on my phone. Checking my emails, I saw I had another email from Gods of Creation. From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Ticket Response #98051 Thank you for submitting your bug report. We at Gods of Creation would like to extend our apologies for the incident that transpired due to our system failing to activate properly. We are looking into the cause of the error on our end and should be prepared for a fresh installation in short order. In the meantime, as a token of our goodwill, we have dispatched an operative to rectify your unfortunate situation, they should be arriving in your area by 6:30 pm local time. We look forward to seeing you in your New Lifetm Sincerely, Gods of Creation Beta Services and Customer Relations Manager Representative EvilGod. I stared at my phone screen. After reading the message through twice more to make sure I was not misreading things, I allowed myself to smile. I really must be tired if I was back to thinking all this was a scam. Like I was thinking earlier, they put way too much effort into this for it to all be fake. Thats some amazing support as well, sending someone out to take care of the issue. Still, he goes by his screen name in official correspondence? I arrived at my university in a considerably improved mood. Sliding into my chemistry class with just a minute to spare I took my seat. The professor gave me a hard look as he passed the tests into the front row so they could be handed around. He was the really strict sort who would lock the classroom door on test days the moment class started. I took my test and picked up my pencil, waiting for the signal to begin. Two hours later I left the room and headed to the cafeteria to get an energy drink. Even in my tired state, I hadnt found the test particularly challenging and finished it in just under an hour. Unfortunately, Professor Stickler would refuse to let students leave until the full allotted time had passed, insisting that we review our answers until the very last minute. I had considered sleeping but if he caught me, I would be given a zero for disrespecting the classroom environment or some other asinine reason. Hoping into line I was flicking through Twitter on my phone when I heard someone calling out to me, George! I saw the announcement! You actually did it didnt you? You crazy son of a bitch! Franklin was probably my only friend here; we both grew up in the same small town and wound up moving cross country to attend the same university. That being said, he was also a liberal arts major whereas I was studying software engineering, so we were hardly equal. Still, he made an effort to talk to me, which was more than could be said for the rest of the people I was forced to interact with. I flashed a smile, Yea, I told you it was possible. I also told you I was going to get it done last night, but strangely I still had zero viewers the whole time Yea he trailed off. Look, I had this thing going on with Jackson. I really did want to watch, but life got in the way ya know? No big deal. Its not like you ever show up anyways, I didnt really expect to see you in chat this time either. I gave a half-smile, One Bang Energy please, I dont care what flavor. Quickly paying for my drink, I stepped over to where Franklin was standing and popped the top off my energy drink. You alright man? You dont really drink stuff like that. Well, I was up really late last night dealing with some stuff. I thought for a minute. Franklin really was the only one who ever talked to me, Say, Franklin, can I trust you to keep a secret? A secret? I mean yea, Im your friend so He moved away to a table that was separated from the rest of the cafeteria by a pair of pillars. Following him over, I sat down and leaned towards him so I could whisper. Leaning towards me, he asked, So, whats this big secret? I smiled, Someone dropped by my chat after I got the achievement last night. They invited me to join a closed beta for a new game called New Life. Look, Franklin, this game, its crazy. Theres so much detail to everything. When it launches its going to take over the industry. Itll make Halo look like E.T.. Franklin gave me a concerned stare, Are you sure you should be telling me this? What if you get removed from the beta for breaking some sort of NDA? I smirked, it was nice of him to worry for me, but there was no way I would make a mistake like that. No, they told me I could live-stream it. This is going to make my channel finally take off. Since youre always looking out for me I wanted to show you before anyone else. Think you can swing by my house around nine tonight? I reasoned 9:00 pm should give the Gods of Creation guy enough time to get my PC fixed, I made a character last night, thats why I was up so late, Im planning to run through the tutorial today and then restart on stream tomorrow. Franklin mumbled something under his breath that I didnt quite catch before smiling at me. Sure, I can come over tonight, Ill grab a six-pack on the way. I stood up from the table, thanking Franklin in advance for the beer, and headed to my next class, Computer Language 310. The class agenda for today was just busywork. We had had our lecture earlier in the week, thus today was dedicated to homework aid for people who were struggling with the assignment. Not that I ever struggled. I would usually skip these days since I didnt have any reason to do in class what I could do at home. Still, I actually did have a purpose today. As I entered the classroom, the professor gave me a surprised look. After all the students had broken up into workgroups, she made a round around the class to answer any immediate questions before making a beeline for my desk. Incidentally, I was sitting alone. Since nobody in the class could keep up with me, they opted to just avoid me. George, I must have made the assignment too hard if you had to come in on lab day! She looked over her shoulder at the other students with a worried expression. I couldnt help but smile at that, Claire was always worried about the rabble. No, the assignment was easier than usual Professor C, I didnt struggle at all. She frowned at me as she pushed up her glasses. The way she gets upset when I call her that is so cute I opted to keep my thoughts to myself though, I needed Claire in a good mood so that she would feel inclined to give me her opinions. She put her hand on her hip and straightened her back. At her full height, she was just barely able to look down her glasses at me, You know I hate that name. Ive asked you repeatedly to call me properly. Its Professor Dayson. She put special emphasis on the last name. Im sorry Mrs. Dayson I got another frown for that one, I did actually have a question though, just, not about anything from class. Claire sighed and indicated I could ask, so I proceeded to describe the survey I had taken. I wanted to get an opinion from an average software developer regarding how much work it would take to make something like that. Claire gradually stopped frowning and began to get thoughtful. What your describing is impossible. She flatly denied me. Well, it would normally be impossible. If you were to use a neural algorithm and machine learning to mimic a human brain, teach that the concept of language and what kind of information to gather, it would technically be possible but the amount of effort, not to mention that you would have to manually collect thousands of surveys worth of input data manually She trailed off. So this indie company has some serious weight behind it then. I pulled out my phone and opened the first email I had received, the one with the link to the website. I wanted to show her the survey, but when I tapped the link, the page that loaded was all messed up. It didnt look anywhere near as professional as the one from last night. They must not have made the site with mobile phones in mind. But if they can devote so many resources to the survey, why would they skip out on something so simple? I put away my phone, Sorry Professor, I had to answer a message. I have one more question if you dont mind? Claire smiled at me. Well, since you actually managed to address me properly for once I suppose I could indulge you. At Claires behest, I started describing the systems I had discovered in the New Life beta. After a few minutes, she waved at me to stop. George, you know I dont handle games at all, with no point of reference I couldnt give an estimate on how much work would be involved with what youre describing to me. Oh well, I figured you would know something since youre a teacher, but thats ok. Ill do some research online. She frowned again and opened her mouth to respond but then another student called at her with a question about the assignment. If youll excuse me. Claire walked over to the other student, and I packed up my things and left the classroom. With no more classes for today, I checked my phone clock. It was presently 4:15 pm. I had about two hours before I had to be home to welcome the repair guy that EvilGods people were sent over, so I decided to head over to a nearby internet caf and grab a late lunch. Frankly, I was still running on fumes, but I had to stay up to deal with the repair guy, and then Franklin was coming over. I just want to sleep. I spent fifteen minutes eating a sandwich, then paid for a couple of hours of computer use. They wouldnt let you eat while using their computers. Its like they dont trust me, I certainly know how to eat around a computer without dirtying it. Still, its not like everybody does. If only people could be smarter, then I wouldnt have to put up with so much bullshit. After eating, I logged into my email using a burner password so that if there were any key trackers on the caf computer I couldnt get hacked. Opening the same email from Gods of Creation, I navigated to the website. I wanted to do the survey again and give it some different answers to see what the neural net ai would give me. On a whim, I decided to save my new survey results, on the off chance the game only allowed you one character file, I wanted a backup account so I could experiment with builds freely while not erasing my playthrough. I used my personal email and set up the spare account, within a few moments I received the email with the new access key. After saving the email for future reference, I checked the time, 6:10 pm. Oh shit. That took longer than I was planning, I need to get to the station, or Ill miss my appointment. I jumped up and headed towards the station. In retrospect I probably should have spent less time on the survey, I fully intended to ignore whatever default profile it generated for me based on the answers I gave. Even knowing that I had still had fun coming up with a false personality for myself and trying to answer the questions from that perspective. I dashed down the stairs just in time to see my subway pulling out of the station. I was going to miss my appointment now. Why did the company have to make a damn survey so entertaining? Now I have to wait 20 minutes for the next train. I posted up against a pillar and played with my phone to kill time. When the announcer called out the incoming subway, I moved up to the boarding line. At least Ill get a seat since I was waiting and get to be the first to board. Just as I was thinking that I felt a hand on my back. I was falling. Time seemed to slow; I heard the screeching noise of hydraulic brakes drowning out the shrill scream of a woman. There was pressure on my back, did some asshole just push me?! My mind raced, vainly trying to come up with a solution to the current predicament. I turned my head just in time to see a pair of glowing white lights. They drowned out my vision, seeming to swallow everything, and then it was dark. Androgynous Youth. An androgynous youth stood watching the police from a distance. They were conducting witness interviews about the university student who had jumped out in front of an oncoming subway a mere hour before. Another university student was talking to the captain, this one was white-faced and looked to be trying to hold back tears. The youth turned away from the spectacle and walked down an alleyway, fading away as they did so. The only witness to their disappearing act was a stray cat that yowled before jumping up a wall in fear. Reappearing in a white space with no visible boundaries, the androgynous youth walked up to an incredibly buff man and busty woman who were focusing intently on the globe between them. Now, you both know the rules, you cant interact with them directly, you can only move by way of your own pawns. Both the man and woman watched the youth impassively, they had heard this before. Sighing at their lack of motivation, the youth pointed his phone at a region of land in the central continent of the globe. They swiped their finger up the phone screen, causing a beam of light to fire into the globe. The woman turned to the man. I do think we should have a bout in the north to distract the pawns from that region. I shudder to think that political strife should break the new toy. The man grunted in response before tapping another region of the globe, causing it to turn dark. The androgynous youth clapped his hands, Is this an official match? Or are you two just killing time? The man and woman looked at each other guiltily. The youth frowned, Invoke [Divine Authority], Root Access to Divine Realm. Input Command Action [Rewind] Target: Time-log. Duration: Twenty-Six Seconds. Scale=Global. Execute Command. Their monotone voice carried over the white space, and all who heard it felt their core shudder. The space seemed to warp and fold in on itself. The woman turned to the man. I do think we should have a bout in the north to distract the pawns from that region. I shudder to think that political strife should break the new toy. The man grunted in response before reaching towards the globe. The youth darted out and caught his hand. Dont you think a bit of political strife might make them grow stronger? The man looked at the youth, and after a moment dropped his hand. The youth hopped back into their usual spot before going back on their phone. They had about nine months of time to kill. George Twelfth Month of 0935 It was dark. I dont know how long it took me to realize it, but eventually, I became aware. Aware that I was aware. I could, for lack of a better word, see how dark it was. I thought I got hit by the subway? So what gives. Is this some kind of afterlife? I tried moving my hands, but they seemed firmly stuck in place. My legs were likewise immobile. So I cant move, assuming Im not dead, then I must have been hurt pretty badly. That would make this some kind of full-body cast, in which case, of course, I cant move. With nothing better to do, I decided to sleep. I spent the next while drifting in and out of sleep. Whatever anesthetic they have me on must not be very effective. Still, it must be doing something, since I could fall asleep easily enough, I was under the impression that casts were supposed to itch like hell. I do not know how long I have been in this state, but I have not felt even a single itch. Hurray for small victories. With nothing better to do, I spent my time thinking. Its definitely been more than a day. I wonder if Franklin actually showed up like he said he would? Heh, that jerk probably flaked on me again. I wonder if the university has pulled me from my classes yet? If memory serves then I shouldnt have to worry about retaking any of them. I had above 90% in all the important ones and the semester was past the midterms so I should get credit as per policy. Sleep. Wake. Think. I repeated this sequence of events so many times I lost track. They must have realized the anesthetic isnt working! Dont they hook you up to heart rate monitors or something?! Dont tell me. Theyre doing this shit on purpose!? The person that pushed me didnt feel very strong, probably a woman. Im sorry professor Claire! I wont ever tease your name again. Wait, I just did shit! Of course, nobody answered me, I may as well be shouting into the void. Of course, I knew that Claire hadnt pushed me. She had another class at 6:00 pm. Still, shouting was cathartic if nothing else. Eventually, I grew bored of thinking and tried to sleep as much as possible. I still pushed at my arms and legs occasionally, but they never moved so I gradually gave up on that as well. Then, one day, after who knows how long, I felt a jolt. The pressure holding me in place that had been so comfortable suddenly increased. I felt like I was being crushed, it felt like my bones were breaking. I see. I never went to the hospital. That subway hit me and knocked me into a state of shock. Everything I just experienced must have just been one long fever dream. Now that Im waking up, this is going to hurt like hell. I hope Im not under the subway, that would mean nobody can get to me and Ill die for sure! I saw a light approaching my head and pushed my legs out away from myself, trying to move closer to the light. I figured that would wake me up faster, some sort of psychological thing. Dont go into the light!? Never heard that saying so it doesnt apply here! I rushed out into the light and was caught? Holy shit, that guy is strong! I weigh about 85 kilograms. Wait, dont tell me the subway cut off my legs?! The man held me up and peered at my face. He isnt dressed like a rescue worker did some good Samaritan jump down onto the tracks to get me? You shouldnt move an injured person! What if I have a spine or neck injury?! ### # ####### #### ####, ###############! The man said something to me. A foreigner? He looks like some kind of European though He frowned while looking down at me and gave me a gentle shake. ##### ##### ######? A womans voice called out from behind me somewhere. Another foreigner? Must be his wife. Wait, behind me? As in on the tracks? The man started slapping me, now he looked really worried. Wait, dont slap an injured person! And why on my ass? I dont swing that way! Wait, my ass? Why is my ass so close to my head?! Indeed, I could sort of tell from the angle of the mans swing out of the corner of my vision, he wasnt moving nearly far enough to reach my ass. It was about then that I realized something important. I really needed to breathe. It was like I forgot how or something, I couldnt seem to get my lungs to work properly. Just as my vision was fading out, I somehow managed it. Filling my lungs with sweet, sweet air, I became aware of yet another problem. My rear end was on fire. Seriously, it felt like someone had taken a hot iron to my back end. The pain was overwhelming I felt tears forming in my eyes. Then my body reacted without my consent and started wailing. A very high-pitched, baby-like wail. What. The. Fuck. Several months have passed. In that time, I came to understand a few things. Firstly, I appear to have died. Thats the only explanation I could come up with after analyzing all the evidence. After I had calmed down from my initial bout of crying, I had immediately fallen asleep. When I woke up, I was being held by a woman who had presented me with her breast. That really confused me, until I realized how hungry I was. After that realization, my body had sort of gone on autopilot and latched onto her nipple. Despite my embarrassing inner turmoil, I had not been able to bring myself to let go. It was when she laid me back down in the crib that the realization that I was now a baby had set in. I suppose that made her mother two point oh. For some reason, after my reincarnation, I had kept all of my memories. Due to my adult mind, I had the knowledge of how to move about, so I set myself to the task of figuring out how to make this body do that. It was not very easy. Being an infant, I did not have a whole lot of stamina and thus tired quickly. I was probably sleeping twenty hours a day. My hard work paid off though, and after a few months of struggling, I could manipulate myself in a slightly coordinated manner. Thats when I came to my second realization. This was not Earth. Well, I suppose it could have been Earth if we assumed my new parents were mad scientists; I had spotted the family dog. I called it a dog, but it really was not. Instead of a snout, it had a beak, and instead of fur, it was covered in feathers. My new mother really did seem to fret over me. She was never absent whenever I was awake, and those early months always saw her stroking my head as I drifted off into my exhausted sleep. This brings us back to the present. I had recently become able to crawl. Initially, I was ecstatic. I had unlocked a new mode of transportation that would greatly expand my area of operation! My mother appeared terrified, however. Her previous endearing fretfulness escalated into a full-blown case of the helicopter parent. Whenever I tried moving somewhere, she would swoop over and pick me up. Of course, I would try and escape as soon as she moved away but she always caught me. Eventually, we arrive at a mutual understanding. When I wanted to go somewhere, I would scream. This action caused my mother to swoop in and pick me up. I would then point where I wanted to go, and she would bring me there. She never left me alone when I was out of the crib though, which made it very hard to do my strength and coordination training. Still, she had her uses. She spent a great deal of time talking to me. I used that interaction to frantically try and learn whatever language was being spoken. Working my tiny baby brain CPU at full power I would practice sounds. Thanks to my operating system being a much higher version than a baby would normally have access to, it wasnt very long before I managed to reproduce the simpler facets of language. The first time I called her Mamma, the woman fainted. I hope whatever neurotic mania this woman has isnt genetic. My father seemed to have a very busy life, as I didnt see him very often, still, he managed to visit once a month or so. He would always gently pat my head and not so gently poke various parts of my body. I wasnt sure how I felt about him. Still, he would smile at my neurotic mother and assure her I was fine. I think she should be less worried about me and more worried about herself. Seriously, this woman needs a doctor asap. It took me a few more months but I was eventually able to walk around on wobbly little legs. Of course, my mother turned white and fainted again. My father visited that same night. I was getting decent at the language now, though my mouth didnt behave exactly as I wanted. The software may be good, but I needed to upgrade the hardware a bit. I addressed my father. Pahpa Mama needs ah dohctah!. My mother turned pale as a ghost again. Incidentally, it was that night that I learned that papa was in fact, the local doctor, and papa was the man I had assumed was some sort of butler. It all makes sense now. I suppose I am developing a bit fast I guess my mother isnt actually neurotic. Shes just worried for me. Regarding my father the not-butler, He definitely seemed like a much nicer father than the doctor had been. He never poked me just to see how I reacted, and he absolutely doted on my not-neurotic mother. In fact, he was taking incredibly good care of her. It was his constant doting that had led me to mistake him for a butler. Of course, that in and of itself would not have been enough to make me think of him as a butler. He also dressed the part. I dont think I ever saw him in anything less than a suit. As for my mother, she was always wearing a very pretty dress. I had assumed that we were an affluent family of some small country. It was not until a week later that the full reality of the situation set in. My parents, in particular my mother, had finally seemed to come to terms with how quickly I was developing and had begun to try and actively teach me things. This had caused my language skills to progress much faster. I still wasnt allowed out of my mothers sight, but it was definitely an improvement over how I had been handled in the past months. One day, out of the blue, my mother informed me that Sweety, since you are growing so fast and can walk by yourself, do you want to learn to use the toilet? Honestly, I hated the diapers they made me wear, as such this was an offer I jumped at immediately. Uh-Huh! I want to go learn! I cringed internally at my own speech patterns, but after the manic-mother incidents, I had arrived at the conclusion that I should probably pretend to be less capable. It would be better for my health if my mother did not die of fright or worry. Alright honey, next time you have to relieve yourself, tell mommy and Ill help you in the toilet, ok? Huh? Moms going to teach me? Shouldnt it be my dads job? I guess dad must have work or something, I havent seen him all day after all. Besides, Im still really young, at least outside so I guess its ok. Thusly convinced of myself, I nodded, Ok Mama!. A few hours later I grabbed my mothers sleeve. Momma, I have to go now! I announced with the biggest smile I could muster. Well arent you eager! my mother smiled before taking my hand and leading me to the bathroom. She helped me remove the diaper. I turned to face the toilet and made to relieve myself. At the time I was not considering how weird it would be for a toddler to know how to pee standing up. That thought didnt matter though, since I suddenly had a much bigger concern, namely, my hand that had just passed through empty space. I looked down and saw it, or rather, I did not see it. I stood there stunned. Honey, whats the matter, do you need help getting on the seat? I turned to face my mother, who was looking at me with a face that radiated concern. I must have looked very worried because her expression instantly changed. Whats wrong? she prompted again. I stammered out my main concern. M-m-momma, wh-w-wheres th-tha-that h-hanging th-thin-thing? Of course, my parents hadnt taught me the word for penis in this language, I had to improvise. My mother stared at me in disbelief. Wheres your penis? What do you mean? Stahlia, girls do not have penises. My mothers expression was confused, but mine had turned ashen. I burst out in tears at her words. My mother acted fast, bless her heart. She quickly scooped me up and sat me on the toilet before my crying caused me to have an embarrassing memory. All the while she was stroking my head and trying to placate me. That day I learned three things and made a new conjecture. I learned how to say penis in my new native language, I learned my name was Stahlia, and I learned I was a girl now. Lastly, I conjectured that there was a distinct reason EvilGod used his screen name in official correspondence, and there was some real meaning to the name New Life. Rosalie My name is Rosalie Fynswife, and my husband is the second son of the Despita family. His older brother inherited the house, as is proper. But I cannot help believing that such was a mistake. Not even a year after the transition of power, that idiot of a duke was caught red-handed in criminal dealings, embezzling tax money destined for the crown. Thankfully, our own house was spared summary execution, as my husband was a close friend of the third prince. That being said, we did not escape punishment entirely. The house Despita was stripped of its titles, and my husband and I were banished to our summer home far from the capital. The third prince, blessed is he, quietly arranged for my husband to descend gracefully into the post of the mayor over a small village located in the third princes own holdings. It was in this village that my husband and I were finally able to conceive. We had begun to fear that one of us may be infertile, but after I missed the goddess Nymphos ministrations for the second month in a row and began to feel the embrace of Vitae in the mornings, we knew I was finally with child. The feelings of celebration soon turned to worry, however, as my pregnancy was highly abnormal. The baby had started kicking after only three months, and was in fact, quite vigorous. When I informed my husband of this he was thrilled, believing that I would be giving him an energetic son to inherit his house such as it was. Still, at my insistence, he called the village doctor. The doctors reassurances about the early activity did reassure me at first. However, the kicking began to slowly abate, until by the seventh month the baby hardly moved at all. This did cause my husband worry and I feared I may miscarry, however, I did not and managed to bring the child to term. When I went into labor we summoned the doctor, who helped me through the process. The doctor informed us, Its a beautiful baby girl, madam. I was saddened that it was not the boy my husband had hoped for but grateful it had been born safely. Then I saw the doctors face, and how he held my daughter. Whats wrong doctor? I asked him. The doctor did not respond to my question and instead shook my child lightly. It was then that I realized. The baby was unmoving and completely silent. I was struck with great fear. was our first child stillborn? Please Vitae above, let it not be so! As if to answer my prayers, the baby coughed up a lungful of amniotic fluid and began to wail. I once again believed that all was well. The very next day, my husband was sitting beside me while I held our daughter. We had decided to name her Stahlia. I gazed at my daughter with all the love I could but still, I felt I must address the orc in the room, My husband, I fear I must apologize for being unable to grant you an heir. My husband froze for a moment before laughing. Rosalie do not worry about that. You just have to give me one son, it wouldnt matter if all our other children are daughters, as long as there is one boy then our family can continue in the end. I was ever so grateful that I was married to such a caring man. It was around then that Stahlia opened her eyes. She was still quite docile, but the doctor had told me what to do when she woke up. I bid my husband leave the room, men had no place when a woman was feeding her child. After my husband left me alone with my daughter, I freed my breast and held Stahlia up to it. My daughter did not latch on as I had expected, instead, she merely stared at my chest with her little mouth hanging open. All my fears from when I carried her and her birth came back at once, but just as I was beginning to grow truly sick with worry, she grasped my nipple and started to suckle. She was healthy after all. I laid her down in her crib after she finished feeding and went to tidy the house. We had but a single maid now, so I had a great deal to tend to. Although Jacqueline tried to insist I should rest I bid her stay her tongue; she would struggle to deal with the entire home by herself. It was later that night that my worry returned in full force. As I was putting Stahlia to sleep after her evening feeding, she began to thrash her arms and legs around. She was not crying but, try as I might, I could not calm her. I watched fearfully for nearly half an hour before Stahlia stilled. Her face was red and she was short of breath, but she was, at last, calmed. Promptly my precious daughter fell asleep, as though she had done nothing to worry me. As the days turned to weeks and then months, this became a routine. Stahlia would finish feeding and immediately begin to thrash herself about until she passed out from exhaustion, whereupon she would wake up to feed and thrash once more. She never cried, and though we called the doctor many times, he could find nothing wrong with my daughter. He had an alchemist brew numerous potions for me, worried that something may be wrong with my milk, but nothing seemed to work. Stahlia would eat, thrash, and sleep. The only time I ever heard her cry was right after her birth. That was only the beginning of my worries. Stahlia eventually gave up on thrashing and began to roll about. She additionally seemed oddly aware of her surroundings; the first time she saw Stil, our domesticated Stawri she froze with her mouth hanging open and simply stared at it. At first, I thought perhaps she was struck with fear at the sight of him, but she promptly lost interest and began thrashing and rolling again. At my wits end, I could only ask for the doctor to continue to monitor her development. The next month I received yet another shock. I turned away to fetch a cloth and when I turned back, Stahlia was missing. I frantically searched about the room but could not locate her. I called for Jacqueline and had her help me search the house. We found Stahlia trying to get up the stairs. My six-month-old daughter had figured out how to crawl. The doctor was sent for, but even he was at a loss. All he could tell us was that Stahlia seemed to be perfectly healthy if a bit advanced. At a loss for what to do, I decided that I could only stay near Stahlia and keep her out of trouble. This greatly increased the difficulty of my daily work, but I was worried if I left her for even a moment Stahlia would somehow sprout wings and fly away. Stahlia did not seem happy to have me near at hand. She would watch me until I seemed about to leave before attempting to dart off to the gods only know where. After nearly a week of this game of cat and mouse, something incredible happened! I had just picked Stahlia up and replaced her back on the rug in the center of the room. It was then that she looked up at me, opened her mouth, and cried! My precious daughter was still capable of crying! I was beside myself with joy. I swiftly went and picked her up and started to gently rock. Stahlia quieted down after a few minutes, then promptly dashed my joy by being a strange child again. She reached her hands towards the window. I was preparing to put her down again and she let out a scream. I picked her back up and she again reached out towards the window. She was staring at the window intently. Feeling bewildered I decided to go look out the window and see what she had glimpsed. As I got to the window, Stahlia let out a happy giggle and began peering around outside at the garden! This too soon became routine, whenever Stahlia saw something that caught her attention she would no longer try and crawl to it. Instead, she would scream until I picked her up, and then gesture where she wanted to go. We called the doctor again, but as usual, he could not make any sense of her behavior, deciding that she must just be a clever child. My husband attended to me as best he was able, he was concerned I was driving myself to exhaustion and an early grave with all my fretting over our daughter. In his eyes, she was simply an energetic healthy baby. He could not seem to understand how abnormal it was for a baby to be able to crawl this soon after its birth. In order to keep my nerves, I started speaking to Stahlia. Since she could not speak yet, she made me a very good listener for my worries. Granted, she was the cause of them, but she could hardly be asked to understand that. I was just happy she was alive at all the problems she seemed to have. After another month of this routine, I was bringing Stahlia to a corner of the house she apparently wanted to explore. After I set her down and stepped back far enough to let her move around a bit, but not so far as to give her the chance to escape she turned to face me. Hank yoo mahma! she chirped out happily. I screamed. Jacqueline came running and rounded the corner just in time to watch me fall over backward, fainted. My seven-month-old child had said her first word. Not just a word. She had formed a coherent sentence. Of course, her pronunciation was not quite proper, but I could not deny the intent behind her vocalizations. Once I had properly calmed down, I sent for and informed my husband of this development. His response, was a bit lack, Isnt that wonderful? All your talking to her has finally born fruit! My husband was calm and cheery about the situation. Apparently, I had married a fool after all. He might even be more of a fool than his traitorous older brother. I sighed and had him send for the doctor again. The doctor brought a mage with him this time. Apparently, the mage was capable of appraisal magic. After leading them into Stahlias room where she was fast asleep, having recently thrashed herself into an exhausted stupor again, the mage held his hand out over her and performed his chant. ### ### ####### ## #### ### ## ######## ## ### ####. [###### ####### #########] Floating words made of light appeared above the mages hand. I myself could not cast magic, but its appearance always made my heart flutter. The mage mumbled the words out to himself as if deep in thought before translating them for us, minus one, zero, plus one, plus two, zero, zero Based on this, your daughter seems to have a Strength of E, Dexterity of C, and intelligence of B. Her Endurance, Charisma, and Mana are normal. Most likely she was born with a class of some sort. Unfortunately, I can only cast the lowest level of appraisal magic so I cant get any more specific information. My husband and I thanked him, knowing she had a plus two bonus to her intelligence would help explain her early use of language, and the dexterity bonus would explain how she was always trying to move about. It was a load off my mind indeed. With some of the strangeness of my precious Stahlia explained, I was able to relax. Our days continued in a routine. Stahlia and I often held small conversations as she learned more and more words. I could not wait for her third birthday and dedication where we would learn what class and skills she had been born with to result in her abnormal ability values. In this manner, another month passed. In her eighth month, Stahlia promptly stood up on two legs and waddled around in a small circle before falling back onto her rear. It was as if she was announcing Im eight months old! I shall be restrained no more!. Even knowing how special she was, I still could not handle the sight and promptly fainted. That night, at my insistence, we summoned the doctor to have him give Stahlia another checkup. Smiling as he prodded at her legs to see how the muscle reacted, he turned to me and let me know that, as usual, there were no visible problems. but if her strength is only E, how could she be walking already? Stahlia chose that moment to announce a bombshell. She grabbed the doctors sleeve to get his attention and when he smiled at her she immediately and confidently informed us, Pahpa Mama needs ah dohctah!. I turned white from shock. Of course, I had not been unfaithful, but it seemed my lovely daughter had come to the conclusion that the doctor was her father. I suppose that he did visit us often, at my insistence. But why did she think I needed a doctor?! Fearfully I looked at my husband. He was watching our daughter with a twitching smile and depressed eyes. For his part, the doctor was doing his absolute best not to burst out laughing. After he left, needless to say, we had a long talk with Stahlia about her parentage. I thought my daughter had a bonus to her intelligence?! Following that incident, my husband and I decided we should try and treat Stahlia as if she was a bit older, clearly, she would form her own conclusions unless we taught her the correct things promptly. This led us to the most shocking misunderstanding yet. On her tenth month birthday, and following a talk with my husband, we decided that we would accelerate her domestics teaching. I approached her, still a little unsure if we were doing the right thing pushing her to learn as much as we were, Sweety since you are growing so fast and can walk by yourself, do you want to learn to use the toilet? Stahlia looked up at me and positively beamed. Uh-Huh! I want to go learn! I smiled at her, inwardly relieved that she was receptive to the idea and didnt seem upset with me for being so pushy. Alright honey, next time you have to relieve yourself, tell mommy and Ill help you in the toilet ok? Stahlia blinked at me, a look of confusion briefly flashed across her face before vanishing so quickly I had to wonder if I had been mistaken. Ok Mama! She is so cute! I smiled at my daughter. A few hours later, Stahlia grabbed my sleeve while I was dusting the table. Momma, I have to go now! I looked down at her, she still stood not even as high as my knee but was wearing a massive grin. Well, arent you eager! I took her hand and escorted her to the washroom where I helped her get out of her baby dress. Our toilet was really just a hole in the floor that dropped directly into an underground tunnel through which would flow rainwater, still, it had a seat that came up to just above Stahlias head. I was about to hook my hands under her arms to lift her onto the seat when she suddenly turned around and waved her hand in front of her pubic region, whereupon she completely froze. Honey, whats the matter, do you need help getting on the seat? I was not as worried at this point as I was growing used to her random bouts of strange behavior. Still, when she turned to face me she was quivering and I could see tears starting to form in her eyes. Whats wrong? I asked worriedly. Maybe she really wasnt ready! Oh gods above, I hope I have not somehow traumatized my daughter! Stahlia betrayed all my expectations. M-m-momma, wh-w-wheres th-tha-that h-hanging th-thin-thing?. Now I was the one who froze completely, erstwhile Stahlias eyes had started to drip slowly. I blinked in shock, Wheres your penis? What do you mean? Stahlia, girls do not have penises. Stahlias slow tears transformed in an instant into an outright deluge and for the first time in months she cried as a normal infant would. In a fluster, I picked her up and set her on the nearest available seat, the toilet, so that I could try and dry her tears. It seems I inadvertently made the correct decision, as her fit soon caused her to lose control of her bladder. As I pat Stahlia and stroked her hair to calm her I resolved myself. I need to have a long conversation with her father, there is no good reason for Stahlia to even know what a penis is, let alone expect to have one! 1-4 Outside and Potions Stahlia, Eleventh Month of 936 The revelation that I was now inhabiting the body of the character I spent the better part of eight hours designing shook me to my core. I knew I had been reincarnated into another world but the fact that it was this world, and this body was another matter entirely. Desperately, I attempted to drag up memories of the character creation, however, my memories after a certain point were fuzzy. Likely because of how tired I had been by the end; I couldnt remember everything I had done perfectly. I remembered details about the Archetypes of creatures in this world, as well as the custom class settings I had set up, but for the life of me, I could not recall much of the myriad of classes, monsters, and talents I had browsed through. Maybe thats why the so-called game was so sparse on detail. If I had had access to all the information, I probably wouldnt be able to remember the important details. Lets start with what I know for sure. Classes and RPG mechanics exist in this world. At least, based on the character settings stuff I would have to imagine they do. I took a class that was still in development that came with a special skill. Then I selected Prodigy 1 as my talent and buffed my base stats. If RPG mechanics exist, that would probably explain how I learned a new language in only a few months; I recall Intelligence being my highest stat. My parents probably think I have a rare class or talent as well since Ive been developing so quickly. Shit, I really shouldnt have gone so fast. I hope this doesnt make me a pariah or something in this world. Striving to remember everything I could, I thought back over my character summary. I seem to recall something about my Divine Authority skill something about having access to the menu. How do I do that? I tried swiping my hand through the air, like in that popular show where a bunch of people got trapped in a VR game. At some point, I had passed out from crying and been brought to my bed while my mother went off to find my father, likely to have him call the doctor again. In any case, I was currently alone so I could experiment freely without fear of being seen. However, try as I might, I couldnt get my menu or whatever to open. Menu! Status! Character Sheet! Options! No matter what commands I tried nothing happened. Dont tell me I have to give a verbal command; Jacqueline is probably posted right outside my room so I cant make noise, or my mother will freak out again. Damnit! Every time the Isekai setting is an RPG world the player is always able to open the menu just by thinking about it! Useless Divine Authority! Show me the menu already! I blinked. Displayed in my vision was a small menu detailing my character stats. Apparently, that had worked. Close. The menu closed. Divine Authority, show menu. The menu reappeared. It would seem I had to invoke the name of the skill before I could access its abilities. Thankfully, I could just think it, so I wouldnt make anybody think I was insane. At least any more than they already did. Babies shouldnt thrash around every waking moment; they should eat cry poop and sleep. I really hope I havent made my situation worse The menu seemed to be floating off my vision. I waved my hand around it experimentally, but it superimposed itself over my hand, even when I was almost touching my eyes. So, this is being fed directly through my optic nerve then, which means only I will be able to see it, good. I read over the information, it looked a bit different than how I remembered, and had a new section. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 1 Name/Age: Stahlia, 0 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 1 Experience: 0/1000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Fallen Noble House (Despita, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [locked] Ability Values: Talents 1/1: Prodigy 1* Skills 1/1: Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Language Proficiency[Central Human]* Talents Experience: Prodigy 10/1000 This was a lot to unpack. Is it just me, or is this a lot more detailed than what it was originally like? Indeed, I could now see my experience amount for both my level and my talents as well as what I could only assume was geographical information about by social strata. I also earned a Life Point somehow, but I have no way of figuring out what I did. And theres this Language Proficiency skill. I can assume I got that when I learned the language here, shouldnt there be some kind of notification when I get new talents and skills? For some reason, it isnt taking up a skill slot either. Theres also a numerical value associated with my ability values. Noticing the little symbol for Language Proficiency[Central Human] I tried focusing on it. A new window opened in my vision showing me a description of Language Proficiency[Central Human] Language Proficiency[Central Human]: Represents the individuals fluency in the common language of the Central Continent. So, it just indicates that Ive sufficiently learned a language to the point of being considered fluent. Considering that there are still words I dont know, it doesnt give me anything like complete mastery over the language. Still, the fact that a skill like this exists will serve as a good progress indicator if I ever have to learn another language. Come to think of it, the default character it gave me also had this skill. If I had reincarnated as him, I wonder how it would have taken effect? The skill doesnt say anything about an automatic effect, I cant imagine just being able to suddenly speak a language fluently. All my abilities were currently only at one, but I was reasonably certain that the parenthetical numbers to the right were the max values for each ability. So. the letters must have influenced my starting score, I guess the fact that they are mostly all at one right now probably has to do with the fact that my age is 0. Nobody would expect a baby to be able to bench press. Why is intelligence already at its max though? The only explanation I could think of was that my high starting Intelligence was either a hidden effect of Prodigy or the result of my adult mind. Starting Gift is locked for some reason, I think that section of the character creator said something about the tutorial but I cant say for sure since I was so tired at the time Still, not like a seed is going to be particularly useful. As I was lost in thought, I heard a knock on my door and heard my mothers voice. She sounded tired. Stahlia dear, I am coming in, we need to talk. That didnt sound good. Oh shit As it turned out, my mother had meant that the family needed to talk. Upon entering my room, she had scooped me up and brought me down to the dining area where my father, who looked fairly angry, was sitting at the table. Am I about to be executed as a heretic or something?! I sat in my mothers arms and my father leaned towards me. Stahlia, who showed you, their penis? I blinked. This was not what I had expected. Actually, considering that I havent actually seen a penis in this life and didnt even know the word for it, it would make sense that my dad is freaking out. I decided to try and play innocent to diffuse the situation. Daddy, whats a penis?. I put on a face that I hoped would pass as childishly curious. Ah, right, your mother said you hadnt known what to call it. Let me ask again. Stahlia, who showed you their Hanging thing? His voice was steady, but I could still detect the hint of barely contained rage. Oh shit, they totally think Ive been molested or something! I quickly listed off all the men I had met in my head. It wasnt a very long list since the only man other than my father I could remember was the doctor. I cant say anything that might get the doctor in trouble, he might be mean and poke at me a lot, but I know hes only doing that because my mother was worried about me. Thinking as quickly as my tiny brain was able to, I said the first excuse that seemed plausible. I saw yours, daddy! My dad fell backward in his chair, and behind me, I felt my mother stiffen. It may have been a figment of my imagination, but I could swear I felt her start shaking. Shit! Now my mother probably thinks my dad is the one who was molesting me! Hurriedly, I decided to add to my excuse. You were going potty and came out with your belt undone! I did my best to give off an air of childish innocence. It seemed my acting paid off, as I felt my mother relax behind me. My father looked visibly relieved and sat up straight before addressing me in a firm tone. Right. Well, you see Stahlia, that hanging thing is called a penis and it is something boys and men have. Girls have something else, since you are my precious little girl, you do not have a penis. He was right. Discovering the menu had distracted me somewhat, but the reality of my situation sank in again. I was a girl now. I lost control of my emotions and started crying again, prompting my mother to rush me off to my room while trying to convince me that being a girl wasnt so bad and that I didnt need a penis. My father seemed to want to forget that the misunderstanding had ever happened and refused to touch on the subject, while my mother was as fretful as always. I spent the better part of a month listlessly going about my day by laying in bed, only getting up when my mother forcibly carried me somewhere. I was actually grateful now that the setting had me start as a baby despite the physical limitations that were imposed; if this was a setting where I suddenly awoke to memories of my past life then I would have to deal with a completely different set of hormones and biological phenomena. Baby boys and girls are actually fairly similar all things considered. I was not looking forward to my second experience of puberty. After nearly a month of this, my mother decided that enough was enough and picked me up a tad bit more forcefully than usual. Stahlia. You are nearly a year old. You are already capable of carrying on a conversation and walking about. Whether or not your father wanted a son as his first child does not mean he does not love you as his daughter. She was looking straight into my tiny eyes the whole time she spoke. I guess my parents think that I thought I was a boy because my dad occasionally mentions having a son inherit the house. With that said, my mother positioned me into a baby carrier and marched to the front door where Jacqueline helped her don a coat. Where are we going, mommy? I really had no desire to be anywhere other than my bed right now. Shopping, I think getting you out of the house might break you out of this tantrum you have been having. Stahlia dear, please try not to draw attention to yourself. Your father thinks it is for the best if we keep your unique disposition within the family for the time being. With her brief explanation and long-winded warning, she hefted me up into a proper carry and set out. I wanted to act upset and pouty, but those feelings gradually gave way as I looked at the goings-on in the town for the first time. There was so much stuff that you didnt see in a non-fantasy place like Earth. On the surface, our little village looked like a European hamlet. Houses were made from wood with whitewashed walls broken up by dark crossbeams. The buildings were all capped off by a thatch roof. Brick chimneys extended out of the larger buildings, and some of them were emitting white smoke into the air. If I had one complaint about the scenery it would have to be that the air was a bit chilly. I seem to recall that my father was worried about it snowing early this year, so we must be fairly close to winter. The first thing I noticed that made the world seem fantasy-esque, as opposed to an ordinary hamlet, was the smell. I had spent my entire first life in a town or city, the latter being considerably smellier. But this place did not smell like anything I could remember. It smelled fresh and clean. A general smell that I would compare to pine suffused the whole village, but it wasnt quite pure pine; it had a bit of mint and some kind of citrus mixed into it. We continued down the street, and I watched the windows of the houses we passed, as we moved further down the street, the houses got smaller and their interiors simpler. After a certain point, they lost their second story. I decided this was a good time to get some information about my surroundings, Momma, why is our house so big? I had intended the question to seem innocent and inoffensive, but my mothers face hardened. Because your fathers elder brother was an imbecile and a traitor to the crown. Her face quickly regained its normal disposition, but it was clear from the way she held me a bit tighter that I had rattled her. I know from my settings that my family is fallen nobility, but it seems like theres some major drama in the background of that. I decided to try asking one more question and watched her reaction carefully. Is that why we are not nobles anymore? My mother stopped walking and met my gaze, her eyes were wide. I really need to learn not to be surprised by every little bombshell you drop Stahlia, how did you know we used to be nobles? I made another mistake, of course, my parents never talked about our extended family to me. The only reason I knew about my noble heritage was from my character settings. Oops. I needed to come up with an answer somehow, but before I could think of one my mother sighed, Well, you are very perceptive for an infant, you probably overheard some hushed conversation between your father and I, it is not polite to eavesdrop you know. She sighed and let out a dry laugh before she resumed walking, albeit slower than she had been before As we walked my mother explained the short version of our family history. My father was a second son and thus was not able to inherit the house. Instead, his father had arranged a marriage between him and my mother, who hailed from a branch family and moved them into an estate where my father would be able to assist his elder brother by overseeing a region of the family dukedom. The fact that our family was originally at the level of a dukedom was probably the biggest surprise of the whole story. Said elder brother had gone on to inherit the house after the death of my grandfather. Not even a year later, he was implicated in a scheme to steal tax money from the crown. As the crime in question was considered high treason, committed by the head of the family, under normal circumstances the entire bloodline would be purged. My father and mother were lucky, as my father had a personal friendship with the third prince. The prince made arrangements with the king on behalf of my father, pardoning the crime of high treason to a lesser crime. Said lesser crime resulted in my father being stripped of his noble titles and duties. Normally this would result in my family being reduced to commoners with nothing to our names, but the third prince again intervened and arranged for my father to take up the post of mayor in a remote village located on the third princes own domain. The whole time she was talking, I could feel my mother trembling. I listened quietly until the end absorbing everything she said; who knew what snippets of information might prove useful to me one day. By the time we came to the end of the street, she had fallen silent, after a moment she squeezed me tightly. No matter what happened to our family in the past You are my daughter, and I will always care for you as your mother. As we left the residential street we had been walking down, we entered into a large open space lined with a number of buildings that had signs hanging over the doors. These must be stores, which would make this the market or town square. The signs didnt have any writing on them, but rather pictures that presumably illustrated what type of shop it was. The literacy rate must be pretty low if the stores still use picture signs, but Ill have to see if my parents can teach me to read at some point. They should know how since we used to be a noble family, and even if its not something I get to use often, I would rather know how than lack the ability only to need it later. I just need to find a natural excuse to explain why I know what reading is. There were people everywhere. I had thought we lived in a small village from snippets of conversation I heard between my parents, but there had to be at least a thousand people bustling about. It was nothing compared to the crowds I had seen in and around my university, but it absolutely betrayed my expectations of a tiny village in the mountains I turned my head from side to side wide-eyed and at a loss. My mother followed my finger and her eyes landed on the building. Oh, the temple. That is a place where we venerate the twelve gods and goddesses who oversee our world. We cannot go inside until after your dedication in a few years. I absorbed the information my mother gave to me, then asked a question, My dedication? My mother smiled at me and explained, Yes, every child goes to the temple on the third anniversary of their birth in order to have the priesthood oracle their class and abilities. It is a very important ceremony since knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are will influence what the future holds for you. My mother gazed at me thoughtfully, Truth be told, I am most curious to learn what class you were born with that allowed you to develop so fast. I am sure it is a very special one. You have no idea mother Still, that was a very important discovery. Considering Custom Class was apparently unfinished when I picked it, I wonder what everyones reaction will be. Not to mention that it will also show all my stats are above the human average This seems like it will be very, very, dangerous for me, everyone will know about my custom class. Still, that would explain my parents wanting to keep me a secret for the time being Fearfully, I looked between the church and my mother, What will happen if I have a bad class Momma? My mother smiled and started walking down around the square towards one of the larger shops. Do not worry Stahlia, considering how quickly you learn new things I am sure you have a very special class. Thats what Im worried about! I didnt have much time to worry about the newly discovered doomsday clock, as the shop my mother took me to was absolutely fascinating. As an avid RPG gamer, I was well versed in this sort of place. It was an alchemists shop. I inhaled deeply, looking through the screen, I had oft wondered what the inside of a building stuffed full of drying herb bundles and brewed potions would smell like. It was a refreshing rich earthy smell. My mother watched me lovingly. You were always so fascinated by the garden, ever since the first time you got me to hold you up to the window. I just knew bringing you here would help break you out of your shell. I had known my mother dragged me out of the house to try and cheer me up, not that she could understand what I was really upset by though. Momma, what is in there? I pointed at a large black pot that was set over a smoldering bed of coals. White steam with wisps of red woven through it was coming out from under the lid. My mother leaned over and sniffed the fumes coming from the pot, Some potion or brew I would imagine, I have not the faintest idea what it would do though. I watched the lid vibrating over the top of the pot, each time it jumped up slightly more steam would leak out. The red wisps seemed to be emitting a faint glow. A man, presumably the alchemist came out from the back and approached my mother as I lost myself in the red streaks, following them with my eyes. Ah! Lady Rosalie, and Lady Stahlia I presume. Its good to see youre healthy enough to be brought out of the house now! I still remember all the potions I had to brew for your mother when you were only a few months old. Gave her quite the fright you did. The alchemist was all smiles as he spoke about me, but I chose to pretend I wasnt aware and continued to watch my smoke. Thats right, babies cant respond to conversation, Ill just pretend to be fascinated by the red steam like a normal child My mother gave the man a polite smile and fished around in her coat for a piece of paper, from which she started reading out a few items. So paper exists in this world, and my mother is able to read, Ill have to ask her to teach me later. Still, between the picture signs and paper whats up with the literacy rate in this world? Paper is usually an indicator of high academic standards in fantasy settings unless this is the sort of thing where paper is brand new and super expensive, but then why is my mother making a shopping list out of it? The names of the things she was reading were all terms I had encountered often enough at home. Just as she was finishing her list, my red steam wisps stopped coming out of the pot. A moment later, the whole thing started shaking violently. The alchemist hurriedly excused himself and moved over to the pot. Using a long stick with a hook he picked up the pot off the coals and set it on a large stone table. He used the same hook to pop off the lid and set it aside, before hooking the pot again and tilting it to pour out the contents into some sort of apparatus made of glass tubing and a funnel. A blue liquid poured out of the rim of the pot and into the glassworks. The glass apparatus evenly divided the blue liquid into six clear bottles connected at the end. Setting aside the pot, he then removed the bottles one by one. Each was filled until roughly an inch below the neck, he inspected the amount of liquid inside each before using a lit wick to ignite whatever gas was coming out of the potions, and capped the bottles with a cork. Placing each finished potion in a crate, he turned again to my mother to finish the business she had with him. Unable to contain myself, the excitement I was feeling at having witnessed actual alchemy from a fantasy RPG boiled over and I made another mistake. Mana potions! I was staring at the crate with a massive unashamed grin, my eyes sparkling from excitement. Seeing real alchemy had ignited my inner RPG gamer spirit. The alchemist, on the other hand, was staring at me with his mouth hanging open and his hand frozen halfway outstretched towards my mother to collect payment. Realizing my mistake, I looked up at my mother to check her current condition. She was staring back at me with a look of resignation. The alchemist cleared his throat and coughed before shaking his head as if to clear it. Ahem, sorry about that Lady Rosalie, it seems I inhaled some of the evaporated mana concentrates and had a bout of hallucination. Quite an embarrassing mistake to make with how much experience I have. Now it was my mothers turn to stare at me. Her voice was monotone, and I felt the strength leave her arms. Stahlia, how could you possibly have known what those potions were? My mother was now swaying on her feet. This isnt good! If she faints backward, shell crack her head on the stone floor and If she faints forwards shell crush me! Well, since I had already violated my mothers warning, Mister Alchemist! Momma is about to faint! Wait I wasnt hallucinating!? Although he was mumbling something to himself and his eyes were wandering around unsteadily my words probably reached him, since he reached out and grabbed my mothers arm as her legs gave out, lowering her gently to the floor. I struggled for a moment, extricating myself from my mothers arms, before glancing at the alchemist. He was gazing into the distance and looked like he had seen a ghost. Well, at least hes made of sterner stuff than my dear mother. You would think she had stopped fainting at every little thing by now. I walked myself over to the crate with the mana potions and picked one of them up with both hands so my feeble baby strength wouldnt drop it. I studied the bottle intently, admiring the blue liquid within, it was emitting a soft blue light and felt slightly warm to the touch. As I was tilting the bottle, curious as to the viscosity, it seems the alchemist had recovered his senses. He approached me and took the bottle away from me, placing it back in the crate. Those are very expensive; you can look but dont touch them. His complexion had improved a little bit while I had been examining the potion, so I decided to ask him a question. Mister Alchemist, do you have any potions to fix fainting? He looked over at my mother in understanding. I do have a potion that can relieve fainting effects, adventurers use it when hunting certain monsters, but it degrades quickly so I only make it when its ordered. So, you do not keep it in stock Still, this was an alchemy shop. I started to turn in place slowly, looking at the walls for anything that I could use. The alchemist was watching me look around. What was that you called the mana concentrate? Mana concentrate? For that matter, how the hell did you learn to walk and talk? I remember making potions for your mother when you were born; you shouldnt be any more than a year old. Right, he would be wondering about that. I weighed my options. To his credit, he didnt seem put off anymore, in fact, he seemed genuinely curious now that he had overcome the shock. I decided I should give him an explanation to his second question that was in line with what my parents knew. I am not sure, I just did. My parents think I must have a special class but I have not had my dedication yet. This is all supposed to be a secret, but I was so excited about the potions I forgot and accidentally spoke. Could you please not tell anyone? After a moments consideration, I decided to add My parents would be ever so grateful. I then gave a big smile and tilted my head slightly, trying to look as cute as possible. The alchemist seemed to buy my act and scratched his cheek. Well, I suppose you would want to keep something like this to yourselves, no telling what would happen if the wrong people got wind of it. Alright, Ill talk to your mother when she wakes up and let her know I intend to keep this to myself. The wrong people?! Holy shit mother, why didnt you tell me it was for a scary reason like that! I would have been way more careful! I somehow managed to keep my internal thoughts from showing on my face, but the alchemist wasnt finished. Still, how did you know about the mana potions? Even if you have a special class, you need training for advanced stuff like alchemy. I wish this guy would forget about that I really have no way of answering that question! I know about it from playing so many RPGs! Its just common knowledge that Red equals Health, Green equals Stamina, and Blue equals Mana. I had to give him an answer, but I couldnt come up with a believable excuse at a loss, I decided to just do my best to bluff my way through, I thought it was a mana potion because it was blue. I watched him to see if it looked like he believed me. Because its blue? It looked like he was on the fence as to whether or not he would believe me. Now he just needs another push. I put on the most innocent smile I could, I really do not know why, I just got the feeling that the color blue meant it was mana. The man sighed, If you say so. It must have something to do with your special class, maybe you got some sort of magic sense with it. He believed me! Phew. Hearing a rustling noise from behind me, I turned to see my mother coming. She was looking around confused at her surroundings until she saw me standing next to the alchemist. She frowned and rose to her feet. Stahlia, what were you thinking?! What did I tell you before we left the house! Her voice was chilling. M-mother, I The alchemist cut me off before I could make any excuses. Lady Rosalie dont get too mad at her. I figure you and Mayor Fynn have some fairly unique circumstances, but I am quite satisfied with the situation of this town and do not want to cause the both of you any troubles, I intend to keep this situation a secret. My mother eyed him warily before taking a few coins out of her coat and handing them to the man. Without another word, she grabbed ahold of me, collected the crate the alchemist prepared for us, and started to head for the door. The alchemist called after her before she could open the door, You have a very special daughter milady. I felt my mother relax a bit and she smiled. I know, thank you very much, you are very skilled at your trade. Looking over my mothers shoulder as she walked out the door I saw the alchemist visibly relax, so I risked giving him a small wave as thanks for agreeing to keep our familys secret. On the way home my mother was silent, it would seem she was still mad at me. I held my tongue as well; I knew better than to needlessly rock the boat. Eventually, as we reached the residential street, she spoke up to me, How was the town? I waited a moment before answering, I liked it a lot, there was so much to see. She smiled and adjusted her grip on me a bit before continuing. Everyone makes mistakes Stahlia, so believe me when I say I am not mad at you but the world is a dangerous place. If Sven was a more unscrupulous individual, then he might have decided to take you while I was fainted. I shivered in her arms. Its that dangerous? Why would he want to take me? My mother frowned and walked past a woman heading the other way down the street before answering. Children with rare ability would fetch a high price on the black markets. With the right buyer, you might be worth enough for the average person to never have to work another day in their life. Wow. That really is dangerous. I need to be way more careful than I have been. I nodded meekly. I am sorry mother. We arrived at the door of our house and Jacqueline let us in, hung my mothers coat, and took the potions my mother had purchased. My mother brought me upstairs and laid me down in my crib. She gave me a kiss on the forehead. I need to talk to your father but seeing as this excursion seems to have helped you overcome whatever was bothering you, I do not see any reason you cannot come out with me from time to time, but you have to make sure to avoid being strange in public and drawing attention to yourself like with Sven. I thanked her and bid her goodnight before falling asleep almost immediately, I had likely only made it all the way home because of the adrenaline from the incident at the alchemists shop. 1-5 End of the First Year Stahlia, Eleventh Month of 936. I woke up the next morning feeling well refreshed. I had some time to kill while waiting for my mother to come and let me out; while I probably could get out on my own, I didnt want to risk the drop from the top of the crib bars to the floor if I didnt have to. I went over the events of my first excursion beyond the walls of my home. I really wish my mother had just told me the truth from the very start; I would have been a lot more careful if I knew child markets were a threat. I needed some way to defend myself, but checking over my stats, they were of course all still at one. Well, all except for my intelligence. That was at one hundred and fifty for some reason. Ideally, I would like to level up, but I have no idea how I could go about earning experience Of course, finding and killing a monster would probably net me some experience, but that wasnt an option for obvious reasons. While I was caught up in my thoughts, my mother came to collect me for the breakfast. Thankfully for my nerves, upon discovering my ability to speak and understand the surroundings my mother had opted to wean me as quickly as possible while still making sure I stayed healthy. I think knowing that I would very likely retain memories of feeding was an embarrassing prospect for her, so much the better for me. Sitting at my highchair by the table my mother and father both ate in silence while Jacqueline attended to them. Stil, our pet Stawri was uncharacteristically eating inside today. The air around the table was tense as I spooned my mashed mystery food; I hadnt bothered to ask what it was made of, the sooner I got my teeth the better. Although teething will mean I have to learn how to pronounce words again. Though it''s concerning; I cant be sure, but I am pretty sure my teeth should have come in by now. Putting aside questions about my abnormal development and directing my attention to my father who had just finished eating and cleared his throat, I set down my spoon. Stahlia, your mother informed me of what happened yesterday. He seemed calm, but who knows, it could just be a nobles false face. Yes, Father. He raised an eyebrow, until now I had only called him Papa. But this was probably going to be a heavy conversation so I figured being as polite as possible would be to my benefit. He cleared his throat, It seems that you have taken her warnings to heart now. I feel I do not have to inform you again but strive to carve this into your heart; If Sven had had a mind to, your Mother and I would likely have never seen you again. I do not want that for any of us, you included. I nodded solemnly, causing him to continue, Since you seem to be very well aware of the seriousness of the situation after you turn one I believe you should be able to begin accompanying your mother on errands. Until then you will remain in the house. He scratched his cheek awkwardly, I never would have thought that I would need to have this kind of conversation with my daughter before she was even a year old Since that last part didnt seem to be directed at anyone in particular I chose to ignore it and merely stated I understand. That was how I experienced being grounded before most children can even speak properly. As it turned out, I was actually fairly close to turning one. A few days after the verdict was passed down and the grim air around my parents had faded, I had asked my mother when I would be turning one and, for good measure what turning one meant as I couldnt remember ever having the concept of age explained to me in this life. My mother seemed incredibly pleased that I was engaging again instead of laying listlessly in bed and launched into a long-winded explanation. Seriously woman, thirty words or less! As it turns out, this world used a very similar calendar to that of Earth. There were twelve months in each year, and every twelve months on the anniversary of a persons birth they would increase their age by one. At some point, it had simply been accepted that I understood numbers and had figured out basic counting, so she thankfully did not add an explanation of addition into her explanation. Where this worlds calendar differed from that of Earth was in the number of days. Each month apparently had thirty days, as opposed to Earths alternating thirty and thirty-one. This meant that there was a total of three hundred and sixty days in a year not three hundred sixty-five. She also gave me a little bit of religious background; the number of months was directly tied to the number of primary deities; at present, there were twelve gods and goddesses each of whom governed over a month. It was entirely possible that the number of deities could change. In the past, there was apparently a thirteenth god, but he had fallen in love with a mortal woman and rejected his divinity to be with her. Before that god became mortal there had been thirteen months each thirty days long meaning a year lasted for three hundred ninety days. I asked about the seasons and how they fit with the months, to quote my mother: The current twelve gods are split into four factions that are constantly fighting against each other. The seasons change according to the tides of this struggle, thats why winter sometimes comes early and why spring is occasionally late. There was also apparently a goddess who reigned over the light and her brother who governed the night; they existed above the main twelve and ensured that no alliance would stay in power for too long lest the mortal races suffer ill. Personally, I suspected that the power struggle was just a way for the church to explain away the calendar error that would result from an improper understanding of orbital periods but having no way to explain that, I held my peace. In any case, I had been born in the twelfth month, under the care of Antenora, who was also known as the Winter Herald or the Frosts Vanguard. That name was actually a bit disturbing giving my family history. Being the RPG lover that I was, I had collected a lot of incidental trivia from all the games I played. A lot of RPGs borrowed things from mythology as a source of inspiration. Antenora was the demon in charge of the second quarter of the ninth circle of hell in Judeo-Christian mythology. Collectively, the ninth circle was known as The hell of Traitors and Antenora was the demon in charge of the section dedicated to those who betrayed their country. Considering my family history, I found this highly concerning. I asked my mother what Antenora was the goddess of. This caused her smile to falter a little. After a long pause, she finally told me that Antenora was the goddess of traitors and plotting. My worry must have shown on my face because she hurriedly went on to assure me that, The god or goddess who overlooked your birth has no bearing on your fate, the church is very clear on that issue. I supposed that made sense, if you had a goddess of traitors in your pantheon who influenced the fates of one-twelfth of the population then that wouldnt bode very well for society. Still, I couldnt help but feel a sense of foreboding about the actions of my uncle and the timing of my birth. All of that aside, there was not much I could do for myself at the moment; my stats were too low for me to accomplish anything about my lack of self-defense so I was still forced to rely on others. Likewise, I didnt want to risk sneaking out to search our town when I was now fully informed of the kind of danger I might be in. It would suck if I failed the tutorial section I tried asking my mother to teach me to read, but she didnt seem very fond of the idea, Stahlia, you will be attending a class with the other children after your dedication, it would not do for you to stand out much more than you already will. With nothing better to do until the end of my house arrest, I decided I would simply amuse myself by playing with our bird-dog Stil. Stil spent most of the day out in the town wandering about to patrol his territory, so I would only see him in the evenings when my father or Jacqueline gave him a chunk of meat, and occasionally when he would eat breakfast inside the dining area with us. It was one such morning after breakfast when I waited for my father to go out for his morning mayoral duties and my mother was helping Jacqueline tidy the kitchen that I tried approaching him. Stil looked up and watched me warily; this was the first time either of us had tried interacting with the other. While I was sure he knew I was a member of the household, he probably didnt know how to feel about me. Even back on earth, dogs could become confused about the birth of a new baby. Still, it had been eleven months; he should have some opinion of me. Tentatively, I reached out my hand towards him. He inspected my hand before looking away and returning to his bowl. I cautiously moved closer and reached out to touch his side; being the size of a Labrador retriever, Stil stood head and shoulders above my own infant body. I carefully and gently ran my hand across his feathered side. I could feel steady breathing alongside a shudder whenever he swallowed a portion of his food. Perfect, he doesnt seem to be wary of me. Still a bit cautious, I moved a bit closer to his head and watched his beak snap at breakfast. He is just like a dog, isnt he? Stil finished his breakfast and stood up causing me to have to make a small hop backward to avoid being knocked over. Hes treating me like an annoying puppy bothering an adult dog! Indignant, I watched him walk off towards the door with my hands on my hips. My mother was watching from the kitchen doorframe, He seems to like you Stahlia. If he likes me he would be less indifferent mother, I think he was simply tolerating me. Pretty sure he started eating faster after I started petting him too Apparently I was mistaken, as my mother continued. Stawri usually do not let people touch their feathers very often, as it is very difficult for them to clean them, Stil would not have gotten violent since he has been properly trained, but the normal reaction would have been for him to have gotten up and left immediately after you started to pet him. Instead, he calmly finished eating first. Hmmm? Difficult to clean? Intrigued by my mothers words, I watched Stil out in the garden. He was presently rubbing the side I had been petting firmly against a part of the fence. Looking closely, that particular fence post seemed to be a good deal shinier than the others. He probably uses that to brush himself I see, having a beak would make precision work very difficult, and having bird talons instead of regular dog paws would mean he cant scratch at dirt either. I was starting to formulate a plan as I watched Stil finish grooming and head out into the village on patrol. That night after dinner I approached my father, Father, I have a request. Looking down at me he sighed, I am sorry Stahlia, I will not relent, you cannot accompany your mother on errands until after you turn one as we discussed. I shook my head side-to-side, making sure that my baby curls jiggled cutely; With my charisma score being only one I needed all the bonuses to persuasion I could get, No father, I understand that. I was actually wanting to ask if you would allow me to give Stil his meat tonight? My father looked surprised but gave his permission, handing me a chunk of some kind of fowl. This doesnt count as cannibalism, does it? Approaching Stil, who was laying out near the hearth to warm his feathers, I held out my hand with the bird in it. He looked up and tilted his head when he saw me instead of my father. I pushed my hand under his nose, and he sniffed at the offering before darting his beak out and snatching it. He placed the meat under his front talons and busied himself tearing at it, so I sat down next to him and waited patiently. When he was finished, he rested his head onto his paws and stared into the flames. Slowly, I reached out towards his head. Seeing as he was unmoving, I carefully pet the small feathers that covered his head. Waiting to see if he would leave like my mother had mentioned this morning, I slowly add a bit more pressure. When Stil remained unmoving, I arched my fingers, lightly digging the tips into his feathers and running down the length of his head before moving my hand back to the front and repeating the motion. My mother saw what I was doing and quickly came over, Stahlia, what did I tell you this morning? Stop bothering Stil. She bent over and grabbed at my hands. Stil looked up at my mother and tilted his head; his intent was fairly clear, why are you stopping. I laughed and pulled my hands away from my mother, Momma I thought he must be itchy when I saw him rubbing on the fence this morning, See? He likes it when you scratch his head! I returned my hand to its previous activity and added my other hand to the back of his neck while my mother watched us in disbelief. After a few minutes, Stil began emitting a rumbling noise. Aww, hes purring! I guess he has some cat in him too Part bird, part dog, and part cat! Arent you just the perfect pet! After that, it became a part of our routine that Stil would sit obstinately by the door every morning waiting for me to give him scratches before he set off on his daily patrol. Birthdays in this world didnt really seem to be a thing. Rather than celebrating every year, it was custom to celebrate certain milestones. Namely, the fact that a baby survived its first year, a toddlers dedication at the temple when they turned three, the onset of adolescence at ten years, and then the age of adulthood at fifteen. The first did not really have much to do with the child in question; most one-year-old children could hardly speak and wouldnt really understand the significance of the event. Rather, the one-year ceremony was more of a celebration for the parents and any potential older siblings. Our family was a little bit of a special case, but my parents were not planning to alter the usual traditions overmuch. Still, the house was a hubbub of activity as this was a ceremony largely for the parents, family friends would drop by to see the child and deliver a small gift for the family. Usually, these gifts took the form of something from the givers trade. Farmers would give a small portion of something they had grown, a hunter would give a section of jerky or fur, that sort of things. Since my father was the mayor of this town, we could expect quite a few people. The number of well-wishers we were expecting was causing my mother a great deal of worry; she was of course concerned I would do something to get myself found out, Stahlia, you have to make sure that you do not do anything that a regular child would not be able to. This was the fifth time I had heard some variant of this warning in the past hour. I athure you mother, I will do my bethst. She frowned at me and shook her head tiredly. Stahlia, normal yearlings do not speak that well. Apparently, she thought I was trying to imitate baby speak. Its not an act mother I had finally started teething, and it was massively degrading my pronunciation. My mother was holding small strips of cloth up to my head and comparing them with my hair color so she could fashion a bow for me; I was in the process of being prepared for the visitors as they would want to see me. My plan was to just sit quietly so as to avoid causing a scene since I was not sure I would be able to mimic proper crawling to move around like someone would expect a baby to. Satisfied with her selection, my mother tied a crimson bow to my head and carried me downstairs. That was the first color you tried out I was already getting tired. When we got out into the reception room, my mother put me in a basket. Apparently, she had similar fears to my own regarding my posture. My father was out in the yard talking with one of the higher status villagers and Jacqueline was busying herself with offering people water. My mother gave me one last concerned look before moving slightly away to mingle with some of the women. Stil came over and laid down next to my basket. Sorry, Stil! I cant really play with you right now, that would definitely arouse suspicion! I settled in for what was sure to be a long day and watched the people coming and going from our house. I was able to categorize the well-wishers into three broad categories; The first group consisted of people who seemed to hold little interest in me personally. This group was likely only here to show support for their mayor. The second group was likely those my parents had formed more personal friendships with. My mother would bring these ones over and introduce me to them, an act that elicited some strange looks. Seriously mother, youre causing more suspicion than I am right now! Who would introduce someone to a baby by name? Still, I did my best to memorize their faces to their names in case I needed to know who was later on. It was a largely fruitless endeavor since I couldnt be too obvious about how I was staring at them to learn their faces. The third group consisted of mothers of children similar to my own age. They would come by with their children to see me. The younger ones would be introduced to me by their mothers, unlike my own mothers introductions, these were not formal So and so this is my daughter Stahlia, Stahlia this is so and so introductions. Rather, the mothers were more cooing about how cute I was and telling me about how they looked forward to me and their child being friends. Frankly, I wanted to shout at them not to talk to me in such a condescending tone, but I knew how that would turn out, so I struggled to contain my mounting rage. As I watched the parade of mothers and their young children, I couldnt help but notice how young many of the mothers were. Of course, some of them were around my mothers age in appearance and some were older, but most of them seemed to be somewhere in their late teens. The absolute youngest of them looked to be no older than sixteen. I found out earlier that the age of adulthood in this country is fifteen, but isnt that still a little young to be having kids? I certainly had no intentions to have any kids, or even really to get married. My younger future younger siblings could deal with the line of succession my father seemed so worried about, my own circumstances regarding romance were too complicated to worry about; over the past couple of months, I had finally arrived at the conclusion that the best thing I could do in my situation was to try not to think about it too much. It was the exceptionally young mothers turn to push her infant in my face and coo about how much she looked forward to watching me grow up. I observed her with clinical impassivity as she leaned over my basket with a smile on her face. She was a slim woman with naturally curly sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled at me, and I responded with an appropriate happy giggle, And you must be Stahlia! Arent you just the cutest thing! yea, can you just finish up and move along? Seriously I just want this parade to be over Outwardly I smiled stupidly. Oh, I just know youre going to be such good friends with my Giogi! She turned her arms over slightly to put a pudgy little thing in my face. He had his mothers eyes, but his hair was a shocking shade of red. The infant I could only assume was named Giogi was clutching a rattle and smiled back at me. He was probably about my age, so, one. Ha Stahia! Oh good, it can talk I didnt want to risk betraying my own advanced speech with a poor imitation of a baby voice, even with my currently burning gums helping me out by enforcing mispronunciation so I opted to remain silent. Apparently, Giogi didnt like that choice. Whood! He frowned at me. I continued to meet his gaze without blinking. I might not be able to speak but Im not about to lose a staring contest with a little shit like y- OUCH! The little shit had decided he didnt like being stared at and opted to throw his rattle at me! I see so you have chosen death I opened my mouth and released a shrill scream. His mother looked petrified. Serves you right! This is why kids shouldnt be allowed to have kids! my mother responded to my outcries and rushed over. Scooping me up, she started rocking me and cooing, What is wrong Stahlia darling? I stopped screaming and glared at Giogi, since there was too much attention on us now due to my screams, I couldnt risk telling my mother what had happened. My mother followed my gaze to Giogi and his mother. Giogis mother stood up straight and bowed towards my mother, I am terribly sorry Lady Rosalie, my son struck miss Stahlia with his toy. My mother absorbed the statement and checked my head and face over for any injuries, Well, it seems she is unharmed so do not worry about it too much, Crystil. Giogi is still just a baby She punctuated the just a baby part by squeezing me tightly in such a way that nobody else in the room would notice. just make sure you teach him properly once he is old enough to understand alright? I continued glaring at Giogi. My mother may have betrayed me but just watch out, I have taken your actions as a declaration of war! Crystil bowed and apologized again before then rushing out of the house scolding Giogi as she went. My mother opted to carry me with her for a while, so I was brought around and displayed to several other people before the party started to wind down. The village got dark quickly this time of year and people still had to head home and tend to their own, so we wrapped up a little before we would usually have dinner. As the last guests left my mother put me in my highchair, apparently, I was to wait here until dinner. Stahlia. First, let me say I was very pleased that you did not forget yourself and speak out or do anything else to draw attention. My mother was smiling at me, but her eyes were decidedly cold. I wasnt stupid, in fact, intelligence was currently my one redeeming feature, Mother, how have I upset you? Her smile vanished instantly leaving her face blank. So, you noticed you did something wrong, but cannot figure out what it was? I gulped and nodded. Stahlia, everyone living in this house knows how special you are, but you do not seem to realize exactly how different you are from normal children. Her voice was stern, the last time I heard this tone, I wound up getting grounded. This is confusing, I definitely know how special I am compared to other children. What is my mother talking about? I decided to remain silent in hopes she would explain further, if I said the wrong thing now there was no telling how she might react, Giogi is just a regular baby boy. Normal babies act out from time to time. Mother, are you saying I should have just ignored him when he hit me? I thought that the correct response would have been to scream or start crying. My mother sighed and rubbed a hand against her temples, No Stahlia. Your response was perfect in that regard. I am talking about what I saw in your eyes. I was even more confused now, I had no idea what she meant. Apparently, I had reacted perfectly but still messed up, In my eyes? Yes Stahlia, I saw pure hatred reflected in your eyes. Giogi was only acting his age but you took it personally. I had thought you were very intelligent and mature, but that was not the proper response to have towards a child. Ah I guess shes right, It sounds even worse when you consider that my mental age is around twenty-three. I might hate children, but yea I guess declaring war on an infant is a bit much. Alright Giogi, youve earned a stay of execution for the time being. Use your newfound second chance at life to do some self-reflection. I lowered my head towards my mother, You are right mother, I need to correct my perspectives. As long as you understand. She reached out and pat me, her usual loving smile had returned to her face. After the family dinner, I was brought up to my crib and laid down, Goodnight, Stahlia. Goodnight, Momma. Of course, I had no intention of going to sleep, not yet anyway. I had some things to check out first. Divine Authority, Menu! Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 11 Name/Age: Stahlia, 1 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 1 Experience: 0/1000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Fallen Noble House (Despita, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [locked*] Ability Values: Talents 1/1: [Browse Talents] Prodigy 1* Skills 1/1: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Language Proficiency[Central Human]* Talents Experience: Prodigy 10/1000 YES! My stats went up! My new status values seemed to be roughly ten percent of their, presumably, max values. Based on this info, I can reasonably assume that my current stats are reduced based on my age... looks like one year old is ten percent of the number in parenthesis. Presumably, that''s my maximum at level one. Now that I have some numbers to work with, I can try some things out. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to imagine a gentle wind. In these settings, magic was often controlled via a mental picture. Indeed, now that I had more than one mana point, I was trying to figure out how to employ my mana. If I could learn magic, I would be able to defend myself a bit if any of those black-market people caught wind of me. What I was currently trying, was a method that was fairly common in a fantasy setting; you would imagine an effect while focusing on your inner self in order to produce the effect through expending mana. I was focusing and imagining a gentle wind blowing on my face. Unfortunately, it was not having any effect. Well, it would have been too much to hope for it to work on the first try. Lets think about it a little. Therere two possibilities. A. I dont have enough mana to make this work yet, if thats the case then there isnt anything I can do. I would either have to level up, which I obviously cant do or I would have to wait another year and try again. Lets hope its option B Option B was pretty simple, namely, I was wrong about how magic worked. I started trying out a variety of things; I chanted the names that might have been spells in my head. Airburst! Windblast! Ember! Spark! Crackle! Pebble Shot! Combustion! Light Orb! Waterball! Ignition! Aerio! but no matter what names I came up with, I couldnt produce any effect. Next, I turned to whisper the names aloud. Some settings I could remember required you to say the name of a spell since silent chanting would have made battle scenes less interesting. This was particularly a thing in certain JRPGs. Even though I risked alerting my parents to my endeavors, I still saw no success. Dont tell me this is a setting where you need a special attribute to use magic? As soon as I had that thought I felt the blood drain from my face. In my excitement, I had forgotten; when I was browsing classes, all of the caster types had Talents like Fire Magic 1 or Lightning Magic 1. Dont tell me I have to somehow acquire a talent to be able to use magic! That would mean the only way my plan will work is by leveling up to get more talent slots, not to mention LP I have eleven now, but I still have no idea what I did to get them! I sank back into my pillow as despair filled my heart. Of all the possibilities this one seemed the most likely. I suppose this means I just have to figure out a way to somehow get experience and level up. Nothing I can do about that now, Ill have to work on it in the morning. I emptied my mind and closed my eyes before drifting off into sleep. I sat up with a jolt. Just as I was falling asleep, I had felt something crawling. I quickly patted myself down looking for any bugs. Not finding anything on my body, I checked around the bedding. Satisfied that there was nothing in bed with me, I lay back down. I wonder what that was? Maybe it was a moth or a fly As I again dropped off to sleep, I felt the crawling again. This time, instead of jumping up I cautiously tracked the crawling sensation as it wandered around my body. When I feel it get back to my chest Ill smack whatever it is and hopefully kill it. The crawling traced a path back to my chest as I thought that, and I immediately swung my arm in and smacked myself. Indeed, I only managed to hit myself, and it hurt. As soon as I had thought about swinging my arm, the crawling sensation ran its way across my shoulder and spread out through the arm I had planned to move. I could feel the part of my chest I had smacked stinging. It felt like I had been paddled. I suddenly hit upon a striking theory. Trying very hard to contain my excitement, I whispered Divine Authority, Menu to myself. As soon as I read the section of the menu, I was interested I couldnt help but smile dumbly. I could use my mana without one of those talents, I just couldnt produce a spell with them. What I had just done was a physical enhancement technique that used mana. I had probably enhanced my speed by sending mana into my arm, causing my arm to move really fast, like a fly swatter. Ability Values: Based on what I was seeing, I could assume that that crawling sensation was my mana. I hadnt been able to feel it until I had entered the right mental state, namely the calm just before sleep. Thats not going to be easy to do if Im being kidnapped Still, at least I confirmed I can use magic. Ill have to experiment. Feeling especially giddy I finally went to sleep. The next morning when I woke up and checked my status again and saw that my mana had fully recovered. I quickly got to experimenting. Over the next week, I was able to figure out basically all the basic details about my enhancement magic, but the actual specifics were still vague. Still, I was sure I would figure them out with time. I could enhance my entire body evenly or focus on only a specific limb. The attribute that got enhanced would be determined by my intentions. When I had thought about trying to kill whatever was crawling on me, I wound up enhancing my dexterity since that would allow my arm to move faster. The strength of the enhancement would depend on how much of my body I was enhancing at once as well as how much mana I was using. When I had enhanced my arm, I had instinctively pushed all my mana into it at once, this gave me a single instant of incredible speed for that arm but resulted in me instantly burning through all my mana. Tangentially, I made an additional discovery related to Attribute Values. Rather than being a single monolith, each attribute seemed to be a sum of its parts. When I enhanced my physical strength in only one arm, it was the same numerical change as when I used the same amount of mana to enhance my whole body. That means that the actual number for my strength probably refers to the strength of all of my muscles added together. Unfortunately, I only had enough mana to keep up a really weak enhancement for a few seconds at most, so I was pretty much only a single step past the starting line. Still, I am only one year old. I have two more years to figure out how to deal with everyone learning about my custom class. 1-6 J1: An Unassuming Maid Jacqueline My name is currently Jacqueline. I have had this name for the past three years. Before that, I was Marguerite I do not know what name my mother had given me, as I never knew her. I am a shadow, in service to the crown. I do not exist. I was born with the rare class Slitter. The Slitter class gave me skills suited for subterfuge and eventually evolves into more advanced spy and assassin-oriented classes. As such, when a child is found who possesses this class or a similar one, the Order of Shadows is informed, and the child is collected. The parents are told that their child has no class, and the toddler is replaced with a Doppelganger Homunculus that is designed to die of fever after a few months. In this manner, Shadows are raised to serve the crown in the Temple Academy. It is my great honor to serve the kingdom. My current assignment was to act as a maid for the sole surviving members of the former Duke Despita family. The third prince had intervened in the deposition of the house to protect his childhood friend, and my primary objective was to monitor the family for any treasonous actions, and silence them if deemed necessary. That mission changed following a series of reports I sent back to the Master of Shadows. Normally it is unheard of for a mission objective of a field agent to be altered without a full debriefing, but Stahlia defies normality. I send monthly reports on the activities of my target family, I usually do not receive any replies. That pattern was broken when shortly after I started sending reports involving the actions of Stahlia. Report, 30th day of the twelfth month, Year 935 There have been no notable changes in the behavior of the observation-elimination targets since the last report. Primary Target has conducted himself admirably in all respects, they care greatly for Secondary Target, and have even been straining their finances somewhat in order to procure Secondary Targets expensive potions. Secondary Target has remained bedridden for the past two months following complications. Secondary Target is worried that the condition of their unborn child is dire, and frequently requests Primary Target procure rarer and rarer healing tonics in an attempt to save the unborn child. The local doctor has been visiting once a week for the past month to perform regular health checks. He assures Primary and Secondary Targets that there is nothing wrong. Primary Target believes him, but Secondary Target remains worried. Private observation of the doctor reveals that he does not believe the baby will be viable. Secondary Targets fears were allayed on the 13th day of the twelfth month when she gave successfully birth to a daughter. The child took an abnormal length of time before it started breathing but was successfully stimulated by the doctor. The baby was named Stahlia and I have given her the temporary designation of Tertiary Target. Tertiary Target seems to be possessed of some illness. The infant does not cry or fuss. Their daily routine consists of thrashing about until exhausted before sleeping until roused for feeding. In the weeks since their birth, they have not once uttered any sound, save for the noises their limbs make as they impact her bedding. Response, 30th day of the first month, Year 936 Report received and acknowledged. Recognition of Tertiary Target under that designation. Continue Observation with monthly reports. This was the first time I had received a response to any of my reports, but I had expected this one. The brevity of the response was also as expected; I had been here for a year already, but this was the first time I had had to report on a new observation target. That was the only notable thing I had observed so far on my mission. In my personal opinion, the observation-elimination targets had no inclinations towards treason. Rather, they seemed to be outwardly and inwardly hateful towards the former head of the Duke Despita Family. Still, my personal feelings were irrelevant, if it was the will of the kingdom then I would put aside my own feelings and carry out the elimination portion of my mission without any hesitation. Report, 30th day of the second month, Year 936 Primary Target and Secondary target both seem to be concerned over the health of Tertiary target. While Primary Target remains stoic when in the presence of Secondary Target, he privately expresses his distress; Primary Target has been spending more and more time away from the household. In order to maintain my cover, I have not been able to follow him as closely as I would like. However, I do not believe that he is doing anything untoward in his absences; by all accounts, he is simply afraid for his first child and wishes to not burden Secondary Target. Secondary Target has refused to leave the side of Tertiary Target; this has further exacerbated my ability to observe the family, as maintaining my cover as a maid requires me to attend to a great deal more housework than I normally would be responsible for, without the assistance of Secondary Target Tertiary Target has not broken their routine since the last report. They are seemingly in a constant state of distress, spending every moment apart from feeding and sleeping violently throwing about their limbs. However, they have yet not vocalized their distress in any way. I suspect that they may have an ailment of the mind preventing them from vocalizing. I would like to request an additional operative be assigned to assist in the observation-elimination mission until such a time as Tertiary Target has calmed, and Secondary Target returns to their normal activity patterns. With things as they are, I am unable to provide adequate surveillance of Primary Target while still maintaining my cover. I sent off the report and waited an hour before retiring to sleep. No response had been issued within the allotted window. On one hand, this meant that I could not expect additional assets for my assignment. On the other, it also indicated that the former Duke Despita family had become a lower priority for the Shadow Order. Considering my personal conclusions, this was likely a good thing; I had grown quite fond of this family during my mission and did not have any particular desire to eliminate them. The situation continued in this manner until midway through the third month of year 936. Report, 30th day of the third month, Year 936 Primary and Secondary Targets have not demonstrated any major deviations to their routines since the beginning of this year. Primary Target remains distant from Tertiary Target; my conclusion is that he is still concerned for Tertiary Targets life and does not want to allow himself to grow too attached. Secondary Target remains distressed and is constantly beside Tertiary Target. I have attempted to offer to care for Tertiary Target in her stead but was vehemently rejected. I do not believe my true goals have been uncovered. It is more likely that Tertiary Targets condition reminds Secondary Target of her younger sister who was seized by fever and died before their dedication. As for Tertiary Target, I have noted a subtle change in their behavior. Following an encounter with the family Watch-Stawri Stil, Tertiary Target has developed a keen interest in their surroundings. I wrote this off at first as coincidence, however, I have continued to make incidental observations of Tertiary Target fixedly staring at various objects in and around their surroundings; far more often than would be considered normal for an infant. I have also overheard phonetic sounds mixed in with Tertiary Targets verbalizations. Those observations aside, the physical state of Tertiary Target has not changed; their routine of extreme activity followed by exhaustion and long sleep continues. Once again, I received no response to my report. I sighed as I retired to bed. Despite the opines of Lady Rosalie, I shared the opinions of the doctor, who was presently visiting once every other week or so to examine infant Stahlia. I had examined Stahlia myself once earlier this month when everyone was sleeping and had been unable to find any physical abnormalities with her. However, I was beginning to have my suspicions about the girl; I could not very well report on these suspicions due to lack of any conclusive proof, but when she would pause thrashing in order to inspect some object, I would almost see an adult-like look of intense concentration on her face. I had the feeling that somehow the nigh three-month-old infant was somehow comprehending her surroundings. With those frightful thoughts, I allowed myself to enter a state of half-sleep. Report, 30th day of the sixth month, Year 936 As per the previous months report, Primary Target has had no apparent changes to their behavior patterns; he continues to tend lovingly to Secondary Target. It is my opinion that they are now convinced that Tertiary Target will pass away before their first year and are attempting to comfort Secondary Target in their own clumsy way. Secondary Target has begun to struggle with severe mental exhaustion. Since my last report, they have further reduced their sleep from five to four hours on average. I fear that if Tertiary Target does not recover or expire soon it will lead to the death of Secondary Target. As an aside, now that Primary Target has begun spending more time caring for Secondary Target my observations have returned to their original level of coverage. Towards the end of this month, Tertiary Target, despite being a mere six months of age, has developed the ability to crawl. While Primary Target considers this a good sign, it has for some reason caused Secondary Targets worry to only increase. The first time it happened, Tertiary Target managed to escape the sight of Secondary Target in only a few moments. Tertiary Target was found a half-hour later trying to get up the stairs. This feat of navigation and evasion would only have been possible if Tertiary Target had some idea as to the layout of the home. After sending off my report, like usual I waited one hour for a report. At around the fifty-minute mark, after I had determined I likely would not be receiving a reply, I had begun preparing myself to retire for the night. My Oracle Stone flashed green. Immediately returning to my small desk I tapped the stone to access the reply. Response, 30th day of the sixth month, Year 936 Report Received and elevated to a higher authority. Enter standby state and await further instructions by the end of the week. I read the message over twice more to memorize it then tapped the Oracle Stone three times to erase the message. This was the first time on any of my assignments I had ever been informed of one of my reports being elevated. Due to the number of Shadows deployed at any given time, monthly reports were typically handled by a team of retired Shadows; those who had grown either too old or been injured to the extent that they could no longer perform fieldwork. These semi-retired Shadows would each be responsible for a handful of field agents and handle their reports according to their own judgment. If a report was deemed especially important, they would take it to one of the Deep Shadows, veteran Shadows who took their orders and gave reports directly from the Lord of Shadows. When not deployed on a field assignment of their own they would work administratively to assist the Lord in running the Order. The stand-by order was another first for me; it indicated that my mission was either going to be recalled or its operational procedures altered drastically. Wondering over what was about to happen, I allowed myself to enter my half-sleep. As it turned out, I did not have long to wait. The next day I checked the Oracle Stone and saw that it had a faint red glow. This signified that I had missed a message and it had been recorded; the light would slowly fade until disappearing, at which point the message would be auto erased. The light was almost faded now, meaning that this message had been sent very early in the morning. They told me a week, but they sent an update after less than twenty-four hours I hurriedly tapped the stone to have it display the message. Notice, 1st day of the seventh month, Year 936 Reports concerning Tertiary Target have escalated over the previous months. The information provided indicated that Tertiary Target is displaying abnormal physical and mental development. Jacqueline is authorized to provide their own conjecture. Respond immediately upon confirming this message. Exception to Standard protocol is permitted under the authority of Deep Shadow Five. I sucked in my breath. This was highly abnormal. Reports were kept monthly because repeated rapid use of Oracle Stones could be discovered by a mage specializing in detection magic. Furthermore, of the current Deep Shadows, Five was particularly high ranked. It was unknown to anyone other than the Lord of Shadows exactly how many agents had the position of Deep Shadow, but every Deep Shadow was given a number as a permanent designation. Five indicated that my reports had been sent to one of the single digits and that single-digit had opted to violate message protocols. I had also been authorized to give my own conjectures on the situation. Normally, Shadows on a mission were not permitted to allow their own thoughts and feelings to intrude on their official reports. If a single digit wanted my own opinion, it meant one of my reports had contained something extremely significant. Thinking back over all the reports I had sent since Stahlias birth I tried to figure out what that was but could not think of anything. I resigned myself and put my hand on the Oracle Stone to compose my response. Knowing that Five was going to read what I said made my stomach twist. Response, 1st day of the seventh month, Year 936 It is Jacquelines conjecture that Tertiary Target is extremely abnormal. Observing them, I get the sense that they are not merely thrashing about due to malady. Following the events of her developing the ability to crawl, it is my conjecture that Tertiary Target knew how to crawl and was attempting to build up the strength to do so I cannot fathom how that would be possible, but I get the sense that she is aware of her surroundings and is seeking a way to interact with the world. I sent my message and sat back. I was mentally going back over all my reports again, trying to determine what I had sent that triggered all of this when the Oracle Stone flashed green again. That was fast! I didnt think that I would be getting a response until tomorrow morning Dont tell me I made a single-digit wait all day for me to see their message! I somewhat apprehensively received the message. Response II, 1st day of the seventh month, Year 936 Notice: Observation-Elimination mission is hereby suspended. New mission for Jacqueline is as follows. Protection-Observation of Primary Target. Primary Target identity: Stahlia Rosalie-daughter. Mission duration: nine-and-one-half years. Secondary Target Fynn and Tertiary Target Rosalie are Protection Targets only; observation other than on incidental matters related to Primary Target is deemed unnecessary. Continue with month-end reports. Mission handling and oversight will be handled by Deep Shadow Five. I read the message three times to memorize it and then erased the message log. I sat back and stretched. Protection-Observation missions were exceedingly rare; Shadows usually only undertook them when a member of the royal family or someone equally as important to the kingdom was traveling incognito. Not to mention that the only person who can authorize this type of mission is the Lord of Shadows himself what exactly did I report that lead to this?! I would not be getting any sleep tonight. Report, 30th of the seventh month, Year 936 Primary Target has demonstrated the ability to communicate her desires in a clear manner. Despite lacking the ability to speak as of yet. Primary Target has developed a system wherein she will be carried to the desired location by Secondary Target R. Primary Target first announces her desire to be moved by screaming once. Upon being collected, she will point to the desired location. Once being set down; she will busy herself observing whatever catches her attention. Secondary Target F. no longer seems to believe Primary Target is on the verge of death, but still calls upon the town doctor at the request of Secondary Target R., who has taken to confiding in Primary Target about all the worries she is experiencing due to Primary Targets actions. I had half expected to receive a response given the new nature of my mission but when none was forthcoming, I turned in for the night. Over the course of the next several months, Stahlia would only continue to betray my expectations. Whatever analyst had looked over my reports and predicted her behavior was skilled; indeed, I no longer held any illusions about her potential to benefit the kingdom. Report, 30th of the eighth month, 936 Primary Target has begun speaking in broken sentences. Rather than one or two words, she has demonstrated the ability to speak out her full thoughts, albeit clumsily. This revelation caused the local doctor to be summoned once again; this time he brought with him a passing mage who was capable of casting chanted appraisal magic albeit only of the lowest grade. The magician cast it on Primary Target while she was sleeping, the results were as follows: Strength E, Endurance D, Dexterity C, Intelligence B, Charisma D, Mana D. It is my recommendation that the mage is eliminated, or mind-wiped to preserve potential leaks regarding Primary Target. I have determined that he is traveling West towards the imperial capital using main highways. According to his adventurer card, he is C ranked and goes by the name Devlin. I would estimate his threat level towards my mission to be low but given the importance of the Protection-Observation mission, I would prefer to avoid taking any risks. Report, 30th of the ninth month, 936 Primary Target has made rapid progress in the development of speech; due to Tertiary Target R. making the effort to talk to her as much as possible on a myriad of topics. Primary Target is now capable of fully articulating speech and clearly conveying her thoughts despite being only nine months of age. There was an incident towards the end of the month wherein Stahlia was being domestically trained; apparently, Primary Target had reached the conclusion that she was in fact a he. This misunderstanding was likely triggered by Secondary Target F. discussing his desire for a male heir. Following this revelation Primary Target has shut herself away in a state of depression. Primary Targets current mental state is similar to that of a midlife crisis despite her young age. Secondary Targets both seem to be concerned about Primary Targets safety and seem to be taking precautions by leading the town to believe she is very sickly and thus cannot be brought out of the home. This is helped along with the doctors frequent visits to examine her. Report, 30th of the eleventh month, 936 Primary Target was taken out of the house by Secondary Target R. earlier this month. Primary Target was instructed to act the part of an infant in order to hide her abnormality. I tailed them in secret as per my mission objective. During a stop at the local alchemist, Primary Target correctly identified the extremely rare potion Concentrated Mana as being mana restorative in nature, despite having never received any formal training in the field of alchemy. This caused the alchemist to discover Primary Targets abnormal development, the stress of which fainted Secondary Target R. Upon being questioned by the alchemist, Primary target first attempted to dodge around the question of how she knew about Mana Concentrate, but at the alchemists insistence she claimed that Blue potions are for mana. While she is technically correct, most restoratives commonly available are colorless. Despite reviewing all my previous observations, I cannot find an instance wherein Primary Target would have learned this fact. Primary Target then requested the alchemists silence about her abnormality. When it looked like he was hesitating, I placed myself in his line of sight and, while keeping my head and face hidden, half drew my dagger, the sight of which caused him to agree to keep the secret. I would like authorization to eliminate him to prevent the spread of information, as I cannot do so under my own judgment, as Primary Target has direct contact with him. Following this incident, Primary Target has been confined until her one-year ceremony. However, the purpose of the excursion appears to have been successful, rather than returning to her depressed state. Primary Target excitedly sought information about when her ceremony was. After sending this message, I opened my storage trunk and removed the false bottom to access my Shadow Robe, and began preparing my weaponry; given the nature of Stahlias protection mission, I fully expected to be given my authorization. It was a shame; Sven had done much for the family with his potions, but I had to put my mission ahead of my feelings. Stahlias protection must be assured at all costs and Sven knew too much. As expected, I saw my Oracle Stone flash green. Accessing and reading the response, I frowned and started putting away my tools. This new order was going to be difficult. Response, 30th of the eleventh month, 936 Request for elimination denied. The alchemist is hereby designated Tertiary Target, extending operation to cover him in addition to existing Protection-Observation orders. A second Shadow will be dispatched to take over Observation of Tertiary Target, expect their arrival in one week. Additionally, Arrange for Primary Target to meet with Tertiary Target again, ideally in a setting where she will be exposed to the alchemy work; it is deemed likely that she may have an Alchemy Prodigy talent due to observations made thus far. Prodigy talents were extremely rare. Theoretically, only one in a million people was born with them, but that could not be counted on as a ratio due to high infant mortality; prodigies that reached adulthood were closer to one in ten million, or even one in a hundred million. That would explain why Stahlia was made a Protection-Observation target... based on her abnormal growth it must have been determined that she possessed one of the Prodigy type talents, and her identifying the Mana Concentrate would lend credence to her being an Alchemy Prodigy. I started considering how I would arrange her meeting with the alchemist, her parents would certainly be against the idea following the events of the first meeting. Report, 30th of the twelfth month, 936 Following the incident reported in the previous month, I have been unable to arrange a situation for Primary Target to meet Tertiary Target again; Secondary Targets are currently extremely wary of Tertiary Target and react negatively when he is brought up in casual conversation. While waiting for her one-year ceremony, Primary Target has managed to bond with the family Watch-Stawri. She has been allowed close enough to pet its feathers on multiple occasions and has even been roughing them with her fingertips. Not only does the Stawri tolerate this behavior, despite the species normal reactions, it actively seeks out these interactions; since the first incident, the Stawri has added feather roughing into its daily routine. The Stawri now waits for Primary Target to rough its feathers and will not perform its patrols until she does so. When questioned about the situation, Primary Target informed me that Stil just likes having his head scratched. Primary Targets One Year ceremony proceeded largely without incident, though Primary Target was struck on the head by another infant. Following the attack, I was suddenly hit with a wave of bloodlust from the Primary Target, though it quickly abated after Secondary Target R. picked her up and started soothing her. The killing intent expressed by Primary Target was strong enough to cause the other infants mother to instinctively flee, though I believe I am the only one who actually noticed the source, Secondary Target R. later chided Primary Target for expressing hatred towards a mere infant when she herself should have known better. Amazingly, the reprimand caused the lingering bloodlust to almost instantly vanish. Whether or not Primary Target truly accepted the chiding, or simply understood her killing intent had been discovered and suppressed it, is unknown. Report, 30th of the first month, 937 I have still been unable to arrange a meeting between Primary Target and Tertiary target; Secondary Target R. does not bring Primary Target with her when visiting Tertiary Targets shop, though she does bring Primary Target with her on other errands at least once a week. When discussing Tertiary Target, Secondary Targets still react with hostility. Through shadowing them on these trips, I have observed Primary Target asking simple questions about things she sees through the use of appropriately stilted speech. Primary Target expressed particular interest in the local smithy when she accompanied Secondary Target R. to collect a kitchen knife that had been reforged. She also expressed interest in a general goods store and a bakery, though not to the same degree as the smithy. At the general goods store, she seemed particularly excited about a combustion fruit after asking what it was for and begged her mother to buy her one; Secondary Target R. of course refused, citing how dangerous they were. At the bakery Primary Target took great interest in watching the bread rising. Later, on the way home I overheard her comment that it was strange as they werent using yeast. Report, 30th of the third month, 937 As stated in previous reports, I have been unable to arrange a meeting. Primary Target approached me on the 16th of the month and requested I procure her a portion of seasoned jerky, and that I not tell her parents. When questioned why she wanted it, she told me it was for the Watch-Stawri because he does not know any tricks, so I want to teach him. Intrigued, I agreed to provide her some jerky. Primary Target spent the remainder of the month between excursions with her mother attempting to get the Watch-Stawri to perform a series of simple actions. When he did what she wanted, she would provide a piece of the seasoned jerky. Though the actions were simple enough, the fact that she has been able to get the creature to do anything at all with such a simple method is impressive in its own right. To provide one example, the Watch-Stawri, when told to sit will now adopt a sitting pose. It has also been taught to Lay down and Rollover. Now, she is attempting to teach it to shake which purportedly will involve it lifting its right front talon and shaking hands with however gave it the order. Secondary Target F. was at first upset when he found out what she was doing but became amused when she had the Stawri rollover and is now providing her with more jerky when she asks. There have been reports coming in of a group of bandits setting up along the road out of town; while I would not normally report this, none of the militia scouts have returned from the investigation. I would request that the Shadow assigned to Observe Tertiary target be dispatched to investigate; I cannot leave my protection target for the required length of time. I stood up and turned to head to bed. As I was undressing, I heard the bark of a Stawri from outside my window in the garden. Straightening up I strained my ears and moved towards my trunk. Opening the lid on oiled hinges, I carefully removed the false bottom. I could hear from the street, about ten of them, but they were too far away for me to make out what was being said. Reaching into my trunk I quickly grabbed my shadow cloak and slipped into it, then grabbing my short sword and dagger belt, I moved swiftly out the window and dropped into the garden. Slipping through the shadows, I ascended the side of the house and perched on the roof. Below me, I could see the Watch-Stawri pacing back and forth by the gate. I could see over the wall from my vantage point and observed eleven men with a variety of armaments, all of whom were wearing a rag wrapped around their faces. Presently, they were arguing about what to do about the Stawri. Apparently, they had believed that it spent the night inside. They could easily kill it as singular Stawri were only a rank E monster, but if they attacked it would make a very loud racket as it died easily waking up the residents of all the surrounding houses; that was why they were favored as guards. I backed up until I was behind the chimney and activated a skill. Melting into the shadow the chimney cast in the moonlight, I stepped out on the other side of the street from the men in the shadow of a doorway. [Shadow Step] was a skill that allowed the user to step through one shadow and emerge out of another within line of sight. It was outclassed by the superior [Shadow Walk] which allowed you to physically enter the world of shadows and move freely for a few seconds, but for my purposes, it would suffice. Reaching inside my cloak, I selected a Combustion Fruit and lightly tossed it up and towards the house. Upon impact with the wall, the skin of the fruit produced a spark. Combustion Fruit was a valuable tool for people who couldnt use fire magic; it was technically the seed of a monster called the Flame Ent but they were easy enough to gather if you were careful. The fruits were filled with combustible gas, and the skin had streaks of metal in it; when throne a spark would ignite the gas causing a small explosion. For some reason, this fruit really intrigued Stahlia. Between her abnormal growth, palatable bloodlust, and interest in pyrotechnics I worry about her future Good luck raising your daughter Lady Rosalie! As the explosion went off it cast a bright flash of light on the other side of the wall creating a deep shadow. As the men were covered by the shadow I stabbed my sword into the wall behind me. My sword was imbued with the dark attribute and was able to enter one shadow and exit another, much like the Shadow Step skill. It was a very useful skill for assassination and surprise attacks. My sword severed the throat of one of the men, the blood spray coated the faces of three more as he fell to the ground. I ran out of cover and into the midst of the men slashing as I went. Every swing I made slit open the carotid artery of another threat. Due to my [Clean Killing] skill that had come with my original Slitter class, anybody I killed in a surprise attack would not bleed but would still suffer the effects of any wounds they received. I wanted to take down as many of the men in this way before they discovered me; there would be less mess to clean up later. I managed to drop five more men, leaving me with six of them left before they recovered. Of the six, two were still wiping blood from their eyes. Tch, I was slow. I easily should have been able to take down at least eight of them. One of the men, who I could presume was the leader hissed a command to the men in a low voice. Fuck! Cover me! He then jumped back and continued to walk backward away from me, opening his mouth and beginning to chant a magic incantation in an urgent whisper. I had no idea what spell he was trying to cast; I could only consider myself lucky he had to chant and was not using a talent for it. Either way, magic was bad news. Well, all this means is Im on a timer now, how exciting! I darted forward and gored one of the still blind men through the eye with my sword while drawing and throwing a dagger at one of the other men. He raised a crude shield to try and block the projectile, but it sliced straight through the shield and buried itself into his chest. He looked down in disbelief only to clutch at his chest in agony, his mouth wide open but no scream forthcoming. I gave a thin smile at his companions who were watching him in stunned horror. My daggers carried sharpness enchantments that let them easily carve through lesser materials like butter. If he had not blocked it with a shield first it likely would have gone straight through him and hit the man behind as well. As the finishing touch, I had coated all my blades with Grave Oil, any flesh touched by the oil would immediately rot away. The man had been unable to scream in pain because I had hit him in the joining branch that connected his throat to his lungs. Four more peons and then the mage Suddenly ducking forward, I narrowly avoided the ax swung at me from my blind spot. I transitioned my dodge into a forward roll and sprang upright using the momentum to duck into the reach of another man, close enough that we could have been mistaken for lovers had we not been trying to kill each other, I twisted the dagger I had stabbed under his ribs and into his heart. This man must have been much braver than the others; even knowing he was dead he closed his arms around me to try and hold me in place. He didnt even manage to slow me down. I employed a talent, [Flexible V] to dislocate my shoulders and elbows then slipped right out of his embrace. The man who had previously attacked me from behind had made his way within striking distance again, rather than dodging, I whipped my right arm backward and decapitated him smoothly. The attack came from an angle he lacked the skill to block or evade since it was completely impossible; my wrist, elbow, and shoulder were still dislocated. Suddenly, the air started to leave my lungs. The whole series of exchanges had taken less than three seconds since the mage had backed away, but it seems my timer had run out. Its a good thing he picked such an inefficient spell, or he might have actually killed me. I mean this spell could definitely kill me, but I could easily fight for a minute without air so its way too slow. I guess that means I win. Looking at the mage, I could tell; he was the brains of this little operation. The mage had more or less correctly identified all of my abilities. He took care to stand in a well-open area and had conjured little light balls around himself to banish any nearby shadows. His only mistake was going with a slow but sure kill instead of a swift but risky one. I tried to sigh to express my dissatisfaction with him but of course, my lungs were empty at the moment; so I just opened and closed my mouth like a fish. One of the two remaining minions found the sight amusing and let out a snicker. I glanced at him and used another skill. [Blink Blade] was a skill I had only recently acquired but it was devastatingly effective. Whatever I was looking at when I blinked, I would move instantly behind. It only looked instant; I was just propelled incredibly quickly. This meant that by holding a sword, I could slice while I moved. As I arrived behind him, I looked at the last minion. He turned to run from me so I threw my sword through the back of his head. Looking at the mage I could see the light from his orbs reflecting off his sweat. Calmly, I walked over to the man I had hit with my thrown sword and retrieved it. I wanted his stomach to twist with anxiety and fear, so I inspected my blade and then briefly wiped it clean of gore before starting to approach the mage. The whole time I walked I kept a thin smile on my face; I wanted him unnerved as he died. Apparently, it worked as he broke and ran. The instant he moved I could breathe again as he broke concentration on the spell. More importantly, in his panic, he forgot about one of my abilities. By running out of his circle of light orbs he was suddenly casting shadows again. I swung my sword down and activated its ability. The mage fell gurgling to the ground. Looking around at all the bodies, I sighed. I hate this part I collected all the bodies and moved them into a pile in an alleyway so that if anybody happened by while I was working, I would remain unseen. Propping the leaders corpse up, I drew a special knife from a hidden sheath and stabbed it through his ear into his brain. Slowly, the corpse opened its eyes. Were you attempting to kidnap Stahlia? The corpse nodded. This dagger carried a limited use necromancy spell. I could only use it at night and could only reanimate the neck up. The corpse possessed no awareness but could access any memories stored in the brain. It might sound highly convenient, but not animating the chest region meant the corpse could only answer yes or no questions by nodding. Unfortunately, the leader was a mage, so I could not risk taking him alive, and there was no guarantee a mook would have known anything important. As for the worst part, one of the three gems in the knifes hilt lost its glow. It had a very short duration, so I had to be quick. Was this all your men? Nod. Were you lot the bandits who have been camping near town? Nod. Did the person who gave you your orders hail from the Drakas Kingdom? Shake. Were they from an adjacent kingdom? Shake. Were they the last gems light faded, and the body fell limp. I swore to myself and stood up. Giving a stretch, I checked the position of the moon was casting the correct level of shadows on the alley I was in. I moved a little away from the corpses and began reciting a spell. It was a long incantation that took me nearly three minutes to say. As might be expected, it was much, much stronger than the breathless spell the mage had cast in three seconds earlier. As I finished the cast, the shadows around the piled corpses twisted and swelled up to cover the bodies before retreating. The bodies were, of course, gone. I took a moment to lean on the wall to rest. After a brief respite, I went back into the street and began scattering a white powder over the blood splashes. Using another spell, this one much easier to cast, I was able to make a light orb that caused blood to glow brightly when illuminated by it. In this way, I would be able to avoid missing any blood. Within an hour, the blood would be dissolved into water and iron dust. Retreating into my room, I put away my tools and retrieved my Oracle Stone to make an emergency report. Report, 30th of the fourth month, 937 Shortly after the incident with the bandits, Primary Target approached Secondary Targets and requested they give her a dagger that she could carry with her In case any kidnappers come after me. I nearly dropped the tray of tea I was carrying but managed to save face by saying I had tripped. Primary Targets request was, predictably, refused but she seemed to have assumed it would be. Primary Target then asked if she could buy a dagger if she managed to get the money herself. While Secondary Target R. was completely against the idea, Secondary Target F. seemed to find his daughters determined and serious expression adorable so he laughingly assented. I believe he may have been a bit drunk, as anyone who knew Primary Target would have been able to figure out that she already had a plan to get the money. I confronted Primary Target in her room and asked her what she was plotting. She informed me that she was going to make a new medicine to cure the sleep debuff. Bearing in mind my standing orders to get her exposed to alchemy, I agreed to assist her in gathering what supplies she needed and not tell her parents but extracted a promise that she would not work by herself, as some of the materials could be quite dangerous if handled improperly; namely, Combustion Fruit and Air Powder. We completed her little project a few weeks later, and she demonstrated the effectiveness of the project by causing her mother to faint and then immediately reviving her. Secondary Target R. was understandably less than impressed, however, due to his military service, Secondary Target S. was notably impressed when she informed him that she had made the medicine using only commonly available items and conducted all work under the supervision of Jacqueline. When questioned I expressed assent to her story and suggested we sell the recipe to Tertiary Target. Secondary Targets reluctantly agreed. Tertiary Target was incredibly impressed when he was told the effectiveness of the medicine and purchased the recipe for 100,000 Draks and the promise that he would help Primary Target expand her alchemy ability. To secure the assent of the Secondary Targets, I was forced to reveal the possibility of Primary Target having the [Alchemy Prodigy] skill, however Primary Target is now permitted to work at Tertiary Targets shop one day a week as long as she was chaperoned, a duty I quickly volunteered for. Secondary Target R. was loathed to allow someone else to chaperone, but I gently reminded her how it would look if she began spending the whole day with Tertiary Target, and she reluctantly agreed. The manufacturing method for Smelling Salts should be making its way to the capital through the Alchemists Guild. Regarding the 100,000 Draks, Primary Target acquired for herself a Steel Dagger using 7,000 of them and presented the remainder to her parents to make up for the medical expenses I inadvertently caused when I was little. As such, despite the sudden monetary influx to the target household, Secondary Target has not turned to embezzlement of government funds like his late elder brother had done. Psycholo 1-7 Mount and Blade Stahlia One Year Old, Fourth Month of 938 Presently, I was sat on the edge of my bed. Thats right, a bed. My dear mother and father had finally seen fit to replace my crib with a proper childrens bed after my first birthday. From the outside, it may appear as if I was staring into space, but I was in fact deep in thought studying a new entry on my status screen. This had all started a couple of months ago. Second Month, 938 I was not making any progress with my self-defense plans; I had gotten quite good at my enhancement magic but had hit a wall. The limit of what I could do with my present mana capacity was completely insufficient. I was now able to maintain an enhancement of +5 for three seconds, but no matter how I spent my mana, that was seemingly my limit. I would need more mana in order to increase the effect or to extend the duration. I could also get a higher bonus by shortening the duration, or a longer duration by lowering the bonus, but I regarded both of those options as a fruitless endeavor. +5 was barely large enough to make a noticeable difference, and if I shortened the duration then I may as well not even have enhanced myself at all; once the enhancement ran out, I would be out of mana. I needed to level up, but I still had not found a way to gain any experience. I suspected I would have to fight monsters to level up, but I could hardly go out and fight a monster with my body the way it was now. Even a lowly goblin, whose ability scores I remembered as being E across the board would likely be stronger than me in my present state since my own abilities were still only a tenth of their max value. Thusly, out of boredom, I had asked my father for some seasoned preserved meat; I wanted to teach Stil to sit and lie down. My father refused, telling me that Stawri do not need something as expensive as seasoned meat; they are perfectly content with raw scraps. I had pouted and begged, doing my best adorable daughter impression but had not been able to make him change his mind. After some thought, I came up with a scheme. Jacqueline, our familys maid seemed oddly attached to me. She didnt talk much but she was always watching me with a pleasant smile on her face and would always quickly take care of me whenever some inconvenience befell me, and my mother was not around. Additionally, she assisted my father in managing the household budget so she would be able to siphon a little bit of money if I managed to convince her that is. I approached Jacqueline with the same adorable daughter act that I had used on my father and posed the question of if she would get me some preserved meats. Jacqueline, do you think that maybe the next time you go out shopping, you could get me one or two strips of jerky? I made sure to smile pleasantly and bat my eyelashes while tilting my head ever so slightly. Jacqueline stopped chopping the potatoes on her cutting board and looked down at me quizzically, And what would you need something like that for? If you wanted a snack or treat, I would assume Master Fynn would be sure to indulge you. I frowned and puffed up my cheeks in a pout. Father said I did not need any you see, its not for me, I want it for Stil! Jacqueline tilted her head to the side, And why would you want to give something like that to a Stawri? I know you have taken quite a liking to him, and he seems to adore you in turn, but he would be most satisfied with his usual scraps of fish and fowl. I smiled, unlike my father, she wasnt rejecting me outright; she wanted to know why I wanted something more extravagant, I want to teach him tricks! I announced with a grin. Jacqueline looked at me confused before returning to her chopping, Teaching a Watch-Stawri tricks would be a pointless endeavor, but I will see if I can manage something. Taking that to mean the conversation was over, I thanked her and left the kitchen. Sure enough, I did in fact receive some strips of jerky a few days later and promptly began teaching Stil to sit and lie down, out of sight of my father of course. Stil was a fairly intelligent animal as it turns out; he mastered sitting in a mere week and only took a few more days to learn to lie down. I had run out of treats by then though and, not wanting to chance Jacqueline getting in trouble, approached my father. Father, I would like to ask you if I could have some preserved meat for Stil. He frowned and looked down at me. Stahlia, I have already told you. Stil does not need anything as fancy as that. I returned his frown and commenced my demonstration. Stil, sit! Stil promptly sat down and looked up at me expectantly. Lie down! Stil cocked his head; I usually rewarded him right away. Im sorry Stil, I dont have any treats right now! But if you do a good job, we can convince father! I glanced at my father; he was staring at Stil with wide eyes. One more ought to finish him. Containing my excitement, I gave Stil one more command. Roll Over!. Stil promptly rolled over and sat back up, eyeing me suspiciously. You see father, Stil has learned how to perform and now he wants a treat to reward his efforts! My father was looking back and forth between me and Stil with wide eyes, Stahlia, how did you get a Stawri to behave like a dog? Wait, dogs are a thing in this world? Why do we have a feather ball like Stil then? Regardless, I had to press my advantage, It is simple Father; I gave him a command then pushed him into the position I wanted. I would then give him a treat. He very quickly learned that if he did what I wanted without being pushed, he would get a bigger treat! My smile was so large it was honestly painful to hold but I persevered. My father looked thoughtful for a moment before taking his plate off the table and placing it on the floor. Stil went over to the plate and sniffed it, before happily eating the remains of my fathers grilled salt fish. Alright Stahlia, I will instruct Jacqueline to budget accordingly to provide you an amount of meat for Stil. Do not exceed the amount you receive I was about to thank him before he continued. and I want to see what you are able to teach him at the end of every month, that was quite the spectacle. With my eye twitching slightly I thanked my father and quickly left the room with an excited Stil. I just wanted to entertain myself, but I somehow wound up getting a job that comes with monthly inspections from the upper management?! In that manner, I continued to train Stil, showing off his progress periodically to my father. My father seemed to be quite entertained by the whole ordeal; On the nights when we were to conduct a review, he would always instruct Jacqueline to cook an extra portion of whatever fish or bird we were eating. This he would then give to Stil after the performance. When I showed off Beg! my father almost fell out of his chair from laughing. Of course, I didnt spend every day playing with Stil; following my first birthday and true to their word, my parents would bring me out with them on errands at least once a week. I would be very careful about how I presented myself, limiting my communication to simple sentences such as a child my age should normally be capable of and learning as much as I could. In this manner, the days turned into weeks and then into months. Fifth Month, 0938 It had been some time since I started my training regimen with Stil when I inadvertently made an important discovery. I had just finished teaching Stil to Shake when I heard a Ding! echo inside my head. Accompanying the sound, a small line of text displayed itself at the bottom of my vision. Reading the text, I started to get excited. Talent Experience has reached the prerequisite amount. Acquired Talent [Monster Handling I]. Due to acquisition of [Monster Handling I], the lesser talent [Animal Handling I] has been sealed. I had acquired a new talent! I quickly retired to my room and opened the menu to see what I could learn. Reading over my menu entries, I was able to conclude that if I acquired a skill or talent without spending any Life Points, it would not consume an associated slot. Indeed, much like my skill slots, my talent slots displayed 1/1 despite now having Monster Handling I in addition to Prodigy I. As for how I had reached the prerequisite amount of Talent Experience I could only conclude that my having spent so much time training Stil had been earning me experience with an associated skill behind the scenes. This was pretty big news, it meant I could expect to acquire skills and talents without having to spend Life Points on them. Speaking of which, it looked like I had gained more life points at some point, as well as fifty experience points for Prodigy I. Since I made a habit of checking my menu once a day before going to sleep, I knew that those gains had been made today. The only thing of any significance I had done today was to acquire the monster handling skill. Thusly I could conclude that at least one way of leveling Prodigy and gaining Life Points involved acquiring talents through training. I opened the description of [Monster Handling I] to see what information I could glean from it. [Monster Handling I]: [Acquisition Effect]: Provides Effects of [Animal Handling V], Provides positive correction to interactions with bonded monsters. Provides a link to bonded monsters. Enables bonding with one additional monster. [Level Up Effect]: Enables bonding with one additional monster, Maximum rank of bonded monsters +1. [Acquisition Source]: Gain experience training monsters past threshold, Derives from [Animal Handling VI], Granted automatically by select Tier Three and above classes. Bonded Monsters: 1/1 So thats why Animal Handling got sealed; monster handling is the natural evolution of Animal Handling. It would probably be broken if I was allowed to double-dip and get the bonuses from both talents. As for the effects positive correction probably means that the monster I have bonded with will be easier to command and train. I have no idea what link means maybe I can get a sense of my monsters condition? I tried focusing a mental picture of Stil but didnt receive any information about him. Maybe Stil isnt my 1/1 bonded monster, though I cant think of any other monsters Ive interacted with... Still, I was satisfied with the effects of the skill. I was sure it would prove useful to me, not to mention all the information about how this worlds systems worked. I sat up in bed with a jolt. I was gripped by a sense of concern and wariness. Looking around my room fearfully I couldnt spot anything, so I laid down and tried to go back to sleep. When I closed my eyes, vague disjointed images flowed into my head. I got flashes of myself, and the feeling of a desire to protect. I also got a vague impression that something smelled wrong. I sat up again and looked around. Something was definitely wrong. Suddenly, a bright flash came through my window. I cried out in surprise and rubbed at my eyes. When my vision was returned, I made my way over and pulled myself up carefully to look out the window. I had to clap my hands over my mouth to stop myself from screaming; Out in the street in front of our house, a figure clothed in a black full-body suit was dragging bodies into an alleyway. I ducked back down and curled up; I was shaking with fear. The images of myself and the urge to protect were still flashing through my mind. Belatedly, I realized they were probably being transmitted to me by Stil, across whatever link we had. After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, The feelings I was receiving eased off. I was struck with the assurance that the danger is gone. I slowly stopped shaking and worked up the courage to peak out the window again. The street was now empty, there was no sign of the ninja look-alike that had been dragging bodies around. I slowly climbed back into my bed. Thank you, Stil! I thought to myself with genuine emotion. I was struck by a sense of joy and satisfaction; apparently, the link we had would communicate strong feelings rather than statuses or conditions. At least I know how it works now... I laughed bitterly; I was definitely not going to be able to get any more sleep tonight. Several days had passed since my trauma, my parents made no mention of the incident; rather, they seemed wholly unconcerned. My Father, I could understand hiding his emotions, but my mother would definitely fall faint and be insisting we protect me or something! Dont tell me they have no idea what happened? I recalled how the ninja wannabe had been dragging the corpses into an alley. They must have somehow made all those bodies disappear I cant very well tell my parents what I saw, they would never believe me if I said one person had killed that many people right outside our house without making a sound. I need to find a way to protect myself. I listed off my options. The first option, get a magic skill so I can cast magic other than my enhancement... Rejected. I have no idea how I could possibly get one without spending Life Points on it, and doing that requires me to level up. The second option is, Level Up to get stronger... Rejected; I can just imagine that conversation Hey dad! I want to go kill monsters! What? No way, thats too dangerous! it would never work. The third option, get stronger by improving my equipment. This is the only one that could work. I had played dozens of RPGs and sunk hundreds of hours into them. All RPGs followed the same basic gameplay loop; Fight strong opponents, get stronger, fight even stronger opponents, get even stronger. While there were some exceptions, the get stronger part usually had two methods. Method one, which was off-limits for me currently, was to level up and thus improve your base stats and ability. Method two was to improve your equipment. Presently, I had no equipment whatsoever. My childrens clothes did not give me any defensive bonuses, and my unarmed skill was nonexistent. This meant I would be able to strengthen myself if I could only get stronger. New equipment was usually obtained from one of three sources, and these sources would influence the quality. The best equipment came from boss monsters or raid encounters. The middle tier of equipment would be awarded by an NPC upon finishing a quest, or from looting after a battle against normal enemies. The weakest equipment you always got at the start of a game came from shops and vendors. Of course, ability meant more than gear; Stahlias namesake had beaten the final boss using a middle-tier sword she had gotten by saving a wealthy traveling merchant from bandits. Still, I probably couldnt even get this worlds equivalent of middle-tier equipment; who would give a quest to a one-year-old girl? That meant I would need to settle for something I could buy from a shop vendor. Thankfully, I had already met this towns blacksmith during an outing with my mother a few months ago. At the time I had looked at what he was selling and been fairly unimpressed; his shop only stocked iron and steel, and none of it had a magic enchantment. He was, by all accounts, the perfect example of a starting village smith. I had a problem though. Even if I was going to settle for an item from his shop, I would need money. I highly doubted my father would be willing to get me a weapon. In fact, I knew he would refuse. I couldnt even ask for money under the pretext of getting something else and then secretly use it for buying a weapon; even steel was prohibitively expensive. This kingdom enforced a strict and heavy tax on the sale of weapons as a way to keep them out of the hands of the lower classes. My status as a member of a fallen noble house meant that I was basically a commoner, so I would not be able to avoid that tax. A simple Steel Dagger I had seen in the smithy would cost 7,000 Draks. I had learned about the currency in use during one of my outings with my mother. The coins most used were Drakas Small Silvers and Coppers, worth 100 and 10 Drak respectively. The name came directly from the name of the country; the Drakas Kingdom. There were also Drakas Small Coppers worth 1 Drak, Drakas Silvers worth 1,000 Drak, Drakas Small Golds worth 10,000 Drak, and Drakas Golds worth 100,000 Drak. My mother also told me there were larger denominations used for large transactions but pretty much only nobles or the kingdom itself would use them. When I asked what a Drak was worth my mother got a funny look and explained that each coin was actually made of iron and then coated in an amount of precious metal; a Drak was worth that much precious metal. In order to obtain my desired weapon, I would need seven Drakas Silvers. Our household income was about two Drakas Small Golds per month. Considering my father was the mayor of the village, that meant we were probably well off. Despite our apparent wealth, it would still take nearly half our monthly income to buy a single Steel Dagger. That tax is bullshit. No way commoners would be able to get ahold of weapons easily. My father is definitely not going to give me a Steel Dagger, no matter how adorable I make myself. I need a plan. I was going to have to somehow get the money myself. I spent the rest of the day coming up with a plan. The next day after dinner, I waited for my father to down his third glass of brandy before approaching him, Father, I have a request! I announced myself with a smile like I had done when I wanted the jerky for Stil. Perhaps remembering how my last request had turned out, my father asked me what I wanted with a smile, I want a dagger to protect myself with! My dad was taken aback. Yea, thats a big jump from I want dog treats! to I want a weapon! Stahlia, why do you feel the need to protect yourself? At least I wasnt being rejected outright, he was probably remembering how I had been successful with Stil and was willing to hear me out. I put on a serious face, I want a weapon in case the kidnappers come after me! I heard a tray clatter and looked behind me; Jacqueline had apparently stumbled while bringing my father tea. I am terribly sorry; I seem to have tripped over my own foot I will clean this right away and bring fresh tea! Well, that had nothing to do with me, so I turned back to my father and waited for his response. Stahlia, you do not need to worry about that, no kidnappers are coming after you. Even if there were, the village watch and I are more than capable of protecting you. So far, this conversation was proceeding exactly how I had envisioned it, so I went in for the kill. Father, I understand that it is not a justifiable expense, if I can get the money myself will you let me buy a dagger for myself? My mother looked horrified at the thought, but my father chuckled. Sure sweety, if you can get the money, I will let you buy whatever you want with it. Just do not break any laws. Exactly as planned. Making sure his intelligence stat was debuffed by alcohol was the right choice. No parent in their right mind would agree to let their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter become an entrepreneur for the express purpose of getting a weapon. Thank you, Father! I beamed a smile at him and returned to my room. When I got to my room, I found Jacqueline waiting for me with her hands on her hips and her lips pursed. Alright Stahlia, out with it. What are you planning? I tried to look confused. I am not planning anything Jacqueline; I simply intend to make money and get a dagger. Jacqueline shook her head and sighed. Stahlia, I am not blind. You made sure your father was tipsy enough to impair his better judgment before asking him, and knowing you, you most certainly have a plan in mind to get the money already. Weapons are expensive and you are well aware of that, its not the kind of money a yearling can so easily get their hands on. In fact, it would normally be impossible, but I am sure you have a method in mind. I hesitated; I was a bit put off at how cleanly I had been seen through. Jacqueline started tapping her foot waiting for my answer. Making my decision, I came clean; Jacqueline had assisted me with the dried meat, and having an accomplice would greatly expedite things, Well, I was planning to make a new type of medicine with alchemy, but its still going to be difficult to get my hands on the materials. Jacqueline sucked in her breath and brought a hand up to stroke her chin in thought, Alchemy you say Am I correct to assume you already have some idea of what you would need to make this medicine? I nodded, and Jacqueline gave me a conspiratorial smile while rubbing her hands together, What do I need to acquire for you then? Well, she agreed to that a lot easier than I thought she would Still, this beats my original plan. Indeed, I had originally intended to involve Jacqueline in my scheme, by asking her for one or two items periodically over the course of a month. My need was urgent, but I had not been able to think of a way to expedite this stage of the plan. If she was going to go all-in with me from the start, that would greatly aid my progress. I smiled and started listing things off while counting on my fingers. Jacquelines expression grew more serious as the list got longer and longer. Some of these items will be fairly expensive in their own right still, it would be cheaper than buying the dagger outright. What exactly is this medicine for? I couldnt very well make her suspicious by saying it was a secret, so I decided to fill her in. When I met Mister Sven, he told me that the potion used to wake people up from the sleep ailment was very expensive and hard to make; this medicine will be a cheaper alternative without losing any of the effectiveness. Jacqueline raised her eyebrows and asked me if I was sure it would work. I nodded emphatically and Jacqueline agreed to get me what I needed, after offering a parting warning. Still, some of these materials you want are quite dangerous. Combustion Fruit, in particular, you could really injure yourself with that if you make a mistake. I nodded to show I understood and asked Jacqueline if she would help me manufacture my sample product to which she agreed instantly. She was probably fishing for me to ask her that. Over the next weeks, Jacqueline slowly collected the items I had asked her for. It took longer than I had expected given her ready cooperation, but apparently, some of what I needed was completely unheard of. I had to draw out basic schematics for the glassworker in the village. As for investment capital, Jacqueline actually used some of her savings for me. Talk about pressure! I really hope this works out properly otherwise I wont be able to ask Jacqueline for any favors in the future! Eventually, we had gathered everything we needed for the first step. We waited until after my parents had gone to bed and then Jacqueline slipped into my room with a bag; we were storing materials in her room on the first floor since my parents would come in my room for various reasons. Jacqueline set the bag on a table while I climbed up and stood on a chair so I would be able to see. So Stahlia, what should I do first? I pointed at the Combustion Fruit, which was wrapped in a thick wool cloth to prevent it from making any sparks and igniting if it struck a hard surface, Put the Combustion fruit underneath the jar and carefully cut it open to drain the flame gas. Combustion Fruit was the seed of a Flame Ent, a weak plant-type monster. They would lob the fruits at passersby as an attack method, as well as throw them as far as they could to scatter their offspring. Adventurers could gather the fruit to sell; they would explode if struck against a hard surface due to a spark being formed by a type of metal woven through the skin of the fruit. I had been told that the fruits were Lighter than they look and that the explosion was caused by A flammable gas that fills the fruit. Adventurers apparently used them like flashbangs. Because of the existence of magic in this world, the natural sciences were far behind those of Earth, but when I heard the description of the Combustion Fruit, I could only think of Hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas was what caused the Hindenburg to blow up in the 1900s back on Earth. It was much, much, lighter than air and highly flammable. For my plan, I would need a decent amount. Since it was lighter than air, it would rise up when freed from the fruit. We exploited this by holding a jar above the fruit; as the gas escaped it would be collected in the jar. Jacqueline nodded and deftly pierced the skin of the fruit using a spike made from a rather squishy wood to avoid causing a spark and tightly sealed the jar after the fruit became heavy in her hand. I wasnt sure about the seal being completely airtight, so I directed her to make sure we kept the jar completely upside down. Jacqueline asked me what was next. I indicated the next object on the table; a sack of air powder and a metal sphere with a bottleneck sprouting from one end. The sphere had been the most expensive item. The sphere was made of steel with an incredibly thin coating of a special resin. The resin was a material that didnt exist on Earth; it was the spit of a species of insect monster. It would harden when exposed to air; once hardened it was incredibly tough. The only way to remove it was using a special potion to dissolve it away. Monster parts sure are convenient, this wouldnt be possible without them. Finally, the lid to the sphere was a screw-on valve so that once it was filled, we could carefully open it to regulate the speed at which it would drain. Fill the pressure chamber with Air Powder and screw in the cap as tightly as you can, then take it outside and put it in a fire to activate the Air Powder. Make sure we do it outside since I have no way of knowing if the pressure chamber will be able to hold in all of the air; it might explode. Jacqueline stared at me. I thought the Combustion Fruit would be the most dangerous part of this, what do you mean it might explode? I really had no way of explaining pressure gradients and tensile strength to Jacqueline, that was knowledge I had acquired in my University Chemistry classes. I did my best to explain expanding air using altitude, but Jacqueline eventually waved me off and said she would take my word for it since You clearly know what you are talking about, somehow. The Air Powder in question was another magical material unique to this world; when activated with heat, it would release air. I had initially thought it was just yeast since I discovered it in a bakery, but apparently, it was also used by adventurers when mountain climbing or diving. That meant that as opposed to releasing CO2 as Yeast did, Air Powder would literally release Air. I had conducted a small test with a candle and discovered that the Air Powder Air was not flammable, which meant it was not pure Oxygen. My hope was that it was an Oxygen-Nitrogen mix like regular air; I needed the Nitrogen. Jacqueline again performed her task and then set aside the Sphere after screwing on the cap. What is next? I could tell she was getting a little bit excited. Well we have the H2 now, but we need to activate the Air Powder before we can extract N2, so we are stuck for tonight. Jacqueline frowned disappointedly and packed up the bag, being extremely careful with the Hydrogen jar. Before bidding me goodnight and slipping out of my room. I was a bit tired the next morning and my mom felt my forehead with a concerned face. Make sure you get to bed early Stahlia. Of course, I fully intended to get to my room as quickly as possible, but the day was determined to pass as slowly as it possibly could. Finally, night arrived. After my parents went to bed, Jacqueline entered my room and began to unpack. Before she had a chance to get too far I jumped up and put my shoes on. We will want to do this part outside, just in case. Jacqueline gave me a look. You were fine using the Combustion Fruit inside your room, but now you want to go outside? How dangerous exactly is the pressure chamber?. I smiled mischievously. Was the pressure chamber cold when you got it out of the fire? Her eyes narrowed. Extremely cold. I clasped my hands behind my back and gave my best innocent smile. It is extremely dangerous then, dont drop it; it very well might be able to level the house. Jacqueline looked at the bag she was carrying warily and moved it out as far away from her body as she could. We made our way out to the garden, and I had her remove another jar, this one was made of steel and had a hose connected to it. The hose was designed to screw onto the pressure chambers valve, Jacqueline if you would, please connect the hose to the Pressure Chamber and open the valve the smallest amount you can; only open it until the hose starts to feel cold. Jacqueline did as I had asked, handling the pressure chamber very slowly. It seems my blas attitude regarding the Combustion Fruit had paid off and by being cautious now, I had put the fear of God in her regarding the pressure chamber. After a minute I told her to close the valve. Due to the laws of equal pressure, our metal jar had been filled with what was hopefully N2 gas. The way the process was supposed to work was very simple. The pressure chamber was filled to the brim with Air Powder. We then heated the pressure chamber to activate the air powder. This would cause it to release air under extreme pressure. As more and more air is released, the pressure would cause the air to liquify. Between Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Nitrogen, Liquid Nitrogen had a much lower boiling point. Releasing pressure by opening the valve, we would allow the Liquid Air to boil. This would release the Oxygen and Nitrogen into a gaseous state, which would flow down the hose and into the metal jar. It wouldnt be a pure gas, but because Nitrogen boiled more easily the contents of the Jar should be mostly Nitrogen. I began gathering some of the things, though my size meant I couldnt carry much, We can go back inside now. Jacqueline shook her head and said we should finish outside; now that she knew how dangerous the pressure chamber was, she did not want to bring it inside the house. I shrugged, Alright, it does not really make a difference where we finish up. Just connect the pressure valve lid onto the Hydrogen jar; remember to keep the jar inverted. Then, open the valve on the Nitrogen Cylinder so that the gas flows the other way. Jacqueline did as I instructed although her face was beginning to look wary. I imagine she probably only understood a little of what I was saying, as I was using the English names for the gases and devices we had constructed. This last step was a crapshoot in all honesty. The Haber-Brosch process worked best under extreme pressure, and I did not have access to air compressors in this world. Maybe theres a magic spell that would make this easier, but I have no way of getting access to anything like that at the moment. After a few minutes, I figured the pressures would be equalized, so I had Jacqueline close both the valves and disconnect the Nitrogen cylinder. Now I would let the hydrogen jar sit for a few days and hopefully, enough of a bonding reaction would take place. A few days later, I decided it would have either worked or it wouldnt have. I collected my assistant and had her open the jar just a tiny amount and then quickly shut it again so that if the reaction had worked, we wouldnt lose the gas. While she was doing this, I leaned close to the lid and inhaled deeply through my nose. It worked! I exclaimed happily. I was actually able to make Ammonia! Of course, this also meant I had just taken a huge whiff of Ammonia, while my body mass was likely less than ten kilos. Jacqueline caught me and made me sit down as I began to sway from side to side like the pendulum on a grandfather clock. I take it that whatever you just made smelled how you were expecting, but will it truly exhibit the effect you desire? I grinned and clapped my hands together. I already knew it worked, given how I had just gagged myself and gotten woozy, but it seemed a proper demonstration was in order. We shall have to test it now will we not? I asked Jacqueline to carry the jar and went downstairs; it was just after breakfast, as I had returned straight to my room after eating to check the ammonia. Entering the kitchen, I called out, Mother, I have something to show you and Father! My mother smiled and asked me to wait while she got my father. While she was fetching him, I called out to the last participant in my experiment. Stil, heel! Good boy, Sit. Stil trotted over and sat down next to him. Jacqueline gave him a small piece of jerky; everyone in our home had taken to always carrying a few pieces. Stil remained sitting next to me even after getting his treat, ever since I had gotten [Monster Handling I] he had been noticeably more obedient, he seemed able to sense that I wasnt done with him yet. My parents arrived and my mother prompted me. Alright Stahlia, I see you have Stil, did you finish teaching him a new trick? I nodded. Exactly mother! This one took a while to get right, but he has finally mastered it! Stil, Mount! Stil first stood up from his sitting position, then bent all four of his knees to lower his body down towards the ground. I promptly hiked up my skirt and swung my leg over his back. Yip Yip! Stil stood up and, while I held on by squeezing my knees, he set off and did a lap around the kitchen. My father stared at the sight in shock and my mother, predictably, fainted on the spot. I could also see Jacqueline with a hand cupped over her mouth trying not to laugh; I hadnt shown her this yet either. My father recovered and rushed to my mothers side while chiding me, Stahlia, look what you did! Your poor Mothers heart! I expressed my completely heartfelt apologies, I am ever so sorry Father, I was simply so excited to show the progress of Stils training Jacqueline briefly lost control and snorted loudly. Thankfully, I have actually finished my money-making project! It should be able to recover mother. My father looked at me suspiciously as I indicated for Jacqueline to use the ammonia on my mother. Upon catching the smell of ammonia, my mother shot straight up and looked around. My father watched in shock and looked at me questioningly, Father, I have created a substance I call Ammonia it is made using readily available materials and can cure people who have fainted in mere moments, as you have just seen. I was informed by Mister Sven that the common cure for faintness is extremely expensive and spoils quickly. I intend to sell Sven the means of production of my Ammonia and use that money to buy my dagger. My father seemed at a loss for words, while my mother was staring off into the distance. After a full minute, my father simply murmured I see. Jacqueline stepped in as I began to worry my father would not allow me, Master Fynn, the young lady is being entirely truthful, in fact, I personally assisted her in the production of this Ammonia and the process is entirely safe You liar! You know full well how dangerous it actually was. You still wont go within ten meters of the Pressure Chamber! My internal thoughts aside, I was careful not to betray myself on my face and waited for Jacqueline to finish. Beyond merely selling the manufacturing rights, I think it would be in my ladys best interest if we could leverage her invention to secure Sven as an alchemy tutor. As I have watched her this past month, I think I may have stumbled across her special class. My Lord, have you ever heard of the Alchemy Prodigy talent? My fathers eyes went wide, a perfect mirror of my own. Well, I suppose she was bound to arrive at some conclusion after all that. Surprising how close she got to my real Talent though. My father for his part appeared to be going over a great deal in his head, Very well, I will send for Sven. We should discuss this in our home rather than his shop. My mother looked like she was about to protest, but my Father waved her to be quiet, Rosalie my love, you must admit that Stahlias invention will alter the balance of power, and to come up with it at her age, she could only be an alchemy prodigy. We should arrange for her to get as much practice as she can, it is our duty as her parents. My mother grudgingly accepted and my father issued Sven a dinner invitation. That evening, as we sat around the table, the air was heavy. My mother was keeping her peace, but it was clear for all to see that she was not thrilled. My father was eating silently, occasionally looking at either me or Sven. Sven looked so nervous that I doubt he tasted his food at all. Jacqueline was her normal self, standing off to the side and occasionally refilling someones drink. As for myself, I hadnt a care in the world. I ate my food with gusto. As we wrapped up, my father finally broke the silence, Sven, I have a business proposal for you. Sven swallowed nervously and sat up straight, A-ah, Is that so? What can I do for you Mayor Fynn? My father looked at me before continuing, making sure to pick his words carefully, My daughter. As you are already aware she is somewhat advanced for her age. Sven glanced at me and nodded anxiously, Recently, I set her a task. She wanted to buy something rather expensive, and we lacked the means. She extracted a promise from me, if she could acquire the money herself, I would let her make the purchase. When my father paused, Sven hesitatingly asked, And where do I come in sir? My Father nodded and continued, You see, my daughter has managed to betray everyones expectations. She used alchemy to develop a new drug, using only commonly available materials. She has made a drug that can cure faintness out of goods acquired at general purveyors. I would like to sell you this recipe. Sven laughed uproariously before trailing off when he realized my father was not joking, Y-your serious sir? I do apologize, but thats impossible. Something like that would alter the balance of power in the kingdom. To do something like that at her age she would have to b- My father cut him off, She would have to be an alchemy prodigy, yes, the thought had crossed my mind. We have not had her dedication yet of course, but based on my own witness of the effects of her remedy there is no doubt in my mind. That brings me to the second point. In exchange for a discount on the recipe, my wife and I would like to employ you to instruct our daughter. You would be doing this in secret of course, but since you are already aware of her abnormality and have thus far kept your silence, it is my belief that we can trust you. Sven was entirely quiet now, to overcome by events to speak his thoughts on the subject. My mother, who had remained silent until then finally spoke up, I just cannot accept this. Fynn, you may be my husband, but Stahlia is not even two years of age yet. I cannot allow my daughter to travel the city unaccompanied to what essentially would constitute a job! My father gave her a stern look I had never seen from him before, Rosalie, you would question me? His voice was calm but somehow caused a chill to run down my spine. Jacqueline smoothly stepped in to offer her own opinion, before things got out of hand. My Lord, if I may? My father glanced at her and nodded after a moment, My Lord. Lady Rosalie does have a point, Miss Stahlia is much too young to travel the city unaccompanied. To that end, I would profess to offer a compromise; limit Stahlia to only working one day a week; on that day, I shall escort her to ensure her safety. My father mulled over the suggestion and turned to Sven, What do you think? Is that acceptable to you? Sven appeared deep in thought, he was watching Jacqueline closely before he nodded slowly, Aye, if it be good with you then I can agree to those terms. My mother spoke up again, apparently still dissatisfied, I am her mother, I could not ask that of you Jacqueline, I will take her myself! Jacqueline shook her head, No Lady Rosalie, you are the mayors wife and a mother of his child, while I am but a single woman and a maid. Imagine the differences in peoples opinions should they witness the two of us making frequent visits to Svens shop? My mother opened and closed her mouth repeatedly before turning bright red, announcing that Jacqueline would make a fine escort for me and excusing herself. Internally I found the situation hilarious, but externally I opted to ask my father Is mother ill father? with an innocent and inquisitive expression. My comment seemed to have broken the tension as intended, and Sven began to negotiate payment with my father. Eventually, they settled on a Drakas Gold Coin as immediate payment, a signed contract of naming Sven my alchemy instructor, and an arrangement for profit sharing between my father and the Alchemists Guild to be discussed at a later date once the Guild had assessed the recipe. The profit-sharing was being done in my fathers name as I was not of age, but he assured me I would have access to the money from it the next time I had an insane request. I smiled and thanked him. Since I couldnt go to the blacksmiths myself, I entrusted Jacqueline with the money I had received. She took out the amount she had invested, refusing outright to take any return on the investment, and promptly placed the order for a dagger for me. A week later, she presented me with my first weapon. The dagger had cost 7,000 Drak, and I gave my father the remaining money. Telling him to consider it my thanks for putting up with my often-troublesome escapades. Thus, I acquired access to a teacher. I was honestly quite excited to begin learning alchemy. I imagined that it would be quite useful; if all else failed I would have a fallback profession with which to support myself and knowing how to produce alchemical substances was always an incredibly helpful side profession in RPGs that allowed for that sort of thing. I set out to get a weapon, but I wound up achieving a pseudo apprenticeship in a useful trade as well. Pretty good for a year-old babe. My nightly escapades with Jacqueline did not stop after the development of Ammonia. The night after she presented me with the dagger she came to my room and had me get dressed before taking me out to the garden. Once arrived she produced a straw bale and coolly informed me that Having a weapon is useless if you do not know how to use it. I very quickly ran into an issue, however; the dagger was heavy! Given my own lack of size, the Dagger was closer to a great sword as far as my tiny arms were concerned. I persevered with it, however, progress was incredibly slow. Eventually, I developed a technique where I would magically enhance myself for just a moment in order to perform a move. But my mana was limited, so I was only able to fight for a scant few minutes, even if I economized as much as possible. Jacqueline was impressed by my progress, and asked me how I was managing to perform the forms I was being taught despite my lack of strength. When I told her I was using mana to improve my muscles for an instant before attacking she got a distant look on her eyes and murmured something about blood magic I couldnt catch the entirety of. Then she instructed me to keep this discovery a secret, it was apparently an exceedingly rare technique and would be very difficult to explain to anyone who asked. 1-8 Dedication Psycholor Stahlia Three Years Old, First Month, 940 Presently I was standing in the village square near the front entrance of the temple with a cacophony of other three-year-olds all squealing with excitement at the coming event. For my part, I was filled with a sense of existential dread and impending doom. It was the fifth day of the first month of my third year in this world. On this day every year, all the children who turned three in the previous year are ushered into the temple to learn about their religious duties and have their class and status appraised by the clergy. I had been so busy with my apprenticeship and learning to defend myself that I had completely wasted the chance to come up with a plan for when my secret was exposed. I sighed and reviewed my status for probably the fiftieth time today. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 45 Name/Age: Stahlia, 3 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 1 Experience: 0/1000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Fallen Noble House (Despita, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Shadow Blade [Swap Style] Talents 1/1: [Browse Talents] Prodigy I*, Monster Handling I*, Dagger Fighting I* Unarmed Fighting I* Skills 1/1: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]* Talents Experience: Prodigy 436/1000 Monster Handling 630/1000 Dagger Fighting 374/1000 Unarmed Fighting 81/1000 I cant imagine what will happen when they discover my class is Custom Class. Based on what I know from when I made this character, Im probably the only person in this world that has that I bet Ill be disowned and forced into some papal research program where I will be tortured as a witch and vivisected to find out how I got this power. It wasnt like I had been wasting my time these past years, all things considered, I had made some real progress. Starting from when I first got my dagger, Jacqueline had been training me in how to use it, which had eventually culminated in me receiving the Dagger Fighting I talent. That talent provided a positive correction to my accuracy when fighting with a dagger, I had noticed a significant improvement to my hit rate since acquiring it. I was also learning unarmed fighting techniques, but due to my size, I hadnt progressed as far as I had with dagger fighting. Apparently, the style Jacqueline was teaching me was Shadow Blade, when I asked her about it, she clammed up and refused to provide any details. Still, by making Shadow Blade my active fighting style I got some nice bonuses to my dodge ability and sneak score. I could freely swap out what style I was using to get a different set of bonuses, but since I had only learned the one that was a moot point. I had also somewhat figured out how to get experience to level up my Prodigy talent as well as had a working understanding of how I was meant to obtain more Life Points. From what I had observed, I got Prodigy experience by literally being a prodigy; at my weekly alchemy lessons with Sven, whenever I introduced a technique I learned in Earth chemistry I would get some prodigy experience. Of course, it only happened when that technique wasnt used in this world. As for my Life Points, it seemed I got about ten whenever I had a birthday and got a variable amount when I learned a new skill via training it up from zero. Of course, none of that information would address the issue at hand. I closed the menu as the gates to the church swung open. I hung back and watched as the troop of chimpanzees colloquially referred to as children marched up into the building. They were dressed to the nines from what I could tell, their parents were using this opportunity to demonstrate the full range of the assets available to their house. The normal parents of course. My alchemy work had brought in a windfall for my parents, and we could now afford to live at a similar level to a minor noble house, but we refrained from doing so; I was still a secret so they couldnt very well use the money they got from my abilities freely. My own dress was nice of course, but it was still a dress. I had begged my mother to let me wear a nice pair of trousers and a linen shirt like the boys were wearing ahead of me, but she got a funny look in her eye and outright refused. I hope they dont expect me to go gaga for fashion trends as I get older. My mother reached down from behind me and fussed with the bow that was holding my hair back before giving me a little push forward, Stahlia, everyone will be waiting for us. I sighed and ascended the steps of my fate. Entering the temple, I chanced a brief look around; I was a little curious and figured that if I was about to face the raven that I may as well enjoy the scenery. The interior of the building was dull. Far from the vaunted roman catholic inspired halls typical of high fantasy, it reminded me of the interior of the Methodist church my Earth parents had attended. There was a short hallway that opened up into a wide room lined with rows of pews. The back of the room had an unadorned stone altar in front of which sat a pulpit that was really more of a lectern. The back of the room had a pair of small doors on the left and right that presumably led to the clergy-only sections. All of the other children were standing in the middle of the room in small clusters, while their parents took a seat in one pew or another. My own parents gave me another push, I had stopped walking to look around and moved to a large pew near the front of the room. I made my way to the outskirts of the mass of child flesh and crossed my arms while I waited for the ceremony to commence. A group of toddlers about five strong seemed to take interest in me for some reason, and they made their way over to me. Hi! My names Giogi! Their leaders voice was shrill and nasally. It made my skin crawl to listen too. I looked over the boy who had spoken and waited to see if he would leave. He had a somewhat dull-looking face with blue eyes that were seemingly the norm in this region, the most visually stunning part of his appearance was his strikingly red hair. When he remained in front of me, I sighed and gave him a polite curtsy like my mother had drilled into me. My name is Stahlia Rosialsdaughter, to what do I owe the pleasure? I was doing my best to diplomatically insinuate that he was a bother. My ma said you were weird! You sure talk funny dontcha? Apparently, his mother knew me. And what does he mean I talk funny? Sure my speech is extremely articulate, but wouldnt a toddler still be struggling to put two sentences together? I get that kids grow up fast if they marry by the age of fifteen, but this seems a bit much maybe the intelligence stat helps out with learning language faster questions for later. I tried running a mental list of all the adults I knew and then shortened it to all the adults who would have cause to consider me weird. It was a shortlist, and other than my mother, there were no women on it. Your mother believes me to be abnormal? I have not the faintest idea as to whom you are referring. May I trouble you for your mothers name? The boy blinked at me and turned to his friends. Sark, ya think she sounds funny too right? I was morbidly curious as to who he was, truthfully this boys identity was the biggest issue on my mind right now. I looked the group over again and shrugged before turning my attention back to the altar area. The boy frowned at me. Evidently, he didnt like being dismissed, but as he was opening his mouth to say some more drivel, the door on the right swung open and an extremely well-fed man dressed in the robes of a priest entered the main hall. The priest was followed by a quartet of men bearing a large chest behind them that they set behind the altar. The boy rolled his eyes and returned with his goon squad to their original spot, leaving me blissfully alone. The priest took his place behind the lectern and raised his hand to silence the room. Once the remaining chatter had quieted down, the priest lowered his hand and cleared his throat, Ahem. Parents of Ris village who have brought your children before me today, in this holy place, I thank you in the name of the gods. It is the duty of we who walk the earth for mere moments to propagate and thus continue the legacy of the divine beings, and you have done your duty well. The priest surveyed the cluster of children standing in front of him, Listen well, you who would inherit the world, for it is my duty and purpose to guide and instruct you into your first steps on the path to fulfill your divine calling. Hear now and bear witness to the roles of the twelve above, engrave their purposes into your hearts that through their stories you may find your own strength of purpose." Internally I let out a long sigh. What a long-winded man. I thought I was just going to have my secrets be revealed, but apparently, I have to endure a crash course in religious doctrine 101 first hurry up already! The priest beckoned for one of the men behind him to come forward. The man stepped up and placed a large leather-bound book onto the lectern-cum-pulpit. Obese Priest took out a key from around his neck and unlocked a clasp on the book before opening it to the first page. You better not be planning to read that whole thing while Im forced to stand here! The priest took a deep breath and began reading. In the beginning, while the world was formless and void of anything we would recognize as life, there was one being. The Creator God looked out upon the formless wastes, and he saw that it lacked purpose. The creator sought to rectify and to give this empty realm purpose. In one breath he blew away the void and with one swipe of his arm, he scattered the stars into the sky. But it was not yet with purpose. With two breathes he scattered dust upon the world, and with two swipes he placed the clouds in the sky. But it was not yet with purpose. With three breaths, he scattered seeds upon the land, and with three swipes he dug out the great three oceans. But it was still without purpose. With four breaths he imbued the land with wind, and with four swipes he brought forth the spirits. But the spirits too lacked purpose. With five breathes he blew the dust into shape and set animals out to walk the world he had made. With five swipes he placed the borders of the five great lands and bade the animals inhabit them. But there was still something lacking, the world was a beautiful paradise, but there were none to appreciate its beauty with the Creator. With six swipes he collected the dust of the land, the air of the sky, the water of the great oceans, the mana of the spirits, and the fire of creation wrought from his own flesh and molded them into three shapes. Then with six breathes, he imbued the shapes with ego and granted unto them life. Thus, were born the three pure races; Humans, Dwarves, and Elven kind. The priest paused and surveyed the children while he caught his breath. This story sounds oddly familiar didnt God back on Earth create everything in Six days and Six nights? I bet something happened with Seven Breathes and Seven Swipes. The priest seemed keen to confirm my suspicions because he promptly continued the story. The Creator God looked out upon his world and was content. This world now has a purpose. But it soon came to pass that the Creator grew longing. He had created the three perfect races with the capacity to love one another and bear children, but the Creator God could not share this luxury, for there was none like him, he was alone. And so the Creator God decided to fashion for himself an equal, someone with whom to share his purpose. With seven breathes he prepared himself. The spirits saw what he was doing and cried out. God our Father, we are like you! We are beings without time and purpose! Are we not enough for you? but the Creator shook his head; No, you have each other. I am alone. The spirits cried and gnashed their teeth, but the Creator God would not hear them. As the Creator God began to swipe at his own essence, the spirits grew desperate. In their desperation, the Spirits committed a grievous sin and rebelled against their father. As his seventh swipe fell down upon himself the spirits attempted to restrain him, but they were weak and only succeeded in driving the seventh swipe askew. The Creator God cursed the spirits for their foolishness, and took back from them their purpose, ordering them to journey the world until they found one for themselves. It was too late for the Creator God to save himself; the seventh swipe had split his power and being in two and he was no more. In his place was a man, and a woman. Neither were mortal and yet neither were fully God. The man and woman lacked purpose and memory, but they looked upon the world and they found purpose. I shalt steer the sun and provide warmth to these children of the Creator God who did not rebel against their purpose, that whilst be mine own purpose. Thus spoke the woman. Her brother looked out unto the world. Then I shall pilot the moon and give these children of the Creator God a chance to rest from their work that they may look forward to fulfilling their purpose again when you return. In this manner, the Goddess of Light and the God of Darkness, true children of the Creator God born of his body and power, found their own purpose. Again, the priest took a break from reading to survey the children. I followed his example and saw that a scant few of them were still, listening with rapt attention. Most others were fidgety, clearly bored with the story. Notably, the ruffian who had accosted me was one of the latter. He was glancing around the room clearly desiring to be anywhere but here. When he noticed me looking at him, he quickly averted his eyes and started playing with his fingers. The priest cleared his throat again and I politely returned my attention to him. It wasnt that I found the lore information about the worlds history interesting or anything, I was just being polite. And so, the days became weeks. The weeks became years. The years became centuries and then millennia. In this manner, an eon passed. After an uncountable length of time, the Dark God came to the Goddess of Light and entreated her. Sister who is born of my fathers flesh, I grow weary of piloting the moon. Let me take over the sun for a span, that I may experience your purpose. The Goddess of Light denied her brother. Brother who is of my fathers flesh, I cannot give you the sun. My purpose is my purpose and your purpose is your purpose. The Dark God gnashed his teeth and shook his fists, but the Goddess of light would not heed his request. In desperation, the God of Darkness bade the moon; Cover the sun, we do not need my sisters permission to take her purpose. So it was that the moon covered the sun and darkness fell upon the world for seven days and seven nights. In the darkness, the perfect races lost sight of their purpose; they turned feral and wrought war upon each other, unleashing their magic upon brothers and fathers. Thus were born the monsters, beasts twisted by rampant magic, they know only of war and destruction. In the darkness, the women became mad and mothered the children of beasts. Thus were formed the demi-humans; a perversion of the perfect children of the Creator God born out of darkness and without purpose. The Dark God looked upon the world and wept. Sister who is of my fathers flesh, what have I done! I sought to steal your purpose and have destroyed our fathers legacy. The Goddess of Light looked upon the world and wept with her brother. Come, my brother, we may not have our fathers power, but surely we shall correct the world if we but work together. So it was that the God of Dark and Goddess of Light came together. They called upon the first children, the spirits, and bade them help restore the purpose of the world. The spirits scoffed at them. You are of our Fathers flesh, and yet you would deny your purpose. We will not help you. The spirits fled the world to the distant places and avoided the chaos that was wrought. I was enthralled by the story, but I couldnt help drawing a few parallels from my outside knowledge. Namely, the company that put me in this world was called Gods of Creation not God of Creation. I had a feeling that the religious doctrines were not an entirely accurate account of the world, whether that was malicious or ignorant I couldnt tell. Still, if spirits are the oldest existence, maybe I should try and find one of them and ask some questions. I wonder where those distant places are. Also, the moon covering the sun, thats got to be a solar eclipse, but seven days and seven nights is a long time for one of those. Either the orbital mechanics are literally controlled by gods, or thats just religious symbolism. It looked like the priest was preparing to continue, so I bit off my line of thought and listened, a lot closer than I had been at first. The Dark God and the Goddess of Light, without the aid of the spirits, watched on in horror as the monsters and demi-humans wrought ruin upon the world. After an age had passed, they could bear it no longer. Brother who is of my Fathers flesh, let us descend upon the world and seek those who bear a strong purpose. The Dark God agreed with his sister and so the two descended and sought out those of the perfect races who had a strong purpose. They gathered seven men and women to whom they granted a portion of their own divinity. The seven used the power they had been bestowed and drove back the monsters. They subjugated the Demi-human abominations and built a great kingdom in which the people worshiped them as savior gods. The Goddess of Light and the God of Dark descended once more to reclaim their divinity, but the Seven would not return it. They had been consumed by their pride, their greed, their lust envy, gluttony, wrath, and slothfulness. Their power brought them whatever they desired and so they would not return it. In a rage, the Dark God bound the seven, for though they had been given a portion of divinity, they were but mortals. The Dark God created a place away from the rest of the world and imprisoned the seven to it. In his rage, he swept across the lands of the perfect races and searched for those who had lost their purpose and banished them with the seven. He named the realm he had built The Nine Hells. To this day, he is still roaming the world, and when he finds one who has lost their purpose, the Dark God seals them away where they cannot harm the world his father gave purpose. The seven deadly sins huh. This Creator God is hitting all the usual story beats. I would have preferred some original material, but I guess it works. The Nine Hells though Isnt the twelfth goddess named after a demon from the ninth circle of hell? I wonder if thats related somehow. To be honest, I was getting a lot more questions than answers listening to the religious mythology. I could only wonder how much of it was true and how much had been distorted. The Goddess of Light watched her brother and wept for him. She knew that their actions were wrong. The children of the Creator God should never have interfered with the world. They should have allowed the perfect races to pursue their own purpose without interfering. In sadness, she wept tears that fell upon the world. Her tears hardened and became seeds. The seeds sprouted and bore fruit. The perfect races ate of the Goddess fruit and felt a change. Ever since some among them are born with a higher purpose. The perfect children were granted a new purpose. Through their own strength, they were granted their own divinity. It is their purpose to oversee the world lest it once again loses its purpose. By fighting back the monsters created by their ancestors the perfect children could gain strength. By pursuing those who lacked purpose they could correct the imbalance of the world. Those among us, the inheritors of this history, who find our true purpose. In this way, we can guide the world lest it loses its purpose. To those who guide the world, the Goddess grants a title and a dominion. The priest motioned at his four attendants, and they began to remove statues out of the chest and place them one by one on the altar. As each statue came out, he told us the name of the god or goddess it represented, as well as telling us their purpose. Each statue was carved from some sort of white stone and was exquisitely detailed. They sort of reminded me of figurines from my previous life. The first statue depicted a young girl in a shrine maiden robe. The Goddess Caina, she who brings about the change of a new year. She oversees the transition of power but is capricious in nature. Do not be tempted by her innocent appearance and run astray, for one cannot usher in great change without first spilling blood. The second statue depicted an ancient grandfather-type figure dressed in a Roman-style toga. He was seated in the Thinking Man pose from that famous Earth statue, The second God Virgil, chronicles the passing of time and the stories of great men. He seeks after change because he has grown stagnant in his old age and adores Caina for what she represents in this world. Thats a pretty messed up personality I wonder if anybody else here is comprehending the implications I briefly looked over the children and their parents in the room with me, as predicted the children were either looking bored or just studying the statues they had never seen before, but a handful of the adults were glancing away uncomfortably. Yea, if you worship a guy like that, I would be pretty uncomfortable too The third statue depicted not one but three figures, they were holding hands and seemed to be doing some sort of circular dance together, each one was clearly the same woman, but of different ages ranging from around fifteen or sixteen up to mid-thirties, The third Goddess Nymphos, the heat of her passion is what thaws the icy cold of winter. She is capricious, however, and one can never be sure what form her love will take. Men, live carefully so you do not be led astray by her wiles and lose your purpose. Women, strive to embody Nymphos faithfulness to her husband, but do not emulate her hobbies, lest you lose your purpose. Um, what? Thats just a goddess of sex! This pantheon just gets worse and worse! I thought the Greek gods were bad but this is something else. The fourth statue was of a pudgy but clearly strong man sitting on a barrel. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and was holding a goblet. Ah, a god of wine. Finally a predictable deity for a fantasy setting. The fourth God Merlot loves to drink and cavort. Men, follow his example and never forget to train your bodies, but do not let the alcohol go to your head lest it leads you into debauchery. Woman, look to the example of Nymphos to keep your husbands satisfied as she satisfies Merlot, lest they be tempted by another and lose their way. At this point, I was struggling to hold back my thoughts about how none of the gods so far seemed to be worth worshiping. It was cute that they all had a moral lesson associated with them, but I would hardly call these beings holy. The fifth statue was of a tall and proud woman, looking at her I somehow saw my mothers features in my mind. She was dressed simply and modestly. Is this a normal one? The fifth Goddess Gaia, she is the oldest goddess and pursues the order of the world. Every life has its purpose, and the world is best served when we pursue ours. Like Gaia, it is the purpose of those who came before to guide the new generation; parents be sure to guide your child properly for one day they will become guides themselves. Yea, that one was okay and fairly tame. Still, Gaia would be mother earth. I feel like whoever created this world really appreciates earth culture. The sixth statue was another man. He was dressed in a cloak and bore a large backpack; in his right hand he held a long stick. The sixth God Dorian, he watches over those who travel the land, but his heart yearns for trial and adventure. If you find yourself in his care never let your guard down, as he loves surprises and challenging us to become stronger. When on the roads you can never be sure what he has in store for you. So a god of adventurers. Sounds like his perspective is kind of screwed up. The priest says its to help you grow stronger in your journey but he just sounds like a bully to me. The seventh statue showed a muscle-bound and well-tanned man laboring over a forge. Smithing god? The seventh God Andre, he is the god of Artisans and Craftsmen. He spends every waking moment pouring over his projects, often forgetting to mind his surroundings. The rampant heat of his forge builds up and brings about the hottest days of summer. Learn from him, and do not become so absorbed in your passions that you lose sight of your purpose. yea, so its a smithing god, but yet another screwed-up personality. So far Caina and Gaia were the only ones I would actually call gods or goddesses based on their actions, but Caina had that line about bloodshed being necessary. Havent I been changing the world of Alchemy for the past year and a half? I dont recall killing anyone The eighth statue was another woman. This one stood tall and proud, clad in a one-piece swimsuit complete with a skirt that looked to be made of plate mail and chain. I could make out muscles rippling over her arms and exposed legs. If that was a bikini armor, I bet she would be rocking a six-pack, what an amazon. This must be the Goddess of War. The eighth Goddess Bellyes, she adores her little brother despite his love of peace and drives us to war so that he has a chance to flourish. Learn from her, do not let a misplaced love or relationship drive you to cause others to suffer needlessly. War is necessary and her purpose is true, but her brother would be happier if she did not start them more than necessary for his sake. An older sister with a brother complex and a twisted sense of love. Still two for eight on worshipablility. The ninth statue was of a young boy, probably in his early teens. He looked weak and frail but was dressed in a dignified manner and stood resolutely with a straight back. Following the trend, this would be the peace-loving little brother. The ninth God Paxno, he is the god of peace and the little brother of Bellyes. He pursues peace at any cost and despises his older sister for her warmongering ways. Do not be like Paxno, there are some reasons that justify war." Ok, that was blatant propaganda. That was less than half the length of your other introductions Mr. priest. I bet the kingdom is telling you to say that so they can make an easier justification when they decide to have commoners kill each other. Still, I have to agree. Peace at any Cost never led a country to live long back on Earth, sometimes war is justified. The tenth statue was a woman in a simple but elegant dress holding a baby in one hand and a sickle in the other. The goddess of infant mortality? The tenth Goddess Vitae, she holds sway over the lives of newborn infants, mothers with child, and overseas the autumn harvest. She is the goddess of all that bears fruit through work. Work hard at your purpose and she will ensure that you prosper. Oh, harvest and childbirth. Her personality is fairly tame as well. That makes three out of ten gods I would say are worthy of worship. The eleventh statue was of a man who reminded me of a plague doctor from medieval history. The eleventh God Mortis, Mortis is responsible for ushering the souls of those who died fulfilling their purpose to the afterlife. His work is grim and has caused his physical body to wither so he dons a mask lest he frightens souls away. When he comes for you, do not fear him and go willingly; if you remain bound to this world your spirit will be forever lost. A god of death who dresses like a plague doctor its fitting in a way. Still, if he wanted to avoid frightening lost souls he could have picked a better cosplay. Also, isnt the whole meaning behind his lesson Accept your death? thats a morbid thought, Ive already died once thank you very much, I intend to struggle to live to the best of my considerable ability. The twelfth statue was of a woman again. I already knew who she was, the Goddess Antenora. Supposedly, she had overseen my birth. I stiffened and stood up straight; I didnt want to miss this one. The twelfth Goddess Antenora, she is the goddess of thieves, plotters, and traitors. Her purpose is paradoxical; She oversees those who would reject their purpose and cause strife for others. Do not emulate Antenora lest the Dark God steal you away to the Nine Hells. wow. Literally just dont do this, youll go to hell? I mean, I could understand being arrested, imprisoned, and maybe executed if the crime is bad enough, but hell? And in a world where purpose is everything why would there even be a Goddess like that? I had assumed the lecture was over and started fidgeting while mulling things over, but they took out a thirteenth statue. The thirteenth statue was broken off at the knees. Long ago there was a thirteenth God. His name has been struck from the records. As, despite having ascended and discovering his true purpose, he chose to reject it in favor of the desires of the mortal realm. He renounced his godhood and descended once more to the world. He had fallen for a mortal woman, and his lust after her caused even a god to forget his purpose. Be ever vigilant, for even gods can lose their way. After we were regaled with the virtues of twelve gods, bringing out the thirteenth as a warning is some pretty effective propaganda for paying mind to our purpose. Frankly, only two or three of those gods were any good at all, the rest of them sound like genuinely terrible people. And what''s this about making sure to Follow our purpose being hammered in so frequently? Im getting some serious government and religious programing vibes I wonder whos on the top bunk, the king or the pope? The Priest of Pies assistants put everything back in the chest and then removed a crystal ball-looking thing and set it up on the altar. In front of the alter they placed a step stool such that a child could access the top. So, that must be the appraisal magic tool thats going to seal my fate. I suddenly feel ill, can I go home early? No? damn. The priest waved his hands to silence the children who had suddenly started chattering, We shall now call you forth in the order of your birth. When your name is called, come up to the altar and place your hands upon the Appraisal Stone. It will reveal if the gods have given you a clear purpose. Jav. A boy who was standing near the middle of the group nervously approached the altar and after a moments hesitation, placed his hands on the Appraisal Stone. I could sympathize with him somewhat, going first sucked. After a moment, the priest wrote something on a sheet of paper and handed it to him, Jav, your purpose is Farmer, may the blessings of Vitae go with you. I see, so they announce the class and give a blessing but keep your stats and what-not a secr- What?! while I was analyzing, a rain of amber gold light washed down from the ceiling and enveloped Jav. It was a warm color that made you think of fields of golden wheat ripe for the harvest. I looked around in surprise. I wasnt the only one; the kids were chittering in awe, even the parents looked stunned. The priest was beside himself. Jav, you have received a miracle of Vitae, this is an auspicious occasion indeed! I am sure you will be a most excellent farmer! Apparently, that golden light was a miracle from the goddess. Based on the parents reactions, I could assume it wasnt something that happened very often; that meant it likely wasnt a trick of some hidden mage casting a spell. I suppose this means the gods have real power. Considering their messed-up personalities, thats a scary thought. Ill have to keep an eye out for any old man who likes telling stories, at least for a couple of decades. The priest bade Jav return to the ground and called up the next child. I kept a mental tally of the number of children and their classes or lack thereof. Out of about 30 kids in the room, only a few of them had a class; notably, the boy who had accosted me at the start of the ceremony. As he was coming down from the altar, I finally realized where I had seen him before; he was the same little shit that had thrown a rattle at me two years ago. His class was Knife-Fighter. That had caused quite a stir, pure combat classes were seemingly rare, and from what I could remember, the Tier one classes were almost entirely professions as opposed to fighting types. Another member of his group also had a class; Sark was a Trader. There was also a boy named Bohg who was a Whittler whatever that was. A girl named Sana was a Singer, and another boy named Sark was a Scholar. The approximate rate of who had a class vs who did not was about one in seven, I was seeing some patterns to the religious numerology and the general mechanics of this world. Other than Jav, there were no other true blessings doled out. Regarding the priests parting words, those who had a class had a god specified in the announcement, the god or goddess named seemed to be based on the general idea of the class. The classless children were told May the blessings of the twelve be with you instead. Finally, I heard the priest call my name. Stahlia. I felt like there were lead weights in my shoes, as I trudged up to the front of the room. To make matters worse I had been the complete and total last one called. I ascended the gallows and stared at the crystal ball. There was nothing for it, I wasnt strong enough to fight my way out of the church; I would just have to grit my teeth and get it over with. Having affirmed my resolve, I boldly placed my hand upon the crystal ball. It felt like there was an electric current running from one hand, coursing over my body, and returning to the ball from the other hand. Peering into the ball, I saw information float up to the surface. So this is how the priest knows what everyones status is! From this angle, only the child and the priest can see it. Most children cant read yet, so the priest writes down what he sees so the child can have it read to them later. But on that note, I cant read this worlds language yet either, why is my text in English? Displayed in gold letters floating on the surface of the ball were English letters detailing some basic info about me. And for that matter, isnt a lot of the information lacking? Status Appraisal of Stahlia Rosalie-daughter: Gender: Female Class/Level: [_____], 1 Archetype: Humanoid Ability Values: Talents: Prodigy I, Monster Handling I, Dagger Fighting I, Unarmed Fighting I Skills: D???i????v???i????n????e????? ????A????u????t???h????o????r?????i?????t????y????:???? ????[?????C????l????a????s?????s???? ????F???e???a????t????u???r????e????s????]????, Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade] This has way less detail than my menu does. And my class entry is blank? But those other kids had a class and it displayed just fine? Maybe the custom class doesnt display because thats not an official class name? I never had an option to name my class though. And what the actual fuck is up with my Divine Authority Skill?! Reading that is actually giving me a headache! Not a metaphor, I actually have a headache looking at that! Am I losing SAN points?! And its all in English too! Can the priest read this?! What does he think!? I looked up at the priest. He was staring at the display with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. After a moment he noticed me watching him and quickly shut his mouth before giving me a nervous smile. He quickly wrote some stuff on a little paper and handed it to me. Stahlia, the gods have not revealed your purpose to you. Work hard an attempt to discern your true purpose, may the blessings of the twelve gods guide you. I turned around and, in a state of shock, started descending the stairs. When I had reached about the middle step, I saw a ripple run through the seated parents, while the children began to chatter excitedly. I had a really bad feeling. Looking up, I saw beams of icy white light descend and envelop me. My stomach twisted into a knot when I thought about which goddess this color was likely to represent. 1-9 Fourth Year + Extra: A Normal Day With an Abnormal Apprentice Stahlia, Three Years Old, First Month of 940 I lowered my eyes from the light that was starting to fade and looked around fearfully. The rotund priest had a twitchy expression, and all the parents had gone silent. The children were still chattering excitedly amongst themselves, but they could hardly be expected to understand the full implications of what had just happened. When no reproach was forthcoming, I slowly resumed my descent and made my way back to my original place. and thus concludes the dedication of Ris Villages children in the 940th year. May you all find and fulfill your purpose. The priest seemed to have recovered and concluded todays ceremony. I found my way to my parents and asked if we could go home. My mother agreed and picked me up before leaving with a brisk gait; my father had some business to attend to as the mayor, so he stayed behind in the temple. Arriving back at our house, I promptly shut myself away in my room. This is horrible! If it werent bad enough that the priest didnt know what to do about my status before now Ive gotten a blessing in the color of winter! The winter faction hardly has any redeeming gods in it at all! If it had been any other season at least I could have hoped it was one of the three normal gods, but winter is completely evil! I flopped back onto my bed and let out a long sigh. A few hours later, there was a knock at my door. I stayed silent, hoping whoever it was would assume I was asleep. My mother opened the door and let herself in, Stahlia, if you do not come out, you will miss the dedication party. I had exactly zero desire to attend this party and simply turned onto my side. Stahlia, I will not allow you to miss the party. If I must, I will pick you up and carry you there by force. You would not want your peers to see that, I should think. I groaned. She was right, I couldnt afford to make any more waves than I already had today. Regretfully, I roused myself and followed my mother out of the house. The dedication party was a sort of feast in the village square; I had never been before, as only people who had had their Dedication Ceremony were permitted to attend. All the children from earlier were sat around a large table that was set up down the middle of the square, stretching from the doors of the church to around the middle. The five children who had a class were sitting around the head of the table near the church. The five of them were sitting still and were largely well behaved, while some forty-odd other children were restless, though none of them tried to leave the table. Near the head of the table, next to the five class children was an empty seat. Dont tell me My mother gave me a light push towards the empty seat. This is awful. With nothing else to do and no way to escape, I took my seat next to Giogi. He looked up from his bowl as I sat down, Rude! Everyun was waiting! This kid its not like I want to be here, I would have been just fine if you all started without me. Still, I knew it wouldnt work out well for me if I antagonized him by being curt, My apologies for my tardiness, it is a great honor to be seated at the head of the table with the five of you, I am very blessed. He stared at me with a blank face and returned to his food. Seriously, putting up with kids is just So irritating. I was sat at the end of the right-hand side of the table with Giogi to my right side. On my left, there was an empty place with no chair separating me from the next child, one of the ones who hadnt had a class. The children who had had a class were arrayed in such a way that they wrapped around the table such that Jav sat at the actual head. The lone girl, Sana, sat across from me. She was picking idly at her food and seemed fairly overcome by all the attention our group was getting from the adults spread around the square. I smiled at her ruefully, at least someone seemed as uncomfortable as I was. Smiling had been a mistake. Your Stahlia right? The girl seemed to interpret my smile as an attempt to start a conversation. Yes, I am Stahlia Rosalie-daughter. I had a social obligation to respond now that she had introduced herself. If my mother caught wind of me forgetting my manners there would be hell to pay. Ever since the Ammonia test, she had been a fair bit stricter when it came to matters of my etiquette. The girl smiled, pleased that I seemed happy to speak with her. My name is Sana! Daughter of none In this world, only nobles had a family name. For commoners like ourselves, it was common to introduce yourself with the name of your mother or father, based on your gender. After marriage, the wife would introduce herself as the wife of her husband, while the father would continue to use his fathers name. My mother would call herself Rosalie Fynnswife when meeting someone for the first time. I had never heard my father give an introduction before, so I wasnt sure how he did it; his father had been executed as a traitor so that might make things awkward. By calling herself Daughter of none she was basically telling me she didnt know who her mother was. That would cause her a lot of problems later in life when she was trying to find a spouse. The light was pretty. The way it made your hair glow... The girl seemed intent on making idle conversation now that introductions were over. Hmm? Yes, I suppose it must have looked very nice. I was too shocked to notice myself though. In spite of myself, I continued the conversation; at this point, it would have been acceptable for me to thank her for the compliment and start eating, but for some reason, I found her innocent demeanor charming. Jav got light too! That was so cool! Giogi apparently desired to be a part of our conversation as well. Are you trying to be irritating? Who cares if Jav got a blessing? Id rather know why I got one, my class doesnt have any connection to winter that I can think of I tilted my head towards Giogi, Indeed, I was merely blessed through no merit of my own; Jav was simply spectacular, the golden light that descended on him took my breath away. That wasnt a lie; I had been shocked when Jav had gotten a blessing since that had served as confirmation that the gods and goddesses here held real power. Hopefully, a bit of self-depreciation will get him to shove off. Giogi looked at me like I was crazy, before mumbling something I couldnt catch and turning his attention back to his food. Is this are you upset that youre being overshadowed? Is this a case of childhood jealousy?. I decided to press my attack and extract socially acceptable vengeance, Yes, but while he may be a farmer, the priest said his blessing was from Goddess Vitae, I am sure his fields will be rich and he will have a very happy wife one day. I finished with an appropriately shaped smile. Giogi seemed disgruntled that I was praising Jav, lending credence to my theory that he was simply jealous. This kind of shit is why I hate children. Sana was watching me intently. Stali, do you really think Jav will make his wife happy one day? Lets go in for the kill. Hopefully, that stops Giogi from being so irritating in the future. I nodded emphatically to punctuate my stance, Yes, I do believe that he will have a very wealthy house once he grows up. The girl seemed to get a faraway look in her eyes. Do you want to marry Jav, Stali? Then you could be a mommy! The priest tells me that getting married is how you become a mommy. The reason I dont have a mommy is that she never got married. What? I feel like there is a serious miscommunication going on right now. Frantically shaking my head I attempted to set the record straight, No Sana, you misunderstand! I am not thinking about myself at all! I was simply stating an observation. Sana got a somewhat sad expression for some reason, so I decided to rapidly change the subject. You are very well-spoken Sana, not at all like any other children I have met save myself. My compliment elicited a happy smile. Thanks Stali, I grew up in the temple, the priest taught me lots by reading from the temple books. He always said that those loved by the gods learn quickly. That would explain it, the passages we had been read today were quite verbose, and apparently having a class causes you to develop faster, as I thought. That explains why the five kids who had a class are more well behaved and better spoken than others our age. Im my own exception of course. I see. Well, truthfully, I found the story we were read today extremely interesting. You said the priest read you stories from the scripture. Would you be willing to tell me some of them? Sana stopped and thought a moment before nodding happily. Yes! I would love to! Sana seemed positively radiant at the idea. The rest of the celebration proceeded without much of note. Giogi was sullen towards me for the rest of the night, but he didnt try and start any trouble, so I was able to ignore him. My father interrupted us and gave an address that I mostly ignored, and Sana and I moved away from the other kids as soon as we were able. We spent the next several hours discussing religious stories. From our conversations, I was able to conclude that the entire religious system seemed like an institution designed to steer people into leveling up and seeking to find their purpose. Of course, it was always certain to tell you that if you struggled to find it yourself, the kingdom would be able to find it for you. The whole thing seemed like a cult designed to create subservient cogs in the machine known as a kingdom. Of particular note, was a story detailing the Nine Kings of Hell; seven of the kings were described as governing a specific temptation of man. I was fairly certain that these were the seven people granted a portion of divinity by the Dark God and the Goddess of Light, but since those temptations were not named I could only speculate. There were also two greater kings who ruled over the seven. Once every thousand years, it was said that one or more of the Kings would break free from perdition and walk the world once more, seeking to lead the perfect children away from their purpose. Considering the current year was 0940, I had a sneaking suspicion that this story was a quest flag for an important future event. Towards the end of the night, I introduced Sana to my mother and father and informed them that I had made a friend, news which pleased my mother a great deal. My father was pleased when he found out that Sana had been raised by the Priest, and told me that He is a good man. I believe this will be a good friendship for you. I was still concerned about the reaction to my blessing and my abnormal appraisal results. However, nobody had said anything to me all night so I was beginning to think it might not be as big a deal as I thought. In fact, when I asked Jacqueline, who through our biweekly nightly training sessions was quickly becoming my closest confidant, she told me not to worry about it; she was sure that nothing bad would come of it. We arrived home and I promptly fell asleep. Fynn My precious daughter finally had her dedication ceremony. My wife and I were certain that she would be revealed to be exceptional, we had seen her grow up after all. Imagine my shock when the priest announced that she had not been born with a purpose. I was able to recover my surprise before it betrayed on my face, thanks to my noble past, but watching Stahlia turn and descend from the steps with such a sad expression twisted my heart; I resolved to shower her with praise once we got home. Just as I was considering what the best things to say would be, I saw the light of miracles descend upon my daughter. A stir ran through the crowd; this was the second blessing this year. Normally, a blessing will only be given once every five years or so, and everyone who receives one goes on to accomplish great things. It was not unheard of for a child with no purpose to receive a blessing, but it was the extreme exception. I wonder, did the priest lie? Is my daughter in fact so special that he could not announce it aloud? What will this mean for us? What is more, she was blessed with the icy white of the winter faction. That meant that whichever god or goddess had blessed her was one of the black sheep. The winter faction was widely regarded as outliers among the gods and goddesses. Goddess Antenora was a god who watched over criminals and betrayers. she was also my precious Stahlias birth goddess, a revelation that had greatly upset Stahlia before we explained that the god of your birth has no significant meaning. Goddess Caina was the bringer of change. She and her followers were well known for rejecting the order of the world and seeking to bring about change whenever they could, outright worship of her was frowned upon by the kingdom so she was always venerated alongside another god or goddess, never alone. Last of the winter faction was the God Virgil, who kept the story of the world. He was also well known to fancy the young Goddess Caina in an inappropriate manner. Even the other gods were known to grow disgusted with him at times. Of the three, one of them had seen fit to bestow their blessing on my precious daughter. I was not sure which one was the worst case. One could usually intuit what gods blessing they received based on their purpose. In the case of Jav, he had received the light of the Autumn faction, as his purpose was to be a farmer, the priest had been able to determine that Goddess Vitae who oversees the harvest of crops was the one who had blessed him. I realized that I had become lost in my own thoughts, Stahlia would be with us soon. My daughter must be incredibly confused and probably quite frightened right now. I was considering how I should greet her when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw one of the junior priests, The priest bids you stay and speak with him. The junior priest delivered his message and stepped back to the wall before skirting the crowd and entering the inner chambers. I suppose I should have expected that the priest would want a word. In this kingdom, the church was second only to the king. To that end, despite being commoners, full priests held the same amount of power and influence as a noble of the baron rank. Being a mere village Mayor, I could not refuse the request for an audience. I signaled my wife who nodded and scooped up my daughter to bring her away from here. I wanted to go with them, but I had my duties to attend to. I made my way near the altar and waited for everyone to file out of the church before climbing the steps and bowing to the priest, You desired to speak with me, Sir. I was careful to control my tone; it would not do to betray my anxiety. Indeed, Mayor Fynn. I would inform you personally of your daughters dedication. The information I had written down for her was a fabrication. I hope you understand the implications. His tone was calm, but his eyes pierced through me like a hawk watching a mouse. I swallowed to water my throat before responding, I will not share what you deem to tell me. The priest nodded before continuing, Truthfully, your daughter was born without a clear purpose. I do not mean that it was absent. For a reason unknown to me, the stone could not reveal her purpose, but I believe she must have one; She has several talents and skills that one her age would need a clear purpose to have. What is more, she was born with a prodigy talent, and her lowest ability score is a C. The priest paused; he was clearly waiting for me to respond. I suspected as much. She has exhibited an extreme rate of learning and a healthy thirst for knowledge far beyond her years. I was unsure of how much information I should reveal; I had a duty to my kingdom, but I was also Stahlias father. I wanted my daughter to be safe and happy. Still, my household had long suspected she had the Alchemy Prodigy talent, but to think her lowest ability score was a C. I recalled what the mage had told us three years ago. From what I could recall, that would mean that Stahlias Intelligence was around S. I felt faint. What do you need from me, sir? I queried the priest, hoping to glean where he was going with this. As you know, all dedications are reported to the kingdom. I suspect that they will want Stahlia to enroll at the Royal Academy in the capital when she turns ten. To prepare her for that, please make arrangements for her to have lessons in etiquette, and instruct her in the basics of reading, writing, mathematics, etcetera. If you wish, I can prepare a place for her with the five children to learn academic subjects here at the temple, but you will have to teach her etiquette on your own. I believe with your family history you will be more than capable. I swallowed and bowed, As you wish, thank you for informing me. Making my exit, I hurried home to speak with my wife and write a letter to an old friend. The priest was a good man and I trusted him. He had not needed to warn me about the Royal Academy but had done it as a personal favor. If a man of his station believed that would happen, I could take it as a statement of fact rather than mere speculation. For better or worse, my family was likely to be pulled back into the world of nobles, I had to start planning to ensure Stahlia would have a future when she walked through the doors of the Academy, without making the proper arrangements, the Noble Children who attended would eat her alive. Stahlia As time passed following my dedication ceremony, I gradually grew to accept that, at least for now, nothing major was going to happen to me. Of course, there were changes; now that I had turned three and had my dedication; I was permitted to travel the village as I wished. I did not need to go with my mother to visit shops, and though she still brought me to Svens alchemy lessons once a week, I could now visit without Jacqueline on other days. My mother had seemingly decided that now that I was moving about on my own, I should be taking my etiquette lessons even more seriously. We would spend at least one day a week going over manners and proper behavior. Personally, I thought that this was a tad extreme; I was a village mayors daughter not a young noble. Still, I humored my mother so that I would not lose the privilege to go where I wanted on the other days. Once a month my mother would make me attend a tea party with her to make sure I was practicing my manners. Of course, when I was not in her presence, I dropped most of the mannerisms she was trying to teach me. I was markedly more well behaved than the other children my age, but I drew the line at being polite; I saw no use in the extravagant mannerisms and odd speech patterns used by high nobility. I think my mother might have missed her past station and was teaching me in order to relive those days. Around the end of the third month, my parents decided to hire an additional maid. Silvia was a young villager who was the fourth daughter of the local blacksmith. Despite being, to my eyes, quite pretty, her status as a fourth daughter meant her marriage prospects were quite slim. When I privately asked my mother why she could not get married despite her looks, I was informed that fourth daughters often remain maidens for life. It all came down to matters of inheritance. First daughters were the most sought after; they would be able to bring their mothers name with them and thus provide her influence to their new household, in addition to receiving the majority of the bridal gifts passed down the matrilineal line. Second and third daughters would lose their mothers name once they were married but would still have a portion of the bridal gifts kept for them. This would form a connection between the immediate family of the bride, as well as provide a basis for which to establish a new matrilineal line. By the time you got to the fourth daughter though, they would bring nothing other than themselves to the marriage. This setup was ingrained in Drakas Kingdom law, down to the percentages of Bridal Gifts to be saved for each of the first three daughters. Apparently, it had been written into law following a blood feud between the third and fourth princesses some four hundred years ago; when the third princess won, she persuaded the king to legally cut off her younger sister. No such law existed for fourth sons, although they had their own issues stemming from tradition. The first son would inherit the house and become the head of the main family, as well as the de facto head of his younger brothers families. The second and below sons would be able to marry according to the status of their father and oldest brother, as other families would use their first through third daughters to form attachments with the main house. As Silvia was the fourth daughter, she had no future with marriage, unless a son chose disownment in order to court her; an act that would make him a social pariah and likely result in him being driven out of the local area. If his families status was high enough, he may even be driven from the country. So it was that despite having a very fetching figure, with naturally curly blonde hair and soft brown eyes Silvia could only seek employment in one of the few fields open to a woman and decided to become our second maid. She could have taken up a position waiting tables at one of the village inns and taverns or become an adventurer, but those jobs were not exactly friendly towards women. Waitresses were basically prostitutes and the adventurers guild was a boys club, though there were a few successful women they didnt have a good reputation. Whispers would follow female adventurers wherever they went, generally of a derogatory nature that insinuated they were ingratiated into their parties via less than moral methods. Once all this had been summed up for me, I came to the conclusion that barring an express few jobs, an unmarried woman was generally considered a sex worker at best, and a mere whore at worst. Silvia took over the majority of household chores from Jacqueline, who was reassigned to be my personal attendant. What kind of village mayors daughter has a personal maid following them around! Dont think you can fool me, Father! Mother just wants a babysitter for when Im out of her sight! Indeed, this happened shortly after an incident that occurred when I was out on my explorations of the village. Following the incident where I shut him down at the dedication party, Giogi had begun to be quite abrasive and would heckle me whenever we met in town. At one of these encounters, I was returning from a visit to Svens shop in a foul mood; Sven had insinuated that he was planning to take on his younger brother as an apprentice for five years. Following the end of that apprenticeship, he would turn over the shop to his younger brother and go out on a journey. When I had asked why he needed an apprentice when he had already been teaching me, he got a funny look and explained that I couldnt be an alchemist since I was the first daughter of my family. Apparently, it was my duty to marry someone and make babies. Needless to say, I was pretty pissed off as I had no intention of doing that. I was about halfway home when I saw Giogi. Since I really was not in a mood to deal with his shit right now, I ducked onto a side street. I was intending to cut through to another main road and continue to my house from there, but Giogi had seen me. The little shit actually went out of his way to go down a different side street so as to head me off. Whatre you doing Mrs. Fancy? his barbed taunt assailed me, normally I would do my best to brush it off, but the earlier revelation from Sven had left me touchy. If you must know, I am going home. If you will excuse me, I am late. I tried to move past him but one of the goons got in my way. Great, now theyre getting physical. They had blocked me before, and forced me to ask them to move, or apologize for some perceived slight, always following their alpha Giogi like dumb animals. If it was just him things would be different, but the fact that hes sort of rallying all the classless kids to harass me is just Giogi, your pet is in my way. Please get a leash if you cannot properly train it. I put as much spite into my voice as I could, I was completely done with this shit. Giogi took a half step back at my words, he was clearly shaken, I had never acted like this with them before, I had always tried to de-escalate. Giogi looked over his shoulder at his goon squad and seemed to find his confidence. Oh yeah? Whatre you gonna do? Tell your dad on us? I mean, my dad is the village chief, I could literally do just that. Still, that would most likely just lead to another speech about how much more advanced I was than other kids, something I didnt care to deal with. I shrugged, I was completely done with this shit today, Giogi, since you cant control your pets, allow me to demonstrate a properly trained animal. Do try and learn from my example. I put my fingers in my mouth and let out a shrill whistle, which prompted Stil to come bounding out of a nearby back alley. Ever since I had begun roaming the town, I had noticed that Stil was always nearby, just out of sight. I had taught him to come when I whistled in case I ever ran into serious trouble and needed his help. Stil, Mount. Stil promptly dropped down into his mounting position and allowed me to climb on his back, the sight of which caused Giogis face to turn pale. His goons took a few steps back and the one who had stepped out to block my path turned and started running away. They probably think Im going to attack them. Good, maybe this will get them to leave me alone. I hitched up my skirt and climbed on Stils back. Stil, Home. Stil shot Giogi a look that seemed to say you damn lucky punk and marched past him taking me straight home. My mother was waiting for me with her arms crossed and a very, very, wide smile. Her eyes, however, were not involved with that smile. As a repercussion of those events, I had revealed to my mother that I was not comporting myself as a perfect little lady when out of her sight, so she had pestered my father to assign me someone to keep an eye on me. Now that the dedication was over, there was less need for us to keep our income from my alchemy dealings secret so we could easily afford more help. Thankfully, Jacqueline picked up on my distress and suggested that she be reassigned to me, citing her previous experience working as a maid for a young noble lady. My mother was thrilled when she heard that and quickly agreed. Jokes on you! Jacqueline wont be giving you any reports about what I get up to! Shes been keeping my secrets for over two years now! We hired Silvia soon after. I was also grounded for a month and forced to apologize to Giogi and his goons for scaring them. The enforced apology undid any lasting effect of my demonstration, and they predictably continued to torment me. My parents seemed to believe that I was just letting their childish antics get to me and tried to explain that I could not expect other children to behave as properly as I did like I knew they would. I was told that they would eventually grow out of it and that I should endeavor to set an example of proper behavior for them. When I asked Jacqueline what I should do, she told me that unless they became physically violent, I should simply put up with it while attempting to minimize encounters with them. I told her I was already trying to minimize encounters but seeing little success. A few days later she informed me of each of their general schedules, habits, and what areas of town they would frequent on a given day. Jacqueline is so skilled at looking out for me! How in the world did she get such useful information?! On a lighter note, I kept up my friendship with Sana. At first, I had just been doing it to get her to tell me more about the religion of this world that she learned from the priest, but as time wore on, we wound up becoming fairly close. Giogi had decided that I should be derided and made fun of at every opportunity because I was full of myself and only got where I was because of my parents. Sana wasnt able to make any progress with other children since they made fun of her for being an orphan. Since we were both social outcasts among our peers, I suppose it was only natural that we would grow closer in our misery. Occasionally, she would get permission from the priest to go out with me, but more often than not we would only be able to hang out at the temple. I would, upon her request, teach her the manners that my mother was trying so hard to drill into me. For her part, she would tell me bible stories. Hardly a normal arrangement for little girls like us, but we were happy with it. As an aside from me teaching her manners, we held frequent tea parties. Sometimes the Priest would join us, providing special tea leaves or snacks that had been made an offering at the temple. I grew fairly fond of him, as he seemed to treat Sana as his true daughter instead of just a ward. It was at one of these tea parties where Sana excitedly informed me that she was going to get to become a priestess, Stali! I have something special to tell you! She was positively beaming and had only managed a single sip of her tea before putting down her cup to talk. It must be exciting if you only took a sip, I had this tea made with an herb that Sven gave me, and I know its one of your favorites. The tea in question was brewed using Snake Grass and was a potent cure for headaches. Snake Grass was extremely sweet, like eating raw sugar slathered in honey, the drug made from it was extremely hard to swallow, as the extreme sweetness triggered the gag reflex. On a hunch, I had asked Sven if it could be mixed in with bitter tea leaves and he had given me a few grams of it to experiment with. My resulting brew tasted like milk tea and had lost none of the effects of the Snake Grass, despite being vastly improved in flavor. I had been using the tea parties with my mother and Sana to run trials, my mother often talked about having many headaches, so she made a good clinical patient, and Sana was perfectly healthy making her a good control subject. Stahlia I corrected her, the tea parties were officially meant as a way to practice manners after all. What news has you so excited Sana? She nodded at my correction and elaborated. Stahlia, yesterday when at signing practice, the song I was singing reached the gods and made a miracle! The flower in the music room was covered in light and immediately bloomed. The priest said it was out of season, so it must be a real miracle! The priest told me I could become a priestess! Thats great for you since as an orphan you have no marriage prospects. I smiled and congratulated her. That is excellent news, Sana. You must be very pro- pleased. Very pleased indeed. I had almost said she was proud. That was one of Sanas few faults. She was very zealous. If I had called her proud, I would have received a lecture about the danger of the seven vices of man and how they led you to stray from your purpose, thankfully, I had a great deal of experience with these lectures and was able to catch myself. Still, this confirms that miracles work according to the classic system. You need to truly believe in the power of god to be able to summon it. Other than the priest, I cant think of someone with greater faith than Sana, it makes sense she would be able to call on divine power. We continued to talk at length about her newly opened future and it soon came time for me to head home. Jacqueline tidied up our tea set while I said my farewells, and we departed. It was nearing the middle of the twelfth month and the snow was beginning to build up in earnest. Soon it would be too high for me to walk through without employing physical enhancement. I now had enough mana that I could probably make the trip to the temple but getting back would be impossible. Next year I should have enough to make both trips. I had been making sure to fully exhaust my mana on physical enhancements ever since I learned I could get skills and talents through training. My hope was to get one that would improve my mana efficiency, but thus far I had not managed to unlock it. Either the skill doesnt exist, or it requires a LOT of practice to unlock. Until I manage to level up and get a second talent and skill slot so I can browse the list all I can do is keep training my mana every day and hope. While I was thinking over my future goals, we arrived home. I played with Stil for a couple of hours. He had long since mastered all of the normal tricks you would expect of a dog, so I had moved on to teaching him show tricks. At present, he was learning Flip, which would require him to jump in the air and rotate backward to land on his feet, a classic backflip. Silvia was helping my mother prepare dinner while Jacqueline was recounting the details of my outing to my father. During this report, she left out a few small things on my behalf as usual. I am eternally in your debt, my shining knightess. Dinner was a tad more extravagant than usual, leading me to think that something was up. My father didnt seem to notice, as he was just enjoying the food like normal. Silvia was eating in the kitchen; Jacqueline was presently waiting at our table. The two of them rotated serving and would switch out after the one finished eating. I eyed my mother suspiciously. She had hardly touched her food and was glancing around the room nervously. When we finished eating, my father sat back as Silvia poured his usual after-dinner liquor, and lit his pipe. I was preparing to get up and go to my room when my mother called out. Stahlia, please wait a moment, I have something to discuss with you and your father. Her face was firm and resolute. In a panic I began to mentally run down a list of everything I had been doing the past few weeks, trying to determine what my mother had heard and from whom she heard it. My father put aside his pipe; he could tell my mother was about to have a serious conversation, What is it Rosalie? His own voice was just curious, but he briefly glanced in my direction concernedly. Really Father? Do you just assume I did something?! My mother followed his gaze to me and her eyes lingered for a moment before she faced my father again. Relax Stahlia, though this does concern you, you did not do anything wrong this time. Well, Excuse me, mother. Fynn dear, I have not been visited by Nymphos for the past three months, and recently Vitae has been attending my mornings. My father and I both blinked. I quickly counted the gods and goddesses in my head. Nymphos was the sex fiend goddess who was supposedly related to fertility, and Vitae was the one responsible for watching over pregnancy Mother are you pregnant!? Indeed, I could only assume my mother was trying to be delicate and dance around outright saying she had been missing her period and was now experiencing morning sickness. My mother gave me a despairing look, Stahlia, you should know better than to be so vulgar. But yes, I am presently with child. Vitae willing you will be a big sister sometime near the fifth month of next year. I jumped up excitedly; I wasnt sure why I was so happy; I had been an only child in my past life, and I really despised children. My father simply sat back and smiled happily at his wife; he had been worrying that they would be unable to have another child. My mother did not impregnate easily, from what I had heard they had been married three years before finally having me, and it had been four years since then. I ran over to my mother and took her hands in mine, Do not worry mother, I am sure this child will be normal, and if they are not, well, I can help! My mother blinked at me before breaking into a giggle and smiling, I had apparently successfully cleared one of her worries. Namely, that all her children would be abnormal. Psycholor From Sven''s Perspective. Set sometime between 1-8 and 1-10. Extra: A Normal Day With an Abnormal Apprentice Sven Sometime between 1-8 and 1-10. My name is Sven, I have been working in Ris village as an alchemist for almost ten years now, long enough to remember the old mayor in any case. Recently I was saddled with a new student. Shes the daughter of the current mayor, and she is incredibly abnormal. Frankly, her skill with alchemy is prodigious. I can definitely see why the mayor thinks she has the Alchemy Prodigy talent. Thing is, shes too good. A mere prodigy would still need training, but Stahlia seems to know everything I teach her before I teach it. A normal child would get bored with my explanations after a few minutes, but she sits politely and listens until the end. After I finish talkin I always ask her if she has any questions. The first time I asked I was expectin she would be at a complete loss, and I would have to run through the whole thing a second time. Rather than be confused, she put her hand on her chin and gave it some serious thought. Then the wee lass asked me why I didnt do the process a different way I had never heard of! I was really shocked the first time she did that and explained to her that the method I was teachin her had been passed down for nigh on a hundred years at this point, and in all that time no alchemist had found a better way. She seemed to accept my answer readily enough, but then she asked if we could try it her way. I sighed, who wouldnt? and explained that she might be getting ahead of herself when I felt a chill run down my spine. I looked up and saw the maid who was the little ladys escort. Now, I dont have any proof, but the first time I met the lass, I was just wondering whether or not I should hold my tongue after she made her poor old Ma faint when I got a chill just like this one. Looking out my window at the time, I saw a figure melt out of the shadows and flash a dagger at me. Now, Ive traveled ah wee bit in my time on this world, and theres rumors about a dark underbelly to this kingdom. Call themselves Shadows. According to the whispers, the king leads them himself, no generals or nobles in the way. Whenever there be somthin important goin down, you bet the major players will have two shadows, their own natural one, and a second one from the dark. I thought they were a myth, but seeing is believing. I somehow knew, that figure was one of those Shadows, and she was followin the lass in front of me. Now, I dont have any proof, but Id wager that this maid is that same shadow. She was a little too eager to be the young lass escort to and from my shop. She even spoke out against the lady of the house! What kinda self-respectin maid does a thing like that? In any case, the message was damn clear. I told Stahlia we would try it her way. Well, who would have guessed it? The little things method not only worked splendidly, it managed an efficiency far an above anything anyone had ever tried before! There was no way she was an Alchemy Prodigy. She was something alright, but that wasnt it. Well speakin of the devil. I was lost in thought and look who walked in my front door but the wee lass and her demon maid as well, Hello Mister Sven! she sure is cheerful today, as usual. Better greet er afore the maid gets anxious, Hello Miss Stahlia, Jacqueline. Ready for today? Absolutely! You were going to show me how to purify mana out of restoration potions right? As usual, the lass was excitable and eager ta learn. Indeed thats what I had told her last week. It was common sense that when you mixed ingredients, you would come out with a brew that had more than one effect. The trick to making an effective potion was to get rid of one of the effects. Come to think of it, this is what I had been doin the first day I met the wee lass; boilin out the restoration effect from a Concentrated Mana potion. Alright then, as I told you last time when youre brewing a restoration potion, you will first mix up the ingredients and come up with a potion that contains both mana recovery and restoration elements. Do you remember how we extract the Mana Recovery Element in order to produce the Restoration Potion? Ah, look at the wee lass smilin if it werent for that demon behind her itd be absolutely adorable Yes I recall, to remove the Mana Recovery Element you chill the potion, that makes the mana element crystallize at the bottom of the cauldron so you can pour out Restoration Potion. Conversely, to finish a Mana Recovery Potion you boil it; this evaporates the Restoration element leaving only the Mana Recovery Potion. Speaking of that, Mister Sven, I have a question! Ah course ya do, well it aint like that demon shadow maid is gonna give me any choice in the matter, lets see how your about to revolutionize alchemy this week. Hmm? What were you wondering about? Better check the demon, yep shes smilin at me. Well, instead of wasting one element by chilling, should we not heat the potion and then use condensation to recover the Restoration element? That way we would be left with both a Mana Recovery and a Restoration potion! This wee lass Condescendation what? Yet another thing I aint never heard of before. Well we could try that, but I havent ever thought of doing something like that before so I dont exactly have the right tools for it Please just give up, I don know how much more my world can be shaken fore I wind up in an early grave Ah, shit, the wee lass is smilin and now shes waving over the demon maid. And whats this thing now? Some sort of metal lid for my cauldron? So you put this on then add distilled winter to that bowl-shaped area eh? And now theyre lighting a fire I hope this doesnt fail, or I wont be able to fill out my order request Wait, Restoration Potion is coming outa this spot thing in the lid as a liquid and drippin into that bucket?! And since theyre heating the brew that means Mana Recovery Potionll be leftover in the cauldron! What in the blazes, this completely eliminates the waste from the refinery process! Where in all the hells did this wee lass learn about this Condescendation thing from?! Ah, well fancy that, looks like it worked. Honestly, I dont even know whose teaching who anymore. Hahaha Do not be silly mister Sven sir, I would never have been able to do this if you had not taught me about the refinery process! All smilin and cheery as usual, forget prodigy! I swear, this wee lass is some kinda alchemy demon! It was in this manner that Stahlia inadvertently revolutionized the world of Alchemy. In the coming years, this revolutionary process would come to be known as Condescending and would completely replace the previous Refining Process, but that is a story for another time. 1-10 Big Sister Stahlia Four Years Old, Second Month, 941 I skipped down the street on my way to the temple to collect Sana. I was exhilarated, the snow which had been too thick for me to break through had finally thawed to the point that I could move about freely again. Normally I would simply be going to the temple, but seeing as the snow had finally melted, the Priest had given his permission for Sana to accompany me as I went around the town today. I was planning to take her to Svens shop; after I had told her how I made the Snake Grass tea she had developed an interest in alchemy. Besides, I had an important conversation to have with Sven. I was still miffed about his plans to leave, but it likely wouldnt be until I was around nine or ten years old so I figured there was still plenty of time. Jacqueline was trailing behind me as usual, with Stil trotting after her. I ducked down a side street and made a detour to get to the temple, Giogi and his fellow hooligans were likely to be in the square playing today, or so Jacqueline had informed me. Seriously, I cant be more grateful for her excellent services. Arriving at the temple, Sana shot out the front door, Stali! Were going to the potion store today right!? I jumped to the side; she had misjudged the icy stone path and would have slid into me before she could stop. Yes Sana, we are going to the Alchemy Shop. I corrected her with a smile. Sana didnt get to leave the temple very often, though after developing the ability to cast miracles the Priest had told her she could go out more often. Of course, right about as soon as he told her that the snow came in force, so she had been cooped up indoors. She was understandably excited. She collected herself when she saw Jacqueline watching her with barely suppressed laughter. Turning bright red she backed up slightly. Well, I am really excited I giggled and beckoned for her to come along. We set out, taking a detour around the village square to avoid Giogi and co. When we got to the store entrance I whistled, which caused Stil to trot over. I tossed him a strip of jerky, Stil, Guard the perimeter. Over the winter my Monster Handling talent had leveled up. Monster Handling II allowed me to somewhat convey an intention alongside the order. Guard the perimeter would send Stil a mental image of what I considered the perimeter to consist of. It also came with a second monster slot but of course, I hadnt been able to fill it. The maximum rank of monsters I could bond with had increased by +1. I assumed that meant I could tame a D rank monster now but had not been able to test. Incidentally, according to Jacqueline, Stawri like Stil were, in fact, E rank, the same as goblins and one above the lowest rank of F. Stil snapped up his jerky and began to pace in front of the shop sniffing at things before selecting a vantage point and sitting down. Honestly, your feathers make me so jealous sometimes, they must be really warm. I trotted up to the door and knocked on it before opening it up and stepping in. Jacqueline and Sana were right behind me, eager to get out of the cold. Mister Sven! I am here with Sana today! I announced myself loudly so that he would be able to hear me from anywhere in the shop. Sven came out of the backroom with a raised eyebrow. So this is Sana, Ive heard a bit about you. To what do I owe the pleasure miss Stahlia? Right, I hadnt told him I was coming yet. Mister Sven, Teach me about Pregnancy! Hu-Buwah?! Sven choked on something and stared at me with fish-eyes. Out from behind him a second man emerged, he looked quite like Sven. Hmm? Whos that? More importantly, whats wrong with Sven..? Oh, right, pregnancy is a vulgar word in this world, and Sven is used to me using proper speech. My apologies, please excuse my vulgar choice of words. Mister Sven, would you kindly teach me about Vitaes embrace in the absence of Nymphos? There, that should get my point across. Hubahaha?! Seriously? What the hell is wrong with him?! I glanced around the room. Svens presumed brother was staring at me with a shocked expression. Jacqueline was turned to the side and hunched over so I couldnt see her face, but her shoulders were trembling. Sana was more or less ignoring everyone as she flicked her gaze from object to object, staring with naked fascination. Why are Jacqueline and this dude being so weird? I just want to learn about what medicines you give a pregnant woman in this world? Svens brother stepped forward and cuffed his brother on his shoulder. Sven, have you been walking in Virgils footsteps? His face was kind of scary. Virgil? The pedophile god? Oh shit! Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly interceded, waving my hands in front of me to clear the misunderstanding, Nonono, Mister Sven has not done anything of the sort! It is my mother you see, early in winter she announced herself. We were unable to tell anyone because of the snow! I want Mister Sven to teach me about the potions she needs! Sven opened and closed his mouth a few times. While he was formulating a response, Sana zeroed in on my statement and exclaimed, Really!? Youre gonna be a big sister!? I want to see the baby! Do you think I should sing a song for your mommy? Thats not a bad idea Alright, we can go stop on the way back to the temple. I am sure my mother would be most pleased. During this exchange, Jacqueline seemed to have recovered and was now standing off to the side stoically, although I could see the corners of her mouth twitching occasionally. Sven finally recovered enough to speak, I see c-congratulations, I am sure you will be an excellent older sister. His brother cuffed his shoulder again. Right, this is my younger brother Sieg, the one I had mentioned to you. He started as my apprentice last month. Stepping forward, Sieg gave an elegant bow. I have heard much about you Lady Stahlia, my name is Sieg Svensbrother. Feeling compelled by his aura I curtsied. My name is Stahlia Rosaliesdaughter, the honor is mine. Sven has been ever so kind to me these past three years. This is Jacqueline my attendant- Jacqueline curtsied but did not announce herself. -and this is Sana, my good friend. We will be in your care. Sana stepped forward and did her own curtsy. My name is Sana daughter of none. Im Stalis friend, its nice to meet you! Sieg looked back and forth between me, Jacqueline and Sana, its like being in a kings court. You told me Lady Stahlia was exceptional, but you couldve warned me, Sven. Sven chuckled mirthfully. I figured even if I did you wouldntve believed me. Better to experience it firsthand like I had to He glanced at me, likely thinking about our first meeting. I gave them a moment to commiserate before clapping my hands, Right, Mister Sven can you teach me what I need to know for my mother? I think Sana is interested in the Snake Grass tea that I made late last year, perhaps Sieg could show her other herbs that might make for a good tea? I was thinking of dried Tortoise Flower petals, the ones that cure indigestion. Tortoise Flowers were a species of flower that had petals shaped like the sections of a tortoiseshell. They were used to calm an upset stomach but had a very bitter flavor. I imagined a tea made with plenty of honey would turn out quite lovely. Sieg blinked at Sven, Wait, you were serious? She came up with that recipe? it was Svens turn to clap Sieg on his shoulder. Get used to it Sieg, probably about eighty percent of the new products to come out of this workshop in the past three years are a result of working with her. The other twenty were twists I came up with based on something she developed. Sieg sighed and walked over to an herb shelf and started pulling out common medicinal herbs before calling Sana over to a corner worktable. Jacqueline took out the tea set we had brought with us and laid it out for them before joining me and Sven. Sven started pulling down ingredients from various shelves. I recognized all of them already from past lessons, at his direction I began preparing them into the desired quantities. We mixed some of the Tortoise Flower petals into a thick syrup. At my suggestion we added honeycomb; this syrup was to help with morning sickness. We also mixed several powders into a potion cauldron, which we then condescended into two separate potions. One of them stimulated milk production and the other was supposed to help with the infants development pre-birth. Before developing the condescending method, you would have to brew this mix twice and use a different method to extract the potion each time. Still, I really wish he would have listened when I explained the proper terminology. I find it so hard not to laugh when I hear someone say they are condescending a potion. Unfortunately for me, the name had stuck. Since that incident, I was careful not to use English words when describing various chemistry techniques. All in all, we brewed five separate medicines for my mother. Sven also sold me the raw ingredients at cost using the excuse; If some emergency happens, it would be better not to have to summon me. Its a long walk to your house, and youre more than capable of fixing the potions yourself. Aside from the aforementioned three, we also made oil to be spread over her stomach to prevent stretch marks from forming later, and what amounted to a nutrient slurry to supplement her diet. I didnt really consider that last one to be a potion; I could probably have managed to make it at home without seeking Svens aid. Bearing in mind that I still had to take Sana back to the temple before dark, we ended up cutting the session shorter than I would have liked. I approached the side worktable and overheard a somewhat heated conversation between Sieg and Sana. They seemed to be debating the merits of different techniques to steep the herbs and how they affected the final flavor. Well, it was more a case of Sieg saying something and Sana responding in an excited manner; it was pretty clear she only understood the words at face value. It seems Sana has developed quite a fondness for teas, but who would have thought Sieg would know so much about such a subject. I shot Sven a glare; he only knew about pure alchemy. When I had suggested brewing the medicines into tea he had left the entire affair up to me saying, I dont know a thing about womans hobbies like tea parties. Sven noticed my glare and raised a questioning eyebrow. Turning my attention back to the ongoing tea party I cleared my throat. Ah Lady Stahlia, just in time! Try this if you would? I looked down at the contents of the cup offered to me. I could see small bits of tortoise petals floating in it. It smelled bitter. Like quintuple shot espresso from back on Earth. I really dont want to drink that Sana, it is time for us to depart. We will not be able to make it to my house if we are to have you returned to the temple on time. Sana pouted at me. But Stali, we spent all day trying to make this one you wont try it? She was giving me puppy dog eyes. There is no world in which that tea tastes good. I would know, I have experience in two now. I sighed, Alright, just a sip then we must go. I took the teacup from her and stared at it ruefully. My eyes were watering. I steeled my resolve and took a sip. It was awful and I had to run over to a waste bucket for spoiled potions where I promptly threw up. When I recovered, Sana was in tears and Sieg was being harshly scolded by Jacqueline. I did feel bad about throwing up after they had spent so much time on it, but it had been a totally involuntary response; the brew was just that bad. ugh Next time use more honey, and Jacqueline, help them steep the leaves. I managed to groan out some advice. After Sana calmed, we left for my home. Sana still seemed upset about the tea so, in an effort to cheer her up I called Stil over. I motioned for Jacqueline, and she promptly handed me two sheets of paper. I showed Stil the first one; Stil, Priest. Showing him the second one; Stil, Mother. I then tucked both papers into his collar. Stil, Delivery. Sana was watching all of this with wide but red eyes. Stali, what are those? I smiled at her. Messages, the first one is for the priest, I had Jacqueline write it earlier; it tells him we are stopping by my house because you wanted to see my mothers belly and asks him if its ok for you to spend the night. The other is for my mother, telling her about our visit. Sana seemed very fond of the plan and quickly forgot about her earlier faux pas. Stil ran off to make his deliveries while we continued on, taking a route suggested by Jacqueline to avoid Giogi. After about fifteen minutes, Stil came back with two sheets of paper tucked under his collar. I took the first one and asked Jacqueline to read it. It was from the priest and read, Sana may spend the night at the mayors residence, but please have her back at the temple before noon tomorrow. Lady Stahlia, in the future please do not use a monster to deliver letters without some prior warning, my heart is not as strong as it used to be. The second letter simply gave my mothers confirmation that she would instruct Silvia to prepare an extra portion at dinner. Really now, how did he know the letters were my idea?! Incensed, I huffed my thoughts out loud which caused Sana to giggle. Tee-hee, Stali, its because Stil is your Stawri! Everyone in town knows about you two! She was smiling again, so I grinned back. It seemed all of her previous worries had been alleviated. Arriving home, we let ourselves in. Jacqueline took our coats and hung them up before excusing herself to go and prepare a guest bed in my room. Having heard the door, my mother came out with Silvia trailing behind her. After introducing Sana to her, Silvia took the bag of potions Jacqueline had left in the entry and began to put them away while I informed her which was which. Dinner was a slow affair; we recounted the events of the day causing my mother great embarrassment when she heard of my own blunder regarding pregnancy. For his part, my father found the story hilarious. His mirth caused my mother to vow to intensify my etiquette lessons, which caused me to groan, which caused my father to start laughing harder, which in turn caused my mother to turn bright red and scold me about appearances and manners. Throughout the whole spectacle, Sana alternated between outright laughter and vainly trying to appear serious. After dinner, Sana approached my mother and asked if she could sing for her. I was careful to explain this would cause a miracle, as Sana had acquired the Faith Singer talent. I wouldnt want my mother to get surprised and miscarry when the miracle light descends on her, theres no telling what that would do to Sanas mental state. My mother was overjoyed to accept the offer, so Sana took up a position with her hands on either side of my mothers bulging stomach. Jacqueline revealed yet another talent of her own when she produced a small instrument that vaguely resembled a xylophone, but with strings instead of metal slates and asked Sana which holy song she would sing. Sana told her, and Jacqueline provided an accompaniment score. The song was slow and short, just two verses repeated three times, but Sanas high childish voice complimented Jacquelines playing well. Oh great Goddess of Harvest and Child Mother Vitae who watches over us from above Grant your servant this, her simple wish Guard this little one in its cradle of clay and mud Hear our prayer, this song of our love Oh great Goddess of Mothers and Infants May my song, my prayer my words uphove Protect the small life from threats that run rampant After the first repetition, those present could feel energy suffusing the room. The second repetition was played and sung slightly faster, or it could have been a trick of the energy. Upon concluding the second repetition, Sana seemed to be glowing with a faint amber light. Concluding with the third repetition, the amber light leaped off Sana and pooled in a galaxy swirl above my mothers stomach before entering her and settling. Briefly, we could make out a dark shape inside her, illuminated by the light. Then the room seemed dim, despite none of the candles or lamps having gone out. Sana fell down to her knees, appearing short of breath. She smiled up at my mother, Thank you for letting me sing for you Is it just me? Or was that a lot brighter than the other two blessings Ive seen? Mine and Javs. though, I couldnt really see my own, on account of standing in the middle of it. My mother thanked Sana profusely then Sana and I retired to my room. We lounged about for an hour discussing a myriad of things, but the miracle had seemingly tired Sana a great deal, so she seemed somewhat listless after a while. I determined it was about time to go to sleep, so I bid her goodnight. Sleep well Sana, thank you again for blessing my mother. I squeezed her hand and climbed into my own bed. Goodnight Stal. Her voice seemed to trail a bit at the end, but when I went to ask her if she was ok, she was already fast asleep. I had no intention of becoming a pious follower of this worlds messed up religion, but I directed a prayer towards no god in particular asking for Sana to find happiness. The next morning, we came down for breakfast, which was uneventful. After breakfast, I determined it was about time to get Sana back to the temple lest we be late. As we were saying our goodbyes, my father pressed a pouch into Sanas hand and asked her to give it to the Priest with his thanks. Based on Sanas reaction, the pouch must have been heavy. She graced my father with an awkward smile and told him she was certain the priest would be pleased. We set out for the temple in high spirits, accompanied as usual by Jacqueline and Stil. The Priest was indeed pleased with my fathers donation. As it turned out, in order to obtain a miracle from a member of the church it was usually common courtesy to offer a gift of money or goods. Even though Sana had volunteered to do it out of friendship for us, my father felt obligated to provide compensation. Pretty sure thats money he got from me anyway, so its not like making a large donation is going to hurt our familys finances. My mothers pregnancy advanced steadily. During this time, I continued to visit Sven frequently to learn about the various potions and medicinal concoctions she would need during and after the birth, as well as what the newborn infant would need to help ensure its health. Time seemed to fly by and thought I had a few run-ins with Giogi and his posse to mar my mood, thanks to Jacquelines help I was still able to avoid them more often than not. My mother was getting bigger by the day, until one morning, early in the sixth month of the year 941 she announced that the baby was coming. My father immediately dispatched Silvia to fetch the doctor and instructed Jacqueline and myself to attend to my mother before retiring himself to another room. Apparently, it was considered a social blunder for a man to present while his wife gave birth. Though based on Jacquelines reaction to his decisions I had to wonder if he was just nervous. Still, I had already determined to make sure my younger sibling was born safely, so I set Jacqueline to the task of tending my mother while I ran around the house fetching whatever she needed. The first thing Jacqueline did was to help my mother sit up in bed and send me to take Stil out to the garden and draw water. I whistled for Stil and dashed to the kitchen where I fetched a large bucket, which stood nearly as tall as my waist. Staring at it for a moment, I determined there was no way I would be able to get the bucket out to the garden unassisted, let alone use it to draw water from our well, and then bring it full of water back upstairs to my parents room. Well, theres no helping it. I focused for a moment, feeling the crawling sensation I knew was my mana coursing through my body. Directing my mana to flow into my arms and legs I enhanced my physical strength and hefted the bucket up in one hand. This much should be easy. I darted out the kitchen side door and had Stil crouch down in front of the well so I could use him as a stool to reach the hook. Seriously, Jacqueline had to have known I wouldnt be able to do this She must have just assumed I would enhance myself. What a resourceful woman. Attaching the bucket, I let it fall down into the well. Further enhancing my arms, I started turning the crank to bring it back up. I pulled the bucket back up and after a bit of finagling was able to unhook it. Bringing the bucket back into the kitchen with both hands now, I glanced around. Pretty sure I should sanitize this water. I looked for a bit of alcohol, but of course, we kept that on the very top shelf. I might be able to get it if I enhanced my legs some more and jumped, but mother would definitely question how I was able to jump that high. I was idly stirring the water with my finger deep in thought about what I should do. I suppose Ill just have to boil it then. Just as I was looking around the shelf for the flint, I felt a sharp pain in my finger and yelped, drawing my hand back from the bucket. Looking at the bucket suspiciously I saw that the water was now steaming, with small bubbles were rising to the surface. What the hell? Did I just heat the water with magic? Glancing around the room I shook the unnecessary thoughts from my head, I could figure out what happened later. I hefted the bucket up and started climbing the stairs. About halfway up, I heard the front door open. Silvias voice called out to me. Oh, Lady Stahlia, what are you doing!? she ran up and took the bucket from me, apparently under the impression that I was greatly struggling. I let her have it, thankfully it seemed her nerves were currently too raw to question how I had managed to firstly, draw the water, and secondly, boil it, in the brief window of time she had been gone. The Doctor came up behind us and gave me a nod before urging Silvia to show him to my mother. The three of us, as I had told Stil to watch the garden, made our way up to my mothers room. Jacqueline immediately dunked a cloth into the water before jerking her hand back and shooting me a suspicious look. I shrugged my shoulders consolingly. Yea, I dont know what I did either! Rolling her eyes, Jacqueline retrieved the cloth much more carefully and started wiping my mother down with it. I spent the next four hours running about fetching things, though now that the doctor and Silvia were here, Jacqueline made a point of sending Silvia after anything a normal four-year-old wouldnt be able to manage. You definitely knew I was going to use enhancement huh. The birth took around five hours in total, according to the doctor it was a quick and painless one. Mother, if you expect me to do that one day you have another thing coming! As an aside, I determined I would enlist Svens assistance and introduce N2O, Laughing Gas as it was commonly called. We should be able to use the same equipment we do for Ammonia if we replace the Hydrogen with Ammonia and increase the pressure. When I asked about how it compared to my own birth the doctor got a funny look and simply informed me that this birth was completely normal in every conceivable way, dont worry about it. I suppose that even as I entered the world, I was already stirring the pot. Speaking of stirring the pot, towards the end, when the doctor had told us the baby would be born any moment now I had excused myself to the kitchen to begin mixing the recovery potions. These potions spoiled very quickly, and thus had to be mixed essentially right before they were used, but would be able to rapidly recover a womans body from the stress of childbirth. Though I had asked, Sven wasnt able to tell me how they were different from normal recovery potions, just that they were. I was just putting the finishing touches on the potion when I heard a piercing cry coming from the room above. The child had been born safely. My parents were both overjoyed at how normal it was, a stance that I took great offense with. I could read the room though and chose not to voice my dissatisfaction. Rosial was by all accounts, a perfectly healthy baby girl. She had my fathers black hair and my mothers silver-blue eyes, appearance-wise she looked an awful lot like myself, just baby-ier. I think I saw my fathers eye twitch when he learned he had a second daughter, but he recovered quickly enough. I was worried having an infant in the house would prove stressful, but it really wasnt. At least not for me. After the first month, my mother seemed about ready to collapse from exhaustion. I did what I could to help her, changing diapers, mixing various remedies, putting the baby to bed, but my mother seemed to grow more and more tired by the day. Whenever I voiced concern, my mother would simply reassure me, Stahlia dear, I am perfectly fine. I am just grateful that this child cries when she is hurt or hungry. I would much rather be on the verge of collapse from exhaustion than from worry. I resolved to see about developing an energy drink in addition to the ether. After about six months, around the time of my fifth birthday, things with Rosial had settled into a routine. I had still made sporadic visits to Sana at the temple but had mostly been kept busy at home. My parents had at first insisted that I could leave Rosial to my mother and Silvia, but I just informed them that I wanted to be a good older sibling. Eventually, they let me have my way and started asking me for help with various things. Taking advantage of the relative peace, I went to visit Sven. As it turned out, Sven and Sieg had been busy in my absence. When I entered the shop, I was quickly invited into the back room, where they had been constructing a large contraption. It looked like a large steel barrel, with two smaller barrels bolted onto the sides. The Large barrel had a hand crank on the top of it, and the small barrels were hooked up to the large one via a pair of tubes, each end of the tubes was fitted to what resembled a pressure valve. I stared at the device with visible surprise, I already had a vague inkling of what its purpose was. Sieg was standing next to it proudly, Well, what do you think Lady Stahlia? Impressive aint it? Sven and I came up with this design to make Ammonia easier to produce. The machines we were using based strictly on your design worked well enough, but the production quantity was too limited. I tore my eyes away from the machine and looked back and forth between Sven and Sieg before letting a wide grin come across my face, Marvelous! Youve made a Pressure Mixer! I was just thinking we should make something like this, now we can get straight to developing Ether! I let my speech slip a bit in my excitement, earning a surprised look from Sven and a chiding remark from Jacqueline. Sieg just seemed confused. A pressure mixer? No, this is an Ammonia Cauldron. Also, what the hell is ether? He was clearly confused and didnt realize how marvelous his invention was, so I chose to ignore his outburst and simply demonstrate. Right, Ether. Its a type of potion like Ammonia only, instead of curing sleepiness, it causes it. With your pressure mixer, it should be easy enough to produce; all we need is to put the Air Powder in one of those small chambers, and Ammonia in the other. Then when we let the two gases mix in the big chamber, we will want to use the hand crank to increase the pressure. That should produce Liquid Ether and Water. I pointed out all the things we would need to do, which caused Sieg to just get more confused. Sven came up and cuffed his shoulder. Just do what she says Sieg, its easier that way. Still, why would you want a drug to cause sleepiness Lady Stahlia? That was a question I could answer easily. It only causes sleepiness in large amounts. In small doses, it merely numbs pain. I thought of it when my mother was bringing my little sister into the world. I nodded my head in punctuation. Sven rolled his eyes at my explanation. You thought of it just like that..? Whatever. If this works, and knowing you Im sure it will, then this will revolutionize medicine. Sven turned to his brother, Well, Sieg, get to it; we should have enough Ammonia stocked up to try this out. Sven cracked his fingers and went about grabbing what we needed while Sieg prepped the pressure mixer, grumbling about how I had totally stolen his thunder. Now, that solves the laughing gas. I wonder how I can get my hands on Taurine and B vitamins to make energy drinks? 1-11 Sneaking Out Stahlia Five Years Old, Sixth Month, 942 I was sitting on my bed deep in thought. At some point, this had become my default position whenever I was contemplating my next course of action. My little Sister Rosial had just had her one-year celebration earlier tonight, she was growing quickly, though far slower than I had done. She could now speak a few simple words, thanks to the efforts of my mother and me always being sure to talk to her at length. Stil was laying on the floor at the foot of my bed, watching me think. Leaning forward, I scratched at his head and pushed a wave of mana into him. During the events of my sisters birth, I had unlocked a new extension of my enhancement magic; through direct contact, I could cause magic phenomena in a target. At first, it had been fairly difficult, but by practicing I was able to refine the process. I could control the temperature of a substance like when I first discovered the ability by boiling water. I could enhance the physical properties of an inanimate object, for example, making my dagger sharper. I was also able to collect some information about the stats of the target like I was doing now to Stil. I was certain there were other applications but, as of yet, I had only found these. Information flowed into my head about Stil. Name: Stil Species/Level: Stawri, 6 Ability Values: Special: Bonded Monster (Stahlia) It was nowhere near as much information as my own status screen, but it was a massive improvement from what I had known about him previously. I tossed him a piece of jerky and leaned back letting out a sigh. From one point of view, I had made tremendous progress in the past year, but I was discontent. In my own opinion, I felt like I had hit a wall. According to my status screen, I had finally done enough to max out Prodigys experience. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 73 Name/Age: Stahlia, 5 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 1 Experience: 0/1000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Fallen Noble House (Despita, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Shadow Blade [Swap Style] Talents 1/1: [Browse Talents] Prodigy I*, Monster Handling II*, Dagger Fighting III* Unarmed Fighting II*, Alchemy Correction I* Skills 1/1: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Talents Experience: Prodigy 1000/1000* Monster Handling 584/2500 Dagger Fighting 12/5000 Unarmed Fighting 713/2500 Alchemy Correction 200/1000 I had managed to level up Dagger Fighting twice, the correction provided by the skill was high enough now that Jacqueline had started sparring with me. Of course, she had my physical stats absolutely outmatched in every regard, and even with my enhancements turned up to maximum I couldnt come remotely close to beating her. She wasnt even using her own dagger, just her bare hands. I had likewise leveled up unarmed fighting once, but my weakened status still made that very slow going compared to dagger fighting. Alchemy Correction was my newest acquisition, I had gotten it while mixing potions for my mother and baby sister. Apparently, it reduced the failure rate of potions. Considering I had been mixing potions for nearly four years now, I had no idea why it took so long for me to earn enough experience to acquire it. The elephant in the room though was Prodigy. I had finally gotten Prodigy to 1000/1000 experience after teaching Sven and Sieg how to make Ether. But despite being at the maximum required experience, it hadnt leveled up. According to the description window for my prodigy experience, Prodigy was level locked. Indeed, the description window read like it was worded just to annoy me. [Prodigy I] has reached the required Experience. Class Level insufficient to acquire [Prodigy II]. Please increase Class Level to continue earning experience for Prodigy talent line. If I wanted to get [Prodigy II], I would have to level up my class level. I had no idea why Prodigy had a level requirement, while Monster Handling, Dagger Fighting, and Unarmed Fighting did not. The only thing I could think of was that I had purchased Prodigy as one of my class talents, whereas I had learned the others naturally. This set an irritating precedent; any skills or talents I purchased would see their levels restricted by my class level, if I wanted a skill or talent to progress as fast as possible, I would need to learn it through effort. The other big problem was the line that informed me I wouldnt earn any more experience towards prodigy until I increased my class level. I interpreted that to mean that by not increasing my class level I was wasting prodigy experience. So far, I had been using my alchemy lessons with Sven to earn prodigy experience, by continuing to come up with new things based on my Earth knowledge I had been inciting a sort of Alchemical Revolution in the Drakas Kingdom. I didnt want to continue that if I couldnt reap the experience, but I also couldnt just stop either, I had a reputation to keep up after all. I frowned to myself. Theres only one thing for it, Ill have to find a way to level up, and soon. Resolving myself, I fell asleep. The next morning, I ate a quick breakfast and ducked out of the house as fast as possible; I had a mission to accomplish. Jacqueline was right behind me of course, showing no signs of falling behind. Yea, I shouldnt have expected to be able to lose her. I moved along the main road towards the villages perimeter wall. I call it a wall, but it was more of a moderately tall fence. Lady Stahlia, what are you scheming? Jacqueline was giving me a pleasant smile, but her eyes were serious. I am not planning anything today, Jacqueline, I am simply curious is all. Giving my most placating smile, I moved away from her to watch the entrance to the adventurers guild branch office. I was planning to slip out of the village and try to find some monsters, but I wasnt stupid. I knew I could probably only manage the weaker varieties, so I had come to watch the adventurers. My plan was to observe how they were acting; if they were jovial then it meant the outside was rather safe. Conversely, if they were subdued, it meant there was probably something dangerous outside right now. I had picked up on these behaviors a couple of years ago when the number of adventurers suddenly increased. At the time I hadnt thought anything of it, but I later found out that a Goblin King had appeared in the mountains near the village. At the moment, the adventurers were behaving normally, so I assumed that there was nothing out of the norm in the area surrounding my village. Perfect, I should spend a week preparing and think of an excuse to be gone for a day or two I wonder if my mother would let me spend the night at the temple? I turned about and told Jacqueline I wanted to see Sana. Jacqueline nodded, though she was watching me carefully. We set out for the temple, and I became absorbed in thought; I needed to figure out what I would say to get Sana on my side. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I was barely paying attention as we walked, I wound up running into someone. Oi! Watch where your walkin- Mrs. Fancy? Whatre you doing walking around with your head up in the clouds? Of all the luck, I had run into Giogi. He was without his squad at the moment, the only small grace. My apologies Giogi, I will endeavor to be more careful; I was lost in my thoughts. Truly, it is a grievous error. I promptly regurgitated an apology, hoping this would end our encounter early. Hopefully, he will be more subdued without his minions about him. I glanced sidelong at Jacqueline, and she gave a slight shake of her head; a motion I interpreted as an indication that none of his friends were nearby. A-ah, thats alright, I didnt hurt you, did I? Excuse me? Who the hell is this? Giogi had apologized to me, whats more, he looked nervous; his ears were slightly red, and he seemed liable to jump out of his skin at any moment. I knew it! Not so tough without backup, are you?! No, I am quite alright, if I had been hurt, I am sure Stil would have been so gracious as to inform you. I gave a charming smile while delivering my veiled threat. I fully intended to enjoy this while I could. I-I See, I-Im sure he would. He glanced at Stil, It really is impressive how you trained him He was fidgeting with his foot a bit. Probably trying to test his footing in case I set Stil on him and he has to run. Dont worry, Im not a bloodthirsty maniac. Yes, well theres a trick to it. Properly training an animal is a lot of work, but the reward is well worth it. I was of course implying that his own pets lacked discipline, but I was certain that would fly over his head. Hmmm, you mean theres a trick to it? Do you think, m-maybe you, maybe you could show me sometime? huh? I see, he wants to see how I control Stil so he can figure out how to disarm him. Cunning. Well, its not really a big secret or anything, I have a monster handler talent. Stil listens to me because of that. Of course, I wasnt going to tell him that all it took was properly seasoned dried meat. Giogis eyes got wide. How do you have a talent like that when you dont know your purpose?! Ah right, I forgot hes jealous of how Jav overshadowed him. I am unsure, I simply seem to have developed it one day. Giogis eyes got even bigger. Ah, youre lying arent you! Well, if you dont want to tell me thats fine! I didnt want to know anyway! He turned bright red and, turning about-face, sprinted off down the street away from me. I turned to Jacqueline. Well, now that the pests have been dealt with shall we continue to the temple? For some reason, Jacqueline found my statement hilarious because she suddenly burst out laughing. We managed to arrive at the temple without any further interruptions, and I announced myself at the entrance to the attendant priest who was minding the doors. After giving a cursory prayer, though I made sure not to put any actual sincerity into it, I asked the attendant priest if Sana had finished her worship lessons for the day. The man nodded and let me into the back of the temple, escorting me to Sanas room. Normally, only those affiliated with the church were allowed into the inner portions, but Jacqueline and I had been given a special exception to visit Sana in her chambers due to my friendship. It came with the caveat that we had to have an escort bring us to them, but that was hardly an inconvenience. Sana greeted me cheerfully; we hadnt made any plans to meet today so I was appearing unannounced, but she didnt seem put off. Now I had to somehow get rid of Jacqueline, she kept a lot of secrets for me, but I doubted even she would agree with my plans. Jacqueline, it seems that I forgot to bring the tea set seeing as this was a spur-of-the-moment meeting. Would you kindly retrieve it? That should take her about half an hour, long enough to convince Sana. Jacqueline gave me a very wide smile. Lady Stahlia, I suspected you may wish to visit Sana today, seeing how quickly you dashed off after breakfast, so I made sure to grab it. She indeed produced the tea set from inside her bag and began laying it out. Shit. Sana was watching her quizzically before she turned to me. Stali, why did you come to visit me today? I couldnt very well announce my plans with Jacqueline listening in, so I was at a loss. While I was floundering to find what to say, Jacqueline addressed Sana in my stead. Lady Sana, if you will excuse my impertinence at speaking out of turn, Lady Stahlia wishes to enlist your aid in a scheme to slip out of the village. I imagine she will be gone for at least two days and one night; likely she wants you to invite her over to spend the night in the temple so as to deceive her parents. I stared at Jacqueline in utter shock. How?! How the hell did she figure things out so easily?! Based on her reaction, I would imagine I am correct in my predictions. Jacqueline smiled smugly at me. Sana was less impressed, Stahlia how could you do that to your parents?! Theres no way I could help you with that! With the cat out of the bag, there wasnt really anything for me to do. My parents would hear about this, and I would probably wind up grounded again. Contrary to my expectations, however, Jacqueline came to my rescue. Lady Sana, please again forgive my impertinence. You see, Lady Stahlia has been very troubled recently by night terrors. She sees a great calamity befalling Ris Village and feels that it is her purpose to venture out of the village to somehow prevent it. As you might expect, she cannot tell her parents; they would of course simply dispatch the militia, but according to Lady Stahlias dreams if they do that it will only accelerate the calamity. She is seeking your aid because you are the only one she can turn to. What the hell? Night terrors? my purpose? Jacqueline, you know damn well none of what you just said is true! I turned to Sana, intent on correcting her and explaining myself, but Sana looked thoughtful. your purpose? Well if you really think so Ill try to help you as best I can I am a servant of the gods after all. Let me go and ask the priest. Wait, you bought that?! Jacqueline produced an envelope with a wax seal on it and passed it to Sana. Please give the Priest this letter, I have enclosed the details of Stahlias visions such as she has confided in me. Tell him The shadows that stalk Lady Stahlias dreams are close at hand. He should understand the urgency of her dilemma. Sana nodded and took the letter before departing to see the Priest. Seriously, how far did Jacqueline read my intentions?! How the hell did she come up with that stream of bullshit?! I eyed her suspiciously. Jacqueline, who exactly are you? She gave me a troubled smile. I am simply your exceptionally proficient maid, Lady Stahlia. Uh-huh, sure you are. Still, I knew she wasnt going to tell me anything, so I let the matter drop. About ten minutes later, the priest came in and handed Jacqueline a letter. Give this to the mayor and his wife, it is an official invitation for Stahlia to spend the night at the temple; Sana has come down with an illness, and Sven, being a man, cannot spend the night in her room. We are merely asking for Lady Stahlia to attend to her while she recovers over the next couple of days. Holy shit, what was in that letter Jacqueline wrote?! Jacqueline accepted the letter and departed to deliver it to my parents. The priest gave me a very careful look once she was out of the room before shaking his head and departing. Sana promptly climbed into her bed, claiming she felt feverish. Apparently, they were not going to inform the other members of the clergy about her illness being a ruse. I kind of feel really bad about this how in the world did my plan of sneaking out for a day end up turning into a low-budget heist movie plot? Jacqueline returned after about an hour and a half with a pair of backpacks and two cloaks. One pair in her size and another fitted for my own measurements. I had some serious questions regarding the extent to which she was going to keep my secrets. That night, we slipped out of the temples back door and stole through the darkness towards the wall. We were moving quickly; I had moderately enhanced my legs to maintain a good pace. All of a sudden, Jacqueline held up a hand. Abruptly stopping, she grabbed the back of my cloak around my neck and pulled me into a doorway. Coming around a corner, a pair of the village militia walked past us. After waiting a moment, she motioned for us to continue. What in the world? Im starting to seriously question the whole maid thing. We made it to the perimeter wall without running into anyone else, and Jacqueline addressed me in a hushed whisper, There should be a patrol coming down along the inside of the wall in a minute or so, once they pass and go around that corner, increase your enhancement and jump over the wall; Ill catch you. With that said she darted out and ran up the side of the wall, using a pair of daggers as climbing picks. She vanished over the top of the wall and landed softly on the other side. Exceptionally proficient maid my ass! Shes almost like a ninja A memory came back to the surface of my mind when I thought that. A memory of a ninja-like figure disposing of bodies in the street out front of my house. Who exactly is my maid?! I didnt have much time to think though, as sure enough, a patrol of three men came around just as Jacqueline had said they would. I crouched low to the ground and held my cloak tightly around me, holding my breath until they had passed. Thank god Shadow Blade Style buffs my sneak score. Once the men rounded the corner I enhanced my legs further, increasing power at the expense of mana consumption efficiency. I held myself low to the ground as I ran out from cover, as I passed within a few meters of the wall, I jumped up and forward. Kicking off the wall once as I ascended, I increased my height and sailed over the top. Looking over the dark ground below me I saw a shadow flit out from a hollow near the base of the wall. It drew closer as I descended and then resolved itself into Jacqueline, who grabbed me out of the air and let me gently down to the ground. She nodded at me and motioned towards the forest edge; once we got into the forest, we should be safe from any patrols. In order to reach that goal, we held low to the ground and ran quickly into the forest. Once we were safe, Jacqueline turned to me, Alright Stahlia, were out of the village, I think its time for you to explain what you are wanting to do out here. Her speech had lost its refined tone now that we were out in the wild. Right, I suppose I do owe you that. I sighed, debating the easiest way to tell her, Recently, my enhancement magic has gotten to the point where I can read my own talents and skills. One of my talents is at the point where it should have leveled up, but it seems stuck. I think I need to increase my purpose before it can advance. I tried to explain myself using terms someone from this world would understand. Jacqueline looked thoughtful, Thats a really advanced blood magic technique, normally it would take a decade of practice before you can use blood magic to appraise yourself Still, youve been using it naturally for this long, I suppose you would have progressed that far... After a moment, she nodded, apparently having resolved whatever issues she had internally, Alright, lets move a bit further into the woods and make a camp. Call Stil." I nodded and whistled, doing my best to sound like an owl. Stil would know it was me though, thanks to our connection. Sure enough, he came trotting out of the brush after about fifteen minutes. I wonder how he got out of the village wall? There was no point in dwelling on that though and, following Jacqueline, our group moved further into the forest. Jacqueline woke me up early the next morning; I had asked when we would switch watches, but she insisted I sleep through the night; we would only be resting till first light, which was about four hours away from when we made camp. Jacqueline passed me a bowl of dry cereal; we were still too close to the village to make a fire without risking being spotted. After we ate, Jacqueline nodded. Right, so if you are wanting to increase your purpose, we will need to find monsters to do it efficiently. We bought two days with the priest, so we can move half a day further into the mountains, hunt for a full day, and then return. As long as we move quickly, we should have about six hours of leeway in case something goes wrong. Ill of course jump in to protect you if things get bad, but to maximize your growth you will want to fight alone or only with Stil. It sounds like experience is shared by the party, Stil is probably a special case as a result of my bond to him. At this point, I had decided to just stop questioning Jacquelines abilities. She certainly wasnt going to explain herself to me, and it wouldnt accomplish anything for me to continue being surprised every time she did something. I gave the plan my assent and we broke camp. I was riding on Stils back; I wanted to conserve as much of my mana as possible for enhancing myself during combat. As we moved deeper into the mountains, the trees grew thicker and thicker. After about five kilometers, the canopy was thick enough to completely hide the sky, giving the world a green tint. It wasnt just the light that was green though, everything around us was green; a thick layer of shrubs and ferns covered the forest floor, and a soft moss grew up the tree trunks. Occasionally, we would see some four-legged animal that looked a bit like a deer, but with rabbit ears bounding through the underbrush. We marched to the sound of birdsong and a gentle breeze rustling the leaves. I feel like I walked into a Cult of the Rodent movie. We moved until around mid-day, covering a little over thirty kilometers before Jacqueline decided we had gone deep enough. We had ascended about two kilometers and were currently standing on the edge of a cliff. Looking out over the vista, I could make out Ris Village in the distance, tiny plumes of smoke coming out of peoples chimneys as they prepared lunch. As for our own lunch, Stil got a sizable strip of jerky while Jacqueline and I had a smaller piece of jerky and dry cereal. Honestly, its a really good thing that Jacqueline figured me out. I never would have made it this far on my own. I need to get stronger. After eating, Jacqueline told me to have Stil scout for monsters; this area would likely have wild Stawri and small bands of Goblins. The largest thing we were likely to find would be an Orc. Stawri might be too fast for me, and an Orc is probably too big. Hopefully, he finds goblins. I gave Stil the command and he bounded off into the forest. While he was gone, I approached the cliff to soak in the view. I really wish this world had cameras. About half an hour later Stil came back; we knew it was him and not a wild Stawri because I had tied a length of orange cloth into his collar. He sat down as soon as he arrived and looked in a direction further up the mountain. Presumably, that was where he had found monsters. I asked him a couple of questions, trusting in the Monster Handler talent to get my intentions across. He answered me by flaring or flattening his neck feathers. Based on what I was able to gather, we were looking at a small group of goblins. We moved off as quickly as I could manage while still being stealthy. About twenty minutes later, I was standing behind a tree and peeking out at a party of six goblins. They were ugly green little things, a little shorter than I was. They had rough faces and long pointy ears, their teeth were chipped and yellow. Listening to them communicating with each other, their language sounded vaguely like nails on a chalkboard. I whispered to Jacqueline, who was crouched beside me, Jacqueline, do you think I can handle six? She thought for a moment before replying. Yes, you should be able to handle six of them if you take two within the first couple seconds; that will scare the other four and give you time to pick off another two. If the last two dont run away increase your physical enhancement and aim for the neck. Two on one shouldnt be an issue for you. If they do run away have Stil chase them down; we dont want them to warn any other parties in the area. I absorbed her advice and formulated my attack plan. I whispered some commands to Stil, Stil, circle around to the other side. Wait until I attack and try to take down two of them with me. Stil let out a low growl and moved to circle the goblins. I slipped out from behind the tree and drew my dagger. Enhancing my legs, I darted from cover to cover, closing the distance as quickly and quietly as I could. Once I was within five meters of the goblins, I peeked out and caught a flash of orange on the other side of them. Stil is in position then. I wrapped my mana around the dagger, increasing its sharpness, and darted out of cover. Staying low and fast I swiftly closed the distance on the first goblin. I jumped up with my enhanced legs and pushed the dagger through the back of its neck. Kicking the goblins body, I freed my dagger and sent the corpse bowling into the middle of the group. Using the force of my kick to send myself towards my second target, I sliced open its throat as I went past it. Out of the corner of my vision, I caught the sight of Stil jumping out of cover and tearing out the throat of a goblin with his beak. He twisted in midair and scored open the chest of another with his hind talons. With only two goblins left, I saw Stil running at one that was facing me. The last Goblin was facing Stil, so I made a split-second decision and tossed my dagger up in the air, catching it by the tip of the blade I flicked it through the air, where it buried itself in the back of the goblins head. Stils momentum carried the last goblin to the ground as he bowled into it. He snipped the base of its spine with a quick snap of his beak and sat down to clean his talons. Walking over to my last kill, I pulled the dagger free and used one of the Goblins loincloths to clean the blade of gore. Jacqueline appeared next to me, That was splendid, your situational awareness was as superb as your teamwork with Stil. She surveyed the six bodies before continuing, Though, as a word of advice, you could have easily closed the distance on that last one, there was no need to show off by throwing away your weapon. I accepted the admonishment with a quick nod and opened my menu. For six goblins, I had earned six hundred experience, meaning that basic goblins were worth a hundred each. Four more for the first level. I wonder how far Ill have to level up before Prodigy II is no longer locked. Jacqueline seemed a bit concerned; reading the menu made it look like I was spacing out, Lady Stahlia, are you alright? I am aware that you have never drawn blood before, but you should not concern yourself over such a vicious creature as a goblin. They are little better than rats; mere vermin that destroy whatever they touch. I shook myself out of my thoughts and assured her that I was perfectly fine. No, I am just fine Jacqueline, I was only thinking; six goblins do not seem to have made my purpose any stronger, we will need to find more. Jacqueline looked troubled by my response for a moment before nodding. Give Stil a few moments to rest and then have him go and locate more. She passed me a water skin and busied herself dragging the bodies into a small pile. Slicing open their torsos, she dug around for a moment and removed a small stone slick with blood. Noticing my questioning gaze, she elaborated, Magic Stones, all monsters have them. Goblins stones are not worth any money but leaving a Magic Stone in a corpse can result in the corpse reanimating as an undead variant of that monster. Always be sure to remove the magic stones of any monsters you kill. I nodded, accepting the trope as it was. Undead goblins were one of the monsters I remember from the Goblins page back during character creation. If I recall correctly, they cost about five times as many Life Points as a standard Goblin. Definitely wouldnt want any of those showing up around the village. We hunted another thirty-four goblins over the rest of the day. Stil would sniff them out and then lead us to them. Locating a small hollow, Jacqueline decided that we would set up camp for the night. It was still light out, but I understood the wisdom of setting up camp early. Since we would be spending the whole night out in the woods this time, I insisted we keep a watch rotation; Jacqueline seemed to want to cover the whole night by herself. I dont care how skilled you are, theres no way Ill let you do that! I would be screwed if you wound up too tired to function. At my insistence, I took the first watch with Stil while Jacqueline took the second watch. Secretly, I was planning to forget to wake her up so she could sleep for a little longer seeing as she had stayed up the whole night yesterday. I was intending to wake her up around midnight and then sleep from midnight to first light as I had done the previous night. Jacqueline, however, woke herself up when it was supposed to be time for us to trade places and forced me to go to sleep. At first light, we had another quick breakfast before setting Stil to the task of searching for more Goblins. I needed another twenty of them to hit level four and presumably would need fifty after that to hit level five. It seems that the cost of each level was the cost of the previous level plus one thousand additional experience. I could only assume that this would change at higher levels since otherwise the growth of experience would likely be outpaced by the experience values of the stronger monsters. The first group of goblins we found were in a band of seven, Stil and I made short work of them. While we were waiting for Stil to return from his search, I questioned Jacqueline about the monster ecology of this area; namely, I was curious how likely we were to run into an Orc. Jacqueline gave me a very concerned look when she realized that I was actually wanting to run into an Orc. Apparently, the likelihood of us meeting one here was infinitesimally small. If we traveled about a full day further into the mountains we would start to encounter one or two of them at a time. Stil came back and we exterminated a band of nine goblins. At this point, I only needed another four goblins to hit level four. We sent Stil out and waited. I tried to make idle conversation at first, but Jacqueline seemed preoccupied with watching our surroundings; she did answer me, but she kept her answers short and to the point. Stil is taking a while Indeed, Stil had been taking only about half an hour to find a group of goblins for us to slaughter, but he had been gone now for nearly a full hour. Just as I was about to whistle for him, he came shooting out of the underbrush. Instead of stopping and pointing in a direction, he immediately turned around and glared back the way he had come. Jacqueline observed his behavior and adjusted herself so that she could peer between the trees. Suddenly, she jumped up and drew a sword out from under her cloak. I havent ever seen her use a sword before She interrupted my thoughts with an urgent voice. Lady Stahlia, I dont know what its doing here, but that appears to be a Mountain Ogre. It will be a tough fight, even for myself. Please get on Stil and have him bring you back to the vil- I cut her off. No. Absolutely not! Do you even know what youre saying?! Go back to the village, Ill meet you there? Bullshit! Thats what you call a death flag! I firmly crossed my arms and planted my feet apart to enunciate my intentions; I was not leaving her here. Jacqueline was looking at me, she appeared to be about to say something when there was a crash. We looked in the direction of the noise and saw one of the treetops about a hundred meters away from us falling over. Jacqueline frowned. Never mind, its close enough to have your scent. Go in my backpack; there is a belt of daggers. Do not touch the blades; they have a very dangerous poison on them. Throw the daggers at the Ogre. As she was finishing her stream of rapid-fire directions, the Mountain Ogre burst out of the tree line and into our clearing. Go now! she shouted at me and dashed towards the Ogre at full speed. I scrambled over to her backpack, enhancing myself as I ran. I found the daggers she was talking about and carefully removed the belt. It was too long to go around my waist, so I wrapped it over my shoulder like a bandolier. Turning my attention to Jacqueline and the Ogre, I saw that she was dashing around it, cutting at its feet before darting out of its reach. The Mountain Ogre stood nearly three meters tall, with arms and legs as thick as tree trunks. Other than its size, it looked like a large goblin with an underbite. If it wasnt trying to kill us, I may have found its appearance comical. Recalling what Jacqueline had said, I dashed around the perimeter of the clearing. As I ran, I called out to Stil Stil! Stay! I had noticed him getting ready to try and charge the Ogre, but he would probably only serve to trip up Jacquelines footwork. I watched Jacquelines movements carefully; I was waiting for her to back away from the Ogre. Once I saw her leap backward, I drew one of her daggers and threw it by the handle. The blade sunk into the beasts arm; it had raised its arm to block the throw as if to mock me. Before my eyes, the flesh around the wound began to rot and fall off exposing the bone beneath. Holy shit?! very dangerous poison is such an understatement! Jacqueline what the hell is this stuff?! The Ogre roared in pain and his arm fell uselessly to his side; the muscle having rotted away. He was now glaring at me with eyes full of burning hatred. I felt my soul tremble, not with fear, but with excitement. Now, this is what I call a boss fight! Indeed, the goblins had been mere trash. This Ogre was the area boss and he had tickled my RPG gamers instincts. I was going to kill him. The Ogre ignored Jacqueline and charged at me. I poured even more mana into my legs and jumped straight up, causing the ogre to shoot under me. I drew two more daggers and threw them at its back. The ogre seemed to sense my actions though, as it threw itself to the side. My daggers sailed past it and buried themselves into the trunk of a tree. The tree started crumbling as its wood rotted away but I paid it no mind. As the ogre fell to the side, I started returning to the ground as gravity sucked at me. I drew another dagger and threw it where it looked like the ogre would land; I was a ranged fighter while he was a mere melee tank. I could attack him while he was helpless in the air but he couldnt reach me. The dagger flew true and sunk itself into the space between the Ogres shoulders. The beast howled with a burning anger as it clawed at the space between its shoulders with its good arm. With a shudder, the Ogre fell onto its knees; its spine had rotted, rendering it unable to send nerve signals to its legs. Jacqueline approached its now helpless body and finished it off with a quick thrust through its eye. I landed hard and winded myself but was otherwise unharmed; I threw the last of my mana into enhancing my durability. As I lay on my back catching my breath, I read the notification gleefully. [Prodigy I] Experience has reached the required threshold. [Prodigy I] has leveled up. [Prodigy II] Acquired. As an effect of acquiring [Prodigy II], the Prodigy Roulette has been spun. Acquired [Ability Improvement +1] as a reward from Prodigy Roulette The Ogre had given me a whopping 7500 experience points, enough to hit level four, completely hit level five, and then get over halfway to level six. It looked like I leveled up Prodigy at level four based on the order of notifications, and level five had given me an extra Talent and Skill slot. I now had a menu that refused to close, asking me which attribute to assign a bonus to. Presumably, this is the Ability Improvement +1 I got from the Prodigy Roulette I wonder if this is the SSR role? Thats a pretty strong beneficial effect. After thinking back over the battle I had just had with the ogre, I selected Mana. My Mana rating changed from a B to an A. Unfortunately, it didnt appear to apply the level-up stat increases retroactively. Having sufficiently caught my breath, I sat up and looked around. Jacqueline had retrieved the daggers from where I had thrown them and was currently occupied with carving out the Ogres Magic Stone. I stood up and walked over to hand her the dagger belt. She paused her work and studied me. I cant tell you about the daggers. Damn. Jacqueline, do you perhaps have a mind-reading talent or skill? She chuckled and assured me she did not. Jacqueline, are you some kind of assassin who was sent to watch over me for some reason? I knew it was a risk to ask, for all I knew this would turn into a case of now that you know my secret, I cant let you leave here alive! But after everything she had done in front of me on this trip, I got the feeling she wasnt particularly trying to hide it from me. She clenched her jaw and nodded slowly. Yes I thought you might figure it out. Honestly, Im surprised it took you this long. I sat back on my heels, a position that made your center of balance really high; my way of indicating I didnt plan to run or fight. I see. So what now? She studied me. Assuming you can refrain from asking questions, and of course tell no one, I think now we should probably head back to town; killing that Ogre was probably enough to increase your purpose to the point you wanted? I could only laugh at that. You never intended for me to go back to town, did you? Helping me kill it was your plan as soon as you realized it was targeting us. She smiled and nodded before holding out her hand for me to shake. You are a very talented fighter Lady Stahlia. We collected our things before setting off back down the mountain. It was just after midday, so by hurrying a bit we were able to make it back to our first campsite just as the sun was setting. We waited for it to be fully dark and then moved abreast of the village wall and cleared it much the same way as when we had left two days ago. We arrived back at the temple with little difficulty after clearing the wall. Jacqueline left me by the back door and scaled up to the roof before letting herself in through a window. A few moments later the door swung open, and Jacqueline beckoned me inside. We slipped up to Sanas room where a bath had already been drawn so we could cleanse the grime from our two days of outdoor camping. I suppose the priest was expecting us back around this time after all. The water was cold, but I used a bit of my now recovered mana to warm it to a decent temperature. Jacqueline excused herself saying she had to let the Priest know of our return and slipped out. Sana quizzed me about what we had gotten up to. I skimmed over the details of Jacquelines career choice and summarized the events of the past two days, ending with the fight against the Ogre. Sana seemed incredulous that we had bested an Ogre, so I told her that I had used a mountain flower to brew a poison with which we coated our blades. The best lies contain a small bit of truth after all. Thankfully, she seemed to buy my excuse and congratulated me on fulfilling my purpose with a somewhat jealous look. Jacqueline returned from visiting the priest shortly after I got out of the bath, and washed herself as well. We got back to my home around ten the next day, where my parents were all smiles, congratulating me on helping my friend in her time of need. I know I had to deceive them to go out, but I still feel a little bad about it. While we were traveling back to town, I spent the time I was riding Stil studying my menu and reviewing all my new information. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 141 Name/Age: Stahlia, 5 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 5 Experience: 3100/5000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Fallen Noble House (Despita, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Shadow Blade [Swap Style] Talents 1/2: [Browse Talents] Prodigy II*, [], Monster Handling II*, Dagger Fighting III* Unarmed Fighting II*, Alchemy Correction I* Skills 1/2: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, [], Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Talents Experience: Prodigy 0/2500 Monster Handling 634/2500 Dagger Fighting 156/5000 Unarmed Fighting 713/2500 Alchemy Correction 200/1000 I had a lot more Life Points than I had previously, it seemed like I had gotten a bonus upon hitting level five, but there wasnt anything in the level-up notification about it. I had a new entry in my Skills and Talents sections, [] was presumably an indicator that I had an empty slot I could fill by spending life points. Now that I had acquired the slots, I could also open the catalogs again, so I also spent a length of time running through the lists of Talents and Skills. Initially, I wanted to buy a magic attribute talent, but the cheapest, [Fire Magic I], was a whopping five hundred Life Points. I had nowhere near enough. On the other hand, I did locate [Mana Efficiency I]; it was in the talents section, and cost only thirty Life Points. After some thought, I determined that the cost probably went down the closer that I was to acquiring a skill or talent naturally. I decided I would hold off on purchasing any talents and observe the Life Points cost for Mana Efficiency to see if it decreased, thereby confirming my hypothesis. I turned my attention to the skills menu and started running through it. Skills were arranged a lot differently than talents. They all seemed to be priced in factors of 100, by default they were sorted by cost in ascending order, and none of them had levels. I vaguely recalled noticing this when I first browsed the menu back at character creation but based on what I was seeing, it seemed very likely that Skills couldnt be acquired as easily through training as Talents could. Perusing the list, I noticed a general trend; for a lot of Talents, there was a matching or similar Skill. I took this to mean that upon hitting the max level of the same Talent, you would acquire the Skill. Backing this theory up, in the description of my [Dagger Handling] Talent there was a line about acquiring the [Dagger Mastery] skill when I got to [Dagger Handling VI]. Searching up the [Dagger Mastery] Skill revealed that it cost 200 Life Points, and seemingly had the same effect as Dagger Handling, just stronger. The list of skills was far too long for me to memorize so I was mostly just idly browsing while occasionally searching up certain terms. As I was scrolling through the 300 cost Skills, I spotted one that seemed just screamed: broken as hell. Finesse Fighting(300LP): User receives a -1 modifier to Strength Score and a +1 Modifier to Dexterity. The base damage of all physical attacks moderately lowered. Critical hit rate substantially improved. Requires Strength Rating above E and Dexterity Rating Below S. I decided almost immediately that I was buying this skill once I saved up enough points. Priest of Ris Village, the day Stahlia Snuck Out I was at a loss for what to do. A few hours ago, an adventurer arrived at the temple badly injured. He was a member of the B-ranked party Orc Busters. His group of five men made their living by venturing into the Ris Mountain range and hunting Orcs, and they were good at their job. In all likelihood, they were the best Orc exterminators on this side of the mountain range. Of course, they got injured from time to time; adventuring is dangerous work. This time, however, they were all but wiped out. The injured young man was the only survivor. Sana performed a healing miracle on him after he made the appropriate donation of course, but the lunatic was just barely healed before he jumped up and tried to run out the door. The attendant priests managed to calm him down and I asked him what had happened; according to the adventurer, his party had been wiped out by a Mountain Ogre. Mountain Ogres were A-ranked monsters, whose tough skin was nearly impervious to normal weapons. It did not surprise me in the least to learn that one had decimated his party. What did surprise and concern me was that one had appeared within three days travel of village. These beasts normally kept to themselves deep in the mountains. I was preparing a report to the village mayor when Sana came to see me. I was in a bit of a rush and so was regretfully curt. What is it, Sana? I am busy at the moment. The poor girl faltered a bit at my tone, but she took a deep breath and told me a most unbelievable story. Stali I mean Stahlia, is here with miss Jacqueline. Stahlia has been having bad dreams about a monster in the mountains. She thinks it is her purpose to go out and deal with it, and she needs our help to avoid her parents otherwise they will stop her. Sana finished her piece and stood in front of me panting; she had spoken so fast she forgot to breathe. A calamity in the mountains? That is very convenient timing Receiving Oracles from the gods isnt unheard of, but I dont recall seeing any talents or skills one would normally associate with prophecy during her dedication Unfortunately, Sana, I cannot assist in deceiving the mayor If that is all, please inform Lady Stahlia that there is currently a danger in the mountains and that her father will need to dispatch the militia before it is safe to go out. Sana nodded and turned to go; I really had shaken her with my curt manner. Ill have to apologize later once Ive dealt with this issue. Just as Sana was reaching the door she spun around. Oh! I forgot something. Miss Jacqueline had this letter for you. She also gave me a message. The shadows that stalk lady Stahlias dreams are close at hand. But I dont know what that means It took a great deal of effort on my part not to show the shock and nervousness on my face. I was a ranking member of the church; I was more than familiar with the dark shadows that wrapped around this kingdoms underbelly. Miss Jacqueline was all but announcing her identity with that message, but in a way only those in the know would pick up on. My fearful suspicions were confirmed when I looked down at the letter Sana presented me. It was a single piece of folded paper sealed with wax. Stamped into the wax was a simple seal. It didnt match any noble crests; it merely depicted the letter S being stabbed through by a dagger. Hands trembling slightly, I broke the seal and read the letter. Stahlia has business outside the village. The noon sun casts more than one shadow. We are already aware of the Ogre and will deal with it. ~Five I swallowed three times before I managed to wet my throat. The seal on the letter was one that was only used when the kings shadows needed to communicate officially with someone who knew about their existence. The fact that I was handed a letter bearing this seal was one thing; I had dealt with them a few times in my capacity as Head Priest of Ris. The contents guarded by the seal were however outright terrifying. The first sentence could more or less be read as an order. Assist Stahlia and do not interfere. The second line was a veiled way of informing me she had a Shadow of her own, which was most assuredly a threat to ensure my compliance. Given everything I had learned that Shadow was likely the attendant Jacqueline, but I knew better than to bring any attention to that. The last line basically meant the ogre is in the way, so were killing it for you. Anyone who could make a statement as callous as that was someone you didnt want to cross. The signature line was the worst part and made my blood run cold. Five could only mean one person, and if they were involved, I wanted nothing more than the bare minimum to do with this. I looked up at Sana, who was waiting patiently for me to finish reading the letter. Sana, I must apologize, I did not notice how under the weather you are. We should request the aid of a skilled female alchemist who can attend you while you recover. 1-12 Education Stahlia Six Years Old, First Month, 943 Stawhli! Up! I smiled and swung Rosial up and onto my shoulders. Yay! My little sister is absolutely adorable. I lightly enhanced my legs and ran a circle around the room too much aplomb. She would be turning two in a few months and was quite capable of teetering about on her own, but for whatever reason, she had decided that she much preferred it if I carry her. After leveling up a few times with Jacqueline last year, I was more than capable of lifting her without using my enhancements, but she really liked the feeling of air ruffling her hair, so I would usually make use of them whenever I played with her. My mother was watching us with a warm smile from her chair. She had been fretful the first few times we did this little routine but had since decided that it made a good opportunity for her to rest. Apparently raising a normal child was quite the task. Fahsta! Fahsta! She was waving her arms over her head like she was on a personal roller coaster and giggling happily. I squeezed her little legs. Hold on tight Rosial! I felt her legs tighten around my neck and increased the mana I was sending to my legs. Speeding up to a healthy ten kilometers an hour I made another three laps of the family room before disengaging my sister and putting her down. No don stahp! shes so cute when shes pouting! I squealed internally over my little sister. Externally I put on a big show of being winded. Rosial youre getting so big I do not know if I will be able to keep running with you like that for much longer She stopped pouting and looked at me mortified. No sister! Cahrry me more! I couldnt help giggling. Stil, play with Rosial. Stil stood up from his corner and stretched languidly before leisurely making his way over to Rosial. At this point, my family had more or less accepted that, due to my training, Stil was no longer a normal Stawri. My mother didnt raise any objections as Rosial clambered up onto his back and he started making laps around the room in my stead. Yay! Fahsta Sti! Fahsta! Stil slightly picked up his pace. So cute. I watched them for a moment longer before turning my attention to my mother. Mother, I do not see why I cannot learn from you and father. She sighed, this was the third time this week I had raised my objections. Stahlia, we have already told you. It is important to interact with people your own age besides Sana. You cannot spend all your time with Jacqueline and Sven. But mother, I spend time with Rosial as well. I crossed my arms and put on a serious face. Stahlia, Rosial is not a child your age, and that is the crux of the issue; you need to form relationships with your peers. She sounded tired, but I didnt care and pressed the issue; this was not something I wanted to compromise on. Sana is one of my peers, I have a relationship with her. My mother let out a long sigh. Ooh! I think that was a new record, three seconds! Congratulations mother! Sana is a peer. This is not up for debate Stahlia, you need more friends, so your father and I have decided you will receive your primary education at the temples Purpose School. She got up and collected Rosial from Stil, as my sister had started looking sleepy, and carried her off to her nap. I was in a dilemma. Apparently, this world did have schools for children, and my parents intended to send me to one. Starting at six years old, children born with a class would be enrolled in the temples Purpose School. They would learn fundamentals like math, history, reading, and writing, as well as a healthy dose of religious indoctri- religious studies. I had tried arguing my case from many angles; pointing out that through my work with Sven I could already do math with ease. Actually, from being a second-year university student my parents dont need to know that though. I had argued that my parents could teach me to read and write, but they had said it would be better for me to learn properly with other kids my own age. Really that was all it came down to; my parents had determined that I didnt have enough friends and decided the best way for me to make more would be to go to the temples school. There was just one problem with their plan. Namely, according to matters of the official record, I didnt have a class. My grade in the Purpose School would be made up of the five children from my dedication who had a one. This number, of course, included Giogi, who was seemingly hellbent on tormenting me. Theres no telling how bad it will get if I wind up stuck in a classroom with him... Unfortunately for me, all of my worries fell on deaf ears and before I knew it, I was sitting in a side room at the temple next to Sana. The room was fairly small; it was apparently a dedicated classroom and had been built under the assumption that in any given year there would only ever be no more than ten new students to use it. An attendant priest was standing at the front of the room next to a large black glossy surface. This was apparently a sheet of mana-iron; by using a special pen on it you could draw by exciting the mana infused into the metal. I was sitting in the front of the room with Sana, the Singer. I had originally intended to sit in the back but opted against that for two reasons. Firstly, Sana had informed me in no uncertain terms that it was only proper to sit as close to the front as possible, something to do with respecting the gods. Secondly, Giogi had promptly taken a seat near the back, and I had zero interest in putting myself anywhere near him if I could help it. Giogi was sitting in the very back of the room alongside his gang member Sark. According to my memory, Giogi was a Knife Fighter and Sark was a Scholar. Is it really ok for a Scholar to be in the back of the room? Jav the Blessed Farmer was sitting on Sanas other side opposite me, an arrangement that caused her to blush whenever she so much as glanced to her left. Bohg the Whittler was the odd one out, he had slipped into the middle area and was currently shaving away at a block of wood while ignoring everyone else. I realize that the classes are expected to be small, but this is desolate. Why wouldnt they screen the other children based on their intelligence attribute value and admit enough of them to fill the other seats? I was pulled out of my thoughts when the Attendant priest cleared his throat. Walking around the room, he passed out several thin planks of wood. Welcome children who are chosen by the twelve. My name is Phineas, it is my purpose to provide you with knowledge so that you can better serve your purpose. Inscribed into the wooden sheets you have been given you will find several series of runes; those are what we will be covering today. The top row is made up of letters, each spells your name. The second row comprises the numbers one through ten. To start with today, please memorize the shapes that form your name, and practice writing them. Once you can write your name, you may likewise practice the numbers. So this is how I write my name. I already knew my numbers in this world; Sven had taught me so that I could read quantities while mixing potions. As such, the numbers held little interest for me, but I had so far been denied any instruction in literacy. I probably could have taught myself if I had really tried, but I had been promised instruction at some point so had not put in the effort. Svens alchemy ingredients were all sorted based on a numerical system, and I had memorized the names of the ingredients according to their appearances. I traced the runes that formed my name with a finger, engraving them into my memory. After a few minutes, I picked up a charcoal stick and copied my name onto the back of the board a half dozen times. Sana was watching me wide-eyed. Stahlia, you really are smart huh? For her part, Sana had already written her name and was studying the numbers. I guess if you learn to speak by being read books, you probably pick up letters easily. Indeed, I learned my numbers from Mister Sven, but I have as of yet not been taught my letters. The instructor noticed us talking and came over to check our wood sheets. Upon seeing that we had both written our names, he handed us both a blank sheet and asked us to do it again while hiding the original ones. We, of course, both wrote our names with little trouble. Satisfied, he told us to start with the numbers. Glancing around, I caught sight of Giogi glaring at me. This is why I didnt want to be here! Since I already knew my numbers, I wound up helping Sana with hers and after an hour passed, we were released. I waited in the classroom for several minutes after everyone else had left; my hope was that Giogi would be long gone by the time I got out. While I was waiting, the instructor came up to me, apparently, he had determined I was waiting to talk to him. Miss Stahlia, you learned todays material remarkably fast; it is not lost on me that you even had the time to spare in helping Miss Sana. I couldnt read his face, but he didnt sound angry. Y-yes, is that bad of me? I already know my numbers, so I only had to learn the letters today. He smiled reassuringly. On the contrary, the head priest informed me that you would be an exceptional student, if you already know your numbers, then would I be correct to assume you can also utilize mathematics? I nodded my head to answer, and he seemed pleased. Here, this sheet contains the entire alphabet, we will be learning it in class over the course of the next month. If you can learn it early, then I would like to enlist your assistance in helping the other students when they struggle. I could feel a cold sweat on my back. Help the struggling students...? No way! No thank you! Dont you realize that If I do something like that, Ill just wind up drawing more unwelcome attention from Giogi?! I-it w-would be an honor, sir. I couldnt think of a way to diplomatically refuse so, with shaking hands, I accepted the sheet and bolted from the room. Making my way outside the temple I was watching carefully, but I did not spot Giogi waiting around any of the corners. Thinking myself in the clear, I breathed a sigh of relief as I exited the doors. Did the teacher finish telling you how special you are? and ran right into the brat of the hour. No, he did nothing of the sort. In fact, he simply wanted to tell me how lucky I was for my father to arrange my attendance. Giogi snorted at my self-derisiveness. Giogi shrugged exaggeratedly, Glad to hear he knows. With his parting remarks, he turned and left me. This is going to be a thing, isnt it As the days of class dragged on, we soon moved on from learning the alphabet and numbers to reading passages from the scripture and basic addition. Much to my chagrin, every time a student stumbled or could not quite grasp something the teacher would call on me to tutor them or read the passage they messed up. Giogi was an ever-present thorn in my side, and he made sure to tell me exactly what he thought every day after class. Thankfully, we had the sixth and seventh day off every week, much like school back on earth, so I was able to avoid him on those days. My only saving grace was my adorable sister, who would always greet me when I got home from my personal hell. Her bubbly excitable personality healed my wounded soul. About three months after school started, we had moved on to basic subtraction as well as finally started another subject; the history surrounding Ris Villages formation. I was sitting in class listening to the teacher read aloud from a book of records on the matter. and so, after banishing the Hell King in the fourteenth year, the Paladin Ris was given audience before the King. The King bade Ris ask for any boon to reward his service of the realm. Ris had been a mere commoner before discovering his purpose at the age of three and becoming a knight. He, therefore, longed for a simple life now that his purpose was fulfilled. My King, if it pleases you, grant me a place to build a village for my kin. That is my wish. The King was pleased with Ris humble request and granted him not only land but peerage as well for his humbleness. Ris departed the Capital and traveled to the foot of the mountains. At the time they were called the Ribcage. He founded a small homestead and called for his family to come and start a new life. For a span of seven years, the land was peaceful and the fields bountiful. In the eighth-year tragedy struck I sat up with a jolt. I had been up late the night before, practicing my footwork with Jacqueline. As such, I had been dozing off to the even tempo of the teachers reading voice when something struck the back of my head. Peering behind me, I saw Giogi eating nuts out of a small bag. He grinned at me. This little shit! Until now, Giogi had never done anything physical beyond occasionally bodily blocking my path. Over the past months, I had adopted a policy of not reacting at all to him, at first that policy had worked, and he had retreated somewhat. Apparently, he had decided he was now going to start assaulting me though. Well, this gives me an excuse. Now I just need to provoke him. A plan was forming in my head. Stahlia I glanced sidelong at Sana. What is it, Sana? Youre making a scary face right now I smiled and shook my head. You are imagining it. She did not look convinced. After class that day I waited until everyone had left before standing and stretching my arms and back. Exiting the temple, I saw Giogi standing waiting for me with Sark and one of their other friends who were not in the class with us. I gave them a wide smile. Giogi, what can I do for you today? my happy demeanor seemed to make the third wheel nervous and he backed up slightly; likely remembering when I had called Stil a few years ago. For his part, Giogi either didnt notice or didnt care. Where do you get off sleeping in class like that, Mrs. Fancy? I see, were going back to that name huh? Well, if thats how you want to play this I put a hand on my cheek and adopted an over placating tone. Whatever do you mean? I am certain I outperform everyone else. If anyone is not taking the class seriously it would be you. I felt satisfaction seeing his brow twitch. Why you! Listen he- I cut him off and started walking past the three of them. Do excuse me, I have matters to attend to, and cannot play with you children today. That touched a nerve as I had expected. Where do you get off acting so high and mighty! as I walked past him, he reached out and grabbed my shoulder. Perfect, now its a matter of legitimate self-defense! I reached up and grabbed his hand on my shoulder, without bothering to enhance myself I leaned forward while pulling on his arm. Utilizing my weight, momentum, and upper body strength, I tossed Giogi over my shoulders and onto his back winding him. Sark stared at Giogi on the floor before turning red with rage. Balling his hands into fists, he lunged at me. So slow compared to my bi-weekly night sparing sessions with Jacqueline, these boys simply couldnt compare. I dodged the wildly swinging fists and made a show of yawning. Catching one of the fists, I executed a quick spin and used Sarks momentum to send him past me where he ran face-first into a wall. The third boy seemed to have composed himself and came running at me then. Not even sparing a glance, I stuck out a leg from under my skirt and sent him sprawling to the floor. Giogi had stood up and was shaking with rage. I bet if I provoke him further, steam might come out of his ears. Wouldnt that be a sight? Finished yet? I really have places to be. Damnit! It would seem that my performance had thoroughly pissed him off. Oh? Is that a knife? Giogi was apparently so angered, that he had lost all his senses and drawn a pocketknife. Somewhat sobered, I realized I may have pushed him too far. Getting struck by a certain sense of foreboding I called out. Dont do anything! Ill deal with my own mess! Giogi adopted a basic stance, his class wasnt knife fighter for nothing; he most likely had the [Knife Fighting I] Talent. He lunged at me with the knife. Not wanting to let things escalate further, I poured some mana into my arms and legs, enhancing my speed. I better make a show of it, so they dont piss off the wrong maid. As Giogi lunged at me I ducked under the knife and came up in front of him. Catching his wrist, I twisted it around while grabbing the blade with my other hand. A quick tug at the right angle and his knife hand loosened, allowing me to disarm him. I put Giogi back on the ground and flipped the knife through the air by its blade. Giogi, I am stronger than you. Do not do anything stupid. Tossing the knife so it stuck in the dirt point first near his arm, I left the scene. Once I was alone, Jacqueline materialized beside me. Ever since I had learned her secret, she had been doing assassin ninja stuff like this frequently in my presence, Jacqueline, they are just stupid boys, thank you for not killing him after he drew the knife out. Letting out a small laugh she responded, Lady Stahlia if you couldnt handle something of that level at this point, I would be most concerned. Arriving home, Rosial came running out the front door at full speed, with a great leap she sent herself flying at me. Actually, it was more of a swift walk and small hop, but my glasses were rose-tinted. In any case, catching my sister, I rolled with her momentum into a spin before setting her down and patting her adorably fluffy head. Sister! Welcome, Home! she was taking great pains to enunciate each word, which led to a very cute pause between each one. Yes, I am home. How is mother doing Rosial? I was a bit concerned about my mother, as she had been abnormally tired recently. Mama, is, sleeping! She looked very pleased with herself for not stumbling over two whole sentences in a row. Is that so? Well then it seems I have a bit of time before etiquette, what do you want to play Rosial? Asking with a smile, I watched my little sister grow suddenly very serious, in a way only a two-year-old could manage. After some thought, she beamed a smile at me. Hidey-Seek! I nodded and covered my eyes right there in the doorway. With a high-pitched shriek, my sister raced back into the house to hide. Its always funny how hard she thinks about it before always choosing hide and seek. Indeed, Hide and Seek was Rosials favorite game, and she was good at it. Its a bit embarrassing to admit, seeing as I am the older sibling, but I had never once been able to find her. I considered the possibility that she had a class with some sort of concealment talent or skill and found it highly likely. Though I had not appraised her to confirm that, since I would just find out at her dedication, and I was a bit concerned about her asking strange questions if she felt my mana entering her body. I searched for her until it was time for dinner, at which point I gave up and announced my defeat in a loud voice so that she would know it was safe to come out of wherever she had sequestered herself. Dinner was a somewhat normal affair, I had been worried that my parents would learn about my earlier fight and bring down their wrath upon me, but it seemed that they had not heard a thing so far. Thankfully, today was the fifth day of the week, so I wouldnt have to see Giogi for a little while. After finishing dinner, I played a simple game similar to patty cake with Rosial for a short while and retired to bed. The next morning, I was in the garden with my sister, who was watching me train Stil. He had mastered virtually all the tricks I could think of at this point, so it was more like a rehearsal than a lesson. I was in the process of having him walk a small circle on his front legs when there came a knock on our gate. I wonder who that could be? I approached the gate and opened it to see who was calling; I was met by a surreal scene of Giogi, Sark, and the third boy from earlier bowing their heads. Huwah?! Giogi lifted his head at the sound of my surprised exclamation. Looking up at me, he spoke, Stahlia, Please forgive! I looked around bewildered, this was completely outside of any semblance of my normality. Catching sight of Jacqueline in the doorway watching us, I shot her a suspicious look. She smiled faintly and shook her head no. So if she didnt do anything traumatizing to them, what the hell is this? A-ah, u-u-um. Well. A-apology accepted? Yea. Yea lets go with that. Frankly, I was at a complete loss. Giogi and the other two looked at each other relievedly and bowed to me. Lady Stahlia, please teach me! Wait what!? I blinked and simply stared at Giogi with my mouth hanging open. Rosial, having decided I was taking too long had come up behind me and now peeked out to see who I was talking to. Sister, who, is, this? R-right. Rosial, this is Giogi, Sark, and I realized I didnt even know the third boys name. Giogi stepped forward introduced the three of them to my sister. I am Giogi Sutvenson. These are my friends, Sark Ohbeson, and Diil Grawlson. Sark and I attend lessons at the temple with your sister. Rosial was looking between the three boys and myself with wide eyes. Rosial, go inside please, I need to have words alone with them for a moment. Perhaps sensing a bit of edge in my voice, Rosial gave a clumsy curtsy and darted into the house. Turning to Giogi I spoke from between clenched teeth. Giogi, what are you after? He nodded and straightened his back. After what happened yesterday Well, I guess I just realized how much youve been holding back. I was being a real ass to you all this time, and you put up with it for so long True to his words, he seemed completely serious in both tone and posture. I was debating just decking him then and there when I caught sight of Rosial pulling my mother outside by her hand and pointing excitedly at me. Well shit. Alright already! Just stop talking like that! Its creepy. Giogi nodded. If thats how you want it, Ill talk normal then. Being all proper like that is a lot harder than it looks. I groaned to myself. This is going to be a pain in its own way, isnt it? True to his word, from that day onwards, Giogi never once spoke ill to me again. From that day onward, he would maintain a respectful attitude. Whenever he wasnt able to grasp something in class, he would come up to me and politely ask for me to explain it. The first time Sana saw this unfold, she went completely bug-eyed, and hissed under her breath at me, Stahlia, what did you do to him?! I could only smile awkwardly. Once a week, I would join Giogi, albeit reluctantly, in a deserted back alley somewhere in the village. I would then instruct him in knife play. I was doing it like this because I knew my mother would fly into a fit of hysterics if she ever caught sight of one of these sessions. Giogi understood my concerns and swore he would never speak of these lessons to anyone. Despite having sworn himself to secrecy, over the next few months, the knife fighting lessons seemed to grow in attendance; first Sark showed up just to watch, then Diil. One by one, eventually Giogis entire posse were learning how to knife fight and spar from me. Eventually, this bled over into other things; before I knew it, in addition to Jacqueline and Stil, I almost always had one or two boys following me around the village. I would later come to find out they had named themselves Stahlias Knights and had restructured their little group into a play-knight order. Giogi was hailed as the Knight-Commander while Sark took up the post of Order Scribe and even went as far as keeping a member roster, complete with a schedule of who would attend me on what day. One good thing to come out of these sessions was that they allowed me to learn the limits of my appraisal. I used it on the boys and discovered that, although I could see their stats and ability values, as well as their skills, name, age, and race, I was unable to see their class or their talents. Over time, the details did get more accurate, but it remained much more limited than my own self-appraisal that came from my [Divine Authority]. Sana didnt get left out either. Behind closed doors, my knights would call her my Lady in Waiting and were just as polite to her as they were to me. For her part, Sana was flustered at first but soon came to accept and even enjoy the situation. As far as she was concerned, I had done something that nobody would talk about, and it had resulted in all of our mutual tormentors turning over a new leaf. It was a great improvement over her past of being either ignored or scorned as an orphan. Eventually, I gave up on my protestations and settled into my new routine. I had managed to get them all to refrain from speaking super formally, but they refused to call me anything other than Lady Stahlia, a moniker that always managed to embarrass me when someone other than Jacqueline used it. In this way, my days proceeded relatively peacefully. Stahlia Eight Years Old, 0945 School continued apace, we moved on from basic addition and subtraction to multiplication and division. As far as reading was concerned, the teacher had eventually stopped reading aloud and now had us students take it in turn to read the religious story or historical text of the day. Sven would come by one day a week and teach the basics of medicine; apparently, everyone was expected to know a little bit. More often than not though, Sven would just announce the topic of the day, call me to the front and then take a seat. I considered this quite irresponsible of him, but he laughed it off and told me that He was proud of how far I had come. I was just glad I had tamed Giogi before we got to this part of the lesson plan; I didnt want to imagine how much strife it would have caused me if he was still antagonistic when I wound up actually teaching the class. Sometime in the middle of the eighth month of the 944th year, when I was seven going on eight, my mother once again announced that she was pregnant. Rosial, who was nearly three, was excited that she would get to be the older sibling now. The sight of her determined yet still childish face never failed to cause my heart to swoon. I was excited again, but not as much as when Rosial was to be born. For his part, my father remained composed, but I knew that he was likely to privately be hoping for a son this time; my mother was growing older and likely would not be able to have children for much longer. I wonder if something like curses exist in this world? It seems odd to me that my mother seems to be getting pregnant in intervals of three or so years. Seeing as the new sibling was projected to be born in the third or fourth month of the 945th year, my mother would not be able to attend Rosials dedication. To this end, as the year came to a close, my father approached me and asked if I would be willing to sit in her stead; purportedly, it was considered a great social blunder not to have both a male and female caretaker present for a childs dedication if they were available. Due to my position as her older sister, I apparently qualified as a female caretaker in the eyes of society. Of course, I agreed wholeheartedly, I would do anything for my darling sister. My father spent the remaining days of the year leading up to the dedication ceremony going over what was considered the proper way for a guardian to attend. I would be escorted by my father into the church where we would then take a seat in a pew near the back; due to our relative high status as the mayoral family, we were supposed to do the dignified thing and sit away from the front to allow the less fortunate families a better view of their children. This flew in stark contrast to my own image of a status-based society, but when questioned, my father explained from his point of view as a formal noble, It is not as cut and dry as that Stahlia, your opinion is generally correct, the higher status of ones family, the better arrangements they usually expect for themselves. There is a myriad of little things like this though, that helps maintain the illusion of a dignified and caring nobility in the eyes of the people. Apparently sitting in bad seats was a way for nobles to go look at me! Im so down to earth, dont you peasants just love that? The day eventually came, and I found myself standing outside of the temple with my little sister and father. I was wearing a cream-colored dress purchased for the occasion. My sister was wearing a white dress that was adapted from the one I had worn five years ago; rather than buying a new dress, it was custom to hand down the one worn by the eldest sibling, with modifications built into it. This would build a sort of family story around the childrens Dedication Ceremony. For his part, my father was wearing the same suit he had worn to my dedication. My sister was clutching the hem of my dress nervously. In a way, it reminded me of myself. Unlike me, however, I knew my sister had nothing to worry about. I patted her head affectionately. Rosial, do not worry, you have nothing to worry about. She looked at me suspiciously. Sister, you told me what happened when you had your own dedication. I dont think I have Nothing to worry about! I chuckled at that. Rosial, there is absolutely no way your dedication will be anything remotely like mine, my own circumstances were a special case. Did father not tell you how rare a blessing miracle is? Of course, what I meant by the special case was entirely different from what she thought I meant; I was the only person who knew the full details regarding my class. She was about to say something else when the doors to the temple swung open. Remembering my mother and my own trepidation as I did so, I gave her a loving gentle push towards the door. Letting go of my dress, she made a big show of resolving herself and, with clenched fists, boldly marched up the steps and through the door. After all the children had entered, I took my fathers arm awkwardly, due to our height difference, and walked with him into the temple and to our seats. The recounting of the creation of the world was much the same as what I had heard five years prior, so I largely tuned it out and observed the back of my sisters head. She was standing ramrod straight with her head craned up taking in every word attentively. Unlike myself, she had a small group of three girls with her, though she was the only one paying the story serious attention without fidgeting. The story concluded simply enough, and the Priest began calling the children up to the altar one by one. My sister had been born in the fifth month, so her name was around the middle of the list. She approached the altar and resolutely laid her hands on the appraisal stone. Despite myself, I was feeling anxious; this moment was a life-altering event in this world. After what felt like ages but was likely only a few moments the priest wrote some things down on a piece of paper and handed it to Rosial. Rosial, your purpose is yet unknown, may the blessings of all the gods go with you as you seek to find it. I felt my heart jump into my throat. I had been certain that my sister had a class; from the very moment she learned to crawl she had always been escaping from under our noses. It only got worse once she was able to walk, and despite my position as the older sister, I was never able to beat her in her favorite game of hide and seek. She had likewise developed markedly faster than other children her age; I had been oblivious to the fact due to my own extremely advanced rate of growth but watching my sister it had occurred to me that there were seemingly two varieties of children in this world; a minority of children would develop noticeably quicker than the rest. I suspected that this accelerated development was a result of ability values altered by class and skills. My sisters own advanced speech compared to most other kids her age had led me to believe she had at least a plus one or two to intelligence. I observed her turn around and descend the steps, looking closely it seemed like she was about to cry, but she had a strong heart for her age and managed to hold it in. As soon as the ceremony was over, I excused myself from my father and moved to find Rosial, meeting her halfway. She fell into my offered embrace and hid her face in the skirt of my dress as barely held back tears began to free fall. I rubbed her head affectionately. There, there, do not cry Rosial. She sniffed into my skirt and exclaimed in a muffled choked voice. Stawlia, bhut I dont haff a phurpose! I wont efer be af sthrong like youu! this is worse than I thought Rosial, come now, you know I do not know mine either. Do you understand what that means? She sniffed but the tears slowed a little and peered up at me with red eyes. W-what it means? Well, it hurts me to lie to you about not knowing my class Sorry! Yes, Rosial, it means we get to work together as sisters and discover our purposes as a team! I got a half-smile for that, Should we go home and get you cleaned up? I am sure mother will want to hear all about how exciting the whole ceremony was. The half-smile turned into a full one as Rosial nodded vigorously. Thats right, Ill help you find your class, in order to protect your smile. We made our way out of the temple and headed down the street towards our house. Briefly, I considered conducting my own appraisal. I wouldnt be able to see the class section, but it would show me any skills she had, as well as confirm whether or not she had any stat bonuses. No, why would the priest lie about her not having a class? She must just be naturally bright, without help from any stats. Extra: Knight-Commander Giogi Psycholor Giogi - Right after Stahlia kicked his ass in 1-12. I picked myself up off the ground after I was sure she had left. Looking around to be doubly sure she had gone, I winced as I bent to pick up my knife. I almost died, Im sure of it. Stahlia had beaten me thoroughly. I didnt know what came over me, but I had completely lost my nerve and drawn a blade on her. Rather than turning white and fleeing, Stahlia had instead run straight towards me, easily caught the knife, and nearly broken my arm taking it away from me. At that moment I felt a wave of malice; I was certain her next move would be to stab me. It would have been justified too. My mother always told me I was a fool whenever I brought up Stahlia at home. I wasnt sure when it first started, but for as long as I could remember, something was different about her. The way she walked and talked was just so special, unique. I had been jealous, I think. Jealous of a girl technically three months younger than me. I made it a point to poke at her, to try and break the fa?ade I was sure she was putting up. That all culminated in today, I had finally made her snap. As it turns out, she was certainly putting up a fa?ade. The real Stahlia was a monster in the body of a little girl. Despite not having a purpose she had outmaneuvered me, a born knife-fighter, armed as I was with my weapon of choice. Whats more, it didnt even feel like she was trying all that hard. Who exactly are you? How did you learn to fight like that? I had thought she was just an uppity noble girl wannabe, going about with delusions of her Fathers former title. I didnt realize that my ill feelings stemmed from jealousy until I pushed her past her breaking point with my taunting. But that had only answered one question and given me so many more. To put it bluntly, I was confused. Confused and fascinated. Stahlia was a completely mysterious existence, I found myself wanting to know about her, to learn what caused her to adopt such a false persona. Dusting myself off, I resolved myself. Sark, Diil, are you guys ok? Sark groaned and sat up. Is she gone..? I nodded in response to Sark and gave Diil a kick. Diil, get up. Opening his eyes he glared at me. Giogi, the hell?! Whyd you try ta grab her like that!? He was rightfully upset with me, I could see that now. Oh shut it, how the hell should I have known she was really like that?! We all knew she was weird, but I dont remember anyone suggesting she could fight like that! Still, this doesnt bode well. What if she tells her dad I came at her with a knife? Come on, lets get out of here and wash up Ill go over to the mayors place tomorrow and apologize. Thats probably all I can do Sark nodded and shot Diil a look. Yea, me an Diil will go with you. We should get all the guys to go together, but no way in hell will they believe us if we tell em what happened. Diil looked like he wanted nothing more than to refuse outright, but he nodded solemnly. The next morning found the three of us standing outside Stahlias place. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I wrapped the gate frame. I heard Stahlia coming up on the other side of the gate and unlatching it. The moment I saw her face as the gate swung open, I reflexively bowed my head. Apparently, she was not expecting that. Huwah?! Right, after the way Ive been needling you ever since I can remember, you would hardly expect me to suddenly through myself at your feet huh. Stahlia, Im sorry for my behavior! I belted out my rehearsed line. There was a long very awkward pause. I dared not raise my head before she responded, the cold look in her eyes as she flipped my knife around in the air was floating unbidden to the forefront of my thoughts. A-ah, u-u-um. Well. A-apology accepted? Yea. Yea, lets go with that. Strangely enough, rather than being haughty, she sounded somewhat flustered. Is this good or bad? I need to show her my sincerity somehow before her mood sours. A thought came to my mind and without thinking it through overmuch, I blurted it out. Stahlia, please teach me! After a long pause, I risked a peek at her. Stahlia was standing there looking down at me with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open. I suppose that would be a shock huh Just as I was debating turning tail and running away, a small head poked out from behind her. The head had eyes and hair that matched Stahlias perfectly. I knew she had a little sister, but I dont remember ever seeing her before she would be what, two right now? Sister, who, is, this? Her speech was, frankly, adorable. She was taking great pains to pronounce all her words properly. It was clear she was putting a great deal of effort into refined speech. Did Stahlia have to work that hard to get to talking fancy like she does? R-right. Rosial, this is Giogi, Sark, and Stahlia trailed off, looking at Diil. Ah, this is my chance to improve her perception of us! I got to my feet and gave a bow; I was imitating what I had seen some of the village men do when greeting Mayor Fynn or Mrs. Rosalie. Taking great pains to use the proper manners, I introduced the three of us. Rosial, I am Giogi Sutvenson. These are my friends, Sark Ohbeson, and Diil Grawlson. Sark and I attend lessons at the temple with your sister. Thats way harder than it looks. I glanced nervously at the two girls. Rosial was wide-eyed and looking between all of us. Stahlias gaze had hardened a bit and she was staring at me intently. Shit! What did I say wrong?! Im dead for sure! Rosial, go inside please, I need to have words, alone with them for a moment. Her voice was cold, and her gaze didnt leave me for a second. Rosial looked at her sister with big, saucer eyes and dashed into the house. Right, I suppose you wouldnt want your sister to witness an execution. I sent a mental apology to Sark and Diil. Giogi, what are you after? Her voice was still cold, but I could see a hint of curiosity in her eyes. Maybe we still have a chance! I need to make sure I dont mess up again. Putting even more care into my speech, I announced my intentions. After what happened yesterday Well, I guess I just realized how much youve been holding back. I was being a real ass to you all this time, and you put up with it for so long Hopefully, she accepts that I really dont want to die here I felt sweat trickling down my neck; Stahlias gaze had hardened, and her jaw was now tightly clenched. Out of the corner of my vision I noticed her fists ball up, I tried my best not to look at them. This is how it ends Alright already! Just stop talking like that! Its creepy. With that exclamation, the tension drained out of her, and as a result out of us. I didnt know what had happened but, somehow, we were saved. Of course, the other three guys didnt take kindly to the new arrangement, but they werent Stahlia. It only took me one or two scraps with them to establish the new order. In class, I found that things were going much better after Stahlia took me on as a student; she really was exceptional in her studies. Our teacher was really bad at explaining stuff, but it only took one or two conversations with Lady Stahlia for me to wrap my head around all the things I had been struggling with. Sana was something else too, it was hard to believe, but I think she might be even better than Lady Stahlia when it comes to history and letters. After I witnessed Lady Stahlia privately asking Sana for help with our history lessons, I resolved to start treating her like my teacher too. The master of my master and all that. It took another couple of scraps with the other boys but, by the time I was done, Lady Sana no longer had to worry about any of the other village children calling her names or stealing her school supplies. True to her promise, Lady Stahlia started teaching me proper knife fighting. As it turns out, she was even better with a blade than she was with her hands! Apparently, the techniques she was teaching me were called Shadow Fighting Style she made me swear an oath of secrecy to never ever disclose the name of my style or tell how I learned it. I thought she was joking when she said If you talk about this, an assassin who I could never beat will make sure its the last thing you say. My laughter trailed off when I noticed her expression; she was being completely serious. Since I was learning a secret style, our training sessions were limited; she would approach me during class and tell me when and where the next one would be. She always picked out of the way spots like alleys or abandoned buildings. At first, I thought she was planning for me to disappear, but eventually, I figured out she was just being really serious about protecting the secrecy of the fighting style. Apparently, not even her parents knew about it. Over time, more of the boys started coming to lessons with me; they had obviously noticed how much stronger I was getting when we would play knights and monsters. Before long, my entire circle of friends was learning how to fight from Lady Stahlia. She was a good teacher too. Each time someone new showed up, she put her hand on their forehead like she was checking for a fever. From whatever she was doing she would figure out if they would be better suited with a blade or a fist then teach them appropriately. After about a month of learning proper fighting, Sark called all of us together in our old hideout. Once everyone was there, he informed us he had an announcement. I hereby begin the first meeting of Stahlias Knights. Knight-Commander Giogi, do you have any words to mark the occasion? I stared at him blankly. Sark, what the hell are you on about? He looked at me confused. Commander Giogi, werent you saying the other day how Lady Stahlia is like a warrior princess? I did say that but why would you go and tell everyone?! I could feel my cheeks turning red. I-i-I Mean y-yea, I m-might ha-have said that? But wh-what gave you the i-idea to go and do this?! And why am I the commander when its your idea?! Sark grinned at me conspiratorially. Well, every princess needs an order of knights to protect her, right? I cant be a knight commander when my purpose is to be a scribe, dont worry commander Giogi, Ill use my talents to support you in the day-to-day. Still red, I looked around the room. To my surprise, none of the guys here seemed opposed to the idea. Sark, you know damn well Lady Stahlia doesnt need us to protect her! Hell, if anything were to actually happen, she would likely be the one protectin us. Besides, arent we a little old to be playing knights? Sarks grin got even wider. Oh come now Giogi, I thought you would love the idea. After all in all the stories, its always the Knight-Commander who marries the princess at the end right? We all know how you feel about Lady Stahlia dont we guys? That comment caused all the guys in the room with us to start laughing uproariously. I could feel my face getting even redder, I probably looked like I had spent a week out in the fields. S-SHAHT UP!! 1-13 Visitors Stahlia Eight Years Old, Second Month 945 It was roughly one week after my sister Rosials dedication at which she had been declared classless. The family was sitting down to breakfast when there came a knock at the front door. Silvia excused herself to answer it. She came back a few minutes later with a man who appeared to be an adventurer in tow. Master Fynn, this man bears a letter for you, he says he has been instructed to hand it off directly to your person. My father looked up from his plate briefly, before standing and greeting the adventurer. If it pleases you, sir. The adventurer handed my father a letter and a small card. My father turned the letter over, confirming the recipient was indeed himself, then signed the card and gave it back to the adventurer. The adventurer bowed, and Silvia escorted him back to the door to see him off. No sooner was he gone, than my father broke the letters seal and read over it. After the second page, he stopped and looked up at me with surprise on his face. Furrowing his brow, he resumed reading the letter, then read the whole thing over once more. Great. Why do I get the feeling I somehow did something? Looking up at me, he spoke with a calmer voice than I was expecting; not the calm before the storm, but rather a gentle calme, Stahlia, a trading partner of mine will be staying in Ris Village for a week at the end of the month. He is bringing his son with him, normally this task would fall to my own son but since I have only daughters, I will need you to escort the youth during their stay. Show him around the village and whatnot. I will make arrangements with the Priest so that he can sit in on the lessons during his stay. Well thats better than expected. I blinked and nodded, Very well father, might I know the name of this boy? My father nodded. His name is Dominic. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mother sit up straight. Rosial tugged at my sleeve. Sister! Does this mean we cant play? Her face was anxious and just as adorable as always. Relax Rosial, I am sure Dominic will have no issues spending at least a small amount of time with a young lady as cute as you are. I gave her a reassuring smile, and successfully banished the anxious expression from her face. The days leading up to the visit passed quickly and before I knew it, I was standing in the entryway of our home, all dressed up in a fancy-looking evening gown with my hair tied into a neat set of twin tails. Frankly, I dont understand why we had to spend over an hour doing my hair. Whats wrong with just tying it in a simple braid like I usually do? Rosial was standing next to me equally trussed up, though in her case, it actually looked good on her. Who am I kidding? She would be adorable even if she was bald and wearing a potato sack. My mother and father were wearing the formal clothes they had worn for the dedication ceremony. Presently, they were introducing me and Rosial to the two men and boy that had just crossed our threshold. The first man was slightly taller than my father and had a firm build, with blonde hair and blue eyes. The second man stood just a tad shorter than my father and was slightly overweight but somehow it seemed to suit him. His hair was light brown and he had blue eyes. The boy looked to be about ten years old by my reckoning. He was already somewhat on the tall side and had tan hair with a very dark green pair of eyes. The boy is most likely this Dominic person. Based on the hair colors, I would imagine the shorter slightly large man is my fathers old friend. Whos the other guy though? Nikolaus, Rupert, it is a pleasure to meet you again after so many years. You both know my wife Rosalie; these are my daughters Stahlia and Rosial. I stepped forward when my name was called and gave a practiced curtsy. My name is Stahlia, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Rosial did likewise, and then the man introduced as Nikolaus bowed in our direction. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Stahlia and Rosial, my name is Nikolaus, this man is Rupert, and the boy is my third son Dominic. Rupert gave a half-bow that was really just a tilt of his head and said nothing. Dominic stepped forward and gave a very exaggerated bow. Thats nearly a full ninety degrees, I cant tell if he is being overly respectful or mocking us. Dominic soon confirmed his intent when he opened his mouth. As my father said, My name is Dominic. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances Stahlia, Rosial. Well, that was a bit brusque, and a bit rude. Even if your father already introduced you, etiquette dictates you do it again yourself. His father gave him a disparaging look but did not chide him. Clearing his throat, my father bid Silvia show them to the guest rooms and suggested once they settle in, they should join us for dinner. Dinner was calmer than I expected, Dominic didnt make any more exaggerated remarks. He was actually fairly quiet, though I caught him staring at me a couple of times. I guess his father reprimanded him in private instead of doing something as embarrassing as that in front of his hosts. Following dinner, I was preparing to make an excuse and retire to my room when Dominic called out to me. Stahlia, I was told you had a tamed monster. Great, and I was just about to announce how tired I was Yes, I have taught our Stawri, Stil, a few things. He got a glint in his eye. I would most like to see this, Stawri are not well known for having a malleable disposition. Can I refuse? No? damn. I nodded and called Stil into the lounge. Stil, come here. Stil came up and sat down next to me waiting patiently. The sight of the Stawri behaving in such a manner seemed to surprise Dominic, he looked uncertainly at it. After a moment, he asked, Well, is that all it can do? I shook my head. Do you have any requests, Dominic? I have taught Stil several tricks. Dominic shook his head and told me he just wanted to see a few examples, so I had Stil go through his paces. We didnt do anything fancy; I kept it limited to tricks I had taught him when my Monster Handling was still only at level one. Still, this seemed to impress Dominic somewhat, he was now looking at me appraisingly instead of mockingly. Following our show, I made my excuse and went to my room. Rosial had been put away right after dinner as she was complaining that her stomach hurt. The next day was a school day for me. Like my father had said he would, he had prepared for Dominic to be allowed to attend class with me. When I finished breakfast and upon his request, I explained to Dominic what materials we were currently covering. He nodded absently appearing to have little actual interest in it. Exiting my house with Dominic in tow, I opened our gate apprehensively. I wonder who it is today. Standing with their backs ramrod straight I was greeted by Diil and Jet, two of the boys I had secretly been teaching to fight. Lady Stahlia, we have arrived to escort you to the temple. I let out a long sigh and rubbed at my temples. Diil, I have told you all to stop talking to me like that; it is creepy coming from you. Besides, you are all aware I do not need an escort. Diil shook his head. No Lady Stahlia, it wouldnt be right to let our lord go about without her guards! Doing something like that would hurt the pride of the Stahlia Knights! I was mortified. Diil apparently hadnt noticed Dominic behind me. Turning slowly and apprehensively, I was sure I could hear my back creaking. Dominic was staring at Diil with naked amusement. The Stahlias Knights? I do not believe I am, ahem, familiar with your order Who is the, ha, who is the Knight-Commander? Diil apparently didnt catch on to the mocking manner Dominic was using. Knight-Commander Giogi, Lady Stahlia is actually on her way to meet him now. His face was completely serious. Right, Im using him as the demonstration target next training session. Dominic was barely suppressing his laughter now. Lady Stahlia, I take it this Giogi fellow is a student in the class? Oh please, please be sure to introduce me to him. I could see the corners of his mouth twitching, threatening to break out into a massive shit-eating grin. Diil still seemed to not have caught on. Lady Stahlia, who is this person? based on his tone and general body language, it looked like he might do something incredibly troublesome for me. Though I am sure Dominic could flatten them, what with the age gap and all, it would be troublesome for one of the villagers to attack my fathers guest. Diil, allow me to introduce you. This is Dominic, he is staying in my home for one week with his father and their acquaintance. That. Makes. Him. My. Guest. I ground out the last sentence while narrowing my eyes at him so he would get the hint through his massively thick skull. Thankfully, it seems I got through to him. R-right, well Sir Dominic, as a guest of our Lady, if you run into trouble in town, please seek the aid of the Stahlias Knights. Will you be accompanying Lady Stahlia to the temple today? Dominic finally lost control and started laughing, and I had to hurry and step in front of Jet before he did something stupid; of all the boys, Jet was the thickest skulled. Right, so the next training will involve a two on one demonstration with Jet and Diil. Having settled on the curriculum for the combat training class, I finally departed for the temple with my escorts, my actual escorts, and Dominic in tow. Arriving at the temple, Diil and Jet bid us farewell with an embarrassing salute that set Dominic into another fit of hysterics. Groaning to myself, I guided Dominic into the classroom. Sana and Giogi both came over to greet me and noticed Dominic. Stahlia, who is this handsome young man with you? Sana was blushing slightly and avoiding eye contact with Dominic. Is he really handsome? In my opinion, hes nothing special Better keep Dominic and Sana far apart, she is a pure maiden with a fragile heart. Indeed, Lady Stahlia, who is this person? Giogi was, contrary to Sana, eyeing Dominic suspiciously. Why did you have to call me that...? Oh, are you Knight-Commander Giogi? Dominics mouth was twitching again. Raising himself up to his full height, Giogi boldly proclaimed himself. Indeed, I am the commander of Stahlias Knights! Knight-Commander Giogi at your service, may I trouble you for your name? Dominic turned away, barely containing his laughter. Maybe I should do a three versus one instead of two versus one Stahlia, heh, Introduce me please, ha. Apparently, he felt some shame at constantly bursting out into laughter after all. Suppressing my desire to sigh I introduced Dominic again. So, if he is spending the week, should I assume training is on hiatus for now? Apparently, Giogi had some sense after all. Dominic, however, suddenly seemed intrigued. Training? he turned to face me, What is he talking about Stahlia? Before I could come up with an excuse, Giogi blew away my earlier praise. Lady Stahlia is the warrior princess of Ris Village, she is personally training the Stahlias Knights in combat techniques. Ok, to hell with it. Six versus One. You all can blame your commander while youre picking yourselves off the floor. Sana seemed to sense my sudden mood shift and stepped back slightly. Ah Ill go and sit down I think. She quickly made her excuse and all but ran to her seat. Stahlia, I am most curious to see this training he speaks of Dominic was watching me very closely now. Truth be told it was somewhat uncomfortable. Not bothering to suppress my sigh, I looked at Giogi. We can meet in the abandoned warehouse on the fifth day after class, I should be able to make an excuse to my parents around then. Dominic, I request that you do not tell our fathers about this. Dominic broke out into a wide smile. Certainly, I understand you need to keep it a secret from your parents. I imagine they would be most unsettled to learn you were cavorting about with six boys after all. I think I just felt a vein burst. I wonder if I can make it a seven versus one...? Giogi stiffened when he heard that remark, but when he saw my smile he shivered and made the wise choice to remain silent. With introductions over, I took my seat next to Sana. Dominic opted for a seat removed from everyone else where he could observe the entire room. The instructor came in and passed out todays sheets. Reading mine over, I saw that it consisted largely of three-digit multiplication and division. I quickly completed the work and handed in the sheet before standing and making the rounds of the other students, taking and answering their questions. Noticing Dominic staring at me, I approached him last. Dominic, are you having trouble with the material? He shook his head and turned over his sheet, revealing all the problems neatly completed. Stahlia, do you make a habit of teaching? Since his tone was polite, I answered affirmatively and excused myself to return to assisting the other students. After the math, the second half of the day was spent going over history and religious doctrine. There wasnt much for me to help the other students with for these subjects, so I simply read when called on. Once, while I was reading, I felt a prickling on the back of my neck. After I finished my section and Sana took over, I glanced around the room. My eyes met with Dominics, who was staring at me with an odd expression. I tilted my head questioningly and he broke eye contact. Weird. Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful. Giogi and Sark escorted me, which Dominic had apparently grown tired of laughing about since he didnt make any comment. When we got home, contrary to the usual, Rosial did not come running out to greet me. Curious, I entered the house and found her sitting at the table. Rosial, are you doing alright? She looked up at the sound of my voice. Ah sister, Im fine, just feeling very tired today I think. She gave me a warm smile and I suggested maybe she should go to bed early tonight. She nodded slowly, and I rubbed her head affectionately. Fynn, a few hours prior After seeing my daughter off to school with Dominic, I asked Silvia to take Rosial with her to market; my daughter had been growing listless over the past few days, though she always put on a brave face when Stahlia was around. Hopefully, some fresh air will do her some good. After seeing the two of them off, I entered the lounge where Rosalie was entertaining our guests. I stood in front of them and knelt, Rosalie quickly joined me. Prince Rupert, Count Francois. Please forgive me for my behavior last night and allow myself to introduce myself properly. I kept my head bowed low as was proper. Raise your head Fynn, the three of us are old friends after all, besides, it was our instruction not to tell Stahlia our titles. At Prince Ruperts behest, I raised my head. Lord Francois was looking troubled next to him. Indeed, the letter I had received earlier this month had informed me that the Third Prince would be coming to visit us personally along with Count Francois and his third son Dominic Francois. The letter had been long and full of noble phrases, but it could generally be broken down into three parts. The first part was to inform me of the impending visit, the second part was to instruct Rosalie and I not to reveal the station of our guests to anyone, including our daughters. The third part had been courtesy well wishes after my health and the state of my position. That being said, may I be so bold as to ask a question of your honorable selves? Prince Rupert nodded permission, so I asked the question that had been bothering me. What is the purpose in visiting such a small village as Ris personally, without guards, and why keep your stations a secret? Indeed, I had tried wrapping my head around this question, but the answer continued to elude me. The prince nodded. I suppose you would wonder at that. Truthfully, we are here because of the letter you wrote me five years ago. My eyes widened and I felt my jaw slackening. Indeed, we have come to meet Stahlia following the letter you sent about the events surrounding her dedication, as for why we have come in secret, Nikolaus you explain. The prince passed the duty of answering onto Count Francois beside him. Hmm, well, I suppose a simple and direct answer is best then. Simply put, we came in secret at the request of Dominic. The honorable Prince Rupert, in response to your letter, approached me about two years ago. It is his wish to secure Stahlia in his faction, and of all his retainers only I possess a son of the correct age. When I informed Dominic, he expressed a wish to meet her as a commoner first before announcing his station. A bit eccentric of course, but I am sure you understand his position. Besides in the corner of my vision, I noticed my wife clap her hands over her mouth. For my part, I was struggling to come up with something to say in response. I-I see. Th-that is most auspicious n-news. The third prince nodded and gave me a reassuring smile. I cannot believe it, I am so glad I wrote that letter! This will go a long way to protecting Stahlia from the Accursed first Prince and his machinations. Stahlia, four days later It was now the fifth day of the week. Dominic had refrained from teasing Giogis gang after the first day, though I still saw him suppressing the urge to laugh whenever he met them. For their part, the boys had all been informed that Dominic was going to be attending our lesson after class today; perhaps that was the reason they had stopped acting so brusque towards him. If they try anything I swear it will rain blood. Class today was the weekly alchemy cum medicine lesson, as usual, Sven simply announced the subject matter and then retired after calling me up to the front of the class. It was a fairly simple topic; which kinds of herbs can be found around the village when dealing with a fever. I gave the lecture absent-mindedly while watching Dominic converse with Sven. Indeed, Sven had, upon being introduced to Dominic, opted to sit next to him while I gave the lecture in his stead. I could not hear what they were saying, but I could guess. Occasionally, Dominic would glance at me with a look of incredulity, or Sven would gesture in my direction. I resolved to try and develop itching powder to slip into Svens underwear drawer. While things with Dominic were stable enough, that did not mean that the days had passed uneventfully. My darling sister had become bedridden. Her general sleepiness had progressed to the point where she now lacked the energy to do much more than sit up in bed. The doctor had of course been summoned and was doing what he could for her. She was past the age where sickness would easily take a child, but I still worried over her. If she gets much worse, Ill see about Sana performing a miracle for her. I might not be willing to follow the gods religiously, but if it would help my darling sister I would be willing to say a prayer or two. The class passed soon enough, and I accompanied Giogi and Sark to the abandoned warehouse on the edge of town with Dominic and Jacqueline in tow. We called it a warehouse, but it was much closer to storage shed. Still, it was tucked away in a corner of the village that people seldom visited so it had played host to our training sessions many times. Once we arrived, Jacqueline slipped away; she rarely watched the lessons I gave, but I knew she would be keeping an eye out for approaching trouble. Dominic, will you be observing, or would you prefer to participate? I figured I may as well be polite, after all, he had promised to keep this a secret. After a bit of thought, he replied. I think I will join in. Perhaps I could show them a thing or two. He smiled thinly and glanced over the assembled boys. His eyes gave me a shiver; they looked like a wolf staring at a flock of chickens. right, do you have any prior experience? If not, I can check your ability attributes and recommend a style. He froze still and turned slowly to face me. You can do what? He was watching me very carefully now; it was disconcerting in the extreme. if you would like, I can examine your status with enhancement magic and give a recommendation on a fighting style. His eyes narrowed, and his tone went quiet. That will not be necessary. I have learned to fight with a sword well enough. He looked around and selected a suitably long branch. Before I could say anything else, Giogi stepped in. I shall take the first match. Dominic eyed Giogi amusedly. Very well, when you are ready. He took a stance, holding the branch with both hands in front of his chest while spreading his legs about two feet apart. I have a bad feeling about this That looks like a proper stance with a lot of practice in the motions Before I could give voice to my concerns, Giogi charged him. To call it a match would be an insult. The instant Giogi moved Dominic dropped his stick, so it was pointed directly at Giogis stomach, and stepped forward. Giogi saw through the attack and moved to bat aside Dominics weapon with his own, but Dominic allowed Giogis parry to carry his stick into a spin. Using the momentum, he spun himself about and rapped Giogis hand, producing a sharp CRACK. Giogis wooden knife sailed cleanly out of his grip and landed a distance away, while Giogi himself froze; Dominic was pointing the tip of his stick towards his throat. Well, that was an embarrassing show for the Knight-Commander. Come now, I can deal with the lot of you. With that said, the knights were incited and came at him all at once. It went about as well as I expected it would; Dominic disarmed each and every one of them. If they refused to yield, he struck them across the back of their neck or across the chest until they collapsed. Thankfully he didnt kill anyone I am disappointed Stahlia, I was expecting at least some level of skill from them, considering you would go so far as to call them your knights. He looked around at the boys sprawled out across the ground, shaking his head smugly, I suppose this is about what one can expect though, from a knight trained in a backwater village. He looked up as if he had a thought all of a sudden, I think I shall inform our fathers after all; it would not do for you to continue wasting your time cavorting with these people. I felt my blood go cold. Maintaining a fake smile, I asked him. Oh? And what if your honor? You swore to keep a secret. He grinned maliciously. It would hardly do my honor any good if I allowed these games to continue. Besides, you wouldnt be able to stop me anyway. He started walking towards the exit. Fortunately, he would have to pass where I was standing to reach it. In a low voice, I announced myself. There is still someone here that you have not beaten, Dominic. Cocking his head, he stopped and glanced around. I took a stance low to the ground, with my empty hands raised in front of me, You must be joking. As if girl not yet enrolled in the Academy would have any chance of beating me. Well, I dont know what this Academy is, but I would guess Ive got a bit more experience than you think I do. If you wont move first, then prepare yourself. I kicked off the ground with a light enhancement active, sending myself towards him. In surprise, he crossed the stick in front of himself to block me. He hadnt taken a stance so was not prepared, leading to his guard being awkward. Ducking under the stick, I slapped at his hand, shooting a small amount of mana into it when we made contact. This was a new technique I had developed; it required direct physical contact but allowed me to raise or lower the temperature of my target. In his case, I raised the temperature of his skin, causing him to reflexively snap open his hand and drop the stick. With Dominic now disarmed, I grabbed his shoulder in my free hand and used it as a pivot to swing myself behind him. Carrying his sword arm with me, I locked it behind his back in a classic takedown restraint. Yield. Dominic struggled for a moment, but I increased the enhancements on my arms to match his strength. It took more mana than I was expecting it to. He is pretty strong after all. After a moment longer of trying to free himself, he stilled. I yield. I released my grip on him immediately. Do forgive me, Dominic, I simply cannot allow my father or mother to learn of these lessons. Rubbing his wrist, he looked me up and down. Whats that look in his eye? Its like hes seeing me for the first time. I understand, I will keep your secret Lady Stahlia. Oh hell. Another one. Dominic moved off to the side and merely observed the rest of the lesson. I spent about an hour explaining to the recovering boys what they had done wrong and pointing out how they could have moved differently. As the evening bell rang, I made my farewells and traveled home. For once, none of my escorts were accompanying me. I guess being thrashed by Dominic only to turn around and see him get thrashed put some sense into them, hopefully, they give up on that escort crap. When we got home, Dominic excused himself and went straight to his room while I visited my sister in her room. She was sleeping fitfully, with a concerning amount of sweat staining the sheets. Silvia was attending her with my mother, both of them wiping her down with cool clothes. I sat with the two and stealthily lowered the temperature of the water in the cloth I picked up, using it to wipe my sisters forehead, Mother, it seems the doctor is not able to help her, might I ask after Sana? my mother gave me a sad smile and her permission, so I mentally made plans to go to the temple tomorrow. Drawing me out of my inner dialogue, my father called for me to come to the parlor. That ass! He better not have broken his promise! I excused myself and went down to the lounge. Rupert was seated on the couch, while Nikolaus and Dominic were standing behind him. My father was sitting opposite Rupert and indicated a chair to the side for me to take. I sat down and looked around the room nervously. Nobody was speaking, a fact that worried me a great deal. After a few minutes of awkward silence, my mother came down and sat next to my father. Rupert opened his mouth and spoke first. Fynn, Rosalie. Now that all relevant parties are present, with myself as the witness, Count Francois would like a word. Huh? Count? Nikolaus stepped forward and gave my father a half bow, Mayor Fynn, in my position of Count of the Francois territory, I would like to formally request your daughters hand that she be wed to my third son, Dominic von Francois, upon her coming of age. Should you accept, then with Third Prince Rupert as our witness, in the eyes of the kingdom and before the twelve gods and goddesses may Stahlia Rosaliesdaughter assume the position of fiance to my son. WHAT?! my mind was blank. This was so far outside of my own intentions and expectations I didnt know how to react. Theres no way! No way in hell am I getting married! My father kept a calm face. Tell him, father! Reject him right away! Youre always saying how you want to ensure I have a happy future, this is your chance to do that! With the third prince as the witness, I humbly accept your request. NO! thats not what you were supposed to say! My mother turned to me with a great smile. Stahlia, is this not wonderful? The Francois family is a prestigious house among the Drakas nobility! I could only stare blankly in a shocked stupor. Prince Rupert misinterpreted my silence as an unbelieving pleased surprise, Well, it seems the plan to hide the status of Dominic and the reason for her accompanying him was a great success! He gave me a warm look that seemed to scream Oh, the joys of youth! Still, having a count marry a fallen noble would not work, even if Dominic is the third son, the other noble families will never accept it. Yes! Be the voice of reason Prince Rupert! To that end Fynn, kneel. My father stood up and moved to kneel in front of the prince. Oh no. The prince stood up and looked down at my fathers lowered head. With the powers entrusted to me by my father King Drakas, and with his express permission and assent, I bestow upon you and your house the name Ris and the title of Baron. Continue to serve me well when managing your new territory. Prince Rupert drew from his waist a slender sword and touched it to my fathers head. As if mocking me, I heard a Ding! inside my head, and a notification displayed itself in my vision. Notice: Following the receiving of Noble Peerage, Name and Social Strata have been updated. Name: Stahlia > Stahlia von Ris. Social Strata: Fallen Noble House (Despita, Drakas Kingdom) > Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom) Dumbly, I opened my menu and saw that the specified sections had changed. I had also apparently received 50 Life Points as a reward for this travesty. I was in a daze. At some point, Prince Rupert, Count Francois, and Dominic Francois announced their intentions to depart back to the Francois territory later that night. I vaguely recall Dominic taking my hand and saying something about how he looked forward to our next meeting. I think I just nodded lamely and said something to the effect of I am as well. Really, I was on complete autopilot as I attempted to sort through my thoughts. I must have gone to bed eventually because I woke up in my room with sunlight streaming through the window. Strangely, it was my mother who had woken me up. I looked up at her with a vacant expression. Stahlia, I know that must have been a shock last night. I nodded. It is not always easy to accept our duty as noblewomen. Your duty! Youre the former Noble! I was barely above commoner until a few hours ago! My mother was stroking my hair. Suddenly, it all clicked into place. All of the etiquette lessons, all of the chiding about me maintaining proper manners at all times, going to lessons at the temple despite being declared classless. Even my fathers constant assurances that he was seeking my happiness. I was being groomed! From the day of my dedication, they had already decided to do something like this! The priest must have told my father something when he stayed behind! I rolled over and faced away from my mother. When will I see him again? Ive got to find a way to break off this engagement. My mother sounded troubled, but I hardly cared right now. Most likely after you turn ten and enroll in the Royal Academy. Wait, Dominic was saying something about an academy the other day I still wasnt happy with my mother, but I was rational enough to recognize that this was important information. I rolled back over to face her. What is the Royal Academy? My mother answered calmly, she was probably expecting a bit of a fuss from me and had steeled herself. A school for noble children. To learn about their duties and hone their purpose. They have a scholarship program for rare classes and talents among the commoners as well; The head priest told your father that you would likely be called to attend after your dedication discovered you had the Prodigy Talent. She took a deep breath, It was not easy to keep it from you, but your father and I decided not to tell you about it until we had secured your safety. With the engagement to House Francois under the Third Princes banner we have now done that. Secure my safety? What does she mean? As if reading my questioning look, my mother elaborated, Stahlia, Prodigy is an exceptional talent. You would be faced by dozens of Nobles all vying for you to join their families, and not all of them would be as honorable as Count Francois in their methods. The engagement to Lord Dominic will help prevent that struggle. I need time to think this over. It sounds like keeping the engagement will actually be beneficial for now, but I definitely have to find a way to break it off before I turn fifteen and get forced into a marriage. I think I can put up with it for now but that doesnt mean I like it! My mother seemed to sense I had come to terms with myself somewhat, Stahlia, I understand you might not be entirely happy with this, but your father and I are acting in your best interest as your parents and as Nobility of Drakas. That being said, Rosial has not woken yet today, and the doctor is at a complete loss. I need you to take Jacqueline and fetch Sana as quickly as possible. WHAT?! WHY DIDNT YOU SAY THAT FIRST! I practically flew out of bed, much to my mothers shock. JACQUELINE! WERE LEAVING! conjuring up a mental picture of the temple, I pushed as much raw emotion into it and through the thought across my link to Stil. I was pleased to detect a feeling of urgency rebounding across the link, and I heard him bark loudly once before presumably dashing towards the temple. Jacqueline arrived in my room and looked at my pale white mother and me tearing through my dresser. Goodness, I presume you were informed as to your sisters condition. I ignored her and hastily threw on a dress. Jacqueline, Im going to run. She looked like she wanted to say something but thought better of it and merely nodded in confirmation. I went down the stairs at a breakneck pace. As soon as I got past the door, I poured the most mana I ever had into my legs and hitched up my skirt. Taking off at the fastest pace I ever had, I arrived at the temple within ten minutes, where the trip normally would have taken me about thirty. Stil had arrived just before me, despite having a ten-minute head start, and was barking his head off. Sana had come out having heard him and looked at me quizzically. Sana, Rosial wont wake up. Can you ride Stil? She looked about to protest but when she saw my face she nodded and went over to Stil, hesitating for just a moment, she climbed on his back. Stil, go home. Stil took off and I kept pace right beside him. Sana was watching me run wide-eyed but didnt say anything. Arriving at my home, we were let in by Jacqueline, who had opted not to accompany me and simply prepare for Sanas arrival. We were led up to my sisters room and Sana moved over to her side. Stahlia, Ill do what I can, but dont you think you should be at Svens right now? Thats a good point. I knew Rosial was getting sick but the thought to try and make her a medicine never crossed my mind! Damnit, Dominic! I nodded briefly and went to tell my mother where I was going, a proposition she readily agreed to. I dashed out the door again with the maximum enhancement. Arriving at Svens shop, I checked my menu to see my remaining mana. It looked like I had just enough to make the return trip. Letting myself in, I immediately informed Sven as to my purpose and he let me in the back without a word. I spent an hour pouring over symptoms and ingredients with Sven and Sieg before brewing three potions we thought might help Rosial. Thanking them quickly, I ran back to my house. Arriving, I met Sana on her way out. She looked spent, as exhausted as she had after casting the miracle when Rosial was but an infant in the womb, Stahlia she sounded utterly spent, Ive done what I can, its in the hands of the gods now. I thanked her and went upstairs. I handed over the potions I had made to Silvia and my mother. Breathlessly, I explained to them the dosage and what each one was supposed to do. Just as I was finishing up my explanations, I felt a wave of fatigue wash over me. Shit, I think I pushed myself too far The next thing I knew, I was lying in my bed. The room was dark meaning it was probably after sunset. I sat up in a rush and climbed out of bed. There was a knock at my door. Come in! I called out and Jacqueline stepped in. I looked at her expectantly for an update. When she saw my face, her own expression twisted into one of great pain. Jacqueline how is Rosial doing...? did the potions and miracle work...? Jacqueline approached me and crouched down. Throwing her arms around me she pulled me close. Stahlia, Im so sorry. So very, very, sorry. I felt tears beginning to well up in my eyes. Wh-what do you m-mean? S-she-shes getting b-better right? Jacqueline squeezed me tighter. Stahlia, Mortis has visited this home. Rosial is gone. With a wail, I lost control and my tears flowed freely. 1-14 Farewells Stahlia Eight Years Old, Second Month 945 The funeral was held three days later. I had stopped crying the day before. It wasnt that I was no longer sad, I simply had no more tears to shed. It seemed the gods themselves were saddened by Rosials death, as the day of her funeral was drab, with light rain falling from dawn to dusk. For once, Giogis gang seemed to have some better sense, or maybe Giogi restrained them. Honestly, I didnt know or care which, but none of them said anything about being knights. Sana stayed with me for the entire three days leading up to the funeral. She didnt say very much but I was glad she was there. Jacqueline, after telling me what happened had retreated somewhat; she still stayed nearby me as per her duties, but she seemed distant. I often caught her gazing at me with an expression twisted by emotional pain, a rarity on her usually stoic face to be sure. My mother was very quiet. Like myself, I dont think she had yet come to terms with what had befallen us. Unlike me, she did not cry, but she no longer smiled or laughed. She was withdrawn deep into herself, simply eating and then returning to her room. My father spent all the time he could by her side but it did little to cure her grief. The funeral itself passed in a blur. I remember the people our family was close to on a personal level coming by one by one and offering small words, but I recall little of what was said. Before I knew it, I was standing in the cemetery with my father, mother, and the priest. The burial itself was considered highly personal, only people who were considered the family of the deceased would be present, along with a religious officiant. Since Rosial had been only three years old and just had her dedication it meant the attendees were limited to our immediate blood family. After we got back home, I went up to my room and lay down. I tried to cry into my pillow but was unable. Jacqueline brought me supper and stayed with me until I eventually passed into a dreamless sleep. I woke up the next day and tried to sit up and go down to breakfast but found I lacked the strength or the will to do so. Jacqueline was still by my side but did not scold me, she simply went and brought my meal to my room. Today was supposedly a class day, but I decided I wasnt going to go. I fell into a slump, the days passed by in a blink while I turned inwards. I passed through various periods of alternating between blaming myself, blaming Dominic for distracting me, I even tried blaming Sana for not trying hard enough to cure her with a miracle. But no matter who I assigned blame I could not recover from my grief and sadness. Before long, or perhaps after a long while, Jacqueline was not with me when I woke up. Shes finally given up on me. Good, I deserve to just waste away alone. I was so caught up in playing this game that I couldnt accept it for what it was, this is life. Why didnt I just use my magic on Rosial? Sure it wouldnt have shown me her class section or anything, but it might have given a warning about any malignant status such as illness! I just didnt want to risk her noticing the mana flow and asking difficult questions, Im such a fool! The last thing I needed was for her to go "Mommy! Mommy! Stali did something with her hands that felt weird, then told me to keep it a secret!" or something like that by accident. She probably would have kept a secret if I asked her to, but I didn''t want to take that risk... I would have either had to explain to my parents that I can use magic or be suspected of doing inappropriate things to my sister. With the boys, even if they say anything I could just play it off as a game. I might get scolded, but that would be that. But now, I wish I had taken that risk... If I could have prevented this, it would have been worth it. Indeed, I had circled back around to blaming myself. Now, however, I wasnt blaming myself for missing the hints and flag triggers that lead to a quest failure; I was blaming myself for treating my adorable sister as just a cute NPC. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had always known, but I hadnt accepted it. Or maybe I had refused to accept it. I died. I died and was brought into another world. This isnt just an RPG, this is real life. Still, little good that did me; I still could not bring myself to get out of bed. Sometime later, Jacqueline was back. I didnt see her come in but she was back at my side, silently. After a long while of just sitting patiently, she spoke. It was the first time I had heard anothers voice since shortly after the funeral. Idly, I thought to myself I havent seen Sana or Giogi in a while, have I? I wonder how theyre doing now. Lady Stahlia, your brother was born this morning. It was a difficult birth but in the end, Rosin was born successfully Would you like to go and see him? My brother was born? That would mean its been nearly three months, three months since I shook my head and rolled over away from her, closing my eyes and going to sleep. I opened my eyes. I was not in my room. Looking around me I blinked. The world was white. I was in a forest covered in snow. Where am I? How did I get here? I did not recognize any of the trees, this was definitely not the mountain forest outside Ris Village. Looking around, all I could see was thick trees and snow. Briefly, I considered that I had died again, and this was another new world or just the afterlife of the world I had been sent to. I dismissed those thoughts when I checked my body and saw that I was still Stahlia. My next impulse was to just lay down in the snow and let the cold have me. I did lay down, but strangely, the snow wasnt cold. After laying there for long enough that the sun had set and risen twice, I realized that I was not growing hungry or thirsty either. If I wanted to die, I wouldnt be able to wait for it. Aimlessly, I set out walking. After walking for what was probably miles, the sun had set and risen a third time, I finally spotted something. Theres some smoke coming over the horizon there. I had climbed a tree to get a better vantage. Stretching out on all sides of me was an endless frozen forest. The smoke I saw in the distance was the first sign of life I had lain eyes on since first opening my eyes here. Indeed, only after seeing the smoke did I realize how empty this place was. I had been walking on snow completely undisturbed by the footsteps of man or animal. I had heard neither bird song nor the chattering of squirrels in three days. Nor had I caught even a glimpse of movement. Even the air was still; there was no wind, and I could not remember having felt a breeze. This place is scary I set out towards the smoke, now peering around myself nervously as I went. I tried enhancing my limbs to move faster but found I could not sense my mana. I walked for another day and night. I didnt feel tired, but the smoke had only been on the horizon, even without enhancements, that distance should have taken me only a half a day at most. In a panic, I started running. I was not sure why I was panicking, but I knew I had to get out of this damned forest. Suddenly bursting out into a clearing, I blinked. There was a forest behind me but the way in front of me was wide open. I appeared to have emerged onto the shore of a frozen lake. The lake stretched on infinitely, in appearance it was more like a sea or an ocean, but when I laid eyes on it, I somehow knew it was a lake. A little ways away from me was a small cottage, from which smoke was coming out of the chimney. Glancing around warily, I approached the cottage. Stepping up to the door, I raised my hand to knock but froze when a voice came out. {Goodness, it took you a while to get here, didnt it?} the voice was clear in fact, I couldnt think of any voice clearer than this one. But just as it was clear, it was also distant. It sounded as if it came from both very far away and right beside me. A shiver ran down my spine and I debated whether I should go back the way I had come. {well? Are you coming in? I did invite you after all.} Gulping, I decided to through myself off this cliff and opened the door. Sitting in front of a pot gripping a stirring spoon was a young woman. She was clad in a white dress that seemed to sparkle like freshly fallen snow as she moved. She was facing away from me stirring the pot, occasionally she drew out the spoon and tasted whatever was inside it. Her dress aside, the woman herself was also white. Both her hair and skin were incredibly white. Not pale like a Caucasian or white like an albino. Her skin was devoid of any color at all. Her hair was likewise lacking any color but had a shiny gleam to it, similar to platinum or silver. She put the spoon aside and turned to face me. {Hello Stahlia, I was beginning to think you wouldnt make it.} I gasped. Contrary to the rest of her, her eyes were blue. Not a very dark blue, indeed, they were a pale icy blue. That being said, they were absolutely striking, contrasted as they were against the complete absence of color that made up the rest of her. W-who, Who are you? Where is this? Why am I as soon as I opened my mouth, I let loose a storm of questions before I had time to process. Catching myself, I watched the woman warily. She hid a laugh behind a hand placed over her mouth. {Hmm Well, I suppose I could answer some of those} I waited for her to continue. {As for how, youre dreaming. As for where this is the forest of winters ice. As for who well, lets go with Im a big sister who adores her little sister just like you!} I frowned. Thats awful of you. My little sister is dead. In shock, I touched my face and found that my hand came away wet; for the first time since the day after her death, I was crying. {Are you sure? I have a friend who is pretty well in tune with things like that, he didnt tell me anything about your little sister being dead.} She was looking at me with a faint smile. I felt my tears dry, my grief was being replaced with anger. Who the fuck do you think youre messing with?! If you really love your little sister just like me then you wouldnt say something like that! She sighed and just shook her head. {Stahlia, mind your temper. I only invited you here because my sweet little Caina was getting so upset watching you wallow in your self-pity.} I felt a chill and took an involuntary step back. Caina? Her little sisters name is Caina? That would mean {It looks like you figured it out. Good for you, but I suppose you had it in you to accept from the very beginning, after all, you managed to escape the forest and find me here.} I swallowed dryly. Now that she had confirmed my suspicions about her identity, I was reasonably certain that I could trust her about Rosial. Then again, Antenora was the goddess of plots and lies so this might just be a sick joke to her. But I desperately wanted to believe, Assume I believe you. Why would you bother to call me here? The twelve gods and goddesses supposedly refuse to interact with the non-faithful, and I certainly harbor no faith in you lot. She smiled at me; it was an uncomfortable sight, {That is a misconception born of ignorance. Drakan religious dogma has many of the details deliberately hidden or ignorantly removed. The kingdom is not as pleasant a place as you think it is.} She waved her hand, and suddenly I felt very, very, cold. Looking down at myself, I saw that frost was forming over my body, starting from the extremities. Strangely, it didnt seem to hurt. Testing my fingers, I found that, other than being frozen, they did not appear to be damaged in any way. All of a sudden, a sharp pain wracked through my head. My left arm turned numb, and my leg gave out, causing me to collapse on the floor. If I had been able to think clearly through the pain, I might have realized how superficially similar this was to someone having a stroke. {Whether or not you choose to give your faith to the gods is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things Ive interceded and adjusted your vessel. Whatever it was that prevented our gift from properly activating will no longer do so; I have forcibly activated it.} Slowly, the pain in my head receded, though I was left with a throbbing headache. Feeling returned to my arm and I regained strength in my leg. I sat up; immediately regretting my actions s my headache reminded me of its existence via a fiery dagger of pain through my temple. I shot the self-proclaimed goddess a glare. She paid me no attention and waved her hand over me again. {Now its time for you to wake up. As a bit of parting advice, ask your shadow about her past; her spirit is treading a knife-edge right now but if you confront her, I think it might tip her to your favor.} My vision went black, and I felt the sensation of falling. Sitting up in my bed, I blinked and looked around; I was back in my room and covered in a cold sweat, more importantly, my headache seemed to be gone. What the hell was that? Was that really Antenora? As if to answer my question, I heard a familiar DING! And a notification window appeared in my vision. Notice: Infusion of Divinity Element Confirmed. Hidden Skill [Blessing of Winter] has been revealed and activated. [Blessing of Winter] will now be listed in the skills section. Checking my menu confirmed the new skill. I inspected the description menu to read what the effects were. WHAT?! I had thought Prodigy and Finesse Fighting were overpowered, but both of those paled in comparison to Blessing of Winter. Blessing of Winter(----LP): User has received the blessing of the Winter Pantheon. The rate at which Talents under the jurisdiction of this pantheon gain experience is doubled. Grants Immunity to the Ice Element. Grants the effects of [Cold Hearted] Skill. Grants the user access to the Divine Element. Secondary Effect: This Skill is hidden from normal Appraisal effects. I reread the effects of Blessing of Winter in shock. I didnt have enough experience to know how common the Ice Element was but receiving outright immunity to a damage type was always a strong ability. There was also the part about the experience being doubled. It had to do with the jurisdiction of winter, and while I couldnt be certain, I had the idea that that probably meant it would apply to talents that the winter gods would favor. Things like stealth, poisons, and assassinations. Given my stat spread favored dexterity, that was an incredibly strong effect for me. There was also that line about me having access to the Divine Element, but I had no idea. Still, even if that effect was a dud, the rest of this skill more than made up for it. She said she forcibly activated their gift by bypassing the obstruction. That would imply that I had this skill already and it was just deactivated because something was blocking it. When did I acquire it? What was blocking it? Of course, there was only one event that came to mind; the blessing I had received at my dedication. At the time, I had been fearful about the implications of getting a blessing from one of the three winter gods, given their personalities. As it turned out, it looked like I had gotten the blessing from all three of them. This is also the first skill I have seen with a broken LP counter As if to interrupt my thoughts, My door swung open and Jacqueline rushed in. Lady Stahlia! What is the matter?! Right. I did lose myself and exclaim out loud after all. Putting aside other thoughts for later, what to do about Jacqueline? The goddess said to ask my shadow and then specifically named my shadow as a she. Out of all the women I know, only one person fits the bill. Jacqueline. I want your honesty. What happened really to Rosial? Jacqueline stopped with her mouth hanging open and slowly drew herself up straight. Jacqueline Jacqueline. I want your honesty. What happened really to Rosial? I felt my heart stop. Stahlia had figured it out. I did not know how she had managed it, but I suppose I shouldnt be surprised, Stahlia was always extremely, abnormally, exceptionally intelligent. What should I do now? The normal response would be to silence her, but shes still a target for Protection-Observation. I cant silence her without violating my mission parameters, and besides that, I I do not want to silence her! I could feel my heart beating out of my chest and my voice was shaking. Lady Stahlia We cannot talk here Will you, will you slip out of the village with me? Stahlias eyes narrowed at me and nodded before getting out of bed for the first time in a little over three months. It was already the middle of the night, so we did not have to wait at all. Stahlia and I ran through the village under cover of darkness, much the same as we had done three years ago when she had suddenly decided she needed to increase her purpose. Much like then, we ran in silence. Unlike then, it was not a friendly silence; I could feel a current of hostility emanating towards my back from Lady Stahlia. We got over the wall easily and ran roughly two miles into the forest before I waved for her to stop. Lady Stahlia, this should be far enough. I will answer your questions here. What am I even saying?! Theres no way I can tell her what she wants to know! Jacqueline. Youre my Shadow are you not? What does that mean. It was not phrased as a question, more of a statement and a demand for answers. The Order of Shadows. A black operations department under the direct command of King Drakas. Why am I telling her this?! Nothing good will happen to her when she learns the truth! I see. So, you were sent to keep an eye on me. No, you were sent to keep an eye on my father and then were reassigned to me after my Dedication. Her voice was steady, but there was an edge in it, and not like when Giogi got on her nerves, this was an edge sharpened by real bloodlust. That is more or less correct. All I am doing is confirming things that should never be known! Why am I doing this!? Right. Now, what did the Order of Shadows do to Rosial? her eyes glinted with a dangerous light, and I felt myself flinch away. I am not scared of her, am I? I know how strong she is, I taught her after all. I shouldnt have anything to worry about right? No thats not it Im not afraid of her Im Im afraid for her? Are you sure you want to know? Once you learn the truth, you can never go back. I tried to tell her with my eyes and tone. There were some secrets in the world that nobody should be burdened with. She crossed her arms and jutted her chin at me, bidding me get on with it. I see, I want to help her. More than my duty to the kingdom. Why? The Order of Shadows The Order of Shadows is made up of agents like me, Shadows who are trained from a very young age. They those agents they are children who are abducted after the Dedication finds a desirable purpose. Their families are then led to believe they died from an illness. Rosial was selected to become one of those agents like I was. Stahlia listened to me quietly, patiently. Once I started, I could no longer stop myself. I told her everything about the order. All of the horrors that I had endured, implicitly, all of the horrors that Rosial would endure as well. Because she put her faith in me? Is that why? By the time I had finished describing things and fallen silent, Lady Stahlia was sitting on a tree stump with her arms dangling by her side limply. She had ceased crying, and no longer seemed angered at me, Lady Stahlia, are you are you alright? My voiced question seemed to snap her back. I don''t... I realize now, I don''t want her to hate me. Of all my targets she''s the first one.... The first one I... Looking up at me she smiled grimly, I am more than alright. I know it was not a lie, Rosial is alive. Now I just have to find her, find her, and burn away any who would stand in my way. ...The first one I have come to care about. Lady Stahlia! You would wage war against the Kingdom of Drakas itself?! You would make an enemy of a kingdom that has stood for a thousand years! Stahlia nodded and stood up slowly. More than the Kingdom. Yes. I swear. What will you do about my declaration? You are still an agent of the King after all. She looked me in the eye, calmly, resolved. I realized then she had followed me out into the forest unarmed. Not that she would be able to best me if I came after her for real, but to come unarmed, announce an intention like that, and then simply ask me what I was going to do about it There was only one way I could respond. I did not know when it had happened, but in these past eight years, I had changed. I dropped to my knees. Lady Stahlia, I offer you my life and my blade. Please accept them as my apology for what has befallen Lady Rosial. Use me as you will. My Lady. Stahlia I sighed internally. Im so glad that worked, leave it to the goddess of traitors to know when someone is close to switching sides. Still, that would have been terrifying! Cold Hearted(500LP): User may selectively disable or enable the following effects: Anger, Empathy, Fear, Love, Remorse. The includes effects induced by status ailments as well as natural emotional responses. While we had been traveling to the forest, I had taken advantage of the fact that I still had an open Skill slot and looked up Cold Hearted in my Life Points catalog. As the name implied, it allowed the skill holder to become a cold-hearted psychopath. Thankfully, it was not an always active type of skill, I could turn it off and on as I needed. I had disabled my emotional Anger response while Jacqueline was telling me what my sister would have to endure; If I hadnt had this ability, I would have been liable to lunge at her and try to tear her throat out with my bare hands. I had likewise turned off my fear response after I realized I had confronted a trained assassin unarmed, gambling on the goddesss words she might fall to your side.. My gamble seemingly paid off, and Jacqueline swore herself to my cause. Still, 500LP to buy that skill, and I got it more or less for free with some other amazingly op bonuses. I looked down at Jacqueline still kneeling to me with her head lowered, Jacqueline, raise your head. We have work to do but lets go home for now; my mother will worry if morning comes, and we are both gone. Jacqueline nodded and stood, Indeed, she would. I also have to figure out what to say in my report; I cannot very well announce that I have decided to betray the kingdom. Especially not at your request. Right, that would be bad. We set off walking through the woods back towards the village. While we were walking, Jacqueline eventually asked me a question, Lady Stahlia, you have always been very intelligent but I cannot determine. How did you figure out Rosial was alive, and beyond that, that I knew? Right, how much should I tell her? I dont think she was lying when she swore to help me fight the kingdom earlier, but that doesnt mean I can trust her absolutely. Now that I know more or less her full story, there''s no telling what fail-safes the kingdom has on her. On the off chance there''s something like a magic listening bug she doesn''t know about, I need to mind my words and keep some cards close to my chest. You heard me scream before you came running to my room. It wasnt a question; we both knew thats what had happened. Jacqueline nodded nevertheless and waited for me to continue. I had woken from a dream. I was in a forest of ice and snow. Antenora was there. I heard Jacqueline let out a gasp, murmuring an oracle to herself in a small voice. I hope this doesnt come back to bite me, but I have to tell her something, so I may as well go with a half-truth She told me that Rosial was alive, and to ask you for the details, and she told me she had seen my future as I underwent my dedication. She gave me her blessing then, to help me betray and destroy the Kingdom of Drakas. That should be enough explanation to satisfy her. Look at me, weaving a plot of half-truths and lies. Does that make you happy Antenora? I smiled grimly to myself. I-indeed to think your blessing really was hers Based on your Prodigy Skill and what you have already done with Alchemy, the kingdom determined your blessing was from Caina, goddess of change. To think it would instead be Cainas elder sister I see. You do take after her; both of you love your younger sister implicitly. Good, that was enough to satisfy her. As a bonus, I learned some juicy tidbits as well, to think the kingdom thought I was destined to bring change. I mean, I fully intend to bring about a great change, but someone else can work out the details after Im through. As long as I get Rosial happy, I dont care what happens to anyone else. The next morning, I resolved myself and came down to breakfast. My mother and father both looked at me in shock before breaking out into happy smiles, Father, Mother, I am sorry for having worried you. I will no longer shut myself away and will strive to come to terms with my grief. It wouldnt do any good to tell them what really happened to Rosial; my father wouldnt believe me and it would just hurt mother. I see, that is very good to hear Stahlia. Do you feel ready to return to your classes? I can send Silvia to notify the head priest. My father questioned me in a calm but light tone, he was clearly overjoyed to see me up and about again but was endeavoring not to show it. No father, I do not think there is anything meaningful for me at the temple school. May I request you have the professor graduate me and prepare a private tutor? I would like to begin preparing for the first- and second-year materials at the Royal Academy. With our familys new peerage, I believe that would be more appropriate. After a brief moment of consideration, my father nodded and bid for Silvia to bring him parchment and quill so he could write a letter to the head priest. Mother, I can see you frowning; do not worry, I do not intend to cut off any of my friends and allow my station to color my head. I simply believe that I have learned all I can at the temple school. As you and father are aware, I already teach more often than I am a student. I teach so much that I even acquired the [Teaching II] talent! Damnit Sven! My mother covered her mouth with a hand. Dear me, you noticed? Still, it gladdens me as your mother to hear you say you do not intend to let a mere title go to your head. She sounded very pleased indeed. Of course, I dont want to cut off my friends, mother, allies are important in war after all but you dont need to know that. My father, true to his word had the priest graduate me from the temple school and a month later, two tutors had arrived. One of them was a general studies tutor who would be teaching me math, as well as teaching me geography and history. Apparently, the temple school graduation record would exempt me from learning any more religious philosophy when at the Royal Academy. The general studies tutor was also originally supposed to be teaching me alchemy, but after a single conversation on the subject, I managed to convince him not to bother. The second tutor was a licensed Red Mage. Different from the class Fire Mage I had seen in the Tier Two class selection, Red Mage was a title unrelated to class. To earn the title, one had to demonstrate a mastery of fire magic without depending on talents or skills. In short, color mages used magic by chanting spells, whereas those who had a mage class could have the talent or skill to skip the chant for them. Curious, I asked my magic tutor what his purpose was. Apparently, he was a Scholar who had then acquired the Researcher class. If Im interoperating that right, it means you get a new class after fulfilling certain criteria I guess thats why character creation was forcing me to pick the lower tier classes; I would have started with whatever Tier One class I picked, then eventually unlocked the higher tiers. If I hadnt picked a higher tier class due to Life Point cost, it probably would have been random based on what classes I qualified for. Not that it matters for me now; my Tier One thru Five classes are all Custom Class after all. That was how I spent the next year until my ninth birthday. I would go out and visit Sana or Giogi at least once a week on the weekend when they didnt have class at the temple, and I had a break from my tutors. During the nights after everyone was asleep, I had Jacqueline resume and intensify my training. At least once a month we would sneak out one weekend to hunt goblins as I wanted to try and raise my level as much as possible before going to the Royal Academy. After a few class levels and talent level-ups, I had enough LP to grab [Finesse Fighting] and promptly purchased it. The damage reduction I received was a lot steeper than I had expected. I actually had a bit of trouble cutting through a goblins skin, though I was able to overcome that limitation by using enhancement magic on my dagger blade to increase its sharpness. The increased critical hit rate was also astonishingly effective. Rather than making me randomly do more damage like I had expected it to do, it instead seemed to make me more accurate when I was aiming for a weak spot like a neck or eye. I was seeing good results with Jacquelines training after a year, having managed to rank up all of my fighting talents once. My general studies tutor had announced he was not going to teach me math and instead focus on history and geography I was already well above the level taught at the Royal Academy. I mean, I was taking calculus and statistics at a University before I died. I would hope I was above the level taught in whats basically a middle school plus junior high, going by the student age range. However, I was struggling with my magic lessons. Since I had no magic talents, I was having to learn chants. According to my magic tutor, I could acquire the magic talent related to a chanted spells element if I used the spell enough, the trick was learning the chant. Chants were not in the common language, and despite my significantly above average intelligence stat, I was struggling to memorize them. It was unforgiving too, a single mispronunciation would cause the spell to fail spectacularly. Often, you would still cast the spell, but it would be deformed somehow. In the worst cases, it would suck up all of my mana at once and knock me out. According to the magic tutor, my struggles were to be expected; spells were not typically taught until the third year at the Royal Academy. I would assume that that means using chants easily has an intelligence prerequisite, students in those years must have leveled up enough times to meet it. Still, its only memorization so I should just have to stick with it; after all, I am making slow progress. The thought did occur to me that due to my Blessing of Winter I might be better off learning Blue Magic or Black Magic; that is, the magic of the water, ice, and shadow elements. But I could hardly tell my father that without explaining why I thought that way, so I stuck with trying my best at Red Magic. The crux of my issue was that, despite knowing many chants, my Red Mage Tutor didnt know what the chants meant. Memorizing a language is easy if you learn it like a vocabulary set. Learning a language is much harder when all you can do is memorize sentences. Indeed, it seemed that nobody knew what the words in chants actually meant, just that by speaking to them someone with enough mana could cast a spell. After a year and a half of effort, I finally managed to acquire the Fire Magic I talent. My Red Mage Tutor was astonished. According to him, He had only been teaching me because my father was a baron and paid him well; he had not expected me to be able to progress at my age. You might be gifted with academics and all that, but memorizing chants is on another level as far as brain power is concerned. That was what he had told me after I demonstrated a Talent Cast of Ignite, the lowest rank of Fire Magic. I mean, normally you would be right, but six months ago I caved in and bought the Memorization I talent. Memorization I was a talent that, as the name implied, improved my ability to memorize things. I had actually been keeping an eye on it for a while after I learned what I would have to do to automatically learn a magic-type talent, but the price had not gone below 100LP. I knew that the prices for talents could change based on how close I was to getting it automatically through practice; I had already observed the Mana Efficiency I Talent, which I had first discovered upon leveling up to five. It had taken nearly a year of using my mana, but I had eventually gotten it for free. About halfway through Autumn in my ninth year, I received a letter from Sven. Ever since my family received a peerage, Sven had fervently refused to treat me the same way, much to my chagrin. This letter was just another example of his changed attitude; before we became nobles Sven would just show up whenever he needed me for something instead of sending me a letter of invitation. Sighing to myself, I opened the letter and read through the contents. To Lady Stahlia Ris and the esteemed Baron Ris. I am writing to inform you of my intent to follow the god, Dorian. I have felt Andres fire wane in the years since I became Lady Stahlias alchemy teacher and now endeavor to walk a different path to hone my abilities to new heights. I am hosting a farewell ceremony where I intend to hand over my business to my younger brother Sieg. Should Lady Stahlia wish to attend, I would request that she announce her intentions with all due haste, as her presence will influence if we grace our tables with Merlots bounty. Put short, Sven was planning to leave Ris Village and hand over his shop to his brother. I had been told of this plan several years ago when Sieg first arrived. He wanted to know if I would be attending the ceremony so he could plan on whether or not to serve alcohol. The religious euphemisms are really irritating. I dont see why he couldnt just speak normally to me; he knows I dont care, and my family are only the barons in a remote mountain region, its not like we would stand on ceremony. Jacqueline, please inform Sven that I will stop by but will not stay for the meal. In these exact words please tell him You can feel free to drink your asses off. Jacqueline, who had read the letter over my shoulder and knew how much I dislike the endless ramblings of high speech chuckled at my instructions and left quickly to deliver my message. A few days later, I went to Svens accompanied by Sana and Giogi, both of them had grown somewhat close to him through accompanying me over the years since we became friends. Arriving at the shop, I announced my arrival, Mr. Sven! Were here! deliberately choosing my words to avoid high speech. Ah, Lady Stahlia. Miss Sana, Giogi. He bowed to me and nodded to Sana and Giogi. I frowned. Mr. Sven, for tonight at least, stop treating me like something Im not. He grimaced. It just doesnt sit right, you being a real blue-blooded noble and all now, but, if it is just for one night, Ill try my best. Honestly, why is it so hard for him? All the other people Im close with are just fine with addressing me like they did before my father received a title. Still, he had agreed to drop the act for tonight so I gave him a beaming smile. He turned slightly red, earning a cuff on the back from Sieg. Sana approached Sieg and struck up a conversation about teas, as she usually did when visiting the shop with me. Giogi was hanging around awkwardly; the drinking age for males was ten years old, so he planned on staying for dinner after. To that end, he was avoiding interfering in my farewells. As an aside, women were not allowed to drink until the age of thirteen, a discrepancy that I could not wrap my head around. Both ages are too low in my opinion, but still, this is a society where getting engaged at eight and married at fifteen is seen as normal so I cant really say anything. Mr. Sven, where do you intend to go? I was genuinely curious; I knew Sven hailed from a small northern island country and had emigrated to Drakas to learn about the local herbs and ingredients. Ah, I think Ill first go and visit my hometown to see my parents. Sieg gave me a letter from em and it seems my pa might finally have forgiven me for running off as I did. After that tho, I dunno. East maybe. I sort of want to visit another continent, and I hear the Eastern Continent has some pretty unique compounds you cant find anywhere else Id love to get my hands on em. I already knew Sven hadnt left home under the best of terms, but the fact that he had been all but chased out was news to me. Still, seeing as this was likely going to be our last conversation, I decided not to drag up potentially bad memories by asking about it. The Eastern Continent of Riodhas is it? I hear they have excellent food from my Geography Tutor. Its a shame I likely wont ever have a chance to visit myself, I would have liked to sample the dishes and played with new ingredients as well. It was common knowledge in the village that I was engaged to the Francois house and, though I had no intention of actually fulfilling that engagement, I had to keep up the story. Aye, it is a real shame. I would have like to see what new concoctions you could dream up with the materials there. We chatted idly for around an hour before it was time for me to take my leave. Mr. Sven, no it isnt fair to you if I insist on only you drop the formalities. May I call you by name? Just this once. He nodded with a half-smile. Right. Sven, thank you for teaching me and putting up with all my abnormalities for so many years! I wish you luck on your journey and a happy future. For a moment, I debated disabling my remorse to try and avoid crying but decided that would be in poor taste, so I allowed the tears to well up while struggling with them normally. Aye Stahlia, you were a good student. I wont be there to see it, but I want to wish ya luck at the academy and happy marriage with Lord Dominic. Well, the first part of that was ok, so Ill forgive you for the second half. I curtsied and turned to leave his shop. I did not see the single tear rolling down Svens cheek as I took my leave. Likewise, I did not start crying on the way home. Jacqueline did not have to offer me a handkerchief. Following Svens departure, the remainder of the year passed quickly. I turned ten and at my insistence, we kept the ceremony small. Dominic thankfully did not visit for my celebration so I still had a bit of time to figure out how I would treat him; I would have to see him at the Royal Academy after all. Since no hellfire had descended on me, I could presume that he was properly keeping the promise and had told no one about what had happened that day. Still, why on earth would I trust him that much? I even offered to use my appraisal magic on him when I didnt even do that for Rosial! I knew he was some sort of noble and my dads friends son, but that shouldnt have been enough to make me share something like that. Fortunately, or unfortunately, He did send me a letter. In his letter, he wished me good health and expressed his regrets over Rosials death, as well as an enclosed pair of pearl earrings. He should remember I dont have pierced ears from when he came to visit! Further, Rosial has been gone for nearly two years! What the hell?! Arent you supposed to be my fianc? Feeling my cheeks start to twitch and grow hot, I forced myself to calm down and think. Given how far behind this world is in some areas, there was probably a reason he is only sending a letter now and has rolled both congratulations and lamentations into it. Unfortunately for me, upon seeing the gifted earrings, my mother promptly forced me to go to have my ears pierced; citing, It would be most shameful if you are not wearing them when he first sees you at the Academy. Before I knew it, it was the second month of the year 947, and I was saying farewell to my mother and father. As it was located in the Capital, the Royal Academy was a boarding school. I would be spending the next nine months away, though I could return at the end of autumn to winter with my family. Thankfully, I would not be going alone. Sana would be attending a sister Academy that trained children who would be joining the clergy. Likewise, Giogi had tested well enough to enroll in the Royal Academys Knight Course. Becoming a Knight was one of the easiest ways for a commoner to obtain a form of Peerage; Knights were at the same level as a fallen noble in the eyes of society, and skilled ones may even become Barons. To that end, my father had arranged with Count Francois to have Giogi assigned to me officially as a Knight in Training. I qualified for having a guard attendant due to my engagement; a normal Baron family would not be allowed one. I was more or less ok with this arrangement, as Jacqueline was also coming with me as my attendant maid and in the event of Giogis failure, I could count on her. According to one of the secret conversations we had while we were hunting goblins, her original mission had only been meant to last until I enrolled, but she had stressed the relationship we had built up and managed to get an extension until my graduation. Stil was also being sent with me; my Monster Handling Talent was already made public at this point and through Count Francois, Stil had been registered as my tamed monster. Boarding the carriage with my four friends, we set off for the Royal Academy of the Kingdom of Drakas. I looked out the back of the carriage, reminiscing about my first ten years in my new life until Ris Village receded into the distance. 1-15 Epilogue Epilogue One, Road Trip A Nameless Carriage Driver, Second Month of 947 The last passenger finally boarded my carriage, and I swatted my horses with the reigns to get them moving. I was making the trek from Ris Village, a tiny little pissant place in the middle of nowhere all the way to the Royal Capital. My passengers numbered five plus a monster that apparently belonged to one of them. These were honestly some odd people I was transporting; We had three kids barely turned ten years old and a maid. Apparently one of the kids, the sole male beside myself, was a guard. Hah! As if a shrimp hardly old enough to drink would be able to fend off any monsters or bandits. Still, the monster might serve as a good distraction ifin it came down to it. Not that it would, I charged a premium, but I was myself blessed with a strong purpose and capable in a scrap. One of the little girls was heading off to train to be some kind of priestess. She was real excited about it based on how she was chattering away to the other girl. The last girl was, believe it or not, a bona fide country noble daughter. Even in a poor as dirt little village like this, you would think her daddy could afford to hire a proper guard or two. Maybe thats why he hired me, I did advertise myself as being able to serve as a guard after all. Still, he had to be a real cheapskate. The last passenger and only adult was the noble girls maid. She was carrying a sword belted to her waist, but certainly, she wasnt that strong, being an attendant and all. The noble girl was looking out the window with a wistful expression on her face until the village disappeared over a hill. Young lass has probably never been this far from home before. Kinda sad really. Seeing as all my passengers were now unoccupied, I made my usual announcements, Well, settle in for the long ride. From here to the capital is going to take about five days. Once we get out of these mountains, we should be in the clear from any monsters, and the kingdoms knights regularly patrol the highways to deal with bandits and the like so I expect it should be a safe journey. The little priest girl thanked me with a smile, and the so-called guard boy nodded quietly. The maid didnt react at all, and the noble girl looked disappointed? We made camp just past the forest edge in the mountain foothills. Ris Village was so remote and out of the way that we wouldnt have access to a town for the first three days of travel. Much to my shock, the maid and the noble girl immediately set about making camp with a practiced skill that indicated plenty of experience. Hardly what you would expect two blue bloods to do. I mean, I guess Ris Village is really remote and all I glanced at the guard boy and the priestess girl. The guard boy was watching the noble and maid with a sort of Well, shoulda expected that surprised face, and the priestess girl was paying them no heed whatsoever as if this was entirely normal behavior. Stacking up the surprises, the maid took off with the monster after they finished making camp and the noble girl gave them some kind of order. She came back about ten minutes later as if nothing had happened, but I could swear I smelled the scent of blood on her. Of course, none of my passengers said anything, so I decided I was better off not poking the bees nest. Resigning myself to what was, like as not, going to be a highly unusual trip, I set up a magic tool to detect incoming threats and we all went to sleep. I didnt hear the noble girl asking the maid why we never used one of those because it would be so useful. Nope, I didnt hear that at all. The second day we woke up all fine and dandy and broke camp. I say we broke camp, but it was really me, the maid and the noble girl. The maid gave me a really scary look when she caught me staring at the noble girl so I decided I didnt see anything again. Still, I was getting real curious about my passengers. I strained my ears to try and hear what they were saying from inside the carriage. I was so disappointed yesterday when he said it was going to be safe! This is my first time traveling so far by carriage, after all, I was hoping to run into some trouble. Jacqueline, do you think those goblins yesterday are a sign that this trip might be interesting? Lady Stahlia, I dont think we will have anything to worry about. Our driver is an accomplished adventurer in his own right so even if we do run into trouble he will deal with it. That is not what I meant Stahlia! Listen to miss Jacqueline! Why do you want to run into trouble?! Nah Sana, Lady Stahlias got the right idea, Ive been practicing for so long, I finally want to test myself against a fair opponent. Oh Giogi, are you implying that fighting me is not fair? It sounds like you need more training. N-n-no! Im quite all right as is! Thank you very much! Hush, all of you. Lady Stahlia, Miss Sana, Sir Giogi. The driver will handle any and all trouble we may run into. ####### Suddenly I couldnt hear inside the carriage anymore. That last voice was the maid, and it sounded like she invoked a spell. I didnt know much about magic, due to the Drakas Kingdom regulating it so strictly, but if a mere maid was able to invoke soundproofing magic with only the name, that couldnt be normal. About as unusual as a noble girl who wants to meet bandits, and is it just me, or did it sound like she beats the snot out of her own guard on the regular? I resolved to stop asking questions. We made camp that night for the last time. I had been getting the feeling that I should get these people out of my carriage as soon as I could so I was planning on pushing the horses a little hard and making the trip to the capital in only four days instead of five, that would put us in a town tomorrow evening. The whole time we were making camp, I could feel the maids stare on the back of my head. I get it! I wont say anything! Just stop shooting all that anger at me! Breaking camp the third day, I ignored my enhanced hearing talent and made a point of pretending my carriage was empty. Everything was good up until around noon, we were about six hours away from the village I planned on stopping the night in when I saw a cart with its wheels broken on the side of the road. Leaning against the cart was a man with his arm up in a sling. The whole area as far as the eye could see was a grassy plain with vegetation coming up to about my waist, perfect for hiding if you crouched in it. Aww shit. I stopped the carriage and climbed out of the seat. This was a pretty classic trap bandits would set, and I needed to warn my passengers. Knocking on the carriage door, the maid opened it for me, Ah, Im afraid I got some bad news. It seems there might be bandits ahead after all. The maid nodded coolly, not seeming to be worried at all. The noble girl seemed excited for some reason I still couldnt fathom. The Priestess girl didnt seem frightened either, she just sighed and started running her temples like she had a migraine, it was a bit exaggerated like she was imitating something she had seen. The guard boy gripped his sword handle tightly. At least one of the kids is sensible Boy, I aim to go ahead and check out that cart to see if its a trap. Stay here and guard your mistress, if the carriage gets attacked, Ill be back in about five seconds. The boy gave me a crisp salute, so I nodded at him and set off to the cart at a brisk pace. As I was nearing the cart, the man stood up and waved at me, No, go back! Theyll get your carriage! Against my better judgment, but in line with my instincts I had been honing over decades of travel, I spun around. Coming out from the tall grass was a trio of Orcs. Orcs were a C rank monster, I could handle them one on one but fighting three at once would be a no-go. Damn! I hope that guard boy can at least hold one of them off me for a few seconds! With a cry of warning, I took off running back to my carriage. Then the unthinkable happened. Swinging the doors open, the monster jumped out and grabbed one of the orcs right around its throat, using its airborne momentum it twisted around, dragging the beast around by the neck. I saw a spray of red as the monster sailed past the now dying orc, propelled by the momentum of its jump. Well, that was a pretty skilled use of a weak monster like a Stawri, two on one I should be able to manage, although theres a good chance Ill get hurt. Just as I was thinking that the Boy jumped out of the carriage and swung at first one orc than the other, nicking both of them he succeeded in drawing their attention and started running away from the carriage. No, you idiot! Lead them towards me not back the way we came! Thats when the noble girl came out of the carriage. What the hell?! Youre the one we should be protecting the most! What the blazes are you thinking?! The noble girl raised both her hands out towards the orcs theatrically, there was a light breeze that was making her hair wave about behind her. ## ####, #### # #### ### ### ##### ## ###### ## #####! ########. Speaking in the magic language, the noble girl conjured up a ball of fire and launched it straight into the back of the rear Orcs head. The beast fell forward onto its face, a smoldering hole bored into its noggin. As the Orc fell, the guard boy suddenly pivoted and jumped at the back of the last Orc who had just been turning around to stare at the corpse of its buddy. With a yell, the guard knight skewered the monster through the small of its back and let it fall gurgling off his sword. I skidded to a stop, belatedly, I realized the injured man was right behind me. W-wh-wha?! As if noticing us for the first time, the noble girl looked at the injured man in surprise, then turned to the interior of the carriage and said something. The priestess girl came out and approached the man with his arm in a sling, Here, let me see your arm, sir. She ran her hand down the length of his arm that he dumbly presented her, taking note of all the places where he winced as her touch passed. Nodding once after she satisfied herself, she clasped her hands. Oh Goddess Gaia, mother of order. Hear my prayer and lend your humble servant your divine power! Please soothe the injured and the weary travelers that have drawn the eye of Dorian! Lifting her hands towards the sky, I could only blink in amazement as a blueish-green light descended on the mans arm, There you go, it should be healed now! The maid came out last and shot me and the traveler a withering look. Right! We didnt see anything strange at all! Epilogue Two, R1: A Cruel Reality Rosial, Three Years Old, First Month of 945. I awoke in a dark place. I could not see or hear a thing. I tried to move my arms and legs but could not tell if I was successful. I could not tell where I was and began to cry, at least I thought I was crying, but I couldnt even feel the tears running down my face. After a while, I cannot tell how long, I eventually fell asleep. Waking up I was still in the same dark place, so I cried again. I repeated this for so long I cannot remember. Frequently, I would think of my sisters face. At first, doing that brought me peace. Surely, shell come and save me! Shell make a potion or something and I will wake up from whatever hell this is! But no matter how long I waited, she never came. After the gods only know how long I began to hate my sisters face for constantly appearing in my mind. At one point I tried to bite my tongue, just to feel something, but I could not manage to do so. I could feel pressure when I bit down hard enough, but it was so faint I felt I might just be imagining it. After another length of time, I heard a voice in my head, Subject 23, how are you doing today? Subject 23? Is he talking to me? Indeed, I am talking to you Subject 23, can you tell me how you are feeling? My name isnt subject 23! My name is Rosial! Let me out of here! I screamed at the voice in my head, but it did not respond. I shouted and yelled at it, but no matter what I said I received no response. Eventually, I fell silent from fatigue. Of course, I had not really been screaming, or maybe I was, I could not tell. I passed into blessed unconsciousness an uncountable number of times. Before I realized it, the face of my sister was beginning to grow fuzzy in my mind. I stopped hating her then, I desperately clung to the picture of her face. Do not leave me, sister! Subject 23, how are you today? My name is Rosial! Give me back my sister! The voice did not respond. Eventually, my sisters face had grown to indistinct, I could no longer see it. I cried and gnashed my teeth, desperately trying to bite off my tongue. I was not sure why I wanted to bite it off, but I somehow knew if I did, I could escape from this place. Of course, no matter how hard I tried it did not work. I only ever felt a very light pressure. More time passed. The voice did not return; I was desperate for it to return to me. I wanted to sense anything! It could not leave me in the dark forever, could it? I had lost all track of time. I felt like an eon must have passed with me just floating in this blackness. My sister my sister my sister? Who is my sister? Subject 23, are you feeling well? The voice! The voice is back! Yes, I am back. Subject 23, how are you feeling? I am so alone! Please! Where is my sister? Your sister? Subject 23, you have no sister. I I have no sister? Thats wrong! My older sister my older sister is always there for me, isnt she?! No Subject 23, you have no sister. Youre lying! My sister, her name is. My sister will come for me! Youll see! The voice did not respond. Again, I gnashed my teeth for that was all I could do. I drifted in an endless sea of black, unfeeling and unaware. I could no longer think. Occasionally, a vague indistinct shape would cross my minds eye but although I tried, I desperately tried to grab it, I could not grab hold and the vague indistinct shape flitted past. Subject 23, how are you feeling? I I dont know I felt like I should be crying, but I could not. Subject 23, who are you waiting for? I I dont have anyone to wait for For some reason, that thought made me even sadder than I already was. I see, you must feel very alone. Thats right Im so alone please dont leave me again mister voice! Do not worry subject 23, I will not leave you. Thank you! Oh, thank you! There-there now, are you feeling better now Subject 23? Oh yes! Much better! Im so glad you wont leave me Say, mister voice what should I call you? Me? I dont have a name, unfortunately If you need to call me something, you could call me Five though. Five got it! Thank you for talking with me mister Five! Of course, Subject 23 I have to step away for a minute, but Ill be back soon so wait for me ok? Absolutely! Please, hurry back! Its scary when Im alone The voice, Mr. Five did not respond, but that was ok, I knew he would be back. Subject 23, Four Years Old I was floating in a black space, waiting for Mr. five to come back. Epilogue Three, F1: Another Time, Another Place Franklin, 22 Years Old, 2020. Somewhere on Earth. I let myself into my dorm room and flopped down onto the couch. My roommate came up to me and asked how I was feeling, but I shooed them away. I still didnt feel like talking about it. It had been three days since George committed suicide. The university had given me an academic leave so I could sort out my emotions. I was just going through the motions though. Everyone assured me that it wasnt my fault, it was clear that I blamed myself. After all, I was the last person to have any meaningful interaction with him before he did it. I thought back over the events of that day, wondering what I should have done differently. I had met George in the cafeteria. Briefly, I debated if I should have pretended I didnt see him, but quickly threw that idea out; we were from the same home town and people expected us to be friends because of it. It didnt matter that I found him as insufferable to be around as everyone else, society had decided that we should be friends so I had to act the part. George! I saw the announcement! You actually did it didnt you? You crazy son of a bitch! George was one of, if not the top player in the RPG Dragon War. I was somewhat fond of the game as well, when it first came out it was to rave reviews lauding it for its combat system and well-written lore. George never questioned that I followed the developers Chirper, though I dont think he realized that I played it as well. I was more a fan of the experience, but George could only generously be called obsessed. He would spend dozens of hours pouring over stat pages and wiki articles trying to find the most efficient way to proceed through the quests. The few times I had attempted to talk to him about it he had been quick to inform me that that playstyle isnt optimal, it wastes too much. I was quick to explain that it was just stuff I had seen in online videos; if he realized that I had been recounting my own playthroughs I would never hear the end of it. George flashed a smile when he recognized me, Yea, I told you it was possible. I also told you I was going to get it done last night, but strangely I still had zero viewers the whole time Thats because your personality is insufferable when youre doing anything related to games. I kept my thoughts to myself, Yea Look, I had this thing going on with Jackson. I really did want to watch, but life got in the way ya know? I really had been hanging out with Jackson, but George didnt need to know that I had arranged that so I would have an excuse if he questioned my absence from his streams. No big deal. George gave me a placating smile. He thinks hes so magnanimous this is why people cant stand you. George turned to the woman running the beverages stand, One Bang Energy please, I dont care what flavor. He processed his transaction and popped the lid off the energy drink. At a loss for what to say, but knowing it would be super awkward if I excused myself, I said the first thing to come to my mind, You alright man? You dont really drink stuff like that. He gave me a somewhat patronizing look as if him drinking an energy drink should be the most obvious thing in the world, Well, I was up really late last night dealing with some stuff. I waited, awkwardly scratching at my cheek and trying to think of a convenient way to excuse myself when George suddenly continued, Say, Franklin, can I trust you to keep a secret? Oh god, whats he gotten up to this time? The last time he asked me to keep a secret, it turned out that he was of the opinion Professor Claire had a crush on him. He wanted me to get him access to the teachers lounge in the humanities building so he could hack her workstation to find out what her favorite foods were. Of course, the fact that she was married and would never consider something as unprofessional as a relationship with a student never crossed his mind. Ive got to find out what hes scheming and put a stop to it. A secret? I mean yea, Im your friend so Looking around, I spotted a suitable table for us to talk and moved over to it, So, whats this big secret? George leaned in and smiled. Someone dropped by my chat after I got the achievement last night. They invited me to join a closed beta for a new game called New Life. Look, Franklin, this game, its crazy. Theres so much detail to everything. When it launches its going to take over the industry. Itll make Space Rings look like E.T.. So its nothing illegal then, thats a relief. Now I just have to find a way to get out of this, Are you sure you should be telling me this? What if you get removed from the beta for breaking some sort of NDA? George smirked at me. No, they told me I could livestream it. This is going to make my channel finally take off. Since youre always looking out for me, I wanted to show you before anyone else. Think you can swing by my house around nine tonight? Shit. That makes this really hard to get out of when he phrases it like that I made a character last night, thats why I was up so late, Im planning to run through the tutorial today and then restart on stream tomorrow. George was looking at me intently, hopefully. So you want me to come over to your house, to watch you play a game How self-absorbed can you be? I realized that I had accidentally mumbled the last part out loud and quickly followed up, hoping he hadnt heard me, Sure, I can come over tonight, Ill grab a six-pack on the way. Cool, Ill see you around nine then. Thanks for the beer! I watched George head for his next class, trying to see if he had heard my true thoughts. I finished my food and got up to go to my next class. I got a phone call from the Dean while I was at the market to get the beer, telling me that George had jumped in front of a subway, and asking me if I could give a statement to the police since I was the only student who he was known to confide with. My dorm rooms phone rang, dragging me out of my memories. I glared angrily at it and my roommate gave me an apologetic look before going to answer it. After a moment, he reached out to hand me the phone. Its his mother. I felt my face twist up as I took the phone. Hello, this is Franklin. What can I do for you, Mrs. Smith? The voice on the other end of the phone was tired and hoarse. Shes probably going through an emotional whirlwind right now. Franklin. The police officer said that they couldnt release Georges affects by mail, and Mr. Smith and I cant afford to fly out. Would you be able to go to the station and sign for them? I gave them your name as an intermediary, so there shouldnt be any trouble. I really dont want to be anywhere near his things though, it would just make me think about that last conversation again. Yea, I can do that for you, Mrs. Smith. Do you still live at the same address? She told me that yes, they hadnt moved in the past two years and offered to send me the money for the post, which I tried to refuse. I eventually accepted the gesture when she started crying. You might have turned into a self-absorbed cunt, but there were still people who cared about you. Whyd you go out like this? I spoke to the crying Mrs. Smith for a few more minutes, before using the fact that the station was a bit of a trip and that it was getting dark to excuse myself. I told my roommate where I was going; the Dean had been very insistent that I keep people apprised of my activities for the next couple of months as a safety precaution. Arriving at the police station a few hours later, I signed the release for Georges personal effects. I was handed a small box containing a cellphone, wallet, and wristwatch. I trudged back to the dorms under a light rain that perfectly matched my mood. I let myself into my room and greeted my roommate before going to my bedroom. Taking Georges things out of the box, I ran my fingers over the wristwatch. I could remember when his aunt gave him this for Christmas. It was one of those smartwatches that could link up to your phone. Opening the wallet, there was a picture of his mother and father tucked into the front pocket. I guess deep down he actually did care, at least superficially. His phone was surprisingly intact. The screen was badly cracked, but the indicator light was still flashing bright green, indicating a new message. After some hesitation, I unlocked the phone. The message might be from someone who didnt know what had happened and I figured I may as well let them know. Georges password was predictable; the narcissistic bastard had used his own birthday. For how fond you were about tooting your own horn, you sure made some stupid decisions huh I scrolled over to his email app and opened it. He had two emails linked, the business email he used for his failed streaming goals, and a personal one. Both had a couple of unreads. I opened the business one first and saw a message from a company called Gods of Creations with the subject line Welcome to New Life. I decided I may as well send them an email and explain what had happened, so I opened the message to write a quick reply. Briefly skimming the message, I was at a loss. What the hell? Is New Life some kind of suicide cult? From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Welcome to New Life The purpose of this message is to inform you that as of 6:36 pm local time, the Transfer Process has been completed, and your New Life has been fully activated. We apologize for the delay caused by the earlier system error. Please enjoy your New Lifetm Sincerely, Gods of Creation Onboarding Team. The date for the message was three days ago, the same day George had killed himself. According to the police report, he had jumped in front of the 6:35 train, meaning this message had been sent a minute after he died. I felt bile rising up in my throat and quickly tabbed over to his personal email, where I found an email from Professor Dayson asking for details about some kind of survey they had talked about, and another email from the Gods of Creation. Both of these were date and time stamped to shortly before he died. I ignored the one from Professor Dayson, since George had been in her class she already knew about the suicide. Morbidly curious, I opened the email from Gods of Creation From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Beta Activation Key Thank you for expressing an interest in New Life! On behalf of Gods of Creation, we would like to extend an official invitation for you to take part in our beta test of New Lifetm! Please follow the link below in order to download the beta client and use the provided authentication key to activate your client. You will not be able to connect to our server without the key, so we recommend saving this email. DOWNLOAD Activation Key: HDRJ-H38F-JVW3-8AJO-CAYE-V4F7 I frowned after reading the email. This email is from just before he died, but he said he had already made his character when I spoke to him in the cafeteria. He might be a narcissist, but he was always honest. He said he had already made a character, so what is this about an account activation key forty minutes before he died? I was getting suspicious now. From the two emails I had read so far, things seemed fishy. I navigated through his emails going back a week and read all the ones from Gods of Creation. As it turned out, George had in fact made two accounts. The first account was made four days ago and was the one he presumably had made a character on. The second account was made the afternoon just before he died. If you were planning to kill yourself, why would you make a second account for a game you were so excited about? I was starting to doubt the police ruling of suicide, I didnt want to think about it, but in the corner of my mind I had an inkling that George had been murdered, and somehow, Gods of Creation was responsible. I resolved myself to ask Professor Dayson for details regarding the survey she had spoken with George about. Psycholor In Rosial''s POV, the flow of time is not marked. Text wise, this is the shortest chapter. In terms of in universe time passage, it takes the longest. There are only so many ways I can describe "Nothing is happening", and I admittedly struggled to properly portray her mind breaking down. That being said, this scene is very important for Rosial''s story, so even if I couldn''t write it as well as I wanted I have chosen to leave it in. The lengths of time she was left alone for would vary in length from a couple weeks to several months. This scene was based on a real world form of torture called Sensory Deprivation. In my own opinion, it is one of the absolute worst things humans have ever done to each other. Regarding Franklin''s POV, I am not an expert on crime scene evidence and what have you. I tried googling "How long does it take police to release personal effects after you kill yourself?" and was directed to suicide prevention resources, so I might be on a safety watchlist now. I opted for several days, since I felt that that would give the police enough time to properly go over everything but would still be soon enough for a potentially grieving family to receive mementos without potentially reopening wounds. See everyone Friday for 2-1! 2-0 Arc 1 Recap + 2-1 The Town of Fess Psycholor Glossary Entries for Stahlia, Sana, Giogi, Jacqueline, and Rosial have been added. They are accurate to 1-15 and include a Life Summary Screen for each character (except Rosial). 2-0 Arc 1 Recap Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Second Month of 947 It had been just over ten years since my reincarnation. I used to be a failing Twitch streamer until I was approached by what I thought was the opportunity of a lifetime. One of my viewers, going by the handle EvilGod offered me a spot in a beta test of a new game his company was developing, called New Life. Seeing this as an opportunity to finally launch my channel into success, I ignored my better judgment and quickly signed up for the beta. Only, it turned out that EvilGod really was, and New Life was literal. I was murdered and found myself inhabiting the body of the character I had created for the beta. Stahlia was the newborn daughter of Fynn and Rosalie, fallen nobility in the Kingdom of Drakas. My first few months were a form of hell in their own way; being an infant, I couldnt speak or move around freely. I was completely dependent on my new mother for everything. Of course, I had one advantage babies normally dont have; I had the memories of my past life as George, a university student studying in the STEM fields. Leveraging my knowledge, I developed quickly and was able to speak fluently and walk around by myself within my first year. My parents were worried at first, but eventually decided I had been gifted with a special purpose by the gods and goddess of this world. With that assumption, they endeavored to give me opportunities to learn and experience things a normal infant would never understand. Due to my parents accommodating nature, I started learning Alchemy under the tutelage of a local villager named Sven, and we struck up an odd friendship; him being in his late thirties and me being a yearling. I also became friends with the family maid, Jacqueline, and began training our family pet monster Stil. Through my friendship with Jacqueline, I was able to further expand my skillset beyond what my parents would have been willing to indulge; she taught me hand-to-hand combat and knife fighting. At my Dedication Ritual, a religious ceremony that all three-year-olds in this Kingdom undergo, my parents finally learned about my special prodigy talent that I had gained through my reincarnation. Due to having this talent, I was sent to a school at the local temple alongside other gifted children from our village. It was at this school where I finally started making friends with children my age. Sana, a gifted singer who could already cast miracles despite being only five herself, and Giogi, a young boy who had a talent for knives and knife fighting. There were a few other children, but these two were the ones I bonded with the most. When I was four years old, my parents gave me an adorable little sister named Rosial. Rosial was a sweet little thing with a knack for disappearing. Unfortunately, that led to her being kidnapped by the Kingdoms Order of Shadows following her own Dedication Ritual. I fell into depression and was only pulled back after a visit from the goddess of traitors and plots. She gave me an impetus and a blessing, so I swore an oath to myself that I would destroy the kingdom for daring to take my sister from me. Jacqueline revealed to me that she was a member of the same Order that had taken my sister, and swore herself to my cause, determining to help me rescue my sister and deal with the repercussions of moving against the kingdom. Complicating matters, my parents arranged an engagement for me with the third son of a Count in my fathers old faction. Still, I determined that the engagement should prove as a useful shield for me as I navigated my way through the Royal Academy; a school for the Kingdoms Noble children and gifted commoners. Departing from my home village to enroll at that Academy upon turning ten, I was decided that I would face my future head-on. 2-1 The Town of Fess Stahlia Ten Years Old, Second Month of 947 Sitting in the carriage, I ignored the excited chatter coming from Sana and Giogi. They had just experienced their first battle and were eagerly discussing it. Indeed, our carriage had been assaulted by a trio of Orcs en route to the capital of Drakas. It might have been exciting for them but for me, who had been waging a war of extermination against goblins since I was barely five years old, it was nothing special. Sure, Orcs were a couple of ranks stronger than Goblins, but they still were not something I considered overly dangerous; everyone dies when they are killed, by slashing their throats that is. Sargon, an injured traveler we had rescued from those same orcs was staring out the window, pointedly ignoring the party of ten-year-olds that had saved his life. Honestly, you could be a bit more grateful, Sana even healed you with a miracle. Normally, that type of injury would have cost you a minimum of three Drakas Small Golds as a donation to the temple, but she did it for free. The questionable morals of our new companion aside, I had other things on my mind. Running my hand through Stils feathers, I channeled some mana into his body and confirmed the contents of his status window that was displayed in my vision. Name/Age: Stil, 13 Species/Level: Stawri, 10 Experience MAX Ability Values: Special: Bonded Monster (Stahlia), [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE]* Skills: Keen Senses*, Strength Normal Enhancement*, Loyalty*, Agility Super Enhancement*, Intelligence Super Enhancement*, My mana control had improved drastically over the past two years. By increasing the amount of mana I channeled into the target, I was able to get a lot more information than I used to. At my present ability, I could see his Skills list and his numerical stats. As far as his skills were concerned, I could even get more information by focusing on a skills name. The enhancement skills were straightforward, they provided an enhancement value to his stats based on his level; normal enhancement was 1x his level, super enhancement was 10x his level. Both of them seemed to cap at level twenty-five though, so it shouldn''t be too broken. Presumably, he had acquired these based on how I had trained him. Keen Senses simply enhanced his five senses and was likely a skill intrinsic to the Stawri species. Loyalty had no effect, and I theorized it was simply indicative he was in a subservient role, and not the leader of his own pack. The most useful for the day-to-day would have to be the actual numbers associated with Stils stats, but what was drawing my attention at the moment was the line [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE]. I had theorized that monsters could evolve after fulfilling certain conditions back when I was creating Stahlia. Before reincarnating as her, the character creation had various monsters as playable races and had included a sort of flowchart showing different branching sub-species. Still, this was the first time I had confirmed what those conditions were; following the orc extermination I had received a notification that Bonded Monster Stil has reached their species Apex. Evolution has been unlocked. Further growth will be impossible until evolved. Indeed, Stils level was currently displayed as 10 while their experience counter was max. This indicated he could not grow any further in his current form. I focused my attention on the [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] and the screen was switched to display three options. Blood Stawri[AVAILABLE]*, Alpha Stawri[LOCKED]*, Hawri[AVAILABLE]* Each option was additionally illustrated with a side profile silhouette, presumably, this indicated what the new appearance of the evolved monster would be. Since each of these options had the symbol indicating I could get more info, I focused on them one by one; I didnt want to accidentally neuter my companion. Blood Stawri: A Variant of the Stawri species. This species is more effective in combat and gains a physical Strength Bonus upon Evolution. Prerequisites: A Stawri may become a Blood Stawri upon reaching level 10. Alpha Stawri: A Rare Variant of the Stawri Species. This species gains access to the [Pack Leader] Skill and is effective in leading other Stawri species in battle. Prerequisites: Not Available for a Stawri in Possession of [Loyalty] Skill. Hawri: A Very Rare Evolution available to the Stawri Species. This species gains a bonus to Intelligence and Mana upon Evolving. Prerequisites: Requires Infusion of Divine Element. Blood Stawri appeared to be the common evolution of Stils species, so I expected it would give him a decent increase in power. Alpha Stawri wasnt available for Stil due to his loyalty skill. I was his pack leader, making it impossible for him to become an alpha himself. On the other hand, Hawri looked very interesting. Particularly the Very Rare and the requires Divine Element portions. I still wasnt sure about what exactly the Divine Element was, though I could infer it had something to do with the magic used in this world. Elemental spells were classified as Fire Element, Water Element, Earth Element, etcetera. The Divine Element was not listed in any of the magic textbooks my Red Mage tutor had given me, leading me to believe it was either completely unknown, considered top secret, or simply very, very, rare. As for myself, I had gained a skill that allowed me to use the Divine Element, indicating that it was a bit more advanced than normal magic. After all, anyone could use the main elements when chanting a spell, but my Blessing of Winter specifically stated that it unlocked access to the Divine Element, indicating that to use it there were prerequisites. Granted, I havent been able to actually use it even once since getting that skill Seeing as that skill came directly from a goddess, and the Hawri evolution required it. I made my decision and carefully compared Stil, who was laying at my feet, with the Silhouette of the Hawri in my display window; I didnt want him to suddenly change shape in front of everyone. Once I was sure that the physical appearance did not change, I focused on the Hawri option causing a confirmation window to appear. I selected yes. All of a sudden, my arm felt incredibly cold. Some kind of energy was flowing out of me and into Stil. He twitched uncomfortably before passing out. Before I was able to worry about whether I had hurt him or not, he suddenly began emitting a torrent light. Shit! So much for doing this secretly. In my last life, I became the very best several times over, why wasnt I expecting a transformation special effects display?! Note to self; next time do this when Im alone! The chattering from Sana and Giogi stopped at once and they both stared at Stil in surprise. Even Sargon, who had been pointedly ignoring us was now staring while fidgeting uncomfortably. Before long, the light faded and Stil stood up. His physical size and shape had not changed, but his feathers had taken on a silvery sheen. If I dont say anything, maybe theyll ignore it. Thinking thusly, I rubbed my hand through Stils head feathers. Name/Age: Stil, 13 Species/Level: Hawri, 10 Experience 0/12000 Ability Values: Special: Bonded Monster (Stahlia), Divine Evolution Skills: Keen Senses*, Strength Normal Enhancement*, Loyalty*, Agility Super Enhancement*, Intelligence Super Enhancement*, Physical Enhancement Magic M*, Mana Sensing* The Evolution had apparently been successful, Stils species had changed to Hawri and his experience counter was no longer locked. He had gained two new skills that I quickly inspected. Physical Enhancement Magic M was a Monster exclusive version of my own physical enhancement; it lets him use his mana to increase his Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity. Mana Sensing was a sort of sixth sense; it allowed him to sense ambient mana. That will probably be useful for detecting magic being cast or something along those lines. It also appeared he had gained a flat +10 bonus to all his stats. The whole inspection only took me a few seconds since I was doing it at the speed of thought. Sana cleared her throat, Stahlia, what what was that? She was looking at me with a calm face, but her eyes were suspicious. Giogi nodded at her question. Sana, why would you assume I know what happened? I pasted on an innocent smile and tilted my head questioningly. Sana narrowed her eyes and pushed a finger at me. Of course, you know what happened. Anytime anything strange happened in our village, you were always the reason! Lies and slander. I should have expected that she would catch on, Giogi too, although he will probably accept whatever I tell him, Sana is too smart sometimes. Thankfully, Jacqueline came to my rescue, while shooting me a disappointed look, she drew Sanas, Giogis, and Sargons attention to herself. Miss Sana, I believe Stil has just evolved into a stronger species of monster. You learned about this at the temple school; when monsters gain enough strength, they can undergo changes to gain new abilities. I believe the earlier fight with the Orcs may have pushed Stil over that threshold. Asking Lady Stahlia what happened is not fair, even if Stil is her tamed monster, even she would not be able to predict what changes he has undergone just now. Jacquelines tone was mollifying, and her smile was sweet. Their combined effect caused Sana to nod and sit back, completely accepting the situation. Giogi glanced at Stil again before shrugging and sitting back against his seat. Sargon looked like he was about to say something, but Jacqueline sent him a quick glare and he returned to pointedly staring out the window and ignoring us. After a short silence, Sana and Giogi returned to their conversation, and I settled in for the remaining hours until we reached the upcoming town. Still, Stil got a decent power boost from that. I wonder what the next level requirement for his evolution is? Having no way to predict that, I glanced over my own stats, confirming that the Orc fight had not leveled me up. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 65 Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris, 10 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 9 Experience: 1450/9000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Shadow Blade [Swap Style] Talents 3/3: [Browse Talents] Prodigy II*, Memorization I*, Stealth III, || Monster Handling III*, Dagger Fighting IV* Unarmed Fighting III*, Alchemy Correction III*, Teaching II*, Mana Efficiency I*, Fire Magic I*, Skills 2/3: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Finesse Fighting, [], || Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Blessing of Winter* Talents Experience: [+] The amount of experience needed for my next level was beginning to balloon. Given that a goblin was worth only 100 experience, I would need to kill 90 of them to get to level ten, and based on Stils required experience for level eleven, I could assume that going from ten to twenty would take twice as many goblins as it had taken to get from one to ten. I wish something like that Mountain Ogre would show up again, it was worth a whole 7500 experience points. Supposedly, there were other ways to level up than just fighting monsters; Jav, a farmer from my home village who was in my same age group had already hit level four, but when I asked him he had sworn he had never fought a monster before. That had been a difficult conversation. Although the concept of levels and classes was known to the inhabitants of this world, they had a few misconceptions about the mechanics. Classes were referred to as Your Purpose and leveling up was known as Improving your Purpose. When you successfully leveled up, you would find your stamina restored, though unlike in some RPG settings, it did not heal your wounds. In fact, as far as I could tell, this world didnt have the concept of a health pool at all. If your arm was chopped off it was a mortal injury, slitting a throat would cause the victim to bleed out, regardless of their endurance. Everyone was basically just a regular human in terms of durability, though some of the more expensive skills would help to fix that. Stuff like [Steel Skin] or [Adamantine Bones] existed and would make your body proportionally harder to injure. I guess he gets experience from farming? But if thats the case, I should have been getting experience from all the alchemy I was doing. My only working theory was that Jav had some kind of skill he got from his class related to farming; by using a skill he got from his class he was able to get class experience. I currently only had my Divine Authority, which was what let me purchase skills and talents with life points, and Finesse Fighting. Finesse Fighting was a combat-focused skill that improved my dexterity and made it easier for me to land critical hits. Since slashing a throat qualified as a critical hit, the skill meshed nicely with this worlds lack of a health bar. I had an open skill slot and had considered taking a skill that was not combat-focused to see if I could then earn experience through using it. However, since the return on my investment was unknown, I didnt want to risk it. I knew that killing a goblin would get me 100 experience. I had no way of confirming how much experience brewing a potion would be worth. Using Sven as an example, when I asked him, he told me he was only around level 30 and had been an alchemist type class since his birth. Knowing that, I doubted you earned much via the pacifism playstyle. Giving up on my deliberations, I decided to take a nap until we arrived at the town. Jacqueline lightly shook me to wake me up. Lady Stahlia, we have arrived in Fess. The driver says he thinks we can make it to the capital tomorrow, three days ahead of schedule, but he wants to rest the horses here for a full day. Is that acceptable to you? Mhm Yes, that will be acceptable, I would very much appreciate a day of rest from sitting. Though, we will need to send word to Lord Francois regarding our early arrival; they are expecting us at the end of the week after all. Not that I want to see them But I cant afford to make waves. Count Francois was the father of my Fiance, Lord Dominic. I personally had no desire to marry him, my past life memories were male, so the idea of marriage and bearing children did not appeal to me. Of course, this body still hasnt matured, so there is no telling what might change as I age and experience adolescence. The thought of second puberty made me shiver. Besides qualms about gender, marrying into a counts family would be counterintuitive in my goal of rebellion. In the past couple of years, while making plans with Jacqueline, I decided that I would use Dominic and his house to my advantage for the next few years while I was a student, but I had every intention of somehow breaking off our engagement before I came of age and was marched to the altar. For now, however, we merely settled for going to an inn for the night as it was growing late. The carriage driver made a brief stop at the adventurers guild to let Sargon out and then brought us towards the center of town where the high-class inns were located. I think Sana and Giogi were expecting me to complain the inn selected was too fancy; they both shot me astonished looks when I politely thanked the driver and entered the building. Come on now, even if its a bit much, I am technically a noble now; I have to keep up appearances when there are so many people around. Starting any rumors about myself will make it harder to move. Upon entering, I was greeted by the sight of a plain but warm reception area. Off to the right was a stairway leading up and moving past the reception was a large dining area. Presumably, the entire first floor was taken up by the dining room and kitchens, with rooms beginning on the second floor. There was no wait, so I walked up to the reception room with Jacqueline in tow while Sana followed a half step behind. Giogi took up a post near the door. I was wearing a simple travel dress, although the material was a step above what a girl my age would typically don, and I had Dominics pearl earrings in. Jacqueline had done up my hair into a patterned braid that hung down behind me; a simple style that was easy to maintain while traveling but lacked none of the refineries typically associated with noble girls. In short, I looked my station. Upon catching sight of me, the receptionist did a double-take before bowing hurriedly; Nobles would announce their travel plans in advance to the places they would be staying, so the inn knew to expect me, albeit not for a couple more days. Jacqueline addressed the receptionist in my stead, while I did my best to look bored, not a hard task to be certain. I must apologize, the roads were very kind to us, and with Dorians blessing we have made exceptionally good progress on our journey. The receptionist blinked rapidly while formulating her response but was clearly skilled at her job, as it did not take her very long, Yes, that is fortuitous. Thankfully, the room Lord Ris arranged for is available at the moment so there is no issue. I just need to ask for a confirmation of identity and I can go ahead and give you your keys. I reached inside a hidden pocket of my dress and produced a crest, a small piece of fabric embroidered with my familys iconography. It was sewn directly into my Academy Clothes, but for security purposes was not on my travel attire. Passing it to Jacqueline, she accepted it and then presented it to the receptionist. Some of these customs are a real pain in the ass Ah, the crest of Baron Ris. Payment for the rooms and food has already been handled when Lord Ris made the reservation, here are your keys. Please do let the staff know if there are any issues or you require anything else. Jacqueline accepted a pair of room keys and pocketed one, passing the other to Sana. I gave the receptionist a half curtsy, which was the expected etiquette to be presented by a low noble to a commoner, and we went up the stairs to our rooms. We had a one and a half room on the third floor, essentially a large single room and a closet with a bed in it. The large room had one bed and two cots, while the closet had just a cot. Needless to say, the large room was for Jacqueline, Sana, and myself, while the closet was for Giogi. Jacqueline set down our day case and cast a spell to block eavesdroppers. Apparently, that was something expected of nobility; they would either have an attendant who could cast the spell, a magic tool for it, or as a last resort, do it themselves. Upon being assigned as my personal maid for the Academy, Jacqueline had informed my father of her ability to use it, much to his pleasure; as magic tools for that purpose were quite expensive, even for nobles. Giogi Sana and I took a seat around the small tea table in the corner of the room while Jacqueline produced a tea set. I addressed my companions, So, what do the two of you want to do tomorrow? It seems we have a full day. Giogi shook his head, I dont have anything I really want to do; Ill just follow you around like Im supposed to. Sana gave it a bit more thought before indicating a desire to visit the local temple, I would like to visit the temple. The priest told me that if I had the chance, I should stop by the Fess temple and offer a prayer of thanks. I nodded to both of them before giving my own input, I will need to commission a letter to Count Francois and Lord Dominic announcing the change of our arrival. It is not a lot of warning but giving them a full day of time to prepare would be preferred to simply showing up three days before expected. Then I would like to visit an Alchemy Shop in a large town and compare it to Siegs store in Ris Village. After a little bit of idle chat over the tea offered by Jacqueline, we sent word to the receptionist that we would not be eating dinner and quickly retired for the night, exhausted from having spent several days in a carriage. Waking at dawn, Jacqueline helped me put on a fancier dress that she retrieved from our day bag. Combing out my hair, she tied it up into hoops that hung behind my ears and applied a small amount of powder to my face. The whole affair took just shy of an hour. By far, dressing in the morning is the worst part of being a woman. Giogi came out of his closet after Sana finished dressing, and Jacqueline informed him the room was safe. Descending to the dining area, we were served by a waitress who looked like a younger version of the receptionist, probably her sister. The meal was a level above what I was used to eating at home. The dishes were all the same, but the presentation and flavor were both exceptional. I thanked the waitress with a half curtsy and a smile, which caused her to turn bright red and duck into the kitchen out of sight, and we departed the inn. When we got onto the main street Sana took her leave, she wanted to go straight to the temple. Giogi followed me a short distance behind, while I followed Jacqueline; at some point, she had familiarized herself with the layout of the town and knew the quickest route to the adventurers guild. The guild building was in a state of poor repair, at odds with the surrounding buildings. I recalled what I had been told by Jacqueline during one of our many secret question and answer sessions following her revelation. The Drakas Kingdom branch of the Adventurers Guild was widely considered superfluous, the kingdom had a well-trained standing army that regularly patrolled the territory to deal with monsters and bandits. You might find a few higher skilled adventurers in regions like Ris Village, that were considered too far out of the way for regular patrols, but here in the heartland adventurers were looked down upon by society. They were allowed to exist by the kingdom since they did still offer some value; delivering messages and letters like we were having them do was one such task still handled by them. In other countries, that had less developed military machines, the Adventurers Guild had a much larger role, and was often treated as a sort of extra-national independent power politically. They were a lot like the catholic church used to be, though they lacked the influence over domestic policy. In Earth terms, the Adventurers Guild was like a private military organization cum temp agency that would contract out personal to the highest bidder. In any case, we entered the building and took a quick look around. Similar to the exterior, the interior was in a state of disrepair. Due to the time, there were few people present so we avoided having to stand in line at the counter. The receptionist was, contrary to my expectations, an old man covered in wrinkles. What little remained of his hair was a stark white. Isnt the receptionists supposed to be a well-endowed young woman? Pretty much everything Ive learned about the guild so far falls strictly within the bounds of a trope. The receptionist in Ris Village had been a local village girl with nothing much special about her appearance, but I had thought that was just because of how far out of the way we were and had been expecting the larger towns and cities to follow the stereotype. I guess this is yet another reminder that, despite all the similarities, this isnt a game. If only I had come to that realization sooner The old man looked up as we approached the counter and narrowed his eyes when he saw me; with the dress, Jacqueline had stuffed me into there was no chance mistaking me for a commoner. Jacqueline approached and presented the man the letter I had penned this morning, complete with a wax seal bearing my family crest. Please have this delivered to Count Francois, we need the task completed by the end of the day and are willing to pay the rush fee. The mans narrowed eyes widened when he heard the name of the recipient. Aye, Count Francois estate in the capital. Rush delivery with a half-day deadline, thatll run you a Drakas Gold and five Small Drakas Golds. Thats 50,000 Draks! So expensive! Still, I knew better than to comment on the price, nobles were not supposed to sweat the details like that; it was a social expectation. Jacqueline nodded and counted out five small gold coins, Please also instruct the runner that this letter is from the young Lord Dominics Fiance. I grimaced internally but understood the need for her to bring that up; doing so would ensure that the courier was not halted by the estate guards when he arrived at the Francois house. The old man nodded and presented a piece of paper for Jacqueline to sign, which she quickly did. The man accepted the paper from her then looked around the room before his gaze settled on a younger man who was watching us from a side table, Aaron! Stop gawking and come take this request already. Your ears are keen enough you already know the details. The man called out to grimaced, but still obediently got up and took the paper and the letter. He looks familiar As if reading my mind, Aaron glanced down at me, Francois and Ris eh? Guess they got what they wanted after all poor girl. With that worrying remark, he exited out of the building and made his way down the street out of sight. Jacqueline, do I know that Adventurer? Jacqueline sank into thought before nodding. I believe he was the one who delivered the Count Francois letter to your father two years ago. I am surprised you remember his face, you only saw him but for a few moments. I accepted her answer before murmuring barely audibly, but loud enough I knew Jacqueline would be able to hear me. Still, I may be dissatisfied with the engagement, but why would a random adventurer direct sympathy towards me? Jacqueline tilted her eyebrow up slightly; it was a signal to me that she had heard and understood the order. I wanted her to investigate the circumstances surrounding my engagement. We exited the adventurers guild and Jacqueline guided us towards a central market square where she had learned that this towns premier alchemy workshop was located. Arriving at the square, I was shocked speechless. There are so many people! I knew Ris was supposedly small, but this is insane! Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Giogi had likewise frozen up, indeed, the number of people present in the market square was like the entire population of our home village. Except, here we could only see women and children too young to work. There were hardly any men or older boys about, indicating that this was simply the daily shopping bustle. The only time I had seen a comparable number of people was during mine and Rosials Dedication Rituals, events that saw essentially every able-bodied citizen congregate in front of the temple. Is Sana alright? She left for the temple alone Jacqueline roused me from my stupor and directed us towards a building in the corner of the square; based on the sign hanging above the door, this was the alchemy workshop. Entering the shop, I inhaled deeply. I missed this smell. Not just from traveling, I hadnt visited the alchemy shop back in Ris since Sven left; I would grow sad at the thought I would probably never see him again. An old man, probably in his late fifties, came out from the back and waited at the counter. Jacqueline knew better than to keep up the fa?ade here and did not approach him to speak on my behalf. In fact, her presence vanished entirely. Im glad she picked up on my intention last night. Running my eyes over the shelves I cataloged the stores inventory of herbs and reagents. I recognized most of them, a fact which somewhat dampened my mood. I was hoping to encounter new ingredients, but I suppose we are still in relatively the same region as Ris Village, though the terrain is different, its close enough Sven would have been able to arrange imports. One thing, however, did catch my eye. On the rack of finished potions were three I was more than intimately familiar with; Ammonia, Ether, and Scratch-Powder. I had personally invented all of them. I can understand the Ammonia and Ether, but why are they selling the itching powder? I came up with that on a whim when Sven pissed me off like, four or five years ago? I approached the counter, which caused the man to widen his eyes and cough before straightening up, Excuse me Sir Alchemist, what is the purpose of that Scratch-Powder? Raising an eyebrow at my question, he took a vial down from the shelf and set it on the counter for me to get a closer look, You have a good eye Milady; this is a relatively new concoction used by citizens for self-defense. You toss it in the faces of assailants, and it makes them unbearably itchy. Make sure to use gloves though, or its your hand that will suffer. I nodded at his explanation. I see Sven decided to sell it after all. He just didnt want any in his own shop. I fear I may have traumatized him Upon taking a closer look, I narrowed my eyes. You sell this..? looking at me questioningly, the man spoke in a hesitating tone. Y-yes, I make it myself and sell it to the people in Fess. I turned my narrowed gaze to his face. This is an inferior product; there is too much Nettle Oil and not enough crushed Hot Pepper seeds. Additionally, you used sand instead of finely powdered glass or crystal. The man opened his eyes wide. You can tell all that from just a glance? At your age? I nodded. Ill explain myself, I guess. Taking a deep breath, I began to wax eloquently about the finer points of childhood pranks, While the Nettle oil is what causes the itch, the mixture requires the crushed Hot Pepper seeds to elicit a burning reaction when you scratch at it; Nettle Oil on its own is only unpleasant. As for the dust, the main purpose is as a binding agent to hold the oils; without some form of powder, you just have liquid, which is difficult to spread in a cloud. Sand will work well enough but it is easy to dislodge with water or a cloth wipe. I took the bottle in my hand and boldly dumped it over my bare forearm. I then dumped the water from my flask over the same arm while ignoring the itch. Showing the Alchemist my now clean and perfectly non-itching limb, I continued. The purpose of glass or crystal is to inflict minuscule cuts to the skin when the powder makes contact. This lets the oil seep into the skin, and scratching it only causes further cuts. The mans jaw was now suitably loose. Milady This product only made its way to market a year ago, and its recipe is a closely guarded secret of the Alchemists Guild may I be so bold as to ask how you learned of it? I had to blink a few times to wrap my head around that last bit. Itching powder is a closely guarded secret? PFFT! Barely able to contain my laughter, I decided to introduce myself; it would do my cover some good if rumors about me taking an extreme interest in alchemy were to spread since that was what the kingdom expected of me based on my actions so far. Right, you do not know my name; I am Lady Ris, I am the alchemist who invented Scratch-Powder. The alchemist was extremely flustered by my answer and mumbled an apology; apparently, the alchemists guild had refined the recipe they had been sold, seeing no reason to include the missing ingredients, as the concoction was perfectly serviceable without them just not nearly as potent. I chatted with the old alchemist about some of my other inventions and even gave a demonstration of how to be properly condescending to a potion kettle. After some time, I purchased a small handful of Mana Recovery Potions and Restoration Potions. All of them were only D grade items, completely lacking color, but they were still effective for mine and Giogis levels. I could always make these myself, but talking to this guy was pretty fun, he sort of reminds me of Sven a little bit. Leaving the shop, Jacquelines presence returned, and we moved around the town sightseeing for an hour before we had to meet Sana at the temple to return to the inn. We didnt go into any other shops but merely idled, observing all of the items that were unavailable to us in Ris Village. As we were still traveling for another day, we saw no reason to buy something here when we could just get it later at the capital. The appointed time arrived, and we went to the temple where we met back up with Sana. According to her, her day had been uneventful, Sana, did you have any difficulties locating the temple? I was still concerned that the number of people had possibly been overwhelming to her. No Stahlia, the streets were nowhere this crowded when I was going She looked around with saucer eyes at the number of people. Right, I suppose it was still early when she left us; the crowds must have been thinner as everyone was still finishing breakfast. It did take us a decent length of time to reach the guild, not to mention the amount of time we spent inside, Once I arrived and showed my letter to the local head Priest they let me into the back rooms so I was able to offer my prayers without issue. This temple is amazing! There are four people here who can cast miracles! Her eyes were sparkling and her surprise at the crowds had seemingly vanished. Oh-no, I touched her Zealot Button. Still, four people huh? Back in Ris, its only her and the Priest himself, so I can understand why shes so excited, Four people? That is impressive. We continued our back and forth as we made our way back to the inn. Jacqueline gave the receptionist an additional four Drakas Silvers since our reservation had only been for a single night and we were not leaving until the morning. Taking dinner, the mini-receptionist-waitress made a point of paying especially close attention to our table, consistently blushing whenever she looked at me. I indicated for Jacqueline to leave an extra silver coin under one of our plates; this world had no culture of tipping, but wealthy people would oft leave a gift when they were well pleased. After finishing dinner we made our way back up to our rooms and retired for the night just as the sun had ducked behind the horizon. Our driver had indicated he wanted to set out at first light, and I knew I should plan on Jacqueline rousing us at least two hours before so we would be sure to be ready. Once Sanas breathing had stabilized into the steady rhythm of sleep I sat up onto the edge of my bed. Jacqueline nodded before coming over with silent footsteps. I raised an eyebrow by way of a question but she merely shook her head and whispered to me, I checked the local safe house while you were in the alchemy shop, there was nothing there that might serve as a clue. I sighed quietly, Well, it is only a safe house after all. I wasnt really expecting you to find anything. Likely we will only be able to get a lead when we arrive in the capital. Jacqueline nodded before retreating back to her cot. Indeed, while I had been genuinely interested in exploring the differences between a large towns alchemy shop and the one back in Ris, the real reason for my outing had been to give Jacqueline the chance to leave me alone; nobody would question me of all people being without an attendant when alchemy was involved. Lying back in bed, I thought to myself. Its been a fast two of years since the last time I saw Dominic, and now Ill be staying in a home prepared for me by his family. Honestly, the thought of having to put up with him for the next several years makes my stomach twist up in a knot, not to mention what that Aaron fellow said this morning My thoughts in turmoil, I drifted off into a far from restful sleep. 2-2 Arrival Stahlia Ten Years Old, Second Month of 947 Our carriage was trundling along down a large highway. Surrounded by a vast plain on all sides that stretched to the horizon. In the distance, we could see some clusters of buildings dotted here and there, the various satellite towns that surrounded the capital city. We had departed Fess early this morning, around an hour and a half before the sun rose, and we were making good progress. According to our driver, we should be within sight of Drakas, the capital of the Kingdom of Drakas, wherein King Drakas sat on the throne of Drakas, by mid-evening. Its like that one Japanese cartoon back on Earth, the one where the Prince, the Planet, and the King all have the same name Vegetable or something. Sana and Giogi had both grown bored of the scenery shortly after we entered these vast plains, but after having traveled together for the past few days, they had little left to talk about, so we rode in silence. Personally, I was hoping we would run into some more combat, I had really wanted to hit level ten before having to go to the Royal Academy, but I was less than halfway through level nine, so that was unlikely. Thankfully, I should still be able to get the last skill I wanted; I had discovered in Fess, that entering new regions would give me a small bonus to my Life Points, I only needed ten more and I would be able to finalize my current build. Letting my thoughts wander, I recalled Rosials face the last time I had known for sure it had really been her. It had been the night of her Dedication Ritual and she had been crying over the result. I had promised her that I would always walk beside her as her older sister. That had been two years ago now, and I had no idea where she had been taken. Jacqueline had assured me there was little chance she would be in the capital; although the Order of Shadows had facilities there, they would know better than to put her somewhere I might accidentally run into her. Lost in thought, I was startled back to the present at Sanas excited cry, Oh! Look there! You can see the city coming over the horizon! I looked up out the window and sure enough, there was a hill of white on the horizon. Is it not beautiful Stahlia? We should be there within the hour! I frowned and craned my neck up to check the progress of the sun, it was hardly past midday. No Sana, I think we are still a good way off; the driver said we would arrive around mid-evening, and it is only just past noon. We can likely only see the city from here because of how big it is. Sana grumped at me for raining on her enthusiasm but agreed that I was probably right, recalling how we had still been able to make out the Ris mountains up until halfway through our second day of travel. I checked my menu to see if being able to see Drakas qualified as entering its region; it did, as I now had 75 Life Points. This was something I had discovered earlier on our journey; namely, I could earn LP from things besides leveling up or leveling up my talents. In this case, traveling around and visiting places for the first time also granted me a small amount of LP. I searched through the skills list and grabbed the one I had been eyeing. Its effect would be perfect for what I needed over the next several years, and it would likely remain useful after that though perhaps a bit diminished, so I didnt feel like I was wasting my points or skill slot. Blue Blooded(75LP): User receives a slight positive correction to Charisma when interacting with members of the Noble or Royal Social Strata. This correction is more effective when the user is perceived as a noble or is otherwise acting with a nobles affectations but loses almost all effectiveness if the user is not recognized as a noble by their target. Regarding the skills and talents I could purchase, it seemed there was some degree of predictability to their costs. The most powerful ones, like Cold Blooded and Prodigy all cost 500LP. Then they were arranged into tiers of 100 points, with the lowest tier being 100. Those like my new Blue Blooded were in their own category I had chosen to call Exceptions. These all cost less than 100, and seemed to be discounted due to me meeting some condition or other, in the case of Blue Blooded, it was likely discounted due to my own noble status. There were a few other skills and talents I had my eye on, and while I would love to go for a bunch of tier fives, I was forced to admit that at 500LP per item, that was a bit unfeasible. Ill have to find a balance between effectiveness and cost unless I stumble onto a way to get them for free as I did with Cold Hearted, although that one still feels like it was pre-arranged by someone I could also save points by practicing a talent first, since it seemed talents could be acquired through effort, not just a class, like how I had acquired the fire magic talent by simply practicing fire magic. All that aside, Blue Blooded should aid me when dealing with the Francois family, as well as the noble children and teachers at the academy. I wasnt particularly planning on sparing or killing them when I burned this kingdom; unless they were party to those who I was planning to bring down I couldnt care less. Still, if I was able to make friends and gain allies, I would at least have an easier time gathering information. I confirmed my choice and watched the skill write itself into my menu. Now to test it out Lady Sana, pray tell me, what do you plan to do once we arrive? Personally, I shall be greeting Dominic and Count Francois. Sana blinked at me before shaking her head rapidly as if to clear away a fog. Stahlia, have you been practicing your etiquette when I wasnt looking? I could hardly recognize you for a moment I think I will first visit the Central Temple. Perfect, it looks like the skill worked. Giogi, who had been observing the exchange just now scoffed. What do you mean Sana? Stahlia didnt do anything special just now, she just put on some fancy speech is all. And that confirms that the skill lacks an effect when the other party doesnt recognize me as a noble. Good to know. Sana had initially treated me very differently after my father received his barony; I had to go to a great deal of trouble and practically order her to continue treating me the way she used to. Having been raised by the church, she had always been a stickler for things like rules and expectations. On the other hand, out of all my self-proclaimed knights Giogi had been the only one who had become even more drab after my fathers title. It was almost as if me actually having a peerage somehow contradicted his worldview. In any case, Giogi didnt view me as a member of the nobility. It was a small saving grace that I was genuinely grateful for since it meant that at least one person could always be counted on to treat me normally. Jacqueline didnt count; she had pledged her fealty to me as her lady and, although she would reprimand me when I acted dumbly, she endeavored to be the perfect lady in waiting and could hardly be counted on to treat me like a normal person anymore. I had actually had to order her to chide me since, in the days following her pledge, she had started taking my words as gospel for some reason. Sana and Giogi started bickering over whether or not I had just done anything special, so I tuned them out and focused my gaze on the slowly approaching city. The people who took my sister from me are there. I might be weak now but wait for me, Rosial. Ill definitely get strong enough to rescue you! Just wait and be strong for me. Drakas City, the capital of the Kingdom of Drakas. Otherwise known as the Silver City, is built around a singular mountain in the middle of a vast plain. The city itself is composed of four layers, with each layer rising higher up the mountain. The name Silver City comes from the coloration of masonry. The walls and buildings of the upper two rings are made of mythril bricks. Although expensive, this unique construction imparts a strong resistance to mana, partially shielding the city from powerful magic attacks. At the peak of the mountain sits the Royal Palace, home to the King and his family. The fourth ring, arrayed around the palace on the high slopes rests the Noble Quarter, this ring holds the manors of the Noble families who reside in the capital. The Noble Quarter is separated from the third ring by a wall of Mythril. The third ring, named the Upper City, holds many large buildings and manors. The upper city is home to the wealthy among the commoners, as well as civilian retainers of the nobility. It is separated from the Lower City by a wall of Mythril, though smaller than the higher wall. The second ring, named the Lower City, is home to the commoners of the capital. Important buildings such as warehouses and courtrooms can also be found in the second ring. Though not made of Mythril, the buildings in the second and first rings are painted with silver coloring in order to match and unify the appearance of the city; even for a kingdom as large as Drakas, Mythril is not so commonplace that it can be used to build the homes of commoners. The second ring runs from roughly halfway up the mountain to its base, where it is separated from the Slum by a thick and high outer wall. This wall has four gates, one facing each point of the compass, through which entry into the city can be obtained. The slum, arrayed around the outer wall has no wall or fence to protect itself and is made up of densely packed small hovels. The overwhelming majority of residents live in this part of the city, and it extends for several miles on all sides of the outer wall. Contrary to its name, not all parts of the slum are poor. The closer one resides to the outer wall the better off they are financially. The true slum begins roughly two kilometers from the outer wall and is populated by Criminals and Vagabonds. The closer to the very edge of the slums one finds themselves, the more unsavory the people. The more unsavory the people the more unsavory the businesses. While Brothels and Slave markets can be found in the Lower City, those are regulated under Drakas Law. The various establishments in the outer perimeter of the Slums have a reputation for asking no questions and taking any customers. Jacqueline had informed me that indeed, even some Nobles with peculiar tastes could occasionally be found visiting the outer slums in disguise. It was into these outer slums that I found myself entering around four pm. I recalled the information my father had told me about the capital as I gazed out the window and observed a group of children dressed in rags chasing a flea-bitten mongrel with a large stick. Sana had turned away from the window with a disgusted look on her face. To spare my friend, I pulled a curtain shut blocking out our sight. [######] I cast the only spell available to me with level one flame magic and lit the lamp hanging in the center of our wagon. We should be through this part of the city within a half-hour. Sana nodded gratefully to me, while Giogi was glaring angrily at the carriage door. Those kids probably make him think of his past self huh, Giogi, do not do anything stupid. We might be in a carriage bearing a temporary nobles crest, but it would take the guard long enough to get to us if a fight broke out. I know that Stahlia, its just how could those kids be so cruel to that dog? I could only shake my head; Giogi was still ten and unlike me, he didnt have a past life to draw experiences from. He also was blissfully unaware of this kingdoms dark side. People are cruel after all. That was the one common factor I had gathered from both my lives. Sure enough, we arrived at the eastern gate without incident before the hour was up. As our carriage bore a nobles crest we were fast-tracked through the inspection and let into the Lower City without much fuss. Once we were inside, I snuffed out the flame and opened the curtains. The sun was behind the mountain from where we were, casting the lower city into shadow. Still, it was beautiful. Wrought iron lamp posts were placed sporadically along the major street we traveled down, each lamp was fitted with a Light Crystal. Light Crystals were a refined magic stone enchanted with the Light element. My Red Mage tutor had touched upon the refining of magic crystals, but as he had little experience on the subject himself, we had only briefly covered the topic. According to him, the enchantment being used by the lights in the capital would absorb the Light of the Goddess during the day, and then release it at night. The sporadically placed lamps, combined with the lights coming from within the shops made the Lower City seem to glow in the gloomy world. Sana was looking out the window with an openly amazed expression. This late at night there were no longer that many people out, or so I could assume, but even then, the number of people was still comparable to what we had seen in Fess. Giogi was likewise looking around with a gleefully excited gaze. If I had not had experience with large urban centers I would probably be shocked as well, but I had already established that large towns in this world had a lot of people living in them, so I had somewhat expected this sight in the capital. One thing I had not been expecting was the layout. While the capital was clearly well planned, with circular streets wrapped all the way around the city, and four main roads cutting straight up the side of the mountain, it seemed the concept of zoning was unknown. While Ris and Fess had designated market squares, shops in this city were interspersed seemingly at random among what were clearly primitive, by Earth standards, apartment complexes. I could only imagine that it would be a nightmare for an outsider like myself to find anything specific, and there would be no way for me to know if I had found a high-quality establishment or not. Still, I dont imagine I will have any real cause to enter the lower city too often. I do want to be prepared in case I have to though Jacqueline, please have Count Francois locate a suitable guide in case I should have need of returning here. I imagine the city may have changed a great deal since you were here last. While Jacquelines occupation as a Shadow was secret from Giogi and Sana they were under the impression that Jacqueline had once served a noble family that lived here. Jacqueline nodded and gave her assent to my direction. We soon arrived at the gate leading us into the Upper City, and we were let through without much delay thanks to the Noble Crest on our carriage. This level was where the Central Temple was located so, at Sanas request, the driver made a detour off the main road and took one of the circular streets. We arrived at the central temple and Sana let herself out of the carriage. Looking out past her, I was astonished at the scale of this temple; the one in Fess had been near twice the size of the one in Ris, but here in the capital, the Center Temple was nearly eight times the size of the temple in Fess. It was completely enclosed in its own wall, cutting it off from the Upper City. Evenly spaced around the wall were statues of the twelve gods and goddesses similar to the little figurines I recalled from the dedication ritual, though these were much, much larger. Whereas the figurines had been roughly 1:7 scale, the statues along the temple wall were closer to 7:1. Whats more, rather than being painted the color of the season, these statues were made of precious metals. Oxidized Copper for Spring, Silver for Summer, Gold for Autumn, and White Gold for Winter. Just how much money was spent on that? Indeed, this world still used the gold standard for its currency. Even if these statues were hollow, I could only see them as priceless. Even more audaciously grandiose were the two statues at the peak of the temple. One was of a woman facing the east and was sparkling faintly from the lights below it; based on the coloration I could only assume it was made of gemstone, probably yellow diamond. The other was of a man facing the west, his statue was a glassy blackish purple that I could assume was obsidian or onyx. The man and the woman looked like giants from this distance, so they must have been massive. Fufufu, the Temple is gorgeous is it not, Stahlia? Sana was gleaming up at me while waiting for an attendant priest to finish unloading her belongings. I shook off my stupefied face and smiled down at her, Yes, it is simply amazing. I am honestly jealous you get to live in a place like this while Giogi and I will be stuck in the Nobles Quarter. Sana glanced towards the Nobles Quarter further up the mountain with a somewhat wistful look. Yes, though I wish I was able to stay with you it will be lonely living by myself so far from our village. you need to promise to visit me, Stahlia! I could agree to that request easily enough, but if I would actually be able to was another story entirely. I still didnt know how restrictive the Francois family would be; I was nominally engaged to Dominic after all. I cant promise it will be often until I have spoken with Count Francois and Lord Dominic Still, I have experience sneaking out so I should be able to visit from time to time. Sana gave me an exasperated glare. Stahlia, you do not have to sneak out you can always summon me from the temple you know Ah, she does have a point. The Francois are a count family after all. Still, summoning an apprentice priestess for tea might be a bit much Ill have to ask them. I grinned at Sana and, seeing that the attendant priest had finished collecting her belongings, bid her farewell with a promise that I would ask after her to Count Francois. Our carriage departed and made its way back to the main road. We rode in silence, Giogi was visibly tense as we approached the gate to the Nobles Quarter. Right, the last time he met Dominic he got his ass beat. Come to think of it, the last time I met Dominic I beat his ass I felt my stomach twist up. The guard at the gate to the Nobles Quarter, unlike the previous gates, did not let us straight through. Upon confirming us with our driver, he signaled, and a carriage was brought over for us. As we were currently in a travel carriage designed for long distances, we were to transfer our belongings over into this new carriage before entering the Noble Quarter. Once all the luggage had been moved over, the Driver removed the Ris Crests from the doors of his carriage and presented them to Jacqueline who then affixed them to our new carriage. Apparently, this carriage was a gift to me from Count Francois for use while I was in the city; I could not use one of his before the wedding since I was expected to bear only my own familys crest. Once the new Crests were properly affixed one of the guards climbed up into the coachmans seat and we boarded. The interior of the new carriage was, in a word, extravagant. The furnishings probably cost about as much as my entire house back in Ris. The seats were made of velvet, a material I had not expected to find in this world. The walls were coated in a lacy floral pattern, with a rich dark brown varnished wood edging. The lamp was a magic tool that could be activated by placing a magic stone in the correct receptacle rather than a simple wax candle. The fluffy cushioned benches we were sitting on were made of what appeared to be engraved copper. Smiling grimly to myself, I steeled my resolve as we passed through the gate. We rode quickly through the Noble Quarter, arriving at an estate located about three-quarters of the way to the castle gates. Looking out from the carriage window, I could see a servant vanishing into the home, likely to inform the Francois family of our arrival. I quickly patted myself down, making sure I was presentable; for better or worse, I had to force myself to play the role of Dominics Fiance for the next several years in order to gather information and hone my skills in preparation for the festival of burning. Before long, a man I recognized as Count Francois excited the main building. Accompanying him was Dominic and a woman I didnt yet know. Based on her attire, however, I could reasonably assume that she was Lady Francois. I didnt know if Count Francois had a second or third wife, but I could assume this was Dominics mother due to the social conventions for greeting a noble childs betrothed that had been drilled into me by my own mother. Jacqueline exited the carriage first and stood to the side to make room for Giogi to climb down. Giogi stood to the side, back straight with a hand on his sword-hilt; the pose expected of a guard knight waiting on his lord or lady in an unfamiliar place. The approaching Francois trio stopped about three meters away from the carriage, and I stood up in the doorway. Dominic closed the remaining distance and held out a hand towards me. Taking his hand I allowed him to help me down the steps, suppressing my revulsion at the action. Strangely, the whole time I held his hand, there was an odd tingling, not unlike the feeling I had gotten when Stil evolved. Once was on the ground, I expected that he would be introducing me to his mother. You are wearing the earrings I had sent to you; they compliment your dark hair well." Then, without seeking my permission, he lightly touched my ear around where the pearl was fastened. I was momentarily taken aback by the action but managed to force a smile, Ahem, Thank you, Lord Dominic. Is that your mother I presume? My voice was stiffer than I would have liked, but thankfully he seemed to get the hint, as he removed his hand from my ear and led me by his other hand to his parents, Mother, this is my Fiance father and I spoke of. Lady Stahlia von Ris, daughter of Baron Fynn von Ris. Lady Stahlia, this is my mother; Lady Margeritte von Francois wife of Count Nikolaus von Francois. Margeritte looked down at me with a stern expression, I had no desire to antagonize the lady of the house I was ostensibly marrying into. Especially not if I was planning to be housed on their estate for the foreseeable future. I really cant afford a bad impression here While I was formulating my response, I took a moment to look over Margeritte carefully. She was obviously beautiful, but she had a stern face. Her hair was a very light blonde; Dominics own hair seemed to be his fathers brown diluted by his mothers blonde. Her eyes were the same deep green as Dominic but lacked the glint I had noticed in them when he visited Ris Village. I curtsied while slightly bowing my head, Lady Margeritte von Francois, I am Lady Stahlia von Ris daughter of Baron Fynn von Ris. As I am engaged to Lord Dominic, I pray that we will get along favorably both now and in the future. Margeritte looked me over impassively as I gave my greeting and, after a moment, her stern face melted into a pleasantly warm smile, My, I had my doubts when I learned your family was only recently granted a peerage, but you are exemplary well raised. Lady Stahlia, I am Lady Margeritte von Francois. You may call me mother if you wish. She punctuated her introduction with a full curtsy of her own; as her house was higher status than my own, she was only socially obligated to half curtsy. It seems I made a good impression. Trying my best not to gag on the words, I thanked her, Then Mother, I look forward to the time we will spend together. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Count Francois breathing a sigh of relief, apparently, he had not expected this introduction to go well. Its a good thing I decided to purchase the [Blue Blooded] skill, its already paying for itself. Ushering us inside, I was introduced to the other present members of the family. Lord Fredrick was Dominics older brother. He was eighteen and served in the royal guard, he was the spitting image of his father, but much more muscular. Lady Sanatori was apparently the wife of Count Francois first son, who was not present; Lord Nietzsche was doing his duty as the heir and attending to the Francois holdings while his father dealt with the other nobles in the capital. Sanatori was what I could only describe as demure. She was only slightly taller than my current self, so I had a feeling I would be taller than her when I was finished growing. Her hair was the same blonde as Margeritte, and while not as dark, they had similar green eyes. Nietzsche has an Oedipus complex maybe? Or is he a lolicon? His wife is similarly proportioned to me, and Im ten! Lets make a mental note to distance myself from him whenever possible, he seems to have strange tastes. The last member of the family to be introduced was Hiya! Im Elienor Francois! Nice to meetcha! Dominics little sister, the nine-year-old Elienor von Francois. She had a tomboy personality and a rough manner of speech highly unbefitting a young noble lady. Her hair was nominally blonde but had streaks of pinkish-red in it that I could only assume were dyed. Her eyes were the bright blue of her father. Elienor, what have we told you about your behavior? Margerittes voice was calm but the look in her eyes was scary. Elienor didnt flinch, however, indicating this was a usual conversation for her. Well, Stali is set on marrying big bro right? Only makes sense she should meet the real me dontcha think ma? So Im Stali now? Also, cant you see your mothers eyes? You sure you should oh, there it is. Margeritte had delivered a firm chop down on Elienors head. My apologies Stahlia, Elienor has a few rough edges that refuse to buff out. Agnes! Please escort Elienor to her room and be sure she stays there. A woman wearing a maid uniform similar to Jacquelines stepped forward and grabbed Elienors hand before pulling her out of the room while bowing repeatedly to those of us who remained. Now, it is late so why do we not resume our talks in the morning? Stahlia, these two will be assigned to you while you stay with us; I have had them prepare one of the guest houses for your use and the manservants have already brought your things there. Frieda, Lucy, if you will. Giogi, a room has been prepared for you in the knights barracks. At Count Francois words, two maids stepped forward. Frieda seemed to be slightly younger than Jacqueline. She had an elegant face and straight blonde hair that was ever so common in this kingdom. Lucy was shorter, appearing to be no more than twelve. She had white hair and red eyes with very pale skin, but what really stood out were her ears; tapering into points she was clearly an elf. The two curtsied to me and Frieda spoke on their behalf. Lady Stahlia, we will show you to the guest house. Master Giogi, the knights barracks is on the way so if you accompany us we can likewise lead you to your own accommodations. Jacqueline gave her a hard look, at first I thought fearfully that Jacqueline had recognized a former colleague but after a moment she lightened her gaze and smiled. You two seem capable, I look forward to working with you in care of the young Lady. Ah, she was evaluating them as maids, not Assassins. Frieda curtsied to Jacqueline and thanked her for the high evaluation and then led us to the guest house. Giogi seemed upset to leave, but I knew why he was being housed elsewhere; the Francois family could hardly permit an unmarried male the same age as me to live together. Traveling was one thing, but when it came to permanent residence society was much stricter. Arriving at my guesthouse, I was a bit startled. This side building, which was connected to the main house by a short hallway, was nearly as large as my home back in Ris. When we entered the foyer, I was greeted by Stil who had been brought straight here. He dolefully looked up at me from his place in front of the hearth, his expression all but screaming Its cold! Turn this thing on already! Chuckling to myself, I asked Lucy to light the hearth while Frieda showed Jacqueline around. After Lucy finished, she returned to my side. As Jacqueline was still being given the short tour the two of us, three if you count Stil, were alone, Lucy, please forgive me if I seem rude; I have not had the opportunity to meet an Elf due to Ris Villages remoteness. Are your people common in the Kingdom at large? She smiled wanly at me but didnt seem upset, No Lady Stahlia, Dark Elves are hardly common. Most Elves keep to themselves secluded in their own lands. Only those of us who are beset by the desire to travel, or were exiled for some reason are found in this kingdom. Somewhat surprised, I looked her over again, Those taken by the urge to travel? You hardly look older than me. Also, from what I learned in my lessons would you not be a High Elf? I made sure to keep my tone as polite as possible, to not insult her. Hopefully, I was portraying myself as innocently curious about the world. She didnt seem offended at all and smiled as she answered my questions. Lady Stahlia, surely you learned of Elves lifespans; we live far longer than humans but also age slower. I may look to be only a human child, but I am nearly twenty-five this year. As for my race, you are correct. By blood, I am a High Elf. However, when I was exiled due to my albinism, I was given the title Dark Elf it means One who has forgotten their family. So Dark Elves are outcasts from the normal elven lands huh? Thats pretty sad; Lucy seems very nice. I apologized to Lucy for prying into what was no doubt a sensitive topic, no matter how much she would insist to the contrary. So this world has stereotyped racist purity-obsessed High Elves, but the Dark Elves arent a race at all, rather a social class among elven kind? I wonder how that would have worked if I had picked Dark elf during my character creation... it certainly seemed like they were being treated as a race there In any case, lets make a mental note to avoid the High Elven kingdoms. I dont want to have to deal with their bullshit. Right as she finished answering me, Jacqueline and Frieda returned, Lady Stahlia, the accommodations you have been given are most excellent. Frieda has informed me that Count Francois instructed a late dinner be sent to us that we may relax from our journey. In the morning, he would like to meet with you to discuss the specifics of your enrollment. I confirmed that that would be acceptable, and Jacqueline sent Frieda off to deliver a response to Count Francois request for a meeting. A little while later, I was seated at a small table. Lucy and Frieda had already eaten dinner earlier in preparation for our arrival, so Frieda attended to me while Jacqueline ate in a side room and Lucy prepared my bed. The meal was extravagant for a late dinner, consisting of three courses. Firstly, was a light soup made of broth and some fowl that tasted vaguely like a duck. Second, was a wheat noodle dish resembling Alfredo, lastly was a small cake made with chocolate and dusted tea leaves. Fortunately, Frieda thought to warn me so I was able to conserve room to eat from all three; it would have been incredibly rude for me to send any of the dishes back without having touched them at all. I made sure to fish out a few pieces of pseudo-duck for Stil, a sight that surprised Frieda until I explained that it was part of my tamers bond with him that I would feed him a portion of the same food I ate. Retiring to my bedroom, I was bathed by Lucy and finally allowed into bed. Sinking deeply into the mattress, I could only marvel at how much of a difference in lifestyle there was between a count family in the capital and a remote baron family. I woke early the next morning. Normally, I would now sneak out of bed and do some light training, but I had opted to put that on hold for the near future, at least until I got to know my new environment better. Still, I woke earlier than would normally be expected from someone in my station which meant I was able to catch Lucy moving quietly around my room setting out clothes and replacing the water pitcher. Magic could be used to outright create water, but mages and tools that could do so in large quantities were extremely expensive so even wealthy nobles still drew water from a well. Though they did use magic to treat it thereby preventing many varieties of illness. Hoping lightly out of bed I employed my sneak talent to slip up behind Lucy; I was curious how my purchased talent stacked up against an Elfs perception. Before I had a chance to do anything though, she turned about Good morning, Lady Stahlia. You are up early, are you not? Hiding my surprise, I stepped back and greeted her. Good morning, Lucy. No, I dont think I am up particularly early; I did go to bed sooner than I usually would after all. Catching a quick passing frown fly across her face, I continued, Do not worry about forcing yourself to rise before me; I am aware how difficult that can make life for an attendant. Jacqueline and I have an arrangement wherein, if I wake up before she is ready for me, I will simply occupy myself with a book or by practicing simple magic until she has finished her preparations. Of course, I knew what I was saying flew in the face of what a master would normally say to their maid, but I was hoping to gain a little freedom here for myself; if Lucy were to force herself to wake up before me it would wear on her and would also detract from potential morning training time. Thankfully, after thinking over my words for a short time, Lucy nodded, I see, if that is how you usually are, I will emulate mistress Jacqueline in this. Yesterday Lady Margeritte did instruct us that you may be a little different than a normal noble but that we should accommodate you as best we can, within reason. Wow, turns out I must have made a much more favorable impression on Margeritte than I thought. To think a woman that strict on her own daughter would be so accommodating to her daughter-in-law to be. In any case, I was dressed and had my hair done up before Lucy escorted me to the dining hall in the main house. Presumably, I would be eating here on occasion when someone in the main house had business with me, while normally I would be eating in my side house as I was not officially a member of the Francois family. The breakfast served was a thick grain strained into a paste and sweetened with honey. It most resembled oatmeal and was something I had not eaten when living in Ris. After the meal, I was led to a waiting room. Jacqueline and Frieda were still absent, I assumed Jacqueline was carrying out her earlier order to learn about the town. As for Frieda, I had no idea. After a short while, Count Francois called for me to enter. When I was let in, I was surprised to find Dominic sitting on a lounge while Count Francois was seated behind a large desk. There was another man I did not recognize sitting across from Dominic. Dominic stood when I entered, and taking my hand, led me to the lounge seat. It was large enough for three people to sit comfortably, and at his escort, I took a seat at one end. Dominic sat back down and Count Francois cleared his throat. Stahlia, this is Duke Percius. He is the headmaster of the Royal Academy and has requested to meet you ahead of your enrollment next week. As I had been led to sit down before introductions, I gave a slight bow in lieu of a courtesy, Duke Percius, I am honored you would desire to see me, I am Lady Stahlia von Ris. To what do I owe the pleasure of this audience? I omitted my fathers name from the introduction since both my presumed future father-in-law and Fiance were present, and Duke Percius was not a member of either of our houses. Presumably pleased with my introduction, Percius smiled and gave a slight bow of his own. Lady Stahlia, I am Duke Percius, in service to the King I administer the Royal Academy. Your achievements spread ahead of you, and I most look forward to your time as a student. Blessed by one of the Winter Pantheon, an accomplished Alchemist with many revolutionary developments, and already capable of Red Magic, all at your young age. Indeed, I am most looking forward to seeing how you will flourish at the academy. Ok, thats a bit much. I could feel my cheeks reddening slightly. Glancing at Dominic and Count Francois, both of them had an inscrutable expression; clearly, I was expected to answer this for myself. I see, I as well, am greatly looking forward to my time at the Academy. Percius nodded, that was the answer he had been expecting. Stahlia, as you know, the enrollment period for a young Lady is three years, following which you would return home to attend bridal training. I nodded at that, although I had no intention of attending any such special training it was a fact that my time at the academy was limited by law. For reference, male students would spend five years at the academy. Dominic was two years older than me and entering his third year, so we would actually end up graduating at the same time. Percius continued. Our Lord the King has instructed me to allow you entrance into the Special Student Program That comment got a reaction from Dominic, though it seemed Count Francois had already been aware. Lady Stahlia, a woman, a Special Student? Before even her first year? Percius silenced Dominic with a wave of his hand. Indeed, it is almost unprecedented, but it would serve a great boon for your house would it not Dominic? Dominic fell silent and nodded quickly while shooting his father a look. You could have told me! It seemed to say. Um, Duke Percius Forgive me, but Ris Village is remote and my family only received peerage but recently. I am unaware, what is Special Student? Percius nodded, probably he expected me not to know. Special Students are the top members of the enrolled student body; the position comes with several perks not available to the main student body, though it also comes with some obligations. As for those perks, well, me coming here personally would be one of them; As the headmaster of the Academy, it is one of my duties to directly oversee the Special Students in their studies and render assistance for their projects when they request it. Additionally, you will be permitted to forgo the usual classes, as long as you are able to test out of them. In place of the normal class schedule, you may take any class you wish to. For example; despite being a first year, you could enroll yourself in the third year magic courses as long as you pass the tests for the first and second year prerequisites. That sounds really useful, I can test out of all the math, writing, and sciences thanks to my past life and blame it on my home tutors. Stuff like Geography and history might be a bit harder; I only know Drakas Kingdom stuff, the temple and my tutors didnt cover foreign regions. But there was also that part about obligations That sounds like an enticing offer Duke Percius I hesitate to ask, but what are the obligations? Percius nodded to me again and explained, All the Special Students are nominally enrolled into either the Knight or Mages order while they are students. They may be dispatched to deal with issues arising near the royal capital. In and of itself, it is not very demanding and while on dispatch you are of course excused from classes. However, you will be expected to help put down monsters and the like. Well, I can see how a normal noble girl might balk at that; that must be why Dominic was so surprised they would offer a woman a position like this. But for me, that would mean I can keep earning experience while stuck in the capital. Making sure to portray myself as deep in thought, I asked a question in a hesitating voice, Fighting what kinds of monsters could I expect to run into if I should be dispatched...? I heard Dominic sigh from beside me; he understood I was perfectly fine with fighting from the incident two years ago. I caught his father shooting him a glare for letting his noble fa?ade slip. Percius seemed deep in thought, then answered in a level tone, Goblins, Wild Stawri, the Occasional Orc I believe the most dangerous thing you would encounter in the region the Special Students are dispatched to would likely be a Murder-Rabbit. A what? A rabbit is more dangerous than an Orc? After making myself look thoughtful for another minute, I gave my answer, Duke Percius, I would like to nominally accept the position. Assuming I can test out of the first and second-year courses, please have me enrolled in Fourth Year Red Magic, as well as Blue, Green, and Yellow magic at the lowest level. If I do well there, I would also like to study Black and White magic next year. Magic is one thing, but they would probably balk if I asked to be trained with swords too. Besides, I have Jacqueline for that, Other than those, please place me in any classes you believe I would do well to take. Duke Percius looked surprised for a moment, but quickly composed himself, Well, I can understand the appeal and according to your tutor you did manage to pick up red magic quite quickly, so I am curious to see how you do in the other branches. I will make the arrangements for you. Of course, he would be surprised though; magic affinities were a thing. It wasnt like not having an affinity meant you couldnt learn a school. Anyone could learn to cast any type of magic, however, mana consumption would go down drastically if your affinity matched. I had originally thought that the talent had something to do with affinity, but as it turned out affinity was something deeper than that; all having a talent did was allow you to omit the chants, depending on how high its level was. Still, the mainstream practice was to test your affinities, then study a school you matched with. At most people would learn one or two additional schools, not all six. However even if it made me stand out, this was something I was determined to do. Even with the limited number of Red spells I knew, I had already noticed some patterns in the wording and had theorized some of the underlying meaning. For instance, virtually every Red spell I learned began with the line [##, ####]. I was all but certain that meant "fire", but as for its purpose in the chant, I hadn''t the faintest clue. Frankly, it was curious that nobody seemed to be trying to translate the language used by spell chants; it was almost like there was something preventing it. My Red Mage home tutor had been completely baffled when I pointed out the patterns I was noticing, and seemingly wasnt able to see them himself. If I was able to glean even a small amount of information it could prove a valuable trump card in my upcoming endeavors, to that end, I needed more and varied samples; hence my desire to enroll in all schools of magic. After some more idle chatter, Duke Percius bid his farewells and departed leaving me with Dominic and Count Francois. Lucy had been minding a corner in case she was needed and so that I would not be alone with a group of men. After sitting in silence for a moment, Count Francois spoke up. Dominic, your fiance is exceptional. To be able to wrap Duke Percius around her finger that easily. Treat her well so that she does not seek to leave our house. Wait what does he mean by that? Dominic was sitting with a somewhat grim look on his face. Did I do something wrong? Count Francois Did I perhaps overstep myself? Count Francois looked at me incredulously. You truly did not notice? Duke Percius never intended to truly offer you the position of a Special Student; it was a formality. He was expecting you would reject it when he brought up the subjugation of monsters. If you had not based your enrollment on the prerequisite that you first passed the first and second-year classes, he was likely to find an excuse to retract the offer and refuse you. Ah right, a normal noble girl would have backed off when she heard she would be expected to fight monsters. Ah I did not realize that Living in Ris Village, I have encountered goblins from time to time so the idea of fighting monsters is not particularly foreign to me I feel I must apologize for placing you in a difficult spot Count Francois. I gave Count Francois a half-truth to explain why the idea of monsters didnt scare me, otherwise, I was worried he would grow suspicious. He shook his head lightly, a smile returning to his face. I see, if that is your reasoning it cannot be helped. Still, it will hurt your reputation if you cannot pass those classes. Dominic, instruct your fiance in what she will need to know to get a passing mark for foreign geography and history. You have one week so do hurry. Scary he already knows what my weak points are just how close does he keep up with my father. And this means I must spend the next days with Dominic almost exclusively! Looking at him sidelong I saw him watching me carefully, with a familiar glint in his eye, the same glint he had gotten when he decided to fight Giogi and the other five boys back in Ris. Scary! Extra Chapter: The Watchers Psycholor Following that question, I realized I don''t really have a good vehicle to explore that with, since Stahlia''s custom class works just a bit differently compared to every other class. That being said, I don''t want to just do a wall of exposition. I''ve decided to go with a semi unique perspective for this extra chapter. Enjoy! A large all-white space Two figures, one male and one female, were standing in front of a large sphere. A globe depicting a world that was not Earth. A third figure, an androgynous youth, was floating in the air with their legs crossed, tapping away on a smartphone. After a few minutes of silence, the man turned to the woman and spoke, "Oy! Where d''you git off?! Tryin'' to get ''er into yer good graces so early?! Ain''t this supposed ta be ah ceasefire?!" The man turned to the Androgynous Youth. Looking up from their smartphone, the Androgynous Youth spoke, "It''s fine, a god''s gift wouldn''t work for Stahlia anyways, the [Pantheonic Blessing System] is inherently incompatible with her [Custom Class] by its very nature; this will only make things more interesting." The man''s face turned red, and he opened his mouth to protest. The Androgynous Youth''s eyes turned cold, "I said it''s fine. Is that clear?" The man could only nod, cowed before the youth''s gaze. To any onlooker this would have been a curious sight; the man was tall and well built, strong abs and arms well-tanned and oiled. Cowed by a youth of indeterminate gender who looked as though a strong breeze might have knocked them from their airborne perch. The woman was nonplussed. Without looking up from the globe she intoned; "What exactly is the custom class pray tell? You said it was something even you could not do. I find that incredibly hard to believe." The Androgynous Youth opened their mouth to answer when all of a sudden they burst into laughter. "Pray tell, what humors you so? I was asking you a serious question." the woman asked of them. The Androgynous Youth shook their head. "Nothing you said was so funny, the pawn simply discovered he is a she. Momma, where is my penis? Ha!" Shaking their head, the Youth tossed the smartphone over their shoulder, where it promptly vanished into thin air. "To answer your question, quite a lot is different. For one, the amount of soul potential [Custom Class] requires is insane. I would say that it''s more than a tier six or seven class, like the [Aspirant] or [Lord] class systems. ninety-nine out of a hundred times, trying to acquire [Custom Class] would make your soul pop off." The woman raised an eyebrow. "More energy than tier six or seven?" she intoned. The youth nodded. "More than ten times tier six, almost twice as much as tier seven. Compared to the regular system it doesn''t even compare. I would wager that even some of the lower gods might not have a big enough soul to adequately support it." The Youth pulled out their smartphone and waved it in front of the man''s face, "See? I told you. The blessing failed, it got blocked and couldn''t activate." The Man grunted by way of response. The Woman waited to see if the Youth planned to continue, but when they did not, she asked another question, "But most of that potential would be taken up by the [Divine Authority] you added, would it not? Any soul that could host a seed of divinity would be able to use the [Custom Class] I should think." The Youth sighed and glanced down at the phone. They grumbled to themselves while pretending not to hear the Woman''s question, "What a boring sister..." Pointing the phone at the globe, the Youth flicked their finger across the screen, sending a small stream of light into a small dot that had just appeared on its surface, "There, as long as that class change doesn''t kill you, it should make things more interesting... and for good measure, this." The Youth tapped their finger on the phone screen, sending one extra small particle of light into the dot. They turned to the woman, "I saw what you did, interesting. They said, before flashing a grin, Alright, Ill tell you; stop looking at me like that. The woman nodded, before returning her expression back to one of neutrality. The youth glanced down at his phone briefly before taking a deep breath, So, you know how the system usually works. Based on how much Soul Potential a person is born with, quantified as mana, the system assigns them a tier-one class. By fulfilling various obligations, they can go about improving their souls potential. The system frames this as leveling up. Upon reaching certain thresholds, the system will either derive a higher tier class or, if they lack enough spare potential, grant them a new class line. Classes grant skills according to their tier, as well as augmenting their holder with buffed stats, while the system allocates any spare potential to grant talents based on the users actions. The youth took a breath and checked their phone. Suddenly, their eyes snapped up and they glared at the man, You sent a demon to her. The woman looked up at the man, anger clear on her own face, despite her earlier actions. However, she knew better than to speak up and further agitate the youth. The man grunted, Aye, that I did. Considerin you let er get away wit tryin tah bless er, this much should be just fine. No? The man jerked his chin towards the woman, who quickly averted her eyes. The youth furrowed their brow while checking their phone. Which one did you send Ah, that should be fine, in fact, her getting involved with this should make things way more interesting. Ill allow it. The man breathed out in audible relief, while the woman opened her mouth to protest. However, catching the look the youth shot at her, she held her tongue. The youth was about to continue the explanation, when all of a sudden, an alarm began blaring on their phone. Quickly checking it, they smiled, Good, the auto retrieval mechanism worked this time; I wont have to go out and do it manually. Oof looks like we got an extra, sorry about that Here, Ill give you the courtesy to make up for it. The youth pointed their phone at the globe and sent a beam of light from it down to a spot, all while holding a disconcerting grin on their face. The woman frowned. You certainly dont look sorry. With a chuckle, the youth ignored her and continued their earlier train of thought. Very few people have enough potential to achieve a tier-six class, even fewer can get a tier-seven. [Custom Class] should be impossible for a mortal to properly use, not because it comes with a built-in divine authority, but because it lacks the safety features inherent to the system. Unlike how the standard classes are balanced, with more cost-intensive abilities being segregated, [Custom Class] allows the user to select any ability from any tier, at any time. As long as they have enough potential to afford it. Of course, that does nothing to prevent the long-term side effects of YOU BITCH! The youth suddenly appeared in front of the woman, with their fist implanted into her sternum. The woman collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The youth stood up and waved a hand, causing a door to appear. I fucking told you that a [Pantheonic Blessing] was incompatible, why the fuck did you try and force it. She is MY. Toy. Not. Yours. The youth stepped through the door. The man looked down at the woman, Ya shouldni half done that. She groaned and stood back up before dusting herself off. Ill live. Besides, whats done is done; our sister doesnt like reverting causality if he can help it. The man nodded. Indeed, our brother might be a stickler for the rules she set, but that just means he follows them herself. Before long, the youth returned, I fixed her soul so that your fuck up wont disintegrate it. Hands. Off. My. Toy. You hear me? The woman nodded, a solemn expression fixed on her face. Seriously. I hate directly interfering with the soul, its so tiring. The youth stopped for a moment, recollecting themselves, Where was I? Right. So basically, the regular classes are built in such a way as to protect the soul of the user, if there isnt enough potential then the system gives a tier-one class or no class at all. If there is enough, then the user is allowed to acquire a higher tier class. For safety though, everyone who gets a class starts at tier-one. Custom Class bypasses all of this, letting its user take any ability, of any tier, at any time. Limited only by their quantified soul potential, Life Points. Do you understand the difference now? The woman nodded, Thank you for explaining it to me incidentally, you have that other soul, are you going to incarnate it? The youth glanced down at their phone. This? Yea, in a few mortal years. Weve been sending a lot of them over recently, the constant influx of high potential souls is stressing the system, so Ill wait for it to recover a bit. The youth returned to tapping away on their phone, it was clear they were done talking to the woman. The woman and the man went back to overseeing the globe. All was quiet for a few minutes until, suddenly, the youth jumped down and opened a doorway while exclaiming, Oh shit. OI, what the fuck! Nononono dont do that. You shouldnt fucking do that yet. Youre not strong enough for that! DAMNIT! FERMINA! THIS IS YOUR FUCKING FAULT! The youth ran through the door. Before it shut, the man and the woman heard them greet someone. Yo George! Looks like you died again huh? Man, you just arent very lucky. The man glanced at the woman, Seems attached to thisun huh. The woman glanced at the shut door for a moment before responding, Indeed, our sibling certainly seems to have taken a liking to this soul. The next game ought to be quite fun indeed. Psycholor Classes fall into a tier system. tier-one, tier-2, tier-three, tier-four, and tier-five. Everyone with a class starts at tier one, and can derive a higher tier class from that one, or will get a new class of a lower tier. This loops infinitely until their soul can''t take it anymore, at which point the system stops giving them new classes and abilities. This would be considered a level cap, which in this world is different depending on the person. While not stated in the above chapter, the level cap for Tier 1 thru Tier 5 classes is usually 20, 10, 5, 3, 1. There are exceptions. Jacqueline has Assassin at level 11. Assassin is not a Tier 1 class. Experience curve is based on sum total level of all a person''s classes. tier-six and tier-seven classes exist, but they are special cases, and are not part of the usual class loop. Custom Class falls into this category, but would be closer to a tier-eight than either of the previous tiers. Tier 6 and Tier 7 classes do not have level caps, they are special. Skills come from classes, talents are acquired by training. Custom Class breaks this by letting Stahlia pick and choose according to her LP balance. I didn''t mention this in the above chapter, but the LP cost of a skill roughly corresponds to its tier, in increments of 100. Cold Hearted, had she bought it, would be a Tier-Five skill. Skill tier is based on how much soul potential is consumed in maintenance of the skill. 2-3 Day Off Psycholor That being said, seeing as the overall tone has been pretty light hearted barring a handful of exceptions and some hints at the darker side; This is a content advisory. This chapter involves some extremely dark thematic elements including Slavery, and implied Physical/Emotional Abuse of a minor. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Second Month of 947 After the meeting with Duke Percius, I spent the next six days sequestered in my side building with Dominic. As he was entering his third year at the Academy, he was familiar with the material I would need to know for the exams I was set to take. As such, his father Count Francois instructed him to cram the knowledge into me. At first, he had been somewhat harsh about it, probably assuming I would meet failure. But after the second day, he was forced to admit I was coming along swimmingly all things considered. Of course, much of that was thanks to my Memorization talent I had picked up several years ago. I even managed to get the skill to level up in the process of cramming my head full of knowledge about the surrounding regions. Margeritte would drop by at least once a day to look in on us. She seemed overly worried about me; having been made aware of the circumstances that lead to me having to study so much so quickly, she was behaving like a mother hen whose chick was in the jaws of a cat. Honestly, I just wish you would focus on your own daughter! Isnt she going to be entering the academy next year? On the subject of Elienor, she had visited twice but had stopped coming once she learned there was nothing interesting going on. Personally, I greatly preferred my own little sister to this creature. Jacqueline was spending a great deal of time away from me, still learning the locations of everything in the city. Even for someone with her skills, the slums had changed a great deal in the twelve years she had been gone from the capital, so relearning them was taking her time. Lucy seemed to be my primary attendant, though Frieda was the senior employee out of the two. While Lucy attended me during my study sessions, Frieda would busy herself with this and that, maintaining the side building I was housed in. Finally, on the evening of the sixth day, Dominic sat up. Well, at this point, you will either pass or you will fail. There is not much good in stressing over it anymore; I think you should take a day off from studying tomorrow that way on the first day of next week you can approach the tests with a refreshed mind. You arent fooling me, Dominic. I can tell youre just fed up with going over all this material for ten hours a day. Still, you have a point about relaxing. It would be beneficial. Dominic At some point during our studying, he had all but ordered me to call him by name when we were alone, and only use the lord title when there were non-attendants present. Even though I personally didnt really care for being overly familiar with him, there was little I could do after he ignored my socially acceptable protests, so I had begrudgingly agreed to do so. Hmm? What is it Stahlia? His own speech had become much more casual after I agreed to call him casually. Do you believe your father would permit me to go into the city? If I am to relax I do not think I could do it cooped up in this building as I have been. For better or worse, I now associate this room with endless studies. That was of course, largely a lie. I would be perfectly content to remain in this room provided I was alone. I was already confident I could pass the tests and had now moved my mind along to information gathering, a purpose which would necessitate me going out. However, in order to go out, I would require his fathers permission, since I intended to go to the Upper and Lower cities and needed a writ of passage to leave the Noble Quarter. Sneaking out was an option, technically. But I would rather be more familiar with the city before attempting that as I had only been here a week, and most of that had been spent cooped up to study. Permission to go out? Right, you are probably curious about the city, Ris is so small in comparison. I will consult with my father for you. Attempting not to show my displeasure, I thanked him for his offer and bid farewell as he left, accompanied by his own attendant. It was already getting late, so I retired to bed after a quick meal and a bath. Dominic why are we here? I questioned the young man stood slightly in front of me with what I could only assume was a confused expression spread across my face. Well Stahlia, you told me you wanted to see some places you did not have in Ris Village. This was the first that came to mind. He seemed utterly pleased with his choice of location for some reason. I mean I did say that, but Dominic cut me off and beckoned me to the door held open by two well-oiled muscular men. Both were naked from the waist up, showing off a well-tanned six-pack and large pectorals. Additionally, they were collared. Sighing, as I couldnt see a socially acceptable way out of this situation, I hesitatingly walked through the door and into the building. This had all started last night. Dominics attendant had come and informed Lucy that Count Francois had given permission for my outing on the condition that Dominic and Gregory would accompany us. I had been less than thrilled with the idea, but given it was the only way I could get out into the city, I had agreed and thanked him readily enough. The next morning, Lucy dressed me in a dress with far fewer frills than I had been expecting. When questioned, she informed me that Dominic and I would be going out under the guise of being upper-class merchants as opposed to young nobles. That was something I could get behind, so I agreed without too much fuss. When I got down to the estates courtyard, Dominic and Gregory had been waiting for me. I had wanted to bring Stil, but Lucy advised that bringing a monster into the city could cause problems that we could not solve without borrowing Francois name, which would blow our cover. I was slightly concerned with going out and not having one of my guards with me, but I knew that Jacqueline would be observing from somewhere out of sight, so I didnt argue with Lucy over Stil. Dominic had then asked me if I had anywhere in mind to go. Of course, he had to have known that I wouldnt have the faintest about any places in the city. Normally I would profess a desire to visit an alchemy workshop, but I had no desire to bring Dominic to a place I was looking forward to seeing, his presence was sure to spoil the atmosphere of any location visited. In lieu of that, I simply asked him to Take me someplace I could not visit in Ris If possible, I would like to see a Demi-human. That had led to my current predicament. We were at the Bartmoss Slave Emporium a licensed slave purveyor. Of course, I was already aware that slavery was legal in this world. It was also true that Ris didnt have a slave market, so this qualified as something I couldnt see in Ris. I would also probably be able to see Demi-humans here. That left me very little wiggle room to avoid going in. Still, I hope he doesnt try and get me to buy one I wasnt about to start an emancipation movement, I wasnt stupid; I had nowhere near enough political capital to ever be successful. But that didnt mean I wanted to be involved in the slave trade myself. The slave trade in Drakas was a government-sanctioned and regulated business. From what I understood, it was a well-organized one as well. From the signage I could see, it seemed that the Bartmoss Slave Emporium dealt in three of the five types of slaves. The first type of slave, a Debt Slave, was a person who had fallen into debt they could not pay off. To cover part of their losses, their creditor was legally allowed to sell them as a slave. The second type was a Voluntary Slave. Voluntary Slaves were those individuals who had proactively chosen to sell themselves. This would be done usually to secure money for their family when they fell on hard times. Voluntary slaves would also be released after a certain period had elapsed as stipulated in their contract. Of course, whether or not that contract was actually honored was another thing entirely, so becoming a voluntary slave was viewed as a last resort, little better than becoming a debt slave. The third type of slave sold here was a Born Slave. Born slaves were nominally the children of other slaves who had been born into bondage. However, the label also applied to those that the Drakas Kingdom declared as legally slaves by species, namely Demi-humans. Indeed, it was perfectly legal to grab any Demi-human you found and put them under a slave contract. Slave Contracts were what ensured total obedience from a slave; they were a form of contract magic, which itself was a sub-school found in both Black and White magic. These contracts would compel their targets to follow the orders given by the owner with varying degrees of penalty for going against the owner. Anything from an uncomfortable itch that wouldnt go away to instant death was possible. The other two types of slaves that were not sold here were War Slaves and Illegal Slaves. War slaves were those taken as prisoners during war, as the name implied. Illegal slaves were slaves that had been enslaved illegally, basically all kidnapped children and travelers. A fat man with an oily head approached us, presumably he was the slave merchant. He greeted us affably, a far cry from what his appearances might suggest. Ah, young master, how might I assist you today? Dominic motioned to his manservant. The young lady and I are just looking around today; she has traveled from a small village and was curious to see a Demi-human. Dominic turned to me, Shall we look around Stahlia? You bastard, this isnt what I had in mind at all! Pasting a fake smile on my face, I nodded, Indeed, shall we? and offered him my hand. A slave, presumably sent by the merchant came over to answer any questions we might have. Dominic took my hand with a magnanimous smile, and we started browsing the wares. The large majority of them were human debt slaves, though there was a good number of voluntary and born slaves as well. Strangely, despite the Drakas Kingdoms stance, only one in ten of the slaves was a Demi-human. The gender ratio was more or less fifty-fifty. Dominic was watching my reactions carefully, and when he noticed my gaze lingering on one of the rabbit-kin slaves, he turned and addressed the guide. My partner comes from a small village you see, I believe she is curious as to their appearances, having not had an opportunity to see one before, might I trouble you to show her the back area? The backroom? I really dont like the sound of that The slave guide nodded and motioned for us to follow him. He led us out of the general area and towards the back of the establishment. We passed out of the area where the slaves were freely milling about and into a room where they were being kept in what could only be called cages. As we went, the general quality of slaves seemed to decrease; whereas the front room had been full of healthy people, the further back we went the weaker and weaker they became, accompanied by a marked decrease in living conditions. What the hell!? Dominic, I dont think- Dominic squeezed my hand and stealthily shook his head. In a whisper, he addressed me, Stahlia, dont say anything. I know how you feel, but I wanted to show you the truth. In the very back of the room, the guide let us through a door. The first thing that hit me was the stench, and I reflexively covered my nose in shock. It smelled like a zoo on a hot summer day. The slaves here were not in cages so much as they were in small kennels, barely able to fit their inhabitants. Looking around, virtually every single one of them was a Demi-human, humans were now the vast minority, though there was still a handful of them present. While the front room had been mostly young adults, this back area was filled with a wide variety of ages, ranging from outright infants to grey-haired elders. Most of those here come from illegal beast-men settlements that the knights order subjugated. Dominic - answered my unvoiced question, The survivors are sold off in bulk, though only a handful of them will ever be purchased, storage is cheap enough that the shops can still manage to turn a profit on the transaction. Frankly, I wanted to return to the front room and forget I had ever seen this place. Just as I was about to suggest we go back, one of the kennels in the far corner caught my attention. It was occupied by two Cat-kin, one a young woman and the other a little girl probably around four years old. Both of them were dressed in torn rags, and the woman was covered in blotchy bruises. What had caught my eye was the girls appearance. She had hair nearly the same shade as my own and eyes a very light azure. Other than the tail and pointed ears, she looked a lot like me when I was her age. By extension, she also bore a strong resemblance to my kidnapped sister, Rosial. Seeing the state she was in brought back memories of the horrors Jacqueline had told me Rosial was being forced to undergo. Ahh I let out an involuntary reaction, causing Dominic to look over at me and follow my gaze to the kennel. Hmm? Oh, a Cat-kin huh? Actually, doesnt she kind of look like your late sister? Of course, I dont mean to imply Rosial was a beast-kin, but setting aside the ears and tail they do look similar He glanced sidelong at me, but I paid him no mind, I was trying not to throw up from how much this one reminded me of my sister. Dominic seemed to read something into my expression because after a moment of hesitation he clapped his hands. You there, who is that one? Looking at the indicated kennel, the slave guide answered Dominics query. The cats? They were captured alongside each other by the knights order about a year ago. The masters given up on selling them at this point ah, it looks like the older one might actually have expired, my apologies. As he was talking to us, he had approached the kennel and given the woman a sharp prod in the side to get her to look up at us and, rather than look up, her head had lolled to the side, exposing vacant lifeless eyes. Dominic studied me for a moment as if thinking something over. I had turned away; I didnt want to see someone who reminded me of Rosial, especially not in this sort of condition. You say that the owner has given up on selling the younger one? Fetch him for me, would you? The guide hesitated but then nodded and left us alone with a bow. Dominic what are you planning? I honestly didnt want to know, but I was worried if I didnt speak up things would go in a direction I didnt like. Do not hide it Stahlia, looking at that kitten reminds you of Lady Rosial does it not? I was considering buying it for you. Of course, she could never replace your little sister, but I had thought you might struggle with the thought of her looking so much like Rosial, and being in a condition like this... I was mortified and about to tell him off when the shop owner returned, stealing my chance to do so. Ah young master, has this kitten caught your eye? Unfortunately, the older one seems to have passed away, and she herself is in poor health, so I cant in good conscience sell her to you. Dominic frowned at him. Stop beating around the bush; we both know you will sell, how much? The slave merchants conciliatory smile vanished, and he nodded. It seems you have already made up your mind. One Drakas Small Gold. Dominic looked at the girl, she gazed back at him with eyes dead to the world, unmoving. Wait no! this is like my engagement all over again, I cant let myself get led along here! My instability right now is stemming from my feelings towards Rosial triggered by the state this girl is in, so it should be easy enough to fix... I took a deep breath and activated Cold Hearted, targeting my Empathy. Suddenly, I no longer cared about my surroundings; rather than feeling revulsion about how the people were being forced to live I simply felt sickened by the smell and wanted to leave. That seems a bit steep considering her condition. I will offer you five Silvers. The merchant shook his head. I cut in. Dominic, I truly do not care. Can we leave? This stench is foul. Dominic looked at me, surprised, and opened his mouth to respond. In a panic, the slave trader held up his hand. Very well, you drive a hard bargain. What say you to Six Silvers? Dominics eyes briefly flashed, and after a moment, he nodded. Six Silvers then, go and get the contract magic ready. What a pain. Why do I have to deal with this? The merchant processed the transaction and had Dominic sign a piece of paper legitimizing the sale. The merchant undid the contract magic on the girl that marked him as her owner and motioned for Dominic to establish the contract in his place. Dominic grabbed my hand and pressed it against the magic circle drawn over the contract paper. I felt a bit of my mana get forcibly sucked out and into the collar, establishing me as the girls owner. Why did you do that?! I shot him an angry glare. Why should I have to take care of this cat?! She smells like shit! Why? Well, she reminds you of Rosial. I thought you might be able to provide her a shot at a future Glancing down at the slave he had gifted to me, Dominic smiled and addressed her. This is Stahlia, she is your owner now. Whats your name? The girl looked slowly from Dominic to me and then nodded with dead eyes. Pets name is Pet Stahlia is Pets owner. There was a faint glimmer in the girls eyes when she said her own name. What? Her name is Pet? Whatever. Can we go now? Dominic, can we leave yet? Also, at least buy her some clothes, being followed around by a near-naked beast would not look good for my social image. Dominic gave me a confused look and agreed, ordering a set of cheap childs clothes that were being conveniently sold by the slave merchant. All in all, Pet had cost a total of 7,100 Drak. Only slightly more expensive than my dagger had been. Exiting the slave traders, I quickly disabled [Cold Hearted] and was immediately struck by a wave of nausea. I could remember everything I had thought, how I had felt when I lacked Empathy. It was sickening. I knew this would happen; I had done some experimentation over the previous two years, but I had hoped if I no longer empathized, I would be able to avoid clamming up from thoughts of my sister and be able to speak up for myself. Instead, I had no longer given a shit and wound up owning a slave; the exact situation I had wanted to avoid. I looked back at Pet and fought the urge to vomit as I recalled how I had thought of her. Ill at least do my best to look after you for now, and eventually, once Ive dealt with things, Ill do my best to free you Im sorry! Her name was a problem for me as well, but it was something I would have to address later. For now Pet ugh Do we have any further business in town? Dominic turned to question me. I had wanted to explore a bit more, but after the fiasco just now, I was just about done with Dominics shit for the day. That was when Pets stomach made a gurgling noise. When I turned to face her, she recoiled and reflexively held her hands up to shield herself. Poor thing did they beat her when she was hungry? I reached out a hand towards her, causing her to flinch and recoil away from me before suddenly letting out a soft cry; presumably, the contract had interpreted her recoiling as defying me and started hurting her. I rested my hand gently on her head and rubbed between her cat ears, similarly to how I had used to pat Rosial. It seems she is hungry, I am feeling a bit so myself, why not find a place to eat something and then return to the estate? Dominic seemed about to say something, so I cut him off before he could protest. Dominic, it is an owners duty to take care of their pets is it not? Would you have me refrain from feeding Stil? Dominic caught his retort and shook his head, though he held a dissatisfied expression. Good. You dont get to just force a slave on me, and then prevent me from taking care of her. One thing was certain, Dominic had utterly failed to earn himself any favors from me today. Dominic eventually spoke up, Let us return to the upper city then, I would prefer not to eat at a lower city establishment. I nodded; I could agree to that at least. We made our way back to the upper city and Lucy led us to a small caf overlooking a fountain plaza. Of course, Pet wouldnt be able to sit at the table with us, and I knew better than to press that issue. Still, I insisted she was to be given a chair and fed the same food we were eating, again citing Stil as my benchmark. For her part, Pet seemed utterly overwhelmed when the food was given to her. Pet Pet can eat this? I could only purse my lips and nod to that. She hesitatingly took a mouthful of the soup, lacking formal education she was drinking straight from the bowl, but that was honestly cute in its own way. Ill have to teach her properly later, If anyone objects I can just tell them Im training her just like I trained Stil. Comparing her to a monster is a bit... but it should let me get away with a fair amount that I normally couldnt do for a slave. I scoffed at the last thought the instant I thought it. Once I was satisfied that she would continue eating without prompting I turned my attention to my own plate. Looking out over the fountain plaza while we ate, I mostly kept to myself; for better or worse, Pet really did make me think of Rosial and I was lost in my own memories. The plaza itself was quite beautiful. The fountain was made of a white stone and carved with a relief featuring various religious iconography. From what I could tell, it seemed to depict the moment the God of Darkness and Goddess of Light bestowed fragments of their own divinity on the seven heroes. We spent roughly an hour at the caf before heading back to the estate. Getting back to the estate, I made sure to thank Dominic for getting his father to agree to my request, and then went with Lucy and Pet to my side building, taking a secondary entrance instead of going through the main building. That had been at Dominics suggestion; he intended to privately inform his father and mother that I had been gifted a slave. How fucking considerate of you. When I got into my room, Pet peered fearfully around from behind me. After I had rubbed her head and fed her, she seemed to have opened up a bit to me but was still skittish. Frieda briefly raised an eyebrow when she saw Pets head peeking out, so I waved for Lucy to explain to her. Stil sniffed at the air and having detected an unfamiliar scent, made his way over. He stuck his beak out towards her, causing her to jump back slightly. Stil, this is Pet. Be nice. Stil glanced over at me, he had been a bit more expressive since his evolution, a fact that I attributed to the increased intelligence stat value. Dutifully, he sat down and rubbed his head against her stomach. Pet, this is Stil, my trained monster. He wants you to pet his head. Fearfully, she reached out and after a moments hesitation quickly ran her hand over his head. When he didnt bite, she stroked him again, a half-smile appearing on her face. I left Pet to play with Stil and went over to Frieda and Lucy. Frieda, please arrange a sleeping space for her in the corner of my room; it doesnt need to be anything fancy as long as its warm. Has Jacqueline returned yet today? Frieda answered in the negative before moving off to make arrangements for Pet. Apparently, she and Lucy had decided they would treat Pet the same way they treated Stil, while I considered that to be a bit crass, I was able to accept it as a compromise over how a Demi-human slave would usually be treated. I went up to my room to change out of my travel clothes while making a mental list of things I would need Jacqueline to do the next time I saw her. Dominic I left Stahlias room accompanied by my head manservant Gregory. Honestly, what is with that girl? Stahlia had been made my Fiance a little over two years ago. When I had first found out I had accepted the information in stride, I had always known that I would have a marriage arranged for me by my father. When he told me she was a fallen noble daughter though, I had become curious. When I asked my father to arrange a chance for me to meet her incognito, to my surprise he accepted and bought me, along with the Third Prince of all people, to meet her and her family. The girl I met was one surprise after another. After the second day, I was thoroughly convinced of why my father wanted her to join our house. Despite being a fallen noble, she had enough grace and charisma to wrap the local boys around her fingers. She not only excelled in her studies, but she was actually teaching several of the classes. Frankly, she was exceptional. Whats more, she seemed to be able to resist my gifts; I had been born under very special circumstances. In my previous life, I was a meek nobody who died a virgin at the age of forty-five. I didnt even get to become a wizard. Floating in a white void, I met an androgynous figure who claimed to be a god. Apparently, they were offering me a chance to live again. When I questioned why they would choose me, the figure chuckled and said I checked all the necessary boxes. Of course, I didnt believe them, but all they did was shrug and tell me that it was fine, I had died naturally so my agreement wasnt necessary. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a babys cradle. I had actually reincarnated, just like that god said I would. Whats more, I had seemingly hit the jackpot; my new family were high nobles in the largest kingdom on the continent. I could have everything I ever wanted! Things only got better from there. I very quickly learned I had been given an isekai cheat ability as well; at my dedication, it was revealed that I possessed an extremely rare purpose, that of Demon Aspirant. This purpose was one of the only ways for a human to employ the abilities of demons. In gaming terms, it was able to bypass the race restrictions placed on demonic powers. Thankfully, my father was able to use his social position to keep things quiet, although I never saw that priest again. One of the skills that came with my class was called [Incubus Eye]. As the name implied, it mimicked the ability of an incubus and was able to charm women. While the ability was, frankly, a bit sickening it did have its uses. Using that power, I set about arranging things in my favor. Getting favors from young noblewomen was exceedingly easy for me, and I was able to manipulate various things behind the scenes to work out in my favor. As they say, women control half of society so by endearing myself to that half, I was able to garner quite a bit of support. But it wasnt perfect. From the outside looking in, it might seem like I had everything one could want, but that couldnt be further from the truth. Humans thrive on meaningful connections, and in my case, I was unable to form such connections due to my powers. See, prolonged use of my [Incubus Eye] had led to me being unable to turn it off. It reminded me a bit of an anime I had been quite fond of, where the main character had been able to compel anyone to obey one command via direct eye contact. Everything had been going great, until his power evolved and he lost the ability to turn it off, leading to his plans falling apart. My own situation was similar; no matter who it was, as long as they were female, I could get away with anything. This meant I wasnt able to form a real relationship; my connections were built on hypnotism and lies. Hence my ecstasy when I realized that Stahlia was resisting my [Incubus Eye]. It wasnt perfect, as she was still clearly being drawn to me; she didnt notice her sister getting sicker and sicker while I was in the village. It didnt take me long to decide I wanted to marry her, this was a woman I could form a real relationship with. As if that wasnt enough, she was actually able to keep up with me physically as well. I was at the top of my class in swordsmanship, owing to my class having extremely potent ability values. But when I wound up fighting Stahlia, she didnt just beat me, she beat me down. The only thing I could think of was that she was using some form of enhancement magic, this owing to the fact that she had offered to appraise me. Of course, I hadnt let her; it would spoil my chances with her if she learned of my class. In all respects, I considered Stahlia to be the perfect woman to have at my side. I told my father that I wanted to marry her, and the third prince made arrangements so that our union would be legal. For her part, Stahlia seemed overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events, but I was sure she would come around in time. I would actually have to work at it, but I should be able to manage something, after all, I was quite the catch. It was a week or two after I had returned to my familys estate that we got the bad news; Stahlias sister Rosial had died of her illness. I felt extremely bad about this; my presence had distracted Stahlia from her sisters deteriorating condition. If I hadnt been there, it was likely that Stahlias skill at alchemy might have been able to save her sisters life. I sent her a letter to make amends, but didnt hear from her; I would later learn that the letter had never arrived. The next interaction we had came at Stahlias tenth birthday; it was customary among the nobility for betrothed to send each other an item of jewelry for this event. For Stahlia, I selected a pair of earrings with Rosials birthstone set in mythril. I knew Stahlia didnt have her ears pierced, however, I imagined that she would be grateful for such an extravagant gift. Besides which, I would soon be able to see her again; as she had turned ten, she would be joining me at the academy this year. When we did reunite, I was ecstatic; it would seem that somehow, her resistance to my charm had progressed to outright immunity. Now, our relationship would be completely organic. I had also seemingly been correct about the earrings; she had gotten her ears pierced in order to wear them. From our reunion, things only seemed to get better; as fate would have it, I was able to spend the better part of a week with her. Stahlia had been invited to take the position of a Special Student, however, to do this, she would need to test out of two years of school, and into the third year. This was where I came in; being a third-year student myself, I was able to provide her with tutoring in the subjects she had not been able to learn in Ris Village. Once again, she surprised me with her academic excellence. Stahlia voraciously absorbed knowledge, and before I knew it our tutoring had progressed beyond its original scope and I found myself teaching her material from the third and fourth years that I was just learning. Once I realized I had exhausted the material I had to teach her, I suggested that we should take a day off so that she could rest before the tests. Her next request, to see a demi-human gave me pause, but I wanted to answer it if I could. So, I decided to show her. I got my fathers permission to take Stahlia to see the slave market and began making plans with my manservant Greggory, and Stahlias maid Lucy. The trip went absolutely horribly. I was pleased to learn that the conditions of the market made Stahlia uncomfortable. However, what we found in the back room ruined the day. The cat-kin Pet had an appearance that closely mirrored that of Stahlias late sister. Of course, this caused Stahlia a great deal of mental anguish. Hoping to perhaps alleviate that, I arranged to purchase the slave for her. Stahlia played along well enough to assist in the purchase of the slave, though I initially thought that she was simply being a bit cold. It wasnt until we got out of the shop that I realized how badly I had messed up; Stahlia, rather than viewing the slave as a surrogate of her little sister, seemingly regarded it as little better than her tamed Stawri, Stil. With great effort, I held my peace; this was simply how the people of this world viewed Demi-humans. I would have to work on Stahlias perceptions for a while and try to slowly bring her around. Psycholo 2-4 Placement Tests Psycholor Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Second Month of 947 Early the next morning, I was awoken by a scream, AHHH! Its soooo CUTE! Rolling groggily out of bed, I stumbled into the common area of my side house. Elienor, Dominics little sister, was grasping Pets cheeks firmly between both hands and pinching them together. I see Dominic must have told his family last night when they had dinner, and Elienor came to see her. Come to think of it, I didnt see much of her this past week, Margeritte must have been keeping her away while Dominic tutored me. Elienor, what are you doing? She turned to me and grinned happily, still pinching Pets cheeks together. For her part, Pet looked terrified. Stali, whered you find such a cute kitten?! I groaned and started rubbing my forehead, trying to both get rid of the lingering sleep and forestall the oncoming migraine. Lord Dominic found her actually, and purchased her for me. Lady Elienor, do you not think what you are currently doing is a little bit unbecoming? Stali, I was lucky enough to be born a High Noble, I plan on enjoyin life without any of that fancy-schmancy etiquette garbage! Elienor spoke in a completely serious tone. Apparently, she was conscious of her position; she just didnt care. Turning my attention to Pet, I decided to try and rescue her. Lady Elienor, it would seem you are scaring Pet, I understand she is cute but please try and contain yourself. I would like very much if I could avoid traumatizing her. Elienor gave Pets cheeks one final squeeze and released them. Pet ducked away and came to hide behind me, both of her ears pressed flat against her head. If shes hiding behind me now, does that mean shes no longer scared of me? I recalled how she had flinched at my hand just the other day. No, she most likely is simply more afraid of Elienor than she is of me. Stali, youre a bit weird yourself, Pets a slave ya know? I nodded. I am aware. However, Lord Dominic has entrusted me to care for her the same way I care for Stil and I intend to do so. To that end, I do not mind if you interact with her, but I must ask you to treat her the same way you would Stil; I highly doubt you would pull at Stils feathers would you? Its kind of hard to talk about a person like an animal but, hopefully, this will help control Elienor. That settled, I called for Lucy and bid her help me get ready. It was going to be a long day. I dressed in the uniform for the Royal Academy; A fancy blood-red dress with white embroidery depicting my noble crest as well as a white, long-sleeved, shrug. Girls wore this dress while boys wore a similarly styled suit reminiscent of a military dress uniform. Other than the family crest, the clothes were identical for every student. Supposedly, the Academy was a Meritocracy devoid of status, but considering the prominent placement of family crests, I had to wonder how much truth there was to that sentiment. Certainly, the Noble-born students may behave in such a manner towards each other, but the Academy also accepted commoners with exceptional classes on scholarship. Like Giogi; I highly doubted that status played absolutely no role whatsoever. The first day of the Academy would consist of a series of placement tests taken by all incoming students. Second Year and higher students did not actually have to attend but there was an unwritten rule that they should at least make an appearance. Based on the results of the placement tests, new students would be sorted into classes based on their ability levels. It wasnt to the effect of skipping grades; rather, new students would be split into three groups. Group A was the cream of the crop, students who excelled on their placement tests. Group B students were those with average results, and Group C were the underachievers. My own tests would be a little more unique. Normally, Special Students would be offered the position at the start of their third year, the eligibility having been determined by their results the previous two years. In my case, my placement tests were being used to gauge my eligibility to enroll as a Special Student from day one effectively skipping two grades. It could be said that the Special Students were in their own group, Group S, although such a designation did not officially exist. Once the testing was finished, the second day of school would be a social event with all students present. More or less, it was a welcome party. The third day would see an opening ceremony where the students would finally learn what group they were in and go to their classes for the first time. Actual learning didnt start until the fourth day. The trip to the Academy grounds was largely uneventful; the grounds occupied fully one-fourth of the Noble Quarter of the city, with four main entrances. One entrance was built into the wall leading to the Upper City, this one was used by commoner scholarship students who were housed in large apartment complexes serving as dormitories there. Two of the entrances were on either side of the Academy grounds and were used by nobles who lived in the capitals Noble Quarter. The last Entrance led into the highest level of the city, the royal place. It was reserved for the exclusive use of the Royal Family, thankfully for my nerves, none of the current royal children were of age to attend. There was also a dormitory building used by nobles whose families did not have a residence in the capital, mostly Barons and the poorest Counts. I would have been living there if not for my engagement qualifying me to use a side building on the Francois Estate. In any case, my commute was incredibly simple. The Francois family was one of the higher count families in the Kingdom. There were no other Counts with higher social standing than them, and the only ones above were the current four Ducal houses and the Royal Family. As I was commuting with Dominic, I was able to borrow that status to expedite my entrance to the Academy Grounds. I was also technically able to borrow that same status in my dealings with other nobles, but I had no intention of doing so if I could help it. Such a course of action would no doubt cause problems after I broke the engagement off. As it occupied a full fourth of the entire noble quarter, the academy grounds were massive. They were smaller than the university I had attended back on Earth, but it was close. Once our identities were confirmed, a guide was assigned to me, and they started leading me to the central building. As we went, she explained to me the purpose of each section. The central building was three stories and held all the classes for first- and second-year students, as well as faculty offices. So its the liberal arts building more or less. Behind the central building and out of my sight was the Martial Building. This consisted of large gymnasiums and an outdoor track that ran around the buildings perimeter. The Martial Building was the one in which students taking combat-type courses such as swordplay or riding would have classes. On the side closest to the palace was the Mage Hall, this was a four-story building built in the shape of a six-pointed star. Each point was dedicated to one element of magic: the Red Point for Fire, Blue Point for Water, Green Point for Earth, Yellow Point for Wind, White Point for Light, and Black Point for Dark respectively. Each floor was devoted to a year. The ground floor covered introductory magic or third year as it was referred to by the grade level system. The second floor was for the fourth year, the third floor was for the fifth year, and the fourth level was the master course. As even boys only spent five years at the academy, getting into the fifth-floor classrooms required skipping grades as a matter of course. The building closest to the upper city gate was the dormitory, something which held little interest for me as I was living off-campus. The building closest to my own point of entry was the general studies hall and held classes for third and year and above students in fields like mathematics, history, geography, alchemy, and basically any other subject that was not taught in the Martial Building or Mage Hall. Assuming I was able to pass all my tests today, I would likely spend much of my time in the Mage Hall and General Studies Building. With my partial guided tour now concluded, I was led into the central building and further to a large room with about fifty people, presumably students, therein. I checked with one of the adults and then went to my indicated seat. The seating was split down the middle with boys on the right-hand side and girls on the left, facing the front of the room. In terms of dcor, it was spartan, lacking any form of decoration whatsoever. The only object breaking up the uniformity of the walls was a large black slate that, although almost three times the size, resembled the mana-infused iron that had been used in Ris as a blackboard. I had arrived with a few minutes to spare, which I spent appraising the students around me. True to the creed of the school, we were not seated according to social status. In fact, I could not tell if there was a method to how we had been seated at all; I was near the middle of the room despite being a barons daughter. To my right was a dukes daughter and on my left was a commoner. I could only tell their social positions because of their crests; the commoner didnt have one and the ducal daughters was embroidered with gold thread. My own crest was embroidered with copper. Dominics was with silver. Giogi was seated on the far side of the boys section, a little back behind where I was, like the girl on my left his uniform had no crest. As Sana was not attending the Royal Academy proper, but rather a specialized course within the central temple, she was not present. After the bell tolled the hour, one of the adults stood up at the front of the room. Welcome new students from all walks of life. It is my pleasure to commence this years placement exams. As you are no doubt aware, the purpose of these exams is to ascertain the group you are best suited to. Please ensure to do your best, and myself and the other proctors will be watching so do keep your sheets to yourselves. This comes up every year, so I will say it now; you are not expected to be able to answer every question. The exams cover material all the way up to the third year. If you cannot answer a question, simply mark it with a cross and move on. These exams are not factored into your yearend ranking so there is no cause for concern. With that being said, we will now be passing out the exams. With his long-winded explanation out of the way, he motioned and the other proctors went down the rows handing out the tests. I accepted my paper and left it facedown waiting for the signal to start. Written on the back of the paper was the subject, this first exam covered geography and history. Based on what I learned at the temple, most students would only be able to answer questions about their local regions, but from what Dominic taught me I can expect this to cover the entire Central Continent. The head proctor gave us the signal to start and I flipped the test over and skimmed the whole document. It was twelve pages long, and most of the questions were of the short answer variety. Based on my previous tutoring, it seemed that the twelve pages were split roughly into three sections, each summarizing the basic knowledge that would be covered in a given year of school. Theyve condensed an entire year into three pages? Am I really able to test out of two whole years of class from a single twelve-page test? I shrugged to myself and started going through the first section. The first section covered the basic geography of the Drakas Kingdom and was fairly straightforward. Reading each question, I filled in my answers carefully; pencils didnt exist so I was doing this in ink with a quill. The first section spent a page on the five major territories of the kingdom. Namely, the four cardinal directions as well as the central district around the capital, with a final question for each page asking me to summarize the given region in a single paragraph. So specific memorized information, followed by a more freeform question to see if you actually understand, or if you were just regurgitating memorized facts. This was similar to a style of testing I was familiar with from Earth. Smiling to myself I read the first question and started writing, taking great care with how I worded the last question of each page. The Northern Region is largely marshland, bordering the Western Great River to its north and the Central Region to the south. The primary export comes in the form of freshwater fish and foodstuffs that thrive in a wet climate such as rice. Limited river crossings provide some trade with the Northern Alliance, but the political instability of that region necessitates a degree of caution. The Northern region is governed by the Claurence Duke family, who maintain political neutrality. The Eastern Region is a mountainous forested land, bordering the Ris Mountain range to the east, and the central region to the west. The primary industries revolve around logging and mineral extraction. The lone safe passage through the Ris Mountains allows for some trade with the Trade Confederacy, but due to recent embargoes leveled by the confederacy, this trade is currently in decline. The Eastern Region is governed by the Lawrence Duke Family, who took over from the Despita Duke Family, under the Third Princes faction. The Southern Region is a sparse forest interwoven with rolling hills and large meadows. It lies along the shore of the South Ocean, with most of the population focused in port cities. The primary industry revolves around Ocean fishing and trans-oceanic trade with the Southern Continent, through the spice river trade route. The Southern region is governed by the Lester Duke Family, under the Second Prince''s Faction. The Western Region is a rocky land with no major industry to speak of. Its geography is harsh and unwelcoming, leading the populace towards difficult lives. Due to the terrain and hardy people, the Western Region forms the backbone of Drakas military. Though they have a border along the Western Ocean, that Oceans large population of sea monsters prevents stable trade routes from forming, leading to little source of economic benefit for the people there. The Western region is governed by the Febligi Duke Family, under the First Princes Faction. The Central Region is a large plain situated in the middle of Drakas. The large amount of Arable land has led to the region becoming the breadbasket of the Drakas Kingdom, with many varieties of grain and produce being grown here before being exported to the other regions. The Central Region is governed directly by the King and can therefore be placed in the Kings Faction. I looked around the room. Coming up with and writing down my answers had taken me about forty minutes, there was still an hour and a half left in the allotted time. The majority of the other students taking the test seemed to be about halfway through the first section, judging on the position of their writing implements and papers. After only taking a quick glance around the room I returned my attention to my own sheet and flipped over to the second section; I didnt want the proctors to think I had been cheating. The second section covered the general geography of the other major regions on the central continent, over the course of six pages. Again, I was asked a series of specific questions, followed by a freeform one at the end of each page. It seemed the second year was more focused on the political ramifications of the geography rather than the geography itself, as the specific questions focused on the political systems and culture of each region, rather than their geography. The first two pages were about the region immediately to the east of Drakas; The Trade Confederacy. The eastern region opposite the Ris Mountain range from the Kingdom of Drakas is governed by the Trade Confederacy. The region has a variety of climates similar to Drakas, though they are more interspersed than Drakas monolithic climate regions. The Trade Confederacy that governs this region is a loose confederation of independent city-states controlled by powerful merchant families. Each city is responsible for its own laws and defense, but they will unify under a common defense treaty when threatened by an outside power. This treaty, accompanied by the difficulty of moving large numbers of troops through the mountain pass and by sea, has spared the confederacy from direct integration to the Kingdom. Despite obvious diplomatic tensions, as they can be considered a merchant state, the Confederacy has established economic ties with Drakas. The population is as diverse as the number of climates, and the merchant mindset of the confederacy allows them to exploit this diversity to great effect. Due to the lack of a formalized national military, the plague of monsters and Demi-humans runs rampant in the confederacy, necessitating the outsourcing of labor to mercenaries in the Adventurers Guild. I reviewed my answers, making sure I had written everything I could think of in a coherent manner. In all honesty, the simplicity of the questions was worrying to me; my lessons with Dominic had taken the better part of ten hours a day over a whole week. I had learned a LOT more than what these tests were covering. Still, I couldnt think of anything to add or change, so I moved on to the next two-page subsection, which was about the region immediately north of Drakas, the Northern Alliance. Unlike the Trade Confederacy, the Northern Alliance was openly hostile to Drakas, having been created as an alliance of small powers specifically to counter Drakian military expansion. The Regions to the north of the Kingdom of Drakas, across the Western Great River, transition from marshland into a plain, before finally touching the foothills of the Wyrmstooth Mountains. The major political body of this area is known as the Northern Alliance. While the individual nation-states are small, they have a standing international military made specifically in opposition to Drakas. Internal politics are varied, with the various nation-states vying for economic and military supremacy over each other. This unique dynamic has led to the soldiers and diplomats of this region becoming highly skilled at their own roles, which translates into an effective means of self-defense against foreign aggression. The last two pages of this section were a combo, covering the remaining regions of the central continent, the Spirit Forest, and the Wyrmstooth mountains. These two regions were both countries in their own right, however, they held little contact with the other nations of the central continent. The unique terrain afforded to them allowed them to live in relative isolation. There was also a largely uninhabited region in the center of the continent, a vast desert. However, due to the harsh environment, it had not been very well explored and any records from past expeditions were far too old to glean any meaningful information from. As such, it did not seem the test intended to cover it. The Wyrmstooth mountains are inhabited by the Mountain Dwarf clans, little is known about the state of their country. What contact the various human powers have with them is limited to trade and not much else; though dwarves are present in the human states, these are by majority Plains Dwarves. The Mountain Dwarves are by nature reclusive and leverage their territorys inhospitable terrain and fearsome predators to maintain a distance from other groups. The last time any serious dialogue was had, after the fall of the thirteenth, the Mountain Dwarves consisted of twenty-four clans with one clan serving as a ruling body over the others, if this is still the case or not, is unknown. The Spirit Forest is home to the only elven kingdom on the Central Continent. While not as reclusive as the Mountain Dwarves, The Elves are favored by the spirits who live with them in this forest, existing in symbiosis with them. The spirits turn away outsiders who do not receive their blessing. This has caused the Elven kingdom to become isolated, and the fact that it still exists to this day is known only due to the occasional Dark Elf leaving the forest to journey in the human realms. The forests are vast, much larger than they should be based on their circumference. This phenomenon is believed to stem from the Spirits who call the forest home, and only those of elvish descent are able to accurately navigate the treescape. Stretching, I glanced around the room again. This page had taken me a bit longer, nearly an hour. At this point, I noticed that several of the students had turned the test over completely, signaling that they had finished. I hadnt been going slow, these students were likely those who had been unable to answer all of the questions and chosen to turn their tests in incomplete, as per the proctors instructions. Surveying the room, it seemed roughly half the students had turned over the test, of those who remained; the great majority were working on the second page. Based on their family crests, those who were continuing seemed to come from Count and Duke families. Makes sense, higher status would lead to better access to learning resources. Still, these questions arent exactly hard I really get the feeling that I must be missing some key detail. Returning to my own paper, I flipped to the last two pages. These covered the history of the Kingdom of Drakas, with roughly eighty questions; each one in the format of What major event occurred on this date? or What date did this major event happen?. Answers ranged from the births of important people, the coronation of a specific king, or the resolution of a major war. In total, it spanned from the year zero of the current millennia all the way up to the present day, with the fall from grace of my own house being the final question. I filled out the sheet to the best of my ability in the limited remaining time and turned my paper over. Sitting up, I stealthily stretched my back, and realized with a start that everyone was watching me. The proctor strode directly over to my desk and picked up my paper. I believe I told you all that if you did not know the answer to a question you did not have to answer it. His voice was loud, he was obviously intending for it to carry throughout the room. Ah, that would be why everyone was watching me like that, I must have been the only one who worked all the way up to the bell. Well sir, I do recall you saying that. The thing is, I was able to answer all of the questions Although I must admit I did nearly run out of time. He fixed me with a glare as a murmur ran through the room. I could hear whispers here and there No way! Who does she think she is? She is only a barons daughter among others. Yea, status has nothing to do with academy life my ass! The proctor started scanning through my test on the spot, likely hoping to catch any errors and make an example of me. To tell the truth, I was a bit nervous. The test had seemed far too easy when I was taking it, but I had been taught how to mask my inner thoughts so I managed to sit impassively while I waited for him to finish. I was rewarded for my patience with the sight of his face screwing up further and further the more he progressed through the test, while the whispering died down as it became apparent he wasnt about to stop. Finally getting to the last two pages, he tucked my test away into a binder. full marks. His whispered declaration carried through the room in a way that his earlier shouting hadnt managed, eliciting a new bout of excited murmuring. I thank you, sir, for taking the time to grade my test so quickly. I stood and gave him a proper curtsy as the bell rang and the next proctors began to enter the room. I would later learn that the exam proctors were the actual teachers of each subject, with the A Group teacher taking on the role of the head proctor. This meant that I had been publicly graded, in front of my entire year by the Academys foremost authority on history and geography; if I had made even a slight mistake, he would have called me out on it in order to set an example of the attitude expected of students. Likewise, he was also as fair and impartial as his station dictated he should be; I had genuinely achieved a perfect score. The next placement exam would cover mathematics. Contrary to the underdeveloped sciences of this world due in no small part to the existence of magic, as a field, mathematics was about on par with renaissance era Earth. This was due to that very same magic that had stunted biology and chemistry. As magic produced fantastical phenomena, it had stunted the discovery of periodic elements, leaving the world stuck in the idea of elements of nature. However, those phenomena still followed certain laws, and the laws had been mathematically quantified; leading to advances in geometry, algebra, and physics. When a mage was producing a spell, the amount of mana he had to expend could be calculated in advance, this was compounded by the size of the ritual and the number of mages participating, each with their own mana outputs. Due to this, the mages could be marked as constants, and an algebraic formula could be established to calculate the amount of magic available versus what was required. Geometry had been likewise developed, as when producing a magical effect to cover an area or fill a volume, you would first need to know the squared space or cubic volume to be affected. Due to spells that altered aspects of the physical world along predictable lines, the laws of physics were well understood, and in a way even better understood than on Earth, due to the second set of laws that governed the behaviors of mana in the physical realm. The proctor and their assistants for the mathematics exam gave us the same speech about how the test was not counted for our yearend grade and could be handed in incomplete. They then proceeded to pass out the exams. This exam was markedly shorter than the geography cum history cum politics one, clocking in at a mere four pages. The amount of time, however, was the same two hours and ten minutes. Each page had a decreasing amount of questions, with thirty questions on the first, and three on the last. Likewise, the complexity of the questions increased the closer I got to the end. I flipped back to the first page and started working. The first thirty questions were incredibly easy. Starting with basic addition, it progressed through the four primary operations, increasing the number of terms as it went. By the end, it was asking pseudo algebra; a long-form equation with numbers in the six-digit range that required proper application of the order of operations, though it lacked any unknowns so it was not yet at the point it could be considered true algebra. The page touched into algebra and began using word problems, requiring me to first pull out the needed values from the question, then build my own equations. While the questions did involve mana calculations and other magic-related aspects, there were also some questions that applied algebra in a more mundane form; things such as economics and distances. The second page was also fairly straightforward for me and I finished it in only a few minutes. The third page introduced Geometry, and was asking questions about the area of various locations, the volumes of certain containers, and how much mana was required to produce a certain effect to fill that region under ideal conditions. I had already learned the necessary laws for mana conversion under ideal conditions, they were quite similar to calculating Force-Newtons or Joules, so this page was likewise very easy. The last page, with its three questions, was the only one that gave me pause. I read the first question twice to make sure I was getting it correct. A magic knight riding a wyvern at a constant speed of one hundred kilometers an hour fires a fireball spell with a speed of sixty kilometers an hour. Assuming the fireballs speed is constant, what is the maximum effective volume the fireball can target within three seconds of having been fired? Assume standard velocity loss ratio over distance traveled, and assume the caster is not in possession of a flare catalyst. I tried to think, taking several minutes where I was just biting my quill. I knew how I could solve this problem, but I had not ever been taught the method in this life. I briefly considered leaving the last page blank, but gave up on the idea when I remembered my goal to pass all these exams and be excused from the first two years of classes. There was nothing for it, I would simply have to employ knowledge from my past life and hope I could get away with it. To that end, I decided to show the minimum amount of my work. Well, I already hadnt been showing much work; on the first page, I had been able to solve almost all of the equations in a single step, only the later ones with more than three numbers I had had to write down some things to keep my train of thought intact. I quickly outlined the known information. The Wyvern was flying in a straight line at a constant speed of 100km/h. I could express its motion as a function of time, where the distance traveled was equal to 100t. Alright, first convert kilometers an hour into kilometers a second. This calculation I had to do out on my paper since I wound up going into the millions place of decimals. Now, I need to account for the fireball being fired at a ninety-degree angle relative to the Wyverns flight. If the fireball is fired at any angle greater than ninety degrees or less than two hundred and seventy it would actually lose distance and still wind up within the range covered by the ninety-degree shot since the fireball has less velocity than the wyvern I wrote down my final answer and stretched out my hand, which was cramping up; despite vowing to write down very little of my work I had actually wound up writing a fair amount. This problem had taken me nearly an hour to solve; I had been hampered by the need to avoid writing down much of my work so as to obfuscate my process, in fact, had it not been for my memorization talent, I probably wouldnt have been able to remember all the details I had calculated in the first place. Looking up from my paper to gauge how far along the rest of the students were, I was startled to see the proctor looking down at me. He was standing only a foot or so in front of my desk and was looking down at my paper with an expression of disbelief. Looking nervously around the room, I saw that every other student had long since turned in their papers and were once again watching me. Unlike last time, this time there was an excited chattering coming from the majority. Makes sense, after the last proctor Ill bet they are all really curious as to how this will turn out I had been so wrapped up in my calculations that I hadnt noticed the noise, and the proctor was so absorbed watching me that he had apparently neglected to silence them. ..Excuse me, sir, can I help you? I gave the proctor a quizzical look. Come on, why are you just standing there? After a long moment, he finally responded. This question, you solved it? He had since recovered some facsimile of dignity and was now staring at me with a calm expression, though there was an uncomfortable glimmer in his eyes. yes, I was able to answer it, although it was not easy to do so, I do not think I will have enough time to finish the other two though THATS QUITE ALRIGHT! His voice was loud and some spittle flew from his mouth, his excited reaction that dropped all noble pretense caused me to recoil in shock. You, Youre Stahlia von Ris right?! Cool it with the spit you old bat! Thankfully, his volume had lowered, but he was still nearly shouting and his mouth juice was flying everywhere, though he was far enough away it was thankfully not hitting me. Y-yes, I am? He nodded. Ive been instructed to inform you that your participation in the next two exams has been excused; your numerous alchemical inventions have waived the sciences test, and your graduation from a temple school excuses the religious one. I had my doubts when the headmaster told me that, but it seems you really are a genius His faculties seemed to be returning to him as he went through his instructions. He must be the kind of person who excites easily but is serious when it counts, how rare for a mathematician. If you could follow me, the headmaster wishes to speak with you while the other students take the last two tests. There was an in no way disguised ripple of excited chatter among the other students now; from the males, I picked up comments along the lines of my marriage prospects. From the girls, I could hear mutterings regarding how lucky I was, though a few of them seemed to be outright hostile in tone and word choice. U-um, sir, should you really be the one to guide me to his office? If anything, I desperately desired not to be alone with such an easily excitable individual. Not that I was worried about him doing anything; I simply didnt want to be placed in a position to have to deal with him myself if he went off the rails. Well normally yes, I would fetch one of the servants, however, I desperately wish to know exactly how you solved that question. Oh shit. I really dont like what parts he chose to emphasize there I was now getting the sneaking suspicion that the last page was not considered solvable in this world, at the very least it was definitely not something I should have gone and solved. Indeed, back on Earth, some schools, and even some countries, would place unsolvable questions on school entrance exams. The idea was to catch any would-be geniuses early so they could be put in an environment that was properly conducive to their growth. Based on my impression of his personality, he seemed like the kind of teacher who would do something like that. I tried one last time to get out of it. W-well, I mean, I just sort of solved it? His calm expression wound up into a massive shit-eating grin. Then you will have to walk me through your process while I observe it. That question was designed to be unsolvable, several necessary elements were deliberately omitted, yet you arrived at the correct answer. I knew it. This is really bad, I knew I would stand out in school, but to think it would happen like this! Without anything else to do, I nodded my head in a nobles seated half-bow and collected my things. While we walked to the headmaster, he peppered me with dozens of questions regarding my thought process; unfortunately, I couldnt easily explain a concept like calculus with analytical geometry on the move so I shut him down by telling him I couldnt think very clearly without the paper in front of me. Even more unfortunate, this only caused him to decide that after I spoke with the headmaster, I would be given the same problem and paper so he could follow along with my process. Arriving at the headmasters office in short order, the math proctor knocked and I heard Duke Perciuss voice calling for us to enter. When we went in, I immediately recognized Count Francois, the Geography proctor, and Duke Percius himself. There was also a man wearing armor I had never seen before, as well as a wispy grey-haired woman in a grey robe. I curtsied and introduced myself following Count Francois naming me. Duke Percius waved for me to sit down and a seat near the center of everyone; they were all seated facing me, while Duke Percius was also facing me although from behind his desk. Percius commenced the purpose of this meeting by speaking with the Math proctor. Lord Gustav, I take it by the fact that you brought her personally that she exceeded expectations? Gustav nodded. Indeed, not only did she finish all three pages before any of the other students, she went on to solve one of the questions on the last page. This revelation caused a small stir, with each of the adults glancing around at the others. Duke Percius raised his hand to silence them and continued. Indeed, that is quite impressive and most unexpected. Lord Ferdin, you said she got a perfect score on all the questions in your history exam, according to the publicly known information? So there were some impossible questions on that test too thankfully I only know what Dominic taught me, so I didnt answer them in a manner that would stand out excessively Ill have to ask Jacqueline later on regarding what information would not be publicly available. Ferdin nodded. Her answers were acceptable and correct within the public understanding. We would be having a different conversation if they were completely correct after all. The look he shot me sent a shiver down my spine. Duke Percius nodded. Saintess, as she was excused from your own examination would you share your thoughts now that you have met her? The Saintes remained largely impassive, but her eyes snapped to mine with an intensity otherwise unexpressed by her posture. After a moment she gasped. She has the touch of winter. It seems the report of her local priest was accurate. Her impassive face had crumbled, being replaced by one that exhibited a religious fervor I had some experience with through televangelist programs back on Earth. It was disconcerting to be looked at with that kind of intensity. And as for Lord Tiber, he is currently proctoring the sciences exam, although he is already more than familiar with your exploits Stahlia, due to the numerous recipes published under your name. It seems you have fulfilled our agreement. As you expressed, I will have you enrolled as a Special Student. With exception of Lord Gustav and myself, you will not be having classes with anyone else in this room, but you are still expected to defer to them as teachers. Duke Percius voice was monotone as he delivered his proclamation, and his gaze didnt leave Count Francois face as he spoke. Congratulations, you are the first female to hold the position of Special Student since my own time here. Wait, its that rare? Surely there were plenty of girls before me with talent, maybe not as much talent or the memories of a past life to fall back on, but still, Im the first in years? My memory flashed back to the conversation I had had with Count Francois and Dominic about Duke Percius having expected me to decline. Right, they probably were others, but they declined because of the political and social pressure placed on them as daughters. I really hope I can get along with my classmates it sounds like a boys club. Unfortunately, Duke Percius wasnt done yet. Seeing as you will be skipping several years, your current guard will not be able to accompany you during your lessons. As such, arrangements have been made for a replacement. This is Sir Rowell, he will be your guard-knight while you are on academy grounds. So they wont let me keep Giogi. Still, I cant fault them for that. It would be a bit much to have a first-year escorting me around among third-year and above students. If anything happened, I would be in great danger, from their perspective. Of course, I can handle myself, and after classes officially start, Ill also be allowed to have Stil with me as a tamed monster. The knight stood up and gave me a half bow with impeccable control despite wearing what looked like incredibly heavy armor. A pleasure to make your acquaintance Lady Stahlia, I am Rowell. Unfortunately, I am of common birth so I do not have a last name to give. Several things jumped out at me about his introduction. Firstly, were his movements. Each and every one of them was perfect and under his full control. Despite looking to be only about twenty, he was in full control of his body. Secondly were his manners. He had named himself without naming his father; considering he admitted to being a commoner this could be perceived as a slight towards me. I gave him a half bow from my seat as was proper and reintroduced myself to him. He then moved quickly, with careful silent footsteps to stand behind me in the proper position for a guard knight. Theres something uncanny about the way he moves, I almost feel like Ive met him before. After thinking over it for a moment longer, I spoke up to test the water. I thank you Duke Percius, Sir Rowell seems highly skilled; I will feel most at ease with him in my shadow. Duke Percius remained completely impassive without reacting at all to my bait, merely inclining his head in a manner that demonstrated his having accepted my praise. From behind me, however, I sensed Rowell tense slightly before relaxing. I knew I recognized those movements, thats a basic ready stance from Shadow Blade Style. Ill have to warn Jacqueline that theyve placed another one in my sphere of influence, its possible they might be suspecting her, or at the very least losing confidence. It seemed the meeting was at an end, as Duke Percius next moved to dismiss me from the room. Well then Stahlia, this concludes our business for the day. Lord Francois has been made aware of the particulars regarding your new position and will make the necessary arrangements on his end. Lord Gustav, would you be so kind as to show Stahlia around the Mages Hall? Including your own Blue Magic, most of her other classes will be there for the first year. She is taking all colors save for White and Black. Gustavs eyes widened briefly when he heard I had enrolled in classes for all six schools of magic; most people had an affinity for one or the other and therefore didnt branch out very far. As for myself, I had been tested by my previous magic tutor back in Ris after I had learned my first Red Magic spell. Apparently, I didnt possess any particular affinity; I was equally compatible with all six colors, though I was likewise equally incompatible. In short, I had no particular advantage or disadvantage as far as magic was concerned. It would seem this fact had not made it to the Royal Academy just yet. So Gustav teaches math and Blue Magic? That would explain why Percius indicated I would still be having classes with him. That means I wont be able to avoid him, Ill have to come up with a way to explain calculus For his part, Gustave was more than happy to take Duke Percius up on his offer, citing that he wished to discuss the test with me in any case, so showing me around the Mages Tower would be a good opportunity to talk. With great resignation, I curtsied goodbye and followed Gustav out of the room. Psycholor See you all next chapter! 2-5 Mage’s Hall Stahlia Ten Years Old, Second Month of 947 I followed Gustav out of the headmasters office, with Rowell following behind me a few steps back. As we walked, Gustav thankfully did not pester me with more questions about my math, though I knew I would have to come up with something quickly. He led me out of the central building and towards the eastern side of the Academy grounds, where the Mages Hall was located. The mages hall was a tall building shaped like a six-pointed star. Each point was dedicated towards its own school of magic, while the center hexagon was used as a practice area for applied magic as well as having administrative facilities on the upper floors. We cut around to one of the points and he let me into the building through a door at the very tip. While from the outside each point looked uniform to the others, once I got inside the atmosphere changed. The point we had entered was likely the one dedicated towards red magic, as the interior color scheme was red. The carpet, wall dcor, furniture, everything was some shade of red. It was to the point of being garish and hurt my eyes. Gustav seemed to notice me squinting as the color assaulted my vision and chuckled with a wry smile. Welcome Stahlia, to the Red Wing. Kell wanted to incorporate open flames into the dcor, but the other professors complained about the smoke, so he had to settle for a simple color scheme instead. This is where Red Magic is studied and taught. Since youve been enrolled in the fourth-year classes your classes will be on the second floor. That being said, are you actually capable of using Red Magic already? Bear in mind that we teach magic via chanting here; skills and talents will not qualify you for lessons, even as a Special Student. Apparently, my tutoring results from back in Ris hadnt been spread. What a failure of the kingdoms information departments. Mages are so highly regulated in this country, and yet my tutor didnt report my successes? And Percius seemed so well informed about me as well I nodded. Yes, I have learned the chants for all of the basic Red Magic Spells through a tutor in my home village, I actually acquired a Fire Magic Talent by using the chants, though it only lets me cast Ignition at the moment. Gustav got an excited gleam in his eyes again; he really was easy to predict. And you have enrolled in all schools of magic? Did your tutor neglect to explain affinity to you? I shook my head no. He did explain them, and even tested mine; I have no affinity to speak of, I am equally compatible with all schools of magic. Gustav stopped walking, his eyes were starting to bug out of his head now, and I could swear I saw him salivating. I reflexively stepped back. I-I must say if that is true Mathematics, Alchemy, Magic, you are incredibly gifted. If you do not mind I would like to run the affinity test here once as well, just to ensure there was no mistake. You have so many talents, I would hate to think of you wasting time because of the wrong information. As much as I wanted nothing to do with that suggestion, I could only imagine he wouldnt let me escape so I mournfully agreed. Gustav led me quickly through the halls of the Red Wing and into the central area. The first floor was a massive open space, made entirely out of Mythril. Presumably, this is where practical lessons would be conducted, the Mythril would prevent damage to the building due to its innate resistance to magic. Though it pales in comparison to the two levels of the city itself made from Mythril, this room must have cost an exorbitant amount in its own right. The silver sheen is pretty though We ascended to the second floor where the administrative offices were located, and Gustav led me to a room with his name on the door. Wait here Stahlia, I will fetch the necessary equipment and be back shortly. With that said, Gustav spun on his heel and practically raced out of the room. I looked around his office, surprisingly, due to his brusque personality, the room was very tidy. I had imagined his space would be strewn with papers and failed experiments. I selected a seat for myself and sat, waiting for his return. Gustav returned after about half an hour, carrying a box and accompanied by another man. Unlike Gustav, who was dressed the part of a Noble, this man was clearly a mage of some variety. He was wearing a long red robe complete with a pointy hat. Stahlia, this is Kell. He teaches the classes in Red Magic. When I told him you were here, he insisted on observing the attribute test; He is skeptical you would be able to learn Red Magic at your age and still be capable of learning others. I glanced at the aforementioned Kell. Incapable of learning? Its not like having one element makes its opposite impossible to learn though I had a feeling Kell was looking down on me for some reason, or perhaps he simply didnt believe what he had been told about me, it was pretty outlandish, to put it mildly. I stood and introduced myself to Kell. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Sir Kell, I am Stahlia von Ris. I look forward to being in your care this year. As Gustav did not introduce him with a title I could assume he was a commoner; however, due to his position as a teacher, he still outranked me. At least in the Academy anyways. Finishing my greeting with a curtsy, Kell looked me over once before nodding. He did not return the introduction. A difficult personality huh? Well, I suppose that just means he must have the skills to get away with it. Gustav, enough dithering. Administer the test so I can get back to my work. Scratch that, hes being outright rude. I glanced at Rowell to make see if he was going to do or say anything. Thankfully it seemed he had opted to let this affront slide; I wasnt sure how strong Kell was, but Rowell was most likely a shadow making him just as strong as my Jacqueline. Now now Kell, I imagine she is going to surprise you. She certainly surprised everyone else shes met today. Kell rolled his eyes and shifted his weight onto his heels, crossing his arms, and shot Gustav a withering glare. Gustav glared back but went about removing the equipment from the box. When I had been tested in Ris, I had been tasked with filling a specific crystal with mana. These crystals were cheap; technically they were the byproduct of refining magic stones. When grasped, it would suck out mana and change color according to your affinity. My crystal had remained the same color as before I grasped it. What Gustav removed from the box, was a small contraption. It had a wide circular base, into which were set six magic stones. Each Magic Stone was colored one of the six colors of magic and was completely opaque. Rising out of the center of the base was a long rod, presumably a handle for me to grip. Setting the device in front of me, Gustav indicated for me to grasp the rod. Reaching out, I took it in my dominant hand. Nothing happened. Gustav, was this device supposed to do something? Yes, when you send mana into the rod, the stones will glow if you have an affinity for that color of magic. Ah, so unlike the crystal test, I have to actually send mana myself. Easy enough. I channeled some of my mana into the rod through my palm. Immediately, all six stones lit up and began emitting six bright lights in their respective colors. Gustav actually fist-pumped when this happened, and Kell uncrossed his arms while leaning forwards. Unbelievable I told you Kell, is she not completely outside the realm of common sense? Kell was shocked, and Gustav was triumphant. Continuing, Gustav elaborated on what had just happened. See Stahlia, I suspected as much. Your tutor presumably administered a crystal test. Those are usually fine, but I was suspicious when you said you had no affinity. It should be impossible to acquire a magic talent without an affinity for that element. This tool is fairly rare; the only one in the Academy belongs to Kell, hence why I had to bring him along. The crystal test will only be effective if you lack an affinity since it changes colors to match the ones you do have. This device will simply display the presence of an affinity. In short, you do not have no affinity you have an affinity for all six colors. Gustav was over the moon with himself, practically shaking from giddiness. Kell was less enthused. Gustav. Do not ignore the Orc in the room. She should not have been able to activate the tool in the first place. Doing so requires Blood Magic. Blood Magic? Where have I heard that term before? Gustav shrugged and nodded. Yes, well I just assumed she probably could, after everything else I have seen today. You just assumed? Kell sighed and then addressed me. Stahlia, what do you know about Blood Magic, and how long have you been able to use it? Me? Using Blood Magic? All I did was move mana like when I use my physical enhancements Right! Blood Magic, Jacqueline said that term once as well, back when I first told her about my enhancements! Jacqueline told me not to tell anyone I could do it, but I thought she just meant for me to keep it as a trump card, is it actually that special? Stil can use it now, and my understanding is that most adventurers can use physical enhancements Um, well, I have been able to enhance myself with mana since I was five, I think? That was a lie, Its been since I was two, but I get the feeling I shouldnt say that Kell gave me a very stern look at that answer. Who taught you? I gulped. Is, is Blood Magic forbidden? I um, well I sort of taught myself Something about Kells demeanor was compelling me to answer more or less honestly. Gustav stepped in on my behalf. Come now Kell, can you not see? You are scaring her. No Stahlia, Blood Magic is not forbidden. You could think of it as the seventh color, it is just very very rare is all. I just assumed you could use it because most all prodigies throughout history could. I see, so I was able to do it all the way back then because of my Prodigy skill. Like a hidden effect or something? I wonder if it has any more hidden effects? Or if any of my other skills have Hidden Effects Blessing of winter outright says it has one, though by virtue of saying it has one it may as well not be hidden Then again, is it really an effect of prodigy? Kell muttered something and rubbed his temples before speaking up again. Whatever. Stahlia, Blood Magic is incredibly rare. Theoretically, anyone can learn it, but for most people, it takes years of training in other schools of magic before you can freely manipulate your own mana. In this Academy, Gustav and I are the only instructors who can use it. You are most assuredly the only student. I would recommend keeping this information to yourself so as to not spark the jealousy of High Nobles. With that said, Kell collected his magic tool and swiftly made his departure. Once he was gone, Gustav smiled. Well, there you have it. Now, since we are already in my office, please, have a seat over here- he indicated a chair in front of his desk -and using this paper, do explain how you solved that question. I grimaced, but with no alternative, I took my seat. Lord Gustav, what do you know about dimensions? Gustav frowned and tapped his forehead with his index finger. Dimensions? You mean like space? I nodded before continuing. Indeed. We inhabit three dimensions, possessing both Length, Width, and Depth. The question assumes this as well; at its core, it was asking for a solution of volume; a measurement of three-dimensional space. However, given the omitted information designed to make the question impossible, solving it as a volume using geometry was impossible. All I did was, rather than solving a single problem of three dimensions, I solved an infinite number of problems that occupied two dimensions. Two dimensions? Infinite Problems? But the answer required an answer of the third dimension, the volume of the region targetable, and I fail to see how you had the time to solve that many problems unless you mean to tell me you can manipulate temporal magic as well. Wait, temporal magic? Is that a thing?! Ill have to look into it later, it sounds really useful. I smiled. Yes, but you can translate a two-dimensional region into three dimensions with a bit of logic; it really is fairly simple once you think about it. He motioned for me to continue. I simply imagined all the possible angles the fireball could be shot in on a flat plane, then translated the plane into three dimensions by spinning it. I used the paper he gave me to sketch three examples; namely, the knight firing the fireball slightly behind him, to his side, and slightly ahead. If he fires behind him, because the wyvern is flying forwards, the fireball will still be traveling forwards just much slower. Therefore, it will be carried into the part of the plane that it could have gotten to by being fired to the side. As such, we can ignore the scenario in which the knight fires behind him. This leaves us two situations; he fired ahead of him at an angle, or straight to the side. Gustav furrowed his brow, it was clear that he understood what I was saying, but he wasnt grasping how the two dimensions would translate into three. Continuing on, I kept up my explanation. Assuming he fires straight to the side, we can predict the interval the fireball will travel over the three seconds; like so. I sketched three points onto the paper and then drew a line connecting them. We can use these three points to find an algebraic formula that expresses the maximum distance the fireball can travel as it relates to the time traveled. I shaded in the region below the line and above the wyverns flight path. Next, we need to determine another set of points, for if the fireball is fired ahead of him at an angle. This can be done by simply adding the speed of the wyvern to the speed and angle of the fireball, fractionally according to the angle it was fired at. I sketched out three more points, one for fifteen degrees, forty-five degrees, and seventy-five degrees. This was easy since fireballs do not suffer air resistance, or the effects of gravity, being magical phenomena, they simply burn mana to counteract those forces and then dissipate once their battery is exhausted. It would have been much harder if he shot an arrow or threw a spear. Now we calculate a second algebraic equation for the line passing through these three points. I shaded in the region for the second line. On a two-dimensional plane, the fireball can wind up anywhere within the shaded region, do you agree? Gustav nodded; I could see he was starting to realize what I had done. The last step is to transform this two-dimensional plane into a three-dimensional space. Imagine if these lines, while preserving their slopes, were rotated around the line formed by the Wyverns flight. You would be left with two cones. Gustav was now watching me very intently. And then you just find the volume of the cones. But how did you establish the radius? I smiled at him. If you can imagine a cone as an infinite number of circles stacked on top of each other, each circle is slightly smaller than the one below it. If that is the case, then the Radius for any given circle would be the equation of the line. All you have to do is solve that equation an infinite number of times, once for each circle, and sum the results. I drew the formula for the area of a circle, pi was a known quantity in this world, due to the math being somewhat advanced relative to the apparent time period. Substituting the line formula for the radius, I then performed an integral of the resulting equation and solved it for the relative regions. By transforming the equation like so, you can solve infinity with only one operation. I cannot explain why it works, I just know that it does. I must apologize for that. Gustav followed along with what I was doing while stroking his chin deep in thought. After a moment, he jumped up and grabbed a piece of paper. Furiously sketching out numbers and equations, I blinked in surprise while watching him. After a half dozen minutes, he spun around, grabbed my hand, and exclaimed. Lady Stahlia, not only alchemy, but I feel like you may have revolutionized mathematics as well! This method of yours is easily ten, not twenty years ahead of the greatest scholars of our age. Not only does this work for cones, but by applying the same principles to other shapes, the necessary calculations for magic can be drastically reduced, not just magic, I imagine this would have applications in industry and economics as well! I mean, yea, calculus would do that ten to twenty years though? Algebra was developed in the ninth century, but Calculus took until the 17th back on earth Honestly, its just surprising that calculus is where this worlds math stopped the logical jump to go from two dimensions to three via rotation isnt all that large I know Im going to regret this, but not explaining how I solved that problem would have been an even worse idea; I cant afford to have the teachers suspicious of me cheating or something. I would rather deal with the fallout of my ballooning reputation than have to put up with my instructors constantly second-guessing me. While he was shaking my hand, I suddenly heard a loud DING and had a series of notification windows display themselves. [Prodigy II] Experience has reached the required threshold. [Prodigy II] has leveled up. [Prodigy III] Acquired. As an effect of acquiring [Prodigy II], the Prodigy Roulette has been spun. Acquired [Eidetic Memory I] as reward from Prodigy Roulette Obsolete Talent [Memorization II] has merged with [Eidetic Memory I]. [Eidetic Memory I] has leveled up. [Eidetic Memory II] Acquired. Wait, this leveled-up Prodigy? I was less than halfway to Prodigy III! I spent so much time getting experience by making new alchemy recipes and techniques, and youre telling me that simply introducing calculus was able to accomplish the same amount of experience in just a few hours?! I knew exactly what I had done as well, presumably because of Eidetic Memory, my memory was now crystal clear; even things that had started to fade over the past ten years, like my Earth Mothers face, were now back in full clarity. I even had memories from my childhood on Earth restored in detail. The sudden rush of memories caused me to groan and rub at my head. Gustav quickly let go of my hand, conveniently misinterpreting my distress. My apologies Stahlia, it seems I have startled you. Still, this truly is remarkable, I cannot wait to see what else you will come up with during your time at the academy. Glancing at the clock, he made note of the time. Dear me, it seems we have spent far too much time in my office; we must hurry and finish your tour or the headmaster will be quite cross with me. Thankfully, despite the fact that I was overwhelmed with the sudden restoration of old memories, Eidetic Memory was still working, and recording information in detail during my tour, so despite my dazed state, I was later able to review everything I had been shown. According to my recollections, after leaving his office I was then rushed around the Mage Halls remaining wings and introduced to the various instructors for each school of magic. I was not shown the wing for Red Magic, as I had already met Professor Kell, though given how the only major difference between each wing seemed to be the scheme of the decorations, I could presume that it was very red, and likely had a lot of fountains. Professor Clarice was the White Magic instructor. She was a bookish woman, very slight, with wispy frazzled auburn hair, and an incredibly large pair of very thick-lensed glasses. She greeted me affably when Lord Gustav introduced me as one of this years Special Students and said she was looking forward to having me in her classes next year. The White Wing reminded me a lot of the temple back in Ris Village, only a lot fancier. Indicative of the religious connotations of white magic in this world, a large statue of the goddess of light dominated the center of the main foyer, and statues of the twelve gods were arrayed around it. It was a bit confusing since White Magic was distinct from Miracles; as far as I was aware, you didnt need to hold strong beliefs to cast White Magic, and thanks to my now exceptional memory I was sure I had not ever heard anything to the contrary. Professor Diggory taught green magic. He was a giant, bald man. Standing nearly eight feet tall, with an incredibly muscular build one would not typically expect of a mage. He was very quiet and said few words, simply acknowledging my introduction and giving his own, polite, noble greetings. According to Lord Gustav, he believed that to grow as a Green Mage, one should endeavor to exhibit the strength of the earth in the way they lived. So hes a taciturn muscle head? Still, the Green Hall was impressive. If not for the roof and walls, I would have thought we were outside. The floor was dirt, with grasses and small trees growing here and there. It gave off the impression of being in a small sparse forest or copse. There was even the sound of birdsong, though I could not spot any of the animals, so whether or not they were really there, or the sound was a magical phenomenon was impossible to determine. The instructor for Yellow Magic was an incredibly handsome man, even I could tell. He was well built but not to large, with perfectly chiseled facial features, and thick lustrous blonde hair. His appearance made sense once he was introduced as His Highness Lord Hector, which would make him a distant relation of the crown. What someone of his pedigree was doing teaching magic at the academy was beyond me and I knew better than to question it, even if I had been in the mental state to do so. He seemed entirely absent from our meeting, likely weighed down by some other matter that was commanding his full attention; even Lord Gustav, as capricious as he seemed to be was able to pick up on this fact and cut our introduction as short as possible before rushing us out of the Yellow Hall. As for the hall itself, the Yellow Hall was strange. It was very quiet. To the point that simply standing in it, I could hear my own heartbeat. It was empty as well, cavernous and barren of seemingly any furniture. Of all the halls, I found this one the most uncomfortable. Lastly, I was introduced to Professor Flit. Flit oversaw Black Magic. Despite the ominous sound name of his station, he was a cheery individual. Black Magic was not after all, inherently evil, it simply had the capacity for evil much like any other power. He was somewhat on the short side for a man, and fairly plain looking. He greeted me warmly, more outwardly friendly than any of the other professors had been, save for Lord Gustav, however, I could see me getting along with Professor Flit much more easily than Lord Gustav. This was due to the fact that, while Lord Gustav was exceedingly friendly, he was also exceedingly energetic. In contrast, Professor Flit seemed incredibly well adjusted and easygoing. The Black Hall stood out in how it did not stand out; whereas each hall seemed to be an eccentric take on the idea that magic should look magic, the Black Hall seemed like your average school building or university lecture building. It was well organized, with clearly marked classrooms, study areas, and even a library. I had half a mind to go back to Percius and request to be put into Black Magic this year as opposed to next. All in all, the professors, except Flit, seemed to be a collection competing over the title of Kingdoms biggest weirdo, and their respective Halls were a reflection of this. At the conclusion of our tour, the Academy Bell Tower was signaling the time as nearly 5:00pm, and Lord Gustav escorted Rowell and me to the exit of the Mages Hall. Waiting for me by the entrance of the hall, were Giogi and Dominic. Giogi looked somewhat disgruntled and shot a glare towards Sir Rowell. I had to imagine he had been told about his being more or less replaced. For his part, Dominic was nonplussed. Sir Rowell gave a bow towards Giogi. I must imagine you are the Knight-in-Training Giogi. I am Sir Rowel, I will be guarding our lady at the academy and I look forward to working with you. Giogis mood visibly improved and he introduced himself with gusto. Lady Stahlia, how did you find the Academy? Dominic had observed my guards interaction but now turned his attention to me. I found it thoroughly engaging, I am greatly looking forward to my time here. Are we to head straight back to the Estate now? He gave me an amused nod. Indeed, it seems my sister has done something unique with your pet cat, and mother is beside herself Uh-oh What on earth has Elienor been doing with Pet?! Its not even been a full day! We traveled back to the estate via carriage. Upon arriving Dominic escorted me down from the carriage and I was met with the sight of Elienor and Pet standing side by side. Pet had been dressed in a small maid uniform and had a pink bow tied onto the end of her tail. Elienor gave her a firm nudge, and Pet stepped forward. After taking a deep breath and exhaling once, She picked up her skirt slightly and executed a near-perfect curtsy. Excuse me what? Pet was living in a literal cage until yesterday, how in the world? I looked back at Elienor. Lady Elienor, what did you do? Elienor shook her head and flashed a smirk. I have no idea what you mean, I merely taught her to give a greeting; shes a surprisingly quick learner. I was about to retort when Lady Margeritte came out of the house. Stahlia dear, do come inside and join me for tea. I wish to know the circumstances behind this slave. She wasnt smiling, but her tone and eyes seemed neutral. I dont think shes mad at me. I chanced a glance at Dominic and he gave me a knowing smirk. You asshole. Ill bet you know exactly how this happened! Hell, you probably put her up to it! Very well Lady Margeritte, allow me to accompany you. We separated for a time to allow me to change out of my school attire and into a different, but equally annoying to put on, dress. When I reconvened with Margeritte and Elienor Jacqueline had returned from her trip into the city and was attending me, while Lucy served tea to everyone. Technically, since one of the servants assigned to me is the one doing the serving, doesnt that mean Im the host here? Fortunately, Margeritte didnt seem to think so, as she quickly took a sip of her tea before addressing Elienor and me. Now, what exactly is going on? Lady Stahlia, Dominic had informed me that you had taken a liking to a young slave when the two of you went out, I was not expecting a cat though. And you Elienor, why are you dressing up such a filthy creature? I grimaced internally. So she isnt at all wondering about the manners Pet learned in a single morning and afternoon but is instead surprised that Pet is a beast-kin? Elienor seemed to agree with me, however, unlike myself, she wasnt as keen on hiding her internal thoughts. But mum, isnt Pet just the cutest little thing? Especially with that bow in her tail! Ok yea, and Elienor isnt much better am I the only one who has noticed just how damn strange it is to have learned manners so well so quickly? I frowned. First I had to set the record straight; I hadnt taken a liking to a young slave, that was her son. As I was preparing to set the record straight, I recalled the nauseating experience shortly after re-enabling my Empathy. Thanks to my new [Eidetic Memory II] having rendered my existing memories into 4k Ultra HD, I was intimately reminded of exactly how I had felt looking at Pet without the capacity to feel Empathy. I swallowed my objections and grit my teeth. Yes Lady Margeritte, while I was accompanying Lord Dominic into the city we briefly stopped so that he could fulfill some business for Lord Nikolaus. While there, when I saw Pet, I was overcome by memories of my late sister. You were never blessed with the opportunity to meet Lady Rosial. Apart from the ears and tail, Pet is the spitting image of my late sister. I impulsively asked Dominic to acquire her for me. I paused my bullshit to gauge her reaction before continuing. Seeing that she was listening attentively, I put on my full power little girls eyes while banking on [Blue Blooded] and my own innate charm. I must admit that I find it comforting to have her in my presence, due to that similarity. If it would cause you no trouble might I be permitted to keep her in the guest house? I closed my mouth and formed my lips into a soft smile while tilting my head ever so slightly. After a moment, Margeritte broke out into a smile of her own. Oh, how could I say no to a request like that? I had heard how close you were to your late younger sister; if this cat helps you to deal with such a hole in your heart then I will permit you to keep her by all means. However, do try to keep Elienor away from her; I fear that animals can be a bad influence. I mean, Pets manners are better than Elienors from what I can tell As if to prove my point, the young lady in question saw fit at that moment to announce her discontent with her mothers decision. Buuutttt Mooooaaam! No buts, Elienor. While Lady Stahlia has a decent enough reason, you have none. A young noble lady should not be interacting with a beast person for no good reason. At this point, the tea party devolved into an argument between Elienor and Margeritte. I used my stealth talent to somewhat hide my presence in order to avoid drawing either of their attention while I sipped my tea. That evening, finally released and back in my room, I came up with an excuse to send away Lucy and Frieda so that the only remaining occupants were Jacqueline, me, Stil, and Pet. Jacqueline and I were accomplices, so I could of course trust her, and Stil couldnt talk in the first place. Even if he could, he was fiercely loyal to me so I felt he could be trusted. This left Pet, who I had only known for a couple days. Im going to hate myself for this Jacqueline handed me a cup of tea while I mulled over how best to approach the new issue. Pet. The young catkin looked up at the sound of my voice, her eyes were slightly fearful; my tone had been a bit steely. Pet, this is an order; you will not share any information discussed here tonight with anyone not already in this room. Is that clear? She briefly tensed up and flinched. I could see a faint glow coming off her neck and from under her clothes near her heart; proof that the contract magic had been invoked. Pet understands mistress. Ah right, that was a thing. Right, yea no. When its only the people in this room, you dont have to call me that, you can call me whatever you want. Of course, when there are other people you need to call me Mistress as Dominic told you, in order to avoid problems. Pet paused with her mouth open. After a moment she smiled and stood up before giving me another near-perfect curtsy. Thank you, Nee-san! "Huwa?!" I had just been taking a sip of the tea Jacqueline handed me, and wound up doing a spit take. Nee-san? Like, the weeb thing? what the hell, doesn''t that mean something like "older sister"? How the fuck did a weeb term from Earth wind up in this world, is it just a beast-kin thing? There''s also her manners being so perfect all of a sudden, I need to figure out what the hell is going on with that. I grimaced, but I wasnt about to get irritated about what she chose to call me so soon after telling her she could call me whatever she wanted. I gave Pet the food I had prepared earlier and turned my attention to Jacqueline, who I caught watching us with a warm expression. Noticing my gaze and raised eyebrow, she quickly wiped the expression off her face and returned to a look of business professionalism. Ahem. I take it you are ready for my report then, my lady? I nodded and prompted her to get on with it. Right. [########]. Regarding the matter spoken of by Aaron in Fess, I havent found very much. Only some references in a journal I found in the main house, to a certain adventurer being close friends with the Francois eldest son Nietzsche. As far as the Order facilities in the city, I visited the ones I could get into freely that I had a plausible reason for stopping by; there are others, but they will have to be infiltrated so it will take me more time. Regarding the ones I did visit, there were no signs of Lady Rosial. I nodded, I hadnt been expecting a sudden break so soon after arriving. Though I couldnt help myself from turning gloomy. As if picking up on my mood shift, Jacqueline was quick to continue. That being said, it was not entirely fruitless; I did find a document in a military supply depot the Order uses as a front for moving questionable materials. It was dated the month after Lady Rosial was taken and references a shipment of two hundred thirty-six Mountain Lilies, three hundred eleven Blood Roses, and five Kingsbane. She was beaming me with a reassuring smile as if that nonsensical report was supposed to cheer me up. Why would that document have been anything important enough to report to me? Sure Kingsbane is rare, but Mountain Lilies and Blood Roses arent particularly special Kingsbane was a virulent poison in its own right, and when alchemically refined it was one of the main ingredients of Grave Oil; something I already knew the Order used in large quantities. Mountain Lilies, on the other hand, were incredibly common. As were Blood Roses, which could be harvested anywhere a large amount of blood had been shed, such as the numerous old battlefields that dotted the militaristic Kingdom of Drakas. Mountain Lilies could be used in the production of face cream, perfume, and other beauty products, young girls would often stick them in their hair as an ornament And blood roses are collected by boys out exploring battlefields in search of treasure or odd trinkets. I opened my eyes wide in realization. Jacqueline nodded. I thought you would figure it out. Indeed, Mountain Lilies is an Order code word meaning Young Girl while Blood Rose means Young Boy. Five Kingsbane is the obfuscated signature of Five. In other words, that supply manifest really means that the Order is accepting a shipment of two hundred thirty-six girls, three hundred eleven boys, and it was all authorized by five. Jacqueline, did this report say where they were being taken to? She nodded. A building in the slums of the capital, I did go and check it out briefly but it has since fallen into disrepair and is no longer in use. I clenched my fists. On one hand, I was ecstatic; after two years I had a lead. On the other hand, it looked like it had already turned into a dead end. Still, it does prove one thing; Rosial was here. Jacqueline shook my shoulder to get my attention. One other thing to keep in mind, Lady Stahlia Those numbers are extreme In any given year, the total number of initiates is less than a hundred combined, boys and girls. Something might have happened to cause the Order to need a lot more recruits If thats the case, I normally would have been informed I gulped at the possible implications of Jacqueline having been left out of the loop. Right, and I have something to share with you about the Academy. I think theyve assigned another Shadow to watch me there. A young knight who calls himself Rowell. Psycholor Plus, the ending felt really good, with Jacqueline''s implication coupled to Stahlia telling her about the suspected new Shadow... It just comes off as a really good "BAM" moment to end a chapter on. Pet''s scene will be the opening of next chapter. 2-6 School Social Psycholor Stahlia Ten Years Old, Second Month of 947 One other thing to keep in mind, Lady Stahlia Those numbers are extreme In any given year, the total number of initiates is less than a hundred combined, boys and girls. Something might have happened to cause the Order to need a lot more recruits If thats the case, I normally would have been informed I gulped at the possible implications of Jacqueline having been left out of the loop. Right, and I have something to share with you about the Academy. I think theyve assigned another Shadow to watch me there. A young knight who calls himself Rowell. I grimaced, the implications were indeed frightening. Jacqueline fell silent with a pensive look on her face. In any case, there isnt much we can do about it right now, is there? Jacqueline nodded at my assertion. In that case, there is one last thing that needs to be done tonight. Pet, could you come here, please? Pet looked up from her now empty plate. She looked a bit scared, but wasnt in pain; I had phrased my request as such so that it wouldnt activate the compelling force of our contract. After a moment, Pet stood up and walked over to me. Thank you. Pet, would you, would you let me check something about you really quick? It might feel strange but I promise it wont hurt. I neglected to do this with Rosial because I was afraid she would ask awkward questions and my secret would get out. With Pet though, I can rest assured she wont tell anyone. Thats one benefit of the slave magic I guess I felt my stomach twist up a little. After a moment of hesitation, Pet nodded. I smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring way and slowly reached out my hand towards her. Feeling her warmth against my palm, I instinctively started rubbing my hand on her, gently of course. After a moment, Pet got a funny look on her face and started purring softly, an action that caused her to turn beat red. Adorable. I started rubbing a little more aggressively, but still taking care to be gentle; I didnt want to hurt or scare her. Pet gave a sharp yelp. Nee-San, My head feels funny! I nodded. Dont worry, it will feel better soon, were almost done. After another moment of petting Pet, I felt her resistances fail completely, and my mana was able to flow into her unobstructed. Her information appeared in a menu window for me to peruse. Name/Age: Pet, 4 Species/Level: Beast-kin[Ebony Cat Tribe], 4 Ability Values: Special: Slave(Owner: Stahlia von Ris) Skills: Envious*, Language Proficiency[Central Human], Language Proficiency[Central Beastkin] I gave Pet one last head rub before removing my hand. She looked a bit disappointed. Well, it looks a lot like when I check Stil. I havent checked a person other than the boys back in Ris, but this matches up with what I could see then, in fact, this showing me skills and species/level info means its showing more information than it did back then. Probably has something to do with the Special section. Both Pet and Stil are magically linked to me. Her stats were impressive for a level four, but when you took into account it came at the cost of having basically no mana, it didnt seem overpowered. Blood Magic let me easily match and overpower these numbers, even when I was her level, and there were chanted spells that could do something similar to my own enhancement. I did note that her Dexterity was one grade higher than the other stats, indicating that the plus one boost from being female still applied even to demi-humans. Ebony Cat Tribe huh. I wonder if thats a rare one? I know the beast-kin in this world tend to group up into large clans, but Drakas doesnt keep records of which subtypes are more numerous since they see them all as abominations. Cats are Cats, Dogs are Dogs, and Rabbits are a plague is the general sense of this shitty kingdom. I turned my attention to the main stand-out feature, that is to say, her single skill Envious. The name is a bit scary. It makes me think of Envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. With my heart in my throat, I focused on Envious, causing the description window to appear. Envious(500LP): One of the Sin skills. User can obtain a copy of any Talent they witness. Acquired Talents will be the lowest level. Repeated observation of a Talent that is a higher rank than the user''s will yield Talent Experience. Use of this skill progresses user towards Demonization[Demon of Envy]. I swung my head around and stared at Pet. She was holding both hands on her head with a faint smile on her face. Noticing my gaze, she looked up at me. What the hell? Why does she have a skill thats going to turn her into a fucking demon?! Pet how did you learn to do that curtsy? Pet cocked her head sideways and answered innocently. Elienor-Sama was showing Pet how to act properly. Pet wanted to impress you but couldnt do it right. Then Pet got really upset, and then *BAM*! Pet could do it properly. Elienor-Sama said Pet was very clever! The smile she beamed at me didnt have a single hint of any ill intent. Also, Elienor-Sama the fuck? I chose to ignore the weeb speak, for now, and focus on the bigger issue. Just like *BAM*? Pet nodded. Right, thats probably Envious getting activated, she probably has no idea about it, so she cant explain properly. I briefly considered giving her an order to speak truthfully, but doing that would almost certainly destroy the trust I had managed to build up in the past couple of days. For better or worse, she really reminded me of Rosial, I didnt want her to hate me. The line about her becoming a demon was a bit scary, but much like the issues with the Order, there wasnt much I could do about it right now. Alright, well that was everything. I have the school social tomorrow so I should probably sleep early. Jacqueline nodded and started preparing my bed. As I started pulling at some of the fastenings holding my clothes together, I felt a small tug at my skirt hem. Glancing over, I saw Pets small hand tugging at me. Can can Pet sleep with you Nee-San? Her upturned eyes reminded me of Rosial, and I felt my heart melting. I bit my lip. That That wouldnt be a good idea If Frieda or Lucy were to find you in the bed, they might do something bad Pets eyes started to tear up a bit at the corners, enhancing her begging by a factor of a thousand. Ugh. Fine. But only for tonight alright? Of course, I was under no illusions that it would be only for tonight. Pet used beg! It was super effective! As I was preparing to fall asleep, Jacqueline approached me. "One more thing Lady Stahlia. You will likely meet the King during the Entrance Ceremony, when that happens make sure to watch out for..." What she told me was indeed quite frightening. I''m so glad I have such a knowledgeable vassal! A nondescript location, later that night I was kneeling with my head down, waiting for him to arrive. I was both thrilled and terrified. We did not usually make our reports in person, let alone to this man. I checked and rechecked myself. Of course, my effects were in perfect order, I was no amateur. The routine of going over my equipment simply helped to calm my nerves. Before long, he arrived. I quickly lowered my head upon confirming his entrance. You may make your report. I dared not raise my head but quickly began talking lest this great personage grows irritated. As you command, Lord Five. I successfully made contact with the target. I believe she noticed me, so garnering her sympathies should prove simple enough. However, I can only follow her in and around the academy due to my cover. Will this be adequate? Lord Five nodded. Yes, that will suffice. I have other eyes on her at the Francois Estate. I dared to risk a peek at his lordships visage. Not the eyes of that traitor? Lord Five shot me a glare and I quickly lowered my head again. No. Not Jacqueline. Someone far superior to her in every regard. Do you question me? At his inquiry, I suddenly felt a chill, the chill of cold steel being pressed against my throat. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a small hand gripping the blade, as well as a flash of black hair. I gulped instinctively. No, I do not question you, my Lord. He nodded. Good. My word is absolute. 23, release them. I felt the pressure of the knife abate at his command. Remember, the target intends to destroy this kingdom and one of our own, your sister, is aiding her. My heart filled with anger at the thought. Please permit me to simply remove them, my Lord. No. His voice was suddenly very cold. Your target still has her uses, you will simply watch her, for now. Tch. Killing her would be so simple though Yes my Lord, my blade is yours to command. Of course it is. With those parting words, I felt his presence vanish. After a moment to collect myself, and calm my heart, I stood up and departed. It would be a big day at school tomorrow. That 23 is so lucky though directly serving our lord every day, I wish I was in her position. Contrary to my expectations, Lucy did not say anything about Pets location when she came to my room the next morning. Rather, she seemed to find the sight of the young catkin clinging to my side and trapping me from getting up early to train endearing. I was not, however, without problems. Jacqueline, what is this? Jacqueline glanced over from where she was preparing my school uniform. That would be a Bra, Stahlia. You wear it around your chest. No shit. I know what it is! Why did you give me one? Jacqueline smiled at me. So that you could wear it. I groaned. But why do I have to wear it? Jacqueline just shook her head. Lady Stahlia, you are ten years old, you need to start practicing certain things now or you will regret it later. Besides the fact that you are entering school marks a good turning point in your life. She seemed utterly convinced that I should wear this thing. But what about my other goals? A Bra would just get in the way! Ill use a wrap. Jacqueline shook her head. No, you would be surprised Stahlia, a properly fitted Bra will not get in the way of fighting at all; I wear one myself. I smiled, she had unwittingly given me an out! Ah, but I do not recall you ever taking my measurements! Therefore this Bra is not fitted properly! What if I get attacked and have to fight? It might chafe and distract me. Jacqueline shook her head. I eyeballed it. In your case, it wasnt hard to guess accurately since youve barely started growing. I felt my cheeks grow red and instinctively covered my chest with my hands. Now that Im properly feeling it, I think I have started growing Ill be bigger eventually! Wait, why do I care about that!? In the end, I did wind up wearing the proffered article of underwear. It felt incredibly awkward having something clinging onto my chest under my bodice. I had been mostly ignoring my new gender and any issues it presented had been minor inconveniences at worst. Indeed, the biggest struggle was using the bathroom getting dressed dealing with strangers actually, there were a lot of inconveniences. Now that I was being confronted by a constant reminder squeezing my torso, I was finding it hard to focus on things other than my gender. Case in point, when I entered the yard to take the carriage to the Academy, Dominic was there to greet me. As soon as my eyes met his, I suddenly felt very conscious of the fact that I was now starting to develop in certain aspects. Dominic seemed to pick up on the fact that I was feeling a bit distressed and quickly came up to me, offering his hand. Lady Stahlia, are you perhaps feeling ill? I couldnt help but break off our eye contact. N-no, I am quite alright. I am simply nervous regarding the social today. Dominics expression went wide-eyed for a moment before a smile broke out across his face. For some reason, he seemed absolutely thrilled. Ah, is that so? Worry not, I am sure everyone present will love you. He again offered his hand, it was clear that I would not be able to avoid taking it. Reluctantly, I took his hand and allowed him to escort me to the carriage. After all, you look absolutely stunning in your dress today. I felt a shiver run up my spine. Of course, there was no way he would know about the recent addition to my wardrobe, but having my appearance complimented now of all times was doing wonders for my recently deteriorating self-image. I managed a half-smile and thanked him for the compliment in the firmest voice I could muster before boarding my carriage. I-is that so? T-thank you, Lord Dominic. His smile stretched out even further, I was beginning to think he might be messing with me on purpose. Of course my Lady, your smile is radiant today as usual. Not once did he blink while helping me up onto the carriage. Ugh. Why are boys so creepy? Wait, I was a boy once too! Blegh! Ive been wearing panties for nine years now! Why is it a fucking bra of all things that makes me feel so uncomfortable! Of course, deep down, I knew it wasnt the bra in and of itself that was making me feel this way. It was the fact that I had just been suddenly confronted with the fact that my body was starting to mature. I had always known this would happen eventually, I thought I was comfortable with it, but apparently not so much. We arrived at the school without much further distraction. I was greeted at the gate by Rowell, my guard knight, and suspected shadow, who stood by when Dominic helped me down from the carriage. The number of people watching this from the sidelines was quite uncomfortable, to say the least. Entering the main hall, I was greeted with the sight of nearly three thousand students, the vast majority of them the children of various nobles. The room itself was gigantic, outside of assemblies like this one, I couldnt see a real use for it. The decorations were likewise impressive, banners depicting the crest of the royal family, as well as smaller flags with the crests of the five dukes decorated each wall. The cloth was a rich dark red, similar to our school uniforms, but one could easily tell that it was far higher quality. Those banners probably cost more apiece than Ris Villages GDP. There was even a full orchestra towards the front of the room, playing music that to my ears sounded vaguely classical, but some of the instruments were strange. I could see what looked like the ones you would expect to see; violins and cellos, trumpets and trombones, a piano. Of course, they didnt look exactly like the ones in my memories, but it was close enough you could reasonably call them as such. But I could also see instruments I wouldnt have ever expected to see in an orchestral arrangement; there was a set of bongos keeping the rhythm, a kind of stringed instrument I was pretty sure was called a biwa, and even something that vaguely resembled a kazoo of all things. I mean, the music still sounds pretty good even considering the arrangement is a bit Its honestly more weird that I didnt know about these instruments beforehand; my memory is perfect now, and yet I cant recall either of my parents even once mentioning or trying to get me to learn music isnt that something noble children are supposed to learn? Off to one side of the room, was a line of very large tables all laden down with extravagant dishes. I could recognize a few of them; they were somewhat similar to things I had been served at the Francois Estate. Others I could somewhat guess as to their identities; for instance, the one towards the far end appeared to be an entire Direwolf whole roasted. The smell coming off of the table was delightful, and I could feel my mouth watering slightly. Dominic was greeted by a group of boys roughly his age, whereupon he introduced me as his fianc, before making an excuse and leaving me alone. He looked apologetic about it, however, in my current mental state, I would greatly prefer if he were to stay as far away as possible. I managed an awkward smile and bid him a farewell before stepping back and placing my back against the wall. Every so often, someone would come up and introduce themselves; various faculty who wanted to show their face to the new Special Student or students, curious about the first year garnering so much attention from the teachers. Of course, the kids who had been in my testing group were interested in me for their own reasons. At least in their case, I could recognize some of them by face if not by name. A couple of them even managed the feat of standing out; namely, the commoner girl and the daughter of a duke who had been sitting near me during the tests. Most of the students in my year, that is to say, those students who had just become students, were still grouped together according to their social positions. This line blurred a bit in the higher years, but from what I could tell, gazing in from the sidelines as I was, it never went away entirely. These two, however, the commoner and the high noble girl, seemed to be discussing something animatedly with each other. Curious, I strained my ears. You heard right? They have opted to make one of the incoming first-years a Special Student right away! Its you, isnt it? Lady Edith. The commoner girl seemed impressively close to the noble, considering her status. According to my memory, thats Edith von Claurence. Her father is the regent of the Northern territory. No, Sar, it is not me. I do believe it is that Barons daughter Stahlia von Ris was her name. The one who caused the stir among the first princes faction with her engagement to the Francois third son. Edith shot a pointed look at me, making eye contact. It would seem that my eavesdropping was noticed but whats this about an incident among the first Princes faction? I thought the Francois family were in the Third Princes oh. Without anything else to do, and based on the gestures Edith was making with her line of sight, I made my way over to the two of them. Pleased to make your acquaintance, I am Stahlia von Ris, first daughter of Baron Ris. I addressed my greeting towards Edith and gave her a full curtsey. Towards the commoner Sar, I inclined my head. Even with the supposed ban on rank-based actions at the school when in doubt it was better to go with convention and I had no way of knowing how Edith might react to a casual greeting. Edith raised an eyebrow before quickly introducing herself. I am Edith von Claurence. This is Sarala, a friend who came with me from my fathers domain. Everyone is equal here, Stahlia. Call me Edith. Edith was just a bit taller than me, just enough so that I had to lightly bend back my head to meet her eyes. Though, come to think of it, so was Sarala. Are we really in the same year? I also made note of the fact that both girls had a visible, albeit faint bulge to their chests. Something that I definitely wouldnt have noticed, and in fact did not notice, yesterday. Damnit, Jacqueline! This damn piece of cloth is making me so self-conscious! Still, the fact that Sarala was considered a friend, and not a servant or attendant, of Ediths. Despite the latters social position, spoke volumes of Ediths character. It might be worth it to try and befriend her. The Claurence family is staying neutral in the cold war conflict between the Princes, so they get access to a lot of information I wouldnt be so easily capable of getting for myself. It was also worth a wager, that if Edith really was so kind, then I could eventually confront her with the truth of the kingdom and gain a true ally. For that though, I would have to be very careful and be sure to vet her out completely. I put on an awkward smile and nodded. In that case, by all means. Please call me Stahlia. Edith nodded started asking me all kinds of questions about growing up in Ris Village. As she herself had grown up in a large city, she was greatly curious about the conditions of a veritable frontier village, and how such an environment would have produced someone like myself. Sarala, on the other hand, seemed to retreat a bit from the conversation once Edith and I got going. I suppose, even if she is technically a friend, it must be incredibly awkward for Sarala to be caught in the conversation between two nobles like this I decided I should do something to try and make her feel more at ease around me, since based on my earlier observations she was perfectly at ease around just Edith. Sarala, we keep talking about me, but you must be very impressive yourself, to be allowed to follow Edith to all the way to the Academy. Very briefly, I caught a look of irritation flash across Saralas face. Hmm? Does she not like being addressed? As I was pondering if I might have said something wrong, I recalled my earlier eavesdropping; despite being at the academy where status supposedly didnt matter, and Edith being her friend, Sarala still referred to her as Lady Edith. Ah, its like that then. With my newfound realization, I turned to Edith. Is that right Lady Edith? Sarala must be quite talented herself. Edith nodded, and began telling me all about Saralas early accomplishments. Out of the corner of my eye, I noted that the irritation had vanished from Saralas face, and she in fact now looked quite embarrassed. Indeed, Sarala is very talented; by the time she was four years old, she had already acquired Fire Magic I, Ice Magic I, and Shadow Magic I. As of the new year, her Shadow Magic has become Darkness Magic I, and her Fire Magic has nearly become Flame Magic! Ediths eyes were sparkling as she described her friend. For my part, I was equally impressed. I had the Prodigy skill-boosting my own abilities, and I had struggled for nearly two years to get Fire Magic I, but Sarala had apparently gotten three magic talents by the time she was four. I turned to Sarala with a gleam in my eye. Considering my goal to translate the magic language, I need to get Sarala to be my friend. I was about to start asking her questions, when there was a loud chime from the front of the room, near where a full orchestra was entering. Sarala snapped her head towards the sound and exclaimed; Oh look! Something else, let us focus on it, Lady Stahlia, Lady Edith! Her ears were still quite red. I see shes weak to being praised, Ill have to remember that for operation Win Saralas friendship. Up at the front of the room and speaking into a magic tool to project his voice, I recognized Percius. Thank you to all of our students and Alumni who could attend our welcome banquet for this years newest crop of young talents! He paused and looked around the room. It is with great pleasure that I lead you all in welcoming them all. The room erupted into applause, as several of the new students looked around bashfully, me included when I noticed a group of boys that were watching Edith and me with an uncomfortable intensity. As is the tradition in our fine institute of meritocracy, I will commence tonights festivities by announcing the top three incoming students. The rest of you will have to wait until tomorrow to learn your rankings. Oh fuck. Im definitely on the shortlist I swallowed and did my best to prepare myself for the unwanted attention. Placing third in the placement examinations with a score of sixty-two, I present Edgar von Strappe, first son Count Strappe. Applause filled the room again at those words. Looking around, I was able to spot a boy who was having his back clapped by those around him. I could vaguely recall seeing him in my own testing. Sixty-two though? Assuming thats out of a hundred, what the hell? Were those tests really supposed to be so difficult? Percius called for silence, and the applause abated. Placing second, with a score of seventy exact, I present Sarala, daughter of Mira. A rare case of a commoner woman managing to place so highly, our institution is pleased to welcome her among our ranks! The applause was a bit more subdued following this announcement, presumably, it was very rare for a commoner to rank highly at all, let alone second place. But Sarala is the friend of Edith, so she has the backing of one of the five duke families. That should help shield her a bit once the word gets out. Indeed, among those not clapping, were the boys surrounding Edgar. Each of them was watching my group of three girls, specifically Sarala, with fairly obvious jealousy and hostility. Its a bit strange that they know who she is, considering shes a commoner This must be an example of Ediths influence, as well as a testament to how much of an achievement it is to learn three magic talents so early. Let alone getting an evolved magic talent. I glanced at Sarala out of the corner of my eye; I didnt want to look at her directly, lest she thinks I was staring like so many others were. Indeed, she was certainly embarrassed, her face was red and she had slid slightly behind Edith as if trying to hide in her shadow. Again, Percius called for silence, and again the applause abated. Here it comes. I took a deep breath, clenched my jaw, and squared my shoulders. Coming in first place, and setting a new record for the academy with a perfect score of one hundred. I present Special Student Stahlia von Ris, first daughter of Baron Ris and fianc of Dominic von Francois, third son of Count Francois. There was no applause. Rather, everyone was looking around at each other with confusion on their faces. I see Edith really does have good ears, apparently, very few people knew about me ahead of time. Suddenly, Edith exclaimed from behind me, in a voice that carried due to the silence. Congratulations Stahlia! Thats a remarkable achievement! Instantly, several heads snapped around and zeroed in on us. Wait, did they not even know what I looked like? But they knew Saralas appearance? Or was it that they knew she would be near Edith? Several of the boys in my year, and even some older students and one or two of the teachers were now eying me with a frankly, revolting expression. Like a wolf looking at a lamb. I shifted uncomfortably. What the hell, Im ten!? That guy over there looks older than my dad! Suddenly, I felt my hand get grabbed and tugged to something warm. Due to my mental state, I failed to offer much resistance. Glancing in that direction, I saw Edith had pulled my hand into her chest, which I couldnt help noting as possessing much more defined lumps than my own. Despite being the same age, why the hell are hers bigger? Wait, what am I thinking?! Ignoring my inner turmoil, Edith again spoke up in a voice that I now realized was intended to carry through the room. I am so glad to have had the chance to make you my friend Stahlia! I see, she knew that people would eventually come to know who I am, predicted the reaction, and decided to publicly announce me herself, all while insinuating her and I were close, thus placing me under her protection! The sudden wave of realization washed over me, blowing the fog out of my mind and causing my opinion of Edith to shoot up several hundred points immediately. Indeed, following Ediths announcement, a wave of whispers passed through the room and the majority of those carnivores who had been eyeballing me turned their gazes elsewhere. Thank you, Lady Edith. I whispered in a small voice, employing a trick Jacqueline had taught me to speak without visibly moving my lips. Edith responded using a similar technique, though I didnt find that particularly odd; it was useful for nobles as well as assassins, and she was a dukes daughter. Of course, Stahlia. We are friends after all. She gave a small smile before nodding her chin slightly in a direction. Though I suppose I should turn you over, Dominic is making his way over to us. I looked, and indeed, Dominic was sliding through the crowd and making his way towards us. Lady Edith, might I request you hand my fianc over to me? The first dance shall be commenced shortly. Edith nodded and passed my hand over to Dominic. Dont just hand my hand to him! At least let go and let me give it to him myself I already know I wont be able to avoid dancing at least once. Dominic took my hand, and held it up at around the height of my shoulder, such that our elbows were slightly bent. Before he led me away, he addressed Edith one more time. I must say Lady Edith, that was an interesting scene to witness. Do pass along a message to your father from mine. Without actually saying anything about what said message really was, Dominic led me towards a space in the room that was largely devoid of people. I feel like I just witnessed something really important What the hell was that about, and what does he mean by message? I tuned out the surroundings and focused inwards. I abused my Eidetic Memory skill to replay the full sequence of events, as well as everything I knew about Edith and the Claurence house. After about a minute of realtime analysis, I realized what I had likely just witnessed. Edith is the first daughter of Duke Claurence. As such, even though shes a woman and thus has less political power than her brothers, her actions still hold a lot of weight. The Claurence and Percius houses have thus far maintained neutrality in the succession cold war, while the other three dukes have each chosen to back a different prince. The Ris house is likewise neutral, despite my father receiving the favor of the third prince, we hold too little influence for our allegiance to mean anything, thus we have been largely ignored. But I am currently set to marry into the Francois house, one of the strongest Count families. By declaring that Stahlia is my friend in front of so many nobles and their children, Edith basically declared that the Claurence House is no longer neutral, and is now planning to back the third prince. I shuddered at the realization that I had just witnessed a single move on the political chessboard, and yet this move was likely going to sway the future of the entire kingdom. And Im directly in the eye of the storm. I was torn from my thoughts when Dominic turned to face me. Well Stahlia, might I have the pleasure of this dance? I couldnt stop myself from flinching slightly at the idea, but I was able to prevent a look of complete disgust at the thought of being held close in his arms. I-It would be my pleasure, Dominic. Too late, I realized I had called him familiarly, it had been a reflex response to him doing the same with me, despite the fact that we were in public and there were other couples preparing to dance all around us. My face turned slightly red and I had to glance away. I heard a nearby noble girl let out a small squeal before her own partner turned her away. The dance turned to be, unfortunately, one of the slow romantic type ones where the male would lead and hold the female close to his chest. I also couldnt back out by saying that I didnt know the steps, as this was one of the dances I had been taught by my mother during one of her bouts of you need to be a proper young lady! training. As we danced, Dominic leaned forward just a bit, close enough that he could speak directly into my ear without being heard. Unsurprisingly, he was also speaking without moving his lips. Stahlia, I do apologize that I left you alone. Had I known Lord Percius was going to do that I wouldnt have left your side like that. I was spun away from him in a move similar to a step in a waltz, before being pulled back and landing into his chest. I was startled by how firm it was, and I felt my heartbeat quicken slightly. What the hell?! Youre just working up a sweat from the dance Stahlia. Nothing to worry about. You arent attracted to this jerk! If I had been with you, none of those men would dare have laid such eyes on you. I will pull some favors and arrange for you to receive a greater degree of protection. His tone was surprisingly cold. Glancing up I could see he had set his jaw, and was staring directly at one of the older men who had been looking at me earlier. No, its ok I- He cut me off. No I must insist Stahlia, because of my negligence, this has blown out into a political affair involving the forces that move the country. If I dont move appropriately, then our engagement may be dissolved I dont want to lose you. I was being held close enough to his chest that I could feel his heartbeat. It was calm and steady, and despite our exertion, he was not visibly sweating. He Hes serious?! What the hell did I do that would make him fall for me like this?! My cheeks turned crimson, and I had to fight the urge to hide them by burying my face in his chest. What the hell is going on with me? Theres no way wearing a bra for the first time should make me like this! Its just a piece of fucking cloth! The rest of the day ball passed without much else of note. After my absolutely embarrassing dance with Dominic, I was able to excuse myself from him with the age-old classic excuse of I need to go pick some flowers. When I returned to my previous location, Edith had stepped to the dance floor and was currently dancing with the number three. Based on his facial expressions, I could only imagine he was being warned off Sarala. Sarala as well had left. Based on her personality, I could only assume she had hidden away from shyness, due to Edith having stepped to the dance floor. I slunk over to the food table and selected a few items, relying on my stealth talent to ward off any potential approaches. Unsurprisingly, Rowell had no issues continuing to follow me, despite me actively hiding my presence. As the event wore on, I was able to calm down somewhat. It helped that, other than Rowell, nobody was paying me any attention anymore. But seriously. What the hell is going on with me? The only thing that changed since yesterday was Jacqueline giving me that fucking bra, which caused me to notice my body started changing a little. I groused to myself as I picked at a dessert tart. As I was putting the last piece of tart in my mouth, it hit me. Its fucking puberty! This whole time, Ive been able to more or less deal with my gender by just ignoring it, but now my hormones are starting to go out of whack, and Jacqueline confronting me with that bra made me extra sensitive to the changes! I shuddered as I remembered, in perfect detail, all the awkwardness of my last puberty experience, the one from my previous life. I hope this shit finishes quickly, I just cant wait to start all that gross stuff I know girls do I wanted to find a dark corner and curl up to cry. Psycholor RIP my search history making sure things are biologically accurate... I am trying my damndest to handle this in a tasteful manner, while still portraying a realistic scenario... it''s difficult. I understand that a lot of people are going to be frustrated by the dance scene... I understand, but I won''t be changing it. School week one stuff is almost over, it''s dragging on a bit longer than I originally planned... nearly 40k words for one week, when arc one covered ten years in 100k. 2-7 is the last chapter in the school entrance ceremonies sub-arc, and will finally feature some classroom scenes. 2-7 School Entrance and First Day Psycholor The overall reception was about what I expected. I knew when I made that announcement, that I would be pleasing some and upsetting others. Towards the group of people who expressed disappointment, understand that I do hear you. You folks are the reason I announced this when I did, instead of waiting and just letting it come out in the story. I don''t want to lead anyone around on false hope. Towards the commonly occurring sentiment "There are so few GB stories that have a hetero relationship, it''s a shame this one is going to go GL too." I partially agree, there are a lot of GB stories with GLSP. As for Stahlia, Tricked Into a New Life, Go... fuck it. I''m calling it "Tricked". As for Stahlia and Tricked, this is a marathon not a sprint. I''m not writing her gay "because she has memories as a guy hurr durr." Stahlia developing her preferences is going to be a process. Don''t expect me to just drop everything and throw her into a relationship now that I''ve made that announcement. The only reason I made it, was to give a heads up and settle the debate early, to avoid building hype and suspense only to dash it. I''m not a Peter Molineux. Ah shit, that makes me sound old. I''m not a Todd Howard. Stahlia Ten Years Old, Second Month of 947 I woke up the next morning in a decent mood, relative to when I had gone to sleep. I was still anxious regarding the newly discovered changes I would have to experience, but I was now better able to rationalize them. At least thats what I was telling myself. In actuality, it was more or less Pet who had helped me get over myself; when I had gotten back to the estate, she had noticed how anxious I was being and tried to comfort me. Even though she really wasnt able to understand what was going on, and even though her own situation was far, far worse than mine. Its my own fault for ignoring and putting off this issue for ten years, even though I was fully aware it would be a thing that would happen to me eventually. Looking over to my left, I smiled at the sight of Pets sleeping face. Indeed, she had managed to find her way into my bed again. Still, her presence was having a calming effect on me, so I would put up with a bit of selfishness. Today was the school entrance ceremony. Granted, I already knew I was in Group A, but I still had to attend the entrance ceremony, as well as attend the first day of classes after. Even if I wasnt expecting to have any real lessons. My uniform was the same as usual, including the recent unwanted addition, and I bid farewell to Pet before heading to the yard in order to board the carriage that would take me to the Academy. For her part, Pet seemed a bit resistant to me leaving, however, Elienor coming by my room saved me from any tears; Pet ran away and hid as soon as she heard the unique sound of Elienors footsteps in the hall. I get the feeling that Elienor may have caused a trauma Thankfully, Elienor was only coming to see me off, and not to entertain herself with my slave. Elienor was actually fairly well behaved the other day, even when she saw Pet briefly, she didnt squeal about it or anything. I wonder what Margarette said to her I shivered at the vision of an angry Lady Francois and thanked my lucky stars I had purchased the Blue Blooded skill. Once again, I rode to school with Dominic, although he wasnt doing anything different compared to the previous couple of days. Maybe I was just getting used to the attention, but it didnt bother me as much as it had before. I simply put up with his attention while offering the societally expected responses. Once again, Rowell was waiting for me at the gates of the school. Giogi and he seemed to have developed a rapport at some point without my noticing, and as we walked towards the main assembly hall for the entrance ceremony, the two of them killed time by discussing me. Specifically, my early life, if it could even be called that while I was still only ten years old. Watching the two of them and listening in on the stories, I realized that almost two weeks had passed since I had seen Sana, and I hadnt had a proper conversation with Giogi in days. The thought that I was being pulled away from them by the force of my obligations to noble society struck me, and I felt a pang in my chest. My world is changing, whether I like it or not. We arrived at the assembly hall in short order, and Dominic separated from me to go and join his class, he was in the A Group of year 3, so I would actually wind up seeing him again soon in some of my magic classes. I made my way over to the other first years, since only three of us knew which group we had placed into, all the first years were grouped together in one large mass. Todays agenda was pretty simple, there would be a commencement speech similar to the one from last night, we would all pledge an oath to the kingdom, which was thankfully not magically binding, and then we would be dismissed. The other students would immediately go to their classes, but the first years would spend the first period being sorted into their groups and classes. We would finally actually attend a class starting in the second period. I was initially afraid I would be expected to give some sort of address as the top incoming student, however, thankfully this world didnt seem to have that custom. Instead of a first-year address, the King would be making an appearance and saying a few words. This was a good opportunity for me to see the man I regarded as my personal enemy; beyond the higher-ups of the shadows, the King was the one at the root of my problem since he was the one calling the shots in the end. As I made my way over to my peers, I spotted Edith and Sarala of to one side. Edith was standing aloof and surveying the crowd, while Sarala had adopted a meek stance, and was somewhat withdrawn into Ediths shadow, having placed herself between the higher ranked girl and the wall. Its a lot like last night, Sarala really doesnt like attention. There were several other first years a bit away from them who were keeping a close watch on Edith while whispering amongst themselves. In retrospect, the same thing had been going on at the social gathering yesterday, but as I had been one of the ones watching her, I had ignored the others. As I was musing about how much political and social influence Edith a fellow ten-year-old girl wielded, she spotted me. The peanut gallerys whispers greatly intensified as Edith waved at me and called out. Stahlia! Over here! I suppressed a grimace; now that I had realized the implications of being friendly with her, I somewhat wished I could pull back. Still, being friendly with her would give me access to Sarala, so it was beneficial to me in a way. I just hope I can avoid the worst of any political fallout, at least until I finish my own objectives. I plastered a smile on my face and waved back before making my way over to her. Good morning, Lady Edith, Sarala. I greeted the pair as I approached to within earshot. Edith spotted Giogi behind me and raised an eyebrow, so I introduced him. This is Giogi, son of Sutven. He grew up in Ris Village like me and has been appointed my apprentice guard knight by Lord Francois. Though, due to my course schedule, he will not be with me very often, hence why I have also been granted Sir Rowell who you saw with me last night. I nodded in the direction of Rowell, who had taken up a post near a pillar a small distance away; close enough to still interfere should something happen to me, but far enough away to have a better vantage over the crowd of children. Edith nodded and gave Giogi a slight incline of her head. There was still a bit of time before the entrance ceremony would start, so I decided to try and get a little bit more information from the pair of girls. Lady Edith, I do not believe we discussed this last night, but what courses are you taking? Even if you did not make the top three, I imagine you still tested out of several of them. Edith nodded and smiled. I tested out of all the first-year courses, so I will be enrolling in the second-year general studies course. Sarala is taking almost all third-year courses like yourself, so I imagine you will be seeing more of her than me, please do treat her well. Nice, I imagine I will be seeing Sarala in my magic courses, hopefully. Shes probably in a higher Red Magic course than me, and Im not taking Black Magic. But the Ice Magic Talent falls under Blue Magic, so I might see her there. I flashed Sarala a grin. Indeed, I will be in your care, Sarala. The girl in question gave an awkward smile in return. Yes, I imagine we will have a lot of time to get to know each other She trailed off at the end, but considering I got a full sentence out of her, I could assume I was making progress. As we were having some idle chit-chat, Percius voice rang out over the students in the hall. May I have your attention! I would now lead you all in the vow of loyalty, so that we may officially declare the start of the new school year! He clapped both his hands together, before twisting his left hand over his heart, and his right hand on the hilt of his sword. This was the Drakas Kingdoms standard military salute, and one that I had practiced until I was able to do perfectly; being that, as a Special Student, I would be nominally enlisted in the military while attending school. Mimicking Percius, I waited for him to start speaking. I offer my life, my purpose, I offer my life, my purpose, I swear my eternal loyalty I swear my eternal loyalty. To the Throne. To the Throne. To the King. To the King. And to the Divine Twelve, in whose footsteps we walk. And to the Divine Twelve, in whose footsteps we walk. Long Live Drakas! Long Live His Majesty! Long Live Drakas! Long Live His Majesty! Following the pledge, Percius once again announced the three top students from the incoming students, he then announced the third-year students who were set to become Special Students. There were three others besides me, all boys. While I had never seen two of them before, I was closely acquainted with the third. In fact, I was presently engaged to him. Indeed, Dominic had become a Special Student. This means well be spending even more time together I was conflicted about how to feel about this. On one hand, having him nearby was convenient; I could use him as a shield of sorts when Edith wasnt available, and unlike her, he came with much less political baggage. Granted he came with baggage of an entirely different variety. On the other hand, being near him was very awkward for me; his constant attentions were incredibly uncomfortable, and following the dance and events surrounding me being confronted with my body the day before, I was very conflicted about how I should be approaching him. Ill just have to grin and bear it, at least until I rescue Rosial and find a way to break of our engagement. Following this announcement, Percius gave a very long, very boring speech. It basically boiled down to you all are the future of this kingdom, this academy exists to foster your purpose, work hard and glory to the kingdom blah blah blah. Following his speech, there was a round of polite applause. After a moment, Percius held up his hand and motioned for the room to be silent. I am honored to present to you all, His Majesty, King Drakas. He will now greet you who make up the future of this kingdom and say a few words. A blaring of trumpets sounded, announcing the entrance of the king. As one, the entire assembly adopted the salute and held the pose, waiting for the king to enter. The king came out from the back of the stage and strode up to the speakers platform. He had a steady gait as if he was completely used to commanding such attention. Of course, being the king, he absolutely was. When he arrived at the speakers platform, he paused and surveyed the room. For a brief moment, I had the disconcerting feeling that he and I had made eye contact, but the feeling quickly passed as his gaze swept over the place I had been standing. After this, he returned our salute, however rather than placing his right hand over his sword hilt, he raised his right hand to his forehead in a manner similar to the earth salute. As far as I was aware, this was the salute that a commanding officer would return to their men. Be at ease. At the kings command, everyone in the room released their salutes and returned to their seats. His voice was deep and carried out over the room dripping with charisma. Despite my convictions, I found myself wanting to serve the kingdom just from the sound of his voice. I surreptitiously bit through the tip of my tongue, drawing blood. The acrid taste that filled my mouth cleared the fog from my head. So thats the Voice of the King Jacqueline warned me about. Its a damn good thing she told me a way of clearing my head. Indeed, the king of Drakas had a skill, The Voice of the King, that was said to be able to compel any citizen into obedience. Thankfully, it was just a skill that carried a mental attack on the soundwaves of his voice, meaning it was easy to resist if you knew how; the first criteria was to be aware of it, which I cleared thanks to Jacqueline. The second criterion was to drown out the mental noise with something else. In my case, I used the pain from having bit my tongue, since that was easy to conceal and do secretly. Truthfully, it was actually a fairly weak skill, only scary if you didnt know about it ahead of time. Glancing to my left and right, I saw that Edith was digging her nails into her palms, and briefly caught Sarala making a swallowing motion. It makes sense that a dukes daughter would know about the kings voice, and she probably warned Sarala. I found it comforting that, even if they werent planning to betray the kingdom like I was, both of my new friends were not so fanatically loyal as to allow themselves to be enthralled. After the king told us all to be at ease, he thankfully stopped using his skill, and merely used regular voice projection magic. Children of Drakas, I am pleased to see you present yourselves before me. Study hard. Work hard. Learn well. If you are blessed with talent, you will excel. If you are a failure, you will fall. For the glory of our kingdom, and the glory of the human race! Following this statement, the trumpets sounded once more, and the king exited the stage, returning to wherever he had come from. Well, that was an interesting statement is this the part where we all start chanting Sieg Heil!? Once the king was well and truly gone, Percius returned to the speaking platform, and bid all of the upperclassmen to go to their classes, while us first years were to stand by until they were gone. Once the older students were gone, Percius was joined on stage by three men. He introduced them as the teachers in charge of each group and announced we would now be placed into our classes. Starting with the three of us who had already been announced as being members of Group A, the instructor in charge of the A Group read aloud a list of names. Those students whose names were called were instructed to move to one section of the room, away from those who hadnt been called yet. So not only the top three, theyre intent on naming and shaming all of the students, huh? As I had thought, once the Group A instructor finished his list with a That is all., the Group B instructor then began reading his, again, the Group B students were instructed to move to another part of the room, away from the remaining students. I made sure to watch and listen carefully, trusting in my Eidetic Memory talent to remember the names and faces of each student, along with which group they were in. Once the Group B instructor had finished reading his list, the Group C instructor simply declared Those of you whose name was not called are in Group C. Do your best, and you might be able to accomplish something next year. Well, thats pretty harsh, the academy takes the meritocracy bit seriously, Ill have to make sure I dont fall behind. In all, about a fifth of the total students had been placed in Group A, and of the remainder, a third were in Group B. Everyone else was in C. Starting with Group A, we were then led out of the room and presented with a small piece of paper detailing what classes we had, and when. Glancing down at mine, I saw that my morning classes were Introductory Blue, Green, and Yellow Magic, as well as Intermediate Red Magic. Good, those are all the courses I specifically asked for, all thats left are the classes I gave Percius carte blanche to put me in I read the next part of my schedule. After lunch, I had Advanced Etiquette, Advanced Alchemical Theory, Advanced Mathematics, and Advanced Swordsmanship? What the hell? I specifically avoided asking for swordsmanship classes I figured Percius might put me in one anyway since Im a Special Student and might have to go kill some orcs or something, but Advanced? When have I ever demonstrated any skill with a DAMNIT DOMINIC! Indeed, the only reason I could think that I had been placed in the advanced level, was that Dominic had insinuated that I knew how to fight. With my mood considerably fouled, I passed around each of my classes where I met the students I would be learning with, shared a little bit of useless information about myself, and learned a little bit of useless information about them in turn. The first day of a class must be the same in every world. As luck would have it, Dominic was in the same Swordsmanship class I was. Yea, what a coincidence! he says. Coincidence my ass, either you or your dad definitely arranged this with Percius behind the scenes! On an actual lucky note, Sarala did in fact share my Blue Magic class with me. The next day, classes finally began I was technically now allowed to bring Stil onto campus with me, however as I was not taking any courses that I would need him in, I opted to leave him at the estate; having a monster follow me around would simply be asking for attention. Though I already had quite a bit of that given my status as a Special Student, so it might not have mattered in the long run. Unfortunately, due to being introductory courses, my Blue, Yellow, and Green Magic classes all covered more or less the same topic, that is to say, the fundamentals of spell casting. This was largely information I had already learned from my Red Magic tutor and having it repeated three times really sucked. Still, I had known the first few classes would be like this; most people only studied one color at a time, so each color had to make sure to cover the fundamentals. Thankfully, I had Blue Magic with Sarala, who was equally as bored as me. As I listened to Gustav drone on about the same information I had heard twice already today, I turned to my shy classmate. Why are you taking Introductory Blue Magic, Sarala? I was under the impression that you already have the Ice Magic Talent? She gave a small start, likely having not expected to be addressed. Well, I suppose it is because I got my Ice Magic Talent from a spirit. I dont actually know much about Blue Magic outside of the Talent, but I have an affinity for it. A spirit?! You got to meet a spirit?! Up at the front of the room, Gustav had been talking about the first of three methods to cast spells. Counting my magic tutor back in Ris, this was the fourth time I had heard this information, and the third time today. By reciting the correct words, mana Is drawn up from the body and manifests phenomenon in the material worl- Stahlia, Sarala, am I boring you? I gave a start and my face turned red at his poignant remark. Of course, the correct answer was Yes, very much so. But there was no way I could say that. No not at all Instructor Gustav, I am absolutely enthralled. By reciting the spell formula, mana is drawn out and shaped into a magical phenomenon. By altering the pronunciation of certain parts of the chant, the final effect can be altered. This is the key advantage over casting via talent assistance, wherein the final effect is static and cannot be adjusted. Gustav grimaced. Stahlia, I am aware you and Sarala have prior experience with magic, but if you are not going to pay attention at least be silent; I had not touched on augmented chanting yet. My face got even hotter and I ducked my head as a chuckle made its way around the room. Yes, Instructor From my left, I heard a small chuckle. Even the ever-shy Sarala was laughing at me. I am glad you understand. Now, as your fellow student alluded to, the primary advantage of a chant is the ability to augment it. By changing how certain parts are pronounced, we can change the effect. Doing this, however, costs more mana than saying the chant normally or using a talent. That is the Third Law of Magic; The amount of mana consumed by a spell is directly proportional to the strength, size, and quantity of the effects manifested. Since I can see a few questioning faces, the First Law states that mana can neither... Gustav continued, and after making sure I was now being paid no attention, I returned to Sarala. Still, a spirit? What was that like? I was sure to whisper, I did not want a repeat of what had just happened. Sarala let out a small giggle. It was terrifying. I was out in the woods in the evening helping my father when all of a sudden the air grew very cold. I shivered, not from cold but from the implication; There were three broad categories of spirit. Lesser Spirits were basically formless masses of element-aligned mana. They had no intelligence and simply floated around until they dissipated. Spirits were identical to lesser spirits, but larger, and had the intelligence of a domesticated animal or particularly dumb child. On the other hand, Greater Spirits were indistinguishable from the races in terms of their intellect. They were also far, far superior to us when it came to the magic of their given element. The only saving grace was that they could only use the element they were aligned to; Undine could only use water, Ifrit fire, Gnome earth, and so on. Greater Spirits were also known to alter their environment with their mere presence, such was their mystical might. The term was familiar to me from my previous life as the name of the ninth circle of hell, but in this world, it had no such implication, despite the very real existence of the Nine Hell Kings. At least, I thought they were probably real. None had been reportedly seen since the founding of Drakas back near year 0 of the current calendar. Sarala nodded at my unspoken realization. Yes, a Cocytus. It came out of the forest and walked around, freezing the ground on its path. It approached my father and I; the two of us were completely still, too afraid to move. After a moment, it reached out and touched my hand. I felt a burning sensation and got really bad frostbite, then it just wandered back into the forest. The next day, I was able to talent cast simple ice magic. That sounds so scary Those were my honest thoughts, I couldnt imagine what Sarala must have been thinking at the time. Unlike me, she couldnt just turn off crippling fear if it got to be too much. Not that doing so was always a good idea; in my experiments with my skill, I had learned that fear was directly responsible for our self-preservation instinct. When I had been messing around, I got curious about the open fire Silvia was cooking over. Everyone has dark thoughts sometimes, back on Earth psychologists referred to it as the Call of the Void. Things like I could totally just run over that lady crossing the street. Contemplating how to get away with murdering your boss. Or That fire looks hot, I wonder how long I can hold my hand in it? As it turns out, fear, specifically fear of consequence and fear of pain is the reason we dont act on those impulses. Thankfully I was able to brew an alchemical salve that prevented my hand from scarring. As I was ruminating on Saralas story, Gustav was continuing his lecture. He had moved on to the second method by this point. The second method of casting a spell is through the use of a Magic Talent. Magic Talents can be acquired by acquiring enough affinity for a specific element via chanting spells. The Magic Talent allows for one to cast a spell extremely quickly; one only needs to recite the keyword of the spell to activate it. This speed makes Talent Casting the preferred method for battlefield mages, however as the chant is not performed, the spell cannot be modified thru augmented chanting, making it a very restrictive method. One of the students raised their hand, prompting Gustav to call on them. Yes, Sorrin? The called student stood up, which was apparently the respectful way to ask a question of a teacher. Yes, Instructor Gustav. You say that to cast a spell using a magic talent, you only have to say the keyword, but what exactly is a keyword? Gustav nodded, I am glad you noticed that Sorrin While idly listening, I had begun to fiddle with my hair, wrapping a lock of it around my pointer finger. My hair really is long As if he was determined to embarrass me, Gustav singled me outright as I was staring at my hair and thinking about its length. Stahlia, since you seem to have enough free time as to do your hair in class, would you care to answer Sorrins question? My face turned red again. Damnit, Ive been blushing a lot recently, and at a bunch of really stupid shit too. I clenched my jaw and sent Gustav a stink eye, before standing up and clearing my throat. Right, as for the question What is a keyword?, A spell chant is made up of three distinct parts- Although given that nobody seems bothered to actually try and learn the language, the fact that they know its three parts is hella suspect. -The first part of a spell is the Invocation. The Invocation calls on the power of a specific element, Invoking it if you will. The second part of a chant is the Body the chant body describes the magic phenomena, which will then activate according to that description. It is the body that is altered when one performs an augmented chant. The final component of a spell is the Keyword. The keyword is colloquially known as the name of a spell and is the part spoken after a brief pause when chanting. For example I picked up a small scrap of paper and took a deep breath. ## ####, #### #### ##### # ## ########! [######] Following my chant, a small spark of flame appeared between my fingers that were pinching the paper, causing the paper to catch and burn. In that example, ## #### is the Invocation, calling on the power of the element of fire, #### #### ##### # ## ########! is the Body, describing what I want the fire to do, and [######] is the Keyword, which activates the spell. In a way, it reminds me a bit of computer programming, if we consider the Keyword to be the name of a function, the Body to be the Function itself, and the Invocation to be the input data for that function. Of course, the input data is in the wrong spot, and when augment chanting what gets changed is the body of the function, not the input data. Gustav nodded. A well-structured explanation and well-executed example. I would expect nothing less from a Special Student. Sorrin gave me a half bow as a show of thanks before sitting down himself. Thank you Lady Stahlia, that was beautifully done. I curtsied towards Gustav and sat down while doing my best to ignore Sorrins compliment, even though I could feel a twitchy smile threatening to show itself. I give Sarala a lot of shit, but I havent been doing too well with praise recently myself why the hell am I so self-conscious?! Of course, I knew why. Whether or not I wanted to admit it to myself or not, now that was another beast entirely. Paying my internal dilemma no mind, Gustav continued his lecture. The only thing Stahlia left out of her explanation, is that that is what we call the Third Law of Magic; Spell chants are constructed of three parts, Invocation, Body, and Keyword, in that order. Moving along, we are nearly out of time for todays lecture, so I will briefly summarize the third and final method of using magic. At the word final, he placed special emphasis and shot me a brief look. Hes definitely hinting about Blood Magic and warning me not to do anything that would draw suspicion. I sat up straighter in my chair. The third and final method of casting magic is Faith Casting. With Faith Casting, one must pray to one of the twelve gods. If you have enough faith in them, the god being prayed to will work a miracle. This method of casting a spell is unique in that it does not use the magic language, and does not expend mana from the one praying. Rather, the prayer can be said in any language, and the god provides the mana needed for the spell. While this might sound enticing, it has the significant drawback of depending on a third party; the gods are notoriously fickle, and there are many recorded examples in history of even the most pious believer being abandoned in their hour of need. Gustav had timed the end of his lecture perfectly, even with my interruptions, because as soon as he finished speaking on the subject of Faith Casting, the bell rang announcing the end of the period. I stood up and gathered my things, before bidding Sarala farewell and heading out. Next was lunch, and after that were my afternoon classes, culminating in sword-fighting. I was both dreading and excitedly looking forward to it. I ate a lunch prepared for me by Lucy, there was a cafeteria of a sort, but in keeping with the theme of status not mattering but still totally mattering, it seemed most high nobles would either travel home to eat or have their own food brought in. As I was engaged to Dominic, this was one of those instances where I fell into the category of pseudo-high noble. As such, I had been informed I would be expected to not eat with the other students by my hosts. Since taking a carriage back to the estate would cause the meal to be rushed, and having food brought in every day was, in my mind, wasteful, I instead decided to introduce the idea of a box lunch. While Margeritte was skeptical, Lucy took it as a challenge and managed to produce an offering that wouldnt have seemed out of place being served as a normal meal. Seeing this, Margeritte relented, saying something about how Nobles could show off the skill of their chef through their boxed lunches!, and let me have my way. My etiquette class was a massive waste of time, but to keep up appearances there wasnt anything I could really do about that. Essentially, the whole class was just afternoon tea. A gaggle of noble girls would arrive at the classroom, in which several tea tables had been set up, and take turns hosting in small groups. The instructor would move through the room and do things like correct posture, offer an alternative, more refined, way of saying something she overheard us talking about, and otherwise be useless. Presumably, the class contents would be rotated as the year went on, and we wouldnt be having a daily tea party for the next eight or so months. Mathematics and Alchemy were different. I had found out yesterday during the class orientation that I had not been placed in the classes to learn. I had found these two entries odd when reading my class schedule, I had just been distracted immediately by the final entry. After all, in terms of mathematics, not only had I passed the placement exam with a perfect score, I had also introduced a field of mathematics that was brand new to this world. Alchemically, I was in more or less the same place as with math, several new formulas and processes had my name on them. As it turns out, both of these were in fact the reasons I had been placed into the courses by Percius in the first place. As I was still only ten years old, the school couldnt officially commission me. Not that I would have agreed to it if they had offered. Instead, by working through a loophole in the wording of a Special Students obligations, I had been made a sort of teachers assistant to Gustav in mathematics and Perrin in alchemy. Though billed as Advanced classes, both my alchemy and math course only had a few other students, all of which were fifth years in the A Group. Rather than teaching their respective classes, Gustav and Perrin were more like researchers with a small team of doctoral students assisting them. The subject of research being my inventions. Thus, I would be spending two hours every day explaining calculus and delving into the various concepts and recipes I had introduced into alchemy. I can handle and even somewhat look forward to the alchemy class since eventually theyll run out of stuff Ive already done and we will presumably start doing new research, but the math is just a pain in the ass! I was a student, not a Doctor of Mathematics, Im not qualified to teach calculus! Still, the worst was yet to come. Namely, my swordsmanship class. Following a rousing discussion about the origins of Condescending, I arrived at the practice field. Unlike lectures and study-based classes, physical classes such as Horse Riding, Archery, and indeed Swordsmanship, did not meet on the first day for an orientation session. Why was beyond me, presumably they would still have to go over what to expect in the course, as well as introduce everyone to each other. In any case, this would be my first time meeting my classmates. I arrived at the field and was greeted by the sight of roughly fifteen boys, all around Dominics age. I was, as one might expect, the only girl. I was also the youngest member. These two facts caused me to immediately become a tad uncomfortable, and my palms started to sweat. Even my legs were a bit wobbly as I made my way towards them. Calm down, This is just like when you taught Giogi and the other village boys. The only difference is that youre also a student now. And youre the youngest and smaller than everyone. And all these boys are probably at the age where they start chasing after girls, we know for sure at least one of them is engaged already, dont we? My internal musings were not helping things. After pausing for a moment, I took a deep breath and stepped off the path and over to the group. I was trying to find the words to introduce myself and had even gone so far as opening my mouth when Dominic popped out of the crowd and made to take my hand. Alright everyone, this is my fianc, Stahlia. The one I informed would be joining our class. I hurriedly closed my mouth and forced it to adopt a smile. Performing a small curtsy, I introduced myself. For some reason, I was actually finding Dominics grip on my hand reassuring; my legs had stopped shaking and I had a much easier time finding my words. A fact that vexed me a great deal. I am Lady Stahlia, Lord Dominics fianc. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances. Following my self-introduction, Dominic fulfilled his obligations and introduced each of them to me in turn. Given that these were all noble greetings, the introductions took a good ten minutes to complete, and by the end of them, the instructor had arrived. The Swordsmanship Instructor defied my expectations. I had been expecting a bald muscle-bound giant covered in scars and toting a sword at least as long as his arm. What I got was a man of average height who, while definitely toned and fit, was not noticeably larger than the average person. Nor was he bald, he had a decently thick mop of sandy blonde hair that was tied back to prevent it from getting in his eyes. His weapon was likewise unremarkable, a simple hand and a half sword sheathed at his waist, a small round shield strapped to his back. Honestly, I can see the reasoning behind his chosen weapons; the sword can be wielded in combo with the shield, or he can two-hand it to increase striking power, due to the slightly longer hilt. He has the air of a veteran as well, despite his appearance. I might be looking forward to this a bit The instructor, having quickly spotted me, made his way over and introduced himself. Greetings milady, I am Sir Brisben von Eckerd. While it is uncommon for the class to grow so late, Sir Dominic speaks very highly of your skill. I am looking forward to teaching you Drakan Style Swordsmanship. If I may ask, what style have you been using so far? So me being in this class WAS Dominics doing! But what does he mean its rare for the class to grow so late? today is the first day of the school year, and yea, there is no way in hell I can tell him Oh yea, I use Shadow Blade Style, I was taught by one of the Kingdoms secret assassins! A pleasure to meet you, Sir Brisben. I am Lady Stahlia von Ris, daughter of Baron von Ris. As for my style, regretfully I do not know its name. I learned it by watching some of the adventurers in my hometown, while occasionally receiving pointers from them. if I may be so bold, what do you mean it is rare for the class to grow? I opted to go for a flagrant lie regarding my sword style. Thankfully Shadow Blade Style was, by its very nature, not very widely known so the odds of him recognizing any of its forms were slim. He seemed to buy my excuse and answered my return question in good humor. Ah, well if it was something one of those lowlifes taught then I doubt it even has a proper name Ah, I mean no disrespect to you, milady. I am aware that Ris village is on the frontier and cannot afford to be picky with who it makes use of in defense against monsters just a friendly word of advice, Adventurers do not have the greatest reputation in most of the kingdom, so you might want to avoid spreading that you learned anything from them Regarding the class, well I have been teaching the same group of boys since their first year. When we started there were twenty of them, but that number dropped off over the years. Youre the first new student who has enrolled since we started. Well, I already knew that Adventurers didnt have the greatest of reputations, but the truth would have been a lot worse. As for the class being the same, something could actually be said for that, keeping the same group of people with the same instructor throughout their entire school life. It would build a sense of camaraderie if nothing else and here I am intruding on that damnit Dominic! It would seem that Sir Brisben had one more thing to say to me, or more like he had a request for me. That being as it is milady, I have a good idea of all the boys abilities, but other than Dominics review of your own I lack information. Since you dont know the name of your style, I cannot form any guesses from that either. Since we do not really have much in the way of other options, I will have to ask you to have a spar with someone At the words spar Dominic stepped forward and volunteered himself. I will fight her, Instructor. This led to a round of laughter from the other boys, and whispered mutterings about him being protective and jealous were tossed about. They can mutter all they like, I would honestly prefer to fight him than any of them, our last match wasnt really much of anything but hes had two years in this class since then. Us fighting would give me a benchmark for how much growth I can expect to get from these lessons. Brisben thought for a moment, then gave his ok. Dominic led me over to a rack filled with training weapons. While Shadow Blade Style was nominally for stealth and assassination, thus favoring small blades like daggers, it was not without options for larger weapons. Seeing as this was an appraisal of my ability with a sword, I selected an arming sword; it was short enough that I could use more of my styles forms than I could with a Bastard or Long Sword, but would better serve for my appraisal than a dagger or short sword. I toyed with the idea of grabbing a shield as well, but I had no idea how to use one in the first place, so it would be about as useful as intentionally tying a heavy weight to my arm in order to intentionally restrict my movements. For his own selection, Dominic picked a Bastard Sword and a medium-sized round shield. We entered the training area and squared off against each other. Brisben stood towards the edge of our square, while all the other boys clustered around the perimeter. As Brisben raised his hand, we both took a ready stance; I dropped low to the ground in a crouch, and Dominic squared his feet while raising his shield. Brisben dropped his hand. I sprang forward like a shot from a canon; I was not using enhancements, seeing as this was supposed to be a test of sword ability and if I enhanced myself I was very likely to instantly crush my opponent. Instead, I simply used my compressed legs like a spring and pushed forward of the ground. The distance between us closed rapidly, I kicked the ground twice more to further accelerate myself, all while keeping myself as low as possible to abuse our size difference to my advantage. As I got within two meters of him, Dominic finally reacted, swinging his shield arm around and planting the shield between me and him. To slow. I turned my shoulder towards his shield, it would hurt a bit, but my plan was to allow myself to crash into him; he would expect to block a thrust or slash and be bracing for that, not my full body weight. As we made contact with each other, I felt my stomach jump up into my mouth like what would occasionally happen on a rollercoaster. I had been bracing myself for an impact, but it was nowhere near as strong as I was expecting. In a moment, I knew why. I sailed past Dominic, as he had released his shield. As I flew through the air, he brought his sword to bear, now holding it with two hands. Shit! Memories of our previous fight flew through my head; I had charged him head-on then as well, and quickly brought an end. Of course, he would have prepared for me to do it again. Still, Im also more skilled than I was then, not just you! I jabbed the point of my sword into the ground, using it to arrest my movement. While this would have worked with a metal sword, though it would definitely have damaged the edge, my wooden training sword snapped clean in half. Dominic immediately halted his swing, and Brisben declared him the winner of our duel, without either of us having landed a blow. Fuck! If this had been a real fight I could have used my Blood Magic and gutted him, or better yet, come up from behind and just stabbed him before he knew what was coming. Around the sidelines, the boys other than Dominic were gossiping about what they had just witnessed. Such lines as "I thought he said she was a good fighter?" or "That wasn''t a style, she just charged at him!" and "What use is sword fighting for a woman anyway?" entered my ears. These are just some adolescent boys... why is it that their harsh criticism is making me want to cry? Brisben cleared his throat and the chatter died down. "It seems the lot of you are still novices, despite being in your third years... Dominic, if that was a real fight, not about with wood, what would have been the outcome?" Dominic gave me a look and grimaced. "I would have been dead or mortally wounded and unable to continue inside of three seconds, Instructor." The boys around the arena exchanged uncertain glances with each other. One of them spoke up and voiced what was likely the majority opinion. "Dominic, are you not just saying that to defend your fianc''s honor...?" Dominic shook his head. "Instructor, they are more likely to believe your explanation than mine." He said ruefully, as he made his way over to where I had come to a halt and offered his hand to help me up. Due to the onlookers, I suppose I have to take it... "Indeed Dominic, you are probably right about that... Listen carefully, you lot. From an outside perspective, it may have looked as though she simply threw herself at him in a mad charge. In a sense that is indeed all she did, however, judging by her footwork and stance, she normally would have gone much faster thru use of magical enhancement. It is only because she did not use magic that Dominic was able to react at all, and when he brought his shield to bear, knowing that she wouldn''t be able to stop, Stahlia made the decision to turn her own body into a projectile without any hesitation. Even knowing it would cause her injury, she instantly selected the most optimal course of action. I would wager that her style focuses on highly aggressive movement and swift decisive attacks, further enhancing oneself with magic. In a live combat scenario, you would never see her coming." The boys had all fallen silent; it looked like they were genuinely considering the instructors words. Well, he''s mostly right; it would actually be over before the situation became a combat one in most cases, and even without using magic, I think if I had played it smart I still would have won. I got cocky. Ive only been fighting against Jacqueline, a fellow Shadow Blade Style user, and dumb monsters. I knew Shadow Blade Style struggles against other styles in terms of technique; it depends heavily on surprise or augmentation with magic to make up the gap if you need to go head to head. Still, Dominic worked really hard these past few years, his general stance and movements were nothing like they were. This was a good experience for me, Ill have to work hard to pick up the Drakan Style, it seems like it will make a good addition to my arsenal for when I have to confront an enemy head-on. For the rest of the class, the Brisben had the rest of the students pair up and go through a series of forms with each other; one would attack with slowed movements, while the other would defend. After each set, the defender role would swap with the attacker. Taking me aside, Brisben walked me through the basic forms of Drakan Style, telling me that I would be expected to practice and do my best to close the gap between myself and the other students with Drakan Style. From what I could tell based on the basic forms, Drakan Style seemed to be highly reactive. Whereas Shadow Blade Style was designed for surprise, speed, and one versus one, Drakan Style was focused on group fighting in pairs or trios. A lot of its defensive moves focused on opening up the enemy to a counter-attack from a nearby ally or covering a nearby ally who was being attacked from their blind spot. Before long, the final bell of the day rang, and I was able to go home. It was a really long but productive day. When I got home, I found Pet hiding under my bed; apparently, Elienor had made a new dress specifically with Pet in mind. I see that Margeritte was not able to control her for very long after all. Of course, Pet refused to release the arm she had clung to, and so I relented and let her sleep clinging to my side again. Hopefully, Lucy continues to simply ignore her... First Law of Magic Mana can not be created or destroyed, only moved from one vessel to another. The amount of Mana in a system is always a predictable, measurable, and finite quantity. Second Law of Magic The mana cost of a spell or other Magical Phenomenon is directly proportional to the Size, Power, and Duration of the spell or Phenomenon. The cost can be reduced by having an affinity for the invoked element, or implementing a compatible catalyst, but can never be reduced entirely. Third Law of Magic A Spell Chant consists of three distinct parts: The Invocation, which calls upon the element of the spell. The Body, which describes the magical phenomenon to be produced. And the Keyword, which triggers the execution of the spell. Psycholor You might notice that the laws are written differently at the end of the chapter and in the glossary than they are when a character recites them. this is intentional; much like in the real world, laws are often abbreviated for brevity, or to make them more easily understood by say, students. I have written the "textbook" laws in the glossary and at the end of the chapter. Of course, take it with a grain of salt; the laws as I am giving them to you are from the perspective of someone living in the world, who knows if the laws have been accurately quantified. When I created the magic system, I first established these rules, then wrote my spells and systems around them. My hope/goal is to keep the whole system compliant with them. Hard Magic Systems ftw, fuck soft magic. Next chapter will be the first POV chapter, staring Jacqueline. Lastly, I had something neat planned for the 500 reader milestine, but it got hit way faster than I expected... (400 to 500 basically overnight...) I thought it would be around new years... So anyways, the thing isn''t ready yet. 2-8 J2: An Unassuming Turncoat Jacqueline, Second Month 947, Town of Fess I would like to visit an Alchemy Shop in a large town and compare it to Siegs store in Ris Village. I nodded to my ladys request, signaling her that I had understood the subtext. A little while later, after she had retired for the night, I lay awake and reminiscing. It was two years ago now, two years ago since I pledged myself to help my lady destroy the Order of Shadows that I had served for as long as I could remember. The Order had taken my ladys younger sister and would even now be in the process of training her. Like they had trained me. I shivered as memories rose unbidden, memories of the horrors I had experienced, and that the sweet child would be going through as I lay here in bed. Strange, that I would remember things like that now, after so long. It didnt happen before I chose to walk my current path Indeed, these recent recallings of the early days were a new occurrence. Like all agents of the Order, I had prided myself on being emotionally unshakable, now I would often find myself lying awake in the dead of night lost in thought. It had all changed when I made that pledge. Resigning myself to be unable to sleep, I sat up in my cot and gaze across the room at my ladys sleeping face. It was clear in the darkness to me thanks to the Dark Sight Talent I had been forced to acquire; locked in an airtight room with a combination lock and no light source, forced to strain my eyes until I acquired the talent, or died. As I gazed at my lady, ever so briefly, I saw another face imposed on her. I could not remember having ever seen this face on any person, and yet at the same time, it was familiar to me. It had been showing up from time to time, usually superimposed over my lady, but in my dreams as well, always running away from me, occasionally becoming me to give chase. When I caught it and turned them around to ask who it was all the features would be melted into an indistinct blob of flesh. I shook my head to clear the face off of my ladys and gave her one last look before rising and heading out into the night city. A quick glance at the moon and stars told m that I had about four hours left before I needed to be back to prepare for my ladys day. Right, first lets kill some time by scouting out a route for tomorrow. After, if its still too early I suppose I could do some practice. I ran across the rooftops, first from the hotel to the town square. Taking care to memorize the layout of the streets, thanks to my memory-boosting talents and skills I would have no trouble remembering them later. I next ran across the roofs on a path towards the adventurers guild. I had to take a bit of care here, lest I be spotted by the adventurers who were still active at the taverns and brothels in the area. Even if they were less skilled than the Kingdoms Knights, Adventurers still had their own abilities and could be quite troublesome in their ability to sense potential threats. Having memorized this route as well, I briefly paused and observed one adventurer, he seemed to be a bit apart from the others and was watching the doors and windows of the tavern with his back to the wall. As I studied him, his head snapped around and faced me, requiting me to break off my idle observations and hide. Thats what I mean about adventurers and their uncanny ability to sense threats. Sheesh. Theres no way he would have been able to see me, and I wasnt letting off any bloodlust, yet he still picked up on the fact I was watching him. After I followed the rooftops from the Adventurers Guild to the Alchemy Shop that my lady would be visiting, I again checked the time. Looks like I still have a couple of hours to kill, time for some practice. I dashed across the rooftops towards a place I had made note of as we entered Fess. Arriving at my destination, I looked down from my perch at the building below. The place I had come to was a crime den. A black market of sorts, they would take commissions similar to the Adventurers Guild. Unlike the Guild, however, these commissions were not bound by any laws of the Kingdom. The organization behind the Black Guild was given tacit, and in some cases outright, approval to operate by the kingdoms higher-ups in exchange for services rendered. Indeed, they would service me nicely as a form of practice. Making note of the positions of each of the guards, I dropped down from the roof. Stealing up to behind one of them, I stretched out with my dagger and cut his throat; I was not using grave oil, as it was incredibly rare so its use would invariably draw suspicion to myself. Due to this, he was able to make a strange gurgling wheezing noise as life left him. It is a popular misconception that throat-cutting leads to a silent death, and certainly, the victim cannot call for help, but they are still quite able to make noise as they pass on. I stepped quickly back and into a shadow cast in the moonlight by a doorway. I was counting on the noise of his comrades death to draw the other guard over. Rewarding my patience, the other guard soon approached my hiding spot. As he saw the body, blood drained from his face and he opened his mouth to scream the alarm. I was waiting for this. Darting out of my doorway, I flicked my hand at him, tossing my dagger blade first into his conveniently opened mouth and severing the back of his throat. I chose to leave the dagger rather than waste time retrieving it; it was just a cheap thing I had swiped off a drunkard earlier, and I had others. With both the guards dispatched, I slipped into the building to look for any more employees. Moving from room to room, I made sure to keep to the shadows as much as possible, however, the building was largely empty, much to my chagrin. Finally, in the last room, I found another person. The man was sitting behind a desk waiting for me, the setting moon rendering him in silhouette through the window behind him. I see you let yourself in so to what do I owe the pleasure Kings Dog? I said nothing, it didnt matter to me if he knew what I used to be; he was going to die here tonight. I drew one of my daggers and lunged at him. The man let out a surprised grunt and knocked the edge of an ashtray, flipping it up and deflecting my strike. Just like that huh!? Well, you wont find me so eas- His head rolled forwards and he fell onto the desk, blood beginning to pool on his shirt. I pulled my sword out of the shadow I had stabbed it through; upon sliding out of his back, blood bubbled up and out of the hole. I was right to practice, I had wanted to do this whole exercise without falling back on my shadows tools. Still, its lucky that the moon was behind him casting a shadow with his chair back. If we had fought for real it would have been loud, he was actually quite skilled. I flicked the blood off my sword and made my way back to the inn, it was nearly time to wake my lady. The morning was uneventful. My Lady had breakfast and our group set out to accomplish our errands. I lead my lady down the route I had scouted the day before, separating from my ladys friend Sana as we passed by the street that lead to the temple. When we arrived at the adventurers guild, we entered so as to send a letter to my ladys fiance and his family. Upon entering, I quickly took in the surroundings, making note of the exits, windows, and any people who might become a threat. I was immediately placed on guard. Sitting in the corner, in a position from which he could easily observe the surroundings, was the adventurer from the tavern I had encountered last night. It didnt seem like he recognized me, but I would be sure to keep an eye on him as we mailed the letter. As luck would have it, the adventurer in question would be the one to deliver the letter. As he was taking it from the guild master, his eyes met mine briefly. He stared at me for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and addressed my lady. Francois and Ris eh? Guess they got what they wanted after all poor girl. He then left the guild to go about fulfilling his quest. Aaron huh? Thank you for warning me, I will be sure to look into it. I didnt know how he figured it out, but that last line was clearly intended to warn me about an issue with my ladys engagement. Jacqueline, do I know that Adventurer? I wracked my memories for a moment before I realized; I had met him once before seeing him at the tavern, if however briefly. I believe he was the one who delivered the Count Francois letter to your father two years ago. I am surprised you remember his face, you only saw him but for a few moments. My Lady nodded, and after a moment she commented on the adventurers parting remarks. Of course, you would notice what he said as well, dont worry though, Ill figure it out and protect you! Leaving the Adventurers Guild, we made our way to the alchemy shop I had scouted last night. Once arrived, my lady wasted no time in entering the shop and beginning her perusals. In a different life, maybe you could have lived simply, happily opened your own shop, or taken over Svens. Grown old in the village surrounded by family and friends instead, you were born cursed, caught up in political machinations you had no business with I felt a pain in my heart at the sight of my lady so enthralled, but quickly pushed it down and slipped out; my lady may have had more than one objective in mind when she elected to visit the shop, but she was still doing it to give me some time away from her with which to conduct an investigation. I slipped away from the shop at the earliest opportunity. I had to hurry; we had not discussed timing but I could guess that my lady would keep finding excuses to occupy herself until it was time to reunite with her friend. This would give me just over three hours with which to work. I could possibly have done this last night, however, the building I was heading to would have been far more dangerous then, and showing up while my charge was sleeping would have raised awkward questions. When I made it to the outskirts of Fess, I quickly checked my surroundings to be sure I was clear of people. Confirming I was well and truly alone, I darted off the road and into an alleyway. From there, I activated shadow step and walked through the wall. This was the main entrance of an Order of Shadows safehouse, enterable only by walking through the shadows in the most literal sense. Once inside, I focused my senses and confirmed that the usual occupant was out. Every major city and every town over a certain population had one of these safehouses, and every safehouse had at least one permanent resident. Ostensibly, their purpose was for gathering information; the Shadows network was much faster than waiting for traveling merchants or Knight Messengers. Of course, that didnt mean that the resident agent couldnt serve other purposes if, for example, the local lord developed aspirations beyond their station. Still, this was the closest safe house to Ris Village, so any retrieval mission dispatched after Lady Rosial would have at one point stopped by in Fess. It was unlikely there were any traces left over, it had been two years, but I knew my lady would appreciate it if I were to look anyway. I spent roughly an hour in the safehouse, digging through various documents. Unfortunately, not only could I not find any traces of Lady Rosial, I could not find any information worth sharing with my lady whatsoever. Not that I expected to find much, a small safe house like this wouldnt store any sensitive records, and the most sensitive information will only be kept on a living record anyways I shivered at the thought of those living records. Even before I began to feel following my betrayal, I had always found the living records creepy. Former Shadows whose Memorization Talent had evolved into Eidetic Memory, they would go insane from all the suddenly restored memories of our training and the life before. Rather than waste their talent and the resources invested in them, they were instead locked away and forced to store sensitive information in their now perfect memories. A slave contract ensured that they would not betray the Order with their insanity. At the thought, I touched my neck, glad that no such contract had been placed on me. Field agents were not enslaved; doing so would restrict our ability to act independently and adapt to a changing situation. I imagine if word of my own actions leak, that policy might be revisited Out of time, I made sure everything was back in its original place and left the safehouse. Arriving back at the alchemy shop, I was just in time to seamlessly reunite with my lady, who was just finishing up her last order of business. Based on the boys expression of abject despair, it appeared that my ladys endeavors had been fruitful. Later that night, I reported my lack of findings to my lady, and she confirmed that she had not been expecting me to find anything. Following our clandestine discussion, she fell asleep I opened my bag and removed a small sphere; this was the magic tool used by field agents to send reports. After making my report and storing the ball I lay down in my cot. Thankfully this night I was not bothered by strange visions or dreams and was able to sleep soundly until it was time for me to wake in the morning. Special Report, 10th day of the second month, Year 947 As stated in the previous special report, we are currently in the Town of Fess and will be departing on the morning of the 11th day. Nothing major to report regarding the actions of Primary Target while in Fess. Our party had breakfast at the inn, then spent the day in town. Prior to our arrival in the capital, an adventurer named Aaron should arrive bearing a letter addressed to Count Francois. Contents of the letter are unimportant formalities. Following the dispatch of the letter, Primary Target passed the time in an alchemy shop, where she had a rousing discussion with the local alchemist regarding some of her inventions. At approximately five oclock, we reunited with Incidental Target Two and returned to the inn. After having a light dinner we retired to the room. At the time of writing this report, Primary Target and both Incidental Targets are sleeping undisturbed. Expect the next Special Report on the Evening of the 11th day, following our arrival at the Royal Capital City of Drakas. Jacqueline, 20th Day, Second Month 947, Royal Capital Drakas I slipped out of the building I had been investigating. Another bust, unfortunately. Since arriving in the Royal Capital a week ago, I had been running errands on behalf of my lady. It worried me to be separated from her for so long, however, I could be assured of her safety. As she was engaged to marry into the house, the Francois family would not allow any harm to come to her; doing so would besmirch their honor as Drakas Nobility. Even my attendant work was largely superfluous at this point. Nominally I was my ladys head maid, but that title was largely meaningless in the face of Lucy and Frieda, the two maids provided to my lady by her fiances family. Instead of attending to her, I had delegated most of my duties to the two newcomers, of course after I judged them as being competent, and had spent the week relearning the streets of the capital. The city proper was no issue, it had not changed all that much in the decade since I had last been here. The slums, however, were unrecognizable. Even on a year-to-year basis, the slums could change to the point of being a completely different environment, and it only got worse the further from the main roads you got. Still, through a great deal of effort, I was able to confidently say that I now had a good handle on the current layout. It had taken me a week, but my explorations paid off. After all, I was able to find this place. The building I had just exited had not been used in some time. If I were to make a conservative estimate, I would say it had been abandoned for nearly two years. Which lines up with Lady Rosials disappearance perfectly I had learned of this building following my visit to the Order of Shadows headquarters. That had been a nerve-wracking experience for me, given my change of loyalty. Still, it was not something that I could avoid. Following extended field operations, it was standard for returning agents to undergo a debriefing at headquarters once they had the opportunity to return to the capital. My own debriefing had taken place the day after we arrived in the capital. I arrived at the headquarters building, an unassuming place in the nobles quarter, just after the noon bell. After announcing myself using the code phrase I had been given via my communication tool, I was quickly ushered inside the building and into an interior room. Unlike the safe houses, there was no need to shadow walk in order to get in. Due to the buildings location in the nobles quarter security was a non-issue. Nobles knew better than to invade each others property, and this building was designed in such a way so as not to stand out. As far as any onlooker was concerned, it may as well be the capital home of a well-off Baron or poor Count. Hardly anything worth sticking their nose into. Once you got inside, however, things quickly changed. The interior was spartan. Not just simply decorated, it was devoid of decoration whatsoever. It gave the impression that the buildings entire budget had been spent on the exterior, and in a way that was correct. The Order would not waste money on such trivialities as priceless artworks that served no purpose other than to stroke the egos of their owner. Towards the middle of the building were various offices, one of which was my current destination. Entering, I immediately caught my breath. The figure seated on the other side of the building had a hood up hiding his face completely, and I had to guess that the shadow it cast over his face would not be so easily dispelled by merely shining a light at it. But it was not his appearance that caused me to pause; it was his ring. Trained agents could take in every detail the moment we saw something, and I had immediately felt my gaze drawn to his hands. On both hands, he lacked a pinky finger, leaving him with four digits. On one such digit, the ring finger of his right hand sat a ring. Set in this ring was a ruby roughly the size of a thumbnail. Engraved on this ruby the character 5 was faintly glowing, indicating the presence of magic of some kind. So I have entered the Dragons Den unprepared. Of course, I had been theorizing about what questions I might be asked and what answers I should give. Playing word games in my head to practice telling half-truths that could avoid being picked up by lie detection magic. I had already learned how to speak like that during my own training of course, but interrogations from Shadow cannot be compared to an interrogation from a guard or city official. All of that preparation may as well have flown out the proverbial window though. After all, Five was one of the ones who taught those methods. Is something the matter, Jacqueline? As I recall, that is your current name. I couldnt see his face, but I imagined him raising an eyebrow from his tone and inflections. This is the man most likely responsible for stealing away Lady Rosial from my lady For a brief moment, I entertained the idea of lunging at him and trying to end this here and now, however, I knew better than that. There was no way I would be able to beat him in a head-on fight, and doing something so stupid as to tip my hand and fail would only expose my lady to needless danger. Her path would be hard enough without me making it thornier. There was also the question of where exactly Lady Rosial was. Even if I were to kill Five now, there was no way for me to be sure of finding her, and even with his death, another would come and take his place. We would have to find Lady Rosial before we could strike out against this man. No sir, there is no matter. I must confess, I was simply taken aback; I did not expect to be seeing you personally. He nodded and gestured for me to have a seat. But of course, your most recent assignment has been most productive, and seeing as I have been handling the majority of your reports, I feel I am the one most qualified to conduct this debriefing. Now, sit. I did as instructed and took a seat. Five watched me for a moment, most likely monitoring my bearings and trying to gauge my emotional state. I willed my heart to be still, I could not afford to appear unduly nervous, but nor could I appear perfectly calm. This is going to be exceedingly difficult. After watching me in silence for what felt like several minutes, but in reality, was probably only a handful of seconds, Five slid a paper across the desk to me. Glancing down, I saw that it was a copy of a report I had sent, specifically the one from the fourth month of 945, the month of my betrayal. I skimmed the report, confirming that it was indeed what I had written, there were no alterations slipped into it to catch me off guard. Report, 30th day of the fourth month, Year 945 Primary Target has finally made a recovery from her grief-induced stupor. Following what she told me in confidence was A vision from the goddess Caina, telling me I must confront my future head-on, and cannot afford to waste away in self-pity. Primary Target seems to understand the implications of such an Oracle, as she called me out into the woods, away from any prying eyes or ears before informing me. It seems I am the only one so informed, as Primary Target has not told even her parents or friend from the temple. Under the pretext of confronting her future, Primary Target has once again begun studying various topics in great detail, requesting her parents find her a magic tutor, and to pull her out of the temple school. She plans to make up for the lack of schooling with private education through various tutors, financed using the royalties paid out after her numerous alchemical discoveries and inventions. The stated goal is to get a head start on the curriculum she will be learning at the Academy. Secondary and Tertiary Targets are not raising much of a fuss over such a complete one-eighty; I speculate that they are simply happy to have their remaining daughter back in good spirits, and have otherwise become desensitized to strange things occurring in Primary Targets surroundings. After I read the report, I looked up at Five. From within the darkness of his hood, I could picture him still watching me intently. I cleared my throat. This is the report I submitted following Primary Targets recovery from her depression. After a moment, Five nodded. Indeed. And what a remarkable recovery it was. Tell me Jacqueline, an Oracle in which one directly hears the words of one of the twelve, and the recipient is not even of the cloth. It is truly a remarkable occurrence, is it not? I paused for a moment, unsure of where he was going with this line of questioning. Yes, when I was first told, I did not quite believe her at first myself, but given everything else that has occurred through the Primary Target, I was able to be convinced of the veracity of her claim. And yet, I should think that given how auspicious this occurrence is, it would warrant a complete retelling of events would it not? Damnit, I should have included more detail The best lies contain as little fabricated detail as possible and just a pinch of truth, but in this case, I put too little Outwardly, I nodded after a moment. Indeed, I suppose that I became desensitized to Primary Target constantly betraying all expectations and treated the occurrence as somewhat normal. I believe I should be reassigned. This was an absolute gamble on my part, of course, I had no desire to be reassigned. I simply needed to show that I acknowledged my mistake, or risk falling under suspicion. Five was quiet for a time, save the sound of his fingers tapping at his desk. No, I do not think that that is necessary, nor would it be a good idea. The target has come to trust you a great deal, removing you now and placing another agent on her would simply draw too much suspicion. That being said, be sure to make more thorough reports in the future, one can never be sure what small detail is most important. As for the rest of your debriefing, tell me exactly what Primary Target said to you regarding her oracle. I bowed my head in a show of acknowledgment, while furiously trying to come up with something plausible. My Lady and I had come up with only the bare minimum of details regarding what to tell someone if we were ever questioned, trusting that we would have no issues convincing anyone of our truthfulness. Instead, we were more worried that having too many details may make it difficult to keep the story straight. We had never accounted for the possibility of the mastermind seeking me out specifically though. After delaying as long as I could without it becoming suspicious, I started to weave my concocted tale. Primary Target woke me up with a shout from her room in the middle of the night. When I went to check on her, she smiled like I had not seen since the disappearance of her sister. When I asked her what was the matter, she appeared thoughtful for a moment, then asked me to take her into the woods, far enough away that there was absolutely no chance of us being overheard. I waited, to see if Five would give any indication of whether or not he was buying into my story. When none was forthcoming, I continued. I was skeptical of the need for such secrecy, however when I brought her out into the woods, she described to me a dream, a dream in which she visited a forest locked in winter. I heard five suck in breath audibly, it would seem that I had successfully managed to trick him thus far, using a similar description to what I had really been told was paying off. While there, she met a figure of a young girl, who claimed to be the goddess Caina herself. This goddess told her that great change was coming and that she was meant to be at the front of it. To that end, she must confront and accept her fate in the capital. Primary Target then affirmed that she was done wallowing in her misery, and that going forward, she would endeavor to live for the memory of her sister. Following the conclusion of my story, Five was silent. After a moment, he nodded. That will be all. Resume your assignment. I could only blink as my brain failed to process what he had said. Sir? You heard me. You have given me much to think about, I only wish your reports had been so accurate two years ago. Go pick up your order and return to Primary Target. I felt a shiver, the fact that he knew I had placed a certain order was disconcerting, to say the least; it meant I was likely being tracked, if not directly observed. Very well, Thank you, Sir. I stood and gave a small bow. As a rule, Shadows did not differentiate between genders unless undercover. As I left the room, I heard a muffled mutter from Five. I was of course, smart enough not to indicate I had heard. Still, if is making a mo . what cod . mean? I had one stop to make before I left the headquarters building. I had to visit the records room and check the monthly reports from the months immediately before and after Lady Rosials kidnapping. I had originally been planning to come back later on, but now that I knew Five was on the move, I could not risk coming back without a summons. That meant that as dangerous as it was, I would have to look today before I left. I was able to get into the records room without too much trouble, after all, nothing truly damning was stored here; that information was only recorded by living records. Besides that, when every member of an organization is trained in assassination and anti-personal combat, dedicated security becomes superfluous. As a field agent, I possessed clearance to enter this room, so if anyone had stopped me, I could simply say I was searching for something else to help with my currently assigned mission. The only real risk was Fives presence in the building. After checking through the files around the date I was searching for, I found a report that looked promising. It was recorded as a purchasing invoice for a number of supplies that would not seem overly suspicious if the document were to be misplaced or lost. Given that all of the Orders documents were technically a matter of record, and therefore accessible to any high noble we had long used code phrases in place of actual items. As I read the manifest, I found the line I had been looking for. Now, how do I tell my lady about this? I absolutely cannot tell her Five is in the capital, or that I was confronted by him at what was supposed to be a routine debriefing Right, I found this document in a military supply depot, not the Orders headquarters. but I still need to warn her that I might be under suspicion Ill allude to me being left out of the loop, she should be able to figure it out from there. As I made one more lap around the abandoned building, I once again confirmed it had not been used in some time. There were a few small traces that a large number of people had once been housed here, however as for wherever they had then gone, there was no clue whatsoever. Shrugging to myself, I left the structure and made for the upper city. As Five had alluded too I did indeed have an order to pick up. I arrived on the street outside of the building and for the umpteenth time since I left headquarters, I confirmed that nobody was tailing me. So assured, I quickly clambered up onto the roofs and cut across them. Using the soon to be setting sun to my advantage, I occasionally darted through the shadow world to further confuse any potential trackers. I arrived at my destination with only a handful of minutes to spare; the capital truly was massive, I had left the building in the slums at around four in the afternoon and it was now nearly seven in the evening. The building in question was a shop at which I had placed an order on behalf of my lady. I absolutely had to pick up the requested items before her social function tomorrow. Entering through the front door, I was greeted by an elderly woman. Took you long enough, I was just about to give up on you and close up for the day. I bowed my head contritely. I apologize for my tardiness, some unexpected events came up. I have the money ready if you would like to quickly conclude our business. The woman nodded and passed me a parcel. I did not confirm the contents, doing so here would bring shame to my lady. I paid the woman and quickly left her store so that she could close shop for the night, then made for the Francois Estate. Only when I was safely back in my small quarters provided to me by Count Francois did I open the parcel and confirm its contents. Holding them up to the light so I could confirm the quality of the work, I nodded to myself. I imagine she will do her damndest to avoid having to wear these, but it is for her own good in the end. Hopefully she wont fight for too long and get used to them quickly. I put the newly made training bras away before making my way over to my ladys room to prepare her outfit for tomorrow. Psycholor So concludes the first of the three POV chapters I had initially planned for this arc. I know more than a few people were probably expecting a bunch of reports like last time, but given her new allegiances that wouldn''t really work, since most of her reports are going to be kept quite minimal on detail in order to protect what''s truly going on. Like Jacqueline says, the most believable lies have a small bit of truth and as few made up details as possible. 2-9 Daily Life Stahlia Ten Years Old, Seventh Month of 947 Oh Fire, #### a ball and fly ##### to ###### my target! [Fireball] As I said the keyword, I felt the heat of the flame formed on my hand, as a sphere of flame manifested. It shot off and struck the orc-shaped straw target a little ways away from me. Sarala was off to the side with Edith, both of them watching me. Sarala raised an eyebrow. Lady Stahlia, you said you had something to show us, but that was just a regular beginner tier Red Magic, was it not? I nodded. It was for demonstration purposes. This is what I wanted to show you. I once again exhaled, clearing my mind. Mana was much easier to control with fewer distractions, emotional and physical disturbances only got in the way and clogged things up, which made it chanted spells cost more and outright disturbed Blood Magic by making the Mana harder to control. The Fifth Law of Magic stated that the amount of mana cost and power of a spell would go up or down based on the caster''s emotional state. In general, a clear head would be most effective, although certain branches of magic might actually be cheaper with strong emotions. For example, Fire Magic tended to be greatly enhanced by hatred and anger. The phrase "burning with hatred" was quite literal in this world. After clearing my head, I opened my eyes and chanted again. Oh Water, #### a #### fly ##### to ###### my target! [Water Ball] At my command, a sphere of water manifested in the air in front of me, before flying off at speed and piercing the chest of the target. I grimaced at the mana drain, this spell cost a lot more than the first one, likely having to do with my kitbashed chant. The sight of the spell caused Edith to open her eyes slightly, while Sarala stared completely wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open. After taking a moment to collect herself, Sarala approached me. Stahlia, that wasnt the chant for a water ball spell like we learned in our Blue Magic, what did you just do?! I smiled wryly, Sarala tended to get a bit flustered and forget her manners when excited. Once you got her to open up to you and stop being so shy, she was really a sweet girl. Indeed, it was the chant for a fireball spell, I just replaced a few words with ones from the water ball spell. It costs a lot more mana than doing water ball normally though, Im not exactly sure why that is. Indeed, over the past several months I had been learning various spell chants during my Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Magic classes. then, using that information, I had begun the painstaking process of comparing the effects of the spell to the magic language composing its chant. By cross-referencing the different words from my repertoire of chants, I was beginning to form a comprehensive reference of what different words meant. Of course, I could easily be missing something, unlike when I learned to speak the common language ten years ago, nobody was available to teach me. In fact, if I were to tell people I was actually trying to translate the language I would get laughed at. The general consensus varied from person to person; some said that the words have no meaning; mana was formed by the soundwaves produced in the chant. Others said that it was the language of the gods not meant for mortal understanding. Still yet another theory stated that the words themselves were only part of the chant, and that somehow they held meaning only when observed from a higher dimension. I wasnt exactly sure what the difference between the language of the gods and higher dimension theories was; in my mind the gods were essentially higher dimensional entities. Still, I had to imagine that those theories were all wrong since I was definitely making progress. As demonstrated by my recent success at combining the invocation and keyword of one spell with the chant of another, from two different colors to boot. Albeit it came at the cost of exponentially more mana, rendering its usefulness questionable. There was also a logical argument against this rule; if it was the sound vibrations that were responsible for shaping mana, then how the hell did Magic Talents manage to cast spells when they assisted to omit the chant entirely. There was also the existence of Blood Magic, I had recently become able to produce a small flame on the tip of my finger without speaking at all. I glanced at my stat sheet, confirming my mana expenditure, and confirming the fact that my mana was not recovering. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 20 Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris, 10 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 9 Experience: 1450/9000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 3/3: Prodigy III*, Eidetic Memory II*, Stealth IV, || Monster Handling III*, Dagger Fighting V* Unarmed Fighting IV*, Alchemy Correction IV*, Teaching II*, Mana Efficiency II*, Fire Magic II*, Water Magic I*, Earth Magic I*, Wind Magic I* Skills 3/3: Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Finesse Fighting*, Blue Blooded*, || Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Blessing of Winter* Talents Experience: [+] It had been five months, unfortunately I was not making much progress in searching for Rosial, the fact that the Shadows had potentially caught on to us was stymying our efforts. Still, it wasn''t like I had been idle; I had been studiously working at translating the magic language, name pending. Eidetic Memory made that much easier than translating an unknown language with no reference normally should be; since I only needed to see or hear a chant once to properly remember it now, I was able to swiftly increase my sample size of words and use the context of the spell effects to try and puzzle out meaning. I had also managed to pick up Drakan Style to the point it would be listed as an option on my menu. The initial fireball had cost me ten mana, a bit less than in the past given my increased rank of Mana Efficiency. The Water Ball, however, had used a whopping twenty. If I had cast Water Ball using the normal chant, it would have been about the same as Fireball, perhaps just a couple of points more expensive. Honestly, I wasnt entirely sure about how effective my mana consumption was when chanting. My Blood Magic used way less mana, compared to a dexterity enhancement spell found under Yellow Magic, my own physical enhancements used less than about half of the mana to produce the same effect. Of course, there was the limiting factor in that I could only manage to influence my own body or things that were very close to me. According to Kell and Gustav, this was a normal limitation of Blood Magic. And I still havent had any change in the amount of experience I have. At our last tea party, Sana told me that shes level six now, and Giogi is level seven. Both of them were only level four when we left Ris. I suppose I really am only able to get experience points by killing things, otherwise, all the effort Ive been putting into my translation and studies should have leveled me up at least once by now Shaking my head to clear the idle ramblings, I glanced over to my assistant and my observer, who I had been tuning out. Sarala had been helping me with my experiments, teaching me chants she knew from before the Academy. Edith had been providing me a place to work, with the promise that I would let her drop by and watch from time to time. At first, I was wary of sharing too much with them, but after having Jacqueline do a thorough background check, I was now confident that I could let them in on a few small things, like my kitbashed water ball chant. It was also very helpful to do my experiments at the Claurence Estate courtesy of Edith since I had Rowell following me at the academy and in all likelihood informing the Order of Shadows on everything I did there. Likewise, at the Francois estate, I would have to contend with Elienor pestering me to teach her magic, something she had started doing over these past months. There was also the case of Pet. I felt bad for her, as I had more or less placed her under house arrest in my room. I just had to keep telling myself it was to protect her, due to her Envious skill, I couldnt risk her seeing anyone using skills or talents. I had been bedridden for almost a week after acquiring the Wind Magic Talent, and when Pet had seen me using a fire magic spell with talent casting, she had been knocked out for three days. According to an appraisal I did while wiping her forehead with a hot towel, the only change was that she had acquired Fire Magic I thanks to Envious. These two events combined caused me to suspect there was more going on behind how talents were actually acquired, and that getting too many too quickly could be harmful. Or maybe it was the potency of the talents, I didnt have enough information and was wary of conducting any experiments to find out more. So it was that for a variety of reasons, I turned to Edith for help in securing a location to run experiments at. Even if I was still worried about the political ramifications of owing her a favor, or the risk that some things I didnt actually want to be discovered came to light. Especially considering my end goal was to have figured out enough of the magic language to create my own custom spells, something that was largely viewed as impossible; the vast majority of currently in use spells had been passed down orally or in grimoires, and new spells only seemed to come from ancient texts occasionally discovered in ruins left over from before the demon war. Enough of my rambling, I still have things to do today. I cleared my throat to get the pairs attention. Sarala, do you remember that thing Instructor Kell was talking about in the last lecture? Of course, I remembered, I had heard almost the same thing three times in a row. Sarala nodded. Yes I remember, Chant Holding right? he was saying it was one of the requirements for passing the advanced blue magic classes, they first introduce it in the introductory class since it takes so much effort to learn. Nobody in our class was able to get it right, not even you or me. I nodded, Yea, Chant Holding. I got to hear about it three times, which also means I got three times the in-class practice. Edith giggled and Sarala rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. Both of them had heard me complain about the uniformity of the introductory courses on numerous occasions. That aside, I looked at the thoroughly abused target and stretched out my hand. [###### ###]. A beam of white light fired out from my palm and skewered the target through its head. This time it was Edith who spoke up. Stahlia, that was a chantless Light Ray, was it not? The White Magic Spell? Forgive me if I am mistaken, but you are not currently enrolled in White Magic. Sarala nodded emphatically. Correct, I am not enrolled in White Magic. However, that was not a chantless spell. I chanted it this morning, and have been chant holding it since then. Chant holding, as explained by our instructors, was the act of chanting a spell ahead of time and releasing it when needed by reciting the keyword. It was a method to combine the convenience of Talent Magic with the versatility of Chanted Magic since a chant-held spell could be augment chanted. The one major downside was that Mana wouldnt regenerate while you were focusing on a chant-hold. Sarala eyed me suspiciously. From this morning? Even though last week nobody in the class could do it? I nodded. Yes from this morning. As it turns out, theres a really simple trick to it that I was able to work out while I was mixing parts of different chants to see what would happen. Edith rolled her eyes at my explanation, even if she wasnt enrolled in the magic classes like Sarala and I, she at least knew the theory and was able to correctly recognize how absurd what I had just said was. Sarala just shook her head before offering her own thoughts. Even if you can only hold one spell at a time that is still more than the majority of the class, no, all of us can do so are you going to tell me how you did it? Thats why you brought it up right? I nodded. As far as I can tell, the trick is understanding the spell you want to chant-hold. You need to know exactly what will happen when you say the keyword and hold a mental picture of that in your head. Its easier said than done, but you should be able to manage it with Water Ball. Sarala looked thoughtful, most likely she was imagining what happened when a Water Ball spell was formed. After a moment, she closed her eyes and stilled her breathing. Remember Sarala, you need to hold the picture of the Water Ball in your head until you feel your mana freeze; thats when you know youve properly formed the spell. Until I feel my mana freeze. Got it. Sarala breathed out one last time and opened her eyes. Oh Water, ####### #### ### ##### a ball and fly ##### to ###### my Target! She then paused, brow furrowed slightly. After a moment she twitched before glancing around. After about a minute, she fixed her eyes on the remains of my straw orc and opened her mouth again. [Water Ball] Instantly, a fist-sized sphere of water formed in front of her and launched out at the target, thoroughly obliterating what dregs of it had thus far managed to survive. Sarala wiped her forehead clear of the sweat that had begun to form, gratefully taking the towel Edith offered her. She had only cast the one spell, but it had taken a much greater amount of effort for her than me. I havent appraised her, but I would have to guess she probably doesnt have my mana efficiency talent. Likewise, she is likely a lower level than me, based on what Ive seen with Giogi and Sana, and would have a lower mana rating meaning that overall she could probably only manage that two or three times at most. Congratulations Sarala, it looks like you have successfully managed to chant-hold. I am sure Instructor Kell will be quite impressed. Sarala accepted my praise with a wry smile. Until I tell him you were the one who taught me the trick to it. I shook my head and replied sarcastically. Noooo anything but that! This wasnt the first time Sarala had made such remarks since we started interacting more frequently. At first I had been worried about them, but eventually, I realized that she was just being playful. Edith lightly cuffed Sarala on the back of the head. Do not tease her like that. Like Sarala, Edith had opened up to me over the past months as well, revealing a less formal private side. Sarala clutched her head in mock pain. Lady Edith! That was mean! Honestly having friends like these two isnt so bad, I hope I can manage to save our friendship even after I strike a serious blow to the kingdom As I was warmly watching my two friends banter with each other, I heard the city bell toll out one pm. Damn, Ill have to head back I was not looking forward to my afternoon plans. While I had grown used to the accursed piece of cloth Jacqueline made me wear on my chest, the fact remained that my body was still changing. One of the more irritating side effects of those changes was the involuntary bouts of self-consciousness I now tended to experience when dealing with boys, especially whenever I received a compliment. It was like I was becoming tuned into the opposite sex. Not like, I am becoming aware of it. The whole experience was exceptionally uncomfortable given my disposition in my previous life. Dominic was a particular nuisance since I was nominally engaged to him. I would occasionally be struck with thoughts of what came after marriage, even though I had no intentions of going through with any weddings. It wouldnt be so bad if I didnt have my past lifes memories to go on, I dont recall ever being taught sex ed in this life atleast, so those particular thoughts wouldnt be an issue. Presumably, that would be one of the things I was intended to learn during bridal training, another life event I was hellbent on avoiding, which was supposedly set to occur after I finished at the academy when I was thirteen. Predictably, the thought of receiving sex ed from my new perspective caused my cheeks to flush, a phenomenon that Edith noticed. She swiftly stepped up close to me, forcing me to turn my head back slightly to meet her gaze. As I looked up at her, she reached out and poked my cheek. That was the bell just now was it not? Is someone thinking about a particular meeting they have planned for later today? While her tone was teasing, I could detect a hint of amusement behind it. While that wasnt the reason behind why my face had reddened, it was a fact that I was scheduled to have lunch with Dominic today at two pm, meaning I had to leave Ediths familys estate around one. Still, this was a misconception I had to correct, even if it hadnt worked the past dozen or so times I had corrected it. No Edith, I was not thinking of Dominic just now, I was thinking of Right, its not like I can say I was just thinking about sex! at best she would brand me a pervert, and at worst, she would assume it was sex with Dominic. Thats assuming she knows what sex is in the first place. God forbid she asks Whats that? and I have to explain My face had gotten progressively redder as my thought train ran away from the station, which in turn caused Edith to grin mischievously and pinch both cheeks in her hands. Shtahp hit! She gave one final squeeze before letting go. I glared at her and began picking up my things; preparing to head off to meet with my other, more serious, tormentor. Edith called out to my back in a somewhat sad voice, giving me pause. You know Stahlia, I really am jealous that you actually like your fiance Your family was only recently given their peerage, so you dont really realize how rare that is for us young noble ladies. I didnt turn around and just shook my head. I do not like him. I wish you would stop teasing me about that. I could hear Edith sigh as I left the yard. Right, whatever you say Stahlia. I arrived back at the Francois Estate by one-thirty, and quickly headed to my side building; I would of course be expected to change into a fresh dress before meeting Dominic for lunch. Upon arriving, I heard a shrill cry and Stil bounded up to me. I smiled and gave him a piece of the dried meat we kept on hand for him, and stroked his head feathers. It must be frustrating for him. In the beginning, Stil had been excited about the city; it was full of new sounds and smells. However, that quickly changed to what was obvious boredom. Unlike Ris, I couldnt let him wander around freely here; he was, after all, a monster. As such, other than going out with Jacqueline or myself on occasion, he spent most of his time cooped up on the grounds of the Francois Estate. I felt a tug on my sleeve and glanced down to see Pet. Like Stil, she also suffered from extreme boredom, due to me having placed her on house arrest for her own safety. Thankfully Lucy and Frieda hadnt questioned me doing that, explaining Envious to outsiders was obviously not a thing that was going to happen, and I had been struggling to come up with a good excuse for my decision. As far as I was aware, they had come to the conclusion that I simply wished for Pets existence to be kept a secret. Something or other to do with my pride as a noblewoman and the shame of keeping a filthy beast. I smiled at her and rubbed between her ears. That was another discovery I made over the past few months; Pet liked being pet. At least on her head, I had gotten curious and tried stroking her tail once. She had most definitely not appreciated that nearly as much as having her head pat. How are you doing this afternoon? Pet glanced around the room quickly before answering. Pet was playing with Lady Elienor earlier, but I missed nee-san a lot I nodded. Sorry for having to keep you in the house like this Im just worried about you getting sick again. I was really sorry to, but as much as I disliked restricting her; there was no way for her to go around unaccompanied, and I couldnt take her with me to the Academy. Due to all the students learning and practicing there, that was basically asking for Envious to activate repeatedly, which would at best probably advance her demonization, and at worst might actually kill her from talent overload. Pet doesnt mind! I had apologized several times before, and she always adamantly insisted that she was fine with it. Its lonely without nee-san, but this house is a lot nicer than Pets last house! Right, an actual house is nicer than a literal cage Jacqueline came out from her room, presumably having heard mine and Pets exchange. Lady Stahlia, I have prepared your change of attire, please hurry; you must not be late. I grimaced but allowed Jacqueline to lead me to my bedroom and change me. My new dress was similar to a sundress, though it fully covered my shoulders, and had a frankly excessive amount of lace according to my sensibilities, though it was presumably quite fashionable; Jacqueline tended to excel at picking my clothes, she had even arranged a new training bra that was dyed and stitched in such a way that it wouldnt stand out under what was more or less a sundress. Though as I look at it, this bra seems to have the same dimensions as the other ones it just serves to remind me of how annoying everything is currently. I dont think Ive grown at all! Unlike most girls, I had foreknowledge of exactly how big I would get; my hope was that I could use this to estimate how fast I was developing, and thus estimate when my hell would be over. By the time we had finished changing me and redoing my hair, it was nearly one-fifty. As I was leaving, I looked back over my shoulder at Pet, who had climbed up onto a chair at the table and was coloring with some of the pastels I had acquired for her. Itte kimasu! Pet glanced up at me and nodded. See you soon Nee-san! I shrugged to myself inside my head and made my way towards the main building. I had played a few JRPGs back in my previous life, and thanks to Eidetic Memory, I could remember a large portion of the dialogue. I had been using some Japanese words periodically when I was alone with Pet, out of curiosity to see if I would elicit any response. The thought had crossed my mind that she might actually be another reincarnation like myself, but so far she had been unresponsive whenever I tried speaking to her in earth languages other than a handful of Japanese words and phrases. She reacts properly to Japanese, but not English, German, or French. Even with the Japanese, she doesnt react to anything more advanced than what I would consider weeb talk. While the jury was still out on whether or not Pet had memories of a past life, as the months dragged on and I poked at it from more and more angles, I was drawing to the conclusion that the Beast-kin, or at least the Ebony Cats, simply had a few Japanese words woven into their language. I arrived at the main houses reception hall just as the city bell was ringing two pm. Waiting for me was Dominic, alongside his father Nikolaus. I balked for a moment, I had been aware I was eating lunch with Dominic, I had not expected his father to be present as well. Hurriedly, I performed a curtsy and greeted him. Greetings, Lord Francois. To what do I owe the pleasure? Nikolaus inclined his head towards me. Do not mind me, Lady Stahlia. I simply have a message for the two of you from Lord Percius. Once I deliver it, I will be going. Chancing a glance at Dominic, for once he seemed just as I was. Nikolaus withdrew two sealed envelopes from his suit pocket and passed them to Jacqueline. Right, thats odd. Normally he would have a servant pass those to her. That would indicate it is a matter of some importance but in that case, shouldnt he have passed it to me directly? Or to Dominic? Jacqueline received the letters and put them away, whereupon Nikolaus bid his farewells to me and Dominic and departed. Dominic glanced at Jacqueline before addressing me. Well Stahlia, would you prefer we go to lunch first? Or should we see what the Duke wants with us that is so important he would use a count as a messenger? Right, theres that too. The fact that he sent a high noble to deliver a message to a Barons daughter. Even if I am nominally engaged to his son thats just weird. Right, well, lets put off the message for now. I spent the morning working on my magic studies so I am rather famished. If it is alright with you Dominic, I would like to eat first. Dominic nodded and extended his hand out towards me. Doing my absolute best to keep a straight, normal face, I reached out my own hand and allowed him to escort me. My efforts failed when he did something quite unexpected and raised my hand to his lips. I was pulled out of my surprise by the sensation of something relatively soft and slightly damp pressing against the back of my hand. I immediately felt my face growing hot and jerked back my hand. What the hell?! Hes been getting more and more irritating the past few months, always slipping in compliments and trying to make me react in public, but thats the first time hes done that! I would maybe have expected him to do it in a public setting to get a reaction out of me or something but the only people here are the two of us and Jacqueline. His own manservant isnt even here! I realized I was staring at my hand and quickly shifted my gaze. To my horror, Jacqueline had a faint blush of her own, and Dominic had definitely noticed me looking at my hand if his expression was anything to go by. I tried my best to glare at him, but the best I was able to manage was to blink my eyes and flap my mouth. This this is the worst. Dominic affected an apologetic face and tone. My apologies, Stahlia, I didnt mean to startle you. You simply looked so lovely in that dress that I was overcome. God fucking damn it! With a significant deal of mental effort, I managed to meet his eyes. T-thank you sh-should we go? I managed to forcibly raise my hand and offer it to him. Dominic smiled, flashing me with two rows of perfectly white teeth, and took my hand. Thankfully he refrained from kissing it. I really hope this meal goes by quickly. Being near boys was an uncomfortable experience. Being near Dominic was exceedingly uncomfortable, and seemed to only get worse every time he did something. Worse, I was starting to think I might actually like being complimented, despite the fact that it always made me incredibly embarrassed. We passed out into the yard and boarded the carriage that had been prepared for us. Our plan for lunch was to visit an eatery in the upper city and then attend a play. Presumably, there were some guards mixed in with the citizenry, as we were not going undercover as merchants like we had been back when we bought Pet. Though I have Jacqueline with me, so even if there are no guards, it should be safe. As had become the norm, Giogi was unavailable to serve his job as my guard knight; I was told that he had deemed himself entirely unfit and requested special training. Not that I was too bothered, one less boy my age was better for my mental stress. When we arrived at the location we would be eating, Dominic stood first and extended his hand towards me; clearly intending to escort me down from the carriage. Resigning myself, I took his hand. He better not fucking kiss me again, therere so many more people watching now. I descended the carriage steps with Dominics assistance, whereupon he turned and led me towards the door. Letting go of my hand, he opened the door and politely motioned for me to enter the building. Wait? He really didnt kiss me?! I looked down at my hand before I could stop myself. Of course, Dominic noticed this movement and raised an eyebrow. Were you expecting something? He had on an infuriating self-assured half-smirk. No! Its not like I was expecting anything! The instant the words left my mouth, I clapped my hands over it. Oh my fucking god. I really just said that The blushing, the constant embarrassment, insisting that he irritates me whenever anyone asks, the expecting things and then getting surprised and no, theres no way I was actually disappointed he didnt kiss my hand. Other than the secret disappointment, because I definitely am not Im turning into a textbook fucking tsundere! I even physically abuse him during swordsmanship classes! Despite my mortifying realization, I knew I had to get off the street and out of public sight before I further embarrassed myself. I ducked my head and went to walk past Dominic and enter the building. As I was passing him, I heard a mutter so quiet I doubted my ears for a second. But the words I heard caused me to do a double-take. its not like I was expecting anything She said it. She actually said it! My fianc is a real-life tsundere! The mutter sent a shiver down my spine and I felt like I had been doused with cold water. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the actual fuck! I froze mid-step. Dominic, did you say something? Please, please, please, PLEASE tell me I was mistaken! Hmm? Yes, I just realized something as all, I was talking to myself, you do not need to worry about it, Stahlia. FUCK! Theres only one legitimate reason he would know the term tsundere and react to the specific phrase I used. This makes things a lot more complicated. I pasted a fake noble smile on my face and nodded. If you say so, shall we enter? Thankfully, the ice water that had been dumped over me had thoroughly cooled my head, allowing me to act properly. If worse comes to worst, maybe Cold Hearted? Is there even a combination of emotions I could turn off that would help me stay calm? Love, Empathy, Remorse, Anger none of those seem like they would work. Fear might work no. I cant risk a lack of fear causing me to tell him Im reincarnated too. One thing for sure, this was going to be a much more interesting meal than I had originally thought. What I really need, is information. I need to somehow learn if he poses a threat, and I need to consider the possibility of other reincarnations working for the kingdom. Their presence would complicate things when I make my move. My own custom class was most likely fairly unique since when I picked it, it had been marked as an alpha feature. Of course, that didnt mean there was zero chance someone else had it, just that the chance was lower. But Im pretty sure the staple is that transmigrators and reincarnations always get powerful abilities. I might not have been big on the whole Japanese media craze, but I do recall seeing some people complaining about that trope on some message boards. What would be perfect, is if I could come up with a way to safely appraise him but theres no way I could do that without him noticing. As I was lost I thought, pretending to read the menu, Dominic was watching me intently. One things for sure, if he wasnt interested in me before, He definitely is now. Fuck, he probably had a tsundere fetish in his past life. I stepped in such a steaming pile, why couldnt I stop myself before I said anything? The waiter came by and pulled me out of my thoughts to take our orders. I quickly skimmed the menu; I hadnt actually been reading it. Right, I would like to order the Gratin The waiter nodded and Dominic placed his order, a Quiche. As the waiter was making his way back to the kitchen, another thought occurred to me. I didnt realize it earlier, but a Counts son taking his fianc out to a restaurant to eat instead of having chefs prepare food at his estate isnt exactly normal either. But looking at that menu, a lot of the items were from earth As if reading my mind, Dominic spoke up at that moment. Gratin is a dish made of baked cheese with a meat or mushroom filling. I actually developed it and the other items on that menu myself and arranged for this place to be opened. Hopefully you enjoy it. I gave what I hoped was a decent smile. And I didnt bother asking what the dish was made of, because I already knew and was distracted. Shit, I hope he didnt notice Ah, if it is cheese, I imagine I will find it quite appealing, truthfully I simply selected an item at random; I did not recognize any of the names and was too embarrassed to ask To punctuate my statement, I averted my eyes and turned my face away slightly. Dominic nodded to my comment. Right, Hopefully, he bought that I need to change the subject though Ah, while we wait for our food, should we check the contents of Duke Percius letters? Jacqueline can seal the room for us. Dominic thought for a moment, then nodded. At his nod, Jacqueline first cast her noise-canceling spell, then a locking spell. Finally, she produced the letters from her hidden pocket and presented them to the two of us, according to which was addressed to whom. I took the offered letter opener and broke the seal. Surprisingly, the letter was quite short, and entirely devoid of noble euphemism. Though its phrasing raised other concerns. Special Student Stahlia, In accordance with your contract and obligations, please forgo your morning classes and meet with me together with Special Student Dominic and Special Student Asten tomorrow, the fifth day of the seventh month, year 947. The three of you are being deployed alongside a contingent of knights in your capacity as Special Students. Details will be discussed during our meeting. When finished reading, dispose of this letter. I read it one more time to make sure I wasnt missing anything, before gripping it between my thumb and pointer finger. [########] At my spoken command, the letter burst into flame. Dominic handed me his letter, as he lacked the ability to use fire magic. I likewise burned his letter before asking him the million-dollar question. What do you think that is all about? Dominic shrugged. A monster outbreak most likely. Duke Percius is just fond of conspiracy and secrecy; the majority of the times I have seen him contact my father, he used equally contrived language. Do not worry, I will be there to protect you. He flashed me another full-toothed smile. Great, the last thing I want is to be deployed alongside you without knowing how big of a threat you are At least this will let me get some experience and potentially level up silver lining? Fifth Law of Magic The cost and power of a spell is further affected both positively and negatively by strong emotions, with the color of a given emotion corresponding to the schools of magic that it most greatly affects. E.g. Anger, being a red emotion greatly enhances the power of Red Magic while reducing its cost, but makes Blue Magic less efficient in terms of both power output and mana cost. 2-10 Preparations Stahlia Ten Years Old, Seventh Month of 947 I arrived home from the lunch date and was met with the sight of Elienor combing out Pets hair. After getting over her initial shock and fear, partially thanks to Elienors persistence, Pet had warmed up to Elienor quite nicely, and I would often find them together. Whenever Elienor was able to escape her mother Margeritte, that is. Watching the two of them behaving so innocently does wonders for my mental state, especially after how stressful lunch was. Sitting with Dominic in the private booth at the play had been one thing. At least there I could focus my attention elsewhere. But sitting across from him at the table for lunch had been immensely stressful. Right, Ive been acting a lot more careful with my secrets for the most part. He most likely doesnt know or suspect Im a reincarnation as well. After giving it some thought, I had decided how I would treat him, at least for now. I was going to have to play things safe. I could recall a few instances where my actions might have hinted at my status to someone else like me, such as the origins of a lot of my alchemical processes and the whole calculus incident. But Dominic was giving no indication that he knew or suspected. Unless taking me to that restaurant was meant to gauge how I reacted to the food, but theres nothing I can do about that now. Going forward, I would have to be more cautious about employing my otherworld knowledge, I had been flying free under the pretext that My enemies already know I have Prodigy. My plan had been to blame any and all of my discovered developments on that talent, which so far had been working. But now that I had to contend with the existence of other reincarnations, I couldnt be so risky until I knew more. I had considered telling him I was a reincarnation straight out, but almost immediately rejected that idea. It was too dangerous. Even if we came from the same world with the same original values, Dominic had clearly been affected by the values of this world in a bad way; I only had to look at Pet to see that. She was still terrified of him striking her and would hide the moment she caught his scent approaching my chambers. I can only be glad that she doesnt associate me with that memory even though I was there too. It would help if I knew what his abilities were like. All I know is his level of swordsmanship, though he could be faking that. My Blood Magic Appraisal is too easily noticed, and I dont know the chants for regular appraisal magic. Asking to learn it would be a bit yea it would make people suspicious, plus everybody who knows those chants is on a register, something I would rather avoid. For now, Ill ask Jacqueline to- Speaking of catching someones scent, as I stood at the doorway in thought, Pet looked up and sniffed the air a moment. A happy smile spread across her face and she tugged herself free of Elienor, much to the latters chagrin if her facial expression was any indication. Stahlia nee-san! I quickly cut off my train of thought and took a half step back to absorb the impact as I caught the flying kitten. I glanced back at Elienor, who was looking on with an expression of abject despair as she clutched ruefully at her hairbrush. Grinning, I addressed Pet. Pet, I think you owe Elienor an apology, but what do you think? Pet paused where she had been rubbing her face into my stomach. After seriously considering the subject, she nodded and turned to Elienor and lifted the hem of her skirt in a curtsy. Pet apologizes Elienor Ojou-sama! Elienor nodded, quickly adopting an expression of faux outrage. You should be sorry! I spent so long fixing your hair, and you went and messed it up! Were going to have to start over now I think. Elienor then preceded to lunge towards Pet, who let out an excited shriek and darted away. I watched them with a gentle smile. Edith and Sarala are fun to spend time with, but this is nice too. Pet calls me nee-san which means something like older sister if I remember correctly, but doesnt she behave more like a daughter? This begged the question of what role Elienor played in my pseudo-family, but I decided not to think too hard about it. Pet calls her Ojou-sama, even if Ohime-sama might be more appropriate, given the actual noble status involved I guess that makes her like an aunt or something? Wait, I said I wasnt going to think about this! I shook my head to clear away the lingering thoughts and turned my attention away from the cavorting pair to the book I had borrowed from Kell. It was a grimoire of Ice Magic chants. Under the school of Blue Magic, there was the main focus, Water Magic, but there were also other elements known as variants. Every school had at least one variant, and in the case of Blue Magic there were two; Ice Magic and Sanguimancy. Variants were not officially taught until the second year, but I had leveraged some of the privileges afforded by my position as a special student to get Kell to lend me a book of Ice Magic. I had to admit I was curious about Sanguimancy, as the name implied it was the control of blood as a medium. But it was extremely heavily regulated to the point where it may as well be illegal. I might have been able to use the Francois or Claurence name to acquire some material, but it would definitely invite some very undesirable questions. I could always have Jacqueline acquire a Sanguimancy grimoire or compendium via some back channels, but it wasnt something I desperately needed. Learning Ice Magic would serve me much better as a trump card, given the full scope of my blessing made me outright immune to that element. I read for about two hours while Pet and Elienor continued to play. Stali, Imma spend the night kay? I looked up from my book to see Elienor had finally caught Pet, and was presently holding her tightly in a hug of sorts. As long as Lady Margeritte gives her permission, I do not have a problem with that. Elienor had spent the night in my chambers a couple of times, after wearing down her mother and extracting her begrudging permission, a feat that I was still unsure how she managed to accomplish. Yep, Ive already got that! Pet looked up at Elienor. Elienor Ojou-sama is going to spend the night? Elienor nodded her affirmation. Elienor, you did get her permission, right? I narrowed my eyes and fixedly met Elienors gaze. After a moment, Elienor broke off our unofficial staring contest. I-Ill get it tomorrow! I raised my eyebrow, causing Elienor to splutter out another excuse. I-its better to ask forgiveness than permission, right? Somehow, I always end up with a headache when Elienor is involved While trying to come up with an argument that would get Elienor not to commit suicide by proxy, I was caught by Pets puppy dog eyes. Ugh. Whats with you? Arent you a cat-kin? Fine. If Elienor wants to die so badly, its her life! I wash my hands of this. Fine, but when your mother asks me, I will tell her that you informed me you had permission. Elienors face blanched, but she was mature enough in her immaturity to own her own fate. I-itll be f-fine right? Yea, p-probably. For her part, the majority of the silent war between Elienor and common sense had gone over Pets head. Yay! Elienor Ojou-sama is going to sleep with Pet! Another hour later, and I found myself lying down on one side of my bed, with Pet in the middle, and Elienor on the far side. My bed was large enough to where this wasnt too much of an issue, but after the events of the day I was finding it hard to sleep even though I was both mentally and physically exhausted. As I lay awake, a rogue thought floated across my restless tired mind. This really is like a sort of pseudo-family Pet is the adopted daughter, Elienor is like an irresponsible aunt who dotes on their niece too much, and Im like the working mother who has to put up with their antics because the dad is Finally, I drifted off to sleep, where I had an extremely awkward dream. The details of which I swore to myself I would never remember, even if my talents made that a literal impossibility. The next morning, instead of my usual classes, I found myself standing in Percius office alongside Dominic and Asten. I had seen Asten before and knew he was also a Special Student, however, we did not share any classes. To my knowledge, he was studying Black Magic and was in the fourth-year course. As Dominic knew both of us, he performed the introductions in Percius stead. As it turned out, Asten was a Barons child like me. His house was located in the capital, where his father served as a Knight Commander. I wonder what his dads opinion of his son studying Black Magic instead of swordsmanship is? I took the seat indicated by Percius, and waited for Percius to start explaining himself. After waiting for a maid to finish passing out tea, Percius motioned for everyone other than the three of us and himself to leave the room. Dominics guard gave a light bow and complied immediately, and he was soon followed by Astens guard. Rowell, my guard, and suspected Shadow scowled and looked like he might protest, but after a moment he likewise left. Percius was handed a box by the maid before she took her own leave. Placing the box on the table, Percius rested his hand on it and mumbled a quick word I couldnt catch. The box began to glow, and sounds from outside the room grew faint before they disappeared entirely. So this is a sound-blocking magic tool. Its surprising that he would use something so expensive instead of just having one of the magic instructors do it, or learning the spell himself. Supposedly, the Yellow Magic spell used for blocking out sound had a few weaknesses that tools like this somehow were able to overcome. But are we really about to be discussing something so important it would require going that far to protect the secret? I thought back to what Dominic had said about Percius tending to be eccentric in his own way. I hadnt noticed anything the last few times I interacted with him maybe he was putting on a fa?ade and this is his true self? Finally, Percius started speaking. I suppose you are all wondering why I have gathered you here today. Oh for fucks sake. Next to me, I caught sight of Dominic scowling, though he didnt go so far as to speak out against Percius antics. I groaned inwardly and swore not to play along, effecting a blank expression. There is a great danger brewing in- Cut the crap Percius. I looked up, startled at the language being spoken to a Duke. Asten was rubbing his forehead. Wait, did a Barons son just say that!? Asten continued, ignoring the look on Percius face. "Theres an issue in a nearby frontier village, citizens are disappearing from their homes. My face blanched at the mention of a nearby frontier village, by all accounts, Ris was one such village. As if reacting to my sudden worry, Asten continued. The Village is located due west of the capital, about a week by carriage. Phew, since Ris is to the east I know it isnt my village. The three of us are being sent along with a group of knights to investigate the disappearances and deal with the problem. We are just there to observe, the knights will do most of the work. As he said the last bit, he fired a reassuring smile in my direction. He probably noticed my face getting pale. But what does he mean by observe? Percius led me to believe I would be expected to fight. I decided to ask. Lord Asten, if I may, Lord Percius I was going to say that Percius had originally told me I should expect to have to fight monsters, but I couldnt think of a polite way to phrase it without implying that Percius, a Duke, was a liar. Asten filled in the blank in his own way and answered my question. Ah, do not worry about it, Percius is technically my Grandfather, I get special treatment when it comes to calling him out. I swung my head around to look at Percius in surprise. He nodded, confirming Astens statement. Responding to my visible confusion over how a Barons son had a Duke for a Grandfather, I was given a brief explanation. This was apparently an open secret in noble society, I just hadnt been aware of. Astens father was actually the son of Percius favorite whore. As he was a bastard child, he could not inherit Percius noble peerage. As luck would have it, the son in question wound up possessing a fairly rare martial class, and Percius leaped at the chance excuse to grant him a peerage, elevating him to the rank of Baron and arranging him a posting within the knights order. Now that Asten was a student at the Academy, Percius had proven himself to be something of a doting grandparent. Im not sure how I should feel about that. On one hand, Percius seems to be something of a family man. On the other, hes cheating on his wife with a whore and making bastards. Whatever, it isnt my position to say anything, nor do I have any reason to do so. As long as Percius does his job and doesnt get in my way. Outwardly, I clenched my fists and nodded. When do we depart? As it turned out, we would be departing in two days. Combined with the week-long journey, it would take nine days for us to reach the village one way. Assuming three to five days of investigation, then seven days back and I would be gone for nearly a month. Accompanying us would be a squad of six knights, who would be traveling on horseback. It wasnt as though going by carriage would needlessly slow our pace though; the knights always traveled with a provisions wagon. Though they could requisition supplies from towns and villages we passed through, it was their policy not to do so unless the Kingdom was in a state of emergency or at war. Unfortunately for the victims, some villagers disappearing did not constitute either of those scenarios. We Special Students would be traveling in two carriages. Dominic and Asten would be taking one large carriage with eight seats, whereas I would be taking a smaller one with four. This was due to my gender; it would be considered improper for me to travel for such a length of time with a male of similar age to me, even though or especially so if said male was my fianc. For some reason, nobody said anything about me traveling to the capital from Ris with Giogi though I was, however, left with a bit of a dilemma; I needed to choose who I would be bringing along. Thankfully, likely as oversight from the Order, Rowell would not be coming with me. His assignment only covered the Academy, and the knights travelling with us would also be serving as guards. This allowed me to conveniently avoid having an Order spy watching my moves. Actually, doesnt that mean Ill have a bit of freedom on this trip? Even if I am stuck with Dominic, I can at least keep up with my magic experiments. I should see if theyll let me draft Sarala. Jacqueline was a no-brainer, I would be drawing far too much attention to myself as a young noble girl by not bringing a maid. This left me with one seat, assuming I was allowed to kidnap Sarala. Pet will be fine with Elienor, especially since Dominic is coming and given the risks of Envious activating. I could bring Lucy or Frieda as well, having an extra maid wouldnt be seen as suspicious, and might even be expected. But Jacqueline will be sufficient for that role, and neither Lucy nor Frieda would add anything else to the party other than their maid abilities. After considering our party composition, I realized a role that was missing. Ill send a letter to the church and see if I can borrow Sana, having a healer might prove beneficial. Technically I was capable of healing as well, but as I had not officially begun studying White Magic I didnt want to let that fact out, as it would raise questions about where I was learning the chants, given the excessively relegated nature of Magic in the kingdom. It wasnt like I had broken any laws, technically. I simply listened in on the White Magic classes during their practical lessons and Eidetic Memory picked them up for me. It was actually getting fairly close to leveling up. With Stil taking the floor, that fills my carriage. Though I still need permission to bring two of my members. Now, how to go about this in the most efficient way possible? So, you want me to send a letter in your name to Lord Percius, Lord Claurence, and to the capitals Cardinal? Nikolaus looked down at me with a raised eyebrow. Following my decision to try and get Sana and Sarala I had debated the most effective way of getting what I wanted and arrived at the solution of throw it all at father. Borrowing the Francois name by using my engagement as a launchpad would ensure that my letters actually arrived. I could get ahold of Percius easily enough, my position at the school afforded me that. But contacting a Duke and a Cardinal within two days was a tall order for a lowly Barons daughter. Hence, I requested a meeting from Nikolaus, so as to ask him to send the letters in my name. This would ensure that the latter two would reach their intended destinations. I had clarified with Asten earlier that, despite Percius mannerisms, this was not actually a top secret mission and the fact that we were going out on it would become public knowledge at the Academy the day of our departure. Not that there was a departure parade or anything, we simply would be absent from classes, and it didnt take a genius to piece together why a group of special students was all absent at the same time. Yes, if I were to send the letters, the latter two would not arrive on time. As you know, I am being sent out on an investigation mission within my capacity as a Special Student. I realized that out of the party assembled, I am the only mage. As such, I would like to inquire Lord Claurence about the possibility of allowing Sarala to accompany us. She is not a Special Student, but I can attest to her magical talent. Likewise, in case anything should happen, I wish to leverage my personal connection with Apprentice Priestess Sana to arrange a healer for our party. The letter to Percius explains these same circumstances, and requests his permission for Sarala to be placed on leave from her classes. I tapped each of the three letters Jacqueline had placed on the desk in turn. Nikolaus nodded thoughtfully. His facial expression didnt change otherwise, but he seemed to at least be considering my proposal. After a moment, he tapped his fingers on two of the letters. Lord Claurence and Lord Percius are not an issue. I expect they will release Sarala into your custody for the duration of the assignment without too much trouble. Into my custody? Ah, shes a commoner and a regular student. This is a state-sponsored assignment, so in this case, I imagine she would be treated as a civilian contractor of sorts. Her being in my custody must mean Im her babysitter. That wont be an issue. I nodded. But the request for Apprentice Sana, I have my reservations. Nikolaus fixed me with a level stare, waiting for me to speak. And what might those be, may I ask? I met his gaze. It was mildly impolite for me to do so, but I got the feeling he was testing my backbone or something. He smiled faintly and started drumming his fingers on the desk. Looks like I made the right call. I think thats the first time Ive seen him smile Apprentice Sana is the one who provided the late Lady Rosial with her blessing was she not? I merely question the skill of a priestess, when her blessing could not even protect its target for three years. You. Fucking. Bastard. I felt a wave of cold anger wash over me at his words, and my hands started shaking. I clenched my hands in my lap under the desk, willing them to stop. Carefully, I lifted my eyes and met his gaze. He was looking down at me, no longer smiling still drumming his fingers on the desk. Something about his demeanor just pissed me off even more. Right. This is going nowhere. I took a deep breath and mentally invoked Cold Hearted to erase my ability to feel anger. Out of all the emotions, I could kill, Anger was the least dangerous. In the absence Empathy tended to make me incredibly sick after I turned it back on, to say nothing of how I acted when it was off. Fear was integral to the self-preservation instinct, and turning it off tended to make me do some really stupid things. Anger had the fewest repercussions, mostly it just left me feeling generally apathetic when something normally anger-inducing occurred. That sense of apathy could kill motivation or generally breed laziness. In this instance though, there shouldnt be too much of a downside. I felt my head clear and blinked a couple of times to clear away any lingering foggy vestiges. That may be so, however when that happened she was incredibly broken up about it, and threw herself into her studies with a passion. I highly doubt she still lacks the ability. Besides which, my late sister received a blessing. Apprentice Sana would be coming with us to offer healing. Not to mention that a blessing failing wouldnt be Sanas fault, it would be the fault or will of the god who gave it. And besides that, Rosial isnt dead, not that you would know. Nikolaus waited a moment, studying me. Then he nodded. You make a good case, I will send the letter to the Cardinal. Just like that? That feels a bit anticlimactic. He didnt even offer a counter-argument. I am quite pleased, you came up with a decent argument for your case while being glared at by me. Not many nobles could manage that, let alone children. Ah, so it was a test. Why though? Im already engaged to your son and despite saying youre pleased, you arent showing it at all! You smiled earlier, why not now?! I stood and curtsied, thanking Nikolaus for his time. Not until I was back in my room did I risk turning back on my Anger. As soon as it came back on, I started shaking. Not from fear, but from a cold rage. Normally the blowback isnt like this I was right to consider that Rosial being the source of my anger might make it worse. Pet was peaking out from around a corner, her ears pressed flat on her head. They say some cats and dogs can smell their owners emotion I hope Im not scaring her. The sight of Pet, who looked even more like Rosial with her ears flat and her tail hidden behind the corner, was as usual quite calming. I was able to calm myself before long, which caused her to smile relievedly. Welcome back Stahlia Nee-san! Right, Im back wheres Elienor? As I pet Pet, she purred softly. Between purrs, she told me Elienor hadnt come to my room today. She purrs, calls me Nee-san, and says a bunch of other weeb stuff, but not once has she gone Nyah! I wasnt even that big into anime before I died, and I somehow feel cheated Right, well I have something I need to tell you. Ill need to go on a trip for a while, Ill probably be gone for around a month. Pet instantly clamped her hands around my arm. Figures Noooo! Take Pet with you! I grimaced, she was looking up at me with tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Damnit, shes learned how to tug at my heartstrings, but this time I cant give in! No Pet, you dont No, you probably dont want to come. I bit my lip to try and distract myself from her wide-eyed begging. No! Pet wants to go with Nee-san! Id love to take you with me too, but for one, its probably going to be dangerous, secondly, Envious is a thing. And Thirdly, Dominic will be there ah, that should do it. No, you really dont. Dominic is going to be coming too. Pet instantly recoiled at the mention of his name. On one hand, I feel kind of bad for using him like this wait, why do I feel bad? Like, I actually feel guilty using his name..? What the hell! No, I feel guilty for using him to scare Pet, not for using him. Yea, thats it. I have no choice but to go, you dont have to come with me though, I was planning to leave you here and ask Elienor to look after you. Pet still looked upset but was now visibly weighing her options, not that she had any. I just couldnt risk the dangers that would come with bringing her along. If worse came to worst, I would invoke our contract and order her to stay, even if that wound up destroying our trust. After a lot of pondering, which was accompanied by her tail flicking back and forth restlessly, she sighed and nodded. Pet will stay with Elienor Ojou-sama. I nodded and rubbed her head affectionately, she glared at me with a pout but didnt pull away. Thank you, Pet. Now I need to find Elienor and let her know. As could be expected, Elienor, upon being told she would have Pet all to herself for nearly a month, took far less convincing. It was the morning of the second day, and I was sitting in a carriage with Sarala, Jacqueline, and Stil. We would be making a stop at the temple to pick up Sana on the way out of the city. Sarala as it turned out, had actually been quite pleased that I had thought of her when I decided I wanted a second mage. Despite her shyness and general weakness to having her talents praised, she was still human. Edith had been markedly less happy. When I had gone to pick up Sarala, she had fixed me with an angry glare and sternly warned me that I was not to allow any harm to come to our mutual friend. Of course, I had not been planning to allow that in the first place, so I agreed immediately, which caused Edith to cool off a bit. She even managed to see us off with a cramped smile. One of these days, Im going to have to find out what makes these two so close, considering the difference in their stations. As we approached the temple, I realized that Sana had never met Sarala. Even though Sana and I had been meeting each other for tea once a month, and I had told her about Sarala and Edith, they had never actually met. Inadvertently, I had wound up keeping my two friend groups separate. Though in Sanas case, can I really call it a friend group? As I pondered such important questions, we arrived at the temple entrance where Sana was waiting for us with a trunk containing her clothes for the trip. Jacqueline opened the door and assisted Sana to enter the carriage. I was about to introduce Sarala when Sana beat me to the punch. You must be Sarala! Im ever so glad to finally meet you. Stahlia has told me so much about the time she spends together with you and Lady Edith! Aww shit, here we go again. Predictably, Sarala retreated in the face of Sanas unrelenting extrovertism. The sight of Sarala glancing around nervously cooled Sana slightly, and she apologized. Sorry Stahlia told me to be careful because you could be shy, but I was so excited to finally meet you that I got a bit carried away We rode in awkward silence for a bit, before Sarala mumbled something, instantly drawing Sanas attention back to herself. es Miss Sarala? Did you say something? n..mes Sana furrowed her brow. Names? What do you mean? Sarala grimaced, but in the end, managed to get a full sentence out. We have the same names. Stahlia, Sana, Sarala. S-A-A. I facepalmed. Of all the things, she noticed that? Then again, as aspiring mages, we spend a lot of time pouring over words to memorize spells, and pronunciation is important for chants. After blinking a few times and digesting what she had been told, Sana broke out into a giggle. I suppose we do, dont we? I wonder if we will have trouble keeping track of each other on this mission. At that, the two of them quickly managed to overcome Saralas shyness and began discussing a variety of topics. Though, uncomfortably, a lot of those topics happened to be Sarala asking Sana something about me, and then listening to the story that would result. I decided to do my best to tune them out, acting embarrassed and trying to stop them from talking about those events would do me no good. In fact, it would likely just goad them further. Instead, I focused inwards. I was hoping to level up again during this outing. Even if we didnt encounter anything substantial in the investigations, I had every intention of finding an excuse to do some clandestine hunting. If the previous trends continued, I would need three more levels to unlock another pair of slots. Although I could not currently browse the Talent or Skills menu, I could still theorize and plan for what types of abilities I wanted. Strangely enough, the contents of my menus did not seem to be compatible with the Eidetic Memory talent I had, which of course included the Skills and Talents menus. Whether this signified anything, or if it was insubstantial was beyond me. Originally, I was planning to save for another strong skill, like Finesse Fighting. But now I had other priorities. Namely, I had been made aware of potential dangers in my surroundings. Namely, other reincarnations. A skill or talent that provides an effect similar to the appraisal spell would be a good idea. Especially if I can assure that its harder to detect than my Blood Magic, and doesnt take as long to activate as reciting a chant. I should also scan through and compare all the magic talents to the list of variants I have from the Academy. If there are any not on the Academys list, acquiring one could serve as a good trump card. Something like Danger Sense might be good as well, if it was passive. I also needed to look into Envious. Particularly I needed to search the term Envy, as I had a sneaking suspicion that Progresses user towards Demonization[Demon of Envy] would be accompanied by a skill change. Envious was just too specific of a word. And while Im at it, I may as well search for Pride, Lust, Sloth, Wrath, Greed, and Gluttony too. Just for good measure and to cover all my bases, I should also try out the seven virtues as well. I dont want any more surprises if I can help it. I also needed to check on the sword fighting talent and see how close I was to acquiring it automatically; I had been training for the past seven months and still didnt have it. I had gotten Dagger fighting automatically back when I was a toddler, and it hadnt taken more than a couple of months of nightly training with Jacqueline. As I was wrapping up my mental checklist, I happened to glance down at Stil. Right, and he has a few skills that were pretty useful, so I should look up those names as well and see how much it would cost me to acquire them. Mana Sensing and those Enhancement ones. I drew a line under my mental checklist and stretched. As I looked out the window, I saw that the sun was setting. In the far distance, I could still see the faint glow of the capital against the dimming sky. It seemed we would be staying out in the field for the night; I had thought we would continue on to the inn town that lay along this road, but apparently not. I was told that it was one of the measures the kingdom took to control the monster population and dissuade bandits; by having their soldiers camp outside while on a mission or patrol, they were able to increase their force projection in the countryside. I was also given an apologetic smile to accompany this explanation, a fact which I decided to not dwell on. Stretching, I made to go towards the back of our carriage where the luggage was kept, and start unloading. An action that Sana ignored, but caused Saralas eyes to open wide. Lady Stahlia, what are you doing? I turned to face her. Hmm? I was just going to collect the tent and help Jacqueline set it up I had been so excited to be out traveling again, that I completely spaced out on the fact that there were a lot more people than last time. I need to play my role I cant just do what I want like I did before, especially not with Dominic here. A quick glance confirmed, to my relief, that Dominic was not paying any attention to me at the moment. Sarala glanced at Sana and Jacqueline and observed that neither of them seemed surprised by my actions, though Jacqueline looked exasperated. Sana I thought you may have been exaggerating some of those stories, given how proper Lady Stahlia has always been in the presence of Lady Edith It seems I was mistaken. My apologies. Sana giggled and nodded. Yes, Stahlia can be different as far as nobles are concerned, but I think that is a good thing! Sarala seemed to think deeply before answering. You do have a point I could count on two fingers the number of noble children who would befriend a commoner at the Academy, after all. Well isnt that nice, they get along Why is it that pointing out the ways Im weird is what they bonded over?! Rowell, A Nondescript Location. I checked over my equipment, making sure I was presentable. Tonight it was time for my monthly report. As usual, I produced the magic tool from my bag after checking that nobody was near my barracks room. Setting it on my desk, I activated it and sent my report. Report, 30th day of the seventh month, Year 947 Today was the day Primary Target departed from the capital city to embark on their assigned mission. They were accompanied by five knights Primary Targets betrothed and his retainers, Primary Targets friend from their home village, Primary Targets friend from the Academy, Secondary Target, and another Student from the Academy along with their retainers. Primary Target was able to arrange things so that I could not accompany them, despite this nominally being a school trip. I am prepared to follow them from a discreet distance and am awaiting the order to move out. End Report. I sat back and checked my bags. Normally I would not expect a reply but this was an abnormal situation. After all, the primary target was aware of our existence. We should be taking every precaution; it was beyond me why she was still only a target of observation and not a target of elimination. True to my expectations, my magic tool flashed. I activated it and read the response, and then swallowed dryly. Response, 30th day of the seventh month, Year 947 Permission to deploy for covert observation denied remain on standby until Primary Targets return. ~Five I stared at the signature line of my received reply. Five? Hes one of the ones at the top of the order. Why is he sending a reply personally?! I had known that my mission was a big deal; when I received my briefing it had been explained that my target had come to learn of the existence of the order, and I was to monitor her and determine what she would be doing with that information. But I had no idea that one of the single digits was involved, let alone that they would be the one receiving my monthly reports; that was, after all, the only way he could have responded so quickly. To think that someone so important is managing my mission Thank the twelve I dont have to give reports in person. I do not think I would be able to manage meeting someone like five face to face, he must be terrifying. Psycholor Well, we made it to front page trending again, #3 this time. That''s +6 places from #9 last time. Once again, a big thank you to all my readers past, present, and future. Extra Chapter: Sweet Dreams Stahlia, Twenty Years Old, December 25th 2030 I woke up to the bite of cold air on my exposed legs. Uwah! I groaned and scrabbled blindly with my hands, trying to find the covers so I could pull them back up. Rather than covers, my hand met something soft and warm. This should work I dragged the soft warm and giggling thing up and wrapped myself around it, seeking the heat that had abandoned me. Kaasaaan! Get up, its time for presents! I slowly blinked open my eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. What met my gaze was the face of my catkin adopted daughter, Pet. The fourteen-year-old had evidently dragged my blanket away to force me to wake up faster. Right is auntie Elienor here yet? Elienor would spend most of the holidays over at our estate, as her mother had been unable to find a man willing to take the wild daughter as a wife, or even a concubine, she had wound up being disowned upon turning fifteen. It was actually a blessing in disguise for her; free from any semblance of restriction she had managed to come into her own and was now a fairly accomplished knight. Her specialty was guarding noblewomen, and she had even started a new Knights Order made up of entirely female knights that served in this capacity. They called themselves the Valkyries. I sat up and pet my daughters head. Even as she grew older, it was something she never seemed to grow out of. Right, well Im up. Go out and get set up while I dress. Pet jumped up and dashed out of the room at speed. Glancing over at the empty space next to me, I couldnt help but sigh. Looks like hell miss this year as well My husband, Dominic, was constantly absent. I had done my best to be a devoted wife following our marriage but after the first anniversary, it was like he grew bored. Now I could count on one hand the number of months he would spend at home. Despite his hatred toward demi-humans, he just sort of nodded and signed the papers when I told him I was freeing, and then adopting, Pet. Still, it was better for my daughter this way; she never quite managed to overcome her traumas regarding my spouse. I got out of bed and put a robe over my nightgown and went over to the window to look out and see the fresh snow. From my twentieth-floor condo, I could look out over a decent amount of the city. On the streets below, a few cars were pushing their way through the snow, and a couple of pedestrians were moving down the sidewalk. In the distance, I could see the sun just peeking up above the city skyline. Wait, since when did I live in a highrise? A feeling of strangeness washed over me for a moment before a call from the adjacent room grabbed my attention. Kaaasaaaan! You said you would be right oouuutttt! I smiled ruefully and shook off the feeling of unrest before making my way out into the room. A tree stood in the corner, with a dozen or so wrapped packages strewn beneath it. Pet was sitting right in front of it, her eyes glinting as she eyed one of the packages that had her name on it. Elienor was sitting in an armchair while, to my surprise, Rosial was sitting with Jacqueline at the bar counter. Rosial! I didnt think you would make it this year! Ever since we had rescued her, Rosial had, after recovering from her traumas, been working with Jacqueline to try and save other children trapped in the same situation as she had been. Jacqueline nodded, It was tight, but we managed to wrap up our last mission in time to make it back. I am glad to see you doing well, Lady Stahlia. I chuckled, Jacqueline, you dont work for me anymore, you dont have to call me lady. She just smiled and shook her head, a polite way of refusing to relent. I glanced around the room and confirmed that neither of my mothers or fathers were here. Since my second lives parents were back in Ris village serving as the village head that was to be expected, but I had been hoping to see my first lives parents again. Again, a feeling of unease came over me until Pet came up and shook my arm. Kaasan, can we start please? I looked into her upturned eyes, which blew away my misgivings and nodded. Yaay! Pet darted over to the tree, and I went to the sofa Elienor was on and sat next to her. As we watched Pet tearing into the gift she had selected Elienor addressed me in a quiet voice. You know this wont work right? I tilted my head. What do you mean? Everyone is happy. Elienor shook her head. Stali, are YOU happy? I opened my mouth to retort, of course, I was. I had everything I wanted. But I couldnt make the words come out. Before Elienor or I could say anything more on the subject, we were interrupted by a happy squeal. Turning in the direction of the sound, I saw that Pet had just finished opening her present, and had discovered the Manga box set of her favorite Shoujo. I smiled and wished I could take a picture, unfortunately, cameras didnt exist in this world. Suddenly, a bright flash illuminated the room. Turning to the right, I saw Rosial holding a smartphone with the camera lens pointed at Pet. Sorry, that was so adorable, I just had to take a picture. Wait, a smartphone? Where did she get that? I felt my head start to hurt, as another wave of unease came over me. I snapped out of it when Pet stuffed a present into my arms. Glancing down, I ruffled her hair. Thank you, I love it! Pet puffed out her cheeks. You havent even opened it yet! I raised an eyebrow. I dont need to open it to know Ill love it. Pet simply glared at me, urging me on with her gaze. I chuckled and removed the wrapping paper, revealing a vinyl of Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson. Wait, how did a vinyl of a song from Earth wind up here? My headache and unease returned, this time accompanied by a loud buzzing in both of my ears. The next thing I knew, I was sitting up late with Elienor. Pet had gone to bed some time ago, while Rosial and Jacqueline werent able to stay; the two of them were technically fugitives, so they couldnt stay in one place for too long. Elienor turned to me, and over her glass of wine continued our previous topic. You arent happy are you? I wanted to retort, to claim that I really was, but I couldnt make the words come out. Finally, I relented and admitted it. No, Im not happy. Something about my life these past ten years just feels fake I tried to look back for an example, but to my shock, I had no memories between waking up this morning and going to sleep with Elienor and Pet one night ten years ago. With my Eidetic Memory talent, I shouldnt have been able to just forget ten years I frowned, then winced. The buzzing was getting louder. No, you arent happy. This life you lead, its a fake. Elienor was leaning in close to me now. I couldnt help but notice the faint glisten on her lips and the way the red lipstick contrasted her pale skin. With a start, I turned my head away. Lady Elienor, I am married to your brother, I do believe you are going too far. Elienor frowned, but did not pull back. Does it really matter? After all this The buzzing in my ears was now unbearable, but with her last line it stopped completely. Vanishing as if it had nover been there before as everything, all the inconsistencies and discrepancies clicked into place. I finished her sentence is a dream, isnt it? With a start I sat up in bed. I blinked, slowly adjusting. Before long, I had regained my bearings; I was lying in bed next to Pet, with Elienor on the far side. So everything that just happened was a dream Pet is still a slave, I havent married Dominic, I havent rescued Rosial, Jacqueline is still my vassal, and Elienor As I recalled the final event of my dream sequence, I happened to notice Elienors sleeping face in the dim light. What the hell!? Why did I have a dream with something like that!? Carefully, so as not to jostle the bed, I checked myself over. Thankfully, things were still dry. Hurrah for small victories. I mean, we didnt even kiss so theres no reason I should have Damnit all! I hate this, I just want my body and mind to be normal and not freak out over the smallest thing! Forget! Forget! Forget! Of course, due to my talent, now that I had spent so long thinking about it after waking up, forgetting my dream was impossible. Psycholor Even though it is serving as a special, I still consider it canon, Stahlia did have this dream last chapter. Merry Christmas to any and all of you who celebrate. Otherwise Happy Holidays. Not a Chapter- Announcement There was one other thing I had in the works. I briefly alluded to this back in the author''s note from when we got to 500 readers, and said that when it was ready I would go ahead and release it right away. If you opened the spoilers in my most recent two author''s comments, than you may already know what this is, since those had the WIP versions. I found an artist that had quality I was satisfied with and a price point I could afford, and commissioned a cover for the series from them. Cover character is an Adult Stahlia, about what she would have looked like in the 1-2 character creator window, only clothed. Going forward, I plan on getting a series of character arts made, and some line art inserts. Writing is my only hobby, and I am blessed with a job that covers my bills and a little extra, so I can afford to direct a bit of my disposable income into stuff like this. In the comments, if you could put any specific scenes you think would make for a good insert, it would be much appreciated. There is also a poll with a bunch of characters on it. This is for me to gauge which characters people would most like to see the character arts of. Lastly, with future commissions, I will not be making full chapter announcements like this. I just figured that the first one, and the fact that its a cover, warranted something special. Going forward, new art will be stuck in an authors note at the end of the next chapter to come out after I receive it, while inserts will additionally be placed in the relevant chapter and section. Art was commissioned from Udaraindunil, through their Fiverr gig. https://www.fiverr.com/udaraindunil 2-11 Investigation of Ang Stahlia Ten Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 After a long and uneventful trip, we managed to arrive at the frontier village in question, the village of Ang. The village was situated at the edge of a large forest and was being established in order to cut lumber to feed into Drakas economy. Though there were monsters known to inhabit said forest, none of them should have been capable of overrunning the village by this stage, hence why the kingdom had gone as far as dispatching knights from the capital instead of leaving it to a nearby garrison force. The trip itself was really was uneventful, we didnt run into any bandits, orcs goblins, wolves, or anything fun at all. Dominic didnt even do anything to embarrass me. Now that he thinks Im a tsundere, maybe hes trying for a neglect bent to make me fall for him. Wouldnt that be nice? I had been a bit concerned that my current physiological condition might negatively impact the journey for me, given the greater number of men than women, but it turned out that by having Sana and Sarala as well as Jacqueline I was able to cope. Whenever I would start feeling uncomfortable, I could simply retreat to one of my girlfriends and relax my mind a bit. Before I died, I would have loved a trip like this, if I had had any male friends to go with that is. The village was small. Smaller than Ris village. I could probably count the number of buildings with fingers if I were to borrow Sarala and Sanas hands. It was, as nihilistic as this would sound, frankly amazing that the kingdom put in as much effort by sending us and the knights. I had figured we were going to an established village, like Ris, but Ang was barely past what you would call a settlement. As we came to a stop outside the fence that encircled the village, I couldnt help but compare it to the wall that protected my home village, I wouldnt even need physical enhancements to climb Angs wall. One of the knights called out in a loud voice. Send word to the village chief and open the gate! We are knights of his majesty sent to root out the cause of your misfortune! After a brief moment, I heard the sound of a door opening and, by looking through the gaps in the wall, perceived a old man wearing what I suppose was technically armor. In the most generous meaning of the word. The man came out of what was most likely his guard hut and peered at us through the gaps. After confirming the crest on the two carriages in use by the Special Students and the Knights regalia, the man put his fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle. He then proceeded to unbolt the gate and swing it open. We advanced into the village and people began to trickle out of their houses. I see, so the whistle was an all clear signal of sorts. I suppose when your village is this poorly defended and six heavily armed and armored men come up to it on horseback accompanied by two carriages and a wagon, you would get a little tense. Studying the people, the first thing I noticed was how destitute they looked. The second was the absence of men. Even in Ris village, where many men would go out into the fields or forest during the day, there were still some who remained in the village. Among the many faces, I could count the number of men on one hand. That number included the gate guard, who had not followed us into the village proper. I spoke my thoughts out loud, hoping to get Sara and Saralas impressions. There arent many men, are there? Sana glanced around briefly before answering. Now that you mention it, I do believe that there should be more than this I had assumed this was similar to Ris, however, you are right Stahlia, the number seems a bit too low. Sarala nodded and added her own thoughts. While I cannot speak to the population of a small village, if both of you share that opinion, I would be inclined to agree do you think that this has something to do with why we are here? I could only purse my lips and shrug. I suppose we will find out when we speak with the village chief. Until then we can only speculate. Thankfully, we didnt have to wait very long. We passed essentially straight through the village to the village chiefs home near the middle. As we were passing, I passed the short amount of time taking in the surroundings. Jacqueline had recently been teaching me a few tricks to quickly grasp my surroundings and draw conclusions based on quick observational evidence, which I was trying to employ here. Like I had noticed earlier, the vast majority of people I could see were either women or girls. There were only a handful of men, but each one of them seemed to be older. There were some boys as well, but none older than eight or nine. So clearly, whatever is preying on the villagers is favoring men, which rules out goblinoids, And we came in a party with six male knights, two male students, and the male attendants of those students. I see this going absolutely perfectly and us having no issues. Of the women we were passing, almost every single one of them looked gloomy, which made sense considering their men were missing. The homes themselves, while squat and made of cheap local material, were not showing any immediately visible signs of violent happenings. So, were after something that targets only men and boys between the ages of ten and roughly fifty, has seemingly no interest in women or girls, and is able to get into peoples homes without creating any signs of forced entry. Alternatively, it could be luring the targets outside of their homes without entering them themselves. I spun through my memories trying to fit my observations with what I knew. Nothing from my memories of this life came to mind, though I hadnt ever specifically studied monster ecology outside of what I was likely to run into locally so it wasnt a long list. I could think of a couple of options from my previous life though. Some flavors of vampires would only drink the blood of the opposite sex, and they needed to be invited before entering a private building. If we were dealing with a female vampire, and vampires in this world worked like that, then it would fit with what I was seeing. There was also a Succubus, and unlike with Vampires, I did know that demons existed in this world. They even had their own continent, and periodically fell under the rule of the Nine Hell Kings in order to invade the other continents in some grudge match against the Goddess of Light and God of Darkness. Assuming Succubi existed in this world and worked the same way, they should have the ability to charm men and get them to do their bidding. They would also feed on mens vitality through sex, draining their victims lifeforce until they were a mere withered husk. There was also a Siren, though modern folklore tended to depict them as a sort of mermaid or fish person, in their source, they were large birds with a womans head. Like Succubi, Sirens would charm and lure men to consume them. Though in this case, the consumption was in the literal sense, not a euphemism. I made a mental checklist of my three candidates, but I wouldnt be able to mention them, since I didnt actually know if there were monsters like these in this world. It was possible there were, but they had a different name, or they had the same name but didnt follow the conventions I knew of. If Dominic wasnt here, I could get away with asking an innocent question about something I read about but I cant risk him suspecting me. I made another mental checklist entry to do some reading on the less common monsters native to this world. Even if I might never encounter one, in retrospect it would be useful information to have. As I was making my musings, we arrived at the village chiefs home, where an old man emerged to greet us. He was likely in his seventies or even eighties, with greying hair and a weathered complexion. The Knight Commander dismounted his horse and gave the chief a slight bow. Since Knights were technically the lowest rank of nobility, albeit a title that was not inherited, seeing the knight humble himself towards a commoner caused my personal impression of him to go up a few points. Dominic Asten and I got out of our respective carriages and the commander introduced himself, as well as the three of us. Each of us accompanied his introduction with a bow of our own, or in my case a curtsey. Chief Carl, I am Knight Commander Albert. I command five knights who have been sent out by our King Drakas to aid your village. Accompanying us are the Special Students; Lord Dominic von Francois, Lord Asten von Lambert, Lord Dominics fianc Lady Stahlia von Ris, and their retinues. Albert finished his incredibly long-winded introductions and inhaled deeply. Of course I would be introduced as Dominics fianc, cant just leave that part out huh. Oh well, it still bothers me but Im growing used to the label at this point Still, Lambert huh? Pretty sure thats the first time Ive actually heard Astens last name even at the meeting with Percius, it never came up. Chief Carl nodded and bowed in response to Alberts introduction. On behalf of Ang Village, I thank you. His tone sounded stiff as if he wasnt used to speaking in such a manner. Please, come inside so we can talk Carl trailed off as he glanced awkwardly at our large party. Picking up on his distress, Albert nodded. Certainly, Lords Dominic and Asten, Lady Stahlia, and myself will take you up on your kind offer. The rest of you men, begin setting up a patrol route around the village. Make sure the villagers can see you, it should improve their mood somewhat. Since his plan made sense, I spoke up. Knight Albert, if it pleases you, allow one of your men to guard my companion, Apprentice Sana. She could perhaps offer some words of comfort in her capacity as a priestess. After a moments thought, Albert nodded and jerked his head towards one of the knights, who in turn gave a crisp salute and made his way over to Sana. I turned to head inside the building when I noticed Stil. My Hawri was standing perfectly still, with his neck feathers flared out around his neck, similar to a cat with its fur standing on end. His eyes were fixed in the general direction of the forest. I followed his gaze and studied the general area he was staring at. At first, I couldnt see anything, so I used Blood Magic to enhance my eyesight. I still couldnt make anything out, but I didnt want to write off what Stil was doing. I knew better than that. As I was pondering, I noticed another member of our party behaving oddly; Sana had turned slightly red and was short of breath. It was similar to how she looked after casting miracles consecutively. Dominic shot me a look and reached out towards me, likely planning to take my hand to escort me inside, but Albert stopped him. Lord Dominic, I beg your forgiveness for my impudence, but it seems Lady Stahlias Stawri has noticed something. Dominic glanced at Stil then retracted his hand, though he looked a bit miffed about having been told off. Thank you, Albert, glad to see youre observant. Now, what has got Stil so riled up? With my enhanced eyesight, I could count the ridges in the tree bark even from where I was stood five hundred or so meters away from the closest tree. There should be no difference between my visual acuity and Stils. I could conclude it wasnt something he smelled, because he was staring. If it had been an odd scent then he would be peering around, trying to spot the source. Since his gaze was fixed on a specific point within the forest, that meant he could actually see something. Then there was the reaction of Sana, I highly doubted she had suddenly gotten sick, so her symptoms indicated there was something out there. So Stil can see whatever it is, and Sana is at least reacting to it. What do they have that I dont? I had never actually used my Blood Magic Appraisal on Sana, so I wasnt privy to any skills she had, but I did know Stils. So, its a skill Stil has that I dont. Thats basically all of his skills, but only two of them jump out at me. Keen Senses and Mana Sensing. I can rule out Keen Senses, I already know he doesnt smell or hear whatever it is, and right now my eyesight should be equal to or better than his. That leaves Mana Sensing. Unfortunately, I didnt have a way to sense mana myself. So there are things that are invisible without the ability to perceive mana. Ill have to add mana sensing to the list of abilities I need to purchase a skill for For now, there was nothing I could do, so I shook my head and addressed Albert and those others who were watching me. Commander Albert, it would seem there is something on the edge of the forest. Stil can sense it, but he doesnt seem to be able to pinpoint its exact location just that whatever it is, it is incredibly dangerous. I have not seen him react so stiffly before. Albert followed Stils gaze, then addressed his men, ordering them to pair off and investigate the forest around the area Stil had indicated before they went to conduct their patrols. The odd man was left with Sana, as Albert had noted her current condition, though he was delicate enough not to draw attention to it. With that, the three of us Special Students and Albert made our way inside Carls house. Once inside, Dominic pulled out a chair from the lone table for me and the three of us sat down. Even though he was technically the host, because the three of us were full nobles and Albert was at least nominally a noble, Carl remained standing. This just feels wrong? An old man is standing up in his own home while three kids are sitting at his table. Still, there wasnt much I could do, other than try to guide our talk to a quick end. Of course, Dominic would be leading the talk, as he was the highest-ranking among us, so my influence would be limited. Contrary to my worries, the meeting began and Dominic immediately turned over control to Albert. Commander Albert, you handle the specifics since your men will be the ones primarily doing the investigation. I cant tell if hes being intelligent and picking the best person for the job, or being lazy and delegating. Either way, it worked for me, so I decided to not say anything. Thank you, Lord Dominic. Albert inclined his hand before stepping forward, like Carl he was standing. Chief Carl, please, give us any details you can about the incidences. Carl gulped nervously and nodded. Right, it started early last month, first it was just a hunter who didnt come back outa the forest. Then a few days later, the hunters son didnt come down to the well. We all thought he might have gone into the forest to look for his Pa, so we put together a search. Two of the men who went out on the search never made it back. He paused, and went to take a sip of water from a jug that had been sitting on the table. So, whatever it is, its strong enough to take on two presumably fit men with average levels, likely armed with a potential goblin or wild animal encounter in mind. I thought back over my previous three ideas. Well, assuming vampires have a sunlight weakness, its probably not one of those. Unless of course, the men wandered into a cave or something. Likewise probably not a Siren since two men disappeared at once, according to the accounts of Sirens they arent that strong and they have to keep the song going or their charm effect wears off. Of course, it still could be one of those things, its not like I actually know anything about those monsters in this world, or if they even exist at all. I turned my attention back to Carl, as he had resumed his recounting of events. After that, I declared that nobody should go into the forest alone and that anyone who enters should run as soon as something happened, but every few days, another couple of men would disappear. Finally, I decided to ban people from going into the forest altogether, and people started disappearing right outta their homes. Thats when I sent a request for help He fell silent, given how small communities like this tended to function, he was likely thinking of all the people who had gone missing. Why did you wait so long to call for help then? As far as I know, preparations to leave began as soon as the capital received your request but you had to have known the kingdom would still take a leisurely approach to the response. Since it didnt look like he was going to continue of his own accord, Albert began asking him specific questions. Things like how far the villagers had ventured into the forest, whether or not anyone had reported noticing any changes in the forest leading up to the disappearances, and the locations of any notable features near the village. After all of the more pressing matters had been attended to, Albert turned his attention to the three of us at the table. Have any of you anything to ask? He probably expected that given Dominics earlier action in turning over the meeting to him, that we would say we didnt. Contrary to that likely expectation though, I did have one thing I was wondering about. I have one question I would like to ask. Carl, after people started disappearing from their homes, did any of the women or girls inside of said homes come to any form of harm? Additionally, did any of them report having heard or seen anything when their husband or father went missing? This was one question I had been waiting for Albert to ask, but he had never wound up doing so. Albert gave a brief start when I finished, probably having realized he forgot something so obvious. Albert touched his chin thoughtfully. No, no injuries I dont know if this is what you mean, but the local crone has been babbling on about how death is passing through our village. Ive been ignoring her though, shes a bit funny in the head at the best of times and thereve been no bodies, nor signs of struggle. Inwardly, I facepalmed. Right, lets just ignore the obvious plot hook because shes crazy! Outwardly, I politely thanked him. Thank you for your answer, Carl. I think I would like to speak to this crone at least once, just in case. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of Dominic Staring at Carl with his mouth hanging open. Even Dominic realized how much of a quest flag this is what the hell Carl!? Of course, I couldnt really blame him; without outside knowledge of fiction from my past life, I too likely would have scoffed at the notion that a crazy old lady had noticed anything important. Dominic and I arrived at the outskirts of the village just as the sun was starting to set. After the meeting had concluded, I had wanted to head to see the crone right away, however, I couldnt think of a convincing excuse for why it was necessary. Not without risking tipping off Dominic to the fact that I had knowledge of the concept of flags. In the end, our group spent about an hour in discussions, wherein we determined who would be doing what in the coming days. Carl had arranged for a building to be set aside for our use; the only occupant had been a pair of brothers, so it was currently vacant. We had decided that my group would use the smaller back room of the building, as there were only four of us and we were all female, while the men would use the larger common room. In order to further save space due to a large number of men, some of them would be on rotation to guard the building and patrol the village, swapping out with the others periodically. Dominic and Asten were, of course, not part of this rotation. Following the conclusion of said discussion, I bit the bullet and approached Dominic. Since I still couldnt think of a decent excuse, I decided to try throwing it at him. I took a deep breath and called out. Dominic, may I have a moment? Dominic looked back at me and raised an eyebrow, then nodded and stepped to the side. Good, he picked up on the fact that I wanted to have a private conversation. Jacqueline took up a post nearby, out of conventional earshot, but still close enough for her to hear our conversation. Sarala glanced at the two of us and smirked before saying she was going to go find Sana at the town square. Right, so now Sana is going to be convinced that Im secretly deeply in love with this guy. You all are in for a shock when our engagement gets broken off. So, what did you want to talk about, Stahlia? I nodded. You want to go and see the crone that Carl mentioned, do you not? I would like to accompany you. Dominic raised an eyebrow. I do not believe I indicated as such do you perhaps find the story about her ramblings suspicious? Right, I have to be careful about how I word this so I can avoid him becoming suspicious of me. No, not suspicious, more like I am intrigued about the woman herself rather than her ramblings. I saw how you reacted to Carl and assumed you were planning to go and see her. Dominic looked like he was thinking about something, so I added one final touch. If you do not plan on going, that is fine as well, it is not like I wanted to go with you or anything. I embraced my cringe-worthy line, and fully welcomed the blush it would cause; my face turning red would help sell my performance. I heard a sharp snort of air blow through Dominics nose, and he nodded. Right, we can go together then. The crones house was out on the very edge of the village, near the forest. I wasnt particularly worried, but in order to avoid causing a fuss, I made sure to assure Albert that we would be back with the group before dark. I had expected that I would have to argue against being assigned one or more of the knights as a guard, however, Albert made no moves to do so. After a bit of thought I realized that, due to Dominic and I both being deployed alongside the knights, the kingdom had essentially acknowledged our abilities. We would probably still be given a guard or two if we requested one, but not having one suited my needs perfectly so I chose to happily and conveniently ignore the fact that I didnt have one. As we approached the door of the crones shack and knocked, I heard a shriek from inside the building. Death! Death has come for me! Dominic and I looked at each other, while Jacqueline and Dominics manservant took up defensive postures. I had expected Jacqueline to react, but to my surprise, Dominics manservant was also fairly skilled. Though Jacqueline appeared to be superior. Dominic saw that I was ready and nodded. He then kicked down the door. What the hell!? I was expecting you to open it slowly! Still, I was able to react to the unexpected action after only a slight pause. [Light #####] At my spoken command, a spell I had chant-held instantly deployed. It was a very simple White Magic spell of the Light Element, all it did was create an instantaneous bright flash. After a significant amount of consideration over which chant I should keep prepared, given that I could only manage a single one, I decided that an on-demand instant distraction best meshed with my abilities. The light illuminated the interior of the room, and I swiftly cut inside, with Dominic following behind me. Due to our swordsmanship lessons, where we often spared together, we were more or less in perfect sync. We quickly surveyed the room and confirmed that it was empty aside from ourselves. There was also a distinct lack of furniture. Other than a small table, a shelf with some cooking implements, a bedroll, and a rack containing dried herbs and some meat, it was barren. Dominic jerked his chin towards the only other door and we quickly formed up alongside it, while Jacqueline and Dominics manservant entered the room and took up vigilant positions near the front door. I reached out my hand and pushed the door open. Dominic went in first this time and I followed. This door led out into a small garden behind the house. Fallen on her rear in a patch of what was probably basil, was an old woman. She was shaking and staring at a point on the opposite side of the yard from us. Following her gaze, I couldnt see anything there, so I went to slowly approach her. As soon as I took a step forward, however, I was struck by an unsettling cold feeling. It felt like a gust of cold air had blown from where the woman was looking. I should have brought Stil, something is definitely here! I chanced a glance at Dominic. To my surprise, he seemed entirely unbothered and was walking over to the woman, having sheathed his sword. So is it only women who can feel this thing? And thats why it targets men? As if perfectly timing her entrance so as to dash my hopes, Jacqueline emerged from the building. Making her way over to me she, like Dominic, seemed entirely unaware of the presence that was in the yard with us. I kept my gaze fixed at the source of the uncomfortable sensations that were plaguing me, and slowly worked my way across the yard until I was standing near the crone. Still keeping my eyesight locked on the spot, I knelt down near the crone and reached out a hand towards her. She had been shaking violently enough to where Dominic had opted to keep his distance from her, and Jacqueline had picked up on the way I was behaving and thus taken a defensive stance while watching the same general area as me. As soon as my hand touched her arm, the woman froze still. At the same time, the feeling of unease emanating from the side of the garden abated. Miss, are you ok? My name is Stahlia. My friends and I came here to help. The crone snapped her head around at the sound of my voice, revealing a pair of cloudy white orbs. Shes blind? But she told the chief and all the other villagers that she could see death walking through the village Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my forearm which caused me to give a surprised cry. Dominic immediately came over and tried to drag the woman away, but she wouldnt let go. Of all the insolence! Seeing him making to draw his sword, I hurriedly moved and inserted myself between the two of them. Dominic, its fine! She is just scared; she also cant see, so grabbing my arm is a natural response for her. Dont be rash He kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, but didnt draw it. And you are unharmed? I nodded. Yes, I cried out because I was surprised; she hasnt hurt me. Dominic nodded, then released his sword hilt and stepped back. The crone was glancing around. Strangely, despite being blind, her gaze lingered on each person who was in the garden. First, myself, who she had seen first. Then Jacqueline and Dominics manservant, who had arrived after hearing me cry out. Lastly, she turned her gaze to Dominic, and almost immediately recoiled away, hiding behind me as she did so. Lady, you''re like, at least seventy years old, and youre hiding behind a ten-year-old, from a twelve-year-old She had started to shiver again and was now babbling incoherently. I sighed. Dominic, I think you should take your manservant and stand watch outside the front of the house It would seem she is afraid of men. I can ask her a few questions and fill you in later would that be alright? Dominic had been looking at the woman intensely, with an odd expression on his face. Hearing my words, he shook his head a few times before responding. right, that would probably be for the best. But Stahlia be careful. Theres something about her thats odd. He then waved at his manservant and the pair left through the way we had come in. Something odd about her? No shit! Whats odder is why she reacted specifically to you, not me. Both of us are reincarnations so it isnt that. Once Dominic had moved to the front of the building, the woman once again calmed down. I took the chance to reintroduce myself, and try and engage her in conversation. Miss? My name is Stahlia. Can you tell me your name? The crone snapped her eyes back towards me. Name? My name? I Whats my?... Who, who are you? You look look like him! Like that man! Oh keep him away! Away! The woman began shivering again. Ugh. Yea so shes completely crazy. Crone was an apt description. I grit my teeth. For better or worse, this woman was able to perceive whatever entity was coming into the village, and I needed to do my best to get information from her. My name is Stahlia, miss. Can you tell me, who do I look like? At the sound of my voice, the crone calmed down and looked me over from head to toe. It was a disconcerting feeling to say the least, given that her eyes lacked light. Sta..hlia.. hmm yes. You do, you do! You look like him! Like that man! But he was only one, you have two no, three! Three stars! Oh, please, keep him away! Three stars? I have three stars? What the hell is she talking about? She can definitely see something when shes looking at me Miss, Im afraid I dont understand what do you mean I have three stars? The crone looked me up and down again. Three stars? You have three stars? Hmm yes I see that! Most wonderful! You should be able to protect me from that man then! Oh please keep him away from me Right. This is going nowhere. Shes completely senile. I decided to try one last approach before giving up on her. Miss.. how do you see these stars? I look at myself every day, but I have never seen them. The crone paused. You you want to see the stars? You just look at them! Look at them and fill your eyes with light!~ Her voice sounded almost rapturous by the end of her sentence. I wont be able to get anything out of her about the man or the stars it seems Jacqueline, can you block the sound from leaving this space, I want to try something, and I cant risk any of the villagers hearing. Really, I dont want Dominic overhearing, since Im about to ask about him. Hopefully, if he was eavesdropping, that excuse will be enough to satisfy him. Jacqueline nodded, and talent cast her wind magic spell, cutting us off from the outside world. It is done. I nodded my thanks and then turned back to the crone again. I was about to ask about Dominic when I realized her behavior had completely changed. She was now gazing around herself in wonder. Ooohhh! The light! The light is so beautiful! The light? The only thing that changed was Jacqueline casting a wind spell to enclose us wait, so the light is mana? Then stars means mana vessels? I have three mana vessels? No. That cant be right, otherwise, everybody would have a star. These stars are seemingly unique to me and this man shes so scared of. Still, this did give me a couple of hints. This crone definitely had some ability that let her see mana, and it presumably involved filling her eyes with light. If I interpreted that in the loosest sense, it meant filling your eyes with mana. But I tried that earlier, and all it did was give me beyond twenty-twenty vision Theres still something missing. Other than that, I now could form a hypothesis about why Dominic had scared her. I dont think hes the man she keeps rambling about. Shes been scared of him since before she first saw Dominic. No, it has got to have something to do with Dominics mana. From my reading, I knew that mana was just mana. It didnt have any real qualities, though it could take on certain attributes when being used to cast spells. Dominic wasnt casting any spells, so his mana should have been fairly clear, like deionized water. But she can only see mana, and something about how she perceived him scared her. That means that something was giving his mana an attribute when she saw him A skill? Maybe he was using a skill when she saw him? It was the only thing I could think of, and she was too incoherent for me to verify. There isnt anything in any of the books that Ive read about skills needing mana to function, and I havent noticed my mana getting consumed when I use my skills Miss, could you look at me for a moment? Thankfully, there was a simple way I could test my hypothesis. The crone turned her head away from the light, her expression looked a bit sad at not being able to see it anymore. Right, so which one to go with Its also possible Ill have to do more than one if she cant notice a change in my mana after the first for safety, lets go with Anger, Remorse, then Fear. Empathy has too harsh of a blowback when I turn it back on, and I do not want to risk turning off love, given how Cold Hearted works with the other four. Right, here goes nothing. I mentally triggered my skill, and instantly, the vague sense of irritation I had towards the woman vanished. Unfortunately, she didnt seem to notice any change, or if she did, she didnt react. Nothing huh? Well, here goes another one. I turned off remorse. This time the womans eyes narrowed a creepy spectacle, given that they were a solid milky white in color. So that confirms it. Using skills does affect mana in a perceivable way, but then why didnt any of the books I read, or my instructors, mention it? Is the ability to perceive mana really that rare? I decided not to risk turning off fear since it would cause me to let my guard down towards Dominic. Even if he was currently outside Jacquelines barrier, I didnt want to take any risks. Besides, I had already gotten confirmation of my hypothesis. Miss, is something the matter? Ill just get her to say it, and call the experiment a success. You your light. It feels cold Thats probably the most well-constructed sentence this crone has said so far. I nodded and turned off my skill. The crones eyes immediately softened, and after a few moments it was as if she had completely forgotten me; she was back to staring at Jacquelines spell. That just begs the question, if straight-up disabling your emotions is only enough to make your mana cold then what the hell does Dominics skill do to make her recoil like that? It was a terrifying thought. After reconvening with Dominic, I explained to him that I had been unable to get anything of value from her, simply that she was convinced something in the town was out to get her. Thankfully, he seemed to accept my excuse and we returned to the home that Carl was loaning to us. Dominic and I parted, and I reconvened with Sarala and Sana. We filled each other in on what we had done since separating at Carls house early this afternoon. Sana had, after taking a moment to recover, gone to the village square and spent the day praying with various village women. Something that the villagers were very grateful for since the village priest was among the men missing. Sarala had spent the day with two of the knights as they walked the perimeter of the village wall. As she put it, her individual talents were better suited for battle rather than reconnaissance. Neither of them had anything to report regarding any strange presences or happenings during their days. I filled them in on most of what had happened with the crone, though I omitted my discovery regarding skills and mana. Jacqueline had already agreed to keep that quiet as well, though since very little had been said out loud, she didnt have the full picture in the first place. After our little meeting, we went to sleep. I awoke sometime later in the middle of the night. I sat up in bed and glanced around uneasily. Theres that feeling in the air again... coming from outside I glanced around the room, confirming that everyone was still sleeping. Fortunately, the light from the moon filtering through the boards on the windows was just enough to make out vague details. For the most part, my companions were indeed resting peacefully. Stil was twitching restlessly but hadnt woken up. Sana was sweating somewhat heavily but was likewise still asleep. I debated waking them all up and getting the knights, but for some reason, I got the feeling that that would be the wrong thing to do. Whatever this thing is, it only targets men. Getting the knights probably wouldnt help unless they can perceive it. For the same reason, none of my group would be of much use either, other than Stil. I hope I dont regret this, this is probably the stupidest thing Ive ever done. I quietly slipped out of bed and tiptoed out of the room. Arriving at the door into the back garden, I took a deep breath and pushed it open as silently as I could before slipping out. Well one upside of my small figure is I dont have to open doors so wide Accompanied by my distressing thoughts, I moved away from the doorway and out into the moonlight. The disconcerting feeling was emanating from the middle of the buildings garden. Right, now what? I had come this far, but I didnt have a way of seeing whatever this thing was, nor did I really have a way of hurting it. Although for some reason I didnt feel like it was hostile. Now, I guess I should try and communicate somehow? Hello? Oh, great start me. After a moment, I felt a strange crawling sensation over my skin. As if I was being watched or studied. The source of the presence still seemed to be sitting stationary. No response huh? No, I guess that crawling feeling was sort of a response I wish I was able to see whatever it looks like, then I would be able to tell if it even understands human speech Fill my eyes with light was is? I tried pushing mana into my eyes. Instantly the world around me sharpened, and I began picking up more detail. But this isnt mana, its just more physical detail I pushed more mana into my eyes, to the point where I began to get a headache. Now I was able to count the scales on the wings of a nearby moth, but I still couldnt see the thing that was standing in the middle of the garden. Clearly, there is something else beyond just filling my eyes with mana. I tried to think. If mana was really something that could be perceived just like that then everyone would be able to do it with enough training. Kell and Gustav would have mentioned it to me during one of our private discussions about Blood Magic. I pondered the question, all the while keeping my gaze fixed on the spot where whatever it was, was standing. Presumably, I have to shape the mana somehow, or impart an attribute to it I tried forcing the mana packed into my eyes into a lens shape, using the mental image of an infrared camera. Unfortunately, this didnt seem to have any effect. Suddenly, the presence shifted. In an instant, it was standing much closer to me, in fact, it was right in front of me! I jumped backward, but something caught my back, holding me in place. I felt an incredibly sharp pain in both of my eyes, and the world went dark as I screamed. Psycholor If people want to donate, the money will go only towards additional art commissions beyond what I am personally paying for. When enough money for a commission has accumulated, I''ll make a public announcement on the next chapter, and run a poll of what character or scene to have done as the bonus. This decouples the money from myself, thereby sidestepping the issues I have mentioned I have towards setting up monetization. Of course if I start having the problems I mentioned anyways, I plan on simply removing the link. 2-12 Gods and Life Stahlia Ten Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 The world went dark as I screamed. I scrambled backward and away from whatever the entity was. This time, it allowed me to get away. Fuck! Why did I come out here alone!? I scrambled backward, desperately trying to find the door. I didnt know of any healing spells that would be able to restore something as complicated as my eyes but based on the fading pain, they had probably been gouged out. I blinked. The pain is fading? I paused and reached a hand up, touching my face. It did not feel wet, nor could I smell the iron stench of blood. I glanced down at my hand. It was blurry, but I could see it. Slowly, the image came back into focus. Whats more, it was bright. My hand seemed to be emitting a faint glow. Periodically, it would pulse brighter. It took me a moment to realize that it was pulsing in time with my heartbeat. I looked up and saw that the plants in the garden all seemed to be glowing, and all of them pulsing in a rhythm, though slower than my own pulsation. Standing in near the middle of the garden, was a tall figure wearing a black robe. The figure was the only thing in the garden not glowing, though over where its heart should be was a sphere of light with a black core. It reminded me a bit of a solar eclipse. On its head, it was wearing a sort of wide-brimmed flat-top hat. Peaking out from under the hat was the beak of a crow. My mind flashed back to the statues that adorned the central temple. This figure was a spitting image of one of them. If that was his identity, then this would be the second god I met face to face. m-Mortis? My voice was trembling more than I would have liked, and my knees were shaking making it impossible for me to stand up. It was like there was a cold wind blowing out from the figure, one that pierced my heart and invoked a sense of deep terror. I took a deep breath and sent the mental command to Cold Hearted. Turning off fear was risky, the lack of proper risk assessment could screw me, but when I was being crippled by it the risk was worth it. Good. You can finally see me. Ive been waiting for you to figure it out all day. Excuse me? God of death? Arent you here to like, kill me? and where''s Jacqueline, Sana, Sarala, or anyone? I screamed several minutes ago... Yes, I can see you now. What are you after? Whether I liked it or not, now that I no longer was afraid, there was now some irritation slipping into my voice. Mind your tongue. A backbone is good, but I am still a god. Well, arent you all high and mighty? Sure, youre a god. What do you want with me, that the god of death would take the time to come to such a small village? Did you do something to my friends? And while were at it, what did you do to me? Mostly Im just worried if this is permanent or not everything glowing could be a serious detriment. Mortis sighed and crossed his arms. Shaking his head, he glared at me. So impatient. If I answer those questions will you be quiet and listen? I remained silent and folded my arms, before giving a quick nod. Good. As for what I want from you, mostly just to see the newest player with my own eyes. As for what I did to you, I gave you eyes that can see life. Something you could have gotten on your own, but it would have inconvenienced me to have to wait for you to figure it out. I did nothing to your friends. If you are asking why they did not come to your aid after you screamed, well. I am the god who hold authority over death. I simply bade the sound to die before it reached them. He killed sound? Is that metaphorical, or did he literally kill a physical phenomenon that wasn''t alive in the first place? And what''s this about giving me "eyes"? I frowned and covertly opened my menu, which caused Mortis to shoot me a questioning look. Wait, can he see my menu? In any case, I didnt have any new talents or skills that I could see. So, Deus Ex Machina, what exactly are these eyes? I dont have any new skills or talents. Mortis palmed his forehead. I thought you said you would listen quietly but still, your authority is over the system? Antenora didnt tell me that As for your snarky nicknames, knock it off. I am the god who reigns over death. I may not be allowed to kill you, but there is no rule that says I cant kill you. All I could do was blink confusedly. You cant kill me, but there isnt a rule that says you cant kill me? What does that even mean? Still, that was a big piece of information I had just gotten, about him not being allowed to kill me. I should disable Cold Hearted now. Not being afraid is making me a bit of a bitch, and now that I know he isnt going to kill me, my rational mind should be able to overcome any lingering fear. I switched off my skill, and the subtext of what he had said was immediately super obvious. Right, just because you arent allowed to do something doesnt mean you cant do it. Missing one emotion really skews my perception. I need to make sure to be more respectful, he is a god. thankfully, I was no longer paralyzed by fear, though I was still incredibly uneasy due to the aura he seemed to be emitting constantly. Well, if these eyes that can see life arent a skill what exactly did you do, Lord Mortis? Mortis nodded, my change in tone had definitely improved his mood. Good, glad to see you have some instinctive desire for self-preservation. Im not sure what you mean? You were already using Blood Magic as if it were natural, I just tweaked your mana a little bit and added the Divine Element. Can we please move on to the topic at hand? I hastily checked my mana flow. I see, so I needed to add a bit of the Divine Element aspect in order to produce this effect I didnt think I was able to add aspects to my mana while it was still inside my body, let alone Divine Element Considering this outright violates the fourth law... I wonder what other applications this might have? Ill need to experiment. I see thank you for answering my questions, Lord Mortis. I gave a respectful curtsy. Now, why are you here? Good. Now, as for why I am here. Like I said before, I mostly just wanted to see the new player Antenora was speaking so highly of. I could have easily sent one of my familiars to guide you instead. I raised an eyebrow, but otherwise held my tongue; I didnt want to risk offending him again. As you are no doubt aware, I am the eleventh god, the one who reigns over death. It is my duty to collect the souls of the deceased in this world and ferry them into the cycle. There is a problem in this area, however. The deceased men from this village, their souls are being stolen! From the dramatic flair of his voice, I could tell that he considered this to be a bombshell statement. I mean, thats bad I guess but what are you wanting me to do about it? I nodded. Right, I can see where souls being stolen would be a bad thing but what do you want me to do? Youre a god are you not? Mortis nodded. Precisely. I am a god, and that is why my hands are tied; the twelve are fairly restricted when it comes to our actions outside of our duties. As such, we move through champions. At present you are the only champion able to act freely. I asked Antenora if I could borrow you. Champion? Borrow me? It sounded like I had missed something rather important when I had my face-to-face with Antenora. Umm, pardon my interruption I do not recall becoming a ''champion'', let alone the possession of Antenora and, wouldnt giving me eyes that can ''see life'' violate some sort of restriction? Mortis looked at me, cocking his head a bit. If I could see his eyes, I imagine they would have been curious. Were you unaware? When you acquired the [Blessing of Winter], you became Winters champion in the great game. Autumns champion is presently indisposed, and neither the Spring nor Summer champions have been selected yet. Thus, I asked to borrow you to deal with this issue, since the game hasnt started yet. Obviously, it does not, else I would not have done so. Perhaps he read the surprise from my silence because after a moment he continued. You received an explanation of this, did you not? I shook my head. No, Lady Antenora told me that my allegiance didnt matter in the end. The goddess of traitors, plots, and deceit told you she was giving you an incredible power, for naught, and you believed her? I could hear the disappointment laden in his voice, but all I could do was meekly nod my head. I actually did believe her looking back at it now it makes sense that I wasnt being told everything Why was I so blind? Just because I wanted the power to help me get back Rosial? Or was there another reason? I was getting the feeling that I was wrapped up in something a lot bigger than just destroying Drakas. Right seeing as I am completely ignorant, Lord Mortis, would you be willing to give me some of the information I am lacking? What exactly is a champion, how can I opt out, and what is the ''great game''?" Mortis let out an audible sigh. I suppose I can do that, it does tie into what I need you to do after all. The champions are those selected to represent the gods in the great game, which is what we call the war between the races and the Hell Kings. You cannot opt-out, the only way for your position to pass on to another is for you to die. I scowled. Sounds like I got saddled with something incredibly annoying. All I want to do is save my sister, not fight as the champion in some sort of holy war. You said you need me to do something because Autumns champion is indisposed But the four factions are at odds with each other, are they not? Why would I help the Autumn faction if I am supposed to be the champion of winter? Mortis shook his head. We might have our disagreements, but when it comes to the great game we set those aside. If the nine kings were to win, we would lose our authority; that which enables us to govern this world as its gods. Everyones out to protect themselves, got it. what is it you want me to do Mortis nodded. Simple, kill the Succubus that is infesting this village, before it gathers enough souls to advent Second Seat, Queen of Lust Asmodea. Based on his tone, you would think he had just told me to head down to the supermarket and grab a jug of milk. Ex-fucking-cuse me? Second Seat, Queen of Lust Asmodea? Advent? The consequence for failure is the advent of one of the Hell Kings!? After a minute, Mortis started reaching out to poke my cheek. I took a quick step back and managed to recompose myself. I-isnt it just a bit early for the hell kings to be coming back? Its only nine-forty-seven right now. If the history I know is correct, shouldnt it be closer to the year one thousand before this all starts happening? Mortis shook his head. No, why would we start selecting champions if they would be over fifty before the game started? The game begins in three years. We are currently in the pregame; by stopping Asmodeas advent we can deprive the hell kings of one of their pieces. I feel like Im getting a headache Right, let me see if I understand this all correctly. The nine kings are fighting against the twelve gods, but you lot are not allowed to fight yourselves, so you wage a proxy war using four mortals. Against what is essentially a deific entity. I was more or less conscripted to be one of those four, and if I fail at what was supposed to be in essence, a school trip, another king will manifest back into the mortal world? Am I getting everything correct? Mortis nodded, causing me to start vigorously rubbing my temples. Incidentally, there are already four kings who walk this world. The Third Seat, King of Gluttony Beelzebub and the Fourth Seat, Queen of Envy Leviathan have both advented. The Fifth Seat, King of Wrath Satan and the Throneless King, Belphagor of Sloth both survived the previous game. Now I actually have a headache. So there are already four hell kings doing who knows what in the mortal world, two of them have been here for a thousand years or more already. Mortis nodded. It seems you understand the gravity of the situation, I shall take my leave then. A final word of advice; do not use the divine element too much, that headache you are currently experiencing is likely a result of using too much of it in one go. With that, he turned and walked into the air, seeming to fade out of existence. I hurriedly cut off my mana flow to my eyes, and the throbbing that had formed in my head abated somewhat. Right, of course, there would be consequences to using divinity in a mortal body but dont I have an authority? isnt that the power of gods? At least based on what Mortis was saying earlier. I havent ever gotten a headache or anything from using my menu or buying skills. Other than that one time I got a fever I sighed tiredly. The sun was just starting to peek up above the horizon, I had been out in the garden for almost two hours. I should go back to sleep for a little bit at least. Apparently, we have a demon to find, and theres a time limit. Staring at myself in the mirror, I traced a series of lines across my chest. Upon waking up, I had been surprisingly refreshed, despite the events of the early morning. While waiting for Jacqueline to prepare my clothes, I decided to try experimenting with giving an elemental aspect to mana while keeping it inside my body. I was leery of using any of the four basic elements without preparing safety measures first; the last thing I needed to do was immolate myself, so I settled for the Divine Element. My headache had cleared up after getting a goodnights sleep, and I was very curious about the specifics of what I could see. Besides, rather than experimenting with a new ability, I would rather spend time learning the limits of the one I already knew about. As I traced over the lines of pulsating light, I kept a count and confirmed what I had noticed the other day; that the lines seemed to match my heartbeat. In the mirror, I could see Jacqueline busying herself behind me. She was also covered in lines of glowing light, but hers seemed to be significantly brighter than mine. If my lines were a candle flame, then she was a torch. I blinked and my vision went blurry. It was much harder than I had thought to keep the divine element in tune with my mana; if I did anything more than move my hands a bit, I would lose focus and my mana would lose the imbued aspect. Theres no way I can fight with this, but it certainly works for gathering some basic information. I refocused my mana and re-applied the aspect. Next, I carefully and meticulously started applying my enhancements to my arms. It was a real struggle to maintain both a strengthening enhancement and a mana aspect separately and at the same time. As I added mana to my arms, I noted the light increasing in intensity. That confirms what I suspected, Life is Mana, so is mana like someones lifeforce? Still, it meant that as long as I had the opportunity, I could use these eyes to get a rough estimate of someones strength. My hands paused just above my heart. Within that knot of light, I could vaguely make out two spots that were much brighter than their surroundings. One of them, the brighter one, was a similar color to the rest of the light that suffused my body, very nearly white. The other knot was dimmer but still noticeable, a sort of icy blue. If I looked very carefully, I could just make out a third spot, this one was more like a void than light though, a single pinprick that was devoid of any light. These must be the suns that crone as rambling on about. But could you really call that dark spot a sun? And I didnt see any sun on Mortis not that I looked very closely. I felt a tap on my shoulder and lost focus on my mana, the light instantly vanishing from my sight. Spinning around I saw Jacqueline, who was holding my clothes for the day. My lady, it takes time. You will fill out eventually. I felt my face start emitting a glow of a different color. Of course Jacqueline would make that assumption; from her point of view, I had been cupping my chest while staring at a mirror with a thoughtful look on my face. I shook my head rapidly from side to side. No, thats not it. I was just thinking of something! Jacqueline nodded, adopting a very serious expression. Now shes fucking with me. God damnit I decided that it was in my best interest to simply ignore my vassal for the time being, and I meekly held out my arms so she could begin dressing me. I arrived in the courtyard where we were set to have breakfast before returning to the search. Of course, I now knew what we were looking for, but I had no easy way to provide that information. I most certainly couldnt say I had a nighttime rendezvous with the god of death. I also need to find an opportunity where I can focus for a few moments and take a peek at Dominic with my divine eyes, yea, until someone tells me the actual name for this ability, thats what Ill call them. I took a seat at a smaller table alongside Dominic and Asten. It was par for the course, but we three had our own table. Stahlia, how was the night? I briefly froze at Dominics question, wondering how he had known something had happened until I realized he was just asking what could be considered a very normal question. We were in an unfamiliar place that had people going missing repeatedly after all. I put on a smile and answered him amicably. My night was peaceful, all things considered. How did you sleep, Dominic? He nodded. Mine was likewise peaceful. I had half expected whatever this thing is to come after me or Asten, but it seems that whatever it is, is not hungry at the moment. I frowned and tilted my head. Hungry? How can you be sure that the victims are being eaten? Dominic furrowed his brows. Isnt it obvious? All the victims are men or boys, across an age range possessing high vitality. We are dealing with a Succubus for sure. Internally I did a small triumphant fist pump. Good! That takes care of how to get everybody on the right track, now I can just go with what Dominic says and pretend Im supporting my fianc! Externally I affected a quizzical expression. A demon? Are you sure? Dominic nodded. Yes, I am fairly certain. There is the way Lady Sana was acting yesterday as well; individuals attuned to the gods tend to react poorly in the presence of the enemies of said gods. I mean, Im pretty sure she was reacting to the presence of a god, not a demon, but if it helps get us on the right track, lets roll with it. Who knows, that might actually be true as well. I nodded. I see, in that case, we should figure out a plan of action using that as a starting point. It is my understanding that Demons of Lust like Succubi have a way of charming men to do their bidding. I thought my suggestion was prudent and assumed it would get the ball rolling on a plan, but Dominic and Asten seemed to be of a different opinion. Asten looked at me incredulously while Dominic shook his head and spoke up. No, this is what the knights are for, at this point, we can leave it to them. I was speechless. Do you even hear yourself? We can leave it to them.? That isnt a flag at all. As I was trying to come up with a retort, Albert came up to our table. Evidently, he was psychic because he completely read my train of thought and cut me off before I could retort. Lords Dominic and Asten are correct, Lady Stahlia. My knights and I are more than capable of dealing with one Succubus. All of us have the equipment to protect ourselves from such manipulative methods, and for added safety in the event that it is a particularly strong specimen, we operate in pairs. Should one be charmed, the other will be able to use a recovery item. Yep. One of those groups will be gone by the end of the day. Maybe if this was just a run-of-the-mill succubus then that plan might work, but according to Mortis, its about to advent the Queen of Lust. If you say so then I will trust your mens expertise, Commander Albert. Theres no way they will listen to what I have to say, not unless I reveal the source of my information, which I cant do. Ill have to find a way to deal with this myself. Dominic gave a head bow to Albert, and the latter made his way back to the table with the knights. He came over specifically to dissuade me from acting on my own, didnt he. Our food was brought over as I was thinking. While Jacqueline was getting mine plated, I took the opportunity to check out Dominic. Focusing inwards, I brought up my mana and pushed it into my eyes, then meticulously applied the Divine Element aspect to it. When I opened my eyes, I was met by a world of color. The trees, grass, bushes. Birds, a rabbit, the knights, Sana, Sarala, Jacqueline, and other people. It was dazzling. I felt my control slipping and sucked in my breath. Focus. I hope its only the Divine Element that is so difficult to apply internally. Otherwise, I wouldnt be able to use this at all. No! Stop wandering and focus! The world of light came back. Glancing around at the people, I noted how everyone seemed to have a different color; Sana was a sort of gold, while Sarala was icy blue, like my star except it was her natural color. Jacqueline was a dark purple, and Albert was ironically a soft pink. I wonder if this is somehow indicative of their affinities? I turned my attention to Dominic, who was sitting next to me, and immediately wanted to throw up. His color was pus yellow, and whereas everyone elses light was pulsing rhythmically, his seemed to bubble and ooze as it flowed through him. Whats more, his pattern was completely different. Whereas mine and everyone elses seemed to follow the circulatory system, Dominics was different. If I had to place it, it seemed like it was simply flowing freely how it pleased, like mucous dripping down from a sick persons nose. I fought back the urge to gag and looked more closely at Dominics sickening mana. If I were to see tiny wiggling maggots in his light, I wouldnt be surprised, its that gross. Like flu mucous or thick diarrhea. Though I was leery of staring and being found out, I quickly focused in on his heart. There doesnt seem to be any stars, so if my working theory is correct, Dominic doesnt have anything from one of the twelve. Though other than my authority and my blessing, I have no idea what my third star is meant to be. Having confirmed that he at least wasnt one of the champions, and didnt have something like my Custom Class, I next gave his whole body a once over, searching for any indication of a skill he kept active. I was now reasonably certain that what had scared that crone was merely the passive disgustingness of his mana, but I reasoned I may as well check for my earlier hypothesis anyways if only to cover all my bases. Just because I was wrong about mana being clear when you arent doing anything doesnt mean I was wrong about him having any skills in use, and I already confirmed with the crone that skills can change how mana is perceived. Honestly, I almost hope this color and texture is the result of skills hes using it would frankly be pitiful if this was just his natural state. As I ran my eyes quickly over him, I almost missed it. It was incredibly faint, but he would periodically emit a pulse of mana from his eyes. Contrary to the general ooziness of his regular mana, the pulse was in time with what I assumed was his heartbeat, though if it was, then it was a little bit fast. These pulses were possibly even more revolting than his normal mana; where that had a consistency like snot and the color of pus, these pulses were gaseous and vomit green. It reminded me a bit of the cartoon representation of fart gas. Following the nearly invisible shockwave of mana as it traveled through the air, I observed it pass over some of the knights, who were within his line of sight. The pulse seemingly passed right through them without doing anything, and I almost breathed a sigh of relief, until I saw the table with Sana and Sarala. When the wave of gassy mana passed over them, I saw their light flicker, and some of the gassy aura seemed to suck into them, mixing with their regular mana. I let out a small gasp. Stahlia, is something the matter? His voice caused me to jump a bit, and I lost my focus. As the world of light faded, I turned to Dominic. No, I was simply thinking how good it is that we have such brave and talented knights with us. What the hell? It had no effect on the knights, but that mana definitely did something to Sarala and Sana. The question is, what exactly did it do? Dominic gave me a long look, then shrugged and picked up his utensils. I struggled to keep a straight face, barely succeeding, and picked up my own utensils to begin eating. Think! It didnt work on the knights, but it did work on my friends The knights are adults, my friends are pubescent girls like me. Age and Gender are the main differences no, theres also level. Those knights are at a higher level than the three of us. Damnit! If Jacqueline had been in his line of sight, I would have been able to rule out level as a possible reason. For better or worse, I didnt have enough information at the moment to make a full deduction, the best I could come up with was mere speculation, at least until I had the opportunity to examine the phenomenon in more detail. Though that would involve me having to stare at Dominic again It was then that I felt a warm smile on my back. I turned around to catch sight of Jacqueline, who had definitely seen me studying Dominics profile so intently just a moment ago. Thats it. Just kill me. We finished our meal, and it came time to determine what we should all be doing. Of course, I wanted to go out into the forest and hunt down the succubus, but there was no way Dominic and Asten would agree to that. I think Ill have to wait until this evening, and go out with just me and Jacqueline hopefully, none of the knights fall victim, but with the way things are going I cant help but worry. In the end, it was determined that Dominic and his retinue would patrol the perimeter of the village, in such a way as to be seen by the villagers. Asten and his would move along the road, and my own would remain in the village. The cited reason for this was that My party consisted entirely of supports, which was fair. Sana was a healer and Sarala was a mage. I was nominally a battlemage, having both sword and magic talents. The fact that Jacqueline and I could both serve as front liners was of course not public knowledge. Actually, thinking about it, my group is the only one thats actually well balanced The knights are all brawlers, maybe a handful of basic chants, Dominic and Asten both dont use magic at all, and they dont have a single dedicated caster in their party. Im also the only one who brought a dedicated healer The party compositions of my colleagues aside, this division of labor actually worked out for me. If Jacqueline and I were going to go out tonight in secret, then a position where the two of us could take it somewhat easy during the day was much appreciated. Ideally, Sana would simply be doing more of what she did yesterday, and we would more or less watch over her while she was doing that. So how did it end up like this? I had thought it would be easy, just stand watch while one of my friends gave moral and religious support. Yet I wound up being thrust into a crisis, directing a mob of three to five-year-old girls as they ran around the edges of the forest and the fields collecting grasses and various other items at my behest. Everything had started normally. Sana had taken up a position near the village center, and mothers began dropping of children before heading out into the fields. Even though most of their men were missing, and in all likelihood, dead life went on. If nobody tended the villages fields then the people would starve. Sana had made for a convenient and trustworthy babysitter; despite being an outsider, she was still a religious figure, as well as a member of the group that had come to help with the problem. So I was idly passing the day along, observing as Sana told stories about the twelve and Sarala used a few simple spells to amuse the children, when a girl a bit older than the children we were babysitting came running into our midst with a panicked look on her face. The roughly seven-year-old arrived in the village center and looked around before locking eyes on Sana and running up to her. Exclaiming through her tears Please! You have to help my mother! Whats this now? Sana glanced over at me, and when I nodded, she started wiping the girls tears. Now now, its ok. Whats the matter with your mother? After a few minutes of sniffling, the girl had been calmed enough to somewhat explain what was happening. Her Shes pregnant She says mom says the baby is coming! Ah, and all the village women have gone out into the field since the men are missing and nobody thought to stay behind for the pregnant woman!? I stood up from where I had been sitting off to the side. Im not going to let a little girl lose her sibling if I can help it. Sana, go with her and do what you can. Sarala, watch over the kids that are too young to help. Jacqueline, go to our carriage and collect my equipment. After you have delivered it to the pregnant womans house, go help Sarala. I got a nod from Sana and Jacqueline, while Sarala hesitated for a moment before nodding. Stil! Go into the forest, I want Jesper Root, and Poppy if you can find it. My Hawri gave a keening bark and dashed off. With his [Keen Senses], he should be able to find what I wanted in short order. If youve had your dedication then come with me out to the forest edge, theres some other plants we need. Unfortunately, the village didnt have a dedicated apothecary or alchemists. In that Regard, Ris village had actually been quite lucky. In most cases, villages would rely on home remedies. There was a chance I could find what I needed by searching houses, but it would likely be faster to employ mass child labor and get it myself. Other than the items that were potentially toxic like Poppy, or grew too deep in the forest, like Jesper Root. I clapped my hands, and after a moment, about twenty kids between the ages of three and five stood up and came over to me. I led my youth troupe out of the village and to the edge of the forest. Giving them a warning about not leaving my sight, I then described the half dozen plants I wanted and sent them off. Thankfully, gathering was one of the things that children this young would tend to help out with, so they knew of four of the plants I wanted already. As I was overseeing the children, I caught sight of my hound running out of the forest towards me. Clutched in his beak, Stil was carrying a Jesper Root and a sprig of Poppy. I held out my hand and received the items, carefully putting them away in a bag Jacqueline had given me before departing to attend her assignment. Checking the contents of the bag, plus what the children were now bringing me, I determined that I had enough material. Clapping my hands, I announced to the children that we were returning to the village. When I got my posse back to the village square, I handed them off to Sarala and Jacqueline. Jacqueline gave me directions to the pregnant womans house, and I told Stil to stay and watch over everyone with Jacqueline and Sarala; we were being used as more or less babysitters by the villagers, so I didnt want to take away any more people than I had to, and Stil wouldnt be needed to help deliver a baby. Jacqueline would be extremely helpful, but I would rather she stays with the kids in case something goes wrong that Sarala cant deal with besides, having an adult over there cant be the wrong decision. I arrived at the womans home, where I found Sana sitting on a bed next to a clearly pregnant woman, holding her hand and praying. Sitting fretfully near the foot of the bed was the same seven-year-old from earlier. I can tell that shes pregnant, but her belly seems a bit small Ill bet that its premature birth. That would explain why none of the other village women stayed in case she went into labor; they werent expecting her to go into labor yet. Alright, what is your name? I approached the seven-year-old after setting down my bag on the table. The girl looked up at me, the corners of her eyes were still a bit teary and her lip was quivering but otherwise, she seemed to be holding together if only barely. Li-Lisa I nodded. Alright then Lilisa, can you do me a favor? I need a big pot of water, it might be heavy so use this jug and make multiple trips. I indicated a pot that was sitting near the firepit, as well as a jug I spotted on a low shelf. The girl looked between the two objects and me, before clenching her fists. Y-you promise you can help my mother? Oof. Thats heavy I mean, I cant be 100% sure but I promise, now go. Even if this was a promise I couldnt really know for sure if I could keep, even if I knew I was raising a flag, I decided I would still say those words. To hell with flags, gods and demons, games and champions and whatever. Ill make my own fate, starting with saving this mother and her baby. The girl set her teeth and gave a sharp nod before grabbing the jug and running towards the door, pausing for just a moment, she called back My name is Lisa, not Lilisa!. Sana. When you finish your prayer, finely chop this and this. Mix them with this, and then grind this. I set out the Jesper Root and Poppy, followed by Black Juniper and White Puff Mushrooms. The first three ingredients would be boiled into a beverage. When drunk it induced a high that, while not as effective as a whiff of my ether, would suffice as a pain killer on short notice. The Puff Mushrooms were super absorbent, and had a built-in antiseptic effect that emerged as they dried; I intended to pack dust made from grinding them up into the womans vaginal cavity after the delivery. Sana looked over the four items I had put on the table with wide eyes. We really are doing this, arent we? I could only nod. While Sana was finishing up her prayer, I took the remaining items I had had the children gather and began preparing them. These ingredients needed some more advanced techniques to get right, and while Sana had learned how to do all of these techniques during our temple schooling, I still had a lot more practice than her. I worked quickly, and by the time Sana had finished her last verse, I was just about finished. Lisa had filled about half of the pot I indicated with water, she was really pushing herself to fill the jug so quickly. As she arrived and dumped the jug out into the pot, she paused and glanced around the room. Uhm I nodded without looking up. Stahlia. Right, Miss Stahlia, should I start the fire? Doesnt the water need to be hot? Thats what the village ladies said when Kars was born last spring Ah yea, I should probably take care of that, if only to set her mind at ease so she doesnt make a mistake from being overly worried. Without looking up from the herb I was pulverizing into a paste, I pointed a finger at the pot. Oh Fire, # desire a ######### heat. ######## this water with your ######. Burn #### ####### in your ###### #######! [#### Water] I felt a wave of drowsiness that quickly abated as my spell sucked out roughly a fifth of my mana. The water in the pot immediately heated to the point of boiling, and Lisa blinked several times before smiling and darting out of the building again. The spell had a short incantation all things considered, but it was extremely expensive to cast. As far as I could tell, it used mana as a vector to add energy to the targeted volume of water. The amount of mana depended heavily on the initial temperature, as well as the quantity of water to be boiled. It also only worked on water. I tried it on a goblin once, but nothing happened. Finishing up my pounding, I collected some of the prepared herbs and dumped them into the pot of boiling water. I didnt have time to brew anything extremely complicated, but what I had applied to the water just now would give it various qualities to ease the birthing process. I portioned some of the water into a separate container from the pot, then started a fire with [Ignition], so that the water remaining in the pot would continue to boil even as Lisa added more well-water to it. Right, that takes care of that. Once Sana finishes preparing her herbs I just need to mix them with some mana-infused water and set the mushrooms near the fire to evaporate the moisture. Next I glanced at the bed the woman was lying in. Ill need some sort of stirrups, otherwise, this will get really complicated. This whole time, the woman had been doing breathing exercises, watching me work without comment. Well, for whatever reason she seems to trust me at least. Either that or this is a really bad birth and shes actually super out of it in pain right now No. Happy thoughts. Excuse me miss, I need to set up something to hold up your legs would you happen to know where the village midwife keeps that? The woman sucked in her breath, then shook her head. After squinting her eyes and wincing. She managed to grunt out a word between clenched teeth. Rope. while flicking her eyes up towards the homes exposed main roof beam. Oh great. Seems like shes still present, but is in too much pain to protest the fact that her midwives are a pair of ten-year-olds. So its a difficult birth after all. I searched through the house and quickly found a long rope. I never thought I would be in a position of tying up a young woman Carefully so as not to strain her, I looped the rope around her legs and managed to toss it over the ceiling beam. Tying it off, I now had her legs in the correct position. I checked her, but it didnt look like the baby was coming soon, so when Sana finished her task, I gave her a cloth and told her to start wiping the womans forehead. Once I finished preparing the painkiller, I set it aside; It would only be useful after delivery, or if for some reason I had to do a c-section. If I gave it to her now, there was a chance she wouldnt be able to feel her contractions anymore. Now we wait. A few hours later, around three pm, the woman gave a much louder cry than she had been. I moved over and checked her again. Her Cervix was extremely dilated, and I could see what I thought might be the babys head. Right, its time. I clapped my cheeks with my palms and nodded at Lisa and Sana. Lisa, hold her hand and help her breathe as I showed you. Sana, make sure to keep wiping her head and give another prayer just to be safe. Miss, its coming now so I need you to start pushing along with your contractions. At my words, everyone sprang into action. Sana gave a tired nod; she had been praying a lot over the past hours and was mentally exhausted. Lisa was clearly worried but was doing her best to stay strong. The woman gritted her teeth and nodded. I moved down into a position where I could observe the birth and help if needed, making a concerted effort not to throw up as I did so. This all settles it. There is no way in hell I am going to get pregnant at any point, for any reason. This whole situation is awful and completely disgusting. I swallowed down my bile, while listening to Lisa giving a count for the mother. Before long, the babys head was visibly poking past the cervix, stretching it out to a diameter that caused me to wince and cross my legs in sympathy. After another minute, enough of the head was through that I was able to reach inside and guide it. Taking care not to pull, that would damage the baby, I held its head up as the woman continued to push. I hadnt seen very many babies in either of my lives, and other than Rosial I had never helped in delivery before, but this baby seemed small to me. Its definitely a premature birth. After another ten minutes, roughly, the baby was fully out and in my arms. I guess its sort of cute or it would be if it wasnt covered in blood, and hadnt just ruined my dress. I held the baby and waited for him to start crying. After a few moments, there was a sharp wail coming from the newborn. I took the towel Sana passed to me and wiped the baby off, which did indeed remarkedly improve its cuteness, and passed him to his mother. As I took a moment to breathe easy and compose myself, I surreptitiously engaged my divine eyes and observed the infants lifeforce. It was a pleasant shade of forest green, a little dimmer than Lisas but that was to be expected; I could expect a seven-year-old would have leveled up at least once. Thankfully there didnt seem to be any problems with the childs physiology or mana, at least none that I could observe with just idle observation. Now that the child was out, the placenta passed easily enough around an hour later. As we were tidying up, some of the midwives came over in a hurry, but I was too exhausted to pay much attention to what they were saying. I can just review the memories later. As it turned out, they were largely praising me and Sana for reacting so quickly, while the rest were apologizing for placing us in that position. I looked up and checked the sun. Its about five pm now. I should rest for a few hours before going out tonight. Even if Im exhausted, I cant give this Succubus any more time to finish its mission. With Jacqueline and Stil alongside me, we should be able to manage, even if there is a bit of risk. I informed Dominic and Asten, who had recently returned, what had happened before excusing myself from our evening meal. Jacqueline woke me up at nine pm after everyone else had gone to bed. As she was dressing me, she gave me a quick recap of what had happened after I went to bed early. Much to my chagrin, but not to my surprise, one pair of the knights had not returned. Fourth Law of Magic The process by which a spell is formed follows three distinct steps, in order they are: Formulation, wherein the concept of the spell is formed, either by chant or talent. Expulsion, wherein mana is allocated towards the process and expelled from the body. Manifestation, wherein the expelled mana is given an elemental aspect and shaped into the phenomenon. Psycholor Like I said in the announcement chapter, going forward, I want to do one character piece a month. To avoid confusion, these aren''t character arts where it''s just the character in a generic pose on a white background. These are going to be more or less actual scenes but done as full color. Jacqueline''s will show her just prior to fucking up some poor fool. The inserts, I will be doing at least one a month. Starting from the beginning of the series and working forward. When I do more than one, the second insert of the month will be from a more recent chapter. This way we will eventually catch up, at which point scenes will be released organically as the relevant chapters come out (on the off chance that a given month doesn''t have any inserts, I''ll do an extra character piece). In case anyone was curious, the fact that Pet wasn''t on the poll was intentional. I already know when I am going to have one made for her, I plan on having it made and releasing it alongside a future chapter. 2-13 Demons and Death Psycholor Geoff, Eighteen Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 Damnit, Clyde! I ran. Gods curse me but I ran. It was supposed to be an easy mission, escort a trio of noble children from the Special Student program, deal with whatever threat was plaguing Ang Village and come back. Nobody said anything about having to deal with a fucking Original Sin! Why didnt the church say anything!? One of the nobles had deduced that we were likely dealing with a succubus, a deduction that our commander agreed with. We took appropriate countermeasures and set out. If it had been a Tempter or even a mid ranked Demon Noble then we would have been able to deal with it. Demons of Lust were not a major threat if you could counter their innate charm abilities. But an Original Sin was different. Other than the Hell Kings themselves, the Original Sins were said to be the oldest Demons, the oldest ones hailed from the time of creation and constituted the original followers of the Nine. If a Sin is here then it can only mean that the nine are returning I have to warn the captain! Eheheh! A childish voice rang out through the trees behind me, and I felt my stomach drop. Spinning around with a desperate scream, I thrust out with my sword. I was rewarded with a sensation of tearing flesh and a soft scream. It sounded more aroused than pained. Now now, when I said I wanted your sword, that isnt what I meant I released the sword and spun on my heel. [#### ####] With my wind enchantment I kicked off the ground, going as fast as I could. Trees were blurring past me at an incredible rate, but as fast as I was moving, I couldnt shake the sense of dread that was following me. Clyde I felt bad for abandoning him, but somebody had to tell the commander about this threat. We had been taken by surprise around noon. Deep in the forest, I had been talking to Clyde to pass the time while we searched when out of nowhere he had fallen silent. When I had looked back at him, my partner was staring glassy-eyed and slack-jawed at a tree in the distance. Following his gaze, I had seen the figure of a young girl. As I ran, I slammed into a tree after failing to take a turn properly due to my speed. I sat up and rubbed my head, looking behind me. Shes gone I got away I slowly rose to my feet and turned in the direction of the village. Floating in the air ahead of me was a young girl with black wings and a crimson heart-tipped tail. Aww, did you get all tuckered out? Dont worry, I know how to revive a man. The devil licked her lips suggestively. I cried out in despair and turned to run back the way I had come. I have to get away! I cant die here! I promised I would come back The girl had approached my partner, even as I tried to use the anti-charm item on him. Reaching out with a single finger, she traced Clydes jawline, causing a tremor to run through his body. Good boy, now knock out your friend and bring him with us. Before I could react, Clyde had landed a heavy punch onto my helmet, the impact knocking me out instantly. When I had woken up, I was in a cave, most likely deep in the forest. I could hear a sensual moaning coming from the next chamber. Clydes armor was in a pile nearby. Damnit! I dont have long, once shes finished with him, shell be able to charm me as well! I got up as silently as I could and made to leave. Unfortunately, the only exit to the chamber I was in would take me through the room that was presently occupied. As I ran I would occasionally hear a giggle or catch a glimpse of my pursuer, forcing me to change course. Damnit! Shes herding me like a fucking sheep! Indeed, I was being guided back towards the cave. Before long, it came into sight and I collapsed from exhaustion. I saw the succubus alight on a nearby rock, but I didnt have the energy to run anymore. I took a moment to clear my lungs, breathing in and out deeply. Then, I took a deep breath and held it before entering the next room. I was greeted by the sight of the nubile succubus riding Clyde. My partner was already starting to show signs of Drain Syndrome. It was too late for him. I said a silent prayer for his soul in my head and thanked him for giving me the chance to get away with his sacrifice. I made it as far as the entrance to the next room before I was brought to a halt by the sound of a shrill feminine scream of ecstasy. A breathy voice called out. Youhah you know you canthah cant escapehah right? Well, she knows Im here. I can and I will foul demon. I do not know how you managed to defeat our preparations, but know that you will never succeed! The air was still for a moment before sickening laughter echoed around the room. EhHaHAHA! Prephahrations? You two hah made those? Im sorry, I didnt even notice. I felt my face pale. Surely our magic tools would have had at least some effect, she had immediately drained Clyde after capturing us which meant it had taken her some effort to charm him right? You dont even know do you? What youve stepped into? Her voice had dropped low and was uncomfortably close to my ear. When did she move!? Perking back up, she cheerfully announced, Let me introduce myself then! Im Sitri, Fifth of the Sins of Lust! Now, come Geoff, and surrender your sword! Sitri!? The Fifth of the Sins of Lust!? You mean, One of the Original Sins!? With a wail of despair, I took off running, her voice echoing behind me. A chase? I love tag! As I lay exhausted, the devil approached me and straddled across my chest. That was fun! Are you looking forward to the next part as much as I am? I groaned and screwed my eyes shut as the sounds of my armor being literally ripped to pieces filled my ears. Clara! Mother! Forgive Me! Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 I dressed simply, for once not in a dress but in some light armor. I donned a black cloak that should help me blend into the darkness as we slipped out. Lastly, I accepted the dagger Jacqueline offered me. It was one of her Magic Daggers coated in Grave Oil, taking care not to touch anywhere near the blade, I attached the sheathed weapon alongside my own dagger. While my own would suffice for most things, it would likely be insufficient against a demon, hence Jacqueline loaning me one of hers. Together we stealthily slipped out of the room, leaving behind Sana and Sarala. Stil had been let out earlier that night, Jacqueline having given some excuse or other to the remaining knights, so he was waiting for us near the gate. We stole quickly through the streets. Unlike sneaking out of Ris, getting out of Ang was shockingly easy. This was in part due to the lack of guards, but the village itself was also much smaller. We arrived at the gate and I gave a low whistle masked to sound like a random bird call. Stil came bounding over from where he had been laying down to wait, and I reached up to unlatch the gate. As my hand reached the lock, a distressingly familiar voice caused me to freeze. Going somewhere, Stahlia? I spun around and was greeted by the sight of Dominic, standing in full kit as if he was preparing to go out somewhere. No, I imagine thats exactly what hes preparing for. A little ways behind him stood Asten, likewise dressed to go out. I groaned to myself. What are the two of you doing here? Dominic smirked. We could ask the same of you now, could we not? To my surprise, it was Jacqueline who answered my question. Lord Dominic instructed me that Stahlia is very likely to want to go out and deal with the problem on her own, if she does please do inform me. Lord Dominic and Lord Asten agree with you that this is an issue that cannot wait for the kingdom to send reinforcements, they wish to help us. Excuse me!? Why the hell would you tell him that!? If theyre with us, we wont be able to fight at full strength, besides the fact that theyre men and our enemy is a fucking sex demon! What the hell Jacqueline? I was understandably, a bit stunned by this seeming betrayal, so when Dominic held out his hand with a confident smirk on his face I reacted on autopilot and accepted it. Dominic led me out of the village and into the forest, with Jacqueline and Asten following close behind. Stil seemed to sense something was wrong, so instead of running ahead to scout like he usually would have, he stuck close to us. Why would she do this? There has to be a reason I watched Jacqueline out of the corner of my eye while otherwise keeping my gaze fixed ahead. She looks pleased with herself? As if shes done something good. Indeed, Jacqueline was wearing a warm expression as she kept one eye fixed on me walking hand in hand with Dominic. Something must have happened to her- Thats it. Its that disgusting mana he emits, it has to be. I didnt have the mental leeway to examine him with my divine eyes at the moment, but if my guess was correct, Dominics Skill must have something to do with influencing women. That would explain why it only affected Sana and Sarala but passed the knights by completely. If Im right about this, it probably causes women to be bent in favor of him. That would explain why Jacqueline always seems to like seeing us together, why Edith was so quick to turn me over at the social when he asked her to, why Sana seemed so taken in by him back at Ris village, and why and why I didnt notice anything was wrong with Rosial! I felt my head going white with anger and I instinctively clenched my hands into fists. Dominic gave a tug at our joined hands in response. Stahlia, is something the matter? The forest might be a bit scary at night, but I promise I will keep you safe. With a start, I killed my anger. Getting angry wont help things here. I need to keep calm its true that Dominics skill might be responsible for me not noticing Rosial but its also possible it isnt something he can control or is even aware of. It could very well function like my [Finesse Fighting] or [Blue Blooded] where its just a passive effect. No, nothing is the matter Dominic, I just thought of something irrelevant to the task at hand is all. Thanks to having killed my anger, I was able to keep a steady voice. Still, I need to think of a countermeasure I can apply to my friends and allies. Depending on how strong the influence is, who knows what he could accidentally learn about me by saying the wrong thing to the right person. Jacqueline very well may have let out some big secrets with what she did tonight. We traveled about an hour deeper into the forest, walking in silence. It wasnt like I would be able to separate from them without raising suspicions, I would simply have to deal with what happened and do my best to avoid tipping my hand in a visible way. This went from hard mode to fucking Dark Souls. After some distance, Asten raised his hand signaling for us to stop. When we came to a halt, he waved his hand towards a tree just ahead of us. Smearing the tree trunk was a patch of blood, and there were signs of someone or something having fallen near the base of the tree. In a whisper, I gave Stil an instruction. Stil, is it human? My Hawri sidled up to the tree and sniffed at the blood before letting out a low keen to indicate an affirmative. Dominic and Asten nodded at each other before Asten moved forward and inspected the impressions in the soil at the base of the tree. based on the depth, I would say it was probably an adult male, likely wearing something heavy. It could be a knight in armor. I nodded and gave Stil another order. Stil, Track. I received another affirmative and Stil darted off ahead of us. Nodding to Dominic, Asten, and Jacqueline, we started moving again, this time following Stil. As we moved through the forest, we kept coming across traces of a lone male running, desperately running. Assuming that the man is in fact a knight, how bad must the demon be to have caused him to flee in such abject terror? As we walked, I saw a flash of movement in the darkness, a little ways away from us. I squeezed Dominics hand to get his attention and flicked my eyes in the direction of the movement. Dominic nodded and released my hand. Taking a step away from me, we began to naturally spread out, pretending to be inspecting various things, as though we had lost the trail and needed to find it again. All the while, we were slowly encircling the spot where I had seen something. Before long, we had the area surrounded. In one motion, I drew my own dagger and lunged towards a dark shadow. With a gurgle, it fell forward and rolled out into the moonlight. I inspected my kill, while retrieving my dagger from the back of the dead goblin. Damn, I mean I know it wasnt going to be that easy, but a goblin? Really? I quickly cleaned my blade and sheathed it, before returning to the trail. When our group reconvened, Asten was giving me a conflicted look. For her part, Jacqueline was ambivalent. Dominic didnt seem overly put off, though he did raise an eyebrow. I shook my head before quickly apologizing for the false alarm. Sorry, I saw something moving but I guess it was not our objective. Asten nodded slowly before answering. Right, well it is good that you called it out though we would not want to miss something because one of us was worried about jumping at shadows I should just ignore his reaction and let him form his own conclusions. If Im going to worry about him getting put out by me killing a goblin, then I wont be able to get anything done tonight. We started moving again. After about half an hour of following Stil, he stopped and tilted his head in a direction just off the trail. It was his way of indicating he had found something important. I closed my eyes and focused on my sense of hearing and smell. I could hear the sound of wind rustling the trees, a branch cracking under the foot of some far-off creature, and the rustling of metal from the direction Stil was indicating. A quick look confirmed that the other three had noticed the same thing; each of them had adopted a low stance and were making ready with their weapons. The four of us spread out a bit, while Stil came up to my side so we could work off each other. Collectively, we crept along until we were on the edge of a clearing. Peering into it, I could see a pile of shredded metal, cloth, and leather. A little ways away from it was a single naked emaciated corpse of a male, probably one of our missing knights. What I couldnt see, was the source of the rustling noise. It was clearly coming from that pile of what I can only assume is armor scraps seriously, how strong is this demon if it was able to just shred armor like that? A dozen feet to my right, I caught Dominic making a hand signal that indicated he was going to advance into the clearing. Right, not like you being the one to go in is the smartest thing Ideally, it would be either me or Jacqueline since we cant be charmed. I signed back my understanding, then motioned to Jacqueline to cover him while I slipped along the side towards Asten. My plan was to put one female with each male, in case our target tried anything. I arrived next to Asten just as Dominic and Jacqueline were reaching the corpse. Dominic raised a hand and gave a thumbs-up, indicating he had positively identified the body as belonging to one of our missing knights. Thats one, so wheres the other? My eyes fell on a looming black hole on the far side of the clearing. A cave. Knowing the trope, the demon will be in there. It seemed Dominic agreed with my silent conjecture, as I saw him pointing at the cave and waving for Asten and myself to come over. Asten signed back a positive answer, and the two of us stood up before creeping forward. We arrived near the entrance alongside Dominic and Jacqueline. I took the lead in approaching the cave. Peering into the cave I was unable to really make out any details in the gloom; the contrast between the dark interior and the moonlight was too intense. Night vision. I should get night vision at some point. I added the ability to the list of things I thought I needed, before taking a step forward. Clutching my dagger in one hand, I kept my free hand on the hilt of Jacquelines loaned dagger. The air emanating from the cave felt heavy, and I was filled with a sense of cold foreboding. Unbidden, the beaked mask of Mortis I had seen the previous night flashed through my thoughts. If we go in there, one of us is going to die. I didnt know how I knew, but I just had a strong feeling that only death awaited our group if we entered that cave. I fell backward as my legs betrayed me; despite being mentally willing to enter the cave, for some reason, my legs would not comply. Before I could hit the ground though, I was caught. Whew, glad I was able to catch you, would be a shame if someone as pretty as you got hurt! The voice was female and much higher than Jacquelines. I felt my stomach jump into my mouth and in one motion drew Jacquelines loaned dagger and spun on the spot, slashing with the momentum of my turn. I was met with the sight of a young girl, probably fourteen to fifteen years old by appearances, though given what she was her physical appearance was no indication of her true age. She was standing about four meters back away from me where she had landed, idly twirling a finger through her hair. She was wearing a sort of tube top and a miniskirt, so even if she hadnt just cleared such a distance in a single leap there would have been plenty to get suspicious over. Wow! I get that youre grateful for me saving you from injury and all that, but I only accept blades from men, sorry! she giggled as she jumped back away from me. Looking past her, I could see Asten and Dominic collapsed on the ground, with Jacqueline standing over them brandishing a raised fist. Evidently, they had been charmed and she had knocked them out. Stil was standing still, his eyes locked on the succubus, and his feathers raised. He wasnt attacking though, even though it should be obvious from the situation that she was hostile to us. If I had to guess, hes sensing the gap between his mana and hers. If I had the leeway to look, I imagine she would be as bright as the sun relative to everyone else Ive seen so far. Still, mana isnt everything. If I can just cut her with the Grave Oil that should do it. I adopted a stance that would allow me the most flexibility of action and held up Jacquelines dagger in a loose guard. Stil picked up on what I was doing and started to slowly circle her. Jacqueline lowered her fist and surreptitiously drew her own oiled dagger while moving so as to position herself in the bitchs blind spot. The succubus was entirely nonchalant throughout all of our maneuverings as if to say that no matter what we tried she would be just fine. Thats alright though, overconfidence leads to mistakes. Jacqueline and I arent warriors, were assassins. A beat. I enhanced my legs and right arm, flinging my dagger at her. Kicking off the ground I moved towards her in a straight line. As I had learned the hard way so many months ago, moving predictably against an opponent of equal or superior skill was a good way to wind up beaten. But this wasnt a one versus one. The instant I moved, I sent Stil a mental image over our thought connection and he sprang into action. Jacqueline reacted to my movements and threw her own dagger while drawing a spare in the same motion, and launching herself towards the succubus. As the three of us barreled towards her from three different directions, coupled with the added threat of two flying blades, I pumped mana into my brain. This was a Blood Magic technique I had picked with the assistance of Kell and Gustav over the past few months. By looping mana through my synapses, I could slow my perception of time by a factor of three. Theoretically, I could go slower, but I had found that my reaction speed couldnt keep up with more. Besides that, I could only maintain this enhancement for a minute at best before running out of mana; enhancing neurons took a lot more mana than enhancing muscle tissue. An order of magnitude more. I also couldnt turn the enhancements off and on mid-action to conserve resources like I could with my muscles, turning it off meant that my perception would go back to normal. The ability had a lot of drawbacks, but while using it I had, for a brief few weeks, been able to consistently beat Jacqueline in sparring, despite her level advantage and greater experience. Of course, she quickly devised a way to turn the tables on me, and I was down to only winning one in every five matches. It was more or less my current ultimate form, my pinnacle. Watching the succubus with time moving slow, I saw her smile. In the next instant, just before the daggers would have reached her, she darted out her hand towards the first before stopping abruptly. She narrowed her eyes at the blade, then very meticulously brushed the handle, tweaking its trajectory, merely guiding it around her, where it would eventually hit a tree. The second one she grabbed from the air outright and flung towards Jacqueline. She noticed the oil. In that brief half no, a quarter of a second she recognized the danger touching the blade would pose and changed her course of action to avoid it. Indeed, I had thrown my dagger at her with the expectation that she would do something absurd like catch it from mid-air. My hope was for the highly destructive Grave Oil to wind up afflicting her person when she did so. The returned projectile caused Jacqueline to have to twist herself in midair, killing her forward momentum. Frankly, it was miraculous she was able to react at all. Seeing as I was now down my support, I kicked down into the ground ahead of me hard, forcing my momentum to die off. The shockwave of my feet digging into the dirt rattled my joints and I had to briefly redirect mana into my ankles to enhance their durability lest they be shattered. This had the knockdown effect of stopping my bullet time for a second. In that mere second, I lost track of the Succubus entirely. When I caught sight of her again, she was holding Jacqueline by the throat. Stil was chewing on her elbow, but she was utterly ignoring him. Looking closer, it appeared that every wound he was inflicting healed almost instantly. Fuck! Stil is male! Shes drawing energy to heal straight out of his own saliva! I whistled Stil off and he let go immediately before backing off with his feathers up threateningly. Grave Oil. I wasnt expecting you to actually have something that could have hurt me. Ill have to take out my frustrations on something. Her tone was utterly devoid of its earlier playfulness. Shes fucking pissed. I forced myself to stand. I didnt typically use such a high degree of enhancement while practicing, and I was suffering for it now, my legs felt like they had been dipped into frying oil. I grit my teeth, not from the intense pain but to stop them from chattering in fear. L-let her go. To punctuate my sentence, I drew my own dagger. This one wasnt coated in Grave Oil, but as I drew it I used a bit of Blood Magic to create a few drops of water with which I coated the blade. Hopefully I can bluff well enough to get her to at least let Jacqueline go. Once shes free shell do something! She has to.. or else The succubus eyed me, or more specifically, the dagger I was holding. Let her go? Or what? Youll kill me with that butter knife? You wouldnt even be able to touch me. I can smell your mana dwindling, if I had to guess you could maybe move like you did earlier for ten more seconds, tops? Blood Magic might be special to you humans now, but to Originals like myself, we can remember a time when it was the standard. So she recognized what I was doing That isnt surprising, but Original? The hell does she mean by that? How long ago are we talking? The only thing I could think of with my available knowledge was the creation story I had been told at my dedication, specifically about the Hell Kings rebelling against the Goddess of Light and God of Darkness. Still, I have to try. If I do nothing shell just kill her and then me. I pumped mana into my legs. After a moment of consideration, I decided not to enter bullet time. I likely wouldnt be able to react fast enough even in that state, so I would be better served by extending the duration of my other enhancements. I sprung forward, keeping my eyes fixed on her throat. The succubus sighed, and moved her hand into a position to catch me as I entered her reach. Just as I was about to enter her sphere of influence, I gave a shout. [Light #####] releasing my chant-held flashbang spell. This consumed the rest of my dwindling mana, and I felt the strength leave my legs. The succubus gave a startled cry and shifted her arm to block out the light, thus swinging Jacquelines body into my reach. Perfect, I leave the rest to you! I joined my arms to get as much strength as I could and swung my arms down at the Succubus wrist, where her hand connected to her forearm. I was met with a satisfying feeling of flesh tearing as my blade passed through, severing the appendage. Good that I missed the bone, but this is really going to hurt Indeed, without mana, I had no way of arresting my flight. I slammed into the ground and bounced into a tumble, rolling ahead over heels while I tucked my head into my chest and covered it with my arms. Finally, I came to a halt thanks to a large, round, and bark-covered brake. I lay there dazed, mentally taking stock of the various pain signals coming from all over my body. I can taste iron, my leg muscles are probably shredded, and I dont think my elbow normally bends in that direction. When the adrenaline wears off Ill probably go into shock. Still, it could have been much worse. I tried standing and winced as my core gave out. Right, Ill settle for rolling over. That didnt go much better, but I was able to get into a position where I could see Jacqueline. She was in recovery but was slowly standing up. The Succubus was a little bit away from her, staring in disbelief at her bloody stump. Jacqueline hurry! I wasnt able to move my mouth to speak, so I settled for a mental shout. As I watched, cheering Jacqueline on mentally, the succubus straightened her back. Right. Im done playing. She vanished, before appearing behind Jacqueline and dropping an elbow onto the back of her neck. Vanishing again, she appeared right in front of me. I felt a sharp pain in my side and found myself once again airborne. Crashing down in the middle of the clearing, I coughed, and a large amount of blood spewed out of my mouth. I think that kick just broke two or three of my ribs. My head had landed at an angle where I could see the succubus standing on one leg, her other raised in the air from the follow-through of launching me. Stil reacted by lunging at her but she merely flicked him away, and he slumped to the ground unconscious or dead; I couldn''t tell. She walked over so as to be standing over me. My head adrenaline was starting to wear off, so I was finding it much harder to ignore the burning pain in my various broken bones and other injuries. As I was forced to look up at her, I was overcome with fear in addition to the pain. Her face was cold as she looked down at me like some kind of insect she wanted nothing more than to crush. Right, so far Im disabling Anger. Lets do fear too if only to deny her the satisfaction. Since Im not a dude anymore, she wont be able to take my soul. I need to remember to file a formal complaint with that douchebag Mortis when he comes to grab me. I switched off my fear, and felt my face relax somewhat. My injuries still hurt, but as the sensation pain was tied to fear I was more able to cope. It wasnt perfect, but I could sort of accept the pain now, and then somewhat ignore it. When my face slackened, the Succubus tensed up and, though I didnt believe it was possible, her glare deepened. Hiding your fear wont save you from my anger. She raised up one of her feet before bringing it down on my knee, shattering the joint. I winced as the new source of pain came in, but quickly categorized it under things to be ignored and gave the succubus a defiant smirk. Black would have been sexier than none. She stared at me dumbfounded for a moment, then slammed her foot down on my other knee. In response, I spat out blood at her. You cant break me. I meant this comment to goad her into killing me sooner so as to deprive her of any pleasure she might have gotten, but it caused her to narrow her eyes. No youre wrong. He only told me I couldnt kill or defile you. You or the boy. Everyone else is fair game. I had a really bad feeling about the way she phrased that last bit. Clearly, you have a great deal of resilience to physical pain. Lets play a game shall we? She started walking leisurely towards Jacqueline. I wasnt fast enough to stop my eyes from widening, and the succubus noticed this, breaking out into a smirk. Bending over, she leisurely picked up Jacqueline and tossed her over closer to me. Close enough that I could have been able to touch her if I had the energy to move my arms. Disappearing from my view, the succubus soon returned, holding one of the Grave Oil daggers. I wonder what will happen if I rub this on her fingertips? How far up her arm will it eat? Will she wake up? Fucking damnit! Of course, if hurting me doesnt work shell go for one of my friends or allies. She probably picked Jacqueline because she plans to use Asten and Dominic to recover energy and heal her hand later. Well one of them, she cant hurt the boy so one of them is off-limits. Still, there was one way I could get out of this, and that was, sickeningly, to take away the succubus fun here as well. Im sorry Jacqueline. I activated [Cold Hearted] for the third time, disabling Empathy. Based on the amount of oil we used, probably up to her elbow? Maybe a little bit higher. Of course, if you cut instead of rubbed it would take the whole arm. The succubus smirked. Your bluff wont help, I saw your face when I suggested the game. I forced my shoulders up a minute amount. I wasnt physically able to shrug at the moment, but she was smart so Im sure she would figure ut what I was implying. Try me. Ill bet my life that it eats no further than her collar bone if you stab below the wrist. If it eats further then Ill willingly comply with whatever the person who ordered you not to kill me wants. If Im right then you have to leave me and Jacqueline alone. Whichever of the two boys you arent allowed to fuck as well I guess. You can have the other one. Theres no way Im wrong about the Grave Oils effectiveness, this gets most of us out of here mostly intact. We can get back and let the kingdom know one of the Original demons is here, whatever that means Ill have to take a demonology class or something. The succubus gave me a hard stare, before giggling and returning to her previous, childish, attitude. Great! Am-az-ing! So youre Winters pet this session! That explains it. Winter is always the funniest to play with! Ill take you up on that bet if you seal it with a pact. Pact magic was similar to slave contract magic. The only real difference was that there was no master-slave dynamic involved, and both parties had to willingly consent to the formation of the pact or the spell wouldnt trigger. In effect, it would compel members of the pact to adhere to the tenets in it, much like how a slave would be compelled to follow their masters orders. Well, thats better than I would have hoped for. This guarantees she will let the three of us go without going back on her word. Idly I noted how sick I was going to feel when I turned empathy back on, given that I was essentially selling Astens soul to a literal devil. Im willing to back up the bet with a pact, but I dont know the spell. The Succubus shook her head. Were you paying attention to what I said earlier? When I was your age, Blood Magic was the standard. She gripped my head and hauled me up to her eye level, then with a smirk, she puckered her lips and kissed me. In my surprise, I made the mistake of opening my mouth, a fact which was instantly taken advantage of. I felt a strange tingling spread out from my mouth. It was pleasant, sort of like popping a mint. It left me wanting more. After a moment, a burning sensation entered my head, as memories of a discussion I didnt remember having entered my mind. Next, I was assaulted by an itching sensation all over my body, and the sharp pain of bones popping back into place and fusing. In only a few seconds, the majority of my injuries had healed completely. Sitri pulled away, and I was left gasping for breath. I patted myself down, checking that my injuries were healed, then held out my hand towards Sitri. Thank you, Ill do it now. Sitri nodded and passed me the dagger. I walked over to Jacqueline and knelt by her left arm. Shes right-handed, so the left arm would be the best pick. Without hesitating, I took the dagger in hand, then brought it down on her palm. Immediately, the Grave Oil began to cause the limb to decay. In her unconsciousness, I observed Jacquelines face twist in pain. During the instant of establishing the pact, Sitri and I had held a conversation via our mana connection, it was during this conversation that I had learned her name and we had hashed out the particulars of the contract. Namely, that the bet was over how much of Jacquelines arm would be consumed by the Grave Oil. I would be considered the winner if it was less than her collar bone, Sitri would win if it was past that. Upon my win, Jacqueline, Dominic, and I would be free to go, but Asten would remain as compensation for the damage we had done to Sitri. If Sitri won then the lives of Jacqueline and Asten would be forfeit, Dominic would be free to go, and my pact with Sitri would convert into a slave contract. As an extra clause, Sitri offered to use restoration magic on me. In exchange, I would be required to administer Jacquelines wound myself. After considering the task of getting two badly injured bodies, mine and Jacquelines, out of the forest I determined it was an acceptable measure. Jacqueline would be losing an arm either way, so I may as well make the situation following as easy for us as possible. After the oil had eaten its way halfway up her wrist, Jacquelines eyes flashed open and she let out a scream of pain. Even for someone with as high a pain tolerance as her, having a part of your body rot to nothingness was more than she could seem to bear. By the time it had gotten to her bicep, Jacqueline was delirious. Her eyes had rolled back into her skull and she was vaguely mumbling to herself. After the oil had eaten up to her shoulder without showing any signs of slowing, I was beginning to get worried I had miscalculated. However, it thankfully began to slow. Eventually, the rot stopped while there was still an inch left of her armpit. In place of the rotting, she was now gushing blood from the stump of her left arm. Since she was already in shock from the previous pain, there was little chance she would notice a little more. Oh Fire, Grant ## # ###### ###### from your #######. Let Your heat ###### my ####### from this ###### ##### and let your ####### be known! [Flame Dagger] I quickly chanted out a spell and used the resulting flickering orange blade to cauterize her wound. Sitri inspected the remnants of her arm before smirking. Well then Stahlia, as per our agreement, you are free to go. With this, I have enough souls so I will be taking my leave. Keep the hand; you can use it to prove my existence. Ill just grow another one. Sitri stretched, then walked over to Asten and slung him over her shoulder. Considering her slight build, it was a strange sight to behold. After making sure she was really gone, I checked on Jacqueline and Dominic. Dominic was still out cold, but it seemed he had transitioned from induced unconsciousness to sleep. I considered taking advantage of the situation and appraising him, but my mana was still recovering and I didnt want to risk him waking up before Jacqueline and I managed to get the story straight. I gave him a good kick to the head to ensure he stayed asleep and moved on to check Jacqueline. My vassal was also in a state of unconsciousness, and I could see her eyes flicking around under her eyelids, and her breathing was erratic. I took out a rejuvenation potion and a numbing agent from my bag and poured it down her throat while pinching off her nose and tilting her head to trigger her to swallow. Stil nudged at my hand. He had apparently awoken at some point. His hindleg had a limp, and several of his feathers around his right side were damaged but he was otherwise miraculously unharmed. I whistled to him, and told him to grab Dominic, before downing a mana recovery potion and engaging enough enhancements so that I could shoulder Jacqueline. We took off running, moving generally away from the clearing in no particular direction until the sky was gray. My plan was to tell Dominic that the Demon was much stronger than we had thought; he had been charmed almost immediately. Jacqueline had lost an arm protecting me, and Asten had essentially ordered us to run while he distracted it to buy time. Of course, I needed Jacqueline to wake up before then so I could set the story straight. Arriving in a clearing a good distance away from the one where we had fought, I had Stil drop Dominic and then arranged him with his back against a tree. I set Jacqueline down a bit away from him and arranged her in an upright position. I could have used some of the smelling salts in my bag to get her awake right now, but it would be better for her health if I let her wake up naturally, as long as she didnt take too long. I sat down, and seeing me adopting a resting position, Stil collapsed and began panting. Ah yea, he was probably getting really tired as well. I suppose now is a good time as any to do this. I canceled [Cold Hearted] on my Anger, Fear, and then Empathy. Immediately I was attacked by a wave of nausea, unlike anything I had experienced before. I fell over onto my side, shaking in mental agony as I struggled to come to terms with what I had done. I killed him! I literally signed the death warrant of an innocent man! No, not just a death warrant. Mortis said that souls were being stolen from the cycle. I erased his existence! I wretched though, as I had not eaten anything for some time, nothing came up. I lay there shivering for some time, thinking about Asten and cursing myself, until I heard a rustling from nearby. Lady.. Lady Stahlia? Are you hurt? Looking behind me, I saw Jacqueline reaching towards me with her arm, and though she had evident lingering pain expressed on her face, it was being overwritten with concern. Concern for me. Even though I was the one who had sacrificed her and Asten. I burst into tears at the sight. Between the dry heaving, the crying, and Jacqueline urging me to explain what happened, something broke inside me. I get it now. She knew this would happen the moment she figured out I was winters She knew what I would be forced to do in order to live with myself [Cold Hearted], Disable my Remorse. Like a switch, Asten''s death and Jacqueline''s arm, they didn''t bother me anymore. I still felt bad of course, I was able to empathize, but the overwhelming sense of guilt that had been making me ill vanished. Psycholor I''m also cutting the next sub arc (it''s getting repurposed, and the events that would have been in it will still happen... just later.) This means that Arc 2 is actually ending about eight chapters earlier than I originally planned. Rosial''s PoV chapter will be on wednesday, followed by Arc 2 Epilogue on friday. Sana''s PoV chapter will be moved back into Arc 3. Ang village wound up being much higher tension than I originally intended, and the planned final sub-arc was even higher tension, so I''m just shuffling things around so as to be able to break up that stress. Extra Chapter: New Beginning Psycholor Spoiler contains the original, drunk, rambling author note. This chapter is brought to you by Jack Daniel''s Tennessee Straight Rye. Every New Years, since I turned 21, my father and I have a tradition of splitting a bottle of cheap whiskey. Even though we can afford better, it''s a tradition that goes back to him and his father and his brothers. Something about the "cheaper it is, the closer it brings you, and besides, if you start the year off low then you can only go up!" or some bullshit. In any case, I don''t usually drink other than once at New Years and once on my own Birthday. That means I have a comparatively low tolerance. This chapter was written under the influence after I realized that I''ve done an Extra chapter for every holiday so far and shouldn''t not do one for the new year. I''ll probably make like Stahlia and turn red as shit when I see this in the morning... but fuck it the best made plans of mice and men or some shit. Write drunk and edit drunker.. Enjoy and Happy New Years! My resolution is to give @Cypresslb less work as my unpaid volunteer editor Seriously man, I don''t deserve you :happycryingface:. All hail Grammarly if this shit is readable at all! SOBER EDIT Yay, more or less readable. So even though I wrote this drunk, I''ve now read through it sobered and I''ll go ahead and leave it unchanged, other than fixing a few clarity issues, and the stuff Cypress pointed out (thank you again!) Pretty much everything in here was already canon/planned, and I like the things Drunk Psycholor came up with in the moment. A Mother of Ang Village, Eighth Month of 947 Lisa! Help me get out to see her off! My daughter shook her head angrily. No mother! Imagine if you got ill? Or if this delayed your recovery? How would Lady Stahlia feel then? My daughter had a point, but I was not willing to relent here. Lady Stahlia had saved my life, and had now gone off on her own to try and save the village. Even if she had failed to save us, she had brought back information that would lead to the kingdom sending someone who could, at great cost to herself. Or so the rumors one of the visiting midwives had told me went. Even though she was a noble she was, in my eyes, a saint. I wanted to make sure that I saw her at least one more time. As kind as she was, she was still a noble; it was exceedingly unlikely she would ever return to Ang. I gazed down at my infant son who was sleeping on my breast. Lili, if you help me to the door, you can hold your brother I dont think I will be able to support my own weight without holding myself up on the doorframe My daughters eyes wavered. I hadnt let her hold her brother yet, despite being begged he was only a couple of days old. After a few minutes of deliberation, she stamped her foot, Fine! But if I wind up an orphan itll be your fault! I nodded. Of course, it will be, but dont worry, a little walk to the door wont be enough to kill me. My daughter only glared at me. Perhaps I was being too harsh, her father had been all but confirmed as dead. While she was being strong, it still hurt to lose a parent. But I had to see my savior at least one last time before she left. My daughter helped me up. Strangely, I had very little trouble moving. The midwives had been suspicious of the herbal remedies that Lady Stahlia had provided me with, but I convinced them to use them anyways. Perhaps she gave me some secret noble treatment? Either way, I was definitely recovering faster than the midwives said I should expect to. But I knew better than to become overconfident. If Lady Stahlias medicines were helping me recover faster, then so much the better. I would still take my time. It wouldnt do to get ahead of myself and take away Lisa and my sons sole remaining parent. Other than in this moment, I would take things slow. Lisa carefully walked me to the doorway, then went back to the bedroom and collected her brother. I wonder what name I should give him? In the village I had come from before the establishment of Ang, it was customary to wait a month before giving a new child their name. Typically, as this boy was my first son, I should give him the name of his father, but since his father died while he was in my womb doing so would bring him bad luck. As such, I had to come up with a different name. Lisa slipped past me and stood herself just to the side of the door. Word had made its way around the village that Lady Stahlia and Lord Dominic would be departing the village soon after dawn, we were a bit early, as the sun had only just peaked up far enough for a gentle grey light to begin suffusing the world. But I dont want to be late and miss them. My son is all bundled up, and Lisa is old enough she wont catch a cold. Before long, the knights came out and formed a small honor guard, clearing a path for Lady Stahlia and Lord Dominic to walk to their carriage. After a moment, my savior came out and began walking, her maid and two friends followed close behind her. My breath caught in my throat at the sight. Her two friends were trailing a little ways behind her, like some sort of distance had come up. Especially Sana, the one who had helped Lady Stahlia deliver my son. Lady Sana, who very briefly displayed a look of anguish towards Lady Stahlias back as the latter walked down the stairs and between the knights holding back the villagers. Next was her maid, whose name I didnt know. This one made my heart skip a beat. Her maid was missing an arm! Maybe the aristocrats can get something like that fixed but still, just what did they go through? Magic that could fix up a missing limb like that did exist but it was exorbitantly expensive. For commoners like myself, it may as well be a myth. But what got me the most was Stahlia herself. As she walked a path towards her carriage, for a brief moment, she was facing me. Her eyes flicked to me, and to my daughter beside me, who was waving her brothers arms in a mock wave. Lady Stahlias eyes. There was something missing in them. It was as though she had lost, or perhaps given up, something integral. Like there was a piece of her that was missing. As I gazed at her, I felt my words die in my throat. I had wanted to call out my thanks, but I couldnt find the words. Just what what did she go through for us? It all passed in a moment. The boy, Lord Dominic, helped her to board the carriage and she vanished from my sight. As I gazed at the carriage making its way down the road, a word. A very old word from the time of my forbears leaped to the forefront of my mind. Stal. My daughter looked up at me. Her name? You mean Stahlia? I shook my head. No. Stal. It means Strength in the language of our ancestors. I think its a good name for your brother, what about you? My daughter thought for a moment before shrugging. If thats what you think we should call him then go for it. I dont have any say in the matter. After a moment she continued while fiddling with his arms, making him wave them about. Its a good name though. I smiled and reached out an arm, poking Stal in the face. Well Stal, thats what we will call you alright? Grow up big and strong ok? Psycholor Spoiler is drunk bullshit again. I''m leaving them because idk, somebody might find it funny. Adding this author note . it seems that the general consensus of the last two chapters is that shit hit the fan way to fast. Not enough buildup. I''m sure sober me will agree with drunk me. I already said that I pushed back the next sub arc, and we are going straight into arc 3. that stands. I also am not going to rewrite the last couple chapters. What I am going to do, is rewrite upcom8ng chapters that haven''t released yet. Instead of continuing to follow the demon plotline, I am thinking to step back (after 2-16 epilogue, that''s still happening) and change shit up. Arc 3 will move the story focus off of Stahlia and onto another character for the first few chapters (this was also planned, but was going to happen later. Only moving it forward to review some of Stahlia''s upcoming chapters with the feedback from 1-13 and 1-14 in mind.) Doing this to go back over the Stahlia chapters and shuffle some things around so that the pacing/foreshadowing is better. So I already announced that I was planning to push back some stuff that was originally meant to end Arc 2. That''s still happening. In addition, I''m going to switch the order of Arc 3''s first sub arc and second sub arc. This is so that I can re-pace the first sub arc, and apply a bit of a stronger build up to it. The new Arc 3 sub arc 1 (I need a better terminology for this... open to suggestions), will pull away from Stahlia, and focus on a different character as the primary PoV. Super minor spoilers for arc 3 sub arc 1. 3-1 C1: Dear Diary, Today I Died 2-14 Resolution of Ang Psycholor First off, the story trended again over the weekend, Thank you all for your readership. The Jacqueline character piece is just about finished, it should be ready to go in the next chapter! I took this line: "I gave a thin smile at his companions who were watching him in stunned horror." from 1-6 and imagined a new theoretical scene, which I then supplied to the artist, along with her character description. Secondly, a bit of an announcement. Some people may have noticed a new story popping up semi frequently in the "recently updated" section, the Arant Chronicles. It''s a collaborative story between 16 authors each writing a character for a team battle tournament. At the moment, they are slowly putting out chapters introducing the different fighters, each one written by the author who created them. Note that my participation will not impact my writing for Tricked; participating authors are, from my understanding, writing one chapter every two weeks or so. Even if it turns out we are doing more, I should be able to manage just fine since the Arant chapters are going to be quite a bit shorter than what I do for a Tricked chapter. Dominic, Twelve Years Old, Eighth Month 947 I woke up with a pounding headache. Reaching up and touching my head, I felt a large welt. Inspecting my fingers as I pulled them away, I was shocked to see flakes of dried blood. I was sitting with my back against a tree in a large clearing. With a start, I jumped to my feet and groped for my sword only to find that it was missing. Then, as the blood rushed to my head, I collapsed back onto my knees in agony. I heard a shout, and as I looked up through eyes squinted in pain, I saw my fianc Stahlia, peering down at me. Dominic, its alright, we are safe now. We got away. She seemed concerned, and given my present condition, I couldnt blame her. Glancing around, I saw that Stil was collapsed in a heap looking thoroughly exhausted. Jacqueline was sitting near a tree a few meters away from us, though her posture seemed a bit lopsided. With a start, I realized that she was missing an arm and that the wound had been cauterized. I shuddered as I imagined how much that must have hurt. As I looked around the clearing, I noticed that we were missing one member, Where is Asten? Stahlia furrowed her brow and shook her head, Probably dead. After you got knocked out and Jacqueline lost her arm, Asten decided to distract the demon while Jacqueline and I ran away with you. She didnt seem broken up about his death, but then they had hardly been close. To my knowledge, this was the first time the two of them had really interacted, despite both of them being Special Students. Still, for me to have been knocked out I didnt remember being hit by the succubuss attacks. As I thought back over the events of the fight, the last thing I could remember was seeing an obviously suspicious girl appear behind Stahlia. She had looked back at the three of us and held up a finger in front of her lips before winking. After that, everything was dark and then I was waking up in this clearing. That would mean either Asten or Jacqueline knocked me out. Jacqueline cant be charmed by a female succubus owing to her being her. I cant be charmed because of my skills, so there would be no reason for my allies to have to knock me out. That means Asten must have been charmed and attacked me. I knew I shouldn''t have brought him. I figured that I should bring him along to prevent Stahlia from growing suspicious of me when I showed up while she was sneaking out. I had thought she was planning something, knowing her personality, and had approached Jacqueline to try and head her off. I had originally wanted to have Jacqueline stop her from doing anything, however, she had not been willing to go that far, even when I used my [Incubus Eyes] at full power. Instead, I settled for having Jacqueline inform me of what Stahlia was planning. Imagine my shock when Jacqueline informed me that the plans had already been made and that the two of them were taking the Stawri out tonight. That idiot! This demon was able to bring down two knights! What are you expecting to be able to do alone!? Still, stopping her was futile. I had a few ideas for how I might have been able to restrain her, but none of them would work here. Not without raising some serious questions that I didn''t want to be raised. I knew I would be able to do something about the succubus myself since I should be immune to its charms via my own abilities. The only thing I could do then was to go with her, and then strike down the demon after it thought it had made me its ally. I knew this would work because of my own Incubus Eye; there was no notification or way to tell when a target was fully under my control. I would only know by observing their actions, so I would just have to wait until I resisted the charm effect from the succubus and then act charmed. The only issue was, of course, Asten. If Stahlia, Jacqueline, and I were all to disappear together, it would put him in a very difficult spot. Taking him with us was a risk, but if worse came to worse, I could just knock him out myself. Actually, having him with us might not be a bad idea... He could provide a decent distraction in his own right and help keep Stahlia and Jacqueline from noticing I haven''t been charmed. I would still need an excuse to explain how I overcame the charm... but I should be able to flirt my way through it. I am, after all, the protagonist of this story. Hell, if things go well, this might set another one of Stahlia''s route flags. The "He saved me from the succubus!" event scene... But the plan backfired. Asten was charmed and proceeded to knock me out before I could do anything... but if that was the case, it didnt explain why he would offer to buy time; The succubus was strong enough to take down a pair of knights and had then taken Jacquelines arm. That meant it would be Stahlia and Stil versus a demon and Asten. The succubus would be immune to almost anything Stil could do, and Asten shouldnt have had any problems with a Stawri of all things. This meant it was basically Stahlia versus Asten and a Succubus. She might be good, but shes not that good. The only explanation was that after knocking me out, the Succubus had decided to let the rest of us go for some reason. This plotline is so contrived, the villain is too lazy to dispose of the main character and his love interest so lets them go. I guess this means Im supposed to spend the next few years in a training arc and then have a climactic battle to avenge Astens death. I gazed at Stahlia and felt a warm smile break out over my face. The look of revulsion this caused her to briefly show before carefully masking her inner turmoil was a bit disheartening, but then again, I did enjoy the tsundere motif. If her hair was a slightly brighter shade of red, she would be perfect Lucky for you that the villain of this story is a female succubus, and not a male one-winged angel, or things might have gone pretty badly for you huh? Stahlia pulled me out of my revelry by shaking my shoulder. Dominic, were you listening at all? We need to get back to the village and report this! That succubus was an Original Sin! I nodded vaguely. Her face is so close I felt a strange warmth welling up, it was something I had never felt before, not in this life at least. She narrowed her eyes and pushed out her chin. Clearly, she was getting upset that I was tuning her out. Suddenly, a brilliant idea popped into my head. In one motion, I angled my own head properly and closed the remaining distance between us. It was just a quick peck, nothing like what I planned on doing in the future, but it was enough to cause her to jerk back away in surprise. I was half expecting the classic slap across the face, but instead, my fianc went for the lesser-known classic of vigorously rubbing her lips on the back of her hand. My fianc is a rare tsundere I see. I will be sure to treasure her carefully. Still, it was strange. I knew I had some fucked up tastes. Before I died I had been just getting into some really interesting porn. I was, after all a forty-year-old virgin. Waiting for my new body to go through puberty so that I could begin to indulge myself had been one of the most difficult experiences of my fifty some odd years of life. But even as I had been becoming more and more of a degenerate, I had never been a lolicon. And yet, I find myself being so strongly attracted to Stahlia Is it just my predilection for tomboys and tsunderes? The fact that I know we will be getting married eventually? Or is there something else? It was a mystery, but for better or worse, the more time I spent with her, the more I found myself wanting to keep her all to myself. Are you done grinning like an idiot? I glanced up at the girl in question, then hauled myself up to my feet. Taking care this time so as not to upset my head injury, once I was up, I moved around experimentally. Seeing as everything was fine, I turned to face Stahlia, who was now standing with her arms crossed. I gave my offhand over my heart while holding my dominant over where my sword would normally be, had I not lost it during our flight. Bowing my head, I answered her question, Yes, thanks to the caress of your lips I feel invigorated once more. Shall we make for the village? It was an overly dramatic statement, but it had the desired effect of short-circuiting her brain and leaving her blushing while opening and closing her mouth, unable to come up with a retort. I love when she goes dere. Getting out of the forest and back to the village proved relatively easy. Jacqueline was in no condition to fight, and Stil was exhausted. Normally two children this deep in the forest might have struggled, but Stahlia and I were both nobles of Drakas and Special Students to boot. The handful of weak monsters we encountered proved no threat to us, and we managed to make it back to the village before noon. My manservant Gregory was there waiting with the other two servants I had brought with me, along with Astens retinue and Stahlias two friends. I mean, who brings a group of girls on a mission like this? I get that they have some skill, but wouldnt you normally bring servants and use the knights for battle? Upon seeing her, one of Stahlias friends let out a shriek and came running out of the village towards us. If I recall correctly that one was Sana the girl from her home village. Sana came running up to Stahlia, who tiredly raised a hand in greeting, Im back This was apparently a dissatisfying answer, as it caused Sana to cross her arms and glare at Stahlia, And just what were you thinking! Stahlia glanced away and mumbled something I couldnt catch. Observing her other friend, the Claurence''s dog Sarala, I was a bit surprised to see that she was giving Stahlia a blatantly surprised look. Almost like she was staring at a rare animal. As soon as she noticed my appraising gaze, she wiped the look off her face with a quick shake of her head. As I was pondering the strange reaction, I caught sight of Astens manservant approaching me while clenching his hands. I gave a subtle shake of my head, which caused the man to stop, close his eyes and take a deep breath. He then gave a slight nod and backed away from the group, to where Astens other two attendants were. It was a saddening sight, but there was nothing I could do. Asten would be honored posthumously for his sacrifice, and it would bring a large degree of prestige to his house. Lord Percius will be upset though; Ill have to see if father can arrange things to prevent him from attempting anything. After wrapping things up at the village entrance, we made our way to the village chiefs home in order to have a private discussion with the knight commander. It was paramount that we reported the gravity of the situation here in Ang Village, it would likely require the remaining citizens to evacuate while a full suppression team of seasoned veteran knights was deployed. Such was the threat of an Original Sin-ranked demon. The discussion was largely redundant, Stahlia had the demons hand, and a quick check of its mana confirmed our account. The fact that she had managed to collect even something so small was grounds for great prestige in and of itself. It wouldnt be at all surprising if she was granted some reward for this. I freely admitted to having been overcome and missing the majority of the fight; this would benefit me in the long run, as any rewards and accolades Stahlia received would pass to me in a scant few years anyways. It was better to push her as far as possible in order to increase the scale of her achievements, thus increasing the size of any rewards she was offered. It was decided that we would depart the very next day along with one of the four remaining knights. The other three knights would stay in the village and do what they could, while we made all due haste to report the situation; it was not lost on the knight commander that the three who stayed behind were, in all likelihood, doomed to die. To his credit, he selected the freshest of the other three knights to be the one to return to the capital with us. The next morning the entire remaining population of the village came to see us off. Unlike the previous trip, Astens attendants took the smaller carriage, while Stahlia and her party boarded the larger one with myself and my three attendants. We were arranging ourselves like this to save time at checkpoints; having the two nobles in one carriage would enable us to have our identities verified together thus saving valuable time. The small carriage would trail behind several days, but with Asten having passed, we had no use for his attendants. As we boarded, the lot of the villagers bowed their heads and murmurs of gratitude made their way to our ears. Likely, rumors of what the three of us students had faced had made their way around. As well as the very obvious fact that one of us was no longer present. Rather than being upset that we were leaving them now, the villagers seemed to understand that we were going to get help because there was nothing we personally could do. We rode our horses hard, to the point where a few died of exhaustion. Fortunately, this was a true emergency of the national scale, so we were able to leverage our status and mission to appropriate new horses from the villages and towns we passed through. By sleeping in shifts in the carriage and riding through the nights, we managed to cut our travel time down from the previous seven days to a mere three. Of course, doing this did nothing to help our fatigue, and by the time we were arriving back in the capital we were all of us exhausted. This was particularly bad in the case of Stahlia, who had been running herself ragged even before our seventy-two-hour dash. More than once, I had found her drifting asleep on my shoulder, only to wake up a few minutes later with a jolt and scoot away from me with a red face. As we kept going, however, and Stahlia got more and more tired, she also became less and less resistant, and by the time we were pulling into Drakas, she had wound up spending the past several hours sleeping on my shoulder. Of course, I was tired too, but I was much too interested in watching her resistances slowly crumble to sleep much myself. Besides, her sleeping face is absolutely adorable. I was truly enjoying the experience of someone falling for me naturally, I knew I would treasure my memories of building this relationship. We arrived at my familys estate, and I poked her cheek to wake her up. I had briefly considered waking her up with a kiss, but I decided to forgo that at present; there were too many people around and we were not married yet. Truthfully, her sleeping on my shoulder was already pushing the bounds of what would be considered socially acceptable. I shouldnt have to worry about Sana, Doggy, Jacqueline, or Stil. Gregory was on my side of course, but the other two servants I had with me answered to my mother, and for whatever reason, she seemed immune to my powers. My working theory was that she either possessed a magic item to protect against charm effects, which was likely considering her position as a high noble, or that my abilities didnt work on her due to our blood relationship. Though unless Elienor wasnt related to me by blood, the latter was unlikely, since I was perfectly capable of influencing my sister as I pleased. Though if it turned out that she really isnt my sister, that would make my future bright indeed. In any case, my poke woke Stahlia up. She tilted her neck and stretched her arms, producing several pops and cracks that sounded like they were incredibly satisfying, Mmm Have we arrived? I took a moment to appreciate her sleepy face before I nodded, Yes, we are back at the Francois Estate. I should think you will want to retire immediately and sleep in your bed; we are scheduled to have an audience with Duke Percius and General Bonet tomorrow. We will have to report Astens death in detail and describe the threat to them. And by we, I mean you, since I was unconscious. Indeed, the soldier would make a preliminary report, he had already departed to do so. Then it would take them at least until the morning to collect the necessary individuals to hear the eyewitness account, even if it was an emergency, bureaucracy still took some time. We would likely be summoned sometime in the early to mid-morning. Stahlia nodded after a moment to digest my words, then extended her hand to me. I stared blankly for a moment before I accepted it and helped her down from the carriage. Shes never initiated contact before, always being the recipient. She must be way more tired than I thought. Still, being sought out naturally like that it really did feel good. I had grown used to woman doing whatever I wanted thanks to my abilities in this world, though I knew I was repeating myself, having someone able to resist my charms come around naturally was truly exhilarating. I took her hand and helped her down from the carriage. As her feet hit the ground, I felt a chill run down my spine. Turning around, I saw Pet staring at us from a distance, her tail was standing straight up and she had her ears pressed flat against her head. Interesting, I knew she wasnt fond of me, but I havent seen her in a while Im not sure what I did to cause her to so blatantly detest me Its truly saddening. I had originally purchased her for Stahlia after seeing how distressed her appearance had made Stahlia. Indeed, she did look an awful lot like Stahlias late sister Rosial. However much to my surprise, Stahlia had very quickly gotten over her distress, seeming merely bored with the creature during the sale. As it turned out, this had worked in my favor, as the slave trader lowered the price substantially after seeing her lose interest. Based on her next set of actions, that is, feeding and clothing it, I had determined that she had tactfully feigned boredom in order to acquire the slave more easily. I had been a bit appalled by what came next though, as Stahlia was seemingly treating Pet as a pet. Though I suppose that was better than the conditions she had been living in prior to being purchased. It was something that I was still trying to come up with a solution for; that is, Stahlias prejudicial views towards beast-kin. I simply couldnt understand how she could treat someone so cute like her monster Stil. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 After I recovered and managed to convince Jacqueline that I was fine, I apologized for her arm. Even if I didnt actually feel bad about it anymore, it was important to keep up appearances. She then assured me that even with only one arm, she would be more than capable of serving me. I nodded; I hadnt doubted that she would let herself fail over something like a missing arm. I quickly explained the information to tell Dominic. Considering that she was seemingly under his thrall to some extent, I made sure to also withhold quite a bit of information from Jacqueline. Conveniently, as I was nearing the end of the information I considered safe to share, Dominic began to stir. I quickly brought my conversation with Jacqueline to an end and motioned for her to be silent. I made my way over to Dominic just in time to witness him jump to his feet and then promptly collapse again, clutching his head in pain. Fucking dumbass! Youve just had a major head injury! I bit back the retort I wanted to say and instead called out to calm him down, Dominic, its alright, we are safe now. We got away. He looked up at me, and then quickly looked around the clearing, taking in the condition of everything. After a moment, his gaze returned to me, Wheres Asten? I nodded and gave him my reply, keeping things as brief as possible, Probably dead. After you got knocked out and Jacqueline lost her arm, Asten decided to distract the demon while Jacqueline and I ran away with you. Dominic gave me a shocked look, before seeming to fall into deep thought. I was growing impatient, we needed to get a move on, or the knights might come into the forest looking for us. As I was about to say something, Dominic met my eyes, and a stupid dopey smile spread out across his face. What the hell!? Do you have any sense of time, place, occasion!? Despite my revulsion, being looked at like that still made my heartbeat quicken. In an effort to mask my embarrassment, I turned up my nose in an effort to appear disgusted. After a moment, much to my horror, I realized that in my attempt to mask my embarrassment, I had inadvertently gone full tsundere again. God damnit! We dont have time for this! I decided to bring this to an end quickly, Dominic, enough. We need to get back to the village and tell everyone about the danger That demon, it was an Original Sin. I got no reply, Dominic once again appeared deep in thought. This guy! I leaned forward and grabbed his shoulder, Dominic, were you listening at all? We need to get back to the village and report this! That succubus was an Original Sin! He stared at me impassively, causing me to narrow my eyes in frustration. In a bid to break his eye contact, I tilted my head back away from him slightly. All of a sudden, I was met by a soft, pleasant sensation on my lips. Blinking in surprise, I jumped backward away from Dominic. What the FUCK!? He kissed my hand before, but what the hell! Time! Place! Occasion! Unlike the kiss I had been given a few hours ago, this one was much when I realized I was currently comparing kisses of all things, I felt like vomiting. Reflexively, I scrubbed at my mouth. Thankfully I hadnt accidentally opened it this time. Dominic was smirking at me, a look I returned with a glare, Are you done grinning like an idiot? Dominic stood up and moved his body experimentally. While waiting for him to answer, I crossed my arms and resisted the urge to start tapping my foot. After a moment, he turned and faced me, Yes, thanks to the caress of your lips I feel invigorated once more. Shall we make for the village? Taken aback, all I could do was look at him in shock. I I didnt send you any mana though? All you did was kiss me, there shouldnt have been anything no that isnt the issue! Where the hell do you get off just kissing me like that I mean, were engaged but I gave up thinking about it. As long as he doesnt try and push things any further I can deal with this for another two years. Then Ill leave the capital for my bridal training and never see him again. If Im going to get the knowledge I need to save Rosial, I need the Francois, and to get the Francois, I need Dominic. I can tolerate a kiss or two for that. My mind made up, I turned and started making my way to the village without a word. We arrived at the village a little bit before noon. The trip was largely uneventful, Jacqueline was managing with only one arm, but I could tell she was in pain still, so I didnt engage with her. Stil was exhausted and a bit injured himself, so he stuck with Jacqueline. This left only Dominic and me to protect the group. However, we only encountered a group of three goblins. I quickly collected my experience points and we moved onwards towards the village. When we got to the village, the first thing to catch my eyes was the worried faces of my two friends. Sana in particular came running straight at me after crying out in relief. Right, she probably missed me, I should have left a note or something. I raised my hand and called out in greeting, Im back At my words, her look of relief turned into one of anger. Wait, did I say something wrong? Why is she angry? Sana stopped a short distance from me, though well within arms reach, And just what were you thinking! Yea, definitely angry. Why though? I cocked my head and answered, That two knights were dead, and I should probably do something about it before more people died? Sana glared at me, What about me and Sarala? Dont you feel at least a little bit bad about leaving us without saying a word!? What if you never came back! To her credit, she was still able to control herself to the point that she was barely keeping a low voice. If she suddenly started yelling at a noble in front of so many villagers, not to mention the knights, things wouldnt go well for her. But that makes sense why you''re angry now Sana, sorry but I actually dont feel bad I literally cant. This is going to be harder to act than I thought I considered turning on my remorse and simply working through the blowback once I was in private again, but I got the feeling that it would be getting worse and worse the longer I pushed it off. Im well and truly screwed, arent I? Ah right I do feel bad about that, but I was worried about the two of you In the end Asten didnt make it. Think about how I would have felt if that was you or Sarala? My statement took the wind out of Sanas sails quite nicely and left her standing there looking at me apologetically. sorry for snapping at you are you at least unhurt? I nodded and did a quick spin with my arms outstretched. Sana squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. Good. Chief Carl and Sir Albert want to speak to you and Lord Dominic, they are up at Chief Carls house. I thanked Sana for delivering the message. Indeed, I had noticed Carl and Albert making their way to Carls house after visually confirming Dominic and I entering the village. I grabbed Dominic, who had just finished informing Astens manservant of the formers death, and we made our way up to Carls house. Once arrived, I made a report similar to what I had told Jacqueline. This doubled as me informing Dominic since we hadnt talked much on the way back. When I informed them that the Succubus had identified herself as Sitri, and claimed to be an Original Sin, I was met with disbelief. Thankfully I had Sitris hand, which I produced as evidence to my claims. Albert produced a Mana Scope from inside his pouch and touched it to the hand. Mana scopes were a magic tool that was able to read the mana capacity of a given vessel by applying the principles behind the first law of magic. After a moment, Albert shook his head. I cannot get a reading, the portable scope I was given should be able to read the mana quantity of anything up to the level of an average Demon Count, but it just maxes out and tells me it ''cannot get an accurate reading''. The pronouncement led to silence in the room. Just before the silence was about to become awkward, Albert spoke up, Whether or not this Sitri is truly an Original Sin, the fact stands that we lack the necessary resources to deal with something as strong or stronger than a Demon Count. He looked around the room, briefly meeting eyes with myself, Dominic, and Carl, Lady Stahlia, Lord Dominic. This has gone outside the scope of what the Special Student program is intended to handle. We have already lost Lord Asten. I will not comment on your actions in going alone out of respect for his sacrifice and thanks for the information you managed to recover. But I am sending you both back to the capital with your retinues. One of my men will accompany you and report what you have discovered, the kingdom will likely want your testimonies regarding the encounter. I and my remaining two men will do what we can in the village while awaiting reinforcements. I pressed my lips together and curtsied. It wasnt lost on me that he was likely saying these words under the impression that he was signing the death warrants for himself and his men. Of course, he doesnt know that Sitri has fucked off, and there isnt any way for me to inform them of this without spilling the details surrounding the pact I made which definitely wont be received well. The meeting finalized with us planning the way we would get back to the capital. Unfortunately, we would be riding nonstop, except to trade out horses when they became unable to continue. The replacement horses would be appropriated under the emergency provisions clause in Drakas military code. This is going to be exhausting. Further compounding my issues, it was decided that Dominic and I would share the larger carriage between the two of us in the name of saving time. The next day, the entire village came out to see us off. I say us, I think it might have been me and Sana specifically. More than one woman was present with a toddler tugging on their hand and pointing at us excitedly. One of them in particular was standing a ways away from the rest of the crowd; they were in fact standing in their doorway, using the frame to support themselves. Standing just outside the door was a seven-year-old girl holding a newborn infant. The girl was manipulating the infant like a puppet, making it wave its hand at me. Lisa and I never actually learned the moms nor the babys name, did I? Oh well, it isnt really important. I climbed into the carriage and took the seat Dominic escorted me to. Much to my annoyance, he promptly sat down next to me. The seat in question was near the head of the carriage, and large enough for two people. The other seats were made for up to three people and were a bit plainer than the one I was on. Although all of the seats were rather opulent. Presumably, the two-person seat was specifically designated for the noble passengers. Jacqueline, Sana, and Sarala took one of the two remaining seats, on the side of the carriage closer to me. Dominics attendants took the further of the two seats, and we departed. The first few hours of the trip, and indeed most of the first day, were relatively comfortable. Sana had healed Jacquelines arm, though all this had amounted to was the wound closing. Lost limbs were exceedingly difficult to restore. Gods very rarely if ever granted miracles to this end, a fact Sana had felt exceedingly distressed over. I would potentially be able to do something with alchemy, a high-level Elixir or Rejuvenation Potion could regrow body parts in a few days, but the ingredients I needed were traded on the level of percentages of a country''s GDP. Theoretically, there could be a spell chant that would restore missing limbs, but if it existed, it would be a very closely guarded secret on the level of royalty. In short, it was a good thing I had opted to go with her non-dominant arm. Of course, Jacqueline is talented enough that even if I had taken her dominant arm, she probably would have learned to cope in only a few days. Still, her not having two arms will be an issue in the long run. I''ll have to start working on a plan to get it back or find a suitable replacement. Either way, Jacqueline was proving herself to be exceedingly capable with only the single-arm, still perfectly able to attend to me. Still, she wasnt able to drive the carriage and both Sana and Sarala did not know how to do so in the first place. Of course, there had been questions about why Jacqueline had even gone with our group when it was explained how she lost her arm, but Dominic of all people shut them down by stating that she had been trained as a knight and served as a hidden second bodyguard due to my unique position in noble society. It was frankly, a little bit scary how close to the truth he really was. This left the driving to be rotated amongst Dominics three manservants as well as the actual driver. My party had very little to do, but due to where I was sitting, I wasnt able to easily engage in conversation with them. As the day turned to night, I found myself dozing off periodically. Each time, I would jerk myself awake to find my head had lolled to the side and onto Dominics shoulder. Each time I would immediately jerk away and scoot as far as I could to the opposite side of our shared seat. As the night turned to day, I was sore, stiff, and exhausted. Dominic slept just fine, a fact which irritated me even more. For whatever reason, he had no issues staying up against the wall when he slept. Why the hell does my body gravitate to his shoulder!? Why cant I stick to the damn wall! Of course, there was the possibility that I was being affected by his skill. I focused inside myself, drawing up mana and feeding it into my eyes, applying the Divine Element to it as I went. Unfortunately, likely due to the fact that his eyes were closed, there were no waves of mana being emitted at the moment. And if I do it when hes awake, Ill have to be staring at him while Im in his vision. Otherwise, I wont be able to see if his mana is affecting me since it only goes where hes looking And if I do that, it means hell see me looking at him! This all would be so much easier if I just appraised with my blood magic, but without the targets expressed consent, their mana would resist my own. It was also extremely easy to notice someone elses mana flowing into your body. It was exceedingly unpleasant if you were resisting it but would feel quite nice if you willingly accepted it. I had learned this back in Ris when checking the statuses of the village boys I was training. In short, if I were to try, even while he was asleep, he would most likely notice right away and ask me what I was doing. I forcibly tore my gaze away and started to count the grains in the wood of the side paneling that was on my other side. One board had a little over eighty. I knew because I had already spent an amount of time counting them and remembered it. I groaned and stretched while sneaking a look at Dominic. He was still idly watching me. Peaking around the carriages cabin, it seemed that everyone else was actually asleep right now. I suppose that if I did it now, he would be the only one to see me I glanced out the corner of my eye while trying to work up the courage to engage my divine eyes. Dominic was still watching me while leaning on the sidewall of the carriage. Am I really that interesting? In my opinion, the answer was no. But Dominic clearly found something fascinating. I took a deep breath and went to apply Divine Element to the mana in my eyes. To my surprise, the aspect failed to take, and I couldnt turn them on. What the hell? I looked over at Jacqueline and turned them on; her mana looked perfectly normal, due to Dominic watching me, she was not in his line of sight presently. I turned my eyes back to Dominic, and immediately lost control of my mana, deactivating my divine sight. Is he immune to divinity!? No. theres no way he should be, thats the sleep deprivation talking. Ive seen his mana just a couple of days ago, but he wasnt watching me then. I spent a few minutes considering various possibilities. After narrowing them down, I went to do a test. Making sure I wasnt looking at Dominic, I engaged my divine eyes again. I moved my line of sight until I was able to see the mana pulses, but not Dominic. Then, pretending to stretch, I moved my arms into my line of sight. The moment I was able to see my own arms, I lost control of my mana again, and the divine eyes were disabled. So it was that one. My experiment had narrowed down the cause of my issue. I was afraid. I was afraid of knowing the truth, that I might actually just be starting to like him. Now that I knew he had some power, I had subconsciously locked onto the idea that it was influencing me, and the reasons I reacted the ways I had been as a result of his skill. I was afraid, that I would see that it wasnt affecting me. Because that would mean I actually was starting to like him. I should disable fear and get it over with. I need to know, that way I can come up with countermeasures. But despite knowing that I should just get it over with, I couldnt bring myself to actually turn off my fear. I tried, vainly, a couple of times more to look without turning off fear, but it didnt work. In the end, I spent so much time waffling about that the other passengers woke up. Fear or no fear, I was not going to be caught staring at Dominic. The second day dragged on. My sporadic bouts of sleep were growing more frequent, but I still couldnt stay asleep for more than a few minutes at a time. As everyone else began to doze off, I resolved my tired heart and mind. Theres nothing good that comes from not knowing. If it turns out I am being influenced, then I can begin work on countermeasures. If by some chance the fact that Im also a reincarnation makes me immune, then I need to confront the fact that I might be starting to fall... and figure out how to come to terms with that or deal with it. I spent the night coming up with arguments and psyching myself up, waiting for Dominic to wake up. That morning, he once again woke up before everyone else, and once again he began to pass the time by watching me. I took a deep breath, closed my tired eyes, and disabled fear. When I woke up, Dominic was looking down at my face, while my cheek was resting on his shoulder. I felt refreshed, despite what should have been in no way a restful sleep. I sat up and stretched, as everyone else was collecting their things and getting ready to disembark. Mmm Have we arrived? Ill act tired and take the chance to check now. I guess turning off my fear also made me less resistant to the idea of using him as a pillow. Nothing I can do about it now. As I came out of my stretch, I went through the process of activating my divine eyes and observed his mana waves. Dominic nodded and answered my question before offering me his hand. Yes, we are back at the Francois Estate. I should think you will want to retire immediately and sleep in your bed; we are scheduled to have an audience with Duke Percius and General Bonet tomorrow. We will have to report Astens death in detail and describe the threat to them. And by we, I mean you since I was unconscious. I reached out, being careful to minimize my movements so as not to disrupt my focus, and paid close attention to his mana pulse as it washed over my arm. Much like the knights, it passed straight through me without affecting my own mana at all. Well, I guess that answers that Psycholor She doesn''t have all the information the reader has access to. All she can do is act and form conclusions on the information she does have; that information, at present, shows her that she is not being affected by Dominic''s skill. Read the next few chapters, and the reasons are explained. (through 3-3). 2-15 R2: A Cruel First Blood Psycholor Rosial PoV chapter = Content warning. Subject 23, four years old, 945 Subject 23, how are you today? Oh, Mr. Five! Youre back! It had been a little while since the last time Mr. Five had come to talk with me. I had no idea how long I had been floating in this inky blackness but, I was able to hold on and not lose myself thanks to Mr. Five periodically talking to me. Yes, I am back. Subject 23, I think you should be able to come out soon Is that something you would like? Out? What is out like? It had been so long since I found myself in this place, I had only the vaguest recollections of what the place beyond the blackness was. Yes, I think you should be ready to come out and meet your family. I will be with you soon. Youll be with me? Ill get to see what you look like Mr. Five!? I didnt get an answer, not exactly, but I got the feeling that my excitement had pleased Mr. Five. If Mr. Five was pleased, then that was good. I floated in the inky blackness, alone once more. I sat up and felt my stomach and throat constrict painfully. I cant breathe! There was something in my throat, and it was so bright I could not see anything. I was cold, so cold I could not stop shaking. I wanted to cough, but the thing was stuck. I could feel snot coming out of my nose and I was crying. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck my back. Thrown forward by the painful thing, I felt whatever was in my throat come out. I coughed, and my stomach felt like it was squeezing. A lot of water and smelly slimy stuff came out of my mouth and nose, as well as a long black thing. Subject 23, are you ok now? Thats Mr. Fives voice so hes here with me! I quickly turned my face in the direction of his voice, but I still could not see anything properly. There, there, do not be alarmed, for I am with you. As he spoke, I could feel him gently rubbing my back. It felt nice. I started shaking again, and Mr. Five stopped rubbing my back. He started rubbing both of my arms very hard and it hurt. I tried to pull my arms away, but he squeezed them tightly. Subject 23, do not pull away. You need to warm up. At the sound of his voice, telling me to stop trying to pull my arms away I froze. I have to do what he says, if I dont listen then he will leave me! The thought of being left alone was scary. Eventually, the pain from Mr. Five rubbing my arms got a bit better, and I wasnt shaking anymore. I could also see a tiny bit now. Mr. Five was wearing a black cloak that hid his face. I want to see what he looks like but I bet he would be angry if I tried to look. I could not make him angry, so I decided to not try and peek. Mr. Five stopped rubbing my arms and held something out in front of me. I squinted in the still too bright light and was able to make out that I was being handed a sort of long shirt and a towel. I reached out and took the towel, using it to wipe the slimy stuff off of my body. Doing that helped warm me up some more also. As I was getting into the shirt, Mr. Five was watching my movements closely. Even though I was naked, it wasnt embarrassing. If it was Mr. Five then I knew there must be a reason why he was watching me dress. When I finished, he nodded and motioned for me to follow him. I got up and quickly followed him out into a long hallway. It was a bit easier to see in this room, but my eyes still hurt. Mr. Five was walking very fast, I was having trouble keeping up with him. By the time we came to the door at the end of the hallway, I was having a hard time breathing. After going down the long hallway, we passed through a very large room with tables in the middle, and lines of doors along both walls. Mr. Five turned to me. It seems that the restoratives have prevented about eighty percent of the muscle atrophy. That is more than I expected, this is where you will be living for the next while. Your room is this one. It is forbidden to enter the room of another child. Go into your room and sleep, I will be back in the morning. I nodded. Thank you for saving me from the black place, Mr. Five. He gave a quick nod and left me, so I did as I was told and went into my room. Inside my room, there was a table and chair, a bed, and a little girl. On the table was a plate of food, a glass of water, and a small round object. I turned to the little girl. You arent supposed to be in other peoples rooms! The little girl looked back at me. This is my room. Thats what Mr. Five said. I looked at the girl suspiciously. She was about my age, probably. Maybe a bit shorter than me, at the very least I had to look down to look her in the eye. She had black hair and gold eyes, her hair was tied to the sides in twin tails with a piece of string. I shook my head. No Mr. Five brought me to this room just now and said it was mine; you must be mistaken. The girl put one hand on her chin and furrowed her eyebrows. Mr. Five brought me to this room too and said it was mine. The only conclusion then, was that we were meant to share. However, there was only one bed, one table, one chair, one plate of food, and one round thing. As I was thinking about what to do, the girl nodded. Its ok; I dont get hungry so you should eat it. Are you sure? The girl nodded. Thank you then. I went to the table and started eating the food. It didnt taste very good, but as I ate, I started to feel very hungry. Before long I realized I had eaten everything. The girl hadnt moved while I was eating, and she now pointed at the round thing. You have to take the pill too. My sister always said that pills are good for you. I looked at the round thing. It didnt look like something you would eat. Your sister said that these are good for you? The girl nodded. Yep! My sister was amazing. I frowned. I dont have a sister, I wish I did. The girl seemed to think for a moment. I know, how about I can be your sister! Her voice was cheerful as if this was the most obvious thing, and in retrospect, it was. I scooped up the pill thing and ate it, I wanted to be a good sister too, like the girls older sister. Since I was taller that meant I was the big sister, and I had to set a good example. Suddenly I realized something important, something I had somehow forgotten. In a panic, I turned to face the girl. Do you have a name? I dont have a name, but Mr. Five calls me Subject 23. The girl thought for a moment. I I dont know. I think I used to but its sort of hard. Like its far away This wouldnt do, my new little sister needed something I could call her. As I looked at her, thinking about what I should call her, the inside of my head got really itchy. I tried to scratch it, to make it stop, and after a bit, the itching subsided. When it went away, I was left with a name in my mind. Stali! Ill call you Stali! Thats a good name for a sister! The girl thought about it, rolling the name over her tongue a few times before she smiled and nodded. Un! Stali! I like that name! Subject 23, Four Years Old 946 I blocked the cut that was coming towards me with the flat end of my blade before dropping into a low stance. Sliding forward across the floor, I lunged upwards. Bringing the point of my knife to the throat of Subject 36 I froze. End! At the call of the trainer, I stepped back away from Subject 36 and put my knife away. Recently, all of the kids who lived here had been learning to fight with knives and other small weapons. Periodically we would spar with each other like this. If you lost three times then the trainer would bring you down the long hallway towards the black place. I didnt want to go back there again, so I made sure that I never lost even once. Sometimes they would bring someone back, but often the kids who went to the black place did not return. Subject 36 looked scared; he had just lost the third time, so he would have to go to the black place. Im just glad it isnt me. Stali had never lost either, though I never actually saw her fight. That was probably a good thing since we were being trained to be assassins and take care of bad guys. The lady who was training us hid her face just like Mr. Five did, but she never told me her name. Still, Mr. five made it clear that we were all supposed to obey her when he came to introduce us on the first day. Subject 36 was looking down at the floor when the woman came down to him. 36. Subject 36 grimaced and raised his head. You lost. Her voice was empty, she since was simply stating a fact. Subject 36 looked like he was about to say something in retort, but thought better of it when the woman put a hand on the cane she always had strapped to her waist. While losing three times would get you sent to the black place, talking back or not doing what we were told would get us hit with that cane. I had never been hit since I had to set a good example for Stali. I got a lot of extra food because of how well I behaved. The last time he visited, Mr. Five had even said I might be able to advance to the next hall soon, and that he was pleased with my progress. I was sad at the thought of having to leave Stali, but at the same time, I was excited to be making Mr. Five happy. I was also wanting to see someplace new, I had lost count of the number of times I had slept in this hall. Subject 36 was led out of the room through the door that led to the black place, and the rest of us worked together to put the tables back in the middle of the room. When the room wasnt being used for training, it served as a sort of common room for all of us to interact with each other. There were lots of things that we were allowed to do, as long as we were good and followed the rules. Today though, I wasnt planning on doing any of the things in the common room, I was planning to hang out with Stali in our room. I had been told I would probably be moving up in the next few days, so I would probably have to leave Stali behind. Hopefully, they would let her move up soon as well; after me, she was probably the most talented. I swung open our door and immediately spotted Stali lying on the bed that we shared. It had been cramped at first, but we had eventually gotten used to it. She was laying on her stomach and kicking her feet in the air. When she heard the door open and shut at my entrance, she jumped up. Wentee! that was what she called me, a sort of blending of my number twenty-three became Wentee. She had insisted that it wasnt fair for only her to have a name when I had a number, so after much deliberation that was what she had settled on. It had made me uncomfortable at first, but she eventually convinced me by promising to only use it when we were alone. As the days had worn on, I did eventually warm up to the name. Wendi! Guess what? She looked extremely excited as she beamed up at me. I had been growing pretty fast recently, though when I wasnt with Stali I wouldnt have noticed. She was still about the same size she had been when I first met her, but I was now a few fingers taller than her. The fact that I was growing so much taller made me happy as the big sister, though it really frustrated Stali, what with how she now had to crane her neck at a hard angle to be able to look me in the eye. Hmmm, what? Stali took a deep breath and exclaimed, They told me I could move up! I get to go with you! I blinked for a moment, letting her news sink in. A smile broke out across my face, something that only Stali seemed able to cause. Thats great! I was so sad when I learned that we would get separated! I grabbed Stali and pulled her into a hug. Im so glad I get to stay with my sister! Wentee, Five Years Old 947 Stali and I had spent some time in the next stage. Long enough that neither of us could remember how long. I was even bigger now. Stali only came up to about my chest. I didnt know why she wasnt growing. maybe it had something to do with how little she ate. Seriously, I had never seen my little sister eat even a single bite of food. That didnt matter though, she was my sister, so I would look out for her. I really needed to. The second stage was awful. The slightest failure was punishable by intensive torture. I was constantly on my toes just to avoid misstepping. The threat of the sensory deprivation room was bad, but it paled towards what would happen here. One trainee was suspended above a tub full of corpse worms so that his feet and lower legs were submerged, then had healing magic continually cast on him. My one rock, other than Stali, was Mr. Five. He was always worried about me, often coming by to check on how I was doing. After one particularly bad session where I had been forced to undergo surgery to enhance my muscles, he apologized repeatedly that I had to go through something like that. It was ok though because I knew he was doing it for my own good; After the surgery, I was suddenly much stronger, able to keep up with the other kids who had been at this stage for much longer than I had. I just wanted to be able to please him by succeeding and surpassing whatever he expected of me. On the bright side, Stali was around more often. There were fewer trainees in this section, so it was a lot harder for her to make herself disappear into the crowd as she had always somehow done back at the first stage. Often, as I was undergoing the pain resistance training or the augmentation, Stali would sneak into the room, just out of sight of the agent who was working on me, she would mouth words of encouragement, or if she was able, lightly brush my hand. It was these brief moments of respite that gave me the strength to live up to Mr. Fives expectations of me. I wanted to do the same for her, but every time I tried to follow her, she would manage to slip away somehow. I asked her numerous times how she was managing it, but every time she would just chuckle and say she wasnt sure what I meant, she was just walking normally. It was the start of just a normal day for me when I was approached by one of the trainers after breakfast. She had Stali behind her, who looked really excited. I knew why right away of course; this was the trainer who only ever approached you when you were deemed ready for stage three, Subject 23, Lord Five has determined it is time for you to proceed with the final selection for stage two. I nodded. I was ready. The trainer led me to a door that I had occasionally seen other children brought through but had never dared approach myself. As we walked, I whispered to Stali in such a way as to avoid the ears of the trainer who was escorting me. Our training had proved extremely useful in forging our bond as adopted sisters. Stali, do you know whats ahead? It was, in my mind, extremely likely that Stali had slipped past the door at some point. She was much better than me at hiding and tended to be a bit curious. She shook her head, Nope! But Im glad I get to go with you! Before too long, we had arrived in front of the door. It swung open to receive us, but the interior was too dim for me to see properly. I gulped, for some reason growing anxious. Beside me, Stali gripped my hand and led me forward with a word. Its ok, Ill be with you! Im supposed to be the big sister I couldnt let my little sister be the one to protect me, confirming my resolve, I pushed my way through the darkness and into the room. As soon as I was through, the door swung shut behind me with a thud. I whirled around in shock, as the lights began to increase in brightness. I shivered and turned around. I was met by the sight of Mr. Five, standing next to a cage. On a table in front of the cage was a row of daggers. Subject 23. I jumped to attention; I had long ago learned that Mr. Five liked prompt obedience. The time has come for you to demonstrate your resolve. Take a dagger. I stepped forward and picked up a dagger. I had been taught how to maintain weapons ever since I had come out of the sensory deprivation stage of training, but this was the first time I had held a weapon that felt this cold. I looked to Mr. Five and he nodded. Good, that blade is enchanted. It will inflict the most pain possible from a single cut. You will enter the cage now, and prepare yourself. Wait, Im going into the cage? What about Stali? As soon as I entered the cage, and turned around I had my answer. Stali had picked up her own dagger and was in the cage with me. I was struck by panic. Mr. Fives voice rang out, and I turned to face him. I will be back in one hour. When I return, I expect one of you to be dead. My heart sank. No! I cant! I wont! I had never questioned his orders before, but this, I couldnt Its ok Wenti. I turned at the sound of my sisters voice. To my surprise, we werent the only ones in the cage. There was a boy in it with me. To my surprise, I recognized him. It was Number 36, the boy I had sent back to the sensory deprivation tank a year ago. As I looked him over, I heard Wenti nearby me. See? Mr. Five only said one of us had to die. Since hes here too, we can kill him! Then you and I can stay together. I gulped and nodded. Thats technically true, we can do that but I havent killed anyone beforeTrue I had known what I was being trained to do. But being trained for something and doing it There was a difference. The boy seemed to be somewhat delirious, he was barely holding together as his eyes darted around every which way. Distantly, I considered the fact. I did that to him I could have lost the fight, I hadnt ever lost one before but I knew he had already lost two Its my fault he had to go back. It was blindingly obvious to me now why most of the people sent back to the sensory deprivation never came back. I hefted my dagger, feeling the weight of it, and the cold of the metal against my skin. I slowly approached him, and his eyes landed on mine. Who who are you!? Stay back! G-get away! 36 scrambled back away from me. As he flailed his limbs, I could recognize, he was unarmed. In this room, only Stali and I had weapons. Am I supposed to kill an unarmed person? Of course, I knew that I would have to do that eventually. But for the first time? It had ironically been impressed upon us all how important life was, and we were forbidden from actually hurting each other in training. The penalty for even accidentally harming a fellow recruit was extreme. I shivered, and my dagger fell from my hand, clattering onto the floor. Stali, Im sorry, I cant do it. I broke him, I cant kill him to I just cant I could feel tears beginning to form in my eyes. Stali nodded. Its ok Wenti Ill do it. I watched. I wanted to look away, but I decided I shouldnt. I was already forcing my sister to do what I should be doing, but I should at least bear witness. Unlike me, who struggled with the idea of it, Stali walked straight up to 36. Glancing down at him, she hesitated only for a moment, and then swung the dagger once, severing his throat cleanly. His face twisted in pain; Mr. Five had evidently not been lying about the enchantment. But he could not scream, only gurgle out painfully. Before long, Five came out and collected me from the cage. He was pleased and showered me with praise, which was confusing. I had failed I couldnt do it. I looked back over my shoulder at 36s body. I could see Stali, still standing over him. She caught my gaze and shrugged. Its ok Wenti, Ill keep you safe. I nodded. Im so lucky to have such a caring little sister! The door swung shut, blocking my sight of her. But I wasnt worried; somehow I knew. Stali would always be with me. Facing forward, I advanced onwards towards stage three. Five, Seventh Month of 947 I growled to myself and strummed my fingers on the table angrily. Everyone is retarded. I had just finished sending a response to Rowell. The moron had planned to pursue Stahlia to Ang Village. Seriously. Why do I even bother? In all honesty, the fact that Stahlia had been sent to Ang village in the first place was due to a mistake on the part of a now-departed clerk. Besides, what the hell is that succubus thinking? Going after a whole towns worth of men!? Idiots, the lot of them. The best I could do was warn her not to lay a finger on Stahlia or Dominic. The two of them were still needed. Drumming my hands on the desk, trying not to strike it too hard as to not shatter the wood, I heard a knock on the door. Enter. 23 entered. I hadnt given her an alias yet, because she didnt need one. Out of all my subordinates, she was the most competent. Of course, what would you expect from an [Assassin Prodigy]? Seriously though. Two Prodigy talents popping up in the same generation, of the same household? So soon before the next war? The gods must be screwing with me. Frankly, it was a boon that she had arrived when she did. Her talents were going to prove very useful in the coming strife. And shell serve as a good deterrent if Stahlia ever actually tries to go through with her hair-brained schemes of revenge. Based on how she acts around that cat, all I should have to do is show even a drawing of 23, and shell fall head over heels to do whatever I want her to. I drug myself out of my thoughts. 23, your report? The girl gave a crisp salute. Lord Five. The target has met Mortis by my by my hand. If only she would lose that stutter, she would be perfect. For the umpteenth time that day, I began drumming my fingers on the desk. Everything is so irritating. For better or worse, 23 had a very selective stutter. It was likely an issue with the indoctrination program; things like this cropped up from time to time. Whenever she reported a kill, she would hesitate before claiming the credit. This went all the way back to when I had arranged her first kill. Upon me discussing it with her, she had clammed up and insisted tearfully that she hadnt done it, all while apologizing for her failure. The thought of how perfect that first kill had been In any case, it brought a smile to my face. I had placed her in the cage with the trash 36 and left the room. Of course, I was actually watching the whole time. Usually, a subject would wallow about and take until the very last moment before finally hurriedly killing their target. Not 23. 23 was a natural. If I didnt know any better, I would even argue that she was a Demon of Wrath if I hadnt seen her appraisal results myself. The girl had, as soon as I left the room, broken out into a smile. Walking up to 36, no skipping up to him. She had brandished the knife in his face. The poor boy had recoiled in terror, begging to know who she was and what she wanted with him. Had that stopped her? No. 23 was far too perfect for that. She started out small, a light cut over his chin, made so fast you could barely see the knife move. Watching the way she gauged the distance, even accounting for how he would flinch, to leave such a fine shallow cut it made me smile just recalling. Of course, the enchantment on the dagger had activated, crippling 36 with debilitating pain. 23 had giggled. She was thrilled to see him suffering before her. Her next cut, she took off just the tip of his finger, watching his reaction carefully. Shes studying how the degree of injury affected the intensity of pain. Thats what I had thought at the time, but watching her work as she continued her training, I was convinced that she was simply a sadist. She spent the better portion of the hour carving poor 36 up, piece by excruciating piece. I was amazed at her dedication. She took great care to avoid any major arteries, any wound that would allow the poor failure to expire. As her given hour neared its end, only then did she finally slit the boys throat. Even this cut, she kept it shallow, such that it would take him time to bleed out fully. When I came to get her, she was playing with the corpse, drawing patterns on it with the daggers blade. Of course, she reacted to me immediately and stood up, drenched in blood. I let her out of the cage and she bounded up to me as if she was coming back from visiting a friends house. My wonder hadnt ended there though, as I was leading 23 out of the room, she had turned and looked back at the corpse, intently, as if studying a piece of art. After a moment, she had broken out into a smile and turned back to follow me further down the hall, humming some little ditty to herself. I was pulled from my recollections by the same 23 in the present clearing her throat. Right, work to attend too. So irritating. If anyone else had gotten my attention In that manner, they would be dead. I began drumming my fingers on the desk again. If that concludes your report 23, you may retire to your room. I will send someone for you later if anything comes up. 23 did a curtsy and bowed her head before saluting and backing out of the door. Seriously, shes nearly perfect. If only she could overcome that stutter. I skimmed over the report I had been reading before 23 had come in to make hers, the only sound in the room was my own breathing and the one, two, three, one, two, three rhythm of my fingers on the desk. A crack formed where I had been drumming. Fuck! This is so infuriating! Why do I have to be the one doing paperwork!? Head stuff was always Mephistopheles thing! Fucking Summer Champion! Psycholor Back on 1-15, a few people mentioned that what was done to Rosial would shatter her. While at the time I argued against that, pushing the idea of magic and drugs to keep her stable, since then I have warmed up to the idea and am working to incorporate the darker consequences of the shit the shadows do to kids. A thanks to Exiel, who helped iron out a few of the details. Hopefully I managed to portray Dissociative Identity Disorder well. Writing mental illness is a unique challenge to say the least. So that''s the Rosial PoV chapter. As announced previously, the next chapter will be 2-16 Epilogue. Like 1-15 Epilogue, 2-16 will consist of three "mini chapters". Also like 1-15, one of them will tie directly into the major plot of next arc, one will show a new perspective, and one will pull back the curtain. Just for fun, here are the names of each mini chapter: Epilogue 1: P1: Envious Koneko. Epilogue 2: F2: Another Time, Another Player. Epilogue 3: For the Kingdom Lastly, Jacqueline''s character art has been finished. Set sometime between 1-14 and 2-1. I heard a crash out in the hall while my lady was sleeping. Slipping out into the foyer, I spotted shards of broken glass glinting in the moonlight. There were a pair of men brandishing billy clubs who had presumably just broken into the home, and it fell on me to deal with them. Slipping out of the shadows and into the moonlight, the first man noticed me and tugged at his partner. The partner gave a start and spun around, but when he saw that it was "just a maid" he tossed his head and instructed his partner not to scare him like that. They''re underestimating me... their mistake. I pulled aside my apron, revealing the dagger I always kept tucked away. As I went to draw it, I could already feel a thin smile forming on my lips. Dear me, such a bad habit of mine. I hope it doesn''t rub of on my lady... This author''s note is already crowded, so I promise this is the final thing. About a week ago, someone left a comment asking if I had any plans of opening a discord server. I replied that "I have though of it, but I decided now isn''t a good time. I''ll reevaluate when we get to around a thousand readers." Well, since I said that, the story went from 700 readers to over 900... I''m putting a poll on this chapter to gauge overall interest in a discord server. Personally, I''m a bit mixed on how I feel about it. On one hand, it would allow for more dynamic conversation. On the other, it would potentially drive discussion comments off of the chapters, making it harder for new readers to get engaged unless they join. 2-16 Epilogue Psycholor Regarding the discord poll, I see that there is some interest in one based on current results. However due to some of the reasons given by people who said it was a bad idea, I think I am going to hold off on making one for now. Particularly the point about it being a potential distraction. The first epilogue mini chapter is Pets PoV. Note that this is still first-person. Im trying to adapt Pets third person style of speaking into her internal monologue. Epilogue One, P1: Envious Koneko Pet, Five Years old, Eighth Month of 947. Nee-san still isnt back yet Pet was laying on her back, Pets legs dangling off the side of the bed. Pets Nee-san had gone off with the bad man to do something dangerous and left Pet behind with Elienor Ojou-Sama. It wasnt like Pet disliked Elienor Ojou-Sama, but She can be a bit overbearing Just as Pet was thinking those things, she stiffened up as she caught a scent. Her eyes darted towards the door. Pet should hide. Elienor Ojou-Sama swung open the door, just as Pet was trying to climb into the dresser. Pet froze and started deliberating how she would react. Maybe, if Pet doesnt move, Elienor Ojou-Sama wont see her. It was to no avail, as Pet felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. Pet felt her ears go flat, as Elienor Ojou-Sama pulled her out from the dresser and sat her in a chair, Come on! you knew I was coming today, and you didnt get ready at all! Its not like that Pet just thinks you come too much Elienor Ojou-Sama made Pet upset sometimes. She would always complain to her about how lucky Pet was, getting to stay in a nice room and having Stahlia Nee-San for an owner. Pet didnt think she was that lucky though. Pet had vague memories from when she was little. Memories of a world outside this room. Everything was blurry now, but she wanted to go outside again. But Stahlia Nee-San told her not to go outside because it was too dangerous. Pet knows its dangerous But Stahlia Nee-San can protect Pet. Maybe, if Pet was strong like Stahlia Nee-San, then maybe Pet wouldnt have been left behind Elienor Ojou-Sama forced Pet to sit down in a chair and began brushing her tail-fur. Pet isnt a fox! Pet is a cat! Pet seemed to recall from somewhere that Kitsunemimi enjoyed having their tails brushed, but Pet was certain that Nekomimi did not. The whole affair was exceedingly uncomfortable, it made her spine twitch with each stroke of the brush. But it will be over faster if Pet doesnt- Nnh! -struggle. Indeed, Pet had tried to get away from Elienor Ojou-Sama before, several times in fact. But Elienor Ojou-Sama would simply track her down somehow and force Pet back into the chair to be brushed. Brushing Pets head would be good Stahlia Nee-San would rub Pets head sometimes, which always felt good. Much better than having her tail brushed. That just made Pets fur stand on end. A particularly sharp tug caused Pets tail to shoot up straight in the air. Letting out a yowl, Pet jumped up and tried to get away, only for a hand to clamp down on her shoulder. Comon Stalis coming back in a few days. Dad got a magic communication from the knights! You want to look pretty dontcha?" Pet frowned, but eventually, she reluctantly returned to her seat. Pet wants to look pretty just Pet curled her tail around her waist. Let Pet brush Pets tail? Elienor Ojou-Sama looked forlorn, but after a moment she passed Pet the brush. Fine, but I get to do your ears! Pet nodded and adjusted her head so as to make it easier for Elienor Ojou-Sama to access her ears. Stahlia Nee-San is coming home finally Pet was very happy as she gently brushed her tail, being careful of the angle of the fur and curve of the bones. Pet woke up and sat up in bed. Sniffing the air, she stretched her back. Today! Elienor Ojou-Sama said Stahlia Nee-san is coming back today! Pet jumped out of bed and immediately fell onto her face. Sitting up, she tearfully rubbed at her nose and then realized that, sitting felt weird. Jumping to her feet, she spun in a circle, trying to inspect her back end. Its gone! Its gone!? Wheres Pets tail!? Indeed, Pets tail had seemingly vanished while she slept. Now wide awake, Pet realized something else. This isnt Stahlia Nee-Sans room Indeed, the room was fancy, far fancier than Pets cage had been, maybe even a bit fancier than Stahlia Nee-Sans room was. Pet darted her eyes fearfully around the room, taking in everything she could. Did Pet get sold? No, Stahlia Nee-San wouldnt do that. The bad man might but Nee-San wouldnt let him. Truth be told, the room contained a lot of very strange things. There was a small box made of metal and expensive glass, with tiny metal needles spinning around at different speeds. The bed was fairly plain all things considered. The Bed in Stahlia Nee-Sans room was gigantic and super fluffy. This bed was just barely big enough for two people to fit, and the disheveled bedding that covered it was a bit plain in contrast with the colorful walls and various paintings hung up. Speaking of paintings, what human would hang up pictures of beast-kin in their room? Stahlia Nee-san and Elienor Ojou-Sama both treated Pet well, but Pet doubted that either of them would go so far as to hang up paintings of demihumans. It wasnt all demihumans though, there were paintings of girls and boys too, all of them were fairly good-looking, though a few of them were dressed a bit indecently. As Pet continued surveying the room, she noticed that there was a gigantic mirror in one corner. Pet has never seen one this big before Carefully, Pet moved to an angle where she could see her own reflection, before jumping back in terror. That isnt Pet! Indeed, the face look back from the mirror was not Pets. It appeared to be an adult woman, probably in her mid to late twenties. With brown hair and amber-colored eyes, she couldnt have been more dissimilar to Pets own black hair and green eyes. More importantly, the woman was human. Pets ears and tail had vanished. Stumbling back away from the mirror, Pet kept her eyes locked onto the reflection. Who is Why? She looks so familiar Clutching at her head, the world began to melt around Pet. Just as it faded into blackness, she thought she heard a voice calling out, but couldnt make out the words. Pet woke up in Stahlia Nee-Sans bed. Groggily, she wiped the sleep away from her eyes and stretched. With a start, she jumped up. Right! Stahlia Nee-San is coming back today! Quickly, Pet moved around and got dressed. Only when she had finished getting completely ready, did she remember that she didnt actually know when Stahlia Nee-San was coming due to arrive. Well, Pet can just ask Elienor Ojou-Sama when she comes to brush my tail MY TAIL! Clamping both hands down on her back, Pet was relieved to find that her tail was still attached. But why did I think it was gone? Before Pet could come up with anything else, Elienor Ojou-Sama arrived. Pet come on! Shes going to be here in just a few minutes! Pet quickly ran to the window, the mystery of her tail long forgotten. Looking out, she could see a carriage making its way to the estate. Running her way down and out into the yard, Pet arrived just as the carriage was preparing to disembark its passengers. Pet slid to a halt, as much as she wanted to run to Stahlia Nee-San right this instant, she knew that do so would only cause problems, she would have to settle for watching from a distance. Pets tail stood up straight, and her ears went down flat as she saw the bad man come out of the carriage, leading Stahlia Nee-San by the hand. Whats worse, Stahlia Nee-San didnt seem uncomfortable or smell nervous like she usually did when the bad man was nearby. She smelled normal. Pet couldnt help herself but to glare at the bad man. Stahlia Nee-San is my Nee-San! What did you do to her!? Seeming to pick up on Pets distress, the bad man turned to face her. Pet locked eyes with the bad man, willing him to have his tail pulled off. He looked back somewhat impassively before suddenly grinning. Th-that jerk! Suddenly, Pet felt a tap on her shoulder. Spinning around, she saw a boy, or maybe it was a girl, floating cross-legged in the air. Hows life Claire...? No, you would be Pet... Oh, dont worry, only you can see me and before you talk, Im not allowing that. Pet was looking all around, wondering where this person had come from, and true to his words, when she tried asking them no sound came out of her mouth. The floating person nodded, Good, Im sorry about this Claire, youre probably not going to appreciate it much. But the way things are going, my brother and sister are really going to muck things up. You know how siblings are always taking your toys and doing as they please with them Well, it doesnt matter. Im going to go ahead and make an adjustment now. Pet, do your best for your Nee-San ok? Ok. Claire, try and help out George if you can alright? Good. The floating youth pointed a strange box that emitted light from one side at Pet, and flicked their finger across it. Suddenly, as if a fog had lifted from her mind, Pet remembered. She didn''t remember everything, but Pet remembered Claire. Or did Claire come to know about Pet? The line was blurry. One thing Pet knew, was that this would take some time to figure out, suddenly learning that you used to be another person... were two people? It seemed like Claire had known about things like other worlds before she died, so that was helping to keep Pet calm right now. Right, Claire... no, Pet, I she... we... fuck! Pet glanced around to make sure that nobody was paying very much attention to her. Only the bad man was even looking in her direction, and Pet didn''t care what he thought right now. The person with the "cellphone" had vanished at some point, leaving Pet alone in the corner of the grounds. Returning to Stahlia Nee-San''s room, Pet set about thinking. It was difficult for her to understand exactly what was going on. It was like she had a wall in her mind, and on one side of it was Claire, on the other was Pet. Pet could reach across to see Claire''s memories, but she didn''t think that Claire was actually there. A lot of Claire''s memories were of this place called "Japan". Apparently, there were lots of very powerful people present in this "Japan", people that Pet could maybe learn from. There were the words too... Indeed, Pet now realized that she had been speaking "Japanese". Back in her village, she had been the only one to use words like "Nee-san" and "Kaasan". The other Catkin had simply assumed that Pet was in a phase. Pet understands now, she thinks... There were a few memories from "Claire" that explained what was going on. It was likely some sort of "bleed-through" effect, some of these memories had been locked away, then that person had made a door in the wall, and now Pet could see all the memories from this Claire person. Suddenly, an errant thought flitted across Pet''s mind, as if it had been sent through the wall. {Finally! I got through!} Epilogue Two, F2: Another Time, Another Player Franklin, 21 Years Old, sometime in the 2020s Sitting in one of the computer labs at my university, Professor Dayson frowned and tapped a finger onto the side of her temple. Sitting on a table in front of us, was the burned-out carcass of Georges desktop. Claire Dayson, the professor who had taught Georges programming courses, and the one who had sent him an email asking for details about a survey he had apparently filled out just before dying. Let me get this straight. Her voice was a bit harsh, but then again, I had basically just dumped a massive conspiracy theory on her. You want me to believe that George, not only didnt intentionally kill himself, he was murdered. I nodded. By a game development company. I nodded again. After signing up for a beta test? I nodded a third time. I mean, youre skipping some of the finer points of my theory, but thats basically it. Professor Dayson sighed, Look, Franklin. This isnt some anime with conspiracies and mafiosos or whatever. I nodded, I know Professor, but I just need to know. Cant you just look and see if we can recover any data off his hard drive? Anything at all. Otherwise Im worried I might have been the reason he did it I uh, I said some things to him in the cafeteria Maybe my attempt at guilt-tripping her got through because Claire uncrossed her arms after a moment. Fine Ill admit, I am a little bit curious about that survey he mentioned, so Ill look. But bring the computer to my house. Im not snooping through a dead students stuff at work. Thats a little cold professor I get he wasnt the most polite, but your sort of just blowing off his death like it doesnt affect you at all I nodded and collected Georges stuff, before making my way towards the door. As I passed by, I caught a reflection in the glass of the window; Professor Dayson was staring at Georges seat while clenching and unclenching her fists. I chose not to comment about it. I guess shes just putting on a front man I feel like a dick now, asking her to go through his things but I have to know for sure. That evening, I arrived at Claire Daysons residence. She lived alone with her husband, however, she was one of those college professors who acted like a hip high school teacher; her husband was somewhat used to students visiting their residence with questions or work projects during off-hours. As such, he greeted me at the door. After introducing myself, he directed me towards one of the rooms in the back of the house. Walking in, I let out an involuntary startled gasp. The room was filled with various anime paraphernalia, from posters and figurines to blue-rays and box sets. Sitting in the middle of all this, in front of a workstation, was Professor Dayson. What the hell? Claire Dayson is a weeaboo? I myself was somewhat familiar with the anime subculture, I watched a lot of popular shows and even read a few light novels. But this was excessive. Professor I began, only for her to wave me off with a quick hand gesture. I know, I don usually bring students to this room. The only reason Im letting you in is because of how sensitive the topic is. Dont. Say. A. Word. I nodded hurriedly; seeing as I had no idea Professor Dayson was such a fervid follower of 2D media, she was most definitely closeted. A professor with this level of addiction would be a campus legend. I placed Georges desktop, which I had been carrying, onto the workstation. Professor Dayson nodded and started quickly removing the side panels, exposing the internal components. As we removed the blackened outer panel, we were both surprised to find that the inside was pristine. Professor Dayson frowned and started tapping her temple, This is with how much damage the case had suffered, I was expecting the internals to be a massive pile of melted silicon but it looks like it could just be turned on. The police didnt remove the hard drive or anything? I shook my head, No, this is exactly how it was given back to me. As far as Im aware they didnt even open it. Professor Dayson eyed the screws, where some of the tar had been scraped off by her screwdriver mere moments ago. Nodding her head to indicate her agreement, she motioned to a monitor that was sitting on a side table, Bring me that while I bypass the front panel power switch. I nodded and brought the monitor over to Professor Dayson while she messed around with a bit of wire. Connecting the monitor to the desktop, we secured a cable from the PSU into a wall outlet. Unsurprisingly, the completely intact internal workings of the computer seemed to boot up just fine. Displayed on the screen was Georges welcome screen. Professor Dayson moved the mouse and selected the profile icon. Given the security of his phone, the lackluster security on his computer was perhaps to be suspected, and we were able to get access easily enough. After a moment, the computer displayed Georges desktop. Now, this this is too fucking weird. The only icon on his desktop was a small jpeg of a planet with a different plate structure than the Earth, labeled NewLife.exe. Professor Dayson and I shared a look before she double-clicked the icon. What opened up was a screen reading Life in Progress, please log into a different account. Next to me, I heard a nervous chuckle. Its almost like those books you read about being stuck into another world isnt it I shot Professor Dayson a hard look. Really? George is dead, and you''re going to try and play into some sort of weeb thing? Catching my eyes, Professor Dayson glanced away, Sorry, that was in poor taste wasnt it I nodded, and pulled Georges phone out of my pocket. If his first account doesnt work, I can just use his second one. I navigated the menu to go back to the log-in screen, and input the account key I pulled out of Georges email. What greeted me was the model a boy, or perhaps a young man, who looked a bit like myself, only a handful of years younger. Accompanying the figure, was some status information that was presumably the status of my character. I frowned, George was saying something about a survey? Professor Dayson, who had been reading the status information nodded. He said that he had to take a really weird survey before he was given the code to make his account. Presumably, he took it again for that second code you just used. I nodded, her hypothesis made sense. Well, he said that his computer caught fire after he clicked on the play button so I guess thats what we should do next. I moved the mouse over to click play, when Professor Dayson suddenly tackled me away! What the hell!? What are you? I was startled into silence by the look of horror on Professor Daysons face. Following her gaze, I saw smoke coming out of the tower, and the screen was emitting light far brighter than an LCD monitor should have been capable of. Professor Dayson whirled around and stared me hard in the face. You just had to go and click it! As soon as you said what happened I knew! I knew it was something like this! I could only stare blankly, S-something like what? Claire glared at me, An Isekai, an other world transfer. Fuck! So many of my online friends would love this, but I have a husband! God damn it The light of the computer had now filled the entire room, outside the door, I could hear Professor Daysons husband pounding and shouting something. But an odd buzzing was suffusing the air, preventing me from being able to make out what he was saying. Shit, we should probably try and run I got up and tried the door, but it wouldnt budge. Professor Dayson was watching me, with a few tears starting to trickle down her face. She took a deep breath and nodded, Franklin, this is super important. Dont tell anyone youre from another world. If they ask you to fight a demon lord say no. If theres an adventurers guild, sign up for it; you can usually make good money that way. Try and find me if you can, Ill do my best to find you. If you meet a god or goddess on the way over be careful and watch out fo- There was a loud explosion, and my world went dark. Epilogue Three, For the Kingdom Percival von Drakas, Thirty Years Old, Twelfth Month of 947 And how did the situation develop? My younger brother, Rupert von Drakas nodded. Our esteemed eldest brother was unable to locate the demon, as we suspected, he is incompetent. I frowned. I had always dislike Rupert, my youngest brother had always struck me as something of a schemer. When he was little, he would amuse himself by setting up elaborate plots to entrap the palace servants. Strangely, his targets were always those who would later turn out to be guilty of some crime. In a way, his actions were benefitting the kingdom, but his methods It seemed there was nothing he would not do. Once, a maid was caught sleeping with a few of the guards. Rupert had arranged for her to consume a large amount of an aphrodisiac, then thrown her in with the palace dogs. He was barely fifteen at the time. He might have been one of the princes, but there were some things even he couldnt say, and accusations against the first prince were among them. Rupert, you know you shouldnt speak ill of brother Antoine. Even with the early intelligence provided by this Stahlia, a demon of that level would have no issues fleeing. It took a few days to assemble the punitive force after all. Rupert was looking at the moon off in the distance, but he reacted to my words. You''re right. Forgive me, I spoke above my station. I nodded, But of course, you are my brother. Even if we must compete for fathers favor, we are still family. Rupert nodded, swirling his glass of wine as he turned his gaze back outside the window and up at the moon. The silence continued for several minutes before I felt compelled to fill it. So brother, have you given any thought to marriage? Of course on the surface this was merely an idle question, something to fill the gap. But it would still give me some useful information; whoever Rupert married had a chance to one day become queen. Honestly, for that reason, I was expecting Rupert would answer in the negative. He had never been one to covet the throne, he refrained from the games I would play with our elder brother. It had been a great surprise to me when Rupert approached me two years ago, offering to support my bid over that of our elder brother. When I questioned him, he stated he was arranging a union between two young nobles that would greatly benefit the country, however one of the nobles, the girl, was descended from the deposed Despita dukedom. As such, Rupert sought to borrow my influence in order to smooth over any tensions this might cause. Of course I had looked into it, and then agreed to Ruperts request. If I could gain the support of those nobles in his own faction, and all I had to do was redirect some of the pushback towards one marriage from my own faction of nobles, well it was a bargain. Since then, we had been having these meetings once every other month or so in order to go over our plans for the future. I took a sip of my wine as Rupert turned back to answer my question. Rupert nodded, As a matter of fact, I have. I dont mind telling you, brother, it will be announced at the start of the Academys next school year. I am to be engaged to Edith von Claurence, first daughter of Duke Claurence. We will be wed following her coming of age. My brothers declaration caused me to choke on my wine. The Claurence house was well known for their stance of neutrality, and while my brother was professed to have no interest in the crown, he was still a prince. There were very few people who honestly believed that he truly had no ambitions. Edith von Claurence I had heard that she made a move to align her family with your faction early in the school year but to think that you would truly make such a move, brother. I paused, and wet my throat. Rupert was once again looking out at the moon, a distant expression on his face. I reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Had we not been alone, this would have caused his gaurds no small amount of anxiety. Brother, do you truly intend to- the Kingdom. I strained my ears, trying to catch what he was saying. Rupert, what was- Suddenly, a sharp pain beset my chest. It felt like I was being stabbed through the stomach. Collapsing to my knees, I looked up in time to see Rupert turning towards me. For the good of the kingdom, I act only for the good of our kingdom. Everything I do is for the future of our country. I I am sorry, dear brother Percival, but I could not afford to delay any longer. With your death, bear witness to my resolve. My limbs were growing cold, and my vision was beginning to flicker in and out. I watched Rupert from a distance, wiping the rim of his wine glass. So it was poison huh In the end you decided to play the game as well Rupert Rupert von Drakas, Nineteen, Twelfth Month of 947. I watched my brother pass into Mortis embrace as I wiped the wine glass I had been using and placed it back on the table. It was imperative that this looked like an assassination so as to trigger an investigation. From there, Five would arrange things to frame my elder brothers faction. This would lend credence to my stance when I announced my intentions to pursue the throne out of a desire for justice, alongside my engagement with Lady Edith. If everything went according to plan, the majority of the nobles in my late brothers faction would side with me. That would most likely secure me the backing of three of the five Dukes. Duke Lawrence was already a member of my faction, and by marrying Edith von Claurence I was securing my connection to the formerly neutral Claurence house. Assuming that Duke Lester joined my faction out of a sense of revenge for his lord, I would hold the most power within the kingdom after my father. If he had any intelligence at all, my older brother would capitulate to me, but if chose to continue to play the game of thrones, then I would be forced to eliminate him as well. I may have to eliminate him anyways, lest he attempts to stab me in the back Everything is for Drakas. I just need to remember that all I do, I do for my country. Indeed, when Five had approached me regarding Stahlia and explained what his plans were, I knew I had to act, or else my country would perish. After all, who would have thought that a Hell King of all things would be working as the Kings enforcer? They were beings of myth, and yet the Fifth Seat, King of Wrath Satan was right here in Drakas. I looked down at my brothers body as it began to grow cold and laughed to myself, It is truly a shame brother you would have made a much better King than I but what the people need now is the strength to do what must be done, not a good king like yourself. Indeed, what the kingdom needed now was a strong hand to guide it down the only path to survival, even if they had to be guided kicking and screaming. For that, I would need to inherit the Divine Right. I would need to become the king myself. I would become king and side with the nine to go against the gods. Only by overthrowing the twelve and ushering in a new era could humanity survive what was to come. The future in the event of my failure I shuddered at the thought. I wiped my eyes and stepped outside, where Sitri was waiting for me. I glared at the she-bitch, though she didnt seem to care. After a moment, I shook my head, It is done, go take what you need. Sitri disappeared into the room and came out a few minutes later holding a vial of something I did not wish to know the name of. Well, with this I can finally advent Asmodea You sure you dont want to go a round or two before I leave Rupey? The whore licked her lips suggestively. I glared at her, You got the last ingredient for the advent. Get out of my country. She giggled in response to my order and shrugged her shoulders before skipping off down the hall. Working with demons how far I have fallen But given what was to come, I knew I was doing what I must. The next war, it wouldn''t be just one or two of the Hell Kings, Satan was using his connections in Drakas to arrange for all Nine to return. Perhaps I could have moved to stop him, but what would I have done? I was just a man. Now it was too late. I had helped Sitri to get her last component for the advent of the Third Seat. Drakas was well and truly in the camp of the demons now. Our survival would ensure the survival of the human race. Eventually, we would be able to fight back, but not now. Now we had to do what must be done to survive. I made my way out of the building to where a carriage was waiting, my driver was loyal and wouldnt talk. For the umpteenth time that night, I found myself gazing up at the moon. I suppose the God of Darkness bore witness to my sins this night What do you think? What do you think of what your chosen kingdom has become? Of course, I received no answer to my silent questions. Psycholor Some words regarding these, and how they will impact Arc 3 going forward. Like I said previously, I pushed the first sub arc of Arc 3 back, and moved the second one forward so that I could reevaluate Stahlia''s next outing. My commentary for each epilogue scene is tucked into a spoiler to save space. (Mostly the one for Envious Koneko is really long...) Envious Koneko The next sub arc will dive into Pet/Claire, it will involve them figuring out how things work, and contain a few flashbacks to Pet''s village pre-enslavement. I''m trying a very unique take on reincarnation with this one. If it wasn''t clear from Envious Koneko, Pet''s soul and Claire''s soul are sharing a body. For those of you who don''t remember who Claire is, she was George''s professor. She is also the "accidental" collection mentioned in Extra Chapter: The Watchers. If you were to ask me why they put Claire in a body that already had a soul, instead of a proper reincarnation, I would have to say "They probably figured it would be more interesting that way." Most questions about this "new" character I will not answer until after those three chapters, since they will be further explored there. I will address this one though, because I could see it being really common: "How is this different from Wentee/Stali?" Wentee/Stali are the same soul, their personality split off. Pet/Claire are two distinct souls. That means that everything requiring a soul is doubled for them, owing to the fact that they have two souls in one body. At the most basic level, consider Claire to be similar to Lord of Wisdom Raphael for Pet. (A skill from Tensura Slime) The original plan was for Claire to "overwrite" Pet when the memories came back. This would be because Pet only has four years of personality development against Claire''s 25ish, but I realized that was basically "killing" Pet as a character and bringing in Claire. But putting Claire too far away from Stahlia would fuck a lot of later plot up, so I came up with the idea of a shared body. If I can write the character(s) well, it should be extremely interesting. Another Time, Another Player Timeline wise: This takes place about a week after George died. Franklin is now confirmed to be the soul that Androgynous Youth is holding onto. He will show up again eventually. For the Kingdom This ties into Stahlia''s next outing. Specifically, the very obvious political upheaval that is going to follow the assassination of a prince, and the engagement of another. It''s time to play the game of thrones. Just kidding. I can''t write that well. 3-0 Recap + 3-1 C1: Dear Diary, Today I Died. Psycholor Sorry for this chapter being an hour late without notice. I preschedule chapters a few weeks in advance, with "Lorem Ipsum" as the only words in it. The real chapter is stored locally on my hard drive because I hate SH''s built in editor. Owing to me rearranging the release order for the first two sub arcs in arc 3 (as previously announced), I forgot to replace my Lorem Ipsum with the correct chapter text, and was stuck at work until 11:30, so I couldn''t fix it until I got home. Arant Chronicles Round One matchups have been announced! My character, Cardon Voss, will be facing off against Rn Lei in the opening fight! Lei was written by Plantorsomething and has a very interesting set of powers to work with in their fight with Cardon. The Author was an absolute delight to work with as well, a very good start to this collaborative story. Consider checking out one of their stories, Our Death Flags Are the Least We''re Worried About. It''s a fan re-write of My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending So, like with the start of Arc 2, I decided to throw together a recap of the story. Skip to the line "3-1 C1: Dear Diary, Today I Died." to skip the recap. Content warning for part of this chapter. It covers Pet''s life leading up to meeting Stahlia through a series of pseudo flashbacks. This includes a bit of what happens when she was first captured and then lived in the slave shop. It ends on a very happy note though, showing Pet first meeting Stahlia. 3-0 Arc 1&2 Recap Stahlia, Second Month of 948 Eleven years ago, I was born. It was my second time experiencing the phenomenon, though I dont actually remember the first time. My name is Stahlia von Ris, I am the daughter of Baron Ris, the appointed lord of Ris village, a large-sized frontier village at the foot of the Ris mountain range. Growing up in a village like that, I was able to lead a comparatively simple life. Things have only been getting worse and worse for me recently though. I have a mother, who though she has a weak constitution loves me very much. My father is strict with his idea of Noblesse Oblige, but I can tell he loves me in his own way. I also have a little brother, Rosin, but I left home for the Royal Academy when he was only two, so I dont know him very well. I had a little sister as well, but Rosial was kidnapped by this worlds version of the CIA when she was three, to be raised as an agent. Oh, did I not mention that? This is the second time I was born, and it was into another world. My first life was on a planet called Earth. I was a university student named George. Yea, George is a males name. See, I was a dude before I died. Remember to always read the fine print on those terms of service agreements, you never know what youre signing up for! Still, being a girl now isnt all that bad. Sure, it has its inconveniences, but once you get past those its not so different from being a male. Then again, the fact that my body has started reacting to guys is a bit frustrating. I also havent started periods yet, so I cant comment on that... though Im not exactly looking forward to the experience Then theres the fact that this world is in a sort of weird Middle Ages, so I dont have much say in who Im going to marry ok yea, I really dont know how I feel about being a girl now that I put everything out there like that. Speaking of marriage, Ive got my fiance already, despite being only eleven years old. Dominic is two years older than me, as well as one noble rank higher. He seems to have developed a strong infatuation towards me if his actions are anything to go by. From anyone elses perspective, this would be a dream marriage. But not for me, see, Im apparently something called The Champion of Winter one of four heroes representing the gods. One of the perks of my position lets me see mana, and Dominics mana is disgusting. Seriously, he looks like some sort of putrid diseased creature when I look at him with my divine eyes. He also seems to have some sort of power that influences women around him into a feeling of attraction or compels them to listen to him. Thankfully, it doesnt seem to be affecting me though that means the way I get all blushy around him is presumably the result of naturally budding romance not sure how I should feel about that From everything Ive said so far, my new life must sound kind of wild huh? Noble Status, Sister getting kidnapped by a government shadow agency, magic and mana, hero of the gods, gods, an arranged marriage with a surface level perfect catch? Well, what if I told you that was just the cliff notes? My maid is an assassin for the order that kidnapped my sister, but she betrayed them to work for me, and were planning to bring down the government if we have to in a bid to get my sister back. Im regarded as a prodigy who has revolutionized Alchemy and Mathematics, I can use a very rare form of magic called Blood Magic that lets me manipulate mana directly, had a face-to-face chat with death, and made a deal with a Succubus that likely lead to the resurrection of one of the Nine Hell Kings. All in only eleven years. Still, its not all crazy. I do some normal things as well; like hanging out with my girlfriends. Sana is an apprentice priestess who comes from the same village as me. Sarala is a talented mage in her own right, and we often practice our magic together. Edith is Saralas patron. Her full name is Edith von Claurence, and shes even higher ranked than Dominic! What do you mean my friends are a little out there? My life has some normal stuff in it! Wait, what was that, Jacqueline? A letter from Edith? Give it here! Hmm What!? Edith is engaged!? To the Third Prince!? 3-1 C1: Dear Diary, today I Died. Claire Dayson, 26 Years Old, Sometime in the 2020s The light from the computer was blinding. I watched Franklin get up and run to the door. Of course, it was locked. There was no way they would be letting us out, whoever they were. Not after we had come so far along in the process. I could vaguely hear my husbands voice calling out from the other side of the door. Ill probably never see him again The thought brought tears to my eyes, but there wasnt anything I could do about it. Be strong Claire. I channeled the spirit of the Fertility Goddess, Ai-chan. Right, one of my students is coming with me, and another of my students is presumably waiting on the other side. I locked eyes with Franklin, there wasnt likely to be a lot of time left, Franklin, this is super important. Dont tell anyone youre from another world. If they ask you to fight a demon lord say no. If theres an adventurers guild, sign up for it; you can usually make good money that way. Try and find me if you can, Ill do my best to find you. If you meet a god or goddess on the way over be careful and watch out fo- The room filled completely with light, and then everything went dark. -r offers that sound too good to be true I was in some kind of black space. Huh? Isnt this the part where a hot goddess, or in my case a hunk, comes out and begs me to save the world? I looked around, but it was pitch black, I couldnt even see my hands in front of my face. I opened my mouth to try calling out for someones attention, but no sound seemed to come out. Well, this isnt how things are supposed to go At this point, I was simply confused. Did I not get Isekaid? Did Franklin and I just simply die? No. That was too trope-like to not be an isekai. Maybe it was just Franklin who got Isekaid, and I got stuck in the space between worlds! The last thought made me shiver nervously. I tried walking in a direction in the darkness for what seemed like hours, or it might have been only a few minutes. I couldnt tell time after all, not without anything to see to gauge its passage. Then again, I also couldnt tell if I was even walking in a straight line. For all I knew, I could be going in circles. There were no visible landmarks. Well, theres no visible anything really. I could tell I was moving through space though. Like how you can sense your hands and feet even if you cant see them. I could still do that much. Eventually, even if I was going in circles, I would have to run into something. At least, the thought of that eventuality, the hope, was what was keeping me going. I walked for an incredibly long time. Eventually, I began to grow tired, and before I knew it, I was dozing off. I only knew I was dozing because I was suddenly dreaming. At least, I thought I was dreaming. I still couldnt see anything. But my other senses were working. I was able to smell incredibly well. The world was full of amazing scents, though it was honestly also a bit overwhelming. Was that like a sort of limbo while my soul was loading or something? Did I get reincarnated as a species that can only see with its nose? That would be annoying. Honestly, a lot of the newer stories were starting to run with the idea of a non-human protagonist. It even got to the point where people might harass the author for making their main characters human I didnt ever do stuff like that, but it did happen. Still, if I can only see via smell, this is going to be tough. I obviously dont know what my students smell like though they would smell differently now, wouldnt they? Reincarnation and all that. I tried opening my mouth, but it refused to obey me properly. Instead, it started crying. The crying was loud incredibly so. So, my hearing is pretty good as well I wish I could stop crying. It looks like this is a setting where you start out as an infant those are the worst! It always takes so long to get anywhere with the plot! Thankfully, I stopped crying as a new scent approached. It smelled safe and affectionate. I never expected I would be attributing those adjectives to a scent, but that was what it smelled like. After a moment, I smelled something I could recognize, although it was a lot more pungent than I remembered Milk? So, this safe and affectionate thing must be mom. That confirms Im at least some sort of mammalian. I was pretty sure babies could see fairly early on, at least in terms of simple light versus dark. That made me wonder if maybe I was blind. Well, if worse comes to worst, Ill just have to learn to deal with it. Not like I can do anything else. My mouth latched onto the offered, presumably, nipple without me telling it to do so. I also cant seem to get this body to do what I want it to do. Then again, it is a baby still, hopefully control comes with time I resigned myself to a long bout of boredom until I was able to figure out how to move about on my own. I woke back up without the ability to smell or hear in minute detail. Everything was still dark to the eye. Well, so much for that. My brain must just be hyperactive. And dreamed up a reincarnation for me while I slept I was honestly really saddened by that. Without anything further to do, I started walking. I walked for what felt like several more hours. Thankfully, it didnt seem like I would get hungry or thirsty in this place, which, seeing as I was dead probably made sense. Maybe Im actually just in a coma at the hospital, and Ill wake up any moment now hahaha I kept walking. Endlessly walking. I started recounting the plots of all of the Light Novels and Anime I had watched, at least the ones I could remember. It was a way to pass the time and retain my sanity. Two days, and I was already wishing for oblivion. Eventually, I began to grow tired. Sighing to myself, though no sound actually came out, I pushed onwards until I collapsed from exhaustion. Again, I started dreaming. This time, however, in addition to the keen sense of smell and sharp hearing, I was also surrounded by indistinct lights and vague floating shapes. I could see. I wandered around, examining some of the shapes. They were all amorphous, sort of like a thin foam or a thick mist. They would billow and contort. Occasionally, one of them would take a more definitive shape, like the outline of a person or some mundane object. But just as quickly, they would fade back into indistinction. As I walked about, I noticed a few more things. Firstly, the smells and sounds were omnipresent. It didnt matter where I was, or what angle I faced, I could smell and hear just as well. Of course, they did seem to fade or lose detail, just not based on anything I was doing. The second thing I noticed, was that this space was vast. The true size I could only guess at, but it was seemingly massive. I was able to estimate the size, because as I walked around examining the various mist shapes, I found an edge. Beyond this edge, there were no more mist shapes forming, only a thick inky blackness. Right, even for a dream, this is all so surreal... what the hell is going on? Curious and confused, I made my way over to one of the mist shapes that was currently in the form of an amorphous cloud. As I got closer to it, the shape began to take on a more defined form. Curious, as this had never happened when I was nearby, I leaned in. The form was that of a person, though still indistinct. As the shape took form, A part of it happened to envelop my head. I jolted back, but not before a stream of vague information entered my head. This is my older brother? Wait, have I reincarnated after all? Curious, I approached another of the mist shapes. This one also took a bit of a shape as I walked over to inspect it. Are they responding to my intentions? I tried it out by approaching a few more mist shapes, and as I did, each began to morph as I got close. Ok, so now I know how to trigger the mist, but what exactly does it do? What is it for? I wandered until I found the one that was my brother. It didnt seem like he had a name or anything, at least not based on the information I had gotten when I stuck my head into the mist. Speaking of which I leaned forward, far enough for my head to pass just inside the surface of the mist figure. This time, I spent more time analyzing the information. Hmm its not really all that specific These seem like the random thoughts of a three-year-old actually. It has that sort of rambling, lacking information spew of words my sisters kid spouts off. If I had to organize it, I would say that I can pull three things out of this mess. First, this is apparently my older brother. Second, Hes nice. Most importantly, third; based on the descriptions of how he looks, I would have to guess that hes a nekomimi, usagimimi, or kitsunemimi. Something with pointy ears and a noticeable tail. I stopped to think for a moment. If my brother is a nekomimi, doesnt that mean Im one too? I felt my heart flutter a bit. Dying and never seeing my husband again is awful but at least my new life is looking up My thoughts of my husband killed all my prior excitement over the idea of becoming a nekomimi girl. After a bit of time to get over the sudden pangs of sadness, I cracked my knuckles while looking at the my brother mist figure. Well, I cant keep calling you my brother. Going to need a name. Also going to need to figure out how to actually call you it, but I can do that at my leisure. If I had to guess, my issues are stemming from this body just being too young for my adult mind. It should get better as I age. I thought for a bit, but couldnt think of a good name for him. Especially after I realized that he already most likely had a name, and my new body just hadnt heard it yet, or hadnt realized the significance of it, thus not tying the name to the information in the mist figure. Well, for lack of a better term right now, Im going to be the adorable nekomimi girl imouto-kun! I hereby dub thee, Onii-chan! Thankfully, there was nobody present to witness my cringe-inducing pose, complete with an upturned chin and pointing finger. I was twenty-five a few days ago Oh well, Im less than one now! Cute girls do cute things! Except when they slam their head against a knife! Satisfied, I began moving about the mist shapes, coming up with nicknames for each one. my mother became Kaasan, my sister became Nee-San, and my father, Tousan. All in all, I probably named over fifty of these mist shapes, simply trying to pass the time. Eventually, I would probably wind up back in that all-black space, so I was going to make use of these mist shapes for some stimulation while I could. It did not take long, and seemingly just as I blinked, I was back in the black space. I sighed and picked a direction to start walking. I walked and walked, then just to mix things up, I walked some more. I swear I have to be going in circles. Either that or every time I wake up here, I get reset back to the start Ill have to try and come up with a way to mark where I wake up or not. I dont exactly have anything I could drop, and wouldnt be able to see it even if I did. Honestly, at this point, I had more or less given up on finding anything here and was walking just in case it made me fall asleep faster, so I could go back to my mist shapes. After passing the point where I was fed up with walking, I finally began to feel tired again. Gratefully, I lay myself down and closed my eyes. When I woke up, I was back in the mist shape place. Or, at least I should be. I was seemingly looking through my actual eyes, and smelling with my actual nose. Hearing with my actual ears as well. I was Ecstatic! I turned my head around looking for a mirror. Or, at least I tried to. My head refused to obey what I telling it to do. Why cant I control my body!? I tried a few more things, but no matter what I tried doing, nothing moved. My body, though I was starting to doubt that, seemed to be content to simply lie on its back and stare at the ceiling while kicking its legs off the side of what was presumably a bed. I wasnt sure what it was doing. I seemed to be in some kind of hut or cabin, based on my limited field of view, and according to the smells and sounds that I was still passively registering the environment was likely rural. I felt my ears twitch, which took a second or two for me to realize thats what had happened. This confirmed my early suspicions that I was some kind of beast-kin. Oh, I hope its a nekomimi! An okamimimi would be good too, but if I had to pick, I would say a nekomimi for sure! kitsunemimi girls are amazing, but those tails just seem like they would be so impractical to actually care for. My inane ramblings aside, the cause of my ears twitching soon made itself known as my body sat up and turned itself to face the source of the noise. Kaasan! Okaeri! The adult nekomimi glanced at me with exasperated eyes. Felicity, how many times has mother told you? Its Mom and Welcome back. I felt a wave of confusion wash over me, or thinking about it, probably not me, but rather the nekomimi girl Felicity I was presently spectating. The confusion seemed to stem from believing that what she had in fact said, was mom and welcome back. It seems like I might have screwed up were those mist things like formative memories or something? Was I walking around in some poor little girls head and imprinting anime culture into her mind before it was even fully developed? Thats just plain fucked. I wasnt going to address the fact that I could seemingly understand what the mother was saying; presumably, it was something simple, like the fact that I was in Felicitys head allowed me to draw on her own knowledge of the words meanings. Before Felicity could voice her confusion, there was a horn that sounded off in the distance. Given how keen these nekomimis ears were, for it to be so faint it must have been quite the distance indeed. Through Felicitys eyes, I saw our mother stiffen, while from Felicity herself I experienced a wave of fear and apprehension. So whatever that horn is, it probably isnt good. It must be particularly bad if Felicity is able to understand it despite being a toddler. My worries were confirmed when Felicitys mother grabbed her hand and pulled her up and into her arms before turning and bolting out the door. Emerging out onto the street, I took the opportunity to memorize as much of the fleeting detail as I could. Unfortunately, it wasnt much. Felicity obviously wasnt cooperating and looking all over the place, she instead kept her gaze fixed firmly on mother. It was an admirable showing of trust from someone so young, but it was a bit frustrating for me. From what I could gather as we ran through the village, it seemed to be made up entirely of nekomimi like Felicity and her mother. The homes were poor, appearing to be cobbled together from whatever was at hand, rather than constructed based on any sort of plan. It was located in what was likely some kind of forest, based on the surrounding thick trees, and all the people who lived here were most likely related. At least they all had similar hair and eye colors. So mimi-kin, or at least nekomimi in this world seem to be of the tribal variety, at least I hope its that, and not a case of inbreeding. I couldnt tell where Felicity was being carried to, due to her looking in the opposite direction from where her mom was running, but I could see the villagers beginning to prepare for something, a lot of the men and even the majority of the woman were running past Felicity in the opposite direction, all of them carrying spears or swords. Some had bows strapped to their back. From what I could tell, it seemed that other than a handful of armed nekomimi, only the children, extremely old, and mothers of younger children were going with us. Its an evacuation then? What on earth is coming after this village? In the distance, I could now hear the faint sound of horse hoofs beating the dirt. Or rather, Felicity could hear them, and because I was in her head I was aware of them as well. The sound caused a new wave of fear to rush over her, and I felt the odd sensation of ears being pressed flat against the top of my head for the first time. I could feel our mothers heart beating furiously through Felicitys chest. I could also smell something in the air, emanating from all of the people running away from the village. It was fear. Before long, the distant screams started. There was also a sound that I vaguely recognized as the clashing of metal, though that sound seemed to trigger a fear of an unknown threat in Felicity, indicating she had no experience with combat. Part of me was also afraid, after all, I seemingly shared Felicitys senses of sight, smell, and hearing. Although had no experience with it, I could imagine that our link extended to other senses, like taste and pain. On the other hand, I also felt disconnected in a way. After all, I was basically watching a movie, I had very little if any control over what Felicity would do. I could give some input if I was back in the Mist room like previously. Though now that I realized that those mist shapes had been the establishing consciousness of a little nekomimi girl, I really had no interest in poking at them further, I had done enough damage already. I pushed back at the feeling of trepidation, it was a trick I had learned standing in front of classrooms. I wish there was something I could do to help though It just went against my character to stand by and do nothing when a child was in trouble. Unfortunatally, all of my knowledge regarding fleeing, fighting, and survival came from anime and light novels. Felicitys mother would be much better at this than I would, if I could even do anything at all. As they continued running, the screams eventually faded along with the clashing sounds of metal. It wasnt due to us getting far away from them, rather it was because the battle was resolving. Based on the now intermittent and rapidly approaching horse hooves. I could feel Felicitys building fear, and even caught a few flashes of movement in the distance. Suddenly, a cry. Felicitys ears snapped to face the sound followed quickly by her head. Bearing down on them was a horse, with a man wearing metal armor riding it. I couldnt tell what race he was, owing to his body being almost entirely covered, but my gut was telling me he was human. It would just fit the trope after all The rider bore down on Felicity and her mother, swinging down with some sort of club that looked padded. So its exactly that, slavers. The club struck Felicitys mother and knocked her off her feet. Felicity went sailing through the air and into a tree. I felt the impact and the world went dark. I sat up, back in the black space. Looking around to confirm my lack of surroundings, I hurriedly got to my feet and started running. I have to get back. It seems like each time I go away from her, a year or two pass for Felicity. I need to get back and find some way to communicate with her! I might not have a lot of knowledge about how this world works, but I do have meta-knowledge of the genre though this isnt exactly fiction, its reality so I have to be careful. Either way, what I know can probably help her, at least a bit. I ran, with the desire to help Felicity firmly lodged in my heart. That was probably why I ran into a wall, literally. I had finally reached the edge of this black space, after what was probably multiple days of just running. If it wasnt for the temporary breaks when I got to take a peek at Felicitys world, I likely would have gone insane. I pushed a hand against the wall, testing its strength. Well, theres no way to know if this showed up because I actually reached the edge, or if its like those mist shapes, and is responding to my desire to reach Felicity. The wall was hard and at least taller than I could reach by jumping as high as I could. I briefly toyed with the idea of running left or right with my hand on the wall, but tossed the plan right out; I had no way of knowing if there even was a gate or doorway. If there was, I also didnt know if it was left or right. Running further would at best be a fifty/fifty and at worse be pointless. Lets operate on the assumption that Im a free consciousness right now. So far the tropes tend to line up with that idea. In that case, I should be able to interact with this wall and send something through it. Presumably, if we follow the tropes, Felicitys mindscape is on the other side. I remembered how it had worked with the mist shapes and tentatively pressed my forehead against the wall. Then, I thought about how I wanted to check up on Felicity. To my surprise and relief, I was able to get a sense of her. The surprise and relief were immediately met with sadness and despair, once I realized the condition she was in. It wasnt as distinct as when I was physically present in her mind, instead, I got a rough impression of what she was feeling, and a few mere snippets of input from her senses. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it was like the difference between talking to someone in person and video calling over a dial-up connection; rather than a video feed, I was getting a slideshow, and the slides were less than 144p. Still, it was something. From what I could tell, Felicity was dead to the world. She was in a cage in a darkly lit room, surrounded by the smell of death and disease. Her mother was nowhere to be found, but there was an older nekomimi girl, probably fourteen to sixteen years old that was caring for Felicity the best she could. The older girl was seemingly doing a decent job, as while she was covered in bruises and small cuts from what I would assume were beatings, Felicity was relatively unharmed if a bit hungry. I pulled back from the wall, sickened. I had grown up in a first-world country, and as such was only tangentially aware of things like this being confronted by it firsthand would be emotionally devastating for any normal person. I grabbed at my mouth, forcing down the vomit that threatened to spill. Well, I dont know if anything would actually come out, but I feel like it would, and thats something I would rather not test. After taking several breaths to calm myself, I pressed my head back against the wall. This time, I tried to force through something, instead of pulling something out. I selected a happy memory, one of a slice of life anime I had watched and thought about it as hard as I could while willing my thoughts to penetrate. Of course, Felicity would only get some tangential feelings and images, assuming her connection was as poor as mine was to her. It seemed to work, as when I checked again, she was a bit less dead to the world and perhaps a tiny bit happy. Almost like when someone wakes up from a pleasant dream. Still, sending just that one thought had been incredibly tiring and I felt my eyelids drooping. I guess Im going over the wall now. I hope things are easier on that side, like when I was interacting with the mist shapes. When my consciousness returned I was, predictably, inside of Felicitys head. The room smelled absolutely foul this close. There was also a cold smell that made my nonexistent spine crawl. It seemed to be coming off of the older nekomimi girl that was in the cage with Felicity. I dont really want this confirmed, but thats probably what death smells like Felicity was watching two human kids, a boy and a girl, who were arguing about a price for Felicity. Apparently, Felicity looked vaguely reminiscent of the girls dead sister. This is a good opportunity for Felicity to get out of here I dont know if this is a good idea, but it cant be worse than staying in this cage and dying. I imagined myself pressing my head against the wall, and felt the world around me sharpen slightly. The difference was almost imperceptible, like going from a 720p video to 1080p but not changing the window size. Still, it implied I had formed a connection link. I sent a general impression to Felicity that she should go with the girl. I was very careful to avoid imprinting anything permanent, though given that I had zero experience with this sort of thing, there was no way I could be sure I had succeeded. The feelings being transmitted to me by Felicity seemed to be a developed mild interest in the girl, and she shifted her gaze to look at the girl. When she did, my heart sank as the girl gave a start, and then adopted a much colder demeanor. I fucked up This thought was further reinforced when the sale was finalized. The boy, whose name turned out to be Dominic, gestured at the girl, This is Stahlia, she''s your owner now. What is your name? Felicity nodded and responded simply enough, Pet''s name is Pet. The boy grimaced almost imperceptibly, but the girl seemed nonplussed. Fuck! What did I sign this poor mimi-kin up for!? I swallowed my nonexistent spit and tried to send Felicity a mental impression to just do what they say. I would have to see if I could somehow extend my limited influence in a way that allowed me to break the slave magic, and do that without harming Felicity. And I dont even know how magic works in this world. Im going to have to bullshit protagonist my way through this and learn on my own. If I can even use magic in the first place While I was ignoring Felicitys surroundings, she was dressed in some simple clothes, and left in the custody of Stahlia and Dominic. As soon as we got out of the slave market and into the street, I saw Stahlia grow incredibly pale and swallow several times. She directed a look at Felicity before shifting her feet uncomfortably and looking away. Oh? Maybe its not as bad as I thought? As if she could hear me and was trying to prove my words correct, Stahlia arranged a proper meal for Felicity, directing some nothings at Dominic about some sort of monster she apparently already had. Felicity was radiating emotions of shock and surprise at the food that was placed in front of her, however, she was too afraid to start eating. I felt a bit warm and fuzzy as I was confronted with Felicitys inner turmoil. Shes probably never seen food this nice, her village didnt look very prosperous from the few glimpses I saw when her mother was fleeing, and then she was a slave I was starting to feel exhausted, so I would probably only be able to send Felicity one more thought before I was kicked back to the black space. I imagined pressing my forehead against a wall again, and sent her the image that everything will be ok, eat. Felicity seemed to pick up on my thought, and began eating the food. As she took the first bite, I felt a wave of jealous envy wash over her, and she began eating as quickly as possible. After a moment, the jealousy abated and she continued eating while occasionally shooting a look at Stahlia. I thought I heard a brief chiming noise, like a notification, but I didnt have much time left to investigate; as I predicted, sending that thought took the rest of my energy and I faded back into the black space. I sat up and reached around, quickly finding the wall. I thought about immediately sending Felicity another few thoughts so as to tire myself and regain my more direct connection, but until I knew more about the side effects of direct contact like that, I would probably be better served simply watching and observing, only directly reaching out when it was an emergency. Though that notification-sounding noise had been a tad concerning, given the tropes associated with something like that, I didnt think it was worthy of risking causing potential damage to myself or Felicity by forcing a connection so rapidly just to investigate. I pressed my head against the wall and was met by the same grainy information feed. If I was interpreting it correctly, Felicity and Stahlia were likely in the Latters room. Stahlia was standing over Felicity, speaking to her, and none of that. When its only the people who are here now, call me however you want, not master or mistress. Felicity paused for a moment, and I got the general idea that she was struggling to determine how she felt about Stahlia before calling her anything. After a moments thought, she spoke up in a cheerful voice, Pet understands, Stahlia Nee-San! So shes decided to think of this Stahlia as a sort of older sister, that should work wait, Stahlia, excuse me Stahlia? Why are you making that face!? Indeed, Stahlia had let out a surprised Huwa?! cry, and even spit out her tea when she heard Nee-San. Despite the fact that the word had been said in Japanese. Idly, I noted a maid in the room who didnt react to Stahlia at all, and merely began cleaning up the tea that had landed everywhere. As if to solidify my suspicions, Stahlia then grimaced as if she was aware of how cringy randomly inserting Japanese into sentences was. Stahlia is definitely a reincarnated person or at least she has knowledge of them. I think I might have really messed up! The first rule of an Isekai, if there are other Reincarnations not from your class, they are often more dangerous to you than the nobles or monsters! Psycholor A note on Japanse. Yea, this chapter is cringy as hell. I''m trying to portray Claire as a turbo weeb. For people with less culture than Claire see the spoiler for some translations of her cringe. Neko = cat, mimi = ears. Nekomimi = cat ears, or "Person with cat ears". Okami = wolf, Usagi = rabbit, Kitsune = fox (more specifically, the nine-tails variety). All of the above animals + mimi = "person with [animal] ears" Kaasan = "mother", informal Tousan = "father", informal Nee-San = "Older Sister", semi formal Nii-San = "Older Brother" semi formal Okaeri = "Welcome back/home", informal Next chapter will see Claire''s perspective of EvilGod creating a "doorway" in the soul wall, and have a fair bit of dialogue between Pet and Claire, working things out and doing some experiments with their new connection. And a final announcement the story is about to hit 100k total views, isn''t that exciting? I''m going to be "cleaning up" Tricked over the course of this week. Essentially, I''ve got a bit of extra time so I''m going to go through all the oldest chapters and updating their formatting to match what I currently do. I am also going to reevaluate the Genres and Tags I have set, based on how the story has developed, and update the synopsis. If you have any remarks or suggestions please share them in the comments. 3-2 C2: Dear Diary, Today I Became We Psycholor A note regarding the clean up I''m doing. There were a couple minor changes to 1-1 and 1-2, these changes do not alter the plot in anyway but are contained in the spoiler below, for anyone who is curious. 1-1: Adjusted Eric Gowson''s (George''s default character, before making Stahlia) Life Summary Screen so that it matches the one Stahlia has access to through her [Custom Class]. 1-2 A user pointed out an "exploit" I overlooked, where George could have gotten 500 extra Life Points by buying Prodigy I later on instead of first. Instead of correcting the text to make that exploit impossible, I added a paragraph where George realizes he missed out, and explains why he can''t go back and do it retroactively. *Buys Prodigy I* I was left with 500 LP to spend on my ability scores so I started playing with the arrows. Unlike when I bought Prodigy, it seems I could use the down arrow to undo a purchase. After fiddling for a while I had more or less figured out how it worked. Firstly, I could not reduce an individual score below its minimum value. That minimum value, rather than E, was the value the scores had hit after I purchased Prodigy. I suppose buying Prodigy and then refunding the S rank intelligence to get more LP than I spent would have been a bit broken. fuck me. I could have raised my skills first then bought prodigy I was a bit dejected by this, but there didnt seem to be a way to replace [Prodigy I] now that I had bought it. I decided to look into this on my next character and moved on. Underlined sentences are the new ones. 1-2 Removed the existence of the "Serf" social strata, because this literally never comes up again, and I have no plans to use it. And regarding the synopsis, genre, and tag changes: Genres: Adult and Adventure have been removed, added Psychological. NOTE: There will still be an "adventure", it just wound up taking a lot longer to get to that point than I planned. Tags: "Hidden Abilities" changed to "Hiding True Abilities" "Selfish Protagonist" changed to "Seven Deadly Sins" "Godly Powers" changed to "Divine Protection" "Elemental Magic" changed to "Magic" "Love Interest Falls in Love First" changed to "Engagement" NOTE: The romance hasn''t changed. However "Slow Romance" and "LIFILF" were mildly redundant, and Scribble Hub only lets me pick 25 tags. There is no "Arranged Engagement" tag, so I had to settle for "Engagement". "Non-Linear Story Telling" changed to "Conspiracies" added "Mind Break" NOTE: Not as a porn genre, I still do not plan on writing smut/porn chapters. This is to indicate the Rosial situation, as well as a bit of the side effect of [Cold Hearted] Synopsis: Still ongoing. Added a line indicating when I will remove comments and what causes me to block users (it''s dickwolvery). This line was added for... reasons. Claire, Second Month of 947. Thankfully, despite likely noticing that the words didnt quite fit, Stahlia did not press the issue and simply accepted Felicitys new name for her. Stahlia gave Felicity something to eat and began having a conversation with the made, whose name was apparently Jacqueline. Felicity was also apparently Pet now, but I wasnt going to call her that. Jacquelines conversation with Stahlia was exceptionally enlightening. Given that Felicity had been ordered to not share anything that was to be discussed, and she wasnt paying much attention anyway, owing to the food she had been given. This was irritating since due to the distorted connection; I was only catching snippets of Stahlia and Jacquelines conversation. From what I could gather, Stahlia wasnt exactly the most loyal of nobles, owing to a past transgression on the part of the kingdom, and Jacqueline was some sort of agent under her employment. Still, this bodes well for me and Felicity, I think. Stahlia will likely make at least a bit of effort to protect Felicity, and I can keep watching over her like this until I get things figured out. Stahlia by this point had wrapped up her conversation with Jacqueline and called for Felicity. Felicity after a moment of looking at her empty bowl hoped down and moved over to Stahlia. Stahlia then proceeded to ask Felicity for permission to examine her. Phrasing aside, the examination seemed to consist of placing her hand on Felicitys head and rubbing gently between her ears. The sensations I was being transmitted indicated that it was a highly pleasurable experience. For a moment, I felt a bit jealous that Felicity was getting to experience something like this and I was not. Head pats are such a major part of isekai and anime in general Damn this half-assed reincarnation! If only I was at least on the other side of the wall in Felicitys head I would be able to at least tangentially experience it Wait, whats this!? There was something reaching across the wall towards me. Something foreign. From what I was receiving of Felicitys feelings at the moment, she also had this something moving throughout her, but for her, it was pleasant. To me, it was a gross feeling, like I was being groped all over at once. I jerked my head back away from the wall and lost the connection. What even was that? It felt wrong. Like I was being violated. The only thing I could think of was that it was something Stahlia had done since that something had only manifested after she started rubbing Felicitys head. So something that happened when Stahlia touched Felicity. Given that it happened right after Felicity spoke Japanese, I can assume it was probably something to check if she was a reincarnation a lot of settings make appraisal uncomfortable for the person being appraised. So assuming it was appraisal magic, that still doesnt explain why it felt comfortable for Felicity, but uncomfortable for me. Maybe the difference is between physical contact and like, just mana or something. After all, I dont exactly have a body, and its not like I was being directly touched hopefully, Stahlia didnt detect me, I still dont know if shes trustworthy or not. Felicity should be fine, as far as I know, shes totally normal other than playing host to my soul. I leaned forward to check up on Felicity again; it had become apparent that time seemed to flow faster for her than me when I broke the connection. I was correct, as Felicity was now having her tail combed out y a noble girl I had not seen before. Still, the fact that a noble is doing that to mimi-kin is unusual, given what Ive seen so far. Is she Stahlias friend or something? A sudden feeling of discomfort was transmitted, and I had the disconcerting sensation of my non-existent tail twitching. The girl spoke up, Comon Stalis coming back in a few days. Dad got a magic communication from the knights! You want to look pretty dontcha? At the mention of Stali, who was presumably Stahlia by the noble girl, Pet sat back down after frowning. I was getting a sensation of barely contained excitement, but also resignation. Curling her tail around her waist, Felicity made a request of the Ojou-Sama Let Pet brush Pets tail?. The Ojou-Sama agreed, on the condition that she be allowed to brush Felicitys ears. Well, that makes two nice nobles Stahlia and this girl. Maybe Dominic was just particularly nasty? No, I doubt that. Likely Stahlia just inherited modern values, and this girl is just plain weird. I continued to watch Felicity carefully, not wanting to let time run away. I wasnt sure how much time I had missed in that most recent instance, but it was probably in the realm of several months. Before long, Felicity had curled up in what was presumably Stahlias bed; there was little chance that a slave named Pet would be given such luxurious accommodation. This is going to be a long night for me, isnt it? I suppose I could just break the connection for half a second relative to me No. I dont want to risk seeing Stahlias return. I might be able to glean some more information about the world, and I can test how much time is skipped any time. Heh. Yo. The voice caused me to jump with a start, separating my head from the wall. In a panic, I quickly put it back, before realizing that there was a voice on this side. Shit! I need to see who that is if I even can see them, but I need to keep a connection or Ill risk missing something potentially important. No, thats not an issue; Im forcing the timeframes to sync up. Honestly, the dilation is lasting longer than it should have. Dont worry, Ill fix that before I leave. Whoever this is, they seem to know whats going on shit, theres a lot I want to ask them, but I cant talk! I go by EvilGod when I interact with George. Fuuuuck Reads minds, calls themselves an Evil God, is there a cellphone? I use a custom phone modeled after a Galaxy 21. Nai wa Heh, no Im not that one. But seriously, you arent going to ask what Im doing here, Claire? I turned around at that, and faced the figure. It was strange, I could see them perfectly even though everything else was still pitch black. The figure was hovering in the air, cross-legged, and was perfectly and completely average in appearance, lacking any distinguishing sexual characteristics, I couldnt determine if they were male or female. Theyre like one of those characters that occasionally shows up in an anime and makes a running gag of their gender. Careful. Now, I do owe you an apology; Sorry Franklin went and got you killed, Claire. Excuse me wh- No. They can read minds. I cant think anything rude. Remember that. But what do they want with me now? The Androgynous Youth nodded. Glad to see youre quick on the uptake. See, my brother and sister are breaking a lot of rules, but theyre doing it in ways I cant really do anything about directly. Thats where you come in. I just need you to nudge George a little bit to break off my brothers influence. Everything should fall into place then. George? Nudge George? But that would imply that George is somewhere I can reach or Felicity can reach No, dont tell me, theyre going to merge our souls or something!? The Androgynous Youth shook their head, No, you should be able to communicate with Felicity, I already weakened the wall by sending her a good dream. You just have to breakthrough. Well, the explanation barely makes sense, and I know trusting and following gods in instances like this is almost never a good idea, but I doubt I have a choice. I nodded, even if I couldnt see my own head, I was fairly certain that this self-proclaimed god could. I turned around and went to push my head against the wall. The Androgynous crossed their arms, Right, just call out to her with your mind. It should get through. Oh, and before I forget; It would be bad if it got out that Im interfering this much I forbid you from speaking, writing, thinking, or otherwise using some method to inform about me. Invoke Authority. It felt like a dagger had pierced my flesh and I winced painfully. So that was a sort of divine order then they really are some kind of god I dont want to even think about why I got that specific command though. Nope. Not gonna think about why an Evil god wants to move behind the scenes I sighed, wondering what I had been dragged into and cursing my luck. This is the kind of shit I was trying to warn Franklin about Never, and I mean NEVER get involved with gods in an isekai. Thats rule number one! I ignored the chuckle coming from behind me, and tried sending a message to Felicity. After thinking about what would be the best greeting, I decided that I should just go with a Hello, Im Claire. I was going to scare her either way, but given I was acting under the request of a God that I could presume was at least indirectly responsible for reincarnating me; the best I could do was try and scare her as little as possible. I pressed my head against the wall. The connection was a lot better now, indicating that EvilGod had been telling the truth about the barrier being weakened at the moment, it was closer to a 720p video now. I briefly inspected Felicitys dream before sending the mental shout across the barrier. She seemed to be dreaming that she was in my body. In fact, I recognized the room I shared with my husband. The sight made me feel a bit sad, but there was nothing I could do about it. Felicity had just looked at the mirror and seen my face, and she was panicking big time. That makes sense of course, if I had a dream where I wasnt in my own body, I would probably freak out as well. And Im I was an adult. Felicity is four or five. I focused my thoughts and sent a simple greeting, Hello! Can you hear me? My name is Claire However, it seemed like the shock of seeing my body instead of her own, as well as the unfamiliar environment that was my room, had caused Felicity to destabilize the dream; she was waking up. I heard a sigh from behind me, Fine, Ill just go do it manually. The signal I was receiving through the wall went fuzzy for a moment, like an old CRT monitor losing the signal. When it cleared, Felicity was now standing outside the house, watching Stahlia climb out of a carriage. So the EvilGod skipped us ahead in time? I crossed my heart to never cross them, then crossed it a couple of extra times when a duplicate of the entity popped into existence behind Felicity. Of course they can exist in two places at once theyre a god. The one behind me nodded and indicated with a quick flick of their hand that I should try and communicate again. Right, so theyre probably serving the role of conduit now, in place of the dream. Hello! Can you hear me? My name is Claire! Unfortunately, there was no response to my silent mental shout. Good, Im sorry about this Claire, youre probably not going to appreciate it much. But the way things are going, my brother and sister are really going to muck things up. You know how siblings are always taking your toys and doing as they please with them Well, it doesnt matter. Im going to go ahead and make an adjustment now. Pet, do your best for your Nee-San ok? Ok. Claire, try and help out George if you can alright? Good. Hearing both of the EvilGod speaking at the same time caused some sort of pain in the middle of my head, between my ears. It was like the world knew that having the same person talking from two different places was wrong. Still, I could feel our connection beginning to get better and better. To the point where I felt like I did when I was on Felicitys side of the wall. Then the connection got stronger still. What the hell!? What did he do!? I was now able to hear Felicitys my thoughts? It was like we were being pushed together, forced into the same place. This is bad! If this doesnt stop soon, Ill.. Ill probably overwrite her. I had seen enough anime and read enough to know what happens when a young child suddenly acquires the memories of a previous life. Typically, they undergo a complete personality shift, being overwritten by whichever life had the most experiances. Due to Felicitys short life, it was very likely that my personality would be the dominant one after we merged. Of course, there were a few times when it worked out a bit better, without changing the person receiving the memories. Though, I highly doubt someone who self-identifies as Evil would spare a thought to the mind of some random five your old mimi-kin. I had to get through to her, to enable the communication this god wanted, before I was forced to overwrite Felicity. I paid no attention to what Felicity was doing, and began metaphorically slamming my thoughts into the wall. After a short time, I found myself in Stahlia Nee-Sans room, thinking about the memories I had just gotten back. Pet, Felicity, Claire Dayson. I had three names, but which one is me? What is this sensation? I could feel an appendage I had never had before, attached to my back. Experimentally, I gave it a flick and wound up dragged a bit by its weight and inertia. I see so thats what my tail feels like wait, Claire has had a tail her whole life hasnt she? I was only managing to confuse herself. Pet slammed her thoughts into the wall, desperate to save Claire from being erased, while at the same time Felicity wandered around Stahlia Nee-Sans room, going over their memories. {Finally, I got through!} With that thought, I managed to shatter the wall, connecting fully to Felicity. My next thought was how much it fucking hurt. It felt like I was being ripped in two. Like two of my arms, my tail, my ears, one of my heads, basically half of my body was simply ripped off. No hah. Felicitys body. We had apparently been separated after I managed to break the wall. Nyah! W-whos th-that!? Adorable, but I suppose I should calm her down. Felicity had, in reaction to my mental shout, let out a surprised yowl, and was now looking around the room carefully with her tail stood on end. {Felicity, its me, Claire. Do do you remember?} Hopefully, she still remembered remembering? Experiencing? Hopefully, she still had some knowledge of who I was from the time we spent merged just now. Unbidden into my mind rushed a series of disjointed events, they seemed to be similar to what I had just experienced; that is to say, being two people at once. So these are her memories? Lets see. After EvilGod did that thing they were talking about Felicity experiencing the same thing I was, though to a much lesser extent. Thankfully she didnt feel that excruciating pain just now. Thats probably because her mind is smaller than mine; an ant doesnt feel a boot stomping on it, but a foot will feel an ant bite. But why did I suddenly get these memories...? Was it because I thought about if Felicity remembers what happened? I tried thinking about Felicitys mother. A bunch of vague indistinct emotions and bland silhouettes entered my head. The quantity of them was surprisingly low. I can assume that this means that shes started forgetting her mother cant blame her given how young she is and everything shes had to endure. The thought made me want to cry. Felicity suddenly brought her hand up to her face and wiped at her eyes, bringing her hand out, I could see that it was wet. Felicity stared at her hand with what I assume was a puzzled expression, Pets crying? But Pet isnt sad or hurt That was an interesting development, it seemed that after the wall came down, I was able to more directly influence her. Ill have to be careful, but for now {Felicity, My name is Claire. Do you remember how you felt a few minutes ago?} Felicity looked up and around the room suspiciously, Elienor Ojou-Sama? Are you hiding from Pet? Elienor probably that noble girl who was combing her tail before EvilGod showed up I need to hurry this along so they dont get impatient. {Felicity, Im not hiding, Im inside your head You could think of me as a friend whose always been with you.} Lying to her is a bit but I dont mean any harm, and I can explain more properly later. For now, I need to figure out who George is, and how exactly I need to nudge him, and do that all before a God gets impatient. A friend in Pets head? The field of view suddenly skewed, indicating Felicity had likely tilted her head to the side in confusion. {Thats right. Ive been watching you for a long time. That person you saw earlier, he made it so I could finally talk to you.} I felt a wave of hopeful joy coming from my host, which made me feel a bit bad, given that I was basically deceiving her at the moment. I could feel the odd sensation of ears I had never had before twitching excitedly, Pet has another friend? Oof. Ill bet she only considers this Elienor person and Stahlia to be her friends. Well, I dont mind actually being her friend, that would likely work out for the best anyways. My thoughts confirmed I sent another line to Felicity, {Yep! Im your new friend. Like I said, my name is Claire!} The feelings of hopeful Joy I had been getting transformed into full-on happiness, and Felicity did a happy little dance. After a moment, however, the happiness faded and Felicity got a bit sad. I had an inkling about what was getting her down, so I hazarded a guess. {Just because you dont see me doesnt mean we cant have fun together. We can talk, and I know lots of stories I can tell you when youre bored.} It would appear that I was correct about the cause of Felicitys sudden depression, as she quickly perked up following my statement. Claire Nee-San knows lots of stories? This was accompanied by a hopeful sensation. Getting used to feeling another persons emotions is going to take some time At least it seems that it only goes the one way, other than when I got really sad and she started crying But even then, it sounded like it was just the physiological reaction. Still, I need to get a move on with my assignment. Given that EvilGod thinks I can do something, that means George must be in Pets vicinity. Hmm. Stahlia is basically confirmed to be a reincarnation, but they were reacting to the Japanese. George never struck me as much of a fellow weeb, though he was versed in internet culture. Stahlias also got different parts than George, as far as Im aware. She might have a penis that is another popular trope Can Claire tell Pet a story now? I figured I should put my Fujoshi ramblings aside and properly deal with the situation at hand. {Not right away, how about later tonight? For now, can you tell me a bit about Stahlia and Dominic, Felicity?} At the mention of Dominics name, I felt a cold rage and hatred emanate from Felicity. She apparently absolutely despised him and given their first interactions, I could hardly blame her. Felicity slowly shook her head no, The bad man is a bad man. He stinks, and he did something to Stahlia Nee-San! Oh? He did something to her? This sounded promising, though it might not be all that much, it was a lead. {Right, Felicity, do you know what the bad man did to Stahlia Nee-San?} Felicity paused and lifted her arm up and placed a hand on her chin. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head, No, just that Stahlia Nee-San smells like him sometimes! Right. Lets not go there. Still, I didnt have very many hints about this, so diffing further into it would probably be a good idea. I was especially curious what Felicity meant when she said Dominic smelled bad. But describing a smell almost never worked with children, even most adults would likely struggle to do it well. The Bad Smell smells bad! was too much of a redundant line to be useful. I could probably do that memory recall thing, and experience the smell for myself, but just going through Felicitys memories felt wrong. {Felicity Can I look at your memories for a moment? I just want to see what the bad man smells like.} It feels kind of dirty. No, it is dirty. Asking a child to consent to something so invasive Theres no way she would be able to understand what Im asking her. Still, this was the fastest way to get what I needed, and once I was done with EvilGods quest, I would never ask her something like this again. After all, if I failed to work within my current limits, they might just forcibly merge our souls. Felicity appeared to give my question some serious thought, much to her credit. Eventually though, she consented in a tone that indicated she lacked understanding of the gravity of my request, Alright, go ahead! But Claire Nee-San needs to tell Pet a story later! I grit my nonexistent teeth and, for lack of a better term, sent a request to Felicitys memories for the information I wanted. The olfactory memory that I was presented with was truly foul. Something like a mix of sweat, rotten eggs, and fetid meat. I felt a wave of nausea wash over me, and Felicitys stomach lurched causing her to cough. Thats fucking foul. Stahlia smells like this sometimes? Never mind what I was thinking earlier. Something is definitely going on. {Thank you, Felicity. Im sorry I made you sick just now} Indeed, the fact that I had reacted to the stench memory so strongly that it got sent across the link I would have to investigate if there was a way to mimic the wall that I had smashed. A mental barrier of sorts. Not only to protect Felicity from my own reactions when they went out of control but also to have the option of affording her some privacy; it seemed that all of her emotions were transmitted to me, no matter how slight. Living with someone in your head who knew what you were feeling at all times I could think of a few shows and manga with a similar premise, and they were all dystopic. I wonder what my coefficient is, after everything Ive done to this poor girl Over three hundred for sure. Still, I was starting to get the picture of what was going on. Most likely, Dominic was influencing Stahlia. I couldnt be certain which one of them was George, but I was leaning towards Stahlia. I would have to coach Felicity through a conversation or two and try to surreptitiously question Stahlia before I could be certain. {Well Felicity, Ill make sure to tell you a very good story later ok? But for now, can you tell me a story? I want to know more about Stahlia Nee-San you see.} Like a typical child, Felicitys emotions were a constant ebb and flow. When I told her I would tell her a good story, she was excited. Then immediately sad after I told her it would be later. Then when I asked about Stahlia she got smug and happy. She opened her mouth to speak but I quickly cut her off. {Wait, try thinking about what you want to tell me, instead of saying it. Dont you think you might look silly talking to yourself?} Felicity seemed to think long and hard about what I said. It was adorable how she got all serious at the most seemingly random things. Actually, it wasnt random; she seemed to seriously consider everything I was asking her. No matter if she understood it fully or not. Frankly, thats a good trait to have. Shell only get more careful as she grows up and learns more about the world. I need to make sure to foster this mentality of hers. Pet isnt talking to herself. Shes talking to Claire Nee-San! She seemed to be exceedingly pleased with that answer if the emotions I was reading were any indication. Right how best to get around this I hit upon an idea. {Yes, but if you think about what you want to say instead of saying it loud, then you can have a secret conversation, like a spy!} A sense of excitement emanated from Felicity, Like a Spy!? You mean Pet can be like Jacqueline Ohime-Sama!? Hold up. What now? I knew Jacqueline was doing some behind-the-scenes work for Stahlia from that report I overheard bits of but like, shes an actual spy? And doesnt Felicity have the titles a bit backward? Her owner is an older sister, a noble girl is just a rich girl, and now the maid is a goddamn princess? Leaving aside the new discoveries for later, I addressed Felicity again, {Yep! Just like Jacqueline Ohime-Sama} Felicity paused for a moment, then tentatively thought at me. {Can Can Claire Nee-San hear Pet?} I intentionally pushed a bit of my satisfaction towards her, which caused her to stiffen slightly. Right, I should explain I can share emotions with her. Ill refrain from telling her that her own emotions also get shared until shes a bit older. I wouldnt want to cause her to try and repress her feelings out of misplaced fear of me getting upset. {Yes, Felicity, I can hear you. Now, can you tell me about Stahlia?} Felicity radiated happiness, and proceeded to telepathically communicate all of her impressions of Stahlia; how she was the best older sister she could ask for, how she was so happy to have been saved by Stahlia, how Stahlia being with Dominic made her anxious, and how Stahlia had forbidden her from going outside, which made her upset, but she figured there must have been a reason. Accompanying the deluge of thought communications, were occasional flashes of memories that were of particular importance. So memories can be transmitted involuntarily. At least, I highly doubt that Felicity is sending me these on purpose. Honestly, this nekomimi girl practically worships Stahlia Its a little bit creepy. But ordering her not to leave the estate grounds? Even to the point of utilizing the slave magic? Thats a bit I dont know if George would have done something like that, he was a bit full of himself, but he was otherwise a normal above average student. If he did, then there must have been a very big reason. Likely, if it was such a big reason, Felicity had most probably not been told about it. She was only five after all. Still, I doubted it was something so simple as the nobles not liking mimi-kin. If that was all it was, then simply announcing that Felicity was the property of another noble should be sufficient. I most likely wont be able to figure it out without finding some way of appraising Felicity, if something like that even exists. Of course, the easiest method would be to simply ask Stahlia herself, but until I knew for sure I could trust her, that was a big no-no. I could hardly have Felicity demand reasons for orders her master had felt the need to invoke the slave contract over. Not without revealing myself, and that was a big risk. Stahlia picked that moment to enter the room. Right, I need to make sure that Felicity doesn- Stahlia Nee-San! Okaeri! Guess what! Guess what! Pet made a friend! You cant see her because she lives in Pets head. Her name is Claire! FUCK! This was probably the worst-case scenario. Now the ball was completely out of my hands and firmly in Stahlias court. How will she react? Stahlias eyes flashed wide and she stared at Felicity closely. After a moment of hesitating, she shot a look at Jacqueline, who had lost an arm since I saw her last. Jacqueline nodded, and spoke a word in a language I couldnt recognize, [#######]. Even with Felicitys keen hearing, I could no longer hear anything outside of the room. So thats some sort of sound isolation spell. I guess magic exists, as expected. My attention snapped back to the present as I heard Stahlias words, Jacqueline. Go make tea and close your ears. The words were cold. Nothing like how I had heard her speak the last time I saw her a few hours ago, from my perspective at least. Stahlia waited for Jacqueline to leave the immediate vicinity and stuff some small pegs in her ears. Stahlia then turned her attention to Felicity and narrowed her eyes. I gulped my non-existent throat. I felt a bit of fear coming from Felicity, as memories flashed from her to me unbidden. Memories of the only other time she had seen Stahlia acting like this; the day she was purchased. After watching Felicity for an uncomfortably long amount of time, Stahlias eyes briefly flashed. Then, enunciating the words very carefully, as if they had not been used in a very long time; Stahlia spoke in English, Hay Pro-fess-or C. How is it go-ing? The voice was lilting, much cuter and higher pitched than I remembered, but there was no mistaking the nickname. Only one self-absorbed student had ever dared call me that. Psycholor Next chapter will conclude this Claire/Pet "mini-arc". Chapter is called "Dear Diary, Today We Planned Ahead." After that, it''s back to Stahlia where we will briefly follow up on her immediate reaction to finding Claire, then go back to Ris for the winter break. Who knows what might happen after she gains some breathing room for a couple months? So we hit 1k total readers, and 100k total views! A massive thank you to all of you who are sticking with the story, despite a bit of rockiness at the end of the last arc. I would like to take the oppurtunity to ask my readers to consider leaving an honest review of the story as it currently stands, whether that be 1 star, 5 stars, or any amount in between. I have something that''s bothered me a little bit that I just want to get off my chest. A few people might have noticed that Tricked recently got its third review, and the first sub five star one. Now, I''m not upset about the rating. I think that, given the reviewer''s subjective opinions, the rating is fair. What I have an issue with, is the last paragraph in the review, which accuses me of blocking them for giving critique... Anyone who goes through my comments sections can see that I don''t fucking do that. My typical response to Critique is to engage in good faith. Half the chapter comments are from me responding to people. I don''t ban harsh critics, and to date, I have only banned four users (that reviewer is one of them, they were actually blocked, just not for the reason they gave). Still, having only three reviews, and the only one that isn''t five stars accuses me of curating, is not a good look for the story. To that end, I would like to ask you all to consider leaving a review. Positive or negative, give your honest thoughts. I would rather have twenty one, two, and three star reviews and take a rating hit, than have only one three star review making a spurious accusation. FWIW, I have reported the review but mods have either chosen to side with the reviewer, or haven''t gotten around to checking the report yet. Either way, it''s been about 48 hours at time of writing. Keep in mind that Scribble Hub has a zero tolerance policy for harassment, so do not go after this guy. That policy is why I''m not going into detail about why I blocked him, and just acknowledging that he has actually been blocked. The spurious allegation has been removed from the review, the above text is no longer relivant, though I will leave it in order to maintain a visible record of events. 3-3 C3: Dear Diary, Today We Planned Ahead Psycholor Not really sure about this but I got a few PMs and one Profile Post congratulating me on hitting #1 Trending. For me though, and also in an incognito browser, Tricked was at #4. Trending remains a mystery once again. Still, thank you to everyone who has been reading, as well as those of you who left a rating/review after last chapter. So in other news, I probably have Covid. I''ve got a fever of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit, Migraine, joint pain, and nausea. So far, I can still taste and smell things, but its a bit "off" if that makes sense, like, I''m picking up flavors I hadn''t noticed before. Either way, getting tested tomorrow. I have four chapters pre-written, and even if I do have the coof I still plan on trying to write as much as I can. I''ll put out an announcement letting you all know if I end up having to skip a chapter, so it won''t just "not show up". 1-3 has been touched up. No major changes, just some grammar stuff I didn''t know about back then. Hay Pro-fess-or C. How is it go-ing? The voice was lilting, much higher-pitched than I remembered, but there was no mistaking the nickname. Only one self-absorbed student had ever dared call me that. Thats a bit of a risk on his part I would have thought George would be more careful than to just reveal himself like that Herself? Haaah I wish I could speak with them directly Maybe I could? But that would require me to take control of Felicitys body Ill save that for a last resort. For now, {Felicity, can you please tell Stahlia Nee-San, Claire says I see youve gotten shorter?} Felicity cleared her throat, and then stammered, S-stahlia Nee-San, C-claire Nee-San says y-youve gotten sho-shorter. Stahlia gave Felicity a long look, then looked back past her, or rather through her. Opening her mouth, Stahlia prompted me for some sort of evidence other than my name, Well, If you are the Claire I know, then what was the last thing I said to you over there? He She damn this is confusing. And poor Felicity is terrified. Damnit George what are you doing this to her for!? Of course, I knew that it was my fault. I should have warned Felicity not to tell Stahlia about me the way she did. Especially not right after she got back from a, presumably, long trip. Im sure EvilGod would have given me a day or two to work. Thinking back, I came up with the answer to George-cum-Stahlias question, and fed it to Felicity. S-Stahlia Nee-Sa-San, C-Claire Nee-San Says you a-asked her a-bout a su-surve-y Stahlia stood still for a moment, before visibly relaxing. She reached out and rubbed Pets head, I apologize for scaring you like that, Pet. I did my best to tune out the sensation of head pats I was experiencing for the first time; it felt a lot better than I had imagined and had the effect of immediately calming Felicity down. She actually started purring Or maybe we started purring would be better? I really cant think of the best way to refer to us Also, what the hell George!? You dont sound sorry at all! Indeed, it was as if Stahlia hadnt been apologetic in the least; though she had spoken the words, her tone was bland and entirely devoid of emotion. Ill have to have words with you although lecturing through Felicity as an intermediary might not work out very well. Whos Professor C.? Stahlias hand stopped moving as she looked down at Felicity. Wait, George said that in English though? Why was Felicity able to figure out what it means in this worlds language? And for that matter, why am I able to communicate with Felicity? Indeed, it had only just occurred to me, but this whole time, I had been speaking to Felicity in English myself, while she had been speaking whatever this worlds language was. And yet, we both had no issues understanding each other. The only thing I could think of, is that our souls sharing a body is causing them to sort of share the intention behind the words? So since we are directly connected, it means that we are able to impart the meaning behind what we are saying to each other, independent of the words themselves. And I can understand what George is saying, even when they are speaking this worlds language, that means that I must be getting it translated from Felicitys understanding of the words. I could only guess that George had arrived at a similar conclusion because after a moment they gave Felicity an order, Pet, do not tell anyone else about Claire and do not share anything about what we discuss with anyone, except Claire, unless I give permission. I felt a strange tightening being transmitted from Felicitys senses as if her entire body was being squeezed. So that was a slave contact order. George is really taking things seriously, arent they? Still, despite it being moderately uncomfortable, it didnt seem like Felicity really minded all that much. {Felicity, can you ask Stahlia Nee-San what exactly happened?} Felicity nodded, which caused Stahlia to raise an eyebrow since, from her perspective, Felicity had simply spontaneously bobbed her head, Stahlia Nee-San, Claire wants to know what happened exactly? Well, that confirms that the language is being translated as meaning and intent since she was able to rephrase my question but keep the same meaning. Stahlia nodded and started talking quickly while keeping one eye on Jacqueline. It would seem that Jacqueline is not trusted completely. Well, after I left university that day, on my way home I either tripped or was pushed out in front of a subway. When I woke up, I was an infant by the name of Stahlia. The character I had made for that Beta I mentioned to you, although it took me a few months to realize that {Wait, you were an infant?} Felicity relayed my question, which caused Stahlia to pause, before nodding, Yea, I was an infant. Im ten now, soon to be eleven. So that means time is moving faster in this world compared to Earth. Since from my perspective George died only about a week ago. I used Felicity as a relay to express this, though it seemed she had stopped following the conversation at all and was merely repeating words. Thats honestly probably for the best. What followed was a nearly three-hour-long discussion in which George, in which I was filled out on what had been going on in their life since reincarnating. Frankly, it seemed like they had been reborn under a cursed star. By the time they had finished recounting what they had been through, the sun was setting. Stahlia suggested we retire for the night and resume in the morning, however, there was one major question that I still wanted to get answered before that though. {One more thing, how did you know it was me? Felicity only mentioned my name, but you took that and jumped straight to assuming I was your teacher.} Felicity regurgitated my final question, though at this point I was receiving feelings of extreme boredom along our connection. Ill need to tell her a really good story Stahlia nodded, Right, you probably would find that odd. I guess the easiest way to explain it would be to say that I saw you. I got an ability a few days ago that lets me see mana. When I examined Pet after she said your name, I saw that she has two different mana sources layered over each other. So I took a bit of a chance. Luckily it paid off. That makes sense Its a bit of a risk, but I suppose he assumed that in the worst-case scenario, he could always order Felicity, though that sounds a bit cold-hearted I wish I knew what I should call them. It was not lost on me that I had been sort of alternating between George and Stahlia, he and she. However, it appeared like they were getting ready for bed now. Ill ask that in the morning. Felicity marched our body over to the bed and climbed in next to Stahlia, an action that caused me to balk a bit. Dont tell me George is letting her sleep with him? Shes five! As if he had heard me, I heard George speak up, Claire, you should know a bit about what Pet has been through. Just let her have this; Im not doing it for the reason youre imagining. Thats true, and youre technically ten yourself its only a bit creepy since I know youre older inside. Then again, from what I was getting over my connection to Felicity, it seemed that this was something Felicity considered her right. Considering the girl was a literal slave, it was a curious mentality for her to have developed. Then again, if the descriptions I was given earlier were anything to go by, Felicity looks up to Stahlia as not just an older sister, but a literal savior figure which makes sense I guess. I would just have to get over myself if I was going to last in this world; it was a fantasy world, things were different here. In that way, it seemed like George had actually been fairly successful in adapting. {Felicity, do you still want a story? Or do you want to wait until tomorrow?} Felicity was radiating out an aura of exhaustion. Considering the high-level conversation that she had just been forced to take part in, some exhaustion seemed more than fair. Her ears perked up at the mention of a story however, after a moment, she languidly shook her head and buried her face into the pillow. Right, Ill have to think of a really good story to tell her Of course, I was far from a creative person. Any stories I might tell would be pulled directly from Manga or Anime. That being said, I would need to make sure to pick one that she would be able to understand enough to get invested in. Certain films came to mind, such as that one about being spirited off to another world in an amusement park. Or maybe the one about a fish that wanted to be human. No, anything from that studio relies too heavily on visuals, I wouldnt be able to do a verbal retelling justice then again, I could possibly show her my memories of the movies I decided to do a quick experiment. I called up my memories of the fish movie, the other one might have come across as a nightmare, and pushed them towards Felicity, who had fallen asleep at some point. Much to my satisfaction, I noted that there was an almost immediate change in Felicitys emotions, I could also feel our eyes flitting back and forth under their lids. Being able to feel Rapid Eye Movement was, to say the least, a bit uncomfortable. Still, this proved I could directly share my memories with Felicity, at least as dreams. Ill have to try a few more. I remember this movie almost perfectly, but there are others where I dont have all the details still. Also, will she remember this when she wakes up? Or will it be like a normal dream and mostly or entirely forgotten? I could only answer that last question by actually asking her in the morning, so I put it to bed for now. A few hours had passed, Felicitys movie dream had since ended and she was now in a dreamless deep sleep. At least, our eyes had stopped flicking back and forth under their lids. This is really boring. I had tried sleeping myself, but it seemed I was unable to do so. Something about being a soul without a brain seemed to preclude the need to sleep for me. If this is how its going to be, I would honestly rather have my dark space back. At least in there, time moved faster. And now our nose was itching. Incidentally, I had opted to refer to Felicitys body as ours under the assumption that if anything happened to it, I would suffer the consequences as well. Not that I intended to let anything happen to it in the first place, but hopefully by thinking of it like that, I could avoid becoming careless. Who would have thought that your nose can still itch even while youre asleep In a perfect world, Felicity would unconsciously scratch at the offending body part, however, it seemed she did not notice at all. Damnit. This is getting really irritating. Just fucking scratch it! As if at my bidding, our arm moved up and scratched the nose, bringing sweet, blissful relief. Right, so that was fucking weird. I hadnt felt any intentions from Felicity to move. Normally, when she was about to move, I would get a brief flash of the intent right before it happened. This time I got nothing, it was no. Thats exactly what had happened. Did I move the arm? Experimentally, I tried sitting up. Slowly, our body moved according to what I was wanting it to do. So if Felicity isnt controlling the body, Im able to? I quickly laid us back down and replaced the bedding to how it had been before I moved us. No way am I doing anything with this. Not unless I get her permission first. The whole idea of being trapped in ones own body, but not able to move it, only able to watch. It was unsettling. I would know, given that that was my life now. Though it wasnt my body I was trapped in, it was originally Felicitys, and she hadnt asked for any of this. I mean, I hadnt asked for any of it either, but I was the adult in this situation. Still, the fact that I can control our body, if I need to, will be useful to know Im sure. I wonder if the body will still rest? Like, would Felicity wake up super tired if I were to use our body all night? It was something that could easily be tested, but as stated previously, I was not going to do very much with this new discovery until I had her permission. Im sure she would give her permission readily enough, from what I had seen so far. But in this case, I wanted to make sure she totally understood what she was agreeing to. I passed the night idly from there on, running back over the plots of various Anime and Manga to pass the time. Finally, the sun began to peek over the horizon, and Jacqueline came into the room to wake up Stahlia. Once they were up and dressed, Stahlia asked Jacqueline if there had been a summons for them yet. Presumably, this had something to do with the disaster that they had mentioned had recently occurred. I had asked for more details. However, George had refused to exposit on whatever had happened on their school trip. Considering their attitude, and the fact that Felicity had been very surprised about Jacquelines missing arm, I could only assume that it must have been something incredibly bad. I also got the impression that they werent doing it spare Felicity I think they might have been trying to avoid telling me what happened. In any case, according to Jacquelines report, no summons had arrived yet, but we could probably expect one in a few hours. Stahlia nodded, and had Jacqueline silence the room again, then, once confirming that the maid had left earshot, Stahlia turned to Felicity. Your turn, Claire. How did you wind up here? I could feel an extremely disgruntled reaction from Felicity, who had woken up while Jacqueline was dressing Stahlia. Which was honestly a sight to behold, I never would have thought someone would be so skilled with just one arm. Felicitys reaction was understandable, given that for Stahlia to be questioning me, Felicity had to serve as an intermediary. I bit my metaphorical lip, I had just said I didnt want to do this. {Felicity, can I try and speak? If you give me permission, I think I can control our mouth. I can show you another memory, like the one you dreamed about. That way you wont be bored.} It was a bit of a gamble since I didnt actually know if she had remembered the dream. But even if she didnt, chances were she would be at least intrigued by my proposition. Apparently, she did remember, as Felicitys next action was to excitedly nod her consent and promptly climb back into the bed. I guess she latched onto the word dream. This whole affair caused George to raise an eyebrow questioningly. Once Felicity had secured us into the bed, I called up memories of another movie by that same studio, this one about a giant cat spirit who helps a little girl through a difficult emotional time. Felicity became engrossed in the memory, and her consciousness faded away somewhat. This left the body free for me to control. I swore to myself I would only use this to speak with George. Right, I suppose you would want to know about that. Before I get into that though, how should I call you? Honestly, its kinda bothering me. Stahlia opened their eyes wide, before nodding, I see you can take control, at least enough to speak. What did you do to Pets consciousness? As they were questioning me, Georges eyes narrowed and briefly flashed, Is she asleep? Her mana dimmed, like it got put into the background or something. Right, the ability to see life or whatever she called it. I see you do care about Felicity, at least enough to see if shes safe, Right, I offered to let her watch one of my memories of an Anime Movie. She got really bored yesterday, and when you suggested she would have to do the same thing again, all I felt was frustration. George, shes five. After a moment, Stahlia nodded, I suppose youre right, she is a bit young for conversations like that. To answer your question, you can call me Stahlia and I guess consider me a girl. Ive had ten years to come to terms with that. Besides, I would not want you or Pet to make a mistake and accidentally call me George in front of someone. Her reasoning made sense, but I thought I could detect a hint of bitterness in their voice. Ah, ten years old would mean shes just started puberty. That must be pretty disconcerting considering the past life memories. Like suddenly being slammed in the face with the reality of the situation. Right well, Stahlia it is then. To answer your question; Ive only been dead for a few days relative to my own perception. That got a bit of a reaction of surprise, but Stahlia prompted me to continue without saying anything further, so I continued on. Franklin brought me your PC and launched into a long conspiracy theory about how you had gotten murdered for some reason. I agreed to look into your files if only to give him closure. The only thing we found on your hard drive was the executable for NewLife. When Franklin logged into it using information he got from your email, the computer exploded or something. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a sort of black empty space. Periodically I would be transported against a wall of sorts, and spend a day or two in her head. Recently- I had been about to mention EvilGod, but the words caught in my throat. It would seem that his invoke authority outright prevents me from saying anything, even to Stahlia. Figures. Recently, the wall broke down completely, and I found myself fully aware and sharing this body with her. Oh, Im pretty sure the Japanese stuff was my fault; I might have altered some of her formative memories before I knew I was dealing with an independent soul in its own right. Stahlia nodded, taking everything in. After a moment, she exhaled, Well, sounds like Franklin is out there somewhere as well. There isnt much I can do at the moment, not until I resolve things with Drakas, but Ill try and look for him once thats done. Since it sounds like my death really got to him, its the least I could do. Again, she sounds like shes just making a promise because its what I expect her to say. Like she doesnt actually feel sorry about him being dead Right, about that. You mentioned you were having boy troubles? It must have been humorous, seeing a five-year-old nekomimi wink while saying boy troubles. At the very least, if her glare was anything to go by, Stahlia found my joke hilarious. No. Im not having Boy Troubles. I just know that my fiance is a walking shit stain of a human being, and yet I seem to be falling for him anyway. I was hoping it was his brainwashing mana control thing I mentioned last night, but from what I saw the other day, that doesnt seem to be the case. Right, about that. As soon as you mentioned how gross his mana looked, I had a feeling. Right, about that. Did you know that mimi-kin, or atleast Nekomimi, can smell mana? Stahlia raised an eyebrow and looked at me quizzically. Its true, Dominic smells like sulfur and fetid meat. It is, in no small word, nauseating. For what its worth, you smell almost minty. Stahlia blushed a little bit at my compliment, meaning that I had been successful in lightening the mood. In any case, she says she occasionally catches a bit of Dominics scent underneath your own. Its not like it rubbed off on you from him holding your hand or something, more like its something coming out from you yourself. Are you sure theres no way hes not controlling or influencing you? Frankly, from the few memories, she has of him, Dominic seems to be a real piece of work. Stahlia sat back in thought. After a moment, she nodded slowly, It might be possible. I dont have enough information, but if I assume that I didnt use to be immune, and then something changed that made me immune well, suffice to say I can think of a few possibilities. Ill have to make a plan before I can act on them though and leveling up a few more times would be really helpful We sat in silence for a moment, before Stahlia spoke up again. I understand that you might not feel very good about taking control of Pets body. But I had a thought. Do you remember the [Envious] Skill I told you she had last night? The skill that is probably going to kill her, and the reason you decided to order her not to leave? Yea I remember that one. What about it? And didnt you think of ordering her not to use the skill? Stahlia nodded, Yea, I thought of that, but the way it seems to work is like, an automatic effect. I dont have a way of experimenting with it on my own. If I ordered her to do something impossible, it might have hurt or even killed her. So, with that in mind, I settled for ordering her to stay on the estate, where she would be less likely to encounter new talents. But, she has you now. She has me now? What exactly do you mean by that? I voiced my confusion and Stahlia nodded. Raising her hand up, she spoke, Pet already knows most of my talents. The only ones she doesnt know are magic-related, or those that are completely internal and cant be observed. [##### ####]. A fist-sized ball of water formed in the air above Stahlias open palm, and promptly fired off into a small tub at the far end of the room. Jacqueline glanced over but went back to what she was doing after Stahlia waved her off, Did you get any notifications, or pick up anything from Pet just now? Wait, did you just theorize that if I was in control, Felicity wouldnt be able to activate [Envious]? And then go and test that!? What if you were wrong! I made sure to display my irritation as I answered her question, No. I didnt notice anything. Why the HELL would you go and do such a dangerous test!? Ok, maybe that went beyond displaying my irritation Stahlia seemed nonplussed in the face of my anger. I cant bring in somebody from the outside and say hey, use your talent in front of my slave. Further, Pet already knows all of the basic talents Jacqueline and I have. In fact, the Magic Talent she would have gotten there would probably have the least impact out of any of the talents I could have experimented with; its the cheapest at least. So, heres my theory, as well as my reasoning. Talents and Skills are seemingly tied to the soul. In the case of Pets [Envious], it picks up on the observations fed to the soul by the senses. The thing is, in my experience so far, skills and talents seem very straightforward; they dont account for possibilities that are outside the box. I think I can see where shes going with this. Because Felicity and I are in such a unique circumstance, we might be able to get around the issues that come from [Envious], but getting in the way of that sensory input feed. So, I was thinking, now that I know you can take control of the body if its possible for you to take control of only the senses, then maybe Pet would be able to regain some freedom. From her point of view, nothing should really change since your soul connection would still be feeding her the sensory information. Hell, at the far end, the two of you might become op as hell. Imagine if you fill your soul up with observation and sense-type abilities while Pet takes a bunch of combat-orientated ones. Well, I cant say I appreciate the assumption that Felicity is going to be in a situation where she needs combat skills but the idea of her not being stuck in the manor anymore, well its appealing. Not sure how I feel about my part to play in this though. Sure, I would just be taking over the duty of processing sensory information. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions what if next I decide I should control her hands so she cant burn herself? Or her legs to make sure she wont get lost? Frankly, a lot of my misgivings probably stemmed from my original faux pas, when I had screwed up her mind and turned her into a weeb. Still, its probably worth the risk. It would let her have a bit of freedom back. At that moment, Jacqueline called out to get Stahlias attention, My Lady, a summons has arrived. We are to report to Duke Percius office for a debriefing. His Highness Prince Rupert will also be there, so Percius should be contained, as it were. Off. Going to go see the prince, cant say Im envious of that. Maybe having some freedom back isnt such a good idea. Stahlia left while wearing a grimace of suppressed irritation, and I whiled away the time until Felicity came back up from her induced dream. The thought occurs that what I just did to her, was basically the same thing that happened in an opium house Fuck me, this sharing a body thing is proving troublesome for my moral compass I would have to think of a better way of sharing my memories with Felicity. One that didnt put her out like that. Either way, Felicity was now awake, so I had to figure out how best to broach the topic of letting me act as an intermediary for her senses. First, I withdrew myself so that Felicity took control of our body again. This resulted in a brief moment of absolutely nothing where neither of us was controlling the body or processing sensory input. It was a bit freaky, and indeed, I felt a brief spark of terror from Felicity before she retook control for herself. {Felicity, Stahlia Nee-San had an interesting idea.} I felt our ears perk up at the mention of it being Stahlias idea, Stahlia Nee-San had an idea? Tell Pet! I grimaced to myself and went on to explain the idea of letting me act as an intermediary for our senses while stressing that Felicity would otherwise retain control of the body at all times. By the time I was finishing the explanation, I could feel a vague sense of irritation from Felicitys subconscious. So, if we do that, Pet wont be stuck inside all the time right? I can go out with Stahlia Nee-San? Of course, you would miss the major hurdles and focus on only the convenient parts. Your innocence is a treasure I bit down on my feelings of revulsion and gave the affirmative. Felicity gave an enthusiastic agreement, and we spent the next several hours practicing. As it turned out, it was a lot more complicated than Ill just process the sensory information while she controls the body. By taking over the sense of sight, I also had control of the ocular muscles. This meant that Felicity could no longer move her eyes on her own. That might not sound too bad until you realize exactly how many times a day you look at something by just moving your eyes. A similar phenomenon occurred with our ears. While Felicity would maneuver her ears entirely based on instinct, I didnt have that advantage and had to learn to properly control an entirely new set of muscles I didnt have on my last body. By the time Stahlia got back from her meeting though, we had managed to get a decently effective system in place; if Felicity wanted to get a closer look at something, she would tell me mentally so that I could move the eyes to look at it. It was my hope that, over time, I would be able to learn to predict what she wanted to see, and eventually make our arrangement seamless. Stahlia observed the greatly slowed reactions of Felicitys eyes and ears before nodding, I assume what we talked about was a success. Good thing then, since Its been decided to let my winter break start a bit early. Something about giving me time to come to terms. Pet, how would you like to visit my home village? The pure innocent joy I felt coming from Pets soul at that question, brought tears to our eyes, which sent Stahlia into a bit of a fluster. I guess this is another issue Ill have to figure out a solution for Psycholor The Felicity/Claire PoV stuff is finished for now, of course it should be obvious that the character is being made into a primary supporting cast, so we''ll be flipping to their perspective from time to time. Next sub-arc is going to go back to Ris village for a few chapters, to check in on her family, as well as provide some breathing room for her to come up with a plan, now that she knows Dominic has done something. Extra Chapter: Awkward Meeting Psycholor This is very short, even for an extra chapter. I wrote this as a "tone setter" for the upcoming Arc 3. In retrospect, this might have been as a prologue but hey. In any case, there is a laundry list of things I need to say, and so I figured drafting a quick Extra Chapter would work better than doing this all on a main chapter or releasing another "Not a Chapter". A lot of this is related to stuff that has been going on for some time, though the Covid stuff is new. Regarding my Covid tests: Still waiting for results. But HR is being a bit assholeish about me quarantining. Basically, I never actually went to the hospital. My risk factor for Covid is super low (Vaccinated, under 30, no preexisting conditions), so I just called my GP and asked if I should get a test done as a formality. Well HR doesn''t like that, and are being cunts about me not going to work the past few days. If the test doesn''t come back positive, they might try and fire me. (I do plan on suing if that happens). This isn''t so much towards the people who will actually read it, but just in case. The synopsis has a line in it: "Do not comment to inform that you are ''Dropping the Story because of X/Y/Z'' These comments will be removed." I don''t need to see you saying your dropping the story; just go. I can deal with honest criticism just fine, but "I''m dropping here." comes across entirely different from normal criticism. As far as the clean up project is concerned, I''ve added the Tragedy Genre. I still disagree with this, however it seems my own opinion goes against the general consensus. That said, this kills the story''s growth. Most people filter that tag out, so by having it there I imagine a lot of people who would otherwise have enjoyed the story won''t find it. To that end, I''d just like to ask you all to share the story occasionally. If you see somebody asking for isekai recommendations, consider pointing them over here. As an aside, this doesn''t have anything to do with the recent review; that was shitty timing. I''ve fed the story to an English lit teacher I''m friends with to get their thoughts, and it is on their recommendation that I decided to add the Tragedy Genre. To the Future: Writing Tricked has been a journey. I''ve learned a lot, and we are far from finished. That being said, it is also starting to feel a little bit stifling. Not that I don''t enjoy writing it, far from that. I just have a lot of other ideas that I can''t properly express with Tricked as a medium. You might have noticed a bit of this frustration in the chapter lengths; with some exceptions, chapters from the second half of Arc 2 were markedly shorter than Arc 1 and the first half of Arc 2. Another example I can point to and that people have commented on, is how some aspects of recent chapters have seemed a bit disjointed or "out of nowhere." Starting two weeks from today. (So on 01/30/2022) I plan on reducing the upload frequency from three chapters a week to two. The new upload schedule will be Mondays and Fridays at 11:00 AM UTC-7. This is something I''ve been considering since January, and have finally decided to do. Going along with this, I am planning to launch a new series. It will have some similar tropes to Tricked (Fantasy, Gender Bender, Isekai, LitRPG) but will be set in a different world, and have a different tone. My hope is that people who are frustrated by Tricked receiving less content can at least enjoy this new story. I don''t have an official release date for it yet, just that the first will be in early February. I''ve been flipping the idea for this new story around in my head almost as long as I''ve been writing Tricked, and now I''ve decided to use it to give myself a breather and break up my writing. This is not going to replace Tricked, it is simply going to be a project running concurrently. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 I stood at the entrance to the meeting room in trepidation. Waiting for me inside was the grandfather of Asten, the boy I had consigned to death. Along with him was Count Francois, the father of my Fiance, and Prince Rupert von Drakas, third prince of the realm. At my side, I had my Fiance Dominic, who I had just learned was, in fact, most likely controlling me. Or at least influencing me to some extent. Frankly, that knowledge was as relieving as it was frightening. On one hand, I knew for sure that my conflicted and confusing feelings were, in all likelihood, not entirely mine. On the other hand, that meant that I was dealing with thoughts that stemmed from an outside source. In a way, I guess its sort of similar to how Pet and Claire are with each other. No, that was just rambling on my part. There were only the shallowest of similarities there. Still, knowing exactly how low he was made for cold comfort when he was at my side like he was. I took his hand while forcing my own to not twitch and allowed myself to be escorted into the room. I have to keep up appearances. I felt like that was becoming my mantra, but it was true. I needed to blend in while training myself up. Though I had been getting distracted from that. Part of me wanted to blame the boy standing on my left, but deep down I knew it was also me. Despite having thought I had acknowledged that this world wasnt a game, I hadnt done anything to really change how I was playing it. I entered the room, and gave my greeting as stiffly and as formally as possible. After all, one of the Princes was in attendance. I still wasnt sure how I should feel about that, probably glad? It will at least help contain Percius. On the other hand, this Prince in particular was the one who introduced me to Dominic. Its only logical to wonder how much he knows about him. For now, I marked the Prince as a potential enemy. He was of course a very real enemy in the grand scheme of my goals, but for now, I was willing to play nice if he was. A pleasure to meet you again, Lady Stahlia. I am glad to see you are doing well, all things considered. The prince gave me a seated half-bow, to which I responded with a proper full curtsy and gave my own personal greeting, Indeed, I am most honored to find myself in your presence once again. At that, I took my seat in the indicated place, and Percius cleared his throat, signaling the commencement of the meeting, Lord Dominic, Lady Stahlia, Tell Please share with those present what happened. His voice sounded tired and empty. He really did love his grandson. I took a deep breath and began recounting the events that had happened in Ang. Dominic occasionally supplemented something I missed, at least until I got to the part where he was knocked unconscious. For this, I told the same fabricated fight that I had already shared. It was a minor concern that Dominic would learn that these events were a fabrication by question Jacqueline, however, there was little I could do about that until I had time to come up with an answer to that problem. In this case, however, he was either biting his tongue or was not aware of the ruse. Either way, I was able to speak uninterrupted. It was a bit difficult for me to portray things properly given my Remorse was still off, so I adopted a hesitating tone of voice, hoping to make it seem like my delivery was dry because I found the events so horrifying. By the time I had finished, Count Francois had begun tapping his gloved fingers on the arm of his chair, while Percius was trying to discreetly wipe tears from the corner of his eyes. The prince didnt say anything, merely held his hands clasped in front of his face, appearing deep in thought. After a while, it was Percius who finally broke the silence, Well, Lord Francois, Your Majesty, I can confirm that the demon encountered was indeed at least a high demon. The fact that they managed to wound it at all is exceptionally impressive. Then, turning to me, Percius did something rather unexpected. Rather than blame me for Astens death, he thanked me, Lady Stahlia, thank you for recounting my grandsons final moments. I am sure that was difficult for you. All I could do in response was briefly nod. I had prepared a few excuses under the assumption that he would be angry or upset, but I hadnt thought of anything to say if he was grateful. I mean, youre welcome? It wasnt hard to recount at all though From there, things moved along swiftly. It was quickly established that I should be granted early leave from this school year, and would be able to return to spend it in my home village. Thats an unexpected boon. Getting away from everybody for a few months should give me some time to reevaluate what I should be doing, and hopefully come up with countermeasures to Dominic. The fact that its my home village as well means I should be able to level up a few times at least, it might be that I can find a skill or two that will help with my issues. I can also speak with Sieg about Jacquelines arm though theres no way that such a small remote shop will be able to provide a restorative for that. We were let out of the meeting after another hour, and Dominic escorted me out of the building and down towards the street, where he helped me into the carriage. It was strange, but now that I knew that it wasnt my own influence that was leading to my conflicted feelings, it was like some sort of veil had been lifted from over my eyes. Rather than set my heart aflutter when he squeezed my hand, all I felt now was a bit annoyed. Even when he kissed my hand after letting me on the carriage, instead of being at a loss for words, I was just annoyed. I still found myself blushing, it was embarrassing after all. But I was able to look past my own embarrassment and see what was really going on. I have a lot of planning to do for the next few months. Considering everything I need to do, two years until I graduate might not actually be enough time. I had a lot of work to do, but the future was at least hopeful, as long as I kept my eyes forwards. 3-4 Room to Breathe Psycholor There was a short extra chapter yesterday, it showed the meeting between Stahlia, Dominic, Percius, Count Francois, and Rupert in brief. Attached to it was a large number of announcements. Minor Covid update: Test came back positive. Already symptom free though so meh. I was only sick for two days, and of those only the first day was really debilitating. So there is for sure not going to be any skipped chapters. Very minor plot change in 1-4. Changed dialogue in Sven''s alchemy shop so that instead of saying "Mana potions!" Stahlia now says "Mana potions" - Mana is in English. Sven additionally comments on this, asking her "What was that you called the mana concentrate?" She ignores this and does not answer him, moving the conversation right along its original trajectory. Back to Stahlia now, time to see if she''s learned anything and how she intends to go forward. This chapter is very much just inside of Stahlia''s head, it lays the groundwork for what she plans on doing as well as clarifies a few things. Owing to the traveling company, there isn''t much room for dialogue. Stahlia 10 Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 Our carriage was moving along at a decent pace. Unlike when I was first traveling to the royal capital, this was not some rented carriage, but rather my own. It had been given to me by Count Francois for use while I was in the capital, and following the decision to commence my winter break early, I had been permitted to use it to travel back home to Ris. Along with me, I was bringing Jacqueline, for obvious reasons, as well as the Dark Elf Lucy. Count Francois had insisted that I bring Lucy back home with me as a show of support from his house. I had tried to get out of it, but he had not budged. I was also bringing Pet since, now that my old teacher Claire was operating her senses, there was much less risk of [Envious] activating. There was still the ominous-sounding bit about progresses user towards demonization, however that should be a non-issue so long as the skill wasnt used. After all, the immediate threat was her death and that had now been circumvented. I had asked Sana if she would like to come back, however the church had not granted her a similar early leave as they had me, so she had to refrain. In terms of guards, I technically had Giogi with me, as well as Stil. There were a pair of fully trained knights as well, but those would return to the capital after delivering me to Ris. Rowell had once again attempted to assign himself to me, however, a quick appeal towards Count Francois nipped that in the bud. I was willing to play the role of the dutifully engaged daughter-in-law if it meant I could avoid having any extra shadows around. At the thought of that engagement, I let out a sigh and turned my attention out the window. The past few days had been eventful, to say the least. Thanks to Claire cluing me in on a fact of Beast-kin physiology I had been unaware of, I was now fairly certain that Dominic had done something to me. Thankfully, whatever it was, it seemed to no longer work. However, my confused feelings seemed to stem from some sort of mental influence I had been placed under in the past. The only time that came to mind when this might have happened was back when we first met, shortly before Rosial was kidnapped. The thought that it was his mind-controlling ability that had caused me not to notice my sisters dwindling condition was as infuriating as ever, however, I forced those feelings away. Dwelling on the past would not do me any good; I had about five months of time now in which I would be relatively free to act as I pleased. In order to make sure it didnt go to waste; I had come up with a small list of goals to achieve during my break. The thought occurs to me, that Ive been playing fast and loose for a while now Ever since the first time I met a god for a face-to-face, Ive been behaving obliviously. Then the next time I met a god, I got extremely cocky and almost lost everything. I wasnt sure exactly what was causing that, but I knew I would have to avoid acting rashly in the future. Looking out ahead of the carriage, I could see Fess coming up in the distance; this would be where we stopped for the night, and also where my first plan came into play. Of course, this one wasnt much of a plan. It basically consisted of Find Aaron. Then, Somehow get him talking. The last time I had been through Fess, an adventurer by the name of Aaron had implied that my engagement was bad luck. Jacqueline had tried investigating him but actually come up empty-handed. Considering her talents that was quite the feat on his part and made me think he might be a bit more than just an average adventurer. Still, he presumably knew something about Dominic, or perhaps the Francois, and I would very much like to know what that was. Granted, he was ostensibly an adventurer, so he might not even be in Fess anymore. If that was the case, then I would see if there was anybody who knew where he had gone and try and arrange a meeting. That was only a side goal though; it would be nice if it panned out, but I wasnt going to count on it. My primary goal for these next few months was to level up and unlock the next slots for my custom class. This would let me browse the talents and skills list again, and it was my hope that I would be able to find what Dominic was doing or at least a way to counter it. Once that was finished, I needed to come up with better fighting strategies. In theory, I would have been able to kill Sitri, this world didnt have anything like health bars or meters. One decisive blow would fall even the strongest warrior. I had a few ideas, but it wasnt likely something I could achieve over just one winter. For more long-term goals, Sitri had been a massive walkup call. I had assumed, quite arrogantly, that Jacqueline and I would be able to accomplish my mission by ourselves, a two-woman army. That encounter had made blindingly obvious how na?ve I was. I would need to get allies. Not just friends, but people I could count on and maneuver. Surely, there are some nobles that dislike the way the kingdom operates. My first thought was of the eternally neutral Duke Claurence house; despite Ediths actions at the school social, to my knowledge, there had been no further moves on their part towards aligning themselves with the third princes faction. Of course, I had very little to offer as collateral towards any potential alliances. Well, there was one thing I could offer that would probably be viewed as quite valuable, but I wasnt sure exactly how I felt about going down that road. After all, I still fully intended on breaking off my current engagement. On that note, I also needed to start working towards that much sooner than I originally intended. Originally, I had been planning to ride their coattails for as long as possible, however, given what I now knew about Dominic, I had to guess that actually getting away from them would be exceedingly difficult. Dominic did not strike me as the kind of person who would give up easily, given what I had seen of him so far. There was also the case of Jacquelines arm; restoring it should be possible, but it would prove to be a massive resource investment. Of course, I wanted to restore it if I could; she would obviously be better served by having two arms than one, and if I was able to repair it, then it might ease the last long-term goal I had, but just thinking about that one made me queasy, so I usually opted not to. Ill deal with that one later tonight I could already feel the bile trying to come up in my throat. We arrived in Fess and were let into the city without much hassle. The carriage proceeded down the main street before letting us off at the same inn as I had stayed in last time; count Francois had wanted to put me into a fancier lodging; however, I had rejected that. Considering I was now actively looking for a way to separate from his house, I ought to avoid accruing debts wherever possible. Taking this carriage was already bad enough, but I lacked a legitimate excuse not to do so, seeing as I didnt actually own one of my own. The same receptionist and mini receptionist waitress were there to greet me once we entered; the mini receptionist waitress evidently remembered me fondly, as she positively beamed at the sight of me. I gave her a half-bow of my head as I passed the two of them, and she scampered off somewhere with a stupid grin on her face. This time, owing primarily to Pet being with us, we would be eating in our rooms rather than the dining hall. The fact that I was allowed to bring her into the inn at all was due only to my status. Even with my status, that didnt change the fact that Pet was a beast-kin. She gathered no small number of stares and mutterings as we made our way up to the room. Once we were behind closed doors and removed from prying eyes, Pets ears perked back up almost immediately. Given that it was actually Claire who was controlling those, I could no longer use them to gauge Pets own mood, but it probably wasnt much higher than Claires. Thankfully, Ris was remote enough that a lot of the racism and restrictions shouldnt be an issue. Rather, I imagined Pet might be more of a minor celebrity, as most of the people there would have never had reason to see a beast-kin before. I havent brought this up yet, but it honestly might be safer for me to leave them in Ris instead of bringing them back with me. Still, that was something I could broach at a later time. There was also the fact that Pet apparently had a name. The thing was, she refused to tell me what it was, and Claire hadnt taken control to actually tell me. So, all I knew was that apparently, she did still remember her original name. Not much I can do about it, if she wont tell me what it is I can only assume that shes grown attached to Pet for whatever reason. For now, I had a little bit of time to kill until dinner. Pet, what do you think about the trip so far? Are you glad to finally be out of the estate? The cat-kin stopped her investigations of the room, mostly the bed, and nodded. After taking several moments to consider her answers, she spoke up. Pet thinks everything is amazing! She doesnt like the stares much though. Right, and by she you mean Claire. It had taken us a few days, but eventually, we had settled on a way for Pet to refer to Claire in public; by playing off of Pets unique manner of speech. When Pet wanted to refer to herself, she typically used her name. when she needed to refer to Claire, she would use a gendered pronoun. So something Pet came up with was Pets idea. But if Claire had been the originator, it was her idea. For better or worse, Claire refused to actually communicate directly by taking control of Pets speech. On one hand, I found that to be extremely irritating and roundabout, requiring us to jump through unnecessary hoops. On the other, I could see where Claire was coming from. Well, it was either wear that or be stuck in the carriage overnight. Do not worry too much, once we get to Ris most of the discrimination should die down. I mean, I dont remember any discrimination, but that doesnt necessarily mean it doesnt exist Still, shes technically owned by the lords daughter. So even if there is something, I can probably crush it. I made idle conversation with Pet for a few more minutes, until Lucy announced the arrival of the miniature receptionist waitress. Despite being a few years younger than myself, the girl had pushed a trolley all the way to our room, laden with food for everyone. I shot Lucy a look, and the maid quickly moved to help the girl. Internally, I celebrated a small success; I was getting better at correctly guessing when to act guilty little by little. I made sure to have Jacqueline tip the girl a couple of Drakas Small Silvers, and we ate. Following dinner, I quietly excused myself from everyone. The sun was setting soon, and I had business to do at night. As always, Lucy tried to follow me, but I would only take Jacqueline with me for this. Pet followed me with sad eyes; other than Jacqueline Pet and Claire knew the most about what I was going out to do. This was because Pets keen senses made it exceedingly hard to hide the aftermath from her. If I could, I would rather nobody knows about this, but I cant get away alone because of my station so I need to bring Jacqueline. And Pet has her nose, considering she can smell mana, no amount of washing would remove be able to rid me of the smell that comes after. Jacqueline and I left the inn and quickly made our way to an abandoned building. Well, Jacqueline made her way there; I followed with half-hearted leaden footsteps. I really am not looking forward to this. That fucking bitch knew exactly what was going to happen, I should have picked up on it based on how open to my suggestion she was. We got to the building, and I took a seat in the middle of a large room, as I had done in other locations the past three nights before this. Ostensibly, Jacqueline and I were going out to do some therapy exercises to help me overcome the trauma I had been inflicted in Ang. That explanation was half correct. I was trying to overcome trauma, but it was hardly therapeutic. I breathed in deeply and exhaled as Jacqueline unfastened the back of my evening dress. [Silence], as if Jacquelines spell was the starting signal, I sucked in air one last time and then enabled my remorse. Immediately, I was assaulted by extreme feelings of guilt. It wasnt so bad at first; I was forced to confront all the minor things I should have felt guilty over from the previous day. It wasnt until I had gotten through those and back to the events of Ang that it got bad. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach, all I could do was fight to try and keep down the very little dinner I had eaten; knowing I was likely going to be throwing up later, I had eaten accordingly. My stomach twisted up and contorted, while my head began to pound. I could hear Astens voice asking me why?, and the image of Jacquelines face, contorted with pain as her arm melted away was forcibly seared into my minds eye. Finally, I could take it no longer, and with a gasp, I disabled remorse again. I collapsed forwards weakly, covered in a cold sweat. Jacqueline, seeing that I was done for the night, came up and began to wipe me down with a towel. It doesnt get easier. Its been three days, but I still cant get through it. Honestly, I didnt know if I was even making progress. For all I knew, I had to fully clear my punishment before turning off remorse or it wouldnt count. Of course, I knew it wouldnt be easy; there was no way Sitri would have agreed so easily if this was something I could overcome in a day. It was a sure bet that she assumed it would be crippling. Still, by forcing myself to confront my guilt daily, it at least seemed that it wasnt stacking up; once I cleared the events of a day, they no longer showed up the next time. I had to wonder what the gods were thinking, making the ability they gave to their so-called champions have such a cost. It also made me wonder what the other champions had to deal with. Gradually, my heart rate slowed and my breathing steadied. Jacqueline provided me with a chunk of bread and cheese she had sequestered during dinner. Glancing at the puddle a little way away from me, I grimaced and forced myself to eat what was offered. Once I was finished, I had a bit to drink as Jacqueline tied up the back of my evening dress again. I stood up but stumbled. If not for Jacqueline promptly catching me I would have wound up falling. God damnit! I could only blame myself for putting myself in this situation of course, but that didnt mean it wasnt frustrating. Jacqueline supported my weight until I was able to stand on my own, though it took a few minutes longer for my knees to stop shaking. We began to make our way back towards the inn, and I trusted Jacqueline to let me know of any dangers as I tuned the world out, focusing only on the cool air on my face. Honestly, its a bit extreme. I was responsible for the death of an innocent and maimed my retainer. Im sure other people have done something similar before, and Ill bet they dont get assaulted with guilt to such a degree. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I regrated it; not that I felt guilty for having it, rather, I knew that I would be paying for having that thought during tomorrow nights session. Still, it did raise a good point; clearly [Cold Hearted] was exacerbating the degree to which I felt the blowback. Normally, while guilt could be crippling, it wouldnt be to this extent. We made good time and soon arrived back at the inn, when we got into our room, the only one still awake was Pet. Lucy had been up to greet me the first night, however, I had put a stop to that; I wanted as few people as possible to see me after I got back from wallowing in enforced self-pity. Pet padded up to me on tiptoes, then after a moments pause, opened her arms and embraced me in a hug. She didnt know exactly what was happening on my now nightly outings, and I couldnt be sure exactly how much Claire was telling her, but I could appreciate her making an effort. It was calming. I hugged her back, then gave her a gentle push; I needed her to leave my side so I could get dressed for bed. Pet fixed me with a glare but backed off long enough for me to get out of my dress and into a nightgown. As soon as I was dressed, however, she immediately reapplied herself to my side. I laughed softly and tussled her hair, then made my way over to the bed. Pet again let go long enough for me to get in, but as soon as I had laid down, she clamped back onto my arm. I reached my free hand over and scratched at her ears. I couldnt be sure if she knew how calming her behaviors were, but at the very least I knew she was trying to help how she could. Before long, I could hear her breathing change into the steady rhythm of sleep, so I stopped scratching her ears and laid back myself, closing my eyes, I allowed my consciousness to fade. I woke up with the sun the next morning. Pet had crawled out of bed at some point and was looking out the window at the street below. That was something I had noticed her doing a lot since Claire took over her senses in order to block envious; it seemed after being cooped up for nearly a year, she had developed an interest in people-watching. I got up myself and dressed quickly with Lucys help. Ever since Jacqueline had lost her arm, my other two maids had been stepping in here and there, taking over duties that had originally been hers. They didnt always do everything, and Jacqueline claimed not to mind. I wasnt going to question it, as long as nothing ill came of the arrangement. Today we planned on stopping by the Adventurers Guild. The public reason for this was to send ahead a letter to my father informing him of my progress. My personal objective was, of course, to learn what I could about Aaron. Jacqueline had offered to look into it on her own, but I had declined that. There was little chance of him actually being here, so having Jacqueline do extra work made no sense. Instead, we could simply inquire after him in the process of posting the letter. Following the brief stop at the Adventurers Guild, we would depart Fess and continue on towards Ris. Fess was the last stop on our way, and the next couple of days we would spend camped outside. We arrived at the Guild Building, which looked just as dilapidated and run down as I remembered, and Lucy helped me down from the carriage. This drew a few stares; Lucys nature as a Dark Elf meant that the appearance at a glance was a twelve-year-old helping a ten-year-old get off the carriage. Those stares would only intensify once the fact that she was an Elf became known. I was banking on that fact, which was why I had asked her to come inside with me rather than Jacqueline. Assuming Aaron was not here, word would spread faster that there was a noble girl looking for him if it was accompanied by shes got an elf for a maid. I was doing this because I didnt have any legitimate excuses to put out a personal request for him; the only task someone in my position might use the Guild for was letters. Anything more than that, and I would be able to access knights through my connection to the Francois. We went inside the guild building with one of the knights accompanying me as a guard. This was done so as to dissuade any drunkards from doing something stupid; Giogi had grown a fair bit more capable over the past half-year of training, even to the point that the school had been willing to grant him special leave to start his own break early so that he could continue working as my guard, but he was still a boy. Adventurers were looked down on in Drakas, but that didnt mean they lacked skill. Indeed, some of them were as skilled as the knights themselves. Technically, I shouldnt even be going in myself, but I have to show my face on the off chance hes here. No way would he be inclined to trust some random Elf and a knight, not if he has the type of information I hope he does. Sitting at the counter was the same older receptionist that had been there last time. It would seem the morning rush had passed, as there was no wait for us to get to the counter. As such, Lucy quickly stepped up and offered the letter, then, as I had instructed her beforehand, she requested Aaron to deliver it, if he was available. Excuse me, good sir. Please have this delivered to Baron Ris of Ris village in advance of my ladys arrival. If he is available, she would like the request handled by one Aaron, who has fulfilled similar tasks for her in the past. The old man eyed the letter in Lucys hand and nodded before quoting a price, Considering the distance, Thatll run you three Drakas Golds. And Aaron hasnt been in Fess for a few months now He trailed off while rubbing his white beard. It sounded like he had something else he wanted to say, but he glanced at my knight, who had taken up a post a little ways back, and coughed. In any case, if you have the coin, I can get one of these lads to take your letter out to Ris. Well, you could have made that a little bit more obvious, dont you think? You have something you want to say but wont say it in front of the kingdoms knight. Pretty sure everyone here noticed that. Hopefully, I just noticed because Ive spent so long learning from an assassin and it wasnt really that obvious I glanced at Lucy, who was closer to the man than I was; thankfully, it didnt seem like she had noticed anything. I waved for Lucy to pay the fee, and we left the Guild with as little information as we had had when we went in. Well, there was the question of what he had decided not to say in the present company. If I had a reason to stay in Fess one more day, then I could arrange to go back to the guild without an escort. Unfortunately, I had no such excuse. At least now I know that Aaron probably does know something, and whatever it is, its pretty damning. Ill need to make sure to visit the guild alone when I stop in Fess on the way back to the capital this spring. The thought also occurred that if I had given Jacqueline permission to do some solo work, she might have learned what the old man hadnt wanted to say. But that was only an if, it was possible that the man would only have said anything to me. As I was thinking, there came a rap on the carriages window. This wasnt that uncommon when leaving a city or town; occasionally one of the guards would have a question for one of the occupants. Jacqueline was the closest to the window, so she called out, This Carriage bears the crest of Count Francois, what do you require of us? The response was, surprisingly, not from a guard. Aye, The Guild master sent me after ye, e forgot to give the young lady a letter from her pa. Accompanying this, frankly absurdly rude announcement, the person on the other side of the window presented a sealed paper letter. Why would my father set a letter to wait for me in Fess? He would either send it all the way to Count Francois or just tell me when I arrived in Ris Ah. Its probably that isnt it? I motioned for Jacqueline to receive the letter. She took it from the man and then tipped him a small silver; it wasnt much but, then again, he hadnt gone very far. Jacqueline glanced down at the letter and quickly skimmed its contents. Owing to the ruse that had been presented, I didnt have a reason to read it myself. Thankfully, Jacqueline was quick on the uptake and so had not actually read it aloud. She then sealed the letter and placed it in a pocket on the inside of her apron. Your father wishes to inform you that he is glad to hear you and Lord Dominic both escaped with your lives, he and your mother are both ready to receive you. Yea, Im sure thats what it says. Ill have to read it for myself later, but Ill bet that letter was hastily penned by the old man as soon as we left or something like that. Of course, I might be overthinking things, it could really just be a letter from my father, but in six months since leaving home I hadnt received a single communique from my parents. It would feel odd to suddenly get one now. I leaned back in my chair, I felt extremely satisfied with how my most recent visit to Fess had gone. I hadnt been expecting to gain anything from it, and while I still didnt know what exactly that letter said, it was something more than nothing. Psycholor Next chapter will detail the contents of the letter, as well as Stahlia''s family reunion. 3-5 Reunions Psycholor Cleanup Project Changes: My nightly escapades with Jacqueline did not stop after the development of Ammonia. The night after she presented me with the dagger she came to my room and had me get dressed before taking me out to the garden. Once arrived she produced a straw bale and coolly informed me that Having a weapon is useless if you do not know how to use it. I very quickly ran into an issue, however; the dagger was heavy! Given my own lack of size, the Dagger was closer to a great sword as far as my tiny arms were concerned. I persevered with it, however, progress was incredibly slow. Eventually, I developed a technique where I would magically enhance myself for just a moment in order to perform a move. But my mana was limited, so I was only able to fight for a scant few minutes, even if I economized as much as possible. Jacqueline was impressed by my progress, and asked me how I was managing to perform the forms I was being taught despite my lack of strength. When I told her I was using mana to improve my muscles for an instant before attacking she got a distant look on her eyes and murmured something about blood magic I couldnt catch the entirety of. Then she instructed me to keep this discovery a secret, it was apparently an exceedingly rare technique and would be very difficult to explain to anyone who asked. I''ve decided to extend the "cleanup project" a bit beyond it''s original scope. Some people probably noticed that there have been a few allusions to Royal Road in the comments of recent chapters. This is because, for the past three weeks, the story has been getting uploaded over there, at a rate of one chapter a day. In hindsight, this is probably a contributing factor to why I''ve gotten so sensitive and bitchy the past little while. Sorry about that, those bastards are harsh. Well, I collected all of the most common critical feedback from both RR and SH, and fed the story to the English Lit teacher (actually my former high-school teacher) I mentioned in the notice about the Tragedy tag. Taking all of that feedback, I am now getting ready to do a "Soft Rewrite". I call it a "Soft Rewrite" because the story will NOT be placed on hiatus while this happens. I am simply going to go chapter by chapter over Arc one and two, and rewrite dialogue/add a couple small things here and there. Once a chapter is finished, I will just swap the text with the live version. There will be a moving Author''s Note that follows the progress of the rewrite, advising new readers that the next chapter has a major quality shift until this finishes. In the spoiler, you will find a list of things that I plan on addressing. Oh, and if trash harem power fantasy is up your alley, Arifureta season 2 seems to have recovered from season one''s terminal illness of dogshit CGI. Based on the opening scene, the season finale aught to be fucking amazing. Phew, that''s it for announcements. I swear, I always have so much bullshit to get through. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 With a gasp, I felt my body relax and once again became aware of the cool night air on my exposed back. I really cant tell if its getting any better at all I wasnt sure what was worse, the experience of being confronted by my guilt in such a blunt manner, or the trepidation throughout the day leading up to it. Jacqueline was once again with me, and I gratefully accepted the towel she offered, pressing it against my forehead until my chest stopped heaving. When I had sufficiently calmed, my attendant produced from her hidden pocket the letter we had been given earlier today. So, I was right, she did refrain from sharing the real content. That was both good and bad news. The good news is that it meant there was actually something substantial. Bad, in that it meant Jacqueline knew about it. Given Dominics influence, I had to be extremely careful with what I told her. Even these nightly excursions, of which this was the fourth, I had to be careful with the reasons behind them. Jacqueline did not know about my [Cold Hearted] Skill; I had told her that I was practicing a new Blood Magic technique. It was a flimsy excuse, but one that she had accepted. I feel like she knows I dont trust her anymore Whether or not she realizes why though The fact that Dominic had stolen away my one true confidant was just one more entry to add to the list of all the infuriating things he had done. As if fighting back on his behalf, I suddenly had the memory of that kiss, not the one on my hand, but the real kiss, thrust into the forefront of my thoughts. I felt my cheeks heat up a little before I forcibly squashed the memory. Both to sate my curiosity and to distract myself, I flipped open the letter and read the contents aloud into the night air. Dear Noble Girl, I am leaving this with the old man in case you should ever find your way back to Fess in search of me. If you are reading it, then it likely means that you have stumbled upon, or are approaching, the truth. I cannot give you all the answers you probably seek, indeed, I am sure this letter will likely only offer more questions. In your moment of greatest need, ask for me at any guildhall, and word will reach me. Your road is hard, but you are by no means without recourse. Do not trust the gods, they never hold the interests of their champions at heart. ~Aaron, the Reviled and Cast Down The letter was correct, in that it did in fact raise far more questions than it answered. I crumpled it up and used [Ignite] to burn it away. Once it was ash, Jacqueline spoke to me, I take it you were able to read it, my lady? I froze and felt a bead of cold sweat run down my spine. You were not? Jacqueline shook her head, Indeed, it looked like gibberish to me. Staring at it made my head hurt a bit. I figured you might be able to read it, so I came up with some random excuse and stored it away for when we were alone tonight. I turned my gaze to the pile of ashes. Fuck yet another question Thankfully, Jacqueline seemed like she did not plan on asking what the letter had said. After resting a few minutes longer, as well as eating something, I got to my feet. If anything good is coming of this, Im at least able to recover faster now It was small comfort in the face of the knowledge that I would be going through this many more times. We made our way through the very light snow and back to where the carriage was set up for our camp. I allowed the sound of crunching footsteps to lull me into a steady rhythm while I pondered the contents of the letter. The biggest question is who the hell Aaron is. From Jacquelines reconnaissance, I know he has some kind of past relationship with the Francois family. But now the Reviled and Cast Down He also knows that Im one of the champions for this game and knows enough to know about how the gods are assholes. I could think of a few possibilities, but none of them had quite enough evidence for me to feel confident in calling them the correct option. I feel like the fact that he gave his Epitaph was supposed to clue me in, then theres the fact it was written in a language that only I could read My first thought was that it had been written in English or some other Earth Language and that Aaron was reincarnated. I marked that as unlikely after a bit more consideration; it was frankly too risky on his part. Earth had so many different languages, that for him to have properly guessed one I could speak well English was a good bet in that case; about twenty percent of people spoke English as at least a second language. But that still left him with an eighty percent chance I couldnt read it. There was the fact that looking at it had given Jacqueline a headache; she had only been looking at it for a minute. I had heard of some people who got headaches from seeing text, but never with only specific languages, and never so quickly. The next conclusion that I arrived at, was that he was the thirteenth; the god who had rejected their divinity. This one I also quickly threw out as being simply fanciful. Basically, the only things that led to that conclusion were his knowledge of my status as Winters Champion, and his Epitaph sort of fitting the public perception of that god. I came up with a dozen more potential identities, ranging from him being another demon to a foreign agent working under deep cover, trying to recruit me to their cause. Each new theory was more fanciful than the one before it, but in the end, I simply lacked information. As we entered the camp, I opted to just not think about Aarons identity. At the end of the day, who he was wasnt important to me; I would be mindful of him as a potential ally and at the same time be vigilant of potential risk. Short of calling him out, I had no way of verifying any of my theories. Ill just keep the idea of calling for him in the back of my mind as an absolutely last resort as the letter says In your moment of greatest need though, I cant say Im exactly thrilled when I think of how this is probably exactly what he wanted my reaction to be. I climbed up into the carriage and into the cot that had been set up for me. Watching my every move was a five-year-old adopted little sister, who had once again refused to go to sleep until I came back. Even if the cot was too small for her to actually sleep clutching my arm. Apparently, she was still required to confirm that I was back safely before sleeping herself. Once I was secured under my covers, I felt a soft pressure. Through half-closed eyes, I could see Pet gripping at my forearm from her spot on one of the benches. Three days later, I found myself fidgeting in the seat of the carriage. This was the day I would be making my return to Ris Village. We had taken the trip back a bit slower, taking advantage of the fact that I had been let go a couple of months early, and thus did not have to race the snow. Still, this would be the first time I had seen my mother and father in just over half a year. The same applied to my brother, though I didnt really know what to say about that. Rosin had been two when I left home and would be three now. I had taken a distance from him in the wake of Rosials kidnapping. Of course, that wasnt fair to him, but at the time I had been afraid of forming another attachment only to see it lost. Now Now, I at least want to know my own brother. It might seem counter-intuitive, given how much I had to do towards my primary goal, but I felt like I should at least try. Pet was sitting next to me on the bench; she had been getting more and more excited as the trip went on, but this final leg she was behaving in a very subdued manner. I imagine Claire must be responsible for that, probably pointed out that shes going to be meeting my real family though likely, in a more diplomatic way than that. The thought of introducing Pet to them was a worry of mine; my parents had never done or said anything outright discriminatory that I could remember. Ill just have to cross that bridge when I come to it. Indeed, I was out of time; The village had been visible for a little while now, and we were now close enough that I could see my mother, father, and a little boy that looked like an older version of Rosin from my memories. The carriage came to a stop and I took a deep breath. Standing, I approached the doors of the carriage. One of the knights came back from saying something to my father and put their hand on the door. Right. I forced a serene smile that hid my internal anxiousness and waited for the door to open. The door swung open and the knight offered his hand to me. Graciously, I accepted it and disembarked. After giving the man a respectful curtsy, I turned to face my parents and began walking towards them. As I got closer, I was able to make out more detail. My mother appeared thinner than I remembered but otherwise seemed healthy. My father was the opposite, a bit on the heavy side, though he too seemed otherwise healthy. Of course, the person I paid the most attention to was Rosin. My brother was clinging to my mothers skirt and watching me approach with widened eyes. Finally, I stood before them. I quickly curtsied and greeted them, Father, Mother, I have returned safely. As I said in my prior letter, I was granted an early leave I trailed off, my father had held up his hand indicating for me to stop. Suddenly, I was enveloped in a hug, Hmgmff! Pushing and clawing my way up, I managed to get my head above my fathers arms and out of his chest. Still otherwise stuck in his embrace, I peered up at his face; According to my memory, I had never received a hug from him. He had been a good father for certain, but he had been distant. Almost keeping me at an arms length. It had been my mother who was more overtly affectionate, but even she had been distant to an extent. The feeling I had gotten, especially after we received peerage, was that as their daughter, I came second to their duty. F-father? I felt his hand on the back of my head, pushing me back into his chest. I cannot tell you how glad I am to have you back safe. When we received word that you had fought a demon Stahlia, forgive me for being so blind. His tone was hard, but there was an underlying warmth to it; I could tell that he meant what he said. Wha? I was struggling to compute the current happenings. Thats when I felt a more feminine touch on my shoulder. I stiffened, expecting to be scolded by my mother for not comporting myself as a proper lady in public, but instead of scolding, she gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, As your father says, Stahlia. I am ever so grateful to have you back safe and sound It must have been terrifying. What whats this now? I could feel a strange warmth welling up from their words. And before I knew it, I was crying. I I was so alone! Indeed, I hadnt realized it, but I had been shouldering so much by myself, with no real support. Of course, my parents didnt know the full extent; from their perspective, I had merely been tossed into an arranged marriage and shipped off on my own. They didnt know anything about what had really happened to Rosial. But even given what they were privy to, it was still a lot. I hadnt even been a noble three years ago; now I was living on my own, with a fiance, and doing work for the kingdom that was usually assigned to teenagers. It was, frankly, a really big ask. Even for the so-called Prodigy. I didnt realize how stressed I was I didnt know how long I had spent crying in my fathers arms like that, but eventually, I managed to compose myself. As my father let me go, I pulled back slightly and realized there was now a long string of mucus connecting me to his torso. My eyes also felt incredibly itchy, and I could only imagine how puffy they were. I looked up at my mother, and her smile cracked almost immediately. Seeing such a reaction from her, I couldnt help myself but giggle. This caused my mother to let out a sardonic grin while shaking her head in an exaggerated manner, Indeed Stahlia, just look at you! No daughter of mine should let themselves be seen like that in public. Her words sounded harsh, but her tone and mannerisms were overblown with sarcastic intent. Clapping her hands, my mother waved for Silvia, the second maid we had hired when Jacqueline became my personal attendant. Silvia seemed to have mastered the maids role, as I had not realized she was even present until my mother beckoned her. Silvia stepped forward and offered me a veil. Evidently, my reaction was predicted. I turned my head and allowed Silvia to affix the cloth so that my ruined face was not visible. The entire time, Silvia was incredibly stiff; it would seem Jacqueline was studying her actions very closely. Just like with Lucy and Frieda, apparently, Silvia got so good at being a maid in a quest to get Jacquelines approval The thought of my attendant being so fixated on the minutia of maid work and so highly critical of other maids, despite the position being a literal falsehood for her, brought a smile to my face. Once I was properly hidden, I stepped back a little way and motioned towards the carriage. A head peeked out from inside, with two little fuzzy triangles twitching nervously on top of it. Alright Claire, nice touch with the ears. Pet slowly came out into full view, her tail tucked between her legs, and eyes flicking back and forth between me and my parents. My mother crossed her arms and gazed at Pet appraisingly, while my Father simply gave her a once over then returned his own line of sight to me. Right, here goes I opened my mouth to make introductions when I was cut off by a pained yowl. Facing Pet, I saw that the toddler in the room had apparently been feeling left out. Rosin had slipped away from my mother while I was being pampered and had seen something fascinating; a long soft furry thing that twitched in a mesmerizing pattern. He had then latched onto that long soft fury thing and pulled. Pet had not appreciated this at all and was presently scrambling to get to my side, dragging Rosin behind her via tail link. In spite of myself, I laughed. This slowly spread to my mother, who allowed a warm smile to spread across her face, and my father who gave a snort before quickly recomposing himself. Really dad? Are you trying to say thats enough emotional display from me for one day? Pet was not amused, giving me a reproachful stare as I detached and gently chided Rosin, Rosin, you must not pull her tail; it hurts when you pull on your finger right? My brother nodded, though he looked upset at being reprimanded, Its soft though! I want to touch it. I gently shook my head and beckoned Pet to come closer; she probably realized what I was doing, because when she arrived, she bent slightly at the knees, lowering her head. Yes, its very soft, but it also hurts a lot. You can ask permission to rub her ears instead, but only do it if she says its ok. Rosin looked up and saw that I was now rubbing Pets ears, much to her delight. After a moment of indecision and staring at her now swaying tail, he seemed to make up his mind and asked, Can I pet them too? I removed my hand, and Pet nodded, tilting her head a bit so that he could reach her easier. As Rosin discovered the joys of giving head-pats, I turned and addressed my parents. Doing my best to keep any lingering worry out of my voice, I began the introduction. Father, Mother, this is- this time it wasnt a yowl that interrupted me, but Pets, or rather, Felicitys normal voice. Albeit a very stutter nervous version of it. F-Felicity Felicitys n-n-name is was, F-Felicity. I shot a glance back at Felicity, wondering for a moment if Claire had seized control to say that. But based on Felicitys current nervous behavior, as well as Claires aversion to doing that, I determined that it had very likely been Felicity that had spoken. Of course, that didnt rule out Claire urging her to speak, but they had most likely been Felicitys words. Ugh, just thinking about the two of them gives me a bit of a headache Still, if Felicity was just now choosing to reveal her original name, I was sure it had some significance. Lets roll with it. -this is Felicity. Shes technically my slave, however, I have been viewing and treating her as a little sister. I hope that you can come to treat her as a close friend of mine, at the very least. My mother was the first to react, giving Felicity another once over with her eyes. After a moment she murmured to herself, She does indeed bear a strong resemblance After which, the corners of her eyes lifted up in a warm smile and she stepped up to Felicity. It is a pleasure to meet you, Felicity. I have heard some very good things about how you have helped my daughter cope with her situation after my failure as her mother. She then reached down, without hesitating, and pulled Felicity into a short hug. It wasnt a lingering hug like I had gotten from my father, more of a brief squeeze really. But considering Felicitys species and my mothers position, it was much more than I had expected, leaving me at a loss for words. Were in public still too It was only just now dawning on me, that while there wasnt exactly a crowd, we were not exactly in a private place; simply standing on the road as we were. Thankfully, it seems my father had the common sense to relieve the knights while I wasnt looking. But my mother, who was so obsessed with appearing as a lady ought is now doing things like hugging a beast-kin slave in public. I must not have been the only one who had a significant change of heart over the past three years. My father greeted Felicity next, though he refrained from hugging her, Indeed, I hear you have been looking out for my daughter. I am incredibly grateful that you would do what I did not. It was a touching scene, just Mom, Dad, shes five. Not every child is going to be as advanced as me Thankfully, in Felicitys case, even if the heavy dialogue went over her head, Claire would be able to translate for her so she was unlikely to miss anything important. Speaking of which, it would appear that Claire had either just finished translating, or Felicity understood more than I thought because she perked up and smiled happily. Then dropped a bombshell. Kaasan, Tousan, Thank you! Mother and father? Well, Im not opposed to her calling them that, I mean I already consider her a little sister of sorts, but maybe its best I dont tell my parents what those words mean As if to sabotage me, my mother looked in my direction and raised an eyebrow. no, I have enough lies with my parents already, Ill not add another one for this. Well, a small one, but only to keep the bigger one. The words are a dialect unique to her tribe of cat-kin. If I understand correctly, she just called father and you well, father and mother. As expected, my parents both showed a bit of surprise towards that revelation. Now its in their hands, how will they react I wonder? It was one thing for my parents to accept Felicity as my friend. It was another entirely for them to accept the label she had just bestowed them with; doing so would be essentially accepting a beast-kin slave as their adopted daughter. After a moment, my father shrugged as if to say he was unconcerned. My mother took a moment longer, before, to my surprise, picking Felicity up and setting her on her knee. Though she was only five, and not much larger than Rosin, she still weighed a fair bit. Enough that my mother let out a soft grunt of effort. Felicity pressed her ears flat, or at least Claire did. Honestly, Claire has gotten pretty good at making the reactions naturally. After a moment, and once Felicity had clasped her arms around my mother, Claire allowed the ears to perk back up. My mother kept a stern expression the entire time, and turned about before rapidly making her way into our house. My father shrugged as if to say there you have it and followed her in, leaving me outside with Lucy, Jacqueline, and Rosin. Silvia had disappeared at some point, causing me to question which of my familys maids was really the ninja. Giogi had been dismissed along with the other knights and had gone to find his own family, or perhaps to find Sark and the other boys he had left behind. I asked Jacqueline to unload the luggage with Lucy, and then show her around the grounds of our much-smaller-than-the-Francois estate. This left me alone with Rosin. My brother seemed a bit upset at Felicity having taken the attention away from him, something I knew I needed to address right away in order to prevent any trouble later on. So Rosin, I havent seen you for a while huh? I cringed at myself internally. I didnt need to be able to feel regret to regret having started the conversation off like that. Rosin nodded, still acting a bit glum and not really acting like he cared to talk. Lets see, I need something to catch his interest I could call Stil, he probably doesnt remember him very well No, Stil needs to leave with me, and I still havent decided if I should leave Pe- Felicity here or not. Considering her name change, Im leaning towards leaving her in Ris. Much less likely to make a mistake that way Ill miss her though Focus. Stil Isnt an option. I could do some simple magic, he ought to like that but again, thats no good. He would want to learn himself, which I doubt mom and dad would allow. Plus, if he then finds out Felicity can use a bit of magic herself were back to square one. After thinking for another moment, I couldnt come up with anything better, so I simply leaned over, poured some mana into my muscles, and picked Rosin up the same way our mother had picked up Felicity. I recalled how I used to carry Rosial around the living room at speed, much to her delight and our mothers chagrin. Hold on tight, Rosin He got off a panicked Wai-! before I started moving. Of course, I was careful not to drop him, so he didnt actually need to hold on tight, but it was the appearances that mattered. Before long, Rosin had overcome his initial fright and was gleefully waving his hands in the air and calling out in excitement as I ran short laps around the garden. This really does remind me of playing with Rosial. The thought was a little sobering, but Rosin was able to banish it with his next cry of Faster! Faster! I picked up the speed a bit, but not enough to where he would be endangered, and did another couple of laps before slowing to a stop. I made a big show of putting him down and gasping for breath, There, are you happier now, Rosin? Without missing a beat, he nodded and excitedly exclaimed, Mhm! That was fun! I reached out and tussled his sandy blonde hair while peering through my veil into his silver-blue eyes. I should do it. I know if I dont and something happens, Ill regret it assuming I ever get to the point where I can regret again Damn it all. Rosin, can I check something real quick? I promise it wont hurt. Rosin cocked his head, not really understanding, but nodded his assent after a moment. I took a deep breath and poured mana into his body through my hand that was still tussling his hair. Rosin stiffened as he felt my mana enter, but after a moment he relaxed after it became apparent that it really didnt hurt. His dedication is during the first month of next year, so lets see what the gods will, shall we? After a moment, the mana stream returned to me, and a picture, though one lacking detail, appeared in my head. Name/Age: Rosin von Ris, 3 Level/Species: Human[Pureblood], 2 Ability Values: Skills: Language Proficiency[Central Human] Well, It doesnt look like he has a class. If he does, its a pretty shit one since all his ability values are at the human baseline. I wish he had a class though, not having one as the heir to a noble house I winced as what felt like a knife stabbed me through my skull. My vision blacked out for a moment and I swayed on my feet. When my vision returned, Rosin was looking up at me with concern. Between me and him, however, was a new menu entry. One that made my heart pound in my chest. What the FUCK!? Request of Authority Holder to Bestow Target with Class Received. Valid Authority: {Divine Authority[Class Features]} Confirmed. Target of Action [Rosin von Drakas, Human[PB],3y] Has 570 Life Points Available. Browse Available Classes? Y/N I was torn for sure. Of course, having a Class would make his life much easier. On the other hand, I have no idea what the side effects would be like. No. There is no way Im going to test something like this on my brother... As I focused on the letter N, the new menu closed. Accompanying it, my headache abated. What caused that though? Was it me wishing he had a class while I was appraising him? If thats the case what else can I wish for? I had the distinct feeling I had been underutilizing my abilities. Ill have to start experimenting later, for now though... Rosin still looked worried, given my brief standing blackout. I clapped his shoulders, Come on Rosin, lets go inside. Im sure mother will be having Lucy go through a gauntlet of tests. Dinner ought to be something special tonight. The mention of food sufficiently swayed my brother and he turned and darted inside the house. Before following him, I glanced around to make sure nobody was watching me, then used the veil to quickly wipe the thin trickle of blood that was coming from my nose. I need to experiment, but I need to be super careful. I only had that menu open for a moment, and I got a headache and a nosebleed. Actually using it to bestow a class I imagine theres going to be a cost associated with it I only had to look as far as my own [Cold Hearted] to understand that the system would absolutely extract its pound of flesh. Once my nose had stopped bleeding, I entered the house and was greeted by my mother giving me a judging look. At first, I panicked, thinking she had noticed me hiding the nosebleed, or that Rosin had said something and I was now suspected of doing lecherous things. As it turned out, Rosin had in fact said something, but rather than be about when I appraised him, it was about how I had run him around the garden. Stahlia, I wont say anything this time, since it seems you were able to bond with Rosin, but in the future, if you plan on running around like that do it inside like you used to with Rosial. That way nobody will see you and start strange rumors. My mothers tone was resigned as if she had given up on something. But there was a hint of warmth as well. I gave my consent readily, I hadnt realized how much I missed it, but having my parents so close was something amazing. Overcome, I stepped forward and gave my mother a hug. Felicity saw this from wherever she had been and glomped onto the two of us. Rosin must have felt left out because he quickly clambered into the group hug with a cry of No fair! I looked up to see my mothers flustered face, W-whats come over you Stahlia? I shook my head, Nothing, mother. I just love you is all. Ive got a lot of work to do, but for just today Its good to be back home. Psycholor Having her not at least briefly wish he had a class, for his own happiness, would go against her character and how she''s presently trying to "get over herself" I think. Having her not appraise him when she has the chance, would show that she hasn''t learned anything from Rosial. So I decided to go ahead and give her the power, or more accurately, the knowledge that she has this power. As she speculates, using her authority on people other than herself most certainly extracts a "pound of flesh". She also doesn''t exactly have a way to test it and learn those limits while in Ris. So for now, its a "dead" power. Next chapter will be an outing into the village, visiting old hangouts, we will also be getting a move on and meeting the minor conflict of this Arc. 3-6 Ris Village Tour Psycholor Chapter 1-9 has had the scenes involving toddler characters other than Stahlia drastically altered. Dialogue is brand new while keeping major events intact. If anyone would be willing to go back to that chapter and evaluate the new dialogue, I would be very thankful. Please keep in mind, the ones that have a class (Giogi and Sana in this chapter) should sound a little bit older; it is my intention that the system causes them to mentally age a bit faster than normal. However, they should now only seem four or five years old, instead of sounding like they are in their early teens. Basically, I made the sentences much simpler, removed references to concepts a toddler shouldn''t know about, and lowered the average syllable count of their vocabulary. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Ninth Month of 947 I woke up feeling refreshed. It had been a fairly long night with my family following dinner, but it had been fun. More important than it being fun though, I had been able to reconnect with my parents and little brother. Once Rosin had been put to bed, I had wound up staying up late and talking more with my parents. That conversation had been hard; they were reminiscing about Rosial, my mother even went as far as stating how she didnt want to lose her other daughter. Of course, knowing that Rosial was in fact alive made the conversation a bit awkward for me. There was no way I could tell them this, so I sort of just nodded along. At one point, my father even insinuated we try and find a way to break of my engagement. That had really come as a shock, considering how big he had been on the idea of fulfilling our duty to the country as nobles and all that, having even gone so far as to say exactly that to me when I had questioned the engagement two years ago. And canceling the engagement like that would be counter-productive. I do want out of it, but I need to set up a smooth landing for myself. I had gently led my father to believe that, while I still had misgivings, I had no desire to see the engagement canceled at this time. I looked down at my sides, on my right, Felicity was still clinging to my arm in her sleep. Rosin was on my left; he had demanded to sleep with me after learning that Felicity was going to. I might not have formed a proper bond with him in the two years after his birth, but its a good thing it isnt too late, and hes still open to me. Eventually, my mother had caved in towards Rosins demands and, with my permission, put him to bed in my room. I wasnt particularly against letting him sleep with me, considering I had been letting Felicity do it for over half a year, though hopefully he wouldnt grow quite as attached as she had. I extricated myself from between the two, being very careful so as not to wake them. I had various plans today. People I hadnt seen in a while that I wanted to greet, and one conversation I, well regretted wasnt the right word, but one conversation I should have had two years ago but was too frightened by what I might hear to do so. Jacqueline and Lucy both knew about my plans, so they were ready for me. I wasnt taking either of them with me for this outing, but I still needed their help getting ready to go out. By the time I was dressed and my hair was brushed and styled, Felicity was just starting to stir. I watched her stretch before calling out, Good morning, Felicity. She looked over at me lazily through eyes still evidently filled with sleep, Ohayo, Stahlia Nee-San. Right, if Claire ever gets her own body, Ive got to remember to give her a good smack for what she did to Felicity. I smiled ruefully at the sleepy kitten and rose to my feet. Heading downstairs, I ate a quick breakfast and set out towards my first stop. Exiting my home into the early morning light, I was met with a rush of cold mountain air. Of course, Ris was never exactly warm, but this late in the year you could tell winter was coming. I filled my lungs with the crisp air and nodded to myself before heading down and out the front gate. As I walked down the streets, quite a few people heading out for the day stopped to greet me. Parents of the kids in my year, friends of my mother, people who I had helped through my connection to Sven. I waved back and greeted them all, but after a little while, it began to grow tedious. Eventually, I ducked off the street and began slipping through backyards. It wasnt that I disliked being greeted, I simply had places I needed to be. As I moved through peoples yards I couldnt help but overhear traces of peoples morning conversations. One lady was chiding her daughter for feeding stray cats. An old man was cooing to his wife about their new grandson. A hunter was complaining about the recent scarcity of game and how the animals he could find were a bit thinner than normal. Just idle chatter about mundane things, no high-tension scenarios, no noble conspiracies. This is bliss. Before long, I arrived at my first stop for the day. I slipped into Siegs, formerly Svens, alchemy shop and sucked in a lungful of musty air thick with the scent of herbs. Of course, I could smell something similar at any shop in the capital, or even in the Academy workshop. But something about this one was special. Technically, the shop wasnt open yet but Sieg had been informed I was coming by a runner yesterday, so he had opened the door early. The man in question was presently hunched over a cauldron brewing something I couldnt quite make out the exact identity of from where I was standing. But based on the color of the steam though, it was likely a medicine for illness. I stepped up a bit closer behind him and verified the contents of the pot. Oh, cough syrup? Is the village expecting a hard winter? I asked an innocent question. What in the gods damned!? Sieg jumped out of his skin, causing the cauldron to rock dangerously. Hurriedly, I stuck out my hand and grabbed the edge, steadying it. It was hot of course, but I only received a very light burn. Nothing a quick dash of ointment wouldnt fix. Lady Stahlia, you should know better than to sneak up on someone like that, especially when theyre working. Siegs tone was admonishing but not particularly angry. I shrugged, Sorry, but its not like there was any harm done. Sieg gave me a hard look; clearly, he could tell I wasnt actually sorry at all. After a moment, he sighed, Let me see your hand. I held out my burned hand for Sieg to inspect. Grumbling to himself, he rummaged around one of the shops back shelves and came back a moment later with a small jar of ointment. From the acrid odor, I could tell that this was burn cream. In alchemical work, small cuts, scrapes, and indeed burns were a common occurrence so shops were always sure to have some of this stuff prepared. I had used it many times myself. Sieg applied a dollop to my hand and began to rub it into the burned skin. After a moment, the pain of the burn faded away and was replaced by a pleasant tingling; a sign that the agents in the cream were beginning to work. Sieg promptly released my hand and I took a moment to inspect his work. Satisfied, I thanked him, I thank you ever so much Sieg Svensbrother. My hand is saved thanks to your efforts. It was the same over-the-top noble speak that I had used way back when in order to tease Him and his brother. Unlike back then, however, Sieg seemed a bit uncomfortable this time. Lady Stahlia Perhaps Perhaps you shouldnt talk to me like you used to not when were alone, and well not when were not alone either. He was scratching his chin awkwardly while stumbling over his reply. The roundabout way of speaking caused me to take a moment to realize what he was getting at, then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was I was flirting with him just now, wasnt I? I felt my face starting to turn red, so I quickly averted my eyes. Wait, how come I can feel embarrassed at my own actions? Shouldnt that fall under regret and remorse? Sorry, I wasnt thinking. Sieg nodded and cleared his throat a bit awkwardly, So, why did you stop by? Just to catch up? Right, moving along would be for the best. In the end, my faux pas was just another reminder about how I was changing; things that had been acceptable two years ago, and even just before I had left, no longer were. I should probably refrain from visiting alone in the future too Ill bring Lucy or Jacqueline if I ever have to come here again. No. Well, I did want to catch up. But I also had some questions for you. About your supply chain. Sieg nodded and asked me to wait a moment while he finished up the cough syrup. I waved him off, I can finish it for you, why dont you brew a pot of tea or something? Sieg shrugged and went off to dig through the dried herbs for one that would be suitable for a tea. I turned my attention to the cauldron. The cough Syrup seemed to be brewed from honey, with a few crushed plants mixed in. At first glance, it wouldnt seem magical, however, the honey in question was from a species of bee monster. They would not only turn nectar into honey but would also further refine any intrinsic characteristics of whatever flower they had harvested from. It was considered a decently high-grade item, and its presence in a remote shop like this was a bit unusual. Then again, Svens shop had always had a curious selection given the location. Regardless, the syrup was almost done. I watched it carefully, and once I saw the color begin to change from a pale green to a sort of pink, I pushed the cauldron away from the coals so that it could cool slowly. At this stage, the syrup would provide instant relief from the symptoms of a winter cold for a few hours with just a sip. There were a couple of things I could do to improve the effect, but I didnt want to step on Siegs toes, so I left it alone. A moment later, Sieg came up and handed me a cup. I sniffed the aroma and recognized Snake Grass. I raised an eyebrow; this was one of the herbs I had worked with Sana to make tea from a long time ago. If not handled right, the resulting brew would be sweet to the point of toxicity. Not that it would actually hurt you, but you would swear it did. I moved to a seat at the counter and eyed Sieg while taking a tentative sip of the tea; he and Sana had always struggled to brew it right. As the tea passed my lips, I widened my eyes in surprise, Its delicious. Indeed, it seemed that Sieg had managed to conquer his own tea-related demons. He chuckled, Glad to hear it, it took me a while to get it right. We sat in silence just drinking the tea for a few minutes before he set his cup down. Right, Im sure you didnt come to just sip tea and finish batches of cough syrup. I set my own cup down and nodded, As I said, I want to ask about your supply chain. You see I quickly summarized the encounter with Sitri while keeping the details vague, the only thing that was really important was that he knew about her missing arm. So, thats what I wanted to ask about; the possibility that one of your vendors could supply a mythic grade restoration aspected ingredient. As I finished my spiel, I picked up my cup and took another sip to wet my throat. Sieg stroked his chin thoughtfully, Thats a tall order. I can put the word out, but do you have the kind of money for that? Even assuming that Count Francois would be willing to assist you, you still might come up short. For a maids arm I really dont see you getting his help anyways. I nodded, Of course, I know that. I do have a plan though. Its a bit risky but I feel responsible for what happened I think. Sieg cocked an eyebrow but didnt comment on the fact that I had stated I only thought I felt responsible. Instead, he latched onto me saying that I had a plan to pay for the ingredient. And what would your plan be? The amount of money youre talking about Lady Stahlia, you might have grown desensitized to money. Ingredients like that are worth small countries. Brewing a single regrowth potion from one most people would consider that a waste. I nodded again and waved for him to bring his ear close. While he was doing that, I quickly chanted a wind spell. Jacquelines talent could handle this for her, but my own wind magic was too low for that. Oh Wind, wrap me in your ###### touch, with your #### block my ##### from those who ##### from afar. [Silence] Sieg gave a brief start at my flagrant use of magic, but he didnt pull away. If anything, he pushed a little closer, Well, I take it that was an area silencing spell? And if youre going to talk directly into my ear anyways What in the world are you trying to drag me into Stahlia? I nodded, Im sure youll agree my precautions are necessary. Im not going to brew a regeneration potion. My plan is to brew a Goddess Draught. Sieg blinked slowly and sat back in a way that was closer to giving up than leaning back. I continued, now that I had said that bit, I didnt need to be as careful, Once Ive taken a dose for Jacqueline, and one more dose for my own purposes, the remainder of the brew can be given to the vendor. Of course, theyll have to pay for it, but the cost of the ingredients can be deducted from that sum. Ill even give a discount as a show of gratitude. Sieg eyed me carefully. He no longer wore the face of a friend, he was now looking at me with the face of a businessman. I can count myself lucky that hes actually taking me seriously. If I didnt have an existing track record of doing crazy shit with alchemy, as well as our friendship, he would have laughed me off. Hell, hes probably just a little crazy himself, even those two things shouldnt make him willing to entertain my proposal. Goddess Draught. It was a mythical tier of restorative potion. It had the same effect as a Phoenix Down combo''d with an Elixir, then washed down by a Remedy. In short, it was the ultimate panacea. Typically, anyone claiming to be able to brew one would be laughed out of whatever venue they were in. Finding a Goddess Draught in their travels would turn an Adventurer into a lord of whatever kingdom they took it to. And for good reason; there was no known recipe for the item. Scholars could only theorize as to what was required to make one, and every attempt to do so had failed. I had arrived at a working theory over the past few days. Of course, I had no way of knowing if I would be able to succeed in brewing the Goddess Draught, but whatever I produced would likely still be able to serve my purposes. After all, I was really planning to brew the best conventional restorative potion I could, and then infuse the result with the divine element via blood magic. Considering that one of the prevailing theories is that Goddess Draught is Vitae of the twelves fucking bathwater, I think my method should stand chance at working. Sieg started laughing at that moment, Ha! Youre serious, arent you? Man, I wish Sven was here, hed have a fit. Alright Stahlia, Ill ask around. Quietly. But dont get your hopes up to high. Youre still asking for something fucking huge, alright? I nodded my thanks, and after giving Sieg a moment to compose himself, I cut my spell and we could once again hear the quiet bustle from the street outside. We made some more idle conversation, I was telling him about the alchemy work I was doing at the Academy, while Sieg told me some simple stories about various emergencies that had occurred in my absence. Things like when one of the village mothers had brought her child in, hysterically claiming they had been bitten by a baby basilisk or something and needed an antivenom immediately, only for it to turn out to have been a harmless garden snake. After a while, when the sun had climbed up to just before its zenith, I said my goodbyes and departed with a handshake. I had two more stops to make today. I moved quickly along through the town. This time I was actively avoiding people from the beginning; I didnt have anything against being welcomed back, but when you were the chiefs daughter and everyone seemingly wanted to greet you, well it made it hard to keep appointments. I decided to detour around the edge of the village. This would take me by the Ris branch of the adventurers guild and bypass the market square, thus avoiding the most people. The Adventurers guild was just as tiny as I remembered it, and all of the usual faces were lounging around day drinking. Though there seemed to be an air of grimness about them today. Probably a death, based on the way theyre all acting. Its a dangerous profession after all. Still, that had nothing to do with me, so after stopping for just a brief moment and giving a nod of solidarity, I powered on towards my next appointment. I quickly arrived at my destination. Looking at it from the outside brought memories to the surface of my mind; this was where I had originally dueled and beaten Dominic. I was here now at Giogis request, mostly to see the other village boys I hadnt seen for a while. But now that I was here, looking at the building, I was a bit hesitant to go in. Its like with Sieg earlier stuff I used to get away with I cant really do that anymore. I looked down at my skirt; without even questioning it, I had worn a half shin-length skirt that Jacqueline had prepared for me. It was designed in such a way that I should be able to fight in it, similar to my school uniform. But it didnt really look like anything like what I used to wear when coming here. Well, just once more for old times sake, but Ill have to make sure that they know I cant come back anymore Thatll be a hard conversation. Steeling myself, I moved into the empty storage building. I saw Giogi running the boys through a series of drills. After blinking for a moment, and taking in the sight, I realized that these drills were the same ones used in the knight training at the Academy. Somehow, seeing him striving to train the knights brought a smile to my face and I let out a bit of a giggle. This was what announced my presence, as I had not yet been noticed by that point. Giogi turned around and greeted me by taking a knee and bowing his head. That was technically the correct way to greet me when he returned to service from a leave of absence, seeing as I was actually his Lady now. But the fact that youre doing it in front of all the other boys Stop. Just stop it! Combined with my earlier giggle, I now wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and curl up into a ball of safety. I couldnt do that though, so I bit my tongue to help push down the embarrassment, and said my line so that he would stop. Thank you for your loyalty, Giogi. You may rise. After a moment, I added, Please, rise. He got to his feet and bowed at me. I grimaced a bit, but it went unnoticed. After a moment, Giogi waved his hand and two of the boys dragged over a series of large boxes and laid some cloth on them. Around this, the others set up a series of chairs. In the end, they had created an impromptu long table. Giogi pulled out the chair that had been placed at the head of the table and beckoned for me to seat myself there. I thought we were going to have a series of duels? Whats he planning? My curiosity piqued, I took the indicated seat. Following this, the boys laid out a few baskets containing bread and cheese. I glanced around the warehouse and over the spread. Its like a banquet of the king of rags Giogi raised a hand, and the idle chatter ceased. He surveyed his troops and then launched into a short speech, Well, Im glad to see everyone managed to make it, despite the short notice. Im sure seeing everyone again has touched our ladys heart, even if she wont let it show. That being said, as time moves on things change. We had a grand time playing knights, but things are changing. Im sure these are memories we will all hold fondly as we grow older. With that, I commence the last meeting of Stahlias Knights! The boys chuckled and performed a toast of sorts with water. Your ten, why are you talking like an old man reminiscing about his childhood? Still, I found the sentiment of what Giogi was presumably trying to do touching. He had likely noticed how out of sorts I had been on the trip back. I could assume that with his limited information, he drew a conclusion that I was feeling out of it because of how my mission had gone. He had also learned a lot about social expectations as part of his own training, so he would have realized that I couldnt continue like I had used to, even if that same realization had escaped me until just recently. He put this together as a way to try and lift my spirits, by reminding me of a simpler time Or I was massively overthinking his motives and reasoning. That was likely, it was Giogi after all. But I decided I would believe my hypothesis, it would make me feel better if that was what he had been thinking. We ate our bread and cheese and had a grand time talking about what we had gotten up to before I had left for the Royal Academy. Well, the boys talked and reminisced. I mostly just listened. Honestly, this feels a bit like my senior graduation party in high school. Then again, me and Giogi, its almost like weve gone off to college. The others will have been taking apprenticeships or working to help their families since turning ten in a way, it sort of is like weve all graduated. In total, I only spent a few hours in the warehouse, far less than I had spent with Sieg. I said my goodbyes, and while they were unlikely to be final goodbyes, there was a sense of finality to them; it was as if both parties involved knew that this banquet had closed a chapter in our lives. Once I was back out on the street, I looked up at the sun; it was about 4:00 PM. My final destination for the day did not have an appointment, however, arriving closer to late evening would be better. I thought for a bit about how to kill time. My original plan had been to briefly go and clean up while getting something to eat, but what I had assumed would be a series of duels had instead turned into lunch. I was therefore neither dirty nor hungry. Eventually, I decided to just meander my way over to my destination along the main road, allowing people to get welcoming me back out of their systems. In this way, I arrived at the church just before 6:00 PM. I passed a pair of men on their way out of the church, they were having a conversation about something stealing crops and damaging the fences around the fields. Apparently, that conversation was engrossing in the extreme, because they nearly ran me over. The men were a bit gruff at first, pulling the classic watch where your going girly!. Then they recognized me. After that, they apologized profusely and beat a hasty retreat, practically falling over each other to getaway. It wasnt like I had a reputation for being cruel, but I was the lords daughter. I shrugged off the incident and let myself into the church. The Priest was having a conversation with one of the temple attendants near the altar, so I took up a position where I knew he would be able to see me and waited for him to finish. He was either almost finished already, or the conversation wasnt important, because I was only waiting a moment or two before he was making his way over to me. Lady Stahlia, I had heard you had come back from the capital early. Might I ask how young Sana is doing? right, he did practically raise her Sana is doing quite well, at least as far as I am aware. She has not spoken of any issues with me I left my sentence hanging. Now that I was actually here, I was beginning to feel nervous. The priest seemed a bit concerned at my lingering words, Lady Stahlia, is something the matter? Right, I might as well just come out with it. This is a conversation I should have had two years ago, but I danced around the subject because I was afraid of what I might learn. Well Father, I feel I have lost my purpose as of late. Im surrounded by shadows and was hoping you could provide guidance To punctuate my statement, I fixed the priest with a hard stare. To his credit, he didnt show any surprise and met my stare head-on. After judging me for a few moments, he nodded, I think we should speak in private, it sounds like a very serious issue. With that, he turned and headed towards the door that I knew from visiting Sana led to the living areas for the temple staff. I followed him at a short distance as he led me down the various hallways and towards a room I had seen a few times but never entered; his office. Once inside, he indicated a pair of couches that were facing each other with a small table between them. I took the seat on the couch that was closest to the door. The priest took the seat opposite me and fiddled with a sound obfuscating magic tool before folding his hands. I was not offered tea, but then, given the accusation I had just leveled, I would have been leery to drink it had he done so. Besides, him going so far as to use such an expensive tool for our conversation could already be seen as him offering me the greatest of hospitalities. I held my peace, keeping track of my body language carefully so I didnt do something like cross my arms or lean away from him. After a moment, I won the silent game and the priest spoke first, How long have you known? Did you find out in the capital or was it since? I nodded, Since a few months after the fact. The priest closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, I thought something might have happened. Your recovery from depression was too abrupt. Was it Jacqueline who told you? I shook my head, She confirmed it, but I found out through another source. Another source? Just who? he raised an eyebrow quizzically at my assertation. Antenora, the Twelfth Goddess. I let my statement hang in the air, it was as if my proclamation had chilled the room. The priest expressed emotion other than resignation for the first time, first showing shocked surprise but after a few seconds, clear understanding, She came to you in a dream I take it? And told you Rosial was still alive At the mention of my sisters name, something we had both been avoiding saying, I felt a bit of rage rising up at the priest. I did my best to suppress it without outright turning it off, but my hands were visibly shaking and I had to clench my jaw. The priest noticed the change come over me. My apologies, I know I have little right to say that name. So, why are you here? To take revenge? His voice was calm as if to say he would accept whatever I decided. As much as I would have liked to portray myself as perfectly calm, I couldnt keep the edge out of my voice, As much as I would like to, no. I have other targets for that. Unless you prove incapable of keeping silent. The priest shook his head, I am a man of the gods. If one of them has set you on a certain path, I would be remiss to do anything to get in the way of that. Based on everything I know of him hes telling the truth. Its a risk, but I need to start gathering allies, and while I wouldnt be able to count on him for anything major, he has information I cant get easily elsewhere. Not that Ill be letting you walk away without paying recompense; Ill be having you teach me some things. The priest nodded, Of course, it is my goal to assist the goddess chosen to walk their paths and achieve their purpose. I nodded, the rhetoric bothered me, but if that was how he was going to spin it, then whatever. Right, here goes, Tell me about demons. How to find them, what kind of abilities they have, and how to kill them. Also, any secrets the church is hiding about the Nine. The priest showed surprise for the second time, Thats a heavy topic, especially the last part. If I might ask, why do you need to know- Because three of them are here in the kingdom and a fourth has recently or will soon advent. You heard about Jacquelines arm from my parents, Im sure. It was in a battle against an Original Sin of Lust, Sitri. The priest was now looking at me suspiciously, How would you have come to know the number of Kings currently walking the earth? Not even the ranking members of the church such as I are privy to that information. I folded my arms, I had a conversation with Death. I had already decided prior to coming here how much information to give him. Letting out this much was a bit dangerous, but it should pay dividends if I was able to learn about my enemies in detail. Besides, by leading with mentioning Antenora, it should properly scare him; as a man of the cloth, he should be familiar with what skills I would likely have. Assuming he arrived at the right answer of course. The priest sucked in his breath and bowed his head. When he raised it, he met my eyes, his own filled with determination, You speak of meeting the gods as if you would go for a stroll Are you Winters? I nodded. Psycholor So, I do not actually plan on detailing a bunch of lore about demons. The next chapter actually has a short time skip into winter proper. The scene with the priest is meant to show that Stahlia is starting to more proactively gather intel and form connections. The stuff she learns about demons will be detailed as it becomes relevant. Sort of how I handled magic back in Arc Two; instead of info dumping everything, I''m just establishing that "she knows this now", and will explain things as they become relevant. In an extra chapter a few days ago, I mentioned I was planning on writing a new story that would run concurrently to Tricked, as a way to avoid feeling stifled. I''ve now written the first couple chapters and feel confident in detailing some of the concrete information. In terms of setting, it is a blend of Sci-Fi and Fantasy elements, with a cyberpunk veneer. Basically, think of cyberpunk type stuff, but instead of silicon and chrome, it all runs off of mana and magisteel. The general culture is slightly post modern as well, rather than being based of of middle-ages Europe. The main character, will be a gender bent reincarnation. They will also be non-human. Specifically, a "Human-type monster". That''s an official designation from the lore of the new story, not a generic description. See, due to rampant mana pollution as a side effect of industrialized magic technology, this world has a problem with animals mutating into monsters and rampaging. When this happens to a human, elf, dwarf, or other sentient race, they are given the designation "Human-Type Monster". HTMs retain varying degrees of sanity, some of them see no loss of function at all, others become monsters in the most literal sense. Most, like the MC, fall somewhere in between. As far as the past life is concerned, The MC is a bit similar to Stahlia. Gamer university student. Different genres though, where Stahlia was into RPGs, this character was into RTS and 4x Grand Strategy. The first bits of the story are planned to cover the establishment of a new criminal faction in the underworld, and the overarching plot will cover the character ascending the levels of power in society. As far as that society is concerned... well, it''s cyberpunk. Life is cheap, the government is in bed with the corporations, crime and poverty run rampant. That being said, I am not planning to write another tragedy. There will be some gut wrenching moments, but despite the grimness of the setting, I am actually hoping to write a lighter tone story. More of a focus on action (I want a venue where I can practice writing action, it is probably my weakest area), with a grim world setting providing the background instead of being the major focus. Hopefully similar to Overlord in the sense that, while dark as fuck, it''s also hilarious. Oh, and the protagonist will be starting from the age of nineteen, instead of start from zero. 3-7 Expedition Psycholor 1-10 has had the toddler dialogue revised. Sana was the only toddler who had dialogue/scenes in this chapter. Additionally, removed a line indicating that Sana knows how babies are made; she''s four in that scene. The line was during the "Sven, teach me about pregnancy!" gag, and described Sana becoming embarrassed. It was replaced with a line describing her ignoring the ongoing confusion, and looking around the alchemy shop in great interest. Also altered a few of Sana''s described actions to be more childish. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eleventh Month of 947 I crawled forward stealthily; my target was just a few tens of feet ahead of me. For various reasons, my methods of ranged attack had been sealed away. I had also lost my weapons, leaving me unarmed. Thankfully, my [Unarmed Combat] Talent was at level four. My [Stealth] was of a similar rank, else I would not be able to close the distance. I froze, my target had become wary, I didnt know how they had realized I was closing in, but something had tipped them off. I held as still as possible, trusting in my concealment and [Stealth] talent to hide me from detection. Turn around, Im not here, youre perfectly safe. Thankfully, my prey soon lost that inkling of being hunted and returned to what they had been doing. I inched slowly forward until I was merely a handful of feet away. In one motion, I jumped to my feet, dropped into a ready stance, and pounced! Rosin let out an excited shout and dodged backward, trying to escape. But he was far too inexperienced to escape from me! I caught him by his armpits and lifted him up into the air, spinning us around such that the centrifugal force carried his feet off the ground. After a few moments of spinning, I set my giggling brother on the ground. Over the past few months, I had been doing my best to bond with him while waiting for the snow to grow a bit thicker and making plans and counter-strategies. For the first few weeks, I had been receiving a crash course in demonology, and now knew a fair bit about demons as well. Enough to realize exactly how fucked I had been, and how absolutely conceited and moronic trying to go with just me, a Hawri, and an assassin slash battle maid was. Demons got stronger the older they were, infinitely accruing experience. Original sins had been alive since the first demon war. That meant that, at a minimum, Sitri was over twenty thousand years old. At least according to the priest. I had been able to come up with plans for dealing with the lower ranks of demons, and even a few of the ranks of the demon nobility, but my only plan for an Original Sin was to run like hell. I simply wasnt strong enough. Which brought me to why I had been waiting for the snow to get thicker. I needed to level up. Of course, I was under no delusions that a scant few months would be enough time for me to close such a huge gap. But unlocking at least the next couple of skill slots for my custom class should be possible. From there, I could look for a solution to my fiance problem, and potentially find a skill combo that would let me deal with an Original Sin. Though the latter was a big if, I had a feeling it was a question I would be better off finding an answer to. As for why I wanted more snow before going on a hunting excursion, I would paradoxically be able to cover more ground in heavy snow than not. At least, I should be able to. It was a method of transportation I had not tested yet. I had tested the individual components, but I had never put everything together. If everything worked, I should be able to achieve near automobile speeds. Possibly even faster, though I was a bit leery of that, given the lack of a seatbelt my method would entail. Suddenly a weight impacted me, drawing me from my thoughts. While I had been hunting Rosin, a tiger had apparently been hunting me. Seriously, her Stealth talent is somehow higher than mine, and she copied mine! Racial bonuses are bullshit. Still, I knew better than to ruin the fun by complaining. I dutifully allowed myself to be knocked forwards, rolling onto my back as I fell. Felicity landed on my stomach, so I clenched my abs a bit to avoid suffering a mortal wound. I got you, Stahlia Nee-San! Rosin didnt want to be left out, and quickly climbed up behind Felicity, Yea! We got you! A lay still for a moment, before fake struggling. It would be easy to break free, but that wouldnt be as fun. Felicity rewarded my efforts with an excited shriek and moved to pin my arms down. Rosin caught on and shifted up so he was sitting on my stomach in Felicitys place. I was thoroughly pinned. After straining against Felicitys hold on my arms for a few moments, I let them go limp, Alright, you win, I yield! Dutifully, Felicity let go and Rosin slid off of me so that I could stand up. As I did, I happened to catch Stils eyes. He snorted at me, or at least I think he did; air rushing through a beak doesnt really have a sound like it does when you blow it out your nose. Either way, his entire demeanor seemed to be saying What the hell stupid game are you doing with those two chicks? This is the woman I call my master, for fucks sake. It was very expressive body language. Taking advantage of the lull, I broached a topic I was expecting would lead to tears, Felicity, Rosin. Do you remember a few weeks ago, when I mentioned I would be going away for a little bit? Felicity had a look of comprehension flash across her face, and though she grimaced, she didnt actually protest, and just nodded. Rosin was more forgetful, or at least he didnt put two and two together, because he cocked his head. Im planning to leave in a couple of days, and Ill be gone for at least a week, possibly as long as two or three weeks. Rosin set his jaw. Surprisingly, even he didnt seem like he would cry. Neither of them was begging me to stay either. Felicity, I could understand; she had Claires guidance. But Rosin was a normal three-year-old. Rosin, will will you be ok? I didnt feel bad about leaving him. Despite my nightly efforts, I still hadnt been able to get through that last bit of my guilt. At this point, I was nigh certain that I was missing something in how Cold Hearted worked that was preventing me from being able to move past my self-torment. Regardless, I still had my love and my empathy, and both of those made me feel Rosins hurt at me leaving, even if I couldnt feel my own. After a moment, he shook his head. And then, in a statement that was oddly mature for his age, but at the same time touching, he said, Bigger sister is going away, but big sister will be here! I realized he was talking about Felicity and my hand flew up to cover my mouth as I let out an involuntary Aaawwwww! Felicity for her part looked away bashfully. The Rosin showed his age by immediately moving on and ruining the moment. His hand darted out and gave felicitys tail a quick tug, Tag! Youre it! and he was off. Felicity gave a slightly pained and angry yowl and dashed off after him, leaving me to wonder what I had even been worried about telling them I was going to be leaving for. A couple of days later I was standing with Stil, facing the edge of the forest. It was only me and him. Of course that was risky, but there was no way Jacqueline would be able to keep up with how I planned to travel. Stil would technically be slowing me down, but going completely alone would be asinine. I did have Jacquelines gear with me, particularly her enchanted daggers and grave oil would serve as a substantial fallback in case shit hit the fan, but that was all. I was about to spread my wings for the first time as it were. I had been relying on Jacqueline as a safety net basically since I popped out of my mother. Now, I was finally going to try and do something on my own. My parents had been resistant to the thought of me going into the forest at all, however, I argued that I needed to get stronger and confront my lingering fears after my battle against the demon. In the end, my father recognized my resolve and gave his permission, but made me promise to come running back the moment something even felt wrong. My mother had acquiesced to my fathers decision with a grim expression. She was clearly not pleased, but she wouldnt go against him. I checked my pack. It contained a weeks worth of preserved food for me. Stil would get his food primarily from hunting. In addition to the food, I also had a small pot and cup, a collection of medical supplies, an insulated bedroll, and some monster repellent. I would be getting water by using magic to melt snow. Having confirmed the contents of my pack, I checked my feet. Attached to each foot, was a short shaved flat wooden board. In a word, skis. I had had the carpenter make them according to descriptions and diagrams I drew based on my memories of going skiing once in my previous life. Drakas had no ski culture, so it was a process of trial and error until he got them into a useable state. I also had a pair of sticks to assist me with balance, but that wasnt how I was planning to propel myself. After confirming that my skis were securely attached, I began to chant, Oh Ice, gather the snow in a wind around me. Follow my sight and move with force. [Weak Snow Storm] It was a very short spell, but it represented a milestone; it was the first spell I had composed the chant for entirely on my own. It was massively inefficient, costing nearly quintuple the amount of mana I thought it should. But thanks to some clever use of the First Law, as well as the properties of the Seventh Law of Magic, I was able to get away with it. In execution, the spell collected snow from the surroundings; initially, I had it creating snow, but I was only able to maintain that version of the spell for a scant few seconds. The gathered snow would then surround me as the caster in a miniature whirlwind. Finally, this whirlwind would then follow my line of sight, effectively carrying me towards where I was looking. By attaching myself to a pair of skis, I was able to reduce my friction a great deal, and thus reach some really nice speeds. For safety reasons, I had replaced my usual flashbang with a chant-held cushion spell. This one was a Yellow Magic school spell belonging to the element of wind. It would wrap its caster in a cushion of air to blunt impact for a few seconds. Basically, I had a keyword-activated airbag on hand at all times. Thanks to the Seventh Law, the weak blizzard spell had extremely effective upkeep efficiency in the middle of winter, so I was able to keep the spell running for a good six hours after paying the initial activation cost. Of course, in order to be prepared to potentially defend myself, I was restricting myself to only three hours of skiing at a time, so as to give my mana a chance to replenish. If I didnt chant-hold my airbag, the efficiency was so high I would actually be able to ski indefinitely; my natural mana recovery outpaced the upkeep cost of the weak snowstorm. But that would be fucking retarded. As a final touch, as a side effect of [Blessing of Winter], I was perfectly fine being in the middle of my mini blizzard for extended periods. My spell activated, and I took off at speed, gliding smoothly between the trees. After about a kilometer, I had learned a few things. I was able to control my speed a bit by shifting my gaze closer or further away from myself; the snowstorms only instruction was to get to where I was looking, so it seemed like whatever unknown laws governed the actual effects of chants had decided that it would always take the same amount of time to reach that spot. Thus, by looking further away, the snowstorm would, by necessity, travel faster. I also learned that maintaining my balance was easier the faster I was going. This was a similar principle to a bike or motorcycle, where inertia and center of gravity would naturally right you once you got some speed. Lastly, turning was very slow, unless I slowed way down. I almost hit a tree a few times before I figured that one out. Stil had natural snowshoes, and his high dexterity meant he had an easy time keeping up with me, as long as I didnt get going too quickly. In fact, he was so effective that, had my ski plan failed, my backup plan was a dog sled. Luckily for Stil, that wasnt necessary. After my three hours of speed skiing, I had made it to roughly where I had camped with Jacqueline on the first night of our first excursion. Stil was visibly fatigued, given that he had had to run at near his max speed to keep up. I released the spell and slid to a stop. Also releasing my chant-held spell, I let the pack fall off my shoulders. Now, the question is, should I camp here? Or try and go a bit further once my mana has regenerated? I had set a hard limit on my solo operation of three weeks, so I had time. But I would like to go deeper and hunt something juicier than goblins Indeed, if all I hunted were goblins, I would need to track down seventy-four of the little fuckers to get even one level. Even with good luck, that would take me a few days. I had done a bit of research in the months leading up to my hunting trip and had a decent idea of what all I was likely to run into in the mountains during winter. Ideally, I would find a pack of Wargs. About halfway in size between a wolf and a Dire Wolf, Wargs were canine monsters that traveled in packs. Individually they held a D rank but could go up to B or even A based on the size of the pack. Right, well whatever I decide to do, I should make sure my immediate surroundings are clear for now. Stil, can you check the vicinity for any threats before you rest? Ill have water ready for you when you get back. My companion flared his feathers and darted off to accomplish his assigned task. I dug around in my bag and produced the small pot, which I filled with snow then set over a small fire to begin melting. While the fire was melting the snow I checked over my weapons and otherwise waited for Stil to return. A moment later, I received a feeling over our mental link. Danger huh? So he found something. I quickly used a Wind Spell to extinguish the fire and grabbed my dagger. I stood up, just as Stil returned to me. I nodded at him and he turned and went back the way he had come, only now with me following him. We went probably a kilometer before I heard the danger Stil had found. It was a bunch of chittering nasally voices. Goblins huh and theres a lot of them based on the sound. I slowed my pace and quickly verified that I had [Shadow Blade Style] set as my fighting stance, I would benefit greatly from the bonus to stealth. Turning my [Sneak] Talent up to the max, I slipped from tree to tee, rapidly closing the distance to the source of the cacophony. Stil likewise melted into the background. In his case, the silvery sheen his feathers had acquired upon evolving into a Hawri was proving quite useful; it blended in decently well with the white blanket of snow. Cresting a small hill, I found myself overlooking an artificial clearing with an extremely large quantity of goblins milling about in small groups. Oh fuck A bunch of incidental information popped up in my memory, snippets of conversation I had heard in the town. Hunters struggling to find prey, damage to the fields, deaths among the adventurer population. On their own, it wasnt anything big, but put all together A horde formed. Technically, a horde was the wrong term. According to monsterology, a large group of goblins pursuant to a single goal was called a rape. The question now though, is whether or not any higher-tiered goblins have shown up. From where I was hiding, I could not see any special variants. But based on the noise levels, I also couldnt see all of them, and they were at least organized enough to have begun cutting down trees and expanding their clearing. In order to not risk being seen, I retreated back the way I had come and moved back to my previous clearing. This definitely constituted something going wrong that I had promised my father I would return immediately. Im not even going to pretend like I can take on that many by myself. But where the hell did they all come from? Ive been gone only a few months. It was a fact that the vermin bred quickly, but as intimately familiar with the Goblin population as I was, I couldnt see any way for this many to have shown up over the length of time I had been gone. Ris ambient population of the creatures was simply too low for a boom of this magnitude. So they had to have come from outside this area. There was no word of them within the kingdoms borders, which means they came down from the mountains. Still has pacing around the edge of our clearing, keeping a nose out for approaching threats. Whatever the case, I need to go back to Ris. No way am I spending the night out here with that many goblins. I checked the sun and found that it was about 1:00 PM. Given that I took three hours to get here, if I left now, it would be four by the time I get back That was only if I left now though. The horde was a days march from Ris, it didnt take a genius to figure out what was going to happen next. I should at least try to get a rough estimate of their numbers and see if I can find any special variants. Even if I go home and report this, theyre too close, any scouting party that gets sent out wouldnt be able to move as I can, and I doubt a horde that size has much food. Indeed, especially during winter, I wasnt able to think of any way the Horde could be feeding itself. Even before winter started, the village was already noticing their presence, and yet nobody actually noticed them My father certainly wouldnt have let me go out if he had known about the horde and just been keeping it secret from the people to prevent a panic. And Jacqueline didnt say anything either, she was told in advance about the Mountain Ogre. Frankly, this whole thing seemed like something that should be absolutely impossible. That settles it. Before I go back, I need to gather at least some information. Still, skirt the edges, see if you can find any satellite groups. Stil glanced back over his shoulder and flattened his feathers; it was as if he was chiding me for not going straight back to the village. I know, but I cant go back empty-handed. Not when I cant figure out why they havent attacked yet. Stil dashed off after a moment and I was left alone. I busied myself by getting all of my things ready for departure, then hiding my pack and skis up a tree. That way, even if a break-off group or scouting party came through this clearing, they would be less likely to find my things while I was away. After about half an hour, Stil returned and used his feathers to signal me to follow him. He lead me wide, and due North of the main horde, we were heading along a course that lay tangent with the straight-line path to Ris which made me think this was probably a scouting party he had found. After about two kilometers, Stil dropped low to the ground. We were close. Adopting a low stance myself, I drew my dagger and took some distance from Stil. Moving in the direction he was indicating, I soon spotted the presumed scouting party. It was twelve goblins strong. I eyed Stil a distance away from me. Was this the smallest group he could find? It wasnt like twelve would be a problem, indeed, with Stils assistance and the benefit of surprise, the whole fight should take less than fifteen seconds. But twelve was a lot to be moving independently like this. A checked over my soon-to-be victims, paying special attention to their statures and weapons. Three of them were armed with bows as opposed to the normal crude or improvised weapons favored by Goblins. Of the remaining nine, two of them were substantially taller than the rest. A normal goblin stood around one hundred centimeters. These two giants were about a hundred and thirty. Some variety of advanced goblin. So the horde is decently far along. The next question is whether or not it has a lord or a king. In a perfect world, the horde would have neither and would be led by one of the normal variants, like a Shaman or Warrior. But given the surreal irregular circumstances, I was willing to be it would be led by at least a Goblin Lord, and very likely a Goblin King. I signaled to Stil with a gesture, and he moved around so that we could attack from opposite sides. One of the taller Goblins seemed to sense something and raised its hand. At the signal, the other eleven all froze and then began to fan out. Those are actual tactics on display. From goblins. If they were going to react like that, then it would be better to move now instead of waiting for Stil to finish his encircling action. That way they would still be close enough for me to take down two or three of them before they recovered from the surprise. That would also put all of their focus on me, and allow Stil to get in a second surprise attack from their backs. Having made up my mind, I charged out of cover with a full enhancement applied to my legs. Low to the ground, I swept up on the one who was closest to me. Fortunately, it happened to be one of the variants equipped with a bow. Springing up, I felt the familiar sensation of blade rending flesh. One of the two giant goblins gave a shout, and the ten remaining goblins fumbled with their weapons. Not one to let opponents have a fair fight, I landed into a roll and kicked the ground. This killed my forward momentum and launched me to the left, straight at one of the ordinary goblins. One quick stabbing motion later, and my second victim fell gurgling to the ground. At this point, the goblins had managed to draw their weapons and were moving to encircle me. Tch! Theyre responding faster too, that tall one probably has a leadership skill or talent. I backed away while keeping an eye on the two remaining archers. Both had notched an arrow and were aiming at me, but they had not fully drawn their bows. Waiting for me to get careless or distracted. I wasnt backing away without reason though, I was taking advantage of the encirclement action to shepherd the goblins past Stil, who had smartly not yet revealed himself. If I could get them just a little bit further, then Stil would be able to get at the big one who had been giving orders. Just a little further Good. Stil! Leader! I called out a quick command of my own. Stil picked up on what I was asking for and rocket out from his hiding place, moving at a speed where I could barely follow him. I enhanced my eyes, gaining improved kinetic vision, just in time to see Stil kick up clumps of snow as he launched off the ground with his powerful hind legs. Sailing through the air, he Dug his beak into the collar of the larger goblin, then folded in the middle to bring his large hind talons to bear on the poor creatures sides. Sliced open at the waist, the goblins intestines spilled out and the snow quickly began taking on the green hue of goblin blood. I nodded in satisfaction; the remaining nine goblins seemed to grow sluggish at the death of their leader. Definitely was a skill of some sort. Thankfully, it seemed the other large goblin did not have a similar skill. Instead, he seemed to be some kind of brawler given how he was now brandishing fists at Stil. I left Stil to deal with it on his own and closed the distance towards one of the archers. Moving fast enough to kick up a small cloud of snow, I rapidly approached the leftmost archer. It screeched in panic and loosed its arrow at me, however with my improved kinetic vision I was able to adjust myself a bit to avoid getting hit; a feat made even easier by how the arrow had not been properly aimed. Arriving in front of it, I made a swift horizontal slash, then stepped around its side so as to avoid the blood spray. I would be in trouble if goblins ever invent Gorget Plates. Eight no Seven, good job Stil. Seven left. While I had been distracted, Stil had eviscerated the other Goblin Archer. The Goblin Pugilist had one of its arms shredded and had backed off but was still alive. I turned my attention to the fodder goblins. Now that the variants were dead or severely injured, it wouldnt even be a fight. Closing the distance with Stil at my side, we did our very best Beyblade impersonation as we moved from opponent to opponent in a fluid motion. Finally, all that remained was the pugilist. Still pounced on it, knocking it down and pinning it to the ground. I approached and quickly knelt, slitting its throat. I glanced at my status and saw that the fight had granted me a whopping two thousand eight hundred experience. According to the log, the Goblin Archers had been two hundred each, the Hobgoblin Monk was worth five hundred, and the Hobgoblin Lieutenant was worth a full thousand. It wasnt enough to level me up, but it was a start. I got to work removing the magic stones while I contemplated what I had gained intelligence-wise. So they have sub-leaders able to control and buff up to at least eleven others. The horde has also been around long enough for Hobgoblins to evolve. Equipment-wise, at least this group still seemed to be using normal goblin gear, nothing fancy. But adventurers have died, so at least some of them should be equipped with scavenged gear. I checked the progress of the sun; it was right around 3:00 PM. Lets have Stil find one or two more groups. I wont engage them, but if I check their compositions, I should have a large enough sample size to do some very rough statistical analysis and come up with a rough estimate of the hordes force composition. Then I need to go back to the village so we can prep defenses. I finished collecting the last magic stone and signaled Stil, I gave him the order and put my back against a tree to wait for his return. 3-8 Defense Psycholor Oh, and Im on a list now. How to make mustard gas How to extract Chlorine from salt And Chemical formula of agent orange are not things you should put in your search history. Stahlia, Ten Years Old Eleventh Month of 947 I crested the small hill at speed and caught air as my skis left the snow behind. Bending my knees to absorb the impact as I landed, I hunched low and shifted my gaze further ahead, accelerating yet more. I needed to get back to the village and warn my father about the horde of goblins that had set up camp a days march into the mountains. Thankfully, I was guaranteed to be able to provide some degree of forewarning, my skis let me make that same trek in hours. Stil bounded along just behind me, thankfully he was able to keep up with this pace, though he would be dead tired by the time we got back to the village. As I skied, I put part of my attention towards a statistical analysis of the information I had. I had wiped out one scouting party and then scouted three more without engaging them. All four parties had had an identical composition, indicating that these goblins possessed a high degree of organization. That all but confirmed the presence of a Goblin King. A basic Goblin Lord wouldnt be able to control things to such a degree. Still, since the compositions were uniform, I could make some educated guesses about the main force composition. Likely one in five goblins was actually a Hobgoblin, and these could be assumed to be in the leadership positions. The absence of calvary among the scouts indicated that the main force was either not in possession of many or was keeping them in reserve. But given the scouting effectiveness of mounted troops, I had to doubt that they would not be included in the scouting parties. I had also confirmed the presence of Goblin Archers, however, given the presence of Hobgoblins, it could be assumed that the other variants of lesser goblins were also present. The biggest question was where the hell the horde had come from. There had been no news about a horde ravaging the countryside of Drakas, so that indicated that they had descended from deeper in the Ris Mountain range, however that just didnt seem to make any sense. The mountains were incredibly dangerous, something as weak as a goblin, even in a horde, would struggle greatly in crossing them. Before long, I had arrived back at the edge of the mountain forest and was within sight of the village. I killed my snowstorm spell and skied to a halt. Since I was using a completely original spell, there was no way in hell that I could risk anyone seeing me use it. I jumped out of my skis, and ran down the road towards my fathers house. Stopping at the guardhouse, I waved down the captain of the guard on my way, Can you head up to my fathers house? Its an emergency. Thanks! I also stopped by the Adventurers Guild by making a small detour and grabbed the branch guild master. I wasnt expecting the guild to do much to help with the defense, unless, of course, my father paid them. However, he could provide testimony about the recent deaths of adventurers to supplement my own story. I arrived back at my own home, where my father was confusedly greeting the captain of the town guard, What do you mean my daughter told you to come to see me? Shes away at the moment, and will not be back for at least a week. I called out, Father, Im back. We have a serious issue to discuss. The whole village is at risk. My dad spun around and stared at me, Stahlia!? It hasnt even been a day He saw the guild master behind me and my words seemed to sink in, because he nodded, Right, I am sure you have a good reason for coming back so quickly. Let us all go inside. Inside the house, we gathered in the seating room. It was the same room where my engagement had been arranged nearly three years ago, and we were sitting in roughly the same places as then. Though Count Francois was now played by the guild master, and the third prince was being played by the captain of the guard. There was no Dominic. In time, Silvia came in to provide us with tea. Jacqueline was out somewhere with Lucy, owing to the fact that I had not planned on being back for a good deal of time, so poor Silvia was left to attend to the impromptu emergency meeting by herself. I gave her my thanks, she was likely going to have a hard time of it. After I had taken a sip, my father addressed me, Alright, Stahlia. What in the world is going on? I nodded and took a deep breath. While skimming some of the less relevant details, I described the budding situation in the foothills of the mountains. Along the way, I noted a look of realization dawning on the guild masters face. Perfect, it seems like hes made the connection between the missing adventurers and my story. I also highlighted the various small things I had noted in the village the past few months; people struggling with foraging for food, damaged crops, the occasional pet going missing. When I was finished, my father sat back with a grim expression. Nodding in the direction of the guild master he noted, Judging by Pierres expression, it would seem he agrees with you. I share the opinion regarding the missing adventurers. He took a breath before continuing, If what you say about the position of the goblin force is to be believed, then we likely dont have a lot of time. Lindell, why did this force go unnoticed? The guard captain, Lindell, shook his head, I dont know, lord Ris. Lady Stahlias claims put them just outside the range of our patrols, but we should have still seen signs of them, traces of their scouting parties and what-not. My father furrowed his brow at Lindells words. the fact remains, that they are now on our doorstep; we lack the time to contact the kingdom, leaving us with just the forces we have at hand. Lindell, go and marshal the guards. Pierre, gather the adventurers for an emergency quest and both of you, do this quietly. I will inform the villagers at a later time, I would rather not incite panic. My fathers voice was calm, but I could sense some vague discomfort behind his words. Pierre and Lindell both nodded, stood and gave bows before leaving to perform their assigned duties. As soon as they had left, I turned to my father, Father, I I trailed off, my father was giving me a hard stare, and it looked like he had something he wanted to say, but didnt have any desire to. Ah Its probably that. I nodded, Its fine dad. I understand. My fathers eyes widened, showing his surprise. I always forget how smart you are. It might sound crass of me especially after what I said when you returned, and the way your mother and I have been treating you But I have to ask, no, order you. Stahlia, As my daughter and a noble of this kingdom. Help with the defense of the village. I stood up and gave a military salute, I could tell from the way he was speaking; giving that order was painful for him. But it was the logical thing for him to do, Im the only combat mage in the town, nobody but me knows about Jacquelines magic beyond what a nobles made usually has. Besides, even if he doesnt realize, my specialty is Ice Magic. The season lends itself to that quite nicely. Indeed, thanks to the Seventh Law of magic, Ice magic would perform incredibly well at the moment, Father, I was about to ask if I could help; I am your daughter, as well as the only combat mage in Ris Village. I might not have much experience, but I know a few spells that could affect an army. Thankfully, I do not believe I saw any Goblin Shamans, so my advantage should be one-sided. Ill ignore the fact that I just raised a flag. For now, the important thing is to reassure my father, so that he doesnt do anything stupid, like try and prevent me from joining the battle. Shall I join the guards in their planning session, father? I believe it would be best if I did so; they do not know my abilities. After a moment of consideration, my father consented, but also instructed me to inform Sieg of the issue on my way to the training ground. Right, I should let Sieg know. Hell want to brew a lot of medicines There are a few more recipes I could give him as well Thoughts of things like Mustard gas, Cl2, and Napalm flashed through my mind. Mustard Gas and Chlorine gas would actually be fairly simple to produce; we could even adapt the pressure mixer to do so. Napalm would be harder, but should still be doable. No that would be a bad idea. Almost as soon as I thought of the compounds in question, visions of something going wrong and gassing the village came to mind. Besides, even on Earth, those things had ethical concerns. This world might be harsh, but Im not sure I should introduce chemical warfare especially not in this kingdom. Considering the two neighboring political entities existed for the sole purpose of deterring Drakan aggression, the thought of providing Drakas with chemical weapons was vaguely nauseating. For the same reason, as well as production capacity issues, I probably shouldnt mention gunpowder either. Though making a small amount for my own use might be a good idea, I could only see providing Drakas with the methods of producing something like gunpowder ending badly. With such thoughts in my head, I made my way out to visit Sieg and the guards. Sieg was surprised but quickly agreed to keep things quiet until my father made an announcement; it was self-evident how speaking of things early might cause problems. What was unexpected was me running into Giogi on my way to the guardhouse. I was walking at a brisk pace; not running so as to avoid causing suspicions, but Giogi had known me for a while and, evidently, he picked up on something in my mannerisms. Giogi narrowed his eyes, and quickly fell in line a small distance behind me, Lady Stahlia, it seems that there is a problem? I hesitated for a moment, then decided I may as well tell him; he was nominally my knight. In a low voice that wouldnt carry far, I whispered, Theres a large goblin army about a days march into the forest. My father has requested I assist the guard with magic. Giogi caught his breath. Does it have anything to do with the Goblin King from a few years ago? I stopped; I hadnt considered that. If the two incidents were related, it might explain why the goblins were there. Why didnt I think of that earlier? Something like that is what my Eidetic memory should excel at It was worrying, but I would ask those questions later. I started walking again, with Giogi following me. Thankfully, he picked up on my general demeanor and adopted a similar mask of his own. Before long, we had arrived at the Guardhouse. In appearance, it was a fairly small structure. Ris was, at the end of the day, only a village. Rather than having a dedicated guard population, the village instead enlisted young men who had grown up here. Third and Fourth sons with no other prospects became guards, as it was a moderately better profession than becoming an adventurer. Giogi stepped forward, and opened the door for me, allowing me entrance. I thanked him with a quick nod and stepped inside the building, wherein I was met with a series of stares from the assembled fifteen guards. I knew Ris had a small guard force but is this really it? This was going to prove difficult. Mentally, I began considering the best spells to use. I need to inflict the most casualties I can with a single cast The guard captain nodded in my direction, Thank you for coming, Lady Stahlia. I though Lord Ris might send you to provide a direct account of what were dealing with. I shook my head emphatically, No Lindell, rather, my father sent me to provide insight into my own abilities; he wants you to plan with my magic in mind. A murmur went through the room; magic was so restricted, that for villagers from such a remote place as Ris, would very likely have never seen it other than possibly a miracle from the temple. The guard captain, who would be the one most familiar with magic, nodded, Ill thank Lord Ris. Not many lords would let their daughter fight. Especially not goblins. I shrugged noncommittedly. I certainly didnt envy my father having to inform my mother, but I was of the opinion his choice was the correct one. Still, Lady Stahlia, Im not too well informed on the particulars of magic How useful do you reckon you would be? I paused to think at his question. It was an intelligent one, and I knew my answer would sway the direction of the strategy meeting. After a moment, I nodded and gave my answer. It depends on your tactics, Captain Lindell. I believe there are two things I could do to maximize my abilities. The first would be to fight on the ground, using barrages of simple spells mixed in with sword fighting I could see that Lindell was not very fond of this idea, likely since it put me in the thick of things. The second option, would be a bit of a gamble Lindell raised an eyebrow, urging me to continue, Are you familiar with the term Wide-area anti-army magic? Behind me, I felt Giogi stiffen, he was most certainly familiar with the term, owing to his knight training. Lindell was looking me over incredulously, You can cast forbidden magic? Do you have the kings permission? I grimaced and shook my head; Wide-area anti-army magic did exactly what the name implied; it obliterated armies. I was not supposed to know the chants for it, and in reality, I didnt know them. But I knew the names and descriptions of several of the spells that fell into this category. No, I dont have permission to cast the spells. But as a Special Student, I am afforded certain privileges. I will be able to get away with it. Lindell eyed me suspiciously, but he had spent his entire life in the village; there was no way for him to know how hard I was lying right now. Giogi had some idea most likely, but as my knight, he was bound by his oath of loyalty and could not legally go against me here. Finally, Lindell let out a long sigh, Alright. Well go with that plan. How many times can you cast the spell, and what can you tell us about it? I ruefully shook my head, Only once Im afraid, and then only because it is presently winter. Truthfully, there were a few more things I would be doing to be able to cast this spell; the discount I received from the amount of ambient Ice Aspected Mana wouldnt be enough on its own. I would also need to rely on my [Blessing of Winter]s strengthening effect towards the Ice Element and would most likely be disabling most of my emotions through [Cold Hearted] in order to take advantage of the Fifth Law. Then, the spell I will be casting is known as Frozen Garden, Niflheim. The chant will take several minutes to recite, so I will need to be defended during that time. That being said before I finish the chant, everybody needs to retreat. The spell does not discriminate. As for the effect, it first locks the area, preventing escape. Then, the affected area is magically frozen, the ambient temperature is lowered to several hundred degrees below the freezing point of water. Only creatures with outright immunity to ice and cold are capable of surviving. I finished my brief explanation and waited for Lindell to speak his thoughts. Lady Stahlia with all due respect, can you really cast such a spell? Youre not yet eleven even. I nodded, I can. As long as its winter. Lindell took my repeated assertion at face value and nodded, Very well, we will plan around your spell thinning the numbers. I dont like relying on a gamble like that, but given the size of the horde, without taking such a risk, well be overrun. The planning session proceeded apace. I was a bit surprised that the adventurers Pierre had been sent to gather did not take part, but as it turned out, they were not going to be directly involved with the defense of the village. Rather than fighting like the guard squad was going to, they would be patrolling inside the village walls and striking down any goblins or hobgoblins that inevitably slipped past the guards and me. Part of me thinks it would be better to have them at the walls and prevent any goblins from getting past in the first place, but Im not a strategist. I have some high firepower, but in terms of planning I only know the basics, things like how the high ground is better, or calvary make good scouts. As far as the actual plan was concerned, it was fairly straightforward. We knew what direction the Goblins were going to come from; supposedly the terrain around Ris would prevent them from coming out of the foothills any other way. As such, we could set up an engagement are at the point of our choosing. Once the Goblins appeared, I was to wait for the order and begin chanting while the guards bought me time. After three minutes, Lindell would sound the retreat, this would begin a staggered fallback outside the region of my spells effect. The fallback would take two minutes to complete, at which point I was to activate the spell. After my spell ended, the guards would return to check for survivors; while the area of effect of my spell should not have any, some goblins may not have entered the chilling grounds. It was a decidedly simple plan, but given how we had not trained with each other to figure out timings, there was much that could go wrong. Lindell was aware of this and told me in no uncertain terms not to worry about the guards and fire the spell after five minutes. He was grimacing as he said that, fully aware that he was telling a ten-year-old girl to knowingly take actions that could result in her becoming a mass murderer. No, Im already becoming one, of Goblins. Fortunately, hesitating wasnt likely to be a problem in the moment of action. Though, if I did wind up killing some of the guards, well, I wasnt looking forward to the additional repentance I would have to overcome. And thinking that their deaths would only be a bother is probably in and of itself going to increase my suffering tonight. Fuck. Once our strategy was decided, I bid a temporary farewell; we had no way of knowing when the Goblins would make a move, so we were going to be living near the battlefield for a while. As such, I needed to collect a few things and grab Jacqueline. While she wouldnt be able to fight openly in front of the guards, her presence would serve as an anchor for me. Thankfully, she was at home by the time I arrived and had already begun to pack, as I expected, she had predicted that I would be living away from home for a bit, T-Thank you-u, Jacqueline. I couldnt help but stammer a little bit; they were only Goblins, but what I had agreed to do was starting to set in. Jacqueline caught my stammer and gave me a concerned look, to which I merely smiled weakly and shrugged, Dont worry about me Jacqueline, Im just nervous; this will be my first exposure to large-scale warfare is all. And if everything goes to plan, my first exposure to wholesale slaughter. Even if they are just Goblins Well, still no signs of movement? The adventurer shook his head, The horde is still encamped in the foothills where Lady Stahlia said they was. Captain Lindell turned to me, as I was observing the Adventurers report. Owing to a legal technicality, I was theoretically the highest-ranking person in the encampment, as such I was supervising most of the actions taken here. Of course, when my father was present, that was his job. He was actually present fairly often; it was my opinion that he disliked me being here, but wasnt willing to change things now that a plan had been formed. Still, he wasnt here today, as such, it was my job to pretend to be in command. As far as this report was concerned, after the third day of nothing happening, we had begun to dispatch adventurers on reconnaissance quests. Contrary to what I had thought, these quests turned out to be quite popular; the recipient was not required to fight, simply go out and confirm the Goblin forces position. If they were discovered, the quest taker was allowed to flee. Of course, owing to the distance involved, the reports we received were typically twelve hours behind the actual state of the Goblin army. I could have done it faster, but I needed to be present to cast the anti-army magic whenever the horde moved. If thats all, youre dismissed. The adventurer gave a brief nod and disappeared from the command tent. Behind me, I heard some clinks as Giogi relaxed. For some reason, he was always tense when one of the adventurers was giving a report. Lindell eyed him with a bit of a warm expression, before turning to face me. Well, it looks like nothing is going to happen today either, Lady Stahlia. Im sorry for keeping you stuck here, but it should only be another day or two before the word comes back from the kingdom about the response force. Indeed, the same day as the planning meeting, my father had dispatched three groups of adventurers bearing letters to Lord Fess, the noble regent in charge of the Town of Fess. He would then dispatch a portion of his towns forces to our aid and forward the letters to the capital, where the army would begin mobilizing. Goblin Hordes were quite the threat if allowed to go unchecked. I nodded, then asked Lindell a question, the same one I had asked him every night since establishing this camp, Lindell, any news of the Goblin King? Do we know if its the same one from six years ago? Lindell shook his head. You know as much as I do Lady Stahlia, if I learn anything, Ill tell you Still, why are you so concerned about this? Even if it is the same king, it doesnt change anything about what needs to be done. His tone was a bit tired, indicating that he must be getting tired of answering this question. I mean, you wouldnt understand. Im not saying it would change anything about the engagement, Im trying to figure out why I didnt remember the Goblin King from five years ago until Giogi said something. My memory failing shouldnt be possible, other than the contents of the menus. Indeed, the only thing that didnt seem to work with [Eidetic Memory], was the entries on my menus. This was particularly frustrating when it came to the Talent and Skill lists. But what connection a Goblin King has with those, I just dont understand As I was thinking, a horn sounded in the distance, then another, and another, and a dozen more. I stood up, Captain Lindell, its starting. Lindell nodded, Aye, it sounds like it. What shitty timing. You can say that again. Right after getting a report that it was all clear They must have found and killed the adventurer who relieved the one who just made that report, otherwise, he would have come back ahead of the horde and warned us. Seriously, what the fuck is this horde? Goblins dont act like this, even with a king. I left the tent with Giogi and Lindell, and we made our way to the staging area where the guards were beginning to assemble. With me standing to his side, Lindell began the age old tradition of giving a pre-battle speech, Men, guards of Ris I tuned him out; I had my own pre-battle process to go through. Right. Ice is an element made up of the combination of Wind and Water, Yellow and Blue. So, I can get rid of Anger Since thats a Red emotion. Like a switch, the minor feelings of irritation towards the horde vanished. Fear is a Black emotion, it wouldnt hurt my casting efficiency, but not having it would prevent any chance of me faltering when I see the horde approaching I made up my mind and disabled fear; it would be better to keep as clear a head as possible for what was to come. Empathy Thats going to have to go as well. Even if theyre goblins, Im about to kill a lot of them. Theres the chance that some of the guards wont make it out in time, and I cant afford to hesitate. Knowing full well that my nightly self-flagellation sessions were probably going to get a lot worse after this, I disabled Empathy as well. The only one left is Love Ive never turned off all of the options before, and I dont want to do that now. Turning off everything was, for some reason, still something I hesitated over. Even without fear, I was afraid of turning off all the emotions [Cold Hearted] was capable of. Looking at how the blowback worked, I got the feeling that the oversight was intentional; that feeling of fear and hesitation was probably some kind of warning put in place by whoever or whatever ran the system. together with her magic, we will prevail. Now men, assume your positions! It would seem that I had successfully missed Lindells speech. I climbed up onto the tower that had been specially constructed for me; from here, I could oversee the entirety of the small valley that was to become our battlefield. The angle of the tower was such that it would be extremely difficult to hit me with any arrows as well. Accompanying me were Giogi and Jacqueline. Stil couldnt climb the ladder and was not with me in the first place; I had instructed him to watch over Rosin and Felicity. I took a deep breath and began my chant, Oh Ice, I desire a prison Lindell, Thirty-Nine Years Old, Eleventh Month of 947 I gripped my sword tightly, and stared death in the face. In front of me was a horde numbering in the low thousands. Behind me was my home village, and a girl young enough to be my granddaughter who was about to commit genocide to protect it. To my left and right were twenty of the bravest men I knew. Together, we would have to hold the line against the thousands-strong force, for five minutes. Long enough for that girl to finish chanting a spell that would turn the tide of the battle. Fortunately, the battlefield was favorable to us. The goblins would be forced to compact their numbers in order to exit the valley. It was at that point that we would strike them. I signaled the men with me as the horde drew close. Well, a minute has passed at least. Lord Ris had, upon hearing the plan, provided me with a small magic tool that could display time accurately. Lady Stahlia had repeatedly assured that her own estimate of how long the chant would take was accurate. I had to believe her in that since if she was off, it would mean the deaths of me and my men. The goblins were upon us now, and my men had begun to engage. Like a proper commander, I was just close enough to engage myself and thus inspire my men, but not close enough to be at risk of taking an unlucky blow. A squad of guards is just as much a living creature as any man, and the commander is its head. Losing me would consign all of my men to their deaths. Still, it pained me greatly as I watched Dae fall to his knees and vanish under a wave of green bodies, Ald, Daes down! Close the gap! I shifted to the left, dispatching a goblin that had slipped through the breach left by Dae as I did so. The gap was closed almost immediately, but several other Goblins had gotten through. That Giogi boy can pick up any stragglers that target Lady Stahlia, hopefully the adventurers are in position in case they head towards the village. Two minutes have passed. I pushed the line forward a small amount; it would help to have more ground to retreat with when the time came to begin falling back, Commander! Watch out! One of my men shouted at me, I couldnt tell who in the thick of things. On reflex, I responded by dropping to my knees. A large ax sailed past where my head had been. Too big for a goblin. I followed the swing and met the eyes of a Hobgoblin that towered above me, owing to me being on my knees. The creature snarled at me, and adjust its grip on the haft of the ax, aiming to bring a swing down on my head. Hiya! I stabbed forward with my sword, but the creature batted aside the blade with a quick twist of the axs handle. I rolled forward and past the monster on its left, narrowly avoiding its falling blade. The ax head buried itself deep into the dirt, showcasing just how hard it had been swung. I wasnt green enough to miss such an opportunity. Taking advantage of my opponents exposed state, I launched to my feet and swung for its neck. I was rewarded with the feeling of steel passing through flesh. I took a few steps backward, returning to my place in line. Unfortunately, my maneuver had opened a gap for a few seconds. In those seconds, yet more goblins had slipped through. A pained cry rang out. It was human; another of my men had fallen. Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty! I checked the time piece to confirm my count was accurate; three minutes had passed. Fall back! Retreat to the barrier point! As one, my men began to fall back to the place Lady Stahlia had designated as being outside the range of her spell. I didnt understand magic myself, but from what Lady Stahlia said, the conditions of this battle had conspired to grant her the ability to release the final hell on earth. I wasnt sure what she meant by that, but it was likely a noble euphemism or something. The fact of the matter was, she had been very clear; if my men were within the range of her spell, they would die. The goblins picked up on the fact that we were falling back and intensified their assault. Another of my men fell to their rusted blades. I hope Lady Stahlia doesnt blame herself for this it isnt her fault. We knew some of us were going to die when I came up with the plan. The last thing I wanted, was for our deaths to shake lady Stahlia. Halfway there. I checked the timepiece; we had just hit the four-minute mark. Only another minute. We can do this. Our victory was within sight. Surely, in the face of whatever spell was about to be activated, even monsters would falter. There was a roar. I sidestepped a charging Hobgoblin allowing it to run past me. The creature balked briefly; it had not expected to be allowed through the line. In its moment of hesitation and surprise, I cut it down. Turning my attention to the source of the earlier roar, I saw a hulking monstrosity moving towards us. The green bastards parted before it as if repelled by an invisible force. The Goblin King? No. Its too small. From the descriptions I had heard, a Goblin King should be similar in stature to a small ogre. This mountain of muscle was about as tall as a large human. So a Goblin Lord then. The horde is too big for him to be in control Dont tell me the King has a large enough following to have multiple lords as sub-leaders!? As I arrived at that worrying conclusion in my mind, my body arrived at the border. I was close enough that I could now hear Lady Stahlias voice, carrying words of magic over the wind. Each one rang out with power, and the air around me felt charged with some strange energy. At the very least, my arm hair was standing on end. Thats it! Im about to cast! Lady Stahlias final warning came not a moment too soon and, though I couldnt see her, I could imagine her face, trying not to think about the possibility that my men and I hadnt made it out. Thankfully for her, only those who were already dead had failed to return. My men and I rushed across the line, then turned to face the oncoming horde for one last push. A final few words I could not recognize were said. These contained an air of finality to them, and for a moment, I could swear that all the sound on the battlefield stopped. The Goblin Lord was charging straight at me, but mere feet away, he slammed into something in the air; looking closely, I could see a faint blueish tint, as if looking through the ice of a frozen river. The barrier This wall can stop a Goblin Lords charge!? I shivered at the thought of what it would have been like to be trapped on the other side of the wall. Suddenly, the Goblin Lord turned and eyed the area behind him suspiciously. As I watched, I noticed what had caught his attention; The tips of the pine needles and the wood of leafless trees were beginning to turn white. The Goblin Lord shivered, and looked down at his weapon; a thin sheet of ice was forming on the exposed metal. In blatant desperation, he began to beat at the barrier. As I watched, his green skin began to turn blue. The force of his blows reverberated against the barrier, causing cracks to form. But these quickly repaired themselves; the barrier would allow no escape. Suddenly, a snapping noise echoed through the barrier. It was then that I noticed; there had been no sound for some time now. So transfixed had I been on the Goblin Lord, that I had failed to notice the myriad of goblins and hobgoblins that had long since expired. The cracking noise was the arm of the Goblin Lord; it had frozen to the point of shattering as he tried to move it. Staring dumbly at his stump, the Goblin Lord looked up and met my eyes. In my heart, I felt pity. Pity for a Goblin that would just as soon eat me and my family. This this is Anti-Army magic? I turned away from the field of freshly made ice sculptures in time to see the one-armed maid supporting Lady Stahlia. Lady Stahlia looked positively exhausted. She did say she could only manage to cast the spell once She must be at her absolute limit right now. I should make a point of thanking her and assuring her that none of my men were caught in the area. I approached Lady Stahlia to do just that, but stopped short when I saw her eyes; she was studying the battlefield, but rather than expressing any sort of regret or sadness, she looked like she was studying a particularly interesting piece of art. I Im a soldier, technically, and that scene makes me feel sick shes just a girl Appearances and age aside, her eyes betrayed no emotion whatsoever that I could discern. They were cold. The eyes of someone unbothered by the atrocities they had committed with their own hands. I shivered in spite of myself. Psycholo 3-9 Aftermath Psycholor 1-12 Education has had the child dialogue revised. A brief line stating why Stahlia has not appraised Rosial was added. Indeed, Hide and Seek was Rosials favorite game, and she was good at it. Its a bit embarrassing to admit, seeing as I am the older sibling, but I had never once been able to find her. I considered the possibility that she had a class with some sort of concealment talent or skill and found it highly likely. Though I had not appraised her to confirm that, since I would just find out at her dedication, and I was a bit concerned about her asking strange questions if she felt my mana entering her body. The scene where Giogi & co. apologize to Stahlia has been massively toned down. They still apologize, but it is in a less aggrandizing manner. Added a brief mention of the limits of Stahlia''s Blood Magic Appraisal: One good thing to come out of these training sessions was that they allowed me to learn the limits of my appraisal. I used it on the boys and discovered that, although I could see their stats and ability values, as well as their skills, name, age, and race, I was unable to see their class or their talents. Over time, the details did get more accurate, but it remained much more limited than my own self-appraisal that came from my [Divine Authrity]. Lastly, added a paragraph after Rosial''s dedication, where Stahlia decides not to appraise Rosial: The half-smile turned into a full one as Rosial nodded vigorously. Thats right, Ill help you find your class, in order to protect your smile. We made our way out of the temple and headed down the street towards our house. Briefly, I considered conducting my own appraisal. I wouldnt be able to see the class section, but it would show me any skills she had, as well as confirm whether or not she had any stat bonuses. No, why would the priest lie about her not having a class? She must just be naturally bright, without help from any stats. 1-13 Has had the child dialogue lightly adjusted. As the child characters are now eight, the ones with classes are beginning to reach the point when their speech actually matches properly with the intended development. Those that do not have a class were altered more drastically. 1-13 Has had Dominic''s initial actions and manners adjusted. He is less directly confrontational and more aloof. 2-14 Has had the Dominic personality changes applied. No major changes to the text though. Removed "Stahlia''s tamed monster" and replaced with "Stil". Removed references to Guro and Ryona porn genres from his past life. Removed line about him visiting Felicity to "apologize", he now laments the fact that she doesn''t seem to like him. (It''s because of the smell from his demon mana, since he never beat her in the new canon.) Removed a handful of references to him enjoying bullying Stahlia, now these sections either reference him liking tsundere reactions, or remark about how much he enjoys establishing a real relationship without relying on mind control; he is oblivious to the fact that there is a lingering mind control effect on her. Lastly, removed the spoiler author''s note justifying Stahlia falling for him; New readers will likely not need that comfort piece given his new personality being more palatable. The first insert illustration has been finished. Due to the delay, I have decided to skip the second insert for now, and go straight to Stil''s character piece. The insert depicts the moment of George''s death, and has been added as an in-text image to chapter 1-3. For convenience, it is also in the below spoiler. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eleventh Month of 947 -With your chilling wind, turn to ice those that stand in my land. I finished the chant I had written shortly after the planning for our defense. It was a real challenge since I was trying to mimic an existing spell without knowing how its chant was structured. That, combined with my limited vocabulary meant that the spell I had come up with was very messy. Still, nobody but me would actually know that. I took a deep breath, all I had to do now was say the key phrase, and my spell would activate; I could already feel the absolutely massive amount of mana welling up within me, raging to escape. I should at least give them some final warning. Thats it! Im about to cast! [Exterminate Ice Field] I had said this was the Anti-Army magic Frozen Garden, Niflheim, but I didnt actually know the name of that spell in the magic language, so I was forced to improvise. I felt the mana that had welled up within me leave all at once and collapsed to my knees. A quick glance at my status revealed that I had bottomed out my mana to five points. Considering the scale of this spell, the fact that it cost only a hundred and one mana is a bit silly. Good thing I had so many discounts and boosts. Jacqueline passed me a mana potion which I promptly drank. It wouldnt instantly recover my mana; going from empty to full in one go was a great way to enter mana shock, but it would drastically increase my natural recovery rate. Besides me, I heard Giogi gasp. He was staring over the barrier of our tower at the effect of the spell. I couldnt see it, but based on the instructions I had stipulated, I could imagine what he was seeing. The spell effectively worked in three stages. First, it created a barrier of ice that encompassed an area I specified. Then, the barrier was reinforced to repair itself when damaged. Second, the spell would super chill the air near the top of the barrier. I had specified to do it this way to save mana; we were at a high elevation already, so the higher air was already naturally a few degrees cooler. While it complicated the chant, doing it this way saved a bit of mana. The third and final instruction was actually to Air instead of Ice and was simply to blow the super-chilled air down from the top of the barrier to the bottom. This would freeze whatever it came into contact with, completing the spell. I had also installed a few safeties, such as specifying that the cold air was not allowed out of the barrier, but those were relatively minor compared to the parts that described the three main actions. Suddenly, I was wracked with pain. I clutched at my head, which felt like my brain was turning to mush. My various muscle groups additionally felt like they were on fire. Giogi was freaking out as I began to thrash spontaneously as if I was having a seizure. As if from a great distance, I heard Jacqueline saying something about level sickness, but I was completely unable to catch any specifics. After a few moments, the pain died down and was replaced with dull aching. My mouth was dry, similar to a hangover, and my head was still throbbing, but otherwise, I had recovered. Thats the first time Ive felt like that after leveling up How many times did I? I opened my status window and promptly shut it again when I saw how many notifications I had. Yea, Ill deal with that later. Giogi, help me down from here. Giogi roused himself and offered his hand, I took it, and he assisted me in climbing down the ladder. Once on the ground, Jacqueline offered me her arm, and I gratefully accepted as my legs were still a bit shaky, Jacqueline, help me to the barrier, I want to see the aftermath. Jacqueline nodded, and we began walking to the barrier. Now that the spell was ended, the ice should melt quickly as it expended the mana it was made from. On the far side of the barrier, I was presented with a field of ice sculptures, all posed in various action shots. It looked a bit like the wargaming miniatures I had very briefly been interested in during my previous lifes high school years. As I was studying a particularly large Goblin sculpture, I heard a throat clear behind me, Ahem, Lady Stahlia are you alright? Turning, I saw Lindell the guard captain looking at me concernedly. Am I alright? What does he mean, clearly Im oh, right. I re-enabled my various emotions, except for remorse. It wouldnt do to have a breakdown in front of everyone. Now that I was feeling again, as I looked at the ice sculptures, I felt a brief pang of sympathy. It wasnt much of a battle from my perspective I was a bit curious now if I would face regret for killing the goblins the way that I had. Lindell interpreted my silence as me being troubled, as he spoke up, Lady Stahlia it might not have been very fair but this was technically war. Think about what would have happened if you hadnt acted. My men and I would all be dead, and the goblins would be laying waste to Ris as we speak. You did what was necessary. I know its small comfort but you should let yourself forgive your actions today. Having said his piece, Lindell scratched at his chin awkwardly. He has a point. Ill have to see how tonight goes before I can decide if I need to forgive myself or not. Captain Lindell, thank you for your concern, but we have more pressing matters to attend to; the clean up of any remaining goblins. We also need to see if their leader is still around. I moved the conversation along a few steps, as I could see cracks starting to form in the barrier. Lindell noticed the cracks as well and signaled his men, Lady Stahlia, hows your mana? I shook my head, Ill need a while longer to recover. I drank a potion, but the spell consumed nearly all of my mana to cast so it will take some time to recover. Lindell nodded, Then, leave the cleanup to us. We can handle a few hundred Goblins on our own, as long as theyre not grouped up like that. Lindell turned and lead his men through a newly formed hole in the barrier. Thankfully, the air had raised in temperature rapidly once it was no longer being artificially cooled. I selected a nearby tree stump and sat down. My mana would recover a bit faster if I was still. In order to pass the time, I began looking through my new status menu. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 1,257 (+1,257) Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris, 10 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 20 (+11) [MAX]* Experience: 31000/31000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] (NEW) Title: Goblin Calamity*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 3/5: [Browse Talents] Prodigy III*, Eidetic Memory II*, Stealth V, [], [] || Monster Handling III*, Dagger Fighting V*, Sword Fighting I*, Unarmed Fighting IV*, Alchemy Correction IV*, Teaching II*, Mana Efficiency III*, Fire Magic III*, Water Magic II*, Earth Magic II*, Wind Magic II*, (NEW)Ice Magic V(+5) Skills 3/5: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Finesse Fighting*, Blue Blooded*, [], [], || Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Fighting Style[Drakan Style]*, Blessing of Winter* The first thing that caught my eye was, of course, my level, which had gone up to twenty and was now labeled as MAX. There was a little symbol that indicated I could get more information, so I focused on it, and an info box popped up for me. [Custom Class] Max Level reached. To Derive the next Class, please assign remaining ability value improvements: 2/2 remaining and select remaining Talents: 2/5 and Skills: 2/5. So, Ill get a new tier of Custom Class once I apply the ability value improvements. Those will be good, I got one back when first leveled up Prodigy. It looks like Ill also need to select enough talents and skills to fully occupy all my slots Thats a bit irritating, but I can see the logic in requiring me to complete the custom class before acquiring the next one. Thankfully, unlike the time with Prodigy, I wasnt being forced to immediately apply the ability value bonuses, so I put it off and continued my inspection. Life points are yea. Thats a lot. Then again, I did level up eleven times. I imagine there was something like a bonus for getting to the MAX class level. Also, holy shit, 31,000 experience for the next level!? How many goblins did I kill!? A quick check of the log showed that I had killed 5,139 Goblins, 2,560 Goblin Archers, 1,310 Goblin Warriors, and 999 Hobgoblins of various types. This was helpfully marked down in a new section labeled kill totals. I also noted, that after the first 100k experience, it looked like I had started to be massively throttled, earning less than ten percent of the full value. Then theres my new magic talent Ice Magic V. I cast one spell, acquired the talent, and then got enough experience to raise it straight to level five. It overtook Fire Magic instantly Honestly, that was just fine by me. Due to boosts from my blessing, Ice Magic was likely my strongest offensive magic. Finally, I turned my attention to the new section. Titles huh Goblin Calamity. Well, the name is self-explanatory. Lets see the effects then. I focused on Goblin Calamity and was met with its infobox. [Goblin Calamity] Awarded to those who have slain a ludicrous number of goblins. Effects: Goblins inflicted with Terror* upon detecting someone with this title. I saw I could further inspect the details of Terror, and since I hadnt encountered that term before, I did so, Terror: An advanced state of fear. Upon being inflicted with Terror, the victim has a small chance of also being inflicted with Heart Attack* status ailment. Inspecting Heart Attack revealed it was an instant death effect. So, by equipping this title, Im so frightening to goblins, theres a chance that they will literally drop dead at the sight of me I glanced at the thousands of ice sculptures that sat a little distance away from my seat. Ok yea, that makes sense. Just to be sure, I checked the Swap Title option and found three choices; None, Goblin Exterminator, and Goblin Slayer. None was self-explanatory, while the other two were weaker versions of Goblin Calamity, having a chance to inflict fear, and inflicting fear respectively. I decided to leave the title equipped, as far as I could tell there were no negatives, and having it would be helpful for what would happen next; the counter offensive to clear out the remainder of the goblins. Of course, we would be waiting for reinforcements from the kingdom for that, but given that I was a Special Student, had local geographical knowledge, and had just demonstrated an Anti-Army spell, I had every reason to believe I was going to be invited to join in the operation. My limbs had finally stopped shaking, but as my mana was still recovering, I decided to spend a bit of time looking through the talent and skill lists for something that could potentially help with my Dominic problem. First, I opened the Skills list, and searched the word Appraise. To my mild surprise, there was only one result, and it wasnt any form of appraise. Displayed by its lonesome was Appraisal Immunity. So there arent any skills that grant an appraise ability huh? What about talents then? I hoped over to the talents list and repeated my search. This yielded only the talent [Appraisal Resistance I], which would eventually evolve into appraisal immunity. Fortunately, the description of this talent shed some light on this mystery, Appraisal Resistance I (100LP): Grants the user resistance to appraisal spell effects. The degree of resistance is directly proportional to the talents level. Having a lower level than the tier of the spell will downgrade the information discerned by the spell by the number of skill levels. So if that description is anything to go by, then Appraisal type effects can only be acquired using a spell. Thats not an option, since if I arrange to learn those spells, Ill have to go on a registry. I wonder how this interacts with my blood magic though? I put aside my new question for later and jumped back to the skills list. searching for the word charm, since that seemed to be what Dominics ability was doing, I was a bit irritated to see that there were a few hundred results to such a basic search. In order to narrow it down, I added the word eye, since the mana waves seemed to emanate out of his eyes. This shrunk the list to a few dozen entries, but that was still too many for me to be able to determine exactly what he was doing. I thought about it for a minute, then added the word women, since his ability only seemed to work on members of my sex. This new set of criteria left me with only three options. [Charming Eye(Women)], [Lady Killer], and [Incubus Eye]. Only the first one was available for me to purchase, while [Lady Killer] was greyed out with a blurb stating it was only available for males, and suggesting I should look for [Cherez La Femme] instead. Apparently, whoever had implemented the skills was a fan of a certain post-nuclear apocalypse RPG. [Incubus Eye], however, stated that it was incompatible with users who possessed the Divine Element. Since I couldnt select them due to not having the prerequisites, I couldnt read their descriptions. However, the bit about the Divine Element being incompatible with [Incubus Eye] stood out to me. Somehow, I knew that this was what Dominic had. As I thought back when Claire first mentioned that I occasionally smelled like him, my Blessing of Winter is probably shielding me now, but whatever he did back when he visited Ris, is still having an effect. This left me in the position where I knew what skill was being used but didnt know how to combat it. It would have been so helpful if I could simply read the description Still, it was at least something; now that I was reasonably certain of what he was using, I could advance around that idea. Incubi are the male version of Sucubi, so like Sitri Dominic is human, as far as I know though his mana is totally different in appearance, and according to Claire, in smell. Is Dominic actually a demon? If he is hed have to be a fairly young one I was able to beat him really easily after all. I decided to advance under the assumption that Dominic was possibly a demon, but most likely a human who had demonic abilities. The easiest way to tell for sure would be to look at the rest of his family with my divine eyes. I removed eye and women from my search, replacing them with resistance. My hope was that it would be as simple as being able to acquire a skill that would offer me resistance to Dominics ability. Though the question remained as to whether it would apply retroactively. Surprisingly, my search criteria produced only a single result, [Charm Immunity] which cost a whopping 500 Life Points. I also met the prerequisites, whatever those were, as it was not greyed out. Reading the description, the skill explained that it provided total resistance to the charm status ailment. Still, 500 LP was a huge investment, I had to keep in mind that I wouldnt be able to level up any further if I didnt buy two skills and two talents. While I could earn Life Points through actions other than leveling up, leveling up was the fastest way. Making a mistake here could massively gimp my future prospects. I may as well check talents before buying this, theres probably charm resistance I or something over there. I backed out of the menu and navigated into the browse talents section. Inputting the same search terms, I discovered the expected [Charm Resistance I], for only 300 LP. Reading its description, it appeared that it offered resistance to the Charm status ailment, based on the talent level. At level six, it would evolve into the Charm Immunity skill. This begged the question of what would happen to the slot when it evolved, however, given the prospect that it would eventually lead to gaining total immunity, I went ahead and purchased the talent. I would have liked something that also applied to allies so that I could extend protection to Jacqueline, however, I understood that would be asking for a bit much. I confirmed that it was present in my status menu and made a heartening discovery; The talent experience had already gone from zero to five. I watched it for a few minutes and observed it ticking up to six. At that rate, it would probably level up after a few days, maybe a week. So that confirms it, Im actively being charmed by whatever he did to me. At least it looks like the talent is working on an already existing effect. As for why it started out with five talent experience probably the passive experience I had already gained? No idea. The fact that Dominic had now essentially forced me to make a decision regarding my build was irksome, but it wasnt like the talent wouldnt be useful even after I bear the current dilemma. As I had recently demonstrated with my Ice immunity, status immunities were incredibly strong. I have just over 900LP left, and I need to buy one more talent and two skills. Getting three tier threes is probably the best option Or I could get a [Cold Hearted] tier skill, and some tier twos Given the general power level I had noticed with the 500LP skills that option was a bit tempting. I also need to search for the seven sin skills. I flipped back over to the skills menu and input the word Envious into the search. Thankfully, only two skills showed up, so I didnt have to scroll at all. The first skill was Felicitys [Envious], which I apparently was perfectly capable of buying, not that I was going to. Still, its surprising that this demon skill is compatible with Divine Element, but [Incubus Eye] wasnt I wonder what the criteria behind that is? The other skill was [Envy], which I could also buy for some reason, for a whopping 700LP, making it the most expensive skill I had encountered. I briefly checked its description. Envy(700LP): The final evolution of the Envious skill line. Acquisition of this skill completes Demonization[Demon of Envy]. User is granted the effects of Envious. Additionally, the effects of Envious are extended to include Skills. So, its Envious, but also works on skills instead of just talents, and getting this skill is what turns you into a demon. That confirms that at least certain skills can evolve further, not just talents evolving into skills. But holy shit, thats a strong effect, though I imagine it would kill you pretty quickly, assuming Im correct about how getting skills and talents to quickly strains the soul. In any case, I wasnt planning on taking a skill that would eventually turn me into a demon, so I backed out of the menu, content with the information I had gained. Ill need to share this with Claire later, so she can more easily keep an eye on Felicity. Next, I searched for the other sins from the seven deadly sins. Without fail, each of them had a skill named after them. They also all had a weaker version, and all of them had the line about turning their users into demons. The effects were incredibly strong though, to the point where I was sorely tempted to take one. But I resisted the urge; even a minor risk of turning into a demon wasnt something I was willing to take. The strongest, and the one I was most tempted by, was [Pride]. Specifically, its lesser version [Prideful]. [Prideful] had the effect of stealing half your opponents stats. Basically, for the duration of the fight, they would be weakened by half, and you would gain that strength. Since it was added to your own stats, you could take pride in the fact that you were always stronger than your opponent. Since it sounded like an activated effect, rather than Envious automatic one, I considered the risk of demonization to be much lower. But at the end of the day, it was still a risk. There was also the concern that you wouldnt be able to fight properly; if you suddenly gained a couple of hundred points of strength, then you wouldnt know your own limits anymore. This was a running theme with all of the sin skills, they were strong, but in a way that was easily able to backfire. Clearing wrath out of my search, I instead entered 500 Life Points as the only search term. This filtered out the skills and only showed me the ones that cost five hundred points. Specifically, I was looking for one that would help even the playing field between me and the demons. The fact that Sitri had said that she wasnt allowed to kill or defile me was, in hindsight, incredibly frightening. It meant that someone strong enough to boss that bitch around was making plans that involved me being both alive and pure. I could think of a way to foil those plans immediately, but I didnt want to go down that road. As such, I would need to develop a way of fighting someone who was practically in another plane of existence than myself. It was a challenge that tickled my gamer spirit. There was one idea I had during the past few months, but I wasnt willing to test it to see if it was viable; the repercussions for doing it wrong would be devastating. It would have to sit reserved as a final Hail Mary in the event that all else failed. Most of the skills didnt seem like they would be particularly useful for the stated purpose. Of course, there were a lot of useful sounding skills. Things like [Soul Weapon], which manifested your soul in the form of a weapon. Or [Pocket Space], which was basically an item box. There were amyriad of boost skills as well, like [Herecles Strength] that provided a massive boost to the strength stat. But none of these jumped out at me as being particularly able to narrow the gap between me and an Original Sin. What use would +500 points of strength be, when my opponent had two thousand? Especially if I was fighting a Demon of Pride, where half my stats would be going to them anyway. No, I needed something more concrete. Finally, I found something promising. [Kinetic Perception(500LP)]. According to the skill description, it enhanced the users kinetic vision and had an activated effect that consumed mana to improve a users reflexes. Memories of Sitri prancing around the battlefield while I was completely incapable of keeping up with her surfaced. It wasnt a guarantee, but it was also possible that my Blood Magic might stack with this skill, making the effect even more pronounced. Even if they didnt stack, having this skill would free up mana for other Blood Magic enhancements. A plan began to form in my head, and I confirmed the purchase of [Kinetic Perception]. I flipped over to talents and searched the term Dexterity Improvement. A few options popped up, with varying prices. A quick inspection revealed that they were a line of talents; the lower-cost ones would evolve into the higher-cost ones. I settled for the 200LP [Flexible I]. The description stated that it improved the range of movement of joints, as well as adding my level times the talent level to my dexterity stat. I switched back over to my skills catalog, and searched for mana there was a specific effect I wanted, which I was sure existed, but I had no way of predicting its name with enough accuracy to narrow down the results in any reasonable time frame. Speaking of the results page, it had well over a thousand entries with the term mana. I groaned internally and began scrolling. I passed a lot of interesting and useful sounding skills. Things like [Mana Perception] and [Mana Sense], the difference between the two I couldnt determine; their descriptions were practically identical. As a guess, I figured that the former might be similar to divine sight, and let you actually see mana, while the latter simply allowed you to sense it as a sort of feeling. Still, neither of those was what I was looking for. I kept scrolling, and eventually found a promising skill; [Mana Crystallization (300LP)]. According to its description, it allowed its user to exceed their maximum mana capacity by storing excess mana in a solidified crystal that would form near their heart. The thought crossed my mind that this was very similar to the mana crystals that could be found in the monsters of this world, however, unlike the sins skills, there was no disclaimer about monsterfication. Still, I dont have enough Life Points And it isnt exactly perfect, since it also says that it takes some time to extract mana from the crystal I made a mental note about the existence of this skill, and continued scrolling. I found another skill that could possibly fulfill my purposes, in the form of [Mana Storage Expansion]. But this one was 500LP and came with the downside of a twenty-five percent reduction to mana regeneration speed. If there were other skills that expanded mana capacity, I wasnt seeing them. I could probably get the 43 LP for [Mana Crystallization] easily enough, but getting 243 for [Mana Storage Expansion] would be a tall order without being able to level up. Ill plan on getting [Mana Crystallization for now. My plan, was to greatly enhance my speed, and then expand my mana capacity in order to increase the time limit on my buffs. After that, I would train extensively with magic, and work on further translating the magic language. There were a few words I was really hoping to learn. Words like Stroke, Hemorrhage, and Aneurism. Straight up Die would be nice as well, provided it worked properly, but something told me that not specifying the cause of death would end up costing a lot of mana. To this same end, I accessed the MAX level indicator again, and focused on the ability improvement line, which still read 2/2 remaining. A small window depicting my ability improvement values opened, with arrows I could use to increase them. Without hesitating, I applied one point to mana, and one point to Dexterity, raising them to S and SS respectively. I confirmed my selection and felt an odd tingling sensation. Well, that does it. Ive committed fully now. I checked my mana and saw that I was nearly at full capacity. I carefully stood up; my stats had increased a large amount, and it would take me some time to get used to my new strength now that my limbs had stopped shaking and the soreness was gone. Stretching, I tested the range of my motion with the newly acquired [Flexibility I]. I was able to contort my body a fair amount more than previously, but it was nothing inhuman. Checking the sun, it appeared I had been busy for quite some time; it had gone down a considerable distance since I had first opened my menu after sitting down. Jacqueline was still nearby, as was Giogi. The guards were in the distance, moving towards us. Thankfully, all of them seemed present, though they were sporting a few minor injuries. I stood to greet Lindell as he ascended up from the valley, Captain Lindell, how did it go? Lindell started when he heard me address him; apparently, he was quite tired, Ah I see youve recovered thats good. Things went well for us. As you said, there were no survivors inside the valley He had a distant look in his eyes; I could sympathize, in my previous life I had found mannequins a bit disconcerting. Walking around surrounded by frozen goblins must have been somewhat uncomfortable. And outside the barrier? Lindell shook his head and answered. There were small pockets of goblins led by hobgoblins; they largely retreated at the sight of us, heading back into the mountains. I fear it will take some time before we can properly clear the area. I pursed my lips; that wasnt good news for the village. We had been keeping people inside for the past few days, and of course, it was winter so outdoor activity would be limited anyways, but it wasnt like there was nothing that needed doing outside. And what about the magic stones? I had included a line about shattering stones in my spell chant, but since I didnt know the word for magic, I had to rely on my mental image of a magic stone getting my meaning through to the shape of the spell. Lindell shook his head again, There werent any that we could find. We dug through around about three hundred goblins before we decided to assume your spell worked how you said it would. Good, it looks like it worked then. So we wont have to deal with thousands of zombie goblins now. When the knights arrive, we can get them to help round up the remaining goblins. Tomorrow, Ill slip away and go confirm the camp is empty. It would be a disaster if it turned out they had only sent a portion of their force after all. But before that, it was nearly night. I had been refraining from doing so for the past few days, telling myself I needed to be ready to fight at a moments notice, but I didnt have that excuse anymore. It was time to confront my remorse once again. Forgiveness huh maybe it really is that simple one can hope at least. As I fretted over what I was about to experience, I recalled Lindells words from earlier. They had been directed a misconception on his part, but that didnt mean they werent useful. Its worth a shot, better than just torturing myself night after night. Psycholo 3-10 Counterattack Extermination Psycholor Volume One re-edit stuff. 1-14 has been re-edited. Vastly fewer tweaks need to be done from this point onwards, as by this point I had worked out my editing process. So mostly just rules I didn''t know about, or bad word choice. Of note, Silvia has been resurrected. Stahlia''s father no longer "ends her" to inform the doctor. The Extra Chapters from Book One have been re-edited. Please note, Giogi''s "advanced" dialogue in "Knight Commander Giogi" has been left mostly intact. This reflects the idea that he understands his own speech and thoughts, even if it would look and sound jumbled from an outside perspective. Since he is the PoV character, I felt it should reflect that understanding in the text. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eleventh Month of 947 I was sitting in the middle of the valley of ice goblins. It might be a bit morbid, however, it was conveniently devoid of people other than Jacqueline and I, owing to the creepy factor. Thanks to my new title, I was unconcerned about remnant Goblins coming upon us while I was indisposed. I had slipped away from my tent in the dead of night, relying on my Stealth Talent and the boost from Shadow Blade Style to bypass the guards standing watch, as well as leave Giogi behind. It was quite visibly cold out; we were in the middle of winter and the snow was piling up. The fact that we were surrounded by ice sculptures didnt help raise the temperature much either. Still, Jacqueline didnt comment as she helped me loosen my top and drop it off my shoulders. Just another side benefit of my blessing It protects me from the cold while otherwise making me sick. I took a deep breath and grit my teeth before engaging my remorse. Some minor things I had said or done flitted through my head, making me feel a bit sick, but I had grown used to these, and was able to quickly move past this part. Forgive myself, I wonder if it will really be that eas- I was torn from my thoughts as I was assaulted by a massive wave of nausea. Apparently, committing genocide on the goblin horde in the way I had done, was something I should have felt remorse over, and quite a bit of it as well, if this blowback was anything to go by. Goblins are targets for extermination why would this be any different? I could feel bile rising in my throat. Surrendering to the urge, I stopped fighting and allowed myself to vomit. If I hadnt acted, then it would have meant the end of the village! Everyone would be dead by now! I groaned as my stomach contorted, and a lance of pain stabbed through my head. My breath was coming out in ragged gasps. Im sorry! Is that what I need to say!? Fuck! My chest was getting tight, and it was becoming hard to breath. I felt like I was being squeezed in a vice. You know what! Fuck you! Fuck the gods and their shitty games! Someone had to send those goblins out of the mountains, and I bet it was you assholes! Are you happy tormenting me like this!? Do you get off on it? I grimaced as another bout of vomit spewed from my mouth. I had been stupid and eaten a somewhat large meal at dinner this evening, and was paying for it now. Well you know what? I dont care! My family was in that village, and if youre going to ugh if youre going to threaten them, I dont care who you are! I dont care what I have to do! Ill protect my family! Surprisingly, as I made that declaration, the feelings of nausea abated somewhat, and the white-hot rod was seemingly pulled from my head. I spat out a mouth full of bile, and stated my resolve through clenched teeth. Ill slaughter. them all if they. threaten my family. I dont care. how many, or what happens. to me. Ill protect. mine. After another minute of roiling, I felt my stomach loosen. The tension left my shoulders and I sagged to my knees. I could feel tears beginning to fall; I had managed to overcome my regret from using such strong magic and killing the goblins in such a merciless fashion. As I slumped forward, I became aware of a warm hand pressed onto my back; Jacqueline had apparently moved to comfort me, What is another wave of nausea assailed me, as I once again beheld Astens face. In a hurry, I switched off my remorse. I would overcome that trauma another time; getting past the goblins had been ten times worse than Asten and Jacquelines arm had ever been. I leaned back against Jacquelines arm, Are you finished, Lady Stahlia? Im not sure doing magic experiments is such a good idea so soon after experiencing as much growth as you did in one sitting. Ah, I did tell her thats what I was doing, in order to protect the secret of [Cold Hearted] I nodded, Youre right, I should probably have taken it easy I noticed that the moon had risen quite high in the sky, Jacqueline, how long was I out like that? Jacqueline grimaced, A few hours. I tried calling out to you, but you did not respond. A few hours? It was that bad? How in the world did I manage to last that long? The longest I could remember lasting with Asten and Jacquelines guilt was only a few tens of minutes. I knew the guilt from the goblins had been more extreme, at the very least I had been hit with more all at once. The only thing I can think of is that my endurance has gone up a lot, so perhaps Im able to handle the blowback for longer but I dont think I actually cleared the goblin guilt just from waiting it out I managed o resolve myself, and in so doing, overcame the guilt. Im sure Ill still feel a bit bad about it when I turn remorse back on, but as long as I keep the mentality of doing whats necessary, then the skill shouldnt punish me. That had to be the point of putting such a grueling punishment in place for the skill granted to the winter champion; to force them to face reality. Fucking. cunt ass. winter gods! What was especially irksome was how I had been more or less tricked into the position of Winters Champion by the goddess of lies. And she hasnt said a word to me since then. Its been nearly three years since that first dream. An apology for Mortis trying to get me killed would have been nice I indulged in my anger for a few more minutes; it felt good. After a little while, I calmed myself and stood up, Jacqueline, help me get dressed, please. We need to get back soon and rest; the knights will be here either today or tomorrow. Jacqueline nodded and came up to help me slip my top back into place. We snuck back into the camp the same way we had left and retired to bed for the night. The next morning, I was awoken by Lindell rapping at my tent roughly, as well as his voice calling out to me, Lady Stahlia, my apologies, but the knights have arrived, and their commander claims to know you. I sat up groggily. A knight who knows me? I can only think of the ones from Ang. So, they survived then. Not surprising considering the threat had left I wonder what the official story about that is actually, considering Ive been in Ris for the past months, I dont exactly get news. Jacqueline had roused herself, and quickly combed out my hair. I slipped into simple but modest clothing; my mother was far from pleased with this outfit, but I was living in a battlefield camp. I could hardly were fancy dresses day in and day out. I emerged from my tent and glanced around, I couldnt see any knights that I recognized. Presumably, the one who knew me was in the command area with Lindell, who had also vanished after waking me. I made my way to the command area, and before long I recognized Alberts voice speaking with Lindell. So it is Knight Commander Albert then. Good, that should streamline me getting involved with the cleanup. Albert was, at the moment, asking Lindell about the field of goblin corpses. While they were still frozen in various places, they had started to thaw, so they no longer resembled ice sculptures. I am telling you to explain how twenty guards managed a slaughter like that. My men are telling me they were frozen. Albert sounded tired, presumably, they had done a very hard march to reach Ris so quickly. And Im telling you, with all due respect sir knight, that you should ask Lady Stahlia about that; it was her spell so shes far more qualified to give you the report than I am. Lindell sounded tired as well, though in his case the exhaustion seemed to be mental. Given the stress he had experienced over the past several days, and the fact that he was now being grilled by a knight, it was fairly understandable. I let myself into the command tent and greeted Albert, Commander Albert, it is a pleasure to meet you again. I only wish the circumstances would have been less dire. I finished off my greeting with a full curtsy. Albert nodded and bowed alongside his own greeting, Lady Stahlia, as you say, it is indeed a pleasure to be working with you again. Since you are here, perhaps you can shed some light on this for me; this man is claiming you used Anti-Army magic to rout the goblins. Is that true? I pursed my lips; what I had done was technically illegal, highly so, I did not exactly have many choices. The village would have been overrun if we had tried to hold off a horde of that size with twenty guards and a random collection of adventurers. Albert shook his head, I understand that, but it doesnt change the fact that youll have to answer to a member of the royal family. Which spell did you use? I shrugged, Tell the Third Prince it was Frozen Garden, Niflheim. He will, in all likelihood, dismiss the case. Getting around the legality of my actions would be a bit irritating, as it would depend on my connection to the third princes faction through the Francois family. Albert nodded, Im sure he will. Putting that aside, your father told me to handle the situation through you rather than him. It is my impression that he deeply regrets putting you out here. I nodded, I was aware that he still felt bad about asking me to help while he couldnt do anything himself. Lindell, explain the situation with the surviving Goblins to Albert, then turn over command to him. Lindell nodded and quickly filled Albert in on the details surrounding the goblins retreating back into the foothills of the mountains, and how they were most likely gathering at their original camp a days march from here. After his explanation, Lindell turned over command of the village guard to Albert. My intention with that was for Albert to place a guard with each squad of knights as they moved about the foothills. This would help provide the knights with geographical knowledge as they hunted the stray goblins. Thankfully, the knights would be helping round up the goblins that had survived; this was in order to prevent a new goblin from taking charge and reforming the horde. Though, in my opinion, the original leader most likely wasnt actually dead. Lindell had told me that the exceptionally tall goblin that died right by the barrier had been a Goblin Lord. Lindell and I both agreed that the horde was far too big for it to have been led by a single Lord, it was almost certainly led by a Goblin King. Albert, for what it was worth, took our assertions under advisement and agreed to keep the knight squads in groups of ten, plus one guard. It was a bit irksome that the kingdom had only sent three hundred knights, but I could understand their hesitation; I hadnt been able to provide an accurate count of the horde, only a rough estimate. Besides, one knight was easily worth thirty goblins and the knights armor would be more than capable of blunting all but the luckiest of attacks from a goblin. Hobgoblins would be a bit of an issue, but the knights should be fine as long as there were not too many of them. In short, the kingdoms decision was pragmatic and logical. Finished with my musings, I spoke up, Albert, I wish to join one of the groups. Albert gave me an appraising look, Your father wouldnt like that; now that we are here, he would want you to return home. I nodded; I knew he would want me to go home, but I had sworn to do whatever I had to do in order to protect my family. I would be breaking that vow if I went home now without finishing what I started. That may be so, but I want to finish things Ill go alone if you dont let me join a squad. Albert grimaced, Fine, Ill put you with a squad, but if your father says anything, Ill be telling him you pulled rank on me. Right, I do technically outrank Albert in this instance, as the daughter and appointed representative of the local lord. I found myself deep in the foothills along Lindell and Albert. I had something I wanted to say about putting the three ranking members of the suppression force in the same unit, but as I had entrusted the organization to Albert, I held my tongue. I was also aware that he was probably doing this to somewhat blunt my fathers ire when we returned; by this point it should have been extremely obvious that I was not planning on returning home. Stil was still at the house with Felicity and Rosin; I had not gone to retrieve him, for fear of being forbidden to return. With my new stats, I should be able to get away from my parents easily, but that wasnt something I wanted to do; it would set a bad precedent for me. Jacqueline had also remained behind in the camp. Given her lack of an arm, there was no way Albert would have allowed her to accompany us. Frankly, it was a minor miracle that nobody had said anything about how she had gone with me when I went after Sitri. I still wasnt sure why that was. Giogi had come with us, for what that was worth. It would probably do him some good to work with a team of fully-fledged knights. At the moment, we were moving along towards the goblins original encampment. We were supposed to rendezvous with the other squads there at four pm. Along the way, we were to engage any goblin stragglers we came across. I had set my title to none for the time being, as causing the goblins to flee at the sight of me would be counterproductive to exterminating them. Unfortunately, we did not run into any groups of stray goblins and made good time to the hordes camps location. This was our predicted worst-case scenario, given that it had been a few days since my spell, the goblins would have had more than enough time to regroup. At this point, none of us questioned the idea of goblins regrouping, we just sort of accepted that it was something that had happened. Looking down into the camp, we could see a few hundred of the green vermin, including another one that looked like it was probably a Goblin Lord. But there was no sign of a Goblin King. I enhanced my eyes and surveyed the area intently, looking for any signs of the real leader. After not spotting anything, I activated my divine eyes. The goblins barely glowed at all, with the most light coming from their chest; likely where their magic stone was. The few Hobgoblins were a fair bit brighter than the goblins, roughly the same as the average human really. The Goblin Lord was about as bright as one of the knights, giving a fair indicator of his strength. I should be able to handle him myself, hell the knights probably could; I doubt hes as well trained as one of them. But ideally, we should try and take him alive. He might be able to tell us where the king is. There was a slim chance that the Goblin Lord would know enough common language for us to interrogate him. Albert was waving at me, making a gesture as if he was tying something up and pointing at the Goblin Lord. Glad to see we are on the same page, I wont have to argue my stance that way. We had a few minutes before the other knights were supposed to be in position, so we fell back a short distance to where we could hold a whispered conversation. Albert opened, We have no way of communicating our intention to capture the Goblin Lord so that means we have to get to it first, before any of the other units. He glanced over his men, Lindell, and myself. Lady Stahlia, I hate to say it, but you are the only mage, do you have a method of incapacitating the goblin lord? I thought for a moment. Spells that induced paralysis or sleep type debuffs fell under the banner of Black Magic, which I had not studied yet, and unlike how I had learned a few White Magic spells, I had not done so with Black Magic. That being said, I could still use my abilities to capture the goblin lord, most likely it would be incredibly easy. But I didnt want to show off with the knights watching; at the end of the day, they might turn into my enemies. I shook my head, regretting that I couldnt test my new stats and skills, No, I dont know any Black Magic. I can boost you and your men with Wind Magic though, and erect a wall with Ice Magic to cut the lord off from the other groups. Albert looked grateful, That will be good enough. What do you need from us? I cracked my neck in what I hoped would be a reassuring manner, Thirty seconds to chant the buff spell. Ill chant-hold the wall and deploy it as you start running. Lindell looked a bit lost, but Albert and the knights were all nodding; they had done drills with mages. With level five Ice magic, I could actually talent cast Ice Wall now, but I would rather keep the talent a secret if at all possible, hence the chant holding. I quickly recited the chant for [Ice Wall], it was only a few verses and engaged the process of chant-holding. We made our way back up to the spot where we could overlook the goblins, to our luck, the Goblin Lord had actually moved closer to where our group was hiding. I kept an eye on it while surveying the surrounding areas. One by one I caught the brief flash of the knights signaling they were in position. It appears we didnt lose anyone. I tensed up, ready to spring out, and took a deep breath. Albert glanced at his timepiece then signaled me to cast the wind spell. I took a deep breath and began chanting the spell [Fleet Foot]. Oh Wind, Wrap the #### of my allies in your gentle ########. Carry them to ####### with the haste of a #####. May you blow across the #### with the vigor of a #####. [Fleet Foot] [Fleet Foot] was a targeted buff version of [Wind Step], whereas [Wind Step] buffed the caster, [Fleet Foot] buffed the casters allies. As for what defined an ally, I wasnt completely sure, but it seemed to be tied into who you were desiring to buff, indicating that some aspect of the way chants worked involved reading the casters thoughts and intentions to fill in the gaps; I had made extensive use of this in my original Anti-Army chant. As soon as I finished the chant, a gentle breeze blew out from my location and wrapped itself around my allies feet. It should increase their running speed by about one and a half times; more than enough for them to reach the Goblin Lord before the other groups, especially as it had moved closer to us. Albert stood, and bellowing a war cry to draw the monsters attention, he charged towards it. I followed, surreptitiously using some light enhancements on myself to keep up. If asked later, I was planning to say I had talent cast [Wind Step] on myself. Surprisingly, despite using extremely weak blood magic, I actually almost outpaced Albert and had to force myself to slow down. Is this how fast Ive gotten now? Im not using my Kinetic Perceptions reflex boost at all, just normal blood magic. It would seem that I was now as fast as magically boosted knights in heavy metal armor. Of course, I shouldnt get ahead of myself, they arent anywhere close to the speed Sitri reached. I was close enough now to activate Ice Wall. The Wall spells were great for area denial, however, they had a distinct lack of deployment range. Whats more, when augment chanting in a method to increase the range, Wall spells had some of the lowest performance of any spells, costing exponentially more mana for just a few extra feet of distance. As the words [Ice Wall]! left my lips, a wall made of Ice sprung up between the Goblin Lord and the other groups of knights. I then turned aside and drew the short sword I was using in place of my dagger; a weapon with such narrow reach would hardly be effective on a large battlefield such as this. I left the Goblin Lord to Albert and his men and began hunting Hobgoblins. My class experience wasnt increasing, however, I could still earn Sword Fighting talent experience, and leveling up talents was one of the ways I could earn a few Life Points, in fact, getting Ice Magic to level five straight away had likely given me a large amount of the twelve hundred life points I had after my extermination spell. As I ran, I switched my equipped fighting style from Shadow Blade to Drakan; the latter would be much more useful in the current situation. I ran towards a group of three knights that had become separated from the rest of their squad. They were engaging with five hobgoblins and a handful of goblins; while not life-threatening for them, it would be time-consuming. Running up behind, I passed a large amount of mana around my swords blade. Now that I had so much more, I was interested to know what the limits of my enhancement were. I stopped when the sword started to vibrate in my hand; the last thing I needed was for it to explode. Swinging wide, I passed the blade through the hobgoblin. More than a hot knife through butter, it felt like I was cutting through the air, my blade hardly registered the flesh of the monster at all. Of course, this led to me overswinging, and I had to hurriedly pull back the sword. This abrupt action caused me to stumble, and one of the hobgoblins just recovering from the surprise of his friend being cut in half, moved to capitalize on my poor stance. I wasnt able to recover in time to defend myself, and the knights were being assaulted by dozens of goblins; hardly in a position where I could count on their help. Despite my predicament, I wasnt afraid. I opened my menu, and switched my title from none to Goblin Calamity. Suddenly, the hobgoblin that was bearing down on me froze. The snarl of rage fell off of its face and was replaced by a look of sheer terror. The hobgoblin spun about and began running for the edge of the battlefield. I recovered my stance and pointed a finger at the back of my fleeing opponent. [Icicle Bolt], at my command, a small icicle of magic ice formed in front of my finger before launching itself at speed and skewering the hobgoblin in the back of the head. More and more of the goblins and hobgoblins were noticing me. It was like a wave as they would turn and begin to run, this causing their nearby allies to look around to see why their buddy was running, only to see me and be inflicted with terror. A not insignificant number of them also simply died on the spot. This this title is something else. It beats dying, but I probably shouldnt have used it I chided myself for using the title, instead of just firing off a quick talent cast to buy myself time to recover. Ill just switch that back to none before theyre all fleeing. Unfortunately, it seemed that even with me no longer radiating an aura of fear, the rout had already begun. Even those that hadnt beheld my terrifying visage were fleeing the battlefield. Fortunately, a large number of the knights had not pushed in too far yet, and a perimeter was quickly established. There were a few gaps, and we couldnt catch all of the goblins, but most of them would be cut down. We did what we had to. If we didnt wipe them out, the horde would have reformed in time and started the threat all over again. I reassured myself that I had nothing to regret, already not looking forward to tonight. Especially regarding the goblins that had simply seen me and dropped dead. Even with my remorse currently turned off, I felt a bit bad about that. Terror is scary Ill limit myself to just Goblin Slayer unless Im facing another horde. A quick glance back in the direction I had come, revealed that the knights with Albert had surrounded the Goblin Lord with my ice wall on one side, and were working to disarm it. I turned back around to face the fleeing goblins, hefted my sword, took a deep breath, and charged into the fray. It was more or less a massacre. The large majority of the Goblins were still in a state of terror towards me, so they did not offer any resistance and merely tried to get away as I cut them down. Thankfully, I was able to do it, though I felt unsettled over how easy it was, likely my empathy. I considered disabling it, but shook off those thoughts; If I continued to run and hide from myself, I would simply wind up with another Asten and Jaquelines arm moment haunting me. I grit my teeth and continued to swing my sword arm, running through the basic forms of Drakan Style. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Step-back and thrust. Slash, Advance. The mechanical nature of the fight helped me put behind the actions of what I was doing. Due to the enhancements I had applied to my blade, every swing marked the end of another life. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Step-back and thrust. Slash, Advance. I continued to push forward, leaving a trail of bodies behind me. Thanks to my newly raised Endurance, I wasnt getting tired from the exertion of swinging my sword, though I had to wonder what my limit was now. Ill have to test that, it wouldnt be good to suddenly hit my limit in a fight against an opponent that actually poses a threat. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Step-back and thrust. Slash, Advance. I lopped the head off a particularly large hobgoblin, probably an officer of some kind. I stepped over its body as it fell, and was bathed in the green ichor that spewed from the stump neck. It stank, and I did my best to tune it out; continuing my advance as I tightened my grip on my now slick sword hilt lest it slip from my grasp Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Step-back and thrust. Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Step-back and thrust. Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Step-back and thrust. Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Stab, Thrust, Slash, Advance. Step-back and thrust. Sla- Stop, Stahlia. My sword arm fell limp, and the point of my sword dug into the dirt. What Turning my head, I saw Albert, the knight commander. He had ducked inside of my reach and caught my arms, halting my movement. Looking around, I saw several of the knights were looking away awkwardly. I was at the perimeter of the goblins camp. Looking behind me, I saw a line cut straight through the middle of it. Whereas the left and right of that space had a number of corpses, all of those had multiple wounds. Within the line, every corpse had a single wound, all in a vital spot. Some had been decapitated, others had been stabbed through the heart. Still, others had been bisected, and others had a slashed throat. I did that? I tried to release my sword but found that my hand refused to unclench. Taking my other hand, I pried my fingers loose. The sword, now un-grasped, fell from my grip and into the dirt. Looking at my arms, I found that I had turned green, covered in fresh goblin blood. If I turned my remorse on now I imagine I would pass out. Killing ten thousand goblins with a spell, while brutal, had had some distance to it. Killing several hundred by hand, while they were terrified and running away from me I shivered in spite of myself. Whats that quote? Kill a dozen people and youre a murderer, kill a million and its a statistic? Albert, lets go back to the camp. I I need to get cleaned up. Albert hesitated a moment, then agreed, Aye, We should do that. Psycholor Next chapter will address the guilt from this chapter, decide whether or not to have Felicity stay in Ris, and have a conversation with Jacqueline... Next storyline, we will be going back to the Capital, where the Third Prince is about to make a most auspicious announcement... I want to offer thanks to Rita, for Beta Reading this chapter. Going forward, I am looking to enlist a few additional people to Beta Read. If this is something you are interested in, send me a private message on Scribble Hub. Preference will be given to people who have consistently commented with feedback or their thoughts on chapters, and to people who speak and read English. While I understand that the last part might be frustrating, I am stipulating it because the story is written in English, and translating through GoogleTL/DeepL will always result in some loss of context and or clarity. In total, I would like to get three to four people. Finally, as announced two weeks ago, this week ushers in the change to the upload schedule. The new upload schedule is two chapters a week, on Monday and Friday, at 11:00 AM UTC-7. 3-11 Wrapping Up Psycholor This isn''t really in celebration or anything, but the Stil character art has been finished. The artist went into this after saying that they didn''t really have much experience drawing quadrupeds, but I think they did a good job, all things considered. I''ve added a Stil character Bio in the Glossary now that he has an art piece. The Beta-reader application thing has closed, and of those who applied, you''ve been sent a message indicating whether or not your application was accepted. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eleventh Month of 947 It was just a few days after the massacre. The knights had just finished cleaning up the goblins former camp. Removing magic stones, burning bodies, tracking survivors. Several of them had escaped back into the mountains, further than the knights dared to go, but that was alright; we had nearly annihilated the force. Of concerning note, was the confirmed presence of two Goblin Lords. There was the one I had killed with my magic, though it did not show up in the kill log, for reasons I wasnt able to discern, only hypothesize. Then there was the one from the camp that Albert and his team had managed to capture, with a bit of my help. The interrogation had gone poorly. The Goblin Lord barely spoke common, though it could speak it. However, what limited words it could use were just barely enough for it to vehemently refuse to answer any questions, even when tortured. Eventually, Albert shipped it off to the capital, claiming that there were methods there that could be used to obtain information directly. I doubt Ill actually be able to learn if they find anything out Maybe I can ask Edith to pull some strings, her connections as the daughter of a duke should be able to manage something Of course, all of this was simply what I had been told; I was grounded. My father had, predictably, not been pleased to learn that I forced my way into the counterattack team and promptly grounded me upon my return. I was Not to set a single foot outside the village until it was time for me to return to the capital. That was fine with me, I had accomplished all of my goals that absolutely required me to leave the village. At this point, I was basically waiting for [Charm Resistance I] to level up. I had gotten a single level of [Sword Fighting] at some point in the extermination battle. I say at some point because I had retreated so far inside myself that I had completely closed off any conscious sensory input; it even went to the point of overruling my [Eidetic Memory]. No matter how I tried, I couldnt call up any memories of the battle after I had used my [Goblin Calamity] title. This wasnt a problem per se, just frustrating, and curious, as it marked the third instance of my [Eidetic Memory] seeming to fail. The first time was ongoing and had to do with the contents of my menus. Not that I couldnt remember them, but the memory wasnt clear at all. Essentially, I remembered my menus using the quality of my original memory, before I had gotten the talent. The second instance was the Goblin King that Giogi had mentioned. Up to that point, I had almost subconsciously remembered important details. I had been able to connect dots almost automatically following the acquisition of new information. That was the most worrying of the three instances, as it of course led me to question what else I might be missing. No, theres a fourth instance. Indeed, I could think of one more time my talent had failed; when I had checked Dominics ability to affect me using my divine sight. At the time, I had simply accepted that I was not being affected. I hadnt thought about all the evidence that I had at some point been affected. It had taken Claire telling me as much through Felicity to jog my memory. Up till now, Ive been assuming my memory is perfect, but now I have to assume that Im missing things. I shouldnt question everything, that would be counterproductive. But I need to think things through more carefully, and not put so much trust in my memory. On the subject of thinking things through more carefully, there was my remorse. Or rather, the lack of it; I had not been hit with the repercussions I was expecting from the massacre at the Goblin Camp. It wasnt like I hadnt gotten anything at all. My stomach had been upset by the memories of so many of them simply dying at the sight of me. I had been forced to recall the feeling of being slick with goblin blood, the way it had smelled and made me sticky as it dried. It had been nauseating. But I hadnt been forced to dwell on it much. Seemingly, the mental justifications that I was acting as was necessary were satisfying to the skill, and it didnt force me to relive events again and again. And now Im thinking about my skill as if its fucking self-aware or some shit. Of course, it wasnt the case, but with how vindictive it seemed to be, it was an easy leap to make. All that, and I cant get over Asten and Jacqueline! As I was thinking these things, I was even now being forced to endure the feelings of sickness and the stabbing headache as I relived the memory of making my deal with the devil, signing away Astens soul and maiming Jacqueline with my own hands. My newly raised endurance was able to offset the symptoms somewhat, allowing me to have this side train of thought. But it didnt cancel it out. The longer I had to endure without overcoming, the more intense the symptoms became. Eventually, it would overwhelm me, and I would be forced to once again turn off my remorse. I just dont get it I did what was necessary with the goblins. I did what was necessary with Asten and Jacqueline; we would have died if I hadnt done what I did! Why is that not enough!? As I was thinking those things, a particularly bad cramp caused my gut to spasm. My headache intensified to the point where I was starting to have trouble thinking. I just want to move on Im sorry so, so sorry Accompanying those thoughts, I gave up for the night and shut off remorse. This is awful. Jacqueline approached me, and I looked up at her with a pained expression. Her missing left arm was the first thing I saw, causing me to grimace involuntarily; I wasnt sorry about it at the moment, my grimace was related to the pain I had just experienced. Jacqueline noticed where I was looking and shook her head. Lady Stahlia, I have told you; I forgive you for what happened then, and Asten would as well, were he here. She looked like she was pained by my reaction upon seeing her arm. Thats the thing though You dont know what happened, so you saying that you forgive me doesnt mean anything. And there is no way in the nine hells that Asten would forgive me either I had a sudden thought then; Jacqueline was my only confidant. Technically, Claire was as well, but anything I told her would also be heard by Felicity, and while I could simply order Felicity not to say anything, I knew that I didnt like doing that. But even if I wanted to, I couldnt tell Jacqueline things, not while she was still under Dominics influence. I I might be able to do something about that, but I havent had a chance to test it, so I dont know what would happen As I was forming a plan, Jacqueline had finished wiping off my sweat and redone my clothes. Ill ask her then, and do what she thinks is best; at the end of the day, if it backfires, its her life on the line. Jacqueline, do you trust me? Answer without consideration of our relationship I spoke in a small voice, given what I was planning, I was incredibly nervous. Jacqueline raised an eyebrow, Yes, of course, I trust you Lady Stahlia? Why would you feel that I do not? I shook my head, No, Jacqueline. Im not trying to imply you dont trust me Im just clarifying. What would you say if I told you I have been keeping secrets. From everyone. From you. I raised my head and fixed my gaze on Jacqueline, who looked at me unwaveringly. I would assume you had your reasons though if I am to continue answering without consideration to our relationship, I would have to say that I I would be hurt. She kept her voice steady, but by the end, there was a bit of a crack to it. I nodded, accepting her answer, Jacqueline, do you have the [Charm Resistance] Talent? I do have it, the last time I was appraised it was at rank two. I nodded, Jacqueline, I have reason to believe you are being charmed. Will, will you let me try something to remove it? I havent tested this, and there could be side effects Jacqueline gave me a long, questioning stare. After a brief moment of consideration, she knelt in front of where I was still sitting and grasped my hand. Im glad to see she thought about it before just agreeing out of loyalty. Lady, no. Stahlia, Ill accept whatever it is you want to try if it means I can gain your full trust. Her words made what I was going to say next catch in my throat. I didnt mean to imply that I didnt trust you I damn it all Once again, like with the goblins, I was feeling regret that was slipping through my remorse. Emotions are so much more complicated than I ever could have thought. I took a deep breath, Alright Im going to start out by appraising you with my Blood Magic. Jacqueline nodded and closed her eyes, accepting my mana into herself without resistance. Name/Age: [Jacqueline], 28 Species/Level: Human(Pureblood), 48 Ability Values: Special: Charmed(Dominic, Weak hold) Skills: [Display 10 per page]: Critical Correction[Blades]*, Clean Killing*, Shadow Step*, Dagger Mastery*, Shadow Walk*, Finesse Fighting*, Fancy Footwork*, Shadow Form*, Sword Mastery*, Actor* C Page 1/4 I swallowed as her stats displayed to me. Level 48 Im only level 20, and without her stat bonuses from talents and skills, I already outclass her in a few areas As expected, I couldnt see her class, nor could I see her talents. I quickly tabbed through her skills list, looking for anything that might be providing the boosts she had; I was particularly intrigued by the times two and times three multipliers on her dexterity and intelligence. As it turned out, the times two multiplier came from her [Fancy Footwork] skill. I already knew that the next skill I was buying would be [Mana Crystallization]; I could use the extra mana alongside my Blood Magic to exceed the x2 modifier, and mana would also serve other uses; I could cast more complex spells if I had a larger pool. But I made a note of that skill to acquire after I got another slot. But this isnt what Im doing here. Right, lets get this over with. I ignored the vague sense of apprehension I had and fired a thought at the appraisal screen. Invoke Divine Authority, display the targets life points. A brief stab of pain lanced through my head, bypassing my endurance stat. When it faded, I saw a new line had appeared between the special section and the skills, Life Point Balance: 986. Accompanying this was a notice box similar to what had shown up with Rosin several months ago. Request of Authority Holder to display Targets Aggregate Soul Potential Received. Valid Authority: {Divine Authority[Class Features]} Confirmed. Target of Action [[Jacqueline], Human[PB], 28y] Has 996 Life Points Available. Expending Ten Life Points to add Life Points display to Targets System Profile. I felt a cool sensation on my upper lip and realized my nose was bleeding. Right, it did that last time. Ill go through with this for Jacquelines sake, but I sure hope I live to regret the decision. I steeled myself, and sent another thought command, Evolve [Charm Resistance] to [Charm Immunity]. I had no idea whether or not this would work, I personally lacked the life points to test on myself. Even so, I needed to clear Jacqueline of Dominics charm if I was going to be able to tell her the things I wanted to. In theory, White Magic would have a spell under the Holy Element that could cleanse the Charm status ailment, but I had a strong suspicion that Dominics charm would be above what any normal spell could handle. A Miracle might work, but I would sooner actually marry him than ask the fucked-up gods for their help. Just as I was thinking that it wouldnt work and that I had overestimated the scope of my skill, my head exploded in pain. It was the worst feeling I had ever experienced; tens, no hundreds of times worse than my remorse headaches. I felt my legs give out, and my arms lost their strength. I crumpled to the floor like a puppet that had had its strings cut. Looking out at the world as if submerged in deep water, I saw Jacqueline picking me up. Her words were distant, but I could just barely make them out, Stahlia! Stahlia! What did you do!? Oh, gods what did you do!? Shes worried about me The only thing that was clear in my foggy state, the only thing that I could make out perfectly, was the new notification. Request of Authority Holder to Forcibly Evolve Targets Talent to Skill Received. Valid Authority: {Divine Authority[Class Features]} Confirmed. Target of Action [[Jacqueline], Human[PB], 28y] Has 986 Life Points Available. Expending 600 Life Points to Evolve [Charm Resistance III] to [Charm Immunity] ERROR: Authority Holder does not possess enough Divine Element. Expending Life Span to compensate. Operation Completed, [Charm Resistance] of [Jacqueline] successfully evolved to [Charm Immunity]. The Charm effect created by [Dominic von Francois] has been removed. I groaned out in pain and fell unconscious. Stahlia, Twelfth Month of 947 I woke up in my room. I tried to sit up, but found that I couldnt muster the energy to lift my head. My head is still throbbing I knew there would be a cost for me but I wasnt expecting it to be this bad. I recalled the notification I had received just prior to my passing out. Lifespan huh I grimaced and opened my menu. Apparently, I had hurt myself in a unique way, possibly an injury to my soul, because just opening the menu caused me a mild headache. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 277 (+10) Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris, 12 (+2) Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 20[MAX] Experience: 31000/31000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Title: Goblin Slayer*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] Prodigy III*, Eidetic Memory II*, Stealth V, Charm Resistance I*, Flexible I*, || Monster Handling III*, Dagger Fighting V*, Sword Fighting II*, Unarmed Fighting IV*, Alchemy Correction IV*, Teaching II*, Mana Efficiency III*, Fire Magic III*, Water Magic II*, Earth Magic II*, Wind Magic II*, Ice Magic V Skills 4/5: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Finesse Fighting*, Blue Blooded*, Kinetic Perception*, [], || Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Fighting Style[Drakan Style]*, Blessing of Winter* Talents Experience: [+] A quick scan of my character sheet revealed that nothing major had changed; I only noticed two things. I had gained an extra ten Life Points of my own, I had gotten ten before when I leveled up [Sword Fighting] once during the extermination. And I had gained two years to my age. So, either two years have passed while I was unconscious or when I expended Life Span, I lost two years. I closed the menu in order to get rid of the headache and nestled myself as best I could with my limited movement. I was tired, starving, and just in general uncomfortable. I couldnt put my finger on what was bothering me. Well, I can probably discount that its been two years; Im weak, but I can move. If I had been immobile like that for so long, I wouldnt have any muscles left. I dont think my Strength Stat would be able to bolster me to this extent if I didnt have any muscles, to begin with. As I tried to ignore my stomach, I heard a knock at the door. It swung open, and I perceived three shapes entering. Jacqueline, who was accompanied by Felicity and Rosin. I tried to nod my head in their direction, to let them know that I was awake. But all I managed to do was move my chin a bit. But that was enough; Jacqueline was well trained and able to spot small movements like that, and Felicity had Claire sitting in her head, who was an adult and thus more perceptive overall. First Jacqueline gave a start and veritably flew to my side, a few moments later, Felicity exclaimed and came running over. This left poor Rosin on his own, but he quickly came to the conclusion that something was happening and came running to my side, ello eryone talking was difficult, I still lacked the strength to move my mouth much more than the smallest amounts. Jacqueline quickly shushed me, and passed Felicity a washcloth; apparently, I had been out long enough for Felicity to have learned how to wipe a limp body down because she was fairly efficient. Of course, that assumes Claire is properly doing her job, and Felicity hasnt acquired any talents or it could be the result of one she already had from Jacqueline. I groaned and tried to thank Felicity, only for Rosin to shove his hand over my mouth, Miss Jacky said to be quiet! I felt my mouth pull up into a faint smile, and if I had been able I was sure I would have laughed. Fine, Ill behave. I lay back and let the three of them fiddle with me until they were content. Well, Rosin and Felicity did the fiddling, Jacqueline took on a supervisory role, ensuring that they didnt hurt me in my weakened state. After a little while, the two of them left the room. Alright Stahlia, Felicity is probably going to go and tell your parents that youve awoken. Dont speak. Youve been unconscious for almost three weeks; it is now the fifteenth of the twelfth month. Sieg has been here periodically to check up on you, but he has no idea what exactly has happened; youve physically aged considerably while unconscious, a fact that I have hidden from your parents. I imagine it was the result of whatever you did to me, which did work; I feel like a fog has cleared from my mind. Im sorry I brought Dominic and Asten out that night Wait, Ive aged? So I didnt just spend my lifespan, but I also physically aged? That would explain how weak I am right now. I cant imagine what she means by considerably, but it must have taken a lot of energy. And if its the fifteenth, that means my birthday was yesterday. So in total, I lost a bit more than a year of my life. I guess thats not terrible it could have been a lot worse Especially if I had granted Rosin a class. Holy fuck, a year for a skill, then what would a class be!? My thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock at the door, and Jacqueline cut herself off, terminating her whispered stream of exposition. My mother and father entered the room, the latter adopting a stance near the edge of the bed, while my mother sat down on the edge and reached out to stroke my face. I could see that her eyes were red and puffy, and she was making no attempt to hide the dark circles that were visible beneath them. Right, what happened to me is basically the same as what happened to Rosial from her perspective Suddenly falling unconscious and then not waking up, Im sure she was worried beyond belief. I opened my mouth to apologize to her, when she covered my mouth, Dont say anything. Just rest, and regain your strength. I closed my mouth and let her continue stroking my cheek; if it would calm her down then I didnt mind, it wasnt like I was wearing any make-up or anything. My father was apologizing for being so harsh on me and talking about how he knew I was only acting out of a desire to do good for the village. No! That isnt right! I desperately wanted to tell him that he was wrong; that he hadnt been too harsh on me. To tell him that I understood why he had punished me for forcing my way into the extermination team. But if I did that, if I tried to talk, I would upset my mother further. So I bore it in silence, inwardly grimacing at every self-deprecating remark my father made, and every praise he leveled in my direction. Finally, my parents both retired for bed, it had taken Jacqueline gently letting them know that I should rest. I had actually begun to fear that they might stay the entire night. Jacqueline, who was staying to care for me through the night, took a seat on the edge of my bed, Stahlia, how are you feeling? Some color has returned to your cheeks. I tried sitting up and found that I was able to barely move a few inches, though this was still an improvement from before. Next, I tried speaking, H..ungry and sore Jacqueline nodded, I imagine you would be; I told you that you grew rapidly in just a few weeks. In your case, you gained a few centimeters, and have filled out a bit more. I have no idea where the energy came from, but growth isnt free. Sieg gave you some supplemental potions I provided the recipe for. Do forgive me, but I said it was something you were working on. I grimaced, not as a way of chiding her but because I knew the likely origin of those recipes; they would be used during Shadow Training to prevent various maladies. After a moment, the rest of what she had said sunk in, the part about me having filled out a bit. I felt my cheeks flush faintly, and asked a question that had been bothering me, You said you were hiding this from my parents? Jacqueline was able to intuit the second half of that question, namely, How? She answered both questions for me efficiently while preparing some sort of thing for me to drink. If I had to guess, it was more of the supplemental potion she had Sieg make. Simple really, I was the one responsible for caring for you. Your father obviously wasnt in the room while I was bathing you, and I prevented your mother from coming in by citing her weak constitution when you were younger. She took my worries to heart regarding that. Unfortunately, Lucy has been a bit of an issue. I couldnt prevent her from noticing that I was making alterations to your clothes. I questioned Jacqueline about those alterations; I couldnt deny that I was curious. According to her, I had graduated from my training bra to a real one, though I was still smaller than I should be based on my memories of character creation. She had also adjusted my shoes a bit so that I would stand a few centimeters shorter; this would help hide my growth spurt. My clothes had been altered so as to obscure my new figure. It was Jacquelines plan to slowly undo the alterations over the next few months and use the excuse that I was experiencing a growth spurt. Since I didnt have any better plans, I agreed to hers. By the time we were done discussing these things, I had recovered my ability to speak, although I was still weak. Jacqueline, could you please go and get Felicity? She should be here for this as well. Jacqueline looked at me curiously, but did as I had asked; likely she intuited that I was asking for Felicity because I was about to make good on my unspoken promise of trusting her more. Jacqueline was loyal to me alone now that she had [Charm Immunity], and Felicity could be ordered to keep her silence. A few minutes later, Jacqueline returned with a very sleepy cat-kin. I had Jacqueline help me up into a seated position while Felicity woke up; Claire likely had some inkling of what was about to happen, because Felicity looked like she was having an internal conversation. Watching her facial expressions change so randomly is amusing, but its something shell have to work on. Finally, everything was ready, and I took a deep breath, Jacqueline, Felicity, Ive been keeping some pretty big secrets. For starters, Felicity, I knew Claire. Before she was with you, I knew her. Jacqueline gave me a curious look, but held her silence. She was probably thinking that I would expand and explain myself. Well, shes right. Though I still wont share everything, like how I used to be a man but I think its time I trusted Jacqueline with knowledge of my past life. Felicity wont understand perfectly, but Claire can coach her. I went on to explain, in terms that Jacqueline could understand and that Felicity would eventually understand, all about how I had lived previously and died before being reborn to this life. I left out a few details, things like my previous sex, my custom class, and various irrelevant things. But I told them almost everything else. Once I started talking, it was as if I had broken through a dam and the words just kept coming out. Jacquelines face changed gradually from surprise to incredulity, to rejection, and finally, a look that indicated she had accepted what I was saying. Felicity simply looked lost, but I had expected that. The point was that I was telling her, not whether or not she understood. Claire could address the latter issue given enough time. When I stopped my story to catch my breath, I met Jacquelines gaze. Though I wanted to look away, given how she was staring so hard at me, I held it. Briefly, I considered turning off my fear and meeting her gaze unwaveringly, but I rejected that plan; I was still struggling to overcome my last bout of skill abuse. There was no way in hell I would use [Cold Hearted] for something so petty. After a short while, Jacqueline spoke. It was a simple sentence, but it indicated her acceptance of what I had said, and I could ask for no more than that. Well, that certainly explains a lot about what you know. I can certainly understand why you were keeping this secret, thank you for telling me. I nodded before taking another deep breath, Thats not all though. Im sure you figured it out, Jacqueline, that I lied about what happened in the forest With Sitri. Jacqueline slowly nodded, Are you sure you want to tell me? I have to assume whatever it was, those events are responsible for what youve been going through every night. I grit my teeth and took a gulp of water from the glass on my bedside table; pleased to know that my strength was returning so quickly, Yes, I want to tell you. Telling you this was the real reason I gave you [Charm Immunity]. Everything else, well, it was to answer your request to trust you. I told Jacqueline the real story about what had happened in the forest. About the deal I had made. About what I had done, willingly, to her and to Asten. This didnt take nearly as long as the previous set of confessions, but it still took a bit of time. When I had finished, I closed my mouth and waited for Jacquelines response. I was sure she would judge me for it, that she would be angry. To my surprise, Jacqueline embraced me with her arm, Thank you for telling me the truth; Im sure that was an incredibly scary situation. Fighting a demon by yourself, and one as strong as an Original Sin. I swallowed my spit as she continued, I cant say that I forgive you, but I can move past it in light of what you went through to tell me She fixed me with a hard stare, It was your own impulsiveness that led us into that situation; Im grateful that you got us out, but you owe it to Asten to never forget the result of your rashness. I accepted Jacquelines admonishments; I knew that she was speaking the truth. Ill do everything I can to fix my mistake, and I swear I will never forget. Jacqueline nodded at my resolve, and to my surprise, she took a knee at the side of my bed, facing me. Stahlia, I want to once again offer you my loyalty and my blade. Not out of the desire to make things right, but to answer your trust in me. My voice caught in my throat as I tried to respond, but I eventually managed to choke out an answer, I-I, I humbly, accept Jacqueline. Jacqueline rose to her feet and smiled at me, Thank you, Lady Stahlia. It was only then that I realized she hadnt been calling me as she usually did, marking the fifth instance of my memory failing. I turned my attention to the cat in the room, Felicity about the next few months- No Stahlia, you arent leaving us here. The voice that left Felicitys mouth was not her own. Well, it was her voice, but she didnt talk like that. Claire? I thought you did not like taking control like that? Felicity Claire shook her head, I dont. But Felicity fell asleep while the two of you were bonding, and I could tell where you were going with that. Felicity, Im going to a dangerous place, to complete a dangerous mission, I need you to stay here, where its safe. She doesnt want to, I asked her while you were explaining your past. I explained everything to her in a way she could understand. Stahlia, I cant even begin to describe the emotional turmoil she experienced when I said you were going to go away and fight. My tousan went to fight when the evil people came, I never saw him again. She absolutely adores you. It probably isnt the smartest thing, but you should bring her back to the capital with you; have her stay with Edith at the Claurence Estate if youre worried about Dominic. I blinked rapidly, trying to sort out what Claire was saying. Finally, I asked her, Claire, how on earth did you figure all of that out? Claire smiled smugly, Ive read enough books to know what happens after the heroine confesses all of her secrets. I got a small bit nervous when Claire stressed the all part of her statement; she of course knew that I hadnt told the two of them everything. However, it didnt look like Jacqueline had picked up on it, she was mostly showing surprise at Felicity-Claires change in mannerism. Felicity was purportedly asleep, so I wouldnt have to worry about her catching it either, though it was unlikely she would have even if she was awake. I got the feeling it was also a subtle threat; I didnt know why Claire was seeking to bring Felicity along to a potentially dangerous place, but the message was clear; I know the secrets you didnt tell. You should listen to what I have to say. Fine Claire, Ill drop the subject, on one condition. Your priority is Felicitys safety; if it comes down to it, you will take control and run her away. I know you, and if you''re willing to swear that to me then I will acquiesce to your request. Claire looked torn; knowing her personality, what I was making her swear was a really big ask. Finally, she sighed and nodded, That isnt fair Stahlia Alright. If it comes down to it, I will. I would rather live with myself for that, than experience the anguish she would if the two of you separated now. Psycholor Additionally, over the past week or so, I have been slowly setting up a discord server. I am planning to make it public alongside Monday''s chapter, with the goal of creating a "hub" before the release of my second story. Thank You to Rita935, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading this chapter. 3-12 S1: A Studious Student Sana, Eleven Years Old, Late Eleventh Month of 947 I finished my prayers and stood up. I had been praying for the safety of my friend, Stahlia. Ever since I had heard that a goblin horde was threatening our village, I had been uneasy. The cardinal rejected my request to accompany the knights back to the village, citing that my previous outing had already cost me far too much time from my studies. So all I could do was pray, pray to the gods that they would protect my friend and my home. Unfortunately, I received no response, but that was to be expected. I was a Faith Caster, not an Oracle. I could speak to the gods, but not hear their voices. Still, I could take solace in the fact that, unlike the prayers of a normal person, I could be assured that my prayers were at least being heard. I stood and went to attend the cardinals private lessons. This was a special course for up-and-coming apprentice priestesses. I had at first been apprehensive about attending; Stahlia had warned me about how high-ranking members of the church may attempt to do untoward things, and she was often right, such that I considered her words to be worth listening to. However I had been taking these classes for several months now, and nothing had happened. There were only three other students when I arrived. These were my fellow apprentice priestesses, though I couldnt say that they were friends of mine. We were coworkers at best. Sable and Misha were fellow faith casters, and as such I tended to get along with them, but Eudico was an Oracle. Since she could actually hear the words of the gods, she often received special treatment. Its not that I dont like her, that would be blasphemous I just wish she wasnt so stuck up about everything Indeed, as I entered the room, Eudico turned up her nose at me; I was a bit late due to my prayers. I bowed my head, My apologies for making everyone wait on me. Eudico rolled her eyes, while Sable and Misha merely nodded their acknowledgment. The cardinal didnt say anything particular, and simply indicated I should take my seat. I did so, and the cardinal began the lesson. The four of you, are the best four apprentice priestesses in your year. I, after much discussion with my fellow cardinals, have decided to induct you into the Bishop Program. He spoke calmly and steadily, his voice filling the room and reverberating pleasantly off of the walls. His words gave me a start, causing me to draw a sharp breath. The Bishop Program was the churchs version of the Special Student program that Stahlia was enrolled in. Its graduates would, if they were men, be granted their own church or temple without having to first complete a pilgrimage. For us women, we would be all but guaranteed a post at the central temple. There were limited postings in the central temple, and as such there were limited slots for women in the bishop program; to be invited was the greatest honor for an orphan like me. Eudico was incensed though, The Bishop Program? I mean, it makes sense for me, and I guess for Sable and Misha. But Sana? Shes an orphan! Not to mention that for the past month she has been late to your classes, honorable cardinal. I could only hang my head in shame; Eudico was right, the Bishop Program was a great honor for someone like myself. Perhaps it was too great, but if the gods had led me to this opportunity, I would be remiss to not leap at it. However, all I could do now was hang my head and accept her words. The cardinal placed his hand on her head, a gesture that caused her to stop speaking. Enough, Eudico. Sana is as deserving of the position as anyone else; simply look at how far she has come from her misfortunate beginnings. As always, his voice had a calming effect, and Eudico stopped her aggressive tirade against me. Now, if the four of you will take the position of prayer, I will lead you in your oath with the gods as our witness. We four turned and faced a painting of the twelve gods, with one space near the end left open, serving to represent the thirteenth god. In the sky above the twelve sat the sun and moon, while below them lay nine demonic figures. This painting or a variation of it could be found all over the central temple, and it was customary to say a brief prayer as one passed by it. Though I do not understand why the nine hell kings are represented I feel like Im praying to them as well as the twelve. Together, the four of us knelt facing the painting, and the cardinal began to speak, leading us in the prayer of induction. It was one we had all memorized, as it was used when one was to rise to a higher station. But it was always to be led by a higher-ranked member of the church, whose purpose it was to oversee the induction of the new members. We humble servants present ourselves to the twelve gods and goddesses. The cardinals voice had taken on a peculiar cadence as he recited the opening lines. We humble servants present ourselves to the twelve gods and goddess. To the Goddess of Light and the God of Darkness. To the Goddess of Light and the God of Darkness. Hear our prayers, and accept our unwavering loyalty to your teachings. Hear our prayers, and accept our unwavering loyalty to your teachings. As we advance in your teachings and walk in your footsteps, guide us to our higher purpose. As we advance in your teachings and walk in your footsteps, guide us to our higher purpose. Grant us the strength to stand against those who would betray their purpose. Praise be the gods!. Grant us the strength to stand against those who would betray their purpose. Praise be the gods! Following the conclusion of our prayer, an attendant priest appeared bearing a bowl of water. This was water that had received a blessing from the pope and was anointed on the heads of those who had just completed the rite of induction. Dipping his hand into the blessed water, the cardinal sprinkled a few drops on each of our heads, starting with Eudico and moving down the line until he finally anointed me. I felt a strong feeling of satisfaction welling up, which I promptly squashed, reminding myself that I should take no pride in what had happened here; it was not through my own actions, but rather through the grace of the gods in granting me this purpose. After anointment, the ritual was concluded. The attendant priest presented each of us with a holy sigil, the mark of our new station as members of the Bishop Program. Eudico received a talisman of the sun, indicating that she spoke on behalf of the gods and in the name of the goddess of light. Sable, Misha, and I each received a carving of the moon, indicating that we were chosen to wield the power of the gods and to hold their ear. Attached to each sigil was a small loop of Mythril thread, using this, the Cardinal fastened the sigils onto our priestess robes. Again, starting with Eudico, and working his way down the line to me. I accepted mine dutifully, crossing my arms in front of my chest and bowing my head in what was the churchs equivalent of a salute. The cardinal bade the four of us to retake our seats, and I took mine. Going up to the podium, the cardinal began to speak, Now that the four of you have been inducted into the Bishop Program, I would share with you the secrets known only to those who walk hand in hand with the church and its purpose. Before doing so, however, I would bid you swear an oath of secrecy before the gods. Teachings such as these cannot be known except by those chosen by the gods to fulfill a higher purpose. I swallowed, Stahlia had proven herself once again in my eyes; she had insinuated on numerous occasions that the church held secrets to itself. Now, I was about to learn some of them. It was a shame I couldnt share them with my friend, but to do so would betray my purpose. I waited my turn and then recited the oath in the presence of the gods. I Sana, am but a humble servant of the gods, and the church. With the twelve gods and goddesses, and the Goddess of Light and God of Darkness to bear witness, I solemnly swear. It was a generic oath, but as it was sworn in the presence of the gods it was magically binding. Doubly so for a faith caster such as I. I felt some of my strength leave me as a minor miracle was cast; I would now be compelled to keep the secrets I was about to learn. Once I had finished, the cardinal began to tell us the truth. At your dedications, you were told the story of how our world was formed. How the Goddess of Light and the God of Darkness were born and found their purpose. He surveyed the four of us, and being satisfied with our expressions of remembrance, he continued. That was but one truth. What was not told to you, was the existence of the third sibling. There are many accounts of this third sibling throughout history. Periodically, individuals will appear claiming to have seen them. In some accounts, the third is male. In others, female. Only one thing is consistent across history; those who are visited by this sibling always sow the seeds of chaos. I was listening with rapt attention; as a fervent follower of the church, I was always keen to learn even a tiny bit more about the gods. Learning that the Goddess of Light and God of Darkness had a sibling was probably the biggest thing I had ever learned. Sable and Misha were likewise listening intently. Like me, the two of them were probably wondering what the domain of this god was; to call forth a miracle, one first had to know which god to pray to. Praying to the wrong god would, at best, accomplish nothing. At worst, the god may be angered by your lack of tact and actively work to harm you. Eudico looked curious, but not to the same extent; since she was an Oracle, she would only interact with this god if they designed to reach out to her first. The cardinal took in all of our reactions and then continued. Make no mistake, this is an Evil God. You should not call out to them, lest you bring misfortune upon yourselves and this kingdom. They are capricious and act as a child would, seeking only their own amusement. It was they who led the Goddess of Light and the God of Darkness to bestow fragments of their Divine Wisdom and Divine Might onto the Nine who would eventually rebel against their purpose. The Goddess of Light embodies wisdom and order. The God of Darkness embodies strength and the drive to improve. Their sibling the God of Chaos embodies the same; they would gladly plunge this world into war for their own amusement if not for their siblings holding them at bay. A shiver ran down my spine, and I vowed to never pray to this god, even if I should ever learn their name. From their reactions, I could see that Sable and Misha seemed to share my feelings. Eudico was, of course, nonplussed. The cardinal nodded solemnly, seeing that we had understood the gravity of his words. He continued the story. Now, the God of Chaos is not completely evil, while they certainly are an Evil God, their selfish actions have resulted in some good; in their quest for entertainment, they introduced the idea of bestowing certain individuals with a purpose to their siblings. It is thanks to this that now have the purposes bestowed on children through divine power. Are you all following along? I nodded, along with Misha and Eudico. Sable, on the other hand, appeared to have something she wanted to say. The cardinal acknowledged her, and Sable asked a question, Honorable Cardinal, you said that the Goddess of light held Divine Wisdom and that the God of Darkness held Divine Might. Does the God of Chaos hold a Divine Power of their own? The cardinal frowned, giving Sable a hard look, Sable, why do you ask such a question? Before his harsh stare, Sable shrank back in her seat, I-I simply wanted to k-know to know m-more about the gods Her voice trailed off meekly. After a long moment, the cardinal nodded, An admirable desire. Forgive me for my harsh reaction; undo curiosity is oft a sign of weak character. Those who ask after hidden knowledge are wont to betray their purpose. Rare is the individual whose desire for knowledge is truly their purpose. He cleared his throat, However, your question is an apt one, and I shall answer it. Each of the three siblings holds a fragment of the Creator God within themselves, for they were born of their flesh. The Goddess of Light inherited the wisdom of the Creator God; her power is the Divine Wisdom. The God of Darkness inherited the strength of the Creator God; his power is the Divine Strength. The God of Chaos The God of Chaos inherited the voice of their father; their power is the Divine Authority. The Cardinal continued talking for some time after that. He told us many things, terrible things about demons, and things about the gods that gave us hope. By the end of his lesson, I felt that I had truly grown as a servant of the gods. I went with my three sisters from the church to the dining hall. Meals in the temple for apprentices such as ourselves were typically plain. Typically plain; following a great achievement, we would be given much nicer food in celebration. As we had just completed the induction ritual, into the Bishop Program no less, we could look forward to todays meal. My mouth was already watering at the thought of how delicious it would be. I frowned. That was dangerous. I was beginning to lust after the meal tonight perhaps I should refrain from eating so as to pay penance I was internally torn over what I should do, but I continued to move mechanically through the food line. Before I knew it, the decision was made for me, and I found myself with a plate of celebratory food. Ah my slothfulness led me astray I grimaced and took my seat, internally chiding myself for my sins. However, it was also a sin to not eat food when it was given; doing so would be to deny the cook of their purpose. So, I resolved myself to eat, and pray fervently to the twelve for forgiveness later. I sat down at the table alongside Sable and Misha. Eudico, despite being in our year and now being in the Bishop Program with us, rarely ate at our table; she would often eat with the cardinal or another higher-ranking member of the church. Occasionally, I would struggle with feelings of envy for her position; there were many things I wanted to ask the ranking members of the church, but I rarely had the opportunity to do so. If I could sup with them as Eudico did, then perhaps I would be able to learn even more. Normally as we ate, the three of us would discuss the lessons we had that day. But today, we ate in silence. What we had learned was not something we could discuss so idly in a common space. A few of the priests and bishops that passed us by noted our silence uncomfortable, and upon seeing our new talismans they would nod knowingly. I was correct though, the food was delicious. I pushed away from the thought of wanting more; to glut after food was a sin. Following dinner, we retired to our rooms for the night; Sable and Misha shared a room with each other, while I shared a room with another apprentice priestess. Gabis purpose was that of a scribe; she could have enrolled in the Royal Academy if her grades were good enough, and attempted to learn magic. But her village was small, somewhere between Ang and Ris. Like Ris, they had only a single church. It was Gabis belief that her purpose was to eventually help the priest there. Before being inducted to the Bishop Program, I had been of a similar mind, thinking that I would return to Ris one day, but that door had closed as I recited the prayer of induction. Gabi immediately noticed my talisman and offered her congratulations. Dutifully, I bid her thank the gods on my behalf. Smiling, she bowed her head and crossed her arms; I was now above her in the hierarchy of the church so she took my statement as the words of a superior and responded as we had been taught. Together we said our nightly prayers, Gabi offering additional thanks to the gods on my behalf. I said my own prayers, thanking the gods and begging their forgiveness for the various transgressions I had committed over the day. Once I had finished my repentance, the two of us retired to bed. I awoke in the morning feeling refreshed and ready to face the new day. I rose, dressed, and offered my morning prayers. I noted that Gabi had overslept again, and gently woke her; this was an ongoing problem of hers. As usual, I softly chided her and told her she should pray for protection and forgiveness regarding her slothfulness. I was a bit surprised when she apologized and crossed her arms over her chest; it took me a few moments to remember that I had been promoted the day before. The gods are merciful, if we work to better ourselves and overcome our faults they will forgive. I hurriedly quoted a small piece of scripture to reassure Gabi and to cover for my lapse of memory. Ill have to remember to pray for forgiveness for failing to properly guide those who look up to me so soon after attaining a new station After washing my face and purifying myself, I made my way to the cardinals office as per his instructions the previous day; following the conclusion of yesterdays lessons, he had bid the four of us head to his office space for our next lessons. I met Sable and Misha on the way, and we continued towards the office. Strangely, we did not meet Eudico. I worried that she may be sick, however, my fears proved unfounded, as she was waiting for us already in the cardinals office. The three of us apologized for being late, and Eudico turned her nose up as she usually did. One should think that rising in station as we all have, she would strive to address her pride No, I shouldnt be judgmental. It is not my purpose to pass judgment; that is for the cardinals, the pope, and the gods above them. I went and took my seat after Eudico, Sable, and Misha had taken theirs; for whatever reason, the cardinal insisted that the four of us always follow this order when in his presence. Of course, always being first does wonders for Eudicos personality No, stop it, Sana. That isnt your purpose. The cardinal surveyed the four of us seated around the room. His office was smaller than the classroom we had been using up until now and lacked desks. In place of those, we had taken seats on the sofas that surrounded a tea table. It was far more opulent than we were used to, and I shifted about uncomfortably as I sank into the plush cushioning. Sable and Misha seemed to be having similar problems as I, fidgeting about and trying to find a position they could be comfortable in. Finally, they settled down, hunched forward with their legs bent back to hold themselves forward on the seat. Eudico didnt have any trouble, as always I wish I had her acumen No. Envy is a sin. I sighed to myself and resolved to pray another prayer of repentance. The cardinal began speaking to us once we had all situated ourselves, Today, we will be addressing the legends surrounding the founding of the kingdom, and the role the church plays in the thousand years wars. I sat up straight; an unfortunate action, as my shifted weight caused me to sink even deeper into the opulent cushion. I couldnt help it though, given what had happened to Stahlia in Ang, the thousand years wars were a subject I was greatly interested in. The cardinal chuckled at my reaction; since he had been the one to approve my accompaniment of Stahlia, he was aware of why I would be so interested in the thousand years wars, or as they were more commonly referred to, the Demon Wars. I bashfully straightened myself out, adjusting my position to one more appropriate for listening to a lecture. The cardinal began, The Thousand Years Wars occur, as the names imply, every thousand years ago. A number of the Hell Kings will advent to this realm from their prison in the Nine Circles of Hell, and proceed to attempt to overthrow the chosen races. This much is common knowledge. As you four may have guessed, there is more to this story that the church keeps from the people in order to fulfill our second most important calling; the preservation of order. The cardinal bade us swear another oath before the gods, and we did so. Following our oath of secrecy, the cardinal resumed his speech, What is not commonly known, is how hopeless this war is for the chosen races. Sana, you have experienced it firsthand. The strength of demons. The three girls, Eudico included all turned to stare at me. I glanced around nervously, anxious at being the center of attention, N-no not firsthand It was Lady Stahlia that fought the demon, n-not me. Unfortunately, it would seem that my confirmation that I had indeed been near a demon, was enough to draw the interest of the three even further. I grimaced, I disliked being the focus of peoples attention, that spot should be the rightful place of the gods. The cardinal, thankfully, waved off the three girls and continued his speech, Well, the fact is, that demons gain strength the longer they live. The oldest demons may as well be gods as far as we are concerned. Few members of the chosen races could hope to stand against them. At this statement, particularly the part about the strongest demons being like gods, Sable gave a start and looked at the cardinal incredulously, Honorable cardinal, forgive me my rudeness, but is that not heretical to say? The cardinal nodded at Sable, You are correct, comparing a demon to one of the twelve is blasphemy, it is through that blasphemous statement that I hope to drive home the gravity of the threat. Although, such demons are a rarity; demon culture is a violent affair, and the strongest ones oft have little interest in the affairs of the mortal world, preferring instead to fight amongst themselves for more power. It is only following the order of a hell king that they would move against us. No, the true despair comes from those self-same kings. They were the first to inherit the power of the God and Goddess. It would not be inaccurate to think of them as the first gods of this world. I swallowed. What he is saying makes sense when you consider the Goddess of Light and God of Darkness descending to grant the betrayers the strength to fight off the beasts and the monsters cut off my thoughts, as the cardinal was beginning to speak again, Indeed, the power of the Nine can be said to match that of the twelve. It is fortunate then, that only a small number of them ever attack at once. If all nine were to move, it would be a great calamity for the chosen. A thought occurred to me, about something I had heard Stahlia saying, about how the demon she had fought was trying to bring forth one of the Nine. And she failed to stop it, not that I can fault her for that but that would mean that the next Thousand Years War is going to start soon I had been under the impression that it would occur in the year 1000, as most people were. But by putting things together, I could no longer be so sure. I resolved myself to ask the cardinal once our lessons had finished, and refocused myself on him as he continued. It is fortunate, therefore, that the gods have seen fit to select four champions and gift them with a fragment of power, as well as their divine protection. The Champion of Spring, who can accelerate the growth of purpose for their allies. The Champion of Summer, who burns brightly and exceeds the limits of mortals. The Champion of Autumn, who can recover from any injury with rest, even death. As Mortis resides within the Autumn Faction, he would prevent the passing of their champion and hold safe their soul as the power granted heals their body. And the Champion of Winter. Often thought of as the cursed child, the unlucky one. They are given the gift of a stone heart, the ability to do what must be done, to forgo their humanity in pursuit of victory. Together these four stand against the Nine, using their gifts in tandem to overcome the kings of hell. The cardinal stopped speaking in order to wet his throat. It looks like I missed part of the explanation while I was lost in my thoughts Ill have to apologize later, and say another prayer of repentance. As the cardinal set down the jug of water, I turned my attention back to him so as not to miss another word. He opened his mouth to speak, then left it hanging open. His eyes seemed to be bugging out of his head. I turned my gaze to follow his and saw Eudico. Eudico had stood up, and her eyes had rolled back into her head. As we watched, they began to emit an azure-silver light. The color of winter Oh, twelve gods! Is Eudico receiving an oracle!? Behind me, I heard the cardinal mutter a word that made my spine tingle, a descent? I fell to my knees on reflex once I realized what he had said. Besides me, Sable and Misha did the same. I could hear the cardinal also kneel behind us. A descent My spine tingled at the thought of what I was bearing witness to; a descent was one level below an advent. One of the gods of the winter pantheon presumably, had descended into Eudico and was using her as a vessel. Rather than speaking to her, and having Eudico relay the words, the god had opted to speak through her. It was the greatest honor an Oracle could hope for, to bear the presence of a god. {I am Antenora.} Her voice trembled the air as it radiated out. The cardinal gulped as the goddess identified herself. From the power contained in that voice, there was no question; this truly was one of the twelve who had come to relay a message. The cardinal attempted to ask the question that was on everyones minds. He failed twice, but on the third try managed it. Oh, most holy goddess, what have you come to tell He trailed off, as Eudico shot him an icy glare. {You, know your place. My words are not for you to hear. Leave us.} The cardinal flapped his mouth several times, but eventually turned and left the room with a quick, polite, religious salute. Sable and Misha remained with me, though none of us were willing to look at Eudico; the aura of cold radiating from her seemed to cause the air to tremble. So this is what the gods are like I felt myself quiver with excitement. Eudico then turned her gaze to me. Realizing her eyes were fixed on me, I was assailed by intense pressure. Once again her voice entered my ears, {You, the friend of my champion. Hear my words and spread them. A thirteenth god was born briefly last night, it falls on me to inform the church. Additionally, The Second Seat, Queen of Lust Asmodea has Advented. They now walk the mortal world once more.} Like a puppet with its strings cut, Eudico fell to the ground. Her eyes were burned out, and there was some smoke coming off of her body, but she was breathing. She had fulfilled the ultimate duty of an Oracle, and she would never see nor hear the gods again. The church would care for her of course, but I found the sight of her body crumpled strangely saddening. I should be happy for her though I said a prayer over her, managing to call down a miracle to ease her pain; no matter how skilled I was, I wouldnt be able to restore her eyes. Not even a cardinal or the pope could do that, the gods simply would not heal that which one of them had destroyed. My prayer finished, I instructed Sable and Misha to look after Eudico. Dashing from the room, I went straight to the cardinal who was pacing about anxiously. I had been given a mission by the goddess Antenora herself, and what a mission it was! Sliding to a halt, the cardinal had to arrest me before I crashed into him. Breathlessly, I told him about the prophecy, A new god, and one of the Nine has returned? You are certain that was the oracle? He was bound would express doubt, such an oracle was practically unprecedented, and they always ushered in times of great change for the church as we slowly worked out the new gods personality and aspects. But its irksome that he would imply I had failed to remember something so important Something important? Friend of my champion she said, as a way of addressing me I could only think of one person she could have meant. I remembered when the light of winter had descended on Stahlia at our dedication. My other memories from my third year had faded, but that one remained strong in my mind. Stahlia, shes the cursed child? The unlucky one? I remembered what had happened in Ang, how she had acted after returning from the battle. How she had been different. What was it the cardinal said? The ability to forget their humanity Thats all well and good, Im sure knowing who the Champion of Winter is so early will be helpful. But that isnt even the biggest news! A thirteenth god! This will change the churchs doctrine! I wonder what they reign over? Sable and Misha came out of the room supporting Eudico between them, Sable was looking at me incredulously. Shes smart, she probably noticed what Antenora said as well, I have to tell the cardinal, even if its just a guess. The cardinal turned to leave, saying he had to call for a conclave of the churchs leadership. As he was turning to go, I called out to him, Honorable cardinal, wait! He turned, Yes, is there something else Sana? I must attend to matters on this most auspicious day. I opened my mouth to tell him about Stahlia being Champion of Winter, but the words caught in my throat. It was as if some force was holding me back, preventing me from speaking. I mean, it would be more interesting if I didnt tell him I shook my head, No, I apologize honorable cardinal; its nothing. He nodded. I see, then, do excuse me. The three of you should take Lady Eudico to the resplendence hall, the caretakers will look after her from now on. Sable, Misha, bowed their heads and I crossed my arms to bow, Of course, honorable cardinal. What was I thinking about a moment ago? Right, Stahlia should be coming back in a few weeks. I cant wait to hear how the village is doing! I turned to Sable and Misha, both of whom looked a bit confused, Well, you heard the honorable cardinal! Lets get Eudico to the resplendence hall! Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server: https://discord.gg/trvVAXV42q 3-13 Return to Drakas Psycholor Stahlia, 12 Years Old, Second Month of 948 My carriage rolled into the capital and I began to mentally prepare myself. Well, that was a lie. I had been preparing myself for the whole journey. I was about to meet Dominic again, however this time I would have the protection of my [Charm Resistance II] talent. Based on how quickly I was gaining talent experience, in another month it should level up again. I didnt know how much protection it would give me though. Jacqueline had the talent at level three, and she was able to somewhat resist Dominic, though not to the same degree as I had been able to back before my [Blessing of Winter] was forcibly activated. This led to the fact that his ability didnt work on me anymore, and the rose-tinted glasses I seemed to have as far as he was concerned, were the result of some sort of lingering curse that had been put on me. At least Jacqueline should be immune now, and I got ten life points, and Im apparently the proper size for my age now if what Jacqueline was saying was true. I knew I was growing a bit slow but didnt realize I was noticeably stunted. All in all, for the cost of one year of my life, I got a pretty good deal. Not that I want to go through that again though. I had decided to focus on the positives, and not dwell on the fact that I had shortened my lifespan. One such positive was that once I had recovered enough to resume my nightly pity party, I was no longer tormented by memories of maiming Jacqueline. Confessing the truth to Jacqueline had apparently been enough for me to do what the guard captain Albert said, and forgive myself. I was still being tormented by the memory of what I had done to Asten, but I was making progress. Though Im not sure how I can overcome that Its not like I can go and tell him the truth, hes dead. Claire had a few things to say after I explained what I had done to Jacqueline. The first of which was a very stern warning to avoid using that power because, If it costs lifespan, theres always another hidden cost. Thats just how it works. In all honesty, it had been incredibly cute; Claire wasnt controlling Felicity beyond her senses. This meant that Felicity was awkwardly lecturing me according to what Claire was telling her to say; I had given her explicit permission to do so shortly after discovering Claires existence. Neither of us wanted to inadvertently cause Felicity any issues due to the slave contract. Speaking of Felicity, I glanced to the side and observed her. According to Claire, and Felicity herself as I later confirmed, she did indeed want to come back with me. But looking at her now, I got the feeling she was nervous. At least her facial expression showed she was; Claire hadnt flattened the ears, leading to an odd expression. Also with me were Jacqueline, Lucy, and Giogi. Everyones returning. I wonder how this reunion will go Certainly, it wouldnt be as heartwarming as my reunion with my family. As I recalled that reunion from so many months ago, I couldnt help but also recall our eventual separation. My mother and father had been sad when it came time for me to return, but as adults they understood. Rosin had been inconsolable. He could not understand why both of his sisters were going away and demanded to be allowed to come with us. He only calmed down when my father promised him that they would visit me in the summer. Theres Sana too, I havent seen her in a while I wonder how shes doing? Also Edith and Sarala as well Ive got a lot more acquaintances than I thought, huh. At least in contrast with my last life, my circle of friends was rather large. Ill have to make sure to plan around that when it comes time for me to start taking actions that go directly against the kingdom. I wouldnt want to drag anyone down by association. The greatest risk with that course of action was to my family. Hell, we even had a history of treason in the eyes of the kingdom. Reconnecting with them the way I had, fighting to protect my home, all of it had made me realize exactly what I was risking. I really had only two options, and one of them required the political connections I could obtain by remaining with the Francois family. The first option would be to break off ties with the Francois and ally to another house. The Claurence Dukedom came to mind, who I had a connection to via Edith. But that would mean dragging my friend into my political schemes. The second option was to put up with Dominic and leverage the Francois connections to begin gathering information and making arrangements. Not being allied with a larger house was simply not an option, I had no political capital of my own. Dealing with Dominic now that Ive managed to find a solution to his charm ability, Ill be able to see him for what he really is, though considering hes basically mind-controlling women, he probably isnt that great Though I still dont know if hes doing it intentionally or not Or is that just the lingering charm effect talking? Im still gaining charm resistance experience every few minutes, so there is still some small effect In short, my feelings towards Dominic were conflicted, but I thought it was perhaps to a lesser degree than it had been previously. Either way, I would see how I felt in a short while longer when I met him. The issue with aligning myself to another house was how to go about doing that. With my own houses lack of political capital, I had very few cards I could play. My best card that was my abilities, was limited by my gender. I could leverage that, and try to navigate my way into literally joining a different house Realizing what I had just thought my heart skipped a beat. Its not a bad idea in theory but why would I think of that? Just a few years ago, I was hell-bent on getting out of the engagement with Dominic, and that was before I knew about his charm skill. Yet, I came up with the idea of entering another engagement as a way out of the first Of course, even if I was to go that route, there was a serious issue that would be extremely difficult to overcome; my engagement to Dominic was sanctioned by one of the three princes. It would take a significant effort to get that overturned. Another Count household wouldnt work unless I were to approach one thats in the first or second princes faction but then I would be treated as a faction traitor. It would complicate things for my father as a member of the third princes faction, not to mention place me under a great deal of scrutiny. No, jumping to another faction wasnt an option. That left the neutral nobles but even in that case, there was no way the third prince would approve of the absolution of my engagement to Dominic; it would basically be guaranteeing his faction wouldnt obtain me. I would still have to rely on one of the other princes, and play up the idea of well at least shes not in my rivals faction. But that still leaves me in the dilemma of having betrayed the third princes faction, which causes issues for my father and puts me under increased scrutiny. Maybe not as much as if I directly joined another faction, but still too much. So, the only option was to remain in the third princes faction. In that case, I was really limited. The other counts in the faction were weaker than the Francois, so I wouldnt be able to play the angle that I was trying to increase my fathers standing. There was the Lawrence Ducal house, but they had assumed the seat after my late uncle and the downfall of the Despita Ducal house, my familys old name. There was basically no chance of me being able to join that house, the political stir it would create Politics is seriously irritating but what the hell? I just spent the better part of an hour trying to come up with a way to get married to someone other than Dominic. That kind of defeats the purpose of breaking off our engagement, doesnt it? It would seem that at some point, my attitude towards marriage itself had changed, and now I was merely being picky about the partner. Ill take it as a sign that the lingering charm is weakening since Im actually trying to figure out how I can get out of the marriage to him though I have to think of a better way to do it, than just marrying someone else. Well, were about to arrive. Im sure hell be there to greet me. Time to see how effective [Charm Resistance II] is at counteracting the lingering poison. My carriage had just passed the gates of the Francois estate, and I could see Dominic, Nikolaus, Margeritte, and Elienor waiting for me, along with Frieda. Hmm the whole family is lined up I only had a few seconds left before I would need to get off the carriage. I hurriedly shoved mana into my eyes, aspecting it with the Divine Element and engaged my divine eyes. I did have to say, it had become a bit easier to do this since I had evolved Jacquelines talent; prior to doing that, I wouldnt have been able to activate them so quickly. It was probably something to do with the lack of Divine Element mentioned by the system notification, right before I had burned some of my lifespan. Presumably, that lifespan had been converted into Divine Element, and that somehow had made my body more familiar with using it. But I had no way to test this without burning more lifespan, which I wasnt about to do unless I had to. Even if I was inclined to experiment, the accelerated aging and falling into a coma made it difficult to do so, as I would have a lot of explaining to do. Even if it was faster to activate, I still couldnt do much else while the divine eyes were active. Moving too much or focusing on something else for too long would cause me to lose my focus thus turning them off. Well, lets see. Its a shame that neither of Dominics brothers are here, but I can at least check the rest of his immediate family. Dominic was standing next to Elienor, but I skipped him for obvious reasons and started with Elienor. I was actually quite fond of her. Not as a friend, but she had a fun personality, and I enjoyed watching her play with Felicity. So Elienors mana is red. Assuming my theory about the color having to do with the elemental alignment of the individual, that makes sense for her; she has a very fiery independent personality. I was glad that she seemed normal, as I was personally quite fond of her company. Even if she was a bit irritating at times. Alright Margeritte shes a soft yellow. Somewhat bright, so she has a few levels. Otherwise, shes normal. I moved my eyes to Nikolaus Francois. What the hell? I couldnt see Count Francois mana light. He was seemingly invisible to my divine eyes. I could still make out his physical form, but he was seemingly devoid of light. But if the light is mana, this would imply that he has none whatsoever? That should be impossible, the lowest letter you can have is E, which from what I understand, grants one point of mana per level. Stil had a few stats that were E, and I had used those to try and calculate the numbers each letter would give. Having zero mana even if he had a skill that gave a minus to the mana improvement grade, like my [Finesse Fighting] does to strength, he should still have some mana from before he acquired it Before I could think too much further about it, Dominic approached the carriage. I hurriedly composed myself and stood so that I could get this over with. Honestly, Im really nervous right now I dont know what to expect from this He knocked on the carriage door and Jacqueline opened it for him. I took a deep breath to psyche myself up and then approached him. Dominic looked up at me, and bared his teeth in a smile, Welcome back, Stahlia. I frowned, watching him now was odd. Like half of me found his mannerism extremely appealing, while the other half just found it strange. That smile, its really self-assured, isnt it? As he was standing less than a meter away from me, he obviously noticed my frown, and his smile twitched. Oh shit, yea I need to still act my role, for now. I replaced my frown with a polite smile and extended my hand to take his, It is good to be back, thank you for welcoming me, Dominic. Dominic gave me a scrutinizing look as he gripped my hand and helped me down from the carriage. I quickly adjusted my smile, widening it, and tilted my head slightly. As we walked, Dominic continued to study me closely. What the hell, all I did was frown? Is he really that suspicious? We were almost to his parents when he finally spoke, Stahlia, youve grown since the last time I saw you have you not? The hell!? THATs what you were staring at me for? I suppose I need to answer him, You think so? Well, I suppose I might have, it has been half a year after all. Dominic nodded, Indeed, youre starting to become a woman. I blinked incredulously. Was that supposed to be a compliment? The worst part was that some nagging sensation was telling me that he was incredibly charming just now, but I was nearly certain that that was the charm talking. Holy shit, has he always talked like that? I looked back through a few of my memories, picking the ones where I had become flustered or embarrassed. Without fail, every time I did, it was after Dominic had either done something physical, like kissing my hand, or tried to force through some inane compliment. Thats really kind of sad. He probably has gotten so used to relying on the [Incubus Eye] skill, that he cant even tell how unattractive he sounds when he talks We arrived at Count Francois and Margeritte, and I curtsied to the two of them, Lord Francois, Lady Margeritte, I am honored to see you again after so long. I will be in your care. For now. Count Francois gave me a long stare, that lasted just long enough to be slightly uncomfortable before he spoke, Indeed. Welcome back. Contrary to her husband, Margeritte was kinder, though irritating in her own way, Come now Stahlia, Lady Margeritte? Ive told you, you can call me Mother already. I felt my eye twitch at that, but I knew from experience that she wasnt going to relent until I did what she wanted, it would be faster if I simply gave in so as to get back to my rooms sooner, A slip of my tongue, do forgive me mother Margeritte smiled, See, was that so hard? No, it wasnt hard, just a bit sickening. Finally, I turned to Elienor. Once I had greeted her, I would be able to go to my side building and escape from this. I already had an appointment, established via letter, to visit Edith and Sarala tomorrow. I was very much looking forward to that one and just wanted this greeting to be over. I need to find an excuse to visit Sana as well, Im sure shell want to know about how Ris is doing, since she never got to go back. Lady Elienor, it is good to see you again. I gave a half curtsy, then froze in shock. Elienor curtsied to me and returned my greeting, Indeed Lady Stahlia, the pleasure is mine. Who are you, and what did you do with Elienor!? I fixed my eyes on Elienor and looked her up and down. She looked a bit older than I remembered. Though unlike myself, I was fairly sure she had aged normally and not all at once. As far as I could tell, this was Elienor. I should have checked her mana color before I left, so that I could have compared it to what it looks like now Fufufu, I was hopin you might react like that Stali! Didja forget, Im going to the academy this year, I gotta talk and act proper and all in public ya? She had adopted a smirk, pleased with herself for having pulled off a successful practical joke. I glared at her, and was about to say something to the effect that she should be acting properly at all times, when a knight came running through the gate without stopping to announce himself. There must be an emergency going on The knight looked around those assembled, and then approached Count Francois. The count glanced at the knight before stepping away. I feel like Ive seen this exact scene before Since we were all watching, I took the opportunity to closely examine the knight. Hes wearing the crest of the Royal Order of Knights, the ones who protect the royal family After a few minutes Count Francois nodded, and the knight dashed off leaving the estate behind. Count Francois rejoined the rest of us. He looked irritated for some reason. Glancing around at his family, he thankfully didnt stare at me for an extended period this time. Count Francois closed his eyes and took a deep breath, likely to calm himself. Opening his eyes, he spoke, That was a messenger from the royal castle. The Second Prince Percival has been killed. He was murdered in his countryside manor. A state of nationwide mourning was declared following the public announcement of Prince Percivals death. His funeral would be held in the capital the week of the school entrance ceremonies, which had been pushed back to allow for the ceremonies and the grieving of the people. Fortunately, I was still able to go to my meeting with Edith and Sarala, though it was likely going to be much more somber than I had originally intended. As a noblewoman of the kingdom, I was equipped with a black veil; even if I was nominally in a separate faction, there were certain customs that must still be observed. I was on my way to the Claurences capital estate at the moment, and thinking about the possible implications of this death. This should basically confirm the first prince as the murderer, though I doubt there will be enough evidence to do anything about it. The third princes faction is the smallest of the three, so he wasnt really a contender for the throne. As far as Im aware, the first and second princes were basically neck and neck, with the first having a slight edge. I wonder how the second princes faction will shakedown after this though I sighed and gazed out the window of the carriage. The streets were largely devoid of people, only a few were out and about as I was. All of them were dressed in black, as I was, and the women wore a black veil, as I did. I had only gotten permission from Count Francois to still attend my appointment with Edith after pointing out that I could try to inquire about how the neutral faction would be reacting; information that would be highly useful for one of the leading members of the Third Prince Faction. I arrived at the Claurence estate, and a butler helped me down from the carriage before leading me into the building. As the nation was in a state of mourning, neither of us spoke a word to each other, and he simply gave a polite bow after letting me into the room where Edith was waiting. Lucy took up a post behind me to serve my tea. I had left Jacqueline at the Francois Estate to monitor Dominic. Now that she was free of his influence, I wanted her to try and see if she could find anything since her search proved fruitless the first time. Sarala and Edith were both seated at the tea table, though when I entered the room Sarala quickly stood up; Ediths higher status than mine dictated that she remained seated. As I thought, the second princes death is going to force us to stand on ceremony here, isnt it. Already starting to feel a bit frustrated, I curtsied towards Edith and then half curtsied towards Sarala. Edith inclined her head towards me, and Sarala curtsied. Haaaa I regret that our long-awaited reunion must follow such saddening events, Lady Edith. Lady Sarala, I am likewise glad to see you again, and saddened by the heavy state of affairs. Sarala bowed her head, Indeed, your safe return brings peace to my heart in these dark times. Only once Sarala had finished did Edith finally speak, Please, sit Lady Stahlia, Sarala. While Mortis may have touched the royal family with his presence, we should rest assured in the fact that the future of the kingdom is still secure. Her voice was suitably melancholic, if I didnt know any better, I would say she was actually grieving. But I did know better, Edith was incredibly adept at politics for her age. She was most certainly acting for the benefit of the servants who had likely been placed by her parents to observe our tea. I took my seat when asked to, and Sarala sat back down once I had done so. A servant appeared out of the side room with a tea kettle and leaves that I recognized as being from the Sele Fern. It was brewed into a very bitter black tea, and while it had no notable medicinal properties, it was often drunk ceremonially during times of mourning or loss. Shes really laying it on thick, her parents must be more concerned about the coming faction shift than I thought. Personally, I didnt care for tea this bitter, but given the position Edith was likely in, I accepted the cup without letting my distaste show on my face. Edith took the first sip, and then ate a small bite of a cracker to show that she wasnt planning on poisoning us. Normally at a get-together like this cake would be served, but since sweet things were currently socially unacceptable, we got crackers instead. I feel like Im four years old, having tea in the temple with Sana. Bitter tea, underwhelming snacks, and exaggerated nearly theatrical etiquette. The fond memories improved my mood somewhat. After I had taken a sip of my own, and a bite of the cracker, I waved to Lucy. My maid approached and produced the letter Count Francois had drafted for me. As far as I was aware, it was addressed to Duke Claurence, and inquired as to the intentions of his house. I was also fairly certain that Count Francois didnt actually expect a response to the letter, and it was actually just a veiled way of letting the duke know that I had been instructed to question his daughter. Why letting him know was necessary was beyond me, and I was actually of the opinion that telling him was a stupid idea; it would be a lot smarter for me to simply have asked. Edith motioned for her own maid to accept the letter, and the maid then passed it to her. Once Edith had confirmed the sender and the addressee, she passed it back to the maid and quietly instructed her to take it to her father. She then turned and addressed me. I was wondering what you had done to get permission to still come to tea. So it was like that after all. You can tell Lord Francois that the Claurence house is intending to align with Prince Rupert and his faction Her voice was somewhat sad and broke off a bit at the end. It was no surprise to me that she had been able to deduce the contents of the letter based on who was carrying it, and what names were on it, but her tone was concerning to me. Wait, does she think Im abusing our friendship to play faction politics? I needed to correct that misconception quickly, but I had to be mindful of the ears in the walls at the same time. I frowned slightly, in a way that Edith would notice due to her proximity, but would not be visible from a larger distance, I am glad to hear that, we will be able to interact even more if that is the case. I consider you, Lady Edith and you, Sarala to be my very dear friends. It is a shame that our reunion must be at such a sad time as this I let my sentence hang, hoping that Edith would pick up on the fact that I was implying that my actions had only been due to the circumstances, and the subtext that I disliked faction politics coming between our friendship. Edith gave a wane smile, so I had seemingly been somewhat successful. Sarala glanced back and forth between us; as a commoner, she was probably familiar with the political games Edith had to play due to their friendship. Due to that same friendship, as well as her abilities, she had likely been forced to play some political games of her own as well. I decided to change the subject slightly, and volunteer some information of my own as a peace offering, Sarala, I am sure you heard, but I was involved in something of an incident while I was visiting my village. I did an internal fist pump when Ediths eyes flashed before she fixed her mask; she had picked up on what I was doing. Sarala had either picked up on it as well or was simply curious, as she played along quite well, Oh yes, an entire Goblin Horde led by a Lord. I hear you were fairly key in the battle. What exactly did you do? I see, so Sarala never learned about the Anti-Army magic. Or she has heard and is leading me to say it myself and give confirmation to the rumors I stole a quick glance at Edith and nodded, she betrayed no sign of whether or not she knew anything. I nodded to Sarala, Indeed. Thankfully it was the middle of winter and there was plenty of ice around. I was able to cast a fairly large spell and turn the tide of the battle in our favor. Though without the brave guards of my village, I would not have been able to chant without being overrun. That should be sufficient to confirm whatever information the Claurences spies have managed to gather. By telling them that I had gotten a large discount on the spell, that it had turned the tide of the battle, and that I had needed a not-insignificant amount of time to chant, I had all but confirmed that I had used Anti-Army magic. Especially given how talented Sarala was with magic herself. Edith gave a faint smile towards me, similar to my own earlier, this wouldnt be something that the walls could tell she had done. Good, it looks like I got through to her. I picked up my teacup and took a celebratory sip of the bitter concoction. Then Sarala dropped a bombshell on me, So, Lady Stahlia, do tell, how was your reunion with Lord Dominic? I choked on my mouthful of tea. Why the hell does she care about that!? I looked between the two of them, Sarala was wearing a bit of a smirk. It appeared as if she was fighting the urge to laugh at my reaction; laughing would be a breach of the mourning etiquette so she couldnt do that. Edith was watching me intently; more so than she had for my earlier information about the battle at Ris. Wait, why does she care so much? Are the Claurence family really that keen on learning about my love life, or rather lack of one? I shot Sarala a withering stare, Sarala, that is hardly an appropriate topic given recent events Sarala managed to wipe the half-smirk off of her face when she heard my tone, but then she ruined it by smugly stating, I see, so it was a pleasant reunion. Really? Thats what you got from that? I caught Edith shaking her head from the corner of my eye. When I focused on her, she looked at me with a sad smile, I truly, truly envy you, Stahlia. Why!? Im stuck in this engagement! I dont care for him at all Of course, I knew why, both of them were still under the effects of Dominics charm. God damnit, playing politics is irritating Psycholor Note regarding the ending of this chapter, for time-line context: At this point, Edith''s Engagement to Rupert has been established, but it has not been publicly announced. A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 3-14 Summons Psycholor Plant''s version should be published shortly, but wasn''t when I scheduled this chapter. If you have the time, consider reading both of them and voting for who won the fight. Stahlia, 12 Years Old, Second Month of 948 Lucy knocked on the office door for me, and after a moment I heard Count Francois voice call out from within the room, Enter. She swung the door open for me, and I stepped inside. Approaching the front of the Counts desk I curtsied, Greetings Lord Francois, I have a request for you if you would hear it. The count raised an eyebrow and motioned for me to have a seat. Hes probably remembering the last time I made a request. I took the seat in front of his desk and held my back straight. I needed to make a good impression, as this time the request was entirely selfish; I wanted to see Sana. What can I do for you, Lady Stahlia? He began tapping a finger on the desk as he asked me. Good, it means hes taking the conversation seriously since he does that when hes thinking or trying to focus. I nodded and clenched my hands under the desk, out of his sight. Meeting his eyes, I started setting the stage for my request, Lord Francois, as you have no doubt been made aware, while I was back in my home village for my winter break there was an incident. I participated in that incident to great effect, in the aftermath of the goblins extermination, I have found myself questioning my purpose. My plan was to lead him to believe that I was beginning to suffer some form of stress-related ailment, or was having trouble reconciling my actions. It had been my policy for a while that the best lies contained a bit of truth, and while I had reconciled myself to what I had done with the goblins if not for my skill forcing me to get over it quickly, I would probably have wound up struggling with it for a while. The count began drumming his fingers on the desk, I see. You want to see Sana. I felt the sad smile I had been faking drop off my face. Well, it would make sense to be able to figure that out; I just got back from the village, and she was denied the ability to go visit with me. Fine, well go with that and see what I can get. Pursing my lips I replied, Yes, I want to visit her and inform her of the events surrounding Ris myself before she hears of it from some other source. Count Francois picked up his hands and folded them relaxedly in front of himself while leaning back in his chair. Giving me a lingering stare, he opened his mouth and went in a completely different direction than I had been expecting, Over ten thousand confirmed casualties, with a single spell. Remarkable for someone your age It would seem some incredibly important people think so as well Here, read this; it arrived a few days ago. He passed me a letter which I quickly skimmed. It was long and drawn out, full of euphemism and sentences with double meaning. But if I were to interpret it in most likely intended way, it was a sort of arrest order for me; I was not to be permitted to leave the capital following my return and pending an investigation slash interview. The signature was that of the third prince, Rupert von Drakas. While the letter gave no date for this interview, it specified it would be during the first week of school. So sometime during the entrance stuff I had to do last year then. I finished reading the letter and folded it before passing it back to the count. Trying to keep a cool head, I took a moment to compose myself before asking, Is that a no then? I would not need to leave the city to visit the central temple. Count Francois leaned forward in his chair before speaking, It was Frozen Garden, Niflheim, was it not? That was the spell you cast Truly a remarkable achievement for you, to not only have the mana needed to cast that spell, but to even know the words I am sure the prince will be most curious, me, I simply wonder at how you managed to reduce the cost to that degree. The season and your mental state would only do so much To face down a horde of that size and keep your calm impressive. What is he getting at? Is he suggesting he knows Im one of the champions for this war? But what would he hope to gain from that? Outside of my thoughts, I was very careful to keep myself natural. Now knowing the drawbacks of relying on [Cold Hearted] to control my emotions, I had been practicing my Noble Face for the better part of my break. A moment later, the count folded his hands and slid me another letter, Here, written by the cardinal in charge of Miss Sana, it seems your presence at the temple is desired. Quite popular, arent you? I took the letter, not quite able to prevent my hand from trembling slightly, a fact I was sure the count picked up on. Reading it, I found that it said exactly what Count Francois said it did; I was requested to come to the temple as soon as possible, citing an internal emergency. Well, that isnt ominous at all What the hell happened? I handed this letter to Lucy, since it was addressed to me not the count, and gave him a slight bow of my head in thanks, Then, may I make arrangements to depart for the temple? Once again running his fingers across the top of his desk in a rhythmic tapping, the count nodded, Lucy, you may make the arrangements. Right, and you did that just to remind me whos in charge here I had a feeling that there were machinations going on behind closed doors with me at the center, and the count was trying to clue me in so I would be careful. Of course, given what I just did, that makes sense. No doubt the fact that someone as young as me demonstrated Anti-Army magic, combined with the assassination of the second prince, has seriously shaken up the balance of power. It honestly wouldnt be surprising if the first prince faction attempted to pull me away from the third princes I stood and curtsied to the count, then left through the door as Lucy opened it. Keeping up a brisk pace, I made my way as quickly as possible back to my room. Elienor was brushing Felicity, apparently having finally learned to not touch her tail. Now if only she can learn to stay out of my room unless I invite her in Pet, Elienor, my greetings. After receiving a reply consisting of a nod from Felicity, and a Hi Stali! from Elienor, I turned to Lucy, Lucy, please get a carriage ready as the count instructed. Based on that letter it seems there is an urgent matter at the temple. Lucy performed a curtsy and quickly left the room. Once she was gone, I began looking through the closet; as this was now an official summons rather than a social call, I would have to look the part. Noticing what I was doing, and having heard the order given to Lucy, Elienor stopped brushing Felicitys ears, much to the latters irritation. She really does brush Felicity a lot huh? Well, its been several months and Felicity doesnt dislike it, so I wont say anything just yet But in a few days Ill need to have a chat with Elienor about personal space. Going out Stali? I nodded at Elienors question and gave her a quick answer. Yes, I have received a letter summoning me to the central temple for a meeting. I slid over a couple of dresses before settling on a red one. Reaching behind me I unfastened the back of my dress and knocked it off my shoulders. I heard a gasp behind me. Ah, right. I probably shouldnt be dressing myself, its unladylike or whatever, but none of my maids are here right now, and Im in a hurry. Stahlia, you grew up a lot over the winter huh. Excuse me? Oh shit! In my hurry to get out the door, I had forgotten that I was currently hiding certain developments. It would be another month before Jacquelines growth spurt plan had proceeded far enough for me to not have to worry. God damn breasts! Ah, have I? I didnt really notice... Elienor gave me a look that implied she didnt really buy that. Shoot, now I have another mess I need to figure out. God damnit, why did I get so distracted Ill catch up before long! Looking up in surprise, I saw Elienor clenching her fists and looking determined, I hadnt noticed cause of your clothes, but youre finally startin to look your age! Ah. I breathed out a sigh of relief, it would make sense that that was her assumption. It was basically unthinkable that someone would grow as quickly as I had. If it hadnt been for Lucy being in Ris with us, then the ruse about my growth spurt would have been unnecessary once we returned to the capital. Still, it feels a bit weird, being the one whose chest is making the other girl jealous Mine isnt even that big, and it wont ever be For a moment, I almost felt sad about that knowledge. I shook my head rapidly to clear such thoughts Ah well, thank you for your kind words? Honestly, hearing that Im finally starting to look my age, from a shrimp like you It was a bit irritating in a strange way, seeing as I had no legitimate reason to be irritated at Elienor. Thankfully, Jacqueline arrived at that moment. And where have you been? Leaving me with Lucy all day! Jacqueline glanced around the room and quickly deduced what must have happened. Stepping up, she started manipulating me with her arm, while I did my best impression of a doll to make it as easy as possible for her, I passed Miss Lucy in the hall and she told me what was going on; I agree we need to get you dressed quickly, but you still should have waited for a maid; youve only been wearing a full bra for a few months and still struggle with it after all. I felt my cheeks flush red at Jacquelines remark. I knew she was saying it to give Elienor a plausible timeline for my growth, but her words were true; I was still struggling with a normal bra. Putting my head down where Elienor couldnt see it, I simply held my arms out while Jacqueline spun me around by my head and tugged my dress into place. Once this was finished, I said a hurried goodbye to Felicity and Elienor, then followed Jacqueline out of the room and down to the carriage. Boarding the carriage, we set out for the temple. I had Lucy stay behind, she seemed like she was about to say something in protest until Jacqueline gave her a hard stare. Moving at a brisk pace, we were stopped only once by knights. They let us go once I showed them the letter from the church and confirmed my identity. This enforced mourning it honestly feels like what I saw back on earth when Kim Jong-Il died, and the government forced all the citizens to weep for his death At least it doesnt seem like theyre killing people for not crying. As our carriage traveled, I took the opportunity to observe the surroundings. The few people who were out of their homes kept their heads down, all of them were wearing black or at the least dark gray. Glancing down at my own crimson attire, I grimaced. I may have chosen the wrong colors in my haste. Indeed, it seemed like I was making mistake after mistake after my meeting with Count Francois today. Did the count get to me that much with his subtle threats and power plays? With such disconcerting thoughts, we made rapid progress. A few times we passed groups of knights, but they didnt stop us. The few buildings that hadnt shuttered their windows were devoid of life, and generally emitting an uninviting atmosphere. Its like theres a fog over the whole city I felt my gaze drawn northward and looking up, past the innermost wall towards the summit, I beheld the palace. Much like the city below it, the residence of the royal family was exuding an aura of melancholy. Almost like the gloom is flowing down the slope, from the palace. I couldnt put my finger on what exactly I was perceiving, but something about the atmosphere was extremely disconcerting. We rode in silence, as I passed the time watching the city pass by. Its so empty As soon as I had the thought, I realized where the atmosphere was coming from; not only was there an absence of people, the various cats, dogs, stawri, other animals, and tamed monsters were absent, too. The city felt empty and entirely devoid of the life which I had grown accustomed to. All this, for the death of one person no, the murder of one person. I get that he was important, but this cant be good for the economy. The mourning period lasts a week, and were on the third day I cant be sure how strictly its being enforced outside of the capital; but if its even half as strict as this, there will be some pretty severe consequences I didnt know much about economics, but I knew that this was very unlikely to go well for the citizenry. Why would the king order something like this, when he knows that the war should be coming in a few years? Unless the kingdom believes that the war wont happen until the year one thousand. Thinking about it, my source for the fact that its starting in less than three years was a literal god It was very possible that the kingdom was under the mistaken impression that they had time to spare, and were taking it easy as it were. If thats the case should I come forward? I dont exactly want to become a pet of this kingdom as a champion, but my family is going to get caught up in whatever war happens, and coming forward would earn me the support of the church. It would be a fast track to gaining political power. That was assuming, of course, that the existence of the four champions was even widely known in the first place. So far, I had confirmed that Jacqueline knew about them, and the priest of my home village. But Jacqueline is a spy tied closely to the kingdom''s secrets in the first place, and the priest is high enough in the church to have his own parish Considering that I didnt know anything about the champions before Mortis told me about them it was likely a closely guarded secret, to prevent the public from panicking to know that the fate of the races falls on the shoulders of four people. The Kingdom of Drakas, after all, was hiding a lot of secrets. If they were hiding the existence of the champions, well, it would be just one more secret to add to the pile. Right on top of a state-sanctioned kidnapping ring, the demons wandering the kingdom, and whatever shit the nobility was getting up to. Even governments back in my first life would hide things from their citizens. It was such a well known phenomenon that some people made a living trying to connect all the dots. Like that conspiracy series on YouTube, the one about how Bush did Nine Eleven to prevent an economic collapse by giving the people a wartime economy No fucking way. Realizing I had spoken out loud, I waved at Jacqueline to pay me no mind. Drakas is a militaristic expansionist regime. To the point that the neighboring powers have formed more or less out of necessity to deter Drakan aggression. Due to this, the Drakan military has stalled out for a decent length of time. In three years, there will be a massive war for the fate of the world. If we assume that the king knows about this, then what would he do? He would need an excuse to refocus the military, to get experienced soldiers in place of the fresh recruits. Fighting monsters can only do so much; demons are something else entirely. So, the second prince would make the perfect victim The third prince isnt influential enough, and the first is the one slated to take the crown. By having the second prince killed, the king can use that as a casus belli declare war on either of Drakas neighbors and get the perfect chance to train up the army with real wartime experience before the Demons attack in force. It made almost too much sense, with only a few small leaps in logic. I frowned and decided to try and surreptitiously gather information about the circumstances of the second princes death. It was a conspiracy theory, but it had enough circumstantial evidence that I thought it was worth a bit of follow up at least. To start with, when Im interviewed by the third prince, I should try and prod him a little bit. I cant make my intentions too obvious, but I should be able to get something out of him. As I was beginning to try and come up with questions to ask the prince, we arrived at the temple. Right, first things first, lets go see what the church wants Its possible that the priest said something If thats the case, well I knew telling him was a risk but what can I do? I needed information so I played a card. I had been avoiding considering that possibility, but now that I was passing through the gates of the church, it was at the forefront of my mind. If it comes down to it, I can take the church as an ally, but that would be putting me way too close to those bastard gods for comfort, so its a last resort. The carriage came to a halt and I stood as Jacqueline opened the door and climbed down. Ignoring Jacquelines offered hand, I very lightly enhanced my feet and ankles and hoped the three feet to the ground unaided. Jacqueline gave me a disapproving look but I ignored it; I was in a hurry and nobody was watching us at present. The two of us made our way up to the entrance of the building where an attendant priest answered our knocks. He looked surprised at first, but once Jacqueline handed over the letter I had been given, he quickly opened the door and beckoned for us to follow him in. Its a bit odd that the temple is so empty during a time of mandated mourning I would expect that there would be services available. Then again, the funerals of this world are an intensely personal affair, I thought it might be different for a royal, but maybe not. Regardless of the lack of people, the halls of the temple were as imposing as I remembered from the few times I had been here to visit Sana previously. The tall monolithic support pillars were engraved with depictions of various biblical scenes from the holy texts. The walls were barren except for the paintings hung at routine intervals. Frustratingly, it was expected that each time we passed a painting of a particular god, goddess, or group of them that we stop to pray. Since these prayers were blessedly not mandated to be spoken aloud, I was able to simply dip my head and hold still for a moment. But that didnt mean the constant stopping every ten to fifteen meters wasnt irritating. It was more or less assumed that everyone in Drakas followed the religion of the God of Darkness and Goddess of Light, so even visitors were expected to pray. I hadnt heard accounts of the persecution and harassment of apostates, but it honestly would not surprise me if it was happening and simply nobody talked about it. Thankfully, nobles were almost expected to be a bit distant from the affairs of the church. Owing to that mentality I was able to get away with not minding the dogma too much, other than where my friendship with Sana was concerned. Finally, after what was likely the twentieth prayer break, we arrived at an inner meeting room. The attendant priest let us in and informed us that Sana and the cardinal would be with us shortly. Accepting his statement with a faint smile, I thanked him and went into the room. As far as church accommodations go, it was fairly luxurious. Not on the level of the Counts office though What the Hell!? A cardinal!? Within the church hierarchy, cardinals were roughly equivalent to the nobilitys counts. If one of them was attending the meeting then it was something majorly important indeed. So, they almost certainly learned I claimed to be Winters Champion then. Guess that gamble failed, Ill just work to make the best of it. Before I had to wait too long, the attendant priest opened the door again and Sana passed into the room, followed by an older man wearing robes similar to the priest I was familiar with. Those have a bit of gold trim, indicating that hes the cardinal honestly, who thought it would be a good idea for members of the church to renounce their names once they finished their learning? It just makes it annoying to know whos who. I felt a shiver go down my spine as if reacting to something unpleasant. Next to me, I caught Jacqueline stiffen out of the corner of my eye. What? Did the room grow cold all of a sudden? No, I wouldnt have felt that. The cardinal crossed his arms and bowed at the waist. I had seen Sana do this a few times and knew it was a religious greeting similar to the curtsy I had been forced to master. After a brief hesitation, Sana also bowed towards me. Right, with him here we cant be friends, we can only be acquaintances at best. I reciprocated their bows with a curtsy, A pleasure to make your acquaintance, honorable cardinal. My name is Stahlia von Ris, I have arrived as per the summons of the church may I ask what the purpose of this is? The letter was quite vague. The cardinal beckoned for Sana and me to sit next to each other on a couch, before taking his own seat on the chair facing it. Ok so hes aware that Sana and I are friends then but if thats the case, why did she bow? The attendant priest provided everyone with drinks and then bowed while walking backward out of the room. The cardinal had been given a glass of red wine, while Sana and I had been given some sort of juice. The cardinal took a sip out of a shot glass-sized cup of juice provided to him specifically for that purpose; indicating to me that it wasnt poisoned. After he had downed the cup, and waiting a few moments as was polite, I took a sip of my own juice. It tastes expensive Probably trying to get on my good side before breaching the subject of me being Winters Champion. Wining and dining was a practice among the nobility as well. Though I had, as of yet, not had to participate in those events, outside of the school social. The cardinal opened his mouth to speak. Here it comes. I instinctively closed my eyes, a measure to avoid showing a reaction of disgust when he inevitably named me as a servant of the gods. Lady Stahlia, may I ask you to dismiss your attendant as well? His voice was steady if a bit commanding. The hell? Thats not what I was expecting him to say Also again what the hell? Do you want to be in the room alone with two nominally eleven-year-old girls? Still, even if something was to happen, it wouldnt be expected that a one-armed maid would be much of a bodyguard, so I could assume that this was a matter of confidentiality instead of action with vile motive. And besides, I can defend myself quite well indeed. Certainly better than hell expect. I should be fine Nodding, I spoke to Jacqueline while keeping my eyes fixed on the cardinal, Jacqueline, please leave the room. Jacqueline moved to the door and gave a curtsy before exiting, leaving me alone with the cardinal and Sana, Alright then, I have done as you asked. Why, may I ask, was I summoned? Everything I have experienced so far leads me to believe it was for quite the reason indeed. The cardinal nodded, That is the case, Lady Stahlia. This has not been made public knowledge yet, but there was an oracle recently. A student in apprentice Sanas class no less. That oracle has put the church in a relatively difficult position you see. Tilting my head, I urged him to continue. An oracle? Did the gods decide I wasnt going to play nice if they left me alone and spill the news to the church then? The cardinal continued his explanation, You see, I was present when most holy Antenora descended, however, the goddess deemed me unworthy of her presence. Instead, she delivered her divine words to apprentices Sana, Sable, and Misha. Specifically, she addressed Sana as the friend of her little sisters friend. Excuse me? That lying bitch said I was what? Cainas friend? Caina was Antenoras little sister. Also a goddess, she was the one whom everyone believed had blessed me at my dedication. So Antenora lied again. Or told a partial truth. Either way, the church probably doesnt know Im one of the champions, but that fucking cunt still attached my name to that oracle through how she addressed Sana. So whatever it is, the church now believes Im involved. I want to give that piece of trash a piece of my mind, god damnit! Frowning, I addressed the cardinal, The friend of her sister? Please, forgive me but I have no such relationship with most holy Caina. The cardinal nodded, Indeed, I expected you would be under that impression; however both apprentice Sable and apprentice Misha have testified to what most holy Antenora said, and apprentice Sana has stated that you are the only such person she can think that Antenora meant Following the oracle, a conclave was convened on emergency notice, and it was determined that the church should move to bring you into our ranks. Would you consider terminating your engagement with Lord Dominic and taking us up on this? For the will of the gods. NO! Absolutely not! Working with the church as a champion would be one thing, no way in HELL am I joining it as a priestess! The thought of directly serving the gods like that made me shiver. I smiled and shook my head, My apologies, honorable cardinal. My engagement is recognized with the third prince as a witness; I cannot break it off so easily. The Cardinal nodded, Of course, I understand this is not something that can happen right away; the church will move behind the scenes to arrange things for you I cannot divulge the contents of the oracle to you until you have sworn your vows, but know that it is considered by us to be of higher importance than the will of the kingdom and the will of a single noble girl. He fixed me with a hard stare as he spoke the final words. Fuck. It looks like that cunt bitch is determined to keep me under her thumb Ill need to figure a way out of this, definitely tell the count but if I do that, it will make it harder to get out of the engagement with Dominic later Most honorable cardinal Are you perhaps, threatening me? If I really were Cainas friend, would it serve the church to do something as brash as pursuing me so forcefully? I spoke while forcing the coldest tone I could without deactivating the remaining emotions of [Cold Hearted], mostly to buy myself time to think. Contrary to my expectations, a flash of unease crossed the cardinals face, and he shook his head. No we would not be so rash as that. Apprentice Sana would likely wish to know the fate of Ris, I shall take my leave now and allow the two of you time to discuss things. Feel free to use the room for as long as you would like. Standing abruptly, the cardinal moved to exit the room. I scared him just now, didnt I? I didnt realize I had placed that much edge into my voice but interpreting what I had said especially with the context of whatever the oracle was. Im sure I havent heard the end of this, but I managed to buy myself time. Even if it was accidental. But an adult taking a threat from a twelve-year-old girl that seriously? Especially in a male-dominated society such as this The threat itself cant be everything to it Jacqueline has mentioned a few times before that I emit real bloodlust when I get very angry, to think that I feel that strongly about the gods now I must have made him feel like I was going to cut his balls off or something Sana pulled me out of my thoughts by shaking my arm. Lady Stahlia, can you silence the room? I need to speak privately with you Her voice was low, barely above a whisper, such that it wouldnt carry far. I glanced around the room and then nodded. Alright, it must be something really important then. [Silence] after hesitating for a moment, I added another spell on top of the first. Im technically in the temples inner sanctum, I may as well be careful. Ive made enough mistakes today already. Oh Wind, Cover this room in a gale. With ferocity, cut the connection to far places. Muddle the movement of mouths of me and allies. [Complete Silence] It was a spell I had made up on the spot, with the idea that it would also be able to obscure magical means of eavesdropping. I felt an inordinate amount of mana drain, causing me to fear I may have screwed up the incantation. After consuming around a hundred fifty points of mana, I heard a large crack. Turning to the source of the sound, I saw that one of the statues had a small crack running down the middle, and faint wisps of wind were surrounding it. It severed the connection to a distant place presumably Well, lets see what Sana has to say then. This would quite possibly come back to bite me later, though by implying that the church had been spying on a member of the third princes faction I could probably deflect the worst of that. Turning to my friend, I nodded, Alright, the room is safe to speak in. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server I''ve started putting teasers for the upcoming second series in the Discord server as well, in order to lead up to the chapter one, tentatively planned for Friday alongside Tricked CH 3-15. 3-15 Regret Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 Thank you, Stahlia. Sana bowed her head to me before continuing, Stahlia why didnt you tell me? Huh? Why didnt I tell you? Tell you what? Sana, what did I not tell you? I apologize, but I havent the faintest idea what youre talking about Sana shot me a glare, I suppose it makes sense. Now that I think about it, back in our village. All those times you got me to help you sneak out. How youre able to do so many things. Why you went out without me and Sarala in Ang. How you were able to save Ris from the goblins. I just wish you had told me. Alright, this isnt good. What has she figured out then? It was certainly one of only two things, my status as a champion, or my circumstances as a reincarnation. The former was drastically more likely. For now, Ill try and get her to say it, just to make sure, Sana, are you talking about I left my sentence to trail off, hoping it would prompt her to speak further. Thankfully, it did, Yes! You being the cursed champion! So it was that after all. Well, I cant fault the name, I would certainly consider myself in that manner; this shit is a curse. But how did she find out? I let my shoulders visibly sag, How did you find out? Confirming was dangerous, but I was reasonably sure that there was no chance of anyone in the church finding out. If she had told anyone, then I had a good feeling that the meeting with the cardinal just now would have gone very differently. This also confirms whether or not the champions are known or not; at the very least, the church knows about at least the Champion of Winter. Alright, lets set some goals, Sana is my friend, but at the moment shes also a source of information. By the end of this conversation, I decided I wanted to know how Sana had figured it out, why she hadnt told anybody, and if possible, what that oracle detailed. If I could learn that last thing, it would potentially give me a leg up on the church in their efforts to induct me. Sana blinked for a moment, surprise was written plainly on her face, I was expecting you to try and avoid answering me I shrugged, Well, I dont see the point; I wasnt planning on telling you but since you figured it out, I dont mind that you know. I intentionally used less refined speech, hoping to demonstrate my sincerity and reduce the distance between us. It was a bit manipulative, and I was certain I would feel bad about it later, but I needed at least the first two questions answered. Sana smiled a bit awkwardly, Well, I wish you had told me, but Ill settle for you not minding me knowing. But I guess you dont really get that at this point; I thought you had changed in Ang after you came back from the forest. Youve already started giving up your humanity, huh. I felt my heart jump into my throat. I, it makes sense that the church knows about that they call the winter champion cursed and all. But hearing Sana say outright that I was acting inhuman was jolting. Im Im making a lot of progress, as far as getting over that is concerned Yea some stuff happened in the forest, with the demon. Nodding, Sana gave me a bit of a sad smile, Dont worry about it, now that I know you were serving the gods, Ill do my best to help you. Right, though what you can do is probably really limited For now, can you tell me how you found out? Sana nodded, and then, as if she was saying nothing major at all, she announced, Most holy Antenora told me. What? I could only raise my eyebrow. Yea, when most holy Antenora gave the oracle to me and my sisters, she called me the Friend of her champion. Given your blessing from the dedication, and your actions so far, it wasnt hard to figure out who she meant. THAT FUCKING BITCH! I reflexively tightened my jaw and could feel a vein popping on my forehead. Sana recoiled a bit at my reaction. With a great deal of effort, I forced myself to calm down. I was sorely tempted to use [Cold Hearted], but I didnt want to lose this anger. If I was no longer angry at the gods for how they were playing games with me, there was a good chance I would become complacent. Still, I need to work on my emotional outbursts. Getting this upset Well, in a way its justified, that trash goddess tried to get Sana involved in her plots. But I shouldnt scare Sana. Sufficiently calmed, I apologized to Sana. It was, unfortunately, not an entirely convincing apology, but she took it in stride. Its probably best if I move the conversation along, Ill make sure to apologize again, once I move past Asten. Alright, Sana, if Antenora said that to you and your sisters am I right to assume that the church knows as well? Sana shook her head, No, the church doesnt know. Sable and Misha didnt hear it exactly, they said the words were muddled a bit; it was them who said that most holy Antenora called me friend of the friend of my sister. though I was the one who said it was probably you. So you were the one who got me involved in this But if you heard her clearly why did you lie to the church? Sana did you lie? Sanas face turned mildly angry at the suggestion that she had lied to the church. I most certainly did not! Lying to a higher-ranked member of the church is a grave sin! If you are the Champion of Winter, then you would also be Cainas friend, would you not? Thats thats really flimsy reasoning, but I guess youre not wrong? But why in the world would you even come to that conclusion in the first place? I imagine the first impulse would have been to tell. After all, from your point of view, Im sure being a champion is a great honor. Even if it is the so-called cursed champion, Sana, why didnt you just tell them that I was the champion? When in doubt, its best to just ask I guess. Somehow, I feel like unless Im explicit, I wont get any real answers Sana blinked and showed a confused look on her face, Right why didnt I tell the cardinal? After a moment her confusion vanished. Nodding, Right, its more interesting if I dont tell him. Its more interesting? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I could only speculate, but I had the sneaking suspicion that someone or something had messed with Sanas head, in order to stop her from telling the church about me. Antenora? No. If she didnt want Sana to say anything, she wouldnt have called Sana the friend of my champion. Its safe to say that Antenora was trying to tie me to the church. So, who or whatever muddled Sanas thought process wants me away from the church the demons? The demons were a possibility, but that would mean Sana had been compromised at some point. Sitri could have done something But I feel like Antenora, a literal goddess, would have noticed if there was some sort of demon ability on her. Then again, Antenora didnt do anything about Dominics charm on me Lets just move on for now, with the knowledge that thanks to someone messing with my friends head, my secret is safe from the church With two of my original goals answered, I hesitated. Asking too much would potentially push her away from me. Well, just asking once and then respecting her answer shouldnt hurt. I see, Sana, would you tell me what else Antenora said? The rest of the oracle? She shrugged and laid it out for me, Well, you already know part of it. Most holy Antenora spoke of the advent of the Second Seat of the Nine Kings. Well, no. I knew that was something that was going to happen. Knowing that it has happened is good though. But, it sounds like theres a part two to this. I took a sip of my juice and nodded at Sana, prompting her to continue. As for the other thing, theres a thirteenth god! Sanas eyes were sparkling as she told me, and she seemed barely able to contain her excitement. For my part, I was choking. Ahk! A what!? It was just what I needed. Twelve of the fuckers was a big enough pain in my ass, and now I was being told they had multiplied. Sana nodded emphatically and passed me a cloth to wipe the dribble of juice from my chin, I know, its certainly exciting. Though Im not so sure what most holy Antenora meant specifically; the exact words were a thirteenth god was briefly born. That part confused the cardinal as well. Records show that the details are usually a lot more consistent. Sanas words, once again, caused my heart to jump. Hesitating, as I was actually a bit scared of the answer, I asked her, Sana when did when did the oracle get made? The twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month. Ive had to wait nearly four months to tell you! She put on a tone of faux outrage at the last part, but I wasnt paying that much attention; I had just come to a sickening realization. The twenty-fourth that was when I used my [Divine Authority] to grant Jacqueline [Charm Immunity], before falling into a coma Mortis said that his authority was over death. What if he meant he had the skill [Divine Authority(Death)]? If thats the case, then I used the power of a god to influence the system then the thirteenth god being briefly born was me? I did my best to recall the specific contents of the notice windows I had seen while using my authority. However, like all of my windows, the specifics were vague and fuzzy. Im pretty sure it said something about lacking Divine Element, and charged me a year of life. At the time, I figured that it meant that the skill required mana aspected with Divine Element, but what if it meant something else? Some key difference that sets a human apart from a god? Stahlia, are you alright? You look faint. Jerking up, I saw Sana watching me with concern written across her face. Right, questions for later. So many questions, Im fine. Just overwhelmed. A thirteenth god is its monumental isnt it. Sana smiled happily, Yes! Its a great event indeed! I could only smile wanly at my friends excitement. Well, this was a lot more fruitful than I thought it would be. At this point, I should probably make sure there isnt anything Sana wants to ask it bothers me that shes had something done to her, but I shouldnt go poking at that blindly. It was a difficult decision to make; I wanted to help her, but I couldnt lie to myself that Sana being prevented from telling the church about me was a great aid. There also wasnt that much I could do. I could potentially grant her a skill or talent, but that would put me into a coma again. Not to mention, without knowing what exactly was done, I wouldnt know what to give her. It could be a charm, or it could be confusion or outright mind control and she isnt that high leveled, so her LP total will be fairly low. Sana, thats everything I want to know. Before the cardinal comes back, is there anything you wanted to hear about Ris? The priest wished for me to carry you his good wishes, and the knowledge that he prays for your success every day. At my statement, Sana became wistful and got a distant look in her eyes, A whole year, huh I frowned, Im sorry Sana, did you say something? She shook her head, No, its nothing important. Stahlia could you send a letter for me? Just let the priest know that Im doing well and pray for his health. I mean, yea, I could do that. But why dont you? I think, that he would prefer to get such a letter from you though? Phrasing my statement as a question, I also slipped back into my more noble manner of speech. Sana shook her head, appearing sad for a moment before gritting her teeth and wiping the frown off her face, No, that isnt possible. We arent allowed into the city without permission. If I were to try and write a letter, the cardinal wouldnt let me send it. My apologies, forget I asked. He wouldnt let you send it? Why in the world? I was about to ask Sana what she meant when the door opened and the cardinal called out. No sound reached my ears though, and in a rush, I disabled my custom silence spell. Ah I forgot to account for letting a door knock or some other signal through With the spell now terminated, the cardinal likely noticed he could hear what was going on inside the room again, as he repeated himself, Lady Stahlia, apprentice Sana. My apologies, but Lady Stahlia has been called back by Lord Francois. Throughout this all, he pointedly avoided looking at the broken statue. I made a mental note to casually mention to the third prince the fact that the church had placed me in a room with an active listening tool. Glancing at Sana, I saw that she had effected a calm and composed face, but her lip was quivering slightly. Ill write that letter I think, and inquire as to what exactly she meant by the cardinal wouldnt let me send it. It was the least I could do for my friend. Ill also have to find a way to check up on her from time to time and watch to make sure that whatever happened to her mind isnt having any other effects. I had set out today with a few simple goals, and now had a veritable swamp of things to take care of. And so far, my only actual ally is still Jacqueline. I had originally been planning to start sounding out Edith, but given the circumstances of our meeting, I hadnt been able to do so. The cardinal handed me and Jacqueline off to the same attendant priest as before, and we were escorted out of the temple. Apparently, they wanted to get me out of there as soon as possible, because the guide took a somewhat altered route. While convoluted, it skipped around most of the paintings, so we only had to stop a couple of times. Once I was back on my carriage, I slumped back. While I hadnt noticed at the moment, I had been in a state of high tension since I stepped foot within the temple. There was no real way for me to be able to tell if that tension was from being so close to the gods, from the fear over the churchs machinations, or some other source. Most likely, it was a combination of all of the above. While heading back to the Francois Estate, I took a moment to collect myself and iron out all the major points and new information I had learned, as well as try and figure out what my next actions should be. I had learned that Antenora was definitely not acting in my best interests. Well, I had already known that. I had learned she was actively acting against them now though. I had also learned that there was something that was, if not on my side, at least for now helping me avoid some of the gods schemes. That someone was fairly powerful as well since they had interfered with the actions of a goddess. Tangential to that was the knowledge that the church was not only aware of the existence of champions, they even had some idea as to what abilities they had. At least enough of an idea to name the Champion of Winter cursed and describe the loss of humanity that would come from the overuse of [Cold Hearted]. Ill have to ask Sana what she knows about the other champions when I get the chance. That information would most likely turn out extremely useful. The only reason I hadnt done so, was to avoid monopolizing the conversation. As it was, I had sort of wound up doing that anyway. Then when I asked Sana if she had anything she wanted to know, she had wound up getting extremely depressed. Definitely need to send the priest that letter. As for the rest of my future actions, I now had to contend with the church trying to recruit me. On one hand, it was a way out of my engagement. On the other hand, hell no. The absolute last thing I want is to become a willing pawn of those gods. I would actually rather get married and have his kids like a good noble wife than that. No, joining the church was so much of a last resort that it wasnt even on the list of possible resorts. Theres my hatred of the gods as well. I feel like I might be overreacting a bit recently something to keep an eye on. No, I needed a way out of both the engagement to Dominic and a way to dodge the church. For the latter, I could do what I had thought of earlier, and tell Count Francois. I was certain he would be able to head them off, given his position within the third princes faction. But relying on him would basically all but seal my engagement in stone. There would be no way to get out of it after taking out such a large favor. Again, I circled around to the idea of trying to get into another noble house. Either the Claurence or the Lawrence Dukedoms. The issue with that was the lack of candidates. While Edith had a younger brother she had no older brothers. The younger brother was also a bit too young; by the time he was fifteen and allowed to marry I would be in my early twenties, legally. The Lawrence house, aside from the issue of them having taken over from the Despita, didnt have a valid candidate at the moment either; Duke Lawrence had only one son, who was already married. There was the possibility of trying to enter the house as a second wife or a concubine, but while arranging a political marriage was one thing, I didnt feel comfortable going with the latter route. Actually, when did I get comfortable with the thought of getting married in the first place? When I left for winter break, I certainly didnt think this way so something changed in Ris? The only three things that came to mind were my re-bonding with my immediate family; that had certainly had an effect on me. Then there was the goblin slaughter, which had also affected me. But I doubted that the effects of the goblin slaughter would cause my opinions regarding marriage to change that drastically. Then, the third thing. Going into a coma and aging a year? According to Jacqueline, Im a bit closer to where my body should be now as if that growth spurt corrected an issue of some kind. If I assume that my entire body aged forward a year, then Ah. That realization made a whole lot of things click into place. I was twelve now, and had started puberty two years ago according to my biological age. So, the overreacting bursts of anger, my general attitude changes, my forgetfulness and sensitivity to people pushing me around Great, I guess that is going to happen soon. It was exceedingly likely, given what I knew, that my body was currently experiencing a hormone spike. I would probably have my first period this month or the next. A thought that caused me to shudder. Jacqueline picked up on my reaction and looked at me questioningly. Jacqueline have I been acting abnormally recently? Jacqueline paused and thought for a moment before nodding. Yes, now that you mention it. You have seemed a bit distracted, and prone to bouts of anger over minor things. Youve been eating a bit more than usual as well. After a moment she added, From what you told me of your memories, am I correct to assume that you are asking because you suspect that Nymphos will soon grace you? The mention of one of the goddesses made my eyebrow twitch, so I took a moment to forcibly stop it before I nodded grimly, Yes, I was considering that possibility. Jacqueline gave me a reassuring smile, Then, I shall prepare additional luggage. Just in case. It took me a moment to connect what Jacqueline was saying. Once I realized the meaning of the word luggage I blushed bright red and turned my head away from Jacqueline to hide my face. Doing my best to tune out Jacquelines giggle and grumbled to myself, Its not like I want to deal with this shit Following a bland meeting with Count Francois, in which I told him the absolute bare minimum about what the church had wanted, I retired to my bedroom. Thankfully my side building was fairly well isolated. The past few days, since returning to Drakas, I had been using my own bedroom for my nightly ritual. Today would be no different. Once Lucy and Frieda had left my room; I had established that Jacqueline would be the one staying in the attached attendant room. In retrospect, the way I had done it was perhaps a bit touchy, but it served my purposes. Since I was doing this in my room now, I no longer needed Jacquelines help to loosen my clothes. The nightgown I had been given was already loose enough. Sitting in the middle of my bed, I watched as Jacqueline moved around the room locking windows and the doors. She looked over at me for confirmation and I nodded. Jacqueline cast silence and I closed my eyes. Right, lets do this then. Enable Remorse. At my mental command, my remorse switched on and I was once again confronted with all the things I should have felt guilty about over the course of the day. Most things were small; I had been a bit short with Elienor, I had been irritated with Lucy just doing her job and looking out for me. Other things were a bit harsher; I was confronted with how I had scared Sana with my angry outburst. Still, those were all simple enough to move past. The hard parts always came after. I found myself sitting back in the room in front of Sana, No he wouldnt let me send the letter, even if I wrote one. The skills recreation of my memory amplified Sanas sad expression, dialing up the emotional weight by adding tears. I felt my stomach lurch and had to fight to keep down dinner. We had placed a bucket in the room, and if I lost control Jacqueline would help keep my aim intact. Soiling the bed would simply create more work for my maids, and more guilt for me. Even so, I knew now how to get over things like this before the blowback got too harsh. Sana, Im sorry I asked why you couldnt do it yourself; Im going to write that letter, and get to the bottom of things. The trick was to avoid speaking empty words; I meant what I was saying to the figment of Sana. The skill manifestation smiled wanly and shook its head, No its too late dont worry about me. Find your sister. I felt a lightning dagger lance through the front of my head. So, this one is really bad then. Over the past half a year, I had gradually become able to categorize how guilty different scenarios made me based on the amount of blowback I was forced to endure. This one with Sana was on the high end. In a way, it was a testament to how much I cared about her. I bowed my head and let the headache assault me while doing my best to control my stomach. After a few moments of enduring I met the figments eyes, Even so, I am sorry, Sana. Ill send the letter, but youre right; I wont be able to help you with your problems for some time yet. Im sorry about that, but I have to find Rosial. The figment of Sana opened and closed its mouth as tears began to trickle from the corners of its eyes. Forcing myself to hold that resolve, I maintained eye contact until the manifestation of my guilt had faded. That one was on the higher end, so I would guess that next is yea. I felt the memory of a moonlit forest clearing flood through my head once again. Sitri was standing over me. I was too injured to do much of anything. Jacqueline, Dominic, and Asten were unconscious. Stil was putting on a brave front, but in this memory world, I could see his fear clearly. Stil had known how outclassed we were from the moment Sitri arrived. But he had still followed my orders loyally. Stil isnt why I keep getting dragged back here though. I exerted my will on the memory world and dragged my body to its feet. Ignoring Sitri, as she wouldnt actually do anything, I moved to Astens side. This was a trick I had learned just a month ago; by enduring the constant pain and nausea I was able to manipulate the skills manifestations. Once I had learned how to do this, I had become able to clear the lesser trials much more efficiently. But as of yet, I hadnt been able to get past this one. I had tried forgiving myself. I had tried asking the manifestation of Asten for forgiveness. I had tried swearing to kill Sitri and avenge him. I had tried a dozen and more other things, but I was still stuck in this quagmire. The past handful of nights, I had simply sat with his unconscious body until the pain in my head and stomach grew too much to bear and I was forced to disable remorse. The memory had him in an unconscious state, so it wasnt like I could actually interact with him much. I sat with him for hours, but since this was a memory, it may well have just been minutes. Or no time at all. Eventually, I would be forced out by the pain and discomfort. Three to four hours would have passed in real-time. But in this memory, time was still. I just wish I knew what I was getting myself into. If that damned death god hadnt come and put me on a suicide mission, then this wouldnt have happened! The thought of Mortis and his stupid beak mask made my blood boil. This wasnt the first time I had followed this train of thought, and I knew it wouldnt lead anywhere helpful. But it feels good to vent my frustrations. After all, its his fault. Everything wrong with this world can be traced back to those fucking assholes calling themselves gods. If not the twelve, then the two above them. Those bastards created the Nine Kings in the first place! I slammed my hand down on the memory grass. There wasnt any feeling of impact, but the movement felt good. For another length of time, I stewed in irritation and anger at the gods. Is it something in my contract with Sitri that prevents me from forgiving myself? I ran through the implanted memories of the negotiation with Sitri. Just like the last dozen or so times I had that thought I didnt find anything. Im just going in circles, like a hamster on some sort of divine wheel, Im starting to see why winter is the cursed champion. Maybe I should just call it quits early tonight. The headache had been progressing steadily, and I had a feeling I wouldnt be able to resist the urge to vomit much longer. Yea that sounds good. Getting angry isnt going to help anything, Ill just try again tomorrow night I was about to send the command to my skill to turn off remorse when I paused. I had a sudden thought. Getting angry? I was angry, because of the gods using me. Everything that had happened to me seemed to be playing into their divine plan or some bullshit. But is it really their fault? Antenora Just thinking about her made me angry. After hesitating, I turned off anger; It was a risk, but I was onto something, I just knew it. I couldnt let my hormonal screwy emotions get in the way of this. Antenora told me Rosial was still alive. Without her, I wouldnt have recovered from my depression nearly as quickly as I did. I wouldnt have gotten Jacqueline on my side. Sure, she gave me the [Blessing of Winter] in the first place, basically tricking me into becoming a champion. So in a way, its partially her fault that Im in this predicament now But I was the one who willfully turned on the skill. I was the one who came to rely on it Mortis as well. He told me about Sitri. He probably, no he definitely knew that fight was impossible for me. But if I had stopped to think for even two seconds I could have figured that out as well Sure, he set me up, but I walked into the trap. Hes in the wrong for setting the trap, but it was my cockiness that led to the situation. I glanced down at Astens unconscious body. A sharp lance of pain seared my skull, causing me to grunt. Urk! Im almost out of time Asten, Im sorry. All this time, Ive thought I was taking responsibility. But deep down I was blaming Mortis, blaming Antenora, blaming the Goddess of Light and the God of Dark Sure, they arent blameless. But the fault was mine; it was my choice to go out that night. My choice not to turn back after you and Dominic joined Im sorry. As the apology left my lips, a wave of nausea washed over me. This one was too much to bear, and I felt my stomach contents begin to rise. But that didnt matter now; Astens body was starting to fade. The grass, dirt, and trees were starting to fade. Jacqueline, Dominic, Stil, and Sitri were starting to fade. The memory was fading. Im sorry Asten! For everything I promise I wont forget the lessons I learned The memory faded completely, and I found myself looking down into a bucket of sick. Jacqueline was dabbing at my mouth with a washcloth while doing her best to support me without her arm. Looking down at her stump, I felt a twinge of guilt. I was out of the enforced guilt state and I still had my remorse enabled. I had beaten the skill. I felt tears begin to build up in my eyes. As the tears continued to fall, I fixed Astens face in my mind. Not relying on [Eidetic Memory]. I treated it the same way I did the contents of my menus and did my best to fix it into my natural memory. I meant every word I said to my memory of him; I would never forget. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Special Announcement! This chapter of Tricked coincides with the release of the second chapter of my second series! I Hate RPGs, So I Guess I''ll Become The Queen Of Demons A Gender Bender Isekai set in a post modern world where magic and science work in tandem! Timothy lived a simple life. He followed a routine, did decently in school, and in his free time enjoyed playing grand strategy and resource management games. He had a clear goal and was working his best to achieve it. Everything changed when he saved the life of a little girl who had fallen in front of an oncoming truck and woke up in the body of Eira. Lacking all but the vaguest memories of his time in the afterlife, Timothy only knows that he agreed to do some sort of task, and was able to make a few requests. He certainly didn''t request to become a woman though! Not having long to figure things out, Timothy almost immediately finds himself on the run, as it seems Eira has a bad history with the church. They even call her a demon! To make matters worse, her memories are seemingly locked away leaving Timothy with very little to go on as he tries to navigate a world of magic and science, controlled by the church and various mega-corporations. Will he be able to figure things out, before Eira stirs? And why does magic make his forehead itchy? With many questions and few answers, Timothy knows one thing for certain: "I hate RPGs! What do you mean I have levels and stats!?" 3-16 Funeral Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 I was on top of the world and riding an emotional high. Jacqueline gave me a reproving look, as I had started smiling again. These past few days had been absolutely amazing; three days ago, I had finally managed to overcome my emotional trauma from Astens death. While I had etched his face into my memory, I still felt giddy about no longer having to struggle with my guilt every night. In a way, it was also a victory over the gods who had foisted the skill on me in the first place. Even if I was the one who went and used it, they were the ones who set it in front of me. Theyre at least twenty percent culpable. I had learned with Asten that I couldnt get away with blaming the gods for everything, but that didnt mean I wasnt going to hold them accountable for putting the choice in front of me in the first place. Still, Jacqueline had a point; I needed to stop grinning. Especially not in the dress I was currently being installed in. This was a black dress designed to be worn to somber events. It was devoid of any embroidery or extra frills. The fact that I actually owned such a piece came as a bit of a surprise. Dresses took time to make, and there were few occasions where such a dress would be needed since funerals were such a private affair in Drakas. Still, I suppose the mentality that its better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have it applies. Its not like owning it is causing me any harm, and I know my family can afford it. Though the fact that I was still in my growth stage gave me a bit of pause. But knowing Jacqueline it would be easily adjustable. In any event, the reason I was wearing this dress now was that today was the day of the second princes funeral. It was a public procession that would bear his body from the gates of the city, up to the summit of the mountain. To where the Tomb of the Royal Family was located. In all of the city, that tomb was the only structure located higher than the palace. The idea was for the former kings to lay their final resting place at the feet of the gods. As for my part and why I was getting dressed up, my absence would be seen as a slight on behalf of my father towards the crown. Likewise, if I broke out into a smile while watching the procession or god forbid began giggling, then I was also insulting the royal family. Its a very draconian funeral for sure. For once, even if I wanted to use it, [Cold Hearted] would be unable to help me. It couldnt do anything about the emotions of happiness or joy. Still, I dont have to do too much, and Ill be next to Dominic the whole time, so if I ever feel a smile forming I can just look at him and get rid of it. I wasnt a member of the procession like Count Francois was, but Dominic and I were expected to be standing with Elienor, Margeritte, and all the rest of the immediate family members who were present in the capital. That did put me among the Francois family, but the engagement was already established. If I could get away with it, I would have liked to be elsewhere, to start a rumor that things werent going well with me and Dominic. That would possibly blunt some of the fallout when we did break off the engagement. But I didnt have a good enough excuse to get away with that, and Count Francois would certainly realize my motives. His recent maneuverings and actions taken solely to remind me of my place were a good indicator of that. I honestly have to wonder if hes realized Im actively looking for a way out. Or maybe hes just worried that another house will approach me, and he wants to dissuade me from jumping over to them. Ackhcheew! I broke out into a coughing fit and sneezed as the powder that was being dusted onto my face went down my nose. Due to my age, I didnt often wear makeup at all. Maybe a small amount of blush. But for this funeral, I was getting the full works applied to me. A waste of time in my opinion, as my skin remained stubbornly pale, to the point that I actually couldnt tell much of a difference between it and the chosen powder. Lucy, who was doing my make-up, apologized but I waved her off. This one was my fault for breathing in at the wrong time. Briefly, I considered that Jacqueline probably would have managed something stupid, like counting my breaths and timing the powder application around it. But owing to her missing arm, makeup was one of the few things Jacqueline apparently struggled with now. Dont worry about it Lucy, it wasnt your fault at all. I earned a smile for that, and the dark elf thanked me. Life is a lot better when I can give a sincere apology. Just as Lucy was finishing up my makeup, there came a knock at the door. Frieda was the one to answer it; I only just noticed that Jacqueline had left me at some point after getting me into the funeral dress. After poking her head outside, Frieda came back inside and addressed me, Lady Stahlia, Lord Dominic is here. How should I answer him? I pushed back the urge to sigh, Please tell him that I will be out shortly. Frieda gave a small curtsy and returned to the door. Lucy applied just a little bit more make-up and pronounced me ready. I feel like a childrens coloring book One thing was for certain, I had decided I was not a fan of high amounts of make-up. This was my first experience with it, and while I could acknowledge that I didnt look half bad, I felt gross having so much crap caked onto my face. Exiting the room, I was met by Dominic, who was dressed in a black suit of sorts, though like my dress it lacked ornamentation. Upon seeing me, he nodded, Stahlia, while it may not be appropriate given the occasion, you look nice in the dress I think I prefer your face without make-up though. Alright then. I mean, I agree with you. But you dont say that! Thankfully, my plan was working. As soon as Dominic opened his mouth, I lost my earlier giddiness. Reaching out my hand to take his arm, I was careful to keep an even face, Shall we go then? Dominic received my hand and escorted me out of my room and then out into the courtyard, where I met Elienor and Margeritte. Sanatori, the wife of Dominics oldest brother was also present. The brother in question, Nietzsche, was absent. Since he managed the familys domain I had actually yet to meet him. Also absent was Dominics other older brother, Fredrick. He would be serving in the procession as a member of the Royal Order of Knights. The two women and Elienor were both dressed similarly to me. Although Margerittes did have a few bits of somber dcor in the form of black embroidery that caused the dress to shimmer slightly as she moved. We still had a few hours before the start of the procession, which would apparently be filled with a somber meal and a toast to the princes memory. Not that I have any memories of this prince; I never even met him. As far as members of the Royal Family were concerned, I had met only two. The Third Prince had come to my home village, in order to approve my engagement. Thinking about that, why the hell would he do that? Even if hes friends with my father. Ill have to think about asking when I have my interview or maybe not. Digging into the personal affairs of Royalty is probably not the best idea. I had also met the king at one point, though only briefly. I would presumably see him again at this years school entrance ceremony. Dominic guided me to a seat at the table that had been installed in the yard and helped me into a chair. I was sure it was the lingering charm talking, but a small part of me was pleased with the gesture. I pushed that feeling to the deepest, furthest, and darkest corner of my being as I could. Looking out over the table, the food was simpler than normal, plainer. What would normally be a spread with several dishes ranging from moderately fancy to truly fancy, was today a simple affair of a light soup and bread. It still tasted excellent, but given what I had become accustomed to eating, there was just something off about it. I suppose the point is to show solidarity or something. Not that it matters much, and its good we arent fasting. No longer vomiting every night, I had recently become something of a food snob. I was having Jacqueline manage my diet to avoid becoming fat, but I had been indulging myself to some degree. That would be something to watch out for, getting a reputation as a glutton would be bad for my social plans. But for now, I want to celebrate a little. We ate mostly in silence, this was after all a funeral of sorts. A few small words were said here and there, but overall nothing much of substance. In general, all of the women complimented each others appearances, or someone asked for an item from one of the servants. Even with such a simple spread, the meal was still multiple courses and so I was forced to deal with the awkward semi-silence for almost the full two hours. Finally, the incredibly awkward meal ended, and Margeritte suggested that we move to the gates of the estate. The funeral procession would begin to pass us by in only a few more minutes. Dominic reached out before I had a chance to move and gripped my hand, the suddenness of the action caused me to wince slightly though it didnt actually hurt. He glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow, Something the matter, Stahlia? I gave him a long stare, wondering if he had even noticed how abrupt he had been. No, he probably didnt. Shaking my head I replied in an even tone, No, nothing is the matter should we go? Dominic watched me for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something, but he simply exhaled through his nose and merely nodded. Leading me by my still tightly gripped hand, we moved to the entrance gates of the Estate. There were of course no chairs, but thankfully we wouldnt be standing here for very long. Most probably the whole affair would be over in only thirty minutes, and from there we would head to the noble gathering at the school. I had thought that the gathering being held at the school was a bit odd. After considering it though, the fact that the King, the remaining princes, and the high-ranking faction members would be occupied at the palace with the more private funeral, it made sense to have those uninvolved nobles not gather at the palace. I craned my neck to look down the street in the direction the procession would come from, but I wasnt able to spot them just yet. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Dominic looking at me with a complicated expression on his face, but I paid it no mind; his concerns were none of mine, and I intended to be through with this engagement before the end of the school year, one way or another. It seemed that things were conspiring to force me to rely heavily on Count Francois, thus becoming stuck with this lot. Especially after the cardinals proposal. Subconsciously, I tightened my hand, only noticing when Dominic winced. Of course, I hurriedly loosened my grip, I might dislike him but intentionally causing pain was not something I intended, Sorry, Dominic. The circumstances have led me to some troubling thoughts. He gave me a funny look, I imagine so you must be thinking of Rosials funeral. I understand completely Still, that was remarkable strength, youve gotten a lot stronger after fighting those goblins huh. His statement wasnt a question, but rather a sort of a pensive statement. No shit Ive gotten stronger, I know you were told how many goblins I killed. As a reincarnation yourself you should understand shit like experience and level differences, so dont act surprised when Ive gotten a bit stronger after something like that! I frowned and was about to make a retort when I was thankfully cut off by the sound of drums and rhythmic footfalls. Turning to look back down the street, I could now see knights on a formation of drummer boys, young squires of the Royal Order of Knights. Each was dressed in an immaculate black pressed military dress uniform. Based on the slight shimmer, I could guess it was some kind of silk. Probably extremely expensive as well. They were keeping a slow rhythm, at least as far as a marching cadence was concerned. The noise carried though, due to how many of them were matching the rhythm. Five rows of twenty boys, each in step with their own beat. The ability to keep such perfect step and rhythm with each other at their age, no more than fifteen, caused me to briefly direct thoughts of disappointment towards my own knight squire. Coming up behind them was an honor guard of standard-bearers, each holding a banner decorated with the Moon over the Sun situated above three swords that formed the crest of Drakas. Five columns of three standard bearers marched past, in time to the beat of the drums. Following up behind them came two columns of five mounted knights. While the standard-bearers were dressed in silvery mythril armor, these mounted knights were covered in what at first I thought was gold. It took me a moment to make the connection that their armor was composed of plates of orichalcum. I had known about the existence of the metal but had never actually seen it. Unlike mythril, which was common enough to be used as a building material, albeit an expensive one, orichalcum was rarely encountered and commanded a hefty price. Not to the same degree as my needed potion ingredient, but enough that most small countries would only have a few pieces of it. I had thought that the parade seemed a bit small in scale, but it seemed for the nobles, the king had decided to go with quality vs quantity. The lower city would likely be swarmed with soldiers in a massive parade by comparison. After the mounted knights in golden armor came a carriage that was positively jaw-dropping. I honestly had no idea what it was made of, but the intricate carvings set into the rich wood, gold and silver metal reliefs, and glossy finish gave the impression that it must have been worth millions of drak. Behind this carriage was an even more extravagant one, this without a covered top. Though considering the occupants, I was certain that there must be a magical shield of some sort. As one group, all of us kneeled. Standing stoic in the front of the open-top carriage was of course King Drakas himself. Besides him but a little ways behind were the first and third princes. I fixed the face of the first prince in my mind, letting my [Eidetic Memory] record it. I had seen pictures of him that were quite detailed, but nothing beat the real thing. Having memorized his face, I broke my gaze from the first, and took a moment to observe the third prince; because of my engagement being recognized by him, any changes to it would require his consent as a matter of honor. To my surprise, I felt as if our eyes had met. No, I didnt feel it. He was definitely watching me, the way he suddenly looked straight ahead once I looked at him is basically proof of that. No theres probably not a major reason for it. Considering our upcoming meeting and the reasons that called for it; it only makes sense that he would take a moment to look at me given the chance. He hasnt actually seen me since I was eight after all. Following up behind the middle carriage was a third covered carriage. In this one, though I couldnt see them, rode Count Francois and the five dukes. Count Francois was uniquely placed being so high up in the Third Princes faction, though I didnt envy him being surrounded by dukes all the same. The first carriage had been bearing the body of the late second prince; now that he was dead, it would be the only time he was ahead of his father. Bringing up the rear of the procession was a perfect mirror of the front, complete with four more mounted knights wearing orichalcum armor. The sheer display of wealth I had just witnessed was mind-boggling. I thought I had grown used to money, as my family was fairly affluent. However, thanks to my memory, I was able to somewhat estimate the value of everything I had just witnessed, and the figure made my head spin. Once the procession had gotten far enough away for the sound of drums to have faded, Margeritte called everyone together and bid her own maid get a carriage ready for us to take to the Royal Academy. It would be the first time I was back there since leaving for my early winter break. I would be lying if I said I wasnt a bit nostalgic. Though I wish I could go on my own carriage. Being paraded around on Dominics arm is a bit no its very irritating. I entered into the same large assembly hall in which the School Social would take place arm in arm with Dominic. Spread out in front of me were hundreds of nobles, all of them dressed in somber blacks and grays. Those who had been members of the second princes faction were showing their solidarity with a single red flower pressed into their lapels or around their wrist in a corsage. Once I got a close enough look at one, I recognized it as a Blood Rose. The same flower that had acted as my first and so far only clue about Rosial. It grew only on battlefields where the ground had run thick with blood. Are are they subtly calling for blood to be shed, for war? I recalled my theory behind the second princes death. This this doesnt bode well. Sure, the kingdom needs to prepare for the war with the hell kings, but declaring war on another nation wouldnt help with that if the war was in fifty years I could see it. But its in three, well be caught with our pants down. I resolved myself to speak with the third prince at our meeting and try and figure out the kings intentions. Especially since if it does come to war, theres a nonzero chance Ill get drafted or pressed to join the war effort. Especially after I demonstrated Anti-Army magic Goblins were one thing, but snuffing out the lives of hundreds or thousands of humans I would definitely need to turn off empathy to do that and would probably wind up stuck with remorse off all over again. Though it was a gathering of nobles, there was no food being served, and there was nobody dancing. The music being played was sad and mournful, perfectly matching the atmosphere. It wasnt a ball or a gala. No, this was a veritable pit of vipers. The adults were moving amongst each other quietly, sounding out how rivals and allies might act in the vacuum created by the death of a contender to the throne. The kids were not exempted from this either, as I saw Edith was being approached by members of both the third and first princes factions. Well, Dominic noticed which faction they belonged to. I hadnt paid much attention to faction politics until very recently, so there was a surprising amount I didnt know about the baron and count houses. For once, I might actually have felt genuinely grateful towards him. If only he would be less smug about it. Dominic had almost immediately taken a condescending tone when I asked about one of the boys who had approached Edith, What, you dont know? That would be Lord Dewrin, the first son of Count Handalore. That house is a member of the first princes faction. If they approach you just dodge the questions. Honestly, it is a good thing that I am with you tonight if you do not know the factions. I could only grit my teeth, every time he answered a question in that manner. The answers were useful, so I was sure to pay attention. But keeping the irritation off my face is getting difficult I gave Edith a silent, slight nod. She returned it with a minuscule smile that would only be noticeable if you happened to be looking for it. I did want to support my friend, but given the circumstances, I wouldnt be able to approach her. Still, shes a lot better at politics than a novice like me. Im sure shell be able to manage. Now, whats this problem approaching me? It looks like trouble. A boy, a little younger than Dominic by appearance, was clearly approaching us. Based on the style and quality of his mourning garb, he was from an affluent household, but I had honestly never seen him before. As the youth closed the distance, Dominic squeezed my hand and whispered, That would be trouble. Lord Ferris von Febligi. Dont answer him and let me do the talking. I wanted to retort at that last bit but honestly, it also sounded like a great idea. Febligi, the Ducal family in charge of the western region, and leader of the first princes faction. What would they want, approaching me and Dominic? I didnt actually need to ask myself that, there were two possibilities. The first, was to try and extract information from Dominic, the son of Count Francois, about the future movements of the third prince faction. The second, and in my mind more likely, was to probe me. I can assume that the Febligi have an information network at least comparable to the Claurences network. If thats the case, theyll know about what happened in Ris. Considering the political shakeup, it wouldnt be unthinkable if they want to, Lady Stahlia I presume? An honor to make your acquaintance. I am Ferris von Febligi, third son of Duke Febligi. Right. After all, the third princes faction is pretty open about their intentions. As much as I genuinely would rather leave this to Dominic, now that I had been personally addressed, I was required to respond. I had an option and an opportunity though. Since my engagement was public knowledge, Ferris would know about it. He would also know that I was standing right next to my fianc. The fact that Dominic would be ignored could only mean that this conversation was meant to probe me about the engagement. How I responded would subtly indicate to everyone my intentions. If I gave a straight answer and introduced myself, then I would be signaling that I was dissatisfied with the engagement and willing to negotiate. On the other hand, if I deflected the conversation to Dominic, it would be signaling that I had no intentions of maneuvering on my own. The downside is that Dominic is right next to me, so hell know how I answer right away Stalling for a bit of time to try and figure out how to proceed, I looked Ferris over. He was much shorter than Dominic, even slightly shorter than me. His hair was the blonde so common in Drakas, but unlike the blue of most people, his eyes were a striking amber. If not for the slight overbite, he would have been cute in a little brother sort of way. I was torn on how to answer, I could feel the gazes of a lot of interested parties on me. Making a subtle announcement here would do wonders for getting out of the engagement. But on the other hand, it would besmirch the honor of the third prince. If only there was a way I could get away with it, but I honestly cant think of one unless that might work actually. I put on a smile and delayed. I was able to think pretty quickly when I needed to thanks to my high intelligence stat, and my entire deliberation had spanned only one or two seconds. Now I deliberately waited. A full ten seconds. This was long enough to signal to a few parties that I was planning to break off the engagement, but at the same time short enough that I could play it off as mere surprise at the fact Ferris had ignored Dominic. Once my time was up, I half bowed my head instead of a full curtsy. This was slightly disrespectful since Ferris Ducal house outranked both my own fathers barony and the counts titles. A pleasure indeed, Lord Ferris. I am Stahlia von Ris, the first daughter of Baron von Ris. This is my fianc, Dominic von Francois, third son of Count von Francois. Dominic stepped forward and bowed, while his head was down he shot me an irritated look at being made to wait so long. I am her fianc, Dominic von Francois. To what do I owe the pleasure? By omitting Ferris title and name, Dominic was also being a bit rude. It could be interpreted by the peanut gallery that we were both asking him to leave. Ferris ignored Dominic splendidly, an action that was incredibly rude, especially compounded with previously not introducing himself to him before me. Instead, Ferris addressed me directly again, Lady Stahlia, do you not think you could do better with a different house? That proposition left me genuinely stunned. I had figured out the purpose of Ferris approaching me. But to see it actually stated so bluntly, in front of so many people it was baffling. The Western regions are the center of the military, and the Febligi have a reputation for being soldiers more so than nobles, but this this is an astonishing lack of tact. Now how on earth should I answer that? Besides the number of eyes we had attracted previously, it now felt like nearly the whole room was watching this power play between the third sons of the two remaining princes factions. Well, the upfrontedness is nice if there werent so many observers I might actually have taken him up on that, but if I say anything now I do apologize, Lord Ferris. While my engagement is not one of my own volition, I have no complaints. Besides, even if I had thoughts such as those, I could not act without the permission of the third prince. There, hopefully by name dropping the third prince, hell take the hint and stop putting me in a position like this. Besides me and through my hand, I could feel Dominic shaking slightly. A barely contained rage, it felt like he was about to explode. It really would suck if he blew up on a dukes son at least while Im still attached to his house, Lord Ferris, if you will excuse me, I shall be taking my leave. I pulled Dominic away by the arm. Stahlia, what were you thinking!? Once we had gotten away, Dominic turned to me with such a question. His face was hard, and if I had to put my finger on it, a bit hurt. Raising my eyebrow, I answered, Defusing the situation. You were about to snap at him, were you not? Dominic momentarily looked shocked, then he dropped a bombshell of his own on me Stahlia, do you do you not want to marry me? What? I mean, yea exactly. But what did I say that let you figure it out? Ah It was the part about needing the princes permission, wasnt it? Considering that Dominic had arrived at the conclusion himself, I saw no harm in being truthful now. I shook my head, It is not about whether I want to or not. Our engagement was arranged, if I had to answer whether or not I was happy with that well, I am not unhappy. Dominic was about to say something, when he caught sight of another young nobleman approaching us. He set his face in preparation for another politically charged conversation, ...I see. Rupert von Drakas, Twenty Years Old, Second Month of 948 Riding in a Carriage for his Brothers Funeral Stahlia von Ris huh. For the umpteenth time since receiving that report three months ago, I muttered the name of that girl in my mind. The demons seemed to have plans for her, and I had my own agents working to figure out what those were. But I was up against the Kingdoms order of shadows in a game of espionage. To say I was on the backfoot would be the understatement of the millennia. The only saving grace for me was that I was fairly certain Five, or rather, the Fifth Hell King didnt know that I wasnt truly under his dominion. Each of the Seven Kings of Sin could enthrall those who were guilty of that sin. Fortunately, I was not guilty of Wrath. I couldnt be. Nor could I be guilty of any other sin. One of the few perks of my own curse, I had been born without the ability to feel. Logic dictated that a good ruler needed empathy for his subjects, as such I had stepped away from the race for the throne. But the present situation did not call for a good ruler. They called for a strong ruler. A ruler who could bear the curse of doing what needed to be done. So I had struck a pact with the King of Wrath, all while acting angered. Then, I had done what only I could do, what needed to be done. Killing my brother on the orders of Five, propelling myself towards the throne. I had been working behind the scenes in more ways than just spying though. As our carriage passed by the Francois Estate, I saw Stahlia for the first time in three years. I thought it was a shame you survived when I arranged for you to be sent to Sitri. I was sure that Five had seen through my plan when the clerk was assassinated. But the blade never fell on my neck. Now, I find out that you are most likely the Champion of Winter. I have to wonder what in the world the demons king wants with you. She was gripping her fiancs arm a bit tightly, I raised an eyebrow in surprise. From the reports I had received, Stahlia should have already disabled her emotions. The cursed champion has overcome? Suddenly, her gaze, which had been fixed on my brother, turned to me. I fixed my gaze forward. It was time to re-evaluate my plans, and I began turning over dozens of new scenarios, new possibilities in my head. This kingdom may yet survive. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 3-17 Crossroads Part One Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 327 (+50) Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas, 12 (NEW) Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 20[MAX] Experience: 31000/31000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess von Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) (NEW) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Title: Goblin Slayer*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Strength D: 122 Endurance B: 203 Dexterity SS: 355 +20 Intelligence S: 435 Charisma B: 203 Mana S: 248 Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] Prodigy III*, Eidetic Memory II*, Stealth V, Charm Resistance I*, Flexible I*, || Monster Handling III*, Dagger Fighting V*, Sword Fighting II*, Unarmed Fighting IV*, Alchemy Correction IV*, Teaching II*, Mana Efficiency III*, Fire Magic III*, Water Magic II*, Earth Magic II*, Wind Magic II*, Ice Magic V Skills 4/5: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Finesse Fighting*, Blue Blooded*, Kinetic Perception*, [], || Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Fighting Style[Drakan Style]*, Blessing of Winter* Talents Experience: [+] Well, Ive gone and done it. I stared at the new entries displayed on my status menu. My name and social strata sections had been updated following my meeting with the third prince. And that gave me fifty life points as well, for some reason I dont really know what I would have done to trigger that but whatever. It just means I dont need to wait for [Charm Resistance] to level up. I could now afford to purchase the sole remaining skill and unlock my class up. Originally, I had been planning to purchase it after getting the remaining LP from leveling up [Charm Resistance], as well as [Eidetic Memory]. The former was still slowly gaining experience as it fought off Dominics lingering charm, and the latter was simply close to leveling up; and would probably do so within the first few weeks of the new semester. Navigating my menu, I found the skill I had been planning to get. [Mana Crystallization (300LP)]: Excess mana forms into a crystal located near the heart of the user. This mana can be extracted by the user to fuel magic or circulated around the body to provide passive enhancement. Extracting stored mana takes a small amount of time and incurs some loss in the form of mana bleeding out into the atmosphere. The storage limit is based on the users level. There are no physical repercussions caused by the crystal. I purchased it and confirmed it had appeared in my last skill slot. I felt a sharp pain in my chest, but couldnt tell if that was from the formation of my mana crystal, or if it was from my class up. The pain faded as I sucked in air, I had been holding my breath for the past several moments. Checking my status screen, I saw that I had gained a second class, still called Custom Class, at level one. I had also been granted one levels worth of bonus to all my stats, and my experience had gone back to zero; apparently, I did not keep any extra experience that had exceeded my gauge. Predictably, I now needed an additional 3,000 experience per level for a total of 34,000 to hit level twenty-two. With that taken care of, I flopped back into my bed and stared at the ceiling. I made the best possible move I could have Yet, I still feel like I sold myself, somehow. No, I definitely sold myself, theres no feel like about it. Still, this neatly solves all my problems but to think that the engagement was all part of a scheme. What would the demons possibly stand to gain by having me marry Dominic? Jacqueline was nearby and could tell that I was distressed about something. But I cant tell you about it. Not until we get that thing out of you Dammit! Everything I had been scheming and working towards, I had told Jacqueline all of it. Almost all of my secrets. Because of that, Five. No, the Fifth Seat, King of Wrath Satan knew everything as well. And one of those worms will be in Rosial as well I was doing my absolute best to avoid flying into a rage at the thought of my sisters body being violated by a demon. I cant let myself get angry to the point where I have to rely on [Cold Hearted]... Now that I know what Fives skill does I cant risk any anger. No wonder one of the champions was given this trap skill. Was there any other move I could play? Anything at all I could have done differently? I reviewed my memories of the meeting and the events leading up to it, just for my own satisfaction. Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 C Twelve Hours Previously I was back in my school uniform for the first time in over six months. Thanks to Jacqueline, it was adjusted to my new measurements. Felicity had managed to get Lucy to let her do my hair, so that was a little bit messy. Ill have to have it touched up in the carriage on the way to the school social, I need to be careful about my appearance, especially after that snafu at the funeral Thinking of the fallout from how I had handled Ferris, I couldnt help but grimace. Personally, I couldnt care less how Dominic felt, but when he was being as cold to me as he was now, it was a bit irritating. Though, if I had to guess, theres a non-zero chance hes trying to be coy and go for a bit of neglect to convince me to come running into his arms. Our relationship had been extremely cold since then, and he had done his best over the last few days to avoid me. Tonight at the social is actually going to be the first time that I really interact with him I would be lying if I said I wasnt nervous. Since then, I had also learned that Ferris was ten years old, explaining why I hadnt seen him before. That meant he would be at the School Social. I need to figure out what to say to him On one hand, I cant close off the door with the other nobility, on the other I need to keep Dominic at least somewhat placated or my life is going to get very difficult. Frankly, I just couldnt wrap my head around how Dominic was acting. It was almost like a child that had been told no for the first time and couldnt comprehend it. He really thought I liked him, didnt he? I suppose I was acting like that before I knew about the charm. I was always reacting like a maiden in love after all. Maybe I should just tell him I know about the charm? That should mellow him out a bit since it would mean Im holding something over his head that could potentially ruin him but then I would have to explain how I know. I cant do that, but pretending to like him isnt an option either. I was in a dilemma from my own misspoken refusal. Looking back on the interaction with Ferris, I had misspoken a bit, I could admit that. But Dominics reaction was just so childish. If hes wanting to get a girl to like him, hes going about it the wrong damn way. Before I could follow this line of thought any further, a knock came at my door, and Jacqueline went to answer it. Returning, she informed me that it had been Dominics manservant come to tell us that Dominic had departed for the school social on his own and would meet me there. Childish. Doesnt he realize that hes only making his own image worse by not escorting me? Itll send a message to the nobles that our engagement isnt going well. He should know that Im fine with that given what I told him. Without further ado, I had Jacqueline thank Gregory and then went down to my own carriage. The trip to the social was uneventful and other than having Jacqueline fix my hair, I rode in silence. Upon our arrival, Dominic was, of course, not present to help me out of the carriage. So, I cant get down by myself well, I could. But if Dominic is going to play childish games so will I. Im only twelve after all Jacqueline, please go and find a young nobleman Lord Ferris, if possible. Jacqueline gave me one of her very rare smirks; she had been holding back her irritation towards Dominic ever since I had given her [Charm Immunity], and his recent actions had very nearly pushed her over the edge. She disappeared and in very short order returned with Ferris. Ferris glanced around and quickly figured out the situation. He might be tactless, but hes still a dukes son so him being able to play politics is a given. Now, as only a barons daughter myself, asking a favor of Ferris was a bit presumptuous of me. But, well, he put me in this situation; he can help me get out of it. Ferris gave a thin smile, Lady Stahlia, may I have the honor? I took his offered hand and stepped down from the carriage. A few of the onlooking nobles let out audible gasps at the sight. I was making a big wave, but I was not going to stand for Dominic giving me the embarrassment of going unescorted. Hopefully, if I do something this big, his father will give him a stern talking to. Ill probably get reprimanded as well, but I can deal with that just fine. Ferris escorted me into the building, and every young noble we passed seemed to fall silent as we passed. I think one dance, and then Ill thank him and excuse myself. That should start a nice juicy rumor. Ferris seemed to be enjoying the attention quite a bit himself, Well Lady Stahlia. I must say, this is quite a turnaround from how you answered me at the funeral four days ago. I waited until we were out of earshot, before responding in a low voice, You should have known you were putting me on the spot then. Ferris said nothing, simply shrugging his shoulders. An action that irritated me considerably, since it was me who was suffering the consequences of his tactless actions. Still, at this point, hes my best way away from Dominic though jumping to the first princes faction now of all times would be a bit bad socially but if I leverage my connection with Edith to work with the neutral nobles as well, I should be able to blunt the backlash a bit. Forcing myself to breathe in and out a few times to calm down. A pair of guard knights swung open the large doors to the assembly hall for Ferris and me to enter. Thankfully, there was no squire announcing the students as they entered the hall. Though, even without that, Ferris and I still turned numerous heads. Right, I know I want to start a rumor, but this is starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. Thankfully, Ferris seemed to pick up on my minor distress, Lady Stahlia, is there anything else you need? He had gotten quite a bit out of this whole affair, and it should influence the faction politics in favor of the first prince. I was debating whether or not to push even further and ask him to a dance, but just as I was starting to reach that point, I caught sight of Dominic, scowling at me from across the room. He had several young noble girls surrounding him. Ferris saw this at the same time as I did and let out a soft whistle, I certainly misjudged him at the funeral. Dominic von Francois you may be a worthy opponent indeed. A worthy opponent? So youre competing? Over me? I dont think Dominic realizes hes in this little tournament, but Im honestly rooting for you, Ferris. The limited length of time I had spent with Ferris had been overall very pleasant, and while I wasnt sure I liked him, I was sure that he was certainly better than Dominic, Well, Lord Ferris, thank you for the escort. I believe I have made my point, so if you would excuse me. Ferris gave me a modest bow before stepping away. Facing Dominic, I adopted the frostiest smile I could and began making my way over to him. As I closed the distance, Dominic gave me a cool stare, Well Stahlia, I suggest you drop the attitude. After that stunt you pulled, I imagine father will ask the prince to break off our engagement. Excuse you!? The stunt I pulled? I only did that because you were behaving like a child! And where do you get off lecturing me when youve surrounded yourself with a bunch of young ladies yourself? Were engaged! I fixed my smile and answered Dominics challenge, Oh? The stunt I pulled? Are you sure you should go there? Dominic shrugged exaggeratedly, As you can see, I have no trouble getting women. Frankly, you should have been honored that I picked you. I felt my vision beginning to go white, Oh, is that so? Well certainly, you do seem to have a very charming gaze after all. As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them instantly. Dominic clasped his lips together looking shaken. Considering I just called him out hardcore, I can imagine why he would be shaken Frankly, I was just glad I had the sense left to hide my words behind a euphemism. Right, I should get away from now, before either of us says something we regret, Good day, Dominic. I hope you enjoy the social. Spinning on my heel, I quickly moved towards Edith and Sarala, whom I had spotted off to the side avoiding the general throng. Dominic did not call out to me, which was probably for the best. As I was about to reach Edith, a man came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned away from me and shared a quick whispered conversation with the man. Shooting me a pained glance she turned and went with the man, leaving Sarala behind wearing a grim expression. I made my way over to Sana, What happened with Edith? She was called away, she should be back soon. Stahlia, what happened with you and Dominic? Sarala shook her head as she asked me. Shrugging my shoulders, I answered her dryly, He is simply being an ass. Sarala looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head, You should try and patch things up with him if you can. All things considered, you are pretty lucky you know. I wish people would stop saying that There was nothing I could do of course, short of spending my lifespan without regard, dropping in and out of comas, and raising all sorts of questions. I stood with Sarala in silence; Dominic was dancing with one of the girls he had been flirting with earlier, so I ignored him and looked around for Ferris. I should get Ferris to have a dance with me. Thatd really drive Dominic up the wall. Just as I spotted him, I heard a familiar voice call out to me, Stahlia, may I have a word? Turning around I saw my Blue Magic instructor, Gustav. I really didnt want to deal with him right now, so I fixed a frown on my face, Yes, Lord Gustav. What can I do for you? Gustav nodded, If you would follow me, the prince would like to have that meeting with you now. What now? Gustav is the messenger? Since when has he had any connections to the third prince? My frown got larger, but I nodded and followed Gustav out of the ballroom. Gustav led me out of the main building entirely and before I knew it, we were headed towards the Mages Hall. My interview with the third prince is in the Mages hall? That didnt make much sense to me, but there wasnt much for questioning it. It would be a private space I suppose, though Gustav as well, a messenger for the third prince? I watched the back of my eccentric mathematics and Blue Magic professors head. If anything, he was moving with a purpose entirely unlike his usual attitude. Gustav led me up to his own office and I felt a sense of hesitation. I had been in this office before a few times, and I knew how small it was. For the third prince to be in there, he would be extremely limited in the number of guards he could have with him. Especially with me and Gustav being present as well. Given what I did to spark this meeting, I cant imagine he would be lax when it comes to the guards he has with him I tried to peek around the side of Gustavs body, but I couldnt make out very much. I could see that the desk chair was empty, which was where I had expected the prince to be sitting. Theres no way that he would be sitting on one of the small couches I took a half step back; thinking about it, this whole thing was really suspicious. Wait, Stahlia. Gustav hadnt turned around to speak, though he had most likely just heard my foot hitting the ground, The third prince is in the back. It isnt safe for this conversation to be held in the main office. I fell into a stance that prepped my body to fight or flee, Gustav, you cant expect me to believe that. Gustav shrugged, He has Lady Edith with him. His words triggered a short circuit in my thought processes, as I immediately began analyzing the meaning behind it. Usually, Gustav is fairly eccentric. Right now, though, hes being more or less closed off. I cant tell from his tone if telling me about Edith was meant to reassure me or to be a threat. I couldnt see anything the prince would gain by harming the daughter of the neutral Claurence house, but conversely, I also couldnt see why he would bring her to a meeting between the two of us just to reassure me. And all of this damn secrecy. Slipping me out of the social, heading to a separate building, a backroom that Ive never heard of before its almost like the prince is trying to keep a secret, a really big secret I made up my mind, Alright, lets go. Gustav stepped through the doorway and approached the wall behind his desk. Matching his personality, it was covered in a collection of random charts and pictures. Reaching out to one of them, Gustav laid his hand on it. A moment later I heard a loud and resounding THUNK. Pushing against the wall, a seam appeared before it swung inwards. A secret room? So the prince is there. Gustav motioned for me to step forward, and after taking a deep breath, I stepped across the threshold. My own personal Rubicon. Like Caesar, I had the strong feeling that I was passing a point of no return. Gustav came up behind me and I heard the door click into place shutting us inside. Given the secrecy, I bet that door can only be opened with Blood Magic, which would explain sending Gustav to get me. There were no visible switches either, so even a blood magic practitioner like me or Sitri wouldnt be able to open it easily. Not without knowing where to send the mana. Stepping forward, I found myself in a room roughly the same size as Gustavs office. So, this is why his office was so small, he attached something like this to the back of it. There was more space in this secret room though as, unlike the front office, this room didnt have a large desk taking up space, nor the several bookshelves. Instead, the center of the room held a small table around which were four chairs. In the chair opposite the table from the door, sat the third prince. I curtsied instinctively and recited a greeting, Prince Rupert von Drakas, it is an honor to make your acquaintance once more. I am Stahlia von Ris, whom you met once before in my father, Baron Ris territory. While doing that on autopilot I took the chance to covertly examine Edith, who was sitting in the chair to the princes right. I was still a bit worried that she was here as a hostage. To my surprise, not only did she not seem to be in distress, she seemed resolved and determined. So she was brought here to reassure me most likely, and then her dad is here because shes unmarried so she cant be alone with the prince? No, that really doesnt make any sense. That would mean the prince had told Duke Claurence that he intended to bring his daughter into a secret room. A man I recognized as Ediths father, Duke Claurence, was seated on the princes left. This left one seat open at the side of the table closest to me. I could not figure out the purpose behind him being present, and frankly, the more I thought about this scenario, the more confused I became. Stahlia. Sit down then, we have a lot to discuss. The princes tone was level, but devoid of any emotion. As he was giving me the instruction, Gustav moved to pull the chair out for me. Right Thank you, Lord Gustav. I took the seat offered and rested my hands on the table while meeting the prince in the eye. It might have been a bit disrespectful, but given the incredibly confusing circumstances, I had the feeling that this was going to go beyond an interrogation about my Anti-Army Magic. Besides, Im sharing a table with him, meeting his eye is fairly minor considering that. The prince folded his hands, before speaking in the same level tone, I am sure you are wondering about Duke Claurence and Edith. I asked my fianc to be present when you arrived in order to put your mind at ease. Im sorry!? Your what now? Fianc? Isnt something like that supposed to be national news!? Unless you havent publicized it yet? Is that supposed to be an offering to me? Information for me to bring back to Count Francois? No, he probably already knows. So youre telling me that just for me, no faction politics whatsoever Then, because Im Ediths friend? I looked over at Edith and saw she was giving the prince an incredulous look, one that she would only get away with if what he was saying was true. Well, thats theres an age gap there but as far as arranged marriages go, she could have done worse for herself I forced myself to get over the confusion and surprise and simply face the facts, I was not in any place where I could afford to flounder about. For what was to come, I had to stay focused. But this means the Claurence have decided to join your faction especially given the recent political upheaval This will give you a lot of political pull, wont it, in fact, it puts you in a very good position to become the next king Edith shot a furtive and concerned look but didnt say anything. Knowing her, she was probably just told the third prince wanted a word and didnt know I was involved at all. Sarala she knew about Ediths engagement, that would explain how she was acting after Edith left the social. Ediths words at our reunion came back to me, about how I was lucky for being in an engagement where I presumably liked the guy. This goes back at least that far then huh, so all those guys who were probing her at the funeral were unknowingly probing an engaged woman about her marriage prospects I felt a fair amount of sympathy towards her then, as I had my own fair share of secrets, I knew what she must have felt like. No time for that right now though, with the Claurence and Lawrence houses under his banner, the third prince has half the territory dukes. The Febligi might control a decent number of the knights, but between these two, the breadbaskets of the kingdom are with the third prince. It would all come down to how things shook out with Duke Lester. If he sided with the third prince, then the majority of the dukes would be in his camp, and he would be all but guaranteed to inherit the throne. Everything is working out too well for him almost as if it was set up to be that way I thought that the second prince had been killed by the king to give a reason to declare war on one of the neighboring countries but now it seems way more likely that- I killed my brother. I poisoned him with wine. Not only that, but I did it on the orders of the Fifth Seat, King of Wrath Satan. Well, thats that then. Holy shit. I dont think Im leaving this room so easily then, Your highness The third prince raised his hand, Stahlia, you may call me Prince Rupert. I intend to speak with you on even footing. That would mean me calling you Rupert though, not Prince Rupert Biting back my retort, I nodded, Very well then, Prince Rupert. I take it you have a reason for telling me that? The third prince nodded, Indeed. I intend to gain your trust. Would you hear my tale? Theres got to be something else hes after Otherwise, he wouldnt be so forthcoming. Im probably overthinking it for now, I may as well hear him out. With that kind of bombshell right at the start, no matter what else I learn I certainly wont be in any worse of a position. Very well, Ill hear what you have to say At the very least, with more information, I might be able to figure out what he wanted from me that he would go so far. I am glad to hear that. I had feared that at the mention of me working for the demons, you would be angered. After waiting a moment, to gauge my reaction, he continued. I have been in the employ of the demons for nearly five years now. I was first approached by a man claiming to be Five, I am sure you are aware of him? I clenched my fists under the table and bit the inside of my mouth, Yes, I am aware of him. I answered honestly; there was little chance that the prince didnt already know if he was bringing it up to begin with. Good, that saves some time. As it turns out, Five and the Fifth Seat. They are one and the same, though I didnt know that until much later. At first, I did a few things, just small things here and there. After all, this was the kings right-hand man, what could he possibly be doing that would harm the kingdom? Then, he told me the truth, about the demons, and about how far up the chain of command the corruption runs. Of course, I didnt believe him. Not at first, but he demonstrated his powers easily enough. I was convinced. Then he started asking for stranger and stranger things. Awful things, holding the kingdom at ransom. I frowned, causing Rupert to stop and nod, You have a question. Ask it. I suppose it would be too much to ask a prince not to be commanding What does this have to do with me? You can skip the sob story. I was surprised at myself, being that short with a member of royalty was not a very good plan. The prince, however, took it in stride. Of course. You see, you were one of those requests. More specifically, to recognize your engagement with Dominic von Francois. I was a bit unsure of it, after all, Count Francois was one of the higher-ranking members of my faction. Then the count approached me and asked for the same thing. So we traveled to Ris where I got to have a reunion with my friend. And where I got to meet you for the first time. So the demons they wanted me engaged to Dominic? Why? What would they stand to gain from that? I wasnt the champion of winter yet or anything. The prince nodded, Its written on your face, you want to know why. I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea. Either way, its not like I did nothing to resist. But I had to be careful. After all, my opponent was one of the Nine Kings. Do forgive me, but one of the first things I did was arrange for Gustav to babysit you at the academy; he has been in my employment for a significant amount of time, and as a Blood Mage is uniquely qualified for dealing with Demons, should the need arise. Imagine my surprise when Gustav reported to me that you were also a practitioner of Blood Magic. Then Five, the bastard, began ordering me to mess with the kingdoms knight movements. It was around that time that Ang Village began having its troubles. I was able to put two and two together. You sent me there to die? My short and curt words had cut him off, but I hardly cared. It didnt take a genius to figure out what the prince was about to say; he had figured out that a demon was there, and had sent me in knowing that fact. It was all I could do to keep my voice as level and steady as it was. The prince fixed me with a cold stare and nodded, Yes, I was hoping that Sitri wouldnt know who you were or perhaps get a little over-excited. After all, you wouldnt be able to marry Dominic if you were dead. His tone was blatantly matter-of-fact as if he was stating the most obvious thing in the world; it sent shivers down my spine. I thought it was the cursed champion that was supposed to be cold-hearted Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 3-18 Crossroads Part Two Psycholor Stahlia''s name has been changed: Stahlia von Ris auf Drakas > Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas Princess auf Drakas > Princess von Drakas So, two new inserts have been finished. The first is from 1-8 Dedication and depicts Stahlia coming down from the altar, just as she realizes something is happening. The second is from 1-11 Sneaking Out and depicts Stahlia throwing the dagger at the mountain ogre. Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 Shivering ever so slightly, I addressed the prince, You wanted to throw a wrench into Fives plans, so you tried to have me killed? A shame that he outsmarted you, according to the demon herself she was forbidden from killing me. You got played, your highness. My tone was a lot harsher than it had been up to this point and I heard Edith let out a gasp to my left. I was done playing nice though; clearly, the prince was goading me for some reason. Theres no way I get out of this room unless I give him what he wants, and honestly, it seems like hes trying to make me snap at him. The princes eyes widened a little at my barb. I paid it no mind and urged him to continue, So, Im sure you had a change of heart, Prince Rupert. Otherwise, you wouldnt be telling me all of this The prince nodded slowly, considering his words carefully, I thought it was strange, some random girl from a deposed house and the son of a count. Sure, you may have your prodigy talent, but there would be better more efficient ways to secure that if he really wanted it. To tell the truth, I still do not know what to make of your engagement. But I can say for certain you are no random girl. Well, yea, now that he mentions it if I take it at face value that my engagement is a ploy from the demons, then I would need to wonder why I wasnt just kidnapped the only explanation would be that Five knew about my blessing all along? But it wasnt even activated until after Rosial was kidnapped The prince continued speaking, confirming my thoughts, You are the Champion of Winter. Gustav told me about the spell you cast; about how the math for the mana did not work out. You needed another discount from somewhere. You should consider yourself lucky that there are so few mages with knowledge of the champions who could draw such a conclusion. Knowledge of the champions huh well, the demons, the church, apparently the royal family now, all have it. I glanced at Edith. For all her political ability when compared to me, she looked small. Like she was trying her best to avoid drawing attention to herself. Though, at the mention of the Champion of Winter, she shot me a look of bewildered confusion. I cant tell if she knows what that is, or if shes checking to see if I know Turning back to the prince, I nodded once, decisively, I am. There was no point in hiding it; he was certain of himself, and with what I had learned over the past half hour I was certain that it wouldnt be so simple to just leave the room. I may as well be somewhat open towards him and see where this is leading. There were some secrets I just couldnt share, like my reincarnation or my future plans for the kingdom. You admit it, and yet you did such a good job hiding it until something must have changed in Ris. Or before that, with Sitri. The princes eyes were calculating as he stared at me. In spite of my building fear, I forced myself to hold his gaze. Tell me Stahlia, how did Asten die? As I recall, the intelligence we have is essentially only your own account. Right, if hes in league with the demons, theres a chance that Sitri told him the truth. If thats the case, I could lie here and see how he reacts No, I wouldnt be able to tell if he was acting or not in his response to me. In that case, should I go all in on the truth? I did what I had to do. The prince nodded, Right, you sold Asten to Sitri so that you and Dominic could get away. Even though you knew already that she wouldnt hurt you. You still made that choice. Ah yea, I did. Thanks for reminding me asshole. By sacrificing Asten, I saved Jacqueline. Between a wet behind the ears noble and someone with her talents, I made the right choice. As I spoke, I couldnt stop a small wince as I remembered the months of guilt. Ill live with those memories, but it doesnt change what I did. That was my decision and Ill carry it with me until the day I die. The prince waved me off, I would disagree but that isnt the issue. Where to proceed from this point is. I obviously cant let you marry Dominic. That would be doing exactly what the enemy wants. So here it is, what hes really after. I folded my hands and sat quietly while maintaining eye contact. If he attacked me or ordered some hidden assailant to execute me I intended to resist to the best of my ability, though I had the feeling doing so would be futile. The prince opened his mouth, How would you like if I gave you your sister back? In spite of myself, I found that I was leaning forward over the table excitedly, What do you know about Rosial!? The prince shrugged, Not much, though I know what happened to her; I have been running errands for her current master after all. I felt like the wind had been cut from my sails, and I collapsed back into my chair. I didnt think that anything he did or said would shake me, especially not after he revealed he knew I was the champion. Umm should I, should I be here? Ediths voice was small and timid. To be fair, she had most likely been expecting a simple meeting with her fiance; instead, it wound up being an extremely high-level discussion in which multiple state secrets were bandied about like idle gossip. Well, Edith can keep secrets, so that isnt too much of a concern except if Dominic were to ask her, shes still charmed I might have to do something about that if I want to guarantee that nothing leaves this room. Right, Edith, you may leave after we resolve the next issue. The prince turned to face me, Not for free of course. In exchange. Gustav pulled out a bound scroll and unrolled it on the table between the four of us I recognized it as a magic contract scroll; the regular magic version of the pact I had made with Sitri. The prince folded both his hands while resting his elbows on the table, I will do everything I can to reunite you with your sister. In exchange, you will support my bid for the throne, assist in excising the demons from our country, and aid in the rule afterward as my queen. So, hell help me get Rosial back if I help him take the throne and excise the demons, then I just have to marry him and WHAT!? Nonono, his fianc is right there, I must have misheard, besides, Im a barons daughter. I chanced a stealthy look at Edith; she was staring at the prince in utter shock. So he did say that, what about her father then? Breaking off the engagement would be a massive insult to his house. I glanced at Duke Claurence, he was collected and was watching me calmly. Right, so hes either hiding it, or hes not surprised the engagement wasnt public, so there wouldnt actually be any fallout if it was broken off at this stage And the duke being present for this meeting, with so many sensitive topics, hes already firmly in the third princes camp regardless of the engagement. An anti-demon coalition? It would make sense, if the third prince knew he was being watched, to move outside his faction So, the prince was serious!? Y-your serious? Your highness, I am already engaged The prince waved his hand dismissively, At the behest of a king of hell. I would not let that marriage go through even if you reject my offer and no, I no longer plan on having you killed, killing the champion of winter when I face a Hell King would be the height of folly. Regardless of your answer, you may leave this room unharmed. Thats not I mean its nice to hear that but I cant really take that at face value besides that, I am only a barons daughter, I couldnt possibly The prince again dismissed my objection with a quick wave, You are the Champion of Winter, a Prodigy holder, a Special Student in your first year, A Blood Mage, and know an Anti-Army Magic that not even Gustav is aware of going off the description of its effects. What you lack in status, you more than make up for in achievement. I flicked my eyes around for a moment, trying to come up with an out. My gaze settled on Edith, catching my gaze, she squeezed her mouth shut and closed her eyes. I cant read her what is that reaction supposed to signal? What about Lady Edith? You yourself are also engaged are you not? The prince nodded, I am. Thankfully that engagement has not yet been publicized, and can be broken off without causing either of us any loss of face. Is that all you think of? Loss of face? What about her feelings? Right I am jealous of you, Stahlia was it? So, she doesnt actually care for the engagement herself; like me, she was pressed into it for politics Then, do I really have a reason to decline this? It would fulfill all of my requirements, though it comes with a lot of burdens of its own On one hand, I would definitely walk away with political power. I would have the top of the country to help get Rosial back, its not like my father would object either; him and the prince are old friends Ah, there is that. Prince Rupert, forgive me but are you not childhood friends with my father? For the first time, the prince looked insulted at something I had said, Yes, I am friends with your father, but he is ten years older than me; I am only nineteen. I mean, Im twelve. And you think Im eleven. Thats still a bit of a gap, but its not as bad as if he was the same age as my dad Ill be sixteen when its actually time for us to get married, and hell be twenty-three. Thats not too bad. Worse than Ferris or Dominic, but far from the largest gap. If I say yes, I get the best ally I could reasonably hope to have. I get out of the engagement with Dominic. From the way, hes been talking I get the feeling hes looking at things as a net of benefits, not romantic attachment. Thats fine with me; we might eventually grow to like each other, or we wont. That doesnt mean we cant work together. He would also be the best one to interfere with whatever the church plans on trying behind the scenes their offer looks great, and Im sure I could make use of them, but that would be placing myself way to close to Antenora and the other gods and goddesses. Theres also the thing with this other power that messed with Sanas head something or someone able to go over Antenoras head pushing me away from the church So, I guess the answer is yes then, isnt it? I opened my mouth to agree to the princes proposal. No, Stahlia! What about Dominic! You love him, dont you? Ill be fine, you dont have to sacrifice your happiness for me! Looking towards the source of the interruption, I saw Edith. She was tightly clutching the edge of the table, and there were tears streaking down her face. Ah the charm is acting up. Thats a bit odd it should only make her think I like him, but shes acting to try and keep us together? That doesnt work like a charm usually would. Edith! Get ahold of yourself, you should know better than to interrupt like this! Her father was glaring at her, with irritation plainly written on his face. For his part, the prince remained calm, simply watching me and her. Edith refused to calm down and had begun to shake slightly. Grimacing, I spoke to Gustav, Lord Gustav, could you put her to sleep? I doubt she will stop otherwise. Gustav nodded and reached out towards her. Edith jerked to get away, but Gustav was faster. Catching her shoulder, he briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them, Edith fell limp and Gustav caught her before gently setting her down in the chair. Duke Claurence was looking at me with an expression of curiosity, while the prince merely raised an eyebrow, Stahlia, do you know something about that? Well, here it goes. I guess this is the so-called leap of faith. I hope the prince no I guess I should call him Rupert now. I hope Rupert is there to catch me on the other side. Yes, I believe I do. Before that though, the church has offered to annul my engagement if I join their ranks, I have no desire to do so, will you be able to head them off? Rupert nodded, apparently unsurprised by my claim. Then again, he knows a fair amount already, just by analyzing bits and pieces of information. Its not completely unbelievable that hes figured out, or at least suspects the church has their eye on me as well. Gritting my teeth, I nodded, Then, I accept your offer. Rupert nodded, I thought you would take longer to decide than that. Still, being decisive is not a bad thing, as long as you still thought things through; you understand this is a political arrangement? I will not and can not ever come to love you, or care for you outside of your usefulness to me and the kingdom. Well, thats harsh Still, it tracks with how hes been talking up until now. I understand, as long as I can get Rosial back, and get revenge on Sitri and Five, I dont care. Rupert smiled for the first time; it was a cold, emotionless smile, What a fitting pair. The cursed champion and the cursed prince. I wonder what history will call us when they look back? In any case, you said you knew what was going on with poor Edith there? Cursed Prince? What does he mean by that? He compared himself with me as well, does that mean that he has [Cold Hearted] as well? In that case, him saying he would not and could not come to love or care about me wasnt him being distant, he was being literal. Well, I cant say thats not a bit unsettling, but I can work with that. If anything it makes him a bit easier to predict, and at the end of the day I would be one of the few people who could understand what the world is like for him I bottled those thoughts and moved on to address his question. Prince Rupert, regarding Edith. She is under the influence of Dominics skill; [Incubus Eye]. I do not know how he got it, but it allows him to charm any woman he lays his eyes on. Thankfully, I am immune thanks to my status as a champion. Rupert looked over at Edith, An incubus and Dominic, is still human? Hmm, I said I would take a leap of faith, but mentioning my divine eyes is a bit As far as I am aware, yes. Rupert adopted a thoughtful expression, Gustav, can you dispel the charm? At Ruperts question, Gustav placed his hand on Ediths forehead. Focusing for a moment he shuddered and removed his hand. Looking slightly tired he shook his head, No, I cannot. The mana is like a tumor or a growth, burrowed deep into her core. Removing it would be extremely dangerous it is deep enough to evade our detection after all. I probably shouldnt mention that I removed Jacquelines then, at least not just yet. Rupert spoke to Duke Claurence, You will need to keep her confined then if the charm runs that deep; we cannot risk her saying anything to Dominic, not until we learn more about his role in the plan. Bowing his head, Duke Claurence gave his assent and even added that he would have Sarala confined as well since she and Edith shared almost everything and it was likely that she was charmed as well. Rupert then indicated the contract paper, and Gustav produced two quills for us to write with. Picking up the one offered to me, I felt a small amount of mana being drawn into it, and a small drop of ink materialized on the tip. Definitely a magic contract, were even writing in our own mana so it will be especially binding. The contract I had with Felicity had only been signed in mana; from my lessons, I knew that the difference between the two was how easy it was to terminate the contract. With the contracts signed in mana, it could be annulled with another contract. When the contract was written in magic, it would require a much more involved ritual. It makes sense for a royal engagement, to use such a strict method if I sign this, theres no going back. I took a deep breath. This is what I want. This is the best move I can make. Telling myself that, I exhaled, and wrote my name on the scroll. I felt a tingling sensation as the magic activated. Across from me, Rupert signed his own name. Now that the contract had been opened, we could discuss the terms of it; until we signed our names again the contract would record the terms as we agreed to them. In essence, it was the same as my mental negotiation with Sitri, only done in real-time. We discussed things for a little over two hours, and while there were several small things we wound up going back and forth on, we were actually in agreement on the main points. Firstly, we agreed to keep each others secrets, barring having permission to disclose something. This one was important, as we now both knew things about the other that would be extremely dangerous. Secondly, we agreed not to keep secrets. There was a caveat to that, that we simply had to answer the other person honestly. This one in all honesty favored Rupert; the wording allowed for double-speak and half-truths to somewhat bypass the contract, but I was alright with that. My secrets were protected by the first major point, and I would need to learn to speak in riddles anyways. Lastly, we set the age at which I would marry him as well as the terms. To my surprise, rather than marrying at fifteen like my former engagement to Dominic stipulated, Rupert put the age at sixteen. When I questioned him, he explained that it was customary for the spouse to be of a member of the royal family to live one year assuming the duties of their post after becoming an adult and before the wedding. On my end, it was stipulated that Rupert would assist me in recovering Rosial. Of the several minor things we discussed, the most pertinent was what to do about my status as the Champion of Winter. Rupert had wanted to reveal it when the engagement was announced. I wanted to keep it a secret. To his credit, he was willing to come to a compromise with me on every issue. In this case, I was given until the announcement to increase my achievements such that announcing my status was no longer necessary to provide legitimacy to the engagement. The degree to which he was willing to compromise served to demonstrate how important getting this engagement was for him. He can say he does not and cannot care for me all he wants, but as long as he cares about me, I think I can make this work. I was overall careful not to abuse his willingness to compromise, but I did make sure to stick a few extras into the agreement, such as my father being elevated to at least a countship, and a stipulation that he couldnt just go and have Edith and or Sarala killed to keep them quiet. Finally, we were finished. Rupert signed his name once more, and with a deep breath in an air of finality, I signed mine as well. The contract flashed bright white and then dissolved, leaving a vague outline of ash on the table. I felt a tugging at my core, a bit like vertigo, and a notification window popped up. It was the second time I had seen this particular notification. Notice: Following the signing of the Contract of Engagement, Name and Social Strata have been updated. Name: Stahlia von Ris > Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas. Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom + Princess von Drakas, Drakas Kingdom ) I wasnt expecting to get a social stratum change right away I guess that means that just being engaged to the prince elevates me to the status of a pseudo royal? The idea that I was an actual princess now, at least nominally, elicited a strange feeling. I feel kind of excited about it actually, I mean being a princess is supposedly every girls dream. Then again, it feels like, in a way, I finally let go of my past as a male I did tell Claire that I had come to terms with it, and Ive been contemplating willingly entering a marriage for the past few weeks. But now that Ive actually gone through with it it feels kinda strange. Rupert cleared his throat, and in a start, I hurriedly closed the notification. He was holding out his hand to me, with his fingers wrapped around something small. Reaching out my hand, I received a small metal ring with the crest of Drakas engraved onto it, Now that youve signed the engagement contract, you bear the title Princess von Drakas and can speak in the name of the king, should you need to. Take care not to abuse that authority, and I would prefer if you kept our engagement a secret. At least until Ive found a way to depose Count Francois. Holy shit! He just casually stated hes going to crush one of his biggest allies! Prince Rupert What do you mean by depose Count Francois? Shrugging, Rupert answered my question nonchalantly, Count Francois is very likely to be working with Five. I dont have any hard evidence, but on multiple occasions, the two of them have acted in tandem with each other; your engagement was neither the first nor was it the last time that the two of them made a similar request so close together. Furthermore, Dominic is in possession of a demonic skill. There are only so many ways that could have come to pass. I should tell him about Dominics past life. Stahlia, are you alright? You were zoned out a moment ago. I know magic contracts can be a bit uncomfortable if you arent used to them. No, Im fine. I was just a bit distracted when I saw my name change. Ah, and that would be the part where we dont keep secrets from each other kicking in. For now, Ill need to be careful to dance around the topic of divine authority. Before Rupert could ask the obvious question, I jumped in to give further explanation, my intent being to guide the conversation. I am able to appraise my own status, and with Blood Magic, I can somewhat track the status of others. Rupert nodded slowly to my answer. Right, I recall Gustav saying something about you being able to do that. Still, to keep track of it in real-time. An impressive feat. Gustav, see that she receives further instruction. Gustav bowed his head briefly at Ruperts order. Just in case Rupert asked a question I didnt want to answer just yet, I opted to use Dominic as a way to change the subject, The thought occurs, Dominic has told me that he comes from another world, that he reincarnated into his present body and retains all of his memories. It was a bit of a stretch to interpret Dominics tsundere comment as him telling me anything; but apparently, it was enough for the contract. So somewhat vague interpretations work, at least unless he questions me about it. Ill need to keep that in mind, if it ever seems like he evaded a question or somehow tried to dodge out of answering. Ill also need to keep in mind that he can do the same to me. The relationship between us was going to take a bit of getting used to, but with the underlying honesty, it should be doable. Fortunately, it seemed that Rupert was a bit distracted by my revelation to consider questioning the specifics of how I knew, A traveler you are certain of this? Giving my affirmation, Rupert went deep into thought and began muttering to himself, A traveler gifts from the gods prophecy marriage I guess the idea of people coming from other worlds is known at the high levels of society then. That I kind of had a feeling it was happening pretty frequently, what with me, Dominic, and Claire. Franklins out there somewhere as well. Still, what in the world is Rupert doing? He was talking a mile a minute, and low enough that I struggled to keep track of what all he was saying. Thankfully, Gustav offered me an explanation, He is thinking, running through all the possibilities. The fact that he does this in your presence is a sign that he trusts you; he is very self-conscious of how he appears when doing this. He might not be able to feel like a normal man, but he knows to make an effort where it counts. All I could do was watch the prince and wait for him to finish. Finally, after a few minutes of mumbling, he snapped out of it, Stahlia, are you a traveler as well? Well, shit. I nodded, Yes, I am. I guess thats a fair question I could probably have done something with the definition of the word traveler to get around the answer, but if I start lying and trying to get around the contract now, whats the point of having it in the first place? Rupert took my answer in stride, Then, things are starting to make sense. For the time being, youll need to continue as you have been; continue to act as Dominics fianc It should take me only a few months to arrange things properly. Once the stage is set, we can have that engagement publicly annulled. Ok, thats fucked. Its already kind of bad that I went around Dominics back and just entered another engagement like this. I mean, I dont like him, especially not after how hes been acting the past few days. But I feel bad for him, at least a little bit. Or that could be the charm talking. Why, if you would pardon me, why go along with that charade? Frankly, I feel bad for him. Shrugging, Rupert answered coolly, As it stands, you dont have enough accomplishment to warrant the jump in status. By announcing yourself as the Champion of Winter you could sidestep this and simply annul the engagement with Dominic and enter one with me; I am willing to be the villain in that. So it comes down to that then. Whether or not to announce my standing. If I do that, things with Dominic should wrap up in a neat bow. There will be some retribution from Five Im sure, but Rupert seems confident it would be manageable. I dont think he would suggest this as an option if it wasnt. I would gain the benefit of the church aiding me as well. They already know me as the friend of a goddess, and that was enough to scare a cardinal shitless. But at the same time, I would rather get rid of this blessing. The side benefits are nice, but I dont like having the gods constantly pulling at my strings. No, Im not going to let myself feel bad. Dominic is older than he looks, he should know better than to act the way he has been, frankly, his use of that charm is disgusting. At the social earlier, he was abusing it just to spite me. He does not deserve my sympathy. Having justified my course to myself, I met eyes with Rupert, Do what you need to. I do not want to reveal that card unless it becomes my only option. Rupert gave me a brief bow in affirmation of my wishes, an act which surprised me considerably after his aloof attitude so far. Responding to my expression, he merely lifted his shoulders in the single laziest shrug I had ever seen, As my fianc, you and I are now of somewhat similar standing. Right, my apologies, but I think that will take some time to sink in. This is going to be a long conversation with Jacqueline. Rupert grimaced, I would prefer if you did not inform her. It is extremely likely that your shadow carries a direct line back to her former master. Dont make that face; it is highly unlikely that she knows. Mollified, I let my tension relax slightly, I had been about to say some very choice words. After all, I had only just entered a new level of trust with Jacqueline. What Rupert was implying would be disastrous if it was true. At the very least, he believes its true since the contract is letting him say it. Prince Rupert, please, elaborate Rather than anger like I expected, what slipped into my voice was almost desperation. Rupert looked apologetic, though if what I had been told thus far about his emotions was true it was a ruse. I still found it somewhat comforting though, The Nine Kings have several obscene abilities that place them above mere mortals. In some ways, they rival the holy twelve. Fifth Seat, King of Wrath Satan holds dominion over wrath and the demons of wrath. The old stories passed down through the royal family state that anyone who holds anger in their hearts cannot stand against him. Rather than deal a mortal blow, they would find their spears slipping between the ribs of their allies. Unlike a demons charm though, the dominion of wrath does not control the victims conscious mind. It digs at the subconscious. Where things are troublesome for us now, though, is from the other half of that dominion; the control over demons of wrath. In our covert resistance and sabotages, we have killed a small number of Shadows. Within their bodies, we discovered a worm attached to their spines. Analysis of its body reveals that it is a demon, specifically, a demon of wrath. It is extremely likely that Five can use his dominion to tap into the senses of these worms and witness their surroundings. Of course, I lack any proof. But it would explain several coincidences I have noticed over the past several years. You might not have proof but if thats really a thing it would explain how that bastard might know about Jacquelines betrayal. But my divine sight should have picked it up? Unless the worms dont have mana Ill need to check Jacqueline very carefully but if we assume that all the shadows have these things, then that means Rosial probably has one as well! I felt a wave of deep burning anger boiling up inside of me, but recalling what Rupert had just said, I began taking deep breaths and forced it back down. I refuse to rely on [Cold Hearted] Ill keep my emotions in check on my own. There has to be a way to get rid of that shit, this changes nothing about what I have to do. I opened my eyes and saw Rupert was watching me. I wont share these events with Jacqueline until I find a way to remove the parasite. I just crossed a bridge of trust with her as well! My hatred towards five only continued to grow with everything I learned about him. Im going to make that bastard pay. Psycholor Next chapter will be the book three epilogue. The points of view are: Dominic, Wentee, and Stahlia A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 3-19 Epilogue Dominic, Thirteen Years Old C Directly after Stahlia was summoned to meet Prince Rupert. I spun the young noble girl around as we danced. Her name was Tanya or something similar. I had only really gathered the little group to get at Stahlia after the trouble she caused me at the second princes funeral. I had only managed to further strain our relationship though. Still, where does she get off going around my back to that Ferris douche? She should have sent for me, to let me know she had arrived. That would have sufficed as an apology. The song ended and I bowed to my partner, who curtsied to me in turn. Its too easy. There was nothing I couldnt get with my abilities. One word from me, and this girl would be falling over herself to get her parents to agree to anything. Thats why Stahlia is so infuriating. And so alluring. I looked around to find her, but she didnt seem to be anywhere nearby. Where the hell has she gone off to now? Is she with Ferris going behind my back again? No, Ferris is over there. Where could she have gone? Ahem, excuse me, would you care for a dance? Turning around, I spotted a young woman, probably a year or two older than me. She looks a bit familiar, but I dont think Ive ever met her before Based on her dress, she was probably the daughter of a count, so it was odd I couldnt recognize her. Still, I dont have time for this right now. Ive got to go find Stahlia before she can mess up anything else for me. No, thank you but I have to go and find my fianc I turned to leave, but the girl caught my sleeve. She frowned at me, No, I do think we should have at least one dance together, Dominic. Ok? She should have politely accepted my refusal, also, where does a random counts daughter get off calling me without a title? My apologies, but you have me at a disadvantage. May I ask your name? The young woman covered her mouth to suppress a giggle, My name, yes of course, where are my manners. I am Irtis von Asmo She punctuated her introduction with a curtsy, Now, about our dance? I must apologize but I cant take no for an answer Irtis? Asmo? Ive never heard of either of those names. Shes also immune to my ability, or at least resistant to it. This could prove interesting Very well, Irtis, I shall humor you. I took Irtis hand and lead her out onto the dance floor. The song happened to be a fairly slow one and the dance that accompanied it required me to hold Irtis fairly close. I couldnt help noticing her scent, it was nostalgic and took me a moment to place, but I eventually recognized it as a vanilla bean. Something I hadnt smelled since I died. I was quite fond of this smell, hell, its almost identical to the air freshener I used to buy I would even say this is my favorite smell. We turned slowly; this dance was similar to a Waltz, though without the spinning or partner switches. On one pass, Irtis leaned close to my ear and whispered, I saw what happened earlier. What a shame. We spun around again, and I whispered back, I do not know what you mean. Irtis frowned, With your fianc. She does not understand how lucky she is. Youre special after all. Well, shes not wrong. Stahlia doesnt understand the position shes being offered. She couldnt hope for a better role. Well, Im sure she will come around, eventually. I spoke with confidence, after all, I was the protagonist; I was guaranteed to get the girl in the end, and possibly a few more. Irtis frowned, I would not be so sure if I were you. After all, shes special in her own right. Sometimes the smartest people miss the forest for the trees. What now? Come on, I know shes a bit smart, but I am definitely the one on top. Shes just having a bit of a tantrum at the moment. Well, she does not have a choice; the third prince okayed our engagement. She can only come around or learn to deal with things. Irtis shook her head, No, did you not hear her earlier? She knows about you all about you. I pulled back and looked at Irtis eyes. I saw myself reflected in them; I was grimacing. She did mention how charming I was, and even put extra emphasis on the word but how would she know? The song was coming down to its end, and it would soon be time for Irtis and I to part ways, If I was in her shoes, I would not be so confident in my own gifts... Honestly, I cannot stand girls like her, who fail to realize how good they have it, if only they would play their part. Until next time, Lord Dominic. The song ended, and we separated from each other. I was right, that was really interesting I should have father look into the Asmo, I would like to get to know Irtis more. Hell, it might be worth threatening Stahlia with that. I could always arrange to have an engagement with Irtis, and reduce Stahlia to my concubine The more I thought about it, the better that idea sounded. Irtis seems to be immune to my ability as well, so shes basically just a better Stahlia, seeing as she actually recognizes me. I felt a smile creeping out onto my face. I should go and tell Stahlia all about this meeting. I bet shell come around and be begging me not to break off our engagement. There was something though, something nagging me in the back of my mind. What was it Irtis said? About being in Stahlias shoes and not trusting in her own gifts? And that Stahlia knows about me When, when did I first notice Stahlia had changed a bit? I had thought that Stahlia had become cold around the meeting with Ferris. But it didnt sound like that it sounded like shes been feeling this way for a while I traced back my memories as best I could. I feel like like Im missing something major I meandered aimlessly around the social floor. Occasionally, I would be approached by one of the other young nobles, but I brushed them off. I think the first time Stahlias behavior really changed was shortly before we went to Ang. I accidentally called her a Tsundere out loud and after that, she seemed almost to become conscious of her tsun behavior Like she had recognized the word. My world came crashing down as I stopped my pacing. Stahlia, is like me? And she knows shes like me. She didnt tell me? But thats all the more reason for us to be together! If she would work with me, we could probably have the whole kingdom to ourselves It was infuriating. If she was like me, she should be able to see how special and lucky she was, to have been engaged to the only person who would be capable of understanding her. This Now that I knew, I wanted her even more. If only to have someone who understood me. But she doesnt understand. I need to make her understand. Thats what Irtis was getting at, I think. I smiled to myself and began planning how I should go about getting her to understand the position she was in. Smiling to myself, I began to move around the floor, trying to find her. However, as I walked about, my smile began to fade. She still isnt back yet Both Edith and Stahlia had seemingly disappeared, probably together since Sarala was still here. I know those two are friends, but what would they be discussing in private at a gathering like this? They should be out socializing, its a social after all. Going behind closed doors could start rumors A dark thought came up from the corner of my mind. Could it be, that Stahlia is making a serious effort to get away from me? I had thought that the incident with Ferris had merely been her jumping at an opportunity, but was it possible that she was attempting to make inroads with Duke Claurence through Edith? Right. My ability might not work on you, but it does work on Edith. Ill have her tell me everything next time I meet her. Ideally, Ill have you with me too Stahlia, so that you can witness your schemes falling apart around your head! Unfortunately, the rest of the evening was spoiled for me, as I couldnt shake off my smoldering anger. Wentee, Six Years Old, Second Month of 948 - Shortly Before the School Social Stali, is there anyone in the next room? Whispering to my ever-present companion, I advanced slowly down the hallway. I wasnt often allowed to go out on missions; Mr. Five said I was still too young, and too important to risk like that. It was a bit frustrating, I wanted to be useful to him, but if that was how he felt, then I would abide. No Wentee, its clear. Trusting in the words of my companion, I moved into the next room. This was the residence of a minor government official, I didnt know the specifics other than the fact that he was in the first princes faction, and that I was supposed to send him to Mortis. That was one benefit of Mr. Five being so protective of me; I really did not like killing, so being placed in a position where I could avoid doing so was great. Stali didnt share my qualms though, as evidenced by the body slumped against the wall; the room had evidently not been clear when she first slipped into it. As always, one clean strike through the neck. I wonder how she handles it? Our methodology had been worked out by this point, so there was little use in me worrying; I would often distract the target while Stali killed them from behind. We might be stronger and more trained, but we were still young. Still, I need to be able to do it myself. I might have to go out without her at some point in the future not being able to kill would be bad. Together, the two of us approached the door at the end of this small room. It was a sort of waiting area of a reception room I guessed, a small space separating the targets bedroom from the hallway outside. Taking a deep breath, I nodded to Stali and pushed the door open. The target was fast asleep, Stali had been quick and quiet with the guard. Readying her blade, my companion approached the lump in the bed, Wait At my hissed whisper, Stali stopped and looked at me curiously, Youre going to try? You dont have to, you know, Ill always be here to do it for you. Pursing my lips and setting my jaw, I shook my head, You dont know that. Im the only one who always gets sent out in a team. I doubt that will last forever. Stali shrugged and handed me the dagger. Approaching the bed, I climbed up on it quickly and quietly, doing my best not to disturb the man. Looking down at him, I raised the dagger. Right, now I just have to bring it down, the poison will ensure it works I hesitated. I always hesitated. This was not the first time I had attempted to take out our target myself, but I was never able to go through with it, Haaa. At my sigh, I felt Stali come up behind me and grasp my hands with her own, Its alright. We can do it together, like sisters. Stali guided my hands down in a quick rapid motion, and the blade pierced the back of our target. He gave a lurch and a gasp, but the paralyzing poison worked fast and he wasnt able to call out. Stali pulled out the blade and cleaned it off while I sat, staring at my shaking hands. There, thats done. How are you feeling Wentee? That was the first time you were holding the knife with me. Looking up, I saw Stali gazing at me, a look of concern clearly written on her face, I I dont know. I dont feel any different Stali nodded, Right? Once you get the hang of it, its no big deal. Come on, we should get out before someone comes. Together we slipped out of the building and began making our way back to the headquarters building. Another unique aspect of our position was how Mr. Five always had us file our reports to him in person. We ran, as I was staring at Stalis back. She was always ahead of me, and I was always behind her. I have to catch up, so I can be more useful to Mr. Five, and repay him for saving me. With such thoughts in my head, we arrived back at the headquarters building. Letting me in, Stali gently shut the hidden door. Most people were sleeping now, but we needed to be careful all the same. Moving quickly down the halls of the compound, we soon arrived outside of Mr. Fives office. I raised my hand to knock but froze when I heard his voice. No, Sitri. Im telling you that she got through it; your plan failed and, in the aftermath, has set back mine. Now, Stahlia is actively seeking a way out of her engagement, if her recent actions are anything to go by. You are responsible, you will fix it. You dont have the authority to order me anymore, now that Lady Asmodea is back. Fives voice went low, Would you like to test that theory? My plans are to her benefit as well; she will side with me. What do you want me to do? Incite Dominic. Most of the brats skills are from your lineage anyways. Getting him to act impulsively should be easy enough. Stahlia cannot be allowed to break off this engagement, this is the perfect opportunity to bind one of the champions to our faction; she has the potential to become the Tenth Seat, as you well know. You know, I almost feel sorry for the boy. Does he even know the truth? Dont dally, go and clean up your mistake. With that, one of two presences vanished from the room. Who was that? It sounded like a woman? Someone messed up one of Mr. Fives plans Stahlia? This person is trying to go against Mr. Five Doesn''t she know better? No, she probably doesnt, not many people actually know about him Still, her name sounds familiar kind of like Stali. Looking over at my ever-present companion, I was struck by how sad she appeared. Stali was looking at me with a face stricken by longing. Before I could ask her what was wrong though, Mr. Five called out from inside the room, Well? Are you going to come in, or just waste my time? He was already sounding irritated, so I hurriedly put the thoughts out of my head and entered the room to give my report. Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 - Right After Crossroads Part Two Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 27 Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris auf Drakas, 12 Gender: Female Class/Level: Custom Class, 20 | Custom Class, 1 Experience: 0/34000 Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Title: Goblin Slayer*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] Prodigy III*, Eidetic Memory II*, Stealth V, Charm Resistance II*, Flexible I*, || Monster Handling III*, Dagger Fighting V*, Sword Fighting II*, Unarmed Fighting IV*, Alchemy Correction IV*, Teaching II*, Mana Efficiency III*, Fire Magic III*, Water Magic II*, Earth Magic II*, Wind Magic II*, Ice Magic V Skills 5/5: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features]*, Finesse Fighting*, Blue Blooded*, Kinetic Perception*, Mana Crystallization*, || Language Proficiency[Central Human]*, Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Fighting Style[Drakan Style]*, Blessing of Winter* Talents Experience: [+] I sat cross-legged on the edge of my bed. After reliving the meeting with Prince Rupert, I was confident I had made the correct choice to enter an engagement with him. Things were going to get very complicated in the near future, but once we got through that, I would get Rosial back and would even be in a position to work on some other things. I hadnt originally had any plans to address the more fundamental issues of this kingdom, but as Queen, I would be able to do so, if I wanted to. Eidetic Memory is about to level up too. Only five more talent experience I could probably get that fairly quickly by just reviewing my memories but I didnt see the point in doing so. It would level up next week anyway, and I had more important things to attend to right now. Turning my attention to Jacqueline, who was working on my clothes for tomorrows entrance ceremonies, I activate my Divine Eyes. According to Rupert, Jacqueline probably had some kind of Demon Parasite in her, that had been funneling information back to Five. This was a major problem, since I had told Jacqueline so much about myself. I dont regret telling her, she obviously doesnt know about the parasite, or she would have told me. But, it would be extremely detrimental if Five knows about all of that, as well as the plans Jacqueline and I have been discussing. It also meant that I couldnt rely on Jacqueline or divulge to her the news about my change of engagement. Moving my eyes over her back, I traced the lines of her mana-light. I had looked at her before, but never that close. I had no idea if I would be able to see the worm or not; I hadnt detected anything when I appraised her prior to granting her [Charm Immunity]. And I dont want to think about the implications of Five knowing I can grant skills I didnt see anything, not at first. But just as I was about to give up, I noticed a discrepancy. Normally, the light followed the circulatory system. But on Jacqueline, there was a small space where the light seemed warped and jumbled. Not any larger than a thumb, but it was as if the light was avoiding this part of her. It was situated right at the base of her spine, where Rupert had told me his men had found the parasites in the shadows they had defeated. So she has one then Five knows everything. I pursed my lips, this wasnt good. I need to get rid of that thing, but as soon as I do, Five will know Ive done it. Then he would know that I know about their existence of them. That would put Rupert in danger Of course, any actions I took would be putting the two of us in danger, the same for any he took. But I would prefer to minimize that danger until the last possible minute. The first thing I should do is contact Rupert, and tell him Ive confirmed the parasites existence though I would have to explain how Ive done so I wasnt yet ready to entrust Rupert with the knowledge of my ability to use the Divine Element. It was possible he already knew, thanks to his knowledge about the champions. But if he knew, I think he would have asked about it to confirm if I could or not I wanted to trust him, and it may be better for me to let go of the edge of the pool and try to swim, but I struggled to bring myself to do that. Reaching up, I rubbed at my temples, the circular reasoning was beginning to give me a headache. At the end of the day, I only have two options; trust him or dont. There is no in-between. Not with our contract. I either tell him everything, or Ill be playing this game of secrets for the rest of my life. I had thought I could confide in Jacqueline, but for the time being that was no longer an option. I could technically confide in Claire, but giving Felicity knowledge of my secrets would put her at risk. Sure, I could order her not to tell anyone anything, but that didnt mean the information couldnt be extracted through other means. It was better to leave her, and by extension Claire, a bit in the dark. Pursing my lips, I frowned. Im letting the anxiety get to me. I made a literally life-changing decision today. I should give it a few days to sort things out and figure out how I feel. Jacqueline picked that moment to turn and address me, Lady Stahlia, something is bothering you. I forced myself not to grimace and adopted a small smile, No, nothing is bothering me in particular. Just thinking about the entrance ceremony tomorrow. Ill be seeing the king for the second time, and its a bit worrying to me. Even if I do know how to avoid his voice. Jacqueline looked at me with a bit of melancholy, I would like to say I have known you long enough to tell when you are hiding something, but I can not be sure anymore still, when you are ready to talk, I will be here. What the hell? I dont deserve you. Honestly, with how Ive been, and all the mistakes Ive made, I dont deserve any of my few friends and allies. I had to blink my eyes rapidly to avoid starting to cry. Apparently, the meeting with Rupert had taken a lot more out of me than I thought it did because I soon found myself waking up to Jacqueline gently shaking me. Lady Stahlia, you need to get up or you will be late for the entrance ceremony. Right, thats today. I wonder if Rupert has told the king about the result of our meeting yesterday? That thought caused me a great deal of anxiety, and I immediately regretted having it as my false smile started to twitch a bit at the corner. Shrugging off my anxiety, I slipped out of bed and Jacqueline began to dress me. Right, even if Rupert did tell him, its not like the king would make a big deal out of it at the entrance ceremony. Besides, given how secret and scheming the whole affair is, the odds of Rupert actually telling him, are low. Bordering on nonexistent. So assured, I finished being dressed, had a quick breakfast, and moved down to the carriages. Predictably, Dominic had already left. He had been a bit odd after I got back from my meeting with Rupert, staring at me with more intensity than usual. It was a bit disconcerting; though, in the end, nothing seemed to have come from it. Still, this is going to be a long couple of months Before long, I arrived at the entrance ceremony. This time, I did not send Jacqueline to fetch Ferris, doing so would only aggravate things further and ideally, I would be able to lie low for the next few months until things were officially broken off. Though I doubted they would, considering I had pretty blatantly told Dominic I knew about his charm abilities. He didnt bring them up but the way he was staring at me, he realized that I know. Its the only explanation. I got out of my carriage on my own, though it didnt cause much of a stir among the few people who were there to watch us; after the show I had made of the social me being unescorted was probably expected. Heading inside, I spotted Dominic in the group of fourth years. My own allies were lacking, as both Edith and Sarala were absent per Ruperts orders. I need to do better at making friends and allies this year though if things kick off with Five, I might not have much time A part of me was saying I should just grant Edith and Sarala both charm resistance. I mean, Five already knows I can do that, via Jacqueline Is there really any point in hiding it from Rupert? I found a place to stand and wait for Percius to commence the opening ceremonies; I was curious how he was doing, as I had not heard from nor seen him since our meeting. To pass the time, I turned my attention to the girl nearest me, a barons daughter by the color of her family crest. Before I could even say something, however, she shirked away a bit. As soon as she noticed my attention, she retreated? I really did make big waves going against one of the highest-positioned count families so publicly I felt someone watching me then, and shifted slightly to place them into the peripheral of my vision. It was Dominic, watching me with an ill-hidden smirk. I see you arranged this then. I felt my hands shaking and clenched my fists while forcing my face not to show any of the seething anger I was feeling. How petty can you be? I could not wait to see the look on his face when he found out I had traded him in for a prince. Students Welcome to this, the first day of another year Percius voice boomed out, carrying over the halls and quieting some of the chatter. He looks haggard like hes been wasting away these past few months I felt a pang of sympathy for Percius as I watched him. His gaze seemed to linger on me for a moment as he surveyed the crowd, but I couldnt tell if it was just my imagination or not. In the wake of the tragedy that has befallen our kingdom, it is my duty to remind you all that you are the future of this kingdom. Percius went on to lead us through the same vows we had sworn the year previous, and then announced the kings entrance. King Drakas came out on stage, his presence was just as commanding as I remembered it to be. The first years began to murmur excitedly until the king raised his hand to silence them. Children. It is with a heart filled with sadness that I stand here before you. His voice carried clearly, despite the lack of magic enhancement. The same charisma I remember. Tucking my hand into a pocket that was hidden in the fold of my dress, I clutched the ring Rupert had given me. I wasnt sure why I did so, I simply did. Sadness, not because of the death of my son, but because of his weakness, his failure. I knew from his speech last year that the king had a fairly harsh view of things, so while not unexpected, I still had to feel a bit sorry for the late prince. It is with that in mind, that I have chosen to take this chance to make an announcement. A ripple ran through the room at that; the king making an announcement in this setting was fairly unprecedented. Normally, he would inform the dukes, and they would, in turn, disseminate the words of the king to the counts and barons in their faction. Making an announcement here? To the academy students? The only reason I can think of to do that is if its about a royal matter that is immediately relevant to the student body something like I am naming my son, Third Prince Rupert von Drakas, the Crown Prince. Ahead of his elder brother. Furthermore, he will be taking a wife from among the young noblewomen gathered in this room today As he spoke, his eyes traveled across the assembled girls and young women. Much like Percius, I could swear that his gaze paused on me. Though this time I didnt think I was imagining it. So, Rupert did tell him, or he found out some other way Rupert told me I was able to speak with the authority of the king now I could feel my smile starting to twitch as the room exploded into excited chatter. More so among the unmarried girls than any other group. He probably was magically made aware of the engagement as soon as I signed my name to that contract. The game was rigged from the start. But naming Rupert your successor like this? What purpose does that serve!? As the king left, Percius hurriedly took to the stage. Based on his reaction, I could tell that this had been a surprise to him as well. An unplanned, political landscape-changing announcement. Looking around the room, I spotted Gustav. He shook his head slightly, signaling that he was in the dark as well. Ill need to have a conversation with Rupert, or at least Gustav. The King obviously did that on purpose, and we need to figure out how it changes things And I need to tell Rupert everything, I cant afford not to have Edith and Sarala here to act as allies and support My resolve made, I stilled my twitching smile, and faced the stage. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons Not A Chapter – Announcement (OLD) Psycholor So, people who are in the discord will already be somewhat aware but over the past few weeks there have been some issues going on in my personal life. While it has all since been resolved, Im finding that I dont have the motivation to write. I know what to write, and in general how to go about doing that but when I sit down to actually execute, I lose the motivation after ~200 words. This all culminated on Saturday when I missed a chapter release for Demon Queen. Since I started writing in mid-November, I have not missed a scheduled release, and have written in excess of 350,000 words. After some consideration, I believe that Ive finally started to reach a point where Im burning out. Combined with the stress from the personal life drama, the issue is being exacerbated. After much consideration, Ive decided to take a short break before things get so bad I want to quit. Both Tricked Into A NewLife, God Must Be Screwing With Me! And I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen Of Demons are going to go on a two-week break; The first week is for me to completely step away and just not have it in my head, and the second week is to rebuild a bit of backlog. This is a good time for Tricked to take a break, since Volume Three just ended, but I do feel bad for Demon Queen, since Im leaving it on a bit of a cliffhanger; Ill release the missed chapter of Demon Queen sometime in the next week, but further chapters for either story wont resume until Friday, March 18th. To get a notification when chapters resume, you can follow my Scribble Hub Profile or join the discord server. https://discord.gg/qTUNW6HJ6h 4-1: First Day Part One The Story so Far: Its been eleven years since the death of George. I go by Stahlia now, and for reasons we wont get into I wound up changing teams. It took me some time, but Ive finally come completely to terms with losing my little buddy. I even managed to become a bona fide princess! Thats skipping ahead a bit. Lets see I guess the first major event to recount would be my sister getting kidnapped. I was a real dunce about that, though I wouldnt have been able to see it coming at least I could have known that the church couldnt be trusted. Then again, one of their twelve gods is Antenora, goddess of being a cunt-bitc- Ahem, sorry, goddess of plots, deceit, and traitors. Following that, I was shoved into an arranged marriage and shipped off to the Royal Academy. It wasnt all bad though, as it turned out, my maid was a member of the same organization that kidnapped my sister. Though given recent developments and me learning about the literal bug shes carrying around I cant exactly confide in her anymore I had just told her I was ready to trust her implicitly! I even told her about my status as a reincarnation. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it seems that my enemies were already aware of that. Though I have no idea how they found out about it. Probably one of the gods told them, or something like that. After all, it seems like the gods just want to screw with me; one of them even sent me on a nice little suicide mission that resulted in nearly half a year of trauma. Its a damn good thing I have the mind and memories of an-at-this-point-thirty-something, if I was really just an eleven-year-old girl I probably would have snapped and gone insane. Then there was the Goblin Army that tried to attack my home village. Thankfully I was able to help repel them, though the way I did it was kinda sorta just a tiny bit extremely flashy. I ended up catching the eye of the up-and-coming third prince. After he got me in a room alone with him and his aide he proceeded to dump a bunch of royal secrets on me and followed up with a marriage proposal. After some consideration, I decided to take him up on that offer, since it would solve a lot of my current problems and put me in a very good position for the ultimate completion of my goals. Of course, that comes with certain obligations, and I wouldnt be able to back out of this one when I was done with my own goals, but Ill cross that bridge when I come to it. Things are starting to heat up though, and Im getting closer to saving my sister from the clutches of the kingdom. Only, it turns out shes actually being held by a Demon. Not just any demon either, one of the Nine Hell Kings; basically, this worlds version of a Demon Lord. Thankfully my new fiance is down with bringing down Fifth Seat, King of Wrath Satan as well. Now I just need to figure out how to get the bug out of my maid, the Rohypnol out of my second and third best friends, and somehow brew a potion that can regrow missing body parts. All while plotting the downfall of a Demon Lord whose been alive for at least a thousand years. I refuse to rely on those jerkwads, I mean those gods, either. But hey, thats just my NewLife! Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 I was presently in Gustavs hidden office; according to my class schedule, I was supposed to be receiving lessons in Advanced Blue Magic at this time. As it turns out, I was the only student enrolled in the class, and the class would be held in Gustavs offices. Rowell was just outside the door to the main office, in the hall. He had protested that decision, but Gustav had run him around in a circle, stating that I would be learning restricted spells and that Rowell did not have the authority to learn them. For every protestation Rowell put forward, Gustav countered. When Rowell raised his hands in defeat, I honestly felt a bit sorry for him. He was nominally supposed to be spying on me for Five, but hadnt managed to accomplish much of that. Though now that I know about the worm, I imagine hes only actually here to let me know Im being watched, and throw me off the scent. The question is, does he know thats all hes here for? As soon as we entered the hidden room, Gustav immediately turned and took a knee, My Lady. I must apologize for that man. I would like to have removed him by now, but doing so would tip our hand. I felt my face twitch, Lord Gustav, please do not start treating me like that at least not until things are official please. I really dont want people to start treating me like that for as long as possible. Considering that I had pretty much signed up to eventually be queen, I would have to get over the mentality. But until just a few days ago, Gustav had been my instructor; someone in a position above me. Him kneeling just feels weird. Thankfully, he did not seem to want to press the issue. Very well. If thats how you want to do things, I can accommodate, at least until after the wedding. I nodded my thanks, before getting right to the heart of the matter. I take it that was a surprise for you as well? Gustav grimaced and nodded. Indeed, I suspect his Highness Rupert was likewise unaware; he would have given me some degree of warning if he had known what his father was planning to do. I took the seat that Gustav offered to me, in a way I was grateful that we hadnt stood on protocol and had instead started discussing things right away. I prefer Gustav this way, rather than the hyper formal persona he had when Rupert was present. Leaning forward I pressed for more information, Right, well, do you have any ideas what the King is going for with this? I cant imagine this will go over well with the First Prince and his factions nobles. Frustratingly, Gustav simply shook his head, No, I have no idea. I could only guess; but if I were to do so, I would say that he is probably planning to force Rupert to take action. His Highness King Drakas is well aware that Rupert was the one to kill his own brother and, likewise, he knows about Fives identity. Of course, he also knows that you and Rupert have signed the contract; with all that said, this is likely his way of telling his son to stop moving in the shadows and claim the crown. Lucky you, getting caught up in the Royal Family drama huh? Setting my jaw, a thin irritated smile graced my face as I retorted, Of course, there is nothing I would prefer more than that. My voice was dripping with sarcasm. Nothing ever goes just the way I would like, something or someone always comes in and ruins things. Gustav chuckled, then waved set his hand on a tea kettle. In short order, it started whistling and he added some leaves to steep. As he prepared the drink I began to mentally prepare myself to put everything out in the open. He poured me a cup, and passed it over. After he had taken his own demonstrative sip I raised the cup to my lips and took my own. Once I had set the cup down, Gustav posted a question to me, Do you have any thoughts on removing the influence of the charm from Edith and Sarala? The question surprised me since that was one of the things I had been planning to reveal. Catching the look on my face, Gustav nodded, It seems you do. Are you willing to divulge it to me? If you do not want to, we will continue looking for another method. I see by having Gustav be the one to inquire Rupert is letting me sidestep the contracts compulsion to answer honestly... Why though? I guess hes trying to offer me a bit of freedom? Or showing that he trusts me without the contract? Either way, I was planning to tell Rupert anyways, and chances are he would want to inform Gustav. Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead but this is a world with magic so that doesnt apply. Well, here goes nothing. Yes, I would be able to remove the charm. Or more specifically, I can give them the ability to remove it. Gustavs eyes flashed with interest. What do you mean when you say you can give them the ability to remove it? Some Blood Magic Technique you developed? Some sort of potion that makes them more resilient to outside mana? Something else entirely? I blinked and shook my head while waving a hand to make him stop. I guess the eccentric one is his real personality, given how fast he was talking just now. Once he was calmed, I sat back and crossed my arms. Prince Rupert will keep my secrets because of the contract; you are not bound in the same manner. The light of curiosity faded from his eyes, though not in its entirety. Folding his hands and adopting a serious expression, Gustav nodded, So its something even bigger than that. I will let Rupert know that you need to speak to him privately on the matter. The sudden change in demeanor from rapid-fire-eccentric to stoic noble left me in the dust. Woah, I thought I had just pegged him down as eccentric. Just what is going on with his personality shifts? Its like hes bipolar or something, except that those arent the usual personalities of that disorder I gave him a hard look, trying to figure out which personality was the act. There it is. His hands are trembling a bit, so he clenched them to force the professional appearance, hes actually dying to know but wont press the issue because of loyalty to the prince, and by extension me. So much for treating me like you used to I couldnt help but think of last year, when he had badgered me to learn about calculus. The memory was saddening, and I frowned involuntarily. Thankfully, Gustav was tactful enough to ignore that. Just something else Im leaving behind, no use dwelling on it. No, that would take too long Blood Magic is old, or so I have been told, and it has been theorized that most, if not all, magic originated from it. Gustav adopted a guarded expression and tone, but now that I knew what to look for, I could still make out a few tells that he was now even more curious. Slowly, he asked a question, What are you getting at? I nodded and laid my hand on the table in front of him, Including contract magic, correct? And just who told you that? I know I did not, was it Lord Kell? I shook my head no and smiled grimly, No. As it turns out, Blood Magic used to be the primary magic used by people a long time ago, back when the Hell Kings were still human. Gustav shut his eyes tightly and inhaled slowly before breathing out just as slowly. When he opened his eyes he had lost the majority of the signs of his curiosity. Fixing his eyes on mine, I forced myself to maintain eye contact. After a few moments, he reached out and grabbed my hand. An instant later he released it and I reviewed the new memories I had just acquired. Unlike with Sitri, this negotiation had been fairly quick. Gustav had agreed to keep any secrets I told him, with the sole exception of being allowed to tell Rupert so that he could act as an intermediary for us. I had also agreed to tell him how I knew about the origin of Magic, though that wasnt a big deal to me since I planned on telling him about what had happened with Sitri anyways; he was smart enough that a bit of consideration would lead him to a correct, or at least mostly correct, conclusion anyways. Sitri, the demon I was sorely beaten by in Ang told me that during her age Blood Magic was the predominant form of magecraft, and that chanting did not exist yet. We also entered into a contract to ensure my, Dominics, and Jacquelines escape. That is how I knew Blood Magic contracts existed. After Gustav got over the surprise and shock at learning the next queen had entered a contract with a demon, I spent the next half an hour reviewing the terms of that contract with him. He was, naturally, worried that I would wind up bound in a way that would prove detrimental to the kingdom. Thankfully, since I was bound by yet another contract requiring me to tell him the details regarding how I knew about these things it was easy enough to convince him of my honesty regarding the terms. I was honest as well, going over the terms word for word, and describing my actions immediately afterward. These contracts really are convenient, though I need to be careful not to abuse them. I could easily wind up binding myself in such a way that I cant move freely. Ive been able to avoid doing that so far, but it is a definite possibility. Unless its of the utmost importance, I should avoid sealing agreements with magic. Once the air had been cleared and it had been made clear that I had not sold my soul to a literal devil, it was time for the big reveal. There was really no way to ease into something this big, so I opted for the blunt approach, I can grant people skills. I gave Jacqueline [Charm Immunity], and that got rid of Dominics taint on her. Gustav froze and was silent for a full minute before finally sinking back into his chair, You you are telling me you can step into the domain of the twelve, and guide the purpose of one of the races? Do you understand the ramifications of such a claim? I bobbed my head up and down, Yes, why do you think I went so far as to ask you to bind yourself with Blood Magic? And it is not that I can step into their domain. According to an Oracle the church received a couple of weeks ago, I literally became the thirteenth god for a few moments when I granted the skill to Jacqueline. That revelation caused Gustav to start rubbing his temples vigorously. I waited patiently for him to recover, I knew that this was probably going to be the result of sharing this with him. Finally, he nodded a couple times and sat up, The church received an Oracle? I assume you learned the details from your friend Sana, was her name? Can you tell me what you heard? They have not communicated anything to the king that I am aware of. I guess hes going with the approach of just not thinking about it. I suppose that makes sense, Im basically shattering all of his preconceptions about how the world works right now. Though I still need to inform about the cost of granting a skill, if its something I have to do for two people Ill be down and out for probably a month or two not that I have a sample size large enough to know for sure Hell, I didnt even know if I could grant the skill to Edith and Sarala. Jacqueline had been over level forty and had a decent quantity of Life Points for me to spend. It was possible that Edith and Sarala wouldnt have enough. I had a theory that I could spend additional time of my own life to make up the difference, but without a test case, I had no way to be sure. As such, while I was willing to give up a few years for my two friends, especially when I knew I would desperately need their support, I had no way to know if it was even possible. There was also the fact that I would age significantly while in my comma. For Jacqueline, I had grown a year or so physically, and I was still young enough we could hide it and pass it off as a growth spurt. But if I suddenly grew to be sixteen or eighteen, or even older, it would be a lot harder to hide. As such, me giving them the skill was a definite last resort. Based on the clock in the corner, there was about half an hour of time left in our class. I would need to make sure to at least tell him that there were restrictions, and that I couldnt be counted on for something insane, like augmenting the skills of an army. In theory, it should be obvious that exercising the ability of a goddess would have a cost associated with it. But given the worldview challenging magnitude of the ability, it was possible that Gustav and Rupert would arrive at the conclusion I could do anything. Which is certainly not the case. I can do a lot and am certainly special, but I have limits. I also want to avoid using my authority as much as possible, since the gods definitely noticed when I did; they couldnt have made an oracle about a thirteenth if they hadnt. I can be almost certain that if they dont already know it was me, they will figure it out if I keep using it. Yes, the oracle detailed that Asmodea, Queen of Lust has advented, and that a thirteenth god was born for a moment. As I said a moment ago, I am reasonably certain that last part was referring to me; the timeline matches up with when I gave Jacqueline the skill. This time Gustav didnt take too long to respond, and simply absorbed the information before nodding. I see, we were already aware of the new Hell King, and you told me about the goddess thing already. So the only takeaway is that the church is not telling his Highness King Drakas. Falling silent, Gustav began to stroke his chin in thought, Which does not bode well; we are already contending with an infiltration, to have the church moving in the shadows as well Please, maintain your connection to Miss Sana as best you can. While only an apprentice, the fact that she was present for an Oracle should elevate her standing somewhat. Well, I dont exactly like the thought of using Sana like that, but this is better than you trying to tell me to cut off ties with her because the church is dangerous. There is no way in hell I would go along with that, this way I can work towards shielding her. At the end of the day, I probably need to get her out of the church somehow. I do not appreciate being told to use my friendships as political tools, but I can see what you are getting at As long as she does not wind up at risk, I will follow along. Me from a few months ago would have whined a bit and gone along with the request begrudgingly. The new me was walking her own path, and I would make sure that I was on equal standing with Rupert, at least as much as I was able, at the end of the day the Queen was second fiddle. In some cases even third fiddle. Gustav gave his assent, That is all I ask, I am sure his Highness Prince Rupert will appreciate your willingness to work with us. Not wanting to let things fall into an awkward silence, I opted to take this opportunity to roll things back to a previous topic, Regarding that; do not get any ideas about having me make an army Granting skills is, well, costly for me. It is an absolute last resort. Gustav looked loathe to dive into that topic, but reading the seriousness writ in my expression, he begrudgingly asked me the details, and I spent the remainder of the meeting detailing the repercussions I had experienced, both when I first accessed Rosins status menu, and when I had actually exercised my authority on Jacqueline. As the class period came to a close, Gustave stood and helped me up from my seat, Thank you for being so open with me and by extension his highness; he will be pleased that his effort to afford you some privacy in the face of the contract was responded to with your trust. It seemed that the eccentric was sated for now, as he had dropped back into the exceptionally formal mode. Thats really disconcerting that he can switch between two extremes like that. Still, it was just something I would need to get used to. Heading out into the hall, Rowell fell into step behind me. He was doing his best to avoid displaying his irritation at being left out. I honestly need to do something about him. Its getting annoying to constantly have to find excuses to ditch him I made a mental note to consider a way of ridding myself of my third shadow, though whatever I decided on would likely tip my hand and change the status quo from relative non-aggression to active rebellion, or at least active resistance, given my new position whether or not my future actions could be considered rebellion anymore was debatable. I did have the tacit approval of the newly anointed Crown Prince after all. My next class was annoying in multiple ways. For one, it was on the opposite side of the Academy grounds. For another, it was my Swordsmanship class. That meant that Dominic was going to be there. I hadnt interacted with him that much the day before, so I was unsure how the announcement about Rupert purportedly planning to pick his fianc would affect our relationship. Hopefully, it wouldnt. But these things hardly ever went the way I wanted them to. With a heart filled with trepidation, I made my way out onto the training field and to the group of boys, or rather, young men at this point in their lives. For the most part. There was one of them that was still a boy, and I didnt mean Dominic acting childish. There was a physical boy going through introductions. More specifically, the other students were introducing themselves to him. After all, Ferris von Febligi had the highest social status out of all those present. I paused a short distance away, I needed a moment to compose myself before stepping onto this new battlefield. But really, skipping straight into a fourth-year swordsmanship course? I get that hes the son of Duke Febligi and that house is renowned for their martial prowess, but isnt this a bit much? The thought occurred that he was probably here because of me. After all, he had made no secret of his intentions to get me away from the third prince faction. It was easily conceivable that he, or rather his father, would leverage the reputation of his house to place him in a higher-level course. The fact that it was the same course as myself was most certainly not a coincidence, there were several other classes for this year he could have joined. Thankfully he wont be so easily able to skip ahead in magic, math, or alchemy. Hurray for small victories While I had never really intended to remain with him, I had still been around Dominic long enough to be able to read him a bit by his body language. While he was smiling as he greeted Ferris, I got the distinct impression that he was furious, as well as a bit agitated. A strange combination of emotions, and one that signaled how hellish the next few months would be. Maybe the kings announcement will accelerate Ruperts timetable one can hope at least. Having properly resigned myself, I closed the remaining distance and took a position on the periphery of the class; I did not want to get in the middle of what I was sure was coming. And now hes coming this way. Damnit, cant you take the hint? Sure enough, Ferris had made his way over to me as soon as my presence had become apparent to the rest of the class. As he approached, a hush fell over the other students, save for a few whispers and a couple of them that made concealed gestures to at their neighbor. Of course you would all be overly interested in this. After the incidents the past couple of weeks There was the third party present that was also interested, and I chanced a look in its direction. Dominic had fixed me with an unfriendly glare, but was remaining a bit away from me. So hes still going for that neglect bullshit hmmm? Fine. Im not going to deal with this crap for the next few months, if you want to be a child, then Ill be a bitch. I waited patiently for Ferris to finish his walk and then performed my greeting. A pleasure to once again meet you, Lord Ferris. Punctuating my words with a deep curtsy and a flat blatantly fake smile. The impression was that I was paying him only the courtesy required by our different stations. It was a far cry from what one would expect a young lady who was being courted to do. But it was exactly the response one would expect from an engaged young lady who was being poached and was not happy about it. Ferris faltered briefly and, out of the corner of my vision, I saw a look of surprise cross Dominics face. What do you expect? I am engaged after all. Just not to you, not that Ill be telling you that. After all, my fiance wants me to act like things are normal between you and me. If you werent reacting so childishly, I would have spent the next few months slowly taking a distance and working to reduce our contact so the coming announcement is less painful for you. But since youre acting the way you are, I see no reason not to add more and more superglue to this relationship. That way when I rip it off later it hurts like hell. Was I acting petty? Absolutely. At this point though, I honestly did not care one wit. Ferris pulled my attention back to him as he gave his return greeting, Indeed, it is a pleasure, Lady Stahlia. I look forward to seeing the measure of your ability, I have heard some amazing things after all. The bow he gave me was not the half-bow that he should have done given the station, but rather a full bow. That indicated that he was still intent on pursuing me. Would it be laying it on too thick if I flat out rejected him here? No, given how I acted at the wake, I think I should be able to get away with being a tiny bit blunt. Lord Ferris, while I appreciate your formality, I do feel it is unbecoming of your station for one such as myself. He gave me a funny look, but didnt offer a retort, simply stepping back after a moment and slightly dipping his head by way of apology. I had, in no uncertain terms, told him to stop being so familiar with me. On the surface, it sounded simply like a gentle push to open some distance between us. However given the context of the events over the past few weeks, it took on a much more direct meaning of Im engaged, back off. As Ferris took a few steps back, Dominic fell in to take his place at my side. He was barely managing to conceal an enormously pleased expression, and I flashed a smile of my own briefly in his direction. It was a genuine smile, brought on by the thought of the payback that was coming for him in the near future. It was a bit sadistic for me, especially without [Cold Hearted] active, but I was just done with his shit. The more I thought about it, the more I grew irritated with myself for worrying about hurting him when I signed the contract with Rupert in the first place. It was a big change for only a couple of days, but I chalked it up to having realized that I was free. So to speak; of course I wasnt free in the truest sense, but there was a massive difference between an engagement arranged and an engagement willingly entered. Even if love wasnt involved in either. The voice of our instructor boomed out across the gathered students, calling for class to begin, Alright you lot, form up. Its the first day of the new school year. You all know what that means. Before we get started though, Stahlia! At the sound of my name I stiffened; in my experience, it was never pleasant when a teacher singled me out and for various reasons, they seemed to keep doing it. Hiding the irritation I was feeling at being called on, I answered crisply, Yes, instructor? He nodded at my prompt response and then dropped a nice fat bombshell on the class, I was told what you were involved with over the break. You will be sparring with me this year so that you dont accidentally kill someone. The rest of you, pair up! Yea I guess that makes sense. The level advantage will be a bit large at the moment. Though I wish you had just said I over-leveled them instead of being all dramatic. I doubt I would mess up to the point of killing someone. Still, while his method had been rough it was a welcome suggestion, this way I would avoid any awkward happenings. I stepped back and away from the other students; in a way this was similar to last year since the teacher had been giving me private lessons for the first few months until I had managed to catch up to the other students. Glancing over the pairs, it seemed that things were moving fairly predictably, with people forming up according to friendships or healthy rivalries. Except for the predictable two. Dominic had paired himself up with Ferris. It was plainly obvious what was going on with that pairing. Great, and I suppose the instructor isnt going to separate them, is he? Sure enough, the instructor didnt seem to see a problem with Ferris and Dominic sparring with each other. Really? The sons of the noble heads of the First and Third Prince factions are being allowed to spar? With swords? There is no way this ends well! For a moment a dark thought flashed through my mind, that perhaps Ferris would accidentally solve my Dominic problem a few months early. I quickly grabbed hold of that thought and crushed it with a shiver. It was frankly scary how quickly my mind had gone in that direction. Why though? Everything is going fine now that Ive solved the charm and the engagement problems is it a sort of rebound? Im growing to hate him as the influence of the charm fades? Then the contract with Rupert may have served as a catalyst Pulling me back to reality, the instructor had shouted Begin!. The first match, Dominic vs. Ferris, had started before I could interject about how bad of an idea it was. Psycholor Well, I''m back! If any of you lost money because of that, sorry not sorry. I really have no intentions of dropping the series. Demon Queen will also be returning tomorrow, though in that case, the missed chapter is going to stay missed. So, Stahlia is starting to come into her own a bit, though she seems a bit angsty now, especially where Dominic is concerned. It wasn''t my intention to come back with a two-parter, but the meeting with Gustav ran a bit long. Apologies for that, the next chapter will wrap up the first day of the new school year. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-2 First Day Part Two Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948. Begin! at the instructors shout nothing happened. It was honestly a bit of a letdown. Instead of rushing each other, both Dominic and Ferris just stood in place holding their stances. Obviously, I knew what they were doing, each was waiting for the other to make the first move. It was a bit surprising; given Dominics recent childishness I had expected he might rush in screaming some fanciful battle cry. Did my apparent acceptance mollify him a bit more than I thought? Or does he actually respect Ferris? Either option was likely, and I couldnt decide which I would have bet on. After several seconds of waiting, it was Ferris who made the first move; stepping forward one pace, he closed to just inside Dominics range before dropping immediately back out of it. Trying to bait a cheap swing, Dominic wont fall for that though. Indeed, Dominic only reacted by adjusting his stance slightly to one more appropriate for defense against sudden strikes. This this is awful. Glancing around, the other students seemed to share my opinion. Our class was largely, and by that I mean entirely, composed of members of Ruperts faction so all of them had been rooting for Dominics swift victory. The fact that he was being forced to take things this slow and carefully was upsetting the onlookers, though they knew better than to do something as banal as jeer. Just as I was beginning to wonder if anything would happen, Dominic seemingly had enough and made the first actual attack. Swinging his training blade down and around to catch Ferris side, he pivoted off the swing and around to the back. Ferris caught the sword on his own, and attempted a counter after sliding his own blade off Dominics. Dominic ducked under Ferris sword and attempted a jab with his elbow that was easily avoided. Transitioning into a rapid exchange of blows, the two of them pushed each other up and down the field. This went from nothing to one of the most intense fights Ive witnessed. A quick glance around showed that most of the others couldnt actually follow much of what was going on. The instructor and I both could, but out of the remaining students, only a couple of them seemed able to keep up. I knew Dominic was around this level, but Ferris is three years younger than him, just how intense is the Febligi martial training? That couldnt be the whole story though, as I witnessed Ferris leap into the air and come down with his blade being driven ahead by his weight and gravity. A ten-year-old shouldnt be able to move like that. Not unassisted. Of course, he was being assisted by the levels and stats. Though to be able to keep up with Dominic I wonder what Ferris level is? Honestly, the longer I watched the fight the more I wanted to appraise Ferris. Jumping into the air isnt a smart choice, and Dominic capitalized on that, but Ferris brought his sword around with an impressive acrobatic maneuver and used it to adjust both his own momentum and deflect Dominics blade; by using that same blade as a fulcrum. Dominic has higher base stats than Ferris; his muscles are stronger and more developed since hes matured physically. Ferris had a clear advantage in technical ability, and his level was definitely higher. The higher multiplier to his base strength from his stats and smart blade work was the only thing keeping him in the fight. But its over, Dominic won. Ferris might have higher stat multipliers, but he was also burning Stamina a lot faster. His acrobatics might look flashy and be hard to track but Dominic was able to keep up, if only just. With that hurdle cleared, he only had to play it safe and he would win. As if by some spoken agreement, the two of them leaped backward in unison, and as I had thought would be the case, Ferris was breathing more heavily than Dominic. You, why dont you try fighting like a man? A murmur ran through the class at Dominics comment. He had intended it to be overheard too if the volume was anything to go by. This doesnt bode well Chancing a glance at the instructor, it seemed he was intent on letting things play out, if he had any intention of stopping them I couldnt see it. At Dominics verbal jab, Ferris cocked his head to the side curiously, Because I am a boy? Pff! I couldnt help it, his retort was so completely accurate, and so in character for someone who didnt care for the usual noble theatrics. I laughed once. Of course everyone overheard, including Dominic. His face immediately darkened, and an ominous heavy aura seemed to come down over the field. Shit, I just had to go and laugh What is he going to do now? A boy? Yea, thats right. Youre just a boy. A little boy. Thats all you are. His words were mumbled, but they carried quite well in the silence that had followed my screwup. Ferris tensed, and readied his sword. HE seemed to recognize the situation he was in, as his demeanor had lost its playfulness. Looking at him now, I couldnt see Ferris anymore; I saw a warrior facing death. AAUUGH!! Dominic let out a roar and charged straight at Ferris, any trace of his form seemed to be gone. On a hunch, I pumped mana into my brain and optic nerves, slowing my perception of time to a crawl, then I engaged my divine eyes. Dominics sickening mana light was focused on his limbs, his core was nearly dark while his arms and legs were glowing like a roaring furnace. Compared to my own light, his was at least twice as bright. What did he do!? Ferris wont be able to avoid a blow that strong or fast! In my world of slow time, I saw Ferris beginning to adopt an evasive stance; he wasnt going to try to block or deflect. Too slow! Dominic had closed half the distance. For me, about three seconds had passed, and my time was slowed to roughly a tenth of normal right now. I canceled the divine eyes and diverted more mana to the task of speeding my perceptive abilities. The instructors hand was moving to the hilt of his sword, he had finally realized that something was horribly wrong, and was going to intervene. But he wont make it. Dominic was going to reach Ferris in only another couple of seconds, according to my perception. A flash. I blinked, and knocked Dominics sword aside with my own. My legs screamed at me in protest, but I ignored them as best I could and glared up at Dominic, That. Is. Enough. Stahlia? What, what are you doing? Get out of my way. Dominics eyes were seemingly looking through me, filled with hatred they were staring straight at Ferris behind me. Ignoring my protesting muscles, I opened my metaphorical faucet and flooded more mana into my arms. Increasing my strength yet further. With the added multiplier I was able to push him back a bit, but he only leaned into me and was able to cancel out my gains. What the hell kind of skill is he using!? Like an anger and hatred-powered limit break!? I glanced at my mana stat in my status. I wouldnt be able to maintain this state for more than a few more moments. Either my muscles would disintegrate, or my mana would run dry. Either way, I would be blown away from the force between us as soon as my resistance faltered. I could step aside and let him through, but that would definitely result in Ferris death. Damnit! You childish! Oaf! I couldnt let myself get killed here, but just as I was sending a mental apology to Ferris before I got out of the way, the pressure against me vanished. Of course I stumbled forwards, but unlike Dominic, I was sane. After I caught myself, I turned around and saw the instructor holding up Dominics body. He had finally intervened, and it looked like he had done something to incapacitate Dominic. Now that the situation was under control, I released the mana I was packing into my muscles. Slowly, I knew I was going to be in trouble already from how much mana I had pushed in, a quick glance at my tank showed I was down to only a tenth remaining. As the mana came out of my limbs, I could swear I heard them creaking audibly. Suddenly feeling weak, I stumbled forward. Its strange my body feels heavy The instructor noticed what was happening and appeared in front of me. When when did he get to move so fast? If he could do that why didnt he stop them sooner? I tried to raise my arm and signal that I was fine, but it refused to listen to my commands. Ah I fucked up big time That was my last thought before passing out. I came to lying on my back, on a white-sheeted soft mattress. Looking around with just my eyes; my head refused to move, I couldnt recognize the room. I seemed to be alone, which was a bit frightening. What happened? The last thing I could remember was the instructor of my swordsmanship class teleporting over to me and then nothing. Before that I stopped Dominic from killing Ferris in a blind rage I had to move quickly, so I didnt really consider the method I enhanced my muscles way more than I should have. I was suffering from the consequences of oversaturating my body with mana, I had heard about this happening to people who overused physical enhancement magic. Normally, it would be recoverable. But thats only with chanted enhancement spells. What I did was closer to a rough copy of the [Limit Break] skill. I definitely hurt something My status wasnt too helpful here, since there was no HP meter or stat, and no current state field. All I could go off was the aches and pains I was physically feeling. And that assumes I wasnt given anything to numb them. After considering trying to get up, I decided to remain where I was and rest. I would be checked on eventually, and it wouldnt be worth the risk of getting up on my own. Not until I knew the extent of my mistake. I had felt real fear at the thought that I may have irrecoverably damaged myself. No, not irrecoverably, theres always Goddess Draught. Of course, that isnt a real option its so rare, though Rupert might be able to arrange something No, I shouldnt be so pessimistic, Ill recover normally. I did my best to keep telling myself that I would recover as I whiled away the time, but that was an unknown. For all I knew, I had absolutely shredded my muscles. Finally, I heard the door open and snapped my eyes to see who had entered. Four people filed into the room. First, Rowell took up a position where he could see everything. What the hell were you doing when Dominic was going psycho huh? Sure, youre a spy, but isnt your cover as my guard knight? Shouldnt you have tried to do something? Second, my sword-fighting instructor, who stopped a few feet away from my bed and watched me with a conflicted look on his face. Gustav, who I was a bit confused to see. Though I suppose hes here in his capacity as Ruperts vassal, and he could cite being concerned about me as one of his top students, giving him a valid excuse. The last of the four took me a moment to recall as I searched her face out in my memory; my head was still a bit sluggish. Her name was Clarice, the White Magic instructor. I had her class after sword fighting. Clarice approached my bed the closest and waved a hand over me, which bathed my body in bright light. Some White Magic spell. I didnt feel anything, so it was probably an appraisal of some kind, based on the lack of her losing her shit I could assume it was either fairly basic. Or more likely, it was geared towards medical use and didnt show much stat info. Well, youre awake, how are you feeling then? Her voice was soft but a bit high-pitched. It made me think of a mouse squeaking. Which compliments her mousy appearance I guess. Clarice was short and slight and had brown eyes partially obscured by librarian glasses. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun, further accentuating the appearance of a librarian of some sort. I tried speaking, but all I managed to do was grimace as pain shot through the muscles of my jaw. Of course grimacing also hurt like hell. She nodded, Yes that makes sense, given you used a skill like [Limit Break], this is about what I expect of your condition. Honestly, if you wanted instruction in healing magic, you should have waited until class, instead of pulling that stunt. I wanted to frown, but I was afraid of how much it would hurt so I kept it to myself. It isnt like I wanted to do something like what I did I just sort of moved. If anything, you should be blaming Dominic Normally, I would have been getting angry right about now, but I was too sore and too drained. And you Gustav, coming barging into my lesson and dragging me here. The school has nurses, she would have been fine for an hour or two until I finished. I hadnt spoken much with Clarice before, since I wasnt in her class, but I was already decided that I didnt like her a whole lot. White Magic is mostly about healing and boosting ones allies. Why is the healer so irritable, shouldnt you have a good bedside manner? As for why Gustav had gone straight to her after learning what happened well that wasnt too difficult to figure out, he had gone for the best healer the Academy had. Though the question remained of how exactly he had found out so quickly. I would have to ask later; I didnt think I was being spied on, but it was a curiosity I would like answered if I had the opportunity to. Besides, I could think of a few viable possibilities other than a shadow if I really tried. Clarice turned her attention back to me and passed her hands over my body, bathing me in more light, Honestly, you savior types are all the same. Always jumping in over your heads There, you should be able to move now. At her words, I tentatively tried to lift my head and found that I was able, though it was sluggish. Looking up at Clarice in disbelief, I croaked out my gratitude, Th-than-k, y-you Clarice waved her had to silence me, Save your gratitude. I did not heal you. You used [Limit Break] and badly damaged your muscles and pathway. I only started the healing process, the rest will have to move naturally; too much mana will only cause further damage. I closed my mouth and nodded, but Clarice didnt seem satisfied with that. Continuing while staring at me hard, That includes magic you cast as well. Additionally, there will certainly be no more using [Limit Break] until you are fully recovered, preferably even after you recover. She turned to Gustav, See to it that she actually listens to the doctors orders, Gus. Gustav looked like he had eaten a bug, but he didnt argue and just mumbled something that was probably his acquiescence. Gus? Sounds like those two have a history I made a mental note of the information, in case I ever needed to make Gustav uncomfortable for some reason. Clarice left the room after running one more scan on me, and without saying another word. Shes got an interesting personality. When I manage to recover, her class will be fun I could only imagine how she might act towards me in her class now that this had happened. Gustav nodded in my direction, Try not to let Clarice get to you. She might seem brusque, but she means well. For better or worse, she knows first-hand what happens when people bite off more than they can chew. That probably has something to do with why she calls you Gus doesnt it? Not that now was a good time to push that issue. I managed a sloppy smile, then moved to the biggest question on my mind now that my eventual recovery was assured, I, Wont, how, long was Gustav nodded, Brisben here sent one of the class to fetch help right away, who I spotted running down the halls in a panic. After he explained things I went and fetched Carice; in total, you were only out for a half-hour or so. Though, I am certain it felt much longer. Mana over-saturation tends to do that to your perception. I nodded, then glanced at the sword-fighting instructor, who hadnt moved since taking his position. Catching my gaze he bowed his head, My apologies, Lady Stahlia, for my foolhardiness. Excuse me, what now? I get that you need to apologize socially, but this is a bit more than I was expecting from you. My confusion must have been showing somewhat on my face, as he nodded then elaborated on what he meant by that, I knew there was a risk to letting those two fight. I figured it would be worth it; if they fought it might help breakdown the faction barriers between the class. I should have known that the politics run too deeply. Thats the takeaway you got from that? They were pretty clearly fighting over more than the faction shit. He nodded, then broke out into a grin, Still, I knew you had gotten stronger but not that strong! When you recover you owe me a duel eh? turning on his heel, my sword-fighting instructor left me alone with Gustav and Rowell. The former of which was rubbing his temples, a motion I sympathized with but did not want to risk making just yet. Instructor Gustav, where is Dominic? Gustav looked surprised by my question, which was curious to me since it seemed like a question that would be obvious to ask. Sure, I was no longer engaged to him, but Rowell was in the room with us for one. For two, I had just been nearly killed because of that bastard, I should think knowing where he was would be information that anyone would want to know in my position. Pausing for a moment to think, Gustav answered me, Back at the estate by now I should imagine; his father came to collect him shortly after we got the two of you into the infirmary. Count Francois came to collect Dominic, but left me here? Technically, hes my guardian when Im in the capital. If hes leaving me behind like that, I can only presume its meant as a threat to me. If the count was joining in on his sons childish behavior, then I didnt see any reason to continue playing nice. If it wasnt for Rowell being here, I would have asked Gustav to tell Rupert to please hurry things up a bit. This whole family is shit No, Elienor is decent. And Margeritte hasnt done anything to really earn my ire. Other than asking me to call her mother, even that was tolerable compared to how Dominic and Count Francois are acting. I misspoke! By how theyre treating me, its more like I murdered their firstborn or something. Laying back in the bed, I called out to Gustav. If I wasnt going to be welcomed to the Francois Estate, I may as well move out, Lord Gustav, please do me, a favor. Tell Jacqueline to gather whats important. I didnt wait to hear or see his response and shut my eyes to rest a bit more. I outranked him, for all intents and purposes. This first day of school didnt go how I intended and I guess I failed to do what Rupert asked and maintain an outwardly good relationship with Dominic, but I dont think I can really be blamed, given the circumstances. For now, I need to add heal to my list of priorities. Once Jacqueline gets here, Ill use my time off school to try and address that problem I can maybe kill two birds with one stone. I heard the door open and the sound of two sets of footsteps heading towards it. Cracking an eye open, I watched Rowells receding back. You are honestly a shit spy and a worse bodyguard. But I think I have a use for you. Well see how you do at that. I did my best to ignore the cold feeling that settled in my stomach at the prospect of what I was planning to do. The step I was going to take. Its necessary. I cant avoid this forever, not when Im planning to take down something like the Order of Shadows. Even with Ruperts support, Ive been avoiding the issue for way too long. Theres no way I would be able to act without getting my hands dirty. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-3 Plans Been a while since the last one, but I''m putting a content warning on this chapter. Content Warning: References to, and brief depictions of the aftermath, of Domestic Abuse. This occurs after the scene break, during the second half of the chapter. Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 It was two days after getting out of the Francois Estate that I realized I had made a mistake in how I handled things, not in getting out of there. That had, in all honesty, been a long time coming. No, the mistake I had made was using Lord Gustav, one of the instructors, as a messenger. Not only had Rowell witnessed me doing what essentially amounted to giving him an order, but the message had also been delivered to Jacqueline. Someone who I knew was being listened in on at least periodically, and probably near constantly. It was a grim reminder that I needed to avoid letting my emotions get to my head. Thankfully, at least for the time being it looked like I had gotten away with that mistake, for once. In other news, the day after I moved out I finally started that thing that I had been expecting and dreading for some time. It was incredibly late and I had actually been starting to worry there might be something wrong with me. Then again, a first period cant be late unless its missed entirely, and theres no way I could be in a position to miss it. I would definitely be aware if I had done that. It was overall unpleasant, but the knowledge that it was coming, as well as what was probably my endurance stat made it bearable for me and it wasnt as bad as I had been expecting. Though telling Jacqueline it had started so I could get the things I needed was mildly traumatizing, for some reason. In a way, I actually found it overall oddly satisfying. Not because I was enjoying myself, but because I no longer had it looming over my head off in the background. Now that it had started, instead of getting upset and confused my overall reaction was simply an acknowledgment. I was going to take this as an indication that I had gotten over any lingering misgivings over my gender swap. As for my living conditions, I owed Rupert for that. According to Gustav, when he learned what had happened, he made arrangements behind the scenes so I would have access to money until I could get in touch with my parents. I was also told to try and keep my distance from Dominic until what was going on could be ascertained, but I was going to do that anyway. Thinking back over the events of what had happened, I could only conclude that he had accessed a skill from the Anger family of demons. Whether it was something he had always had or had only recently obtained, I didn''t know. Without a free slot to browse the skills list, I couldnt double-check but I was fairly certain he had used either [Berserk] or simply [Anger]. I had committed both the skill descriptions to memory, back when researching Felicitys [Envious]. They were similar, though the latter was more insidious; the increase in power was stronger, but it came with the tagline about the skill triggering Demonization if it was overused. Given his mana color though, Demonization was probably already in progress though I had never actually seen a real Demons mana to compare. The final side effect of what had happened was my near-complete social isolation. In the past two days since the incident, I had found that the instant I entered a room, all conversation ceased and I would be beset by fervent stares. It was disconcerting at first, but I had grown to ignore it. I was helped by the knowledge that in a few weeks they would all very likely be singing a different tune, though I was careful to remind myself not to let it get to my head. In the meantime, I had confirmed through very careful experimentation that my limit with Blood Magic was less than a tenth of what I could normally control, and I couldnt chant at all. Controlling my mana with Blood Magic felt raw, like rubbing salt into an open wound. Chanting didnt hurt like that, but the spell would immediately destabilize. Either way, it was obviously better to avoid using mana at all, but I needed to know my options in case of any arising issues. As far as my lessons were concerned, I had surreptitiously dropped the sword-fighting class, by which I mean I had simply stopped attending. The instructor didnt say anything, and I was not called to see Percius, so I could assume that my actions were at least on the fringe of what was considered acceptable. As for the magic classes, Clarice was a massive thorn in my side, consistently shooting me looks when she brought up an example of a battlefield injury and what spells could treat it. I could still memorize chants, even if I couldnt participate in practical lessons so it wasnt like classes were a complete waste of time. Though there had been only three days of classes at this point, so we would have to see how things went as I continued to heal. That, of course, didnt hold true for Blue Magic, which was being used as a way for me to keep in touch with Rupert through Gustav as a middleman. Over the past two days, it had also been used to make arrangements for the disposal of Rowell. The Alchemy class that I was still helping to teach would prove integral to that plan, and my math class was as easy as ever, entirely unworthy of mention. Standing up, I spoke to Jacqueline in a regretful tone, Im going out, Jacqueline. Please look after Felicity. Jacqueline gave me a concerned look, before nodding resignedly. At this point, she knew I was again keeping secrets and a lot of them. The events of the past two days had been a whirlwind and there was no way she couldnt figure out that things were moving behind the scenes. Thankfully, rather than confronting me, it seemed she had decided on the wait-and-see approach. It was both upsetting and flattering that she was still going to give me that much trust, and it was probably one of the only things keeping me stable as I worked to set things in motion. Exiting out from the inn I was staying in, under a pseudonym, I headed for the lower citys adventurers guild. My connection to Rupert had given me essentially an unlimited budget when I indicated that I was planning to move on Rowell and I was going to use as much as I needed to make sure things went well. To execute my plan, I needed people to act on my behalf. For that, I had chosen to use adventurers. My request was going to be a bit illegal, so I couldnt make it an official request, but there was nothing preventing me from just not using the guild. As for why I had settled on adventurers instead of actual criminals, the adventurers were more likely to honor the terms of the agreement and not make things go sideways. Of course, there was no guarantee, but it wasnt like I had a lot of time to come up with a different plan. I knew that Five wanted me married to Dominic, and now that was essentially an obvious impossibility. I had to assume that he would do something soon, and I needed Jacqueline back before then. I arrived at the adventurers guild after moving through the city and went up to the counter. I had dressed in such a way as to evoke the idea that I was a noble in disguise, as that would make the receptionist more likely to put up with a bit of strangeness and not ask questions. Pulling at my hood to ensure my face was hidden, I approached the counter. Excuse me, I have an appointment. The receptionist looked down at me questioningly, and I handed over a letter I had been provided with to serve as an introduction. Not Aarons letter, though the thought of using that crossed my mind, I didnt think that the situation I was presently in was such that I had nothing else to lose. This letter was one I had been given by Gustav, who had placed the request in my name, or at least a trusted agent of his had. I didnt know which. Taking the letter, the woman read through it before nodding, Follow me miss. I followed the woman into a meeting room on the guilds second floor where I was met by three men, These are the members of the B-Ranker team I waved my hand, I dont want to know. I also dont want to know your names, its better that way. The three of them adopted serious expressions and the one who was presumably their leader sat up straighter in his seat. This was an obvious loophole when you thought about it, but it was one that was often used by the nobles so it wasnt likely to be closed anytime soon; I had presented a request to be introduced to a B-ranked or higher team. Once introduced what we discussed was no longer guild business, introducing us was where their involvement ended. Taking the quest card from the receptionist, I signed that the request was fulfilled and she promptly left. Right, now its time to convince these guys to help me out. The leader waited a moment to see if I was going to start before he spoke further, Well then, what did you want us to do? I have to imagine it wont be the most legal operation now, will it? Nodding my head briefly, I took a deep breath, I need you to kidnap a noble girl and her bodyguard. Stahlia von Ris will be in the forest north of the city in two days to gather material with her alchemy class. She will have one guard, a knight by the name of Rowell. One of the men, by his armor and weapon he was something of a scout, let out a low whistle, Kidnapping a noble? Hey boss, aint Ris the name of the Francois boys fianc? I bit the inside of my cheek, my name being a known quantity wasnt ideal, but it wasnt unexpected. Still, they know about my relationship with Dominic I was expecting to be known as the one behind so many useful compounds that made their lives easier To try and avoid the conversation derailing I confirmed the mans question, Yes, thats her. Though things arent going so well with their relationship My fathe- I mean, if she were to disappear now, it would make some people very happy. The leader glanced at his two comrades before addressing me, Still, even if we were to go along with this it wouldnt be cheap. Good, Gustav was correct. I had specifically chosen a team after a bit of conversation with Gustav, after all; kidnapping a noble girl, while not unheard of, was still a serious crime. Team Red Iron had a bit of a reputation for doing anything for money. The original request I had placed with the guild had been vague enough to not be suspicious, but specific enough that I all but hand-picked Red Iron. Money wont be an issue. If money isnt enough, I am sure we could work something else out. But youre going to pick money, arent you Kurt? It was honestly impressive how quickly Gustav had moved when I gave him the outline of what I planned and what I needed to go about that. Doubly impressive, or perhaps foolish depending on who you asked, how the prince was basically letting me do as I pleased in this case. Sure enough, Kurtis licked his lips, No, money will do nicely. Two days isnt a lot of prep time though, so itll be costly. I nodded, And my fa I need both of them kept alive and as unharmed as possible. My fictional father I had now mentioned twice was intended to convince Kurtis that I was simply some noble kid out of her depth, and it seemed to be working. Though, Ill end up overpaying from this. Kurtis nodded and his grin got even bigger, Aye, that we can do though it will be more expensive. After all, were dealing with a knight. A shadow, actually. I would just do it myself, but I dont fancy my chances without magic. He might be ordered not to hurt me even if I attack him, but I cant count on that. In any case, I certainly couldnt subdue an adult man in my current condition, I need my magic for that. You can name your price. Kurtis glanced at his two lackeys and then, after receiving a nod from each looked back at me, One million Drak. Really? Thats lower than I was expecting, to be honest. I folded my arms and fidgeted a bit, O-one million? Kurtis smile deepened, You have to understand, your father wants us to kidnap a noble and her knight bodyguard. That isnt going to be easy. Whats more, the opportunity we have to do it, shell be near a lot of other nobles We need to consider that some of their guards might get involved. After a short pause, he continued, Your father is the one who wants this done right? Jackpot. My face was still obscured by the hood, but the general angle of my face was discernable. I looked away from Kurtis and pretended to stare at the wall, Y-yes. Thats Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kurtis and his men grinning at each other, Well, then Im certain that he can pay that much right? I could pay a lot more than that. Honestly, I was expecting you to ask for five times as much. H-half. I can pay you half now, and the remaining half after you finish. Kurtis smile widened, if I had to guess he was happy I wasnt trying to haggle him down. Is my sense of money really that off? A million is a big number, but like, for what Im asking them to do it seems low. We can do that, though do understand that we wont be handing the two over until you pay us Now, how will we know who the target is? I let a bit of confidence return to my voice and told Kurtis my plan, R-Right, Stahlia will be wearing a uniform that depicts her houses crest. I will be present as well, and make sure she separates from the group at some point, so wait for her to be on her own please. While speaking, I took out a rolled-up paper on which was a sketch of my noble crest and passed it to one of Kurtis men. My sudden change of pace seemed to throw Kurtis for a loop, but after a moment the thought of his upcoming payday his smile returned. Reaching out his hand to me, I simply stared at it until he awkwardly put it away. I might be entering into a brief business relationship with him, but I wasnt about to shake his hand. Standing, I bowed slightly and hurried from the room. That went better than expected. Once out in the hallway, I put a *trickle* of mana into my ears, wincing at the pain as I did so. It was faint, but it was just enough to be able to hear the conversation on the other side of the door. A voice that I thought was probably the scout, though I had only heard it once, asked Kurtis a question. Boss what do ya think? Think we can trust her? This kinda job and she didnt try and negotiate at all. Its a bit suspicious. Kurtis said something I couldnt catch, probably facing one of the other two, and another voice answered, It should be fine, I think she was just a wee bit flustered is all. You saw er reaction when Kurt mentioned her father no? I stopped listening in as I heard footsteps approaching, and made my way past the receptionist who was leading another client to a different room. Considering the reputation the guild has, they sure are professional about how they conduct business. It was no more than a curiosity, but one that stood out enough to notice. I got back to my room in the hotel as the sun was setting and Jacqueline set about getting me ready for bed. Perhaps it was because I felt so bad about hiding so many things from her, but I was keenly aware of things I had been missing before. Without Frieda and Lucy, I could plainly see the areas my maid was struggling in due to lack of her arm. When my remorse had been deadened, I had missed a lot of it and had the impression that she was some sort of super maid. Now that I was fully feeling again though, I could see that she was struggling and was simply good at hiding it. I need to see about getting that fixed Or at least getting her some help. I could always contact Sieg by mail, but I didnt want to pester him, and that was a long shot at best. Perhaps a prosthesis or something No, I would know if there were any easily accessible magic tools, and a regular prosthesis would just get in her way. If I had considered it earlier, then it might have been a good idea. With things moving the way they are, she wouldnt have time to get used to one. Climbing into bed, Felicity curled up under my arm like she usually did, and I put the thoughts of Jacquelines arm out of my head. For now, once things settled down a bit, I would look into getting her a temporary replacement until I had a more permanent solution. Such as a custom-made White Magic spell; according to all known chants, regeneration of a limb was impossible. I was hoping that with the right vocabulary, I might be able to come up with something. Of course, it was possible that such chants did exist and were simply closely guarded secrets, but until I joined the royal family, I probably wouldnt be able to learn them. Either way, I had classes tomorrow, and an outing to plan for the day after that. It was going to be an eventful few days. Closing my eyes, I again put out distracting thoughts and fell into a dreamless sleep. Stahlia! A familiar voice called out my name. The next day, I was sitting alone on a bench between classes when I heard my name called out. It was nominally lunch though I wasnt eating today, and was instead taking the opportunity to decompress before my next class, which was White Magic. Lifting my head I looked up in the direction of the familiar voice and saw Elienor. Right, she did start this year, though I got a tad caught up in things and forgot to really congratulate her or anything My bad. Now, I was sort of in a bit of a thing with her father and older brother, but knowing Elienor, she wouldnt let something like that stop her. Adopting a smile, I greeted her, Elienor, to what do I owe the pleasure? As she was going to answer, I quickly darted my eyes around. Save for Rowell and Elienors own knight, I didnt see anyone nearby. Of those a short distance from us, none seemed to be watching us particularly closely. Elienor also looked around nervously, in particular, her gaze lingered on Rowell. No way she knows hes a Shadow, but he was assigned at least in part by her father. I turned to my knight, Rowell, please wait over there. Gesturing some distance away from us, he made a face but he couldnt protest without risking his cover. Especially not when Elienor nodded to me and dismissed her own knight. Thanks for that Stali. She gave me a relieved smile once both the knights were a distance away. Though Rowell could probably still hear, I would be dealing with him tomorrow. Besides, its not like I could tell her something like Oh by the way, my knight can still hear you! I could, but that would just make her anxious. No problem at all, what would be the matter? I kept my tone civil, though I hoped that my face would get my concern across to her. She frowned at the distance I was taking, Stali My brother is an ass. I live with the guy, please dont take it out on me? After a short delay, I nodded. I didnt want to be distant with Elienor, out of the entire family she was the only one I actually enjoyed the company of, Right, Im sorry, Elienor. What did you want to talk about? She smiled briefly, but that was quickly replaced with a troubled frown, My idiot brother, actually. Sorry. Well, he is your brother. As long as you dont plan on asking me to make nice, feel free to vent. I offered a reassuring smile, but internally I was a bit troubled. That damn count Rupert said that he asked for the engagement himself he isnt planning to try and use Elienor to get me to start playing nice is he? That would really piss me off. Elienor nodded, No, I wouldnt do that. Its Have you seen him recently? I would think probably not. Slowly, I shook my head no, No I havent been going to the sword-fighting class, and thats the only one we shared. Why do you ask? Elienor glanced over her shoulder then leaned in close to whisper, Something somethings different. When our dad brought him back, he was livid. Not Dominic, our dad. He dragged Dominic into his office, and I dont know what happened, but Dominic has been different. Somethings wrong, Stali. He keeps muttering about how its all your fault, and how hes going to get you and make you understand. Well, thats a thing hopefully he doesnt do anything rash, but given how he has a literal rage skill, I wouldnt put it past him to lose control Ill have to watch out for this. But what the hell? Isnt that a bit of a heavy change of personality? All I did was reject him, and he flew off the rails and started acting like a child. Then I laughed and now hes going ballistic and turning into a rage monster? Thank you for the warning, Ill be sure to watch myself. What about you? You dont feel threatened, do you? That was a real concern, that Elienor might get caught between things. Especially now that she had given me a warning. It was a distinct possibility that an unstable Dominic would believe she had taken my side and try to punish her. Elienor shook her head, No, not really I know better than to act out in front of him. Right, red flag. Elienor did he do something to you? I let the question hang while fixing my eyes on Elienor and holding her gaze without blinking. After a few seconds, she broke our staring contest and mumbled weakly, Last night He was mumbling something about another girl, someone named Irtis. He he was comparing you to her and muttering about how you just didnt understand him as she did. I hadnt ever heard of this girl before, so I asked him who she was. He got real quiet then, and just glared at me. When I backed up, he practically spat her name at me, like it was my fault for not knowing. Irtis von Asmo then he asked me if I thought she would be a better fit for him than you. I asked him, does it matter? and he got real mad. Elienor was now trembling slightly and turned to face away from me. At first, I thought she was just being embarrassed about opening up to me, or perhaps a bit scared of telling me her familys secret going on. After a moment though, I felt my stomach lurch. Elienor moved her hair to the side, and revealed a large purple bruise on the side of her neck. What the fuck I ran just as he moved, he grabbed me by the neck and started s-shaking I didnt have words. Hes fucking insane! How the hell do you go from being rejected to assaulting your sister!? Elienor Im sorry, what, what happened after that? My voice caught a bit as I asked her. I was honestly surprised that she wasnt crying or breaking down given the gravity of the situation, though maybe I should give her more credit. Elienor had always been pretty strong-willed. N-nothing. I, well I hit him and ran to my room. Gordon stopped him from following me, though Dominic threatened to rip him apart. From his tone, he sounded like he was actually going to try, had our dad not come in and shouted at him to stop acting out. Stali, I dont know what my dad said to him in his office, but Dominic is scared of him now. He cowers as soon as our dad even enters the room. Her voice was serious, though she still looked a bit anxious. I I need to do something about this, since Dominic is only acting this way because of how I acted at the funeral. There wasnt very much I could do right now though. I had barely been able to stop Dominics enraged state when I had my full strength. Without my magic, I was hardly in a position to do anything to physically stop him. The laws of the country were pretty clear on the matter, that until they came of age, inter-family issues were the strict purview of the father, unless he could be proven to be neglecting his duties. I could go to Rupert, but he would certainly just tell me to wait until we were ready to move on the count as a whole. And whats worse, the pragmatist in me sees his point and even somewhat agrees with him Ill at least make sure to tell Gustav about this, Rupert might be able to use it to accelerate things in the meantime, Elienor, do you want to leave the house for a bit? I can get you a room at the inn Im staying at. After a moment, she shook her head, No, I dont think thats a good idea. I can just mind what I say at home, but if I leave Im worried Dominic might perceive you as interfering in his life or something stupid. Hes, hes not in a very good place at the moment. No shit he isnt. What are you saying? Its like those stories I would read about sometimes, where the girlfriend or wife defends the abusive husband No, it isnt that bad, since shes clearly aware of the problem Is Count Francois doing something other than just shouting him down? Elienor thought for a moment, No I dont think mom is either for that matter. Before I could ask another question, the bell rang and Elienor gave me one last smile, Thanks for talkin to me Stali! Man, it feels good to get all that off my chest! I nodded, Yea, come and find me whenever you need to talk Ill do my best to help you. Elienors knight returned with Rowell and then departed with his mistress as she made her way to her next class. As I headed towards my own White Magic course, I took a moment to consider everything I had just heard. Something is definitely going on with Count Francois If I had to guess, hes getting some backlash from Five and is taking it out on Dominic, blaming him for how I acted. Dominic is throwing a temper tantrum about that, and lashing out at the people around him if only I had more people to interact with at school I had come to regret not forming a network in my first year here, since now that Edith and Sarala were temporarily out of commission I had no allies. Theres that other girl Elienor mentioned as well, Irtis von Asmo. There isnt a house Asmo to my knowledge Though that isnt to say there isnt one somewhere but to have a relationship where Dominic would be comparing her to me, even if we are estranged, Asmo would need to be a fairly major household Asmo Asmodea Irtis von Asmodea, or should I say Sitri Asmodea. A shiver ran down my spine as the youthful face of the Original Sin came to the forefront of my memory. If thats her, and it would be too much of a coincidence for it to not be, then this is a major priority. Of course, she would be able to get close to him, he only saw her for a second or two before getting knocked out. Damnit, I need to figure out how to deal with this. If shes involved now, Elienor is in way more danger than I thought. With my impending kidnapping, there wasnt much I could do at the moment. Due to how I had planned things, I had no real way to reach out to Red Iron and call things off. Damnit! I need to get things resolved on my end before Five and Sitri execute whatever move they are planning. I was on the back foot, in part due to my own actions, but at least this time I knew it. With that knowledge, I could plan a response. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-4 Kidnapping Psycholor The chapter title may be a bit misleading, but I couldn''t think of a better more descriptive one. This chapter is more like three chapters presented at once, as each was too short on its own. But they connect to the main story in such a way that they would not work as Extra Chapters. More explanation in the end of chapter note. Chapter 4, Kidnapping Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 When I arrived at my White Magic class, I still hadnt come up with a decent plan for what I was going to do about Sitri. Though this information would be huge for Rupert, if an Original Sin was influencing the son of a noble as prominent as Count Francois, we would be able to leverage that into a great advantage. Lets see, the next time I will see Gustav is the day after tomorrow I could go to see him of my own accord, but this is a critical junction. I cant have a rumor started about me and him. Though we would be able to steamroll that in the fallout of Rupert announcing our engagement No. I cant go and see him with Rowell still tailing me, and If I go out late at night, Jacqueline would know. Either way, I would tip off Five that Im up to something. Im sure he already suspects, since my interaction with Jacqueline is awkward right now, and Ive already taken a bit of independent action. If I act rash he would figure out right away that Im planning something sooner rather than later. No, it would be better for me to wait until the day after my kidnapping, then we could deal with Rowell and discuss what to do about Sitri all at once. If we were lucky, my plan for how to dispose of the worm-thing would work out. If Rowell survived the process, then Rupert could do whatever he wanted with him, and I would set up to take care of Jacquelines. We would need to time things pretty well so that we removed Jacquelines parasite at the same time, or nearly at the same time, as making our political moves so as not to tip him off. But we should be able to manage. Stahlia, were you paying attention? Or were you considering how to go about injuring yourself again? Clarices voice was harsh and accusatory. In all honesty, I hadnt been zoned out for more than a few seconds or two, but apparently, she had it in for me after what happened with Dominic. And its not like I tried to injure myself! I just sort of moved. Yes, Instructor Clarice. I was paying attention. I kept my tone level and was sure to maintain eye contact. I had been a university student; I knew how some teachers could be. Clarice raised her eyebrow, Then, answer the question. Why can magic not restore missing limbs or immediately heal major injuries, like having ones mana pathways overloaded? I closed my eyes for a moment while quickly pulling up the necessary information. Nice of her to repeat the question for me, or I would have been in some hot water, Magic Spells, even those where the chant is omitted, must describe the process to be carried out. This is done during the Body portion of the chant, and the basic body is automatically inserted by the Talent when Talent Casting. Healing Magic is theorized to work on slightly different principles; when a chant is recited, the spell draws on the intentions of the caster to fill in specific details about the injury. The greater the gap in what is described compared to the reality of the process, the higher the mana cost. For something as complicated as a missing limb, you would not be able to describe all of the actions needed to regrow it. As such, the mana cost of such a spell would approach infinity. Which doesnt make sense, the chant bodies Ive translated thus far arent describing the process in any remote degree of detail. O Fire, form a ball in my hand and fly forth to my enemies. [Fireball] doesnt describe any of the details about forming the fireball, defining the enemy, setting the speed, or a hundred other things. All magic has to be drawing on intentions or something. I had already tried testing this by imagining the fireball flying faster or slower, but unless I actually specified the speed with a number by altering the chant body, it didnt work. I was missing something, clearly. Clarice nodded and gave me a malicious-looking smile, Very good, and the second half of the question? You mean that wasnt just a dig at my current situation? Fine. I gave her a brilliant smile, It varies from injury to injury. In the case of overloaded pathways, the mana entering the target to restore the pathway would instead cause further aggravation and damage. Instead, a spell is used that stimulates the bodys natural healing ability. Clarice nodded, but I wasnt done. If she was going to pick on me with targeted questions, I was going to make sure to be as thorough in my answers as possible. Which begs the question of what the difference between White Magic and Miracles are. Since a Miracle can restore missing limbs and heal blindness if the god prayed to chooses to grant one. Whereas White Mages are limited by the laws of Magic, a Priest or Priestess will always be able to grant healing with enough faith. I sat back in my seat and opened this years spell-book to the page I had left off on. Not being allowed to take the books out of the classroom was inconvenient, but controlling the spread of magic was a matter of legality, so no amount of complaining on my part would be able to change it. Even the books on White and Black Magic I had borrowed last year in order to get a head start, I had to read under the supervision of Gustav and Kell and couldnt take back with me. Though with my memory, it was only a mild inconvenience; if I wanted to, I could take mental photographs of each page and review them later. But after learning that my [Eidetic Memory] might not be infallible, given the relatively important things that slipped my mind while I was back in Ris, I shouldnt rely on it completely. It was an odd experience, committing something to memory while I could already remember it, but if I focused enough, I found I was able to ignore the information coming from [Eidetic Memory]. It had taken some practice, but I was now able to more or less ignore the skill whenever I wanted to, without causing too much of a lag in my ability to focus on other things. Of course, I still used the ability. Just now I was trying to use it more like a second hard drive instead of primary storage. Which is a good way of putting it, since I noticed that, rather than coming from my own head, its more like [Eidetic Memory] is feeding me memories from somewhere else Which is why Stahlias point was so interesting. The tone at which Clarice had said my name caused me to snap back. She clearly knew I had zoned out and was ignoring her again. What now? My point? About the miracles? The main difference between the miracles of the gods and the spells of a White Mage is in the mana. It has been documented, that there is something different about the mana coming from a god or goddess, and that aspected as healing. In the previous example of damaged pathways, a gods mana derived through miracle would not further damage them. Likewise, when restoring limbs or other healing, a gods chant is not heard, if they even make one. It is theorized that gods simply will mana to do what they need it to. Now, moving on to the meat of todays lesson; how basic White Magic can be used to supplement first aid" Clarice continued on, while I hurriedly reactivated [Eidetic Memory] and made sure it was recording what she had said about miracles. It was such a simple explanation, that I had completely missed it. With this, I should be able to still use magic, and perhaps even heal myself If Im lucky, it might even work on Rowell and Jacqueline. The rest of the class passed by uneventfully, and I was only called on three more times. She almost called on me a fourth time, to give a practical demonstration, only to remember that I wasnt able to use magic at the moment. So far, shes been nothing but a pain in the ass at least shes fair though. A petty teacher would not have repeated the question for me like she had, instead of making a public display that I had not been listening. Clarice, on the other hand, handled things in a way that let me know she knew while still allowing me to save face with my classmates. Even the consistent references to my injury could be generally interpreted as her abrasively telling me to be more careful in the future, by ensuring I couldnt forget the lessons learned. So far, I had to rate her as annoying but fair. The rest of my classes for the day were simple ending with the Alchemy class, where I was helping to plan the excursion the next day. This would be the first time that most of the students in this class went out to gather their own materials; in the earlier years, what was needed would be provided for them. Since I was being used as something of a teachers aid already and had experience gathering materials back in Ris, I had been tasked with helping to plan where we would go. Which, while a bit annoying with everything else I had going on, had been quite helpful for planning tomorrows incident. Though, the students in the class other than myself were fairly nervous, and I had a few whispers worrying about the crazy Ris girl being the one helping to plan things. I ignored those, and simply did what the instructor wanted while gently steering the outing towards the direction I needed it to go; making sure I would be able to move alone, instead of being saddled with babysitting duties. I might be plotting a kidnapping, but I wasnt a monster and at least one of my victims had given her consent. I didnt want to get any of the children involved if I could help it. When I got back to the inn, I was greeted by a surprise assault from a Catgirl. Felicitys momentum almost knocked me off my feet, and I would possibly have been injured if not for Jacqueline managing to catch me. Where did she even come from? Felicity, I told you that you needed to be careful for a little bit It just went to show how much I had been relying on Blood Magic enhancement without even realizing it. I had discovered almost immediately after being told I couldnt use it anymore that I had been going through life subconsciously enhancing myself. I didnt seem to do it for everything, mostly what could be perceived as an attack. It was almost like an extension of my reflexes and probably came about owing to how I had been learning to fight from barely two years old. Actually, I first held a dagger when I was one I was a weird kid It had its uses but was something I didnt want to rely on. I would need to practice not doing it in the future though, for now, it wouldnt pose much of an issue. Other than minor situations, like Felicity having gotten used to being able to jump on me. Throwing on a melancholic face, Felicitys tail ducked down between her legs. Though the fact that her ears are still pointed up and alert kinda ruins the whole impression of remorse. Youre doing that on purpose, arent you Claire? Felicity is sorry, Stahlia Nee-san. Whatever. Reaching out, I tussled her hair gently, Dont worry about it Felicity, just be more careful about it in the future, alright? Her tail recovered its earlier excitement, and the melancholy dropped off her face, Uhn! Claire taught her some new words. Whatever. So, why are you so excited tonight? Felicity broke out into a massive grin, Tousan sent us a letter! Wait, already? It hasnt even been three whole days since I sent him a letter about what happened with Dominic though? Even though I had things under control regarding that, I had still written a letter to my father detailing what had transpired. I didnt want him to worry if he heard about it from another source. Of course, I couldnt tell him about the arrangement with Rupert, so he was bound to worry anyways. Hopefully, my actions would alleviate some of that before things were revealed to the rest of the world. No, this must be something else, theres no way a letter made it from here to Ris, and then the response came back, all within less than three days. The rush postage in this world is impressive, but not that impressive. I smiled, allowing myself to get caught up in Felicitys pace, Well, what did it say? She put on a very serious expression, though the baby-fat on her cheeks just made it look silly, Dont know! Felicity cant read, and Claire doesnt know the letters! Pff! Right, that would be a problem I glanced back at Jacqueline, who was suppressing a laugh of her own, I told her we had to wait until you got back; she spent nearly the entirety of the past three hours watching the street like a hawk. Felicity tugged at Jacquelines skirt, But Felicity is a cat, not a bird? I lost it at that, and went to sit on a nearby chair before my laughter caused me to fall over, Ha! Alright, alright pff. Lets read the ha! The letter, shall we? Breathing was a chore, but I managed to in the end. Jacqueline, had to hold herself up with her arm on the wall as a support, though she managed to avoid laughing out loud, instead I saw her shoulders shaking quietly. It was a sight I hadnt seen in some time. Actually, the last time she laughed like that, was before Rosial got kidnapped The thought of my blood-related sister sobered me, but it wasnt as painful as it usually was. Having a small adopted family around me helped a lot with that. Ill get you out back, and then you can share in this as well After taking a moment with my eyes closed to reaffirm my resolve, I opened them and turned to Jacqueline, Jacqueline, could you get the letter from my father? I would like to read it before dinner. Felicity, who had been looking at the two of us incredibly confused, brightened up again and bounded over to my side, where she scooted her way onto the edge of the chair. I made a bit of room for her, and Jacqueline presented me with the letter. Opening it, I read aloud for Felicity, who hung off every word. Im glad, that after everything she went through, shes able to reclaim her innocence and live a carefree life like this. To Stahlia my first, and Felicity my third daughters. This letter should find the two of you either shortly before or just after the end of Stahlia''s first week back at the Academy. Your mother and I are doing well, work with the remaining knights to track down the few surviving goblins is ongoing, but proceeds well. Not a day goes by that Rosin does not ask one of us when we are going to visit you in the capital, I fear that you will have your hands full with him when we do arrive, Stahlia. Hopefully, Felicity can help you a little as well, eh? I am deeply regretful that my actions pushed you into the position you currently occupy Stahlia and, though I am sure you would deny me, I pray to the twelve that you eventually forgive me for real instead of offering empty platitudes. Though, I must apologize that I am not entirely regretful; had you not gone to the capital, Felicity would not have entered your life. Your mother and I think of the two of you every day and are ourselves counting down the time remaining until we see you again. Sincerely, your father, Fynn von Ris. Your mother, Rosalie von Ris. Your brother, Rosin von Ris. I felt a tickle on my cheek and reached a hand up to discover a tear rolling down it. Felicity had latched onto an entirely different portion of the letter; based on her excited demeanor, she was focused on the talk of my our parents visiting. Seriously though dad, I don''t blame you! It was touching how much my parents were trying, given how last year I hadn''t gotten even a single letter. It made me feel warm and fuzzy. I need to hurry and send a reply, now that I know they''re trying this hard, I feel like the letter I sent about what happened with Dominic is going to actually cause them to worry more than if I hadn''t said anything until after the fact I would write the letter after Felicity went to sleep. Dinner was a warm affair, though getting Felicity to sit still and eat turned into a bit of a chore. She kept babbling on and on about the visit, at first I tried to engage with her, but eventually, I decided that she just wanted to hear her own voice so I let her talk herself out. Midway through the dessert course, she started to grow listless, and before too much longer she was dozing in her seat. I got up from my seat and tiptoed over to her, gently looping my hands under her, I tried to pick her up, only to groan and slouch forward. I''m level twenty-one, what the hell!? How much does she weigh!? Granted, Strength was my lowest stat, but still. Without my Blood Magic to compensate, my build is a bit unbalanced This put us in a conundrum. There was no way I could move her myself, and Jacqueline wouldn''t be able to help with only one arm. Not without waking her up, that is. "Oh for Pete''s sake!" I jumped at the sound of Felicity''s voice but managed to avoid calling out in surprise. Venturing a question, I spoke to the now standing kitten, "Claire?" "Iie, kono Dio da. Who do you expect?" I rolled my eyes at Claire''s idiotic reference, and she responded by merely flicking her tail dismissively in my direction, "I''ll bring Felicity up to bed I think she would forgive me for piloting us in this case. You should write the reply letter and then get some sleep yourself. Big day tomorrow after all." My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly calmed down; Claire didn''t know I was going to be abducted but she did know I had helped plan the field trip, "You''re right. Thank you, Claire." Claire walked Felicity over to the side room of our shared Suite, where I heard some faint rustlings that indicated she was putting the kitten to bed. Turning my attention back around to the table in front of me, Jacqueline presented me with what I needed, and I began writing a letter back to my father. Dearest Father, I must apologize if my previous letter caused you to worry for me. I thought it prudent to inform you about events as soon as possible. I hope this letter can set your mind at ease; I am safe and healthy, as is Felicity. Please be assured, that although I cannot go into details, the situation with Dominic has already been handled, and I believe both you and mother will be pleased with the outcome I was able to arrange. By the time both of you come to visit, I expect the situation to be entirely resolved. Felicity greatly enjoyed receiving your letter, I read it to her just before dinner, and she could not sit still! I imagine that she and Rosin will both be insatiable bundles of energy. Personally, I am looking forward to spending time with you and mother in the capital though I am unsure how much free time I will have, things will be rather complicated this summer. Father, I do not blame you for your actions, you did what you thought was best for me. I hope you will come to believe me when I say that I have no complaints with my present situation. Any problems I do have, Jacqueline is able to assist with; she is, as always, my faithful shadow. Sincerely and with love, your daughters, Stahlia and Felicity von Ris. I placed the letter into an envelope and sealed it, Jacqueline, please have this mailed to my father tomorrow, I would like if you could have it rushed so that he does not need to wait long. She took the letter from me and nodded, I shall do so, will you be going to bed now? Standing, I gave an affirmative and helped Jacqueline begin to prepare me for sleep. Hopefully, father is able to put things together from that. I cant make things any more obvious without risking someone getting any information they shouldn''t. Hell, outright calling Jacqueline my shadow may already be too obvious. It was my hope that my father, being the former son of a Duke, would be able to pick up on the subtext of my letter. Telling him that I knew about the shadows was a bit risky, but given all that was about to happen, I felt that he deserved some forewarning. Retiring to bed, I was able to fall asleep quickly, a good thing considering what was to come. The next day, I found myself with roughly thirty other students standing at the edge of a forest on the capital''s outskirts. This was exactly the place where I had told Kurtis and team Red Iron we would be. Everything is going to plan so far. The majority of the students milled around a bit apprehensively waiting for instructions from the teacher, who was busy organizing them into groups. Per my request and machinations; I was not grouped with anyone. Instead, I was supposed to go from group to group and help people who were individually struggling. It was the perfect excuse to be alone repeatedly throughout the day. I didnt know when Kurtis was going to make his move, since I had left the specifics up to his team, so I could be accosted at any moment. That scout may even be watching me now, he is a B-rank after all, so he has some skill. Without enhanced senses, its conceivable I wouldnt notice him Rowell might though. I glanced at my guard out of the corner of my eye, he showed no signs of anything being the matter, but that could just be an act on his part. Ive never seen him fight either. Worst case scenario, Ill have to blow my cover and order him to stop. Clutching the ring Rupert had given me inside its hidden pocket, I said a silent prayer to no god that team Red Iron would be able to overcome him, and wouldnt require me to surprise him with the voice of the king. I had already confirmed that I could use it, as it was closer to Blood Magic than chanting. Though it was very painful and made my throat sting there were no serious after-effects and as long as I didnt overdo it, my injury would not worsen. The teacher wrapped up his instructions and the groups of students began to disperse into the woods. It was a bit exciting, this was the first time I was playing the role of a Damsel in Distress, sure Sitri had thoroughly distressed me, but that hardly counted. The gap between the two of us was simply too great. Following my first group, I began to plan out how I would spend the day. Ill spend fifteen minutes with this group, then move to the next. After that, every ten to fifteen minutes, Ill move again. My first group was looking for a specific grass that grew at the base of trees, and they seemed to be having trouble determining which one was the species they wanted. It isnt hard; the one you want has ribbed stems. That one has a straight stem. I may as well do my cover job. Its this one, see the ribs? The girl I was speaking to gave a start, Ah Thank you She quickly picked the grass, but other than thanking me she didnt acknowledge my presence. Based on her crest, she was from a minor house in the late second princes faction. Those students were the ones who avoided me the most at the moment, but even if it was expected it was still irritating. Whatever, lets head for the next group. I traveled from group to group several times without incident until the sun was high in the sky and it was time for lunch. They havent made a move yet I doubt they would violate the agreement like that but Ive given them ample opportunity, havent I? A chilling thought occurred, that they might have grabbed the wrong girl, so I did a quick headcount. Everyone is still here Well, nothing for it I guess; I can only continue to play it according to plan and see what happens. Taking my lunch, I moved a distance away from the group. This caused Rowell to frown, an appropriate reaction for a bodyguard. But he didnt voice any complaints; I had been eating on my own since the incident with Dominic, and even before that I had very rarely taken his advice. Sitting down, I opened my wrapped lunch and started eating quickly. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my neck and grew lightheaded. Grasping at the spot where I had been stung, I found a small dart fletched with tufts of grass. Ahh so thats how they''re going to do it smart When I woke up, I was bound with my hands behind my back and gagged. Thankfully, I wasnt blindfolded, so I could see Rowell was in a similar state as myself, albeit with stronger bindings. So they got us. But Rowell didnt see a stealth attack like that coming? He is a shadow, right? I stared at him and saw him begin to stir groggily, though it was just the beginnings of movement; with most drugs I was familiar with he would still take some time to wake up. One of the men I recognized from my meeting came in to check on us at the noise, Hey, shes awake! The guard is still out cold, but given the amount of Sleeping Sap we hit im with thats no surprise. Not wearing a mask? Confident I see. And you used Sleeping Sap as well? Thats pretty clever. Sleeping Sap was the sap of a species of Treant that could be found semi commonly in the forest. Though the region we had been in had been cleared ahead of time for safety, it was conceivable that we may have missed one. Assuming the ambush failed, analyzing the anesthetic wouldnt have told us anything. Mmmgh! I tried vocalizing at him, now that I had been kidnapped, I needed to move things along. Coming over, the man bent down to look me in the eye, Well, get it out of your system. Dont get your hopes up, no matter how you threaten or promise we wont let you go. If you scream Ill give you a swift kick and put the gag back. He took the gag out of my mouth after saying his piece, and I stretched my jaw a moment before speaking, Thank you for that, I was a bit worried you would kick me just for making noise. Then again, team Red Iron didnt strike me as particularly violent, would you please go and get Kurtis? Now that youve kidnapped me, I need to tell him where to make the delivery so you can get the other five hundred thousand. The man stared at me in astonishment, before blinking rapidly and leaving the room. That was a lot easier than I expected. I wish he had untied me before leaving though Now, time to wrap this up. I soon found myself sitting at a table with Kurtis and his two men, out of curiosity I asked them how things had looked from their side. Seriously, how did Rowell, presumably a Shadow, get taken down by a stealth attack? Psycholor The letter from and two her father is obvious foreshadowing. The Kidnapping itself will have more detail next chapter, starting with a short PoV segment for Kurtis that shows the actual event, then lead into the interrogation with Rowell and testing the removal method Stahlia has in mind for the parasite. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-5 Success Psycholor Just a quick word about the upcoming month of April. First off, April Fools is dumb. I''m not doing it, so nothing in this announcement or chapter is April Fools related. The next Character Artwork has been commissioned, it is of Felicity. Over the next few weeks, the WIP sketches and updates will be shared in the discord as the artist sends them to me. The final product will be shared in Discord as soon as it is received, and will be attached to an author''s note in the next chapter. (So, if I receive it on Wednesday, it will be shared in Friday''s chapter). Additionally, there are two extra chapters planned for release sometime in April. The first is planned to take place in the few days between Stahlia returning from Ang, and heading back to Ris. It will show a bit more detail about the Goddess'' Draught. The second will be set midway through volume two and will show a get-together between Stahlia, Edith, and Sarala. Both Extra Chapters will be posted in the discord twenty-four hours prior to being posted on Royal Road and Scribble Hub. The scenes were selected by two members of the discord, following a lottery and the end-of-month chat level rankings. Both of them are canon, and going forward this will be a monthly occurrence. Kurtis, Thirty-Five Second Month of 948 We were all set to go out and grab the noble girl for the client. For some reason though, I was a bit apprehensive. Something about this whole deal just felt off. Things were a bit too convenient. A million Draks was enough for the three of us to live pretty decently for a few years, normally for a job like this youd get paid a few hundred thousand. Not that I had any prior experience, depending on who you asked, I was a perfectly law-abiding patriot. Our current client though, hadnt so much as balked at the price. Sure, she had been a bit surprised, but then she turned around and paid us half. Half. Five hundred thousand just like. With the promise of the other half when we finished the job. Well, she hadnt paid on the spot. But we had been shocked speechless when the messenger came and delivered the down payment. Dent had suggested we just take the five hundred and flee the country, but Adam was smart enough to see the folly of doing something like. Any noble with access to that much money had to be related to one of the dukes at least. Possibly a prince. If we ran, we would become a loose thread, and no amount of hiding in foreign countries could save us. Hell, we might wind up as loose threads even if we stuck around, but we would have a chance. After some discussion, we opted to go with drugging. It would be a lot safer, though there was a greater risk to us this way; whacking them over the head would be faster, but that risked damaging the targets. We were being paid to take the both of them alive after all. Though why the client cared about the guard was beyond me, normally the guard would be considered expendable and you would just want the noble girl. The only thought we could come up with was the guard was from another noble house and was serving this Stahlia girl as a political favor. Either way, things were going to be a bit complicated. After some discussion, we settled on Sleeping Sap. It would be cheap, and the fact that the species of Treant that produced it lived in the area would make it harder to trace. Now, as we were lying in wait, it was just a matter of waiting for the target to move on her own. Surprisingly, she moved about by herself an awful lot. Most of the kids seemed to be grouped up with each other, but this Stahlia was going from group to group every twenty minutes or so. It was a bit confusing, but Dent didnt dare get close enough to any of the groups to figure out why. Likewise, because she was moving about so frequently it was ironically harder for us to make a move. Very often, she was too close to one group or another for us to act; if we made a move it would be witnessed or heard and then the alarm would sound. I was starting to worry we wouldnt have a chance to do anything when the class finally broke for lunch. Id expect any noble girl worth a million coins to be a socialite, and her moving about from group to group seemed to support that. Strangely though, she moved a fair distance away from everyone else to eat. Not one to question lady luck, I signaled Dent to make a move. Catching my wave, he slid from tree to tree. Moving by the branches and doing his best to avoid making a sound. Once he was in range, he produced his blowpipe and fitted a dart soaked in the sap. One quick puff and the girl would be out cold. The dart hit her in the back of the neck, right where our scout had aimed. After swatting at what she probably thought was an insect, Stahlia teetered in her seat and soon collapsed. To my surprise, she seemed to look straight at Dent before she passed out, but that had to be my imagination. To his credit, her guard reacted quickly, immediately zeroing in on Dents position and moving to block his lady from the threats line of sight. Just what we want you to do though! Adam moved next, hes our healer and alchemist. Though all his healing is traditional poultices and potions; he cant use magic himself. Still, he knows his trade and had managed to turn some of the sap into smoke. Each of us had a jar filled with the stuff, and Adam threw his towards the guard. We should have won then; the guard would be surprised and inhaled the smoke, but he was made of sterner stuff. As soon as he heard the jar break, I saw him inhale deeply and hold his breath. This meant he got a good lungful of air before the smoke could spread out. Well, nothing ever goes perfectly. At least while holding his breath, he cant sound the alarm. Dent took the opportunity to shoot a Dart at the guard, but with a quick motion of his hand, the bastard caught the dart! I started moving then, clearly, things would need to be settled up close and personal; if we let him be he would easily hold his breath long enough for the smoke to dissipate. If I put pressure on him, we might be able to force him to breathe. As I moved, I tried to stay in his blind spot, while Dent shot darts at a rapid pace. One of the upsides to using such a common poison was how easy it was to overprepare. Sure am glad I insisted he make more than we would need! Adam stayed close, but just out of range of the guards sword. There were some black lines showing on his skin though, which was concerning. Shit, this guys good if Adams already had to take his pill. I have to get in there quick! I threw my own jar to renew the dissipating smoke just before I arrived and crushed my own pill. Immediately, I felt my heartbeat quicken, and my muscles clenched and unclenched as power shot through them. These combat pills were a concoction of Adams; one of them would boost your strength by a few levels for a short window, but youd be lethargic as a dogs shit when it wore off. Leaping into the fray, I left my sword sheathed. A rarity for an adventurer in this kingdom, I was a brawler by purpose so I was naturally stronger with my fists. Rushing the guard, I unleashed a flurry of punches while mixing in a few kicks. He glared at me, his eyes spitting hatred and irritation. I smiled widely. Ideally, it would piss him off and prompt a mistake. Its been a minute since he last took a breath Hopefully, the activity is pressuring him! I dropped down to all fours like a cat as his sword passed by where my head was a mere moment ago. And I barely saw that coming! Hes skilled, thats for sure! You needed to be at a fairly high level to hold off three B-ranked adventurers and while it may be presumptuous of me, Team Red Iron was above average for our stated rank. Kicking out my legs, I stayed at ground level; this was a technique I had learned from a beastkin warrior. They might be filthy brutes devoid of the gods favor, but their warriors knew some good tricks. Staying low would make me a lot harder for a swordsman to hit. Suddenly, a metal blade flashed right by my cheek, close enough to make a shallow cut. Shit! Rolling to the side, I tried to launch up into an uppercut, but the guard jumped back and countered with a thrust that I barely sidestepped. Adam had fallen back, out of the smoke cloud and was breathing heavily. Not surprising, Im honestly surprised he kept up as long as he did without getting injured. Dent was still firing darts, but had dropped to ground level and was circling around to try and shoot from unpredictable angles. Hes nearly out as well... this is taking too long! The smoke was once again beginning to thin out, so I needed to give Dent a chance. I made a quick chopping motion with my hand; our teams signal to wait for an opening. Then, I dove at the guard. It was a risky move, and one full of openings. Thats why it worked. The guard wasnt expecting me to rush him down without any thought to self-preservation, and he failed to react. Slamming into his stomach, knocked the wind out of him. Dent took the chance and threw his jar. For someone without a class, Dent was a pretty good shot; the jar smashed right into the guards face as he was involuntarily sucking in air. Pushing off of him, I took distance out of the cloud and released my own breath. After a few seconds of floundering, the guard finally stilled. Waving my two comrades over, I quickly whispered instructions. Dent, how many darts do you have left? He glanced at his pouch then mouthed the number to me, Six. Good, take them all and stab that bastard in an artery; he took way too long to pass out, so hes gotta have poison or sleep resistance. Dent nodded and hurried over to the mans side. Adam, give me an antidote; the bastard nicked my cheek. Then, we need to get out of here; that was way too long and flashy. Someone almost definitely saw. Adam pulled a general-purpose anti-poison from his pouch and passed it to me, then he went and hefted up the noble girl. Dent was busy stripping the armor from the guard; he would be too heavy to carry with it on, so we would leave it behind. Two minutes later, we were tearing through the woods towards the cart and horse we had left ahead of time. Much to our surprise and joy, the alarm wasnt sounded until we were back at the city gates. I voiced what we were all thinking as we got into our safe house, I guess we got lucky and nobody saw anything. Thank Antenora for small mercies. It wouldnt be for another couple of hours that I realized things had probably been arranged with the city watch ahead of time, when Dent came hurtling into my room and told me that; Stahlia wants to see you, to tell you where to take her and her guard so we can get the rest of the payment. Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 Kurtis looked exhausted when he finished recounting his side of events, so I thanked him before telling him where we should be delivered, Again, thank you for your help; I wouldnt have been able to deal with Rowell without you This evening or tomorrow morning you can bring us to this warehouse near the upper city, and some people will be there with the other half of your money. The guards at the west gate will have instructions to let you pass without searching the cart. Kurtis took the slip of paper on which was drawn a map and address, before folding it and stuffing it down the front of his shirt, Aye. We well do it tonight. I want nothing more to do with you or that guard after we get paid. This whole situation is abnormal. He had a distant, wistful look in his eye. Clearly. Abnormal is an apt descriptor for this situation. I suppose I shouldnt tell you whos money youre being paid with then, you might have a heart attack. I gave my host a gracious smile, Regarding Rowell, he has both [Sleep Resistance] and [Poison Resistance] talents, though I dont know the levels you may want to give him another dose or two. Kurtis waved his hand at Adam while sighing, and he hurried out to re-drug my bodyguard. I suppose I wont need the backup plan after all. It doesnt look like they have any intentions of trying to double-cross on the deal. The backup plan was for me to invoke the voice of the king using my name as a princess of the kingdom and compel the three of them to follow my orders. Doing it would be extremely painful owing to my injury, and would necessitate tying up loose ends since nobody could know I was engaged to Rupert just yet. I was already feeling anxious about what was going to happen with Rowell, and he was a known enemy. These three were at best neutral and at worse collaborators of mine. Having to have them killed would be a tall order for me, but Rupert would definitely insist on it. Thankfully, it wont come to that. Later that evening, I bade farewell to Kurtis and his compatriots, and greeted Gustav. I was a bit surprised he was the one who came to pay my release; though he was wearing a mask to hide his face from the three, I could recognize his voice. Once Team Red Iron had left, a man came and took Rowell away. Removing his mask, Gustav guided me deeper into the warehouse, We had a workplace set up further inside. Forgive me for the quality, but it was done in a hurry. I have also arranged for an assistant who can help you with any of the less ladylike aspects of this endeavor. I bowed my head in gratitude, Thank you, Gustav. The assistant can be trusted I take it? Yes, he can be. He was once your fathers guard knight and has been working alongside Rupert for some time now. His name is Ferdinand. We came to a door as Gustav was talking, and he handed me a hooded cloak that would obscure my face but not inhibit my sight, It is enchanted to mask the sound of your voice so that Rowell, and by extension the parasite, will not recognize you. I took a deep breath to steady my heart, which had begun to beat faster and faster as I approached the coming moment, Thank you. Though, I doubt such a measure will fool our enemy; Five already knows that I am working against him. The fact that the shadow assigned to me was the one targeted. Gustav nodded seriously and opened the door for me, Still, Rupert ordered me to give it to you, so you should wear it. I bit back my retort and simply shrugged while donning the cloak. While I knew he was only doing it to preserve his investment, and not because he cared for my safety out of any kind of affection I was still a bit touched. After all, Rupert was pretty intelligent in his own right; the unspoken implication of Gustavs still was that Rupert was trying to act like a fiance should, for my sake. Entering the room, I found that Rowell had been stretched out on a frame-mounted over a wooden table. It was such that the frame could be lifted and rotated, to give access to both his front and back. Accounting for my small stature, there was even a step stool next to the table. On another table, was an assortment of knives and scalpels, as well as a jar labeled Ether, and an assortment of other potions and compounds. I felt a sick sense of irony that a chemical I had once developed to help my mother was now being offered to me with the understanding that I would be using it to cut someone open. Maliciously. Next to the table of scary stuff, was the man who had originally taken Rowell away. I suppose thats Ferdinand. My dads old knight huh? Wearing the hood now, he wouldnt be able to see my face as I studied him curiously. He was on the taller side, with grey hair and hazel eyes. His skin had the look of a weathered warrior. And considering he was my fathers guard knight he must be fairly old. Over forty at least, based on my fathers age. There wasnt really a concept of retirement in this world, so older knights werent unheard of. But it was a dangerous profession, so the older knights that would actually go out on missions or who had all of their limbs were rare. It was a sign that they were extremely skilled. After a moment he stepped away from the table with Rowell and bowed, an action that caught me entirely off guard, Huwah!? Your Highness, Princess Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas. It is my honor to make your acquaintance, my name is Ferdinand von Claurence. I was once in the service of your father, before the fall of the Despita house If I might say, it was music to my ears when I heard about what you have done to restore your house. Even if its name has changed. His tone was completely level and respectful, but the eyes with which he was looking at me exuded admiration bordering on idolatry. This was the first time anyone has greeted me using my full title, isnt it Thats going to take some getting used to. And stop looking at me like that! Its more than a bit creepy! I would have to ask my father about him later; his devotion was on the extreme end, and there had to be a reason for that. For now though, I had other issues to attend to. Doing my best to smooth over my unladylike exclamation, I curtsied. Thank you, I am Lady Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Claurence. Though, my father never mentioned you Actually, wouldnt Edith have said something about one of her uncles being in the service of my father? From under my hood, I eyed him suspiciously. I was sure he wasnt a threat; Gustav and Rupert wouldnt be so na?ve as to send a threat to my side like this. But just the thought that nobody has ever mentioned you before There has to be a reason for that. I turned to Gustav, Gustav, how much does he know? He is aware of the engagement, as well as the existence of the demons. Rupert has also told him about your position of Winter Champion. He has not been told about anything we discussed after the royal proclamation. He spoke the second half in a whisper so that Ferdinand would not overhear. Right, so he doesnt know about the church or my tenuous divinity. Approaching the table, I went up the step stool and looked down over Rowells unconscious body. Right, here goes nothing. Focusing mana into my eyes, I ignored the pain and applied the Divine Element to it. Following yesterdays revelation in my White Magic class, I had confirmed that I wouldnt be further injured by mana once I had applied the divine aspect. Though the usefulness of this discovery was a bit limited since I had to move the mana to where I needed it prior to aspecting. Still, it meant that if I grit my teeth I could use my divine eyes for short periods of time; the constant flow of unaspected mana to replenish the used mana was a dull throbbing. A bit like the aftermath of a tetanus shot. I roved my eyes over Rowells body staring closely. After a moment, I spotted the location near his spine where there was no mana. Thatll be the parasite then. Its in a different place than Jacquelines was I motioned to Ferdinand, Turn him over, the demon is in his back. Ferdinand glanced at Rowell curiously, and the latter nodded, If thats where she says it is, then thats where it is. Ferdinand operated the table without further question and lifted Rowell up before manipulating the frame to turn him over. Reversing things, he lowered the prisoner down onto his stomach. Now, obviously it wasnt as accurate as something like an MRI would be, but it looked like it was on the inside of the spine, so we wouldnt be able to get it out without seriously risking paralyzing him. But, that was only if we had to get it out. Holding out my hand towards Ferdinand, I asked for one of the knives, The scalpel please, and then put an Ether soaked rag under his face. I dont want him to wake up. Gustav gave me a mildly concerned look, Are you going to do this yourself? I thought you would be having him do it. I shook my head, I will need to do a lot more; if I cant do this much there will be problems in the future, do you agree? Gustav didnt answer my question, but the silence was an answer in its own right. Ill try not to worry about the possibility of overdosing him on Ether either. I have no idea about how dosage would work for anesthetics Ill just have to do things quickly and trust that his resistance talents will prevent him from dying. Also of concern was the sanitation conditions of the area. Though a healing potion or some White Magic would cure most infections so that was a relatively minor thing. Ferdinand passed me the knife I wanted and placed the ether under Rowells face. Placing the knife a little bit to the right of the spine, I hesitated. I was thinking of when I melted Jacquelines arm. Getting over the guilt was one thing, but to turn around and do something similar Right, you have to do this. Hell, youll have to do a lot worse than this in the next few weeks and months, probably. Squeezing my eyes shut, I focused on breathing in and out repeatedly. I was not going to use [Cold Hearted] Ferdinand spoke quietly from nearby, Do you want me to I cut him off with a shake of my head, No. Ill do it. I opened my eyes and applied pressure with the knife, then pulled it towards myself. I was rewarded with the sensation of slicing meat, like trimming the fat from a steak. The cut was clean, and there was surprisingly little blood, I wasnt sure if that was a good or bad thing though. I dont feel sick at least. I moved the knife around, cutting under the skin to separate it from the tissue beneath. Putting the blade aside, I again motioned to Ferdinand, The clamps please. Taking the two metal clamps, I fastened them to the edges of the skin and pulled it aside. This exposed the muscle and tissue beneath. Right, chances are the parasite will react violently if I poke too close to it. So Ill move around this muscle. I just need to be able to touch it, then I can try my method. If that fails, well just cut it out and risk paralyzing him. Hopefully, my method would work, since then I could use it on Jacqueline; I wasnt going to try and cut the worm off of her and risk paralyzing my maid. If I had the Goddess Draught, then that would be one thing since I could simply hack out the parasite before giving it to her to heal her arm. Two birds with one stone and all that. Just a bit further Forcing my hand around, I was glad of the small size. Alright. If I go any further, it will probably feel me. The fact that it hasnt felt me already is a bit strange. I have to assume that its dormant alongside the host or something like that. It is attached to the nervous system There wasnt any sign of movement from the parasite so I shut my eyes with my hand shoved inside Rowells back. As an aside, this amplified the slimy-wet-warm feeling, and I became aware of his pulse. Right. Ignore that. Focus. Turning myself inward, I forcibly jammed out all of the external stimuli, calming my mind. After a short time of this, I became aware of a dull pulse, like something crawling under my skin. It had been a while since I had actively tried to feel my mana, and I had forgotten how strange it felt. But this isnt far enough. I need to go deeper. It was when I reached a state of near-zero awareness and activity that I felt it. A lump, sitting in my chest near my heart. It was cold and tingled a little bit, kind of like the needles pricking a limb that had fallen asleep. My mana crystal. It had been stockpiling mana ever since I had first gotten it, up until I had expended all of my mana stopping Dominic. But it had been slowly refilling over the course of the past few days. A quick glance at my status menu showed my mana was a little over a hundred and seventy-five percent capacity, so I had a fair amount in my crystal. And the crystal is a separate vessel, so the mana is already in its destination Focusing on the crystal, I grabbed hold of the contents and began to shape it. It was difficult, and there was a bit of resistance; normally manipulating my mana felt like swimming through a cloud made of velvet. It was easy and came naturally after so much practice. Manipulating the mana in this crystal felt slow like I was trying to row a canoe through a muddy swamp. Still, just because it was hard, didnt mean it wasnt possible. Ill force my way through if I have to! Slowly, I was able to collect the mana, and I began to aspect it. I was of course, giving it the Divine Element. Not just so I could move the mana from my crystal through my pathways without killing myself. But so that I could force all of it into the parasite. After all, why would the champions be given the ability to use Divine Element? So that they could see the gods? Antenora had appeared in my dreams before I was able to use my divine eyes. Mortis was probably just being a lazy ass by appearing the way he did. No, the only conclusion I could logically reach, was that the Divine Element was somehow needed to deal with Demons. This would be the test of that theory. By the time I had finished aspecting the clump of mana I was sweating profusely, and my breathing was ragged. This was the largest quantity of mana I had ever manipulated in this way; sure my [Pseudo Limit Break] had been a larger quantity, but that had been basic Blood Magic enhancement. I hadnt had to aspect the mana, let alone with Divine Element. I pushed the mana down my mana channels towards my hand. It was painless, as I had expected. Once it was pooled up, I forced my hand forward. Deeper into Rowell, and grabbed ahold of his spine roughly where the Parasite should be. Then, I forced the mana out of my hand. It felt cold like my blood had turned to ice water. After a moment, it was over. I smiled; I knew I had succeeded. Displayed on my screen was an appraisal result. Larval Demon of Wrath: Deceased It was upsetting that I couldnt get any stat information about it, like its skills, talents, and stats. But simply knowing that I could kill them without paralyzing the host was enough for me. I moved my hand up and down, careful not to pull at the spine, until I grasped something floppy and squishy. Pulling it out I found a small, white, blood-covered worm. It looked a bit like a larval Mind Flayer in appearance. I held it up and showed Gustav, like a cat showing a mouse to its owner, Look, my plan worked Ferdinand was already moving even as I fell forward, and was able to catch and support me. A wave of nausea washed over me, and I felt faint. Oh, this is not good. I knew I was going to pass out; this felt remarkably similar to what it was like right before I went into a coma after granting Jacqueline [Charm Immunity]. Apparently, using large amounts of divinity was going to cause me to have to sleep. I dont have much time think! Gustav, Im going to pass out in a minute. I probably wont wake up for a few days. Get Jacqueline and Felicity, bring them to the Claurence estate for safety. Tell Jacqueline that Its just like Ris. and she should go along with whatever you say. Ferdinand, sew up Rowell and give him the recovery potions I need to see iff he can recover My world, once again, went dark. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-6 The Calm Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 When I came to, the first thing that greeted me was the fuzzy outline of a maid I couldnt recognize. Right I killed the parasite, then the divinity made me pass out They wouldnt leave Jacqueline near me until after things calmed down, that would basically be the same as going straight to Fives face and telling him what we were up to. If we were lucky, he might believe that Rowell and by extension the parasite, had been killed during the kidnapping. That would buy us some time, but it would be foolhardy to count on it. Gingerly, I sat up in the bed and rubbed my eyes. My limbs were sore, but not as bad as the last time this had happened. Still to think I would go into a coma from just using a lot of Divinity Mortis did say not to overuse it, and using the divine eyes for too long does tend to give me a headache, but still. It would be good to know my exact limits, but testing that would be pretty much impossible. After I killed Jacquelines parasite, I would just have to be careful not to overuse it. The maid saw me sitting up and came over to support me, Lady Stahlia, I shall send word to Lords Gustav and Claurence that you have awoken. So this is the Claurence house. Good, Gustav and Ferdinand were able to figure out what I was saying. Squinting at her; trying to figure out if she was one of the maids I knew or not, I thanked her for the help, Thank you, miss? The maid nodded and gave me a smile, Irina. When Edith heard that you were staying over she insisted I care for you myself my lady is very distraught over recent events. My vision gradually cleared, and I was soon able to recognize the face of Ediths maid. I felt a pang of sympathy for my friend and frowned to myself, Thank you, Irina. Please tell Edith I will try and visit before his Highness Prince Rupert sends me back to the Academy How long was I asleep for? Three days, it is presently the first day of the second week of school. She then busied herself turning back the covers on the bed and otherwise proceeding to get ready to get me ready. Three days. So not as bad as when I gave a skill and grew a year A quick check of my status confirmed that I had not gained a year. I might have lost some time, but the status screen only tracked by the year. Ill just have to assume that I didnt, after all I didnt get a notification about lifespan being consumed Also from my status screen, I could see that I was at a hundred percent mana capacity. While I was watching, it ticked over to a hundred and one. So I guess the mana crystal wasnt filling while I was out. Or my mana was just regenerating really slowly Either way, it would be a few days until I was ready to handle Jacquelines parasite. Theres Edith and Sarala too Should I just go ahead and give them immunity? I need them on my side No, I would be out for nearly a month if I did two people, and a couple weeks if I did just one. That was assuming that things went exactly the same as with Jacqueline, and the chances of Edith and Sarala having the same amount of available Life Points was slim at best. Lastly, I experimentally pushed mana into my limbs but immediately called it back as I felt the sensation of being flayed. Wincing from the pain, I saw Irina give me a concerned look, but I waved her off. So my body didnt heal during the coma then. I had been a bit hopeful that my magic pathways had been restored; when I grew a year, I had apparently also had some growth stunting corrected. But it looked like I hadnt recovered this time. I imagine if I go into the full coma and lose another few years, Ill recover fully Not a reason to go for it though. The fact of the matter was, we were in too great of a precarious position for me to be out of commission for so long. As much as I wanted to help my friends, and I did want to help them, I couldnt. If I really pushed for it I was sure Rupert would agree, but I was smart enough to recognize the drawbacks. Right, lets go and see where everything stands. Irina helped me out of bed and dressed me. While she was doing so, I asked after the state of my acquaintances. According to what I was told, Felicity and Stil would presently be having breakfast and I could see them shortly. Gustav would come by the Claurence estate this evening and fill me in on Rupert. Ferdinand was in the process of interrogating Rowell, who had managed to fully recover. So the surgery was a success then. In a few days I can remove Jacquelines parasite as well. Lastly, Edith and Sarala were still under house arrest in their room. Jacqueline was in a side building of the manor and was being kept separate and otherwise uninformed about proceedings. Thankfully, Gustav had the sense to countermand my delirious order to tell Jacqueline that its just like Ris. Telling her that would have let five know I was moving and had used Divine Element. Instead, he had gone for the much more intelligent approach of telling her that I had been kidnapped, and my retainers all needed to come into custody. Jacqueline herself was smart enough that she would likely suspect that it was something I had arranged. Or she would panic and think that Five had decided to tighten my leash. Either way, it was better than basically telling our enemy our plan. Im lucky Gustav is a free thinker. I need to do better though; if I was already Queen he might have followed my orders to the letter. I cant mess up, I need to be perfect. Irina, you know a lot about whats going on, dont you? I gave her a curious look, but I was inwardly mildly concerned. She might be Ediths personal maid, but shes still just a maid, right? I cant imagine she would know this much if that was the whole story Giving me a reassuring smile, she answered, Yes, do not worry about that though; while I am officially Lady Ediths maid, I have entered into a slave contract with Duke Claurence as a precaution given the complicated circumstances. Catching my incredulous look she elaborated, It is purely for security reasons, and was entirely consensual on my part. If I didnt know any better, the look she was giving me was a bit defensive, but I chose not to pursue the topic; I would confirm she was telling the truth about the contract with the duke later, and until then I would simply avoid speaking about anything sensitive in her presence. Well, shall we go to breakfast then? I imagine that miss Felicity and the Stawri will be happy to see that their mistress has finally awoken. Putting thoughts of plots and treachery out of my head, I nodded and made my way out into the hall where Irina then led me towards the meal hall. Upon entering, I was greeted with an excited squeal and Felicity came tearing towards me, only to suddenly skid to a halt and nearly trip. Pff! Claire must have warned her not to jump on me, thats so cute I steadied the wayward cat, Well, I see someone is happy. Have you been causing any trouble? Felicity shook her head no while her tail was twitching excitedly, No, Felicity has been good! Every time shes almost bad she remembers not to! So Claire is parenting her then, I worry for her future I gave Felicity a sad, compassionate look. I was rewarded with an indignant flick of the ears; Claires silent protest. Giggling to myself, I reached out and pet her head affectionately, Right, you should go sit down again. Once Ive said hello to Stil Ill join you ok? Ok! Felicity moved back to where she had been sitting before I came in. Stil trotted up to me from where he had been silently and patiently waiting his turn. Pushing his beak up against my hand, he flared out his neck feathers as if to say Took you long enough. Aye, Im back. Glad to see you took good care of Felicity for me, she didnt give you any trouble, did she? I gently stroked and smoothed down the feathers around the base of his beak. I was rewarded with a low keening and a vibration passing up from inside his throat; the Hawri version of a purr. I glanced at Irina, and she promptly handed me a small chunk of Jerky that she had grabbed off the table. I fed it to Stil, then went to sit down next to Felicity so we could eat. Im glad Edith sent her own maid. I would definitely need to make sure I went to see her while I was in the manor. The food we were provided was incredibly tasty; probably the best food I had eaten in this life, actually. The meal consisted of three courses. The appetizer was a soup whose broth had been strained until it was practically clear, with large chunks of finely cut vegetables and something like a turnip. It was faintly sweet, and all of the ingredients seemed to melt in my mouth. The main dish was a cut of meat lightly seared and served medium-rare. Whatever it came from, it had a consistency of butter when I was cutting it, but upon meeting my tongue it seemed to firm up and provide the perfect degree of chewiness. It tasted a bit like venison, but smokier. Very likely, it was some type of monster, but I felt strangely embarrassed to ask; like I should know what it was already or something. Finally, the dessert was a sort of creamy pudding that reminded me of tapioca. Felicity didnt care for it much, but before I could chide her for complaining, Irina promptly brought her a glass of warmed milk sweetened with honey instead. Ok, but I dont exactly want her to grow up spoiled. Still, whats done was done and I saw little point in making her give the milk back now that she had it; that would simply be rude to the Claurence for hosting us. For my part, I greatly enjoyed the pudding and had no issues eating it. When both Felicity and I had finished eating, I turned my attention to Irina, My compliments to the chef, and my thanks to Duke Claurence for hosting me and my retinue She curtsied and gave the affirmation that she would convey my words, Thank you on behalf of my lord, I will be sure to convey your thoughts. Would you like to see if Lady Edith and Miss Sarala are able to see you now? I did want to see them, but I felt like that would be a bit crass of me towards Felicity. After all, I had probably given her a bit of a fright by getting kidnapped and then going into a coma. If I had to guess, the only reason she hadnt latched onto me full of tears the moment she saw me was because Claire had spent the past few days keeping her calm and gently explaining things to her. Looking over at her now, I saw that she was watching me a bit anxiously but was otherwise holding her tongue. Irina caught the direction of my gaze and nodded, I shall inform my lady that you would like to see her tomorrow. Looking up, I gave her a slight bow of my head to show gratitude, Thank you, Irina, that would be perfect. Turning back to Felicity, I caught a brief flash of a relieved smile before she quickly wiped it off her face. It was one of the rare moments where she showed an astonishing degree of maturity for her age, considering she was only six and a half. Probably the holdovers of what she went through becoming a slave and living in that market, combined with Claires influence. I quickly banished the errant thought; it wouldnt do to be stuck in the dark past. Well, what have you been up to the past few days? As if she had been waiting for me to ask, the young catgirl bounded over to me and produced a large sketch from somewhere I actually couldnt tell. Where was she hiding that? Unrolling it in front of me, I saw that she had drawn a rough depiction of me and her holding hands. I could only tell it was me because of the hair color and eyes; not many people in this kingdom had dark hair, and my icy-blue eyes were pretty darn unique. To my right, was a boy that I could only guess was supposed to be Rosin. Two people were standing behind the three of us, a man and a woman. Based on context, they were probably my mother and father. A short distance away from the five of us was Jacqueline, going by the colors chosen for the clothes, and a mass of something that came up about to her middle thigh. Oh, you drew our family! It looks amazing, but whos this here? Felicity gave me a very childish judgmental look, Obviously thats Stil! With Jacqi Onee-sama, Stali Nee-chan, Rosin Tou-kun, Otousan, and Okaasan! Oh, thats Stil I mean if I squint I can kind of see it I should have guessed that from the context though I suppose. Also, poor Rosin, downgraded to kun. Show some respect for your younger brother Felicity. Oh! I see, Stil I should have known, you did very well. Reaching out my hand, I rubbed her head affectionately, while watching her tail swish too and fro happily. Its a remarkably bad drawing, but I cant tell you that. I had noticed her coloring a few times but had never thought to actually look and see what she had drawn before. It was honestly kind of surprising that she wasnt any better at it than this. I guess it just goes to show the difference between something she was able to copy with [Envious] versus something that shes trying to do all on her own I froze mid-thought; Felicity was pushing the paper into my hands, Here! With this, you wont forget to come back next time you disappear! I was speechless. Speechless and a bit hurt, that she would simply accept and expect that me having to disappear again was inevitable. She had a point though, as loathe as I was to admit it. I disappeared pretty frequently from her point of view. Going to school every day, going to Ang for a week and a half. Living at a camp away from the village while dealing with the goblins. Now being kidnapped and falling into a coma again No wonder she was so vehement about coming back to the capital with me The worst part of my realization was that I couldnt tell her that I wasnt going to disappear anymore; I knew for sure that I would. Probably several more times in fact. Suddenly, the shitty drawing looked a lot more beautiful. I clutched the paper, being careful not to crinkle the edges, and carefully folded it, Thank you Felicity, Ill make sure to keep it with me Good! I got an energetic and triumphant retort. Well, I should at least make the time to spend with her while I am able to, between my disappearances. Starting today. I asked Irina, Irina, would you please bring some paper or parchment, and something we could draw with? The drawing was fresh on my mind, and Felicity seemed to enjoy it, so we may as well do it together. The girl in question seemed ecstatic at the idea if the acceleration of her tail was anything to judge by, and we soon found ourselves trading idle conversation as we worked on a pair of pictures. A few hours later, I had finished mine; it was a near duplicate of Felicitys earlier gift to me, except I had drawn us side hugging instead of holding hands, and added Rosial hugging my other side between me and Rosin. I presented it to Felicity, Here, now you have one too. She took it with an excited expression, but that quickly turned into mild confusion. Stali nee-san, whos this? She asked in a rather confused tone, that sent a pang through my heart even though I knew she was just being curious. Ah That would be Rosial she was my first sister, but shes gone now. Despite my best effort, I couldnt stop my voice from trembling a bit, as it did every time talk of my sister came up. Felicitys face turned gravelly serious, and she cutely stretched her arm to try and pat my head; something she had never done before, Like Felicitys Okaasan before Okaasan. What the hell? No, your mom is oh. Forcing a small smile, I shook my head, No, not quite its, well its complicated. Thats why I have to disappear so much; to try to try and help her because shes in trouble. A quick glance in Irina confirmed that she was giving us space to talk and didnt appear to be listening in. I need to make sure to confirm with Count Claurence that she really cant divulge any information. Felicity seemed a bit confused by what I was saying about Rosial, but that was understandable. It was a complicated subject without knowing all the information. And there is no way I could tell a six-year-old everything. I settled for telling her a story about Rosial before she was taken instead; one about where we had invented the running game that Felicity and Rosin had enjoyed playing so much. By the end of it, Felicity looked conflicted about something. Locking eyes with me, she tilted her head, Stali Nee-chan, is Felicity not a good sister? What!? No! Thats not what I meant at all! In a mild panic, I waved my hands in vehement denial while reassuring Felicty as best I could, No, Felicity is my precious sister just like Rosial! If you were in trouble No, if I was in trouble, would you want to help me? After a moment, Felicity reluctantly nodded; she was clever enough to see where this was going and didnt seem to like it that much. Continuing, I explained myself, Well, I feel the same way about you, and about Rosial. Both of you are my precious little sisters, and I would do, no, I will do whatever I have to in order to keep the two of you safe. Thats why, please dont ask me which one of you I like better. I love both of you so much it hurts. It seems I got through to her with my final desperate plea, because her face brightened up and she was smiling again. But her tail was noticeably slower, indicating that she was still conflicted about something. I darted my eyes up to her ears, and after a moment they flicked lazily; it was my silent plea to Claire to try and explain things to her. I felt a bit dirty throwing the problem to my former teacher, but I couldnt think of anything else for me to say and I would likely be far too busy in the coming days, weeks, and months to follow up adequately. Irina came up gently to my side and cleared her throat. Without looking up, I tilted my head slightly as an indication for her to state her business. Her voice was a bit sad; even if she didnt know the specifics, she could tell that an issue was occurring between the two of us, Lady Stahlia Lord Gustav is here, and wishes to speak with you should I ask him to wait? I gave a lingering look to Felicity, who was tracing Rosials figure with her finger, No, I should see him as soon as possible I think. I imagine we have much to discuss. There isnt a whole lot more I can accomplish now this will take time. Hopefully, Claire can manage something for now. Then, this way, Lady Stahlia. Getting up, I followed Irina from the room. I was shown into a drawing room, in which both Duke Claurence and Gustav were standing. I froze for a moment, then realized that they were standing because both of them knew about my engagement; I was above both of them. The thought that a duke was among the people I now stood above made me feel dizzy. Before I swooned, I gave a very quick half curtsy and an abbreviated greeting. The two of them seemed to pick up on this as me still feeling slightly unwell, based on their demeanor shift and apologetic tones when giving their own greetings. Once we were all seated, Irina prepared tea and then excused herself. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I quickly asked Duke Claurence for assurances about Irina, Lord Cecil, regarding Ediths maid, how much does she know and can she be trusted? Duke Claurence nodded and, after a short pause stated, Yes, she is bound with a slave contract, though the only terms therein prevent her from divulging information regarding the affairs of this house. As Ediths friend, and as my lieges fianc, your affairs are covered by that. So its a bit of a modified slave contract then, since the only terms are about the secrets, and there isnt anything about compelled obedience Actually, thinking about it, its a bit surprising that nobles dont use methods like that more frequently There must be a reason for that because it seems very convenient. That wasnt something to be addressed now, however, we had more pressing concerns. Thank you, Cecil. Knowing that puts my mind at ease. Turning to Gustav, I commenced the meeting proper, Gustav, how did things go on your end? Gustav took a sip of his tea before answering me. Taking a deep breath, he began to explain everything that had been going on with Ruperts side of things while I was out, First, noble society is in a bit of an uproar over your kidnapping. His highness, with Lord Cecils help, has instigated a few notable neutral nobles to question if it is not the Francois that are behind this incident. Wow, I was expecting Rupert to use my kidnapping politically, but thats pretty good. It sets things up nicely, especially given my recent falling out with them. All of the students at the academy know about it, and at least the males should be able to see how Dominic is getting more and more unstable. I straightened my back a bit to show I was listening attentively, and Gustav continued. Regarding the subject himself, Rowell has made a full medical recovery but there seems to be an issue with his mind. He seems to have snapped and gone mildly insane following the recovery of his body. We have a notable Black Mage looking into it with Mental Magic, but so far have not been able to learn if it was caused by removing the parasite or if the mental state was a result of the training; with the parasite serving to hold his psyche together. I sat back and exhaled while closing my eyes. That was bad news for me, since it meant I wouldnt be able to remove Jacquelines parasite with clear consciousness. Gustav nodded, I am glad to see you understand the gravity of the situation; we cannot leave Jacqueline out of the loop indefinitely. So far, we have been lucky in that Five has made no overt moves. But we cannot keep her in the dark forever; she is a liability. Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him, Maybe so, but what are you implying? Gustav answered my hostile stare with a grim look, When it comes time for us to return you to the academy, Jacqueline will need to go with you; sometime in the next week you need to remove the parasite. I blinked my eyes in surprise, You arent going to demand I wash my hands of her? No, though that would be quick and efficient, you would greatly despise that course of action, and she is a notable individual in her own right. Both Rupert and I agree that freeing her from Fives eyes and ears would be more beneficial than having her disappear. Well, thats something then I hate it, but if Jacqueline knew If she knew about the parasite, Im sure she would tell me to take it out of her, even if I knew there was a risk She would, wouldnt she? I was still conflicted, but this was likely the best course of action I could take. Even if it was a bit too cold for my liking, Alright. In one week. Please keep me appraised about the progress of that Black Mage I would like to know if I am If I am about to cause such harm to my friend. The implicit instruction was to tell me the truth, even if it meant telling me that removing the parasite would cause Jacquelines mind to shatter beyond repair. Gustav gave his assent to my request, then went on to elaborate on the timeline, Regarding your return to the Academy. Our current plan is to have you rescued towards the end of the week. This will be handled by a few trusted knights in the employ of Lord Cecil. Evidence will be found that Count Francois is indeed responsible for your kidnapping, though it wont be explicit. Just enough to tie him to the crime in the minds of the people. We want the other nobles to draw the conclusion themselves; that will be more effective than accusing him ourselves. That makes sense, but arent you forgetting something? Duke Claurence picked up the conversation next, Once my men have rescued you, you will officially move into my estate; I will use the suspicions against Count Francois, as well as your friendship with Edith to justify this. His Highness Prince Rupert will wait a few days longer, and then publicly decry Count Francois and evict him from his faction while at the same time reneging his support of your engagement. I nodded my head, everything so far sounded like it would work and accomplish all of our goals. There are just a couple of things they havent addressed though. I chose to wait until the end though, before asking the questions. After all, I would just feel like an ass if they happened to answer my questions without me having to ask them. Gustav picked up the thread next, jumping in to explain what would happen with Rupert after that. His Highness, will, after absolving your engagement to Dominic personally come to apologize to you. Publicly, the crown prince apologizing to a young baron girl will cause an uproar. Following the apology, he will publicly call after you several times, in order to start spreading rumors. The kings proclamation about him planning to choose his queen from among the current student body will help with that. After one or two months, depending on the state of noble society, your engagement to his Highness Prince Rupert will be officially announced. He stopped talking and took another sip of his tea to indicate he had finished the explanation of our upcoming plans. That all sounds good to me, just two things though. That sounds like a well-thought-out plan, I have two points to raise, if I may? Upon receiving his affirmation, I asked my first question, What about retaliation from Five? Either against me following the removal of Jacquelines parasite or against Rupert after dissolving my engagement? Gustav nodded, A fair question. Regarding yourself, Jacqueline will ideally be able to protect you as a shadow. We will also arrange for as many precautions as we can; both in the form of skilled bodies and magical defenses. You yourself are also highly skilled, and should still be valuable to him in some way. It is our hope that you will continue to be such. Though it is admittedly a risk, we all agreed to walk this path. Rupert is the Crown Prince now, assassinating him is no small feat, even for the Order. Beyond the various artifacts he has been given along with his new title, he also has the Voice of the King and the other Ruler Magics at his disposal, he should be as safe as possible given his circumstances and our plans. That being said, he is willing to take these risks. I nodded and gave my consent though it was likely meaningless to do so, I simply wanted to make sure that everyone present knew I was fully on board with the plan, Very well. I am likewise willing to shoulder the risks needed for this to succeed My second question then, what became of Team Red Iron? Gustav glanced at Duke Claurence, My lady, I know of no such adventuring team Though if you mean to implicate them in your kidnapping, are you aware of the consequences for kidnapping a member of the royal family? I bit my lip and nodded while engraving the faces of the three men into my memory. My natural memory. So they were made to disappear. I sort of expected that would happen. Ill do my part and remember them, while not insulting their sacrifice by faltering here. The path I had chosen to walk was already beginning to dye red, and I did not expect it would stop anytime soon. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons Extra Chapter: Antibiotics Psycholor This chapter depicts a scene requested by a member of the Discord Server, who took the first place position in the March 2022 chat rankings. This chapter is considered canon. Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eighth Month of 947 Glaring down at the notes and diagrams on the desk in front of me, I let out a heavy sigh. This was the most recent failure in my little project. Then again, without proper equipment, I was a bit limited in what I could accomplish. After Jacqueline lost her arm, no, after I took it from her, I had hit upon a potential new use for alchemy. This wasnt something I planned on marketing; it would cause far too much of an upheaval to the markets and drastically shift the tenuous balance of military power on the continent. Not something I was overly concerned with, other than the fact that I didnt want to be caught up in things. It was bad enough that I was an unwilling player in a power struggle between gods and demon lords. What I had noticed, was the lack of any real treatment methods for serious injuries; when Jacqueline had lost her arm, I had resorted to cauterizing the wound. If Sana was there, we would have been able to close it with a quick miracle, but that wasnt an option. A healing potion poured directly on the wound would have sealed it up, but it would have locked any debris under her skin. Want I was trying to do, was develop a compound that would solve those problems. Namely, I was trying to develop an antibiotic. If I could mix it with a cream, I would have a way of sterilizing wounds without using magic, before applying a healing potion. The issue I was having was the materials. My chosen compound was theoretically fairly easy to produce. Sulfa drugs were among the simplest antibiotics. Theoretically, they could have been made using only materials and equipment from the early bronze or stone age. As such, it was something I should be able to make while on the road back to Ris, and I was trying my best. No, equipment wasnt the issue. I was unable to source one of the materials. A Sulfa Drug could be made by reacting the chemical sulfonyl chloride with ammonia. I had already developed the latter, so the sticking point was obviously the former. To make that chemical, the simplest way was to react Benzene with Chlorosulfuric Acid. Benzene was also easy to get; while nobles like myself preferred magic lights, commoners used oil lanterns, and Benzene was extracted easily enough from the oil fuel. The Chlorosulfuric Acid was proving almost impossible for me to source though. Theoretically, all I needed was Hydrochloric Acid and Sulfuric Acid. Mixing the two in equal molar quantities would yield Chlorosulfuric Acid in a 1:1:1 ratio. Hydrochloric acid was super easy to get; my nightly inflicted remorse usually resulted in about a liter of the stuff after I finished throwing up. Sure, working with my puke was gross, but it would work for the experiments. Sulfuric acid though was much harder. So far, I had tried a variety of reactions using oxygen from Air Powder and Sulfur crystals in my mini pressure chamber, but no matter what ratio I tried, I couldnt seem to get the reaction to trigger. There was also the concern that if I was successful, the acid would eat the seal on the pressure chamber, resulting in a rather violent occurrence. Rubbing my temples, I muttered several series of numbers to myself. I was attempting to work out a mathematical solution to gauge the ratio I needed, but the Air Powder yield was so just damn imprecise. It would be so much easier if I could just create the damn stuff! Like a jolt of electricity, I sat up. Theres no way its that fucking simple is it? There was one way to test. I grabbed a bucket and pointed my palm at it, Oh Water, Form a ball of acid in my hand. Fly forth and melt my enemies, Acid Splash! While chanting the super basic spell, I fixed the image of Sulfuric Acid in my mind. I had no idea what acid was normally produced by this spell, just that it hurt if it got on my skin. But I did know that spells were atleast partially influenced by mental image. It wasnt to the point that you could control the size or power of a spell. Both of those could only be changed by adding words to the chant, or forcing more mana. But it might be possible to influence the type of something manifested by a spell. Either way, there was no risk in trying. A small clear ball formed in my hand and splashed into the bucket. Metal was pretty resistant to corrosion from Acid, at least for a time, so I had a bit of leeway. Unfortunately, I had no way of testing the acid without going all the way to try and make a Sulfonamide. I went through the reaction process. Based on the liquid changing to a yellowish tint, it would seem that my contaminated Hydrochloric Acid had reacted with the magically conjured acid. Thats a good sign! Next, I needed to add the Benzene. Without a centrifuge, it was pretty hard to extract, so I was sure that this too was contaminated by other materials from the lantern oil, but if I could just prove the formulation was possible, I could refine the process while I was in Ris. To my great excitement, the solution reacted again, with the yellow color fading away into a clear liquid. Again, due to the lack of a centrifuge, I had no real way of separating the components. Briefly, I thought of trying to do it with magic, via a custom spell, but discarded the idea; I wasnt sure how I could phrase separate into the components or something similar with my current vocabulary. In the worst-case scenario, I would consume a lot of mana and break down the molecular bonds. I couldnt trust the mental image thing here, since what I wanted went a bit beyond selecting a type of acid. Still, even if it was contaminated that was fine; the end product was a powder anyway so I could always get rid of the acid using other means. I took a small vial of smelling salts from our supplies and mixed the ammonia crystals into my vat of stuff. Almost immediately, the liquid began to bubble slightly, and a white powder began to precipitate out and settle at the bottom of the bucket. I felt a smile forming as I stared at what I was sure was a Sulfonamide. The idea of trying to picture a specific acid was, to toot my own horn, genius. Influencing the outcome of a spell with a mental image like that was a trick I would have to keep in mind. For instance, it might be possible to picture an oil fire before casting a fireball and wind up with a fire that couldnt be put out with water. Or maybe I could make Dry Ice instead of Water Ice. There were a lot of possibilities, and most of them would require knowledge of chemistry, something sincerely lacking in this world. After all, the predominant idea was that spells could only behave according to their scripts, with Healing Magic being one of the few exceptions. This will make a decent trump card if it works out! Unfortunately, further testing would reveal that I could not do something like drastically change the source; Acids all had something in common; their basic structure was similar in that they all possessed hydrogen. But the differences between Carbon Dioxide Ice and Dihydrogen Monoxide Ice seemed to somehow be too great to repeat this feat. There was one other potential discovery I made though, and this one had even grander implications. After I had managed to separate the white powdered Sulfa from the remaining liquid, I needed to mix it into a healing potion or ointment. The problem was preventing the magical liquid from reacting with the drug. There seemed to be something there triggering the healing effect to dissipate. After some trial and error, I discovered that I could mix the sulfa drug into the healing potion before condescending it. Seriously, screw that name! Doing it this way caused the sulfa drug to bond with the healing potion in a unique way; the healing property seemed to be heightened, if the rich red color was anything to go by. Appraising the potion also yielded a very promising line of text. Unnamed Healing Potion[High Quality]: An advanced potion capable of triggering minor regeneration of lost flesh, and restoring a large amount of vitality. If I was interpreting this correctly, then if I was able to make a potion this quality from the generic ingredients I had used If I get good enough ingredients, I might be able to make something that could regrow entire limbs I glanced around at the traveling companions, namely Lucy. When I had confirmed that she had not been paying attention to what I was doing, I dumped the crimson liquid out and onto the ground. Another Failure, Damnit! Lucy looked up at my faux outburst and gave me a conciliatory smile, while Jacqueline looked on, a knowing smile briefly crossing her face. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-7 The Eye Psycholor Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 No! You have to go and talk to him! If its you, I am sure he would understand! Groaning, I sat back in my chair. I felt pity for Edith; she had been like this since I came to visit her. According to Irina, this was abnormal; normally, she was quite stable. But as soon as she had seen me, a look of anguish had crossed her face and she began to rant and cry that I should go back to Dominic. Sarala isnt much better Though at least she isnt being vocal. Indeed, the other girl in the room had looked upset upon seeing me but had otherwise not spoken a word, Edith you know I cannot do that Can we not simply enjoy each others company, without worrying about such things? Edith bit her lip and screwed her eyes shut, but held her tongue. After what appeared to be a considerable effort on her part, she opened her eyes, Alright I dont want this to come between us even if you dont realize what youre giving up. Thank you, Edith. Sarala? Are you alright as well? What the hell? How did she get over the charm just now? I activated my divine eyes and looked Edith over carefully while being careful not to appear as though I was staring. Her mana still seemed a bit sick, the mark that Dominics curse was present in her. So she is still charmed but shes resisting it? It made sense that she would be able to do that, a dukes daughter would probably have [Charm Resistance] after all. I will follow Ediths lead, as always. Saralas voice was unconflicted, but something about the way she said it gave me pause. If anything, she should be even more enthralled than Edith, since she spent a week in Ang with him. Yet, shes going to go with Edith on this one? With no questions? I changed my target to Sarala. Thinking about it, she never really has expressed any adoration for anyone other than Edith even when Dominic was right in the room with us, she never seemed to be overly infatuated with him A close study of Sarala showed that her mana was seemingly normal; unlike Ediths slightly disturbed mana Saralas was closer to my own. I was now deeply intrigued by what was going on, and I strongly felt that it was something far too big to be able to safely ignore. After hesitating for a little while, unsure of if I wanted to go through with this or not, I made up my mind. Edith, may I cast appraisal on you? My voice was steady and level, I did not want to give off the wrong impression. Really, the one I wanted to appraise was Sarala, but she would probably refuse unless Edith was first. Edith froze, she had been about to cut into a pastry that Irina had given her. Stahlia, you can use that magic? I thought it was restricted She didnt seem against the idea, more so that she was confused as to why it was an option in the first place. Pursing my lips, I shook my head, Well, in a manner of speaking. It is not regular appraisal magic Edith narrowed her eyes, What do you mean, not regular magic exactly? Does this have anything to do with why you refuse to go back and apologize to Lord Dominic? What? Where are you getting that from? Why would my magic have anything to do with that? I honestly could not follow her logic at all. It didnt make sense to me in the slightest why she would draw that conclusion. The only possibility I could think of was that the charm, combined with her present somewhat unstable state, was forcing her to somehow relate everything back to Dominic. I I just want to get rid of it now. I could do that, but without informing anyone things wouldnt go well It would also potentially turn out to be a waste; Dominic was very likely to be executed when his actions came to light, and at that time it was possible his charm would dissipate. If it didnt well, there would be a whole host of other issues, and there was no way I had enough lifespan to give every noble girl and woman he had come in contact with immunity. Nor would I feel inclined to do so; Edith and Sarala were my friends, and I was willing to make that sacrifice for them. For the others though, while I felt bad for them, I wasnt willing to give up my life over it. I fully intended to live with my friends and family after rescuing Rosial and thwarting the demons out of the kingdom. Edith, you should just let her. She might be able to help you To my surprise, the voice that called out to Edith was Saralas. I had actually thought she might be opposed to me peeking at Ediths status, calling it a violation of privacy or something. After all, she always seemed to hold Edith in rather high regard. When I looked at her, with my surprise obvious on my face, she shrugged, I am a bit irritated about that charm as well; if you can remove it, I would do anything. No longer shy or slightly reserved, she was looking at me seriously. Ok, what the hell is going on? Sarala? The girl looked at me with eyes filled with determination, You are our friend, Stahlia. Both Ediths and mine, and I think it is time that I stopped keeping my own secrets from you. Especially not now that you have made your standing clear. Edith was watching the two of us with a completely confused face. To be honest, seeing the usually well-informed and confident girl so blatantly out of the loop, was just a bit adorable. Then again, I dont really know what the hell is going on either! Sarala took hold of Ediths hand and gently dragged it over to me, before placing it in my own. Edith, if you trust me, let Stahlia do what she needs to. With Saralas plea and assurance, Edith took a deep breath and nodded, Alright I still do not understand how you know restricted magic, but I will let you cast the spell. Thank you, Edith. And Sarala. While giving Sarala a confused look of my own, I grit my teeth against the pain and moved some of my mana into Edith. Her status floated up into my vision, largely showing what I expected to see. Name/Age: Edith von Claurence, 11 Species/Level: Human(Pureblood), 11 Ability Values: Special: Spirits Liege Talents[Page 1/5]: Spirit Touched V, Memorization V, Analytics V, Thought Acceleration III, Charm Resistance II, Water Magic II, Ice Magic II, Noble Finesse II, Impeccable Manners I, Mental Math I, [Expand] Skills: Language Proficiency[Central Human], Blessing of the Ice King, Accelerated Reading, Connection Correction. Reading through her status, my eyes came to a rest on the special section. Spirits Liege? Then the talent that goes along with that, Spirit Touched at level five And [Blessing of the Ice King]? As I thought, she has [Charm Resistance], but what are these three? My eyes naturally landed on Sarala. She stared back, meeting my stare with her own steady gaze. The plot thickens I focused on the skill, [Blessing of the Ice King] first, her other skills were ones that I could assume were from her class, which she had once confided in me was Scholar, a precursor to most mage classes and respectable enough for a noble. [Blessing of the Ice King]: Mark of one who is under the protection of Cocytus, King of the Ice Spirits. Enables the acquisition of Spirit Magic, and the contraction of a Spirit Familiar. The term Spirit Magic meant nothing to me, but I had a sneaking suspicion that there was somebody nearby I could ask. Later though, for now, the talent. [Spirit Touched]: Talent possessed by one who is close with a contracted spirit. Increases loyalty of contracted Spirits, and enables sharing of mana with contracted spirits. Effects increase with level. Neither of them showed me a Life Point cost, which meant I wouldnt be able to buy them for myself. Though that would be as expected, considering that both of them list special acquisition conditions Protection of the Spirit King, and close with a spirit Sarala, who, or rather what are you? I was still connected to Edith at the moment though, and while I wasnt going to give her charm immunity, I could at least safely lay the groundwork in case I had to. Right, how many Life Points do you have? Invoking my authority, I felt the expected pain in my head. Tuning it out, I checked the new line that had been added to her status. Life Point Balance: 112 It was more than I had expected, but still around the point where it would cost me at least a year to add the skill. And two weeks or more in a coma. Yea, I cant do that just yet. Separating my hand from hers, the status window vanished. Feeling the cold trickle of blood running down from my nose, I hurriedly wiped it away before thanking Edith for her cooperation, Thank you for going along with me, Edith. Other than the spirit stuff, I had found exactly what I was expecting to find. Though her charm resistance was a bit high, that could be attributed to it constantly working against the curse Dominic had put in her. My own was nearly level three, and it was leveling at a steady pace; a fact I attributed to my authority and blessing further resisting it. Now for the real question. You said you were hiding a secret, but what exactly do you mean by that? When I refocused back to Sarala, I saw that she was holding her hand out to me, waiting patiently. So she knew where this was going to go. Well, lets see then. I took her hand and attempted appraisal. Name/Age: Sarala, 6 Species/Level: Frost Wisp, 13 Ability Values: Special: Spirit Familiar(Edith von Claurence) Talents[Page 1/3]: Winter Magic II, Ice Magic VI, Water Magic III, Mana Efficiency V, Acting V, Spirit Body V, Manifest Corporeal From III, Independent Action III, Mana Recovery Speed II, Mana Capacity II[Expand] Skills: Language Proficiency(Central Human), Language Proficiency(Fey), Child of The Ice King. Sarala was, predictably, the spirit referenced by Ediths skills and talents. A quick inspection of her skill, [Child of the Ice King] revealed her identity to be that of the daughter of the high spirit Cocytus. Based on her special section, it seemed that she was also the familiar of Edith. As for her talents, pages two and three were mostly things that everyone seemed to have, like reading, writing, cooking, and other generic stuff. Winter Magic was one that I recognized; it was a higher form of Ice Magic, with a focus on area of effect spells. Though I had to admit that seeing it owned by someone who was only level thirteen was a bit surprising, she was a literal ice spirit, apparently. Spirit Body seemed to allow her to adopt a body of pure mana, a literal body made of spirit. The cost and duration scaled with the talent level though I couldnt determine if this was indicative of her true form or not. Lastly, [Acting], [Manifest Corporeal Form], and [Independent Action]. The first two were likely responsible for how she was able to pass as a human. [Acting] was self-explanatory; it gave a bonus to her ability to act, with the bonus being tied to Charisma. The fact that she had this talent at level five would help mitigate her low Charisma stat. Meanwhile, [Manifest Corporeal Form] let her assume a physical body, and Independent Action allowed her to move a distance away from Edith without suffering ill effects; this was how she had been able to follow me to Ang. Before I had a chance to reveal Saralas Life Points, she pulled her hand back and my appraisal ended. She looked towards Edith forlornly before turning back to me, I would prefer not to have the power of a god used on me it would be uncomfortable. Considering the history that spirits had with the twelve gods, I could imagine why she might feel that way, but it didnt explain why she was willing to let me use it on Edith. Edith touched her chest over her heart with an odd look on her face, Stahlia, did you do something? I felt cold. Well, thats interesting, Jacqueline didnt say anything about how she felt when I used my authority on her. Then again, I never asked so thats more or less my fault. So it feels distinctly different when I use authority versus a regular appraisal No, I need to focus on the big question. Refocusing on Sarala, I locked my eyes with her, No, Edith. I was not able to remove the charm. Ive told you! Im not charmed! Her outburst was a bit expected, but I wasnt speaking to her. I was actually speaking to Sarala. Ediths apparent familiar had used very specific language, referring to her secrets. Likewise, Edith had not remarked at all about how I was going to learn anything mind-blowing. Those two things led me to one conclusion; Edith did not know that Sarala was her spirit familiar. Though how something like that was possible, I had no idea. Sarala gave me a sad smile, then seemingly reverted back to her usual demeanor, Come on, lets just eat! Then later, Stahlia can tell us how school is going I hope I wont fall too far behind with magic! What do you mean, fall too far behind? [Ice Magic VI] is the highest magic talent Ive seen! My own Ice Magic is only at level Five! Of course, I knew she was just putting on an act for Ediths sake, but I still found her assertation silly. I hadnt actually seen that many magic talents. It wasnt like I was appraising everyone I met, in fact I could count on two hands the number of people I had appraised. Thankfully, we were able to have the rest of our little get-together just fine, without bringing up Dominic or his charm. Whenever it seemed like we might stray toward that topic, Sarala would gently guide Edith away from it. Now that I knew her secret, the amount of subtle manipulation she was doing towards her supposed liege was a bit unsettling. I really wanted to have a private chat with her; there was no way I could broach these topics with Edith present. Though, if it turns out shes being malicious, then I have to tell Edith Even if I dont want to doubt Sarala, I should at least acknowledge that possibility It was frustrating and unfortunate, but I wasnt really able to set aside my worries. I had been hoping to simply spend time with my friends, but the shadow of the charm and the coming strife was hanging over my head like a smog, clouding my attitude and darkening my mood. As I was leaving, Sarala followed me out into the hall. Apparently, the girls were not being held expressly in their rooms, because neither the guard nor Irina moved to stop her. Coming up to the room, I had passed another set of guards at the staircase. Presumably, that was the point that Edith and Sarala were not allowed past. Still, I had a feeling I knew why she was tailing me, so I entered a side room. Sure enough, she followed me in. Nodding to her, I quickly cast a silence spell so that we could talk freely. Sarala sat down and seemed to deflate, So you couldnt do anything? I could both see and hear the genuine sadness in her voice, tinged with desperation. Sitting across from her, I shook my head, No, I could remove the charm right now but there would be consequences. Severe ones; when I did it for Jacqueline, I was in a coma for almost a month and lost a year of my lifespan. Saralas eyes widened, I noticed you were older your mana was more refined. I didnt think that She trailed off. A moment later, she looked up with a resigned expression, Obviously you cant repeat that. Im sorry for asking. Frantically waving my hands in denial, I quickly moved to correct that misunderstanding, No, you misunderstand; I would do it in a heartbeat. For both of you, its just things are moving fast right now. I take it you know about the demons? She nodded and tightened her facial expression, Not everything. I know Lord Dominic carries demon blood. Unfortunately, my own knowledge is a bit limited since I ran away from home so soon after being born. I froze with my mouth stuck open. Demon blood? He carries demon blood? Sarala, what do you mean by that? Dominic is a demon? Looking at me incredulously, she shook her head, No, a half-demon. Did you not know? I thought that was why you leaped at the opportunity to get out of the engagement. I could only frown, No I knew he had demonic mana. I didnt make the connection that it would mean he was also descended from a demon. Count Francois, it has to be. I saw Marguerites mana, and she was normal. Count Francois mana was totally concealed though, just like the parasite. Sarala, how did you know though? I would definitely need to speak with Gustav, and honestly, I should probably try and tell the prince directly, this was too big to leave to a messenger. Even one as talented as Gustav. But for now, I had several questions to ask of the young spirit. A few minutes wasnt going to harm anyone, and realistically I wouldnt be able to see Gustav until tomorrow at the earliest anyway, no matter how immediate my need was. I didnt realize until Ang, actually. When the two of you came back with Jacqueline missing her arm I realized that I was happier to see Dominic unharmed than you. From there, a close examination of my mana revealed the manipulations. It took a while, but as you saw earlier; I am a spirit. As a creature derived directly from mana, I was able to excise his foul curse. Unfortunately, I proved unsuccessful with Edith Sarala was looking off into the distance forlornly. After giving her a moment, I ventured a question that had been nagging me since witnessing Saralas deft manipulation of my other friend, What, what exactly is your relationship with her? She paused, and gave it a great deal more thought than I had expected. Slowly, she began to speak, I I dont really know. Spirits might grow quickly, but Im still a child myself; not all that different than the two of you I like her a lot, ever since I first ran into her out in the woods near the provincial estate Before I knew it, we had formed a bond, as master and familiar Taking a deep breath, she finished, I dont know how, beyond that. I, ...I like her. Though, Im not exactly sure what all that entails its the most likely answer Does that answer your worries? It sounds like you might have a crush. To be honest, it wouldnt surprise me if that was mutual Yea, that makes me feel a lot better. Granted, with an acting talent of five, she would easily be able to fool me, but I chose to trust her; thinking back over things, I couldnt remember a situation where she had really guided the conversation before. In a way, what she was doing now was similar to a nurse helping an invalid stay on track. Obviously obsessing over Dominic wouldnt be healthy for Edith. But there was one sticking point, You should come clean, Sarala. Tell her the truth and how you feel. It was her turn to act flustered and wave her hands. I could tell; this wasnt an act, she was genuinely flustered by this, Nonono! Maybe eventually but not now! Giggling, I agreed, and gave her my assurances that I would not force the issue by sharing her secret myself; I had enough secrets of my own to know how hard trusting someone was, Of course, you should wait until after we fix the charm; either once Dominic is dead or, if that doesnt work, after I wake up from my coma. I want to see her reaction after all! Sarala stopped what she was about to say, and stared at me wide-eyed, If Dominic dies? Ah, yea that does sound a little harsh Ok, really harsh. When exactly did I just accept that he was going to die? Still, whether or not I was actually ok with it, this was what was going to happen. Even if I were to protest, Rupert would definitely one hundred percent overrule me. And at the end of the day, for better or worse, I dont have a problem with him dying. I might hesitate to do it myself, but thats probably just the last vestiges of the charm talking. Yes, when he dies; you honestly dont think that someone who has charmed half the women in the kingdom, including at one point the next queen, would be allowed to live? Do you? I met her gaze with a level and composed stare. True You are right, its just Its a bit scary how easily you said it, I guess. That gave me pause, and I determined that I would need to be a lot more cautious about how I phrased things going forwards. I also need to make sure to seriously consider things like this I still think that Dominic needs to die, but thats a harsh penalty. I dont want to wind up the same kind of queen as Bloody Mary. I tried to maintain some idle chatting for a bit, but things were a bit awkward after my passing judgment. There were a few more things that I was curious about, such as how a spirit would be as advanced as her but only six years old. My understanding was that spirits started out as a low spirit, then evolved over centuries. Then again, my understanding also says that spirits come into existence from ambient mana, yet her skill clearly referred to Cocytus as her father. Either way, that information wasnt important right now, and I didnt want to push her too hard. All things in time. Eventually, I gave up and said my goodnights before departing to find Gustav. I had some very concerning information to report, though, I had to do it in such a way as to avoid spilling Saralas secret. The kingdom wouldnt really do anything to her for being a Spirit, but I didnt think it was my place to inform him of that fact. Eventually, I settled for telling him from the perspective of it being a hypothesis I had arrived at after looking at all the variables. Thankfully, he took me seriously. Two days later, I found myself outside a particular door. I had been avoiding this part of the estate, for fear that the occupant would sense my presence. After all, Jacqueline had an incredibly keen sense of hearing. Even now, I was using all of my stealth abilities. Not that I really understand why Rupert is insisting I still stay hidden, when this is done, Five will know about me regardless. Alongside me, were Gustav and Rupert, as well as a man I did not recognize but was introduced as the Mental Mage who had been attending to Rowell. While Rowell had yet to make a recovery, the mage believed that if he was present to cast magic while the parasite was removed, he might be able to prevent any serious side effects from emerging. Rupert was also here, though he was not waiting with us. Rather, he was in a room down the hall. Lacking the same stealth abilities as myself, it had been decided that he should hold back until Jacqueline was unconscious. In order to accomplish that, the Mental Mage approached the door and knocked before entering. From inside, I heard Jacquelines voice for the first time in a week. Who might you be? This whole situation is getting ridiculous, I have complied so far but I demand to know what is being done to find my lady! She sounded a bit worn out, obviously, she was concerned. After all, though she would know that I had the ability to defend myself, even if I lacked the ability to use mana at the moment. That didnt mean that she wouldnt have the nagging doubt that maybe the worst had happened, that I had really been kidnapped. It was that nagging in the back of the mind that would have worn on her the most. Soon, just a bit longer and I can explain everything. The mans voice echoed, and I recognized the keyword of a spell. It was the Mental Magic equivalent of the sleep spell that Gustav had cast on Edith with Blood Magic. Yes, that is why I have come to see you, Lady Stahlia has been recovered and is on her way now [Deep Sleep] A moment later I heard a thud, and when I entered the room, I saw that Jacqueline was asleep, and laid out on the table. It wasnt a sterile environment, but it was certainly better than the dingy warehouse I had operated on Rowell in. Still, I can sort of understand how that worked; telling her I was rescued would cause her to lower her guard momentarily, but she should have still be kind of hard to put to sleep with magic I glanced at Gustav and he intuited my question. We have been spiking her food with a poison that lowers the resistance to status ailments; nothing that would cause permanent harm, but it was deemed prudent. He sounded apologetic, but I couldnt really fault him. After all, her resisting the spell would prove very deadly for the Mental Mage. Thank you, should we get this over with then? Without waiting for an answer, I turned to Jacqueline and focused mana into my eyes. My pathways seemed to be recovering, finally, as the pain was greatly lessened this time. Engaging my Divine Eyes, I looked her over until I spotted her parasite, There. Looking where I had pointed, Gustav gingerly moved her maid uniform out of the way, exposing her skin. Mentally apologizing for the violation of her dignity, I held out my hand to receive the knife. With the cold steel sitting heavy in my palm, I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. Opening my eyes, I exhaled and in one motion sliced into her back. I did my best to ignore the feeling of cutting flesh that was transmitted up the blade, and worked in much the same way as I had with Rowell. Once the opening was large enough, I slid my hand into her body, and moved it until I was close to the parasite. Next, I grabbed hold of my mana crystal with my mind and began to shape it. This time, I was smart, and only grabbed a portion rather than the whole thing. Just enough to kill the parasite; if it survived, it would at least be stunned and I would just hit it again until it died. Feeling the familiar cold of the Divine Element, I pushed the aspected mana down my arm and into my hand. With one swift motion, I shoved my hand further and grabbed hold of the worm, even as the mana began to emit from my palm and fingers. Since I didnt shock it with the full volume this time, I felt it briefly struggle. I simply squeezed my hand tight until the movements stopped. Pulling my hand back, I drug out the white demon and dropped it in the bucket Gustav held out to me. Rupert came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, You did good. Everything is out of your hands now. I wasnt sure when exactly he had made his way over to the room, and I knew that he was only offering platitudes, but that didnt mean it didnt feel good to hear. Subconsciously, I reached up and found myself gripping his hand on my shoulder. Gustav had finished applying the healing potions, and her wound was now closed up. Motioning to the Mental Mage, he told him to lift the spell. To be honest, I had not noticed the mage doing much of anything, but I had been hyper-focused on not messing up my own role so that wasnt surprising. What came next though, was downright soul-crushing. The mage waved his hand over Jacquelines forehead while murmuring the word Waken. Jacquelines eyes snapped open and she looked around in a panic before locking eyes with me. Her face immediately softened, and she reached her arm towards me, Ah My sister, Alysha Her gentle whispering of an unknown name assaulted my ears and caused my heart to fall into despair. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-8 J3: An Unassuming Flag Psycholor Content Warning for this chapter. Content Warning: References to Attempted Sexual Assault. There is a "Full Line" in the chapter indicating when the referenced scene begins. It then lasts until the end of the chapter. Jacqueline, Twenty-Nine Years Old, Second Month of 948 Lets see, she will need this replaced soon, now that shes finally started growing. Putting aside my ladys undergarments, I busily set about preparing her clothes for the next day. Since losing my arm, things had gotten a lot more difficult, but it was not anything I could not manage if I simply put in more effort. Though, recently that had also been getting harder. Ever since my lady gave me a skill no, before that. What had at first only been moments, mere flashes, of some strangers face replacing my mistress had recently become much more common. To the point that I feared I may be going insane. Dreams as well, normally I would not sleep; my skills and training allowed me to rest merely through a few hours of meditation. That was a good thing since I needed so much more time for every task now. But recently, I had been feeling tired. More than once I had caught myself falling asleep for real. Only for a few minutes at a time, but in those brief moments I would see things; shapes and people walking around my head. Most of them vague and indistinct, but there was one that was always clear. The same face that would occasionally replace Lady Stahlias. That face had a name, one that I seemed to know, but I could never remember. Jacqi Onee-Sama, when is Stali Nee-chan coming back? I glanced over at the little girl my mistress had rescued from slavery. Well, perhaps not quite rescued, but she certainly was not being treated as a slave. As always, I felt a sharp pain in my chest at the sight of her. Knowing that Lady Stahlias own pain would be even greater than mine, I shook my head, Im sorry, Felicity. I do not know when Lady Stahlia will return. The young girl furrowed her brow, But Felicity wants to give her the picture! She just finished drawing it! My lady had gone on a school trip outside the city earlier today, and would not be back until later; unfortunately, I did not know exactly when that would be. Recently, it seems I had lost my ladys confidence. There had to be a reason for that, given that I had recently been told many, if not all, of her secrets. The sudden lack of trust had progressed, to the point that now I knew only the bare minimum of her day-to-day schedule. This was a major departure from the past, and if I could regain her confidence I would do anything *KNOCK-KNOCK* A hurried pounding came from the door, Felicitys eyes widened; a sign that she did not recognize the person on the other side of the door. Waving the child behind me, I prepped a knife under my skirt before- *KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK* I shall be there shortly! I pushed the door open indignantly, Really, what is the hurry? While Felicity might not recognize the man on the other side of the door, I did. I had prepared a dossier on all of Lady Stahlias close associates, their associates, and those who served under them. This man was a knight commander serving under Duke Claurence, the father of one of Lady Stahlias friends. Lady Edith is ill at the moment, and hasnt been able to attend the academy Miss Jacqueline, is the slave Pet also here? His voice was professional, but I could tell by his posture that he was prepared for a fight. Worse, I could sense three more presences concealing themselves. Theyre all hiding their bloodlust, but the way they are behaving They know. It would be best for my lady if I played along for now; I could probably take the knight in front of me, but the fight would put Felicity in danger. Worse, it would risk souring her relationship with Ediths family. But my lady would have told me something, if she was expecting this Pet, you can come out, but mind yourself. Felicity peeked her head out from behind my skirt and the knight nodded upon seeing her, Thank you, I will need the two of you to come with me. Now that was not unexpected, but it was not something I could do without knowing why; if I left and Lady Stahlia was not expecting me to, then I would have failed as her maid. Still, I had a feeling that this was all part of a plan that I had been left out of for whatever reason. I nodded briefly and began bagging a few things we would need, May I ask what the problem is, sir knight? Seeing my prompt compliance, his stance relaxed a bit and he breathed a relieved sigh, There has been an incident; Lady Stahlia was abducted while on her outing. Lady Edith petitioned her father to aid her friend, and he ordered us to collect the two of you. For your own protection of course. I froze. Abducted? Her? No, not possible. No, maybe? She cant use magic right now. Suspects Count Francois, Lord Dominic. Maybe A dark thought rose unbidden in my mind. Five? The Shadows Did they get tired of simply watching? No. This is too sudden, too public. Besides, they would go after me first before her if that was the case. Dominic is a moron, but his father Lord Francois is smart. I cannot get a read on him myself, but I doubt he would move like this. So possibility A, Dominic did something remarkably stupid, even by his own standards. Possibility B, another house, unrelated Febligi? No, they would challenge her openly. She does not have many allies, but conversely, she lacks enemies. The Claurence would not kidnap her. Possibility C She was not kidnapped, she disappeared on her own The third option was the most likely. But that left the question of why, why would she leave me behind? Felicity, she would leave if she thought things would be too dangerous. But I could handle myself, I could help her. She knew that. She wanted me to stay and protect Felicity? No. Not that, I would do it in a heartbeat if asked, but I had not heard even a word of this. She did not tell me she can not tell me, why? She does not trust me? No, it was recent. Something happened recently. Something that changed our standing. Between now and coming to the capital, she discovered or learned something, something that led to her not being able to confide in me I am a liability. That was the only conclusion I could come to; for some reason, I was now being considered a liability to the plans Lady Stahlia was making. I could not think of any reason why that might be the case, but it was the only conclusion that made sense. Dropping what I was doing, I looked down and saw that my hand was shaking. Clenching my fist open and shut a few times, I quickly finished packing. When I was finished, I turned to Felicity, who was watching things with wide eyes. That Claire person must be explaining things to her, theres no way a six-year-old would be so calm in a situation like this not without some extensive training of course. Pet, we are going with the knight, these men will protect you. Because I imagine I will not be allowed to see you, or anyone else, for some time. Following the knights, we left our inn and boarded an unmarked carriage that was waiting outside for us. While there were no windows, I could tell from the motions that we were heading to the Claurence estate. Once arrived, true to my predictions Felicity and I were separated. I was brought to a guest room, and after a quick look around I determined that I was going to be here for some time. There was a bed available, as well as a small washroom and a chest stocked with food. Otherwise, I had just about everything I would need for a week, or two if I were to ration. I did not have anything else to do, so I lay down on the bed and began to meditate to rest and perhaps glean some further conclusions from what limited information I had. Unfortunately, I was not able to figure anything out by the time I roused my consciousness. Rather, I simply felt empty. It was a disconcerting notion, but not unexpected. I knew psychologically that I was feeling distraught over the lack of trust, even if I understood that there had to be a reason for it. But that did not make it any easier to cope with. Just as I was beginning to wonder how long I would be left here, the knight from earlier knocked at my door before letting himself in. Having a seat at the table, he motioned for me to do likewise. Once I had complied, he began to question me. I found this strange; the line of questioning he was taking was not what I had expected. All of the questions were lukewarm. Where did Lady Stahlia plan on going? Did Lady Stahlia mention meeting with anyone? What time did she leave in the morning? They were routine. As if the Claurence family were really trying to glean information about her disappearance. For a moment, I considered the possibility that she had really been kidnapped. Then a realization hit me. These questions, are simple on purpose. So, they are not meant for me? But for someone else. For when I make a report? No, I would not report the contents of these So for someone listening in real time I was not sure how, but I had a feeling I had hit the nail on the head. So someone, probably Five, is listening in on things through me? I was not aware of any such spell or enchantment. Sure, some of my gear might have eavesdropping enchantments, but that was doubtful; they were already enchanted with other effects, stacking on another would be extremely inefficient. So its something else, something more personal I felt my heart skip a beat, as I considered the possibility. If thats the case, then I need to act naturally so as to not arouse Fives suspicion. I need to act like I have no idea this is going on. All this of course, was contingent on the fact that whatever had compromised me was incapable of reading my mind. If that was the case, then the ruse was already over. But my lady is smarter than that. If they suspected my mind was being read, she would not have handled things in a way that would let me think of these things. For now, I opted to think about it as little as possible and simply answer the questions I was asked. This went on for a few days, though the questions did vary. In order to keep up with my cover, I began pressuring for any updates of information though as I expected I was kept firmly in the dark. This went on for several days, and I was beginning to fear I may have to break out, or at least attempt to. I could allow myself to be caught, but if I simply sat and did nothing for much longer, it would risk tipping off whoever was using me as a listening device, Five, that I was onto them. If they dont know already. Still, I needed to operate under the assumption that they did not. To that end, I began to contemplate how I could break out and then get caught without endangering anyone. Granted, there would be danger regardless, but I wanted to minimize it. Ideally, I would be the only one at risk; if some of the guards got hurt it might make things harder for my lady. It took me another day to come up with something workable, but just as I was preparing to enact my plan, my door opened. A man I did not recognize entered my room. Giving him a look, I went with the act I had been keeping up, Who might you be? This whole situation is getting ridiculous, I have complied so far but I demand to know what is being done to find my lady! I worked just enough frustration into my tone to make it appear as if I was a devoted maid struggling to hold back her emotions. In all honesty, it was not exactly that hard to do, I was surprisingly genuinely frustrated about how things were going. The man nodded briefly, Yes, that is why I have come to see you, Lady Stahlia has been recovered and is on her way now [#### #####] His words made my heart jump. Shes been recovered!? Then this whole time she was actually kidnapped!? Too late, I recognized the keyword. With my mental state disturbed, I was not able to resist the spell, even with my talents, and I felt my eyes grow heavy before I passed out. When I woke up, I was in a strange building. Really, calling it a building was pretty generous. It was more of a shack. Looking around in confusion, I lifted my hands to rub the sleep from my eyes. Wait, my hands? Staring at the two limbs in front of me, I could not help but notice, that they were small. No, not small young!? Patting myself all over, I realized to my horror that I was in the body of a small child. I began to panic as I scrambled out of the bed. Stumbling on my too-short legs, I tore a hole in my knee and red blood began to seep from the wound. The pain was worse than anything I could remember experiencing. Considering that I had been stabbed, beaten, sliced open, and many other things, that was a bit odd. I lacked the time to properly question it though, as tears of pain began to pour down my face. I heard a voice, and looked up through my tear blurred eyes. There was a girl standing over me, and though her face was blurred by my running eyes, she looked familiar. It was the girl whos visage occasionally slid over Stahlias, Come on now, dont cry. Here, let sis get you patched up. Her words had a calming effect, and I managed to stop sniffling. My sobs were replaced with hiccups though, much to my embarrassment. In response, the girl began patting my back rhythmically and those soon abated, Come on, Tanya. Its your dedication today, you cant go and ruin your face. At her words, a whole lot came flooding back all at once. Her name, I remember her name. Thanks Ahlysa! My older sister smiled and picked me up. She was always taking care of me and she was right, I couldnt ruin today for our parents! After she had walked partway to the temple while dragging me along, I got restless and demanded to be let down, Dohn! Alysha let out a soft laugh and let me off her back, but insisted I hold her hand while we walked. After all, the slums were a dangerous place for a three-year-old. Getting to the temple, I was a tad intimidated by all of the people there, both adults and children. Faltering in my steps, I felt a soft yet firm hand on my back. Looking up and behind I saw Alyshas smiling face, Go on, you dont have anything to worry about. Thats not true! If I go up there, then Ill never see you again! But contrary to my wishes, I found my feet carrying me towards the altar, even as my face adopted a firm expression to mask my fear. At the priests behest, I placed my hands on the appraisal stone. Peering into it, I could see the symbols that would seal my fate. The first time around, I couldnt read the words. This time, I knew full well that they spelled out Slitter. Just like the first time, the priest pronounced me to be without purpose. Just like the first time, I walked back to my sister practically in tears. Just like the first time she told me it was alright. Just like the first time, we went home together with my parents. Try as I might, I couldnt remember their faces, and in this reliving, their faces were replaced by some generic man and woman I could find anywhere in the kingdom. It made me want to cry, but I could not. Laying in bed with my sister, I did my best to stay awake. I did not want to sleep, because I knew what would happen if I did. But I was only three. Try as I might, I was too tired. Just like the first time, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in darkness. With a jolt, I snapped awake. I wasnt able to move around, but I recognized the ceiling after a moment. Ha Haaa Back in the Claurences estate Looking around, I was shocked to see a girl that shouldnt be there. No, youre dead! Why are you here now!? My sister was standing over me, an anxious look on her face. Locking eyes with her I reached out my one hand and tried to touch her face, Ah My sister, Alysha The girls face crumbled and she expressed a look of great pain at my words. No, dont cry Its me, your little Tanya My vision was beginning to refocus, and I recognized the man standing with his hand on my sisters shoulder. Prince Rupert? What is he doing with Alysha? My sister and I were commoners through and through. We grew up in the slums. Come to think of it, why is Alysha in the Claurence Estate in the first place? It did not make sense. After a few moments, I realized that Prince Rupert wasnt the only one in the room. Lord Gustav was here as well, and a few other nobles. Through my confusion, I rapidly attempted to sort things out. As my head cleared, the visage of my sister slowly started to fade. In its place was my lady, Stahlia von Ris. Blinking rapidly, I felt tears beginning to fall from my eyes. Alysha No I could remember her death now. My own abduction was abnormal; because of how poor the family was, and how Alysha was always with me during the day. Instead of being grabbed and replaced with a Doppelganger Homunculus that would die of illness, my replacement had been murdered. Murdered and left with my sisters body. My recruitment had been made to look like a break-in gone wrong. Though I hadnt seen them, I could only imagine that my parents had faired no better than my sister. I did not know why I had these memories all of a sudden, but it had to have been something that Stahlia did. I wanted to both thank her and curse her name. But at the moment, all I could do was weakly cry. Come, let her rest for now. You did everything you could do. Ruperts voice echoed in my ears with no response. But to my great relief, I was left alone with my thoughts. She must have done something to remove the listening effect In a way, it made me feel incredibly special, that so much effort would be expended for my sake. But as a side effect, it seemed that some very traumatic memories had resurfaced. The prince was here as well Through my haze of grief and other tumultuous emotions, I recalled the letter I had seen her write a week ago. Even if I did not want to know what she had written, I was able to figure it out just by having seen and heard the pen move. A resolution to the problem with Dominic I recalled the kings actions, the announcement he had made. That was when I knew for sure that Stahlia was keeping secrets from me since I learned of that through other sources It seemed that my damnable training was still effective since my uncertainty was rapidly fading as I pieced things together. Not something I was particularly pleased with, I had finally remembered my sister, and the thought of losing her again simply didnt sit right. That solution She made a deal with Prince Rupert. She is engaged to him now, in lieu of Lord Dominic I knew some things about the prince. For instance, I knew that he had a twisted personality; he only cared about people if they held value. It was a sure thing that Lady Stahlia had a lot of that, but he would never love her. But marrying him would give her a huge advantage Rosial, you really are loved. The way I saw it, Stahlia was giving up her own future in a bid to be able to better help her sister. Then it came to me. I am like Lady Rosial in a way if Alysha had lived, and somehow learned about what happened would she have done everything she could to help me? Based on my memories, I would have to say that she would. Even if she knew it was completely futile, she still would have tried. Is this why, so many years ago, I was able to be swayed? Because Lady Stahlia reminded me of Alysha? It made sense. Especially when considering that the face of my sister only ever seemed to occupy my ladys head. I never saw Alysha out of the corner of my eye. I never saw her on Miss Felicity, Lady Edith, or Lady Elienor. Only ever on Lady Stahlia. You never left me, even when I forgot you Secretly, I had been worried about my lady. When we eventually found Lady Rosial, it was certainly not going to be pretty. She was bound to be broken. Bound to have had her memories suppressed by the training regime. She would likely have blood on her hands. We might even have to fight her, possibly hurt her in order to restrain her. But if I could remember, after so many years, then for Rosial, there is a chance! Especially since it seemed that Lady Stahlia had developed a method of restoring the suppressed memories. I have to tell her this! I have to tell her everything, and thank her! Newfound loyalty and adoration for my lady welled up within my heart, and I sat up in bed. Only to lurch forward. I felt weak. Shakily, I stretched my arm out towards the bedside table, and used it as leverage to try and stand up. My bones seemed to creak as I did so. How long was I reasoning things out!? Looking down at my hand, I saw that my nails were noticeably longer than they should be. Even my hair seemed to have grown a small amount. At least a week Maybe more. Severe feelings of guilt welled up inside me. Ngh After everything she did for me, to leave Lady Stahlia so distraught for this long No good. I need to find her and apologize! I hauled myself out of bed, and made my way along the wall to the door. As I walked, I slowly felt myself regaining strength, but I didnt trust my legs. After all, I was intimately familiar with what would happen to the human body if left alone for too long. Even if I had been given the same potions I prepared for my lady while she was in her coma, it would be dangerous to put too much faith in my limbs. Still, I could move a bit faster, so I accelerated gradually. Reaching the door, I made my way out into the hallway. Strange there should be a guard or someone here I glanced around uneasily. The mansion was quiet. Far too quiet. Retreating into my room, I rummaged around in my bag and removed a potion and a dagger from a hidden pocket. The potion I downed immediately; it was a stimulant that would let me move around normally without fear of my muscles giving out. Though the duration is limited. Gripping the dagger, I went back out into the hall. Pausing for a moment, I focused my mind on my hearing and smell. I was no beastkin, but I could still sharpen my perception with focus. You trained me to be this way Five, after taking everything from me. I was always going to help my lady, but now its personal! So resolved, I whirled around at the sound of a clatter coming from the floor above. Recalling the layout of the estate, I took off at a sprint and soon found my way to the stairs. Running up them, my fears came true and I heard my ladys voice, or rather her scream, NO! GET AWAY! I ORDER YOU! Reflexively, I bit my tongue hard. The taste of iron filled my mouth as for an instant, I felt the compulsion to turn around and leave. The voice of the king. So she is engaged to Prince Rupert. But if she would use it I had to hurry. Rounding the corner, I came into contact with Felicity who was fleeing in the other direction. The young cat slammed into me and looked up in surprise. Jacqueline! You have to help her! Claire is in control. Shes either responding to Stahlias royal order, or keeping the promise she made in Ris! I will. Go. Clairicity nodded briefly before resuming her flight. Turning, I went down the hall in the direction she had come from. Absentmindedly, I noted that this was the route to Lady Ediths private rooms. Rounding a corner, I came to a large double door. Throwing it open the first thing that I saw was Miss Sarala, lying face up on the couch, a small red puddle emanating from a wound in her chest. Her breathing was labored, but she didnt seem to be in any degree of pain that I could tell. Shock, I need to move quickly. Hurrying over, I inspected the wound. Lady Stahlia was undoubtedly in danger, but she would never forgive me if I let her friend die. Miss Sarala was, to my surprise, seemingly still conscious. Seeing me, her eyes lit up, Pull.. Pull it out I shook my head, No, I cannot do that; you would bleed to death. No. Enchanted sealing, pull it out A quick inspection revealed that her claim was accurate; the dagger was enchanted, and a faint light was being drawn out of her body. A mana sealing dagger? That did change things. While not life-threatening, leaving it in would be unhealthy. Making a split-second decision, I grabbed the hilt and tugged the blade free. Balling up the tablecloth to stuff in the wound, I was greatly surprised when, after glowing briefly, Miss Saralas wound closed. Thank you I dont have enough mana to help, Lady Edith is ahead, with Stahlia and Dominic. She grimaced as she spoke his name. That rat is here? I nodded to Miss Sarala, with her explanation things were beginning to make sense. Standing, I hurried to the door and threw it open. The scene that greeted me was grim, but my lady seemed to be safe at least. There was blood everywhere, and a lifeless body was lying in the middle of the room, with the two girls sitting nearby it. Lady Edith was holding Lady Stahlia whilst apologizing over and over again like a broken record. My lady was holding a dagger loosely while staring off into the distance with vacant eyes. Grimly, I noted that her clothes were a bit askew. Closing the distance in two large strides, I inspected the body. Rolling it over, I was greeted with the bloodied face of Lord Dominic. His face was carved up to the point where I could hardly tell it was him, and there were several stab wounds all over his chest and stomach. Satisfied that he was dead, I turned my attention to my lady. Knowing what I did about the charm, it was easy enough to figure out how this had happened. Stahlia, its me, Jacqueline are you are you alright? I didnt have much experience comforting people, but I would do my best. Rousing from her stupor at the sound of my voice, her face seemed to regain some light, Im Im ok. Nothing, nothing happened, I was I was able to protect myself. As she spoke, color and light were coming back to her eyes, We need to get out of here Jacqueline! Oh thank goodness! Youre back! It seemed the fact that it was me had finally clicked, and she threw her arms around my neck while sobbing joyfully. Considering what I suspected had just been attempted and apparently thwarted, her attitude seemed a bit off I decided it would be better to simply let her get everything out of her system while bringing her to safety. Clearly, the Claurence estate was compromised. Based on her apologies, Edith is probably freed of the charm now, so it should be safe to bring her with us. Picking up Stahlia, I carried her from the room. Ill protect you now as Alysha protected me, and you in turn will protect Rosial. Psycholor Perspective will return to Stahlia in the next chapter, 4-9 Onset of the Storm. A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-9 The Storm Breaks Psycholor Content Warning for this chapter. Content Warning: Depictions of Attempted Sexual Assault. This chapter rewinds time a bit, and covers events while Jacqueline was in her delirious state. Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Second Month of 948 Rupert and Gustav guided me out of the room where Jacqueline was and into a side room. I sort of just went along with them, being in a daze as I was. Who the hell is Alysha!? I hadnt the faintest idea who Jacqueline was referring to just then, but it wasnt me. Before I knew it, I was seated across from Gustav and Rupert, the former was watching me with a resigned expression. Right, I knew this was a possibility, but damnit if it doesnt hurt! Clenching my fists beneath the table, I looked down as I forced myself not to break down and cry. Several deep breaths later, I was able to lift my chin up and meet the two of them in the eyes, What happens now. Rupert nodded and motioned for Gustav to speak, and after a brief conflicted look, he did so, We have already announced your return, so we simply need to put the plan in motion. You will spend the weekend out of the publics eye and make your return to the academy at the start of the next school week. I nodded, freezing a grimly serious expression on my face, What of the Francois being demons? This time it was Rupert who answered, Largely irrelevant; we were going to bring them down anyways. Rushing things on account of that would be unwise and jeopardize the plan. Though, we will prepare a stronger force than originally intended when it comes time to arrest them. Are we still clear about Lady Elienor? The prince glanced at Gustav and then confirmed that nothing had changed in regard to that, Conditionally. She will of course need to be tested; as long as she does not harbor demonic attributes herself, then it will actually be much easier to have her pardoned. The salvation of Elienor was one of the things I had made sure we had discussed prior to signing the engagement contract. Though, the way it was worded her rescue was not a requirement; Rupert simply had to try and have her saved and could not allow her demise through inaction on his part. If saving her had become impossible, then that clause of the contract would no longer be binding. Considering the kingdoms practice of punishing entire families when matters of treason were concerned, I had been genuinely scared for my friend when we were plotting the downfall of her house. Thankfully, the very man I was now with had set a precedent for dodging that particular custom when he managed to save my father. Though I was a bit unsure as to why he had done that, now that I knew he was a functional psychopath. I highly doubted that asking that question would yield a satisfactory answer, so I didnt plan on wasting time asking it. The weekend passed me by uneventfully. I did visit Jacqueline daily, but there was little change in her condition. Likewise, my visits with Sarala and Edith did not yield much; I only had a few opportunities to speak with Sarala one on one, but I did not attempt to breach the subject of her heritage. It would be best, I felt, if she was the one to first speak with me about it. Rupert visited me on the day before I was supposed to return to school. While we had lunch together, it was hardly romantic. Not that I was expecting it to be. While publicly he was coming to apologize to me while also dissolving my engagement to Dominic, in practice it was a business meeting more than anything else. We went over the security measures that were going to be put in place. Namely, I was being assigned four knights that would accompany me to the Academy, and a small brooch. The knights were something I had expected. In terms of level, they were all in the mid-fifties. When I questioned their composition, I was told that each one of them had four classes, consisting of their Tier-One base class, two Tier-Two derived classes, and a Tier-Three advanced class. In any case, if I took Jacqueline as the standard, then these knights were quite powerful; she was level forty-eight back when I gave her [Charm Immunity] after all. Granted, they wouldnt stand a chance against Sitri, but a demon of that level would be a very rare sight. The brooch was something unexpected, and when I asked about it, Rupert explained that it was a locator beacon magic tool. I was a bit miffed about the idea that I had just been given a tracking device, but when he explained it was out of worry that I would be kidnapped for real, I decided to go with it. That was how I found myself standing in a circle of my new body guards, who were in turn in a circle of very angry school girls. I honestly should have expected this After all, Dominic was still alive, even if he wasnt at the Academy due to the rumors swirling around the Francois. At least, I had been told that Count Francois had told Duke Percius that Dominic would not attend until things were situated. A political move that did not make any sense to me; surely by not attending in the face of the rumors, it was as good as admitting that they were guilty? That was why it was so important for me to attend, despite the risk. It showed strength and would help improve my image. All part of the plan for Rupert to fall for me over the next few months. All that was fine and dandy, but the fact that the majority of the girls, Make that all of them, were under Dominics sway was obviously going to cause issues. Like how I was currently surrounded by a pack of angry noble girls. Granted my knights were more than capable of keeping them at bay, and they were for the most part behaving, but it would get ugly if they got injured. Right, chin held high. This should be over soon anyway. I lifted my head and kept an ambivalent neutral expression. Then, I started walking forward. My knights pressure against the crowd caused them to part like a certain sea. As long as things went like this then I would be able to arrive to my classes on time. But with all of them reacting unanimously, their families will certainly realize that something is wrong. That will make it a lot easier when we expose the brat and move in for the kill. Unfortunately, that would still make classes very awkward. I still was not planning to attend the sword fighting class, but I had all of my magic classes to go to. While still largely male, there were female students in those. Then my Alchemy class and Math class were entirely female as those subjects had a large enough student body to be segregated. Briefly, I considered skipping those as well, as a matter of security, but I opted to attend in spite of the risk. There was little that a group of level ten to level twelve eleven-year-old girls could hope to do, other than slinging mean words at me. That was without taking my knights into account. Still, words hurt. Even the female teachers were harsh. At least the ones that Dominic had contact with somehow. Clarice was in the clear, as far as I could tell. But she was still short and harsh towards me, so even if she was charmed, I wasnt totally sure I would be able to tell the difference. By the time the day was over and I was returned safely to the estate, I was physically and mentally drained. I have at least another week of this until he gets arrested, then it will be even worse until the faux trial and execution. I really hope that the charm dissipates when he dies, otherwise things are going to get even worse I might actually have to worry about distraught attempts on my life at that point. As opposed to calculated attempts on my life from the Shadows. The next day and the day after went about much the same. By the fourth day, the girls had mostly stopped hurling abuse openly, but they would still stare at me with eyes full of hatred and venom. It wasnt all bad; several of the girls stopped going to the Academy. Starting with the higher stationed houses, the female student body mysteriously began to fall ill, or need to take a break for stress. A myriad of excuses were used, but it was obvious to me and Gustav that the families in question had noticed that something was amiss with their daughters and were panicking. By the end of the fifth day, all of the high noble girls had been kept home so it was only the barons and the commoners who were left. This meant that the abuse was greatly lessened, as the barons were much less likely to act rudely towards me because of our similar station. The commoners were smart enough to avoid me all together. The fact that the charm wasnt driving the girls to act above their station was gratifying to see, as it indicated that it was not wholly dug into them. The thought that most of them should be able to recover made me giddy, and I was in a very good mood when I arrived at the estate for the weekend. Irina had been reassigned back to Edith permanently now that I was living in the Claurence estate officially. In her place, I had been granted the service of a maid named Christina. She was actually a noble in her own right, the daughter of a baron. Owing to her birth as the fourth daughter, she was in a similar position to my own familys second maid; she would not be able to have a marriage arranged by her parents. Her only real options then, were to leave the nobility and marry into a wealthy commoner family, marry a knight and lose her station, or work as a maid for a higher stationed house. There was also the route of trying to strike out on her own, but that was highly unlikely to go well. Lady Stahlia, Lady Edith would like to see you; she is curious about what is going on in the Academy in the wake of recent events. I felt my face twitch; that did not sound like it would be a fun conversation since it would most likely devolve into Edith insisting that there was no way The amazing Lord Dominic could do that! and You have to tell the truth! While she was technically correct, that just made it worse since it meant I would have to lie to my friends face. The number of people who knew the truth was to be kept to the absolute minimum as per Rupert and Gustavs wishes. Still, I wanted to help my friend where I could, so I resolved to deal with her until the charm could be cured. Thanking Christina for relaying the message, I asked the same questions that had become our routine this past week, Thank you, I will be sure to see her as soon as I am able. What of Lord Claurence, Lord Ferdinand, and Jacqueline? That was not the order I actually wanted to know the answers, but it was the socially correct order to ask about my acquaintances and servant. Christina nodded, Lord Claurence is visiting the palace to answer a summons from the crown prince. Lord Ferdinand is out on business, and Miss Jacqueline has exhibited no changes. I nodded quietly. I already knew where Duke Claurence and Ferdinand were. That was according to the plans we had laid out. In fact, Ferdinand was actually leading a team to bring the Francois into custody, while Duke Claurence was going to publicly petition the Crown Prince to expel the count from his faction. Really I had just wanted to know about Jacqueline, though the news was not unexpected. Well then, I will be going to visit Lady Edith now. Addressing the head of my four knight detail, he nodded, and he and his men fell in behind me. Being followed around the manor was, in my opinion, a bit much, but I could still see the reasoning behind it. After all, the Shadows would probably be able to sneak in here if they really wanted to. In fact, I was sure they could, given that they would need the ability to assassinate a duke if the order was given. We arrived at the wing being used to house Edith and Sarala, and my guards entered the room after we knocked. They then fanned out and began to check each room carefully. Edith had her own guards as well, so this was a bit silly and was simply violating her privacy. Calling out to the head knight, I ordered them to leave it and wait outside. Begrudgingly, my orders were followed. Turning to Edith, I smiled apologetically, Sorry about that Edith How are you doing? Glancing around at my guards nervously, she waited until they had left and the door was shut before speaking, Ah, I am doing quite well, all things considered. Come with me, Irina has prepared tea for us! So thats where Sarala is then. Indeed, I had not seen my other friend anywhere since I arrived. I smiled, That sounds nice, lead the way. It really did sound nice, since Edith hadnt actually mentioned Dominic once. Dare I hope that she is not actually planning to bring it up? No, it will come up during the tea. I may as well enjoy this while I can though. The first hint of suspicion to arise in my mind came when Edith headed towards her bedroom, rather than the tea room. Unfortunately, it would prove to be too little too late. In hindsight, there were a lot of signs that something was amiss. The glazed over eyes of the servants I had passed and paid no mind to. The lack of Ediths guards despite the fact that I knew she had eight. The fact that Sarala, despite caring so strongly for Edith, had left her side. There were a lot of things I could have noticed, but we were so close to resolving things, that I got careless. Edith Are we not going to have tea? She froze at the sound of my voice, her hand on the door handle. I heard a cough from the couch, not a sick cough, but the cough of someone who was injured. Looking over, I saw a hand clinging to the back of it. A small hand that I recognized. Sarala!? What the hell is going on!? Whirling around, I saw that Ediths shoulders had slumped over and she was exuding an air of sadness. This this is all your fault, Stahlia. She turned the door handle and pushed the door so that it swung open. My initial reaction was to scream, but the words caught in my throat. Dominics voice rang out. Low and cold dripping with contempt and a cold fury, Dont scream, or Ill gut the kitty. That was why I hadnt screamed; Felicity was being held with both of her arms wrenched behind her head, and a dagger was pressed against her throat. I glared at him, and stepped into the room, Let. Her. Go. Dominic laughed, Ha! You, you are in NO position to make demands, skank! He isnt yelling, but hes clearly angry. Probably, hes afraid of the guards coming. I need to be careful, but I should be able to manage something. I wasnt at a hundred percent, but I was greatly recovered. I could use magic freely again, though it still hurt a bit, and seemed to be a bit reduced in potency. I just need him to release Felicity, and then I can grab him. To hell with a faux trial, Ill just kill him here. What do you want. I spat my words at him, letting all of the built-up vitriol spill into each syllable. Just another moment please. He grinned maliciously, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. A clear, young, flirtatious voice rang out from the hallway. A voice that I recognized. Aallll dooonnneee! These guys were kinda strong huh? I didnt need to check to know that the guards had been dealt with. After all, while they may have been able to deal with a Shadow, or maybe a few Shadows, Sitri was well above their capabilities. I felt the pressure of the demoness behind me, but I refused to turn around. Well then Domi, you good here? Ive got another date lined up for me and my new toys. Dominic nodded, Yea, Ill be fine Irtis, you can go deal with the group father said is coming to the manor. Just as capricious as I remembered, her tone changed. It became much colder as all the color and joviality fell out of her, though the voice remained just as annoyingly high pitched as ever, Good, dont fuck up this time. You wouldnt want to make Nikki mad again, now would you? Without waiting for his answer, she left and the door slammed shut behind us. At the mention of Nikki getting mad, Dominics entire body convulsed in what was pretty obviously a shiver of fear. Nikki? Nikolaus, probably. So his father did something to him last time he fucked up? As for what that fuck up was, well it could only be how he had driven me away by acting like a child. Of course I was planning to leave anyway, but from the perspective of Count Francois, it could only look like Dominic being an absolute moron was what had driven me to my actions. I can use that. This will be sickening, but I just need him to let go of Felicity, then I can act. Putting as much care as I could into my voice, I swallowed my vomit and asked Dominic if he was ok while looking down at the floor off to the side, Dominic are you are you alright? He simply glared at me in response, Dont pretend to care. Not after everything you did. Do you even know what you threw away? How lucky you were!? Felicity let out a whimper as he rudely wrenched her arms further back. Her eyes were swimming and her teeth chattered in terror. I threw up my hands and threw away my pride, No, no I dont! Just tell me what you want and let her go! Dont dont take another sister from me please. Edith, give her the bracelet. My outburst, which was actually somewhat sincere, caused Dominics anger to abate somewhat. At his order, my friend approached me with a bracelet made out of glimmering mythril. My eyes narrowed when I saw it; mythril had mana dampening properties, that was why it was used in the construction of the capital after all. If I put that on, it would dramatically reduce my ability to form magic. I would still be able to use Blood Magic at a reduced speed, but chanting would probably be impossible. Seeing my eyes widen, Dominic grinned, Well? Put it on. You know what happens if you dont. To punctuate his point he pressed the dagger a bit harder against Felicitys throat, drawing blood. I fixed him with the coldest glare I could while snatching the bracelet out of Ediths hand and putting it on, Im going. to kill. you, you bahstard. I spoke in unsteady English. I was hoping to unsettle him, but he merely smiled. So the harlot shows her colors. Irtis already told me your secrets. It was upsetting that I couldnt get my petty win by shocking him, but that didnt matter in the grand scheme. Holding up my arm, I showed that the bracelet was securely fastened to my wrist. There, Im defenseless now. Release Felicity. Dominic shrugged, Hardly. I am sure you will still put up quite the fight, but thats fine. He threw Felicity away from himself, and while she staggered a bit, her catkin agility allowed her to instinctively remain on her feet. At least she seems mostly unhurt The question remained as to if she was charmed or not, but considering that Claire attested to how much Felicity disliked him, she was probably immune. After confirming that Felicity was safe, I turned back to face Dominic, Now, what do you- Just in time to catch his fist to my stomach. Doubling over in pain, I vomited as my lungs screamed for air. I would have cried out in pain when he next grabbed my hair to haul me back to my feet, except I lacked the breath with which to do so, According to Irtis, you figured out I was another reincarnator a while ago, is that right? I still couldnt answer, as I was too busy gasping for breath. It didnt seem like he wanted me to answer though, tossing me away from him. Unlike my adoptive sister, I wasnt able to land on my feet and instead went sprawling. Dominic stalked up to me, We could have used our advantages to take this kingdom by storm! His eyes were crazy as he dropped to his knees straddling my waist, What were you planning!? Huh!? Were you hoping to strike it big as an adventurer!? Go out on some fantasy journey!? Too bad! My face stung and I saw stars as I realized he had slapped me, without holding back either. I tasted iron, and judging from the pain I had probably just lost a tooth. Rotating my head back around, I glared up at him but inside I was starting to get scared; I had been struggling against his grip this whole time. Even now, I was squirming, trying to get out from under him. My limbs were flooded with mana, though the bracelet was restricting that somewhat. But Dominic was a lot stronger than I was, and it was making me start to panic, After all, this is a mans world. Its not like where we came from. There are different rules, and different morals. Thanks to your betrayal, I was able to see that no, thanks to Irtis opening my eyes. Shell make a good wife I think; she respects me like you never would. Ha! Sure she does! *Ptui!* I spat out a mouthful of blood, which hit the bastard square in the face. Perhaps not the smartest decision, but I was beyond caring; I just wanted to get away. Dont worry, from one reincarnator to another, Ill make sure to take good care of you. A disturbing, lecherous grin spread over his face and I felt his hand grabbing roughly at my chest. All thoughts of anger and rage were replaced with fear as I realized his intentions, perhaps a bit late. My struggling intensified as I tried in vain to buck him off. Flailing my arms, I managed to catch him on the side of the head. This only earned me another punch, this one cracking a rib. Gasping for air, my arms fell limply and I started to cry. I would not beg and plead though. If I could stop the tears I would, but that much was beyond me. No, I was planning to struggle for as long as possible. As I was recovering my breath, Dominics groping found something hard; the ring Rupert had given me that bore the crest of the Royal Family. As always, it resided in a hidden pocket of my dress. Fishing it out, Dominic scowled when he saw the symbols engraved on it, So, your treachery runs that deep? Ill have to correct that. Im an idiot! He might be a demon, but as a noble hes still a citizen of the country! So caught up in the events unfolding, that in my fear I had forgotten that I could simply use the voice of the king. Being related to Blood Magic, it was not a chant so even with the mythril bracelet it should work. I opened my mouth to order him to release me, but in that moment he leaned in and forcibly stole my lips. Jamming his tongue into my mouth, I fought back the urge to gag even as I bit down. Hard. With a yell of pain, Dominic pulled backward, WOO BIFTH! Spitting a mouthful of his own blood at him I grinned, revealing two rows of teeth dyed crimson. Just as I was about to give the order, he reared up and leapt off me of his own accord. Leaning up on my elbows while ignoring the pain in my side, I saw Felicity. Her trembling hands were clutching a spoon. Where she had gotten it, I had no idea. Somehow, it was red with blood. How? How hard did she stab him with a spoon to draw blood!? Questions aside, this wasnt good. Like a deer in headlights, the girl was frozen stiff. Her eyes were wide open and locked on Dominic. Glaring at her, he raised his dagger up in the air. Damnit Claire! What did you promise!? GET AWAY FROM ME! I ORDER YOU! My scream drew on the power of the Drakas Royal Family and laced a compelling force through the air. Edith was seemingly unaffected; she had probably instinctively countered it since she knew about the effects. Dominic staggered forward but seemed able to resist somewhat. Probably owing to the Demon Blood. Felicity on the other hand, had her eyes glaze over. Damnit Stahlia! You better pull through this, you hear!? Then Claire turned and ran their shared body out of the room. Ill need to find out exactly what happened later. It looked like Felicity had been knocked out by the voice, and Claire had instantly assumed control. Clearly, there had been an internal power struggle or something. Time for that later. I stood up while Dominic was still recovering, and drew the dagger I kept sheathed under my dress. The blade was a bit old and worn; it was ten years old after all. Still, the blade gleamed in the light. Falling forwards toward Dominic, I used my weight to stab him in the back. Based on the cough and the blood he spat up it looked like I had hit a kidney. My momentum and the sudden pain carried us to the ground. Now it was me straddling him. Raising the blade above my head, I brought it down. Again. Again. And again. Eventually, my mind went white. When I came to my senses, I was in a pool of crimson. My arms were leaden at my side; stabbing someone, even with a gravity assist, takes a lot of energy. Based on the state of the body, I had really gone to town. Edith was by my side, begging forgiveness and crying while generally blaming herself, but I let the words wash over me. I was both physically and emotionally exhausted. I knew that I should get a move on; Sitri was heading to the Francois estate with a bunch of the Claurences charmed guards. But whenever I thought about moving, I lost interest in doing so. Suddenly, I was embraced from behind, though it was a bit awkward, Stahlia, its me, Jacqueline are you are you alright? Slowly, I turned my head towards the sound. Mechanically, I answered the question, Im Im ok. Nothing, nothing happened, I was I was able to protect myself. But what if I wasnt? What if I completely forgot about the voice? This place I glanced towards the body. This place is no good. We need to get out of here It was then that I realized who I was talking to, who had returned to my side at long last, Jacqueline! Oh thank goodness! Youre back! I felt fresh tears running down my face, but unlike the ones I had just shed, these were tears of happiness rather than fear. Crying into her shoulder, I felt Jacqueline pick me up and begin to carry me away. Vaguely, I was aware of Edith letting out a tearful cry of her own when we passed the couch where Sarala was lying. Drifting off into my own world, I let myself relax in Jacquelines arms. It wouldnt last though. Too soon, I was forced back to reality by a cold voice, accompanied by the sound of slow, mocking clapping. Marvelous. I do not believe I have been this infuriated since the last war. You have talent, brat. Pulling myself back to reality, I felt Jacqueline stiff as a board against me. Looking from her down to the speaker, I saw a face that I really dreaded, since I knew that he was a demon. Count Francois was looking up at us from where he stood in the entrance of the Claurence Estate. Holding his hand up in front of his chest, he began to remove his gloves, Manipulation, that would be Mephistopheless thing. Sometimes Leviathan or Asmodea might get involved. Personally, I would rather use more direct methods. I can not begin to describe how frustrating these past thousand years have been. Jacqueline slowly set me down, Stahlia, listen carefully. You need to run. Count Francois finished removing his gloves, revealing he was missing one of his fingers on each hand. I couldnt help but notice his hands, as wordlessly they became enveloped in a black flame. Now, with that dreadfully disappointing son of mine deceased, we can take off the mask and use those direct methods. Vanishing from my sight, he suddenly appeared less than a meter away. Jacqueline leapt between us, only for his fist to pierce through her stomach and out her back. My vision tinged red with rage, and I howled. Miss Stahlia, would you kindly fall into the depths of despair? Psycholor Perspective will return to Stahlia in the next chapter, 4-9 Onset of the Storm. A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-10 Culmination Psycholor Starting things off, here''s the completed artwork of Felicity! Captured moments after getting excited and beginning to jump out of her chair. Stahlia, Twelve Years Old, Third Month of 948 Miss Stahlia, would you kindly fall into the depths of despair? My vision tinged red and I howled. The man, no the demon in front of me grinned vilely. Ill fucking kill you! I lunged at him, but all I had was my old dagger. He stepped aside and allowed me to sail past him before tumbling down the stairs. Winded and dazed, I forced myself to stand back up. Something hit my back and sent me sprawling again. Something large. Looking over, I saw that Count Francois, or rather, Five had thrown Jacqueline at me. I saw stars and felt the veins in my head throb. Then a brief moment of relief as she coughed blood. Shes alive! But not for long. Not with a hole that large in her chest. But the sight gave me hope, and hope helped to clear my head. Fuck me! I hope this isnt too late! Cold Hearted, Anger off! Following my mental command, my anger went out. After all, my opponent was the King of Wrath. Me getting angry would only play right into his hands. He would make me his unwitting thrall, and all my actions would only serve to benefit him. Hopefully turning off my anger would be able to undo that ability, otherwise, I was fucked. As my shoulders stopped shaking, I was able to painfully stand back to my feet. He looked down at me, his own rage and fury writ on his face. So we shall do this the hard way. With that said, I expected that I was about to get burned, literally. That did not happen. Instead, he clapped his hands together, Twenty-Three. If you would, please show yourself. A young girl, about six-years-old, stepped out into the room, Yes Mr. Five, what can I do for you? She had black hair, tied up tightly in a bun so that it would not get in her way. Her skin was a pale white, and she was dressed in a mini version of Jacquelines field uniform. But what stuck out to me the most, what made my heart leap into my throat, were her eyes. They were a pale bluish-silver. A very rare color in this kingdom, I knew of only four people who had them. My mother, myself, Felicity, and, Ros..ial? The girl, my sister, looked down at me and cocked her head, Sister? Nope! I dont have one of those! Her voice, for all the world, sounded like a cheerful little girls should. Just like how I imagined Rosial would sound had she not been stolen away. For a moment I dared to hope, dared to think that there was nothing wrong with her, that she hadnt been tortured and forced to do unspeakable things. But her words rang in my ears. I dont have one of those! I was glad then, that I had turned off my anger already. If I had left it on, the rage I would be feeling right now would be all-consuming. From there, it only got worse, Twenty-three, would you please kill yourself? Rosial gave a short nod, Ok! If thats what you want! Flipping a dagger out of her sleeve, it did a revolution in the air before she caught it such that the blade was pointed towards her. Without hesitating she brought it down towards her throat and pierced clean through. A fountain of red erupted out of the wound splattering down the stairway, closely followed by Rosials body. A wet thump punctuated the impact with each step as it went along before sliding to a halt. Fives grin widened. I was more than glad that I had turned off anger in advance. Likely, I would have passed out from sheer wrath. Instead, I was filled with pure hatred. Hatred for Five, that he would dare take my sister from me. Hatred for the gods, for dragging my soul into this world and their damned game. Hatred for myself, for letting myself fall for his tricks. That wasnt Rosial. My eyes confirmed it; looking with my divine eyes, I could see that her mana was wrong. It wasnt the mana of a person but the mana flow of a monster. The light of mana in a human followed the circulatory system after all. As I watched the homunculus mana fade as the puppet died, I shrugged, Thats a decent trick but thats not my sister. Fives smile vanished from his face and he waved his hand sharply. Some of the black flame flew off his fingertips and engulfed the body of the monster, burning it away until there was naught but ash, Very well, you caught me. We are short on time, so we will need to be going now, girls, catch her. His voice was low but carried throughout the room. From a myriad of hiding places, more Rosials came out, until there were dozens of them about the place. My gaze fell on Jacquelines body. She was still breathing but she was clearly unconscious. Taking a deep breath, I shut my eyes. Empathy, off. They were going to take me somewhere, that much was clear. Whatever their plans were, it was a forgone conclusion that if I let them then I would never escape. Fleeing was my only option. Fleeing would mean leaving Jacqueline to die. It would mean having to fight through, harm, and kill copies of Rosial. Granted, they were monsters. I knew that, but that didnt mean I would be able to do it without hesitation. Looking down at my wrist, I saw the bracelet that Dominic had forced on me. The lock was firmly in place, so removing it should be impossible. Fear, off. Without the fear towards the action, I was able to enhance my other arm and grasp the bracelet. Ripping it off my wrist broke my thumb and degloved my hand. It was excruciatingly painful, and I screamed in agony as my skin fell away. With it gone though, I was free to use chanted magic. Oh Light, your child is in pain and injured. Soothe their wounds and grant respite. [Illuminate Healing] Even as I chanted, I darted straight towards one of the Rosials and stabbed it through the heart. Well, where a heart would normally be, what I had actually punctured was the monsters mana crystal. For a Doppelganger Homunculus though, that was enough. Without the source of their mana, the body quickly decomposed. My hand tingled, as the spell took effect, and I looked down briefly at my handiwork Illuminate Healing was a basic White Magic spell that drew on the Light Element to ease pain and close wounds. It wasnt able to repair damaged tissue, so my thumb was still broken and my tendons remained completely torn. In short, my hand was still useless, but a layer of skin had grown over it so at least I wouldnt bleed to death. A more advanced spell would take too long to chant, and I didnt have a potion on me at the moment so I was shit out of luck in that department. Still, all the bits are still there, so all Ill have to do is cut the skin off again and use a better spell once I escape. That was easier said than done though, as even though these were only copies of my sister, they were still monsters in their own right. Literally. Putting them down wasnt easy, and there were about fifteen more of them in the room. Thankfully, my reinforcements were inbound. Stil came bounding into the room, and though he cast a fearful look at Five, he leaped right onto one of the Rosials, slicing her femoral arteries as he did so. Well, that would have happened had she been human. The doppelganger didnt have that weak point though, which caused Stil to pause and stare at the lack of blood in mild confusion. Stil! Theyre monsters, neck or heart! At my shouted command, he lunged back down at the monster he had pinned and severed the throat by clamping his beak shut on it. As the monster bleed out he bounded off towards another group of them. Suddenly, a tingle passed down my spine, and I whirled around to see Five eyeing Stil. I didnt need to see the future to know what he was planning to do; he wanted me. He didnt need Stil. Darting forward, I positioned myself between the two of them. This action went contrary to common sense, but I was confident that that asshole wasnt going to risk hurting me. I could not afford to lose my backup, but thankfully I had the perfect hostage. My gamble paid off, as Five snarled in anger, Fine! Have it your way! [Black Flame ###### #####!] Pointing his finger towards the door, my heart sank as I saw a jet of black flame erupt and seal off my escape route. I still wasnt going to go down easy though, and I proved that by eviscerating another Rosial that had tried to pin me down by jumping at me in a tackle while calling out, Stalwi! Up! Hes even using her memories, the bastard! Still, I was fighting without that pesky thing called Empathy getting in the way, so I merely leaned over the crippled monster and stabbed straight into its mana crystal, even as it tried to cry out about how much it wanted its mommy. But what the hell was that spell!? At this point, my knowledge of the magic language was pretty damn extensive. I could easily hold a conversation in it if I wanted, and very few words still escaped me. But I had only caught two out of four words of the spells Keyword. Black Flame Well, thats what hes coating his hands with. Its really damn destructive as well, seeing how quickly it burned that doppelganger corpse to ash. The destructive force wasnt the scary part though. The truly terrifying aspect was how he had Talent Cast the spell. No wonder he hides his mana well enough to avoid divine eyes. Hes a caster for sure, and he probably glows like a goddamned Christmas Tree. While I was trying to estimate Fives power level in comparison to Sitri, another three Rosials leaped at me in unison. These tried to encircle me, but I wasnt about to let that happen, [Ice Spear!], [Frozen Blade!] The projectile of ice pierced the first through the mana crystal in an instant. Ice projectiles werent the fastest moving but at this range it didnt matter. The Frozen Blade spell, on the other hand, imbued my dagger with a coating of magic ice. The effectiveness of which was immediately demonstrated as I slashed at the second of the three Rosials. From the cut across her chest, a layer of ice spread out. However, not just on the surface, but also on the inside. After a few moments, the Ice reached her crystal and caused it to twist and groan audibly before cracking open. That was enough, and she fell to the ground deceased. The third one managed to catch onto my back, Tag! Youre it! Heehee! Fuck this! I stabbed backward over my shoulder and caught the creature in the eye, causing it to briefly loosen its grip. Taking advantage of the momentary reprieve, I dropped my dagger and gripped her head with my palm. Momentarily further enhancing myself, I threw her forward over my shoulder and towards another Rosial that was sneaking up on Stil. I hadnt been watching but it seemed he was doing his part, as there were another three bodies lying around the room that I didnt remember killing; also their throats were quite literally torn out, [Whiteout!] I Talent Cast another Ice Spell. This one created a localized blizzard around its caster. Normally, allies and the caster were not immune, but I had my Blessing of Winter that negated Ice Damage. Stil would suffer a bit, but his feathers should insulate him. The Ice Damage wasnt what I was after though, I wanted the side effect that reduced visibility. It would buy me a few seconds to chant a somewhat longer spell. Talent Experience has reached the required level, [Ice Magic V] has advanced to [Ice Magic VI]. New Talent [Winter Magic I] has derived from- I dismissed the notification, I didnt have time for that. Though, this was the first time my Ice Magic Talent had actually leveled up. I wasnt that close to the next level, was I? According to my memory, I still needed a little over a thousand talent experience to advance to the next level of that talent. The answer came to me a moment later. [Heat Wave!] Fives voice growled from the top of the stairs. The magic he invoked was pretty much the opposite of my [Whiteout], and was, therefore, more or less able to dispel the magic. What this revealed was a set of nine ice sculptures. The remaining Rosials had been frozen solid. Ah right. In my haste, I had forgotten that by disabling my emotions I was strengthening my Ice Magic. It was also strengthened by [Blessing of Winter], so it was a little over three times as powerful. That still didnt explain how it had basically instantly frozen the remaining Doppelganger Homunculus, but it made sense if I assumed that they were already weak to Ice. Still, I wasnt out of the woods yet, I still had a very pissed off Hell King in the room with me, and the only exit was sealed. Well, I hope you enjoyed that. I suppose I will have to grab you myself. Do not worry, I plan to thoroughly take out my anger on you, at least until you finally do as your told. His voice was actually quivering now, and he was stomping each step as he descended the stairs. It was a bit hard to believe how angry he was. For a moment, I briefly considered ordering Stil to throw himself at Five while I made a dash for the door. But that wouldnt accomplish much. Five could easily break Stil and still have all the time to cut me off. Even if he was a mage type, a pyromancer by the looks of things, he had proved his speed earlier. Stil, get Rupert. It was very likely that I was going to be captured now. There was one last card I could play, originally developed for Sitri, but it had never been tested. Besides, the cost of that Even with fear turned off, I was still hesitant to field test it here. So I sent Stil away to go and inform Rupert what had happened. He was the best chance I had for eventual rescue, and informing him as soon as possible was paramount. Suddenly, I sensed movement behind me and spun around while raising my blade. There was one other Rosial. Odd, I dont remember this one. Oh well. Shrugging to myself, I brought my dagger down on its shoulder, piercing at an angle that would catch the mana crystal, Stahlia? The girl coughed blood and fell to one knee. But she did not die instantly. Not like the others had. Not like the monsters. Behind me, I heard a laugh. Not an angry cold one, a laugh of sheer delight. No! Snaping my divine eyes on as fast as I could, I saw the girls mana. Not suffusing her whole being from a central crystal like a monster. No, her mana matched the human circulatory system and was incredibly similar in color to my own. Well, have you checked yet? That is the real one, and you just killed her! Are you not thankful for the gift your goddess gave you now? Stop. She recognized you, you know? At the very end. Stop! If you had not used your skill, if you had hesitated, could you have stopped your blade? Then again, you would have been captured by now. But then, she would still be alive. Remorse, off. I didnt want to feel anymore. You should have done as you were told. I might have given her back to you then, but it is far too late for that now, so fall! Fall into despair and rise up reborn as the tenth! It has been prophesied! Fives monologue was aggravating. I wasnt angry. I doubted I would ever be angry again. I didnt want to feel ever again. Love, off. Warning: Full Activation of [Cold Hearted] has serious risks. Please confirm action. Love. Off. So I would stop feeling. That was, after all, step one. Confirmed. [Cold Hearted] Full activation complete. As for step two I looked up towards five. My face was devoid of emotion. A noise resounded in my head, like an annoying buzzing of something far away. {Oi, wh.. the fuck! ..noo don.. do ..at.} I tuned it out. Fixing my gaze on Five, I opened my mouth. {Invoke Authority. Disconnect User} My voice seemed to make the air itself tremble. Valid Authority: {Divine Authority[Class Features]} Confirmed. Target of Action [[Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas], Human[PB], 12y] Disconnecting User Talents.Complete Disconnecting User Skills.ERROR:[Unable to disconnect [Cold Hearted].Complete Disconnecting User Attributes.Complete Warning: User Vessel is 4500% over its maximum mana capacity. Lifespan will be expended to maintain integrity. What I had done was simple. It was so very simple. But it was probably something only I could do. The first law of magic states that mana could not be destroyed, only transferred from one vessel to another. It went on to state that the amount of mana in a system was always predictable and quantifiable. The second law of magic stated that the cost of an effect was directly proportional to its strength and duration. Then, what was powering stats, skills, and talents? The answer was mana. I had noticed in Ang, back when I first got my Divine Eyes, that stronger people were brighter than weaker ones; Jacqueline was like a torch next to my own candle. The other laws of magic were strange. They didnt deal with mana itself. They only talked about spells. Chanted ones specifically. Only the first two laws mentioned mana irrespective of a spell. Why was that? It was a question I had been asking myself for some time now. I had finally arrived at the answer in Ris, when I first discovered my Authority extended to others besides myself. That was when I realized that the levels, classes, skills, and everything else were not just a part of the world. It was something that had been put in place and could be accessed and controlled. But the system in question was inefficient. This could be seen easily with how much better Blood Magic was than other magic. When I was a child, I used Blood Magic to heat a bucket of water. Using the [Boil Water] spell had greatly tired me out though after I had leveled up several times. My own enhancements did far more for less than the enhancements made by invoking various buffing magic. So, if the system was inefficient, how much mana was it wasting? The answer was a lot. I pulled up my status screen. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 27 Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris auf Drakas, 12 Gender: Female Class/Level: ERROR Species: Human (Pureblood) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed [LOCKED] Title: Goblin Slayer*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: ERROR Skills 5/5: ERROR My basic information and mana seemed to be fine, but everything else was displaying an error. Still, this was somewhat expected. This had been intended to be my last resort. My final card to play when I was backed into a corner with no other choices. It hadnt been something I was going to use here. Until I killed her. There was no point in continuing now, I had failed. But I would at least be sure to take him down with me. That monster, no, that demon. Emotions were funny, with how difficult they made things, how they got in the way. With how I was now, I could see all the things I had been doing wrong with my magic. It was easy. I wrapped my body in a layer of mana and then gave it the Divine Aspect. I was right, he does glow like a sun. Looking at five now, I could see how bright he was. The current me was able to see his mana clearly. Though that made sense, since I was now outside the scope of the world and he was presumably using a facet of that system to hide his own power. Looking down at myself, I saw that I was brighter. Idly, I wondered at how much brighter I was. Pumping some more mana into my brain, I was able to accelerate my thought processes even further. Four times, no, five times brighter. I had roughly five times more mana in my current state than the Hell King before me. Crushing him would be a piece of cake. I glared up at him. I wasnt angry, but the glare would serve to let him know of my intentions. Extending an arm, I pointed a finger toward his chest. Speaking at this point was redundant. I was no longer bogged down with useless processes, and could freely manipulate my core, my essence. Still, I was most familiar with Ice. I willed the count to freeze. He stiffened like a board, sweat was visibly dripping from his brow. He glared at me with a look of pure hatred and animosity, [######## ## #####] Without [Eidetic Memory] running, I wasnt able to translate the words he spoke. It didnt matter, the effect of them was plainly visible. His body was engulfed entirely in black flame. It was a vain attempt to thwart my Ice. I simply added more mana. I could feel my limbs shredding, the mana circuits were complaining as they dissolved. None of that mattered. All that I needed to do was to freeze this creature. A Hell King would, invariably, return to the Nine Hells following their death. From there it was only a matter of time before they returned to the mortal coil. But that was only if they died. Blood Magic, at its core, is magic of intention. What you will is what it does. You need only possess enough mana. I had known this fact since I was but a babe. The first time I used magic, I wanted to swat what I thought was a bug crawling on me. That will translated into physical enhancement. Since then, I had only gotten better. As I was now, what if I were to will this cockroach be imprisoned forever rather than die? What if I did that while applying the Ice Element to my mana and spell? The answer was simple; he would be entombed for eternity in unmelting ice. It was only a matter of time until he ran out of mana, there was no way he would be able to best me. I stood, surveying my handiwork. An ice sculpture in the shape of a burning man was resting on the stairway of the Claurence Estate. So long as it had mana it would never melt, and would repair any damage it suffered. Granted, that was not eternity, but the ice needed only to feed off the mana in the air. My vision grew blurry and I swooned, but I forced myself to remain standing. I could not faint now, not when I still had something to do. Enhancing my legs and kinetic vision, I ran. Well, anyone who witnessed me would swear I teleported but that was beside the point. It took fifteen seconds to get from the Claurence Estate to the Francois. I arrived at the scene of a battlefield and produced a sonic boom as my legs snapped. The shockwave of my arrival knocked aside several of the charmed knights, clearing a path to my target. Sitri stared at me, mouth agape, How, how did you!? WHAT!? Giving no answer, for I lacked the time, I simply moved up to her. My mangled legs were held together with a simple enchantment that prevented the bones from moving too much out of place, while what was basically telekinesis replaced my shredded muscles. Gripping the succubus by her head, I smiled. Somewhere deep within my frozen chest, this act made me happy. I hated myself for that; why should I be happy to take revenge on this cunt, and not the man that caused the death of my sister? There was no time for me to fret though; I would soon be dead. Gripping her head harder, I stared into her eyes, {Invoke Authority, Lock Classes. Restrict Attrib-} I coughed blood and lost my grip on Sitris head. Collapsing into a pile of broken flesh, I felt my spirit leave my body. So this is what death is like then. Its less painful than I remembered. It was too bad Sitri got away from me, but I had still locked her classes, so that would make her a lot weaker. Hopefully, enough for Ferdinand or someone to take down. Wentee, Six Years Old, Third Month of 948 Sitting up in a panic, I clutched at my neck where where my sister had stabbed me. That That was my sister? Right? Memories were fuzzy and all jumbled up. Honestly, I didnt know what to think. Looking around, I saw lots of the me-copies. They were all frozen and messed up, it made me a bit sick to my stomach. Turning around, I saw Stali standing next to Mr. Five with a massive grin on her face, Look Wentee! The witch is dead! The witch is dead! She started doing a strange dance in a circle around Mr. Fives body. I should feel sad, Mr. Five was always trying to do whats best for me why do I feel relieved? Congrats, Wentee. The voice made me spin around. Tracking to the source of it, I saw another me, though this one was still in one piece and not an ice statue. It laughed, Ha, no, Im not one of those copies. Im you. Just like Stali is you. Im here to say goodbye since you wont be needing me anymore. That was plainly confusing, Stali was me? She was me? Clearly, this girl was me, since she looked just like me. But Stali looked totally different. There was no way Stali and me were the same person. After all, Stali was my sister. Just like Stahlia. Wait, whos Stahlia? Stahlia is our real sister. Stali is just a fake. This new me was making me mad. I wanted to stab her, but without Mr. Five to give the order I wasnt allowed to stab people. All I could do was argue, No! Stali is my sister! I dont know Stahlia The me shrugged, Sure, whatever. Doesnt matter much; were free now anyway and I wont be around much longer. Hopefully, the memories dont mess you up. As she spoke, she began to fade away as if she wasnt there to begin with. Just as she disappeared, I felt a sharp pain in my neck, like I was being cut open. It knocked me to the floor where I rolled around while screaming for relief. After several minutes, that pain finally stopped, but just as I was able to sit up, a new pain assailed me as memories. Dozens of memories came flooding back all at once. Memories of me killing people. Memories of the dark place. Memories of my family I didnt know I had. Memories of my big sister Stahlia. The girl who killed me without killing me. Rosial, Six Years Old, Third Month of 948 When I opened my eyes, I saw Stali sitting on my chest with a soft smile, So we remembered huh? Psycholor The next several chapters will have a variety of alternate perspectives, each repeating the previous hour or so. The first one will be Felicity, beginning with Stahlia ordering both her and Dominic to get away from her. Also planned, are perspectives of Rupert, Ferdinand, and Rosial, and Five. If there are any other perspectives you think are worth showing, please leave a comment! A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons Extra Chapter: Girl’s Day Psycholor Going forward, I plan on doing this again next month, in addition to adding a second lottery. This lottery will be open to anyone, though with some caveats. Details about that will be released at a later date. This chapter is set after the first week of school, prior to the excursion to Ang Village. Stahlia has already developed a bit of a friendship with Edith and Sarala, though she isn''t as close to them as she becomes later on. Just like the previous extra chapter, I consider this event cannon. Stahlia 10 Years Old, Fourth Month of 947 *CLAP!* So, now that Stahlia is here, we can officially begin! Ediths excited words filled the room in which I was sitting with her and Sarala. What in the world? I had come over expecting a normal tea time, perhaps some sort of magic practice or something. Sarala, as usual looked a bit apprehensive, but also excited to see what Edith had in store for us. I, on the other hand, greatly disliked surprises. Edith Catching Saralas glancing glare, I amended my statement, Lady Edith, what are we planning? Edith gave me an incredibly pleasant, and incredibly fake, smile, Well I just thought, you have been in the capital for two months now, and all you have done is school and research! Thats no good, think of how Lord Dominic feels. Yea, I could care less how he feels. Still, I would rather not upset you. What have you planned today? Smiling demurely, the girl in question explained todays itinerary, First, we shall be having tea as we usually do. Unlike normal, however, I have arranged for some imported products. It will be more of a tea tasting than a tea party. Later on, I have scheduled for my tailor to come in and take our measurements. I recently discovered several of my dresses were beginning to feel stiff across the chest, and thought it might be fun for us to all dress up and order clothes together! This sounds like it will be a massive pain. Fashion was just something I didnt get. Not that I didnt own an exorbitant amount of clothing. My mother had seen to it that I had enough dresses to rotate on a daily basis if I wanted to. Which I did not; if I had my way, my wardrobe would contain my school uniform, some casual-looking house wear, and something rugged for exploration. Perhaps also a work shirt for my alchemical endeavors. I was certainly no fashionista. Since arriving in the capital, I had discovered that other girls in my social class tended to have a lot more than I did. Even after my mother was finished, seven dresses was a bit light when one per day per month was considered normal. The fact that my own clothes had already repeated was probably how Edith had figured out I didnt own much. Her setting this up was probably a tactful way for her to encourage me to get some more to wear; she knew I could afford it given her sources had definitely discovered the various formulas I had developed and sold. Well, if you think that sounds fun My voice trailed off into uncertainty; I really was out of my depth here. Edith wasnt going to let that stand though, no way. Oh, I assure you it will be extremely fun. Based on the way her gaze was studying me, I could tell she was already picturing me in a variety of different outfits. This is going to be a long day. The first order of business was the tea party. For better or worse, I had actually come to enjoy tea parties. It was fun to simply sip tea and chat with friends, as well as being calming after a long day of dealing with bullshit. The imported tea was, in a word, incredible. Edith had managed to get us beverages from both the Northern Alliance as well as the Trade Confederacy. There was even a tea from the continent of Riodhas that was simply divine. As I sipped that one, I thought involuntarily of Sieg since that was the destination he had departed for after leaving Ris. Adults may have discussed the teas various flavors and qualities, and while I was somewhat interested in any potential medicinal uses it had, my two companions were not. Instead, our conversation seemed to revolve around things I considered mundane. Edith largely led the conversation, while Sarala seemed content to be a fringe non-participant. This meant that I was Ediths primary conversation partner. Unfortunately, the talk seemed to revolve around things that a preteen girl would find fascinating. Boys, clothes, desserts, she even brought up a unicorn at one point. It was extremely uncomfortable for me, but I couldnt risk offending someone of Ediths stature, and Sarala was quite talented with Blue Magic. In short, I had no other choice but to grin and bear it. Finally, Ediths maid leaned in to inform her mistress that the tailor had arrived with his entourage. That word was a bit scary since I had no idea why an entourage was something a clothier would need. My answer came quite quickly though when I saw the sheer volume of clothing samples that had been brought. There seemed to be hundreds of dresses, though that number was definitely and exaggeration. There was an article in every conceivable color. Several different cuts and styles all combined on four large roller-mounted hanger racks. The man in question was introduced to me by Edith as one Ergi Monteiro. As soon as he had said his greeting, he spun on his heel and departed to converse with Ediths father or possibly the familys butler. He left us behind with three women who were introduced as seamstresses and his assistants. They were on hand to take our measurements and make small on-the-fly adjustments while we would actually be dressed by each of our maids. Sarala having been loaned the use of one of the Claurences general maids. Edith clapped her hands in excitement and imediatally began rifling through the clothing on display. Though the way she kept eyeing me every few moments went to show that she was most likely not looking for herself. Well, I may as well get it over with I held out my arms for Jacqueline with a resigned expression on my face, and she went about removing the clothing that I had worn to the get-together. Left standing in only my panties and an itchy training bra, I felt exposed and a bit cold. One of the seamstresses came over to me with a tape and began to hold it up and wrap it around my body. While my premature vital statistics were being exposed, I chanced a stealthy glance at my two friends. Edith was being dragged away from the clothing rack by her maid. In her hands she was clutching two dresses; a short pink thing and a longer red satin piece. Neither of them was particularly practical as both were positively covered in bows and lacy bits. And those colors dont match her hair at all. I might not understand fashion, but I at least knew the basics of color theory, and neither of those offerings would look good against Ediths own lighter hair. Well, the pink one might, but it was a bit too frilly. Edith was at the age where she would start to look better with less poofy articles. On the other hand, I was still small enough to pull it off. In other words, Im going to be forced to wear both of those yay On the other hand, Sarala was holding out both of her arms awkwardly. She actually looked worse off than I felt. Then again, she always was a bit shy. Seeing her forlorn face cheered me up just a bit, as awful as that sounded, and I was able to put on a small smile of sympathy. When she noticed it, said smile was returned to me. This created a sort of feedback loop that left both of us giggling by the end. Well, this could certainly be a lot worse. At least Im with friends and not being dragged around by my mother. The measurements were eventually taken, and no sooner had they concluded, then Edith handed off the two pieces she had picked out to my seamstress, Here! Dont you think that Stahlia would look amazing in these? Of course, no commoner seamstress was going to tell the dukes daughter that she was mistaken. The woman accepted the clothes with a brilliant smile, My, you have good taste! I do believe that Lady Stahlia will look most lovely in either of these! Those are both the kind of things that a little girl would wear Im ten! Not six! The woman disappeared behind a screen, but I could see her outline working on the dresses. To my surprise, Sarala approached the racks with an extremely serious expression. This was a bit confusing until Edith leaned into my ear and offered an explanation, See, Sarala knows that the best way to avoid becoming my doll is to make her own choices. The way her words were delivered was cheerful, but the message was clear; my participation in todays events was by no means optional. Forcing myself not to sigh, I approached the rack and began to rifle through it. Unfortunately, very little caught my eye. I could always pick out a few things at random, but that was very likely to be found out by Ediths keen intuition. But nothing is catching my fancy Before I could pick anything, my seamstress appeared from outside of her screen. She had done very fast work, but to my untrained eye it didnt look like a sloppy rush job. It actually looked better than some factory-made stuff from earth. I wonder what her sewing level is? It certainly had to be quite high. The two articles were passed off to Jacqueline and I was led behind the screen. This was a bit confusing since I had undressed openly. It all made sense a moment later when I had finished putting on the first item and came back out. Edith squealed in delight and immediately called for me to spin around. This is so stupid. I complied with the request in order to please my host and received another squeal in thanks. Well, if you like this one so much, you should like the next one even more. The pink dress had been my first choice, I considered it to be quite childish and wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible. Up next was the red one. It had a hitched-up skirt, with several folds and bows, while the front of the chest had a lacy pattern over the front and even more bows running down the sleeves. One massive pile of fabric in the shape of a heart bow rested squarely on my lower back. While that description sounded odious, it still didnt hold a candle to the shear frilliness of the pink one. It took me a few minutes to get changed, and when I came out Edith gave me a rather large smile and applauded. There was no squealing though, something that was a bit upsetting. Unlike the previous reception, this one felt more like it was being done simply to be polite. This I look good in this one too! Its a lot better than that childish pink thing! In a bit of a huff, I turned around and went back behind the screen so that Jacqueline could undress me. When I came back, Sarala was gone behind her own screen. Edith was passing the time by perusing a rack with a discerning eye. Based on how serious she was now taking this, she was likely making a selection for herself. She picked out a few things, and passed them to the seamstress just as Sarala came out for her own fashion show. She had picked a dress dyed a rich blue around the chest and sleeves, but one that paled into an icy blue-white by the time it reached the hem of the skirt. I had no idea how the gradient had been achieved with the available technology of this world, though I suspected magic was most likely involved. There was also a faint sparkle to the whole thing, as though it was covered in a thin layer of ice or snow. Personally, I was left a bit speechless, but Edith filled in for the both of us, Ohmygods! Thats so cute on you! After a moment, I nodded dumbly. There wasnt really anything for me to add to what Edith said. Sarala was plainly cute in that dress. The girl in question smiled nervously and nodded while performing a stiff curtsy. She then spun on her heel and went to change out of the dress as quickly as possible. Edith departed to change into one of her own dresses, as the seamstress had indicated it was ready. While she did so, I went over to the rack Edith had been looking through when I came back. I had caught a flash of red while she was sliding around the hangers, and I was curious about it. Overall, this was the least frilly of the racks available, and the red I had seen was unique. Unlike the softer red of the dress I had just worn, this one was much deeper. It was a rich red, just a few shades lighter than blood. I thought it would contrast quite well with my dark hair and icy blue eyes. While both of the other two girls were busy, I sneakily removed the item from the hanger and passed it along to the seamstress. Returning to my place, Sarala was there waiting for me. I was not a moment too soon, as Edith came out. She was wearing a black dress with a veil made of thin lace. Frankly, it looked a bit gaudy and overdone. Sarala giggled and clapped anyways as Edith did a spin with a hand on her hip. Shes not taking this seriously then, probably trying to set me and Sarala more at ease I clapped as well and paid her a complement, and her sarcastic Why thank you! further confirmed my suspicions that she was merely acting. The seamstress then came out from behind my curtain, the sight of which made Edith widen her eyes in surprise, though it was fleeting. Instead of returning to doff her own dress and try on the next, she indicated that I should do the one I had picked myself, Stahlia, why dont you go and try the one she just finished? Nodding succinctly, I went behind the screen and had Jacqueline help me put it on. Looking in the mirror, I couldnt help but have my heart sink a little. The dress was much more adult than the two I had already tried, as though the skirt was folded, it lacked the overabundance of decoration. The top was low cut enough that if I actually had a chest then it would have a small amount of cleavage while still being quite modest. Rather than sleeves or straps, a small section of lace covered my shoulders, upper back, and neckline. Lastly, the skirt was high enough that I could conceivably run and fight in this thing if I needed, but it was low enough to be deemed fashionable from what I knew. I actually kind of like this one as well Simply put, I still lacked the appearance necessary to accompany this dress. In a few years, it would probably be dashing on me, but at the moment I was too young. Jacqueline, help me out of this thing. It will not work after all. My voice quivered a bit as I held out my arms. But to my surprise, rather than following my command, Jacqueline adopted a thoughtful expression as she studied me. After a moment, she snapped her fingers and dug around in her bag. Removing a small cylinder, she produced what looked like a makeup brush. She then went to work on my face and neckline. A few minutes later, looking in the mirror, I couldnt recognize that it was me. Sure, the visage that greeted me was still childish and the dress didnt completely fit right, but I had affected an aura of maturity that I would have thought impossible. Blinking a few times, I realized that the reflection was smiling. When I carefully touched my own lips, I was able to confirm that it was actually me who was making it do that. Really now? Jacqueline gave me a soft bonk on the head and fixed the makeup that had been smeared by my touch. Then, she applied a thin coating of red lipstick. I had worn something similar a while ago, and hated it; my lips had felt gross. Now though, as I looked in the mirror, I couldnt help but feel like the vaguely sticky sensation was totally worth it. When I stepped out for my third runway appearance, I was greeted by silence. Neither Edith nor Sarala had anything to say as they simply stared. After a moment, a rare genuine smile appeared on Ediths face, You look lovely. It was far from the high-pitched squeal that my first piece had elicited, but this one was so much sweeter. A feeling of happiness welled up in my chest, and for once I was actually glad to be wearing a dress. I think, I think Ill buy this one after all. It was the first time I had purchased clothing of my own volition, and I was filled with a sense of satisfaction as I watched Jacqueline place the order and hand over the money later that day. Why did she actually bring that much money with us? That was no small sum A quick glance at Ediths smug face gave me my answer. I was set up! Psycholor The red dress being described in the ending, is intended to be a child sized version of the dress that Stahlia is wearing in the cover art. A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server Looking for something else to read? Check out my other story, I Hate RPGs, So I Guess Ill Become The Queen of Demons 4-11 Flight of the Kitten A White Void The world was white, all-consuming, and infinite. Stretching out into the endless horizon as far as the eye could see, an endless expanse of nothing. Despite being made of the same material, it was odd that the floor and sky were distinct. By all accounts, the line between the two should not exist, but any entity with the capacity to perceive its surroundings would notice the point where the floor ended and the sky began. It was best not to consider such things, lest one lose their grip on reality. Well, the vast realm was not entirely empty. There was a single occupant. A young girl with black hair that hung down to her waist. Her lack of clothes exposed skin that was a few shades darker than snow, and her pale blue eyes darted around confusedly. By her recollection, she should be dead. Her own life used to fuel a power utterly beyond her reach and station. Yet here she was. Tentatively, the girl rose to her feet; the last time she saw her legs, they had been a twisted mess of torn and sundered flesh. But now they were intact. Once it was confirmed that she could stand, the girl fixed her gaze on the horizon of this realm and started walking. There was, after all, nothing better for her to do. She did not get far, or perhaps it was a great distance before the bleached void was once more disturbed. A loud crack split the air asunder, causing the girl to whirl around and face what appeared for all intents and purposes to be the automatic sliding door of a convenience store. Granted the glass panes seemed to block sight, rather than serve as windows to what lay on the other side of the door. But at the same time, they were still see-through. The girl wisely put such a logical inconsistency out of her mind before it could cause any damage. The door slid open, and a perfectly androgynous figure passed through the opening. The figure waved as they entered, calling out, Yo George! Looks like you died again huh? Man, you just arent very lucky. The girls curious stare instantly shifted to a more guarded expression. After all, that was not her name. Not anymore. The androgynous figure slowed and gave the girl a funny look, George? That is you right? Aww man, did I go to the wrong afterlife? They pulled a small device from their pocket. After tapping at it for a few seconds, the androgynous figure looked up at the girl. Well this is certainly a surprise, you are actually George. Or I supposed Stahlia would be your name now The girls eyes flashed in sudden understanding at the figures words. So I did die then, I was wondering what happened Are you here to reincarnate me again? Her voice was drab, and if her assertation were correct the androgynous figure may have questioned how she knew of reincarnation. But the girls guess was not correct, that was not what the figure was here for. The figure smiled and shook their head, No, thats not why Im here. Before that though, this is kind of awkward so The figure pointed the device in their hand at the girl and tapped a few icons on it. A beam of light emitted from the front and flew towards the girl where it then proceeded to wrap her in a soft glow. When the glow faded, the figure nodded to themselves, There, thats better. The girl looked down at herself to find that she was now covered by a simple white frock. It was a style of dress she had seen a few times two lives ago, such a thing was often worn by religious depictions of angels. Looking back up at the figure, the girl saw that they were now seated on a plush armchair. Where such a thing had come from she did not know, but at this point she thought it better not to question something so trifling. Since there was a second chair that lacked an occupant facing the first in which the youth sat, the girl decided to seat herself, Thank you, for the clothes and the seat Might I ask your name? Also, what did you mean earlier by this being surprising? What is this place exactly? Didnt I die? While she thought it might be rude, it turned out that this person was surprisingly easy for her to talk to, and the questions seemed to come out before she could stop herself. The figure seemed to take it in good humor. Right, you mortals do attach a lot of importance to things like names. You can call me Adroni if you want, my actual name would be a bit incomprehensible. As far as things being surprising, I was actually expecting a dude. This is your astral body kind of like your soul? It really shouldnt have already taken the appearance of Lady Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas. When the girl heard her name, she cringed slightly. That was odd, she thought. After all, she was actually a bit fond of her name. She certainly did not find it embarrassing, despite what one might suspect if they were informed regarding her circumstances. The figure nodded a few times to themselves, I see I see. So you managed to fully accept yourself. Thats surprising, I didnt expect that to happen so soon, how very interesting. The girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the youthful figure, Who exactly are you? It was a fair question, this person seemed to know an awful lot about her, yet she had no idea who they were. The figure shrugged, I told you, you can call me Adroni. A new name for the new you. If it would help you understand whats going on though, George knew me as EvilGod. A look of anger flashed across the girls face and she glared at the androgynous figure. She recognized that name, it was the one responsible for putting her in the situation she was in. Except it really wasnt. Thinking over her life, sure there was a lot of bad. But there was a lot of good mixed in as well. Most of the worst stuff was in some way a result of her own actions. Her facial expression gradually softened as she considered everything that had happened to her. The androgynous figure grinned, How forgiving of you, have to say I wasnt expecting that from the person who used to fly into a rage at the very mention of the gods. I havent forgiven you. The girl snapped at the figure, after all this was the person that had, more or less gotten her killed the first time. But she had to admit, that all things considered, her second life had been far more entertaining than her first, But I didnt exactly read the fine print either, so I kind of agreed to what you did. An awkward silence reigned for a length of time. The androgynous figure was content to sit idly, while the girl did not want to accidentally cross a line she did not know existed. Reincarnation was one thing, but it was a distinct possibility that this figure could do far worse to her if they were upset or angered. After some time, the androgynous figure broke the silence, To answer your other questions This place, its sort of like a buffer. An overflow region if you will. I set it up to prevent memory leaks from crashing the system. As far as what happened to you, yea you died. At least, your body is broken beyond any conceivable method of repair your allies have access to. It did not surprise the girl that the figure knew about her allies, after all the way it was talking about her so far indicated that it had been keeping an eye on things. It certainly would not be the first godly entity to do such a thing, and as irritated as that made her, she knew that arguing or expressing that frustration was an ill-advised course of action. Well, if thats the case, what happens now? I honestly dont know what all I agreed to when I accepted those terms. The girl had a resigned expression on her face as she looked at the androgynous figure. For their part, the figure flashed her a cocky grin, What? Arent you curious about the people you left behind? The girls face fell into a frown, A little I guess Jacqueline is probably dead, Claire should be able to keep Felicity safe. Rupert will manage somehow, since I took down that asshole Five and clipped Sitris wings. Edith and Sarala will manage, Sana well I guess you know more about her than I do, huh? I sort of lost myself when Rosial died when I killed her. So whatever happens now, I guess I deserve it. If her self-deprecating tone was anything to go by, it would seem that the girl believed that she was not going anywhere pleasant. The figures face showed a playful smirk, Are you sure about any of that? No offense, but you werent exactly around to see I could show you if you want. The girls eyes narrowed and she fixed her gaze on the youths face. Leaning forward she spoke in a stern tone, but she could not hide the mild spark of hope completely, What would it cost me. The androgynous figures smirk morphed into a blatantly malicious deep smile, Nothing much, just consider it a thank you gift for being so interesting. Who would have expected you to go and disconnect yourself from the system like that? Not I. The girl sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, So you want something; nothing much isnt nothing. Of course, you wont tell me until after I agree She opened her eyes, Fine. Show me what my friends are doing. The figures grin widened, and they set the small box down on a table that appeared between the two chairs. Now that she could see it properly, the girl recognized that the box was actually a smartphone. Though, given everything else in this space, she knew that there was no point in questioning this. Even if she was inclined to question the cellphone, the figure had first contacted her via a live stream chat anyways. Several beams of light fired out of where the camera would have been, and drew a picture in the air. The girl recognized the person being depicted in the picture; it was a young catkin named Felicity. She was running down a street in the noble quarter of the city. After a moment, the youth snapped his fingers, and the girl found herself seemingly sucked into the image. Felicity & Claire, Six Years Old, Third Month of 948. GET AWAY FROM ME! I ORDER YOU! The force of Stahlia Neechans voice struck us just as we were picking ourselves up off the ground. The impact knocked Felicity out, though Claire Oneechan was able to maintain her presence. That didnt mean she wasnt affected though, the magic Stahlia Neechan had used implanted a strong compulsion to leave her presence immediately, Damnit Stahlia! You better pull through this, you hear!? With that said, Claire began piloting our body away from the immediate area. Out into the hallway, it was a good thing that the stinky girl had already gone. Down around a corner, making our way for the main entrance. We ran headfirst into Jacqueline Oneesama, looking up in confusion and surprise, Claire Oneechan made a snap decision. With Felicity still confused and delirious following the impact of Stahlia Neechans magic, there wasnt much point in discussing things. Jacqueline! You have to help her! It would be obvious to all three parties who her was, given the context. Jacquelines eyes flashed in understanding, I will. Go. Claire Oneechan nodded curtly and then continued our mad spring away from the big house. It wasnt clear where we should go, but it was obvious that we had to get away from here though Felicity was loathe to leave Stahlia Neechan alone like that. Coming up to the entrance, we froze. Sniffing the air a pungent odor threatened to overwhelm our senses. It wasnt clear who this smell was coming from, but it was the most revolting thing Felicity had ever had the misfortune of smelling. It was so unpleasant, that it snapped her out of her delirious state and even gave her the strength of will to eject Claire Oneechan from control over their body. Clamping her hands over her sensitive nose, Felicity tried in vain to block out the pungent aroma. {Blegh! Its like old fish, blood, and poo all at once!} [Well, thats a colorful way of putting it. Are you sure those are the comparisons you want to make though?] Claire Oneechans mind-voice was in full agreement with Felicity regarding how revolting the smell was, but she had her own thoughts on what to compare it to. [To me, it smells like rotten chicken, sulfur, and vomit Either way, we need to get away, and I think we should avoid whatever it is thats making that smell.] Felicity was in full agreement with her thought-sister. The two of them also realized without discussing it, that whatever this was, the smell was similar to Dominics. Though, much more intense. Though Felicity wanted to go back to Stahlia Neechan, the magic was forcing her away. Something that Claire Oneechan had realized, and was why she did not try and forcibly take control again. After all, Stahlia had invoked the contract that bound Felicitys soul. [Though, there was something more something else layered onto her words. After all, they affected me as well, and the slave contract doesnt hold my soul like it does yours.] Felicity couldnt really follow what Claire Oneechan was saying, not without her sharing some memories or conveying her meaning directly. But that would take time and focus, so for now Felicity just made sure to remember Claire Oneechans words. After all, she had learned to trust her thought-sister when she spoke like this. We managed to get out of the big house without running into anyone, something that Felicity was happy about. But for some reason, the lack of anyone made Claire Oneechan suspicious. Still, we were out, and that was the most important thing right now. {Felicity doesnt care about the guards. Will Stahlia Neechan be ok?} [That girl is a lot tougher than she has any right to be, shell pull through, somehow.] Felicity huffed, but Claire Oneechan had a point. Stahlia Neechan had been through a lot, and always managed to pull through in the end. Though Felicity had a sort of suspicion that this time was different somehow. Even though Claire Oneechan assured her everything would be fine, there was an inkling that something bad would happen. A feeling that was quickly punctuated by an explosive pressure from the big house. The force of whatever was happening knocked Felicity on her bum. She tried to sit up but found that the pressure wave had not passed. Rather, it seemed like it was only growing in intensity. We were effectively pinned. [Felicity! We need to move I cant!] {Felicity cant move! Claire Oneechan, what?} Felicitys thought trailed off. Something felt wrong. Something was missing, she felt empty, like there was a piece of her missing. Like she had misplaced something extremely important to her. {Felicity, we need to go. Now.} Saying that was all well and good, but Felicity still wasnt able to move very well. She could sort of twitch her arms and legs a bit, but that was it. Suddenly, another blast assailed us, this one was rather loud and made our ears ring. Right after, the force that was holding her in place vanished, and Felicity was able to get up and move. Taking Claires advice, she picked a direction and ran. Claire was being strangely quiet the whole time, which was suspicious, but Felicity knew better than to ask questions right now. As Claire Oneechan and Stahlia Neechan were so fond of reminding her, curiosity killed the catgirl. As it turned out, the direction Felicity had run was towards the outer wall that led from the Noble Quarter into the Upper City. Being a beastkin slave, it was unlikely that she would be able to keep going in this direction without being caught. {What should we do Claire Oneechan?} After several moments of silence, Claire responded. [Felicity, listen carefully. Do you remember the sneaking stuff you learned from watching Stahlia and Jacqueline?] {Felicity remembers, why?} [Ok, wait for a carriage to come, and then sneak under it. If were lucky, news of whats happening wont have spread this far yet.] {But Stahlia Neechan told us not to, so we cant.} [I think you will be able to] Claire Oneechans words didnt make sense to Felicity, but the way she spoke was very serious, so Felicity would trust her. Luckily, a nobles carriage came by soon enough, and Felicity was indeed able to sneak underneath it while waiting for the guards to be looking the other way. It made her arms and legs hurt, but she was able to hold on until the carriage had gotten out of sight of the gate. Dropping onto the street with a groan, we let the carriage pass over us with the driver none the wiser. Then we picked ourselves up and kept moving. Claire Oneechan seemed to think it was a good idea to get out of the city completely, so Felicity tried to move towards the gate to the Lower City. She didnt know the way, but Claire Oneechan was adamant that if we moved downhill we would find the wall eventually. It turned out that Claire Oneechan was correct, and Felicity was able to get to the wall as the sun was setting. She was very tired, but Claire Oneechan was adamant that we should get to the Lower City before stopping to rest. Thankfully, we were able to pull a similar trick with a merchants cart before the gate locked for the night. Utterly exhausted, Felicity made her way into an alleyway and collapsed on a pile of refuse. Normally, Claire Oneechan would scold her for doing something like this, but her thought-sister was strangely quiet. {Claire Oneechan why are we running so far? Wont it be hard for Stahlia Neechan to find us again?} [Yes, that will be the case, but you let me worry about that, for now you need to sleep. Our body is exhausted.] Claire Oneechan then proceeded to feed Felicity a happy memory about a woman living with a dragon for a maid. The next morning, the streets were abuzz with whispers of armed conflict breaking out in the Noble Quarter. Nobody was sure exactly what had happened, but Felicity felt like Claire Oneechan knew more than she was telling. There were even some people who used scary words like rebellion and coup dtat, neither of which Claire Oneechan was willing to explain. This was extremely frustrating, but after being promised an explanation after they got out of the city, Felicity agreed to keep moving. It took most of the day for us to cross the city and arrive at the wall separating the Lower City from the Slums. This was because, as a beastkin, Felicity had to be very careful not to be spotted, otherwise we would be detained and questioned. The Noble Quarter and Upper City were also smaller and less populous than the Lower City, so the latter was actually far more difficult to navigate even if the quality of guards was lower. Still, security was stricter on those going up the mountain than those going down in Drakas City, so getting past the final gate and out into the slum that surrounded the wall was fairly easy. From there, Felicity ran until we were a decently safe distance away from anyone. As safe as we could be in the slums, anyway. Felicity then collapsed into an exhausted heap. {Ok, Felicity made it Claire Oneechan, whats happening?} [I suppose I would have to tell you eventually And I did promise. Felicity, that empty feeling? The one that feels like you lost something important? Thats Fuck, there isnt any easy way to say this. That hole, chances are it was caused by Geo- by Stahlias contract being nullified by her death.] Felicity sat in silence. She didnt wholly understand what Claire Oneechan was saying at first, but the latter helpfully supplied a series of memories and directly fed context across the mental link to help fill in the gaps. So Felicity was able to realize that something had happened and that Stahlia Neechan was probably dead. Felicity also realized that Claire Oneechan had realized something like this was probably what had happened right from the very beginning, when that hole first appeared. Felicity did not react to the news in the manner Claire had been expecting. Indeed, Claire had expected that Felicity would scream and cry, possibly blame Claire for making them run away, even if that had been Stahlias order. No, the way Felicity reacted was arguably worse. She retreated so deep within herself, that Claire could barely hear her thoughts anymore. Not that Claire didnt understand where the girl was coming from; she herself was fairly upset about how things had turned out. But she had the benefit of an adult mind to cope. For all her advanced behavior and unique circumstances, Felicity was still a child. A child that was tentatively alone, in an abandoned building, in the middle of a slum. It was a situation that could not be allowed to persist. Tentatively, Claire reached out her consciousness and took control of our body. Picking us up, she moved to a more sheltered area of the rundown shack and seated us down with our back against a wall. {Claire Neechan can you help me sleep?} It had been a few hours since Felicity retreated deep into our mind and walled herself off. To be honest, I was just happy that she had come back so soon. I had been expecting to have to look after us for a while. Then again, she had been through a lot in our short life, so perhaps this degree of resilience should be expected. But that request was troubling in its own way. [No Im sorry Felicity, but I wont do that. You cant run away from whats happening. We need to work together to survive Dont you think Stahlia would be sad if we died? We owe it to her to keep going.] I felt dirty exploiting the girl like this, but I wasnt about to let her expire just because I didnt want to get my hands dirty. {No, she would be sad.} [Good. For now, lets sleep. In the morning we have work to do.] {Ok} It took a bit of time for Felicity to fall asleep without the assistance of Claire Oneechans memories, but in the end, she was able to. While she slept, I made plans for tomorrow. There were some things that we would need to survive, but as a beastkin in the kingdom of Drakas, getting them would be hard. But that was only if we followed the law. We were technically already considered a criminal for being a slave without an active contract, so I had few moral conniptions about breaking other laws. The next day, Felicity found herself lurking on a rooftop. She was using her vantage point to watch a particular man that Claire Oneechan had singled out earlier. Though she didnt know how watching this man would help her and Claire Oneechan to survive, she knew she should trust the voice in her head in this case. Even if being kept in the dark earlier was upsetting. {Claire Oneechan, how will this help Felicity?} [Dont worry about it. Just watch Ah, perfect!] Felicity watched as the man bumped into another pedestrian. Just as they made contact, Felicitys eyes and ears twitched oddly. They itched a bit like they hadnt been used in a very long time. Felicity distinctly heard the two men shouting at each other, though her ears were nowhere near as sensitive as her nose so she couldnt make out exactly what was being said. But it was certain that she heard it, rather than simply knowing what she heard. Then the sensation vanished. [Alright, that should have done it Do you feel anything different?] {Different?} [Good. I was worried about that, but we need the money Now we need to spend some time training up the new talent to a degree where its usable.] A White Void The girl felt a sensation of vertigo as, for lack of a better word, she fell out of the catgirls body. With a gasp, she jerked upright and looked around. After confirming her surroundings, she glared at the androgynous figure, What was that? The figure shrugged, I offered to show you what your acquaintances were up to, that was Felicity and Claire. The girl spat back angrily, I know who it was! I meant the part about sticking me in her head! After a moments pause, her shoulders sagged, Im glad, Claire will be able to keep her safe for me. The figure stretched their shoulders, causing a satisfying string of popping noises to echo across the empty expanse, I wouldnt be so sure. What do you mean? Well, you saw the ending. Claire allowed Felicity to use that dangerous skill of hers What do you think will happen, now that her connection to your divinity has been severed? The girls face adopted a look of horror even as the androgynous figures creepy smile widened. The girls voice was small, but seemingly carried across the void with ease, How long until How long does she have? The androgynous figure pursed their lips nonchalantly, Hard to say, and it would be no fun if I told you. Suffice to say though, you were the main reason the skill wasnt progressing. Sure, Claire helped with that sensory trick, a really cool exploit you figured out by the way, but that wouldnt have been enough to stop the progress without your [Champion of Winter] and soul connection. The girl flopped back into her seat, a look of pained anguish on her face, First Jacqueline, then Rosial, now Felicity? Wasnt there anything I could have done? Though her words were merely whispers, the androgynous figure heard them clearly. They clapped their hands, Well shall we proceed? The light show emitting from the phone on the table changed, now depicting a tall man that most people would recognize as the current crown prince, Rupert von Drakas. The girls eyes narrowed and she held up her hand in a panicked effort to stave off the inevitable. It was for naught, as she soon found herself being sucked into the image. Psycholor Just a note, the line-up of people who Stahlia will be shown has changed. Obviously, Felicity and Rupert are still in. Rosial and Five are also still planned. Ferdinand has been replaced with Sitri; to be honest, I''m not really sure why I thought of doing Ferdinand in the first place. He doesn''t really mean anything to Stahlia yet. Mostly, I wanted to showcase the fight with Sitri prior to Stahlia''s arrival as well as give Stahlia some knowledge about Ferdinand''s past. That can all be achieved using characters that have more impact though. A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 4-12 Maneuvering Rupert von Drakas, Nineteen Years Old, Third Month of 948 This audience was going nowhere. My elder brother the first prince had requested my presence at a most inopportune time, given that my forces were moving against Count Francois. If Antonio was not such an imbecile, I would have expected that this was premeditated. But my brother could not scheme nor plot, he was far too honest for his own good. Just like Percival was far too kind. Too honest, too kind, too cold. The three princes of this kingdom all had our flaws, but mine was the least likely to cause issues in the future. It was a sentiment our father shared, as I was now the crown prince. Successfully usurping my elder siblings, my name was sure to go down in history alongside the few others who had managed that feat. Not that I cared how history would remember me. I should expect I will be known as a bloodthirsty tyrant, given what is to come. For a moment, I thought of my young bride-to-be. Cursed as she was to share my fate. I could only imagine what the historians might call us. Of course I was not alone with my brother. Not that I feared him, but it simply was not a risk worth taking. Besides, I was not the only one he had requested an audience with. Our father was also present. Rise. As always, the strength of his voice was inspiring. Though as one who bore the name Drakas, the magic suffusing his words would not affect me. No, I was drawn to the resolve behind his words. My father had been king for nearly thirty years, his was a voice forged with much hardship and adversity. The voice of a king. Together my brother and I stood. Save for our aides, the room was empty; not even the palace guards remained. There was no reason for them. My father was the strongest human in the kingdom by virtue of the magic granted to the royal family. Though my brother and I were immune to the effects of much of it, we were not able to go against our father directly. Idly, I considered how that was similar to the effect of a Hell Kings ruler skill. That was what made them such difficult opponents. After all, who would not feel anger at the sight of King of Wrath Satan? What man or even woman would not salivate at the sight of Asmodeas perfection? Everyone had a price, and Mammon had the wealth to make an offer that could not be refused. That was why the champions had the powers to go beyond the limits of a human, to shake off the shackles of a king through death and rebirth, boost the strength of their comrades, and reject their humanity altogether. Father, I must insist that you reconsider. Rupert has never shown an interest in politics, and naming him your successor so soon after Percivals death such an act would only incite the nobility. My brother wore a confident expression, and his words were fluid as ever. Against any normal person, his Charisma would win him the argument. But our father was no normal person. He was the king of the largest kingdom on the continent, and by extension was shielded from the effects of Charisma. That was not to say that he would not be swayed. It simply meant that my brother would have to rely on logical argument and not his stats and skills. My father looked down at Antonio from atop his throne, You went to the trouble of arranging this audience, only to tell me that which I already know? You do not help your case. I felt my lips twist into a small grin and hurriedly squashed it. Though I lacked the capacity to feel joy or happiness, long years of pretending had ingrained certain habits into me; my subconscious recognized that I should be happy to see my brothers argument shut down. That manifested in a smile. It was an exceedingly unique problem to have, and one that I struggled with in nearly all circumstances. Except with her. A phenomenon I first noticed five years ago in Ris, but something about Lady Stahlia suppressed those involuntary actions of mine. It was not something I understood, though if I had to guess I would say it had something to do with her being a kindred spirit in our curse. Though she had apparently managed to overcome her own skill and restore her humanity if Gustavs reports were accurate. That was even more interesting; the prince who had to act human, and the champion who had to act inhuman. But father, given the present conditions of the kingdom, surely you must see how unrest among the nobility would be problematic? Not to be dissuaded, my brother continued to plead his case stoically and incessantly. If he kept going on like this, I might not even need to involve myself with this farce. AND WHOS FAULT IS THAT!? The shout from the throne took us both by surprise; father was never one to raise his voice in anger, and yet here he was. You, Antonio, sitting on your laurels and idly collecting your tributes and platitudes as if they were your birthright!? My brother flinched at the rebuke, taking a few steps back to compose himself. Father, I- SILENCE! You have the entire western region at your beck and call. The military arm of the kingdom is in your pocket. Yet I chose your brother over you. Do you not even see why? Antonio faltered, at that. Our fathers words had struck a nerve; my brother did indeed have the more militaristic nobles in his faction. But that would never be enough to win him this game. He pulled himself up. Straightening his back and squaring his shoulders, he faced my fathers rebuke head-on. It was actually a bit impressive, Father, our kingdom is a mighty power. I hold the loyalty of the strongest soldiers and the western ports. If I wanted to The temperature in the room seemed to drop, such was the rage and animosity radiating from my father. Granted, the temperature did not actually lower, and after a scant few seconds, the illusion passed, You would dare threaten rebellion? My brother faltered for a moment, N-no I just mean that- Then explain yourself. What do you mean, dear brother? My voice cut in, and I gave my brother the widest smile I could muster, If you believe you could do the job better, then, by all means, be my guest. Punctuating my interjection with a wave of my hand towards our father, I stepped off the carpet on which we had both been standing. Metaphorically clearing the way for my elder sibling. Before he had a chance to respond to my maneuver, there came a knock at the door. This room was sealed from outside interference but was equipped with a crystalline magic tool. By feeding mana into its pair on the other side of the wards and barriers, one could cause it to change color. In this case, the color change was a vibrant red; that meant an incredibly urgent message had arrived. My brother shut his mouth and stood down to await our fathers response. The king nodded to his own aide, who then clapped his hands and spoke a keyword, [####### #######]. At that command, the wards around the room dimmed, and an audible *CLUNK* reverberated through the air. A moment later, the door was pushed open. The messenger was Henrake, the de facto head of the kingdoms military and the one in charge of the capitals security. If he was the one bearing the message, then there was only one thing it could pertain to. The man knelt before the king and awaited permission to speak. Instead of granting it, the king turned to me, Rupert, tell us what you have orchestrated. I bowed my head, noting the look of realization on Henrakes and the expression of irritation on Antonios faces, I believe this report is regarding a disturbance at the estate of Count Francois. As we speak, I have men provided by Duke Claurence moving to arrest the count and his family on charges of conspiracy, treason, and blasphemy. I had wanted to keep Duke Claurences involvement in my plot a secret, especially to my brother. That was no longer necessary though, as my fathers conduct at this audience had made it abundantly clear that his mind was resolutely made up regarding the succession. Only two things could change that now. The first was for my plans to fall apart, causing my father to change his mind. The second was what I was counting on. After all, my brother was hopeless, but he was right; my appointment would fracture the nobility, though not quite in the way he was expecting, Men provided by Duke Claurence? What is he doing working with you!? Case in point; my brothers surprised outburst. I kept my calm as I elaborated, Simply put, I have unified both our late brothers supporters and the neutral faction under my banner. Three-quarters of the kingdom support my ascension. Antonios remaining foundation crumbled before my eyes in real-time. I watched as his face flashed through a complicated pattern of emotions before finally settling on resignation, If you would excuse me You are excused. My fathers dry tone caused my brother to grimace, but he did not protest further. Bowing to the king, then giving me a half nod, he spun on his heel and departed. It was not until after he had left, that Henrake cleared his throat. My father addressed him calmly, If you have something to add, Lord Henrake, you may do so. Henrake stood up and then bowed respectfully, If it pleases your highnesses, the actions against the Francois Estate is but one item that is currently occurring; reports have come in of a massive magical discharge, the signature of which matches the magic of the royal family, around the vicinity of Duke Claurences mansion. I felt my face twist into something approaching distress, Father, if you would excuse me, I believe I have something rather urgent to attend to. Though it was quite rude, I did not wait for my father to dismiss me from his presence before I turned and left the audience chamber. An action that was quite unusual for me. Then again, the linchpin of my plan was presently being threatened by the great enemy. If she falls here, everything will come undone. For better or worse, I had gambled everything on bringing Stahlia into my plans. Without her, the situation might be salvageable, but it would be far from ideal. As was natural, my mind began to whirl as I attempted to figure out how her potential death would throw things awry. The most obvious setback would be the possibility of my duplicity towards the demon coming to light. In that case, I would not be able to do anything other than inform my brother as to the true nature of things and surrender myself. Attempting to keep the throne at that point would invariably doom the kingdom. Even if Stahlia was able to protect my actions, I would still find myself in an awkward position; Duke Claurence would very likely fall, and the fact that I had acted against Count Francois would come to light. No, it doesnt matter if she protects my plot or not. Simply the fact that I moved against the count will be grounds for my suppression. Stahlia must be protected. As I arrived at that conclusion, I came upon Duke Claurence. He was doing a good job of hiding it, but I could tell that he was distressed about what was happening. Gustav had vanished from my side at some point, but he was smart; he would have been able to piece out from my mumblings that Stahlia needed our help and begun to move towards that end on my behalf. Come, Cecil. We need to get to the Academys command center. Duke Claurence nodded sharply and fell into step behind me. As we walked down the halls of the palace towards our destination, I felt a prickle on my neck. Tensing up ever so slightly, I gripped the hilt of my sword. Where is it? Your Highness! Duke Claurences shout caused me to spin around and draw my sword in one smooth motion. Stabbing forward, I pierced the forehead of a young woman wearing a servants uniform. Her eyes glazed over, and even as we watched, her flesh began to twist and morph. Fuck! Cecil, be on guard! Demonization. So Five has already discovered my scheme and seeks to silence me. Well, I suppose there is no point in hiding my cards anymore then. This was obviously one of the Shadows trained by Five, and implanted with one of his worms. No common assassin would spontaneously begin a transformation like this, nor would they have been able to infiltrate the palace. Shutting my eyes, I called on the magic of the royal family. When I opened them, I beheld a world of light. It would only last a few seconds, and I would gradually go blind if I used it too much. But this was similar to Stahlias own ability I had heard about. Based on her descriptions, I knew what to look for. My Eyes of The King soon spotted the absence of mana along the womans spine. Without hesitating, I swiftly stabbed into it even as it spread itself out and attempted to encompass the womans entire spinal cord. The bubbling flesh and twisting limbs ceased, indicating that I had killed the demon worm, Cecil, I am going on ahead. Be wary of shadow agents, if you have to fight make sure to destroy their spine. Gustav had hypothesized that the worms might be able to trigger demonization, but this was the first time I had been able to confirm it. What about your highness? His voice held genuine concern for my wellbeing, which was admirable considering that his own family was at risk. I will be going on ahead. Firmly gripping a medium-sized diamond that I always carried on my person, I spoke the Keyword, [############# ####!] A flash of light enveloped my vision. When it dimmed, my surroundings had completely changed. I was now standing in the center of Gustavs hidden office. The diamond, valued at some hundred thousand Drak, crumbled into worthless dust. Of course, that was the value without taking into account the lost enchantment it carried. Teleport Stones were exceedingly rare and getting my hands on this one had cost a small fortune. This was the command center we had set up for emergencies, and this definitely qualified as one. Approaching the map of the city that hung on the wall, I studied the various points of light that had appeared on it. These were each representative of my various assets, my personnel. The majority of them were around the Francois Estate, these would be the ones led by Ferdinand. I had the utmost faith in his abilities, and I knew for certain that he was loyal. But the fact that four of my men have been killed since I first looked at this map They were fighting a strong foe to be sure. Even as the former One, before Five purged the ranks to think that you are struggling this much. I could only trust that he would prevail. More concerning was Stahlias own light. Thankfully, she had accepted the brooch with little complaint, and seemed to be wearing it consistently. If not, I would be unable to trace her on this map. What was concerning was the way her light had just flared up to be nearly as bright as the sun. The brooch worked by drawing on a small percentage of the wearers mana, and transmitting it to the map. As such, the fact that her light had just brightened to such an extent as to be blinding, would indicate that her mana capacity had just grown several times larger in less than a second. A moment later, I could only stare open-mouthed as the light traced a path from the Claurence estate to the Francois. It took less than twenty seconds for my fiance to cover a distance of nearly seven kilometers. Abruptly after arriving it dimmed dramatically, and I was left momentarily unable to see until my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room. Whatever she had done, she had been left with barely any mana at all. She was not dead; our contract was still intact as far as I could tell. That did not mean she was not dying though. From a table to my right, I selected the appropriate Link Stone. The range was limited to only a few tens of kilometers, but my target was easily within that scope. {Ferdinand, what happened just now.} [Ah, your highness. Her Highness Lady Stahlia just arrived and did something to the demon we were fighting. She then abruptly collapsed, and the demon fled.] {You were fighting a demon? Considering you it must have been a fairly old one. What of Stahlias condition.} [The demon in question matches her highness description of the Original Sin, Sitri. I have my men checking her highness condition now Lord Rupert, they tell me she has passed.] {She has passed. No, that is not possible. Collect her body and bring it to the command center.} Cutting off the connection, I placed the stone aside. Truly, I hated using the blasted things. It was impossible to convey nuance or tone, all you could transmit were basic words. I double-checked my contract with Stahlia and confirmed that it was indeed still active. She is not dead then, so what happened? What exactly did she do? I picked up another stone and activated it. {Gustav, forget the Claurence Estate. Link up with Ferdinand. He is bringing Stahlias body to the command center.} [Acknowledged, your highness.] {Good, be mindful of Shadows on your way, it would seem that we have been completely exposed.} [I imagine so, considering that I am staring at Count Francois himself, encased in ice The Rosial girl is here as well, and Jacqueline. Should I bring them with me.] So thats how it is then. Count Francois and Five were one and the same. While we moved against the count, he decided to move against Stahlia We lost that gamble completely. [Yes, bring them with you. I promised Stahlia to deliver her sister after all.] A White Void The girl was once again beset with a sensation of vertigo. Lurching upright, she found herself back in the infinite white space. Glaring animosity at the androgynous figure, You didnt have to do that so abruptly. She snapped. The figure shrugged, Well what would you prefer? I offered to show you your acquaintances and thats what I did. She sighed and sat back. Closing her eyes for a moment, she ruminated on what she had just witnessed. Rupert von Drakas was her fianc, and though she did not love him, she would be lying if she said she was completely apathetic. He was useful to her just as she was useful to him. There was that niggling thought though, stemming from what she had just born witness to. You said my contract with Felicity was severed. The obvious question hung in the air; she and Felicity had lost their connection, and Felicity was now at risk from her own skill. If the demonization she had just seen while in the princes mind was anything to go by, then it was a painful, traumatizing process. The girl shuddered to think that her adopted sister might have to undergo something like that. The figure waved their hand dismissively, This is this and that is that. The girl raised her eyebrow, causing the androgynous entity to sigh, Hah Is it truly that hard to figure out? Felicity was your slave. Rupert was your fianc. The two contracts involved are entirely different; sure, they both link your souls. But the latter is far more intimate. Think; you didnt get all tingly when you signed the slave contract, did you? Thinking back to that memory of a little over a year ago, the girl nodded. What the figure said was true; she had not thought about it before, but there was a distinct difference in how she felt between the two contracts. This caused her to recall her other two contracts, the one with the demon she had cursed, and the one with her teacher. Both of those had felt unique as well, though closer to the engagement contract than the enslavement. As she arrived at this realization, the figure spread a smile across their face, See, you figured it out! Well done! Their tone was truly jovial, and it made the girls skin crawl. Mutually linking our souls is a deeper connection than forcing such a bond. I suppose thats pretty obvious huh. Her voice was thin and self-deprecating. If she had known about the effect she had in suppressing Felicitys skill, she would have arranged a better contract. Then again, she had no inkling that she would die so suddenly until after she had already assured such a fate through her own actions. In short, there was no use crying over spilled milk. Unless she found a way to go back, but she dismissed that thought nearly as soon as she had it. Invariably, returning would cost her something dear. The condition she left her body in was well beyond the means of White Magic or Alchemy to repair. It would take a miracle to restore, and if the girl had learned one thing from her dealings with the various gods, those always came at a price. Still, if her connection to the mortal world through her fianc was still there. It was possible that she could use that. Shutting her eyes, she focused inwardly. It was hard, as if there were several barriers in place, but after a moment, she was able to grab hold of a thin string of cold mana. The girl smirked to herself. Mana was the power of the soul, and that was all she was right now so of course she could use it. Grasping hold of the thread, she shaped it into a wish. Using the Yellow Magic spell Distant Whisper as a base, she formed the line of mana into a thought, a message. Then she threw it at the connection to Rupert that was welded onto her being. It took a few tries before she managed to break through. To be frank, it was actually incredibly painful; the connection was clearly not intended to be used this way. Holy shit! You actually went and did it! The androgynous figure expressed pure delight; they had known what the girl was trying to do the moment she started, yet they had not moved to stop her. After all, it would be far more interesting if she managed to succeed, Hell, thats going to spice things up a bit. I can already see the tapestry re-weaving itself You have talent. Here, a reward. The entity reached out and flicked the girls forehead. She felt rough energy enter her from the point of contact. After the initial abrasion, it seemed as if the pain from her stunt had faded, What did you just do to me? The figure grinned, I patched the hole you tore in your soul by sending that message to Rupert. Wouldnt want you to drain away into entropy just yet, now would I? The calmness with which he spoke once again caused a shiver to run down the girls spine. Incidentally, what did you send? I didnt peek at the content, but whatever it was, you altered the fates of a lot of people. After a moment of hesitation, the girl opted to answer their question. It sounded like they could find out on their own if they really wanted to anyway, I told Rupert where to find Felicity, and asked him to guard her in my absence. The figure nodded, I see I see, yea that would make a big ripple; Claire wont be able to get her back to the Beastkins homeland now, so then it would cause Ah, forgive me. I get carried away by cause and effect far too easily. Snapping their fingers, the androgynous figure caused a kettle and pair of cups to appear, It will take me a few moments to set up the next dive, would you care for some refreshments? The girl took the offered cup and sipped idly at the tea. As disconcerting as it was, this window into her friends and acquaintances lives was comforting. Though the fact that according to Rupert she wasnt dead just yet was a bit unsettling, she was sure that was only because she was presently in the buffer as the figure had called it. Once they had finished and she moved on, she would expire. There was also the question of Ferdinand being an ex-shadow and a fairly high-ranked one at that. While curious, there was little she could do about that, so she opted not to think about it. She idly sipped her tea, until the figure nodded, Right, well were all set! Ready? They smirked as they asked for her consent; from the figures point of view, her consent was hardly a requirement. She had already agreed to give them a favor in return for being shown these glimpses. The phone thing whirled to life, and projected a shimmer of light into the air between the two of them. The picture drew itself into the air and the girls eyes widened. No thank you! I dont want to go inside that head! Her protestations fell on deaf ears, as the figure merely grinned, Too bad! See you in a few minutes! The girl felt herself be sucked into the drawing of a very familiar demonic girl. It would seem she was going to see how Sitri had felt to have her class and skills sealed away. The girl wasnt entirely sure if she hoped for it to be painful or not; after all, she was about to learn first-hand. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 4-13 Charming Psycholor Sitri, 345 Years Old, Third Month of 948 Oh come now Lord Dominic, dont be like that My tone had just the right amount of whiny pout to tug at the boys heartstrings. I had been working him over for a month now, under the guise of Irtis von Asmo. To be honest, the fact that he never figured me out was absolutely hilarious. My pseudonym was literally my own name backward after all, and Asmo was just short for my patron Asmodea. But Dominic was a moron. To be completely honest, the fact that he had access to a demon''s abilities was ridiculous. It was insulting. Demons, particularly of the Lust and Pride families prided ourselves on our conniving and scheming. Then again, he was sired by the King of Wrath, so a bit of stupidity and blockheadedness is understandable but really, how can someone possibly be this dense? Clinging to his arm and making sure to ever so slightly push my chest into it, I cooed into his ear, You know what you have to do, just show her how strong you have gotten. But she was able to beat me so easily last time. Ugh. This is what I hate about guys like you! Things would be so much easier if I could just charm him, but his half-demon blood made him extremely resistant to that. Come on Dominiiiccc Batting my eyelashes, I gave a short pause, You know better than that! It was just her level was higher than yours! With the stuff your father gave you, youll do fine! You really think so? I do! Alright If you say so, Ill try. Fucking finally! The fact that I couldnt just go myself made this exceptionally difficult. For whatever reason, Satan seemed adamant that Dominic be involved in the plan. If all he wanted was for her to despair, then he should be able to manage things just fine without this oaf. Frankly, I saw the whole thing as a liability. No matter, my job here is just about done. Now, I just have to support Dominic in removing the guards, and then deal with the forces being sent to arrest Count Francois. The fact that I had to deal with them was oddly infuriating. After all, if Satan got serious then all of this bullshit would be resolved. Not that I dared point that out, Asmodea wasnt here to protect me after all. Provisionally, Wrath wasnt supposed to hurt me, but he could get unpredictable when he was angered. Should I go with you? I can help with the guards, that way you can save yourself for Lady Stahlia. Dominic looked thoughtful for a moment, Sure, that would be a big help Do you know where she is then? Ah Dont get angry alright? I waited for him to nod before continuing, Shes probably at the Claurence Estate. The duke announced that they would shelter her after the knights got her back from her kidnappers I could feel Dominics shoulders shaking with rage at my proclamation, but he did his best to suppress that. In a way, it was kind of cute, That that makes sense. I can work with that. Oh? Better make sure you arent going to go and fuck things up. What are you planning? Dominic grinned, Well, Stahlias friends with Edith right? Edith is one of the girls under my sway. Imagine how much it would mess her up if I had Edith be the one to set up a meeting for me? Thats thats actually pretty good. Even if she knows about the charm, being betrayed by her friend like that should really push her towards having a mental breakdown if it wasnt for her skill. Thats a great idea! Though what about Sarala? You know shes resistant to you. He nodded thoughtfully, Thats true. You said she was a spirit right? Well if we seal her mana that should take care of herself. How can you be so self-assured!? Oh, seal a spirits mana! Itll be easy! Youre damn lucky shes so young, otherwise that would never work. Not with your abilities anyway. Oh! I have just the thing for that! I swiped my hand through the air next to me and cut a hole in space. Reaching into it, I pulled out a dagger made of mythril. It had similar mana sealing abilities to the bracelet that Satan had given to him during one of their many talks. Granted, there was no way ordinary mythril would be able to hold a spirit at bay. Even one as weak as Sarala. Oh! A mana sealing dagger? That will do nicely. But of course, Dominic was too self-assured to realize that. At this point, I didnt even have to hide my advanced magic and skills from the dense imbecile. Its amazing how far a little flattery will get you with some otherworlders. If only Stahlia was so easy, we wouldnt be having this issue in the first place. Yea! This should make that girl easy to deal with! Dominic planned things quickly, and the next evening I found myself sneaking into the Claurence Estate. Well, sneaking was probably the wrong word. I sort of just walked in. After all, Drakas was quite sexist and all of the high-level knights tended to be male. In theory, the naturally higher strength score made that make sense, but in practice it was easy to exploit. Oh, arent you handsome?~ Well, maybe not easy. After all, not many ladies had such well-developed charm abilities as I did. Being one of Asmodeas original followers, my [Succubus Eye] had maxed out some time ago and derived an even stronger charm eye, [Geass Binding Gaze]. Though, the usage was a bit more limited than my basic racial skill. As far as I was aware, only the [Monarch of Lust] skill had stronger charming abilities. All I had to do was flash a flirtatious smile and say something seductive and even the most stalwart knight would be like putty in my hands. Unless they were under powerful protection. In which case I could always just kill them. Very few people would then be able to stand up to me in that respect. A normal Succubus would be another story, but not one as old as me. Dominic! Thats the last of the guards!~ Calling out in a cheery voice, the boy in question came around the corner sporting a grimace. Must you be so loud? Those two will hear you for sure. It doesnt matter, come on and take care of Sarala. Dominic shrugged and pushed the door open. Heading into the room, I heard a scream and a shuffle. Then a grunt and the smell of a spirits mana. Yea, I figured that room would be pretty sound-proofed. Nobles love their comfort after all. If not for the open door, I wouldnt have heard the sounds from inside. You guys, would you head to the Francois Estate? Ive got some friends there and some bad men are coming to hurt them Making my eyes tear up and adopting a desperate expression worked wonders, and the charmed knights practically fell over each other to hurry out and help my supposed friends. Strictly speaking, I didnt have to talk like that, but being sweet would amplify the spell so it was worth it. Barely. Sticking my head inside the room, I saw that Dominic had Edith stuffing Sarala out of sight. The cruelty was honestly breathtaking, making her best friend be the one to hide the evidence was inspired. Too bad theres almost no way you survive this. I honestly couldnt see a scenario where Stahlia didnt beat this oaf. Even with how questionable the rest of his plan was, Five still seemed to be in agreement with me on that. After all, he was planning on moving in himself with that brat Ros something. Dominic~ Ive got some business to take care of, will you be alright here? Dominic frowned, Actually, Stahlia has her own knights, do you think you could deal with them as well? Ah! How could I forget that!? I should have enough time before my other engagement Just for you though, ok? I turned around and left the room. Slipping into a side passage, I settled in to wait. The trick had been to make Dominic think that dealing with the knights was his own idea. It would help with his confidence for what was about to happen. A short while later, Ediths maid headed out and returned to deliver the cat. She departed again soon after, heading for the entryway. Stahlia would be arriving soon if the timing of everything was accurate. Sure enough, not even ten minutes later the star of the show headed down the hallway towards Ediths rooms. She was accompanied by four middle-aged male knights, and if Satans report on them was accurate, they were hovering around level 60. I watched as they followed Stahlia into the room, then about a second later they came back out, but left the door open. Even for me, charming four knights without them being able to sound off an alarm would be a tall order. It only worked once a day, but I did have a skill that would do the trick here. I confidently stepped out from my hiding place and revealed myself to the four men while activating my [Captivating Mirage]. I felt my magic drawing on the mens subconscious and influencing their minds. [Captivating Mirage] was an extremely potent piece of magic; drawing on a targets desires, it caused their perceptions to twist. In short, each of the four men now perceived me as the embodiment of their lustful desires. Combined with [Succubus Eye], I didnt need to say a word to bring them fully under my finger. This is the difference between a real Demon of Lust and a damn half-breed! Presentation! Striking a pose to compliment my reference, I called out sweetly, Aallll dooonnneeee! These guys were kinda strong huh? Now that Stahlia knew she was screwed and help wasnt coming, it was time for me to leave. Poking my head inside the door, I saw Dominic holding a knife to the cats throat while Stahlia cowered in front of him, Well then Domi, you good here? Ive got another date lined up for me and my new toys. Nodding confidently, Dominic grinned, Yea, Ill be fine Irtis, you can go deal with the group father said is coming to the manor. Good, dont fuck up this time. You wouldnt want to make Nikki mad again, now would you? Having said my piece, I departed. Do your best and die well, you shitty bastard. I would be lying if I said I was going to miss dealing with Dominic. By far this had been one of the most annoying assignments I had ever been given. I even got her to activate the skill ahead of schedule, but somehow Satan still blamed me for everything! Whatever. Once I clean up the loose ends I can leave this shitty country and go play with Asmodea. My knights were strong, but they were still human, it took a while for them to reach the manor. Well, we could have gone faster, but I didnt want to tire them out. After all, according to Wrath there would be a rather interesting playmate waiting at our destination. Not many humans managed to reach the pinnacle, so I was quite excited to meet this One person. Arriving on the scene, I saw that most of the knights I had already sent over had been incapacitated. Not killed, knocked out. Well, they clearly know that theyve been charmed. That was annoying; I was hoping to be able to do some psychological damage by appearing and revealing that their comrades had been controlled. Oh well, may as well make my entrance~ Halloo! Jumping into the middle of the group, I punched the first knights head clean off. I was not planning on charming anyone except that One person. Spinning about, I kicked another in the dick. Oh! Were those his testicles in his mouth just now? How exciting! You! Demon, cease this! Eheh! Make me!~ One spinning kick to the gut later, and I proved that a knight was a quantity evenly divisible by two. My four elite knights had moved in and were dueling some of the other forces. Unfortunately, the fighting seemed to be quite even. Granted, it took three of the opposing fighters to contend with one of my playthings, but it was still enough to lock them down. Haah humans are so wea- I found myself looking up at the sky as I sailed through the air, a blindingly white pain radiating from my ribs. Time seemed to slow as I wrapped a mana barrier around my back to cushion my inevitable impact with the ground. Bouncing twice, I did a quick twist to land on my feet. At least one broken rib, so that would be this One then. Making a V sign with one hand, I put the other on my hip while pushing out my chest, Stuck the landing, how many points, coach? Return our men to their senses and surrender. I would rather not harm such a lovely face. His tone was incredibly strict and uncompromising. Ugh, one of these ones huh? Man, I hate this type! Sure thing! Hey Peter, come here real quick! One of the four elite knights came over at my call, Yes Katy? What can I do for you? I looked up at him and bat my eyelashes, That meanie broke my ribs! Can you believe it!? Wont you give me a kiss and make it better? The toys face contorted with rage, and he glared at One, Youll pay for hurting my Katelin! Leaning over, he lifted his visor and puckered his lips. Seizing the opportunity, I employed my [Essence Absorption] and sucked up the mans life force. When I was finished, my mana had been restored, my ribs had healed, and my fatigue had been alleviated. Peter, on the other hand, was dead and shriveled up like a mummy. Ahhh, man, I really dont like feeding with those lips~ If you catch my drift... I narrowed my eyes and dropped all pretenses of my cutesy fa?ade, This is a fucking war. Im a demon. You dont want to hurt my pretty face? Ha! Give me a fucking break and pull that stick out of your ass! One had closed his eyes and was quietly shaking with anger. Lets push him a bit further, should make things more entertaining. You know that name he called me? Katy? That was his childhood sweetheart. She died in a goblin raid twenty years ago! My charm made him think I was the love of his life finally come back! Enough. Ignoring One, I continued, Youre going to blame anyone, blame yourself. Tell you what, if you agree to take their places, Ill free the other three. Sound good? Of course, theyll never recover mentally once I remove the charm I had to be a bit rough when I applied it, sorry about that!~ Ones quivering stopped and he exhaled his pent-up breath, Swear it on your masters name. I swear on the name of the Second Seat, Queen of Lust Asmodea. Those three men have been mind fucked beyond repair! Now, him and his men would feel despair and their morale would crumble. Or at least, that was what should have happened. Understood. Men! You heard the demon! Benji, Gerda, Jethro, Thank you for your service. One had fixed his gaze on me. Rather than being filled with rage and hatred, his eyes held a calm indifference and a firm resolve. His commanding presence rallied his men, and together they stopped holding back against my pawns. The three remaining toys were broken rather quickly, and before I knew it I was on my own. So these men were pretty damn elite themselves No wonder they were able to incapacitate the first group. Well, it was a setback, but not a major one. All this meant was that I would have to take things seriously. Wrapping myself up in mana, I ensured that it would not be so easy to break my ribs or otherwise injure me again. Then, I took a deep breath and jumped forward toward the three knights that had broken my Benji. Upon my arrival, I sank my fist into the chest of one and crushed his heart. Throwing a side-kick around, I enhanced my leg strength and kicked a chunk out of the side of another. The third I hit with a full blast of [Geass Binding Gaze]. The sheer force of my mana slamming into him liquified his ego and left him a gibbering wreck. Throw yourself at that one. Picking a knight at random, I told my gibbering pet to go get itself killed and turned my attention to One. My little display had made it abundantly clear that he was the only one here who stood any chance of harming me. Oh coach, Ive been a bad girl~ One simply rotated his shoulders and gripped the hilt of his sword, Well, then I will have to punish you. Gods give me strength. What!? I stared at him mouth agape as the light of a miracle descended from the heavens. Are you kidding? That qualified as a prayer!? There were only three real threats to a demon of my level. The first was a Champion channeling their Divine Element into their attacks. The Second was another demon of equal or greater strength. The third was a combatant of sufficient strength further blessed by a miracle. That third thing was the rarest, but thats what I was looking at now. Well, shit just got real. Jumping back several meters, I adopted a defensive posture while I sized up my opponent. That isnt Shadow Blade Style, or Drakan Style Who in the world is this guy! Unfortunately, I was not going to get an answer. Suddenly, a massive force of magic power slammed into me and blew away my own mana barriers as if they were simply chaff. Turning to face the arrival of divine fury, I saw none other than Stahlia. How, how did you!? WHAT!? She did not deem my confusion worth an answer and simply stepped toward me. In an ironic reversal of our first encounter, I was utterly unable to follow her movements. Before I knew it, she had gripped my head in her hand. My eyes widened in fear, fear that she was about to dispatch me with a quick squeeze. I dont want to go back to the Nine Hells! Maybe she read my mind. Maybe it didnt matter in the first place. Stahlia had something far more damning in mind than that. {INVOKE AUTHORITY, LOCK CLASSES, RESTRICT ATTRIB-} Stahlias grip loosened, and her arm fell to her side. Her eyes adopted a glazed-over expression and a moment later she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. That didnt matter much though, the damage was already done. A pain that was far greater than anything I had ever felt wracked throughout my body. It was worse than that time I had my nervous system surgically removed and dipped in boiling oil. It hurt so much that I couldnt cry out to express my pain. All I could think about was getting away. Somehow, I managed to run. I ran, and ran, and ran. The only thing I could think of was escaping the pain that was flaying my very soul. A White Void The girl jolted upright screaming in agony, ARGH!!! The usual sensation of falling having been overridden with the pain of having tens of thousands, nay, millions of experience points and soul potential separated from her being. Not her own of course, but that of Sitri, the Fifth Sin of Lust. Original Sins were the first demonic followers of the Hell Kings. They were the oldest demons, and thus the ones with the greatest strength. To have that strength sealed away would be traumatic, to say the least. Clutching at her chest, the girl began to calm down. Her lungs heaving for air as sweat soaked through the dress where it clung to her back. Ever so slowly, she began to check herself over, confirming that she was alive. Though the memory of pain was still fresh in her mind, and she could not help wincing as her raw nerves protested. W-why, why did you make me see that? The girls voice was shaky and halting as she asked the androgynous figure. The figure shrugged, I thought it pertinent to demonstrate the consequences of your actions. The girl grimaced but fell silent as she finished catching her breath. Once her heart had slowed, she meekly asked a small favor, Could you, could you please fix my clothes. It feels gross. The figure shrugged, but by the time their shoulders had lowered, the girls dress had been dried. Or perhaps replaced with a fresh one, she could not tell. Either way, it was no longer soaked in sweat. Thank you Did she die? I cant imagine living after experiencing that. The androgynous one shut their eyes and thought for a moment, Well, I usually dont give out spoilers, but since you were so understanding, Ill tell you that she survived. Though, Sitri may have died its complicated. Their response caused the girl to raise an eyebrow, What do you mean? How would it be a spoiler? Im dead. I dont intend on sending Rupert any more messages either, and you could stop me if you wanted anyway. The figure cocked their head, Youre dead? Who decided that? Uh the part where I wound up here, isnt this just a buffer zone before you send me on my way? The figure grinned at the confusion in her voice, Well, that is one possible outcome. You could always go back instead. The girl crossed her arms, Go back? No. There would be no point. Jacqueline and Rosial are dead. Rupert will take care of Felicity; he owes me that much for dealing with Five. No, I dont have any reason to buy my way back. Buy your way back? Im hurt! Granted, it wouldnt be free, but it would hardly cost you much. Most of the fee has already been paid after all. The girl frowned, What do you mean, most of the fee has been paid? Well, dear Rupert has already repaired your body, though it was quite expensive. All we have to do is pop your soul back in, and reconnect you to the system of course. His tone was assured, and the girl had no reason to doubt the boys words, but that did not make them east to accept, Rupert repaired my body? How? Dont tell me he had something like a Goddess Draught!? The figure shook their head, No, he had that apprentice priestess pray for a miracle, one which I granted. Of course, with your soul stuck here, your present state is that of lying in a coma Though for you that shouldnt be too far outside the norm. Cackling a bit at their own joke, the figure quieted down, Though I feel a bit bad for Sana. Getting a miracle from a higher god is a bit taxing What did you do!? The girl leaped from her chair and lunged at the figure, but with a snap of their fingers, she found herself seated again. Though she tried to jump up once more she found herself unable, as though a large weight was pressing down, holding her in place. Calm yourself. Nothing permanent; she will simply find it harder to reach out to lesser gods for a few years is all. Still, for someone with nothing to return to, you sure seemed to care about Sana an awful lot what about Edith and Sarala? Surely you miss them. She could tell that this figure was trying to tempt her. Sure, it might say that the price of going back had already been mostly paid, but the devil was in the details. Mostly was not completely, and there was no telling how wildly a gods definition of small differed from her own. She already owed this figure two small favors, and she did not want to make it a third. I have no desire to return. That was a lie, she wanted to go back quite a bit now that she had thought about the people she still had. Jacqueline and Rosial may be dead, but Sana, Sarala, Edith, Rosin, her mother and father, Ruper, Gustav, the number of people she would be leaving behind was large. The figure grinned, as it stood now it was apparent that the girl needed only one more push before she would be ready to negotiate, Then, shall we continue? Clapping their hands, the phone again lit up. Light shot into the air and formed a picture. As the image coalesced, the girl let out a gasp, Ahh No Anyone but her She fell back into her seat defeated, even as her mind and vision faded. Sucked into the picture that depicted Rosial von Ris, sitting at the foot of a bed in which lay the comatose body of her elder sister. In a bed by her side and wrapped in bandages from head to toe, the shattered body of a woman. With blonde hair and blue eyes, a torn maid uniform was folded and resting on her bedside table. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 4-14 Survivor Rosial, Six Years Old, Third Month of 948 Sitting there, staring at the sleeping face of Stahlia my sister, and my killer. It was conflicting. My head was all confused, with everything that had happened and the two sets of memories overlapping each other. On one side of me, was the sister I had forgotten. On the other, the sister I had created. That didnt make much sense and was still confusing, but I had realized that Stali wasnt real. Of course, when the person herself was insisting that I had created her, there wasnt much I could argue about. Though the wish that this was all some kind of game that Stali had come up with, that wasnt the case. The past three years showed that if the blurry memories were anything to go by. No matter what, I couldnt seem to remember an instance where anybody actually reacted to Stali other than me. Then there were the other memories from the other me. The memories showed me doing all the things that Stali had done. All the things and more. I hurt people. I hurt a lot of people, and I thought it was fun No wonder Stahlia No wonder my big sister decided to kill me. Granted, the kind old man insisted that wasnt true. He swore that my sister had been doing everything that she could to get me back. But that wasnt possible. She hadnt hesitated at all. Even I had hesitated. Not me me, that me always hesitated and made Stali do things. The other me that I could remember. The me that giggled while playing hide the knife. That me never hesitated to do her job, and even she had paused when she saw Stahlia. But our sister had cut us down without even batting an eye. It had been completely mechanical. Precise. Calculated to end the imminent threat with the least amount of movement and energy. It was beautiful Her form had been perfect, even the other other me was impressed. Though it made sense that she would be so good, considering who had probably taught her. That was the big sister in the bed at the far side of the room. She was good too; even Mr. Five had not been able to beat her, not completely. According to the nice man, she was like me once, but Stahlia had saved her. That was the most confusing thing. My mind was all mixed up about Mr. Five. My feelings painted him as a strong figure who looked out for me. The other me, Stali, seemed to think he was a big meanie and had been using us to do a lot of bad things. The other other me didnt care about him, but she wasnt around anymore so her opinion shouldnt matter. Except for the way she gave me her whole life before she left, leaving my head all confused about who was who. That was why Stali had stuck around. She told me that she could have left now, but she was going to stay because things were going to be hard for a while. Then the maid lady I sort of kind of remembered from before the darkness had coughed up blood. Stali said that we should help her, but one look showed that there was nothing we could do. Then the nice old man showed up. He stood there looking over everything for a while, like he was talking to someone who wasnt there. Stali didnt trust him, she told me to be careful, but he came over slowly. Something about him was comforting in a way that I didnt understand. You must be Rosial Are you ok? Wentee dont talk to strangers! Ok, Stali really didnt seem to like him. Would you let me see to the woman there? Shell die soon if I dont. Wordlessly stepping away from the maid lady, I watched as the man produced a small crystal bottle. The contents were a really strong get-better-juice if the color was anything to go by. With a grimace on his face, the man poured the contents of the bottle onto the hole in the ladys stomach. It stopped bleeding after a moment, and her breathing got better, but she wouldnt be out of danger just yet. The wound was way too deep for only get-better-juice to help with. The man turned around and faced me. Getting down on his knees, he reached out and put his hands on my shoulder, Miss Rosial, I need to take this lady back with me would you like to come along? I promise that you will be safe. You can even see your sister when we get where we are going. Just a look at Stalis face was enough to show what she thought of the offer, but that didnt matter. I can see Stahlia? Yes, you can see Stahlia. Then, Ill go. Once my mind was made up and I said what I had decided, Stali stopped protesting and started scouting the area around us for threats. The man picked the maid up carefully, making sure not to tear open her cut again. With one long look at Mr. Five, he turned away and began to move out. After a moment, Stali and I followed him. When I had seen Stahlia again, she was in a terrible state. Frankly, it was impressive that she was even alive. Practically every bone in her body was broken and she was bleeding from every orifice. The fact that her heart was beating at all was a miracle. That had been conflicting. For some reason, the thought of her dying was terrifying to me. Even though memories of our past together were still fuzzy. There was also anger, after all, Stahlia was the one who had killed me. But then again, I got better so did I really have the right to feel upset? Stali thought I did. A man claiming to be my older sisters fianc came in suddenly and interrupted my confusion. He seemed extremely confused and perturbed by the sight of her, constantly muttering to himself about changes and adjustments. After a little while of staring at her, he abruptly left, only to return with a girl Stahlias age. She freaked out when she saw the state of things, but quickly calmed down and shut her eyes. I was really confused since it looked like she was just standing there with her hands pressed on Stahlias forehead, but I knew better than to speak out of turn. A few minutes of tense sweating later, and this girl opened her eyes while shaking her head in a panic. I I cant reach anyone! The fear and distress in her voice was palpable. It doesnt matter who I pray to, no one is responding! Why!? Why wont they respond when its their Why won''t they respond!? The man seemed like he was about to say something, when all of a sudden the new girls body seized up. Her eyes glassed over and she reached out to Stahlia mechanically. Placing her hand on Stahlias brow again, she froze. Then, before my eyes, Stahlias body seemed to rewind. All of her wounds closed and even the blood on the sheets flowed backward into her body. The next moment, the new girl collapsed into the arms of the nice man and everyone rushed from the room in a panic. Urkh The groan from the maid pulled me back to the present. Stali had gone away somewhere while I was remembering, but I could feel her nearby. Looking at the maid revealed a face filled with distress and pain. The nice man had said that it would take a long time for her to heal, and that he doubted she would fully recover. It was strange that they were helping her if that was the case. If she was really like me, then if she couldnt do her job anymore she should just be gotten rid of. No, she should be helped, because thats the right thing to do. But a broken tool has no use, fixing it is a waste! Even if it has no value, just getting rid of someone is mean. That''s why Mr. Five is a bad man! What about Stahlia? She killed you didnt she? That doesnt matter! Im a good tool, I got better. It does matter! If she was that mean then she isnt any better than Mr. Five! Mr. Five isnt mean! He rescued you from the dark place But if it wasnt for him, we wouldnt have been in the dark place at all, dont you remember?! We all remember, thats the problem! Why is that a problem? We used to be happy, once Stahlia wakes up, we can be happy again! If Stahlia wakes up. You! Clutching at my hair and rearing back my head, I screamed out my frustrations. NO, ALL OF YOU GO AWAY! GO AWAY! Rosial, whats wrong!? Ignoring the nice man, I fled from the room. The voices wouldnt stop taunting me. They wouldnt stop reminding me. They told me things would never be happy again, while some of them argued that things had never been happy in the first place. Running down the hallway, trying to find a place to hide from the voices, a place to escape. Wentee, are you ok? Looking up through teary eyes, there was Stalis face. She looked scared but not like me. Not scared of the voices. Wentee? What happened? The voices were being mean. They told me all the bad stuff that happened Stalis face contorted into a compassionate gaze. Bending down, she dabbed at my tears. There there, everythings ok. This is why I said I wouldnt go yet, you know? You need to stay with me, Ill help you keep the voices away. R-really? Youll help? Stali nodded, Yes, Ill do everything I can to help you. We sat together for a while, Stali just stroking my hair. Comforting me, You think youre ready to go back? That man might be worried about you. Her face showed that she still didnt care very much for the nice man, but she had a point. He was probably looking for me. *Sniff* Yea, lets go back. Together, the two of us headed back towards the room where Stahlia and the maid were sleeping. When we got there, the nice man gave us a very stern warning not to go running around like that. He said it wasnt safe. That was kind of funny; with Stali around, I wasnt in any danger. Even some of the grown-up tools were duller than me. Though they could hit a lot harder. It was getting dark, and Stahlia didnt seem like she was going to wake up anytime soon, so the nice man took me to a place where there was a bed for me. Sleeping wasnt easy. Every time I closed my eyes, the voices would start to whisper to me. They told me if I went to sleep, I would wake up in the dark place again. That everything was all a dream and that I had never left there in the first place. Stali What is it, Wentee? Will you sleep with me? The voices wont stop She didnt answer, but a moment later the covers rustled, and a warm presence wrapped around me. It felt a lot bigger than it should be. Stali was nowhere near this big. I was the big sister. In a panic, I leaped from my bed and reached blindly for my weapon, only to remember that the nice man had taken it. What kind of nice man would take away your weapons? Yea! He wants to get you when you arent looking! Shutupshutupshutup SHUT UP! Hahaha The voices faded away in a burst of creepy laughter. Without the bedsheets, it was very cold. Shivering, I groped around for the warm thing from earlier. Not caring that it wasnt Stali. It would give me safety, and warmth, and keep the voices away. My hands closed around something soft and fluffy. A whine carried over the air to my ears. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, a figure of a four-legged creature slowly took shape. It had a large beak and powerful hind legs. The bulk of its body was covered by thick feathers, and a pair of avian eyes glowed in the darkness. I know this Stawri Sorting through my foggy memories, to the time before the darkness. A memory once forgotten slowly came back to me, of a Stawri carrying me around on its back. It was smaller than this one and less intimidating, but there was no doubt in my mind that they were the same creature. Stil? The Stawri before me emitted a low hum from deep in its throat. In spite of myself, I was happy. Crawling back into the bed, the monster wrapped me up in its feathers. It was warm, soft, and most importantly, quiet. Before long, sleep took me. For the first time since the black space, I was able to dream a happy dream. A White Void The girl slowly faded back to reality, or at least what passed for reality in this realm. Her eyes were still wet with the tears her body had cried while her mind was elsewhere. She sat in silence for some time, glazed over eyes focusing on nothing in particular. The androgynous youth waited patiently for her to recover. Time in this realm obeyed their whim, so they could afford a delay, if thats what it would take. After some time had passed and the girl had somewhat recovered, she spoke. Her voice betrayed none of the grief and sadness she had just exhibited. Rather, it was firm. Firm, cold, and resolved. How? How what? Dont fuck with me. I killed her. I felt my blade pierce her heart I watched her soul fade. How, then, did she come back? What makes you certain she came back at all? The girl fixed the figure with a glare, Stil wouldnt comfort just anyone like that. Gustav wouldnt let just anyone into my room while I was in a coma. So many things. Not the least of which, you made a deal with me. You would show me the lives of those I left behind. You offered to make another, to send me back. Obviously you knew I would decide to go back after learning that I hadnt failed. So, stop. Fucking. With. ME! Mind your tongue, I am technically a god. Think about it, you already know enough to figure it out. The girl crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, But I refuse. Im done dancing for you fucking big shot gods. Either obliterate me for my blasphemy or answer the god damned question! Ha! Well said. The figure smirked at the girl, her newfound stubbornness clearly entertaining to them, Alright, Ill do you one better. Here. The light being emitted from the phone changed, displaying a series of four menu entries in a style familiar to the girl. She skipped over the first one, as she was already very familiar with it, and read from the second onwards. Blessing of Spring: User has received the blessing of the Spring Pantheon. Rate at which Talents under the jurisdiction of this pantheon gain experience is doubled. Grants Immunity to the Water Element. Grants the Effect of the [Rapid Growth] Skill. Grants user access to the Divine Element. Secondary Effect: This Skill is hidden from normal appraisal effects. Blessing of Summer: User has received the blessing of the Summer Pantheon. Rate at which Talents under the jurisdiction of this pantheon gain experience is doubled. Grants Immunity to the Fire Element. Grants the Effect of the [Limit Break] Skill. Grants user access to the Divine Element. Secondary Effect: This Skill is hidden from normal appraisal effects. Blessing of Autumn: User has received the blessing of the Autumn Pantheon. Rate at which Talents under the jurisdiction of this pantheon gain experience is doubled. Grants Immunity to the Rot Element. Grants the effects of [Sleep of Rebirth] Skill. Grants user access to the Divine Element. Secondary Effect: This Skill is hidden from normal Appraisal effects. Finishing the last entry, the girl murmured quietly to herself, Autumns champion is indisposed, was it? Her eyes flared up and she glared at the figure while radiating an aura of pure hatred, Rosial, is the Autumn Champion? [Sleep of Rebirth] was it? What, does it let her treat death as a power nap? Well, not exactly, but you could think of it like that if you would like. Dont get mad at me, Im just the messenger, it was my sister that picked your sister for Autumn this round. The girl growled, but her anger somewhat cooled. After all, she knew that she needed this entity to send her back. Even after learning her sister was still alive, a part of her was still undecided about whether or not she should get involved again. After all, passing on would free her from all the forces clawing at her life. But if Rosial was to be dragged onto that chessboard, then she would do anything to help. What will it cost me. If you send me back, what will it cost? The figure grinned, Nothing much, only your allegiance. My allegiance? Ah, The only way out is death thats what Mortis said if I remember correctly. So you want me to willingly take the Blessing of Winter? Or one of the other ones? Fine. FINE! Just send me back. Crossing her arms, the girl screwed her eyes shut and grit her teeth. After a moment, she opened one eye only to discover she was still in the void of white. The figure sitting across from her was shaking their head in disappointment, No, you have something wrong. Why would I give you back to my sister? Youll be much more entertaining in the middle, with a foot in both camps. No, Ill have you become my Rule Breaker. What do I have to do? Entertain me, mostly. These endless games get boring after so many repetitions. Stir the pot as best you can." "That''s it? What about those favors?" "Ah, don''t worry about those. As long as you do your best and manage to keep being interesting, then we can call it even." "Yea no. I''m not going back with something like that hanging over my head." The girl crossed her arms defiantly, "Getting stuck under a god''s thumb is the last thing I plan on doing." "You know, I''m doing my best to preserve your free will here right? I don''t want to spoil things by tying you down. I''m not like my siblings, I don''t intervene all that much Though I must admit, I have been doing so more and more recently, you''re welcome, by the way." "...Just give me a goal, something to pursue. As long as I know what you want from me." The figure sighed in an over-exaggerated manner, "Hah Fine, if you want to be controlled so badly, ruin my sibling''s plans. Break the rules, break the game. Thwart the gods and the kings as best you can, all the while squirming on the ground like a worm. Always one step, one mistake away from your own destruction." The girl met their gaze calmly, "Alright. Was that so hard?" "It takes half the fun out of it if you know what to do. One of the reasons watching you was so fun, was watching you work things out. Whatever, are you ready to go back?" The girl paused and thought. She had a distinct impression that once she went back, answers would be a lot harder to come by. Then again, she couldn''t push her luck too much; this god might not be so accommodating if she asked for too many spoilers. "...One last question?" the figure tilted their head in acknowledgment, prompting the girl to ask. "What was the plan? I don''t get it. Being in Sitri''s head, she didn''t seem to know either. What the hells was Five hoping to accomplish?" "That question is more dangerous than you realize." "So? Are you going to answer it or not?" "I don''t think so. I''ll tell you who can though, watching you pursue that answer should prove a mild distraction. Next time you meet Five, ask him directly." The girl''s eyes narrowed, "What. I beat him. I died, to seal him away. What do you mean, next time we meet?" The figure grinned, a glint in their eye, "Spoilers." In a rage, the girl leaped to her feet, the figure''s earlier restraints no longer holding her, "No! Fuck that! Tell me what the hell happened, what was the point!?" "Sit." With a shudder that seemed to shake the pseudo air of this realm, the figure''s voice crashed into the girl. With a groan, she fell back into her chair. Though she struggled, she found herself unable to resist the command given. "Sending you back isn''t free. My brother would be livid; deals have to be made. He will demand his own pawn back. Does that satisfy you?" The girl glared at the figure, radiating sheer hatred and animosity, "Fuck you. You talk big about wanting me to have my free will, then you issue a command I can''t refuse the moment my actions inconvenience you. You''re just like the rest. A hypocritical, bastard of a god." A long moment of silence hung on the air, and the girl wondered if perhaps she had gone too far. "Ha! Hahaha, you know what? You''re right. Imagine that? Tell you what. How would you like to make a deal? Not one of those Blood Magic contracts you mortals use. The original. A Divine Pact, between you and me." Finding that she was once again able to move freely, the girl adopted a more comfortable position. She was still upset but now kept a more firm handle on her emotions. It was evident how little her righteous fury would accomplish. "...Regarding what?" The figure smiled and held out their hand. After staring at it for a full minute, considering her options, the girl reached out and grasped it with her own. A synthetic voice resounded throughout the space, from everywhere and nowhere. "Divine Pact[Oath of the Rule Breaker] Signed by user Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas" "Tutorial Complete, Starting Gift Unlocked. Commencing Revival." The white void faded to black, as the girl lost consciousness. When the girl''s body had fully faded, the figure groaned and cracked their back. Stretching out, they sighed before manifesting a door and heading back into a room where a man and a woman greeted them. "You sent her back?" The figure glanced at the woman, "Yea. She''s mine now, by contract." "I suppose I shall need to select a new piece then." She fixed the figure with a stern glare. After a moment, they sighed. "Here, use this one." Pointing their cellphone at the ever-present globe, the figure caused a beam of light to streak towards the planet below, landing somewhere in the far east. "...What about the strain on the System?" "It''s fine. I''ll do something about it. Now, are you satisfied?" The woman closed her eyes for a moment, "Hmm, this one isn''t very compatible with Winter It''s fine though, I can use him for the Summer slot. I am satisfied." The man cut into the conversation as the woman bowed out and returned to her previous activities. "Aye, good fer ''er. What about me? Yer new toy broke mine. That ''sn''t fair to play favorites like this." "Yea yea, cool it. I''ve already made some adjustments; your pet should be able to break out on his own. Just make sure he stays away from Stahlia, yea?" The man grunted but seemed satisfied with that. He returned to glaring at the globe, occasionally tapping some part of it or other. The androgynous figure sighed to themselves. That whole engagement had taken a lot more out of them than they expected. Stahlia had been surprisingly astute in their dealings, normally a mortal would be completely unable to oppose their decree, yet she had resisted it twice. Working with her was bound to be interesting at the very least, and who knew? She might even be able to beat the game. At the very least, this round was shaping up to be quite spicy indeed. "I''m going out, adding that extra soul is bound to have damaged things. You two remember to follow the rules well I''m gone, yea?" There was no response, but the androgynous figure knew that their siblings would play nice now. After all, the older sibling had joined the game. Cheating would not be tolerated. Psycholor Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 115 (+40) Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas, 16 (-4) Gender: Female Class/Level: ?????C???u?s???t?????o???m??? ?????C???l????a??s?????s?????,???? ?2???0????? ???|?? ?????C???u??s?????t???o???m?? ??C????l????a?s????s????,? ??3????? Experience: 33500/37000 Species: Human (Halfblood[Revenant]) (NEW) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed[Available] Title: Revenant*[Swap Title] (NEW) Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] P?r?o?di?gy ?I?II*,? ?Ei?deti?c? ?Me?mo?ry? ?II?*, S?tea?lt?h? ?V,? Ch?a?r?m? Resi?stan?ce? I?I*?, Fle?x?i?b?le? ?I?I*?,? ||? Mo?n?ste?r ?Ha?ndli?ng ?I?II*?, ?D?a?g?g?er ?F?i?g?ht?i?ng ?V?*,? ?S?wo?rd ?F?ight?i?ng I?I?*?,? U?na?r?me?d Fight?i?ng? IV*?, Al?c?h?emy? Corre?c?ti?o?n? ?I?V?*, T?ea?chi?ng? II*,? ?M?a?na? ?E?f?f?i?c?i?en?cy? III?*, ?F?ir?e ?Ma?g?ic? ?II?I*?,? ?W?a?ter? ?M?ag?i?c II*?,? ?Ear?t?h M?agic I?I?*?,? Wi?n?d M?agic ?I?I*?, ?I?ce? ?Mag?ic VI?*?, Wi?n?te?r? Magi?c ?I,? Skills 5/5: [Browse Skills] D?iv?i?ne? ?Aut?ho?r?it?y[?C?la?s?s F?ea?ture?s?]*?,? ?F?in?es?s?e Figh?ti?ng?*, ?B?lu?e ?B?l?oo?de?d*,? ?K?inet?ic ?P?e?r?ce?p?t?io?n*?,? ?Ma?n?a ?C?r?y?s?t?a?ll?iz?atio?n*, |?|? L?a?ng?u?ag?e P?r?ofi?cien?c?y?[?Ce?n?tr?al Huma?n?]*?,? ?F?ig?ht?ing S?ty?le?[S?h?ad?o?w? Bla?d?e]*?, ?Fi?g?h?t?i?ng S?t?yle?[?Drak?a?n? ?S?t?y?l?e]*, Rule Breaker*, Revenant Physique*, Talents Experience: [+] Unread Messages(1) A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 4-15 Epilogue Epilogue One: Revival Stahlia, 948 My eyelids felt heavy as awareness slowly returned. There was a fog hanging over my whole mind, as though it had not been awake for some time. That made sense; I had probably spent the past several months in a coma after all. Fuck! What the hell was I thinking!? Dying was my fault, this guy had nothing to do with it so taking it out on him would be pointless? If it wasnt for that jerk I wouldnt be here to begin with! Haaa No, whats done is done. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that, but you cant change the past. What I need to do now, is figure out what my future holds. The first major question was how much of my life span had been spent, as well as what else may have changed. That much was fairly easy to figure out, it only took one quick mental command to call up my status. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 115 (+40) Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas, 16 (-4) Gender: Female Class/Level: ?????C???u?s???t?????o???m??? ?????C???l????a??s?????s?????,???? ?2???0????? ???|?? ?????C???u??s?????t???o???m?? ??C????l????a?s????s????,? ??3????? Experience: 33500/37000 Species: Human (Halfblood[Revenant]) (NEW) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Small Seed[Available] Title: Revenant*[Swap Title] (NEW) Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] P?r?o?di?gy ?I?II*,? ?Ei?deti?c? ?Me?mo?ry? ?II?*, S?tea?lt?h? ?V,? Ch?a?r?m? Resi?stan?ce? I?I*?, Fle?x?i?b?le? ?I?I*?,? ||? Mo?n?ste?r ?Ha?ndli?ng ?I?II*?, ?D?a?g?g?er ?F?i?g?ht?i?ng ?V?*,? ?S?wo?rd ?F?ight?i?ng I?I?*?,? U?na?r?me?d Fight?i?ng? IV*?, Al?c?h?emy? Corre?c?ti?o?n? ?I?V?*, T?ea?chi?ng? II*,? ?M?a?na? ?E?f?f?i?c?i?en?cy? III?*, ?F?ir?e ?Ma?g?ic? ?II?I*?,? ?W?a?ter? ?M?ag?i?c II*?,? ?Ear?t?h M?agic I?I?*?,? Wi?n?d M?agic ?I?I*?, ?I?ce? ?Mag?ic VI?*?, Wi?n?te?r? Magi?c ?I,? Skills 5/5: [Browse Skills] D?iv?i?ne? ?Aut?ho?r?it?y[?C?la?s?s F?ea?ture?s?]*?,? ?F?in?es?s?e Figh?ti?ng?*, ?B?lu?e ?B?l?oo?de?d*,? ?K?inet?ic ?P?e?r?ce?p?t?io?n*?,? ?Ma?n?a ?C?r?y?s?t?a?ll?iz?atio?n*, |?|? L?a?ng?u?ag?e P?r?ofi?cien?c?y?[?Ce?n?tr?al Huma?n?]*?,? ?F?ig?ht?ing S?ty?le?[S?h?ad?o?w? Bla?d?e]*?, ?Fi?g?h?t?i?ng S?t?yle?[?Drak?a?n? ?S?t?y?l?e]*, Rule Breaker*, Revenant Physique*, Talents Experience: [+] Unread Messages(1) A lot more than expected had changed. Lets start from the top then. Obviously, the first thing to jump out at me was the block of glitchy text that now made up the body of my talents and skills. Forcing myself to ignore that for now, I instead checked the first entry. The one for my age. According to the read out, I was sixteen now. If it worked like last time, then there was no way I would be able to hide this as a growth spurt. Ill have to figure out a way to explain suddenly aging four years or rather, five years from almost everyones perspective. The next thing to notice, that was arguably more concerning than my age was my race. It had changed from pureblooded to halfblooded, with my new genes coming from something called a Revenant. The question was, what the hell was a Revenant? It was a type of undead if my memory was accurate, but for some reason, the knowledge seemed fuzzy. In a mild panic, I tried to remember various events from my past life; that was where my knowledge of a Revenant would come from. To my dismay, everything seemed fuzzy. Or rather, everything seemed disjointed. It was as though the memories belonged to someone else, not me. Eidetic memory was acting up a bit before, but this is new. Its like like I dont know what this is like It felt a bit like my oldest memories, the ones from when I was George were faded. The detail was still there, and all of the specifics were available. They were just distanced from me, like my body was holding them at arms length. Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I moved on. My memory issues were not something so simple that a few minutes of panic would be able to resolve the issues. It was also likely that one of my other new changes might hold the answer to what was going on. The only real concern, was that the fogginess might spread out to other areas. As long as that didnt happen, I could deal with it. The next line in my status caused a bit of excitement; my starting gift was now available. Right, there was something about that right after the revival process started. That being said, there was no indication that it had done anything. The entry had changed from Locked to Available whatever that meant. There was no indication that it was actually given to me. Rather, based on the terminology it probably had not. Though it probably wouldnt have any major effect it was something I was curious about. After all, it had been hanging over my head for a rather long time. Always in the background. Something else to figure out later. Moving on, the next item was my new title. [Revenant]: Awarded to those who have returned from a death-like state. Passive Effect: Changes race to Half Revenant. Active Effect: Renders Undead passive towards those who have equipped this title. That effect seemed like it might be useful, though it would require some caution since having undead ignore me in a group setting might raise questions. Though my whole existence required caution at the moment, so that particular point was rather moot. Either way, having this title equipped for now should be fine; it wasnt like taking it off would change my race back to Human(Pureblood). Moving on, all of my attribute values except intelligence had seemingly gone down one level. While painful, it wasnt the end of the world; I could always raise them back up. There was even a chance that this was temporary, though that was unlikely. All in all, if that and the lost lifespan were the only penalties to literally dying and coming back to life, then I would say I got off quite lightly all things considered. It didnt even look like the existing attributes had dropped at all, only the improvement values for my next levels. Next up, my talents and skills were glitched to hell. I could still make out what they were saying, but inspecting them didnt seem to work; no info box came up in response. The only skills that were legible, were the two new ones. These could also be inspected, so there was no fear of having to fumble around in the dark. The first skill was actually amazing as well, while the second sounded like it had the potential to increase my strength in unique and unpredictable ways. Rule Breaker(LP N/A): Skill awarded to those who have taken the Oath of the Rule Breaker. Grants a Fragment of Authority which shields the user from the influence of others Authority and Ruler Skills. Grants the effects of an Immunity Skill. [Select Skill]. One moment later, I was once again the proud owner of [Ice Immunity] by proxy. Well, thats good. Losing Blessing of Winter was going to be a mixed bag; sure, it means Im out from under the gods thumb but [Ice Immunity] and [Cold Hearted] were useful. Getting the former back means I wont have to change my fighting style too much, or rework any of my spells. Though not having [Cold Hearted] also sort of sealed my god mode that shouldnt be too much of an issue. Rule Breaker making me immune to ruler skills was probably the influence caused by getting angry towards the King of Wrath, or lustful towards the Queen of Lust. Not having to worry about that would be a good thing and was the primary function of [Cold Hearted] in the first place. The second skill was Revenant Physique. Revenant Physique(LP N/A): Skill possessed by the half undead known as Revenants. Lifts restrictions on Undead Racial Skills. Causes mild discomfort or unease in living targets. On one hand, the part about lifting restrictions on a whole set of skills was a tantalizing process. If it was anything like Stils limited skills then there were probably a lot of fairly unique combinations to be had. On the flipside, the bit about causing discomfort in living people was a bit concerning. It would take some experience to determine how much discomfort, or even what kind of discomfort it was. Hopefully, it would be something that could be overcome with charisma or some other skill; [Blue-Blooded] came to mind as one possibility, since it improved my impression when I was perceived as a noble. Since I was to be queen, that would mean that my impression would almost always be noble. The very last thing to be investigated was the completely new line, Unread Messages (1). Focusing in on that line caused a new window to pop open. It looked suspiciously like an email inbox, and the one unread message was titled as having come from EvilGod. Skipping over the headline information that wasnt important, I read the body text of the email. Hey, sorry for dealing with things this way but I had to go patch up a hole in the system. Dont worry, it wasnt your fault. When you get to reading this, you will have probably noticed some issues with your status. Dont worry, thats temporary mostly. The attribute scores wont come back, that was caused by the strain on your soul spending so much time in the buffer. As an apology for that, Ill give you a hint. Dont get used to these though, they take away much of the fun. After your wedding, check out the highest point of the mountain. Oh, and before I forget, since your tutorial ending got cut short your starting gift bugged out. Ive attached it to this email. When youre ready, just claim it from here! Checking the base of the email revealed an icon of a small pumpkin seed thing-looking thing with a paperclip attached to it. Since there was no point in wasting time, I focused on the attachment. Would you like to claim the Small Seed? Y/N Yes. Confirmed, Integrating Small Seed ...Complete The moment the notice said the process was complete, a burning pain pierced my chest. Wincing, a grunt squeezed out from between my clenched teeth as my body doubled over in pain. Curled into the fetal position, my muscles started to spasm. It was agonizing, yet I could not seem to scream. Finally, after several minutes, my body collapsed with a shudder. Covered in sweat and gasping for breath, the first order of business was to check my status. Everything was still corrupted, however the line about my Starting Gift seemed to have been replaced. Instead of Starting Gift: Small Seed[Available], that line now read Implanted Seed: Progress 0% There was no description of what function it might serve when focused on. As far as I could tell, there seemed to be no differences in how my body felt, other than being sore after the whole ordeal. After a short time spent collecting myself and waiting for the trembling to cease, I quickly gave the rest of my status a once over. Unfortunately, nothing else seemed to have changed. At least I know I have to do something to further that along figuring out what is probably deliberately obfuscated though, after all. It would be more damn interesting that way, wouldnt it? Stali Neechan! The impact on my bed was enough to cause me to bounce up slightly as the ripple passed through the mattress. It was time to stop pretending to be unconscious and face reality. To that end, my eyes opened and took in an extremely curious sight. Felicity was sitting on the edge of my bed, however, unlike the last time I had seen her, she seemed to have acquired a second tail. Its good to see you as well, Felicity. Uhn! Claire says to congratulate you on waking up, and also to tell you not to keep such big secrets! Right, the prince sorry about that, I couldnt risk leaking the information though, not even to you Speaking of secrets though, what the hell is up with you? Felicity craned her neck around over her shoulder to look at the second tail. It was swishing around in a mirror pattern to her original. It was oddly hypnotizing to look at. Ah it might be best for me to explain that. Felicity still doesnt fully understand. Right, was this the result of Envious? Ah! How did you know? Never mind that, its a long story; Ill tell you and Rupert together. What exactly happened with that? Claire shrugged, Well we had to survive but Felicity and I lacked the skills necessary to. I planned to pick up a few talents by using Envious to copy them but it backfired. Or maybe it was a good thing, we havent really had a chance to figure it out since the prince locked us up in the castle. Alright, but what exactly happened? Well, Felicity got really weird for a while. Her presence in the body was super weak like she was sick or sleeping. After a week or so, I lost consciousness as well. When I woke up, Felicity was back to normal and we had a new tail. Rupert had some people appraise us and afterward, he put us on lockdown with round-the-clock guard. She gestured towards the corner of the room, where a knight nodded in my direction. Its a good thing the contract prevents him from killing my family. It sounds like [Envious]s second effect activated and Demonized Felicity. Giving Claire a questioning look I asked her, And did Prince Rupert tell you what the appraisal results said? Claire shook her head, No, but it isnt hard to figure out. [Envious] made us into a demon, didnt it? Most likely, do you mind if I check? Claire shut her eyes for a moment, probably speaking with Felicity. A moment later when she opened them she nodded, Felicity says that you can go ahead and check. Focusing mana into my eyes and giving it the divine aspect, I directed my attention to Felicitys light. A moment later, her status entered my mind. Name: Felicity Age: 7 Species: [Nekomata(Juvenile)] Class/Level: Demon Aspirant, 8 Social Strata: Slave(Owner: None, Drakas Kingdom) Ability Values: Talents: (87)[+] Skills: Envy*, Talent Void*, Stahlia, arent you going to appraise us? Huh? I just did. Your species changed You didnt demonize though; you became something called a Nekomata. You gained the Demon Aspirant class as well, and leveled up a few times. You did? But what about the head pats? It would seem that Felicity was back in control, at least I would hope that was the case. The thought of Claire asking for a head pat with wide kitten eyes was a bit disturbing. Huh? Wait, what the hell am I doing!? At some point, I had apparently gained the ability to appraise with my divine eyes. This would require further testing, but that wasnt the most pressing concern at the moment. When did I learn this? Epilogue Two: Freezing Hate Fifth Seat King of Wrath Five Satan, 1,017 Years Old, Fifth Month of 948. Where did things go wrong? I did everything I was supposed to. I followed Fausts instructions perfectly. Stahlias birth had been foretold by the Eighth Seat, Lord of Prophecy Faust. The prophecy stated that the one destined to take the tenth seat would be born in a small village, that she would be a prodigy holder, and that she would be in the Kingdom of Drakas. Stahlia had met all of those qualifications. Even when she was picked up by the gods as a champion, it only further strengthened my conviction that she was the one. Giving her to my son should have corrupted her seed of power. Being bathed in his demonic mana constantly, it would have tainted the seed before it could bloom. That would ensure her fall. Was my failure that my son was an imbecile? Indeed, Dominic was a moronic, impertinent, simple-minded fool. His actions had jeopardized things on more than one occasion. The number of times I had to use my cover identity to smooth over his mistakes it was infuriating. Laying into him with my own hellflame had been a most cathartic experience. Perhaps that had been going too far? After all, it did make him desperate. I told Sitri to manipulate him into fixing his mistake. I should have been far, far more specific. She was supposed to make him come around and win Stahlia over with words. Not force himself on her. Granted, if he had succeeded then things might have worked out in the end. But that was a long shot; Stahlia had always been stronger than my useless son. Granted, throwing her sister at her had been a longshot as well. Faust had called me in a panic, saying that everything was falling apart and demanding that it be fixed. The issue was that he didnt tell me how to fix it. Blinded by rage, I had been unable to come up with a decent plan and simply decided to take my wrath out on Stahlia. Me being the one in charge of infiltration was a mistake. If only Mephistopheles had survived the last war instead of me. He was always better at schemes like this, he wouldnt have failed like I did. Leviathan might have been a good pick as well, though they werent even an option since they didnt advent last time. Belphagor yea, hes always been useless. My own wrath at everything falling apart had blinded me to the obvious; Stahlia was the chosen one of the winter gods. No amount of pushing on my part would have worked once she engaged her god-given skill. Far more likely, I would simply cause her to fall out of our reach entirely. If my head had been clearer, if we had simply talked, perhaps an accord could have been struck. After all, from what I had seen through her pet shadow, Stahlia hated the gods almost as much as we nine kings did. But I was blinded. That brought me back to my present predicament. Encased in a block of un-melting ice. Of course in the beginning my rage and fury knew no end. There had been much for me to complain about, and I had ranted endlessly in my head. Over time however, my rage had calmed. It was strange; for the longest time the only thing known to me was wrath. But now, now things were becoming clear. Stahlia had something else. I knew she did when she infused her pet shadow with something and broke off Dominics control. I thought then that it was just a unique application of Divine Element Whatever it was did scramble the connection for a while. But Divine Element would not be able to explain that power spike. Stahlia had grown in power extremely rapidly. In only a few brief seconds she had eclipsed my own mana several times over. There was no way a human body should have been able to hold that much mana. Reincarnated individuals did tend to get a few cheat abilities, but this seemed to go beyond that. There were the words she spoke as well. Words I could hear and yet not hear. As if the knowledge of their meaning was stricken from my mind before she even spoke them. That was the impetus. Right after that was when I saw her mana spiking. Stahlia had done something, something quite extreme. The question was, what? If my connection to the Nine Hells was still intact, I could ask Faust. Whatever she had done had probably been responsible for breaking his prophecy; if he was still the same as he was a thousand years ago, then he would be doing everything he could to figure it out. That demon hated being wrong almost more than Mephistopheles. But whatever this ice was, it had severed that connection. All that could be done, was to wallow in my own mind. In a way, my anger cooling was a curse worse than death. Eventually, the ice would melt or break and I would be free, even if I died before then I would just return to my Hell. With my mind clear, I was forced to experience all of that time. Had my thoughts been clouded with rage then the time would pass much quicker. For the umpteenth time I tried killing my vessel, but it was impossible to move or to form a spell. Mana was simply sucked out of the construct before the spell could take shape. Blood Magic was likewise blocked; the instant the mana left my body, it was absorbed by the Ice. At first, this had caused me to panic; if I died under these circumstances, would I be able to return to my domain? A soul was essentially just mana after all. But that line of thought was folly; the existence of the Hell Kings was like a rule in this world. The System was robust, it would not allow something small like ice that should not exist to break its rules. No, not like a rule. It is a rule. When that bastard set things up and tricked us with the allure of power That was the price we paid That ass of a god, what was his name? Abel? Adelle? Adroni? That was it. He called himself Adroni. Then again, I was never too sure about the status of his dick. Adroni. The one who had originally captivated my guildmates and me with promises of power. We would be given an entire world to play with. We would be gods of our own realms. It was him. He must be behind what Stahlia did. Hes still fucking with us, all these years later! Damnit! There was no proof of course, but once arrived at that conclusion it just made sense. So Adroni decided to add his own piece to the board once again. Why now, after so long? Stahlia had broken the rules. Her being that bastards pet was the only logical answer. Is Fermina in on it? Has our own master grown bored of us? There was no way for me to tell, but that was fine. A loud crack resounded in my ears. I smiled. It doesnt matter. I know who the root cause is. That bastard. The object of our ire. A second sound, like glass breaking. My vision was covered in a tapestry of cracks as the ice began to give way. Adroni, the mad god. The bastard who tricked my friends and I, who continues to screw with us to this day. The ice shattered, and my body felt a chill as the vaporous mana was absorbed through my skin. Adroni, the object of my hate. Notice: Requirements no longer met. Skill [Lords Authority[Wrath]] has been removed. Notice: Skill [Lords Authority[Hatred]] has been gained. Notice: Skills and Talents have shifted. Notice: Title Gained: [Tenth Seat, King of Hatred] Notice: Name Change: Satan > Baal It had been a very long time since I last received a status notification. Eons, in fact. Even as my body convulsed on the ground coughing up blood, I laughed. Welcome back old friend! Ah, I had forgotten how I missed you! This, with this, I am free. Free to pursue my own goals. Starting with breaking this kingdom in half. Shakily, I climbed to my feet as my body settled down. Wiping the blood off my chin with the back of my hand, I inspected my surroundings. It appeared that my frozen body had been placed in a cellar of some kind. Based on the quality of the stonework, my host seemed to be quite wealthy. You are sure that he has broken free? Yes! I am certain, I told you didnt I? No one could keep my master trapped, hes simply far too strong! The two voices coming down from the stairs were ones easily recognizable to me. The first belonged to the First Prince of this thrice-damned country, Antonio von Drakas. The second, was that of my infuriating loaner subordinate, Sitri. So thats how I got here. Sitri must have charmed the prince and had him sequester my entombed body. That forethought will lessen her punishment. The door swung inwards, and Sitri led the prince inside the room. Though the darkness was not an issue for demons like us, the prince had to squint in the dim lighting of the cellar. Ah, Count Francois. It seems you have very loyal subordinates His voice trailed off as he caught my cold glare. Antonio, I wish to have words with my subordinate, would you please excuse us? Wha!? I am your sovereign! The rightful king of this country! You will not Something about my tone must have tipped Sitri off, as she quickly cut off the prince. Your highness, please understand the circumstances, my lord has just recovered from a terrible experience. Surely you could forgive his rudeness? The prince paused for a moment before nodding, Alright, Just this once. Be grateful for my mercy, I expect great things from you. Once he was gone Sitri sighed, Do you have any idea how hard it was to get in his good graces with only my charisma? What about you? What happened? This is surprising, she sounds genuinely concerned for my wellbeing. Something happened to her. What do you mean, only your charisma? Charming a man as petty and simple as Antonio should not have been an issue for you? Well excuse me! That fucking whore only ripped my soul to shreds and sealed my classes and skills! What do you want from me!? That is none of my concern. All of this is your fault in the first place. And how do you figure that!? I was only following your orders Whirling around, I glared at the impertinent succubus. My orders were to fix your mistake. Your mistake was driving Stahlia and Dominic apart. Fixing it would be to fix their relationship, not make him try and RAPE HER! Raising up my hand, I invoked my favorite skill. The activation gave me pause though, as it had undergone a drastic change. Rather than sheathe my hand in Black Hellflame, my hand was now coated in white fire that seemed to be shedding snow rather than smoke. I see, anger burns hot but true hate is ice cold. You might be a bastard, Adroni, but you have good aesthetic. Sitri realized what was coming and shrank back, No, nono, Im sorry, Im sorry! You dont need to punish me, Wrath. I wont make that mistake again! One out of three, thats a failing grade. Indeed, you will not make that mistake again. However, I do need to punish you, and my title is no longer Wrath. You may refer to me as Hate. Closing in on Sitri, I raised my hand. [/spoiler] A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server [/author] 5-1 Sixteen Stahlia, Sixteen Years Old, Ninth Month of 948 A whole lot of questions, practically no answers. Not that there was anything to be gained from moping around in bed all day. After a few minutes of contemplation, and letting Felicity get her fill of my hand rubbing her ears, it was time to act, Felicity, where is everyone else? Edith, Sarala, Rupert, Jacqueline, Stil, Sana and Rosial. Cocking her head, she appeared thoughtful for a moment, Felicity doesnt know, but Claire Neechan says that everyone is being kept in the castle until you woke up. It was Felicitys turn to watch you! Were in the castle right now? Uhn! Its really big and pretty! That, that wasnt really what I meant. Right, but did anyone tell you why theyre keeping us here? Yea, Stahlia Neechan is marrying Rupert Oniisama right? Claire Neechan was really mad when she found out, but Felicity is just happy it isnt Dominic. He smelled gross! Right, sorry about that Claire. I couldnt tell anyone. Can you find someone who can carry a message, and have Rupert informed that Im awake now? I need to find out what I missed. Fiiinnneee, but you have to give lots of pats later ok? I will, now shoo! Waving Felicity out of the room with overdramatic hand gestures got me a light giggle before she scampered off. There would be a lot of questions soon but for now, there were a few minutes of alone time to get my thoughts in order. It had been extremely weird; my abilities with Blood Magic had not allowed me to do something like vision-based appraisal before. But now Reaching out my hand and placing it on the bedside table, my hand closed around a flower that had been sitting in a vase. Mana surged through my body and down my arm, permeating the flower. It moved a lot smoother than it had before as though some sort of barrier had been removed. So smooth in fact, that it was difficult to control. The flower burst into flames made of pure mana, before crystallizing into ice. In shock, my hand released and the flower dropped from my grip to the floor, where it shattered. Holy shit. Its a good thing I used that visual appraisal on Felicity, instead of contact I might have killed her! That being said, the contact appraisal had worked. Based on the readout, the flower was a Dragon Lily. Normally, that would be all the information that I received on an inanimate object or simple lifeform, but now Now there was a lot more. Somehow, I knew how old the lily was, its health condition, the various alchemical properties it held, and a myriad of other incidental information. So, coming back gave me an upgrade? Or was it disconnecting from the system thats responsible? Questions for later. For now, learning my limits. Looking down at the icy-lily shards, my eyes focused in on one of the bigger chunks. Plucking it from the ground, the process was repeated and I once again attempted to appraise it. This time, I did my darndest to maintain control of my mana. I did not want to further destroy it. Easier said than done; my mana circuits felt like a faucet that had recently had the hard water removed. What would originally have resulted in a gentle flow, was now a torrent. This was going to take some time to get used to. Before it shattered, the name of the ice chunk was revealed; Crystalized Ice Element C Organic. There was also some information about the properties, but the connection was severed before the list could finish populating. Evidently, crystalized mana did not like receiving more mana, even if it was from the same source. Almost like overcharging a battery, to be honest. Therere probably a lot of uses for this, but not being able to appraise things is going to be a bit of a pain. Indeed, the visual appraisal done with my divine eyes did not seem to work on the shards of crystal. The only thing I could think of was that it had something to do with whether or not the target had a soul or not. As if my divine eyes were reading the information straight from the soul, while the contact appraisal was analyzing the physical. This would need further testing with other things, other people. In other words, nothing else I can do with it for now. Lets see how atrophied I am. The last time had only resulted in me aging two years. It had taken some time to get used to my new body, what with my reach changing, my center of balance shifting, and all the minor things. Luckily though, my muscles had remained relatively intact, but that was mostly only because of potions supplied by Jacqueline. While she was still alive, based on what Adroni had shown me, she was not in any condition to help me this time. Hopefully, Rupert had managed something, but it would take some testing to be sure. And based on how I feel, my center of gravity has indeed shifted again ugh. I had been doing my best to ignore it, but that had been kind of hard with Felicity clinging to me. My body had grown. Granted, it had been growing steadily after the last time I invoked my authority in such a manner, but this was a lot different. After gingerly sitting up in bed and feeling things out, it was apparent that it would take a bit more time than previously to get back to a hundred percent. It was bad enough there was a momentary fear that it may require me to relearn how to walk in the first place. Groundless of course; as it took only a few moments to figure out how to compensate for the added weight. Still, it would be a bit before it was something I could do subconsciously. That meant that for the time being things would need to be taken slowly, at least as far as mobility was concerned. The room itself was surprisingly spartan. When Felicity had said we were being kept in the palace, my expectation had been a lot of pointlessly gaudy decoration. Instead, it was barely fancier than my home back in Ris. Sure, the furnishings were all obviously expensive, but they did not look like it at first glance. The bed I was in, for example, was soft and comfortable but it just looked like a bed. Had I not been laying in it, my impression would have been that it was sturdy and functional, nothing more. Knowing Ruperts personality, everything was probably like that. He did not strike me as someone who would spend money unless it served a purpose. Gingerly stepping down, my next stop was the mirror set up in the corner. Like the bed, it was simple and unadorned. After looking at the reflection though, it became apparent just how expensive it must have been. Normally, while looking at a mirror, there were things that would be off. Parts of the reflection would be wrong or distorted by tiny imperfections in the glass. A smudge from a fingerprint might cause the image to blur. Colors would be distorted as the mirror absorbed some of the light instead of reflecting it back. That was not the case here; this reflection was, as far as I could tell, perfect. It was almost like looking at another, living, breathing, existing copy of myself. To the point that it would not have been surprising if the copy of me did some creepy horror movie shit and smiled at me or waved. Uncanny was the term that immediately came to mind. Of course, my hand simply bounced off a smooth surface when I subconsciously tried to touch my image. This was a mirror, not a portal to a parallel dimension or some such fancy. The smudge my fingers left on the glass helped to ground the reflection in reality, and made it a lot less disconcerting to look at. Studying myself brought back memories of the first time I had seen this face. As far as I could tell, eleven years ago. Before dying the first time. I was presented with a highly detailed 3d model of the woman from the gender select screen, sans robe and staff, though she was wearing underwear. Strangely, I did not see any sliders with which to adjust proportions or select a hairstyle, only some color options for all the usual areas every game tends to have. Stuff like skin tone, hair color, iris shade, and so on. At the bottom of the screen were the now-familiar options to proceed to the next section, in this case, class selection, or to go back. After some fiddling, I realized the mouse became a sculpting tool when hovering over a region of the body; by highlighting the bust, I could scroll the mouse wheel to deflate or inflate, though there was an upper and lower limit. I could also click and drag to make them perkier or saggier, though this also seemed to be influenced by the amount of hot air I pumped into them. This was in all honesty, a highly detailed appearance editor. I set about sculpting my character based on the playstyle I had in mind. Yup, playstyle. Im totally not making her based on what I personally find attractive I wound up with a lithe build, roughly 160 centimeters tall. A modest bust that was perhaps a bit on the small side. Her hair was a shade of red that was almost black, with a natural wavy pattern. I had spent about twenty minutes fiddling with said hair before a box popped up telling me that hair would grow at a natural rate while playing and thus attempting to set a style would simply result in odd growth patterns. That message honestly startled me, it was almost like someone was watching me work, but everything else about the game seemed so advanced I just wrote it off as just another smart feature, aimed at players who were extremely picky like myself. Her eyes color was a very light azure that was approaching silver, it went very nicely with the hair. I left the face mostly intact; I knew better than to try and sculpt something that didnt look like an abomination. Though, I did smooth it out a bit and round some of the sharp edges just slightly. In all honesty, she wound up looking slightly indistinct Asian with a bit of German. I selected an appropriately light skin tone to match the general shape and then set the lips to a slightly redder tone of that. Looking over the model, I decided it was pretty good for my first session with this editor and clicked on the button to advance to class selection. While the new page was loading, I glanced at the clock on my phone. Grimacing, I decided I had not looked. It was almost 4:00 am. The class selection page was populated with five lists, each one conveniently labeled with Tier One-Five respectively. Each list consisted of a familiar scrolling menu populated by terms that would be familiar to any RPG player, each one of which also listed Life Point cost With a jolt, my senses returned. Looking around the room revealed that it was unchanged. I was still in the palace where I had awoken. Only, now sitting on the floor. Apparently I fell? What the hell was that? Everything was so real like I was back creating the character for the first time That was disconcerting. I checked my body carefully and was pleased to find that it was once again that of Stahlia, not George. But seriously, what the hell? Does it have something to do with [Eidetic Memory] being corrupted? If thats the case, what about my other skills? What if something like this happens in the middle of a fight!? That would get me killed! Breathe. It isnt a big deal, I can just tune out my skills and talents like I used to do, when I wanted to memorize something without Eidetic Memory. That or it was probably possible for me to outright remove the offending talent by invoking my authority. But that was one hundred and ten percent the last resort; the moment the thought crossed my mind to do that the memory of the pain Sitri, and by extension me, experienced when her class was sealed also surfaced. There was also the highly probable risk that doing something like that would put me in a coma again. No, it would be better to avoid taking that action unless it became the only possible option. A knock came from the door, indicating that someone had arrived. The sudden sound startled me and caused me to jump to my feet in a panic. Not the best thing, considering that my body was still a bit foreign to me, and my momentum caused me to overshoot the landing even as I called out for whoever it was to enter. Ah! Come in! SHIT! The door opened, and Rupert entered the room along with Gustav and Edith. Just in time for my fiance to see my faceplant, his assistant to witness me sliding to a halt, and my friend to see me struggle to quickly recover as tears welled up in my eyes; breasts, as it turned out, were incredibly sensitive to impact. Stahlia? Are you ok!? Edith, it seemed, was at least sympathetic. After bushing away the budding tears and taking a moment to come to grips with my display, I decided the best course of action was to pretend that nothing had happened. Im fine. Just a bit startled is all I understand why Prince Rupert and Lord Gustav are here, but why are you here, Edith? My friends face contorted into a pained expression of grief. Oh shit, from what I remember, Rupert was with Duke Claurence when things went to shit. He teleported out, but left the duke behind, he isnt dead is he!? I am here on behalf of my father and as your friend, to offer a sincere apology for the failure of our house. Oh. Is your father alright? Yes, why wouldnt he be? He has gone out with His Highness Prince Ruperts forces to put down the rebellion of the traitor prince. Excuse me? At the look of incredulity on my face, Edith nodded, Right, you wouldnt know; his highness will want to explain Im glad you recovered, Lady Stahlia. Edith curtseyed and quickly left the room. Not that there was any reason to blame her, considering who else was in it with us. Ill need to find the time to speak with her and Sarala later. For now, it sounds like I missed some pretty major stuff after Adroni sent me back. Prince Rupert, thank you for looking after everything while I was recovering. I bowed my head in genuine gratitude towards the prince. Enough, we have more pressing concerns to discuss, and do not have time to waste standing on ceremony. First, how much do you know already? Sending me a message from beyond death, and then asking about Duke Claurence Clearly, you know some things already. Raising my head, I proceeded to elaborate on what had happened from my perspective after my death; how Adroni had shown me the immediate aftermath as it affected my immediate associates. By keeping things simple and omitting my own speculations, the whole recounting took only an hour. Rupert and Gustav let me talk without asking questions. At this point, they had probably decided to just take whatever they were told at face value, no matter how absurd or outlandish it sounded. After my spiel had finished, Rupert adopted a pensive expression and began to mumble to himself. Recognizing that he was thinking out loud, I tuned the ramblings out and addressed Gustav. What what happened with Rosial? Also, Jacqueline. After after what I was shown. Gustav gave Rupert a side-long glance before answering my question, Your sister is being looked after, though she has not made very much progress when we are finished here, someone will take you to see her. After seeing me nod in quiet acknowledgment, he continued. As for Jacqueline, she pulled through but not unscathed. She is currently paralyzed from the waist down; her lower spine was damaged when Five tore through her stomach. Right. Is she being looked after as well? She is, Lady Rosial seems to have bonded with her; Jacquelines stories about you have been helping maintain her present state without deterioration. Thats good then A Goddess Draught should be able to repair the spinal damage as well as the arm. This just means I have to go all-in on that plan, instead of making it a side goal. Thank you. Is Stil still helping Rosial? Gustav nodded before checking Ruperts state again. Seeing the prince was about to come out of his own world, my former instructor reached inside his robe and produced a very expensive-looking ring in a small box. At a glance, it was obviously made of rather rare metal. Not mythril or orichalcum though. It was only a guess on my part, but the pearly-fluorescent finish made me think of an alloy of rose gold and orichalcum called rose steel. While Mythril had a repelling effect on mana, rose steel was extremely conductive. If not for the price tag, it would be the favored material of magic tool makers. The brooch itself was carved into the crest of the royal family and had a rather large blue topaz set in it, which matched my birth month. While this world did not have a custom of engagement or wedding rings, it was not uncommon for high-profile marriages to do something along those lines. So the engagement was made public then. Thats obviously meant to mark me as being a member of the royal family, unlike the ring something that expensive is definitely not meant to be worn in a concealed manner. Will me no longer being winters champion complicate the engagement? It was Rupert who answered my question. No, that was not disclosed. Instead, a somewhat understated version of your fight with Count Francois was spread, and used as justification. I see. What about him? Was he recovered? For the first time since meeting him, I saw a genuinely upset expression grace Ruperts face. No, he was not. Gustav prioritized Rosial and Jacquelines extraction. Though we immediately sent men to collect the count, he had been taken before they arrived. We thought it had been Sitri, but based on what you just shared that seems unlikely. The room fell into a short lull as they gave me time to process that revelation. It was unneeded, however; I had already been told that Five was going to be freed. This was just a bit sooner than expected was all. Very well, I assume you have probably already arrived at a conclusion regarding the new suspect. Before that, this brooch? At my word, Gustav handed the brooch to Rupert, who in turn presented it to me. I will refrain from wasting time on ceremonies, this is intended to serve publicly as a mark of our engagement. Privately, it will serve as a wedding ring, and carries an enchantment to mask your present state. Excuse me, it will what? Wedding? Rupert nodded grimly, Yes, wedding. In truth, we are rather short on time; the contract we signed specified that we would be married when you were sixteen. Your actions caused that to come much sooner than I had anticipated. Had you not woken up when you did, there was a very real risk that the contract would be violated. But wasnt there also a bit about us being engaged for a year at least!? And restrictions on public knowledge!? Rupert nodded, Yes, though because of the wording it will suffice if that perception is maintained publicly; consider this an unfortunate loophole brought about by conditions I was not privy to when we made the contract I would have added a clause to account for this possibility had I known of it. His last remark was a bit biting and made me flinch, though both of the men present were tactful enough not to point that reaction out. Hes not wrong There really isnt any way that something like this could have been predicted then, not without me telling him Its a bit irritating things turned out this way though There was something about the whole situation that just irritated me. I couldnt quite put my finger on it though. Fine. When will we have the ceremony? Or will we be skipping that as well? Your parents delayed their trip at my behest; I kept them away due to the present unstable nature of the capital Now that you are awake, I will have them brought here. After their arrival, we will have a small private ceremony. Other than your own parents, you will need three witnesses. After a moment of careful consideration, given what was being asked, I came up with a few names. Edith can act in lieu of her father; their family cared for me while I was hiding from Count Francois and D-Dominic As for others, Jacqueline will do, as long as she is able. Then, have a man named Sieg brought to the capital with my parents. Unfortunately, my adult acquaintances are rather limited. What the hell was that? Why did I stammer just now when I said his name? Rupert shot a look at Gustav, who nodded, I will make the arrangements. Assuming things go smoothly, your parents will be here in a week. Given the state of the kingdom, it would be best to have the ceremony as soon as possible after they arrive Within a day or two at most. That assertation made me raise an eyebrow, Can they get here that fast? Rupert nodded, They can; Gustave will send a magic communication to the knight commander. A unit has been placed on standby to escort them. Then, about the ring? Interpreting my question correctly, Rupert explained the enchantment he had mentioned. I had Gustavs people construct a complex illusion enchantment on the ring; it will cause you to appear as though you were still around twelve, as well as tweak your voice. It is strictly an illusion though; anyone who is already aware of the truth will not be affected by such a passive method, and it cannot fool touch. Accepting the ring and slipping it on my finger, I felt it drawing a small trickle of mana. Fortunately, it seemed like it was set up to automatically activate while worn, so it would not take from my focus. A quick glance at the mirror showed no change, but Rupert had said that the illusion wouldnt work on anyone who knew already, so that should be expected. I suppose its better to have than not Will my parents be safe? You wouldnt go to such lengths unless you deemed it necessary The kingdom is at war, isnt it. Indeed While not unexpected, it is troubling how my brother has acted. Thats an understatement! The game starts in a little over a year, and Prince Antonio goes and starts a civil war? Based on the events shown to me regarding Ruperts family meeting, a civil war was not unexpected. Antonio had clearly been either unstable or unwilling to accept the kings decision. All it would take was a little push in the right direction to provoke him to act Sitri. Rupert nodded, Indeed, I arrived at a similar conclusion after what you told me of your experiences. Likely, she has somehow incited my brother. I had hoped he would take this course of action, but doing it now is ill-timed. Even for him. How did the political landscape settle? Gustav can fill you in on that, I have a meeting with the Dukes that I am late for. Rupert stood and headed for the door before pausing, Im glad to see you recovered. Sure you are, you bet everything on bringing me in after all. Thank you. He nodded and then departed. Following his exit, a knight entered the room so that Gustav would not be left alone with me. That begged the question though, of how much the knight knew about our circumstances. Gustav picked up on my covert glance and elaborated. A small group of knights loyal to Ferdinand have been made aware of what happened to you. He is one of them. Other than that, Ladies Edith and Sarala know. Rosial is aware but I am not sure she comprehends. Jacqueline of course, and then Rupert and I. You have not told my parents? It would be too risky to tell them over such a long distance, even by magic. That being said, Rupert would prefer if you tell them; otherwise, they would perceive him to be secretly marrying a twelve-year-old. Well, given that the illusion will not work on touch, I will have to tell them anyway so he can be at ease Now, how have the nobles reacted? Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-2 Spirit of Friendship Stahlia, Sixteen Years Old, Ninth Month of 948 To answer my question about the state of the other noble houses, Gustav first sent for a map. Once it had arrived, he began indicating various parts of the kingdom while telling me about who controlled which. As had been expected, as a result of Ruperts machinations, the majority of the nobles had sided with him. His own faction had remained loyal after he made a show of ousting Count Francois and purging the few rogue elements that had been sided with him. The members of the late second princes faction had for the most part fallen under Ruperts banner, while the neutral nobles had followed Duke Claurence after his own public declaration of support. Only those nobles who were two close to the western regions, or who had already been members of the first princes faction had sided with Antonio. That left the traitor faction pretty heavily outnumbered, and out supplied. From a tactical perspective, even a layman like myself could see that they were in an inferior position. That begged the question of why the civil war had not been ended already. Well, it isnt quite so simple. The quality of their troops eclipses our own. Levels being equal, Duke Febligi and his own troops have far more combat experience and train more aggressively. In a straight fight, we would need somewhere around a three-to-one advantage, according to Commander Henrake. The actual number of troops is only around two to one, since Ruperts supporters were less militant. So whats the plan then? Ill do what I can to support, but Im not so great at tactics and strategy. You wont be taking part. It wouldnt look good politically to send a twelve-year-old girl to war, and his highness has other ways for you to contribute. Those can be discussed after the wedding though. For now, things have devolved into a stalemate. What if they feel backed into a wall? A cornered rat and all that. Gustav nodded, That is the plan. We control the bread-basket of the kingdom. Prince Antonios forces may have the martial edge, but they lack industry; the formerly neutral nobles having sided with his highness. So Prince Rupert wants to simply wait for now, and see if the opponent can be goaded into making a mistake? That seems ill-advised to me, especially if we suspect that Sitri and Five are with them, but I really cant comment on strategy Im smart, but not in that way. Just like the goblins, it would be better if I was deployed strategically, or in a support capacity. More or less, at the moment we are waiting for winter to set in. The food stores available should be dwindling come spring, and we have a terrain advantage, with the Ris mountains wrapping around the traitors anyways. They would have to pass through here, but enough of that. Leave the war to us for now, and go meet the people waiting for you. Gustav had a twinkle in his eye that had been missing for a while, ever since the revelation of his allegiance to Rupert. It was the same eccentric look he had back when I had accidentally-intentionally invented calculus. It made me think he was hiding something. What are you planning Gustav? He threw up his hands in greatly exaggerated indignation, Lies and slander, I have not schemed anything! Haaah Just tell me where everyone is. If Rupert and Gustav were going to let me stop for a bit, it was an opportunity that would be grasped wholeheartedly. After everything that had happened, some downtime would be greatly appreciated. After all, it was pretty obvious that things would be picking up again after the early wedding ceremony. If they were going to give me shore leave in the meantime, who was I to say no? Gustav gave me a quick rundown of what everyone was doing and the order they were available to visit. First up would be a tea with Edith and Sarala, followed by visiting Jacqueline in her room. Lastly, Felicity and Rosial. Originally, Rosial was supposed to be first but I insisted on rearranging things; I did not want a time limit on that reunion. Felicity wound up being merged with Rosial, but since they were both my little sisters that was probably for the best. As much as I wanted to have a private reunion, Felicity had already demonstrated anxiety and jealousy towards Rosial. I cant throw everything at Claire, I need to be responsible in raising her as well. After all, mom and dad arent here. Thankfully, I had grown used to moving with a somewhat large escort over the week before the battle, so the four knights that had been attached to me were somewhat easy to ignore. That was another thing I had insisted on; now that my engagement was public, Gustav had wanted to summon everyone to me, but that was just too much. After citing a desire to exercise and grow used to my new body, permission was given for me to be the one to do the visiting. I can already tell that this whole queen thing is going to be a pain. Then again, they did rearrange everything around my insistence, so it shouldnt be all bad Ill need to make sure I dont abuse that though, I would hate to be a pain in the ass. Putting all that aside for the time being, I addressed the leader of my escort. Commander, are we not going to the Claurence Estate? We were heading for one of the palaces side buildings instead of the entrance. At least, thats what it seemed like. I didnt know the layout of the palace but based on some of the light filtering through the window, it was evident we were moving closer to the mountain peak the palace was built around. It was possible that we were taking a scenic route, giving me a chance to look at the place, but that was unlikely. No, my lady. Lady Edith and Miss Sarala are being housed in one of the side buildings of the palace; it was his highness fear that some of the remaining shadows might attempt to harm them. One of the remaining Shadows? Indeed, while the Order has been dismantled following the revelation that its leader was a demon, not all of the operatives were accounted for among the dead. It is also quite possible that there are agents Count Francois kept hidden. I see, and so Prince Rupert is housing important persons within the palace? That is so. After answering my immediate question the knight commander fell silent. That was understandable; His job was to guard me, and me asking questions made that harder. He would answer me if I asked something but, beyond that, it was clear from his demeanor that he preferred to just do his job. Even if these four knew that things werent exactly simple, they did not know the whole story about how I had become Ruperts fiance. Instead of bothering my guards with questions that could be answered in more detail later by Gustav, I spent the time looking around the palace curiously. This was ostensibly my home now, so my curiosity should be understandable. Even if I tended to agree with Rupert that a lot of this was a waste of money. Unlike the room my comatose body had been given, the hallways we were walking down were dazzling. The walls were covered in a layer of fabric instead of paint or paper, and the areas that were exposed had been carved into murals that extended the pattern from the fabric. Those walls themselves were made of what appeared to be a high-quality marble, but my knowledge of stonework was limited. Every five or so meters, there was a bench made of some kind of dark wood, with indoor planters on either side of it. Several of the flowers being grown in them were known to me, as they possessed some trait or alchemical property. All of them were ingredients I had never expected to see in such quantities though, due to the prohibitive cost. Not that the effect was rare or difficult to obtain from other sources though. Occasionally there would be a doorway or a branch in the hallway we were walking down. Presumably, these all lead to other guest rooms or some other facility, though as far as I was aware they were currently empty. Not like I asked for a guest logbook or something though. But we havent passed anyone yet, and it wouldnt make sense for other people to be allowed near me while I was still asleep. The hall so far had been completely empty, with not even a servant or maid passing us. Granted, we were not going that far, as my friends were being housed relatively nearby to my own rooms. When my group arrived at the rooms being used by Edith and Sarala, the doors opened to reveal the two of them standing nervously. At least Edith was nervous, Sarala seemed somewhat composed in a strange reversal of the roles the two usually played. Enough of that. Just because my title changed, does not mean I want our friendship to as well. We, we are still friends? Edith looked up at me confusedly, After what happened? Everything was my fault! So shes upset about what happened with Dominic? Well, Im irritated that she couldnt get it through her head that I didnt like him, but she was charmed. Me holding that against her would be beyond petty. Besides, the number of people who know my full story is incredibly slim, I would rather keep them close I dont want to be alone again, like when it was just me and Jacqueline. Yes, you were not yourself; I do not blame you for anything that happened. Hell, you got Sarala stabbed but the two of you still seem really close, why would I be holding a grudge? Edith flinched away from my somewhat stern look, and mumbled under her breath, Well we had a bit of a talk about that Edith, Stahlia already knows about that, remember she appraised me? Wait, Sarala already told her? Damnit! I wanted to see that reaction! My own petty feelings aside, it was an unequivocally good thing that Sarala had told Edith the truth about her own heritage. Keeping one friends secret from another friend would have been painful, especially if the two of them were as inseparable as Edith and Sarala. Yes, I am already aware of Sarala not being human, it is relieving to see that that revelation hasnt driven a wedge between the two of you. We fell into a sort of awkward silence then. Sarala seemed to have taken a distance from things; she and I had no issues with each other, and she recognized that me and Edith coming to terms with each other would be the most important outcome of this get-together. For my part, I was content to wait for Edith to make the next move. After a few minutes, Ediths maid came in and offered us tea but otherwise things persisted in this manner. Just as the silence was becoming unbearable for me, Edith finally spoke up. You look a lot older. So shes decided to ignore the inconvenient bits, and forcibly move forward. I can work with that though it might cause some trouble later on Well, I did age four years in the past few months. Lady Stahlia, catching my grimace, Edith corrected herself, Stahlia, when you told Sarala there would be a cost to curing the charm, is this what you meant? I see Sarala told her about that part of the conversation. Oh well, not like theres anything to gain by keeping it a secret. Yea, more or less. Though I did not know exactly how much. In general, it seems that aging is the price I pay for using that ability. Then thank you for not using it on me. If I had been responsible for you going through that I As I said, it wouldnt have been your fault. Is that clear? After a seconds hesitation, Edith nodded, and a small smile broke out on her face, Thank you, Stahlia. For everything. Dont mention it. No really, dont mention it again. So, you and Sarala? Has anything changed now that she told you about being a spirit? Sarala shot me a pouty look when I used her as a subject change, but it was skillfully ignored. Edith shook her head, No, nothing has really changed; I was surprised at first, but after some time passed I realized that she hadnt really changed. Besides, you keep a demihuman around and treat her like a little sister, what would it say about me if I rejected my own best friend just because she wasnt human? Have you considered trying to learn spirit magic at all? This time it was Sarala who answered my question, We did, well sort of. The problem is, our contract is a bit unusual in how it was established; I dont actually know much about that topic since Im so young for a spirit. We can share mana with each other, but other than that We are not able to make much progress with actual spells or other functions. The way Edith seamlessly finished Saralas sentence was a bit jarring, but not really worth commenting on; evidently, they had grown closer after Sarala shared her secret. Is there anything I can help with? I might not know anything about Spirit Magic, but I am pretty good at Blood Magic and Chanting. No, this is something we should tackle by ourselves, I think. Well, as far as I can tell, Spirit Magic is kind of similar to Blood Magic, so I might ask you a few questions later. The two of them realized they had just spoken at the same time, and said two completely different things. Looking at each other, they shook their heads. Or maybe they arent as close as I thought. Edith had immediately rejected my offer, while Sarala had expressed interest in it; the two of them talking over the top of each other made me grin. Lets talk about this later. For now, you and Prince Rupert? I know the basics about why you did that, and that it wasnt for me. Still, I want to thank you for getting me out of that Is there anything I can do for you? Edith seemed to want to get off the topic of magic; considering how many times she had seen me and Sarala discussing the topic while ignoring our own surroundings, that made sense. The two of them would also need to confer and decide whether to take me up on my offer of assistance or not. Though I say I want to help them, I might not have a chance. Who knows what he meant when he said there were plans for me soon, and to take things easy for now. It isnt kids, thankfully; I still have some time before that happens If the public is to be fooled about my age, I cant go getting pregnant for a few more years That random train of thought had apparently shown itself on my face, as Edith looked at me with more genuine concern while Sarala looked a bit grim. Holding up my hand to show the ring on my finger, I shrugged, Were more or less married already. Me suddenly turning sixteen threw a bit of a wrench in the original plan, but things worked out. I see Not what you were expecting, was it? I know Prince Rupert can be a bit of a bore. Thats a pretty strong enchantment, to hide your new appearance? Prince Rupert sure is careful. Edith had focused on my feelings, while Sarala had jumped at the magic borne by the symbol of my situation. Something about the way they prioritized different aspects of my soon-to-be spouses personality made me glad to be able to call them my friends. Yea, the enchantment will make me look twelve or so, while also adjusting my voice. Though, it only works on people who dont already know about what happened; that would be why the two of you were unaffected. After a short pause, I decided I had better also address Ediths concerns, As for what I was expecting That doesnt matter. I entered the engagement of my own volition, and he has upheld all of his obligations and more. For everything I gained, marrying him isnt so bad. But you dont love him, do you? For some reason, Ediths assertion about love really ticked me off, and I snapped at her, No. And he doesnt love me either, is that a problem? Its what I expected and agreed to. We are using each other, thats all. My friend looked startled by my sharp tone, Sorry, I did not mean Its fine. Can we talk about something else, please? Waving her off with a quick hand gesture, the three of us took a few sips of the tea. Unfortunately, there really wasnt much else we could discuss. Things were still too strange, and it would take time for all of the recent happenings to settle down and allow us to return to how things had been before. As we sat around awkwardly nibbling at pastries, I couldnt help but worry. What if we cant go back to how things were? What if this distance just keeps growing larger? The change in our relative statuses was big enough, but that was still surmountable; Edith was friends with Sarala; a dukes daughter and an apparent commoner. I was friends with Sana and Sarala, a barons daughter and two commoners. Prince Rupert had Gustav, who while a noble, was certainly below a prince. Then again, are they really friends? Gustav definitely adopts a subservient role when with Rupert Even if he does call him more casually I dont want this friendship to turn out like that! There was also the cause of my age. Even if we got past the issue of status, I was sixteen now. Edith was twelve. That age gap didnt usually have a whole lot of friendships. Then again, Sarala is seven herself, and Im over forty if I consider Georges life as well as my own. But that leaves the question of physical appearance. I might look twelve to the casual observer, but Sarala and Edith both see my real appearance. Can they look past that? Ha! The laugh came from Sarala, and the sudden sound caused both me and Edith to look up at her in surprise. Sarala? Are you ok? Yes, Im alright, I was just thinking; Stahlia always got so jealous about how much more developed you were. As she answered Ediths question, she fixed me with a cool stare, So jealous that she went and used magic to jump ahead and fill out before us. She finished speaking by giving a thumbs up and winking at me, Nice! Edith was rather unamused and mildly freaking out, Sarala!? You cant talk like that! Hmm? Why not? You were saying how jealous you were when you came back from apologizing on behalf of your father earlier, werent you? Sarala! Ha! Haha! Saralas antics coupled with Ediths desperate reaction were just too much for me, and after the earlier tension I couldnt help myself; I started laughing. Edith, its fine, isnt it? Shes not wrong I did get jealous with how slowly I was growing. Yea Edith, what Stahlia said. You too!? Edith whirled around to look at me in mortified shock, I cant believe Sarala, why would you say something like that? Sarala shrugged, Is it really a big deal? after pausing for a moment, she grinned and slapped her palm with her other hand, closed into a fist, I see! This is a cultural difference. For someone like me who doesnt have a real physical body, I dont really understand jealousy over those attributes. Sorry for touching a nerve, Lady Edith. Ignoring the fact that you gave Edith a title just now, what the hell? Now that we know your secret, youre going to play that card? Oh, Im a spirit so I dont understand! As if! You said what you said on purpose, to try and cut the tension before something happened! Still, it had been effective. The earlier awkward atmosphere had fallen off completely, replaced with Ediths embarrassment. That being said, bullying her was mean so I moved to contain things before they went too far in the other direction. Edith, let her be; I was jealous, but dont worry; Im sure youll pass me again in a few years. Keeping a deadpan expression and tone was difficult, but I managed in the end. For my efforts, I was rewarded by Edith slowly breaking out into a smile and throwing up her hands in exaggerated resignation, Fine! I was a bit jealous when I saw you, and maybe I said some things. But it doesnt matter how much you cheat, Ill always be bigger! As she was no longer looking at her, Sarala gave me a covert thumbs-up, and the corner of my mouth raised into a slight smile. Now that things had unwound, we spent the remainder of the get together reminiscing about the past, and I gave the two of them a very abbreviated version of my time in the afterlife; though I left out a lot of the details that could be considered confidential. In the end, I did not gain everything I had wanted, but the time had certainly not been wasted. I meant to ask about how things are going with the rest of the Claurence family, and maybe glean some insight into what I missed, but thats fine; retaining Edith and Sarala as close friends was more important. I can always learn about the past in the future, but losing my close friends would be impossible to recover from. Those were my thoughts as we wrapped things up with the promise to meet each other again soon. That would be fairly easy to arrange since the two of them were living in the palace for the time being, though there was one sticking point. Next time, let us come to you. Edith was looking at me seriously, and behind her Sarala was nodding in agreement. But I dont want status to get in the way of our friendship Thats not the issue; imagine how it looks from the outside, the queen to be going out of her way to visit a dukes daughter and her commoner attendant? You might be fine, but it will cause me and my father a lot of trouble. When you put it like that I guess I just have to get used to how things are now I mumbled the last bit dejectedly, but that didnt stop Edith from picking up on it. Behind closed doors, Ill treat you the same as we always have, but in public thats not possible. Im sorry. The exchange reminded me of a similar event from before my coma, when Gustav had suddenly started treating me as a superior, despite being both my elder and my teacher. It just went to show how things had changed as a result of my new station. And things are going to continue changing, especially now that news has been made public I guess this is probably one of the reasons that I was given until after the wedding to just spend time with friends before re-entering the public eye. Damnit, this is going to be really hard, isnt it? My next meeting especially was probably going to be difficult. Taking a deep breath, I waved aside the guard knight and knocked on the door myself, Jacqueline, its me is it ok if I come in? From the other side of the door, a familiar, muffled voice called out. Lady Stahlia!? Of course! Why wouldnt it be? Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-3 Maid At Jacquelines call, my group entered her room. It was nice, though less decorated than the ones being used by Edith and myself. Understandable of course, and not really worth noting. Jacqueline was sitting in a chair that had a pair of wheels and an axel bolted onto it. Unlike a modern wheelchair, this one was clearly an ordinary chair at first with the wheels being added on after. Crude, but it would work. Is there any reason they didnt just make one? That wouldnt be so hard. Jacqueline How are you? Her head turned to face me. Her expression was sad, but lit up with a smile when she saw my concern. My lady, I am gladdened to see you have recovered. Nope, not allowing that. Arms crossed, I raised myself up to my new full height and tilted my head to look down at her. Jacqueline, how are you? Be honest. Perhaps it had something to do with the reversal of our positions; I had always been the mistress and she the servant, but this was the first time I was actually looking down on her from a higher position without need of a boost. Even if it was because she was seated. Jacquelines smile fell off and her shoulders slumped looking down and away from me she mumbled, barely audible, I failed. I failed and have become useless. Without changing my posture, I waited for her to continue. My lady, you gave me back my past. Instead of thanking you, I failed to protect you. More than that, before abandoning you I besmirched your name. I am unfitting to call myself your vassal, you should leave me and continue moving forward. Has she been wallowing in this self-pity the whole time I was asleep? Blaming herself? I am the one who has been constantly betraying her trust. Using her. Running around recklessly and forcing her to clean up the mess. When it seemed like she was done speaking for the moment, I unfolded my arms and pulled a chair over from the side table so that my eyes could meet her own on even ground. You moron. Jacquelines eyes widened at my statement; it had clearly not been what she was expecting me to say. Unperturbed, my speech had only just begun. I do not want to hear talk like that from you. You have always been there for me, even when I didnt deserve it. Whenever I failed, you picked me up and covered for me. So what if you lost your arm? You never complained. Even if it made your work a struggle, you put in more effort and pressed on. Sure, losing your legs is different; no amount of effort would be enough to overcome this. Her face turned downcast, but I had merely spoken the truth. But so what? So what if you cant walk anymore? So what if you cant fight? Why do you think for even a second that I would just get rid of you? Jacquelines eyes flashed, Thats the problem, my lady. You should get rid of me. I can do nothing to help you as I am now, to hold on for my sake would be the height of folly. I crossed my arms and sat back in my chair while closing my eyes, Jacqueline, what gives you the right to tell me that? My lady, I mean no offense; I speak only the truth as I see it. Then on top of your legs, you have also gone blind. Opening my eyes, I saw that Jacqueline had frozen. I pressed the attack. You have twice sworn yourself to my service. Twice I have betrayed that oath, yet still, you call me your lady. In the future I will need to abandon people, people will live and die by my words and actions People already have. Asten, Kurtis, Dent, Adam. Dont tell me I should leave you now. I already know that would be the smarter thing to do. I dont care. She looked like she was about to protest something, but a wave of my hand silenced whatever it was. Besides, I was told what you did for my sister. Why would you do that, if you claim to have failed me, and think I should cast you aside? ...Because, she reminded me of myself Jacquelines voice was small as she spoke, but I picked up on it clearly. Because of what happened? The memories you recovered when I removed the worm? Yes. I, I remembered everything. My old life, before my own Dedication. It was I remember things that should have faded as if they happened yesterday. It was, is, disconcerting Now I understand what you meant when you would occasionally complain about your skill, and why the shadows who obtained it went insane from the experience She trailed off and we sat in silence. There were a few things to be said about what her breakdown had revealed, but for now, it would be best to hold my tongue. Jacqueline needed some time to cool her head, and pressing the issue immediately would not be good for what I needed to accomplish here today. After a few minutes, she finally began speaking again. Haltingly, but slowly gaining confidence as she went on. My own recruitment, was a messy affair My family was poor, so we didnt have much we didnt have much space, since we were so close always, my older sister, she got caught up in things. Instead of replacing me with, one of those things. They just killed off my family, and nobody cared. How do you know nobody cared? It was a struggle to keep my voice calm when she revealed what she had remembered to me. I wanted very much to let my anger at Five and the shadows out in my tone, but that wouldnt help things. Because I checked. The past few months have been well, there wasnt much for me to do, so I asked after Lord Gustav, and he agreed to have it looked into for me, as a favor to you My apologies, for using your name without permission, Lady Stahlia. That statement was promptly and succinctly waved off. Had I been awake, it was a request that would have been granted without question. Her acting on her own here was entirely permissible. Pay that no mind, what did you learn? There was not even an investigation. It was not like their bodies were hidden in anyway, rather they were simply left to rot. We were so poor that when my family turned up dead, nobody bothered to look into the cause. Im sorry to hear that. Are you sure it was not because of the Order putting pressure on the authorities? Jacqueline merely shook her head. Again, the two of us fell into silence for a time. After waiting to see if she would continue and receiving no further comments, I got up and moved to one of the counters. Jacqueline made no move to follow me with her eyes, seemingly lost in some memory or simply content to think of nothing at all while staring off into space. A quick ruffle through the cabinet revealed a stock tea kettle and some decent, though not luxurious, leaves. Even though this was only a servants room it still came equipped with a magic-powered water faucet so filling the kettle was easy. Right, deep breaths. It might have been better to chant the [Boil Water] spell, but given the present state of my status sheet, using anything that stemmed from the system was a mildly frightening prospect. Especially given how my corrupted [Eidetic Memory] had tossed me into a flashback, forcing me to relive character creation. There was also the fact that I needed to practice controlling my mana again, so that I didnt break anything by using too much too quickly. The first try instantly boiled off all of the water, creating a puff of steam that caused my guard knights to start. Thankfully, it was a potential outcome that was easily predicted, so the top of the kettle had been left open. If I hadnt done that, then there may have been a more violent steam explosion. Jacqueline showed no reaction to this occurrence though, a fact that was a bit concerning. Once my knights had been reassured that there was no danger, it was time to try again. Once again, the water flash steamed and left the kettle dry. The third time though, I managed to only evaporate half the water. The other half was left at a raging boil, which calmed to a more reasonable level after adding cold water to refill. Adding the leaves, it was time to wait for them to properly steep. To aid this along, the kettle gently shook as I moved it around in tiny circles. Once the water was dyed a rich dark color and began to emit a pungent odor, it was time to pour. Two cups and saucers were placed at the table, Would you please wheel her over here? The knight gave a start at my request but followed the order. Once Jacqueline had been moved to her place, I pulled my chair around so it was next to her. In retrospect, I was not exhibiting the disposition required of my station, making the tea myself and caring for a maid to such an extent. Not that that would bother me at all, the knights would just have to deal with it. Carefully pouring the brew out into the two cups, my hand reached out and clasped Jacquelines. When she felt the handle of her cup she instinctively gripped it firmly, much to my relief. I sat back in my chair to wait for any change in her demeanor while gripping my own cup firmly in hand. As she looked into the cup, as though trying to locate the meaning to life or some other philosophical question of great importance, light and color slowly returned to her eyes and cheeks. It took her a few minutes longer before she slowly began to lift the cup. Once it was being held below her nose, she paused and inhaled the smell of the tea leaves, a small smile starting at the corner of her lips and spreading out as she did so. Satisfied, I went to take a sip of my own tea, and immediately gagged as the foul liquid hit my tongue. What the hell!? The leaves might have been poorer quality than Ive grown used to, but that doesnt explain how it tastes so completely awful! What the hell!? Before any solution came to me, Jacqueline began to move the rim of her cup towards her own mouth. Oh shit! That isnt good! Jacqueline, wait, My warning came too late though, and I watched in horror as she took a sip of the biologically hazardous substance I had endeavored to poison her with. A long moment passed as she rolled the liquid around in her mouth before swallowing. The whole time, her expression remained neutral. Lady Stahlia, thank you for the thought but in the future, please allow me to brew any tea you wish to have. I tried to warn you. Indeed. It seemed that she had returned somewhat to her earlier disposition, but that was unacceptable. Jacqueline, I dont want you to make the tea. I wanted to make it, for you. Its my fault that things turned out the way they did, and Im working to fix it, but I dont know when that will happen. Until then, let me help you? Even if you think I should let you go, let me look out for you for a change. She looked at me in mild surprise, but I ignored it and pressed on. You have always been there for me, look where that got you. Now, its my turn to be there for you, ok? Dont act like my servant. Let me make the tea, let me make sure you have everything you need, and let me be the one for you to lean on when things are hard. Thats I do not think that, No buts. I do not want to make it an order, but I will if you make me. Thankfully, after a moment Jacqueline relented. Smiling wanly, she agreed though with a condition of her own. If you insist, just allow me to re-teach you how to brew tea, and please do not go out of your way. I can accept that Thank you, Jacqueline. The first request was easy enough to follow; not to toot my own horn, but once long ago my tea-making ability had been quite good. Apparently, having lost the benefit of my perfect memory, and having spent the past several years with everything being done for me had caused my non-system skills to rust. The second request was also a no-brainer. Obviously, it would be impossible for me to personally care for Jacqueline every day the way she had for me. My obligations were numerous and would only continue to grow. Still, I could ensure that she had the help she needed until things had been fixed. Now that we had reached an accord, and Jacqueline was somewhat dragged out of her shell though, it was time to make sure she didnt retreat back into it. Setting aside the awful not-tea, I asked her a question that had been nagging at the back of my mind since first coming to learn of the subject, Jacqueline, what exactly have you told Rosial about me? My former maid nodded, Right, the young lady was curious about your past. About things that had happened after she was taken. At least, I think that is the case she is still quite confused, even so many months later. On a hunch, I quickly cut in with another question, That sounds like a pretty heavy topic, are you sure that the only reason you spoke with her about it was that she reminded you of yourself? Jacqueline paused in thought, then slowly shook her head. No I was quite distraught when I woke up and was told you were in a coma again. I knew what was happening, but part of me I was afraid you wouldnt wake up at all, and that it would be the result of my own failure She caught my eyebrows, raised in mild irritation that she was still blaming herself. I was afraid that I would be left alone, right after being given back my past. That, those memories, reminded me of what I used to have with my own sister. I think, that I saw the two of us in you and Lady Rosial. Thought it might be something like that. Well, from what I hear, those stories have been helping Rosial hold on to what she has left My voice trailed off as thoughts of my sister drifted through my head. You havent seen her yet, have you? You should go, I can wait. No, this is fine. I dont Im still not even sure what I will say when I see her It might be pathetic, but in a way, I suppose I am using you to run away from that, even if it is inevitable. As I spoke, I shook my head sadly. Jacqueline raised an eyebrow, Is that not exactly the kind of thing you just told me not to dwell on? She had a point, annoyingly enough; I was more or less forcing her to move on, while at the same time running away myself. There was one small difference though. Perhaps, but I will be seeing her today and the last time I saw her, I killed her. Saying that made it feel like a weight I didnt even know was there had been lifted off my shoulders. It was liberating to say out loud to someone else. Jacqueline nodded slowly. I heard about that when they were telling me what happened I can imagine what that must be like, but you know? Rosial doesnt seem to mind. Now that was interesting. What do you mean, she doesnt seem to mind? Jacqueline reached out to the tea kettle and slid it towards me, Could, could you empty this? From her tone, it sounded like the idea of asking me to do something was uncomfortable, but she would just have to get used to it. Yes, allow me. I took the kettle over to the sink and emptied it out then, at Jacquelines next request, refilled it and brought it back to the table. Plucking up some of the leaves from earlier, she began to walk me through the process of brewing the tea, from the start. As we worked, she told me a bit about Rosial. As I was saying, I do not think that she hates you for killing her, as strange as that sounds. Honestly, I am a bit unsure if she even understands that she died in the first place, she knows what death is, of course. But the way she tells the story, all you did was cut her and put her to sleep; when she woke up, the wound was gone The kettle was now singing loudly, so Jacqueline paused herself and swiftly removed the lid before adding the leaves while I watched on. Covering the lid, she left the kettle to sit and continued, Frankly, it is a bit concerning the way she views the whole thing; in her own words, my sisters stab was beautiful. The way she talks, its like shes gone a bit mad already. Not surprising, given what she must have been through Jacquelines eyes grew distant again, it was clear she had become lost in memory once more. I could of course pull her out of it, but that probably wouldnt be the best thing for me to do. The better course of action would be to simply let her reminisce, as long as she did not become completely lost in the past. A minute later she was back and took the lid of the kettle. Straining out the leaves, she poured two cups and passed one to me, What do you think you did wrong? After taking a sip of the offered tea, it seemed to dance over my tongue. My own had been positively vile, but what Jacqueline had produced had a rich, silky flavor. After considering for a bit, my conclusion was that, Was it because I made it too quickly? I was stirring it to make the steeping go faster Jacqueline nodded, Thats partially right. You also used magic to heat the water, thats going to change the flavor of the water a bit Not usually enough to notice, but it looked like you were having trouble regulating your mana? You were watching! Jacqueline responded to my indignant retort with a small, sad smile, Of course, I was trained to always be conscious of everything around me just another example of how I failed after you helped me. There is no excuse for how removed and withdrawn I became. Knock it off, I have already told you that you did nothing wrong, so stop apologizing to me. It would take time for Jacqueline to come to terms with that; her training coupled with the way I myself had acted towards her made it so that these scars ran deep. But I would stick things out, for as long as I had to. Of course. Jacqueline, It is my fault that things turned out the way they did. Well, going back I probably would have made all the same choices, given the information I had at the time, but that does not change the fact that things wound up in such a state because of me. I want to fix that. So please bear with me? Jacqueline paused, then smiled ruefully, Honestly, if I did not already know, I would wonder which of us was older. Thank you, Stahlia. Her response made me happier than anything else she could have said. The fact that she left of my title was a tacit agreement that she would allow me to look after her until things had been fixed. Then, the reference to our ages and wondering who was older was a reaffirmation of our trust. It was a sure thing that not all of her resistance had been overcome, but she was willing to try. That alone meant more to me than anything, and as I prepared myself to go to my next meeting somehow I knew that it would work out. Damnit, even when Im helping you, you still wound up helping me! Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-4 Sisters It was time for my final reunion, at least for now. There were a few other people I would like to see, such as Sana and Giogi, the latter of whom I regret to say, but I had completely forgotten in the wake of everything. Poor Giogi, I really hope you managed to get out alright, even Gustav didnt bring you up. He would have been around the Francois Estate when things went down. Although we were not super close friends, if he had gotten hurt because of his involvement with me it would be troubling. The state of those two was something to be discussed with Gustav later, for now, it was time to face the music. Talking with Jacqueline had eased my nerves about the coming encounter somewhat, however they had returned in force now that I was looking at the door to Rosials rooms. Taking a deep breath, and raising my hand to knock, I had to jump out of the way as the door flew open. What do you mean that was too much? Felicity did what you said! To the casual observer, Felicity had just thrown the door open, nearly blowing me away, and was now talking to herself. Of course, that was not the case. If I had to guess, I would say that her sense of smell picked me up on the other side of the door, and Claire realized I was waffling about instead of announcing myself. We would need to have words later. Shes fine, stand down. At my sharp order, the knight who was about to grab Felicity fell back into line. The overblown reaction was understandable when you consider what just happened from his point of view so I was not upset. Felicity? Smiling sweetly at the rambunctious girl, I advanced. EEH! Menacing! Making a dated reference, she turned on her heel and attempted to flee back inside the room, but I was faster and able to catch her by the scruff of her neck. Honestly, the things she shows you Relax, I am not going to hurt you. Felicity had done her best impression of a dead fish after I caught her, going completely limp. At my words, she giggled. Felicity knows, we were just having fun! That being said, you need to be more careful, and reflect on your actions; no head pats or ear scratchies today. The look of sheer mortification and distress on her face at my announcement would have melted even the coldest heart, but luckily I had already died once; my heart was made of sterner stuff. It was damn hard to resist though. How is Rosial? Moving quickly to change the conversation before my decision wavered, I asked after my blood sister. Felicitys face turned dark for a brief instant before she wiped the expression away with an innocent enough smile, Rosial Imoutochan is inside, she wants to meet our big sister! That emphasis isnt a good sign. I knew Rosial was a few months younger, but if Felicity is fixating on that, it means shes feeling like she needs to compensate Maybe meeting them together was the wrong choice? No, if I had picked one or the other, it would make the left-out party feel like I was playing favorites. I need them to get past feelings like that I see, can you, can you introduce us? Letting my true feelings show on my face, it displayed all of the nervousness and anxiety I was feeling at this moment. My show of weakness had the desired effect, as Felicitys own expression turned serious. Yes, Rosial Imouto is a bit scared too, but she doesnt think Felicity knows; she doesnt know Felicity can smell it. Taking my hand, Felicity pulled me towards the door. Behind me, one of the knights made a snickering sound, which I ignored splendidly. Upon entering the room, my eyes saw Rosial for the first time in nearly four years. Granted, I had technically seen her just a few months ago, but given what had happened then, I would rather forget it had happened at all. She was nervously pacing the length of the room, in a manner unlike a child her age. The sight of it reminded me of everything she must have been through, and I recalled the details of what Jacqueline had told me vividly, even without relying on Eidetic Memory. The desire to run up and hug her was strong but owing to our last meeting, my legs seemed unwilling to take that action. A moment later she saw me and stopped her errant pathing. Looking where she had just been walking, I would have sworn she had worn the carpet down somewhat. We locked eyes in a silence so thick that I could hear my heart thumping in my chest. Rosial, Sister, Both of us started talking at the same time and fell silent in turn. You go first. No, you go first. I was about to continue the clich, but thought better of it and held my tongue. After another moment of waiting to see if I would speak, Rosial began talking. Stahlia, sister, I Wait, where did you go!? Whirling her head around, as though searching the room for someone, Rosial seemed to be in a panic over something, by the sounds of it someone was missing. Rosial? I did not go anywhere; I am still right here. I took a step towards her, but a small tug on my back halted my movement. Stahlia Neechan, dont Rosial Imoutochan doesnt mean you I think she means her imaginary friend Imaginary friend? What does Claire mean by that? Still, the fact that she had one, and even seemed to have been hallucinating its presence, was a bit concerning. Normally a child having an imaginary friend or two was not a big deal but given Rosials past traumas, it was a bit concerning. It was gratifying that Felicity seemed to genuinely care about Rosial, for now I needed to do something to help Rosial. To that end, I gently removed Felicitys hand from the hem of my skirt. Slowly approaching her while being sure to stay in vision, I reached out a hand to grasp my sisters shoulder. The contact caused her to give a start, but after a moment she seemed to recognize where she was and who I was. Stahlia? Where did Stali go? So the name of her imaginary friend is Stali? Everything was starting to make sense, slowly but surely. I dont know where she went, do you want to go look for her? My question received a tenuous nod in response, but it was something to work with. Taking Rosial in one hand, I collected Felicity in the other and led the way out of the room. Of course, there was no doubt in my mind that we would find neither head nor hair of Stali that being said, we did not need to. What can you tell me about Stali? Shes always there to protect me! My sisters face lit up at the opportunity to talk about her imaginary friend. Really? How long have you known her? Ever since I left the black place Noting Rosials change in tone, I decided to change the subject away from her past. How has everything been since Since I died? The nice man gives me whatever I need, but I miss Mr. Five Right, I guess that makes sense. Im sure that asshole was manipulative as all hell. Ill have to really twist the knife when our paths cross next. The nice man? Rosial nodded, The nice man, the one who found me and the broken tool Ow! Hearing Rosial calling Jacqueline a broken tool had caused me to subconsciously tighten my grip on her hand, which had obviously hurt her. Quickly letting go, I apologized, Sorry! I didnt mean to hurt you My sister shrugged it off, Its ok, it didnt hurt that much You really care about her, and me, dont you? It was subtle, but her tone had changed a bit. It was less childish, more like someone who had been through something rather extreme. From what I had seen, this was probably the result of the memories she had gotten back from the third figment. In this state, shes probably a bit more stable But should I encourage this version? That could wind up suppressing her remaining innocence, but if I try and suppress this version of her it would be like denying the past Yes, I care about both of you, Felicity as well. Family is important to me. It didnt seem like treating Rosial like a simple child would be for the best. Much like Felicity, her life had forced her to grow up quickly, though unlike Felicity her mind was a lot more troubled. My feline sister was capable of moments of extreme maturity, but she had a guiding force in Claire. Rosial didnt have that, so her own mental state was incredibly unstable. Case in point, creating an imaginary friend. Normally it wouldnt mean anything, but shes way too attached. Have you seen Stali anywhere? Rosial shook her head, No, but I dont think that matters. What? You freaking out was the reason Im entertaining this search! What do you mean? Frowning, Rosial adopted a voice like this was something obvious that I should know automatically, Stali isnt real, so shell come back on her own if I just wait long enough. So her personality is totally fractured then. The mature version knows and accepts reality, while the more childish version needs constant attention Well, if thats the case, what do you want to do? Rosials eyes lit up, I want to spar! No, not happening. Her expression fell, but this was something that would not be tolerated. The last thing I wanted was to have that kind of relationship with my sister. Felicity tugged on my hand, trying to get my attention. When I looked over at her, she motioned with her free hand to get my attention. Lending her an ear, she offered a bit of advice, courtesy of Claire. Claire Neechan says that you should do it. Claire probably had her reasons, but I couldnt imagine what they might be. Fighting Rosial was the least desirable outcome here, the one thing that logic dictated should not happen under any circumstance. But if Claire thinks that I should Maybe its for the best? This was not going how I had expected it to. On one hand, I didnt know what I had been expecting. Certainly not a pleasant tea party like with Edith and Sarala, nor a tearful commiseration like with Jacqueline. Maybe sparing with her was for the best after all. It was what she wanted to do after all. But was that really behavior that should be tolerated, should be encouraged? It felt like we were at a crossroads like whatever was decided here would influence Rosials recovery. Because she would recover. Even if she had to be dragged along kicking and screaming the whole way, I would be certain to ensure that much at the very least. But that was for later, for now Taking a deep breath, I decided to trust Claires judgment, Once. Only one match, then well be doing something else, alright? Rosials face immediately lit up at my words. Hurray! Turning to the knight commander, I inquired about a place where we could do this thing at. Meanwhile, Rosial had become quite fidgety and was excitedly hopping from foot to foot, shifting her weight around as she went. I really hope I dont regret this Our party was guided to a practice room that was presently unused; normally it would be for the guards of whoever was staying in these rooms, but since Rosial and Felicity were being guarded by the regular palace knights, there was nobody to get in our way. Rosial moved some distance away from me, gripping a wooden knife. The two of us fell into a ready stance in mirror of each other; both of us were using the same style after all. The question is, should I win or throw? The idea of Rosial winning through her own abilities was laughable; the only way she could do so was through a stroke of luck so astronomically unlikely it wasnt even calculable. That probably sounded incredibly cocky and self-assured of me, but it was the honest truth. The gap between us was simply too large. Even if I did not utilize Blood Magic, the odds of her being able to beat me were slim at best; I highly doubted she was as high leveled as me. Probably around level ten, fifteen at most. She would be high for her age, definitely, but knowing how much experience was needed to hit twenty I really hoped she wasnt. It was something that could be checked and would be easy enough to do so, but I decided not to do so. At least until after our match, if her stats were known to me beforehand then it would change my plan of approach. That would not be fair to her. I think, winning would be best, but I should let her showoff a bit before I do it. Felicity seemed a bit grumpy; even if she had relayed Claires message that didnt mean she wasnt feeling neglected, but for now she was holding her peace. I hope she doesnt want to fight as well, though if she does, Ill probably just have to do it. The guard captain asked me if this was really alright and when I answered in the affirmative, he moved to a position where he could serve as a referee for the bout. Holding up one of his hands, he made a chopping motion. Rosial began to circle me, slowly. Rotating to keep her in view at all times, my pace being set by her own. This persisted for a while, neither of us willing to move first. Eventually though, Rosial grew fed up with my passivity and activated a skill of her own. A few mirages matching her own appearance separated from her body and walked in mirror of her. My eyes seemed incapable of focusing on any of them, sliding right off after a second or two. I was aware of where she and her mirage clones were, but it was like they didnt exist like my brain refused to register their presence. They were advancing towards me steadily, the cadence of their footsteps synced perfectly with my heartbeat. Right, well, I can still probably block her attack, but this will make it more difficult. Of course it wouldnt be so easy. If I couldnt perceive her with my normal senses, I would just have to augment them. Using Blood Magic to fill my eyes and ears with mana, I enhanced them. Applying an aspect wasnt needed here, as all that mattered was overpowering Rosials skill with my own mana. I was banking on the fact that my own capacity was higher than hers of course, but that was definitely the case. Sure enough, the mirages faded away from my vision and it was once again possible for me to properly perceive her existence. Just in time as well, since she was a lot closer than I had realized. Hurriedly throwing up my own wooden blade in a guard, I was able to block her attack as she lunged at me. Knocking her own weapon out of her hand with a quick slap, I assumed that was the end of things. That was a misjudgment on my part, after all, a battle isnt won by simply disarming your opponent. Rosials foot nearly caught me in the sternum, it would have, had I not leaned back at the last moment. A feat only made possible due to my [Kinetic Perception] skill letting me see the attack coming. So that skill was mostly working, what gives with Eidetic Memory forcing flashbacks instead of just letting me remember detail? Questions for later, for now I had a duel to wrap up. Darting forward and grabing Rosials foot, I used it to put her on the ground. Gently of course; hurting her through my own actions anymore than had already been done was unthinkable. Do you yield? She glared up at me and struggled for a moment before going limp, Fine. Not that I was going to fall for that, Say it. I yield. I let her get up; if she hadnt admitted defeat clearly she might have tried to continue things. After dusting herself off Rosial fixed me with a pouty face, complete with puffed cheeks. You didnt even try to take that seriously! What? Why would I fight you seriously? I didnt even want to fight in the first place! What do you mean? She crossed her arms and glared at me, When you beat me last time, it was so pretty But here, you didnt do anything at all! I I guess that makes sense She only knows assassin and fighting work, so its very likely that shes somehow equating this to affection in some sort of twisted attempt to interact with me? Or Im completely wrong Damn it! Why is this stuff so hard!? I bit my lip and closed my eyes, Sorry, Rosial. I did not realize you felt that way If you want, we can practice more later on, but for now, dont you think that Felicity feels alone? I really hope I dont regret this Was this why Claire told me I should go along with her? I want to help her recover what little of her childhood she has left, not mold her into a perfect killer! Rosial looked over at Felicity, who was watching from the sidelines with a complicated expression that was halfway between jealousy and awe. For what it was worth, the knights as well seemed somewhat surprised by the fight as well. Even I hadnt been expecting something like that mirage step thing. Speaking of which, now that the fight was over it would be alright for me to try and appraise her. I activated my Divine Eyes and couldnt see her status. Looking at Rosial with my divine eyes, I could see her mana just fine, but her status didnt show up at all. Looking over at Felicity demonstrated that things were working correctly since her status showed up without issue. To get a third point of comparison, I quickly checked one of the knights but was likewise unable to view his status. So, it works on Felicity, but not Rosial, and not the Knight. I didnt check Jacqueline, Edith, or Sarala, but it probably wouldnt work on them either It might work on Stil, and if it does then I would know what the criteria is. My working theory for this new sight-based appraisal was that it required the target and I to be soul-linked, or have been soul-linked before. That was hopefully not the case, since it would make the ability almost entirely useless. Ill try it on Stil first, then with permission, on Rupert. Until then, best not to worry about it. Using my original Appraisal method on Rosial was out of the question, at least until I got my mana control back under control; I did not want to turn my sister into frozen sister pieces. Come on Felicity, Rosial, lets go back to my rooms. It is getting late. Rosial looked confused by this suggestion, but Felicitys face immediately lit up happily. Yay! Stahlia, why would we go there if its getting late? I gave Rosial a warm smile, To sleep. But our beds arent in your room. Correct, but my bed is. So will we sleep on the floor? Are you kidding with me? No, you two will be sleeping with me. But why though? This exchange was going nowhere, but I had entertained Rosials desire to fight me, now she would entertain my desire for a sleepover. Because. Rosial seemed to decide it wasnt a topic she would get a satisfactory answer to, so she simply went along with it. We got back to my room and had a meal together, just the three of us. After dinner, it was time for girl talk, or it would be if Edith and Sarala were here. Felicity and Rosial were both a bit young for that stuff. Instead of talking about boys, I taught them a series of games from Earth. Felicity already knew most of these, but be owing to Claires guiding force she at least pretended to be new. At first, Rosial was having a hard time figuring out why things like Patty Cake were fun, but eventually she slowly started to enjoy herself. It probably helped that she was naturally competitive, and Felicity turned out to be a good rival for that. By the time it was time for bed, both girls had grown tired enough that they fell asleep quite quickly. When morning came, both were sleeping peacefully on either side of me. Psycholor Birth of the World Tree, by Rita152 The story might be a bit of an adjustment, since it is written in present-tense and follows at least two (so far) main characters. That being said, the plot is well structured, and the characters feel quite real. Mechanically, the story makes good use of English, with no glaring issues. In my opinion, the chapters are on the short side, but they are quite well packed with information so the world feels alive and believable. Plot-wise, the first arc does a lot of stage setting with the "main main character", but uses a second main character to keep the reader from getting bored. I am really looking forward to the eventuality of the two main characters finally crossing paths, as has been foreshadowed a great deal throughout all of the first arc... If you pay attention, you can even see a few other details that make future events quite intriguing. 5-5 Growing Pains Stahlia, Sixteen Years Old, Tenth Month of 948 A few days after my initial recovery, I was awoken by a lump landing on my bed. It was a bit bigger than usual, by about double. Still asleep. The lump separated into two and crawled onto either side of me. This was as expected, as this same phenomenon had occurred the previous three mornings as well. A quiet barely suppressed giggling betrayed the identity of one of my would-be assassins, followed by a Tch! to reveal the other. Since they had both made noise, it was now time to wake up. Aahhh, good morning you two, sleep well? Sitting up and stretching my arms dramatically, I looked at Felicity and Rosial. Felicity, you ruined it! The girl in question pouted a bit while apologizing, Sorry The ears going flat is a nice touch Claire, if youre actually controlling them right now that is. After Felicitys transformation into a Nekomata, Claire had apparently stopped controlling the senses every hour of every day; [Talent Void] seemed to protect Felicity from the worst side effects of her abilities so Claire had shifted into a different role, though she still took control sometimes. Now now, none of that. Rosial, Felicity just doesnt have the same experience you do. The first time they had played Assassins had given me mixed feelings, but the past few days had allowed me to grow somewhat used to it, for better or worse. At the very least, the two of them playing together had to be a good thing, I just wished they would go for a less violent game. Not that there was any violence involved; from my understanding, they would win if they got close enough to wake me up by tapping my forehead. They lost if I woke up ahead of time, as had been the case today. Im just glad that Rosial hasnt brought up Stali since that first time hopefully my presence here is having a stabilizing effect It was my assumption that Stali had been created by a fragment of suppressed memory stemming from the desire to hold on to her past. Now that the past was with her again so to speak, Stali wasnt needed anymore so her subconscious was letting go. Granted, I wasnt a psychologist so I could be wildly off base, but that hope was all there really was to go on so I would cling to it. After shooing the two from my bed so that my day could begin, I got up and rang a small bell. Sasha, my new maid, came in and began to help me get ready. My Lady, His Highness Prince Rupert sent word that he would be somewhat late for todays meeting, how should I respond? Tell him that is fine. Very well, Lord Gustav wishes to speak with you regarding the upcoming ceremonies, your reply? We can meet today over lunch. Over lunch? Will you be hosting, or shall Lord Gustav? I will host. Very well. Your guard knights report that everything was normal last night. My thanks to them then. I shall relay it. Then, Sasha? Yes my lady? Stop. Write everything down, or tell it to me all at once. I do not have the patience to spend thirty minutes going over everything, every morning. Yes, my lady. My new maid meant well, but she was so dull. Jacquelines brilliance had utterly spoiled me; about four fifths of everything Sasha brought to my attention would have been quietly handled without my knowledge by Jacqueline. Come to think of it, Lucy and Frieda had been exceptional as well. They had to be since they worked directly under Jacqueline. I should find out what happened to them, and see if I would be allowed to employ them again. The answer is probably no, but it couldnt hurt to ask anything would be better than this woman and her inability to think for herself Sasha passed me a roll of paper that she had prepared in advance; a similar exchange had occurred yesterday and the day before. Quickly reading through it and annotating my responses, I handed it back. See, that was much more efficient, was it not? As you say, my lady. Haaaa Ill ask about Lucy and Frieda to Gustav later today. At the very least, I would like for one of them to retrain Sasha. The one saving grace was that Sasha was the only royal maid I had to deal with. Ordinarily, there would be a whole team assigned to me, but my condition was being kept under wraps, and a maid would quickly find out about my true age given how intimate dressing me was. Making pseudo slave contracts, like the one Ediths maid had with Duke Claurence was an option, but one that I had refused. Simply put, I didnt want to be surrounded by servants. Going from a single maid, with two supporting her, to a whole team was too big of a change. Fortunately, Rupert did not push the issue and had someone make arrangements to get me out of having to contend with an army of servants. But Ill have to get over that eventually. Taking care of a member of the royal family isnt a task one servant can do. Eventually, Ill have to get more, but not now. Once my morning routine was finally finished, it was time to start the day. I bid goodbye to Felicity and Rosial, who had ended up moving into my chambers, collected Still and my guard knights and then departed. The first thing on todays agenda was a meeting with Lord Brisben. He was a count in Ruperts faction, and one of the nobles who had stepped up to fill Count Francois vacancy. Though I was not performing any official duties yet, Rupert was arranging meetings between me and the various important members of his faction ahead of my public return. This was the first such meeting and was being done now before Brisben took his men back to the frontlines. Personally, I was hoping to be able to tease out a bit of information about the state of the country. I could always demand Rupert be straight with me, but given that I was going to have to live with him that was something preferably avoided. It was likely that he was expecting me to go about finding the information on my own anyways, and I would hate to disappoint. Lord Brisben, you may stand. The man had dropped to his knees as soon as he saw me, yet another thing that was troubling and yet needed me to get used to it. Thank you for meeting with me today, I trust that I find you in good health? While he seemed genuine enough, his eyes were cold and distant. It was a calculated question, likely trying to get information about my long absence. Thankfully, such questions had been predicted. Indeed, I have fully recovered from the incident with the Francois. It wasnt a lie, since Count Francois was directly involved with the cause of my long absence. Even if it was not totally the truth. That gladdens me to hear, when his highness announced the change in your engagement while you were yet indisposed and your father absent, it worried many of us a great deal. A pleasant smile appeared on my face, this was all going according to the rough prediction Gustav had shared with me the day before, Yes, my apologies for that. Given the recentness of my kidnapping and the actions of the first prince, it was decided that it would be best for me to remain in hiding until things could calm down a bit. Not that I would call a civil cold war very calm, but I suppose it could be worse. Then Lord Brisben threw me for a loop. His face turned serious, You were not coerced into this then? Excuse me what? Lord Brisben, please explain. Bowing his head he apologized, My apologies my lady, but as I am the first person to see you after the trouble earlier this year there have been some murmurings regarding the veracity of what his highness has shared with us Not to mention the first princes claims on the matter. Lord Brisben, Prince Rupert is the crown prince, are you questioning his words? I can assure you that this arrangement is one I am quite content with. I needed to buy myself a moment to fully digest what was being said, and to seize the initiative back from Brisben. Hopefully, the memory of my legendary public falling out with Dominic would help him interpret my answer the way I wanted him to. He totally threw me off course with that, what is the first prince saying about me and Rupert? That I was coerced into the engagement? My apologies, Lady Stahlia, that was foolish of me. Lord Brisbens apology seemed sincere at least as far as I could tell from tone and subtle expression. After studying his face closely for a moment I nodded. My apologies as well, Lord Brisben. It seems I have forgotten what we were just discussing, would you be able to remind me? From there, we proceeded into what I considered pointless platitudes and political posturing. It was in my opinion all a bit much considering that, as far as Brisben knew, I was twelve. I was able to gather a couple crucial pieces of information though so in the end it was worth it. Namely, the first prince had spread rumors that Prince Rupert had grown jealous of my achievements and instigated me against Count Francois, thereby betraying the de facto leader of his faction. Secondly, my engagement had been made without first consulting my father, a clear abuse of power on the part of Prince Rupert. The worrying detail was that the second accusation was correct. Though the fact that I negotiated on my own behalf would count for something, we cant announce that, since it would reveal that I conspired against the Francois. Even if the count was a demon, we cant admit that publically, else it would imply that Rupert let a demon into his inner circle I see, Rupert didnt tell me any of this so that Brisben would see my true reaction. He knew that this news would shake me, and worked that into his plan to strengthen our position. Irritating, but understandable. Now Lord Brisben will bring his observations from this meeting and start spreading the story, shoring up Ruperts own faction with reassurances and helping to discredit some of Prince Antonios claims. It was a solid plan, though there were some parts I still didnt fully understand, like why my father had been left in Ris instead of being brought to the capital. Surely his testimony could have been used in lieu of my own. Ill have to ask Gustav during our lunch meeting later. Now that the Brisben card has been played, hell probably be more willing to share details with me. Assuming Im correct about why I was kept in the dark at least. Eventually, Lord Brisben ran out of pointless shit to talk about and we said our farewells. Thank you for the audience, Lady Stahlia. He bowed rather low and placed one hand over his breast with another resting where his sword would have been, had he been wearing one. It was the Drakan military salute, and the meaning behind it was clear; Brisben was quietly reaffirming his loyalties and willingness to fight on behalf of Prince Rupert and me. I curtsied lower than was strictly required of my own station relative to his in order to express my gratitude for the sentiment. So much meaning behind such simple gestures and word choice I hate politics already. Thankfully the private lunch with Gustav was next, and it would be relatively easy-going by comparison. At the very least, I could still refuse to stand on ceremony with Gustav though having Sasha attending to me would be a pain as always. Stahlia. Lord Gustav. We nodded to each other in lieu of bows and curtsies and I saw Sasha flinch slightly out of the corner of my eye. Hopefully, she would not start trying to educate me. Though she could always be ordered to stop, it would be preferable if such methods did not have to be used. For now she seemed like she was going to hold her peace at least, as she merely pulled a chair away from the table for me. After Gustav and I were seated she retreated to the far side of the room, out of earshot. Gustav, now that Lord Brisben has seen my blind reaction to the rumors, will you be straight with me? He nodded, So you did figure it out. Indeed, you have become something of a face to this farce. Prince Antonio is using your absence as evidence of His Highness Prince Ruperts indiscretions. A rallying cry that has gathered a few additional nobles to his side; it is our hope that they can be brought back following your return to public life that is the main reason we have delayed striking down the rebels despite having such an advantage. I mulled over his words for a bit before responding, So Prince Rupert is seeking to avoid weakening the kingdom as much as possible given what is to come? Gustav nodded, That is indeed the case. I would like the full details at some point in the near future, but for now Lady Elienor and Lady Margauritte what became of them? Across the table Gustav slowly lowered his hands until they were resting flat on the wooden surface. He then exhaled slowly before answering, Lady Maurgeritte has been executed. Publicly, she was charged with conspiring to hide the traitor Count Francois and aiding in his escape. Between the two of us she was fully aware of his true identity. So she did know. I cant say I didnt think she might. Thats a rather large secret to keep from someone as close as a wife It really puts in perspective how nice she was to me, if she was aware of Fives designs about the marriage was all of that manipulation? Or did she regret it in some small way, and want to make things as pleasant as possible? There wasnt anything to say about her death though, it had come and gone, And Lady Elienor? Lady Elienor has been placed under house arrest. It is Ruperts intention for you to request her to be spared publicly; doing so will earn you some sympathy. The excuse being used, is that the childrens involvement is still being investigated but the civil cold war is hindering things. The general consensus among the nobility is that Rupert does not want to have one of his fiancs close friends executed, and is dragging his feet. Rumors really are a powerful thing. That sets the stage perfectly for me to beg for her life, Rupert then gets to be seen as doting and merciful. The lords wont care much, but many of the ladies will love it. Will I put on the show at my debut? Or would it be best for me to wait a bit longer? Personally, I wanted to get my friend secured as soon as possible, but if waiting a few days would work better for the plan well, she had already waited several months. It sucked, but it was what it was. Gustav delayed his answer, as Sasha signaled us that the food had been prepared. A moment later the table was set and she had again returned to her post by the wall. It would be best to wait a short time, a few days. If you move too early, many will say that the whole thing was staged. And while they would be correct, that would be bad for us. I understand. We ate in silence for a few minutes before I brought up the next topic. When is my family due to arrive, and what preparations are left for the wedding? Your father, should things go according to plan, will arrive tomorrow evening The preparations have all been taken care of, since the ceremony will be small and secret. The bigger issue is your debut return to society. If everything goes according to plan? You wouldnt say that if there wasnt a tangible threat. Whats wrong with my family? Gustavs eyes flashed, Lord Ferdinand has everything under control in that regard. The de facto spymaster? Why the hell is he involved? I see, and why is the de facto current spy-master overseeing my familys trip? Gustav broke out into a smile, I was instructed only to tell you if you arrived at the conclusion yourself. So Rupert is using Gustav to test me? No thats too suspicious Gustav is testing me? No, not everything is a test Something that would be better if I didnt know, but that Gustav thinks I should know. He didnt misspeak, he said should things go according to plan knowing it would tip me off. Tipping me off was his intention. He also thinks I know everything I need to in order to figure it out from here Prince Rupert suspects that Antonio will make a move on my family, or at least my father. That is correct, after all, removing your father from play could only strengthen him; all he would have to do is imply that Rupert arranged it, much the same way as we handled your kidnapping and the Francois. Fuck! God damnit! I wanted to scream, but that would accomplish nothing. No wonder Rupert had thought it best not to tell me. Knowing how I typically reacted when family was involved, anyone could see that it would be best for me not to know that there was a tangible risk to my close relations. I hated him for it, even though I agreed with him. Why? Why werent you told? When I didnt answer, Gustav continued, His highness and I agreed that telling you would be a mistake. It would be far better for your health if you could recover fully with those friends and family who were already here, while we worried on your behalf. Dont lie, Rupert is incapable of worrying on anyones behalf. In contrast to Gustavs calm tone, mine was bitter. Switching to his teachers voice, Gustav voiced the concern that was writ deeply in my heart, Well, perhaps that is the case, but is he wrong? No... He wasnt wrong. The past few days have been great. If I knew about a potential threat to my family, I wouldnt have been able to relax like I did. Everything would have been under the shadow of that looming threat. It isnt like I could change anything either, I could have run out, but then I would be the one at risk. Rupert would obviously prioritize me over my family. I hate this Gustav only nodded, and we finished the meal in silence, the original purpose of the meeting completely forgotten. I never would have thought that I would envy Rupert of his ability to not feel I actually sort of wish I still had [Cold Hearted] right about now Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve Extra Chapter: Militirization Baron Fynn von Ris, Thirty-Three Years Old, Fifth Month of 948. Looking out over the field of barren dirt, my heart twinged. So much death. This was the location where my daughter had helped to defend our home from a force of several thousand goblins only a few months ago. Though the bodies had all been rounded up and disposed of, it was like the land bore a permanent scar; all of the plant life in the area that her spell had affected, was dead. It was as though a snowless winter had sunk its teeth into the land. Though there was no longer any snow, the trees had not recovered their leaves at all, and the grass had not regrown following the onset of spring. A few of the knights speculated that this was a side effect of Stahlias spell, but none of them were well-versed enough in magic to say for certain. Still, other than being barren, the land harbored no ill effects that we could discern; animals that crossed through it survived, and a volunteer had spent a night there with no discernable repercussions. In a way, the lack of plant life was a sort of blessing. It made it much easier to spot any incoming threats, or so the knight garrison told me. These knights what strings did Stahlia pull? The knights who had originally been only a temporary measure had one day announced that they had been permanently garrisoned here and placed under my command as the lord of this region. They immediately set to work constructing a fort from which the mountain pass could be observed and guarded. The villages guard force, those that survived the battle, worked with them and were presently being trained into a proper militia force. All this had happened shortly after a pair of letters arrived from Stahlia. The first was greatly concerning, detailing a string of trouble that had occurred with her engagement. The second had been confusing; if it was to be believed, she had managed to figure out a solution to the problem only a few days after it first occurred. It made me feel a bit silly, given that I had only just sent a letter myself urging her caution. Turning around, I went down from the fortifications to greet the commander. I would be lying if I told you that I knew about things like this, but to my inexperienced eye, the fort is most impressive. The knight chuckled, Aye, but we have a ways to go yet before its finished See there, that wall is only the outer skin; we need to raise the inner portion and fill it with compressed earth. Following his finger, it was obvious now that he had pointed it out; that portion of the wall was only about a half a meter thick, a single row of felled trees. The wall I had just been on top of had a walk way built into it, and a full row of more tree trunks supporting it from the rear. I had thought that that wall was not built similarly since it did not face the pass. But then, the fort would have a weak side, should the enemy encircle it. This was why I had given the knights commander carte blanche with the construction effort and direction. My domain was rich beyond its station thanks in no small part to my daughter, so we were able to hire outside help for planning. A fact which the knights had taken full advantage of. Well, I shall trust your judgment on the matter. If not for you and your men, we would not have been able to garrison a structure like this in the first place. He nodded, About that, several of the young men from the village have expressed interest in joining the militia force. What of it? Some do every year or so. Aye, but those are fourth sons and failed adventurers; boys with no future. This lot of boys are made up of first and second sons. Closing my eyes, I thought for a moment, Sark and his group? My daughters friends. Yes, those are the ones. This was a dilemma. My village needed defenses, and for those we needed men, I knew that much. But taking first sons was It was not something to be done lightly. Hold a try-out. Show them real fear, scare them. But do not actually hurt them if it can be avoided After that, if they still wish to fight, then I will speak with their fathers. The knight nodded, I can do that. You arent like most nobles, you know that? So I am reminded, most often by my wife. Ha! The two of us enjoyed a quiet moment before it was time to continue my inspection-in-name-only. We made our way out of the fort and towards the ramshackle parade ground where the knights vice commander was drilling the militia. The survivors of the Goblin attack were going through drills with sweat on their brows and determination in their eyes. It was a sight that really spoke to some part of me, and for a moment I felt the desire to join them, but my station would not permit it. How goes it? The commander called out to his second, who responded with a crisp salute. Sir! About as well as you can see. Given the grimness of his face, that probably wasnt so good. But I lacked any military context so I couldnt tell for myself. Captain? Ah Well, your villagers have spirit. Sir Cristoff here is just used to working with people who have a combat-orientated purpose. That makes sense, to get into an Order of Knights requires one to have a combat purpose. The men who join the village guards had no other options, if they had a purpose they wouldnt be here. Is there anything we can do? Sir Cristoff appeared to think for a moment. Well, we can somewhat close the gap with decent weapons and armor. Theyd never be able to stand up to a knight or mercenary who was blessed with purpose, but they wouldnt need to worry about stray monsters anymore It would cost a pretty penny though. I merely nodded; I had learned my lesson. The reconstruction had been long completed, now I was making sure that my daughter would never again need to risk her own safety. If only I knew, what had transpired mere months ago in the capital. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-6 Unforeseen Contrary to my worries, my family arrived seemingly safe and sound two days later. Thank the gods No, thank everything A moment later, I realized that I had just thanked the gods, plural. That meant that I had been addressing the gods of this world, and thanking them for my familys safety. To say that the notion was conflicting was an understatement, and it made me wonder if it had anything to do with my stint in the afterlife. No, I wont be manipulated again. Not by anyone, Im just genuinely thankful for some good luck for once. I put the thought out of my head and moved on with my life. If my attitude towards the gods was growing lax, then it was growing lax. The important fact was that it was my attitude, not anyone else''s. Thank you, when can I see them? The servant who brought me the message bowed his head, If my lady wishes, his highness has instructed me to take you there immediately. Perfect. Then let us go and collect Miss Felicity and Lady Rosial. My parents actually had no idea Rosial had been recovered, though as a former dukes son my father probably had some idea as to what had happened to her. There had simply not been a way to safely inform them about her rescue, according to what Rupert had told me. I need to figure out how best to break the news Probably should do it to dad first, then he can help with mom when she faints. Of course, my mother might not faint but she did not have the best track record with surprises. As I was mulling over these things, we arrived at Felicity and Rosials room. They had moved to be adjacent to my own rooms; today was actually rather strange in that the two of them werent in one of my rooms. Felicity, Rosial, I have some exciting news. They had been coloring in Felicitys case, and sharpening a dagger in Rosials case Both of them had stood up excitedly when I came in and announced myself. What is it Stahlia Neechan!? Felicity immediately got excited at the prospect of a potential surprise. Are we going to kill someone? Rosials own reaction was less excited and more hopeful. Also rather concerning. No, no killing. Felicity, Rosial. Father and Mother have arrived along with Rosin. Predictably, Felicitys tails stood up and began to twitch, betraying her emotions. Rosial sunk into a bit of a concerned sulk. Really!? When can Felicity see them!? Mother and Father? I dont remember Right, it was never going to be easy, was it? Giving Felicity a soft chop on the head, I directed her attention to Rosial. Felicity, Rosial is scared. As the older sister, what should you do? Claire, do not help her. I added the last part when I recognized Felicitys expression going blank; a sure sign that she was focusing inwards to have a conversation with her co-pilot. It looked like Claire heeded my instruction because Felicity came out of her blank stare only to furrow her brows in thought. After a few moments, she nodded. Dont worry Rosial Imoutochan! You dont have a tail, so Rosin cant bully you! Thats no. You dont need a tail to be bullied, and thats not the issue at all! Rosial seemed entirely confused by this line of dialogue as well as if the idea that she might be bullied hadnt even crossed her mind. And why would it? Between his three older sisters, Rosin definitely drew the short straw; Rosial is a trained assassin and a champion. Felicity managed to avoid demonization and now holds a sin skill without being under the sway of a Hell King, and Im me. The idea that he could bully any of us is pretty laughable. Haaa Rosial, even if your own memories of them are faint, they remember you. Felicity, be nice to Rosin. Behind me, I could practically hear Sasha grinning. My new maid might be rather strict on formality and rules, but she seemed to have a soft spot for when I was interacting with my sisters. Though, it was not without ulterior motives, as my heightened senses had caught her mumbling about how good of a mother I would be. Though she now kept those thoughts to herself, it did not change the fact that I was aware of them. That being said, there was no way such trifling issues would be allowed to get between me and mine. Come on you two, lets go. Collecting the pair of hands, our entourage left the room and made our way to where our family was waiting. At first, my plan had been to quietly talk about mom and dad, as a way to ease Rosials tension. But it seemed like that was not necessary; while she had initially been quite tense she had calmed as we walked. Her grip on my hand, which had started as shaky and tight, had become relaxed and loose. Her breathing had been short and rapid, as though she was about to have a panic attack, but it was now calm and restful. She must have employed some technique the shadows taught her to keep calm under fire, but was it a conscious decision on her part? Or did she subconsciously liken meeting our parents to a botched assassination? I could only hope it was the latter. You two, wait here; I need to warn our parents before letting them see Rosial. Felicity, please keep her company? Contrary to Rosial, Felicity had grown tenser and tenser as we walked, and it did not take a prodigy to realize why; our parents and little brother had broken expectations and accepted a demihuman as a surrogate daughter. Even though Felicity was too young to properly appreciate that, she at least knew subconsciously how big of a thing that had been. How could she not, when her whole life had been a product of prejudice? Now though, she wasnt a demihuman anymore. It was no small change either, as it had a very visible reminder attached to her rear. Would our parents accept her again? Such worries would certainly be plaguing her, even if I knew they were nonissues. They might be surprised at first, and would definitely have questions, but they would accept her, I had faith in that. That was also why Felicity had been asked to wait with Rosial; I wanted to warn my parents about her changes as well. Of course, there was one minor issue that had slipped my mind; when the door opened and I entered the reception room, my parents and little brother were kneeling. Right Queen I closed my eyes and forced the immediate revulsion down. It was something that should have been anticipated, but I had been distracted by the issues regarding my sisters. One would hope that court etiquette like this did not extend to my immediate family, but there was no reason why it would not. Father, Mother, Rosin, I understand why you are doing this, but please; when we are relatively alone, treat me like your daughter and older sister, not your queen? I waited a moment before opening my eyes, and saw that they were all standing, though apprehensive about the guards and maid in the room, Ferdinand was also here but that wasnt surprising given that Rupert had charged him with protecting my family while they traveled. That was fine, I had ways of dispelling tension. Allowing the smile that had been building up to spill out onto my face, I let my emotions go unchecked and ran at my father. The move surprised him, but he was able to open his arms and receive me in time. I missed you all so much! My eyes were starting to sting a bit as well, but crying would be too much, so I resisted that as best I could. From inside our hug, dads body stiffened slightly. Ah. From this distance, he can feel through the illusion. A mistake to spring such a large change on him without warning, but one that I could rectify easily enough. I stepped back away from him so that he could see my new body; having perceived the illusion once, it no longer worked on him. Sorry for surprising you like that, I was overcome by my emotions I should have warned you first. He blinked several times and shook his head as though to clear away a mental fog. Of course, that didnt work; he was no longer seeing the illusion, and what his eyes now perceived was reality. Stahlia? Is that really my little girl? I felt my smile beginning to fade a bit, but his reaction was perfectly reasonable. Yes, it is really me a lot of things happened, and I wound up growing much faster than expected. Hopefully, if I treated this as just a thing that happened, and not the major event that it was, it would help him accept it. My mother overheard my statement and narrowed her gaze at me, a moment later she clapped her hands over her mouth as her eyes opened wide. Was that enough for her to perceive the illusion? If thats the case, I need to really watch my words Or maybe its just because shes my mother that such a little thing broke the secret there isnt a way for me to really test it, so Ill just have to be careful. Rosin, for his part, seemed far too tired to notice anything was going on. Then again, he was only four so he probably wouldnt notice anything beyond big sister got bigger anyways. Well, theyre both on the backfoot now, I may as well address the cat and the elephant in the room. My own condition aside there is something else the two of you should know. Sasha, if you would? My maid advanced and brought my mother a chair, My lady, if you would be so kind; Lady Stahlia has instructed me to have you seated for this next part. This was enough for my dad to realize that I was concerned about my mother fainting, and I saw him screw his eyes shut and furrow his brow. He was mentally preparing himself for something drastic, given that it was only now that I had prepped mother for fainting. Felicity has changed a bit; one of her skills caused her to evolve into a different species of beastkin. At the mention of his younger older sister, Rosins tired ears perked up, Big sis Felisity? He looked around, Wheres she? Well, that doesnt hurt my feelings at all. Mother, please dont be alarmed, but she has grown a second tail. My parents exchanged glances with each other before my father let out a tired sigh, Thats all? Yes, but what do you mean thats all? She has two tails now. It was my mother who answered, her own voice betraying some degree of exhasperation with me, La- Stahlia, compared to you becoming a young woman in six months, a second tail is hardly worth concerning ourselves over; Do you have any idea what it was like when his Highness Prince Rupert sent Lord Ferdinand to bring us to the capital for your wedding? Nobody mentioned you had grown up. That statement left me blinking in confusion, and I glared at Ferdinand from across the room, You told them they were coming for the wedding and didnt think to mention that I had grown up? Ferdinand shrugged off my accusatory words, His highness instructed me not to cause them undue confusion; had I attempted to explain your condition without showing them firsthand, they would not believe me. Likewise, if I had said they were needed for the engagement ceremonies, they would be set up for a panic when they arrived and saw you. Forgive my deception, but it was calculated to cause them the least distress. I do not buy that excuse at all; I, for one know how much you like messing with people. Translation, never try anything like that with my family again. That aside, mother, father, there is something else you have not been told. My father nodded, Something else, that is too important to relay, and would be more shocking than you becoming queen, growing up, and Felicity gaining a second toy for Rosin? Ignoring his attempt at levity, I nodded, Ill just come out and say it; Rosial is still alive, and waiting in the next room. A silence descended on the room as they processed my words. My mother seemed to stop breathing entirely, but closer inspection revealed that she was taking rapid shallow breaths. My father froze on his feet before lowering his head, So, she had been taken. So, you did know. Or at least you suspected. Yes, Rosial was collected by the Order of Shadows. It took a while, but I was able to recover her... She is a bit worse for wear mentally, but I am working on that. His Highness Prince Rupert, assisted you with that no doubt. My fathers words were a bit hollow, but he was probably in a state of shock at the moment. My mother was utterly silent and simply looked defeated. Yes, one of the terms of our engagement contract was the disbanding of the Order of Shadows, along with the recovery and return of Rosial into my custody. I do not regret my actions. Even while I was doing my best to make sure you did not have to risk your life, you were still fighting. My father bowed his head, which was something that could not be allowed. In order to bring him back, I moved things along hurriedly, Sasha, can you please have the two of them come in? My maid nodded and went to the door. A moment later, Felicity crept in. Her ears were pressed flat against her head, and her tails were subdued. Once she was a few steps inside, she froze and scanned the assembled family. Seeing the bitter expressions on our father and mothers faces, she seemed to shrink back somewhat. It was Rosin who came to the rescue. While he had been rather tired from the journey, seeing his fluffy big sister seemed to breath a fresh burt of energy into his tired frame, Felisity! Rousing from his stupor he began to run at her, only to remember the many warnings he had been given during our last visit. Slowing his pace to a rapid walk, he approached and then circled around her to get a better look at the addition. Smiling broadly and mischievously, any thought of said previous warnings seemed to fly from his head as he lunged at her two tails. Felicity came back to herself just in time to jerk the tails out of reach, or maybe it had been Claire. Either way, Rosin caught nothing but air. To her credit, Felicity did turn around and help break his fall by half catching him and lowering him to the ground. This display seemed to break my parents out of their stupor, as when she next faced them, my mother was smiling warmly and invited her to come for a hug. An offer that was quickly accepted; she even let out a soft purr as our mother tickled her ears. That left Rosial. She had hung back in the doorway, and it seemed that watching the family embrace Felicity had caused some of her earlier apprehension to return. Once again, it was Rosin who noticed first, and he looked between the two of us in confusion. Two Stalis!? Ah, since he cant see through the illusion yet, I look twelve to him. Rosial being eight, we would be fairly similar in appearance. Our poor brother was blinking and rubbing his eyes, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. As he did so, Rosial began to breathe in a rhythm that I recognized from Jacquelines teachings. It would help to focus her mind and block out unnecessary thoughts. I really hope that shes using an assassination technique here consciously, even if I know that probably isnt the case. It seemed that she had decided to mimic Felicity, as she first approached Rosin. Forcibly tearing my eyes away, I checked my parents. Father had set his jaw and was not moving, his facial expression grim. Mother was likewise frozen but in her case, it was shock, not from strong emotions. Looking back to Rosial and Rosin, I was just in time to see her reach out a hand towards him. Youre weak, but with a bit of practice, you could be strong. The trick to catching those is to be silent; our sister has good ears, so you have to really work hard. Wait, has Rosial been chasing Felicitys tails as well when I wasnt looking? A quick glance at my feline sister revealed that this was likely the case, if her grimacing expression was anything to go by. Ill have to give her the tail talk as well then. Also, what kind of an introduction is that!? Youre weak I mean, at least she offered to teach him, instead of suggesting that he be thrown away thats progress, right? Of course, most of what Rosial was saying went right over Rosins head; he was simply too young to comprehend it. My father was perfectly aware, and coupled with my warning about her mental state, his own expression became mournful. After helping Rosin up, she advanced toward our parents. Her gait was dignified, like a proper young noble girl. But then, she had been trained on how to act so her being able to do this much was no surprise. Coming to a halt a few paces back from them, she curtsied. Stahlia tells me that you are her family, since she is my sister in blood that means we are family as well. I hope we can get along. My father screwed his eyes shut, but I couldnt help but notice the tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes. Mother, on the other hand, was making no attempt to keep up her fa?ade and was openly crying. Of course, they would; Rosial had just told them to their faces that she did not know who they were, and was only acting because I told her to. We have a lot of work to do before we can become a real family again It was then that Lord Ferdinand waved me aside. I wanted to ignore him, and continue to spend time with my parents, brother, and sisters, but I knew better. He would not have interrupted this moment if it was unimportant. Nodding to Sasha, I stepped out of the room. My apologies, but there is a pressing matter that concerns you; it regards your familys safety. Well, that certainly is important. I guess this is something I cant wait on Sparing one longing look at the door, I steeled myself and nodded, Very well, what is it. Thank you, you see, there was an attempt on them while they traveled; a rather sizable one. If not for us receiving forewarning, it very well might have succeeded. Forewarning? A mole in the first princes faction? You could say that The son of Duke Febligi, Ferris von Febligi. He claims to be honoring his debt to you and surrendered himself with intelligence regarding the raid on your familys carriages. At present, he is being held under guard and is demanding to speak to you personally. Are you sure this is safe? It was a stalling question; I knew that if Ferdinand thought there was any danger, he probably would not have informed me at all, and simply dealt with things himself probably by disposing of Ferris. Yes, he claims to owe you his life, and in lieu of events with the late Lord Dominic, I am inclined to believe him; his family holds ones honor above even their loyalty to kin. It is why Duke Febligi sided with Prince Antonio and why Ferris also bore a letter with his fathers seal. A letter officially disowning him and placing his life in your hands. Duke Febligi has cut of his own son, to preserve both their honor. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve Extra Chapter: Legends Psycholor The topic was: "A legend from the past, with bits of truth and hidden plot points." Also, yesterday''s main chapter did come out when it was supposed to, but some shenanigans on my side may have caused it to not push an announcement. Sorry about that! Every world has stories and legends of its past, and some accounts are more accurate than others. In the world of NewLife, this is one such tale. A Hero, Forty-Five Years Old, Eleventh Month of 0004 His blade slipped cleanly through the monsters neck. Of course it would. He was the chosen champion of Summer after all; no mere Griffon could hope to stand up to him when he stood toe to toe with Hell Kings. But he was not here to slay a mere Griffon, after all, why would a champion go out after something a medium dispatch of knights could handle? No, He was after stronger prey. Rumors had circulated, that a Chimera had appeared here. Legendary monsters in their own right, every single one was different. Nobody knew what caused a Chimera to be born but whenever one appeared, it would cause untold destruction until its weaknesses were ascertained and a team formed to dispatch it. Or, if one of the champions was still around, you could just throw one of them at it. Then again, the strongest Chimeras were said to rival an Original Sin in power. It was a commonly held belief that Dragons stood at the top of the monster pecking order, but that was incorrect. After all, if you took the base of a Dragon, and added a Cockatrice or Medusas petrifying gaze to it, the resulting organism could only be stronger than the original. That was why, even as one of the four strongest of the races, he was being careful; his foe, should he be unlucky, could be strong enough to mortally wound him. That was why he was being careful. The Griffon spotting him had been unlucky, as the battle had not been silent. After shacking his blade clean of its blood, he touched one hand to the Griffon and mumbled the incantation to a spell. It was rather long, but one of his abilities allowed him to shorten any chant substantially, a few times a day. A soft orange light enveloped the Griffons body and a moment later, it seemed to fold in on itself before vanishing with a soft pop. The spell used was [Far Jump], which he used for traveling, or in this case sending the spoils of a quick skirmish back to his men for processing. As one of the spatial spells, it was restricted to those who had the ability to use Divine Element. As a champion, he met that requirement. Though, an Item Box or Pocket Storage would have been far more convenient, but that damn gamemaster says those are balance breaking. The man did not particularly like the god who had sent him to this world. Sure, being able to live a second time had been great at first until he learned that he was a puppet meant to dance a particular tune. But there was nothing he could do about that, his own cheat abilities were rather lacking, as he was simply this rounds otherworlder champion. After studying some old documents, he had come to the conclusion that every round had at least one otherworlder take on the role of champion. He wasnt special. Thats far enough human, what do you want? The man froze. His meandering thoughts had gotten in the way of his concentration and he had missed this persons appearance. Granted, this was certainly not a human; no human could make it this far into the mountains and be so nonchalant, other than himself. Drawing his sword once again, he took a ready stance. You will not fool me with that disguise; what manner of monster are you? The figure before him stood nonchalant, completely average in every way. Had he encountered him in a village or town, he would not have given the figure a second glance. No dice huh? Well, I guess Ill have to kill you then. That being said, the figure began to morph. His limbs bulked up and grew fur or scales. His fingers became large talons, while dragon wings sprouted from his back. Sharp spines of some beast grew from his neck, while fangs of a serpent sprouted out of his mouth. By the time the transformation had finished, the man had been replaced with an amalgamation of at least fifteen monsters the man could recognize, and several he could not. Before we fight, I would give you my name. I am Yuongi, the first Chimera. The lone warrior stiffened and prepared himself. The words spoken by his opponent held little meaning for him, but the power radiating out was terrifying to behold. Forget being an Original Sin, this is comparable to a Hell King. The trick to beating one of the kings, was to exploit their weaknesses as a team. Wrath favored Blackflame Fire Magic, Lust favored Charms and Water Magic, while Sloth favored avoiding combat entirely. With a Chimera, their very nature precluded this strategy. Theres little chance I can beat a foe this strong. The best I can do is send a warning to the others, and hopefully hold on long enough for them to arrive. [Limit Break]! Verbally speaking the name of his Champions intrinsic skill was not strictly required, but he felt that it was better that way. At once, his power surged and his status bulged. Of course that wasnt free. Winter had the reputation of being the cursed champion, [Cold Hearted] had made Luis von Despita quite inhuman in how he approached things. This man was of a different opinion though; sure, winters blessing had its downsides. But it didnt kill you for using it. The first law of magic was clear; mana could not spring forth from nothing. So what powered [Limit Break]? It was his soul. His own lifeforce would be spent to power up his stats, and the longer he stayed in this state, the greater the strain would be. Forty-Five years old now, Ill be in my prime for another five or so before my abilities begin to diminish. That means I can fight at full strength for about a day Assuming those three leave right after receiving my message It will take them a week at most. Haaa Well, shall we start this, Yuongi? The two monsters, for that was what the man was in his boosted state, closed on each other. Blade locked with talon while adamantine mail deflected spines. Their clash was a flurry of blows before the two leapt back from each other. The man had several small cuts and scrapes dotting his person, but the Chimera was unharmed. Any small injuries were quickly healed by the regeneration of one of his component monsters. So its like that then after all. He adopted a defensive stance; the man would buy the time needed, even if it killed him. The Chimera wanted to end things quickly and reared up on its hind legs. Sucking in air, it prepared to unleash its dragons fire. Squaring his jaw but unmoving, Intent to take the attack head-on. The flames leaped from the maw of the beast, and washed around him. Thinking the battle over Yuongi closed his mouth, only to find the man was there, unharmed. I never introduced myself, did I? Somewhat taken aback, Yuongi watched him warily. My name is Ris. No fancy titles or peerage, just Ris. But, I do have one thing going for me; as the Champion of Summer, your flames mean nothing to me. Now, lets go again. Thats enough. Yuongi, you should not be here, go home. At the sound of the second voice, one which clearly knew Ris opponent, the champion spun around and sliced at the figure, only to have his sword blocked by a bare hand. My apologies for my childs actions. I will punish him later For now, The newcomer, a man in his twenties of average height and build, looked Ris up and down, For now, Damien Gonzales, we should have a talk about the future. Id like you to found a village for me. Ris narrowed his eyes at the man, Nobody knows that name in this world, who are you? The man bowed his head, My apologies, I have several names depending on who you ask; Fallen Divine, Traitor God, Thirteenth Prodigal, God of Monsters You can call me Aaron. The blasphemer who fights against the cycle Very well, lets hear what you have to say. Releasing his [Limit Break], Ris took a seat. While he did not trust this figure completely, he knew that should they come to blows he would without fail, die. I am glad you are amenable; at the foot of these mountains is a pass, I want you to found a village there. Life will be hard, and I do not expect it will grow very much at all, but it will prove important for the next cycle. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-7 Betrayer Psycholor If this chapter is a bit confusing, you might have missed 5-6; a snafu on my part caused it to not send out a proper notification. Also check out this months extra chapters! After hearing about what had happened with Ferris, it was immediately obvious why Ferdinand had decided it was a pressing enough concern to interrupt my familys reunion. To be honest, the fact that he had waited as long as he did before pulling me away was already a gift. That didnt mean I wasnt frustrated though. After letting out a sigh and gazing back at the door he had brought me through, I did my best to shrug it off. Alright, take me to him My apologies, but determining the specifics of this case really is important, once we are finished here, someone will take you to where your family is staying. Can we just go already? My tone was getting a bit snippy and I was starting to sound like a spoiled brat, but the way he was seeming to drag things on only served to exacerbate my tense feelings on the matter. Of course, this way. Holding out his arm, he ushered me through the next door and we moved through the palace in the direction of the dungeons. Considering all my guards left with me, the population in that room shrank quite a bit. If nothing else, this will let my parents cut a bit loose without having to worry about keeping the bare minimum of dignity The fact that this was something they werent able to do in my presence was a thought best ignored. When we arrived at the palace dungeons, Ferdinand motioned for my guards to wait outside; astonishingly enough it was an order they obeyed. Though, perhaps that should have been expected; Rupert, Ferdinand, and Gustav, as far as I was aware, were the three highest-ranking men in the castle after the king himself. In that pecking order, Im above Gustav and theoretically only under Rupert, but the knights dont listen to me. When I try and send them away for a moment unless Im alone in my own chambers, they come up with some excuse or another. Does that place Ferdinand above me? Or is it only in matters of security, given his background? In any case, Ferdinand brought me into a rather fancy room. My eyes blinked curiously at the sight; a dungeon would normally be a square and metal room, dimly lit, with few amenities. This room was about as well furnished as the one given to me at the Francois Estate. A far cry from my current accommodations, but far from the classical image of the palace dungeons. Though, given the occupant of the cell, perhaps that made sense. Even disowned, Ferris was still the son of a duke. Of course, he was kneeling. Damnit. Haaa Lord Ferris, according to Lord Ferdinand, you wanted to speak with me? Without raising his head he replied, Your words honor me, but please; I am no longer of my fathers house. My name is simply Ferris. That said, I did indeed wish to speak with you. Raise your head and say your peace; I am grateful that your actions apparently helped to lead to the safety of my family, and will do what I can. If that is what you say. Ferris raised his head and after hesitating, he looked me in the eyes. Thank you for saving my life. His tone was calm and resolved, a far cry from what would be expected from a eleven-year-old boy who was just kicked out of his family. And then you went on to save my family, or at least assist in doing that. I will do what I can about your status, but restoring you to your previous station will likely be impossible. As much as having a Duke owe me a favor would be a benefit to me it was not needed, and none of the other nobles would agree to it. You misunderstand, I do not wish to be restored to status. My honor as a Febligi demands that I hand you my life. But you are no longer a Febligi; your father disowned you. As such, that honor no longer applies to you. I may have lost the honor of my house, but I still have my honor as a man of this kingdom. Then, what if I say I do not want your life? Ferris shrugged, Then I will attempt to serve your interests as best I can. Is he implying he would act on his own, in order to help me? At least he didnt go Very well, I understand. Ill take care of it for you! and try to kill himself Letting him run free obviously not going to be allowed. That would cause problems almost immediately, and it could royally screw up our plans. Then, the options are to keep him locked up, or let him serve me. Is there actually any reason to not take him in? I looked at Ferdinand. He would not be a negative asset, and as a former Febligi, his martial ability is quite advanced for his age. Quite advanced for his age, is a bit of an understatement from what I remember. Granted, his dad is a traitor, so even if I do accept him well need counter-measures. That would mean a limited slave contract. I see. Ferris, you understand that I cannot take you at your word? Of course I understand that. Then, will you accept a contract? Thankfully he did not give an immediate Yes, absolutely! Instead, he stopped and deeply considered the implications. Even if he claimed that his life was mine, becoming a pseudo slave was a big step to take. Very well. I will. Ferdinand seemed a bit surprised, and shockingly, did not actually have the items we would need on hand. My apologies, I assumed you would have him remain here under guard. That would be safer for him, given what we will be fighting. With a start, I realized that Ferdinand was correct, we would inevitably end up fighting demons. I knew first-hand what their apex was like, and the rank and file were nothing to laugh at either. Before that though, we would be facing his family. Probably some of his friends. If he was under contract with me, he would not be able to go against my word. That would most likely put him in a position where he had to fight someone he knew and was potentially close to. I should have considered something like that. I would have considered something like that Why didnt I? Ferris, those are your options. You can remain here, and I will ensure that nothing happens to you, I shot Ferdinand a stern look, Or you can enter into a contract with me. Ferris nodded, I already considered the ramifications, and I accept the second option. Ferdinand studied him for a moment before nodding, I see, I will make arrangements immediately. He had the knights come inside so that Sasha and I would not be alone with Ferris, then departed. In the interim, I opted to ask Ferris about what things had been like on his side. Ferris, what exactly went on with your father? I have recently learned that my name is being used as a driving force behind this rebellion? Coup. Behind this coup. My lady, you didnt know? A genuine surprise was written on his face now. I nodded, Until just a few weeks ago, I was in a coma from the injuries I sustained during the capital incident; I was being kept deliberately away from matters regarding the ongoing hostilities. Then, what about your engagement? Is it truly a farce as my fathers lord says? Ah, hes wondering if it was set up without my input, and without my own fathers. But it also sounds like he thought it was legitimate until a moment ago. Yes, I did the negotiations myself The night of the school social actually. Ferris fell back into his seat as the pieces all clicked into place; the way I had been acting around Dominic, coupled with the prince calling me away to discuss Ris, and then me coming back and seeming to make nice with Dominic. Granted the prince had made every effort to conceal the fact that he had called me from the event, but as a duke, it would not be surprising if Ferris had somehow learned about that meeting. I see. Since then, so you did conspire against Count Francois? Yes. Though, that is not his true identity; he is a demon, one of the Hell Kings. What about the other one? Sitri? Like a bolt of lightning, I sat up in my chair. Rupert had said it was probable that Antonio and his dissident faction were responsible for the disappearance of the countsicle, but Ferris admission just now all but confirmed that. I had been planning to ask after he was under contract, but if he was just going to tell me, it would certainly save time. Ferris, Sitri is with your fathers faction? He nodded slowly, Yes, both her and Count Francois, though he departed for the east to try and gather troops. I shot a look at Sasha. While by Jacquelines standards she was obtuse and had a stick firmly lodged in her bum, she was not stupid. Interpreting my look my maid produced a parchment and writing implement and began to take notes. Ferris saw what she was doing and paused long enough for her to be set up. Even with the service contract, it would be foolish to take anything he says at face value. Hell probably be made to confirm this information after hes under contract, but taking it now saves time. Besides, Im curious. Sitri was the one who helped my father locate Count Francois. She insisted he had damning evidence against you and his highness. Of course, it did take some time for Count Francois to break free though given his proclivity with fire magic, he wasnt going to stay trapped forever. Yea, no he should have. If Adroni didnt already warn me he was going to let the bastard go, Id be livid right now. As it is, Im still quite upset. Also, no ordinary man would be able to survive for months on ice like that. Sitri could have made Antonio and Duke Febligi stupid with charm magic, but I sealed that. Shes just a lump of stats as far as Im aware Ferris would also be charmed if she had regained her abilities Its possible other demons are involved. Unaware of my internal dilemmas, Ferris continued, Once he broke free, him and my father spent a while talking about a lot of things. Count Francois pretty much immediately tried to leave, but Prince Antonio and my dad managed to talk him into hanging around for a bit Im not sure the specifics, but he really, and I mean, really hates you. No shit, I locked him away for basically eternity, until the bastards in charge got involved But, if he hates me so much, why try and leave right away? Anger should lead to a thirst for revenge. Then again, he did spend a really long time planning things in this kingdom, maybe this is more like the anger you stew in? Nah, he would have to know that I cant pull a move like that so frequently. The most likely answer, is he doesnt have a choice. As much as I loathed the notion, my newest divine overlord was pretty clear about not liking spoilers. They had also said that my questions could largely be answered by Five. It wasnt much of a leap to think that Adroni had made arrangements with their brother to force Five to leave my general vicinity, at least for now. Fucking bastard My lady? Ah Please excuse me, I just realized something is all. I apologize for the language. Apparently, my feelings on the matter had slipped out in a quiet mumble. Indeed. In any case, Count Francois eventually departed over the border in order to attempt to gather support. He left Sitri behind to liaise with, as well as provide intelligence to Antonio. It was through her efforts that Antonio learned of the plans for your family to move, and hastily put together a subjugation force. More bad news; those plans were made after I woke up. And we kept the cards close to our chest; I didnt even know the details. Theres a mole in our ranks, and someone high up as well Ill need to warn Rupert. Theres also the question of how Sitri is meant to Liaise probably more demons, hopefully not anything too dangerous, we would be so lucky. Though, I feel like something is different about her You said that Count Francois was one of the Hell Kings, then Sitri is as well? No, she is a demon, and rather strong, but not quite that. Please continue. Thankfully he did not press me and resumed, Well, there isnt much else to say. When I learned of the plan, I approached my father and raised my objections. We went back and forth for a day, and then he disowned me. In retrospect, I believe he may have allowed me to learn the plans intentionally so that I would not be put in a situation where my loyalties would conflict. This way, I can give my entire loyalty to your highnesses. Thats the first time someone has called me and Rupert collectively like that In his mind, Ferris is treating the wedding as having already occurred, isnt he? Despite having been rather aggressively courting me himself half a year ago. Ferris A rather horrid thought crossed my mind as I was preparing to ask my next question. Falling silent, I fed mana into my eyes and enabled my mana sight. Studying Ferris closely, I checked for any spot where his mana faltered. After nearly a minute, I was satisfied that he was not carrying a larval demon. I should have done that first things first! What was I thinking!? No use crying over spilled milk, at the very least my mistake had not been costly. Though the intense stare seemed to have made Ferris grow rather uncomfortable. My Lady? Is there something wrong? I shook my head, No, sorry for that; I was checking something that I neglected. We will have to wait until after the contract before I can explain though. Granted, he was not likely to be able to tell anyone in the few minutes remaining, but after my mistake a moment ago I was taking no chances. Then, Ferris. The plan to have my parents come to the capital was finalized a week and a half ago. I do understand that Ris is somewhat near to your fathers domains and those of the First Princes faction, but how did you manage to learn of it, and pass us warning in such a short time? I can answer that Lady Stahlia. Ferris fell silent and adopted an at ease pose. Ferdinand, thank you for rejoining us. The returning Lord Ferdinand began setting out the materials for establishing the contract on a nearby table, while doing so he quickly summarized how Ferris had managed to perform this little feat, Ferris was dropped off near the border of the territories by a lone knight on horseback, some last favor from his father no doubt. From there, he moved to the nearest town, where we have a garrison. Of course, the garrison commander contacted me immediately when one of our foremost foes sons walked through the door seeking asylum. Finished. Ferdinand had finished setting out the things we would need, a roll of parchment infused with magic, and two quills of the same variety I had used when signing with Rupert. He also seemed to have finished his explanation, as he had stopped talking. Though from what I know the rest is easy to figure out. After Ferdinand was contacted, he probably made arrangements for Ferris to be brought to the capital separately. Though taking reports over magic communication tools would be a security risk, all Ferris has to say is My dad and the prince know about the plan to move Baron Ris. From there, Ferdinand would change the plan completely, or at least drastically alter it. The rest of what he knew, he probably learned rather recently himself, when Ferris arrived. Looking at Ferdinand now, I had a lot more respect for how he had handled things, my earlier irritation about the interrupted reunion had gone. Mostly. Ferris leaned forward and look at the parchment, based on his mannerisms, he was a bit nervous. Are you sure you want to do this Ferris? I can keep you under hou- Before I could finish, he had picked up his quill and written his name, thus opening the contract. Please my lady, do not question my honor. Knowing that any other action on my part would be viewed as an insult I picked up my quill and opened the contract. Unlike my contract with Rupert, this one was rather straightforward with only three terms outlined. The Individual Ferris will, under threat of paralysis, obey any lawful order given to him by the individual Stahlia. The Individual Ferris will, under threat of paralysis, not allow the individual Stahlia or any of her allies to come to harm unless to prevent such would violate the previous. The Individual Ferris will, under threat of paralysis, seek to preserve his own safety, unless doing so conflicts with the first two terms. Otherwise, a few terms were defined for clarity; individual meaning it was the person who signed, regardless of how their name might change. Name changes were registered in the soul, and as I had learned recently, contracts of this nature were rather pedantic. Idly, I also noted how this was basically the three laws of robotics, with a few semantic tweaks and a changed order. Ferris confirmed the terms once, then signed his name. After doing it three times myself, I gripped my quill and signed just below his. That was how I gained my second ever slave. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-8 Wedding” After the contract was signed Ferdinand excused himself, saying that he would inform the relevant parties that Ferris was no longer restricted to the dungeons. After telling Sasha to have a room made up near enough to my own that Ferris would be useful without being so close as to cause a scandal, it was time to determine what that use was actually going to be. Though, since I did not as yet know what my own task would be, there wasnt much I could do on that front. Before anything else, according to our contract, do not reveal what you are about to learn to anyone. It was possible that the particular secret in mind would fall under the not allow harm to befall me clause, but I was not going to take a chance. After another glance around the room to verify that my knights and maid were the only other ones present, I consciously halted the flow of mana into my ring. A moment later, the illusion it created faded. After confirming by the rather startled expression on his face that Ferris had seen my real body, my mana was allowed to resume its normal flow. In the past six months, I have aged four years. For all intents and purposes, I am now sixteen years old. It took a little while for Ferris to respond but after doing some weird stretching motion wherein he opened and closed his mouth a few times while wiggling his jaw, he managed to restore his previous expression, I see. This is a side effect of what happened between you and Count Francois? I merely nodded, The only people who know outside of this room, are Rupert, Gustav, Ferdinand, Edith, Sarala, and my family. I understand, I shall keep it as such unless otherwise instructed. Standing up from my chair, I made my way toward the exit. Ferris had stood up on his own at some point prior and he fell into step behind me while Sasha actually opened the door. I didnt have any other plans for the day, so I figured that we may as well introduce Ferris to my family. As we walked, I decided to make one thing clear. Ferris, in your own opinion, what should I do with you? How best could you use your talents in my service? I might be a bit reluctant to the idea of using people, especially through contracts like this, but I would be a fool to not utilize the tools laid out before me. Doing that is in part what led to most of my issues, I wont make that mistake again. The only thing I am much good at is swinging a sword, my lady. Yea, I suspected as much Hes only eleven though. He might have been able to hold his own against the boys in the sword fighting class with skill, but they were only a little ways ahead of him. He wouldnt be able to beat an adult knight in combat. That rules out guard duty or wet works Actually, how strong is he? And what level is your purpose? The last time it was checked, I was level ten. So, a bit advanced for his age then. Well, now I have a method with which to test my hypothesis from earlier, that doesnt involve asking Rupert. Hold a moment. Bringing my party to a brief halt, I once again trained my Divine Eyes on Rupert. Sure enough, now that he was soul-bound to me, the divine eyes showed me his status. Name: Ferris Age: 11 Species: Human(Pureblood) Class/Level: Knight Apprentice, 13 Social Strata: Ability Values: Talents: Sword Fighting VI*, Bladed Weapon Mastery V*, Mighty IV*, Athlete IV* Skills: Sword Arm*, Blue Blooded*, Flow*, Level 13 at only eleven years old. What on earth was his father doing? And Knight Apprentice Thats a rather rare martial class from what I know. Not the rarest, but certainly one of the nicer ones. Also, that talent list seems a bit short. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the list expanded to what I was used to. So I was filtering out the useless talents that pretty much everyone has? Go back to that please. The long list of random talents vanished, now all that was left to do was to quickly go over the skills I did not recognize. It would behoove me to know my servants own abilities, and it was always possible that one of them could end up being worth grabbing for myself when I got the chance to. [Mighty] and [Athlete] did the same thing as my own [Flexible] accept for Strength and Endurance. Good talents for a knight to have. [Blue Blooded] was a Skill I personally already had, though this was the first time someone else had it that I knew of. [Sword Arm] was intriguing and definitely something worth considering; it caused any sword the wielder picked up to fill with their mana. Essentially, it turned the weapon into a literal extension of the users arm. It might synergize nicely with my Blood Magic Enhancements. Actually, couldnt I do something similar quite easily? I already know that my Blood Magic can mimic the effects of different skills with the correct applications. This seems like it would be similar to appraising an object or enhancing it Something to practice for sure, it would also help me regain full control of my mana so that touch-appraisal stops exploding stuff. Lastly, his [Flow]. This one looked nice on paper but after a moment of thought, I decided it would not work for me. [Flow] caused the user to enter a combat rhythm with their chosen style. It increased reflexes while assisting in recovery and slowing the rate of stamina loss. It was a powerful skill, but it only worked for melee; it would not adapt well to my own mixed style. And its something he has at level 13, so it is probably a rather weak effect at the end of the day. I think the really powerful skill from [Knight Apprentice] is definitely [Sword Arm]. So, knowing this, whats the best course of action for him. Ferris, I cant use you presently; you are too weak. He set his jaw but did not question my statement. So, I will arrange for you to train with the knights here. According to Prince Rupert, they are among some of the most experienced in the kingdom. Your purpose is Apprentice Knight, fulfill it by practicing. When you achieve level twenty and derive a new purpose, then I will make proper use of you. After looking around, particularly at the captain of my guard knights in order to ensure my point got across, we resumed walking. When we got to the guest rooms my family would be using I briefly introduced Ferris while taking pains to make sure not to reveal any state secrets. My family was responsive towards him if a bit confused but after everything else that had happened to them today, they took the news in stride. Two days later, I found myself in a small room, just big enough for the people who were present. This this happened rather quickly though, and well Yea. Obviously, I was at my own wedding. Rupert and I were standing next to each other along with my father in front of a table on which there lay a contract. This, once signed, would amend the engagement contract into a marriage contract. Once it was signed, we would be legally married and thus have upheld the terms in the engagement contract. We werent alone of course; my parents and the witnesses were present as well. Edith was here acting on behalf of her father. Jacqueline had been brought in using her wheelchair. Lastly, Sieg had been brought from my home village as well, though he had been absent from the family reunion. From Ruperts side, he was using Gustav, Ferdinand, and my Guard Knight captain. That last one was a bit strange at first, though it made sense when I considered that he was trying to keep the secret from spreading to as few people as possible. Sieg, once told why he had been brought, agreed readily. I hoped it was due to our old friendship, and not out of fear. Unfortunately, he really was one of my only options, if not my only option. Using Gustav might have been a possibility, but since he was already in Ruperts service that would be a bit counterproductive. On the bright side, this brought Sieg to the capital so I could ask about the request I had made last time we met. Fortunately, he hasnt been forced to sign a magic contract or anything; after all, who would believe him if he did say anything? When I had asked Rupert why that was, he explained he also wanted to try and minimize the use of contracts for singular issues. The more incidental simple contracts signed, the greater the risk of something going wrong or overlapping in unexpected ways. So, unless the contract was for something major like Ferris loyalty, going to the effort of a contract was more trouble than it would be worth. There was also the fact that Sieg was a simple alchemist at the end of the day. He could disappear, but I would rather not think about that. I really messed up, theres no way Sieg doesnt hate me for getting him involved in this Damnit! Stahlia, are you sure you are ready? My father seemed to have picked up on my distress as he looked down at me, face filled with concern. Yes. I should think some nerves are only natural, but it is nothing I cannot handle. Ill need to apologize to Sieg later Right after waking up and determining to be more careful, my lack of forethought went and messed something up! The last person in the room was a Cardinal of the church. This one was the same old man that had been there when I went to see Sana and learned about the prophecy. The church already held many secrets on behalf of the kingdom, as such the cardinal was not considered much of a risk. He and Sieg had both been vetted and confirmed to not be under any demonic influences, nor did they have ties to the First Prince. He began to speak in his capacity as our officiant, starting with a reading of our contract, though it was nothing complicated, Thus concludes the reading of the contract. Your Highness Rupert von Drakas, do you accept these terms, and as such seek to take Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas as your queen? I do so accept and intend. Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas, do you accept the terms as written? Do you concede to forgo your own titles, and become Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris, queen and wife to Rupert von Drakas? I do so accept and concede. With that exchange complete, it was time for us to sign the contract. Rupert held out his hand towards me while gripping a pen. We had not had a rehearsal or anything, for a secret ceremony with no onlookers such a thing would have been a waste of time. In lieu of that, Sasha had given me an itinerary of events. Unlike with a normal contract, it was tradition for us to sign our names using the same pen while holding it together. Reaching my hand out towards the pen, I suddenly felt sick. Swallowing repeatedly, I gripped the pen over Ruperts hand and allowed him to guide it towards the paper; he would write his own name and then it would be my turn to guide us as I wrote mine. When the pen touched the paper and my mana began to flow out through it and mix with his own, my vision started to go blurry. What the hell is this? Am I really that nervous? No, that shouldnt be the case Am I crying? Blinking rapidly a few times confirmed that my eyes were not watering. What in the world is going on with me? Stahlia. Ruperts voice pulled me back. Looking down at the paper, he had finished his own signature, and it was time for mine. I tried to move our hands but found things to be sluggish. The pen slipped inadvertently, marking the paper. Sorry Im not, Im not sure whats going on. My hand was shaking now, but through sheer force of will, I was able to write my name. The paper glowed as the magic took hold, and I felt the now-familiar sensation of something binding my soul. Please, seal the contract. The cardinals words prompted me to turn to face Rupert, who was looking down at me. The last part of the ceremony drew almost directly on Blood Magics own contract technique, and once we finished it we would be inseparably bound. This was the reason the contract normally required a one-year trial period for the one who would marry into the royal family; divorce was exceedingly difficult. The marriage contract activated magic that would directly mix our mana and link us together. In short, much like weddings back on Earth, we would end the ceremony with a kiss. Skilled application of Blood Magic could probably bypass that, but in my present state where I too attempt manipulating our linked mana it would be uncertain what the outcome would be. Even if I was in a position to do so, letting the contract invoked magic handle things would likely be faster anyway. My mind was racing a mile a minute going over all the reasons I was supposed to kiss him, even while he was waiting for me to tilt my head up. Something was stopping me from going through with it. A moment later, a light touch. Rupert had put his hand under my chin. Such an action might normally be viewed as romantic, but it had the opposite effect. It caused me to freeze up. Stahlia? Y-yes, sorry. It took a great amount of effort on my part, but I was able to lift my head such that Rupert could kiss me. He leaned forward and our lips touched. My mana was drawn out into him, even as his own entered me. IT brought back some rather uncomfortable memories, memories of when I had made a contract with Sitri in the past. That had been a true Blood Magic contract, and the method of mana exchange had been the same. A moment passed, then another, then Rupert pulled back. The next moment, as I looked at how close his face was, I tasted copper in my mouth. My breath was coming out in short ragged gasps. Im hyperventilating now? Why now? Then, I remembered. Sitri wasnt the last person to kiss me, it was him. Dominic, when he Suddenly overcome with a strong sense of revulsion, I took a large step back from Rupert. Are we finished here? Rupert gave me a look, but I couldnt meet his gaze. Yes, things are finished here. Thank you. Turning, I hurried from the room. After a moment, Edith followed after me. My guard knights closed in but I paid them no mind as I hurried along. Rounding the corner and ducking into a hidden washroom, I hurried to a stall and threw the door shut behind me. My knees seemed to come up on their own as I folded myself into a ball. Sta-, Lady Stahlia? Are you alright? Ediths concerned voice called out to me. My voice cracked a bit with my answer, Im, Im really not. I, I dont know whats wrong. Im coming in. She hesitated a small bit, but in the end, our friendship won out over my new status and she disturbed my peace or rather lack thereof. Looking up at her, my face was painted with distress. Well, whats going on? I dont want to talk about it. Edith narrowed her eyes at me. Great, Edith is back to being assertive. I mean its great that shes back to normal, but couldnt she have waited another day or two? Why now, when I just want to be left alone? Then again, what was I doing? Not like I didnt know. I knew exactly what was going on right now. Why this was happening, and based on Edith now crossing her arms, she was not going to leave me alone until I said it outloud. It isnt anything important. I just remembered some things, or rather, some things were brought back to the front of my mind Things that I had been trying not to think about. My friend nodded once, but apparently that admission was not going to be enough since she had yet to move. When I was in Ang, things that happened with Sitri Then, what What Dominic- Jumping up and spinning around, it was a good thing that we were already in the bathroom. Likewise, it was a good thing that I had not eaten much today. As I was wiping away the corners of my mouth, I felt a small hand on my back. Rupert reminded you of what Dominic tried. It wasnt a question so much as a plain statement of a fact. Thats right, Edith blames herself for setting that up! Damnit, now shell blame herself for this too! No, it was just a bit similar, Im fine now! My hurried reassurances did not have the desired effect. No, you are not. I am not going to leave this be; you forced your way on me when I was charmed. Now it is my turn to force you. That was when something dawned on me. Edith and I were looking each other in the eye. Even though I had sat down on the toilet at some point. She was always the tallest out of the three of us, and in time I imagine shell grow past me again. But for now, this must be really odd A twelve-year-old is trying to comfort a sixteen-year-old. Except Im not that either. Edith, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but you really dont understand No, dont protest; just listen. This will sound rather unbelievable, but I am not lying. Obviously, I had been hurt by what happened. I had been able to distract myself and repress these feelings up until now, but the events of the wedding had dragged them back out. Now, if Edith was going to help me, to understand the full picture, she needed to know. Honestly, I should have told her a long time ago. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-9 Confiding By the time we had finished talking, or rather I had finished talking, an hour had passed. Edith had simply listened. At first, she behaved as though she had several questions to ask, but as my story progressed she fell further into disbelief until finally arriving at acceptance. Well, there you have it. This isnt my first life, in actuality Im technically the oldest person in our friend group. Both physically, and mentally. She was quiet for a little while longer before nodding once in resolution, I see. Does Sarala know? No, though she probably suspects I have secrets, given her own circumstances. I will need to tell her the first chance I get though; please let me be the one? Right, yea something like this Just do not wait too long; I do not want to carry a secret this big on my own. Not from her Thank you, Edith. As for other people; Prince Rupert and Gustav know. Jacqueline and Felicity as well, though I doubt Felicity really understands the full ramifications of it. My parents are non the wiser, and I intend to keep it that way. Rather than burden them with more shenanigans, I would prefer to continue being just their gifted daughter. My friend pursed her lips but did not say anything. She did not have to, I knew already that it was rather selfish of me to keep such a thing from my parents. Hell, given how they had reacted to me suddenly becoming sixteen and Felicity growing a second tail they would probably have pretty much no issues with this. I did not want to change things. Perhaps one day my parents would learn the whole truth but for now, I simply did not want them to. Well, we should probably get out of here before anyone questions things spending an hour in a bathroom is already pushing it. A look of realization flashed over Ediths face and she nodded vigorously, Yes, we should What are you planning to do now? Find either Prince Rupert or Gustav and convey my apologies, as well as offer an explanation for my behavior. You? I shall be writing a letter to my father informing him that the wedding went off without any major issues Since you left after it was over, I can say that without worry. She gave me a mischievous smile and a wink before bowing and taking her leave. Right, time to find Gustav or Rupert. Then, I still need to arrange a meeting with Sieg I could just summon him, but I would rather not. Theres also what Adroni said in that email About heading to the peak of the mountain after my wedding. I wasnt expecting it to happen so soon, but I may as well look into that. I should have a few days longer before making my public return anyways. Thankfully, Gustav had instructed Sasha to bring me to him once I was recovered, so it did not take very long for me to find him. My apologies regarding that display, I will attempt to prevent something similar happening again. Gustav narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head. Princess, do you take me for a fool? I do not? My eyebrow raised questioningly at this statement. Lady Stahlia, even his highness recognized that something was very wrong; that display was completely unlike you. Even his highness? Just because he doesnt feel emotion himself doesnt mean he cant recognize it Of course he would be able to tell something was wrong. What do you mean? Say it clearly. Very well. His highness has more or less determined the root of your breakdown; the incident with the late Lord Dominic. He has instructed Ferdinand and myself to assist you in dealing with it as best we can, but to remind you that he cannot delay things any longer than they already have been. The way Gustav was still dancing around with his words was really starting to piss me off. Gustav, the incident was Dominic trying to rape me. My breakdown was the events at the wedding bringing back some memories of that. And Prince Rupert wants you to tell me that I am still expected to produce an heir, so I need to come to terms with things. Does that sum it up? Yes, that is more or less all accurate. Good. In regards to that last point, he does not need to worry; I will be capable of fulfilling my duties when the time comes. Though, I wish he would say some things himself, using you as a messenger is not fair to either of us. With all due respect, you know why he sends me; it is not just because of how busy he is. Yea, because hes worried that his lack of empathy will lead to a lack of tact. He doesnt have any issues being tactful with politics though! Moving on. Now that the wedding is over with, I would know what I will be doing. I take it that I am still to be kept away from the battlefield? Are you truly alright? Gustavs voice betrayed concern for me, and not the kind of concern over an integral component malfunctioning. Rather, it was genuine concern as a teacher or perhaps a friend. He could very well be acting, but somehow I doubted that. In any case, his tone of actual care took away a lot of the anger that had built up. No, I am not. Even now, if I think about it, my stomach twists up in knots. I had been using everything as a distraction, but the wedding dragged things back into the front. I am not alright, but, I will be. Clenching my fists, my words were as much for myself as they were for Gustav and by extension Rupert. I have people I can talk to. Edith knows about my past now, and she intends to help me overcome. If not for the peanut gallery of guard knights and servants, my statement could be more specific. Gustav was smart though, he should be able to figure out what I meant by Edith knows about my past. Very well. I will let his highness know that we should trust you in this. Now, as for your immediate task; his highness would like you to rebuild what you destroyed. Lord Ferdinand has been instructed to assist. What I destroyed? Rupert wants me to rebuild the Order of Shadows!? To keep an eye on me? Or to advise? Gustav grinned, No, he is being given to you as a subordinate in this. I am quite excited to see how things turn out. Placing Ferdinand on this project makes sense, as the former One he is one of the few people qualified for it. But why make me the spymaster? No, I know why. Its Rupert attempting to forestall future problems again. The kingdom needs an intelligence organization, but if they went and rebuilt the order without telling me and I found out later I would probably be quite cross. Please convey my gratitude, as well as my desire to have more of these meetings in person. Not that you make a bad messenger Gustav, but this really is rather silly. Gustav chuckled lightly, I will tell him, but do not get your hopes up. My eyes rolled, but I did not pursue the topic; I had other issues to discuss. Thank you. Now, regarding Sieg; I would like to speak with him, but I do not want to make it sound like I am ordering his presence. Gustav frowned, That would be rather difficult Given your position, pretty much anything you do indicating that you wish to meet with him, would be interpreted as an order, vague or not. Difficult, but not impossible? I want to apologize for dragging him into this, as well as discuss a business inquiry I made some time ago. About the ingredient for a Goddess Draught? I would recommend that you simply summon him, but if you are dead set against doing so then the best method would be to approach him through a proxy and handle the correspondence with a letter. Even if you attempt to convey a wish to meet through the letter, there is a strong chance he would view it as an order. Yea, as much as I want to say that he knows me, he really doesnt. I was never as close to Sieg as I was to Sven, and I left the village over a year ago. Thank you for the advice I suppose I will proceed along those lines. Gustav gave me a somewhat pitying look, I wish I could tell you this will get easier, but I am afraid you will only find the distance continues to grow. Thanks After what we just talked about, thats exactly what I wanted to hear Are we sure Rupert is the only one here who lacks empathy? Haa Whatever. Lets see, I need to know when my meeting with Ferdinand is, Im sure it has already been scheduled. Then, I should ask about visiting the peak. When will I meet with Ferdinand? I will need to discuss things before coming up with a preliminary plan for the new intelligence agency. Lord Ferdinand is going to be visiting Duke Claurence along our defense line; he will not return until after your return to public society. That being said, there are several documents and a few resources he has already prepared that I will arrange to be sent to you. Right, well thats something. The biggest question is where to get agents from though I wont let them use the same method, and even if I was alright with that, we dont have the time for it anyways Ill think about it after I review those documents. Then, would it be possible for me to visit the mountain peak? Gustavs expression became guarded, but his tone wasnt all that wary, Why? Hmm, if I didnt already know you, I dont think I would have noticed that you became a bit defensive just now. Interesting There was no point in beating around the bush, so I decided to simply be honest about it. God told me to go there after my wedding. Gustav blinked in surprise at my candor, God told you? Which one? The same one who let me come back? The so called sibling of the Goddess of Light and God of Darkness Interesting, very interesting. Gustavs eyes flashed and he got that grin that I knew meant he was intrigued and fighting off the urge to go mad scientist or crazed researcher. There is nothing preventing you from going up there, now that you are married in to the royal family; I was simply a bit surprised you would ask about it so suddenly. I will let Rupert know, and he will take you up himself. Really? After seemingly having no desire to meet me in person, always sending messengers, this is enough? Gustav grinned like a schoolboy whose prank had been found out, Not at all; you can go by yourself, but I though I might use this as an opportunity to force his hand somewhat. Well, I have no idea what it is that Im supposed to do up there It could very well be that Rupert coming with is what Adroni was getting at Well, it wouldnt hurt anything to have him come along. Though it might trigger another episode of anxiety for me Well, I wont get anywhere if I dont face my trauma. Very well, if you think you can get him to come along, then by all means; I would be ever so grateful. I shall do so with pleasure. Based on the somewhat evil grin he now had, it was plainly obvious that Gustav was getting a bit fed up playing messenger for us. He probably means to try and force Rupert to interact with me more himself. Though, Im not sure what he hopes to accomplish; we are both fully aware that love played no part in this marriage, Rupert and I are simply using each other. Well, I have ascertained the reason for your incident, so my purpose for this meeting is resolved. Is there anything else you wish to discuss or ask? My future, Sieg, the mountain top I dont think I have any pressing issues, at least none that Gustav could help with Not using [Eidetic Memory] really is troublesome. I was already trying not to depend on it too much, but to think it was still that bad. No Not at this time. It is getting late If this room had any windows, we would be able to see the sun setting. Felicity and Rosial would be waiting for me to come back, and I also needed to apologise to my mother and father for fleeing my own wedding like that. They dont know about D-Dominic. My back shivered as though something gross was crawling on me, but I did my best to ignore it. From their point of view, it probably looks like I ran off because of nerves Do I tell them the truth? This is difficult. Obviously telling my parents the truth was the correct choice, but if they knew then they would certainly blame themselves. My father had already apologized about the engagement with that guy, and even gone so far as to offer to take a rather treasonous course of action to make amends. If I told him what had happened, he would definitally feel responsible. Actually, I dont really know how hes feeling about my marriage We sort of just treated it as a thing that was already established, because it was, but I didnt ask him specifically. Hell, his friend is his son-in-law now, he must have at least some thoughts on the matter. Mother as well, she was always kind of big on noble etiquette, now her daughter is ascending to the throne This is a really big deal, and Ive kind of just rolled with it. I would need to see about having some quality time with my family, at the very least we needed to have some long conversations. By the time my entourage made it back to my bedroom, it was already dark. While I had hoped to be able to say goodnight to Felicity and Rosial, they were surely asleep by now. Stahlia. Well, Felicity is asleep at least. Once the knights had left me alone in my chambers, Claire had opened her eyes and said my name. You nearly gave me a heart attack! My voice came out in a hoarse whisper; Claires existence was not common knowledge to my guards, and it would be preferable for it to stay that way. How are they? Rosial was fast asleep, hugging Clairicity like some kind of large teddy bear. The fact that she was able to sleep like this had to be a good sign. The sight put a stupid grin on my face, though her nightgown was askew. Bending over to adjust it, my hand brushed over a pale white scar on her neck from where her own parasite had been removed. Gustav wont say anything about it, and Rosial doesnt want to talk either I can only imagine that removing it while it was still alive must have been painful I understand why they had to move quickly and not wait for me to wake up but if only I had been able to help Such things were best not dwelt on; shaking my head to clear the bad thoughts, I pulled her nightshirt up to hide the scar. Apparently, it did not matter what spells were tried, no amount of healing magic seemed to work to remove it. The two of them are doing fine. They missed you, but after spending the whole day running around with Rosin, were exhausted. Rosial asked me to say goodnight for her. Wait, Rosial knows about you? Clairicity seemed to shrug in the darkness, She has her own imaginary friend, Felicity spilled the news about me almost immediately after learning about Stali. Well, I suppose thats fine then. It gives the two of them something to bond over. My thoughts exactly. I couldnt help but overhear that you ran out from your wedding? My heart skipped a beat. No, I am properly married. There was were, is. There is another reason why I left. Dominic? Yes. Stahlia, what happened? I turned my head away from her. Telling Claire and getting her counsel would definitely help me get over the incident, or at least move past it. But that would risk involving Felicity. Did I really want to involve my six-year-old sister in this? Even if it was only a chance? No, the answer was no. Jacqueline didnt tell you? I did not ask her. Based on the way she looked at your unconscious body, I could tell it was something terrible. Something that I should hear directly from you. Man, she really wants to help But no. I wont risk Felicity finding out. Caire, if I told you, you would have to promise me not to let Felicity find out. Given that you live in each others head, you two shouldnt be keeping secrets from each other As much as I would love to talk about it, to get your input and hear you tell me everything is fine No, Edith is already there for me in this. She will have to be enough. After a moment, Clairicty nodded her head. Well, I cant force you to tell me. As long as you have someone to talk to I think I know what happened, but I wont make that guess. We sat in silence for a bit. It was late, but I did not want to go back to my own bed just yet; it had been a while since I spoke with Claire so openly. Well, what was it like? Her voice broke the silence. Hmm? What was what like? Dont play dumb, the wedding! Youre a married woman now. She had a bit of a twinkle in her eye, but I couldnt figure out what was so amusing, Honestly? It was not what I was expecting I thought a royal wedding would be a bit more special? I get that it was a small secret thing, and I know well have a proper ceremony in a few years I just wish it had been less methodical. We essentially just did exactly what was required and no more, like a courtroom wedding almost. By the time I had finished talking, my voice had gone from unsure, to a bit frigid. Jeez, I didnt realize how much I cared. Huh You really grew up didnt you, George? What does she mean by that? I thought I told her not to use that name anymore? Though I tried to get Claire to explain herself she refused adamantly, claiming it was something that should be obvious to me. When I woke up, it was to discover that I had never actually gone back to my own bed. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-10 Mountain Surprisingly, the arrangements Gustav promised came rather quickly. Only a couple of days after our meeting, I received a summons from Rupert asking for my presence. That was fortuitous since the matter with Sieg was making no progress. Sasha was proving to be rather inept at veiled communications; she outright refused my order on the matter. If you wish to speak with that man, simply summon him; you are the wife of the crown prince now. Do not debase yourself. And you are refusing to carry out my orders? Does that not debase me? In this case, I am; as a maid of the royal family, it is my duty to ensure that it does not lose face. You are a new member of this family, I can respect that the leap in station will be jarring. But that is only all the more reason for me to guide you firmly along the proper path. In short, Sasha seemed to think it was her duty to make me act a certain way. It would be extremely easy to have her removed from my service; one word to my guard knights, or really anyone would probably accomplish that. However, doing so would set a dangerous precedent. Sure, her refusing here was extremely frustrating, but she could have a good reason. It was doubtful but possible. Before I do anything myself, I should ask Rupert Sasha is such a stickler for the rules of society, that I really dont think she would refuse a direct order like that. If I had to guess, Rupert might have told her to help me learn what is required and expected of me. Then, she just took it too far. In the short term, Ferris would make a good messenger boy while he wasnt training with my knights. Though sending a former dukes son to ferry communications between myself and a lowly commoner alchemist probably seemed like a waste. The fact that my future involved repairing the kingdoms spy ring meant that Ferris was going to have to get used to stuff like that if he was going to be in my service. Though his honor was a potential source of worry there; it may cause him to object to certain orders. That was all for later though. For now, I was actually alone with Rupert. Well, there were two guards, so we were not technically alone but the lack of servants and such meant we were extremely isolated. It was actually a bit disconcerting and made me feel exposed; I had grown used to having everyone around me at all times. Then again, we were in some sort of large room, with a pair of ornate doors. This part of the palace was extremely old by comparison to the rest of the structure. Opening the doors would reveal the outside, and the pathway which wound up the side of the mountain. At the peak was whatever Adroni wanted me to find so badly that he would offer a spoiler. Actually, does Adroni really care that much? Since I met them, Ive been given nothing but a string of spoilers. Hell, I was literally shown what was happening right after my death. Prince Rupert, what exactly is up on the mountain peak? Clearly something of great importance. He raised an eyebrow, You do not know? After what Gustav said, I had assumed that your benefactor told you. They did not. It was simply suggested that I should come here after the wedding, though at the time I did not realize how soon it would happen That is unlike you, I would not expect you to take such a vague suggestion at face value. Especially not from a god. He had me there. In my efforts at transparency, I had disclosed my feelings regarding the gods here. Actually, it is rather strange Is Adroni influencing me to act this way? They said they wouldnt But they had no problems confusing Sana to keep things interesting and pull me away from the Goddess of Light As concerning as it was, it was a real possibility that even now my thoughts were being influenced. All there was to assure me that was not happening, was the accord we had made. But at the same time, there really is no reason not to go and check this place out. From Gustavs words, I know that I would be taken up there eventually. The fact that Rupert is being so accommodating as well indicates that this isnt really a big deal from his perspective, secrecy aside. Perhaps, but even still, I would like to follow through; that god did send me back after all. If all they want now is for me to go and visit the mountain peak earlier than I would have originally, then it is not much to ask. True, and indeed, you would have been brought there soon in any case; the source of the royal familys magic is what resides on the peak of the mountain. You need to present yourself to it in order to fully take on the duties of the queen. Obviously, this is a rather large secret. Yea, no kidding. I knew that the Voice of the King and those eyes Rupert used when I got shown his perspective existed outside the system of the majority of the world. I thought they were something inherent though, like Gustavs and my own Blood Magic. The source of blood magic was ones own mana and will. This revelation implied that the magic used by the royal family had a different source entirely. I also already have used the voice once, without visiting this source So, whats the difference there? Asking the question now would simply delay things; there was a good chance it would be answered by this visit to the source. Then, let us go. At my words, Rupert nodded and turned to the knights. The door. Right, and those arent either of our guard knights. They were already in this room when we got here The two of them bowed briefly to Rupert before turning and walking up to the door. Once they were standing next to it, I gulped. It hadnt been easy to tell until they were right next to the monolithic wooden slab; each of the guards was around ten centimeters taller than Rupert, who was around that same amount taller than me. The door was easily twice the height of the knights. It was heavy as well and made a dull groaning sound as they opened it. The two of them moved slowly, and their muscles bulged visibly under the strain of the weight. Whatever wood it was made from, it was nearly a meter thick and opened outwards. That being said, as slow as the door opening was it ended quickly. Rupert held his hand out toward me wordlessly. I felt my stomach lurch as all those memories came back again. Seriously? Hes just offering me a hand! Maybe it was because my mind had already created an association between Rupert and that trauma after what happened at our so-called wedding. Whatever the case, it wasnt like there was a reason to worry over it now. Rupert and Dominic Those two are not the same person. Eventually, stuff will happen but it wont be like that I understand why you might be reluctant, given what happened. But there is a barrier in place; you will not be able to cross without taking my hand. Blinking rapidly, I realized that I had been staring at Ruperts hand wide-eyed. Right, he wouldnt offer his hand unless there was a reason for it I sucked in a breath and bit down hard to force myself past that, then took his hand. Rupert nodded once again, then led the way through the doorway. True to his word, there was resistance as we passed through the doorway. It felt like trying to force two rather weak magnets to touch their north poles. Once through, we emerged out onto the upper slopes of the mountain. The walls of the palace wrapped around, vanishing as they matched the curvature of the monolith. It was cold and the air was thin enough that it caused my breath to come out in short gasps. A massive door wasnt enough, there was also a barrier. Just what is so important that it takes something like this? Also, I needed to hold his hand to be allowed through? What kind of shit is that? If the contract was enough for me to use the voice, should I not already be recognized as a member of the royal family? A quick glance at Rupert revealed something rather concerning; he was looking around somewhat in awe. Prince Rupert, have you not seen this before? Only once; I was six. We do not make a habit of visiting here if we can help it it is suffocating. I bobbed my head in understanding The altitude would be a bit much, and if it is kept only for the royal family then coming here would be inconvenient. No, not the air though that is an issue. The mana; if you can not feel it now, you soon will. Come. Without wasting time on any further explanation, Rupert began walking up the path. It had been a minor concern that this outing would involve actual mountaineering. Not that it would be difficult with my abilities, it would however have been inconvenient. The only reason I had not brought it up, was because this was a place the royal family visited if not regularly, at least every few years or so. Thankfully, such a worry proved to be baseless; though the path was ill-maintained it was still a path. Hurrying my steps, I caught up so as to be walking just behind Rupert. Evidently, there was still a little ways to go, however, my husband was content to continue in silence. After a little while of this I could wait no longer, I have a lot of questions. There was a pause before he answered, I am sure. Most of them should be answered once you meet him; for now though, in his eyes, you are only a provisional member of the royal family. I see, thank you. It was subtle, but the way Rupert spoke made it sound like he wasnt supposed to talk about certain things. I doubted that he was actually incapable; he would not have allowed a clause of total honesty to go into our engagement-now-marriage contract if there were things he could not say no matter what. Still, he has given me enough room when it comes to secrets that I can wait here. At the end of the day, I do trust him. He also answered my biggest question, though I suppose that figuring out what that was isnt exactly an achievement since it was pretty obvious. If whoever this him was only viewed me as a provisional member of the royal family, then it made a certain degree of sense if a few areas directly related to this him did not recognize my status. Presumably, Adroni had wanted me to have this audience as soon as possible and thus pushed me in this direction. There was also the fact that I was going to meet someone. Someone who presumably lived on the mountain and held some modicum of power over the royal family. That being said, the silence was still awkward. Well, I had that random thought earlier that Gustav was thinking for this outing to bring the two of us closer together. I said it then, and it looks like I was right; there was no way that was going to happen. In a way, I almost felt bad for Gustav, but had that really been his intention he should have known better. Especially given that he had been present when we did our negotiation in the first place. He had also known Rupert for a long time, he should know best that Rupert wouldnt ever feel any closer to me than was required. Actually, all the men in my life are kind of strange, arent they? Gustav is nearly bi-polar with how he flips back and forth between being eccentric and being utterly professional. Rupert has his issues with emotion and attachment, Ferdinand isnt really involved directly with me but I know he will be in the near future. Hes far too cold and calculating with everything he does. Ferris is so wrapped around the idea of honor he threw his family away Its a damn good thing this is just a fairly standard fantasy world and not one of those Otome settings Claire mentioned. Stahlia, how are you holding up? Pulled out of my idle, and frankly embarrassing, contemplations I realized that while I was off in my own world Rupert had pulled decently ahead of me. My apologies, I was lost in thought and it slowed my pace. I see, if you begin to feel ill, speak up immediately; I would find it difficult to carry you. Did you really need to add the last part? I will keep that in mind. Good, I imagine it would be a difficult experience for you at the moment. Without elaborating, he went back to walking up the winding path. At this rate we should make it to the peak in ten minutes The mana coming down of the peak is quite heavy, though the presence doesnt really compare to Androni. I could see why Rupert would describe this as suffocating but in my case, it was like moving from a large city to a medium one. Sure both of them had smog, but compared to the large city the medium one would feel practically clean. Though, it isnt like I really noticed the presence Adroni exuded in the moment I wonder if being just a soul had something to do with that? Whatever the source, it will be revealed soon enough. A few minutes later, the path we had been following made one final hairpin turn and crested the mountains peak. The view that was revealed was breathtaking: the palace and city spread out below us like a cone wrapped around the mountains slopes. Beyond that, past the outer wall and slums lay the massive plains, and off in the distance on the horizon I could even see the Ris mountains, tinted blue. Though I could not see my home village, it really did put in perspective just how high this peak was. You really dont notice the thin air in the noble quarter so I never thought about it before, but it should be really hard to breathe there and, in the palace. I wonder if it has something to do with that barrier? Its gorgeous And those were my honest thoughts. Rupert fell back a few steps to my side and looked out over the same scenery before commenting, I suppose it is. That was when I felt it. A powerful gaze bearing down on me. It was overbearing and suffocating, more so than the mana in the air at least. My spine tingle and out of the corner of my eye Rupert stiffened. Hes here. Turning around, I saw the figure of a man. In terms of height, he was between Rupert and me. Handsome, but not astoundingly so, he was dressed in a Roman-style toga and wearing a laurel on his head. Like the majority of the kingdom, he had fair hair and blue eyes. What stood out the most though was his pupils; they were slit-like, and reptilian in nature. Again I shivered, after all the first thing I had done was look at him with my divine eyes. Though not as strong as Five had been, his mana was bright. It was also moving incredibly swiftly; if the flow of mana really did match the flow of blood as I thought it did, then this mans heart was beating over three hundred times a minute. Furthermore, his stance had no openings. Sire, this is my wife, Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris; in accordance with the first law, I have brought her before you that we might receive your blessing. Stahlia, this is Drakas; the first king. His eyes met my own and narrowed. When he spoke, his voice was deep and guttural, Rupert, you have married an undead? And one bearing that things taint? Before giving Rupert a chance to respond, he addressed me, Well? Speak your piece before I send you back to your god. I should by all rights have been terrified out of my mind. Perhaps my mind had left me though because all I could do was laugh at the absurdity of it all. Ha! I have no gods; maybe I made a deal with Adroni, but they do not own me or my allegiance. You, of all beings, should be able to tell that. The man looked down at me sternly, and I felt the force he was exuding multiply several-fold. Go ahead and dispel the illusion; I can see through it anyway. His voice was a lot more mellow than it had been the last time he spoke. Considering it a wise move to do as he said, I forcibly stopped the mana from flowing to my ring. Then, will you dispel yours as well? His eyes widened, Well Rupert, this is indeed interesting. Not since Denal has anyone seen through this shape. Very well girl, we shall see how you do. The shape of a man faded before my eyes like a mirage coming undone. At the same time, another shape faded in. The true form of the first king of Drakas. Though my eyes had already spotted the faint silhouette of his mana, seeing the real thing was something else entirely; where there was once a man, now stood a nearly eight-meter tall dragon with silvery-white scales that gleamed in the sunlight and refracted into all the colors of the rainbow. It turned its head and fixed one massive eye upon me. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-11 Dragon Well, you certainly have the bravery to stand by the side of the king. Or is this simply foolishness? The voice boomed into my head, echoing around and causing a mild headache. Perhaps both, but that is not for you to judge; my motives are my own. I needed power, so I obtained it. What, what on earth am I saying!? I was being snide, with the first king and a literal dragon. What exactly is going on with me? Alright, thats enough of that. You have good compatibility with power. [Judgement End]. Following the first kings proclamation, the oppressive aura seemed to vanish. All at once, I was suddenly terrified and collapsed to my knees while shaking. The dragon followed this all with its singular unblinking eye, before slowly reverting back to the form of a man it had first been in. This should make it easier to talk Rupert, once she recovers, bring her to the source and I will bless your marriage. That said, the man turned and walked off. Idly, I noted that the ground around did not react like one would expect from such a creature. Unlike my own illusion which would not change the size of my footprints, whatever the first king had done seemed to properly disguise him. Some sort of polymorph or shapeshifting, then. Rupert stood impassively a short distance away from me. He made no moves to help, nor did he seem to be in a hurry. It was infuriatingly as though he had predicted this outcome and was content to wait it out. Eventually, my heart rate slowed and the shaking stopped. It was a small blessing, but I had managed not to soil myself. Sitting up onto my knees, I paid no mind to the fact that my dress was getting dirtied. W-what was that? Rupert had a distant look in his eyes, as though he was reminiscing about some long past event, The Kings Judgement. One of the magics of the royal family, and arguably the harshest. It only targets members of the royal family and forces your true nature to the surface so that your worth can be judged... You are quite strong-willed, to think your true self would talk back to that. It sounds nice, but was that really me? I would say that I am rather timid. Certainly not that arrogant. If that really was my true self It was scary that I did not recognize it. There was silence, save for the wind whistling around the rocks and ice. Maybe, though after whatever it was, look what happened to me. If that really is me I have a long way to go before I am anything like that. Ha. Rupert let out a short, dry laugh. Whats so funny? Nothing. It is just that, I had a rather similar reaction when I was judged by my father. I see. Ruperts true self huh? I would be lying if I said I wasnt curious and I feel like it would only be fair for me to know, since he just saw mine He fixed me with a stern look before shaking his head begrudgingly, I was eight. Your uncle had just been found guilty of treason, and I had beseeched my father to spare yours. We were alone, and my father asked me if that was what I really wanted, before using the spell on me. With my true self dragged out, I withdrew my request and apologized for my impertinence My father pronounced me unworthy of being king then and there. But in the end, he granted your request. He did. He also named me the crown prince. Again, we fell into silence. So Ruperts true self is pragmatic and calculating. Im sure there are details he left out, but Im glad I didnt have to actually ask to get him to tell me. I did not fault him for changing his stance on my parents; after experiencing the same spell on myself just now how could I? Besides, it did not matter in the end as they had been spared anyway. It did raise the question of what was going on in the kings head. The current king, not the first one. The few times I had met him, he had seemed rather set in his ways. Certainly not the type of person to bend the law at the request of a son he had deemed unworthy. Likewise, there was the fact that in the end, he had proclaimed that same son to be the next king over his eldest. A king must be true to themselves? In response to my muttered comment, Rupert raised an eyebrow. I shook my head, Nothing. I can go on now if you are ready. After a moment of hesitation, I reached up with one hand. Rupert looked at it with mild surprise then grasped it and hauled me up. Though it was regrettable it couldnt be said that he helped me up, to do so would be a lie. That was fine though, if my theory was right everything would make some degree of sense. Its backwards as hell, but it makes sense on a fundamental level. The first king is a dragon, and the current king rules with a philosophy that strength is all-important. But thats just the current king. The first king didnt seem to respect my own strength, despite the fact that he has to know what happens down in the capital. He tested my personality. In short, what mattered was not the strength of the ruler, but the strength of their character. The king needed to be true to themselves in order to rule. Rupert had been pronounced unworthy when he demonstrated that he was going against his nature by feigning compassion Then, when he embraced his cold and calculating side he began to plot and scheme so the king changed his evaluation. Of course, that theory fell through with my own nature. I did not see how my actions followed after the arrogance and pride that the dragon had said I had. It would be worth asking him when we met again, as long as it looked like Id get away with it. Angering a literal dragon would be a stupid idea. Even if he was weaker than Five, he was stronger than Sitri, just judging by his mana. While my own mana could eclipse his it would require me to disconnect from the system again, which was probably not possible without [Cold Hearted]. Emotional control might be one of my strengths, but good control was far removed from outright disabling. Not to mention the fact that doing that would probably kill me again, and as far as I was aware, there were no more green mushrooms available. There was also the fear that the first king had been somehow masking his true mana; he had spoken of Adroni as though he knew who that was. That meant this dragon was rather old, though being a dragon that was hardly surprising. But if he knew Adroni, that would mean that he probably predated the system. The fact that he used magic outside of it lent credence to the theory as well. Well, if I think I can get away with it, I have a lot of questions. At this point, its pretty obvious why that jerk wanted me to come here so soon; so that they could see my reaction to the dragon. Given everything I knew about Adroni, the only reason they would conceivably have for giving me that little nudge was just to make my reaction happen sooner. It was going to happen within the next few months anyway since this first king evidently had to judge me. Adroni was probably simply too excited to wait. In the future, I will be ignoring any further communications from that asshole. Together, Rupert and I crested the absolute peak where the first king was waiting. His human form was sitting cross-legged in a meditation pose of sorts. Before him lay a single gleaming silvery-white scale. It was pretty obviously one of his own, and yet it was somehow even more dazzling than the ones still attached. Without opening his eyes, he spoke as we approached, My heart scale, and the reason why I despise the third child so much. Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris, place your hand on the scale. Well, that just adds more questions. Still, it would not be a good idea to anger him by refusing. Stretching out my hand to touch the heart scale, I felt resistance similar to the barrier that surrounded the mountain summit. There was an electrifying sensation that I recognized as mana that passed through my arm, and then words appeared in my vision. Obtained Title: [Princess of the Silver Dragon] I recognize you as kin. That makes you the second in a thousand years, be honored. It took a moment for things to sink in but when they did, I realized that Rupert was showing a very rare smirk. Ignoring him for just a moment, I tried very hard to keep my voice level and asked the first king, The second? Your mate has the cunning and pragmatic outlook of a dragon. You have our pride and our greed. It has been a thousand years since I last recognized the rulers of this kingdom as kin. I shot a glare at Rupert, You could have told me. Actually, why didnt you? It was the first king that answered by interjecting, Because I forbid him. For the test to be wholly accurate, you could not be expecting it. You should be proud of him; given the provisions of your contract not telling you was rather difficult. No wonder he looks smug, when did Rupert set this up? A while ago. This would explain why most of my interactions have been through Gustav or some other proxy. So, he wasnt giving me the opportunity to lie or not tell the truth. He was giving it to himself. Cunning, I guess. Before anything else, I took a moment to quickly check the titles effects; [Princess of the Silver Dragon]: Awarded to those women recognized as honorary kin by the Silver Dragon. Effects: Cloaks the holder in the aura of a silver dragon; laces the words spoken to those beneath the holder with a compelling effect. It was about what one would expect. Well, I probably wont use this one. Unless the aura of a silver dragon has an effect besides making my words compel people. I can already use the voice of the king if I really need to force my will on someone, and after everything, Ive been through Yea, I dont really want to use the ability to do something like that. Thanks, I guess. The first king opened his eyes and fixed them on me, You are welcome. With the two of you in power, the kingdom should be secure for another few hundred years. He shut his eyes again, as though to say we were done talking. Rupert turned to depart, but I decided to try and ask at least some of my questions. Excuse me, but why do all this? Rupert gave a start and reached his arm towards me, Stahlia, Inadvertently stepping out of his reach, I felt my pulse quicken as my hands shook slightly. Knock it off, just breathe. After forcing myself to calm down, I fixed the first king with a look awaiting an answer. When he did not immediately show ire, Rupert relaxed. Evidently, he had been curious as well. Do what? The mans voice was calm, but I knew all too well that it could merely be an act; anger could hide behind the calmest of facades. Still, it should be safe to push on at least for a little while; I doubted very much that he would explode at me right after naming me honorary kin Though the jury was still out on exactly how big of a deal that was; titles were only as useful as the people who respected them. Rule through a proxy, allow a Hell King to run rampant in the kingdom you founded, stay up on this mountain for so long instead of interacting with the world. There was a lot more rolled into my this but those three were the key points. I see. It appears that there is a fundamental misconception, no doubt in part due to how Rupert introduced us I do not want to rule this kingdom, nor did I found it. Something so trite would be beneath me. The kingdom was founded around the mountain where I lived already. I merely allowed it. So he isnt the founder, then first king would be... First King was a title bestowed on me by the founder of Drakas, but I was never the king of this kingdom. I am sure. But why let someone like Five run around freely? You clearly care about the kingdom all the same. I pressed on; this was what I really wanted to know. If something like a dragon was living in the capital, then how come I had to do everything I did? He opened his eyes again before speaking further, his voice now rising a bit, What makes you think that I care? I existed before this country and will exist long after. He was clearly getting a bit angry, but as long as I picked my words carefully it should be fine, Well, you granted the royal family magic in your name from what I know, and you mentioned how you approved of the ruler a thousand years ago. The same way you approved of Rupert and myself. Do not play games with my words. He was staring at me hard now while beginning to exert some of the pressure from before. Then, all at once, the pressure vanished, Even if I did care, there is nothing I could have done; I am bound to this place through my heart scale. Yea, ok, isnt that what you call Tsundere? Even if I did care. Whatever, the point is, hes stuck on the mountain? Because of his heart scale? As much as I want to know more, I feel like that would be a very touchy subject I also kind of already have a pretty good idea what happened based on context. Adroni is the third sibling of the three gods, and even if it was a test, the hatred he held in his words about Adronis divine oath I have was real. So, the jerk did something to him, which resulted in him being stuck here. Well, I could be off base, but I doubt it. So you were stuck up here, forced to watch as the fifth seat ran rampant That must have been awful, Im sorry. My sorrow was real, I knew all to well what it was like to feel powerless and be forced to watch the world run around you. Well, it does not matter; you dealt with it easily enough on your own That man was right. The way he spoke, reminded me of an old person reminiscing about the past. Looking at him now, it is kind of easy to see him as a broken, lonely, old man. It would not be hard to forget his true form if I wasnt careful. But whats this about a man being right about something? I wanted to ask, but it seemed like the timing would be wrong if I did now. Taking a step closer to Rupert, my voice lowered to a whisper, Is there anything that would prevent me from coming back later now? Subtly, he shook his head, No, but I would prefer if you did not; you do not seem to realize the line you are treading right now. There was a retort that could be made, but I held my tongue. Starting an argument here would be pointless, and if I could come back later that was all that mattered. Ill just need to be careful and judge how hard I push for answers. Rupert obviously doesnt think that the risks outweigh the potential benefits, but thats just bias given the relationship between the dragon and the kingdom. With my own outside context, this dragon is basically just a giant info dump. As long as I watch myself, I could learn a lot of incredibly useful information from a being thats live more than a thousand years. My feet carried me away from Rupert, until I was only a few meters away from the man, One last question, if I may? He shook his head, rousing himself from the memories he was no doubt lost in, Oh? You two are still here? I had expected you would be long dead by now. What question? Right What is your name? Prince Rupert introduced you as the first king and my titles refer to you as the Silver Dragon, but what should I actually call you? The man blinked, My name? As much as I would like to tell it, you do not have a decade. I have named you as kin, call me as you wish. Ok Well shit. If I choose wrong here, hell definitely get angry. Pride in names and all that I glanced at Rupert for assistance; he might actually know what the man used to be called back when the kingdom was founded. Unfortunately, it would seem as though he did not. I spent several minutes thinking on the matter, coming up with several names but throwing them all out for one reason or another. Names that had the benefit of remarking on his appearance were the first things thought of, but I rejected them because they were too basic. Next, various well-known dragons from Earth mythology. But each of those had a problem of its own; the most well-known were all evil, and the ones that were not tended to be named after a specific personality trait. I would be screwed if he asked me how I came up with the name. Well, I could be cheap and just say that I cant think of anything worthy. That would be safest, but it wouldnt earn me any favors Alright, lets go with Drakas. I will call you after the kingdom that, whether or not you care about it, owes its existence to you. Please like it, or at least dont be angry! Ha! Hahaha! Drakas she says! Very well, you may call me such. Ok humor is not what I was expecting This is good though? Rupert had turned pale and was staring at me with his mouth open in blatant surprise. It did not look like Drakas was going to stop his mirth any time soon, so I excused myself with an awkward smile and a word before making my way back down the path with Rupert. Stahlia, do you have any idea how lucky you are? He sounded rather tired. I agree that the name was not the most creative, but it did not anger him. You gave him our name. Rupert von Drakas, Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris. He could have taken that as a grave insult. My feet slowed to a stop. That little tidbit had eluded me in my deliberations. I could feel the blood drain out from my face as I turned pale, You could have said something! Had I spoken up, there is a good chance he would have gotten upset by the interruption. After a moment we resumed walking, though my steps were a bit shaky now. Talk about missing the forest for the trees! I thought that was a decently safe suggestion! A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-12 Poison Psycholor When I checked incognito mode, I saw that the chapter had apparently not been published... No idea. When we got back inside the palace proper Rupert addressed the guards, My fianc is not to be allowed back out for at least a month Any more than that, and she will find some other way. Turning to me he frowned, Before you say anything else, please think it through carefully. Right, I will make certain to. It was a bit irritating that he was basically punishing me, but given the potential gravity of my mistake his stance was understandable. A month was not really a big deal either; building a new spy order was going to be occupying the vast majority of my time going forward anyway. It would honestly be surprising if I had the chance to visit Drakas before the spring came. Actually, I really picked a screwy name. King Drakas sits on the throne of Drakas in the city of Drakas below the mountain whereupon lives the dragon Drakas No wonder he fell into a giggle fit, that name is generic as hell Together we left the inner gateway room and, after being rejoined by our respective entourages, began to walk back towards the main part of the palace. We still had a short distance over which we would be travelling together, and I planned to make use of it to go over the few remaining things for which Rupert was needed. Prince Rupert, before we part ways have you given Sasha any special instructions? He sunk into thought for a moment, Sasha? Ah, your maid. I have not, why do you ask? Ah, well she seems to have decided that she needs to educate me on a few things To the point where she is refusing some orders, deeming them beneath me. I see, well it is true that there are some actions you should no longer take, it is not her place to lecture you Since you likely would not have her punished, simply send one of your other attendants. Thank you for clarifying, I had thought to use Ferris already, but wanted to know if she was acting of her own accord or not. Rupert nodded, She is not. If you wish for something to be done, tell Gustav or Ferdinand as the latter will be under your purview following his return to the palace. Whatever you decide, do keep in mind the secrets we hold. Right, that is a concern since anyone sufficiently close to me would eventually learn about my body. Speaking of which May I have Lady Elienor? Rupert had already been handed a sheaf of papers by one of his manservants and was beginning to read it. He paused and glanced at me over the top of them, Explain. Even if she is granted a stay of execution, she cannot go free given what her family has done. Though eccentric, she does have talent Besides this, she is my friend. I would like to offer her the same deal that Ferris has. It strikes me that Sasha is quite overworked, being the only female member of my staff. The woman in question looked surprised at my spoken concern for her, understandable given that I had just finished putting her on blast for refusing to deliver a letter to Sieg. Obviously shes overworked though, Lucy and Frieda were barely able to do what Jacqueline managed on her own between the two of them. Sasha has only met me a few weeks ago, and is on her own. On that subject, if it is possible, I would also like to employ Lucy and Frieda; my maids from when I was living with the Francois I know that you do not want to stack up too many small contracts, but if we keep the terms between these three identical to what Ferris has, there should be no conflict. Rupert was shaking his head. I see, I guess it isnt going to be possible then. A basic service contract will suffice; please, do not go about talking about assembling a legion of slave servants as though you were buying pets Ah, apparently that was a touchy subject, duly noted. Looking around, it was pretty obvious that my talk had made those assembled somewhat uncomfortable. I had Felicity for almost two years, yet I know almost nothing about how slavery works Its not like I was avoiding learning about it, just that nobody really talks about it among my friends and acquaintances Apparently, it isnt a socially acceptable topic. Thinking about it, I only know of a few other nobles who even had slaves in the first place. It looked like it was possible that it wasnt as widely utilized as I had originally thought. Well, I can look into that at my leisure; especially if I ever decide to try and introduce abolition, Ill need to confirm exactly how widespread the matter is. For now, anything else I needed to ask Rupert? Ah, the plan I was toying with for the spies. I will take that under advisement It looks like this is where we will be parting ways, Ahead of us was the branch in the hallways where Rupert would continue straight, towards his offices, while I would turn off towards my own lodgings, Before we go, about the plan we discussed- You already have some ideas I take it. I will inform my father and await your report. While cutting me off, he waved a hand in a motion that looked like he was using it to saw through his throat. The message was clear be quiet. He then tapped his ear, signaling that we had people listening to us. Since he was using signs, I could intuit that we were not being watched. Who and where? Closing my mouth without complaint, I activated my divine eyes and glanced around to see if anything stood out. Nothing did, however; all of our entourage looked normal, and I could not see any other light sources in the vicinity. Though, it wasnt like I had eyes of true sight. My divine eyes could not see spells, or mana not tied to a living thing. I could always cast [Silence], but without using Eidetic memory for the magic language, the spell would not be modified and thus would be hardly effective against a determined eavesdropper. I need to fix my skills and talents as a priority Adroni said that it would just take time, but there is no telling how much time they meant and Im not really sure if I trust them or not anyway. For now, Ill get Ferdinand to look into this when he gets back; people eavesdropping on the crown prince and his wife is definitely in my purview as the new Spy Master though I havent actually been appointed as such yet. The fact that Rupert made no further moves after shushing me meant that it was probably only a possibility that we were being listened to. In all fairness, it was a possibility that should have been on my mind as well; the fact that he had to point it out to me was negligent on my part. Not really a mistake I would have made normally I imagine I am quite shaken from meeting a real live dragon though Ill double-check everything I want to say before speaking for the next little while. My head bobbed sharply by way of acknowledgment to Ruperts impromptu game of charades, then curtsied, Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to cater to my request; the view from the peak was as gorgeous as I had thought it might be. Until next time, Prince Rupert. Rupert bowed, Indeed, thank you for accompanying me, until next time Lady Stahlia. With our close-but-not too close goodbyes said, Rupert and I separated and my own entourage made our way towards my quarters. Sasha, when we return prepare the drawing-room for guests and send summons to Sieg, I would like to speak to him. Though my vision was focused forward, my ears caught the sound of my maid missing a step. My lady, are you certain? The corners of my mouth twitched towards a frown but I suppressed the impulse, Yes, I am certain I will not enjoy this however I have come to realize that I cannot continue to cater to everyone elses schedule and feelings. As difficult as it will no doubt be, I have to rise to meet the challenges of my position. Sorry Sieg, but I cant afford to play some weird cat and mouse game betting on the slim chance that you dont perceive anything I say as an order. Hopefully, whatever friendship we had before this will last, or at the very least you wont come to despise me. Two hours later, Sieg was ushered into the drawing-room where he then promptly knelt. Of course it would start with this, damnit Sieg, I have not been coronated yet so please do not kneel Sasha, please prepare tea for the two of us. My lady? Sasha raised a questioning eyebrow, no doubt she was thinking something along the lines of Why dont you just say what you want to say and dismiss him? Well, you want me to act like my station, so here goes. Sasha, I believe I have given you an instruction. There was a bit more of a bite to my voice than I had wanted. Sasha performed a half curtsy and set about carrying out my orders after a quick apology, Please forgive the delay. Those leaves, thats one of the herbal blends I helped Sana make in Siegs store Thats a nice touch, but when did you ever have a chance to learn that? Apparently Sasha had been doing her best behind the scenes for my benefit. Ill need to apologize for getting short with her just now, and for snubbing her in front of Rupert and the other servants earlier today Or would she be upset if I did? A proper royal should never apologize to a servant. Shes hard to read Whatever, Ill apologize, and if she says anything in protest, Ill just tell her it was my decision to do so and to stop complaining. Hopefully, things would get easier in a few days once she got help but for now, in the immediate future, there was the matter with Sieg. Firstly, Sieg, I want to apologize, Though my ears were tuned behind me, Sasha gave no indication that she had any opinions on what words had just come from my mouth, It seems that Ferdinand made an ass of himself when he had you come along with my parents; I have spoken to him regarding that; it was not my intention to spring the matter of you being a witness like that. Pausing for a moment to gauge his reaction, I then continued, Due to the specific nature of my relationship with Prince Rupert, there were very few who could serve as one of my witnesses. I, My lady, if I may? He interrupted me, thats a good sign for our friendship, I hope. Though, I wish he wouldnt my lady me like that. Please. After receiving my permission, Sieg continued, I am not daft, I know better than most what kind of crazy events you get yourself involved with; I also have a feeling I know where this is coming from. Be assured, I will keep the secrets expected of me, not out of any fear, but as a favor to our friendship. He spoke words that I had dared not hope to hear. Despite everything that had gone on, he was still willing to call himself my friend. Then, he kept talking. That being said, please understand that things have changed a great deal. The little girl who grew up making a mess of my brothers shop had a tendency to get overly attached to things and people. While I will always look back on those memories fondly, out of respect for your new station; I cannot permit you to continue calling me a friend. My heart lurched, but his response was more or less what I originally expected. That did not make things any easier, just a bit less shocking. I suppose I could order you otherwise, but what would be the point in that? Shutting my eyes tightly, I took a deep breath. When they opened, Sieg the alchemist was sitting where my friend Sieg had been a moment ago, Regarding our previous arrangement, have you made any progress? He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, probably wondering if it was really that easy. Of course it isnt, but if this is your decision, Ill respect it. I can easily see what sort of trouble would arise from me calling a commoner alchemist a friend. Better for both of us if you become a footnote in my autobiography as the owner of the shop I learned alchemy at. When he saw no reaction to his suspicious look, Sieg swallowed, No, unfortunately, I have not been able. My sources within the kingdom have been exhausted over the past year; none have been able to come through. My head bowed in real, not acted sorrow, Thank you for your efforts Am I to understand then, that if you were permitted to reach outside the kingdom you might yet be able to find something? Sieg nodded, Yes, if I were permitted to publicize the request amongst foreign suppliers, I may be able to find something. True to my original stipulations about being discreet, Sieg had not reached outside of his shops regular suppliers. What he was asking for now then, was my permission to make the request public. Unfortunately, that was something that could not be allowed. If word got out that the fiance of Drakas next king was seeking an ingredient for a Goddess Draught, especially with the past and present turmoil in the kingdom No, that cant happen. Even if I tell him not to use my name, people would be able to make the connection between his shop and me, the prodigious and inventive alchemist. Unfortunately, I cannot allow that; this is a personal request not a matter of state I am sure you understand. Of course, I will let my contacts know that the request is still open, however there is not much left I can do beyond that. His tone was apologetic, and not in a way that suggested a businessman missing out on a lucrative deal; he was genuine. Of course you wouldnt be able to just cut off everything like he did; Im sure he still has some lingering thoughts on the matter. When I left Ris the first time, Sieg was a reminder of his older brother and a close friend in his own right. Upon my return to Ris after what happened in Ang we had agreed that since I was growing up, it would be best if we took a more professional approach to our friendship. Now, he was breaking things off completely. The more I think about it, the worse it feels. Yet another connection to my past being severed Id at least like to hang onto this connection, even if we wont be able to call each other friends anymore. There was one way I could go about it, but it was a longshot whether or not Sieg would accept or not. Odds are, he would consider it more trouble than it was worth. And theres the potential that he will interpret it as an order, even if I say it isnt You know what? My true self is supposedly prideful and selfish. If Drakas, an actual dragon recognized me, what have I got to lose by embracing it just a little? Sieg, thank you for your efforts I do have another business opportunity that you may be interested in, if you would hear it? Obviously, my honeyed words put him immediately on guard; it was pretty blatant that I was endeavoring to hold onto the connection he was attempting to sever. Unfortunately for him, given the difference in our stations me asking if he wanted to hear something was the same as me telling him to pay attention. He gave a noncommittal guarded nod in the affirmative, effectively giving me permission to continue. One of my upcoming duties will require a rather skilled alchemist. Of course, I personally meet the requirements, but I will be too busy with other matters to attend to it myself Out of respect for our previous friendship, I would like to offer you first refusal on the post. Obviously, I was referring to my work rebuilding the Order of Shadows. Someone would need to attend to the procurement and manufacturing of the new Orders potions and poisons. Truth be told, Sieg had been my first pick even before he brought up ending our friendship. Now, I could use the offer framed as a business deal to prevent him from severing that bond. Bringing it up out of respect for our previous friendship was the best I could do to avoid making it a direct order. Sieg frowned, mulling over my words. After a moment he glanced at Sasha, who was standing impassively in the corner. Likely, he was looking to see if there was any sign that she knew about this, or if it was something I had just made up to keep him connected to me. Whatever information he gleaned from my maid was irrelevant though. As you may recall the injuries of my previous maid, Prince Rupert has taken note of my feelings regarding her treatment; he has asked me to put together an order in the kingdom to take care of people like her. Obviously, such work would require a steady supply of potions made by skilled hands. Siegs eyes turned as large as dinner saucers. After all, both he and his brother Sven knew about the Order of Shadows, at least in rumors. They also knew or suspected Jacqueline to have been a member. By mentioning her and talking about forming a kingdom-wide order, I had made it pretty obvious what job Sieg was being offered. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-13 Debut Psycholor There was a bit of a hiccup with the previous main chapter not showing up in the chapter index. This has been fixed now, so if you happened to miss it don''t forget to read that one first! The next three main chapters, starting with this one, are going to be rather bitter. Lots of self-doubt and insecurity; I spoke with several people who went through a similar experience to or main character (attempted sexual assault), so the way she is acting and feeling now should be accurate. It ends on a lighter note though, and I plan to release this month''s extra chapters between these to break it up a bit. For this month, there will be a family outing in the capital, and a look at what Sasha actually thinks of her new mistress. Stahlia, Sixteen Years Old, Eleventh Month of 948 Following my meeting with Sieg, it was nearly time for me to make my return to public life. As far as the business proposal, Sieg had requested some time to think about it and Sasha had made arrangements for him to stay in the palaces servants quarters while he did so. If he perceived this as me pressuring him to take the offer then that was fine; he would be more or less correct. Not that there would be any repercussions if he did say no, there was no way that I would let anything happen to him because of me. I do feel a bit bad about it, but whatever. My lady, I need you to focus. Sasha had become a lot more docile and accommodating recently, though she was still strict. My apologies, what were you saying? We were currently going over the plans for my engagement ceremony. Though I fail to see the point in planning out every minute detail like this; the chances that things proceed perfectly according to such a complicated plan are effectively null. In short, the engagement ceremony that was to double as my return to public life was a sort of gala. There would be tables for each attending noble family, a space for an orchestra, and an area for dancing. Owing to the length of time that had been wasted by my coma, the ceremony announcing the engagement, as well as the party welcoming me into the royal family was being held at once. I was meant to enter with Rupert escorting me, where the king would then make an appearance to announce his endorsement of our engagement. He would then denounce the first prince thereby bringing the few remaining neutral nobles to our side. Rupert would give a speech, followed by a few words from me. During these was when I was meant to plead for Elienors life. Rupert would grant my request, and we would then lead the assembled younger nobles in a dance. At that point, I was more or less free. Though not really; Edith would be bringing me around and introducing me to the key players among the nobility. I just hope I can remember their names and faces without [Eidetic Memory] At this point, my talents and skills had yet to actually make any sort of recovery and were still showing up in that strange, garbled text. Fortunately, I did have Edith to help me, but this was really something I needed to do on my own. My lady, are you listening? Oh shit. Yes, I just need to do my best to follow that plan then, correct? Sasha looked like she was developing a headache, but she nodded all the same, Yes, just stick to the plan. Lady Edith and Lord Gustav will deal with anything unexpected that might crop up. Somehow, I feel like Im being sidelined at my own debut Then again, it is true that I am woefully inexperienced with politics. I might be able to fight and scheme, but thats hardly what Ill need to do as queen Hopefully, I can pick it up quickly. Of course, I knew the theory. After all, I had been aware that I would have to learn politics ever since signing the contract with Rupert. But I had no real practical experience; other than breaking up with Dominic I had not had any major interactions with the nobility. It certainly did not help that I had been largely ignored and avoided by my peers in the few weeks between leaving the Francois and going into my third coma. Please just follow their lead. I fully intend to; I am well aware that I am utterly lacking when it comes to being diplomatic. I could probably dispose of any of the attendees in a week and leave no trace, but when it comes to placating them and exchanging favors I must defer to my betters. My rather improper words had the desired effect of causing Sasha to fall into a stunned silence. Before she had a chance to recover, a knock sounded at the door. I smiled sweetly, I do believe that is likely a messenger from Prince Rupert, we should not keep him waiting. At my words, Sasha gave a sharp nod and quickly moved towards the door. It was a good thing that she moved quickly since as it turned out rather than a messenger, Rupert had come himself. Which I suppose made sense since he was meant to be my escort. Hurriedly standing, I performed a half curtsy, Prince Rupert, I was not expecting you to come yourself. My apologies for the lacking reception. He waved his hand somewhat dismissively, Your rooms are closer to the venue than my own; it makes more sense to come from here. Well, he isnt wrong. More importantly, you have been told the plan? I nodded, Yes, Sasha has gone over it with me I only hope that things will go so smooth. Indeed, while I respect your ability in other areas, you lack tact As evidenced by recent events, you tend to overthink things and miss the obvious. Leave as much of the talking as you can to Edith and myself, and make no promises. Really? I might have that tendency, sure. But Im not stupid, I know that my words carry weight now, I dont need you to remind me as though Im a child. And remember to try and avoid close contact with anyone; the story is that you are not fully recovered from events yet. His last warning was easier to stomach than his first. After all, if someone touched me it would dispel the illusion my ring projected. Even if being reminded about it was a bit irritating I could at least understand why he was so concerned about it. Not so much his other warnings. Of course, My intention following our dance is to state that I am feeling faint. That excuse would permit me to spend the rest of the night sitting, while Edith can pre-screen anyone who wants to speak to me directly. If I could borrow Gustav for the night as well, then I believe there will be little to worry about. Rupert nodded, You can borrow him then, Gustav officially you will be acting as my own representative at whatever audiences Stahlia ends up with. Gustav bowed in brief acknowledgment but didnt speak. Rupert extended a hand to me, Shall we go? Right. Just remember that this isnt like that. I grit my teeth and pasted the best fake smile I could manage, then took his hand. Fortunately, my illusionary self was a bit too short to link arms with him, so holding his forearm was the most I had to do. Still, that would not last forever and eventually, I wouldnt have an excuse anymore. Even with just this, I could already feel my pulse beginning to quicken as my adrenaline spiked. I wanted to throw his arm away but forced myself to hold back. Rupert looked down with a raised eyebrow; he had probably felt me stiffen slightly. I shrugged and shook my head, doing my best to ignore my heart beating in my throat. Im fine. Lets go. Rupert narrowed his eyes, but whatever he was thinking was irrelevant; we did not have time to go over how I was feeling. He nodded, Then, let us depart. I really hope I can move past this all soon I just need to be strong for now. We arrived outside the large entrance doors. This was the same venue that the wake for the second prince had been held, so I was at least slightly familiar with it. In a few moments, a knight serving as a herald would announce us and we would go in. The two other loyal dukes besides Ediths father were waiting just ahead of us; being the highest-ranked they would be announced and make their entrance just before Rupert and I. Edith was present as well, once again representing her father, while all of the counts and barons were already in the room. Duke Lawrence and Duke Lester, their wives, then Edith representing her father I see she has things pretty hard as well. Looking at it objectively, the amount of work Edith was doing was insane. Quite possibly more than I was, and yet I had never heard her complain. Even now, she was making small talk with two grown men on behalf of her father so that he could tend to the defensive lines. If I didnt know any better, I would suspect she had reincarnated herself. But, if that was the case she would have told me after I shared my past with her No, Edith is genuinely gifted, if not for my circumstances I wouldnt be able to keep up at all. Sensing our arrival Edith, the two dukes, and their wives turned to greet us. The dukes and their wives both bowed to Rupert, but towards me, they merely looked. Their gaze was harsh, appraising, as though they were trying to find any fault or weakness. Though, given my position and dubious origins, their attitude made sense. After all, how often does someones family become a barony, then have their daughter engaged to the next king in a span of a few years? The wives were one thing, I could somewhat handle their stern yet curious looks. The dukes were something else though; their gazes felt much harsher, more critical. I felt a shiver run down my spine and though I did my best to hide how I was feeling behind my mask, Edith knew better and I caught her eyes narrow. Im fine. You dont need to worry about me right now. Obviously, there was no way for me to really pass her that message, other than smiling faintly and hoping she figured it out. I did so, and though she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, she held her tongue. Announcing Lady Edith, representing her father Duke Claurence. Since Edith was technically lower ranked than anyone else in the waiting room, the herald announced her first and she fixed a smile on her face. Curtsying to those present, she turned and entered the hall with her guard. Dukes Lawrence and Lester have their wives with them, but Edith was alone Considering she was originally meant to marry Rupert, I wonder whats going on with that? Hopefully she doesnt end up single Though in this case, since she is representing her father she couldnt be escorted by anyone from another house. The Heralds voice called out again, disrupting that train of thought, Duke Lawrence and Duke Lester, together with their wives. The four of them bowed and curtsied as required then passed through the doorway with their own guards. This left Rupert and I alone once more. How are you feeling? His question was rather unexpected, causing me to jump slightly. There was no point in explaining exactly what tumultuous thoughts were passing through my mind at the moment, so I contented myself with a vague shrug, I will be fine Their intense appraisal just made me a bit anxious. I see. Before anything else could be said, the herald announced us, His Highness Rupert von Drakas, together with his fiance, Stahlia von Ris. A knot formed in the pit of my stomach, but I did my best to ignore it and shifted my hand so that instead of daintily holding Ruperts, I was now gripping his forearm. After a moment of hesitation, I moved my other arm around in front of me so as to be holding his arm with both hands. It was a more intimate display, and would hopefully go some ways towards dispelling any rumors spread by the first prince and his rebels. On the downside, this position meant that I was basically clinging to Ruperts side, which did wonders for my nerves. The best way to get over my mental issues is to just force my way through. Thats basically what I did with Asten and my remorse, and it worked then. Rupert looked mildly surprised but that expression quickly vanished, Then, let us go. I nodded and allowed him to lead me through the doors. Immediately upon entering the brightly lit venue, I felt sick. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were fixated on my body, my hands holding Ruperts arm, my face, everything. All of them seemed to be staring at me in a manner similar to the dukes as well, which was not good. Will I even be able to move? That would be a disaster. If I could barely walk forward down the carpet, then the plan would fall apart before it even had a chance to begin. And Im supposed to give a speech, and beg for Elienors life!? What the hell was I thinking! Stahlia, walk. Ruperts voice sounded in my ear; he was whispering without moving his lips. Looking up at him out of the corner of my eyes I saw that, though he was smiling for the crowd, his eyes were harsh. Even he seemed to be critical of me right now. I I cant. My own whisper reached him, and I saw the corner of his smile twitch. Damnit! Im sorry! I shouldnt have any issues with something like this; Ive constantly been drawing attention to myself, I dont know why this is only happening now, but it is! Suddenly, I was no longer standing. I hadnt fallen though. Blinking rapidly both to take stock of what had happened and to clear my eyes of the tears that had started to form, I realized that Rupert had picked me up. He was now holding me in a princess carry and walking on his own. I felt my cheeks flush instantly in one moment, and then invariably screwed myself as I began contemplating. This isnt good. The plan would have me appear strong but empathetic, a good foil to Ruperts own personality. This is going to make me look weak in the eyes of the noblemen, and while some of the women might like the image the majority of them will view me as simply a child. I mean, I am technically a child, but that image was something we needed to break. I really went and messed this up Will we even be able to salvage the plan at this point? Maybe it would be better for me to excuse myself early. We could say that my illness has returned No, that would imply that the next queen is physiologically weak. Being absent for half a year was already bad enough, but could be explained away by saying I was heavily injured. If I say I was feeling ill and excuse myself, even if it made sense, it would start rumors. Then, should I play the part of a little girl and say that being the center of attention made me nervous? No, that wouldnt work given my past actions; I was never afraid of attention before- Stahlia, stop thinking; you will just further complicate things. Ruperts muttered instruction was harsh, but it hit the nail on the head. Hes right. At this point, I should just go with the flow. Edith and Gustav are here, and both of them are much more capable of social games than I am. Trusting them to play things to our advantage would be the best action I can take now. Looking at the crowd, I could already see Edith whispering to a few noble girls her own age. Two of them I recognized as being somewhat more heavily charmed; the ones Dominic had been dancing with to spite me. Shes already starting convenient rumors and laying the groundwork Sorry for the extra trouble. Still, seeing her moving on my behalf like that had a calming effect, and I was able to focus on calming myself. After a few more feet of being carried, I whispered back to Rupert, I should be fine now. I am sure I am quite heavy seeing as I am not actually twelve. It would look more awkward to put you down now, than were I to bring you all the way to our seats. That much was obvious, even if being carried was more awkward for me. I wanted to ask him how I should play things off, but even lipless whispers posed a danger of being eavesdropped on. Unless I could figure out a way to phrase things innocuously, it would give away that we had a scheme in the works. I wont try. I probably could, but I already decided to trust my allies with this. Theyll come up with something and find a way to let me know what I need to do. If they dont, then Ill just do what we originally planned and trust that they can manage with that. Me trying to salvage the situation on my own would just create more work for the people cleaning up after me. As I came to that conclusion, we arrived at our seats and Rupert let me down before pulling out the chair for me to sit. As I took my seat, I risked a quick look around the room. It was honestly rather remarkable; whatever Edith and Gustav had done in the shadows, I was no longer being stared at in a harsh or appraising manner. People were now looking on warmly. I really am lucky to have friends and allies like those. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve Extra Chapter: Mother’s Intuition Psycholor This chapter topic was requested by Chiyo, though the original prompt needed to be altered somewhat heavily to work with the present setting. "Now that the family is back together, show them actually being a family." Unfortunately, given the present circumstances, Stahlia is a bit to busy to take part directly. I chose to focus on her mother''s misgivings about what all has transpired, and show how she is coming to terms with the new circumstances of her various kids. Rosalie von Ris, Twenty-Eight Years Old, Tenth Month of 948 No fair! You shouldnt flicker when were just playing! Felicitys ears gave an angry twitch as she accosted Rosial. Rosial stuck her tongue out as she retorted, Youre just mad that you cant catch me! Wait! The voices of my three children called out as they played energetically around the rooms we had been given, under the watchful supervision of myself and Jacqueline, though the latter was only here because in her own words my room is rather dull without anything to focus on. When first arrived, I had been concerned that the noise produced would prove a bother and tried to calm them. It was my other daughter, who was presently absent, that had assured me there were no problems. Come now you two, think how Rosin feels! The two of you are running circles around him. Felcitys ears twitched the way I was beginning to realize they did when she knew she was doing something wrong. Frankly, I could only be impressed at how expressive those things were. I cant believe that some people would have them removed. Well, then he should learn to speed up! Contrary to Felicitys guilty attitude, Rosial was as blas as ever. Not that I really knew what she was normally like, we had only just been reunited. She used to be so kind and cheerful always running after Stahlia Come now Rosial, Rosin is your little brother; you need to be nice what would Stahlia say? For better or worse, Rosial seemed to have at least retained her infatuation with her elder sister; merely invoking my first daughters name was often enough to get her to calm down though it made my mothers heart weep that I had to rely on my child like that. To be honest with myself, I think that the notion that Rosial had come back to me, had been returned, had yet to fully set in. My husband and I had some inkling of what might have happened; that Rosial had been taken. All of the high nobles did, and as the former spare to a duke my Fynn had knowledge well above his present station. It was easier then. When Rosial was just dead, any suspicions to the contrary were just that; suspicions. Now confronted with the reality that it was the very kingdom I was so proud to be a part of And Stahlia Shes involved with the very people that took my other daughter from me. It made my heart ache just thinking about it. Any other mother would be beside herself with joy to be the parent of the next queen. I couldnt bring myself to be happy. Fynn says that everything is fine, but can it really be? I doubt that things are so simple. Lady Ris, you are doing that thing again; you will get wrinkles. Jacquelines chiding voice cut in, What would your daughter say if she saw how you are right now? And you? What would Stahlia say if she knew you were still running yourself like this? I do believe that she all but ordered you to take things easy. Jacquelines face twitched but she ignored my comment, My lady made her choice, and she does not regret it If she knew how you were fretting now she would be upset. I wanted to retort, but before the words left my mouth, Rosial began to tug at my arm. This is new, shes shied away from my touch the past days Yes dear, what is it? Can mommy help you with something? Rosials face crimped up; despite knowing she did not like it, my voice had invariably gone back to the doting-mother speech I had used before she was taken. Still, she did not pull away. Rosin cant keep up; carry him. I blinked. This is, she is asking me to join them in their game, right? I smiled, I would love to! Just tell mommy the rules please, I am not sure I understand what it is you are playing. My daughter frowned at me, Were playing Botched Job! the assassin messed up and now the target is running away! So They are playing tag. By this point, after spending a week with her, I had grown somewhat desensitized to the unique mannerisms that Rosial had picked up. It was troubling, but I had to tell myself it could be so much worse. Alright, who is the assassin? Rosial smiled, Rosin is this time! Ah, no wonder he cant keep up Should I just be glad that the two are letting him join in? Or should I be worried that it will be a bad influence on my son? Despite my misgivings, I got up from my chair and made my way over to Rosin. Rather than be upset that he couldnt catch either of his sisters, he just seemed happy to be included at all. Picking him up, I turned to face the two girls, Are you ready Rosin? Aya Aya Mommy! Aya aya? Before I could ask, I noticed Felicity looking away pointedly. Ah, some demi-human term. As long as he does not say it in public there should not be a problem Well, then let us get your sisters! The game started immediately after the words had left my mouth, both Felicity and Rosial took off and began to keep a distance from me. Theyre fast! Felicity I understood somewhat, being a demi-human, she was naturally stronger. Though how she was this fast despite being a child was a mystery. Rosial was the more surprising, and the more worrying. Unless my eyes deceived me, she was actually a bit faster than Felicity. Not that I would have any trouble catching them if I really wanted to. Though, doing so would not be very motherly of me; letting the children run around until they got tired was best. Hurry mommy! Theyre escape! Of course my son did not see it that way; in his mind, me and him were on a team and we had to catch the girls. Alright, make sure to hold though, alright sweety? Ya! Rosin clung excitedly to me, and I picked up the pace a bit. Still, the two of them were quite fast and had evidently been holding back. When I accelerated, they did as well until the three of us were almost sprinting. Alright! That is quite enough, slow down before you break something. My husbands call brought me back to my senses. What was I doing!? What if a servant, or worse, some member of the nobility came to call! I am glad to see you were bonding with our daughters, but we need to get ready for tonights event. Fynns apologetic tone reminded me of why we were here in the first place, and I did my best to calm myself down. Felicity, can you get my chair please? Jacqueline, timely as she had ever been, provided an excuse for the three to leave my husband and I before the whining about why they couldnt come as well started. Fynn and I retired to separate changing rooms to dress for tonights big event, before reconvening to make our way to the venue. That really was terrible of me Our daughter must be going through so much, and here I am acting a fool. My mutter was really only meant for myself, but my husband was close enough to hear. True, but you know what? I think Stahlia would be beside herself with happiness if she had seen you just then; do you remember how you used to go after her when she would run around with Rosial? Perhaps, I just wish that things could have worked out differently If only I had done this or that, then maybe our family wouldnt have been torn apart like it was. My husband grimaced, Rosalie, stop it; the past is the past, and you can not change it now. Perhaps you are right, though seeing her tonight is going to be hard. Fynn laughed dryly, Do not mistake my words, it will be hard for myself as well. But you know what? It will be even harder for her. Everyone seems to think that our daughter is special, some miracle. But do you remember when she came home? After the disastrous mission? She cried just like any other girl her age should. We cannot change the past, what is important now is that we be there for her in the present. My husbands words rang in my ears even as we went to the table provided and took our seats. I wish it was that easy for me Fynn, but I cannot help but worry. Somewhere down the line, I forgot, but she is my little girl all the same. Psycholo 5-14 Speeches Turning my attention away from the crowd before it caused me to have a nervous breakdown again, I focused on the other people sitting at the table with me; namely, my parents. Rosial was still officially dead, so she could not attend. Felicity was in an awkward place owing to her status as a demihuman and the fact that she had never been legally adopted by my parents. I need to figure out the best way to handle her situation The easiest thing to do would be to just make a new slave contract, but I would rather not; as far as Claire and I can tell, she doesnt need a connection to me anymore now that Envious has activated fully Ack! Im rambling again. The short of it was that Felicity was not able to attend either. Stil and Jacqueline were also not in attendance, for obvious reasons. Actually, even my parents being here had caused some organizational problems. This was owing to their status being as low as it was. In the end it had been decided to compromise; my parents were seated some distance away from Rupert and myself, rather than on my left side as was traditionally the case. Even with them being as distant as they were, their presence still served as a steadying force for me. A pair of knights stamped their sabatons to produce a rather loud bang that resounded throughout the room, likely aided by some Wind Magic. The whispers that had begun to pick up died down as the assembled guests turned to face the entrance at the opposite side of the hall from where Rupert and I had just come from. Everyone knew that the king was going to make an appearance, so it wasnt as if they were all confused about what was about to happen. Announcing His Highness, King Edward von Drakas the Fifth. With the heralds announcement, the pair of knights again stomped their sabatons before swinging open the double doors. The king entered, and upon seeing him, those assembled stood as one before dropping to their knees. Rupert was the lone exception; being the kings son, he stood but did not kneel. I did my best not to stare, satisfying myself with only what could be gleaned from the peripherals of my vision. Who could blame me for being curious? This was my father-in-law, and I had only actually ever seen him thrice before today. And one of those times, he dropped a bombshell that forced us to alter our plans pretty drastically. Granted, it worked out in the end but Chances are, things would not have gotten so bad for me in particular, had the king not gotten impatient and forced us to move quicker. It was not that I blamed him specifically. Rather, he was an enigma; I could clearly see the benefits of moving as quickly as we had. But that was only with hindsight. In the moment, I would have loved nothing more than to slow down. I have to wonder when I will get a chance to meet him properly, instead of from a distance like this. I have to imagine I will at some point, being that I literally married his son. Frankly, in my mind, it was odd that I had yet to meet him since the wedding. Especially given that I had met the god damned dragon face to face and even shared words with him. The king completed his entrance and, standing on a small raised platform placed specifically for the purposes of his and Ruperts speeches. The last time he gave a speech, he was not all that verbose. I glanced at Rupert from out of the corner of my eye; I already knew that he did not know what the king actually intended to say outside of the same barebones basics I knew. He had fixed his father with a cold stare, though his face otherwise remained passive. If I did not know any better, I would probably consider the stare treasonous. So, hes also concerned that dad is going to through us another stick to go fetch I really hope he doesnt. Rupert, you have chosen your queen. His voice was rather quiet, in stark contrast to the tone he had when giving the speeches at the school. He also did not employ the voice this time either. Yet, something about the way he was talking was still rather compelling. When he did not continue, I realized that he was in fact waiting for a response from Rupert. I have. And you believe she will be able to rise to the station? I do. He was quiet then, for some time. Long enough to where I began to worry he was about to throw our plans out of whack again. Then, Stahlia von Ris. Everyones gaze snapped to me at those words, and I felt my pulse quicken again. Right, this is the part where I raise my head. I looked up and met the kings stare with my own. Despite my nerves beginning to feel raw once again I somehow managed to hold myself steady. I will honor my sons decision. I hereby permit the use of our name as your own; Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas. Furthermore, I grant you the title crown princess. Support my son in the years to come. A notification popped into my head, informing me that I had received a new title And now I am supposed to curtsy once to the king, then once to Rupert. Against all odds, my knees did not give out and I was able to fulfill that task. Throughout everything he had said so far, he had maintained that same quiet yet piercing tone. Now, he changed to the more commanding presence I was familiar with from the previous times I had seen him. With my blessing, this is the next king and queen of our country. Are there any here who would go against my decree? After a short pause that was more for effect than anything else, the king continued, As it should be. Still, there are others who are not present. My own son who goes against the words of his father, his king. The king raised his hand as a quiet murmur ran through the gathered ensemble; the first part of his speech was fairly traditional, but what he was saying now was not. Though people had probably been expecting him to say something about Antonio and his followers, the king was being pretty obvious about his stance. He was calling them traitors with little room for interpretation. Bring the registry. His voice had changed again. Instead of the powerful commanding tone or the quiet yet piercing one, it was now soft. Barely audible, and yet everyone heard it. There was something else there that I could not quite identify either. Something final. Besides me, I saw Rupert stiffen; he was no longer making an effort to hide his feelings but was staring at his father with naked surprise and shock? Rupert? In my anxiousness, I neglected his title. Fortunately, I still had the presence of mind to whisper. Not now. Watch carefully and do not forget a moment of what you witness My father is about to make history, the bastard. He should have told me he was going to do this. Though he managed to prevent his voice from carrying, there was genuine anger and frustration behind his words. A pair of women wearing robes arrived bearing between them a scroll upon which was stamped the seal of the royal family. The so-called registry I take it. A registry of what? Based on Ruperts reaction, something significant. The other nobles look somewhat stunned as well. Indeed, though none were talking, they were all glancing at each other rather excitedly. Not in a good way, like they were excited about what was about to happen. More so that they could not believe what they were seeing. The king reach towards the scroll, and the two bearers unfurled it. I was too far away to read what was written in it, but I could feel a rather powerful connection between myself and the words on the page. As if something were tugging at my soul. A family registry then. Of all the members of the royal family, a magic tool that records the names of the rulers and their kin. But, what is he going to do with that No way, he wouldnt, would he? Antonio von Drakas, mine first son. I denounce you. In the presence of those assembled, and by my right as king, may your name be stricken. The scroll seemed to glow, and I felt something snap, as though a string had been pulled taut and then cut. The scroll was then reverently rewound and borne from the room. A moment later, the king himself left. All the while, nobody present said a word. The atmosphere was heavy, and I felt cold. Forget denouncing him, he stripped him of his status and titles. The king effectively disowned his own first son. Even for him, thats extreme No, perhaps not; the war starts in a year and a month. We dont have time for a petty rebellion, and Antonio should know that. The king is taking the most expedient course of action that would best serve the kingdom. With this, even many of the nobles still following him will recuse themselves. Rupert looked like he was going to be sick, surprisingly enough. Prince Rupert, are you well? I would be lying if I said that this brief reversal of roles did not feel amazing. Any minute now, hell Yep, there it is. Rupert tensed his jaw, shook his head, and wiped his cheeks with both hands. Once he had finished, his expression had returned to neutrality. He looked down at me, I am doing well, Stahlia. Are you ready for the next part? I rolled my eyes but nodded, Yes, your own speech correct? Correct, though I will now need to give it off the cuff My father is genuinely a troubling man. All I could do was shrug and nod. Rupert grimaced briefly before once again forcing a neutral expression and standing. The crowd had been stunned speechless by the kings actions; the majority of them lacked the context for why the king had been so harsh in his judgment against Antonio. When Rupert began walking towards the small raised platform, a number of them began whispering to each other. Normally, Rupert would take the time to introduce me to the other nobles. That was the tradition, but given his own admission that he would need to ad-lib his speech I didnt know if this would still be the case. A pain in the ass indeed. Fully half of the times Ive met father dearest, he has thoroughly torn our plans apart. Though saying we had met was a stretch; I had seen him twice at academy ceremonies, and once at the second princes funeral procession. Four times in total. I am grateful to my father, for affording my fianc and I his blessing. This past year has seen great tragedy and turmoil befall our fine kingdom. This was the first time I had actually heard Ruperts speech voice and I had to say, it wasnt bad. He lacked the impact of his father, but he was still articulate and easy to understand. If I had to put a finger on it, I would say that where his father had impact, Rupert had earnestness. His father might command respect, but Rupert made you want to give it. Between the two, I couldnt tell which was more effective. My brother the second prince, assassinated in his own land. The turmoil caused by terrorists in the capital. Antonio and his separatists It gladdens me that we could come together to celebrate my wife-to-be. Pretty sure that youre responsible for the first one, Im sort of the reason for the second, and we are jointly the reason for the third Oblivious to my internal thoughts and conniptions, Rupert continued. Normally, I would take this opportunity to introduce my fianc. We would lead a dance with other young couples, you all would have the chance to say a few words to her, and the night would end. So this is where things go to improvisation, I need to be careful and watch for a good moment to jump in about Elienor. But as my father demonstrated, to do so now, while there are forces that threaten our peace I could not in good conscious do so. Not until my former brother has answered for the strife he causes. Until all the threats that stalk our lands have been dealt with. Rupert was reading the room rather skillfully and playing the crowd. His fathers actions had created an air of unease that he was now capitalizing on. The nobles, at least the barons and less influential counts, had been knocked off balance by Antonio being disowned. Rupert was tossing them a life ring, something to hold onto. Even I, as inept at playing politics as I was, could see that. After pausing to let his proclamation sink in, Rupert continued, Too long have I allowed my brothers actions to go unpunished. Because you wanted to wait until after they had been exhausted by the winter. No more. We will spend the remaining months until spring gathering an army. Then, when the first snow melts, I will crush my late brothers forces. The traitors will be expunged. So exactly what the plan was originally, but now with public fervor on our side. A small smattering of applause broke out then, as Rupert paused. If I had to guess, I would say it had been started by one or more of his supporters. Whatever the case, it very quickly spread throughout the room as more and more nobles joined in. That was when I caught his stare, and ever so slightly a nod. Ah, all the traitors that would include Elienor. So this is when I should jump in Right when everyone is calling for blood Damnit Rupert! Still, if I gave in to my newfound fear of crowds, it would mean death or permanent imprisonment for Elienor. I took a deep breath and then stepped toward Rupert, Ah Excuse me, Prince Rupert. It was strange, the nobles immediately nearby fell quiet first. Then, as though a ripple in a pond, the silence spread out from there. Until they were all staring at me. The looks were fortuitously not all that harsh, though once I started to voice my request I was sure that would change. Rather, they were presently curious; after all, this event was originally supposed to have been more or less for me. I I do not think we should put down all of the traitors True to my expectations, the stares quickly became hostile and I could feel them boring into my from all angles. Focus. My head was starting to swim a bit, and I paused. Searching the crowd of faces, I picked out Ediths and latched onto it. E-everyone here knows that my father that my family are merely barons. We would not necessarily have the luxury to go against those above us While I am grateful to you for negotiating with my father in good faith, A blatant lie Its scary how easy that was to say Not all people would be as generous as you Count Francois certainly was not. When in doubt, blame the count. The stares were still bearing down on me, but as of yet, nobody had moved to contradict what I was saying, I would ask that you consider the positions of each of the traitor nobles Some of them may be deserving of clemency My voice failed under the pressure and I fell silent. I wasnt able to get to the part about Elienor Rupert fell into a contemplative posture, stroking his chin. I knew that he wasnt really thinking right now; if he was serious he would be speaking out loud and seemingly at random in a stream of consciousness. The act was convincing though; it appeared as though he were considering my words with care. I see, this is about the Francois daughter, your friend Elienor, is it? To Ruperts assertation, I nodded. I couldnt trust my voice at the moment. It was liable to crack should I try to say anything. I see. You raise a good point. With respect to your own experiences with higher nobles, I shall take your words to heart; before declaring the purge, I shall issue a proclamation to the traitors. Though Antonios life is forfeit, and that of his close aides. As far as the Francois girl You will be responsible for her going forward, do you accept that? Again, I nodded. I look pathetic right now. Like some lost little girl floundering around in a world she doesnt understand at all If not for Rupert being so understanding, I wouldnt be able to handle things at all. Even though I realized my shortcoming, I wasnt able to help myself. It was as though my confidence had been utterly destroyed. Until I could figure out how to get it back, I would be nothing but a burden to my friends. That notion only served to make me feel worse about things. Finding Ediths face again, I saw that she was giving me a concerned look. I tried to smile, to signal that everything was alright. But all that I accomplished was a sort of cramped crooked partial grin. To any onlookers, it would appear that I was embarrassed at being the center of attention. To people who knew about my present circumstances and condition, it would be obvious that I was faking hard. Ediths expression turned pained and she began to pick her way through the crowd towards me. Rupert might have spared me from having to lead the dance, but that didnt mean the night was over. There was still the socializing to attend to. Im going to be sick. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, Plus1, and adityakr7531 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve Extra Chapter: My Name is Sasha Psycholor Sasha von Strauss, Thirty-Four Years Old, 948 Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas. A name that will end up in the history books I am sure. Such was the fate of a barons daughter rising to the position of queen. They will not share the specifics, not that it matters for my job But still, just what is going on with you? My current charge, as well as my charge for the past several months, was to look after the sleeping girl presently lying on the bed in the room with me. Though, it might be more proper to call her the sleeping young lady now. Somehow, in these past several months she had visibly grown several years. If my eyes were accurate, four or five years total. Obviously, I had known there was something special about her as soon as I was informed who she was; no normal barons child would catch the eye of the prince. But still, the third was always the shrewd one. He would not let some idle curiosity sway his intentions to this degree. Nor would he assign me to care for you unless he was completely serious. The third prince was what one might charitably call, unique. That said, while his mannerisms and demeanor could be considered lacking, he was intelligent and calculating to a fault. Mhm The sound emanating from the bed nearby actually made my spine tingle. Shes waking up! As soon as I confirmed that Stahlia was beginning to stir, I hurried to send word to the prince. I suppose I should let her sister and the cat know that she will wake up soon. Those two were complicated. On one hand, the human sister had been kidnapped at some point. The little pieces I had been able to gather through conversation and a maids prerogative of eavesdropping painted a bleak picture. If my conjecture was correct, that kidnapping had been on behalf of the kingdom itself and was more or less directly led to her being installed as Ruperts fiance. Then there was the demi-human. At least, that is what Lord Gustavs briefing had led me to believe. When the knights actually brought her in the presence of a second tail rather quickly became the topic of gossip in among the palace staff. Nobody seemed to know of a subspecies that had more than one tail, and yet here she was. Of course, this was not the reason that Rupert had picked this girl. Rather, it was just another mystery to throw on top of the pile. But the fact that she keeps one of those around is and she apparently considers it family Far be it from me to judge my charges tastes, questionable as they were. I was a professional and could separate my personal feelings from my job enough to be able to interact with this Felicity when I had to. As luck would have it, it was Felicity that was present the exact moment that Stahlia woke up. Though, it did not take long for everyone else to meet her, as the girl wasted no time in making the rounds to introduce herself to those of her acquaintances that were staying in the palace. I suppose I should have expected it, given her rapid growth, but there was very little in the way of atrophy. Though, watching her move around methodically working her way through the list of names, there was something unsettling about it. Something with the air around her, the way she carried herself. Though I could not put a finger on it, something about this girl was disturbing. She was a bit crude, but there was a method to her actions and it was plain as day that she meant well Just that feeling that I could not shake. Those are my thoughts, such as they are. It had now been a few days since Stahlia woke up, and Rupert had asked me my opinion on how she was doing, Though, if I might make a suggestion? He tapped his fingers together from where he was sitting, You may. Rupert, you obviously care. At least as much as you are able; ask her yourself. Speaking as a woman, I can assure you that she would appreciate the gesture. Lord Gustav lightly covered his mouth to hide the smile he was no doubt making. As far as I was aware, I was probably the only person who could get away with calling Rupert without a title. That said, I only did it when there was a point to be made. In this case, he was being far to distant for his own good. You would not have tasked me with looking after her if you did not care, at least a little. The man in question waved his hand somewhat dismissively, You are mistaken, I only picked you because circumstances demanded discretion and you are someone I can trust Is there anything you can expand upon regarding her being, as you said, crude? Fine, have it your way; she has manners and the effort she is putting in is clear. However, she is not up to the standard that will be demanded of her. From what I have been able to glean these past few days, she has developed a bit of a habit of expressing her intentions bluntly. Especially when interacting with Gustav, who is far too soft on her. Tch. Both Rupert and I ignored Gustavs tongue click at being called out. In short, she shows promise, and I can see several things that might contribute to why you chose her, but I cannot for the life of me put it all together If you would be more descriptive, I might be able to offer more insight. Give it a rest Sasha. You should know better than to waste time asking Lets see, now that she is awake, Stahlia will need a new full-time attendant I was thinking of placing you in this position; as my own former nursemaid, there are few I trust more than you. I could tell by his tone that he was far past thinking, and I was being informed of my new post. The subtle implications were clear as well; he wanted me to help her acclimate to her new station. Are you up to that task? Yes yes, Ill take the job. We both know you would give it to me anyway, besides; this gives me an excuse to see more of her sister. She is quite adorable. So began a multiple weeks-long miscommunication. As it turned out, Rupert had not meant for me to educate Stahlia to her new station. Rather, he really had meant that he trusted me to look after her in the most literal sense. Though I wish that she had not been so blunt when asking about it, and she turned right around and began to speak of classified information out in the hallway where any wandering noble might overhear. Fortunately, we were on our way back from her visit to the summit so the odds of that happening were rather slim, and Rupert managed to stop her before she said anything truly damning. Even if he did not intend for me to be an educator, I do believe that it would be a good idea for me to offer a guiding hand here and there. May I have Lady Elienor? Rupert and everyone else froze for a moment before the former voiced what all of us were thinking. Explain. Even if she is granted a stay of execution, she cannot go free given what her family has done. Though eccentric, she does have talent Besides this, she is my friend. I would like to offer her the same deal that Ferris has. It strikes me that Sasha is quite overworked, being the only female member of my staff. Oh? Whats this now? Too late, I realized that I had allowed my mask to slip and hurriedly moved to fix it. Though not before Stahlia noticed and displayed a small, satisfied grin. It was not that I was overworked per se, though caring for a princess was a lot of work so having extra hands would not be unwelcome. On that subject, if it is possible, I would also like to employ Lucy and Frieda; my maids from when I was living with the Francois I know that you do not want to stack up too many small contracts, but if we keep the terms between these three identical to what Ferris has, there should be no conflict. Lucy and Frieda? Those would be the maids the Francois gave her. Having someone decently trained would be nice, assuming they can be properly vetted and secured But a limited contract!? This is what I meant when I told Rupert you could be crude at times! Fortunately for the sanity of everyone involved, she did drop the idea of the contracts after Rupert hinted that, socially, they would not be a good idea. Then a short while later, she went and changed my opinion yet again. Sasha, please summon Sieg for me. My lady? Are you sure? Of course I was a bit surprised; up until now, she had been insisting on trying to dance around the man in question. While I understood her desire to avoid what she perceived as an abuse of power towards an acquaintance, such actions would not work in her favor. Yes, I am certain. In the future as well, please do not dance around the topic as you did with this. I have much that I will need to learn if I am to cope with my new responsibilities. If you believe I should do something differently, say so straightly. Though, in the end whether or not to take your advice will remain my decision. Is that clear? Whatever Rupert had said or shown her earlier today, it had clearly had some effect. For the briefest moment, I caught a glimpse of a genuine rulers demeanor. I can work with this, you might be a bit rough around the edges, but Ill turn you into one of this kingdoms jewels. 5-15 Audiences Edith picked her way to me through the crowd. In another few minutes, we would begin with the impromptu audiences. Though I wasnt looking forward to it, this part was key to building up my reputation and establishing the basics of connections. The latter being something that I had failed rather miserably at during my time at the Academy, Edith aside. Thankfully, this is just going to be a meet-and-greet sort of thing, since other than my connection to the Francois not many of the adult nobles took any interest in me My parents probably have things worse, considering their standing. I chanced a look at my father, who was still at the table we had been sitting at prior to me moving to the middle of the room. Very few people were approaching him, contrary to my expectations. It was likely that the capital nobles were not entirely sure of how to approach father; in principle they largely outranked him. But I outranked him as well as all of them. It was a rather unique set of circumstances, and the careful scheming nobility were loathe to be the one to make the first move. Lady Stahlia, are you holding up alright? You look unwell. Ediths voice caused me to turn around. Ah right, I was supposed to excuse myself to a slightly more isolated part of the venue. I am feeling a bit ill, I think it would be a good idea to sit down for a bit. Taking her cue, I made a quick excuse before falling back towards an ornate bench at the side of the room that had been placed here with my retreat in mind. Edith followed after a moments delay. Ordinarily, it would be the two present dukes right to introduce themselves first, but they had already recused themselves per Ruperts request. I would be introduced to them formally at a later time though, so it was not like I had managed to escape. Edith was next in line by status, so we had a few moments before others would begin to approach. Facing me so that her voice would be harder to pick up by the crowd, Edith did something rather unexpected. Youre holding up well, all things considered. Just a bit longer before you can excuse yourself completely. The odds that she was overheard were slim, but it was not nonexistent. If her words just now had been overheard, it would cause a small scandal or at least stir some minor rumors. No matter what, the tone used was improper considering our relevant positions. I must be a lot worse than I thought I was if shes willing to take a risk like that to try and calm me down Sorry Edith. Instead of forcing her into greater risk with a vague or even direct response, I forced a faint smile onto my face and nodded lightly. If anyone happened to be watching, it would simply look like she had said or asked something that I took in good humor. Given our established friendship, that much should go over just fine. For some reason though, Edith gave me a rather cross look before sighing, In any case, I will do what I can to blunt this next part. Considering the circumstances, she was being a bit too curt. But with what I was putting her through, that much was understandable, Then, who is first? Edith turned so she could see the small crowd of people forming a few meters away from us, Count Garrus, formerly one of the neutral nobles. He will likely seek simply to greet you She trailed off as Count Garrus stepped closer out of the crowd. Stepping towards me, Edith greeted him first with a respectful half curtsy. He returned the greeting with a bow of his own, then a full bow towards me. Lady Stahlia, Count Garrus together with his wife, Lady Garrus. Edith deftly inserted her as my pseudo herald, while skillfully ignoring the mildly annoyed look she received from a few of those in the crowd. Those are faces I should remember; they are probably the ones that would try to manipulate and play word games with me to get favors. Fortunately, I still had the presence of mind to recognize such an obvious fact even with my shot nerves. Thank you Edith, for managing to give me some degree of forewarning about which ones to look out for, even with my general ineptitude tonight. As it turned out, my friend and aide had been correct about the current Count and Countess; they really were just here to greet me. Well, we will not take up any more of your time your highness, my wife simply wished to see you up close while she had the chance. To his frank statement, I gave a half bow. Hopefully the relief I was feeling at the first audience being over would not show through, Lady Garrus, it was a pleasure to meet you as well. Short and to the point, if I dont say much of anything I cant accidentally say too much. With the pleasantries concluded the first assailants stepped aside, clearing the field for the next contender. The next to approach were among those who I had marked as dangerous; a middle-aged man and his well, I hopped it was his daughter. Edith took a short step to the side, as though she was shifting her weight slightly, effectively cutting the man off from coming too close to me, Lady Stahlia, Count Ofnir together with his daughter. Formerly of the Second Princes faction. The count gave Edith a scathing look masked as a pleasant smile, Well, what helpful friends you have, my lady. Something about the way he was speaking triggered all of my red flags, but he was not being outwardly disrespectful so there was little I could do without appearing to be a tyrant. Ack! Hes waiting for me to respond I cant agree with him, or it would seem as though I was giving favors to the Claurence house. I also cant disagree with him, since that would put to question why Edith is even here at all. Hrm After a small amount of internal deliberation, I decided to do as Earth politicians tended to do, and ignore the question, The second prince? My apologies for your loss. It was a bit awkward of delivery but on the spot, it was the best I could come up with. Apparently and thankfully, it was enough. Count Ofnir stuck his hand on his daughters shoulder and gave her a light shove forward, This is Hilda, my fourth daughter. It has come to my attention that you presently lack staff; she is knowledgeable enough to serve as an attendant. So he wants me to take his daughter as an attendant Yea, thats obviously not going to happen, but how to get out of it? Thank you for the offer Count Ofnir, but I fear I must decline; my staffing is a personal matter. He narrowed his eyes but did not press the issue further. When Edith cleared her throat and fixed him with a rather stern glare, he even stepped back before excusing himself. What in the world? He seemed so sure of himself, but he totally just fled an actual twelve-year-olds angry face? Was it something with what I said? There was no time to deliberate further, however, as the next contenders had entered the ring. Surprisingly, these ones were a boy and a girl my own apparent age. Lord Gildeon and Lady Therisha, the first son and second daughter of Count Locke. They are in our year at the Royal Academy. By her tone, even Edith seemed rather confused by what these two were doing here. She played it off like a light cough while the two of them bowed and curtsied as was appropriate. Our year, but I dont recall their faces Without my [Eidetic Memory] functioning, unless the memory was particularly standout much of the detail was lost. Like an idiot, I had been using the skill to record a lot of annoying things like the noble families and members. Only people I spent a lot of time with were properly remembered, otherwise Edith would not have to help me by acting as a herald. After introducing themselves, it was Therisha who spoke first, and quite excitedly at that, My lady, I am sorry! What? the fervor with which she apologized threw me for a loop and I let out a puzzled statement before I could stop myself. Therisha looked around in a panic at my words, as though she couldnt believe I did not remember whatever it was she was apologizing about. Now Ive gone and done it. This is exactly what we were worried was going to happen combined with my previous issues, I must look totally inept right now Still, it would not do to simply leave things as they were. Edith, whom I had checked from the corner of my eye, was showing no signs of having any idea what this was about. So it happened while Edith wasnt present; she would signal me somehow if she knew what this was. That means it happened while Edith was confined under house arrest so Therisha is probably apologizing about being a bitch while I was having the fight with Dominic. Obviously it was not her fault; Dominics charm had been influencing all the girls who shunned me. Likewise, I had not particularly minded being shunned at the time, my schedule was totally filled up with other matters leaving no room for feeling lonely. But I cant just leave it at that, can I? Therisa, are you referring to the incident with my late ex-fianc? A sharp nod and quivering lip. Shes either very good at acting, or deathly terrified Ill hold a grudge. In any case, I shouldnt just forgive her something freely offered and all that, she wouldnt trust me. I see. Well, the actions of you and our fellow girls were extremely hurtful. I am grateful you would take the opportunity to apologize, but I cannot bring myself to forgiveness Her head sunk lower as a murmur rippled through the onlookers; though our voices were low, her body language made it obvious that something bad was happening. I raised my voice enough that it would carry, a direct contradiction to how I had been asked to behave, That said, while I cannot forgive you or our peers I also cannot in good faith condemn an entire generation. So, I will forget. In the future, please remember yourself, and seek to accept your fellow students rather than shun them. It took a few seconds, but an expression of relief washed over Therishas face. Even if I had not forgiven her, I basically had. She was finding it hard to speak, so her brother hurriedly said the requisite goodbyes for both of them and they made way for the next contenders. The next pair were more formerly neutral faction nobles, and as I would discover this category actually made up the majority of those who wanted to see me. Evidently, Edith not recusing herself had the effect of opening up the doors to her own faction to come to say hello. The next large group consisted of the ones who wanted to play games and were largely from the second princes faction. That made sense in a way; they were bitter over losing their bet when Rupert killed their liege so they were grasping at straws to glean some small favor. Thanks in no small part to Ediths deft assistance in maneuvering people around, I was able to dodge all such requests. Though, if these lasted any longer than a few sentences, I would be totally trapped and make a massive mess of things. If it werent for my nerves being completely fried, I might have been able to deal with one, two, or even three of the grifters. But running a gauntlet like this was utterly exhausting. It was fortunate that the two main subgroups were mixed up so that I could get a break from the latter. Though there was also a smattering of odd groups like Therisha and her brother as well, but they were by far in the minority. The instant that Edith signaled to me that I could politely excuse myself without stirring any trouble, I stood and glanced at Sasha where she stood to the side of the venue. At my nod, she moved swiftly and invisibly through the crowd of guests in a manner only a servant could. When she arrived at my side she motioned that she had a message and, at my prompting leaned to my ear to whisper it. There was no actual message though; this was a simple tactic that was an open secret. As long as I did not abuse it, having a servant inform their master of a pressing issue was viewed as a polite way to leave social events slightly early. In my case, since the event was in my honor it would usually be in poor taste to do things this way. Usually; given how new my position was, Gustav predicted that the guests would assume I had become overwhelmed and taken leave before making a mistake. Though, I already made far too many of those tonight. Moving through the hallways of the palace towards my rooms, I felt my senses beginning to go numb. Tonight had been too much for me, and yet it was just the beginning. Going forward, I would have to deal with stuff like this all the time. Sure, perhaps it would not be so bad every time. But the people needing me to do things, wanting to get the most they could out of me, that was never going to go away again. Something Ill have to get used to. I cant afford not to. What else can I do? It wasnt always this way. Sure, I might not have cared for going through all that but I would have been able to. Without feeling like I was constantly on the verge of messing everything up terribly. When did I get like this? Why do I suddenly feel so self-conscious about everything? Ive been more conscious about the consequences of my actions since the engagement with Rupert, but even then No, that wasnt when this all started. This all started when the events of the wedding reminded me reminded me of Dominic When he tried to Even now, alone in my room that line of thought caused me to shiver. My heart rate increased and my eyes darted around, searching for an escape from nothing. Im supposed to have the pride of a dragon or something. Yet, I feel like everything Im doing is inadequate. I wonder if there would be a way to get that judgment spell cast on me permanently? My true self would certainly be more beneficial to everyone than the wreck I am right now. At this point, I wasnt even sure why Rupert had honored our engagement contract to the point of marrying me. There was a clause in place for annulling the whole thing, and he had only agreed because I was Winters Champion. There were no lies between us, so he was fully aware that I no longer held that title. A connection to Rosial, Autumns Champion? He obviously, hopefully, wouldnt be able to marry her. Theres no way I would allow it if he dared try. So is that why hes gone ahead with everything, even though Im such a failure? Stahlia, you did pretty well all things considered. It was Edith, she had evidently excused herself from the ceremonies, though given my own absence things were likely winding down as it was. Ha! Dont patronize me, I know I screwed up our plan. I came across like a scared kid. She was silent, which was all I needed to hear to know that my assertation was correct. All the nobles now, theyre probably thinking of all the ways they can bend things to their advantage. Oh the next queen is just a little girl, shell be so easy to bribe if we just say nice things and send her sweets! It will be you and Rupert and Gustav who have to pick up the pieces, for now, and forever! There was a lot more I wanted to say, but her continued silence was bearing down like the weight of an ocean. It was suffocating. Just leave me alone, please I need to rest. Edith looked upset, probably because she realized that I was right; she was stuck cleaning up after me now. Still, even if she wanted to protest, she had technically been given a direct order to leave. No, I dont think I will. She was glaring at me now, much angrier than she had earlier tonight. Is that really what you think you looked like? That isnt what everyone else saw. Sure, you looked like a kid; by the gods youre, were, twelve! But, you still managed to get up in front of everyone and petition the crown prince for a favor! Nobody but our group knows that was set up ahead of time! She took a step towards me, pushing past the doorway and entering my room proper. You, who was nothing more than a rather gifted frontier barons kid, are now engaged to the next king! Nobles might be asses, but they arent dumb! None of them expected anything from you, except to sit there quivering and terrified. Then there were all the people petitioning you for petty favors. Do you have any idea how terrified I was!? How scared I am all the time!? I glared back at her, So what!? I should be able to do better! Sure, I might be twelve on my passport! But Im pushing forty! You know that! Rupert knows that! The way I fell apart, theres no excuse! YOU HANDLED THINGS FINE! The force of her shout nearly made the room shake, or perhaps it actually shook the room. I couldnt tell. Then, she continued in a quieter voice. Youre right, you werent perfect. But you were a hundred times better than anyone expected you to be. That includes his highness, and me. At that, she seemed to realize what she had just done and turned bright red. My apologies! I should not have acted like that I hope you can rest well, good night. With one final curtsy, my friend made to leave while I scrambled to regather my wits. Edith Wait. She paused, or more accurately she froze, Im sorry I snapped. You didnt deserve that Thank you, for yelling at me. Once it was apparent that I had nothing else to say, she unfroze as if time had resumed. I told you, I would help you get through all this because thats what friends do right? Good night. Good night. With that, I was left alone again, though now my heart was much calmer. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-16 Father Psycholor I will then be taking a one week break before starting volume 6. Nothing much really to say about it, just taking a short break to prevent fatigue from setting in. Though it probably sounds clich, a good nights sleep did wonders for my mental outlook. When I woke up the next morning, all the stress from the gala felt like a somewhat distant memory. Ediths admission and crass pep talk probably did wonders as well, though I was a bit worried now that she would double or triple back her words out of some worry over status. Ill just need to thank her again and do my best to show that Im fine now. Though, I also need to make it clear that Ill be relying on her in the future. As much as I would love to, this is not going to be something I can just force my way through Still, now that the worst was behind me, I would have some time to ease into things; I would not be able to hide from people anymore. At the same time, the number of people coming at me all at once would be a lot lower than at the gala. My hope was that it would be much more manageable, and I would be able to overcome my newfound social anxiety before the next massive gathering that was to be my public wedding. It would be something I would have to work on as I had time though, gradually. There was no way that things would wait for me to move gradually anymore. I also have no idea how to even begin the process. With [Cold Hearted], I sort of just bashed my head against the wall and eventually managed to figure out the solution. That was a skill though, it had clearly defined rules. This though, the root cause of that anxiety was definitely lingering trauma from what happened with Dominic. Its psychological, and there is a distinct lack of professional therapists in this world. The best I could come up with was to continue to stress myself in moderation, mainly by not intentionally avoiding situations that would make me uncomfortable. Situations like the one I presently found myself heading toward. Sasha had given me a scant few hours to prepare for the day before informing me that my plans for today had been unilaterally amended; my father-in-law had deigned to summon me. As my entourage walked toward the palaces ancillary audience chamber, the now-familiar knot had situated itself firmly in my stomach. The one saving grace was that we were going to the ancillary chamber and not the main one; the audience would be fairly limited in scope. Ideally, it would be just Rupert, myself, and the king but there was no way that things would work out that perfectly. Really though! I wish I could say this was a social visit, a case of well you married my son so we should meet. But the time for that has long passed. This is definitely a business summons. How the hell does he expect me to be able to get anything done if I dont have any forewarning? That last line of reasoning caused me to believe that this was probably also some kind of competency test, a way to confirm that I could produce results. Probably a case of overthinking but given the way his previous two proclamations had unilaterally altered Ruperts plans it was a distinct possibility. On one hand, I could kind of respect his attitude, and it made sense if one were to assume that Drakan kings sought to act like actual dragons. On the other hand, it was damn irritating to be on the receiving end of his proclamations. Sasha, I know I have asked already, but you really have no idea what this is about? Indeed, and I have answered already; I do not. If I may add, it does not behoove you to repeat yourself. Thank you. It was my pleasure. I still wasnt quite sure where I stood with her, but it didnt seem as though we had a bad working relationship. Certainly, the fact that she was willing to be a bit snarky meant that she did not fear for her life should I be offended. That may be so, but I cannot help myself for fear of messing up somehow. This is a rather important meeting after all. I imagine there will be several of those in your future, so it would be best to develop a routine. Easy enough to just say, but not so easy to actually do Well, I did ask you to be frank while I learn what is expected of me. If I take that back now because of something like this, Im sure that Ill hear something along the lines of You should not take back what you say, always accept the consequences of your actions. Besides, having someone willing to express themselves honestly is a good idea; I dont want to be surrounded by a council of yes men. It was possible that Rupert had made a mistake when he selected Sasha, but after the confrontation in the hallway I had decided to trust his judgment; he had seemed genuinely surprised that she had taken it upon herself to try and educate me. At the end of the day, I did need to learn and she was willing to teach me. Giving her permission to do so simply had the effect of enabling her to say what she meant, instead of the vague indirect lessons like how she had handled my request with Sieg. And Im distracting myself again, were here. My time would probably have been better spent theorizing about what the king wanted so that I could prepare for it, but I was too nervous so my mind had latched onto what was right in front of me. Well, no use keeping his majesty waiting. After clenching my fists to try and force away a little bit of my trepidation I nodded to Sasha. She stepped forward and knocked thrice on the door, each impact reverberating through the space with an air of finality. A firm deep voice called out from within, Enter. After a quick glance in my direction to confirm I was ready, Sasha turned the handle and swung open the door. The king was there, obviously, then as I had expected Rupert was present as well. Unexpected was the sole other attendee, Ferdinand, who was supposed to be on the front right now. There was no time to dwell on it, though, and I stepped promptly through the door while noting that my knights had remained outside. My head bowed, I bent my knees while lifting the hem of my skirt in a manner that had been done dozens, if not hundreds of times before. Yet, in this one instance, I was beyond terrified that my curtsy would somehow be found lacking, Your highness, it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance directly at last. I am Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris, by birth your subject and now by law your daughter. May your reign be, Enough. Sasha, do not teach her useless things. My apologies your highness, that was not my intention. Wait, she followed me in? None of the others present have servants! And she just spoke directly to the king? I mean, he spoke to her first, so shed be able to answer without violating her station but still! And he totally knew it was her who told me how I should greet him, like he knew she was the one furthering my social education. So was it the king that told her to educate me in the first place? No, if he had then she wouldnt have needed to beat around the bush; she could have been open about her intentions. Then, is he spying on me? Sasha was the one who reminded me to introduce myself Im overthinking too much. It was enough to know that Sasha had some sort of connection to the royal family. In retrospect, my special circumstances all but guaranteed no normal person could be trusted as my head maid. Ill question her later, and if she doesnt give a satisfactory answer then Ill ask Gustav and Rupert No, forget Gustav, Ill just ask Rupert. We cant have a working relationship if he keeps using a messenger for everything. Still, the kings actions had effectively killed any sort of momentum on my end, leaving me floundering. I had only spoken first because introductions were supposed to begin with the lower-ranked party. Now it would be improper to speak unless spoken to. Fortunately, I did not have long to wait. He gave me a visual once over before speaking, in a tone I had not heard before. Previously he had been commanding, calm, and forceful. Now, he sounded almost fuzzy, You can relax; this room is well fortified. I must say that your demeanor is rather unexpected Not at all how I had thought a woman capable of so completely altering Ruperts plans and slaying an army single-handedly to behave when confronted with a few petty stares. Still, it does make sense given your abrupt change in circumstances. Unfortunately, the way he spoke was so completely outside the realm of anything I could have predicted. To make matters worse, it was apparently outside of what Rupert had predicted as well; out of the corner of my eye, I had seen him go bug-eyed as his father spoke. At least in private, you may treat me as you would your father, as long as doing so does not impact your duties and responsibilities. Publicly, of course, take care to maintain the proper etiquette. Oh boy, thats a lot to unpack. Its probable that he means well, but I cant just go ahead with what hes saying, theres no way. Treat you as I would my father well, my father probably wouldnt be just dandy if I killed Rosin for political gain, and he certainly wouldnt disown Rosial for questioning him. A viper, or perhaps a tiger thats what you are. Thats how Ill have to go about this. In short, the king was effectively ordering me to treat him like a father. One of those orders pretending to be a permission or request. At the same time, he did not have a great track record with family as far as I was aware. Ruperts general demeanor of surprise followed by strict stoicism basically confirmed that this was yet another case of the king acting unilaterally. Truly, the most troubling type of individual. Just what I need with my nerves, a minefield. As you wish father. The look of warmth and genuine happiness the king expressed when I said that confirmed that he did in fact mean well at least. Then, is this a case of the parent really, really wanted a daughter but never got one? In any case but especially in that case it was bad news for me. When I married into the royal family I was expecting to have to deal with the king, even somewhat expecting it to be a massive pain in the ass. But this was not how I had envisioned it. Well then, I am certain you will get over these hang-ups in time, but time is in rather short supply. You will have to abide as best you can; I know you can do it. Again with the telling me I can do it if I try. It just isnt that simple Whatever, Ill deal with it as best I can, I dont have the leeway to wallow in self-pity anymore. I shall do my best speaking of which, is this audience about the future of the Order of Shadows? that was about the only reason I could think of for Ferdinand being here when he should be on the front. The kings face turned solemn at once, Indeed. Rupert informed me that you have some ideas already. Me and my big mouth, I should have waited until after I had a chance to speak with Ferdinand Though its a relief that the king is not going to continue acting like that the whole audience The moment I had the thought, my mind went white as I realized the flag I had just raised. Some small mercy it was that it went unfulfilled. "So, I would hear what you have come up with. I glanced at Rupert and Ferdinand; the former affected a sympathetic look while the later remained stoic. Well, at least hes sympathetic. That makes throwing me to the wolves totally ok, yep no problems here. Well, here goes. I pulled myself up to my full height while forcibly uncrossing my arms; I knew enough about psychology to understand that crossing ones arms was a defensive posture. Something I would not allow myself. First and foremost, kidnapping children is right out. To say nothing of the morality of the practice, without demonic magic I doubt we would be able to maintain the same level of brainwashing needed to create loyalty. That said, the type of purposes that were normally collected should not be neglected. The abilities lend themselves to crime and subterfuge, so I would still have the church announce those children as purposeless. To publicly announce them as having such a purpose would invite their persecution. Rupert nodded once, as did the king. The fact that I would be against kidnapping kids after everything I had been through was pretty damn obvious so I was only stating it as a formality. Of course it also raised a question which the king then voiced by way of a glance at Ferdinand who did the actual asking. Then if not these children, where do you propose we source operatives from? This was something that I had actually given a great deal of thought; ultimately the choice of wether or not to continue the previous practices was not mine. Even as the spy master, I could be overruled by the king, either the current one or in the future Rupert. While Rupert would most likely allow me a rather large degree of freedom, the current was an unknown. And the way he switched right to business mode indicates that he wont give in to the daughter he always wanted, assuming Im even right with that assumption, hes too able to separate personal matters from the affairs of state. Even if we did continue the previous methods, it would not be nearly expedient enough. The agents trained by Five are a lost cause; those who still survive are in hiding and pose a clear risk. They must be hunted down and eliminated before they have a chance to stab our back while we are focused on other threats. Training new children from scratch would take too much time; as all of us are aware, the next demon war will be starting before such individuals would be ready. Ferdinand glanced at the king then gave a satisfied nod, at least for now it would seem my excuse had been bought. Emboldened, I continued, What I propose as an alternative source is fairly straightforward; instead of forming an organization of dedicated spies and assassins, we departmentalize. For the information gathering we need not train anyone specifically. Instead, we should utilize a system of sleeper agents. This would be rather similar to the original infiltration model used by the Shadows, but the agents would not need as much combat training. Then, by keeping them somewhat in the dark they can be cut off if needed. The last part had been a bit difficult for me personally to add, but I had done so in the end. At the end of the day, there was not a snowballs chance in hell that my hands would stay clean going forward. What I should focus on instead was an attempt to limit the quality of dirt and blood, for example by nixing the practice of kidnapping and indoctrinating children. As for the other departments, the only one I have truly given much thought to would be the enforcers. The assassins. These would be the hardest to find at the moment, but should also be less needed than the spies I paused to take a deep breath before continuing; this next bit would probably be a hard sell. for the near future, Ferdinand and I would need to take on an active role in the field. At least until new agents can be recruited and trained, to that end I would like to bring Jacqueline in as a consultant; despite her physical condition she still possesses valuable knowledge in the field of killing. The idea of the next queen going out to kill people deemed enemies of the state was ludicrous, but unless a bunch of suitable assassins could be found overnight there was a chance I would have to do it. There was also the question of whether or not I could go through with it in the end. No, I will go through with it, because if I dont there is another girl who is fully trained and physically able. I will NOT let them involve Rosial in this. The king, after waiting a moment to see if I would continue, nodded, I see. Ferdinand, work with her to refine this outline; it does show promise. Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris, by my right as king I name you Spy Master. Publically, Ferdinand will hold the title but he will answer to you and you to whomsoever sits on the throne. What say you? There was no system notification about me receiving a new title, but that probably had something to do with Ferdinand holding the official titles. As far as I was concerned, the arrangement was acceptable so there was only one way I could answer. Then again, theres only one answer allowed in the first place, regardless of if Im ok with this or not. Humbly, I accept your highness assignment. I punctuated my statement with a curtsy like how I had begun the audience and this time the king did not interrupt. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-17 Father Part 2 Psycholor Excellent. Now, shall we eat? The kings words hit me like a truck, or perhaps a train. It was a good thing that my head was still lowered from accepting the posting officially, else the way my smile twitched as my face cramped would have given me away. After taking a moment to compose myself, I managed to ask a question, Eat, your highne- father? The way the air seemed to chill when I nearly called the king by his title made my spine shiver. Fortunately, I was able to correct myself in time and the instant tension abated. Still, eating with him was the last thing I wanted to do. Though he would most likely not say anything one way or another, it was a sure thing that I would be silently judged and measured both by him and by whoever waited the meal. For me, it would be hell. Not like there was any way to get out of this. None that I could think of in the span of the next several seconds. Better to use that time to regain composure and fix my expression. Once a suitable look was fastened firmly in place, I looked up. Everything had taken only a couple of moments, but the large doors along the side wall had already been opened and servants were bringing in a small ornate round table. I, it would be my pleasure. The king smiled warmly, in a manner that did nothing except ring alarm bells in my head, Excellent. Sasha, please show her to her place. As it turned out, this impromptu meal was to be a sort of family gathering. Ferdinand excused himself, while Rupert sat to the kings right. Sasha placed me on Ruperts right and the kings left such that we were all facing each other. It should go without saying how this arrangement was making me feel and, though I had not spent enough time with him to be able to properly read his body language, Rupert seemed rather uncomfortable as well. Food was brought in and placed before us and the servants then departed, leaving just the four of us in the room. The silence was such that I was intimately aware of the clack of silverware on the plates, and could even hear the sound of meat being cut. I wanted to say something, anything to break the silence but couldnt find my voice. The whole nice thing the king was doing was really putting me off, it would actually be preferable if he was cold and calculated. Is the food not to your liking? Would you prefer something else? Like that, that sounds like hes genuinely concerned I dont like the food! Knowing what I know about him and the politics of the kingdom, thats really scary. No, ah, I am simply a bit overwhelmed by everything. Shit! I see, yes that is understandable given how quickly everything is going. Regretfully we cannot slow down now. And he took it in stride I have no idea how to approach this at all. A quick glance at Rupert showed that he was somewhat ignoring his father and focusing on eating slowly and methodically. As though sensing my gaze, he looked up from his plate and shook his head slightly. Or it could have just been an involuntary movement, I could not tell. Though, after getting over his initial surprise he was acting as though he did not think things were such a big deal. So would it be ok to not worry quite so much? I certainly cant go and be completely open about everything. Hesitatingly, I picked up my fork and speared a bit of the salad before putting it in my mouth and beginning to chew. It is good, but compared to everything else Ive eaten, I dont know. I can tell that its expensive and the quality is high, but it just tastes like a salad. Perhaps Ive become desensitized to luxury. Whatever the case, after I actually started to eat my stomach was able to unwind itself somewhat and let me know that I was in fact rather hungry. The silence was allowed to persist, though it was no longer quite as awkward as it was before. This this isnt so bad. I cant completely drop my guard; he totally just disowned his first son less than a day ago, and he more or less signed off on Rupert killing his second son. Still, hes trying to welcome me so would it really hurt to let myself unwind just a bit? Putting it that way really highlighted how screwed up my life was. Having finished the salad, I nudged the small plate aside and reached for the main plate on which rested a cut of meat with a tan sauce drizzled over it. It was just a tiny bit on the heavy side for the current time of day, but it should be fine. As I cut into it, the juices washed over the plate and made my mouth water. When I actually put a bit in my mouth, it seemed to fall apart on its own. See? It tastes much better if you relax. Again it was the king speaking, Rupert seemed content to remain silent. I actually managed to forget where I was for a second. That was kind of pleasant. An important skill you will want to learn; the ability to relax when you can. As though satisfied with that, the king returned to his own meal and let the silence fall again. Is he actually offering me advice on how to cope with my new station? It sounded obvious, and telling someone to relax was a lot easier than actually doing it. Yet it was also true that I would be a fool not to listen; all the signs pointed to this being a side the man rarely exhibited. If he was being genuine with me, then I should just accept it instead of constantly worrying over appearances. After letting the pause extend for several seconds longer I nodded, It does indeed. After the three of us had finished eating the main course there was a brief lull while the servants prepared the dessert course. By the kings judgement it was now the best time to have a brief conversation, so he began to ask some rather normal questions. Now that my heart was calmer, I was more able to fully appreciate just how completely surreal this situation was, a realization that actually helped further soothe my nerves. Now then, while we wait, how are things in the palace? Is there anything lacking? Going only by his tone and mannerisms, I would have assumed that he was just a concerned host. Far from the ideal king that he had portrayed when I previously saw him from a distance. There havent been any problems, no. It was a bit awkward being followed everywhere by the knights at first, but I understand why it is necessary and have grown used to it. The king nodded, Glad to hear it. You worked out the issues with Sasha then? Ok so he caught wind of that, or did Rupert tell him? Yes, I have dealt with that situation and she has become a great help in acclimating though I still have a long way to go. Excellent, I was quite pleased when I was informed that Rupert had selected her; she has done good work for our family for quite some time, and I can honestly think of none better to help you adjust. I was unable to stop my eyes from widening at that, just who was Sasha? According to the statement just now, she had a rather long history with the royal family. That she was a bit older than a lot of the other maids I had direct experience with was something I had noticed, but it was not something I paid any mind to. After all, even maids would eventually get old, and there had never been a large number of them working for me so them all being young women was a plausible coincidence. I see, you were not told then. The king shot a rather scathing look at Rupert, She was originally brought on to be my sons nursemaid. Once he outgrew her, she remained on as one of our more trusted retainers. Rupert spoke for the first time then, It was not relevant information, though if you had asked why I picked Sasha I would have told you. Ah, so its my fault. Got it. Turning my attention to Rupert, I chose to express my opinion rather than sitting on it, I cannot help but think that it would have been worth mentioning. Even if it is irrelevant to her service, the fact that you elected to assign me someone so close to you speaks volumes. Rupert shook his head, All it signifies is that I trust her; something also signified by the fact that I picked her. Ergo, mentioning it serves no purpose. Before I could respond again, the king interrupted us, No Rupert, there is significance; think of all the stories Sasha can share with your wife. His delivery was deadpan. Clearly, the king was taking pleasure in this exchange. And why wouldnt he? Now that Im able to sort this out in my head properly, he probably doesnt get many opportunities to relax; that was less advice and more of a lamentation. This is probably even better for him than it is for me. With that realization, I felt even more of my tension drain away. Rupert showed a look of displeasure, but he seemed to have realized that protesting would get him nowhere so he remained silent on the matter. Actually, he seemed rather surprised earlier when the king first acted this way. Hes either adapted really fast, or this is a way the king has acted before and he was only surprised the king was already showing me that side of himself I dont know enough about their relationship to be able to say, and my impression of the king is admittedly biased Hopefully, things would begin to make sense as I got to know them more. As long as it was remembered not to let myself get too close to the king, since he would definitely separate his personal life from public duty and sacrifice me to the altar of progress should the benefits of doing so be deemed worth it. On that sobering note, the servants arrived with the dessert course. It appeared to be a kind of custard jelly and was glowing faintly. It was the first time that I had such a dish, which meant that it was probably exceedingly expensive. The realization made me gulp. Seeing my reaction and confusion, the king chuckled, The core of a Light Jelly. It is a small thing but is a tradition going back a few generations now. Never mind, not rare. Sure, Light attuned Jellies arent the most common, and there arent any Jellies native to this region but in some places, they fulfill the role of goblins. Then, why was the dessert course delayed if they werent preparing anything fancy? To give a chance for conversation, duh. Rupert spoke up for the second time, Not the fanciest dish, granted; it is served at the first meal a new member of the family takes as such. As far as I am aware, the purpose is to remind the rulers not to forget the common people. Do not forget the common folk, by bringing in a non-native dish? Would not something procured locally be more fitting? To my retort, Rupert actually grinned, I agree. However, my father is actually rather fond of it. So, if he can banter like that, then this is how the king is when not being the king. I hope I dont make a mistake and confuse the two settings Put mildly, that would be a disaster. This is nice in its own way though, now that Ive had a bit to get used to it I can say I prefer this to the king being a dominant force at all times. Confirming my new theory about the Kings true self being rather kind despite everything, he merely shrugged at Ruperts targeted statement, When you have my chair, you may have whatever meal you wish for your own daughter-in-law. Despite having never had the opportunity to eat a Jelly Core before, I found that I actually quite liked it. It was sort of sweet, with a hint of citrus. Almost like lemon custard, though it was not cold. After the servants had cleared the places of their settings the king grew somber, and I stiffened. It should go without saying, but in public, I am your highness. Yes, I understand father. He nodded once, Good, then thank you for today; I believe I have been able to get a good read on your personality. With effort, you will make an excellent ruler and a good foil for my son. Do take care not to lose yourself. I performed an abbreviated version of the standard goodbye, one that was more appropriate for a family member rather than the king of a country. He seemed pleased by the gesture and bid his own farewells. With that finished, I departed with Sasha and was rejoined by my entourage. So it was a test after all! I got suckered in god damnit! Even as I got upset with myself over letting the king bait me, I knew it was not the end of the world. He had decided to pass me on whatever test was being carried out. It just served to demonstrate that I could not get completely comfortable with anyone who was not in my immediate circle. A lesson better learned in an environment such as this, instead of out in the wild. For that, I should be grateful. Was that his intention? No I doubt that, I honestly think he meant well and the test was something he had to do whether or not he wanted to. Even if he disposed of his other sons, there is not a queen at the moment. He placed everything for the future with Rupert and by extension me. With that, it should be alright to trust him a little bit. Not completely, but it wasnt like he was going to have a bad day and decide it would be best to have me or Rupert killed. In hindsight, it had been a bit silly of me to be so completely on guard. There was a lot that I had learned here today, and even though it wasnt going to be easy, I was definitely going to implement it. Rupert was walking part of the way back with me, though it would not be for as far as when we returned from the peak, You seem rather pleased. It was true, my mood was rather high at the moment. So much so in fact, that I decided to tease him a bit, even if I knew it wouldnt accomplish anything. Pausing my walking, I spun to face him in a mildly dramatic faction, Of course I am, your father decided he liked me; what fiance would not be over the moon at such a revelation? Rupert ignored my little skit though he did deign to continue the conversation, I feel that I should at least apologize; in the future, I will try to inform you properly of the reasons for any decisions I make regarding you specifically. Wait, really? I was expecting I would have to bring that up myself, and perhaps jump through hoops with Gustav, but hes just going to come out and say it? T-thank you, I was not expecting that. Rupert nodded, Of course. Until next time And, I do not know if you noticed yourself, but you did quite well when you were focused on the goal in front of you at the start of the meeting. Once you got a bit of momentum, there were no traces of the nervousness you have been dealing with Farewell. With a quick bow of his own, and without waiting for a reply, Rupert departed. His delivery had been rather awkward, but the fact of the matter was that he had gone out of his way to try and give me some encouragement. I was not sure how to feel about that, the whole thing just felt odd. I should be happy hes pretending to care, but Im not. It just feels fake, like hes going through the motions to maintain an investment... He isnt wrong though, I did do rather well once I got going Then again, presenting an idea to only a few listeners has always been simple. It really doesnt compare to having hundreds of eyes on me at once Then again, I was actually able to relax after a point. Thinking about it now, relaxing had been the greatest accomplishment of all. Especially given that I had managed it while the king was present. Sure, he was being pretty easygoing at the time himself, but hes still the king. Compared to that, I should be able to handle the two dukes just fine. After all, that was what I had originally been planning to do today; have the private introductions with Duke Lawrence, Duke Lester, and their wives. Edith would be there to represent her father, but the assistance she could lend me during the introductions themselves would be limited. Even if she spoke with her fathers authority, she was still lower ranked than the two of them. Technically, I was supposed to be higher, but my age and plumbing would be set against me. Thinking about all of this now, I felt my stomach twisting up again. This time though, it was not nearly as bad and after a moment I was able to force it to unwind. Im sure it will suck, but now I know I can do it for sure. Even if things go tits up, Edith will be able to help me a little bit, and I can vent to her privately once the dukes leave. I fixed as graceful a smile as I could on my face and nodded to Sasha, Please send word to Lord Lawrence, Lord Lester, and Lady Claurence; my business with the king has concluded and I would be pleased to meet them properly at their earliest convenience. It was true that in politics, words were what mattered the most and I was going to do my best. Translating my message, I had given myself as best a start as I possibly could. Sorry I missed the meeting; as you know the king called me personally. If you hurry, I can probably still meet with you today. And stated as politely as possible. I could only hope that my present resolve would last long enough to see me through. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, CypressLB, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 5-18 Epilogue Psycholor I am aware that "your highness" is not the correct title for the king. While it was originally a mistake, I will not be changing it; this world now simply does not have a distinct title between the king and his sons, both are "your highness". Sitri, 346 Years Old, Second Month of 949 Idiots. That was my honest to Asmodea impression of these absolute morons. Rupert had sent an ultimatum to Antonio, Surrender and the majority will be spared, or resist and all shall be purged. That was a summary of course, the real one had been full of noble bullshit and double meanings. Antonios fate was sealed, he would be put to death regardless. The same would happen to Duke Febligi, whose honor required that he remain till the bitter end. But this ultimatum provided clemency for the lesser nobles. Sure, some restrictions would be placed on them. You couldnt have former traitors running free after all. This is probably Stalis doing. No way would that stick Rupert be this merciful, not with the great war looming. It went without saying that Antonio had declined the offer. He wasnt an idiot though, far from it. If it was not for me whispering in his ear, he might possibly have accepted. After all, anyone could see that the cause was hopeless. Rupert had been smart and waited until after winter. With our food stores now depleted and the men weary from spending the winter in a state of alert, the odds of being able to hold out were null. Duke Febligi knew that, but his honor kept him bound to Antonio. He also knew about me, somewhat, but was not making any moves to try and save his lord. Idiots. Then, that begged the question, why was I still here? At this point, it was obvious that my so-called allies were doomed. In short, after beating me half to death Five no, Ten had ordered me to remain here and ensure that Drakas wasted as much time as possible while he left to further goals elsewhere. That said, I had no intentions of actually dying. Sealing my skills might have been what got me into this mess, but its also going to get me out. The fact that I had lost most of my power meant that I was pretty much expendable. I was under no illusions that the reason I had been left behind was due to being viewed as basically useless now. But it was also a blessing in disguise. -Opening my eyes and looking around. This isnt the classroom anymore? Where is this?- Stumbling to the side of the passage I was walking down, I clutched at my forehead, suppressing the headache. Ever since my skills were sealed, shit like this had started happening. Memories that were thousands of years old, things that I hadnt thought about for such an extreme length of time. With great effort on my part, I pushed the memories away. They were too painful. Even with all the grief your shit caused me, you did give me a chance. The Nine Kings authority over their kin was absolute. Funnily enough, the closer you were to one of them, the stronger that influence was. As an Original Sin, there was no way I could go against Ryuko -Come on, if you guys follow me, my skill will give us the power we need to survive and get home.- FUCK! A passing rebel knight gave me a concerned glance at my outburst but didnt say anything about it. People here knew that I was consorting with Antonio, and it gave me a measure of untouchability. After plastering an unconcerned expression on my face, I continued on my way while pretending nothing had happened. As an Original Sin, I would never have been able to go against Asmodea, or someone she told me to follow the orders of. But that was only the case because of my skills interacting with hers. Stali had disabled my skills, and freed me from that control. Antonio called out to me as I arrived at his chambers, Sitri, has there been any word from Count Francois? Has he managed to secure us aid from the League? No there has been no word, but I am certain that he is doing all that he can. Just had to make sure that my voice was troubled, then add a bit of confidence at the end. Antonios own face clouded over, and he stared grimly out the window, Without aid Perhaps I should simply surrender Nope. If you surrender, Ill be screwed. I need you lot to hold out long enough that it looks like I did my job. If you surrender, even if I manage to get away Ill be hunted down by the other demons. I moved up behind Antonio and put my arms around him in a hug. Leaning up so as to be close enough, I whispered in his ear, Come on, just a little bit longer and Count Francois will bring the reinforcements. You know what Rupert did, how hes schemed and plotted. You love this country, you could never give up on saving it My words and touch was infused with mana. Just because my skills were sealed, did not mean that I had lost all of my abilities. I could still use Blood Magic to charm and sway people. Though the close contact required was irritating in the extreme. Something as complicated as twisting a persons mind just couldnt be done from a distance. Which begs the question of how the hell she froze Five like that, -We should take his offer, the system is a lot easier to use than,- Urk! This most recent headache happened while I was still clinging to Antonio, meaning that my involuntary exclamation was right into his ear. He did not push me away or seem startled by this however, Is it your head again? After all, Ive been filling you with my mana for so long and in such quantities that its literally impossible for you to think anything ill of me. The best part was three months ago when it had suddenly become much easier to do so. Antonio had confided in me privately that his father had struck him from the family registry. Of course this meant that there was actually no way for him to assume the throne anymore, and he could no longer use any of the royal familys bestowed magic. Good news for me, since he lost most of the lingering resistance to further charming influences. In any case, he was so far under my thumb at this point that something like screaming in his ear did not even register as a nuisance. Yes, ever since I was chased out of the kingdom by your little brother. A look of anguish manifested itself beautifully on his face, I am sorry, if only I had seen things for what they were sooner My late brother, Dominic and the rest of Count Francois family, you and Stahlia how many more lives will Rupert ruin before he is satisfied? Just a bit more mana should be good for today, if Im not careful Ill fry him completely. Anto-, your highness there was nothing you could do, you know that. Rupert is conspiring with the demons. It is only obvious that he would be quite adept at hiding his intentions. Screwing his eyes shut, Antonio nodded though it seemed forced. It was possible to remove that as well, but doing so would make him little more than a puppet; I needed him to have some agency and merely follow my suggestions, You are right, though I cannot help but worry about it all the same. That is why you will make an excellent king. Antonio shook his head, No, but I will do my best. Yea, youd be a rather shit king. Youd have the peoples support just from charisma. But youre too kind. Honestly, even if I do nothing its a fifty-fifty shot that Drakas succumbs to rebellion under Ruperts rule Though marrying Stali would tip the odds a bit, -Come on Aki youre cute; youd fit Ryukos family the best.- Luckily, I was able to avoid exclaiming this time, and Antonio had shifted to look out the window so had not seen my face contort in a brief moment of agony. Stali, if you werent my best bet at living, Id torture you to death for inflicting this curse on me Hells, I might still do it if this shit keeps up! Sitri, you do not need to force yourself You could call me Antonio if you wish. This was not the first time he had made such an offer. In fact, he made the offer quite frequently, ever since my act had integrated occasionally stumbling over his name and title. It helped my Blood Magic take hold if I flirted a bit, and after so long I honestly found being a tease rather fun beyond the influence of my skills. --Aki! Calm down, are you sure!? Hajimes flustered voice was really cute, it made me want to tease him more, Of course Im sure. Ever since I joined Ryukos family, Ive been feeling so frustrated Wont you help me Hajime?- FUCK! This one was bad. Of course, it wasnt really a secret or a mystery what was going on; these were my memories. That one in particular had been really damn strong. It was the first time I had done anything like that with a guy. Soon after was when we realized that the skills were twisting our personalities. The more pressing concern was the fact that I had just sworn and clawed at my head in pain while Antonio was looking me straight in the eyes like some kind of begging puppy. I really didnt want to deal with him right now, but it wasnt like I had a choice. Dont worry about me Ill be fine, I think. One thing was for sure, having an actual source of excruciating pain made it quite easy to act the part of a hurting woman. Alright, you should try and get some sleep though. Antonios sounded concerned, as expected. Nodding, I released my arms but left one hand to linger just a moment longer, Alright, I will Thank you. I departed from his presence and slipped off towards my own quarters. The lodging I had been provided were spartan, but that was fine. I did not need much, and it was extremely temporary. Though I did pass several walking corpses on my way, I chose not to engage with any of them. I need to figure out how to ingratiate myself to Rupert and his faction. Stali is probably the best choice in that regard I just have to hope that shes got her [Cold Hearted] turned off, she definitely had to turn it on to handle Five the way she did... If its on now, nothing I say will get through to her. But if its off, I should be able to manipulate her empathy a bit and strike a deal. As long as the kingdom secured my safety that was fine. I would take living another day over any amount of luxury. Though it would be nice if I was able to secure something of a working relationship, that was a pipe dream. Any tactical intel I did have would be horribly outdated; the best I could hope for would be to tell them the story of the Hell Kings, as well as the specifics behind everyones powers. Sorry guys, but Im going to prioritize my own safety here. You left me out to dry anyway, so alls fair yea? Strangely, there was no flash of lightning pain and no long-buried memories making an unwelcome reappearance this time. I dared not to hope that they had finished for good, but it was a welcome reprieve. I lay down on the cot that stood against one wall of my room. Before Stali had fucked me, I hadnt needed to sleep. Now, I could barely last twenty hours between rest. Maybe I could get Antonio to surrender to Rupert at the critical hour. If I then revealed that I had charmed him and told him to surrender No, that would never work. Theres no way Stali would accept a plan that involved using charms, and Rupert isnt a complete moron so hed recognize that if Antonio was really charmed by me then I could easily have ended all this earlier. I shut my eyes and did my best to tune out any more thoughts. Even if sleep was cutting into my time, it did at least bring a brief reprieve from the headache flashes. Even after waking up, there would be a few hours of blessed peace before they resumed again. After some minutes my breathing steadied out and I drifted off, into the land of dreams. So, you mean to say that you think those skills are affecting us all? Percys voice sounded disbelieving, but there was a flash of worry hidden behind the fa?ade. Hajime nodded, Yes. What else can it be? Aki wouldnt even consider sleeping with someone before, but shes gone through half the guys since joining Ryukos family. I really think that Adroni guy is just screwing with us. At the very least there is more to whats going on than we were told. Percy shook his head, I mean yea of course theres more going on. Have you ever heard of a setting with eleven demon lords before? That number is kinda strange dont you think? But why would they be setting us up to fail? This is going nowhere. Stepping out of my hiding spot, I revealed myself to the two of them, Percy, Hajime, what are the two of you doing? Hajime whirled around and stared at me bug eyed, Ah Aki, what are you doing here? My eyes narrowed at him, Come on, Just cause the number is a bit weird doesnt mean that theres anything strange going on. But, Aki Hajime has a point. Look at you! Percy was doing his best impression of an anime protagonist, glancing every where but in my direction while still sneaking brief peeks. Oh? I was rather fond of this myself. I did a little twirl to show off my new clothes; I had spent quite some time working on them after all. Aki I mean, something is definitely going on... Maybe you should reject the skills before its too late? My eyes narrowed, Reject the gift? No way! This is the best Ive felt in a long time You two just havent picked a family yet, so you wouldnt understand. I know, how about you join Asmodea? Asmo, who now? Asmodea, shed love to have you join her family. Percy spoke over Hajime who simply seemed confused, Aki, who the hell is Asmodea? She leads your family now? What happened to Ryuko? Ah, I see. You havent heard yet; Ryuko decided to change her name. Its Asmodea now I know, [How about you two come meet Asmodea face to face? Im sure it will be interesting!] While speaking, I took a few steps towards the pair of boys, licking my lips and- My eyes snapped open and I shot straight upright. My breath was coming in ragged gasps while a cold sweat poured out of my back and chest. This was new; I had not dreamed of the past before. At most, all that happened was the headaches and brief snippets. Was this what the next stage of whatever was going on was to be? My sole refuge, newfound sleep, was being taken away? And what happened after that I didnt need the memory to remember what had happened next. I had charmed two of my friends. Enslaved them to my will with sex, and brought them before my mistress. Another former friend. Percy, Hajime Even now The two of them were roughly around the level of Demon Counts the last time I was in the Nine Hells. Even if they had been among the first, the fact that they hadnt willingly accepted the gifts had limited their growth. Even now, they were still bound with Charm Magic. They worshiped Asmodea as their only god, and would do anything for her with a smile. Even me, as far gone as I had been, had been capable of disliking an order if it wasnt something I wanted to do on my own. At some point, my legs had come up so as to rest my knees on my chin, the classic fetal position. Rocking on my bum back and forth, I realized something else horrifying. My nails Theyre shorter? It was a small thing but, ever since my evolution, my nails had been stagnant. Sure, if one was chipped or damaged then it would regrow or repair itself. I could even alter them somewhat if I willed for it to happen. But now they were shorter. Testingly, I tried to lengthen them. Even if I knew it wouldnt work due to my skills being sealed away still. As I had predicted, they remained unaltered. It was when I stood up though, that the real fright made itself known. My whole appearance was different. Not by much, and really the nails had been the biggest change so far. But my hair was a tiny bit shorter. My chest was smaller, my ears slightly more rounded Im devolving? That was the only answer I could come up with. Whatever Stali had done to me, it had caused my evolution into a demon to begin undoing. Clearly, my body was still not human, but now I looked more like a half-elf than a full elf. It would require some extra time in the morning to cover up properly, but it should be manageable for now. If it kept going and I reverted fully to a human body, then things would get a lot more complicated. That was only if my stats didnt start changing as well. Unfortunately, my appraisal had come from a skill. I didnt have any idea how I could replicate that with Blood Magic since I had never had to before. It was yet one more concern. I Stali, are you not yet content!? Must you keep fucking me over!? The worst part was that part of me, an ever-so-small part of me, felt just a tiny bit glad to see a facsimile of my original face again. Psycholor Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, and Plus1 for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-1 Faction Politics Psycholor A note before the chapter, and a small announcement. As far as the note is concerned, I have omitted a prologue recap of the story so far. This is because this volume actually flows directly after the end of the previous, picking up only moments after that one left off. As for the announcement, Cypress and Plus1 have both had to step away as beta readers, owing to their personal lives growing far more hectic. Chito and TheClownPrinceOfCrime have both accepted offers to fill the hole left by these departures. So, a very special thank you to them! Edith arrived first when I sent out the summons. Though I didnt have any proof and she didnt say anything, I suspected that she might have been waiting for me to call for her after finishing up with the king. When Sasha let her in, she fixed me with a critical studying gaze then nodded sharply after a few moments. You look like you figured some stuff out; I was afraid you would be a mess after meeting his highness. My eyes blinked rapidly while my mind made sense of her words. Apparently, after last night she had decided to be a bit less reserved when giving her opinions. It was a welcome change, though I caught Sasha stiffen slightly. Nope, not stopping her, and you cant say anything either, since I let you do pretty much the same thing. Just to be sure Sasha knew my intentions, I put a smile on and greeted Edith, Thank you for your concern. I have indeed It was a rather productive event. I am glad to hear it hopefully Duke Lawrence and Duke Lester will be manageable Her expression turned grim, Stahlia, you do know what Duke Lawrence is most likely to bring up, right? Yes, since he took over from my uncle, the late Duke Despita, and is the newest of the four dukes Well, I imagine my family history will be a matter of some contention. Edith nodded grimly, Yes if my information is correct, he seems to believe that he has something to prove. Hell be difficult for the sake of getting a win then. It should be manageable if I give him something then, the only question being what? There isnt much I can give without consulting with Rupert The best I can do for now is stall and make sure not to agree to anything. My lady, please forgive the interruption, but Duke Lester and his wife have arrived. So it begins. After quickly checking over my dress, I moved to take a seat facing the door they would enter through. Then, after some small consideration, I widened my eyes a bit. Edith caught on to my intention and nodded, thereby giving her assent to my scheme. If it works the way I intend, then my general demeanor should be giving off the atmosphere of being slightly overwhelmed by everything. Hopefully, it would remain an act, and my newfound confidence would stay with me. Thank you, Sasha. Please, show them in. A moment later saw myself being studied by Duke Lester and his wife. Unlike the brief interaction right before the debut gala, my nervousness was not causing me any issues, and I was able to study them back. Duke Lester was of medium height, build, and appeared to be middle-aged. Unlike the vast, vast majority of nobles I had seen both from afar and interacted with, he was utterly average in terms of appearance. Lady Lester on the other hand was drop-dead gorgeous. Despite being quite visibly older, she had a refined quality that stood in utter contrast to that of her husbands blandness. If I were to walk into the room none the wiser, I would have easily assumed she was the queen of the country and greeted her as mother. She smiled bashfully in a manner that I knew was fake and yet somehow, did not cause me to think any less of her. My lady, have I perhaps caught your eye? Whoops, I was staring. Not a good start, but its a lot easier to deal with people one on one. I shook my head to clear it, Yes indeed, I hope that I will look at least half as well as you do when I finish growing A pleasure to make your acquaintances, Duke Lester, Lady Lester. Owning my misstep and giving a compliment is probably the best play here. The two of them gave their own introductions, and I bade Sasha to seat them. Lady Lesters smile widened, I am sure you will put me to shame if you grow to look anything like your mother. I daresay, I can already see some resemblance, so I am certain you have little to worry about. You wouldnt be able to tell it from her tone, but the way she spoke had victory bells ringing. Damn, she took the compliment and turned it around perfectly. This light verbal sparring was overall harmless in the grand scheme of things, though it did establish a momentum that would carry over into the rest of this. I dont really want to play that game if I can help it; Id be rather certain to lose. Oh, to hell with it. I dropped my smile and spoke with a stony tone, Pleasantries aside, what can I do for you, Lord Lester? Lady Lesters own smile deepened; she gave a satisfied nod before sitting back and ceding the floor to her husband. For his part, Duke Lester gave a satisfied nod, It gladdens me to see that the next queen is capable of cutting through the fa?ade of society when she needs to; you would not have been able to lead my wife. I will say that my wife and I were already inclined to support you due to our loyalty to his highness, Prince Rupert. As long as you demonstrated at least some competency, along with the capacity to learn. His opinions were clearly stated and were like a breath of fresh air. Other than Edith and Gustav, none of the other nobles I met had ever been completely honest with their thoughts. That was assuming he was being honest of course. Make no mistake, there is an amateurish quality to your behavior; if you were the fiance of prince Antonio and not Rupert, we would stand against you. In other words, I have barely met your standard? He nodded, Correct. For someone of your previous station, that is rather impressive in its own right. Thank you for being honest; I do have much to learn On that note, what is the general impression that I have made? Duke Lester nodded, Among his highness faction there is very little dissent. Some find you a bit na?ve but there are none questioning your potential. Of course, your martial ability is well established, what people worry about is your political aptitude. Nice of him to answer that question preemptively. Thats about what I thought the answer would be; people invested in Ruperts faction will be disinclined to question his decision when getting engaged. Lady Edith can tell you about her own factions thoughts, I imagine they mirror our own. The real problem will be Duke Lawrence The lords will be easy to deal with and I doubt you will face much resistance from them; a few grants and titles to ease the pain of losing their liege, but nothing you would be involved in directly. Right, I wont be dealing directly with them outside of high-level things such as this meeting. Even here, Im meeting the dukes and their wives together. Ill have to deal with the women, is what hes going to say next. The same does not hold true for their wives; you have very little social experience, and the little time which you have been at the Academy has been severely compromised. Ordinarily, there would be some degree of mercy, some level of understanding granted to your age. And here comes the but. These are not ordinary times. It is my belief that the majority of women in the second princes faction will treat you as an adult and hold you to those standards. This is because of the circumstances surrounding your own ascension, as well as the kings actions. Ruperts post has been secured by becoming the only heir. As his wife-to-be, you will be held to a similar standard. Ah, I see whats happening. This is actually a long-winded proposal; hes going to suggest I shelter under his wifes wing. I didnt figure that out entirely on my own; Edith was sitting next to them, a little distance away. She was becoming visibly agitated, though it was something only her close friends would notice. Likewise, the display was meant to tell me to be careful; Edith was fully capable of hiding all but the most extreme agitation from me if she wanted to. The fact that I could pick up on it here was solely due to her letting me. Then, so much for him being honest and simply supporting me If I take that offer, it would be equivalent to allying myself firmly with Ruperts faction Even I can see how that would have a negative effect on the faction politics. Yet my friendship with Edith probably has a similar effect, it isnt a secret and especially after she gave so much help in redirecting people at the gala But that was established prior to the engagement, so it should be less problematic. I was beginning to thought-spiral again, reading too much into the situation. Or perhaps I was not reading enough into it? I did not know. Lady Stahlia? And now I missed what Duke Lester had said. Hopefully, it would merely look like I had been deep in thought, contemplating my response. The problem though, I did not know how to answer since I did not know the question. Though unlikely, speaking the wrong thing here would cause an issue. Before my mind was made up whether to ask him to repeat the question or to go with my hypothesis about his wife, Sasha interrupted. My lady, Lord Lester, my apologies. Duke Lawrence and Lady Lawrence have arrived. Perfect! I can use this as an excuse to not answer, and ask Sasha or Edith what he asked later. My apologies, Lord Lester. We shall have to revisit that at a later time Sasha, please do not keep the Lawrences waiting. Sasha curtsied and departed briefly, while Lester bowed his head politely. Edith shot me a scathing look for just an instant, though I was not quite sure what I had done to earn it. Probably because falling into a trance like that was rude No, god damnit! By telling Lester I would revisit the topic at a later time, I had expressed that I found the idea worth pursuing. God damnit! Ill need to figure out a way to smooth things over without joining the faction officially Lady Stahlia, it is my pleasure to officially make your acquaintance. As you know, I am Duke Cresden von Lawrence. This is my wife, Lady Eifi von Lawrence. It is my pleasure, Lady Stahlia. Duke Lawrence bowed the respectful amount, while Lady Lawrence curtsied. The pleasure is mine, Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas. I am glad we could finally meet. Sasha. Hearing her name called, Sasha moved to seat the newcomers. They ended up on the opposite side of Edith from the Lesters, with all five of them facing me. Having ten eyes all fixated on me now, I could feel my pulse quickening. That two of them were Ediths was a small comfort, but it was overshadowed by the reminder that I could not trust anything said at face value. While they were still being seated, I took the opportunity to quickly try and get a read on them. Duke Lawrence was a bit overweight but did not look too unhealthy. For all I knew, it was just his clothes puffing out a bit as some sort of fashion statement. His wife was, though not as stunning as Lady Lester, quite good-looking. If she had one blemish it was that she was also a bit on the plump side. Though, given that their region of the kingdom was second to the central district in terms of food production, perhaps theyre being a tad heavy was to be expected. My throat cleared with a cough, Ahem. Now then, is there anything you wish to discuss? Going forward, as the de facto leaders of your factions, I will be relying on your support. After a glance at the others to confirm that they had no intentions of speaking first, Duke Lawrence broached the silence first, My lady, it would seem that fate has conspired in certain ways While the sadness at the loss of my liege still burns fresh, any further conflict would only serve to harm this country. May I ask, what your fathers intentions are? The expected question then, will my dad try and leverage my engagement to regain the title of Duke for our house. That would be a question best asked to Lord Ris; though I am von Ris, I am also und zu Drakas. Even if I am his daughter, I am separated. Thanks for that answer, Edith. On the spur of the moment, I also glanced at Lady Lester. Hopefully, that would carry the implication that I meant to put the country ahead of any faction or family politics; a no to her offer. Duke Lawrence seemed somewhat disgruntled by my answer, he had likely been hoping for a clear yes or no. Instead, I had more or less said that I did not know my fathers intentions but, if it came to it, would abide by whatever the kings decision was. I see. You have a younger brother, Rosin von Ris? It was impossible for me to keep my voice from becoming just a tiny bit cold when my family was brought up, but I had to answer, Yes I do, what of it? He is four years of age now, perhaps there would be interest in a marriage with one of my daughters? When he asked the question, I felt a wave of pressure for a moment though it quickly abated. In its place, the air in the room seemed to chill. Or perhaps it was merely my imagination. No, not my imagination. The Lawrences are both watching me like hawks now, and Edith definitely reacted to that but really try and be a little less transparent will you? In any other case, the aura in the room and the attention I was receiving would have probably triggered my insecurity and I would have devolved into a fit of nervousness. Unfortunately for Duke Lawrence, he had brought my family into this. Far from being overcome, I was now rather intensely focused. Duke Lawrence, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and believe you approached me in good faith. After all, my fathers own titles would lead to any proposal received directly from yourself being seen as an order. To his credit, Duke Lawrence did not back down in the face of my glare. Rather, he seemed to get a bit fired up and become more attentive; sitting up straight in his chair and meeting my gaze with a level one of his own. To show my gratitude, I will inform my father of your offer Just to be clear, you wish for your daughter to become von Ris? Surely you jest? You would suggest my child join your former house? His voice was calm, but cold, Rosin would of course be marrying into my own house. Before I had a chance to say anything further, Duke Lester spoke, Do not forget yourself, Lord Cresden. You are stroking the dragons whiskers Why, you- Things were about to spiral out of control in a rather beautiful manner. Enough. Duke Lester, this matter concerns my family, not yours. Duke Lawrence, I will not play the messenger for you. Make the offer to my father yourself but do keep in mind who it was that spared him the fate of the Despita. The only winning move is not to play. He might have been trying to set me up, but Duke Lester is right, I should leave dealing with the lords to Rupert and Gustav As irritating as that might be to admit. Sasha, the meeting with his highness proved more tiring than I expected. My maid curtsied, then quietly informed my guests that it was time for them to leave. Obviously, they took the hint with grace and departed without fuss. Once I was alone, Sasha walked up to me with her arms crossed and a stern expression. Time for a lecture I guess. Ugh how badly did I mess things up? To my surprise, she shook her head, Honestly the only thing you should have done differently was to dismiss Duke Lawrence the moment he proposed that idiotic scheme; baiting him as you did was petty but I doubt aught will come of it. I sunk into thought, mulling over her words, I see As for you not paying attention to Duke Lester, he proposed you form a public friendship with his wife I would recommend you do so. The contents of his proposal were no surprise and matched my prediction more or less perfectly. What I found surprising was the recommendation to follow along. I raised an eyebrow, And why do you recommend such a course? This meeting was publicly unpublic knowledge. Even if we did not announce you were having it, everyone knows. Likewise, everyone will know you ended things early. By making a public showing of camaraderie with Lady Lester, people will naturally assume that Lord Lawrence or his wife have in some way offended you; which I daresay is the truth. They will be unable to reach prince Antonio in time, nor would them reaching him greatly alter the outcome of the war; they would be foolish to try. Rather, it is far more likely that you will shake their factions confidence in them. The lesser nobles would then come to our side, and if he is even a halfwit Duke Lawrence will cease his opines and come crawling back. When she finished speaking, Sasha had a rather dark angry glint in her eye. It was, frankly, a bit terrifying. But would that not risk starting a blood feud or something of the sort? Given my familys past, would people not be equally likely to assume that I am scheming to restore house Despita? Sasha nodded, That is a risk, but a rather small one; confer with Rupert if you like. I dare say that he will advise you to do as I have just recommended. If Lawrence does start anything, then he is an imbecile who poses an immediate threat to the kingdom. The implication of what she was saying sunk in, Sasha, do you know? You can be even scarier than Jacqueline, and she was a fully trained assassin. Thank you, my lady. She curtsied and began preparing things for me to rest. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, and TheCrownPrinceOfCrime for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve Extra Chapter: A Case For Pragmatism Psycholor This is the first Extra Chapter for this month, requested by TheClownPrinceOfCrime who took the first place position in last month''s discord chat rankings. The topic prompt was to "Show a younger Rupert, prior to when he developed his unfeeling nature." Prince Rupert von Drakas, Seven Years Old, 935 But why? Sasha shook her head at my question. To be fair, this was far from the first time it had been asked. Because your own life is more important. This was far from the first time she had answered it thusly. I frowned, That is not a good enough reason to do nothing. I am going to see them myself. Sasha looked displeased, but she was in no position to stop me once my mind was made up, Fynn, accompany me. Though still in training, Fynn von Despita had entered my service just a short while ago. The second son of his own house, his elder brother had already inherited the family name. Since he could now only inherit the house if something happened to his brother, he had requested to serve the royal family directly. As you wish, my lord. Sasha, strictly speaking, was no longer under me now that I had turned seven, but with no other young princes, she stuck around. It was getting exceptionally irritating, what with her constant nagging but my father liked her so there was not much I could do. This incident being only the most recent. There had been a bit of a plague outbreak among the palace staffs children. So far, no attempts to heal them with magic had worked. Instead, they continued to deteriorate, growing sicker by the day. Your highness, I do not believe going to see them yourself is a good idea. Sasha had tagged along behind Fynn because of course she had. But why? She fell silent. If you cannot answer even a simple question, then what right do you have to advise me? I will see them for myself, then convince my father to continue searching for a cure. Lord Fynn, will you say nothing? Having given up herself, Sasha was now trying to bring Fynn to her side. He was far more loyal though and merely shrugged. At this, Sasha silenced herself and fell into step at the back. Finally. Now I just have to find my way down there. The palace was gigantic, since it wrapped all the way around the upper part of the mountain, and my legs were still quite small. It did not take to long before I began to feel short of breath, Should I carry your highness? Grimacing at Fynns question, I shook my head, I am seven now, I am able to walk on my own. He bowed his head lightly and did not pursue the issue, though the way he was shortening his stride to match my own was rather aggravating. Finally, after what felt like an age of walking, we arrived at the sick quarters only to see one of the servants desperately clinging to one of the palace knights. It looked like she was begging him for something, but I was still too far to hear. When he went to draw his sword though, I knew something was wrong, Fynn! He wasted little time in scooping me up and heading towards the scene, Halt! In the name of my father, unhand that woman! As it turned out, it was in fact the knight who had been holding onto the maid. Sasha immediately went to comfort the distraught woman, while Fynn began questioning the knight, Explain your actions. The knight, upon recognizing who we were, sprang to attention, Your highness, my lord, My squad and I are preparing to fulfill our duty when this woman attempted to stop us. Turning to the lady I asked her, And who are you? From her clothes, I could tell she was without title; one of many commoners working among the bottom rungs of the palace. Considering the vast gulf between us, she was rather hesitant to speak but also unable to remain silent, I-if it pleases your highness, I-I am B-bethany. M-my s-son is sick, a-and these m-men have- That is enough. Sasha cut the woman off, Your highness, she is distressed; if you have any sympathy do not force her to talk further. I wanted to tell her off for interrupting the woman, but she had a point. Besides, I could just question the knight instead, Knight, what duty would require you to lay hands on one of the palace maids? The knight glanced to Sasha, who returned a look of resignation, Your highness, your father has ordered the sick to be disposed of and their bodies burned. The blood drained from my face. My father ordered what? Why would he do that? They are just sick. All they need is medicine! At my outburst, the knight shook his head, Forgive me your highness, but your fathers reasons are his own, and his orders greater than yours. I am going in. If I could get inside the room, then I would probably get sick. That would force my father to try harder to find a cure. A step, then another one. My hand was on the door, when I felt a weight on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Fynn had placed his hand on my shoulder. Unhand me! I tried to jerk away, but his grip was too strong for me. Your highness, you should not enter that room. Let me go! If I get in there now, then father will have to find a cure for them! Because Ill be sick too! Fynn shook his head, They have already been cured; the young woman said as much. These men. But here there is only one knight. The others have already carried out their orders inside. What? No, that isnt right The words he was speaking sunk in slowly, but eventually the strength to resist left my body and Fynn was able to pull me away from the door. No! You have to stop them! With a shriek, the distraught maid flung herself at me. One of the knights always following me around reacted immediately and without any hesitation took the womans head from her shoulders. Some of the blood splashed across my face, and Sasha immediately moved to wipe it off and shield my eyes. Get away from me. The coldness of my voice surprised me, as it clearly did Sasha. She stopped abruptly and stood aside. Even in death, the maids eyes still seemed desperate to save her child, even if all the world knew it was too late for either of them. Reaching up a hand, I traced the blood splattered on my cheek. If I hadnt let Sasha slow me down this morning, then maybe I could have gotten here sooner. I could have stopped all this! No. What? It was a cure. Thats death isnt a cure! Is it not? Behind me, I heard Fynn whisper to Sasha, What is his highness doing? Talking to himself? Not important, ignore it. But death is not a cure! No, death is a cure. ! Sasha, how many of them had already died. You know. She looked at the decapitated head on the floor, Of this group, six had already died. Including this ones son. Why did you not say anything earlier? She shook her head, Because you should not have to see this. Fynn glared at her, His highness is halfway to his adulthood; you cannot shelter him from all the dirt in the world. If I had gone in, then would it have really changed things? Without saying anything, I began to walk back to my rooms. Sasha and Fynn both noticed and hurried to catch up, continuing their argument as they went. But he needs to be sheltered. If he were to be confronted with how ugly the world really is, without any sort of force to hold him in check Sasha shook her head. What do you mean? Fynns question hung in the air for some moments. Would you too just. Shut. Up. If I had gone in, I would have most likely gotten sick. Then what would father have done? I mean, compare his highness to his older brothers. Prince Antonio is kind, but craves power and affirmation. Father does not make decisions lightly. He must have had a reason for what he did. Prince Percival is a caring man, but dull-witted. Fynn shook his head, Lady Sasha, I do believe you should hold your tongue. If If I had gotten sick, then I would have been disposed of as well. Lord Fynn, I raised those boys. If anyone is qualified to judge their shortcomings, it is I. What about his highness Sasha nodded gravelly, He is empathetic to a fault; look at how he behaved here. But Sasha, Fynn, thank you for stopping me. If I had gone into the room and become ill, then father would have no choice but to continue with his plans. Fynn glanced at Sasha, who smiled sadly, That empathy is like a curse; it helps his highness understand the reasons behind peoples actions. It lets his highness rationalize the ugliness. What do you think would happen if he was forced to confront it before he was ready? Fynn did not respond. 6-2 Planning Psycholor Stahlia, Sixteen Years Old, Eleventh Month of 948 Sasha had given me a lot to think about, and it had been nagging at me for nearly a week now. Certainly, embracing Lady Lester while distancing myself from Duke Lawrence would solve the immediate issues. But the potential consequences of those actions were scary. It was doubtful that they would go so far as to rebel against Rupert, the wind was clearly blowing in an unfavorable direction. No, it was the little ways they could hamper things. With what was coming, we would need as many people on board as possible and completely alienating one faction of the nobility was not a risk I could afford to take. Ideally, I could find a solution to accomplish that but it was probably impossible. Even if I was alright with having my parents marry Rosin out of the family, doing that would just make me look weak in the long run. It would signal Duke Lester that Im open to manipulations. My lady, you need to come to a decision soon. My pacing slowed and then stopped, I know. Im just Sasha cut me off, If I may? At my nod, she continued, You want a solution where everyone will be happy. That does not exist, or if it does, it would be impossible to find in time. I bit my lip, what she was telling me made sense and I knew that it was just, And if I make the wrong decision? You do not. Right, in an autocracy, there is no leeway for screwing up. With a sigh, I made my way over to a seat, Rupert agreed with you, like you said he would That I should align with Lady Lester and pressure the second princes faction. Edith is against me joining either one, but agrees that Lady Lester is the better option. Why then, why am I so conflicted still? Sasha shook her head in a slightly defeated manner, That, I cannot answer. But was it not you who decided to trust your friends and allies? It sounds as though we are all telling you the same thing. You are right I cannot keep being so indecisive. I took a deep breath, Summon Lady Lester and Lady Edith. Sasha gave a slight nod and moved to a small desk to draft the letter. I mostly want Edith there for support, but her presence will also further distance me from the Lewis family. Hopefully, it doesnt backfire on me. What setting will we use? Sashas inquiry caught me slightly off guard; I did not have much experience socializing with other noble ladies, beyond visiting Edith for tea and such. Fortunately, I had someone who was something of an expert on hand. What do you recommend? I imagine something public would be best? Sasha placed her hand on her chin in thought and nodded, Indeed, a venue where you would be seen with them would facilitate the spreading of rumors. But throwing another gala or a ball would be a bit extreme. Wait, thats an option? Seriously, a ball? Paying no mind to the momentary surprise on my face, my maid continued on, Perhaps a concert or play? What do you think? Shaking my head quickly to reset the surprise, I gave her my agreement, That would work. Something light would be best, to make it easier to speak. Sasha gave a quick nod, Then I shall find an appropriate company and summon them. I shouldnt even be surprised that me going to a concert involves calling it to me. Then again, that makes sense from a security standpoint. Speaking of, Then, I will leave the arrangements to you. Have Elienor and the others arrived yet? Sasha actually looked a bit relieved and nodded, Yes, I was actually about to bring this up; Lady Elienor, Miss Lucy, and Miss Frieda have all been transferred into your care. Shall I send for them? Yes, as soon as everything is sorted out it will make life much easier for you. I need the people helping me to be as capable as possible, since helping me is such a task. She actually let out a soft laugh at that before excusing herself to go and get the people in question. Good, they arrived on time. It was honestly impressive how quickly arrangements had been made in regards to my friend and former attendants. According to Gustav, everything had been in place to transfer them into my direct custody once the order was given. In that respect, maybe its proper to say that its surprising it took so long? No, we had to make it look organic; about a week is the minimum amount of time that would be believable. Any faster, and people would perhaps assume the truth; that Rupert and I staged the whole thing. A few minutes later, Elienor was led into my room along with Lucy and Frieda. As they entered the room, I fed mana into my eyes. Though I trusted Ruperts conclusion that they were in the clear, there was no harm in double-checking for myself. Certainly, they would not notice. Frieda seemed to be a bit reserved and cautious which was understandable. Lucy was similar to Frieda but instead of being totally calm her eyes were darting around while her ears twitched nervously. All three of them were clean of demonic mana and did not have any voids in their own mana flow that would have indicated a parasites presence. Its kind of like Felicitys ears. I wonder if there are any similarities between elves and beastkin? Nah, theres no way. Though I could see her mana just fine, Elienor was being somewhat shielded from my view by the other two, but she looked tired; she had bags under her eyes, her hair was a bit unkempt, and her general demeanor seemed simply depressed. Given what she had been going through the past half a year, her change in demeanor was rather understandable. It would be on me now to try and help her as much as I could. After all, it wouldnt be wrong to say that I am directly responsible for what happened. Granted, Count Francois brought this on himself but my own hand cant be understated. If she came to hate me, it would be completely justified. Elienor looked up at me from behind the other two. Her immediate reaction was complicated and she did indeed express hatred in one of her facial expressions. Finally, she settled back to simply depression before mumbling, Hey, Stali That much broke my heart when I thought back to the happy energetic girl she had been before everything in her world fell apart, Elienor, Im Sorry? Her tone was rough and her face bitter. After a moment though, that faded away, Why? You seem to be just fine. Well, this is going to shit. She continued, You broke my brother. You destroyed my family! And after all of that, you left me alone for nine months! Every day, I thought they were finally going to have me killed! Ye dont get to be sorry! By the end of the tirade, she was screaming her words. When she was finally finished, she collapsed to her knees defeated. It was easy for me to forget at times, considering how exceptional all of my friends were, that they were in fact still children. Of course Elienor would have been completely destroyed by what happened. What was I going to do? Install her as a maid? From her perspective, it would simply look like I was keeping her around to gloat, whatever my actual intentions were. Defeated, all I could think to do was press on, Yes. I am sorry. I should have moved to help you a lot sooner, back when Dominic first started getting violent. For that, I am sorry. Turning from Elienor to address Lucy and Frieda, I briefly caught Lucy looking at me with utter contempt before she rapidly adjusted her face. Yea, I deserve that. I have made arrangements with Rupert to secure the three of you your lives. If you sign these, I can even grant a degree of freedom; they are general servant contracts. Regardless of what you decide, I cannot let you leave my care. I gestured to Sasha and she presented the three slips to Frieda, who took them gracefully enough. Even if her movements were a bit stiff. At this point, I would have liked to leave them alone in the room, but my station prevented that. Instead, I had Sasha guide them to one of the drawing rooms along with one of my knights to keep an eye on them lest they try anything. In my mind a cruel measure, but one I knew was not debatable. Sasha, did you know it would end up like that? My voice was rather brittle when she returned from the other room, and I collapsed back into my seat. She nodded once, Yes, I suspected it would. Frankly, that you did not is rather concerning; I had thought you intended some scheme to work through the girls feelings so said nothing. Well, there goes any faith she had in me. I am a fool. To my quip, She said nothing. I was so caught up in everything, that I neglected to consider the full ramifications. Something I keep doing. What if the alliance with the Lester family turns out like this? Or the coming clean-up? No matter what I do, someone is going to suffer. It was something I had thought I had acknowledged long ago. There were even a few times when I had been confronted with the consequences, and been able to get through them without too much issue. But this was the first time it had been so direct and in my face. No, not the first time. Jacqueline is a textbook case of me fucking up and being slapped in the face with the fallout. But she forgave me and continued to serve; preserving our existing dynamic. Elienor hates me completely. My Lady? With a start, I looked up at Sasha. Yes? If I may, I believe you are missing a rather critical piece of information. Or rather, overlooking it. Like a light in the darkness, I latched on to my attendants words, What would that be? The enthusiasm carried by my response seemed a bit disconcerting for her, but she was able to answer me nonetheless, Elienor is eleven, and had just entered the Academy. From your perspective, all this happened only a month ago. For her, it has been nearly a year. She was ten when her family fell from the kings grace. Ah Sasha was correct. I had indeed been overlooking that little bit of information. Another apology would not suffice; I had made a conscious decision to delay contacting her. In all honesty, that should have been one of the first things I had done upon waking up. Instead, she had become my political pawn. I believe you made the right decision; the amount of sympathy you garnered was worth the delay. I knew she was right, and I hated that. Perhaps, but if I could do it differently then I would. Sasha shrugged, Perhaps, but the past is the past; you cannot allow yourself to live there. She of course meant her words along the lines of a monarch being unable to let the past hold them back or something. That didnt mean she was wrong. Whether or not I liked it, from moment to moment, my life went far beyond myself now. With a sigh, I began the process of pushing down the feelings that were boiling up inside me regarding Elienors rejection. It was ok for me to be hurt, but dwelling on it was not acceptable in my capacity as the pseudo queen. Nor was it fair to Elienor, who was the one most wronged. Alright. Looking to the future then, I believe it would be better for us to leave the palace rather than call the performers here. Sasha paused her idle tasks, and I saw her ears perk up. Encouraged thusly, I began to explain my thought process, There are three reasons. Firstly, I am not publicly known to be Ruperts wife; if I called performers here so soon after my debut it might harm my established image by making me seem selfish. She nodded, That is a possibility, though likely rather slim. Yes, but a possibility nonetheless. Second, the goal is for me to be seen engaging with Edith and Lady Lester. If we travel through the noble quarter and attend a play or concert in the upper city many, many more people will see us. That will increase the speed at which news of my apparent faction inclinations spreads. That is true? What about the risks? I smiled, Even better. Me going out will help calm the people. Sure, there are risks. But it isnt like we will go out without guards, and if it comes down to it I myself am far from helpless Though in that case, my merciful image would be damaged. Sasha frowned, but she did not say anything against my points. After a moment she shook her head, Your idea has merit, though I dont like it; we went through this with that alchemist, you should summon people to you. My hand cut through the air in a dismissive wave, This and that are different. In this case, me going to them makes more sense. Will you make the arrangements, or do I have to make it an order? I will abide. How many guards will you bring? Right, obviously I cant have Lady Lester and Edith bringing their own guards. Both for my own safety against any ill advised actions, as well as the fact that security is the hosts responsibility. My primary guards will accompany us, of course. Then as for a supplement, half as many each for both Lady Lester and Edith should suffice? Sasha gave me her assent, and began making the plan; once I had given the basics it fell to her to do the nitty gritty. Just another reason why I wanted to get you some help If things dont work out with Lucy and Frieda, I should speak with Rupert about getting at least another couple maids. Sasha just has too much work on her own like this. Elienor is No, even if she does sign her contract through some miracle, I cant use her as a maid; it would destroy whatever sliver of friendship we have left Thinking about it, it wasnt like we had been particularly close with each other. Really, she was kind of irritating at best, and a nuisance most times. But out of all the Francois, she was the only one I could genuinely say I felt guilty about. Even if it was just to satisfy my conscience, I wanted to make sure at least she was safe. Thump-thump-thump. There was a knock at the door. My guard, signaling that the trio had finished their deliberations. Sasha put down her work and made her way over to bring them back before me. Right, well theres nothing for it, may as well see how badly things went. I nodded to her, and Sasha opened the door. To my surprise, Elienor entered first. She briefly made eye contact with me before breaking it off by dropping her gaze to the floor. Frieda was next, followed by Lucy. Frieda seemed rather calm all things considered, but Lucy had a bit of fire in her eyes. Here. Curtly, the dark elf passed the three contracts to Sasha who unfurled them to review. After a moment she announced, All three have been signed. Wait, all three? Then even Elienor? That was surprising, and I couldnt help but stare at her while letting the surprise show on my face. It had been a certainty that she would decline. With all do respect, my lady, Miss Elienor is rather tired. It has been a tumultuous ordeal for her. Lucy made no effort to hide the disdain she felt, paying the absolute bear minimum of respect all the while lacing her words with venom. I could see Sasha pursing her lips, so hurriedly preempted her. I am sure it has, and it was in no small part my fault. For that, I can only apologize. It looked like Lucy was going to say something, but my words werent for her so much as myself at this point. I held up a hand to forestall whatever she was going to say, I will never apologize for what happened to Dominic and Count Francois. Elienor flinched at the sound of her brothers and fathers names, but I kept going nonetheless, They posed a very real threat to this kingdom and her people. More than that, they posed a threat to people I cared about. So no, I will not apologize for that. I am sorry that you got involved, that you lost everything as a result of my actions. I am sorry that in the final days I was not there to help you. I am sorry that you were left alone and confused for so long. I will do everything reasonably within my power to make amends, because that is all I can do. The room had gone quiet by the time I was done speaking. Sasha looked conflicted, very likely planning a lecture about how a monarch must never lower themselves to a servant or commoner. In this case, if she tried I would tell her to get bent. Lucy seemed a bit deflated, but still clearly angry. Frieda was taciturn. As for Elienor, it looked like she was doing her very best not to start crying. Well, thats about what I would expect her reaction to be. Then, she either stopped trying not to cry or failed, because the tears did indeed begin to flow. But, the tears shed were confused. There was sadness, pain, and loss present. But there was also joy and happiness, then she ran at me. If I had been a moment slower to react, one of the knights might have cut her down; as it was their swords were half unsheathed before I stepped forward to intercept her fervent hug. Hic, Stali! Stali dont Hic leave me alone again! Hic. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, and TheCrownPrinceOfCrime for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-3 Headaches Psycholor So, a special thank you to Fost as well! With the immediate situation surrounding Elienor resolved, for the most part, I needed to start working on my assigned duties. Frieda could probably be trusted but Lucys attitude had carried a lot of red flags, so she would need to be restricted a bit. Regarding that, Sasha had wanted to punish her for her attitude, though I declined to authorize that for now. If she continued, then and only then I would do something. However, given that she deflated in the wake of Elienor breaking down and then recovering, I did not want to put the cart before the horse. Regarding that breakdown, even after having broken my illusion, Elienor had not actually said anything about my body that I was aware of. Though I hoped that was because she had the sense not to, I feared that she was afraid I might get mad if she did. It was a topic to address with her, but I wasnt sure how to approach it so had decided to put it off and break the news to the other two first. As for when that would be the sooner the better in all likelihood, though Sasha would likely protest. The odds are that Lucy was simply mad on Elienors behalf. The general contracts will prevent them from doing anything to directly harm me, but it otherwise leaves them completely free. Likewise, we know they didnt have any special contracts with Count Francois; Rupert assured me of that Still, until things come to fruition Sasha will be stuck attending to me directly, but that doesnt mean the others cant help in other ways. In any case, the three of them had been subjected to an appraisal as part of Ruperts checks; none of them would have the ability to overcome my knight detail, so I could quite easily restrict their movements until they proved trustworthy. I had some plans regarding that and hopefully, things would work out sooner rather than later; I did not enjoy keeping people locked up, but I would do what I had to. As for what I had to do, at the moment that was to meet with one of the churchs Cardinals. Or, more specifically, listen in on Ferdinands meeting with him. Then there would be a debriefing regarding some intelligence gleaned from the first princes rebel group. Meetings with Ferdinand to begin ironing out the details of the new spy order. At some point, the trip into the city with Lady Lester and Edith. Sven would soon be returning to Ris, and I had summoned him to receive an answer about our business proposal. All of this while still making sure to see Rosial, Felicity, and Rosin as often as possible. Keeping up with my parents. Dodging whatever the Lawrences retaliation would be. Overseeing the rooting out of the remaining shadows still nominally under Fives control My head was already swimming and I hadnt even listed half the things I was meant to do. And Im not even in the trial period as Queen yet. In another three years, my schedule is going to get even busier Hell, that will probably start a year in, from all honesty, considering that the demon war should be kicking off Ugh. My lady, Ferdinand has arrived. Thank you, Sasha. She nodded and presented me with a magic communicator tool. Ferdinand had the other half, and it would feed audio and visual information back to me. Since I had never learned or bothered to research how magic tools were made, I had no idea how this one worked but, according to his explanation, it would be able to cut through the churchs wards against snooping. Not that I particularly minded giving the gods the middle finger, but I had to question if this was actually a good idea. Well, even if Im the Rule Breaker now, I was their champion at one point so it should be fine I hope. Adroni probably wouldnt permit them to just smite me, right? Yea, thatd be funny but only for a moment Even with my status still screwed to hell, I could still use Blood Magic. By exploiting that, I could feed mana into magic tools in order to operate them. And add that to my growing list of tasks; figure out why the hell my stats, skills, and talents arent returning! Upon the tools activation, my vision briefly went blurry. What followed when it cleared made my head spin; Ferdinands vision fed directly into my mind, giving me two completely separate points of view. Well, it wasnt exactly his point of view, so much as the tools. Fortunately this much had been predicted so I was already sitting, and as a way to help limit the effects of it, I shut my own eyes. I wonder if this is similar to what Five experienced when using the parasites? Dealing with just the one added perspective is bad enough, I cant imagine what it would be like with several. Ferdinand nodded to one of the lower-ranking priests, who in turn opened a large ornate door. This was, oddly enough, the same room I had once been taken to when the church summoned me. Dont tell me that cardinal was the one responsible for liaising with the shadows? The doors swung open to reveal the rooms sole occupant. It was not anyone I recognized. Since the one cardinal I had met was responsible for Sana, that was a small load off my mind and a relief to my momentary panic. Looking closely at him, or at least as closely as I could given the oddity of how this sub-vision worked, the cardinal appeared to be rather nervous. Ferdinand went ahead and greeted him, his voice completely and utterly dry, Cardinal, it is a pleasure to speak with you again. The cardinal responded nervously, not unlike a spring being held under high tension, L-lord Ferdinand, it is indeed a pleasure I heard that you, That I was dead? That was a lie. I- Do not speak further. The fact of the matter is that a demon, one of the kings, rose to power under your nose. Disposed of all of his opponents within and without the order Yet you were not cut off curious, is it not? Ferdinand cut off whatever the cardinal was going to say next. This had been his own suggestion, and one I readily agreed with; put much of the blame onto the church. If we made it clear that they were being blamed for letting Five take power within the shadows, then it would give us some degree of leverage over them. Of course you didnt know, he simply tricked you, did he not? The cardinal gulped, but did not say anything further, which was the wrong choice of action. Well? Answer me! Y-yes! We were tricked! No, I was deceived! Ferdinand crossed his arms and I could hear the sound of his foot tapping rhythmically against the stone floor. A few moments later, just long enough for the cardinal to increase the intensity of his sweating, Ferdinand broke the silence again, Well, it is fortunate that in your incompetence, the gods themselves have seen fit to send salvation. The cardinal gave a small start at that proclamation, since what Ferdinand was saying essentially amounted to the gods bypassed the church. In any other circumstances, it could be taken as outright heretical. One of their champions has been named, and she has rooted out the source of the corruption. Be thankful, that you were not caught up in it. The cardinals gears were visibly turning as he digested Ferdinands words, You speak the truth? [##### #####], The Champion of Winter acted where you failed and cast out the corruption. All good so far, hopefully hell figure out what Ferdinand is saying. We made it pretty damn obvious though. The cardinal sat back into his chair, a look of relief coming upon his face, Then, I suppose as the new head of the kingdoms espionage unit, you have some changes in mind? Good, he figured it out. For the most part, having Ferdinand be the one publicly in charge was beneficial and would be the status quo. Specifically with the church though, it would be better to lead them to the conclusion that I was the one really in charge. Ferdinand had agreed with my thoughts and suggested we also drop the bit about Winters Champion in there to further set them off balance. Yes, there will be a few changes. For the time being, all members of the original order are being hunted down as traitors. We will need new agents. The cardinal raised an eyebrow, Then you are here for the list of candidates? I should think that would be unacceptable He was fishing for more information, a good sign all things considered. No, you are correct; the former methods are no longer acceptable. Continue to pronounce the children purposeless and record their names, but they will not be collected. Instead, have the priests and priestesses reach out to them and serve as mentors. The cardinal nodded, Of course, but you are aware showing such favoritism will cause some strife in the smaller villages and towns? That has been accounted for. You will find that the next years royal donation has increased; It will come with a stipulation that the additional money be used to expand the temple schooling system. On your end, implement a rigged lottery; mixing in the purposeless from the list with a few truly purposeless children should serve as sufficient cover. The man nodded, A smart plan, that will help prevent much of the jealousy and fallout; we can keep an eye on the children with problematic purposes while building up additional manpower to replace casualties from the coming war. Of course it will not prevent all of the jealousy from those who do not win the lottery My viewpoint bobbed up and down, and I realized it was due to Ferdinand shrugging his shoulders, It is impossible to please everyone. For the time being, until proper agents can be trained, the priests will serve as information gatherers. Consider that the churchs punishment for allowing one of the nine to run rampant. The cardinals eye twitched but he said nothing. In this situation, there wasnt anything he really could say, other than arguing that the gods superseded the kingdom and it wasnt our right to punish the church. But Ferdinand had already established that it was a champion of the gods who went in and fixed the mess. Ferdinand had predicted, and I agreed, that the church would probably push back against being used as spies. We would then concede that point, and they would implement our plans for the children without much in the way of resistance. Our real plan for information gathering was the adventurers. To that end, I was planning to cash in on an offer extended from what felt like an eternity ago. Ferdinand and the cardinal were now going through the motions of fine-tuning details, so my direct observation was no longer required. Disconnecting from the magic spy camera, I sighed, Someone needs to fine-tune that thing. Using it is such a headache Sasha, next for today is meeting with the capitals guild master. How are preparations with that? As I spoke I got up and moved from the soundproofed private room and back into my drawing room, where the other three girls were assembled, along with Stil and my guard knights. As we walked, Sasha glanced at a bit of paper she carried around for keeping notes, Everything is in order, we can leave as soon as you would like Who will be coming with us? I pointed out the people as I named them, Two of the knights, Stil, and Hearing me hesitate, Elienors ears perked up. Unfortunately, there was no way I was bringing her, Lucy will come to assist you. The elf in question looked momentarily surprised, but that quickly turned into suspicion. Sasha as well, looked like she had a few choice words, but I was not going to give her a chance to voice them. Elienor, Felicity That is Pets real name, will be coming by later today At the mention of the catkins name, Elienors face changed from a mild pout to a more pleased one, And she will be bringing with her Rosial, my little sister. Yer little sister, Stali? I thought Rosi had died? Frieda shook her own head and brought her hand down on the crown of Elienors head in a chopping motion. Miss Elienor, that is not the correct way to address your lady. Indeed, I had been doing my best to ignore it, but Elienor was in fact wearing a miniaturized maid outfit to match the ones worn by Lucy, Frieda, and Sasha. I had tried to avoid doing that, but Sasha had expressed disapproval, and the girl herself had even proclaimed the desire to have her own. In the end, I had relented; it wasnt like she was wearing one of those fetish maid uniforms. It was actually rather conservative. Mainly, I had wanted to avoid putting her in something she might have found demeaning, being the former daughter of a count as well as my friend. It was for that latter reason that I found seeing her dressed like my servant a bit disturbing. Frieda, please do not be so harsh on her; it has only been a couple of days Besides, having Elienor call me anything other than Stali would just feel wrong, let me hear it a few more times. As you wish, my lady. Frieda backed off, and allowed Elienor to say her piece. Unfortunately, she seemed to have taken Freidas reprimand in stride. Your little sister? I thought Rosial had passed on? Mh, no she did not. She was taken away But we were able to recover her recently. That was close, I almost said who she was taken away by It might not be the best idea for her and Rosial to meet, if Rosial realizes who her dad is But I wont be able to keep Elienor and Felicity separate, or rather I wont. And Rosial and Felicity have become somewhat inseparable themselves. Well, whatever comes of this, Ill make it work somehow, whats one more task? If Elienor did find out it was her father who had taken my sister well, if she was going to be staying with me, it would happen eventually. Then, shall we depart? At Sashas question, I nodded. Two of the knights, Lucy, and Stil joined us and we made our way out of my rooms and eventually down to the stable area. The whole time we were walking was spent in awkward silence. The cause of which was obviously Lucys presence. Both she and Sasha were likely questioning why she had been brought along. After all, she was ostensibly a liability. When we were securely in a carriage, unmarked of course, I glanced at Sasha before cutting the mana feed to my ring. This of course caused the projected illusion to drop, Well Lucy, this is what happened to me after the fight with Count Francois. Her crimson eyes flew open wide in a manner that I could tell wasnt an act, Stahlia? So Elienor really didnt say anything. At least not to you. Yes, it is me. No Sasha, I will not hear it. My head maid looked like she was about to say something in accordance with my instructions to inform me when I was making a mistake, Lucy, while I was in the care of Count Francois, you took great care of me. I somewhat understand your hostility in the wake of everything that has happened since then, and I hate the way I have to treat the three of you. So, I am going to take a risk; I am going to trust you without any reason to, in the hopes that by doing so, I can earn yours. This was a move that would definitely not have been approved of if I had run it by Sasha and Rupert ahead of time. Lucy will not be harmed, that is an order in my name. I looked to each of the knights and then to Sasha. Though I doubted it actually needed to be said; the fact that I had willingly revealed the secret meant that her knowing it was my will. By saying it out loud, the only person now who could order for Lucy to be silenced was Rupert or the king himself. Something she would recognize. So, Lucy. I am going to trust you implicitly. I learned the hard way that keeping secrets only leads to suffering. The carriage was silent for some moments; the knights never really said anything while on duty unless asked, and Sasha was clearly waiting to hear Lucys response much as I was. How could I ever trust that? Even if I keep your secrets, just by knowing them, I You How can I trust anything you say after something like this? After what youve done? Something was telling me that this went a bit beyond how I had abandoned Elienor. Lucy, what exactly did I do? From my perspective, other than abandoning Elienor, I have done nothing wrong. You! Did you not arrange for Count Francois downfall? The destruction of his family!? I definitely did that, but whats it to her? I know for a fact they were told about the Count being a hell king; I was very clear about that with Ferdinand after what happened with Sieg. Yes, I will not deny I was responsible for that, but he was a demon, one of the hell kings. While what happened was regrettable, it was, HE SAVED MY LIFE! Ah. That would explain your reaction then. Ah stop looking at me like that Sasha, this was going to happen eventually. Fortunately, we had some time before we arrived at the capitals adventurers guild branch, Lucy Will you tell me what you mean by that? Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-4 Past Lucy, calm yourself. The elf glared at me, but that faded slowly before she ultimately looked away. No matter what else he did, he saved my life; I owe him that. So this is a lot more complicated than just her being angered on behalf of Elienor. It also means I need to play things very, very carefully. I am sorry, Lucy. Please restrain her. She was smart enough not to put up a fight against my knights as they moved to tie her securely. Now, what to do? Sasha would suggest we kill her now, not happening At least not yet. Ruperts questioning and investigations would have used truth magic, so we should have known about this relationship. Sasha, when we return to the palace, please obtain a transcript of Lucys interrogation. I would like to know how this was missed. At my order, she nodded once but did not break eye contact with our new prisoner, Lucy, would you tell me what happened? I really would like to know how it is that a hell king saved the life of a dark elf, and didnt just kill you for fun. Just when I thought that she would decline to speak, she slowly began to explain how the Count had purportedly saved her life, It was just after I turned thirty and left home after I was kicked out. I did not have anything other than my limited magic and a few levels of sword fighting. That checks out with the appraisal Ruperts people conducted. At the moment, she has [Sword Fighting III] and a few levels each in Wind, Earth, and Water Magic talents. Considering she doesnt have a class, thats pretty respectable. But she left home at thirty? For an elf thats like, ten? And they threw her out for being albino if what she told me a few years ago was true. Of course, an elf, and especially one with a unique appearance such as mine would draw attention. As she talked, she began to pick up steam, speaking more and more easily. Though there remained a slightly dispassionate detached tone to her words, It didnt take long before some men grabbed me off the road. And Count Francois rescued you from them? She shook her head, No, no those men sold me off to a band of illegal slavers passing through the Trade League. They were a nasty bunch. Her face turned dark for a moment, and I feared what she might say next, Though they did not violate me; they had something against elves in general from what I was able to gather. Keeping me around and miserable was merely their way to vent anger. A way to escape from whatever demons haunted them. Right, the Trade League. The elves own country is on the far north of the continent, so if she was grabbed just after being exiled it would have taken some time for her to make it to Drakas. With his cover being that of a count, Five wouldnt have been able to leave the kingdom and travel that far. And those men, did they bring you into Drakas? Lucy nodded bitterly, Yes. I spent around a year with them in all. Then they left me chained to a tree in the middle of winter. Crossing the border with a clearly imprisoned elf would not have worked out well for them. Their solution to that problem was to thank me for being so entertaining, and then chain me up to die. Im really glad Claire isnt hearing any of this. Lucy had fallen silent, so I prompted her to continue, How long were you trapped like that? A day. I was very nearly dead when another human found me. I would later learn that it was Count Francois. I owe him my life, so I can never forgive what you did to him. Some of the fire returned to her eyes and she fixed me with another glare, but did not otherwise move. Count Francois just happened to be passing through the border forest, found a half dead elfling tied to a tree, and rescued her? No, I dont believe that for a second. I dont have any proof other than my gut, but Id wager he had her collected and delivered to him. As for what he would want with an albino elf child, I have no idea, but theres definitely something more to this. Before that though Another question, Lucy. Why didt you try and kill me? The general contract prevents that now, but you could have when you first saw me. If you owe the count your life, then should you have tried to avenge him even at the cost of that life? It was a foregone conclusion that had she tried anything, she would have been taken down in an instant by my knights. But that should have been a price she was willing to pay, if my understanding was correct, and I was curious what had stayed her hand. Because my actions may have caused more harm to Lady Elienor. Whether or not I liked it, your grace was her best and only chance at escaping the fate of her father. I see. So the life debt extends to Fives kin. Then, was that why you signed the general contract? Because you thought it would incline me to be merciful? She did not answer yes or no, but the silence was enough to confirm my suspicions. May I ask another question, Lucy? Beside her, I saw Sashas eye twitch. I need to be careful as well, that I dont alienate Sasha when trying to win the loyalty of others. But this situation would be best served by kindness over orders. Whats stopping you? Nothing. But if I demanded an answer, then there are people who would ensure that I got one. I I dont really want to go that route. Go ahead. With Lucys permission, I proceeded to make what was in all honesty a completely pointless inquiry, Do you not owe me a life debt the same way you owe Five one? No. You are only sparing me from the results of your own actions. Well, that much was obvious, I just thought it was worth a shot. Well, I appreciate you being honest. But I do not really have many options left now; you understand, right? Lucy mumbled something that I could not quite catch. Sorry? She spoke again, louder this time. She was determined this time, Whatever you do to me, dont hurt Lady Elienor any more than you have. Of course not. Thats the last thing I want to do. Good, then this is what is going to happen. I fixed Sasha with a look to gauge her reaction, When we arrive, Sasha, contact Ferdinand. He will come and collect Lucy personally. She will not be disposed of or harmed in any way. Sashas eyes narrowed at that, but she didnt retort since it was me speaking, Tell him to repeat the same interviews and checks performed previously; I want to know how such a glaring oversight occurred. Following that, she will be placed under strict arrest and confined to a room in my chambers where you will offload simple duties that pose no risks. Once Sasha had briefly bowed her head in acknowledgment, I added one more line for good measure, This is far from the most efficient course of action. I know that. Ferdinand could quite easily get the information and then remove any potential threat, Ah, Lucy flinched there. So she does fear death still, or maybe its the implication of torture that caused that reaction I might want to put her on suicide watch or something just to be sure. However, this is what I have decided. This is how I want to do things. Do any of the three of you present have any issues with that? Speak freely. The two knights did not say anything, merely shaking their heads in turn. Sasha took a deep breath before speaking, On the contrary, I believe this is for the best; to cast aside a possible source of information would be foolish. If I could offer a suggestion, could you agree to have Miss Elienor and Miss Frieda reevaluated as well? I really dont want to do that, but shes right. Elienor is safe, but theres no knowing with Frieda And if I have Frieda reevaluated but not Elienor it would set a bad example and show me playing favorites. Damnit, fine. Agreed, but there. Will. Be. No. Torture. Perhaps it was giving my allies too little credit, but I really did not trust Ferdinand to follow my will unless my intentions were precisely stated. He just seemed the type that would take the easiest path to accomplish a task; even Rupert could occasionally opt for the more complicated one if the benefits were good enough. Lucy simply accepted her new predicament silently, there was little else for her to say as her own thoughts were already known. Not long after, a thump sounded from the front of the carriage; the driver, signaling that we had arrived. Speaking first to Sasha, Please contact Ferdinand. Then, I addressed the guards, The two of you will wait here and make sure Lucy does not attempt anything. It was somewhat fortunate that Lucy had spoken up when she did, as it gave me an excuse to ditch my protectors. Though their service was welcome, something was telling me that it would be best to leave them behind. Besides, even if I still looked like myself I was clearly too old to be me, and if worse came to worst I could always defend myself for a few minutes while the knights stormed the place. To my surprise, both of them assented to the orders without any argument. There was no, But my lady, our duty is to protect you! shenanigans. They simply performed a small salute and then turned their attention to Lucy, who retreated somewhat under the pressure of their stare. Is that really ok? I mean, I ordered it but still. Theyd be held responsible if my order led to my death or simply being hurt Well, in any case, sorry about that Lucy! Having mentally apologized to the distressed elf, I exited the carriage. Knowing what I planned to do today, Sasha had dressed me accordingly. To any onlooker, it should appear that a young noble lady was trying very hard to appear as a wealthy commoner. This was much the same type of disguise as the last time I snuck out to the adventurers guild, and there was no point in fixing what wasnt broken. Though I wish I could pass as an actual commoner, it just wouldnt work out. Ive spent too long as a noble. If there was some time to practice, I might be able to get to a point where I can pass it off as being from out of town I honestly should look into it. As the spymaster, it could be a useful ability, though its doubtful I have any time right now. Departing from where we left the carriage, I ducked out onto the main street and headed for the adventurers guild. There were a few curious looks but nobody stared for too long, and before I knew it the door to the guild was in front of me. Right, here I go. Pushing the door open, I stepped inside. The room was empty and as shabby as ever, the only other occupant being a lone employee. Good, its lucky that there arent that many people in today. Im not sure if I could handle a bunch of curious stares and knowing the type of people that hang out here a few of them would probably have ill thoughts given that I dont look like a kid anymore. The thought made me shiver, but it was easy enough to ignore and suppress. The receptionist adopted a business smile at my approach, And what can I do for you today? Excuse me, is the guildmaster in? I have a meeting scheduled regarding this letter. As I spoke, I passed the woman the letter I had received from Aaron. Receiving the letter, she moved to open it when a voice called out, Leave it, Miriam. Ill see her upstairs. He sounds young for a guildmaster. I turned to face the source of the voice. Instead of an aging weathered man, there stood Aaron himself. Ok, red flag. What is he doing here personally? The last time I saw you was two years ago and even then only briefly. Immediately feeding mana into my eyes, I beheld Aarons mana. It was odd. Instead of flowing throughout his body, it sort of hung in place. Unlike the thick sludge of a demon, it was more like glass. As if his mana were a still water surface. At the same time, it was colorless. Oh? Do you like what you see? I wouldnt advise looking too close though. Yea, major red flag. Every time somebody recognizes me using the Divine Element, a disaster happens. Look, dont just stand there looking at me like some kind of monster, that really hurts yaknow? Come upstairs, I swear by Adroni I wont hurt you. That oath wasnt exactly the most reassuring, but it wasnt like Id get any answers just standing around in the lobby, You had better explain yourself. I curtsied briefly towards the receptionist and then followed Aaron up the stairs towards the offices. It was certainly a risky play on my part, but Aarons oath was intriguing. The fact that Aaron knew both me and Adroni held a connection to each other was worth something, especially given that the God of being a Dick wasnt common knowledge. Once we were behind the closed door of Aarons office, he turned around and looked me over, Well, I am rather surprised. I was not expecting you to go that far before responding to my letter. Still, you got here in the end; good job! I do not recall ever being tasked with coming to see you. Aaron shrugged, No, the congratulations were for how much effort you put in on your own. Now then, what brings you to see me on this fine day? So it will be like that, will it? "I take it you are already familiar with all the events that transpired since you sent me this," I indicated the letter Id received just before returning hom to Ris, "I want to utilize the adventurers in the kingdom as information gatherers." Aaron nodded, "Indeed, congratulations on the wedding by the way. As for your goals to what end? The adventurers are outcasts, social pariahs. Hardly the best spies." Yea, thanks. As I thought, you do know a lot. How exactly though? I shook my head, "No, they will be perfect. I do not want them to infiltrate anywhere or specifically gather information. Simply writing up reports of what they notice in the course of their usual activities would suffice. Although, if some groups did wish to become full-time agents, I would not be opposed to it." "And what about Team Red Iron, hmm? Are they still in your employ? I haven''t seen them recently after all." His voice was flat, making it blindingly obvious he knew what happened. "Those were extenuating circumstances. Had I been in control of the situation, I likely would not have allowed it; but, at the time, Ferdinand was the one making those decisions." "You ''likely'' wouldnt have had them silenced?" Rather than being judgemental, Aaron seemed to merely be attempting to determine my reasoning. That did not mean it was an easy question to answer, "...At the time, I probably would not have been able to give that order. Now? If I believe it necessary; there is too much at stake." He fell silent for some moments, then grew extremely serious and abruptly changed the subject, "Tell me, Miss Drakas, how many factions are there?" He''s not talking about the nobles, no way in hell. He''s talking about the upcoming war. Knowing that, the question became harder to answer. Common sense said two factions; the twelve gods and the nine hell kings, each led by one of the god siblings. I knew there were three, with the third being Adroni''s. Though, as far as I knew, I was the only member. "...Four. The demons, the gods, Adroni, and whatever faction you are." He smiled and nodded, "An Excellent answer. Very well, I will have the adventurers help you as part of a mutual alliance between the Rulebreaker and myself; I am the thirteenth and fallen god. Aaron, Progenitor of Monsters. My kin are legion." Psycholor Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve Extra Chapter: Arrival of Lust Psycholor Second extra chapter for this month. This one was requested by Vanagandr. The prompt was a sort of two for one? Dunno: "Show what daily life is like for a Hell King in the demon realm, or show the advent of Lust." I did both. The point of view is Asmodea, Queen of Lust. There is a minor NSFW warning for this chapter, it''s the queen of the lust demons after all. Anything else...? Oh, "EC" stands for "Eighth Cycle". Enjoy! Second Seat Queen of Lust Asmodea, EC0947. Out. The voice that echoed around the room was devoid of emotion and laced with venom. Its cold indifference would cause any mortal to shrivel up in death at the mere sound. For the listener, however, this was a nigh everyday occurrence. Oh come on Asma, dont be like that. Arent we old friends? The one who spoke was a short man with greasy brown hair wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Far out of place compared to the surroundings that resembled a tropical garden. And how many times have I told you not to call me that? What are you even doing here? The man shrugged, Thats the problem with you sex demons, nothing between the ears but lewd thoughts. His taunt had the desired reaction, as Asmodea snapped at him, Damnit! Lust isnt just sex you fucking penny pincher! Mammon, for thats who the man was, ignored the indignant outburst and continued, One of my family told me something interesting and I thought that Id come investigate is all, no pun intended. If I entertain this, will you take your slimy otaku hair somewhere else? Asmodea gazed wearily at her colleague, who merely shrugged. Probably. Ugh! Fine! What do you want? We both know I will not sleep with you. Mammon grinned, Always sex with you lot, why is that the default? I just want a sample of the new dish your chefs came up with. Thats it? Thats it. Asmodeas shoulders slumped, Fine. But if you actually make it, be sure the chef knows what theyre doing. Forneus, fetch him a copy. A rather attractive man dressed as a butler stepped out of the shadows and bowed in the European style before turning and departing. You know, if you didnt employ exclusively succubi and incubi, you might be able to get rid of that stereotype you hate so much. Shut it. You dont understand at all. Mammon shrugged, I do, I just dont care; you want to be surrounded by the most beautiful people, eat the best food, and hear the best music. If it isnt top class then you wouldnt lust after it. Me? Im just happy if theyre unique. The way he pronounced that last word caused Asmodea to shudder, she had been persuaded to visit the Palace of Greed, Vergas only once and sworn never to revisit. Both in reality and in memory. Sitri should be almost done with preparations on the central continent, so she would soon be able to get away from her annoying little brother. Though, big brother Beelzebub was already in the humans territories so shed not be able to escape from her family for long. Dont you think its strange? Mammons question disturbed the silence, hanging in the air. When she did not answer he took it as a sign to continue, Four of us, including brother Beel, are already over there. Your slut is just about ready to call you, and Ive got my lawyers working on a contract to let me come over. Bossman has never let so many of us out to play at once. When he puts it like that, it is strange. Sitri told me a bit about Satans pet champion. Her and his son, two reincarnations in one cycle Something big is happening. Of course, admitting that her little brother was right was impossible, Youre imagining things. When you do make it over, stay the fuck away from me. Go collect more figures or whatever it is you do. Creep. Mammon shrugged nonchalantly and said no more, content to merely wait for Forneus to return with the recipe his sister had so graciously provided. Upon receiving it, he flashed her a peace sign and disappeared in a swirling cloud of black smoke. Peace at last. Forneus, how are things? The butler so addressed bowed, Things in the lower hells proceed as they should, are you ready for your departure? Yes. I am quite looking forward to it. It would after all, provide a break from the tedium of existence in the Garden of Lust, Aeden. Categorically immortal, Demons were cursed with an existence gripped by desire. Only by crossing to the mortal world could some relief be granted, as donning a shell body allowed them some degree of resistance. Within the hells, there was a constant drive to fulfill ones desires. At least, that was how it was for the three siblings of vice. Other demons, of less tangible sin had things slightly easier but it was a small difference. Asmodea moved slowly through the room, pausing to inhale the scent of the flowers as she passed them by. Each was a specimen selected from the best possible source then further refined and selectively bred until they were as perfect as possible. Exiting through a gap in the foliage she walked down a marbled path towards a small pavilion. Sitri should be contacted soon, and this was the location she would need to be in when the spell activated. Perhaps a normal ruler might be worried about leaving their holdings alone, but Amodea was far from normal. The Hell of Lust would be fine without her; for better or worse, the denizens vice ensured that they would be unified in their pursuits. Even now, the voices of a dozen nymphs rang out in a chorus as they cavorted about the garden just out of sight. Each of these had spent millennia pursuing the art of song, attempting to become the very best. Handsome warriors trained and competed, visible briefly through gaps in trees along the pathway. Their camaraderie and unified formations were a work of art in their own right, and Asmodea could not help but pause to admire their glistening bodies in motion. It''s times like this, when I consider that Mephi might have a point, Lust really is a Prideful sin in our own right but at least we put in the effort for our pursuits. Coming up to her destination, she reached out and caressed the stonework. This intricately carved gateway had been a gift from a mortal. The best craftsmen of the dwarves seven cycles ago, offered as a bribe to spare his village the horrors of the war. The man had labored for seven days without rest and in the end, collapsed at her feet. Still, the work had been perfect, devoid of any flaw. As thanks she had her followers throw a party, and the dwarves had not been allowed to feel pain or regret when they were exterminated. Even now, the craftsmans body stood as a feature in her garden, visible from where she stood. Despite the many imperfections, the skill which he had acquired and demonstrated earned him her love and adoration. I wonder, if there will be anyone as interesting this cycle? It has been a while since I had a chance to poke around The pavilion began to glow then, the signal that Sitri was making the connection, Well then Forneus, I leave things in your care. The butler said nothing, merely bowing. There was a flash of pink smoke, and Asmodea vanished from his sight. Her own vision changed, revealing a ghastly and surreal sight. It was a cellar of some sort, the main feature being the pile of three nude men, each of them identical in appearance. Their blood was flowing out and forming into a pattern of intricate symbols on the ground. She was standing in the center of that pattern, and there was a nude girl kneeling at the edge. Sitri. Get dressed. Dealing with succubi was always a headache, and if she could then Asmodea preferred literally any other type of demon. But of all her followers, succubi had the easiest time manifesting themselves and persisting in the mortal world. At least shes obedient. As you wish. Sitri stood and moved aside to where a heap of clothes was haphazardly piled. Like all demons of Asmodeas family, her features were perfect and would have normally compelled Asmodea to stare lasciviously. But this was the mortal world now, and the individual in question took great pleasure in the ability to resist that urge and look elsewhere. A moment later Sitri returned, What is your command, mother? I wish she wouldnt call me that, even if it is technically true in the demonic sense. For whatever reason, nearly all of the Original Sins refused to use any other name for her, and she had long since given up attempting to change that, Continue working with Satan for now. Once things kick off, come and join me on Rhodias. Ill be playing with the Raja this cycle. Sitri grimaced at that order, but she wasnt going to refuse even were she capable, As you wish Be careful mother, theres something about the champions this time its different somehow. Do not concern yourself with me, now be gone. With a quick curtsy, Sitri departed up the stairs and out of the cellar. Funny, Mammon said much the same thing. I think Ill set some things in motion to test that girl in the event that Satans plans somehow fall through Glancing over at the three corpses, Asmodea grinned, Wakey-wakey... Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-5 Alliance Psycholor Aaron smiled and nodded, "Excellent answer. Very well, I will have the adventurers help you as part of a mutual alliance between the Rulebreaker and myself; I am the thirteenth and fallen god. Aaron, Progenitor of Monsters. My kin are legion." Is he in middle school? That was really lame, was the pose even necessary? Were the only ones here. Perhaps telling off someone who had just announced that they were a long-lost deity was not the smartest idea. But something about the way he acted made me retort reflexively. Seriously? This guy promised that I could turn to him when I was completely out of options? Maybe if I really was out of options, he might be acting more seriously. Whatever the motivations behind his antics, Aaron completely ignored my reaction and continued speaking as though nothing was wrong, Of course, not without benefits for myself. That was far from unreasonable, so I nodded, Naturally. What are you after? Well, first and foremost, do you have any idea why the creator of all monsters would be so deeply ingrained in the adventurers guild? All of them answer to me you know, and outside of this kingdom one of our primary functions is the extermination of monsters. No, not really. It was a fairly easy jump to make, as the reasoning lined up almost perfectly, You aim to control the extermination of monsters, limiting it and guiding the hand that holds the knife away from intelligent monster societies. Following that logic, you want Drakan Knights to refrain from their extermination hunts, or at least avoid certain areas? Aarons hands met each other in a loud clap, Exactly! Glad to hear we are on the same page in this. Now, are will you to go that far? As much as I would have liked to take him up on the offer; having the various monster species as allies would prove beneficial in the coming war. But this would most certainly not be my decision. Most likely, Rupert would also see the value in the alliance and agree. Then, his father would approve of his proposal. ...I can only promise to advocate it; such a decision is not mine to make. I will need details as well; having the knights cease the extermination missions entirely is out of the question; just look what happened to my home village My voice trailed off as I was beset with a certain realization. That was him. The goblin outbreak always seemed odd and out of place, but we werent able to find anything It was him pulling the strings, as the god of monsters. Based on the glare you are giving me, I imagine you just realized the hand I played in that. I did not mean anything evil by it You could even consider it a gift if you like. He waved his hand dismissively to emphasize how little he actually thought of it. That, of course, pissed me off, but his wording intrigued me, ...A gift? You cant be serious. Oh, but I am. I knew you werent leveling up much at all, and if things had kept going like that you would have been screwed. There was no way you would have been able to escape your engagement to that half-demon. The goblins were likewise beginning to overpopulate; they would have come down on their own in a few more years. All I did was give them a little push How bad would things have been if you were absent..? When my glare did not immediately abate, he continued on and said one more line, Well, in the end only a few of the guards died, you got your levels, and the village wont be overrun five years or so from now. So, Id call that a gift, yes. I hate that I actually agree when he says it like that Damnit, fine. I forced myself to set aside the still lingering anger as it would not serve my purposes in the securing of an alliance, That aside, you claim you were watching me. How. This was my primary concern once my anger cooled. If the spymaster herself had a mole, then she could hardly do her job. Through Stil of course, at least at first. Stil is a monster, and I share a link with all monsters. It is similar to the link a demon has its larva; something you are already familiar with, I am sure. Rest assured that it is not quite as convenient as that; at most I understand Stils general opinion and mood. I cannot share his senses or read his thoughts He was quite worried about you back then. His answer was both rather straightforward and deeply concerning, to the point where I wished I had not asked. The idea that my tamed monster had been a liability had never crossed my mind. But if Aaron had a link like that with every monster, then he definitely had to be tuning some of them out. Or rather, almost all of them. Even for a god, that was a lot of minds to be in loose contact with, And you first singled him out when we met two years ago in Fess, didnt you? Aaron nodded, Yes... Now, are you going to ask the nextr question? The one about how that was only how you did it at first? Yea, I suppose I need to ask that. ...How are you doing it now? He bobbed his head, Do consider this information as a gift in good faith; this alliance will be more beneficial to me and mine than you can possibly fathom. In short, I now have such a connection as with Stil, with you. His words sent a tingle of fear down the nape of my neck. Some instinctual understanding that he was not lying. Or perhaps that tingle had been sent by him, a sort of feedback along whatever connection we shared meant to assure me of the truth to his words. Regardless of my feelings, there was another immediate question. Making little effort to hide the general disgust at the thought and with my voice laden in sarcasm, I asked, If you are in such a giving mood, would you care to tell me how? I swear to you that I will not immediately cut it off. Aaron shrugged, It should be obvious, or is it not? I had thought you would have figured out what was going on by now. With both you, and the world in general. His nonchalance caused me to snap, something that I had not done towards someone in quite a while. His general attitude and demeanor were just so grating to me, Youre the one reading my mind, you tell me if Ive figured it out! ...No, I cannot read your mind. Ours is the same as any of my kin; I know your general feelings at any given moment, that is all. If I may be so bold, youve been a real piece of work ever since you woke up. Haaa. Something going on with me and the world, something that changed when I woke up from my most recent coma. And hes calling me his kin now but Ill pretend not to have heard it. ...My skills [Mana Crystallization]? You know whats wrong with me!? Aaron flashed me a grin and applauded lightly, Bingo! Your skills are broken, right? Considering what you did, that isnt that surprising But no, I honestly do not know. I have a theory, but its a bit far-fetched. Then again, something like this has never happened before. My face contorted into a grimace, And you are not going to share that theory, are you? It will be held back, used as an incentive to get me to argue in your favor? Aaron shook his head, No, all it is, is a theory. Besides, you will argue in my favor regardless; I can sense your general opinion and mental state, remember? You already decided to present my case to His Highness, Prince Rupert. A god using Ruperts full title is a bit and he knows were married, but isnt using my title! In fact, hes been taking the piss with me this whole time. As far as I can tell, disconnecting from the system really messed you up. Compounding that with the injuries you sustained, and Adroni forcing your soul back into your body Well, do you know how the system works? When I shook my head no he shrugged, In short, skills and talents are based on reality. [Mana Crystallization], for example, is based on the organ possessed by most monsters. Adroni took what already existed, my creation, and codified it. Things were beginning to fall into place and starting to make sense, Your creation? Not important, what made you think that a system made up of programs just came into existence naturally? Or that it was a coincidence that some of the skills and talents mimic the natural abilities of one species or another? And here we go with the mind games again. I shook my head, I do not have time for this, Aaron. Either tell me your theory plainly or hold your peace. Aaron held his hands up in mock surrender, Fine, fine, spoil the fun, why dont you? Ill get to the point, but humor me with one last question; why is it that your body ages as you use your authority? Do you know? Have you ever even thought about it? I sort of just assumed that was because I was a mortal using too much divinity? Thats what the notifications make it sound like Haaa That was three questions, but, it is because my body is too weak to handle the divine element, so my lifespan is burned up to provide a counterforce. Aaron shook his head, No, not quite. Another question then, what is mana? What is the Divine Element? At this point, it was beginning to become difficult to keep from snapping again as the blatant irritation started creeping back into my voice, That was two questions, you really struggle with basic math, dont you? Neither of those questions are difficult at all; mana is an energy source used to power spells and magic tools. Divine Element is one aspect that can be attached to Mana. He shook his head, Wrong on both accounts, though given where you learned spellcraft I can see where you got that idea. Before I had a chance to retort he, thankfully, went on to explain, To a god, there is no such thing as an aspect. Mana is mana. The so-called Divine Element does not exist. The system Adroni put in place dilutes mana, filtering out much of its energy in the form of aspects. When a mage applies one to their mana, they are simply re-adding something that was removed. ...So it isnt that I was using too much divine element, but that the sheer quantity of mana I had was insufficient? He grinned, Not quite, but close enough. Now, consider your vessel, that is to say, your body, like a muscle for manipulating and containing mana. What happens when you work out? Ah. Everything makes sense now. Damnit! What did that fuck go and do to me!? Biting back my anger towards Adroni, I answered the question posed by the god in front of me, When you work out, you tear up the muscle. So when I exercise my authority, Im tearing up my vessel. The coma and the aging repair it and, like a muscle, I get stronger. Exactly. Thats how it works, or is supposed to. But the system was never designed for someone to forcibly disconnect as you did. In a way, it would not be incorrect to say you gave yourself cancer. Now, what do you think is happening to you? Cancer? But the corrupted skills arent killing me, theyre just rather inconvenient They still do what theyre supposed to only now those instructions are corrupted like a tumor ...Something happened when Adroni put my soul back. When my body repaired itself, it ran into a glitch and tried to realize the skills? So instead of having the skill [Mana Crystallization], I have an actual mana crystal? The only skills that arent affected are the ones I got after I died Correct, that is indeed my theory. Though, I only have a minimal understanding of that guys machinations so I could be wrong. No, I dont think you are. At the very least, this is the first plausible theory about whats happening. Now, the question is whether or not theres a way to fix it In theory, I could probably use my authority on myself to seal or outright remove skills and talents. If it was like cancer, then operating to remove the tumor might be the best option. But thats not a good idea until I know for sure Besides, it would really hurt. Just the memory of the pain Sitri had felt when I sealed her skills, which we shared through Adroni sticking me in her head, was enough to make me wince. No, I need to keep that in mind as an option, but wait a little bit longer. At the very least, leveling up might help. I havent gained any experience since this happened, and theres also the seedling thats still at zero percent. I still dont know what that is, but given what it took for it to even get that far, I dont want to risk screwing it up. Yea, those are the reasons Im going to wait. Its not that I dont want to go through the process of removing them blegh. Stahlia? Are you alright? Youve gone a bit pale. Aarons voice pulled me back to the present. While there was no mirror present, it would not surprise me if I had indeed gone pale. I will be fine. Now, before I carry this request to Rupert, I have a few more questions for you. Are you still in a forthcoming mood? He shrugged and sat back in his chair, I dont have any other plans for today. Pursing my lips, I cut straight to the chase, How, exactly, do you know all of what happened to me? The number that knows the details you used to form your theory could be counted on one hand. His own face turned grim, and for the first time in this meeting, his tone was solemn, Dont go there. Just trust that I have my methods. Unfortunately, I really cant do that. You, of all people, should understand that is an impossible request. He met my stare with a flat glare, I have my sources, that is all I will say. So these sources are probably something that he fears would jeopardize the alliance. In that case, it would mean he got the information from someone I regard wholly as an enemy. The gods are out since I can be reasonably sure they do not know the full story. But then so are the demons, since Five and Sitri are the only demons that actually saw me and neither of them really knew what was happening There isnt anyone else I really hate unconditionally. ...Just on the way here, I gave my unconditional trust to one of my servants and it immediately bit me in the ass. The stakes involved with this alliance are far greater than anything she could possibly do. If you will not tell me where the hole in my security is, then this alliance is off. Rather, I will tell Rupert that the adventurers guild is being run by monsters, and have you all thrown out of the kingdom in the name of operational security for the coming war. And what makes you think that youd be allowed to leave if this ends on anything less than favorable terms? His voice had gone steely and he began to emit an ominous aura. Likewise, his hair was starting to stand up in short spikes, and it looked like his nails had grown pointier. That being said, I did not actually find him to be that threatening, Nothing. Do you really think things would work out well for you if I dont leave? At the very least the adventurers guild would be expelled from the kingdom. Most likely, without me, Rupert would reach out to the demons again. The air remained tense, but I kept pushing, You clearly have plans that involve both me and this kingdom, do you really want to risk them for this? Just tell me where the leak is. Aarons body slowly returned back to its human shape. When he spoke, his voice was dry and unamused, Fine, Ill let you call my bluff. No, my source is not the demons, nor is it the gods. So he predicted my line of thought. Then again he apparently knows my general state now Which is actually kind of creepy. But if its not the gods or the demons, what then? Well, that isnt exactly true. Technically my source is both of them. I might be fallen but I was, at one point at least considered among the thirteen; we do still talk from time to time. Im also still a god under the system. Ah I was totally off base with my assumptions then. Your Authority. Aaron nodded, Correct, your own Authority has something to do with manipulating the system itself. As for me, well I was once regarded as the God of Nature. His tone lightened somewhat, but remained firm, Forgive me, but a gods powers and weaknesses are rolled into their authority; I will not fully detail the effects of mine. I remained firm myself, You have to give me something, telling me what you were the god of doesnt do much to alleviate my concerns. He paused for a moment, his face betrayed that this issue was something he felt genuinely conflicted about doing. Is knowing the full details of an authority that big of a deal? I dont see any major weaknesses in mine Finally, he nodded, As a symbol of trust. My authority is over nature. One application of that, allows me to communicate with natural forces quite easily. Over the years, I have become very good at filtering information and drawing conclusions. Communicate with natural forces? So A little bird told him or he heard it on the wind. In that case, theres nothing I can really do to hide is there? Concerns aside, telling me that much was giving up quite the card. It was unlikely pushing further would get me anything so I bowed my head, Thank you. I can tell that was far from easy I will carry your request to Rupert and put my full support behind it, for whatever that is worth. Aaron stood abruptly, watching me with a rather conflicted expression, Thanks for that, I have some things to take care of now, but whenever you have a response feel free to call for me here. He held out his hand, holding something between his finger and thumb. My hand reached out to receive whatever it was, and Aaron dropped a small sliver of crystal into my palm, Break this, and it will briefly strengthen our connection through your mana crystal; enough to allow for two-way communication. I placed the crystal into one of my outfits secure hidden pockets. By the time I looked up, Aaron was gone. What the hell!? I thought you didnt have any other plans today? Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-6 The Other Two With Aaron vanishing, there was nothing left for me to do save awkwardly leaving the room. What the hell? He even said he had nothing going on today! Damn gods, the fact that Im going to have to be dealing with him in the future as well Ugh. A quick inspection of the room revealed nothing amiss; everything was exactly where it should be with the sole exception of Aaron. With a sigh, I turned and headed for the door then went down the stairs. Back in the lobby, the receptionist was still standing in the same place, Excuse me, did Aaron come through here a moment ago? She started at my voice since it was coming from behind her, Ah! No, he did not Is he not in the meeting room still? No, thats why Im asking if you saw him I see, you must have missed him, my apologies, and take care. The fact that she had not seen him was not surprising in the least, and I had only really asked so as to cover all of my bases. Without giving her a chance to reply, I made my way out of the building and back towards the carriage. The conversation had felt rather short but in reality, a little over an hour had passed. I caught a brief look of relief on Sashas face when one of the knights opened the door for me, though she quickly hid it. When she greeted me, her tone was calm and collected to the point where I began to doubt I had seen anything at all, Welcome back, my lady. Briefly tilting my head in acknowledgment that her greeting had been heard, I addressed one of the knights, Have the driver make haste back to the palace. Sasha. Yes? Please contact Ferdinand again, and inform him that upon my return I wish to speak to both him and Rupert. The sooner the better, as I cannot proceed without approval. And what of Lucy? Her question caught me off guard, as I had thought that issue was handled, What of her? Does this new meeting take precedence over Ferdinands investigation? Ahh I had already given him that task, and we werent going to discuss the details of this meeting until the report later. Do I really need to bring it up now? No, just a quick summary will probably suffice. If I start calling meetings over every little thing, Ill quickly make a nuisance of myself. No, it does not. Thank you for reminding me. Sasha bowed her head as I began to consider my next moves. First and foremost, Sven was leaving tomorrow and I had summoned him to see me this afternoon regarding his role in the new spy network. That was to occur shortly after we returned to the palace, so we had to make haste. Even if he would wait for me, by choice or otherwise, I was loath to make him do so. Fortunately, that would not be the case as we were able to arrive back at the palace on time and with no issues. In fact, the timing of our arrival was more or less perfect; it gave me exactly half an hour to change and for Sasha to prep things. Please, do not delay; we have little time unless you wish to keep that man waiting. Or not. I suppose getting me dressed and then prepping for a guest, even if he is a commoner, is a bit much. ...No, you deal with preparing the room. I will have Frieda and Elienor dress me. My lady, I must insist- I will have Frieda and Elienor dress me; Elienor already knows and it was my intention to tell Frieda at some point. Or, do you mean to question me? ...May I speak freely? You may not. I fixed Sasha with as stern a look as I could manage, though speaking to her like this was actually surprisingly hard. She was several years, decades even, my senior and had been nothing but helpful even if a bit annoying. On this subject though, I would tolerate no dissent. Sure, telling Lucy hadnt exactly worked out the way Id wanted it to, but that did not change my plans regarding informing Frieda and properly explaining things to Elienor. The whole point of having the three of them come onboard had been to get Sasha some relief in her own duties. The secondary point. The main reason was to protect them from any further suffering from my actions. When told so bluntly, all Sasha could do was curtsy and depart to prepare the meeting room. She didnt look angry or upset and I knew she wouldnt do anything rash over this, but it was yet another reminder of how things had changed. Shes been trying to guide me to be more assertive and decisive in my actions. So, for better or worse, thats what Im doing. I gave Sashas retreating back one last unnoticed pained look before taking a moment to put it out of my mind. Once composed, I picked up a small bell and rang it. Yet another new thing for me; my previous suite, at the Francois estate, had been small enough and the staff skilled enough to render such a tool unnecessary. Now, that was not the case. A moment later, Frieda arrived with Elienor trailing behind her. I could not be certain, but the latter seemed rather nervous about something. Frieda spoke first, her voice level and emotionless in a manner that I immediately knew was forced, My lady, may I ask where Lucy is? She did not return with you and Miss Sasha. Is that whats got Elienor so nervous? No, she didnt react at all when Frieda mentioned Lucy, and she wont make eye contact with me. You may. There is was, an issue; Lucy turned out to have lingering ties Lucys precise loyalties came into question. I have placed her under house arrest; you may go to visit later if you would like. It would be difficult to arrange that; Ferdinand would certainly protest the obvious security risk. But as long as they were supervised, allowing contact was the best way to ensure they trusted she was safe. That answer got a flinch out of Elienor, twice in fact. Once when she heard Lucy was under house arrest, and once again when I said that she could go visit if she wanted to. Frieda remained rather impassive throughout it all, her stoicism was actually rather impressive at this point. It would have been nice to reassure Elienor, but there was not any time at the moment. With a sigh, I cut right to the chase, Frieda, Elienor has already seen this in fact, she can see it right now. Likewise, this is what revealed Lucys inadvertent duplicity. With that said, I cut the mana flow to my ring. Best to just get over the surprise as quickly as possible, then answer their questions after the meeting with Sven. If we cant get over it quickly, hell just have to wait a bit. However, at Friedas words, it was I who was the most surprised, The fact that you are around sixteen? Perhaps fifteen at the youngest. After my initial shock at Friedas words wore off, I looked at Elienor. She was now attempting to count the number of flowers embroidered on my couch if the intensity of her stare was anything to go by. My own must have been rather intense, as Frieda moved to block Elienor from my line of sight. I closed my eyes and exhaled again, ...I have a rather important meeting to attend shortly, and since the individual is a commoner, my attire need not be perfect. You may ask questions as you work. It was a gamble, but one that paid off; for all her lack of emotional response, Frieda was not unintelligent, Elienor, this will be a good opportunity for you to get a bit of practice. Coaxed by the older woman, Elienor shuffled over and began working at the many ribbons holding my ensemble together. For the first few minutes, she did not say much and didnt make any progress either. I held still and, eventually, she managed to get one of the hidden fastenings undone. From there, she began to make slow but steady progress. Not fast enough though, at this rate, Ill be late I dont want to rush her though, sorry Sven. Saying that, Frieda stepped in and began helping Elienor so the pace picked up substantially. When it became apparent that neither of them was going to actually ask any questions, I posed one of my own, Frieda, how long did you know? Or are you simply that good at masking your feelings? Since the first day. How!? Her answer caused me to start briefly, which caused Elienors hand to jerk backwards as she exclaimed an earnest apology, Sorry! You are fine Elienor, Frieda merely startled me is all. Perhaps sensing the bitterness in my voice that I wasnt quite able to mask, Frieda decided to briefly explain herself a bit further, My lady, since you have chosen to trust me, it is only fair that I do the same, though I doubt you will believe me; I can see mana. Then, as though that explained everything perfectly, she fell silent again. Fortunately for her, I was probably one of the only people in the world for whom that did actually explain anything, So you could see the illusions mana wraping around me. At that point, you knew I was hiding something. Then, Elienor said something that made you realize I had gotten a lot older. That would have caused this particular illusion to lose its effectiveness on you. For the first time, she paused ever so briefly. It wasnt much, but it was a reaction. Her facade had briefly faltered. I smiled at her, In Ang, I met an old crone who claimed she could see lights in everyone. I later developed a similar ability through Blood Magic I wanted to ask if all of Fives staff were unique or special in some way. It certainly seemed that way between Lucy, the outcast albino elf, and Friedas fairly unique ability. With Elienor in the room, there was no way I would ask. Not now, not so soon. Actually, this helps explain what occurred with Lucy in the forest, if I assume that he was something of a collector of rare people. Hell, his son was reincarnated, as was I. Even if I know there was another motive behind our engagement, it fits the profile. There was still the current issue to address though. I stepped out of the dress that had finally been fully unfastened, Elienor, I am not mad nor am I particularly upset; you did me a favor actually. She perked up just a little bit at that so I continued, I had been trying to decide the best time to tell Lucy and Frieda though it did not work out with Lucy. Since Frieda already knows, it saved me the trouble of having to fully explain. Though Please dont tell anyone else, alright? I cant afford to have this become so widely known. Once she noticed that I really, truly, was not angry sunk in, she smiled faintly and nodded, ...alright Where did the bundle of tomboyish energy go God damnit! The two of them began the process of securing the new dress while I debated on what to say. I want to bring her back if I can if thats even possible Maybe having her call me by my old name would work? Not Stahlia, but Stali. Well, its worth a shot, and Ive already decided to do what I want, may as well keep the streak going. Elienor At the sound of my voice directly calling out her name she flinched but I ignored that and persevered, Elienor, how was Felicity..? It wasnt what I had originally been intending to say, but something that popped into my head the moment I opened my mouth. There was a short delay before she answered, but when she did so she had a brief faint smile, It was nice. She wouldnt let me brush her tails though Id have liked to do that. When she finished speaking, the smile fell off her face. It was enough though, enough to give me reassurance that the original Elienor was still in there somewhere. Dragging it out would probably be a massive pain, but worth it. Alright, then for now lets go with my original plan. The two of them were just about finished with my dress when there came a knock at the door. Frieda stepped away to check, and when she came back she informed me that Sasha was holding Sven until I was ready. Thank you, Frieda. We are almost done here so please let her know that I will be in the meeting room shortly. Once she had left, I turned to Elienor. Now or never. Well, I could do it later, but there''s no sense in putting it off. Elienor can you do something to help me? It would be best if I frame it as being for my sake, even if that is a bit manipulative. True to my intention, she did perk up a bit at the phrase help me. ...Yes, I can Then in a hurry, like she was afraid of being scolded, she added on, ...mlady Ignoring that. Thats the thing, Elienor everyone has started being so polite I hate it. Even Edith is being careful around me now That last part was only half true; Edith was being far less careful than she had originally been right when I woke up, but Id be lying if I thought she wasnt being more guarded than before my most recent coma. Could you When its just the two of us, call me what you want to call me instead of what status says you should? Elienor looked startled, and truth be told so was I; my voice had been tinged with a bit of genuine pleading at the end. Partly to cover for that, I quickly added on, I dont think it would be a good idea to talk like you used to it would be too easy to mess up; we cant let Sasha find out. As expected, the idea that this was going behind Sasha back seemed to tickle Elienors old rebellious nature just enough for it to peek its head out, ...What I want to call you? A sense of relief washed over me, that even this small amount of progress had been made, Yes, what you want. A knock sounded again at the door as Frieda returned, Elienor was able to finish on her own; that is good. My lady, could you please let me check once? At Friedas prompting, I did a small spin so she could review Elienors handiwork, Everything seems to be in order. Im glad that Frieda at least doesnt seem to have any potential loyalty issues as Lucy did. Very well, thank you both for your assistance. Though it wasnt particularly proper, I was presently in the business of winning trust so I gave the two of them a half curtsy, When this meeting is over, I will see if Lucy is ready to receive visitors, at the worst I believe you will have to wait until tomorrow. Frieda bowed her head slightly to acknowledge what I had said, then raised an eyebrow at Elienor who had set her jaw in a look of determination. Well, this is- You said I could call you what I wanted to, so I will! Good luck, big sis! Frieda showed her third reaction by visibly widening her eyes. Apparently, a bit of the rebelliousness had come back; I was fairly certain that the stipulation had been when its just the two of us. Though I doubt Frieda would say anything Just to be sure though, Looking over at the older maid, I shook my head, Not a word. She said nothing and nodded a quick affirmative, her face becoming unreadable once more. As I left the room Elienor collapsed back into herself, reverting to melancholy. Although now there was a very faint smile, and her general demeanor was a bit more energetic. Pretty sure I just gained a third little sister. Oh well, I was hoping for Stali but this is good in its own way. After conquering that hurdle and with my newfound sense of decisiveness, the meeting with Sven was trivial. So trivial, and utterly boring. He agreed to join me in the proposed business venture on the condition that Ris village be left out of it; as I had already been intending that, it was easy to agree to. Surprisingly, Sasha did not say anything or even react when he placed a condition on the deal. She simply watched me, and when I promptly made the decision to acquiesce, she smiled. Following the meeting I returned to my dressing room with Sasha in tow. At the sound of the door Elienor looked up from whatever it was she had been doing but, seeing Sasha behind me, didnt say anything. She did smile faintly though, which was a good sign. The meeting with Sven had been dull enough that it gave me time to mull over everything that had just happened with the two of them, Elienr and Frieda. The number one question was what I had done to warrant receiving the sister label this time. Felicity was one thing, we bonded over a rather lengthy period of time. Rosin and Rosial are both my actual siblings, so them calling me that is understandable. With Elienor though Well, I basically destroyed her family. The only thing I had been able to think of, was that Elienor had regarded me as a Sister-in-Law the whole time much the same way as Lady Francois had taken to making me call her mother. If that was the case, then even if I was responsible for destroying her family, I was also the only family she had left It had been a sobering realization, but one that I would try my best to accept. Elienor, once we finish with Lucy, we should properly introduce you to Rosial and Felicity I dont think telling my parents theyve adopted another little girl is a good idea at the moment though, so that will have to wait. Elienor spun around in her seat to stare in shock, while Frieda paused and looked over with a self-satisfied smirk. I could also feel Sashas eyes boring a hole in the back of my head, but the atmosphere didnt feel angry, just surprised. Evidently, she was not entirely against the idea. Splendidly ignoring all of their reactions, I pushed through with my own agenda, How does that sound? Elienor smiled fully. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-7 Attack Thank you for such a swift response, Lady Lester. It had been swift as well; only a day after Sasha informed me that she had sent the letters, we had received a response. Lady Lester smiled, as radiant as the first time I had seen her, But of course, it is only natural after all. Nope, not doing that again. Fixing the woman with a level stare, I opted to ignore the political niceties, Enough of this; we both know I cannot beat you in a verbal battle. I invited you because I have decided your assistance would be a great benefit for me. That is all. To her credit, she only reacted briefly before putting a smile back on her face, I see. Yes, I can see why Rupert likes you as much as he does; very efficient. And shes already resorted back to verbal trickery. Damnit, Edith better get here soon. My friend declared she would arrive a few minutes late, so as to give me and Lady Lester some time to ourselves. While personally, I thought this was a horrible idea, there was merit to it. Though it was rather doubtful if Ediths intentions were for me to dive straight in as I had done. I crossed my arms, a defensive posture, but one that could also show discontent, Lady Carla, I will not engage you in a verbal bout when I know I would lose. I am offering you a deaul; help me learn how to deal with my social obligations, and use your faction connections to protect me while I learn. In return, Ill owe you a favor. When it became clear that I was not going to engage, her own mask fell off. In its place, was the look of a shark that smelled blood in the water, A favor? Thats a dangerous offer. Scary. She even went to more casual speech. Granted, I did drop the pretense when I addressed her by her name and not her family... Unless you have something you want right this instant that is within my power to fulfill, then yes. A favor. I am well aware of how potentially dangerous an offer that is. A favor within reason, of course. After considering my blatant offer, her mask came back on, Of course, I would like nothing more than to assist you. As a noble of this kingdom, helping the next queen in her time of need is my duty If you would like, I could start now before Lady Claurence arrives? My own mask is good at hiding emotion, but I just look impassive; I cant fake things like happiness or anger like she can. At the moment, Carla von Lester was the picture of demure if not slightly curious. Simply reading her body language, it would appear for all the world that she was earnestly intent on fulfilling her so-called duty. If she was able to teach me even a tenth of her ability I would consider it a massive victory. The only question was, how much of her ability came from the system, and how much was acquired through effort. Even if she is reliant on talents and skills, its not like Ill gain nothing. In the worst-case scenario, I could also buy them myself after leveling up Though I would rather not. I would not be opposed. There was probably a short bit of time left before Edith arrived, so I may as well hear her out. Lady Lester bowed her head before continuing, When making such a request in the future, you would do well to leave the compensation unsaid; by offering a favor I can now claim a favor. It would have been better had you made only a request and cited my relationship with his highness. Yea, Im aware of that, but then I would still owe you. Id rather be on the same page in this case. Thank you for that, but in this case, it would be better to have everything out in the open I imagine we will be working together for some time. She smiled faintly and nodded, That is also true, though still a risk on your part. Much like this outing Was it your idea? Before I could answer, Frieda announced Ediths arrival and showed her into the room. To my surprise, Sarala was with her, wearing a maids uniform; the invitation had specified that each of them could bring a servant along and Edith evidently used the opportunity to bring our mutual friend. That aside, greetings between Edith and Lady Lester were a bit tense; the two of them didnt like each other very much, but as Edith was representing her family there was no overt aggressiveness. Id like it if they could be less frosty towards each other, but theres probably no way for me to arrange that. Edith doesnt like me siding with the Lesters, even if she knows its necessary. In a perfect world, Id be able to side with the Claurences fully, but Edith doesnt have the means to give me the protection Id need. If only her mother was still around, then it might have been possible. Shall we go then? At my idle question, the two of them hurriedly agreed and prepared to leave. Really, I get that the two of them are in nominally rival factions, but both are behind Rupert now. Also, Lady Lester is old enough to be either of our grandmothers by the standards of Earth. Edith is only just barely thirteen, so their little schtick just makes Lady Lester look bad. Letting such a thing bother me would not accomplish anything though; the fact was I needed her help, so I was going to obtain it. From her earlier question, I could intuit that Lady Lester knew this outing was a front to denounce the Lawrences without actually saying anything. That was good for me, as having everyone on the same page as much as possible would lead to fewer headaches. As we boarded, the guard knights that Lady Lester and Edith had been permitted to bring merged with my own and began to mount their horses. The carriage itself had a single unarmored guard knight, one of mine, who was only there for formalitys sake; in the exceedingly unlikely event that Lady Lester or Edith were to try something against me. Otherwise, it was occupied only by Edith, Sarala, myself, Sasha, Lady Lester, and a maid I neither knew nor cared about belonging to the duchess. It was rather large for what I had wanted, but the increased size would help it to stand out. Unfortunately for my nerves, we were heading out in a procession with the intent of drawing attention to ourselves. This would serve the purpose of getting the desired rumors about the Lawrences started, but it also meant lots of people staring at me. That said, I should be able to handle it since I had not just Edith but also Sarala present with me to provide support. The difficult part is going to be at the performance itself since all the wealthy commoner merchants in attendance will know that a high-profile group is coming. Edith and Lady Lawrence are both known quantities. Im a political nobody by my face, but my name will have some weight in merchant circles from all the alchemical stuff I did. And now my knights have the crest of the Royal Family. The engagement entitled me to use the crest, so there was no risk of anyone learning about the wedding from that alone. That being said, outside the nobility, the engagement had not been publicized. This outing would technically be doubling as my debut to the commoners. The official debut was scheduled for my fifteenth birthday, where I would also be made the Queen Regent in preparation for the wedding. Ive got to make a decent impression, since other than what rumors they might have heard from their noble patrons and sources, this is the first time theyll see me. It had been something I generally overlooked when planning the excursion, but I really could not afford to alienate the wealthy non-nobles. The sole saving grace was that I wouldnt have to hold any audiences with them; one of the benefits of being so far above them. There are the shadows to consider as well Ferdinand should have that under control though. Lady Ris, I must say you have excellent taste; this orchestra is comparatively avant-garde, but it is one of my favorites. Evidently the silence had begun to weigh on Lady Lester. Truth be told, it was weighing on me as well, so the distraction was welcome. Though, Ive never even heard of them before But Im not socially na?ve enough to admit that this is thanks to Sashas efforts. Something like the achievements and the failures of the underlings belong to the master. It makes me happy that you think so, I am glad we have similar tastes. As both of them were sitting across from me, a measure against Lady Lester accidentally seeing through my illusion, I was able to see Edith wince at my reply. Indeed! I am most curious though; what is your favorite piece by them? I myself prefer the Song of Caina. As soon as she asked the question, I knew why Edith had reacted that way; it would be stupidly easy for Lady Lester to call my bluff. All she had to do was ask questions that there was no way for me to answer. My silence was answer enough for her, and she went on to elaborate, Lady Ris, while taking the credit for ones subordinates is both commonplace and acceptable, it is also acceptable to give the credit to the subordinate, then take credit for having someone so effective in your employ. So this is how shes going to go about teaching me social skills then. Regular doses of social embarrassment in a contained setting. Well, if nothing else, the constant threat will be an effective motivator. I did my best to keep my cheeks from flushing at how easily my ignorance had been found out and adopted her suggestion, Though it gladdens me to hear you say that, I cannot claim to be familiar with them myself; Sasha suggested you might be pleased by the arrangement. She is quite adept at her job. Lady Lester nodded in satisfaction, while beside me I noted that Sasha had shifted ever so slightly and affected a smug expression. Whether she was playing into the act or was genuinely pleased was anyones guess. Well, embarrassment aside, things are going well so far. Edith is being quiet, but thats probably a good idea on her part. This outing is meant to convey that I am close to their two factions; her presence is all that is required. If she were to interject, then Lady Lester would probably shut her down and run her out. Ill need to set aside some time to spend with just Edith and Sarala later, but if thats the worst thing to happen today Ill call it a resounding success. The bracelet I was wearing began to heat up. Me and my big mouth. Shit. It was a small but useful magic tool. It was linked to another, worn by my on duty knight captain and mine would heat up in response to mana he fed into his own. We used it as a means of silently conveying possible danger. That it was beginning to heat up now meant that there was a potential threat in the surrounding area. Claire would probably chide me, saying something about how Id raised a flag. Well, this was a possibility, but I didnt think it would actually happen. Sasha, make room for a knight. At my words, Edith and Lady Lester both stiffened and glanced at the knight already in the carriage; meanwhile, he became much more alert. My maid sprung into action, unlatching the door and sliding closer to me. A moment later the door opened and my knight commander slipped inside, taking the seat Sasha had just vacated before latching the door. Report. He glanced at the other two nobles likely wondering if making a report in front of them was alright, but it wasnt like he would go against me when given a direct order, Sir Gessel spotted three figures moving along the rooftops, it is highly likely they allowed him to see them. Great. Any ideas as to who they might be? After a meaningful look towards Edith and Lady Lester, he shook his head, None, one of Lady Lesters knights suggested they may have been sent by Duke Lawrence. Preposterous! My guard knights would never be so daft. My knight captains pronouncement drew the ire of Lady Lester, but that was as predicted. So, he thinks theyre remnants of the shadows then. Im inclined to agree. Before leaving, my retinue had worked out a set of simple codes and actions in case something might happen. In the event that former shadows did show up, the idea was to blame Duke Lawrence and name one of Lady Lesters knights as the information source. It was rather roundabout, but would hopefully prevent her from thinking too hard about it. My apologies, Lady Lester. That said, my own captain would not make a report unless he was certain there was a potential threat; Duke Lawrence or not, please remain calm. Captain, your priority is to ensure the safety of me and my guests. That had always been his priority, but saying it out loud would probably work to keep Edith and Sarala calm. Lady Lester would be fine, in all likelihood. As you command. He performed a seated salute and then unlatched the door and exited back onto his horse. Sasha promptly relatched the door. Sasha. My maid made a rueful face, but my intentions were pretty obvious; I wanted my weapon. Though there was a dagger tucked into the folds of my dress, it was on the smaller end. Sasha reached under the seat, and passed me a short sword which I promptly began inspecting. The surprisingly nervous voice of Lady Lester pulled me away from that, Lady Ris? When I looked up, to my surprise Edith and Sarala were the ones who seemed rather nonplussed. Lady Lester was barely holding herself together if the way her hands were shaking was anything to go by. Perhaps this was a case of someone who could spar verbally but began to unravel when the steel flashed. Yes? The way you are acting, makes me think you might have known this was going to happen. I paused. Ah, that shaking isnt fear. Well, it might be partly fear, but its also anger. I knew it was a possibility. But then again, assassins are always a possibility. Then, why are you being so calm? Her own shaking had begun to slow so it would seem her immediate anger was beginning to fade, or perhaps she was becoming less scared. In response to the question though, I had to stop and think. I am being rather calm, arent I? I struggle to face a room of people just looking at me, but if people are coming to kill me, my response is Id like a weapon please. Yea, no way would that be normal. No wonder Carla got suspicious. Someone in your position should be relatively informed regarding my circumstances. Is it any wonder that I would be calm under threat? Frankly, if all the nobles could just try and kill me instead of seeking favors, thatd be great. Intentionally letting my speech slip at the end, I effected a sad grin. Lady Ris, you really are awful at putting up a social front, but I suppose you do have a point. Now that Lady Lester was no longer on the verge of doing or saying something rash, I could look elsewhere, Miss Sarala, I am still not able to fully use my magic after what happened last summer, would you please be ready to put up a barrier? Getting into the carriage should in theory be rather difficult, but the remnants were nothing if not resourceful. They would not waste resources on an attack unless they were truly desperate or had a chance of succeeding. There was a lurch, and the carriage accelerated. Something must be happening outside, but the question was, what? Sarala waited a moment, long enough for Edith to give a sharp nod, then bowed her head to me. She was, after all, nominally Ediths servant at the moment. Ferdinand should already be aware of whats happening, and since were over halfway there, the plan is to rendezvous with additional guards at the gate. If the shadows had been only a few minutes faster, then we would have gone back towards the palace instead. It indicated that they had some level of intel, a source within the palace ranks. Dammit, who though? Suddenly, the carriage jerked to the left and tilted up to a forty-five-degree angle, throwing all of us against the right wall. It was rather fortunate that I had left the blade sheathed after finishing the inspection. Belatedly, I also realized why the onboard knight hadnt been wearing his armor. What the hell!? Were going that fast!? A combination of springs and some magic made the palaces carriages remarkably stable, so though I had known we were accelerating, the degree to which we were moving had been something of a shock. As soon as the carriage landed back on its wheels, Sasha leaped off of me, My lady, my apologies! I waved her off; it had obviously not been her fault, and I was more concerned about Edith, Sarala, and Lady Lester. And Lady Lesters maid. The four of them seemed to be fine and were disentangling themselves, but that only shifted my mind to other worries. This isnt good. We shouldnt be moving that fast, something is really, really wrong. I would have liked to get a look outside, but that wasnt going to happen as the carriage was one of the more secure ones; the windows were both small and positioned near to the roof. To look outside I would have to open the door or stick my head out, something I could not do for obvious reasons. The uncertainty bred worry, and a cold sweat began to form on the back of my neck. I hadnt felt this helpless since I put the thought out of my mind. Any word? Sasha shook her head, No, my lady. Before I could say anything further, the carriage lurched to an angle again, then continued tilting. With a deafening crash, it began to tumble. Inside, we were all tossed about like coins in a dryer. Gritting my teeth, I fed mana into my body, reinforcing it. Shit! What the hell happened!? Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-8 Assassins The carriage tumbled end over end before tumbling to a stop on its side. Fuck! Is everyone ok!? My own injuries were few, and all of them were of the cut and scrape variety; no broken bones or serious lacerations. That being said, I had been using body reinforcement Blood Magic enhancements. The very fact that I did sustain injuries went to demonstrate just how bad of an accident that had been. A frenzied look around the interior of the carriage revealed the bodies of my traveling companions. Nononono! Extricating myself from the awkward position Id landed in, it took a minute to crawl up to Edith who was being tightly clung to by Sarala. A moment later, Ediths chest visibly rose and fell as she breathed in and out. It would appear that she was safe and not in immediate danger. Sarala was a different story; one of her legs was bent at the knee in an angle it had absolutely no business with. Biting my lip, I reached towards where she was holding onto Edith with the intention of unhooking her arms. To my surprise, my hand stopped in midair about an inch away from her skin. A barrier? It was not a spell I was familiar with, though Sarala did have some talents at a higher level than my own. This was more likely something she was doing outside of her skills and talents. A few seconds later, the resistance faded as the barrier fell and I was able to make contact with her arm. My touch caused her eyes to flutter open, and she sucked air into her lungs through clenched teeth. Thh.., Stahlia, I cant feel my leg. Well, at least shes quick on the uptake. Most people would have gone straight into shock. Its broken, do you want me to set it? Haaa, quickly. Please. Had Sasha been conscious, Saralas tone probably wouldve gotten a sharp retort. The fact that we were the only ones currently moving around was a double boon though. Right, grit your teeth. Grasping her leg, I forced it straight while pulling it. There was a sickening popping sound as the cartilage and ligaments pinched each other. A moment later, Saralas leg began to glow faintly; the fact that her body was made from a skill she possessed as a spirit made for rather easy healing, as long as the pieces were in the right place. Hows Edith? My friend looked to my other friend, who was still unconscious, She should be fine. I was able to deploy an [Ice Wall] around her in time. So it was a spell. Ive never seen an [Ice Wall] quite like that though, you were always good at manipulating talent-based magic. There would be time for more admiration later. For now, there were other problems to address. Crawling over an upturned seat, I made my way to Lady Lester. She was surprisingly unharmed, the only injuries being a moderately sized lump in her right arm and a broken nose. In my opinion, that was a minor miracle. Her injuries were light enough that it was within my capabilities with White Magic to heal, but there were other more pressing concerns. Sarla, can you splint her arm? Id rather not use the mana on a healing spell until we know what the hell is going on. Though she appeared loath to leave Ediths side, she still made her way over to me. Next is Sasha was more severely injured. None of her limbs looked hurt, but her rapid and shallow breathing was not a good sign. Most likely, she had one or more broken ribs. That would make moving her risky; a sharp edge might puncture something. So, after checking her airway, I moved on. My knight was slumped over and very clearly dead, his head and neck at entirely the wrong angle. Of all the misfortune and bad luck, it seemed like he was the only casualty; Lady Lesters maid was still breathing. Her arm had acquired an extra joint in the wrist, and one of her legs had become like a flamingos, but both she and her lady were allive. That presented a dilemma. With all that tumbling around, theres no way she and Lady Lester didnt see through my illusion. What am I going to do about it though? It was highly likely that Ferdinand and Rupert would decide to have them disappear. But could we get away with doing that to a duchess? Probably not. In that case, I would be expected to have dealt with it myself; if I killed them now, theyd not feel any pain or even know what had happened. Then, we could simply say they died in the crash. It wont be the first time Im responsible for people dying, not even the first time Ive killed anyone myself; I killed Rosial even if she got better. Shes going to be killed anyway, hell Im probably going to end up killing people with my own hands; thats literally the plan until we can train new assassins How did my life get so screwed up? Reaching inside of one of the folds of my dress, I felt the blade of my hidden dagger. It was warm, heated by proximity to my skin. Are you going to kill her? Ediths voice pulled me out of whatever funk I was in. Withdrawing my hand from the knife, I shook my head, Maybe, but theres no way I can do it Not yet. There was no response and when I looked over, Edith was still unconscious. So now Im hearing voices. Great. But at least it stopped me from being a complete dumbass. The killing in and of itself wasnt beyond my ability, if it was a matter of my life or someone elses then Id be able to go through with it. Even if it was an assassination, to prevent Rosial from being involved I would do whatever I had to. But this wasnt one of those cases; killing her would have been the single worst thing I could have done. Theres going to be a better way of handling this, Im just too distracted and high-strung to think of it now. With the status of everyone confirmed, my focus shifted. It was imperative that I knew when rescue was coming; it certainly was coming, the only question being when it would arrive, and if it would arrive in time. I crawled back over to Sasha and began carefully feeling around her skirt until I located the communication tool she carried. Pushing some mana to it, there was an odd sensation. For a brief moment, there was something static-like in my mind. That was then promptly replaced by a dull weight accompanied by Ferdinands voice. Irritatingly, he did not sound at all panicked Sasha. Report. Shes unconscious. Its me, what the hell is going on!? My apologies. I have several teams of knights attempting to reach you, but they are being obstructed. That wasnt good. Within the capital, there shouldnt be anything capable of obstructing a full deployment of knights. Even in our most liberal estimations, there should not be enough shadows remaining to accomplish that. Exactly how many shadows are we dealing with? As far as I can tell? Only three. Your carriage has been surrounded by undead coming up from the sewer system, and your knights are working their way around to you. Undead!? What about the civilians!? Calm yourself. Everything is under contro- The connection suddenly went to static, and the last thing I heard was Ferdinand being an ass. The only reason the connection would drop like that was if it had been cut off from either end, or if a particularly strong obstruction spell had been cast. So the shadow remnants are closing in. Shit, this isnt good. My heartbeat was beginning to quicken. Not in a helpful way either, but in the manner where you knew something horrible was about to happen. Forcibly, I began taking long deep breaths, an exercise to help control my nerves. Ok, the shadows are working with the undead, or have simply pointed them at the capital. The fact that they are actively surrounding my carriage indicates the former. That means theres either a mage able to control them, or these are intelligent undead Probably the former again. My brain was working overtime, and all conclusions were grim. Some people would probably say that the prudent thing to do was trust in the carriages warding and wait for rescue. I discarded that; if they could cut off the communication magic tool and knock us off the road, then they could get inside. This was going to come down to whether or not Sarala and myself could win a one-versus-many engagement, or at least hold off long enough for rescuers. Apparently, my conclusion showed on my face because Saralas normally shy demeanor had completely vanished, How long are we going to have to fight? My head shook grimly, I dont know. I stood and stretched, confirming what I already knew regarding my condition. Gingerly making my way around the overturned cabin, I found my shortsword and pulled it out. My dagger was one thing, but for this reach would be required. And my talents are still fucked, so no benefit from [Sword Fighting], no talent casting, and only the chanted spells I can remember. My only real asset is going to be Blood Magic then. In that case, should I disconnect? No. Thatd go badly. Ill only do that as a last resort. No, I have one other tool I can use. My [Revenant] title carried the passive effect of making undead passive to me, and titles were one of the few parts of my status that still seemed to work properly. After switching titles I addressed Sarala, How do you want to play it? Put a barrier around the carriage? I can feed you extra mana. Sarala shook her head, No, if they can get through the carriages existing protections then any barrier I erect will quickly fall. What about you? Can you face them alone? If I had my [Eidetic Memory] to use customized chants. No. I guess that leaves me playing a vanguard and you as a rearguard. Sarala nodded grimly, Should we go out, or wait here? Worst case scenario, they were just going to somehow destroy the carriage. Now that I was a princess, I would rather end up like Elizabeth instead of Diane. It would be better to go out, carefully. Sarala nodded, then stood up, When youre ready. What with the carriage being on its side, getting out was going to be much easier said than done. One door was now the floor, while the other occupied the ceiling. If we make it through this, Im going to introduce emergency exits. Stretching up to my full height, I was able to reach the door above our heads and carefully unlatch it. From there, a Blood Magic enhanced jump was able to give enough force to get the door to open fully and come to a rest against the wall of the carriage. It may have been more prudent to open it slowly, but I couldnt think of a good way to go about doing that in a short enough time. Then, I fed mana into my brain, carefully slowing down my perception of time. Nodding at Sarala, I adopted a ready stance and jumped again. She would find her own way out behind me. Landing on the carriages side, a quick look around revealed that we had tumbled about thirty feet down the mountain from one road to the next, smashing through one of the buildings as it did so. I really hope nobody was in that Its a good thing the main roads are built to encircle the mountainside, or we would have possibly gone all the way down. The next thing I picked up on was the undead; they were surrounding the carriage at a short distance but not approaching. The ones that saw me directly didnt make a move to attack, confirming that the title was working as it should be. They had closed off any pathway I could have used to escape, and were attempting to claw their way up the sheer slope to where two of my knights were waving at me frantically. Yea, I see you, but I cant exactly sit in the carriage and wait to be killed. Shoot some arrows at the undead if it makes you feel better They arent behaving like normal undead though To organized. That means they probably have a shadow present controlling them, where though? They should be nearby if they cut off the communication tool. Its also a bit concerning that I cant even hear fighting yet Ferdinand said the undead were holding the knights off Is he is he the mole? It was a sobering thought, and if that was the case, then we were totally screwed. But it does make sense Woah! Even with time slowed down and my heightened reflexes, I barely managed to deflect the incoming arrow. The fact that I was able to at all was a testament to how Id been holding a sword for literally my entire life. Even without Talents and Skills to provide corrections I was not helpless. The fact that it had almost hit me though, was concerning. Theyre here! After calling Sarala, I scanned in the direction the shot had come from. There did not seem to be anyone there, even after only the scant few seconds since the shot. Theyre taking things extremely carefully. I wasnt sure if I should be flattered or annoyed. Granted, they had no way of knowing that my status was all screwed up right now. Ting! Another arrow had come from my blind spot. Theyre either testing me right now, or theres only one archer. It was fortunate that Sarala was smart enough to realize that there was a sniper, and had not stuck her head out. Once again the archer had seemingly vanished in the moments it took me to look in that direction. This is pointless and frustrating. Come out already! Or at least stop shooting one at a time! It may be a bit unwise to taunt them like that, but this was just dumb. My mana capacity would let me keep this up for several minutes as it was, and if I disconnected, indefinitely. To be honest, I was not expecting a response. So when I was suddenly charged from the left and the right by two men, it took me a bit by surprise. Fortunately, my slowed perceptions were enough to react just in time. Ducking to the left, the first attack missed me by a few inches and my own blade was able to turn away the second. Not good. I meant to dodge that by a much greater margin. To make matters worse, another arrow was flying right toward me. Fired while my attention was preoccupied, I would not be able to dodge in time. Shit! I hope they arent using Grave Oil, but who am I kidding? Stepping off to the right, I hoped to minimize the damage. [###### ####] Icicle Wall! At Saralas shouted spell a thin wall of ice formed between me and the arrow. How she had been able to keep up with the speed of those few seconds was beyond me, but Id have to thank her later. Yah! Accompanying my shout with a quick thrust, I was able to just barely catch the left-most attacker in his arm. Not by any skill on my own part, he had simply been momentarily surprised by my backup. Thats fine, Ill work with this. Pivoting away from the man Id just cut, I kicked at the second melee attacker. Two versus one would be just barely doable, so Sarala would have to block the arrows for me. Above, block. No, hes feinting; ignore. The blade swung and sailed past me within a few inches as I pressed the attack on the one in front of me. There was only a brief window before the other would recover from me calling his bluff. My main target was rather skilled and knew this fact just as well as me. Instead of blocking or attempting to counter, he spent all of his effort dodging; bobbing up, down, and around my flurry of attacks. Out of time, pivot. Spinning just in time, I was able to deflect the incoming attack away. Alright, lets go faster. The mana flow to my arms and legs increased, proportionally multiplying my speed. Within my slowed world, I was now having some difficulty with control. Sarala, distraction! Trusting in my friends judgment, I ignored the man behind me and focused all of my attention on the one in front. Ah! [#####!] In her panic at being suddenly told to do something, she defaulted to an elementary Fire Magic spell, Flash. It did exactly as advertised and produced a bright, instantaneous flash. Something that was extremely effective for its simplicity as long as you could land it. The man in front of me crumpled as my strikes suddenly began landing. Highly skilled assassins were not going to be caught off guard by Flash, but to avoid it theyd have to briefly close their eyes or look away; something I could capitalize on. One down, pivot. The man in front of me had fallen. Without the leeway to consider taking prisoners, all of my strikes had gone for his center of mass; if he wasnt dead already, he soon would be. Mind the Archer! [###### ####!] Icicle Wall! Just in time, she repaired the wall even as an arrow finally shattered it. Without his boyfriend to occupy my back and create openings, the second assailant quickly fell under my onslaught of repeated attacks. Again, I was aiming for his vital areas; I could try and capture the archer, but I wouldnt leave a shadow near my companions even if injured. Even as the second body fell, I dropped off the carriages side and closed my eyes. Focus. Moving some of the mana out of my limbs, it refocused into my ears. Twang! There. The tell-tale sign of a bow firing informed me of the archers position and I kicked off the ground towards it. Sarala would get the arrow. Damnit! What are you!? The voice that called out when I finally laid eyes on the archer was higher pitched than I had expected, and the fact that they had spoken at all was surprising in and of itself; shadows didnt do that. The momentary surprise caused me to slow my approach. Something that, a moment later, proved to be a mistake. Damnit! No, dont! My cry was as pointless as it was futile; the shadow, determining that shed never hit me and wouldnt be able to escape, had killed herself by stabbing one of her arrows into her eye. They were using grave oil after all I pressed my lips back together and turned away from the gruesome sight. If she killed herself then there probably werent any more than the three, so it would be safe to sit tight in the carriage. My muscles were starting to ache now, a protest against how hard theyd been pushed. I need to fix my status. Even if its a risk to try the nuclear option, its better than nothing. Stahlia Sarala looked down at me, her face wrought with concern, Stahlia, they These two, theyre just kids our Ediths age. Ah No wonder I was able to keep up Stahlia! Stahlia, can you hear me?! It was Ferdinands voice sounding off inside my head. With the three assailants deceased, whatever had been blocking the connection abated. That said, my mood was beginning to sour. I can hear you just fine. The three shadows are dead and were all safe. Thats good to hear. Was that genuine relief in his tone? How out of character. In any case, I didnt care. Im sure you are. Ill be waiting in the carriage for you to do your damn job and come get me! I cut the connection off, then threw the communicator as hard as I could. The sight of it shattering on the wall was only a tiny bit comforting. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-9 Picking Up Pieces Psycholor Starting on 08/22/2022 (MM/DD/YYYY), I am going to amend the upload schedule to once weekly, on Mondays. It was a choice between doing this, or making the two chapters shorter. After thinking about it for some time, I decided to do longer chapters less frequently. Sorry about the change, and thank you for understanding. By the time the knights finally broke through the undead, I had managed to calm down a great deal. The kids no, the shadows were a threat to me, coming after my life. Killing them had been justified, at least thats what I told myself. It was still the first time I had killed someone without being under the effects of the emotionally dampening [Cold Hearted]. It was difficult how easy it had been in the moment. As the knight squad moved to surround the carriage and mop up any remaining undead, Ferdinand strode towards me, Lady Stahlia- I held up a hand, stalling him, My apologies, Lord Ferdinand. It seems I allowed my nerves to best me Please, have these men move out and secure the surroundings. He gave a short bow and waved his hand. Since all the men had heard me give the order repeating it seemed to be unnecessary and they departed, Everyone is alive then? Thats what I said in my message, isnt it? Other than my knight, yes. I left them in the carriage For the sake of the record, I would hear your recommendation. That was why you sent the knights away. Lady Edith and Miss Sarala already know of course, that leaves Lady Lester and Miss Suzane. So thats her name then. He must have read my expression; I wasnt trying to hide it or anything, You suspect I think they should be disposed of. You usually arent this wordy. Probably calculated that it would be a good idea to play nice after how I snapped at you. You think we should kill them. Please do not mince words around me. As you wish. Yes, if it were up to me, I would say that both she and Lady Lester died in the attack. Probably Miss Sasha and Miss Sarala as well to avoid suspicion. It is not up to me though, and I am well aware that plan is off the table. But yes, I do believe that Suzane and Lady Lester should be, as you said, killed. Yea, NO SHIT that plan is off the table, what the hell!? breathe His confession made my anger flair right back up, and it was a struggle not to explode again. But the worst part of it all, was that his plan sounded logical. Effective even. Certainly, there would be less loose ends this way, I could follow along with the reasoning he must have used to come to the conclusion. Lord Ferdinand, I despise you on a fundamental level. He did not react to my statement, it was probably also something hed expected to hear, That said, I cannot agree to either plan; there is no world where killing them benefits us. All it would do is risk antagonizing the other nobles, and were we to kill only Suzzane and attempt to blackmail Lady Lester Well, I shouldnt need to explain what that plan sucks. I cant believe antagonizing Lady Lester is my biggest concern here. Ferdinand nodded, I agree. That pissed me off, Then why in the nine hells did you just recommend killing them!? Ferdinand shrugged, as though he was doing it intentionally, Because you wanted me to advocate for her death, so I played my role. I blinked, the anger suddenly taken from my sails only to flare back up almost immediately. Give me a break! You played your role, to what? Get me to kill someone? Is that all youve been doing this whole time? Playing your role!? He actually crossed his arms as he looked down at me. It was as though every single motion he performed was calculated specifically to piss me off more and more, Well, I dont need that! Dont play a role and tell me what I expect to hear, Im not a fucking demon! I did not need someone telling me what they thought I wanted them to say, that was only one step above having a yes-man. Only above it since thats what he thought I wanted him to say, not what I wanted to hear. Saralas head peeked over the side of the carriage; she was still on top of it keeping an eye on the undead and the knights, St- Lady Stahlia, my mistress expresses her concern. Haaa Damn it all. Forcibly calming myself again, I addressed Ferdinand, In the future, share your opinions plainly. Do not play any role you think I might be expecting. Really, why in the name of everything do I have to ask something like that He did not say anything outright, merely staring down at me from behind his crossed arms. His face was inscrutable, so I deigned not to try and merely turned away, One of you! Please help Lady Lester and Lady Edith get out of the carriage, then the maids. One of the knights broke away from the expanding clean-up operation and made his way over to the carriage. It was of course possible for me to get them all out myself, but there was no immediate danger and I still had enough sense to understand it would not be a good image. After taking a minute to appraise the situation, the knight began to move to extricate the remaining passengers. It would not be proper for me to detail everyones injuries to him, as much as I wanted to ensure proper treatment. Sarala was there, and the knight was a knight; he would be familiar with handling the injured. Stahlia. Ferdinand called out to me while that was ongoing, and I noted the lack of any title, Stahlia, I believe I owe you an apology. It would seem my life in the dark has skewed my judgment, it was my assumption that you needed an adversary to play against. Someone arguing for the extreme, so that you could properly consider every angle. I was mistaken. In the future, I will counsel you as I see fit, and only as such. He had uncrossed his arms, and for the first time since I had met him, there was some actual light in his eyes. Though my anger was still a bit much for me to forgive him outright, I could at least accept the sentiment for what it was. Admitting he had made a mistake was probably rather difficult, especially considering my background and our relative ages, See that you do. I will. Now then, Lady Stahlia, I believe we should move to a more secure location. Yea, that makes sense. I will, as soon as they are out. I waved at the carriage, where Lady Lester was being helped gingerly down. Considering her injuries, the fact that she was keeping composure was quite remarkable. In my opinion that is an idiotic notion. Your own safety is paramount. I wont get angry, hes only doing what I literally just told him to do. I understand, but have decided to ignore your opinion. I will go once my guests are safe. Fortunately, his interpretation of his new orders did not seem to extend to after I had made a decision on a matter. That did not mean we couldnt move on though, What do we know about all of this? My primary concern is where so many undead came from. I couldnt see him, but he sounded thoughtful as he answered me, We are still figuring that out. The operators seem to have been the three you fought. There could be more, but if there were then you would be dead. I grimaced, not that he would have been able to see it from where he stood behind me, As far as the undead are concerned Well, I can tell you where they came from, but we will not know if there are any left without doing a rather thorough investigation. Something we lack the resources to do Or, we would. The undead came from the slums, I would guess. That would be the best way to gather a large number of people without raising suspicions. Do not concern yourself with the investigation; I will have Aaron do it. For safetys sake, I kept the crystal bit he had given me on my person. After fishing it out, I enhanced my fingers and crushed it in my palm, the degree I needed to boost my strength to do so was actually kind of ridiculous. At once, I felt a sudden feeling of vertigo, not unlike when Adroni had merged my consciousness with various people while I was dead. It was a bit less intense, and faded quickly. Hello? Ah, Stahlia. I thought I might be hearing from you soon. Be quick, this will only last a few seconds. I want a quest posted for all of the adventurers in the city and the surrounding areas; investigate for signs of undead activity. Pay special attention to the poor areas and sewers of major settlements A days wages if they take part, and a months for any leads that pan out. Wasting no time, good. What about our agreement? You know I have not spoken with Rupert yet; I will do so as soon as I return to the palace. Then, I will take your word for it. This is, after all, a rather outrageous event; you are aware the demons are involved? I wanted to question what he meant, or more specifically what he knew, but the connection was already starting to fade out. I am, thank you. There was another flash of vertigo, and an empty feeling in my head. As if something had gone missing. After a moment when both of those had passed, I turned to face Ferdinand, I need to see Prince Rupert as soon as we return. If possible, the King as well; it would make things go faster. Indeed, will Aaron do his part? I nodded sharply, then turned again to watch Suzane being brought down from the carriage. Contrary to her mistress, her face was white and pale with suppressed pain. Well, here goes. Lady Lester saw me striding towards their group and stiffened slightly. For someone of her social acumen, that was enough to let me know that she was shaken. Pausing a few meters away from the group I held my arms out and did a small spin, Well, what do you think? It only took her a moment to answer, and though shaky she managed to come up with a halfway decent quip, You look remarkably lady-like for a twelve-year-old. I take after my mother. This is not the time or the place for word games or lessons about word games; my retainer, A quick pause and glance over my shoulder let her know it was Ferdinand, Believes that I should report the two of you as casualties in this. Their reactions were different, and spoke to their personalities; Suzane shrank back and then winced from the pain, while Lady Lesters face shifted to one of grave severity, However, I do not believe I will need to do that; all of my close friends are already aware of my secret. We are friends, are we not? The duchess paused, and looked to Edith and then Sarala. When Edith gave a subtle nod confirming my words as true, her face morphed into a smile, Indeed, I do believe we are friends. There was no guarantee of course, and I barely knew her. The fact was though, that the kingdom really could not afford to lose one of its leading nobles at the moment. For better or worse, my hands were tied and all I could do was trust in her discretion and intelligence; the kingdom would not always be in this position after all. Excellent. I feel I must apologize to you then, Lady Lester, for how our outing turned out. I will endeavor to make it up to you at a future date, for now though I am needed back at the palace. These knights will escort you wherever you wish to go, and ensure your safety. When I turned to leave, she called after me, You claim social ignorance, but you are quite good when threats of violence are involved. Lady Stahlia von Drakas. That That scheming I basically just threatened to have you killed, and your reaction is to dig for information and confirm a hunch? Lady Lester has quite the courage. She was, unbelievably, even more dangerous than I had given her credit for. I think I might need a spy embedded in the ranks of the noble ladies. Ill bring it up with Rupert and Ferdinand after we deal with all of this. I was, unfortunately, not able to totally stop myself from showing a small reaction so I opted to play into it by pausing for a full second. Then, I continued on my way. An hour later I found myself sitting in a meeting with Rupert, Gustav, and Ferdinand. The king had declined to join, and merely informed Rupert that whatever decision we came to was approved. A maid I had never met before attended to me by refilling my empty cup. Sasha had been whisked away for treatment, and my attempt to bring Frieda had been vetoed. This was someone Ferdinand had produced, claiming that she had the trust needed to attend the meeting. I made him drink the first cup, and had been randomly giving him every third or so since. Call me petty, and I dont really think hed try to have me poisoned, but doing this makes me feel good. Although, I do kind of feel bad about how many dishes this is generating, but Im not about to drink after or before him either. My actions were even worse in light of what Ferdinand was recounting at the moment; the immediate aftermath and the sequence of events leading up to the attack, but I wasnt going to stop. I did care about what had happened and was listening attentitivelly, but I felt like if I did nothing to break my own tension, I might go insane. Nobody was giving me any disparaging looks and Rupert hadnt told me to knock it off, so I was going to continue. And that concludes the preliminary report; atleast three dozen among the commoners dead, five knights including your own, He nodded towards me before continuing, And we know without a doubt that these undead are the products of demon magic; based on my own observations, they are Husk. Ah That explains why they were acting weird. Husk were a type of undead in name only. Strictly speaking; they were still alive. Twisted by a succcubus magic, Husk formed a sort of eusocial colony and moved as one unit. The individuals would drain vitality from new victims, which resulted in the hollowed undead appearance, funneling it back to their creator and growing their colony. That would explain how Aaron had known the demons were directly involved as well. Having finished his piece, Ferdinand glanced at me and I began to reccount events from my perspective. Starting with a summary of my and Aarons meeting, That is why I need the knights retasked; using the coup as an excuse, we can reduce the monster patrols while contracting the adventurers to pick up the slack. Rupert stroked his chin in thought and began mumbling to himself as his mind processed everything I had said; a full account of my meeting with Aaron, the attack, and my actions immediately thereafter. As he processed, Gustav chimed in his thoughts, Well, what are you going to do about your stats? Not what I thought you would bring up, but with Rupert in thought this makes a decent way to pass the time. Besides, you might have an insight I missed. First, I intend to level up. I am close, now. Killing the two shadows had netted me a confusing amount of experience; each had seemingly only been worth a thousand. Considering that the Rosial impersonators had been nearly four times that, it was odd. Of course, it could just be that humans werent worth much; those doppelgangers had been monsters. This had left me five hundred experience, or five goblins worth, away from leveling up for the first time in almost a year. Though, I suspect some experience may have been diverted My seed increased a bit as well. I dont want to consider how many people Id have to kill to finish it. And this is only the Seedling. There are possibly other stages Im not going to become like that one Hungarian monarch, killing hundreds of innocents for my own personal gain. No way in hell. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 115 Name/Age: Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris, 16 Gender: Female Class/Level: ?????C???u?s???t?????o???m??? ?????C???l????a??s?????s?????,???? ?2???0????? ???|?? ?????C???u??s?????t???o???m?? ??C????l????a?s????s????,? ??3????? Experience: 35500/36000 Species: Human (Halfblood[Revenant]) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Implanted Seed: Progress 0.01% Title: Goblin Slayer*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] P?r?o?di?gy ?I?II*,? ?Ei?deti?c? ?Me?mo?ry? ?II?*, S?tea?lt?h? ?V,? Ch?a?r?m? Resi?stan?ce? I?I*?, Fle?x?i?b?le? ?I?I*?,? ||? Mo?n?ste?r ?Ha?ndli?ng ?I?II*?, ?D?a?g?g?er ?F?i?g?ht?i?ng ?V?*,? ?S?wo?rd ?F?ight?i?ng I?I?*?,? U?na?r?me?d Fight?i?ng? IV*?, Al?c?h?emy? Corre?c?ti?o?n? ?I?V?*, T?ea?chi?ng? II*,? ?M?a?na? ?E?f?f?i?c?i?en?cy? III?*, ?F?ir?e ?Ma?g?ic? ?II?I*?,? ?W?a?ter? ?M?ag?i?c II*?,? ?Ear?t?h M?agic I?I?*?,? Wi?n?d M?agic ?I?I*?, ?I?ce? ?Mag?ic VI?*?, Wi?n?te?r? Magi?c ?I,? Skills 5/5: [Browse Skills] D?iv?i?ne? ?Aut?ho?r?it?y[?C?la?s?s F?ea?ture?s?]*?,? ?F?in?es?s?e Figh?ti?ng?*, ?B?lu?e ?B?l?oo?de?d*,? ?K?inet?ic ?P?e?r?ce?p?t?io?n*?,? ?Ma?n?a ?C?r?y?s?t?a?ll?iz?atio?n*, |?|? L?a?ng?u?ag?e P?r?ofi?cien?c?y?[?Ce?n?tr?al Huma?n?]*?,? ?F?ig?ht?ing S?ty?le?[S?h?ad?o?w? Bla?d?e]*?, ?Fi?g?h?t?i?ng S?t?yle?[?Drak?a?n? ?S?t?y?l?e]*, Rule Breaker*, Revenant Physique*, Talents Experience: [+] And if that does not work? There was the long absent glint of a mad scientist visible in his eye, but it was hard to begrudge him for that. This was, after all, a wholly unique situation, a new discovery. Then, if that does nothing, I would like to speak with another ancient personality about it. If I can find someone who has lived a long while. I of course already had somebody in mind, a certain tsundere exposition device, I mean, a dragon. But neither Gustav nor Ferdinand knew about his existence, Though, I expect that short of the gods or a demon, I would not be so lucky. If I can not find anyone in the next three months, then I will remove the offending skills. That caused a reaction. Ferdinand glanced at me sidelong, while Gustav briefly crossed and uncrossed his arms. Even Rupert paused for a moment to look at me, demonstrating that he was still listening passively. Three months from now, because you are concerned you will be put out of commission? It was unlikely Gustav was asking a serious question, more that he was stating the obvious and seeking confirmation. I have fallen into a coma every other time I used my authority. I see no reason why this would be any different. Rupert finished the thought for me, And you hope to leave enough time to wake up before the start of the Demon War, hence why you would try in three months, and not delay longer. I inclined my head in his direction, Exactly. I I would rather not go that far, but I cant do anything in what is to come without my skills. That was hyperbole, it was very likely that I would be able to do something. But it would be extremely heavily restricted if I had to rely on Blood Magic entirely. My best bet is to get a bunch of auto skills and talents, then supplement that with Blood Magic enhancements. Eventually, my Blood Magic will get to the point where I can fight without skills, but until then I can only do what I can. Rupert nodded, Proceed along that line of thought. I will see if I can find anyone for you to talk with as well, So hes going to approve me going to see Drakas then, good. Sitri comes to mind as well; she is rather old and you have already crippled her. If we can capture her, we might be able to have a nice, pleasant conversation about your situation. For once, I did not mind the idea of torturing someone. In her case, I was actually sort of looking forward to the prospect, Then how will we proceed with Aaron? You made the correct call with that; I will have the armies begin mobilizing slightly earlier than planned after blaming my brother for the undead attack. Regarding Lady Lester, approach her through Ferdinand. It would be wise to keep her within arms reach, as we cannot get rid of her for the time being. Any questions? None of us had any, so Rupert adjourned the meeting. We all had our tasks, and Ferdinand departed first. Just as I was preparing to do the same, Rupert called after me, Stahlia, Gustav has informed me that you quite possibly already arrived at this conclusion yourself. I paused and turned around again, Yes? When the war starts, my father will ask us to amend our contract to publicly marry early. He insinuated that this morning. Well, I thought that Id be starting the queen-in-trial thing early, not redrafting our contract and becoming the actual legal queen. At least he kept me informed instead of just springing it on me this time. I should make my own suggestion then. I started with a curtsy, I am against that plan. What would you suggest I tell my father? We cannot expect to hide my age from the people and nobility forever, especially not with a war looming. I suggest we go public with it; I would like to fake a miracle. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-10 Fixing Status Psycholor Stahlia, Seventeen Years Old, Twelfth Month of 948 In the end, it took a few weeks before I was actually able to go see Drakas. Not that it mattered much; in the grand scheme of things it was a longshot that hed know anything helpful to me. In order to avoid drawing his ire after my last audience, Rupert suggested that I exhaust all my other options. Even if the only one that really came to mind, other than forcibly removing the offending skills, was leveling up. That had taken some time to do, as after the attack on the capital people were understandably frazzled. There was the option of simply executing some prisoners, but after the close call with Lady Lesters maid, I didnt want to go there. Political assassinations, self-defense, and matters of national security were one thing. Reducing people to experience points was another, and a line I really didnt want to cross. That meant I needed monsters. Living monsters and not undead; the latter lacked souls and as such did not provide experience when killed. Having just survived an assassination attempt, there was no way in hell Id be allowed to go hunting, and bringing monsters through the capital wasnt an option until things calmed down, thus my dilemma. In the end though, my knights were able to capture a few orcs from the plains near the capital and bring them to the palace dungeons. Killing them was enough to push me over the remaining hurdle and level up once, but it didnt actually do anything for my glitchy status. It did give me something though; I knew from prior experience that Orcs were worth three hundred experience points. Killing these ones granted me only a hundred, less than half, and my Implanted Seedling went up a whopping zero point zero one percent. The thing was siphoning off my experience points and was going to need a lot of them. As though leveling up wasnt already going to be a pain in the ass. There was one other result, or more accurately a lack of result. Leveling up had not given me any Life Points. There were two possibilities I could think of, but each of them was rather concerning. Firstly, the Implanted Seed was siphoning those as well. That was the worst-case scenario, as those were my only reliable method of acquiring skills and talents. The second, slightly more optimistic theory, was that my glitched status had caused some sort of error resulting in me being robbed. Whatever the case, leveling up had not fixed the crux of the issue. So, that is what I am dealing with. My hope is that you, in all of your ancient wisdom, might be able to offer some insight into the root of my problem. Drakas, presently in his human form, appeared thoughtful as he considered everything that hed just heard. After a pregnant pause, he shook his head, No. What the Monster-God says is my conclusion as well. If you can break the curse of Chaos, you would be wise to do so. I crossed my arms and fixed him with an unamused stare; I might be leery of upsetting him, but this and that were different. In any case, my expression had the desired effect. Drakas rolled his eyes and explained himself using plain language, If your Authority will let you remove the offending skills, do that. It wasnt like Id not been able to understand him; the Curse of Chaos was very clearly the System. Adroni was the self-proclaimed Evil God of Chaos, and they had created the System. I had simply had it up to my ears with immortal beings being coy and talking in roundabout riddles. And not just immortal beings either, the politics of noble speech as well. So, you think that as well I suppose there is nothing else I can do. Thank you for tolerating me. The dragon in human form shrugged, It is not a particularly big favor to tell you what you already knew. Do you have any other burning questions? Or are you finally going to leave me in peace? As irritating as he was, there was actually something else he could possibly tell me, Well, I do not want to inconvenience you; I will hold my peace and leave you to yours. I curtsied elegantly and turned to make my way back to where Rupert was waiting; he had refused to allow me to come alone, and was presently staring at me with a resigned expression. Wait. I will entertain one more question. I really wish I could bring Felicity here, Claire would love you. Turning to face the dragon again, I bowed my head, Then, if you could please tell me, what exactly am I? Other than my status, this was my biggest question to come out of recent events. Namely, what exactly I was becoming. If Aaron were to be believed, I now had a monsters mana crystal, and according to my status I was half undead, and by this dragons own admission I held the qualities of a dragon. Drakas licked his lips and actually went still for a moment, signaling that this was a real question as well. That is a dangerous thing to ask. His eventual answer was in as many ways frustrating as it was telling. Granted, we had not known each other all that long and we only had one other interaction but considering everything I did know about him, the fact that he answered like that was telling. Will you not answer? There was another pause before he shook his head, No, that I will not. That question is something you will have to find for yourself, only consider how many groups have a vested interest in you. I wanted to retort; he definitely knew something, that much was clear. But there was also clearly a reason he had clammed up. In the end, I only sighed, Well, thank you for the reminder at least. Not like I need anyone to tell me that Ive got too many people trying to pull me around. Antenora started out the train of bullshit, then Five had his plans, Mortis, Adroni, I willingly joined forces with Rupert, now Aaron And honestly, Drakas as well. It would be extremely surprising if he didnt. Besides that, Im sure theres even more Im forgetting. Turning, I began to trudge back to Rupert, Princess auf Drakas Do not run away from yourself. The way he pronounced my given title sent a shiver down my spine, but when I turned back to face the man-dragon it was only to find that he had reverted back into his true form and was flying up to the highest point of the summit. Our conversation was clearly over. Dont run from myself, huh? No shit, Ive been trying not to do that this whole time Together, Rupert and I began to descend the mountain. Did you really see the need to push your luck with him again? This was exactly the reason I did not want you to go alone. Ah, yea. I did get a bit carried away there I frowned, but at the end of the day, he had a point, My apologies. I find that being spoken to in riddles has become rather frustrating of late and allowed it to go to my head. We continued on in silence for a few dozen meters before he spoke again, So then, will you wait until spring? Or do you want to try immediately? That was a bit of a conundrum since we didnt know if using my authority to remove my own skills would put me into a coma. Certainly, using it to add skills never had, but seemingly everything else did, Which would work better for your plans? That is not what I asked. Well, if hes letting me choose, Id rather do it sooner than later. But it would feel wrong to leave everyone now of all times Dont run from myself Drakas words echoed around in my head, Well, if it is up to me, I would prefer to begin immediately Probably, try with just one for the start and go from there. Then, wait a few days; I would like you to make one more public appearance before the nobility. After that, I will be able to excuse your absence for as long as I have to Though, try and wake up in less than a month? I grimaced, Ha. I will do my best. Thats going to be a pain, but fine. After the terrorist attack, I had been subjected to no less than six social functions. The reason for them was as obvious as it was important; expressing the fact that the attack had not shaken me. Each one of them was nerve-wracking, but Lady Lester had proven a valuable ally and helped to guide things from behind the shadows. Even though she never claimed credit, Edith had kept me apprised that the duchess was actively working to undermine the Lawrence family as well, which certainly helped to keep things going as smoothly as they had been. Well, Ive done six, a seventh wont kill me. Ill want it to, but it wont. Contrary to my expectations, the seventh social wasnt even nearly as bad as the others. By this point, so long removed from the actual event, people had seemed to calm down a fair amount. There was a brief moment where Duke Lawrence attempted to approach my father, the first time he had actually done so, but a prompt warning from Edith and then a follow-up from myself was able to head it off. Still, it did reiterate that there was an issue brewing there. And yet, Im about to risk removing myself from the board for several months. It wasnt like we didnt have a plan; Rupert was planning to bring all of the dukes to the front in short order, and my father would be going back to Ris soon. After only another week, he would be well and truly out of reach to the Lawrences. Still, I could not help but worry. Stahlia, they will be fine. This is a case where you need to trust your friends and allies. Ediths words did help a bit as well. Indeed; you trust us with your own safety, allow us to look after your family as well. Sasha chimed in, and despite the actual lack of power she had against a dukes schemes, I did find some small comfort there. We were in the process of getting me ready in case the worst came to pass; Frieda, Elienor, and Sasha were dressing me for sleep while Edith had brought Sarala with her to be here for the moment itself. Unlike the last time, we all knew what to expect. Felicity and Rosial would be coming by with my parents and Rosin later on as well. As stated previously, Elienor was already here since, even after welcoming her as I had, she remained in my service. Lucy was still being kept under house arrest; even if the attack had delayed it, Ferdinands direct investigations revealed nothing had been missed. For all intents and purposes, she did not seem to have a malicious agenda but we couldnt take any risks when Five was still at large. I would have liked to be more lenient there, but it simply wasnt possible. Out of all the people in my immediate circle other than Lucy, the only ones who werent going to be here to see me off were Ferris, Sana, and Rupert. Ferris was in training and absent from the palace at the moment; having begged to go hunting with the knights after feeling helpless upon hearing of the attack. Rupert was busy deflecting political bullshit, though not having my literal husband at least poke his head in was a bit irritating. With Sana, there was no real way to get her here short of summoning her, and that had its own host of problems since wed have to do it through the Cardinal as her guardian. I feel like Ive forgotten someone Oh yea, Aarons spy and my loyal companion. The Stawri in question, Stil, was sitting to the side of the room watching everyone. It was a bit upsetting that Id not really been interacting with him recently, but he was always there, even if not directly by my side like hed used to be. My circle might be small, but it was infinitely bigger than it had been even just a few years ago. Case in point, there was a knock at my door. Sasha finished setting my clothes in place before answering it, and soon returned with my family. Felicity was subdued, her tail twitching about in a somewhat irritable fashion. Rosial looked calm, for the most part, but there was something tucked away just out of sight that made me think she was putting on a face. Felicity I can understand, but Rosial? I didnt think we had gotten that close. Hell, Ive only been awake for a couple of months. Not like shes had time to really get to know me Rosin was still a bit young, but old enough now to pick up on the subtext and deduce that something was wrong. He wasnt padding after either Felicity or Rosial and instead stuck very close to our mother the whole time. As for our parents, neither of them knew the exact specifics of what was going on, but both of them knew about my propensity to fall unconscious for long periods of time. Rosial, Felicity, it is clear that neither of you is exactly pleased right now But youre still going away again, right? Predictably, it was Felicity who asked, Thats fine. Well be fine. Oof. The way she was talking was incredibly snippy, but I could understand where she was coming from. That said, it wasnt clear which was worse; this, or begging me not to do it. Either way wouldnt have been able to change my plans, but both of them cut in a different manner. Biting my lip, I turned to look at Rosial. She simply looked back, impassively. Right. Well, here goes. Dad, you and mother have been made aware of what is happening. I do not really know how this is going to work out; I might be gone for a week, half a year, or not at all. Dont change the plans on account of me though Our family will be safer back in Ris than in the capital. Once the snow melts, go home, ok? I had already mentioned the issue with Duke Lawrence in private, so declined to bring it up here. My siblings did not need to have that hanging over their heads. He looked a bit pained, an expression he wore more often than not when looking at me now, though I pretended not to notice. But, if I wanted them to be safe, getting them away from the capital was best. There was a lot he wanted to say, that much was clear as day. This was not the time or place though, surrounded by all the people we were. Even if everyone here was someone that I would either outright or tentatively consider family, some lines couldnt be crossed so easily. Both of us knew that, and my life had taken a path that would force a certain distance at nearly all times. He tipped his head, replacing the pained expression with a faint smile, When everything is finished, come and visit the village again, alright? Of course. My mother didnt say anything, if I had to guess, she was afraid of breaking down should she try. Instead, she settled for a wordless tight hug. In a way though, that said more than words ever could have. Still, I didnt like the fact that everyone was acting like this was my funeral, but I didnt really know how to change the mood. There was also the thought of how much this was going to hurt hanging over my head. In the end, I had to settle for some awkward small talk. After a while, my parents quietly departed with the girls and Rosin, the former had become visibly tired, and the latter had actually fallen asleep and needed to be carried. Edith, Sarala, Id like it if if the two of you would stay. I have a feeling this is going to hurt. A lot. They had been silent while I interacted with my family but now shared a look. Edith nodded, Alright if that is how you want it. I nodded, then turned my attention inward and pulled up my status. It was still as buggy as the last time I had seen it. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 115 Name/Age: Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris, 16 Gender: Female Class/Level: ?????C???u?s???t?????o???m??? ?????C???l????a??s?????s?????,???? ?2???0????? ???|?? ?????C???u??s?????t???o???m?? ??C????l????a?s????s????,? ??4 Experience: 0/38000 Species: Human (Halfblood[Revenant]) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Implanted Seed: Progress 0.02% Title: Goblin Slayer*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] P?r?o?di?gy ?I?II*,? ?Ei?deti?c? ?Me?mo?ry? ?II?*, S?tea?lt?h? ?V,? Ch?a?r?m? Resi?stan?ce? I?I*?, Fle?x?i?b?le? ?I?I*?,? ||? Mo?n?ste?r ?Ha?ndli?ng ?I?II*?, ?D?a?g?g?er ?F?i?g?ht?i?ng ?V?*,? ?S?wo?rd ?F?ight?i?ng I?I?*?,? U?na?r?me?d Fight?i?ng? IV*?, Al?c?h?emy? Corre?c?ti?o?n? ?I?V?*, T?ea?chi?ng? II*,? ?M?a?na? ?E?f?f?i?c?i?en?cy? III?*, ?F?ir?e ?Ma?g?ic? ?II?I*?,? ?W?a?ter? ?M?ag?i?c II*?,? ?Ear?t?h M?agic I?I?*?,? Wi?n?d M?agic ?I?I*?, ?I?ce? ?Mag?ic VI?*?, Wi?n?te?r? Magi?c ?I,? Skills 5/5: [Browse Skills] D?iv?i?ne? ?Aut?ho?r?it?y[?C?la?s?s F?ea?ture?s?]*?,? ?F?in?es?s?e Figh?ti?ng?*, ?B?lu?e ?B?l?oo?de?d*,? ?K?inet?ic ?P?e?r?ce?p?t?io?n*?,? ?Ma?n?a ?C?r?y?s?t?a?ll?iz?atio?n*, |?|? L?a?ng?u?ag?e P?r?ofi?cien?c?y?[?Ce?n?tr?al Huma?n?]*?,? ?F?ig?ht?ing S?ty?le?[S?h?ad?o?w? Bla?d?e]*?, ?Fi?g?h?t?i?ng S?t?yle?[?Drak?a?n? ?S?t?y?l?e]*, Rule Breaker*, Revenant Physique*, Talents Experience: [+] And the one thing I havent told anyone, even the people who know almost the whole story, is that my Authority is bugged too. I dont even know if it will work properly. The fact that I had been able to skirt around Ruperts various questions in such a way as to not reveal that was a minor miracle in and of itself. But there isnt any point in waiting any longer. The test run will be with [Eidetic Memory II], since that skill is the one most likely to actively get me killed if I try and use it. Adroni had told me that things would eventually fix themselves, but it had been months now, and not even a single entry had been fixed by just waiting. At this point, I was simply delaying the inevitable. Right Invoke Divine Authority? At my thought, nothing seemed to happen. I hoped it would respond in some way before giving the full command, no such luck, huh? Invoke Divine Authority, Remove [Eidetic Memory II] There was a twinge, then a stabbing pain in my skull as a flood of information passed through in an instant. vALiD ERroR: {diVinE AUtHoRIty[CLasS fEATUreS]} CoNfiRMED. tArGETeRRoRACTioN [[staHlIA vON DRakas uNd Zu rIS], hUMaN[hB(ERror)], 16Y] SubTarGeT: ERRor taLeNt[Ei?deti?C? ?mE?Mo?RY? ?ii?*] eRror.unhANDLeDdAtaovERflow ERror.obsTRUcteDACtIOn REdIRECtinG erRORtArGEt iDEntifIED[ErrOR SeEDlIng] PRocEeD? y/ERrOr taleNt[ei?DetI?c? ?ME?mO?rY? ?ii?*] eRrOr PROCess ComPLEtE. I screamed. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday and Friday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-11 Recovery Psycholor With a gasp, air filled my lungs and I shot upright. That That was the most painful thing Ive ever experienced. Forget the forced guilt and remorse from when Id been attempting to overcome [Cold Hearted]. Forget degloving my hand and then rupturing every muscle in my body while fighting Five. That experience had been like being flayed alive while replacing those muscles with red-hot irons. I knew from being in her head, but this was even worse What did I put Sitri through? What I had just experienced was almost enough to make me feel bad for her. Almost. Slowly, I stretched out my limbs. Strangely enough, they didnt feel sore at all. Despite what Id just been through. That makes sense I guess, if we assume that the pain came from my soul instead of my body Then, the question is how long I was out? Somebody would probably have been posted by my side to help when I came to, so I looked up and around the room. My eyes beheld the faces of Sasha, Frieda, Edith, Sarala, and Stil. All of the people who had been in my room when I started the process. Edith was the first to speak and her voice gave sound to the expressions everyone was making, S-Stahlia? They were all looking at me with faces that conveyed nothing but horror. Considering what my experience had been like, I could only imagine what they must have seen. It was a really good thing that Rosial, Felicity, and Rosin had been absent, then. And there wasnt a coma. From a certain point of view, in exchange for the worst pain imaginable I get to not lose years of my life But was it worth it? I could ask what their experience had been in a minute. For now, I wanted to know if my newest trauma had been worth it. I called up my status. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 115 Name/Age: Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris, 16 Gender: Female Class/Level: ?????C???u?s???t?????o???m??? ?????C???l????a??s?????s?????,???? ?2???0????? ???|?? ?????C???u??s?????t???o???m?? ??C????l????a?s????s????,? ??4 Experience: 0/38000 Species: Human (Halfblood[Revenant]) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Implanted Seed: Progress 11.32% Title: Goblin Slayer*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] P?r?o?di?gy ?I?II*, [ ], S?tea?lt?h? ?V,? Ch?a?r?m? Resi?stan?ce? I?I*?, Fle?x?i?b?le? ?I?I*?,? ||? Mo?n?ste?r ?Ha?ndli?ng ?I?II*?, ?D?a?g?g?er ?F?i?g?ht?i?ng ?V?*,? ?S?wo?rd ?F?ight?i?ng I?I?*?,? U?na?r?me?d Fight?i?ng? IV*?, Al?c?h?emy? Corre?c?ti?o?n? ?I?V?*, T?ea?chi?ng? II*,? ?M?a?na? ?E?f?f?i?c?i?en?cy? III?*, ?F?ir?e ?Ma?g?ic? ?II?I*?,? ?W?a?ter? ?M?ag?i?c II*?,? ?Ear?t?h M?agic I?I?*?,? Wi?n?d M?agic ?I?I*?, ?I?ce? ?Mag?ic VI?*?, Wi?n?te?r? Magi?c ?I,? Skills 5/5: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features], F?in?es?s?e Figh?ti?ng?*, ?B?lu?e ?B?l?oo?de?d*,? ?K?inet?ic ?P?e?r?ce?p?t?io?n*?,? ?Ma?n?a ?C?r?y?s?t?a?ll?iz?atio?n*, |?|? L?a?ng?u?ag?e P?r?ofi?cien?c?y?[?Ce?n?tr?al Huma?n?]*?,? ?F?ig?ht?ing S?ty?le?[S?h?ad?o?w? Bla?d?e]*?, ?Fi?g?h?t?i?ng S?t?yle?[?Drak?a?n? ?S?t?y?l?e]*, Rule Breaker*, Revenant Physique*, Talents Experience: [+] Auto Repair In Progress: Halted[+] Bile rose up in my throat, causing me to fiercely swallow several times. After what had just happened, the indignity of vomiting might not seem like a lot but Id rather not. At first glance, it doesnt look like anything happened, but no. Theres some stuff. [Eidetic Memory] was gone, in its place was a blank space. It didnt look like the slot had been refunded which sucked, but I could live with it. More importantly, my Divine Authority no longer seemed to be corrupted, and a new line had appeared; Auto Repair In Progress. Very likely that was what Adroni had meant when they said that my status would fix itself in time. But it wasnt there before, so did that cunt not know it wasnt working? Or did they know and not tell me? No, its worse than not telling me. If they did know, then I was deliberately misled. Whatever the case, the process claimed to have been halted. Similar to my Talents Experience, there was an option to expand and see more details but that could wait until after Id addressed the currently horrified onlookers. As a final note, my Implanted Seedling thing had suddenly gotten a lot of experience. Something else to consider later on. S-sorry, dith I worry- My voice was severely hoarse, and just a few words in, I was overtaken by a coughing fit, Ackahem!...Kuhoogh!...Kehkah! When I pulled my hands down from my mouth, they were coated in a concerningly thick layer of blood. That was when I noticed the metallic taste. Sasha and Frieda responded first, flying into a flurry of action. First, I was guided onto my side, then had my head rotated around so that it was resting on my hand. Next, one of them, I couldnt tell which, began thumping on my back. I let them work, cognizant of the fact that there was blood either in my lungs or throat. Probably the former by the feeling of it. Another coughing fit assaulted me and I felt my legs curling up, Relax, try and breathe as best you can; Edith has gone with Sarala to get the doctor back here. Why didnt we have him on hand!? The answer to that question was easy; Id decided not to. I had expected that this would hurt, but also expected to simply fall into a coma. There had seen no reason to have the doctor present; there hadnt been one the first few times and it had been fine. Actually, why was I allowed to get away with that? There was a lot that I was able to get away with. More than should have been possible, even given my station. It almost seemed like Rupert was either tip-toeing around me, or giving me far too much credit. My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by another fit of coughing, and this one lasted long enough that it felt like I might actually pass out. In the end, I was able to breathe and so escaped the mercy of unconsciousness. The door was thrown open sometime later and I heard a voice that was vaguely familiar, Let me see her. In the interim time had been hard to judge, so there was no telling how long my body had been spent attempting to eject my lungs through my throat. The hand that had been patting my back stopped and was replaced by a sharp prodding sensation. Then, something cold and acrid smelling was pushed into my mouth. By the taste, some sort of medicinal compound. Ah, the doctor then. Said Doctor continued to poke and prod at me for a short while as my coughing fit slowly subsided. Once he was satisfied, he stepped back, Miss Sasha, Ive given her a syrup to soothe the throat and lungs. Since the bleeding seems to have abated please help her sit up. My maid did as instructed and then helped me turn so that I could face the room. As Id thought, it was indeed the royal familys doctor whod been poking me so painfully. Edith and Sarala were both still here as well, which made sense since theyd been the ones to get the doctor. Frieda and Elienor were gone, I hadnt seen when they slipped out but given- Oh god! Elienor saw all that! After everything shes been through, I accepted her as part of my family, and then she saw me like that! What the HELL was I thinking!? My horror showed itself to the onlookers in the form of a contorted grimace. Sasha stepped forward and began dabbing at the corners of my mouth with a cloth, there must still have been some blood in my mouth as it came away red. There wasnt any time for that though, Werg, Whwew Frowning, I shook my head and cleared my throat while doing my best to ignore the pained protestations that action elicited. Even with whatever the doctor had given me, it still hurt. How loudly was I screaming? And for how long? Mh-hmm. Where is, Elienor? Sasha shook her head in exasperation while Edith and Sarala shared a knowing glance, My Lady, I had Miss Frieda escort her out. Yea, that makes sense. Probably the smart move, since I imagine it looked like I was dying. Please haf, I frowned and winced as my voice caught again. I will have her informed that you are well and recovering, then bring her to see you in the morning. For now, the doctor has requested that you rest. I stared at Sasha blankly. Sure, I hadnt actually ordered her to bring Elienor back; my voice had caught again. The way she neatly finished my sentence made her thoughts on the matter rather clear. I dont think thats a good idea. That said, she had a point; I definitely did need to rest. As much as I wanted to see Elienor, that was it. I wanted to see her. She could be told that the worst had passed and I was now resting. Then she could stick her head in if she wanted to. Fine. Ill yield this time. Thank, you. Sasha nodded amicably, Of course. Catching my look, Edith leaned over and whispered something to Sarala, who then stood and departed with a curtsy. That would ensure that Elienor did not have to wait too long to hear that I was alright. The doctor then cleared his throat, seeing as wed fallen silent, Ahem. If I might be so bold, Lady Drakas, I have no idea what specifically occurred though I suspect it might be related to what happened to you in the early part of this year? In any case, whatever it is, I suggest you avoid doing so again until you have fully recovered. And even then, consider not doing so. Having said his piece, he shook his head ruefully, Though I doubt you will listen; at least have me informed ahead of time, please. I barely even know him, and hes already formed such a low opinion of me? I mean, hes right, but come on! Even if he hadnt requested it, I was definitely going to have him standing by just in case. Not wanting to talk, I only nodded before gingerly lowering myself back onto the bedding. In any case, I will prepare more of the syrup; Your ladys throat will be rather sore for a while based on how loudly she was screaming. If you need anything further, you know where to find me. Even though he had been speaking to Sasha, his voice carried such that I was able to hear it. Thats how he got here so quickly? Exactly how loud was I? The knowledge that Id been heard from outside my own suite was mortifying and caused my eyes to go wide. Once the doctor had departed, Edith finally broke her silence, I never want to see that again. Yea? You think I want to experience it again? Do you have any idea what it is like to watch someone close their eyes peacefully, then suddenly start convulsing while screaming loud enough that the doctor was halfway here already when we finally found him!? Her voice was beginning to take on the edge that meant she was well and truly pissed, and though that was understandable, all I could get from what shed said was that the doctor had been here for quite a while already. Really, that makes sense. He did get here pretty quickly after I started coughing. Oh no you dont! This is not something you should be smiling about! She was starting to shout now, Do you know how long the only thing you were doing was screaming!? Hours. Multiple. Hours. Her proclamation wiped the smile right off my face. Holy shit Im glad that got through to you. The best part of all of this though? I know. We all know youre planning to do it again. This was only a test run; thats what you told us. Even if the specifics dont make a lick of sense, we know enough to know that this was supposed to be the easy version. Even if I could talk, there wasnt anything I could say to that. I might be your friend, but Im not going to be here next time. I cant watch that again. Edith screwed her eyes shut and shook her head, And if you care about us at all, youll reconsider. She didnt wait for me to respond before turning and leaving my room. Sasha didnt even click her tongue or shake her head at the apparent disrespect, which said more than anything else that Ediths sentiment was shared. But as much as I agreed, as much as I didnt want to ever experience that again, it wasnt something I could just not do. I need my status back in working order If it was just that they didnt work, then I could have dealt with my skills and talents being broken. After all, leveling up still worked, I could still get stronger. It was the fact that attempting to use them was actively detrimental that sealed my fate on the matter. My Blood Magic can compensate for a lack of skills, but I need Mana, and the only way I know to get more mana is by leveling up. Or disconnecting, but thatd kill me again, and theres no way I could control that much mana without getting rid of my emotions. That being said, depending on what was causing this new auto repair thing to be halted, I might not actually have to do all that again, Sasha, Im going, to try, to, sleep. I will be here if you need anything. I closed my eyes, and pulled up my status again, then focused on the auto repair line. :Auto Repair Stalled: Error.AttributesError.List(Skills[Finesse Fighting, Mana Crystallization] & Talents[Prodigy III, Flexible II]) Remove Incompatible Attributes? Y/N I paused. If this worked the way it sounded like, then simply removing these listed skills would let the rest of my status repair itself. But why these ones? Flexible and Finesse Fighting were whatever; it didnt really hurt me to remove it. Other than the fact that removing it would really hurt. But the other two, Prodigy and Mana Crystallization, those ones were more directly beneficial. I mean, losing the effect of Eidetic Memory sucks and I got rid of that; Im just making excuses to not do it. But what I want to know is, why these ones? Whats different about them? There was, of course, no way for me to learn what the difference was. But that didnt mean I couldnt guess. Based on Aarons theory, which I agreed with, my problem was being caused by my body having attempted to incorporate my Skills and Talents into my biology. The error message was telling me that these attributes were incompatible now because of that. Mana Crystallization and Flexible make sense. Both of those changed how my body worked, so if my regular body now includes those effects I can see how there might be an issue. But Prodigy unless, unless its the attribute improvement? The reason I had first taken Prodigy back before knowing this wasnt a game, the reason had been to acquire the broken bonuses to my attribute scores. Is that what it is? No. The attributes are layered on top of my base abilities, they dont quantify them; Ive known that for a while. Whatever the case, I was going to say yes. Just not now; the doctor had a point about me needing to rest. To say nothing of the fact that Edith would be absolutely livid if I turned around and did it again right after she told me what she did. Then, the Implanted Seedling thing. Where in the hell did that 10% come from? I thought about the issue for some time and eventually arrived at the conclusion that it was from [Eidetic Memory]. Though thinking about it was painful, there had been a stream of information the instant I opted to remove the skill, and the pain whited out everything else. Part of that had seemed to imply that the talent hadnt been removed and instead repurposed. Retargeted? The point was it had not been removed. It stood to reason then, that the talent might have been dissolved back into energy or raw data, and that then fed into the seedling as though it were experience. Once I removed the remaining three roadblocks. From there, my status would hopefully be able to auto repair. Its the twelfth month now, so we have around five weeks left until the snow begins to melt. Now that I know I probably wont go into a coma, I can remove my remaining skills at any point between now and then though, I really dont want to If I ever see Sitri then, I think I might actually apologize for doing that to her With a very loose plan in mind, I decided it was high time to actually do what Sasha thought I was doing. Readjusting my position slightly, I fell into a fitful sleep. Psycholor Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-12 A Blade In The Dark Stahlia Seventeen Years Old, Third Month of 949 Looking at my status screen, I sighed. Life Summary Screen: Life Point Balance: 115 Name/Age: Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris, 16 Gender: Female Class/Level:Custom Class, 20 | C???u??s?????t???o???m?? ??C????l????a?s????s????,? ??4 Experience: 2180/38000 Species: Human (Halfblood[Revenant]) Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom) Starting Gift: Implanted Seed: Progress 66.89% Title: Goblin Slayer*[Swap Title] Ability Values: Fighting Style: Shadow Blade* [Swap Style] Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] [], [], Stealth V*, Charm Resistance III*, [], || Monster Handling III*, ?Dagger Fighting V*, ?Sword Fighting II*, Unarmed Fighting IV*, Alchemy Correction IV*, Teaching II*,?Mana Efficiency III*, Fire Magic III*, Water Magic II*, Ear?t?h M?agic I?I?*?,? Wi?n?d M?agic ?I?I*, I?ce? ?Mag?ic VI?*?, Wi?n?te?r? Magi?c ?I,? Skills 5/5: [Browse Skills] Divine Authority[Class Features], []. Blue Blooded*, Kinetic Perception*, [], || Language Proficiency[Central(human)]*,Fighting Style[Shadow Blade]*, Fighting Style[Drakan]*, Rule Breaker*, Revenant Physique*, Talents Experience: [+] Auto Repair In Progress: [85%] I had hoped that it would have finished repairing by now; a week after the first session, Id tried again with the intention of removing the remaining offending skills and talents. The second time had been far less painful than the first, so much so that it was actually kind of anti-climactic. Though following that, Edith refused to talk to me for a week unless I ordered it. She had come around in the interim, but at that moment I had thought I might have lost my friend and been really upset and irritable. The only assumption I could make in that regard was that it had something to do with how my Divine Authority was no longer corrupted. That didnt mean it didnt hurt like hell, but it was a lot closer to what I remembered from when I was in Sitris head. Once that had been taken care of, the auto-repair thing had kicked off. Though, the rate at which it was making progress was quite slow. Id really like to know if Adroni knew the auto repair wasnt going to work, or if they didnt realize there was a problem Theres no way Ill ever get an answer to that though. Otherwise, very little headway had been made. The deal with Aaron was working out, and we now received regular reports from the adventurers. But there was as of yet no information regarding how the undead had been created. Other than Aaron and Ferdinands shared opinion that the demons were responsible, but that much was obvious given that theyd been working with the Shadows. And so here I am. My hand closed tightly around the blade strapped to my waist; I was actually not wearing a dress for once. Instead, I was wearing clothes similar to what I had worn when working with Jacqueline - what felt like so many years ago. It was, after all, time to put my money where my mouth was; Rupert had determined that Duke Lawrence should be removed from the board. In keeping with our plan, it fell to either me or Ferdinand to carry that out. I had chosen to do it myself. The plan as it were, was for Duke Lawrence to be assassinated in his battlefield camp. Each of the dukes loyal to Rupert had been tasked with taking a specific city from Prince Antonios faction, and the troops had spent the better part of the last month maneuvering themselves into position following the delivery of Ruperts ultimatum of surrender to Prince Antonio. That Ultimatum that had gone unanswered. The Lawrence duchy was not going to be destroyed; the family name and holdings would be passed to Lady Lawrence and then inherited by one of her children. blame for the assassination would fall on Antonios shoulders and be used to rally the remaining holdouts among the late second princes faction. If everything went to plan. What scared me and caused hesitation was not the thought that it might not go to plan, but rather the knowledge that I thought this was a good plan. It would solve the issues I was having with the man; having lost the head, the family would not be able to afford to marry their daughter down to my own family. After all, despite my own status, we were only a barony. His death though, would unite the faction under Ruperts banner and remove a potential threat in the upcoming war. A harsh plan to be sure, but one that did make some degree of sense. Though if I could still cast Anti-Army magic we could simply end this now That was probably the biggest loss out of all my skills and talents. Without Eidetic memory, I had not been able to remember the translations of all the words to the magic chanting language. Now that I had removed the talent, that information was seemingly lost forever; it felt like Id removed a hard drive. All the relevant files were gone. Not even in the recycle bin, just gone. That being what it was, things werent a total loss. I did still know a few words, the more common ones like the names of the various magic elements, and had even figured out a couple more; that proved that I could still translate the language. But it would be a lot harder than the first time around. After considering what Id just thought for a moment, I shook my head. I was actually lamenting the fact that I wasnt able to kill hundreds of people to distract myself from the fact that I was about to kill one person. You can still back out. Ferdinands voice cut in and I turned to face him. No, I will do it myself; the fact remains that no matter how minuscule, my own issues with the man fed into Ruperts decision-making process. I am modestly responsible for the conclusion he reached. Ferdinand would be slipping into the city to plant evidence that could then be discovered when our forces took the city, while I dealt with the assassination itself. Like he pointed out, he was more than capable of doing everything himself, but that did not matter to me. In a sense, my insistence on doing it myself was psychological. Even after telling myself that I can do it if I have to, Im still hesitant. I need to put myself in a place where I have to commit, or Im worried that I would eventually get Rosial involved. Then, move when you are ready. For what it is worth, I do agree that you should draw the first blood yourself. Having said his piece, Ferdinand departed from the hilltop we were occupying. A few moments later, he seemingly melted away into the dim twilight. My own adventure wouldnt start for a few more hours. Not until the sun was fully set. Not that I doubted my own ability, but the fact of the matter was that I was low leveled. Though my stealth talent was rather high compared to what it should be for someone my level. But I had never actually snuck through a camp filled with people who would wonder what the hell I was doing, and possibly even kill me on sight. No, anyone who saw me here would actually have to die. There wouldnt be any easy ways out of it like with Lady Lester and her maid. It would be me who had to do it as well. Before they had a chance to tell anyone I had been seen. Once we fabricate the miracle in another few months, I wont be able to do this type of work so easily Ill need to get some more assassins before then My bad habit was kicking in again; I was overthinking things. Trying to psyche myself up, to talk myself through the logic and the reasoning behind what was going to happen tonight. And it is going to happen. Even if I dont do it, Ferdinand will. Theres no situation where this doesnt happen. Logically, I know its the right play. Morally, no way in hell. Thats why I need to do it myself, right? It was a question that would never have a satisfying answer, but one that I would probably torture myself with for the foreseeable future. Even knowing that was completely unproductive. God, I sound like a classic protagonist type. Thats good though, I think. Ive always told myself that killing should never become easy. The sun was dipping below the horizon now, meaning that it was finally time to go. I took one last look at the camp arrayed below me and then set off towards it. It was within sight of the city, but specifically not set up in such a way as to be a siege; the idea was to allow the citizens the chance to evacuate before hostilities commenced. What with the demon war coming next year, we could not afford to have our own citizens against us. Though we wont be able to help but have some resentment after conducting several sieges that will assuredly disturb those living in the cities and towns, we can minimize it. At least, thats what Rupert is hoping. Personally, I had my doubts about how effective the gesture would be, though I wouldnt go about sharing them as such. I didnt know the first thing about managing a population, having not received any training in regards to the subject. Besides that, despite what my status might lead someone to believe, charisma was my dump stat. I dont mind following his lead in matters of governance, especially now that hes finally explaining his reasoning to me fully. Once the demon war started, Id be able to stop pretending to be totally innocent and compassionate. Though if public perception of me swung too far in the other direction, towards violent and powerful, that would present its own issues. The fact of the matter was, Rupert had married me for my capabilities. Those capabilities were not in politics. Haaa The matter at hand then. Duke Cresden von Lawrence. Last time he was appraised was a little over a decade ago, at which time he was around level forty. His class is nothing special, just twenty levels in Librarian, ten levels in Researcher, and ten levels in Alchemist. Finding out that last one had actually made me laugh out loud. If he had been less antagonistic, we might have actually gotten along. Though, were that the case then killing him would be a lot harder. Though, its possible that Rupert would have picked a different method of uniting the nobles if that was the case. Hell, me being on good terms with their leader might have gone a long way to blunting a lot of the edge the remaining holdouts have. Fretting over what-ifs and alternate timelines wouldnt do me any good, so I returned to my mental review. It was possible that Duke Lawrence had received a combat class in the past decade, but we didnt have any intel on that. If he had, it would be some time of magic caster based on the classes he already had. Regardless, if things went to plan it wouldnt be an issue; he would die in his sleep. Getting past the perimeter was shockingly easy. Between the effects of [Shadow Blade Style] and my [Stealth V], the perimeter guards didnt even blink as I slipped through a gap in their watch. It almost felt like my armor was overkill. True invisibility was apparently nearly impossible to achieve with a magic tool, but simple illusions were doable. For example, my ring caused anyone who saw me to perceive a younger version instead. The assassin armor I now wore had a similar effect, where anyone who saw me would see a diffuse shadow in the vague shape of a human instead. Both effects would be broken by anyone who knew what they were really seeing, but if that happened here then I would have bigger concerns. Not that I was actually wearing the ring at the moment. Just through the entrance area of the camp, I froze still. The shadow of a tent being cast by a flickering fire on the opposite side concealed me in deeper darkness than the surrounding night. As for what had halted my advance through the camp, that would be the pair of knights doing a patrol. Neither of them saw me, but their appearance was curious. They arent Duke Lawrences knights. Those crests belong to the royal family; Theyre Ruperts knights. Each of the three loyalist armies had been given a small detachment of knights directly loyal to the royal family. The real question was what this pair was doing on patrol; it was my understanding that these were supposed to be arrayed as an advance force in the event that any Febligi knights tried something. That was the one advantage that Antonio had for which our side lacked any real answer. The Febligi Duchy was the most martially inclined of the four, and their knights stood above the ones loyal to the other three. They might even be more skilled than the royal knights, but they were the best answer we had all the same. Ill need to report that to Rupert and Henrake so they can determine if it means anything. It was highly likely that I was making a big deal out of nothing, but I wasnt about to take any chances given the stakes involved. Thankfully for my nerves, slipping through the rest of the camp proved completely uneventful; the combination of my now-fixed talent and fighting style combined with the armor Id been given was extremely potent, to say the least. Still, I imagine that someone like Jacqueline wouldnt have had any issues at all. Shed probably have been able to walk right up to the dukes tent in broad daylight. Pausing behind the tent, my eyes darted around to confirm that I was in fact alone and well concealed. Once assured of that, I removed a small scroll and began to read what was written on it in a low voice. This was a rather high-tier spell, one specialized in detecting barriers and alarms. None of my talents would allow me to skip the chant for it, and I hadnt been able to remember the totality without my [Eidetic Memory]. I was close, but still worried that my nerves would make me forget or skip a key phrase and botch it. The solution had been to simply write it down; it wasnt like Id be using it in combat or anything. And ##### me #######. [Pass ####### A #####] After almost a full five minutes of whispered recitation, there was a very faint glow that enveloped my body for an instant before fading. A few tense seconds passed in which I confirmed that nobody had seen it before I felt confident enough to proceed. Enveloped in the layer of magic as I was, it should be possible to enter the tent without triggering any of its alarms. Of course, the fact that this spell existed meant that there were countermeasures to it, so nothing could be that simple. But like all countermeasures, there were countermeasures to the countermeasures. For most people, they would now use a magic tool or another spell to slip past those enchantments. That was not what I did. Most countermeasures beyond this point relied on detecting the flow of a persons mana. They were incredibly precise, but there was a way they could be fooled that took advantage of that precision. Focusing inwards, I grabbed hold of my own mana and activated my divine eyes. This revealed the remaining countermeasure; a barrier that would trigger an alarm if it was cut. Drawing my dagger, I made a small incision in the back of the tent. The cut was rather meandering and awkward on account of having to weave around the barriers pattern, but that just meant it took a bit longer to make. Slipping inside the tent, I took a few steps forward and released my mana flow. Freed, it began to course around my body once more and I felt the sensation as though Id just emerged from being deep underwater to take a breath. Haa Well, only one thing left to do. I had emerged into the common room of the tent, which was divided into two segments; the common area which held a large table, as well as the sleeping area that was off to one side and opposite the front entrance. Id have liked to enter directly into the sleeping area, but the barriers positioning had precluded that option. That said, it was a quick walk from here to there. Passing into the room, my eyes beheld the rather impressively large bed with the lump that was Duke Lawrence sleeping in the middle. Between the table and now this, if it wasnt for the cloth walls then I would have thought we were in a nobles manor instead of a military camp. And Ill have to get to the middle of the bed somehow, without waking him up. Quickly confirming the room was still undisturbed, I began chanting. This spell was much shorter than the last one Id used, and one I had memorized the chant to, Oh Wind, #### me in your ###### #####, with your #### ##### my ##### #### ##### who ###### ###### ##### afar. [Silence] The spell was incredibly rudimentary, but could be confidently used here because it was commonly used by nobles for exactly that simplicity; the security barriers that detected spells should be set up to ignore this one. Or so we had thought. The spell did take effect but at the same time an alarm began to blare. If I had been more cold-hearted, more committed, I might have been able to prevent what happened next. With a jump, Duke Lawrence shot upright in bed. Following a furtive look around the room, he managed to spot me; like the novice I was, I had let the sudden alarm startle me. My stealth talent had momentarily lapsed. His eyes went wide briefly, then, to my surprise, he began to laugh, Ha. So, he actually sent you to do his dirty work, the damn coward. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-13 Murder at Midnight Duke Lawrence got up, or more accurately, he jumped out of the bed. After a quick look around the room, he saw me. There was a brief expression of bewildered confusion and he blinked several times before shaking his head, Ha. So, he actually sent you to do his dirty work, the damn coward. After saying his piece, he did nothing more. He made no move to defend himself. He did not attempt to call the guards outside his tent nor any of the knights. As the seconds dragged on, it became increasingly obvious that he had no intention of doing more. But why cant I move? There wasnt any pressure or anything. Duke Lawrences stare wasnt even particularly uncomfortable. Rather than feeling appraising or disparaging as it had before, it simply felt pitying. As soon as that emotion registered I felt my gut twist in anger. No. I chose to be here. There was little use in maintaining any pretense about my identity; he had clearly figured it out and it wasnt like he was going to live much longer in any case. Did you really? Well, it would appear that I have misjudged you. He did not sound particularly upset or surprised, but he was a duke. It was very likely that whatever emotion he may actually be feeling at this moment was well buried. I should just kill him and get out of here. This is definitely some kind of act to buy time or something along those lines. While I had said that, I could not bring myself to move. This whole situation was just weird and, combined with my slight misgivings and hesitations, paralyzing. Well? I assume you are here to kill me and foist the blame to those in the city. Or have I misjudged his highness as well? The way Duke Lawrences eyes narrowed at the mention of Ruperts title, something about it was curious. He wasnt angry, more resigned? Ill bite. How have you come to those conclusions, and what do you mean about misjudging me? This really was not a good idea. I was going to kill him. Now that Id come this far, there was no variation of this meeting where Duke Lawrence did not die tonight. Talking to him now would only cause the action to weigh heavier on me later. It was not without some degree of hesitation that I relaxed my stance. Hesitation that my would-be victim did not miss, I see. So you are not yet committed? Then, why did you come here tonight? Ah. This is just like with Lady Lester. Ive gone and let him start running verbal circles around me. This was simply confirmation that he had no way to beat me. If he tried to call for help, I would obviously be more than able to finish him off before they arrived. If he tried to fight me then he would lose. In absence of any other option, he had turned to words. And like an idiot, I fell right in. A mistake that was easily rectifiable. Almost preternaturally, I fell back into my ready stance. This mans death was something that would help with Ruperts goals and by extension my own. He was no fool though, and managed to pick up on the shift in my demeanor instantly. I see. Well, sadly, I am happily married, so I would not have you enter my bed. Half grinning at his own joke, Duke Lawrence made for the edge and then adjusted himself into a seated position with his hands folded peacefully. That was the first time anyone had made a joke like that at my expense and, considering the circumstance, it was something I was wholly unprepared for. E-excuse you!? Ah, that was inappropriate of me, you are an engaged woman after all. My apologies, Princess Ris. Right, of course, he figured out that me and Rupert already married. The way hed emphasized certain words left little doubt in my mind at least. At this point, it wasnt all that surprising. Pretty much everyone who had seen me without the illusion active had figured out that Rupert and I were already married. Not that going out of my way to confirm or deny his assumptions would do me any good in this instance. He continued in a manner that indicated he didnt actually care if I confirmed it or not. It would seem that my imminent death has loosed my lips a bit more than would normally be acceptable I would have liked to see my children grow up and start their own families His voice trailed off wistfully before picking up with a shrug, But, in the end, it is simply not in the cards. Do use my death well. For what it is worth, your family will be spared. In fact, they will be rather well compensated for your loss. He was still playing word games with me. I knew that. But bringing up his own family just wasnt fair. Given my own motivations, how could I not answer him after he brought up something like that? For the briefest of moments, his mask flickered and a small glint of genuine relief showed through, I see. It feels odd to profess my thanks to the person who is going to kill me, but you have my gratitude. He stood then, and moved towards a small cabinet. The thought that he might be making some desperate gamble for his life did not occur to me. Nor did the notion that I should simply stab him and be done with all this. For better or worse, and likely worse, he had managed to get me curious. Alright. Lord Lawrence, why are you willing to die? Everything about this just didnt make sense to me. Despite the risk in getting to know him, at this point I couldnt do anything else. I am not. His answer was immediate, straightforward, and completely at odds with his actions thus far. After a short pause, in which he removed a bottle of wine from the cabinet, he continued, I am sure, that any criminal sentenced to death is unwilling to die. I have simply accepted that I am going to. I have accepted that fact since His Highness assigned me to this post. The only question, then, was in whose hand would be the blade. I had not expected yours. That was why there was an alarm set to trigger on the [Silence] spell, then. It made sense now that he said outright that he had known, or at least suspected, that an assassin was coming. Nobles used the [Silence] spell far too frequently and so specifically excluded it from the alarms their quarters invariably had. Besides the fact that once it was cast the alarm would not easily be able to alert their guards or knights. Yes. I was curious; would Lord Ferdinand be the one? Or had a new crop of assassins been raised already? I wanted to know who His Highness would send if only to satisfy my own curiosity. But his wife? That was, truly, unexpected. I see were dropping the pretense then. Or maybe hes being more direct since I didnt react the last time he referenced my marriage. There was also the little matter of him basically saying he knew about the old Order of Shadows, but that could easily be attributed to his station as a duke. Not that either matter was something I had any inclination to respond to. Duke Lawrence uncorked the bottle and poured a single glass. Please do not take me for a rude host, but I doubt you would trust anything I offered. Besides, this is a rather sentimental bottle for me. After swirling the glass for a few moments, he took a sip, May I ask you a question this time? At this point, I had become fully invested and so indicated that he may, Go ahead. It is clear to me that I angered you with my proposal. Why? Thats what he wants to know? Why I was angry that he was trying to make my brother into a political pawn? Or is this a test? Trying to figure out where I stand on the matter of killing him. Why was I upset by that? Are you serious? Why would I not have been upset? My brother is not even six years old yet; he does not need a betrothal, especially one where he would be little more than a hostage or tool. One might expect that getting something like that off my chest would cause me to start shouting, but I was instead strangely calm. In fact, saying it out loud like that almost made me question why I had become so angry in the first place. Almost. My somewhat cold response did not seem to upset Duke Lawrence, who merely nodded, I see. Yes, I might have guessed at that given how you were not raised a noble but became one later. I gambled that you might have a more high-minded opinion seeing your relation to my predecessor but was clearly mistaken. In the end, it was but one last gambit that fell through. Hes baiting me by dragging out my familys past status, but I might as well bite. If this was a gambit, he might have other plans in store. That was my excuse at least but, in reality, it was mostly curiosity that drove me, What do you mean one last gambit? He took a sip of his wine and rolled it around his tongue before responding, Well, seeing as I am already going to die, I may as well tell you. Perhaps the knowledge will prove useful From the moment my liege, His Highness, Percival von Drakas was killed, I knew that my days were likely numbered. His Highness the third prince would not suffer a potential political threat like myself. That explains the marriage proposal, I think. If he tied his family to mine, then Rupert might have hesitated? As you might have guessed, the politics of this country are a sort of game played amongst the royal children. It simply happens that my own bet lost. Then why move to Ru, Prince Ruperts side? You could have sided with Prince Antonio and Duke Febligi. He grimaced and shook his head, No, His Highness the first prince is not an option and I suspect even Lord Febligi knows this. That mans duty to his liege has eclipsed his duty to his kingdom. His high Oh to hell with it. Ruperts nature is that of a snake, nearly a demon himself. He will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. A drawn-out civil war is the last thing this country needs. Not now. Silence reigned. There had been a lot of bitterness wrapped up in that, but also conviction. Duke Lawrence really did believe that what he was saying was the truth. But he doesnt know everything. Rupert is, were doing all of this because its what we need to do. Because we have more information than you, weve arrived at a different conclusion Lord Lawrence, there is one thing youve mistaken still. He had finished his wine while the silence still filled the room, and moved to sit at the edge of the bed. Now, he turned to look me in the eye, And what is that? You mean to plant a seed of doubt, to try and bring me to question my own allegiance. You are mistaken in the assumption that I am not already aware of Ruperts nature, and my own. Make no mistake; I chose to be the one to come tonight. I was not ordered. Then, this as well is my loss. May the gods protect my kingdom. There wasnt really anything I could say in response to that. He had seemingly come to his own conclusions and no matter what might be said by me, those were not likely to change. It would not matter either, since I was supposed to kill him. My hand palmed the knife. It lacked the coating of Grave Oil the previous assassins of the kingdoms had used. Ferdinand had offered to provide me some, but if I really had wanted it then I was more than capable of making it for myself. That stuff was After what had happened to Jacqueline, the thought of using it again made my stomach churn. A knife could kill well enough on its own, without such a terrible poison. Not that the advantages of such a potent toxin could be denied. It was nothing if not effective. There isnt much point in me waiting any longer I need to get this over with, before I really begin to question myself I dont regret hearing him out, but I cant let his words get to me. I cant afford that. I drew the dagger and took a step towards where he was sitting, Well, for whatever it is worth; I am sorry. If things had gone a bit differently then we might have been allies. Gods, I sound so cliche, but I do mean it. We might have gotten off on the wrong foot, but assuming I can take his words at face value That was a really big if though. Still, it bore mentioning how similar he was to both Rupert and myself. At the end of the day, both he and Rupert only wanted what each thought was best for the kingdom. The only difference was the information they had, and the methods. Then upon his loss, Duke Lawrences first thought had been how he had lead his family to destruction. There had been genuine relief when Id informed him that his family was going to be spared. That much had not been an act. Like me, he genuinely cared for them. The only difference was the degree to which that was the case. He was right too; if I had been raised a noble, then my opinions might have been different. I had taken several steps towards him while thinking, but as of yet he had not moved nor had he responded, Duke Lawrence, do you have any last words? Such a courtesy was the least I could afford him now. But there was no response. Duke Lawrence? His head rolled to the side, and his body slumped forward. With a start, I realized he was not breathing. A quick look around the room quickly revealed the most likely culprit; the bottle of wine from earlier sitting on the small end table. He poisoned himself? Why? To save me the trouble? Fat chance. A moment later, it hit me, Ah Rupert had killed the Second Prince using poisoned wine. If I had to guess, this bottle was probably the same label. During the whole conversation as well, Duke Lawrence had not bothered to hide the fact that he knew Rupert was responsible. Sure, he hadnt gone out of his way to directly say it, but the way he had been talking it was pretty clear that he knew. Then, why not go public with the information..? He could have ruined us. I shut my eyes and shook my head. That wasnt important now. I would bring it up with Rupert and Ferdinand later. For now, my mission was still incomplete. His being dead was all well and good, but it couldnt be from poison. Getting to work, a quick stab from my dagger pierced through his chest and punctured his heart. Even if he was already dead, the sensation of rending flesh was still present. Not that it was foreign to me, but this was the first time I had felt it from someone who was both a human and not actively trying to harm me. Something about that somehow made it feel different. But once again, I was distracting myself; there were more important things to deal with. Anyone with any rudimentary knowledge would be able to tell the wound was post-mortem, but there were ways of obfuscating that. Enhancing myself, I moved him quickly back into a sleeping position near the side of the bed. It would look a bit awkward, but moving him back to the middle would take too much time. Already I had been here far longer than was wise. Stepping back, I took a moment to verify my various stealth effects, then stretched out my hands, [Immolate] The spell I talent cast was one afforded to me by my now repaired level three fire magic talent. It was also the first spell in that talent that was actually useful. Gouts of white-hot flame jumped from my hands in a sort of flame thrower, catching and igniting whatever they hit. Not that they hit much; the range of this spell was absolutely horrible, and it burned through mana like nothing else. But it was enough. The body, the tent, and the wine would not survive intact and any evidence of poisoning would be hidden. Of course some blood tests might reveal the truth, but I, through Ferdinand would be the one in charge of the investigation. It would now be trivial to hide the truth. Silence did not block light, so the fact that something had gone wrong was now abundantly obvious to the patrolling knights and soldiers. Before any of them had a chance to barge in, I stole away. The city would get one more day while our side sorted out this mess. Then it would fall. Psycholor Yea so it wasn''t exactly murder, but I like the song and it was close enough to reference. /watch?v=cW-S1wmJT6Q A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-14 Eve of Battle My belief that it would take only a day for the investigation to be completed had been in error, and the forces assigned to Duke Lawrence wound up stalling for almost a week. Of course, there wasnt much risk of the truth coming out in this interim; I controlled the narrative after all. Or at least people working for me did. That said, it was causing a bit of a hold-up with the advance. Duke Claurence, Duke Lester, and Commander Henrakes armies had each taken their assigned areas and were converging on Duke Febligis own. That had been mildly surprising to me, as I had expected city sieges to take a lot more time. Yes, but Duke Febligi is no fool; it appears that knowing the difference in the scale of our forces, each location had only a token defense force. Even then, each surrendered far more quickly than they could have held out for. We expect there will be much more resistance at the rebels capital, where the bulk of their troops should be gathered. Commander Henrake was presently answering my questions about the ongoing situation, though his answers were largely derived from reports Id already seen. Not that he knew that of course. That said, this was actually rather useful; even with access to all of the reports and numbers, I did not understand much of the strategic decisions. Being able to ask the armys command staff directly was one of the perks of my position. As for what I was doing here in the first place, Rupert had made arrangements for me to visit the front as part of Operation Sacrilegious. That was what we had termed our ploy to fake a miracle. Though, given my own questionable and tenuous relationship with the gods, Gustav had pointed out that it might not be much of a fake. Regardless, I didnt care much for the semantics. Though, if we were permitted to use your own abilities, things would go much easier. A grimace flashed briefly across my face and I shook my head, I am sorry, Commander, but I will not. That had not been the first time he had hinted that I should directly take part in the siege, nor was it likely to be the last. It had been the most direct though. My lady, with all due respect, if you would I said I will not. If I got involved, then the kingdoms people living in the city No. I will not cast that spell or any like it. Please, stop asking me. He bowed his head, My apologies, I simply worry about how many of the kingdoms loyal knights will die in the initial assault and while fighting in the streets. We might outnumber them, but the rebels own knights are Febligi. They have us beat in quality by a wide margin. Yea, I know. And if it was within my ability still, I might actually consider casting Anti-Army magic; I could probably have tweaked the spell to selectively target only the enemy soldiers and knights, or restricted its range to only the Febligi estate. But it isnt within my ability anymore, and even if it was, doing it would completely shatter my public image as a merciful if slightly na?ve girl. Everyone knew generally how powerful I was, the people in charge to a greater degree. I had gone toe to toe with Count Francois, and rumors of how Id dealt with the goblins had spread. It made sense that Henrake would seek to use me as an asset to mitigate our sides casualties in the upcoming battle. But something that both Rupert and Ferdinand had stressed to me was that I could not take part in any big way. Using my power against an external enemy was one thing. But using it against rebels would send completely the wrong message to our own loyal nobles; Fall in line, or be eradicated. It would be better if they continued to view me as overall compassionate. Rupert could carry a big stick while I walked softly. The analogy didnt quite work, but it was close enough. Likewise, things were not as dire as Henrake was making out. Though it was true that the Febligis knights and soldiers were more capable than our own, it was down to personal combat experience. Within the confines of the System, the opposing force and our own were rather similar on an overall level. To that end, we had other areas of expertise to leverage. Duke Claurences army tended to be more resilient, with an above-average number of healers, and would head the assault on the walls. Duke Lesters army had a rather large number of Earth Mages and was already constructing tunnels that inched towards the enemys sewer system. The late Duke Lawrences army was not particularly specialized but would make for an excellent reinforcement once one of the others created a breach. I shook my head, Then, should we not simply have the late Duke Lawrences forces advance and force that surrender? The ongoing investigation seems a waste of time; who else would benefit from the assassination of one of our generals, if not Prince Antonio? Even I, with my lack of strategic knowledge, could tell that having another duchys worth of troops would be beneficial to help offset the imbalance. But Duke Lawrences forces had been permitted to sit idle while investigating my handiwork. Nominally, Henrake outranked the dukes when it came to matters of strategy; it was within his authoritys purview to force the late dukes forces to move. My lady, with all due respect, the political fallout of that course of action would be He trailed off and turned away from me to bow to Rupert who had just arrived. A moment later, I performed my own greeting, using language that indicated it had been some time since we last saw each other. Another farce, as I had seen him less than three days prior while making my initial report on the outcome of the assassination. No, Henrake. Rupert waved off the greetings midway through, Order the army to take the city. If they have not found any traces of the culprit after a week, then they are unlikely to. There is no point in spending any more time on this I will deal with the nobles myself if they protest. Stahlia, my apologies for the delay, I trust that everything has gone well? Sensing that he had been dismissed Henrake bowed quickly before departing, leaving me with the newly arrived Rupert. Gustav had remained behind to tend to his duties as an instructor marking this as one of the rather rare instances of me and Rupert being alone with each other. That is quite all right, and things have been going rather well all things considered. How have things been with that? He was being deliberately vague as a measure against anyone listening in; casting Silence in this situation was not an option. Context though, made it easy to figure out what he was getting at. There are no immediate problems. Best to keep my own answer vague. Just let him know that there is a potential future problem. That problem being the damn wine bottle. I had somewhat brashly assumed it would be destroyed by the fire. While the label had burned off, the bottle itself had survived. In and of itself not an issue, but for one rather dedicated investigator who had noted that Duke Lawrence did not drink wine. Something I had completely overlooked at the moment. That said, the situation was quite easily containable, and Ferdinand agreed that it was unlikely to present an immediate issue. Ruperts eyes narrowed for a moment, signaling that he had picked up on my subtext, I see. What about the other matter? Henrake has agreed to my request, I will make my prayer in three days. Excellent Are you nervous* at all? Considering the number of people. Eh? Is that some actual concern there? Dont worry, I wouldnt have suggested doing something like this if I couldnt handle it. Our latest plan required me to put on a bit of a show before a large number of witnesses, and we had chosen to use the eve of battle for the stage. Fortunately, I had gotten fairly good at controlling my nerves; it would not be comfortable, but neither would it be debilitating. The only question remaining for both of us was if we would get away with it. Fooling the onlookers should be fairly easy, fooling the church presented more of a problem. That was why I had no intention of trying. Did the church agree? Rupert shook his head, No. I presented your plan to our mutual acquaintance. He did agree to abstain, but they will not be complicit. I nodded, Thank you. I know more than anyone how big of a risk this will be. Probably, the biggest risk we have taken so far. It made sense that the Cardinal did not want to go along with what he had been asked; to make a false oracle. That being said, the fact that he had agreed to abstain would be more than enough. It meant that, even if the church would not acknowledge me, they also would not go out of their way to declare me a heretic or some other rash course of action. Even though what Im doing is basically the definition of heretical. In short, our plan was for me to cast a miracle and then say the gods did it. Leveraging my public reputation as an alleged bleeding heart, I was going to condemn the rebels within the city for the terrorist attack in the capital. Following that, I would say a few things about how much it hurt, especially after my previous appeal to Rupert for them to be shown leniency. Then, while shedding false tears, I would pray to the gods for strength. Strength to do what needed to be done and secure the future of the kingdom. There would be a light show, and I would disable my illusion in front of everyone. The ideal outcome came in several parts. Firstly and also guaranteed, would be that I no longer needed to worry about the illusion being seen through. Secondly, and also guaranteed, this would avoid Rupert and myself needing to jump through hoops when the demon war started; I would be old enough to act the part of Queen. Lastly, though this one was only my personal hope, the defenders would perceive that the gods themselves were on our side. If they could be persuaded to surrender now then, even at this late hour, we could avoid losing more manpower than was necessary. It was admittedly a big if though since Sitri had who knows how long to poison their minds. Not to mention the fact that there might be even more demons. Then, there should not be any problems. All of the pieces are in place. The church staying out of things solves that issue; the gods probably wont get involved with me just yet. My actions here are in their favor, and against the demons. Plus, my rulebreaker skill protects me from any direct influences. The most they would be able to do was sic their pawns after me. Unlike the demons Hell Kings, the gods could not so easily influence the mortal world. According to Aaron, he was the extreme exception; one of the rules dictated that the gods could not simply use their authorities to interfere in events. Though that didnt mean they wouldnt try and cheat if they thought they could get away with it. I had already seen some of that behavior from them when Mortis tried to make me kill myself going against Sitri the first time. Sitri youre here as well, as far as Im aware At least you were back when Ferris defected. Stahlia? I shook my head, My apologies; I was beginning to let my thoughts run away again. Rupert frowned, Based on your expression, I think I could guess what direction they were heading. We have intelligence placing Count Francois across the border; he is not anywhere near here. No, not quite. I was thinking about his accomplice. We dont know nearly enough. I could have the spies look into it if it would set your mind at ease? ! You! He was grinning at me now, in a way that indicated that he was genuinely pleased with himself for that. Fine, Ill admit it, that was sort of clever. Ill take you up on that offer I think. Thank you, that would be most appreciated. Then, I need to meet properly with Lord Henrake, will you be well on your own? Yes, I should be. Thank you for your concern, but the camp is not dissimilar to the atmosphere of Ris. At least, it is closer to there than to the palace. Following my assurance, Rupert bowed lightly and departed the pavilion. Frieda took the opportunity to speak up, Seeing you now, my lady, I cannot help but think how horrible a match Dominic was for you. I shot her a slightly annoyed look then shrugged, [Silence]. It is not a question of how well we match, Rupert and I have a similar goal, that is all. Although I have to admit that getting along with him has been a lot easier recently. That was far from developing any sort of romantic attachment; the way he had approached me and shown apparent concern just now was an act. Designed to sell the idea to those around us that we liked each other beyond being colleagues and accomplices. Any benefit to my own psyche was merely tangential to that. The fact that Frieda had been fooled was simply proof of how good an actor he was; Sasha certainly would have seen straight through it had she been here. Speaking of Sasha, my quarters are probably set up by now. I should get something to eat and wait for Ferdinands report. Three days later saw me standing with Rupert, several royal knights, and a contingent of army mages. We were on a raised dais a safe distance away from and overlooking the city of Febli. Geographically, the city was built in such a way so as to only be really assaultable from one side, though this also meant that they lacked an escape route. The walls gleamed silver in the morning light indicating that, like the capital, they were reinforced and coated in Mythril as a defense against magic. Between us and the citys outer defenses were our own knights and soldiers, each of them split according to which faction they came from with lines of the royal forces between them. Though the numbers varied somewhat each of the loyal dukes had provided around a thousand men, plus those of the lower ranking nobles of their respective factions. All told, our own sides forces numbered somewhere in the realm of seven thousand five hundred, or nine thousand when the Royal Knights were counted. Over ten if we included beasts and monsters. The numbers continued to run through my head in a stream as a way to help me stay calm; there were a lot of eyes on me right now after all. Breathe. It wont matter if my voice catches a bit since Ive already established myself as a bit nervous around crowds. The important thing is to not lose control of my mana. I was standing in a very specific spot; as it turned out, faking the divine light of a miracle was rather hard. Considering that children got blessed semi-frequently at their dedications, people knew what that light looked like. This meant that we had to be exact in how we feigned it lest anyone catch on. There were a few things planned to help cover any slight mistakes, but at the end of the day, it was on me to control the trigger. After all, I am the only person we have who can use Divine Element, so no pressure or anything. I felt something hovering over my shoulder, Breathe. Ah, its his hand. Rupert was standing nearby to my left and was hovering his hand just over my shoulder; a wise decision, since if he had actually touched me I probably would have jumped from fright, or frozen again. Its nearly time to start; I would ask if you are ready, but we do not have a choice this time. Just remember, this was your idea. Though he sounded more than a bit harsh, he was right. It had been my idea to do things this way. Right, Ill be fine Just a bit difficult to shape the mana, is all. It was obviously an excuse but he didnt call me out, and I stepped forward to begin speaking. This was only possible because of where we had set up. The instant I had added the Divine Element to my mana, I was channeling it into a hidden magic tool built into the dais. It was a sort of battery designed to store mana and preserve its aspect outside of the body. Gustav had built it and Rupert had brought it with him. It would discharge the mana into a light show when it was time for the Ok, enough. I need to get a grip and stop letting my head get all wrapped up in tangents like that. I know what the plan is, and continuing to go over it in my head isnt going to help me at all. One of the armys mages gave me a questioning look. I nodded at him, and he began to chant out a spell together with several of his fellows, O Wind, carry ### ###### on your ####, ###### ###### our words to ##### in distant #####, #### us the #### of ##### who ##### #####. [Sound Throw] As soon as he finished, I felt the wind shift subtly. This spell was the exact opposite of the oft-used [Silence]. Instead of muting and containing sound, it made sounds travel through the air far easier. My voice would carry out to the entire allied army and through the city beyond. Everyone who was not magically shielding themselves would be able to hear my words as though I was only a few feet from them. I took a deep breath, switched my title to [Princess Of The Silver Dragon], and began to speak. Psycholor * -This is the story''s 500,000 word! A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-15 Miracle and Assault I took a deep breath, switched my title to [Princess Of The Silver Dragon], and began to speak, Please hear me. There had not been much noise among our troops; they were all trained soldiers preparing for a major offensive. I could not see them, but in my imagination, the interior of the city was equally as silent. In their case from the tension and fear of the impending attack. Either way, my words were carried to many various ears through the spell. At the sound of my voice, a visible ripple ran through our assembled forces; this speech had not been publicized, and for many of them my identity was unknown. There were certainly rumors circulating the camp, but other than the fact that I was a noble, nothing official had been said. It was a certainty that my voice was causing a similar stir within the walls of the city. Not that its the speech thats particularly surprising for the residents of the city. Just that my voice sounds young and feminine. With magic that could so easily carry ones voice, it was little surprise that speeches often prelude the opening of major military engagements. The morale boost for allied troops and the damage dealt to the enemys by a good speech could not be understated. But having a nominal child do it was rather unheard of, though for reasons I could not fathom. Getting a kid to plead your case was typically rather effective. Thats far from the only oddity Ive ever come across though, nor will it be the strangest thing about this particular speech. I need to get on with it. My name is Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas, the fiance of His Highness Rupert von Drakas, and your future Queen. A brief pause to let the news of my identity sink in, then I continued, I have come before you now to ask once more; please, surrender. Antonio has been denounced by his father, his name struck from the registry. He is no longer your prince, you owe him no allegiance. Even with the effects of my equipped title, it was likely that my words would be ineffective. Despite the description stating that it laced my words with a compelling force, it seemed that it lost effectiveness the further removed I was from the listener. When testing it out, we had learned that it did not actually compel a subject. Instead, it seemed to give them a strong inclination towards doing what I told them. But even that would be weakened by a few factors, such as not being able to see me. Rather than lacing my words, it was more like I personally projected an aura. At this distance, we would be lucky if the common people in the city were even slightly affected, to say nothing of the veteran soldiers and knights. I have pled your case with his highness, and an offer of amnesty was extended to the rebel forces now occupying your city An offer that was rejected. Now I speak directly to the soldiers and the knights; please, do not forget your oaths. Not to those lords who have betrayed our kingdom, but to the kingdom we all love, lay down your arms and surrender Even now, if you do not impede us in carrying out justice to the traitors, you will be spared. To the innocents who have merely been caught between two forces Please, stay in your homes. I tried to put as much emotion and pleading into my voice as possible, But if any of you, be you commoner, soldier, or knight If you resist If you would threaten the peace of our kingdom I At this point, most of the soldiers and knights had turned to face away from the city and were watching me. It was a bit unbecoming of them to ignore their duties. Due to their proximity to me, my title was having a greater effect on them. It was a gross feeling, knowing that my words were influencing their perceptions like that, but one that I could see the necessity of. I clasped my hands, Then, even if it pains me, I cannot defend your actions. I turned my eyes towards the sky, I pray now, to all the gods, that they grant you mercy in the next life. That they Quietly releasing my hold on the mana pool building up below me, That they find it in their hearts to grant us forgiveness for what we must do, and the strength to do it. With the tool beginning to activate, piercing rays of divine light began to project around me. It started slowly at first, before building in intensity until I was being bathed in a glow from the heavens not unlike what had occurred during my dedication. The sight of it caused a wave of expressed wonder to run through the troops, and I let my voice break. Gustav really outdid himself with this. Honestly, if I had the time, Id like to learn how the hell he actually managed to assemble something like this. There was still my performance to conclude though, as my voice was still being broadcast, Rupert! Whats happening!? Stahlia! He reached out his hand towards me, only for it to be repelled by a barrier of light. It wasnt a particularly strong barrier, and even without enhancements, it was something that Id be able to break right through. It merely existed as a means to help sell the lie we were telling. I I dont feel right! Despite cringing a bit at my own line, it seemed to be effective; a few of the closest soldiers seemed to be in a state of unrest, and a few of them had even begun to try and make their way to our dais. The light built up in intensity then, and I could no longer see anyone. Right, and now I just cut the mana flow to my ring. That done, it was only a few seconds until the light faded revealing my real appearance to all of those assembled. Before that moment, Id thought that the notion of silence instantly descending over a crowd was a myth. Some fanciful way of describing an audience reaction to sell the idea that an event was unexpected. But that was exactly what happened. As soon as the light of the fake miracle faded away, the crowd fell silent and grew still. I made a show of looking over my body. First what could be seen easily; my arms, hands, chest. Then I touched my face and felt my hair before turning slightly to face Rupert and putting on a visibly concerned expression, I- As planned, he cut me off, You have seen it with your own eyes; not just my father, but the gods themselves are on our side! Confused mumblings turned into a frantic hum of anticipation, while in the city I could only imagine that people were beginning to panic, My fiance asked for the strength to do what must be done, and the gods have heard her prayer; see how they have given her that strength? See how they have blessed her! He continued speaking for a few more moments until the mages terminated the spell; they were out of mana. I did not hear his words though, as I was distracted by two notifications. The first ones I had seen in some time, and one of them was rather concerning. Experience threshold reached, obtained Talent: [Acting I] Received Title: [Divine Usurper] [Acting I] did basically what it said on the tin; provide a positive correction to my ability to act. As for why I had been given this, and not [Deception I] or one of the other lying related Talents that I knew existed I could not say. It probably had something to do with how this lie had been more performative in nature. My new title on the other hand [Divine Usurper]: Awarded to those who would usurp the gods. Passive Effect: Provides a negative charisma bonus towards the faithful. Effect: Provides a slight correction towards manipulating Divine Element Mana. Like my revenant title, this one also had a passive effect and one that could prove quite problematic. Im really going to need to see how bad that is Experience threshold reached, obtained Talent: [Acting II] Yea, that makes sense, I have an especially large audience It would seem that the system was eager to assert its presence now that it was in working order again. But, back to the topic at hand. The active effect and acquisition criteria for [Divine Usurper], not to mention the name, painted a very specific picture. It would seem that the system had a very different opinion of my actions than I did. Going into this, I had accepted that my actions would be seen as heretical if they ever came to light, and acknowledged the risk that the gods might get a bit peevish regardless. But I had no intention of actually trying to usurp them. It was just supposed to be a tiny, well admittedly rather large lie. I do not intend to be making fake miracles a habit. The only thing I could think of that might have led to meeting that unlock condition, was the fact that I had used Divine Element in the process of faking the miracle. In a sense, the implementation of that sort of made my fake miracle a very real one. When put in that way, the general frivolity with which I used Divine Power made me wonder why Id never obtained this title before now. Its got to be a thing with the number of peo- Experience threshold reached, obtained Talent: [Acting III] Mute notifications. Rupert finished his own bit just then, his final words being the order for our forces to commence the attack. The first army under the command of Duke Claurence turned and began to do just that. The second, under the command of Duke Lester departed for their tunnel entrances; they would soon begin attempting to breach the city through the sewer system. The third and final army, under command of Duke Lawrences Knight-Captain, maneuvered to cover the other two. The moment either called for reinforcements, they would move to join them. Stahlia, you look like you are genuinely troubled, not acting. Ruperts sudden question startled me. ! What the hell is he- Oh, right. The mages have already cut off the spell I shook my head, I am, somewhat, but we cannot talk here. Rupert would need to undergo a full appraisal to ascertain whether or not he had acquired any problematic titles of his own. I would have liked to do it myself to preserve the secrecy, but at the moment my own appraisal still destroyed whatever I tried to use it on. Obviously, that was a no-go for Rupert. Likewise, the visual appraisal seemed to only work on Felicity and Ferris, despite Rupert and various others being soul-linked to me through contract, my divine eyes didnt show me anything. The latter had signed a modified slave contract, but Felicity was no longer directly linked to me. Something about her was different, and none of the three involved parties had any ideas. Though Claire thinks it has something to do with her sharing Felicitys body, I dont see how that could possibly be related Understood, then we will speak privately as soon as possible. For now, we should observe the assault Do you still plan on moving in yourself? He had said the last part without moving his lips again, for obvious reasons; the army mages were still present, their depleted mana rendering them unable to join in the assault. I do. Or do you think anyone among our forces would be able to handle Sitri? As soon as shes sighted, I plan to sortie and personally clean up after myself. Commander Henrake, and possibly Duke Claurence, but you are correct. Even without her skills, I cannot picture the average knight being able to overcome her status. Maybe with wave tactics, but the casualties would be extreme I agree with the need for you to go as an independent force, but I want your word that you will be careful and take no risks. You have a habit of overextending yourself. His words struck me as a bit odd, but I quickly shook that feeling off, Of course. I know firsthand how much of a bitch she can be. I may have a score to settle, but I will not let her get the best of me again. Producing a mana potion from a hidden pocket, I sipped it and turned my attention back to the city and the ongoing assault. As we had been speaking, the first contingent of knights and soldiers from Duke Claurences army were nearing their target. The force was advancing slowly over the distance, with their mages and magic-capable knights intercepting spells launched by the defenders while shield bearers attempted to cover arrows. Of course, their pace was only slow according to the standards of this world. Area of effect enhancement spells meant that even the basic soldiers were moving at a speed approaching that of mechanized infantry. The knights, several of whom could buff themselves through one method or another, were even faster. Commander Henrake had said they would be taking a slow approach to focus on defense and minimizing losses, but this looked to me like they were charging full speed ahead. The supposed caution did not mean there were no casualties though. Even as I watched, an arrow slipped past one of the shield knights, skipped off a magic barrier, and buried itself in the neck of one of the picket soldiers whose own protections had failed. A fireball came down and shattered the anti-spell barriers of a platoon before exploding amongst them. The barrier had absorbed much of the strength, so the men would live but they were out of the fight for now and in great pain all the same. Our own forces had limited options to retaliate; the Mythril coating on the walls meant any magic our side launched would be rather ineffective. Instead, they simply advanced while firing off arrows and bolts when the opportunity arose. Once they got up to the wall, the plan was for them to begin making attempts to scale it with ladders while a break-off unit assaulted the gates. Focusing barriers around the troops doing those particular actions meant they would be comparatively less lethal than one might expect. If it were me Id probably try to scale the wall freehand, or simply jump over it. Fifteen meters should be doable with my enhancements. Id have to avoid physically touching the walls though, or my enhancements would dispel. That would make climbing difficult so jumping would be the better option. I really had to hand it to the Armys Barrier Mages. The way they deployed their spells around the walls to protect the ladder crews was a work of art. But even without the barriers directly touching, simply being close to so much Mythril would slowly drain them. As I watched, one of the barriers failed and the enemy was able to send a lightning spell down the men climbing the ladder. It arced from soldier to soldier, conducting off their metal armor before grounding itself. The wall itself proved a double edge sword shield? It hurt the enemy as well; the lightning spell seemed to have been a bit reduced, and only the first man hit was clearly dead based on the way he fell. The next two down, I couldnt tell for sure, but the impact with the ground was possibly lethal. The rest of the men began to pick themselves up or crawled out of the way depending on the severity of their injuries. All in an effort to reach the limited number of Healers. It was a grim sight, and I could see it repeating itself across the battleground. Healing magic as well, that really adds a whole new dynamic to war. Injuries that would probably be fatal can just be ignored or recovered It makes things a lot more brutal. As if to punctuate my point, I watched as one of our knights fell, pierced through by several arrows. Only for his body to become a pincushion on the ground as the enemy sought to ensure he stayed down. That was one of the biggest advantages the wall granted them; our side could not finish off a downed opponent before a healer got to them. And even with the scale of what Im watching now, this is a fairly small engagement. The Demon War is going to be a lot worse Your Highness, Sir! Duke Lester informs you, the tunnel team has penetrated the perimeter! A messenger had run up to make a report to Rupert. Rupert nodded to the messenger, Excellent news. Please relay my congratulations to Lord Lawrence. The messenger saluted and began to run back the way he had come. I followed him with my eyes and saw the openings of several tunnels. Certainly, the fighting would be intense underground now that we had a clear path through the walls. Subterranean fighting had been hell back on Earth, I could only imagine what it was like here, what with how much more brutal regular conflict was. This gives meaning to the phrase Target the healer huh? Sir! Another messenger had arrived, this one looking rather panicked. His crest puts him with Duke Lester he would have had to have been dispatched within minutes of the first This doesnt bode well. Rupert picked up on this as well and ignored the mans breach of etiquette, Report. Sir! Weve, weve encountered undead, in the sewers; they look just like descriptions of the ones that attacked the capital The messenger trailed off and I felt my heart lurch. Rupert turned to face the fortress visible near the center of the city and spoke, to no one in particular, Antonio Why couldnt you just surrender He sounded for all the world like a man shaken by what his subordinate was telling him. Rupert, those demons were created and controlled by a Demon of Lust. He nodded, Yes, but not Sitri; unless her skills have been unsealed. Even if she didnt create them, she might still be controlling them with some form of Blood Magic. Im going now; we cant wait for the armies to find her. He nodded, Be cautious. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-16 City Infiltration After receiving permission from Rupert to move, I fell back to the camp. It was not that far, but ever-present was the notion and knowledge that people were constantly dying behind me. When I arrived at my pavilion, Sasha immediately set about removing parts of my costume. I had planned to simply go as I was; the dress I had given the speech in was designed such that it could be fought in, and in a worst-case scenario, the skirt could have been simply cut off and discarded. A pair of pants underneath, made of the same material as my assassin uniform, would then preserve my modesty. But that was in the event that Sitri was found. Now that I was going to hunt for her, it would behoove me to bring my full kit. Not for dealing with Sitri; I had everything needed for that already on my person. But rather for moving through the battlefield and responding to unexpected circumstances. And if shes not the only demon there, Ill have to fall back and find Henrake, Duke Claurence, or call Ferdinand to help me. The fact of the matter was, Sitri should not have the ability to create and control Husk. With her skills and talents sealed, she should only have her Blood Magic and attributes. Though we didnt know exactly how they were created, it could be reasonably assumed to be something that was beyond her current ability. In a sense, my outing was more for scouting than anything else. But Im going to do it myself. Nobody else would be able to do it safely. Sasha had finished changing out my outfit by this point, and I took a moment to look in the mirror. The crimson dress I had been wearing had been replaced with a much shorter skirt that terminated at my knees. Not just possible to fight in; this one was outright designed for combat and made of a much stiffer fabric than was normal for a ladys clothing. The black leggings underneath it had not changed; they were made of the same material as my assassin outfit, though forwent the stealth-related effects for durability and a mobility boost. My top was largely unchanged; the flared wrists had been removed, and something like a bodice had been added over it. It was a darker red than the dress itself, and I knew it was lined with a very small amount of Orichalcum. The opposite effect of Mythril, Orichalcum would enhance any magic I cast. Or was hit by. For that reason it was seldom used for combat armor, being relegated to a material component of high-end magic tools or ceremonial sets like the kingdoms Golden Knights. My hair had been swiftly braided and then fixed behind my head. It might make more sense to have cut it, but I had actually grown rather fond of having longer hair. There was a small chime signaling that someone was requesting entry. Sasha, seeing as I had already finished changing, went to check who it was and promptly returned with Rupert. As far as I could tell, there was no reason for him to be here right now, we both had our roles to play, Should you not be overseeing the battle? Yes, but with Gustav remaining in the capital, there was no one I could trust enough to send. Here. He held out a small item in his hand, To replace the illusion. It was a ring box, and upon opening it I saw a ring that perfectly matched the one already on my finger, And this is? Unenchanted. Gustav will affix something to it at your own discretion, but it has the same capacity as the one Ive already given you. So its ridiculously expensive. But why give it to me now? If it has no effect, then whats the point? Thank you, though I do not see why this could not have waited. You need to focus to prevent your mana from feeding into the illusion ring. That creates a risk, however slight, of you being distracted. This will remove that. Yes, but I could likewise have simply removed the old ring when in a battle. Still, thank you for the thought. Rupert grimaced a bit then shook his head, You are correct, it would seem my brothers actions have thrown me off balance to some extent. Well, at the very least, it does let me avoid having to make any excuses if people see me without the ring. I took the old ring off my finger and replaced it with the identical counterpart, placing the old one into the box and offering it back to Rupert, Here. He made no move to receive it instead addressing Sasha, Sasha, keep ahold of that ring for your lady, it might prove useful at some point. I shrugged and handed the box off to Sasha instead. My thought had been that he might be able to recoup some of the extreme cost, but I suppose even that much money was a pittance when looking at the resources he, or rather we, had access to. The fact that I could tap into those same resources was a thought that threatened to leave my head spinning. I need to return to the general staff and assist Henrake. Rupert stated abruptly before turning and exiting. My eyes followed his back for a moment before I directed my attention to Sasha. Well, Ill be off. With any luck, Ill be able to put a stop to some of this. My lady Sashas voice called after me, hinting at something she was unsure wether or not to leave unsaid. I paused in my tracks and turned. It wasnt like her to speak up after Id made a decision, and her tone indicated that she was not entirely at ease with what she was about to say. Yes? When she still hesitated, I added on, Speak freely, though you will not change my mind in this. Sasha took a deep breath, Of course not, but I have been informed of what happened the last time you met this demon. Both times Please, be careful. I paused momentarily then nodded, I plan on it. I wont make the same mistakes again. Not this time. Turning once more, I left and made my way toward the battlefield. The citys geography made it impossible to attack from more than one side, though that likewise made escape difficult for the defenders. Those same restrictions did not apply to me though; an army might struggle to cross the wide river that formed a natural barrier around the North, East, and South walls. But a lone agent would face no such restrictions. Especially not when the bulk of the defense was focused on the West. Getting caught up in the tunnel fighting was not something I was eager to do, and since the ground assault had yet to get the gates opened there were few options left. Not that it would be easy. Just because it was difficult did not mean an attack from the river was impossible; there were certain to be guards about to watch for something like that. My main advantage is that Im only one person There might also not be very many actual defenders, depending on how far the undead play has gone Though grim, the last thought was unlikely to be the case; if the undead were really out in force, the army assaulting the wall would have reported them before the tunnelers. If I had to guess, they were probably a fall-back plan, a sort of countermeasure desperation play to help cope with how outnumbered Duke Febligis men were. Another thought struck me as I came up to the riverbank on the North side. Or, this is the opening act. We know Asmodea advented. Sitri is one of her followers. These Husk may have been provided as a force with which to start the attack on Drakas itself. If thats the case, things are going a lot faster than they should. Rupert and I had really thrown the demons for a trick, so it was possible that this was a scramble to regain at least part of their original plan. If I hadnt gotten involved, Rupert was going to hand Drakas to Five and side with the demons for the upcoming war. They would have started the war in possession of the single largest power on this continent The wrath king Satan and the sloth king Belphegor were the only ones to survive the last war, and the former devoted all of his attention to taking Drakas I really messed things up for them, didnt I? There was nobody around to hear the surprise in my voice. I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner, but obviously they were going to scramble to try and regain at least some of their investment. As for the other kings, we knew were here, Asmodea was too new to have done much, while Leviathan and Beelzebub had seemingly kept a low profile. Though it was entirely possible they werent even on this continent. Either way, it remains the case that we cant fail here, so this doesnt change anything. My thoughts had carried me around the periphery and I was now looking over the river to the citys wall. Too small for a warship to sail down, and too large to be easily forded. Crossing it was going to be a bit of a chore. Especially given that my mana needed to be conserved for the fight with Sitri, or the flight from any additional demons she might have with her. Ok I dont see any lookouts, but I cant be hasty. My trip around the city had taken nearly an hour, even moving far quicker than should have been possible through applied enhancements. Waiting a bit longer was not going to hurt anyone; in all likelihood, it would in fact kill a good number. But without disrupting the Husk at their source, a much larger number of people would die. So, to be completely certain it was safe for me to cross the river, I waited. While outright invisibility through magic wasnt possible, I could change the color of something using a Black Magic. This would hide the red of my clothes, which stood out a great deal in the various greens of the forest. While waiting, I used the minimum amount of mana possible to activate my divine eyes. I hoped that seeing their mana would make it easier to spot any patrolling watchmen quickly. I briefly considered testing out my new [Divine Usurper] title and its purported effect of making Divine Element easier to handle. But the battlefield was no place to run experiments, so I decided not to. Especially given that my mana control is still a bit off as-is. Making myself even more efficient might cause some rather unforeseen problems. In part to pass the time, I plucked a blade of grass and attempted to appraise it. Doing this wouldnt consume much mana, and I would fully recoup it in just a few minutes. Predictably, the blade of grass glowed for a moment before crumbling to fine-powdered snow. Crystalized Ice Element C Organic No matter what I tried, I could not seem to prevent my mana from fully permeating and then destroying an object whenever I attempted to appraise it. The annoying thing was that my enhancements still worked; I could even improve the durability of a sword just fine. But if I tried to appraise the sword, it would briefly coat in flame, then disintegrate into a snow-like powder. If I made no attempt to control the mana flow and just appraised, it would be more like an ice sculpture. Still no changes Ah, theres the guard. Sure enough, a small swirling light had crossed the wall some distance away from me; the mana of the patrolling watchman. Despite the distance between the two of us, I still held my breath instinctively. He paused and looked out over the forest, his eyes passing right over me. Of course he was looking for medium and large groups, not a single woman. A moment later, he continued his rounds. Now I had to wait just a bit longer; I wanted to know the timing of the guard patrol. This time, I did my best to prevent my mind from wandering off; I needed to be ready to move immediately, and it would be best if I were as clear-headed as possible. The downside of trying not to let myself become distracted was that I could hear the distant sounds of battle from the other side of the city. Distance might have muted them, but that was all; they were still distinct. It was all I could do to remind myself that this was all necessary. About two and a half minutes after I first saw him, the same watchman made another pass. Part of me, the rational part, wanted to wait for one more rotation and make sure the timing was consistent. But the greater part was tired of waiting and wanted to go immediately, to reduce the casualties as much as possible. What will I do when killing Sitri doesnt stop all of this? Kill Antonio as well? Duke Febligi? It didnt matter. For the time being, I had my job to do. As always, my head was doing its best to distract me. I squeezed my eyes shut, and took a deep breath. Exhale. All right, lets go. The river was wider at this point but narrowed a bit at a bend just downstream. Breaking from cover, I sprinted towards that spot while pumping my enhancements up to their safe maximum Then, I jumped. Even with my abilities stacked like they were, a roughly twenty-meter gap was a bit much. I would fall short, and land in the water. That was fine though, hitting the shore would probably injure me at this speed. I tucked my body in a way to prevent myself from skipping like a stone and prepared for splashdown. Oww! Hitting the water hurt a lot, but at least nothing had broken. There was still a couple of meters from dry land, and I was up to my waist in the water. Not that it took very long for me to swim the distance, and I was out of the water in less than half a second. There was of course a risk that the watchman had heard my splashing, but there wasnt a convenient way across the river on such short notice. If only things had gone to plan, I could have just gone through the gates with an escort, or used the tunnels Scaling the wall would be much harder, given that any contact with it would instantly drain the mana from my limbs and undo the enhancements. Blood Magic would last only a scant moment longer than a chanted spell, so there wasnt much time for me to work with. But it would be enough. I set up a short sprint from the wall at a slight angle and began bouncing on the balls of my feet while preparing. After taking a few moments to size up my target, I took off running towards the wall. Jumping to clear the wall this time, the height would be hampered by gravity directly. There was no way I would be able to fully clear it in one go. After making it about three-quarters of the way up, I grabbed a slightly askew brick in the wall with both hands and, in the fraction of a second before my enhancements failed, pulled myself upwards. The added height allowed me to clear the remaining distance, and I landed on the battlements. Right in front of a very startled watchman. H-hello? Time seemed to slow down as my [Kinetic Perception] kicked in. I didnt want to kill him, but I couldnt afford him to sound the alarm. If I knock him out, theres the risk hell wake up I lunged at him, bringing the both of us down onto the walls walkway, Where is the demon? T-the w-what!? Right, of course he wouldnt know that Damnit! He cant be more than fifteen or sixteen, no wonder hes on guard duty and not part of the defense. Im looking for a young woman, she would be friendly with the traitor Antonio. The man froze up and shook his head, I dont know! The dukes castle maybe!? No fucking shit But it isnt like I could expect a random soldier to be familiar with Antonios company. Shit, he looks barely fifteen, only just an adult I might come to regret this, but Im not going to kill him. I see. Sorry about this. About wha- My enhanced fist cut him off before he could finish the question, and he slumped forward. His unconscious body slumped over and then fell to the ground in an unceremonious heap. Hed probably have a few broken ribs from that, seeing as Id delivered an enhanced strike right to his solar plexus with enough force to get an instant KO. But it was a lot better than dying, and he couldnt very well be left to his own devices after seeing me. Of course, I am on a time now, though that would also be true if Id killed him. Yea, this way is better. I turned and set off toward the dukes castle near the center of the city. Sitri Im coming. Psycholor A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-17 End of the Coup Psycholor Getting through the city to the Dukes Castle was going to be nearly impossible. Not if I was going to avoid killing anyone. But not him. I was fully aware that I was just making excuses at this point, that the watchman was an enemy. The smartest choice would be to just quickly stab him and keep moving, but something was telling me that if I did that it would prove to be a mistake. Just because hes my enemy, doesnt mean I have to kill him. Hes only been caught up in all this. That was enough thinking. If this was allowed to continue on I would only end up entrapping myself in a loop. Putting it out of my head, I dropped off from the wall. The wall and the first set of buildings within the city had been constructed in such a way so as to reinforce each other. This meant that the roof of the building was only a few meters below the top of the wall. Landing on that roof, I immediately took off running and jumping from roof to roof. Febligi was built as one might expect from the home city of the most martial duchy. Streets wound around in a maze-like pattern designed to hinder any attacking forces progress. Of course it also hindered the defenders, but they would probably have a system of shortcuts and hidden passages to slip through more quickly. My rooftop route bypassed all of this, though it did leave me exposed and it would be only a matter of time before someone spotted me and sounded the alarm. Therefore, killing or not killing the watchman didnt matter, the alarm would be sounded anyway. No, stop it. Those same streets were expectedly devoid of people, though I did spot the occasional dog and stawri about. Though how many of the people are simply staying inside like I asked, versus how many have been turned I want to check, but then I would need to go into a building. Id be slowing down and also risking someone making a report If I wasnt going to kill an enemy soldier, then I certainly wasnt going to kill a commoner who was simply keeping their head down. So I kept moving. Clearing whole streets while running at my maximum speed. That could only last so long though, and before long I heard the sound of a horn blaring out from somewhere below and behind me. That would be the alarm, someone spotted me. There were two options at this point. One, I continued along the rooftops and hoped to outrun any response. Two, I dropped to the ground and hoped to avoid them. Both options had their own pros and cons, mostly obvious. In the end, I opted for option one; getting to the manor in the most expeditious manner was more important than avoiding anyone tracking my movements. In any case, it should be rather obvious where I was heading. This did mean that Id be a target for enemy archers and mages so I activated my kinetic perception to better respond to any incoming fire, and kept moving. It didnt take long before a volley of arrows came my way, likely testing the waters before escalating things by firing spells off inside their own city. My slowed perception of time allowed me to somewhat predict their individual flight paths, so I simply adjusted my course slightly and they all missed. A second volley followed shortly after, and once again it proved rather easy to avoid. Seeing that their second attempt had failed, the third one included a couple of spells. Less than I had thought they might use, though considering the ongoing fight at the gate perhaps this was to be expected. Most of the mages are probably up at the wall, so these will be just the token force left behind, the weaker and least skilled. That was good news for me, but spells were still harder to dodge than arrows. By this point, I was less than a hundred meters from the perimeter fence of the estate. I took a moment to quickly study the way the next few streets wound and connected, then dropped off the rooftops. Making myself less of a target in the process. An indistinct shout came from behind me Probably, it was a call out that I had gone down to the ground. That meant that the pursuing soldiers would be moving to catch me soon. Not having much time to waste, I quickly moved through the route Id pre-scouted from the rooftop. It only took me about ten seconds, but due to my [Kinetic Perception], it felt closer to a minute. As I rounded a corner, a man wearing the armor of a watchman lunged out in front of me. Time seemed to slow even more as I responded, dodging under his swing and kicking out at his knee. My foot connected with his knee, and he collapsed with a cry of pain. I did not give myself any time to think and drew my sword before stabbing downwards. There was a sensation of a blade cutting through flesh. Then, I kept running. Breaking out of an alley and onto the main street, the gate of the manor grounds was directly ahead of me. Between me and there was a small number of soldiers. One, two, three five total. Six, counting the one Ive already killed, Thats a small number, all things considered. Three with bows, and two without. Possibly the mages from earlier. You would think that the estate of Duke Febligi would have more guards. Or maybe not. Knowing the personality of that family, the duke was definitely on the wall or nearby it. His wife might be in the manor, but she was also possibly with her husband. Antonio was probably near the front. Duke Febligi knew this was a lost cause, I could only imagine he would have forced or manipulated Antonio to face it with him. So the home being lightly guarded made sense; the soldiers were all away with only the bare minimum left behind. One of them, probably the captain, shouted, There she is! Fire! The three archers loosed arrows while one of them fell back and began to quickly chant a spell. [Whiteout]! I beat him to the punch using my own talent cast and immediately felt a headache pierce through the front of my head. My [Ice Magic] was one of only a few talents not yet fully repaired. While I could use it, doing so was not without consequence. But in this case, it was worth it. Whiteout was a spell I had used before, and just like then it filled the air with a swirling mass of snow. It would gradually freeze anyone within it while obscuring vision. Of course, my [Rule Breaker] skill gave me immunity to Ice damage, so I was immune to the first effect. Not that it meant I could see, my own senses were just as blinded as my adversaries. My one advantage was that I had been expecting the localized snowstorm and noted the guards positions prior to casting it. I kicked off the ground and moved to where the first one had been. For the briefest moment, I had thought about avoiding them and entering the mansion. That wouldnt work though, they would just follow me and potentially interrupt my face-off with Sitri. Knocking them out also wasnt a great option. There was no telling when they would wake up, besides they were clearly aiming to kill me earlier. No, the best recourse was to fully remove them as threats. The first would be the mage. Stepping up, I was able to catch him mid-chant. There was nothing for it, I needed to silence him. A quick slash across the throat accomplished that. Next would be the commander-looking guy. He hadnt had a bow, and being a commander was also a potential magic user. I fell back to roughly where he had been to find that he was indeed hurriedly chanting a wind spell. The words were mostly unknown to me, but from what I could pick up, it was probably meant to disperse my [Whiteout]. I cant allow that. My sword arced through the air, only for him to block it. A shame. [Immolate] Cross-training into opposing elements wasnt the most common thing a mage would do. Since I had done it, it gave me the option of surprise. The captain went down screaming, and I swiftly stabbed him through the neck. Killing him was already bad enough, burning to death would be just too much. At this point, mopping up the other three was fairly easy. The first of the remaining three went down quickly, but by the time I got to the second and third they had already died, frozen by my spell. The whiteout dissipated and I surveyed my handiwork with grim eyes. Ill be adding their deaths to Sitris laundry list of crimes. I might have been the one to do it, but Id not be here without her bullshit. The thought did little to assuage my conscience. The manor itself was unlocked, and getting inside was fairly straightforward. Once I was inside though, things took a turn, G-greetings M-M-Miss S-Stahlia. There was a very nervous maid who had come to greet me. I raised an eyebrow, Hello? M-my L-lady A-as- I waved my hand to cut her off. Sitri sent you to come to bring me to her. Yea, that sounds like something she would do. Which way? The maid squeaked in fright, then did an awkward curtsey before dashing off. After a moment, I followed her. She brought me to a large door that was on the second floor and down a hallway. H-here. Thank you. I suggest you leave now. She was all too happy to heed my advice and promptly vanished. It was little wonder that my presence had terrified her; she had probably seen the fight out in front of the manor. Just another thing for that whore of a demon to answer for, causing that maid such distress As I opened the door, I saw the bitch in question directly ahead. She was standing, looking out of a large window towards the city gates. Immediately, a violent impulse welled up within me. I wanted to kill her, a thought that very briefly gave me pause, but was quickly discarded. As soon as she heard the sound, Sitri turned to face me. Her eyes briefly widened in surprise before she swiftly replaced the look with one of relief. If not for my heightened nerves, I probably would have missed it. Stali! Youre here! Her voice made me sick, but the fact that her ruse was to display relief of all things was concerning and I immediately raised my guard. I raised my sword defensively but otherwise did nothing. Her relieved smile faltered, Stali, you have to get me out of here! Ok. What? I was not looking to be caught unawares, and so kept my sword raised, Or, and bear with me, I kill you, and the Husk lose cohesion. She shook her head, Really? Thats your plan? You really think Im the one controlling them? No, not particularly; youre nothing but a lump of stats after all. But killing you would make me feel good. But I could be so useful to you! Think about it, Im one of the Original Sins, one of Asmodeas first pawns! Think about what I know! She had a point but something about this was just Why? Then, it hit me. You got hung out to dry. Left with this mess, a final little stop-gap; without your skills, youre useless to Asmodea. All youre good for is providing a bit of a speed bump to me, and you know it. Much to my own surprise, I was actually able to keep the sheer glee out of my voice. Finding Sitri in this state was simply amazing. She slumped back against the wall, and there was a distant explosion. Out along the wall, I could see a pillar of smoke; the forces attempting to breach the gate had seemingly been successful. Tell me, Sitri, what good are you really? Asmodea is a Hell King. She wouldnt give you a chance to turn sides like this if she thought you had any valuable information to leak. Besides, my current goal is not to bring you in alive. I hefted my sword and took a step toward her. Contrary to my expectation, she did not make a move to resist. Instead, her relieved expression vanished, replaced with a blank stare, Stali, I could still get rid of you pretty easily, if I wanted. My base stats are higher than yours, and I can still use Blood Magic. I already overwhelmed you once. Yes, and I have no idea what you did. But something tells me it had rather dire consequences; you look nice by the way. She actually liked her lips, I wanted nothing more than to stab her and be done with it, Look, relying on you is really not what Id like to do, but I dont have a choice Stali, Im scared. Again with this? What now? See, whatever you did to me; it changed something. Normally when one of us demons die, our spirit is simply sent back to whichever of the nine hells we originated from Im not connected to them anymore. So if I kill you, you would die for real? Do you actually expect me to believe that? She tossed her hands up, Do what you want, its the truth. Whatever you do, Im not going to resist. As if to say that the conversation was finished, she turned and faced out the window again. Damnit! Shes really got me there. There was no telling how much of her little routine just now had been an act versus how much had been real. Knowing her, it was probably mostly an act. An act meant to manipulate me, to exploit my indecisions she had witnessed for herself. She was just saying what she needed to say to convince me not to kill her. It was a good play, just one that overlooked something rather important, You forgot how much I hate you, how much youve hurt me. True to her words, she didnt say anything back to me. She just stood there, watching out the window. I took a step closer to her back and readied my sword, Are you really not going to resist? At all? Still, she made no move to defend herself. Even without her skills, she had a lot of personal experience in combat and in reading people. She had to know what I was doing behind her. The moment I actually strike, shes going to do something stupid, like catch the blade without turning around. But if I dont do anything, well just be stuck here until I agree to bring her in alive I just need to commit. Ive already committed. Really, why was I fretting over Sitri of all people? Before I could talk myself out of it, I thrust my sword forward. When she caught, deflected, or avoided my strike, I would know that shed been bluffing. We would fight, and then I would either fall back or beat her. Either way, this would be over. None of that happened. I felt the sensation that was becoming uncomfortably familiar; that of a blade slicing through flesh. Then there was a sudden weight as her legs gave out and she collapsed into a heap on the floor; my attack had passed through her lower back and severed her spine. Failing to let go of my sword and with the angle preventing it from pulling out, I was dragged down with her. She wasnt dead, but in all likelihood very soon would be. She was smiling, Well, I wasnt sure if you would actually do it Then she grimaced in apparent pain and spat blood. For my part, I was experiencing a bit of inner turmoil, You you really didnt resist!? Sitri shrugged, Whatever you did, it ended up, She coughed, and it sounded wet, Ack! It ended up helping me more than you realize It took a while, and I hated it at first But in the end My sword had been jostled around when we fell, so it was not properly blocking the blood flow as one might expect, and her skin was turning pale, In the end, we demons arent evil Not like you would think I, I am sorry about what I did to you, to everyone Stali, for whatever its worth, try try using my blood. For for that womans arm I am an Original Sin, after all That woman? Jacqueline? This whole situation felt surreal to me, almost like I was the one drifting off. Your blood? What do you mean!? Sitris eyes glazed over, and it seemed she was no longer looking at anything in the room with us, Ryuko? Hajime? Percy! Im so glad to see you Her head lolled to the side, and her breathing slowed before stopping. I had very mixed feelings about what had just transpired, but there wasnt time for me to sort them out now. I extracted my sword and, after some hesitation, produced a couple of my potions and dumped out their contents. The empty bottles were filled with some of Sitris blood. Even if she was blocked off from her skills, she was still a powerful demon. Even if her words were a trap, some last-ditch effort to mess with my psyche, her offer merited some testing at the very least. Still, taking feels wrong, somehow. Blood in hand, I left her body and fled the scene. At first, I was simply running before any soldiers or knights could arrive and impede my process. Hopefully, the rebel soldiers and knights would begin to surrender now that the gates were breached. After that, wed just have to mop up the Husk and apprehend Antonio, then things would be done. As I exited the manor I slid to a halt. In the street, visible through the gate ahead of me were the bodies of the men Id killed. There was also a woman, alive, clutching one of their heads, her hands stained red in blood. It was clear that she held some connection to him. My feet took a step back of their own accord as it suddenly hit me; despite any excuses about them having been coming for me, Id still killed them. Then came a small voice in my head. And Sitri? She wasnt coming after you at all. Not this time. This time, she let you kill her. I realized then that my hands were shaking. Turning away from the spectacle, I took a detour around and exited the manor grounds through the back, avoiding the woman and the sight of my massacre entirely. As I ran through the city, I began to pass by more and more people; a face in a window quickly ducking behind curtains, Footsteps not my own echoing down seemingly empty alleyways, people clearly in fear. Justifiably so; Im part of the invading force after all. Perhaps killing them was justified. Perhaps it wasnt. But in the middle of a city under siege was not the time to consider it. Such a time would come later, once I was secure. Breathe. I can sort this out later. I ran. Psycholor I tried to give the volume an over all victorious and hopeful ending; Sitri is dead meaning Stahlia can move on, the kingdom is more or less unified, and Jacqueline has a potential cure. At the same time, I wanted to highlight that Stahlia has crossed a bridge; she''s now killed people that have tangible consequences. Granted, Sitri had a whole lot more coming and got off light, while the soldiers were a case of obvious self defense, but this is both the first time She''s killed in cold blood (Sitri) and the first time she''s killed people with lives and families (casually throwing shade at Dominic, but you get the idea, I hope.) Regardless, the next chapter will be the volume seven Epilogue. It is three short (1000 word) stories from the perspectives of Rupert going over casualty reports, Franklin (George''s [Stahlia''s] friend from his [her] previous life waking up in his own NewLife, and a new character completely disconnected from the cast so far and yet rather connected to some of them. A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 6-18 Epilogue Epilogue One: Aftermath Reports Rupert von Drakas, Twenty Years Old, Third Month of 949 Give me the short version. The man in front of me, Commander Henrake, bowed and began to go over statistics and metrics about the siege of Febli. As Your Highness wishes. The first army led by Duke Claurence was unsuccessful in breaching the walls until very late in the operation. The second army led by Duke Lester was able to breach the walls quite swiftly through their use of tunnels but ran into heavy Husk resistance. The third army, led by Duke Lawrences vassal availed themselves greatly; without their timely reinforcement the second may very well have been wiped out. I groaned internally. Those Husk had once been the citizens we had been hoping to secure; valuable resources and production capacity for the coming war. Even if we hadnt lost the entire city, enough of the population had been turned to make a noticeable dent in production. How many, exactly? Henrake nodded, Of the thirty-five thousand citizens residing in the city, fully a third of them were made into Husk. Twelve thousand. We should consider ourselves lucky that they did not set them loose in the city itself and turn the entire population No, not lucky... I could feel my focus slipping away from me as it often did when I became lost in thought. As always, it was a disconcerting experience. Fortunately, Henrake knew about this little quirk of mine, and he fell silent while waiting for me to resolve my tangent. Lucky? No no, not. Twelve thousand minus thirty-five. Fifteen kilometers to the next village, then fourteen. Three thousand more. Slip-slip up, mistaken? Lost direction? Not not true, also not true. Sitri, too weak, not able to control. Loss of skills? Fear of uncontrollable spiral. Likely case. Need more information, bigger picture. Plans inside of plans within millennium. Outbreak would overrun containment within a year. Early action. Yes yes no, cant act. Too soon. Stahlia spoke of rule, schedule, dates. Too too soon. They had no choice but to. If they had let them out, we wouldnt have been able to contain the outbreak; it would have constituted an attack. Somehow, in a way that I dont understand, what they did here was legal. Henrake frowned; he understood even less than I did. But then, he had not been told about the game. Only Stahlia, Gustav, and I knew about that. Ferdinand probably knew as well but hadnt said anything. If the outbreak had spread, it would have constituted an attack before the official start. So we had been spared. Nine more months, and the husks would have been set loose in force Nine more months Henrake. Your Highness! He snapped to attention; the urgency in my voice having caught him by surprise. Never mind that; when you finish the report, divide our armies into task forces. Inspect every sewer of every major city. Task the adventurers guild to check towns and villages. We must be certain that we do not have any hiding kraken. Sir. That will take time You have a month. One month, then we need to ramp up production and consolidate our force strength Thats what they want, to drain our morale and manpower by having us run around searching for traps Id like to call their bluff, but we cant risk it. We need to be certain. Sir Henrake of course had objections, the timeframe Id given him was pitifully short. But there wasnt much I could do about that, we didnt have the time. Two. Two months is the most I can give you. Then we need to prepare for a long, defensive war. He grimaced but nodded; even if he did not know about the game, he knew about the cyclical nature of the demon war. He knew that we were due for another within our lifetime. The demon war. So it is true then, Her Highness fought a demon during the siege? I nodded, It is true. Though a rather weak one, the fact that a demon was involved at all indicates that they are making their preparations. Already calling Stahlia Her Highness Not that she is undeserving, but she hasnt officially been given that title. Perhaps the faux miracle was more effective than we thought it was Lady Ris no more it seems. Henrake sighed, I would have liked to have more time, to let the men rest and prepare. But we dont have that, do we? That being the case, if Her Highness really defeated a demon That would make her one of the Champions, no? She was granted a miracle, so she is clearly one of the gods favored. His question was predictable, and we had prepared a lie to answer it. This information is not yet public knowledge, I let my words hang in the air for a moment, the threat in them implicit, Stahlia is the Champion of the Autumn Sect, and is the only currently known champion. With Rosial being the true Champion of Autumn, it had hardly come as a surprise when Stahlia approached me regarding the issue. Predictably, she had requested to be given that title herself, to keep her sister as far from the war as possible. Naming her as such came with its own issues, not the least of which was once again lying about the words of the gods. It also meant she would need to play an active role in the war, hardly a position befitting of a Queen. But to worry about that was an exercise in futility. For one, she would not be dissuaded and I already knew it would be foolish to try. Secondly, any worries about her early death were placing the cart before the horse. If she were to die before giving birth to an heir, I could always re-marry. Furthermore, having her fight is logical. If she does nothing then the kingdom will be all the more likely to fall to the demons. As it is, weve already painted a rather large target on our nation Still, there was a feeling of discontent I could not quite shake. Nor could I figure out its source. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Back to the task at hand, what were our casualties? Henrake shifted gears immediately and re-commenced his report, The second army took the most losses, of their 1,251 men they lost roughly four hundred; seventy knights and the rest common soldiers. The first army lost around two hundred out of their original number. The third army lost only one hundred and sixty; their knights, in particular, availed themselves with aplomb when fending off the Husk. Indeed, the Husk arent hard to fight, if not for having been caught off guard and by such a numerically larger force the second army would not have suffered so many casualties. In the end, once we broke through the sewers and past the wall, the enemy forces surrendered almost immediately thereafter; Her Highnesss speech was most effective it would seem. By the time we made it to his high, to Antonio the majority of the rebels had turned themselves in. I nodded, Have Antonio moved discreetly back to the palace dungeons; no parades, no celebrations. This will be a somber affair. Its too risky to parade my victory, I need to transition the momentum from the civil war, and channel it into a fervor to meet the demons. Its a good thing we were able to do things with as much ease as we did Stahlia was far more instrumental in that than she will ever know. As for Antonio, Ill need him to simply disappear, quietly. I cant take any risks, even for family. Epilogue Two: F3: My Isekai Life Franklin, Twenty Years Old, Fifth Month of 949 Franklin, this is super important. Dont tell anyone youre from another world. If they ask you to fight a demon lord say no. If theres an adventurers guild, sign up for it; you can usually make good money that way. Try and find me if you can, Ill do my best to find you. If you meet a god or goddess on the way over be careful and watch out fo- Professor Claires voice was cut off by an explosion, and my vision went white. The world around my changed in a flash, and I found myself in an endless white void space. There was nothing whatsoever, except for the figure of a woman wreathed in light. Perhaps it had to do with the utter lack of anything else, but I found myself transfixed by her beauty. She was loosely clothed in something resembling a greek peplos, and the way the fabric draped over her body highlighted every curve. Ahem, Franklin dear, please do not stare In a hurry, I averted my eyes. My cheeks grew warm and I could only assume they were now a bright scarlet, Ah Sorry What the hell is this? Ive never been this bashful before. Well dont worry about it; I have that effect on mortals. Mortals? Then, this is a goddess? Claire was about to say something about them, right before she got cut off See Franklin, I am sure you are very confused in truth, I need your help. Her face turned a bit to the side, and her lip was quivering. It was a rather captivating sight. My own voice caught in my throat, My, my help? Yes, She nodded, You see, there is a world I am responsible for; it is very soon to come under threat My brother, the god of Darkness is going to set his minions against my believers I need heroes to represent my interests and match the champions of darkness. And you want me, a random college student, to be one of those heroes? She nodded, I would like for one of my heroes to be from another world; it is my belief that your unique perspective could benefit the team She was making puppy dog eyes again, but something she had just said had jogged my mind. It was like a fog had cleared, From another world The game, NewLife. The pleading expression fell off from her face, What of it? My friend, George, and my professor, Mrs. Claire. What happened to them? A brief look of naked hostility flashed across the goddesss face, but she quickly brought it under control, George rejected my offer, though he is still working for my interests of his own accord Claire was taken accidentally, caught up with you. She has been given a body and placed in a safe place. All I could do for her, out of guilt. Yea, guilt. Sure. It was pretty damn obvious what Claire had been trying to warn me about now; be careful of them manipulating you. Still, if George was now living in this world and working for the goddess, then perhaps joining forces with her would be in my best interest. If I could find George then together we could find Claire, and then try and find a way home. It was a longshot, but it was something. The beginnings of a plan. Better than nothing. Alright, Ill do it. Like clockwork, the goddesss face adopted a look of relief, Excellent! Then, please. Accept my blessing. Her hand stretched towards me, and a stream of warm reddish-yellow light streamed out of it and washed over me. It took everything I could muster not to jerk out of it. This will be the isekai-cheat ability bestowment then. Though I lacked interest in the genre, I was at least somewhat familiar with a few of the most common tropes. The goddess was likely giving me some special power or skill as befitting of the hero. Sorry Claire, looks like I said yes after all. Excellent, I have given you the [Blessing of Summer]. Please do your best to develop your strengths The white void was beginning to fade away, like a scene transition a new environment was imposing itself around me, We wont be able to talk much after I send you through, do your best to find the other three champions! Youll definitely need their help! And just like that, shes gone. I now found myself standing on the side of a dirt rode with a town visible in the distance. I cant know for sure, but if Claire was with me, shed probably say this was such a clich episode one Kleth! In response to my shout, nothing happened. But besides that, the words which left my mouth surprised me. That wasnt English Well, I know what I said, and hearing the words I knew what it meant Status! Again, nothing happened. So, Ive been given stats and abilities, one of which is called the [Blessing of Sumer], and another is the ability to speak and understand what it likely the local language. But I dont have the isekai trope status window I fell silent, contemplative. I needed a plan, a series of immediate and long-term goals. A quick pat down of my person revealed that Id been re-clothed in some sort of leather armor, and had a sword and shield strapped to my back. Hopefully, one of my skills would be able to help me with those, otherwise Id be fucked. Ok, immediate goal; try out the sword on that tree. Short-term goal; get into that settlement and begin gathering information. Medium-long-term goal; find George and the other three champions. Long-term goal; find Claire and together with George figure out what to do next. I unclasped the sword and gripped it firmly, taking a moment to check my reflection in the polished blade before setting off toward the tree. Yea, the character I made looked a lot like me while it was just rendered on the screen. Now that its Im real, I cant tell the difference at all. I had always been rather unflappable and capable of taking things in stride, but I had a feeling that all of this was going to test even my George-trained patience before long. Epilogue Three: Cursed Champion ???, Sixteen Years Old, Third Month of 950 And, your point? Simply put them to the sword; they are infected. My Lady. The warrior before me bowed but protested no further before setting out to commence the execution of everyone in the village. My home village. But well, it cant be helped. The Husk have infested this area and we need to contain them. Such is my burden. In a way, the fact that I had been chosen as the Cursed Champion of Winter was a blessing. Without the heart-of-stone granted by the goddess of winters blessing, it was doubtful that I would be able to carry out my task. Beyond the doors of my hut, I could hear the general cries of the villagers, and my former friends, as they were cut down. A necessary sacrifice, to show the Hell King of Lust that such tactics would not be effective on us. Being granted this title had been a boon indeed. The fact that the goddess of winter herself had seen fit to bestow it upon me I was beyond lucky. You have been chosen as the Champion of Winter. Rise, and claim your title. Her words still rang in my ears. To think that I, a simple shrine maiden should have been selected, it made my ears twitch. Almost by reflex, I forced them flat against my head until they stilled. It might not be as irritating as it had been before, but it was still unbecoming. Though I alone am blessed with this curse, the warriors will soon need to be replaced again, lest they refuse to carry out my orders. Really, that was the only thing that still worried me; the warrior caste could be rather finicky with their honor. They could be persuaded that certain measures were necessary, but when it became clear that this was routine, they tended to become disinclined towards me. Such actions had already caused one breach of containment, with the Husk managing to slip out and spread further. Truly, if not for Asmodea, we would have this handled by now. Husk were, at their core, undead. As such, they were mostly mindless; pursuing any source of life essence they could sense with dogged determination. They would then drain it to be funneled back to the demon that created them, or if that wasnt possible they would simply kill anything in front of them. But give them a commanding force, and they were fully capable of drawing on their former memories and utilizing advanced tactics. But dealing with her was out of the question. Supposedly, I was capable of doing it. But how was beyond me. There isnt anything for it. Ill just have to keep buying time and wait for the Drakan delegation to arrive. Stahlia. Stahlia von Drakas. The previous Champion of Winter. My predecessor. Betrayer of the goddess of winter, the mistress of betrayal. Still alive, despite her heresy. Wed just as soon received the official notice of her and the Drakan third princes coronation and wedding when I had been given my own divine oracle. It was little wonder that I would find her fascinating. From a professional perspective, she had been given the same blessing and task as me but rejected them. From a religious perspective, she had managed to pull off a plot against the goddess of plotting. From a political perspective, she had announced her intentions to travel to our kingdom. The queen of Drakas, a nation that had long looked down on us Beastkin as sub-humans, to be exterminated or enslaved, was coming on a diplomatic mission. There had not been a Drakan monarch present in Sinion for nearly five hundred years, and that one had been executed. Whatever the Raj did with her in the end, I very much wanted to speak with her. If possible, to gain her aid in defeating Asmodea, that is, if she would help. Lady Nikita, your tails. Lata, my attendants softly chiding voice rang out and drew my attention to the rhythmic thumping sound of my tails excitedly beating on the floor. I stilled them through sheer force of will; they really were quite troublesome the way they behaved as if they were their own creature. Ever since becoming the Champion of Winter, my own feelings had vanished completely. Yet my ears and tail still behaved as though I could feel. It made it very difficult to keep up my appearance and command respect. Then again, the very fact that I had tails was usually enough to command respect in and of itself. Yet another boon from my goddesss cursed blessing. Lata, any word from the Raj? I had asked her this question once daily for the past month, and the answer had always been the same; there was no news. Yes, I was planning to wait until after the until after dealing with this village; Her Majesty Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris arrived this morning. My tails immediately began thumping excitedly again, but for once I ignored them despite being fully aware of their misbehavior. Psycholor Unlike last volume, there will be no break between this chapter and 7-1; it will come out seven days from now at the usual time. A special thanks to Rita152, Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 7-1 Wedding Stahlia, 17 Years Old, Fifth Month of 949 The next couple of months were a whirlwind. As soon as news of the miracle spread, my staff began to be petitioned for audiences by seemingly every count in the kingdom and half the barons. I say my staff because, truth be told, I honestly did not remember all of their names anymore. Sure, there was the core group; Sasha, Frieda, Elienor, and Lucy. The last of whom was still under house arrest, but following the public revealing of my growth, there was no longer any reason to keep a secret. In a way, news and happenings around me had completely overshadowed Antonio. Rupert had offered for him to receive poisoned wine while he was imprisoned, and he had accepted that. As he was legally disowned, he was not entitled to the same extravagant funeral as the late second prince, Percival. It was a rather sad end to a man who had simply been manipulated. Not that I can do anything about that, but at least it looks like he isnt being remembered poorly. I can try and manipulate reports so he will go down in history as a tragic victim instead of a villain. I might not have known him at all, but its the least I can do and Id definitely regret it if I didnt try. As a more immediately tangible result of my actions and reputation, the number of my attendants had ballooned seemingly overnight. It was good news for Sasha, but I couldn''t be sure which ones were trustworthy. My life just had too many secrets for its own good, even with so much of it now out in the open. After all, I was still the spymaster. There was also the whole heresy thing. As long as I have my trusted core Ill be able to manage. Especially with Jacqueline rejoining soon. Although I hadnt asked her yet, nor had I told her that there was a potential solution for her injuries. The reason for this was simple; I didnt want to get her hopes up. That said, there was little doubt in my mind that she would seek to re-join my service. Sitris blood had proved to have immense restorative properties, but refining it was a massive undertaking. There was also the fact that my method was more or less a shot in the dark; there were no notes or recipes that detailed how to actually produce Goddess Draught. Not helping things were the aforementioned endless petitions, leading to endless audiences leading up to the public faux wedding. Which brought me to where I was now; being used like a living doll and making the final adjustments to the dress; it was a rather billowy white thing, not unlike a western wedding dress from Earth. Even though this was my second time, my stomach was still a bit tense. At the time, I griped about how small the ceremony was, but given the choice now, I think I would prefer something more like that. Since this was an official ceremony, my original witnesses would no longer work. Instead of Edith, her father was going to be standing behind me. Sven would be replaced by Lady Lester, whom I was publicly friends with. Privately, her efforts to improve my social abilities were ongoing, though recent progress in that area had been quite impressive. Thanks to the [Acting] Talent I acquired no doubt. Lastly, Sasha would serve as a replacement for Jacqueline. I had my own thoughts about having the maid provided to me by the royal family serve as a witness to public marriage into said family, but her own background and qualifications were sound; as long as she swore before the gods that she was acting as a noblewoman, not as my maid, then everything would be fine. The church was officiating the wedding, with the usual corrupt cardinal carrying out the task. Frankly, his own wellbeing was an item of curiosity for me; with his hands as dirty as they were, it was a wonder he hadnt been smitten. If Antenora or any of the other puppeted puppet masters ever deigned to speak to lowly me again, it was something I intended to ask about. That being as it was, even if the church wasnt going to publicly announce the miracle, the fact that they would officiate the wedding was basically the same thing. Antenora did say that the gods didnt really care much for the minutia of the church Though its not like this wedding really means anything anyway, its just a political stunt to blunt the news. The news, in this case, was Ruperts recent proclamation that the demons had been involved with the attempted coup. He had then announced Drakass stance for the upcoming conflict; that of a bulwark for the lesser nations. The public wedding would serve to give the people a morale boost and would be followed with King Drakas abdicating to facilitate Ruperts coronation. My own coronation would follow shortly after, about a week from now; there was a minor legal hiccup involving the fact that the Queen had already passed on which required the ceremony to be done separately. Gustav had tried explaining it until I waved him off; when and where I was meant to be a set piece was of little concern to me. I would much rather work on Jacquelines medicine than listen to legalese that in the grand scheme of things had little actual bearing on how things would play out. Speaking of the treatment, it should probably be ready by the end of the month. My lady, please turn. The seamstresss soft voice broke me out of my thoughts for a moment, and I robotically rotated ninety degrees for her. This would be the last part of this, then I would be on to my next task. Then I would be able to get back to my workshop. Without any guide to work from, I had decided the best thing to do was to simply super-concentrate a healing potion using the blood as the active ingredient. To do that, I had first brewed a standard healing potion, then run it through a distillery modified with Mythril. Obviously I first tried the process with a lesser potion to make sure that the Mythril would contain the mana instead of dispersing it. It had worked so far, and if my math was correct then what I had now was something like an eighty-proof healing potion. A single drop had managed to restructure a smooshed-but-still-alive mouse, however, it had as of yet not managed to regrow any missing body parts. The primary drawback was that I needed to be directly involved; following my theory that Goddess Draught required divine mana, I would feed mana into the distillery throughout the whole process and had done so for each distillation step. Constantly increasing it, always being careful, watching out lest I do to much and spoil it, or to little and spoil it. It was mentally exhausting, time-consuming work. It was a small mercy that the potion itself was rather stable and did not seem to degrade the same way normal potions did. If it did, then there was no way I would have been able to finish this. My lady, that is everything finished. The Seamstress stood and curtsied before stepping back. Sasha stepped up and gently turned me to face a mirror, There, I do understand that you are anxious, but try to smile? Smile, yea, I do need to do that. Trusting in my talent, I pasted a pleasant-yet-bashful faint smile on my face and looked in the mirror. Only for it to fall off into a grimace. Fuck me! Again!? The face that looked back at me wasnt mine. It was Sitris. Pale and devoid of blood. This mirage had been haunting me ever since I killed her, showing up occasionally when I was nervous or on edge. It wasnt even that I felt particularly bad or guilty about it. Sure, at first I had been a bit upset, but of all people, I had a lot of practice in dealing with such negative emotions. It had been easy to get over. Except for the face. That still popped up whenever it was least expected; like a cheap jump scare. Like that bitch is giving me one last fuck you! from beyond death. Damnit, youre dead, just go away! Sasha nodded knowingly, I thought you might be a bit too stressed, so I arranged assistance. Thats not why But now youve got me curious. For whatever reason, I hadnt told her about the face. Several times I''d almost done so, but always stopped short. It might have been possible if it was Jacqueline, but there was just a bit of a gap between me and Sasha. As much as we got along and understood each other, something told me she would be of little help with this particular demon. We did understand each other though, or at least she understood me; the help she had recruited happened to have two tails, six arms and legs, four regular ears, and two pointed feline ones. It also had three bodies. The lot of them came piling in before skidding to a stop a respectful distance away, then the exclamations started, Woah!~ So pretty! You look lovely, my lady. It was, as Claire had recently started to call it, my Imouto no Harem. Sometimes I wonder if shes even trying anymore Putting a phrase like that in Felicitys head, honestly! Not that it wasnt accurate, as long as you looked at it platonically instead of using the weeb understanding. Regardless, Sasha was right about one thing, this was definitely going to make me smile, Rosial, Felicity, Elienor, I wasnt expecting to see you until later! The four of us enjoyed each others company for a few minutes, though it was saddening that we werent actually able to hug or in any way touch each other. If this had been a normal day and dress then perhaps, but it wasnt and Id just spent the better part of three hours being fussed over. There was no way I was willing to risk ruining any of the seamstresss work. Finally, it came time for me to depart. Before I left, I paused. Yea, I may as well tell them now, I was going to tell them later anyway. Felicity, Elienor, Rosial, before I head out, Id like to tell you all something. Felicitys ears twitched, and she grimaced. Rosials smile dropped off, replaced with a business-like expression. Even Elienor reacted somewhat negatively, sucking in her breath sharply and briefly screwing her eyes shut. You act like its automatically bad Before any of them had a chance to retort, I moved along, Well It sort of is; in about a month, Ill be leaving on a trip. It will, in all likelihood, last a year or more, and, And you arent bringing Felicity or Rosy-chan with you. Its fine. Felicitys words cut a bit deep, that would be her assumption given everything that had happened. Oof. No, actually. I have made arrangements for the two of you to come with. I nodded towards Felicity and Rosial, As Elienor is technically one of my maids, her coming along was more or less guaranteed. That proclamation elicited a round of surprised and excited squealing from all parties, and I departed from the dressing room. My stomach was considerably unclenched, and I overall felt a lot lighter, Thank you, Sasha. I needed that. She did a sort of half curtsy as we walked then pointedly addressed the orc in the room, Of course. Now then, shall I make the arrangements you spoke of? I felt my face flush red just a tiny bit, Yes, please do so. I will handle my parents though. Of course. The doors swung open, causing me to squint slightly as the sun struck my eyes. There was no red carpet, though there was an orchestra. Instead, the doors opened directly to a raised stone section in one of the palaces gardens. This was a rather unique architectural arrangement. On my right as I stepped out were the nobility, slightly below myself and scattered about the grounds. The king was near the back of the nobles, sitting in a raised box with my father looking rather frazzled just to the left, though at ground level. To my left, there was a rather ornate carved stone railing overlooking a small cliff. Below that was the nobles quarter, and for today only a part of it was filled with commoners. For the public wedding, the gates had been opened to allow the public a position to spectate the ceremony, and royal mages would use magic to ensure that the voices of all involved were carried. And straight ahead of me stood Rupert, the cardinal, and an unfurled scroll. The scroll was a copy of our marriage contract; even if the ceremony wasnt a sham, having the real thing publicly accessible like this was considered too big a risk. The normal process would have been to sign the contract privately immediately before or after the main ceremony where a replica was used. From a certain point of view, we actually followed protocol in a way, just had a bit longer between the official signing and the fake one. All this I took in as the dazzling effect of the sun faded. A moment later the orchestra kicked off, playing something that was almost like the wedding march from Earth. Maybe a bit faster? I had never really paid attention to that one. After taking a deep breath, it was time to start walking forward and a few moments later I was standing next to Rupert in front of the cardinal. The sheer mass of people in the streets below guaranteed that the low hum of their converged voices was audible. But at this distance, their stares didnt bother me much; it was rather easy to simply pretend they werent there. Somewhat more difficult to ignore were the many nobles, but the majority of these I had already dealt with privately. That, combined with the numerous functions Id been forced to attend recently had somewhat numbed me to them, making it rather easy to trust [Acting] with my smile and simply ignore them all. The cardinal began to speak, reading through the contract. Some parts were tweaked slightly from the actual wording or omitted entirely for privacys sake; even if the voice was not yet amplified, the nobles might still read his lips. Surprisingly, now that I was standing here I was more bored than anything else. We had done all of this already, and this public display wasnt going to change any of it. One of the Royal Mages mumbled the incantation for the same sound-boosting spell that had been used at the siege then nodded to our officiant. Now that the terms had been read there was no longer a concern about privacy, and the cardinal spoke, Thus concludes the reading of the contract. Your Highness Rupert von Drakas, do you accept these terms, and as such seek to take Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas as your wife? It was exactly the same as before. We both agreed, then signed our names. Please, seal the contract. The cardinals voice intoned again. This of course was done with a kiss, just like last time. To my own mild surprise, it was rather easy. There was nothing really for it, we simply kissed and concluded our portion of the ceremony. Well, my portion of the ceremony. From here it would transition to Ruperts coronation. At the conclusion of the coup, the king had, thankfully, announced his intention to abdicate so this was not another one of his surprises. Something told me, however, that it was not going to be quite that simple. The king stood and advanced towards us and, as decided ahead of time, I fell back slightly to give the stage to him and Rupert. Rupert. His voice came out low, but as powerful as ever. Ruperts back straightened immediately, involuntarily, Your Majesty. You have done great things in a short amount of time. We know that we made the correct choice when naming you our successor. Now, will you accept our position and all the burdens it carries? Rupert bowed his head, If that is your will, then I shall. It is. Cardinal, on behalf of the church; bear witness to this, the coronation of my third son. He will lead our kingdom in the war to come, while I will personally lead our armies. Ah, there it is. It was very subtle, and I probably only caught it because of where I was standing, but Rupert had winced slightly. From the witnesses in the front row, Gustav groaned softly. Even Ferdinand, whose stoic unfeeling visage generally challenged even Ruperts lack of emotional expression, even he showed a reaction in the form of one of his eyes twitching. It was very clear that the King had not informed anyone that his last act as monarch was going to be to take command of the army. Having said his piece, the king removed the gold circlet that served as his crown and passed it to Rupert. There would be an actual ceremony later and he would not wear it until then. But for all legal intents and purposes, those few words had handed my husband the largest country on the continent. Psycholor This chapter was edited and scheduled on mobile, so I blame any formatting issues on that... A special thanks to Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 7-2 Growth and Panacea Then, with the powers vested in me by my station as monarch and by my name, Rupert von Drakas, I bestow upon you the title of Queen. Rise, and stand at my side, Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris. Ruperts words solidified my posting, further emphasized by two system notifications I promptly dismissed. Received Title: [Queen von Drakas] Title Revoked: [Crown Princess] A quick inspection of my status revealed that [Queen von Drakas] was essentially useless; it was just a renamed copy of [Crown Princess]. [Queen von Drakas]: Awarded to those who have ascended the throne as queen, through marriage or by birth. Effects: This title bears no effects. Almost involuntarily, my hand ascended and touched the cool metal circlet that had been put on my head. It was nearly identical to Ruperts, save for being made of white gold instead of yellow. The weight was, surprisingly, imperceptible. The only thing filling my thoughts these past few days was how heavy the crown might be, both figuratively and literally. At Ruperts command, I ascended the steps to where he was standing. This room had been used for his coronation several days ago. We were rushing things a bit, and strictly speaking, we didnt need the ceremony; the former kings words had granted Rupert all the authority and power of the king. Following that, Rupert need only say the words himself, and I would be given mine. No, the ceremony had been purely symbolic, a show. Like the faux wedding, meant to give the people some sense of security. I stepped back to the side, where a short ornate staircase awaited me, and climbed up to his level. Just a little bit longer. Really, I didnt want to be here. The only reason I was owed to my duty. If it had been my decision, we would have skipped all of this and focused on making the preparations. But it had not been up to me. Rupert and Gustav, the latter now holding a minister position, had decided we wouldnt skip the coronations. The fact that mine had been accelerated beyond what the law dictated initially was the most they would allow. Almost time for me to do my part, then I can return to my lab. Rupert trailed off as his part finished, Together, we will do everything it takes to blunt the effects of the coming calamity. I stepped forward from just behind him and gripped his arm lightly in a move to show unity, This, we swear. And, I swear that I will not waste the gifts granted to me by the gods themselves. I will do my utmost to ensure the continued prosperity of our country against all that may threaten her, be they man or demon. I will not falter. There was a smattering of applause from the nobles and a dull roar from the streets below. My short speech, assisted by my Talents and Titles, had seemingly moved the people. That meant that my purpose here had been fulfilled. After a few moments of waving to the crowd, Rupert escorted me out of the garden and back into the palace proper. As soon as the doors shut, cutting us off from the noble onlookers, the mask fell off, Is there anything else that needs to be done immediately? Rupert frowned as a servant assisted him in doffing his overcoat, Not immediately pressing; it would work best to delay your move until after the upcoming diplomatic trip, and speaking of that, we need to make the arrangements for your entourage But that can wait. Please, let me know how things go. I will. Sasha, Frieda, lets go. I knew I wasnt being strictly proper. The way I was acting was hardly appropriate, nobles aside, there were still servants around, and they would gossip. Even knowing all that, I was practically jumping out of my skin to return to my lab. If my assumptions were correct, then the Goddess Draught only needed another cycle through the distiller before it would be ready to use. The most recent experiment had managed to regrow one of the palace Stawris missing legs, lost in a hunting accident. Usually, the monster would have been put down, but it had been covertly treated at my request. It would probably be able to regrow her limb as-is. But for making something like a Goddess Draught, I feel like that would warrant a title or a notification. My [Alchemy Correction] Talent hasnt even gone up. That talent was currently at level four and needed about two hundred more experience to hit level five. I had gotten some experience when I first started the potion distilling and Divine Element Infusion, but that stopped after the third time. No doubt it was the repeated action penalty thing again. I dont want to give Jacqueline a super healing potion. No, I want to leave her better than when I first met her; its the least she deserves after everything shes done for me. It was fortunate that I had as much leeway as I did, though considering the rarity of the main ingredient, Sitris blood, that was perhaps inevitable. It wasnt like this super-potion could be so easily mass-produced. Though the concentration through distillation method had some promise for regular potions, it was rather delicate to do. That was the only real reason it wasnt done already; distilled liquor was a thing, and it wasnt much of a leap to apply that process to potion-making. Simply put, I had discovered that without feeding mana into the potion as it vaporized, it would destabilize. Technically possible through clever use of mana crystals, but inefficient and time-consuming. My abilities with Blood Magic were the only reason it was possible for me. And there was that side-discovery. My focus turned to the ring I was wearing, and I felt a small smile grace my face. It was the replacement ring Rupert had given me; Id had Gustav affix a mana vacuum to it. An enchantment that would siphon off excess mana and store it without doing anything else. As long as the materials threshold wasnt exceeded, the mana could be safely stored and used as a power source for magic tools. Or, if there was no other way to drain it, I could simply have it dissipate into the air. With this, I had regained my former abilities with fine mana control; so long as the ring still could absorb more, any excess would go into it rather than my target. Meaning my appraisal worked again. Of course, over-taxing the ring would make it crystalize and shatter like any other object. But considering the materials it was made of, that shouldnt pose a risk unless I went seriously overboard. Arriving at my lab, I addressed my head maid, Sasha, the same as usual, please. This process was one oft-repeated, and she knew what she was expected to do by this point. Her reply, though, carried a bit of an unexpected edge, Of course, I will ensure that nobody disturbs you This is the last time, correct? I nodded, Yes, after this the draught should be ready Frieda, will you please send word to Jacqueline? Frieda glanced at Sasha before departing with a curtsy, but the former was not finished, My lady, may I speak my mind? My eyes lingered longingly on my apparatus before switching back to my maid, Yes, you may. She only ever asks to speak freely when shes serious about something As much as I would like to blow her off and get to work, She wouldnt bring something up unless it were serious Sasha took a deep breath and briefly shut her eyes before speaking, ...My lady, I have so far held my tongue knowing what Jacqueline means to you, but how you behaved with his highness just now was completely beyond the pale. Her tone wasnt accusatory, nor was it a simple reprimand; She spoke to me as though she was simply stating a fact. She was right as well, as much as I didnt want to admit it. I spared another glance at my distilling equipment before nodding, I was- Sasha shook her head, Please, no excuses; just listen. I shut my mouth and clenched my teeth to bite back a retort in mild shock as she continued, It isnt all bad; I can appreciate that you have so far minded yourself when in the company of nobility, but the way you act in private has long crossed the line. The fact that His Majesty tolerates such behavior does not excuse it; these past few months, you have demonstrated a general immaturity that I had thought beneath you. Ok, but when I finish my work here, it will still benefit the kingdom; I am doing my job. Especially now that youve become Queen. Despite circumstances, you have a duty to this country to support His Majesty. Enough, Sasha. Something about what she was saying was seriously getting on my nerves, and I needed her to stop before I became heated and snapped, I know that. I know that the Queens job is primarily to support the King and country in a variety of ways. But Rupert and I are far from a traditional pair. It is equally my job to act independently and to advise him. How many Drakan Queens can claim to be both a champion of the gods and an apostate? She crossed her arms sternly, To my knowledge, at least two, including yourself. I will not deny that you are far from a traditional monarch. In fact, I find it doubtful that you will ever be my image of a Queen. But that does not change the fact that you are my Queen; I will always support you until such a time as you or his highness sees fit to dismiss me or until I face the gods. She spoke with more force than Id ever heard from her, and it was enough to steal the wind out of my sails. She simply didnt talk to me like this. Even during past instances of correcting or seeking to educate me, she was always relatively gentle about it. And always backed down when I told her to stop I bit my lip, Then what is this? If you claim you will always support me- I am supporting you. I am advising you; in the proper forum. In private. It is up to you whether or not to heed my advice; now that I have given it, I will say no more. To punctuate her statement, Sasha uncrossed her arms and stepped back. You you make a good point. Thank you, Sasha. In a way, she had completely missed the point, in a way that I didnt quite understand. It wasnt that Rupert and I disagreed on how my time was being spent recently unless he did disapprove and simply hadnt said anything. No, I doubt that very much. But Sasha is right. I cant let myself get caught up like this. Even before officially being crowned today, Ive more or less been effectively the Queen for a while now. So as much as I want to help Jacqueline, I cant let it distract me from those duties. I nodded, Since we are already here, I will finish the Goddess Draught today No matter how it turns out after this session, I will not delay any longer And I will apologize to Rupert in view of the servants who witnessed my actions earlier today. That will be humiliating, but it should correct any perceptions and halt rumors if I do it early. No, that would be going much too far. Her reply was immediate, and she shook her head, You should apologize, yes. But do so privately in the absence of servants. Then, following that, have forbearance with your actions in the future. That sort of made sense; I already knew it would look bad to lower myself like that. There was also a concern that servants of noble birth would carry reports back to their families. On the other hand, information about my previous indiscretion would be making its way back as we spoke. The advantage of apologizing privately instead of publicly was lost on me, so it would be best to simply follow Sashas advice. Very well, thank you. She curtsied, Now, I believe you must reprimand me in some way; I violated a direct order and continued to scold you after being told enough. Do I really have to do that? No, this is another lesson shes trying to teach me, so Ive got to do something. I considered it for a few minutes, trying to come up with a solution that would satisfy her while at the same time not being hugely inconvenient. Being instructed to discipline someone significantly older than myself was awkward. Finally, a solution came to me, Very well. Then, should Jacqueline choose to re-enter my service, she will replace you as my head maid. People will view it as me being ecstatic at regaining an old and cherished employee while naming you as her second will preserve your own dignity. This conversation occurred in private, so it would not do if the repercussions were publicly identified. Sasha nodded, Very well, and if she chooses not to do so? For once, I had actually considered the other possibilities and accounted for them, In that case, you will be placed on temporary leave and attend to Jacquelines rehabilitation such as is necessary. It will look like I am offering a favor to someone who was gravely injured in my service. Of course, it will require Jacqueline to travel with us, but that will be fine; we can drop her off in a place she chooses along the route. Then, by your will. It would seem that my planned punishment had met with her approval. That was a bit of a relief, and I felt pleased, almost like a schoolgirl receiving praise from the teacher after doing well on an assignment. Although considering what that assignment had been, the feeling was slightly confusing. Regardless, that had been finished, and I could finally finish my potion. I took great care not to literally skip my way over to the still; doing so would be sure to sour Sashas mood. Taking the nearly finished potion out of the magic cold storage box, I carefully poured the contents into the heating chamber. Then double-checked that I was wearing my ring before feeding a tiny bit of mana into a primer. Predictably, the amount of mana that left me was more than Id intended to send. The ring absorbed the excess, demonstrating that it was, in fact, working. Ok, here we go. This part was always rather tense. First, I used [Ignite] through my [Fire Magic] Talent to start the oil burner, then carefully watched the temperature rise while tweaking the fuel valve. If possible, I would prefer to directly heat the chamber with Blood Magic, but it wasnt. Simply put, the process was already taxing enough without adding an additional element to the mix. My hands needed to be wrapped in a layer of Ice Element mana lest I burn myself on the surface of the heating chamber. Then, I needed to continuously pour Divine Element mana into it, replacing what was being boiled off. The fact that I could now do a second element on top of Divine was thanks only to my [Divine Usurper] Titles effect of making Divine Element easier to manipulate. Even if Ice wasnt directly opposed to Fire, there wasnt any leeway to heat it myself. With everything in place, I began to slowly increase the temperature. Soon, the potion began to boil away, the non-divine mana leaving it. The next hour and a half consisted of me raising and lowering the temperature while feeding mana into the still. Unfortunately, the constant expenditure exceeded my natural recovery rate, and I lacked the leeway to drink a potion. Even if I could have done so, the mental strain was enough to preclude me from pressing on for more than a couple of hours per session. Incidentally, that was also about how long my mana reserves lasted anyway. A limit that was fast approaching. Come on, do something! It was coming up on the forty-five-minute mark of the second hour, and I was beginning to suspect that Id failed. The potion would restore Jacqueline to total bodily health, but it was not a Goddess Draught. Received Title: [Creator of Panacea] Experience threshold reached, obtained Talent: [Alchemical Correction V(MAX)] Talent Evolution in progress, complete. Obtained Talent: [Alchemy Meister] Criteria met, received Skill: [Alchemical Heresy] My focus had been so deep that the notifications sounding off genuinely scared me. Falling and landing on my back, I clawed desperately at the air, trying to turn the heat off. Sasha, bless her, saw fit to quickly turn the fuel knob into the off position before seeing if I was all right. My Lady!? I couldnt answer; I was too busy feeling superbly pleased with myself as I read my latest system acquisitions. They were far, far, more meaningful to me personally than [Queen von whatever]. [Creator of Panacea]: Awarded to those who have created an ultimate healing potion. Effect: Provides the user with an increased healing factor. Short of death or loss of limb, most injuries will recover within a few days. [Alchemical Heresy]: Skill bestowed to those who have used alchemy to challenge the domain of the gods and successfully created a Goddess Draught. Created potions and alchemical compounds can be imbued with Divine Element to improve their effectiveness by one tier. On the other hand, [Alchemy Meister] was simply an upgraded [Alchemy Correction] and had been replaced in my status. Granted, it did say that it would Allow the user to automatically perform certain actions related to the alchemical process, but whatever! I ignored Sasha and jumped up; I had only fallen, after all, hardly enough to injure me. My hands refused to stop shaking for several seconds, forcing me to wait. There was no way that I could allow myself to risk damaging the potion. Finally, they stilled, and I gingerly extracted the finished article. Checking my ring four times to ensure it was still well below its capacity, I dipped my finger into the brew and appraised it. [Goddess Draught] - Healing Potion (Divine Tier). - Functions as a full restorative. Legends say that it can even flaunt the Authority of Mortis; the god of death. - Unique Item - Created by The Divine Usurper Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris in the Year 0949 - Estimated Value: Priceless. I did it Psycholor A very brief interlude-type thing before the main plot for this volume; Jacqueline will be returning next chapter, and then two chapters from now we will depart the capital to search for the other champions. A special thanks to Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 7-3 Healing My sense of relief and euphoria only lasted a moment before dissipating, replaced by an odd sense of foreboding. I took a second look at my new title, [Creator of Panacea]. It would be very useful in faking the Champion of Autumns blessing. It was still a thematically relevant effect, but it seemed incredibly convenient. Perhaps it was my paranoia, but I could not shake the feeling that the title had been tailor-made for me. It would certainly make my planned deception easier to sell. The Autumn Champions abilities meant they were effectively unkillable, though a cost was definitely associated with it. I had planned to do my best to avoid being injured in the first place. Then manufacture some super concentrated healing potions to fake it if I did get injured. Having this ability would make it a lot easier, considering how difficult and fragile the distillation process had turned out to be. With this title taking over the role of healing me, it would free up a lot of effort and prep time on my end, thus letting me do other things. No matter what, it would certainly make things interesting. Yea, this has Adronis fingerprints all over it. Didnt they say they werent going to interfere, though..? The Autumn Champions ability to recover from any injuries simply by sleeping, even death itself, that was never going to be easy to fake. The idea that a god was meddling in my life again put me on edge. Granted, I willingly became that particular deitys champion, but having something forced on me like that was just it reminded me of what Antenora had done. I could remove it, probably. Ive not tried removing a title yet, but its part of the class system, so it should fall under the purview of my authority. But I could also just as easily not use it. Doesnt really make sense to go out of my way to get rid of it one way or another. This particular title wouldnt do anything unless I selected it, and it would make for a very convenient fallback plan, assuming that things went to crap. My lady? Sashas worried trailing voice pulled me back to my senses. Shit! Ah! My apologies; I was enraptured by this, I highlighted the finished potion, It worked. As you can see, I am not injured. There was a bit of a mana pulse, and it startled me. I put on a smile to reassure her. though internally, I felt bad about the lie. Sasha gave me a look that said she knew I was lying about the mana pulse but that she wouldnt pursue the topic; she knew about my rather unique skills and relation to Adroni, but we didnt speak about that stuff publicly. Especially with my new staff. Even if they werent with me at this exact moment, it was best to avoid having a habit of talking about it. We would be less likely to make mistakes that way. Please, help me get things ready? Frieda had gone to get Jacqueline ready and bring her here, and they would be back within the hour; I had planned to have her arrive shortly after finishing. My head maid nodded, then proceeded to busy herself with tidying things around the room. As for the still itself, I handled it personally. Despite my station and Sashas objections, and she had indeed objected, I wanted to handle the delicate contraption personally. A few minutes later, things were tidied up. Just in time; Frieda stuck her head in to announce her and Jacquelines arrival. Suddenly, I was beset by a feeling of trepidation. I havent seen her in a while I mean, Ive ensured shes been taken care of, but I havent personally seen her in months. What if she No, well go through with it. No use fretting over every little detail and possibility. Frieda wheeled her into the room. She looked tired but at the same time, content. It was more like she had a rather busy day, and not so much a case of long-term stress. Felicity and Rosials doing, no doubt. I greeted her, Jacqueline, Ive got something for you. Gesturing towards the vial of Goddess Draught, I took a deep breath before continuing, It should be able to restore your arm and repair your back. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she opened and closed her mouth several times before finally answering, Is Is that really possible? I know you said you were looking for a way, but something like that For me? That kind of potion is like something out of the myths and legends. If it is the truth, I am not important enough to use it; you would be best to save it for yourself, or his highness. The fact that she had more or less accepted what I told her about the abilities of the potion was gratifying; it meant that at the end of the day, despite everything, I still had her trust. No, I shook my head, No, I will not save it for myself; I made it for you, and I want you to use it. Jacqueline fell silent with her mouth hanging open before sinking back into her chair, Why? She mumbled something that I barely caught, ...Why do this for me? I paused; there was a good chance that my answer to that question would influence whether or not she was willing to take it. Well, why indeed? Because I feel bad about what happened. Because I want her to be whole again. Because I know that with whats to come, Ill like her help. Things would be fine without her. Ultimately, Jacqueline was just one woman with a particular set of skills. She was useful but could be replaced; her presence was not necessary like the champions was. But I wanted her to stay with me. I would be lying if I said it was purely for her sake. It was a purely selfish notion. Why you? Because you have been with me since the beginning. Youve always been there to help me, and I want you to continue on in the future. Especially with whats to come, I wouldnt want it any other way. It was best, to be honest. Of course, I wouldnt order her to come with me. But honesty would get me what I wanted far more easily than lying to her. At least with Jacqueline, it was the best policy. Her tired eyes lifted up and met mine, You are offering me this miracle because you want me to serve you again. Not because you feel guilt over what happened? I nodded. It was true that I did still feel a bit guilty, and probably always would. But this wasnt really about that, not anymore. Jacqueline exhaled softly, then smiled, So you finally stopped blaming yourself when did that happen, I wonder? Give me the potion, then. Wait, really? Just like that? I blinked in confusion but stepped over to the table. Carefully, gingerly, I lifted the small flask in both hands, then walked back to Jacqueline, My apologies, Sasha, but this is something else that I will handle personally. Jacqueline received the draught from me; her grip shook a small amount. When I went to steady it, Sasha stepped in and held Jacquelines arm and hand. Obediently, despite not wholly wanting to, I stepped back. From the point of view of any onlooker, the literally-just-coronated Queen was attempting to hand-feed a crippled commoner maid. Handing her the potion was already borderline of what was acceptable. Besides, there really isnt all that much risk of Sasha breaking the flask, and even if she does, it should work just as fine if it simply splashes on her skin. Maybe a bit slower at the very worst Yea, there really isnt any need for me to do it With the older womans help, Jacqueline raised the flask to her lips and drank the contents. Sasha then removed the empty container and stepped back. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Jacqueline let out a gasp and slumped over. Stop! Dont touch her. My order was swiftly heeded, and both Sasha and Freida stepped back, Thank you for reacting so promptly, but she is fine. I think that it is similar to what happened to me. The explanation caused a candle to light in Sashas head, and she nodded, Of course. Should we bring her to her quarters? Frieda had never witnessed one of my comas first-hand, so she had no real understanding of the situation, but took her cue from her senior and moved to take the wheelchair away until I again waved her off, No, I do not believe it will be so long this time. I was using my divine eyes and watching a most curious sight; Jacquelines mana, long absent from her arm, was beginning to pool at the shoulder, Loosen her shirt around the damaged shoulder, then get back from her Avoid touching her skin as much as possible. Why didnt we do that first!? The two of them did as they were told, and we all watched as her skin began to bubble and froth until the surface had clearly liquified. It bore an uncanny resemblance to the injury that had first caused the loss of her arm, causing an involuntary shiver to run down my spine. Then, Frieda gasped before turning slightly aside, not that I could blame her. The sight of bones growing out of a skin soup was, in a word, revolting. My own sensibilities were rather skewed such that I personally found it more fascinating, but the real question was why Sasha seemed unfazed. I regarded her out of the side of my vision as muscle tissue and veins began to follow the bony growths. She wasnt looking on with anything approaching interest, more so boredom. The skin soup began to drip and run down the limb, appearing as though a slime was attempting to eat it. A few seconds longer and the skin started to harden. Though we couldnt see it, her back had probably undergone a similar process. A cursory visual inspection confirmed that everything seemed to be in order, but I dared not touch her just yet. Before much more time had passed, she stirred once, then her eyes fluttered open. Sitting up, Jacqueline peered frantically around the room before exclaiming, Where, where am I!? Her eyes seemed to settle on me, Alisha? My heart sank; I had been afraid this would happen. Clenching my hands shut, I shook my head, No, I am not Alisha. My name is Stahlia, do you remember me? Goddess Draught was a full restore. A complete heal. A panacea. It would fix not only the body but also the mind. Giving it to someone like Jacqueline, someone with a shattered psyche had borne the risk of a reversion. If she didnt remember me, then Stahlia No, not Alisha, Stahlia. Right. Stahlia Ris, von Ris? Now Hope, hope dared flair up within my heart at those words. She was hesitating, puzzling out each word, but it sounded like she did remember me. Please. Now von Drakas. Forgive me, theres so much Things are, confusing. Who, whos Tanya? I nodded, I believe that might be your name. Before before you were Jacqueline. The light was beginning to come back to her eyes as though a fog was lifting off from in front of her vision. From those few lines we had shared, I could reasonably assume that whatever lingering mental blocks she still had were gone now; she remembered everything. What that would do to her was anyones guess, but surely it would be better than before. Relax, and take your time to recover and sort through everything. I will ensure that you are given everything you need. Jacqueline nodded somewhat distractedly and seemed to retreat into herself, Sasha, as we discussed before, go with her. Keep me informed of her progress. Frieda, when I have returned to my chambers, please call for my parents Address my father as such and not by his title; this is a personal matter. Hopefully, Jacqueline will have recovered enough to accompany me. Even if not as my head maid, a friend and advisor. Regardless, I need to address the promises made to my sisters And do it so that my father doesnt feel forced to agree with me owing to status. Sasha curtsied, then fixed Jacquelines top before grasping the wheelchairs handles. Presumably, the full recovery included her muscle atrophy, but I had just told her to relax and, after so long in a wheelchair, one more trip wouldnt hurt anything. Once they had left, Frieda returned with me to my chambers in the adjacent rooms. Moving is going to be a pain, though it wont be until after I come back, so Ive got a bit of time. Rupert had briefly mentioned that before I blew him off; now that I was coronated, I should be moving into the Royal Chambers with him, but doing it now would be troublesome for both of us. We had decided to wait until after my return from the next major event on my schedule; a diplomatic mission. Now that I had been announced as the Champion of Autumn, it was planned for me to take a battalion of soldiers and a company of royal knights and embark on locating the remaining champions. And also now my sisters. Why couldnt I have just said no to them? Almost immediately upon my return, one of the new maids began preparing tea, in case I should ask for it, and two more busied themselves with tidying things once Frieda informed them we would be having guests. Count Arrants fifth daughter, Count Lardocs third, and Count Gremels second? Or is she Count Streichens first? For better or worse, none of the newcomers had made enough of an impression for me to remember their names. Without [Eidetic Memory] to fall back on, things had become a lot harder in that regard. Which makes me wonder how the hell Sasha remembers them all. Without her informing me ahead of time or whispering in my ear who I was seeing, I wouldnt have had any clue. And I cant just keep notes about it so easily if one of these found them and reported back to her parents Hopefully, I could purchase the Talent back or at least get [Memorization] again the next time I leveled up. It wasnt that my memory was particularly bad; it was actually much improved since my resurrection. Aarons theory about the problem skills and talents having been incorporated into my body seemed correct. Now that the conflicting Talent had been removed, I was finding it much easier to recall various details and was even beginning to make some progress in re-translating the language used for chanting. But for whatever reason, names dont seem to stick in my head. It probably has something to do with the fact that, even if I know its important, I dont care about them enough... For whatever that says about me. A short time later, while I was idly flipping through a novel without really reading anything, Frieda announced my parents arrival, My lady, Lord Fynn von Ris, and Lady Rosalie von Ris have arrived. One of the other maids went to pour three cups of tea, Thank you, but as this is a personal visit with my parents, I will be taking only Sasha and one knight as escorts. To their credit, none of the trio showed any signs of being disgruntled by the admittedly curt dismissal as they filed out of the room. The knights didnt even blink and simply left one of their number behind. Once I was sure they were gone, I nodded to Frieda, who left to let my parents in. I took a final quick glance at a mirror along the wall to confirm my appearance was in order, only to wince inwardly at the demons face that stared back. Damnit! There was no time to dwell on it, though, as my parents trailed into the room behind my maid. As soon as the doors were closed, I chanted out the [Silence] spell, then activated a magic tool in the table for good measure. My parents were seated, and Frieda busied herself pouring tea for the three of us while I launched into the purpose of the visit. Father, mother, I need to ask permission for something; please, do not let my new station turn this into an order. Pausing just a moment to let my words sink in, I continued, I may have misspoken toward Rosial and Felicity; I invited them to accompany me on the upcoming diplomatic mission. Now, I wish to ask your permission to bring them with me if it is possible. The two of them shared a look with each other; it was a strange mix of exasperation and pride. Then my father turned back to me and said, his tone serious, And are you ordering us to treat this as a request, not an order? He actually might have fooled me for a moment if it wasnt for the smile he was trying his damndest not to allow to spread across his face. The corners of his mouth were twitching fiercely, threatening to reject any attempt at stoicism and rise in mirth. My mother lightly struck his shoulder, exasperation writ on her face, By the gods, Fynn, do you not think she has enough to deal with without your antics? Stahlia, as long as you continue to call us mother and father, then regardless of station, you will remain our daughter. No matter how many titles you might acquire. Her words struck me a lot harder than I might have expected them to. I fell back in my seat, stunned. Ignoring my state, my now-abashed father spoke, As far as those two are concerned, I do not believe bringing them out of the country is a good idea. While I appreciate your sentiment, I do not believe it is safe during such unstable times as these. My fathers reasoning was sound, though it presented the issue of how to go about appeasing the two of them. Then my mother hit me with a follow-up finisher, The two of them were ecstatic, you know; they would not stop talking about how excited they were to travel with you. Fynn and I had just finished explaining to them when Miss Friedas summons arrived; I think you owe them an apology, but both girls understand that you got ahead of yourself. Now, shall we visit as a family for a time? We shall need to put the masks back on so painfully soon. All I could do by way of response was bite my lip and nod while gripping my cup. The fact that my parents had told me no was in and of itself more proof than anything that I was still their daughter. Even if it sucked that I would have to deal with having disappointed Rosial and Felicity, at the very least, it sounded like my parents had properly explained to them why it was a bad idea to accompany me. I have to remember that theyre both getting older themselves, they might still be kids, but they arent children. What followed was by far and away easily the best hour Id had in months, perhaps years. We didnt even do all that much; talk about old times, how Ris villagers were doing, how the new defenses were coming along, how theyd gotten a new Stawri and were looking forward to seeing how he faired with Stil, nothing of any real substance. And I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Psycholor Next chapter, we depart. A special thanks to Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 7-4 Departure The end of the week saw me preparing to board a carriage in the middle of a sea of men. The "entourage" provided to me for this outing. Nearly a thousand people total; I had been afforded a battalion of soldiers and a company of the Royal Knights. Granted, both were on the smaller side of things, but still. This is nominally supposed to be a diplomatic mission to the neighboring kingdoms. Is it a good idea for me to be so heavily armed? Drakan diplomacy had always favored a robust approach, but with what I had here No, I can always send them back if it causes trouble. But, for now, best to trust the experts. It was a fact that my diplomatic knowledge was lacking. If it weren''t for the fact that I was both the Queen and champion-in-name, we would have been better served to send a count or one of the dukes. As things were, I was too far involved to just stay back and assist our local forces. And even if this is a drastic departure from the norm, that should hopefully win a few favors. It was decidedly uncharacteristic of Drakan politics to send the champion abroad rather than keep them close to defend the homefront. Our neighbors should be caught off guard when I announced myself. As we approached the time for departure, I was more anxious about this whole affair than anything I had done previously. It would not be inaccurate to say that the weight of the entire country and, to an extent, the rest of the world was presently resting with the success of my mission. Without the champions, defeating the hell kings would be nigh on impossible. I could probably manage one or two of them independently, but I would have to level up a lot more first. Even disconnecting from the system, a suicide play, I likely couldn''t do more than one on one. I should have been giving more thought to this these past few months, but I was so caught up with Jacqueline and all "Frieda, how much longer?" Frieda had fallen into the role of my head maid these past few days. "Just another minute; once the music starts." Sasha was still with Jacqueline, and while they were both coming along, I was in Frieda''s hands for now. They should be in one of the carriages following mine. My family as well I hope everyone is going to be alright In particular, I was concerned about Rosial and Felicity. Rosin would probably be fine, but those two both had reasons to dislike large crowds. Hopefully, they would be able to stay out of sight until The music started, meaning it was time for me to depart. I roused myself and took my position near the door leading out into the palace''s grand entrance. Very gingerly, to avoid disturbing the maid''s efforts earlier today, I felt my face to verify I was smiling. This was just another ceremony, was what I kept telling myself. A pair of knights in ceremonial armor waited for a specific lul in the arrangement before they swung the large doors open for me, revealing Rupert and a large number of nobles. As the music kicked off, I made my way toward the carriage. Pausing just long enough to lock arms with Rupert, I made my way down the walkway. He had just given a speech to those assembled, announcing and publicly detailing my trip''s purpose: finding the other champions. A mere formality as knowledge about my departure had already been disseminated through the rumor mill. The true event was not with the onlooking nobles but to follow with the commoners of the upper, middle, and lower cities. I heard what happened with Sasha. He spoke in a low voice, lest he be overheard, Should I arrange a new head maid for you? One a bit closer to your own age? What? No, her age has nothing to do with that But I can sort of see why he might think that, maybe? I answered equally as low, No things are fine; her assignment is temporary. A favor for Jacqueline, who has done so much for me. Also, a minor punishment for Sasha, who spoke out of turn It was her request. Rupert tensed his arm slightly, acknowledging that he had both heard and understood me. My entourage would pass through several cities and large towns on my way to the border. For many, this would be the only chance they had to see the queen. Consequently, we expected people to turn out in somewhat obscene numbers as villagers filtered in from the surrounding regions. "Stahlia." Rupert''s whisper again reached me just as we came to the carriage. Turning to face him, I stepped closer and tilted my head slightly to indicate that I had heard him. He too stepped closer, and we met in a chaste embrace; a performance for the watching nobles, "Stahlia I will ensure that you have a country to return to, so make sure you return." Having said that, we separated. Rupert held out his hand and helped me board the carriage, leaving me perplexed as I went to take my place in the parade caravan. What, what was that? The way he whispered it, there''s no way anyone could hear or read his lips those words were just between us! Make sure I come back? What the hell is he on about!? Surely it isn''t anything like that It would be a huge morale blow if I were to die or otherwise fail to return. That''s it; plus, the Royal Line isn''t secure. Though he doesn''t need me for that, if something happened, he could simply marry Edith in another two years. Yea, it''s just that I''ve gotten myself entangled in various things. Spymaster, liaison with the monsters, Autumn Champion, figurehead of a sub-faction of noblewoman not all of those shoes could so easily be fill- Sasha''s voice interrupted my runaway thoughts, "My lady. You seem perturbed." "Ah! Sasha? I was not expecting to see you yet. When and how did you get here?" She bowed her head lightly, "A moment before we departed, Miss Frieda informed me that something seemed amiss with you. She wasn''t sure how to proceed, so I thought it wise to switch with her for a bit; she is surprisingly capable given her dubious origins, but at times like this My apologies if I have overstepped at all." Yes, but when did you switch Whatever. Did something seem amiss with me? So it was showing on my face after all. I carefully checked the other two maids in the carriage with me. Both of them were giving me a sideways look and carrying on a furtively whispered conversation while taking care to never let their mouths face toward me. I enhanced my ears with Blood Magic. "Yes, ever since my lady boarded. She''s been smiling, but it isn''t like her normal one." "I saw what you mean. My lady was smiling sort of, only halfway. Maybe she was uncomfortable?" "And my lady''s hands! They were a bit unsettled as well. The way she grasped the cup, clearly distracted." "Whatever it is, the head seems to have sorted it out." "Still, considering everything that has happened to my lady she has always managed to bear it." "Then, is there something about this mission? Did you see my lady embrace his Highness? Maybe he said something?" "Hush, mere words would never elicit that sort of reaction." Terminating my enhancements, I shook my head to clear it. Sasha gave me a questioning look of her own; I hadn''t made any honest attempt to hide what I''d been focusing on. The fact that neither of the two spies had caught on was somewhat impressive in its own right; I had been pretty blatantly staring at them for almost twenty seconds. I probably don''t need to do anything with them being that incompetent. Whatever they report to their families will be rife with errors and assumptions "It''s nothing. Forgive me, Sasha. Rupert simply said something exceptionally sweet, and it gave me pause." It would be a lie if I said seeing the two maids stiffen suddenly didn''t give me some sense of satisfaction. It shouldn''t do any harm if their families hear that. Better than them jumping to their own wrong conclusions and triggering some new form of unrest. Before anyone could press the issue, I employed the favored tactic of diplomats and politicians everywhere; ignore and then change the subject, "How much longer until we exit the Noble Quarter?" Seeing an opportunity, Sasha directed a poignant gaze to one of the other two, who shrank back under the weight of her superior''s stare before rattling off the answer. "Ah! Uhm, forgive me, my lady, we have, ahem, we have just passed the Gilgan Arch, so we should be in view of the gates within a minute." Though she fumbled a bit, the answer seemed to satisfy Sasha as she gave a satisfied nod. I raised a falsely bemused eyebrow toward Sasha before announcing, "Then, I should go up to the roof. Sasha, since you are not supposed to be here." Trailing off, I let my gaze wander over to the two gossip stones. Sasha caught on and placed her hand on her chin in a show of thoughtful consideration. Both of her juniors realized what was being discussed roughly simultaneously, shared a look, and blanched white. "My lady, I believe Miss Beatrice would be the best to accompany you. Miss Peoni is somewhat afraid of heights." Beatrice''s shoulders slumped, to her credit, nearly imperceptibly. Peoni, on the other hand, was much more overt in her relieved sigh, a fact Sasha immediately noted if her subtle frown was anything to go by. You can''t go running away from crowds forever. Not if you''re going to serve a Queen. Nice touch, Sasha. Stressing the miss to drive home the point that their own noble status means nothing in my presence. I wonder if Frieda was being ignored while I was spaced out. Whatever the case, disciplining the maids was only my job when Sasha said it was. While I enjoyed having a bit of fun at their expense, the time for that had now passed. "Then, Beatrice, I shall have you accompany me." The bespoke maid gave a short curtsy and a slightly dejected "Yes, my lady" before moving to one of the carriage walls. This carriage was a bit special in a few ways. For starters, it had three interior rooms. Though they were all small, there was a bedroom for me, the sitting area we were in now, and a space for the maids to rest and prepare simple items. It was also enchanted in a few ways other than the standard, and nonstandard, fortifications. Two standouts were the axle, which had some sort of variable friction mechanism, and a full-length mirror that doubled as a magic communicator. The axle made pulling easier; we only needed eight horses despite the size. The mirror enabled visual and audio communication over long distances, though the mana usage was exorbitant, so it was more of a luxury than anything else. What could be said of the carriage as a whole was that it was an excessive indulgence. Though this is the diplomatic carriage, so it makes sense. We want it to leave an impression on our host nations and serve as a testament to Drakan might. Plus, I''ll be living in it off and on for the near future, so I really can''t complain. The other way the carriage was unique was the roof. From the central sitting room, a ladder was hidden behind a door disguised as carved paneling. That led to a roof access hatch. The top of the carriage had a waist-high barrier around it and another set of benches. It was, in short, a functional parade float. This was the ladder Beatrice opened for me, then scaled. After following her up, I first greeted the two knights riding there, then took my seat; the Noble''s Gate was visible directly ahead of us. Beyond it, incalculable faces and bodies all blurred together into one massive blob of people. "Well, look lively, Beatrice; you have the easy job, just stand behind me and look pretty. Consider; they will pay no more than a glance to you. I''ll be attracting all of that attention." Hopefully, that would do a little to lessen my maid''s tension. Her eyes widened in momentary surprise, and she stuttered, but it seemed like she was able to calm down slightly, "T-thank you, m''lady." Good. It would be a poor look if my attendants appeared terrified. And, like it or not, they''ll have to deal with these situations time and time again. I''m not the only one who didn''t get a learning period; it''s sink or swim. At least in my case, I had experience dealing with crowds. Not that it was ever easy. I took a deep breath and stood up from my seat just as the carriage passed through the gates to the upper city. Pasting a smile on my face and waving to nobody in particular, if I let my eyes sort of gloss over people, their perception would fool them into thinking that I was looking at them specifically. That was the method I had developed for dealing with crowds; avoid looking at anyone while appearing to be looking at everyone. The trip through the city proceeded in that way and was largely uneventful. Some people shouted and cheered, and I directed waves toward the sources of those noises. Other people seemed hesitant, the ones that had yet to form an opinion of me or didn''t care; most of the lower city fell into this category. I carried my head high for these people, hoping to inspire some confidence. Though I had no idea if it would work or not. The vast majority of people were reserved but receptive; they did not make much noise, but they waved back more often than not. There''s just so much happening all at once; people don''t know what to think. From what I witnessed today and the reports being funneled through the Adventurers'' Guild, Rupert and I have the majority''s support. I''ll content myself knowing that there were no attacks, or if they were, they were thwarted before I knew about them. Once my carriage had cleared the city perimeter, Beatrice made to go back inside until I stopped her, "We aren''t done yet; there are the slums still to go." She couldn''t prevent her face from scrunched up in disgust or retorting, "Truly? You mean to look at that?" I nodded, "I do, and you will be here with me. I had wanted to walk for this part, but Rupert rejected the idea in light of the ongoing threats. So that is now two things you should be grateful for." "Two things? My lady, I do not," "The second is that Sasha did not hear you nor witness your actions just now. Therefore, I will refrain from mentioning them, but I suggest you mind your tone in the future." I really don''t need to lose any of my personnel when traveling. Sasha would probably want to dismiss her outright, or at least restrict her duties I need to ask after Jacquelines recovery. That she was well enough to travel was in itself a miracle. Go figure. My maid was mollified and perhaps a little frightened by the subtext of my words. She ducked her head and murmured an apology which I graciously accepted. Eventually, we cleared the slums, and I could finally go inside. Upon entering the sitting room, Beatrice immediately excused herself to the maid''s resting room. The sounds that followed suggested that the smell of the slums had bothered her greatly. Or it was the prolonged exposure to the combined stares of more people than she had seen in her entire life. Regardless, it was impressive that she had lasted as long as she had, considering that the noises were still continuing. I pointed my finger at the wall and cast a silence spell, "Sasha, don''t reprimand her for that It was rather intense for someone of her background, I would know. Did Frieda give you my diary when you two switched?" She nodded, "As you wish, m''lady, I will ignore the fact that she excused herself just now. As for your diary, I have it here." "Ignore all of it. Unless she does such a thing again." She curtsied lightly and passed me the diary. After undoing the lock, which required a bit of Blood Magic mana trickery, I wrote out an account of the departure, then signed and dated it before passing the book back to Sasha. Except that it wasn''t actually a diary. Instead, this was a tool quite similar to the one used by the old Order of Shadows. A two-way communicator using written text. Keyed to my mana, it would only function if I were the user. Ferdinand held the other half and would edit my entry later to convey his reply. It was a crude method but was effectively totally secure. "Now," I announced, "I would like to visit my family. Peoni, please signal for a knight." She looked a little startled to have been called over Sasha but quickly went to fulfill my request. When my father elected to accompany my procession as far as Ris, He was provided a large carriage to transport my whole family. In light of that, it was a fact that I would be visiting my family''s carriage often as we traveled the scenic route back toward Ris. I could easily have stopped everything if I wished to, disembarked, then walked to my parents'' and embarked before we resumed the journey. However, I did not want to do that. After discussing things with Lord Aldriss, the commander of the knights, we came to a satisfactory alternative; a knight would simply ferry me on a horse led alongside his own. My security wasn''t a concern while within Drakas; a procession this size made of trained men would not be hit by bandits, and every single one of them was well vetted before being given the assignment. Furthermore, we were going slow enough that I could quickly and safely make the switch with the use of my enhancements. Doing this would also have the effect of helping to bolster morale; it would make me visible to the soldiers, especially if I used the system for other things, such as to meet with Lord Aldriss or to simply get some air. Regardless, for the time being, it meant that I could go and see my family a bit more before parting ways in a few weeks once we reached Ris. Psycholor A special thanks to Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Server I won''t make this a weekly addition to the author''s note. In fact, this is the only time I intend to bring it up: I have finally re-launched my other story after a long hiatus. In the end, it turned into a rather extreme rewrite. The characters and basic plot beats are the same, and the world setting is similar, but pretty much everything else got changed. Demon Queen 7-5 Queen’s Homecoming Stahlia, 17 Years Old, Eighth Month of 949 After being on the road traveling through various cities and towns of the Kingdom for the better part of two months, I finally arrived home. Back to Ris, the village where I had been reborn into this world in the first place. Except, it wasnt really home. Not anymore. The welcome I had received here was subdued. People looked on in silence as my carriage rolled to a stop near the entrance to the village proper. It was not the largest crowd of onlookers we had seen, but it was by far the quietest. This is certainly different. One of my maids, Peoni, mumbled behind me. Or it could have been Beatrice. But, unfortunately, even after months on the road and in their care, I couldnt remember their names half the time. They were correct, though; things were different. At all the other stops, there had been parades and banquets. Each time, it had been a multiple-days-long affair before we could get back to the relative tranquility of the road. But even at the most minor locations, it differed from this. I wanted to believe that people would be excited to see me back, but I can understand where all of this is coming from. The last time I was home, I looked more or less ordinary. There was an invasion from a goblin army. Since then, I had leapt nearly every social rank to the highest possible. I looked four years older than I should have. Then, there was the small army that accompanied me. Like it or not; I dont think I can continue to call Ris home anymore. My home is in the capital now Since we were sitting on the roof of the carriage, thus in view of the people, I held my head high. But that realization was like a weight trying to drag it down, Frieda, we are going to change our plans. Please, send for Lord Alriss. Ill do the bare minimum here, then depart. We had initially planned to spend a few days in Ris before heading toward the border. But it was abundantly clear that my presence was making the villagers uncomfortable. It would be best to say my goodbyes to my family, then leave before I became too much of a strain on the locale. Of course, as Queen, I could simply force my way, but of all places, this was the last I wanted to do so with. Lord Alriss arrived rather quickly to my summon. He had been expecting them since, by me not immediately exiting my carriage, we were already off-script. He bowed, My Lady? Thank you for such an expedited answer Have your second take the men and fall back half the distance from the village to the fort. It is clear that both their and my presence is distressing to the local population. He didnt argue against the sudden change of plan, simply giving a quick nod before asking a clarifying question, And your security? I nodded, I do not expect any issues, but I would like you to bring one squad of knights and accompany me into the village. We will spend only a single night, then depart for the border Traveling at an easy pace, we should not arrive there ahead of schedule. By your word. He bowed once more and then departed. Ill give him a minute or two to make arrangements. My lady, are you certain? Frieda gave me a questioning glance. Yes, things are better this way, I think. Our voices had not carried, but it was evident to the people that something had happened when the assembled soldiers and most of the knights turned about and departed. Not that the whole number was visible from here, as the road was too narrow for that; a not insignificant number of them were very likely closer to the proposed camp than the village. Once the visible men made an about-face and began marching in the other direction, a low murmur carried through the assembled villagers. That was my cue to stand and make my way down from the roof of my carriage. My father was waiting near the door to escort me down. When I took his arm, he glanced at Frieda before smiling sadly. For whatever it might be worth, I am glad you are back again. With that said, he nodded, and Frieda opened the door for us. Fortunately, I had a fair bit of practice at masking my emotions by this point, so I could hide that my fathers statement was almost enough to make me cry. If my emotions were a bucket, seeing everyone acting so distant had been filling it up, and his reassurance just now had been the few drops to make it overflow. Together, we walked down the street that ran through the middle of the village. My knights fell into step behind us, led by Alriss. My mother, siblings, and Jacqueline were already at my fathers house, having traveled there ahead of me to be part of the welcoming reception. Ah I will have to tell them that Im not staying as long as I had initially planned Shoot. As we walked, the crowd followed with their eyes, then filled in behind us, trailing all the to the gate of my fathers house. Even if they were a bit uncertain and uncomfortable, none of them were willing to miss what was likely a once-in-a-millennia occurrence, that being the queen of a nation being escorted through one of its smallest villages. Even without the many soldiers and knights, there was still quite the entourage by the time we covered the short distance to the home. It would have been heartwarming if they had been happy to see me, but instead, it was just eerie. The fact that my knights seemed a bit on edge only exacerbated my feelings, and I quickened my pace slightly while subtly gesturing at Alriss to back down. Im not letting anything happen here, of all places. Gods no. Stahlia! A womans voice pierced through the general silence, one that was familiar to me from a relatively long time ago. Turning around, I saw her pushing through the crowd; it was Crystil, Giogis mother. One of the knights moved to intercept her, but I waved him away. And how to deal with this? I cant very well go and punish her for disrespect, not without losing the respect of the villagers, whatever little I have left. But, on the other hand, I also cant just ignore it Fortunately, as she saw the knight approach only to be called back, it seemed she realized what she had done, Ah! M-my lady, no, your majesty, p-please forgive me. It sucked, but it was a reaction I could use. Affecting a faint, sad smile, I nodded, Crystil, was it? Please, pay it no mind. You you were anxious about Giogi, correct? Though he had slipped my immediate focus in the wake of everything that had transpired, it wasnt as though I had hung him out to dry. He was on track to be elevated into a full knight once he came of age and finished a period as a squire. Someone of his birth and skill level couldn''t be posted as one of my knights, given my own station. Crystil bit her lip and nodded, probably a bit uncertain of how to speak and nervous, owing to my armored knights seemingly staring at her through their helmet slits. I shot Alriss a side look, and he ever so slightly tilted his head in response before approaching the woman. He next removed his helm before speaking, Miss, my apologies for my men frightening you; I can see that you are merely worried for your son. Ah, thats clever. Though not strictly prohibited, removing his helmet for a commoner woman while on duty was a rather large sign of respect towards her. Especially given that the crowd was only a short distance away. The way he was speaking then wasnt simply for Crystil but for that same crowd; his voice was intentionally loud enough to carry the short distance between us. He was genuinely concerned some of them might try something and is trying to defuse the situation in a way he thinks Ill appreciate. While I had my objections regarding his assumptions, even if they were nervous, I didnt think anyone from my own village was so far gone as to attempt to harm me. Far more likely, one of them would do something rash as Crystil had done. That said, I appreciated his sentiment and the dedication such worries indicated. It took her a moment to answer, but when she finally did, she nodded emphatically, Y-yes, I havent heard anything from him Not since Her voice trailed off, and she shot a worried glance in my direction. It was likely that the last time she had heard anything from Giogi was when I had been back to Ris before the fallout with Count Francois and my ascension. Lord Alriss nodded, Yes, I imagine that the boy is gripped by youth and has neglected to attend to his mothers worry. However, he is alive and doing quite well in his studies and training. The fact that he has caught my eye is a rather impressive feat for one of his station. You should be proud of yourself to have raised a fine son. Pff! Giogi, a fine son? I suppose anything is possible Still, thats actually something. If one of the commanders of the Royal Knights is watching him, he must be doing well. There was a possibility that Alriss had only said that to assuage Crystils worries, but if it were a lie, it would have been told in my presence. The odds were that he had spoken the truth, and Giogi was making more progress than I had been aware of. I wont meddle, but it might be worth looking at his progress more closely than I have been once I return to the Kingdom. Alriss held up his fist and waved a quick gesture. Following that, all of the knights in my current retinue doffed their helmets. The tension in the air broke, and the people began to smile, and a low hum of many whispered conversations suffused the air. Though they were not completely ok, it seemed that much of the previous apprehension had dissipated. Crystil was silent, but it looked like she was trying very hard to hold back relieved tears when she melted into the larger crowd as we resumed our walk. Alriss took a half step closer to me, anticipating I might have something to say. He was correct, and once he was within range, I tilted my head to carry on a short, whispered conversation, Thank you for handling things the way you did. It must not have been easy removing your helmet before someone of such low birth. Not at all; far easier to remove my helmet than draw my sword. Do you really believe it would have come to that? There was a pause before he answered, though the angle of my gaze prevented me from discerning his face, Perhaps. Though, as your majesty suspects, I do not think it would be from malice. Rather, one of the villagers acting rash or forgetting their station But, if I may, I believe it would still be best to depart on the morrow. My fathers arm stiffened in my grip; I had yet to inform him of that change of plans. And hes right Actually, things might be a bit more dangerous now than they were. Weve personalized ourselves now. It would be terrible if someone forgot or overstepped their boundaries, forcing my knights or me to act. Yes, I am inclined to agree. But, father, as Lord Alriss indicated, given the general attitude in the village, I believe I shouldn''t linger; we now plan to depart tomorrow. He didnt respond but brought his free hand up to rest on mine, gently squeezing it. His face betrayed his emotions, however. Not as good as my [Acting] Talent, he was only partially able to prevent the sadness from his expression. My father was intelligent, though; it would not be the first time he set aside personal feelings because he needed to do so. He might be sad now, but he would stand by my decision. Not because he didnt have a choice but because he chose to support it. I can only hope that the others will be even half as understanding. Mother Will be upset but probably understand. Regardless, shell ultimately go with whatever my father decides. Rosial, Felicity, and Rosin Yea, no way. Theres going to be grief there. Rosial and Felicity were eight and nine, respectively, so they wouldnt throw a tantrum. Probably. Despite having an excellent brother-sister relationship as far as I was concerned, Rosin and I could not be said to be particularly close. Felicity will probably be hit the hardest, though Claire will hopefully be able to blunt the worst of it Rosial will understand better than the other two, but I hope it doesnt have any lasting adverse effects on her, given everything thats already happened to her. Stop. I need to stop. I was spiraling again, worrying about things that I couldnt really control. Me leaving early was something that would have to happen, and it would upset people. It would bother me, but it still had to happen. Best to break the news and then enjoy the time I did have. As I came out of my thought spiral, I saw that we had arrived at the house, and the crowd was dispersing. My mother and siblings were outside in the garden to greet me. Stil was also present, lounging in the grass next to a Stawri I didnt recognize. Probably the one father was saying he had recently acquired. Well, it seems that they are getting along. The home was different from how I remembered it. There had been some additions built on. For one, the garden was more prominent, and there seemed to be another slope to the roof jutting out from the back. Evidently, an extension had been put in at some point. The home overall now approached the size of one of the smaller Barons estates of the capital. A servant boy came running up to open the gate for us, and with a start, I realized it was Sark, one of Giogis friends who had been a member of the original Stahlias Knights. His class was Scholar, and my father had apparently hired him at some point. The typical greetings were exchanged, even though we had only separated yesterday. My mother invited me inside, and once we made it through the doorway, I dismissed everyone I could; even if it was a bit larger, the building was still small. I would love to let my mask off, but not everyone here is a part of my inner circle Once tea had been served, and we had all had a few minutes to relax, it was time to break the news about the schedule change. Looking around the room, I first confirmed that everyone important was present; better to rip the bandage off all at once than do it repeatedly. First, Sasha was attending to Jacqueline, who was attending to my mother. Next were Felicity and Rosial, both sitting docilely on one side of our mother. Finally, my father, who was sitting on my mothers other side. Everyone else was a member of my immediate party. First, I cleared my throat lightly and addressed Jacqueline, Ahem, Jacqueline. She straightened and turned her full attention to me, Jacqueline, now that we are back in Ris, you have a choice to make; whether you wish to re-enter my service yourself. When I leave, I intend to take Sasha with me. This trip will be too long to leave everything to Frieda. If If you choose not to then, She made a small gesture, not cutting me off but indicating that she wanted to speak. I paused and nodded, prompting her to say what she will, If I may, your majesty, I have spent a great deal of thought on the matter And I am conflicted. Miss Sasha is excellent as an attendant, in many ways superior to me. However, I do not believe that I have anything to offer. There was a brief pause wherein she fixed a steady gaze on me, one loaded with many conflicted emotions and feelings. As she stared, they slowly subsided, and her expression took on a subtle hardness. One that would not be recognizable to any who did not know her well, That said, if your majesty still has use for my abilities, then I would be honored to re-enter your service. But not as a maid. After everything, shes offering her sword. I took a long moment to consider the importance of her words and the meaning behind what she was saying before I nodded firmly, I do. Sasha, going forward, you are to resume your role as my head maid; Frieda will be your second. Please integrate Jacqueline into the duty roster in a manner best fitting her ability. Sasha bowed her head; the meaning was clear. Jacqueline would re-enter my service, but not as a maid. Thought that was to be her cover; she was first and foremost to be my blade. I could personally attest to how effective she was at the role. I only hope I dont have to wield her that often. I wont even attempt to fool myself and say Ill never use her. Now, for the challenging part. I took a deep breath, Then, with that settled, I must announce a change of plans; Mother, Rosin, Rosial, and Felicity, I will be departing tomorrow morning and heading for the border I do not believe that it is wise for me to linger lest a villager does something unwise. My mother blinked, then nodded slowly as though to indicate she had thought this might be what would happen. Further, contrary to my expectations, none of the younger ones seemed to be overly upset. Rosin shrugged and tried to appear tough, though he only looked cute. Rosial glanced at Felicity, then nodded. Lastly, Felicity merely grimaced and clenched her fists, not expressing disappointment beyond a simple question. And, when exactly do you plan to leave? Tomorrow at dawn, Ive already made arrangements with my men. She nodded, and a dull silence hung heavy in the air for a short while until my mother clapped her hands, Then, we do not have much time. Let us have one more meal together, and perhaps you three can stay up a bit later tonight. The proclamation of a relaxed bedtime did much to lift the mood, and Sasha trailed after Jacqueline to prepare the dining room, Sark hurrying to catch up to the two older women. This is for the best. Things would be a lot worse if I stayed. Psycholor A special thanks to Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 7-6 F4: Merchant Guard Psycholor Yea, I thought this one might warrant an ahead-of-time explanation. There has been an absence of long-form pov chapters recently, and I wanted to try and show Franklin''s character before he reunites with "George." I thought the best way to do this was to actually show what he''s doing prior to meeting her, then have Stahlia picking up his trail and playing catch-up with him for a bit. The next few chapters will alternate; one chapter of Franklin, then back to Stahlia, then to Franklin again, etc.. The Franklin chapters will be, in general, about a week ahead of Stahlia time-line wise. Franklin, 20 Years Old, Fifth Month of 949 Stepping back from the tree, I replaced the sword on my back and put it into its sheath. Not a complete scabbard; it was more or less a clip. It made me worry whether or not any sudden movements would make it slip and cut me. Then again, my armor seemed relatively durable at a glance. It should be fine More importantly, holy shit! What even was that!? I had always been fit, not that I worked out, but I could make it up several flights of stairs without getting winded. Yet, that had been an experience. Not only was my body just all around better, but my muscles were also harder, my reflexes were faster, and I was all around stronger. So, initially, I planned to swing the sword and get a feel for it. It shouldnt have been more than a few minutes of messing around, but it had been hours. The sun was high in the sky when I first started, and after stopping, it was now approaching evening. And those moves as well! I lacked knowledge of swordsmanship, so I could not have known any forms or maneuvers. Yet, as soon as I drew the blade, it was as if I suddenly acquired a decades worth of practice; flowing fluidly from one form to the next in a patterned sequence, the trees scarred and mangled trunk was a testament to my ability. Bringing a hand up, I touched the hilt of the sword behind my head once more. The blade as well; whats it made out of? Several hours of beating on wood, and its not dented or dulled at all. It was a conundrum I couldnt even begin to answer. Well, theres no use standing around on the side of the road like an idiot; this is a fantasy world, probably. That means there are probably monsters and bandits or some such; I should head for the city I saw before it gets too dark. Setting off along the road toward the distant settlement, I began to ponder my situation. Earlier, I had come up with something of a brief plan: Get into the settlement, which was the direction I was now heading. Following that, find George and the other three champions besides myself. Lastly, we would locate Claire, and then the three of us would figure out a way home. Along the way, I would probably end up helping the goddess with her demon problem or whatever, but that wasnt one of my immediate personal goals. That said, I am doing rather well, all things considered However, it wouldnt be unreasonable for me to panic in a situation like this I had always been reasonably level-headed, but at the same time, I had also always taken the time to properly consider my choices before acting. Yet, here I was, jumping the gun. On the one hand, the whole series of events had felt like they were very much do or die, but on the other Did the goddess mess with my head? Claires parting words rang in my ears, If you meet a god or goddess on the way over, be careful and watch out fo- She had been cut off at the last line but given the context of her other warnings Ill need to be careful how I proceed from here on out Going to that city is still the right play; I need information. But beyond that Well, I have Claires warnings and a bit of my own knowledge, so I wont be an idiot. Telling someone that I was an otherworlder was off the table outright. Likewise, claiming to be a champion of the gods was a no-go. Only when I knew more about them, especially how they factored into the political situation. There would also be the question of money; food and lodging aside, what if the city had an entry tax? A quick pat down of my clothes revealed a small pouch containing a handful of coins with a design I did not recognize. Four and five. Five coins total Is that a lot? Probably not. Id wager its only enough to get into the city and rent a room at an inn. Haaa. I breathed a sigh and put the various worries and concerns out of my mind; there would be plenty of time to consider them later. For now, I just wanted to take in the sights as I walked; this was, after all, a whole different world. That said, there wasnt much to look at. To my left, an open plain stretched rather far toward a mountain range. To my right, more open plains but with some sparse trees that eventually grew thicker until turning into a forest. At my feet was the unpaved and dusty road, with my destination city at one end. At the other end, the road eventually vanished over the horizon. And I dont even know enough about trees to be able to tell the difference between those and something from Earth. For all I know, there isnt any, and these are just some random species of deciduous foliage. The view was amazing, even breathtaking, but it was just a view. The most striking feature of the landscape was the lack of people. This was an established road leading towards a walled settlement that looked, from this distance, to be of considerable size. Logic dictated that the road should have been relatively well traveled, yet it was seemingly empty. Is it just the time? The gates could close at dusk, so anyone traveling would have been sure to arrive by now. But, looking at the sun, it looked like it would slip below the mountains in another few hours. Assuming thats the case, I should probably hurry. I wouldnt want to be stuck outside. Taking a moment to collect myself, I broke into a sprint. Surprisingly, despite not having been much of a runner previously, my body could maintain quite the speed for a relatively long time. And even without measuring my pace, I was sure I was moving faster than I had originally been capable of. The plains were a blur as they flew by me, and the wind slapping against my face stung a bit. Yet, the city wasnt actually getting any closer. Maybe it was a tiny bit larger, but it was impossible to tell. I can, probably, keep this, pace for, a while, but it wont, matter if, the gates close, by the time I, get there. A feminine voice called out to me from off the side of the road, HAIL! Leana! Get back here! Followed by a furtive masculine voice. I skidded to a stop and turned back to where the voices had come from while my hand drifted up and gripped my sword hilt. Who goes there! My cringe-worthy retort was answered by a stroke of silence before the female voice called out again. Over here! The males voice did not say anything more, so I tentatively left the road and approached where the two calls had come from. A short distance away, I discovered a strange dip in the ground. A minor quirk of the terrain had made it invisible from the path, but just to the side, it opened up into a rather deep space. At the bottom of the area was a cluster of covered wagons and a circle of people gripping their weapons. Bandits!? Wait, no. Theyre dressed too well. Well, maybe not. I dont really know how bandits would really dress And I dont see that girl anywhere. After a few seconds of a tense staring contest, I took my hand off my sword. The assembled people slowly reciprocated, and the tension began to wind down. See? I told you; he doesnt look like a threat. A girl poked her head out from one of the wagons. She had long black hair tied into a single braid and light brown skin. Appearance-wise, she was probably about fifteen or sixteen, though this being nominally a fantasy world, there was no way to know for sure. Leana! Get back inside! We dont know that for sure yet! The man who spoke was the same as the voice Id heard previously. He looked the oldest of the group and was a bit round but in a sort of stocky way. Clearly, he was relatively strong under that layer of fat. The girl sighed but did what she was told, vanishing back into the wagon. I held my hands up in a hopefully placating manner, I swear, I dont mean any harm to you and yours. The various other men murmured amongst themselves but turned to the speaker. Evidently, he was their leader, so I decided to focus my efforts on him. In theory, I could walk away, but that would mean I wasted this opportunity. At the very least, these people could answer some questions for me. Then, what are you doing? Forgive me if I dont believe you. The leaders sardonic question was understandable; thinking about things from his point of view, I was rather strange. Traveling alone was undoubtedly a risky prospect, and add to that the fact that I had been sprinting like a bat out of hell yea, his disbelief was understandable. And I had no answer; the truth was certainly out of the question. Its complicated. To tell you gods honest truth, I dont know where I am and was trying to get to the city. My explanation caused something of a stir to run through the group. Yea, I wouldnt believe me either; such a textbook excuse. Wait, what? The leader seemed to have let his guard down somewhat, contrary to any reasonable expectation, Gods? You must be from pretty far away. Still, how did you end up in this gods forsaken stretch of the country? And now, of all times? Thats what you seized on? Not the fact that I have no idea where this is or how I got here, but god instead of the gods? Polytheism, then. Need to keep that in mind. That said it sounds like this isnt the most fantastic place to be. Now? Is something happening? The man blinked incredulously before shaking his head, Confound it, fine! If you meant to do anything ill to me and mine, youd have done it already. Doubt we could stop someone as strong as you, anyway; Leana, bring the man something to eat! Finally! The girl, Leana, poked her head out of the wagon and then hopped out entirely. The man ignored her and turned to me, Come, sit by the warming stone; Ill fill you in on whats happening. Warming stone? Following the man over to a circle of benches and chairs all arrayed around a large rock, I soon had my answer. Rather than a fire, whatever this thing was, it emitted a fair amount of heat. Whats more, if the black handles were anything to go by, it was portable. Curious, but this isnt something quickly asked about. Not knowing the area is already bad enough, but asking about it would be a mistake if this is super common. So I can assume its probably something like a magic space heater and go with it. Taking a seat, I turned to face the man, Then, please forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is going on? He chuckled dryly, What isnt? Drakas only just got over their succession war, and now theyre making noise about demons coming back. As if that wasnt already bad enough, theyve been so gracious as to inform the Alliance that their new Queen is coming to pay a visit. He glowered at the rock for a moment before continuing, And shell be coming to Zensten first, so any merchant with half a brain is staying well away. Zensten is probably the city up ahead of us, then. It sounds like this Drakas is a monarchy, and they have a poor reputation. Going for context, that makes this a merchant caravan led by a merchant lacking half a brain. Then, I take it you dont have half a brain? The man nodded grimly, confirming at least a portion of my theory. Aye, Im taking my caravan into Zensten; thats the only reason were here. Really unlucky for them; first, the disappearances, then Drakas sending that ultimatum. Someone will have to keep trade going; theres undoubtedly profit in it; as long as you dont stick your head out, so I figured it might as well be me. Not that I had any context, but what he was saying barely seemed to make sense. Surely merchants should be clamoring to seek it out if there was profit. Nevertheless, it was something that bothered me enough to risk asking, And nobody else is going to? He snorted, Humph! The big companies can afford to cut off one or two cities while they wait to see which way things swing. Its independents like myself that have to take risks! I see Then, you arent afraid of those disappearances? Or of Drakas trying to pull anything? Somehow, the conversation worked out in my favor; the man was slowly revealing bits of information that let me form a picture of what was happening in the area. The demons are definitely coming back; the goddess told me as much. But it sounds like Drakas might be the only place actively preparing I dont know enough to say for sure, but the Queen might be coming out to try and form a military coalition or something. Shes probably someone Ill want to meet, but I need to be careful; the way this guy is talking and the expressions hes making... Their reputation probably cant be much lower. The disappearances dont concern me, no, but Drakas is plotting something. Snakes and hegemonists, the lot of them. Hell, the Free Cities Alliance only exists to keep the border secured. Then, after a moment of contemplation, he shook his head, Times are certainly changing if Drakas is actually moving. Wont know til its over, what way thingsll shake out. I gave him a moments pause before pressing further, I cant say why but I need to get to Zesten. Things so far were moving in my favor unnaturally. Given that, then ideally, pressing a little more would pay off. Ha! Of course you do; running down the road like that. But you wont make it for another day The winds a real killer at night on these plains, Leana interrupted him and handed me a bowl of soup. Dad, why dont you just hire him; hes clearly an adventurer. And one with a rather powerful purpose, too, based on his speed. The merchant gave me a sidelong look before nodding, Well, that could work; I cant pay you much, but Ill feed you and let you use one of the tents tonight. Then, in the morning, youll be able to enter the city as one of my guards. What do ya say? Well, thats almost too good to be true Still, it was a good deal, assuming it worked out like that. Thats all well and good, sir, but I dont understand; why me? He shrugged, As out of the ordinary as our meeting was, Leana seems to think youre a good sort. Theres also no arguing that youre pretty strong, running at such a speed. Plus, the more we talked, the more I get a good feeling about you; I think that, whatever it is, youre not up to no good. Really? Just like that? I dont mean to argue, sir, but I dont think Im all that strong Well, I dont really have any point of comparison. And stop calling me that; Im no knight. Names Hugo. If you cant find anything to compare yourself to, then youre already stronger than most in these parts. Besides, that sword on your back; its simple, clean, and efficient. Not something a pretender would carry. Will you take me up on that offer? Thats not really what I meant when I said I had no point of reference But he really got all that from looking at my sword, huh? For better or worse, there was little reason to refuse the deal, Alright, Ill take you up on that then, Master Hugo. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head, No, just Hugo. Call me Hugo, and that alone. Unless you want to court Leana. I laughed a bit awkwardly, Hahaha All right. Hugo it is. He wasnt, like, serious, was he? Leana, for her part, showed no reaction to her fathers rude comment, despite having been well within earshot. Ill keep in mind that this is a different world and assume that was something of a joke. Then, as the newbie, should I take first watch? Raising my head, I addressed one of the men from earlier. He was probably in charge of the guard detail based on his attire and stature. He was big and broad-shouldered and the only one wearing metal armor. Additionally, his cloak had an embroidered pattern matching the canvas covering the wagons. His stern face broke into s grin, Well, aint that something; a pup that knows his place That said, dont kiss too much arse, or well take advantage of you. No, the watch order is already set for tonight. But if you stick around for the next trip, Ill work you into it. For now, wake up and help out if the alarm is sounded Though this close to the city, that wont be a problem. Dipping my head, I grinned ruefully to myself. Yea, I need to be assertive. I am the champion of summer or whatever, I should probably try and act the part. Psycholor A special thanks to Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve 7-7 Boarder Trouble Stahlia, 17 Years Old, Eighth Month of 949 After departing Ris, it would typically take a day to get to the kingdoms border. But instead, I had us make a slow and detoured approach. Leaving the supply train on the main road with the minimal guard, an advance force proceeded through the forests and foothills. In actuality, we were only killing time. Departing Ris earlier than anticipated, while the correct decision given the circumstances, meant that we would have arrived at the border far earlier than scheduled Dnot a good idea, given that this was a diplomatic envoy. We have met no resistance besides a few scattered Goblins and Stawri. Commander Alriss finished his report. Good. Looks like Aaron is holding up his end and keeping things under control near the settlements. What about the men? What seems to be the general attitude as far as you can tell? I was worried that the men would view this whole affair as a waste of time, thus lowering morale and making things more difficult. Alriss glanced down at the paper in his hand, The men maintain high morale; it helps that you accompanied them on this diversion. While there might have been issues among ordinary troops, these men were hand selected by His Majesty and myself for their loyalty. Most of them were there to witness you speak. I see. Thats something of a relief, then. Im glad. Then, at our current pace, when will we arrive? I could quickly figure that out for myself, but since Alriss was here, it would be better to ask; he would have the answer ready. It will take another two days to arrive at the border, and we will arrive one day ahead of schedule. Should I slow our pace further? No, one day ahead of schedule will be fine; we will spend a day camped waiting on the border before approaching. Alriss bowed, Then, there is one other thing. And that is? There was something of an incident with the supply caravan we left behind. His tone was a bit cagey, as though he were uncharacteristically unsure of how to proceed. I narrowed my eyes, And that is? Well, one of the Supply Officers informed me there have been signs of missing things. Nothing major; a crate of rations was broken into, a spare blanket vanished, and some supplies are in different places than they should be. And you bring this to my attention; why? It didnt make any sense; there had to have been a reason for him to bring it up. Something as petty as that would have nothing to do with me. Hell, it should have nothing to do with Alriss. This sounds like an issue the supply officers should solve, so why did it make its way up the chain of command? That is because they caught the culprit, and it wasnt one of our men. Enough. What is going on, Lord Alriss? I was getting extremely tired of him beating around the bush like this, and things would be a lot better if he just came out and said what he intended. Of course. Perhaps sensing my budding irritation, Alriss nodded, They caught Miss Felicity attempting to hide in one of the grain carts. She then promptly eluded the guards assigned to that part of the line and has not been seen since. I blinked slowly, taking in what he said, And you are sure it was her? Alriss nodded affirmatively before dryly adding, How many other eight-year-old girls do you know that have two cat tails? In light of the specific issue, Ill excuse that bit of lip. I see. Well, considering that she has once before eluded the palace knights for nearly a month while I was indisposed, not to mention she has been getting along well with Rosial No, I dont imagine the men will find her again. Especially not if. Not if Claire is helping her. I dont think Claire would let her do anything she deemed dangerous, so why did she let her come along? Despite disliking it, Claire could assume control of their shared body without Felicitys consent. Typically, my former professor opted to act the part of conscience or an advisor, only directly controlling the body when Felicity was asleep. And only then to do the absolute minimum, such as have a short conversation with me, or walk themselves to a proper bed. But, if they were in danger and Felicity refused to listen to reason, Claire could directly interfere, like when she ran them away from me during the incident with Dominic and Five. Lord Alriss, I will be going back to the supply train ahead of schedule. Please arrange my escort. Theres no way the soldiers and knights can find her on their own. Hell, I might not be able to. At least, it wont be easy. But theres a chance she might just come out if I ask nicely assuming she isnt mad about being left behind. Considering that she had stowed away, her being mad was a distinct possibility. In light of that, I gave Alriss additional instructions, I will like as not fail to rejoin the advance force before we rendezvous at the border, so make plans with that in mind. Alriss performed a quick salute in lieu of a nobles bow, then departed to fulfill his given tasks. Damnit! What is that stupid girl thinking!? There was no way I could make it back to the supply convoy in a timely fashion; it would be at least half a day. Given that the current time was just after noon, my party wouldnt be back before after dusk at the earliest. However, fortune was on our side, as a full moon provided enough light to continue traveling. Sasha and Frieda did not complain. Really though, why am I bothering to rush back? Shell be tucked away asleep somewhere by the time we get there, so I wont have a chance to get anything done until the morning at the earliest. It was something I could only chalk up to how uneasy the whole idea made me feel. Felicity was attached to me but wasnt as dependent as she had once been. Me leaving early was something she did not like. But she should have been able to rationalize it, especially if Claire had stepped in. The only explanation was that Claire supported this course of action. That was the only conclusion that I could draw. And it scared me. The following day, I awoke in my bed at the main camp feeling tired and anxious; considering the amount of worry Id been experiencing the day before, that was unsurprising. No matter the reason, I first need to find her. It went without saying that doing that would be remarkably difficult It will be even more challenging if shes copied any of Rosials Talents. Felicitys [Envy] Skill allowed her to copy other people''s Talents. It was extremely taxing, though; without Claires presence, it might have ended up killing her. But then, she somehow managed to grow a second tail during my Coma. Because of that, she gained another skill, [Talent Void], that helped organize the lethal side effects. Or perhaps the second tail was actually because of [Talent Void]; I didnt know. It could be a highly potent set of abilities were she to train them, but I had not brought up the possibility with her; she deserved to have as normal a childhood as she could in light of her past. Once she turned ten, we might approach the subject, but for the time being, I had left her well enough alone as far as that was concerned. And, if she has been copying Rosials abilities, I wouldnt know. Appraising Felicity was something well within my ability to do, but doing so seemed like it would have violated her privacy; I had stopped doing it once I was reasonably sure her evolution posed no risks. Likewise, I only remembered a little of her Talents that she had already acquired as of the last time I appraised her. It had been a long list. The standout ones were the various magic talents, most of which she got from me. But, then, she definitely had [Sneak] and [Sword Fighting]. She probably has many fighting Talents, given the company weve kept. So, Yea, it makes sense that she hasnt been seen since they first caught her. And that was probably sheer luck on their part. As much as I wanted to skip eating and go straight to searching, that would set a bad image for everyone around me. Whats more, the search wouldnt even be handled by me. Mostly, I would have to content myself with being visible and accessible while otherwise directing the soldiers and the knights to look. Ideally, she would approach me herself. She did not. The first and second days passed by without seeing even a whisker of her. The men searched as we traveled but could not even find any sign of where she might have been sleeping. The man who had initially spotted and apprehended her was leading those efforts with manic energy; it was like he thought that if we didnt find her, I would blame him. I probably would, but it isnt something Id act on. We finally found a sign that she was still with us on the third day. Since we had arrived at the border, I ordered that each wagon be unloaded and thoroughly searched as we made camp. A rather large task, but the advance force had rendezvoused with us by now, so there were plenty of hands. Your majesty, are you sure she is still here? Might she not have returned to Ris after being caught the first time? Alriss was now assisting me in running the search, and I got the feeling he was trying to tactfully inform me that I had gone a bit overboard. Perhaps, but we will not know until this evening when the messenger I sent yesterday returns. It looked like there was something he wanted to bring up but was hesitating. Fortunately for him, I had a pretty good idea of what it was, I will not delay crossing the border over this As much as I would like to. Frankly, I expect that is when she will turn up. Because once were across the border, sending her back to Ris would become more complicated, something Claire would be well aware of. So at this point, its safe to say that they are one hundred percent in cahoots with each other over this. Sir! One of the soldiers, not a knight, had approached Alriss and me and saluted. The commander nodded toward the man and began to rattle off a report, Sir, we have found the missing blanket balled up in one of the materials carts. It was- Which? I cut him off, not meaning to be rude, but the various concerns and worries that had been gradually calming over the past couple of days without news, his report caused them all to flair back into prominence. Alriss interceded on my behalf, much to the soldiers relief, Please, show us to the wagon. The man saluted and began to lead us through the camp. Granted, we had quite a ways to go owing to the size of the camp. While we walked, he continued to explain how they had found the blanket, There was a small hollow between two crates of nails; for anyone with a normal size and frame, getting back there would have been impossible. Even for a child. But, once you squeezed through, it opened into a small cavity where the blanket was used as bedding. [Flexible]. She probably got that one from me before I removed it. With that Talent, fitting into a tight space like that would have been easy. And she got abandoned it once we started unloading all of the wagons, and is now hiding somewhere else. So thats that. Another man, this one a knight, caught sight of Alriss and me heading through the camp. He was heading in the opposite direction as us, towards my carriage, when he changed his course to join us. He saluted to Lord Alriss and bowed to me before stepping alongside the commander. Sir, Zensten sends a messenger to meet with Her Majesty. Zensten, the city a days march across the border. So they were watching for our arrival. Alriss looked over at me, where I had stopped walking, Your Majesty? Lord Alriss, call off the search. We arent going to find her until she wants to be. Now that I had confirmation that Felicity was probably still traveling with us, there was little point in continuing to look for her. Especially not when there was a foreign dignitary to contend with. Delay the messenger for half an hour, then show him to my carriage Give him a tour of the camp; that should disarm him that we are not keeping any secrets. Then, I turned to the soldier that had initially brought the word of Felicity, Run ahead and inform Sasha that she must prepare to receive a foreign delegation. Like this, I can probably avoid worrying about her, and simply trust that she can look out for herself... But when she does show up, were going to have words Half an hour later, I was sitting across from a man wearing something similar to a business suit, except instead of buttoning, the front was folded in on itself like how one might fold a bath towel when coming out of the shower. His skin was darker than a Drakans typically was, closer to a bronze or a brown, and he had shaved his head bald. Combined with a pair of spectacles and a sturdy frame, his appearance was striking in an off-putting way. My name is Emmanuel, heir to the chair of Zesten That makes me roughly the equivalent of a Count, to use your countrys terms. At his sides stood two rather tall men wearing armor made from leather and metal plating sections. It was, by technical definition, armor. However, compared to the full plate of my knights, or the standard uniform of my regular soldiers, it could have looked more impressive. Only at first glance. But its actually rather ingenious. Metal over the vital organs, with leather over the places that would be crippling instead of lethal. Everything else is left unarmored; you keep the weight down and preserve the ease of movement. It wouldnt work for everybody, but thats pretty effective for people who know what theyre doing. It was a similar method to my own, for lack of a better word, combat dresses, which only had armor plating over the vital areas. Otherwise, they relied on defensive enchantments supplemented by my own defensive abilities. I had Lord Alriss serving as a Drakan noble in addition to his role as expedition commander at my side. Behind me were two members of my personal guard and the knight who had escorted the man earlier. Employing the full scope of my [Acting], I answered my opposite. Truly? I would say it places you closer to a prince''s title. The Free Cities Alliance was a conglomerate of loosely connected city-states that were only allied with each far enough to ensure common law and mutual defense. Beyond that, they were entirely independent; if Emmanuel was the son of Zestens Chair, he was essentially a prince of that city. He shrugged, But in terms of influence, I am hardly one to claim such a title. Thank you for having your men show us around the camp. I already dont like him. Not sure what it is, but something about him is just It makes my skin crawl. Drakan nobles are easier to deal with than whatever hes doing. But of course, and please, have a seat. After all, this visit is meant to discuss mutual cooperation in the face of the coming threat. Why would I seek to hide anything from our future allies? After we were seated, Sasha poured out three glasses of tea, and Emmanuel took a moment to appreciate the aroma. He nodded and answered without taking a sip, Though I must say, I find it interesting; how you are setting up camp Would it not be more efficient to leave things packed? If I am not mistaken, you intend to cross the border tomorrow. There was no way I could admit that we had been searching for my not-legally-adopted little sister, as that would also mean acknowledging that an eight-year-old was eluding capture. After pausing a moment, I shook my head, I thought it prudent to conduct a thorough inventory; once we cross, we would be at the mercy of your markets to procure anything we needed; this is not a mission that can afford undue complication. It seemed he bought my excuse; it was plausible enough that questioning it would be an error, even if it was flimsy, True. Though I must wonder at the timing of it all Did you not only just secure your own power? Picking up my own cup, I took a sip of it myself to both demonstrate the lack of poison and to buy myself time to consider my response, It was not as difficult as you make it sound; the country stands united between His Majesty and myself. But, as much as we would prefer to further consolidate things, the times do not afford us that opportunity. Yes, we read the letter you sent earlier this year; Drakas believes that the Demons are returning. However, my father and I have considered the evidence; we have dismissed those claims. Oh, you bastard. Then, are you here to refuse our entry? It was my understanding that the cities were free to conduct business as they saw fit and may not obstruct others from doing so. Emmanuel narrowed his eyes, You claim that you mean to conduct business now? I nodded, Yes, even if Zesten will not stand with us, my husband and I believe it is in Drakas best interest to forgo the policies of our predecessors. Instead, forming a more stable relationship would benefit us all; if some cities decide to join our coalition, so be it. Really, we hadnt expected much from the Alliance. Except for the previous king, who had maintained a somewhat uneasy peace with our eastern neighbor, all those prior to him had sought to expand without any sort of check. As far as Zesten and the other cities were concerned, our sudden change of heart was similar to a wolf handing a lamb a knife while saying, Actually, bears are scary. Besides, my primary objective isnt so much to get a handful of contributions from minuscule cities; we have our own economy that trounces theirs, even if only in quantity. No, I need to locate the champions, and it would certainly be interesting if one of them were in the bordering country to me. That was my only reason for choosing to start things in the Free Cities Alliance; slight as it was, something was telling me to trust my gut. Emmanuel eventually conceded, No, we will not deny you entry. But we will limit the number of your men who can enter Zesten, though I must first confer with my father. I dipped my head, Thank you for your understanding of my own position. Please, set up the details with Lord Alriss. Instead of handing them a knife and claiming bears are scary, its much easier to offer to sell them knives. Psycholor A special thanks to Loliconhanter, Chiyo, TheCrownPrinceOfCrime, and Fost for Beta Reading and for helping to edit this chapter! New chapters get published every Monday at 11:00 AM UTC-7 Want a notification when they go up? A place to hang out and discuss the story in real-time or shit post? More direct access to offer criticism and feedback? Consider joining the Discord Serve