ã€ŠThe Royal Leech&#x27;s Bucket Listã€‹


 Half for the Price of One

    The universe has a weird way of playing around. How else would you explain getting yanked from your goal only to reach a dream like a fantasy castle like this?

    Heck, if I wasn¡¯t well-versed in the fine arts of anime, I would probably be panicking around looking at what looked like a medieval court. A huge open space with columns and rich-looking tapestries peppering the whole area surrounding the huge glowing circle full of runes on the ground and the crowd around it. In this crowd, though, two people from this crowd were many times as eye-catching as the others.

    On the throne, a burly middle-aged man with short blonde hair and a good-looking bushy beard wearing a luxurious robe of golden and red colors under a set of lightweight armor and furs as ornamental as his crown. And by his side, a, for a lack of a better word, well-endowed woman with silvery long hair, a sculpture-like face, and wearing a loose dress of fine red and silver cloth with an abnormal armpiece made of metal and encrusted with multicolored gems.

    The others were well-clothed people without much to notice about them other than how they fit in the bright and ostentatious room, so they didn¡¯t matter.

    They stood far away from me and from the guy that got me here, likely to be safely away from whatever they summoned as, as it was obvious to me, this spell circle was some sort of summoning magic. They were hiding behind the wall of very authentic-looking knights and some robed people that, if my bet was right too, were mages. Safely away as I would prefer to.

    Again, all this only brought two options to my mind: I was either in an isekai, or some very invested LARPers had decided to kidnap me for ransom.

    And for all that was sacred, and against my best wishes, I was hoping for it to be a kidnapping!

    If it wasn¡¯t, then I would be stuck as the useless bystander that gets roped into the summoning... The one that ends up falling into all kinds of trouble for the sake of being edgy later on, you know? The suckiest of all roles if I had to say so, even when I already had it in the real world.

    Why me being the protagonist isn''t an option, you ask? That''s very simple...

    How would I be a protagonist when a stupid standard anime protagonist was staying right in front of me?! The person standing tall in the middle of the stupid summoning circle with all eyes on him while I¡¯m on the ground behind him.

    ¡°Who are you people?¡± The obvious proper protagonist asked everyone else with a harsh voice and a stern expression. A reasonable reaction considering how sudden everything was. I mean, at least he should still be alive and well on some scenic modern building right now.

    This person, Hayato Fukuzawa (or would be Fukuzawa Hayato the right way to say it? Japanese is hard¡­), wasn¡¯t someone I had much contact with, but I knew him well enough. The guy had everything from terrible parents to being bullied later on added to being hardworking enough to turn it all around. He was even famous in his neighborhood now by going from a frail small kid to a buff and well-off handyman just by working very hard.

    And since, other than that, he had a generic face, white shirt and pants, and absolutely nothing more! It was easy to see who was the generic self-insert of this story.

    Or at least that was all I could see in this situation.

    Meanwhile, I¡¯m the girl who tripped along the way to this place and is now quietly waiting on the floor. I''m not hurt, but no one seems to care about me. In fact, are these people ignoring me? I mean, I¡¯m used to that, but even here?!

    That¡¯s kinda sad. I guess I¡¯ll present myself to myself then¡­

    Who am I? No one important, though I know many who are. Background? Wouldn¡¯t call it very happy or fulfilling, but I had money and traveled a lot to study. Special skills? I guess I can memorize things well, a good skill for tests and that¡¯s kinda it. Biggest achievement? I once punched someone so hard, I broke my own arm while the other person didn¡¯t feel much... I know the person was an abnormality, but that was something impressive still.

    Unless I¡¯m way too biased to my own side, the only real thing I can be proud of is my looks and how well I work on it. I¡¯m pretty much a perfect article and none can take it from me!

    Not the biggest assets or some outrageous curves, but enough to be nice to the eyes and strike that perfect balance. A well-rounded, although a little sharp face plagued with a lifelong mean look, which still gained me some secret fans and a declaration or two. And the jewel of the crown, even if only to myself, my perfect blonde hair with eye-catching locks and chiseled drills! A perfect fit for that rich girl with an obnoxious laugh look. Very fitting and very well done, though hard to maintain without the right tools.

    It was pretty much what I was looking for in my third high-school debut, and I did a good job if you asked me. Was a nice way to mark my limited freedom, though it didn¡¯t do much. A good match to my natural frown and aura, and to most of my background and personal preferences. All in all, the most perfect looks and someone who can make it work.

    It was likely my magnum opus, although it didn''t have many other projects to compete with.

    I never managed to nail the laugh, though¡­

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    Or the part about using my ridiculous wealth¡­

    Or get a following like that kind of character would¡­

    I also didn¡¯t have my shoes right now for some reasons, so it wasn¡¯t that perfect now¡­

    I think it¡¯s better to stop thinking about this, and not only because the deeper I go into that, the worse it gets. It was actually because, while I was keeping low and being ignored, the guy I decided to leave all the troublesome things for and the king started a discussion.

    It took a while for Hayato to calm down, but he understood the situation after settling down. I was sure he wasn''t that uncultured to not get it either way, so it was expected. And due to that, there was an info dump going on now.

    ¡°You see, Mr. Hayato, we brought you here as a last resort to a growing problem in our world...¡± The king continued in a serious tone that made the whole room feel stifling. ¡°We need you to be a hero and defeat the demons that threaten our civilization.¡±

    ¡°As I said, I¡¯m a simple student, Your Highness. I¡¯m good at solving problems, but all I do is deliver things, take care of pets, or other odd jobs...¡± The person receiving a full-fantasy experience tried to shrug off the best offer someone could get, going further while I was cursing him in silence. ¡°Being a hero, or fighting demons, or whatever else, isn¡¯t something I can do.¡±

    ¡°That, my boy, is where you are wrong. The artifact used to bring you here is one of the last relics from the Age of Gods. An artifact that brings what is most needed to safeguard the future of the kingdom.¡± The sturdy old man continued while making his words sound more and more reasonable. ¡°And right now, what we need is, once more, someone who can save us. We pooled as many resources as we could for it, and you are what we got. You only need to see that you can now...¡±

    ¡°Still¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand you may miss your home, and that risking your life for people you do not know is worrisome, but hear me out first.¡± The king interrupted his reluctant hero before he could say anything else. ¡°First, this is no permanent arrangement. It may take a while, and it would hurt the royal coffers, but we can send you back, we shall even do so as fast as possible if you do have no powers as you claim. And of course, you will not work for free, I may reward you properly.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Hayato stopped to think for a moment since the offer was getting better as time passed. ¡°Can you tell me how you would see if I have these ¡®powers¡¯ then?¡±

    ¡°We have a tool for it, but I would like to ask you to wait until tomorrow so I can have it prepared... Although, this is only an excuse to let you rest a little and enjoy a banquet we prepared.¡± The king smiled for the first time during the whole conversation, likely as a way to dispel the heavy aura in the room. ¡°Eat, rest, and think a little. Tomorrow, after you have time, we will see if you are indeed a common student or if you can be much more than that. How does that sound?¡±

    It sounds as if you are a very manipulative and calculating old man, that was how it sounds. Not that I would ever say something of the kind to the king¡¯s face... It was already worrying how much they were ignoring me, so I could bet that sending me directly to the guillotine wouldn¡¯t be hard.

    Again, I knew very well what would happen with the tag along to the more ¡®official¡¯ protagonist before the edgy part of the story. And for my own limited sanity, I would like to avoid even getting close to any edge more than I already did.

    Still, as it seemed everyone was getting ready to finish the conversation and leave everything to tomorrow, I sadly had to draw attention.

    ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± I slowly got up while trying to sound as innocent as possible, which still managed to get everyone to jump in surprise and draw their weapons. Heck, the whole feeling of the room changed just by having me present myself. Were these guys actually not seeing me until now?! That¡¯s so mean! And is that guy over there trying to exorcise me?! That¡¯s even meaner!

    Even Mr. Hero was staring at me as if I suddenly popped out here like a ghost. C¡¯mon, everyone, there¡¯s no need to be so violent.

    ¡°Hands up, girl!¡±

    ¡°Here you go!¡± I surrendered myself in a moment after hearing the nearest knight shout his orders. ¡°S-so¡­ What if we calm down a little?¡±

    Yep, I was expecting this all things considered... But having a bunch of swords pointed at you feels scary as heck! Worse than some knives or even a gun, and I''m used to these. Even the fresh hero seemed to be surprised and ready to fight. The frigging queen moved in front of her husband as if to protect him! And her hands are glowing! GLOWING!!!

    C¡¯mon, isn¡¯t it a little too mean?! Ignoring me is fine and all, but they¡¯re acting as if I¡¯m some enemy! If it wasn¡¯t for the swords and the now standing still king glaring at me, I would even feel bummed by it.

    ¡°So, girl, from where did you come from?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Same place as him. You know? Another world? I kinda tagged along with the whole summoning spell thing¡­ Maybe?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± The king frowned with a raised brow, but then called the queen closer and shared whispers with her before asking the guards to lower their weapons. ¡°There is no precedent to this, but let us start with your name, young girl¡­¡±

    ¡°Really? Easy like that? Now that¡¯s¡­¡± I started to blab around but had to stop soon after seeing how everyone else was looking at me, so I upped my game and got in a proper stance to my looks. ¡°I mean¡­ The name¡¯s¡­ The name¡¯s Illia. Surname doesn¡¯t matter and my background is so irrelevant it¡¯s sad. A pleasure to meet you¡­ your Highness?¡±

    That was my best shot at not panicking anymore, so I was hoping they would either laugh or take it straight and not kill me. The not kill me was the key here. Dying like this would be too worthless, even to me. Luckily though, and before the silence could go too long, the easy-to-trick hero recognized me.

    ¡°W-wait! You! The roof?! Emi...¡±

    ¡°That was me indeed, big boy! Nice to properly meet you, Mr. Busybody¡­ Or Mr. Hero fits better now?¡± I shot my best smile as I interrupted the guy who was a moment away from saying more than he should, and then tried to rush away to avoid any risks. ¡°Can we go rest and leave the talk for later, though? I¡¯m quite sure you people have things to talk about without us around too, right? Right? Please say right.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I was being too overkill or if my appearance was just that surprising, but everyone in the room seemed too baffled to react. Even the king himself seemed unsure of what to do for a moment.

    But only for a moment.

    ¡°It seems our new guest is a little too tired, so it would be wise to continue the talks tomorrow. We can then see if this was really a sad mistake or something else¡­¡±

    Then, with a hand motion, the king who I forgot to remember the name dismissed everyone in the room. It was perfect to me, so I didn''t even care for the fact that two armed guards were scouting Hayato and me away. They seemed nice enough and didn''t look that bad too, so it was all fine. We even went to the massive nice-looking room filled with food that the sneaky king surely didn''t prepare beforehand.

    Again, nothing that I would ever complain about.

    In the end, I ate as much as I could, wasted a lot of time on the royal bath, and then slept for the next twelve or so hours. Even if I was very worried about being kicked away the next day, I would still not waste such a good chance¡­ I mean, this is still a dreamy situation.

 As Impressive as Possible

    ¡°Milady, your presence was requested. Could you please follow me?¡± A voice called me (it was one of the maids from yesterday, but I don''t remember who she was with) from the outside of the room, which was more than enough to wake me up. Not that I was happy or ready for it, but someone was calling, so I got up without a problem.

    Being good at waking up was always a very useful skill.

    Still, the day started a little earlier than I would have liked (my guess was that it wasn¡¯t even the evening yet), which would have been fine if I hadn¡¯t lowered my guard too much. I thought they would at least wait until noon to prepare the things they needed, so I wasn¡¯t ready.

    Would asking for an hour or two be too much? The fact that I had no other clothes than my uniform and the plain sleepwear thing they gave me during the bath was already a problem, but I had to fix everything else too. I mean, I couldn¡¯t just go around without make-up, right?!

    First things first, though, I had to answer the female voice at the door before she would decide to enter.

    ¡°Give me a minute, please,¡± I answered, betting on the idea that maids wouldn¡¯t be asking what exactly a guest was doing and that this person was indeed a maid. If either was false, then I would have a serious problem.

    ¡°Understood. Just don¡¯t take too long, His Highness has a busy schedule.¡±

    Oho? So that¡¯s how it is, eh? I feel this person will be fun to deal with. But I ignored her tone for now and hurried with what I could.

    My inventory was the two sets of clothes (uniform and medieval pajamas), a pair of leather boots from who-knows-where, a cellphone with no battery, and my powder locket (my most important item). Not perfect, but every other cosmetic I had ended up forgetting where I was before together with my shoes, so it had to be enough.

    With no time to lose, I hurriedly put on some clothes, checked if they had any wrinkles, painted over anything that was better hidden, used both my cellphone and the mirror on the wall to fix my hair as much as possible, and then finished by changing the color beneath my eyes a little. A very subtle change, but I was sure it would have the right effect.

    The ¡®right effect¡¯ is of ¡®a sad girl who got stranded in a strange place but is pretending to be fine¡¯, by the way.

    Very useful against wannabe heroes and dutiful monarchs if you ask me. Also, very useful to pretend you didn¡¯t simply wake up a minute ago¡­ But this bit I can ignore.

    Still, the magic of make-up would show itself to be supreme once more.

    So, with my one minute turned into fifteen, I hurried to the door, controlled my breath, and opened it.

    The next thing I saw was a maid slightly shorter than me with lightly tanned skin, caramel-colored eyes, and dark hair tied in a ponytail. Her face was a little lacking in skin care, likely due to her position, but she had the potential to be a heck of an eye candy with some work.

    Her clothes were the usual maid fashion, but of the maid-cafe variant instead of the proper one. Black and white frilly dress, headpiece, and a short skirt different from the more ¡®authentic¡¯ look. Still, in all honesty, I couldn¡¯t complain much about her looks at all. She had a very passing grade by me.

    Not too shabby, Ms. Maid, not too shabby indeed.

    The only negative I could see, and with the utmost care to be considerate with my words, was that she had a lacking upper body. It evened out with, being considerate again, how much she had on her waist, but the contrast could be bad to some.

    Explaining it in a more direct way would be against my character, though, so that''s how I''ll leave it.

    Either way, God bless stupid otherworld miniskirt maids no matter how unfit to the setting they are! And God bless my perfect control over what I think and what I say¡­

    ¡°Sorry for the wait. Can you show me the way now?¡± I spoke to the maid waiting for me while trying to avoid making too much eye contact or showing that I was describing her in my head. Wouldn¡¯t want her to notice something I forgot or tag me as weird right away.

    ¡°Not a problem, milady. Now, if you don¡¯t mind¡­¡± She made a gesture as if to tell me to follow her and then started to head deeper into the corridor.

    This area of the castle had many other rooms, but how empty it was made me guess they were guest ones, which would explain how they had one for me right away. Either that or this area of the castle was isolated to keep me and Hayato away from everyone. Valid too, but more unlikely...

    I also noticed that, since this one corridor was the same as the protagonist¡¯s room, it seemed they either called him first or he was somewhere else. A little worrying since nothing good would happen without him around in this situation, but I chose to avoid thinking about it, going instead to some small talk.

    ¡°Excuse me, but what¡¯s your name? I¡¯m not very fond of silence¡­¡±

    ¡°My name, milady?¡± The maid stopped and I nodded many times in answer, so she gave me a short answer and then went back to walking. ¡°It¡¯s Evelin, milady, and I¡¯m somewhat fond of silence.¡±

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    ¡°That¡¯s a nice name, but can I call you Eve or something? Faster to say and all. You can call me Illia, by the way. Or Lia. Or Ill. Or anything other than milady;¡± I went on without caring at all about what the maid hinted, and again, she stopped to answer me.

    ¡°I cannot fulfill this request, milady. It would get me in trouble¡­¡±

    She then turned once more and continued leading me. Something that, once again, I was sure to ignore until she understood that she would need to keep my head unfocused until we got to our destination. And to show so, I rushed forward a little and tried to block her path.

    What I wasn¡¯t expecting was that she would jump away in surprise and get ready to pummel me with the gauntlets I hadn¡¯t noticed she was wearing until now.

    ¡°Wah?!¡± I jumped away in answer and tried to protect my head as the standard procedure dictated. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me.¡±

    ¡°What?! I-I mean¡­ I¡¯m sorry, milady¡­¡± The ponytail maid rushed to bow way too deeply and apologized while stowing her weapons in a hurry. ¡°I deeply apologize, milady. Pointing weapons at a guest just because I got a little surprised¡­ Please deal with me as you see fit.¡±

    I mean, I know I don¡¯t have much of a presence, but that¡¯s a little too much, you know? I would be very angry if it wasn¡¯t for the fact you are still decently beautiful, Eve.

    ¡°Well, mess-ups happen, so let¡¯s forget it¡­¡± I went back to my refined self and then went back to walking towards the throne room, leaving her behind this time and forcing her to hurry after me. ¡°Anyway, the guy that came with me, or it would be the guy I came with¡­? Whatever. the protagonist-looking guy, where¡¯s he?¡±

    I could faintly hear Eve¡¯s footsteps hurrying to reach me again and feel her glare on my back, but that was for the sake of not getting too late. I won¡¯t apologize for it, okay?! And I''m surely not having fun!

    ¡°Sir Hayato was helping around the castle even against the head butler¡¯s suggestion, so he should be arriving earlier, mi¡­¡±

    ¡°Illia!¡± I interrupted her before she could call me something that had no chance of creating a decent bond even if she would find me annoying at first. ¡°Anyway, that guy sure likes being helpful, eh? I wonder if he doesn¡¯t care about being in a strange new place for no choice of his¡­¡±

    Dropping the seeds like this is real neat, isn¡¯t it? If I¡¯m lucky, she may even spread what I said around and help out with everything. No one will bully a poor beautiful girl, right? Right? Wait, now that I think about it¡­

    ¡°Milady?¡± The maid asked as I was the one who stopped this time, which got my head back on track very fast.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry. I was only thinking that you¡¯re a very nice person.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe I understand¡­¡±

    She didn''t seem to understand my deflection, but that was fine too, so I only kept going.

    ¡°Anyway, Eve, thanks for all the information.¡± I bowed for the now confused maid and then hurried on ahead with my new realization. ¡°Now that I think about it, wouldn¡¯t going around making friends be a better survival strategy? Or at least, talking with that guy a little more than some greetings here and there¡­ Better not think about it, right? Right. I decided it¡¯s right then it should be right!¡±

    With whatever realization I was having dropped to the ground, I started marching forward again. I also made sure to make small checks on my looks on the way since I had little time before.

    The closer to perfect I was, the better it would be if I had to beg for my life, and looking perfect was something I could do. One has to always play to one¡¯s strengths, you see? And people are always more lenient towards beautiful people, which is something I surely am.

    So, while bothering Eve with more small talk so as to not panic too much, I continued walking until we were right next to the same room as yesterday. I even managed to get there right at the same time as my same-world companion. He was too focused on his little group to notice me, but that was still a chance.

    A chance that I wouldn¡¯t waste, that¡¯s for sure.

    ¡°Hello there, Mr. Hero! How you doing on this dreadful day?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh! Good morning, Illia, but do you really have to call me ¡®Mr. Hero¡¯ now?¡± He answered from the middle of the small procession headed to the throne room after noticing me. ¡°And were you always like this? I mean¡­ Errr¡­ I can¡¯t get the right words right now¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind, don¡¯t mind. And why wouldn¡¯t I call the protagonist what he is? It¡¯s much cooler than saying ¡®Hayato¡¯ anyway¡­ And by the way, hello to all your groupies too, although I¡¯m sure a bunch of you don¡¯t even know me.¡±

    ¡°Now that you say, I didn¡¯t see much of you today¡­ Even during breakfast, you weren¡¯t there. Are you doing fine?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Worried about me, are you? You shouldn¡¯t do that, Mr. Hero. I¡¯m used to changing where I live all the time, so don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Okay.¡±

    He didn¡¯t seem to believe me, which was as planned, but I was more interested in the other people following him right now. They barely answered my greetings and didn¡¯t seem that interested, but I¡¯d like to remember their faces later. Some of them may even be important considering who they were following.

    From what I could see, the line-up was maid, maid, maid, noble, noble, knight, mage, knight, and an eye-catching young woman. Other than the young lady, though, the others didn¡¯t feel like they were worth the effort.

    Seemed like many side characters with a single major one moving together. And since she was a major character, it was for the best that I got her burnt in my memory.

    It was somewhat easy since she was like a younger version of the queen (not much mystery on who she was too), but there were differences. The biggest ones were how her face was more friendly-looking, albeit a little fidgety, and how her hair was braided at the end.

    Other than those, she had the same excessive body that put my perfect equilibrium to shame and the serious aura with the same reddish eyes. Her clothes were the same style of dress too, although hers were mostly silver in color with some details in red. She also lacked the gem-encrusted gauntlet and was instead wearing a pair of white gloves with much smaller gems but carrying a sword.

    Very good, but not my preferred type. A bit too serious.

    Still, well done, Mr. Hero, you already have a nice fan club, don¡¯t you? That¡¯s how someone who goes around being a busybody works.

    It wasn''t something I could do naturally, but maybe I could try roaming around doing small niceties later. I had to be sure to avoid anywhere that I could, in any possibility, mess things up, though.

    ¡°Anyway, Mr. Hero, I believe our goal is right there, no?¡± I pointed to the more ornated door at the end of the corridor we were in and headed there without waiting for an answer. ¡°We have an important talk to have, so it¡¯s better if we don¡¯t leave our host waiting.¡±

    Push along and keep going, that''s what you should always do.

    I already showed off my looks and got my personality imprinted in their heads, so risking a slip right now wouldn¡¯t be nice. Also, to not lie too much, I¡¯m actually interested in seeing if I really don¡¯t have some overpowered skills lying around. In special, if I don¡¯t have something straight-up cool-looking that I could show off.

    Who knows, right? Maybe I¡¯m even the actual protagonist and the hunk following me with a worried expression is the real tagalong¡­ Not likely, but no one could fault me on betting on that this one time.

    Either way, I ignored the group right in front of the throne room and pushed the door open without noticing that there should be proper etiquette for entering.

 The Magic-O-Meter

    So, since it wasn¡¯t very proper to enter a guarded room without announcing yourself, all eyes got on me right as the doors opened.

    Inside, the king and the queen were in the same position as when I arrived, and the same noble-looking people and knights were around too. The only real differences were the very old man standing in the middle (right on top of the magical circle) and the table-like device with two guys in robes working at it.

    This device was some sort of metallic table encrusted with a collection of multicolored gems, four of which were much bigger than the others. A huge white crystal right in the middle and three others half this size in red, blue, and yellow colors around it.

    As I was looking at it, though, a lot of eyes were still on me, some from behind even. The whispers were a bad addon too, so it was for the best if I did something before the ¡®silence¡¯ got too bad.

    ¡°Hello, there," I spoke out by reflex, only noticing that, again, what I was doing shouldn¡¯t be exactly the most proper. ¡°I mean¡­ Greetings, your Highness? And a curtsy¡­?¡±

    I knew the moves from one of my weirdest teachers (a fun and nice person but a little too fond of tea), but my hurry made it turn botched. Not a perfect start if I could say so myself.

    Weirdly enough, I could swear that I saw the king¡¯s mouth twitching and his stone-serious wife raising an eyebrow in reaction, even if only a little.

    Could I call it a success then? They either found it interesting or funny, both of which wouldn¡¯t be that bad, so... Of the important three I could see, only the old mage didn¡¯t seem pleased at all, but that was fine, right? Right?!

    ¡°Aham!¡± The king broke the silence by clearing his throat and then smiled. ¡°Good morning, Ms. Illia. Have you managed to rest well?¡±

    ¡°As well as possible, your Highness¡­¡±

    ¡°Good, good¡­ And I see Mr. Hayato has also arrived, with my daughter in tow.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness¡­¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Father.¡±

    They both greeted the king, and the nobles of the entourage did the same soon after as they took positions around the room. The protagonist stood by my side, the nobles went around, and the princess stood by her parents at the back. The maids obviously didn¡¯t enter the room, and it seemed that the mage and knights from that group joined the other guards outside.

    Either way, that was what I call a proper curtsy, princess, and our Mr. Hero could bow properly too, even if more in the Eastern style. And just to let it be noted, the big boy got a princess at his party right away, didn¡¯t he? Well done. That¡¯s what I call efficiency.

    I kinda don¡¯t want to join this kind of thing if possible, though¡­ Not much of a candle holder, you see?

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s a little earlier than expected, but we can start.¡± The king called out after, supposedly, being sure that everyone that should be around was there. There was a moment I thought he was expecting someone else still, but I¡¯m not so sure. ¡°All ready, Randoul?¡±

    The old mage reacted to the king¡¯s words and turned to the gem table with a pensive look for a moment, so I took the chance to get a better look at him even if there was little to say.

    He seemed like some mix between a bishop and archmage, with a wrinkled but harsh face without much of a beard and his white hair thinning on top. His robes were, like the other robbed guys, colored in pure blue, but he had golden stripes and a collection of small trinkets hanging from his. One of them was a huge collar with a heavy golden eye too. Made me wonder if he could turn back time with it, and if the other ones were also magical tools of some kind...

    In summary, nothing interesting other than killing time while, by my side, Mr. Hero kept peeking at me from time to time. Was he looking for vengeance now that laws are looser? I don¡¯t even know you, so don¡¯t fault me for things of the past, okay? This Illia has never met you, so go grab your princess and leave me alone!

    ¡°It seems we need a little more time, my king.¡± Randoul, the supposed archmage, finally answered after checking the tool that was sure to be the legendary Magic-O-Meter (name created by me right now), or something of the kind. ¡°The calibrations are taking a little longer than expected due to how long this device was stored. Gem boards with such high output are not the standard for a reason¡­¡±

    ¡°Understandable. Since it¡¯s so, could you explain to our guests what we will be doing then? It seems one of them is very interested in it¡­¡±

    Is he looking at me or is it about the hero by my side? Am I making it too obvious? I mean, this thing is some magic-reading thingy for sure, but I can¡¯t pinpoint how it works. The fact it only has three colors is somehow tricking my trope-inclined mind, but... I¡¯m not thaaaaat curious still! Probably.

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    The king was still looking at me, though, so I straightened my posture and tried to look cool instead.

    Cool, calm, and collected is the game. And stop smiling, you cheeky king, you¡¯re making Hayato look at me too, and it¡¯s very uncomfortable.

    ¡°As you wish, your Highness...¡± The mage nodded in answer to the question and stole all attention away before moving to the table, which I almost thanked him for. ¡°As you heard before, we are here to measure and, if possible, define the powers of the summoned heroes. This gem table was made specifically for the purpose of doing so, and its usage is very easy¡­¡±

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Hayato called out in the middle of the old man¡¯s explanation. ¡°I understand that the people here have magic or whatnot, but that isn¡¯t something we could do in our world. I said the same before, but I don¡¯t think I have any special power like this.¡±

    Randoul didn¡¯t seem very pleased by the interruption, but his displeasure appeared for but a moment. He was back to a more teacherly expression right after. Weird, but, for now, my view of him wasn¡¯t that bad, although it was hard to know with this kind of character. The old archmage/bishop was the big bad evil guy half the time¡­

    By the way, I was trying to not draw any more attention for me right now, so I took a step away from the designed main character and watched in silence. That was the plan, at least, since, for some reason, the king kept on looking at me from time to time. I could also feel another pair of eyes on me, but I couldn¡¯t pinpoint the ¡®where¡¯.

    I couldn¡¯t show my displeasure just like that, so I sucked it up and listened.

    ¡°The records say summoned heroes are beings with powers beyond what is usual in this world, and as such, the elemental system won''t apply well. Their, ¡®powers¡¯ as you call it, are more complex and capable than magic but they need to be awoken to be used.¡°

    ¡°So this table is for that? Awakening whatever powers you say we have?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and no. This is but an upscaled measurement tool for magical capabilities. Any child of learning age ends in contact with one of the normal ones. This one is very impractical due to its bulk and complexity, but it¡¯s the only way to work with heroes. The only advantage is that heroes don¡¯t deal with affinities, so a few crystals are enough.¡± The mage went on while looking at the shining tool. ¡°Either way, after measuring, you only need to awaken the first spell, but again, it¡¯s a simple process. In fact, it shouldn''t take more than a few minutes."

    ¡°I see¡­¡± The burly guy held his chin while he was thinking about everything Randoul told him, and then put on a serious expression on his face. ¡°Got it. Let¡¯s try it out at least. There¡¯s no problem to me as long as I¡¯m able to help and properly paid for it¡­¡±

    Hayato''s answer was what I expected. He wouldn¡¯t be a legendary busybody and a do-it-all who could sustain himself alone if he did everything for free. Even if he was known to help whoever needed it, and even if he took as little as he needed, he was still someone who hardly worked for free.

    I couldn¡¯t claim to know everything about it, of course, but I at least knew this much for sure.

    ¡°Hahahah! That much you don¡¯t have to worry, my boy.¡± The king laughed as he answered Hayato¡¯s worries, even if I could see some faces that don¡¯t feel that pleased with the hero¡¯s answer. ¡°Payment is easy to come by.¡±

    The next thing the hero said was more worrying right now either way. And it was so for the simple fact that the two people who had just exchanged words were now looking at the one person trying to hide.

    ¡°That is, I¡¯m willing to help as long as you¡¯re being reasonable¡­¡±

    ¡°Reasonable, eh? That much I can do, young hero, but I hope you know this will be dangerous either way.¡± The king answered after raising his eyebrow at how Hayato¡¯s request was worded. ¡°We know it¡¯s asking a lot. Even very powerful magic won¡¯t make it safe, but we will do as much as possible to lower this danger. In fact, I¡¯m even willing to send you back to your world right away if you wish to... Not that I would be against letting you live here forever too. Either of you.¡±

    This king was good. I¡¯m not too shabby at hiding what I¡¯m thinking, but he still managed to see me twitch when he implied sending us back. More even, he gave me a good way out right away, and I¡¯m sure he could see that I was now both impressed and annoyed by him.

    All I could do was smile and glare his smiling face back, though.

    I was also thinking that being able to talk with this guy in a less intense situation would be interesting, or even fun. More fun than almost every single family member I ever me, at least.

    Only one exception there, but he wouldn¡¯t be topping her.

    ¡°Is that fine by you, Illia?¡± Mr. Protagonist called me from the middle of my internal monologue, forcing me to go back to prim and proper for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m not that interested in staying, but for me, a job is a job.¡±

    ¡°It¡­ It¡¯s fine by me, of course.¡± I answered with my hands moving to give that extra weight and my posture perfected as a rich lady. ¡°Unless we both are not fit for a fight, there is no reason to force something as costly as sending someone back too. If needed, we can always leave after you finish helping them, right?¡±

    Nailed it! A small hiccup at the start, but it should be fine. This much should convince the big guy here and give me enough time to make him not want to go back after his work¡¯s done.

    It¡¯s already weird enough that this guy wants to leave a freaking fantasy world, so why the hell should I too?! Heck, if all they need to summon is enough money, then I bet we could even negotiate to get some extra amenities later on.

    The only possible drawback of staying here was the fact that, without a hero, this place is kinda doomed. I¡¯m sure Hayato will deal with it, though. He¡¯s the protagonist for a reason, no?

    ¡°Your Highness.¡± The old mage called before the conversation between the two foreigners and the king could continue. ¡°The calibrations are ready. I would like to start the procedures right away to be on the safe side.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then, if both of you could go closer to the device, please.¡± The king turned to the archmage and then asked us to start whatever procedure was necessary. ¡°Randoul will guide you through the specifics.¡±

    We both nodded at the orders and walked to the magical circle in the middle of the room where the mages were. The circle itself wasn¡¯t shining like the last time I was here, though, so it seemed it didn¡¯t have much to do with the Magic-O-Meter itself.

    It still made me wonder if the lines and words around the runes or whatever meant anything or if that was simply how this thing was done. It seemed like a bad machine translation being used as a spell if you asked me.

    Maybe something to ask another day. Getting some magic was more important right now.

 Awakened, But Not Really

    ¡°Which one of you wish to go first?¡± Randoul asked as we approached him, which prompted me to quickly point to the burly guy next to me. He couldn''t do more than show some slight surprise before accepting his destiny though, so that was it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go first, sir.¡± He said while moving even closer to the table and to the mage that nodded at the answer.

    ¡°Cast your hands over the bigger gem and focus. The intensity of the reaction will give us a rough idea of how much mana your body produces. Then, the smaller crystals will light up and show the kind of magic you¡¯re capable of... We have many reports of heroes that could use them all, so this much would be reasonable too.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®kind¡¯?¡± Hayato asked with his hands already on top of the central crystal, and with it already starting to glow.

    ¡°I shall explain after either of them turns up. It¡¯s a little too complicated with this one device.¡± The old man went on with his eyes focusing on the ever-growing light at the center of the table. ¡°One of them should turn up at any moment now¡­¡±

    Still, even after he said so, the only thing that kept on shining was the white one Hayato was holding. Heck, if that was a light bulb, the thing would¡¯ve blown up a long time ago. It kept on getting shinier and shinier until I was forced to close my eyes and heard a not-so-interested comment come from Randoul.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re an all-rounder. Training you will be easy with the amount of research on it¡­ Very powerful, and very useful. Well done.¡±

    The room was in a somewhat silent uproar, but the mage didn¡¯t even bother to pretend he was impressed. Looks like they were really used to these heroes or something. I could hear lots of whispers around my still-closed eyes, though (I won''t open them until that brat stops making sunlight indoors!).

    It also meant that I didn''t need any magic for the world to be saved, which was good news. I still would like to have something... I could even help the protagonist over there... Maybe... I think... Gimme some magic, please.

    So, when my same-world compatriot finally took his hands off the thing, I opened my eyes and tapped his back in congratulations.

    ¡°Well done, Mr. Hero!¡± I smiled amidst the impressed members of the court in a show of camaraderie. ¡°Three lights up should be a hell lot, right? By my random knowledge, you should be able to do whatever you want like this.

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡±

    He seemed as confused as the people who understood the situation, but that was a good situation for me.

    For one, if he was that strong, dealing with whatever problem around would be easy. And two, if he had enough to make everyone stop working due to shock, then it wouldn¡¯t be weird if I had some normal magic too. A special skill of sorts for once in my life.

    ¡°Well then, can I have my turn now?¡± I called the archmage which seemed to be enough to push him back to paying attention. He still seemed bored and, worse even, a little too interested in what I could show, but that was fine.

    ¡°Do go on, please.¡±

    You¡¯re setting yourself to disaster, old man, but alas¡­ Give me something average, or even better, something useless but very convenient. Like the power to summon bullshit from my world! That would be super useful...

    With these thoughts in mind, I set both my hands on the big crystal, closed my eyes, and focused everything I had (possibly) on it.

    And then I waited¡­

    And waited¡­

    And waited a little more¡­

    And waited until I heard some whispers from around me, some of which I couldn¡¯t even find the origin of.

    So, I opened my eyes and looked at the table for once. It was a nice table full of gems with four of them being more noticeable than the rest, but everyone knew this already. What mattered here was that those gems were the same as when I first touched them... Almost so.

    I mean, the big one would sometimes blink a little bit, but none of the crystals by the sides changed.

    ¡°Well, well¡­¡± I removed my hands and saw as the fingertip of light in the depths of the central crystal vanished. ¡°Does that mean what I think it means?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Unexpected.¡± The chief mage held his chin as if what he was seeing was something very interesting, and then, without saying much more, started to walk at a brisk pace to the exit. ¡°Excuse me for a moment, my king¡­¡±

    He then left the room right away and left everyone looking in silence, I mean, almost in silence. There were lots of whispers going around, but everyone was mostly silent, and now this situation felt very bad for me.

    I explained it before, but I don¡¯t like this kind of ''silence'' at all. It always makes me feel very worried for no apparent reason, and how there were so many eyes on me while it was happening only made it worse.

    In special, the worried look that the hero had and the overly serious thinking face the king was making.

    If at least I could cut into it and get hold of the situation¡­ But that wouldn''t be happening. The most I could hope was for Randoul to go fast. And luckily, with less than five minutes accounted for, he came back with a crystal ball in his hand.

    ¡°Touch this now. The same procedure as before.¡± He said right away without explaining a thing or even caring about how exactly I would feel about whatever the heck was happening. Goddammit, old man! It would hurt to be a little to not look at as if you were seeing a very interesting lab rat?!

    Still, something weird was better than nothing at all, so I touched the crystal ball as told like I did before. And lo and behold, this time the damn thing started to shine properly.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly filled to the brim with light or bright like the sun, but it was glowing with a silvery color and a good intensity. All in all, I felt this result was quite decent. Silver wasn¡¯t as good as gold, but it was still pretty good, right?

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    The only worrying bit was how, differently from anything until now, the serious close-faced mage seemed to be interested. Very much so.

    Worse than that, how the room actually got silent this time was also shocking. Only the mage and the king seemed to react to what I was doing at all. It was giving me the vibes of something that was very rare, but not of the good kind...

    ¡°So¡­ What does it mean?¡± I asked since no one seemed willing to explain what the hell was happening here. Even Hayato was looking in pure confusion at the whole situation, and he didn¡¯t even flinch a moment earlier when they explained nothing to him about his own supposed powers.

    ¡°This here, kid, is what we use to measure magic. Normal magic instead of what is found on the summoned people. I thought it would work since your reaction to the gem table was like that, but I wasn''t expecting this...¡± He went on in some lecture mode once more and then moved his face closer to the silver orb I was still holding. ¡°This here, this isn''t a color we see on the elemental system.¡°

    "Elemental system...?" I muttered by mistake since, even if I had some ideas, I wasn''t expecting to hear about it right now.

    "I would take too long to explain right now, so all you need to know is that I have no idea of what element is your affinity. And this, like how the summoning somehow brought two people, means that you¡¯re an abnormality in the system." He continued while getting more and more fired up. "You''re a summoned person that can only use a single element and one that isn¡¯t inside any of the known ones. A very interesting test¡­ I mean, a very interesting situation.¡±

    He was going to say ¡®test subject¡¯ wasn¡¯t he? So he IS the magical scientist type, right? Better than a villain, I guess¡­ Or maybe not.

    Time to use my ¡®protection protocol¡¯ either way!

    Meaning that I took my hands off the crystal ball and hurried around Hayato to let him stay between me and the archmage. Sadly, though, I¡¯m a little too interested in the situation to fully hide away and try to not grab too much attention anymore, so let me finish this whole talk fast.

    ¡°So, it shone because I can use the ¡®normal¡¯ magic, right? What magic and how do I do it?¡±

    ¡°That¡­ As I said, I don¡¯t know. It may be something explained on the older records, but ¡®silver¡¯ isn¡¯t an element, which only makes it more interesting...¡±

    His eyes are glowing. This stupid harsh-looking old man is glowing with excitement, dammit! I don¡¯t like it! And what the hell will I do with a power no one knows how to use? Give me a manual this instant! Or at least don¡¯t make things focus on me so much out of the blue like this.

    And now everyone is being noisy around us again just because this whole thing is so weird. If I wasn''t so focused on the old, I would be giving them an angry glare. Bunch of noisy whisperers...

    ¡°Aham!¡± The king drew everyone¡¯s attention back to him, but even he couldn''t fully shut the whispers down. ¡°Now that it was proved that both of you aren¡¯t helpless here, I ask again for your decision on my request. Will you leave or will you help us, Mr. Hayato? I would ask the same of Ms. Illia, but we are yet to know what she can do.¡±

    ¡°Still¡­¡± Mr. Hero spoke before glancing at me and my glorious figure using him as a shield. And from what I could see, this stupid brat was still thinking that staying here wouldn¡¯t be for the best! Fine then. I don¡¯t wanna do this, but since you¡¯re forcing my hand¡­

    ¡°Let me say a thing, your Highness¡­¡± I cut into the standstill between the conflicted hero and the untroubled king. I also pretended to not notice how he put on a small smile when I spoke up and took my proper rich-girl stance.

    ¡°Do go on, please.¡±

    ¡°So, you there, Mr. Hero,¡± I pointed my finger at Hayato with the most serious expression I could get. ¡°Are you really thinking about this?! It may not be my place to say much, but these people are in enough danger to force a stranger into their lands and beg for help, right? Do you really have the gall to not accept?! You, someone who¡¯s famous for going around helping people with things no one wants to do, are now trying to not be the hero of a whole country? Do you have any idea of how many people would do anything to be in your place? Heck! I know you yourself want to do this, but are only holding back for some stupid reason¡­¡±

    ¡°My reason isn¡¯t¡­¡± He went on with that same stupid worried look on his face from the first time I saw him. ¡°I mean, don¡¯t you worry about your home or¡­¡±

    ¡°I. Am. Fine. Got it?! If you want to go back so much, you can do so after you finish saving this place. And by then, forget about me and whatever you think I did. Now shut up and go save the world! If anything happens, I¡¯ll help you¡­ Whenever I can... A little¡­ I guess...¡±

    No way I¡¯m letting you mess up with my jackpot here, Mr. Hero. Even if I have to put every stupid little trick I know to use, I¡¯ll get you to do the right thing¡­ And then I¡¯ll get you to deal with me later on if things go bad. Also, ignore the last bits, please.

    Still, this kind of manipulative speech is really some asshole play, you know? I¡¯m not very fond of it at all even if I end up doing it all the time. Damn you, king, for forcing me to use it! If I knew your name, I would curse it.

    ¡°This¡­ The rumors about you weren¡¯t accurate at all, were they? I was sure you were a more troublesome person¡­¡± The generic-faced protagonist gave a small laugh while I stood my ground to not throw myself from the closest window. ¡°But since you¡¯re so adamant on this, I¡¯ll follow my instincts and help these people.¡±

    ¡°Please do so.¡±

    ¡°Can I take it that we reached an agreement, my guests?¡± The king asked with a happy expression on his face that made me slightly want to punch him. ¡°If so, could you finish the process, Randoul?¡±

    ¡°Process?¡± Hayato asked before I could disengage from my ¡®serious mode¡¯, so I ended up answering without putting much thought into it.

    ¡°The awakening thing. We did the reading, but there should be some next step too¡­¡± I stopped when I noticed that my inner and outer voices were synchronized. ¡°I-I mean¡­ I guess¡­?¡±

    Maybe I should really throw myself from some window¡­ The king and the mage seemed to be acknowledging what I was saying with their heads, though.

    ¡°It is as the young lady says, and a very simple process. In fact, as simple as closing your eyes and trying to visualize what you can do. Magic is a gift from the gods, so all you have to do to use it is ¡®feel¡¯ the spells ingrained in your body. The crystals help with the connection, so the only missing is ¡®acknowledging¡¯ it.¡± He explained with the now usual lecture voice. ¡°In most cases, a person will learn the simplest spell of their affinity and go from it, so it may be a little different for you. Either way, after that, all you have to do is train or study, whichever works better for you. Even if each person¡¯s spells are a little different, the patterns are very well recorded for most elements, so one can get a lot from studying them.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that we kind of already know all the magic, but we have to ¡®remember¡¯ the information or something?¡± Hayato asked the moment Randoul stopped talking, which was good since I wanted to do the same.

    ¡°A very simplistic way of putting it, but not wrong. It¡¯s good to see that the youngsters understand easily this time.¡±

    Oh? So that¡¯s all? That¡¯s interestingly easy, isn¡¯t it? And what I have is rare too, so maybe, just maybe¡­

    Without even waiting for the signal to start or hearing if the old mage had something to hear, I closed my eyes and focused as best as I could. Getting to hear the people around me whispering better wasn¡¯t good, Randoul was still talking too, and not seeing who was moving around me made me uneasy, but it would be worth it. It had to be worth it! So shut the hell up everyone and give me some magic!

    Then, all got silent as I hoped. That was, until the silence became filled by a single noise coming from below me...

    ¡°... ..- -- -- --- -. / .. ¨C¡°

    The noise wasn''t any language or anything like a language, and it was also as low as a whisper, but I could understand it somehow. It made no sense and was a little scary too, but I could somehow understand what it wanted me to do, and more so, it was such a protagonist-like thing...

    So, with more excitement than I would like to show, I opened my eyes and extended my hand in the middle of the throne room.

    ¡°It seems I already got the idea, so¡­¡± I called the attention of the archmage to be sure I wasn¡¯t doing anything too dangerous, and then I focused on the symbols that were on my head feeling as if something was leaving me and moving through the floor as I did so. ¡°Now get me a freaking gun!¡±

    The spell materialized itself in a glowing silver circle around my hand while the area around me started to shine a little. It was working toward the most isekai-like spell I could have. In a moment, I would have unlimited power. The unlimited power of GUN!!!

    But my vision started to darken out¡­

    And my body started to feel wobbly¡­

    And the next moment, even before I could see my ticket to victory appear, my consciousness wandered away while my face went towards the floor...

 Interlude: The Do-It-All Hero

    It was a normal sunny day.

    Some classes in the morning, a neighbor asking to find her dog, and a request to deliver some boxes across the city while at it. Hayato did all that, but it wasn¡¯t anything special, even if a bit tiring. But that was only until he stopped to take a break in the small park at his school¡¯s complex area.

    A good building and a good school, but the boy wasn''t fond of it. It was more like a means to an end to him. A place that didn¡¯t have anything special other than how expensive-looking it was and how people talked about it, but a place that would fit well in his resume. For this, he could stand the pompous and rich that surrounded him.

    A den of elites, as some called it, with a few odd ones like the brown-haired boy.

    For him, though, none of that was relevant since he could see a weirdly eye-catching figure sitting at the edge of the main building¡¯s rooftop. She was only sitting there and watching the city, but the boy couldn¡¯t avoid having a bad feeling about it. And if his bad feeling was right, Hayato had to move.

    So, with his head filled with the hope nothing bad would happen while moving, the boy rushed towards the rooftop.

    Getting there didn¡¯t take long. His physical was very good, and this place was like the back of his hand. It barely took a minute to reach the overly stylized blonde hair of the ledge girl. To reach the younger girl who once saved his life even if she wouldn¡¯t remember so.

    This time, he would repay her. Or at least, he would try to.

    It could very well be some useless worry, though. She was an ¡®eccentric¡¯ person, so it wasn¡¯t sure she was doing something dumb. This utter beauty could not need help at all, but Hayato wouldn¡¯t risk it.

    Especially as she was sighing and leaning forward more and more as time passed.

    Apologies would be for later.

    So, the local hero moved forward as fast as he could and tried to pull the blondie away from the ledge. The moment he reached, though, the scenario changed around them.

    He wasn¡¯t on the rooftop anymore. Instead, he was at some medieval-looking place full of knights and other people in weird clothes. It looked like one of those films from the European medieval ages.

    This whole situation felt weird, and Hayato knew to not trust things like this. Still, the only explanation he could find was that I was in one of those weird anime settings. The ones where someone gets hit by a truck and gets a harem or something...

    Not really his thing, but something he knew a little.

    He was more worried about the person from earlier yet... How he wasn¡¯t holding her when the scenario changed, but what if she fell after that? It would be worse than letting her do something dumb by herself...

    His worries had to be for later still. One can¡¯t worry about others when they aren¡¯t safe, so settling this situation was more important.

    ¡°Who are you people?¡± The boy called out to the person in the middle of the room while keeping a cautious stance. His policy was to hear first and talk later.

    ¡°I¡¯m King Hellion IV of Prourene, hero.¡± The king presented himself in a powerful voice that reminded his more influential contractors. ¡°I apologize for the forced travel, but there was little we could do. It is, as sadly as possible, a necessity that we bring someone from another world to save ours from time to time.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­ You can call me Hayato. But why am I here?¡±

    ¡°You see, Mr. Hayato, we brought you here as a last resort to a growing problem in our world... We need you to be a hero and defeat the demons that threaten our civilization.¡±

    ¡°As I said, I¡¯m a simple student, Your Highness. I¡¯m good at solving problems, but all I do is deliver things, take care of pets, or other odd jobs...¡± He explained even if only to probe the situation first. ¡°Being a hero, or fighting demons, or whatever else, isn¡¯t something I can do.¡±

    ¡°That, my boy, is where you are wrong¡­¡±

    The king then explained this place¡¯s system and what was happening. A lot of it went way over his head, but the boy got the gist of it. Receiving magic and killing some monsters in exchange for whatever he wants. Basically, a dangerous job with a proportional, or even much bigger, payout in sight.

    Putting himself in danger for a job wasn¡¯t unusual anyway, but having someone pay this well was. And since he could go back home later while also doing the weird things fantasy characters could do, it seemed like a good job.

    The problem was not going back right away... No way to check if he repaid what was due or made things worse instead. Not that he could do anything about it other than shake it away from his head and move on.

    Some buttering up with a banquet wouldn¡¯t be bad either. It was almost lunchtime when it all happened, so why not take the food? No real bad sides to it. Before he could, though, a voice popped out from behind him as if it was there all along.

    ¡°Excuse me¡­¡±

    The sudden appearance made Hayato jump away in surprise and turned the whole room on high alert. It was as if a ghost had popped, which made the young hero worry about having to fight before knowing his powers, but then, he saw the quivering figure that was there. How she was there made him second-guess everything and, with how everyone else in the room was acting, it seemed that, somehow, no one noticed her until now.

    The surprise made his reactions slow and he was sure the girl¡¯s name wasn''t what she told the king, but that wasn''t the point. She was someone he knew, and the same one he tried to save moments ago.

    It was a little too much to take on right away.

    ¡°W-wait! You! The roof?! Emi...¡± He tried to say, but the words were cut halfway as she answered in a surprisingly friendly tone, which only made him more confused. Seeing someone who never bothered to talk or made signs of remembering you act like this was weird.

    ¡°That was me indeed, big boy! Nice to properly meet you, Mr. Busybody¡­ Or Mr. Hero fits better now?¡± The blondie bubbly answered after recovering herself from the shock was too fast. ¡°Can we go rest and leave the talk for later, though? I¡¯m quite sure you people have things to talk about without us around too, right? Right? Please say right.¡±

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    If it wasn¡¯t for how she made him feel as if she was on the brink of having a panic attack, Hayato would¡¯ve asked more. But he thought they could talk later¡­ It wasn¡¯t as if she would vanish for no reason anyway.

    *****

    Staying put was something the young hero had huge trouble doing. He was way too hyperactive for it. And so, waiting until the next event was ready wasn¡¯t easy for him. It was better if they gave him an assignment right away, even if it was some menial job, which was why the boy ended up joining the closest maid he could after waking up.

    He was causing a lot of trouble for them, having a guest help wasn¡¯t normal, but he was being helpful. Still, after noticing the stares and weirdness, Hayato eventually decided to change jobs and go help some people who were carrying materials.

    So, after a little misunderstanding while moving food crates, he ended up being conscripted by the kitchen. One of the cooks asked for help with preparations for dinner, and he complied, doing a lot more this time. He was someone who cooked quite well as he trained a lot in cooking for himself.

    Eventually, though, the chief cook appeared and noticed who he was, apologizing for the whole mess and sending the hero away with some knights. Knights he managed to convince to go for breakfast with him, something they didn¡¯t seem used to doing.

    By then, the hero already had a group following him as he tried to get more things to do and ignored those trying to argue against it. It was also when his eyes found another person walking around with a posse. A very beautiful young lady wearing a silver and red dress. Someone he could feel was familiar, but couldn¡¯t point out the where as he stood there mesmerized.

    ¡°Good morning, hero.¡± The princess gave a small curtsy and then continued to what seemed to be the real reason for the talk. ¡°Father has asked for you as it''s time for your test. I didn¡¯t expect to find you in this area of the castle, though.¡±

    ¡°This late already¡­¡± He looked around, failing to find any way to know the time. ¡°Could you lead the way? And if possible, call me Fu¡­ I mean, call me Hayato, please.¡±

    The European-like setting and how everyone could understand him without a problem was a little weird to Hayato, but he was managing fine. He was only a little prone to presenting himself as he would in Japan.

    ¡°If you wish, Mr. Hayato, I shall do so. And you can call me Valiria.¡± The gorgeous princess answered in a very refined tone. ¡°Are these your escorts?¡±

    ¡°More like people who I was helping around, I think¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Seems someone forgot to assign proper attendants to you then...¡± She turned to a smiling red-haired maid who was in her own group, making the girl close her smile and try to look away. ¡°Sigh¡­ I will have it solved later. Let us all go to the throne room for now.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we can... Wait! What about Ms. Emi¡­ I mean, what about Ms. Illia? The other summoned hero.¡± He asked while trying to not mutter the name the blonde girl was using here.

    ¡°She¡¯ll be going there too. My sister¡¯s attendant was dispatched to such¡­ I only wonder if her master will appear or hide around.¡±

    After that, nothing much happened. Hayato did some small talk with Valiria and the head-butler joined the group after the princess called to, but nothing much until we arrived. And that was when the person he wanted to see all morning popped out of thin air just like she did the day earlier.

    ¡°Hello there, Mr. Hero! How you doing on this dreadful day?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh! Good morning, Illia, but do you really have to call me ¡®Mr. Hero¡¯ now?¡± He tried to keep the surprise in check and ignore the ¡®dreadful¡¯ part of her phrase as he answered, a little surprised. ¡°And were you always like this? I mean¡­ Errr¡­ I can¡¯t get the right words right now¡­¡±

    Saying she was too happy didn¡¯t feel right, but that was the only thing he could think of. Her eyes seemed a little puffy and her hair wasn¡¯t as perfectly done as usual, but the way she was talking was the weirdest. It barely matched her expression for one. Was also very different from what the boy knew from the rumors.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind, don¡¯t mind. And why wouldn¡¯t I call the protagonist what he is? It¡¯s much cooler than saying ¡®Hayato¡¯ anyway¡­ And by the way, hello to all your groupies too, although I¡¯m sure a bunch of you don¡¯t even know me.¡±

    ¡°Now that you say, I didn¡¯t see much of you today¡­" He noted again while under the barrage of the weirdly happy blondie. "Even during breakfast, you weren¡¯t there. Are you doing fine?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Worried about me, are you? You shouldn¡¯t do that, Mr. Hero. I¡¯m used to changing where I live all the time, so don¡¯t worry.¡±

    She was a foreign student for sure, but something still felt wrong with what she was saying. And considering the whole thing at the rooftop, Hayato couldn¡¯t avoid worrying.

    He was sure she needed some help still and that it would be bad if no one gave it, but he couldn¡¯t see a way across the walls. All the young hero could do was hope for the best and accept it.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Okay.¡±

    However, things got more worrying later.

    First, Illia decided to rush through the door without caring about her safety and then started to talk with the king just like that, shocking almost everyone. Then, some old guy explained magic and the thing that made it work, leaving Hayato very confused as Illia hid behind him.

    At least using the device felt easy.

    It was as easy as touching the table and hearing a voice explain in a much simpler way how to use magic and what ¡®skills¡¯, as it called, Hayato had. More even, it seemed like he was very powerful, even if everyone looked at it as if that was only the expected. Which was very good for the handyboy as he could solve the problems here easily.

    The problem there was Illia.

    Right away, she was unable to activate the crystals, and even if she seemed to be fine with it, it was already dangerous enough. For a moment, the boy was even ready to call everything off and ask to have them both returned. That ended shelved, though, as the old man brought a new device soon after. One she managed to activate, making the same old man almost jump in excitement and calming the hero down.

    The king was fast to try and check if both would be helping or not after that, but the hero wasn¡¯t that sure if it would be a good idea. The more he thought, the worse the idea of risking someone he forced to come here was. And that got them to a standstill.

    One that the quiet blond girl decided to break.

    ¡°Let me say a thing, your highness¡­¡±

    ¡°Do go on, please.¡±

    ¡°So, you there, Mr. Hero,¡± She pointed a finger at him with an expression that was almost shouting in anger. ¡°Are you really thinking about this?! It may not be my place to say much, but these people are in enough danger to force a stranger into their lands and beg for help, right? Do you really have the gall to not accept?! You, someone who¡¯s famous for going around helping people with things no one wants to do, are now trying to not be the hero of a whole country? Do you have any idea of how many people would do anything to be in your place? Heck! I know you yourself want to do this, but are only holding back for some stupid reason¡­¡±

    ¡°My reason isn¡¯t¡­¡± The boy tried to explain, but he was easily overpowered. ¡°I mean, don¡¯t you worry about your home or¡­¡±

    ¡°I. Am. Fine. Got it?!¡± Illia barked out as if to make it as clear as possible, letting her will to not go back home slip away. ¡°If you want to go back so much, you can do so after you finish saving this place. And by then, forget about me and whatever you think I did. Now shut up and go save the world! If anything happens, I¡¯ll help you¡­ Whenever I can... A little¡­ I guess¡­¡±

    She lost steam at the end for some reason, but the message was clear. She wanted to help these people and would push me to do so with all she had. And that was fine by the hero.

    ¡°This¡­ The rumors about you weren¡¯t accurate at all, were they? I was sure you were a more troublesome girl¡­¡± He smiled at how different Illia was from the rumors, and the ¡®incidents¡¯ she was involved. ¡°But since you¡¯re so adamant on this, I¡¯ll follow my instincts and help these people.¡±

    ¡°Please do so.¡±

    Everything seemed to go well after that. Randoul gave another explanation that Hayato didn¡¯t get still but somehow got Illia energetic out of the blue, so she rushed forward with a shout and started to shine¡­

    But then she fainted almost right away.

    It was too sudden for anyone to react properly as she fell to the ground, but the room went into a small panic right after. They weren¡¯t sure of what happened, so, whoever could, rushed to take their second hero to the palace¡¯s infirmary and leave the testing for later.

    In the meanwhile, all Hayato could think was that, maybe, this wasn¡¯t a good idea anymore.

 One Not So Normal Day

    A week went by after the day I found my silver magic. The cause of my fainting seemed to be mana exhaustion which, from what I was told, could be very dangerous if kept happening, so I ended up having the old mage helping me directly to avoid it. It was now two days since I last saw the old guy who vowed to find the secrets of my magic, though.

    Legends say he went on an adventure at the underground libraries of someplace I couldn¡¯t bother to pay attention to, so it''s a mystery if he''ll ever come back. It could very well mean that he was only another one who gave up on teaching me either way... A whole week with one of the best mages around and I was yet to go anywhere.

    Still, you won¡¯t be forgotten, archmage Raoul? Ronald? Renault? Whatever.

    At least he vanished after having processed most of my requests for amenities, so that was fine. I now had some clothes, make-up, and a hell lot of books. All the materials needed to get me in a safe position if something went wrong.

    Either way, since I wasn¡¯t in the same class as Mr. Hero and no one knew what I could do (I couldn¡¯t even manage a repeat of last week), I was a little too free now. More even since, after having her follow me around relentlessly for the first two days, I started to flee from Eve.

    She wasn¡¯t a bad person and it was her job, but having someone that would only accept walking by my back in silence didn¡¯t feel good at all. I wouldn¡¯t be against having a cute maid around if she wasn¡¯t so stiff, even if she was a kuudere at best, but I needed some rest too.

    If she wouldn¡¯t listen to my requests at all, then I wouldn''t accept it! And that was said.

    Also, no. I don¡¯t care that I¡¯m asking for something that may very well be culturally unacceptable. I¡¯m not having someone follow me silently from outside my line of sight and that¡¯s final!

    She could put up more of a fight, though. For some unknown reason, my quiet maid would always leave an hour or two before noon and only come back when it was time to call me to eat. All it took to escape every single time was to wake up at the right timeframe and sneak outside my room.

    It was too easy to escape in this situation since, for good or bad, most wouldn''t even notice me leaving. I''m pretty much a master at sneaking around, you know?

    Well, master is a little too much considering I once knew a person who was pretty much a ninja, but that¡¯s beyond the point...

    Still, my inner clock was saying that I woke up a little later than I should have today, so I had to move on.

    I fixed my clothes, a silver-colored short dress with darker lining, a wine jacket, long boots, and white gloves to top it all, and then started to work on my minimal make-up.

    Working with powder and whatever I could wriggle around wasn¡¯t perfect, but I was working with what I had. There were things that I had to cover and not working in my appearance would go against my character.

    My only worry was if the few cosmetics I managed to request were safe or the lead-based venomous things medieval people used in my world¡­ And then, for how long my hair would hold without more work. There was little I could do about either thing for now, but I had ideas to work with. I needed more time then.

    ¡°Good enough¡­ I really don¡¯t like good enough...¡± I remarked to myself as I would usually do when at home, and then took the closest book from the pile at the corner of the room. ¡°Time to get something to eat, I guess.¡±

    Knowing the time wasn¡¯t something I could be sure, but if I pretended that this planet was the same as Earth, I could make a very good estimate. Close to midday, if my guess was right, meaning it was almost time for dinner.

    Seeing this world''s two-meal system and its naming conventions so similar to Earth¡¯s medieval ages was fun.

    I was running a little too close to it, though, so I shook these thoughts off and hurried ahead to avoid causing trouble to the staff. So, with my preparations ready, I left my room and started to make my way to the kitchen. It wasn''t exactly the easiest path due to how gargantuan this castle was, but I got used to it after a few days, so it wasn''t a problem.

    A perk of having a very good memory.

    I was even starting to memorize the faces of the people who crossed paths with me during this time of the day. Most didn''t seem to know much about me or even notice me at first, but I was always sure to greet them all. It was fun to see that a good number of them were still getting spooked when I spoke and how some were getting used to it.

    I was getting an overall amiable reaction from them too, which was unusual for me but very nice.

    The maids, butlers, and lower-ranked knights, in special, seemed to like me. A few others would compare me with the more useful Mr. Hero when they thought I couldn''t hear, though. He was making quite a name for himself from what I heard, and that was only by training and helping around.

    Meanwhile, I had a nickname too, a very fun one even, but I never saw someone look at me in a too negative way. Not perfect but more than good enough to me considering that, even if they didn''t see me in a positive light, I still had the king and Hayato to protect me.

    The wonders of being an absolute eye-catching beauty with good safety nets, I say.

    And so, with these thoughts in mind, I reached my first goal before actually starting my day and went on as usual.

    ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± I greeted the working staff of the kitchen with my eyes focused on the chief cook. The others were too occupied around this time to do more than a simple greeting in answer, and I would hate to trouble them, so the chief was always the target. ¡°Are you making any pasta today, Keith? Or maybe that pizza thing I explained to you the other day¡­ Lasagna would fit well too.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The food here was very good, that was a fact. More than I expected from a medieval world. I still had some things I missed eating, though, and if they made them, I would be very grateful.

    It''s as they say: the wolf loses its fur, but not its habits. I can¡¯t just give up on eating what I¡¯m used to only because I¡¯m in some isekai. Very sad that the people around here aren¡¯t used to eating these kinds of things too much¡­ Or almost at all. No pasta at all¡­

    ¡°The menu is the same one I showed you at the beginning of the week, young lady.¡± The leader of the kitchen answered without sparing a glance at me, at least until he turned with a sly smile. ¡°But who knows what I¡¯ll prepare next time we get some ingredients¡­¡±

    Keith was a very cliched middle-aged guy for his role. A rotund body, but not massively so, with a round face with no beard but a nice and long mustache. And all that inside the same kind of chef attire I knew in the normal world.

    He was quite the good guy too, and bothering him for a week seemed to have got me a positive impression somehow. In his words ''someone that could enjoy his food like that couldn''t be a bad person'', but maybe there was more there. My real theory was that he was taking me as some mascot character by now, just like most people who didn''t find me a bother or a leech...

    I thank the gods of tropes for this one still. They shall hear my prayers over this well-deserved food when the time arrives.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for it then¡­¡± I put on my best smile and then went on to hover around the cook until he sighed and picked on a covered plate set close by. ¡°But in the meanwhile, do you have a little treat for me?¡±

    ¡°Pig cheek tart, cheese casserole, and green beans, young lady. It got a little messy since I had to set everything on a single plate, but the taste should work fine.¡±

    ¡°You know you rock, right?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what it means, but I¡¯ll take it as a compliment¡­¡± He answered before going back to the finishing touches of the bigger portions for dinner. ¡°What about waiting to eat with everyone today? Some are asking for you in the dining room, your friend in special. Getting excuses on why I¡¯m feeding you like this is getting hard¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not very good with these events, you see? Too much pressure for a meaningless figure like me¡­ Would make the food taste worse.¡± I took the plate and hurried away with some not-so-interesting memories lingering around. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your work now, though. See you later, everyone!¡±

    I then hurried away as fast as I could before Keith could try to argue against me. Explaining these kinds of things was a pain, but I would have to keep on bothering him with the trouble of explaining my weirdness.

    To begin with, sitting at a huge table surrounded by more important people is an incredible way to waste your food, you know? Imagine if they start asking me about how my magic training is going or something. They always do this kind of thing, I know it!

    I¡¯m not going to waste good food due to something avoidable like this.

    Then, with my food in hand and no troubles for now, I headed to my next goal. Or to be more specific, to the quiet place hidden in the castle¡¯s garden I found yesterday. A small gazebo surrounded by flowerbeds with a table and some chairs carved in stone.

    It was a very out-of-the-way place and I had yet to see anyone use it, but again, this castle, and its gardens, were massive. This one garden alone could easily be a whole forest with trails and cabins. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there were dozens of these places around and I was simply lucky until now.

    ¡°Anyway, where was I¡­?¡± I asked myself as I set my food and my book on the stone table, and then took a seat.

    I was currently almost halfway through the third book of the ones I borrowed from the castle¡¯s library. One of the many this place had on magic theory and whatnot, and the best way I could think of studying now that I had no teacher.

    I wasn''t expecting to find the magic I could use here, though. Two days of study with Randoul (have you actually thought that I forgot his name?) taught me how the elemental part of the magic worked, and also that I couldn¡¯t use a single one of their basic spells. This fact was set in stone already, but there could be more, I feel it... And all that because this system seemed full of holes in my mind.

    It simply couldn¡¯t work like they say it does.

    To explain in more gamey words to make it easier: each element is something similar to a skill tree and a mage needs levels to unlock it. These are a sum of body, mind, and, for lack of a better word, training stats, so they start somewhere (with your natural aptitude and mana) and grow with time and training.

    Very simple, even if not exactly right.

    From that, I understand that, although I have an element instead of the all-rounder magic with unique skills like our Mr. Hero, I couldn¡¯t use it. And if that was the case, I am either working without a skill tree or my skills have a different trigger I can¡¯t figure out.

    Both things I have a chance of solving it if I get enough information and try enough things.

    The process for it is simple: take a book, try all the spells and methods in there, and then keep going until something works. Very easy to do since these books all had the translation of the runes and spells added to them. By now, I could even feel my mana without much work on it and, with some work, I could easily read and even write spells.

    Not that it solved the fact that I couldn¡¯t activate a single one of them by myself. Even when I started to think that this whole system was weird and went deeper on the theory instead of spells, I couldn¡¯t cast a single spell.

    All it got me until now was the feeling that there was something weird in this ¡®elemental¡¯ system. Abnormal things like gravity and alchemy existed on the same wheel as the usual four plus light and shadow. Life and death were there as elements too, and then lighting and ice for some reason. And all that without considering the many people that had dual elements and how some of them could interact with each other.

    This whole system was a mess if you considered they were nothing but elements, so my theory was that the classification was wrong. Doubly so when I started to read the spells and so many of them had similar meanings in their runes and symbols.

    I was sure that I could get the real system behind this, but I was lacking in knowledge right now. It was even the first time that I cursed not going deeper into sciences back in my world...

    For now, though, all I could do was study and then study a little more until the missing gears clicked together. Still, a few hours went by on this process without any worthwhile results like usual.

    All it managed was to get me progressively more tired as the pages went by and, if I got it right, it meant that my mana was running low. But that wasn¡¯t enough to make me not notice the eyes glued on me from somewhere close by.

    ¡°Am I occupying your place?¡± I called out in the general direction of the person (probably) watching me. ¡°If so, I¡¯ll move right away¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for such¡­¡± A melodic voice called out while a silver beauty slowly walked closer from a nearby patch of woods. ¡°In fact, I was more looking at you than at this place. I¡¯m at it for some days even, but you¡¯re a hard girl to find, you know?¡±

    You took a lot of time to find me, didn¡¯t you? I¡¯m kinda hidden in an out-of-way place, sure, but taking some days to find me? That¡¯s a lot. More importantly, though, from what she was saying, there was only one conclusion I could get from this girl...

    She is bad news!

    Sneaking around, hunting people, and wearing clothes that seemed to be some sort of fantasy jungle camo. It would only be more obvious if she had some weapons lying around, but this didn¡¯t mean much in a world of magic.

    I was seeing ¡®bad news¡¯ emanating from her even though I somehow felt that she wasn¡¯t a problem or even someone I didn¡¯t know... Bad news is bad news still, so I ignored these feelings saying all was fine, and turned to my instinct for help.

    ¡°Looking for me, eh?¡± I closed my book and watched the approaching girl with as much composure as I could pretend to have while slowly moving my hands. ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡±

    Then, without even finishing my phrase and with my ¡®pursuer¡¯ closing in, I sprung my trap by throwing the empty plate by my side on her face and jumping away from the gazebo before legging it with all I had.

 Escaping, But Not

    ¡°What the¡­ huff huff¡­ the hells¡¯ wrong with you?!¡± The silver-haired girl straddling my back shot out after my failed escape while trying to recover her breath. ¡°Damn¡­ Who runs through a wasp nest while throwing cutlery, dammit!¡±

    Legging it back then was the best plan I had, even if it was barely a plan. The next step was likely about getting someone to help me or hiding away, but both things were hard to do when I was sure to choose somewhere this isolated. Which meant that I needed to put some work on it, not that it worked.

    Every obstacle, object, and anything that could slow this girl down, I tried it. It was either that or trying a fair and straight speed contest against someone from a fantasy world. Not something I could do.

    It wasn¡¯t very ladylike, but beggars can¡¯t be choosers.

    Being tackled down after only a minute or two and then ending face-down on the ground with someone on my back wasn''t too, but that was above me. Pretty much literally even.

    ¡°I can do a lot of things for self-preservation, not that they usually work¡­ I ask for my execution to be swift and painless, by the way.¡±

    Again, I wasn¡¯t thinking that she would kill me now that I had some time to think, but in case she would, it would be better if it didn¡¯t hurt too much. Pain isn¡¯t something I¡¯m fond of, even if I can take a lot of it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re weird or just dumb¡­ Do you not recognize my face at all?! Even if we didn¡¯t meet before, this should be similar to someone you know. And running away at a glance isn¡¯t the reaction I was expecting either way!¡± The silver-haired attacker continued without moving away from me. ¡°Have you not seen my sister at least once? She¡¯s always close to Dad or to whatever big shot is visiting the grounds, so she should have met a summoned hero.¡±

    Sister? Is that¡­? Oh. Now that I think about it, I know two people with silver hair already, don¡¯t I? More even, I also saw someone who looks very similar to this person¡­ Almost too similar. And now I want to stick my head in a hole.

    I mean, her silky silver hair was barely shoulder length, but it was still the same color. She had the same reddish sharp eyes, but a less serious aura. The same facial features, almost perfectly so. And then¡­ that damn bombshell body! I will never forget this bit.

    Everything else was too different still. The expressions, in special. Earlier, she was looking at me like how a wolf would eye the weak little rabbit, and now she¡¯s, for lack of a better word, freaking pissed.

    It¡¯s not as if you would expect a princess to go around with a leather set of armor, right? It wasn¡¯t as if the other pieces of her set were fitting too.

    Her leather breastplate was over a simple top that left her abs in view, the lower half was barely a tight miniskirt with too big of a belt, and she had a heavy-looking cloak on top of everything. All colored in a half-and-half green and gray split too, so she looked more like someone wearing forest camo than a princess. Or in more fantasy-like terms, she was pretty much a ranger!

    The only missing parts were the weapons, but since she seemed to be able to attack with magic, that was minor. I could see some knives hidden around too.

    That was still weird, even without even considering the foliage, dirt, ashes, and two or three wasp stings through her body... although all of these were my fault. Except for the ashes. The ashes I¡¯m quite sure were because she flamed the wasps with magic, but I didn¡¯t dare look back while I was running.

    She was still glaring at me, though, so it would be smart to say something fast.

    ¡°So¡­ Your Highness? Can you stop holding me down, please? I promise I won¡¯t run away anymore¡­¡±

    A promise that I¡¯ll break right away if I need to, but you don¡¯t need to know that. I¡¯m not dying this easily now that I got isekai¡¯d, so losing my honor won¡¯t stop me from flying away if you become a menace.

    Chances are, I''ll be caught again, but that''s beyond the point.

    ¡°You¡¯re a weird one, you know that?¡± She asked while getting up but without ever losing sight of me. ¡°Also, don¡¯t call me ¡®your Highness¡¯ like that, call me Eleonora or something. I don¡¯t like stuffiness and I like my name.¡±

    ¡°Elen will do then?¡± I asked back as I also got up and started to pat my clothes clean with a neutral expression plastered on my face. ¡°It¡¯s easier to say.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ What the¡­ Hahahahahah! Yes, Elen will do, you weirdo.¡± Elen laughed at my words after looking confused for a moment, just like the plan, and then got even closer to me. ¡°Now, tell me your name and we will have a little talk, got it?¡±

    ¡°That seems like a threat¡­¡±

    ¡°If it is, or not, depends on you.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if this girl was crazy or if she was simply too direct, but talking with her wouldn¡¯t kill me, probably. And it wasn¡¯t as if I could continue my studies until my mana recovered again, so playing along shouldn¡¯t be that bad.

    She didn¡¯t seem like someone who could kill me for sport, at least. Running away right away was still an option and I had my secret weapon pocketed still, so there were ways to escape if needed.

    ¡°If that¡¯s so, then you can call me Illia or any variant of that. But where do you wanna have this talk of yours?¡±

    For starters, I wasn¡¯t that sure of where exactly we were after all that running, but having a chill talk on the ground wasn¡¯t my style. Gardens were fine and all, but enjoying them from a proper seat or from inside a house was more in line with what I liked.

    I also had a guess that this princess, even if her outfit said otherwise, was of the same mentality. She was even turning to the palace and starting to walk before even answering me.

    ¡°Follow me, Illia.¡± She called out without even turning or stopping to move. ¡°I¡¯ll show you my room.¡±

    ¡°Your room¡­?¡± I followed for the time being while ignoring the chills creeping on me. ¡°Why not someplace more public? Or at least tell me what exactly we¡¯ll be talking about¡­¡±

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    ¡°Won¡¯t do. Think of it as a confidential rendezvous that wouldn¡¯t be too good if was heard by bystanders¡­ We¡¯re also very close to it, so it shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡± She continued while keeping a fast pace towards the closest entrance to the palace. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t bite¡­ too much.¡±

    Forget it, she¡¯s scary.

    Not exactly the ¡®I¡¯ll die¡¯ scary, but I¡¯m feeling a real drive to turn around and start running again. This kind of situation has a real ''bad flag'' feeling to me, especially considering I''m still the ''random bystander'' for now.

    At least until I''m sure these people are indeed good, maybe I should just keep going with the safe and running around at all chances. It should be even easier now that we¡¯re close to the castle again.

    Yep! I''ll ignore my intuition and run away from this predator just in case.

    In fact, while I was thinking this much, I was already far away enough and in a full sprint in a different direction than the one from earlier. You should never turn your back to me if you wanna catch me, princess!

    ¡°See you later, Elen!¡± I shouted after getting close to a good corner of the castle that I could use to make her lose track of me. It wasn¡¯t necessary to warn Elen about my escape, but it would be uncouth to not say my goodbyes properly. Not that this made the princess any happier with the situation¡­

    ¡°Wait? What?! Come back here, dammit!¡±

    The early start and my passive lack of presence were perfect for these situations, and with how Elen was likely still a little tired, I managed to slip away this time. She would be on me very fast still, so the next step would be hiding away for a while. Which was easy to do when I could just enter a freaking medieval castle.

    So, with this in mind, I opened the first window in my line of sight without making much noise and got inside.

    ¡°Now to where¡­?¡± I asked myself while looking around the room I had just invaded.

    It was a very fancy room, that was for sure. Huge canopy bed, a whole wall with ornated dressers, three different tables, one of which had a collection of padded chairs, some bookshelves, and a very eye-catching pedestal with a golden scepter that I was sure to be magical. And all that was without even mentioning the fact that this room had three doors, so it was likely a suite with an annex too.

    I was starting to hear footsteps approaching from outside, though, so it was time to move.

    Being sure of which door led to the corridor was beyond me, though, so I simply went to the closest one and hurried inside. In the worst-case scenario, the plan would be to hide inside the bathtub and hope for the best.

    I mean, my luck is usually quite good, right? The chances that I would end up in trouble shouldn¡¯t be too¡­

    ¡°So you finally arrived.¡± A known voice called me out from the inside of the room I was sneaking into. And as was proper, I slowly turned to the voice as if my whole body was made of very bad clockwork.

    ¡°Your¡­ Highness?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± He answered with an amused smile and then eyed me whole for a moment. ¡°Can I take it that neither my daughter nor her maid got you here this time?¡±

    No, it wasn¡¯t the throne room, that would be too weird. This room was more like a tea room, but it lacked any windows and the walls were full of shining symbols and decorations. My guess was that this place was some special meeting room since I could see some soundproofing spells around. And if it was, then it was likely the weird princess was indeed taking me to some important stealthy talk and that this was her room.

    Next time be a little less weird about it, dammit! What was your plan if I actually managed to run away?!

    ¡°Should I sit down?¡± I resigned myself to my fate and asked the king just to be sure before moving closer after he nodded. The fact the guy I¡¯m yet to ask the frigging name was calling me to a private meeting was already bad, but I¡¯m sure it would get worse when his daughter arrived.

    You know, wasps, running around, and all else probably meant she didn¡¯t have the best impression of me. The nicknaming and how she seemed amused by my antics would help, but I needed to be ready to beg for forgiveness.

    Nothing I couldn''t do, though.

    ¡°It would be best if everyone was here already, but you alone are most of the reason I¡¯m here.¡± The king continued after I tucked myself into a chair. ¡°And for the first question, young lady, why do you keep on fleeing dinnertime? Not only is it worrying your friend, but it¡¯s also a problem for your image.¡±

    ¡°About this¡­ Well¡­ I''m training?¡± I tried to come up with some excuse, but my head was more focused on the other words. In special, on how exactly my image could have some difference in this whole thing. ¡°And why such worry about me? Isn¡¯t unlucky bystander who is leeching off you enough for my image?¡±

    ¡°If you had no value for the kingdom or was vehemently against helping us, then yes, that would work. I¡¯m sure your training sessions will be worth it at some point, though, and by then, having connections will help a lot. Or will you pretend that you don''t have any will to act like a hero?¡±

    He had the same ¡®know-it-all¡¯ expression from when he nudged me to convince Hayato to play along at the throne room. If at least he knew how much of a death flag having me play as a hero would be¡­ And more than that, he was saying so to the one person who couldn¡¯t be a hero.

    The most I could do was die as a foil or become something much worse.

    Still, this stupid old man had me figured out just like how I had him, but his position was simply better. Showing clear displeasure was a no-go, though, so I held back and instead tried to steal some sweets from the tea table before answering. I wouldn¡¯t be going down this easy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t fit those kinds of events, okay? If you force me to come, I won¡¯t have an option, but it won¡¯t be good for either of us. Best case, whoever you call will see me and be disappointed, worst case, I¡¯ll mess something up...¡± I tried to answer as clearly as possible while going through the motions drilled on me to serve tea and prepare some of the scone-like refreshments. ¡°But again, if you order me to appear, then I will and I¡¯ll try my best there. I don¡¯t have an option and I¡¯m kinda used to it anyway¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± He answered while seemingly watching me, and I ignored his eyes and sipped on the, by my guess, tea, although I couldn¡¯t pinpoint which kind it was. I also forgot to add sugar, jam, or anything sweet, but I pretended to not care for now as the king continued. ¡°I don¡¯t plan on forcing you to do anything. If you need a reason to believe me, then you can consider the fact that you¡¯re too good of a deterrent to keep your friend helping us... It would still be wonderful if you stopped pretending to not exist and talked a little with us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    ¡°A very polite way of refusing, as expected.¡± He answered amused again, and then threw one of the smaller cakes whole into his mouth as if to show some point. ¡°But if that has any value for you, then I know of someone that would put whatever little ¡®mess ups¡¯ you could do at a dinner to shame¡­ Someone that should be here soon too.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Elen¡­ I mean, about the other princess?¡±

    ¡°Elen, is it? Interesting¡­ Yes, I¡¯m talking about my younger daughter, though calling her younger is only something they both decided¡­¡±

    ¡°What do you¡­?¡±

    But before I could finish my question, and since we were talking about the devil already¡­

    ¡°Can you believe that brat simply turned tail and¡­?!¡± Elen¡¯s voice rang as the door to the tea room was almost kicked open and, after a moment of confusion, closed into me. ¡°HOW THE HELLS YOU GOT HERE?!!!¡±

    I wanted to say ¡®through the door¡¯, but one, she was too close for me to run, and two, it would be uncouth. Not fitting my current character and all that, you see? Nothing I could do there. It was already lucky that I could hold my laughter from showing just by the fact I thought of saying this¡­ But I still cleared my mind right away and moved on.

    ¡°Would you believe if I said that I kinda wandered in here while I was looking for somewhere to hide?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really bad at fleeing, do you know that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very bad at many things, princess. Fleeing is just one of the worse ones¡­¡±

    ¡°Hahahahah! You¡¯re a good one, girl!¡± Elen started to laugh in the same unhinged manner she did earlier before turning to her father. ¡°Damn, I get why you bothered me so much to stay around longer, Dad. This is much better than fighting some strays or sneaking around someone¡¯s city.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good to see that you both are already acquainted.¡± He answered with an expression that instantly made me feel like something troublesome was coming. ¡°It¡¯ll make my new project so much easier...¡±

 In Lack of a Hero...

    ¡°What weird project you got this time, Dad? Anything bigger than getting people for a maid-only assassin group, right?¡± Elen answered with some exposition while taking a seat for herself, all of which only made me even more worried about my situation right now. ¡°Do you want to turn the castle¡¯s mascot into the castle¡¯s strike team now?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being disrespectful with Ms. Allia now¡­ She¡¯s no mascot.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. A leech would be a weird mascot, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± I added it as a joke, but no one seemed to find it funny for some reason. ¡°I mean¡­ I d-don¡¯t mind training to be your shadow team or something, but I don¡¯t think I can do it. Even if I had a gun, beating people who have magic is too much¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait! You don¡¯t mind it?! For real?¡± The princess who seemed to wander around looking for assassin candidates was surprised by my acceptance of the situation.

    "What? Yes? I mean, it''s better than doing nothing... But I still don''t think I can."

    From what I saw until now, magic wasn¡¯t powerful enough to be the absolute force, but it was still a lot. At least, it wasn¡¯t weak enough for a small group of Japanese soldiers to hold a whole country as I saw in some stories.

    I was no army either way.

    Almost every soldier in this place, and many of the civilians, was capable of fighting from range. Most elements had spells with at least a hundred meters of range, and some went farther than that. Also, as I noticed by watching them train, every knight could do some sort of barrier. The element and how said barrier worked changed a lot, but they were still barriers that could deal with bullets.

    And that''s without even mentioning how unusually fit the people around here were.

    How fast they can run and how stupid their weight training is, was appalling in the least. These people were a little too overpowered to my liking... And I''m not saying this only because I wanted to be overpowered too and am salty about it.

    Either way, magic is, at least, as good as a gun here. Each element has a specialty like each weapon, but that is it. From all I saw, and ignoring heroes for this matter, the only things missing from this magic system were spells that could affect the caster''s own body, but I¡¯m sure there were ways to do it. Some spells had to work, which only made the system weirder.

    In fact, ignoring alchemy and its magical drugs, there was a single element with something close to buff spells or healing. Both of them didn''t seem to do more than make you heal faster or act like an adrenalin shoot from what I read, but it was very useful already.

    All in all, unless someone had a good way to use stealth without magic or some convenient ''anti-magic'' artifact, being an assassin was a far-off goal.

    ¡°By the gods, you¡¯re a real piece, aren¡¯t you? What about giving me her, Dad? I know exactly the person to train someone this crazy¡­¡±

    ¡°She is a guest Eleonora, not someone to be ¡®given¡¯ or to be trained by your ¡®acquaintances¡¯ like this.¡± The king admonished his daughter, but I got a little interested in her words. It would have to be something for later, though, since the king seemed to notice that the subject was moving away from what mattered. ¡°Sigh¡­ Let me explain why I called you here before I¡¯m out of time again.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sorry, she got me interested, okay? Let me hear you out now¡­¡±

    I also nodded in agreement but didn''t say anything since I wasn¡¯t so sure of what was happening.

    ¡°Good.¡± He accepted the answers and then turned to me with his own question. ¡°But first, I need to know how much you know about our situation, Ms. Illia. I heard that you took many books from our library and that not all of them were about magic, so how deep you went?¡±

    Hearing what he said made me think that this guy either had too much time to spare or liked to waste resources, but that was fair in some ways. Even if keeping an eye on me was pretty much as useless as it could be, only I seemed to believe that.

    ¡°I know the map of the continent, the general information of the four big countries and I know that this world has a problem with demons since forever. I can bet that dealing with something like a monster spawn that appears from time to time is really troublesome...¡± I went on with what little I got from hearing around or the few history books I got on a whim. ¡°I also know that you, the Kingdom of Prourene, are prone to being the frontline on that. I remember that it''s not always like this, but it happened a few times in a row here. There¡¯s also an alliance with the neighbors in place, but I didn¡¯t get much on that...¡±

    The tropes say every single neighbor was only holding back because they didn¡¯t believe they could deal with the demons alone, but I couldn''t be sure of that. All I was sure of was that, as in any good fantasy world, each country in the area had a specialty. We had the imperialist republic in the east with legion-like armies, the federation of small theocracies filled with variants of paladins in the west, and then the bunch of desert raider tribes in the south, though these didn¡¯t do much cavalry for some reasons.

    Each one even had its own flavor of champion, but only Prourenne could summon them and had a huge arsenal of ancient relics. This second part wasn''t a specialty per se, but the country that had it before was done by having demon incursions start there multiple times in a row.

    As a side note, I would like to note that this place uses a more textbook definition of ''demon'' than usual. Here, they seem to be more like wild beasts that really hate humans than anything that thinks. Nothing like a ''demon race'' or anything that you would expect to have a ''demon king''.

    Even their ''leader'' or the thing that started each incursion and spawned the monsters wasn''t exactly a living being. Not that there was a lot of information on the thing, to begin with. No one seemed to even agree on what it was or how it worked from what little I got.

    All I, and almost everyone for that matter, knew, was that going to the source and dealing with whatever was there would stop the outbreak for a while. Even dealing with it using an army seemed to work.

    Damn, now that I think about it, I know a lot, don¡¯t I? Seems like having too much free time and too little mana to keep on burning it forever was a hell of a reason to study, eh? Heck, give me a year and I may very well become a frigging scholar!

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    Even the king seemed to be pleased by my textbook memorization skills even if what I told him was no more than the very basics.

    ¡°Very good. All I can see you¡¯re missing are customs, but they¡¯re nothing you have to worry about for now...¡± The king nodded while saying things that would make me think that he actually wanted to turn me into some sort of scholar. ¡°Since you have a good understanding already, I will skip to the ¡®project¡¯ itself right away then.¡±

    ¡°Talking as if you didn¡¯t know all that already¡­ But whatever either way." The princess quipped with the same thing that I was thinking. "Tell me who you want to poke and why I¡¯m taking the weird girl there. Taking me away from the frontlines isn''t something you would do on a whim...¡±

    Isn¡¯t that a little disrespectful, princess? And why are you eating jam with a spoon? I feel this person will soon be putting her feet over the table if things continue as is... How her father didn¡¯t seem to care was a little more worrying, but I wouldn¡¯t be the one to say anything here.

    Also, why was a princess in the frontline like this? Don''t these people worry about their royalty?!

    Both of them were watching me, though, even if pretending not to, so I was physically incapable of saying this aloud. Even doing anything more than the proper moves was almost impossible for me right now.

    ¡°You should learn to be a little more patient, but that¡¯s beyond the point¡­¡± He finally continued while lessening the pressure on me for a moment and focusing on Elen. ¡°What I need you both to do is be this kingdom¡¯s ¡®buffer¡¯, if you may. Or to be more specific, I want to use your abnormal specialties, Eleonora, and your position as a summoned hero, Illia... All to keep everyone in line until we can be safe when the demons are dealt with.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait! I am but a bystander with magic I can¡¯t use.¡± I cut into his words out of surprise even if the idea was close to complaining in my head like usual. ¡°I mean, Elen is¡­ a ranger? I¡¯m not sure¡­ But she can fight, probably, and she¡¯s a princess too, so I can see many things you could ask her to do, but I¡¯m pretty much useless here. I also don¡¯t feel like risking myself for something that I¡¯m sure¡­¡±

    ¡°Slow down a little, young lady.¡± The man who was showing where his daughter¡¯s manners come by how he was wharfing the sweets at the table called me out. ¡°Hear me out a little first. I don¡¯t want to make you do the same as your friend, understand? We made it very clear that he¡¯s the hero for sure during this week, but, for everyone everywhere, you¡¯re an incognita still. Most don¡¯t even know what you are since you appear so little, so they think you¡¯re as much a hero as Mr. Hayato, although a lazy or incompetent one. And that¡¯s ever truer for those who saw you use unknown magic and heard of Randoul¡¯s panic¡­ In summary, even if you can¡¯t do much, we can use you as if you could.¡±

    That was¡­ a fair point actually.

    Heck, it¡¯s something I should have noticed even. Why would someone bother to avoid calling me out or going against whatever weird thing I did if they knew I couldn¡¯t do anything back? I¡¯m sure playing with this wouldn¡¯t work forever and neither would it work if Mr. Hero was gone, but it seemed that I had some cards. Not that I could actually use them for much.

    ¡°But why would you want to do that? Isn¡¯t your biggest problem fighting the things coming from the north? Why bother with having a fake hero?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. She sure can run, but I don¡¯t see much fighting on this girl.¡± Elen added from in between spoonfuls of jam. ¡°But as I said, I know some people that could solve it¡­ or kill her in the process. Fifty-fifty odds, I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°I prefer not to die, please. I¡¯m not interested in this kind of thing right now¡­¡±

    ¡°You two should really hear more... I don¡¯t need you to fight, I just need you to pretend you can. Something to ease the hero¡¯s work and, when he¡¯s done with it, to avoid any possible crisis that may come from it...¡± He continued with a point that, the more went on, the easier it got for me to understand. ¡°But to be honest, there¡¯s another reason too. Giving you a proper position and showing that you¡¯re living well is the best way to ease the hero¡¯s personality and keep him in line. Take it as having a hostage for our justice-focused hero...¡±

    Again, that was fair. Heck, I¡¯m using the same trick even. Look weak and in need and Mr. Protagonist will want to help you, though I wasn''t expecting to be used in this same tactic.

    Putting that whole act in the first few days seemed to have affected our overbearing protagonist a little too much already. If I took what the king just said straight, it was enough to make our hero unfocused on his work since I was pretty much MIA.

    It meant that I had a safe position here, at least, but that wasn''t good for efficiency¡­

    Being safe from humans wouldn''t mean much if we were overrun by monsters. It also was bad for my plan of tying him to this place. Would hate to have Mr. Hero decide to return home and people forcing me to go together¡­

    I had to do my best so he would waste as little time as possible worrying about the random bystander.

    In summary, due to my antics, Mr. Hero was a worrywart and the king thought he could squeeze some use out of me. Both things were a pain in the ass, but it could maybe be interesting too. I didn¡¯t have much to keep me entertained either way, so why not try and play along a little?

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­ You want us to support the hero by dealing with local threats or something of the kind, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly it!¡± The king showed how pleased he was again by getting a huge smile in answer to my remark, but then went on. ¡°Eleonora has a terrible fame due to her¡­ uniqueness. She¡¯s not seen fondly by the local or foreign nobility, but she¡¯s famous in the civilian circles while also being a good fighter. One of the best even.¡±

    ¡°How you put it annoys me, but it isn¡¯t wrong¡­ Not my fault that nobles are so stiff and boring.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s more about how you¡¯re so against socializing with them without punching someone or deciding to go visit some new place out of the blue, but that¡¯s beyond the point...¡± He shot out Elen right away, but the ranger princess only shrugged at her father¡¯s words, and the king had to give up. ¡°Anyway, all I ask is for the both of you to act together to deal with any internal problems you can. Keeping nobles in line and holding the neighbors is getting very hard as of now... We have too much invested in keeping the demons at bay, so threats from everywhere else are many times as dangerous. Even public order is straying thin in some places due to the lack of manpower... Without some deterrents, it''s even possible that someone will try a conventional war for the first time in centuries.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a pain.¡±

    "Sounds very hard to do if you ask me..." I commented together with Elen, even if our points were very different from each other.

    ¡°Any help is good, so there is no need to overwork. I¡¯ll even give you both free reign on the methods, and as long as you have a proper justification, you can do whatever you want to solve your tasks. All I ask is that you avoid being too direct unless needed¡­ Wouldn''t want a civil war happening right now.¡±

    "Free reign, eh? Are you sure of that?"

    "Just don''t go too far, Eleonora, and don''t risk our second hero''s life."

    ¡°Now that I can do! There are many peeps I saw while traveling around that I would love to give some beating. The only hard part will be the ¡®direct¡¯ bit, but it can be done too...¡±

    ¡°And you, Ms. Illia? What do you think of my proposal?¡±

    What do I think? I think that you¡¯re crazy! That¡¯s what my reasonable side thinks and that¡¯s probably the truth too, but that¡¯s what I am really thinking¡­

    ¡°It depends on one question: can I add some conditions to this deal?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m open to negotiating. As I said, there¡¯s little to invest outside of the demon problem until it¡¯s solved, but I¡¯m still not out of options.¡±

    ¡°Then you don¡¯t have to worry, Your Highness. All I need are some tools and a little bit of publicity...¡± I answered while holding myself to not smile as much as possible. "Just remember that I am no hero, okay?"

    "And I''m not asking for a hero, Ms. Illia, I''m asking for someone that can help me the best right now."

    ¡°Since we''re in lack of a hero, a swindler will do, eh? Sounds nice to me...¡±

    It was time to show why I never thought I had a reasonable side to begin with.

 Trip to the Secret Vault

    ¡°¡­so you do really go around causing trouble, eh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Eve stays around to keep an eye for me, but I''m more about traveling and beating bad guys.¡± Elen answered me while using the nickname I gave to her maid as she kept on pushing our little group to where her father told us to go. ¡°She¡¯s my most reliable retainer still. Very useful when I need to tail someone and am too lazy to do so¡­ Not that it always works.¡±

    As expected from everything I heard earlier, someone was indeed keeping an eye on me while I was at the castle. And also, as expected, this someone was the deadpan maid.

    I found her waiting in Eleonora¡¯s room right after my meeting was over, so all became quite clear almost right away. The only unexpected bit was the fact that the reason why she would vanish when it was almost time to eat was so she could wake up the unhinged princess.

    Either way, we were talking while moving deeper into the castle towards a place that could fulfill my first request. It was somewhere where I could find a way to keep myself safe, so it should be some sort of underground armory. And of course, I was sure to keep on talking all the while I was following the two girls.

    ¡°Well, you could explain yourself next time instead of talking about ¡®targets¡¯ or whatnot¡­ Anyone would run in that situation, ain¡¯t I right, Eve?¡±

    ¡°I ask you to leave me out of this discussion, milady.¡±

    ¡°And I ask you don¡¯t call me ¡®milady¡¯, so I guess neither of us is getting what we want.¡± I pouted in answer and complained, again, about this overly proper way of calling me. No matter how long I lived, being called ¡®milady¡¯ or anything of the kind would never feel right, of that I was sure¡­

    ¡°If it is so, then I have to agree with lady Illia. Any prey will try to escape a possible predator, and that would define your Highness¡¯ way of approaching people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s mean! True for sure, but mean still.¡± The princess in weird clothes complained as much as she could even if I could see that she wasn''t that angry. ¡°What exactly do you want me to do after finding someone that not only could notice my gaze from a hidden spot but also seemed, even if only for a moment, so annoyed for having me interrupt her? She got my interest so fast I couldn¡¯t control myself¡­ And there¡¯s more too.¡±

    Wait, wait, wait! I wasn¡¯t annoyed back there, right? I mean, she was interrupting and sneaking around, but it wasn¡¯t anything unusual or unexpected... Was I slacking so much back there that I didn¡¯t even notice my expression changing? Such a misstep¡­

    Why this princess was staring at me with those hungry wolf eyes again was very disturbing, though.

    ¡°You should learn to control yourself, your Highness. Having a royal¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my sister¡¯s job, Eve. She likes this stiff hellhole for some reason and like studying even more, so all I have to do is move around and be sure she¡¯ll be fine.¡± The master interrupted the maid¡¯s words with something that I was sure they discussed many times before, but she soon let her real intentions slip. ¡°Also, being the black sheep makes it very easy for me to travel the world. Especially so with this weird job dad created for me¡­¡±

    ¡°Weird job?¡± I asked since the idea caught my attention. ¡°Is that linked to why you had to be called home and why you¡¯re wearing these clothes?¡±

    ¡°Oh, these? These are because I was on the northern frontier scouting after the fortress line, so I got what the people there were wearing. I go a little heavier usually, but getting stuck on the wastelands would be bad¡­¡±

    She started to talk about, as what I could only infer from the little information I had, the frontline of the fight against the demons. Most of what she was saying still went over my head, though.

    As I said before, I only knew the very basics of how this place worked, and that was only because I lacked the unlimited mana to keep on ¡®training¡¯ forever.

    Eventually, she got so deep on how she was working with the proper rangers up there and hunting stray demons that even my controlled expression couldn¡¯t hide the fact I had no idea what was happening anymore¡­

    ¡°It seems you managed to break our guest, your Highness. Or at least you got her so confused she cannot even stop your ramblings.¡± Eve saved me after noticing my slacking expression that, when I noticed too, I tried my best to hide. ¡°Either way, as what your Highness should have said, she is a ¡®forward envoy¡¯. Also known as someone who wanders around and pretends to have a proper goal other than dealing with problems on a whim.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a way to put it for sure¡­ I prefer to define my job as the person who scouts for the proper envoys or even for the proper scouts. It¡¯s still an excuse to go wherever I want while looking for trouble, but it sounds cooler.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ well¡­ that¡¯s a weird way of defining a job for sure.¡± I tried to answer while my head was still getting around the whole idea. A princess who was a katana or a revolver away from being a wanderer-type was very fun, though.

    ¡°But that¡¯s beyond the point right now¡­¡± Elen shrugged my weak answer as we reached a single heavy-looking gilded door with shining blue decals. ¡°Now I have to present you the royal armory! Feel free to go inside first.¡±

    Her words got me a little confused, but I still tried to move a little forward for once. There wasn¡¯t much in the small underground room either way, so it wasn¡¯t as if I had much of a choice too.

    Only a staircase at my back, plain stony walls on either side, two torches which shone with no flame (some magic thing), and then the huge and important-looking door. A door that was likely magical since its decals were shining.

    Reading what the spell should do was still beyond me since enchantments and normal spells were different, but I could get some words there. Only a small drop on what seemed to be a hyper-complicated spell, but it was still something, I guess. But the words in there were enough to tell me this wasn¡¯t some complicated magical lock...

    ¡°Is this door booby-trapped or something of the kind? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s anything mortal since you told me to go on ahead, but I don¡¯t like getting hurt.¡±

    ¡°Oho?¡± The tricky silver-haired girl rose an eyebrow with a smile that made me remember her father a little. ¡°Are you this distrustful or you do really have an idea of what this door is?¡±

    ¡°What if I said that I was only bluffing to see if there was something in there?¡± I answered in a half lie since choosing either option would be a full lie. ¡°I only felt the situation was off and I always favor the safest path.¡±

    ¡°Pht!¡± Eve suddenly reacted to my little trick but held herself very fast when she noticed we were looking at her. ¡°Aham¡­ She seems to have tricked you, your Highness.¡±

    ¡°It does seem so¡­" Elen answered even if not convinced by my words. "Not as fun, but let¡¯s skip the fake vault then¡­ Eve.¡±

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    Eve then nodded at the princess'' words and each one of them moved to one of the torches by the side.

    ¡°A secret passage?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly, but again, it¡¯s nice that you get things fast.¡± She answered my confusion with a smile and started to let her mana flow on whatever was hidden there like Eve was also doing (and I was quite happy that I managed to notice this much). Then, soon after, the blue hue on the door started to change to silver before it then grew in intensity.

    ¡°It¡¯s done, your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Good that it did alright¡­ It¡¯s been a while since I came here, so I wasn¡¯t sure if all would go fine with the activation.¡± The weird princess went on with something that I could only get worried about and then worsened it even before I could say anything. ¡°Since nothing blew up, though, I welcome you to the royal armory, Illia!¡±

    Worrying about it wouldn¡¯t be useful at all, so I instead took her motions as a sign to go on ahead and walked forward until I was in range to open the door. And then, with a push that shouldn¡¯t be able to move something this heavy-looking, the path opened for me, showing what I could only describe as¡­

    ¡°Much smaller than I expected,¡± I mumbled without much thought to it other than the small room in front of my eyes. ¡°Is this another trick or is there something hidden even deeper?¡±

    The room was no larger than a 5x5m square filled almost to the brim with stands and glass boxes. Every single one of them had some sort of trinket or weapon inside and the lower parts of the storages were full of books, but it was a small room still.

    Counting it very fast, there shouldn¡¯t be more than fifty pieces stored in it, less than half of which were weapons or armor. It was a little underwhelming, to be honest.

    ¡°So most of our kingdom¡¯s relics aren¡¯t enough for you, eh? I wasn¡¯t expecting to have such a demanding ally.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that¡­ I just¡­ Well¡­¡± Her somewhat angry reaction, even if I could feel the joke deep inside of it, made me surprised a little. It was a little hard to go against her since she had a point. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being disrespectful¡­¡±

    ¡°Now you suddenly get meek? I¡¯m sure that¡¯s more unexpected than the size of this armory¡­¡± The princess snorted while I tried to bring myself back. ¡°Either way, I have no idea of what the hells is inside this place, so if you could, Eve¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, your Highness.¡± The maid bowed and then turned to the weird objects stored around the room. ¡°Last inventory reported we had forty-seven pieces stored on the royal armory. Thirty-three of which are suitable to combat and three of which are probably Age of Gods¡¯ items. Twelve other pieces are currently outside the armory and in use, but all others can be borrowed if needed.¡±

    "You have something that could make illusions or anything of the kind?"

    "I believe there are three of such pieces, milady..."

    Around three-quarters are battling equipment, eh? Either my overview was a little too wrong or there were many of the non-armor/weapon things in here that could be used to fight then... More importantly, though, I was in luck and they even had more than an option to present me, so it should work out fine.

    Later on, I would like to ask how many of those twelve were with Mr. Protagonist, though. Getting a look at a real ¡®Hero¡¯s Sword¡¯ was also something that I would like to risk, not that I wanted to have a try with it. Using it seemed like a pain.

    ¡°Believe it or not, these are more than two-thirds of all artifacts found in the continent. We also have almost every single one that¡¯s old enough to be from the ¡®Age of Gods¡¯.¡± Elen added proudly even after her comment about not knowing what the things inside here did, something that made sense soon after. ¡°Also, I¡¯m one of the biggest contributors to this place. I only take and throw them here since I already have what I need, but that¡¯s beyond the point¡­¡±

    ¡°The number was at nineteen if I¡¯m not mistaken, your Highness¡­ And the number of diplomatic crises caused by your spelunking and theft goes as high as twice this many.¡±

    ¡°No proof, so nothing they can do. I¡¯m good, am I not?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something I should be hearing, so what about talking about those illusion things?¡± I cut through the dangerous bragging before I ended with even more dangerous information in my head. ¡°Since there are three of them, at least one should work fine. I would like to be done with it fast since I¡¯m a little tired by now...¡±

    All the running right after training with magic followed by having to talk with the king was getting to me by now, I guess. It was still fine physically, but my head was starting to hurt quite a lot already. Enough for me to start hearing noises even. I needed some rest and silence after leaving this place¡­

    ¡°Fair. Wouldn¡¯t expect someone to be fine after such an event-packed day...¡± Elen looked at my face with a hint of worry for the first time in the day and then moved to a corner of the room. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about something going wrong with these, I can shield you all right. Eve can also manage, so try out whatever you feel like.¡±

    Hearing her say that was both reassuring and worrying, but that was for later. If I went around thinking about the fact that these old things were actually prone to failure, then I would end up fainting...

    ¡°Well then, milady¡­¡± The deadpan girl called me before I could lose myself on my own head again, and moved to where the items she wanted to show were. ¡°This one, this one, and this one possibly have the effect you want. Here are the reports on each one of them.¡±

    She then took three small booklets from the shelves beneath the items and gave them to me. They weren''t so big and a good half of each was actually blank, so I thanked the maid and tried to fast read them all. What I got could be summarized to:

    First, a ring that can cause hallucinations vaguely affected by the user¡¯s will, but can only affect people with less mana than the user.

    Second, a hand mirror capable of creating an illusionary copy of the wearer to obey a single order and vanish after some seconds.

    And third, a gauntlet capable of changing how a magical circle and its effects look without changing the spell itself.

    ¡°They seem¡­ very niche in use,¡± I commented considering that neither of them was exactly what I was expecting. ¡°These books also say the three have some high mana drainage¡­¡±

    ¡°From what I know, the tests are very thorough, milady, so you can trust these papers even if you don¡¯t like what you see.¡±

    ¡°Not perfect, but I can get some use here. Still¡­¡±

    ¡°If they were that useful, then someone else would be using them. The only advantage from relics to proper magical items is that they have weird skills we can¡¯t copy.¡± Elen answered my comment with a very fair remark. ¡°In all honesty, what we use is rarely something from the royal armory. You can have an artisan make something that fits your needs much better and without any weird caveats if you can accept something normal. Illusions are a little beyond any magical school, though.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough¡­¡± I resigned myself since I had an inkling suspicion that I wouldn¡¯t be getting what I wanted anyway. ¡°These will have to do then. Can I take the three, Elen?¡±

    ¡°Do as you wish. I can see you¡¯re going for something interesting already, so I want to see this thing going off now¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay then.¡± I decided on snagging the three of them and making do but stopped my hand a second before opening the glass box with the items. ¡°Can I take that thing too?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t more than a whim coupled with a coincidence, but my eyes were drawn away from the items I wanted and to a sword tucked by the corner. A somewhat hidden away golden and black saber without much in the realm of decorations or flamboyance other than its colors. It didn¡¯t even fit with my overall aesthetics, so I wasn¡¯t so sure why exactly it caught my attention even... Having a special weapon wouldn¡¯t hurt still, so it shouldn¡¯t bring any demerits.

    It would be best if it was a rapier with a neater look and brighter colors, but a saber was good enough. Maybe the contrast would look fine with some work even.

    ¡°Huh? You can, I guess, but why?¡± Elen rose an eyebrow as she got close to the weapon and took it without much thought. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m the one that brought this thing here, and I pretty much gave up on it right away. This thing takes way too much for way too little¡­¡±

    She then took the small book close to where the sword was tucked and threw it at me, resulting in an almost fumble that I would prefer to ignore. Still, since the book was in my hands already, I skimmed through what this thing seemed capable of as fast as I could.

    And what I got made my whole expression get sloppy.

    ¡°Heh¡­ Heheheh¡­ That''s nice¡­¡± I started to give a small laugh due to my surprise but failed, as usual, to control it into the right-sounding one, instead ending with something closer to my unfiltered smile. ¡°Now this thing was made for me, wasn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll be adding this one to the list.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Strike them out of the inventory and look everything while I go report to Dad, Eve.¡± The princess still plagued by an expression of surprise and curiosity smiled and then came closer to me while presenting the pommel of my new weapon. ¡°Better get ready to move out, Illia, I''m sure Dad has something weird planned... By the way, should I call you Ms. Hero now?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t force a princess to not do that, but I would hate it,¡± I answered with a hand on the saber and the other pocketing the other three trinkets. ¡°Also, I¡¯m pretty sure you would end up as the only person to ever call me that¡­ I¡¯ll be going now. Needing some rest after all this.¡±

    My toys and their manuals were set, and my head was almost splitting by now, so I turned to the door and started to walk away without letting the conversation continue. I already had a feeling the next few days would be tiresome...

 Nothing Good Happens at a Ball

    He tricked me¡­

    If they have carbonara here, then Keith surely was already planning to prepare it! He could¡¯ve told me or at least done it in a day I could actually enjoy my food instead of when I¡¯m stuck in this hellhole.

    A hole filled with a few hundred people and none of them wants to enjoy the damn food... Such a waste.

    Heck, if at least this was a tame banquet like the one the day I was summoned, but nooooo, full-on ball a moment after I accepted to help the king. I didn¡¯t even know this castle had such a big room and most of what I do is wander around!

    Packing this many people somewhere and thinking that I could eat something properly was ludicrous at best. Especially with this many unknowns and straight-up foreigners. Everyone was either talking in their circles or hounding Mr. Hero while I was forgotten in some corner hearing their whispers about me. And all the king and his queen were doing was watching the whole thing from the back of the room.

    In summary, too many people I knew nothing about and no place to hide from their prying eyes while still being ignored somehow¡­

    I know it is due to the hair and the clothes, okay! What can I do about it?! Changing characters without my wardrobe, hairstyler, and make-up set is impossible, so I have to stick with what I have.

    There were other blondies around, of course, but I¡¯m on another level. I also refused to wear the full ball setup since I couldn¡¯t fix the thing by myself and having someone help me would be troublesome, so there was that too. No one is allowed to see me before I''m ready to leave my room, and that''s final. My clothes are shorter than usual and more like some outside leisure set with some extras.

    But anyway, such a waste of good food¡­

    Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m still packing this stupid white plate with as much pasta as I physically can, but I won¡¯t be happy. Also, I don¡¯t care about any of you whispering about me or eyeing me down, my contract didn¡¯t include participation in balls, okay? Next time warn me beforehand if you want me to play along, you damned king.

    Still, I wouldn''t be able to do much more than complain in silence if it wasn''t for Mr. Protagonist over there. He was hogging most of the attention for obvious reasons. He¡¯s even hogging most of the guests from what I can see. Most people were talking about him all around.

    Skulking their talks even got me impressed.

    I mean, he could use every single element and also had some weird system that made him learn faster, so some buzz was expected, but he went farther. Rumors were going from him being proficient in everything the royal guard captain could teach to having him bust some close-by bandits and dangerous fauna. He even saved an elf while at it, and from what I know, there are barely any of them around.

    How he¡¯s still wearing that stupid uniform is bothersome, but that¡¯s fine. It also draws more attention away from me. Not bad at all, he even calls attention when walking, so¡­ Wait! Stop! Why are you drawing them here?! Go back to your group, dumbass! Shoo, shoo! Don¡¯t come here, dammit!

    Sigh¡­ I guess I¡¯m doing this now.

    ¡°Good evening, Mr. Hero.¡± I greeted my same-world companion as he approached while setting my plate to the side. ¡°Why fleeing from your groupies now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not fleeing from anyone, Illia, I was looking for you actually. I thought you wouldn¡¯t appear after looking for this long¡­¡±

    ¡°You should get better at searching then. I¡¯ve been around here for a while now¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry¡­ But, well, I came here to ask if you don¡¯t want to join everyone there. It would be good to get some companions too, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    What¡¯s this, Mr. Hero? Are you fancying me, eh? Sigh¡­ Who I¡¯m trying to trick here? His expression is almost the same as that of a mother worried about her daughter spending the rest of her life alone... I know this one very well, and I don¡¯t like it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going on an expedition, Mr. Hero, so it would be bad if I messed up your team¡¯s chemistry or something.¡± I glanced at his little group of misfits but focused more on the many nobles surrounding them. ¡°I like staying on the corners. Getting in the middle of this chaos isn¡¯t my style at all...¡±

    To be honest, his group was very interesting and I kinda wanted to go there. He had the proper princess with him (Valiria was her name), a serious and very good-looking glasses guy who wore trinkets similar to the old archmage, a red-haired maid that seemed to be too hyped for being here, and a shortstack wearing a massive cloak. They seemed interesting and, except for the one I couldn¡¯t see much and the hero himself, they were all lookers.

    The problem was that they were the center of all attention here.

    For good or bad, I¡¯m very observant, so I can see that even the two people who seemed to be in their habitat, glasses and proper princess to shorten it, were having trouble. There were too many nobles around them, so that place was likely a mess. Some of them were clearly from other kingdoms too, which only made things worse considering how this world worked.

    The maid and the small one seemed left to their own devices, though. One I could guess a reason, but the other was a mystery I couldn''t care about.

    The amount of bootlicking, overly intimate questioning and overall boosting in that area was enough for me to want to look away. Having this many double-faced people hog around me would end up having me killed. And that was without even considering the fact I didn¡¯t see a single one of them stop to eat something!

    ¡°Are you sure about that? You don¡¯t seem to be doing too¡­¡±

    ¡°It would be better for both of us if you didn¡¯t worry too much about me.¡± I interrupted him before he could go any further and then made my stance as clear as I could without a lengthy explanation. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you got about this place, but you being alive and well is very important to keep this country afloat.¡±

    ¡°The demons really seem to be a huge problem, but that¡¯s not something we can be¡­¡±

    ¡°Saying this only proves that you know too little, Mr. Hero, so let me be the harbinger of bad news for you¡­¡± I held Hayato¡¯s shoulders and got very close to him. ¡°Dealing with the demons will be the smallest of your problems if those hawks around your ¡®friends¡¯ decide you¡¯re weak, got it? It¡¯s a little different for each country, but in most cases, someone like you is pretty much all the military power someone needs.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡±

    ¡°I mean that you better focus on yourself and on coming back alive, Mr. Hero. If you don''t do, then I won''t even be the one in most trouble around, although I''ll be in a hell lot of it.¡±

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    This world had some hard-to-grasp systems and customs that I had yet to get a full picture of, but the idea was as simple as what I explained. Too many problems and too many overpowered one-people armies around made both politics and war a full-blown mess, and I wanted nothing to do with it.

    If it wasn''t for the fact demons came from everywhere and a walking weapon could only be in one place at a time, my guess was that they wouldn''t even keep armies.

    Anyway, I had to smack some sense into this dumb hero¡¯s misplaced worries before he drew some bad flags. Not that he seemed to understand this.

    ¡°It would still be better if you¡­¡±

    ¡°What is happening here? Trying to steal my hero, sir Hayato?¡± A melodic voice that I got to know a little while ago called out as a beautiful arm went over both mine and Hayato¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Keeping both princesses even in power is the safer way, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Elen was shorter than both me and Hayato by a bit and by a good amount respectively, so it was a little of a weird image when she held us both together, but the impact was there. She was even pushing Mr. Hero down a little while doing so, but I was focusing more on her clothes at the moment.

    Or to be clear, on the mess that made me second-guess again if she was a princess.

    Her sister for one was wearing one of those overkill bell dresses keeping the same color scheme of silver with small hints of red from before. She looked very much like a princess and looked quite well in it.

    Meanwhile, her sister was a mess and that was all.

    A grey military coat with some buttons stuck to the wrong holes, a skirt similar to mine but in a lighter color and not properly straightened, oversized boots, and two different-colored thigh highs... Did this person throw a bunch of random clothes and then call it a day?

    This is such a waste of good looks!

    At least it made me understand what the king was talking about that other day¡­ She should¡¯ve kept the ranger look instead of whatever this is.

    ¡°Your¡­ Highness?¡± See? Even Mr. Protagonist is confused if you¡¯re really a princess!

    Not being able to enjoy a person¡¯s good looks just because they don¡¯t care about appearance is so terrible... Almost as bad as my cooling pasta over there.

    I guess she¡¯s helping me now, though, so I¡¯ll play along this one time.

    ¡°Good evening, Elen. I thought you wouldn¡¯t come by after how long it took for you to appear.¡±

    ¡°Eve¡¯s doing some chores for me, so I didn¡¯t have someone to pick my clothes and all that...¡± She answered without a care and I held myself from saying she should¡¯ve waited more. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to lose the main event, so I managed by myself and here we are. Easy as cake.¡±

    "Main event?"

    ¡°Main event...?¡± I annoyingly asked at the same time as the other person in our weird trio.

    ¡°So they didn¡¯t warn you too, eh?¡± Elen asked while eyeing Mr. Hero with a smile, but then she freed us both and turned her face to her sister and their group. ¡°I could explain, but I see someone is getting bothered about you missing¡­ Ask her instead of me, okay?¡±

    Seeing Valiria turn her face in our direction every few seconds was fun, but that wasn¡¯t something we should keep going on forever. Her actions were also drawing more eyes toward me since they would follow the princess¡¯ focus, so it was better if I dealt with Hayato already.

    Not that it would solve much considering who else was here now and what she was wearing, but whatever.

    ¡°Go to your party, big boy. I¡¯m fonder of talking in quieter places anyway¡­¡± I waved away and turned back to my plate in hopes my food was still hot, sighing at it and then turning to Mr. Hero again with my food in hand. ¡°Just remember that you have a job to do and that, if I was in trouble, you would be the first one I¡¯d call. That¡¯s what¡¯s a hero for, right?¡±

    Now look at my smile and go away. I¡¯m hungry here.

    ¡°Sigh¡­ I don¡¯t get you at all.¡±

    ¡°I would be surprised if you could, considering we just met.¡± My answer came a bit off-handedly since I was focused on trying to eat a little, but I could notice a hint of surprise on Hayato¡¯s face¡­

    Oh, hell, I know this flag.

    He¡¯ll tell me we already met before, right? No, you didn¡¯t. This Illia here has never met you, so accept it and move on.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is? I guess that¡¯s true in some ways...¡± He answered with a chuckle that made me wince as it was annoying if he wouldn¡¯t play around. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll take what you said as a promise and go do my job now. Take this frown off your face and go eat this food you¡¯re so focused on while I¡¯m at it¡­¡±

    ¡°Cheeky brat.¡± I hurriedly held my mouth with one hand when I noticed that what I said was in sinc with what I thought, almost losing my precious plate in the process, but Hayato only turned around and started to laugh. Even Elen by my side was trying to hold herself back after my slip, not that I would give either of them the pleasure of seeing me blush.

    Or I would believe in that very much at least¡­

    ¡°So¡­ Do you hate or like this guy? I heard this whole thing and didn¡¯t get it yet¡­¡±

    ¡°Neither. He¡¯s a fine guy, but he¡¯s trouble too, especially for me. That¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a weird one, but we already knew that.¡±

    I wouldn¡¯t mention my minor grips with the guy considering they were irrelevant and some were simply based on how he looks. It was very disrespectful, but what can I do about it?

    Anyway, I have something else to worry about now, so I only shrugged off Elen¡¯s comment and came back to what I wanted to ask.

    ¡°By the way, since I¡¯m YOUR hero and whatnot, what about explaining to me this ¡®main event¡¯ of yours?¡±

    ¡°I said that my timing was very close, didn¡¯t I?¡± The chaotic princess answered with a smile and a glance towards her father¡¯s seat. ¡°He¡¯s even going to call it now...¡±

    Pretty much at the same moment, as she said it, I heard the glass clinking coming from the king as he drew everyone¡¯s attention. The room got silent almost right away, as it should, and all eyes went towards the local monarch. It sounded very much like a ¡®main event¡¯ was going to happen even.

    ¡°My loyal nobles and our esteemed envoys, I see all of you had time to mingle with our hero and probably heard of his skills already...¡± He started in a powerful voice but with a message that soon turned many eyes back to Hayato and his little group, most of them showing their respects in answer. ¡°It is before schedule, but all of you were called here for the exact reason you thought: I will now announce the start of the next demon subjugation expedition. With one of my talented daughters, the youngest graduate of the mage citadel, and a special envoy from fey realms, it is sure that the expedition will be successful in record speed... That is, as long as all members follow with their vows and responsibilities.¡±

    Until now he was yet to say anything interesting, so I was getting a little underwhelmed with the whole situation. To me, this whole thing looked more like a ceremonial speech for something everyone already knew than anything of note.

    But I had a feeling that wasn¡¯t the point at all, and the reason for such was very simple: The king had yet to mention me even though he made it clear that he wanted me here¡­

    Not that it took too long for this point to appear.

    ¡°But as a side note, I have to mention that, with how protracted the current crisis is, the stability of our continent is close to concerning. Everything from cults to criminals now plagues us now that so much was set aside to deal with demons, and some even decide to play with it to their own gain...¡± He continued in a way that made me turn again and leave my plate rested somewhere as I felt my food would start tasting bad. ¡°And for that, I will also announce our second hero. The one that was bestowed to us by the gods themselves as a means to even the odds for humanity. And also, someone who shall only be active inside Prourene''s borders as, as some of you know, this is where the more ¡®disruptive¡¯ forces are acting. She will be our last line of defense and someone who will help keep our realm safe. Like only someone with the proper power for it can.¡±

    As expected, the moment the king mentioned a second hero, basically confirming any rumors that were around, a mass of eyes turned to me for a moment. A mass that came with a wave of whispers and talking.

    Not much of a problem to be honest, and again, something I was expecting all things considered, but that was only the beginning. He had more to say, and this more, at the very least, was troublesome enough just by how it was worded.

    ¡°And so, both the second hero and my second daughter will be now in charge of Prourene¡¯s national security. All of it, from one border to the other, they¡¯ll now start a cleansing operation to bring back order to this kingdom.¡±

    He closed his speech in a tone that made it very clear that, at a minimum, some of the people here would be affected by his so-called ¡®cleansing operation''. Anything headed by a hero already had extra weight, but this one was aimed at the same people who were hearing it be announced. It was something akin to having a whole army hunt for people who could very well be inside here.

    The smile on his face only made his announcement scarier, something that got even worse when he continued acting as calmly as possible.

    ¡°But for now, I hope you all will enjoy yourselves to the fullest. And think well on what you do from now on.¡±

    And by then, all I could do was take a last look at my plate and then give up on it all.

 Interlude: Mixed Feelings

    ¡°I see why father called Eleonora back now, but having the other girl take part in it¡­¡± Valiria wondered in a low voice as her father gave his speech during the ball. ¡°I have to check with them later.¡±

    The king was still talking about what he planned to do and what this whole ¡®national security¡¯ was about, but I could see people already flocking to Illia and the second princess. It was very worrying, to say the least, but there was little I could do now that she was so adamant about not joining my group.

    All I wanted was to have her enjoy the social proficiency some of my companions had, and I couldn¡¯t understand why she was so against it. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t understand her words from earlier¡­ Maybe if I got more information about it.

    ¡°Why was your sister away until now?¡± I asked while remembering the girl that, other than her face and hair color, had not a single thing in common with Valiria. If it wasn¡¯t for both of them saying so, I would still be unsure if they were sisters.

    Hearing Valiria saying they were twins too was even more of a shock, but I was past this point by now.

    ¡°Well, in a simple way, Eleonora dislikes the court. She is very against staying still and acting as a princess for some reason, so instead, she roams around the kingdom like some sort of rogue law enforcer, or a spy.¡± The princess tried to explain with a complex expression on her face. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s very worrying, to be honest. How she risks herself all the time was always a problem for me, but if I ask her to stop, all she says is that ¡®it is the best way¡¯ and keeps going. Makes me a little happy that she was forced to settle down and protect your friend for now¡­ I mean, that is probably why she is here for now, and I do not believe they will risk someone without magic too much.¡±

    A rogue princess for Valiria¡¯s regal princess then. They seem to have a good relationship, even if a complicated one¡­ I¡¯m glad it looks like Illia will be in a somewhat safe position for now, although I don¡¯t get what exactly the king wants her to do.

    ¡°You should worry about yourself first, Hayato. I¡¯m sure you understand that we¡¯re on the eve of risking our lives for the greater good.¡± Calixto, the tall and, by the maid¡¯s accounts, very handsome guy close to me added as he seemed to notice what I was thinking. He was a very powerful mage capable of using both fire and ice magic while also being Randoul¡¯s, the old mage that vanished, youngest son, so his words had weight.

    When I first met him during the event King Hellion organized to find members of the expedition, I thought he was some stuck-up rich guy like the ones from my school, but it ended that he was just a little blunt. Some days of talking with him made me understand that he was a very earnest and pragmatic guy during any important matters, but would loosen up when we were resting or in some calmer situation.

    My face when I visited his mansion and saw his many, and I say many, pets and how he cared for them was a real something.

    ¡°You say this, milord, but isn¡¯t this group a little too strong?¡± The red-haired maid, Dori, who acted as Valiria¡¯s personal maid and, if what I heard was right, bodyguard, added from her place close to the sweets table. ¡°A hero that could beat the whole royal guard, a princess with two rare elements, the archmage¡¯s prodigious son, the best maid ever, and a real-real forest person! I¡¯m sure this is pretty much a dream line-up here.¡±

    She was a little unusual from what I knew of real maids even if somewhat in line with the cafe version of them. A little too mischievous too, but a good girl still. She was always eager to let me help with her job, although I knew it wasn¡¯t really a good quality, and someone easy to talk with, something I was lacking right now.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Her only real problem, in my eyes, was her preposition of getting into trouble. One of the first times we met already involved an army of bandits, and that was only the first time something of the kind happened in less than a month.

    ¡°The best maid ever wouldn¡¯t forget half the tasks she¡¯s given.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Errr¡­ Teehee?¡±

    ¡°Maybe I should call¡­ Hmmm¡­ What was her name? Eleonora¡¯s maid¡­¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, no! Don¡¯t go calling Evelin on me, please! Her training is way too much for mere mortals¡­¡±

    ¡°Sigh¡­ Anyway, I believe we should avoid overestimating our capabilities. It is, as my father also said, a very powerful group, but we never know what we will find there.¡±

    ¡°I agree with you, Your Highness.¡± Calixto nodded while leading our group away from the focus of the ball to rest for a moment. ¡°We have a lot going on, but it¡¯s never that easy.¡±

    Our little companion, the elf Lhoris, also nodded in her usual silent agreement while Dori passed her a plate full of random desserts. She was actually called a forest person who lived in the fey forest here, but I couldn¡¯t see it as anything other than an elf.

    I was still unsure if she could talk or not, though. I had yet to hear her saying a word since the day we met, that same event the king did, though she wasn¡¯t one of the candidates and only joined after some troublesome events happened on that same day.

    Either way, she only communicated with signals and movement, so I was a little unsure of what happened there even now. It was lucky that we were around, though. It¡¯s worrying to think what would have happened there if no one was around at the time¡­

    ¡°What you¡¯re all saying is fair, but we can¡¯t do much about it right now, so why bother worrying?¡± I answered instead with my eyes focusing on keeping an eye on the pompous people who would soon get close again. ¡°Do what we can and worry later, is what I say.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a very dangerous way to look at it, Mr. Hayato¡­¡± Valiria sighed at me while I could only shrug it off as is. ¡°Especially if we consider that my father is making this whole huge move more to focus on Eleonora and your friend. It¡¯s at least a sign that, unless we go fast and succeed for sure, the kingdom itself may be at risk.¡°

    ¡°Again with it, eh? I Illia said almost the same to me. I¡¯m sure politics is important and all, but isn¡¯t the world in danger right now? Even if the other countries want to make a move, I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very na?ve of you, Hayato.¡± The smart-looking mage admonished me. ¡°Demons are always a thing even if we deal with their leader and stop the incursions, so that¡¯s no deterrent. The real deterrent is you, and only you. While you are around and waving your overwhelming powers, no one will try being aggressive with Prourene, but if anything goes wrong during the expedition...¡±

    ¡°Our soldiers are more powerful than any others on average, but our kingdom is too small to take everyone head-on, and they know that. Without the hero, taking us down isn¡¯t that hard.¡±

    ¡°So this whole thing with Illia¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes. Father is either trying to trick everyone into thinking we have a hero in reserve or he saw something in that girl that would have her be a good deterrent too.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s worrying¡­¡± I mumbled again since, once more, I couldn¡¯t avoid worrying that I would be throwing someone unrelated into this mess due to a whim. Just seeing how Illia was forcing her smile in the middle of the ballroom was already bad enough, so if I repaid her with a whole struggle, then I would feel even worse.

    But while I was focused on the blonde and the weirdly dressed princess, I felt a chill on the back of my head and a tug on my shirt, so I turned back to my party in confusion.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°You really should learn to pay attention to your surroundings, Hayato¡­¡± Calixto sighed again while I tried to understand his expression of disappointment and some other weird stares I was getting from my companions. ¡°Maybe our problems won¡¯t even be dealing with the source of the demons if things go like this.¡±

    ¡°Heheh, it¡¯s fun to watch and it gives me¡­¡± Dori stopped in the middle of her phrase as a clearly angry Valiria stared at her for some reason. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m sure everything will be fine for you, princess. Hayato isn¡¯t that blind, maybe¡­ And I¡¯m not involving myself, trust me.¡±

    ¡°That we will see¡­¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t get what¡¯s happening here¡­¡± I commented in confusion, but soon noticed that it was a terrible idea to do so¡­

    Most of what I remember from this ball after this point was how thoroughly chewed I was in the princess¡¯ lecture that followed, and how I was still unsure of what was happening.

 Waystone Debacle

    A gaudy office with way too many decorations and way too few of anything else. Staying in this place was enough to annoy me by how little this guy was pretending and by how bad his sense of aesthetics was, but I had to hold on for now.

    Having the whole floor of this place light up in the eerie purple glow of a huge scary magical circle helped a lot with it, though.

    ¡°Do I have to say anything else or we can start ¡®negotiating¡¯?¡± I asked the obese noble sitting on the wrong side of his own desk while holding the handle of the black saber embedded in the floor. ¡°I mean, you sure heard about your commons already, right? Or at least from the ones that didn¡¯t want to talk with me. Three or four of them got sent to some very nice underground bedrooms by now¡­¡±

    Seeing a local count cower like this was fun, but seeing everything else on his expression was funnier. How angry this guy was by my disrespect, how his mind was wandering for ways to deal with me, how he couldn''t say why he was in pain, and how his eyes were stuck on the black blade. It was exhilarating.

    It was a show of how well I could do this one job I got, and I wouldn''t leave it for anything.

    To not cause any confusion, not a single thing in this act was true. It was all for the goal of marking the bad apples in the kingdom and giving them a puppet target to be angry at. Until now, I wasn''t even ready to move against the ones I had clear proof of. Most of what I did was ''order'' Elen to do some fool''s errands to make it seem I had influence over her actions.

    But this noble I couldn''t bother to remember the name didn''t know that. All he knew was that some other nobles weren''t reachable at the time, that I had the king''s authority with me, and that I seemed able to use very powerful magic.

    If he had any idea that everything from his pain, which was caused by the hallucination ring, to the magical circle, which was only an effect of my gauntlet, were fake...

    Better research more on artifacts next time. Looking at the most perfect sword for me won''t give you any answers, dumbass. After I play my cards and get you arrested, maybe I''ll explain that the only thing this saber does is allow me to use any element at ten times the mana. Not that useful since I don''t have a lot of mana, but it made it possible to use spells. Everything else I could manage with the other items.

    Elen was a little surprised when she saw me using many artifacts at the same time, but I guess that''s my special skill. Not the best, but good enough, I say.

    ¡°I heard of you for sure, milady, but it was hard to believe the rumors¡­ That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s the only reason I did not answer your letter from before..." He tried to answer while still under the effects of my tricks. "Not that I was ignoring you, of course, it was only¡­ Only that I had pressing matters to solve at the moment! I even had plans of calling you for a meeting today¡­¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s lucky of me, no? I¡¯ll even start with a 20% for the honor of giving my hunting dog her next target. Do you know where to send her already?¡±

    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t this a bit excessive?!¡±

    ¡°Excessive? Do you think it¡¯s easy to keep a princess and all her assassins away from your little businesses?¡± I pushed my already-burning body to drop even more mana into the fake magical circle on the floor while glaring at the noble. ¡°She¡¯s getting bored of running empty warehouses and random gang hideouts. She wants a real fight after not getting a target from me for a whole week, you see... I hear you have some grunts, so what about giving their location? I could also let you see what my little spell over here does if I stop holding it back...¡±

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant, milady! I just thought you would like to hear my proposal first¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh? So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± I smiled inside my head over another successful negotiation and then continued talking with all the smugness I could muster. ¡°Then speak. Lemme see what you have of interest, count.¡±

    One hour of negotiation later, I was out of there with another ''delivery'' headed my way as I tried to not die inside the royal carriage.

    My situation after the deal was, as usual, bad enough that I could barely remember how I left the duke¡¯s castle, but it was a success again. I only needed some potions to take things back to where they should¡­ A little bit of regeneration and some mana were enough.

    These things are useful as heck, you see?

    ¡°You really should find a better way of using these, Illia.¡± The princess who was waiting for my hazy eyes to focus back finally spoke as I drank the reddish potion the maid by my side was holding. ¡°Using too many potions won¡¯t do any good to you.¡±

    Different from what I told everyone, she never left my side. Her job was kinda of protecting me, so she would always be hidden close by. She was even wearing the same ranger clothes from the day we met, although on colors closer to grey when inside a city.

    It wasn''t something I didn''t see coming, since that was how she first approached me, but it was even more impressive when she was serious. In theory, while Eve would always walk with me as my attendant, she would always have an eye on us. Even when I tried testing this, she would always answer my calls right away, even if not always verbally.

    Makes me feel a little safer than usual.

    "Don''t worry about it. What bad can a health potion do?"

    ¡°It¡¯s actually known to do less and less good the more you take them, milady,¡± Eve added before closing the box of potions that I got used to having her carrying around. ¡°And that¡¯s without considering the huge list of side effects. They¡¯re used for emergencies only for a reason¡­¡±

    ¡°That''s... Worrying, actually. But I won¡¯t be using them forever, so it should be fine. Holding out until Mr. Hero is done with his job shouldn''t take that long¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy even for my standards, but I like it. Just don¡¯t go too far or Dad will kill me¡­ Keeping you safe is part of my job.¡±

    They were worrying too much. Everyone knows you have to at least start coughing blood before you reach any danger from overusing magical bullshit. Until then I would be as fine as possible.

    Stacking some five or more mana potions was the only way to make my hallucination ring think I was stronger than your average high-noble anyway. Keeping the other items working and even a simple spell like ''light'' for a long time wasn''t cheap on my body either. Even if this way was dangerous, it was the best I had. And it wasn¡¯t as if I cared about the danger too.

    ¡°Ignoring this for now,¡± I changed the subject since talking about it wouldn¡¯t go anywhere. ¡°You two got something good there? It took a little longer than usual this time¡­¡±

    ¡°This guy was a little too prepared, that¡¯s all. He had everything from fake files and magic locks to something I¡¯m sure was some sort of relic¡­¡± Elen sighed as she took a bundle of crumbled papers from inside her cloak. ¡°But I have the locations and some letters to pad it out, not that I get why you¡¯re doing this whole mess¡­ You¡¯re even taking bribes, dammit!¡±

    ¡°Most of them go back to the palace, so where¡¯s the problem? It¡¯s a decent stopgap measure, even if a little troublesome to move.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a weird way to go around it still... Losing so much time working on the bribes when we already have papers to prove most targets are doing something wrong.¡±

    ¡°Splitting and counting the gold yourself also seems like a very weird action, milady.¡±

    ¡°That only means you two don¡¯t understand how much you can get from finances. This ¡®loss of time¡¯ is what will make the small forces you have good enough to take everyone down in a single hit.¡±

    Getting as many targets at once was more important than these two seemed to think. Any move that wasn¡¯t coordinated and wide enough to cripple the problem down wouldn¡¯t be much more than a temporary measure. The moment I gave the order and Elen started to arrest people, the others would hide and delay the process.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    It wouldn''t be a problem if we could mobilize enough forces to hit everyone in a super crackdown, of course, but we lacked these. More so, using this much force could cause trouble if they felt in danger and fought back. No more than a hundred people split between royal guards and maids under Elen''s command were all we could use. It meant five of them, at most, for each target.

    The best way was to gather as much information as possible and hit those who could cause the most damage first. If possible, it would be even better if we could go for people whom the others would take too long to hear of before we could get them.

    Neither thing could be done without enough data on them and without knowing how big each one was. Both things I could get from analyzing their bribes, delivery method, and localization.

    The margin of error was very big, but using the stolen information from their mansions would fix it.

    It wouldn''t be anything too fancy or perfect since I wasn''t a master, but it would work.

    Getting some funds funneled to the king would also add to my value and let me call for extra resources if needed. It was also very poetic to have the corrupt nobles pay for the operation to take them down, so it ended as a threefold advantage in my eyes.

    All in all, a layered plan that was sure to bring the most results at the cost of taking longer to fire. That is, as long as it fired.

    Anyone with a good grasp on countability would be able to notice the flux of unknown money if they had access to the castle¡¯s finances, for example. Moving everything was also a risk. And I didn''t even want to think about the possibility that someone would call my bluff.

    How fast I was moving was most of the reason why I never had the time to report my full plan to anyone but Elen and Eve. That was also why I packed a massive number of potions and pretended to not feel their side effects.

    As long as I could work less later, then overworking right now wouldn''t be a problem. Even if it was, in many ways, somewhat of an overkill level of preparation, it was necessary to make sure I could live worry-free after this.

    "Just trust the plan and everything will be alright." I tried to further reassure the princess. "We even managed to go through all targets without a problem, so there''s very little to mess up now."

    ¡°I do get your plan, okay? It¡¯s just that it¡¯s annoying to play the incompetent enforcer for this long and then help with whatever illegal trick you¡¯re doing in my free time... Makes the ¡®inquisitor¡¯ title sound awful.¡±

    ¡°In this, I feel you¡­¡±

    I talked about the big plan and all, but the truth was that this whole act was a little disappointing. I kinda expected to be fighting against huge crime syndicates and underground conspiracies, but that was very far from the truth.

    Other than this last count who seemed to be enslaving refugees from the areas overrun by demons and a group of barons with a drug cartel, everyone else was, at worse, an embezzler. Got some tax evaders too and a lot of illegal manufactories of not-very-reliable magical tools, but that was it.

    Still, there was a lot of money going away from where it should and I could see why the king wanted some help with it. It was only that my best plan relied on getting a lot of information beforehand, even if through murky ways.

    My role was swindler hero no matter how you saw it, so what you expected?

    ¡°Can I ask one thing, milady?¡±

    ¡°Whatever you want.¡±

    ¡°After we finish that list of yours, what do you plan to do?¡±

    ¡°Sit down and let you people do the rest. I¡¯m playing the overpowered mindbreaker here, but I¡¯m kinda sucky at fighting. I¡¯m no hero, remember?¡± I shrugged at the idea and went on in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°The best I could do wouldn¡¯t be very far from surviving if you took me to bust some criminal organization.¡±

    I went through it already, but people with magic are hard to beat. I don¡¯t want to mess with them, and I won¡¯t do so if possible. Joining the knights or the black-ops maids would only make me a burden.

    I¡¯ll be their computer girl and give targets instead. Much safer.

    ¡°It may sound disrespectful, your Highness, but are you sure we should trust this plan of hers?¡±

    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s mean¡­¡±

    ¡°She has a point.¡± The silver-haired noble nodded with a smile and then moved way too close to me for comfort. ¡°I can¡¯t see how Illia would be gutsy enough to trick me, though. I don¡¯t know exactly why, but I trust her¡­ Not that I wouldn¡¯t throw you in a very deep cell if you ended up not worthy of this.¡±

    I said it before and I¡¯ll say it again, this princess is scary. And she¡¯s scary for more than one reason too! I feel many things are in danger here by how she¡¯s looking at me right now.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this, okay?¡± I explained while trying to open some space between me and Elen. ¡°For one, I know which side is worth more. Heck, why would I side with the criminals when I can side with the guys with real power? It¡¯s just that I was expecting something a little different, so my plan ended a little messed up¡­¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± She smiled and then returned to her seat as if nothing had happened. ¡°I¡¯ll say it again: I don¡¯t know why, but I trust you on this.¡±

    ¡°As long as you say so, your Highness¡­¡± Eve also nodded at her real master¡¯s assurance, and I ended up as the only one not feeling as if everything was right now. Maybe I should double-check what I already have on my ¡®ultimate list¡¯ when we reach the castle.

    Would hate messing up and throwing myself on a stupid bad ending I did so much to avoid¡­

    Mr. Hero was far away right now, so I was lacking in plan B too. However, it shouldn¡¯t take too long for him to be back, even if only to resupply.

    Having waystones to teleport you around was such a very convenient tool.

    And, as I was thinking so, the carriage¡¯s coach knocked on the door to signal that we too, were at the door of said convenient tool.

    It was a massive obelisk made of grey stone and silver decorations with a bunch of lines coming and going from it. Elen said that they could even build more of them if needed, but it was very time-consuming, so it was rare to happen. They also needed a good number of very specific mages to work, so having a waystone was somewhat the mark of a real city.

    It also made their use expensive.

    Any half-decent merchant could deal with it and nobles would mostly travel with them, but it wasn''t so common to everyone else. For those who needed them, though, they were a heaven''s sent. And that was without mentioning logistics and trade proper.

    Running the bureaucracy of this place with as few nobles as they had would be impossible too. Having them was also likely the reason why I couldn''t find so many uber-corrupt nobles to bust.

    Without the demons to cause problems, I''m sure this place would go to some sort of absolutism very fast.

    The only way to make it more useful would be to have some portable version of the thing. Some sort of ¡®return home¡¯ item, maybe. I heard there was a single relic capable of doing so, but as expected, copying a relic was beyond anyone¡¯s scope.

    Only having one of these didn''t help much then...

    Still, it was a very useful tool that Elen didn¡¯t like very much for some unknown reason. She always got a little white when we approached the damn thing, but I am always a little scared of trying to poke her for information. Would hate to be punched out of the blue for making her embarrassed.

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re almost done for today¡­¡± I talked out to avoid thinking too much about the princess trying to pretend to not be worried as I watched my borrowed carriage ignore the line.

    I really love royalty (when I¡¯m on the side gaining from it, of course).

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little too early for being done, milady?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. But I¡¯m a little tired today¡­¡± I smiled at the maid with my best ¡®look, I¡¯m lazy right now¡¯ look. ¡°I can do the numbers in bed anyway, so it¡¯s not like it¡¯ll put out schedule farther away¡­ Or like if we had a schedule anyway.¡±

    ¡°If this won¡¯t be a problem¡­¡± Eve continued before turning to the princess on the other seat. ¡°The procedures are already starting, your Highness. It¡¯ll be done in a moment.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me that.¡±

    The maid shrugged it off and I held myself to avoid smiling too much, but since the outside was already shining, I didn¡¯t need to hold for long. In fact, it was all over a minute later. A bit nauseating, but nothing much.

    ¡°One day this thing will throw us into a wall¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait! That¡¯s an option?!¡± I turned in surprise to the princess mumbling things that I should know already to herself while something noisy was passing on the outside. ¡°Like, is it something that happens?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not common, but still¡­ Kch!¡±

    The explanation was cut halfway through as I was thrown forward by a sudden pull of the carriage and then slammed at the princess''s chest. She moved me away very fast and Eve only moved to her liege''s side due to the sudden movement, but that was beyond the point. What mattered as I tried to get up was that our carriage was speeding up for some reason.

    ¡°Ouchie¡­ What is...¡± And then, as if to avoid having me make questions, and to add to my list of grievances against whatever was happening, a loud ¡®crack¡¯ sound filled the air. A sound that, I suddenly noticed, was about the back half of my vehicle turning into pieces as it was hit by a silver light.

    And then, as I lost my footing as the royal carriage drifted away, a new object appeared inside the waystone: a beaten cart with no horse and five passengers.

    It happened as I noticed that my momentum was still there and that this beaten cart was approaching me. Or to be more specific, that I was approaching the cart... Headfirst.

    Ouch¡­

    My head hurts¡­ My back hurts too¡­ And now my clothes are dusty¡­

    ¡°Tell every guard to open a path to the palace and summon everyone in the cathedral!¡± A voice I knew very well shouted out, but as I raised my head from the ground to look at it, I saw that it was the wrong sister in front of me. She had just jumped off the cart and seemed to be ordering everyone around, but what got my attention more was the fact that her clothes were quite beaten.

    She was, of course, not wearing the long dress from when I saw her before. Going for plate armor as she was in an expedition until now, which only made how beaten the thing was even more worrying.

    Worse even, I could see two of her companions of the hero¡¯s party, the glasses guy and the small one, in the same state as they hurried off the cart and to the exit. Both of which were also not looking the best, the little girl seemingly bleeding as she ran even.

    It looked so bad that I forced myself to ignore the moist feeling in my head and get up to ask what the hell was happening... Not that I had to ever make that question when the first thing I saw when I looked at the cart was the bloodied hero and a panicking maid using magic on him.

    Maybe I should ask if any of his friends was a necromancer instead¡­

 Mental Rout and Dreamy Rally

    The hero can¡¯t die¡­ He¡¯s looking bad¡­ I have to do something¡­ What do I¡­? Anything! Move on and do something already. Something like...? What about¡­? Yes. This!

    ¡°Get our horses, princess!¡± I shouted to the armored princess as she was trying to make sense of the situation and then pointed to her sister. She was surprised at first, as expected, but soon got the idea and glanced at the stunned coach and the half-broken royal carriage.

    ¡°You are¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± I interrupted her with the most serious tone I could and then tried to make myself look better even with my unstable legs. ¡°Get them both and¡­ No, get one to your cart and have the other rush to those priests. You do that, Elen.¡±

    I turned to my companions leaving the remains of our vehicle and started to order them around without thinking too much. Both Eve and Elen were a little taken aback by it, or at least I think such, but the chaotic princess soon got a smug smile on her face and nodded.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be owning me one, you cheeky leech!¡± She answered in an excited tone while ordering the confused coach to help. ¡°And keep that bleeding dumbass alive while I¡¯m at it, Eve.¡±

    ¡°Yes, your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Wait. What is¡­? I can¡¯t let you¡­¡±

    ¡°You!¡± I interrupted the more serious princess again as she tried to say something to her sister even if I wasn¡¯t so sure of what I was doing by now. ¡°You¡¯re wounded too, right? There¡¯s¡­ blood? And your armor¡­ Armor? Yes. You have to rest too! The hero can¡¯t die, but his team has to survive too. They have¡­¡±

    Yes, the hero can¡¯t die, but he¡¯ll want to leave if he¡¯s not attached. He needs companions. They have to survive too¡­ I think¡­ This is a little hazy¡­ Why so¡­?

    The maid is looking at me now too¡­ Stop it and focus on the hero, dammit! He¡¯s bleeding a lot, I think, and is it black? Huh? Black? This looks bad¡­ Wait, I know that already¡­ What a mess... Is that because I hit my head¡­? That''s bad too...

    ¡°Your name is Illia, right? I thank the help, but you don¡¯t look¡­¡±

    ¡°The hero can¡¯t die, but I¡¯m fine... Fine!¡± I tried to get her to move away already, but as I kept talking, my head got more and more unfocused. ¡°Focus on him¡­ This is¡­ fine¡­¡±

    Then, almost too suddenly, my body tilted forward as I lost balance and headed to the ground. I never reached it, though, since something a little soft held me in place before it happened, but I couldn''t put strength in my legs anymore. Even understanding what was happening was a little hard by now.

    Someone should be holding me. And since I could see a maid uniform, it should be Eve, something that got confirmed right as she started to speak.

    ¡°I will deal with her, your Highness. Don¡¯t worry about us and hurry to the palace, please.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still my¡­!¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me, sis.¡± An Elen riding one of the horses while pulling the other closer to the cart spoke up. ¡°Helping you is my job, remember? And this one is my hero, so you don¡¯t need to worry about her. She can¡¯t get weirder anyway, so don¡¯t worry about it¡­¡±

    Yes, move on. Go save the hero or I¡¯ll be in trouble¡­ Real trouble¡­ Now I¡¯ll take a nap, I guess¡­ Don¡¯t really want to, but what can I do, right? Right¡­? Just remember that the hero can¡¯t die, everyone¡­ He can¡¯t¡­

    ¡°Milady? Milady?¡±

    ¡°This crazy girl¡­ I¡¯m hurrying out, go deal with your problem, sis. I will¡­¡±

    Then, with the voices around me going further away, the damage caused by a good hit on the head finally reached me and I went out again.

    That¡¯s two times in a month already, isn¡¯t it?

    That''s a lot...

    I never thought someone could dream after being knocked out, though. Very unexpected if you ask me, and a little annoying too since I seemed to be conscious this time. No dream of mine was ever worth remembering, and this room of darkness with a single hazy figure talking in the most annoying voice I knew wouldn''t be different.

    ¡°Are you hearing me?¡±

    ¡°How wouldn¡¯t I, stupid dream?¡± I answered with the mirror of the other voice.

    ¡°It seems to be a failure again¡­¡±

    ¡°Roasting me for free, is it?¡± I sighed as it seemed to be just the usual. ¡°Now that¡¯s more like you¡­¡±

    ¡°If you ever hear me, remember that you used your magic already. You already know how it works even if you cannot see the how¡­¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about¡­?¡±

    ¡°I hope you hear me sometime¡­¡±

    ¡°What is¡­ happening¡­ here¡­¡±

    My consciousness wavered again before I could understand what this weird dream was, and I started to open my eyes, this time back to the real world. I was still feeling floaty and the reddened sky over me meant I got down for some good hours, but I seemed to be fine. I was moving around too, but it was caused by the fact someone was carrying me.

    Was that a dream, though? It felt different¡­

    ¡°I see you finally woke up, milady.¡± The maid carrying me through the palace¡¯s main gate spoke up as I started to move. ¡°Please don¡¯t move too much. I gave you first aid, but we should go to the palace¡¯s chapel to be sure.¡±

    As she said, there were bandages on my forehead and I couldn¡¯t feel the icky wetness of blood anymore, but being carried around was still weird. More than weird, though, being carried around meant she could feel my weight and maybe other things too¡­ Not fun at all.

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    ¡°Can you set me down, please?¡±

    ¡°Only after you¡¯re treated. These were your Highnesses¡¯ orders after you forcefully organized their leave from the waystone.¡± Eve continued after nodding to some knights guarding the outer gates and continuing with her march forward. ¡°She wanted to have us both in the cart, but it was packed already as it was and their situation was much worse than yours. It¡¯s weird that you took so little damage, though.¡±

    ¡°You heard why they were wounded, to begin with?¡±

    ¡°Not really. The situation was too frantic to ask questions and I was the only one left behind by the end. They even forgot to leave me anything that could help get transport¡­¡±

    ¡°So you¡­?¡±

    ¡°Walked the whole way here? Yes. It took only some two hours with an extra one to be sure you were stable.¡± She answered bluntly even before I could finish my question. ¡°By the way, could I ask why are you so much heavier than you look? I understand that you¡¯re much more muscular even if you don¡¯t look the part, but still¡­¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we leave it as a genetic disorder and never talk about it again?! Sounds good, no? Yes, it sounds. Then let¡¯s do that.¡± I hurried to change subjects as I don¡¯t really like this subject at all and wouldn¡¯t like to explain it.

    ¡°If that¡¯s what you wish, milady¡­¡±

    We then kept moving through the outer gardens a little longer. My weird dream was still rolling in my mind as I tried to understand what happened there, which was a fool''s errand. When we got to the palace proper, though, my nominated protector was waiting for us already.

    She seemed bored at a random set of stairs close to the gate but started to move in a hurry when she saw me and Eve approaching.

    ¡°Took you two long enough! At least our secondary hero seems to be doing well enough¡­ Dad would straight-up execute me if he heard we got you down, Illia.¡±

    ¡°You forgot to leave any gold, your Highness, so I had to walk the whole way here¡­¡± Eve complained even if you couldn¡¯t get it from her tone. ¡°What would you do if Lady Illia¡¯s wounds were dangerous?¡±

    ¡°You would¡¯ve managed something, I guess¡­ But sorry anyway. That mess got me unprepared too...¡± Elen apologized, though her expression and tone showed so very weakly before changing to a very serious one. ¡°We have more worrying things to talk about either way¡­¡±

    ¡°¡¯Worrying things¡¯? Now that¡¯s something I don¡¯t like¡­¡±

    ¡°And I guess you¡¯ll like it even worse when you hear it...¡± She continued making me feel very dreadful about what happened while I was out. ¡°That guy won¡¯t be waking up anytime soon, and even if he does, we¡¯re unsure if he¡¯ll be able to fight by then. Hells, we don¡¯t even know what got the brat down like that¡­ All we know is that it didn¡¯t seem to be anything demon-related, if you get me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Troublesome indeed." I answered with the rush of worry getting to me again. "Get me down, Eve. No complaints this time, please.¡±

    ¡°But, milady¡­¡± The dark-haired maid tried to say something, but a look on my expression made her give up on it and stop holding me in place. ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it, milady.¡±

    ¡°What you¡¯re planning to do, Illia? I mean, it¡¯s troublesome, but it doesn¡¯t affect you right away. It''s not like we would gain anything from having you fight as is, and you don''t seem to be a general too...¡±

    Her words only worsened my worries. If only fighting was mentioned, then things could be good, but when a general goes into play, then we''re in more serious waters. The kind that involves neighbors and armies...

    She was saying it wouldn¡¯t affect me, but that was wrong too. Even ignoring the whole mess that would be caused by this country not having a hero, I was in huge danger still.

    I went around parading as someone with dangerous skills and the hero¡¯s favor, so what would happen when one of these went away? What would the people who know about me think if I couldn¡¯t do the fighting a hero would need to? And what would the ones I tricked do when they noticed the trick?

    In a simple way, I made a huge target and stuck it to my own back under the assumption no one could shoot at it. Worse even, if I couldn¡¯t keep the lie going, dying wouldn¡¯t even be the worst. Someone who was a little too kind for his own good could decide that sending me back was the more reasonable thing to do.

    Something had to be done, even if I had no idea of what I could do¡­ Or was the idea here already? Or actually, the idea was given to me.

    The dream¡¯s words crossed my mind. What if they weren¡¯t illusions from a dream? Or better, what if they were that explanation from the gods people told me should happen?

    The voice said I knew how to use magic already, so, if it wasn¡¯t a hallucination, it had to be something I was doing. Something I could figure out and something I could use to buy enough time for the hero.

    I had to figure out what was the crux of this magic of mine then, and fast.

    But what could it be? What happened to me until now? Many people pretended I didn¡¯t exist; I created a persona to get chummy with the castle''s staff; planned a swindle scheme to take nobles down; and paraded around with a bunch of magical artifacts.

    Getting ignored by most people and making others like me was normal. Swindling wasn¡¯t something I was used to, but I learned how to negotiate and trick people a long time ago. It had to be related to the artifacts then. Elen said that it was abnormal that I could use many, but it was too little for a hero-level power. It had to have more there.

    Was there something else then? Any other connection between these? Something that I forgot to add to the list? Maybe something I was ignoring, something I forgot or not considered important at all¡­ Something that I did right at the beginning...

    ¡°The failed summoning!¡±

    ¡°What is it? What are you talking about?!¡± Elen asked as she was surprised by my exclamation after I spent some seconds in total silence, but I was too focused to answer her. I could feel a connection somewhere, and grasping it was sure to be more important than anything else.

    If I took it from another angle then... What if my magic was only about the same sort of magic that fueled the artifacts, to begin with? It was a blind shot and I could only guess what would be the effect, but it was a possibility.

    More than a possibility, it also explained why no common spell could work with me since artifacts were all made with magic no one could use. And since I still had my four items (the ring, the mirror, the gauntlet, and the saber), I could test things out first... That is, if I had the mana, at least.

    ¡°I need potions¡­¡± I mumbled again while thinking about the weird dream I had a few moments before and a test I could try. ¡°You brought them, Eve?¡±

    ¡°They broke when the carriage was destroyed, milady. But why?¡±

    ¡°What in the hells are you talking about, dammit?!¡± An angry princess shouted at me as I kept on running with the subject that was only in my head. ¡°Calm your ass down and explain things before moving on. You¡¯re wounded too, so stop waggling and moving about without aim, goddammit!¡±

    She¡­ has a point. I got too focused on my own head and forgot there were people around me right now. Having a party is hard¡­

    ¡°So, I have a guess on what my magic can do¡­ Or I have a decent idea, at least. If I¡¯m right, then I can help with this whole mess, at least a little.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ And the potions?¡±

    ¡°Not sure of how much mana I¡¯ll need to figure this out, and I don¡¯t want to risk fainting.¡± I continued with the best explanation I could manage. ¡°I¡¯m also guessing that the other time it got me down was because I tried to do too much with too little.¡±

    Just getting the overall rules would be hard enough when going by guesswork and blind tries like I planned to. Adding the fact I had to solve it before things got in motion only worsened it. If things were bad enough, then there was a chance all was already happening right now...

    ¡°That¡¯s a dangerous way to take things¡­ Again, I don¡¯t know how bad it can be, but you shouldn¡¯t be using potions like this.¡±

    ¡°Both overdose and several health problems can be caused by potions,¡± Eve added to back up her master¡¯s claims. ¡°And these are from the safest ones in their simple form. There are more powerful versions and more complicated potions that can easily kill someone in a few uses¡­¡±

    ¡°Quite bad, eh? I¡¯m going to get some potions anyway, though. I need to have this thing solved as soon as possible, and neither of you has a faster method to get it, right?¡±

    I took their silence as a confirmation of what I was saying and then nodded in satisfaction before continuing.

    ¡°Then, if you would¡­¡± I pointed to the gates in a sign to let the people who knew where the potions were lead the way, even though I had a good idea of how to get there too. ¡°The faster we deal with it, the faster I¡¯ll be able to show off.¡±

    Eve seemed exasperated and Elen gave a small chuckle to my words, but they both conceded and started to head towards the palace as I asked.

 Unlicensed Magical Experimentation

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this place overcrowded?¡±

    The ¡®medical bay¡¯ of the palace¡¯s chapel, AKA the place that looked like an infirmary but with priestesses instead of nurses. A place where everyone in need of healing went and where most potions were stored.

    Right now, the more spacious room, where the actual beds were, was a ¡®no-enter zone¡¯ since Mr. Hero and the army of healers from the cathedral were there. And so, everyone else was being treated in the medicine storage behind the lectern and the choir area instead.

    There were many more people than I thought here, though. The whole of the hero¡¯s party with only a certain princess missing, and then two priests.

    ¡°I heard they needed the whole room to be sure treating that guy would be less dangerous¡­ Those two over there got knocked down by messing up.¡± Elen answered with a nod to the two growling priests with eerie dark spots on their skin. ¡°These two will be good in a day, I heard, but the hero isn¡¯t getting better. A dozen priests and priestesses are inside there and they¡¯re still unsure of what''s happening¡­¡±

    ¡°Hell¡­ At least I hope they don¡¯t take too long.¡± My head wandered to the off-chance that Mr. Hero would walk everything off tomorrow and avoid this mess. ¡°Maybe popping him a bunch of potions and all the magic you can manage will get him up...¡±

    ¡°You cannot hurry this kind of process, milady. If it was something easy to solve, then it would be so already¡­¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, what can be so messy that magic can¡¯t fix? They¡¯ll surely manage something¡­¡±

    ¡°I mean, maybe. They¡¯re at it for some hours, and even sis got hooked on trying to help¡­ But we¡¯re still better considering he won¡¯t be back anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ I know that.¡± I resigned to accepting the truth. ¡°Better go back to what we came here¡­ Mana potions first, and then I can start playing around.¡±

    My plan was to leave the negotiation to Elen and only focus on the experimentation. I wasn¡¯t very well known in this area, since I barely came here, so she should do better. Religion wasn''t exactly my thing... Which could be a problem since I was possibly following a god¡¯s advice right now.

    But before I could move away and let the ranger princess do her magic, a tall guy in glasses rose up from his bed and stood in front of me. He was the only one of the hero¡¯s party members who was awake right now, not that I noticed such before he got up.

    Still, he was wearing a much simpler robe than what I usually saw him using, and covered in bandages.

    Quite the handsome guy still.

    Stern face paired with blue eyes and glasses, very tall, dark grey groomed hair, seemed to be fit enough, and an aura of nobility to top it off. Wouldn¡¯t rate him top-class like the princesses or absolute supreme master class like me, but he was quite good.

    Could stare at him for a while even if I wasn¡¯t so confused.

    ¡°Excuse me, milady.¡± He called out while I only stared in confusion. ¡°Sorry about that, but I heard you mentioning ¡®your magic¡¯ here. Is it about the ''silver magic'' my father was researching?¡±

    His father? Why would I¡­ Wait. Is this guy¡­? Hell no! Now that¡¯s unexpected¡­ I mean, I knew he was related to that old archmage, but son and not grand-something?! That¡¯s bullshit.

    Ow! Right¡­ Answering the guy right in front of me¡­

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I wouldn¡¯t say I found something and the last time I saw Randoul was a month ago, I think.¡± I tried to explain but having to talk with someone I didn¡¯t know without a plan got me off-balance. ¡°I-I mean¡­ I¡¯ll try some things out now, so you could say I have a lead, at least¡­ Maybe¡­¡±

    ¡°A lead it is? Could you say more, please?¡±

    ¡°Well, I had a dream and got a hint, so¡­ Well¡­ I need to try things out. It''s only that I''m worried and will have to rush things out.¡± I kept trying to explain while already calling any of the two people who came with me to get some help. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure how much I can say about it¡­ It¡¯s a little too far off from anything I know about normal magic too.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± He answered in a somewhat disappointed tone but got more serious very fast. ¡°Can I help with it? I¡¯m unsure if you know this much, but I am a graduated mage and scholar. I could be very helpful to this theory of yours.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± I tried to answer, but couldn¡¯t find the right words, so I instead turned to my nominal bodyguard again. I also tried getting Eve to say something with my expression only, but she turned away as if she didn¡¯t want to get involved.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be resting now, younger Vanrook? Hells, at least wait some hours and have these bandages removed before forcing your body.¡± Elen came up with some good excuse to deflect this guy away and then went on firing. ¡°More so, are you sure you want to play around while wounded? Since you¡¯re a mage already, you should know how messy this can get¡­ You need a license to make magical experiments for a reason.¡±

    ¡°I understand this much, but leaving this chance won¡¯t do for me. This ¡®silver magic¡¯ from Ms. Illia caused a good deal of problems for me already, so I would be grateful if you would let me, at least, take notes.¡± He held on to the idea of staying close by. ¡°And as you said, Your Highness, this plan is very dangerous. Having someone who knows more about this kind of research would be safer.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ Hells¡­ I mean¡­ Go get us some mana potions and wait a moment, will you?¡± My backup tripped on the argument and then shooed the stern-looking dude away so she could gather me and Eve to an impromptu strategy meeting. ¡°So, doesn¡¯t he have a point? My curiosity got me and all, but isn¡¯t someone who knows how this works useful?¡±

    ¡°If it is as dangerous as Sir Vanrook said, it makes sense that we would like his help.¡± Eve also agreed with the reasonable point of the two nobles, something I was close to doing too since I didn¡¯t expect to be in danger. And then, both stared at me as if waiting for my decision.

    ¡°Ugh, fine¡­¡± I conceded to the light pressure and then turned to the returning guy after he got some potions as asked. ¡°We have decided to take on your offer, Mr. Glasses. Thanks for the help in advance.¡±

    ¡°Glasses¡­?¡± He stopped in confusion for a moment while I stole the blue bottles from his hands and turned to the exit. The princess still trying to hold her laughter and the expressionless maid followed me almost right away, and we were out of the chapel very soon.

    We only walked until we were at the garden, though.

    Staying close to the infirmary would be good if things went, so all I wanted was a kinda isolated place close by. Far away enough to not break anything important, you see? Going outside and taking a random spot in the garden was enough for this.

    ¡°Here should do¡­¡± I concluded while downing one of the mana potions almost right away and then sitting on the ground. ¡°Now, to see what I can manage with these¡­ Pay a lot of attention in case I forget something later on, okay?¡±

    ¡°Get ready for it, Eve,¡± Elen called out as she watched me set the four artifacts I had in hand on the floor and then stare at them. ¡°Not that I have any idea of what¡¯ll be happening here¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be ready to open a barrier if needed, but it would be good to know what to expect.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to know that myself. I¡¯m going blind here, remember? The only big hints I have are my dream and the time I heard a spell in the throne room¡­ And I couldn¡¯t even use it at the time.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about when you fainted due to mana exhaustion?¡± Glasses said as he watched me stare at the idle items. ¡°If so, could you give me more details about that?¡±

    ¡°That? There¡¯s not much to talk about that. I heard a voice telling me to summon things, but I ended up fainting when I tried it.¡± I explained the best I could even if there was very little to say. ¡°That one is the reason why I got the idea that I could work with artifacts. I was close to the summoning one when it happened and I never heard it again. It¡¯s either that or I have no idea what the dream voice was saying¡­¡±

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    ¡°Dream voice?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I had a weird dream with a voice that told me I was already using my magic and all. Didn¡¯t give me much to do, but it didn¡¯t feel like a normal dream either¡­ I remember it too clearly for one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nothing much,¡± Elen added this time in a tone that didn¡¯t show any surprise for how faint the clue that got us here. ¡°Hells, most people start using magic after dreaming about their element, so why wouldn¡¯t you get it too? A measuring gem helps, of course, but sometimes you don¡¯t even need them.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unusual for a summoned hero to get such dreams, though.¡± The person with actual research experience mulled over it in a pensive tone. ¡°There are reports of heroes who had visions and even a few oracles, but a conversation about magic with a god is unusual¡­¡°

    ¡°Is it this weird?¡±

    ¡°It would be like breaching into their dimension to have a chat from what I understand.¡±

    ¡°Maybe Illia was just tripping due to the knock in the head then.¡± Elen gave me the horrible possibility I wanted to ignore. ¡°Either that or you could make a fortune telling artists exactly how the gods look.¡±

    ¡°That would be hard¡­ But let¡¯s go back to what matters for now. I want to get this going before I¡¯m hit by everything else from these potions.¡±

    The burning feeling from having way too much mana in my body was bothersome as usual but I could ignore it without a problem. What could mess my plans up would be how tired I got after using these things. If it wasn¡¯t for my forced nap from earlier, I¡¯m sure I wouldn¡¯t even be able to manage this much right now, and I was still a little tired as is.

    Again, not perfect but manageable.

    ¡°Can I give a suggestion beforehand?¡± Glasses stopped me again.

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°What if you tried the same thing from the time at the throne room? Focus on what you want to do and try to hear a voice, but instead of using it right away, cast slowly and pay attention to your mana.¡± He went on, now speaking in a way I would expect from some teacher or scientist. ¡°If that spell was anything like the summoning circle, the problem was that you called for something too vague. It is very impressive that you can activate a summoning by yourself, but it is known that the fewer details you give, the more mana you''ll use. If the matter isn''t something complex like asking for ''what we need'', then thinking of a specific item is much easier. Still too expensive to be viable, but much easier.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The princess commented. ¡°We can even use it to soften shortages or famines if they¡¯re bad enough. It¡¯s expensive and less efficient than using mages to fix the problem directly, but sometimes you need resources right now.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Even a perfect understanding and description wouldn''t be enough to make it easy, but you managed part of the process already. Then, as long as you stay simple and small¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s kinda irrelevant right now, no?¡± I mused as everything they both said went through my head while my eyes were still on the four items I had on hand. ¡°I mean, I can try it out later, maybe, but focusing on these four should be better right now.¡±

    More than ''I could'', if these tests worked out, then I''m sure that would be my ace in the hole. I even had some ideas of how using something ''simple and small'' could help me...

    But again, that was for later.

    ¡°Oh¡­ Sorry. I got carried away there.¡±

    ¡°The idea is good, though. Trying what I did before, I mean¡­¡± I muttered again and then closed my eyes to focus. But right as I did so, something I hadn¡¯t heard in a while filled my head.

    The whisperings were back and there were no people around this time.

    It was weaker than what was happening during the ball and the two times at the throne room, but they were still whispers. Whispers that also remembered me of the time I got a headache in the armory¡­

    Now things are easy to guess, aren¡¯t they? Mr. Glasses got it in one too¡­ I wonder why I never considered it¡­

    What are the rules, though? Think about the item and¡­? No. That¡¯s wrong. Doing something should work more like a feeling¡­ Hold the mirror first, and then think. Think of what it can do, think of what it has to do, and then¡­ Oh! Yes, as I thought...

    ¡°- .-. .. -.-. -.- / -- .¡±

    I opened my eyes after holding the hand mirror for a few seconds. All I had to do was wish for a shadow clone and the spell was there again.

    Another mess of noises and words I couldn¡¯t even tell if was a language, but something I could understand still. And not in the way I understood the other spells too, this one I simply knew how worked, although only the basics.

    It seemed a little too vague in comparison to everything else I read about magic too¡­ As if it wasn''t complete or if it wasn''t a real part of the system. Maybe it was only because no one ever researched it, though.

    Hard to be sure and not as if it mattered right now too...

    What mattered was that this guy was useful. A little too useful even. Would Mr. Hero get angry if I poached him while he was out? Well, I¡¯m doing it anyway¡­ It¡¯s worth the psychological damage.

    ¡°You¡¯re good at this, aren¡¯t you, Mr. Glass¡­? No. Calixto is your name, right?¡± I corrected myself and then stared directly at the handsome guy for the first time ever. ¡°And please, stop with the ¡®Ms.¡¯ before my name while you¡¯re at it. Illia is good enough.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± He tried to say something but I could see in real-time how my ¡®beauty pressure¡¯, AKA earnest plea from a nice-looking girl, was affecting the guy. ¡°I¡¯ll try to comply, Ms¡­ I mean, Illia.¡±

    ¡°Good, Cal. Now, to the magic¡­¡± I broke eye contact in a hurry and finally started to breathe again while trying to change subjects.

    I¡¯ll never understand how social people can manage this kind of thing naturally, so pushing further would probably get me out cold again. Elen was staring at me weirdly now too, so a little more and I would be mentally done¡­

    ¡°Ignoring whatever just happened, can I take you got something?¡± She asked, getting her expression back to one more neutral that showed her interest. ¡°I can see you smiling already, so spill it out.¡±

    Oops. Seems like I started to show a little too much¡­

    I lightly slapped my cheek to get my expressions back in place and then went back to focusing on the hand mirror without saying anything. Showing was better than telling in this situation, and also, showing was funnier.

    ¡°Behold!¡± I focused my mana on the spell in my head and then jumped to my feet, taking a stance with my arms crossed and a smug smile. And at my back, a gold-plated and taller version of myself was going through the motions of laughing like the proper rich lady should.

    Yes, I¡¯m posing with a weird humanoid on my back, so anyone can guess what I¡¯m trying to emulate here. The plan was for it to be a little more complex, but that was fine.

    It was more important that this little display of useless fun gave me a few nuggets of information. Just getting everything that didn¡¯t work off was enough to explain a lot.

    Changing the size only worked a little bit, hence my clone only ended up a few centimeters taller;

    The appearance seemed to be a little freer, but I couldn¡¯t do every little thing I wanted. Maybe because I¡¯d need a better image to make it work;

    It still could only take a single order, which was why it was still laughing in silence back there. Sound was a no-go from what I could see too;

    And lastly, and as the more important detail, I could keep it going longer if I kept supplying it, although the cost felt a little higher.

    All in all, even if the effect was almost the same and still relied on the artifact itself, it was a huge upgrade and didn''t use that much more mana. Two times the amount, at most, to turn the borderline useless artifact into a powerful illusion tool.

    More than that, the fact no one noticed some of my signaling while the illusion was in focus gave me the basis for another theory I had at the moment. One related to some weird things I noticed, but that I was yet to get a good grasp on¡­

    I would have time to parse every piece of information I got myself and all the others saw later, either way, so it was for later. Right now, the focus was on running the tests, so I could think of a plan later.

    ¡°So¡­ Nice image, I guess?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting what this artifact should do, Your Highness¡­¡±

    ¡°It creates a figure from the user, right? Like that.¡± Elen kept on pointing toward my bewildered face and my huge breakthrough as if it wasn¡¯t anything special in particular.

    ¡°Not exact¡­¡±

    ¡°Tell me if I¡¯m mistaken, please, but that hand mirror is meant to create a simple clone of the user that pretends to do one simple task for something like ten seconds, am I right?¡± Cal asked after thinking for a moment without ever taking his eyes off my laughing clone, to which he got a positive nod in answer. ¡°Have you managed to change an artifact¡¯s effect then?! Is that really what I am seeing?¡±

    ¡°This one really gets it!¡± I answered in a sudden wave of high spirits. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the thing. I was unsure of how it would go, but that¡¯s exactly it, isn¡¯t it?!¡±

    ¡°The effect was similar but different then¡­¡± Elen mused as she seemed to understand the situation better now. ¡°I¡¯ll need to see the original one later, but is it that useful?¡±

    ¡°Not by itself, I think, but it would be very powerful in the right situation. Hard to know before I¡¯m sure if I can change any artifact or some of them, though¡­¡±

    ¡°It does sound as such, milady.¡± Eve also added from the side of her liege. ¡°And is likely the only way to affect artifacts we know of.¡±

    ¡°It sounds quite impressive now that you say it like that¡­ Hard to be sure but potentially powerful is a step ahead of what you had before. And with your ''skills'' on top of that¡­¡± Elen nodded with a mix of interest and unsureness. Not that I could fault her, this one wasn¡¯t something super useful still, but that was beyond the point. The point was what more I could get from it. Or more, the point was how shocked Cal was just by seeing this¡­

    ¡°Something like this is unheard of¡­ If we could find a way to apply this silver magic, then¡­¡±

    The effect was good enough from what I could see from him. Very eye-catching to use as an example and a good demonstration that was enough to get me actually happy for once. The guy in glasses seemed to be focused on his own head right now, though, so I had to ignore him for now.

    He was yet to see what was the real focus of my experimentation. The one item that I always thought was the most perfect one to me¡­ But that would be for after I had a better grasp of my skills. I had a feeling messing with that one wouldn''t be so easy.

    ¡°This one was safe, but we still have others to try,¡± I called out while already heading to the next tool on the floor and ignoring the creeping headache menacing my well-being. ¡°I¡¯ll be starting the next one, everyone¡­ Get ready to not have any sleep today.¡±

 Calm Down and March Forward

    ¡°Are you ready, Illia?! I got us some extra punch.¡± Elen¡¯s voice called from outside my room, so I put down my borrowed pen. Planning what I would do with the information from yesterday and then writing a little on my bucket list took a long time, but I was ready.

    One night without sleep wouldn¡¯t stop me now.

    ¡°Coming right up.¡±

    I then took a last check on my look and headed to the door with a few bottles in hand, finding the group waiting for me outside: two maids and two princesses. A hell of a good morning if you ask me.

    ¡°Good morning, milady.¡± The two maids greeted me almost at the same time, even if with different tones. I had yet to pick the name of Eve¡¯s red-haired companion, though.

    From what I could see, she was of a different kind.

    A little less proper looking in aura and better skincare, but messy hair and wrinkled clothes. Not that I couldn''t fix her without much trouble. I could see notes of makeup too, so she had the tools already.

    Other than that, she was the shortest of the group, even if not by much. Half a ruler in relation to me, maybe? She also made me sure of bias in how these maids were chosen. Her body¡¯s proportions were very skewed to the bottom, although her chest was less¡­ lacking than Eve¡¯s.

    A passing grade already, but I could get her higher in two hours.

    ¡°Lady Illia¡­¡± Valiria made a small curtsy while I was analyzing her maid, and I hurried to answer in kind.

    Not much more to say about her still. The same bombshell body and almost overwhelming beauty as her sister, but longer hair and a dress instead of some short clothes. Made her feel a little unapproachable, but it seemed to be an impression only.

    ¡°I thank both of you for the help, princesses,¡± I added after wasting some seconds to eye everyone. ¡°Having all the backing I can will be important.¡±

    ¡°No, I have to thank you for trying to help while Sir Hayato is wounded. Anything that can give him time to recover¡­ even if I can¡¯t see how you¡¯ll do so.¡±

    ¡°Better seeing than hearing¡­¡± I answered curtly as I couldn¡¯t explain very well anyway. ¡°Should we go?¡±

    The princesses nodded, and we started to walk towards the throne room, the place where the big important meeting was going on. They were so stuck on there that I heard people saying the king wouldn¡¯t even accept petitions. It was so bad that no one other than two messengers, who only worsened the situation, managed to get there since the meeting started.

    That was all I knew from the small briefing Elen gave to us while en route. Enough to get an idea of the situation and that was it. Everything else could wait.

    So, using the princesses¡¯ authority, we soon crossed the blockade on the room and made our way into the throne room. Getting there turned all eyes, either in surprise or judgment, towards us, though. The whole group of a little more than half a dozen people, all staring at me and surrounding a map-table.

    I knew some of them even.

    The huge old knight with a somewhat dandy-like face, AKA the royal guard captain, who was the closest to the table; a librarian-looking middle-aged lady I knew was tasked with overseeing the bureaucracy of the castle and was sometimes at the library; an almost-too-old-to-move lady stuck to a wheelchair and wearing priestess clothing who took care of the royal library; and lastly, and as obvious as it was, the royal couple at the back of the room, though the queen seemed to be the more active of the two this time.

    Bare minimum in personal and likely only the ones the king could trust. Also, probably only people who knew about me well enough.

    Having them all looking at me made it feel as if I should start running away still. I had enough backing and a goal, but it still felt bad... I could hold on, though. I hope so... And I¡¯m not hiding behind Elen because I got scared, of course.

    The door on my back was closed now, so it wasn''t as if I could flee anyway.

    ¡°Eleonora and Valiria¡­¡± A very stern voice that I was hearing for the first time came from the queen as she stared down at Elen. ¡°Is this about the letters? Because we are yet to get a concrete plan. It is too soon to deploy you¡­¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about us, mom. We¡¯re tagging along with¡­ Huh? Oh! There you are. Go to the front and say your piece, Illia! It''s great news too.¡± The less princess-like of the two people around pushed me from my strategic spot and to the focus of the talk. ¡°Calm down and explain everything as best as you can. We got your back.¡±

    Her words weren¡¯t any different from what she would usually say, but the pat on the back was nice once in a while. Having her sister nod in acknowledgement even if all she knew was the little we could tell her on the way here was also assuring. It made me think she was too easy to trust people, but I would keep that for myself.

    So, I took a step ahead and watched while some people had a little bit of trouble locking their eyes on me. Something I was starting to notice was more than the usual ¡®ignore me¡¯ from back home... Very weird.

    How the king was so focused on me while showing clear interest was a little scary, though. He was looking at me as if he was sure I had something good to say for some reason¡­

    ¡°Good evening, your Highness¡­ -ses? And everyone else too.¡± I greeted everyone in the room in my best tone and posture, even if only to buy more time. ¡°Can I infer that with the hero down for now you¡¯re all planning for a war? Or two of them.¡±

    Looking at the map in front of me while buying time gave me a good idea of the situation. A map of Prourene with parts of each of the neighbors and the northern wastes, all filled with colored tokens. Easy to guess and very numerous tokens too. Seemed like we were very outnumbered here¡­

    ¡°That is¡­¡± The queen looked a little put off by my question for a minute, but she looked at her partner and then back at me with a more controlled expression. ¡°That is correct, Ms. Illia, but why is it relevant for you? No offense, but even with your ¡®inquisition¡¯, I don¡¯t think you have enough to take on this.¡±

    ¡°I understand you would think so, but could I have an explanation of the situation before bringing my proposal? I¡¯m almost certain that it¡¯ll be useful¡­¡±

    That was only half-true, but it didn''t matter. I needed some time to get my trick working. I wasn''t used to this one artifact and needed some time to be flashy enough.

    And no, I don''t care if there were better ways to do it. The shock value was too good to not go for this method.

    ¡°Do ask my daughter instead. Interrupting a meeting only to¡­¡±

    ¡°Explain to her, Cait.¡± The king broke his silence suddenly and with a small smile forming on his face. ¡°I want to see what your new trick is, Ms. Illia¡­ Giving you time to play around won¡¯t be a problem. And don¡¯t worry, everyone in this room knows about your work outside.¡±

    Was he seeing it? How exactly?! I didn¡¯t point it out, so¡­ Was he so used to me that he managed to go through this messy skill of mine?! Are you¡­? No, no. Ignore it for now. Focus on the artifacts¡­

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness,¡± I answered while shaking off the weird feeling that I had someone who knew too much looking at me. ¡°Then please, could you start with what happened with Mr. He¡­ I mean, what happened with Mr. Hayato? How wounded he is, especially.¡±

    While I was speaking, most of my mind was on the flimsy blade at my hip and at the huge magical circle on the floor. It wasn''t the ''body'' of the artifact per se, but focusing on it was easier, I felt. It was flashier too since the whole thing could shine if I did things right.

    The flashier, the better.

    ¡°If you believe it will do any good, Hellion¡­¡± The queen bit the bait and moved on to where I¡¯d like her to. ¡°Then, since you are here already, could you report what happened back there, Valiria? A direct witness would know more.¡±

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡± The more serious princess on my back answered in a powerful tone. ¡°It¡¯s a little hard to explain, but we cruised the wastelands without any problem until we found the source, a ¡®demon core¡¯ was it this time, which we beat. There wasn¡¯t much until there but on the way back¡­ Well¡­ We were ambushed on the way back by some shadows. They beat us and I used the artifact waystone in a hurry. All else is as you know, Lady Illia.¡±

    ¡°Young Neil heard the same from the other two, dear, and the records match it. Unexpected that we were not dealing with a more active source, but that seems to be an abnormal case already.¡± The old lady in the wheelchair suddenly interjected in a frail voice. ¡°There were signs of an incursion ending too, so it should be right.¡±

    ¡°These kids would¡¯ve managed the fastest demon subjugation expedition in history if it wasn¡¯t for how they came back...¡± The royal captain added from his side and then went further into it. ¡°It is hard to be sure everything was over with it, though. Without the carcass of the core or time to be sure the incursions were over, the only confirmation we have is what the mages felt, but they can be wrong sometimes...¡±

    ¡°We were attacked while still inside demon territory, so I can¡¯t confirm anything too. It is very possible we fought something minor than expected due to some trickery.¡± The silver-haired and dressed princess continued in a more somber tone. ¡°But I don¡¯t think whatever ambushed our convoy later on was a demon, either way. They looked the part, a little, but they were too coordinated. It was¡­ too smart? They singled us and forced Sir Hayato to take hits to protect the less-armored ones in our group¡­¡±

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re on the same line as us, kid. Especially with the letters we got today¡­¡±

    ¡°Letters? Like, war declarations?¡± I asked, even if only to be sure. For good or bad, I already had a good idea of their ways of solving conflicts.

    ¡°Both our eastern and western neighbors called their grievances on us again, even if only the few ones they can prove. The south is still restless, so it is possible they may make a move soon if we take too long.¡± The librarian lady was the one to talk this time, though what she said was a little more than I thought would be happening. ¡°They gave lenient time frames to answer, but¡­ We have reports of skirmishes already, do we not, Neil?¡°

    ¡°We can hold out! All we have to do is hold until the next incursion and they¡¯ll be forced to retreat, or even better, we disprove their claims and let their population wear out.¡± The gargantuan knight went on with the backing of some nobles. ¡°Give the order and we¡¯ll show those weaklings that they won¡¯t be stealing from us cheaply. No reason to risk giving them more in a duel they¡¯re sure to not respect.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll only weaken us all. We can¡¯t fight them without risking a total collapse of all realms and neither can we win without going that far, and they know that.¡± The queen answered this time while her husband kept staring at me without saying anything. ¡°We can only fight until the end or give up and hope for a chance in the future.¡±

    ¡°Either that or we call our right to Divine Judgement since they do not wish to do so themselves.¡± The lady in the wheelchair calmly said. "Bet everything on the gods'' favor and on justice."

    ¡°A Divine Judgement, eh¡­¡± I muttered while trying to push everything I had about this in my head.

    It was a system said to have been created by the local gods themselves as a way to have the sentient races solve their conflicts without relying on war. A way to force them to keep their resources pooled together against the demons, it was said, but I saw it more like a way to not waste armies against heroes.

    Even those champions seemed like too much of a pain to deal with armies, and who knows how many thousands you would need against an overpowered protagonist... Putting these crazies to fight each other was much cheaper. Another explanation was that it lowered the chance of a country fracturing the others and ending with a new demon problem.

    The challenging side could only ask for what they could justify very well while the other side could demand reparations on top of such too, so one was discouraged from doing so.

    Forcing everyone to have a good reason to fight was good at keeping them focused on the real problem. No war without casus belli the gods could accept was a good rule in my head. There were even accounts of disasters caused solely because the result of a Divine Judgement was ignored.

    The problem was that this thing was somewhat of a team duel, though.

    Alliances could mess things up a huge time there, especially when, from all I read, everyone had a reason to dislike Prourene. This place was only in one piece because they could summon overpowered people somewhat at will. Overpowered summoned person who wasn''t exactly around right now...

    ¡°I saw both Lazzos¡¯ and Blanchelle¡¯s champions already, and I don¡¯t think we have anyone capable of matching them,¡± Elen added from her perspective as someone with first-rate data on these things. ¡°We would have a chance with the hero, but if they both come at the same time¡­¡±

    ¡°That is what we also believe, Eleonora. But that is what they want. If we call the fight, then they will be able to push more demands instead of only their fair grievances.¡± The queen concluded as if it was a matter of fact. ¡°We are having trouble deciding how to deal with the situation for these reasons... It¡¯s why I call for surrender of the territory and buy time for now.¡±

    ¡°I said it before, and I repeat, we should rally and fight them! We had a deal, so justice will be on our sides.¡± The commander barked in an angry tone. ¡°Our armies are more powerful, even if less numerous, so we can hold.¡±

    ¡°The territories claimed by the Republic are where most of our iron mines are, and the Divine Federation says one of our biggest cities is rightfully theirs since it¡¯s a holy site... Losing them would be very costly for sure.¡± Valiria added from her our position, which seemed to perk the general and his side of the discussion. That is until the queen answered her daughter.

    ¡°Losing even more in a war that would be even more skewered towards our enemies¡¯ side is even worse. We better wait and hope the hero will wake up. Even if we tried to bluff and make it so they would decide to back down instead of risking a real war, I do not believe they would... They didn¡¯t call for a Divine Judgement right away because they knew that. We lack enough to make them feel threatened, so they can move like this.¡±

    ¡°Then all we need is a new hero, right?¡± Elen spoke for the first time since the start of the conversation and with a tone that was very far from everyone else. ¡°If we have one lying around, even without the forces to actually win, we can make them give up, right? Would be too costly. That¡¯ll all you saying, mom?¡±

    ¡°And you think your friend there can pretend to be one, Eleonora? Even if she knew what her abnormal magic does, her mana is on the level of an average knight at best. It would be too risky for her and for us.¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, milady.¡± I interrupted her since enough time went on that I could showcase the whole trick here. ¡°I¡¯m currently showing something that must, without doubt, be considered in your plans for the future. Just pay some more attention¡­ And sorry for the table.¡±

    I then pointed my hand up, to the multi-layered magical circle slowly forming above me while the one on the floor started to shine. A huge surprise for everyone around and a rush of temporary worry in their eyes right before, as if to worsen their surprise, every single token over the table blew up, leaving holes in their places. Holes that were filled with glass shards I used the summoning circle before having them fired with wind magic.

    Almost too much for a demonstration and I was a little worried that the shots would bounce on impact, but it worked. Getting to make it do so meant using four artifacts almost at the same time. The summoning circle to bring the ammo (also known as simple marbles), the black saber to shoot them forwards with wind magic, the mirror to create some cover to the spells, and my gauntlet to make the whole thing look more impressive.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you say I can make do?¡± I said while everyone was still too shocked to react. Not that I wasn¡¯t very worried about how they would react to this. I would probably be surrounded by blades again if it wasn¡¯t for the risen hand of the king and the two princesses around me.

    ¡°Are you using the artifacts or is it something you can do by yourself?¡± He asked first in a very serious tone but then continued some seconds later. ¡°And how well can you control it, Ms. Illia?¡±

    Did he get it?! This guy is a little... Focus! Don''t go losing it right now.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little more complicated than just using them, Your Highness, but I need to be close by for it to work. Part of the trick is the fact most wouldn¡¯t pay much attention to me, though¡­ Only you did for some reason.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t something I could use many times too. Even with the mana potions I took earlier, I couldn¡¯t repeat it more than twice. It was showy and seemed powerful, but was very limited too.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be here if you didn¡¯t have a plan and you wouldn¡¯t need to be here for the questions you were making. Eleonora or Valiria could have answered them.¡± He explained with the usual smile that made me want to punch the guy. ¡°I have a good grasp on how you work, Ms. Illia, so it is easy to guess what your aims are. Seeing you try to buy time meant you were doing something else, so all I had to do was pay enough attention and find out... Not that I can explain how any of this works. Randoul never came back with the answer too.¡±

    ¡°The workings are still guesswork for me too, but I know that I can somewhat ¡®control¡¯ artifacts. I would love to hear more, but who knows when the dream voice will give me any more information¡­¡±

    ¡°And what do you plan to do with it?¡±

    ¡°Fight if I can, but I don¡¯t think I can¡­ I can pretend to, though.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± The king smiled back at me and then closed his eyes in deep thought for a moment, coming back from it without his smile. ¡°It is indeed a powerful ability, but can you do enough with it? You seem to be at your limit after this little demonstration already.¡±

    Here he goes again... I was sure I could pretend to be fine for a little longer, but this king kept on picking my lies.

    ¡°No idea. I need to test things more, but it should work... It has to work.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ This is something we should consider in our discussion, but there is a need for some tests before.¡± The king went on after taking a look at the other people around him. ¡°Go rest for a little and stay ready... We will make a decision as soon as possible.¡±

    The king¡¯s advisors were already discussing between themselves after my little display, but they all stopped to agree with the current proposition. Not exactly what I would like since it wouldn¡¯t cross out the chance of getting sent home, but I couldn¡¯t see a way to argue against it.

    Forcing them to make a decision right away wouldn¡¯t make much sense anyway. I showed them what I could and made my point seen, so now it was only wait. Now it was on their side to decide what to do, and on me to pray they would do what I wanted to.

    So, although I didn¡¯t wish so right now, I gave them all a curtsy in answer and tried to keep myself steady as I walked outside. I even managed to fall to the ground only after the door was closed¡­ Pretty much flawless.

 Bootcamp Time

    ¡°It¡¯s getting easier, but it is not enough¡­ I wonder why is this kid so hard to connect with. But remember, you are en route already.¡±

    ¡°Are you ready, kid?!¡± The imposing figure of the royal guard captain woke me up from remembering my last dream, making me hurry with my new equipment. New equipment, I add, I had just read the manuals a moment ago. Not that my head worked very well this soon in the morning either way.

    Why call me this early only to see how well I could fight? I mean, I¡¯m the one who called it all because, in all honesty, I wanted to see if I could manage the Divine Judgement thing, but still... It wasn¡¯t necessary, and I¡¯m sure no one expected me to go with it, but it would be cool if I ended up being a super good fighter.

    Not that it would happen, but I could dream.

    Either way, we were at the royal guard fort. A miniature castle at the back of the royal gardens, connected to the outer wall and with the royal guard''s quarters in it. It also acted as the back gate of the palace, leading to a middle-class district where the families of said royal guard lived.

    The building itself wasn¡¯t anything special. Stone walls in a rectangular shape and a huge open ground in the middle. An open ground that acted as training grounds and was surrounded by the armory, the stables, and some other support facilities. These open grounds also had a dozen weapon stands that seemed dragged here, but I don''t think these were always there.

    Lastly, it had a sandy area in the middle surrounded by a stony boundary with glowing runes. Probably something magical, but I''d need to be more awakened to read them. Who captained this place was much more impressive, anyway, so I was more focused on him. Especially since he was towering right next to me right now.

    The gargantuan old man known as Neil Languire, the royal captain, and the person organizing my tryout. He was pretty much two meters tall, covered in muscles and plate armor, but with a dandy-like face with a well-groomed, and quite big, blonde mustache. I could very well see him taking tea, even if his size made the situation a little weird.

    He looked very impressive, which was a contrast with me.

    My armor wasn¡¯t much more than a random assortment of multi-colored plates and leather sets. More than that, neither of them had the same style of seemed part of a set. I made them look awesome still, of course, but getting all I could from the armory made it a little hard to perfect. Even the tiara in my head, which was from Elen¡¯s personal collection, needed some work to make look good.

    "Ready, kid?" The big knight asked again.

    ¡°As much as I could manage¡­¡± I answered while rushing ahead and trying to organize what I knew of my items. ¡°But it will work.¡±

    From top to bottom, I had: Elen''s tiara that I didn''t know what could do (she had no papers on it), a leather cuirass that was exceptionally good at keeping the wearer warm, a thick metallic chainmail with the ability to create simple barriers, a white gauntlet that could shine, and a pair of greaves that made the remaining pieces of equipment fell light at the cost of feeling heavier itself.

    None of them were very powerful on their own, even the barrier one was weak compared to real barriers, but with my silver magic, they could be quite something. Just the two most useless-looking ones, the heating-up cuirass, and the make-things-lighter greaves, could very well be S-rank in my hands. As long as I had the mana for it¡­

    They weren¡¯t very protective, though, so I had some pieces of armor too, like a pair of leather bracers and a thicker skirt with plates underneath. It was on the medium height side if I were to say, but it was already getting too heavy for me, especially on the feet.

    I ended up looking like a mix of princess knight and evil general in the end, which was fun since I had two princesses close by. Two princesses that didn¡¯t look like a knight one at all right now¡­

    One was wearing full-plater armor like a normal knight and the other was straight-up a ranger. They were very ready for a real fight, which I thought was a little too much considering they were here to help test my skills.

    ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea, Illia?" The ranger one asked while staring at my set. "Your equipment seems more like something for parading than for fighting¡­¡±

    ¡°I agree. There are too many weak points on this set, Ms. Illia.¡± Elen¡¯s sister also commented. ¡°It¡¯s understandable that you would want to have the most artifacts possible, but I can¡¯t even see the use of many of these. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you wore proper armor and asked for the artifacts that weren¡¯t forgotten at the armory instead?¡±

    She had a point. It would be more efficient if I had powerful artifacts to play with, but that had its own problems in my eyes. More so, doing so would mean leaning off my plan. A lot.

    Either way, Valiria was currently wearing a set of armor very similar to the one from when I saw her at the waystone, but without the chirping and the blood. A full plate set made in silver and decorated with blue runes and ornaments. Very noble-looking, but not very princess-knight, but I said this much already. She also had a very heavy-looking shield and an arming sword, both of which had runes in them.

    Meanwhile, Elen was the usual. Grey cape and some armor beneath it, but as she mentioned before, these looked heavier this time. Still only the breastplate and some odd pieces around, but she should be in the same weight class as me already. She had no weapons I could see still, for some reason.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d manage to wear plate, Your Highness¡­¡± I finally answered them. ¡°Even the mail is already heavy enough as is...¡±

    ¡°If the problem is weight, we could get you something like mine, or even something like the maid¡¯s wear." Elen continued with a different idea. "What you say, Eve?¡±

    ¡°We do have spare sets still, Your Highness. Wouldn''t be as effective as metal armor, but they work best against magic and are sturdy enough.¡± The dark-haired maid answered while raising a part of her clothes to show the thin chainmail woven under the cloth. ¡°The clothes alone are no better than simple leather against blades and piercing weapons, so the mail with need to stay. It can get very heavy.¡±

    ¡°They look much better too!¡± The other maid shouted out from her place on Eve¡¯s side, but her happy expression soon changed when her companion started glaring. ¡°I mean¡­ Most wouldn¡¯t expect armor from this, right? They looking better is a perk, yes?¡±

    ¡°That is a point¡­ Either way, Ms. Illia is quite taller than the other maids, so we would need a while to adjust the clothes.¡±

    Clothes of a magical material, is it? Wouldn''t say I wasn''t interested. I read about these when I was trying to see if I could make alchemy¡­ Which I couldn¡¯t, by the way. It ended up being related to using spells with their own element, so a no-go for me.

    Either way, magical clothes would be fun, but removing artifacts felt wrong. My intuition was telling me that I would need these things or even more of them.

    ¡°You can think about this later, you all. We have to see how far you can go and have no time for it. You also have to duel everyone here, so I would like to be done before we lose dinner.¡± The shadow of the captain covered me again as he approached our little group more, now with a huge crystal in hand. ¡°It¡¯ll be the same as I had the boy do before, so no worries if it¡¯s possible. Just fight us all and see how far you can get. Anything less than total victory means you won¡¯t be winning a Divine Judgement, though I think you can manage something.¡±

    Such a waste of a good face this guy is¡­ He¡¯s not wrong, though. I said all that about being considered in the king¡¯s plans, but Mr. Hero was a little more powerful than I am right now. Juuuuust a little. Yeah, a little.

    It also was a little bothersome that this captain seemed to think I wasn¡¯t a total useless in a fight like I kinda am. Somehow, he decided I had the posture already even if the most I did was some sports and martial arts back in my world.

    I mean, fencing and kendo should help a little, but they should be different from fighting for real¡­ I think. I should¡¯ve played around with HEMA a little more¡­ Never got away from being average in any of them, but who knows? Maybe it would be the time a teacher would say I¡¯m good at it.

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    Kinda got me depressed now that I think how many teachers I had...

    Well, better ignore all this for now. It¡¯s not as if my main plan is fighting my way through anyway, so I only needed to have a good idea of how well I could pretend to. For safety and curiosity, yes?

    ¡°Sorry about that, sir.¡± I stood in a very straight stance and answered in a clear tone that should please the soldier. ¡°How it¡¯ll work?¡±

    ¡°Oh? So you can manage it too¡­ Good. You''ll need it since you''re against some of the strongest fighters in the palace.¡± He nodded and then moved his eyes through the group that, as weird as it was, was pretty much only girls. ¡°You will choose someone and then another and then another until we''re done, got it? Fight them, win or lose, fight the next. Very simple.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes, sir!¡± I saluted by reflex, which in turn caused people to look at me as if I was being weird. But I remained! Backing off now would be more shameful than staying as is, so I did so without a problem. I also noticed that, by what he said, many of the strongest warriors around were either princesses or maids¡­ That¡¯s funny.

    Very funny how thoroughly I¡¯ll be beaten up too, but alas. Maybe I can trick my way to a victory or two with my new toys¡­ It would be nice if that happened. Better than my current plan, at least.

    Again, for later.

    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re doing, but moving on. I had the training grounds cleared off and got all the training weapons I could, so you can go all out.¡± He concluded before turning to the open field surrounded by stone buildings. ¡°I¡¯ll leave to you the choice of who goes first. Don¡¯t worry about getting hurt, the weapons won¡¯t even connect for real and we can patch you up if you take some hits.¡±

    Who should I get first, eh? Hmmm¡­ Lemme think¡­ Wait! Why are you taking a huge ass lance and looking at me? Do you mean that you too¡­? Yeah, it makes sense actually. This place has regeneration potions around, right? I¡¯ll need them¡­

    Anyway, Elen and Eve scare me, but dealing with the armored princess or the knight captain sounds even worse. Asking the healer to fight me would look too bad?

    Yeah, it would¡­

    Fine, I¡¯ll go with the one I¡¯m more curious about first. Not sure if I¡¯ll be able to get to the others later, but alas¡­

    ¡°Let us have a go, Elen! I¡¯m a little interested to see you fighting¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh? Really? You sure about that?¡± She asked me a little surprised but still moved towards the weapon stands while doing so. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not the best at magic and all, but I¡¯m very strong.¡±

    She was packing as many daggers and small blades as she could see on the ¡®floor armory¡¯, setting them around her clothes. And even though I was inclined to agree that starting with her wasn¡¯t the best idea, she was making me even more curious. I really wanted to have my most important question about Elen answered: Was she a ranger or a rogue?!

    ¡°Get ready to work, Dorothea,¡± Eve muttered as I moved to get a weapon of my own (using the very real black saber wouldn¡¯t be right), and I got more worried. I also ignored the understanding expression of the redhead and the worry in the eyes of the other princess while at it.

    Should I pray a little? There are gods for sure here, so¡­

    ¡°Are you two ready?¡± Captain Neil shouted out from his corner while setting the head-sized crystal on the pedestal of the arena. It made the stone circle flash in silver for a moment too. ¡°Not to hurry you, but we won¡¯t be eating until these duels are finished. And I¡¯ll count the time to recharge the barrier.¡±

    That¡¯s mean! I get to be beaten around and then can¡¯t even eat whenever I want?! Heck, I¡¯ll have to put on more effort than usual in this. More effort than what I have to use even!

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re ready to go, Illia¡­¡± Elen noted my expression and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll be starting then.¡±

    So, without giving much of a signal other than her words, the ranger princess rushed towards me with a single short blade in hand.

    She was¡­ Too fast to be honest.

    I could see signs of magical circles here and there, but she moved too fast for me to read them. My perception could barely keep up and the parry I managed was by reflex alone. It even forced me to try and open some space between us right away.

    This was a little more than I was expecting, and that was only the beginning¡­

    Almost right after the first hit, Elen was already in front of me again. Her blade didn¡¯t reach me right away because I hurried to get a barrier and block the attack with my left gauntlet. A very small barrier that I concentrated on the gauntlet as a way to make it more resistant, and that even so, still broke on impact.

    It ended as enough to block it, but I could see that trying to use these barriers as the wide defense they were meant to would likely get me killed very fast unless I poured a lot of mana into it. And even after taking my best defense in a hit, another attack came right after.

    A right-side swing that I dodged in a hurry. One from the left that pushed my saber away. A thrust that I barely could notice coming before parrying by a hair width. And then an instantaneous overhead swing that I had to roll away.

    The attacks weren¡¯t that complex, a mix of wide and short swings with a few sudden thrusts from time to time, but they were fast. More than that, they seemed to always come from a blind spot or from nowhere. Her sword seemed to vanish away even. I was even starting to think that she was capable of getting invisible and that was why all the hits came from nowhere!

    Without the thick greaves and how I could summon small barriers due to my artifacts, I would be very wounded already.

    I could manage to keep up for now, but the dodging would tire me in due time. And it only got worse when she took a small break only to draw one of the daggers and start a dual-wield assault on me. Something that only messed up my pace even more as each fast swing and strike was peppered by an almost invisible follow-up.

    Panicking all the time while trying to survive was getting old fast here. In barely a few seconds of conflict, I was already covered in dust from all the jumping around. A real pain if you ask me.

    ¡°Good, good.¡± Elen happily nodded at my state while getting some of the knives she had set around. ¡°You¡¯re better than you give yourself credit for, you know? Few can keep up with me¡­¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I guess¡­ Not that I¡¯m doing that well.¡±

    I wasn''t talking about my fighting, by the way. I was talking about the fact I couldn''t figure out what her magic was and what it had to do with her fighting style. I mean, it had to be light, but it would bring a weird problem: Elen burned the wasps the first time we met. I was sure of that, but if that was so, I had no idea how it fit.

    Unless, of course, she was actually¡­

    ¡°No, no, you doing well¡­ But let¡¯s see how far you go, okay?!¡±

    Before I could finish my line of thought, the battle-crazed girl threw her knives to the sky and came with another assault. An assault of half-visible attacks that I could hold out for a while, but that started to come with throwing knives hidden in them. She was pushing me closer and closer to the edge, and that was while I had to keep an eye on the delayed attack she sent above.

    I would lose very fast if I kept defending like this... Which was why I wouldn¡¯t bother to.

    It was time to pull some tricks of mine.

    ¡°Wha¡­?!¡± Elen exclaimed as my next dodge went head-on into her instead of away from her blades. It gave me a hit on the corner of my belly, but the training blade didn''t pierce, as they told me. It blunted me hard, but I could hold it. It still made me lose stance and trip forward, but it got me away from the falling knives.

    Falling knives that fell to the ground right after I got up and smiled smugly at the ranger princess.

    ¡°Pleased?¡±

    ¡°A lot!¡±

    ¡°By the way, how strong you are in comparison to everyone else?¡±

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m maybe the second here, or even¡­ Wait! You¡¯re trying to buy time now, aren¡¯t you?¡± She somehow saw through my trick and started to actually laugh at the idea. ¡°Ahahahaha! Damn, you like doing it a lot, don¡¯t you? Time to up it a little then¡­¡±

    Hell.

    That was all I could think before a small light flash blipped beneath the princess and, the next moment, I was already dodging by reflex.

    A double head-high swing that sunk on the ground where I was a moment before was all left. And as she smiled and rushed again, I was forced to block head-on for the first time. Not parry or even weaken the attack, just blocked it with my own weapon and got pushed away by the impact.

    Then, before I could do anything else, a flash came from the princess and I hurried to cover my eyes against the light. It wasn''t enough to panic me, but it got me blind for a moment. A moment that, as it could be dangerous, made me roll away again in a hurry.

    But as I got my stance and opened my eyes, I understood that my suspicion was sadly right...

    ¡°You have a few seconds to protect yourself or surrender, my friend,¡± Elen spoke as she watched my distorting expression.

    That¡¯s bullshit!

    I could read most of it, so I knew it was pure bullshit. It made sense why she was so stealthy and tricky, but it was bullshit still. Saying that they actually called things like redirecting and concentrating light as a light element was a lot, but... Firing lasers is too much, isn''t it?! Being stealthy by using light and dark tricks is complex enough, but she was going to burn me to a crisp now!

    I hope it won¡¯t hurt too much, though, for I¡¯m not backing up. If it was anything like I thought it was, then there was no fleeing or dodging here anyway.

    So, I only hunched down and forced out my cuirass'' spell to spread around while getting some wind going with the saber and putting whatever else I had into my ring. And a moment later, the whole area around me got filled with dust and I was bathed in a hyper-concentrated light beam.

    The whole area was filled with a burning smell and it was quite hot, but I was almost unharmed as I rolled away. Some burns, but good enough to continue, and on the path for Elen''s follow-up attack.

    Which was exactly what I wanted.

    "My turn, princess."

    Her attack went through my image as the princess also noticed that she hit an illusion. An illusion that made her posture break, making my secret weapon more effective as I threw it from behind the illusion.

    ¡°What the hells?!¡± The blinded silver-haired girl shouted as the mass of sand I kept in my pocket had her blinded for a while. A while I used to jump up and rush to force my way to a finishing strike, and then¡­

    Then I slipped on one of the knives dropped around and ended with my head on the ground and my butt pointed to the sky¡­ I couldn¡¯t even bother to get up before there was a blade at my neck.

    Using both my sand and illusion tricks in the first fight made them close to useless in the next fights, so I ended up beaten in all the other bouts. The match-ups were worse for my side too when I left the territory of speed-fighters and my skills didn''t do much without the surprise, so it was very bad. Got me some ideas for next time, though. All I needed was preparation... Not that I would like to deal with these bulldozers ever again.

    I¡¯ll only say that being punched into kingdom come by a maid is a very weird experience.

    At least all the tryouts were done before it was time to eat, and the food was quite nice. Thank you, Kaith!

    Sadly, I got called by the big boss right after finishing my food. It would be good to have some extra time to rest, but what could I do...

 The First Tale

    ¡°Here we are, Your Highness,¡± I called after entering Elen¡¯s hidden tearoom. ¡°Isn¡¯t this room small for us all, though?¡±

    Just the massive knight already made the room feel smaller, but we were walking around with a group of half a dozen people. Packing everyone inside this little meeting room was too much even if the maids were leaving, something the king interrupted.

    ¡°It is, but everyone here should hear.¡±

    Eve didn¡¯t react much to it, but Dori was confused by the situation. From what I could see, even the royal captain didn¡¯t know what exactly was happening. Elen was the only one who wasn¡¯t affected by anything at all and was taking a seat as if it were normal.

    ¡°You should tell me before getting in here, Dad. My room is still connected to this place¡­¡± She complained while pointing to her maid to set the table. ¡°But for you to call us, what do you want to hide from everyone else? I already explained the ¡®inquisition¡¯ mess to sis, but her maid seems like she''ll panic any moment now.¡±

    ¡°T-t-that¡¯s not i-it¡­ Your H-highness¡­¡± Dori tried to answer, but seeing the situation made me sigh and give up on thinking about it. Instead, I took a seat even if I was a little unsure if my position was high enough for that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ms. Dorothea, you heard most of it from my daughters if I¡¯m not mistaken, so you don¡¯t need to be so stiff.¡± Prourene¡¯s ruler continued in his usual tone, which didn¡¯t seem very effective. ¡°Also, remember that we¡¯re not in the throne room. In fact, you should remember that we didn¡¯t meet.¡±

    I could feel some shock on Dori¡¯s and Valiria¡¯s faces, but the proper princess soon understood the situation. She then moved to the table with a controlled expression and took a seat like her sister, seemingly calming the situation a little.

    ¡°We are only having some refreshments after a training session, Dori. Only the five of us.¡±

    ¡°Sigh¡­ What a mess.¡± I ended up letting escape after watching all this. ¡°I mean, what is the big plan, Your Highness? I thought Sir Neil would report to you and then you would decide what next, but if you¡¯re calling here, have you decided something already?¡±

    ¡°Not really, Ms. Illia.¡± The king answered me without even stopping to think. ¡°All I know is that we¡¯re not putting you on a Divine Judgement as is. No matter what, you¡¯re not strong enough for that, but I¡¯m sure you knew that already...¡°

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± I tried to give some ideas while munching on an apple-like fruit, but another voice got over mine almost right away. ¡°Then, what if¡­¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, dad! Illia¡¯s not that bad. She almost got me there, and it wasn¡¯t that far from the others too.¡± Elen stood up after leaving her tableware to Eve. ¡°In a month she may even manage to be better than us.¡±

    ¡°She has to be as strong as Mr. Hayato for it to work, princess.¡± The black-haired maid commented while moving as her primary job dictated. ¡°Remember that the other side has people who can overpower us already?¡±

    ¡°Then all we have to do is get her every single powerful artifact we have instead of leaving the odd ones only! Right now, she only was my tiara, and that one is a safety measure, at most. If dad gave his¡­¡±

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no¡­¡± I tried to speak again but with the same effect as earlier.

    ¡°Borrowing the artifacts in use could make Lady Illia much more powerful for sure.¡± Valiria agreed while focused on her own thoughts. ¡°In fact, if she can tweak their effects enough, they can change much more than expected. Something like the portable waystone, for example...¡±

    Oh? That¡¯s a lotta trust there, princesses. Kinda makes me want to not be planning to go as far away from the fighting option as possible. Having them give me the powerful tools would be a problem, though. And not only because I¡¯m not sure I could supply enough mana for them¡­ At least my trainer had no belief in my fighting capabilities, so I could worry a little less that my plan was wrong.

    ¡°Not enough. Not enough for sure. If she was an amateur or we had a better understanding of her magic, then maybe, but that¡¯s not the case. From what I saw, she already has all the foundation she can, and is the biggest expert in this ¡®silver magic¡¯ we have.¡± The captain spoke this time, and I could pretty much feel what he was going to say next. It was something I heard many times before too. ¡°I can¡¯t see enough talent to avail a fast growth at this point, and training to polish what she has will take too long. A month is too little.¡±

    What I said, right? But again, I don''t plan on fighting. Going against two sudo-heroes is way too much for me, even if I could get strong as one of them. There¡¯s also the something that actually took that damn Mr. Hero down. I need to worry about it, don''t I? Anything that made me go head-on there would also be against my whole play right now. What I need is¡­

    Oh! They got silent. Better throw my plan out there while I can.

    ¡°Now hear me out. We don¡¯t need a replacement for Mr. Hero, you know? We only have to make it seem he got wounded but is back.¡±

    ¡°And how do you plan to do so, Ms. Illia? Only getting a body double won''t do in this situation.¡± The king called me out on the weak plan, but he seemed to know the answer to what he was asking.

    I could feel this guy had a plan again, and since he was almost alone, it wasn¡¯t anything good. But worse than that, it wasn''t something he would tell me right away.

    ¡°My idea was to make it seem as if the hero was still fine. I can use the illusions to make it seem he is around, and that would be enough.¡± I answered at first, but I wouldn¡¯t let him take all control this time. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I need this anymore. You actually came here with a plan, didn''t you? The ¡®we don¡¯t have one¡¯ from before was about me fighting only.¡±

    And of course, he smiled at my answer as if he had predicted this much. A very punchable smile too.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re getting good at reading me too. Would it be enough to say that all I want is to keep you doing the same as you were before?¡±

    Was he talking...? No, it can... This guy is crazy, isn''t he? I mean, it''s similar to what I wanted to do, but still... If he really meant to pretend to swindle my way through this, then I''d need the right situations to play.

    ¡°Are you sure about that? I don¡¯t know how well this can go, and neither do I have enough information to try something this big. Making me look this good would need some luck too...¡±

    ¡°Take whatever you need and whoever you need, but it has to look as if you were always our secondary plan.¡± He stared deep into my eyes even while I was trying to escape from it. ¡°It has to look as if everything from before was the truth all along.¡±

    "You know it''ll rely on what the other realms will do, right? I can''t do much without a chance to do it."

    "I believe it''ll be fine. They¡¯ll move. All you have to do is work as you did before and take the chances..."

    ¡°Is this about that ¡®inquisition¡¯ Lady Illia and my sister were involved?¡± Valiria asked as one of the few around who only received a vague briefing on my noble swindling scheme. She was better than most of the hero¡¯s party, at least, but she still only had a vague idea of what I was doing before.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°You can say so, yes,¡± I answered while trying to guess how much Elen told her sister. ¡°You could say we were swindling troublesome nobles to have them arrested, or something¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not very clear¡­¡±

    ¡°I can explain everything to you later, sis, but that¡¯s the gist for sure.¡± Elen took over while smiling at the whole idea. ¡°Hells, if you want to, we may even go bust them together later. We¡¯ll need to tie those ends before anything¡­¡±

    ¡°If you say so, then I¡¯ll support you both whoever I can. Sir Hayato would prefer so too¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll also give any support the royal guard can, but know that I am against this idea.¡± The biggest person around gave his own comment on the situation. ¡°After seeing you fight, even if it was more than I thought, my belief is that having you parade as a hero will only make things harder. Fighting head-on is still my preference too.¡±

    ¡°And that was noted, Neil, don¡¯t worry.¡± The guy I wanted to punch for no real reason continued. ¡°Cheap tricks aren¡¯t the most honorable way, but it¡¯s fighting fire with fire in this situation. Also, I want to see where this young girl will go with this.¡±

    It was only for a moment, but I could see the same crazed stare that Elen sometimes gave on the king¡¯s face. That same stare that came right after she started laughing and exclaimed again that I was ¡®really interesting¡¯ or something.

    Like father, like daughter, I guess.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll need some help with promotion, Your Highness¡­ And some help finishing the plans from before to have them hit well. I won¡¯t be able to take them all too, no time to fix things if I go too strong...¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be a problem as long as you don¡¯t weaken the frontiers too much.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯ll be fine. I have a way to make them play nice later¡­ Everything should be ready to move soon.¡± I snickered while throwing the math on what was left of my plans from before. ¡°Oh! I¡¯ll also need some new clothes.¡±

    As I said it, though, no one in the room managed to react right away. I mean, they all started to stare at me, and the massive knight seemed a little annoyed too while some others seemed only confused, but no one said a thing. Only when Elen started to laugh that the tension finally vanish¡­ Not that it made anything look better to me.

    ¡°I knew you were the best choice, you damn weirdo!¡± She also added when the laughter was done, for now, and it didn¡¯t make me any happier. At least no one seemed to want to complain for now¡­

    What followed were three days of preparations and planning. Nothing too glorious or interesting to comment on.

    The most I did was mingle with some other people (Hayato¡¯s party started to wander around since their princess was here), but I was meant to not show too much, so they were short. Even talking with the princesses was rare since they started to crack down on the targets I marked.

    There shouldn''t be problems with this part, though. Two princesses and double the planned manpower to manage this whole mess was more than enough.

    Only arresting the nobles involved was a little more complicated. At first, the plan was to send them to trial and everything since we would have all the proof necessary, but that was too slow now.

    But I had other plans for it...

    One that started with a ''fake'' royal letter calling every single one of them for a meeting at the palace. A meeting meant to give them the autonomy and power necessary to get troops moving as an emergency defense force.

    Or if you wanted to call it as it was, a ruse called by me so they would meet the cheeky blonde using the king¡¯s throne as her personal chair right now. The same blonde with an overly-stylized hairdo, perfect make-up, on-point proportions, and a terribly well-chosen outfit modified from the earlier princess knight set with darker colors and an evil-looking cape.

    This was the dawn of the evil Duchess Illia!

    Probably the biggest case of lese-majeste I was involved in yet too, but that was the point this time.

    They didn''t even seem to mind how forceful they were escorted to the room until they noticed me. And when they did so, it was already too late anyway. All the small details seemed to click in their heads as slow as it was, and that was fun to watch.

    All in all, they were clearly weirded out and somewhat close to panicking even before I said anything.

    ¡°Hello, my friends.¡± I controlled my shivering body and kept talking in the same tone I used when ¡®negotiating¡¯ back at my swindler days (like, last week). ¡°Are you feeling well lately?¡±

    My words and position soon brought shouts of outrage from the nobles who were yet to understand their position. Everything from ¡®how dare you sit at the throne¡¯ to ¡®calling us here in an emergency is an outrage¡¯. But in the end, all I had to do was shake my hand and make the whole floor shine in the same eerie hue of always.

    It didn¡¯t take much for them to notice that, in theory, I was the one calling the shots here. Their eyes were moving around the room with no effect too. They were stuck with the unstable corrupt hero and in the middle of what seemed to be a deadly spell.

    How they were panicking was very interesting.

    ¡°Calm down, everyone, I¡¯m just warming the seat while the big guy is solving some problems in another office. And I have permission anyway¡­¡±

    My words stopped the noise in the room for a moment. They seemed to finally get the idea here, and soon after, the small nobles united under a single spokesperson in a hurry. Another one of the people I didn¡¯t bother to have the name, but seemingly the one with the highest rank around. Maybe some marquis even¡­

    ¡°Excuse us, Lady Illia, but what exactly are you saying here?¡±

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m saying that, with the current situation giving me some extra worth and a lot more liberties, I want some real power to top it off. The real hero was too much of a softie and wouldn''t let me play, but now he''s sleeping, so... I''d like some territory of mine. Some riches too, and maybe some titles, you see? The kind of thing you all have and that wouldn¡¯t be too bad if I took it.¡° I continued as if I had everything under perfect control. ¡°It¡¯s not as if having you all is useless, of course, but I kinda don¡¯t want you around anymore. Having you donate some titles and then vanish would be good enough for everyone. Even the king wasn¡¯t that against when I hinted all I knew about you people, not that he had much choice¡­¡±

    ¡°But our deals¡­?!¡±

    ¡°What deals? We had anything of the kind? I can¡¯t remember.¡± I made a very fake expression of confusion as I answered. ¡°And even if we did, do you think it would do much? I¡¯m kinda the only hero around right now and the realm is close to war, so¡­¡±

    ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡±

    "Also, I kinda have some people close to whatever family you guys have, so I''m not negotiating here. Some very frilly assassins, you see?"

    They were straight-up shocked by my words. Even the impromptu spokesperson didn¡¯t know how to react and was instead starring in a growing panic. It made me feel like I was the evil one here...

    Well, it wasn''t that bad actually. It was hard to feel bad for them anyway. Kinda felt good even, which was one of the reasons I didn¡¯t like this plan...

    The people here were the small fries in my files and none of them had territories on the ¡®dangerous¡¯ frontiers, but they were a good chunk of the problem. In gross value, the less than dozen people here made around two-thirds of all lost revenue, though the other third was in the hands of two or three others.

    It wasn¡¯t the perfect hit I wanted, but it was enough.

    But since I''m feeling a little bad for them, lemme at least make them worry less about their lives since I¡¯m here.

    ¡°Fine, fine, you¡¯re making me feel bad, so what about we make a deal?¡±

    ¡°We had a deal before, girl!¡± The spokesperson spoke with a slightly angry tone. ¡°You can¡¯t pretend to be some¡­¡±

    ¡°I know, I know, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll help you too just like before. I¡¯ll hear your complaints some other time but for now¡­¡± I dismissed the noble''s words without even giving him a chance to talk. ¡°What about taking some pity gold and leaving to your families?¡±

    While I was talking, the summoning circle on the ground started to shine over the fake purple one as I summoned some authentic-looking pills to my hand. Very colorful and authentic, but they were no more than sugar inside. I don¡¯t know enough about poisons to bring the real thing. But it was a ruse that was effective.

    ¡°Take some and die,¡± I said while throwing them to the feet of the nobles and starting my plan as their eyes focused on it. ¡°I''ll let your families live very well in my new lands after you do.¡±

    Their focus went off me for long enough for this small trick to work, so I could finally calm down. It also seemed that they were recovering from the initial shock and starting to think, so I pushed them further.

    ¡°Choose already or I''ll get bored and ask the people in your house to¡­¡±

    Then, right as my words sunk in, the outraged, scared, and cornered small nobles opened fire with all the magic they could cast in a rush. A whole hail of fireballs, ice spikes, stones, lightning, and everything else. A whole assault that fully covered the fancy chair with a cloud of debris... And when this cloud vanished, I was still there exactly like before. Just not in reality.

    I was instead puppeteering my illusion from behind the throne after running there during the pill¡¯s distraction. All the while, I was close to panicking with the unsureness if the magical throne would hold or not.

    ¡°Not a good choice, my friend¡­ Now¡­ Aham!¡± I took a deep breath while still focused on the utterly shocked nobles and then shouted with all I had. ¡°Help me! They¡¯re attacking the poor hero who only wanted to talk!¡±

    Almost instantly after, I flashed my white gauntlet and, before even I could recover from the blindness, all guards close by rushed inside. Armored knights numbering the dozens against stunned nobles who were yet to understand the situation.

    It wasn''t even a fight.

    By the end of the night, not only did I have a new dark tale on my belt, but a good deal of the kingdom''s inner problems were done for. Who would''ve guessed that my predictions were so on point there...

    The first step was done.

    For now, though, I needed some rest. Chaining so many spells and enduring all this pressure was still a little too tiring for my taste¡­

 Interlude: A Royal Night

    ¡°Tell me, Eve¡­¡±

    ¡°What is it, Your Highness?¡±

    ¡°What do you think of our cute mastermind? I mean, she pinned these guys almost right away, didn¡¯t she?¡± I asked my maid while clearing my blades on one of the newly-made rags around. ¡°She got their hideouts and an estimate of enemies inside just by playing with numbers. That can¡¯t be normal¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Your Highness¡­ I¡¯m ashamed to say, but her explanation was a little beyond me.¡± The quiet dark-haired maid answered while breaking the locks of the safe boxes in the area with her bare hands. ¡°But I¡¯m sure Lady Illia would say it was nothing. And calling her cute would somehow get her in a giggly mood for the day¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s funny to observe. Hells, staying close to that girl is the most interesting job I ever had.¡±

    To be honest, I thought Dad got me a rotten hand at first, but damn, now I was almost thanking him.

    After staying close to my so-called pseudo-hero for some weeks, I could say for sure that I still had no idea how she worked. Illia acted almost as if on different parameters than anyone else. In a moment, she would be blushing and pretending not to, getting scared of everything and everyone, and acting small for no reason, but at the next¡­

    It got a little obvious when she somehow managed to sneak away from Eve and how she made half the castle cover up for her while doing so, but it got even better when I finally saw her.

    She was so weird I couldn¡¯t avoid getting interested. Not only because she was exactly where I had already looked for her before too.

    That girl was like a ghost who wore the most stupidly eye-catching clothes it could find. No one would ever be able to explain how she could vanish like that. She even managed to flee from me while wearing a skirt and frills, only to end exactly where I wanted her to go!

    She could go from scared cat to crazed schemer in a heartbeat and act as if that wasn¡¯t more than normal. This whole crackdown and the negotiations with the nobles were already something, but the way she went crazy in the throne room¡­

    And getting to see her magic made my interest go even higher.

    All in all, very funny to be close by. The funniest, maybe. Even having to clear these small fries for her didn¡¯t feel too boring when I thought of what she would do later.

    ¡°The second and third floors are clear, Your Highness. No casualties on our side.¡± Another maid of the royal guard called out by poking her head on the stairs leading to us. It seemed that their work up there was done too, so it was time for cleanup.

    ¡°Okay then, pack everything with value, and let¡¯s light this place up. I have more interesting things to do¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness!¡± She nodded at my orders and left as swiftly as she came.

    Eve was already carrying a huge load of shiny items and papers by my side, so she was ready too. Some seemed dirtied by the blood on her brass knuckles, but that should be fine. It was a little more than I expected anyway, so losing a little wasn¡¯t a problem.

    Even if this place was the headquarters of the smugglers working for the local marquis, she was holding a lot of gold. It almost made me interested in what they had in their proper warehouses, but that was Sis¡¯ job, not mine.

    Mine was dealing with the not-so-obvious criminals and the hideouts that looked legal. Many of them.

    Almost made me sad that the guy who set this whole mess now had to deal with Illia in her berserk state... He should¡¯ve enjoyed this a little more. And these guys should¡¯ve surrendered when I told them to¡­ Illia even told me to let them take some money and flee if they did, so that¡¯s unlucky of them.

    It¡¯s almost in either case. Caring about these lowlifes is way too much for me anyway, and they made their choice.

    ¡°Such a waste... These guys were quite well organized, weren¡¯t they?¡± I asked while taking the papers in Eve¡¯s hands and giving them a cursory glance. ¡°Anything more to take?¡±

    ¡°The basement seems clear, but I¡¯m not as good as you at noticing hidden passages, Your Highness, so you may want to take a second look.¡±

    She always says so, but we were trained by the same person. A little hard to think our skills are so different when the same weirdo got them imprinted on us, but whatever.

    Been a while since I visited master, now that I think about it¡­ It¡¯d be a little hard to reach her considering all the mess we¡¯re into right now, but I¡¯m sure she would like to meet Illia. Maybe we¡¯ll meet if things go to hell for sure or if we go for a Divine Judgement¡­

    Being a big shot in that place full of priests should be a pain.

    ¡°Oh! I almost forgot¡­¡± I went back to the files I was almost storing away and started to look for the numbers. ¡±How far was the prediction this time¡­? It¡¯s saying nine hundred crowns last month, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Something close to ten percent, Your Highness,¡± Eve answered as she noticed that I didn¡¯t remember the number Illia mentioned in her papers. ¡°This one was very honest with his bribes.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, an honest smuggler it is. Funny¡­¡±

    ¡°We should be going, Your Highness. The water mages will be here soon.¡±

    Starting some fires inside the city was already dangerous, but it would be worse if we were found inside. Having to call the firefighters beforehand was such a pain... We couldn''t let them get here too soon too, or not everything would burn, but taking too long was bad too.

    But well¡­

    ¡°Lead the way, Eve,¡± I ordered the maid and went to the glowing orange bottle at my belt as I saw her moving to the stairs. Not exactly the safest way of carrying alchemic fire (the thing was probably the worst thing you would want thrown in you), but it was more convenient than having a bag of bottles close by.

    A weakness of a speed-based fight style, as Illia would call it. Some weird way of putting it, but the idea was growing on me lately...

    Either way, I threw the bottle over my shoulders and rushed outside before the sudden burst of flames. Killing these fires would be a pain, but the guys coming to deal with it should¡¯ve been warned. At least I hope they won''t just throw water over it and mess up even more...

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    That was for them to worry, though, for I was already moving away¡­

    Not much went on after that, or not much that I cared anyway. Looting was fun and all, but it wasn¡¯t as if I needed the money or would use it, the maids and the palace¡¯s coffers were more interested in it. What I wanted was to see what the weirdo waiting back at home would do next already.

    And she better not disappoint me...

    *****

    ¡°Apprehend everyone and collect the goods!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±

    The five knights of my unit charged into the marked warehouse and started to hold down anyone in their path. Seeing them was a little hard since I wasn¡¯t used to acting at night like my sister, but the surprise was enough to even the field. It was still worrying, but only slightly.

    So, I marched forward with my guard up, but it seemed I was too paranoid. Everyone I could see was either an ally or knocked out by now, so it seemed that the surprise assault worked once more. It was getting a little tiring after rushing from waystone-to-waystone busting hideouts, but how easy everything was made all seem wrong.

    Only following the simple outline Ms. Illia gave me somehow worked with very few adjustments. It made me worry about the other teams, but if all was this easy...

    The number of predictions the papers had and how they always went so close was also something else. From the number of guards and goods the warehouses would have, to how much gold would be stashed away, she had predictions on everything.

    This shouldn¡¯t be normal, but her explanations made sense. And I was only seeing the easier targets. Eleonora was the one with the dangerous or sneakier ones.

    I had to study more still. Maybe have her teach me some time¡­

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, we have a runner!¡± One of the knights shouted right as I saw a figure dashing to the exit on my back. A very young-looking figure who shouldn''t even understand the situation that well. Not a smart choice¡­

    With a simple motion, I pointed my blade in his direction and went to my simplest spell.

    In a moment, the whole area around the dashing figure became a mass of darkness, and soon after, the noise of something hitting the floor followed. All I had to do then was walk closer to him and dispel my spell.

    ¡°I recommend you sur¡­¡± But before I could finish my phrase, the young person dashed towards me with a small blade in hand. A small blade that could be dangerous if his aim wasn¡¯t so off... The dagger only bounced on my armor as I recovered from the surprise and bashed the kid with my shield. ¡°You¡¯re lucky this place wasn¡¯t under my sister¡¯s jurisdiction, kid. She¡¯s not as lenient as I am¡­ Now, sleep.¡±

    I went with an armored punch to get the disoriented attacker down for good while sighing at the thought of such a young person being a criminal. He didn¡¯t seem to be anything more than twelve years old, and by the small bag on his side, he was indeed a runner working for the people here.

    It always felt bad when I had to deal with these, but at least he was still alive. His punishment wouldn''t be that harsh considering the sneaky way he was arrested too, so I didn''t feel that bad. All I could hope was that my sister didn¡¯t cross anyone like this¡­

    ¡°Sorry about this, ma¡¯am.¡± The knight who called earlier came to apologize, but it was something so minor I couldn¡¯t see any reason to admonish him. This whole situation was, no matter what, outside of their area of expertise.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Is everything else cleared?¡±

    ¡°All targets are down, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°There were hidden goods as expected, but I don¡¯t think we can carry them right away.

    ¡°We found some papers that seem relevant too.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± I answered the multiple reports in the same tone as usual and then started moving as I felt my maid approaching. ¡°Get everyone roped up and leave it to the city guards. We have more work to do¡­¡±

    I could already smell it, and I knew beforehand, but it never felt good to see Eleonora''s maids working. Not that I had anything against them, but I couldn¡¯t avoid it...

    Dori was always a good maid and I could say we were close to friends even. A little lazy sometimes and too laidback, but a good maid. If she wasn''t part of my sister¡¯s maid corps, then I''m sure she would be the sweetest person.

    Leaving her to act alone was usually the best choice for me, though, so I got used to knowing when she was back to report.

    ¡°I¡¯m back, Your Highness.¡± The smiling redhead came walking from the shadows of the docks while dragging a person on her shoulders. ¡°The overseer was easy to find and he explained everything almost right away¡­ That blondie got it right again.¡±

    I could see that she was missing some daggers from the belt on her thighs and there was red on her maid outfit and the guy, but I wouldn¡¯t think about it. I had more to think about anyway and she was efficient. Even if using these methods to get proof felt bad¡­

    ¡°Leave this one with the others and get going. We have two more to go tonight¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re accepting this plan easily, aren¡¯t you, Your Highness?¡± Dori asked with her head cocked to the side a little. ¡°I thought you would be more against it. Giving all that power to an unknown¡­¡±

    ¡°Both father and Eleonora trust that girl, so I don¡¯t have a reason to not, even if I don¡¯t like her methods.¡± I sighed while pushing back my discontent as a ruler should. ¡°No matter what, I¡¯m not a schemer, but a schemer is what we need now. Complaining about it without having a better plan would be dumb¡­ And it wouldn''t help Mr. Hayato at all¡­¡±

    Being a ruler isn¡¯t only about being righteous no matter how idealistic I want to be. Mother always taught me such. It didn''t feel good, but I could accept this much without a problem.

    All I hoped was that our real hero could see it too. The thought of seeing his disgusted face if he heard about this the wrong way...

    ¡°Heheh¡­ All for Hayato, is it? He¡¯d be very happy to hear it¡­ Or he wouldn¡¯t get the idea at all and end up scolded.¡±

    ¡°You know very well it would be the second option there¡­ But that doesn¡¯t matter." I cut off the useless thoughts again and turned to the dock''s exit. "We¡¯re moving.¡±

    I started to walk while hearing my knights follow behind a few moments later but never looked back. And on the back of my mind, I was a little curious as to what the faker back at the palace would be doing after this¡­

    *****

    ¡°That kid is crazy, dear. I cannot believe you¡¯re allowing her to do all this¡­¡±

    ¡°Crazy is indeed a way to describe her, but is that relevant? An unexpected result or not, she IS someone that could solve our problems.¡± I sipped at the tea prepared by our head butler while watching Caitlyin worry. Having someone this serious when the whole situation was so complicated helped keep me in check, but more than that, her worried expression was nice.

    Few would expect a princess bred for marriage to be as strong-willed and, in all honesty, belligerent as she was, and that was very much my alley.

    If the odds weren¡¯t so against us, I¡¯m sure she would be the first to advocate for total war. That was how Caitlyn was. And it was interesting to see how close, but still so far, was Valiria¡¯s way of thinking. They were almost copies of each other in many ways, but somehow the daughter became an idealistic pacifist.

    The world is a funny place.

    I¡¯m sure she would be a good queen in the future, but neither of them could see the hidden capabilities of the ¡®accidental¡¯ hero we got. Both were failing to see beneath the lack of presence and the scared facade she had. And more, they were failing to see how dangerous that girl could be if she got cornered...

    If it went bad enough, she could be the worst villain of them all.

    Only Eleonora seemed to understand it, just like I expected her to. She was much closer to me in almost every way than her sister, even if her tastes were aimed at less¡­ orthodox paths.

    ¡°Even if it is a way to solve our problems, giving that no one nobility and power is¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no danger, Cait, of that I can assure you. That girl will never turn on us no matter how much power she has unless we do so first¡­ It¡¯s simply not worth it in her eyes.¡±

    ¡°How can you be so sure, dear? Leaving someone the chance of being a ruler will surely¡­¡±

    ¡°Not to her. I have no idea as to why or how she ended like this, but that girl will never wish power for herself. It¡¯s possible that she would give everything back in exchange for a reasonable supply of food and someone safe to talk with¡­ Or at least I hope it¡¯s so.¡±

    ¡°See? You are unsure if it¡¯s safe. Risking this much in for territories we could avenge later¡­¡±

    It seemed that my words went off wrong to my queen.

    What I meant was, even if not fully safe, that worrying about the Illia Without a Surname made no sense. She was no danger unless pushed towards it. The only worry I had about her wasn''t related to power abuse or anything of the like... The only way she could be a problem was if her facade broke.

    But that was something I could only deal with in the same way that girl was dealing with keeping her friend in this world. The only way of dealing with someone who didn¡¯t want to survive was to create a reason for them, right? And as long as this reason was strong enough, she would be the best weapon this kingdom could have.

    Either that, or she would eventually doom us all... A very interesting gamble if you ask me.

 Answering the Call

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving this damn place liking it or not!¡±

    ¡°Stop it! I feel we¡¯ll need this information, so I can¡¯t stop now¡­ And don¡¯t pull me! I said to not pull me!¡± I kept shouting while my personal princess tried, with success, to force me outside of the palace¡¯s library.

    She had a good reason for such, but I couldn¡¯t comply. Forcing myself at least until everything was somewhat stable was necessary, so I couldn¡¯t rest right now. Tricking people I was some sort of powerful figure was complicated. It was still too soon for it to work even after working days on it, so my image wasn''t well set at all.

    Appearing around and making sure the rumors would spread was all I did lately, but it wasn''t good enough. Even after my days started to blur into random meetings and studying, it wasn''t feeling right yet. I even started to burn the nights in more productive ways than sleeping, be it trying the summoning circle or some other artifact. All for my plan to work.

    Giving up on sleep wasn''t too much, and neither was it something I wasn''t used to. The bigger loss was the fewer chances of meeting the dream voice in hopes of getting an explanation.

    And no, I¡¯m not crazy... Too much.

    Some people think otherwise considering the things I went around asking for and collecting lately, but alas. Fireworks and explosives are useful, okay? As long as it worked, the methods don''t matter... Saying so gives me bad flashbacks, though, so I''ll change subjects now.

    ¡°Young ladies¡­¡± The quiet old priestess in a wheelchair called after leaving the struggle to happen for a while. ¡°Do remember where you are, please.¡±

    ¡°Oh! S-sorry, Lady Kushana¡­¡± Elen panicked for the first time ever and apologized to the library¡¯s overseer I now knew the name. ¡°And you, move on already. You¡¯re getting me in trouble.¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m in the middle of something¡­ I can feel an idea coming even.¡±

    To put some context, my library research was going through books related to the neighboring countries. My focus was on the two troublesome ones, the Divine Blanchelle Federation and the Lazzos Republic.

    The first one was a collection of religious city-states built in a ¡®unique¡¯ territory (lots of crevices and canyons), and the other was a sort of Roman republic rip-off with gunpowder. Both were complicated in their own ways and both were very antagonistic with Prourene, but that was irrelevant.

    What I wanted from the books was the best cultural way of making them give up.

    They were very interesting places when you gave up on the ''declaring war'' thing. Would even say they were more interesting than Prourene. If it wasn''t for how they hated us, visiting could be fun... I¡¯ll fault all this on ¡®heroes who become rulers¡¯, though, and change subjects.

    My idea was more in line with some interesting strong points of these places that I could use as weaknesses.

    The Federation, for one, had these saint figures who had oracle-like powers and some other skills. Their champion was one of these, but most of them were support-type and were reported to need protection. They seemed like the kind of thing one could snipe to end a fight¡­

    The Republic, on the other side, had a weakness in their strong suit, which was how well-organized and chained they were. Very bureaucratic and very proper to the point of being cultural, and weird how it worked so well. It almost looked like a proper modern government with how they dealt with representatives for each territory. Keeping their politics running and working was almost as holy as the other side''s saints, but it meant publicity could hit them heavily¡­ Maybe.

    Two plans that could help me avoid a war, or worse, a duel, but it seemed that I wouldn¡¯t be working on it right now.

    ¡°Shut up and walk, okay? I¡¯ll have you rest even if I have to knock you out.¡± The ranger princess tried to continue, but then sighed and turned to the door after I ignored her. ¡°You know what¡­ Get her, Eve.¡±

    Then, to my pure despair, the black-haired maid entered the royal library in utter silence and moved close to me without, lifting me from my chair as if I weighed nothing and carrying me away while still quiet. I couldn¡¯t even complain since it would be too noisy and I was a little too shocked.

    How do I hate strength-types¡­

    ¡°Now stay quiet and let us leave. Sorry for the mess, Lady Kushana.¡±

    ¡°That was mean, you know?¡± I complained while holding the only book I managed to snag as we left the room. ¡°I¡¯m almost there, I know that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I won¡¯t hear you. All you¡¯ve done since we went ballistic on those nobles is run around pretending to be a badass or training. It¡¯s so bad, Eve¡¯s not even having problems following you anymore¡­¡±

    ¡°I thank you for making my job easier, milady, but it¡¯s unhealthy.¡± The maid carrying me around added without reacting much to my moving around in complaint. ¡°Rest is important too, and Sir Neil also... Huh?¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s something¡­ What to do now?¡±

    Both Elen and Eve stopped mid-sentence, so I forced some movements to see what was happening. It only ended with me as surprised as them, though.

    In front of us was a very short green-haired girl moving in panic. The hero¡¯s party¡¯s shortstack was in front of us and she seemed in panic for a good reason.

    I mean, I would too if I was trying to pull the body of a knight who seemed either fainted or dead and some people appeared. More even considering he had a huge leather bag by his side like a messenger, maybe.

    The weird part was that, even while panicking, she wasn''t saying anything, only moving her arms and hands. Or was she trying to¡­ For real? That¡¯s unusual to see in fantasy... Not that I was in a good position to get it.

    More importantly, this was the first time I managed to get a good look at the little elf, so my usual antics were in effect.

    In a moment, I got notes that this life elf lady (which no one called elf for some reason) was barely 1.5m tall, but was packing more than me. Her hair was green and in a very intricate single-braid style while her eyes were golden-colored with some darker shadow to contrast.

    Nice seeing someone using more than a minimum of makeup here.

    Her clothes were similar to Elen¡¯s, but she wasn''t wearing any armor. Only the huge cloak, a nice-looking vest over a decorated shirt, shorts, long boots, and gloves, all in a muted green complexion with details in grey. And then, a concealed bow and quiver to finish.

    I¡¯ll give her an eight out of ten since so much of her design overlaps with Elen.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    I also heard a few things about her from the redhead maid and the glasses mage, so she was even worse in the overlapping. Bow ranger against dual-wield ranger, you see? The magic seemed to be very different, though, but alas¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, milady. Can you, hmmm¡­ Explain what is happening?¡± Eve tried to say, but before the shortstack could calm down, her eyes went towards me and she froze in confusion. ¡°Ow, I guess it¡¯s better if you go down now, Lady Illia¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say it fits with how messed this situation is actually,¡± Elen said instead while I fixed myself on the floor. ¡°But what do we do here? Not sure if we can understand the situation as is¡­¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯s that? Is this girl mute or something?¡±

    "The answer is maybe or, actually, something close to it at least¡­ Sis would explain it better, but that¡¯s whatever. She¡¯s still trying to say something¡­¡±

    The little girl was pointing at the guard, then at her, and then making other mimic-like moves, but she was a little too hurried for me to get anything from it. I¡¯m also someone who¡¯s terrible at playing guess, so that''s that.

    That is, as long as it wasn¡¯t what I think it was¡­

    ¡°Hey, little elf, stop and look here, please¡­¡± I called her attention and dug into my mind to get the things I knew of sign languages, trying some simple greetings right after.

    And as I thought, she got it. It was weird still¡­ Some sort of ASL for sure, but seemed like a mix of different ones and random mimicking. Some of the signs were straight-up nonsense to me, but I could get enough even if the systems we were using weren''t exactly the same.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s fun¡­ Do elves create sign language here? I mean, what about explaining what¡¯s happening to me, little elf? Or tell me who taught you this, at least.¡±

    ¡®Mom¡¯ and ¡®Hero¡¯, eh? Shouldn''t be Hayato, so... Oh! Now that''s interesting... So that¡¯s it¡­ I guess it makes sense. Now everyone¡¯s looking at me as if I¡¯m weird, though¡­

    ¡°Sign language, is it? I think I heard about it¡­ Always thought was a useless novelty, though.¡± Elen muttered after getting what I was doing. ¡°Too few people know or have a reason to use it. Where did you learn it, Illia?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been around, I guess.¡± I tried to deflect the question while going back to the eld. ¡°But that¡¯s beyond the point¡­ What¡¯s the deal with this, little elf?¡±

    I pointed to the knocked knight carrying a huge leather bag and then watched as the green-haired girl rushed to get me an answer. She was trying to be a little too specific for me, though, so it was too hard to understand¡­ All I got was ¡®messenger¡¯, ¡®accident¡¯, and ¡®important¡¯. Enough to get an idea, but that¡¯s it.

    Better be sure just in case.

    ¡°Hey, Elen, open that bag and see what¡¯s inside. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem if you do it¡­¡± I told the local royal since I wasn¡¯t willing to risk knowing something I shouldn¡¯t. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about the elf, she¡¯s not doing anything wrong.¡±

    I could see her nodding strongly by the side, so it seemed that I got it right. Either that or she was happy not being suspicious anymore.

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Elen answered even though she was still looking confused. ¡°And here I thought this girl being a mess was only sis exaggerating¡­¡±

    ¡°Here¡¯s what was in the messenger¡¯s bag, Your Highness.¡± Eve gave her master a small package but then went back to check on the messenger while the princess started to tear through the package.

    She then stopped glaring at the metallic orb full of runes in her hand.

    ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t like these things¡­ They give me headaches.¡± She then turned to me and tried to give the thing away with some half-baked explanation. ¡°Here, Illia, I¡¯ll give you permission to hear the message¡­ Activate the thing as if it was an artifact and you should do fine. Have fun.¡±

    ¡°This¡­ Fine.¡±

    Messing with royal messages didn¡¯t feel good, but I had no reason to go against Elen. No one around would snitch on me too, probably, so it should be safe.

    Her explanation was very barebones, though. This thing wasn¡¯t an artifact for me to just ¡®know¡¯ how to use it, but worrying wouldn''t do me any good. It wasn''t as if I hadn''t played with some normal magical items too, so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard...

    I was good enough at it to read the spell anyway, so I could wing it. Something like this was much simpler than an artifact by this point. This one seemed to be in line with wind magic, by the way, but I could see earth magic in it too, which gave me an idea of what it would do¡­

    My preference was calling both of these kinetic magic, by the way. The first of the gaseous realm and the second of the solid one, but this much was still a theory of mine.

    Either way, I focused some mana in the orb and called the spell. The mana usage was very low, and by the feeling of it, my guess was right. So, lo and behold, the orb started to vibrate in my hand while making some small noise I got it closer to my ear by reflex, proving my theory fully.

    What a funny way of making a loudspeaker with a very low output, eh? Or calling it a headphone was more fitting? I guess it would ignore the message part like this... Ah, whatever!

    Focus on the message. It was a pressing matter too, so no time to bother with other things. Especially when it was such a huge chance...

    In summary, an incursion from the Republic guys ended with them doing the ultimate Sengoku-anime move and then beating down the people who went against them. Or in more layman''s terms, they built a castle overnight at a terribly well-defended position. They pulled a Sunomata on us!

    How theirs worked was beyond me, but it should be along the same lines. More so, if they were pulling such a daring move, then it was the prelude to something bigger. Something bigger that I could defeat to make my name more well-known.

    The more I heard of it, the more I was sure of such.

    It was enough to make this little elf looking at me expectantly appear as a good luck charm. Should I steal her? I''m lacking in ranged attackers too unless Cal comes, so... I guess I¡¯ll take her for a test drive. Will work well with the new weapon I wanted to test out.

    ¡°Ms. Elf, what¡¯s your name?¡± I asked while returning the message ball to the princess.

    She was surprised for a moment but started to sign some letters right after. I failed to get them all, though.

    It still looked very similar to what I knew, but some things ended up a little too ambiguous. I got enough to pick her first name, at least, so it was fine.

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Lhori.¡± I extended my hand for a handshake, and she stared at it for a moment before picking up what was the idea. ¡°I hope we get along, but for now, I¡¯ll need to conscript you, okay?¡±

    She only stared blankly at me just like the other two girls close by, though.

    None of them heard the message orb, so it was the expected reaction. But since I could explain everything while we moved, I would leave it for later. This was also a good excuse to have them not stop me. Not that Elen seemed willing to let it pass.

    ¡°What about some explanations? Or any at all.¡± She stopped me before I could flee, and by her expression, leaving wasn''t an option.

    ¡°Someone built an overnight castle. The kind of thing everyone is surprised about and talks about for years, so, if I went there and solved the problem¡­ Do you catch it? It¡¯s, like, the perfect chance to show off. If I go there and take the damn thing down, then¡­¡± I tried to explain, but the whole idea seemed too cool, so I was a little too hurried to explain properly. ¡°I was waiting for something of this kind.¡±

    ¡°What a mess¡­¡± Elen complained as she stared at my fidgety self wanting to rush away, but then gave up. ¡°Sigh¡­ What you need, you crazy girl?¡±

    ¡°First, I need little Lhori here. You¡¯re an archer, right? One of the super good ones too or something of the kind.¡± I said, getting a weirded-out reaction from the princess and a blank stare from the girl I was still holding the hand. ¡°And if we could get that mage guy to come along¡­ Nah, that''d be too much. More people would make me look less powerful...¡±

    ¡°Whatever! So, you want to kidnap the forest girl, right? What¡¯s more?¡±

    Lhori was staring at us with a resolute (kinda) expression, but I could see that she wasn¡¯t very sure about this idea. She somehow didn¡¯t seem to be against going, at least, so I could iron out the details later.

    ¡°Carriage, potion box, and alchemic things. Poison and some alchemic fire should do¡­ And powder too, some fireworks to be specific. Oh! And a chair, a nice chair.¡±

    ¡°Why the hell a chair¡­?! You know what, I don¡¯t care. On everything else, are you planning to clear the castle from inside and get the glory or something?¡±

    ¡°Kinda. Not exactly, but I don¡¯t really have a full plan yet¡­ I¡¯ll need to see the place to be sure, but we can manage to take it with what I have¡­ Maybe.¡±

    ¡°Oh? So that¡¯s how it is? Are you sure this¡­ No, it sounds fun enough, so let¡¯s go. Just¡­¡± The princess accepted my sudo-plan but then turned to her maid for a second option. ¡°What do you think of it, Eve? Could we take on a castle?¡±

    ¡°Would be hard without most of the maids or a horde of adventurers skilled in stealth. And it would be expensive either way¡­¡±

    ¡°The answer is ¡®probably not happening¡¯ then? Sounds interesting.¡± Elen smiled in a way that said she was interested but then turned to the elf I had apprehended. ¡°And what about you, do you want to participate in this mess? Not sure if you know this, but this girl here isn¡¯t any demi-god like your hero friend, so it can very well be a crazy impossible mission.¡±

    The elf started to switch her stare between me and the princess before she stopped to think for a moment, which then ended with her nodding a lot. Looks like the first recruit was done.

    ¡°Okay then. Eve goes get a carriage, you get your toys and I¡¯ll rush to the throne room to warn everyone. Got it? Also, if I feel it¡¯s getting too dangerous, we¡¯ll be running away right away.¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± I saluted to the princess¡¯ orders and, for some reason, Lhori imitated me. Heh, she¡¯s fun.

    ¡°Then we meet in a while. Moving on, everyone!¡±

 Against the One-Night Castle

    ¡°Welcome to Prourene, gentleman!¡±

    ¡°They can¡¯t hear you, milady¡­¡± Eve commented as I threw some quotes in commemoration of the first gliding bomb of this world. ¡°But your plan seems to be working for sure.¡±

    We were at the small descending hills between the frontier citadel I only glanced at and the now famed one-night castle. Something like some five or so kilometers away from our base and some less than that from the fort. Just enough to keep it at the limit of the horizon and to keep us in sight of our allies.

    This place was an open area covered fully in rivers, farmlands, and small hills, by the way. It was also an area enclosed by a whole wall of mountains, especially when moving closer to the citadel. If I were to describe it, then I¡¯d say this place was almost like a bowl.

    So, inside this bowl of mountains was where I set my decorated chair and started the little workshop of firework arrows. Perfect in sight, and drawing all the attention I could.

    If you asked me, this place could very well be a perfect place for an open-field battle while also, with the right positioning, being a superb defensive position. Something both sides had learned in different situations considering how the citadel on my back was still standing strong, and the fact the small fort managed to fight off the garrison of said citadel.

    Either way, the fort at the river''s crossroads was pretty much what I was expecting.

    Some tens of meters of wooden palisades with some watchtowers spread around. Looked like a huge work to make fast, but magic likely made the job easier. I could see it helping a lot when you''re moving pre-built walls, even if they probably moved those through the river.

    Having magic also clearly made the fort more impressive than it would otherwise. Multi-layered earthworks below and around the wooden palisades to be specific.

    A real lot of fortification for something that wasn''t there one day prior.

    The place could likely even take a couple of cannon shots if people used these here. Mages could do the same with less, so only the people inside the fort could have some of those. But in more pressing matters for them, their fort was currently on fire, so fortifications wouldn¡¯t help much.

    ¡°Hells, they¡¯re on flames already¡­ Alchemic fire is a hellish fun weapon.¡± Elen nodded from over the carriage where she was sitting. ¡°And you got it right in three tries only.¡±

    Not only a part of the wooden fort was in flames, but random patches of the hills between them and us were too. Two patches, to be exact.

    Getting the aim right with my little toy was a little hard, but alas. It was more to force them outside anyway, either that or having the fires spread more than they could control. Which was why I had other arrows ready to go.

    ¡°Was easier than expected, but we''re only starting,¡± I said while downing another bottle of the blue liquid that was almost part of my daily diet by now. ¡°Can you keep going, Lhori?¡±

    The little elf who came due to peer pressure nodded strongly while already holding another one of my bootleg glider bombs. She would call them the most useless arrows in existence if it wasn¡¯t for my boots¡¯ magic, though.

    One arrow with a whole firework rocket (the kind that sizzles but won¡¯t explode) strapped to the tip would never fire well. And with a bottle of alchemic fire roped to it with some string, the thing¡¯s aerodynamics was horrible.

    Something like this wasn''t expected to do more than instantly fall to the ground. It only worked because I could ''make it float''.

    The exact workings were a little too much to guess, but that didn''t matter. All I had to do was hold the arrow so the boots would consider them as part of my ''equipment'' and then I could make them ''feel lighter''. And since something super light would glide even if the aerodynamics were horrible¡­

    Having this green-haired elf fire the damn thing also added a lot of range to it. She could, without any trick, shoot half a kilometer away from what I saw when I asked to see it earlier, so the gliding could add a lot to it. It was the same range as the mages with the biggest ranges around (the three movement-based ones known as air, water, and earth).

    All in all, a good pairing for this situation, even if an odd one.

    ¡°Next shot! Try to get it a little further inside the fort this time.¡± I exclaimed as I held the arrow and focused on creating the weight reduction spell before lighting the rocket at the tip. It was getting me tired at a horribly high speed, but I passed the arrow to my archer and moved on.

    Without thinking much about it, the little elf took the projectile and fired it at a high angle almost right away. Having us watch as the speeding projectile started to shine and sped up even more.

    My eyes didn¡¯t stay on it too long, though. I lacked that good of an eyesight, but it was irrelevant. I could manage another arrow before having to go for my fourth mana potion, so I wanted to fire this one and then leave.

    ¡°The next one now. They should be taking us seriously now, so we¡¯re on a timer¡­¡±

    I gave the arrow and turned to my spyglass while hearing Lhori fire it. It seemed to be working as I could see hurried figures trying to kill the spreading magical fire, but that was it.

    Worrying, if I had to say so.

    They had to leave the fort, be it to fight us or to retreat. That was the best answer, and still, I couldn¡¯t see signs of such.

    ¡°A little of a bummer we won¡¯t fight them.¡± Elen laid down on the roof of the carriage again with a sigh. ¡°I hoped they would rush us¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better if it stays as is, Your Highness. No reason to risk ourselves¡­¡± Eve gave me another mana potion, but I didn¡¯t take it this time.

    I was starting to feel ill by now, so it could be bad¡­ I guess three is my limit for now, though I noticed that I was getting better at using magic.

    The worry was here still.

    Someone daring enough to build a castle so close to their enemy (it was less than half the distance from my world¡¯s version) shouldn¡¯t be this slow in reacting. I even thought they would start moving before the first shot managed to land. Guessing what I wanted to do wasn''t hard after the second miss...

    Only if they were underestimating us a lot until now or if they never planned to hold this fort would make sense to not react. Very weird.

    ¡°Looks like enough for today... Let¡¯s retreat everyone.¡± I called out and started to get up from my chair. ¡°Pack everything and let us¡­¡±

    I stopped talking for a moment. Not because someone interrupted me or because I saw something, but only because I felt a tingling on my cheek and fell back to my chair. Only after my eyes focused away from the knife stuck in the cushions of the chair that I turned to the real surprise.

    A single guy in very light armor walking outside of the closest river with a group of musketeers following him.

    They swan here? No¡­ Eve or Elen would¡¯ve noticed it. Hell, I would¡¯ve noticed it! Probably. And the guns... How would they¡­? Oh?! That¡¯s a neat way of using water magic... Or is it air? Yes, seems to be air.

    Goddammit! I should''ve considered magic...

    My thoughts rushed in a second as I watched the moving soldiers walking closer to us than I¡¯d like to. It even took me a moment to notice how the water around them was always some centimeters away from their bodies. Only after doing so that my thoughts focus enough to notice that they were only surrounding us for some reason.

    Twenty or so soldiers with small muskets and/or swords with a single odd-one-out being their leader. His looks and equipment were way too different, almost as if he wasn''t part of the same army.

    An average-sized guy, not very muscular and rocking a scoundrel look with light armor similar to the others. He only seemed to have knives, though. Very tropey bandit or mercenary villain, but he was quite good-looking still. I was starting to get confused about why this world was so lacking in ugly people¡­ Not that I would ever complain about it.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    He was also carrying a very cool-looking shortsword by his side. A purple and red blade with black lines that looked like veins. I could even bet it was a cursed weapon! I kinda wanted it for me¡­

    Anyways, back to the person threatening me and to me not running in a panic right away.

    ¡°You seem to be a lucky lady, I¡¯m not someone who misses like this.¡± The rough blonde guy spoke up in a voice that fits well with his rowdy mercenary outlook. ¡°But anyway, I recommend surrendering now. Your four seem like worthwhile hostages¡­¡±

    ¡°Surrender, is it?¡± I spoke with my patented bad bitch tone while pretending to not feel a thing about the situation. ¡°Why would I? You were the one who came to the obvious trap, right?¡±

    ¡°Hahahah! I know how you nobles are, but you¡¯re taking it a little too far, aren¡¯t you? Or are you delusional enough to think two guards and a maid are enough to call this a trap?¡± He continued while still focused only on me, though it wasn¡¯t that much of an advantage considering he had so many people to focus on everyone else. ¡°To be honest, I suspected it was a trap, so we scouted around beforehand. It gave you the time to attack my new castle, but I''ll have your country pay a good deal for you later, so it''s fine¡­¡±

    I guess he¡¯s not dumb, at least. But considering he didn¡¯t notice that I was walking around with the princess, it seems he¡¯s not some hyper-prepared character either.

    A good chance of getting my fame up, I say.

    ¡°It seems you don¡¯t know me, right? I mean, not surprising since I¡¯m more of staying back and letting my big friend do the hard work, but alas.¡± I kept putting on airs to keep his attention outside of my shuffling on the chair and the nearby items. ¡°Since we¡¯re at it, though, I¡¯ll present myself as a courtesy¡­ The name is Illia di Supria, Duchess of Supria and hero of Prourene. Nice to meet you.¡±

    The area got silent right after I finished my words somehow. No one, even the people on my side, reacted to it. It was a little sad even¡­ At least they were too focused on my face to see what I was doing on the side.

    ¡°Pft! Hahahahahah! Damn¡­ You¡¯re for real, girl?!¡± The mercenary leader focused on hurting my feelings and started to laugh after digesting my words. ¡°I mean, okay, let¡¯s say you¡¯re a ¡®hero¡¯ like that guy¡­ Aren¡¯t you a little too weak-looking? Even with this weird long-range trick of yours, is that all you can do? Were heroes always this sneaky? The last one I met was all about attacking head-on.¡±

    Oh? Now that¡¯s interesting. Better try and get this one alive¡­ Would be my plan if the main plan wasn¡¯t running away right now.

    ¡°Not trusting me, eh? Fair, I¡¯d say. I¡¯m more of a support type if you ask me, but that¡¯s why I have bodyguards, you see? All I have to do is command them from afar and that¡¯s enough¡­ I''m not dumb enough to attract an army without being ready for it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Even if that was true, it¡¯s four against twenty.¡± He wearily answered me as I slowly got up from my chair, but it seemed he got what my initial plan was. ¡°And I¡¯m sure we can take you all before the knights from that city reach us.¡±

    Oh? Did he notice that? I guess wasting time talking won¡¯t work too well then. Some four minutes should be doable still¡­ Buying time was my specialty already.

    ¡°No, no, don¡¯t get weary now. We¡¯re yet to start, right? We still need to¡­ Woah!¡± And then I tripped down halfway through my words, falling over my ¡®luggage¡¯ and turning the tension into dead silence. It didn''t stay so as the enemy leader, and even some of his soldiers, started to chuckle soon after, but it was planned this time.

    Shock was much easier to cause when the other side thought you were too pathetic to do anything. Something that filled the enemy soldiers as a barrage of fireworks came from where I fell and made the startled soldiers fire randomly, worsening the situation further.

    I could even bet some of the ones still in the river got half-covered in water as they lost focus in their spells. A good distraction and a good signal if you asked me, even if it cost all my supply of fireworks.

    My focus was now on moving away from this position.

    So, I brought one illusion to beat and started to rush to below the carriage, where I could look around in safety for a bit. It was also where I noticed the holes in the ground close to where I was a few moments ago. However, this was something I was better off ignoring right now as I tried to get the current situation sorted.

    Both Elen and Eve were already engaged, managing to cross the less than a hundred meters between us and the main group of enemies almost right away. There were others around us, and they were already reloading their guns, but I hoped they could deal with them. How they already had bodies flying or straight-up bissected around seemed to hint so too.

    Lhori was in a little of a different situation, though.

    I could see her dodging away and firing some arrows, but no one she could aim at was down even after a few shots. The most I saw were some weapons getting thrown away from their owners. And while she didn''t seem keen on fixing her aim, her eyes were always jumping to the blonde rogue hunting me, though she seemed focused on his weapon alone.

    The little elf was very focused on the sword and seemed angry at it, even. Nor hard to read the situation then...

    Very troublesome, everything here, but I could use it all.

    I''d need to leave my hiding spot for it, though...

    ¡°Hey, little one, this won¡¯t work!¡± I shouted to the shortstack as I took off from my hiding spot while making a bunch of signs. ¡°Stay close.¡±

    Her eyes were slitted and I could feel more anger than I expected someone this small to have, but she nodded either way. I was drawing too much attention to be sure if she got me, though. I already had a mercenary rushing towards me even...

    ¡°You damn¡­¡± The enemy leader scowled before whistling and then charging at me, disengaging from the princess in the process. ¡°Calm down and surround them! And get that girl alive.¡±

    Elen seemed to want to pursue, but the guy''s orders called more soldiers toward her position and she was forced back. The whistle seemed to be some sort of signal too as, maybe by sheer luck, I felt some eyes on my back and jumped away right as new shots rang in the field.

    From where exactly they came, I wasn''t sure, but there were more musketeers around. At least the two engaged in melee seemed to be safe from the long-range attacks.

    I could spy Elen jumping around throwing daggers and exchanging blows while trying to not be surrounded by the ten or so enemies around her. Close by, some others already had Eve surrounded, but their attacks, even when they hit, didn¡¯t seem to slow down the maid at all. They both were mowing through enemies from what I saw, but they were stuck there.

    Not good for me as I kept dodging in a rush as the guy almost too close for my liking started to throw knives at me. And then, right as I tried to recover from dodging these, he reached me without much effort. His movements were weirdly fast this one time too.

    ¡°Time to surrender, Ms. Hero!¡± The mercenary leader swung his weird blade (the one probably cursed), which I forced myself to parry. Even if it was a hurried parry, though, it didn''t get my arm numb at all. It didn¡¯t feel as it should, though, so I felt I had a chance at winning this one.

    So, feeling my winning chances rising, I performed the best thrust I could right as the mercenary''s off-hand moved away from his pocket. As I felt the impact on his arm and a little bit of misaimed sand touching my hair, I even managed to get a small smile going.

    My strike did way less damage than I imagined, but I still managed to get a small hole in the guy''s arm. Even though I could see it wasn''t a crippling hit, it was a hit still. Not that the other side seemed to care about it as he continued to move forward and attack with his short sword.

    His fast combo wasn''t enough to make me not notice the growing magical circle in his free hand, though. So, I timed it with my intuition and raised a barrier right as a mass of much got flung from the ground towards me.

    Some bits still got in my clothes, but it didn''t affect my fighting at all. Getting us dirty wasn''t an advantage to anyone, but it got me a decent opening. One I lunged at right away again, and even with my lackluster swordsmanship, managed to get a shallow cut on the charlatan''s legs as he rolled away.

    ¡°Nice tricks, you have. Are they all this obvious, though?¡± I taunted as my confidence rose up in answer to getting two barely noticeable hits and to how he seemed to flinch at my remark. How he did not seem to be angry at all was weird, but my guess was that I could win.

    I pressed the attack then.

    I had to dodge and retreat whenever I felt one of the hidden soldiers aiming at me, which was very rare somehow, but I could keep up with this guy. Even with a weird feeling in the back of my head, I could see that I was somewhat in the advantage here. He wasn''t that much faster than me, and I was sure he was weaker overall, so even with a weapon like mine, getting the advantage was doable. Maybe I wouldn''t even need Lhori in the end.

    I was getting confident, which only worsened the hit when I noticed the water on my back and how far from the carriage I was when I managed to get some distance between us both.

    ¡°Something wrong, Ms. Hero?¡±

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± I clicked my tongue as the noise of splashing water got to my ear and I hurried to duck and raise a barrier on my back.

    Most bullets ricochetted on the magical circle but I still felt a pang on my leg and down my belly. And that was without even counting the dagger that came soon after.

    That was a lot, but I could still move a little, and the smirking mercenary even gave me enough time to dash. A dash that barely got me away from him and the river before I lost balance and fell, but the panic didn''t let me notice this much right away.

    I messed up. My guess was that he wasn¡¯t even trying before. It was more to bring me to a trap than anything, likely because he wanted to capture me, and I fell for it. But I could still turn this mess around¡­

    It was hurting, though. Hurting a lot. Didn¡¯t feel good at all. And seeing the bastard who got me smiling and walking towards me as I crouched a few meters away from the riverside only made it worse.

    You''ll see, you damn... Just lemme recover a little...

    ¡°I told you to surrender, didn¡¯t I?¡± He mocked me as he closed in without a care. Even with the fact he was losing in most areas, it didn''t seem this guy was worried, and for a good reason. ¡°I expected a little more, though.¡±

    If I could buy some extra time, at least... Fighting wounded is real hard, you see?

    But hard is not impossible.

    In a sudden motion that, although very hurtful, wasn''t the most insane thing I ever did, I rushed to my feet and threw the one bottle on my belt... And even with the surprise, the dammed mercenary simply held it in the air and started to laugh.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°I had to try¡­¡± I lost strength in my legs and fell back to my butt with a fake smile on my face.

    ¡°Fair. I was expecting to have a real fight again, but whatever¡­ I knew bringing my guys would''ve been too much for this job.¡± He sighed while still holding the corked bottle in his hand. ¡°Can you surrender now?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ Not much more I can do.¡± I sluggishly got up with my hands up but then pointed to the bottle in his hands. ¡°But what about ¡®no¡¯?¡±

    And so, before either of us could react further, an arrow struck the glowing orange flask and both of our lines of sight got engulfed in flames.

    It was a little too close to me, but that was fine, I had a way to cut the heat. Even though one of my arms was actually on fire, I could take it for a while. Didn''t work on everything, of course, but I wasn''t feeling that much by now. My consciousness was leaving too, so there was that.

    The image of a flaming person running to the river while his soldiers panicked under the sound of approaching cavalry still made me smirk a little as I fainted¡­

 Aftermach

    ¡°Pushing so far is very unhealthy, you will drain your body on both sides.¡±

    ¡°This again? Goddammit¡­¡± I complained as the annoying voice in the darkness called me out in a preaching tone. Having no way to interact with it, but being forced to hear was such a pain... Until it wasn''t.

    ¡°I sadly cannot damn anything from here.¡± She answered off-handedly, seemingly not noticing such.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°What what?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re answering me, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°That is¡­? That is true! It finally went through! That is wonderful.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is!¡± I commemorated together with the goddess (or something of the like) using an annoying voice, before getting serious with it. ¡°Now give me my cheats.¡±

    ¡°Your what?¡±

    ¡°Stats, screens, skills, levels, all that overpowered nonsense, gimme that. I don''t care about making sense, I want the easy mode here.¡±

    ¡°I do not understand¡­¡±

    ¡°Tch! And I was sure Mr. Hero had something of the kind¡­¡± I clicked my tongue at what I thought was a goddess and only then noticed that this could be a problem. ¡°I mean, what do you want to tell me so much if it''s not about cheats?¡±

    ¡°Oh! Yes, telling you was why I came¡­ Do hear me, you are on the right path, but you are wrong about your magic. More so, draining your body with ancient spells like this before fixing your summoning or your awakening is¡­¡± The voice trailed off as the time limit of the dream finally came to an end exactly before I could get something from it.

    ¡°Sigh¡­ You took too long¡­ My fault this time.¡±

    Then I started to wake up while hearing complaining noises that seemed to go farther and farther away.

    I still had no idea why she was using this voice or why she would only appear when I slept or got knocked off, but that was okay for now. I mean, it¡¯d be better if she told me what the point of this mess was, but she at least gave me a tip.

    That was for later, though. I now had a horribly aching body to deal with as I tried to look around what seemed to be a bedroom. I also could feel that my hand, the one that got burned, wasn''t moving very well. Another thing to worry about...

    Anyways, the windows were shut and there was little light around, so I could see very little before someone lit the room up. And that was when I noticed Elen waiting by my side.

    ¡°Where am¡­?¡±

    ¡°I took over the local lord¡¯s bedroom to have you treated quietly,¡± Elen spoke by the side of the bed while sharpening her blades. ¡°We had to take your clothes off and clear you up, still. Sorry about that¡­ I know you don¡¯t like to be seen, and I kind of saw why... At least the new wounds didn¡¯t leave any scars. You''re very resistant.¡±

    It was a known fact that I wouldn¡¯t let anyone inside my room while changing and that I always got my set ready by myself, so that was that. The thought that they saw me without proper make-up made me sick still, but there was little I could do now. At least, it didn¡¯t seem like she was willing to ask about what she likely saw, so that was fine.

    ¡°Thanks. Just¡­ Don¡¯t ask anything.¡± I muttered the best I could while still trying to get my head in place and go to another subject. ¡°How things went after I got down?¡±

    ¡°The fort is still on fire, but the soldiers left. If they weren¡¯t so organized when retreating, or if the knights weren¡¯t so hurried, we could¡¯ve done more...¡±

    ¡°They did capture some supplies as the enemies fled, at least. But I think the way the enemies moved when fleeing had more to do with why we couldn¡¯t rout them.¡± Eve added as she entered the room with some bowls and a small basket in hand. ¡°Here¡¯s some food, milady.¡±

    ¡°Is this late already?¡± I asked after taking the good-looking cream soup and a loaf of white bread. We left the castle almost in time for dinner (which was lunchtime for me), and this one was too simple for it to still be the same meal.

    ¡°You got out for most of the afternoon. Both potions and healing magic weren''t doing much, so we got worried¡­ Just a little, of course. But then everything started working and you healed even faster.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness was almost rushing to the capital to drag the cardinal here¡­ But I knew you would be fine.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and eat your food, Eve!¡± Elen hissed at her maid, getting a small bow in answer as the dark-haired girl moved to a chair in the corner. ¡°She¡¯s exaggerating, okay? I was sure you were fine¡­ It was only a little weird how the effects seemed muted. It was almost the opposite of how you deal with mana potions¡­¡±

    That¡¯s interesting, both the new information and seeing that she got that worried about me, even made me smile a little. I still had to fix my make-up and clothes, but I guess I could wait a little bit and eat my supper first.

    My body was hurting too much for me to try and do something more complicated anyway. I guess pushing that hard on mana and then getting heavily wounded had its drawbacks... In fact, even eating was harder than usual. My right hand wasn¡¯t very responsive at the moment and the left one was numb.

    Was it something related to the mana potions or to the wound, though? I¡¯d have to look it up later to be sure. But for now¡­

    ¡°So¡­¡± I called out while fighting against my spoon and the soup. ¡°How bad is the situation?¡±

    ¡°How bad?¡± Elen asked and even the dark-haired maid cocked her head in confusion.

    ¡°Yes. I got my ass kicked¡­ Quite sure the whole ¡®pretend to be the hero¡¯ plan failed this time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very sure it¡¯s the opposite, isn¡¯t it, Eve?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness. Both the servants and the local peasants were set to talk about it already, and we have criers spreading the news already.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait! What did you do?!¡±

    ¡°I had the official criers and some kids paid to spread the news, milady. It¡¯s the simplest method of spreading information inside a city.¡± Eve explained as if it was no more than standard procedure for her. ¡°I thought you were aware of these techniques¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, with all the skullduggery and swindling, you seemed like someone who would do this kind of thing.¡±

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    ¡°Well, yes, I just didn¡¯t think of using them¡­ Lying like this won¡¯t help. It¡¯s too far from reality to what I need.¡± My mumblings seemed to bother Elen since she got up and closed in on me very hard as if I was saying nonsense.

    ¡°You did take the castle like you said you would, and by the time the knights got there, we had some twenty enemies down. What exactly do you think is wrong with saying you are the hero who destroyed the ¡®one-night castle¡¯? We even managed to give it a nice-looking name.¡± The ranger princess continued as if it was obvious. ¡°We did some work on it, of course, but all¡¯s on you, you know? How exactly would someone not see that?

    That was¡­ Right? It sounded right. But it shouldn¡¯t be¡­ Should it? I mean, I lost, almost. It was only a trick that kept me alive in that fight... How could I lose and still win?

    What a mess¡­

    Better not think about it.

    If it worked, then it worked, I guess. Nothing more, nothing less.

    ¡°Well, it looks like being a hero is a little easier than I thought.¡±

    ¡°Have you noticed that you destroyed a whole fort but also almost died in the process? How exactly is that ¡®easy¡¯, you dimwit?!¡±

    Oh? It was a joke, you know? No reason to get so angry¡­ I¡¯ll change subjects again.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Fair, actually... But¡­ Oh! What about the little elf? Where¡¯s she? I have to thank her.¡± I forced my way out of the talk while getting a spoonful of the creamy yellowish soup that, by my guess, was based on chicken and onions (or this world¡¯s version of them).

    The taste was somewhat similar to what I knew, but this one was much worse than what I had at the palace. Was it about the ingredients or about the chef? Who knows¡­

    Made me think again of how farm animals looked in this place.

    I¡¯m losing focus again, aren¡¯t I? Back to the talk.

    ¡°The archer¡­? Any idea where¡¯s she, Eve? Last time I saw her, we were yet to return to the city.¡± Elen answered as she munched on the after drenching it in the soup. ¡°And you got any wine?¡±

    ¡°She is inside the castle for sure, but I haven¡¯t seen her since we finished treating Lady Illia. Lady Lhoris looked a little out of sorts when I saw her too¡­ Many mages came from the capital, so she may be with them. I even saw Sir Calixto moving around earlier.¡± The maid answered, and while she did so, she moved her food to a table nearby and started to shuffle her dress until a small canteen appeared. ¡°What they have here won¡¯t be to your taste, Your Highness, unless you''re willing to try the so-called ''high-class'' goods. I still have some of the cider we got a few nights ago here, though...¡±

    ¡°Pass it here. I''m not drinking those stupid things that taste like alcohol and nothing more...¡±

    ¡°Out of sorts, eh? Maybe she¡¯s¡­ And with the mage here too¡­¡± I wondered as the canteen moved from one side of the room to the other, but I¡¯d need to find her to be sure. Would be a good way to thank her for helping with my plan earlier too.

    As I was thinking about it, though, the noises from outside finally got my attention.

    They looked like some cheers, which gave me a good idea of what was happening. I guess having the weird one-night castle destroyed was enough for some commemoration.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for a party person.¡± The small remark came from my side as the princess noticed me looking out the window and the noise from outside. ¡°If you¡¯re good enough to move, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem with making an appearance there. I¡¯m sure everyone would be interested in the maniacs who burned that thing¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a tasteless way to put it, even if true¡­¡± I shrugged with a small smile but closed it fast to get my head on how to better use it. ¡°I¡¯m not fond of parties, but I should get out there still. Looking impressive is part of the job here¡­ Even if wounded.¡±

    ¡°The story is that you¡¯re unused to using magic and went too hard on it. Most knights only saw you fainted, and Your Highness was kept under control. Only the lord saw the reality, but we ¡®asked¡¯ him to stay quiet.¡±

    ¡°No one needed to be kept under control, okay?! But you can keep playing your tricks, even if I¡¯m seeing less and less reason to¡­¡±

    She was trying to hint something here, but it wasn¡¯t something I was willing to hear. Hell, even if I somehow had power on the same level as that sleeping dumbass, I¡¯d still stay away from taking his place. I wouldn¡¯t be throwing away my newly gotten role in exchange for something bigger that I couldn¡¯t keep. And more, I¡¯m no hero and never will be. Trying to be one would only bring disaster.

    ¡°No rest for the wicked, I guess¡­¡± I gave up on the spoon I couldn¡¯t hold that well and went to the uncouth way of consuming soup, dealing with the bowl in a few seconds at the cost of amusing Elen to a huge extent. ¡°I¡¯ll find Lhori first. See you two after that¡­ I need a moment to get ready, okay?¡±

    They seemed to take the hint as I slowly got up and made sure I could stay up without a problem, which was hard, but good enough. As long as I didn¡¯t start running or spend too long, all should be fine.

    I¡¯ll need a day or two of rest after this¡­

    ¡°We¡¯ll be around then. Maybe at the good party. Good luck dealing with the boring one¡­¡± Elen spoke with a small hint of worry in her eyes, but this much vanished as she got up and killed her soup as I showed earlier.

    After that, even if not willingly, the two left the room as I went to the dresser in the room to take a look in the mirror, and my situation wasn''t good. Make-up either not there or blurred, minimalist clothes that showed things I didn''t want to, and the waning remains of my hairdo mostly done for. Even my upkeeping and liberal use of magic wouldn''t save the drills now... I guess it was time to accept I could only keep a simpler hairstyle here without professional help.

    At least my armor and clothes were, mostly, folded on a corner of the bed. Some pieces were missing for obvious reasons, but I could manage something with these and a little work. Part of my luggage was still around anyway.

    Very good that Eve and Elen understood me enough to leave these around.

    Some extra clothes and a minimal amount of make-up later (and almost an hour of work), and I could finally move out and stop bothering with something like myself.

    Walking through the smallish castle of this frontier city was much easier than the royal palace. The size was too different, for one, so it was only a matter of guessing the right location. Or even better, as lucky as it was, it ended as a matter of roaming until I got to the main hall and the small group of nobles and knights there. They seemed to be commemorating like the group making noise outside, but theirs was more in a ball-like way.

    It was a very small ball, though, not that it would be less troublesome.

    ¡°Hey, Cal, give me a word here, please,¡± I called the handsome mage from the middle of his group, trying to keep a low profile and then watching as he took a spook, noticed me, apologized to the others, and finally moved closer. ¡°Any reason you¡¯re here?¡±

    ¡°Lady Illia¡­¡± He first made a curtsy while ignoring my question as he approached more and started to whisper. ¡°It seems Father heard of you managing to figure out silver magic, so he was frantic in looking for you. Taking the chance to ¡®reinforce¡¯ the frontier since you were here was probably his excuse to drag me and a group of mages to you.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± I mumbled again while still parading close to the supposed backup the little elf called. ¡°Is he around?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he is at the lord¡¯s office, negotiating his support or something political of the kind. His plan was more about finding you, still.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t wanna deal with him¡­ Have you seen Lhori around? I have to talk with her.¡±

    ¡°I saw her for a moment when we arrived, yes. She came to ¡®talk¡¯ with me with a small letter asking to take over helping you¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure of what was happening, but she seemed down.¡± He answered before going into a somewhat depressed expression. ¡°Sadly, I don¡¯t have a way of talking with her¡­¡±

    ¡°Makes sense. But if it¡¯s this bad¡­ How young is that girl? And more than that, is she used to fighting?¡±

    ¡°No idea. On both. She acts very young and is a competent fighter, but it¡¯s hard to be sure with her people¡­ More so, she can¡¯t talk. All I know is that Lady Lhori is sometimes a little too na?ve, and not very fond of hunting. We even had to save her the first time we met because she refused to dispatch some robbers.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the worst option, but that¡¯s that¡­¡± I mumbled as I noticed the fact my actions could¡¯ve caused someone to be traumatized. People burning wasn¡¯t something you¡¯d like to see, right? I better go and fix this¡­ ¡°Any idea of places that girl likes to be close by?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I get it¡­ Princess Valiria or Sir Hayato would know better, but she spent most of her time in the groove back at the palace, I believe.¡±

    ¡°This place has any gardens then?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a little¡­¡± He spoke up in a somewhat unsure tone as I also got that asking the guy who just came for information was a little too much. ¡°Can you explain to me what¡¯s happening, please?¡±

    Explaining everything to him seemed reasonable, but more people were noticing my existence in the room. A little more and they would figure out who I was and start hounding around, and that would be a pain.

    Dealing with this mess wasn¡¯t for me right now, or any other time, so I¡¯d leave the explanations for after my talk with Lhori.

    ¡°Not now. Deal with the nobles for me, okay? After that, we can talk. Elen should be somewhere with the soldiers outside if you need her¡­¡±

    I then disengaged from the confused dark-haired guy and started to skulk outside the hall again, only stopping to scare off a maid and ask her if there were any gardens or groves around. Something that got me a surprising answer¡­

 Interlude: An Unusual Hero

    ¡°Sir! Those people¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, soldier,¡± I told the young knight running to me after I saw off the supposed hero and her entourage. ¡°I¡¯m unsure if they¡¯re insane or if they have a plan, but we can¡¯t stop them. That group has too much backing for rank-and-file like us¡­¡±

    Calling myself, the oldest knight in service of Baron Christophen, rank-and-file stung. I was even comparing myself to some unknown aristocrat playing knight by my side, but that is the truth in this situation.

    Just the symbol in their carriage was enough to overrule anyone in this frontier citadel. Worse even, now I had to get my boys ready to interfere if their little ¡®expedition¡¯ went wrong, or I would be the one paying for it too¡­

    If at least I hadn¡¯t failed on the same skirmish I fought dozens of times¡­ The only thing that changed was a puny wooden fort, and it still was enough to take me. And that was without even mentioning the true attack that was sure to arrive soon. That ¡®one-night castle¡¯ was only a staging base, no matter what.

    A royal around would be good to raise morale if anything. That is, as long as they weren¡¯t more trouble than it was worth. If instead of a vague order from my lord and some walking trouble they had brought actual reinforcements...

    Better hope the rumors were more than the truth.

    ¡°But I won¡¯t risk my career to be sure.¡±

    ¡°Sir?¡± The rookie asked as I sighed, so I waved the boy away to start our preparations instead.

    ¡°You¡¯re off watch duty, soldier. Go to the barracks and get everyone who can still move to mount a horse. We may need to charge that fort again today¡­¡±

    I could see the surprise, and fear, on the knight¡¯s face as he probably was involved in my failed attempt. How the fort appeared at the Triple Crossing from nowhere got everyone surprised and I hurried too much there, so it was far. Still, he obeyed his orders dutifully and moved on.

    Next, I turned back to the walls and started to climb the gate tower to keep watch myself.

    If things went wrong, we would need to react fast, and in the condition my men were in, they could make mistakes. Timing was of the essence here, and I could move out in seconds if needed. I only had to get a new spyglass now that mine was taken by the blondie...

    Not that hard to do, but still a pain, and it still left one of the sentries without much more than his eyes to work with. He was but a city guard and wouldn¡¯t need to rush away, so it was somewhat fine. Being ready to deploy the knights was more important.

    So, while ignoring the troubled sentry trying his best, I started my watch while soldiers started to move down below.

    Some minutes of observing gave me the worst possible revelation, though.

    Instead of some scouting party or a very powerful mage going for a frontal assault, all the little group did was stop halfway between us and the fort. They stopped there as if it was a lady''s outing. An outing after ordering every single knight in the garrison to wait, moving only if we saw enemies coming.

    Where she was, it would be easier for us to help, of course, but being this far away would be a weak provocation to the enemy if anything at all. They wouldn¡¯t even bother to keep an eye on her.

    It was so useless, I wasn¡¯t surprised when her maid got a decorated chair from the inside of the carriage and deployed it on the ground. The other three then started to unload boxes and weird packages all the while the pompous blonde waited on her chair. She even started to snack while there¡­

    Some other things happened, but they were too far from me to see the details. The most I could get was that the forest girl was holding a bow while the noble-looking one did something to her arrows. I could even see a faint glow of magic there, but that was all useless.

    Firing spells and arrows from this far away was just dumb.

    This whole mess was going to be the greatest annoyance in my whole life. Or was it what I thought during the minutes before the first explosion happened on the hills around Frercross.

    More even, after two patches of firing fields were made, a third explosion happened directly at the enemy fort. It was an attack with kilometers of range from what I could see. Something more than impossible.

    All I knew at that point was: if that was her magic, be it hers or of that forest girl, then she should¡¯ve told us beforehand!

    And even before I could process the implications of having someone that could do so, I was already rushing down. Even if unsure if the girl herself noticed this fact, I had to go now.

    The brat at that fort wouldn''t stay quiet anymore.

    *****

    In a few words: it was too much.

    By the time my knights reached the ¡®picnic area¡¯ the unusual heroine set, two dozen enemies were already dead. The blonde herself seemed to be either fainted or wounded, being treated by her attendants right now, but the results were way too much.

    More so, she seemed to have defeated the enemy commander while at it, the same weird general who was most of the reason I failed earlier. In a handedly way too.

    We wouldn¡¯t be able to run down most of the enemy force as I could already see their organized retreat using the rivers, but that was minor.

    The daring ¡®one-night castle¡¯ was down.

    It went down by a group of four girls in their leisure time. They would lose supplies and their staging area now, so even if it wasn''t a massive hit for the Republic, it was a huge loss if they planned to campaign. And their oh-so-important senate would take a hit too.

    ¡°Ma¡¯ams! Can I offer to hurry the wounded lady back to the citadel?¡± I asked with some newfound respect for the pompous hero and her entourage. ¡°I¡¯m sure my lord will give her the best treatment he can offer.¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°Fuck off. We¡¯re dealing with it.¡± The one in the hero¡¯s group that I marked as the most troublesome answered me in a very authoritarian, and honestly, somewhat threatening tone. More so, it was the most disrespectful anyone was with me ever since my training days.

    She seemed very angry, too much even. Enough to assure me I shouldn¡¯t stay close to her. Someone who wouldn¡¯t be against dispatching people in their sleep shouldn¡¯t be ever trifled with, especially if they were royalty.

    Her outburst got me surprise, though, so I couldn¡¯t react as the maid in a bloodied dress nodded to the rogue princess and rushed away to their horses. She left right away, leaving the carriage with a single horse that the princess started to load with the remaining items thrown around.

    Nobles¡­ You can''t understand them.

    Knowing when to keep your head down was also an important skill for a commander. And there were few situations when it was truer than when dealing with any royal other than the royal couple and their oldest daughter.

    ¡°Better stay down and go clear this up¡­¡±

    I turned my horse to the fortress in flames and rushed towards my soldiers.

    *****

    Luckily or not, all went as expected. The fight ended as a clear victory for us with little to no engagements the enemies fled. A huge strike for sure, nothing crippling, but a huge hit still. It was enough to get everyone in high spirits as we returned. Even those who weren¡¯t involved in the fight.

    From the horsemen coming back with me to the garrison waiting at the wall and the people bundled around the streets as we returned. It was almost as if we had won the biggest battle of them all.

    I couldn¡¯t understand how it happened, but as we moved back to the barracks, the truth behind this situation became clearer.

    Or to be more specific, I heard shouts of ¡®breaking news¡¯ as we moved and noticed the kids spread through the city moving as if they were all criers. They were more numerous than the official criers too, not that the real ones weren''t saying the same.

    It was too soon for it, tough. That is unless someone fed them the information before it was all done. Was it something to do with the heroine again?

    How many soldiers came to fight the four girls, how hard was running them off, and how thoroughly destroyed the fort was. They knew all. But in special, they knew too well how dangerous was the fort. More than any peasant could or should.

    Some were off, but not by much, while the fact the blonde and her friends got ambushed or how she was wounded wasn¡¯t there. It also didn''t mention the second princess being there or how brutal their fighting style was.

    This sort of ovation was good to have from time to time, but there shouldn¡¯t be a reason for it yet. Not to underappreciate, of course, but even with the fact an enemy forward base was bad, it wasn¡¯t anything that would topple this citadel right away.

    It was bad, but not that much.

    Even after I dismissed everyone back to the barracks, the peasants were still forming lines around the streets. Some were around until I and my lieutenants finally reached the inner walls, and I was very sure it was only because they couldn¡¯t enter.

    You needed to either be a noble or have good reasoning to enter the inner walls, and I¡¯m sure watching a commander go back to report wouldn¡¯t apply there.

    Something irrelevant since it seemed my lord had new guests at his door right now. And I wasn¡¯t talking about the knights commemorating the revenge against the army that defeated them. It was someone much more well-known. A group of mages who just left the waystone and were now en route to the castle.

    Not exactly my job, but greeting them was something I should do still.

    ¡°Greetings, Archmage Randoul.¡± I approached and bowed to the chief of the royal mages and his group, likely also composed of mages, ignoring how he seemed to be looking for something else. ¡°Can I take it you are the capital¡¯s reinforcements?¡±

    ¡°You can say so, yes.¡± He answered me with his attention was somewhere else. ¡°About what the peasants are saying in the streets¡­¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t ask much at the time, but it does seem to be true. Or close enough.¡±

    ¡°Then, about that heroine and her magic?¡±

    ¡°Only asking her to know how it works, but she set the enemy fortification on fire from farther away than anything I ever saw. Even a group of earth mages wouldn¡¯t reach a fifth of that range.¡± I tried to explain even if the person hearing me was barely paying attention. ¡°She did get wounded at the fight, I believe, so she should be recovering somewhere.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± He sighed in an annoyed way before turning back to me. ¡°Could you escort me to your lord¡¯s location, captain? I have to organize the situation with him now that we¡¯re here¡­ And I believe you have to report.¡±

    ¡°Of course, milord... Please follow me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± He answered in a business-like voice and then turned to the closest person in his group, a tall mage in glasses. ¡°Can you take care of the hall, Calixto? Just stay around with me and make it clear we got here. It doesn¡¯t seem we¡¯ll be staying for long¡­¡±

    Not exactly something I wanted to hear as I was the one who called reinforcements, but it was fair. Concentrating resources now that the enemy threat was down wouldn¡¯t be very smart.

    For now, I¡¯m better off focusing on escorting these mages and reporting. The consequences will be seen soon enough.

    *****

    My report was very fast as it seemed my lord was already aware, and seemingly angry, about what happened. The talk with the archmage was much longer, but I wasn¡¯t in there to hear, and neither did I want to.

    Messy politicking isn¡¯t something I¡¯m interested in.

    The castle hall was having a ball, or something close to it, now, so I had something else to focus on.

    All the knights and the few local nobles who were close by were together and patting their backs for doing nothing. A very boring meeting of dignitaries while the people outside were having a festival.

    I wasn¡¯t keen on what came after too, but by then, it was my job to take part. Not that I couldn¡¯t understand the point of having a party this big. Even the guards and the people in the city were in a festive mood, and all because the news kept going overboard.

    I wasn¡¯t even sure if what I saw was true with all the rumors going around after a few hours. And that was without the subject of these rumors ever coming to light.

    Even I was to see that girl again after she was taken away.

    This little ball would be more worthwhile if she and that silver-haired princess were around. I would at least be able to be sure of what they were doing here¡­

    ¡°Good evening, captain.¡± The mage that was following Randoul before approached me and my group of knights as we tried to drink a little. It got me a little surprised as I sipped my wine like before, but only for a moment.

    ¡°Evening, milord. Anything I can be of use?¡±

    ¡°It seems my father is still stuck at his meeting, so I would like to ask some questions if you wouldn¡¯t mind¡­¡±

    Father? Is this one the youngest of Randoul¡¯s sons then? Someone more important than I thought to be sure.

    He was with the hero¡¯s party before they got kicked back to the capital, right? I wonder if I could ask about that¡­ There¡¯s an implicit gag order in motion from what I heard.

    So complicated¡­

    ¡°Ask away. As long as I can answer it, I will do so without a problem.¡± I answered at the end without stopping my cup from moving. At least this much I would enjoy.

    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± He kept on talking in his educated tone. ¡°Then, could you tell me all you know about the construction of this ¡®one-night castle¡¯ and how it fell? In particular, about the construction methods and what was used to make it burn. What I heard seems overblown...¡±

    ¡°This? It¡¯s a little hard, but alas¡­¡±

    Knowing everything about this situation wasn¡¯t on me. Most of what I was going here ended up being hearsay and guesses, which was probably one of the reasons I lost at first, but I knew some.

    Most of it was about the construction and the situation leading up here, though.

    I also knew the fact they were relying on a mercenary commander. A guy named Willian Gown who trapped my forces and made sure to appear in full view and draw attention to himself while laughing at our loss. A terrible shrewd weakling I would love to have a rematch with.

    The destruction of the fort was a different mess. Some of it simply didn¡¯t make sense, and I had no idea how the ambush against the four girls didn''t kill them.

    I tried to go through all I could say, of course. Having someone like this boy owning a favor would be very useful, so being amiable wasn¡¯t a problem here. He was hearing well as it was something interesting for him.

    That was until I heard a low voice somewhere and Randoul¡¯s son turned in a hurry. He then turned back, apologizing that he would need to leave and moving away with someone I could barely notice.

    He returned soon enough, but all the while I watched his back as he seemed to talk with someone, all I could think was that this boy was maybe crazy¡­

 A Little Peek

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of a greenhouse on the roof? I mean, we¡¯re in a frontier citadel, right?¡± I called out, causing the curled-up elf to jump in surprise. ¡°Sounds like such a useless waste of resources or a liability even¡­¡±

    Standard reaction, pretty much. She soon turned to an expression of confusion while weakly staring at me still unsure of why I was there. Keeping a conversation with broken sign language and mimics wouldn¡¯t be too useful, though, so instead of saying anything else, I gave her the stolen pen and parchment I got on the way here.

    ¡°Let us have a chat, okay? I have to show off soon, so it¡¯ll need to be fast.¡± She took the items as I spoke, keeping an expression of confusion. Again, reasonable, but beyond the point.

    She didn''t write anything right away too, so I kinda had to start the conversation.

    ¡°I do have an idea of why you¡¯re here, but I won¡¯t pep-talk you. Nothing good happened for me to do so. Worse even, if you walk around me, setting one person on flames will be only the beginning...¡± I started jumping to the point right away, somewhat shocking the elf with the bluntness. ¡°Still, I''ll ask, what you wanna do?¡±

    Lhori only wrote an ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ on her paper in answer Somewhat expected, but not what I wanted to hear, which she seemed to notice as she continued.

    What came on her parchment pieces ended as a small rant on how she got angry just by noticing a blade similar to what she saw when Hayato was taken down. She was very sure he had something to do with the attack and got angry due to that, it seems. Then, she didn''t bother to think at all until she got my signal and set someone in flames. Which was how the image of a guy in flames got stuck in her head...

    Even if that guy was likely alive, it was a bad image to get on your head.

    I¡¯m sure he was wounded, but it wasn¡¯t instakill, I think, so he should be alive If I wanted, convincing her it was fine and making the little girl not bother with following me anymore wouldn''t be hard with it. The situation was to my advantage, but only if I ignored the fact I would turn her into some sort of deluded murderer.

    Heck, I¡¯m sure that having her around would very well make it so we would use more killing. The only reason subterfuge was the focus now was because I couldn¡¯t manage as is.

    Though, to be honest, I somewhat considered everyone around as a soldier. Something I got proved wrong now. An oversight from my side since I imagined everyone around was close to Elen¡¯s and her maids¡¯ level.

    A bunch of young heroes running around the demon wastes wiping the local fauna didn¡¯t sound that different than normal soldiers in my head, you see? I guess not everyone considers hunting demons as killing¡­ Lhori didn¡¯t, at least. And I guess she didn¡¯t consider the probable outcome of the fires I made her create.

    Really long-range weapons surely have this effect, eh? Funny how people¡¯s minds work.

    The elf was now scribbling something really big again.

    Something she even took a while to get right as I waited. All for a big and convoluted way of explaining what she was feeling. Everything from still seeing the burning guy to thinking about everyone else who died there. The sort of thing one would expect from someone who lacked the disposition for murder.

    There, she was also asking me the important question I wanted to avoid: ¡®don¡¯t you care about killing people, Illia?¡¯

    Tough question. And one I answered in a much cooler way already. Having to spell it out is so lame. It also makes me think of things I prefer not to, but since we¡¯re here¡­

    ¡°No one can ¡®not care¡¯ about something of this kind. At least no one who¡¯s normal, okay? Some people aren¡¯t hit that much, some others panic just by seeing blood, but everyone feels it. Heck, weapons in my word half-evolved to make people see less when they kill, so it was always important¡­¡±

    See? I can be deep too. I¡¯m only kinda repeating what I heard people telling others on TV when in this situation, but it sounds deep. It¡¯d take a hell lot of time and a proper psychologist to do anything more about it, so it wasn¡¯t like I could do more than try and pull her focus away from this mess.

    My words had the little elf entranced, almost. She was very focused on my random babbling with no real content, but that was pretty much what I expected. It was what she had to hear, pretty much, even if it was somewhat a lie too¡­ I never actually answered her question if you hear it well.

    Something I had to shake away from my head more and more as I talked.

    "The best you can do is accept the need for it and move on. The best would be if we didn''t need to kill anyone, but that''s not happening..." I continued, keeping the attention of the elf stuck on me while changing subjects. "That''s the reason why having someone ignore the system made to avoid mass deaths is so annoying. And that''s why I won''t be asking for you to follow me if you don''t want to anymore."

    Don¡¯t get me wrong, I would love to keep this one around. Her way of fighting had something very interesting in it, and if I coupled her with the handsome mage, I would be able to pull off some very powerful tricks.

    Elen and Eve were very powerful by themselves, but a mage and an archer gave more options than a pair of infiltrators could. And that¡¯s without the R&D possibilities I would have with those two around. It wouldn¡¯t even be that hard to convince her that a ¡®soldier mentality¡¯ was the best.

    But I don¡¯t want to do it.

    Even if it was the most effective path, creating a new assassin wasn¡¯t something I was willing to do. I would prefer if Lhori decided that staying around wasn¡¯t worth it, of course, but this was a mess-up on my side, so I had to solve it. I didn¡¯t think very well when bringing someone I knew little about to a battlefield like this, especially someone who was with the ¡®hero¡¯. This was no ¡®hero¡¯ work and if she thought I was a ¡®crazy girl¡¯ and nothing else, then it would be for the best.

    ¡°Either way, you don¡¯t need to bother with what happened there. No matter how you look at it, I was the one doing the fighting and the one who caused the damage. All you did was help the fake suicidal hero do another stupid thing, and nothing more.¡± I smiled at the shortstack while patting her head just because I felt like it. ¡°So, don¡¯t bother about whatever happened there, and go wait for Mr. Hero to wake up. He¡¯ll need help for sure, and I''ll be sure he''ll have the chance to use it.¡±

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I then got up and started to move away as I saw my words sink on the elf (mostly to look cool), but she held me back. She was also scribbling furiously as I turned around with my cool moment stopped, forcing me to wait.

    Something that almost made me laugh as I read the simple ¡®you are a bad liar¡¯ in her parchment as she also returned the tools and smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure many people would say otherwise, little elf¡­ In fact, I¡¯m sure most of the people around already believe I¡¯m a hero.¡± I fixed my clothes with a smug smile and started to leave the area again. ¡°Come down when you¡¯re ready. I¡¯ll be heading to the festival outside after I¡¯m done here.¡±

    I left the somewhat isolated area on the top of the castle and then wandered to the darkness outside for a few moments before stopping.

    ¡°And you two shouldn¡¯t spy on people just because you can, you know?¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon! How?!¡± I heard Elen¡¯s shout as she left her hiding spot with Eve. And as they did so, all I could do was give them my evil-looking smile again.

    ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®how¡¯, Elen¡­ I was bluffing.¡±

    ¡°Heh? You annoying brat...¡±

    ¡°And you should be at a party right now, shouldn¡¯t you? The fun one.¡± I shot back while trying to get my head back in character. ¡°Can I take it as you wanting to have ¡®fun¡¯ with the nobles instead?¡±

    ¡°No way in the hells. We were being sure you wouldn¡¯t do anything weird to the forest girl over there¡­ Or something of the kind.¡±

    ¡°I was only following Your Highness¡¯ whims, milady.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being very outspoken today, aren¡¯t you, Eve? Wanting a pay cut or something?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only thinking of your best interest, Your Highness. Nothing more, and nothing less¡­¡±

    ¡°You damn¡­¡±

    ¡°Hahahah!¡± My laughter stopped the banter as I lost control. ¡°Goddammit, you two are something. A real something for sure¡­¡±

    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking¡­¡± Elen answered with slitted eyes and a small smile. ¡°But that¡¯s that, I guess. Are you sure about trying to send that girl back? Isn¡¯t she important to that trick of yours?¡±

    ¡°She is, but that¡¯s fine. I won¡¯t be using that again, probably. Heck, if I have to use it again, I¡¯m not so sure we won¡¯t be attacked right away¡­ That¡¯s a slow-to-set trick and they know about it now.¡±

    ¡°Even so¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it¡­ I feel we¡¯ll keep jumping into messy situations and we don¡¯t want to lose the option.¡± I gave one decent enough excuse for Elen, even if only to avoid saying that I would feel bad dragging that shorty any longer. ¡°If needed be, I¡¯ll call her again. Good enough, no?¡±

    ¡°You also would gain from being more honest, milady.¡±

    ¡°And I don¡¯t even see why you keep moving around the subject¡­¡±

    The two answered in turn, making me feel that I wasn''t in my best state right now. But, c¡¯mon, being straight with these things isn¡¯t my style, okay? Saying Lhori kinda makes me remember someone I knew and that it wouldn¡¯t be good if I ended up having her become some cold-blooded killer wasn''t right.

    Not fun to see and not very heroic, and heroic was my thing at the moment. Saying it straight-up was lame.

    ¡°How much do you trust me, Elen?¡± I asked out after thinking a little about the whole situation. ¡°Is it enough to take on a job you¡¯re sure would be suicide?¡±

    ¡°What the hells are you going on now¡­?¡±

    I started to wander away from the greenhouse and towards the walls while talking randomly. My main excuse was that I planned to go there anyway for a little trick, but it was more so Lhori would have a harder time hearing.

    ¡°Just answer me, it¡¯s important.¡±

    ¡°Weirdo¡­¡± The silver-haired girl mumbled while still following me around until she decided to answer. ¡°I¡¯d say I trust you enough. Wouldn¡¯t follow you to something that was obviously hopeless, but if you have a good enough plan¡­¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s fun to hear¡­ And you, Eve?¡± I turned to the maid staying quiet while around us. ¡°Trusting me a lot already? More than you trust our ranger princess here?¡±

    ¡°I would do my best to follow your orders, milady... As long as they don¡¯t go against Your Highness or her family.¡±

    ¡°More conditional, but that¡¯s still a lot, no? Is this only because I¡¯m interesting or the whole ¡®being a summoned hero¡¯ is the real reason?¡± I continued asking as I climbed on the crenelations of the wall but didn¡¯t give time for anyone to answer. ¡°Doesn¡¯t really matter, to be honest. What matters is that I can influence you two already, right? So, what if I told you we really really need to kill some civilians? Or something worse. What you''d do?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a little¡­¡±

    ¡°Is it?¡± I cut into the princess¡¯ weirded-out expression and then turned to her and the maid. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could be convincing enough to make you consider it and depending on the situation, it would be reasonable. And then, by the next time, my words would be even more convincing, and I could even pull something more drastic¡­¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say here?¡± Elen asked while still unsure of where I was going.

    ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that I could convince Lhori to ignore this and follow us. She could act like both you and Eve, and she would be able to rationalize killing. That would be the end of it. Not only could I convince her to give up on some of her principles, I could have her go further away from it. I don¡¯t want to give myself this sort of weapon.¡± I sighed and went to stop the serious talk for good. ¡°I won¡¯t do a thing if someone else does the dirty job, but that¡¯s not for someone of my stature. I¡¯m not fond of mind tricks this simple¡­¡±

    I hope my voice could make it obvious that I knew what I was talking about. Or at least, that it could hide my real intentions well enough. Saying this much already felt bad since it made me remember things, so going deeper would hurt¡­

    It was enough, though. The two people around me didn¡¯t even seem keen on asking more about the mass of babbling I had going on for a while. Looks like I was more reasonable than crazy at the end of the day, right? Fun to see it.

    No time to dwindle on the funny feelings or watch my companions look worried. I had a job to finish and a theory to test now, and I was also done receiving emotional damage.

    So, I changed the tone of my voice and aura, as usual.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s it from my reasoning, so let¡¯s go to what matters more.¡± I put on my flashing smile and puffed my chest. ¡°I have one last work to do, and since you two are here, what about helping me?¡±

    It took a while for the two to react to it, Eve doing so decently faster than her master.

    ¡°Whatever I can do, milady.¡±

    ¡°Sigh¡­ I sometimes don¡¯t get you.¡± Elen answered eventually. ¡°Hard to guess if you¡¯re serious or a doofus¡­ But whatever. Tell me what you need?¡±

    ¡°Can you make me shine for a while then? Something like a big light around me. And for you, Eve¡­¡± I got the pen and papers stuck in my pockets and then drew a circle there. ¡°Can you try this spell on me? It should get you tired, but if it works, then it should help me waste less mana.¡±

    I didn¡¯t add the part that using this spell would likely make my aching body hurt even more, but no one needed to know that. This spell should be more like a ¡®brain stimulant¡¯ than anything else anyway. With some tweaks, it could even be a powerful anesthetic.

    ¡°What the hells is this thing¡­?¡±

    ¡°Is this really a spell, milady? Where did you find it?¡±

    ¡°In books. All the parts of it, at least. Something like strapping spells together to make something I couldn¡¯t find¡­¡±

    Experimentation, I call it. Makes me wonder why people don¡¯t create weird spells since they have all those examples¡­ It''s all about reading the runes and moving them around.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy¡­¡± Elen sighed, but I could see she was almost laughing by now. ¡°Is it safe?¡±

    ¡°Probably. More than another potion, at least.¡± I answered both of her sentences in order but then turned around with my last question for now. ¡°We good to go?¡±

    ¡°Your Highness¡­?¡±

    ¡°Go on. But stop right away if you feel anything going wrong, Eve.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    The maid touched my back as I got ready to use my own spell and I could feel Elen getting ready too. I could feel another person moving closer, but it was fine if she saw it now. Focusing on copying a spell I saw once was enough to make me unable to react anyway.

    But now I had the lights and the speakers, so all needed was to put on a show...

    And so, as the night sky lit up and my head got the most focused it ever was, my magical circle went off and my boasting voice rang across the whole of the city.

    ¡°Good evening, everyone! Are you ready to hear how your most noble hero defeated the barbarian invaders knocking on your door¡­?!¡±

    Hearing from the news is nice, but hearing from the source is much better, you see? Especially if you wanted to play with propaganda...

 The Overlooked Hint

    I¡¯m starting to wonder if potions can cause a hangover.

    They shouldn¡¯t, from what I heard, but I¡¯m still feeling bad since I went overboard at the frontier. I can move well enough by now, at least, and my grip strength is back to normal, but the feeling that I banged my head into many walls after running a few marathons is still here.

    Very annoying, very hard to move, and very hard to keep a clear head.

    Even after some days of rest, in which a certain archmage kept annoying me to help with his book on silver magic, I was still not one hundred percent. Worse, I didn''t hear the dream voice at all during this time, so no way to continue that talk.

    Should I try actually knocking myself out? If at least the world would give the chance for it...

    ¡°Here am I, Your Highness. What can I be of use?¡± I marched into the throne room after the guards opened the door for me (I learned my lesson already) and made a proper curtsy. It was a bothersome call, but as is, I couldn''t exactly ignore the king like before.

    Either way, I¡¯m getting good at this, you know? Who would expect some of my least useful classes to be this convenient, eh? Guess I should thank my parents if I ever had the chance to see one of them...

    The throne room had the full ensemble today, by the way. The king, queen, their older daughter, the huge knight, the office lady, the old mage, and a set of the more important nobles who were at the capital. Easy to do when you have teleporters.

    Since we have so many of these here, though, it means we wouldn¡¯t be talking about my ¡®real¡¯ self and job. Or to be more specific, calling me here was likely to make a show instead of giving orders. Unusual since you could have a ball for such, but I''ll play my part still...

    I could be wrong about it too. It was the first time I got called into the full throne room since the day they tried my magic, so who knows?

    It¡¯s possible something was happening and the king couldn''t clear the room to talk. I had an idea as to why he would call me for this, at least, but only an idea. Getting stared like this again was getting to my nerves too, so my mind wasn''t the clearest...

    All should go well as long as I keep the proper acting, but not being sure feels bad.

    ¡°To start, I would like to acknowledge your exploits in Frercross...¡± The king started to go on about the mess at the frontier while I forced myself to not utter the ¡®where?¡¯ and ¡®who?¡¯ whenever he mentioned a name. I never really stopped to think about that place¡¯s name or who the hell was the leader there, so it was more about ''nod and stay quiet'' for me. That is until he came up with a different subject. ¡°On the more pressing matter, we received new information from the eastern frontier. Something some believe would work best with a hero there. Are you already in condition to move again?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness. Another day would be ideal, but I can move on whenever the conditions are in place.¡±

    I could notice a twitch on the queen and on the knight captain, with some negative reaction from the bureaucrat lady too. They were something like the ¡®head-on¡¯ faction in my head, so if they didn''t like this idea, it was likely something troublesome. Some of the nobles were clearly in favor of whatever was coming, though, so it seemed this time they were the minority. Either that or the ones who actually knew, and arguably cared, about me, noticed I was pretending to be fine...

    Not a good sign, but nothing I could do. Keeping the facade was more important.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have you move to Wyrnrock with Princess Eleonora and any other backup you believe necessary. Getting there, find the local lady and his information team so they can explain the situation better.¡±

    It was a very short order, so I was feeling a little weird. A mission this vague didn''t feel like something planned. The most likely situation was that I took things a little too far and either got too many people angry or made them believe in my skills too much.

    Such an annoying equilibrium to keep¡­

    But since he was talking about ¡®backup¡¯ and everything I need, it seems that I¡¯ll end up on something big again. I''ll need some heavy backup for it then...

    Taking Lhori again wouldn¡¯t be good, though, and it¡¯s impossible to have the two sisters at the same place for safety reasons, so the archmage¡¯s son was the best, I guess... Randoul was around, so he should be at the castle too.

    Better talk with Cal and see what he thinks. But first, to see if I have some information to pick here...

    ¡°Can I ask what is the ¡®information¡¯ you got that prompted calling me like this?¡±

    ¡°Movements on the frontier. In special, on a certain temple very close to the border. Something big enough to be a chance.¡± He answered in a grave voice but without giving too many details. ¡°I don¡¯t have all the information, so you¡¯ll need to hear anything else from the locals. Just be sure to not overdo it.¡±

    The standard procedure then¡­ Still felt like it was too little to go on, and a little too convenient too, convenient like a trap if you will.

    I could deal with a trap if I know it¡¯s coming, though.

    ¡°I shall see it done then.¡± I nodded at the order and then made another curtsy before giving my farewells and starting to leave. ¡°Now, if I will¡­¡±

    Prim and proper, but still someone who stole a nobility title by having a bunch of nobles arrested. That part of the history was going far and wide by now, which was exhilarating even.

    Having such a cool character to play was too good.

    It even worries me if I¡¯m having way too much fun with it. Would hate to waste it while Mr. Hero isn¡¯t around to play his part in my plan. You need a hero to be a villain, right?

    Leaving the throne room was very uneventful after that, only some nods to the knights and servants waiting close by and a last glance at my back to see the scheming. A weird meeting, but nothing big enough to be worrisome. Housekeeping wasn''t my part of the job, so the only thing I could do now was link up with the poker-faced maid and her roguish princess. Two people who were waiting for me just around the corner.

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe they¡¯re sending you again already!¡± Elen complained as she got off the wall she was leaning at and then stared at me. ¡°So, be honest a little, can you go? In safety, I mean.¡±

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how exactly she knew what was happening inside the throne room, but again, she was the nominal leader of the spec-ops. Spying like this shouldn¡¯t be that much trouble for her. Especially because I¡¯m sure she has some sort of deal with her father.

    It always made me want to meet this one person who trained her. Seemed like someone interesting.

    ¡°I won¡¯t die, and I can move well enough. I¡¯m not one hundred percent, but I don¡¯t plan on fighting unless we really need to. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not an answer, dumbass. It¡¯s a ¡®maybe¡¯ at most, and I¡¯m not letting you go on if that¡¯s all you can give me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to avoid answering this time, milady. She¡¯s very serious right now, and so am I.¡±

    They want to push it, eh? And here I thought we had this solved last time already¡­ Nothing to do other than be a little more serious again, I guess.

    Kinda a pain since I¡¯m leaving character too much lately. Add that to giving up my hairstyle and it was possible I would start to feel weird soon. The best I could hope was that nothing big would break my cracking character...

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, okay? I¡¯ll be more careful to not get into any direct fights like last time, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I tried to explain in an unusual tone, getting the attention of the two girls as I moved on. ¡°Fighting head-on is never my plan. That¡¯s a hero¡¯s thing, not mine¡­¡±

    I''d prefer to not repeat myself, but they have to remember that I''m not a hero. The hero is sleeping right now...

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure, then I¡¯m with you. What do we need this time? Dad¡¯s not giving you much information, but he can get anything else this time.¡± Elen asked as she seemed to know as little as me at the end of the day. ¡°Most of what I have is either here or on ¡®your¡¯ lands, though. We could always steal some artifacts too...¡±

    ¡°No need. I can make do with what I have. I¡¯m going a little blind here until we reach ''whatever city'' and get a briefing proper anyways, so¡­ Get ready for a trap and pray should be the plan.¡±

    ¡°Troublesome.¡±

    ¡°Should we prepare for worst-case scenarios then, milady?¡± Eve gave her opinion as she heard the sudo-plan. ¡°Something in case we have to fight an army or if the whole city turns against us.¡±

    ¡°For these, it would be better to draw some backup. Maybe even some of Sis¡¯ forces, since we can move those without much.¡±

    ¡°Either of those is way too much¡­ But I got an idea here. I¡¯ll need you to talk with your sister for sure, Elen. Or to be specific, I need to borrow that teleporting artifact she has. And I need some items on the carriage, Eve.¡± I said while turning to the path leading to my room. ¡°A copy of what I got last time, a good amount of gold for emergencies, and a new set of clothes. Something praty-like. And some poison too, maybe, the powerful sort. If we go spy this time, then it should be useful¡­¡±

    ¡°That is easy enough. Won¡¯t be more than an hour to get it all, milady.¡±

    ¡°Your weird luggage is always fun to see¡­ I should be able to borrow that artifact for a while without drawing much attention too.¡± Elen said after hearing the list and smiling. ¡°Should we leave after dinner then? Eating here one more time wouldn¡¯t be too bad.¡±

    ¡°It works for me. I¡¯ll go deal with the ¡®reinforcements¡¯ in the meantime, okay? More effective if we split up¡­¡± As I said so, neither of my companions seemed too happy with it, but the idea was too logical for complaint. Half the reason my plans worked was because no one had time to think about them before I moved, so rushing was the way.

    A good plan executed right now instead of a perfect plan tomorrow, or something of the kind.

    ¡°Sigh¡­ Just don¡¯t overdo it, understood?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep it safe.¡± I was already leaving their side as I answered the princess, so no one could see my face and notice the ¡®as much as I can¡¯ that I whispered right after. Safety was a minor problem for me, anyway.

    So, I shook off the talk from my head and sped up my pace a little more. My target should be in the library right now, so I could solve it fast.

    Then, after hurrying through guards and servants who didn¡¯t notice me zooming past them at all, I reached the handsome dark-haired mage focused on his studies. He didn''t even notice when I sat by his side.

    ¡°¡¯Sup,¡± I called out after a while.

    ¡°What?!¡± The focused guy shouted in surprise, drawing an angry stare from the caretaker of the library. ¡°You should not scare the others like this, Lady Illia. What do you need of me?¡±

    ¡°I had something to tell you, no? Couldn¡¯t manage it last time and all¡­¡± I mentioned the talk in the other city as I tried to spy on the writings of the guy. ¡°By the way, are you writing about me too? Now I¡¯m honored¡­¡±

    ¡°Your ¡®silver magic¡¯ is way too interesting to not be researched, milady. Until now, we never saw something that could affect artifacts, and with the way you¡¯re using it lately¡­¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, it¡¯s not that big. And your father was working on that already, wasn¡¯t he? Wouldn¡¯t it work better if you two went at it together?¡±

    ¡°My father is taking an approach to his theories that I believe is wrong, and he won''t hear me. All I can do is write my own paper on this.¡± The mage answered a serious tone and then continued making me feel he was fighting with his dad. ¡°He believes you¡¯re simply using spells only heroes can, but I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not the case. All I heard and saw, your speech at the wall in special, made me sure that you are not working on the unusual rules heroes have. Your magic seems too ordinary to be like that...¡±

    ¡°And why so? I¡¯m sure what I do isn¡¯t in any book about magic. I looked.¡±

    ¡°But your spells are in the same system as those books, right? The spells Sir Hayato uses are, in his words, ¡®more about imagining what you want than anything else¡¯. They¡¯re barely spells.¡± He continued while moving through his sheets until he was showing a comparison between two different spell circles. ¡°There is a system here, and they sometimes do look similar, but are still, in a word, nonsense. Not something a layman would understand, but you can see around here that his spell is something else entirely, no? It lacks the signs of an element or the basic runes. If it was possible to translate them, at least¡­¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just take a bunch of books and read them? Most spellbooks have a bunch of translated spells in them, right?¡± I asked in between his words as it seemed weird that the studious type in front of me wouldn¡¯t know those. I mean, I could read a lot already, and I even memorized some by now.

    Even these ''hero-styled'' ones had some comments on them, and I could make some details even if barely. They were indeed very generic and random, though.

    ¡°Well, yes, but going only by the broad lines and rune sets is not enough. The changes are too many for me to get them all and to find all the rules. I would need a whole team of researchers to manage it effectively¡­¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it¡­¡± I got close to the paper and started to point out what I knew. ¡°I mean, isn¡¯t it like this: the circle says the method, the center calls the element, these runes are for intensity, range, and size, and these others here go through the more minute details. Their singular meanings are even down here...¡±

    But Cal stopped in place as I was speaking. More so, he was staring at me as if I was saying more than nonsense right now. It kinda stung a little, to be honest¡­

    Even if I¡¯m not a specialist or anything, I know a bit about it. I even managed to modify those spells a while ago, you know? No way I¡¯m THAT wrong¡­

    Reading these was the reason why I had my big theory on magic made. It was almost good enough to show off if you asked me. I even had some papers on it... Which I would never show anyone still, but alas.

    ¡°Lady Illia, where did you learn this? No. Who taught you this? Or what did, maybe.¡±

    ¡°Huh? The spellbooks around here. What more? Most of them have some rough translation of the runes in them¡­ Even yours do.¡± My finger went to a line on the parchment where a full, but not very grammatically correct, translation of the spell circle drawn above.

    Every book was like this.

    Even if I would prefer they kept the runes and fixed the order of the words to not be the exact way it was ordered in the spell, it was readable.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ There is¡­ nothing there, Lady Illia. What exactly are you pointing at?¡±

    ¡°The¡­ Words?¡± I mumbled while wondering if I finally went crazy until something dawned on me. Something I only thought about right after arriving, and then started to believe was no more than normal. ¡°Can I ask what exactly do you see here?¡±

    ¡°The singular runes? This one should be the one related broadly to ¡®fire¡¯, I believe.¡±

    ¡°And if I said that it was more like ¡®raise heat¡¯ than ¡®fire¡¯, what would you say?¡±

    ¡°I would ask where exactly you learned that,¡± Cal asked, now more intrigued than confused as the gears in my brain finally finished the connections.

    ¡°My plan was to simply invite you as someone powerful that would be useful, but it seems I actually need your help again.¡± I got uncharacteristically serious as I got up from my chair and spoke with a tone I hoped would show how serious it was. ¡°Get your things and follow me. We¡¯ll need to read every single book on heroes and artifacts this place has, and by then I¡¯ll be sure if my magic is something that special¡­¡±

 Counterfeit Invitation

    ¡°Looks like a sweet chance.¡± I nodded after hearing the old lady and the thin little guy with little presence explain the situation. ¡°Crashing into some holy festival to kidnap a saint is such an unholy move I¡¯d hate to not do it¡­¡±

    It was a few hours after my meeting with the king, and I was already in another noble¡¯s room, but this one was fine.  Both the old woman in plate armor and her short attendant (and likely spymaster) were reasonable. They even seemed unaffected by my haughty act, reporting what they knew as if they would prefer if we didn¡¯t try this mission.

    All in all, they were nice, which was unusual for nobles. Either that or my perception was too skewed by now...

    Meanwhile, getting here ended more complicated than usual now that the rumors were spreading. For one, right after we teleported into the city (which I forgot the name again), people started crowding around as they noticed me.

    People do love their heroes, even the ones with questionable policies about the use of napalm.

    It was fun seeing that many people looking pleased with me, though. Very nice, but very tiring too.

    I could only deal with so many people at the time, even if they had a positive view of me. And it only got worse as we got closer to the lady¡¯s office.

    After the normal population, rich folk started to take notice of me too, and these were just annoying. All the worth I got from them was finding out that I had a nickname now.

    The Hero of Frercross does sound nice.

    And then there was the briefing the local lady gave us.

    Long story short, the religious folk of that Divine Federation had an important day tomorrow. Huge festival with an important location close by, and since they had an army there, they decided to mock Prourene by partying close to the frontier.

    It reeked of a trap and, in the best case, would still be a troublesome fight. The numbers were too different and the terrain was a pain. The only reason it seemed too good to not go was the fact they were bringing a whole saint other than their champion to it.

    Or at least, that was what the spies found out.

    ¡°Kidnapping a saint and then blackmailing the country to win the war¡­ You know there¡¯s a reason why no one does that, right?¡± Elen spoke up as she finished hearing the finer details of my big plan. ¡°I thought you wanted to kill whoever it was or burn some supplies, but getting there to ¡®steal¡¯ the saint is a little...¡±

    ¡°Infiltrating an army and kidnapping the most protected person inside seems like too much indeed,¡± Cal added as he seemed to consider possible plans to deal with this situation. ¡°We could manage with some troops, but with only us¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Sneaking around would be troublesome enough, but you want to go head-on, don¡¯t you?¡± Elen continued while still with the small plan I gave them on her head. ¡°Even considering that you can pass off as someone local, I don¡¯t see how it¡¯d help.¡±

    ¡°It can be done. This skill is way too good for something like this.¡± I assured them the best I could. My intuition was telling me it was possible, and more than that, I had the skill everyone overlooks when thinking about isekai heroes.

    Also, it would be a problem if it didn¡¯t work.

    Anything less than the most unreasonable plan would be jumping into their trap. At least, it would be so if they were competent. A plan so out there no one would a counter was much better.

    ¡°I will say it again, young girl, are you sure about this? I''ll give you all the support I can, but this sounds like suicide. Hero or not, there¡¯s too much there.¡± The lady added with a sharp glare on her face. ¡°It¡¯s so bad, this brat by my side almost got dismissed the moment he told me to bring you for a try¡­¡±

    ¡°You risk your life to bring good information and that¡¯s how you¡¯re treated¡­¡± The spy answered without changing his expression at all. ¡°Still, unless you have a good way of getting to the border fast, milady, it¡¯s suicide for sure. I¡¯d never believe it if someone bought this up, but a certain someone told me you have the tools to deal with it... He even told me to show you something nice if I could. Though that you¡¯ll have to find by yourself.¡±

    His eyes went through my equipment and then to the princess and the mage following me right now. Expected from a spy, I guess, but he seemed to know what was the deal about me and my party. It seemed that this guy knew a lot more than he seemed and that, although she wasn¡¯t clueless about me, he also had secrets the local noble didn¡¯t know.

    Now that is something very spy-like, isn¡¯t it? Makes me wonder if he knew that scheming person from the palace¡­

    ¡°It sounds plausible, but still¡­¡±

    ¡°Worry not, Elen, I brought the right tools for the job, and if all¡¯s well, we can even manage some extras.¡± I proudly proclaimed while holding the weird item that was meant to act as a teleport and a little pendant that was part of my experiment. ¡°We have a super mage, a brawler maid, and a rogue princess here, you know? If you add the element of surprise and the things me and Cal got at the library, we can deal with anything. Probably¡­ Maybe¡­ I think¡­ We¡¯ll survive, at least.¡±

    ¡°Not sounding like someone who¡¯s sure of her plan, young girl¡­¡± The old lady''s face twitched as she saw me talking, but she then turned to Elen by my side. ¡°Is this a good idea, Your Highness?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not stilling much confidence for sure, but it should do well enough. Not stilling confidence is pretty much how Illia works anyway...¡± Elen gave shoulders as my sureness on the whole infiltration thing started to sizzle away. ¡°Worst case, we go with my way of solving this. Though, I¡¯m almost sure it¡¯ll be more of a minor annoyance than anything major at that point.¡±

    ¡°Some hit is better than no hit at least.¡± The armored lady sighed at last but then glared at me a moment later. ¡°Anything else you need to start moving? We¡¯re mobilizing, but we can spare some of almost everything.¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Other than what I asked your spy over there, I¡¯m pretty much prepared already. It¡¯s not as if we have too long to prepare anyway¡­¡±

    The enemy army was preparing their festival at a certain, and very big, temple close by. A place that was somewhat of a neutral area considering it was both a temple and an important place to this continent¡¯s religion. It was likely another problem, but I could ignore this one for now. I mean, I¡¯m not religious.

    All I know about it is that they have two big goddesses and a bunch of minor ones, and that¡¯s considering I¡¯m not totally crazy and actually can talk with one of them from time to time.

    Either way, they were around the corner and just one day off the planned date. Not enough time for some complicated plan, so no point trying to add anything more now.

    ¡°If that¡¯s so, then we are done here. Call me if you need anything more, and good luck.¡± The local lady ended her piece and, with a nod from the spy by the side too, she sent us away from the office.

    It ended a very simple affair this meeting. Dealing with people who ¡®knew me¡¯ already and were somewhat up-to-date with the situation was simpler than dealing with usual nobles. This one was pretty much the only reason I didn¡¯t send Elen to deal with it and hid somewhere else like last time.

    I like the excuse that I wanted to up the ¡®surprise factor¡¯ for when I presented myself later, though, but that¡¯s kinda irrelevant now.

    As we left the office, Eve rejoined the group with the two knights I called as symbolic bodyguards and, for later, bait.

    ¡°I have something to report, milady. Something unusual did happen while I waited for you¡­¡± She told us in a somewhat confused tone while carrying some bags. ¡°Lady Alianne¡¯s spy came to me with these while we waited. They seem to be priest robes and noble clothing from the Federation¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh? So it¡¯s already¡­ Wait a little! I just asked for these, didn¡¯t I?!¡± Seeing the items I needed already prepared was nice, but noticing that they shouldn¡¯t be here was weird. I mean, my explanation of the plan was made a few minutes ago, and the spy guy was still inside.

    I want whatever magic this person has!

    ¡°Spies are fun people. You wouldn¡¯t believe the antics of some of them¡­¡± Elen commented offhandedly as she took the bags and started to rifle through them. ¡°My guess is that they had these prepared already and that short guy used something to communicate with his people. Shouldn¡¯t be hard since we¡¯re in their territory¡­ I use the same to spy on the throne room.¡±

    ¡°The same thing, eh?¡± I mumbled after hearing the princess say something very outrageous. Not that it explained why it was so clear he was using it. ¡°Then¡­ Can you tell me how this thing works here? Show me it, even.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a way to see it, but I don¡¯t see how you could use it¡­ It needs a huge setup. And when I say huge, I¡¯m talking about having a room somewhere in this castle only for that.¡±

    ¡°If we are talking about sound transmission, then it is actually possible to make the magical circle smaller. Something like two meters by two meters as long as you do not care about the higher mana costs.¡± Cal added by the side after hearing the princess cite the room-sized spell needed for this communication thingy. ¡°I never saw one, but it¡¯s a known fact that they can be used for espionage. They¡¯re easy to disrupt if you know about them, though. As easy as having a small trinket creating an abnormal air flow¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the technical details here, but it sounds right.¡± Elen agreed, but she then started to smile smugly. ¡°Any decent noble has one somewhere and anyone rich enough will have a way to defuse the damn thing.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, Your Highness? Defusing them would be¡­¡±

    ¡°What I mean is that, if you ever get your father¡¯s position, you¡¯ll be able to learn some very interesting bits about ¡®usual¡¯ magic.¡± She kept on smiling while staring at the handsome guy in glasses who, even though he took a while, managed to understand the meaning there. Meanwhile, I took it as a matter-of-fact thing from the beginning, so there wasn¡¯t much surprise. ¡°Hells, maybe even I¡¯m not fully ''in the know'' there¡­ Dad¡¯s way of moving is a little too much for me. Looks as random as what Illia does¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my suspicion too.¡° I went back to the main subject while also trying to avoid wasting too long. ¡°Either way, let¡¯s find this room. Worst case, I can temper with it in case we need an emergency signal to call reinforcements¡­¡±

    Wasn¡¯t betting on it, but something like this would be the least for this to actually be worth all the ringing in my head. Either that or the aching pain and the tiredness were getting beyond what I could hold out. It would be weird considering how the king was acting.

    He could very well be just swamped in his job and couldn¡¯t do anything more complicated than call me head-on and tell me what all he could, though. It wouldn¡¯t even be something bad in reality.

    I didn¡¯t trust the guy, but I didn''t dislike him. It also wasn''t as if I could fight a king like this.

    It was a little bothersome to not know the full scope of what I was running with, though¡­ Whenever I had to do it, something bad would happen. And that¡¯s especially true when someone older is nudging me around.

    Almost makes me remember my parents...

    Goddammit, now I¡¯m losing the character again¡­ I need to fix my damn hairstyle and rest properly after this. Anything more and I''ll start slipping. Especially considering my current plan actually involves straining the act even more...

    What a pain...

    Back to business, please.

    ¡°Well, since you want to see it, we can always find the place¡­ It¡¯ll be a good pastime, at least.¡± Elen dismissed the weirdness and then turned to the maid who was quietly waiting. ¡°Do you have a good idea of the location already, Eve? The structure shouldn¡¯t be that changed from the last time we looked¡­¡±

    ¡°There are few places with the proper conditions for something of the kind, Your Highness, so it shouldn¡¯t be hard to find. This castle¡¯s blueprints are still fresh from when we investigated everyone¡­¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s an extra perk from that wild chase from a while ago¡­ Lead the way.¡±

    At Elen¡¯s words, the maid bowed and started to walk, leading us all through the corridors for a little while. As we walked, I noticed an unusual number of guards and many knights training outside, which gave an extra kick to my sense of urgency. Another thing I noticed, though, was the fact we had eyes on us, or actually, we had eyes on us for a little while.

    They vanished soon after Elen whispered something to her maid and started a small spell, though. Rogue is indeed more fitting than ranger for this princess, isn¡¯t it? She''s even affecting Cal while at it.

    Be as it was, we kept moving until we were at a somewhat empty section of the castle. An area that seemed to be their storehouse or a dungeon maybe, but the door Eve opened, after checking no one was inside, ended as neither.

    This one was, as expected, a room with a huge magical circle surrounded by several pedestals with glowing rocks on top of them. Very much a ¡®magic room¡¯ if you asked me, and after glancing at it for a while, I couldn¡¯t see anything worth coming here.

    To not confuse anyone, I could somewhat read the spell. It was some mix of ¡®air¡¯, ¡®lightning¡¯, and ¡®earth¡¯ magic if you asked me, but I couldn¡¯t really replicate it with what I had right now.

    The whole thing reeked of mana-intensive and if I had to use the black saber to cast it, the tenfold increase would knock me out right away. It¡¯d be worse than trying to summon something with a vague image like ¡®gun¡¯ as I did before.

    The only interesting bit I could take from it, and only because I now knew that my ¡®reading¡¯ was half-learned and half-skill, was that not all the runes there were ¡®proper¡¯ ones.

    This circle was mostly working on magic normal people could cast, of course, but there were some unusual bits here and there¡­ Almost like an artifact. These parts were probably why it could send messages through things even though the only ''elements'' being controlled were the air and electricity. Which meant I could use it in different ways, maybe.

    Maybe, even make it longer range.

    ¡°Anything worth it?¡± Elen asked, likely noticing the lightbulb popping over my head (though this one was barely working). ¡°Maybe a new trick even?¡±

    ¡°I think so¡­ But I¡¯ll need to test it out,¡± I answered while still unsure of what was the point of all this, and then turned back to the exit. ¡°Let¡¯s move out. We need to get ready for a big party¡­¡±

 Temples and Booze

    For a religious rite, this whole thing looked more like an end-of-year party than anything else.

    Dozens of tents around a huge temple-like building carved out the wall of a huge canyon. All full of people being rowdy and, from time to time, even some fireworks.

    Some were even playing at the river close by.

    They had many wagons selling goods to the soldiers too, and twice that many selling alcohol. And that was only the ones I could see from the checkpoint at the entrance of the canyon...

    If it wasn¡¯t for the weird geography of this country, this situation would be the perfect chance to ambush everyone in this mess.

    These lucky brats and their stupid country made of chasms and canyons. If they weren''t so prone to having flying mounts, even if they were way too easy to kill, Blanchelle¡¯s soldiers wouldn''t even be able to move around.

    Everyone else? Attacking this place was too much of a pain. Especially so when the other side was spread out way, and I repeat, way too much.

    The religious side of things was also a problem¡­ Not that I would care about this very much by myself. Defeating a bunch of drunk soldiers couldn¡¯t be that hard. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Prourene didn¡¯t have enough soldiers close by, this could have been done by now.

    Though it couldn¡¯t be this simple. There had to be some trick they could pull in case of an attack, so it would be good if I found it too while here.

    Anyway¡­

    ¡°I told you to speed this thing up!¡± I kept on light-kicking the confused Cal as we waited for the inspection of our cart. ¡°Father will throw me off a cliff if we don¡¯t deal with this white wine I bought.¡±

    ¡°No reason to jump off, girly. We¡¯ve a whole night, and if yer packing as good as it looks, these will fly off. Even one of the saints is here, so this night will go far.¡± The captain of the guards at this entrance smiled at my antics while taking a last look at the goods. Simple medium metal armor, a cape with a haloed wing, and a friendly (and somewhat red) face. I was expecting someone gruffier considering he was forced to keep watch while everyone was partying, but I guess they have their own stash. ¡°Booze ain¡¯t a thing ya can have too much. We almost done ¡®ere too¡­ Nothing to report.¡±

    He then smiled at me while the handsome dark-haired guy, now wearing some tight and less-refined clothes could only watch. Not that I could fault him since he neither understood the language nor was wearing his glasses.

    Couldn¡¯t have someone act as a peasant and use glasses¡­

    I, on the other side, was wearing a bunch of unusually colored clothes common to merchants in this area. My hair was (sadly) dried in vinegar for a while to kill the color even further than it already was, almost to the natural dark yellow. It was still stylized and my make-up was high-class, but one wouldn¡¯t recognize me like this right away.

    It was painful to my psyche, though. My beautiful hair was taken to this point by necessity¡­ And that without saying how the drills are gone. My natural hair isn''t fit for them without treatment.

    I really need to find a way to fix it later...

    ¡°I¡¯m sure this guy hopes you¡¯re right.¡± I smiled back, even though mine ended more like a scheming merchant as I reached for one of the bottles. ¡°And here, take this one as a token of gratitude. Hope the skies will bless you, sir.¡±

    ¡°I say the same, girly. And real thanks fer the treat.¡±

    No problems at all here. Everything even. If it was the festive mood or just me being lucky, things were going quite well.

    From using the teleport artifact to send us close to this place to get here without a problem, all was going fine. Even entering the party ended a lot easier than I thought, and all because I could speak the local language perfectly.

    Not a skill you would expect to see some practical use, right? Heck, if it wasn¡¯t for the thing about the runes when I called Cal here, I would¡¯ve likely forgotten about it.

    ¡°Understanding only one side of the conversation is very weird¡­¡± The mage commented in an almost inaudible tone as to not give up his nationality. ¡°Are you sure they¡¯re not on us already?¡±

    ¡°We clear, don¡¯t worry. At least as much as we can, considering they''re waiting for us.¡± I dismissed him while moving around a little to unlock the fake floor of the cart. ¡°Now, to reach the temple while jumping off any place full of people... And make money while at it!¡±

    I gave the signal and heard the muted noise of two things hitting the ground beneath the cart, so I set my mind on the next step and focused ahead.

    This part of the plan didn¡¯t have anything special about it, though. It was only selling wine that was both more well-liked and more expensive here than in Prourene until the time was right. The profits will fly, I¡¯m sure.

    If at least I had any use to it...

    With use or not, some hours went by as the moon rose and the party got rowdier, but more importantly, these hours passed with us getting more popular. The cheap and high-quality wine was drawing consumers in droves, and their groupings were almost at the temple¡¯s walls by now.

    Way too many drunkards in a huge blob right next to the most important place around. A perfect recipe for chaos, and a sign to move on.

    ¡°It''s time...¡± I whispered to the guy by side and watched him nod before getting up. ¡°Looks like I reached my goal here, everyone, so we¡¯ll be closing shop now¡­¡±

    Closing shop after drawing this much attention was sure to cause problems, as planned. I was the only one selling this cheap, so people were interested in it. They would get rowdy with it, of course. Though, even if I weren¡¯t to close shop, my stock was running very low already anyway. They were complaining and booing either way.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, everyone! I mean, I don¡¯t really want to take what¡¯s left back home, so I was thinking of giving it all to you¡­ Will you still get angry like this?¡± And then their complaints made a full turn and they started to cheer. ¡°Be civil about it, please, and don¡¯t forget to praise the skies.¡±

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    So, as Cal opened the walls of the cart, all hell broke loose.

    They were having fun and drowning the area in noise, especially after someone noticed that I also had a lot of fireworks stocked. It was very much chaos after that, and in that, no one could pay attention to me.

    Sneaking away after this wasn¡¯t even an effort. Only a matter of moving through the crowd towards the small light signal I found a little later. A light sign that led me to a small crevice in the canyon, and by proxy, to where Elen and Eve were waiting.

    A somewhat hidden spot that was hard to enter, probably extra so for Elen, and in the end, it wasn¡¯t more than another cave in a massive stone wall. Or at least, that was what anyone else would think of it. Anyone who knew better and understood how temples worked in fantasy, though, would know it wasn¡¯t that simple.

    At least one of these would have a secret passage of some sort. That was what I had my two infiltrators look for while we drew the eyes even. And again, all was going as planned until now.

    ¡°Took you long enough.¡± She said right after I lurked inside. ¡°And the mage?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be here soon. But I told him to wait around instead of entering.¡± I answered while hurrying to change into the second uniform we had snuck. The most pompous priest one we got, but that still had my pouch and belt under it. ¡°He¡¯s also there to open a path out after we¡¯re done in case things go loud.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s easier to sneak when I don¡¯t have to hide him too, so that¡¯s fine.¡± Elen gave shoulders without giving much more thought about it. ¡°We should get inside without much problem from here. Though this path seems a little decrepit¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a very unused path from what we could see, milady. It does go farther than expected too.¡±

    ¡°Getting deeper into the temple shouldn¡¯t be a problem, I think¡­ But let¡¯s move on. Are you two ready?¡±

    Both my companions nodded in agreement as I got set and fixed my hair in the right style. As it was, I could pass as an important person here without a hitch.

    Trekking through the small cave wasn¡¯t much of a problem either. An easy path that soon turned from normal rock to a more worked tiling, which made sure this place wasn¡¯t natural, as expected. And only a few minutes later, we reached a door, or at least, what likely was one.

    We kept quiet after getting there, of course, and Elen moved close to the unusual wall in silence. She moved around a little and knocked on it for a moment until she found the mechanism. Then, as we got ready for any emergency, she started to pull the wall forward, opening a path inside.

    And just like that, we were inside a storage area, or something of the kind. It was almost empty, though. Very sad since this whole thing could be solved by finding this place¡¯s supply of wine, water, or anything close to it.

    Anyway, we were in the clear for now, next was¡­

    ¡°Time to start¡­¡± I mumbled while scouting around and trying to remember the old map we saw. ¡°Let¡¯s move on as planned. You two still remember the map?¡±

    The princess and the maid nodded as I took the small canteen from my belt and moved to the door. As I did so, my feet started to bumble around as I got into the act while sipping my favorite horrible drink.

    And we were soon looking like a high-priestess who drank too much and her two acolytes.

    Widely known but usually ignored fact about high-ranking priests: they are pretty much nobles with a higher perceived moral standard. That goes double on countries run by churches, and triple if this country is a federation of a bunch of smaller theocratic city-states.

    Two things this place is.

    All in all, these guys are a little less hedonist than my world''s priests and they didn''t pretend to not be it. Very honorable of them.

    And so, since they gave me the chance to act the drunkard for once, I bumbled around the temple¡¯s halls until we finally found some guards. Guards who got easily startled as I bumped into them.

    ¡°You¡­ Guard¡­ Why the guard¡¯s in the¡­ in the hall. In the saloon? No, hall. The guards ain¡¯t¡­ ain¡¯t to be ¡®ere. They¡­ We¡­ Huh? Why we¡¯re not in the hall?¡±

    ¡°Oh, by the skies¡­ I mean, this is not the hall, sister.¡± One of the guards spoke after giving a momentaneous glance to his companion. ¡°This place is the inner temple. The hall and the other dignitaries are to the other side¡­¡±

    ¡°No, it ain¡¯t. I¡¯m sure. You won¡¯t trick¡­ Confuse? Convince? You won¡¯t send me to the wrong place!¡±

    The two guards shared a stare and a glance at my two companions while I heard them sigh. I could also imagine the two on my back shaking their heads at the situation, worsening the expression of the guards even more. It was making me feel bad for them considering these guys were the ones forced to stay quiet when everyone was partying.

    Such a horrible job to have during a festival. Not that they looked too bummed by it...

    ¡°Our high-sister went a li¡¯l overboard, my good sirs, so she¡¯s¡­ Hmmm¡­ Unfocused, y¡¯see?¡± Elen spoke in what I had to believe was the right language (I still hear all as English, so yeah), which seemed to get a little reaction from the guard. He even wasted a little moment to exchange a stare with his partner as she went on. ¡°Yer help would be appreciated on this¡­¡±

    Now that I think about it, what language the mercenary was using that day? I never thought about it, but I couldn¡¯t be sure anymore since I now knew that both Elen and Eve were fluent in all four of them.

    They were polyglots like me, though it didn¡¯t have much value now that I had language cheat online. I guess that¡¯s another useless skill to the set¡­

    Back to the subject, though. I feel my luck ran out.

    It even made me lose focus on the talk after I noticed so, but these guys were weird. I could be overthinking it, but their stare exchange was some signal related to Elen¡¯s words, and how calm they were in this situation was weird too. They looked annoyed, of course, but I could see it was fake.

    What a pain.

    ¡°Ay! I¡¯m fine. Yes. Fine! And this is¡­ This is what?" I broke into a mumbling chaos before they could continue the conversation. "Oh! This is the right place! I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°Calm down, sister. What if we took you to the right place?¡± One of the guards focused on me and then turned to the side as naturally as possible while calling us to follow. ¡°It¡¯s right this way like your companions there will agree. The Saints and the Hero are waiting there too, so¡­¡±

    And there was the last straw.

    Though I wanted my trick to work and somewhat wanted to see what this trap was, this guy gave his setup away.

    As I said before, this was the worst job around. No guard in the universe would be so ¡®on guard¡¯ (pun intended) in this situation. But the real giveaway was on the ¡®saints¡¯ bit. I mean, there should be only one saint here other than their ''hero'', and even the people at the entrance said so.

    Again, it could be me misreading the situation, but I wouldn¡¯t like to risk it.

    So, to my secondary plan¡­

    ¡°Ey, big boy¡­ Can you¡­ Guh!¡± In a sudden move, I bent forward and held onto the shoulder of the closest guard, even touching a little of his neck under the armor, who panicked a little at the possibility of being soiled by a drunkard. A panic that lasted a single moment as he was soon to recover and didn¡¯t react to it more than a little, but a moment was enough.

    I was touching under his armor already. By the time he noticed something was wrong, the small glow of the spell hidden under my bent body was the end. And before he could react, a very concentrated lightning spell took the first guard down as the second got his skull punched to oblivion the next moment.

    Glad they catch up fast.

    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± Elen exclaimed while looking at the guard taken down by the rushing maid after my ¡®signal¡¯. Her voice wasn¡¯t even that loud there, but I could see she was surprised with the sudden plan B.

    ¡°Proper explanation: I don¡¯t know. Better explanation: they were up to something.¡± I said while looking around to be sure no blood was on me. ¡°It felt weird, so I didn¡¯t want to risk it. That¡¯s all there is to it, I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s as you suspected¡­ Should we take the safe option then? You already spread that wine around, so we should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Reasonable, but I feel we have a chance here¡­ Since they think they have us, this should be the best chance to get things rolling.¡± That was my answer after thinking for a moment, and I even added a little extra assurance. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll give a second one if they find out we escaped, though¡­ We won¡¯t get these guys out otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Should we hide the bodies, milady?¡±

    ¡°A little. Only enough to buy us some minutes until we can get Cal.¡± I held my chin and turned to the path we came from. ¡°Can I have you deal with it, Eve? We¡¯ll find the best way to reach the saint and see how it goes.¡±

    ¡°Understood, milady. I¡¯ll be sure to reach you.¡±

    ¡°Keep the comms going.¡± I touched the little trinket I made for the both of us. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    With my last words, the other two also nodded and then me and Elen started to rush away through the corridors while Eve rushed to the door.

 Booming Party

    ¡°This is not ideal¡­¡± Elen commented as we peeked at the corridor leading to the temple''s main hall and the guards in front of it. ¡°We rush them now? I would prefer to start the fight after seeing any target, but I don¡¯t think we can pass those. At least, I can¡¯t.¡±

    We were at a proper storeroom now. One bordering our goal, and a very big one too, but not exactly where we needed to be. It was also a place with a good number of crates, both empty and full, and some barrels in the same state. It seemed like the place where some of the party''s food was stored, but I felt there was too little to be the main one. It was a good place to hide in, for now.

    We took down another two pairs of guards in the path here, but we were in the clear still. Some minutes until someone got wind of our approach and rushed here, I would say. Enough time for Eve to appear and do the baiting while we snatched a saint.

    The problem was that, without a way past these guards, we risked wasting Eve and Cal''s part when they arrived. Picking a fight right at the door could draw everyone to us and waiting too much would put the diversion team at risk. Very complicated to say the least...

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Head-on won¡¯t work, but I don¡¯t want more variables too.¡± I mumbled while trying to get a plan going. I didn''t have much to use right away, but an idea came up in due time. One that used the small trinket I got from the older princess. ¡°I can try it... Follow me, Elen. It¡¯ll be fun.¡±

    ¡°Fun, is it? Nothing good ever came from you saying so.¡±

    ¡°You got it.¡± I smiled and then hurried to the farthest wall, the one that should be shared with this room and the one we wanted to break into. ¡°And if I got it right, then¡­¡±

    I held the mini-waystone and started to burn my mana on it, creating a very small spell circle at the wall. A somewhat complicated spell in it, but the original effect was very simple. Almost ¡®everything in a limited half sphere gets teleported to the linked waystone¡¯ if I were to explain it. All I had to do here was change the size and origin of the spell, and... Voila! There was now a sulk on the wall.

    Casting it made me feel some resistance as if the rock was fighting back against the spell, though. A little bit only, but something still. Similar to how a body would fight back against spells cast on it... Probably meant this trick wouldn¡¯t work well on living beings, but that was a test for later. For now, I knew I could teleport things and I also knew this spell wasn¡¯t very tiring. It¡¯d take some ten casts of the small version to get me to use another potion (or that was my guess, at least).

    So, I skipped to the next step: using the same thing from before, but changing the format too this time.

    Like before, I focused on the trinket and on the wall, creating the modified spell circle and calling for a cylinder instead of a half-sphere. So again, after pushing through the resistance, I looked at the stone wall and it now had a finger-large hole in the middle of the tennis ball-sized one.

    This was shaping up to work well, eh? I even got a shining peephole already. Now it was a matter of spying and then using the same spell to get a path when the other two arrived.

    ¡°What the hells are you doing there?¡± Elen finally asked while swapping her focus between the door and me. "I''m still waiting for the ''something fun'' here..."

    ¡°I''m spying a little first¡­¡± I whispered back, focusing my attention on the other side of the wall for now. ¡°Give me a moment¡­ I can see them already.¡±

    In all honesty, I couldn¡¯t see much, but what I could see was interesting enough.

    First, the weird guards around the room.

    There were some of the normal ones like the few we saw around the temple, but this place also had a bunch of dark-robed figures that seemed eerily immobile. If it wasn¡¯t so bright inside, it would be possible to take them as some sort of ghost or monster.

    Matched well with the shadow creatures Mr. Hero¡¯s team mentioned.

    They were guarding a group of important-looking people who, as lucky as it was, were at the table right across this wall. They were in the middle of the well-decorated room, some ten meters away from me, and just slightly misaligned with my peephole. Their group wore clothes similar to my current disguise, as expected, but most of these didn''t seem to be much. Only the four outliers seemed like a threat.

    First, a princely-looking blonde guy in the same priest clothes, but outfitted with many more decorations and some armor. Also, he was sitting by the side of a bow that was way too big. It was the size of a greatbow, at least.

    Then, by his side, there were two other people in equally exaggerated robes but lacking the armor. One of them wasn¡¯t exactly a human too (she had animal ears and tails, in the plural, but that was beyond me). It was somewhat very weird. They didn¡¯t feel that dangerous, though, and were unarmed.

    But then, there was the dwarf in heavy armor by the corner of the table.

    Yes, a dwarf.

    Small, burly, heavily armored, and with a huge-ass gun (one with a huge scope too) on his back as he downed a lot of beer in the few moments I was watching. A very trope-fit guy, if it wasn''t for the unusual weapon, but it was still weird that he was here.

    From what I read, dwarves are as rare as elves (and called ''mountain folk'' instead of ''dwarf''), and they live on the other side of the continent. The side with mountains instead of chasms and the side that I beat at the one-night fort thing.

    The easiest conclusion to get? He wasn¡¯t from here. And if he wasn¡¯t from here, and more than that, he was at the same table as what I could only consider to be Blanchelle¡¯s champion and two other saints, this guy should be something big on Lazzos.

    Something dangerous too.

    The worst case could even be having two champions here¡­ Probably time to call everything off. Not what I wanted, but there were too many variables already.

    Dealing with two champions at the same time was too much. Their weapons made me get a fun idea and the original surprise attack could work, but I¡¯d need to make them split up for it. And since I had no good way to do so, the remaining option was trying some terrorism and giving up on the kidnapping.

    But before I could decide on it, a guard in unusual armor, a very sleek black set that covered his whole body, came closer to the dwarf and said something. One that moved somewhat similar to someone I knew.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The answer for it was a hearty smile as the short gunner then rose from his chair and headed to the exit. I couldn¡¯t get what exactly was said since the soldier was turned to me, but I could guess it. And more so, their movement made me notice the crooked black blade at the dark knight''s hip.

    Having this guy around would also explain the trap. This sort of trick was right on my alley, and if I got his fighting style right, it was the same for him. The problem was the fact that, in the most likely, we wouldn¡¯t be able to make a clear exit now that they knew we were around unless I left Eve and Cal behind.

    Not good at all.

    The others in that room weren''t moving too much, but it was a ruse, I was sure of that. The blonde guy for one, was suspiciously close to his bow and somewhat on edge. The other two saints weren''t as merry as before too, with the fox-eared one leaving the table and my line-of-sight even. And every single one of them was keeping an eye on the doors.

    I couldn¡¯t get what the idea was, but it couldn¡¯t be good. The most I could guess was that there was either some trap waiting for us or that they knew I was looking and wanted to trick me.

    It was dangerous either way, but it was also the chance I had been looking for before.

    ¡°How do you feel about betting, Elen? I think I can manage to take down a champion here.¡± I whispered after taking my face away from the wall. ¡°The chance is big, but we may end up having to fight everyone here.¡±

    ¡°Taking one of them is too much to not take the risk,¡± Elen answered after thinking for a moment, even if her expression seemed to say she didn¡¯t like the idea. ¡°Eve will survive and the young Vanrook is a grown boy. If the only, and I repeat, the ONLY risk is having them flee by themselves, do it. Even if you had to leave me behind, do it...¡±

    That wasn''t an option in my book, but I had no reason to mention it. Leaving my team behind would make me look bad, you see?

    ¡°Then, take these¡­¡± I pulled on three hair strands and gave the diminutive hint to the princess. ¡°Leave them beneath the door and hide. After that, trust me and don¡¯t show yourself until I reach to escape. I¡¯ll need a big hit by then¡­¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± She stared at me for a moment, taking on the seriousness of my expression in the dark of the room for a moment before nodding. ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t betray my expectations, Illia, or you¡¯ll never leave that palace again.¡±

    ¡°Is this supposed to be a threat?¡± I smirked, getting a ¡®hmpft¡¯ in answer as the princess turned to the door and started to do her part of the plan, hiding away in the middle of the crates soon after.

    In the meanwhile, I sat on a certain part of the floor and took most of the flasks out of my pouch and pockets, chaining the mana potions I had right after. It got me instantly feeling sick and it couldn''t be healthy, but I would need it.

    Next, I split the one regeneration potion and the little green flask I had for emergencies from the more ''volatile'' ones and went on drawing on the floor for a moment. A small copy of the huge communication spell was soon done there and then I started to work on strapping my dangerous items together with my belt.

    The signal should''ve gone fine by the time my head started to wobble due to the overextension, so I shut it down and went to the next step.

    I soon had a fusion of an impact grenade (makeshift and homemade), bottles of alchemic fire, and some poisons. A messed-up item that looked more threatening than the very localized damage it could actually cause. Especially with the added glow of a magical circle beneath it.

    Looking dangerous was what it needed to do, though, so I left the contraception there and moved on. And since my next bit was only moving things around, this one also ended very fast, so now I had a covered path ready.

    It was a rushed job, but I only had a few minutes before it all started. Even less if I wanted to match it with Eve¡¯s predicted arrival. A rushed job was the best I could do.

    So, right as I was wondering if I could try anything more, a very faint noise caught my attention and I rushed to position. And as expected, the dwarf with the sniper gun skulked into the room soon after.

    He was very much the archetypical dwarf in clothing and looks, just like what I saw before, but there was a little more now that he was close by. I could see the many runes from his armor, the complex braiding of his beard, and the weird glow of his gun. A glow that seemed like magic, but that I couldn''t identify any spell circles.

    Another kind of magic I didn''t understand... Makes me think that every non-human has something like this.

    ¡°G¡¯day, little rat. What¡¯s your bizzos fossicking here?¡± He asked while aiming his big gun at my chest, something I took as a chance to check the weapon. ¡°And be fast, I¡¯m still far from flatting out, and that¡¯s a shame.¡±

    ¡°If I said I got lost, would you let me go?¡±

    ¡°To the afterlife? Sure, mate. Outside? Not much.¡±

    ¡°What a bummer. But well, there¡¯s not much to explain¡­ I got a bomb, there¡¯s a bunch of important people over there, so I wanted to blow them up.¡± I explained while moving as I should in the meantime, keeping an eye on the dwarf. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect someone would find me like this¡­ Do you have some special skill for it?¡±

    ¡°Skill? Nah. It¡¯s only about being an ace hunter, mate. A good ¡®ol hunter knows a thing or two about tracking. Enough training to get me to the top, but that was all.¡± He boosted a little, nodding his head along while his gun stood perfectly aimed all the time. ¡°But I see you¡¯re a tricky beaut too, eh? How does this funny copy of yours work? And for how long you¡¯ll be hiding around?¡±

    My ventriloquism is very decent from what I know, so it was a little surprising that he managed to catch on it. I mean, using the illusion trick is my bread and butter by now, so losing it wasn¡¯t very fun¡­ That is if it wasn¡¯t for the fact I expected this much to happen.

    The guy is a sniper. I can see this much, and it''s easy to guess he''s good with his eyes. I couldn¡¯t expect to beat him with an observation trick this easily...

    A surface-level skill I could do well and some simple magic wouldn¡¯t be enough. It was only enough to make it seem like my big trick was seen through and that I was actually out of options right now.

    Extra points as I crawled from behind my box while undoing the illusion spell and staying at its place still with my knees on the ground and my feet behind my body. A very meek and surrendering look, if you ask me.

    Not that it even made the rifle wander off my chest. A perfect straight line to my heart even.

    ¡°Looks like I got a bad opponent this time¡­ Can I have your name?¡± I kept the conversation going as I still needed a minute or two before setting things up. ¡°It¡¯s interesting to know people with impressive skills.¡±

    ¡°Name¡¯s Lothuth Lavahide from the mountain folk of Bluetops.¡± He answered almost right away and then continued by confirming my little theory from before. ¡°Can call me Steel Gunner too if you like absurd titles, but I''m not that fond of it. Makes me sound like more than the hunter I am.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I like titles too¡­ Mine is Duchess Illia of Supria, or the Hero of Frercross, of the Trickster Bauty, though I¡¯m the only one who uses this one.¡± I answered in my most pompous tone. ¡°But well, I guess that¡¯s irrelevant now. What now? Arresting me or something?¡±

    ¡°Eh? No fighting? C¡¯mon, beaut, give it a burl at least. I know you¡¯re a good brawler too, the young dill with the crook sword got beaten by you, right? Or you¡¯re some other weirdo?¡±

    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m the same one, but I don''t like fighting like this... Did that guy survive, by the way?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t cark it for sure, but almost. The bloke got marks, lots of them, but he¡¯s alive, and by the gods, he¡¯s cranky about it. Hells, the loss made the guy almost lose it, but I say that was reasonable. You almost got him kicked away from both kingdoms, you see?¡± Lot continued, going on for a little while, and giving me more information than I expected. ¡°Still, he got lucky, mate. Few survive a bath in alchemic fire.¡±

    ¡°Well then, what about this then¡­¡± I decided to change subjects. ¡°Show me these dumb hunter skills of yours, shortkin? I¡¯m kinda bored enough for it.¡±

    He twitched. Now that¡¯s fun¡­ He¡¯s even using some weird spells on his gun. A big one too. Looks similar to what Lhori used with her bow, but wasn¡¯t the same at all. Very interesting.

    ¡°If you wanted to rumble, you could¡¯ve asked nicely, mate. Now I¡¯m cranky too¡­¡±

    ¡°Then try me.¡± I suddenly opened the biggest magical circle I was yet to use on the wall at my back, and then a second one below me, prompting the dwarf to fire his gun. Three events that happened concurrently, but none of which as the dwarf would expect.

    In the perfect succession of the scene for those who couldn''t see it: the sniper¡¯s hand moved, my boots got way too light, the wall on my back vanished, the bullet was fired, my lower half went up and my upper went to the floor, the bullet passed way too close, and then I heard an explosion in my back.

    It was a very impressive chain of events if you ask me.

    Looks overcomplicated for a dodge? Fair too, but well, it was needed. And I like the flair, okay?!  Also, it worked, so now I only had one thing crossing my head as I ignored the pain of hitting the floor...

    Do saints have bulletproof blessings?

 Interlude: Too Close to Back Out

    Very few things are more important than magic. A group of good enough mages could solve most problems a city could have any further. More so, if even one of them had the skills or an unusual element, being called a champion or hero, then it was possible they could manage alone.

    It was simply that convenient.

    Willian Gown had almost no talent for magic, though. He also had no money, family, or even a place to call home. All he had was his wits and the goal of overcoming every single one of the things he lacked.

    Armed with a single sword and some knives in a country that was adopting effective firearms, he was fast to become a mercenary. Just another hired sword, but he was good at it. Good enough to get him his own company in less than ten years. An impressive history from someone who, although not talented at all, was somehow close to being a champion.

    And for him, that was only the beginning.

    For the mercenary leader, even this daring plan, this ¡®miracle fort¡¯ as the soldiers were saying, was no more than a prelude. A little plan he was using to show the higher-ups that he could, and would, manage the impossible.

    It would turn him into a legend, and even the deals he made in exchange for his main weapon would seem small to all he would get from it¡­

    ¡°Sir!¡± One of the grunts borrowed from Lazzos¡¯ military engineer corps entered the command tent and waited at attention.

    ¡°Report¡± Willian answered as the main strategist and temporary commander of the fort. He was swamped with work after managing to safeguard the position and fight back the weak old knight from the nearby citadel, but he could feel something was going on. Something big.

    ¡°There is a carriage leaving Frercross. The details are fuzzy, but it is a noble one.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±

    A noble carriage could carry some six people, coaches included. Not enough to be a threat unless it was something like that ¡®hero party¡¯ Prourene was known for, but they couldn''t be here.

    That same party that was still lacking their lynchpin, the hero.

    Willian was sure of that. He was there when the guy was wounded, and it happened with his little gift too, so it was impossible that he would be fine already.

    Still, his intuition was saying that it wasn¡¯t safe to ignore.

    Maybe it was the pressure, but the mercenary could feel a foredooming dread. His position wasn''t cemented yet either. Most thought he wasn''t more than a useful mercenary who ''got lucky'' in an ambush against the hero while using some old unholy relics too dangerous for anyone in good mind.

    If he failed here, even if he wouldn¡¯t lose his position, he would lose any chances of getting higher. Unless he was utterly crushed after coming this far, of course. Then, then he wouldn¡¯t like to think about it.

    Should he call for help, then? His company wasn¡¯t around right now. He had to move fast and couldn¡¯t bring the heavy soldiers with similar gifts to his, but he could call them now. They would be here in a few hours if they gave up on the armor, but it was hard to be sure of how well they would do. Soldiers with short blades and no armor weren''t the best combination against cavalry... They were better at surprise assaults and ambushes.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact they had very little cognitive capacity, he could have them use other weapons in sum with the ¡®dark blades¡¯, but as is¡­

    This one was the biggest reason he thought the crooked dagger wasn¡¯t as convenient as it could be. They were too short for real battles. If that weird guy had given them guns instead, all would have been much easier. Either that or if they lacked the annoying trait of causing insanity to most who used it.

    Neither option was reality, though, so Willian could only play with the cards he had. If it was such a convenient tool to begin with, more people would be using it. The fact that the artifact was this dangerous was the reason why the mercenary managed to convince those holding it to give it away too.

    He wouldn''t be given such a pricy tool otherwise.

    Be as it was, the soldier was still waiting for an answer and he felt this could be dangerous, so the mercenary got up and decided to go see it by himself. He was given a chance to prove his fight against the hero wasn¡¯t a fluke, so he wouldn¡¯t be wasting it

    What worse could happen anyway?

    *****

    He couldn¡¯t think at all, everything was hurting too much for it.

    Even with all the pain, though, his mind was full of anger. Willian wasn¡¯t even sure how he was alive, but he knew what he would do after this. And until the moment the soldiers carrying him finally reached a proper hospital, that was all he managed to remember.

    Then, as he finally recovered enough to think and was healed enough to move, his situation worsened.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious! We only retreated due to the surprise. They would never be able to pull a trick like that again, so¡­¡±

    ¡°The senate¡¯s decision is final. They can¡¯t take another hit to popularity this soon. And you wouldn¡¯t be able to pull it off anyway, Willian.¡± The leader of the main republican army answered the mercenary under his command with indifference. ¡°Having the other summoned hero be a threat was unexpected, so some are already second-guessing the ultimatum. I¡¯m not ignoring your exploits for that, of course, you¡¯ll still be rewarded for the ambush at the wastelands and for this ¡®miracle fort¡¯ of yours, but we¡¯ll be pulling for now.¡±

    This man was the Supreme General of Lazzos¡¯ Republican Army, Kostantin Vinhail. An efficiency-focused career officer and likely someone who would soon enter the ranks of its government too. A man of simple appearance, officer garbs, a well-trained body, bald head, and a massive mustache, all covered in an intense complexion. His words alone had weight to sway the parliament and the senate, and using him to soar the ranks was what the mercenary was sure he could do¡­ At least until now.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    He knew the general was a utilitarian and a pragmatic. Even if he was known for his unusual tactics and the fact was never openly defeated, he never gave second chances.

    If he saw something wasn¡¯t working and decided it wouldn¡¯t, then he was fast to cut his losses down. And until the next plan came, Willian would be left on reserve, if not sidelined completely. Two options which more than unacceptable for the mercenary.

    Someone in reserve would never have a chance of getting some payback on that girl¡­

    ¡°Please, believe me, general. We need to try cracking that fortress again, that place is the perfect spot, and as long as we prepare against¡­¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t. Getting beaten again would question our worth in this alliance and destroy the senators¡¯ reputations. We¡¯ll go back to the original plan instead. You better stay quiet for a while if you don¡¯t want some politician to throw all the blame on you.¡± The general answered while turning away from his extraofficial subordinate and starting to leave. ¡°The Federation already called for an ¡®alliance meeting¡¯ to mock us, so we have to move carefully.¡±

    All the general was saying kept raising the anger of the scarred mercenary much more than he could handle, but he had to keep control. Enough to notice the important detail of all he was told right now, at least.

    ¡°A meeting? They allowed foreigners into one of their cities?!¡±

    ¡°Obviously not. They decided to amass an army on that abandoned holy site close to the central borders and have their festival there. Something as stupid as you would expect from religious fanatics.¡± The general continued while already heading to the door. ¡°Best case scenario, they draw all those pompous nobles out of their castles and both sides destroy each other at some chasm. Worst case, we lose our chance ally as they attract the enemies. Either way, we will get an opening. The most we can lose is the Steel Gunner as he¡¯ll be sent as our representative¡­¡±

    It wasn¡¯t too hard for Willian to understand what was happening. Since they lost their chance, the people at the Federation decided to try their hand now and draw Prourene into a fight by mocking them.

    Not the smartest idea if the strongest country on the continent could move its army and squash the stupid party, but it could work right now. Prourene couldn''t move as is, and they would bet on it. It would still be a massacre if someone went crazy and actually redirected all their forces into an assault there, but that would be an opening too.

    Willian could think of some other unusual ways to deal with it, but they weren¡¯t things Prourene was known for doing. Or at least, that was what he would think if it wasn''t for the so-called duchess he met.

    ¡°Sorry for the insolence, sir, but that¡¯s not happening.¡± Willian interrupted the leaving general one last time. ¡°If you ask me, then what Prourene will do is¡­¡±

    He knew what they would likely do, so he could fight back. It was still a harsh time convincing his employer that his idea was a fair one, but the general wielded with time. Next, though, he would need to convince the crazy people running that ritual to let him in¡­

    *****

    ¡°Are you sure about taking them to a religious festival, commander?¡± One of Willian¡¯s subordinates asked as they watched the strongest ''soldiers¡¯ of the company. The puppet-like heavy knights armed with crooked black blades brought from the cursed forge. ¡°These ¡®dark knights¡¯ of ours aren¡¯t fit for social meetings. We already know they work best in open battles or ambushes¡­¡±

    One of the main reasons why Willian was so successful in so little time was the deal he made with the weird hermit he met a long time ago. He eventually learned that the old man was an advisor for some high-ranking member of the parliament too, but at the time, he seemed to be a crazy old man. A crazy old man who offered a deal too good to be truth and somehow paid on it.

    It wasn¡¯t as if he would lose anything by spreading the old man¡¯s weird magical items anyway, so who cared? He even managed to get some of the items into his own men''s hands, and if you ignored the price, those became much more powerful due to that.

    Weapons that made your body stronger by burning mana, and then, by burning your sanity, were way too useful. Doubly so in his case since he had a special one that could cause ¡®incurable¡¯ wounds. It got most of their users crazy and Willian could only use his own weapon sparely due to the danger, but that was a fine price.

    ¡°Some collateral damage is fine. As long as we can take that brat down, everything is fair.¡± He answered in a tone that tried but failed to hide how much of a personal stake he had in this fight. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that girl alive enough to be dragged through the streets, and then they¡¯ll see how much of a fluke I am¡­¡±

    It wasn¡¯t much later than the meeting with the general, but the situation changed a lot after Willian saw his own appearance. Not that some scars weren¡¯t expected after almost dying in flames, but these were too much. Worse even, unless he kept either healing magic or medicine close by at all times, the pain would still follow him. Enough to it to make him unable to do anything.

    Having to hide his face with a full set of enchanted armor solved the problems, but it didn¡¯t make the ambitious mercenary happy at all. A figure without a face wasn¡¯t the fame he wanted.

    There was an inkling chance that capturing that annoying girl would solve this problem for him too, though. Her magic was weird, so if she had something for healing, he could be fixed. And with this in mind, he started to mobilize his dangerous force and get ready to negotiate. Next would be having them protect the ¡®little¡¯ festival from the Federation, but they would need to be allowed in first¡­

    *****

    Politics was never Willian¡¯s specialty, but he could manage. It was a hard and tiresome job, but he needed it right now, and he wouldn¡¯t pull out when this chance was so close by. Be it greasing hands or calling the few favors he somehow had gathered, he was putting everything into getting his plan rolling, and it bore fruits right on time.

    After fierce negotiation, and even getting some heat from his own backers due to it, the mercenary had success. He managed to convince both sides to leave the protection of the Red Moon Festival to him and his Gown Company, and was now doing so.

    He still had to deal with the people here, but those were easier to convince as they didn¡¯t want to work today. Not only that, but he had also managed to convince the drunkards, including the guest of honor inside the temple, to allow him to make his trap.

    Things were moving well for once. Or at least, they started so.

    ¡°Anything up?¡± He asked one of the few responsive soldiers he had while wearing a suit similar to the rags that covered the armor of his Dark Knights. The knights with eerie armor, on the other side, were only standing at their positions across the main hall as they had no orders for now. A problem that could only be solved if something actually happened...

    They were much more than what was needed, but no one was giving the answers the mercenary leader wanted yet.

    ¡°Nothing still, commander. The only things of note are some small troubles outside¡­ Some merchants being rowdy or whatever.¡±

    ¡°Go take a look at it to be sure. They may be using the mess to approach infiltrators or maybe they have some trick we don¡¯t know of...¡± Willian ordered, even if only by feeling, and then went back to patrolling. ¡°There has to be a trick¡­ It¡¯s impossible that I¡¯m wrong here¡­¡±

    No news was coming, but he could see the soldiers of the Federation and the legates partying inside getting annoyed by his, and his men, presence. They were, in their words, ¡®killing the mood¡¯ of their holy festival.

    It was close to becoming a problem by now.

    Basically, nothing had happened yet and the people he pestered for long were annoyed due to it. By now, anything other than an actual fight would get Willian even more hate from his own side... Unless he was to show them something, it was very possible that he would be kicked away soon, or worse, forced to get wasted with everyone else.

    He was lucky, though, as, while randomly roaming around, he found the barely hidden body of two of his soldiers. This was when the mercenary finally smiled after his fight against the weird duchess¡­

 When The Mask Falls

    If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m better at than falling, it¡¯s getting up. Something I showed once more as I rolled away from the newly made hole in the wall and got up in a hurry. No one other than me could react after the shock of having one of their allies attack the saints too, so there was no resistance as I moved on.

    All left was shouting with my all and then running away.

    ¡°Well done, Mr. Lothuth, now let us leave before they overwhelm us!¡±

    My shout made all start moving again. The dark guards rushed towards us while the ones not wounded in the explosion went to help the ones who did. Only the angry dwarf didn''t move right away, instead turning to me with anger in his eyes as I fled through the path of boxes.

    ¡°Come back here, you wuss!¡± He barked, blindly firing another explosive shot at my cover as he did, which luckily exploded far enough from me. It still got some damage, but I was fine. I could also hear him moving the lever of his rifle again, though, so it was only ''for now''.

    ¡°How dare you betray us, dwarf! You¡¯re putting this whole plan at risk here¡­¡±

    Another explosion happened way too close to comfort almost exactly where I was projecting my voice after this. It even made me get a barrier up, which wasn¡¯t good considering how much mana I burned already. I still had a lot, but it would run out in time, and I didn¡¯t like the risk.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the approaching steps in the other room, I would be in real trouble here.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to know me! And you all there, not another step.¡± The dwarf continued to talk as I moved away while peeking a glance at him, seeing the burly small man holding a pistol in one hand and his rifle in the other, one towards my cover and the other towards the guards. ¡°Hear me out, that¡¯s all a trick. We have to¡­¡±

    But before he could defuse the situation or even explain anything, all eyes went to an unexpected powerful spell at the exit of the storeroom. A spell circle I¡¯ve seen before and the person who was waiting for her chance to literally shine for a while now.

    ¡°Time to run, dimwit!¡± Elen shouted as I closed my eyes and got everything on running, feeling the heat very close to me and the blinding light all around. It was followed by the explosion of the little items I left behind as they heated up, but I could ignore these... Just the people screaming behind me couldn''t.

    All in all, a very well-timed strike, as expected from the rogue princess.

    Too wide of a strike, though. It was something I thought last time, but she should concentrate on these attacks of hers more. If it could cause this much damage as is, imagine if she made it a proper laser¡­ Maybe it would¡¯ve managed to do more to the dwarf than burn a lot of his beard and make his armor red, at least.

    ¡°Stupid bullshit¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not fleeing from me!¡± The smoking dwarf in red-hot plate shouted with even more anger than anything before. And he was turning with his guns to me too¡­ Which was a terrible idea for him.

    Two small explosions came soon after, one from the shots being fired and one from when the weapons failed and blew up. That''s overheating for you.

    I still had to defend myself with some barriers in a hurry, and the impact flung me across the room, but this exchange was mine. He wasn''t down yet, but he wouldn''t be able to go after us right away. The dark guards walking through the fire were more worrying on that front.

    What the hell are these guys?! At least their sights were on the dwarf right now, and he seemed to notice that.

    As for me, I still had to get up again. I had some help, though.

    ¡°You crazy dumbass! Are you fine?¡± Elen gave me a hand and started to drag me to the door. I could still hear the dwarf shout something before we left, but he soon had to deal with the guards and we were on the clear.

    They would be here anytime now, but the dwarf was still recovering and all else was in full chaos, so we would be able to flee. Especially when I heard noises coming from further away. Noises that were likely the sign Cal and Eve started their part of the plan too.

    I guess they took the explosions as the sign to start. Now we only had to rendezvous with them somehow. If it wasn''t for the fact I got a little more wounded than expected, that wouldn''t be a problem at all, but nothing I can do about that.

    I could move fine even if my head was faint already, so that was fine. Things that shouldn''t be there were coming back and I couldn''t focus a lot, though. Other than that, all I had were some cuts and small burns on the less protected parts of my body. A small piece of wood got stuck in my arm too, but I just took this one away and gulped my one regeneration potion.

    Would worsen the faintness, but it would help with all else. All would be fine as long as I didn''t waste time anyway. I would be keeping some barriers around just in case from now on, though. Even if it would end up burning my limited mana, getting more wounds would take me down.

    So, after leaving the focus of the noise, me and Elen went on running away as fast as we could.

    ¡°Looks like things are going fine...¡± I started to talk to help keep my limited sanity going, but my next words were interrupted almost right away. ¡°Thanks for the...¡±

    ¡°Illia!¡± The princess shouted and tackled me, sending us rolling on the floor as I heard the sound of metal cutting through stone... Something I never wanted to do.

    And as I got up a little after Elen did so, I finally got what had happened here.

    Elen was wounded and standing in a fighting stance right in front of me while the dark-armored figure was walking slowly towards us. It was the same one I saw warning the dwarf before, but he seemed to lack the hurry from before. He even stopped to recover the crooked dark blade that got stuck in the wall close to where I was before.

    It was also the likely cause of the wound of my ally. The trail of blood and the shallow but dark cut on her leg were dead giveaways, at least. This wound seemed to affect her more than it should, though.

    It was also very vexing that our foe seemed to be playing with us here. Especially since he wounded my partner while at it¡­ All things I couldn''t let pass.

    ¡°I see you survived, but I don¡¯t remember your name, Mr. Cooked.¡± I snarked in a try to get some reaction while the guy waited for me. ¡°How was the bath back then? Too hot?¡±

    ¡°Are you so scared you can¡¯t take things seriously, duchess?¡± He answered without showing much reaction other than drawing a common sword from his back. ¡°To think you managed to take me down like this¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called being good,¡± I answered while ignoring the nagging truth behind his words. ¡°You could try it from time to time, not that you could ever be as perfect as I am...¡±

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    While I was talking, I tried to be sure of Elen¡¯s state and fighting capabilities, also using the time to think how long we would need to hold for Eve. Answering them as ''not good'' and ''some five minutes'' soon after. Neither of which were good answers.

    At least Elen''s expression as she fixed her posture still made me feel she could fight. It made me less unsure of what to do, at least. However, unless I gave up on both of us leaving this place, getting him down in a timely fashion wasn''t reasonable. Holding out was the best I could do.

    Luckily, I¡¯m very good at talking and wasting time.

    "You know what, since you decided to show how much of a sore loser you are, I''m not against cooking you again."

    ¡°Sigh¡­ Losing against you may be the darkest event in my life. Losing the chance to raise all the ranks in a single move and then getting marked forever for it, and all due to someone who has luck and nothing more.¡± He answered in an eerily calm tone while walking closer to us. ¡°I hoped you would bring something more, but there was nothing there. Just blind luck and petty tricks. To believe someone like this is considered a hero¡­ At least I can use you to recover my fame.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you try, and after we¡¯re done here, I¡¯ll give you another bath for good measure.¡± I continued with the same act, and as I thought, he finally reacted after I pressed the right points. ¡°Now move on, Sir Barbecue, and let¡¯s see who¡¯s spitting hotter¡­ Though I guess you do have an advantage in this.¡±

    He was angry, I could feel it, but it wasn¡¯t enough to make him go berserk. At most, it gave us a few seconds. Not perfect, but any help was some help. It made me feel we had a chance even if only for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m done with the talking, and I guess you two are done with your little strategy meeting, so¡­¡± The dark armor spoke up, vanishing from my sight the next moment after a charge that was almost too fast for me to react. ¡°Time to be done with it, girl.¡±

    The normal short blade came down in a full downward swing that only didn¡¯t kill me right away because I had my emergency barrier up since before. All I could do against it was hold out and fly backward before rolling away from the follow-ups until he had to stop to protect himself.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget me, asshole!¡± Elen joined the fight with her usual fast swings, but her movements were a little off. She couldn¡¯t move around too much, so she was pretty much being shut down due to her lack of mobility, even if it was enough to protect me.

    Each of her strikes was either dodged without much trouble or blocked straight up. Her range of movement was too bad, and with the wound, whenever the guy in black attacked, she would wince and be pushed back a little.

    It was only a matter of time until her posture would fail, I could see it. A matter of time until a hit would get through, and then things would only get worse from there.

    So, I forced myself up and charged into the fight too, pushing the whole of my limited skill to help a little. The effect was very lacking, though.

    Even though my thrusts were fast and my hits were heavy, all else wasn''t good enough and the most I could do was even the fight a little bit. If at least either of us had all our equipment around...

    So, we continued with this precarious dance for a little longer. Elen would try a fast combo with her twin blades and be forced back, which was when I would jump and force the dark knight''s attacks away from her. He would still slash way faster than I could defend, but by the time things were dire, my partner could tag back and restart the cycle.

    It was as I said before: I don¡¯t know much about fighting with weapons.

    I can mimic the steps and keep up based on what more I know, but that¡¯s all. Whenever I forced an opening to the princess, I would be forced to also block some strikes in my way to buying time, and I only had so many barriers and so much mana. Even as I dodged or blocked most attacks, some still managed to pass way too close to comfort, or even get as far as a half hit.

    In the end, the only one taking damage in this was me. Not exactly a problem since the regeneration potion was still in effect, but it was close to being one. The wounds were increasing in number faster than they could heal, for one.

    The lack of extra armor and equipment I would usually use was hitting hard and I couldn¡¯t use the mini-waystone or any huge spell while focused on not becoming minced meat. All I could see on each exchange was that we were on a timer, and after three of them, the small pause we three did only made me sure of such.

    Elen was tired and there was a little too much blood coming from her leg for it to be fine. At least she had no new wounds. It was worsening with time, just like Elen¡¯s expression, though, so we could very well be in a bad enough situation already.

    In summary, she was looking worse by the moment and my clothes were in tatters, but the guy in dark armor was barely tired. And more so, he had almost no real wounds in him. A little cut on his arm and another one on the side of the chest, but fine overall.

    He had yet to draw the weird magic blade again too.

    ¡°How we doing, Elen?¡± I ignored the burning pain of the slowly closing wounds in my body and tried to be sure of how the white-haired rogue was. If she said anything that didn¡¯t convince me, I would need to go with some forceful measures.

    ¡°Two minutes at most. Will do?¡±

    ¡°Will have to,¡± I mumbled in answer as we both tried to fix our postures as the armored guy got ready to charge again. My wandering mind wasn¡¯t exactly on the enemy right now, though, as I was hearing the approaching noises farther away. ¡°Keep his attention.¡±

    ¡°Got it. And stop protecting me.¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°I said it, so do it! And you¡­¡± Elen complained at me and then opened the magical circle of her laser shot toward the armored guy, prompting him to charge. ¡°Die already!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bluff with me!¡± The angry barbecue moved at an absurd speed again, reaching the princess almost right away. His fast movement was expected, though, so Elen simply fired her spell earlier creating a flash instead of an attack. ¡°Damn¡­¡±

    The surprise spell gave her an opening to go to the offensive for a moment. Only enough for the princess to stab through one of the weaknesses on the shoulder of the dark armor, making the guy retreat a little as she mocked him. The first real hit, even if at the cost of her one remaining trick.

    ¡°Falling for such a weak tactic¡­ I can see how Illia got you.¡±

    ¡°You little¡­!¡± He then charged again, losing a little of the precision in the process. But more than that, he turned all his attention to Elen for the first time during the fight.

    So, as he charged in rage, he failed to notice the weak mist I was forming at their feet. The same that then had him electrocuted. A little trick that also hit my ally, but the damage on her was minor. And as we both saw the opening there, we went for a coordinated flurry of slashes. One that managed to get some damage on the guy, even though he still soon recovered and pulled some space between us both.

    "You two!" He twitched with a new bleeding source on his shoulder and leg, but I could also see Elen almost falling under her own weight. Not that it stopped her from charging right after to keep the momentum.

    "I don''t care, you bastard!"

    Her two blades came from high up, forcing our enemy another step back as I kept on preparing the next attack, another random spell I thought at the moment. But this time, his eyes managed to catch me hiding away...

    ¡°This... Once is enough!" He spoke up while still locked in the exchanges with Elen, but broke the engagement almost right away. ¡°Get out of my way!¡±

    His shout came with a sudden change in posture as he drew his other sword in a single moment and overtook Elen''s speed, forcing the princess to block. And on the next moment, she noticed it was all a feint. The singular real strike came from lower as, instead of hitting with the swords, she was hit by a lightning-fast kick and thrown on the wall.

    It was too fast for any reaction, and by the time I understood the situation, Elen had fainted already. She was down and the dark knight was closing into me faster than I could dodge.

    ¡°Now¡­¡± He spoke as I watched in slow motion as his normal sword fell to the ground and he held his crooked one with both hands. ¡°Time to be over with you.¡±

    His blade went through my half-backed fencing stance and then slashed at the barriers beneath it, but these weren''t enough this time. Not only the slash went through as I tried to dodge back, but as I fell to the ground, I also got kicked away.

    In a moment, I took enough damage to almost reach my limit. Just the feeling of the cut on my chest was enough to make me understand why Elen couldn''t fight well. Even with how luckily shallow the hit was, my whole body was burning in pain as I rolled through the floor, stopping some meters away from my enemy.

    It was a miracle that I was still awake. My head was way too fuzzy to think about anything right now and all else was hurting.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? I expected a little more from you.¡± He mocked me while storing the crooked blade away again. ¡°Will you accept your and this girl¡¯s death now? Isn¡¯t it better to get up and get beaten up a little more? Maybe it¡¯ll even give you a chance to break this ¡®crooked blade¡¯ of mine to save her.¡±

    He was speaking a lot, but I wasn¡¯t able to pay much attention to it right now. My head wasn¡¯t in condition to think¡­ It was too painful to think. Not as much as the last time I ended like this, but it still hurts more than I could hold on without losing focus.

    More so, I was too tired by now. Drank too many potions. Took too long to fight. Got too stressed with this mess. I was doing too much for too long... Everything was way too much now. Too much for the Illia facade to survive even against my wishes.

    My consciousness was going away, but it was worse than any of the times I fainted. Fainting wasn''t allowed this time, so all I could do was keep going with willpower. Willpower I didn''t have, but that I had...

    So in the end, even if Illia almost fainted, ¡®I¡¯ was still awake this time¡­

 The Seventh Life

    How I¡¯m doing, Ojou-sama? Giving up on playing pretend?

    Shut up.

    That¡¯s on me, remember?

    If it was, I would¡¯ve kept quiet for the last decade.

    But it is and I know it, don¡¯t I?

    Shut up. I still have a job to do...

    No, I don''t. I¡¯m not fit to be a hero¡­ Or anything important for that matter. This is not my role.

    That¡¯s wrong! I did all this, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯m winning this war for them¡­

    And losing both myself and their princess at it. Best case, I managed a draw and nothing more¡­ Like always.

    Shut up.

    If I want to shut down, I already know how to do it, don¡¯t I? Forever too.

    It won¡¯t work. It never does.

    Maybe the seventh time will be the charm, no? Like a cat.

    I don¡¯t want to¡­

    Why not? It¡¯s on my bucket list, isn¡¯t it? ¡®To get a remarkable death¡¯.

    It¡¯s still¡­

    A joke? The only joke there was writing the list.

    I¡¯m not¡­ I¡¯m a duchess. I¡¯m a hero. I¡¯m¡­

    I''m not and others said so already.

    The people here believe in me, so...

    Do I think some randos in a medieval fever dream would know more than my relatives?

    They know me more.

    Do they? Or do they know this funny mask with a fake name?

    That''s not¡­

    Heh! I don¡¯t even show them my true self and say they believe me. Maybe I¡¯m using too many drugs¡­

    That¡¯s not true. They¡¯re fine. They¡¯re not like¡­

    They¡¯re like everyone else and I¡¯m still a tool here. That IS the truth.

    I''m not¡­

    Know what? I¡¯ll be tagging in now. Either I die here or kill someone again. Not much difference¡­

    *****

    My head was way too fuzzy, but that was the right way. Another day in another dangerous situation, that''s all.

    It was like the day I fought the local bullies just because I thought they were crazy enough. Or when some thugs tried lame pick-up lines on me and I noticed one of them had a knife. Or when the parents of that little criminal decided to try and get an easy mark on the useless kid of some bazillionaires.

    Just another kill-or-die situation I wasn¡¯t planning on surviving.

    The only troublesome part here was the fact I wasn¡¯t doing well. The wounds, the tiredness, the drawback of the potions, and the stress, all summed to make my head wander away. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stay up for more than a few minutes, and all because that pompous brat wasn¡¯t taking it seriously.

    Way too many annoying memories coming to me from the dark places that overly-pompous mask didn¡¯t want to look at too¡­ Worthless scenes of wasting time training things I could never be good at or waiting for attention I would never get. All coupled with the first time I had too much and caused a huge incident, and then the other five times I tried and failed at doing the same. Every single one of them is marked by their own scars.

    It was way too annoying and something that was only worth more fuel to my burning wish of being done with it. So, after I managed to concentrate enough to move, I sighed at the annoying nobody still monologuing there. He was at it even while I was getting up and burning the mana I didn¡¯t have to heal whatever wounds I could.

    Made me notice these clothes were a pain, so I went on solving this problem next. Removing the cape and coat while tearing some of the tattered parts of the robe and skirt, and then knotting my hair. Only the basics and as fast as I could.

    The slash on my chest would need to stay there and I was almost on underwear in some parts, but I only needed a little bit of time, so whatever. This much was more effective.

    ¡°Sigh¡­ Can you shut up? No, you can¡¯t, right? You¡­ You can¡¯t. You see, you¡¯re... losing time? Hell¡­ If you won¡¯t finish me¡­¡± I mumbled somewhat coherently while forcing my battered body into the nonsensical stance I was more used to. ¡°Then you''ll die with me, you know?¡±

    I was pushing to the point I couldn¡¯t even guess how or what exactly I was saying. Something abnormal was happening, but it wasn¡¯t as if I could care. All I needed was enough time to get this guy down and then be remembered as someone who bested two countries and saved the princess. A perfect meaningful death as I should¡¯ve gone for from the beginning.

    Relying on a weird power-up for it wouldn''t be a problem.

    So, I ignored whatever taunt my unwilling suicide assistant was spouting as he moved forward and got ready to fight. My whole focus was on his dark blade right now, so I couldn¡¯t bother with hearing or speaking. It was the final level of the tunnel vision I had such a tendency to have.

    As someone once told me, it was something as dangerous as it was stupid to use. In no sport or game, focusing on a single detail or action would do more than make you lose by a hit you didn¡¯t see.

    It worked well for a limited time if the person on the other side of the field was underestimating you, though.

    Not that I would be able to do so without using some ''doping''. A variant of the same spell that I used back in the other city to raise my focus and manage more complicated spells, but tuned to cut most senses instead. Basically, a very heavy-handed pain suppressor with other side-effects.

    Casting while under it got troublesome and time-consuming, for one. A fair trade for the ability to keep moving without worry about damage, but a weakness still. And something that meant I was in an even harsher timer.

    So, I hurried to the last, and smallest, vial I still had. All almost at the same time that my enemy decided to attack. Then, the absurdly fast slash went downright as the person wielding the sword almost teleported to me as usual.

    This time though, I put my all into moving away from the blade even at the cost of leaving myself open for a counter. One that came right away, as expected.

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    As I jumped back and moved to the side, my posture got too messy and too low, so the armored swordsman kicked me with all his might. A strong hit that made me stumble and then roll away, but a blunt one.

    Getting kicked wasn¡¯t fun, of course, but it was damage I could take, so it didn''t take more than a moment to be up again. A combination of slashes and thrusts too fast for me, but as someone who had observed them enough, I managed to avoid the blade every single time. And even though I was under an onslaught of attack right after, it was as planned.

    I was ¡®dancing¡¯ through the attacks, bumping my battered body around and leaving the right openings to avoid that blade while adding small illusions from time to time. Perfect moves that were frustrating my foe as he was clearly ragdolling me, and still, I always got up. No real damage, even as he kept kicking and punching me.

    He was angry, and it showed.

    A somewhat sloppy upward slash came and was then followed by a hurried downward one that I predicted enough to punch away, breaking his posture at the cost of getting kicked again. A kick that moved me away and forced him to rush closer once more, frustrating him even more.

    But right next, my body started to finally fail me.

    Another full swing came to me after a charge, but my movements got stuck and the attack passed too close. Close enough that, instead of any counter with his body, the dark armored guy managed to hit me with the pommel of the sword. A hit that made me bend forward and start to fall, getting hit by a knee on the way down, which I used to fix my footing as an emergency effort.

    It was enough, but barely.

    So, with my footing recovered and my body lowered, I got the perfect opportunity to a counter. Or to be more specific, I got the perfect opportunity to jab my foe''s lower parts with my all.

    My hand was hurting right after the hit, plate armor and all, but I was strong enough to cause damage and I could see it. Getting some use of the stupid mutation I half-inhered from my father. At least once would I use something as annoying as having too big of a muscular mass.

    I could feel some weird resistance there, though. Something I only noticed after a better look, was caused by what seemed to be a small air barrier. Probably the same spell he and his soldiers used to reach us back at those fields.

    Either way, I got my first hit in, and with the huge opening caused by the groin damage, I staggered myself up and crashed my little bottle on his face with a punch. Next, I followed it with a hook on his wounded shoulder, still carrying a lot of the green liquid and leaving it over the open wound. And next, I went for another one. And a third to good measure.

    They were all hits that made my enemy wince and I could see in his eyes the surprise of getting damaged by someone bleeding out. Unluckily, even if I couldn¡¯t feel much under the effects of my spell, my body was on the limit, so, as I failed to move as I wanted soon after, my foe managed to disengage.

    It was at the cost of having half a bottle of something meant to poison a whole army seep into his open wound, though. Not something he seemed to notice right away as he charged once more, but it would take him down.

    He pushed a sudden slash towards me almost right away, forcing a half-backed dodge at the cost of getting a cut on my arm and falling back to my butt. I then rolled away and got up in a hurry, getting ready to try the same trick again, but the guy in dark armor didn¡¯t seem to be following up this time.

    He was instead, just there.

    A weak panting and a wince as he looked to his shoulder, but no attacks for a moment. The fact that I was fighting unarmed added to the pain that seemed to have finally taken him to the limit.

    Very reasonable if you ask me, but he shouldn¡¯t freeze like this.

    If you have a weapon and your enemy doesn¡¯t, you should take advantage and start attacking, you know? I¡¯m quite sure that would be your best chance at getting me down in time to survive this. Not seeing this much meant I was overestimating this guy.

    Guess you''ll die as the useless fodder you are then.

    So, as he lost time trying to understand the situation, the sword on my hip was already shining again. My foe noticed such, of course, and mumbled something before charging again, but I couldn¡¯t hear him by now and it was too late anyway. In fact, when he reached me at the same absurd speed as before, all I had to do was use a literal sacrificial limb.

    A perfect block that bought me enough time for a sudden air spell to propel my next attack by getting his weapon stuck halfway on my arm.

    I then went with a sudden punch with way more speed than it should have right to his face. A strike fast enough that I was sure it should''ve broken or dislodged my last functioning arm, but one that threw the armored enemy to the ground. On the ground, right in front of my expressionless self.

    And now was my time to show off some kicks, or some stomps, actually.

    First, one to the shoulder before he could react. Then one on the head to add some stun. And a third somewhere else as my vision started to wander away. And a fourth one as I started to feel my body again. And a fifth as the blood coming down my nose and up my mouth started to clog my breath. And a sixth before I finally started to fall backward.

    All was silent after that.

    Most of my artifacts were forced to the brink, broken, or useless right now. My limbs weren¡¯t in condition to move and my head wasn¡¯t any better. There was way too much blood around, and that was without the cursed wound on my chest. By now, I was only waiting for my body to notice it shouldn¡¯t be working anymore.

    There were still noises in the rooms around this one corridor, of course, but my barely holding-out head wasn''t in condition to hear it. The most I could do was drag my own body to the nearest wall and wait as, even after doing my best, I could see the armor twitching and getting up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll admit¡­ you¡¯re better than I thought, girl.¡± He mumbled even if I could bother to care, going further. ¡°Ugh¡­ Giving up on your life¡­ just to get a win¡­ Few can do it, even if you failed at the end.¡±

    ¡°I did long ago¡­¡± I forced myself to answer while supporting my body on the wall. ¡°Both things¡­¡±

    My answer wasn¡¯t very deep or very sensical, but it seemed to make sense to the other manic in the area. Illia would like to explain further and go into length about her view of the world, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered. What¡¯s the point of having a dead person talk about how she believed the craziest would always win in a fight? Not very useful and too tiresome¡­

    More so, it wasn¡¯t as if it would be fun to entertain someone who couldn¡¯t shut up for a damn. Even while he was collecting vials from the back of his belt and downing them as if they were nothing, he was still talking.

    ¡°Heh. I guess I¡¯m not¡­ cof cof...¡± He coughed after drinking what I could only guess were potions, though probably not enough of them to cancel that poison. ¡°I¡¯m not taking you on a walk of shame¡­ but I¡¯ll be taking your head to a stand.¡±

    He was wobbly and there was blood seeping through his armor, but he could move while I couldn¡¯t. The potions seemed to be making some effect too, but from what I knew from them, that few wouldn¡¯t be enough, and he would overdose if he took more. Still, it seemed that my poison wasn¡¯t fast enough to take him down before he could take me.

    Which wasn¡¯t a problem at all.

    Elen was too far and he was too wounded to take us both, so she was safe now. And then, the whole church was in chaos, so my terrorist act worked too. As is, all my goals were achieved just like a good deal of my bucket list.

    A very productive day, so I just closed my eyes and smiled in wait for my long-postponed end¡­

    Which didn¡¯t come again.

    Instead, I felt a huge shock on the wall with a booming sound and some small debris hitting me on the side. Something had blown up a hole in the wall, I didn¡¯t need to be a genius to know that, and since I could feel flames close by almost right after, I had a good guess who.

    ¡°Your Highness!¡± I opened my eyes to see Eve rushing to her liege¡¯s side while Cal seemed to have forced my foe to retreat with a sudden torrent of flames. Flames that left the beaten human on fire again as he slowly stepped towards me, somehow alive while burning. I could even see Cal panicking at the immortal fighter closing in, and in all honesty, he made me impressed.

    If it wasn''t for the sudden wall of ice the glasses mage raised in a cast much faster than anything I thought was possible, I wouldn''t be surprised if he had managed to finish me. Now, though, all I could see was an immobile figure leaning on the wall of ice. Immobile and likely dead for once, finally.

    ¡°Are you still alive, milady?¡± Cal asked after finally letting his sight leave the immobile figure, even if only to turn back toward it as he heard footsteps approaching. ¡°We are being followed, so we have to move fast.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness is stable enough, sir Vanrook. I¡¯ll try to make lady Illia¡­¡± Eve came closer to us while carrying Elen on her back, but her words were stopped by another explosion, now on the ice wall. A group of those dark guards had arrived and were now attacking the wall, starting to crack it almost right away.

    ¡°We have to move now, milady.¡±

    ¡°You will have to forgive me then, milady, but I¡¯ll need to move you without treatment.¡± The maid changed her tone, but I raised my hand to stop her and then painfully pulled the waystone trinket from my neck. ¡°We don¡¯t know how to use this¡­¡±

    I then shook my head and pointed to the small bag by her side, and to the mana potion inside it. Something she understood fast enough, with an extra understanding when she tried to complain and I just waved my head again.

    ¡°Miladys!¡± Cal asked in a hurry again with his eyes still locked on the breaking wall and the noise of more approaching guards from the other paths.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Understood.¡± Eve bit her lips and then moved to get the potion to me, but her hand was slapped away by the same person she was carrying on her back before she could feed it to me, ending with the flask broken. "Your Highness?!"

    "Give me that thing." She forced out with her eyes on the little waystone, turning to me right after. "And you¡­ You¡¯re not allowed to die, Illia, or I''ll kill you."

    It was a weird phrase, but for this once, I somehow felt she could do it. Maybe it was only the bleeding out as I fainted, though¡­

 Whatéˆ¥æªš Down Below

    I then woke up in a messy room divided between dark and bright colors and with two different styles of decoration.

    Well, ¡®waking up¡¯ was too strong of a word, I guess. I still felt floaty and the scenario around me wasn¡¯t that well-defined, so it could be a dream too. Either that or this wasn¡¯t the real world at all. Maybe the afterlife then.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I felt like asking the two weirdos in the small table outfitted with a map that they seemed so keen on watching, though.

    ¡°I knew you were interfering on my side!¡± The first of the two, a golden-haired and golden-skinned woman shinning in flowing robes and with a voice that seemed to echo around, complained. ¡°That is cheating, I am sure of that.¡±

    ¡°By definition, they¡¯re on my bay as long as they have those Demon Blades.¡± The other woman in the room, a grey-haired and grey-skinned one wearing the same weird robes but in a darker palette, answered in a cocky tone. ¡°Didn¡¯t you agree to give me a new toy since you mistakenly brought two?¡±

    ¡°I did, but you went for my humans! I am the one on their side right now¡­ You should not be working with them! Using sophistry to justify it is not right.¡±

    ¡°You really lack strategy, eh? That¡¯s why I¡¯m always winning our games and have to give you advantages all the time¡­¡±

    ¡°I make, not break. You are the one who cannot let everyone live quietly.¡±

    ¡°Leave them quiet and they¡¯ll blow themselves up, remember? It happens almost every time.¡±

    ¡°Hmmmm! But almost¡­¡±

    These people had weird voices that sounded like a mess of echoes and I couldn¡¯t even judge their looks well. It was as if I somehow wasn¡¯t able to register what I was seeing further than ¡®two weird women¡¯, and I was too tired for it.

    Something that seemed to draw the attention of the two away from their little discussion.

    ¡°Oh? Why¡¯s she moving? Shouldn¡¯t she, you know¡­¡± The grey one spoke with some surprise. It was starting to make me think I actually reached the afterlife, though I was waiting for something with more fire¡­

    ¡°She should not, unless¡­ Ow.¡±

    ¡°¡¯Ow'' what?! Is she actually here? How?!¡±

    ¡°Maybe? It is part of her soul, so if her body got damaged enough, as it did, then the tiara would have let her in stasis and¡­¡±

    ¡°Damn you, Tella! I told you to summon things properly on your turn. She should be sleeping, not plane-walking!¡±

    ¡°I am sorry, Aria, but it was so complicated!¡± The mess of echoes answered in tears while I still had no will to get involved or care about it. ¡°Every time I tried to talk with her, it was so¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, I get it. I¡¯ll solve this mess for you, again.¡± The grey one answered, and I could see her companion brighten up in answer as she cleared her throat. ¡°Aham! In order of what you want to know: you¡¯re not dead, we are goddesses, we call this place the inter worlds, and you¡¯re here because you went way too far. In fact, you¡¯re only alive because you were using that tiara your friend gave you. Go get the details yourself. Also, you¡¯re way too disrespectful for a human. From your description of us to what you want to know, you¡¯re WAY too disrespectful.¡±

    She answered most of my questions without hearing me make them, surprising me for a moment and then smiling cockily as she noticed such. I guess that¡¯s something you would expect from a goddess.

    It didn¡¯t help me with my problems, though.

    ¡°I have to apologize for troubling you, Ms. Emi¡­ Oh! I apologize once more. I did forget you were using a¡­ Oh! Sorry, I did not mean to get you angry again, Ms. Emi¡­ Ah! I am sorry!¡± The other one tried to add something but instead went in circles with herself.

    ¡°Pfft! You¡¯re messing up hard this time, eh? That¡¯s fun to watch, but we should deal with the mortal already, Tella.¡± The grey goddess called out as I was getting annoyed by having ¡®my¡¯ name called. ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t get annoyed so arbitrarily, girl. That¡¯s very petty of you¡­ Oh, and you think I¡¯m petty too? That¡¯s fair, but I guess neither of us cares. And no, I¡¯m not stopping with the mind reading. I¡¯m petty, remember?¡±

    ¡°That is very mean of you, Aria. We do have to explain what is happening instead of playing around.¡± The other one cut into the ¡®conversation¡¯, trying to make sense of it to me. ¡°You are here for two reasons. First, I may have¡­ summoned you faultily. Part of your soul got stuck halfway through, here, if you want to be specific. And then, as you ended so close to dying and had the stasis artifact, your consciousness ended on the other half, for now.¡±

    ¡°A good explanation, no? Even if all it means is that she didn¡¯t pay attention to the summoning and messed up. She could¡¯ve fixed it in a moment if she ever managed to explain that you could go on the summoning artifact and redo the spell to fix it.¡±

    ¡°That is¡­ my fault. But it did make you capable of controlling divine magic since you are, in a way, in direct contact with us. Also made your body resistant to all damage, and helped with stealth since only some of your soul was around. Many advantages, right?¡±

    ¡°Also made your mana puny, made you unable to use most magic, as is dangerous. Caused a lot of trouble with your world¡¯s god too... A huge mess, if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°Aria! Stop making me feel bad...¡± The golden one wailed again as I was starting to think these two were very keen on going forever. I was starting to think I should''ve died right away... And, hell, the other one noticed I thinking it.

    ¡°If you¡¯re feeling bad, then¡­ Oh? You¡¯re really disrespectful, aren¡¯t you? Wishing for the goddesses to shut up enough to prefer being dead¡­ I guess you¡¯re not interested in knowing more, right?¡±

    Having her reading my mind was an annoyance and hearing them talk amongst themselves while I waited was even more so. I¡¯m not in a state to be patient or reasonable right now too, so it wasn¡¯t as if I could be meek and wait.

    Also, neither of them seemed to be going anywhere, so I was better off going back to the real world or dying for real anyway.

    ¡°I apologize for losing the point¡­ But there is little more to say now.¡± The golden goddess continued eventually, trying to keep on the matter for once. ¡°I brought you here by mistake, but saw you would be helpful, so instead of fixing it, I called to keep the game going and evened the sides. Yes, by ¡®game¡¯, I do mean the whole struggle between humans and demons. It is my turn on the human side, so...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re losing the point again¡­ That¡¯s why you never explain your hero''s magic right away, you know? I¡¯ll keep it simple, she helps the humans, I try to kill them, and we switch every couple of centuries.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ That is the gist, indeed.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s it. The only problem is the fact you took way too long to be summoned in full, so you''re in a bit of trouble if you want the other half of your soul back¡­ Oh? You don¡¯t want it back?¡± The grey one smirked at what she read on my mind and then continued while almost starting to laugh. ¡°If all that resistance was due to this, then you think it would be better to stay as is? Now that¡¯s a way to take it, though you¡¯ll keep pushing your physical body until it breaks if you do so¡­ Is it worth it?¡±

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    The answer to this one was easy. The half-soul package was too much of an advantage if I wanted to top my last death attempt, but the divine magic was even further so. It would be dumb to give it away like this.

    Her expression seemed way too amused for my taste, but that would be fair. Seeing someone weird like this would be amusing to a goddess who usually dealt with heroes and demons. I was only unsure of why they were giving me so much information.

    ¡°You would not like the answer.¡± The golden woman gave me a benevolent smile and then rose up, touching my forehead after approaching a little. ¡°But I guess it would be fair to give you a little boon¡­ And since she got here on her own, you cannot complain about it, Aria.¡±

    ¡°Do as you please. Another little advantage won¡¯t change a thing for you¡­ I already have my own plays in motion. None of which are as small as some little spawner like the one your hero took down¡­¡±

    The two goddesses smiled at each other in a way I could only see as more friendly than it should be, but I didn¡¯t mind it. I had other things to think about. There was a shining finger on my forehead and I felt my body getting lighter than it should as I got whatever ¡®boon¡¯ the goddess wanted to give me.

    ¡°I shall now show the fact your wishes are almost accomplished¡­¡±

    It felt as if I was resting very well. The awkwardness of some of my movements and the heaviness of my mind vanished. I could only guess that this golden goddess was healing me or something of the kind, but there was more.

    A huge more. Something that was irrelevant for almost everyone but me. Pieces of information and images I shouldn''t be able to know, but that came from people I knew. Very normal ones and very surprising ones in random proportions, but many of which affected me. More than they should.

    One in special, that was a lot more than I could imagine.

    Pictures of people I didn¡¯t know for long as they were reacting to the fainted girl who seemed unlikely to wake up. Their thoughts, actions, and how they saw me. She was giving me them all straight up and making me feel weird about just giving up when seeing all that. All of which I could only take as a way to assure I wouldn¡¯t be throwing myself into some crazy plans again¡­

    It was a cheap trick on the same level as mine if you asked me, but it was a nice one. Like this, the ojou-sama who went to sleep had no choice but to take over again. And maybe this time, she would stay.

    ¡°I can see it works! You are now patched up in body and mind, as far as I can, and ready to go. Thank you for all the service, and I hope we meet again in a more proper manner.¡± She nodded at my thoughts and reaction while the other one stood at the back smirking. ¡°Now, I believe you do not want to be here anymore and I am in the middle of a game, so¡­¡±

    ¡°¡¯Till we meet again, goddesses. And thank you.¡± I answered properly for the first and only time here, getting a positive reaction from the other two creatures in the room as my vision started to waver.

    It was time to ¡®wake up¡¯ properly and to be sure to not lose ¡®myself¡¯ again. Wasting this chance would be very uncouth of me, right?

    *****

    And so, I started to wake up right where I knew I would.

    I looked around a little, seeing my room with the little furniture it had. All seemed to be like I left, but it felt like it was bigger than usual. I don¡¯t remember having to turn my head so much to see everything¡­ Or actually, it wasn¡¯t that the room was different, but that my sight was. To be specific, my right eye seemed to be blind.

    Looks like the consequences of my actions reached me, eh?

    Other than that, my whole body wasn¡¯t moving very well and a lot was still hurting. Actually, most of my body was hurting while I couldn¡¯t feel anything on my left hand, the one that almost got cut off. It was a surprise that it was still there, though, so I was fine with the massive scar this one time.

    Maybe I wouldn¡¯t even cover this one in make-up like the others. Use it to get some cool points¡­

    ¡°Lady Illia?!¡± I heard together with the sound of glass breaking before I could figure out why my legs were number, turning to the surprised maid who just dropped a bunch of plates. And the moment she did so, I also noticed a sudden movement below me, right over those numb legs.

    ¡°What is the¡­?¡± The waking up Elen got up from her napping and turned to me, changing her expression in a moment. ¡°Illia?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± I answered with a short smile and a little hint of confusion. ¡°But why were you sleeping there?¡±

    ¡°Why?! I¡¯m here because you wouldn¡¯t wake up, dammit! I don¡¯t remember giving you permission to die out.¡±

    She seemed unusually angry, and I knew the reason quite well now even if it wasn¡¯t something I would guess without the goddess¡¯ help. I couldn¡¯t avoid smirking at it, though. It was almost to the point that I would start laughing.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny about it?!¡± The friendly princess pouted at my reaction as I threw myself back to the bed, turning her expression back to worry. ¡°Actually, are you well? Should we call someone, Eve¡­?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m just not used to having people worry about me. It¡¯s just that¡­¡± I answered in a self-mocking tone. ¡°You didn¡¯t get too wounded back there, right?¡±

    ¡°Why are you¡­?!¡±

    ¡°Your Highness was fine, milady. Seemingly thanks to you too. We¡¯re not sure what would¡¯ve happened if you hadn¡¯t brought the source of that curse so we could break it on her and on Sir Hayato.¡± Eve interjected while finishing her clearing of the floor. ¡°It was two weeks ago too, so she¡¯s more than recovered.¡±

    It was the deadpan expression from before, but I read it differently now. I guess that one was a boon indeed¡­ However, in this case, she saw me more like a companion in the job of helping the princess than how said princess saw me. Seeing the relief behind the expressionless face was still very interesting.

    ¡°Two weeks, eh¡­¡± I mumbled with my eyes going through the many visible old wounds on my gown-wearing body. Two weeks without any work likely made them all visible and I don¡¯t even want to see the state of my hair¡­ Worrying about it was a mindless action and not something I should be doing, though, but Elen seemed to catch it.

    ¡°I made sure only my dad would see you and Eve took care of all the medical needs, so don¡¯t worry about it. Though I personally don¡¯t see the problem¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s probably the worst thing you can say to someone who worries about how they look, you know?¡± I answered Elen with a weak smirk but shook it off as fast as I could. ¡°Want to hear how I got these scars, Bat?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to say? Not that it would matter much to me. I can¡¯t go there and beat whoever did this¡­¡± The princess asked back in a very serious tone that only worsened the hit of her next question. ¡°And who¡¯s ¡®Bat¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Hahah! I guess it doesn¡¯t matter, right?¡± I laughed at the weirdly serious (to me) reaction, making both people close by share worried looks.

    ¡°I¡¯m not trained for this, Your Highness. We¡¯ll need a proper doctor¡­¡± Eve told her liege almost right away, likely hinting that she couldn¡¯t deal with someone going crazy. ¡°Though, she was weird to begin with, so I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s needed.¡±

    ¡°I guess she¡¯s fine. It would be more worrying if she started to act normal all of sudden¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s also true.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re both mean, you know? But I prefer you like this.¡± I answered while focusing back on the situation and on being ¡®me¡¯. ¡°Also, I¡¯m sorry for making you worry¡­ I should¡¯ve thought better.¡±

    ¡°Oho? So you understand this much? Very good of you.¡± Elen let her anger seep through once more as she got up and stared deep into my eyes. ¡°Then start explaining why you tried so hard to die there. I remember telling you to flee.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t do that without leaving you, so¡­¡±

    ¡°I can manage, I told you that and I did it many times before!¡± Her cold voice and piercing gaze were very different from the usual, and for once, I was actually intimidated. ¡°And if you could do all that alone, then I¡¯m sure we could¡¯ve managed something together.¡±

    ¡°Illia couldn¡¯t. That¡¯s all I can say, though¡­ Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Tch! Fine. Do as you please, but next time, trust us a little, will you?¡± She slowly went back to normal and then sat at the side of my bed again. ¡°And if you try dying without permission again, I¡¯ll personally kill you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a cliched line, princess, but I get it,¡± I assured the most genuinely I could. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to keep this promise if things get bad enough, but I¡¯ll try my best. Even if I have to look unsightly for it, I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t ready to explain further yet, but I would someday. It was my duty to do so after all that. I also couldn¡¯t go around dying for random people if it would hurt people I care about, right? Very different than from when all I wanted was to grab a moment of attention¡­

    My answer seemed to have shocked both the princess and the maid, though. Something they only didn¡¯t get stuck at due to hearing a knock on the door.

    ¡°What the¡­¡±

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Eve turned to the door her liege was cursing at and then opened it just a little, nodding at whatever was there and then turning to us. ¡°Looks like you have visitors, milady. Should I tell them to leave until you are¡­ Ready?¡±

    ¡°Visitors, eh? That¡¯s fun¡­¡± I smiled again while catching a little glance at the corridor and at the five people I knew waiting in there, only one of whom I couldn¡¯t really like the presence, though by no fault of his. ¡°Tell them to give me ten minutes and grab my tools over there, please¡­ I have friends to meet for once in my life.¡±

 Epilogue: The Royal Leechs Return to Normalcy

    Things turned a little different after I woke up. Considering it only took me two weeks to wake up and some two days to recover enough to walk around, it was almost too much change.

    In the macro, the whole ultimatum and looming war was called out. I was sure there were movements happening in the shadows, but for now, it was peaceful. It wasn¡¯t solely by my actions, though, and it wouldn¡¯t hold forever.

    Not that it was a problem. The cursed dagger I ¡®brought¡¯ with me was enough to help the people of the palace wake the hero up. And with the two champions wounded (yes, wounded, all that to get them wounded), the other countries wouldn¡¯t be too keen on attacking.

    In my eyes, this was the perfect chance to finish them off, but the king never called for a Divine Judgement. No idea what¡¯s his reasoning.

    Meanwhile, on the micro level, my condition wasn¡¯t the best but I was alive. I still couldn¡¯t move my left hand very well and one of my eyes was half-blinded, but everything else was fine.

    In fact, some things got upgraded.

    My hair, for example, now had some very cool-looking snow-white strands, and one of my eyes, the same half-blind one, turned yellow for some reason. Everyone I asked said it was some sort of side-effect from overdosing in mana potions and that they were impressed I was still alive, but I liked the new design.

    I also had to add gloves to my outfit due to messing up my hand punching steel, but I¡¯ll ignore this bit.

    What I won''t ignore is the fact that my name was spreading around like wildfire. That king was using all the PR he could get out of it, and to be honest, I quite like it. Not that I would be using this fame for much unless things went bad.

    For now, I had to deal with making up with Elen. She was still quite a bit angry with me, but she was hiding it by keeping a close eye on me almost all the time. I knew how to deal with this sort of situation (a little more than I¡¯d like to), so it was fine. Paying some freedom for this one wasn¡¯t a problem, and I wasn¡¯t that far from going back to the status quo anyway. And the status quo was my final goal.

    Any more and I would be worried about overdoing the things the golden goddess showed me. I could very well read every single person I knew perfectly now that I had a good sample of their feelings. A very nasty skill that, if possible, I would like to not use at all.

    Makes me wonder if I¡¯m¡­

    ¡°What are you doing in there, Ms. Illia?¡± An annoying person with bad manners broke my inner narration by approaching the ledge of the castle¡¯s tower I was sat at. The same annoying person who was the likely reason why all my little tricks didn¡¯t blow up while I was knocked out.

    ¡°Just watching the city and wondering if I should ask for a statue.¡± I smiled at the stupid hero while turning my focus back to reality. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t have a reason to jump off this time. I¡¯m even using my shoes still.¡±

    ¡°So you were really¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop pretending, Mr. Hero, you¡¯re not that dumb.¡± I cut him off with the evil smirk still splattered on my face. ¡°You know very well what I was doing back then.¡°

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Well¡­ Yes, but it wouldn''t be right to talk about it...¡±

    He went on a very flustered speech, and for once, I couldn''t hold myself from acting a little friendly with this guy.

    ¡°Hahahaha! You should go thinking more when you talk, Mr. Hero, but I guess you work best like this.¡± I left the ledge and then headed to the exit without looking to the buff guy. ¡°And stop worrying about me, I¡¯m fine. It won¡¯t happen again, I¡¯ll make sure of it. But this is meant to be your story, not mine, okay?¡±

    ¡°This is not a story, so it can¡¯t be¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it, Mr. Hero, but that¡¯s fine.¡± I closed my expression and then stared at Hayato for a moment. ¡°Just don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m not a hero and I won¡¯t be trying to be one next time.¡±

    I gave my warning and then went back to walking away. I said all I had to, so there wasn''t much more here. In fact, if possible, I would prefer to not interact with the real hero. Even if it wasn¡¯t his fault at all, he brought the worst in me just by being close by. And all because he knew ¡®me¡¯ instead of everyone else.

    ¡°Can you answer me something¡­¡± I stopped, a little annoyed, making a small nod to signal I was hearing without even turning my head back, making the guy continue with his inquiry. "I heard you can use artifacts, so why did you never take mine?"

    He went for a very troublesome question. One that no one seemed to notice and that I would prefer to leave as that. Especially so when I wasn''t feeling like just lying and being done with it.

    "That''s because I''m no hero. That''s all." I answered without showing my face. "I could borrow your overpowered sword and the armor of bullshit and then go rampage. My mana would vanish and I would die in a while, but there would be no war. Even if I can''t match you, those would be enough with my magic. That wouldn''t be heroic if I did, though¡­ It would be a massacre. You can see this much, right? For one, you could''ve ended that battle without ending in a coma if you gave up on not killing everyone."

    "That... That''s not true. Killing people isn''t something I..."

    "And that''s why YOU are the hero and why you should stop thanking me for not being one." I put some extra focus on making my point clear, and I could feel he was getting it. "Those weapons are meant for a hero. It would be wrong to use them, even if I can."

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    "But with all you did, how can''t you say you are a..."

    "I''ll say it once more: don''t call me a hero. I''m not one and the fact you can''t see that is one of the reasons I really don''t like you."

    ¡°And what are the others?" He asked against my straight rejection of his praise, going further to annoy me. "All I remember is having you save me, so I don¡¯t think I ever gave a reason for it. And if I did, I would like to apologize for whatever I did¡­¡±

    Talking about me saving you again, eh? I don''t remember ever doing it. All I did was go for my own agenda, but I guess he''ll keep considering dead parents as a saving. Unusual, but I don¡¯t like mine too, so it seems fair.

    "You know what, big boy?"

    "What is it?"

    ¡°Lemme tell you a story, okay? One about a princess who could do absolutely anything, but only as well as anyone else. Nothing impressive, nothing genial, just good enough to be acceptable, which was the worst thing for everyone else in the castle...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­¡±

    ¡°So, as it was unacceptable, the princess kept getting thrown around, going from place to place to train different skills and find her ¡®real talent¡¯ somewhere. It, of course, never happened. Even by adding other countries and other specialists to the fold, she never showed to be more talented than anyone else.¡± I ignored the disrespectful hero trying to stop my very obvious allegory and went on. ¡°And since it never happened, she kept going, and going, and going, and going. At some point, she could do all arts like the average artist, she could do all sports like the average athlete, she could manage any business like the average office worker... You get the idea. She even got, like, some eight different blue belts and tactical training. Meanwhile, her siblings and relatives were the world''s best or competing among themselves for the title at multiple different things at the same time¡­¡±

    I was going for too long, but Hayato seemed to have the idea by now. He was just staring with a weird expression at me, one that made it very clear that wasn¡¯t what he knew. Not that I could fault him on this, it wasn¡¯t public knowledge anyway.

    All he likely knew was that I was the weird foreigner at the rich people''s school who, from time to time, would get in trouble. Maybe he even thought the many fights I got into were because I wanted to help someone instead of because I was looking for someone dangerous enough to deal with me.

    ¡°Eventually, she got too tired to keep going and tried to ¡®leave¡¯, if you catch me, but she failed at it too. Six times if you count the rooftop. And her failure, for once, brought some good and she actually managed to escape. However, even after she did so, there was someone who would keep on remembering her of what she left behind. A little someone who caused two of her earlier failures too.¡± I then turned around and moved on without letting him bring any answer to everything I said. ¡°Now go back to your party, Mr. Hero, and I¡¯ll go to mine. If possible, don¡¯t ever meet the princess again.¡±

    I tried to leave once more, but once more, the annoying hero didn¡¯t let me.

    ¡°This princess still saved me, even if she won¡¯t accept it. No matter who they were, I wouldn¡¯t be here if you hadn¡¯t helped, and you had no need to help me there.¡±

    As I said before, this guy had a very protagonist backstory. Very terrible parents, professional kidnappers even, who used him as a mule and all. If it wasn¡¯t for their timely demise in a job that went wrong, he¡¯d either be dead or still a slave to them. But it wasn¡¯t as if his situation was anyone¡¯s fault. He was just lucky, and that¡¯s all.

    One of them wasn¡¯t meant to die instantly, and that was all.

    ¡°I¡¯ll only tell you this, Mr. Hero...¡± I finally reached the exit of the tower but turned one last time before going back to normal. ¡°No one saved you. I just missed.¡±

    He could understand what I said, I could see it. The idea wasn''t that hard too, it was only that my aim wasn''t good at the time and my near miss to draw attention became a headshot. Another one of my failures.

    Either way, my mood was down now, so I left without allowing any more conversation. I needed some eye candy to get back to ''normal'' now, no time for Mr. Hero¡¯s antics. And since they were sure to be close by, it was more interesting that I found them myself.

    ¡°Waited for long?¡± I asked no one, watching as the two people I was looking for turned the corridor right in front of me.

    ¡°Not much,¡± Elen answered, closing into me almost right away. ¡°Though I¡¯m still unsure of why you like ledges this much¡­¡±

    ¡°Both smoke and idiots like high places. Not much I can do about that.¡± I smiled at the princess looking at me with an annoyed expression. ¡°Wanna do some sparing? I feel like moving my body a little today.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Feeling like getting beaten by me again?¡± Her expression turned into a smile almost right away, one that would usually look scary, but now had a different meaning to me. ¡°I won¡¯t hold back just because you became popular, okay?¡±

    ¡°Please, stop with this idea, both of you,¡± Eve called us out as both me and the princess seemed ready to have a go at it, even if just for fun. ¡°Lady Illia is still recovering, and Your Highness was very wounded too. Sparing now wouldn¡¯t be safe. Also, there were complaints on the fact Lady Illia never visits what should be her territory...¡±

    "There''s that, right? Maybe I should take a walk around there at some point... Or instead, I should spread some rumors that I''m such a leech I always have someone else take care of business." I answered while considering my options about the little stunt from some time ago. "It''s almost the truth anyway, so it should go fine."

    "Rumors about you seem to be in high demand lately, so it should go far and wide very fast," Elen added with a smile. "To be honest, some less-savory people have even tried to contact you. They don''t really trust you with the way you played most of your partners last time, but I feel you can use this still..."

    "Now that''s an idea... Were you always like this or was it all influenced by me?"

    "Who knows... And does it matter? It''s more interesting if you''re not sure, don''t you think?"

    ¡°That¡¯s fair¡­¡± I smiled back while thinking about what I still had to do and how I could play around from now on. "But I''m feeling like taking it easy for a while. It''s still too soon to go having a second round of crackdowns..."

    "That''s a way to take it too." Elen resigned herself to not entering a fight right away but still didn''t seem too keen on staying still. ¡°Let us do something else instead, though¡­ Something fun.¡±

    ¡°If I may, I did recover these during our escape." Eve took some battered papers from the inner pockets of her dress, papers full of old symbols and maps that felt very old. "And more than that, we received a contact from the Federation''s envoy asking to meet you two. She seems to have caught wind of the fact Lady Illia woke up..."

    "Oh? A treasure map, some weird runes, and another visit from master?" Elen answered with clear interest. "That does sound like something fun. What do you think, Illia?"

    "I think we should go through it with some snacks and call this master of yours too. We''re in no hurry now..."

    The hero was nice and well now, so I had no need to overextend or do anything. In fact, it was better for both of us if I didn''t do a thing and instead played around with my friends. Would hate to rob him of his job.

    So, without a worry in mind for once in a good while, I went on to my hang-out spot with both a princess and a maid as escorts. My only plan now: enjoy being a royal leech fully for a while. Play around, do stupid things, and just enjoy a bit until my luck caught up again.

    Otherwise, how exactly would I fill my new bucket list?