Time really flies.
The day after the king—or rather, my senior official brother—presented us publicly to the nobility and the people, all the heroes began rigorous training.
Some focused on mastering their Soul Weapons. Others practiced magic to the point of exhaustion.
The castle courtyard and training grounds were filled with shouts, controlled explosions, and the metallic clang of weapons clashing.
I trained too, of course. I read stacks of magic books in the library (when Priscilla let me in) and practiced as much as I could. A conventional weapon was out of the question for me: my hands were far too small to even wield a standard training sword.
Most of the time, however, she spent in King Fon's room. It had become a routine.
I would come in, climb onto his lap, or sit next to him while he reviewed documents, and we simply... existed together.
Sometimes we talked. Sometimes it wasn't necessary.
From time to time he would also visit Violetta's room.
There he listened to stories of the old adventures he shared with the king, Lily, and Edelweiss, or about his magic teacher. His eyes sparkled whenever he spoke of complex spells.
Edelweiss and Lily, for their part, frequently dragged me to the castle's enormous bathroom. It was more of a thermal pool than a bath: hot springs, constant steam, and plenty of space.
All the women in the group entered together. It was, without a doubt, quite a sight… one that I, being just a child, could only watch silently. Although, it wasn't surprising to me that Shouta-san didn't seem particularly bothered by it, considering he seemed happy to be a woman… or should he be?
We almost thought she was having an affair with her sister, but they both seemed to be smiling at each other in a purely sisterly sense....
Incomprehensible.
Anyway, as far as my magic was concerned, the situation was clear.
I couldn't use elemental magic.
I also couldn't improve my own body.
But he did have a firm grasp of dimensional storage. He could heal minor wounds, dispel bodily anomalies, and raise fairly strong protective barriers.
Violetta had told me that dimensional storage was an extremely rare ability. According to her, the only people she knew capable of using it were herself, me, her former master, the previous Demon King of the Land of Mana… and Priscilla.
Priscilla, by the way, didn't train with the others. Instead, she had turned the castle into her personal proving ground. She used magic to clean almost obsessively. The maids she herself had retrained moved with breathtaking grace and speed; some even developed a slight ability to detect dust invisible to the naked eye. The castle had never been so spotless.
One afternoon, the king gathered all the heroes in the audience hall. His expression was more serious than usual.
—To everyone… I have a sincere request.
Ichirou raised an eyebrow.
—Your Majesty, please speak more politely. It makes us nervous when you act like this.
—It's probably going to be another one of his silly ideas…
The king took a deep breath and bowed slightly.
"It may sound unfair... but I don't want Asagao to go into battle. As much as possible, I want her to stay here with me. She's young, frail, and still easily frightened by strangers. I want her to settle into castle life gradually."
There was a brief silence.
Then Ichirou, the most direct of the group, blurted out without hesitation:
"Are you an idiot? I've been training until my body shakes every night precisely so we don't even have to consider asking a girl for help. Okay?"
The rest soon joined in.
"Exactly! As a teacher, I cannot allow someone like Asagao to face a life-or-death battle," Rose declared.
"A punk like me doesn't need the help of a kid. Let her stay here lounging around," Mito grumbled, though his tone didn't sound entirely convincing.
—I've prepared the provisions for thirteen people— Priscilla added coldly. —Adding half a person more wouldn't be a problem… but I, who have also cared for this child, don't want to see her in a barbarian camp.
One after another, they all said the same thing. Even I knew it from the start: I wasn't going to join them. I couldn't use real offensive magic, I didn't wield weapons, and I only knew a handful of support spells. Although Violetta had praised the strength of my barriers… “for my age,” of course.
The king raised his head, visibly relieved.
—Thank you all. I have a bad habit of thinking the worst. Thanks for reminding me.
And then the day of departure arrived.
The streets of the capital were packed with people, cheering the heroes. I, who usually rarely went out, was able to explore the city accompanied by one of them. I discovered the adventurers' guild, the inns, the taverns where information was exchanged, the shops selling weapons and armor… all the activity of a vibrant capital.
Wherever I went, I became the center of attention.
"The princess is so angelic!"
"She will grow up to be a splendid woman!"
“I want it to stay like this forever…”
I preferred not to listen to the last part.
When I went out one day with Rose—now with her translucent green wings—several men tried to approach her. Hours later, we learned that a man with red hair and dragon scales had taken it upon himself to "set them straight."
Saying goodbye at the castle gates was more difficult than I expected.
I hated goodbyes. So did they. Some almost prolonged the departure just because I started to cry.
I was sure that most of those hugs weren't out of attachment to the castle... but to me. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Ichirou left with his head down, accompanied by Liliana, who stroked his back . Apparently, he had expressed his interest in Lily the night before and received a rather direct rejection. I heard he did the same with Eldeweiss... what a womanizer!
Even though he received a positive response from her... why aren't you happy about it, playaboy!? And Eldeweiss-chan, why did you happily agree to be just another girlfriend of that thing!?
...I wonder if he's good in bed? I secretly overheard Liliana and Eldeweiss leaving Ichiro's room looking quite radiant...
Lily seemed unhappy about it....could it be that she liked Ichiro...or did she like Eldeweiss?
I had that suspicion after observing them recently. Sometimes I catch her staring blankly at Eldeweiss's breasts... I don't know if it's out of lust or something else?
Anyway, let's return to the goodbyes.
Susanoo, the brilliant killer, clung to me with the strength of an undead creature. Priscilla had to summon a small, controlled black hole to pry him off. That pair had a truly bizarre camaraderie.
"Ueeeh! Asagao! Don't grow too big while we're not here, okay?!" shouted Ruri, with his panther ears flattened against his head.
Dreg just patted me on the head and turned away without saying a word.
Rose crouched down to my level, her wings trembling slightly:
—Asagao! Don't forget to brush your teeth! Don't go with strangers! And don't be like King Fo…!
He bit his tongue in time.
Baccara stood before the king, who was observing the scene from the steps.
—King Fon. Just to be clear… you're going to protect her, right?
—Needless to say.
—If anything ever happens to him… I'll make sure that…
The threat hung in the air, perfectly clear. Baccara, Priscilla, and Shun had undoubtedly become the group's best warning issuers.
She had seen Priscilla and Susanoo train together a few weeks earlier. She launched swirling dark projectiles; he dodged them with unsettling grace, opening gaps in the air to teleport short distances and deflect antimatter attacks. In the end, Priscilla only admitted defeat when a corner of her skirt was singed. They had not yet reached the full potential of their Arcane Magic.
Edelweiss, for her part, was capable of annihilating all thirteen in a pitched battle using her Soul Weapon: a warhammer larger and thicker than mine. Both she and Lily belonged to that rare variant capable of combining Soul Weapon with reinforcement magic.
"That only proves that you all still need more real combat experience," Edelweiss had declared after one of those training sessions.
Finally, after a few more tears and many hugs, the heroes recovered and set off on their journey (For some reason, Liliana followed them).
Their first destination: the Valley of the Ancestors, where the Dragon Emperor awaited them.
Me too?
I stayed in the castle, with the king, Violetta, the Royal Guards… and a half-sewn cape.
Because next week was King Fon's birthday.
And I wanted to finish that cape with my own hands.