Elyscia glanced at the window, the sunlight piercing through the curtains. She had not slept ever since she arrived in her own room. Therefore, she only laid down, or sat down on her bed, waiting for the night to be over. The undead did not need to sleep. Elyscia had to admit, incapable of becoming sleepy was an advantage, but she wondered how life truly would be if she would never sleep. Humans would go insane. Would her mind be the same?
She did not need to sleep, but she wondered if she still could if she wanted to. She had not yet asked her mistress about that. Considering that she had been here the entire night, she could have tried it. But she wanted to be awake. She was, after all, in enemy territory. She felt restless.
Although, it was bizarre. This was once a friendly territory. Where she would normally feel safe. But now, things have changed completely. Every moment she remained here, she felt tense, in danger. There were too many enemies here. Strong as they, the death knights, may be, the number of enemies would still be overwhelming.
However, as long as the illusion was not discovered, everything should be alright. She glanced at the ring given to her by the mistress. Both Avelyn and Gavin met with the hero. If the strongest person in the city could not sense the illusion of magic, this magic item must be incredibly exquisite indeed.
She got out of the bed and headed for the shower. After ridding off her casual clothes, she turned on the shower and took a bath. Truth be told, there was completely no need to do this. Her body did not function like a normal human body anymore. She could not sweat or become oily, so she would never become smelly, sticky, or dirty. Her body would always be smooth, and smell nothing. No matter how much she moved. In a way, her body had become flawless.
However, she preferred if she would at least take a proper bath sometimes. Perhaps because it was a manner of habit. She savored the water that fell on her head and flowed down her body. It was cold, pleasantly so. She grabbed the soap and rubbed it on her body.
Afterward, she washed off the foamy soap, gently rubbing her body with her hands. She let out a long, pleased sigh. Once she was completely washed and clean, she turned off the shower and wrapped her towel around her.
When she dried up, she slipped into her knight armor.
She looked at herself in the mirror and fixed her hair. With a nod, she left her room.
She made her way to the building cafeteria. Even though she didn’t really need to eat anymore, she opted to keep up a normal human routine. Which was not hard to do, as she had only become an undead.
The cafeteria was filled with female knights, eating at tables with their friends. Elyscia noticed Avelyn sitting by the corner, all by herself, eating. At least she was smart enough to try to blend in, but then again, she was not exactly an idiot.
Avelyn sensed Elyscia’s gaze and turned towards her, but she did nothing else and continued eating. It would seem she had no intention of interacting with her, despite being the only allies here. Elyscia resisted the urge to sigh. From the looks of it, the girl didn’t even try to make friends or anything. There were even some other young knights staring at her in curiosity.
She was new, after all.
As Elyscia was about to continue into the cafeteria, someone suddenly came up beside her.
“You’re new.”
It was a young woman, a few years younger than Elyscia, a knight. She had light brown hair, brown eyes, and a fair complexion. And she faced Elyscia with a friendly smile.
“Yes.”
“I’m Belle!” She extended her hand.
Elyscia looked down at the woman’s hand before shaking it. “Elyscia.”
“Nice to meet you. You seem like you’ve been a knight for some time.”
“Yes, I am.”
Belle chuckled. “I’m only a couple of months in.”
“A novice. Hm, it’s good you got in.”
“T-Thank you.”
“... Although I have to say I’m not exactly new here. I’ve been here on occasions.”
“Oh.” She seemed to become worried. “Are you someone important?”
“I’m not, so there’s no need to be tense all of a sudden.”
“Oh,” she let out a relieved sigh. She might be worried that she could offend someone of higher standing than her. “What about we eat? I can recommend some good selections.”
Elyscia smiled. “Sure. I’m hungry.”
The two of them grabbed a plate, and they stood before several selections of food. There were even desserts. Belle started pointing out some food she found to be the most delicious. Elyscia didn’t know which one she should pick, the menu had changed since she was last here — which was not a rare occurrence. They change occasionally, so the experience can be new.
As Elyscia scooped up some food to her plate, she noticed Avelyn leaving the cafeteria with a grouchy expression. Belle noticed her staring at the leaving figure.
“That girl? She’s also new.”
“I know. We are associates.”
“Really? Huh, are you two not close?”
“... She dislikes me.”
“Oh, I see. I tried talking to her, but she just ignored me.”
So she was not just being shy, but just had no intention of talking with other people. She had truly changed when she was turned into an undead. No, or rather, she was now more open. Liberated, if it was put into a word. Still, the way she was going about it was not healthy.
That being said, perhaps she was not interested because they were humans. There was no point in becoming close with people they would never get along with, or were essentially their enemies.
“Best to leave her alone,” Elyscia said.
“Huh. If you say so. But it’s quite sad to be alone all the time.”
Elyscia stared at her for a moment. “You think that’s sad?”
“You don’t?”
“... Hm, perhaps.”
Perhaps Avelyn is miserable in her own way.
After filling their plate with food, the two of them sat down by an empty table. Elyscia tasted the food. It was good. She swallowed the food, and it went down into the unknown depths of her stomach. When swallowing any food, she never got to feel full. She had no idea how her new “biology” works now.
“So where were you assigned, Elyscia?”
“Hm?”
“You said you were here on occasions. That could mean you have an assigned outpost or assignment, right?”
Elyscia smiled. “It’s a secret.”
“Woah, seriously? Top secret? You really can’t tell?”
“Yup, absolutely not.”
“Aw, what a shame.”
“What about you, Belle? How’s your training going?”
“... Well, I’m trying my best.” She wryly smiled.
“Trying your best…? You don’t sound confident.”
“I don’t particularly have a great record.” She awkwardly laughed.
“Does the record even need to be great? As long as your trainer passes you, isn’t that fine?”
Belle let out a frustrated sigh. “A mediocre record is just not enough for me.”
“Is that so? You should bear in mind that others could be as good or better than you. So don’t be too hard on yourself. Be patient with your development.”
There were just others out there that forgot that fact. And they overwork themselves. When they face someone greater than them, they become disappointed in themselves and they lose the courage or motivation to continue. For better development, they must acknowledge that they could face people, especially in their own circle, that were better than them, so they won’t feel themselves to be too much of a failure. And that they still have the potential to drastically improve or surpass them.
Some people should just take it easy and be patient. They’re just hurting themselves. And too stressful.
The stress was the main issue. Nothing good in feeling that.
“... I just can’t help it. I want to make my family proud! You get it, right?”
“For family, huh…” Elyscia lowered her head, recalling her family. She had not thought of them for a while. Even more so now that she was undead. She felt conflicted just thinking about them, like she didn’t know what to feel. But she did remember working hard to make them feel proud of her. “I get it.”
“See? Heh, I just want them to be happy.”
“Still, don’t overdo it... What is your household’s rank?”
“My parents are barons.”
“I see.”
“What about you, Elyscia?”
“I’m—” It was then that a woman came up to them and tapped her hand on the table.
“Elyscia, long time no see.”
Elyscia slowly looked up at the person in front of her. “... Sia. It’s been a while.”
“You didn’t even bother to greet your old friend?” She casually sat in front of her, right beside Belle. The latter turned stiff.
Sia from the Arment noble family, with a household bearing the rank of Count. She had beautiful short golden blonde hair that glimmered under the light. Her emerald eyes were captivating. Her face, with a fair complexion, was gentle and beautiful.
“I went straight to bed. I arrived late.” Elyscia shrugged casually with a smile. “Besides, I thought you’d be gone by now.”
“Hmph. I’ll be soon. I’m about to be assigned as a knight at the capital.”
“Oh? You finally got it?”
“Indeed, the hero finally recommended me.”
There were some novice knights that could not head straight to the capital to be stationed there. There were slots they had to consider, and there were just too many individuals signing up, and the capital could not sustain training them all. Both from noble origins, or a lot of them from commoners. That was why there were people like Sia, despite being a daughter of counts, had to be sent here to train. Although, if you were from the capital, and if you were already strong and got noticed, you might not need to go through all that.
It was not easy to get into the capital. There were standards of strength one had to reach.
“In that case, congratulations!” Elyscia mildly clapped.
“Heh, thank you, thank you.” She glanced at Belle. “Having a casual talk, I see.”
Elyscia nodded. “Yes, she’s a new face.”
“Huh. By the way, what are you doing here? Finally going back home to the capital?” she asked Elyscia.
Elyscia shook her head. “... I don’t think so. Not anytime soon.”
“Really? A shame. You don’t deserve to be assigned here.”
“What can I do? I was picked because I was reliable.”
“W-Wait, Elyscia is from the capital?!” Belle asked in surprise.
“Hm? Don’t you know?” Sia smirked. “She’s from the Milisent family. She’s a duke’s daughter.”
“D-Duke?!” Growing pale, she suddenly stood up and began bowing her head. “I-I deeply apologize for my rudeness, Lady Elyscia!”
Elyscia frantically shook her hands. “Sit down, Belle. There’s no need to be so worked up about that. We’re not in a formal setting.”
“B-But…” She looked like she was about to cry.
“It’s fine. You did not offend. So sit back down and let’s continue our breakfast.”
“... O-Okay.” She awkwardly sat back down in her seat.
Sia started laughing. “Haha! You didn’t even fully introduce yourself?”
“... There was no need to.”
“Uh-huh. Anyway, when are you going to come back to the capital?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come now, I’m heading there soon. To be honest, I am quite nervous going there without a friend.”
“I really don’t know. It depends where my duty requires me.” It was true. It depended entirely on whether the mistress would send her to the capital or if the mistress herself headed straight to the capital.
“Lame…”
“What about you eat for now, Sia?”
“I’ve already eaten. Just be done with it so we can walk around and catch up. There’s been plenty of changes here since you last visited.”
Elyscia nodded with a small smile. “Alright.”
A short time later, both Elyscia and Belle were done eating. They headed straight outside to take a walk. Elyscia urged Belle to come along. The latter had no choice but to comply, as they were the request of an aristocrat way higher than her.
“So, Belle, any plans to come to the capital?” Sia asked as the three of them walked.
“... I didn’t plan that far. It’s beyond my means.”
“Beyond your means? What do you mean?!”
“I just think even that is too much for me.”
“Becoming a knight of the capital is quite beneficial, Belle,” Elyscia said. “It’s not that hard anyway, as long as you’re recommended by a high-ranking officer or the hero.”
The capital was incredibly peaceful, so there was not much for knights to worry about. Unlike here in this place, where there were way more monsters.
“... That’s too far from home,” Belle said. “I actually don’t want to go very far. I just want something that is enough to make my family proud.”
“Really now? If you say so.” Sia shrugged.
They decided to just let her be. It was her choice, anyway.
It was then they noticed a crowd gathering in a courtyard. They were knights.
“What’s going on there?” Sia asked.
The three of them approached the crowd.
“What’s going on?” Elyscia asked one knight.
“The girl hit a knight in the face, so there’s now a duel.”
“Girl? What girl?” Elyscia pushed through the crowd to have a clear view of the courtyard. It was then that she saw Avelyn standing in the open, sword in hand. “Uh oh.”
This girl!