Reborn: I’m a Dragon Girl With An OP System Book 3

With things seemingly calmed down, the tea party became quite normal. The other girls got up the nerve to speak and were now happily chatting away. Even Sophie had loosened up a bit and was chatting with them. But what I found strange was the other girls were mainly chatting with Sophie and only answering questions with everyone else. I guess it is because Sophie seemed like the gentle one out of our group.

We were about an hour into the tea party when Adel's maid came over with a document in her hand. "Princess, while going through the files. I saw that you missed one of the documents. I need your signature in order to send them off."

"Oh my! How could I be so silly." Adel took the document and began patting her body as if she was looking for something and then looked at the maid. "Quill?"

The maid's eyes widened and, in a monotone voice, yelled out: "Oh! How could I forget to bring some ink and a quill! Only if there was something that did not require me to run around with large objects just to do a simple signature."

I really wanted to laugh but held it in. I watched everyone's expressions, and they all seemed to be taken in by the dry skit that was going on between the princess and the maid. "Your Highness, I can…."

The newfound camaraderie between Miss Dollen and Adel had formed after the silly fight between the two. But now, for some reason, they would both glance over at Sophie with a watchful eye as if they were scoping out the enemy. Hearing Miss Dollen speak up, Adel shook her head and then turned to me. "Faith, can I use that new pen you just got? I will only need it for a second."

I chuckled and nodded my head. I then reached up into my hair and pulled out one of the prototypes that Thurul gave me, and handed it to Adel. Who smiled and proceeded to uncap it. The other girls, except Sophie, all watched in great interest what this pen thing was. When they saw her holding a small metal rod, they seemed confused as they watched her press the tip of it against the document and began moving her hand.

It was Miss Dollen that spoke up first. "Oh! My! Now, this is a curious item. Miss Cyrilia, where did you get such a thing."

Before I could answer, Adel, who just finished signing the document, capped the pen, and placed her hands on her hips with her nose in the air, and proudly said: "Faith invented it!"

"Oh!? Now that is quite amazing." While her actions seemed quite out there, she was indeed not faking her surprise. She eyed the pen in great interest. And it was not just her the other girls were also looking at it in great interest.

"Yep! Faith is quite amazing, after all. These pens will soon be sold in a few select stores until she can open her own store. Then there will even be limited edition ones!" Adel was in full saleswoman mode. She praised the pen with how easy they were to use and pointed out how I could even store it in my hair like a hair clip. The more she spoke, the more the other girl's eyes shined.

Finally, after a fifteen minute rant, Miss Dollen looked at me and asked rather shyly: "Miss Cyirlia, do you happen to have…."

I smiled and nodded my head: "I do have a few here with me. But just to let you know." I scanned everyone at the table: "I have full exclusive rights to the patent, so do not try to replicate this and sell it."

"Of course not!" Miss Dollen pursed her lips and looked at me with an aggrieved expression, one that asked do you really think I am that kind of person?

I smiled and nodded before pulling a few more pens out of my hair and handing them to Miss Dollen and the other noble ladies. I then began to explain how they worked and how to refill the ink. Sadly I was unable to make a nonrefillable pen, so I could not just keep selling new pens. But this was fine. With the limited edition pens, I should still make a pretty fat pocket of gold coins for a while. I already had an idea for my next venture.

While the girls were all examining their new pens I sat back in my chair. While things were strange at the start, the latter half of the tea party was quite relaxing. Even the noble girls who had given me dirty looks all seemed to be genuinely kind to me and Sophie. I just hoped when we finally went to the Academy that things would continue this way.

Life for most people is short. They are born and slowly begin to grow up. They start off as small kids running around having fun, and then fifteen to twenty years later, they are married and with children of their own. After more time passes, they pass away, leaving behind their loved ones. No matter how you look at it, time seems to be the only thing that most people can not escape. As I thought about this and Looked at Sophie and Adel, I wondered how young I will still look in the next thirty or forty years as these two begin to age and grow old….

Just thinking about such a thing was actually making me feel depressed. If I was right about how I would age, one day, I would watch both of these people grow older and older, and one day they will pass away. And then I will be left alone. Yes, I may find some new friends, but the fact that I will lose those around me at some point does make me feel depressed.

"Faith?"Adel's voice came from my side. I guess she picked up on my mood change.

I turned and smiled as I said: "It's nothing. Just thinking."

Chapter2 Relaxing Night

Our little tea party finally came to an end, and all in all, it was quite a fun experience. As we were leaving, Miss Dollen made me promise not to ignore her at the academy. It was good to meet another noble who did not discriminate against me or Sophie. The other noble girls also seemed to be rather fond of Sophie as well. Which I think helped Sophie a great deal since she seemed to have loosened up quite a bit by the end of the tea party.

On the way back, my eyes began to grow heavy. I think I was both physically and mentally exhausted. Physically because wearing heels is a pain and mentally because, well, Adel and Miss Dollen… it is good to have a rivalry, but please leave me out of it!

I guess I did end up falling asleep because when I woke up, my body was stretched out on the seat. But when I realized how I was lying, I couldn't help but blush. My feet were resting in Sophie's lap, and my head was in Adel's lap. I looked up to see Adel looking down, smiling away at me, which made me even more embarrassed. I slowly got up and let out a dry cough to try to hide my embarrassment. "Sorry…"

"No need to be sorry. I did not mind one bit."

"Mm… It's fine."

Although they say it was fine, I still felt embarrassed. It seemed I was the only one to fall asleep. I leaned back on the carriage seat, feeling my eyes grow heavy once more, but before they could actually fully close once more, the carriage came to a stop. "Faith, we are at the airship dock."

"Mmm…" I nodded and stretched.

We got off the carriage and took the airship back to the lower city. When we arrived, we already had another carriage waiting for us to bring us home. This time I stayed awake, and it was Sophie who fell asleep. I smiled and patted her head while she used my lap as a pillow. Even Adel joined into scratch her ears. Sophie's fluff was very addicting.

When we reached the inn, the first thing we did was take a nice hot bath before going to the sitting area to relax. "So, how was my performance?"

Hearing Adel's question, I could help but chuckle when I remembered her maid's monotone voice that sounded more like a robot as she spoke than the human that she was. "Well, I can say that you did well. The girls seemed to be quite taken with the pens, so I hope that they will pass the word on."

"Miss Dollen did say she would spread the word for you, so no need to worry about that. Believe it or not, she has a lot of sway in the noble lady circles. So I am sure once she shows off the pen, you will begin getting lots of orders." Adel was right. While it may only start off with the young noble ladies, the trend would soon spread to their parents, and those who have businesses would definitely spring money to order a huge amount of them. So this was better than any advertisement you would see on TV back on Earth.

"Then I will stop by and let Thurul know to make a few hundred of them as soon as possible." I figured I will start off small and wait for the orders to come in. As the orders get bigger and bigger, I will use the money I get from the first orders to buy a small building to make a factory and then begin working on the next venture, which was to make hover carriages! After imprinting the magic equation of the airship into my mind, I figured out that making a hover carriage by adjusting the equations just a bit would allow a hover carriage that could be voice activated. With a steering wheel like a car on Earth, it could be controlled by slightly tilting the magic circles in the direction you want to go in. Although I guess the control would be more similar to that of an airplane.

"Thank you for tonight, Adel. But I do wonder if the girl I punched will try to retaliate against me." I couldn't help but purse my lips. I think I might have gone overboard but calling me a maid even though I was dressed the way I was really ticked me off.

I do not know if it was because it implicated Sophie and Adel as well or what. But I do know that As soon as it came out of her mouth, I moved. Just thinking about it made me sigh. Now I made two enemies that are nobles….

"I wouldn't worry about it. Why tonight was different than I had expected, especially with how Miss Dollen was acting, I can say one thing about her, she is someone who is good to her word. If that viscount daughter you punched tries to cause a fuss, Miss Dollen will crush her like a bug. She will never be able to leave her house after Miss Dollen is done with her." I could hear the anger in Adel's voice. I guess she was still not over how the noble girl spoke either.

"Speaking of Miss Dollen. Miss Adel, can you explain to me why you and her seemed to be fighting some kind of war at the start then suddenly became best friends towards the end?"

Adel would not even look me in the eye after I asked this. Her cheeks began turning bright red. I guess she was embarrassed by her own actions. I mean, they were unbecoming of a princess after all. But I did truly start to feel sick from being stuffed with pastries. I sat there with an eyebrow raised as I stared at Adel, waiting for her answer.

"Ahem…. I am really tired, so I will sleep first." And with that, she ran away.

Chapter3 A New Kind Of Carriage?

The next day after saying goodbye to Adel who was heading back to the castle, Sophie and I took a carriage to Thurul's place and were once again sitting in his meeting room. "Oh, so many orders already?"

Thurul sipped his tea and nodded his head. "Luckily, the process of making the pens is quite simple. But quality checking each pen will be hard without extra hands. After the quality check, they need to be recleaned before they can be sold, which requires more people."

"Yeah, I figured as much…." I was a bit lost on this as well. If we did get a batch of one hundred orders, then it would be hard to quality check all of them in a timely manner.

"Let's do this. There is an orphanage not too far from here that has quite a few kids there and very little money going in. If we have some of the older kids doing the quality checks, they can come here and make a few silver. It's not like it is hard labor, just filling them with a tiny bit of ink then testing them before washing them clean." I frowned slightly, hearing his plan, but when I thought about how my maids were also young, I nodded my head. The extra money could go to helping the orphanage, and the kids will also learn that they need to work to earn money.

"Let's do that. I will also hire them on after I get a small factory setup. This way, they can continue to make some money. By then, I can also increase their wages, and it should improve the lives of the children." Since I planned to hire them to work, I might as well keep them on afterward, with a fair wage, of course.

"Then I will talk to the head of the orphanage later today and send a message to you later on. Don't worry about paying them for now. I will keep a tab, and when the pens sell, you can just pay me back." Thurul was very business minded. I was truly impressed. On top of that, he was thinking about the long term on thighs as well. While I had money, I had no idea how long it would be before I would get a place to set up a factory or how long it would take to prepare the things needed to manufacture the pens. I was hoping to have it all done in the next month or so while keeping order limited to one hundred per month to not wear Thurul out.

"Then thank you. Ah! While I am here, what do you think about this…." Took out a blueprint that I drew up on my way over here. It was nothing special but just my thoughts and ideas on the design of the hover carriage.

Thurul took the design, and his eyes opened wide. "Are you serious!?"

"Yes, while I could go for a more simplistic design, I decided to not veer off too much on the carriage design as most people are used to it. With the coachman up front steering, it would be no different from before, except they would not need to worry about the horses and could even speed through groups of bandits or run away from them." I explained.

"This is really something. Yes, this would work…. The only problem is storing the magic to make it go for long distances. Are you sure you can come up with a better mana storage inscription?"

"It is only a matter of adjusting the one I saw inside the airship. The airship uses a total of six sets of runes. Five of which are for flying, while the last is to block the wind during storms. We can get rid of quite a few of those and only need to use four of the same runes for the lift and another for propulsion. We can even add one to the front so they can back up as well. The steering will be done with the casing that the hover runes are inscribed into. The diver can then determine the direction of the carriage by using a modified steering wheel." Airships also had steering wheels, but mine would not be the big round wheel as it will need to be used for both lift and landing. I do not plan to make these into flying cars or anything, but they should be able to float a few feet off the ground.

"I see. This is truly ingenious. If you were really able to modify the runic inscription and create a carriage that could be easily controlled with them, then you would advance the way people travel by quite a bit. Because you can make these go faster than a scaled horse, right?" Thurul asked. I could see the excitement in his eyes.

"Yes, with the right amount of mana, you could make them go as fast as you want. But the major issue is mana storage. To use an inscription, a sufficient amount of mana is needed, and to get this mana would be the hurdle I need to overcome." While the idea was feasible, the mana source was my only issue. Unless I created a mana inscription that slowly drew in mana….

I let out a sigh. I just answered my own question that I have been thinking about all morning. "I will also work on a runic inscription that will slowly take in the mana in the air. This way, it can be self charging."

"You are truly a little genius. To think you can come up with all these ideas. Faith, I will work with you hundred percent. When you are ready to make a mock up let me know I will work day and night on this!" Thurul was now all fired up. I am sure he will be bugging me to quickly come up with the proper blueprints. But mass production would still be hard. It was not easy doing inscriptions. I guess this would be one of those made to order type deals with a limited amount ordered per month.

With everything set, I said my goodbyes to Thurul and left his shop. Sophie and I planned to head to the sandwich shop we went to before to try out a different sandwich. But when we arrived, a young man who looked even younger than me yelled out to us. "Hey, you demi's, come here and clean this young master's shoes!"

Chapter4 Spanking A Haughty Young Master

Both Sophie and I, who were just about to step through the door of the shop, turned to see a young man that I think I recognized. Blue hair, ice blue eyes…. Wasn't this the same kid that tried to capture me when I killed the bandits and saved him? My lips curled up into a sneer as I saw the little brat's smug expression acting as if he was king of the world.

"Clean your shoes? Are you sure?" I asked with a bright smile.

I guess he took my answer as me saying I really want to clean your shoes. Because he stuck his foot out with his nose in the air and his arms crossed across his chest. "Yes, use your tongue!"

My eyebrow twitched. I gave a faint smile as I walked over to the boy. A lot of people were standing around looking at me with eyes of pity. I knelt down and reached out with my hand, grabbed his ankle, and with a good tug, I pulled him towards me, flipped him around, and put him over my knee while pulling his pants down, so his little white bum was exposed for all to see. With a raise of my hand, it rained down like the mighty hammer of god! Okay, maybe not, but I still spanked him.

At first, it was: "Ow! How dare you hit me! Do you know who I am! I am Viscount Sullivan's son!"

Then it was: "Ouch! Stop already! If you do not stop, I will tell my father!"

And finally, it was: "I'm sorry! Please stop! I will never do it again!"

The strange looks I was getting while I spanked the poor boy quickly turned to ones that seemed amused by the situation. In the end, I even heard a few people chuckling. When I finally let him go, he quickly pulled his pants up and fiercely glared at me. To be honest, I have no idea why he was here without his guards. I guess he must have ditched them or something. But seeing his glare made me want to tease him more. "Oh? You want me to spank you some more?"

As soon as I said that, he instantly grabbed his butt, causing laughter to fill the area. His face turned beat red, and he was about to run off when a yell came from not far away: "Young master!"

A few guards dressed in metal armor came running over. The boy ran over to them and began cursing at them. "Where were you!? Because of you, I was humiliated by a demi girl! Quickly grab both of them and bring them back to the house! I will show them not to mess with me!"

Seeing him try to put on a strong front but not daring to even look in my direction made me laugh. I mean, it was quite amusing. What made me chuckle even more was that when the guards looked over at me, I waved at them and their faces went pale. My guess was that some of these guards were the ones who were there when I killed the bandits.

"Young master…. We can not listen to that order. We are under your father's order to bring you back." Oh? A quick witted one. I guess he did not wish to get into a confrontation with me, but at least I got to teach a haughty young master a lesson. This made my day a bit brighter.

"I will go back, but first grab those girls, or I will not go anywhere! Let's see what happens when I tell my father you did not listen to me!" The haughty young master yelled out. If he was rolling and the ground flailing his limbs about he would be in a full blown temper tantrum.

But I did feel bad because now the guards were stuck between listening to their young master or getting into a confrontation with me. I thought for a moment before turning to Sophie: "Sophie, go inside and order us something. I will have whatever you order."

"Ah? Okay…" Sophie nodded, but her ears dropped. Sorry, Sophie, but you need to not be in the area, plus this will be a good chance for you to practice talking to people without me around.

As I watched Shopie slowly enter the sandwich shop, I turned around and began walking over towards the haughty young master with a smile on my face. My tail swayed with each step as my smile became brighter and brighter.

"You! What do you want!? Stay away! Quickly get her!" The haughty young master yelled out.

He went to try to hide behind one of the guards, but I swiftly caught him by the scruff of his shirt. I looked over at the guards who were trying to figure out what to do and pointed up at the sky. "Look a flying cloud!"

The smart one of the group immediately raised his head and yelled out: "A flying cloud!? I have never seen one before! Everyone, this is an order! Find the flying cloud!"

Seconds later: "Ahhh! I'm sorry!"

A few more seconds later: "I am really sorry!"

Many more seconds later: "Okay, I won't ask them to capture you anymore! Please stop!"

When I finally heard what I wanted to hear, I stopped my hand and put the haughty young master down, who quickly pulled his pants back up once again and ran over to the guards and began kicking them. "Useless! Let's get out of here!"

I watched as the guards stopped looking for the flying cloud, turned, and gave me a thankful look before walking off with the haughty young master. I could hear the laughs and chuckles of the people who came to watch the show as they left. I am sure this will spread around the city like wildfire soon. But I do not care. The little brat will hopefully learn from this because he sure isn't learning anything good at home.

I turned and walked into the sandwich shop to see Sophie still standing at the counter with her head lowered. The shop owner seemed to be a bit distressed. "Look, little lady. I can't make you anything if you do not order."

I raised an eyebrow as I realized that things would be much harder than I thought to help Sophie with her crowd issues. I walked over and wrapped my arms around her waist, and rested my chin on her shoulder. "Fuwah!"

"You always make the strangest noises, Sophie. What's wrong? You couldn't order?" I asked as I stepped back and leaned against the counter.

"Sorry, I am just…." Sophie said softly, causing me to sigh. I guess I will not try to push her so much and take things a bit slower. I just thought after the tea party she would be fine. But since we were already here, I reached out and poked her forehead. "I am by your side, so go ahead and try again."

"Mmm…" Sophie slowly raised her head and looked at the menu. She fiddled with her fingers before finally speaking: "Gromlinoi with extra greens, please."

"See, you can do it!" I said with a smile while putting my arm around her shoulder and looking at the owner. "Make that two!"

"Alright! Two Gromlinoi with extra greens, coming up!" The shop owner yelled out.

To be honest, with how strange the meat names were, I was not sure if these were the true names of the monsters they came from or were like some kind of weird naming sense for which part of the monster they came from. Either way, so far, I have not been disappointed with the food I got from this place.

After a few minutes, our food was ready, and Sophie and I sat down at a table to begin eating. "We have really had a busy past few days. But just so you know, it will get even busier."

"Busier?" Sophie looked at me with a confused expression.

"Yep! Tomorrow we will be going to the mercenary guild to sign up. I want to take on some missions and get some practice in before I get rusty in combat." That and I really wanted to raise my level some more.

With all the trouble I have been causing, I kinda wanted to keep my level up and also gain more skills points if I could. The mercenary guild seemed like a good place to also gain some funds for the factory I will need to set up. It's not like a ton of money will just drop into my lap. Sadly no matter which world you live on, money will never grow on trees. But if I do find out that there is a tree that sprouts gold coins, I will be the first to try to grow an orchard of them. I mean, it's worth a try, right? But to have the green thumb to be able to even do anything like that I would need to stock up on skill points.

Chapter5 Becoming A Mercenary Part 1

Who would have guessed that the red bottom technique that I received so many times would actually come in handy? That night when I got home, I slept very soundly after getting a bit of revenge on the brat. The next day we took a carriage down to the mercenary guild. The size and scope of this building compared to the one in Hammerlin was like night and day. But this was to be expected. After all, this was the capital.

Sophie clutched onto my arm as we walked through the door. This time though, unlike my last time in a mercenary guild, no one really said anything. I had a few stray eyes on me, but that was about it. It might be because it was mid morning when we arrived, but it did not seem all that busy.

"Oh? Faith!" A familiar voice rang in my ear as I turned to see Gesel walking up with her partner Fred.

"Gesel! I did not think I would see you so soon!" I said with a smile. Sophie tried to become transparent as usual.

"I see that you got an accessory this time around. A cute one at that." Gesel teased. But instead of getting the reaction that she was expecting, Sophie buried her face in my shoulder. Sophie, I do not know how old you are, but burying your face in my shoulder when your head is much bigger than the shoulder itself doesn't hide you, is what I would like to say, but I do not wish to hurt her feelings.

"Sophie is not good with others. It will take time to warm up to you. But yeah, she is my friend." I explained. Gesel only smiled and walked over and hugged the both of us, causing Sophie's whole body to stiffen.

"Haha! It's fine, it's fine." Yes, I forgot Gesel was not one to care about personal space.

"Hi, Fred." I gave Fred a small wave with my free hand while Gesel was still hugging Sophie and I. She has been hugging us for quite a while, though… "Gesel?"

"Ah, sorry… I am just glad you are okay. I know you were traveling solo to the capital. You must have missed it, but there was a major incident on the way to the capital." Gesel's voice grew quieter as she spoke.

"What happened?" As far as I knew, I did not see much out of the ordinary on my way here.

Gesel waved her hand as tears began to form in her eyes, which made me even more concerned. She wiped her eyes and looked over at Fred. "Fred, you tell her."

"There was a mass grave found. All girls. No one knows how long they had been there. But they were both human and beastkin. Gesel and I were sent to check it out, and what we found still haunts us even now. While some were skeletons, some were still rotting away. It seemed they aged from around your age, maybe younger, all the way to eighteen, maybe twenty. The mass grave was found by a hunter who was out hunting like he normally did when he stumbled upon it. I do not know if you can call it luck or what, but he found it when he missed his prey and his arrow sunk into the ground. He pulled it up but found it was stuck in a skull." Fred's expression did not look good as he spoke. I guess just remembering was enough to make him feel sick.

"He did not dig up the grave himself. As soon as he found the skull, he came running to the mercenary guild. There had been some missing person reports in Hammerlin as of late, but not to the scale of the grave there. That grave must have been growing bigger and bigger over time. By the time they finished digging it all up, it had already reached half a mile. Thousands of bodies were found. Gesel here automatically thought of you when she saw the rotting corpses. She swore to herself that if you went missing, she would make it her life mission to find your body."

I was completely shocked by Fred's words and, at the same time, felt warm due to Gesel's care. But to have a half mile long mass grave is just insane. "They have no clue as to why they were killed?"

"None. That we can tell. Some of the more recent bodies have been sent in to have them examined. We mercs are not able to do such delicate work. That is all up to those who have the knowledge." Fred scratched his head before patting Gesel on the shoulder. "Let's not talk about what we do not know the answers to and sit down and catch up."

Gesel nodded her head and followed Fred. I pulled Sophie along and went to sit with them. Gesel wiped her eyes again and forced a smile as she asked. "So tell me, how was your trip to the capital and your stay so far."

"Not too bad? I met my second friend Sophie here." I went on and began telling Gesel about my trip, only to get yelled at because I didn't count her as my friend. So now I have friend number three. As I told her my stories of my heroine tales, I made sure to keep things about the spirits out of it.

After telling my stories of my trip, I told her stories of everything that had happened in the capital. Gesel sat back and let out a long sigh. "You have truly gone through a lot. And you, Sophie made the right choice! Screw that count! He was lucky I was not there to, or his head would be shoved up his…"

"Gesel! Relax." Fred reached out and grabbed the hand that was about to slam down on the table. "Do you want to get a scolding by the guild master again?"

Gesel blushed and lowered her head as she shook it. I could only chuckle. Just thinking of anyone yelling at Gesel seemed too out there. "Speaking of Count Freedman, I wonder who released him from my binds…."

"Haha! I bet he had to pay a heavy price. Magic is normally not very easy to undo. And I am sure your magic is even harder to undo. Not that it matters. He got what was coming to him. By the way, Faith, will you be entering the battle tournament this week?"

"Battle tournament!? How do I sign up!? Is there a prize?" I was all for a battle tournament. I mean, who can pass up something like that? I can not let all my skills go to waste!

"Hehe. You can sign up here at the guild. And the prize pool this time is one hundred gold! I am a favorite to win!" Gesel said proudly.

"Then I guess I will be signing up! Which means I will be the one to win." I said with raised eyebrows in a taunting manner. I will never forget our arm wrestling match!

"Oh? You think you can best me!? You're on!" Gesel reached out with her hand, and so did I. We clapped our hands together, making a promise that we would meet in the tournament.

Fred held his head as he looked at us. "You girl's do know that if you two were to fight at any point and time before the finals that they will need to reconstruct the ring after each one of your fights."

"Fred, you talk too much. What destroyed ring…" Gesel eyes that began to wander here and there caught my interest.

"Are you not going to tell them about all the rings you destroyed in the previous years?" Fred asked, causing Gesel to seem to fade into another realm. She was whistling and mumbling strange words as Fred's eyes locked onto her.

"Fine! Stop with the stupid staring! Okay, so I destroyed a few rings every time I participated but that was because there was a strong enemy. If I do not go all out, how am I to win?" Gesel looked aggrieved. I could tell one thing though Fred was bringing all of this up like this to keep Gesel's mind off the earlier incident. Ah, true love!

"If I destroy it, I will just make another one. They are made of earth, right?" I mean, as long as it is not a bunch of materials that are hard to find in this world, I saw no reason not to destroy it if you were going all out. It is a tournament, after all.

"Yes, all made of earth. But they are also well fortified with magic. You would need a large spell to break them." Fred answered, while Gesel looked the other way.

I chuckled and said a silent prayer in my mind to the battle stages that were about to break. But I was actually quite excited to join in and test my abilities against others. I wonder just how well I will do.

Chapter6 Becoming A Mercenary Part 2

"Now that I think about it, Faith, did you come to the guild for?" Gesel asked. After getting caught up in a conversation with her, I had almost forgotten my original goal of coming here.

"Ah, right, I came to sign up to become a mercenary with Sophie. I need to make some side money." I really needed to get some money together. I did not know where I would find a place to set up my factory. I did, however, think about maybe building one at the edge of the slums. And maybe slowly trying to rebuild the area around it by giving jobs to those who wish to work and maybe bettering the lives of those living there.

"Ah, then you will need to undergo the test. What do you say? I will be your examiner." Gesel has this grin on her face that reaches all the way to her ears. To be honest, I wouldn't mind fighting her a bit to see how strong she truly was.

"Alright!" I answered excitedly. With that decided, Gesel and I walked up to the counter to fill out the forms, with poor Sophia in tow.

"Faith, I do not think I will be of any help…." I knew Sophie was not someone who was good at combat, but I planned to help her train up a bit before she entered the academy. This was why I was having her become a mercenary.

"It's fine. You will be with me anyways. I will teach you how to fight while we take on missions." I could see her ears and tail dropping lower and lower, but I am sure she knew she would need to grow stronger as well. This may also help with her confidence level.

While I was not sure if this would actually be the case, I just hoped it would allow for her to grow stronger. She seems to be shying further and further away from others. But I think this must have a lot to do with what happened with the Count. Just thinking about it makes me wish I killed him. Let's just hope he is smart enough not to act out of line because if he does, I will no longer hold back.

"Then I will sign up…." Sophie spoke softly, but she seemed to have a bit of determination in her voice. I think she does realize that she needs to grow stronger, and until she is strong enough, I will stand by her side, helping her as much as I can. Giving her the push she needs to grow.

Gesel leaned over and put her arms around both mine and Sophie's shoulders. "Sophie, you just leave the test to Faith."

"Ummm… Gesel… They can't fill out the forms if you are hugging them." The lady behind the counter interrupted Gesel. But it was true what she said. It was a bit difficult to write when she was squeezing the two of us against her. Her muscles were just too big!

"Ah! Sorry. Anyway, I will be their examiner so just write me down on the paperwork when they are done. When you girls finish, go to the door over there on the side wall. You will enter a hallway with a bunch of numbers on them. I will be in room nine." Gesel pointed over at the left side wall that had a wooden door with a sign above it that said examine halls.

"Okay, we will see you soon." Gesel nodded and walked away while Sophie and I began filling out our forms. Just the normal things. Name, age, combat profession, magic proficiency. All the normal things that one would fill out on any form...

While I was writing down my skills, I looked over at Sophie's paper to see she actually had skills in daggers and swords. This kind of surprised me since she had never held a sword since I have known her. But this was also a good sign. If she really has been trained in swords, it would help her a lot in her path. Now that I think about it, the fortune telling she got also showed her wielding both magic and a sword, and her swordsmanship was actually quite good. If this was the case, then I expect Sophie to do amazing at the academy.

With the forms now signed, the reception went over some rules about the mercenary guild. You could take on any job, but if you fail, you will have to pay a penalty fee that is double the amount of the job's worth. Which was a smart way to go about it, as it would reduce the chance of people trying to take on higher paying jobs just because they pay a lot. This not only reduces the chances of failure but also the chances of someone dying due to overestimating their own abilities. Besides that, there were no other real rules. She did say that if you are reported killing innocents, you will be hunted down by the guild and turned over to the knights.

"Oh right, I would also like to sign up for the tournament." I almost walked away without signing up! Gesel would get mad if I forgot to do that. The poor battle rings would suffer!

"No problem, I added your name to the list." After giving the receptionist my thanks Sophie and I walked over to the side door and walked down the hall to room number nine.

Now I will say I half expected it, and I will say I tried to prepare myself for it. But as soon as I entered the door, I couldn't help but squeal in awe. I mean, the room was huge, bigger than the building itself. It was another one of those spaces like the one Adel has in her carriage, but this was just huge.

"This is truly impressive." I said as I walked in. Even Sophie was nodding her head while looking around at the huge space.

There was not much to the room. Just a large dirt arena with a rack of weapons leaning against the far wall. Besides that, there was only Gesel standing in the middle, leaning against her sword. It looked like she was rocking back and forth. If I had to guess, she probably fell asleep. She did not seem like one who could stand around for a long period of time without doing something.

I teasing grin appeared on my face as I put my finger to my lips to tell Sophie not to say anything. When I saw her nod, I gently flapped my wings and flew over Gesel, who was indeed sleeping, and silently landed behind her. I reached up and extended my index fingers and poked her under her armpits! "Ahhh! Fred cut the shi…."

"..."

"...."

" Faith! You brat!" Gesel yelled out after taking a few seconds to process the situation. She was blushing like crazy.

"Haha!" I let out a laugh as I dodged Gesel's hands, that kept trying to grab me. This cat and mouse game only lasted a few minutes before she stopped and glared at me.

"Humph! I will just beat you up even more. But before that, have Sophie go by the weapons rack and put a protective barrier around her. I will not be able to go all out if I do not know she is safe." I had the same Idea as Gesel. I also did not wish for Sophie to get hurt either.

"Alright. Sophie, come on, let's set you up so you can get comfortable." I said with a smile while grabbing Sophie's hand and pulling her along.

"Faith, will you be okay?" Sophie asked as we walked to the far side of the arena.

"I will be fine. I promise there is not much in this world that can harm me. And if it does, I will just heal myself." I would only actually put myself in harm's way if I were trying to save a friend or family member. But to fool around, I will never push myself to the point that I might get seriously hurt or even die. That would just be plain stupid.

"Faith… I want to get strong too…." Sophie said softly as she gripped my hand with hers. I guess she had really been thinking about all of this. Her eyes showed her newfound determination.

"Then I will train you as much as I can. How much help I will be, I do not know, but it is always worth a try, right? You will also be trained at the academy as well. As long as you keep striving to grow stronger and push yourself past your limits, I am sure you will make this new wish of yours come true." I watched as a smile appeared on Sophie's lips as she nodded her head.

"Mmm! Thanks, Faith." Seeing Sophie's tail wagging and her ears perked up made me feel much better about her future. I set up a few barriers around Sophie and took out a table and a chair for her to sit on. Then I took out some sandwiches, pastries and some drinks. So she could snack on them while I fought with Gesel. I have a feeling that this battle will take a while.

Chapter7 Faith VS Gesel

As I soar through the air, I wonder to myself. Why do I let things like this happen? Why do I not think before I rush in? I am now realizing that no matter how many times I am proven wrong, I still have this notion that I am stronger than the person I am fighting. But here I am after one clash flying through the air like a leaf caught in the wind.

---

Moments earlier…..

"Faith, are you ready?" Gesel asked me as she readied her massive sword. She looked very excited to be having this battle with me. And to tell you the truth, I was also very excited right now. I mean, I do not get to fight people as strong as Gesel every day. Just the thought of the two of us clashing seemed fun, but at the same time, I could also try to get a grasp of Gesel's strength before the tournament.

I held my own sword and nodded my head. I could already feel that this was going to be a tough fight. But I was ready for it. "Let's do this!"

"Then begin!' Gesel yelled out. As soon as her words finished, I shot forward, and well, this brings me back to my current predicament.

I sighed as I flapped my wings and flipped my body around, only to see Gesel once more swinging her huge sword at me. Since I can not block the attack head on, I will need to parry the attack. I flew to the side and ran my blade down the side of her giant sword. Sparks flew between our blades as I swung towards Gesel's neck. I knew I was using a killing move, but I had no choice. If I did not act in this fashion, I was sure to lose.

From what I understood about Gesel so far, she was one of those types that would not flinch in a fight no matter what was going on. Even now, as my sword was heading towards her throat, she is still smiling. As my blade was just about to arrive at her neck, she bent completely backward and kicked up with her foot while using her free hand to do a handspring and flipped her body away from me while trying to kick me back to make more room.

Luckily I was already ready for such a move, so I managed to dodge the kick and landed back on the ground gently. But this did not mean I was going to give Gesel any time to rest. My eyes glowed as hundreds of fireballs appeared in the air around me. "Go!"

Gesel eyes sparkled with a bit of surprise, but she soon licked her lips and readied herself to defend. "Good! Keep it coming! This is what I expected of you!"

I could only shake my head. Gesel was a battle maniac. Since she was enjoying the fight, I will just have to make it more entertaining. "Wind Rush! Colossal Strength! Acceleration!"

My body began speeding up at an insane speed as I raced around in a circle of Gesel. My eyes were still lighting up as I used both fireballs and confusion mist. With confusion mist up, I switched my view to detection in case Gesel pulled off anything weird. I could see inside the mist, but Gesel could not see me. My fireballs were firing from all sides, and I could see Gesel frowning as she blocked the attacks with incredible speed.

"This is why I hate you damn mages!" Gesel yelled out, and without warning, she ignored her defense, raised her huge sword above her and then slammed it tip down into the ground by her feet.

*Boom!*

The ground exploded, and Gesel was launched skyward. The ground crumbled in all directions as a huge crater formed. I had no choice but to retreat as well or get caught up in the aftermath of the attack. To be honest, seeing the huge crater she formed really was amazing. She was so young, yet she could create such a huge crater with her strength alone. Not that I should talk about age...

"Haha! Where are you looking!?" I heard Gesel's voice from above. I got so caught up in looking at her handy work I forgot about her! I have no idea how she did it, but she adjusted the directions he was going in mid air and was now heading towards me. I could only guess that she knows a magic spell like air walk.

Gesel's sword was heading right for my head. I quickly bent backward and drew a magic circle with the tip of my boot. "Earth wall!"

*Bang!*

"Stupid mages!" Gesel cursed as she was sent skyward again. I am so glad I learned how to draw magic circles with my feet. While I can do this with my eyes as well, I still need to see where the spell will take place, which is why I used my foot, to get that mental image and feel for the distance, so I can write the point of origin a few inches away from my foot. Only by doing this can I keep myself out of range of my own magic spell. I mean, if I were to use my eyes just then to do the magic spell, the spell would have spawned under me, and I would have been tossed in the air along with Gesel. While I could have used detection, it would have been harder for me to adjust the distance.

With Gesel now airborne once more, I got a better look at how she is adjusting her descent from the sky. And to my amazement, she was actually using a method of airwalk, but I could not see any magic fluctuations. This was very intriguing. I will have to ask her how she was doing that after the battle. I mean, yes, I can use both airwalk, and my wings to fly, but it was different when it did not deal with either of those. This was why I found it so interesting.

But I also had a problem because it looked like she was about to send another huge attack my way. I quickly created multiple fireballs and, like a machine gun, set them off, one after the other. While those were firing away at her, I made some distance and tried to think of my next move.

I was not sure what I could use against her to stop her in her tracks yet not hurt her too badly. I have always only ever used certain spells that could instantly kill people. I looked around at my surroundings and went over everything I had seen so far in the battle, and only one thing came to mind. "Restrain her so she can't move…."

My eyes lit up as I floated up into the air. At the same time, large walls of one hundred foot thick ice shot up from the ground surrounding Gesel on all sides. When the walls of ice reached a certain height, they began moving in on each other, merging into one another. I could see Gesel's face sink seeing this. I just hoped she did not have anything else up her sleeve. Gesel knew what she was doing. Her combat ability was way above mine, and if I did not take this chance to trap her, she would definitely have a way to deal with me.

Luckily I did not have to worry too much as I heard Gesel let out a sigh and yell out: "You win!"

I let out a sigh of relief and waved my hand, getting rid of the ice as I floated back down to the ground. Gesel landed and hugged her body as her teeth chattered. "Faith that was just evil! That was cold as can be!"

"Sorry, I figured ice would be better than dirt. I didn't want you to get a face full of dirt." I really did think this way. I would have felt bad if she had choked on a bunch of dirt.

"Yeah, I guess that is much better. Anyway, you won this time. But do not think you can win against me during the tournament." I couldn't help but chuckle as I saw Gesel pout a little.

For some reason, I do feel that she will have a big surprise waiting for me when we meet in the tournament. I will have to be sure that I do not allow her to pull a fast one on me. Since I am entering, I really do not have any intentions of losing. I will fight with everything I have. Well, within reason. I think I will keep grand fall and heavenly rain out of it. I do not want to destroy the city after all. Unless I can change the spells a bit before the tournament… Now that I think about it, I have not really made any new spells as of late. I guess I will see if I can put anything together before then. If I can, then I can use these massive spells on a smaller scale.

Chapter8 What The Future Holds

After my battle with Gesel, Sophie and I were finally given our mercenary ID cards. Gesel still seemed a bit down about losing the fight, but that only lasted a little while when I said I would treat her to something good, which she quickly dragged me away from the guild to go to a stall not far away that had pastries. While I liked sweets myself, Gesel was a connoisseur. "Gesel, when is the tournament again?"

"At the end of the week. So do not miss it. I want revenge for today!" Gesel said with a pout.

"Don't worry, I will be there. That means I have some time to get a few things settled." I was planning to take some missions from the guild, but I decided to hold off in case I needed to travel for a few days to complete them. Plus, one hundred gold was quite a bit of money and would also be a good starter fund for my factory. How much I will need in total, I do not know yet, but one hundred gold is enough to feed a family of four for years.

"As long as you show and do not lose until the finals!" Gesel said while stuffing a pastry in her mouth. I smiled and shook my head. It seemed she would not be happy until we had a rematch.

We chatted for a while before saying our goodbyes. Sophie and I went back to the inn to rest for the rest of the day. I planned to go back towards the east side slums tomorrow and check it out. But before that, I had planned to train with Sophie a little.

When we entered the room, Sophie and I were greeted by Annie and the other maids. "Annie, let's have a small picnic out in the garden."

"Picnic?" Annie seemed confused by this word which made me realize that this world probably did not have a word for eating outdoors in the open. "Ummm… A picnic is when you take a blanket and lay it down outside and eat sandwiches and drink tea or whatever while chatting and enjoying the sun and fresh air."

"I see… An outing!" Annie smiled and nodded her head in understanding. "I will get something prepared."

"Thanks, Annie, and make sure you make enough for everyone. I want you three to join us." Annie and the girls worked hard every day. I wanted them to enjoy some time like this as well. They were my age but worked every day and night, which made me feel bad.

Luckily Annie did not make a fuss saying they couldn't do such things with the master of the house. It seemed she was getting used to having meals with Sophie and I, which was good because I wanted to be as good to them as I possibly could.

A little while later, Sophie and I were sitting on a blanket with Annie and the other girls. The sun was warm but not so hot that it would make you feel sick. We happily chatted about this and that when one of my most dreaded topics appeared. The topic about love!

It's not that I really hated the idea of being in love, but I know I should not fall in love. If I fell in love, wouldn't I just be tormenting myself once my loved ones began to grow older while I still stayed the same? Even now, my body seems to have stalled on the aging process. If my partner begins growing older and older and sees me not aging, will that make them hate me? Would they feel regret for being with me? I had a lot of fears when the word love came into question.

"So! Young Miss, have you ever fallen in love?" Brooke asked. She was the youngest of the group, so I guess the idea of love was like a fairy tale to her.

"No, I do not think the word love mixes well with me." I was telling the truth, but everyone gave me weird gazes. "What!?"

Surprisingly the one to answer my question was Sophie. "What about Adel?"

"What about Adel? We are really good friends." I replied, not seemingly understanding the question.

"Faith, ummm… I am not sure if I should say this or not, and I do kinda feel bad for her, but it is kind of clear as day that Adel likes you not just as a friend." Hearing Sophie's words made my eyes go wide. I instantly remembered the scene from the fortune teller that showed me kissing someone with long golden hair like Adels. I couldn't help but blush just thinking about it. But Me? Kissing a girl? No no…. Maybe? No..?

I quickly shook my head and waved my hands in front of me. "No! You must be mistaken. Adel just thinks of me as a really good friend or sister. There is no way she is in love with me."

I heard four people sigh in unison as they looked at me with a pitied look, but I felt that maybe that look was not for me but for someone else. "What!?'

"Young Miss, we do not know the Princess very well, but with just one look, anyone can tell that she is in love with you. Does she not always go above and beyond for you?" Annie asked.

"Yes, she does but isn't that because she is trying to keep me happy so I will not leave the…."

"Faith!" Sophie suddenly yelled, causing me to jump and sit straight up. Her voice sounded like my Mothers just now! Scary! "Are you just trying to deny it because you are afraid of love?"

"I…. Okay, yes, she does go way overboard when it comes to me. But isn't it because I am her first true friend?" The more they press and the more I think about it, I am starting to see those subtle signs. But I do not understand, why me?

"Faith, while I myself have never been in love, I have seen my parents and how they act around each other. What about you? What about your family? How do they interact with one another." Sophie's words were like a bolt of lightning. Adel was kinda like how my brother was with Rachel, always doing things, trying to help her in any way he could.

I slumped down and fell into thought. Was Adel really in love with me like that? If she was, what should I do? I do not wish to hurt her feelings. Have I been leading her on? Right now, my mind was spinning around in circles with so many questions. What happened to me not wanting to fall in love!? I just told myself that love was not something that was really suited for me, so I was not hurting myself or those around me but now….

With Adel, it is different…. If she is truly in love with me, can I still act the same way? I scratched my head in frustration. It was not a fact that she is in love with me. She may be just over affectionate because I am her first true friend. I guess the best thing to do is just let things go for now and see how it turns out. To be honest with myself though, I do not wish to see Adel sad.

I looked at Sophie and smiled. It was best to keep things as is. I will not treat Adel any differently as I did not want such a kind, sweet girl to cry. If one day she does confess to me, then I will wait for that day and give myself time to figure out what I want to do and how I feel at that time. "If she is, she is. But I will not do anything at this time. Adel and I are friends, and I do not wish to ruin that right now. Sophie, you know how kind Adel is. So now, when I myself am unsure about things, it is wise not to mention it to her. She herself may not even realize it either. So let's keep quiet about this for now."

"Mmm… You are right…." Sophie nodded her head. Luckily she agreed with me. I just hope no one gets hurt in the end. But I guess I have to do some of my own thinking now as well.

"Alright, no more love talk! Let's talk about the upcoming tournament!" I decided to change the topic, which caused everyone else to boo me, but I did not wish to stay on this topic anymore. Life is strange with many unexpected events. Maybe one day, things will play out just like the fortune foretold. If that is the case, I hope at least the bad parts can be avoided. If not I hope I can at least over turn what the future holds. I do not wish to go down a bloody path if I can help it.

Chapter9 Plot Of Land Part 1

Currently, I was standing with two other people. One was Sophie, and the other was Thurul. We were looking at a site at the entrance of the east side slums that Thurul had found out from his friend that his friend wanted to sell. It housed a great deal of shanties and was being sold cheaply at only ten gold.

"This is the place?" I asked to confirm that I was looking at the right place. From what I could see, there were at least one hundred families living on this land. Some of them came out and looked at Thurul and I with worried expressions.

"Yep. My old friend said he had bought this land over thirty years ago but never did anything with it. He said he would sell it to me for cheap, but we have to deal with those who are taking up residence on it." Thurul replied.

"Thurul, do me a favor and look after Sophie for a moment." I wanted to take a walk around the shanties to see the lay of the land and speak with the people there.

"The land ends by the small tree line before heading deeper into the slums. As for the little lady, don't worry. With me around, no one will dare touch her." Thurul had won Sophie over with his tea and snacks every time we went over to his place, so she was not averse to being around him. This helped a lot since I did not want to bring her with me while I walked around the slums, but I also needed to ensure her safety just in case that stupid count suddenly popped up like some kind of weed to try and snatch her away again.

"Faith, are you going over there?" I could tell Sophie was worried, so I placed my hand on her head and scratched her ears.

"I will be fine. Stay here with Thurul and do not leave his side." I watched as Sophie nodded and moved to stand next to Thurul. I gave Thurul a nod before making my way across the tall grass towards the shanties. I could feel many gazes filled with different emotions. Fear, curiosity, anxiousness, and even hate.

I continued forward until I saw something interesting. In the middle of the shanty town was a large well. It seems the residents here had dug the well by hand and had used the stones from digging to create the well wall. Next to it were a few women and children washing dishes and doing laundry. "Excuse me."

One of the women, a middle aged woman, looked up and looked at me. I waited to see her reaction to a demi human, but she did not even flash a hint of fear or disgust. "Can I help you, young lady? This is not the best place for girls your age, you know."

"Don't worry. If someone shows up with such intentions, I will send them to the other side of the slums." I guess my words tickled the middle aged woman's funny bone because she began to laugh.

"Now that I would like to see. I fear for my daughters as they age. There are some really strange ones in this place. Sadly That is life in the slums. But not everyone is able to get those fancy jobs that allow you to make enough to live in nice areas."

Hearing this, my smile got brighter as I sat down next to the middle aged woman and began to help the middle aged woman with her laundry, which caused the middle aged woman to look up at me and smile.

"Are you also looking for a decent job?" I asked.

"Sure am, but I can't leave my little ones alone. It's hard to raise the little ones. But I can't bear to send them away. I do what I can, you know? I do some handicrafts and sell them here and there, which gives enough to get by, but it is nowhere near enough to make sure these kids can eat and stay safe. As you can see the shanties are not the safest places." I nodded my head at her words. This place was not the safest place at all. I sighed and looked around the place.

The lot was huge, big enough to hold a factory and another building. Just buying the lot would put me in the red. I would also need to stick up a large wall and put in a gate to protect the area as well or I can just set up a barrier….

After being lost in thought for a minute, I looked up at the middle aged woman and asked: "How many people up to this tree line are bad?"

"Bad as in would do anything? Or just in general? The line shanties near the tree line are where the scum of this area live. They will do anything, including taking girls against their will. So many girls have been sullied by them." The middle aged woman said with a bit of emotion. I could see she was truly worried about those kinds of people.

I looked around and saw that most of the people around this area were women. "Mostly women here?"

"In this area, yes, as it is closer to the knight's patrol. If something happens, we can run over and get a knight, so many women who were thrown away along with their kids live out here." Middle aged woman explained, which made me nod my head.

"My name is Faith. What is yours?" I kind of had a plan, but I was not sure if it would work. The only issue was money.

"My Name? It's Melinda. May I ask why you have asked so many questions about this place?" I could see Melinda was getting worried. With my clothes, it was obvious I was not from the slums.

"Mmm… I plan to buy this lot b…"

"What!? Please do not kick us out!" Melinda suddenly cried out. "Please, I beg you, we have no other place that is at least a tiny bit safe."

"Wait! Melinda, I do not plan to kick anyone out as long as they are good. In fact, I was just thinking how I could make the place more secure and, on top of that, build proper housing and give you jobs as well as daycare so you can work." My plan was simple. Since this section of the slums was mainly all women. I could have an all female workforce and would give them good jobs. At the same time, any kids of age that can do simple tasks could also earn a bit of money like the orphaned kids. I figured it would be the best way to kill many birds with a single stone.

"You want to do what!? Do you really mean it!?" Another woman who overheard me walked over with tears in her eyes. "Can you really give me a job!?"

"I have to plan things out first, but if everything is able to progress quickly enough, I will be able to not only build a factory here but also employee housing." I explained with a smile.

"Is there anything I can do now? I will work for free if it means progressing things." The woman seemed very desperate for a job. I looked over at Melinda to also see her with eyes full of hope. I sighed and stood up. "Wait here for a moment. I will be right back."

I couldn't help but have a soft spot for these people. Living their lives never knowing when the next meal will be. Can I feed my kids today? Will my kids get sick and need health care? All these questions were things these mothers who had very little income had to deal with every day. I pacified the other woman before taking my leave and making my way back to Thurul.

"So, how was it?" Thurul asked.

"I want to buy this place and buy it today." I said firmly.

Thurul looked at me with wide eyes before scratching his beard. "If you really want it, I will pay the fee for the place, but why the rush?"

"I need the property to be under my name, so I can begin a bit of house cleaning and put up a barrier that will protect these women and children here. After that, I will have them work on clearing out the tall grass and rubble. The area will need to be really cleaned up to make room for the housing for the employees and then the factory. These women are starving for a job and in fear of what might harm their kids. If I can give them the security they need, then why not?" I truly had not planned to do all of this so soon. I figured maybe I could do missions and then save up the money, but now it seems I need to win the tournament and hire some people to begin construction right away. If I have employees, then I will be able to mass produce my pens quickly as soon as the factory is ready.

Chapter10 Plot Of Land Part 2

The next day things were looking up. The paperwork was quickly done, and I now officially own the plot of land that I had looked at. This meant I could go and begin kicking out those who were bad and using the place to do as they please. Of course, I was not doing this alone. I had a team of people, including many knights, with me. I brought the nights that Sir Randford left behind to round up all the criminals so they could do their just time for the sins they have committed. Of course, my team also included Gesel and Fred. Once I told Gesel about it, she said she would help clean things up and help me prep the land as well.

Of course, forced evictions for those who were here to take advantage of the situation would never go smoothly. Many tried to fight only to be manhandled and shoved head first into the ground. When the knights saw my amazing evil person burying technique, they stared at me with wide starry eyes. Okay, well, maybe it was more of a shocked expression. Either way, they were amazed!

But I do have to say this. There were a lot of people and many who had suffered under these bandits' hands. There were also some women who did the same thing. Sick individuals either way. And it was not just humans either. But also demi humans as well.

It took half a day before we were able to round them all up. And to my surprise, there were over one hundred of them just in this plot of land. Luckily the knights had come prepared and had quite a few prison wagons lined up with them all stuffed inside. Men and women were separated. I guess they all go to different prisons here in this world.

I never thought about it before, but I guess there are just as many female knights as there are male knights. I learned this from one of the female knights that came to pick up the female prisoners. This also made me feel a bit better about my future as I work to try to become a commander.

But now, with everything settled, it was time to set up a barrier around the entire plot of land. Since I would be casting the spell, I would need everyone who would be staying here to help. I would need their help in casting it since I would need their magic signature to allow them to pass through the barrier. A barrier to keep others out to keep the residents safe that would allow people out but not in unless they were written into the runic equation.

And with the number of people that would be staying, I would need to write a large magic equation without their magic signature. But with their magic signature, I can just include it into the magic equation to say these magic signatures are allowed to pass through the barrier freely. The issue I would have after that would be to allow the orphans in. This was something I would need to talk to Sei about and see if she could put me in touch with someone who knew how to set up the same kind of system I have at my room at the inn.

About two hours later, I stood in front of a large group of women and children, as well as some men who were doing their best to support their families. I gazed over the crowd and saw Melinda and her children and smiled as I put my hands behind my back and cleared my throat.: "My name is Faith Cyrilia. I now own this land. Before any of you begin to worry about your future here, please know that I will not kick any of you out. That is only if you are willing to work and make a fair wage. If you are willing to work for me, I will make sure you are rewarded. While it may take time I plan to better each and every one of your lives.

"But there is no free ride on this boat. If you wish to have a better life, you must work. I will not hesitate to kick anyone off my land for those who do not want to work or fake like they do want to work only to slack off in the end.

"Life is not easy. As a demi human I know this better than most of you. I have to work harder than everyone else and have to prove myself useful in order to become anything in this world. Some of you here can understand this just as much as I do. While life does have its ups and downs, yesterday, when I came to look at this land, I did not see a slum. I saw people working hard with what little they had.

"I saw children running around with smiles on their faces. I saw mothers doing what they could for those same children. Father's who slaved away to make a measly amount of copper to feed the mouths of their family.

"The rest of the east side slums are even worse than this. I have been there. I saw what life is like there. But I am no god and can only do so much for those around me. So I wish to offer you all jobs. For those who do not wish to work, I ask you to please leave. Because if I am forced to kick you out, it will be no different than how you saw the others get dragged away.

"I have a small goal. I do not know how long it will take, but I wish to help not only you all here today but many others in the future as I slowly expand my business and allow more and more of those in the slums decent paying jobs.

"While I am creating these businesses to make money, I am also doing it so that people like you can have a fair chance at life. So I ask once more, if you do not wish to work, please leave now. For those who wish to stay, I will need a bit of your magic to register with the magic barrier, I will be…."

"Faith! What are you doing!?" I heard a very annoying voice as I turned to see Prince Lance walking over with a group of knights following behind him.

I looked over at the neatly dressed Prince with a frown and asked: "That is the question I should be asking you, is it not Princes Lance?"

"I heard you were doing something big, so I came to help out. But why are you here in the slums? I have a better lot of lan…." My anger flared as I stared at the stupid Prince in front of me.

"What am I doing!? I am doing your job! Look at the life these people are stuck living because you can not even do anything to make these people live better lives! Not everyone in the slums is a criminal! You waltz in here acting high and mighty, but even while standing here, you turn a blind eye and ask me what am I doing here!?" I do not understand it. The slums could easily be fixed, but even now, this prince wants to ignore it and give me land elsewhere? What was the point!?

I watched as Prince Lance's smile froze. He seemed to be at a loss for words. To be honest, I have no idea why he came running over here in the first place. This had nothing to do with him. Was he still trying to court me!? I already told him no!

"I…. Look, it is not that we wish to have a place like this in the capital. It is just hard to handle…." Hearing Prince Lance's sad excuse of an answer only made my temper flare more.

"Hard to handle!!? Are you sure you're fit to be crown prince!?" Silence…. I know I went overboard with my words just now, and even the knights behind the prince had drawn their swords, but I did not care. This stupid prince had no idea what it means to be a ruler who looks after his people. Yes, there might be hundreds of millions of people in this city alone, but so what!? They have a military that numbers in the tens of millions. How can they not have enough men to patrol the city!?

"You dare go against the crown!?" One of the guards yelled out at me, breaking the silence. My guards quickly got into formation in front of me. This also included Gesel and Fred. The tension in the air was so thick that it could be sliced with a knife.

I guess when the captain of the knights with Prince Lance saw his own members facing off against him, his anger seemed to rise quickly because his whole face turned red in anger. "You are all turning traitor!?"

"Stand down!" A firm commanding voice filled the air. I turned to look at a man with knights wearing pitch black armor surrounding him, walking over in what looked like royal robes. To my surprise, the people around me suddenly knelt on the ground with only me standing firmly. Of course, I would not kneel anyway, even if someone asked me to. Of course, that is only if it was not my mother commanding me. Her red bottom technique is still better than mine.

"We finally get to meet Faith Cyrilia." I already knew who this man was when I first saw him because I mean the crown kind of gives it away.

I bowed my head slightly as I gave a proper curtsey. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty."

Chapter11 Taking Over

"No need for the formalities. I was out on a tour of the city because I had heard of some bad things from a very reliable source. And when I came here, I find my son saying some unbelievable things." The man before me who had just finished speaking is King Gravos himself and Adel's father, as well as the idiot prince's father.

I did not say anything as the King stared down Prince Lance. It's not that I couldn't, but I wanted to see just how the prince would respond. I can say, however, is that the pressure from the knights surrounding the King was beyond anything I could have ever expected. Even I was feeling a bit of cold sweat build up on my back with them around.

"Lance, care to explain your words just now? What do you mean by the slums are hard to handle?" I also wanted to know the answer to this myself. So hearing the King ask this question, my ears perked up. I wonder how he would answer since he can not just give a half response when the King himself was asking the question.

"Your Majesty, it is not that…." Prince Lance seems to be hard up for words. Seeing him, sweat did make me feel good. And I kind of figured I already knew the answer to the reason why it was 'hard' for him to handle the slums.

I know I shouldn't be saying anything, but if this continues with the prince trying to stumble over his words, then we will never get anywhere, and I only wish to help the people in need and not suck up to some nobles, so I decided to add my two cents. "Most likely because his supporters need the slums to do their dirty dealings."

"Oh? Lance, is this true?" King Gravos's eyes narrowed as he looked at Prince Lance. I could even see beads of sweat rolling down the prince's face. I am sure the King had read the report about how Count Freedman had his own people in the slums. And I am sure he had things investigated thoroughly as well.

I watched as Prince Lance gritted his teeth and clenched his fists before a self defeating smile formed on his lips. "Yes….. But they told me they were not doing any serious crimes….."

"Are you an idiot!? Who in their right mind would believe such crap!?" I lost it. That answer threw the last bit of my restraint out the window. "Prince Lance, I will give you this. You love this kingdom to a point, but everything else you are an idiot about. Why would you believe the words of a noble without investigating anything!? For you to even know they have dirty dealings in the slums means that you must have talked about trying to fix things for the people here but gave in to the nobles who were trying to use you to hide their dealings, and you are letting them. You are basically doing all the work while they count the money. I am younger than you, and I can tell they are just using honeyed words because you are too naive!"

My chest heaved up and down. My cheeks were flushed. I was seriously pissed off right now. "Faith, relax. No need for you to get riled up over this. Lance, you are under house arrest for the time being. Head back to the castle. I will deal with you later."

"But father I…. I will see you later then." Prince Lance looked as if he wanted to say something, but it seemed he knew better not to. Especially with how his father was looking at him at this time.

"Faith, I am sorry. My son has caused you many headaches." Seeing King Gravos lower his head towards me made me feel a bit off.

"Please do not lower your head. You are the king of this kingdom…." I quickly stepped forward to help him stand up. The black knights around him did not stop me. I guess this was a form of acceptance? Or trust? It could also be that the King already said not to stop me if I were to approach him. Either way, at least they did not see me as an enemy.

"This is to show my sincerity. I asked you to the capital, and you have had to deal with many things. I have heard this is not the first time my son has caused you problems. And this is my own fault for not educating him properly on the ways of the world." King Gravos raised his head to look at me before stretching out his big hand and placing it on the top of my head. "My Daughter sings praises about you every time I see her. I must thank you for opening her heart from being surrounded by people who only wanted to take advantage of her and for showing her what a true friend really is. Seeing her truly smile has made the castle that much more brighter.

"I should also thank you as well, Miss Sophie." The King turned to look at Sophie, who was trying to hide like a small animal behind Thurul, but with Thurul being a dwarf, it was kind of hard.

I chuckled and shook my head. "I apologize on her behalf, Your Majesty. Sophie is still not good with strangers. She takes a while to warm up to people."

"It's fine. It is only natural after everything she has gone through. Now that the things that need to be said are out of the way. I must ask you, Faith Cyrilia. What are your plans with slums? I would like to hear your thoughts." I guess the King was poking around longer than I had thought.

"Well, as you know, I am building a company to mass produce my pens. And when I came this way to save Sophie a while back, I saw how this place was and thought maybe I could change it. To be honest, it was Thurul, my business partner, that gave me the idea when he said he would hire some orphans to inspect pens. I figured with the factory since I need employees anyways, it would be easy to find hard workers near the slums. So with employee housing and a decent paying job, they could begin to lead better lives without worrying every day." I really did need to thank Thurul for this idea. If not, I would have been stuck on what to do about a lot of things. I had wanted to help the people here as well so this all worked out well.

"I see… This is quite a good idea. So you basically plan to keep expanding?" The King asked.

"Well, I will start with the pen factory. I also have a few other ideas as well. And if business is good, I can begin working on building more factories as well. Basically, we can turn the slums into an industrial park that gives its workers' employee housing. It will push out the scum that wish to commit crimes every day right out of the city, effectively cleaning up the slums. Of course, this will not happen overnight, but it will eventually work out." I had quite a few other ideas as well, but those would need more time and planning. For now, I can just work towards trying to give people jobs.

The King went silent as he began to ponder my words. He looked up and looked at the women and children standing before him with lowered heads. I am glad he did not look at them with disgust but pity instead. "I will finance it. The funds that should be going to this section of the city seemed to have been misappropriated. So those funds will now be given to you, Faith. From this day forward, the area known as the East Side Slums will be under your command. If you truly make this place into a place where people can live better lives by the time you graduate from the academy, then I will reward you well."

"And if I fail, Your Majesty?" I can see getting a reward, but I do not know what will happen if I fail.

"If you fail? You will just need to keep working harder at your goals. My Incentive is only to give you a reward if you can do things in a shorter amount of time, nothing more, nothing less." The King said with a smile, causing me to let out a sigh of relief.

All I know is that this funding will be very useful in the future. But there was one thing I did wish to ask. "Your Majesty, is there a way you can help me find someone who can inscribe runes for barriers? I would like to keep people out of the sections that are being reformed."

"I will leave one of my personal guards here. Each one is able to set up such barriers. They will also take care to make sure knights begin patrolling this side of the city once again. I will send someone tomorrow with the paperwork to sign over the east side slums to you. The original owners will have their rights revoked.

"Now, let's find a place to sit. I would like to hear all your plans and ideas that you have for this place in more detail."

Chapter12 The King's Testing

Surprisingly the King sat down on the ground while one of his knights began setting up a campfire. His other knights all went and got lots of food and drinks and began cooking them over the fire and feeding the people who were all gathered around. King Gravos looked really relaxed as he listened to my ideas. "So besides pens, I was thinking about a few other things as well. For my own company, I was planning on a different kind of carriage that would not require horses. I will not go into full details since I myself don't know if it will work yet or not but let's just say it should reduce the time it takes to get between cities without an airship dock. As for progressing the lives of the people of the slums. I also had a few things I wanted to try to implement.

"First, I would need a kind of government official office established with people that understand the laws of the kingdom. From there, I would add in a health care clinic with reduced costs. Half the cost would need to be taken from the funds, but at least the people here would not be suffering if something happened. I was also thinking about implementing a school to teach kids how to read, write and do basic math. I am sure you heard from Adel about my idea for academies for the lower class." I stopped there to see what the King had to say about my current ideas.

"Yes, Adel did mention your idea, and I do have people working on it, actually. Your health care clinic seems like it would cost a lot to run, would it not, if you are doing things at a reduced cost?" The King made a good point. Health care was not cheap, but there was a thing called healing magic in this world as well.

"It depends. If I had a few healers here to heal people, the cost would not be too high. The main cost would be if they needed surgery of some kind or childbirth. If you do not have someone who is able to do such things, it can be a matter of life or death to give birth. These things can be charged at a reduced price." As I spoke, another idea came to mind, which I thought would be much better. "Or they can even pay off their debts by working at the clinic when they are better. And if they do not show up, they will need to pay a fine of the cost of what they owe plus a bit more." I had not thought of it until now. If the people who get reduced health care due to needing surgery or whatnot, they can commit to working at the clinic on a certain day. And if they don't show, they will be fined.

"Hmmm… This could work. And if the clinic does not need them, they can do other kinds of community service that will help the city as a whole. Of course, it would need to be spread out, so they are not disturbing their daily jobs, but as long as it is done, that will work out well…." I watched as King Gravos tapped his chin. He seemed to be pondering the idea over. "Let's do this. If this plan of yours works well here in the slums, I will also implement it within the city on a wider scale to see how it works. After a few years, if things are still going smoothly, I will expand the idea throughout the entire kingdom."

"Hmmm... Then... I will be issuing a proof of residence card that will be an ID that will need to be shown before they can use any of these facilities here in the slums. I do not wish for outsiders to suddenly show up and take advantage of these benefits while it is in the testing phase. This ID will be separate and can only be used for medical reasons. The card should have their magic signature imbued into it so no one else can use it as well." I did not want someone ruining the trial phase of the medical clinic pay system just because they wanted to come in and get some reduced health care and not do their part in the end.

"Yes, that is a good idea. I will be sure to do that as well when the citywide trial starts. Now you said you were going to open a school for just the basics for children?" The King asked.

While I wished I could go a step further and make it so they could learn some trade skills as well, just learning the basics was better than nothing. I do not expect to suddenly run into a bunch of highly qualified teachers to teach a bunch of different subjects, nor would I have the resources for such things. But a small school for the kids to go to to learn how to read, write, and do basic math would at least better their lives a bit. "It might not be the bigger goal I had in mind, but it is still better than nothing."

"That is true, and if things go smoothly, they will be able to enter the newer academies once I get things prepared." I glanced at the King and smiled. This man was someone who truly cared about his people. I can see it in his eyes as he looks around. How he could give birth to some idiot prince is beyond me. Speaking of the prince...

"Your Majesty, there is something I would like to say. More than likely, Prince Lance will end up having someone try to take his life now that the slums are being taken over. Since they will think it was him, that spilled the beans. Especially if you start going after those nobles with connections to this place, and as the person who is taking over, they will probably try to pin it on me and probably Sophie as well." I had a strong feeling this was something that would most likely happen. I could not be one hundred percent sure, but nobles will be nobles. Instead of being ratted out, they would rather do a dirtier deed and then push the blame on someone else to cover it all up, so they do not lose their standings.

"This I am sure of as well. This is why I made sure some of my hidden guards followed him back to the castle. But let me ask you this, Faith. As someone who was able to handle three of the armies from the Norian Kingdom, how would you handle the situation?" I could see a gleam of scheming light in the King's eyes as he asked this question. I could only sigh inwardly.

This King had been testing me from the moment he showed up here. Why he was so set on testing me I do not know. But I also do not mind. If I can get more merits to raise my rank, I will be happy. It will help me in the future as my noble rank rises.

"If they were to pin the blame on me, then the answer is simple. Hide the prince and have him announced dead. Arrest me and bring me in for a grand trial. Stage fake evidence that starts to point to my innocence and begins to point towards some of the nobles and see who tries to act against me. Have your people watch all the nobles in the trial and see who acts strange. Follow them and try to find out what moves they are making. If someone tries to assassinate me, then let them come. I can always capture them and make them talk myself." My answer was pretty straightforward. Nobles will act hastily if they think they are in trouble which will cause at least a few to slip up. While we may not be able to get all of them, at least those who survived not being caught in the net would at least stay low profile for a while and not cause any trouble.

"Haha! Interesting. But…." The King laughed but quickly turned serious again. "What if they do not try to blame you or Sophie? Then what? What if they blame someone else, like Adel? Crown successions are always bloody, you know."

"If they tried to frame Adel? I would hunt every noble in the city down and make the talk until someone fesses up and rats everyone out. As for what happens after that, I am sure I would be on trial then." I was really trying to stay calm. But the thought of Adel being blamed angered me. I already promised Adel I would be on her side no matter what, so even if all evidence pointed to her, I would still stand on her side because I know Adel would never be able to kill her own family member unless she was in danger of being killed herself.

I watched as the King's expression turned to one of shock. I lowered my head and apologized. "Sorry, just the thought of someone trying to use Adel for such a thing angers me. She is a good girl who cares a lot for those around her, especially this kingdom."

"No, it is not that. I just find it amazing because I once asked Adel if you were being brought in for a trial on something, what would she do. And you know what she said?" The King asked.

I looked at him and shook my head. "No, what did she say?"

"She said she would burn every noble house down until you were proven innocent." The King smiled and reached out his big hand and placed it on my head. "You two were truly meant to meet in this life. I am glad you appeared in my daughter's life. To have a friend who would walk through the burning flames of hell for you is not something many people have the pleasure of having. To know you are just as protective of her as she is of you makes me feel at ease."

Chapter13 The Kings Wisdom

From the way the King was talking, it was almost as if he was about to marry his daughter off to me. To be honest, I would not even know how to answer him if he were to do something like that. It was not that I was trying to ignore the thing about Adel possibly liking me, it was more, that I did not wish to think about it. I mean, when I lived on Earth, I dreamt about the guys in the novels I read about, how they would one day sweep me off my feet and become my knightly prince in shining armor. I never once thought I would have my feet swept out from under me by a princess in shining armor.

Luckily he did not stick to that topic for too long. Instead, he began talking about different things and seeking my opinion on them. Some about taxes and things about reforms with nobles. Stuff I had no clue about. But when he got to talking about the military, he gained my full attention.

"So tell me, from what you saw at the battle against the Norian army, what would you do to secure the borders more?" The King asked. I am not sure what he was drinking, but his cheeks were slightly red now. I am starting to think he was getting drunk. As for me, I had fruit juice.

"To secure the borders, huh? Well, even with the forts, the Norian army could still cross our border because there is no wall protecting it but to build a proper wall would require many earth mages who could lift the rocks from below out and fuse them together. But this last attack seemed more of a probing attack, so if you truly wish to secure the border between the two nations, you should move more troops. I myself have family there, as you know. So I am always worried about that section of the border." I couldn't help but worry that the Norian Kingdom would send more troops at some point in the future.

"Faith, you look down on your father." The King's words surprised me.

"You know my father?" I couldn't help but ask because this was all news to me!

"Know him!? He almost stole my wife!"The king yelled, causing my jaw to drop to the ground. What was my father doing in the past!?

"If not for your mother coming and beating him up, he would have had two wives and many more kids than he has now! The two of us even got into a fight, and he beat me good.. Hahahaha! I swear, your family's bloodline is crazy strong. That is why I took such interest in you once I heard you inherited strength that went beyond his." The king sighed as he looked at me before jumping to another topic. "I need to apologize for one more thing. I am sure you already know since Adel will not hide anything from you, but I did intend to tie you to this kingdom by marriage to one of my sons. Adel yelled at me and got so angry she refused to talk to me for quite a few days. It was as if I was trying to marry off her lover. But now, talking with you and listening to all the goals that you have planned, I can tell you are part of this kingdom and that you would not abandon it."

"Your Majesty, as long as demi humans like myself are allowed to live free with the same rights as everyone else in this kingdom. I will always do what I can for this kingdom. I wouldn't be going to the academy to work my way up through the ranks to become a commander if I did not wish to stay here. I see this kingdom as my home and will not abandon it as long as the kingdom does not abandon me." I answered honestly. These were my true feelings. While the kingdom is not perfect, it still has many things I am glad about. It is now my home, and I will defend my homeland with my life if need be. Although, I do not think my life will ever be in trouble with my mana shield and all….

"I like your honesty. As I grow older, I worry about this kingdom's future. The current crown prince is too weak minded, while my other sons seem to have no interest in anything. Only Adel is working hard every day for this kingdom and is more active in the kingdom's affairs than the crown prince himself. I would make her the next heir if not for the fact that she said she did not want it." The King sighed. I could see he was left in a dilemma.

"Your Majesty, if I may ask a personal question." After hearing him speak just now, I had a question rolling around in my mind.

"You are free to speak to me as you wish. As someone who is willing to do a lot for this kingdom without even being asked, you are free to speak freely with me." He was basically placing me on the same level as him. While this would make things easier for me when talking, it still felt strange. I wonder just how drunk he was right now.

"Then… Your Majesty, if Adel, and this is a big if, one day said she wished to take the throne. Would you let her?" I asked. I keep getting this feeling that Prince Lance was not his first choice to be heir to the throne.

"Yes. I would." No hesitation in his answer, but after a brief pause, he continued: "But not now. She is still young and has yet to undergo her studies at the academy."

"I see. What would you do? Let's say you gave Prince Lance the throne, but he became a tyrant, and Adel was forced to lead a rebellion?" I know this question was far out there, but I wonder what he would do in such a situation. A man who has been ruling his kingdom for years, born and raised to rule, must have some kind of insight in case a situation ever happens.

"That is a strange question, but if it were to come down to it, I guess I would try to beg for my son's life to be at least spared. I may be king, but I am also a father. I love all my children. I would rather see my child spend a life in prison than be killed in cold blood. I know it would be asking a lot, especially if his crimes were so severe that a pardon was out of the question. But I would still ask. Plus, if that were to ever come to happen, I already know he would lose since you would be by my daughter's side." The King paused before staring at me with a serious expression. "Now, what would you do if Adel was the Tyrant?"

"As she is my first friend and someone I care deeply about, I would stop her with everything I have. If she can not be saved, then my blade would need to be stained in her blood. I know this may sound like treason, but for the safety of the kingdom, one must do what is necessary, especially when the one who is causing such crimes is your closest friend. But do not get me wrong, I would not kill her. I would only do what I need to subdue her, then take her away from this kingdom where she can spend her days trying to reflect on the things she has done." I hoped such a thing would never happen. But I would do what I can.

"I see… You would strike her down without killing her…. But then what. Leave the kingdom without a ruler?" The King raised his eyebrows as he looked at me and took a sip of her drink.

"I am not sure. Depending on the stances of the people, I guess we would elect a new ruler to take over the position of King." I really did not think about the aftermath of what to do if Adel was forcefully removed or if she did become a tyrant. I couldn't help but scrunch my nose at this as I really did not know how to answer him.

"Do not think too hard on it. Wouldn't the perfect ruler be right under your nose?" The King gave me a strange smile. But I still did not understand what he was talking about. He let out a laugh as he said: "Look into your cup. What do you see?"

I absentmindedly looked down and looked at my reflection before it suddenly hit me like a sack of potatoes. I became flustered and quickly shook my head. "No! No! I would not be a good ruler. If anything, I would be a bad choice."

"Haha! This is hard to believe. You never know what time will tell. One day your words could be just a story you made up but then the next day comes and it has all become reality. Remember one thing. All things start from a story. An idea that gave birth to actual fact. This is just how life is. Never forget this. And always keep charging forward and always trust your instincts."

Chapter14 The Real Sei

At the end of the day, the King was taken back after he passed out. While some would say it is not good for a ruler to be seen in such a manner, but after he danced and laughed with those people of the slums, he had shown the people here that he was no different from them. He was still a person just like them.

And now it was me sitting with Thurul and Sophie as well as a female night dressed in heavy black armor. I really do want to know where she gets that strength as her body was very petite. Although I guess I did not need to wait long to find out. "Ahh, that is much better."

The female knight took off her helmet, and to my surprise, the person wearing all that heavy armor was someone I knew very well. "Sei!"?

"The one and only! Sorry I had to lie to you this entire time, but you know how things are. His Majesty wanted to make sure you were properly protected, so I was working undercover. But now, I have been officially assigned to you as your personal guard. This means I will also be joining you at the academy as well." Sei said with a smile. I mean, yes, she looked young. Actually, she looked much younger than she did when I first saw her!

"Wait, Sei…. May I ask because I am not sure if I was seeing things or not but were you not older than you look now?" I feel like I am being really rude here, but I really do think I am going slightly crazy!

"Hahaha! It's because of my bloodline. I have the ability to change my appearance from older to younger and back. So I can look as young as you or even younger." Sei replied with a smile while at the same time changing her age to match mine perfectly.

"That is quite unique. So does this make you immortal?" I was curious. Because if Sei could change her age to be as young as she wanted, couldn't she continue to do so?

"Hmmm, I am not sure, to be honest. I am currently only in my twenties, believe it or not. I was an orphan, so I do not know who my family was. But the researchers in the palace say my bloodline is very special. And is also why I was able to become a black knight and server at His Majesty's side." I see, so Sei does not know what her actual bloodline is, but it does seem to be pretty handy.

"Then I guess we will be together for quite some time then. And I guess this is why there was a barrier around that room?" I asked. Sei really knew how to work the barriers at the royal suite. Even if she was an 'employee' there, she acted without much caution. Now I know her words were not truthful and that the King said he would leave someone to take care of my barrier issues. My guess was that Sei was said barrier expert.

"Ahaha…. Sorry. Yeah, I did lie quite a bit, but you have to understand this was all because of my job and that I was under orders by his Majesty." Sei scratched her head as she spoke.

I really can't blame her. I mean, after all, she was supposed to be undercover. "It's fine, don't worry. But now that you will be sticking to my side do you plan to stay with me at the inn?"

"Actually, your permanent residence has already been taken care of. You can move in at any time. His Majesty was supposed to bring it up, but instead, he got drunk…. But in a way, this was good for him to let loose. He has been stressed as of late. But I do expect you to be seeing quite a bit of him. I have never seen His Majesty sit back and talk with someone in such a relaxed manner. As he is a king, you know he needs to always be wary of those around him, but with you, he talks as if you were his own daughter." Sei did make a good point about the King. He really was talking to me about things without much care. Did he really have such trust in me?

My own question actually made me wonder why he would trust me so. Unless it is because I have a spirit with me, so I can be considered someone without evil intentions.

"Don't think too hard about it. His Majesty is a person who can see a person's character for what it is. But what shocked me was what he said in the end. To think he would recommend you to take over the kingdom if everything went south." Sei did not speak her words out loud. Just loud enough for myself, Thurul, and Sophie to answer.

"Not that I would want to become something like a ruler." I said with a forced smile.

"I do not know, lass. You're truly capable of moving people. You have a good head and a kind heart that cares for those around you. You have the charisma that draws people to you. These are all qualities of a good leader. Just do not go try staging a coupe any time soon. Ahahaha!" Thurul let out a joy filled laugh as he took another swig of whatever he was drinking. But I do know he was drunk. With a big smile on his face, he looked at me and said: "But if you do let me know, I will get my kinsman to help…. Urk…. I think I might be sick. I will be right back."

Sei giggled as he watched Thurul run to a bush off to the side. "He is an interesting person. All the people around you are quite interesting. So when do you plan to move to the new residence?"

"After the tournament. It will be over a few days before the exams to enter the academy. Just enough time to finish up a few things here and settle into the new place." I answered. I already planned out things since I knew I would be moving at some point soon. So having the house ready now was a good thing.

"Tournament, huh? Maybe I will join." Sei scratched her chin. "It has been a while since I actually faced off against the capital's best. Gesel should also be there as well."

"You know Gesel? She was here earlier but ran off as soon as the King arrived." I was kind of irked about that. She ran off without saying goodbye!

"Ahh, yeah, she would. You see, Gesel has never beaten me in a fight, and I always look for her to test how far along she has come, so she likes to avoid me as much as possible. You must know how competitive she gets." Sei explained, causing me to smile. I did know Gesel disliked losing.

"Yes, I do. But now, I am not so sure I can make it to the finals. With Gesel, I may have had a chance to win, but if you are joining and can beat Gesel, then I might be sadly out of luck." I let out a sigh. The tournament is not going to be an easy win.

"No, there is one more who will be showing up as well. Derek Tandor. He is an ex-black knight and just recently retired this year. I heard he wanted to test out the best the kingdom had to offer in the tournament now that he had some free time." Sei's words gave me a headache. Things were getting harder by the second!

Just the thought of having to face not one but three powerful enemies was going to be a pain. I mean if Sei is on par with Gesel and Gesel is strong enough to fight me equally, then I might be in a bit of trouble. I could use mana shield and breeze through it all, but I am not sure if that is wise at this time. While Sei and Gesel posed a problem, I now had some old man joining that was even more experienced in battle than the others.

"Don't feel too dejected. You may still win. The barriers will be extra strong this year, so you will be able to cast high tier spells." Sei's words did give me a bit of hope, but I still was feeling slightly unsure about a perfect victory.

"I will just have to wait and see. Let's put the barrier up in the morning. I will cast one now to protect everyone for one night. Sei, I hope you do not mind sleeping outdoors tonight." I did not plan to head home, not when it was this late, and I, for one, was not afraid of being attacked by anyone.

"Nope, this is fine. I trust you to secure our defenses." Sei replied while slipping the rest of her armor off. She then pulled an already pre built tent out of her bag and set it up. I am guessing the bag was similar to Adel's room in her carriage. "Us girls can sleep in here tonight. As for your friend Thurul, well, he will need to fend for himself."

Chapter15 Setting Up The Barrier Part 1

The next morning I woke up to two people hugging my body as if I was some kind of body pillow. Sophie was on my left, and Sei was on my right. I couldn't help but blush slightly at this because of everything that has been going on with Adel.

"Mufu…." I watched as Sei shifted and buried her head into my neck, causing me to feel a bit awkward. I raised my hand and brought it down with a fist of fury. No….. But I will shake her awake.

"Sei, wake up." I shook her shoulder, causing her to groan in annoyance, which resulted in her turning over and facing the other way. All that was left was to peel Sophie off me so I could get up, and I was golden. Luckily with Sophie, she never really held on tight so slipping out of her grip was always easy.

Once I was free, I got up and crawled out of the tent before zipping the door back up. Once I could finally stand, I stretched and took a deep breath of the crisp morning air. "Seems winter is around the corner."

"Morning, Faith. Want a cup?" Thurul's voice caught my attention. I turned to see him tending to the fire brewing what looked to be this world's equivalent to coffee. It was a bit stronger, but it was sweet instead of bitter, which I found appealing.

"Sure. where did you get that from?" I was confused. I did not see him bringing anything in.

"Melinda gave me some when she saw me tending to the fire. This stuff is great when you have a hangover." Thurul said with a self defeating smile. I could tell he was feeling it. He did drink a lot last night.

"Next time, don't start drinking contests with the King." I said in a teasing voice, causing him to chuckle.

"Well. It is kind of hard to ignore a request from the ruler of the kingdom. But I must say for a human, he is a good man. He understands the meaning of being a ruler." Thurul seemed to be one who did not praise people much, so I guess this was a good thing coming from him.

"He is indeed a good King. Sadly his son or sons, are not the best. I do not know what will need to be done before they are ready to take over for him. Maybe if we can figure out a way to make the King live forever, then Gravos will always prosper." I said this as a joke, but it made me wonder what I could do for my family. I had thought about trying to share my mana with them, but that would not really give them infinity mana. They would only never use the mana they have. Or whatever was used would be refilled instantly. If mana is what extends life based on your mana capacity, how would I go about extending the lives of others?

"Hmmm… Us dwarves are already a long lived race, much longer than humans. We can live to be six hundred years old or more. And even then, with all of our technology, we still can not figure out a way to extend the lives of others. Sadly the same goes for the elves who are masters of magic." Thurul explained as he took a sip of his coffee while passing me another cup.

The warm cup in my hands made the morning chill vanish as I blew on the top to watch the steam come out of my mouth. "I wonder…. I had once thought about sharing mana, but that doesn't solve the underlying issue. It is the max mana one can hold that allows their lives to be extended."

"That is the case. Once a person is born their life expectancy will be decided. If you are able to have above average mana as a human, you may live a few hundred years. But it also is based on race as well. I'd say your race is able to live just as long as we dwarves, if not longer. While those pointy ears will live to be a thousand or so years old. But this is because they combine their mana capacity with their race." Thurul let out a sigh. I guess he was jealous of the elves.

"I plan to research it a bit when I reach the academy. I hope to be able to dive into the library there and find some things that might help." I could only hope that maybe I could find something sooner rather than later.

"Ahhhh!" A loud ear piercing scream came from within the tent, and the sound of skin on skin was heard. I watched as a red faced Sophie crawled out of the tent in a hurry and dived into my arms.

"Sophie!?" It is good that I was paying attention, or my coffee would have gone everywhere!

"Sophie, did you need to freak out like that? I mean, you slapped me good! It's not like I meant to hug you like that!" Sei came crawling out as well with a large handprint on her face. I guess Sei must have rolled back over and clung on to Sophie, and with Sophie's inability to handle others well, I can imagine Sophie's reaction.

"Sei, Sophie is not good with others as it is. I mean, I had to roll you over myself this morning because you clung on like I was your pillow." I couldn't help but sigh. It's not like Sei knows what she is doing while she is asleep. It is basically impossible to know unless you record yourself sleeping.

"Well…. Sorry…." Sei pursed her lips and apologized.

"See, Sophie, she didn't mean to." I said while scratching the fox girl's ears. Sophie turned her head and looked at her, still red in the face. Only after a few more minutes of coaxing did she finally stand up and sit next to me but still kept her distance from Sei.

"Here's you two go. Drink this and calm your nerves." Thurul handed two more cups of coffee out. "I will go back today and finish up some more product. With the cast, I think I can get around another hundred done today. Once you get the field clear and need to get the factory going, let me know. I will work on a really nice forge setup that will allow you to make a few hundred at a time."

"I owe you a big one, Thurul. You are doing ninety percent of the work right now. We can adjust the contract if you want a bigger cut." I felt bad at this rate, even ten percent was kind of low.

"No, it's fine. Just when you get things set up here, I would like you to take a trip to my kingdom and set up shop there as well. Not so much with the pens but your other idea there." I guess he is talking about the hover carriages. They would make things much easier, especially if they are hauling lots of goods around.

"I would need to talk with His Majesty before I make any decisions outside the kingdom itself. Maybe if we signed a trade agreement or some kind of alliance between the two nations." I really did not know how that all worked, so I was just speaking what came to mind.

"Hmmm… alliance, huh? That may be possible. But we will need to wait until an actual prototype is actually working and call over a delegation to see it themselves. Bah! Politics was never my thing." Thurul downed his cup of coffee in one go and stood up. "I be off. You take care, Lass."

"Mmm… You too! Make sure you come to the tournament to watch me win!" I said with a wide grin.

Thurul smiled back as he said: "You betcha!"

"Not if I can help it!" Sei must have seen my declaration as a challenge because she quickly jumped in on my words.

"Okay, let's finish up our coffee and start on that barrier!" I really wanted to know the inner workings of these barriers that allowed you to register people to them. This would make things much easier later on.

Thirty minutes later, I was standing next to Sei in front of a large stone we had just moved and embedded into the ground in the center of the plot of land. This was just a large rock, nothing really special about it, but that was what was to come next. "Okay, to do a barrier correctly, we will use this stone as its core. Now the trick is the inscription. First, cast the barrier you wish to use. I would suggest one that blocks people from leaving or entering. The idea is to make the barrier as strong as possible. The core itself will then be protected by a multi layer barrier making it impossible to break from the inside unless the person is stronger than the caster."

Chapter16 Setting Up The Barrier Part 2

"Oh? Does it need to be done with multiple barriers? What about a barrier that can't be destroyed unless the caster runs out of mana?" I could not do this, or I would be outing myself to be someone with infinity mana, but this did not mean I could not ask the question. I was generally interested in what Sei would say to such a question.

"It's not that it can not be done but who in their right mind would put themselves at risk?" Sei countered with her own question. I could only give a dry laugh. I mean, I couldn't run out of mana, but that did not mean others couldn't.

"Okay, anyway, how does this inscription work anyway?" I decided to change the subject.

"Basically, to inscribe anything, you need the mana capacity for it as it will take up a lot of mana to write out the entire runic equation, unlike casting a spell where you use your mana to create a magic circle that needs to be activated in a short time. Runic inscription only needs you to infuse mana into the runes. Of course, these runes will need to be recharged every so often, but that is nothing major and only takes a few minutes. It is the inscription that takes a while. So watch closely because the process is very delicate." I watched as Sei's finger lit up with a ball of mana. Not magic but actual pure mana. It was not my first time seeing such a thing, but what I saw next really caught my attention.

She placed her finger onto the stone and pressed it into it, causing her finger to sink into the stone as if it was a hot knife cutting butter. She then began to proceed to write out the runic inscription that tied this stone to my barrier, making it the core of the barrier. Now all someone had to do was inject their mana into the stone to register themselves as a person living here, and they could then pass through the barrier unimpeded like how I could at the inn. Just seeing how it all worked reminded me that I still have a long way to go on my journey of magic.

While Sei was actually going quite quickly with the inscription, I could see the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. While it looked simple, the task of inscribing runes into anything was delicate and needed precise mana control. It took her almost an hour to complete the entire inscription, and only then did she let out a sigh of relief: "Done. All that is left is for you to pour in enough mana to allow the barrier and the inscription to stay functional. It will also register you as the main owner of the core."

I nodded and placed my hand on the inscription. I slowly began to inject my mana into the stone, and as I did, the runes grew brighter and brighter as my mana infused into them until Sei's mana was completely overwritten, and only my mana remained. I caught the bitter smile on Sei's lips as I continued to pour my mana into the runes. About ten minutes had passed before I finally removed my hand and created a five layer barrier around the stone. "There…."

"You really do amaze me. You just injected enough mana to last a few years…." Sei's words made me purse my lips. My understanding of what is too much is something I am not too good at figuring out. What is normal for me is freakish in the eyes of others. But at least now, I do not need to deal with the core for a while. Now it was just registering everyone.

I called a meeting of all of the residents on this plot of land to finally figure out who was working and who was not. I stood up on the makeshift stage and looked out over everyone here. "As I said before, I will not be providing any help to those who do not wish to work for it. One must understand that in order to survive, one must work. But I promise that by working, you will be able to live better lives and that you will be making a fair wage and get the benefits that any other person would get. You are not slaves but people who are just trying to live your lives.

"The barrier to protect this area is now up. Those who will be staying to work for me are welcome to register themselves and their families to be able to pass through the barrier freely. No one will be able to endanger your lives anymore. Your safety will be secure while within the bounds of the barrier. This means you can sleep at ease at night from now on." I looked out over the crowd that was looking back at me with eyes full of hope and smiled. This was the first step, the first step in reclaiming the slums and making them a better place for those who wish to live good lives.

It took almost the entire day to finish registering all those who were staying. From young to old, as long as they could move, their mana freely was registered. Younger kids who were not old enough would be registered on the day they were old enough. After a while, I will have someone become the leader of this group, and they will be able to register new people as they see fit. Of course, I would deal with those who abused their power as well. Hopefully, it will never come down to that.

With everything set, I walked home with Sophie and Sei in tow. It was going to be nice sleeping in the same bed. Tomorrow I would have to hand out jobs for everyone, but for tonight I just wanted everyone to rest. The more important things would begin tomorrow.

But now my house has a new resident. Sei was going to be living with me as my personal bodyguard. Not that I need one but to have a black knight with me in case anything happens actually puts my mind at ease. There were going to be a lot of things happening soon due to me taking over the east side slums and the increased knight presence patrolling the streets. Each aspect of the changes to come will affect many nobles, which means they will either…

A: Target me.

B: Target someone around me.

C: Or go after the Prince.

While I would preferably like for them to target the prince since it would make things easier but if they target anyone I hold dear, I might end up losing it and will end up flipping the entire capital upside down until I find the one responsible. There is just no way around it. Whatever punishment I am to get, I will deal with after the fact.

As we entered the house, Annie and the other girls were already preparing dinner. The scent of the meal they were making filled the air making my stomach grumble. "Annie, Rina, Brooke, I'm home!"

"Young Miss! You are okay!" Annie called out in a worried voice as she rushed into the room along with the other two girls. I was not able to tell them I was staying outside. So I am sure they were worried.

Scratching my head, I have an apologetic look as I said: "Sorry for worrying you. The King showed up yesterday, and we ended up staying up late, and since I still had things to do at the plot of land, we ended up staying the night."

"I am just glad you are okay, Young Miss. The food is almost ready, so please wait a little while." Annie was always on the move. After she finished speaking, she bowed to me and ran off. Although Brooke seemed more worried about Sophie because she was still checking her out to make sure there was nothing wrong with her. Sophie and Brooke really did get along well. I was glad to see it. Even now, Sophie was flustered as to what to do with the little girl, but she still let Brooke hop around her as she did her inspection.

"I guess with you here, I will become invisible." Sei said while fake sobbing.

"They are just worried because Sophie and I did not come home yesterday."

"I know, but I am amazed. Besides Annie, the other girls were having trouble being around others, but they seemed to have warmed up to you real quick. I mean, Rina is still inspecting your tail and wings for the tiniest of scratches." As Sei said, Sophie was not the only one getting a full body check. I was too. Rina had been hopping around me this entire time looking for the smallest scratch. I did find it amusing though. I will have to be sure to reward the girls later and take them all out to eat.

Chapter17 Tournament Starts

As the days passed, I assigned everyone at the plot of land with jobs and made sure everyone only worked eight hours max and had at least two breaks and a lunch break during the day. After that, I began settling a few other things while keeping my eyes and ears open for any signs of nobles trying to mess around.

And now, finally, it was the day of the tournament, and I was currently standing with my maids, Sei, Thurul, Sophie, Fred, and a very disgruntled Gesel. "Sei, why are you even here!? And what is with that get up!? Why are you looking like you are Faith's age!?"

"Gesel, for someone who is always looking for a fight, why do you always complain when I am around? Is it because you can not win against me?" Sei asked with a teasing smile on her face causing Gesel to stamp her feet in frustration. I guess she couldn't retort Sei's words.

"Not that it matters since I will be the one to win today." I decided to throw flames on the fire, which caused both girls to turn to me and yell out: ""Not if I can help it!"" They were perfectly in sync.

"There he is." Sei pointed over to an older man with no shirt on with big muscles and many scars all over his body. "That is Sir Derek Tandor, the one who is going to be rated highest to win the tournament."

"Is he really that well known?" I asked. I mean, I thought the black knights were like some kind of secret organization, but the more I learn about them, the more I am disappointed in how well known they are. But then again, I should have figured that out quickly after the king arrived with them surrounding him.

"He is very well known for the war against the Holkindine Kingdom to the southeast. They barely boarded our kingdom, but they forced their way in, taking quite a bit of land fifty years back. It was Sir Derek Tandor who pushed back an army of one million with a single group of one hundred soldiers. He is very powerful. And that was before he joined the black knights."

I frowned upon hearing this. Sir Derek was basically a living legend among legends. But to be able to use only one hundred men to push back an army of over one million. What kind of tactics did he even use? It kind of makes me wonder if I were sane and went out onto the battlefield if I could do the same thing. When I first fought the Norian army near my home, I was sane for a good portion of it, but I did not come up with any good plans right away. Now that I think about it, as they were all on the ground, I could have just made a massive pitfall and filled it back up, and then the entire army would have disappeared. But that would only work if I caught them by surprise.

The second time I fought, I was sane, but I was also using it as a learning experience and needed the men under me to also participate. If It was not for that, I might have won the battle much faster. But I guess inexperience will also do that to a person as well.

"Oh, he's walking over here. Looks like Sei is in for it!" Gesel teased, causing Sei to purse her lips. I wonder if Sir Derek was mad or not. His facial expression was very hard to read. He looked stern and had a kind of pressure about him when you looked into his eyes, but for some reason, he seemed to be in a good mood. I am not sure why I thought this way, though.

But to everyone's surprise, including my own, Sir Derek did not walk over to Sei but over to me and placed his calloused hand on top of my head. "Faith Cyrilia, I presume?"

"Ah yes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Derek." I answered, a bit confused as to why he was rubbing the top of my head.

"Haha! To think so young yet was able to send the Norian army packing. Not letting a single one go. You have my gratitude. I hope to see you in the finals." Sir Derek stopped there before turning around and walking away, leaving me with a messy set of hair and a very confused look on my face.

"Ummm…" I couldn't even figure out what to say as I combed my hair with my fingers.

"Don't even try to think of what is going on inside that old man's head. But I will say that being praised by him is a good thing." Sei explained while letting out a sigh of relief. "At least he didn't notice me!"

"Haha!" Gesel let out a laugh. She seemed to be happy that she found a way to tease Sei back.

"Attention, Ladies and Gentlemen!" A loud voice came from up on a high stage that overlooked the battle stages below. The voice made me look out over the few hundred dirt mounded stages and only now really grasped just how many people would be entering this tournament. The man on the high stage was an older man with black hair, but you could tell by the wrinkles around his eyes that he was much older than he looked.

"The competition will be done in two sections. The first section will be a free for all round. Each stage will continue to fight until there is only one person left per stage. Then the one on one battles will take place until we hit the semi finals and finals." Hearing the explanation, I kinda got the feeling the person announcing things did not wish to be the announcer. But from what I understood, the free for all was to reduce the numbers until there was a smaller even amount. And he did emphasize the fact that fighting would continue until there was only one person per stage, which meant that fighting could continue for days. I see now why there was such a long time frame for the event.

"Get to your stage according to the number you were given upon entry." The old man yelled out. I looked down at my wooden token that read entry number ten thousand seventy two and stage forty five. Luckily no one in my group had the same stage number.

"I guess this is it. I will see you all during the single matches." I said with a smile to Sei and Gesel.

"You better make it. Don't get kicked out in the first round. I want to have our rematch!" Gesel seemed to be really pumped and ready to fight.

"Yes, see you in the finals!" Sei yelled as she ran away. I guess she was really looking forward to this. Gesel left soon after as well, leaving me alone with Thurul and the others.

"Thurul, I will leave it up to you to watch after everyone." I hated putting him on the spot like this, but if they were with Thurul, they would be much safer in case any nobles decide to make a move.

"Don't worry. Just kick some butt. I will be rootin for ya. Remember this is to gain funds for your company, so don't go losing now, you hear?" Thurul grinned widely as he said this. He was really trying to lay on the pressure, I could tell.

"I will do my best. I will see you all later!" I said before going to run off towards my stage but felt a tug on my shirt, causing me to turn around. Sophie had her head lowered, holding on to me. "Sophie?"

"Be careful!" Sophie said softly before hugging me. I smiled warmly and hugged her back. I guess she was worried I would get hurt.

"Don't worry, I will come back safe and sound. Actually, I have an idea I wanted to try, so let's hope it works, and I will be back in a jiffy." I said while patting her back. After a few more seconds, she let go and nodded her head before moving to Turul's side. I gave a wave and headed off myself. I really wonder just how strong the fighters will be on my stage.

I quickly found my stage and jumped up on top of it, and began looking around. I can not deny that I am a bit excited right now. I mean, I would finally get to do the whole tournament arc that I saw in novels. While this is not on a grand scale as some of those. The world is not being held on the line based on the outcome of the tournament, but that does not mean I was not any less excited.

But as I looked around at all the prospective strong guys. My eyes fell on a certain young man that I could swear I had seen before….. "Is that…. No, it couldn't be. No way! Why him of all people! Why is he waving!? Why is he coming this way!?"

"Haha! We meet again! Do you remember me!? I am Charles Doli! The Hero of Gravos!"

Chapter18 Jack In The Box

"Do you have my money?" The first question to leave my mouth seemed to have frozen Charles in place as he stared at me in confusion.

"Money?" Charles' eyes suddenly went wide, but he quickly shook his head as he replied: "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh? So the great Hero of Gravos can't even remember his debts. You do not remember the ten million gold you owe me!?" I know I overshot the actual amount he owed, but he lied just now, so we can say it is just punishment.

"What ten million!? It was only like a thousand something before!" Charles blurted out before covering his mouth. My lips couldn't help but twitch. It seems the idiot in him was still there.

A sly grin appeared on my face as I said: "Did you think the amount you owed would not come without its interest? It was one hundred percent interest, plus more." Humph! Trying to get out of owing me money. I do not think so!

"I…. I will give you the money I get when I win this tournament." Charles lowered his head. I guess he was coming to terms with owing me money, but his words irked me. I mean, he was basically saying he was going to win against me….

"I guess some idiots just do not learn…." I mumbled as I shook my head.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Charles looked at me, causing me to shake my head once more. And that was when I heard the golden words of the day….. "Begin!"

My eyes lit up magic circles as I smiled brightly at Charles and waved: "Goodbye! Catapult!" The entire stage, except for where I was standing suddenly shot up into the sky, leaning towards the right, sending them off to the other side of the stadium. Their screams filled the air as they flew through the air. As for the Hero? No idea. He was the one I made sure got sent flying the furthest. "Uh…. Stage forty five finished!"

An uproar filled the crowd that was watching. Well, I mean, I guess I went kind of overboard. I just turned the entire stage into a catapult and sent the entire group of one thousand some odd contestants, into the sky. I even think some landed on other stages. I scratched my head and walked off the stage. I am not sure what happens when contestants land on other stages, but I do know that I will now get to watch the other stages and scope out the competition.

I made my way to the stands, where I found Sophie and the others waiting for me. "Faith, that was amazing!" Sophie jumped up and hugged me, her tail wagging and her ears twitching.

"Hahahaha! Lass, you did not disappoint! I think that was the fastest anyone had ever won the preliminary matches ever since this tournament first started." Thurul gave me a big smile and a thumbs up.

I did plan to do a pitfall, but I did not wish to ruin the stage. At least with a catapult, it will toss the contestants away from the stage while reverting back to its original state without needing to kill anyone. However, I might still use a pitfall on Gesel during our match together if we do face off. I just want to see her reaction when she loses the ground under her feet. I can make her think she has me only to cast pitfall around me, leaving her standing on air. Just thinking about her reaction made me giggle on the inside. But this magic does seem pretty effective. If used in a surprise attack, it will work out well, I think.

I sat down next to Sophie and looked out over the battle stages. I was looking for that old man. He was the one I was mostly concerned about. It was as if Thurul could read my mind because he leaned over and whispered: "If you are looking for the old man, he is on the far right."

I turned to where Thurul was pointing to see the old man laughing away as he walked around punching people off the stage. "It looks like he is concealing his true strength."

"That he is. He hasn't used a single move at all. I have been keeping a good eye on him. Sophie is watching that Sei girl for you as well." Thurul explained.

I nodded. Knowing your opponents always helps in the upcoming battles. Sophie was nice enough to point to Sei's stage, and surprisingly she was doing a similar thing as the old man. I guess two people who worked together would have a bit of the same strategy. Luckily I only used a single spell to end the entire free for all match. The only thing I regret is not seeing the look on that idiot's face after he crashed into the ground and realized his declaration of winning was nothing more than that, a declaration from an idiot.

I scanned the stages and saw quite a few people that stuck out. One girl had a huge fan and was blowing people off stage using wind magic. Another girl with rabbit ears was swinging a large sledge hammer around like a top. Each spin caused more people to fly out in the opposite direction. There was even this one girl who kept making ice spikes and stabbing people in the butt with them. Just the sight of it made me clench my butt cheeks.

I continued to scan the crowd for quite some time. I did find Gesel. She seemed to be having more fun fighting than actually reaching the goal of winning. However, I did find one person who seemed to be a big obstacle. They were wielding magic like it was nothing, casting spell after spell. They wore a black cloak and seemed to be quite powerful. "I wonder how far they will make it."

I could not see if they were a man or woman, but I did know I wanted to try fighting someone who was good with magic. To think I went from being a bookworm in my past life to someone who would say, I want to try fighting someone. I mean, I never cared for fighting in my past life at all, but I guess the difference in worlds and growing up all over again will change a person's personality a bit.

The sun began to set, and the battles were still going on. I leaned back in my seat and continued to watch as things unfolded. Sophie was curled up on the seat next to me, using my lap as a pillow, sound asleep, while Annie sat on the other side in the middle of two seats, her lap also occupied by the other two girls who sat on each side of her. I was not sure if she was asleep or not herself because she was leaning back with her eyes closed.

A few of the battle stages had ended already, but none of them were with people I knew. The hooded figure had won their stage just a few hours ago. Most people would not use magic during this stage, I realized. I guess it is because mana was limited for most people. So the fights were not going too well on some stages. They were all stuck in long, drawn out battles.

Yawning, I looked at the people I knew, and they were still horsing around with smiles on their faces. I guess they do not get to have this kind of fun all the time. "Lass, you seem to have company…."

"Huh?" I was a bit confused by Thurul's words until I looked down the aisle to see the hooded figure from the battle stages walking over to me. They walked right up and stood in front of me, and removed their hood.

Pointy ears, blonde hair, and blue eyes. "My name is Runa. Your name is Faith Cyrilia, correct?"

I tilted my head and looked at Runa, a bit confused. "That is what I am called, Miss Runa. But may I know how you know my name or, in fact, how you know who I am altogether?"

"Your name is not only known by us elves but by many. Two successive grand fall scale magic spells along with a strange magic that continually casts fireballs. I came to the capital in hopes of meeting you. So I was happy to see that you had joined the tournament." Runa explained, but her words made me frown. How did the elves know so much about me? It kind of made me wary of the girl in front of me. She looked no more than fifteen at most but knowing the elves' lifespan, she was probably in her fifties or hundreds. But even if she was my age, this did not mean I would let my guard down.

"It is kind of rude to be checking up on people without their consent, is it not?" I asked. I couldn't help but sound a little angry. I do not know about others, but I hate when people poke into my privacy.

"I do apologize if it seems like that, but for those who wish to know, they can easily find out. After all, information about you is not hard to find out. Rumors will spread after all."

Chapter19 Birds Of The Same Feather Will Always Flock Together

I still couldn't help but frown. I really did not wish for people to know about what I was capable of, but I guess at the time, I did not have time to really think about how to deal with the situation. "Miss Runa, you could still have pretended not to have known." I said with pursed lips.

But I guess Runa found my words funny because she chuckled. "That Is true, but I still have to say that your feats truly amaze me. I had to run all the way here just to meet you. It was hard to escape my guards, you know."

Runa's words made me feel as if maybe this Runa girl was far from being a normal everyday elf. Not that I know what a normal everyday elf is but still. Only idiots like Prince Lance, The hero idiot, and every other person I consider to be an idiot would not realize what Runa was implying. "I see. So you ran all the way here. Well…. I guess with how you were casting magic, it would be quite safe for you to travel alone. But there are many strong people in the world, so you shouldn't run off like that."

"This is true…. Well, I did send a message to my father telling him I would be in this kingdom for a while. He only has himself to blame, after all, he was the one who told me about you." Runa said with a wide smile. Like an elf princess running away to the neighboring kingdom was no big deal at all.

"You do know that a member of any kind of royalty coming to a neighboring kingdom unannounced looks bad, right? You should have at least announced your visit to the King of Gravos." This was something I read about Gravos law. Royal members of other countries are supposed to announce their visits. Otherwise, it could mean they were here to spy or form ties with nobles for one reason or another.

"Don't worry. I did stop in and see Uncle Gravos. He then told me stories about you. Although, I did only visit him in secret. I know better than to not show proper etiquette. But I will say from what I heard, he holds you in very high regard. Also, it seems you were able to tell just from a few lines I spoke who I am. Very observant!" Runa said with a smile.

I could only shake my head at this. Just thinking back to the drunken King when he let himself free speaking with proper etiquette seemed kind of strange to me. Since I now knew Runa was not a threat, I drew a small magic circle with my finger causing a stone chair to suddenly rise up from the stone of the aisle. "Since you wish to talk, it would be best to sit."

"Thank you." Runa did not stand on ceremony as she took a seat, crossed her legs, and looked me up and down. "How did you do it? Two grand falls one after the other while shooting out so much magic on top of it all. Just how in the world did you do such a thing? How much mana does your small body hold?"

"Enough, I guess…?" I really did not know how to answer that. Of course, it was not like I could tell the truth either. "At that time, I was not even thinking I could have killed myself if I was not careful."

"This is true. If you did not have enough mana to be able to continue, you would have died. But I am more interested in how you did it so quickly. It was said the spells were almost instantaneous." Runa's eyes glowed with excitement which reminded me of someone I knew very well… who was it again…. I tapped my chin for a second before it finally came to me…. Yes, to me…. I was thinking about my crazy self!

"Is she okay?" I heard Runa ask Thurul.

"Ah, don't mind her. She does this a lot." Thurul replied while waving the whole question off. But I, for one, wanted to know what I was doing to make such a question even pop up!

"Ummm… Why did you ask if I was okay?" I asked while pursing my lips.

"Well…. You blanked out and began tapping your chin while nodding and giggling."

"What!? Was I really!?" This was news to me. No one had ever mentioned anything like that to me before. I never knew I did such things!

"You're doing it again!" Runa said while laughing. But I could only furrow my brow.

"Leave me alone…." I said while pouting. I can't help it, okay! I get lost in thought, and my mind begins to wander. Clearing my throat, I continued: "Ahem…. Anyway…. All spells have to be cast within five seconds, so it is just a matter of practicing, is it not?"

"Even if that is the case, even our best mages can not cast it as quickly as my father said you can. Can you show me the magic circle?" Runa asked. I could see her excitement about to explode out of her body. I wonder if she realizes that when she is excited, her ears twitch.

"Sure." I nodded with a smile before extending my hand and twirling my finger once. This was all it took for the magic circle to suddenly appear. The oppressive aura this one magic circle gave showed that it was a true high tier magic spell.

"Amazing! I am so glad I came. To think I could meet someone who could cast grand fall in such a short amount of time. If you wanted to, you could destroy an entire kingdom by yourself, and yet you are still so young." Runa clapped as she gazed at the magic circle.

"It is only a matter of concentration and continuous practice. You see." I drew six more in a row, all of which hovered in the air in between Runa and I. I could see the shocked expression on her face. And with a wave of my hand, all of them disappeared. "I am a bit of a magic nut. I like creating spells of my own when I have time."

"Really!?" Runa shouted, causing Sophie to groan but did not make her wake up. Runa covered her mouth as she whispered an apology.

"It's fine." I stroked Sophie's hair, causing her to shift slightly, but she continued to sleep peacefully.

"You really make your own spells? I mean…. Just the thought of creating a spell takes a lot of time and practice."

"That is true, which is why I only work with lower level spells. Like the catapult spell, I used earlier was one of my own creations using earth wall as a base." I explained. Runa seemed to be hooked onto every one of my words. Just knowing she was a magic nut like myself put her into my good people book, which is where she will stay until she does something that makes me lose trust in her.

"I see! To think that you were able to alter the spell so easily. I have tried many times, but for some reason, my magic circles always feel incomplete." Runa explained as she lifted her hand and began drawing a magic circle in the air. "This here is flame axe. I wanted to try to use flame spear as a base to shift and transform it into an actual weapon that only the caster could use."

My eyes opened wide when I saw the magic circle. It was very intricate. She was definitely on to something, though. I gazed at the magic equation, trying to pick it apart. "Hmmm… This part here and over here….. "

"Hey, Runa, why did you inject this into the equation here? Shouldn't it be this rune, like this?"

"Huh? Wait, yes, if it is like this….."

Four hours later, the two of us were sitting there with bright smiles on our faces. I have to say Runa is quite amazing at runes. The process of turning magic into a weapon was not easy at all. Especially if it was one that you can hold in your hand and still get it to act like the weapon you are trying to make. But these four hours were not wasted. Runa stood in front of me with a two handed axe in her hands. The flame arched off of it here and there as the tips of the flames rolled around its body.

"Faith, thank you so so much. I have been wanting to complete this spell for many years now. And now….. I really owe you!" Runa's eyes never left the flame axe.

I thought for a moment before drawing another magic circle: "Flame sword!"

"What!? You already altered it!?" Runa cried out in surprise. This was definitely truly amazing. The flame sword in my hand really did not feel like anything, but I was able to wave it around as if it was a normal sword without it losing too much shape.

Chapter20 Next Stage!

"Mmm… Once you know the equation, it is simple to alter it a bit to fit your needs." I explained with a smile. What I did not say, though, was that I already planned to take this creation a step further and create what I would like to call 'Gates of Faithylon'. I know the name is not the best, but I figure it would be cool to transform the spell into something not only deadly but beautiful at the same time. Just imagining thousands of whirlpools of flames appearing in the air to have thousands of flame swords come out of those whirlpools makes me shiver in excitement. Of course, this is not an original idea. I once read a novel online that had such things in it. At any rate, it was a neat idea, and now that I have a sword that can burn as well as slice, I am very happy to begin crafting such a spell.

"To think you are able to change the spell in such a short time right after it was created." Runa seemed a bit exhausted. I guess I would be the same if the spell I had been working on for so long was easily pulled apart and transformed into a new spell in almost an instant.

"Hmmm… But you can do a lot with this spell, using the same equation and changing the element like so." I waved my hand and created four different magic circles that each created a different elemental sword.

"This is so not fair! Faith, you like to bully people, don't you?" Runa asked with a pout. It was not that I wanted to bully her, but I finally found someone other than my father, who was a magic freak like myself. So I was just kind of showing off.

Runa and I talked into the early morning hours. The fighting on the stages was still going on, so after a long yawn, Runa decided to head back to her inn room to rest up. She did ask me where I was staying but cried about the fact that I was moving after the tournament was over and would be starting school. I think her exact words were: "I will go talk to the king about this!" So I can only guess that she plans to get a form of residence on the floating island and maybe even enter the academy. This, however, was only an assumption.

As for me, I stayed to watch the last of the battles. Sir Derek had won his battle after punching every person off the battle stage. Sei did the same as well, and Gesel threw each person off the stage after toying with them for a while. While the way they went about things was a little off, I had already expected them to win their stages. This now left the tournament with one thousand people in the next round, which was one on one fights. I can only guess this will be a progression match system done on multiple stages.

I did not have to wait long to find out about this either. Because as soon as the last battle ended, the announcer appeared and was standing up on the high stage once more. "As all the battle stages have finished, and we have all contestants here in the stadium, we will now display the one versus one battle chart."

The announcer waved his hand, and a battle chart with the names of each contestant appeared high in the air. But what I did not understand was that he said all contestants were here. Runa left a while ago. "Faith!" A whiny voice filled my ear, causing me to turn to my left. I saw Runa, who was covered in dirt, had her hair all standing straight up, walking over to me with a face full of tears.

I was not really sure if I should ask or not with how Runa looked, but I figured I would ask because I was very curious as to why she looked like she rolled around in the dirt. "Uhhh… Runa…. What happened?"

"When I tried to leave, the guards said I couldn't leave until the round was over as I am a participant. And well, I yelled at them and even threatened to use magic on them, but they wouldn't budge. So I tried to climb the wall, but who would have thought that it was rigged to electrocute people who tried to climb over it!? I was so tired I ended up passing out there. But then the guard kicked me and told me that I couldn't sleep there!" I truly did not know what to say to this silly elf girl. Who in their right mind would just fall asleep where they fell after getting electrocuted if they were still conscious, to begin with!? Yes, I understand she was tired, but still, this was just too much!

I mean, she knew I was still in the stands. Why didn't she just come back and sit by me!? I guess I will just never understand how some people's brains work. While she was a genius at magic she seems to be an air head when it came to other things. It actually makes me wonder just how she got to the capital in one piece. I find it quite amazing how your perception of someone can be ruined by a single incident. Like, say, a boy who really liked a girl who he thought was kind hearted and sweet. Only to one day hear her swearing and kicking someone while shaking down the person she was stepping on. It was a difference between night and day. While it was not to such an extreme in this case, it was still quite surprising to see the sudden shift in personality after showing me the magic crazy side of her, who was intelligent and knew exactly what she was talking about.

At any rate, I guess the same could be said about me as well. Although, I will deny it to the ends of the world. "Runa, look up at the sky."

"Oh?" Runa looked up at the sky and frowned. "I am not going to have to fight now, right? I am really tired!"

"I am not sure the announcer has not said anything since creating the…."

Before I could even finish my words, the announcer once again spoke up. "Battles will be held tomorrow morning! Make sure you are here by first morning bell. Now go and get some rest!"

"Looks like we can finally leave. To be honest, I expected the first round to take much longer." I did not think the first round of battles would be done in a day and a night, but then again, once people started getting tired, it was only a matter of time, I guess. Fighting for so many hours was bound to make people with lower stamina quickly tap out.

"Now we can leave!? Then why did they keep me here in the first place!? Why did the wall electrocute me!? Why did the guard kick me!?" Runa seemed very stressed out.

"Well, Runa, I will see you tomorrow. I need to get plenty of rest for my next battles." I shook the still sleeping Sophie to wake her up. She groaned but still raised her head and looked at me while rubbing her eyes. "Is it over?"

"Just the first round. We are heading home now." I answered as I stood up and stretched. Annie seemed to have already been awake, so she shook the other two maids to wake them before standing up herself.

"Young Miss, should I prepare some breakfast before you go to sleep?" Annie asked.

"Mmm… I am sure Sei will complain if she has nothing to eat. Or she might have dragged Gesel off already. I am not sure. She never came to see me after she won her stage." I answered. But for some reason, I could feel a set of eyes burning into the side of my head. "Runa, if you have something to say, please say it."

"Can I come over to eat as well!?" Runa asked. I sighed and nodded. I mean, there was no reason not to invite her over. But…. "No magic talk. After we eat, I want to sleep."

"Yes, mam!!" Runa answered as if she was talking to a teacher. I am starting to wonder if Runa was younger than I thought.

"Runa, I know this might sound rude, but how old are you?" I decided to give in to my curiosity and ask.

"Me? Fourteen this year!" Runa answered while putting her hands on her hips and raising her nose in the air. While I was confused as to why she was so proud of her age, for her to be only fourteen surprised me. I mean with her knowledge in magic at her age truly makes her a genius. While I have a photographic memory due to my stats, the idea of someone without such a thing being able to remember so much truly amazes me. Then again, I do not know much about elves in the first place. And it is not like I can ask if I can dissect her to try to figure out how she ticks either. Not that I would.

But now that I am thinking about it. I wonder if she thinks the same as me since I am almost a year and a half younger. Or maybe she is just saying she is young but in truth she is two hundred and fourteen!? Well to be honest I have no right to say she is lying nor do I have the right to say she is telling the truth either. I can only go by what facts are laid out in front of me.

Chapter21 Battle Stages Part 1

In the end, I ended up sleeping until the next day. As soon as I ate, I felt so tired that I almost passed out at the table. I think I only woke up one time, and that was when Sophie crawled into bed with me. You would think I would wake right up if I felt someone climbing into my bed out of nowhere, but I could smell Sophie's scent, so I knew it was okay.

It was now early in the morning. The sun had yet to come up, but my inn room was lit up like a christmas tree. Annie and the other two maids were busy preparing for the long day packing all kinds of food that they had been cooking since last night, I guess. Thurul had come over an hour ago and was sitting in the living area talking with Runa and Sei, who seemed to have hit it off quite well. Why Runa was even here, though, was beyond me. I guess she must have stayed the night. And with how Sei and Runa were getting along, I guess she stayed in Sei's room.

And currently, I am eating a large breakfast. There was plenty of meat and eggs to go around. Toast with jam and with what I call this world's fried sweet potatoes. There were even a few desserts to make sure I had enough sugar in me as well. It might seem like I am overeating, but this was because I would probably not have much time between matches. Gesel had mentioned something before about how they make you wait on your battle stage after winning a match. I guess it was because they needed to keep track of all participants.

After a hearty meal, everyone got everything together and packed the carriage. Sei had gotten us a larger carriage this time around because there were so many people. It was kinda like the limousine of carriages. It had side sears instead of the normal front to back seating. With our items placed securely in an overhead compartment, we all headed off to the stadium.

It took about an hour to get to the stadium, then another ten minutes to get to the entrance so we could get our things and get off. Many people were doing the same as we were and had many things in their hands as they made their way into the stadium. Because the stadium was between an outer section and an inner section, one could set up tents and camp out during competitions like this.

A lot of people who came from out of town, whether they were a contestant or not, would take up a small spot in order to save on costs. There were never any issues about any bad things going on. The guards at the stadium were all very strong and patrolled day and night. The gates were even closed after a certain time at night unless the battles were still going on. So it was one of the safest places to be for those coming to the tournament.

As we made our way inside, I had to separate from Thurul, Sophie, and the other girls. I walked with Sei and Runa to the battle stage area. But before we could pass through the doors, we were met by two people. "Gesel! Sir Derek!"

"Geh! Sei!" Gesel wanted to run and hide but was quickly pulled back by Sei.

"Gesel, I was looking all over for you yesterday after the matches. I was wondering why you were having so much trouble with your battle stage… Let's have a nice chat before the next portion of the tournament begins, shall we?" Gesel turned and looked at me for help, but I just so happened to have seen a spot on the stone ceiling that looked quite interesting. I guess it wasn't only me who thought this was as well since Sir Derek and even Runa were staring at different spots as well.

I could hear Gesel's pleas for help echoing down the hall. I felt bad, but I would rather not have to deal with Sei either. I turned and looked at Sit Derek and greeted him. "Good to see you this morning."

"Yes, it is. Little girl, I came to give you a warning." Sir Derek leaned over and whispered into my ear. "Some of the nobles have placed fighters in the tournament when they heard you had signed up. They plan to make an accident happen."

"Oh? Hehe…" Now, this was interesting information. So they decided to start with me before doing anything else. "It looks like I should show a bit more of my abilities during the tournament. Sir Derek, I do thank you for the information, but I thought you retired."

"I did but passing some info on to you is a simple matter. It would have gone through Sei, but the timing of it all was not good. Too short of a notice to get someone trustworthy to pass her the news. It was found out earlier this morning. And since I was joining the fun here, the King asked me to relay the news." Sir Derek explained. I guess that would be the best method. I am sure as someone who was one the top of the black knights, he was really close with the King and had the ability to contact him outside of the normal channels.

I kinda wish I had an easier way to contact Adel. Sei has to make trips back and forth to the floating island. Well, I am sure I will figure something out in the future. Now that I know how runic inscriptions work, I can maybe make a kind of telephone thing sometime in the future. A portable phone type device.

"Well, I still thank you, and I do apologize for you having to go out of your way to give me this information. But rest assured that no idiot in this place will be able to do much harm to me." I really couldn't wait to see just what these idiots have in store. Luckily they came for me first. But I know once they fail here, they will begin to do things in a more dirty manner.

"It's no problem. Just remember to meet me in the finals. I want to fight the little lady who can destroy the world." Sir Derek said with a loud laugh before turning and walking away.

"Why do I feel like my presence was completely ignored!?" Runa whined.

"Because you don't stick out as much with that hood over your head. If you showed him your ears and wiggled them a bit, I am sure he would have seen you. After all, you are very cute." I said in a teasing manner. This resulted in being punched in the shoulder.

With a laugh, I ran into the battle stage area before she could do another follow up attack. When I reached the battle stages, I stopped short because the fighters were all crowded around the center stage. Up in the air, the battle placements were in full view. I quickly found my name and saw that I was on stage number seven hundred seventy seven. I am not sure if this was supposed to be lucky or not or if this was some kind of bad omen. Either way, I did not plan to lose. I turned to Runa and patted her shoulder: "Don't get ignored by your opponent, or you might end up having to sleep on the battle stage."

"You! You better not lose either. I want to fight you!" Runa snorted before leaning in close. "Stay safe. I noticed quite a few powerful people here."

I smiled and nodded my head: "You as well. Good luck!" I gave her a wave before running off. My stage was on the other side of the stadium, so it took almost five minutes to get here after having to push through the people. They spread everyone out in case of accidents, I guess. With all the stages, not many would be used at this time, but now these empty stages served as some kind of boundary between the fights. I guess I could understand this. Most during these one versus one matches, people will be going all out, which means larger attacks of all kinds.

As for me? I planned to eject as many people out of the stadium as possible. Well, maybe not out of the stadium, but close to it, at least across the battle area itself. I know I could use bigger spells but this spell just tickled my funny bone. I mean, how many people would use catapult magic to send people flying during a match? Not to mention to block it, you would need to negate the ground under your feet as well. or you would be sailing through the skies.

When I arrived at my battle stage, my opponent was already standing on one side. He was a tall man with a long skinny sword attached to his back. To be honest, it looked like it would break if I blew on it. Not that it matters since my sword will not cross paths with his…. Well, I at least hope so anyway.

Chapter22 Battle Stages Part 2

"Hey, girly, I suggest you quit before the matches start. I do not go easy on women, never mind children." The man in front of me yelled with a sinister smile. Of course, I was not affected by this at all, but I did wonder what made him think he was going to win. But more than wondering about this blatant lack of intelligence, I was wondering much more about which angle I should eject him to.

Ignoring the fool behind me, I looked around to see if I could knock out anyone else that was close by on another stage. But to do this, it would take the right angle and the right amount of power to launch him just right. If I am lucky, I can knock both fighters from a stage off instantly. There was no rule stating that you could not knock other people off their battle stages as well. And since there are no barriers around these stages, it was the perfect opportunity to do just that.

I couldn't even keep the mischievous grin off my face as I looked for my targets. I had only one bullet, so I needed to make sure to really make good use of it. If I was lucky and did things just right, I might even knock out two stages. "Hey, you listening to me!? I said, hey, answer me! Are you giving up or not!?"

You know, I do wonder why this idiot behind me likes to yell so much. Is he hard of hearing, so he has to scream at the top of his lungs? Or maybe he is so dumb that he doesn't realize that I am ignoring him. Either way, him getting even more upset is good. This will bring an even more satisfying expression to his face for me to see as he is flying through the air.

I know it sounds sadistic, but what can I say? The idea of catapulting people is very entertaining. Plus, this time, I will get to watch what happens, unlike before, when I forgot to look. At any rate, I just wished things would hurry up! I want to get to sending people flying. I mean, I already got a good line of sight of the groups I want to send flying along with the idiot here.

Sadly I still had to wait ten minutes for everyone to actually settle down and get to their battle stages. Only then did the announcer begin to speak again. "The first round of battles will now commence!"

With the sound of horns blaring in the air, I heard a war cry coming from in front of me. I watched as the tall skinny man charged toward me without hesitation with his sword in hand. It looked to me as if he truly wanted to take my life. But sadly for him, I began counting down.

"9!"

"8!"

"7!"

"6…!"

"1! Blast off!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!" I heard a wonderful scream as the spot where the tall skinny man stepped suddenly sprang into action as I stepped to the side. I had already been standing in the perfect direction. I just had to count the tall skinny man's steps to get the right amount of lift. I shaded my eyes with my hand as I watched him sail overhead towards the other battle stage. He was actually flying quite fast. And the reaction of the two on the other stage as he slammed into him sending both of them flying off of it with him, was just too priceless. I am sure if I were to make those youtube videos back on Earth in my past life doing this every time, I would make a killing.

"Battle stage seven hundred seventy seven, contestant number one thousand seventy two, Faith Cyrilia, winner! Battle stage five hundred twenty three. Double out!" When I heard the announcer outting the two I hit with my contestant, I couldn't help but chuckle. It seems with so many contestants having two people kicked out due to outside interference wouldn't be an issue.

"Wait! We were hit by someone else's contestant!" One of the men crawled up from the ground and yelled out.

"Rules state that under any circumstances that you exit the battle stage, you will be disqualified. You both left the stage before I could call a winner, which means you are both out. Maybe next time you will keep a better eye on your surroundings, especially you who could see the man flying towards you. Now get out of here before I have you dragged out!" The announcer sounded very mad. I guess he didn't like people talking back to him. But when he turned towards me, the old stern face showed a slight grin as he gave me a secret thumbs up.

I knew people would love my catapult. Send them flying with everything I have, that is my job! Not only do I get entertainment myself, but I also get to entertain others. Luckily my battles end quickly, so not many get to see my schemes.

But now I can only wait. With me being so far out, it is hard for me to see anything from where I am standing. Hmmm, since I am in the stadium, I can fly, right? But using my wings will get tiring, so let's just use air walk and find a good place to sit. "Well, I am not allowed to leave my stage, so what if I just make the entire thing lift up high enough so I can see everything."

With this thought in mind, my eyes lit up, and the whole stage suddenly shot up into the air. I walked over to the edge and looked out over the other battle stages. Although I do wish I had some kind of snacks so I could eat while watching them all fight.

Oh? Gesel and Sei, also just finished up. Sir Derek is tormenting his contestant. I mean, standing there with his hands on his hips while laughing at the guy hitting him with a sledgehammer is not very good sportsmanship. Well… Maybe I am not the one to be talking about sportsmanship. I mean, I did just send my opponent flying through the air with the intention to take out other contestants. I am not sure where that puts me on the good sportsmanship concept.

Anyway, some of the battles are not bad. There looks to be some fairly strong people. Out of everyone I know who is battling right now though, the one who stands out the most is Runa. she seems to be going kinda crazy over on her battle stage. I wonder why she must fill the entire battle stage up with flames. I kinda feel bad for the person still trying to hang on. I can see them sweating bullets to the point that there is a wet spot under their feet.

While it is fun to watch the matches, it is kind of boring sitting here by myself. There seems to be quite a few battle stages with people who are having fierce battles, but I think that is because they are all close to the same level of ability. I wonder what would happen if I accidentally catapulted all of them off into the space?

Not that I would do that since I would definitely be reprimanded, disqualified, and arrested. Which none of these three are things are things I wish to happen. I mean, this is one hundred gold on the line. Plus, I made promises to fight everyone. But I do think two people may pose a challenge to the others. The huge fan girl and the bunny girl seemed quite strong. If I were hit by either, I might be sent flying due to my low body weight. But I think if I weld my feet to the battle stage and use mana shield, I can ward off the attacks without turning into a kite. '

My main worries are Runa, Sei, and Sir Derek. I do not know the extent of Sei and Sir Derek's combat ability, while Runa uses a lot of indirect attacks from what I can see. I just wish the two latter would give me something to work with here. "Oh?"

It seems there may be another dark horse as well. Small in stature and has a tail. Also, wearing a cloak like Runa. I am not sure who they are, but they are easily defeating their opponent without much effort but making it seem like they are not good at fighting. I wonder how strong they truly are…..

I guess I can only wait to find out. Let's hope I am not going to end up losing to this unknown factor. Because if I did, I might cry. Well, maybe not, but still. I owe Thurul a lot of money right now and wish to pay him back as soon as possible. While he says it's fine, I still feel bad since he has been funding my venture from the get go. I guess I should cross all my fingers and toes that I will win!

Chapter23 Battle Stages Part 3

You know there is a saying back on Earth that I heard once. That saying was: "What kind of dog shit luck does a person have to have to be so lucky." While crude, its meaning is that one must be very lucky to step in dog poo. And well, the idiot on my stage for my second battle must have just that much luck. Not only did this idiot actually make it into the second round of the tournament, but he also met me for a second time. And that person is none other than the quack hero with idiot disease so far gone that he needs to be put six feet under.

I mean, I especially remember ejecting him the hardest out of the free for all in the first round. So why is he once again standing in front of me ranting on about how he was going to become a grand hero after beating me. He even called me a demon lord! Is this revenge for me making him pay me back!? "And so Demon Lord, we will now settle this once and for all!"

"Ummm…. Mr. Hero, a word please...." I quickly cut him off by raising my hand in front of me.

"Huh? What? Please go ahead." Why is he suddenly all polite? HE just called me a demon lord and was now being polite these mood swings...

"First things first, how did you even get here? I could have sworn I ejected you out of the battle stage in the first round." I mean, I did, right? Or is this some kind of like… novel or game thing where the hero has all kinds of plot armor, so he will always make a comeback no matter how underhanded it is.

"Huh? Well, I landed on another stage and kicked everyone off, so they gave me a pass." Was this tournament really not a place where rules mattered? Well, I guess after I knocked out two other contestants and got away with it, I can see them not caring even if he was from another battle stage. But how did I not notice him before? I could have sworn I watched all the battle stages.

"I see… So if you land on another stage this time and beat them, you will once again pass, I guess…." I tapped my chin for a second before coming up with a plan. Since using catapult doesn't work, I can just take the stage out from under his feet.

"Next match, begin!" The announcer suddenly shouted. I looked at Mr. Hero Boy and gave him my best smile as my eyes lit up, and with a slight shake, the stage shrank towards me.

"Wait! Huh!?" Charles stared at me in disbelief as he fell on his but on the freshly revealed ground. He did not understand what had just happened. He looked up at the announcer in hopes this was against the rules but sadly….

"Battle stage seven hundred seventy seven, contestant number one thousand seventy two, Faith, winner!" The announcer yelled out. I watched as Charles, the wonderful hero's face paled as he went from looking at the announcer to me.

"I smiled brightly at him as I bent over with my hands behind my back and said: "Don't forget my money. All twenty billion of it."

"Wait!? Twenty billion!?" Charles yelled out. Sweat began to form on his forehead. He looked left then right, and just before he thought he could get away, I waved my hand and made him float in the air.

"You are not trying to run out on your debt, right?" I asked. I guess now he could really call me a demon lord or demon queen, or whatever.

"I… I can't pay that! I only have a few copper to my name. This tournament was supposed to let me live for a while!" Charles cried out. Tears began rolling down his cheeks. Now I felt slightly bad like I was bullying some kid. I reached into my pocket, digging around like I was getting something, before pulling my hand out and flicking a gold coin at him.

"Make this last for a while." I said before letting him down. "Just remember you own me."

"Yes, thank you! You are such a kind demon lord!" Charles yelled out. My eye twitched, and the next thing I heard was a scream as someone flew through the air. "He is such an Idiot!"

I returned the stage to its normal size before raising it into the air. The announcer looked at me and gave me a polite nod which I returned in kind. Luckily today's battles were not dragging on as much. Sei, Runa, Gesel, and Sir Derek all finished their matches not long after me. So did the rabbit girl and large fan girl. The tailed cloaked figure seemed to be searching for the right time to knock their opponent out.

As I sat there watching the matches, I noticed I could not tell which one of these people was supposed to be after my life. Sir Derek did warn me that I was being targeted. I just did not know by who. This was why I was studying all the matches. Not only to pass the time but to see if any of these people would be the ones to try to assassinate me.

While it may seem like I am messing around, I am still thinking about the things to come. I am watching everyone closely to see who might be suspicious, but the only one I found strange so far was the small cloaked figure with a tail. The way they are fighting is different from everyone else. I do not see the reason to be fully hiding all your abilities.

But then again, I could be completely wrong, and this is just how the small figured fights in the first place. But either way, they are currently on my top list of people to look out for. Next up would be fan girl and hammer girl. They may be showing off quite a bit, but they are still both fairly strong. I don't think the nobles with proper information would send weak people after me.

I mean, the count would not send some low level goons to try to fight me, not after I thrashed his own guards inside his own house. And if I am wrong and he really did send some low level goons, then he is just a pure idiot.

Even though I say all of this, I still wish to have a proper fight. Yes, I could have fought against the hero boy, but I really want nothing to do with him. He is quite annoying. Just something about him that gets on my nerves.

Now that the bracket is getting smaller, I should be able to fight Gesel and the rest soon. But this has reminded me that I should really find some time to level more. I have been so busy with so much since arriving in the capital that I haven't even had the time to level up any. I also need to find more evolution stones as well. However, it does make me kind of nervous. I still worry about my next evolution turning me into some king six headed freak.

While I love my dragon form, I still can't use it at all. When I am alone in the bath, I will sometimes transform my hands to make sure I still have the ability to. One day I want to fly through the sky, soaring around and looking at things after everyone I know passes away. While this may seem like a strange dream for the future. It is something that might help me cope with the sands of time. As I am almost thirteen now, I still have a long ways to go. My mother, my father. My brother and his family. My friends. All of them will one day leave this world while I will still be walking around watching as the sands of time continue to fall. But there is one thing I do know. For now…. I will make the most of my life and protect those I wish to protect. I will live my life now without regrets. What will happen in the years to come, I do not know, nor do I wish to know, not after the gloomy scenes from the fortune teller.

My train of thought was suddenly broken when I heard the announcer yell out: "Prepare for the next and final battle for today!"

I stood up and dusted the dirt off me before making the stage fall to the ground. As I did, a figure suddenly appeared in front of me and stood there with a smug grin on her face. "We meet again! Today is the day you shall face your doom!"

"Errm…. Runa, are you okay?" I asked with a worried expression. I checked her forehead to see if it was hot or not. I even pulled on her pointy ears, which caused her to blush and quickly back away.

"Wha-What are you doing!" Runa asked while covering her ears.

"I was checking to see if you were the real Runa and not some imposter," I answered with a smile.

"What imposter!? You're the imposter!"

Chapter24 Battling Runa Part 1

Runa looked at me as if I had bullied her badly, causing me to laugh. "Okay, so you are the real Runa. I guess you are my opponent this time around?"

"Yep! So be prepared to lose!" Runa said while sticking her nose in the air once more. Very princessy for once.

But now, knowing that I was going against Runa, I wondered…. What happens when an elf flies across the sky? I rubbed my chin and wondered if I should use catapult or not. I would feel kind of bad as Runa is my friend, so it would be kind of mean to just suddenly send her flying. But I still couldn't keep myself from asking…. "Runa, do you wish to fly?"

"Huh?" Runa seemed taken aback by my question, but as if remembering something, her face paled as she began shaking her head and hands. "No! Don't! You have to fight me fair and square!"

I pursed my lips and sighed. "Fine, but still…. If an elf could fly, you would make hist…."

"I said no!" Runa yelled out, stomping her feet. "I didn't know you were a bully!"

"I am just joking. I will fight you fairly, I guess. I mean, since you asked so nicely." I said in a teasing voice, causing Runa to stomp her feet even more.

"Definitely a bully!" Runa yelled. But her pouty expression changed quickly after taking a deep breath. "I hope you are prepared. Because I will be coming at you with everything, I have. Faith, I want to see just how good you are. So do not hold back."

I stopped joking around and gave Runa a serious look. "Don't worry. As a friend, I know not to mess around. It would be rude of me not to go all out. But I can not use any large scale attacks. I can not endanger people's lives, so do not blame me for not doing so."

"That's fine. I would not want you to do that either. Actually, it makes me slightly relieved because I don't think my barrier magic is up to a massive grand fall." Runa replied, but it seemed she was a bit dejected about her barrier magic. Maybe I can help her later with it. Although we had only just met, Runa was the first to be a magic freak like me, so I really wanted to spend more time with her and run my ideas against her own. I hoped that I could find more people like that as well at the academy.

"Contestants, get ready!" The Announcer's voice filled the sky. It was finally time for me to actually fight someone seriously.

Runa bowed her head to me as she said: "Let the best mage win."

"Yes, let the best mage win," I answered back and gave her a bow back to show my respect. This was the least I could do since we were fighting as equals. I planned to take this fight very seriously, well, to an extent. Not only out of respect for Runa but because it will be my first time fighting another mage of Runa's caliber. I will also be trying to make use of my mana shield and use this as testing against her spells. This will give me a chance to really see how far I can go and learn some of the quirks of the mana shield.

"Round three begin!" The Announcer yelled out. As soon as he did, my mana shield was up, and ten magic circles formed in the air and fired off at Runa. While I wished to test my mana shield, I also promised not to hold back, well, hold back to the extent of a normal person that had high magic ability. I couldn't by right suddenly fire off thousands of fireballs at Runa. It would kill her. But it seemed Runa was not holding back at all because an equal number of fireballs came flying at me.

I didn't budge, though, and allowed the fired balls to hit me. Sure enough, as they hit the mana shield, they all exploded on contact. As I was analyzing everything to see how it hit the mana shield I heard an angry yell from in front of me. "I said to not hold back, Faith! Why are you not using your rapid fire fireball spell!? I know you can do more than just ten fireballs! Don't look down on me!"

I sighed as I looked at Runa. I had forgotten she knew a lot more about me than most. Since that was the case…. I took a deep breath. "If you really do not want me to hold back, then fine. But Runa. don't hate me if I have to save you." I warned. I was not trying to act arrogant. I just did not wish for her to be mad at me if I did have to put a barrier around her to keep her alive.

"That's fine. I just wish to experience the power of Faith, the army slayer!" Runa yelled out, which caused my mouth to open up wide enough for an egg to fit in.

"Wait, where did this title come from!?" No, really, where did this title come from!? This was the first I heard of it.

"Hehe…. That is what the people of the other kingdoms are calling you. The little demon who can destroy tens of thousands of me in an instant. Now come!" Runa yelled. I could see the excitement and anticipation in her eyes. But I was still trying to get over this strange title I suddenly got. To be honest, I think she is lying. She has to be, right?

I scratched my head in annoyance as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I will now forget I ever heard of such a strange title. "Let's do this!"

My eyes lit up as I waved my hands as two large magic circles formed in the air. At the same time, over a hundred more magic circles formed around Runa. Since she wanted me to go all out, I was going all out. But I did make sure the speed of these spells was reduced a bit in order to protect her in case something went wrong.

"Go!" I yelled out. I already saw Runa casting barrier after barrier around herself. These barriers were just the right size to cover her body, so it took a lot less mana to cast. I was quite impressed with these compact barriers. Sadly they were stationary.

"Hahaha! That is more like it!" I heard Runa laughing out in a crazy manner. I actually never expected her to be so happy about being hit by a bunch of spells. Maybe she is one of those…. You know it starts with a M …. Anyway, Let's hope that is not the case. I watched carefully as the spells flew towards her. I ignored the incoming spells she casted at me. Sadly I could not check how they worked on my shield. It was more important to make sure Runa did not die.

*Boom!*

The whole stage shook. I could hear the crowd screaming out loud. My hand was stretched out already as sweat dripped from my brow. I only saw her five layer barrier begin to completely shatter, and that was all it took for me to wrap her up in a few barriers. The battle that should have been something for me to train on ended with Runa kneeling on the ground, her face pale as can be. I really overdid it. "Runa, are you okay!?"

Her side of the stage had been completely destroyed. Only the spot that was protected by the barriers was perfectly fine. I waved my hand, clearing the fire before jumping over to Runa and dispersing the barriers. I knelt down and checked Runa's condition, and only when I saw that she was only in a state of shock did I let out a sigh of relief. "Runa… It's good you are okay."

"That…." Only after a few minutes did Runa finally speak as she grabbed my cheeks. I was stunned at first, but when I saw her huge smile form on her face as her eyes stared at me in a reverent manner, I began to feel a little freaked out. "That was absolutely amazing! Faith, you really are amazing! To think you could do so much in a short time. Not only did you cast all those spells, but you also protected me in the same instant! I have decided! I will become your disciple!"

"Huh!?" What is she going on about!? Deciding what now!?

"I hate to break you two up, but is everyone okay?" A voice came from overhead. I turned to see the Announcer standing on air not too far from us. This made me raise an eyebrow. Besides my father and I, this was the first time I saw anyone else do this. It made me wonder just how powerful this Announcer was. Only those with high control over their magic can do this.

Chapter25 Battling Runa Part 2

"Yeah, we are fine. We can continue the battle." I did not wish for our battle to end like this. This was not a true battle. All I did was overwhelm her when I wanted to have a true battle with her.

"Are you sure?" The Announcer asked as he looked at Runa with a questioning gaze.

"Yes! I want to keep fighting her! You can name her as the winner, but we want to keep going." Runa said excitedly. "Although let's tone it down a bit…."

I let out a laugh. I couldn't help it. Runa was definitely a magic maniac. The Announcer looked at the two of us and sighed. "Alright, but keep the damage to a minimum. If you blow up the stage, fix it. I am sure you can do that, correct?"

The Announcer looked at me, which I answered with a nod of my head. " Easy enough." I mean, it was quite easy to modify the stage as needed. I had been doing it this entire time.

"Alright then. Battle stage seven hundred seventy seven, contestant number one thousand seventy two, Faith, winner!" The Announcer yelled out my win before hopping back up through the air towards his stage.

Once he was gone, I created a magic circle and began fixing the battle stage. After that, I took a deep breath and looked at Runa. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Hmm? Yep! Fine and dandy!" Runa said cheerfully, which made me let out a sigh of relief.

While she had acted all amazed by what happened, I still worried about whether or not she was okay. "Then shall we continue?"

"Yep!" Runa nodded and was already getting into a defensive position but paused and gave me a serious look. "I know I can not beat you normally, but I want to test my skills against someone of the same level as me. So would you mind matching my strength?"

"Sure." I nodded and smiled as I jumped back to my side of the stage with a single leap. "You can start!"

"Then get ready!" Runa yelled out. At the same time, ten magic circles appeared, and this time it was not fireballs but streaks of lightning. They charged toward me so fast that I was almost caught off guard. My mana shield went up quickly. But even with it up, as the lightning hit the ground, I could feel the electricity surging through the ground and into my body. I think if it was not for my stats, I might have really been hurt by such an attack. But I made sure to take note of the fact that lighting would travel into the ground and penetrate my mana shield. Direct attacks like fireball can not do damage like that. While I could feel the heat, the flames would be more around my body and not directly touching me.

"It seems barrier might be a better option during times of area effect spells. But what if I changed the shape of the mana shield?" I mumbled to myself as many more lightning spells came flying at me. I quickly waved my hand, creating a barrier to block the spell before sending out ten streaks of lightning myself towards Runa. I wanted to see just how she would deal with it.

But to my amazement. Instead of using a normal barrier, she created a dome of water around her which made the lightning spread out over the water and dissipate. "Interesting." I smiled before creating more magic circles. This time it was not lightning, but an earth spell called earth spike. It shaped large rocks from underground into spears that shot up through the earth. I hate to say it, but I was using Runa to learn proper combat with other mages. I just hoped she would not mind.

Normally such combat would be over in an instant. But since I was gunning to be a magic knight, it would be different. Battles would consist of both magic and sword. But going head to head with a mage that would not want to get close was a hard thing to do if they were competent. At least, this is my theory. While I may be able to overwhelm them, if I was attacked by surprise, I would need to be able to defend properly. Like mana shield and lightning are a no go. If I had not learned that just now, I would have been in a bad position if I had been ambushed by a few mages who tried to hit me with lightning. My little dragon butt would have been fried.

So this battle with Runa was very educational on many levels. Spell after spell was cast back and forth. I would switch up my attacks to try to fake Runa out, but she always seemed to have a proper method to block my attacks. I really have to say that Runa might just be peerless in her power range. Her knowledge and experience while battling other mages was very deep. I was kind of jealous. But then again, as an elf and a princess at that, she was probably trained in such combat since she was young. All my experience comes from what little training I had with my family. It was not much, but enough to survive against bandits.

While my current power was high, I lacked experience and knowledge. But I am in no hurry to learn it all right away. I will learn it all over time. It was just that right now was the best time to have a mock battle with the stage and all already set up for us.

We continued sending spells back and forth at each other until the Announcer announced that the third round was now over. "All contestants who have won will need to spend the night in the arena. Matches will begin before dawn."

I guess this was also normal for the tournament once the one versus one matches started. Now that I think about it, Annie and the other maids were all preparing a lot of food. Much more than normal, I guess this was the reason why. I scratched my head and looked over at Runa, walking over to me, and asked: "You staying as well?"

"Yep! I want to see how far you go. The next set of matches will be much shorter now that most of the weaker contestants are out. Looks like you won't be fighting Sei and the others until the day after though."

I looked up at the sky to see the new brackets. The numbers had already been whittled down to only a hundred people. It seemed there were quite a few double outs and contestants who gave up due to injuries. The name on the list for my first fight was no one I knew. "I guess I will need to wait until tomorrow to see who I will be fighting."

"Hmmm? You don't know? Fanmari is the girl with the big fan. I heard her name earlier due to her being close to my battle stage." Runa explained, which made me frown slightly.

"Then tomorrow's battle might be much harder than I expected." I guess I can only hope to win. I let out a sigh as I looked up at the sky. "Let's hope you are not one of the assassins."

"Hmmm? Assassins?" Runa asked with a confused expression.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go eat. My Annie and the girls made a bunch of food earlier. We should get over there before Sei eats it all." I did not want to go into details about what was going on around me. I did not want Runa to get involved, and all of a sudden, an international incident was happening due to some stupid nobles.

Before we arrived at the stadium, Annie told me to meet her by the entrance after my matches. But as I arrived with Runa, I heard a Sei whining. "Annie, why can't I just have a sandwich now?"

"Miss Sei, I have told you many times already that you can not eat before the Young Miss. Only when the Young Miss is here and says you can eat can you eat. There is proper etiquette to everything." Annie's voice was stern as she scolded Sei, who hung her head in defeat.

Seeing the two going back and forth, I couldn't help but chuckle. After all, while Sei looked my age at this moment, she was, in fact, much older than both Annie and I. So seeing Annie handle Sei so well made for a funny scene.

"Young Miss! Congratulations on continuing to the next round!" Annie saw me and perked right up as she walked over and bowed her head to me in greeting.

"Yeah, well… I kind of went overboard." I said while scratching my head.

"No, you didn't. I am the one to blame for what happened. I truly got in over my head. Someone who can cast two high tier magic spells in a row would definitely be able to pull off some crazy things. I was too overconfident." Runa said as she cut in.

"Let's just say it was both our faults. Let's go eat. I am starving." I could tell if I tried to say it was my fault again, then Runa would try to say it was hers. I did not feel like going back and forth like that, so It was easier to just say it was both our faults. At any rate, I am really starving, and Annie's cooking is amazing.

"Finally, we can eat! Let's go!" Sei yelled out while grabbing my hand and Annie's hand and pulling us along. Today's battles ended on a good note but I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Chapter26 Talking With Sir Derek

Our group got much bigger when Sir Derek and Gesel also came over to eat with us. Luckily Annie had expected as much, so she had brought more food than one would have expected. So in the end, it was Annie, myself, Rina, Brooke, Sophie, Thurul, Sei, Gesel, Fred, Runa, and Sir Derek sitting here eating around a small campfire.

While we ate, my mind was preoccupied with tomorrow's battle with Fanmari. I just hoped she was a normal contestant. If she were to go all out against me, to kill me, then I might have to take her down. To be honest, I really did not wish to kill anyone unless I am forced to, but if she pushes me too far, then I might have no choice but to.

"Little Lass, what is on your mind?" Sir Derek asked as he moved to sit down next to me, he had a cup of ale in his hand. My guess is that Thurul had brought some of his special brews.

"I was just thinking that tomorrow's opponent might be one of the people who was sent by the nobles. I highly doubt they would send anyone weak. Not with all the information about me circulating about." I explained honestly. For some reason, Sir Derek, although muscular and had a strong pressure about him, when he talked to me like this, seemed like a grandpa.

"Hmmm… That may be true. Nobles may act rashly at times, but they know to make sure to do things right. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to get away with half the stuff they get away with. Just keep your guard up. If anything happens, I will be there to back you up. Normally I would not tell this to a young girl, but if you have to shed blood, then shed blood. Protect your life over everything else. The King has already tossed his support behind you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have a black knight at your side. Only the royal family has black knights at their side. Whether they are hiding in the shadows or standing directly next to them, they are always there protecting the royal family and the kingdom's interests." Sir Derek really had a way with words. It was able to make me relax a bit.

If I were to kill someone during an event like this, it would be blown out of proportion. The nobles could use it as a means to try to condemn me and put me in prison while they petition for control back over the east side slums. I know that with me taking over control of the area and more knight patrols has made it hard for them to continue their business, especially with the black knights giving the orders to those in charge of the knight's barracks close to the area.

And if you count me slowly reclaiming the slums back to make it a safer place for people to live and work, then it is basically stamping out any chance for them to do any dirty dealings in the city. They would need to try to transform another section of the city into a slum. But now that the King is paying much more attention to the city, there will probably be no chance for them to do that. The only thing they could do was set up some kind of outfit outside the capital but close enough to still be able to run back and forth.

I know I will never be able to stamp out corruption by doing what I am doing. But I never set out to do that in the first place. My only goal in this matter was to better the lives of the people living in the slums so that they could have a chance, a better chance at life.

I let out a long sigh as I sipped my tea. "I will try not to allow it to come down to bloodshed."

"That's the best course of action since it will save a lot of trouble. But just know the option is there and that you will not be held accountable. The King has long since learned of the plans these snake bastards have, so don't worry about the clean up. To be honest, with how young you are, I would never wish for you to be dealing with such things. But I still admire you." Sir Derek's words surprised me. I do not see what I have done that would make him admire me.

"Admire me?" I asked. I felt flattered but still. If anyone should be admired, it should be Sir Derek himself.

"Yes. You are so young yet more noble than half the nobles in this kingdom. You care for the people of this kingdom more than let on. No one goes out of their way to help the poor. No one goes out of their way to fight in a war to defend their homeland at your age. Especially not a little girl."

"But I only really went off to fight to protect my village. As for the other battles, that was…."

"Doesn't matter!" Sir Derek interrupted me. "What matters was that you jumped into the fire. Whether it was to gain a little bit of benefits or not, you still jumped in, and not only that, but you turned a losing situation around and gained the trust of the soldiers you commanded. It is not why you did something but what results you give. If you just jumped in and let your men die to win the battle, I would not be talking to you now. You did not do that. You stood firm in your stance of trying to keep as many of your men alive as possible. You were on the front lines and not hiding in some tent. You took a ragtag group of soldiers seen as misfits by our kingdom and made them heroes. Did you claim full glory? No, you did not. In my eyes, if that does not deserve admiration, then I do not know what does.

"Faith, take the meaning of your name and have more faith in what you do. You are going to go someplace in this world. Even though you are a demi human you are already standing higher than half the humans in this kingdom. I heard not only have you befriended the princess to the point that she is willing to steal the royal stamp, but you have even put the silly prince in a place where he is willing to work hard now. Do you know after his scolding the other day that he has begun hitting the books again? The King did not ask him to, but he said he needed to learn more and become someone who is able to truly run this country. He said he did not wish to let you see him as the idiot prince any longer.

"To be honest Little Lass, I think you stole the lad's heart. Haha!" Sir Derek let out a loud laugh as he took another swig of his ale.

But I couldn't help but furrow my brow. The prince was handsome, but he had so many faults. If he did fix them, then maybe he would be someone worthy of being the next King. And even a man worthy of someone to marry. But I, for one, do not think that it would ever be me. He would need to do a full one eighty in his personality before that would ever happen. But if he can become a good king, I will support him one hundred percent.

Plus, I can see the sibling rivalry if what the others said was true about Adel. But I would rather just be friends with them all and leave it at that for the time being. Now, why did Sir Derek have to go and remind me about such depressing things?

Once again, I was letting out a sigh. I have been doing that a lot as of late. If I keep sighing like this, I might end up growing so old that I will look like a granny by the time I reach eighteen. But I just can't help it. With everything that is happening, I can't help but feel slightly stressed out. I just want to settle into my new place and go to the academy and try to forget everything that is going on. Of course, I will need to make trips back and forth between the slums to check on things, to also see the progress of the factory and my new house, but at least I get to ride the airship more, which will be fun. I could always try to create a teleporter since I memorized the way it works, but I kinda feel nervous about using one I made myself. Maybe I could work out a teleportation magic instead that allows me to visit places I have already been.

At the same time, I wanted to build another place that would be a good spot for me to test out some of these runic inscriptions. I wonder if I can take a few classes on that when I get to the academy. There are other things besides barrier magic I would like to try using for inscription. And instead of wasting a lot of materials testing things out, it would be more wise to learn what I can and then try to put it to practical use. I have an understanding of the concept and can actually make my own barrier inscriptions, but this is different. Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder if I can make a barrier that could be carried around. It would safeguard those that I care about…. This is something I should look into after I move….

Chapter27 When The Odds Are Against You Part 1

That night I slept out under the stars. It was not just me but everyone else as well. I had put up a barrier around us to keep any questionable people from being able to get near us so we could sleep peacefully at night. Sophie was very nice and allowed me to cuddle with her fluffy tail, or more like I kinda snuggled into it without asking first. But she didn't say anything, so I guess all was okay.

Sei and Runa seemed to have passed out drunk. Runa was not much older than me, but she still drank Thurul's ale like a champ. I never had alcohol myself, but I am not sure I want to drink any either. I feel I might become a different person if I did. No idea why I feel this way, I just do.

When I woke up in the morning, I couldn't help but shiver at the dreams I was having. Knight's on white horses saving a damsel in distress. Two, to be more precise. One was Adel, and the other was Prince Lance. It was a terrifying dream where they had a duel to the death, and in the end, no one won. For some reason, an even more terrifying person showed up. An idiot beyond idiots, the hero of Gravos! It was such a nightmare that I woke up feeling sticky from sweat.

It was all Sir Derek's fault for reminding me about all that love stuff. But I wonder why that idiot showed up in my dreams. He is already a walking nightmare during the day when I see him. I do not want to have him in my dreams. And for some reason, he kept yelling: "I have your money!" But in his hand was a bunch of rocks that you would find on the side of the road! Anyway, I am now awake and will hopefully never dream of such a dream again.

After some food for breakfast, it was already time to head to my stage. My opponent was already standing there waiting for me when I arrived. Fanmari, although she was cute, I could sense her trying to stare daggers into me. While I should just ignore it, I still couldn't help but ask: "Are you here for me?"

"Hmmm?" Fanmari looked at me with a raised eyebrow before lowering her head and tapping her chin with her finger. She seemed to have fallen into deep thought. A few seconds later, she raised her head at me and smiled. But that smile seemed to tell me a lot since it was filled with blood lust.

I really did not wish to fight this fight since I knew it will be a battle with my life on the line, but….. I will have no choice, it seems. While I could just give up here and now, I would look weak in the eyes of those damn nobles if I did that. I will need to show them my strength is not to be taken lightly. So I must apologize to this girl who I was about to fight with everything I had.

I gripped my sword as the announcer's voice rang through the air. "All contestants, get ready! Begin!"

It was then that Fanmari raised her huge fan and swung it at me. A gale of wind shot right at me, and within that wind, I could sense imminent danger. I wrapped my feet with earth using earth magic to keep me from being blasted away while putting up both a mana shield and a barrier.

Clanging sounds were heard as hundreds of metal needles slammed into my barrier and fell to the ground. I could smell a strange stench coming from those needles. They were probably poisoned. While frowning, I created multiple magic circles and surrounded Fanmari with earth wall. "We do not need to do this. If you stop now, you can walk out of here."

"I get paid for the job. Even we assassins have our own code of honor. We take a job, we finish it, or we die. It's that simple. One of us will be leaving here alive today. Which one of us it is, is still up in the air! Wind Destruction!" Fanmari yelled out, causing my earth walls to blast to pieces and fly at me. Luckily I kept a barrier up, so I was able to block all the debris.

I looked at Fanmari who was smiling back at me with a face full of killing intent, and sighed. I turned my gaze skyward before closing my eyes and opening them again. Since I have no choice, I will do what I need to do….

I raised my hand, causing the sky to darken overhead. Magic circles lit up in the sky and began to spin around. "Since you are not willing to give up and these damn nobles do not seem to understand who I am, then I guess I will display a bit of my strength. Meteor shower!"

"What are you doing!? Are you crazy!?" I heard the announcer yell out. I turned to see the old man suddenly charging over at me with a magic circle already active. Seeing the kind of spell it was, I couldn't help but feel even more depressed. "Even you are in on it?"

I got no answer to my question as I formed three barriers around myself along with my mana shield. It seemed the attack was a lightning attack. I guess this old man had been watching me from the very start trying to find out my weaknesses, and I allowed him to!

With another wave of my hand, hundreds of magic circles appeared in the air and surrounded the old man. "Don't blame me for this! Hells Rain!"

Fire and lightning began to shoot out from the magic circles toward the old man. But he only snorted and tossed up a few barriers to block the attacks. But luckily, it threw him off his attack route since he had to stop and defend. As for Fanmari, I saw her kneeling down using her fan as a means to block the incoming meteors. This was my slimmed down version of grand fall. Small meteors no bigger than my fist flying down from the sky.

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