Reborn: I’m a Dragon Girl With An OP System Book 2

--AN: New Novel Cover! The complete and full size image can be found on discord!--

"Faith!" Adel threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. "These past few months have been the most fun I have ever had. I truly hope this next month quickly passes by!"

"It really has been fun." I was not lying. The past few months while traveling with Adel had really been fun. The two of us could be said to be close sisters now. We spent every waking moment together and stopped off to see a few of the sights of the kingdom along the way, courtesy of our tour guide Sir Randford.

We saw awesome majestic waterfalls and many villages, towns, and cities along the way, and now I was at the capital, Sky Lake City. The capital that floated in the sky, well, a good portion of it. But sadly I would not get to see the floating island part of the kingdom until I passed through the large gates in front of me and made my way further into the city. The floating island was actually hidden by an illusion spell and one needed to enter the capital's middle region to even see it.

During our travels, I think Sir Randford was only stopping off at demi human welcoming places because we did pass a few places that we could have gotten an inn at only to pass them and camp outside. Which I did not mind, and neither did Adel. I found out Adel is scared of ghost stories. We had quite a bit of fun sitting around the campfire telling scary stories. Adel's face would always pale while holding my arm, shaking in her boots at the simplest story. It gave me a reason to tease her before sleeping.

Sometimes we slept in the carriage, other times, I would put up a protective barrier so we could sleep out under the stars. It was truly a fun time. And like all fun times, they do have to come to an end as everyone has their own duties and lives they need to live.

My only issue is the fancily dressed young man who has the same smirk on his face as the smirking knight who came with Adel to my home in Cyrilia village. It was so similar that I was starting to think that he was indeed that knight. But something felt off. "Adel, who is the dork over there?"

"Dork?" Adel raised her head and looked at me with a confused expression. I kinda figured that the word dork would not register in this world, but I couldn't help but call him that.

"The smirking fancy pants over there." I said out loud, making sure the young man heard me. I mean, he was staring at me, and it was annoying.

"Hmmm?" Adel turned her head, and her eyes went big. "Brother!? Why are you here!?"

"Brother?" I suddenly had a bad feeling. I am not sure if it was the fact that the only princess of Gravos called the young man brother or not, but I can only assume that Mr. Fancy Pants is one of the three princes of Gravos. I just hope my remark just now will not get my head cut off and nine generations of my family killed. I mean, his entire being froze upon hearing my words. The face he was making also did not look right.

"Smirking Fancy Pants…. Pfftttt! Hahahaha! It fits!" Adel suddenly registered my words and began laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.

"My dear Sister, it is not very ladylike to laugh like this in public. And Lady Faith, we meet again. Let me formally introduce myself. I am the first prince of Gravos. Prince Lance Gravos, The Crown Prince of Gravos." Lance gave me a knightly bow. I do admit he is very handsome when he is not smirking. I do not know if he thinks that smirk of his is sexy or not, but it makes him look -100 points lower than he does now when he is acting regally. Oh…. It's back again.

I bit my tongue in order to not comment before giving a proper curtsey that Adel was kindly nice enough to teach me during our trip, along with other proper etiquettes. "Prince Lance, it is a pleasure. My name is Faith Cyrilia, please call me Faith. The word 'lady' really doesn't suit me."

"It is a pleasure." Prince Lance replied with that stupid smirk. I really can't take it anymore! It just looks so stupid!

"Ummm… Prince Lance, if I may say something that might cause you to want to chop off my head." I just couldn't stand it. For a handsome man to ruin his image by putting on such a stupid smirk just irks me. I mean, I would do the same if this was my father or brother.

Now I am sure there must be quite a few gaga females in this kingdom who faint when they see that stupid smirk but not me. I come from a place where idols were in flow bloom. Jen had even showed me a magazine of some male idol groups before. While I never really understood the appeal, I can at least say they were indeed handsome, and their smirks made them look sexier, but this prince, it just ruined his whole image. And this is coming from someone who doesn't plan to get married. But I do like to look at beautiful people, whether it is a man or a woman.

I saw Prince Lance's lips curl up into a curious smile causing me to wish I never opened my mouth. "Faith, you need to be straight with him. He always does as he pleases. His Majesty will let it slide even if you beat him up." Adel snorted and stood at my side. The way she looked at her brother was as if she was trying to keep a thieving cat from stealing her man.

I watched as Prince Lance glared at Adel before turning to me and smiling: "Yes, please feel free to speak."

"Then…. Can you please stop with that stupid smirk? It really ruins your handsome face." Since I got the go ahead and have Adel's backing, I said it straight!

"Hah…. Hahahahaha! She is so right! I keep telling you that that stupid smirk on your face made you look dumb! Hahahaha!" Adel was cracking up while Prince Lance's face turned black. The smirk was all gone, replaced with a sulking one. At least now, he still looked handsome.

"But the noble ladies seem to like it…." I heard Prince Lance mumble under his breath. I could only scream out, 'I knew it!' inside my head. I mean, of course, the noble ladies will praise him for everything he does. He is the crown prince, after all.

"Well, I just figured I should tell you that… I do apologize if I have offended you." I decided it was best to make sure I apologized. I was pretty blunt just now.

"No, it is fine. What others think does not matter. Only what Faith thinks matters." Eh…. Did I just get hit on? I really wouldn't know, but I might have been. Or else he might just be being nice. I bet in reality, he actually wants to chop off my head for making him lose face.

"Brother, what is the meaning of this?" Adel stood in front of me with her arms stretched out to her sides.

"More like Sister, what are you doing?" Prince Lance and Adel were both glaring at each other? Are they having a feud?

"Ummm…." I decided to cut in before they started brawling here in the middle of the street. I wonder if the two siblings were not on good terms? My brother and I never fought much. I used to pick on him, but he would let me get away with it most of the time. And the times he didn't, he would just tickle me until I almost peed myself. Although, one time, I did, and I ended up kicking him in the face out of anger. That time ended with me getting reprimanded by Father. Not like I meant to break his nose. I mean, he made me pee myself! Anyway… This was a family secret that no one will ever find out. But to have a very serious fight? I have never had the chance to have one since my family always cared about each other.

"Humph!" Adel snorted once more before turning her attention to me and smiling. She even took my hands as she began speaking. "Faith, the inn is right down the road. It is called The Hayward Inn and is very demi human friendly as well as high class. The inn owner is already expecting you. You can stay there for now while we get the house we have prepared for you to stay at prepared."

"Adel, you really did not need to do all that…." I couldn't help but feel that Adel was spoiling me a bit too much. I did have money of my own. But I guess this is all set up by the king himself, so I probably should just accept it.

"No, she did need to. Faith, you must understand that you have done a great deed for our kingdom. His Majesty did not wish to bring you to the capital without having proper accommodations, and we already said that everything will be provided by the royal family. So it is fine." Prince Lance cut in, which for some reason caused Adel's gaze to turn a little scary.

"Then I thank you both and His Majesty."

Chapter2 Stupid Prince

"It is fine there is no need to thank us. Your actions in helping this kingdom are already enough." Prince Lance replied and even bowed his head slightly. He then raised his head and gave Adel a big smile. "My dear sister, I think you should be heading back, should you not? His Majesty, our father, is waiting for your report."

"You!" Adel's expression turned complicated. She stomped her feet before throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly once again. "I will be off. As my brother said, I do need to return to the castle to report to my father. But Faith…." Adel leaned her face closer to my ear and whispered in a not so low voice: "Watch out for my brother, he is a playboy. Do not let him sweet talk you."

"My dear sister, I can hear you. Faith, do not listen to her. I am still as pure as the day I was born. I am keeping myself clean until the day I meet my true love."

"Pure? Clean? Hah! Let me tell you right now, Lance Gravos, if you dare do anything to my cute Faith, I will hunt you down with everything I have!" Adel yelled out while shaking her fist and snorting.

"My Faith!? Humph! We will see!" Prince Lance glared at Adel as he spoke.

I guess as the bystander, I should stay quiet, but I do not understand why these two are fighting over me. It's like two male leads in an otome game staring each other down, waiting for the other to mess up. If this was a manga, there would be projections of mighty beasts behind the two with bolts of lightning shooting out of their eyes. Kinda wish I had some popcorn to watch the show.

After saying my goodbyes to Adel, who looked like she was about to cry as she left in the carriage, I stood there and looked down the long city road ahead of me. I could have gotten a ride, but I decided against it. I wanted to take a good look at the city I was going to be staying in for a while. Unfortunately, I can not see the floating island which hovers over the lower part of the city.

My only issue was the young man standing beside me with his hands behind his back with that same stupid smirk on his face. I guess old habits die hard. "Prince Lance, is there something I can help you with?"

"Me? I figured I would walk around with you a bit if that is okay?" Mr. Smirks smiled at me and caused me to want to kick him. Why would you want to follow me!? Sadly, I can not ask such questions since Adel is not here, so I have no one to protect me from getting my head chopped off. I wonder if this was his way of punishing me. He was taking revenge for my comment earlier.

Nevertheless, no matter what the reason is, I can only sigh and reluctantly nod my head. "If Prince so wishes…."

"Good! We should also stop to eat. I know a wonderful place." And with that, my day was suddenly decided for me. I do not know why it is, but this bast… Ahem…. This prince is just as arrogant as the ones I read about in stories. I do not know what kind of favor he is expecting of me, but he seems dead set on bothering me for the time being.

"Then I will let Prince take the lead." This is all I could say. To be honest, I was not hungry at all. Just before arriving at the city, I had already eaten lunch with Adel. She had made some delicious food, and I kind of gorged myself. Her cooking was just too good. When she gets married in the future, she will make her husband a happy man. Sadly then, I will not be able to eat her cooking as much.

But I do hope whoever Adel marries will treat her well. Because as her friend…. No! As her sister, I must protect her from those evil people, even if it means crushing an entire kingdom in the process. Although I am sure it will never come to that, at least I hope….

"Faith, these stores here are not too bad even if they are in the lower section of the city. They have many items you can not find anywhere else. I do stop in to buy trinkets here from time to time. Everything is made by the owners as well, which makes them even more unique." While I did not wish to be walking the streets of the capital with the crown prince himself, I had to say he was quite knowledgeable about the place. I really did not expect him to know so much. And the shop he pointed at was kind of run down, so It was surprising that he even goes there. As for these so called unique trinkets….. I am not sure what kind of animal that stuffed toy is supposed to be with its fat stomach and strange head with different size eyes sewn into it with a really creepy smile. But I can say this…. This prince's tastes were a bit unique indeed.

"I see…" I did my best to keep a smile. But we drew a lot of attention, and the girls on the street were glaring daggers at me. I really wished to say I am not doing this because I want to! I am being forced to play along! Also, yay for being single forever! Don't worry, you want him, take him! This, of course, could not be said out loud, or my neck would have one less heavy thing on top of it.

It's not that I did not find the prince attractive, it is just that I do not want a relationship. Just thinking about it puts me in a sour mood. But I can do nothing but force a smile and try not to lead the smirking prince on. "Here we are! Fillios House Of Meat!"

Really? This is the place you bring a girl to? Maybe I was thinking too much. There is no way any man who is taking a girl he likes out to a meal would bring them to a place like this. I mean, this was basically just a meat shop! It reminds me of the sandwich shops back on Earth.

Surprisingly or maybe not, when we walked in, we had all kinds of eyes staring at us. None of them were from anyone who would look like a noble of any kind, only commoners. And there was no staff here besides those standing behind the counter. There was even a small line waiting to put in their orders. It was definitely a busy place.

After five minutes, we finally made our way to the front, where a middle aged man and his teen son were working. "Your order?"

"Ummm, give me two large barandalia and cheese with the special sauce. Give us the works." As I stood there while the Prince ordered his food, I Iooked at the menu to see what I wanted. All the names were strange, so I did not really know what was what. But before I could even decide, Prince Lance grabbed my hand and began pulling me away.

"Huh? I haven't ordered yet." I said in confusion. Was he not taking me here so I can eat? I may not be all that hungry, but I can still take it to go if I do not finish it!

"Order? I already ordered for us."

Wait! What the hell do you mean you already ordered for us!? Why would you order for me!? I wanted to scream, but the only thing I could do was quickly take my hand back from the prince and sit down at the table, feeling a bit disappointed. Although it should be mentioned that the food here did smell good. I would need to inspect this place more when I was on my own.

But right now, I had to deal with the matter at hand. In other words, deal with a prince I did not wish to deal with. If it was not for the way he was doing things, I would not mind walking the streets with him, but currently, he is acting a little too friendly for having just really met kind of like those domineering CEOs I read about. Well, this is my take on it as I have read many novels on romance in the past. And this was usually how those arrogant male lead types worked. Which was never my cup of tea. I always yelled out, kick him where it hurts! But now I kind of understand why they couldn't. When dealing with someone of a higher status, things were not so simple. Oh, how I wish Adel was here to save me! But then again, they might start fighting again. I kinda wondered if the women of this world like it when guys acted like this. I, for one, do not!

Chapter3 Annoying Prince

I sat there and ate my meal in silence as Mr. Gabs continued talking to me about this and that. I only gave the perfunctory responses that were needed as I ate my sandwich. The only thing I can say that was good about this situation was the food. It was very good. So I will definitely come back again. "So then he said, how can you have so many!? Haha! Funny, right?"

"Mhmm…" I have no idea what he was just talking about. Who said what and the what now? I should just hurry up and eat. For some reason, he doesn't even realize I wasn't paying attention at all. Which means he was not even paying attention to me. For some reason, that irks me. I mean, I do not like him in that way, but as a girl, you would think the handsome guy across from you would at least pay attention to you if they take you out to eat. He is probably a narcissist.

After twenty minutes of listening to stories that I still have no idea what they were about, I finally finished my meal. "The food here was delicious. Now, if your HIghness does not mind, I should probably be heading to the inn, so I can settle in."

I quickly stood up and bowed towards Prince Lance before turning to leave. But who would have thought that the stupid prince would grab his sandwich and also stand up, following me out? How am I supposed to say nicely I do not want to be around you without sounding so rude that I would lose my head? Things were much simpler when I could just wave my hand and blow people up. For one thing, there is no way in hell that you will see me dating a prince in the first place that would be a career ender for me. Those royals would never let me become a commander! My dream would go out the window, so if this is his aim, then I am sorry, but please leave me alone!

I want to live free, and if I were to marry one day, I will not marry royalty. They have too many rules of can't do this or can't do that. That is unless I was queen. Then things would be different, hehe… If I had rule over a country, I would be sure to make it a free place with laws that are only there to protect the people living there. Set up institutions for learning and promote innovation to its finest. Sadly I do not think that will ever happen unless I go and take a country of my own…. Not such a bad idea…. I pursed my lips and tapped my chin.

If I were to take over a country, I would need to be sure the ones ruling it are people who are bad people. Maybe I should wipe out the Norian Kingdom's royal family and reform the whole country? But would I even be capable of ruling a country of my own? I am far too green. As it is now, I do not even have the power to fully command an army. I hope that going to the academy will prepare me for everything. I want to be someone who is able to command those under me to win every battle without losing a single man. I know not losing a single man is wishful thinking, but I can dream, right?

"Ouch!" My thoughts broke off when I heard a yelp from my side. I turned to see Prince Lance holding his hand, staring at Little Bell, who was looking at him with a fierce expression. "Little Bell?"

"This human tried to touch you. Bad humans should stay away." Little bell's puffed out cheeks, and pursed lips look so cute and funny.

"Pfft! Hahaha!" I couldn't hold it in. Little Bell was the perfect prince deterrent. I am sure Little Bell had picked up on my feelings of not wanting to be close to the prince. Which stemmed from many reasons but to think he went as far as to try to touch me.

"Wh…. Why…. Why is there a spirit here!?" Prince Lance couldn't help but yell out but quickly realized his mistake and covered his mouth. He turned and looked at the guards who were surrounding us and gave them a nod.

The next thing I know, all the people in the area were starting to be detained. "What are you doing!?"

"What do you mean? There is a spirit here. These people who saw it all need to be detained until it is safely back in its domain! If anything were to happen to the spirit, it would destroy ou…."

"Prince Lance, if I may be frank, I am sorry, but you are going about things wrongly." I shouted, interrupting the idiot. "First, you should have asked me why I have a spirit with me, secondly, you should never oppress the people who are innocent. You are the crown prince and someone who is destined to take over the rule of this country. If you can't even handle a situation like this calmly, how the hell can you become king!?" I know I was way over the line, but this was the final straw. I can handle it if he is ordering me around and dragging me here and there, but I can not allow him to actually detain innocent people who have done nothing wrong. I waved my hand, and multiple barriers began to surround the people the guards were about to try to capture, blocking them from being able to touch them.

"Faith, what are you doing!? Are you trying to rebel!?" Prince Lance was not even listening to what I was saying.

"Rebel!? I am stopping an idiot prince from doing something stupid. Little Bell is under my care. The spirit leader himself asked me to take care of her." I shouted back.

"Yeah yeah! Bad human! Bad! I stay with Faith!" Little Bell yelled out in a small voice.

Prince Lance stared at me in disbelief before looking back and forth between Little Bell and me. "This…."

"It is not like I was hiding it. It is just that Little Bell does not like other people, so normally she is hiding in my hair, looking around. Even Adel can't touch her." I explained slowly before waving my hand once more and removing the barriers. "So do you see now that what you were doing was not the right course of action?"

I watched as Prince Lance held his head and waved his hand motioning to the guards to stand down. "I see I did act out of line just now."

Under my shocked gaze, Prince Lance bowed his head to the people he was about to arrest. "I apologize for my rash actions. If anyone was hurt just now, please let me know. I will pay all doctor fees. As compensation, I will give each of you two gold coins."

Two gold coins! Give me four! In all seriousness, I am quite shocked at how quickly his attitude changed. He was willing to admit his mistakes and even compensate those involved. I guess he does have a few prince like qualities to him.

"Faith, I owe you for stopping me, and I apologize for yelling at you just now. I acted rashly out of fear. As you know, a spirit is like the achilles heel of our kingdom or any kingdom for that matter. They can determine if a kingdom lives or dies. If you did not stop me just now, things might have turned even worse. Not only would I have harmed innocents but also would have caused a spirit to become angry with the kingdom." I never thought a day would come when I would get such a sincere apology from a prince, no less.

"It's fine. I just did what I should have. I apologize for my rudeness." I let out a sigh of relief. I guess this will be a lesson for us all. And it also shows just how much the prince worries about this kingdom. He was about to sacrifice the few and his own reputation in order to keep Little Bell safe and protect the kingdom. This is very noble of him, so I can not fault him on that, but it was just how he went about it.

"Now then…." I figured while we were at it, I would ask a very important question. "Why were you trying to touch me, a fair and pure maiden in the middle of the street?"

"Cough!" Prince Lance seemed to have choked on air. "I was just trying to shoo away a bug that was on shoulder…."

"Liar! Bad human liar! Tried to hug her, you did! Liar! Liar! Liar!" Little Bell's voice came from inside my hair, causing me to chuckle. The one and only one in the whole kingdom besides the royal family who can say what they want to the crown prince without needing to worry about being beheaded. I guess this extends to me now that I am Little Bell's caretaker?

Chapter4 The Hayeward Inn

With Little Bell screaming and yelling, Prince Lance's face turned bright red. "Ummm… Faith, I just remembered I had something to do. I will meet up with you again soon." And with that, Prince Lance walked away with all but one knight following him.

I turned to look at the knight, who smiled awkwardly at me and scratched his head. "I ummm…. I was ordered to guard you by the captain…."

"Do as you need," I said with a nod and began walking down the street. As long as this knight did not hinder me while I walked around, I could care less. Although I do not think there is anyone more suited for the task of protecting Little Bell than myself. For one thing, Little Bell does not like to leave my hair, and she had promised me she would not run off on her own or show herself unless necessary. Prince Lance just had to try to make a move on, though. But I find this strange, why would he hit on me? I never said a word to make it seem like I liked him. I guess Adel was right, her brother is a playboy! And so I labeled Prince lance a playboy in my heart.

The capital city had much more to see than I could ever dream of. There were so many businesses all seeing their own unique blend of items that it was enough to make my head spin. I thought there would not be too much innovation in a country where nobles rained, but I was proven wrong. There were many things that people were selling that were similar to things you would find on Earth, like the 'Heat Box', basically a microwave. But it used fire and required you to use a special metal dish to put your food on.

There were many things like dishwashers, clothes washers, and many other things. You can basically point out any of the household appliances and would be able to find a match for it that used magic instead of high tech. Not only did this make things much eco friendly, but also made it so that it cost no power, and was energy free. If anything, this makes these items much better than those found on Earth.

I ended up walking half a day before I finally reached the inn. This inn was the closest to the gates, while the house I guess that I was going to be getting was on the floating island near the academy, like a fifteen minute walk. I have no idea how big it is, but knowing that it is coming from the king himself, it will probably be quite big. Which means I will need to do a lot of cleaning…. I hate cleaning the most. Such a boring task, yet it still needs to get done.

The Hayward Inn…. According to what Adel told me, it was the most secure inn in this part of the city. And sure enough, the front doors were guarded by knights. The knight that was currently following me nodded to them to allow me to pass through without issue. The door to the building which was made out of brick was made out of what looked like tinted blue glass. Compared to the other buildings, this was quite fancy.

That was something else I noticed about this city. It was very early 1920s style New Yorkish. All the buildings were brick and mortar and had about seven to ten floors max. Although there were a few buildings closer to the center of the city that had twenty floors or more, I think they used a metal frame construction for those. To be honest, it made me feel nostalgic.

The interior of the reception room was wide and looked no different from any fancy five star hotel I have seen on tv or read about back on Earth. There were large white pillars that held up the ceiling and lounge couches situated here and there. The front desk was lined with gold with a reddish wood structure.

Behind the counter were three young women, all quite beautiful and wearing neat collared uniforms. When I walked in, one of them even came over to greet me. "Miss Cyrilia, I presume?"

"Yes, I am…." I replied and gave a confused look. I wonder how she knew who I was without me needing to say my name. But when I thought about it, how many demi humans out there have my unique features?

"It's good to finally meet you. Princess Adellia had sent us a message to let us know what you look like, which is how I knew who you were. My Name is Sei, welcome to the capital. We have a royal suite already ready for you. Please, this way." Sei had me follow her. The guard who was guarding me this entire time also followed me, which made me wonder if this man would be standing outside my door at night. This kinda felt strange. While it might be normal for some, for me, it was a strange experience. Kinda made me feel like a princess myself.

I was taken up a private lift that goes directly to the royal suite. Once you got off the elevator, there was a small hall that had a small room to the right, which Sei told me was a servant room, so that would probably be where the guard would be staying, and at the very end of the hall after passing through a few magic defense systems was the entrance to the suite. But before I could even get there, I had to be registered with the magical defense system, which required a bit of my mana. I guess only the royal family his allowed to use this room, so the process to register was not known by anyone but the royal family and Sei, who was a top executive of the company that owned the inn. She was working as a normal receptionist all because of me.

Once my mana was registered into the magic equation, I was now able to pass through the door. As the knight could not enter the room unless the defense system was de-activated, only Sei could follow me in. "Miss Cyrilia, there will be a few maids from the castle coming soon. I do apologize as I had not had time to get them here before your arrival."

"Maids!?" I turned and looked at Sei in surprise. I mean, I never expected to have people waiting on me. Should I really let this happen? What if I get used to the finer things in life? I was a bit conflicted. I have never had anyone really wait on me for anything unless you count my parents in both lives. But I kinda had to rely on them when I was younger to survive, so I guess that doesn't count.

"Yes, Princess Adellia had me arrange it. Also, when they do come, you will need to allow them in. You can use the blue orb to the side of the door there to temporarily shut the magic defenses off. There is also another one outside as well. So if you wish to bring people over, you will only need to inject mana into them." Sei went on to explain things about food and other things along those lines. Like to know if someone is here, there is a call system that uses a magical rune link from the hall and one that links to the reception desks as well. "If you need anything, just use the call stone. The kitchen is open all day and night for those in the royal suite so call when you get hungry. You can order anything you like or pick from the menu on the table over there."

"Okay, thank you." I was a little excited about my stay here. It was starting to feel like a very expensive vacation that I got for free. All my daily needs were taken care of. Adel told me meals and accommodations were all taken care of. But if I wished to buy anything outside of daily necessities, I would need to pay for it myself. Which is understandable with how out of the way they were going with these things. Plus, Adel has already spent a ton of money on me already, which I really feel bad about. So I will need to save up a bunch of money and get her something nice.

I walked around the room, which was more like a very large apartment, and felt kinda lonely. There was just me here in this big place with nothing to do. "I guess I can work on my fusion magic a bit…."

I walked over to the glass doors that led out to the rooftop garden and opened them up. Instantly the warm sun hit my skin, causing me to feel a bit calmer. I walked around the garden looking at all the flowers until I reached a wide circular area with benches. "Now then, with everything that I have learned, I guess I need to work on the process of shortening the casting time of two spells to fuse them together into a single spell more quickly."

Chapter5 Maids!

"Ahhh! Again! So dumb!" I hit the ground with my fist. I couldn't help but be angry, the magic equations were just not working. I have no idea how long I have spent trying to create a working fusion spell, but my concentration was broken when I heard a sound overhead. I looked up to see a large wooden ship flying across the sky, and in front of my face, it disappeared out of sight.

"So that is the illusion spell…. To think they can create an illusion spell that works like this." I rubbed my chin as I gazed up at the sky. Even when I squinted my eyes, I still could not see the floating island. "Well… I still need to go to the academy, and I am pretty sure the place the king would be preparing for me to live in will be on the floating island. But I do find it quite interesting that such a huge island floats in the sky without even casting a shadow."

If one were to look from the distance, they would never see any giant island in the sky, especially one that is big enough to be home to millions. The sun rained down on the massive city below without any obstruction. "Wait…. Is this not an actual illusion spell but a spell that just bends the light around the object?"

This actually made more sense to me. By bending light around an object, you can hide the object the light is bending around. I did a science project on this in school back on Earth. But it only resulted in working in a single direction. But the proof of concept was there. It was using magic which would mean they could create a sphere and encircle the object you want to hide to bend the light. But what I still do not get is how it is selectively hiding the floating island while leaving the land below visible for all to see. And on top of that, if you make your way further into the city below, you will pass a boundary that allows you to see the island from below. According to Adel, even if you can see the Island, it will still not cast a shadow on the land below. It is definitely strange. I really wish I could check out this magic equation for it. But I highly doubt that such a magic equation would be available to the public.

"Ahhh! I want to see it!" I felt aggravated, so I stomped my feet a few times before turning around and going to order some food.

Only after eating did I finally begin to feel a bit better about my failures in my fusion magic. I sat back in my chair and looked out the window seeing the stars sparkling in the sky, and sighed. "Tomorrow, I will do a bit of wandering around. I guess I can take a bath an…."

My self monologue was interrupted when a call came from the call orb near the door. "Miss Cyrilia, are you in? We are from the palace."

Pursing my lips, I walked to the door and opened it to see two beastkin girls and a human girl standing there in maid outfits. These were not like those sexy maid outfits but real ones made for the working girl where the dress goes down to their ankles. If they came in some kind of miniskirt, I would start to think this was some kind of sexy otome game.

I used the panel to the side to deactivate the defense systems and allow the three girls in. "Come on in, it is safe to pass now."

The three maids bowed their heads and walked into the suite. One had black haired cat ears and tail, another had brown haired raccoon ears and tail, while the last was a dirty blonde headed human girl. Each girl looked no older than ten to thirteen years of age. This was a sad part of society. In order to live, some girls would sell themselves into servitude to become maids of nobles at a very young age. Sometimes it would be their parents who would sell them off. It was not to punish them but in hopes of giving them better lives. After all, not everyone had money to raise the kids they birthed. Instead of having them starve, it was more beneficial to have them work as maids. The lucky ones like these girls would get to work for royalty which would give them some status.

Of course, this was all under strict rules as well. Girls who were under contract were not slaves. The maids guild took these girls in and got them jobs while a small portion of their wages would be used to keep the guild running. This was only one percent of their wages. The rest was up to the maids to do with as they please. Some were paid very well and could live on their own if they wished with the income they were getting, but not many would do that since the pay was very good.

The guild also did monthly examinations to make sure their maids were not mistreated. I only know all of this because Rachel had looked into it. She had told me that if my brother did not take her, she would have become a maid. She said she had liked my brother since she was very young and always watched him from afar. So when they finally got together, she was so excited she almost screamed out loud and jumped for joy. Even if she could live a good life as a maid, she would rather be with the man she had fallen for so many years ago.

Each girl was also taught how to read, write, and do math. Which made them highly valuable. But these girls all seemed a bit timid. "Can I ask why you all have your heads lowered?"

"Ah…. ummm… Princess told us that we are not allowed to gaze upon your beautiful face, or we will be immediately fired." The cat girl answered, causing my lips to twitch.

"What kind of crap is that!? Forget what she said, lift your heads." I really need to pinch Adel's cheeks later. What is she telling these poor girls!? Was she afraid they would fall in love with me or something!? I have a hard enough time getting people to like me, never mind having some young girls fall in love with me.

"This…." The cat girl spoke up again. I guess she was the leader of the group.

Seeing them still reluctant, I reached down and lifted the cat girl's face. When our eyes locked, she quickly averted her eyes, not daring to look straight at me. "See, you looked. Now, did you get fired?"

"N-No…." The cat girl shook her head, her eyes finally staring right at me.

I smiled and patted her head. "That is right. You can ignore Adel's order. I do not like stuffy things. I will never ask you to do something out of the scope of your duty or even make you do something you are not comfortable with, so, please. Make yourselves at home here. Are you three hungry? Do you want some food? You can order whatever you want. Ah, before that, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Faith Cyrilia. You can call me Faith."

"Miss… calling you by your name is against our guild rules. We can only call you Miss, Young Miss, Master, or Mistress…." The cat girl spoke up, causing me to purse my lips. I could only sigh and nod my head.

"Then call me as you see fit." I can't force her to call me by my name, not after saying I wouldn't make them do things they did not want to do.

"Then Young Miss, my name is Annie, next to me is Rina, and beside her is Brooke." So the cat girl was named Annie, the raccoon girl was Rina, and the human girl was Brook. I tried to drill these names into my mind so I would not mix them up.

"Alright then, Annie, please order some food for you three. Order whatever. It is all on the kingdom anyway." I said while sticking my tongue out. The girls all stared at me, unsure of what to do.

"Miss, we can just eat what is in the kitchen, we should not eat such expensive food… We are just servants." Annie seemed a bit nervous, which made me sigh. This was probably normally how maids were treated, but I haven't even been to the kitchen, so I do not think there was any food in there.

"It's fine. Why waste free things? Order food. Also, I will need to speak to Sei because if you three wish to leave, it will be hard without me around. I will get her to help register the three of you with the defensive systems. For now, order food, eat, bathe and sleep. I was planning to go bathe now. So make yourselves at home." After saying this, I turned to walk away before stopping and turning back around. "Also, welcome. I do hope we can get along."

The girls seemed pretty confused. But I guess that is normal. After all, I am a commoner! I do not have the airs of nobility, nor do I ever wish to treat people who are here to help me as if they are below me.

There was just one thing I forgot about maids…. They follow you everywhere! These girls were preparing everything for me before I could even undress! Looks like I got more things to get used to….

Chapter6 The Kidnapping?

The next morning I woke up in my massive bed to a good smell floating into my room. My eyes fluttered gently as a knock came at my door. "Come in."

"Young Miss, did I wake you? Breakfast has arrived." Annie had come knocking. In the end, while being scrubbed down by these new maids of mine in the bath, I found out that Annie was indeed the leader of the three. She has the most experience and was twelve years old. The other two, Brooke and Rina, were ten and eleven, respectively.

"No… I just woke up. Whatever you ordered smells good. You made sure to order enough for all of us, right? You didn't just order for me, correct?" Last night, I pulled Annie aside and had a private talk with her. I wanted to make sure whatever they ordered for me, they ordered enough for themselves and would eat with me and not wait until I was done to eat. I did not want the girls starving themselves or eating cold food because they were waiting on me. For one, I was not used to it, and secondly, I saw no need. And lastly, I would feel awkward while people watched me eat.

Annie blushed and nodded her head. "Yes, I made sure everyone got what they wanted. We are just waiting on you to eat. While we will be eating with you, we can not start until the Young Miss is there."

"Alright, let me get up then. My stomach is already yelling at me to dive in and eat." I crawled out of bed, rubbed my eyes, and stretched before following Annie to the dining area. The other girls were already sitting waiting for me. I sat down and smiled at them as I said: "Let's eat!"

I really did not know what my life had in store for me. As of now, I was just trying to plan and take things one day at a time. While I may be young, I at least had goals. Those goals would be my reason to keep pushing forward, never stopping until I reach the goals I have set for myself.

Right now, my life may be easy, but in the future, there is no telling what will happen. My current level was already rather high, I think, and I could defeat almost any monster I came across quite easily. But I have found this world is not so simple during what little time I have spent traveling to the capital. It held so much more than I could ever imagine. Even now, as I sit and enjoy my meal, I know there are beings out there much more powerful than myself doing incredible things. Whether it be good or evil, I do not. All I know is that maybe one day I will reach the same realm as them and stand above all.

This might sound like I have grand ambitions, but my thought process is much more simple. I just want to be the best at what I have decided for myself. Whether it is magic or commanding, I wanted to master it all. But for now, I am still young, so a little bit of fun along the way is much needed.

After breakfast, I contacted Sei and had her help me register the maids so they could freely leave and enter without needing to wait for me to remove the barriers. After that, I decided to take a walk. I wanted to enjoy the scenery of the capital and see the sights for myself without any idiots interrupting me.

It was close to mid-morning when I finally stepped out of the inn. The streets were already packed with carriages and people going about their daily business. To my surprise, there were a lot of demi humans walking around, some of whom wore expensive looking clothing compared to some of the humans. Seeing such a sight where harmony between two races where differences in the skin or adornments on their body did not matter made me happy from the bottom of my heart. It made me feel glad I was reborn in this kingdom. As such, I will do my best to protect this kingdom no matter what. Even if there are parts that do not act in the same manner as the capital.

As I made my way through the streets, I finally got to take in the beauty of a magic based society. The different mix of medieval and magically advanced objects seemed out of place yet meshed together well. The society of this world has been going on longer than Earth's, but it has developed in a way that it has mixed old and new, so well that it doesn't need to go as far and beyond as Earth did. Transportation can be done in many ways, but the use of metal will not protect you from monsters. Magic barriers were much more durable and useful, so innovation into new metals never came to be a thing. This was why they still used wagons and carriages. It was much easier to make and could be imbued with magic to make it even stronger than metal.

Metal required too much work to mine. Only a few mines existed and the ore mined from them was used to make certain things. Trees would never run out because the spirits of the kingdom could make them flourish in a matter of days. During my journey to the capital, I had asked Adel about it. With how long this world's history was, I was sure all the forest would have been destroyed by now, but that was where the spirits came in. The contract with the spirits gave them a safe place to live peacefully away from the society of humans, and in return, they would do many things, one of which was to accelerate the growth of trees. In the areas that were clear cut, the humans would replant with new saplings, and only then did the spirits take over and make them grow to a mature size.

This process kept the forestry business under the strict control of each kingdom. The areas were cut and replanted, so days later, they can be cut once again. This not only kept things orderly but also kept the forest's habitats from being destroyed. Which was why many species of animals would not die at the hand of people but due to natural causes. A world full of beauty that would always stay a world full of beauty. Maybe this was why humans of Earth were on the verge of becoming a civilization that would infect other planets and consume their resources one after the other because they did not think up ways to fix problems like this.

But when I think about it, human knowledge was not all that good back in the day. While this planet's population is probably thousands of times greater than Earth's, it is also in a very stable state and seems to be in harmony with the nature around it.

"I said let me go!" As I walked through the streets, I heard a cry from a back alley. I walked over to see a girl around my age being dragged away. She had a fluffy tail and a pair of ears. With black hair and white tipped tail and ears, and a round, oval face, she was indeed quite cute. But she was definitely in trouble. And seeing how I had seen it, I could not ignore it. "Wind Rush!"

I sped along and quickly caught up to the group of men that were trying to pull the girl down the alleyway. "Hold it!"

"Huh!?" A spiky haired young man turned and snarled at me. He was wearing spiked clothing and well…. I guess it was supposed to be cool looking?

"Huh, what? The girl said to let go of her. I will give you to the count of three to do so, or you will regret it." I said with a sly smile on my face. My arms were crossed across my chest while I stood in my most hero like pose. I mean he was the picture of a bad acting street thug. He would definitely say: 'What did you say!? I will beat you to death! Get her boys!' Or… 'Look, boys, another one wants to come play with us.'

"Why are you threatening us!? We just wanted her to star in our play! She is perfect for the role!" I almost fell over. So they were not dressed like that because they wanted to!? What play happens in a back alley!? I was very confused.

"Actually, you both would be perfect for the heroines. We just need you to say a few lines. Our actresses who were supposed to be performing got into an accident and can't make it. The show will start soon, so please!" Another man in suspenders and a weird shirt spoke up, causing me to stare at them in disbelief. I turned and looked at the fox girl, who also looked very confused and really did not know what to say. This was definitely not the situation I had imagined!

Chapter7 I’m Playing The Demon Queen!?

"You can not go pulling on random girls!" I yelled as I stood in front of the three men who had attempted to 'kidnap' the black haired fox girl.

"We are sorry! We were just in a rush. If we do not have two females play the two roles we are missing, we will not be able to put on our show!" The spiky haired man cried out. I could see that the three of them were sorry and also desperate.

"As long as the play is not indecent, I do not mind helping." I then looked over at the fox haired girl who was still standing around with a confused expression. "What do you think?"

"I…. If you are doing it, I will too…." The fox girl answered. Her cheeks blushed as she lowered her head.

"Then let's check it out. My name's Faith, what's yours?" I was in no way talking to the three men. I was still a little aggravated with them. To be honest, I was hoping I could fluff the tail of the fox girl at some point since it looked very soft. I, of course, knew that this was very rude, so I would never do it unless I asked first. But as someone who also has a tail of her own, it would not be right to ask either. So I can only befriend her and hope she will let me fluff at some point!

The fox girl looked up at me with her big amber colored eyes. "Sophie…."

"Then Sophie, let's go!" I reached out my hand to her. She hesitated for a moment before taking my hand and letting me pull her along. But when I walked past the three men who were still kneeling, I had to stop. "What are you guys doing? Did you not have a play to do?"

"Ahhh! Let's go!" The three men quickly got up and lead the way.

Come to find out, while the place we were just in was indeed an alley, the location of the play was actually at a large dugout theater. The whole place was dug out of the ground, and stone was laid out in a stadium seating fashion, looking down at the main open stage. The play could be seen from all sides. It was really neat. And even more surprising was that the place was packed. But I guess this was normal as there was no tv here. This made me think of maybe creating a magic that can be inscribed into runes and used like the magic washing machine or oven. You would just need to send magic with images in them across some lines that lead to the back of the tv set. And by changing the dial on the tv, you could switch the channel.

My mighty little brain was working. I couldn't help but stroke my chin as I pulled Sophie along. We reached the stage in no time and were quickly briefed on what we had to do.

"You guys are back!" An older woman with ratty clothes on came running over. I guess she was also one of the actors. "Are these the girls?"

"Yeah, we kind of got too excited and almost lost Miss Sophie here. She fits the part of Abigail perfectly." The spiky haired young man replied.

But seeing how Sophie was getting all the attention, I couldn't help but feel slightly left out. But I guess I was just the side dish to fill in the other role. I wonder which role I will be…. Maybe a tree? A rock? I looked around but did not see any actors playing props. Do they not do that anymore?

"And this girl is the evil demon queen?" I suddenly heard the older woman ask, which caused me to freeze. Demon queen? Why am I suddenly being told to become a villain!? Why not a princess!?

"Yes, she is perfect for that part. She even already has the horns, and the way she threatened us made me realize she was perfect for the part." I almost choked on air. How was this even fair!? Did I really look like some demon queen!?

To be honest, I am not sure what I think about this. I thought I looked pretty cute! I even double checked before leaving the house. Annie and the girls did an amazing job but now…. But now I am some kind of Demon Queen. I have so many complaints.

"We will need to get these girls ready. Sue, take these girls to the dressing room and get them dolled up." The old woman yelled out, and before I knew it, I was being dragged away.

Sue, the girl who was doing our costumes and makeup, was very skilled. In less than thirty minutes, we were ready, and I have to say. I looked very evil! I couldn't help but pout because when I saw Sophie, she looked like a princess. Why was I the evil witch that could while Sophie was the…. Never mind, I know why.

"Here are your scripts. You do not have much time so try to remember as much as possible. Maggie will be on the side using whisper magic to help you out. All I can say is do your best and thank you for coming to our aid." The older woman that I still do not know the name of left right after saying this.

I looked down at the script and read the title. "The one who got away….." I tilted my head to the side and opened the script up. "So this is about a princess who falls in love with the demon queen…. Wait! That is a love story between two girls!?"

I pursed my lips. All in all, it was not a bad storyline. The princess was saved by the young demon queen when the demon queen was dressed as a man. After many tit for tats of the princess pursuing the demon queen as she tries to run away, the princess finally discovers that the man she had been chasing all this time was actually a girl and the demon queen who was bent on destroying her kingdom. "Story is fine, gender bender and a one sided romance. The demon queen never actually returns the princess's love."

I can see why this story would be kind of popular. It was rather engaging. "Sophie, how are you? Will you be okay? Hmmm? Sophie!? Hey! Earth to Sophie!"

"Huh!?" Sophie broke out of her trance like state and turned her head towards me as if she was some kind of mechanical doll. From her pale face and lips that were turning blue, I think our princess will not be okay at all. I reached over and placed my hand on her head: "Heating." I let a warm current permeate through her body, causing her to slowly relax.

"Feel better?" I saw that her tension seemed to relax a bit.

"Yes, thank you…. I am not good with crowds. I thought if I was with you that maybe just maybe, I could use this chance to get over my fear of crowds, but it seems that it might be too much for me. What should I do? I am not even able to stand up. My legs are mush." I sighed and knelt down next to her and reached out and took her hands.

"I will be right there next to you, so just focus on me. Tune out everyone else around you and only focus on me. If you begin to panic, I will cover for you. A play is amazing because if things do not go as planned, as long as you get to the same outcome, it will be fine. To be honest, I am nervous myself, but I still think it will be fun. Even though I am the demon queen…." I guess my last words tickled Sophie a bit because she finally smiled even though it was faint.

I guess her inability to really communicate or socialize well with others is why she was so easily taken away, then her scream early was probably all she could muster up at that time. But that is fine. I will do what I can to assist her. Luckily I have already memorized all my lines. The perk of having a system. Instant photographic memory!

Luckily the script was well structured, with every name on it next to their lines and how they should act at that point. "Just try to remember as much as you can. I will be there by your side."

"I will do my best…." Sophie seemed to have a bit of fight growing inside her. I just hoped it would last until we got on stage. I am no master of the acting arts, so…. Wait… I can be a partial master! Let's see here… Hmmm? Acting only has one point level to it for it to be mastered? I guess it is really not that useful of a skill, but if used correctly, it will definitely come in handy in the future if not used on the stage. I don't plan to set foot on another stage after this anyway, so having a maxed out skill with only one level was not bad.

{Acting (LVL 1(MAX))}

Chapter8 The Play: The One Who Got Away Part 1

The stage was set, and it was now time for the play to start. I still do not see how the lines in this play are only a few. The two females were the lead characters! With my demon queen costume on, which was nothing more than a pair of men's commoner clothing with a hat, I walked up on stage. This was the first scene where I had just arrived with a few of my subordinates in the kingdom undercover and was about to begin our stakeout.

"Your Highness, you did not need to come out and do this yourself. To think our queen will be walking around amongst these dirty people."

"Frederick, your words are a bit much, do you think not? While I wish for world domination, I do not wish for all of its people to die. This kingdom will fall and come under my rule. Then the people of this land will become my people. As a ruler, have I ever treated my people badly?" My words were dignified and followed the script to the last letter. Even all my movements were on point, causing the spiky haired young man to stare at me in disbelief. Go, acting skill level 1 mastery! I know for a fact that if this was before, I would not have done any of this and might have even stuttered during the process. I think if I were to become a spy in the future, I could easily make people think I was a frog and not a sentient being.

"It is true that Your Highness has always treated us kindly, but these people have killed so many of our demon kind." Spiky hair is not bad! While he was surprised at first, he quickly got back into character.

"They only started killing our kind after my initial attack. Did we not kill thousands of their own men? It is only natural while at war for people to fall on all sides. This is how war is. We destroyed cities and towns all the way here. Are you expecting them to not attack us back? Such foolishness!" I slammed the wooden table next to me and glared at spiky hair. "You will stay here. I will gather intelligence myself."

The scene came to an end, and we quickly ran off stage while people took off the props to prepare for the next scene. The way they were racing back and forth so easily replacing props showed just how skilled the people were at their jobs. I was truly impressed.

But the next scene was Sophie's scene. I walked over to her and held her hands. "I will be right off stage on the opposite side. Just look at me and follow the script."

"Okay…." Sophie nodded, her hands trembling. There was nothing more I could do. I could only say this much.

Sophie went up on stage, her movements slightly stiff, but she seemed to ease up as her eyes locked onto mine. A little maid ran up to her and grabbed her arms. "Princess, please stop going out to town. If his majesty finds out, you will be punished again."

Not good. Sophie seemed to have frozen up. I looked her in the eye and mouthed a few words to her. "It's your turn…."

Sophie was still frozen. The little maid seemed to be unsure of what to do. My eyes lit up with magic circles as I used whisper magic to whisper in Sophie's ears. "Sophie, do as I say. First, say: I am not going to sit around like a little bird in a cage. I want to go to town and visit the stalls like any other person."

"I-I am not going to sit around like a little bird in a cage. I want to go to town and visit the stalls like any other person." Sophie's voice cracked, but she was still able to say her lines.

"Now push the little maid off gently and hold up your skirt and march off stage." Luckily this part of the scene was small. She did not have to do much besides say her lines and run off stage. I watched on as Sofia did as I asked, and as soon as she reached me, she fell to the floor.

"I did it… I actually did it!" Sophia cried out softly as she buried her head in her knees. For someone not good with crowds, I think she just did a fine job.

"You did great. It's my turn next, then it will be our first meeting. So we will be on stage together, take a breather and drink some water." I smiled at her as she nodded her head before I walked back up on stage.

"What is with these streets? They are covered in filth. I am surprised there is no illness running rampant in this city." I pursed my lips as I looked at the trash all over the place. If this was a real city and the streets were covered in filth, then it would definitely end up getting many people sick.

I acted out as if I was walking down a long city street before finally stopping off at the cleanest food stand I could find. "Master, five grillers."

"Be ready in a jiff!"

I sat there looking around. My eyes narrowed as I looked out over the ground. I could hear the gasps coming from the crowd, which made me wonder if something had just happened, but I could not turn my head too quickly because the script said to look as scary as possible when scanning the crowd slowly.

"Food up! Here you go, lad." The stall owner dropped the food I ordered in front of me.

"Thanks, master."

"Don't mention it. Not many come down these streets anymore ever since the new king took over. He took away the reforms that kept our city clean, saying that we commoners do not deserve to be treated well. It's not like we do not know what he is thinking. But even so, we still try to clean up as much as possible, but we have no place to put it anymore. If we try to burn it, we will get arrested. If we try to store it elsewhere, we will get arrested. It's like he wants us to live in filth. Haha, look at me complaining. Sorry lad."

"It's fine. I just got into town myself, so I had no idea what was going on. I was quite taken aback by the way the town looked so dirty."

"Yeah, most travelers are. I suggest not staying long if you do not want your health to be harmed. Sadly for people like me, this place is our home. We can't just up and leave easily."

"I guess not."

The scene ended, but the set did not need to be changed. It was now time for Sophie to run up on stage and run into me. I watched as Sophie walked up on stage and suddenly ran at me at full speed. She was quick! Too quick! "Sophie, slow down!"

*Bang!*

I watched as Sophie, now in commoner's clothes, flew headfirst over the table and into me. I wrapped my arms around her trying to keep her from getting hurt while using magic to keep my hat on my head. It was not supposed to fall off just yet!

"My lady, are you alright?"

"Huh!?" Sophie looked at me in a bit of a daze before suddenly sitting straight up and placing her hands on my chest. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. A pretty lady like you should not run like that. If you get seriously hurt, it will be a crime to all beastkin."

"Pretty!?" Sophie looked into my eyes and blushed bright red as she began panicking. "No, no, I am not pretty. I am…."

I placed my finger on Sophie's lips and smiled. "First, my lady, how about standing up. Our current position is kind of suggestive."

I watched as Sophie, frozen and clumsily, tried to stand up, almost falling a few times. To be honest, this was far from the princess in the script, but this matched her current state, which was why I went with it. It made the scene flow much better.

I stood up and dusted off my clothes before placing my hand on Sophie's head. "Since my lunch has been eaten by the ground, I will now be off. But my lady, be careful from now on."

Sophie's expression was perfect. She blushed and lowered her head. Good job, Sophie! With the scene now complete, I turned and began walking off stage. I used detection magic to see how Sophie was doing and when I saw her staring at my retreating back with blushed cheeks, I knew things had ended perfectly. Although it did take her a little bit to realize she needed to get off the stage.

Off stage, the older woman came over to me. "Girl, you really saved the scene. Just follow how you are acting with the princess, and the rest of us will follow up."

"I will do what I can to make sure we can make it through."

Chapter9 The Play: The One Who Got Away Part 2

The next scene came, and I was now supposed to be walking down the street. Behind me, the nervous Sophie was supposed to be hiding here and there, but instead, she was fidgeting as she walked in a straight path towards me.

In the script, I am supposed to stop and turn to look behind me but shrug once I do not see anything. But this time, since she is directly behind me, I can only turn and shake my head. "Silly girl, when following someone, you must know it is better to try to hide in the process."

"I…." Sophie's face turned red. I guess she realized her mistake. She looked left and right before quickly hiding behind a tall prop. It was just that the prop was a street lamp….

I shrugged and turned around, and continued going. The scenes continued on, and Sophie was stumbling through them, unsure of how to act. When it was time for her to speak her lines, I would help her along. Now it finally came down to the last scene. Somehow we had made it this far. This scene was the scene that would finish up everything. It was the scene where the princess would confess her love to the demon queen, only to be heart broken in the end.

But…. Things were not going as planned. "N-no matter i-if y-you a-are the….." Sophie couldn't stop stuttering, which was never going to make the scene end nicely. I could only think of one solution to this…. Using whisper magic, I sent Sophie a message: "Sophie shout: I just can't do this and run off stage! Now hurry up!"

Sophie's body jolted as she yelled out in surprise: "I just can't do hits!" Before turning completely red and running off stage with her hands covering her face.

Ah! She bit her tongue in the end! I really did not know whether to laugh or cry. For better or worse, she did play the part of a princess, but one that was very shy. I guess it is time to end it all. "To think, after chasing me for so long, she would run away on her own. This is good. I can relax knowing I can destroy this kingdom…. But…. I guess I can spare her life…. Although she was a princess, I can say for sure she was not like the rest of the royal family."

I raised my head and looked up at the castle prop as the lights dimmed. Only then did I walk off stage. Since that was the last scene, the stage was being cleared while the narrator finished the storyline. When I went down to the actors' dressing room, Sophie was huddled in the corner, hugging her knees. I could hear small quiet sobs coming from her direction. I sighed and walked over and knelt down next to her. "Why are you crying? You did fine."

"But I messed up the entire time! I made a fool of myself!" Sophie turned and looked at me with her tear filled eyes causing me to feel bad. What made it worse was her sagging ears and tail, which made her look not only cute but also more miserable. It was enough to make anyone's heart turn to mush and wish to protect her with fists of fury. Although, I can see where she was coming from. I would also feel the same as her if I messed up every line.

"But do you hear the applause? Even if you messed up, who cares? The audience loved it, and that is all that matters. Come dry your eyes. We need to go back on stage. This time you will be right by my side, and all you need to do is bow." I smiled at her and reached out my hand once more. She looked at it for a few seconds before reaching out and hesitantly taking it.

After she dried her eyes, I pulled her along and brought her on stage with the rest of the cast. The older woman from before was giving her speech. "I want to thank everyone who came to watch the show. While this time the show was different from the last, I would like to thank our two stand in actors who had come to our aid when our two main actresses had gotten into an accident."

The light landed on Sophie and me. I smiled and waved at them before giving a bow pulling Sophie with me. I could see that Sophie was a wreck, and I hoped this would end soon. I could tell this was not having much effect on her inability to deal with crowds.

Once the older woman finished her speech, everyone bowed once more before leaving the stage. It was then that the older woman came over to Sophia and me. "I have to thank the two of you for your hard work. While the entire thing was nowhere close to the script, it still served to be very entertaining to the people that came to watch. Here is your pay."

The older woman handed me and Sophia a gold coin, which I did not stand on ceremony at all and took. Sophia, on the other hand, was a bit hesitant but did eventually take it under the older woman's persuasion. After giving her my thanks, I went to leave only to have a hand grab my shoulder. "Wait. I wanted to ask if you would be willing to join our acting troupe."

"Acting?" I pondered for a moment before shaking my head. "Not really my thing." With that, I turned and left, with Sophia closely following behind me. I heard the older woman yelling out at me but did not really care. I did not wish to be an actor.

"Why did you decline?" I heard a soft voice behind me. I turned and looked at Sophia who was standing there with her head lowered.

"Why? Because I did not come to the capital to become an actor. I just figured I would help out since I was not really busy."

"So you just arrived as well?" Sophia raised her head. Her ears and tail were still slumped down, so I guess she was still upset over the play.

"That I did! I am going to be going to the Royal Magic Academy next month." As I said this, I saw Sophia's eyes grow wide.

"You are attending the academy as well!?"

"As well? So you will be going there too?" I asked. Although I pretty much knew the answer with how she was reacting.

"Yes. I was invited to go by Count Freedman. He had taken…. A liking to me…. He… He is probably out looking for me right now…." Sophie's voice trembled, and I could tell right away this was not because he liked her abilities. My brow furrowed. I probably should not get involved, but Sophie seems like a good girl, and I would be filled with guilt if I just let her be. But something did not seem right. I suddenly realized my first thoughts on the matter were not entirely correct.

"Him taking a liking to you does not seem to be enough reason for him to be sending you to the academy. You must also have a skill that is useful to him." If it was just as simple as the Count being a sick bastard who would go after young girls, he would not send Sophie to the academy. The money would not be worth it. He could just lock her up in his house. So my guess is that Sophie is adept at something.

"I… I was born with a high affinity with spatial magic….." Now it made sense. I had read there were some people who had a perfect affinity to certain types of magic. This affinity allows them to cast magic at a much lower cost. While spatial magic requires a large amount of mana, if you have a high affinity with it then it would be much easier to cast from a young age. And the space she could open would also be bigger.

"That explains it. I can also use spatial magic. I was warned by a friend that showing it to others without the strength to protect yourself is akin to putting a target on your back. Since this is the case, let's go explore the city. I promise not a single person will touch you with me around. So from now on, let's be friends!" I said with a smile and held my hand out once more. Why do I feel like I have become some kind of knight protecting the fair maiden? Even if that is the case, it doesn't matter. I want to be friends with Sophie, and I will always protect my friends.

"But… If you go against the Count…. Won't that cause you trouble?" Sophie was indeed a nice girl. Worrying about me when she was already in a big mess.

"He's just a count. I can deal with it. Plus, if you come and stay with me, he won't even be able to get through my front door. You will be fine." I reached out and grabbed her hand, and began pulling her along. "Off to explore the capital!"

I kind of hoped that this count guy would show up. I bet he is some pig who can't even get a wife, so he had to go off to a village and pick up a girl from there. But his tastes were just…. I really want to beat some sense into him. If he tries to make a fuss, I do have a few ways of dealing with him that would make it so no one would know where he went to. It might sound evil, but to protect my new friend, I will make him disappear. Sadly I know I can't just do that without a good cause.... The more I thought about it the more I couldn't help sighing inwardly. What kind of mess am I getting myself into?

Chapter10 Sophie

The more I think about it, and I know that violence is not the answer, but if it truly comes down to it, I will use what force I need to. I do not wish to deal with such things, but now that I have decided to befriend Sophie, I will protect her as such. A person who abandons their friends is not a person. At least, this is how I see things.

I know some of the ideals of this world are much different from Earth's, but I still can't stand by when a young girl is being forced into things. "Sophie, Let's go to this sandwich shop I went to yesterday. It was pretty good."

"Huh? Okay…" As always, Sophie seems to be spaced out. She is probably still trying to understand what is happening.

I dragged Sophie all the way to the sandwich shop I went to yesterday with the prince. I really wished to try out a different sandwich this time. While the sandwich I had last time was really good, with the prince being there, I did not really get to enjoy it. "What can I get you two lovely ladies?" The shop owner asked. He had a big smile on his face when we walked in. "Oh, not with the prince today?"

"Why would I even wish to be with that idiot?" I asked with a sour face. I guess this tickled the owner's funny bone because he started laughing.

"Haha…. Don't let him hear that. He will be very sad. You are the first girl I have ever seen the prince with." I guess his teasing did not get the reaction he wished to see because I only sighed and gave him a look like please don't talk nonsense.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the prince might be under the king's orders. I mean, who would like a country bumpkin like me. I am nowhere near crown princess material. Plus, I would never do well dressing up in skirts. My tail would get in the way. Unless the skirts were tailor made for me, taking into consideration my tail and wings like the dresses Adel bought me, then maybe I could not refuse, but I still would not want to be some princess. I already have enough things on my plate. Plus, I need to be able to have as much time as possible between my other things to work on fusion magic and other things. At any rate, even if the prince did like me, it would be a big no.

"Can I get a tontalinia sandwich, please? Extra greens, please. " I found the green vegetables this owner was using blended nicely with the meat last time. So I wanted some extra. After I finished ordering, I turned to Sophie. "What do you want?"

"I-I will have what you have." Sophie answered me softly.

"Then order up! Two tontalinias with extra greens." The owner yelled out. I paid before finding a seat with Sophie in the corner.

"So tell me, what does this Count look like?" I was curious about what this Count's appearance looked like. I wondered if my assumptions about his body were as I imagined.

"Around six feet. Well, fit and handsome if you can get by the eyes that stare at you as if you are a piece of meat." To be honest, hearing Sophie's description, I was kind of surprised, but I guess judging a book by its cover is never a good idea.

"I bet that gets annoying. So even if he is handsome, you do not like him?" I had to make sure I was doing the right thing. If Sophie did like the man and was just too shy to say then I would say nothing but…. If she did not like him and this man was actually trying to force her into a marriage or something along those lines, then it could be said he was trying to groom her for the future.

"No… I did not wish to leave my hometown. By using his status, he forced my parents to allow him to take me away. While he has been nice, I do not like him like that. I know he is only nice to me due to my magic and not that he likes me. When he brought me to his house, I could see he already had many girls older than me there who all looked down on me. I couldn't handle it, so I ran away last night." I guess it was a good thing that the Count was at least nice to her. While this does not change my initial impression of him. Even if he was not after Sophie for her looks, it still did not change the fact that he had snatched a young girl out of her home by force.

"Then come stay with me for a while. I got a big place and extra rooms. So you can stay with me. When I move to the residence that is being prepared for me, you can follow along as well." I did not hesitate to give her an option. She could always try to return home, but the road home would not be safe. Of course, I also do not know how well trained she is either. I mean, for all I know, she could be a serial killer. You can call it a bit of immaturity on my part, but I would rather risk it than let Sophie go off on her own, especially if she is not good with crowds.

Sophie did not give me an answer. It seemed she was lost in thought, which is also normal if you think about it. While I do not know much about her, she didn't know a thing about me. We ended up eating our food in silence. I was not going to push her into anything she did not wish to do. While it is saddening that I will not be able to properly help her if she does decide to go off on her own. There is nothing I can do about it.

After our meal, we walked the streets. I found out the weird looking doll was called a sombrenia. It seems to be a popular mascot at some kid's show a few blocks away. I kinda like the fact that there were many different forms of entertainment. From plays to musicals and, like I just said, kid shows with different characters who just try to entertain the kids. But surprisingly, no one even thought to make a school for the kids to go to to learn. While I did not like school much myself, I do know it is an essential part of life.

If schools are done in an object oriented fashion, then kids can go and learn everything they need to learn for certain skills while still getting the basics, reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and, of course, magic. All the essentials to get by in their daily lives plus the skills they wish to learn, a trade they can make money at. No need for extra stuff unless the students wish to learn it. History is not essential. What happens in the past should stay in the past. The future is what everyone should be looking towards. Now, this may be my own bias, as I hated history because I saw no need for it, but it is definitely not worth it. You only need to learn what you need to at the time of needing the information.

Like, let's say you are doing research on a subject. It would be good to look up information and see if anyone has ever researched it before. Then you can take the time to learn the history of that subject so you can change things in your own research. While I know I may be contradicting myself, I did indeed learn the history of this world, but that is only because the history of a fantasy world is much more entertaining than the history of Earth. But I still say it is not really essential. Well, I guess ancient learning languages might be a good idea, but that is only if you are researching something to do with the ancient societies.

At any rate, it has been a half hour, and Sophie still hasn't said a word. She still seems to be lost in thought. She only smiles here and there. Why do I feel like this is what I was doing with the prince?

After leaving the shop with the strange doll, I stopped off at a street vendor which was selling some kind of treat. "Sophie, do you want one?"

No answer. I turned to see Sophie standing there with her head lowered. "Faith…. You said I could stay with you, right? Will I cause an issue for you?"

"An issue? Why would it cause an issue? If anything, my place is probably the most secure place in this part of the city. I am not forcing you to do anything you do not wish to do. I just wanted to give you an option so you do not need to sleep outside or try to leave the capital on your own. Traveling alone is not easy. There are a lot of idiots out there." Like an idiot hero. An idiot prince. Idiot bandits. A lot of things that I did not say out loud…

"Then… If you are willing to allow me to stay with you…." I sighed seeing Sophie lowering her head once more. I wonder what made her this way. I guess things will come in time. She already told me about her problem but there seems to be more to it.

Chapter11 Second Friend

"I would not have offered if I was not willing." I said with a smile. Only when I answered did Sophie raise her head once more. I do hope she will be more comfortable. But I fear she will lose her spot at the academy now that she is going against the count.

"Why? Why would you go so far for me, a person you just met?" Sophie asked suddenly. I can understand why she would ask this. I would ask the same thing. A complete stranger was going above and beyond to help them. It just didn't seem ordinary.

"Why not? Are we not friends now? I mean we beat up bad guys together, acted in a play together, and even had lunch together. Are these not things friends do?" I asked with a bright smile.

Sophie seemed stunned by my answer. She kept mumbling the word friends over and over. "Friends…. You really wish to be my friend? I mean, I am nothing but a lowly demi…. Ah!"

"Sophie, do not tell me this entire time you did not realize I was a demi human?" Sophie's entire face turned bright red. I guess I hit it spot on. Did she really not see my horns, tail, and wings!?

"I…. Then, let's be friends…." Sophie clenched her fist and nodded her head. I guess now realizing I was a demi human made her feel more confident. This was good as a cute fox girl, she should be more confident. Back on Earth, fox girls were a thing of many boys' fantasies. I only know this because of all the web novels I read that dealt with them were pretty popular, and the comment section was filled with a bunch of pervs. There is something about the fluff that gets them, I guess.

At least now I have officially made my second friend. I may even be able to talk to Adel and see if we can get Sophie into the academy as well. Having an affinity for spatial magic was something that was probably unheard of and would make her a great resource to the kingdom. Even though I have my inventory and can also cast spatial magic if I truly wish to, once I learn the magic equation, that is, I would not mind having a comrade next to me who could use it as well. Being able to bring artillery in on different sides of the battlefield is like a dream come true. Sneak in and set up pre-made defenses or artillery. Now that I am thinking about it, this would be very OP! I can imagine bringing in something like a magic cannon and setting it up behind the enemy's line and just letting it go to town. They would not think a single person would flank them and place down such heavy artillery.

Just thinking of the possibilities was making me grow excited. "Faith?"

"Ah! Sorry I was lost in thought." When I get carried away, I lose touch with reality. I wonder if I will become a military nut in the future. But this one thing made me think of more ideas. But I would need the help of people more proficient in the area of magic weapon crafting. In other words, the dwarves. I will need to visit their kingdom sometime in the future.

I ended up buying two treats and pushing one into Sohpie's hands. She did not seem as reluctant as before as she took and began nibbling on it. "We have most of the day ahead of us, so what shall we do?"

"I do not know. I have never been to the capital." Sophie replied as she looked around at the stores. I should have expected such an answer. After all, she was just like me.

"You girls looking for something to do?" The stall owner who sold us the treat chimed in. I turned and looked at him but was unsure if this was one of those fake modeling agency type deals that pick up girls to do a fake photoshoot, only to make them do something bad.

I held my suspicions in since this world had no such things as I asked: "Do you know of a good place we can visit?"

"If you are not in too much of a hurry, you can check out the street show that is going on down the street. It's the annual harvest fest which brings out a bunch of street performers who do many different things. It is quite the show, and it is free."

"Thanks, we will go check it out." I waved at the stall owner and grabbed Sophie's hand, and began running in the direction he had pointed in. But who would have thought that by just down the street, he meant like an hour's walk?

But I had to say that when we arrived, my eyes were filled with different color streamers and balloons of all kinds. Magic lights of different animals danced just over our heads. They were not high up, so you could not see them unless you were in the area.

Men on unicycles rolled around while juggling torches. People dressed up in funny clothes, and strange makeup walked around trying to make people laugh. I guess they were supposed to be clowns, but they did not look like clowns on Earth. They seemed more like a jester that you would see in ancient times back on Earth but scarier looking. But for some reason, the kids who were on the streets were laughing and enjoying the show they were performing.

The entire thing closely resembled that of a huge circus, and the people were wandering around having a good time. I do believe this event was more geared towards kids because there were many more kids here, unlike the play I acted in earlier.

Sword swallowers and flame eaters did their things to entertain the crowd. It was really fun to see as I have never seen such things in both of my lives. I only ever imagined them as I read the novels that told about them. But seeing them in real life was much more amazing than I had ever thought. Sophie's eyes were also shining as she watched the shows going on.

We watched the show for some time before walking over to a concession stand for some drinks. The day was hot, so standing out in the sun was making us sweat and very thirsty. The drink we bought was called Furtain. A strange mix of wild fruits and greens that you can get in the forest not far from the capital. The strange thing about this drink was that it was said to be very healthy yet did not taste bad. You would think with its deep greenish orange color that it would be a strange flavor, but it was actually quite good, and best of all, it cooled the body. It was tangy yet sweet.

We walked around the area and watched many of the shows when we spotted a tent off to the side that seemed to be doing some kind of fortune telling. The line was not long, so the two of us decided to check it out.

The tent was purple in color with what looked like moons and stars imprinted on it. I have never heard of fortune telling in this world before, so this was kind of unique. A young girl was in line in front of us, so I asked if she knew what to expect. Come to find out that the fortune teller only shows up at the festival every year, and no one knows exactly who the person truly is. The person always wore black with a black veil covering their face making it impossible to see who they were or how old they were. They only knew that the person was a woman. But every person who has had their fortune told by this mysterious person can say for sure that the fortune teller was legitimate. She had never been wrong, not even once.

I kind of felt it was hard to believe. I mean trying to tell someone's future was like sticking your hand in a mystery hole, hoping what you pull out will be some amazing treasure. The chances of it actually happening were practically zero. I could understand if the woman was able to guess a few things here and there every so often but to always be right was much different unless she had some kind of far sight that allowed her to see into the future.

After waiting a while, it was finally our turn. Both Sophie and I pushed back the purple curtain and walked inside. The room was dark and filled with sparkling lights on the ceiling of the tent. The room had a strong sense of incense that filled the area making one feel calm and relaxed. And in the middle of this tent was a small table with a cloaked figure in black sitting behind it. In front were two chairs. The person in black acknowledged us with a nod and motioned with her hand towards the chairs. "Please have a seat."

Chapter12 Fortune Telling

"Which one of you would like to go first?" From the sound of the fortune teller's voice, it seemed she was an older woman, but I do not know if this was the truth. From the smoothness of the skin on her hands, it seems more like she would be someone younger. I guess most wouldn't see such details when they were not looking, but I was a bit curious, so I was taking in all the details I could. It's not like I would go and ask her personally who she was or how old she truly was. Going that far would be rude to someone who wishes to keep their identity a secret. It's also unlikely that she would even tell me.

"Sophie will go first." I answered, pushing Sophie forward.

"Huh? Faith!?" Sophie began to panic. I smiled and patted her shoulder. "She is just reading your fortune. Nothing major will happen."

"O-Okay…." Sophie turned and nodded to the fortune teller.

"Let me see your hand." Upon the fortune teller's request, Sophie stretched out her hand. The small delicate hand that was no bigger than my own reached out and took it. I watched as the fortune teller extended one finger and began writing on Sophie's palm with magic. Seconds later, many balls of light began to appear, floating around the room and condensing around Sophie. I did not feel any danger from them, so I was not worried they would harm Sophie. They were only landing on her skin before flying off and floating in the air in between the fortune teller and Sophie.

After they all gathered, they began to condense and formed a screen in front of them. "Let's see…." An image appeared on the screen. It was Sophie. She was smiling and walking down the halls of a building. In her hands was a book, and she seemed to be chatting with someone at her side, but that person was blurry, making it hard to know who it was. But the clothes she was wearing looked to be a uniform of some kind. Was this the Royal Magic Academy's uniform?

After a while, the scene changed, and Sophie was crying. Someone was hugging her, seemingly trying to comfort her. But from her expression, the anguish she was feeling was clear as day, as if something had happened to her or a loved one of hers.

After the image changed once more, she was standing on the front lines of a great battle. Fire, magic, and smoke filled the screen. The scene of dead bodies littering the grounds was clear as day. Luckily my ancient will was staying dormant, or I might have caused a scene. Her armor was covered in blood. But her eyes were clear and full of determination. With one look, you could tell she was fighting for a cause she truly believed in.

After that, the screen went black. There was nothing else to see. I looked over at Sophie, whose expression was hard to read. I could not tell what she was thinking at this time. "Girl, do not think too much about it. The future is not always set in stone. When the time comes, things will slowly fall into place. Let the things that will come, come.

I nudged Sophie with my elbow to get her attention. "As she said, what will come will come. No sense in thinking about it now."

"Mmm…" Sophie hummed an acknowledgment. But I could tell she was still thinking about it.

I sighed and looked over at the fortune teller. "Can you read mine next?"

"Yes, of course, let me see your hand." I reached out with my hand, and just like before, the fortune teller took it, but for some reason, she did not start right away. She only held it for a few seconds before finally going to work. I felt this was slightly strange.

The balls of light began to sweep around the room before touching me and condensing into a screen in front of us. I watched as the image on the screen appeared. This time it showed me in the Royal Magic Academy's uniform, but I was sitting in class. Next to me, definitely asleep, was Adel, who was using my shoulder for a pillow and to my right was Sophie, who was scribbling notes onto the paper as she took the class seriously. I can only guess I was paying attention. I am not sure since I do not know what I look like when I am paying attention.

The scene changed again, and now my eyes almost fell out of my head. The other person on the screen was too blurry to make out, and I am not sure what sex they were, but they definitely had long golden or blonde hair, it was hard to tell, and it was definitely me kissing someone. My cheeks instantly heated up. To be honest, I never once thought about kissing a girl but now, seeing this, if this was actually a girl and not a guy with long hair, I began to wonder. I wondered what the hell happened to the future me!? I wanted to lower my head to hide my embarrassment, but it quickly changed once more.

This time I was also on a battlefield. But I was kneeling down holding someone crying. I do not know who it was, but by the way I was crying while holding that person, I know for a fact that they must be close to me. The scene shifted once more, and my eyes looked crazed as I swung my sword at everything around me. Blood dripped from my body. I was soaked in it from head to toe. I was definitely in a crazed state. My ancient will must have taken over.

The gruesome scene once more changed. I was sitting in a tall chair, leaning against the armrest, looking down over a bunch of people kneeling. The look in my eyes was cold. As if the people below me were all about to die. I do not know what this all meant, but this me that I was seeing scared me. Those eyes did not seem to be me.

The scene moved to me setting flowers in front of a grave. The name on the grave was blurry, but the tears in my eyes showed how much sorrow I felt. I wish I knew what the name was so I could figure out if I already knew this person. If I did, I could be sure to watch out for them and try to keep them from dying.

Finally, the screen went black. I am not quite sure how I feel at this time. Seeing those scenes that seemed to be nothing but heartache and craziness. I was not sure if I should believe any of it or not or if I should start making preparations to overcome these hardships. War, love, death…. Why must any of it exist? I held my head. My thoughts are a mess. I almost think it would be better if I did truly become a demon queen and destroy this world. Then…. I wouldn't have to deal with any pain or hardships. But I know I could never do it. I have people here that I care about, so destroying the world would not be a good thing.

"Young one does not need to think too much. You must fight fate head on in order to change the things you have seen." The fortune teller's voice entered my ears. I looked up at her feeling a bit confused. Did she not just tell Sophie that what comes will come? But all I got for my confused expression was a nod and a hand stretched out. "One silver."

I nodded and handed her a silver coin. It was fifty copper per person, so I paid for both Sophie and I. I stood up and bowed to the fortune teller. "Thank you."

"Come again next year. Maybe then things may have changed." Hearing this, I nodded and began to walk out of the tent. Sophie quickly followed behind me.

We walked quietly back towards the inn. Both of us seemed lost in our own thoughts. But we only walked for half an hour when a group of men suddenly stood in front of us. "You are Sophie, I presume?"

I looked up at the group of what looked to be about twenty men and frowned. I instinctively pulled Sophie behind me. I did not even need to look to see that she was sacred. When I grabbed her arm just now, she was already shaking like a leaf in the wind. "Who are you, and what do you want with my friend?"

"Demi girl, stay out of this if you know what is good for you. We just want Sophie to follow us back." I could only guess the one speaking was the leader. But what I really couldn't get over at this time was that these people's clothing were all mismatched. Leather and heavy armor covered parts of their bodies. Each one had a sword in hand, seemingly ready for a fight. Were these people poorer than the bandits I met last time?

"If you want to force my friend to follow you, then I will have no choice but to get involved….." After saying this I drew the sword at my side.

Chapter13 The Foster Gang

"Why are all demis so stupid!? Get rid of her and do it quickly. Our boss does not like to wait." The leader of the group yelled out. On his words, three men charged at me. I could only try to protect Sophie while fending them off.

But I was naive. I did not take a good enough look around my surroundings. Right as the three men struck out at me, two more came from our back and grabbed Sophie! Before I could even react, I was surrounded. I quickly kicked one of them away while slapping the other two with my tail and went to try to break through the line, but I was quickly surrounded by earth magic.

"Get out of my way!" I yelled out while kicking the earth wall in front of me, smashing it to pieces.

"Girl, you are indeed strong, but you best stay out of this. I am saying this for your own good. Just forget about that girl. She belongs to the Count." I heard the leader say.

The problem was not the fact that these men were surrounding me but the fact that I was in the city and could not kill. "I might be fined for flying but screw it. I will not allow you to take Sophie away." I jumped into the air and flapped my wings, and flew off. I did not get far before sensing danger from behind. I quickly dodged to the side as a fireball came flying past me. I wrinkled my nose and put up a mana barrier before flying off as fast as I could.

The way I see it, I could not kill that man, nor could he kill me. Killing inside the city and getting caught was an instant death sentence. And this was a law that was upheld no matter what. With so many people, it would be hard to rule without such harsh punishments for crimes, which was why a list of crimes were slated for death without trial. As long as you were caught red handed or all evidence pointed to you, the guards and knights in the city could kill you without holding a trial. But evidence had to be shown. At least, this was how Adel explained it.

I flew off in the direction they took Sophie, but I had completely lost track of her. "Detection!" I scanned the whole area, but there was no sign of them at all. I kept trying while looking high and low, but I could not find them anywhere. Even the men I was fighting earlier all disappeared. I flapped my wings and landed down on the ground, and walked back out to where I was fighting those men and felt stumped. I quickly walked over to one of the stalls nearby: "Excuse me, did you see that large group of men here just earlier that kidnapped a fox girl!?"

"You mean the Foster Gang? Girl, I do not know what relationship you have with that fox girl, but I think you better forget about it. The Foster Gang has Count Freedman's backing. No matter what they do, as long as they do not break any of the three major laws, they can practically do anything they want." The man I was talking to was referring to the three major laws that can get you on the spot judgment was killing, rape, and arson. While there was more than this, these three were considered the worst of the worst, which was why they were called the three major laws.

"Where can I find this Foster Gang?" I had only this one clue. If I wanted to save Sophie, I had no choice but to go in. If I use some sleep magic, I can knock them all out without having to kill anyone. However, I did need to hit the one who tossed a fireball at me. It singed a few strands of my hair!

The stall owner furrowed his brow before letting out a sigh. "Little girl, I know you wish to help your friend. But it's best if you do not go…. Just think of it as this old man trying to save your life."

"Sir, please. I beg you. I will even pay for the information. Sophie is my friend and was already kidnapped from her hometown. How can I leave her alone now when she needs someone to save her? Plus. I am strong. I can destroy your stall if you would like me to prove it." Yes, I used a threat! I have no choice. It is either he tells me, or I prove my strength!

The stall owner sighed once more before shaking his head. "Go down to the east side of town at the East Side Slums. There is a large building deep in the slums. If you hurry, you can make it there by nightfall. But be careful. I heard they have set up quite a few magic defensive systems in that place. Also, those bastards have someone who is able to set up teleportation points. This is probably how they disappeared so quickly."

I fished out five silver and placed them on the stall counter. "To show my thanks, thank you."

I turned and took off from there. The east side slums was not a place I knew about nor how to get there, but I figured with detection magic running over a great distance, giving me a view overhead, I should be able to find it with no problem. But if these people have teleportation systems, things may get tricky. If they have one to the Count's territory on the floating island, then I might be in for a bit of a long flight. I just hope I can reach her before that happens.

I ran through the streets instead of flying this time. There was a law that kept people from being able to fly through the air. But I wonder why they would have such a law when from what I understand, there were not many who could fly on their own unless it was a demi human like myself with wings. Well, I guess there could have been a time when airships and those with wings would get into accidents. Or it could be to ensure the safety of the nobles living on the floating island. If I had to guess, the latter was most likely the case.

As I continued forward, I noticed a distinct difference in the quality of the buildings. They were becoming more and more run down the further east I went. It made me wonder just how much of this city was actually slums. I guess my perception of the quality of life of the lower city was actually nothing more than an illusion.

If that was the case, then I wonder what could be done to improve the lives of these people. Seeing the kids running around in rags made my heart feel bitter. Here I was being treated like a princess while these kids were barely living. And the deeper I went into the slums, the worse it got.

Crime seems to run rampant here. I had to restrain myself from helping those I saw. Sophie's matter took precedence at this time. And even if I did help today. What about the next day? Or the day after? This was a place where the law of the city did not reach, it seemed. What meaning did the laws of the city have in this part of the city when no one came to police this section to keep crime low. And if they did, they were probably all corrupt. It is no wonder that the Count could have the Foster Gang hiding here doing all his dirty work for him.

I kept moving, speeding up as much as possible, whizzing by everyone who tried to stop me. I had no time to spare. Time was of the essence, and I still did not know if Sophie was taken to the floating island yet or not. If she has made it to the floating island, I would need to do one of two things. The first would be to beat the people in the Foster Gang until they tell me where the teleporter is, and the second would be to fly up there myself.

As I continued deeper into the slums, my detection magic finally honed in on the leader of the people I had just fought standing outside one of the buildings. I stopped off at a small alley not too far from the building and used my detection magic to scan the building. "Four floors above ground and two floors below? But no signs of Sophie…. Hmmm? A magic circle? Is this the teleporter?"

I was not sure, but since the boss man was standing there, I guess I could always ask him. I took a deep breath and walked out of the alley and towards the man who was smoking what I guess is this world's equivalent of a cigarette. I stopped right in front of him and watched as his eyes went wide and the cigarette in his hand dropped to the ground. "You! How!?"

"Let's talk shall we?" I smiled and reached out and grabbed him by the next. My smile slowly faded as my eyes became cold: "Where is Sophie?"

Chapter14 Me VS. Count Freedman Part 1

"Urgh! She's already sent back to the Count. You can't…. Cough! You can't get her back now!" Hearing the leader's words, I sneered and began squeezing his neck tighter.

"Where is the teleporter? Either you take me there, or I kill you and every one of your men. And do not think that I won't. I know this place is not overseen by the knights and guards." I was being serious this time. Just thinking about how scared Sophie must be right now. Being kidnapped and taken back to the place she ran away from. How could she not be scared? My eyes lit up, and ten fireballs formed around me. One floated towards the leader's face causing some of his hair to become singed, while the others flew forward and slammed into the entrance of the building, blowing it inwards.

No more playing around. Even if there is a defensive magic set up here, it would not matter. "Mana shield." I softly spoke as I began walking forward without waiting for the leader to answer. I still had detection up and found only one source of residual magic that had enough power left in it to be considered for transportation. Whether I was correct or not was another story. But from my understanding of magic circles and runes, this was the most likely place for a transporter.

"Argh! Let me go. I will tell you!" I did not listen to him. I was bringing him along with me no matter what, so why would I let him go so easily?

"Leader!" I heard a yell come from my side as I stepped through the entrance. I was met with no resistance at the entrance so I guess the defense system was not much of anything. I do, however, think I did feel a slight itch on the mana shield but nothing more.

I turned towards the voice that yelled to see six men staring at me with their swords drawn. I sneered, and a second later, those same six men were now upside down with their heads stuck in the floor. "So? Where is it?"

"Basement… the second basement!" The leader of the Foster Gang yelled out. I nodded and waved my hand, putting the stupid idiot to sleep. The basement was the exact place I was getting the residual magic signature from. I dropped the leader and then grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him along with me as I found the stairwell. I already knew the whole place in and out, so there was no need for me to ask for directions.

Any gang member that came to attack me was stuffed head first into the wooden floor boards. Sometimes with magic, other times by hand. With the bandits, it was feet first. This time it was head first.

I arrived at the bottom floor quickly without much issue. I made sure that every time I destroyed something that I put out the flames soon after. I did not wish to start a fire here in the slums. While I am sure there are a lot of people who are bad in these slums, the kids and the other good people who are living here struggling to make ends meet were not. One fire can destroy not only their homes but also take the lives of the thousands living in this place.

In front of me, inside a small room on the second basement level, is a small platform with a magic circle slowly spinning around in a dormant state. "Hmmm, connects to points between two identical magic circles. Interesting concept. Uses a form of space and time magic bending locations…."

I looked at the magic circle over and was quite surprised. Teleportation magic actually creates a bend in space and time to connect the two points. I made sure to imprint the entire thing into my mind before stepping onto it. I already understood the entire makeup of the magic circle. I injected a bit of my mana into it and then watched as the scenery around me changed.

"What!? Who are you!? Dedrei!? What is going on!?" A man wearing metal and leather armor yelled out while pointing a sword at me.

I guess the man in my hands was called Dedrei. Not thinking too much about anything, I used my detection magic and scanned the entire building I was in. It was definitely a mansion, and I was currently on the third basement floor. The building had three basement levels and four top levels. And the person I was looking for was locked away in a small room on the third floor. The room was dark and dim, with only a bed and a bathroom. There was not even a single window to be seen. Sophie was in the corner of the room with her head in her knees. I could hear her crying.

My anger started to take control as a loud crack was heard. Dedrei's head tilted to the side lifelessly as I raised his body up and tossed him full force at the guard, pointing his sword at me. "All those who helped kidnap Sophie will be punished."

Dedrei's body flew through the air and smashed into the guard, causing him to fly back with the body. Their bodies slammed into the wall, crashing through it before slamming into the wall in the hall outside. I heard a cry of pain before silence. I could tell the other man was not dead, but he did have quite a few broken bones.

I know my actions may seem rash, but I do not care. Sophie is locked up like a prisoner when she has done nothing wrong. Whether these people wished to help the Count or not is not my problem, they still helped, and that is all I need to know in order to punish them. I didn't mean to actually kill Dedrei. He was just unlucky. My hands slipped due to anger….

"No, since taking the stairs, it will only cause issues for me. Since it is basically a straight shot, I will just fly straight up." It was time to see just how good my strength truly was. I flapped my wings and rose off the ground. When I reached the ceiling, I pulled my fist back and imbued it with magic before thrusting it out.

*Boom!*

A loud explosion of rock and cement rocked the entire mansion. I looked up and could now see a clear hole leading up to the first floor. I could hear the sounds of yelling and saw the guards running towards the hole I made with my detection magic. Not wanting to be delayed, I quickly flew up through the hole and landed on the first floor.

"I should have put more power into my punch." I couldn't help but sigh at my own lack of intelligence. A bunch of guards came out of the side rooms and were now surrounding me.

I was about to make my move when a loud, arrogant sounding voice echoed through the hall. "To think, the child prodigy that the noble circles have been talking about is nothing more than a two bit thief!"

I turned to see a young handsome man in fancy clothes walking over with a very angry expression. "Count Freedman, I presume." I drew my sword and pointed it at him. "I think the one who should be called a thief is you, or should I call you a perverted thief? I mean, who goes around stealing young girls off the street?"

"Stealing young girls? I have no idea what you are talking about." Count Freedman tried to act dumb.

"You are not very well informed, are you, Mr. Pervert? This world has laws that even a noble like you needs to follow. The girl you kidnapped is no older than myself, and if I am not wrong, you can not forcefully take her away no matter what. I have already heard about your grand little scheme in the country. Release Sophie now, and I will ignore everything you have done, and I will leave this place. If you do not return her, I do not mind destroying your entire mansion." I could see Count Freedman's face turning all kinds of different colors as he ground his teeth. If looks could kill, well let's just say I would be dead by now.

"You do not seem to understand how this world works. Those with high status are able to do as they please. I can do as I want because I am a count. There is nothing you can do to stop me. You and the girl are nothing more than a commoner. I dare you to even think of bringing my…."

*Boom!*

A wall on the opposite side of the Count blew up. Count Freedman's eyes were wide in shock, and a trace of fear appeared within them as he stared at me. My hand stretched out in a gun pose. I drew it back and blew on the tip of my index finger. I smiled and tilted my head as my eyes glowed with an eerie light. "I said I would destroy your mansion, and I mean it. I keep my words. I will give you one last chance. Will you end this peacefully, or will you have your house destroyed? Because I can say this now. No one is stopping me from taking Sophie back. She is my friend and is in need of my help. Plus, your status means nothing to me because I can probably say that I am the most important person in this kingdom besides the king himself at this time, now that I am thinking about it. If I realized this sooner then maybe Sophie would have been fine."

Chapter15 Me VS. Count Freedman Part 2

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You snot nosed brat! Men kill her!" I guess nobles will always be nobles. They let their status go to their head, causing them to have a huge amount of pride.

I guess this was going to end up in a fight no matter what. If I had been a bit quicker, then maybe this could all have been avoided, but now it is too late. The guards that were surrounding me all attacked at once. Either with weapons or magic. It all came flying towards me. I stood there with my mana shield on with a relaxed expression.

*Boom!*

"Hahaha! Seems like your earlier actions were nothing special!" Count Freedman yelled out. I could only roll my eyes. But in a way, his words were true. They were nothing special.

"Hahaha! You caught me! My actions earlier were nothing special!" My voice coming out of the cloud of smoke and stupefied faces of the guards who were standing there frozen with swords shaking in their hands as if they hit a metal wall, seemed to have made the count freeze.

"You!? How!?" I could tell by the count's expression that he had no idea how I had just negated the massive coordinated attack.

"Hmmm? Because you said my actions earlier were nothing special, so I took your attacks to become special?" I answered his questions with a question of my own while tilting my head to the side with a confused expression. "Oh, but I am not done yet. Earth wall!"

*Boom!*

All the guards were sent flying into the ceiling. I made sure to control it just enough to keep the count from being hit by it but also made sure it encircled him so he couldn't escape. "You see, now this is something special. Think about it. All your men are unable to move. You are trapped and have no place to go. You only have two choices. Release Sophie and never go near her again or…."

My lips curled up into a vicious smile as my body flashed, and I appeared in front of the count. My sword poking at a certain sensitive spot on a man's body. "Or lose the one thing that actually makes you a man in name only. Make your choice, or else you will lose much more than this mansion. I'll give you three seconds."

"One…."

"Two…."

I watched as the count's face twisted in rage and fear. I spoke each number very slowly, enunciating each letter to the fullest extent. And just as my lips parted to say three, I pressed the sharp tip of my sword on the count's family jewels. I could see the beads of sweat forming on the count's forehead as he finally gritted his teeth and yelled out: "Fine! You can take her!"

I smiled sweetly and pulled my sword back before my eyes lit up with magic circles, and I waved my hand binding the count. "This is just a precautionary measure. The binds will disappear along with the walls of earth after I leave this place."

"Just go already!" The count yelled out. I guess he figured it was useless fighting me with words. The pure rage in his eyes told me that things would not end here, which I kind of figured as much. But I did not wish to kill a count for the time being. Unless I find out something had happened to Sophie that should not have, I will allow him to live. This is just me giving face to the king of this kingdom who was willing to give me a chance.

If this was a common bandit who did this, I would have killed him the moment I saw him. But since it is a noble, I can only leave it at this. I didn't even spare him a glance before turning and walking away. My tail swaying back and forth in a mocking manner as I did. I could hear the sound of teeth grinding together as I made my way upstairs. Since there was no one who would be willing to stop me at this time, I could just take the stairs.

As I reached the third floor, I heard cursing down stairs, but I ignored it. The whole house was well decorated with many expensive looking things, like vases and statues and art. And since they were just sitting out in the open like this, they also just happened to disappear as I walked by. Where they went, no one will ever know. But I was thinking to visit the pawnshop I saw on the south side of the lower city.

I know some would say that my actions are no different from that of a bandit, but I mean, they stole Sophie, so shouldn't I get some compensation for her? It can be considered physical and mental compensation. For giving Sophie such a scare.

Before long, I was standing in front of the door of the room where Sophie was currently locked up in. I could now tell for sure the poor girl was crying. But what irked me even more was the number of locks on the door. "You really had to go so far for a single small girl?"

I ignored the locks and pushed on the door, causing it to fall off its hinges. I guess there was even a magic barrier there because I heard a shattering sound as well. When I walked in, Sophie had raised her head, and the look on her face was priceless. I smiled brightly and waved at her casually as if what was going on was nothing more than a walk in the park. "My dear Sophie, you seem to be looking well."

"Have I died? Why is there an angel here?" Sophie's words almost made me choke on air. What angel!? I should look more like a devil, no?

I could only shake my head as I walked over and knelt down next to Sophie. I reached out with my arms and pulled the very confused fox girl into them and hugged her tightly. "You have suffered greatly. But, as I said, we are friends. I will do what I can to help you. Sorry that my incompetence allowed you to suffer."

I guess my words were like a wave of relief to Sophie, who suddenly buried her face into my chest and began crying her eyes out. She hugged me tightly as she let everything out. I knew it must have been hard. Afraid of not knowing what will happen to you. Not knowing how your life will be from now on. And not having the strength to even do as you want. She had run away once. She probably knew that running away again would not have been possible. They even locked her up as if she was some kind of dangerous criminal.

It took a while for Sophie to finally calm down. When she did, I scooped her up into my arms in a princess carry and walked right out of the house under the gazes of the maids and male servants. When I exited through the front door, I looked up at the already dark skies before flapping my wings and lifting off the ground.

The city lights at this time of night were like a sea of stars as I flew overhead. Sophie had her arms wrapped around my neck and looked out over the scenery with wide eyes. She was not scared in the slightest. It was as if her trust in me had reached a whole new level. I wonder if she will now let me fluff her tail? I guess I should still wait. No matter how attractive the fluff is, I should not just randomly reach out and fluff the fluff.

As we flew in silence, I wondered what I should do next to deal with the wrath of the stupid count. I knew I brought a lot of trouble on myself, but there was nothing I could do about it. The count had crossed the line. Maybe I should ask Sei if she has a way to contact Adel. Then maybe I can get this all swept under the rug.

But for now, I will enjoy the sight before me. "From now on, Sophie, you will stay with me. I will be talking with Adel, and I will see if you can still join the academy. This way, you will be able to decide what you wish to do with your life."

Sophie was still silent. But her arms seemed to have tightened around my neck slightly as she buried her head in my shoulder. I could see her faintly nod at my words, though, so she at least acknowledged what I said. It was hard to make out what her expression was with how dark it was, but at least after such an event, she seemed safe.

I do not know what the future holds for her, but I do hope that it will be a happy one that is much better than the one shown by the fortune teller.

Chapter16 Relaxing At The Inn

It was late at night by the time I finally reached the inn. Sophie had fallen asleep in my arms and looked to be sleeping quite comfortably. When I entered the suite, my maids were actually up waiting on me and went right to work preparing a bath. I reluctantly woke Sophie up, who was very confused at first but quickly turned as red as an apple as she realized she had fallen asleep.

I chuckled as I let her down. "No need to feel embarrassed. You have had a long day. Annie and the girls are getting the bath ready. Let's bathe, eat, then sleep, okay? You can spend the night with me."

Sophie lowered her head and nodded, and followed behind me. But I could feel her gaze poking me in the back of the head as we walked. It was quite the intense stare. I wonder if she has something to say? Well, if she wants to talk, she will talk. I will not force her to say anything if she does not want to.

But now was my chance! I could fluff the fluff without seemingly being weird! As I finished undressing, I walked over and hugged Sophie from behind: "Sophie, let me wash your hair and back, okay?"

For some reason, Sophie's face became even redder, but she quietly nodded her head. A strange girl indeed blushing over everything. But I have to say this softness was just too much. If I was not worried about being seen as some kind of perverted freak, I would have already pushed my face into this fluffy goodness.

But I restrained myself and continued to do the job I had assigned myself to. I took great care to make sure to be gentle while washing Sohpie's hair. I have a lot of practice, so I am confident in my hair washing. Rachel even said her hair felt extra smooth when I washed it for her. This was not really a lie, though, either, because I like to inject my mana into the hair and let it permeate to the scalp. It seems magic has extra benefits that not many or none actually know about.

Seeing how Sophie had been quiet this entire time. I finally decided to lighten the mood a bit. "So from today forth, we will be living together. Treat the place as your home. Although I feel that you won't, it does have to be said: do not bully the maids. They are just like you or me."

"I wouldn't…. Bully… anyone…." Sophie's voice started off big, but I guess she got embarrassed by her sudden shout that the rest of her words got quieter and quieter.

"I figured as much, but what needs to be said should still be said, no? Anyway, do not dwell too much on what happened today. Forget about that count. I am pretty sure he is raging right now but not at you. You see, I kinda told him a white lie. I said my magic would disappear once I left the house well…. Hehe." He should never have angered me. If he did not do anything to my friend, he would still be sipping his expensive wine and indulging in the many wives he has. I, for one, do not care what he does as long as he does not harm those that I see as friends and family.

But to think that my first fully official day in the capital, and I am already bringing a girl home. If I was a boy, I am sure my parents would be jumping for joy. But I am sure even if that was not the case. If I had told them the story about what happened, my mother and father would take Sophie in, in a heartbeat. They are kind and generous, after all.

Sadly I can not save every person I come across that is in need of help. Such a job is too big for a single person to handle on their own. The lives of those people in the slums need the kingdom's help to restructure in a way that does not interrupt their daily lives. It might seem inhuman, and if this was Earth, I would be bashed on social media for being biased, human rights violations, and whatnot, but I would move all the people who do not wish to work into a section of their own while helping only those who wish to better themselves. Maybe seeing the different forms of treatment will cause them to rethink their path in life.

Those with criminal histories would need to be reformed unless they have already done their time. A city this size that can be considered its own small country back on Earth really needs to be reformed with a stricter system. But I am sure this would gain backlash from the nobles who, like the count, use the slums as a base of operation for their dirty work.

No one would want the hub to hide their dirty dealings to be taken away from them. It would be too risky. But to come up with explanations on why the slums should stay around was something they would really have to work hard at. I mean, who can really come up with a good reason to continue letting the slums stay a dirty place where things hidden by society keep happening?

All in all, the only correct path on anything would be to do what can be done without giving too much. There is a fine line between helping those in need and taking care of them forever. Providing education and means to get better jobs is really the only route. At least this is my take on things. I would if I could take in everyone who wished to have a better life and work hard at it. But sadly, I do not have such means.

"Ummm…. Faith, are you done…?" I heard Sophie's soft voice and realized I was so lost in my thoughts that I was directly fluffing her tail this entire time.

I could feel my cheeks heating up as I let out a dry laugh and scratched my head. "Haha… Sorry. Let's get in the bath."

"But you haven't washed your body yet…. I-I can wash your back for you…." Although she stuttered, Sophie stood right up and pointed to the seat for me to sit down. I guess she wants to repay me.

But I have to say this…. Thank god I have tough skin. Sophie's idea of washing someone's back is like using sandpaper and scrubbing it as hard as she can against the skin. Was this punishment? It was punishment, wasn't it!? I will make a mental note not to fluff the fluff anymore. My poor back wouldn't be able to take it.

After a nice hot relaxing bath, the two of us retired to my room, where I went against my own pledge and happily dried and combed Sophie's tail and hair. She did not seem to mind, although her cheeks were bright red the entire time. After a while, the silent Sophie finally seemed to be willing to talk as she turned her head to face me. "Faith, I never did properly thank you…. You not only gave me a stranger a helping hand when I was being dragged away by those men, but when I was kidnapped, you came and rescued me from the hands of the count, even knowing you could suffer repercussions. I really do not know how to thank you for everything."

"What thanks is needed? We became friends, and that is all that matters. No friend of mine will be allowed to suffer if I can help it. And if I can't stop it, I will use force like I did today, and once I talk to Adel, I am sure you will never have to deal with such things ever again. You can live your life the way you want to from now on. You can stay with me for as long as you like. Go to the academy, find the thing you want to do, excel at it, and then when you are ready, go off and do your own thing. Maybe one day, I will be handing you off to the person you are going to marry. Ahh, they grow old so quick.." I faked crying into my sleeve, causing Sophie to finally give me a genuine smile and giggle.

"Are you my parent now?" Sophie jabbed at me. It was good to see her smiling finally.

"Far from it, but I do want you to know you have someone to support you now. I will do what I can to help. I lived my life with very few people I could call friends. Adel was my very first true friend outside my own family. Now you are my second. I hope we can support each other. That is normally how friends work, no? We confide in one another and seek advice. Joke with one another and even fluff each other's tails." Yes, I slipped in the last part, but I couldn't help it. Her tail was so soft and fluffy.

Sophie's face turned slightly red as she looked at my tail and pursed her lips. "I can only shine yours…."

""Pfft!""

We both looked at each other and began laughing. I can see my friendship with Sophie will be a good one.

Chapter17 Sophie’s Past

"Annie, Rina, Brooke, this here is Sophie, she will be staying with us from now on. So please treat her well." I decided to give Sophie a proper introduction to the maids. "Sophie, Annie is the head maid, so if any troubles crop up, just ask her. Annie, I will let you assign whoever you want to Sophie. Just know she is quite the shy one."

"Then I will have Brooke wait on Miss Sophie then." Annie gave me a bow before turning to Sophie and bowing to her. "Miss Sophie, it is a pleasure to be working for you."

Seeing the flustered look on Sophie's face made me chuckle. I knew she would react like this. But I am sure she will slowly get used to it. Brooke was a little clumsy, but she was a good girl and the younger of the two. So they should get along nicely, which was why Annie probably chose Brooke. The younger one would seem easier for Sophie to get used to. But I am sure in time, things will slowly work out.

"Okay, now that introductions are done. You girls can go to sleep. Sophie and I will clean up tonight. It's already so late." It was pushing early morning hours, and I could tell Rina and Brooke were having issues staying awake, so I wanted them to head to bed.

"Young Miss, I will stay awake to clean up." Annie offered, but I quickly rejected her offer.

"It's fine. Go get some rest. Sophie and I will be up for a while longer. There is no need for you to stay up. So go quick." I shooed her away. She could only nod and listen to my words.

They had already made dinner, and it was slightly cold because we took so long, but that was fine. Since Sophie was so quiet, I began telling her this and that about myself and the things I had to deal with as I grew up. She seemed to find it all interesting and even nodded her head in a few spots when I talked about being hated for being demi human. As a demi human herself, I am sure she had to deal with some hatred as well.

After dinner, Sophie and I retired to my room after cleaning up. She did not seem very against spending the night together. Tomorrow I planned to get the maids to set up one of the spare bedrooms. There were six altogether, so there was plenty of room. "Tomorrow, I will get a room ready for you, but if you still feel uncomfortable, you can sleep with me if you want."

"Thank you…. I…." Sophie had tears rolling down her cheeks. I bet she is probably homesick by now.

"Miss home?" I asked, and sure enough, she nodded her head.

"My mother and I used to sleep together all the time. We would talk about our days and figure out ways to tease my father the next day. We were shunned by our village, and my father worked hard every day. I rarely could leave the house. The village kids would throw insults at me and pull my tail and ears. I guess this is where my inability to be good with crowds came from. " Sophie's voice grew soft at the end, but I could see why she would not be good around others.

"I would probably be like you as well if not for my strength. The best way to defeat your fears and things you are not good with is by facing them head on. Today you took a big leap and even got up on stage. That takes courage. You did well." I said, reaching up and scratching Sophie's ears…. So soft and fluffy! Ahh, to die for…. Ahem….

"I really did not think I would be able to do it either. While I know I really messed up and caused you a lot of trouble, I am glad I did it. It was the first step for me to shake off this issue. But I was only able to do it because you were supporting me. Your words gave me the courage I needed to keep pushing forward. But now that I am thinking about it, I am worried about what will happen to my family. Do you think the count will be so low as to actually do something to them?" Sophie's voice began to tremble. I could tell she was about to start crying again.

I couldn't help but sigh because I know I could not say: no, he won't. There is actually a fairly good chance that he may try to use them to make Sophie willingly go back to his side. But before that happens, I should try to contact Adel and see if she can do something. I know it is a bit out of line to be trying to use my connections like this, but I have no choice. It is either that, or I kill the stupid count altogether.

But if I did that, I am sure there would be backlash from the other nobles. They would think of me as a threat to not only them but to the whole kingdom and push the king to get rid of me somehow. No matter how good of an accomplishment I made, they would still try to kick me out. The only option to do that would be to use my biggest trump card! Little Bell! But wait… speaking of Little Bell… where has she been this entire time!? "Little Bell?"

"Hmmm? You called?" Little Bell appeared in front of me in a ray of light, rubbing her little eyes. Sophie stared at the little spirit in front of her with wide eyes.

"Where have you been!? I was about to start panicking." I really was. If the leader of the spirits found out, I lost Little Bell wouldn't the whole kingdom suffer? More than that, my parents would be the ones to suffer the most. Just thinking about it scares me to death.

"I was inside you. The day we left the forest, the elder had formed a space within your body for me to retreat to. I didn't want to disturb you today, so I went into the space to sleep…." To be honest, I am not sure how I feel about this. Little bell has her own house inside my body. And it was put there by the leader of the spirits…. I think these spirits are much more than what they let on.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out before looking back at Sophie. "Sophie, this is Little Bell. She is a spirit. She has traveled with me for a while. But she is also a very big secret that can not be revealed easily. While I say this, she is also our biggest trump card if the count decides to capture your parents and try to use them against you. We will have a means of taking him down. So don't worry, okay?"

Sophie was trying to process everything and absentmindedly nodded. I could tell it was a lot to take in, but all she needed to know was that things would be okay. That night, Sophie fell asleep curled up and snuggled up next to me. I even heard her mumble in her sleep, calling out for her mother. It pained me to know that a girl her age was suffering so much. I gently stroked her head while I softly spoke with Little Bell.

"Little Bell, what is the space like? And where is it exactly?" I was truly curious. I had a Little Bell's house inside me, and I couldn't even check it out. This kind of irked me and also made me feel slightly weird. From some of the books I have read, there are many where the main characters will have special spaces inside their souls or minds that will be home to the contracted beasts or whatever they contract. I always felt it was kind of weird. I mean, there were some, where the female lead will have some old man inside them seeing everything they do. It made me wonder if these authors were just perverted or what. But if you put aside the fact that some old man was watching a girl dress, undress, and bathe all the time, the stories were pretty good otherwise. But these characters could visit these locations, whereas I can not. Well, for the time being, anyway.

"It is a small pond with a little forest surrounding it. It is not that big. It has many pretty flowers, so I like to lay on them and fall asleep." From how Little Bell described it, it did seem like a small little paradise just for her. For some reason, I feel slightly jealous. But one day, I will also have a small abode I can use as a place to escape to. I mean, there are small worlds. If I grow powerful enough, I may just be able to create one of my own and make it a paradise for me to retreat into.

I smiled and reached up and patted Little Bell on the head: "Sounds like a wonderful place."

Chapter18 Starting A Business Part 1

The next few days, I spent them lounging about with Sophie. I helped train her a bit in magic and gave her some ideas on what she can do with spatial magic. Like inscribing runes into items to make them into storage devices. If she were to sell such things, she could make a pretty penny for herself. Of course, this would need Adel's help as well to make sure she was protected and did not get scammed.

But today was a day that I decided to do something about my own money situation. I still had some gold and could live off it, if I so wished, for quite a while, but it was not enough! So right now, Sophie and I were both on the streets of the capital heading to a blacksmith that Sei told me about.

It was said to be the best blacksmith in town when it came to intricate items. He was a one hundred percent dwarf! I was actually quite excited to finally meet a staple fantasy character. I know I am a dragon, and I know I have a fox girl sitting next to me, but dwarves and elves were different! They were like the cream of the crop when it came to fantasy.

We did not walk today. Sei was nice enough to get us a carriage as the place we were heading to was very far away. The carriage was not as fancy as Adel's carriage, but it was still quite nice. It had two large, scaled horses pulling it, and no one dared to stand in their way. Their hoofs alone were enough to squash me!

As we made our way down the streets of the capital, I rested my head on the window and watched the passerby as they did their thing. It was strange being able to ride around the city after all the walking I did the past few days, but to get to this blacksmith, it would have taken almost all day by foot.

The trip was rather pleasant without anything really interesting happening. Little Bell did dance around while looking out of the window just as she did when she was in Adel's carriage. She seemed to really like carriages. I guess I should get one when I am rich.

The place we pulled up to look like a run down shack. But as someone who is well read and had read of many situations like this in novels, I knew never to look down on the building. Normally the masters of their trade would always have such places. Little Bell did get scared and turned into a ray of light and shot into my body. I was still getting used to this. Sophie held onto my arm and seemed slightly afraid as well. But to be honest, I had no idea what there was to be afraid of. I mean, it's just a run down smithy with a loud, angry voice yelling from the inside about how it was just not working.

"Why the hell is it not working! I could have sworn I forged the piece correctly." Hearing the gruff voice coming from inside, I became curious as to what he was trying to make that would cause him to be so angry. With a fox girl at my side, I walked into the blacksmith to finally meet Thurul.

"Excuse me!" I yelled loudly because I felt that if I didn't, I would probably be here all day waiting for the man to come out.

"Ahhh! Pull my beard out, why don't ya! Why did you have to yell so loud!?" Oops. It seems Thurul has good hearing. But looking at him now, I couldn't help but nod at the stereotypical dwarf in front of me. He was short and stout and had muscular arms. His long red beard almost reached his stomach, and he looked quite jolly at first glance if you did not look at the eyes filled with a bit of anger. "Well, speak up, why are you yelling at the entrance of my shop?"

I scratched my head feeling slightly embarrassed as I answered: "I heard you yelling from outside and figured you might be hammering away inside, so I did not know if you could hear me. Sorry for yelling. My name is Faith. I came here to talk to you about a job that will need a bit of fine tune crafting."

"Hmmm? Not bad for a young'en. Normally you all run around wild, not caring about how you talk to your elders. It's good that you came. I really needed a break." Thurul seemed to be a down to earth guy. Even Sophie relaxed a bit and let go of my arm.

"Do you have a place we can talk? The item I want to make needs to be kind of kept secret." I hoped he did have a quiet place. Because if I started talking details or someone saw my blueprint, they would definitely take my idea!

"Sure thing, follow me." Thurul did not make things hard as he nodded and took us to a side room. As soon as I stepped through the door, I could feel myself passing through a strong barrier. And I mean something I have no idea how to make. I once again realized how small my world is compared to the actual world around me.

The room, unlike the rest of the shop, was well kept and had two couches facing each other with a table in between. The walls were painted a light yellow with white trim. And the couches were both light blue, while the table seemed to be made out of some kind of expensive wood. Thurul even walked over to a tea station and made tea after having us sit down. When it was ready, he walked over and poured a cup for both Sophie and I before sitting down himself. "So what kind of item would you like me to make you, little lady?"

"Before I show you anything, and I know this may be rude, but I need to know that I have your word to never tell anyone what I am about to show you." I gave Thurul a deep look. One thing I loved about this world was one usually always kept their word, allowing those who swear on something to never break their promises.

"No worries, little lady. I have never spoken about anything I have ever crafted to anyone that is wished to be kept secret. So you have my word on this." Thurul did not seem offended, which allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Then please take a look at these." I set out two blueprints. One was for the ballpoint pen the other was for the cast to make it. As long as there were casts, things could easily be quickly made. I could then buy some metal and make them all myself using my dragon fire to metal the ore.

"Hmmm…." Thurul looked at the design, and it seemed he could not make heads or tails of it. "Little Lady, do you mind if I ask what this is?"

"I call it a ballpoint pen. You see, the ball goes inside the tube here, and when you press down on it, it will allow ink to slowly flow out as you write."

"This! Hahaha! Little lady, I think you will be making a killing if you sell these things. And you even drew up a cast for it. So I am guessing you are looking to mass produce them, right?" Thurul was straight to the point.

"Yes, I was planning to do so." I answered. I mean, no sense in lying.

"Then let's make a deal, little lady. I just so happened to be needing more money for my research. Until you make enough to get your own little factory set up, how about you give me one percent of your sales per month, and I will supply the ore and will mass produce them for you?" Oh? It seems Thurul wants to become a business partner. I sat back and thought for a moment and nodded my head. This was not a bad idea. If it's only one percent, that would be nothing. But I do feel it is a bit too low since he will be supplying the materials.

"Let's do ten percent. If you are supplying materials, the amount you get in return should be a bit more than what you are spending. But we need to make a magic contract as well. This way, everything is set in stone." Of course, business tycoon skill was now in play. Always get a contract no matter what. And also, always make sure that your partner is not getting screwed. Because if they pull out, you might go under yourself. Never burn your bridges.

"Ten percent…. Alright, now that I think about it, that does seem fairer. The materials would end up costing more in the long run." Thurul nodded his head. He gave me an approving look. I guess he was happy that I was not trying to screw him.

As I was thinking about the sales of these pens, another thought idea came to mind. "Then let's talk about variations as well…."

Chapter19 Starting A Business Part 2

Oh? This is truly a good idea." Thurul seemed quite impressed with my ideas.

"Yes, the limited edition pens will allow me to sell them for fifty gold or more. Nobles like to have their fancy things, after all. Once I introduce the pens to the public, and they become popular, I only need to announce the limited edition pens. We can do one each month, and then they will become something like a collectible. But before I can even sell them, though, I need to get a patent from the king. Right now, I am just looking for a prototype." I had a good marketing scheme ready to be played out, but all of this relied on getting in contact with Adel. Sei already said she would pass the message on, so I am only waiting for Adel's reply.

"Alright. it shouldn't take long to have a perfect prototype for you." Thurul nodded and stuck out his hand. "Here is to a lasting partnership. "

"Yes, to a lasting partnership." I could tell Thurul was not going to back down anytime soon. Even he saw the money in this 'invention' of mine. I really could not wait to see it all come together. After this, there would be more and more things to create and sell. I really can not wait.

After a long trip back to the inn, Sophie and I went right to bed. She was still sleeping in my bed even though her room was done. It seemed to be a kind of therapy for her.

It was the next morning when the door to the bedroom was slammed open, and a figure sailed through the air and dived on top of me that I was rudely awoken, and poor Sophie was tossed to the side. "My Faith! Oh, how I have missed you!"

"Adel, where is your princess like manners?" I could only helplessly smile as I patted her head, but I was starting to get creeped out with how she was taking deep breaths with her head pushed into my chest.

I had to wait for what Adel called her Faith energy bar to be filled up before she finally released me and sat up, still sitting on top of me. I watched as her eyes flowed over to a certain fox girl who was trying to make herself look small. "This is Sophie, I presume?"

"Yes, the one I wrote about in my message." I replied while nodding my head.

"She is indeed cute. I can see why that sick bastard of a count would like her. Since you have taken her in and explained to me the situation, I talked to father, and he okayed me to allow her asylum under your name. Father has given her your last name and announced that she would be joining you at the academy during the meeting last night. Count Freedman was not happy. Father said his face turned many different colors before storming out of the hall after the meeting was over. But he did ask me to tell you to refrain from flying within the city unless it is an emergency. You set off quite a few defensive magic systems, you know!" Adel reached over and flicked my forehead.

"Well, I had no choice. I was not sure if the knights would trust my word of the counts. So as soon as I had Sophie, I rushed out of the house and flew away. Speaking of knights, the one your brother has keeping an eye on me, sleeps all day long, eats, and drinks. He hasn't left his room since I have arrived." I, of course, would tattle on the incompetent fool. At first, I thought he was loyal to his job, but in one night! One night his attitude changed, and he became a fatso who sits around all day doing nothing! If he had a computer, I am sure he would be sitting in front of it looking things up and giggling weirdly.

"Don't worry, Sir Randford is teaching him a lesson as we speak. You will have a few knights as well. I will introduce you to them before we head out. I need to meet with Thurul myself and make sure he signs a separate contract with the kingdom to never speak of your designs to anyone. But for now!" I was once again embraced. I have no idea why Adel was so fond of skinship. But at least now, things were settled quite easily. Sophie was now Sophie Cyrilia which gave her protection as my family member, so none of the nobles could do anything to her without repercussions. This would not stop any deeper schemes, but it also gave me the right to step in legally and protect her. In other words, I am now her legal guardian, and without me agreeing to it, no one can take Sophie away.

While this was all good news, I am sure the count is probably planning something stupid behind the scenes. But with Adel backing me up, I can at least deal with the situation. It's just I do wonder when Adel plans to get off me. I need to use the powder room!

After finally getting to powder my nose, I walked into the living area to see Adel happily chatting with a very shy Sophie, who was slowly nodding her head with red cheeks while fiddling with her fingers. It seems she did not know how to act around Adel. "So, what do I need to sign?" I asked as I walked over and sat down in the chair next to the table.

Adel smiled and picked up a few papers from the table and put them in front of me. "You will need to sign here and here. The first one is specifically for you, which gives you full market domination over your invention. No one will be able to copy your design or sell it. If they do, they will be arrested and fined for reparations of one hundred gold per product they sold."

I couldn't help but widen my eyes at this counteract. "Isn't this a little too good? How did this even get approved!?" I may not know all the laws yet of the kingdom, but even I know this contract seemed to be way over the top.

"Hehe… do not underestimate the power of the only daughter!" Adel answered proudly with her nose in the air. "I just so happened to have one of the people who were in charge of doing patents to just so happen to make a contract that was much too good to be true, and I just so happened to go to Father and ask him to let me play with the royal seal."

I facepalmed. Adel was too much! She snuck it past her old man! Won't he get railed by the merchants guild!? But I really had to hand it to her. Adel was going above and beyond for me. "Adel, I owe you big time."

"Hehe! Nothing is too much for my Faith." Adel gave me a bright smile before pointing to the next document. "This one is for both you and Thurul. It will bind the two of you together. I added the percentage amount that Thurul will be getting from sales. This contract is binding and can only be broken if both parties agree, just like you wanted. Each one of these are magic contracts, so they can not be altered after they are signed, so, please make sure everything is to your liking."

I nodded and began reading them over. Adel did not stay quiet as she began continuing her conversation with Sophie. I took a few peeks at them and found Sophie was stuttering over her words, but Adel did not seem bothered by it in the slightest. Adel really is a kind person. I am glad I have become her friend.

It took me almost thirty minutes to read the contract. I made sure to read it quite a few times to make sure I missed nothing. My business tycoon skill kicked in big time as soon as I started reading. No one interrupted me either. But the contracts were just what I asked for. The patent was simply amazing. I basically have a lifetime patent that I could own the ballpoint pen industry for the rest of my life or at least for as long as this kingdom lasted.

With everything set, I signed the documents feeling very satisfied. With that done, I passed the patent document back to Adel and put the other in my inventory for use tomorrow afternoon when we took a trip to Thurul's shop again. He still needed to sign the contract as well. "Adel, you are staying here tonight?"

"That I am!" Adel said without hesitation. "I only have today and tomorrow before I need to head back, so I want to spend as much time as I can with you."

"Okay, then we will have a big feast tonight and then…." I looked over at Sophie, who seemed absent minded, and smiled slyly: "We can take turns brushing Sophie's tail."

"Fuwah!?" Sophie's strange noise and surprised face caused both me and Adel to burst out laughing. She was indeed cute.

"I was just kidding." To be honest, I still planned to fluff the fluff.

Chapter20 It’s The Prince Again…

The next day I woke up to both Adel and Sophie sleeping next to me curled up into balls. Adel had a serene smile on her face. She was overly excited last night because she made a new true friend. While I could tell Sophie was nervous around Adel she did not treat her as royalty either. She treated her the same way she treated me. Adel took a big liking to Sophie because of this and they instantly became friends.

I stealthily slipped out of bed and left the room to be greeted by Annie who was outside patiently waiting like some kind of guard. But when she saw me she turned and handed me a robe. "Good morning, Young Miss. Sir Randford is here and would like to speak with you."

"Mm… Okay…." I nodded and rubbed my eyes before taking the robe. I have to admit Annie thinks of everything. I, myself would have walked out in my nightshirt but, thinking about it I am sure Sir Randofrd would get flustered and run away. There was a thing where women of high ranking should not show too much skin. While I could understand in some situations why this would be an issue but if it was hot out I will be damned if I am not wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt!

I wrapped the robe around me and with my bed head and all made my way to the front room where Sir Randford was standing there waiting. "Good morning Sir Randford, you wished to speak with me?"

"Sorry to disturb you Miss Cyrilia. I came over to let you know that I got word that his highness the crown prince is on his way over." As soon as I heard that, the smile on my face quickly fell.

I really pondered what this prince really wanted? Why would he come all the way here to visit when I was not anywhere close to being friends with him. Adel was one thing, we were as close as sisters but, the prince was a different story. Luckily though, Adel was here this time, so I have a strong backing. If anything I can always sick Little Bell on him! Humph! Let's see if he dares try to hug me again. I guess my thoughts were written all over my face because Sir Randford gave me a worried look and asked: "Is there a problem Miss Cyrilia?"

"Problem? Of course, there is a problem. Why would that id…. Ahem…. Why would the prince suddenly want to come over? Sir Randford, how much did he pay you to ruin my day? If I pay you more, can you ruin his day back for me?" I couldn't help but slightly chuckle at Sir Randford's current expression. He seemed to be drawn between duty and the bubble of laughter that was about to explode at any second.

After a moment of silence, Sir Randford got control of his emotions and gave me a slight bow. "Miss Cyrilia I do apologize."

"Pfft!" I couldn't hold back as I started laughing. There was a serious yet teasing look in Sir Randofrd's eyes that tickled my funny bone.

After a bout of laughter, I finally calmed down and let out a long sigh. In reality, I really did not wish to see the Mr. Ceo, wanna be. The last thing I want is to be dragged around the streets of the capital by him again and forced to eat what he orders for me. Or doing some other stupid thing.

"Faith?" Adel came out of the room in a robe rubbing her eyes and stumbily walked over to me and held onto my arm while resting her head on my shoulder closing her eyes once more. It seems she was not ready to be awake just yet.

"Sir Randford has just told me your brother is on his way."

"What!? Why is that bast….. Idit… Ahem… Why is he coming here? No, wait! He better not be thinking of hitting on you again!" I saw a fierce glint in Adel's eyes but what made me chuckle the most was her stopping herself from calling him a bastard and idiot.

"Well, whatever the reason, my princess in shining armor can protect me from the evil prince." I said jokingly but Adel actually nodded her head seriously and answered. "Of course!"

The last to come out of the room was Sophie who kept her head lowered as soon as she saw Sir Randford. I do hope we can get her to relax around others before school starts. I do not want her to be getting picked on for acting gloomy when she was such a sweet girl. I, of course, would protect her but still.

After breakfast and getting changed the three of us were about to try to sneak away and head to Thurul's place before the prince arrived, our luck quickly ran out when a fancy carriage suddenly stopped in front of ours before we could even set off. A handsome dashing man exited the carriage and walked over to ours. Sadly although his looks were good he was after all Prince Lance. Which ruined his whole image. Not to mention he still had that stupid smirk on his face.

"My dear sister, you were not going to try to leave me behind now where you?" Prince Lance asked as he went to open the door to the carriage, assumingly trying to get in to ride with us only to find the door would not open. Adel had accidentally sealed the door shut, made it transparent from the inside only, and was currently sipping tea while looking at her brother through the transparent door struggling to try to open it up.

"Adel this is not funny! Open this up right now! You know what father said!" I heard the prince yell which made me raise an eyebrow and looked over at Adel who quickly turned away from me as soon as I did.

"Adel, care to explain?" I asked, with both eyebrows raised and my hands clasped in front of me.

Adel kept side eying me and when she saw I was not going to let it go she finally let out a long sigh. "That idiot father of mine asked my brother to woo you. I told father that that was completely out of the question and that it should be enough for me to be friends with you but he seems to really want to tie you down to the kingdom. I had planned to tell you but every time I thought about it I would get angry and want to punch my brother. And then I started to think that maybe becoming a queen would not be such a bad idea and that both my father and my brothers should just disappear."

I almost spat out my tea. Adel, my dear did you not say you wished to not be a princess!? Wait more than that, did she just curse her family!? I am starting to think that maybe I should have a long talk with Adel. "No need for any offing of any people. Especially the royal family. I have no plans to be woo'd by your brother. He for one has no idea how to treat a girl anyway. He acts selfish and domineering. This might float some people's boats but it makes mine sink."

"Hehe! I knew my Faith would never fall for his fake facade!" Adel yelled as she threw her arms around me and hugged me. I guess she was worried that if I did fall for her brother I would not be friends with her anymore. But that is just plain stupid. I would be friends with her no matter what. Adel is a caring person and cares deeply for those she sees as friends. I would not toss her aside for anyone. I think guys back on earth have a saying for such a thing. What was it again… 'bros before hoes' or something along these lines? In this case, it is girls before di…. No, I will just leave it at that. At any rate, I will always put my family and friends above others.

"Adel I know you are in there! Open up right now!" Prince Lance yelled out causing a huge scene out in the middle of the road. I really wish I could knock some sense into this idiot. One event after the other and he can't seem to understand that he has to keep up appearances even if he doesn't wish to.

"Adel, we should at least tell him he can't come in because there is someone else here who is bad with men. Otherwise, I fear he may throw away the face of the royal family if this continues." I glanced at Sophie who was fidgeting in her seat. It seemed she did not know what to do. When I said her name she lowered her head even more. I guess the side effect of being forced to live with a strange man you did not know will cause such things.

Adel pouted and slowly released me. She looked at the door and stood up. After stomping her feet in frustration she walked over to the door. She extended her finger out and began creating a magic circle which she gently pushed towards the door. But what we all did not expect was that the prince who was going mad outside the carriage was currently pulling hard on the door. With the magic that was holding it closed now released, said prince was sent flying backward causing him to land hard on his princely butt.

Chapter21 Explaining It Clearly

As for Adel, who got a front row seat to the sight of her brother falling down so gracefully, she was now rolling on the floor of the carriage looking nowhere near what a princess should be looking like: "Hahahahaha! He… Fell… Butt.. Hahahaha!"

From where I was sitting, I could see the anger and embarrassment on Prince Lance's face growing by the minute. I knew that he was about to explode at any second. So I said nothing and sipped the tea in my hand. Sophie had scooted up next to me at some point and tried to make herself look as small as possible. Her ears and tail were sagging, making it seem like she was the one about to get yelled out.

"Adel! You did that on purpose!" Prince Lance yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Hahaha!" Adel was still laughing completely ignoring the red faced prince.

I sighed and placed my cup down. "Prince Lance, can you please keep your voice low. You are scaring Sophie and are attracting much unwanted attention."

"But Adel!" Prince Lance looked at me like a child being scolded by his mother. I was really not sure how I felt about this. Did my scolding from before hit some kind of button in his head?

Thinking about this, I decided to give it a try. "You are older than your sister, so you should be the mature one. Plus, she did not know you were pulling on the handle that hard otherwise, she would not have released the magic she had binding the door closed."

"But…." Prince Lance glared at Adel, who was now calming down from her laughing fit before snorting and looking back at me. "Faith, I would like to know if you would like to ride with me on the way to…."

"Absolutely not!" Adel shot right up and shouted. Her shout not only made Sophie and I jump but also Prince Lance.

"Sister, why are you blocking me!?" At this point, I really wish I could punch this prince and tell him hey, I want nothing to do with you. I do not like how he does things. He can treat some other noble lady however he wants, but I will never let myself be in a relationship with a man like this.

"Blocking? Dear brother, you need to take a look at yourself first. You are trying to act as if you own Faith. Has she said anything about liking you? Has she said anything about wanting to be near you? Are you assuming just because you are the crown prince that, she will like you like all those other tramps who want to climb into your bed in hopes of becoming a concubine and gaining some status? Do you know how many headaches I get from those girls who fake being friends with me while trying to get information on you? I will not allow my one true friend to be corrupted by you or harmed in some way by one of your crazy fangirls. Faith is mine and will never be yours." I think Adel just claimed me as if I was some kind of object but well…. Adel is Adel, so I will just let it slide. I mean, she is telling her brother off for my sake, after all.

"You!" Prince Lance gritted his teeth. He looked at Adel with flames in his eyes before turning to look at me. "What about you? Am I not good enough?"

I sighed… I really wish I did not have to do this, but it looks like I will have no other choice but to say this out loud. "Prince Lance. Although you are handsome and are the crown prince. And I am sure many girls wish they could even get you to smile at them, but sadly I am not one of them. I have no wish for becoming some princess or any wish that has much to do with status. I have dreams I wish to accomplish. While I know turning you down could cause you to be angered and want to block my dreams, then I would have no choice but to move on to a land that will allow me to see my dreams come to fruition, of course, I would bring my family along as well."

I did not wish to turn him down so bluntly like this, but I had no choice. I did not wish to be stuck in this tug of war and end up forced into something I did not wish to be forced into. When I saw how dejected Prince Lance's face had become after hearing my words, I did feel a little bad but only a little.

"This…. I would never…." Prince Lance lowered his head. He seemed to be lost in thought or maybe the shock of me actually turning him down was not even something he even thought about. "I see… I guess it would block your path…. Fine then."

To my surprise, Prince Lance raised his head and smiled at me. "I will support you in your goals, and maybe one day, you will see me in a better light. Adel, take care of Faith. I leave her in your hands."

"You can count on it." Adel said smugly, but at the same time, I could see a hint of pity in her eyes as she looked at Prince Lance.

"Then I will no longer bother you, ladies." Prince Lance gave a bow and walked away. Soon I heard the carriage in front of us begin to roll away. Only then did I let out a long relieved sigh and sit back in my chair.

"Faith, I think this might have been a shocker to my brother, who has always been used to girls liking him from the start." Adel said as she closed the door to the carriage and sat back down.

"What else was I supposed to do when he put me on the spot? I do not wish for some grand title or status as crown princess. I just wish to go to the academy and rise through the ranks of the kingdom's army until I can finally lead a unit of my own." While I know I turned him down, I do hope he will one day find someone who loves him for him and not because of his status. I hope he will also learn how to treat a girl properly after this as well.

Chapter22 Sealing The Deal

"You are right. I do know that if you did not say anything, he would continue to make a fuss. This is for the best." I watched as Adel sighed. "I just know I will be hearing it from Father when I get back."

"Oh, why is that?" I asked. I did not understand why Adel would be getting an ear full when she has done nothing wrong.

"Because it is partly my fault that my brother was not able to woo you. I tried to tell my father that trying to marry you to brother would not work out well, but he still decided to do it. So now I will be yelled at because I am sure he will blame it on me for why my brother failed." Adel explained, which made me realize this might just be true if the prince goes back and makes a fuss. But from his actions just now, he might not do that.

"Well…." I paused and a teasing smile formed on my lips. "You can always tell your father that I am yours, and no one can take me away from you. Like you did to your brother."

"Faith! I didn't mean it like that!" I watched as Adel's face turned bright red. I know she didn't mean anything by it but teasing her for it was something I couldn't resist.

I gave her a playful grin before turning to Sophie, who had been quiet this entire time. "Sophie, you okay?"

"Fuwah!?" I guess I surprised her because she made an interesting sound when I spoke to her. "Ah yes… I was just… I am not good with guys right now…."

"Sophie, don't worry. I promise on my name Adellia Gravos that no noble will be able to touch you. You will be safe staying with Faith. And your family will be moved from their current home to the Cyrilia Village." Adel's words shocked me. She never told me that she actually went as far as to move Sophie's family!

"Adel…." I almost teared up. Adel always goes far and beyond. But I guess I was not the only one moved because Sophie began crying.

"Hehe…. If you are friends with Faith, then there is no way you are someone bad. I trust Faith's ability to judge people, and since she became your friend, that makes you my friend, so of course, I would make sure all things are covered. I know Count Freedman, that petty man, will definitely try something. Why I didn't say anything before was because I was waiting to get confirmation that things were set." Adel blushed as she rubbed her nose. I could help but toss my arms around her and hug her.

"Adel, you are an angel!" I said with a big smile and tears in my eyes. I will make sure to always be on Adel's side no matter what happens in the future. I do not care even if she becomes an enemy of this kingdom. She is someone with a good heart. Of course, this is only if she has not become a tyrant. If that happens, I will be sure to flick her forehead and make her snap out of it. But I will be with her through thick or thin. She is definitely a true friend.

Sophie's eyes were red with tears as she looked at Adel. "Thank you… Thank you so much…. I have been worrying about my parents' safety ever since I ran away the first time. But now. Now… Whaaaa!" Adel and I both looked at Sophie and smiled warmly before pulling her into a group hug. Sophie must have been very worried this entire time but bottled it up in order not to trouble us.

Sophie calmed down by the time we reached Thurul's place. She decided to lay down in the space in the back of the carriage that Adel and I used during our trip to take a nap while Adel and I headed inside the shop. We were now currently sitting in the guest meeting room sipping on tea while Thurul read the contract.

Thurul scanned the contract over and nodded his head. "This contract is rather strict on both parties and leaves no room for anyone to screw the other over. I see nothing wrong with it, but before I sign, are you sure you want to give me ten percent? By the fact that I know these things will take off and will be sold out almost instantly, you will be handing over quite a huge chunk of change."

"Thurul, if I did that, would I not be screwing you over? The materials alone will cost a good sum of money and if you got too little, you would barely be able to make even. Ten percent is what you deserve since all I am doing is selling while all the hard work lies with you." I said while setting my teacup down and looking at him straight in the eye. "Take the ten percent. To find an honest business partner and keeping them happy is hard to do. I do not wish to lose you before anything can even get made." It was true that Thurul will be doing the brunt of the work. If I lost him, I would have to search for another blacksmith I could trust. I have many more ideas, and I only wish to stick with one person.

I do, however, plan to make a factory that will do mass production on pens before I go and start my next venture. There are many things I know I can build, and will need a knowledgeable person here to help me. I mean, I could spend points on blacksmithing in my skill menu, but it will never become something I truly wish to do later on in life, so I do not wish to spend all my points.

"Then I will not stand on ceremony anymore." Thurul smiled at me before pulling out an actual ballpoint pen and signing the contract. I looked at him in shock as he looked back at me with a wide grin. "By the way, this is the first one I made, it works like a charm."

Chapter23 Buying A Dress

I couldn't help but chuckle at Thurul's teasing. He was definitely showing off the new pen he crafted. But this was also a given. If he did not test his own works to make sure they worked in the first place and then sent them out only for them to not work at all, we would lose any chance of making any profit. Bad merchandise equals loss of trust from the masses, which would be hard to regain. But I was very happy that my design worked.

"How does it feel when writing?" I asked curiously. I have no idea if Thurul had made any design changes at all.

"Well, the very first one leaked ink all over the place due to the ball not being able to seal it properly, so I had to make a small adjustment to the pen's head." Thurul reached in his pocket and pulled out two similar pen tips, and placed them on the table. I picked up each one and looked at them, and immediately saw the difference. One had a grove to allow the metal ball to rest in, sealing the hole just fine, while the other did not.

"I see. My design only allowed for the ball to be pushed up and down but not fully seal the tip itself. Thurul, thank you for catching that. The grove at the bottom really helps in sealing the ink in." I was truly impressed. It was a tight seal, and he even made a cap to go with the pen to keep it covered just in case. "The spot here, can we add a thin piece that runs down the side so it can clip to someone's pocket?"

"You know I was thinking about that as well. And did actually come up with something, look here." Another pen cap was placed on the table, and I couldn't help but nod my head in approval.

"Then let's go with both. We can add a few extra silver to the price with the pens with clips. We can even make some extra limited edition pens as well. Clips, caps, pen body, and even pen end. We can make those who love to collect things spend a pretty penny to get." My eyes were filled with piles of gold. I couldn't wait to fill up a chest and place it in a dark, secluded spot where no one would be able to….. Ahem…. I am starting to think I have an issue….

With things settled, I worked out the plans to have a few pens sent over to me the next day. I figured it would be good to have a few on hand. On the way back, Adel suddenly clapped her hands together and gave me a bright smile. "I just had an idea! Faith, would you like to attend a tea party with me tomorrow?"

"A tea party? I do not mind, but I do feel bad about leaving Sophie behind. Can she come as well?" I really did not want to leave Sophie alone during this time as she has been kind of clingy and insecure about what was to come.

"Of course! I planned to have her come with us in the first place." Adel replied with a smile. She then stuck her head out the window to the driver and asked them to stop off at the best dress store that deals with demi humans.

A few hours later, a still half asleep Sophie was being dragged into a dress store, stripped and wrapped up in measuring tape before she even realized what was going on. "Your Highness, what do you think of this color?"

"Hmmm? A deep purple adorned with stars around the bottom hem. Not bad. Match it with some gloves and a few accessories, and it will be perfect." As I watched Adel pick out fabric for Sophie's dress, I felt a little out of place as I, for one, was not someone who has much knowledge in fashion. It was not that I do not like to look nice, it is just that I never really cared for fancy clothing or trends. If I could have gone to school in sweats in my past life, then I would have just because they were comfortable. But my parents forced me to wear normal clothing. Even now, I tried to wear simple things.

"Faith… why is she…." Sophie was next to me with red cheeks. She had never worn any fancy dresses, not even when the count took her in, she still wore what she brought with her. So to be pampered like this was not something she could ever have dreamed of.

"Because you are friends. She does not wish for you to be picked on by the noble ladies. We are going to a tea party tomorrow and will be surrounded by rich snobby girls who think they are better than anyone else. So tomorrow, stay by my side. If anyone dares to speak rudely to you, do not take it to heart I will deal with it. Take this as training to get used to crowds." Since Sophie would be dealing with many of these snobby rich girls in the academy, it was best for her to get used to it now. Especially when she will not be with Adel and I all the time. We will not be able to protect her the entire time. But as soon as I find out someone picks on her, then I will make sure to deal with them in kind.

Sophie nodded her head, seemingly understanding this fact. One thing about Sophie was she was not dumb by no means, just overly shy and unsure about the people around her. It is actually quite surprising that she warmed up to me so quickly, but this may be because I am also a demi human. But then again, she warmed up to Adle as well. But with how Adel's personality is, it would've only have been a matter of time.

Although I will admit, Adel can be a little over the top when it comes to me. But she is a good girl with a good heart.

Chapter24 Airship Dock

The next day all of us were in the bathroom getting ready. We had Annie, along with some of Adel's maids working on doing our makeup and hair. And to be honest, this was the first time I really experienced anything like this before. "Miss Cyrilia. Your hair is amazingly soft."

"I know, right!?"

"Miss Cyrilia, your skin is as soft as a babies. How do you even do it?"

"I know, right!?"

And for some reason, every time one of Adel's maids compliments me, it is Adel who is answering. Which then, in turn, causes her maids to chuckle. But I will admit that my skin and hair are truly amazing. I do nothing, and they still stay soft and bouncy. No matter how I look at it, I am truly blessed to be this cute….

I was not the only one being complimented, though. Sophie, who had red cheeks, was being groomed and pampered even more than me by the maids, even Annie had turned traitor at the sight of Sophie's soft fluffy tail…. Okay, I forgive her. I mean, who can resist the fluff.

Not to mention that even though Sophie is not trying to be cute, she just ends up looking cute no matter what. But when she was done and her hair was styled up, she looked like a whole different person. She went from the innocent, sweet cute to drop dead gorgeous. Adel really has taste because the dress Sophie was wearing really suited her well, a little too well. Combined with the makeup, new hairstyle, and high heels, she did not look like a teen girl at all!

As for me? Well, I was wearing a white sleeveless, backless dress that went down to my ankles with silver trimmings and silver high heels to match. I will say that I never expected that the dresses of this world would look like modern dresses from Earth, but they did. I was expecting to have to wear a corset or something, but when I asked Adel, she said that corsets went out of fashion when her grandmother created the current style of dress, and since then, the new dress designs have taken off.

I do not think I could be any more thankful for this. Because I, for one, did not wish to have to wear such a crazy style dress where it took six people to tighten your corset, and then you had to wear this heavy metal rack around your waist to keep your dress in a bowl shape while walking around. I made sure to pray silently to Adel's grandmother, the goddess of dresses.

After everyone was ready, it was finally time to head to the tea party. It was not until we stopped off at a certain place that I realized that the most exciting part about this tea party was not the tea party itself but the means to get there. I was finally going to get to ride on an airship!

The airship dock, while it looked different, it was very similar to a train station with inbound and outbound traffic. There was regular airship transportation to other kingdoms that were in an alliance with Gravos, as well as a few of the other bigger cities that I have yet to visit within the kingdom. But those were the docks for commoners. The docks we were headed to were used by nobles and the royal families. These were where the private airships each higher noble owned were kept.

I couldn't hide the excitement as I looked up at the wooden structure in front of me with a huge grin on my face. "Faith, I did not take you to be someone who would get overly excited over an airship, especially since you can fly yourself."

"Adel, this and that are two totally different things. First off, airships are like giant houses in the sky. Give them enough magic, and they can soar through the air forever. While I would get tired after a long flight. I mean, what couldn't be more magical than spending a night on an airship high in the sky, flying so close to the stars that you can reach out and grab them with your hands?" I know I was a little out there with my explanation but still. The romance of it all always floated in my imagination when I read novels that had such things. This was not like some airplane or private jet. This was an airship like a boat on the water where you can go out on the deck and look out over the railing and see how tiny things look while feeling the wind brush across your face. Airships always had a kind of romance in my heart which was why when I learned about them, I really couldn't wait to ride one.

"I see…. So a nighttime cruise through the stars… I see…" I guess I sparked Adel's inner airship romanticism as well! It is so nice to have an airship buddy.

As I was smiling away, Adel was mumbling to herself. As For Sophie, she was as quiet as ever. I guess she was getting nervous. I turned and reached out my hand to her, which she did not hesitate to grab. I guess that comfort of having a friend at her side in times when you need them the most was something she desperately needed at this time. Not long after, Adel hooked her arm around my right arm as if taking up position as the three of us stood there waiting for the ship to be finished being prepared.

"Oh…. I almost forgot. Faith, Grace Dollen likes to put on airs just because she is a marquess's daughter. She is prone to make rude remarks. The ones who follow her are daughters of counts and viscounts, and all have an air about them using Grace's status to do as they please. But do not worry with me at your side, you can deal with it as you please."

Chapter25 The Airship

I couldn't help but frown upon hearing this. I mean, I really did not wish to deal with some snobby rich girl as it was, but now I will need to deal with one who had an even bigger attitude that might be racist against Sophie and me. I could already see Sophie's face paling even more. I tightened my grip on Sophie's hand, trying to comfort her.

"Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to say that to scare you two!" Adel must have noticed the change in the mood and quickly apologized. "I just wanted to warn you. Do not worry if they say anything that I find even remotely harassing towards the two of you, I will step forward. I promise I am not bringing you with me to make you two feel uncomfortable. I am doing this for two reasons. One is to show off the new pen and get it out there, so the nobles learn about it, and the other is to show that both of you have my backing."

I see… Adel was worried about Sophie and I when we joined the academy. She hoped this tea party would not only help me sell my pens but also spread the word that we were part of Adel's main group of friends. Royal protection is a means to keep people from being able to do anything too serious to us. What they do behind the scenes is different, but that can always be resolved easily since I will just catch whoever did it to begin with, and use a few tricks to make them talk.

After another ten minutes of waiting, the airship was finally ready. When we got on board, I took everything in. I really wished to know everything I could about an airship, and I have no idea when the next time I would get a chance to ride on a private airship.

The first thing I noticed was the inner walls were all lined with runic inscriptions. Each one, from what I could tell, reinforced the wood creating a barrier. However, they were in a sleep state that conserved energy. My guess was they were used only during times of bad weather from what I could make out of the inscription.

"Adel, can I…"

"Hehe, you want to see the runic inscription on the engine, right?" Adel chuckled and asked. My head nodded involuntarily. My passion for magic was taking over and making my body act on its own. "Come. Normally I should not, but for you, I will allow it."

Hearing this, my eyes lit up. Adel grabbed my hand and pulled me along with her while I, who was still holding Sophie's hand, pulled her along. Soon we arrived at the engine room, and all I have to say was it looked more like something out of a steampunk genre than a normal engine. The magic source used for the airship was encased in a large metal cylinder casing with a window that lit up the engine room. There were not one or two magic circles floating in the air above it, slowly turning as the ship was in an idle state.

When I began reading the magic equations, my eyes lit up. My fingers began moving on their own as magic circle after magic circle lit up in front of me. Each one mimicked the same magic circles the ship was using but were not active. I stared at the magic circles I wrote and put my finger to my chin as I analyzed them. "Hmmm…. Yes, if it is like this. I can actually change this portion and rewrite this over here…. Hehe… I wonder if Thurul can take on a big job…. Oh, and I will need to figure out a smaller version of the power source…. Hmmm…."

"Adel, you are drooling…." Adel said in a defeated voice as she reached up and wiped my saliva with her hand, startling me out of my obsessed trance. "Ahhh, sorry…. I just…."

"It is fine it is not like this is not the first time I have witnessed your obsession with magic." Adel smiled and, for some reason, lick her hand? Wait, is that the hand she used to wipe my saliva? It couldn't be, right? No, no, Adel is not like that… I mean, that would be weird…. Yes, it was not what I think it was…..

"Alright, let's head up to the top balcony. You have to see the ship as it enters the city." Adel grabbed both my and Sophie's hand and pulled us towards the top deck. When we arrived, the ship was just about to take off. To be honest, I was excited to see how it all worked when it was fully activated. And I was definitely not disappointed. As the ship really started up, the magic circles that were in the engine room shot out of the top of the ship and grew almost ten times bigger, covering the entire ship. It slowly spun in the air. There were also two smaller magic circles to the side that also spun slowly.

As the magic circles began spinning faster, the ship began to slowly rise up into the sky. The ascension was slow at first but quickly sped up until it started moving forward with a fourth magic circle that formed at the tail of the ship and acted as a form of propulsion. When I looked over the side, I saw another magic circle that was just as big as the one overhead. It used many more magic circles than I had originally thought! To me, this was an amazing sight, and actually wished to fly down to the side of the ship to inspect the magic circles, but as I was about to jump over the side of the ship, both Sophie and Adel held me back and started reprimanding me. "You can't do that! I would already be in trouble if they knew I let you look at the engine!"

"Yes, do not scare me like that!" Sophie, who was normally quiet, was even yelling!

I could only lower my head and nod at the two and hope that they would stop soon.

Chapter26 The Tea Party Part 1

As the ship broke through the illusion that masked the floating island from view, I finally got to take a look at the true face of Sky Lake City. The castle that stood tall high into the sky was pure white and built in the middle of the large lake. It was surrounded by a city a little smaller than the one below it. But this city was much more high class and was only for nobles and the knights that worked at the castle. And off to the side, standing a little lower than the castle itself, was the Royal Magic Academy. I took up a great deal of space and had many buildings. From what I know, it had many research departments that were funded by the royal family. This would also be the place I will be going to next month and will begin my training to become a knight.

The ship docked at the only airship terminal on the island, where Adel already had a carriage ready and prepared for us. The streets were nothing like the streets in the lower city. They were not covered in cobblestone. They were all made of large smooth white stone slabs that made the streets look rather upper class? I guess I would say. To be honest, I saw no need to go all out like that when a regular carriage would ride just as smooth on the bumpiest road you could find. Yay magic!

After about an hour of travel, we passed through a luxurious metal gate and, after a few more minutes, finally came to a stop at the entrance of a large red brick mansion. Out front was a young lady wearing a blue dress holding a folding fan in her hand. She had red hair and from what I could see, green eyes that looked like gems. I really had to say that she was quite pretty. I just hoped she would not start any issues with me or Sophie. I really did not want to deal with any of it.

The door opened, and Adel got out first, but instead of giving the girl who stepped forward to say hello any attention, she reached out her hand towards Sophie, who was about to climb out. "Careful with your step Sophie." Adel said with a bright smile.

Sophie blushed and nodded her head to answer. Her actions may seem rude to those who are of a noble status, but Adel could not careless as she knew Sophie was one of few words. Earlier, when Sophie actually yelled at me for trying to jump off the airship, I saw Adel look at her in shock because Sophie barely spoke more than five words in an hour.

After Sophie got off, she also turned around along with Adel, at the same time reaching out their hands to me. They both looked at each other and smiled. As for me. I felt like I was the one with the highest status here, with both the princess of the kingdom and a cute fluffy fox girl both helping me off the carriage. As for whom I presume is Miss Dollen, I could see her eyebrow raise at the scene in front of her. Surprisingly I saw no disgust in her eyes. What her true expression was like that was hidden behind the fan, I do not know. But after these years, I've gotten good at seeing people's true nature through the eyes that gaze upon me.

I smiled as my feet landed on the ground and said: "Thank you, Adel, Sophie."

"Hehe… I know you are not used to heels, so, of course, I would be there to help you out of the carriage. Unlike at the airship station, you can not take your heels off to climb out of the carriage." Adel answered with a smile. She then nudged Sophie, who looked up at me with blushed cheeks and nodded her head. "Mmm… A-Adel asked me to make sure that I was the second one to get off so we can be sure you would not fall."

I could only sigh. My two friends are so amazing! "Then I will be sure to take you both out someplace later then."

"I will hold you to that!" Adel answered as she turned around with a slight hop in her step. "Miss Dollen, it has been a long time. I, Adellia, thank you for inviting me to your tea party today."

I watched as Adel did her normal curtsey. A tapped Sophie's hand to give her a reminder to also give a curtsey. We had already taught her the basics, so all she had to do was attempt it, whether she got it right or not. We did not need to say anything as we are Adel's guests, so she would introduce us to Miss Dollen.

Seconds later, Adel turned and looked at us before turning back to Miss Dollen and saying: "This here is my bestest friends in the entire world, Faith Cryilia, and Sophie. I do hope you do not mind me bringing two extra people."

"Of course not. Your highness can bring whoever pleases. Miss Cyrilia and Sophie, was it? Not to be rude but do you have a family name?" I could tell Miss Dollen did not seem to be trying to be rude. I think she was just being curious as she asked this.

But seeing Sophie freeze up, I decided to step in and answer the question for her. "Sorry, Miss Dollen, Sophie is not very good with new people. She has the same last name as me and is also a commoner. I do hope this will not be a problem. Also, just to let you know, I am also a commoner."

"I see…" I guess I was a bit too forceful because Miss Dollen seemed shocked at my straightforwardness. But when she lowered her fan and gave a true smile, I could tell she did not seem bothered by our status at all. Which got me thinking. I kind of wanted to ask Adel if this was truly the snobby girl she was talking about or not.

Chapter27 The Tea Party Part 2

"You do not need to worry. While commoners may have been viewed differently before in my household but now things have changed." Miss Dollen looked at both me and Sophie as she said this, not averting her eyes at all.

Adel seemed curious about this change in attitude and quickly followed up with a question of her own. "And what brought this change on?"

"Well…." Miss Dollen glanced up at Sophie and I and blushed. "Let's just say sometimes there are times when people need to change and see the greater good of things."

I watched as Adel pursed her lips and walked over and hugged both Mine and Sophie's arms as if she was protecting the two of us. "Don't even think about it!"

I was a bit confused at Adel's sudden outburst. I watched as Miss Dollen unfolded her fan and covered her mouth with it as she let out a laugh that one would expect from a noble lady. "Hoho! What do you ever mean, Your Highness? I was just saying that all people should be treated the same. Miss Cyrilia, Miss Sophie, please enjoy your stay. If any of the other noble ladies cause you any issues, please let me know. I will be sure to beat them, skin them, then toss them off the side of the island, Hoho!"

I kinda felt a chill run up my spine just now hearing that. Were all noble young ladies this violent? And why would she protect Sophie and I over her own friends? Was it because we were Adel's friends? I turned to look at Adel, who was grinding her teeth, and became even more confused. I looked back over at Miss Dollen, who seemed to have a bemused expression, but her eyes were staring daggers at Adel. Were things supposed to be like this at noble ladys' tea parties!? I think I will take a page from Sophie's playbook and become the silent girl who only speaks five words. This way, my presence will be hard to detect.

Sadly I guess it will not always be possible to stay out of sight. As we walked towards the back garden of the mansion where the tea party was being held. The maids and butlers were all staring at us with strange expressions. Why this was? Well, Adel was holding Sophie and I's arms tightly with a scowl on her face and was growling at every word Miss Dollen spoke. In a way, this was kind of funny, but to not embarrass Adel, I kept my snickering in my heart. But I was still confused as to why she was acting this way. At first, she was friendly with Miss Dollen, but after they spoke no more than a few words, Adel was acting as if Miss Dollen was her worst enemy.

The back garden was quite amazing. The lawn art, I guess it would be called, was very pretty, large bushes trimmed in the shape of monsters and other beasts. Each one with colorful flowers growing on it. I am sure this took quite a bit of skill. It made me wonder if I had such a skill in my system menu, but I, of course, would not take it as it was a skill that would be useless to me at this time.

We were led to the middle of the garden, which had a pavilion surrounded by a sea of flowers. It was truly a beautiful place and a perfect spot for such a tea party. I could only guess that they used some kind of magic to keep the insects away since it was an open pavilion. Sitting there at a large round table were five other girls who were all dressed up. And right away, I could see the disgust in their eyes. Seeing this, I instantly went on guard.

I leaned over and whispered to Adel. "Adel, these girls are not like Miss Dollen ."

"I know…." Adel whispered back and let out a sigh. "Don't worry. While Miss Dollen used to be like these girls as of today, I can say for sure that she will defend you no matter what. As will I."

"Mmm… Thanks, Adel. But just so you know, if any one of them picks on Sophie, I will punch them." This was a fact. Sophie was already having a hard time with nobles, she did not need to suffer any more than she has.

"Don't worry. Act as you see fit. I will handle any backlash." I had to really thank Adel for being so protective of me and Sophie. I wonder if I should buy her a gift of some kind. Oh! How about a friendship token like jewelry or something. I know maybe a star that is broken in three parts that, when put together, would fit perfectly. If each is on a silver chain and all three of us have one, we will always be connected as friends! Hehe, I like this idea. I will talk to Thurul tomorrow.

"Thanks, Adel," I whispered back, giving her a bright smile. I could feel my actions had caused even more ire from the group of girls. Which caused my brow to wrinkle slightly.

It was not until we got to the pavilion that someone finally spoke up from the other group of girls. "Your Highness. I did not know you treated your maids so well. Even letting them dress up so beautifully."

Ah yes… My brow was twitching for a good reason. It was because I was supposed to punch this stupid girl in the face. I see, I see… since that is the case, I should do just that. I smiled brightly, but I knew it did not reach my eyes as I stretched my right arm and rotated my shoulder a few times before drawing my fist back and saying: "Nice to meet ya, the names Faith Cyrilia, it's been a pleasure, good night!"

The girl who had called me a maid, face instantly turned to one of confusion as my cute little white fist sailed through the air.

Chapter28 The Tea Party Part 3

"Ahh!" Yep, I drilled her right in the face. Her nose ended up busted and swelled up instantly as blood sprayed all over. I held my strength back just enough to not make her head explode, but I guess it was not enough because she hit the ground pretty hard.

While the other girls screamed out in fright. Surprisingly besides the always composed Adel, Miss Dollen looked at the situation with indifference. She clapped her hands and yelled out: "Someone come take this idiot and toss her back into her family's carriage and send her back."

After which, she turned to me and bowed her head. "Miss Cyrilia, Miss Sophie, I deeply apologize for what has happened here."

I was kind of stunned by the sincere apology from Miss Dollen. "No worries. I should be apologizing for being rash in my actions. Her words just now may have sounded nice, but there were full of malicious intent towards Adel. As such, I reacted on instinct."

"Loyalty to the crown proves how much you care about this kingdom. What is more, is that you are indeed Her Highness's best friend, so I can see why you would be angry. Please sit. I am sure no one else will be stupid enough to say anything they should not, am I right, ladies?" Miss Dollen turned and, just like my smile before, smiled at them, but her eyes were not smiling at all.

Adel sat down while I sat to her right and Sophie to her left. Next to me was Miss Dollen. I think she sat next to me because she now knew Sophie was not good with new people. All the other noble ladies had their heads lowered further than Sophie's. It seemed they were afraid to even look in my direction. And with me sitting between the host and the princess this means they could not even look at them. But as I was lost in thought, I realized something. "Ah… What was that girl just now's name?"

"No need to worry about some background character, Miss Cyrilia. Please have some tea and try the snacks. Miss Sophie as well…" Ummm… Miss Dollen, please remember that there is also the Princess here. She is staring daggers at you, you know!

"Oh, you are not going to offer me some tea as well, Mrs. Dollen?" Adel asked, her expression was no longer even trying to fake a smile but one of pure anger.

"Oh my! Look at me. How could I forget about you, Your Highness…. Hoho!" Miss Dollen replied while covering her mouth and laughing. It did not take an idiot to realize that Miss Dollen was doing this on purpose to rile up Adel.

I was about to say something because, in a way, I did not like how Adel was being ignored, but Adel pinched my thigh, stopping me. I guess she knew I was about to say something. I could only sigh inwardly as I watched the two dueling it out. I looked over at the other girls, who seemed to not even dare to sip their tea while Sophie was like a hamster munching on the pastry she was just given. Seeing Sophie more relaxed than the other girls made me chuckle. I guess she had a weak spot for sweets. This reminded me of the warning my mother gave me about following strangers with candy and made me feel I should remind Sophie of the same thing.

Next thing I know, a pastry was floating in front of my face. "Faith here, try this, say Ah~."

I couldn't help but give a wry smile towards Adel's strange actions as I opened my mouth and took a bite of the pastry. And well it was very tasty. Nobles really know how to make good food. It tasted similar to chocolate but had a different hint of flavor to it that I could not match with Earth's food standards.

"Miss Cyrilia, here try this." Another pastry began floating in front of my face, this time from Miss Dollen. I instinctively opened my mouth and took a bite. This one had a refreshing lemony taste to it. But if I knew this was going to be some kind of competition between the princess and the daughter of the marquess, I would not have opened my mouth because after that, I had different kinds of pastries stuffed into my mouth one after the other to the point that my cheeks were about to bulge out.

"Gwirls!" I cried out. I just wanted to be left out of your little quarrel! If I eat any more pastries, I will never be able to eat pastries again!

"Ah! Faith, I'm sorry!" Adel quickly wiped my lips with a napkin with an apologetic look while Miss Dollen handed me a fresh cup of tea. "Yes, sorry, Miss Cyrilia."

"I can breathe!" I let out a long sigh after I took a sip of tea. "It's fine. But if you two are going to fight about whatever, please do not involve me."

I looked at the two, who both lowered their heads with rosy cheeks, And nodded my head. Good, now I will not be used as a means to fight some strange feud. But for some reason, when I looked up at the other girls, they all looked at me with stars in their eyes? I wonder what made them change their attitude with me?

"Faith, this pastry is really good, try it." Sophie leaned over the table and placed a pastry in front of me. I did not know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed Sophie just missed the whole show because she was busy eating pastry after pastry. But seeing her dark expectant eyes looking at me, I could only sigh and resign to my fate as I picked it up and ate it, only to hear a yell coming from both sides of me.

""No Fair!""

"To think the true enemy was the silent one…." I heard Adel say in a low voice, and not even a second later, I heard Miss Dollen say: "Yes, I do believe you are right…." Why do I feel like these two are about to unite to fight a common enemy!?

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Reborn: I’m a Dragon Girl With An OP System Book 2

Table of Contents

Chapter1 Arriving At The Capital

Chapter2 Stupid Prince

Chapter3 Annoying Prince

Chapter4 The Hayeward Inn

Chapter5 Maids!

Chapter6 The Kidnapping?

Chapter7 I’m Playing The Demon Queen!?

Chapter8 The Play: The One Who Got Away Part 1

Chapter9 The Play: The One Who Got Away Part 2

Chapter10 Sophie

Chapter11 Second Friend

Chapter12 Fortune Telling

Chapter13 The Foster Gang

Chapter14 Me VS. Count Freedman Part 1

Chapter15 Me VS. Count Freedman Part 2

Chapter16 Relaxing At The Inn

Chapter17 Sophie’s Past

Chapter18 Starting A Business Part 1

Chapter19 Starting A Business Part 2

Chapter20 It’s The Prince Again…

Chapter21 Explaining It Clearly

Chapter22 Sealing The Deal

Chapter23 Buying A Dress

Chapter24 Airship Dock

Chapter25 The Airship

Chapter26 The Tea Party Part 1

Chapter27 The Tea Party Part 2

Chapter28 The Tea Party Part 3