“I’m impressed. That is correct,” she said, eyebrows raised.
I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I cheated a little. I only knew that because the prince participated in taking down the Demon Lord in the game.
“Being the descendant of the hero is merely the official reason, but having a justification itself is important to a king,” the queen continued. “We plan to send Edwin to defeat the Demon Lord. It would be wonderful if you could join the battle as a saintess.”
If I were to be worshiped as a saintess who helped defeat the Demon Lord, I would have to marry Prince Edwin.
No, thank you. Marrying into the royal family sounds exhausting.
“There is a new student in my same incoming class who uses light magic. I believe she is much more suited to be the saintess, rather than a dark magic user like myself. She already seems to be getting along with Prince Edwin at the Academy.”
Miss Heroine, I sacrifice thee.
“How unfortunate. Though, I did expect you to turn me down. It’s all right that you don’t want to. You can be honest with me. Oh, and if you don’t like Edwin, would you consider marrying Maurice?” the queen asked, referring to the first prince.
“No,” I declined without hesitation.
I mean, she was the one who said to be honest.
“Ha ha ha! There’s no need to be so opposed; I won’t force you. The last thing we want is to drive you out of the kingdom. However, I do wonder how my sons would react to hearing how clearly opposed you were to the idea of marrying them,” the queen laughed. The fact that I so flatly rejected the princes must have amused her.
Once her laughter had calmed down, Her Majesty regained her composure and began to speak on a new topic.
“We can discuss the Demon King in more detail at a later date. The more immediate problem you will face will be the aristocrats trying to persuade you to join their political factions. Unfortunately, the news about you being level 99 has already spread. I believe their maneuvers to draw you in will begin tomorrow.”
“Wouldn’t joining Your Majesty’s faction solve the problem?”
“The king and I are members of the dominant faction, who are also known as moderates or royalists. The problem is that the faction isn’t a monolith, so members of the dominant faction would fight over you. Though, we aren’t also known as moderates for nothing. There wouldn’t be as many issues, and you would probably be able to handle it yourself.”
The queen’s lecture on the political factions of aristocrats, a topic I lacked knowledge about, continued. “You must look out for the radicals led by the Duke of Hillrose. They have proposed wars of aggression on other kingdoms—try to keep your distance from them. You should also be wary of being contacted by agents from other countries. If you are ever given an enticing offer, let me or the king know. I promise you we will arrange something beyond their offers.”
The thorough and complete support from this kingdom made me fully aware of how I had become a living strategic weapon. I then realized that I had no idea what faction the Dolkness family was a part of, so I decided to ask the queen.
Her Majesty looked hesitant but answered, “The Dolkness family, or should I say, aristocrats that are called pseudo-centralists, are radicals. The duke wishes to grow the radical faction as much as he can, and they want to be a part of the centralists’ factions. It is a result of their agendas aligning.”
To think that we were radicals... My family is probably wrapped around the Duke of Hillrose’s thumb.
“What should I do if my family were to demand I be adopted by or marry into the Hillrose family?”
“I will issue a royal decree prohibiting you from being transferred from your family registry. Without the ability to be added to another family’s registry, it will be impossible for you to be adopted or married against your will. However, there will be people who oppose this, so I’m afraid I can only keep the decree active until you graduate.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, that is plenty sufficient.”
I’ll have to do something about my relationship with my family before I graduate.
“Yumiella... I was wondering, what do you think of your parents?” the queen asked as if reading my thoughts.
“I have never met them, so I couldn’t say. It seems that they aren’t very good people, so if possible, I would like to cut ties with them.”
The queen must not have expected me to say I’d never met my parents—she gasped, her face now filled with sadness.
“I see... If you would like, you could become my—” She cut herself off. “No, you would probably refuse. In any case, you can think of me as your own mother. If you are ever in need of some attention, please feel free to stop by.” The offer was sweet, but as someone whose mental age was over thirty, it was a bit of an awkward situation to be in.
“Thank you. I appreciate the offer, but your kind words are more than enough.”
Afterward, we discussed my life in Dolkness County. As the story of my life progressed, the queen’s expression became increasingly sorrowful. By the time we reached the dungeon arc of my fun level-grinding times, tears were streaming down her face.
“We will be sending one of the king’s men to the Academy. If you are ever in trouble, please let him know.”
For some reason, the queen seemed to feel the need to protect me. As mothers often did for their visiting children, I was sent home with an abundance of treats.