Mil’s gaze made Yulia grow wary. “Wh-What is it?”
“Oh, sorry. Do you like magic, Yulia?”
“Yes. I always enjoy learning things that I didn’t know. I tend to forget the time while reading spell books.”
Mil was a little surprised to hear Yulia suddenly expressing herself clearly. It seemed she was the type who opens up when it’s about their favorite topics.
“Wh-Why did you come to our village, Mil? You don’t look like a merchant.”
“Me? I’ve just started adventuring. A merchant I met on the road told me about this village.”
“That’s what I thought. I’ve never met an adventurer. Where are you from? If you just started, you must be from a nearby town.”
Mil wasn’t sure how to answer Yulia’s questions, but she certainly didn’t want to lie to her. More times than she could count, her father had told her that a princess should always be honest. Since she had nothing to hide, she answered truthfully.
“Actually, I’m not from around here at all. I escaped from the Demon King’s Castle.”
Yulia’s eyes went wide with surprise. “What? Does that mean you’re a...demonkin?”
The village elder froze just as he was about to put his spoon in his mouth.
“No, no. I’m a human the Demon King abducted. I decided to sneak out and go adventuring after being kept in his castle for a month.”
“He abducted you...? I had no idea the Demon King abducted people.”
“It was because I’m a princess of the Holy Arphil Kingdom. He wanted to use my power as a goddess’s priestess.”
“W-Wait... P-Princess? You’re a princess?” Yulia’s jaw dropped and her eyes blinked in confusion.
The spoon in the village elder’s hand had begun to tremble.
“Uh... Yeah. That about sums it up. Oh, but don’t treat me special just because I’m a royalty. Right now, I’m just an adventurer.”
Yulia collected herself and asked, “So... What’s a goddess’s priestess?”
“It means I can see an adventurer’s stats and help them awaken new skills. Most goddess’s priests and priestesses can only see stats up to a certain level, but I’ve got no such limits. That’s why the Demon King wanted me. I could take a look at your stats right now, Yulia.”
“I-Is it really that easy?”
“Sure is. Just keep still.”
Yulia recoiled slightly as Mil held out her hand.
Name: Yulia / Level: 105
HP: 870
MP: 1550
STR: 453
DEF: 455
INT: 2040
DEX: 433
SPD: 650
LUK: 459
Passive Skills: sage, magic talent, elemental master
Active Skills: ultimate fire elemental magic, ultimate ice elemental magic, ultimate lightning elemental magic, ultimate earth elemental magic, composite magic, advanced light magic, imbue advanced elemental magic, etc...
Mil tapped sage, magic talent, and elemental master in the passive skills list.
Sage: A rare ability among mages. Allows fine-tuning of all kinds of elemental magic and the simultaneous use of two types of magic.
Magic Talent: Intelligence requirements are reduced by 500 when learning new spells.
Elemental Master: Grants a large boost in power and a reduction in MP cost when using elemental magic.
All three were powerful skills. Her high level was the result of the experience she gained whenever someone used her enchanted weapons.
Magic talent was the crowning jewel of her skills. Most of her stats were a little low compared to Mil’s considering how close their levels were. But Yulia’s intelligence stat blew hers out of the water, even after all her training trying to improve that stat in the Demon King’s Castle. It was further confirmation that stats developed differently for different people.
“Ooh! You’re really strong, Yulia!”
Yulia jumped with fright at Mil’s sudden loudness. “Uhh... Th-Thank you...”
“Oh, sorry. But you really are amazing. There aren’t many people this strong, even in the Demon King’s Castle.”
“Oh, um... Really...?” Yulia looked pleased. She muttered, “Then maybe I could...” before hesitating for a few moments. “Do you think I’ve got what it takes to be an...adventurer?” she asked, finally.
“I’ll bet you do! I’m sure of it!”
“Then maybe I...” For a moment Yulia’s eyes were full of hope. But then her confidence faltered and she lowered her head. “S-Sorry. N-No, I couldn’t...” She pulled her hood down to her eyes, stood up, then hurried away to her room.
“Did I say something wrong...?” If I said something to upset her, I’d better apologize.
“I’m sorry, Mil,” The village elder said. “That was rude of Yulia.”
“No, I don’t mind... Um... The stew’s really great.”
She would have liked to talk to Yulia some more. After so much time spent as a princess without a friend in the royal capital, she still hoped Yulia might be her first.
✧✧✧
“Ugh. I think I’ve overeaten.”
Mil regretted giving in to the village elder’s offer of two extra helpings of stew. But it was delicious, and the Goddess Arphil’s teachings said food shouldn’t be wasted.
The room that the village elder had given her was neat and tidy with not a speck of dust on the floor. It looked like it was cleaned daily, even when not in use.
Mil lay down on the bed and looked out the window as beams of moonlight shone in.
When she listened closely, she could hear all kinds of insect sounds that she’d never heard in the royal capital or the Demon King’s Castle. They felt even closer when she closed her eyes. She felt herself relax as if it were a lullaby she was hearing.
Just when she thought, I want to fall asleep just like this, she heard a knock at the door and quickly sat up.
“May I...come in?” The voice outside belonged to Yulia.
“Of course!” Mil replied.
The door opened with a creak, then Yulia, nervous and trembling, slowly entered.
Before Yulia could pull out the chair from the desk, Mil patted the bed beside her. “Come sit here,” she urged.
“If you d-don’t mind.” Yulia was still stiff as she sat down next to Mil.
For Mil, it was starting to feel like a sleepover. The thought made her happy. She’d never gotten to do anything like that in the royal capital.
“So... What is it, Yulia?”
Yulia took a breath. “Well, I’m...curious about the royal capital.”
“You are?”
“I’m sorry for running away earlier. It was hard to talk about it in front of dad...”
Huh? Mil felt confused. What was so hard to talk about?
“I...often buy spell books from merchants. I sell them after reading so that it doesn’t get too expensive. Though I always buy new ones as soon as I can...”
Mil had been hoping to read some of Yulia’s old books, but it sounded like she wouldn’t get the chance.
“And, well, I heard that the royal capital’s library is full of amazing books...”
It was true that the royal capital’s library was full of spell books. Mil’s level had been too low for her to fully appreciate them, but they were probably far better than the books that merchants brought to the village.
“Is there something you especially want to read?”
Yulia nodded. “A series called the Seraph Scripture.”
“Oh, we’ve got those back home!”
The Seraph Scripture was a series of sixteen spell books that embodied the Goddess Arphil’s power. It was said to have been written by the first goddess’s priestess in history a thousand years earlier. Although the royal capital’s magic research department could decode the Seraph Scripture’s text, even the palace sorcerers couldn’t use the magic it described.
But if other mages were only failing due to their lack of necessary stats, there was a chance Yulia might have more success.
“Wow! So it’s true?!” Yulia lurched closer as her excitement grew. She really wanted to read that book.
“Yeah, I remember the palace sorcerers talking about it. We’ve also got the Six Chime Scripture, and other books about the goddess that—”
“The Six Chime Scripture?! The one about the holy bell?! The ultimate enchanted item that gave rise to the Goddess Arphil herself?!” Yulia shuffled even closer and unconsciously took hold of Mil’s hands in her own—Yulia’s were warm.