She wondered... If she hadn’t been born into the royal family, if she hadn’t been a goddess’s priestess, if she’d been an ordinary girl in a town somewhere, would she have taken up adventuring too? Would there be tales told about her, like those the royal guard’s soldiers had whispered when the accomplished adventurer entered? Would she be overcome with nerves in the presence of a king, just like the newbie? Imagining these things made her smile.
“Fire-breathing dragons big as mountains... A hundred ogres...” The things she’d heard that day inspired new fantasies.
She decided she’d probably use a one-handed weapon. She wouldn’t want to carry heavy equipment. She’d wear enchanted items infused with mana, and take on powerful enemies using a holy sword or magic blade that she carried at her waist.
Naturally, she’d be a frontline swordsman or spellsword. She’d have girls with her serving as mages, maybe another swordsman to join her at the front, and perhaps someone from another race such as an elf or beastkin. Then they’d all take on massive foes as a team.
When the battle was over, she’d speak her name. The townspeople would thank her and build a statue in her honor.
“Heh heh, eh heh heh.”
Her fantasy was getting out of hand.
She always looked up at the sky like this at night. Then, based on everything adventurers had told her that day, she’d imagine what her own adventures would be like. She considered what she’d do when faced with a giant creature, or how she’d dive into a den full of monsters. It was the most fun part of her day.
After indulging in these thoughts for a while, Mil said to herself, “I should write them down again.”
She took a notebook out of her desk and carried it to the window. It was already full of fantasies based on what she’d heard from on previous days, and now she had new ideas to add to the collection while they were fresh in her mind. She was on to her third notebook.
Once she was done, she closed the book with a thump. “Haah...”
She was only allowed to enjoy adventures in her head, and to gaze down from her window at the sprawling streets below.
What are my stats right now...? She slowly lifted her hand to her chest.
Name: Mil / Level: 2
HP: 48
MP: 21
STR: 19
DEF: 15
INT: 25
DEX: 16
SPD: 13
LUK: 7
Passive Skills: fast learner
Active Skills: fire magic, ice magic, lightning magic, healing magic
She’d fall to a monster in no time if she left the castle with stats like these.
Since she could see her own stats, she’d tried various things to increase them. For example, she figured strength was related to her muscles, so she’d tried working out each day before bed. Unfortunately, it had only raised her strength by 2 after half a year of training.
She’d also reached level 2 after training with the castle’s soldiers in the training hall. Once again, she had to train for over half a year, for several hours each day, to gain just a single level. Given that adventurers often reached level 2 right after they started adventuring, fighting monsters had to be a much quicker way to level up.
As for her skills, she learned to do household chores, and studied languages and history, but none of that ever appeared in the list. Apparently, Goddess Eye only revealed the powers that the goddess Arphil gave people for the sake of adventuring. Anything unrelated to combat didn’t show up.
It seemed the only way to increase her stats was to fight an actual monster. After trying what she could, Mil’s main conclusion was that she couldn’t accomplish much without leaving the castle.
Her fast learner skill was something she was born with, and its description said “Allows various skills to be learned more quickly than normal.” She’d found this power helped her learn the fundamentals of each form of elemental magic while secretly reading spell books in the castle’s library, but actually casting the spells had proven impossible. Someone at her low level could memorize them, but lacked the stats to actually use them. After using Goddess Eye to determine what requirements she lacked, she found she’d need higher intelligence for casting.
All this would quickly change if she went adventuring and defeated a few monsters, but alas.
“Even if I was at a higher level...” Mil sighed to herself once more.
It wouldn’t matter in the end. Even if she was strong enough to leap from the window and go off adventuring at that moment...
“If father found out, he’d probably faint,” she concluded.
She could just imagine him passing out on the spot and then needing at least a week to recover before he could get out of bed again. He did what he could to give Mil freedom, but not if it meant exposing her to the slightest amount of danger.
She was glad that her father cherished her, but she wished he didn’t treat her like she’d die if she so much as broke a nail. He made it a huge deal every time she simply stepped outside.
Adventuring would be... No, I shouldn’t ask for so much.
Mil knew she was blessed with the life she already had. She had far more freedom than those walking the streets below, who wondered whether they’d have anything to eat the next day.
She shook her head. “O, Goddess Arphil. I apologize. I wish for too many things.”
Her father was constantly telling her that a princess had to set an example for others and show great restraint.
Mil turned her gaze back to the night sky, clasped her hands together, and offered a prayer to the goddess Arphil. I’m happy to be where I am. And so I should be.
“Are you the holy princess, Mil Arphilia?” said a low-pitched voice from somewhere above.
Mil opened her eyes wide with surprise and looked outside.
There was a person floating in the air right in front of her. Though not the sort of “person” who typically lived in the Holy Arphil Kingdom. He was a man of medium stature and build, wearing ceremonial robes that blended in with the darkness outside. If there was nothing else unusual about him, Mil would have assumed he was a noble, but he clearly wasn’t human. Two black wings, like those of a bat, protruded from his back, each wider than a human arm span. From his head extended a pair of horns that curved backward over his hair.
He was a demonkin. She’d read about them in tales of heroes. They were humanoid creatures with wings and horns, and some, referred to as higher demonkin, could even speak human languages.
“Who are you...? How do you know me?” Mil slowly backed away as the man folded his wings in and entered her room.
“Well... I didn’t expect you’d be so calm. I thought you’d scream at the mere sight of a demonkin.”
“So you are a demonkin.” Mil grew even more wary.