34 Attraction

It took a while, but eventually I found myself seated in front of a buffet table with the five people I had seen standing on the stage earlier today. Sandy was currently curled up like the adorable elephant-sized dog she was in the corner of the room, taking a nap.

The food itself smelled amazing. It felt like a Thanksgiving feast from my old world. Vegetable dishes, mashed potatoes, and magical beast meats were lined up like trophies in front of my eyes. The prince had complied with my demand from earlier in kind. I was rather overjoyed with the state of affairs.

Of the five people in the room, two were the Bumblefuck Brothers, one was a bald-headed general named Eemus, one was a short-haired woman with a scarred upper lip that showed her right canine tooth named Lana Coralrider, and the last was a brawny elf woman named Olga with muscles almost as big as Gertrude's. She resembled Gertrude a fair bit as well. They were probably related… Or maybe I was unconsciously racist against elves by thinking they all looked alike. Either way, it didn't really matter much.

"Calliope, I know you've heard it already, but thank you. If you hadn't been here, Fort Clyfton… No, all of Gransus would have fallen," Said fan-mustached Alec, the first prince and bumblefuck number one as I called him in my head.

"Enough of the thanks. Instead, I want to know if you and your brother have read that letter I brought, yet," I replied, as I began piling food on my plate. I noticed the elf woman was doing the same, but no one else was touching the food. They wouldn't have poisoned it or something, would they?

[Solution: There is no one in the Gransus Kingdom capable of creating or acquiring a poison strong enough to harm even remotely harm the user. This guide has also analyzed the food stuffs here and has confirmed there to be no dangerous substances.]

Oh, I didn't know you could do that, RED. That's kind of cool, actually. Can you analyze magic tools as well?

[Solution: Yes.]

Could you possibly teach me how to make magic tools, then?

[Solution: It will take some time for the user to master it, but it is possible.]

Neat!

"Yes, we've read the letter. While both of us are a little surprised Tommy went through with such a thing, we can't help but feel a bit proud of him for enacting on his desires like that," said Gin with a smile.

"I don't really care if you're proud of your psychopathic brother, I just want to know which one of you I need to drag back to the Capital with me to be crowned King," I retorted.

Both Alec and Gin's expressions grew haggard. I could see it in their eyes that they didn't want anything to do with the crown.

"Let me reword that. You can either decide tonight, or I can drag you both back and we'll let Lily decide," I said after giving them a moment to think.

"Well," said Olga the elf, "I can only see one way for these two to make a decision. We have a tournament. Whoever places higher is clearly the greater warrior and deserves to stay at Fort Clyfton to hold the line."

"I like that idea," said General Eemus.

"That works," I replied, "But this tournament needs to be in the next few days here. I don't want to make Lily wait."

"We could let any soldier or adventurer join," Mused Lana, "and we could charge a small entry fee of say 5 Copper Chips to turn a profit from it."

"We could even use the magic core from the Rank 5 beast Calliope killed as the grand prize," said Gin, "If you wouldn't mind donating it for this, Calliope."

"I don't mind, since I have no use for it anyways. I can always go get more if I need them."

My words seemed to have curbed the table's excitement. Their expressions all grew a bit dull.

"Calliope, if you don't mind me asking, but just what level are you?" Asked Alec in a careful tone, "My sister said you cleared the entire Calico Dungeon alone in her letter… But even the Grand Founder of Gransus, a man reported to be level 600 in his prime, couldn't get past the 500th floor."

"Well, Lily and a few others already know so I guess it couldn't hurt to tell you… My level is 942. I am in possession of over 20 skills, as well," I said in a flippant tone as I started digging into the food. The flavor was simply outstanding. The meat was unlike anything I had ever tried before, but it was good. I didn't ask for it, but one of the servants came in and poured me a glass of wine. I wasn't sure if it would be harmful considering my body's age, so I decided I'd go light on the refreshments. I was so absorbed in the meal that I didn't even notice when General Eemus fainted.

It was decided that the tournament to celebrate the defeat of a Rank 5 beast, something almost unheard of outside legends, would take place in three days. Invitations were sent out via messenger birds. Since Fort Clyfton was said to house the strongest warriors in all of Gransus, time for other fighters to travel here wasn't allotted. Even if he managed to get hold of an invitation, James wouldn't be able to attend. It would take him a about a week to reach Calico City by horse. He'd probably lose in the first round anyways.

Alec and Gin gave me a short tour of the Fort after dinner. While we stood on the ramparts underneath the shining stars, I could make out the massive silhouette of the World Dragon's corpse in the distance. Scaffolding and other equipment had been set up along side the body in order to harvest its meat and parts. The princes offered me the profits from selling such a carcass, but I declined them. I wasn't in any need of money, and seeing as the World Dragon appearing was most likely my fault anyways, it was the least I could do. I did decide I would go down and learn how to properly dismantle a dragon corpse in the morning, though. I still had the body of the Elder Nature Dragon in my inventory, and I kind of wanted to start making use of it.

Then the princes did something I didn't expect.

"Calliope," said Alec, "My brother and I have been talking and we'd like to know if you fancy either of us. We are both soldiers, and to us strength is everything. You, who possesses an unmatched power, have become something of an obsession to us over these last few hours."

Both men bowed slightly under the starlight, and their mustaches glittered a bit in the dark. I wasn't interested in either one of them, and romance was the last thing on my mind since coming to this world. I had never even considered it, but did my preferences change with my body? In my past life I definitely liked women, but I certainly hadn't had any impulses of that nature since coming to this world…

Oh God! I suddenly came to the realization that I was now a preteen again and confused by my own sexuality! Why did these idiots have to bring up that subject!

[Solution: This guide recommends the user strongly decline the two Princes and then castrate them for their crimes.]

Crimes? Castrate? What? RED… RED, are you okay?

[Solution: This guide is in perfect working condition.]

What did you mean by 'their crimes'?

[Solution: … Data not found.]

Why did you pause before telling me 'data not found'?

[Solution: Data not found.]

… Okay, we're definitely going to have to talk about this sometime, RED. I agree that I should decline their advances too, but I think castrating them just might be going a bit too far...

"I apologize, but I do not find either of you attractive," I said after deciding on an appropriate way to let them down gently.

"That's… a real shame. Even if you're younger than us, you are quite beautiful. I'm certain once your fame spreads suitors from all over the world will start coming after you. Just remember, one of us will become the king of this country, and you could very well become a queen," said Gin with a wink.

I wasn't sure how I should have acted in this situation, but I did seriously consider the prince's words. I would probably have to start to thinking about my own preferences soon. I am in a woman's body now, but even so I don't know if my interests have changed or not. Though, to be fair, even if I did end up liking someone, I'd definitely have to level them up quite a bit before sleeping with them anyways. I don't think I could guarantee a low level person's safety around me in such… Situations.

"Please, can we pretend this conversation never happened, okay," I asked in a slightly strained tone.

"We really don't want to do that, Ms Calliope. We have both genuinely fallen for you, and we want you to know our feelings. Even if you don't reciprocate them, we believe in being honest with ourselves and others," Replied Alec.

"Listen, I am too young and I don't exactly know how I feel about this kind of thing. This makes me uncomfortable," I said.

"Ah, that's fine. We will both wait for you. One day, when you're ready, we can talk again," said Alec. I was a bit impressed by how courteous the two brothers were, even if I didn't feel any kind of attraction to them whatsoever. Their honest confession, though, did make me feel a bit happy. It was sweet. In my last life I never had anyone confess to me like that. It kind of felt nice.

One thing I did note, though, was how strange RED was acting. I needed to find a way to ask him about that later.

Our tour of the Fort finished and I was lead to a grand bedroom designed for important guests or dignitaries. It was lavish and surreal. It even had a large bath with a magic item tap and drain.

I washed myself from today's grime. I didn't even need to heat the water myself. It was true luxury. I had the Garb take on the form of a soft nightgown and I crawled into the massive bed. I felt a little regretful that even as large as the bed was there wasn't enough room for Sandy to join me. I would have loved to cuddle up with a big fluffball like her, tonight.

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but my mind continued to wander. I worried about how Lily was doing back in the Capital, I worried about how James was feeling knowing I essentially ditched him, and I wondered about myself and just who I was now. I had been living in this world for a long time but I had never asked myself any hard questions. I had never reasonably considered just who I am or what I wanted to do. I wanted to help the Gransus Kingdom because my friend was a princess of it, but that's something for her; not something for me.

I really wanted to feel that daily grind of leveling, again. I missed it. I missed it so very much from my days on SHO. There was something satisfying about it.

With that thought rattling in my mind, the darkness of sleep finally found me.