9 Coming to Terms

It took me a few minutes to calm myself down. I needed a clear mind to start thinking about my situation. The fourth princess had surely seen my strength by now. I never intended to hide it, but having a member of the royalty fear my power could be a good thing. Overall, this situation was downright awful, but I needed to force myself to look on the bright side. Yes. I could get through this.

With my determination renewed, I managed to climb to my feet. The princess, thankfully, was far enough back that she didn't get sprayed with blood. It looked like I was the only one in desperate need of a bath.

[Solution: There is a stream to the north with pools deep enough for the user to wash.]

Ah, that was perfect. The first thing I needed to do was clean myself off. I could think about the repercussions of my actions later. For now I just wanted to take a bath.

"I'm going to wash off in the river. I'll be back shortly," I said, breaking the silence. The princess looked at me oddly, but I still didn't see any fear in her eyes. Was she trained to keep her emotions hidden?

[Solution: Yes.]

I figured as much. The princess was about to say something but I didn't give her the chance. I quickly took off running towards the forest on the side of the road. They had no chance to stop me. My movement speed was incredible. Speed was this body's highest stat, after all.

I quickly found the river RED pointed out. The water was only a few feet deep in most places, but there were occasional pools scattered about. I located one and had the Heaven's Demon Garb transform into a towel.

The water of the stream was amazingly clear. It was also terribly cold, but I didn't have a way to heat it up.

[Solution: The user possesses the skill -Fire Blade-]

Oh. That's right. I had forgotten.

Using -Fire Blade- on my arm, I quickly heated up the water in the small pool. I think I poured a bit too much mana into the skill, though. I was pretty sure a body of water the size of a small swimming pool shouldn't start boiling.

[-New Skill Acquired-

Expert Class Skill: Incineration Blade]

I did use too much mana. Still, was it really that easy to upgrade weaker skills? It all depended on the amount of mana you put into them?

[Solution: Yes.]

This was good to know. Still, it looked like I'd have to find a new pool of water. I didn't think sitting in a boiling bath would help me right now.

[Solution: The user's constitution is high enough that boiling water won't bring harm, let alone cause pain.]

Oh. That's right. I was a monster, now. Simple things like boiling water couldn't hurt me anymore.

I decided to hop into the pool despite the steam and bubbles drifting up from it. It was actually rather comfortable. Most of the blood and grime washed off me rather easily. It wasn't dried on yet, thankfully. I didn't have anything to scrub it away with though… Or did I?

On a whim I decided to try transforming the Heaven's Demon Garb into a washcloth. It worked. This item really was too convenient. I was also surprised how easy it got the blood off, too.

After scrubbing my body for a bit, I eased down into the water. The sky was cloudy, but sparse rays of sunlight were filtering through. It was a beautiful day, but all I wanted to do was cry again.

I've never hurt anyone or anything before today, but that wasn't the biggest issue. Perhaps I was most disturbed by the fact that I didn't feel anything while it was happening. It was the first moment I truly came to understand that I wasn't human anymore.

In my past life I never had this kind of problem. I never questioned what I was, then. Had my soul truly acclimated to this body if I needed to ask these questions?

[Solution: Data not found.]

Heh. Perhaps this turmoil in my heart was proof that—somewhere deep inside—at least my soul was still human.

I stood up and walked to the edge of the water. I stopped at the side of the pool and saw my own reflection. Aside from the tail, this body really was beautiful. It was obvious that my body would be overly attractive, though, because it wasn't something natural. This body was created to be an avatar in an online game. The creator had intended for her beauty to be top class. Perhaps the real Calliope17 wished to live vicariously through her character.

For the first time in the last hour I managed a smile. I guess I stole Calliope17's dream, but it wasn't like it was by my own choice. The only thing I could do was to keep on moving forward. Saga Heroes Online was, essentially, my life. The fact that I got to live in its world was amazing enough. Asking for anything more than the hand I was dealt felt greedy.

I dried off using the Heaven's Demon Garb in towel form. Surprisingly, it felt dry to the touch even after soaking in a huge amount of water. This item really was too good. Well, with my strength and abilities known I guess there was no harm in having the Garb take on a nicer form than Millie's old dress.

I had the Garb take on the form it had been designed for by the original creator. It became a midnight-black silken dress with long sleeves that ended in puffed out cufflinks. The top half was fairly low cut, but I didn't have much cleavage to show off so it wasn't particularly indecent. The hem of the dress fell down to my ankles and the Garb even took the place of my shoes. Unfortunately I'd never walked in heels before so I opted to manually change that part into simple flats. I'd probably have to learn to walk in heels sometime if I wanted to attend formal events while in the Capital. I didn't have a strong desire for anything troublesome, but it felt oddly right to dress the part of a demon princess for the first time.

I guess I came to terms a bit with who I was.

I decided to walk back to the carriage and meet with the others. I needed to have a long talk with this princess. While I didn't mind if rumors of my strength got around, I also didn't particularly enjoy being ostracized by my peers. I possessed incredible powers already, but I thought the Academy could still do me some good. The thing I lacked right now was control, and I would be indebted to the school if they could help me gain it.

When I arrived at the scene, I was surprised to find the road entirely clean of corpses. All of the Devil Hound bodies had been moved, as if by magic. The princess caught sight of me and, as if she read my mind, started explaining.

"The highway here is comprised of magic brick. If a mana user pours mana into it they can make the highway itself clear obstacles and the like. I may not look it but I'm a skill holder myself. Controlling my mana is a piece of cake," said the princess without a single stutter. It seemed she recovered a bit from the shock I put her in, earlier. Though it was a bit obvious she was trying to toot her own horn a bit, I didn't mind the bragging. If anything, I thought it was sort of cute.

I was more glad she didn't remark on my change of clothes. I'd rather avoid explaining just how powerful I was completely. It was fine if the country thought I was overpowered. It'd be terrible if they learned the extent to which I really was, though. I didn't mind being treated like a powerful foe, but I really didn't think I could handle being labeled a monster.

James seemed to be awake, but his face was ghastly pale. He was clearly suffering from the broken ribs. A massive bruise was on his forehead from where I hit him. When I met his eyes, there was only anger in them. He wasn't afraid of me. He was pissed off at me.

"You! You hit me and went on to fight the Devil Hounds alone!" Cried James as he started moving towards me.

"Why do you sound angrier that I fought them alone than the fact that I knocked you out?"

"Because what would I do if you got hurt?!" He yelled in response. His face blushed a bit after he said it, though. "I need you to teach me your skill so I can become one of the strongest knights, like my father."

I should have tried to heal him.