SS 1: Noble Beginnings

A classroom full of students and the start of a new year at our school, the atmosphere loud and buzzing, with greetings flying around sporadically. Even with the slight chaos that came with it, I felt at ease surrounded by many of my friends like this.

The bell rang, and our hungover teacher walked, or more so stumbled, to the podium at the front of the class, all of us watching her with a feeling of concern and exasperation since this was a common occurrence.

Yet as soon as the class started, my eyes closed instantly. 

I wasn't tired at all, but I quite plainly saw a flash of green and then continued darkness. I felt an enormous amount of pain, that vanished extremely fast, then it was almost like I couldn't sense a single thing, like I was floating in a void.

I couldn't see anything.

I couldn't hear a sound.

I couldn't smell even the smell the tang of the orange perfume I started using recently.

I couldn't taste anything, the pineapple bun flavor I had in my mouth was gone.

And strangely enough, I couldn't feel anything.

Not the breeze that came through the open window.

Not the seat of my chair I was just on.

Not even the clothes I wore or even my skin.

Despite what seemed to be an eternity, the second I experienced my senses disappearing was the second I felt as if I gained them back.

While it was still dark, it brightened more than the pitch-black void I was in.

A smell of iron from a fresh paper cut.

A smell of fish was it?

...

A smell of... pee?

A warm, secure feeling enveloped me, like being soaked in a soothing bath.

I felt a short pushing feeling as if I was being pulled out of the bath and the person criticizing me for staying in for too long. Ahhhh, my mother used to do that... 

I was uneasy after losing the warmth but after going out, I can feel a sense of liberation, able to move my body again.

The voice of a young woman reached my ears as my eyes flicked open, the brightness of everything causing me to close them again. Opening my eyes in a squint this time, not looking to go blind, I was met with a strange sight that left me dumbfounded.

At least my brain is alright. Or is it showing me strange stuff and I'm in a dream right now?

There was a lady wearing a maid costume, and behind her was a glossy white scenery, covered in heavy snow. Though she spoke, what did she say?

The maid lifts me, almost as if preparing to bring me somewhere. It wasn't adding up, how would anyone be able to pick a full-grown girl like me up, like a stray cat?

She didn't look nearly that strong yet she did it effortlessly, holding me with her arms outstretched before drawing me closer to her body.

Maybe that's what it was, I felt small and she was a giant.

The maid held me in a princess carry, surprising me more than I always thought it would. While it feels comforting, my head meets her right breast and my legs meet her other.

And has mine flattened...?

Shouldn't it be farther out...?

WAIT A MINUTE!

Why am I naked?!

"Abuah~," I tried to make out but much to my shock, I was ignored.

I look so pudgy too, was I always so... chubby?!

The woman who I still have yet to see properly blabbered something, and the maid carried me away until a little while after I saw a big bed.

On that bed was a large but still young baby, looking at the sky aimlessly, tears rolling down its face without it making a sound.

I was gently laid down next to the disturbing baby wondering what was wrong with it.

Laid down...?

I finally realized what happened.

The baby was the size of me and we were currently in a bed with walls.

In other words, a crib.

And cribs are made for babies.

I'm a baby now?!

That makes sense why I didn't see my previous brea- no, that's not important!

How did this happen?

The last I remember, Chie-sensei just walked into class and started giving a lesson with a hangover.

I previously thought this was a dream due to the uncommon maid but is it actually a real maid?

That creepy baby is not going to turn its head and start turning rabid right...?

Is this one of those book or movie plots that ruins everything by jinxing it?

No...

No way this is a dream, it feels too real.

Darkness, an abyss then a pained woman's voice and a maid putting me in a crib.

Before I had time to think, I became a baby.

Is this the so-called reincarnation Shibata and Watanabe mentioned?

A dead person being reborn as a different person...?

That means that I must've died in my previous life.

I can't think of anything being the cause though...

Wait, If I really was a baby, what gender was I?

I tried rolling over but was unable, my body sluggish and weak.

Well, hopefully, I'm female.

I don't know how I would feel if I grew a... yeah that thing.

Somehow though, I was reborn with the memories of my previous life.

Maybe all babies are this way but we forget it when we grow up.

Looking over to my side at the baby that looked traumatized, crying silently as if it was broken, I quickly erased that thought.

That would be extremely messed up.

Either way, I'm happy I didn't forget my past life but it saddens me as well.

I had many regrets, to say the least. If anyone met a death at the young age of their teenage years, I'm sure they would have many aspirations to wish for or family they loved.

I left my little sister and mother behind before ever fixing our relationship fully after what I did.

I went to ANHS to better myself and become someone my mother and sister could respect as well as look up to and yet... I feel depressed now when I have to think about my previous family.

In addition, I wanted to play more with my friends. I left everyone in ANHS behind as I died.

Remembering that, I grew worried about the state of my school after I died.

The only way I could've died that fast and that instant pain in my whole body is a bomb, right?

If I am correct, some terrorist exploded a bomb, and that's how I died.

Mako-chan, Yume-chan, Kanzaki-kun, and Shibata-kun who sat next to me, and everyone else... did everyone die together with me?

What about the other classes?

Was Ayanokoji-kun also gone...?

I froze, petrified by the thought.

I might never see any of them ever again, and to add on to that, they won't recognize me if they lived and I won't recognize them if they died.

If all babies truly had their memories, I cried just like the one by my side with one difference...

I wasn't silent at all.

...

After being reincarnated, around half a decade or so has passed already. I continued to fight against the uneasiness crushing me all this while, yet of course, with time, everything changed.

While my worries about my previous life dissipated slightly, more were added on in this life.

For starters, I was a Princess.

There Were also monsters.

Along with super strong Demon Kings that the humans have been fighting for millennia upon millennia.

Oh, there are also elves, the maid that nursed my siblings and me when we were younger was called Anna, and she was a half-elf, half-human.

Amongst this all though, what surprised me most was the magic.

Yes.

Magic.

The type you see in Harry Potter except more element-oriented with more power.

Light Magic, Dark Magic, Heretic Magic, along with most other simple ones you usually think of. Poison Magic also existed and so did... Spatial Magic. I've seen something in the point store called Abyss Magic... it costs 75,000 points til this day, something I'm not eager to spend that much on, mainly due to the ominous name too. 

Now that I think about it, I haven't heard of a Time Magic, but I suppose that would be a little too strong. 

If it does exist, it probably speeds up the user's lifespan like those dark rituals...

Anyway, that wasn't too important for now.

The first time I saw magic was when a priest of a church gave me something called a blessing. Sparkling light surrounded me and I could feel that my body was full of power I'd never sensed before.

It was neither my imagination nor a gimmick.

"『Magic Perception LV1』 was acquired"

The voice of the world was another strange thing that left me wondering if I was sane.

Either way, upon sensing the magic, it was like I was close to my past strength even though I was still an infant back then.

I was excited at the fact that magic exists. What can I do, make a campfire with fire magic? Put out one with water magic?

But later, I became uneasy again.

In a world with magic, can I do well in this world?

At that moment, I wasn't oblivious enough to know that oftentimes in games with magic, there are usually monsters. Anna taught me different types at that time along with my little... stealth missions to the library, which I still do even at the age of 6.

I was just an ordinary girl in my previous life. Sure, I led the class and got into the extravagant school but I was subpar compared to Sakayanagi-san's and Horikita-san's prowess.

Well, maybe not Sakayanagi-san if it was in a physical fight...

(Sorry Sakayanagi-san!).

Putting the dangers of demons and monsters aside...

It was of no help that I happened to be the daughter of the king.

I'm a royal Princess with a platter full of troubles because of that.

Could I live up to expectations?

The language here was different, so I learned it as if my life depended on it, and currently am as fluent as I was with Japanese. I considered hiding how well I could talk early on and ultimately spoke to others fluently, to try to meet the royal family's "genius" expectations. My oldest brother was the hero...

It was more unnerving than I imagined when I didn't understand the language here. Sue, my younger sister next to me who was born of a different mother, did not hold any uneasiness.

She looks carefree to put it simply.

Well, it's natural because it's a child, they shouldn't be forced to worry to my extent in the first place.

Any toddler is like that, at least in most cases.

Because I have memories of my previous life, I should at least be mentally stronger than my younger sister.

My older brother, Schlain, is something else though. We are twins and something about him screams "mature" for his age. I tried multiple times, asking if he was reincarnated in a roundabout way that wouldn't make me sound like a lunatic but he never took the bait. He didn't even flinch with anything related to it either.

Either way, he is certainly more upbeat than I have been in the last couple of years... Putting off his silent cry that occurred routinely for a few months when he was born. They were always so frightened to use the bathroom too, although I can't blame them. Diapers... stink.

Well, how can I, an older sister, show a miserable appearance to my younger sister?

I wonder if my older brother felt similar to me with both of us too.

Same as in my previous life, I've tried my best to continue moving forward without skipping a beat.

I, who was unsure about a lot of things, finally snapped out of it years ago of course.

If there are monsters in this world, I would just have to be strong enough to beat them.

No, I have to be strong enough to protect people from them, just since they're labeled that doesn't mean they always mean harm right?

Since I was reincarnated here with my memories intact, I've used them to my advantage and got a head start on life, tackling challenges at an earlier age than many others.

I'm proud to say it, but I've already learned the language here while others struggle to speak.

I moved my infant body forcefully so that I could crawl as soon as possible. Interestingly enough, a few skills I had called sturdy, strength, persistent, and more raised.

With appraisal that I purchased and forced leveled up at a young age, I've learned many things about the "system" this world runs off of. I also gained many headaches due to that

Of course, I purchased a few other useful sounding skills, that mainly sound difficult to learn by myself. Some magics cost more, like fire and lightning for me, but wind magic and water magic were considerably cheap, along with light magic too. A good portion can be learned just through working for it, same with leveling it. A lot in that case.

I ignored skills like Swimming since that should be easy enough to get through training. Not that I think I would leave the center of a country soon to go to water.

Skills like stealth, heatless, silent, and odorless seemed useful for sneaking to the library...

There were multiple skills with Evil Eye in the name that afflicted status effects but it seemed off-putting, especially since I'm royalty. Telepathy, Telekinesis, and Medicine Synthesis are some of the others I bought. All this and I only whittled a tenth of my 100,000 points. There were some skills named after sins and virtues... some other skills too...

Let's max level this Concealment skill...

Through this, I mustered the motivation to protect those I deeply cared about which were at the moment, Anna, Sue, and Schlain.

To become someone who makes the family extremely proud.

To become someone who can solve many dilemmas quickly.

To become a beacon for my friends if they're here, and if he is here, they can find me.

That was the starting point of the Third Princess of the Anareich Kingdom, Honami Zagan Anareich.

Now without referring to myself in the third person...

Luckily, I kept my first name through some mystical force or another. I just have to hope if anyone is out there from ANHS, they recognize my name and don't pass it off as a weird coincidence.

Today I should broadcast my name around even more as the appraisal ceremony would take place. This is a popular event for young nobles to prove their strength and worth to everyone. A good status would certify their place as a powerful being.

A bad status menu... can even lead to the kid being disowned. Fortunately, I had a max level of appraisal and I am pretty certain I'm above average at the very least. The average is unknown to me though as they usually don't record it in books. Of course, I would've liked to try appraisal on those around me but I found out from a young age from Anna, that a large portion of people can sense it, especially if they are stronger than your average soldier. Either way, since I was surrounded by royals, children, trained maids, and guards, the results of appraisal wouldn't really help me find the average for humans...

Well nonetheless, as long as I don't get disowned, I should be alright. With Detection, I'm able to tell my twin, Schlain, and younger half-sister, Sue, should at least pass if I can pass too. Although, Sue might be more at risk than Schlain and I.

Now, the three of us dressed in ceremonial children's clothes were about to make our public debut in a way to make ourselves known. Our father, a man we rarely see since he's the king, will be hosting the event. None of us can afford a slight slip-up despite us being children since we are part of the Royal family. It's all quite nerve-wracking, but with thought acceleration, I got less apprehensive as the time passed by.

"Are you three ready?" Anna, our half-elf maid who played the nursing role for all of us, asked with nervous eyes that betrayed her emotionless face at the moment.

The three of us silently nodded, affirming her inquiry to which she replied, "Then please proceed." As the worry in Anna's eyes disappeared, I felt as if all of my anxiousness was taken away too. Seriously, all the people in this world are gorgeous.

Hmmm, all of the people in the castle at least, maybe it's a hiring condition..?

With a light push, the large double doors opened ajar, the light cascading through showing a straight path to a podium. On the sides, many nobles were seated and men and women in armor guarding the perimeter, swords stabbed into the floor.

The security is to be expected, nigh everyone here was a high-ranking noble or royalty. Sue, Schlain, and I walked across the carpet without a word, our eyes staring forward, not leaving a glance off to the side. Clairvoyance is pretty neat in times like these, and I'm even able to look at myself in the third person.

All of us walked with a dignified gait towards the pedestal, just as we've been trained to do for days much like these. Eventually, we reached the front of the pedestal, the eyes of the crowd growing even more curious than before. Schlain, Sue, and I halted and knelt, not looking off the red carpet our knees and a fist were on.

"The Appraisal Ceremony will now begin," Meiges Derra Analeit's majestic voice boomed throughout the ceremony hall. Although he was our father, I'd only met this person a handful of times as mentioned previously. The king began his introduction.

"This day, we will assess the worth of these three children of royalty with this kingdom appraisal stone artifact here. Their older brother being the hero and pride of the kingdom must leave all attending parties here more inquisitive yet silence is deeply vital during this ceremony, I advise you to keep the chatter at the celebration after today. From generation to generation, we have continued this tradition and without further ado..."

A slight moment of silence occurred as the king announced the first to be appraised.

"Now, Schlain Zagan Analeit. You may rise."

"Yes, sir."

My brother stood up off the floor in a calm manner and walked towards the pedestal almost robotically.

"Let the Appraisal begin."

There seemed to be a little booster behind the pedestal, otherwise, the height of my older brother probably wouldn't have reached even 2/3rds of the way, much less his head visible over the top.

Sue and I remained kneeling, facing the carpet, as I looked around a little more with Clairvoyance. A small black stone was installed into the pedestal, the appraisal artifact our fa- ahem, the king mentioned.

As Schlain placed his hands on the stone, I zoomed out with clairvoyance to capture the status menu that should pop up only to be surprised that a screen on the front wall showed it instead. I wonder why I thought it would pop up in the air before appearing on a flat surface, this place has changed my common sense...

I appraised Schlain once when were were around a year old, 4 years ago, and for some reason, he started crying while smiling. At the moment, I chalked it up to a weird reaction, whether they knew he was being appraised or not.

The status menu is in front of me now...

The status menu is in front of me now

Was far off from what I expected...

And I wasn't the only one who was caught off guard.

Despite the king's suggestion, the silent room was chatter-filled and even the king looked taken aback by the status. 

I didn't know the average still but comparing this to me... it's quite incredible. In the time that I checked when we were a year old, I knew he never had skill points from birth, and yet his growth rate was just about faster than me, skill level-wise. 

A genius.

I had my previous lifetime and a large amount of skill points at my disposal but they managed to surpass me in the growth of it all this far.

I felt slightly defeated but it's my brother, I should feel happy he'll be able to protect himself. Although now... I feel like I need to train more.

Putting aside that status and some skills, they also had appraisal and detection maxed out, the former being extremely rare for humans... I may have put skill points in the skill to max it out, but them not having any means they dealt with all the headaches along the way. I'm also curious why they have Light Resistance...

Wait, can attacking yourself really get you...?

Ah, I'm getting sidetracked here, no human would hurt themselves like that. 

Anyway, Magical Clothes was that one skill I saw in the store and picked up, wonder how Schlain got it. They probably tried doing something with light magic and magic conferment I reckon. Fear Super Resistance... Did we see anything scary though? Did my brother suffer from nightmares?

Frankly, when I checked four years ago, the skill was on its first tier at level 7. It confused me then and still confuses me now, perhaps geniuses' dreams are more sporadic at young ages...

...

That's strange.

How come when I appraised Heresy Super Resistance it showed an Heresy Nullification instead?

Is this a glitch...?

What's this skill called Divine Assistance too?

"『Divine Assistance』: You are assisted by the heavens, making it easier for you to gain what you wish for upon asking. At the moment, you are assisted with:

This skill.

Faster proficiency rate of all skills.

Maintaining a calm mind.

All skills are available in the skill shop.

A locator map skill.

Concealment of status from Appraisal Level 9 and lower.

The language of Humans and Demons.

Notice: The greedier you are, the growth rate for all sin series increases by a great amount. A tip of advice, starting from over four years, Heresy Nullification no longer nullifies any effect of ruler skills. 

Proceed with caution.

 "

...

Wait...

Trying my appraisal on my older brother, I found that his status was different from my artifact to my skill.

Not only that, this explains the fast growth rate to an extent but... isn't this too risky?

Afterall...

All sin skills are there with some on tier 2, the Demon Lord Skill, Taboo, and the status that was hiding the majority of his capability

All sin skills are there with some on tier 2, the Demon Lord Skill, Taboo, and the status that was hiding the majority of his capability...

If everyone saw his true status, there might have been a series of fainting from the shock of it all.

I don't know if it was because he was being appraised so he didn't notice me doing so as well, but Schlain stared looking blankly at his status. The small conversations finally died down with the rise of the king's hand. As I finished processing all of what I took in, I was left even more baffled by the events.

The duke had two children who were comparable but still under... what everyone saw for Schlain?

The king turned towards Shclain and handed him a piece of parchment. Using clairvoyance, it seems it wa just a record of the appraisal results. Schlain holding the paper now bowed courteously and stepped off the stage finding a reserved seat for himself nearby.

The king cleared his throat and this time, called my name.

"Honami Zagan Analeit. You may rise."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Getting up, putting my thoughts that were in turmoil to the side, I elegantly walked towards the pedestal, I couldn't help but want to not conceal my status in a similar way my older twin did. If this world was anything, it was mainly based on strength of power. I felt strangely competitive but it was clear to me that it was to likely help pull off attention from him as his True status, could end up in something more than disownment.

Taking this quick chance as I had my back facing the audience, I appraised every single person in this event, with the exception of my Father and Schlain.

If you activate appraisal with just the right sliver of calming holy magic, stealth, and concealment, you can hide the feeling of them being looked at completely. I may have tested this out on Sue a few times, and even if I did, it was to help her grow! Of course, some stronger people may take partial notice like the knight general who looked slightly perturbed and Anna who frowned slightly but-

"AHHHH, WHAT THE HELL IS THISSSSSSSSSS?!!"

I continued walking towards the podium with slight confusion on my face, staring at the person who screamed with my clairvoyance while ensuring no one had a max-level appraisal skill. They did not have such, meaning that it was completely fine to hide most of my status. That way it's fair to Sue too and she's not falling behind.

However...

The one screaming was a knight... 

who's race was...

A demon...?

Everyone stared at the knight who seemed to be spasming on the floor causing a commotion.

"SILENCE! Check that knight's condition then lock him up in the royal dungeons!"

Wait, if the demon is locked up wouldn't they be directly in the castle?

At the Pedestal now, I stood on the booster and awaited the demon to be taken out of the area, the room quieting down again. I'm certain this was the best action. If I confessed to having used appraisal on someone who was seemingly in trouble, it would've been fine. All the others that noticed they were appraised though, would without a doubt link it to me... While my personal information is being leaked by the appraisal stone now, it's probably alright since I'm a child and it's a ceremony, otherwise, Anna told me it was extremely rude.

Either way, the nurses and doctors in the castle have appraisals that can at least tell that the demon is a demon since their concealment skill is only level 4 compared to the usual level 5 for caretakers in this castle. At that point, they should eject him just fine. The stats are low for the demon, around half of my brother's full power right now with only magic being absurdly high around the 2000s. That demon fainted and was also being escorted by one the the higher up knights with a small crew as he held responsibility for that soldier. Even if the demon woke up, it should be of little threat to them.

That's far better than me kneeling and saying the knight is a demon out loud, after the king ordered silence in the hall.

It could've given me more credit but there's no need to put myself through something that stressful and rush things...

I'm still originally from Japan, and announcing that he's a demon would make me send him to an execution. Getting blood from something that looks human-like then on my hands... disturbs me to no end.

It will be inevitable at some point though and I understand that.

But please... let me keep my innocence for slightly longer.

"You may start now," The king said from my side, signaling that it was okay to use the stone. Thinking to appraise in my mind, my hand on the stone as taught, the status window popped up on the wall just like my older twin brother, Schlain's.

 Thinking to appraise in my mind, my hand on the stone as taught, the status window popped up on the wall just like my older twin brother, Schlain's

Less chatter than the initial time with Schlain filled the room almost as if they were preparing themselves. Through appraising everyone too, I'd say my stats are around an untrained noble except for magic and I have more skills than most people here. Without concealment... probably slightly above the average knight in stats.

This isn't enough though, I heard from Anna that dragons had stat averages around 4000. I'm less than an eighth of that with my normal status.

My Divine Protection skill helps with growth too, I think Shibata would call it something like plot armor?

Feeling determined, I pledged to myself again to become stronger, to protect those in need.

At the same time, I felt as if my heart was pricked as I looked at the strange skill I had.

n%w=l.

Every time I saw it, and it was impossible to appraise the result, I couldn't help but try to crack the mystery.

"Didn't the Duke's daughters have that strange skill too?"

Someone from the audience looked at the unknown skill inquisitively.

All of us are around the same age, with the same strange skill. 5 years old.

Is it possible that they are reincarnations due to the growth rate too and timing?

Chotto Matte...

Didn't the demon shape-shifter have that too...?

I felt queasy in an instant but maintained a suitable demeanor as the day passed by.

Honami's True Status:

Honami's True Status:

~Author's Comments~

Um, ettoooooooooo. 4.8k

For those of you wondering, Schlain is Cannon Shun's real name in the kumo desu world, so since the male child of the same people... yep yep.

Take this!

This is what she looks like when she doesn't have a inner crisis

This is what she looks like when she doesn't have a inner crisis. Happy. With a big head.

Just a reminder, this is 5 years inside the story, the appraisal ceremony taking place on their fifth birthday.

This is one of the two POVS ill do for the human arc, but otherwise, everything will continue in Ayanokoji's side of the story, like how the Kumo Desu manga did. The human arc will get more attention once time has passed, I for one disliking writing and reading two separate timelines. This is just a little teaser of what could happen, with hints dropped in for you peeps to decipher what could happen.

Anywho, bai bai and take care~!

With that said...

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