71-80

I sat there and ate my meal in silence as Mr. Gabs continued talking to me about this and that. I only gave the perfunctory responses that were needed as I ate my sandwich. The only thing I can say that was good about this situation was the food. It was very good. So I will definitely come back again. "So then he said, how can you have so many!? Haha! Funny, right?"

"Mhmm…" I have no idea what he was just talking about. Who said what and the what now? I should just hurry up and eat. For some reason, he doesn't even realize I wasn't paying attention at all. Which means he was not even paying attention to me. For some reason, that irks me. I mean, I do not like him in that way, but as a girl, you would think the handsome guy across from you would at least pay attention to you if they take you out to eat. He is probably a narcissist.

After twenty minutes of listening to stories that I still have no idea what they were about, I finally finished my meal. "The food here was delicious. Now, if your HIghness does not mind, I should probably be heading to the inn, so I can settle in."

I quickly stood up and bowed towards Prince Lance before turning to leave. But who would have thought that the stupid prince would grab his sandwich and also stand up, following me out? How am I supposed to say nicely I do not want to be around you without sounding so rude that I would lose my head? Things were much simpler when I could just wave my hand and blow people up. For one thing, there is no way in hell that you will see me dating a prince in the first place that would be a career ender for me. Those royals would never let me become a commander! My dream would go out the window, so if this is his aim, then I am sorry, but please leave me alone!

I want to live free, and if I were to marry one day, I will not marry royalty. They have too many rules of can't do this or can't do that. That is unless I was queen. Then things would be different, hehe… If I had rule over a country, I would be sure to make it a free place with laws that are only there to protect the people living there. Set up institutions for learning and promote innovation to its finest. Sadly I do not think that will ever happen unless I go and take a country of my own…. Not such a bad idea…. I pursed my lips and tapped my chin.-.

If I were to take over a country, I would need to be sure the ones ruling it are people who are bad people. Maybe I should wipe out the Norian Kingdom's royal family and reform the whole country? But would I even be capable of ruling a country of my own? I am far too green. As it is now, I do not even have the power to fully command an army. I hope that going to the academy will prepare me for everything. I want to be someone who is able to command those under me to win every battle without losing a single man. I know not losing a single man is wishful thinking, but I can dream, right?

"Ouch!" My thoughts broke off when I heard a yelp from my side. I turned to see Prince Lance holding his hand, staring at Little Bell, who was looking at him with a fierce expression. "Little Bell?"

"This human tried to touch you. Bad humans should stay away." Little bell's puffed out cheeks, and pursed lips look so cute and funny.

"Pfft! Hahaha!" I couldn't hold it in. Little Bell was the perfect prince deterrent. I am sure Little Bell had picked up on my feelings of not wanting to be close to the prince. Which stemmed from many reasons but to think he went as far as to try to touch me.

"Wh…. Why…. Why is there a spirit here!?" Prince Lance couldn't help but yell out but quickly realized his mistake and covered his mouth. He turned and looked at the guards who were surrounding us and gave them a nod.

The next thing I know, all the people in the area were starting to be detained. "What are you doing!?"

"What do you mean? There is a spirit here. These people who saw it all need to be detained until it is safely back in its domain! If anything were to happen to the spirit, it would destroy ou…."

"Prince Lance, if I may be frank, I am sorry, but you are going about things wrongly." I shouted, interrupting the idiot. "First, you should have asked me why I have a spirit with me, secondly, you should never oppress the people who are innocent. You are the crown prince and someone who is destined to take over the rule of this country. If you can't even handle a situation like this calmly, how the hell can you become king!?" I know I was way over the line, but this was the final straw. I can handle it if he is ordering me around and dragging me here and there, but I can not allow him to actually detain innocent people who have done nothing wrong. I waved my hand, and multiple barriers began to surround the people the guards were about to try to capture, blocking them from being able to touch them.

"Faith, what are you doing!? Are you trying to rebel!?" Prince Lance was not even listening to what I was saying.

"Rebel!? I am stopping an idiot prince from doing something stupid. Little Bell is under my care. The spirit leader himself asked me to take care of her." I shouted back.

"Yeah yeah! Bad human! Bad! I stay with Faith!" Little Bell yelled out in a small voice.

Prince Lance stared at me in disbelief before looking back and forth between Little Bell and me. "This…."

"It is not like I was hiding it. It is just that Little Bell does not like other people, so normally she is hiding in my hair, looking around. Even Adel can't touch her." I explained slowly before waving my hand once more and removing the barriers. "So do you see now that what you were doing was not the right course of action?" 𝐢𝘯𝑛𝑟𝘦𝙖𝘥. ᴄ𝚘m

I watched as Prince Lance held his head and waved his hand motioning to the guards to stand down. "I see I did act out of line just now."

Under my shocked gaze, Prince Lance bowed his head to the people he was about to arrest. "I apologize for my rash actions. If anyone was hurt just now, please let me know. I will pay all doctor fees. As compensation, I will give each of you two gold coins."

Two gold coins! Give me four! In all seriousness, I am quite shocked at how quickly his attitude changed. He was willing to admit his mistakes and even compensate those involved. I guess he does have a few prince like qualities to him.

"Faith, I owe you for stopping me, and I apologize for yelling at you just now. I acted rashly out of fear. As you know, a spirit is like the achilles heel of our kingdom or any kingdom for that matter. They can determine if a kingdom lives or dies. If you did not stop me just now, things might have turned even worse. Not only would I have harmed innocents but also would have caused a spirit to become angry with the kingdom." I never thought a day would come when I would get such a sincere apology from a prince, no less.

"It's fine. I just did what I should have. I apologize for my rudeness." I let out a sigh of relief. I guess this will be a lesson for us all. And it also shows just how much the prince worries about this kingdom. He was about to sacrifice the few and his own reputation in order to keep Little Bell safe and protect the kingdom. This is very noble of him, so I can not fault him on that, but it was just how he went about it.

"Now then…." I figured while we were at it, I would ask a very important question. "Why were you trying to touch me, a fair and pure maiden in the middle of the street?"

"Cough!" Prince Lance seemed to have choked on air. "I was just trying to shoo away a bug that was on shoulder…."

"Liar! Bad human liar! Tried to hug her, you did! Liar! Liar! Liar!" Little Bell's voice came from inside my hair, causing me to chuckle. The one and only one in the whole kingdom besides the royal family who can say what they want to the crown prince without needing to worry about being beheaded. I guess this extends to me now that I am Little Bell's caretaker?

With Little Bell screaming and yelling, Prince Lance's face turned bright red. "Ummm… Faith, I just remembered I had something to do. I will meet up with you again soon." And with that, Prince Lance walked away with all but one knight following him.

I turned to look at the knight, who smiled awkwardly at me and scratched his head. "I ummm…. I was ordered to guard you by the captain…."

"Do as you need," I said with a nod and began walking down the street. As long as this knight did not hinder me while I walked around, I could care less. Although I do not think there is anyone more suited for the task of protecting Little Bell than myself. For one thing, Little Bell does not like to leave my hair, and she had promised me she would not run off on her own or show herself unless necessary. Prince Lance just had to try to make a move on, though. But I find this strange, why would he hit on me? I never said a word to make it seem like I liked him. I guess Adel was right, her brother is a playboy! And so I labeled Prince lance a playboy in my heart.

The capital city had much more to see than I could ever dream of. There were so many businesses all seeing their own unique blend of items that it was enough to make my head spin. I thought there would not be too much innovation in a country where nobles rained, but I was proven wrong. There were many things that people were selling that were similar to things you would find on Earth, like the 'Heat Box', basically a microwave. But it used fire and required you to use a special metal dish to put your food on.-.

There were many things like dishwashers, clothes washers, and many other things. You can basically point out any of the household appliances and would be able to find a match for it that used magic instead of high tech. Not only did this make things much eco friendly, but also made it so that it cost no power, and was energy free. If anything, this makes these items much better than those found on Earth.

I ended up walking half a day before I finally reached the inn. This inn was the closest to the gates, while the house I guess that I was going to be getting was on the floating island near the academy, like a fifteen minute walk. I have no idea how big it is, but knowing that it is coming from the king himself, it will probably be quite big. Which means I will need to do a lot of cleaning…. I hate cleaning the most. Such a boring task, yet it still needs to get done.

The Hayward Inn…. According to what Adel told me, it was the most secure inn in this part of the city. And sure enough, the front doors were guarded by knights. The knight that was currently following me nodded to them to allow me to pass through without issue. The door to the building which was made out of brick was made out of what looked like tinted blue glass. Compared to the other buildings, this was quite fancy.

That was something else I noticed about this city. It was very early 1920s style New Yorkish. All the buildings were brick and mortar and had about seven to ten floors max. Although there were a few buildings closer to the center of the city that had twenty floors or more, I think they used a metal frame construction for those. To be honest, it made me feel nostalgic.

The interior of the reception room was wide and looked no different from any fancy five star hotel I have seen on tv or read about back on Earth. There were large white pillars that held up the ceiling and lounge couches situated here and there. The front desk was lined with gold with a reddish wood structure.

Behind the counter were three young women, all quite beautiful and wearing neat collared uniforms. When I walked in, one of them even came over to greet me. "Miss Cyrilia, I presume?"

"Yes, I am…." I replied and gave a confused look. I wonder how she knew who I was without me needing to say my name. But when I thought about it, how many demi humans out there have my unique features?

"It's good to finally meet you. Princess Adellia had sent us a message to let us know what you look like, which is how I knew who you were. My Name is Seli, welcome to the capital. We have a royal suite already ready for you. Please, this way." Seli had me follow her. The guard who was guarding me this entire time also followed me, which made me wonder if this man would be standing outside my door at night. This kinda felt strange. While it might be normal for some, for me, it was a strange experience. Kinda made me feel like a princess myself.

I was taken up a private lift that goes directly to the royal suite. Once you got off the elevator, there was a small hall that had a small room to the right, which Seli told me was a servant room, so that would probably be where the guard would be staying, and at the very end of the hall after passing through a few magic defense systems was the entrance to the suite. But before I could even get there, I had to be registered with the magical defense system, which required a bit of my mana. I guess only the royal family his allowed to use this room, so the process to register was not known by anyone but the royal family and Seli, who was a top executive of the company that owned the inn. She was working as a normal receptionist all because of me.

Once my mana was registered into the magic equation, I was now able to pass through the door. As the knight could not enter the room unless the defense system was de-activated, only Seli could follow me in. "Miss Cyrilia, there will be a few maids from the castle coming soon. I do apologize as I had not had time to get them here before your arrival."

"Maids!?" I turned and looked at Seli in surprise. I mean, I never expected to have people waiting on me. Should I really let this happen? What if I get used to the finer things in life? I was a bit conflicted. I have never had anyone really wait on me for anything unless you count my parents in both lives. But I kinda had to rely on them when I was younger to survive, so I guess that doesn't count.

"Yes, Princess Adellia had me arrange it. Also, when they do come, you will need to allow them in. You can use the blue orb to the side of the door there to temporarily shut the magic defenses off. There is also another one outside as well. So if you wish to bring people over, you will only need to inject mana into them." Seli went on to explain things about food and other things along those lines. Like to know if someone is here, there is a call system that uses a magical rune link from the hall and one that links to the reception desks as well. "If you need anything, just use the call stone. The kitchen is open all day and night for those in the royal suite so call when you get hungry. You can order anything you like or pick from the menu on the table over there." 𝓲𝐧𝙣𝓇ℯ𝓪𝐝 c𝚘𝒎

"Okay, thank you." I was a little excited about my stay here. It was starting to feel like a very expensive vacation that I got for free. All my daily needs were taken care of. Adel told me meals and accommodations were all taken care of. But if I wished to buy anything outside of daily necessities, I would need to pay for it myself. Which is understandable with how out of the way they were going with these things. Plus, Adel has already spent a ton of money on me already, which I really feel bad about. So I will need to save up a bunch of money and get her something nice.

I walked around the room, which was more like a very large apartment, and felt kinda lonely. There was just me here in this big place with nothing to do. "I guess I can work on my fusion magic a bit…."

I walked over to the glass doors that led out to the rooftop garden and opened them up. Instantly the warm sun hit my skin, causing me to feel a bit calmer. I walked around the garden looking at all the flowers until I reached a wide circular area with benches. "Now then, with everything that I have learned, I guess I need to work on the process of shortening the casting time of two spells to fuse them together into a single spell more quickly."

"Ahhh! Again! So dumb!" I hit the ground with my fist. I couldn't help but be angry, the magic equations were just not working. I have no idea how long I have spent trying to create a working fusion spell, but my concentration was broken when I heard a sound overhead. I looked up to see a large wooden ship flying across the sky, and in front of my face, it disappeared out of sight.

"So that is the illusion spell…. To think they can create an illusion spell that works like this." I rubbed my chin as I gazed up at the sky. Even when I squinted my eyes, I still could not see the floating island. "Well… I still need to go to the academy, and I am pretty sure the place the king would be preparing for me to live in will be on the floating island. But I do find it quite interesting that such a huge island floats in the sky without even casting a shadow."

If one were to look from the distance, they would never see any giant island in the sky, especially one that is big enough to be home to millions. The sun rained down on the massive city below without any obstruction. "Wait…. Is this not an actual illusion spell but a spell that just bends the light around the object?"

This actually made more sense to me. By bending light around an object, you can hide the object the light is bending around. I did a science project on this in school back on Earth. But it only resulted in working in a single direction. But the proof of concept was there. It was using magic which would mean they could create a sphere and encircle the object you want to hide to bend the light. But what I still do not get is how it is selectively hiding the floating island while leaving the land below visible for all to see. And on top of that, if you make your way further into the city below, you will pass a boundary that allows you to see the island from below. According to Adel, even if you can see the Island, it will still not cast a shadow on the land below. It is definitely strange. I really wish I could check out this magic equation for it. But I highly doubt that such a magic equation would be available to the public.

"Ahhh! I want to see it!" I felt aggravated, so I stomped my feet a few times before turning around and going to order some food.-.

Only after eating did I finally begin to feel a bit better about my failures in my fusion magic. I sat back in my chair and looked out the window seeing the stars sparkling in the sky, and sighed. "Tomorrow, I will do a bit of wandering around. I guess I can take a bath an…."

My self monologue was interrupted when a call came from the call orb near the door. "Miss Cyrilia, are you in? We are from the palace."

Pursing my lips, I walked to the door and opened it to see two beastkin girls and a human girl standing there in maid outfits. These were not like those sexy maid outfits but real ones made for the working girl where the dress goes down to their ankles. If they came in some kind of miniskirt, I would start to think this was some kind of sexy otome game.

I used the panel to the side to deactivate the defense systems and allow the three girls in. "Come on in, it is safe to pass now."

The three maids bowed their heads and walked into the suite. One had black haired cat ears and tail, another had brown haired raccoon ears and tail, while the last was a dirty blonde headed human girl. Each girl looked no older than ten to thirteen years of age. This was a sad part of society. In order to live, some girls would sell themselves into servitude to become maids of nobles at a very young age. Sometimes it would be their parents who would sell them off. It was not to punish them but in hopes of giving them better lives. After all, not everyone had money to raise the kids they birthed. Instead of having them starve, it was more beneficial to have them work as maids. The lucky ones like these girls would get to work for royalty which would give them some status.

Of course, this was all under strict rules as well. Girls who were under contract were not slaves. The maids guild took these girls in and got them jobs while a small portion of their wages would be used to keep the guild running. This was only one percent of their wages. The rest was up to the maids to do with as they please. Some were paid very well and could live on their own if they wished with the income they were getting, but not many would do that since the pay was very good.

The guild also did monthly examinations to make sure their maids were not mistreated. I only know all of this because Rachel had looked into it. She had told me that if my brother did not take her, she would have become a maid. She said she had liked my brother since she was very young and always watched him from afar. So when they finally got together, she was so excited she almost screamed out loud and jumped for joy. Even if she could live a good life as a maid, she would rather be with the man she had fallen for so many years ago.

Each girl was also taught how to read, write, and do math. Which made them highly valuable. But these girls all seemed a bit timid. "Can I ask why you all have your heads lowered?"

"Ah…. ummm… Princess told us that we are not allowed to gaze upon your beautiful face, or we will be immediately fired." The cat girl answered, causing my lips to twitch.

"What kind of crap is that!? Forget what she said, lift your heads." I really need to pinch Adel's cheeks later. What is she telling these poor girls!? Was she afraid they would fall in love with me or something!? I have a hard enough time getting people to like me, never mind having some young girls fall in love with me.

"This…." The cat girl spoke up again. I guess she was the leader of the group.

Seeing them still reluctant, I reached down and lifted the cat girl's face. When our eyes locked, she quickly averted her eyes, not daring to look straight at me. "See, you looked. Now, did you get fired?" 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝙧𝗲𝓪𝙙. c𝒐𝙢

"N-No…." The cat girl shook her head, her eyes finally staring right at me.

I smiled and patted her head. "That is right. You can ignore Adel's order. I do not like stuffy things. I will never ask you to do something out of the scope of your duty or even make you do something you are not comfortable with, so, please. Make yourselves at home here. Are you three hungry? Do you want some food? You can order whatever you want. Ah, before that, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Faith Cyrilia. You can call me Faith."

"Miss… calling you by your name is against our guild rules. We can only call you Miss, Young Miss, Master, or Mistress…." The cat girl spoke up, causing me to purse my lips. I could only sigh and nod my head.

"Then call me as you see fit." I can't force her to call me by my name, not after saying I wouldn't make them do things they did not want to do.

"Then Young Miss, my name is Annie, next to me is Rina, and beside her is Brooke." So the cat girl was named Annie, the raccoon girl was Rina, and the human girl was Brook. I tried to drill these names into my mind so I would not mix them up.

"Alright then, Annie, please order some food for you three. Order whatever. It is all on the kingdom anyway." I said while sticking my tongue out. The girls all stared at me, unsure of what to do.

"Miss, we can just eat what is in the kitchen, we should not eat such expensive food… We are just servants." Annie seemed a bit nervous, which made me sigh. This was probably normally how maids were treated, but I haven't even been to the kitchen, so I do not think there was any food in there.

"It's fine. Why waste free things? Order food. Also, I will need to speak to Sei because if you three wish to leave, it will be hard without me around. I will get her to help register the three of you with the defensive systems. For now, order food, eat, bathe and sleep. I was planning to go bathe now. So make yourselves at home." After saying this, I turned to walk away before stopping and turning back around. "Also, welcome. I do hope we can get along."

The girls seemed pretty confused. But I guess that is normal. After all, I am a commoner! I do not have the airs of nobility, nor do I ever wish to treat people who are here to help me as if they are below me.

There was just one thing I forgot about maids…. They follow you everywhere! These girls were preparing everything for me before I could even undress! Looks like I got more things to get used to….

The next morning I woke up in my massive bed to a good smell floating into my room. My eyes fluttered gently as a knock came at my door. "Come in."

"Young Miss, did I wake you? Breakfast has arrived." Annie had come knocking. In the end, while being scrubbed down by these new maids of mine in the bath, I found out that Annie was indeed the leader of the three. She has the most experience and was twelve years old. The other two, Brooke and Rina, were ten and eleven, respectively.

"No… I just woke up. Whatever you ordered smells good. You made sure to order enough for all of us, right? You didn't just order for me, correct?" Last night, I pulled Annie aside and had a private talk with her. I wanted to make sure whatever they ordered for me, they ordered enough for themselves and would eat with me and not wait until I was done to eat. I did not want the girls starving themselves or eating cold food because they were waiting on me. For one, I was not used to it, and secondly, I saw no need. And lastly, I would feel awkward while people watched me eat.

Annie blushed and nodded her head. "Yes, I made sure everyone got what they wanted. We are just waiting on you to eat. While we will be eating with you, we can not start until the Young Miss is there."-.

"Alright, let me get up then. My stomach is already yelling at me to dive in and eat." I crawled out of bed, rubbed my eyes, and stretched before following Annie to the dining area. The other girls were already sitting waiting for me. I sat down and smiled at them as I said: "Let's eat!"

I really did not know what my life had in store for me. As of now, I was just trying to plan and take things one day at a time. While I may be young, I at least had goals. Those goals would be my reason to keep pushing forward, never stopping until I reach the goals I have set for myself.

Right now, my life may be easy, but in the future, there is no telling what will happen. My current level was already rather high, I think, and I could defeat almost any monster I came across quite easily. But I have found this world is not so simple during what little time I have spent traveling to the capital. It held so much more than I could ever imagine. Even now, as I sit and enjoy my meal, I know there are beings out there much more powerful than myself doing incredible things. Whether it be good or evil, I do not. All I know is that maybe one day I will reach the same realm as them and stand above all.

This might sound like I have grand ambitions, but my thought process is much more simple. I just want to be the best at what I have decided for myself. Whether it is magic or commanding, I wanted to master it all. But for now, I am still young, so a little bit of fun along the way is much needed.

After breakfast, I contacted Sei and had her help me register the maids so they could freely leave and enter without needing to wait for me to remove the barriers. After that, I decided to take a walk. I wanted to enjoy the scenery of the capital and see the sights for myself without any idiots interrupting me.

It was close to mid-morning when I finally stepped out of the inn. The streets were already packed with carriages and people going about their daily business. To my surprise, there were a lot of demi humans walking around, some of whom wore expensive looking clothing compared to some of the humans. Seeing such a sight where harmony between two races where differences in the skin or adornments on their body did not matter made me happy from the bottom of my heart. It made me feel glad I was reborn in this kingdom. As such, I will do my best to protect this kingdom no matter what. Even if there are parts that do not act in the same manner as the capital.

As I made my way through the streets, I finally got to take in the beauty of a magic based society. The different mix of medieval and magically advanced objects seemed out of place yet meshed together well. The society of this world has been going on longer than Earth's, but it has developed in a way that it has mixed old and new, so well that it doesn't need to go as far and beyond as Earth did. Transportation can be done in many ways, but the use of metal will not protect you from monsters. Magic barriers were much more durable and useful, so innovation into new metals never came to be a thing. This was why they still used wagons and carriages. It was much easier to make and could be imbued with magic to make it even stronger than metal. 𝘪𝓷𝘯𝙧ℯ𝗮𝘥. 𝗰૦ｍ

Metal required too much work to mine. Only a few mines existed and the ore mined from them was used to make certain things. Trees would never run out because the spirits of the kingdom could make them flourish in a matter of days. During my journey to the capital, I had asked Adel about it. With how long this world's history was, I was sure all the forest would have been destroyed by now, but that was where the spirits came in. The contract with the spirits gave them a safe place to live peacefully away from the society of humans, and in return, they would do many things, one of which was to accelerate the growth of trees. In the areas that were clear cut, the humans would replant with new saplings, and only then did the spirits take over and make them grow to a mature size.

This process kept the forestry business under the strict control of each kingdom. The areas were cut and replanted, so days later, they can be cut once again. This not only kept things orderly but also kept the forest's habitats from being destroyed. Which was why many species of animals would not die at the hand of people but due to natural causes. A world full of beauty that would always stay a world full of beauty. Maybe this was why humans of Earth were on the verge of becoming a civilization that would infect other planets and consume their resources one after the other because they did not think up ways to fix problems like this.

But when I think about it, human knowledge was not all that good back in the day. While this planet's population is probably thousands of times greater than Earth's, it is also in a very stable state and seems to be in harmony with the nature around it.

"I said let me go!" As I walked through the streets, I heard a cry from a back alley. I walked over to see a girl around my age being dragged away. She had a fluffy tail and a pair of ears. With black hair and white tipped tail and ears, and a round, oval face, she was indeed quite cute. But she was definitely in trouble. And seeing how I had seen it, I could not ignore it. "Wind Rush!"

I sped along and quickly caught up to the group of men that were trying to pull the girl down the alleyway. "Hold it!"

"Huh!?" A spiky haired young man turned and snarled at me. He was wearing spiked clothing and well…. I guess it was supposed to be cool looking?

"Huh, what? The girl said to let go of her. I will give you to the count of three to do so, or you will regret it." I said with a sly smile on my face. My arms were crossed across my chest while I stood in my most hero like pose. I mean he was the picture of a bad acting street thug. He would definitely say: 'What did you say!? I will beat you to death! Get her boys!' Or… 'Look, boys, another one wants to come play with us.'

"Why are you threatening us!? We just wanted her to star in our play! She is perfect for the role!" I almost fell over. So they were not dressed like that because they wanted to!? What play happens in a back alley!? I was very confused.

"Actually, you both would be perfect for the heroines. We just need you to say a few lines. Our actresses who were supposed to be performing got into an accident and can't make it. The show will start soon, so please!" Another man in suspenders and a weird shirt spoke up, causing me to stare at them in disbelief. I turned and looked at the fox girl, who also looked very confused and really did not know what to say. This was definitely not the situation I had imagined!

"You can not go pulling on random girls!" I yelled as I stood in front of the three men who had attempted to 'kidnap' the black haired fox girl.

"We are sorry! We were just in a rush. If we do not have two females play the two roles we are missing, we will not be able to put on our show!" The spiky haired man cried out. I could see that the three of them were sorry and also desperate.

"As long as the play is not indecent, I do not mind helping." I then looked over at the fox haired girl who was still standing around with a confused expression. "What do you think?"

"I…. If you are doing it, I will too…." The fox girl answered. Her cheeks blushed as she lowered her head.

"Then let's check it out. My name's Faith, what's yours?" I was in no way talking to the three men. I was still a little aggravated with them. To be honest, I was hoping I could fluff the tail of the fox girl at some point since it looked very soft. I, of course, knew that this was very rude, so I would never do it unless I asked first. But as someone who also has a tail of her own, it would not be right to ask either. So I can only befriend her and hope she will let me fluff at some point!

The fox girl looked up at me with her big amber colored eyes. "Sophie…."-.

"Then Sophie, let's go!" I reached out my hand to her. She hesitated for a moment before taking my hand and letting me pull her along. But when I walked past the three men who were still kneeling, I had to stop. "What are you guys doing? Did you not have a play to do?"

"Ahhh! Let's go!" The three men quickly got up and lead the way.

Come to find out, while the place we were just in was indeed an alley, the location of the play was actually at a large dugout theater. The whole place was dug out of the ground, and stone was laid out in a stadium seating fashion, looking down at the main open stage. The play could be seen from all sides. It was really neat. And even more surprising was that the place was packed. But I guess this was normal as there was no tv here. This made me think of maybe creating a magic that can be inscribed into runes and used like the magic washing machine or oven. You would just need to send magic with images in them across some lines that lead to the back of the tv set. And by changing the dial on the tv, you could switch the channel.

My mighty little brain was working. I couldn't help but stroke my chin as I pulled Sophie along. We reached the stage in no time and were quickly briefed on what we had to do.

"You guys are back!" An older woman with ratty clothes on came running over. I guess she was also one of the actors. "Are these the girls?"

"Yeah, we kind of got too excited and almost lost Miss Sophie here. She fits the part of Abigail perfectly." The spiky haired young man replied.

But seeing how Sophie was getting all the attention, I couldn't help but feel slightly left out. But I guess I was just the side dish to fill in the other role. I wonder which role I will be…. Maybe a tree? A rock? I looked around but did not see any actors playing props. Do they not do that anymore?

"And this girl is the evil demon queen?" I suddenly heard the older woman ask, which caused me to freeze. Demon queen? Why am I suddenly being told to become a villain!? Why not a princess!?

"Yes, she is perfect for that part. She even already has the horns, and the way she threatened us made me realize she was perfect for the part." I almost choked on air. How was this even fair!? Did I really look like some demon queen!?

To be honest, I am not sure what I think about this. I thought I looked pretty cute! I even double checked before leaving the house. Annie and the girls did an amazing job but now…. But now I am some kind of Demon Queen. I have so many complaints.

"We will need to get these girls ready. Sue, take these girls to the dressing room and get them dolled up." The old woman yelled out, and before I knew it, I was being dragged away.

Sue, the girl who was doing our costumes and makeup, was very skilled. In less than thirty minutes, we were ready, and I have to say. I looked very evil! I couldn't help but pout because when I saw Sophie, she looked like a princess. Why was I the evil witch that could while Sophie was the…. Never mind, I know why.

"Here are your scripts. You do not have much time so try to remember as much as possible. Maggie will be on the side using whisper magic to help you out. All I can say is do your best and thank you for coming to our aid." The older woman that I still do not know the name of left right after saying this.

I looked down at the script and read the title. "The one who got away….." I tilted my head to the side and opened the script up. "So this is about a princess who falls in love with the demon queen…. Wait! That is a love story between two girls!?"

I pursed my lips. All in all, it was not a bad storyline. The princess was saved by the young demon queen when the demon queen was dressed as a man. After many tit for tats of the princess pursuing the demon queen as she tries to run away, the princess finally discovers that the man she had been chasing all this time was actually a girl and the demon queen who was bent on destroying her kingdom. "Story is fine, gender bender and a one sided romance. The demon queen never actually returns the princess's love." 𝒊𝒏nr𝐞𝘢𝐝. 𝒄𝒐𝗺

I can see why this story would be kind of popular. It was rather engaging. "Sophie, how are you? Will you be okay? Hmmm? Sophie!? Hey! Earth to Sophie!"

"Huh!?" Sophie broke out of her trance like state and turned her head towards me as if she was some kind of mechanical doll. From her pale face and lips that were turning blue, I think our princess will not be okay at all. I reached over and placed my hand on her head: "Heating." I let a warm current permeate through her body, causing her to slowly relax.

"Feel better?" I saw that her tension seemed to relax a bit.

"Yes, thank you…. I am not good with crowds. I thought if I was with you that maybe just maybe, I could use this chance to get over my fear of crowds, but it seems that it might be too much for me. What should I do? I am not even able to stand up. My legs are mush." I sighed and knelt down next to her and reached out and took her hands.

"I will be right there next to you, so just focus on me. Tune out everyone else around you and only focus on me. If you begin to panic, I will cover for you. A play is amazing because if things do not go as planned, as long as you get to the same outcome, it will be fine. To be honest, I am nervous myself, but I still think it will be fun. Even though I am the demon queen…." I guess my last words tickled Sophie a bit because she finally smiled even though it was faint.

I guess her inability to really communicate or socialize well with others is why she was so easily taken away, then her scream early was probably all she could muster up at that time. But that is fine. I will do what I can to assist her. Luckily I have already memorized all my lines. The perk of having a system. Instant photographic memory!

Luckily the script was well structured, with every name on it next to their lines and how they should act at that point. "Just try to remember as much as you can. I will be there by your side."

"I will do my best…." Sophie seemed to have a bit of fight growing inside her. I just hoped it would last until we got on stage. I am no master of the acting arts, so…. Wait… I can be a partial master! Let's see here… Hmmm? Acting only has one point level to it for it to be mastered? I guess it is really not that useful of a skill, but if used correctly, it will definitely come in handy in the future if not used on the stage. I don't plan to set foot on another stage after this anyway, so having a maxed out skill with only one level was not bad.

[Acting (LVL 1(MAX))]

The stage was set, and it was now time for the play to start. I still do not see how the lines in this play are only a few. The two females were the lead characters! With my demon queen costume on, which was nothing more than a pair of men's commoner clothing with a hat, I walked up on stage. This was the first scene where I had just arrived with a few of my subordinates in the kingdom undercover and was about to begin our stakeout.

"Your Highness, you did not need to come out and do this yourself. To think our queen will be walking around amongst these dirty people."

"Frederick, your words are a bit much, do you think not? While I wish for world domination, I do not wish for all of its people to die. This kingdom will fall and come under my rule. Then the people of this land will become my people. As a ruler, have I ever treated my people badly?" My words were dignified and followed the script to the last letter. Even all my movements were on point, causing the spiky haired young man to stare at me in disbelief. Go, acting skill level 1 mastery! I know for a fact that if this was before, I would not have done any of this and might have even stuttered during the process. I think if I were to become a spy in the future, I could easily make people think I was a frog and not a sentient being.

"It is true that Your Highness has always treated us kindly, but these people have killed so many of our demon kind." Spiky hair is not bad! While he was surprised at first, he quickly got back into character.

"They only started killing our kind after my initial attack. Did we not kill thousands of their own men? It is only natural while at war for people to fall on all sides. This is how war is. We destroyed cities and towns all the way here. Are you expecting them to not attack us back? Such foolishness!" I slammed the wooden table next to me and glared at spiky hair. "You will stay here. I will gather intelligence myself."

The scene came to an end, and we quickly ran off stage while people took off the props to prepare for the next scene. The way they were racing back and forth so easily replacing props showed just how skilled the people were at their jobs. I was truly impressed.

But the next scene was Sophie's scene. I walked over to her and held her hands. "I will be right off stage on the opposite side. Just look at me and follow the script."-.

"Okay…." Sophie nodded, her hands trembling. There was nothing more I could do. I could only say this much.

Sophie went up on stage, her movements slightly stiff, but she seemed to ease up as her eyes locked onto mine. A little maid ran up to her and grabbed her arms. "Princess, please stop going out to town. If his majesty finds out, you will be punished again."

Not good. Sophie seemed to have frozen up. I looked her in the eye and mouthed a few words to her. "It's your turn…."

Sophie was still frozen. The little maid seemed to be unsure of what to do. My eyes lit up with magic circles as I used whisper magic to whisper in Sophie's ears. "Sophie, do as I say. First, say: I am not going to sit around like a little bird in a cage. I want to go to town and visit the stalls like any other person."

"I-I am not going to sit around like a little bird in a cage. I want to go to town and visit the stalls like any other person." Sophie's voice cracked, but she was still able to say her lines.

"Now push the little maid off gently and hold up your skirt and march off stage." Luckily this part of the scene was small. She did not have to do much besides say her lines and run off stage. I watched on as Sofia did as I asked, and as soon as she reached me, she fell to the floor.

"I did it… I actually did it!" Sophia cried out softly as she buried her head in her knees. For someone not good with crowds, I think she just did a fine job.

"You did great. It's my turn next, then it will be our first meeting. So we will be on stage together, take a breather and drink some water." I smiled at her as she nodded her head before I walked back up on stage.

"What is with these streets? They are covered in filth. I am surprised there is no illness running rampant in this city." I pursed my lips as I looked at the trash all over the place. If this was a real city and the streets were covered in filth, then it would definitely end up getting many people sick.

I acted out as if I was walking down a long city street before finally stopping off at the cleanest food stand I could find. "Master, five grillers."

"Be ready in a jiff!"

I sat there looking around. My eyes narrowed as I looked out over the ground. I could hear the gasps coming from the crowd, which made me wonder if something had just happened, but I could not turn my head too quickly because the script said to look as scary as possible when scanning the crowd slowly.

"Food up! Here you go, lad." The stall owner dropped the food I ordered in front of me.

"Thanks, master."

"Don't mention it. Not many come down these streets anymore ever since the new king took over. He took away the reforms that kept our city clean, saying that we commoners do not deserve to be treated well. It's not like we do not know what he is thinking. But even so, we still try to clean up as much as possible, but we have no place to put it anymore. If we try to burn it, we will get arrested. If we try to store it elsewhere, we will get arrested. It's like he wants us to live in filth. Haha, look at me complaining. Sorry lad."

"It's fine. I just got into town myself, so I had no idea what was going on. I was quite taken aback by the way the town looked so dirty."

"Yeah, most travelers are. I suggest not staying long if you do not want your health to be harmed. Sadly for people like me, this place is our home. We can't just up and leave easily."

"I guess not."

The scene ended, but the set did not need to be changed. It was now time for Sophie to run up on stage and run into me. I watched as Sophie walked up on stage and suddenly ran at me at full speed. She was quick! Too quick! "Sophie, slow down!"

*Bang!*

I watched as Sophie, now in commoner's clothes, flew headfirst over the table and into me. I wrapped my arms around her trying to keep her from getting hurt while using magic to keep my hat on my head. It was not supposed to fall off just yet!

"My lady, are you alright?"

"Huh!?" Sophie looked at me in a bit of a daze before suddenly sitting straight up and placing her hands on my chest. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. A pretty lady like you should not run like that. If you get seriously hurt, it will be a crime to all beastkin." 𝙞𝙣𝗻𝒓𝗲𝓪d. c𝘰m

"Pretty!?" Sophie looked into my eyes and blushed bright red as she began panicking. "No, no, I am not pretty. I am…."

I placed my finger on Sophie's lips and smiled. "First, my lady, how about standing up. Our current position is kind of suggestive."

I watched as Sophie, frozen and clumsily, tried to stand up, almost falling a few times. To be honest, this was far from the princess in the script, but this matched her current state, which was why I went with it. It made the scene flow much better.

I stood up and dusted off my clothes before placing my hand on Sophie's head. "Since my lunch has been eaten by the ground, I will now be off. But my lady, be careful from now on."

Sophie's expression was perfect. She blushed and lowered her head. Good job, Sophie! With the scene now complete, I turned and began walking off stage. I used detection magic to see how Sophie was doing and when I saw her staring at my retreating back with blushed cheeks, I knew things had ended perfectly. Although it did take her a little bit to realize she needed to get off the stage.

Off stage, the older woman came over to me. "Girl, you really saved the scene. Just follow how you are acting with the princess, and the rest of us will follow up."

"I will do what I can to make sure we can make it through."

The next scene came, and I was now supposed to be walking down the street. Behind me, the nervous Sophie was supposed to be hiding here and there, but instead, she was fidgeting as she walked in a straight path towards me.

In the script, I am supposed to stop and turn to look behind me but shrug once I do not see anything. But this time, since she is directly behind me, I can only turn and shake my head. "Silly girl, when following someone, you must know it is better to try to hide in the process."

"I…." Sophie's face turned red. I guess she realized her mistake. She looked left and right before quickly hiding behind a tall prop. It was just that the prop was a street lamp….

I shrugged and turned around, and continued going. The scenes continued on, and Sophie was stumbling through them, unsure of how to act. When it was time for her to speak her lines, I would help her along. Now it finally came down to the last scene. Somehow we had made it this far. This scene was the scene that would finish up everything. It was the scene where the princess would confess her love to the demon queen, only to be heart broken in the end.

But…. Things were not going as planned. "N-no matter i-if y-you a-are the….." Sophie couldn't stop stuttering, which was never going to make the scene end nicely. I could only think of one solution to this…. Using whisper magic, I sent Sophie a message: "Sophie shout: I just can't do this and run off stage! Now hurry up!"-.

Sophie's body jolted as she yelled out in surprise: "I just can't do hits!" Before turning completely red and running off stage with her hands covering her face.

Ah! She bit her tongue in the end! I really did not know whether to laugh or cry. For better or worse, she did play the part of a princess, but one that was very shy. I guess it is time to end it all. "To think, after chasing me for so long, she would run away on her own. This is good. I can relax knowing I can destroy this kingdom…. But…. I guess I can spare her life…. Although she was a princess, I can say for sure she was not like the rest of the royal family." 𝐢𝘯𝑛𝓻𝚎𝙖𝑑. ᴄ𝗼m

I raised my head and looked up at the castle prop as the lights dimmed. Only then did I walk off stage. Since that was the last scene, the stage was being cleared while the narrator finished the storyline. When I went down to the actors' dressing room, Sophie was huddled in the corner, hugging her knees. I could hear small quiet sobs coming from her direction. I sighed and walked over and knelt down next to her. "Why are you crying? You did fine."

"But I messed up the entire time! I made a fool of myself!" Sophie turned and looked at me with her tear filled eyes causing me to feel bad. What made it worse was her sagging ears and tail, which made her look not only cute but also more miserable. It was enough to make anyone's heart turn to mush and wish to protect her with fists of fury. Although, I can see where she was coming from. I would also feel the same as her if I messed up every line.

"But do you hear the applause? Even if you messed up, who cares? The audience loved it, and that is all that matters. Come dry your eyes. We need to go back on stage. This time you will be right by my side, and all you need to do is bow." I smiled at her and reached out my hand once more. She looked at it for a few seconds before reaching out and hesitantly taking it.

After she dried her eyes, I pulled her along and brought her on stage with the rest of the cast. The older woman from before was giving her speech. "I want to thank everyone who came to watch the show. While this time the show was different from the last, I would like to thank our two stand in actors who had come to our aid when our two main actresses had gotten into an accident."

The light landed on Sophie and me. I smiled and waved at them before giving a bow pulling Sophie with me. I could see that Sophie was a wreck, and I hoped this would end soon. I could tell this was not having much effect on her inability to deal with crowds.

Once the older woman finished her speech, everyone bowed once more before leaving the stage. It was then that the older woman came over to Sophia and me. "I have to thank the two of you for your hard work. While the entire thing was nowhere close to the script, it still served to be very entertaining to the people that came to watch. Here is your pay."

The older woman handed me and Sophia a gold coin, which I did not stand on ceremony at all and took. Sophia, on the other hand, was a bit hesitant but did eventually take it under the older woman's persuasion. After giving her my thanks, I went to leave only to have a hand grab my shoulder. "Wait. I wanted to ask if you would be willing to join our acting troupe."

"Acting?" I pondered for a moment before shaking my head. "Not really my thing." With that, I turned and left, with Sophia closely following behind me. I heard the older woman yelling out at me but did not really care. I did not wish to be an actor.

"Why did you decline?" I heard a soft voice behind me. I turned and looked at Sophia who was standing there with her head lowered.

"Why? Because I did not come to the capital to become an actor. I just figured I would help out since I was not really busy."

"So you just arrived as well?" Sophia raised her head. Her ears and tail were still slumped down, so I guess she was still upset over the play.

"That I did! I am going to be going to the Royal Magic Academy next month." As I said this, I saw Sophia's eyes grow wide.

"You are attending the academy as well!?"

"As well? So you will be going there too?" I asked. Although I pretty much knew the answer with how she was reacting.

"Yes. I was invited to go by Count Freedman. He had taken…. A liking to me…. He… He is probably out looking for me right now…." Sophie's voice trembled, and I could tell right away this was not because he liked her abilities. My brow furrowed. I probably should not get involved, but Sophie seems like a good girl, and I would be filled with guilt if I just let her be. But something did not seem right. I suddenly realized my first thoughts on the matter were not entirely correct.

"Him taking a liking to you does not seem to be enough reason for him to be sending you to the academy. You must also have a skill that is useful to him." If it was just as simple as the Count being a sick bastard who would go after young girls, he would not send Sophie to the academy. The money would not be worth it. He could just lock her up in his house. So my guess is that Sophie is adept at something.

"I… I was born with a high affinity with spatial magic….." Now it made sense. I had read there were some people who had a perfect affinity to certain types of magic. This affinity allows them to cast magic at a much lower cost. While spatial magic requires a large amount of mana, if you have a high affinity with it then it would be much easier to cast from a young age. And the space she could open would also be bigger.

"That explains it. I can also use spatial magic. I was warned by a friend that showing it to others without the strength to protect yourself is akin to putting a target on your back. Since this is the case, let's go explore the city. I promise not a single person will touch you with me around. So from now on, let's be friends!" I said with a smile and held my hand out once more. Why do I feel like I have become some kind of knight protecting the fair maiden? Even if that is the case, it doesn't matter. I want to be friends with Sophie, and I will always protect my friends.

"But… If you go against the Count…. Won't that cause you trouble?" Sophie was indeed a nice girl. Worrying about me when she was already in a big mess.

"He's just a count. I can deal with it. Plus, if you come and stay with me, he won't even be able to get through my front door. You will be fine." I reached out and grabbed her hand, and began pulling her along. "Off to explore the capital!"

I kind of hoped that this count guy would show up. I bet he is some pig who can't even get a wife, so he had to go off to a village and pick up a girl from there. But his tastes were just…. I really want to beat some sense into him. If he tries to make a fuss, I do have a few ways of dealing with him that would make it so no one would know where he went to. It might sound evil, but to protect my new friend, I will make him disappear. Sadly I know I can't just do that without a good cause…. The more I thought about it the more I couldn't help sighing inwardly. What kind of mess am I getting myself into?

The more I think about it, and I know that violence is not the answer, but if it truly comes down to it, I will use what force I need to. I do not wish to deal with such things, but now that I have decided to befriend Sophie, I will protect her as such. A person who abandons their friends is not a person. At least, this is how I see things.

I know some of the ideals of this world are much different from Earth's, but I still can't stand by when a young girl is being forced into things. "Sophie, Let's go to this sandwich shop I went to yesterday. It was pretty good."

"Huh? Okay…" As always, Sophie seems to be spaced out. She is probably still trying to understand what is happening.

I dragged Sophie all the way to the sandwich shop I went to yesterday with the prince. I really wished to try out a different sandwich this time. While the sandwich I had last time was really good, with the prince being there, I did not really get to enjoy it. "What can I get you two lovely ladies?" The shop owner asked. He had a big smile on his face when we walked in. "Oh, not with the prince today?"

"Why would I even wish to be with that idiot?" I asked with a sour face. I guess this tickled the owner's funny bone because he started laughing.-.

"Haha…. Don't let him hear that. He will be very sad. You are the first girl I have ever seen the prince with." I guess his teasing did not get the reaction he wished to see because I only sighed and gave him a look like please don't talk nonsense.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the prince might be under the king's orders. I mean, who would like a country bumpkin like me. I am nowhere near crown princess material. Plus, I would never do well dressing up in skirts. My tail would get in the way. Unless the skirts were tailor made for me, taking into consideration my tail and wings like the dresses Adel bought me, then maybe I could not refuse, but I still would not want to be some princess. I already have enough things on my plate. Plus, I need to be able to have as much time as possible between my other things to work on fusion magic and other things. At any rate, even if the prince did like me, it would be a big no.

"Can I get a tontalinia sandwich, please? Extra greens, please. " I found the green vegetables this owner was using blended nicely with the meat last time. So I wanted some extra. After I finished ordering, I turned to Sophie. "What do you want?"

"I-I will have what you have." Sophie answered me softly.

"Then order up! Two tontalinias with extra greens." The owner yelled out. I paid before finding a seat with Sophie in the corner.

"So tell me, what does this Count look like?" I was curious about what this Count's appearance looked like. I wondered if my assumptions about his body were as I imagined.

"Around six feet. Well, fit and handsome if you can get by the eyes that stare at you as if you are a piece of meat." To be honest, hearing Sophie's description, I was kind of surprised, but I guess judging a book by its cover is never a good idea.

"I bet that gets annoying. So even if he is handsome, you do not like him?" I had to make sure I was doing the right thing. If Sophie did like the man and was just too shy to say then I would say nothing but…. If she did not like him and this man was actually trying to force her into a marriage or something along those lines, then it could be said he was trying to groom her for the future.

"No… I did not wish to leave my hometown. By using his status, he forced my parents to allow him to take me away. While he has been nice, I do not like him like that. I know he is only nice to me due to my magic and not that he likes me. When he brought me to his house, I could see he already had many girls older than me there who all looked down on me. I couldn't handle it, so I ran away last night." I guess it was a good thing that the Count was at least nice to her. While this does not change my initial impression of him. Even if he was not after Sophie for her looks, it still did not change the fact that he had snatched a young girl out of her home by force.

"Then come stay with me for a while. I got a big place and extra rooms. So you can stay with me. When I move to the residence that is being prepared for me, you can follow along as well." I did not hesitate to give her an option. She could always try to return home, but the road home would not be safe. Of course, I also do not know how well trained she is either. I mean, for all I know, she could be a serial killer. You can call it a bit of immaturity on my part, but I would rather risk it than let Sophie go off on her own, especially if she is not good with crowds.

Sophie did not give me an answer. It seemed she was lost in thought, which is also normal if you think about it. While I do not know much about her, she didn't know a thing about me. We ended up eating our food in silence. I was not going to push her into anything she did not wish to do. While it is saddening that I will not be able to properly help her if she does decide to go off on her own. There is nothing I can do about it.

After our meal, we walked the streets. I found out the weird looking doll was called a sombrenia. It seems to be a popular mascot at some kid's show a few blocks away. I kinda like the fact that there were many different forms of entertainment. From plays to musicals and, like I just said, kid shows with different characters who just try to entertain the kids. But surprisingly, no one even thought to make a school for the kids to go to to learn. While I did not like school much myself, I do know it is an essential part of life.

If schools are done in an object oriented fashion, then kids can go and learn everything they need to learn for certain skills while still getting the basics, reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and, of course, magic. All the essentials to get by in their daily lives plus the skills they wish to learn, a trade they can make money at. No need for extra stuff unless the students wish to learn it. History is not essential. What happens in the past should stay in the past. The future is what everyone should be looking towards. Now, this may be my own bias, as I hated history because I saw no need for it, but it is definitely not worth it. You only need to learn what you need to at the time of needing the information.

Like, let's say you are doing research on a subject. It would be good to look up information and see if anyone has ever researched it before. Then you can take the time to learn the history of that subject so you can change things in your own research. While I know I may be contradicting myself, I did indeed learn the history of this world, but that is only because the history of a fantasy world is much more entertaining than the history of Earth. But I still say it is not really essential. Well, I guess ancient learning languages might be a good idea, but that is only if you are researching something to do with the ancient societies.

At any rate, it has been a half hour, and Sophie still hasn't said a word. She still seems to be lost in thought. She only smiles here and there. Why do I feel like this is what I was doing with the prince?

After leaving the shop with the strange doll, I stopped off at a street vendor which was selling some kind of treat. "Sophie, do you want one?" 𝓲𝐧n𝚛𝐞𝒂d. 𝑐𝗼m

No answer. I turned to see Sophie standing there with her head lowered. "Faith…. You said I could stay with you, right? Will I cause an issue for you?"

"An issue? Why would it cause an issue? If anything, my place is probably the most secure place in this part of the city. I am not forcing you to do anything you do not wish to do. I just wanted to give you an option so you do not need to sleep outside or try to leave the capital on your own. Traveling alone is not easy. There are a lot of idiots out there." Like an idiot hero. An idiot prince. Idiot bandits. A lot of things that I did not say out loud…

"Then… If you are willing to allow me to stay with you…." I sighed seeing Sophie lowering her head once more. I wonder what made her this way. I guess things will come in time. She already told me about her problem but there seems to be more to it.

"I would not have offered if I was not willing." I said with a smile. Only when I answered did Sophie raise her head once more. I do hope she will be more comfortable. But I fear she will lose her spot at the academy now that she is going against the count.

"Why? Why would you go so far for me, a person you just met?" Sophie asked suddenly. I can understand why she would ask this. I would ask the same thing. A complete stranger was going above and beyond to help them. It just didn't seem ordinary.

"Why not? Are we not friends now? I mean we beat up bad guys together, acted in a play together, and even had lunch together. Are these not things friends do?" I asked with a bright smile. i𝑛𝓷𝙧𝘦𝚊d. 𝚌o𝓶

Sophie seemed stunned by my answer. She kept mumbling the word friends over and over. "Friends…. You really wish to be my friend? I mean, I am nothing but a lowly demi…. Ah!"

"Sophie, do not tell me this entire time you did not realize I was a demi human?" Sophie's entire face turned bright red. I guess I hit it spot on. Did she really not see my horns, tail, and wings!?-.

"I…. Then, let's be friends…." Sophie clenched her fist and nodded her head. I guess now realizing I was a demi human made her feel more confident. This was good as a cute fox girl, she should be more confident. Back on Earth, fox girls were a thing of many boys' fantasies. I only know this because of all the web novels I read that dealt with them were pretty popular, and the comment section was filled with a bunch of pervs. There is something about the fluff that gets them, I guess.

At least now I have officially made my second friend. I may even be able to talk to Adel and see if we can get Sophie into the academy as well. Having an affinity for spatial magic was something that was probably unheard of and would make her a great resource to the kingdom. Even though I have my inventory and can also cast spatial magic if I truly wish to, once I learn the magic equation, that is, I would not mind having a comrade next to me who could use it as well. Being able to bring artillery in on different sides of the battlefield is like a dream come true. Sneak in and set up pre-made defenses or artillery. Now that I am thinking about it, this would be very OP! I can imagine bringing in something like a magic cannon and setting it up behind the enemy's line and just letting it go to town. They would not think a single person would flank them and place down such heavy artillery.

Just thinking of the possibilities was making me grow excited. "Faith?"

"Ah! Sorry I was lost in thought." When I get carried away, I lose touch with reality. I wonder if I will become a military nut in the future. But this one thing made me think of more ideas. But I would need the help of people more proficient in the area of magic weapon crafting. In other words, the dwarves. I will need to visit their kingdom sometime in the future.

I ended up buying two treats and pushing one into Sohpie's hands. She did not seem as reluctant as before as she took and began nibbling on it. "We have most of the day ahead of us, so what shall we do?"

"I do not know. I have never been to the capital." Sophie replied as she looked around at the stores. I should have expected such an answer. After all, she was just like me.

"You girls looking for something to do?" The stall owner who sold us the treat chimed in. I turned and looked at him but was unsure if this was one of those fake modeling agency type deals that pick up girls to do a fake photoshoot, only to make them do something bad.

I held my suspicions in since this world had no such things as I asked: "Do you know of a good place we can visit?"

"If you are not in too much of a hurry, you can check out the street show that is going on down the street. It's the annual harvest fest which brings out a bunch of street performers who do many different things. It is quite the show, and it is free."

"Thanks, we will go check it out." I waved at the stall owner and grabbed Sophie's hand, and began running in the direction he had pointed in. But who would have thought that by just down the street, he meant like an hour's walk?

But I had to say that when we arrived, my eyes were filled with different color streamers and balloons of all kinds. Magic lights of different animals danced just over our heads. They were not high up, so you could not see them unless you were in the area.

Men on unicycles rolled around while juggling torches. People dressed up in funny clothes, and strange makeup walked around trying to make people laugh. I guess they were supposed to be clowns, but they did not look like clowns on Earth. They seemed more like a jester that you would see in ancient times back on Earth but scarier looking. But for some reason, the kids who were on the streets were laughing and enjoying the show they were performing.

The entire thing closely resembled that of a huge circus, and the people were wandering around having a good time. I do believe this event was more geared towards kids because there were many more kids here, unlike the play I acted in earlier.

Sword swallowers and flame eaters did their things to entertain the crowd. It was really fun to see as I have never seen such things in both of my lives. I only ever imagined them as I read the novels that told about them. But seeing them in real life was much more amazing than I had ever thought. Sophie's eyes were also shining as she watched the shows going on.

We watched the show for some time before walking over to a concession stand for some drinks. The day was hot, so standing out in the sun was making us sweat and very thirsty. The drink we bought was called Furtain. A strange mix of wild fruits and greens that you can get in the forest not far from the capital. The strange thing about this drink was that it was said to be very healthy yet did not taste bad. You would think with its deep greenish orange color that it would be a strange flavor, but it was actually quite good, and best of all, it cooled the body. It was tangy yet sweet.

We walked around the area and watched many of the shows when we spotted a tent off to the side that seemed to be doing some kind of fortune telling. The line was not long, so the two of us decided to check it out.

The tent was purple in color with what looked like moons and stars imprinted on it. I have never heard of fortune telling in this world before, so this was kind of unique. A young girl was in line in front of us, so I asked if she knew what to expect. Come to find out that the fortune teller only shows up at the festival every year, and no one knows exactly who the person truly is. The person always wore black with a black veil covering their face making it impossible to see who they were or how old they were. They only knew that the person was a woman. But every person who has had their fortune told by this mysterious person can say for sure that the fortune teller was legitimate. She had never been wrong, not even once.

I kind of felt it was hard to believe. I mean trying to tell someone's future was like sticking your hand in a mystery hole, hoping what you pull out will be some amazing treasure. The chances of it actually happening were practically zero. I could understand if the woman was able to guess a few things here and there every so often but to always be right was much different unless she had some kind of far sight that allowed her to see into the future.

After waiting a while, it was finally our turn. Both Sophie and I pushed back the purple curtain and walked inside. The room was dark and filled with sparkling lights on the ceiling of the tent. The room had a strong sense of incense that filled the area making one feel calm and relaxed. And in the middle of this tent was a small table with a cloaked figure in black sitting behind it. In front were two chairs. The person in black acknowledged us with a nod and motioned with her hand towards the chairs. "Please have a seat."

"Which one of you would like to go first?" From the sound of the fortune teller's voice, it seemed she was an older woman, but I do not know if this was the truth. From the smoothness of the skin on her hands, it seems more like she would be someone younger. I guess most wouldn't see such details when they were not looking, but I was a bit curious, so I was taking in all the details I could. It's not like I would go and ask her personally who she was or how old she truly was. Going that far would be rude to someone who wishes to keep their identity a secret. It's also unlikely that she would even tell me.

"Sophie will go first." I answered, pushing Sophie forward.

"Huh? Faith!?" Sophie began to panic. I smiled and patted her shoulder. "She is just reading your fortune. Nothing major will happen."

"O-Okay…." Sophie turned and nodded to the fortune teller.

"Let me see your hand." Upon the fortune teller's request, Sophie stretched out her hand. The small delicate hand that was no bigger than my own reached out and took it. I watched as the fortune teller extended one finger and began writing on Sophie's palm with magic. Seconds later, many balls of light began to appear, floating around the room and condensing around Sophie. I did not feel any danger from them, so I was not worried they would harm Sophie. They were only landing on her skin before flying off and floating in the air in between the fortune teller and Sophie.-.

After they all gathered, they began to condense and formed a screen in front of them. "Let's see…." An image appeared on the screen. It was Sophie. She was smiling and walking down the halls of a building. In her hands was a book, and she seemed to be chatting with someone at her side, but that person was blurry, making it hard to know who it was. But the clothes she was wearing looked to be a uniform of some kind. Was this the Royal Magic Academy's uniform?

After a while, the scene changed, and Sophie was crying. Someone was hugging her, seemingly trying to comfort her. But from her expression, the anguish she was feeling was clear as day, as if something had happened to her or a loved one of hers.

After the image changed once more, she was standing on the front lines of a great battle. Fire, magic, and smoke filled the screen. The scene of dead bodies littering the grounds was clear as day. Luckily my ancient will was staying dormant, or I might have caused a scene. Her armor was covered in blood. But her eyes were clear and full of determination. With one look, you could tell she was fighting for a cause she truly believed in.

After that, the screen went black. There was nothing else to see. I looked over at Sophie, whose expression was hard to read. I could not tell what she was thinking at this time. "Girl, do not think too much about it. The future is not always set in stone. When the time comes, things will slowly fall into place. Let the things that will come, come.

I nudged Sophie with my elbow to get her attention. "As she said, what will come will come. No sense in thinking about it now."

"Mmm…" Sophie hummed an acknowledgment. But I could tell she was still thinking about it.

I sighed and looked over at the fortune teller. "Can you read mine next?"

"Yes, of course, let me see your hand." I reached out with my hand, and just like before, the fortune teller took it, but for some reason, she did not start right away. She only held it for a few seconds before finally going to work. I felt this was slightly strange.

The balls of light began to sweep around the room before touching me and condensing into a screen in front of us. I watched as the image on the screen appeared. This time it showed me in the Royal Magic Academy's uniform, but I was sitting in class. Next to me, definitely asleep, was Adel, who was using my shoulder for a pillow and to my right was Sophie, who was scribbling notes onto the paper as she took the class seriously. I can only guess I was paying attention. I am not sure since I do not know what I look like when I am paying attention.

The scene changed again, and now my eyes almost fell out of my head. The other person on the screen was too blurry to make out, and I am not sure what sex they were, but they definitely had long golden or blonde hair, it was hard to tell, and it was definitely me kissing someone. My cheeks instantly heated up. To be honest, I never once thought about kissing a girl but now, seeing this, if this was actually a girl and not a guy with long hair, I began to wonder. I wondered what the hell happened to the future me!? I wanted to lower my head to hide my embarrassment, but it quickly changed once more.

This time I was also on a battlefield. But I was kneeling down holding someone crying. I do not know who it was, but by the way I was crying while holding that person, I know for a fact that they must be close to me. The scene shifted once more, and my eyes looked crazed as I swung my sword at everything around me. Blood dripped from my body. I was soaked in it from head to toe. I was definitely in a crazed state. My ancient will must have taken over.

The gruesome scene once more changed. I was sitting in a tall chair, leaning against the armrest, looking down over a bunch of people kneeling. The look in my eyes was cold. As if the people below me were all about to die. I do not know what this all meant, but this me that I was seeing scared me. Those eyes did not seem to be me.

The scene moved to me setting flowers in front of a grave. The name on the grave was blurry, but the tears in my eyes showed how much sorrow I felt. I wish I knew what the name was so I could figure out if I already knew this person. If I did, I could be sure to watch out for them and try to keep them from dying.

Finally, the screen went black. I am not quite sure how I feel at this time. Seeing those scenes that seemed to be nothing but heartache and craziness. I was not sure if I should believe any of it or not or if I should start making preparations to overcome these hardships. War, love, death…. Why must any of it exist? I held my head. My thoughts are a mess. I almost think it would be better if I did truly become a demon queen and destroy this world. Then…. I wouldn't have to deal with any pain or hardships. But I know I could never do it. I have people here that I care about, so destroying the world would not be a good thing.

"Young one does not need to think too much. You must fight fate head on in order to change the things you have seen." The fortune teller's voice entered my ears. I looked up at her feeling a bit confused. Did she not just tell Sophie that what comes will come? But all I got for my confused expression was a nod and a hand stretched out. "One silver." i𝒏𝐧𝒓ea𝚍.＆nbsp;𝘤𝗼𝓶

I nodded and handed her a silver coin. It was fifty copper per person, so I paid for both Sophie and I. I stood up and bowed to the fortune teller. "Thank you."

"Come again next year. Maybe then things may have changed." Hearing this, I nodded and began to walk out of the tent. Sophie quickly followed behind me.

We walked quietly back towards the inn. Both of us seemed lost in our own thoughts. But we only walked for half an hour when a group of men suddenly stood in front of us. "You are Sophie, I presume?"

I looked up at the group of what looked to be about twenty men and frowned. I instinctively pulled Sophie behind me. I did not even need to look to see that she was sacred. When I grabbed her arm just now, she was already shaking like a leaf in the wind. "Who are you, and what do you want with my friend?"

"Demi girl, stay out of this if you know what is good for you. We just want Sophie to follow us back." I could only guess the one speaking was the leader. But what I really couldn't get over at this time was that these people's clothing were all mismatched. Leather and heavy armor covered parts of their bodies. Each one had a sword in hand, seemingly ready for a fight. Were these people poorer than the bandits I met last time?

"If you want to force my friend to follow you, then I will have no choice but to get involved….." After saying this I drew the sword at my side.