“Ahahaha! Ahh, that makes sense now. I thought you knew me from back when I was on Earth. Whew, you made me worry that I had forgotten your face and your name!” I laughed out loud while sitting with two of Saori’s students inside a tavern.
“Huh? Hestia-san, you have amnesia?” Kyouya, the guy with dirt blond hair and equipment which made him look like a knight, responded.
I tilted my head. “Did Saori or Tamae-chan not tell you two? Yeah, when I was reincarnated by Aurena and Kargryxmor, they tried to erase my memories. Normal procedure, apparently. When you die, your soul gets a memory wipe. A clean slate. So, it kind of makes Saori and me special, right?”
“Y-Yeah, you and Sensei do seem more like Peolyncians at first glance than we do. Unlike us, you even speak Common fluently and look like the more human-like beastmen, Hestia-san,” Tatsuya, the wolf-smelling spearman with dark green hair, commented. I could also hear him murmur, “A wolf and dragon girl…” but I didn’t bring it up.
After meeting these two for the first time a few minutes ago, I was a bit surprised to hear Tatsuya say “Do I know you?” From that dream sequence, I knew my face was similar to my previous life’s, only with draconic features now. So, I was quite baffled to suddenly learn that a former Japanese student knew me. It just seemed like the perfect time to gain back some of my memories.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. When I told Kyouya and Tatsuya about my predicament, I had anticipated some good news, only to hear that they saw me unconscious in bed when they arrived in Griffonpeak. I laughed it off, but I would lie if I didn’t say I felt a sharp sting of disappointment.
Still, idols smile even in the hardest times. It would have been too easy to just suddenly learn about my entire past. Guess I’ll have to follow Aurena’s advice for now and wait for my soul to repair.
Hmm, I haven’t heard from Aurena in a while. Should I ask her? … Nah, she’s probably busy after Eshe’s… death.
Aurena didn’t speak much but I thought she would at least have something to say. No idea what she was doing now — was she even mourning Eshe’s death? Well, it didn’t matter right now, as I had my own problems to solve first.
“Sorry for the wait! Your food and rice wine!” A katzune woman walked up to us, carrying a tray with food in one hand and another tray with three small wooden cups and a bottle with a white liquid in the other hand.
Before she came too close, I preemptively took control of the [Air Shield] around our table, creating a hole for her to enter to place all the dishes and drinks down. Without Tasianna around, the air barrier couldn’t just let air and sound in without preventing our voices from escaping at the same time.
“Thank you very much, Haati,” I thanked her. “You got us the best parts of the meat from the stew, right?”
The young katzune woman smiled and nodded vigorously, “Of course, Lady Hestia! After everything you did for me, I made sure to tell the chef to give you three the best we can offer. Although, I think it might still not be very fitting for a princess. Hehe, I do hope it's to your liking.”
She seemed a bit nervous, but considering the situation, it was to be expected.
Haati was one of the people I saved from the slave auction held by Hamil. I might have went there just to rescue the orphan kids, but we decided to free everybody from their bonds. I played the haughty noble act to infiltrate the auction house where, to my surprise, I met Haati, who had been caught and enslaved there.
She lost her brothers on the night she was kidnapped during my first concert of Griffonpeak. It’s good that she was able to get her life back in order, seeing as she managed to get a job. Still, I wonder how much she’s hiding behind that smile of hers.
Life wasn’t fair — the truth behind these words became clearer and clearer to me with every passing day. Well, not like I haven’t already experienced it multiple times here in Peolynca and on Earth. But, what does a tantrum solve? All it does is push people away from me.
Argh, forget it! All these shitty thoughts when I’m trying to calm myself down! It’s stew time!
I ignored my brain and placed the spoonful of stew into my mouth, taking in the warm broth with bits of vegetable and meat. To be honest, the stew lacked some salt, and, if I really wanted to be critical, the texture was a bit too watery like a soup. Still, that didn’t mean it had no flavor. In fact, from the still crunchy vegetables and succulent meat, it had it aplenty.
“It’s pretty good. I like it,” I said, clearly causing everybody, even the other guests, to let out a sigh in relief.
“Yeah, it’s not bad. Pretty hearty,” Kyouya agreed while Tatsuya nodded.
After Haati left with a satisfied smile, I closed up the air barrier.
The fact that Saori’s students were otherworldly “heroes” might be known to the public but their faces, on the other hand, weren't. These two asked me to erect an [Air Shield] since they understood how much attention they might draw from their time in the Lecartiglio duchy. Well, I guess they probably underestimated how much attention I would draw.
Everybody is looking. A few even left. I should apologize to the owner by buying a bit more food. Feeling a bit peckish from flying around the town.
“Well, in any case, it’s good to meet you two, Kyouya, Tatsuya. I’m Hestia Atsuko, although I don’t exactly know my past name, so please call me Hestia.” I stood up and gestured for a handshake and both young men responded. “I heard from Tamae-san that, uhm, The Magical Biscuits and Misfits are intending to join up with us. Saori already said okay, but I gave my own okay after I woke up if that matters at all to you two. One question, though. Why exactly did you call your party ‘Misfits?’”
“Ehhh, well…” Kyouya scratched his cheek, looking conflicted. “It’s what the others called us for a while since we were a team made up of those who couldn’t find a team at first. We had to party up out of necessity.”
“Well, everybody but Kyouya,” Tatsuya interjected. “Haruka-chan — small girl, smells like a foxian because of her unique skill — was the last pick for the girls, so she had to end up with us. Two others and I were not even in anybody’s consideration, but, Kyouya? Dude was chosen for the ‘Hero’ party, but declined them just for me. He’s a real pal, you know.”
Tatsuya began clapping Kyouya on the back while the latter laughed it off, saying “If I hadn’t, you probably would have caused more trouble for everybody” while Tatsuya replied with “Shut up! With how stressful this world can be, you should be glad I haven’t been broken yet!”
“Hiehie,” I giggled. They sounded like good friends.
As they were arguing, my nose suddenly picked up a disgusting smell from the wooden bottle Haati placed down. Rice wine, she called it. I had smelled sake before, and this was just as disgusting as last time.
Still, I told Haati to bring three cups when the boys ordered it. They mentioned they would get in trouble with Saori if she knew they drank, so I told them I wouldn’t say anything if I could have some as well. As such, I poured the white liquid into our three cups and served them to everybody.
“Oh, thanks, Hestia-san,” Tatsuya thanked me. “But, uhm, do you really want to drink that?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re still underaged, right? Also, the sake here isn’t the best, but it still has a pretty strong alcohol taste. It’s pretty intense.”
“… Drinking age is 15 in most Peolyncian countries from what I heard, at least it is in Artorias. If you’re talking about Japanese drinking age, then shouldn’t you be underaged as well? Really no need to complain about it.”
“… Aren’t you American, Hestia-san? Drinking age is 21 there, so you really shouldn’t be drinking stuff like this. Sure, we might be 19 right now, but it’s better than a 15-year-old like you.”
“Oh, come on! I’m 16 this year, alright? Besides, this is Peolynca, I’m just at the right age to drink!”
“You say that, but I know from Sensei that you two were just born last year in your new Peolyncian bodies. In other words, you are just a year old! What if you get too drunk and Sensei finds us here? Considering how protective she seemed of you, we really would like to avoid you stumbling around, drunk as a salaryman after their payday!”
Saori is protective of me? Well, I can see that with how much of a worrywart she is, but we are friends, to the point I consider her family at this point. I too am protective of her and the others of Aurora. But why would she be worried if I drank a bit?
“Alright, alright, chill, you two.” Seeing us argue like this, Kyouya stepped in between us, figuratively, and attempted to calm things down. “Tatsuya, just have her try it. Considering we’ll be working together from this point, I don’t think you should already start antagonizing her like this.”
Tatsuya raised a brow to his friend. “I’m not trying to antagonize her. I’m just warning her of this stuff. You drank it with me before, so you should know that it hits hard. Argh, whatever, I came here to just rest before going back to the guild, so let’s just drink. Do you know what to say when we toast in Japanese, Hestia-san?”
“Of course. I have family in Japan, after all.”
We all picked up our small cups and with a countdown, gently touched our cups together, letting out a small wooden dud.
“““Kanpei! (Cheers!)”””
As I saw Kyouya and Tatsuya only sipping a small bit from the rice wine, I drew the cup closer to me, noticing how warm it had made my fingers. I steeled myself, ignored my nose, and took a si—
“Bruff! Puff!”
This is disgusting!!!
“Ark, see! I knew this would happen, Kyouya!”
The moment the warm liquid touched my tongue, my body instinctively rejected it, causing me to spit it out before it could move past the entrance of my mouth. From the wind I expelled, some of the sake spilled onto the table, earning me the annoyance of Tatsuya.
“Uhm, Hestia-san?” Kyouya suddenly pointed to the side, bringing my attention to Haati standing outside with a wry smile. I opened up the air bubble for her to enter.
“Lady Hestia.” While hearing Haati’s voice again, I saw she had brought a patchwork cloth and a mug filled with something sweet-smelling. It was probably juice.
“… You expected this?” I said, quickly realizing how prepared she was.
“I saw you didn’t like the fruit wine when we first met. I heard the wine reserved for nobles or rich merchants was usually less strong with a focus on a pleasant aroma. So, since the rice wine we commoners use is, well, cheaply made, it’s there to make you drunk fast. If you didn’t like the fruit wine, I thought you might not like this rice wine, Lady Hestia.”
Blinking my eyes blankly for a second, I quickly thanked Haati for her consideration and cleaned the sake on my lips. I could feel my face warming up from embarrassment. I then took a sip from the fruit juice and thanked Aurena. Ooh, being able to cleanse that nasty filth from my mouth was a godsend.
Once Haati left, I noticed Tatsuya giving me that “told you so” eyes, causing me to scoff at him. I then turned my eyes away and drank a bit more until I felt refreshed. Kyouya and Tatsuya laughed it off and told me to eat before my stew turned cold.
“So, I heard from Sensei that you're an idol, right? K-pop or J-pop,” Kyouya asked while we were eating together.
“K-pop, 100%,” I replied with full confidence. “I do like the idol scene in Japan, but I personally think the Korean one has developed faster and is more eager to experiment— Hold on, that smile. Oh, don’t tell me! You’re actually a fan of the scene!”
“Yeah, damn right, I am!” Kyouya tapped the table while raising his voice. “I fucking love the composition of the music added with the singing. I began listening to them pretty religiously once I joined the athletic club. Without some music, I can’t even train properly.”
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“Huh?” Tatsuya took notice. “Is that why you always hummed those songs? I never really understood why you liked Korean stuff so much when we have enough gaming studios focusing on their tracks. I mean, come on, imagine if you had battle music accompany you while you go hunting.”
I slammed the table the moment he said and stood up, jumping up and up while waggling my tail gleefully. “Oooh, I get what you’re talking about! Here, how about this!”
I activated my music.
[Music Resonation (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
“Is this the fated battle, the light shines ♫
It’s blinding my sight ♫
But I’ve gotta hold on, the stage calls ♫
The cries of a thousand, the flames of war will descend ♫”
“Oh?! Hold up, is that music? An electric guitar?! Wait, are you actually able to recreate instruments, Hestia-san?!” Kyouya stood up as well, infected by my enthusiasm.
“Sure, can do! [Aerokinesis] allows me to control wind almost perfectly. So when I learned I could do that, I immediately focused on recreating the sounds of every instrument I could think of! I’m not an idol for nothing!”
“And what is this [Music Resonation] part? For some reason, after I got it, I started to feel less fatigued,” Tatsuya noted.
“My spell songs. Did Saori tell you how I’m a champion of Aurena?” They nodded. “Yeah, I got the unique skill [Idol] from her. Not only does it allow me to create spell songs through the idol system, if you get [Music Resonation] I can also share my buffs with you similar to [Synergist’s Oath].”
“Are you serious? That’s your unique skill? The ones we got when we came to Peolynca really sucked unlike yours,” Tatsuya complained before handing over the information to me.
Rush Hour
A skill that dictates a user’s maximum stamina and general activeness. Lowers maximum stamina of the user in low tension situations. Increases maximum stamina of the user in high tension situations. In a flight and fight situation; the user may activate this skill to cleanse any [Exhaustion] effects and apply [Rush Hour] on oneself, significantly increasing Agility and Stamina regeneration. However, under [Rush Hour] the user will also receive double of all incoming damage. Once dispelled, the user will be inflicted with [Starvation (Minor)], and [Exhaustion (Moderate)] or [Exhaustion (Major)] depending on the length of [Rush Hour]’s usage
Ardent Defender
A skill that specializes in and improves the defense of the user. Improves the effectiveness of all shield abilities by reducing a certain amount of damage from any blocked attacks. Passively improves Vitality and Wisdom of other members of the user’s party
[Rush Hour] was Tatsuya’s unique skill while [Ardent Defender] belonged to Kyouya. To be honest, [Rush Hour] sucked while [Ardent Defender] was consistently good in every situation. I mean, just look at the minuses it has. Sure, it might be good when things get dicey — a berserker-like effect — but that was about it.
I know those demonkin summoned Saori’s students to this word but they really didn’t do much to make their unique skills amazing, huh? Even Tamae’s party had some good, some okay-ish ones. None was on [Idol]’s tier, with its ability to create multiple songs with varying effects for different situations. Even Eshe’s [Honored, Sworn Knights] was strong enough to push a demonkin to go full out.
I guess this just proves the difference between proper blessed and those summoned by non-gods.
“Ahh, don’t worry about it. Skills can evolve and merge into new ones. You just have to grasp it when the opportunity arises. The Divine System is like a game sometimes,” I encouraged the two before we continued our meal, even ordering more and more stuff to snack on.
While we did so, I learned what their and Tamae’s parties had been up to after Tamae left us in Cedaraille. They apparently entered the Belzac Forest for a training session with Yorshka, when she went to check on the information I gave her about the grimgarians.
It was there that they coincidentally met a small scouting group of the grimgarian army, who ambushed them. Tatsuya and another member of his party — the leader of the Misfits, Asaka Hanazawa — accidentally fell through a hole, landing in the final resting grounds of Belzac himself. It was there when they met and spoke with Belzac’s soul.
“Huh, considering what I’ve already experienced, that really doesn’t seem outlandish. We met an army of angry souls called onnikai during our time in a place called Rashan village who could possess corpses to move them around like zombies,” I commented, recalling the story of Kiiro and Davison’s experiments.
Tatsuya continued his story after I was done, telling me how he ingested a bit of Belzac’s blood while Asaka gained control of four ex-wolf will-o’-the-wisps. They were forced into this decision, since Belzac demanded them to bring Saori to him in exchange for allowing them to escape his resting area.
“… Let me guess, Saori did not take it well.” Saori cared for her students. I could imagine her not liking this one bit, and my guess was confirmed when both nodded.
“Those wolf spirits Asaka had tried to persuade Sensei, but that was when four giant wolves emerged from her shadow, physically blocking them from reaching her. Seeing them growl and bare their fangs was pretty terrifying when they stood right in front of us.” Tatsuya shook his head at that memory.
Kyouya nodded. “Sensei told us she wasn’t willing to go back to the Belzac Forest. ‘This isn’t my business,’ as she said. I guess Belzac didn’t expect her to refuse like this, as Tatsuya hadn’t felt any side effects up until now.”
I shrugged. “Well, his fault. At least now you smell like a wolf and have a druid-like transformation. Pretty good reward, I say.”
“Yeah, it is, but I can only activate the druidification with blood from renowned monsters. Those with long lineages… like dragons, for example.” He stared at me when he said that.
I drank my juice before responding, “Yeah, say that on our first meeting, Mister Vampire. Asking a girl for her blood doesn’t sound gross or creepy at all. Nice tact.”
“O-Oh, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to say it that bluntly.” He became flustered.
“Argh, don’t worry about it,” I dismissed it by waving my hand. “I’m just teasing you. But, seriously though, you aren’t getting my blood just like that, Tatsuya-san.”
Yes, I gave Saori and that Chezaic boy, Amadeus, some of my blood, but those were special cases. I only learned afterward that dragons shouldn’t be giving their blood out willy-nilly, since most dragonewts consider that disrespectful.
Elixirs made from dragon blood were the height of blasphemy, and if a dragonewt were to learn of that fact, they wouldn’t show the person holding it any mercy. When I heard from Yorshka that Saori smelled a bit too much like me after I gave her my blood to evolve into her current form, I was a bit nervous. To avoid that, I decided to be more careful and ask for Yorshka’s advice when it’s possible.
We then continued talking, where I learned that Kyouya was a huge K-pop fan, even sharing a few groups I loved. Tatsuya, on the other hand, was a full-on otaku, who had very little interest outside of gaming, manga, light novels, etc. Both of them were the children of large corporation CEOs, but they showed little interest in their fathers’ businesses.
“Oh, they didn’t even force you to eventually inherit their position?” I asked.
“Nah, our fathers didn’t own those corporations. They were the CEOs since they earned a ton of money for the board of directors and the shareholders. We became friends since our fathers used to live in the same neighborhood, until Kyouya had to move away and our fathers became business rivals,” Tatsuya explained.
Kyouya laughed at that explanation, “Haha, thankfully, they didn’t force us to play part in their new relationship, but it didn’t mean they stopped comparing us with each other.”
“Welp, if I didn’t keep up with school, my dad probably would have pulled the cord on all my spendings. I couldn’t buy any more games or merchandise if he did that. Haaaa, but to be honest, instead of my otaku life, I honestly miss coffee more. A mug of my mother’s freshly brewed coffee every morning before school was heavenly. Mhmmm, coffee.”
Pfff, coffee boy.
“Then, have you tasted fulinoe tea yet?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah, I have! Tamae-san gave me some when we reunited. Told me it came from your garden. When I saw Tasianna’s garden, I thought I would get a heart attack. The smell of fulinoe tea every morning before taking on a Quest is heavenly. Mhmmm, fulinoe tea.”
Deja vu?!
In any case, for how random this meeting was, it went by surprisingly well. Compared to what happened at the start of the day, speaking with these two about our interests and what we experienced after landing in Peolynca was a blast.
It reminded me of when I had these talks with Saori and Tasianna in the Belzac forest. We still had them now and then, but I guess since we were together all the time, we didn’t have much to talk about. Then again, Saori usually mingled with the more shady people, for example, Gael, Muraina, Krymdar, and so on, so her days were usually pretty fascinating.
It’s good to meet new people… just like when I met Eshe. Her curry was so good, and her stories of Sarkarfiina…
I’m so sorry for not being there to help you, Eshe. Please, forgive me…
“Hey, hey, Hestia-san. Come on, another toast,” Tatsuya suddenly said.
“Hmm?” I tilted my head, prompting him to clarify.
“Well, we haven’t exactly toasted to our meeting yet, right? Come on, the bottle is empty, so this is the last drink for us two.” Both boys held their cups forward, urging me to do the same.
You two just want a reason to continue drinking, was what I thought, but I suddenly noticed what sorta face I made before. I haven’t gotten over Eshe’s death yet. How could I? I might have probably made such a face when I apologized to her, so maybe those two were worried about me?
Was this their way to cheer me up?
“Hmph~” I snickered as I held up my juice mug. “One. Two—”
“““Three! To our friendship! Kanpei!””” Like shots, we chugged down everything we still had left and slammed our cups and mug respectively on the table. A princess I might be, but a normal girl I am still.
“— Careful!”
Suddenly, after finishing our drinks, we could hear some sorta commotion happening outside the tavern. Somebody was shouting but I couldn’t exactly hear the voice clearly, even with my [Idol]-enhanced hearing. I felt quite a few people outside with [Detection Sensor], but that was just normal for a city like Griffonpeak. It was also the afternoon, so some might be going home from work right now.
“Oh?! What in the—?!”
“Shit! Was that just a cat?!”
But that was when a single signal ran through multiple others, quickly approaching us while accompanied by the confused and panicked shouts of multiple citizens. As the three of us looked at each other, questioning if we should do something about it, something suddenly burst through the door as a telepathic message entered my head.
[“Master! Hestia!”]
It was like the voice of a child, a child who hasn’t learned how to speak properly yet. I did not recognize that voice, I don’t think I heard it anywhere before. But my nose, on the other hand, managed to recognize this scent. It smelled so nostalgic for some reason. Like going back home after a vacation.
“Oh, the little guy is done transforming,” Tatsuya said, but I didn’t really care what he meant ‘cause the moment I laid eyes on the person, no, creature, my lips curved up into a smile.
“Rajah!” I dispelled the air barrier and ran to the entrance as the smaller jaguar-sized cat jumped into my arms, forcing me to twirl around with him to offset the force. He gained some weight since I last saw him, not to mention his stature.
“Rajah, is that really you?”
The jaguar in my arms had moss green fur with dark stripes like a tiger instead of spots like an Earth jaguar. A shadowy veil like Saori’s [Shadow Armament] was attached to his legs like socks, while Rajah seemed to have developed heterochromia with one eye as yellow as lemons while the other was black like the abyss. He changed a lot since I last met him a year ago.
Rajah didn’t say anything. Instead, he pushed his neck closer to my face. Was he telling me to sniff him?
As I did so, an earthy smell coupled with a variety of scents I remembered from my time in the Belzac forest entered my nose. It wasn’t intense, most likely it started dissipating once Rajah left the Belzac forest, or it could have happened from taking baths. He smelled pretty good, aside from that. Fresh.
Even without Rajah’s answer, I hugged him even harder. This little cat was one of my acquaintances from the Belzac forest. Just a mere kitten when I first met him who I took up after he was separated from his family. Eventually, we found his mother and afterwards his siblings again, but when that happened, it also meant goodbye.
It was good to see him. I personally didn’t think I would ever meet him again.
[“Master. Rajah.”] Noticing I finally threw away any doubts, he spoke. [“Water. Head. Why?”]
Was I crying? I dunno. Maybe. I just wanted to continue hugging Rajah at this moment. Getting emotional after a reunion was obvious.
“Oh, da— ori! Oh no! Damn!”
I suddenly felt an intense chill in the air.
[“Master. Follow.”]
Rajah slipped through my embrace as he dashed back into the crowd, where I saw a few people suddenly start shivering, despite it being in the middle of summer. This strange event prompted me to activate [Mana Eyes] to look for whatever might be causing this, where I found Rajah moving through the street to the other side.
Noticing a black trail of mana around him, I followed him back to the hunter’s guild, where I found three people with huge amounts of mana inside of them. One was filled with black, the other had a mix of green and cyan, like Tasianna’s ice magic, and the last was filled with a huge—
“Arck!”
“Oh sh— Hey, Hestia-san, are you okay?” That was Tatsuya’s voice.
“I-I’m alright. Don’t worry. I overstrained my eyes.” I noticed some blood flowing from my eyes. [Mana Eyes] was a great scouting skill for me, but it had the drawback of a huge amount of information entering my head, especially profiles as my [Mana Eyes] also doubled as my [Identify] skill. My parallel minds only recently learned how to ignore certain information to make this process less straining.
Still, if I were to look at a huge concentration of mana in a single area, that’s when the skill becomes too much for me. My eyes simply couldn’t handle all that mana — all that information. The first time this happened was when I looked at the center of Shaturein, and now, it happened again.
Thankfully, no permanent damage has appeared yet. My [White Flames] could heal me up well enough, so there wasn’t anything to worry about. I wonder, if I had better eyes, would this still happen?
After showing how my white flames were healing my eyes, I told them to follow me, before flying over to Rajah and picking him. After that, I quickly flew over to the hunter’s guild building, which I presume Rajah was leading me to.
“Why doesn’t she love me — hic. Am I not strong enough for her to respect me? Maybe it’s time to get back into the dungeon and train up to become an SSS rank — huec!”
Once I was inside, I saw Saori, Yorshka, and Muraina trying to suppress a single white-haired woman. Silver powder suddenly escaped her body, floating around before landing on the ground and freezing it. My very breath was turning white from being inside the guild right now.
Cold!
“Hestia?” Saori noticed me, turning her body around for me to see multiple beautiful porcelain bottles on a table. One spilled its content, smelling so similar to the rice wine from before, only more refined.
Scheiße, they got Melloxtressa drunk… and those idiots are drunk as well!