Muriel turned back to Melania and replied, looking straight ahead at the purple undead mage with a sense of indignation, as if feeling insulted that she might be seen as someone who wouldn't eradicate the resurgent slavery in this continent—no, in this half of the world that she loved as if it were her own.
“Ah, that's right. Whether you're a demon lord or not, you're still a dragon who values freedom more than your own life.”
“As for equipment or supplies, I'll pack your bag by tomorrow morning. Just ensure you don't cause any trouble tonight, or we'll have a problem between you and me.”
“By the way, Melania, there's... something else I want to ask.”
“What is it, Muriel?”
“Are the student dorms here still functional after 500 years?”
“Yes, your old dorm room is still intact. The door is locked with a magic seal.”
“By the way, hasn't the dorm ever been full in these 500 years?”
“No, not at all. You know the dorm's magic thrives on the students' magical energy. It keeps creating new rooms for the students. Those who graduate leave behind residual magic, which the dorm continuously absorbs.” Melania explains the basic principle of how the thing works, which creeps Muriel out a little.
“I know this because one of those rooms was mine, too.”
“Hearing that makes me feel disgusted with the dorm, but whatever. I'm leaving now.”
“Muriel?”
“What is it now?”
Muriel turned back quickly when she heard Melania call her. Melania was staring at Muriel’s bloodstained hand without looking away. Muriel noticed and realized her hand was still covered in Thalia's blood.
“Oh, right. I forgot. Melania, can I wash my hands?”
“Honestly, you're just like your father.” Melania let out a sigh and shook her head.
After Muriel washed her hands with water magic from Melania's staff, she said goodbye and left the room. At the same time, Melania sighed deeply, retrieved a large book from under her desk, and dusted off the cover. It was an ancient language dictionary.
Meanwhile, Muriel walked through the corridors of the magic academy towards the student dorms. The students and teachers had mostly left the classrooms, as it was getting late. Muriel passed through the area without any interruptions.
“Ah, I feel a bit old walking these halls again.”
“If only, I could walk them with Chiaki again.”
“Fumiko, if you were here, what advice would you give me?” Muriel said aloud, stopping and looking around before glancing up at the classroom sign above a door.
“Wait, this room.”
Muriel slowly pushed the door open. The room she entered was the classroom where she and the other-worlders studied together more than 500 years ago. Despite the passage of centuries, the room remained clean, with no signs of decay on the tables or walls. Most importantly, it didn't differ much from the other classrooms in the magic academy, but for Muriel, memories flooded back as vividly as if they were just happening. She stood silently, hearing the echoes of conversations and laughter from her friends. Muriel walked to the front of the classroom, reminiscing for a long while until she realized the sun had set outside.
"Aito, Ayame, Tatsuya, Katsuto, Haru, Ran, Momo, Hana, Masami, Yui..."
"Chiaki. Papa."
"Fumiko."
Muriel's reverie halted abruptly when she thought of Fumiko. The realization that she had to continue in this world without her only friend saddened her deeply. She shook her head, turned, and left the classroom, closing the door behind her.
"Thank you for not leaving me before you died, Fumiko."
Muriel exited the academic building and headed toward the student dormitory. Many students recognized her from the afternoon's events but none dared to approach her. They all made way for Muriel as she headed to her dorm room. The palpable fear in the air made her stomach rumble lightly. Before she could act on it, she reached her dorm room.
"Ah... here it is." Muriel muttered, looking at the wooden door, feeling as though it had been built just for her.
"At least I’ll have a roof under my head for tonight."
She grasped the doorknob and twisted it. The door emitted a soft blue light like it was unlocking a long-sealed room. The light faded, and Muriel stepped into her old dorm room, closing the door behind her. The room was exactly as she had left it 500 years ago, untouched by time. She doubted even the presence of dust. Muriel walked to the bed with its red blanket and collapsed onto it.
"So tired... Being a demon lord, if you're gone for a moment, upstarts take your seat."
"And to think they're bringing back the slavery... Those other-worlders, if you don't beat them senseless, they just don't get it."
"Sigh... I should take a bath." Muriel murmured, gazing at the two moons of this world, Ureiris and Jenha. She decided to get up and head to the bathroom adjoining the bedroom.
Upon entering, she saw a white bathtub in the center, with a showerhead and hot and cold water taps above it. As she stepped in, black liquid flowed away from her body, and her school uniform dissolved into a puddle. Muriel adjusted the water temperature to her liking and filled the tub. Once it was ready, she immersed herself in the cool water, feeling immediate relief.
"Ahhh... I haven't had a cold bath in 500 years. This feels amazing." Muriel sighed contentedly after soaking for a while.
"This spot... the pain is gone now... But it hurts this morning." she muttered, touching the spot under her left breast where Aito's sword had pierced her heart. She glanced at the mirror, lifting her left breast slightly to inspect the scar left by the wound.
"That Aito... When I told him to stab me, I didn't think he'd do it so painfully." Muriel released her breast, feeling slightly odd as she grasped both her breasts.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"My breasts have gotten a bit bigger... and this is in my smaller form. They'd be even bigger in my larger human form." she remarked, examining herself before letting go.
"Sigh... Alright, done with the bath. Time to sleep and prepare for tomorrow."
In the early morning before sunrise, the red moon Jenha had already set, leaving only the green moon Ureiris in the sky. Muriel stood by the stone statue at the walkway connecting Lumina's palace to the magic academy. She carried a large leather backpack nearly her size, a requirement insisted upon by Melania, who walked leisurely behind her, guiding them with her staff that emitted a soft purple light.
"The names of Papa and Mama have changed to this era's language that I can't read..." Muriel stopped in front of the statue of Terentia with Hiro standing behind her.
"But at least their names are still phonetically the same." Melania said, reassuring Muriel.
"....."
"If Mama had been there when I hatched, do you think she would have accepted me, Melania?"
"Why are you asking such a question now?"
Melania, standing beside Muriel and looking at the statue, felt puzzled. Throughout the four years Muriel studied at the magic academy 500 years ago, she never inquired about Terentia. Melania looked down at Muriel, who continued to gaze at the statue. She then raised her head to look at the statue and thought for a moment.
"Well, I think Terentia would have loved you even more than Peter." Melania smiled softly after the moment of silence. "Anyone who could love that old coot must have been very special. But she wouldn't have let you roam freely like Peter did."
"Yeah… I want to believe that too. From what you and Papa told me, Mama seemed very kind."
"When Chiaki gets mad at me, I'd have someone to run to for comfort." Muriel joked lightly, looking down before turning to face Melania.
"I think she would probably be another Sublanc you'd need to run from." Melania remarked, looking at Muriel with a small smile.
"Sigh… Alright, let's start the journey." Muriel adjusted her backpack and turned away from the statue.
"Continent atlas, compass, waterskin, seasoning salt, translation book I spent nearly the whole night editing, foldable bedding, got everything?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re worse than Chiaki sometimes, Melania." Muriel said, rolling her eyes as she unfurled her wings from beneath the backpack.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Here, take this." Melania pulled a piece of paper from her chest pocket.
"What’s this? A recipe?" Muriel took the paper and flipped it over, her expression changing upon seeing the name and address written in the old language she understood.
"That’s a contact card of my associates within that organization. Find them when you land."
"Oh, okay, got it. Well, I hope to see you again in the future, oh purple wizard." Muriel said, tucking the contact cards into her skirt pocket.
"Come visit me often, don’t leave me alone like your father did."
Muriel and Melania exchanged smiles before Muriel flapped her wings and soared into the night sky, disappearing in an instant. The darkness of the sky, combined with Muriel’s black attire and hair, helped her blend in seamlessly. As she flew, a blue magic circle sealed the opening of her backpack, ensuring nothing fell out. Soon, her school uniform transformed into her original black princess dress.
"Flying slowly against the wind like this for a while shouldn't be a problem," Muriel said to herself as she lazily soared through the night sky. "No rush..." she repeated slowly, gradually dozing off mid-air while her wings kept her steady.
Nearly two hours later, the sun began to rise on the horizon. The sunlight hitting Muriel's eyes woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and looked down, noticing the coastline ahead. Speeding up, she crossed the shore and entered the Kingdom of Veridia.
After a slow flight over the sea breeze, Muriel gently descended into a forest near the beach. From there, she spotted a coastal town about 400 meters away and decided to head there for breakfast and gather necessary information.
"This town is pretty nice. Now, where's the tavern?" Muriel walked through the streets, holding her translation book, which contained word-for-word translations. The book cover was plain brown leather with no title.
"This one maybe?" Muriel stopped in front of a tavern with a sign depicting two beer mugs clinking together. She put her translation book into her backpack and entered the tavern barefoot. Inside, the place was being cleaned for the morning, as it was only around six o'clock. A burly man with brown hair and a young woman with light brown hair were wiping down tables.
"Um... are you open yet? I'm hungry." Muriel asked, eyeing the two workers.
"Sorry, miss. We haven't started cooking yet." The young woman replied, pausing her cleaning.
"I don't need anything fancy. Just toast with butter, some thick-cut bacon, two sunny-side-up eggs, and since we're by the sea, two grilled fish." Muriel said as she walked toward the woman, then proceeded to sit at a table where the burly man was cleaning.
"Young lady, we don't have butter here. And besides, just walking in and-"
The tavern keeper, seeing Muriel dressed in a black princess-like outfit and acting as if she didn't care about any rules, grew irritated and began to speak to her. However, before he could finish, she pulled a silver coin out of her skirt pocket, tapped it loudly on the counter, and then laid it flat on the table. She then looked up at the shopkeeper, meeting his gaze directly.
"Will this change your mind?" Muriel interrupted abruptly. "It’s alright, no need for butter. Just toast, grilled well, and the bacon too," Muriel added.
"A moon coin... Irey, go tell your mother what the young lady ordered." The owner said after noticing the coin.
"Yes, Father." The young woman responded, heading to the kitchen immediately.
Satisfied, Muriel leaned back in her chair, awaiting her meal.
"Ah, so forty silver coins are still worth a lot, huh? Sit with me while I have breakfast, will you? I've never been to this country before." Muriel lied, grinning and tossing the silver coin across the table.
"Where does a young lady like you get moon coins like these?" The tavern keeper asked, sitting down across from Muriel and pocketing the coin.
"Ah... Mama is a noble from Alderia, so I get a generous allowance." Muriel lied, though this time it wasn't entirely untrue.
"She's technically a marchioness of a region... If I remember correctly."
"I see... So what brings a young noble from Alderia to Veridia?"
"Nothing much, just a trip to the capital... and I wanted to hear from someone here whether there's really a slave trade going on."
Muriel, after speaking, raised her chin slightly and looked straight at the shopkeeper, as if waiting for a response—no, she was waiting for a reason to burn this town to the ground. She placed her hand on the counter and stared at the Tavern keeper as if she were about to rip out his guts and eat them. The shopkeeper, seeing Muriel's expression, thought she was definitely trying to intimidate him. He nodded in response, feeling the weight of her menacing gaze.
"Yes... over the past two or three years, the slave trade has started again in this country. We don't really know why."
"And this town? Do they follow that practice?" Muriel leaned in, her expression cold and threatening.
"No! Absolutely not. The further you get from the capital, the less interest there is in such things. Besides, this town trades with the Demon Lord Rayona's territory. They said if we ever started trading slaves, they'd cut ties with us immediately."
"Hmm... I see. At least you're not lying..."
Muriel slowly lowered her head, released her grip on the table, relaxed her gaze and looked out the window. The tavern keeper, suddenly relieved of the strange pressure that had almost made it hard to breathe, sighed with relief. Then, Muriel slowly glanced back towards him before turning her face fully towards him again.
"So, which way to the capital?" Muriel asked, turning back to him.
"The capital? You mean Senwara? It's about a week's journey by carriage, southeast along the main road."
"Southeast, huh?" Muriel pulled out her atlas and showed it to the tavern owner, pointing to the mountainous region to the south.
"Yes, it's a city on a hill near the mountains." he confirmed.
"Five minutes flight, then," Muriel thought to herself, putting the map back in her bag.
Just then, Irey the young waitress emerged from the kitchen carrying a large plate of food on a wooden tray. Seeing his daughter struggling with such a big plate, the shopkeeper stood up from his seat and went to help her. He took the plate from her and placed it in front of Muriel.
"Mmm, the bacon smells delicious. It'd be perfect with some ham, but I guess this place doesn't have any. Also, I'll take a pint of ale. Oh, and fill this up with ale too." Muriel said, handing the tavern keeper her waterskin after drinking the last of the water.
"Alright, coming right up." he sighed, taking the water skin and heading to the back.
Muriel dug into her breakfast with her hands, savoring every bite.
"Mmm... delicious."
----------------------------------------