I took a deep breath, relaxing my body in the warm tub. The warm water washed away all my fatigue. It had been a while since I pushed myself this hard. Normally, I wouldn’t do much when going into dungeons, letting Emori do all the work. Demon-tempered monsters didn’t appear all that often, especially not ones with weird abilities like Strasversaus, while our fights against normal bosses were easy and unremarkable.

We could fight most monsters by spamming spells. Demon-tempered monsters, on the other hand, were truly frightening threats. What made it worse, the only ones fighting them were our group of five, so most people still didn’t know about them.

Maybe I should ask Asytelar to provide them with that intel?

If we could bait more people into clashing with them, then more people would be aware… but they might go into battle thinking it's a normal monster. I certainly didn't want anyone to die from those monsters.

… What now?

Then I remembered something.

The spell Emori used. We were both too tired to talk about the battle. After we returned to the school, we parted ways, heading into our own separate rooms.

But, I didn’t know if she realized it or not, but the spell she used…

It wasn’t light magic. It was an entirely different type of magic.

A magic that existence, if known, could rock this entire country. A spell that questioned the prince’s legitimacy to rule.

The sacred spell, White Void.

Sacred spells are elementless. To use them, one must fulfill very specific requirements. Sometimes, that requirement was as specific as being the firstborn of the royal family.

In this kingdom, the firstborn of the royal family would be the future leader, regardless of gender. Prince Prilus was the future leader, but only the firstborn could use White Void. There were even generations when not a single person in the royal family could wield White Void. If a child could use White Void, that would automatically mean said child being the future leader.

Sacred spells are, in nature, weird and unexplainable. There was very little information in the game regarding them. White Void was no exception.

But… why?

Was there a reason Emori wasn't the crown princess?

Was this what Asytelar meant when she mentioned her role?

White Void was ridiculously powerful. Considering how powerful it was at level forty-five, it would be unstoppable at level ninety. That dinosaur must have given her a whole lot of magical energy as well.

What now…

Emori's White Void possessed immense power, capable of turning the tide in our favor, but unleashing it would plunge the kingdom into chaos. I could imagine the lengths the royal family would go to in an attempt to hide her legitimacy to the throne, assuming they did it on purpose.

I must get more information from her. She may not even know about the fact that she was the first child. I need to know why they decided to give the throne to the prince.

After that, I would need to confront them directly. I need Emori to win this battle. She may as well be our last hope.

I sunk into the tub, letting out a heavy sigh. Who knew fighting the demon king’s minions would be this tiring?

* ••

The next day, after school, I went to meet Emori outside the school grounds. I invited her to a restaurant with a private room. Thanks to the magic stones we sold, I had more than enough money to afford such a fancy establishment.

“Is something going on?” Emori asked in worry. I thought the heavy stuff could wait, so I picked up the menu.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Uhh… Are you sure it’s alright?”

“Don’t worry. I could afford it, thanks to the magic stones.”

We both chose some desserts, as we already ate in the school cafeteria during lunch. Emori chose ice cream, while I chose pudding.

“Delicious!” Emori looked delighted with the food, which made me happy. She then looked toward me. “Umm… want to try it?”

“Sure.”

She scooped up some ice cream and then handed it my way.

“Wait, you’re going to feed me?”

“Uhh… yeah…” She averted her face, her eyes glancing at me. I steeled myself and took a bite.

“... Delicious.”

“Hehe, yeah…”

The way she excitedly ate looked adorable.

“Do you not have ice cream in the palace?”

“Ah, no. It’s just… this tastes quite different. Like fluffy and soft, if you get what I mean.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

We continued eating our food. While Emori enjoyed her ice cream, I couldn't help but think about the implications of the words I was about to say. Half of me was worried that something bad would happen. In games, these kinds of developments tend to end with major changes.

How wouldn't it? My friend is supposed to be the crown princess.

But, at the same time, I need to talk about it. She's our trump card, our key to winning. If she couldn't use her powers, we would be done for. We wouldn't be ready for the demon king.

After I finished eating, I took a deep breath. “By the way, Emori, I have something I need to talk to you about.”

Her spoon paused. “What is it?”

“Why aren’t you the future queen?”

She caught her breath. The room fell silent. Her eyes darted all over the place. “Well… The king, or queen, is the one born first, right?”

“You’re the first child.”

She shook when she heard my words. “Umm…”

“Look, I don’t want to intervene in your family matters, but the spell you used yesterday is a spell only the firstborn of the royal family can use. There's no way you're not the first born.”

“But- But you must be mistaken. I mean, it's a normal spell…”

She knew. She definitely knew what that spell was.

“You’re not using your wand and it has a different symbol to any light spell.” These were things only I, someone who played the game, would know. In the game, the player character could get access to a secret library underneath the castle for helping the king. Had I not visited that library, I wouldn’t know about it.

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“But, some spell symbols are similar. Like, they're just a bunch of lines and what not.”

“If that is a normal spell, what is its name, then?”

The symbol for a spell correlates with the name of it. Not knowing the symbol means not being able to use a regular spell. Knowing the symbol guaranteed knowing the name, though.

“Umm…” Emori lost her words.

“If the demon king returns and we fail to kill him, this country would be done for. There’s no point in hiding your power.”

If we failed to kill the demon king, it wouldn’t matter who’s the king or queen. Everyone would die.

“Please, Emori, tell me what’s going on.”

I needed to know, I wanted to know. If I knew, we could find a solution together.

Emori clenched her fist and slammed it into the table. The glasses clinked, and she breathed heavily. I fell silent.

“I… I don’t want to be the queen!”

“I-”

“Please… stop.”

“But… I mean, we can talk this out with your parents and your brother.”

“You don’t get it, Fortis.” She shook her head vigorously. “Please, don’t mention this ever again.” She looked uncomfortable, but I couldn’t back down. Not now.

“Just train the spell, then. I mean, no one else needs to know.”

If she was against ruling, we could still use it in secret. The symbol only appeared in the eye. As long as she aimed correctly, she could hide the symbol’s spell. While the shape of the attack was unique, it doesn't immediately point to White Void.

“All you need to do is train the spell. That spell is supposed to be a secret, right? Others won’t know about it. They won’t understand its meaning.”

“Then, how are you able to know?” She shot straight at me.

“I- I…” I looked for excuses. I hadn’t revealed the fact that I came from another world yet. “Well- Well… I just heard some... rumors.”

“Is that really the truth?” She glared at me. She used to act so meek and soft, but she was particularly sharp today. Did she hate the idea so much?

I never saw this side of her, so I didn’t know how to react. If I didn’t do anything, though, if I didn’t push her, she might never use it. She wouldn’t learn to control it, and we wouldn’t have our trump card. Not only that, but her parents did mention that I managed to change something in her.

If anyone could convince her, it would be me. I thought about revealing my past, but I was unsure. Would it help? Would she even believe me? Was that the thing I should be concerned about?

Emori’s eyes continued pressing me for information. It was a tightly guarded secret. In fact, many things inside that underground library were tightly guarded secrets, or were supposed to be guarded. Considering Asytelar’s reason for creating Mimosa Online, she might have made it easily accessible on purpose.

“Look, I can’t tell you how I know, okay? Just trust me.”

“I- I’m… sorry. But I couldn’t trust you right now.”

“Emori, please? What if the demon king returned? You can’t rule a nation burned to the ground-”

“I don’t care about my right to rule!” she shouted. I looked around, worried about the people in the building. There didn’t seem to be anyone near us, and we were in a private room. It should be safe-

“Fortisbel, listen to me!” She smacked the table with her fist, the force so strong that it knocked a glass down.

“I’m sorry…”

“Do not bring up this topic ever again.” With that declaration, she left the room. I heaved a heavy sigh. Things were only going to get harder.

* ••

“Umm…”

The next day, I tried to call out to Emori as she entered the class.

“Emori…”

For a moment, I thought she didn’t hear me, but I soon realized that wasn’t the case. She turned her head away, pretending not to notice me, in a pretty obvious manner. I figured she still didn’t want to talk about what happened yesterday, so I decided to leave her alone.

The day went as usual, though. While Emori clearly wasn’t interested in speaking with me, nothing else changed.

“Something happened between you and my sister.” Prilus was the first to mention it. After class, we were having lunch in the cafeteria, the same place where we first met. Usually, I would be sitting next to Emori, and her brother next to her. Without her there, I was forced to sit next to him with Maya and Solicea across from me. Emori said she had something to do to Solicea, and left.

“It’s that obvious, huh?”

“So you’re not even denying it?” Solicea looked curiously, taking a bite from her sandwich.

“Did you have a lovers’ quarrel?”

Upon hearing Maya’s words, Prilus grabbed my shoulders. “You’re dating her?”

I brushed his hands off. “No, I’m not dating her, and why did you look so disgusted when you mentioned me?”

“You’re a commoner, remember your place!”

Friendly reminder that I could kill you if I want to.

I decided against saying that, though.

“So, if Emori said she wants to marry me, you’ll do everything in your power to deny her wishes?”

“No, of course not!”

He isn’t secretly a siscon, is he?

Just the mere thought made me frown in disgust. Although, then again, these types are often the weird ones.

“You’ve gotten quite bold, haven’t you? Remember that the only reason I let you treat me like you now is because my parents and my sister like you! Had that not been the case, I would’ve killed you a long time ago!” He turned his head with a puff, somewhat similar to his sister, just far less cute.

Had this been my previous life, I would definitely kill the prince and escape the nation. I could take on most of their soldiers easily. I would struggle against a select few, but taking them on isn’t impossible. That said, doing anything extreme would affect my family and my village, even Maya and her parents.

I’m not alone in this world.

Hold on.

I’m not alone here. It’s not like back then when I didn’t have anyone to turn to. Maybe… if I talked to the prince about it.

“You know, seeing you two stick so close to each other makes me think you will never fight,” Solicea commented.

“I’m not too worried. They’ll get back together before long.”

“Why are you so sure, Maya?”

“Because I’m his childhood friend.” Maya glanced at me with a slight smile. Maya approached me and patted my back. “If Emori hates you, then you can come to me.”

“It’s impossible for your species to fall in love with a human.”

“But I still can tease you.”

“Great, just break my heart. Besides, nothing you just said has anything to do with why you think I’ll get back together with Emori.”

Solicea giggled. “Still, you looked quite childish today, Fortis.”

“Childish?”

Had I been acting like an adult all this time? Pretty sure I acted like any teenager my age.

“I couldn’t really describe it, but all this while, I’m getting a ‘wise old man’ feeling for you,” Solicea said. “Like you know a lot of things we don’t.”

“Not just that, he seemed cool and calm regardless of the situation, even daring to insult a member of the royal family,” Prilus quipped. “Had it been anyone else, they would put out the most polite face they could. You didn’t seem to care whether your head stayed on your neck or not.”

I could get your neck first, though.

“Who would put a polite face in front of you? Especially after what I did? I can report a complaint to the kingdom, you know. Actually, maybe I should do that. They’ll hear me because I’m a dragon," Maya mused.

“Don’t you dare!”

If Maya’s serious, she can cause quite a lot of trouble. The dragons and the humans weren’t exactly the best of friends, and a little lie here and there could turn them against us. If she was the one that filed a complaint, there’s a genuine chance they’ll hear her out. I mean, there’s a reason she didn’t get into serious trouble after punching Prilus in the face.

Hold on. Now that I thought about it, they weren’t at each other’s throats as much as when they first met. The prince probably realized the sheer level difference between the two of them and grew to respect her…

Wait, why didn’t he respect me then?

Maya turned to me. “Even now you were acting calm, right? You didn’t look scared at him at all.”

“As much as it pained me to admit, Solicea’s right. You sometimes act like a wise old man who looks down on everyone younger than him.”

“I’m not that old yet. If anything, Maya’s older than me.” I pointed to Maya. I counted just the years in this world, of course.

“Considering I only learned to speak long after you, I think it's fair to call me your younger sister.”

“Out of all the times you can play that card, you decided to play it now?”

“Well, it’s the card that’s relevant.”

I probably shouldn’t have taught her so many card games.

But… a wise old man?

Had I really been looking down on the others? Well, I did act quite calmly when faced with anything, but that was because of my strength. They should’ve known. They couldn’t touch me, so I wasn’t afraid. Actually, depending on how you see it…

Still, this has nothing to do with Emori’s problem. Even if I underestimated her, I clearly tried to convince her to use her full potential. She should have known that.

But…

Had I really been underestimating her?