An Unborn Hero

Grace walked down a corridor towards the guest rooms, feeling a little light-headed. The final words of her father—ruthlessly dispatched while she was busy trying to stop choking—echoed in her mind.

"Your request is denied. It would be a massive insult to the [Hero], and, from what I've heard, you were vital to the defeat of this morning's demon. You're too important to let you quit over a mere difference of culture. But since you take your duties so seriously, I'll give you another one. Talk to the girl! Properly."

She stopped outside of Rose's room, well aware of the time. It had been a busy day, mostly spent dealing with the demon attack and its aftermath, but with the unveiling tomorrow, this needed to be done tonight.

Sometimes, Grace really wished she wasn't so diligent. It was a trait she'd picked up from her father and just couldn't seem to shake off.

That being the case, she took a deep breath and knocked.

"Yes?" came Rose's slightly panicked voice from within, the girl having calmed down a little now that she wasn't in front of the kingdom's literal [King], but still very much out of her element.

"Just like the way I was out of my element on the battlefield," thought Grace. "I suppose Father has a point."

Out loud, she said, "It's me. Please may I come in?"

There was a moment of silence before Rose responded with a simple, "Okay."

Grace stepped in to find Rose staring at a number of ballgowns laid out on her bed, all in different styles and colours. "Need a hand?" she suggested, happy for the distraction, but wondering where they'd come from. They weren't any of her old ones, nor did she recognise them as anything Mercy had worn. They were high quality, but maybe not quite what would be expected at a royal ball. From the way they showed no signs of wear and tear, but did show hints of fading, she guessed they were display outfits, taken from the window displays of upmarket stalls. A decent solution to the timescale issue, given that even a highly skilled [Seamstress] wouldn't be able to create a ballgown of higher quality overnight.

"I was thinking the blue one," sighed Rose. "Might as well keep my colour theme going, but I still wish we could just wear our uniforms."

"Showing your knees to a man is a way of inviting him into your bed," said Grace. "Or at least, that's what I've always been taught. Given the past few days, and the way your mouth is now hanging open, I'm starting to suspect that the general population doesn't agree."

"What?!" spluttered Rose. "That's crazy! What do you do in the summer? Melt?"

She paused, then glanced at an elongated box fitted to the ceiling, from which a pleasantly warm breeze was blowing.

"The general population can't afford enchanted equipment to match the temperature to our outfits," she continued, working out the answer for herself. "We need to match our clothing to the weather."

"... Right. I've never really thought about it, but that makes sense. I... Umm..."

Rose waited patiently while Grace stuttered, the words she so desperately needed to say almost physically fighting back against being spoken out loud.

"... I'm sorry."

The single sentence, once voiced, was enough to shatter the tension in the air.

"Me too..." replied Rose. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Uh... Can we make a deal?"

Rose peered in suspicion.

"Nothing bad! I'll help you get through tomorrow, and once it's over, you'll help me get through... well... everything else."

"That sounds unbalanced," answered Rose, but she grinned as she said it.

"There'll be more balls, in lots of different countries," said Grace, waving a hand dismissively. "And just you wait till the suitors start aiming for Mystery. And you, too, for that matter. Don't worry, there'll be lots of politics to look forward to."

"Me?! I don't suppose it's too late to drop out of all this [Hero] business?" sighed Rose.

"Yes, it is. Believe me, I tried."

"Oh? Is that why you're being so nice all of a sudden? Realised you're stuck with me?"

Grace at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Father told me I had to have a proper talk with you, so this is me having a proper talk. And I admit it's already been useful. There was also the threat from Father to make you take responsibility, and, no offence, but I really don't want to see him follow it through."

"Huh? Responsibility for what?"

"Your stunt on the wall, of course. The one that earned you [Royal Pervert]. You caused me to lose an achievement. One which was important for my future marriage prospects. As if leaving the academy before graduation and prancing around in an obscene costume weren't bad enough."

Rose's mouth dropped open once more, albeit this time in pure horror instead of surprise. "I'm sorry," she gasped. "I didn't know. Don't let him execute me!"

"Execute?" asked Grace in confusion.

"You said the [King] wanted to hold me responsible!"

"No, I said he threatened to make you take responsibility."

There was a moment of silence as the pair realised they each had no idea what the other meant.

"You haven't heard that expression?" asked Grace.

"I... know all the words, but apparently you're using them differently than usual."

"The implication is that since you spoilt my chances of getting a good marriage, you make up for it by marrying me yourself."

There was another moment of silence as both girls blushed.

"Then why not just say that?" asked Rose quietly. "Also, I'm a girl."

Grace moved over to a small, round table, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down, realising just how long this conversation was going to be.

"When people talk to each other..." she started, before stopping to correct herself. "I mean, when nobles talk to each other, it's normal to use euphemisms and circumspect phrasing. Meaning gets hidden behind context. You never know who might be listening or recording. Maybe someone in the room has a skill to detect deception, or you'll be questioned on something later. Say a noble wanted someone assassinated. If they said the person was a problem to an acquaintance, it wouldn't have much meaning. If they said the same thing to an [Assassin] while handing over a bag of gold, well, it would mean something very specific. But if questioned later, they could truthfully claim they didn't order his death, or tell anyone they wanted him dead."

"If a group of adventurers are locked in combat with monsters, and the party leader started shouting out euphemisms, I can't see the fight ending well," replied Rose. "On a battlefield, instructions need to be clear and concise. Not just a battlefield, but... uh... labourers building a house, say. You really wouldn't want misunderstandings by someone swinging a hundred kilos of lumber over your head."

"Different worlds," agreed Grace.

"So why would your dad threaten us with marriage? What sense does that make?"

"You're the first party member a [Hero] chose. You single-handedly slew a demon, and stood at the forefront of war despite your young age. That's valuable, and the battle against demons won't last forever. You have a prestigious enough position now that binding you to our royal family would have some worth."

"Valuable? Worth? What's that got to do with anything?"

"As the kingdom's [First Princess], the optimal outcome would be father finding a [Crown Prince] of a friendly neighbour for me to marry, to strengthen the ties between our kingdoms. Of course, there is a rather limited supply, so it's far more likely I'd be married off to another [Prince] or first son of a [Duke]. The worst outcome would be a hostile nation demanding me. On paper, I'd be married into their royal family, but I'd really just be a hostage. Thankfully, that hasn't happened since the time of my great aunt. But the more worth I have, the more likely I'll get a better partner. Purity achievements are a given, but obviously the worth of the entire kingdom plays into it, too. No-one wants to forge ties with an empty desert."

Rose once again looked confused. "Your father tells you who you have to marry?"

"Yours doesn't?"

There was a shared look between them before both started to giggle.

""Different worlds,"" they both said in perfect synchronisation.

"So, let me explain this concept called 'love'," said Rose. "In my world, it's kinda important when it comes to deciding who to marry."

"Wait," said Grace, holding up a hand. "It's late. Tomorrow may not involve a battle for our lives, but it's certainly a battle of some sort. We need to sleep. Let's get your dress sorted, then we can continue this in the morning."

"Okay. Blue one?"

"Yes, I agree with blue, but not that one. See the way the right sleeve is paler than the left? It's obviously been left on display in an east-facing window for a long time. If you wear it, I'm sure no-one will say anything, but they'll certainly notice. You'll be putting your status as an out-of-place commoner on full display."

"And that's... bad?"

"Yes. Trust me. Today has been your sort of battle, but tomorrow is mine, and we are going to crush it. I promised you one of my dresses, and I have just the one in mind. And tomorrow, I'm going to teach you to dance."

Rose, who had brightened up during the conversation, suddenly looked nervous again. "There's going to be dancing tomorrow?"

"Yes? I mean, it's a ball... Of course there will be dancing."

"Uh... It's probably a bit late to be asking this, but what's a ball? You said context was important, and from the context, I'm guessing you're not talking about any sort of sporting equipment."

While Rose and Grace were coming to an understanding—or, more precisely, a careful listing of where the misunderstandings were—Fylith was trying not to freeze.

Riding a wyvern in angry silence, she needed to remain above cloud cover to avoid being shot down, dipping only occasionally to check she was still above the road the guard had told her led to the capital. As powerful as her stealth skills may be, they did not extend to her mount, and the air up there was not warm.

While she'd tried to beguile her way through the teleporter, it had become obvious from a distance that the magic involved would unmask her. She'd needed to abort and find a different route to the capital.

"Damn that black one," she thought to herself. "If not for his insightfulness, or the pink one sticking her nose in, the white and blue ones may have come to blows! Still, they were both looking pretty angry. There's still a chance the party will break apart, and I can pick the pink one off on her own. And if not, well, if the white one got that angry merely from a spur-of-the-moment prank, she's going to be really upset once I've had some time to plan."

And while Fylith was in the air, Xry'kl was heading deeper within the forest. His logic hadn't changed since his first assault failed. "Their abilities are tied to their transformations, therefore we need to beat them before they transform."

He didn't have any direct evidence that the white one couldn't use her purification magic without transforming. He didn't have any direct evidence that she had transformed. But she'd been wearing the same style of costume as the pink one, who he'd seen change with his own eyes, so it felt like a reasonable guess.

With multiple transformers—not to mention that the one doing the transforming was literally wearing one of them as armour—giving them any time at all to react seemed ill advised. For the best chance of success, he wanted to attack them in a way that would leave them dead before they even realised they were under attack. An attack that could get to them despite all the extra precautions they were sure to take following Zyfyl'p's failure.

Xry'kl had a specific type of monster in mind for the task. As he travelled, he kept his eyes open for the telltale shadowy webs of a dream eater.

In the room shared by Kellela and Hayedalf, Hayedalf was inspecting himself in a mirror. He already owned several tailored suits, and, being male, wasn't suffering the same fashion issues as the girls of the group. He had, however, found a black dress shirt in place of the traditional white. Rose wasn't the only one who'd decided to stick to her theme.

Kellela was holding up a heavy, flouncy, pink ballgown against herself, a wide loop sewn into the hem.

"Well?" she asked.

"Depends if you want to dance in it or go camping."

"It is a bit... wide. I'll admit I might struggle with doorways. But it's the best pink one they found."

"Maybe they could dye one of the others?"

Kellela cast an inexpert eye over the rail of clothing that had been pushed into the room. "I can ask, but isn't it hard to make cloth lighter? It would be nice if they could, though; this black dress is perfect, other than the colour."

She held up a floor-length, midnight-black dress, tastefully decorated with sequins. It had no hoop, but was designed to be worn with a smaller petticoat to give it some bulk without causing logistical difficulties. Then she held it up against Hayedalf.

"Hey!"

"You're the black one, not me. And you can switch gender on demand now."

"That hasn't been proven," he pointed out.

"Speaking of, maybe Mystery can help. Mystery? Pink light?"

A pink light popped up in front of her.

"Good, you're listening. Now, how to explain this within the language limitations..." She held the black dress up against herself again, pointed at it and then herself, then said, "Pink."

Her travel clothes lit up as they began rearranging themselves, leaving her in a pink, correctly fitted replica of the black dress.

"Okay, that's a good start," she said, twirling in front of the mirror, causing the skirts to billow out in a pleasing manner. "You missed the petticoat, but that doesn't matter; I can pull one on underneath, and the bits that are fixed to my skin won't get in the way. So, do you think you can do it again, but this time without turning me into a little kid in the process?"

ding

For extending your repertoire of fashion, [Magical Girl Transformation] advances to level 19.

μ̵̼͉̐υ̴̡̽̿σ̷̭͓̃̀τ̸͉̤̾̆ή̶͎̱͌ρ̸̤͕̏̿ι̷̬̾͜ό̸͈ (Human)

Age: -8 months

Occupation: Hero (L)

Skills:

- Soul's Eye (U) (32/90)

>> Sense Vitality (U)

>> Sense Soul (R)

>> Sense Mana (U)

>> Sense Light (C)

>> Sense Sound (C)

>> Pierce Illusions (U)

>> Sense Miasma (R)

>> Multi-focal (R)

- Astral Projection (U) (20/60)

>> Sure Navigation (U)

>> Uncontainable (U)

>> Tether of Will (L)

- Robust (C) (18/40)

>> Hardened Soul (R)

>> Secured Mana (U)

>> Pain Tolerance (C)

- Stealth (C) (3/20)

>> Camouflage Vitality (R)

- Magical Girl Transformation (R) (19/30)

>> Age Correction (R)

>> Gender Bending (R)

- Light (C) (9/20)

>> Heterochrome (U)

- Increased Attributes (C) (7/20)

>> Mana Storage (U)

Achievements:

- Early Bloomer II (R)

- First Skill (C)

- Journeyman (U)

- Survivor of Zarklaxxos, the Arcane Infernal (R)

- I Broke The System, And All I Got Was This Lousy Achievement (E)

- Astral Explorer I (R)

- First Spell (C)

- I Broke The System Again, And Now The Administrators Hate Me (E)

- Spell Forger (R)

- Demon Slayer II (E)

- Monster Slayer V (E)

- Curiosity (U)

- War Veteran (U)

- Royal Audience (C)