Royal Princess of Blood

I was waiting for the others to arrive when I was hanging around the inn's outdoor lobby. This establishment was just a bit fancier, so they had something like this. Which I was quite satisfied with. I just wanted some fresh air. The sad thing was, this place didn't have any dessert. Now would have been a good time to drink some, or eat some. Although they did have some juice.

Apparently, they were made from crushed fruit or something. I didn't ask for more details; the fruits here were not exactly very presentable. But at least they were edible and safe, confirmed by both Miyako and Satomi. They were my canary in things that involved Shinoroa cuisine.

At the moment, I was just enjoying the peace and quiet — not really quiet though as this was outside and in the middle of the city. But the environment here compared to the wilderness, I would definitely choose this. Nira was also just sitting nearby, doing nothing like me.

As I sat, I noticed the inn staff staring at me, whispering to each other. It was nothing bad, it was more like people gossiping to each other about an intriguing discussion — which was me. They were just adoring how beautiful I was.

I just stood out so much. My platinum hair shining so beautifully like jewelry, my flawless pale skin, everything about me was priceless. I was a diamond in a pile of trash. I was the most unique thing they had ever seen. Anyone who saw me just couldn't help but admire me, and those greedy enough would just attempt to grab said diamond. At least, that was what I expected. Strangely though, the people aside from the inn staff seemed wary of me for some reason.

I couldn't find the opportunity to ask why just yet.

It was then that one of the staff members slowly approached me with a stiff smile. From the way she was acting, she seemed to be nervous. Surely I wasn't acting cold or anything, just acting a bit noble though. Because I was. It's in my nature.

As I was a kind, loving person, I formed a small, friendly smile as the girl approached me.

"E-Excuse me, madam,"

"Yes?"

"Uh, if there's something you wish to have, please feel free to ask. We'll get on it immediately."

"... Huh. I see."

Again, weird reception. I didn't see them acting the same way toward the other guests. Just what kind of person did they think I was?

"Is there something you would like…?" she asked.

"... A beverage will work. No, make it two."

She nodded vigorously. "C-Certainly! We'll get you the drink. I-Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Understood. Please wait."

I watched her go, and the other staff started whispering among themselves. All of them looked anxious. I glanced at the couple of guests standing in the lobby, but they just averted their eyes immediately when they realized I was looking.

Surely there wasn't anyone who would try to attack or kill me here? No one knew me in this place. I didn't offend anyone… yet…? Okay, I said that as if I was intending to offend anyone, but I was not! My point is, I didn't do shit yet — although thinking about it, all my troubles came despite me not doing anything to anyone…

At any rate, this felt like it wasn't the type of situation where people wanted to kill me. I turned towards Nira, who was fiddling around with her fingers. She seemed bored, but she was enjoying the peace we had right now.

"Nira, did I come off as scary?"

She raised her eyes towards me and tilted her head. "I don't understand."

"Everyone around seems to be wary of me."

She looked at the people in the surroundings. "... You never acted scary, goddess."

"... You sure?"

"Yes."

Hm, maybe it's not a good idea to ask her that.

She might be a bit biased on that part regarding me.

Well, whatever. As long as there is no intention to harm, everything is fine.

A moment later, the girl returned with two glasses of juice in hand. She nervously put it down on the table before me. "Here's your drink, madam."

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else you need?" she smiled stiffly as she asked.

I leaned on the armrest and placed my hand on my cheek. "No. Thank you. I'll call for you when I need something."

"O-Of course."

Judging from her eyes, the way she looked at me, and her actions, there was indeed no intention to harm. No, it was more like she was worried that she herself would get harmed. Self preservation. Well, whatever.

I conjured a couple of ice cubes and dropped them into our juice before I gave one glass to Nira. The boon of magically made ice was that it wouldn't melt into water. Therefore, there was no need to worry about diluting the beverage. That being said, I still had to wait for the juice to become cold. That was fine.

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I leaned back in my chair as I stared up at the sky. Finally, a good place to take a rest.

Some time later, the juice had become cold. I slowly took a sip and let out a pleased sigh. The juice was decent. As I took the leisurely time to drink my cold beverage, I sensed footsteps coming. Their paces were quite familiar. I smiled.

The bard came up right in front of me. "Princess! You're alive!"

"Heh, you have no idea how hard it was to stay alive." I put down my glass with a wide smile and looked at the crew. Everyone was here; we were complete. "It's great to see everyone alive and well. And finally, what a relief, we're back together again!" I chuckled as I spread out my arms.

Taneva casually walked up to Nira and rubbed the top of her head. "Hey, Nira. Missed us?"

The little girl looked up at Taneva and formed a big smile, bigger than anything I had seen her make in a while. "Yes!"

Hartwin crouched down before her. "Really? Did Nira miss me?"

Nira nodded. "I missed your singing, Hartwin."

"Aww, she's adorable. Look at that." He pointed at Nira as he looked at me with a wide grin. "How about a little hug, eh?" he said to Nira.

Nira's cheeks reddened a little before she got off her seat and slowly wrapped her arms around Hartwin's neck, giving him a sweet, and adorable hug. With a chuckle, Hartwin patted her back. Nira then gave Taneva a hug as well, which surprised the immortal.

"Wow, that's really nice. We missed you too, Nira." Taneva patted her head. "Did Estelia feed you well?"

"We ate well. We robbed some strangers in a cave, then a bunch of bandits. They had a lot of food." She said it so innocently and straightforwardly that it seemed like it was such a simple matter.

"Is that so? That's nice."

Hartwin, on the other hand, was flabbergasted before he slowly turned towards me with a strange gaze. As if he were asking what the hell Nira and I had been doing. I casually shrugged.

Nira then moved on to give Velar a hug. Considering his size, all she could hug was his leg.

"Nice to see you again, Nira." Velar patted her head.

Afterward, with a smile, Nira returned to her seat.

I frowned as I watched it all. "Did no one miss me at all?!" How rude of them to give Nira all the sweet attention.

"Sorry, Estelia," Taneva said. "You're not as adorable as Nira."

"Hah!" I audibly gasped. "You take that back." I had never heard something so absurd. I was the most beautiful and adorable. Nira may be a kid, but still I was the most adorable!

Taneva stuck out his tongue before casually dragging a chair and sitting in front of us. "I see you're already enjoying yourself."

I closed my arms. "Yes, I am. After all the crap we've been through, I think we deserve this."

"Anything for us?" Taneva said.

Hartwin grabbed a chair and sat down, while Velar put down his great sword first before sitting down. I raised my hand, calling the staff. The girl from before quickly rushed towards me nervously.

"H-How can I help?"

"Three beverages, please, for my friends."

She looked at the men with slightly frightened eyes before nodding. "Y-Yes! On the way." With that, she left quickly.

Hartwin frowned in puzzlement. "Did you scare her or something, Princess?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Huh."

"Anyway, how did you guys fare?" I asked. "Velar, Hartwin, I'm glad you were safe from the angel."

Velar nodded. "Yes, thanks to Taneva and the Cursed Children. I was worried about your safety, Princess. I sincerely apologize for being a failure of a knight." He bowed his head.

I shook my hands. "No, it's fine. There's no way we can fight that thing, anyway. We just did what we could do at the time."

"Just the two of you in the mountains must be hard," Hartwin said.

I groaned. "I had to eat worms."

"Pardon?"

"It was horrible! The same kind of worm that we killed in the badlands, I had to eat that to survive!" I placed my hands on my face. "How disgusting." It truly was. Just thinking about what I had to go through made me sick. "I don't want to go through that again…"

"Oh, come on, those worms aren't that bad," Taneva said.

"Ew." I winced. "It's disgusting, okay? I utterly hate worms now. I disdain them."

Taneva merely chuckled. "Good thing you had Nira with you then. You weren't alone."

"Yes. But the monsters there are no joke. I almost died." No, it felt like I was dying there all the time. "Thankfully, the food problem was solved. A group of people attacked me in my sleep, so I robbed them of their food."

"There's people in that place?" Velar asked..

"Yeah, it surprised me too. They had their own little community." Which I effectively destroyed. "Don't know how they got there though. But enough about me, what news of the angel? Did you kill it?" I asked Taneva.

"Yes. It was way stronger than the last one I fought. That thing hates you so much it had a power-up."

"Ugh. At least it's dead." Now it wouldn't give me any trouble at all! "How long have you been waiting for me?" It was already expected that they would get here first, since I took the long way.

"Velar and I arrived first," Hartwin said. "Three days after, it was Taneva and the Cursed Children. A little more than a week after, you two."

"A week? Wow." That was longer than I had hoped. "Sorry, guys. I just couldn't walk fast enough. I made you guys wait that long."

"What's with the apology?" Taneva asked. "We know how bad your health is."

I let out a sigh. "That angel really sidetracked us."

"What's the plan now?" Velar asked.

"I… would like to take it easy for now. I desperately need rest. Besides, I have a friend who will help us get to the next island."

"You met someone?" Hartwin asked.

"I met her on the way. In fact, the two of them helped us take over a bandit fortress."

"What the heck have you been doing?" Hartwin's brow furrowed.

"That's beside the point. Anyway, I have to wait for this friend of mine to finish her business here. Afterward, she might be able to smoothly bring us to Nishinoa."

"Who's these friends of yours?" Taneva asked. "Why can't we just go and leave them?"

I gestured with my finger for them to move closer. Once they were close, I whispered, "She's the daughter of the Lord of Nishinoa."

The guys looked at each other in surprise.

"How did you manage to meet her?" Hartwin asked in astonishment.

"... Something is going on here. Her convoy was ambushed, and some people were trying to kill her."

Taneva raised an eyebrow. "Them killing each other is not a rare ordeal."

"Yeah, well, killing a representative of an island is a big deal. Apparently, there's a gathering of lords right now."

"Really?" Taneva seemed intrigued.

"You don't know?"

"That's news to me."

"Huh… Miyako's father is sick, so she had to come here on his behalf. But they were attacked on the way. They were chased, and eventually, they found themselves my way."

"You were busy."

"This can be a good thing for us. VIP treatment on that island, why not, right? Plus, if it goes well, we don't have to stress about transport across the water."

Taneva leaned back. "If it goes wrong?"

"... If it does, well, I'm sure it won't be that big of a problem for us." I shrugged.

"Uh-huh. You know trouble finds you, right?" Taneva said.

"No, it doesn't."

"It does."

I frowned deeply. "That is a different case. They're after my life for a nonsensical reason."

"... Hm. Well, whatever, I'm up for whatever you decide."

It was then that the juice had arrived.

"Let's chill out for now as we wait." I spawned ice cubes in their beverages. "You guys should also move here. You still have the big money with you, right?" I directed a look at Velar.

My knight had a concerned expression on his face. "Yes. But, about that…" He directed a stern look at Hartwin.

"Hm? What happened?"

"Hartwin has a bit of explanation to do."

I turned towards Hartwin. "What is it?"

He awkwardly smiled. "I used up a bit of it, if you don't mind."

"... What do you mean?"