The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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When I heard the question about what looked delicious, I felt suffocated. Since I had no clue what the food tasted like, I was completely lost on how to make a recommendation.

And usually, when someone asks what looks tasty, it’s basically mind reading to find that one dish they have in their heart.

“I don’t like cold food. Especially not anything minty. It seems like that’s all they have here, so there’s really no need to pay any attention. Let’s go.”

“The flavor is too weak. And I don’t like sweet things. Salty would be better.”

“The scent is passable, but… I can’t stand things from the sea. Let’s look for something else.”

Fortunately, White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter was straightforward about her preferences.

She didn’t want dessert, absolutely no seafood, and wasn’t keen on sweet foods. If possible, she preferred salty ones with a strong scent. After filtering through the options, there weren’t many left.

All the dishes were either floating in bright red oil or had a powerful aroma, and while choosing, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Really? Am I going to eat this?’ But judging by how my mouth watered as I filled my plate, it seemed like I made the right choices.

Nevertheless, it struck me as quite unusual for a girl not to have a sweeter tooth. I had never met a girl who didn’t like sweet or cold foods and had little interest in dessert.

Looking at the food she chose, it was all greasy, spicy meats and carbohydrates. I wondered if she’d gain weight with all that, but I figured she could manage that on her own.

We exchanged little conversation. She seemed absorbed in her meal while I was busy sorting through the information in my head.

First, about the gods. The god she mentioned definitely wasn’t the goddess worshipped by the papacy. Referring to divine power as twisted magic raised my suspicions.

Most importantly, when I asked about the nature of the god, she seemed to brush over it on purpose, suggesting it’s probably not something acceptable on this continent.

I didn’t know how much she was aware of, but an idea suddenly popped into my mind.

Demons and Magic.

With the established theme of demons and their followers manipulating magic, divine power suppressing magic, and an abundance of divine power in this continent.

Especially considering she had been wearing an uncomfortable expression throughout, it seemed plausible she either used magic or was at least related to it.

However, that seemed like quite a leap in logic.

In the case of Stephanie, she didn’t use magic herself but employed a loophole to have her followers be the magic users, which kept her safe.

Although those magic users weren’t safe at all.

So… it was like breathing in a handful of heated sand every time. From the moment they became magic users, whether they were strong or weak, that was how they all died; thus, it didn’t seem like White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter was using any magic.

If she were, she couldn’t be enjoying her food so diligently like that.

She continuously ate with her small mouth, and it genuinely looked like she was savoring the meal. Her expression also seemed to soften a little.

Looking at this, I was really curious how such a child came from those parents. One was a bonafide warrior who devoted his life to conquest wars, while the other was something that wasn’t even human.

It was hard to believe that White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter came from the two of them.

Honestly, if they weren’t her parents, I might have attempted to pursue her. There were minor downsides like not particularly liking her beastkin character and having no idea how to approach since she didn’t appear in the original work.

Even considering all that, she was undeniably beautiful enough that I had asked her name.

As for her personality or character development, I figured she couldn’t help that growing up under those two. Rather, given that upbringing, she was quite excellent.

Seeing her hand out bread without even asking what was happening on the tree made me think she was surprisingly kind.

Naturally declaring that the citizens were foolish came from her position; it made sense.

“What are you staring at? Is there something on my face?”

I must have drifted off in thought. At some point, I had shifted from her identity back to her.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“You’re a strange one.”

With that expression of having seen everything, she glanced at me for a moment before going back to munching, and I worried I’d lose my train of thought again, so I tried to sort through my information once more.

By the way, noticing her eating speed slow down, it seemed she was about to leave something behind. If this continued, she might leave about half of it, right?

In the brief moment I focused on her, I figured it was wishful thinking, but still.

Then it came to magic… but honestly, I had no clue about it at all. The idea of Divine Power, only usable by gods, was so extreme that nothing clicked. I couldn’t feel anything.

I didn’t know if mana was disgusting, but just like the divine power she described, I couldn’t feel it at all.

The only thing I understood was that if magic was twisted, it turned into divine power or mana—that was probably the most I could gain from this.

Once my thoughts broke off, it was hard to pick them back up. Even when I tried to reorganize, whether I was suddenly jolted awake or just full, I felt sleepy.

Still, I was grateful to know that White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter didn’t just have harmful aspects.

“I think I might have taken too much.”

And, lo and behold, she had left something behind. I had suspected that from the moment she filled her plate; it seemed she had taken a lot at first.

“Shall we head out soon?”

After a few hesitant swipes around her plate, she finally stood up, and together we returned to the dormitory.

We exchanged some trivial words, but nothing special occurred.

If, a mere if, I could conquer just White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter, could everything peacefully resolve? That fantasy momentarily crossed my mind.

Nothing special happened.

– – – –

With the now familiar hand movements, I untied my hair tie, straightened my clothes, and opened my diary, unsure of what to write.

In fact, I knew exactly what to say, but it was tough to express it in a convincing way. I remembered struggling with this when I used to write too.

When I forced myself to write in sentences, I’d get stuck, and later, I would read through what I wrote and find sentences that made no sense at all.

The reason I worried about the phrasing was not only because it was a diary but also a letter to my mother.

But would my mother be able to see what I wrote here? I didn’t doubt her abilities, but honestly, it seemed unlikely.

When she once showed me two books and said they were one, I honestly couldn’t understand. If there were two, they were two; if one, it was one—how could two be one?

When I asked my mother about this question, she smiled and marked something on the cover of the left book. Then she made the same mark on the cover of the right book.

At that moment, I understood the meaning of them being one.

I don’t really know if I can bring any change to the remaining pair from this far away, in a place full of twisted mana.

Since arriving on this continent, I hadn’t written a diary, so I was uncertain. At least it had worked well until I crossed the sea; I could only hope it still worked fine now.

…So what should I write as the first sentence?

To my beloved? To my respected?

I always found it hard to decide. My poor writing skills in both my past and present lives were quite frustrating, but if I dwelled on this, I’d end up staying up all night for sure.

Not wanting that to happen, I strained my brain and managed to come up with a decent introduction.

-To my beloved mother.

After writing that first line, everything else flowed out smoothly. I detailed all the events that had occurred, what happened with the magic and ley lines on this continent.

How I made a bad first impression at the Academy, why the kids’ reactions felt so cold, how lunch was terrible, and how a girl named Iris suddenly apologized.

Things from the shelter. Events with Dokan. How dinner with Dokan was surprisingly tasty.

It felt like the day had been incredibly long, but when I wrote it all down, it fit on one side. Upon reading it again, I found it seemed duller than I remembered.

No matter how long I waited, there were no words written on the other side. Even as I sat at my desk and thought of waiting more, nothing changed.

…Indeed, it seemed even with my mother, this place was beyond reach. To soothe my gloomy heart, I burrowed into my bedding.

As I nestled into my blanket, it felt warm after a while, yet a part of me still felt cold.

In my previous life, I slept well alone for 28 years. Now, after barely a dozen years of sleeping next to someone, I had turned into someone unable to sleep alone?

No way, that can’t be true. Looking back, I hadn’t been able to sleep without the captain of my guards by my side, but I couldn’t have become that dependent.

I’m no child.

In fact, combining both my past and present lives, I’d lived over 40 years. There’s no way someone like me couldn’t sleep alone.

What in the world is so daunting about sleeping? It’s just closing my eyes and lying still.

Clutching my tail is definitely not a substitute for a person.

Definitely not.