Chapter 21: One Of A kind
On one's pov
Prince Nathaniel sat at his desk, just tutor teaching him about marriage customs of different kingdoms and cultures.
What a hassle, I already know all this stuff from listening to nobles talking at parties. In fact my intelligence is said to be exceptional. I could easily learn anything I wish In one try but father insisted on the tutor . He thought staring out the window bored as ever.
Thus wasn't new, compare to everyone else he was quite an exception. While other nobles talked about inheritance or boost about the kingdoms customs, he would just look for an activity to pass the time. This was mainly the reason he'd refused mist marriage proposals, since most noble ladies he's met were all self centered and materialistic.
"How bleak, nothing interesting to do...." He sighed, the book in his hands mocking him as he's already read this volume a few days ago.
Ever since his debut he's gain the reputation of a cold hearted prince, one that smile out of courtesy. He was smart, the heir and even excellent in swordship, barely put in any real effort and could master anything he choosing.
Most would envy such a skill however no one knew how mentally futstrating it is.
My greater fear was continuing to live this colourless, boring life. But what can I do. He thought
"Um excuse me..... prince Nathaniel, you have a visitor...." A servant announced nervously.
Nathaniel blinked. He barely got any visitors other than his few nobles friends as well as a potential brides.
"Who is it?" He asked now intrigued
"It's lady shiori" the servant replied
Nathaniel's eyes brightened up, a smile genuine smile crept up on his face. This was indeed a first for him, since he'd usually been the one who visited.
"She'd really come to see me? Of course not, I'm sure she's here to see father on the topic of the toturing job...." He sighed.
"But not matter, I shall do my best to keep her company" his smile returned, slightly forced.
The fox girl had caught his attention ever since they met. At first he expected her to be a snob due to their first interaction, the disgusted look on her face when he kissed her hand.
She never bothered trying to get his attention, always spoke out her thoughts with zero hesitation. To make matters worse she couldn't care less for ladylike manners or attire. The day he visted only to see her dressed in pants and a shirt, the prince nearly had a conniption.
At one point he wondered if proposing to her was a mistake.
The door open as Nathaniel and his butler stepped out to greet lady shiori. His eyes widened as he took in her appearance. She wore a flowly, silverly grey and purple dress. Her while hair was dressed into a single braid, tied at the end with a simple purple hair.
He was speechless, she was beautiful without putting in much effort compared to the other ladies who caked their faces with makeup just to gain his attention.
"Is something wrong?" She asked
"N...not at all, my father is currently tending to the nation's affair, but I'm more than happy to keep you company till he's available..." He offered
"Thanks, that's nice of you..." She grinned
What The heck is with her vocabulary?! Thankyou my Lord, is much more appropriate!
They sat in the Terrence, elegant snacks and tea were served. Shiori was practically drooling at the cupcakes, sitting patiently like a puppy asking permission to eat.
It's seems she does have standards. He thought staring at her curiously. He could never really understand what went on in her head.
"It's ok, the snacks are for us anyway" he said trying to smile at how cute she looked trying not to grab the snack immediately.
"I'm surprised you came alone..." He said trying to start a conversation
"It wasn't easy, Ryu and the others were very skeptical about me coming. Something about not wanting me to be alone with a man" she replied, curiously at what that even meant
"So what brings you here exactly...." He asked already knowing the answer.
"I came to talk to you about something" she said looking serious. Nathaniel's eyes widened slightly for a just a moment.
"Huh?" His face twisted into something between confusion and skeptism.
"I know you feel bad about my injury but it's already healed. However if you ever wish to annul our engagement I'm more than happy with your decision. You're a first rate princely type in my opinion. A first rate heroine type is more of your standard. As for me, my goals are completely different from yours. I plan to carve a name for myself, a reputation of a first rate villainess!." She said beaming and nodding her head proudly
What in tarnation is she even talking about?! I don't understand a word she's talking about. His eyes twitched. Something that happens when he's trying to process something complex..
Take the hint, and end the engagement you flirting Twink. I can't have you popping up during my meetings for white lotus activities.. she thought keeping a calm closed eye smile. She did in fact wish to become a villainess, something that suited her calculating personalityperfectly
A villainess? Either she had a very odd way of thinking or she's trying to scare me off into breaking of the engagement since she feels bad about making me feel guilty into proposing. I believe this is called reverse psychology. Yes that must be it. He thought nodding in upstanding.
"And what exactly is this villainess persona?" He quired, finally gaining interest in something.
"Someone imperious, mesmeric sovereign with a Machiavellian mind. A sultry yet insidious enchantress, both alluring and merciless. An enigmatic, baleful woman whose presence is utterly formidable." she explained with this sparkling excitement.
Huh? So she does have an excellent vocabulary, and a flexible one at that. Those characteristics she just mentioned aren't exactly bad for a standard queen to be by my side.
"Is something wrong?" She asked snapping him out of his thoughts
"Are you sure that's the role you wish to pursue? Sounds pretty lonely..." He asked titling his head.
"To most it may sound like that, and I have to admit most who went down that path end up isolated and alone. However I'm not like them. I don't wish to use others like pawn in some silly game. I want honest connections, willingness over force in submission, genuine friendships. Before this life I'm living i used to hide myself because I thought it were for the best and I'd always have him by my side. But now given the circumstances, I see how close minded that was. I'm choosing this path not because it's cool and endearing but because everyone else fears it. They all think villainessess are evil, but they're really just women who didn't want anything or anyone holding them back!. That's the kind of person I want to be!" She said, each word tied in honesty that shook the core of Nathaniel's very core. The lady before him was no snob, but rather a girl who's hid her true potential and is now breaking free.
It was as if color had returned to his world once more. All because of a speech spoken by the girl in front of him.
"If you'd excuse me, I better get going. My followers are probably wondering why I haven't returned yet" she smiled, grabbing a few more cupcakes before walking away.
Once she was out of sight, Nathaniel's butler spoke.
"What do you think, my Lord?" The servant asked the elf prince.
"She's quite interesting. Though I can't understand her half of the time, were similar in a way. She's quite honest about her feelings, something even I struggle with. That's what makes her so entertain- I mean endearing. As for our future, I'm not ending our engagement anytime soon, that part was always final. All I have to do is tam- I mean monitor her and the rest of high. Society wouldn't notice anything off about her...." Nathaniel smiled brightly for the first time in years, something that startled everyone around him.
...
Shiori's pov
.......
I sat at my vanity table, staring at the several gifts sent by prince Nathaniel. Most were jeweler, hair ties and pastries.
"He remembered my reaction to these during the visit a few days ago. Not like I'm complaining it means I don't have to but jewelry to attend noble events..."
"Lady Shiori are you ready? The affairs of the ethereal city embassy needs your immediate attention..." Elliot said entering the room, stoping dead in his tracts as he noticed the stack of gifts on my table. His eyes darkened for moment before turning to me unbothered.
"What is it?" I asked for details. He looked nervous, he then sighed and explained the situation.
........
I stared at Eliot , rather confused.
"You want my party?" I queried
"Yes, you see most of the adventurers here still have doubts about your rule and allow demi type species to thrive in the kingdom, some are demanding more money for reward of minor quests while some that are not human are leaving all together, with no one to protect melvia from monsters, people are freaking out, I thought you can stand in their stead until we've employed more adventurers..." he explained awkwardly.
That's a definite no, I already have my hands tied, I don't need another pain to deal with.
It hit me.
Lila's party, their fairly strong and would make great adventurers for the guild.
"I know a party that could help..."
"Really! That would be great!" Eliot cried in relieve
{Location: the ethereal city}
"Huh? You want me to train Lila's party?" Ryu queried
"Yes please, I believe they'll be more comfortable with someone more familiar " I explained.
"Very well, I shall take up this quest. I'll go search for a convenient training grounds..." He said staring ahead.
"Thanks Ryu..." I smiled before turning to leave.
Ryuchi's pov
I stared at her fleeting figure. Judging by her react during Lila's abduction, it seemed to have triggered an unhappy memory in shiori-sama.
Meaning she still has some attachments to her formal world, plus that device she carries around isn't helping.
I've only known shiori-sama for a short time, but those times have be brilliant and lively. If she still has attachment to her previous world, it might become a problem later in the future.
"I better train Lila's party quickly, so shiori-sama's heart can rest."
{A few days later}
I watched silently as they shivered under the waterfall.
......
I munched on a cookie as I watched them turning red at the pain of lifting those heavy logs
.,....,....
All I've been doing is building up their endurance a strength training.
"What?! A pack of Thunder bears?!" Lila's party paled at the sight whereas I sat on the tree branch examining.
They lunged at the beasts recklessly, striking random attacks. The bears just swatted them away like flies.
"Get back!" Their heal said before begin his healing on them.
I sighed, placing a barrier around the bears to confine them.
"What the hell was that?! Striking recklessly with no plan in mind?" I scolded them with a straight face.
"We don't want to be lunch..." Their mark man whined
"And you, alchemist, why are you just healing when you can efficiently use dark and earth magic?"
Everyone turned to him in surprise
"Is this true almon?" Lila asked her team mate.
"Yeah, but I've got my hands full with healing and support magic" he sighed.
"I understand, healing four reckless teammates could quite draining" I smirked as the other's looked down in shame.
"I'll teach you a basic strategy, first make a trap for them "
"A trap?" Lila quired
"That's right. alchemist, use earth magic to turn the dirt into mud"
"On it!" He said, chanting a spell as the dirt became mushy.
"Now apply this" I passed him a vile of diluted poisonous mist, now converted into a paralyzing poison.
He poured the vile into the mud.
"Now I'm going to remove the barrier" I stated.
The bears fell into the poisonous mud as they yelled in agony.
"This is poisonous mush, it will slow down your enemies, now archer!" I signal the elf archer of the team.
The archer shot her arrows bullseye on the bears heads, each one crashing down after the other.
"We can actually win this!" The healer smile
"Don't be native, there smarter than they look!" I said staring at the situation unfold.
The bears stepped on their deceased comrades to avoid the mud. The healer paled
" Now Marksman! Lead them to you!" I ordered.
"Come here you Pikachu!" He stabbed it's back
"And finally Lila, use the element of surprise to attack them from behind!"
She sliced them open with precision and grace.
"This is good " the healer smile
"This way it's more effective and healing mana from is more of support, you may now have enough mana to join the fight" I grin
"But I don't have the mana to cast massive offense spells" he frowned
"No worry, behind those claws and fur, there still just living creatures, suffocating them would be enough"
I casted an illusion on one of the bears as it thought it was drowning before passing out.
I watched as they took out the rest of the pack, swiftly and cautiously.
.......
"We did it!" Lila cried
"Thunder hind is quit exclusive, we can make a small fortune with these" the healer said snuggling the hind but cringed at the odor.
"Great work, now used what you've learned and raid the eastern dungeon" I smirked
"But our levels aren't high enough " Lila said a bit surprise
"Ranking and levels are just numbers, your new strategy plans and team work is more than enough " I encouraged
"Ryu-dono..." They awed.
"My work here is done, you have just tonight to plan you're strategy"
"Huh? What do you mean" The color drained from their faces
"You'll be attacking tomorrow morning, I'll wait for you at the guild, good luck, and try not to die alright " i said walking away happily while they looked at me like I was some sadistic demon.
{Location: melvia guild}
......
A few hours later
"Huh you did what?!" Eliot paled as Ryu explained the situation to the receptionist.
"I said, I sent them to the eastern dungeon" he replied
"Are you crazy?! You need to be at least lv 300 or more to just survive in that hell, 100lv + adventurers would die!" The receptionist yelled with tears in her eyes.
Just then the guild door slammed open wide, everyone turned to see 5 individuals standing before the door, there bodies were scratched and bruised but no fatal wounds.
"Ryu-dono! We've return!" Lila said out of breath
"We've used up all our mana and healing potions" their healer, almon whined
"My body is beyond sore" their mark man, blaze said in a hoarse voice.
The other two just dumped their sack of loot in front of them, too tired to speak.
The receptionist froze scanning the items. "Thunder bears claws?! Viper scales?! Hind?! You really did raid the dungeon!" She trembled in shock
Everyone exclaimed with awe.
"Good job guys, as a reward on passing, your entitled to visit the hot springs to aid your aching bodies!"
"Hot spring?" They queried.
.......
They had returned to the ethereal city.
Shiori-sama had recently taught her followers, about culture from her previous world. One of them being the seasonal hot springs.
They decided to build one in the new mansion that would be the master's new home. Although it's mostly finished, just remaining proper and stylish furnishing.
The teens all awe as they entered the hots spring, located at the eastern part of the mansion.
"It's separated by gender so go ahead, you've earned it!" Ryu nodded in approval
With no wasting of time, they got changed and dipped into the hot springs, sighed in satisfaction. He smiled at their chatted about.
Ryu was about to join them when he got a telepathy transmission from his master
"Ryu, I heard everything about how you sent Lila's party on a dangerous quest!" She spoke and she did not sound happy.
Damn Eliot, that snitch!
"Um, yeah...." He said honestly, waiting for a serious scolding. Just then he heard her sigh.
"They've really gotten stronger, so thankyou for training them" she said in a surprisingly calm voice.
"Then, does that mean I can--"
"Don't push your luck " she spoke in a serious tone, ryu chuckled awkwardly.
"You may watch your anime, but don't let it distract you from your job, alright.." she bargained. Ryu was taken aback but she ended the transmission after that.
"Shiori-sama, is really just a softy" he giggled, running of to the metia room.