Volume 1, Chapter 2 – Birth, the Elf Princess

Under the scorching sun, in a desolate land where nothing but yellow earth stretched as far as the eye could see, a conspicuous black dot moved slowly. Zooming in, one would find a black-haired elf girl with pointed ears.

However, the girl looked utterly disheveled. Her black bangs were damp with sweat, her pretty face and black dress were covered in dust, and every step she took seemed labored. Anyone could tell her stamina was on the verge of giving out.

“Huff… huff…”

The long, desperate sprint had left her legs feeling as heavy and sore as if they were filled with lead. Finally, at some point, Fia gave up on running. Ignoring the dust that would cling to her dress, she plopped down unceremoniously onto the ground, abandoning all pretense of ladylike grace.

“Ahh… I finally made it.”

Instinctively, she turned to look behind her, checking if anyone was chasing her.

—Not a soul in sight. Not even a tree. The place Fia found herself in couldn’t quite be called a desert, but it was certainly a barren wasteland—akin to the arid grasslands of Africa, though devoid of any grass.

Fia let out a long sigh, her shoulders slumping in relief.

“Haa… safe at last.”

If circumstances allowed, she would have gladly sprawled out on the ground. But that would have been too dirty, and she didn’t want to get completely covered in dust.

After unleashing the Flame Storm, Fia had seized the chaos to flee the scene. Since her vision had been entirely engulfed by flames at the time, she had no idea whether the soldiers had survived. But judging by the “spectacle” she had glimpsed before escaping—a towering pillar of fire hundreds of meters high—ordinary humans likely stood no chance.

In other words, there would be no pursuers. For now, she was safe.

“Can’t blame me for that. They attacked first.”

Though she couldn’t quite remember who she was, Fia’s principles hadn’t changed. If someone tried to kill her, she had every right to retaliate in kind. Even by the standards of federal law, this would be considered self-defense.

“But still…”

Chest still heaving slightly, Fia raised her hand and stared at her right palm. In that critical moment when the knight captain had swung his sword at her, flames had erupted from her hand, saving her life.

Yet, Fia had no memory of possessing such an ability. She was certain this was the first time she had ever conjured fire in her entire remembered existence. If this was indeed a case of transmigration—assuming this wasn’t just a dream or a movie set, because that would be too absurd—then what she had just performed was undeniably real magic.

Wait, these questions can be saved for later.

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Right now, Fia noticed something far more pressing—something so alarming that she couldn’t help but gulp nervously.

Her body felt wrong.

In her memories, she would never have been exhausted from just this level of exertion. More importantly, her perspective was drastically different, as if she had shrunk from two meters tall to barely over 140 centimeters. The sheer difference in height made her certain: this wasn’t her original body.

Her crimson eyes widened in shock, her mouth hanging open as she froze in place.

“No way…?”

Setting aside the question of how she had ended up in someone else’s body, it was only now that Fia thought to examine herself. With no mirror in sight, she reluctantly forced herself to stand—despite not wanting to—and twisted her neck to inspect her body.

Her black hair reached her waist, seemingly tied into twin tails draped over her shoulders. Her fingers were pale and slender, devoid of any calluses, indicating that the original owner of this body had never engaged in hard labor. Combined with the delicate voice she had heard when speaking earlier—Fia experimentally let out an “Ahh”—she was undoubtedly a young girl, likely on the younger side.

“This is… I don’t even know what to say.”

Her gaze fell on the leather boots encasing her petite feet, her expression growing complicated.

At first glance, anyone who fantasized about experiencing life as a girl would probably jump for joy at her situation. But male fantasies about becoming female usually hinged on the assumption that they’d turn out adorable or beautiful. Since Fia couldn’t see her own face right now, she felt no excitement whatsoever.

Though she vaguely recalled having a “I wish I could start over” kind of desire in her past life, she was certain she had never imagined it would happen like this. This was way too thorough of a restart.

“Am I seriously stuck as a girl from now on?”

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Fia’s already conflicted expression twisted further, her throat letting out an involuntary “Ugh…” as a wave of disorientation and panic washed over her. Her limbs went weak. She had no idea how girls were supposed to act—at most, she knew not to sit with her legs spread or to hold a bag behind her when climbing stairs to avoid flashing people. Beyond that, she was clueless.

“A-and then there’s… things like periods…”

Her voice trembled slightly. If this were a manga, Fia’s ruby-like eyes would undoubtedly have spiraled into dizzy, wavering lines as her entire being shook with distress.

Has this body already hit puberty?

If she ever had to deal with that, she’d be completely lost. Not only would she have no idea what to do, but she wouldn’t even have anyone to ask for help. She had transmigrated—there were no comforting figures like family or elders here.

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N-no…! Anything but that!

Wait! Physiological needs aren’t just limited to that! There’s also food, water, shelter…

Right now, she is just a little girl. How was she supposed to earn a living?

For a moment, Fia felt her vision darken, the world turning bleak. The beautiful heroines in stories never had to worry about such mundane needs, which was why their lives seemed so enviable. But she had been thrust into another world—one where she had to deal with all the harsh realities of survival.

In her original world, despite its technological advancements, the wealth gap had been extreme. Without marketable skills, starving to death on the streets wasn’t uncommon. Though this wasn’t the same world, for all she knew, it could be even worse.

Even if she resorted to selling her body to survive—Fia glanced down at her modest chest, barely constrained by the dress’s corset—this body was definitely underage. That kind of thing was way too early!

And even if she were to starve to death, she would never stoop so low!

Absolutely not!

“Ahem! N-no, maybe this world is more forgiving. Yeah, no need to assume the worst.”

She’d figure things out once she confirmed what kind of world this was—not that she was running from reality. Fia slowly sat back down. “First, let’s sort out what’s happened… Hmm, I can’t sit like this anymore.”

She had been about to cross her legs but quickly pressed down on her skirt with one hand, instead tucking her legs to the side. Personally, Fia disliked women who sat with their legs sprawled, finding the lack of feminine grace off-putting. Now that she was the protagonist, she refused to become the kind of person she disliked.

Though her posture was stiff from unfamiliarity, Fia didn’t notice and felt satisfied. After all, if a man sat like this, he’d be labeled feminine—but as a young girl, there was nothing odd about it. Now I can call myself a ‘proper lady,’ right?

“This feeling… is kinda embarrassing…”

Her cheeks flushed slightly as her slender fingers clenched her skirt, her pressed-together knees rubbing lightly.

Even though no one was around, Fia still felt self-conscious about this experimental adjustment.

I’m just trying new things for the thrill of it—not adapting or anything. She shook her head internally. If someone else were in her shoes, they might have even spun around to make their skirt flare up. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience something impossible otherwise—it was only natural to indulge a little.

Having justified her actions, Fia took a deep breath to calm herself, then sank into thought in the middle of the scorching, barren wilderness. She lowered her head, brows furrowing, her small white fist resting against her chin.

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Earlier, she had been too busy running to think. Now that she had a moment to breathe, she realized there were critical questions she hadn’t addressed.

Who am I? Where did I come from? Who am I now? And where am I?

Then—

—Bzzzt.

Like an old TV losing signal, static flashed across Fia’s mind. A sudden sense of connection surged within her, and unfamiliar information poured forth from the depths of her consciousness.

Dofilia Alexia Yushir, First Princess of the Elf Kingdom of Silvar. A prodigy capable of wielding 7th-tier magic at just 14 years old, hailed as the greatest magical genius in Elf history.

“This… is me?”

The moment her doubtful voice reached her own ears, a montage of black-and-white images flickered through her mind.

She saw herself standing at the center of elf soldiers on an open battlefield. But before she could issue any commands, a purple moon materialized above the enemy ranks. In the blink of an eye, the moon unleashed spears of condensed violet light. By the time she realized what was happening, one had already pierced her abdomen. Then—her, or rather, the original owner of this body, Dofilia Alexia Yushir, was defeated.

Though there were fragmented scenes of the elf forces descending into chaos, the dying princess’s fading consciousness rendered them indistinct, soon swallowed by darkness. And so, the life of Dofilia, the First Princess of the Elf Kingdom, came to an end.

As for who she was, Fia finally had a vague idea.

As she had initially suspected, she was from Earth—this wasn’t her world. However, she couldn’t recall her name at all.

Not only that, but she had no clue what she had even done in her past life. The only thing she remembered was that she had no family, leading a lonely and monotonous existence. It felt like recalling a distant memory—she couldn’t remember why she had disliked something, but the emotion remained etched into her mind.

Strangely, while Fia couldn’t remember her own identity, her mind retained clear knowledge of her world’s history and culture—such as the fact that her society had been highly advanced, with humanity having encountered extraterrestrial life and formed interstellar alliances.

“Why can I remember trivial details like that but not my own name?”

After racking her brain to no avail, Fia rubbed her small head in frustration. “Those images just now must have been the memories of this body’s original owner, Dofilia. An elf princess, huh? That lines up with what those soldiers said earlier.”

Nodding slightly, she recalled the humans’ words. Piecing together their remarks with Dofilia’s fragmented memories, the sequence of events seemed to be:

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Princess Dofilia had led the elf forces against the humans, only to be fatally struck by a secret weapon—a violet spear from the sky. The elves were routed, and the surviving troops attempted to transport the princess’s body back to their homeland. However, they were ambushed or pursued by human soldiers, leading to the scene Fia had witnessed.

The remaining elves were slaughtered, and Fia—now inhabiting the deceased princess’s body—had fled from the carriage.

“No wonder those soldiers called me ‘undead’ or ‘necromancy.’ Seeing a dead princess suddenly get up and run around would shock anyone. Honestly, it’s impressive they didn’t just turn tail and flee.”

Fia let out a bitter laugh.

“But then why did I end up in the princess’s body?”

Had she, like Dofilia, died in her original world? Reincarnating after an accidental death was a common trope in isekai stories. Maybe she had perished in some tragic accident, leading to this second chance at life.

“Sigh…” Fia exhaled deeply. “If it was an accident, it must’ve been so pitiful even God took mercy on me. Otherwise, why give me another shot? Ugh, how did I die? Now I’m even more curious.”

Please don’t tell me it was something embarrassing, like dying mid-‘self-service’—collapsing naked with tissues nearby and adult videos still playing on the computer. That would be worthy of divine sympathy.

“Still, maybe that explains why I can’t remember who I was or what happened. Dying and transmigrating could’ve scrambled my memories. It doesn’t make much sense, but it’s weirdly convincing.”

“Hmm… or maybe I was just too brilliant, and the princess’s brain couldn’t handle my vast intellect, so only fragments remain. That’s a good excuse—maybe I was some kind of galaxy-spanning super-AI in my past life!”

Nodding sagely, Fia stood and brushed the dust off her tattered dress. The princess had bled profusely before death, leaving Fia no choice but to wear this bloodstained gown. At least the earlier Flame Storm had scorched the blood dry—otherwise, she’d be sticky and reeking of iron.

“Time to get moving. I’ll figure out the whole ‘being a little girl’ thing once I find civilization.”

She couldn’t just sit in the middle of nowhere forever. Though the midday heat was bearable, the nights in the wilderness would be freezing. She needed to leave this hellhole ASAP.

Despite her petite frame, the princess’s body wasn’t weak. An ordinary human would’ve collapsed after running so far, yet Fia only felt sore. Perhaps magic enhanced physical endurance to some degree.

Taking a deep breath, Fia stood and murmured softly, as if addressing the deceased princess herself:

“I never got your permission, but what’s done is done. I’ll take this body without regrets. From now on… I am Dofilia Alexia Yushir.”