Volume 4, Chapter 36 – A Brief Respite

“Hah—the streets aren’t as fresh as the Royal Castle’s, but it feels much more comfortable.”

Facing the warm sunlight, Fia stretched her body like she was waking up from a nap. Her dazzlingly white skin caused the pedestrians on the street to stare in a daze; some who looked over even forgot what they were doing.

“Nobles. Oppressive,” Milu said tonelessly from beside her.

Although Milu didn’t actually need to do the work of a maid, she was very satisfied with the style of the uniform, so she wore her miniature maid outfit and silky white stockings even when going out.

“Once we’ve dealt with that group of tactless fools, things should get much better.” The words had barely left her mouth when Fia, finished with her stretch, refuted herself with a wry smile. “No, that probably won’t work. The nobility has too many rules. No matter where you go, it feels like countless eyes are watching you. I only feel relaxed now because I’ve returned to my old way of life. Once Friede and the others have renovated the farm, we can move out of the Royal Castle and live with them. We should be able to relax then.”

“If Your Highness is going to live there, you can’t leave the construction entirely to the witches. You should hire the kingdom’s best craftsmen to build a palace for you.”

Anastasia’s seriousness made Fia sigh.

“If we go that far, there’s no point in moving out of the castle.”

The whole point of leaving was to not be stared at by so many eyes. If she moved the guards to the farm, not only would she feel uncomfortable, but Friede and the others would surely find their lives filled with a sense of dissonance.

With that, Fia continued walking.

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Their current task was to go to Baronet Eli’s farm to set up a [Transmission Beacon], and then use it to teleport back to the Witch Hall in Byrne City.

Fia had already studied some mid- and high-rank magic while bathing last night, but she hadn’t used them in chanted form. Although there was a dedicated magic laboratory in the Royal Castle, she knew without even trying that after being enhanced by [Hyper-computation], the power of high-rank magic would likely become as uncontrollable as [Spatial Rift]. If the laboratory was destroyed, it could be rebuilt, but if her own palace was demolished, the loss would be too great.

Therefore, Fia had moved her testing grounds to the great desert outside Byrne City. In her memory, besides the Dry Desert of the Milcandis Holy Kingdom, only the Flame King’s tomb was a place where she could blast away without any scruples.

And on this trip, besides learning magic, it was also necessary to bring Friede and Lianne over to see their future home and ask for their opinions. After all, the farm was for the witches, not for herself.

“Where’s Liti?” Milu asked, tugging at the corner of Fia’s dress, seeming to find it strange. Due to her Stellacryst Beast constitution, her skin was still a pale, unhealthy color, even though she was living a life free from want. At first glance, she gave off a fragile impression.

“Liti has been grounded by the Third Consort. She won’t be able to go out for a while. When I went to see her, she was being supervised while studying.”

“How pitiful. Can we visit her later?”

“We can. I only didn’t go looking for her because the capital has been unstable recently, and I was afraid of getting her involved.”

Although she thought she heard Milu say something like “I get Master all to myself,” when she looked over, Milu’s face was completely expressionless, so Fia dismissed it as her own imagination.

It was also worth mentioning that when Fia had gone to see Liti earlier, the slender Third Consort had only let her see Liti for a moment before quickly finding an excuse to politely send her away. She was clearly aware of Greyan’s death and was afraid of Fia dragging her own daughter into the conflict. This had brought tears to the eyes of Liti, who had thought her sister’s arrival would be her salvation.

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Although strictly speaking, the Third Consort was also Fia’s mother, it was obvious that she did not see Fia as her own daughter. But Fia didn’t take it to heart. In terms of mothers, she had enough now.

At this thought, Fia lowered her gaze. Since returning to the Royal Castle, she had not yet seen her biological mother, Veronica. Perhaps Veronica had no intention of seeing her, but as the successor to the Eldest Princess, she should, by rights, at least pay her a visit.

I really don’t want to go.

A gloominess rose in Fia’s heart. She had countless tricks to deal with enemies, but when it came to matters of emotion, she had no experience whatsoever.

“Blossom is really more lively than other cities. This is what feels like home.”

Anastasia’s smiling remark pulled Fia back to reality. Just as she had said, Silvar’s royal capital of Blossom was extraordinarily bustling. And because they were not walking on the main thoroughfare as they had upon arrival, but on a road leading to the countryside, the sides of the road were no longer filled with lavishly dressed nobles, merchants, and magic-casters.

Instead, there were plainly dressed commoners with a more down-to-earth air. Only about seventy percent of them were elves; the remaining thirty percent consisted of Stone People ¹ idk, maybe golems? , Dwarves, Stellacryst Beasts, and the most numerous of all, the beast-kin with their various animal ears and heads.

It should be said that Fia saw everyone as beast-kin, which was why she felt their proportion was so high. In reality, some of these “beast-kin” were Draconians, Winged People, and Sirens. These races with bestial appearances were not part of the beast-kin race, and they utterly detested any idiot who mistakenly identified them as such. Draconians and Winged People considered their bloodline to be superior, while Sirens were a marine species, vastly different from the beast-kin of the Cold Moon Alliance.

Although these residents had rugged appearances, their actions were not out of line in any way. They walked or stood by the roadside haggling like normal citizens. Coupled with the passing carriages, dragon-carts, bird-carts, and even vehicles that used bears to haul goods, the atmosphere of another world was easily pushed to its peak.

If Byrne City was a gray, chaotic city filled with hunger and injustice, then Blossom was a prosperous, orderly, and vibrant metropolis. Although there were not zero beggars and slaves on the streets, their numbers were clearly much lower than in Byrne City.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, do you not leave Blossom often, Anastasia?”

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“It’s less that I don’t leave often, and more that you rarely left the capital, Your Highness. Except for when you were hunting monsters, you spent most of your time in the Royal Castle.”

Fia could imagine without Anastasia having to continue. The princess had surely been reading in the castle.

“Humans. Very few,” Milu noted.

“That’s natural,” Anastasia said, puffing out her ample chest.

“Blossom is tolerant of all things, but not just anyone can stay here. The Stellacryst Beasts, whose physical and magical abilities far exceed those of ordinary species, go without saying. Even the beast-kin and dwarves have their own special skills. The endurance and strength of the beast-kin are suitable for physical labor, while the dwarves are skilled in craftsmanship.”

“In comparison, although humans can do a little of everything, they can only do a little. After a period of training, they can be compared to beast-kin and dwarves, but with those resources, it’s better to train beast-kin and dwarves from the start. I’m not saying there are no humans in Blossom. I mean that it’s difficult for a human without some strength to live here for long.”

Was this survival of the fittest?

Fia couldn’t help but feel a little strange. She herself had originally been human.

“More than strength, the reason it’s hard for humans to stay for long is the elves’ discrimination against them.”

If everyone around you discriminated against you, even if you could stay, you wouldn’t want to.

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“Mmm… you are right, Your Highness. But humans can only blame themselves for that. If they hadn’t persecuted elves in the past, and if they had strengths that surpassed other races, it would be difficult for others to discriminate against them even if they wanted to. After all, even the palm-sized Pixie race can survive in Blossom by helping people mend clothes and clean—although people hire them more to show off their status.”

To hear even Anastasia say this, Fia truly felt that the elves were very proud of being elves.

“A reward of ten gold coins to anyone who can provide a clue about Miss Claire!”

Before the three of them had walked much further, a soldier standing by a wall, reading a notice, caught Fia’s attention. This soldier was not a member of the Imperial Guard. It was likely that she had given the task to Colita, who had given it to the Guard, who had then distributed the duty to the ordinary soldiers in the city.

“Claire… a familiar name…”

“Someone Master knows.”

Anastasia and Milu’s reminiscent expressions made Fia sigh softly. She did not linger here, but urged them on in a low voice.

“Anastasia, Milu, let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Mhm.”