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Chapter 35: Tasianna’s Story. [Release Version (Major Changes)]
🕑 Added 2020-02-09 18:01:25 +0000 UTCThe world we live in was called Peolynca. The meaning behind this name came from the lingua franca of this world, the Common tongue, or just Common. It meant "Our home."
A long time ago, before the sentient beings of today were born, a certain energy we now called mana in modern times molded the world as it grew, becoming one with it. As such, you could find mana everywhere now, filling the bodies of all creatures and influencing their lives. Whether in battle or culturally, mana was all important.
And from this development, multiple different races have emerged over the millennials. Among them, four proved themselves to be the most dominant — the humans, the elves, the dwarves, and the collective subraces of the beastmen. Through their numbers and advancing societies, these races were the ones to conquer their chunks of the world.
However, as I said, mana was everything in this world. As such, from the quartet, two proved themselves to be the most dominant, as the other two had low magical potential.
The dwarves with their body as hardy as the mountains they lived under, were completely unable to discharge their innate mana naturally. While their physical strength and affinity towards ore and metals could contest with even the best of the other races, in a magical battle, they were useless without their tools. Dwarves couldn’t become mages, naturally.
The beastmen were a race born in a union between humans and the most intelligent monsters who ever lived, among them counted dragons. Sadly, as a result of one half of their ancestry, beastmen would be ostracized with their human parent even banished for this vile act.
Depending on their monster parent, each beastman subrace held widely different amounts of mana compared to the others, but all of them were blessed with monster-like features and capabilities. While the magically-gifted beastman races like the dragonewts could create their own communities away from human societies, less talented races like the leonids, foxians, and others had to form a coalition to defend themselves from their human cousins.
However, despite the dwarfs’ hardiness and the beastman’s confederation, it was hard for them to contest against the elves and humans. They were weaker than the mass population of the ever growing humans and their trained mages, while the elves possessed elite warriors and archmages, who have trained for centuries due to their near-limitless lifespan, despite lacking in numbers.
This was the status quo…
… up until the Origin Gods appeared.
Beings of vast power from another world who immediately took over the six elements as our primarchs. They established the Divine System and allowed all living beings equal access to it.
The dwarves were able to use this divine gift to better themselves as warriors and craftsmen, being able to create handy inventions and techniques to alleviate their weaknesses. The beastmen could train their magically-inclined members using skills to alleviate their low mana capacity, being able to train them into fully-fledged mages. Meanwhile, the elves could better themselves even further with the System and the mysteries of our gods.
With the appearance of the Origin Gods also came the birth of the first Demonkin. This race was also considered beastmen, technically, but their union was created with the demons, creatures who came from the Origin Gods’ world. Through their demon ancestry, they could be comparable to dragonewts when it came to natural strength, mana capacity, and racial abilities.
The humans, however, were left behind. While all races and monsters benefitted from the Divine System, humans were the ones who benefited the least.
The beastmen had higher physical parameters, the dwarves were able to use the System to help them construct and create many powerful weapons and tools, the elves having longer lifespans could use their wisdom to outsmart and outlive any human. Even with their high population growth, humans had a hard time catching up to the other races.
With the System, quality beated quantity.
An elite squadron of elf magicians would annihilate a human army with magic, while human armies couldn’t contest against the technological development of the dwarves. Only the strongest and most talented amongst the humans could perform, but in a war, they would find rivals aplenty.
In their desperation, the humans found a way to close the power gap between the dwarves and the beastmen. A vile and cruel act of ingenuity which forever marked the human races in the books of history… as the perpetrators for the War for the Faefolk.
The faefolk were beings of pure mana. While other races bled blood, we faefolk bled mana. Our lives were entirely dependent on the mana in our bodies and we would die if it were ever depleted. Fairies and spirits were examples for our race. As such, the idea the humans figured out was to use faefolk as fuels for their mana batteries.
Mana batteries were a dwarven creation, made using a mana ore called arcanite. Arcanite was a special mineral which could absorb and store mana for a prolonged time, making them a fantastic material to fuel their creation — manatechnology, or manatech for short. As such, mana batteries became an integral part of our technological advancements.
However, once the mana in the batteries was used up, they had to be refueled. Usually, this would be simple as any mage could perform this task, and there were even contraptions used to sap mana from the air to fill them. However, the humans wanted more. Larger and more potent batteries.
But to refill them efficiently, they needed a better source than mages, who could die from arcane corruption. They needed an infinite source of mana readily handable, but all dwarven mana batteries only stored mana from willing donors. The humans needed one which could do it forcefully.
Beings made of pure mana couldn’t accumulate arcane corruption, which meant they weren’t hampered by [Arcane Fever]. As long as we faefolk could regenerate mana, we could cast spells without a limit.
Fairies in particular regenerate mana faster than our lesser faefolk cousins. As such, to the humans’s goal, we were the perfect target for their newly invented mana batteries. In their greed, countless fairies have been caught. Mortifying numbers. And the more faefolk were caught, the more the humans increased their production of their wretched creation.
These were primarily used by trainee magicians to level up their skills. With the batteries as an outside source for mana, humans have been able to create a foundation to train even humans with little magic potential.
With human society growing, so did their technological advancements. As such, even more mana batteries were needed to keep up their demands. Unwilling to pay the dwarves even more money on their mana battery monopoly, the human version became more popular within their land.
This was what I heard had happened before I was born but my kind and other faefolk were hunted down by human hunters, which reduced our population greatly. Fairies were born randomly from mana, which didn’t happen very often. Luckily, we fairies maintained a very pleasant relationship with the elves, who look at us favorably as we are a race watched over by our patron goddess, Zephira the Goddess of Winds.
Sadly, our elven allies lived far away from the center of the human’s faefolk hunting operations. The faefolk they caught were either wandering fairies or lesser faefolk far away from the elves’ home. I learned it was a century or so until everything was exposed, caused by the human’s growing greed.
The friction between the elves and the humans exploded into what was now known as the War for the Faefolk. The elves called for their allies, the dwarves, and together they fought against the humans, leading to an overwhelming victory for the elven-dwarven alliance.
Consequently, it was decided only certified dwarven smiths were allowed to produce a mana battery. The humans were further punished by being forbidden from entering the elven kingdom and the fairy village, ever again. Many fairy hunters and those who allowed it were judged by the elven court and severely punished under the laws of the elves.
This was long ago in history, but even now neither elves nor faefolk were able to reconcile with the current generations of humans. Only the dwarves have mended their human relationships, from what I heard.
I, Tasianna Marinna Silverpond, was once a servant for my race’s royal family.
Normally, fairies were born without families and inducted as a new member of our village, which became our family. On the other hand, our royalty, those designated by the Divine System with a title to prove their rulership and royal blood. Among the fairies, they were the only ones related directly through mana.
[Princess], [Prince], [Queen], [King], [Empress], [Emperor] — these were the titles the gods granted to people who were related to the current ruling family of a legitimate nation. As it was given to them by the gods, it was impossible to argue the legitimacy of the person’s lineage.
As a servant, I became the attendant for our newly born fairy princess. I wasn’t a guard, however, as was tradition, I still had to learn rudimentary magic to defend my mistress’s life in ase something happened. The life of a fairy was carefree and filled with celebrations and playing, which always made me wonder why this was necessary.
“As an attendant, you must make sure to alleviate your mistress of any unease. You must act mature.” Those were the words of my seniors and family.
Magic wasn’t only used for fighting, it also aided and helped others by making tasks easier. Although I questioned it, I still was taught to overcome my nature and become serious and mature while in service to my princess. Every royal attendant had to.
It was even more important for me to do so, since I was a Silverpond. My adopted family has been a longtime servant family to our royals, the Iggdrasyls, with a history reaching back to when our village was first formed. I wanted to make my adopted family proud, so I did what they told me was best.
It was at first very hard to change my nature, I really only wanted to play around and act as if time didn’t exist. However, I still made progress as it was my duty. And it made me content, as my time spent with my princess, Princess Schuri, was invaluable and unforgettable.
Until a certain day.
“Tasianna, let’s go into the forest,” my princess said during a peaceful day like always.
“The forest?" I looked at her while preparing tea. “But Princess Schuri, we aren’t allowed to go outside the village.”
Schuri Estria Iggdrasyl — that was the full name of my princess. For fairy standards, she was as curious and energetic as any fairy child.
“But I want to go out. I saw the other children bringing back pretty flowers from the forest. I want to see them,” she urged me with her usual innocent face, knowing how to use her childish charms to persuade adults.
I nodded, trying to turn the discussion elsewhere, knowing this was the best way to dissuade her. “Then I’ll ask a few of those children to bring us a few when—”
“No! I want to see them in the forest!” But before I could end my sentence, she flew up to me, pressing her face against my stomach with a hug.
Fairies were known to be cheery but mischievous faefolk, and that was especially true for our children. I understood what Princess Schuri wanted but I knew I shouldn’t allow her wish. The forest outside of the fairy village was relatively safe, but I felt taking a princess outside unannounced would lead to trouble for me.
And we both knew nobody would allow us to go out if we told them.
After thinking a bit, despite my better judgement, I consented, “Alright, but let’s not go too far away.”
“Yay! Thank you, Tasianna.” She was overjoyed and began flying around the room, nearly knocking down her toys. She was happy, so I was happy. Still, I was supposed to act like an adult while I was around her, so I had to remain strict.
“Yes, but we need to come back to the village before anybody notices, promise?”
“Promise!”
The village’s security was rather lax, since threats were rare to see after the War for the Faefolk became a historical footnote for us newer generations. The word danger was completely unimaginable to me. As such, I didn’t think of anything as we left the village through a secret opening I knew of.
What the elders didn’t know, wouldn’t spill their nectar jars~ As I always loved to tell myself.
“Tasianna, look at these flowers. They are so funny looking.” Princess Schuri immediately dived into a bed of flowers once we found one. I, admittedly, also wanted to jump in but I had to keep a look out for any wandering guards or visiting elves, otherwise that would ruin all our fun today.
I was here to serve and protect Princess Schuri, and that meant her personal happiness.
“Princess Schuri, this flower is soft to lay on. You should try it!”
“Woah, these are so soft Tasianna.”
… I tried but my will couldn’t fight against my nature. The scent of the noon flowers tickled my nose.
We stayed and played in the flower bed close to the village, although we did wander a bit too deep into the forest after some time. As the sun started to fall, I had to assume my role as an attendant before we got into trouble.
“Okay, Princess Schuri. I think we should go back before everybody worries about you,” I said.
“Mhmm, but I want to stay a bit longer.” My mistress, however, was frolicking around without a worry. I couldn’t help but smile at her behavior, being nostalgic. “It’s more fun out here, right Tasianna?”
“Everybody in the village would be very angry if they notice us leaving. You promised me, Princess Schuri,” I reminded her of the promise we made this morning.
Casting her eyes down and puffing her cheeks out, she reluctantly agreed, “Ok, Tasianna...”
It was a fun day. Princess Schuri was hiding it behind her sulkiness, but I knew she tired herself out with how much she flew. I was equally exhausted, so much so, that I wasn’t able to notice what happened just a second later.
… No, even if I wanted to believe I was able to, I didn't think I would have.
““Wahhhhh!”” we screamed as something dropped onto us.
“Ha ha ha! We actually caught a fairy. Two even!”
A group of humans ambushed us in the forest and trapped us in a mana weaved net.
“Holy jackpot. Ya think those fairies will get out of the net?”
“Nah! The merchant said it was made by some mage. You think some flies can break through that?”
“Hold on, ain’t fairies mages? They could use a spell! A curse! Shit, man!”
Unfortunately for us, neither of us was a capable mage. Princess Schuri was still a child and I rarely trained my skills. The only reason why they advanced at all was due to my Job changes and my daily usage of them to make my live easier.
“Enough screwing around. Put them in the batteries and let’s see how much they can give,” appearing form behind a tree, a rugged-looking man began giving orders to the humans. His voice grated my ears as they suddenly picked us up!
Batteries? What do you mean with batteries?
“L-Let us go. You shouldn’t be in this forest!” My voice was weak and quivering, but I had to say something. I was scared but so was Princess Schuri. “Humans should not be in this forest. You are forbidden to be in here and the elves will not… mhmp!”
“Shut it, fly. Let’s put the loud one in first. Can’t risk somebody hearing us,” the rugged-looking man, probably their leader, pressed his fingers against my scalp and jaw, almost causing me to bite my tongue. “The larger ones should give more mana, eh?”
I was silenced and tossed into a container without a way to look out and confirm Princess Schuri’s condition.
“Princess Schuri! Princess Schuri!” I shouted inside the machine, banging against the metal door in vain.
I have to escape!
“Droplet Torrent!” A magic circle appeared from my hand, shooting out a barrage of water projectiles at the door, but it wasn’t even able to cause a dent. “Droplet Torrent! Droplet Torrent! Argh, let me out!”
I didn’t know this back then, but I was put into a mana battery. This manatech absorbed what measly amount of mana my spell had, weakening it. And this feeling became even worse in the next moment.
“Urgh, what is this…?” As my panic reached its peak, the battery suddenly began shaking violently as I coincidentally felt my energy leaving my body. I felt weak, only realizing a bit later my mana was being drained from my body.
As I said before, for fairies, mana was the equivalent to what blood was for dragons and garms. We became weaker the more we used or lost, and we would die if all of it was gone. We would merely lose consciousness when our Health reached zero, forcing us to sustain our weakened form with mana.
As such, when my Health reached a certain point from being drained, I fell unconscious. I didn't know how long I slept but when I woke up, I was put back in the net and Princess Schuri was sleeping beside me.
I cried out of relief that nothing happened to her, but when I touched her quivering body, my heart dropped as I grimaced at what she had to endure. If she experienced what I had, then her mana was most likely close to empty. She was just a child!
I was terrified.
“Ahaha, look at this, man! All the tools are working again, and I didn't have to spend a penny on the refill," one of the kidnappers said, drawing my attention to them celebrating at our cost.
“Ahaha, you think the client will pay us more?” another human spoke.
“They gotta! You either need money or it will take too long to refill your tech, but these mana batteries can be refilled in seconds with those fairies.”
“And they regenerate mana in no time. Cheap mana, man.”
I could hear it all. All the cruel and inhumane things they thought of doing with us. All the greedy ideas they would weigh around. One of them even snapped their fingers, suggesting to go hunt for even more of my kind.
“Nah, if some elves find us, we’re dead.” However, his companion denied him while cleaning his teeth from his recent meal. “That merchant will act like he doesn’t know us.”
“Then let’s get out of here and keep the fairies for ourselves. We can make some mana batteries and sell them as if they were normal ones and make some buck, eh?”
“Oh yeah, that’s some good thinking! We can get money and get some good gear with it,” these humans spoke of us as nothing but merchandise.
Before I could say anything, the leader of the group interrupted them, "Oi, you guys should forget about that. We double-cross those people, and we're the ones who will end up with our head cut off. We ain’t nothing against a cartel.”
I was mad. I was furious about how they were thinking about these things. I hated them for doing this to me and Princess Schuri. I despised them for living! I thought we fairies were safe after the elves defeated these despicable beings, but, after hearing all of that… those humans have learned nothing!
“Let us out! Free us!” I demanded, shouting from the bottom of my lungs.
“Oh? Looks like one of them woke up,” the one to respond was the leader. He smirked when he heard me speaking and pressed his face close, but not too close, to the net and stared directly at me, prompting me to continue my rant.
“You humans have no idea who you have captured here! Princess Schuri is a fairy with the [Princess] title! Zephira, the Goddess of Winds and patron Goddess of all Faefolk will have you punished!”
The anger and fervor I showed these bandits was so I could hide the fear inside my chest, shaking my very soul. I was the attendant of the royal family of the fairies and also a servant of Princess Schuri Estria Iggdrasyl. My duty was to protect my mistress! Even if I wanted to hide in a corner and cry, I couldn’t. My survival instincts activated for the first time in my 86 years of living.
“If you do not free us, at this instance, then the elves and fairies will judge you for this violation for using mana batteries on us fairies!” I was shouting with all my power, setting my emotions free in an attempt to intimidate all these humans to release us.
“Hahahaha! Funny shit, fairy.” However, his malicious smirk caused me to flinch and fall down on the ground. “However, I don’t think we’re gonna do what you want.”
“Yeah, too much money is at stake here.”
“Besides, we made sure that nobody could follow us. Nobody is coming to help ya.”
“Don’t worry though, little insect. We’ll treat ya princess like any other manablood. With care, of course, hehehehehe! So you can last us for life!”
Their combined laughter reminded me of the mad laughter of crazed magicians. The howls shook me so much my legs lost all will to stand up.
I wanted to deny everything they had just said. If my body didn’t want to fight, then my voice would. Unfortunately, my fear finally consumed me whole, controlling me to scream and shout restlessly, even making me forget Princess Schuri was sleeping through all of this. I was eventually placed back in one of the mana batteries when they thought my mana recovered enough.
It was all useless.
I regret that I did that. I regret that I allowed my feelings to control me instead of taking care of Princess Schuri. I regret all of it. I regret all of it. Everything I did. It was all my fault.
Days went by, ever since that first day. We were regenerating our mana, so we stayed alive, but our mental fatigue grew. We were given breaks when our mana was too low, and we would immediately be put back into the batteries once we regenerated enough. They were sucking us dry.
“Tasianna, I’m tired. I want to go home…” a weak plea for help escaped Princess Schuri’s lips, too quiet for anybody but me to hear.
Princess Schuri rarely woke up before I was put back in. These rare moments soothed my mind, but it just made me feel worse, as I knew all of this happened because I couldn’t keep myself from acting like a child. I took Princess Schuri out of the village that day. I did this to her. I was at fault!
"Everything will be alright. Your mother and father will save us, and don't forget the nice elven uncles. I heard they are powerful warriors, so I'm sure they will come." I had to force a smile just for her.
“I don’t want to stay here any longer… I want to see the village again. I don’t want to stay outside anymore.” I tried to console her, but her exhaustion was making it hard for her to focus on my words. I could only caress her while she cried. I wanted to stay strong for her, but my tears wouldn’t stop flowing.
“Everything will be alright. We will be saved. We will be saved. We will be saved.” It was an earnest plea. “Goddess Zephira, please! Guide us out of this with your winds. Please, I beg of you. Keep Princess Schuri safe!”
But my words only fell into deaf ears. My wishes were for naught.
More days went by, and my mind was starting to grow numb from everything. I was surprised I hadn’t died yet, but I guess this is one of the curses of being unable to accumulate arcane corruption.
Princess Schuri was feeling less and less well. I tried my best to keep her healthy, but the exhaustion wasn’t helping me. We received enough food, since we were tiny, but their nutritional value was close to charcoal.
Fortunately, we eventually were saved by a patrol of elven hunters. I had heard later on that those scum of the world received what they deserved. They would feel exactly, or even worse than what they inflicted on us. I learned all of this a week after I was saved. I was in a deep slumber when I knew we would be saved.
…Just … I also learned something else when I woke up.
Princess Schuri… Oh, Princess Schuri, I’m sorry…
She was still just a child. The strain on her body was worse than what I could endure, as I was more familiar with controlling my mana. She died, while I lived.
It was all my fault. I should have figured it out earlier and helped Princess Schuri learn to control it.Why did I not tell any of those humans that Princess Schuri wasn’t feeling well? Why did I not think of that?! Why was I so stubborn or scared to ask?! Was my pride to reject these humans so strong I priortized it over saving my mistress?
… I’m sorry, it’s my fault, Princess Schuri. Why!
The village did not hold a grudge against me. Surprisingly, neither did the royal family nor my adopted family.
"You couldn't have known," and "You must rest, you suffered also," were told to me to calm me down. They wanted to cheer me up and allow my wounds to hear, despite all I had done! They said that the forest should have been guarded better by the soldiers, but what about me? I shouldn't have been in that forest with Princess Schuri in the first place! That was my responsibility!
Our personalities were a curse. I should have expected that, as fairies were known to blow up in anger. They couldn’t blame me because of their nature. However, it didn’t sit well with me, since I knew what I had committed.
I was the one who agreed to her wishes, despite knowing I shouldn’t have.
I took us further into the forest without being wary of it. I was neglecting my duty.
I did not take care of her when we were captured.
I didn’t put in more effort to make Princess Schuri’s situation better.
… I wasn’t even able to be there when Princess Schuri died.
I couldn’t take it. I wanted to be punished. I wanted to be judged for the sins I had done. I wanted to hear them insult me and tell me it was all my wrongdoing. I wanted somebody to tell me it was my fault. Why couldn't Goddess Zephira grant my wish to be punished for my sin?
After a year of waiting, I left the village. I exiled myself.
I couldn’t be in that village anymore. Their positive outlook was suffocating me at every single second I stayed there. Nothing but suffering waited for me if I accepted their forgiveness. I would shame the memories I had with Princess Schuri if I forgot about everything.
If nobody would punish me, then I would do it myself. I couldn’t die just yet, though. I carried the memories of the good and the bad moments of my mistress, Princess Schuri. I trained myself while I traveled. I trained so I could do what was needed.
I was a royal attendant and I once served Princess Schuri Estria Iggdrasyl.
*******************
[“Then, I was captured by those trolls when I entered the Belzac forest and was once again used as the fuel for a mana battery. That is how I ended up here,”] and with that, Tasianna finished her story. [“I apologize if it became too melancholic in the end, Princess Hestia. Madam Saori.”]
I gulped, massaging my temples as I tried to digest all that information. [“That’s… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to open such a wound…”]
Saori caressed my shoulder, trying to make me feel better. [“Still, thank you for telling us that, Tasianna. Ehe, despite the tragedy, I found the first part about this world’s history interesting. Peolynca, huh?”]
While laying my head on Saori’s lap, I gave her a questioning look as she slowly turned her head away, looking embarrassed at what she admitted. I knew she was a history nerd, but hold on, saying that now? I wasn’t sure if she couldn't read the mood or was just apathetic about Tasianna’s trauma.
[“It’s alright, Princess Hestia,”] however, reading my expression, Tasianna told me it was okay. [“I'm not seeking anybody's pity. Actually, I’m more appalled that I made everybody feel worse with my story.”]
Tasianna knew what I was thinking but she rejected my support. Looking into her eyes, they told me her past was weighing heavily on her conscience, but there seemed to be a glimmer of hope to drive her forward. She was ready to use it as the motivation to keep walking forward.
I could only shake my head in exasperation as I silently reminded myself we were the ones who wanted to be nosy about her personal history.
[“Well, in any case. I believe I now understand why you want to join us so badly. Is it for atonement? Do you wish to cleanse your sins off by serving, Hestia?”] Ignoring my annoyance at her lack of sympathy, Saori asked Tasianna in a more stoic, business-esque tone.
[“… Yes, if I must say the truth then I will admit it.”]
Once everything settled down a bit, we asked Tasianna why she wanted to join. While it was unfortunate that she learned about the whole “Princess” thing, it was too late to complain about it. We had to address the consequences now.
Saori, in her own exhaustion, was being more blunt than usual and refused her, confessing she couldn’t just trust a stranger who came out of nowhere. We might have saved her, but it was only due to my personal morals.
I agreed with her words. We really only knew her name at this point. It was natural to be slightly apprehensive, however, I also couldn’t just outright refuse her without asking for her reasons. Saori thought it was sensible, so we began asking about why she was troll’s prisoner in the first place.
[“My reasons are selfish, I know. I can’t deny that at all,”] Tasianna laid her right hand on her chest and began putting more power behind her voice, fully resolved to persuade us. [“However, Madam Saori, once I saw both of you today, it also awakened something in me. I know this will all sound like an excuse for my self-centered wish to atone for my sins, but I truly want to protect your mistress. Seeing your strength, the power that you carry, made me wish that I could have had it back then.”]
Tasianna breathed in deeply, readying herself for the last part of her speech, [“I have resolved myself to work hard this time! I will not let my nature control me again and get in the way of my duty as a retainer and attendant. If you would allow me, then I will not hold back when it comes to protecting her highness, Princess Hestia's life, even if I have to go through hell again! If I go back on this vow, then you may do whatever you want with me, Madam Saori. At that point, I would be irredeemable anyway.”]
It was a request from the heart, fully convincing me it was alright to have Tasianna travel with us. I looked at Saori and could see that her lips were curved in a small smile, completely satisfied with the response. Saori valued hard work and dedication, and it seemed like Tasianna was able to convince her of her determination.
["…I think it is alright, Saori. It's not like traveling with her will change our goals anyways,"] I said while looking up to her face.
Saori put a hand on her chin, [“Hmm, I guess that is true. Well, it seems you have convinced me, Miss Tasianna.”]
[“Then does that mean…”] Her wings were fluttering at a rapid speed, as her face started to shine even brighter, anticipating our answer.
However, Saori wasn’t done just yet, [“There is just one more thing. We need to tell you about us first.”]
Saori began telling Tasianna everything about us. About our [Otherworldly Reincarnator] titles. About my two god-given titles. About the fact we were humans. About the world called Earth.
Saori and I agreed, through [Telepathy], that we had to tell her about it if we wanted to travel together. It would be hard to hide the whole Skill Points stuff or about our knowledge from Earth.
As Tasianna seemed to be a believer of Zephira, the Goddess of Winds, I thought it would be fine to mention my titles. If she couldn’t accept who we were, then I could always try to keep her silent by telling her I was a god’s champion or whatever. Acting wasn’t my forte, but I had seen enough movies to know how to act like a disillusioned zealot.
She listened to our entire life story with an expression filled with confusion, surprise, and interest until the very end. Once done, Saori prompted Tasianna to answer, if it was alright for her after everything we said. Saori and I were most worried about the human part, so we were already waiting for a shouting contest.
[“My answer…My answer is that it doesn’t matter.”]
Huh?
Both me and Saori were in disbelief with how fast her answer was. I mean, shouldn't this be a big revelation to warrant asking about the details?
Why would you believe something like reincarnation or about the fact that we were once humans? I was pretty sure she mentioned that she hated humans, which should be enough of a reason to not believe in us.
[“My hatred lies with the humans of this world. Those vile creatures who let themselves be consumed by their gluttony and desires. They are as terrible as the demons who once invaded our world!”]
We heard from Tasianna about the whole demons invading this world and then giving birth to demonkins stuff. From the sound of it, the demons were the mortal enemies of every sensible Peolyncian, so comparing a race to them gave me a very clear message on how Tasianna looked at humans. I could imagine her trying to kill the first human we meet.
After letting a bit of her anger out, she calmed down and continued speaking to us with a renewed smile, reassuring us that she believed us and that her wish hadn’t changed.
[“Princess Hestia. Madam Saori. I do not care that you were once humans. You lived in another world and are now reborn as a dragon and a garm. You both saved me, and these are your new forms in this world. How could I hate you because of your past life, especially when you came from another world?”]
Saori was the first to respond, [“Hmm, point taken. You are quite reasonable, Miss Tasianna.”]
Saori tried to return back into her usual self, but I guess Tasianna’s sincerity was completely out of her expectation. Admittedly, I was expecting her to start hating us since we were once humans, but I guess that just showed how committed she was to becoming our ally.
Her eyes widened, sparkling like stardust, [“So, does this mean that I can…?”]
[“I welcome you, Miss Tasianna.”] Saori extended her hands towards Tasianna. [“May we both work hard for Princess Hestia’s ambitions and dreams!”]
Urgh! She called me princess now!
Saori’s stiffness disappeared, shedding off any hostility and was now gesturing for a handshake. Tasianna, being a fairy, couldn’t really shake it but still grabbed onto one of Saori’s fingers and wiggled on it. After bowing excessively and thanking us, Saori couldn’t help but smile brightly as we accepted the third member of our party.
[“Looks like you’re in now, Tasianna!”] Now sitting on my butt, I activated [Noble Aura] and started speaking formally. [“From today onwards, I, Hestia Atsuko, graciously welcome you into our midst. I pray our travels will shine ever so brightly and bring us joyous memories in the future.”]
It wasn’t perfect but I was sure that I still beamed some nobility while I spoke. I was sorta a princess so speaking like one occasionally was fine with me. Tasianna, on the other hand, was crying, thanking both of us for giving her this chance. We really have made this whole “recruiting for the party” thing into a real drama.
[“Only ‘Princess Hestia Atsuko?’”] Tasianna said after a while before looking like she remembered something. [“That’s right, I apologize. You probably don’t know your family’s name, right? Should I tell you that, my lady?”]
[“Hmm? Family name?”]
[“Yes, you are a dragon princess. Of course, you would have one! However, since you don’t know it yet, your profile won’t update to give you your proper last name. Allow me to infor—”]
[“Hold on, hold on!”] I held my hands in front of me. [“Uhm, for now, let’s go with only ‘Hestia Atsuko,’ alright?”]
Tasianna tilted her head, her tears having stopped dripping from her eyes. [“Why?”]
[“Well… I-I don’t feel too comfortable with that. You know, I’ve been abandoned in this forest, so I can’t really say I see my dragon parents as real parents. It’s whatever, really. Please, I want to keep my current name as long possible.”]
To me, my Papa and Mama from Earth were still my parents. I acknowledged them as mine despite how my body didn’t share their blood anymore. In my mind, I was still the daughter of two humans, not a thrown-away dragon whelpling thrown inside this forest. Besides, “Hestia Atsuko” came from my best friend, I couldn’t readily throw it away.
I pinched Saori’s forearm as I thought that, causing Saori to worry for me. On the other hand, Tasianna nodded before settling on the ground and kneeling in front of me. To us, she was as small as a small bird, while to her, we were giants. Still, we were now friends.
[“Princess Hestia Atsuko, royal princess of the Dragonewt country, Loatryx, and the Dragon Empire, Kargryx. I, Tasianna Marina Silverpond, hereby pledge my life into your service. As your retainer, I shall become your shield and hands to fulfill any wishes you might have. That is my vow to you.”]
Loatryx and Kargryx, huh? So that is the name of the countries I belonged to.
This was even more formal than Saori’s recruitment. This must be the difference between somebody with [Royal Etiquette] and somebody without it. It also helped that she seemed to know what kinda princess I was, making it even more… authentic.
Wait, hold on!
[“Wait, what do you mean… oh? Too late.”] I shrugged.
<[Fairy, Tasianna Marina Silverpond] has received the title [Hestia’s Retainer] and is now your follower>
[“S-Something came up in my Profile,”] Tasianna shrieked a bit, not anticipating System Voice.
[“Oh yeah, that. Saori, you can handle this, right?”] Honestly, I had enough info dumps for today, so I wanted to leave the whole dragon princess stuff for later. [“Guys, I’m tired so I’m going to sleep. Good night.”]
I wanted to act selfishly and let my “retainer” introduce my new retainer to our life. That was my right as their princess, right? Of course, delegating jobs was a necessary ability.
Slowly drifting into sleep, I still was able to hear my two companions speak.
[“…It seems I inconvenienced Princess Hestia. I should apolo…”] Tasianna was about to say, but Saori stopped her.
[“Oh, you do not have to worry about it. She did her best to stay awake because she was willing to accept you even without your story. I should be the one to apologize, as I made everything complicated,”] Saori apologized.
[“She must have expended quite a lot of energy…”]
Saori chuckled. [“Her usual peppiness dies a bit when night falls, especially considering the fight we were participating in. Anyways, Miss Tasianna, I will earnestly expect a lot from you.”]
[“Yes, I will do my best to meet your expectations. You can count on me.”]
Before sleep fully embraced me, Tasianna’s mumbling was the last thing I heard.
“This time, I will do everything correctly.”
