A long time ago, the Goddess of Fate, Eterna was sitting above the clouds while looking at a mirror made out of water. The blue-haired goddess was smiling and then flew down into the earth.
A baby was born.
A girl with white hair like snows with sparkling blue eyes like crystals were looking at her. The goddess couldn't hold herself and laughed when she heard the girl's cry.
"How cute"
She said while touching the girl's cheek.
The baby laughed and held her hand with it's tiny hands. Seeing that, the goddess suddenly came up with an interesting idea and let out a grin.
"It's been a while since I last had fun"
The goddess raised her fingers and casted a spell. In the next moment, a pale blue light covered the little girl's body.
"You deserve a special gift. A gift that could only be given using magic"
The goddess smiled as the girl slowly changed in front of her eyes.
Inside a small village in an unknown era, a young nameless boy lived. His body was filled with bruises with rugged clothes.
No one ever wanted to talk or get close to him.
"Get lost!"
"Go back to your cave!"
"You demon! You will never become a human again!"
The boy only clenched his fists while clenching his teeth and keep walking while the villagers threw pebbles and harsh words at him.
The boy knew that he was different. He knew that he was truly weird. He was born with deep black hair just like a darkened night sky. His skin was pale like a sick person and his body was thin like a branch. And the thing that he hates the most was his pair of blood red eyes.
His appearances was like a demon in the legend. It is said that black hair and red eyes will bring calamity to the people around.
His parent died soon after giving birth to him, and one by one, the villagers also had unfortunate accidents after his birth. Not long after, people stayed away from him and started calling him the demon child.
Inside a dark and narrow room, a girl was sleeping while being covered with a patched cloths that served as a blanket.
The only light source inside the room was the sunlight that penetrated throught a small window.
The girl woke up after hearing the birds chirping from outside the window. She came out after being awake.
Her snowy white skin and hair were being shined by the sunlight. And her blue eyes glitters like crystal under the sun. And then she went into the outside world.
"Today is a beautiful day to sing"
The girl then started singing accompanied by the birds chirping as she walked through the forest.
Since she was a child, she always had a dream about a baby that was cursed by the Goddess of Fate. Slowly, she realized that the baby was herself.
The curse that was given by the goddess was appearance transformation curse. The people would see the girl's appearance as something terrifying like a monster with thin body.
When people saw her, they all said "You monster! You're not a human like us!"
The girl was being mistrested by the villagers, they even treated her like a dirty rat that is not worthy to live alongside them. Even a stray cat had better treatment compared to her.
The girl doesn't think all of that as something saddening, because if she think it was a sad thing, then her tears will flow out uncontrollably.
She doesn't have any friend, and no one wanted to get close to her. The curse given by the Goddess of Fate doesn't let her get along with other humans.
Until one day, she met with the demon child and the gear of fate started to move outside it's course.
I stopped at that part and drank juice made of berries.
"And then?"
Arteria asked curiously. Her eyes were telling to hurry up and continue the story.
"There is no more"
I blinked at her.
"You liar! There is no way it ends at that part! What happened to both of them? Lying to the princess is a huge crime, you know?"
Arteria glared at me furiously. Her angry look was cute though. It was filled with cuteness like an angry hamster instead.
"I don't want to continue, so what can you do to me, my dear princess?"
I teased her.
"Besides, aren't we friends? we still have a long time to get along in the future. The story will be much interesting that way"
"Hmph"
She was pouting. Her cheeks puffed up like a hamster.
My right hand unconsciously extended forward to pinch her soft-looking cheek, but my left hand stopped it.
"What are you doing?"
"N-Nothing"
"Really?"
Arteria looked at me suspiciously.
"Oh well, never mind"
She blinked her eyes and acted as if nothing happened.
"I didn't see you at all yesterday. Rain, did you skip school?"
"Yeah. How did you know? Did you look for me?"
I was surprised since we only met in the library every 2 or 3 days. Other than that, we never met nor passed-by at all.
"No"
She turned her gaze away like she was avoiding my eyes.
Be it in the game or reality, it seemed like she was still bad at lying. Exposing her lie might be fun, but making her talk on her own sounds more interesting.
"Really? I thought you were worried about me"
I said with disappointed eyes.
"Who is worried about you? Also, what is that expression for?"
"I thought my dear friend was worried about me. But it seemed like we're not close enough for her to worried about me"
"I'm not worried about you. Not. At. All"
She denied my words completely while shaking her head.
"Your sister and Lucia seemed to be worried about you, so I'm just curious"
"I see. Well, I just went out to met a woman"
Her ears seemed to be twitching when she heard my words.
"Is she younger or older than you? Is she beautiful? What is your relationship with her? Tell me the details! Quickly!"
She said in excited voice. I could see stars in her eyes.
I forgot that she likes listening to gossips.
∆ ∆ ∆
"That's all? I thought it was something like a secret lover, but you just went to Granny May's shop?"
Arteria said disappointedly.
"I did went to met with a woman you know? Although it was to buy something"
"Let me tell you something, Rain. She might look young and beautiful, but she is actually a granny on her mid 50s, you know? You must not fall for her alright?"
Arteria said with serious look.
"Are you sure you won't get beaten up by calling her granny?"
"It's the truth after all. Although she did get mad when I called her granny"
"Forget about her age, just the fact that she is a great alchemist deserves my respect"
"Indeed. Granny May is a great alchemist. She was also the main reason why I became interested with alchemy. I messed up her workshop a lot when I was young, so maybe that's why she won't teach me about alchemy"
Arteria said with a regretful look.
No, my princess. The reason why she doesn't want to teach you about alchemy was because you don't have talent for it. Otherwise, she who treated you like her own granddaughter would teach you everything she knows.
Ding!
The sound of bell ringing resounded inside the library.
When I looked at the clock that was hanging on the walls, it showed that it's already 7 p.m.
"Ah, it's already this late"
I muttered softly.
"Well, it's about time for me to leave. See you later, Arte"
I stood up and was about to leave when Arteria suddenly called out to me.
"Wait!"
I turned my head with puzzled look.
"That... Umm.. C-Can we eat dinner together for today..?"
Arteria was fidgeting as she said so.
Her face was a bit red. Her shy expression was truly a sight to behold.
It made my heart skipped for a beat.
"Sure"
"Really?"
She looked at me with hopeful eyes. Well, it's just eating dinner. But, I guess she doesn't really have friends to spend time with except with the maids serving her until she joined Leonhardt's party.
"But I will decide where we eat"
"Okay!"
Good. I know her preferences back in the game. She likes rowdy place like the tavern instead of high-class restaurant with fancy foods.
Taking her to a place she likes will just lead me into her route, so I will take a different approach.
"Here"
I gave her the mask I bought from the east district. It was a cat mask.
"What is this?"
Arteria asked curiously.
"A mask. I will bring you to an unusual place. I can guarantee you the food is good. I just don't want to attract needless attention by walking together with the princess in public"
"Hmph. Do you really dislike walking with me that much?"
Arteria pouted.
"Not really. I just don't want to get dragged into political affairs just because I'm with you. Rumors is a scary thing after all"
"Fine. BUT! You have to wear the mask too!"
It seems like she won't take no as an answer.
"Alright"
"Good!"
She smiled happily.
And so we both left the academy wearing masks.
I feel like we're attracting needless attentions from the surrounding people. However, as long as they don't know our identity it's fine I guess.
Anyway, I guided her to the west district. The place we're going to was a special place back in the game.
It was one of the few secret shop that exist in the game and could be opened in act 2 after finishing a side quest. The restaurant sell foods that could raise stats temporarily. I have tested it before the buff last for about 90 minutes. It was quite long considering how enchant potions only gives about 15 minutes buff.
Of course, the buff was weaker than the potions, but if I provides them with rare ingredients like dragon meat or kraken meat the buff would be much stronger.
Different from the east district where rough people like mercenaries and adventurers gathers, the west district were filled with merchants.
Carriages come and go on the road. The street were filled with various shops. The bustling atmosphere were like a festival.
I brought her to the red light district.
Women with revealing clothes were all over the place.
I found a familiar silhouette being guided by a beautiful mature woman into one of the brothel.
"How unexpected"
I muttered softly.
"What's wrong, Rain?"
"Nothing. I just saw the professor in charge of my class went into the brothel"
"I-I see"
If it was on earth, a boy and a girl wearing student uniform walking around in the red light district will definitely get reported to school. But in this world it's quite normal to see students visiting brothel especially if they are nobles.
Of course they went to a high-class brothel instead of the public one because they might catches disease or something. Although walking around the red light district with a princess is not something usual.
Or rather, I guess I'm the only one doing it. Let's pray I won't lose my head for doing this.
"R-Rain... Where are you going to take me to?"
Arteria said nervously.
"A restaurant of course"
"In this kind of place?"
She looked at me doubtfully.
"Trust me, you'll be surprised once we arrive"
"Really?"
Soon, we left the red light district and arrived at our destination. It was just a normal house from the outside. However, it was actually a small restaurant.
As soon as we entered, we saw a middle-aged man with messy hair was cooking in the kitchen counter. Next to him, a beautiful elf was helping him preparing the ingredients.
The man was named Geno and the woman was named Tyr. Gero used to be an adventurer who roamed around the world and after meeting with Tyr, he decided to become a cook so he could introduce human cuisine to her. They opened this restaurant after they get married.
Their story was nice. It was a beautiful adventurer story with happy ending.
The burning smell of meat combined with spices were spreading in the air. Just smelling it makes me hungry.
We took a seat and ordered.
"Old man, give me two sets of today special menu please"
"Got it, kiddo"
Normally, I have to finish the side quest of finding their lost son before gaining access to this place, but around a week after entering the academy, I bumped with Geno while fishing.
I chatted with him planning to at least become acquaintance first before proceeding to gain access to this place, but he invited me to this restaurant after we exchange ideas about delicious foods.
Quite unexpected honestly. I usually comes to this place alone once a week because I can gather informations from other customers as well. I don't really want rumors about this place to spread around.
Also because they don't want to be bothered by people pestering them for recipes. That's why the only people who came here were their acquaintances from their adventuring days. Basically just the people they trust.
As for why I'm bringing Arteria here, as a royalty I'm sure she had eaten foods that could gives buff. The royal chef must have a certain skills after all. More than anything, she will join Leonhardt party after the monster invasion.
So even if she leaks this place informations to Leonhardt's party, it would only happens in act 2 which won't affect the timeline.
"An elf? How unusual. I thought they dislike the outside world"
Arteria looked curiously.
"Not really. Elf likes freedom, most of them only stay from the outside world because they have freedom inside their territory. However, once they left, there is chance they will be targeted and sold into slavery. Only those who have a certain strength are allowed to go outside"
"I see"
Soon, two plates of grilled fish covered with sauce were served along with potato and mushroom soup.
The spicy, sweet and a bit sour sauce combined with the slightly sweet soft meat and crispy salty skin was heavenly. The fish has no bones which made eating it easier.
The soup was creamy and not overcooked. My stomach felt warm just by drinking the soup.
Arteria was eating the food with blissful look. We both finished eating the foods slowly. My body felt a bit lighter and the mana flow become slightly clearer. It's seems the buff has taken effect.
I never asked how they made the food to give buff. Everyone has their own secrets after all.
"It's delicious. It's better than the food back at the castle. Moreover, I feel like my body feel better than usual. I want to eat it everyday if possible"
"You can just come here everyday"
"I will do it if it's with you"
Arteria looked at me while giggling.
Everyday is impossible considering the price.
"As long as you're paying for it"
"How stingy"
She clicked her tongue.
"Why don't you just learn how to cook? If you can cook as good as the owners you can eat it everyday. And then you can also invite me to eat with you"
I said jokingly.
"Hmm, that sounds good. Maybe I will learn it on my free time and I will have you as my tester"
Arteria smiled.
Imagining her lovely figure cooking while wearing apron somehow makes me smiles. However, remembering about the dark cuisine she made back in the game, somehow terrifies me.
"Forget it. I'm just kidding, so you should reserve it for someone special"
"At a time like this, you should encourge me and just say yes. Minus 5 points"
She pouted.
"What's the point for?"
"Your point as a man. If the point is below zero then you're a scumbag"
"How many points do I have then?"
"It's a secret"
Arteria put her point finger on her lips.
"A-Anyway, let's come here again some other times"
She changed the subject directly.
Well, as long as she doesn't think of me as a scumbag it's all fine.
"Alright"
I nodded.
Somehow, I feel like it will be a long time before we can eat together like this again.
And sure enough. The next day, she was called back to the royal capital.