A flash of pale blue light illuminated the entrance to a threatening forest, and two people showed up.
A short man with a permanent grief-struck expression and an average-looking young man with short platinum hair who stumbled and fell on the ground.
"Prove yourself, or die trying, your Highness. Even without my magic, there are plenty of other candidates for the successor to the throne."
"Wha…?!"
The royal magician declared in an unamused voice before disappearing in another flash of pale blue light.
"Wait!"
The platinum-haired youth called out, reaching out his hand to the afterimage of the mage, but his attempt was bound to fail.
"Haaah…"
The unfortunate youngster ended up sitting up and letting out a deep sigh.
After that, he straightened his back a little, looking around keenly.
On his right was an entrance to the particularly murky forest with a road disappearing into the darkness less than a dozen feet within it.
On his left, the road led to who knows where, and an unknown hill took up the entirety of the scenery. Its mostly barren slope was diversified by occasional spots of grass, some thorny bushes, or dried-up trees.
The platinum-haired youth examined his body while keenly touching his face.
"Beast armor."
Suddenly, the youth called out and raised his head benevolently…
…but nothing happened…
"..."
It certainly wasn't within his expectations, which was clearly visible on his face…
"Single-edged steel straight sword."
He then said again, reaching out his hand… only to have it stay empty.
"... not only did he change my appearance while teleporting, he cleared out my Pocket Storage while he was at it too…"
The platinum-haired young man slouched and spoke to himself.
He looked around again, this time checking the position of the sun, before standing up and facing the forest's entrance.
"...prove myself or die, he said… although, he also said that there's plenty of people willing to take my place. Might as well give them a chance."
The youngster decided to walk into the forest without ever looking back at the kingdom he was leaving.
—--------
"My lady… I really shouldn't be…"
Adrianna whimpered awkwardly, trying to lift her head off Melinda's lap and stand up from the cozy couch in the living room of Sigurd Em'raldio's house.
"Nu-uh. Your injuries might have healed, but after suddenly losing 120 levels your body must be feeling like jello. I can see you trembling while trying to sit upright, Adi. Don't push it and just rest."
"...mhmm…"
The maid was stopped by the gold-haired girl with a stern head pat, and the maid let out a pitiful voice of agreement after glancing at her young lady's serious expression.
"..."
With Adrianna's ceasing her resistance, Melinda leaned back into the couch and looked over her shoulder.
The spot which should be taken by Zane was empty, as the monstrous man had to report everything that occurred by the Teleportation Array to his higher ups.
He wasn't happy or eager to leave Melinda's side, but she encouraged him to go anyway as Rose alone looked terribly worried about going alone for some reason.
Once again. Melinda was the one who encouraged Zane to go.
But still, she wasn't happy that it was the right thing to do.
Having a moment to spare, the gold-haired girl looked around the living room, wondering whether the Emperor of Emperors was the one to pick all the furniture and sparse decorations.
Even if not, the person who was in charge of doing so appeared to make sure to design everything in a way that somehow felt fitting for a place where a man of the status of Sigurd Em'raldio would kick back his feet up and relax after a long day.
With a large bookshelf and a prime space on the wall that, back in Melinda's old world, would be taken by the TV, taken by a beautiful and breathtakingly realistic painting of a sun setting over a lush valley between two mountain peaks, a tranquil atmosphere was almost palpable.
"My deepest apologies for keeping you waiting like this."
The atmosphere was slightly disturbed by the arrival of a tall, androgynous person with pastel-gold hair and dark, almost ashen-purple skin.
"...!"
"Adiii…"
The maid in the gold-haired girl's lap tried to hurriedly get up but she was stopped by the frown and a troubled sigh of her lady.
"Your master is correct, Miss Adrianna. Although your circumstances are special, it is not the first time in history when an individual experienced a level drop coupled with the weakening of their ability."
The pastel-gold-haired person spoke up to further ease the maid's anxiety, making their way to one of the two armchairs opposite the couch that the girls were occupying.
"You were unconscious when Young Lady and Lord Zane brought you here, so an introduction is in order."
The androgynous person spoke up, stopping in front of the armchair on the left and facing the girls.
"My name is Hugin. I am a personal aid to His Majesty Sigurd Em'raldio. Please let me know if I can be of service to you."
"!!!"
As Hugin bowed towards Adrianna, the brown-haired maid had a first good look at them and flinched. Her face twisted with an angry expression and she tried to push herself upright…
*pomf*
"Unfh…!?"
But her attempt was foiled by Melinda grabbing her shoulder and firmly pressing her back down.
"I am not a demonkin, Miss, be at ease. I belong to one of the many subspecies of elvenkin. In particular, I am a Dusk Elf. Your reaction is perfectly normal, especially after what you went through with a demonkin that's only slightly different shade than me."
Hugin didn't seem particularly bothered by Adrianna's reaction and smiled a bit awkwardly while glancing at their knuckles.
"O-oh… I apologize, I was very rude…"
"No, no. As I said, your reaction was perfectly normal… that is, a different one or lack thereof would be considered abnormal by all means."
Adrianna squirmed a bit in shame and apologized, but Hugin merely waved their hand dismissively before straightening their back and speaking towards the unbothered Melinda.
"Well, if that makes you feel better, I was surprised when you said you were a Dusk Elf just now. I was fairly certain that Dusk Elves have black eyeballs with distinctly glowing irises."
"..."
Melinda raised her brow before shrugging her shoulders and leaving Hugin speechless for a moment.
"...I… I'm using a spell to conceal it… humans tend to be disturbed by how my real eyes look. I meant no disrespect by concealing parts of my image."
Hugin opened and closed their mouths trying to find the right words, moving their hand over their eyes to reveal how they really were - jet-black whites with burning pale-gold irises that appeared to be staring deep within the soul of whoever they gazed upon - before moving their hand again to reactivate the illusion spell and bowing apologetically towards the gold-haired girl.
"None taken. I'm not the one to dictate what others can or cannot do with their appearance."
Melinda nodded back in acknowledgment before taking out an inconspicuous ring and putting it on…
"...! That confirms a lot of my theories~"
As Melinda's hair and eyes turned black and Hugin was faced with the spitting image of the supposed new member of the Seven Authorities of Inquisition, they let out an impressed gasp while a discreet smile of excitement lifted the corners of their mouth.