Hikari sat in a cozy chair. The royal suite had such amenities. It was even fancier than the inn they stayed at. She idly flipped pages of the book "Amelium and Other Metals" she acquired from the queen. The book had a metallic feel. It was like if they used a mix of paper and flexible metal for the hard cover.
The author wrote about primarily Amelium used for building. It was a pink metal ore located north of the capital in the Mountains of Amelia. When they converted it to building materials it had to be dyed.
It was resistant to light, so that explains why it didn't serve as an oven as building material. A small tidbit was included about the mountains. The metal was located deep within a cave, sporting a hole at the top. The sunlight shined on the metal, and it was considered a holy ground and a way for the miners faithful to Amelia to serve their goddess.
Apparently, blacksmiths hadn't figured out a way to make the metal viable for weapon smithing. The smelting required a different process from burning it, and it was hard to mold. The book spoke nothing about the process itself, but it did say that most weapons were forged of iron or orichalcum—mithril as a rare ingredient for magic weapons.
These were standard in game as well, besides the Amelium. Hikari became increasingly curious, wanting to visit that mountain as soon as possible. She wondered if she had a different way to smelt it. If possible she could make a new weapon. Though, she doubted it would be better than her current staff.
The elf took the staff out and hovered it next to her, looking it over. If she could gain a weapon close in power there would still be benefits. For example, it might be easier for her to hide her status. If someone recognized the staff, it could come with its own complications.
If there were other players here, they'd surely recognize her and the staff. Being a top player, made her popular on forums and game related sites. As she was having idle thoughts, a contract link activated in her mind.
Images of shady dealings appeared in Hikari's head from Senjosho. Hikari smiled at the image of the demon, reading his stats at the same time.
Name: Thalmus
Age: 3,460
Race: Demon
Level: 666
Title: [Lord of Lust]
Strength: 333,333
Agility: 333,333
Intelligence: 666,666
Wisdom: 666,666
Faith: 500
Health: Null
Stamina: 333,3333
Mana: 1,000,000
Hikari couldn't help but laugh. It was like a worm was saying it would break the world tree. For a few seconds, she thought she had found a match, but this guy would not even be a match for Senjo.
"Is something wrong, Master?" Kurayami asked.
"Nothing, just a little man, aiming higher than his station."
Kurayami seemed to pick something up from Hikari's words and frowned. "Did this man threaten Master?"
A knock on the door cut off their conversation, and the voice of a maid sounded outside. "Her Majesty is ready for you, miss Hikari."
\\\
The dining hall was as extravagant as the rest of the castle. It was large and covered almost an entire lower floor. The table was long with a pink cloth draped over it. The queen sat with her two daughters, and there were two empty chairs on the other side of Her Majesty. More banners hung from the walls in between stained glass windows.
Seated at the table were nobles and retainers, along with some priests and priestesses. When Hikari entered, they all regarded her strangely like a foreign object, scrutinizing her ears in particular.
From what Hikari gathered over her short time—and especially during that hidden meeting—was that elves were particularly rare outside of the elven kingdom. High elves were even more so, and Hikari made a note to visit later in her journey. It would be interesting if the elves knew about her somehow. Moreover, she had to try the apples while she was there. That was one piece of interesting information she gathered from that demon.
Senjosho was still assigned to watch over the necromancer, but nothing of intrigue was going on in his side now that the demon said to take a vacation. With these thoughts in mind, her and Kurayami took the empty seats next to Queen Ieffy.
The queen gave them a tender, motherly smile. "Was the room to your liking, Hikari?"
Hikari nodded. "It was even more grand than that inn we stayed at. Also, did you decide to stop putting on airs?"
Ieffy giggled. "Well, all of that stuff gets too tiring. This is a feast, so there's no need for all of the royal etiquette."
Princess Alfa pouted. "Mother, there is always a need for royal etiquette. How will the nobles regard you after this?"
The queen cleared her throat and stood up with an empty wine glass. She gently tapped a spoon against the side, gathering everyone's attention. "In honor of our guests Lady Hikari and Lady Kurayami, we hold a banquette beneath our goddess Amelia."
A brief moment of silence followed before she continued. "These two brave souls stood against an army of undead to protect my legacy. Without them, I fear the worst could have happened, so we must honor them. Surely, this was no coincidence. With Amelia's guidance all miracles are possible, so remember to keep faithful and ever vigilant."
After her brief speech, butlers and maids filed in bringing in trays of food on carts. The trays were full of unfamiliar meat and vegetables, and when a plate was presented to Hikari she looked at it oddly. The color of the meat was white, but the leg was too big to be a chicken she recognized.
"Curious?" The queen asked. "These are rare monsters local to Amalin. These [Shikidoris] are too aggressive to put on farms, and their numbers are shrinking from other monsters and human hunting."
"Are you sure they are okay to eat?"
"It's okay, this is a rare occurrence."
Kurayami didn't have such reservations and immediately started eating the big chicken leg.
Seeing her dragon dive in, Hikari tentatively tried the chicken. It was delicious. She could see why the monsters ate them. Though, it ended up being way too much for the elf, and she gave most of her portion to the dragon. If she had to say, it still could be better. For some reason, everything she ate since coming here gave her that feeling.
"Did you enjoy that book?" The queen asked. Surprisingly, the queen had almost eaten her entire plate. Hikari wondered where all the weight went, but from the difference in chest sizes it seemed more obvious.
Hikari stared at her own chest with a frown before finally answering the queen. "It's interesting. I would like to personally visit this mountain."
"In that case, can you take both of my daughters with you? I feel like it would be good for them. This is a holy mountain, you know? Maybe you will meet the goddess herself?"