Chapter 164

(1)

1.

It was a sunny afternoon.

The silver-haired girl on the bed stirred. She let out a soft groan as she slowly lifted her closed eyelids.

Then she scrunched her brows.

“Ugh.”

It was the blinding sunlight.

The girl squinted her eyes in annoyance.

But hey, at least it chased away some of her drowsiness.

Barely waking up, Delia glanced around with a dazed expression.

“Where am I…?”

A familiar scene. A place embedded in her memory.

Her own bedroom. The moment she realized this, long-forgotten memories resurfaced.

‘Ah, right. That’s how it was.’

All of it came rushing back.

From picking the stargazing flowers to being attacked by Abyss Worshippers, and getting caught up in the Trial of the Hero.

Right after those memories flooded back, a new question popped into her head.

‘But why am I here?’

Delia tilted her head.

However, the questioning didn’t last long. After all, she wasn’t alone at that time.

Her friends had come to rescue her.

Then a speculation arose.

‘Did Ulan and Noa bring me here?’

Or perhaps she met the Arpen Rangers who were searching for her and ended up at the Royal Castle.

After piecing together the rough situation, she stretched like a sleepy cat.

Next, she lay on the bed at an angle, checking her condition. The most significant change was undoubtedly her magic power.

‘Magic power…’

It had increased tremendously.

And there was one more change.

Something she hadn’t had before.

The warm sunlight and the cool breeze.

The magic power of all things around her—like bushes, trees, and rocks—was crystal clear. Soon enough, she realized the reason for this change.

‘The realm of the High Mage.’

The founding king of the Arpen Duchy.

In the process of inheriting the Knowledge of the Stars from Artina Mun Arpen’s spirit, Delia had broken through the wall of enlightenment in an instant.

And as a result,

Her magic power had either increased or her ability to observe magic became much sharper. Looking out at the scenery outside, she wore a look of wonder.

‘I didn’t think I’d reach this point so quickly, even with help.’

One of the goals she had been aiming for.

She thought it would take at least graduating from Arsen Academy or beyond to reach the realm of the High Mage.

Delia smiled in satisfaction at achieving something much faster than she had expected.

Next, she recalled the Knowledge of the Stars she had received along with her magic power. This was knowledge and memories accumulated by Artina over many years.

But at that moment.

“Ugh!”

Delia’s face scrunched up in pain.

A sudden headache hit her.

‘…There’s too much information.’

Memories built up over centuries.

Trying to recall them all at once was bound to cause a mental overload. A moment later, once she finally broke free from her thoughts, the headache quickly faded away.

‘I’ll figure that out later.’

It wasn’t urgent right now.

Finishing her thoughts, Delia got out of bed. As she stretched a bit and looked around her room, she suddenly noticed her reflection in the mirror.

She soon realized.

She had grown.

“I’ve, grown, a bit.”

Finally feeling like her age matched her appearance.

Thanks to the fairy blood flowing through her veins. As she carefully examined her grown body here and there, a rapping sound echoed.

Knock! Knock!

Someone was knocking on the door.

In came a maid with brown hair. As soon as she saw Delia, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Wow, Princess?!”

The maid, with a shocked expression, was Helena Orvant.

She had been Delia’s personal maid since they were children. Quickly approaching Delia with a worried face, she asked,

“You’re awake! How are you feeling?”

But there was no answer.

Instead, Delia looked at her with a curious expression. She could see something she had never seen before.

‘What is that?’

A bright light swirling around Helena.

It wasn’t the Flow of Magic. The Flow of Magic took a different form altogether.

“Princess?”

“…Huh?”

“Is there something uncomfortable? I think it would be better if you rested a bit longer.”

“No, I’m fine.”

Delia shook her head.

At the same time, she brushed off the thoughts she just had. It wasn’t important right now.

“More importantly, you don’t seem surprised.”

“Pardon? Surprised about what?”

“About, my, appearance.”

Delia had changed significantly.

She had grown taller and lost the baby fat on her cheeks. Anyone would be surprised at such a transformation, but Helena remained unfazed.

“Well, you’re just at that age where you grow. In just half a year, that’s totally reasonable.”

That could very well be the case based on human standards.

As Delia silently nodded in agreement, Helena hesitantly spoke again.

“Um, Princess?”

There was a hint of hesitation in her tone.

After a pause, she seemed to muster her courage to ask something.

“By the way, the prince asked me to tell you to come to the mansion once you wake up…”

As soon as she mentioned the prince,

Delia’s expression stiffened.

The prince Helena referred to was her father, Lord Erhent Rune Mond Arpen.

“I’ll, take care of that.”

“Phew, I kind of figured you would.”

Her tone turned as cold as ice.

Helena sighed deeply, as if she had anticipated Delia’s reaction. After all, Erhent was the person Delia disliked the most in the royal family.

“More importantly, where are Ulan and Noa?”

“Who, exactly, are they?”

“The people who were with me.”

“What do you mean…?”

Helena looked utterly confused.

Delia sighed, frustrated at how clueless she was.

After outlining Ulan and Noa’s appearances, Helena’s expression grew increasingly bemused. After a moment, she awkwardly asked,

“Princess?”

“What is it?”

“May I ask what your relationship is with the people you just mentioned?”

“They’re just my friends.”

Delia replied dismissively.

Meanwhile, Helena looked stunned.

“Y-Your friends?!”

She looked as if she had heard something shocking.

Delia raised an eyebrow, bewildered.

“Is it that surprising?”

“Of course! You’ve never had a friend before!”

“…”

Delia was left speechless for a moment.

But she didn’t feel particularly hurt.

It was true, as Helena had said, that she had never had anyone she could call a friend.

“Anyway, where are they?”

“Well, um…”

“Spit it out quickly.”

Helena hesitated to answer.

Noticing her reluctance, Delia pressed the matter further until Helena finally sighed heavily.

“They’re locked up in a cell.”

“…What?”

“I heard they locked them up because they were suspected of kidnapping you, Princess?”

Helena explained based on the stories she had heard from the Rangers.

Not long after that,

Having gotten the situation straight, Delia shouted, her face flushed with anger.

“Take me to the prison immediately!”

Ulan and Noa.

How could they treat the two who were like benefactors to her as criminals?

There’s a limit to rudeness.

So, with Delia leading the way, they headed straight for the underground prison of the Royal Castle to clear the misunderstanding and free both of them.

2.

Arpen Royal Castle’s underground prison.

Normally, this place wasn’t used much, but today was an exception.

All the passageways leading to the surface were lined with armed guards. The soldiers looked particularly serious.

There was only one reason for this.

The criminals who kidnapped the Duchy’s princess, Delia Arpen, were locked up here.

Thus, the guards patrolled around the prison with notably tense expressions, maintaining a tight security posture.

Meanwhile, inside the prison,

The atmosphere was completely different from outside.

Ulan was seen yawning with a bored face, showing no signs of tension whatsoever.

At that moment.

Growl!

A sound interrupted the silence.

It came from Ulan’s stomach. Stretching and yawning, he rubbed his belly and said,

“I’m getting hungry.”

“Well, of course you would be hungry.”

A reply came from the neighboring cell.

It was Noa. She answered in a feeble tone as if whining.

“We haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

It had been a whole day since they were captured under the false accusation of kidnapping Delia. They hadn’t been provided with either food or water.

“Just hold on a bit longer. Once Delia wakes up, we can leave.”

It was time for her to wake up soon anyway.

Noa glanced through the bars at Ulan. She then changed the subject.

“Hey, Ulan.”

“…?”

“Did this happen in our past lives too?”

“What are you talking about suddenly?”

“It’s about when Delia reached the realm of the High Mage.”

In the original story, Delia only reached the realm of the High Mage in her late twenties.

But this time was different.

For some reason, she had become a High Mage as soon as she passed the Trial of the Hero, which had never happened in the original.

Of course, it was unnecessary to ask.

What Ulan remembered from his past life was the cycle he played just before entering the game with Noa.

‘But…’

At that time, Noa hadn’t cared at all about the Seven Heroes, as he was busy training an army to fight the Abyss as Marquis Gorphant.

So, he thought to ask if there was any variable back in their previous cycles. But Ulan shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because when I met Delia, she was already a High Mage.”

The same developments as the original. In other words, it meant that there were no variables in Ulan’s past life.

“Ah, I see.”

Noa let out a low groan.

She couldn’t hold back her curiosity, but it seemed like the only way to find out was to ask Delia directly.

As she sighed again,

Thud! Thud!

Distinct footsteps came down the stairs. A group of Rangers, led by a guard. Upon seeing them, Noa’s expression brightened instantly.

‘Delia must have woken up!’

Then they were probably here to release them.

Noa was convinced of that.

Until the guards approached the prison and stoically said,

“July 15, Friday. At exactly 2 PM.”

“With the current time as the reference, we will begin the interrogation of the criminals who kidnapped the princess.”

“…?!”

Interrogation, not release?

Noa’s eyes widened in shock.

Noticing her change of expression, the Rangers continued in a stoic tone.

“There’s no need to worry.”

“All interrogations will be conducted ethically according to international law, and they will not be killed until they confess.”

A more horrifying response followed.

At the same time, Noa saw the Rangers bringing something down that looked clearly like torture devices. She shouted in desperation.

“W-We are friends of Delia!”

“Are you still trying to lie?”

“I’m being serious!”

“No, that’s a lie.”

Shaking their heads vigorously, the Rangers announced with conviction.

“The princess has no friends.”

“I swear, not a single one!”

Such a strong denial was hard to argue against. Noa fell silent, and after the guards stepped forward, they ordered,

“Open the door!”

“We’re starting the interrogation immediately.”

Noa’s face turned pale.

What to do? Should she just suggest escaping with Ulan?

Thoughts surged like an explosion.

At that moment.

“…Stop it, now.”

A cold voice rang out.

Running in a fluster, her hair in disarray, was the silver-haired girl—Delia.

Once she spotted her,

Noa felt a wave of relief wash over her, while the Rangers looked surprised.

“Princess?”

“What brings you here?”

No answer came.

She simply pointed her slender finger at Ulan and Noa.

“Let them out, quickly.”

“Eh? But they’re…”

“They’re my friends.”

So hurry up and let them out.

Her golden eyes seemed to say that clearly. Meanwhile, the reaction from the Rangers was one of shock.

“F-Friends?”

“The princess had friends?!”

Their disbelief was palpable.

Delia frowned, annoyed.

It was true that she had no friends before, but being met with such reactions repeatedly began to irk her.

“Yeah. I made friends at the Academy.”

The moment she reluctantly answered,

The Rangers all celebrated and cried out.

“Goodness! The princess has friends…”

“What a momentous occasion!”

“Shouldn’t we declare a public holiday for this?!”

“This isn’t the time for that. We need to suggest throwing a party right away!”

The Rangers were making a fuss, almost as if they were preparing for a festival.

Delia’s ears turned red out of embarrassment.

After a moment, she gritted her teeth in annoyance, her expression serious.

“…A party or whatever, just let them out.”

“Y-Yes, right away!”

“Excuse us!”

Realizing the atmosphere had shifted, the Rangers hastily pulled Ulan and Noa out of the prison. After a while, once the situation had settled, Delia bowed her head in apology to both of them.

“I’m so, really sorry.”

Her voice was filled with sincere regret.

She kept her head bowed, continuing her explanation.

“I’ll find the one responsible for today’s incident and make sure to punish them severely. I promise.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Ulan replied nonchalantly.

Sure, they had been detained for a day, but beyond that, they hadn’t suffered at all.

The same went for Noa.

“Yeah, it was a situation where misunderstandings could arise.”

Ulan and Noa were in the guise of intruders.

Plus, Ulan’s appearance, running around half-naked, must have looked suspicious too.

And there was also the fact that Delia had been missing along with them, which only added to the suspicion.

“…Are you really okay though?”

“They were acting for your sake, right? So there’s no need to punish them severely.”

“Yeah, I’m glad this is resolved.”

As soon as she received such generous replies, Delia bowed her head again. It expressed both gratitude and an apology.

Later, while they were gathering up their confiscated belongings,

Noa suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, Delia.”

“Yeah?”

“In the Trial of the Hero, could you tell me what happened?”

The question had been nagging her since the day they were captured.

Unable to hold back her curiosity, she asked, and Delia nodded readily.

It wasn’t something she planned to hide.

Soon enough, she began explaining all the details.

How long had passed?

As Noa silently listened, her eyes widened in disbelief when she heard about the events that unfolded after the battle with the Arch Lich.

‘The Arch Lich was Artina?!’

It was no surprise to be shocked.

After all, in the original story, the Arch Lich was just an unnamed wizard from ancient times.

On the other hand, Artina stood out.

She was the founding queen of the Arpen Duchy and known to be the greatest mage in history. She was also one of the key figures in the main storyline.

‘…Einar’s twin sister.’

The “Gem of Einar.”

A necessary tool for fighting against the Abyss.

The original owner of this treasure was Artina Mun Arpen, her twin sister.

Moreover, she was once renowned for foreseeing the threat from the Abyss.

‘I thought she was just a figure that existed only in history books, never expected her to become a Lich and remain in the Trial of the Hero.’

But what could the reason be?

As those questions swirled in her mind, Delia soon provided an answer that pointed in that direction.

It was all about the Abyss.

Delia explained that she had entrusted all her fate to it and transferred an incredible amount of magical power.

“Thanks to that, I reached the realm of the High Mage.”

Right after her lengthy explanation, the room fell into a hushed silence.

Ulan showed no understanding of what was being said, while Noa looked as if she couldn’t believe the story she had just heard.

“W-Wait, are you saying that the memory of Artina is in the Knowledge of the Stars you inherited?!”

“Yeah, probably.”

Noa’s eyes flickered with hope.

It made sense.

Artina was the one who predicted the threat of the Abyss. If she had that much knowledge, there should definitely be information about the Abyss.

‘Important information that wasn’t in the original story!’

Just as she savored the unexpected yield,

A reply dampened her excitement.

“However, right now, it’s tough.”

“What? Why?”

“My mind is completely jumbled up. It will take some time to organize everything.”

The Knowledge of the Stars was vast.

Just trying to recall memories alone would give her a headache. Therefore, it would take time to sift through what she wanted.

Noa quietly nodded.

As if she understood what that meant.

‘It is a bit disappointing…’

Yet she acknowledged it was still unexpected gain.

After all, she could take her time to discover the memories she wanted eventually. Just then, as their conversation was wrapping up,

Grrrroowl!

A loud rumble shook the room.

It came from Ulan’s stomach again. Delia perked up her pointed ears and replied,

“Are you really hungry? Let’s hurry out. I’ll have them prepare a meal right away.”

“Let’s move quickly.”

As soon as the word “meal” left her lips, Ulan was already climbing the stairs. Delia turned to Noa with a faint smile.

“Do you need anything?”

“Oh, speaking of which, I had a favor to ask.”

“What is it? Just tell me.”

Then she wouldn’t hold back on the request.

Noa pulled out a note from her backpack.

“What’s this…?”

“A list of medicinal herbs.”

She recognized that at a glance.

Having spent time with the Rangers, Delia was quite knowledgeable about herbs.

“Can you get these for me?”

“It shouldn’t be too hard. But what do you need them for?”

Delia asked, puzzled.

It was understandable. The herbs listed had various uses.

Just after the question was posed, Noa smiled brightly.

“I’m planning to make a healing potion.”

For the girl who had become a shell of herself due to unforeseen accident.

Delia’s half-sister, Rudine Arpen, who had never survived in any of the story’s iterations.

To create a medicine to return her to her original self.

39. The Choice Is Yours.