Chapter 13: Chapter 11: An Eventful Evening

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, with the sun fading quickly into the horizon. It’s final rays entered through exposed windows, dyeing the palatial chambers in fleeting hues of orange. Draped in the colors of dusk, a girl lay prone on an elaborate bed, absentmindedly fiddling with a long lock of blue hair. Her ever dutiful maid was attending to her needs at her side.

A surprised yelp resounded in the room.

“Can you please be a little bit more gentle? I just fought like a dozen people, you know?” Chris protested, wincing from the pain of having her battle-wrought sinews ravaged yet again. She had eaten a light dinner and rested in her room with the excuse that she was too exhausted after her bouts, but that only seemed to make the pain worse.

“It won’t be effective if I don’t push hard, your highness. Now please sit still, you’ll feel a lot better soon.” Griselda gently chided. Flipping back a few loose strands of her pastel pink hair, she focused on the task at hand, pressing back down onto the girl’s back.

She began by kneading her hands around a particularly sore spot, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from the Lorien princess. Using a mix of gentle and rough movements, the maid meticulously worked the knotted muscles in masterful rhythm.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long for the squirming and whining girl to melt like soft putty. Chris experienced the dreamlike euphoria of being simultaneously massaged by Griselda and caressed by the gentle summer breeze flowing in from the open windows of her room. 

It was a remarkably pleasant sensation.

Still working the soft and supple flesh under her hands with surgical precision, Griselda admonished the child for her earlier recklessness.

“I think you should rest for a few days, your highness. This kind of stress on your body can’t be good for your health, and the date of your Bestowal is drawing near. You must be in the absolute best condition on such an important occasion.”

She wasn’t speaking just out of fretful concern. In a world where humans gained access to the magic of spirits, just how many people lost themselves to the allure of power? It wasn’t unheard of for a young and promising soul to go wayward, thus leading to their unfortunate end. An obsession with anything became an easy path towards self destruction.  

“I appreciate the concern, Griselda. Well, I appreciate everything you do for me. Really, thank you.” Chris beamed up at her companion. “I think that as long as I have you by my side, things will be fine.”

When she first started her brutal conditioning, she battered her body to the point where it could barely move around the next day. Conventional means could not alleviate her unique state of mana-induced exhaustion, and somehow it was only through Griselda’s love and care --likely enhanced with the powers of her spirit Emberlyn--  that things became more bearable.

Needless to say, she could not have survived her harsh training without her personal maid’s help. It was a pleasant bonus that the five-star treatment was enough to send her mind flying off to heaven. 

“It’s the least that I can do for you, your highness.” Griselda smiled warmly. 

While it was her duty as a servant to support her liege in any way possible, it was also her own personal aspiration to see the young princess grow with confidence. There was nothing a gardener looked forward to more than seeing a frail bud bloom into a brilliant blossom.

“By the way,” she continued, “how was the ‘social event’ that her majesty set up for you?”

“Um, it wasn’t anything that special. I got to spar with some of the people there --wiped the floor with them actually. It was pretty satisfying to let loose like that. If anything, I wonder why the older knights aren’t more disciplined. I saw some of them crying, you know? Can you believe that?”

“Ah, I wouldn’t blame them. The royal knight captain is known for being… not very kind, let’s say, to his men.” Griselda lowered her volume, as if afraid that someone was listening into their conversation from right outside the door. 

“Truly? Edward seemed to get along just fine with him.”

“His highness is the crown prince of this nation, he can get away with a lot of things.”

The two of them shared a hearty chuckle over the strange and eccentric personalities of the Lorien Kingdom’s knights. Once her brother was mentioned, the topic of conversation soon drifted towards the specific quirks of her own family.

“Don’t tell him I said this, but it took quite a while for the king to win her majesty’s heart. His courtship of her was quite the sight to behold.” Griselda whispered into Chris’s ear.

“Really? So I guess even rulers have their own romantic troubles.” It certainly was odd to imagine the monarchs of any country being in a rom-com situation. But she guessed even high and lofty sovereigns were sometimes only human. 

“Well, I won’t say it’s the same for all leaders.” The maid remarked. She continued,

“Lorien’s royals are typically free spirited, always pursuing their goals, unhindered and unbothered by anyone or anything. They are as free-flowing as water, and as stubborn as the ocean itself, eroding even the most indestructible stone.” 

“I guess that sort of attitude runs in the family, huh?” Chris replied in amusement. It was true that everyone of them had so far seemed single minded whenever they had a goal. Their recent fruitless investigation on the creatures that attacked her a month before had only been one such instance of this switch being flipped. 

For example, she was told that when Edward was younger, he had ignored his surroundings whenever his mind was set on something, which earned him the chagrin of pretty much every staff member in the palace. It was a godsend that he at least had the skills and charisma to earn back their respect. 

She remembered another time when James was so focused on his studies that she had to come fetch him for dinner. Even then, she had to practically drag his body away from his desk while he was still immersed in whatever ideas were formulating in his mind.

If she had to describe her brothers in several words, then Edward was an “unstoppable force” and James was an “immovable object” —and she meant those quite literally. 

Lysander and Elenoa… seemed relatively normal? Although, they were likely what enabled this kind of behavior in the first place; as neither of them were against her sudden interest in training with a sword. They were both surprisingly supportive, as a matter of fact.

Hopefully, she lived up to their expectations. 

Her hands reflexively clenched into fists. If she had failed to make any progress at all, would her parents still have praised her efforts? Would Edward still have spent so much of his time teaching her the way of the sword in spite of her incompetence? 

If she hadn’t been fortunate enough to have control over mana, then she would have been embarrassed and humiliated today instead of triumphant. She would have returned as a loser, with nothing to show for herself. She imagined everyone with disappointment etched into their faces, their mouths twisted into frowns of disapproval. Her heart almost stopped as she pictured them coldly glancing at her with looks of disdain and disregard. As she became gradually scorned and excluded, just like in her previous… 

Chris quickly shook her head.

No, she shouldn’t think this way. With Christiana’s memories, she had a combined total of 40 years of life experience. It was immature of her to worry about these pointless daydreams; there wasn’t any use in pondering what-ifs. She should just focus on the present.

She was a fool for even considering such a thing. There was no way that her current family would treat her that way. Plus, she now had strength and resolve that Larry never had. She won’t fall into the trap of apathy and despair. 

This life won’t be a repeat of her past failures. Not if she could help it.

She should focus on her conversation with Griselda. Now was the time to relax her tired mind and body, and let go of all her troubles in the company of someone who she could speak comfortably with. 

While deep into thought, she failed to notice the sudden mischief flickering in her servant’s orange irises.

“I’m serious when I say that all this exercise is bad for you, just look at how thin you’ve gotten over here.” Griselda squeezed Chris’s midriff, causing her to squeal out in surprise. 

Unperturbed, the maid flitted her fingers around in a tickling motion, causing the girl to burst out into a fit of laughter.

“Pfft, ahaha w-wait a sec-!”  she cried out, teary eyed. But her pleas fell on deaf ears, as the merciless assault continued.

“Looks like you’ve developed some muscle here as well.” Another area became targeted.

“Oh, stop it!” Chris shouted in between breaths. deShe couldn’t help but look up at the maid in annoyance. She was having a moment just now, but it was so rudely interrupted. To think that she was feeling all sentimental, only to suffer from tickle torture from out of the blue! 

“Why would you even-” she continued, only to freeze when she saw a figure standing silently at the doorway, like an ominous ghost appearing straight out of a horror movie. There loomed a slender, pale skinned woman with dark, night blue hair, cold eyes of sapphire that were staring right at her, and lips twisted upwards in excited glee.

It was her mother. And she didn’t come alone. An entire battalion of servants trooped from behind her, carrying with them enough gaudy clothing to fill an entire boutique several times over. Their gazes were solemn, for they were on a mission. Sighting their target, they brandished combs, pins, needles and brushes as if heading to battle.

“I’m sorry, your highness. But this is for your own good.” Griselda apologized while closing her eyes, not looking guilty in the least.

Chris was speechless. But then she chuckled to herself, all while glaring at her maid for her betrayal. She knew something was up, but she failed to consider that this traitor was only buying time for her co-conspirator to organize her forces all along. Seeing how Griselda and Elenoa were now exchanging knowing smiles and nods, she knew she had been outplayed, outsmarted, and outmatched.

But that didn’t mean she would give up.

Pouring mana into all parts of her body --just enough to give a quick boost to her movements-- Chris made a mad dash for the exit. If she could pinpoint even a single opening, she could break through the blockade. She would be able to escape the hellish torment that awaited her.

Move! Move, damn it! Your life depends on it!. She focused all her energy on sprinting as fast as she could to safety. 

But her efforts were all for naught, as two silhouettes darted towards her at a speed too fast for even her enhanced senses to perceive. Almost instantly, she found her right and left arms locked in the grip of her mother and maid, respectively. 

She put on her best puppy eyed expression to coax Griselda to do the right thing and release her, but she averted her gaze.

All hope was lost. The girl could only look at the incoming train of dresses in abject despair. She hadn’t been in this much danger since almost being kidnapped by darkspawn.

Seeing the alarm present in her eyes, Elenoa quickly spoke words of reassurement. 

“Sorry for this being so sudden, Christiana. Mother just had to get things ready for your birthday ball. It’s a big day for you, after all.” she directed an easygoing, lighthearted smile at her daughter. “You’re going to be the star that day, it’s important to make sure you look. The. Absolute. Best.” Her gaze turned feverish, sending shivers down Chris’s spine. 

Woman, you look more excited about this than I am. Are you really doing this for me, or for yourself?! She wanted to scream out at the top of her lungs, but doing so might put her in an even worse situation. 

“Don’t worry, this won’t take long. We only have a few… hundred dresses and accessories for you to try on.” Elenoa beckoned for the servant at the start of the procession to come forward with a dress, a bright yellow monstrosity complete with numerous light blue ribbons and frills that murdered the design and burned the eyes on sight.

“Now,” she said in a volume almost akin to a whisper. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

Rumors would soon float around the palace concerning the piteous screams and whimpers that could be heard from the princess’s chambers on that day. 

 

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Elenoa and Griselda had taken turns treating Chris like a dress-up doll, subjecting her to all kinds of mind numbing torture until they were finally completely satisfied with an outfit combination. Hours after they had started, she was finally able to drag her exhausted body away from her room. 

Despite how eventful the day was, she wasn’t yet permitted the luxury of rest. The Heroine Creation System had notified her of an important task that she had to complete outside, and she somehow even managed to detect a hint of urgency in its monotone voice. Funny what a month of living with a disembodied voice in her head could do. 

Begrudgingly, she moved her tired body to do as she was told --sometimes it was hard for her to tell whether the System was actually made to serve her or to be served by her.

Careful not to draw attention, she made her way to the palace gardens. There, she sat cross legged under the great tree where she first declared her new start in Irudeia, leaning her back onto its rough and gnarled trunk.

Taking a moment to settle her breathing and steady her heart, she glanced upwards at the moon and stars shining brightly from their zenith in the night sky. Unlike on Earth, they were revealed in all their full celestial glory here, and she took a moment to revel in their light, to marvel at nebulous stardust and the ever reaching expanse of the universe. Staring into this otherworldly sky always brought forth powerful emotions: longing, wonderment and awe. Sometimes, under the overwhelming vastness of the heavens, she felt oh so very small, alongside a strange sense of peace.

How long would it be until even this breathtaking sight just became another banality of her life in this world?

[Are you ready, host?] The Heroine Creation System chimed in, snapping her out of her trance.

“Yes, I’m ready. What’s going to happen?” The starstruck wonder on the young girl’s face immediately turned into pure determination. It was a mystery as to what she was meant to do that would require her to be outside at this hour. Perhaps it was some new form of training under the moonlight, just like in those Chinese novels she used to read. Maybe some godly being would descend from the heavens to give her a new ability or transcendent bloodline. Her heart was beating fast in anticipation. 

Suddenly, an object fell from the tree cover, striking her on the head with pinpoint precision. Sharp pain spread from the point of impact, and a faint thud resounded in the air.

“Gah! What the hell?” She picked up the offending object with one hand and examined it closely while nursing her head with the other. Under scant moonlight she was able to puzzle out its features.

It was a small, older DVD case. The words System DLC: God’s Guide to Surviving in This Wonderful World! were plastered in an obnoxiously large, bold, shiny golden font on the front cover. Below the title was a cutesy image of a chibi girl which looked disturbingly like a mini caricature of herself, holding a stubby hand up to its chin in a thinking posture.

It looked… somewhat irksome, to say the least. But that was the least of her worries, since this couldn’t have been just any coincidence.

“How in the world did something like this fall from the sky and hit my head in the first place?” 

[The object’s downward acceleration and subsequent collision with the host’s cranium was in no small part caused by the gravitational force of this planetary body.] 

“Ha. Ha. Smartass.” she replied, unamused. She waved the case around in her hand, gesturing towards the empty space in front of her, as if speaking to an imaginary conversation partner. One that was incessantly speaking in her head. “I’m assuming that this has something to do with your patron, administrator, or whatever?”

[Affirmative.]

“Then can’t they have, I dunno, sent it in the mail or something? And why a DVD case of all things? This could have ended badly, you know?” Only an idiot decided that dropping a hunk of hard plastic onto someone’s head was a viable method of delivery.

[The administrative official announced that they prepared a module that was meant to upgrade the Heroine Creation System with updated archives and knowledge. This has been judged to be the most efficient way to make sure this package reaches the host.]

“...Ah, jeez. Whatever. Let’s just go inside and take a look inside the damn thing.” Having no energy to argue further, Chris ventured back to her room, away from the chilly night air and any passing servants and staff. Hopefully this time, she could relax without there being a nasty surprise waiting for her.

 

Upon returning, she plopped down onto a sofa in a completely unladylike manner, and broke the seal surrounding the DVD case to a crisp snap.

Immediately, wispy and translucent words started appearing in the air, almost like video game dialogue but completely in the wrong time, place, and medium.. She would have thought it to be a magical and breathtaking sight, had it not been for how completely unnerving and ominous it appeared, like seeing an ouija board in action and waiting for something bad to happen.

Out of curiosity, she reached towards the floating text to see if she could touch it, only to find that a faint reaction sparked where her finger met the words. 

Wait, this can’t be… mana?

There wasn’t enough time to puzzle over this new revelation before the words started disappearing, forcing her to read them quickly in a panic. This might have been important information for all she knew. 

Hello there! Is this Larry? Or maybe you go by a different name now. Is it… Christopher? Christine? Christy?

Oh, just Chris? 

Damn. That’s kinda… boring. 

A vein popped out on her forehead.  Turns out this was just someone trying to get a rise out of her. But she turned her attention to the floating text once again when new sets of words started materializing in the air, one after another.

Ah, sorry about that. This spell is recording everything I say. I should probably start getting straight to the point. I don’t have many opportunities to communicate with you, and there’s only so much space on this enchantment, after all!

But anyways, you can call me… 

Wait, what do the mortals call me now? Aaaahhh… no, that name fell out of use a looong time ago… not sure that one either. 

Well, it’s alright.  There’s no need to worry about it, since I’m sure that girl will find out soon either way. 

Oh, is this still being recorded? Haha, oops. 

The girl in question facepalmed. This flamboyant person likely sounded even more annoying in person than they did on paper, which made her thankful that at least her ears were spared the suffering this time.

You should know me as the wonderful person who helped guide your poor little lost soul into this world for a second chance at life. 

The System that’s bound to you right now? Made by yours truly. 

I even took the liberty to give you a guard dog, in light of the trials you’ll soon face. You two should have already met. Hopefully you hit it off well. If not, you can train him up a bit.

And there’s more goodies waiting for you elsewhere!

You can thank me later.

Wait, what?

But anyways, my real reason for reaching out to you like this is simple.

You are a special case. An interesting example of an unheard of phenomenon. A wonderful piece in this little game between gods and devils. And it’s my personal desire to see you alive and kicking for as long as possible.

And trust me when I say that there’s a lot of things in this world that can end your life as easily as snuffing out a single tiny spark. And having someone as interesting as you disappear without shaking up the board a bit, we can’t have that, now can we?

That’s why I’m going to teach you how to survive and thrive in this wonderful world of ours! 

Well, I won’t be doing that, of course. The Heroine Creation System will. After it successfully downloads this little module pack.

...I spent a lot of time getting this ready, you know? So please take a moment to appreciate all my effort, and enjoy the gift I’m giving you.

Who knows, it might just save your life one day. Haha.

…

 

There were some confusing parts of the message, but they faded away so quickly that she didn’t even have the time to process their implications. For instance, she was sure that there was a mention of a dog somewhere. Whatever that meant. Maybe she read it wrong.

Disgruntled, but not discouraged, Chris decided that it couldn’t hurt to get everything over with and done before tucking in tonight. She wasn’t really losing anything apart from a few hours of sleep if she went along with this person’s cajoling, and this upgrade to the System might actually save her sometime.

Opening up the case and prying out the disk inside, she asked out loud,

“So, what do I do next?”

The System responded promptly,

[You may find it beneficial to lie down for this, host.]

She did as it recommended, and tucked herself into a comfortable position on her bed.

[Beginning download process…]

Her last lucid thoughts before slipping into a dreamless sleep were on whether she forgot to close the door, and how she should explain the strange looking technology to Griselda when she went to wake her in the morning.

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