Chapter 90: The Prelude of an Awakening Star._A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

Chapter 90: The Prelude of an Awakening Star.

 Wellwee to my house, Lorena introduced us to her home, a multi-familial house built due to the viges need for houses after the bandits burnt everything down. Then again, my family is sharing it with another family, so I dont know if we can really call it ours, yet.

 Opening the door, she weed us in, Uhhh, make it yourselffortable? Excuse me, the house isnt exactly fit to wee somebody from your status, Lady Hestia. Chief Colwyn and Harriet would be mad if they knew. I dont even have anything to serve you as drinks.

 Oh, if that is the case then let me make some tea for us, Saori offered as she entered her home.

 T-Tea?! Oh, that drink you three gave me when we first met, Lorena bumped her open palm with a fist, remembering our first meeting. Ahh, I heard from Harriet how expensive good tea can be, so is it really alright for me to have even more although I havent even paid for the first? It was very, very delicious but

 Thats all we needed to hear, dont worry about it. We dont need any payment, like Ive told you a thousand times already, Lorena, I told her to ease her worries. Were doing this for a friend and youve already answered our question, so consider that our payment if you will. Youre one of the few who arent acting submissive in front of me, so Id like to have our rtionship stay that way.

 On our way to Lorenas home, we asked her if she knew anybody who had an oven or if there was anybody who baked in the vige. She told us two families were responsible for the bakery in the vige, but simr to everybody else, their bakery burnt down after the bandit raid. They still havent had the time nor chance to get the ovens rebuilt.

 It is what it is. So instead, I asked Lorena if she could introduce me to them the next time we had the chance.

 If there arent any ovens in the vige, then it is time for me to bring out the craftsman inside me and build it myself. Nothing will stop me from eating some cake!

 Although Saori and I didnt have any other reason to visit Lorenas home, we still did it anyway just for fun. She was one of the few vigers who treated me like any other person, if you overlooked the part that Harriet and her parents forced her to address me with Lady at the very least.

 Hie, I thought it would be awkward to suddenly change it after we got along at first. But I can understand why the other vigers cant adapt. They dont know you, after all, Lorena stated, before having to pause as she witnessed Saori taking teacups and a teapot from her [Storage Magic]. W-Wow, mages are amazing. You can do so much with the Origin Gods power.

 Watching Lorena dazed by this mundane sight was surprising, however, once I reminded myself how wonderous it must be her, I simply shrugged and entered the house. The interior of the house was made in a very simr style to ours, onlyrger as it was supposed to hold multiple families inside.

 The floor was practically just grassless earth and the walls were made from stone blocks, supported by wooden pirs. The roof was made from abination of thatch and rice nt straws, hastily assembled together to finish the house. There were signs that it needed maintenance, but I guess Lorenas family will do the repairs once the vige was rebuilt.

 The furniture inside was also basic. A few crudely made wooden chairs and tables, four family-sized beds, and a hearth where the cooking was to be done. Aside from these inanimate objects, Lorenas family also kept farm animals in their house.

 Chocochuckle

 A small, flightless bird with powerful legs designed to enable the bird to run away. Coated in a thick plumage that can protect them from winters cold and predator attacks, they usually shed the majority once springes, and regains them in autumn. They have a sharp beak as ast resort weapon. Rank G

 Wooly Gheeper

 A medium-sized gheeper variant that possesses thick wool that protects its entire body from its bottom to its neck. The thick white wool acts as a great instor while also enables good defense. Aside from their defenses, these animals can only run from strong predators. Rank G

 Horned Gheeper

 A medium-sized gheeper variant with two tusk-like horns. Although having horns strong enough topete against a predator of the same rank, these animals would prefer to run away using their strong legs than to risk fighting. Their milk is strong and nutritious, enabling the growth of these strong horns and legs. Rank G

 Chocochuckles are literally chickens without their innate cowardice. Due to them being a bitrger than our lovely Earthen chickens, their eggs are alsorger with a very sticky and firm yolk. Even without baking powder, I had the feeling that I could make any cake if I used them as an ingredient.

 The two gheeper variants respectively are the sheep and goat versions of Peolynca. At first, I didnt really recognize the wooly gheeper as a sheep as they looked more like rice balls with how bulky their wool was. However, to nobodys surprise, the wool was so soft that it felt like a real cloud. Colwyn mentioned that he would like to give us pillows and bedding filled with gheeper wool, so I cant wait.

 On the other hand, the horned gheepers were a bit of a disappointment. It honestly surprised me how pathetically cowardly they were. If horned gheepers didnt recognize you as one of its owners, then their first instinct was to run away. At least their milk was pretty delicious. The only good thing about them, in my opinion.

 Never judge a gheeper by their appearance, huh?

 However, as you would expect from keeping farm animals indoors, the smell of animal dung was intense.

 Urgh, I groaned, holding my nose with a hand to block the smell.

 As I was checking out the animals, despite the smell they were exuding, Saori was preparing the tea. She poured water into the pot with [Create Water], then ced it on a small stone table that I made, stacked some twigs under it for kindling, and then

 Ah, Saori, let me get the flint for you, Lorena offered, but before Lorena could actually run off, Saori stopped her and asked me for help. I snapped my fingers, causing a spark, which grew into a me after I poured a bit of mana into it. Using [Pyrokinesis], I moved the levitating me over to the kindling before pouring even more mana into it to allow it to grow faster, shocking the already baffled Lorena. "I-Is this magic? There was no circle-thingy this time though"

 Come to think of it, I never did show her that I could produce fire with my ws, right?

 After blowing the dirt off a chair with a wind spell, I sat down and called Lorena to sit down to, before elucidating the truth to her, Nah, thats something that my body can do. I also used a skill to help me, but thats all. The wind was magic, not the fire.

 T-This is honestly so confusing, but if you say so, Lady Hestia, scratching her head in total confusion, she just epted the situation and sat herself down.

 After Saori served us tea, I took out some fruits, especially a lot of fragassa, from my storage. As these fruits were from the Belzac forest, Lorenas surprise also spread to them. Lorena has been to Firwood, the town north of Carine vige, to sell the viges produce with her parents before, but she never saw these fruits there before. At least, not at the farmers market.

 Unable to ept us being the only one to offer something, as the host, she took out some gheeper milk for our tea. It wasnt a lot, but it was enough for us to share with each other.

 Also, to the tea itself, it was alright. Definitely not Tasianna-tier, but I could see that Saori took some pointers from her. Its crazy how much you can do to make warm leaf water taste better, huh?

 Mhmm, after getting a feeling of how much all of his might cost me, I cant help but think that you two are really generous, Saori, Lady Hestia, Lorena stated with a beaming smile, having just tasted the tea and fruits. I bet the others would like it too.

 That might be truebut I dont think they can calm down with me around. Aside from the people I helped out during the bandit raid, none of the vigers really seem to like me," I said, chomping down on a fragassa as I thought of it.

 Hmm, I did hear from the other vigers that they are feeling nervous having a noble living inside the vige, instead of our lords manor. They do like Saori though, Lorena admitted, stinging me a bit in the heart.

 Urgh, but I never admitted to it. I even said that Im not a priestess, but everybody just ignores me, Iined.

 But, Lady Hestia, if you really were trying to hide it, then why are you wearing such a beautiful white robe? Lorena suddenly revealed, causing me to utter huh? before continuing listening to her exnation. Our Goddess priests always wear beautifully embroidered white robes and cloaks whenever they visit our vige, granting sermons to the whole vige and the white grace to our sick. Chief Colwyn told everybody in the vige that priests were mana bloods, people born into nobility, so we had to be polite otherwise we might cause trouble for our lord. Is it different from where you came from, Lady Hestia?

 W-What?! Why did nobody ever tell me that?! T-Tasianna!? Wait, maybe this is only a Kingdom of Artorias thing, so I guess Tasianna couldnt have known that

 Fuck! And here I thought, I made a cool white mage reference, but I just doomed myself! Maybe I should take it offbut I really like wearing it

 Well, I certainly didnt know that, I admitted, meekly scratching my cheek.

 After that little revtion, we drifted away from that topic and talked about something more important to me. Festivals, celebrations, and holidays; humanity has always loved to celebrate ever since they started congregating intorge groups.

 Afterparties, Christmas, Thanksgiving, the founding of a country; if youre creative about it, there is always a reason for somebody to just celebrate. People love to ck off and just take it easy, have a drink with buddies, feast with the family, or just spend money to make somebodys day.

 To assimte myself into Peolynca, I learned how to speak and read Common tongue, the universalnguage for this world. The next step was to adapt to its culture. Luckily, Lorena knew that I wasnt from this kingdom, so it was easy to draw information from her.

 Dedicating a song to a holiday would also be great. I mean, on Earth, we produced so many Christmas songs that I wouldnt be able to count them up. An Idols job is to bring happiness into peoples hearts for just a moment, touch their souls with music, as my papa liked to say. A song that fits the festivals mood would be too perfect.

 While I did learn of quite a few events, there were only three close enough for us to focus on.

 On the 28th to the 30th of this month, they would have the Barracuda Migration event. Barracudas, and other fish, would stream down the river of Carine vige towards their spawning ce. The vigers would use this opportunity as theirst chance to acquire meat for their winter rations. This sounds pretty simr to what a grizzly bear would do when salmons migrated.

 Next month on the 7th, they have something called Origdiviel Arashan, which directly trantes into Thanking Origin Gods. God Thanking Festival is the general term for it. Essentially, it was Thanksgiving, where the whole vige would celebrate together with a feast, as this would most likely be thest time they could before the snow starts dropping. Compared to the former event, this was a universal one throughout Artorias.

 Thest event of the year was during New Years Eve, on the 31st, thest day of AutumnMoon. The day that I will give my first Idol concerthopefully, itll be good enough to send them into the next year well.

 SoLorena, as time flew by as we had fun, I suddenly remembered something that I wanted to ask her. well, uhh, I know you dont want to talk about it but have youhave you told your parents about that yet?

 , Lorenas smile faded, frowning sadly as she looked down to her tea, probably having anticipated the discussion. No.

 I see, I uttered, feeling bad that I had to bring up the subject when we were having so much fun talking about other stuff.

 You have not told us about it, but have you had any signs yet? Like vomiting, missing your period, having to do your business more often, or even intense food cravings? Saori listed out, equally showing worry for our friend, as we havent heard about it ever since we met her.

 Tears began to overflow her eyes, falling down when there was no other space to go, as she nodded her head weakly, "M-Mother had it, too, when she was pregnant with my little sisters and brothers. I-I dont want it yet. I dont want it yet. I dont want it, t-this thing from that monster

 Aside from the fact that her little siblings werent around, I couldnt imagine how she was currently feeling. I never was raped, nor have I ever had to contemte being pregnant with my rapists baby. Saori and I could only soothe her by caressing her back and hand respectively. We had no words for this young woman.

 I-I cant let them know. N-No man would want an impure woman like me, and nobody in the v-vige, hick, would ept the child. M-My parents will never be able to live with this shame, she was weeping as if she had no way out anymore, cornered by the reality of her situation.

 Tch, I wish that fatso was there on that day. I want to burn his face off so badly now.

 Lorena, I know this might be harsh to hear but your parents need to know this. You cannot wait until it happens for them to know, Saori suggested.

 NO! I-I cantI cant have them know this, Lorena clutched her belly, biting her lips before forcing her next words. I-Ill run away, have the baby and thenIll return to the vige. I-I heard the church takes in orphans; Ill do that and then everything will be back to normal.

 From what I heard, having a baby was an extremely painful and stressful procedure for the mother. Without proper care, especially concerning hygiene, chances will be high that neither child nor mother will survive childbirth. Child mortality was an extreme concern during medieval times, especially for impoverished families like Lorenas. Shell only endanger her life with this reckless n.

 Are you crazy?! Saori shouted, mortified at what Lorena just said. Lorena are you even listening to what you just said?! I will not say my personal thoughts as this is your child, but the way you are handling it deserves criticism. Do you have any idea how worried your parents will be?! Even then, do you have anybody to go to help for or how did you think to survive until the childs birth, huh? Do you know anybody who will help you?!

 I-Ino, Lorena meekly responded under the suffocating re of Saori.

 Lorena, please think this over, I continued for Saori. Do you know what your parents said to me when I first met them? They asked, Is Lorena ok? Is our daughter alright? even though they looked even worse than when we found you. They worried so much for you. You guys just reunited but do you really want to separate yourself from them? Your parents who love you so much that they didnt even me you for escaping without them? Please, we can think of something together, thats what friends are for, ok?

 Lorenas tears didnt stop as I hugged her, nodding after she gave up on her reckless idea. She was dirty from a days work, but I didnt care about it as I allowed her to warm herself with my body. She was a bit taller than me, but it didnt feel awkward when she cried her eyes red on my chest.

 As she was slowly calming down, the door suddenly opened up, letting light through as a man stood there and shouted, Father! Mother! Ron! Wendy! Are you here?!

 R-Ruld? Lorena uttered, raising her head once she recognized the mans voice.

 L-Lorena?! W-What are you doing here, no, that can wait forter, where are my-! W-Why are you crying?! Who are these two people?! without anybody weing him in, the man strutted inside, waving around his brown medium-long hair. Hey, what did you two beastmen do to-OOF! L-Lorena?

 But before he could say anything else, Lorena tore off me and jumped onto him, embracing him roughly as she silently muttered, I missed you, Ruld

 After a tender moment of Ruld blushing like a ripe tomato and stuttering to say a word, Lorena let go of him and spoke, Why, why, are you back? Its winter, Ruld, you shouldnte back when you need to start preparing for winter.

 I-Im sorry but I heard news about what happened to the vige, Ruld said with a pained expression. It took me so long until I could convince my foreman to let me leave. Damnit, I wish I could havee earlier but at least youre alright, thank the Goddess. How are my parents and yours?

 Theyre alright, dont worry, Lorena stated. The bandits burnt down the whole vige, stole all our winter rations aside from the animals and what we still had on the field, and also kidnapped a few vigers. My parents and I were amongst them, but we were lucky enough to have Lady Hestia and her retainer Saori there to save us. She then pointed at us, drawing the young mans attention back to us.

 I-Is that true? A-A Lady, too?! he dropped his brown bag causing a heavy thud, while also noticing the white robe I had. Oh shit-ah, please forgive me, dy! I beg you in the Goddess name to forgive my sinful actions, I didnt mean to do anything! Please, I didnt mean any offense, mdy!

 This white robe really is effectivefuck.

 After Lorena calmed him down and exined to him that I was not like other nobles, he finally calmed down enough for us to talk, although he was still shivering. After introducing ourselves, Lorena asked him to exin why he was in the vige sote in the month.

 Although hesitating while I was there, he reluctantly exined to us that he heard from a few adventurers that Carine vige was attacked. While he was repairing their shoes and boots, they told him how arge group of mercenaries was defeated by the bandits and that a C-rank party had to go handle it.

 He wanted to return back so badly, however, since he had taken up a few requests, he was forced by his workshop to stay and fulfill them, otherwise his worker and housing contract would''ve been nullified. He worked tirelessly for thest week, fulfilling every single request.

 During that week, no word came from Colwyn nor his family, so it was obvious he would be desperate toe back. It seemed that after he became of age at 15, he left for Firwood to work as a shoemaker at Firwood, and would rarelye back to the vige due to work.

 Wait, stop! Saori suddenly interrupted the story. Could you repeat that. You said you are a shoemaker? A cobbler?

 Huh?! Uh, yeah, Ruld confirmed, not expecting that Saori would just interrupt him like that. I actually got my tools with me. I thought I could help out the family by fixing peoples shoes, so I brought them with me. Although its the workshops, my foreman told me that I shouldnt let my skills rust while Im gone.

 Saoris eye widened, smiling a devious grin as she drew closer to Ruld, Can you already take requests?

 Huh?! he flinched backward from Saori, who was baring her fangs excitedly.

 My Lady, anotherpanion, and I require footwear as you can see, pointing at her feet. I can offer you fresh meat, fruits, vegetables, and other rations if you ept it. We can also provide you the leather. We need them desperately, so let us get started now, Mister Ruld.

 Wow, astonished, I looked at Saori pressuring Ruld to take out his tools. She knows how to take advantage of a situation. Well, I wouldnt mind some boots, really. Walking around the vige would be much easier with them.

 Hie hie, Lorena giggled. Yeah, thats Ruld, alright. He can be assertive when ites to people he cares for, but when ites to women, he always gets bullied by them. Even my friends used to bully him for being like that. Although we did meet when I was in Firwood, it felt like an eternity after being those bandits prisoner.

 Hey, did you forget that you two have to share a house together, now? I poked her sides, prompting her to blush in embarrassment.

 After Saori got Ruld to ept her request, she called me over to have my feet measured. Being the one to design our clothes, Saori also took the helm of designing the appearance of our shoes, adamant that it should fit stylistically.

 Using a wooden tablet, she drew with a charcoal pencil a general appearance of the boots, while also showing him the leather she wanted him to process. Unfortunately, all of our C rank monsters pelt were too thick for him to process with his tool. I audibly heard him softlyining to himself for not asking his foreman for better tools, as he worked on our request.

 Jeez, never wouldve thought I would work for a noble, a priestess even. Damn, hopefully I can do this, he muttered as he meticulously tested out each pelt, looking for ones his tools could process.

 After a few attempts, he finally showed us the ones that he could work on, which were a few weak D ranks and below. After Saori chose one option, he told us that he would get it processed with his father.

 Lorena couldnt help but smile as she watched, finding joy in seeing Ruld''s excited face as he worked. As we were still working on the design, the door once again opened up roughly, revealing a woman this time, a very familiar woman, Lady Hestia, Miss Saori, are you two here?!

 Harriet? I uttered.

 Thank the Goddess you two are here! I was at your house and Miss Tasianna told me that you were looking for Lorena, but I didnt think you would be at her house, Harriet confessed, looking like she had been running around the vige since morning. Please, you muste with me immediately, my Lady. Lord Count Helvas has sent his steward to deliver a missive to you, and Miss Tasianna isnt allowing them to enter your house.

 Looking at Harriets mortified expression, I can hazard a guess that Tasianna is about to blow up. She wasnt a fan of humans in the first ce and I can already imagine her anger if somebody tried entering our home.

 "Lorena, don''t forget to tell your parents about everything, okay? Saori and I will support you no matter what, so tell that to your parents, alright?" I tapped her shoulders, before excusing myself. "Saori, lets move. Harriet, lead the way, please.

 Quickly walking out of Lorenas house after saying our goodbyes, we rushed back to our house only to see a group of ck suit-wearing men and carriages standing before it, with Tasianna adamantly blocking the door from two knight-looking men.

 My Mistress is not home yet, and neither has she given you her permission. I ask you to leave, gentlemen, although her words were polite, her tone and eyes were telling otherwise, sending a chilling aura towards the two armored men.

 However, instead of the knights, the man behind them spoke, Pardon our unannounced visit, Miss Elf, but we only wish to deliver your mistress our Lords present. As the representative of the feudal lord of thisnd, I ask of you to allow us entry so we may do our work.

 Even from this distance, I could see cold sweat on his face, clearly unnerved by Tasiannas presence. However,pared to the knights who were slowly backing off, the man wearing a fine ck outfit fitting for a butler, stood his ground, forcing himself to smile despite being on-guard.

 Your thoughtfulness is a blessing, however, without my Ladys permission, I will not back away, Tasianna repeated herself, nowhere close to being calm. It might be true that we do not own thisnd, but the vige representative gave us your lord, Lord Count Helvas, permission to stay here. Or are you saying that your lord does not respect the privacy of my Lady? You must only deliver your message, not enter our house, especially not unannounced as you said.

 It would seem like our little talk with Jecht has been fruitful as he delivered my message to the Count Helvas. I did notice that no spies were around us today, so thats something good.

 The entourage was quiterge just to deliver a message though. The men around the carriages all seemed like butlers, wearing a less finely made version of the ck suit the man talking to Tasianna had. As he was nked by two knights, I guess he had to be the steward Harriet mentioned.

 I knew they would contact us eventually buting unannounced? I know this was Count Helvasnd but he should know basic courtesy like giving the receiving person an hours notice to prepare for the arrival. Colwyn and his spies should have told him about me, and even if I hadnt admitted my royalty status, a supposed holy magic priestess should earn some respect, right? At least, thats the impression I got from the whole vige.

 Excuse me, Mister steward, Harriet rushed over to him the moment we got close enough, bowing to apologize. I apologize for taking so long but I have brought Lady Hestia to you.

 As she was doing that, Saori went over to speak with Tasianna who exined to us with a relieved smile about what happened, Retainers of Lord Count Helvas have arrived to visit Lady Hestia, Miss Saori. They asked for her presence but after exining to them that our Lady isnt at home, they wished to rece our furniture with their presents. I declined them until permission was granted but they kept insisting.

 Thank you very much, Tasianna, I believe I understand the situation, Saori answered before telling me to y along through [Telepathy]. She then turned towards the steward and gave him a polite Japanese bow. I do apologize for not being here to greet you, Sir. My name is Saori Segawa and I am a retainer to Lady Hestia Atsuko. How may I help you?

 Pausing for only a second, the mans smile never faded as he bowed politely from the waist, No, it is I that must apologize for my rudeness, Miss Segawa. I acted on my rashness and pushed yourpanion, for that, I personally apologize. Let me introduce myself, I am Barathan Kiesmay, steward and head-butler of Lord Count Andre Helvas, Lord of Carine Vige. I am here today to deliver your mistress an invitation to my Lords manor for dinner and also his wee presents to you. May I?

 Saori stepped aside, signaling to me that it was time for me to y along. But what the hell does she mean by that? What am I supposed to do in this situation? She said three lines, listened to him speak, and then threw the hardest part to me. How the hell is a nobledy supposed to answer in this situation?!

 Verdammt nochmal, this stupid white robe! Why did you want to be funny, huh? Hestia?! Verdammt, oi, parallel minds, I need your help, now!

 Running through all the books, movies, tv-series, and mangas Ive consumed in my past life, I hoped something would help me solve this problem. There was a big difference between casually acting like a noble and actually being one, okay? Even with [High-Speed Calction] and [Multi-Thought Processing], I only had a few seconds to think about it and that certainly isnt enough to go through everything I experienced in my past life.

 But the biggest problem was that I didnt know any etiquette rules in this world, or in this kingdom specifically. Every country has different rules after all. But one rule that would always exist would be to never imitate a noble, and using my [Princess] title to get me out of that situation should be ast resort.

 Barathan stepped forward, bowing from his waist up with his right hand on his chest and left hand on his back, Under her gaze, I would like to apologize to you, my Lady. Please, be assured that my intrusion was not under the wish of Lord Count Helvas, only mine.

 For now, lets actually y along and stick to something safe. You can do this, Hestia.

 You may rise, I responded, lifting my hand up a bit. I ept your apology. Do not let this happen again, please.

 My deepest gratitude, my Lady. May the Goddess bless your gracious soul, Barathan responded before taking an envelope from his jacket pocket, bowing his head before handing it to me with both hands on it. "This is an invitation to Lord Count Helvas''s manor to join him for dinner. As you are the most recent guest in his domain, he wishes to express his goodwill. More information will be contained inside it."

 I took it from his hand, gave it a short nce, and then gave my thanks, I thank you for your time with the deepest gratitude, Mister Barathan. I will consider it.

 He raised his head, showing me a smile that certainly sent a shiver down my spine, before talking again, Thank you. My Lord has also sent you presents, will you ept them?

 I nced over to Saori, signaling her to take over, Certainly, Mister Barathan. However, this is not your responsibility as the task belongs to us, our Mistress retainers.

 With another bow, Barathan epted the suggestion. He told the other butlers to unload everything and then to ce them beside our house. He then gave another bow but this time to tell us farewell, driving away with his group in the carriages.

 After thanking and seeing Harriet off, the three of us entered our house, Do you think I did everything properly? I asked.

 Im not sure, Lady Hestia. Fairy etiquette is prettyx,pared to other races, I believe. At least I saw no wrong, Tasianna replied, worry on her face.

 Well, we can only hope that we did everything properly. You made the correct choice by not letting them in, Tasianna, good job, Saorimented.

 True enough, nice one, Tasianna. Now, we only have to deal with the presents and this letter, but before we do that, I paused before jumping on Saoris back, grabbing her long wolf ears and pulling them up as if I was trying to tear them off. Verdammt nochmal, du Dummkopf! Warum zur Hlle musste ich alles tun, whrend du zur Seite standest und drei Zeilen gesagt hast! (Damn it, you Idiot! Why the hell did I have to do everything while you stood by and said three lines!)

 Ahhh, Hestia, I cant understand German! Ow, ow, ow! Stop pulling on my ears, please! Saori cried out in a panic, struggling to move as I controlled her like a rat would a chef using his hair.

 After I cooled down from Saori apologizing to me, I opened the envelope, taking out a letter made from parchment. In it, the letter stated that Lord Count Helvas invited me toe to him on the 27th to join him for dinner, which would mean that I had six days to get ready for it. There would be a carriage to pick me up and that I maye in my priestess outfit or whatever else I liked.

 I know that nobles love using fancy doublespeak due to Earths media, so I guess this letter was also filled with it. Both Saori and Tasianna never experienced any of it, so all three of us were pretty bad in deciphering thisif it even had any codes in the first ce.

 However, I do understand what he meant with whatever else I liked. He was considering me a noble priestess right now, so I had to act that way. Fine dresses and no punk style, I guess.

 Shame, and here I was thinking ofing in my dragon form. How do you do, Lord Helvas? Would you like to experience a firework?

 Heh heh

 Alright, that settled it, lets go you two, I announced, handing Saori the letter for safekeeping.

 Huh? they both uttered.

 Whats there to huh out? We have six days to prepare, so that means I have the time to evolve, I answered with a grin. You guys wanted me to do it, right? So lets do it before I second guess myself. Lets visit the saurians.

 With my mind set, we first ced all the presents inside our house before leaving the vige, entering the woods where the saurians were camping. There, I told them of my intentions which naturally excited Mister Kushlekzar to the point that he took out his tablet and charcoal pencil.

 Upon his suggestion, we moved deeper into the woods, as far away from the vige as possible, where the risk of being detected was lower. Mister Kushlekzar materialized a massive [Xohulotels Scaled Barrier] while Saori ced her mana threads among the trees like a spider web. This was sensitive information, after all, so we needed to be sure that nobody could enter the area and see me.

 After Mister Kushlekzar told Krim-k, Grahta, and Akasht where to guard while I was evolving, he told me that he wished to see Saoris and my original forms. We agreed to it, knowing that he deserves to see them, but before we actually did it, I gave Saori a wooden tablet for the recipe for homemade yeast, telling her that we will need it for the cake once I wake up.

 Activating [Humanization], mana mist emitted from our body.

 How long has it been since I wasst a dragon? Damn, I didnt look at myself after I had my little ident with Danterno. I got so used to being a dragonewt, huh?

 Oooooooh, magnificent! Mister Kushlekzar shouted, sticking his tail up to the sky. Tasianna is a rare fairy, Saori is a mighty wolf, and Princess Hestia is such a beautiful dragon. Incredible, a sight to behold. How I would like to use [Identify] to learn more about you!

 [Mister Kushlekzar, youre actually embarrassing me here. I personally think I look intimidating instead of beautiful, really,] I gave my honest opinion.

 Oooh, this is [Telepathy]. I guess it must be hard to talk with your throat, Hestia. I bet Akasht would love that skill, the saurian priest looked over to the giant sarcosilian, who nodded firmly.

 Having established a telepathic connection with everybody, Saori began talking, [So, Hestia. What evolution will you take? [Young Ragnarok Dragon]?]

 Hmm?! I know this is your choice, Hestia, but please dont consider such a sphemous choice. You might still be young but please remember that the Gods are holy, even if you have defied some of them, Mister Kushlekzar warned me. I personally believe that [Young Angel Dragon] would be the best choice. Do not forget your duty as Goddess Aurenas chosen champion, young scale. It would do you good to show her more devotion.

 If I may, I would like to agree with Priest Kushlekzar, Lady Hestia, Taisanna agreed. Youve shown your dislike to God Danterno so [Young Infernal Demon Dragon] is impossible. Taking God Kargryxmors evolution choice might also worsen your [Battle Frenzy] condition, while [Young Angel Dragon] sounds like a serene choice.

 [Hmm, I understand what you guys are saying,] I nodded with my dragon head. [However, I wont be choosing any of those choices, because I will take [Young Sunfang Dragon].]

 The saurians widened their eyes, clearly showing that they couldnt understand why I would just abandon the thought of taking a gods evolution choice. Tasianna, on the other hand, could only show a wry smile, maybe already anticipating this choice before she gave her opinion.

 [Hmmm, may I ask why?] Saori asked with what looked like a smile.

 [Hie hie,] I giggled as I thought of my reason. [I actually already decided on it the moment I saw it. I knew that it was the correct choice for me. I will be an Idol, and an Idol always seeks the spotlight to be a star. If you think about it, the sun we see in the sky is just a star for all thes outside our sr systemmaybe itll even reach other dimensions]

 Sr System? A sun is a star? What are you talking about, Hestia, Mister Kushlekzar questioned me, curiosity and confusion having morphed his expression.

 Ignoring him, I continued my speech, looking up into the blue sky, staring deeply into it, [If I be a sun, could I be a star for those far away from me? To the people that Ive disappointed, who I told that I will be a star, could I actually be one now?]

 While the saurians were looking extremely confused at this point, Saori and Tasianna stayed silent, knowing exactly what I meant with my words. They gave me a small nod, before telling me to go for it.

 System, I wish to evolve. My choice is [Young Sunfang Dragon].

 Will you choose to evolve into [Young Sunfang Dragon]?

 Ja.

 Evolution choice decided. Commencing evolution of [Young Spark Inferno Dragon, Hestia Atsuko]

 Those familiar wordshow long have I not heard them? With this evolution and my new life in this kingdom, I guess the next time I will hear them will be a ways off.

 But thats ok. Even if it will take a while, Ill reach it eventually. And so will Saori. Tasianna too will be as strong as us. I saw their burning fire in our fight, shining so brightly that it was able to dwarf mine

 One of the few things that Saori told me when I made her my retainer was that I needed to build up more confidence, which I have to agree. [Young Sunfang Dragon], you say that youre a calm dragon, right? Well, you better hold onto your promise there, dude.

 Before I finally lost consciousness, I sent my friends onest telepathic message, [Trust you guys. See you tomorrow~]

 And darkness consumed me as I fell to the ground.

MillionNovel

Chapter 90: The Prelude of an Awakening Star.