“Seraphina, why are you presenting me to people as if I were some kind of monster? You’ll make everyone look at me as some kind of freak, girl.”
A voice as pleasant as Seraphina’s but more mature and softer sounded from a few meters ahead, and when Bai Zemin raised his head he noticed that the first princess of the Gales Kingdom had already come close enough that even a normal human could see with clarity of detail every feature of her appearance.
Just like the second princess Seraphina, Ellis Di Gales had golden hair that glistened in the sun’s splendor; obviously inherited from Queen Helena, their mother. However, unlike the emerald eyes of Seraphina and King Philip, Ellis had inherited the queen’s eyes, those violet eyes shone charmingly and the gentle glance of the first princess made people could not help but have a very good opinion of her.
The first princess currently wore a light plate armor of deep violet almost black color that somehow matched the color of her eyes and contrasted strongly with the color of her hair. Despite being covered like a brave warrior, the curves with which the armor had been forged exposed that the upper body of the first princess was undoubtedly better shaped than that of the second princess, which was only natural considering the age difference between the two.
However, leaving aside her undoubtedly elegant and beautiful appearance, what caught Bai Zemin’s attention the most was the huge black diamond-shaped shield on the first princess’ left hand. Bai Zemin wasn’t sure what material that shield was made of, but seeing that it even had a Soul Stone in the center, he estimated that it should weigh at least 2-3 tons. The fact that she could lift it so easily was proof that Seraphina’s words were no joke when she spoke about her sister.
Seraphina stuck out her tongue in Bai Zemin’s direction at the sound of Ellis’ voice, and to his surprise, the girl trotted with soft steps. Catching up to her sister, Seraphina clung to her arm and smiled sweetly.
“Sister Ellis, how are the preparations for the competition?”
Bai Zemin felt her legs weaken and for a second he thought he was going to fall on his butt.
This… Who was this person…? Someone must have changed the original Seraphina, mm, that should be the case. Bai Zemin refused to believe that the rude and rough girl he met before suddenly turned into an obedient kitten.
The first princess used the index finger of her right hand to lightly tap Seraphina’s forehead, and as the latter covered herself with pitiful puppy eyes, she said with a sigh, “Girl, you’ll be the death of me one of these days.”
While still fronting her forehead with both hands, Seraphina looked at Bai Zemin with fierce eyes and snorted, ” It’s okay, what’s wrong with making this orc feel a little scared? Besides, what I said is all true!”
“You…” The first princess shook her head, finally giving up on her little sister. She looked at Bai Zemin and extended her right hand forward as she said with a bittersweet smile, “Hello, you can call me Ellis, I’m the older sister of this troubled girl over here. Although I don’t know why she calls you an orc, it’s nice to meet you, mister stranger.”
Unlike what Bai Zemin expected to find, Ellis Di Gales gave him a very good first impression. He looked at her outstretched hand covered in battle gloves before extending his own also covered in battle gloves, giving it a light handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Ellis. My name is Bai Zemin…. As for why this pony-tailed princess calls me an orc, I’m afraid she’s probably the only one who knows.” Bai Zemin shrugged and after introducing himself he let go of the girl’s hand calmly.
Or at least he tried to since the first princess was still holding his hand.
Bai Zemin looked at her curiously, and Ellis quickly let go of his hand as she apologized with an awkward smile: “Sorry, Bai Zemin. It’s just that you surprised me a little hehe.”
“I did?”
“Well, I always tell people to call me by my name without honorifics, but other than Liam you’re the only person who really did. Besides, it looks like you found a nickname to get back at my dear sister, that’s really cool.”
“Sister Ellis! Why are you suddenly siding with this orc?!”
“By the way, your name really is Bai Zemin?”
“Well, that’s what the civil registry says.”
“Civil registry? That’s the first time I’ve heard of a corporation like that.”
“… Let’s just say that’s the name my parents gave me.”
“Hey, why are you two ignoring me! Orc, you traitor! I’m the one who brought you here!…. Don’t leave me behind!”
…
When Bai Zemin crossed the arena gates in the company of the two princesses of the Gales Kingdom, he finally understood that the noise outside was nothing compared to the noise inside.
Looking up from the side, Bai Zemin could not help but be amazed to see the grandstands crowded with people. There were so many people there that they literally looked like ants congregated and squeezed together, not seeming at all bothered by the discomfort as they shouted with bright eyes and fervor the name of the kingdom they belonged to or the name of the competitor they were supporting.
“So many people…” Bai Zemin muttered and a flash of sadness crossed his eyes, but it quickly disappeared and so neither Seraphina nor Ellis noticed it.
The arena was very huge, so huge that there should be at least 600,000 to 700,000 people in the stands. Despite the exaggerated size, however, Bai Zemin could not help but remember the past, when Earth was normal and families attended all kinds of crowded events with cheerful smiles and bright eyes just like the people of this world; Bai Zemin himself had sometimes visited sports and musical entertainment arenas with his parents and younger sister.
However, the old warriors of Eventide World had managed to successfully build places of peace where the new generations could have fun and enjoy life without worries while Planet Earth was in constant war and it was still a mystery whether mankind would survive or not.
Seeing this today made Bai Zemin’s resolve grow exponentially. He was determined to build a kingdom of peace even if he had to slaughter countless others and be tagged as a tyrant a million times over!
Lilith smiled warmly from the side, and seeing Bai Zemin’s back straighter and his shoulders firmer, she couldn’t help but nod proudly. That was the way it was supposed to be after all.
“Over here are this time’s participants- Ah, by the way.” Ellis was about to lead them somewhere when she suddenly remembered something and stopped.
She looked at Bai Zemin and asked curiously, “I still don’t quite understand who you are, but since you’re standing next to my proud little sister I assume you must be some important figure to h-“
“What?!” Seraphina immediately jumped up and cut off whatever Ellis was about to say. She blushed and shouted loudly, “Big sister, what are you saying?! How could I with this… With this orc…”
Bai Zemin inwardly thanked the noisy grandstand or else everyone would have heard the bestial shriek of the noble second princess of Gales.
On the other hand, Ellis looked confused at her younger sister, “Seraphina? Why you-“
As if thinking of something, her eyes suddenly lit up and a peculiar smile appeared at the corner of her lips, “I see…. You saw it didn’t you?”
“Saw it? What did I see?” Seraphina asked gasping, still blushing because of earlier.
“Hehe… The name, you saw it didn’t you?” Ellis grinned like a little fox.
“N- No… I’m telling you, I didn’t!”
Seraphina immediately became agitated for some reason and before Bai Zemin had time to say or do anything she jumped at him and started trying to bite him.
“You- Get off!”
“I’ll bite you to death!”
“You idiot, my armor!”
“Ouch, my tooth…”
“You see? I warned you!”
Ellis smiled and shook her head as she watched Bai Zemin trying to push away Seraphina, who was clinging to him with her four limbs like an octopus. She inwardly thanked the fact that the grandstand had no way of seeing them thanks to the huge column covering the view or else there would soon be several gossips about the second Princess of Gales.
Out of mere curiosity, Ellis used an innate skill that only belonged to the royal family of the Gales Kingdom. Her violet eyes lighted up for a moment as she looked at Bai Zemin, a second later, a small sound of surprise that was inaudible due to the uproar of the crowd and the shouts of the two people next to her came out of her mouth.
Her expression changed slightly but quickly returned to normal. She smiled and used her right hand to slam her shield, successfully attracting the attention of the fighting duo.
“All right, you two. We’d better be on our way.” Saying those words, Ellis turned and began to lead again.
“Hmph! I’ll settle up with you later!” Seraphina growled at Bai Zemin like a dog before running off after her big sister.
Bai Zemin fixed his hair and cursed under his breath as he followed behind the two princesses, “Two princesses my ass, it’s clearly a princess and a rabid dog.”
“Zemin, that first princess used some ocular skill on you just now.”
“Mm?” Bai Zemin paused for a second upon hearing Lilith’s words.
He resumed his steps as she continued, “It’s not a harmful skill at all, that’s for sure. However, it seems that these two princesses can see something about you. The girl named Seraphina did seem to do the same thing the day she found you in the forest, but I have no idea what the function of that skill is.”
“Now that you mention it…” Bai Zemin frowned as he recalled the words King Philip had said in the throne room shortly after Bai Zemin had received the Gales Earring.
The king had mentioned something about ‘natural eyes’ and now it seemed that the first Princess, Ellis Di Wales, had used those ‘natural eyes’ on Bai Zemin as well.
However, no matter how much he thought about it he could not come to any conclusion. It was the same for Lilith.
“Forget it, since it’s nothing harmful or malicious then let’s not think about it too much. We’ll find out in the future what this is all about.” Bai Zemin shook his head and focused on the present, following in the princesses’ footsteps quickly.
* * * * * * *
