Before going to search for an inn to stay for the night, we headed straight for the weapons store. We met with Esagi, yup this pretty much confirmed she was indeed the customer service or something. Talk about being multi-talented!

  She glanced at the bags we were carrying. By the way, I let Velar carry mine.

  “From the looks of it, you’re about to set out?” she asked.

  “Tomorrow actually,” I answered. “We’re here to buy things for more protection on our journey.”

  “I can see that. Your clothes look like you’re going for a picnic. Don’t know how it is back where you’re from, but that ain’t it.”

  I was pretty fine with mine, though. This was pretty expensive, you know! And it was perfect for everything.

  “I would suggest you put metal padding on your forearm, it might give you a chance to hold off a bite from a monster. Could give you one more second to respond. For all of you.”

  Hm, for that I already have my shields.

  She approached Hartwin. “Judging from your physique, and the sword you chose, I take it ya ain’t the type to engage head on and overwhelm the enemy with strength.”

  Hartwin grinned. “I fight either to survive or flee, whichever favors me.”

  “You lack proper protection. Fighting men, you’ll do fine. But beasts are more unpredictable. They can attack you from whichever direction. And their strikes carry heavy weights.”

  “Oh come now, I fight monsters frequently. I encounter them during my travels.”

  Esagi smiled. “Oh? Either you’re pretty strong, or they’re pretty weak. But take my word for it as a native of this land, if you want to increase your chance of survival, get proper protection.”

  She then approached Velar. “Big guy. You’ll definitely be the guy to fight the monster right in the face. Gonna need to have some chest armor, on the shoulders too. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind some weight on you?”

  “Depends on the weight. But not too heavy, else it’ll restrict my movements.”

  She nodded and turned towards Taneva. “We haven’t met. And you don’t look like you’re ready to fight at all.” Indeed, Taneva was wearing very casual clothing. Nothing but pants, shirt with coat, and plain old boots. Not any form of protection whatsoever.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ve no need for armor or anything.”

  She scrutinized him from top to bottom. “Whatever you say, your funeral.” Trust me, that’s just what he wants. Her eyes then shifted to the little kid. “You seriously bringing a kid with ya?”

  Taneva nodded. “She’ll also be fine, no need to worry about her.”

  “You’re a weird bunch.” She then turned towards me. “What about you? I can’t judge you if your cloak’s covering your gear.”

  I opened my cloak. “I’m fine as it is. I can’t afford to carry additional weight.” I was already feeling weak, and putting more load on me while traveling long distances would put quite a burden on me. So no metal armor or any shit on me.

  She hesitantly nodded. “If you say so.”

  And with that, she showed some armor for Hartwin. She mentioned that these light armor plates were slightly lighter than normal steel, but also a bit harder. Of course they were expensive. But at least they were not as expensive as the swords.

  Hartwin was given a pair of forearm guards, and he quickly wore them. He nodded, seemingly pleased by it. Then, he was given light armor, but it was covered in dark leather. Patting on the leather, you could hear and feel the metal pads, divided into different sections — like it had a right and left side with a small metal gap in between, and the chest also had its own metal pads, but all in all connected with leather. Likely so that the armor wouldn’t restrict movement much, but still giving apt protection. He was also given armor of the same kind on his legs — straps with light metal pads on his upper leg, and armor for his lower leg that covers both front and back. Esagi mentioned that there were monsters that could crawl and bite you on the leg, with a venom that could kill you in minutes. Upon hearing that, Hartwin was more than willing to put it on.

  Good thing my boots almost reach my knees. So I had a cover on that part.

  Maybe if I had restored my strength, I could use some upgrades on my outfit. Add some metal on me.

  Velar, on the other hand, was given heavier and thicker armor. His protection was more emphasized around the chest. It was made of the same metal that Hartwin had. He had more protection on the arms, shoulders, and legs. Indeed, he was our frontline, our tank. But of course, the overall weight was nothing for him. I did notice that the armor was dark colored, all the protection given to us were dark, ones that would not stand out. Staying lowkey really was the best way lest we want to get noticed by monsters.

  Seeing that we already got what we needed, I handed out the payment.

  “Good luck out there. May I ask where you’re going?”

  “... Can’t say exactly, but we’ll need to reach the next island to the west,” I said.

  Esagi winced. “You mean to Nishinoa? Oh, well, whatever you do, take care. Both our islands have not been on good terms for a long time, and things have only gotten more tense lately. You might find some difficulties crossing the waters.”

  “You don’t like each other, I see.”

  “Not like we hate each other. It’s more on the Lords of the islands. Ours, well, you could say, is pretty keen on becoming the one who’ll unite the islands once again.”

  Taneva casually picked up and checked out a dagger. “Even after all these centuries, you still haven’t figured out who’ll become the Shogun? Well… That’s the reason you got split up in the first place.”

  Esagi wryly smiled. “That is something we normal people could do nothing about… Personally, I don’t get the point of fighting too hard for these desolate islands. At any rate, we just do whatever to survive.”

  I smiled. “Of course. Thank you, Miss Esagi, for the help. Farewell.”

  “You too.”

  “Oh yeah, can you suggest an inn with a decent bath?”

  After getting the answer, we left the shop and headed straight for the inn that Esagi pointed out. On the way, I turned my head in a particular direction. My gaze pierced through the crowd. I internally sighed.

  What now…?

  Whatever, I’d just gonna ignore it as long as it was not directly bothering me. Taneva glanced at me and raised an eyebrow, he definitely noticed the same thing. I only formed a small pout. I was tired of dealing with unnecessary shit that unnecessarily bothers my way. So I intended to just ignore everything unnecessary for the time being.

  We arrived at the inn, it was a sizable place. Of course, the price was quite hefty.

  “Taneva, maybe you can help with the fees?” I asked. Being an immortal, I expected he would have a lot of money. I was operating on limited resources, so maybe others were willing to pay up. I mean, if you’re not rich despite living for hundreds of years or so, that’s a you problem.

  Taneva casually shrugged and pulled out some silver coins to pay the inn. Each one of us had our own room, of course.

  “Oh yeah, please prepare the bath for me this afternoon. You too, Nira, you should also take a bath.” She’s a girl, she should clean up. I was sure she couldn’t stand being dirty. “Oh yeah no…” I realized she might just get dirty again during the night. “You can bathe tomorrow morning, I think that’s the best option for you.”

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  Nira meekly nodded.

  “Okay, then please prepare a bath for the kid early tomorrow morning,” I said to the receptionist then turned to the other three. “What about you guys?”

  Taneva and Velar said they’d bathe tomorrow morning. While Hartwin was later too. Apparently, this place had several bathrooms, so we shouldn’t have to worry about conflicts or anything. With that matter done, we headed straight to our rooms, which were just next to each other. After setting up my stuff and resting on my bed — which was comfy enough, but not too great — until afternoon, I headed straight to the bath with extra clothes. Yeah I grabbed some extra clothes from the ship, aside from the few that we also bought last time, but the clothes from the ship were just better. As for my combat outfit, I’d be washing it as well. Didn’t have to worry about it drying for tomorrow, I learned a small but convenient technique.

  Inside the bathroom, it had a big bucket full of water. Seeing how simple it was, I couldn’t help but sigh in dismay. I missed the palace’s bath pool. The soapy water, the sweet smell, the luxurious chamber — everything was so nice. I looked around suspiciously, I was not fond of bathing in this shady place. Considering how fucked up this island was, I wouldn’t be surprised if something truly creepy was happening.

  Thus, I cast my barriers and colored them white, spreading them on all sides and top. That should block all eyes. And so, I stripped and took a bath. And it was so refreshing! Particularly the water. This water must be from a well, as it wasn’t salty or anything. I also made sure to wash my hair without ruining the braids. A bit weird to do, but eh… bite me.

  Unfortunately, they had no soap. This place sucks. Quite frustrating that I had to end up like this.

  After properly cleaning myself, I washed my combat clothes with the water. After that, I switched to my casual clothes and headed back to my room. Opening my window, I hung my combat clothes close to it and cast my wind magic, blowing the air into the clothes. If I keep at it, it should dry out tomorrow.

  As the constant wind hit my clothes, I laid down on my bed and played around by making shapes with my ice magic. Later that night, I had dinner with the crew. Except for Nira, of course. She was stuck in her room. My blood’s effects on her were truly temporary.

  After eating, we returned to our room to sleep. But given that I was still full, it took a while for me to start attempting to fall asleep. That gave me some time to dry off my clothes as well. Furthermore, I had to conjure some fire next to it to speed up the drying process.

  Come morning, I quickly changed into my combat outfit and completely covered myself with my cloak. Imagine my great relief that I could finally move in a clean body and clean clothes. It was heavenly! One of the things I missed from the old world was the convenient baths. There were just a lot of things to appreciate in the modern world.

  As we started to leave, I handed my bag to Velar and we set off. Velar and Hartwin were wearing the armor we bought, Taneva was wearing a new set of clothes, and Nira was also wearing her made up traveler’s outfit. There was plenty of kid’s clothing back at the ship.

  “Finally, we’re leaving,” Hartwin said with visible excitement. “I’m curious what sort of land we’ll be going into. Something I wouldn’t get to see on the continent!”

  I have to admit, even I was curious. I had been wanting to take a little adventurer when I was at the palace. Still, I didn’t imagine it would be in this monster filled place. Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.

  We got out of the gates no problem. But after several steps outside the city grounds, I heard footsteps rushing at us from behind.

  “Hey!”

  I paused and closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath, feeling irritated already. That voice was all too familiar.

  I turned around to see a familiar, no, two familiar faces. The two I recognized from the Bureau, one was the man I kicked out of the building. But now, there were five of them in total, all armed and in armor. Their weapons were already drawn. They must be the ones following us yesterday.

  “Where do ya think you bitch is going?” said the guy I kicked. “Don’t think we’ll let you go without settling the score.”

  Taneva turned towards me with a confused look. “Who are these guys?”

  I let out a tired sigh. “I kicked one of them.”

  He briefly whistled. “And here I thought I was the troublemaker.”

  I frowned then addressed the annoying bunch. “Gentlemen, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  The one I kicked pointed his sword at me. “You hurt me good. But this time I’ll hurt you ten times over.” He grinned. “And I’ll kill you after I have my fun.”

  I saw a few guards come out of the wall and watched us with an amused smile.

  Looking at one of the guards, I asked, “You’re not gonna stop them?”

  The guard shrugged. “Hey, you’re outside the city. You guys can kill each other for all we care.” The guards laughed altogether. It would seem they were looking forward to the show that was about to unfold.

  That means we can do whatever we want?

  How annoying. I was not in the mood for this. But… here we were.

  I turned towards the five warriors. “I advise you to let this go. Or you’ll regret it.”

  “Fuck that! Can’t let a bitch like you have a step on me!”

  I clenched my fists. “I hate when people refer to me that way…” I muttered. “... I am not… that.”

  I am a princess…

  It should have been smooth sailing from here. Set out on the journey in a good mood. All clean and stuff. But this annoyance just had to happen.

  I hate it, I fucking hate it. Why can’t people just leave me alone?

  That was all I wanted…

  “Fine. Let’s end this quickly. Just kill them. Have one for yourselves,” I said to my crew. Then I turned to Nira. “Can you execute one of them?” She gave a simple nod. “Good. Now, pick your targets. I’ll pick him, of course.” I pointed at the one I kicked.

  Everyone dropped their bags.

  “I’ll fight their biggest man,” Velar said.

  “Guess I’ll fight the one in front of me. He looks like someone I can manage.” Hartwin drew his rapier.

  Taneva placed his hands on his hips. “Doesn’t matter which one.”

  Nira meekly pointed at one guy. “Him.”

  “Alright then,” I said, holding out my hand at the enemy. “Come and fight.”

  The opposition charged towards us.

  Velar engaged with the big guy, clashing swords. Hartwin swiftly struck at his enemy. Taneva casually evaded his enemy’s attacks with an amused expression, like how a predator plays with his prey.

  Nira rushed to the one she had set on and looked up at the guy.

  “What’s this little kid doing? Move, or I’ll kill ya.”

  Her wide eyes stared up at him. “Why won’t you attack me?”

  The guy’s face contorted. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “If you won’t attack, then I’ll easily kill you.”

  He didn’t take that mockery lightly. “You think you can fight me, you shitty brat? Fine, I’ll fucking cut you to pieces!” He swung down his blade at her.

  Nira dodged the blade, but the guy was quick to respond and swung his blade sideways. Reacting to the attack, Nira used her hand to block the sword. It cut through her flesh, and she bled. However, the warrior noticed something strange. His blade didn’t get to cut in deep, and then the girl was still standing like she was not severely wounded at all.

  Nira locked the sword in her grasp, and her other hand turned into a grotesque hand with claws.

  “What?!” The man’s eyes widened in utter shock.

  Before the guy could back away, Nira brought down her claws into the man’s arm. The man screamed as blood spurted out of his severed limb, his hand and sword fell to the ground.

  “W-What are you?!” He was aghast. He had never expected the little girl could do something like this. Never could he have imagined.

  Without hesitation, Nira pierced her claws into the man’s chest.

  “I think it’s okay to feed…?” she asked herself. And thus she bit into the man’s neck.

  “M-Monster…” the man whimpered.

  Meanwhile, as I observed Nira’s actions, which was quite impressive, I was facing my enemy. I didn’t move, I was a bit annoyed. So instead, I conjured several pieces of barrier to block the guy’s attacks. He was a joke.

  “What the hell is this? Fight me seriously!” he spat at me.

  “I don’t need to spend my stamina on you.”

  I waved my hand, and a few more barriers wrapped around his arm which was mainly holding his sword. Considering that it was still technically the Palm Shield spell that was meant to protect from attacks, once I pressed my barriers together into his arm, his arm began to bounce at every corner — as the barrier was in all directions, his arm was basically vibrating to an intense degree.

  He screamed in pain. I added more barriers on his one leg, wrapping around it and began closing tightly. Must be a terrible experience for his flesh and bones. I magically conjured ice, crawling from me towards the man. They erected upwards with sharp edges and sliced through the elbow of the arm my barrier was holding. Next to get cut off was his restrained leg from behind the knee. He lost balance and fell to the ground. I dispelled the rest of the barriers, letting the severed limbs drop, but I kept the barriers on his bleeding wounds to avoid blood from staining my clothes.

  “Aagh! Fuck! G-Goddamn spellcaster!”

  I came up on top of him and grasped his collar.

  “You ruined the mood.” I punched him in the face, my body enhanced. “Annoying.” I punched him again. “Why can’t you people just leave me alone?” I hit him again. “How hard is it to do?” And again.

  “S-Stop! Please!”

  I glared down at him as I kept punching him in the face. His blood had stuck to my fist. But I didn’t stop. I kept punching him again, again, and again. It was not voluntary — no, not exactly. It felt like I was spacing out, but my body just kept on punching. More blood touched my fist and dripped to the ground. I could feel the face I was hitting gradually soften.

  But I kept punching. The sound of my fist hitting even changed. The face was slowly caving in. But, again, I didn’t stop. I couldn’t understand why, but I just wanted to keep going. I was tired of all these…

  I kept punching and punching.

  “Estelia! That’s enough!” Taneva shook my shoulders, which snapped me back to reality. “How many times do we have to tell you to stop?”

  I looked up at him with widened eyes. My surroundings became clearer to me. Looking down, I had seen the result of my behavior. The man’s face was mush. I looked at my hand and I could see pieces of flesh stuck to my knuckles. This man was dead. No, he might have been dead already for a short while. I was not even completely aware of everything…

  I looked at the city guards watching and noticed their disturbed expressions. They just stood there silently, speechless from what they had seen.

  I took a deep breath before slowly rising.

  “Estelia,” Taneva called again. “Got your head back?”

  I silently nodded.

  “Good… Is something wrong with you?”

  I merely glanced at him before looking back down at the corpse with the smashed face before me. “It’s f-fine now.” I grabbed a pouch from the corpse. It was water.

  I opened it and washed the gore stuck to my hand. Once it was clean, I turned towards my crew.

  “Sorry… I was… Nothing.” From the looks of it, they were done fighting their fights for some time now. Velar and Hartwin cut down their enemy, while Taneva snapped his opponent’s neck. “Good thing no one got hurt. Let’s leave.”

  Taneva frowned. “You know, you need to calm down sometimes.”

  “... Traveling will be a good opportunity to calm down.”

  Taneva sighed. “Whatever you say. Let’s go on then.”

  And thus, we continued on our journey, leaving the corpses behind.

  Royal Princess of Blood: The Divine Princess (Vol. 5)

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