“La la la la la la la la la. ♫”

First a relaxing bath a few days ago and now a refreshing shower, without worrying about overusing it? Ahh, these past days have been the best of my life~

[“Take as much mana as you want, whenever you need it, Tasianna,”] I said while washing my hair and horns.

The person I’m talking to is the fairy that is currently using [Greater Create Water] to create a ball of water, imitating a shower as it continuously drizzles onto me.

Besides being an infinite source of water, this new travel companion of mine also provides a much-needed necessity that Saori, the super household keeper, couldn’t make.

Shampoo.

The feeling of cleanliness as the aromatic, viscous liquid touched my hair, cleansing the dirt, grime, and unpleasantness away, restoring the silky touch that my hair once had. The feel of the rising foam was as satisfying as ever. It felt good to be squeaky clean, again.

It was truly amazing that Tasianna was able to make all of this using the materials from the forest. You only really value the luxury of shampoo when you’re unable to use it for six months.

[“Thank you very much, Princess Hestia,”] Tasianna gave an energetic answer, clearly expressing a sense of pride with how delighted I was about the shower.

It has been two days since we rescued Tasianna from the clutches of those trolls. After accepting Tasianna into the party, I immediately fell asleep from the fatigue of the day. Considering I was directly hit by the projectile of an artillery weapon and also tossed around like a play toy, I think merely falling asleep for a day was acceptable

After I woke up from that one night, Saori decided to evolve as she had made up her mind for an evolution choice, using the one day I was asleep. That gave me and Tasianna a good amount of time to talk about things.

At first, I was extremely apprehensive with Tasianna addressing me with “Princess Hestia”. It was the same reason I gave Saori, but it was even worse as Tasianna would use that annoying “princess” part.

No matter how much I’ve already gotten used to it due to Saori, it just feels wrong. I tried to make Tasianna understand but it didn’t work. Compared to Saori who did it out of fun, Tasianna insisted on it as she would feel uncomfortable with not doing it.

I wanted this to be a friendship but Tasianna thought of herself as a servant. It should have been obvious considering Tasianna was the maid and attendant of a royal family member for most of her life. She doesn’t know better than to treat royalty with reverence and respect.

For her, addressing me without showing me the utmost devotion was not an option. I actually abused a bit of my “authority” to force her into doing it but that just caused more problems than it was worth.

She wouldn’t stop fidgeting around like a fly. Constantly asking, “Princ…H-Hestia, do you need me to do something?”, or, “No, I can do that for you. Please allow me to do that, Princ…Hestia!”. She just couldn’t stay still. She just couldn’t.

That was when I had to choose what was less annoying. Being called “Princess Hestia” but having my new companion feel comfortable; or being casual with each other but having an annoying fly zoom around me, restlessly begging me for some job just so she can feel fulfilled with herself.

At this point, it wasn’t worth arguing about it. I chose the former on the sole condition that she would slowly adapt to mine and Saori’s party dynamic. The intention was to gradually have her become comfortable enough around me, so she would simply call me by my name.

With that settled, we actually got along pretty well from then on. Not only did I learn that she knew how to make shampoo, but she can also make some fine tea.

Cooking wasn't her specialty though, as she found it too hard to make anything edible for somebody large enough to grab her with one hand. She made for a good cooking assistant, though, despite being peeved and saying, "Princesses shouldn’t be the ones cooking, though. That is a job for a chef.”.

I'll probably get used to these things eventually. I had to, I guess. It was very likely that this would be the common sense in this world, and I personally don't want to enforce the values I learned on Earth to this new world.

This was my new life. I've decided that once I get back to civilization, I would do my best to adapt. No more whining around like a kid. That's why Tasianna's way of addressing me might be a good start, even if it's extreme.

Oh, however, I will most likely push Idol culture. I can't become a real Idol if nobody appreciates it.

I’ve also learned something very important concerning my title [The Light] and its corresponding title [Hestia’s Retainer]. That is, that my two "retainers" received different amounts of benefits.

This is Saori’s.

Hestia’s Retainer A title given to a person that has sworn loyalty or fealty for a person with the title [The Light]. This title allows the owner to be aware of the other party’s condition, even when they are separated. This option can be disconnected by the other party’s choice. Grants the owner of this title certain benefits from the sworn person’s titles or skills. Received benefits include: Reduced SP cost for skill acquirement and improvement

And this is Tasianna’s

Hestia’s Retainer title given to a person that has sworn loyalty or fealty for a person with the title [The Light]. This title allows the owner to be aware of the other party’s condition, even when they are separated. This option can be disconnected by the other party’s choice. Grants the owner of this title certain benefits from the sworn person’s titles or skills. Received benefits include: Access to the SP System, Reduced SP cost for skill acquirement and improvement, Skill proficiency increase during combat, Experience Increase

It should’ve been obvious as my access to the SP System comes from [Otherworldly Reincarnator], however, to think that I can share this with other people. What is Aurena, the one who gave me [The Light], even planning with this?

Sigh, it's another reason for headaches, but our party's potential just increased with this. It also means that I should do my best and hide this fact. The SP System is powerful, game-breaking even. If we ever invite another member into the party then it should only be someone that we can trust 200%.

Finished with my shower, I dried myself off by using [Aerokinesis] and [Pyrokinesis] to create a hairdryer, or body dryer, and put back on the one-piece Saori made for me. Tasianna wanted to help me put my dress on but was too weak to actually help.

Still, in high spirits from showering, I did a handspring and landed in front of Saori, who was cooking our breakfast, “Saori, asa gohan wa nan desu ka~?” (Saori, what’s for breakfast~?)

While preparing what looks to be stew, Saori blinked a coupled time in succession until she gave a sigh in exasperation.

She then opened her own space storage and gave me two pieces of smallclothes, clearly a bra and panty. “Please, put these on before doing anything flashy,” she said with serious eyes before returning back to cooking.

It took me a second to realize what she meant with this, but the realization was enough to make my head dizzy from the blood rushing up to my head.

I quickly headed back to the impromptu shower to put on my underwear. Tasianna wanted to help me put them on, stating, “I have to help Princess Hestia put her clothes on.”, but was quickly caught and persuaded to stay by Saori. I could see her pout after she was once again denied a chance to “serve” me.

Sheesh, she doesn’t act her age at all…

Contrary to her age, both her appearance and mentality would resemble an adolescent girl in her late teenage years. Probably around 17 or 19.

[“…The stew smells wonderful, Madam Saori.”] an energetic but small voice came over the impromptu shower’s walls.

[“Thank you, Miss Tasianna. I do hope the taste will be to your liking.”] a calmer voice could also be heard, while I started undressing.

After the initial slow start, both of my companions seem to have hit it off, vibrantly talking with each other about this world’s history.

A bit of jealousy was filling my mind 'cause hearing my companions getting along that well, while I was over here putting my underwear on, made me want to rush over and join the conversation.

Well, the food isn’t done yet, so I might as well use this time to organize my thoughts on Saori’s recent evolution. She woke up this morning in her new form and I barely had to time to look through it.

Saori's Status Board Profile: Name: Saori Segawa Level: 0 Race: Young Shadowstalker Cadejo Age: 2 Months Status: Health: 3882/3882(+1841) Mana: 1278/1278(+661) Strength: 2358(+971) Intelligence: 852(+431) Vitality: 1592(+687) Wisdom: 1742 (+706) Agility: 3229(+1138) Stamina: 1491/2409(+918) Effects: None Skill Points: 50 (-3800) Unique Skill:

[Shadow Armament Lv. 1] (New)

Skill: Magic skills and related

[Mana Efficiency Lv. 1] (New)

[Arcane Mind Lv. 4]

[Mana Control Lv. 5]

[Dark Magic Lv. 5]

[Space-Time Magic Lv. 3] (New)

[Space-Time Efficiency] (New)

[Chant Revocation Lv. 9]

[Mental Stability Lv. 2]

[Mental Warfare Lv. 2]

[Silent Casting Lv. 2]

Physical skills and related

[Unarmed Technique Lv. 1] (New)

[Sundering Enhancement Lv. 1] (New)

[Piercing Enhancement Lv. 1] (New)

[Crushing Enhancement Lv. 1] (New)

[Enhanced Claws Lv. 8]

[Enhanced Fangs Lv. 7] (+1)

Senses and movement skills

[Primal Senses]

[Stealth Lv. 8] (+2)

[Prediction Lv. 5]

[Concentration Lv. 1] (New)

[Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 6]

[Danger Perception Lv. 3]

[Tracking Lv. 2]

[Night Vision Lv. 5] (+3)

[Presence Killer Lv. 7] (+2)

[Evasion Lv. 5]

[Acrobatic Lv. 5]

[Terrain Maneuvering Lv. 4]

Resistances

[Physical Super-Resistance Lv. 1]

[Absolute Pain Tolerance] (New)

[Bleed Resistance Lv. 1]

[Poison Resistance Lv. 1]

[Paralyze Resistance Lv. 10]

[Torpor Resistance Lv. 1]

[Arcane Corruption Resistance Lv. 8] (+4)

[Fire Resistance Lv. 1]

[Earth Resistance Lv. 4]

[Wind Resistance Lv. 1]

[Dark Resistance Lv. 3] (+1)

Stat growths and related

[Health Recovery Lv. 4] (+2)

[Mana Recovery Lv. 3] (+1)

[Stamina Recovery Lv. 4] (+1)

[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 5] (+1)

[Enhanced Health Capacity Lv. 4] (+2)

[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv.´4]

[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 2] (+1)

[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 5] (+1)

[Enhanced Strength Enforcement Lv. 4] (+2)

[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 2] (+1)

[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 4] (+2)

[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 5]

[Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 4] (+1)

[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 5]

[Enhanced Stamina Capacity Lv. 4] (+1)

Others

[Identify Blocker Lv. 2]

[Identify Lv. 4]

[Terror Aura Lv. 4] (+2)

[Bloodlust Lv. 1] (New)

[Battle Mind Lv. 1] (New)

[Lifetaker Lv. 1] (New)

[Mana Weave Lv. 5]

[Sewing Lv. 4]

[Royal Etiquette Lv. 2] (+1)

[Cooking Lv. 6]

[Dismantle Lv. 2] (+1)

[Humanize Lv. 6] (+1) [Telepathy]

Spell List: Dark spells

[Dark Bolt]

[Dark Tendrils]

[Shadow Dash]

[Dark Slash]

[Shadow Clones]

Space-Time spells

[Haste]

[Storage Magic]

Titles:

[Belzac’s Successor] [Otherworldly Reincarnator] [Hestia’s Retainer]

Saori evolving into a [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo] meant that she has caught up to me when it comes to monster ranks. She’s a rank C monster now.

As it was with me, her [Humanize] leveled up with her evolution and she gained most of her human-like features back, most notably her face.

In her current form, her hair was longer than mine, reaching down to her collarbone in a loose style. Sharing the same black color her fur had, it contrasted well with her pale complexion. With the addition of her blood-red eyes, after she evolved, it gave her a feral beauty that would make any man’s heart skip a beat.

Besides her face, most of her body is still covered in the same thick, fluffy fur she would normally have in her previous humanized forms. If you disregard her face, at a first glance, she still looked very much like a werewolf, especially with those bestial ears and tail.

She definitely benefited from this humanized form, just from the fact that she looks less intimidating…just like with me.

Speaking of intimidating, she seems to have gained three new skills upon evolving.

Shadow Armament A mana manifestation skill that increases in effectiveness and strength depending on [Dark Magic]’s level. Uses mana to shroud an object in a coating of dark element. Shadow Armaments may interact with [Dark Magic] spells. [Shadow Armament] shares any effects applied to [Dark Magic] Bloodlust A skill that transforms the user’s natural bloodlust into a skill. Boosts the user’s abilities in a life or death battle by a certain amount, depending on the level of this skill Lifetaker This skill is given to those that have slain many enemies in a short amount of time or those that have committed themselves on a path of blood. Temporarily increases the user’s parameters for every kill they perform. The amount this effect can activate depends on the level of this skill, increasing by one by each level

…Those skills are pretty scary for an evolution bonus.

With her evolution, she gained the unique skill [Shadow Armament], although she lost [Mana Strike] for it, which allows her to coat anything she wants in a black mist that enchants it with the dark element. Interestingly enough, it also allows you to shroud living beings with it, which includes me and Tasianna.

From a few tests, Saori can now take us with her during [Shadow Dash] when she applies [Shadow Armament] on us, albeit it will cost her an additional amount of mana, but that is neglectable if I or Tasianna share our mana with her through [Mana Control].

While under the skill’s effect, we also gain some [Dark Resistance]. It covers my weakness a bit but [The Light]’s disadvantages are still too much. It doesn’t hurt but the claustrophobic feeling of being mummified makes the whole experience unbearable for a prolonged time for me.

The other two skills improve and synergies well with a fighting style that involves going in and turning the battlefield in a bloodbath before running out of steam. I wanted those skills for myself, but my parallel minds were unable to find them in the shop.

While I am worried that I might have turned my friend into a killing machine, I also realized that worrying is redundant in this case. Our party has gotten much stronger and Saori seems unchanged, personality-wise.

Besides those, the rest of the evolution bonuses are nothing special. They simply improved Saori’s stealth and physical capabilities.

Simple but effective, also seems to apply with the skills she upgraded and bought with her SP. The only thing worth mentioning was that she bought [Space-Time Magic] for 1000 SP, 400 SP more than mine.

In the time I was asleep, she was worried that the two trolls we killed outside the cave would rot before I awaken. Still, she only preserved the one I killed. The one she poisoned wasn’t completely buried under the landslide but eating it might be bad for our stomachs.

Unfortunately, she did admit that [Space-Time Magic] spells were a bit too much for her. Storing that one troll was enough to bring her dangerously close to [Mana Stress], enough that she naturally got [Mana Efficiency Lv. 1] from the usage.

The costs were still too high for her even with [Space-Time Efficiency], so she has pretty much given up on using anything but [Storage Magic] at this point.

Also, we still have no idea why we were not allowed to upgrade [Humanize] up to level 6 before becoming rank C monsters, but at this point, we might as well just forget about it.

Back to reality, having finished putting on my underwear, which fitted me absolutely perfectly, I went back to our group to see that Saori was filling our bowls with the troll stew.

Toffels are this world’s potatoes. They share their appearance with Earth’s yams but the taste and texture were undeniably akin to potatoes.

““Itadakimasu.”” (Thank you for the food.)

[“May Zephira and Plesia grace our food.”]

Sitting down, Saori handed me and Tasianna our stew using the bowls I made in my spare time, both are human-sized as I didn’t have the time to make one specifically for Tasianna. After expressing our thanks for the food in our own ways, we began eating and chatting among us.

Using a crudely made spoon, I scooped up a good amount of the broth and gave it a try. Once it entered my mouth, all the ingredients used to make the broth soaked my tongue in an aromatic bath, tingling my tongue into action, before swallowing it.

I then gouged out another part of the stew, filling my spoon with broth, sliced toffels, and chunks of troll meat. Saliva began filling my mouth from just looking at it. No longer able to hold it back, I shoved the mini stew into my mouth.

“Mhmmmm,” I unconsciously let out a voice filled with satisfaction as I continuously chewed the hearty toffels and fatty meat.

Suddenly, a voice woke me up from my food dream, [“Hmm, these bowls are a bit…crude? May I ask where they were acquired?”]

[“…Well sorry, I’m not exactly a craftsman, Tasianna,”] I said while averting my eyes.

It was embarrassing to hear that kinda criticism for the things I made, especially concerning their appearance when I tried my best to keep it as proper as possible.

Noticing me averting my gaze in embarrassment, Tasianna panicked and gave me an apology, stumbling on her words, [“Wha-Wha?! No no no, I didn’t mean it that way. Oh, I apologize so much for how rude I was, Princess Hestia!”]

[“No, no, Miss Tasianna,”] Saori quickly came to the rescue to diffuse the situation before it exploded. [“You do not have to be so agitated. Hestia already understands that her creations are lacking in polish.”]

I was pouting, so I can understand why you would misunderstand it with annoyance. Understanding that my craft needs more improvement and polish is an important step for my own progress.

As a way to change the topic, Tasianna asked me about my life on Earth. She already heard Saori’s version, but we weren’t able to talk about it due to how hectic yesterday was.

It was a pleasant chat filled with Tasianna’s wonder-filled eyes upon hearing me retell my memories, asking stuff like, "That ‘Mobile phone’ sounds very similar to our ‘Mana Messengers’.”, or, “All the residents of your world are thunder elemental mages?!”.

It was cute.

Eventually, the discussion drifted towards the history of Earth, so Saori took over. Her blood-red eyes were sparkling when she was able to assume her history teacher-guise once again.

The whole discussion even led back to what they talked about before I woke up. Most of the topics were about Peolynca’s gods, the many races and their culture, and about the history and myths of this world.

Saori's face brightened up from pure curiosity while she listened intently to every detail Tasianna told us. I bet she would be taking notes if we had paper.

The enthusiasm to learn about this new world made her already pretty face, seem even more enviable. The youth of her 18-year-old humanized form was beaming at a glaring rate, kinda contrasting to her usual calm and cool behavior.

Looking at her now, memories of the day I received my name from her appeared. Her wish was to travel with me around this new world, fulfilling her unfinished dream to travel the countries on Earth. That was the reason she wanted to travel with me, as it coincided with my own dream.

It makes me wonder…will everything really work out as we planned?

Having Tasianna join us has solved one of my many worries of entering civilization in this world. Knowing the culture and history is an important step for us to assimilate, but we still only have limited sources for information when it concerns the social norms in human society.

I can only guess that Tasianna is rather sheltered, from how she behaves, so it would be useless to ask her about humans. Actually, I believe she would be displeased about being asked. Her story painted her hatred for humanity in a vibrant color, evoking a bit of animosity even inside me.

But regardless of those worries, there is still that whole Idol stuff that I need to figure out. I’m worried.

Thoughts like, “Can I really do it?”, or, “Won’t people be freaked out by me?”, kept appearing and appearing inside my head, non-stop worry that it won’t be as easy as I would like to believe.

I mean, a cute girl appearing out of nowhere and singing cheery, hyper songs, with a wonderful voice, sounds good, right? It should be easy, right?

…I'm also not that confident in my dancing, but I guess the real problem lays in prejudice. Common perception of medieval times is that women’s rights aren’t very well established. Wouldn’t most people think of me as a freak for dancing and singing around, while trotting around in colorful outfits?

Urgh, it's just nerve-wracking. My first performance has to be good. It has to be perfect. No mistakes and everything has to go as I planned. A good first impression is the most important thing for an Idol.

[“Uhh, Hestia? You do know that you have emptied the cauldron, yes?”] a voice woke me up from my worry-filled mind.

Back to reality, I looked around me. My two companions were looking at me with confusion on their faces, awaiting my answer with one brow raised up.

However, I ignored their gazes, hiding my inner turmoil, and directed my gaze upon the crudely made stone cauldron that was once full of stew. Where did it go?!

[“If you are that hungry, then I can make more…Is something troubling you, Hestia?”] Saori’s puzzlement was now replaced by worry.

Wait, I ate all of that?! I was feeling a bit peckish, but this self-made cauldron went up to Saori’s knees. That much food can’t fit inside me!

The shock of learning about my gluttony was enough to make me jump to my feet. Stumbling on my words, I tried to once again avoid talking about my problems, not wishing to worry Saori.

[“Wha?! Uh, yeah, more stew, please. Uhm, oh yeah, Saori! Your voice! You just spoke before, so why aren't you speaking now?"] I remembered her say “Itadikimasu”.

OMG, that was a terrible way to change the topic!

Everyone caught on to my dreadful attempt, obviously, and it seems Saori wanted to say something about it but dismissed it for now, [“My voice is still underdeveloped. It is quite hard to make it pronounce proper words, so I have decided to, firstly, train it. Magic does not help, unfortunately.”]

Saori pointed at her vocal cords and attempted to speak, proving that it was far to hoarse to use properly. Besides the Japanese words for “hello”, “goodbye” and “thank you for the food”, the rest sounded too weird to understand properly.

That reminded me that I have been training my voice ever since I had [Humanization] and was able to sing the beginning of a song without any problems once I had [Humanization Lv. 6].

[“That’s right!”] clapping her fist against her open palm, Tasianna seems to have had an “aha!” moment. [“We were talking about magic theory the day before, Madam Saori. Should I resume where I let off?”]

Saori gasped and replied to Tasianna, [“Yes, I would be much obliged! Let us resume our talks, Miss Tasianna.”]

Saori opened her storage and took out more ingredients and spices, while Tasianna filled the cauldron with new water, preparing for the new stew that I wanted. They then began talking about magic theory.

I relit a new fire under the cauldron, while silently listening to their rather interesting talks. However, even more silently, I was letting out a big sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, they changed the topic for me!