There was a beautiful young lady sleeping on the bed. It was not the fanciest, softest, smoothest bed and bedsheets she was used to in her life. But it was enough to get a decent sleep. And she had the best sleep in a long while. She savored the sensation as she lay. Her breathing was smooth and gentle. She looked like a goddess in her sweetest slumber.

No, she was indeed a goddess. Her platinum hair was as extravagant and gorgeous as the most polished gems, her pale skin was as flawless as the most perfect of pearls. Her beauty surpassed even the shining of the countless stars that light the heavens.

And who could this beautiful young lady be?

Me!

Wow, it's been a while since I've got to say it like that.

Having awakened from the pleasant slumber, I slowly opened my eyes. I turned around and faced the ceiling, doing nothing but stare. The kind of time that you just wanted to stare at nothing while feeling empty, the good emptiness because you just didn't want to think about anything at all. It was just peaceful that way.

I let out a tired sigh. Judging from the amount of light leaking through the curtain, it was almost noon. I slept long, and I slept early too. Which was good, very good. Still feeling a bit sleepy though, my body felt heavy. I had been enduring my weakening body while travelling, just pushing myself through. Pretending that I wasn't agonizing and some shit.

Imagine my relief that I could finally lay down here and rest in peace. But I still needed more. In fact, I didn't want to go. However, I was feeling famished. I have been constantly feeling a bit hungrier lately. Thankfully this time, I could eat as much as I needed. I didn't even need to worry about gaining weight because my health was already shit in the first place. Exercise would also be nice, but I was just feeling too weak right now. So no exercising.

I slowly got out of bed. Right now, I was wearing some local casual outfit. My combat outfit was out for a wash, this fancy inn had its own service for that. Which was very convenient and awesome. As we would be staying here for a few days, I could just patiently wait for it to dry off and not have to worry about it.

After letting out a long sigh again, I stood and stretched my body. "Aaah…" I parted the curtains and opened the windows, taking in a deep breath. After savoring the fresh, cool air, I left my room.

I made it down to the washroom, where there were buckets of water. I splashed my face with water to freshen things up. With the clean blanket they had ready, I gently rubbed my face. At least this place was clean in some way. A minimum requirement for a fancy inn.

After fixing my hair, I headed for the inn's eating spot. The moment the staff saw me come out, they flinched. I disregarded them. We had figured out why they were afraid of me, all thanks to Hartwin and his gossip skills.

Apparently, they all think I was someone important from one of the clans, someone important. They guessed it from the amount of money I had, and how I didn't hesitate to buy shits. Which was a bit hilarious, given that all my money was from robbing some bandits. But that was not only it, it was also because of my beauty and how I carried myself.

Which was not a surprise, but to think they would assume I was some sort of important clan member. It would seem the people here were cautious and afraid of the local clans. I supposed this was something like commoners to nobles.

We didn't bother to correct them. Just gonna let them think whatever they want. At least they were not wrong in a way, I am a princess. I should be treated as such.

My crew was there at the eating spot. I sat down with them and leaned on the table. My eyes were droopy, and I laid my head on the wooden surface.

"Look who's finally awake," Taneva said. "I'm surprised you're awake at all."

I groaned. "Believe me, I wanted to sleep all day. But hunger calls."

"You think you'd survive if we still keep going?"

"That's why I'm resting as much as I can so I won't just die on the road. And what kind of question is that?" I frowned.

"Just teasing you, is all."

"My head hurts, don't do that."

"Want me to play a lullaby for you, Princess?" Hartwin said with a wide grin, presenting his lute.

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"Don't think I forgot about your frivolous spending, Hartwin!"

"Egh…" Hartwin awkwardly smiled.

Imagine my surprise that he spent a good amount of our money, which was mostly my money, for his own shit. I was not mad, I was just a bit bothered by it. Hard to accept that he just spent our money on a girl he met and bought her an instrument.

"You're paying me back for that, right?" I asked.

"O-Of course, Princess. So you are mad…"

"Not mad, just… displeased. It was an expensive instrument too." Considering that it was custom-made.

Motherfucker really spent my money to rizz up some chick.

Kidding. I knew it was for a sincere reason, though. Still, it was my money.

"Is she really that good at playing that you have to give her a lute?" Raising my hand, I called upon a staff member. One frantically made her way to me.

"Not good yet, but she has potential."

"Surely it's not just because of that." I faced the staff and ordered some breakfast. Once she had taken my order, the staff member quickly left.

"... Musical talent is a rare thing here. No, rare in this world. Rarely could you find someone interested enough or who had the skills to play and create music. If I could spread the wonders of music to this land, she would be a good first step."

"How common do you want it to be?" Not many were just interested in playing music, nor did they have the luxury to learn.

"... As much as it could. Or perhaps, I just wish everyone had the opportunity to learn to play."

"Hm…"

Unlike here, back on Earth, musicians had become, in a way, common. You could find just about anywhere someone who could at least play a guitar. There were a lot of singers, instrument players. Many with talents, where they could easily show it to anyone. Anyone could even search how to play something with just their phones.

And here, the commonality could not even be compared to Earth. Just learning how to properly play an instrument would require a teacher. Even worse, in Shinoroa. In a way, I understood Hartwin. I loved music. It would be nice if many others appreciated it. So perhaps that was why I wasn't really mad about… Or also maybe because I currently have more money… Yeah, definitely both.

Would I get mad if I didn't have more money? Eeeeh…?

"Music is the language of the universe." I smiled. "What an admirable endeavor, Hartwin."

"Music is the language of the universe… I like that. Can I use that?"

"Make sure to credit me."

"... Credit? Okay, but I'm not sure how I'm going to do that…"

"Somehow… Still, you better pay me back!"

He awkwardly chuckled. "I will, Princess… I'm sure I can do it eventually on our journey…"

"Right… The fastest option for that is robbing bandits. Works all the time."

"Just how much do you hate bandits…?"

"I bore no hatred towards them whatsoever. They're just a convenient source of income."

"Uh-huh."

To be fair, no one would miss a bandit if I killed one. And if I rob them, who are they gonna tell? The police?

A short time later, my food and beverages arrived. I started to slowly eat.

"This is a bit boring, Estelia," Taneva said.

"Go drink some beer or something."

"In the morning?"

"I didn't know you had a preference for time."

"I would, depending on the mood, really. Especially that I had just drunk hard the other day."

"Of course you had."

"I would drink if I got to drink something new. I just drank a lot of their liquor. Interestingly, some of them were from other lands."

"They import?"

"Yes. It would seem this island is gradually opening up to overseas merchants."

"Why didn't we see those back in Mahana?"

"The liquors are not from our continent."

"Huh. I see. Have you been to other continents?"

"A few times. But I just couldn't bring myself to stay long. Our continent is home."

"Hm. Maybe when all my problems are done, I'll go and travel to other continents."

"If you become immortal, you'll have plenty of opportunities."

I smiled. "If I become a bona fide god, maybe I'd entertain myself with some games when I'm bored."

"... Hey now, that sounds dangerous. You know I dislike it if gods abuse their power."

I stared at Taneva. "Right… That was just a joke."

"I know. But be careful when you're a god, Estelia. Play too many games, and it will come back to bite you."

How boring…

"Not to mention the victims of your games. I was one of them, a victim of their games." He sounded serious. "Gods think they can just do anything they want."

"I'm not one to play devious games, Taneva. I like peace more."

"I suppose you should. You yourself are a victim of fate, after all."

I frowned and paused my eating. "Now I know what I want when I become a god."

"What?"

"Maybe I should destroy this concept of so-called fate. So people would stop believing in it. That thing has been bothering me since the start."

Taneva snorted, as if he had heard something outrageous. "If that can even be destroyed."

I still didn't believe that some intangible force was controlling my actions, or making me walk through some particular path. Truth be told, my only beef with "fate" was that it caused all of my problems. I wouldn't care if everyone was being influenced by "fate", I just wanted that concept to stop bothering me. Whether that thing was real, I just wanted to stop it from getting into my life.

It's only real because people are thinking it's real. Just like my words back when I talked to that beastman in our dungeon. All became as it was because of your own actions.

"Anything just to stop that nonsense."

"I'll be cheering for you on that." He chuckled. Taneva then stood up. "I'll be leaving."

"Where are you going?"

"Gonna look for something fun to do."

I directed a suspicious look at him. "... Just don't cause any trouble."

"Not my intention." He walked away with a wave.

"What about you, Princess? Not planning on walking around?" Hartwin asked.

I contemplated it. "... Maybe for an hour." I glanced at Nira, who was talking with Velar. "Guess the four of us can go. But if I get tired, let's go back."

"Sure."

I nodded and finished up my breakfast… or rather, lunch?

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