The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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I had a feeling that I had a really, really terrible dream. It wasn’t a nightmare so bad that it felt like my head was splitting, but it was definitely something I could understand.

My mind was hazy like it was shrouded in thick fog, but I could vaguely recall the contents of the dream.

Suddenly waking up alone and heading towards the World Tree, then finding myself in some white space where a strangely shaped girl was throwing questions—somewhere between an insult and an inquiry—at a woman.

Then, I stepped back outside the World Tree and saw that unusual girl fighting against Georg, or rather, Eliott, as they blasted magic at each other. It was a dream where the World Tree itself was also getting damaged.

What a vividly detailed dream it was. I guess with all the worries piling up lately, even my dreams were being affected. Or maybe I just slept in a bad position.

In any case, a notice had come out that all previously scheduled plans were canceled, and since I woke up early yesterday, I decided I should have a good sleep today, fluffing my pillow.

Strangely, this didn’t feel like my pillow at all.

It felt soft and elastic, like I was touching someone’s thigh, which was puzzling. There was no way I would have swapped pillows in my sleep.

I also noticed the chilly air around me. The sensations against my body, the strange blanket covering me—it didn’t feel like my bed at all.

I forced open my heavy eyelids, only to be blinded by light that made me squint involuntarily.

“…Are you awake, Dokan? How’s the new body?”

In that moment, I spotted a shadow nearby, and it was Ho-Yeon. The smells and sounds were so unfamiliar that I didn’t recognize her at first.

Wait a minute. Does this mean I’m resting my head on her thigh? I hurriedly raised my upper body to ease her burden.

There was no way I wouldn’t recognize her. By the way, she mentioned a new body. What on earth was she talking about?

“…What do you mean, Ho-Yeon? New body… you mean…?”

Turning my still groggy body around, I didn’t hear my usual crack or the sound of my muscles screaming in protest.

Rather, I felt completely refreshed, as if fatigue had vanished. What’s going on?

And now that I think about it, the world seems a bit clearer to me. It felt like my sensory horizons were expanding in an inexplicable way.

“…Huh? Huh? Huh?”

Even my voice felt subtly different from yesterday. What on earth has happened to my body? I wanted to ponder it, but the next occurrence made that impossible.

Eliott had just fallen in front of me.

…What’s going on? Why does he look like this? Even from a glance, I could tell he was severely injured. Yet, despite his condition, he was fiercely throwing dozens of spells in frantic resistance.

Against whom? At the end of the line of fire stood that odd-looking girl from the dream. However, unlike the dream where she merely appeared bizarre, now half of her body was missing.

“…Is this not a dream…? Ho-Yeon, what on earth is going on?”

I couldn’t even begin to guess what had happened, but I understood that things were far from normal. That girl was oozing with magical energy.

And Eliott was coming at her like he wanted to kill. If he was coming at her like this, she had to be a devil or its avatar, judging by the sheer amount of magic being emitted.

But Ho-Yeon’s heart seemed as calm as a lake. Amidst the chaos around us, she looked at me, smiling faintly, completely unshaken.

“Well, a lot has happened, but it’s not really important. More importantly, Dokan, um… I have a somewhat important question. Is that okay?”

How could she remain so calm in this situation? The more pressing issue was what she wanted to ask me. If she wanted to ask something amidst this chaos—it must be incredibly significant.

“…What is it?”

“Well. Do you think there’s any value in preserving things that show no progress?”

What does that even mean? Those words were so absurd that my mind couldn’t keep up. Things without progress? Preserve them?

What could she possibly mean? I racked my brain. What could be considered things without progress?

Before long, I understood what she meant. She was asking me whether we should preserve this entire continent in its current state.

“…That’s not something you can value. No matter how stagnant, nothing in the world deserves to just disappear. And one day, it might develop too.”

“And what if that development is too slow? What if the chances of progress are ludicrously low? And what if letting it exist hinders other progress? Do you still think it should be kept?”

However, it seemed like her thoughts were a bit different. When she spoke about this entire continent, she seemed to be talking of a place that innovated and progressed daily. It was understandable that, having seen only that, she would view this continent as stagnant and bothersome.

Jeongho’s philosophy probably played a part in that as well. Yet, I couldn’t sit by and watch this continent be wiped away without doing anything.

The best I could do was to persistently convince her.

“…If we look at it from the opposite angle, you could argue that clinging to what’s holding you back is a sign of excess. Maybe trying to erase it could go wrong. Is that really necessary…?”

To be honest, I wasn’t confident I could provide her with a compelling reason. Even if her words were half lies, it was undeniable that the East was vastly superior to this continent.

Still, there must be some reason to keep something around. If I thought hard enough, surely I could find at least one advantage.

But just as I was forcing my brain to work, her words made me freeze in place.

“Dokan, I want you to be honest with me. Is it because you don’t want to see people die? Please answer me.”

………

“…Um.”

I just didn’t want to see people die. Even if there was no progress, I hated the idea of the efforts of those who tried to survive day by day being trampled upon.

“Then you should just say that.”

Even if she had seen through everything, I still hadn’t given up on persuading her. I still hadn’t presented an argument she would accept.

“Yeah, that’s enough. I’ve come to my own conclusion too. So let’s go back.”

“…Where to?”

Where in the world was she suggesting we go amidst this chaos? My heightened hearing had already picked up distant screams. This meant trouble was brewing at the Academy as well.

“Where else? To where we should be. Can you walk?”

It wasn’t just ominous that I didn’t get to hear her conclusion, but I was still hung up on the comment about the new body. There was something off about my own body. And the immense fighting between Eliott and the girl in the background.

None of these things felt right, and I was anxious.

Even though I had just woken up and my body felt full of energy, walking wasn’t going to be a problem, but… why did my skin feel like this?

It wasn’t the tanned color but rather the original skin tone. My body being full of energy, and… is it possible that this new body means my old body has been completely remade anew?

Who did this, and why? How?

I wanted to ask what had happened to my old body and where I woke up in this new one, but Ho-Yeon was already moving ahead of me.

“…Wait! Where are you going? What on earth has your conclusion been?!”

The strange girl stood in front of Ho-Yeon, even more mangled than before. I thought it might be dangerous to leave her alone, so I rushed toward her, but she was faster in addressing the girl.

“…This is a punishment for daring to touch Dokan, placed by a God. Secret.”

“What…!”

As I reached her, a massive pillar of light swept past her, crushing the girl. The pillar shook a few times before finally coming to a stop.

Amidst it all, Ho-Yeon calmly crossed her arms and shot me a remark.

“…How about tying your coat around your waist? I’ve seen everything, but… others haven’t.”

——

The Black Wolf felt a bit of pride while watching a girl continue to charge at him. He privately acknowledged that if he took her to the East, she would surely be assigned as a warrior.

However, that was about all it was. Though his skills were remarkable among humans, they were still only on par with his subordinates, and he was barely engaging with her.

Anastasia, on the other hand, was coming at him with the intent to kill. Although she keenly felt the vast gap in their power, knowing he was the cause of all this chaos, she swung her sword with all her might.

In the distance, Eric was struggling against an old man, but she didn’t have the time to check on that.

“Now, let’s keep it down a bit, Lady Anastasia. We have no business with you, and if you happen to get hurt, the Princess would be saddened. It’s just a search; is it really necessary to be so overly cautious?”

“…Hah… Hah, if that’s the case, why are we hearing all these screams?”

“Well, that’s because you’re being uncooperative… Oh, the Princess?”

Speaking in joking tones as he tried to bide his time, the Black Wolf’s eyes suddenly caught Ho-Yeon. And the person next to her too.

Though different from what he knew, it was definitely Dokan. He looked slightly bulkier with white skin, but it was clear from Ho-Yeon being next to him.

Abandoning the fight with Anastasia, the Black Wolf rushed toward her.

“Did you find him? No, more importantly, where did you find him? Why has he turned white…?”

“He was inside the World Tree in a soul form. So they made him a new body.”

“…Yeah, that’s what happened…”

The ordinary-sounding words of Ho-Yeon and the bitter response from Dokan made the Black Wolf give up on guessing what had transpired.

“…Anyway, since we seem to have found him… I’ll cease the search. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks for your hard work.”

Hearing that, the Black Wolf dashed off like the wind, shouting loudly.

“It’s over! Stop what you’re doing and gather together!”

Anastasia was left behind, bewildered, trying to comprehend what was happening.

“…Ho-Yeon! And Dokan…? What on earth is going on?! The barriers surrounding the World Tree have crumbled, and there are loud noises coming from somewhere, and your guard is suddenly acting violently…! What’s happening?!”

And to her question, Ho-Yeon replied.

“It’s nothing.”