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After changing into something more modern, my mom and everyone else suddenly stared at me with wide-eyed, shocked expressions. Their reactions caught me completely off guard.
"Does it look weird? Hehe, I'm not used to this kind of clothing… I always wear fancy dresses instead," I muttered shyly, tugging lightly at the hem of my outfit.
The silence broke almost instantly with an explosive wave of affection.
"UOOOOHH! SO CUTE!" my mother cried out, her voice filled with pure joy. "My baby girl is the cutest girl to ever exist!"
"KYAAAAAH! I'm going to pass out!" my grandma exclaimed dramatically, placing a hand over her forehead as if she might faint on the spot. "I'm going to die! I will die from cuteness overload!"
"Uogh, my heart…" Gigantia muttered, her cheeks turning bright red. "Young lady… you're truly the cutest patootie!"
"She's so stylish even though she's only seven, heheh!" Catrise laughed warmly. "And those clothes look somewhat more mature, so the contrast creates an incredible gap of cuteness!"
"So… I look good?" I asked, feeling both flattered and a little weirded out by their over-the-top enthusiasm.
"YES!!!" they screamed in unison, practically fangirling over me.
"E-Ehehe, thanks…" I muttered, my face growing hotter by the second. "Ahem! Anyway, we should get going!"
"Right, let's go," Gigantia agreed. "No, wait—I need to change first! Let's meet outside, young lady. Is Vlad still not back?"
"No, he said he'll also change into casual clothes just in case he has to step out of my shadows," I replied, nodding. "Alright—um, stop staring! You're making me feel embarrassed…"
"Hehehe, come here!" my mother said affectionately. She lifted me up effortlessly and covered my face with kisses.
"M-Mom! Eek!"
"So cuteeeee! Let me have a few kisses too!" My grandma joined in, planting big, warm kisses on my cheeks with her giant lips.
"Awawawahhh…"
"Young lady, the cutest!" Catrise added with a bright smile. She kissed my forehead gently while carefully grooming my long hair.
"Uwaaahhh…"
I couldn't handle it anymore. Being showered with love and affection from all these beautiful ladies left me dizzy. I felt like I was about to pass out as blood trickled from my nose without me even realizing it. They smelled so nice too—it only made everything more overwhelming.
"L-Let me go! I'm not a baby!"
I quickly leaped out of their grasp and ran away. Behind me, they screamed in heartbreak.
"W-Wait!" my mom called out.
"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry!" my grandma said.
"Ouch, I think we messed up," Catrise sighed.
"Big time…" my mom muttered regretfully.
After escaping the enthusiastic clutches of those crazed ladies, I made my way to Gigantia's room. Just as I arrived, she stepped out, and her new appearance left me utterly speechless.
"Ah, you're right there," she said with a smile. "How about it? Hm?"
She wore blue jeans paired with a sleeveless white sweater, black heels, and had tied her long hair into a neat, stylish ponytail. The look suited her perfectly, making her appear both elegant and strong at the same time. She carried a small black leather bag and her favorite hammer, with light armor plates protecting her shoulders, arms, and legs.
"You look awesome!" I said happily. "Very pretty!"
"E-Eeeh? Really?" She seemed genuinely shocked. "Hehehe, well, I am flattered! But the cutest one is definitely you though!"
As we prepared to leave, Vlad emerged silently from the shadows. He usually wore a mask to cover half his face, but this time he had removed it. He was dressed in black jeans, white shoes, a black tank top, and a red leather jacket. His black hair, pale white skin, striking red eyes, and the visible scars across his face gave him a cool, thug-like vibe. Yet beneath that rough exterior, he looked really handsome.
"Excuse me for taking so long. I'm not used to wearing anything other than my butler suit," he muttered. "I decided to wear what I once wore in my younger days, when I was just a thug… before your father found me and set my life straight."
"Y-You were a street thug?!" I gasped in surprise.
"It's… a past I would rather not talk about for now," he sighed.
"That's fine!" I reassured him. "Wow, we totally look like a different group now. You two don't even look like my servants anymore!" I giggled.
"That is the point," Gigantia chuckled. "Well, let's go now. We can't waste any more time. Vlad, get into her shadows for now."
"Yeah," Vlad nodded and vanished into the shadows. "I will keep you safe, young lady."
I would rather not have him constantly protecting me… but that was my father's condition, after all.
After our conversation, we headed toward the door, only to be stopped by my mother.
"Wait, dear!" she called. "It's better if you don't go through the door. That would awaken suspicion from onlookers. Here, I will teleport you to a safe distance where you can start your adventure. How about the plaza?"
"Oh? Sure," I nodded eagerly.
"Then there you go. Take care!" She waved her hand, and a wave of gentle blue light enveloped Gigantia and me as we were teleported away.
FLASH!
In an instant, everything around us shifted. We went from the familiar interior of the grand castle where I had spent years enclosed to the vibrant outside world. We appeared in a gigantic plaza right below the castle, where hundreds of people strolled about in every direction.
Children played happily on the grass, adults relaxed on benches or enjoyed picnics with their families, and countless stalls sold all kinds of goods—food, materials, ingredients, clothes, monster cores, weapons, armor, furniture, and so much more.
At the center stood a large, beautiful fountain featuring a majestic statue of my father holding a spear high toward the sun. A stone slab beside it proudly read: "Savior of the World and Hero King of Frostbane, Louis Drakeheart Yggdrasil."
Wow.
"We're at Louis Park!" Gigantia announced.
"L-Louis Park?! Wait, it's named after my dad…" I muttered, feeling a strange mix of pride and surprise.
"Haha, yes. There's also a Mirai Park and an Elizabeth Park. They're even building an Alistair Park," my maid explained. "People here truly love your family, after all."
"I had no idea it was this much," I said softly. "Well, it's not completely weird, I suppose."
Back on Earth, streets and parks were often named after famous people too, so this was not strange at all. I had probably been overthinking it.
"Wooow!" I gasped, taking in the lively scene of people walking by. "Hi! Hello!" I waved enthusiastically. "Good day!"
"Huh?"
"What's with the kid?"
"Hey!"
"Hello dear, good day!"
The responses were mixed. Now that people didn't recognize me as the princess, they didn't treat me with special favoritism, but that was perfectly fine with me. Some looked confused, others wondered who I was, a few children waved back, and some kind old ladies greeted me warmly.
"Young lady, please be careful how you speak with strangers," Gigantia sighed gently.
"But Gigantia, they aren't strangers. They are my citizens," I replied. "They are all people we protect… none of them is a stranger to me."
"Even then…" she sighed again. "Weren't we planning to stay lowkey? The city is huge. We're just in the central area of the capital for now, but as we move farther out, you'll see how many people there really are. So many places to visit—gigantic skyscrapers, shopping centers, and more."
"R-Right!" I nodded. "Gotta stay lowkey… Okay, before anything else, let's go to the Adventurer Guild! Where is it?"
"There are three buildings for the Adventurer Guild in the capital," Gigantia explained. She tapped her smartwatch and projected a detailed holographic map of the entire city, showing every street, building, and important location.
"Oh! I need one of those too!" I quickly tapped my own watch, and a projector appeared, displaying the city layout. "So we're at Louis Park, Central District A, right? Nice."
"Indeed," Gigantia confirmed. "The closest Adventurer Guild Headquarters is about a kilometer and a half from here."
"Hm, do we walk or fly?" I wondered.
"Some people fly, but walking would be more educational for you," she suggested. "Let's go."
I walked right beside her as we moved forward, my eyes wide with wonder as I took in the people, buildings, and sights all around us. We passed through a beautiful fantasy medieval-style town surrounding the park before stepping into a much larger, modern city area.
Towering skyscrapers pierced the sky. Flying vehicles of all shapes and sizes soared overhead and near the ground, while advanced highways connected everything. Large bridge-like highways stretched across the air, linking buildings together. The vehicles resembled modern cars but were enhanced with fantasy elements, leaving trails of colorful rainbow gas as they sped along.
That rainbow gas was Fantasium, produced by their engines which ran on Fantasium Crystals. These crystals formed naturally in this world, especially richly inside dungeons or near large energy fields.
For the sake of producing the resources we needed for daily life, venturing out to hunt monsters, whose cores also contained Fantasium, and mining resources in dangerous dungeons and monster-infested mountains remained essential.
Unlike ordinary ores and metals, Fantasium Crystals grew over time like living plants, so they would not be completely exhausted. Still, they were not infinite. It always required time, patience, and advanced techniques to cultivate and harvest them properly.
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