“Kami, you ought to watch your looks better. You’re the princess of the Saktu clan, remember?”

  “Hmm?”

  For all she could remember, they had been friends. The normal boy from The Monten Clan and the prodigy princess from The Saktu Clan.

  “Wait! Don’t move so much!”

  “Moooo…”

  The boy had been looking out for her as if they were siblings. Like right now. The boy is wiping her face from the stain of the chocolate cake on the girl’s cheek.

  “How do people adore you so much when you’re this messy?”

  “Big meanie…”

  “I said, don’t move.”

  Everyone would normally bow their heads and talk politely when they met her. Of course, this is because she is a member of the renowned Saktu Clan, but the boy is different. The first time they met, the boy casually gave her a gummy candy as if they were equal, and from then on, they quickly became friends.

  “There. You look beautiful now.”

  “Only say that when you meant it.”

  The princess of the Saktu Clan grows up privileged and protected, so the boy becomes the window to the real world for her. The girl remembers when she always invited the boy to her house, and they would play all day long. Memories that the girl cherishes even now.

  “Come on, we should go home now. I don’t want to be yelled at by your father.”

  “He doesn’t hate you.”

  This was their usual after-school routine. The boy would leave the school early and wait for her in the cafe in an alleyway, and she would arrive a little bit later. They would spend some time chatting about their day while having snacks, before going home together.

  Well, that was the usual.

  “Hah!! Hah!! Hah!!”

  Today’s end-of-class was unusually busy for the girl. The girl had gone stronger at such an alarming rate that she can now apply to become a medium-class adventurer. This causes her classmates and teacher to throw a major celebration, which is why she is quite late to the one occasion that she looks forward to in a day.

  “Hah! Hah!! Hah!!”

  The girl’s speed has increased from all the training she did, and yet,

  “Oh no…”

  She was late.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The boy is not there anymore. There’s a sign that he was there with the chair being pulled out and the waiter cleaning the table, which they normally do right after a patron leaves.

  “Ah… Damn it…”

  The girl curses at herself. It’s not like they always have their little after-school routine, as there are days when they can not, but even so, the girl had looked forward to talking with the boy about her improvement. She had looked forward to eating some snacks with the boy because she knew the boy would spoil her if he knew that she would be taking the leveling-up test.

  Tomorrow. I have to make up with him tomorrow.

  The girl walks away defeatedly from the cafe, looking down and mumbling curses to her classmates and teachers.

  *The Next Day*

  “Father would like to have words with me?”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  The girl was in the middle of packing her stuff and preparing for school when a knock on her door stopped her. It was from one of the servants who informed her that her father had called for her.

  Is this about leveling up?

  She had told her father about that yesterday, so she thought that it was done, but she was caught by surprise when her father called for her. Kaminess isn’t the first child in the family, and her older siblings have gone through the leveling-up test before, so she assumes she would just follow their path, but it seems that her father has something else in mind.

  “I’m here, father.”

  “Sit, my daughter.”

  Her father, Katue Saktu, was the head of the Saktu Clan. It’s not a surprise that his desk is filled with books, documents, papers, letters, and such, even when it is still at the crack of dawn.

  “What is it, Father? Is it about the leveling-up test?”

  “No.”

  The girl's confusion was clear on her face. Her father, who is busy with work, doesn’t usually dwell on meaningless squabbles outside of family time. Currently, her father is at work time which means that what they will be talking about is quite important, as he is willing to put aside his massive amount of work.

  “Leave Igo Monten alone, Kaminess. This is an order.”

  “...”

  Her father had just given her an order so outrageous that she, the girl who usually obeys her father without any fuss, could only remain silent. The father is quick on the uptake as he feels the weird atmosphere around his daughter.

  “Do you understand the difference in power between medium-level adventurers and low-level adventurers? I can not allow you to risk another clan’s member for something as simple as friendship.”

  “No.”

  “I beg your pardon? Do you understand what you’re saying here, Kaminess? Igo is a low-level adventurer. He will die if you bring him to a middle-level mission.”

  “I’ll protect him.”

  “Don’t be arrogant. Do you seriously believe you can save him and complete a mission at the same time? The mission is no place for playful banter. You can not protect Igo Monten. You will lose him.”

  “I will not. I will not lose him, nor will I leave him alone.”

  “That’s the same thing your older siblings have said before, and look what happened to them. You know better what happened to Liyang. How she reacts when her best friend dies in her arms during her middle-class mission.”

  “I will grow even stronger and protect him.”

  “Don’t be stupid!! I can not allow Saktu Clan members to endanger other clan members, and that is that!! No more discussion!!”

  “I DON’T CARE!!!”

  The office was rocked by the girl’s anger. Her magic goes berserk as the girl screams and stands up to her father.

  “HE’S MINE!!! I’LL PROTECT HIM!! I WILL NOT LET HIM GO!!”

  “...Fine. But if I were proven correct, I won’t give you time to mourn and have you perform more missions.”