CH 13

Six years after the baptism day, Inglis had reached the age of 12. In the pretext of serving Rafinha who had received a Bow of Light High Grade Rune and preparing for her enrollment into the Knight School, Inglis’ days of training continued.

Since her father Ryuk had begun to allow her to attend the chivalry’s training and exterminate Magic Stone Beasts alongside Rafinha, those had been productive days to hone her skills. However, she still hadn’t met the infamous strongest Magic Stone Beast that was said to be capable of demolishing an entire nation. It was said that only the ultimate Artifacts wielded by Special Grade Rune owners could defeat it but she wanted to see if that was really the case by trying her hand on it.

It seemed like its sighting within the country hadn’t been reported in recent years, the latest dated back to at least 2 or 3 decades ago. Apparently, there were some reports of recent sightings in the neighboring country — what she wouldn’t give to be able to travel there to fight one. When Inglis made the suggestion to Rafinha, the younger girl had been scared and refused to consider it.

Inglis wanted to get stronger, way stronger than anyone and anything else, ever. Living the life of a warrior is the way of Inglis Eux!

She thought as she stood watching her unwavering reflection in the mirror. The mirror reflected back an image of a beautiful girl with long, silvery hair, glowing like the full moon in the dark of the night, and a pair of crimson eyes that glittered as bright as gemstones. The smile that adorned her face could cause flowers to go into full blooms.

She had developed well for someone her age — she was taller and looked more mature than girls her own age. From her looks alone, she could have been passed off as a 14 or 15 years old.

She was currently dressed in a brilliant red gown, she twirled around and watched as the hem of the gown fluttered and swayed gently.

Mhm~ I’ve grown into quite a looker, all right. 1

Looking at herself, Inglis was certain that she would eventually turn into a peerless beauty.

「Glis~? Are you done changing?」 「Yes, I’m done, Rani.」 「I’m entering then~! Ooh~! You look so mature! Inglis is really pretty after all! Haah… you’re stealing my heart 」

Rafinha who entered the fitting room said so as soon as her eyes fell on Inglis. As for Rafinha herself, she grew up into a lively girl, with her glossy black hair kept at shoulder length. Furthermore, her personality was also innocent, bright, and clever.

「Heavens. You really are beautiful. I’m sure that even the gown appreciates being worn by a lady as pretty as you, miss Inglis.」

The middle-aged woman who was watching the scene along with Rafinha could only let out a sigh of content. After all, she was the official dressmaker who lived near the castle and responsible for designing and creating most of the wardrobe for the Marquis’ household.

「Thank you very much. This is another good dress you’ve introduced me.」

The pair of young girls loved to pass their time by visiting the store occasionally and put on various dresses. Or well… mainly, it was Inglis who modelled the dresses and Rafinha just liked to play dress-up on Inglis with the various clothes the store provided.

As for Inglis herself, she didn’t really hate being dressed up like a doll. This was, after all, the kind of guilty pleasure a female could enjoy. So, there was technically nothing wrong with her indulging in the activity as a female. Moreover, it provided a good respite from all her days of training.

Although she had initially been embarrassed with the activity, she had grown accustomed and developed a liking for it after the numerous times of being dressed up by Rafinha. She had enjoyed it so much that she had commenced looking forward to how each ensemble would emphasize her certain features. Plus, even though it sounded impertinent coming from herself, Inglis was indeed very beautiful and literally anything would look good on her.

「Hey, hey, Glis, why don’t you tie your hair with this ribbon? It may change the whole impression, you know? You’ll look cute.」 「Of course. Then, do you want to tie it for me?」 「Okay, you two. Let me give you a hand 」 「Thank you, Miss Seamstress.」 「No problem. After all, I’m a woman too. I can’t help but want to see pretty things.」

And thus, with her silver hair tied up, her entire outlook did a three-sixty, making her look even more mature. Not bad. Very stunning, indeed. Inglis stood in front of the mirror with a pleased grin. 2

「Waah~! This is good too! It’s so good~!」 「Isn’t it  Ah, what about this gown next? I placed it here just now since I think it’ll suit young miss Inglis! 」 「Then, let’s wear that one too, Glis!」 「Hahaha. I understand. Let’s.」

They then spent their day having fun dressing up Inglis until evening came. As Inglis and Rafinha made their way back to the mansion, a massive shadow passed them by in the sky. It was… a floating island. It was so enormous that it was easily double the size of the fortified city of Ymir. Even more miraculously, there were signs of people living on that floating island.