Chapter 36
“Stop the young lady!”
“Call the guards, now!”
The hallway outside Elysia’s room was in utter chaos. It seemed the entire family was mobilizing their knights to stop her. Listening to the ruckus, Elysia muttered dryly.
“Aren’t they overreacting a bit just to stop little ol’ me?”
“……”
The maids lowered their eyes with troubled expressions. One of them responded hesitantly.
“You snuck out without the duke’s permission… No one knows what you might do…”
“I only do what I need to.”
Elysia replied seriously. In truth, she had no intention of causing trouble.
“I just wanted a peaceful mercenary life, quietly hunting monsters, you know?”
For once, she was being calm and honest. It was her first real career confession—but unfortunately, it backfired.
“W-what?! A mercenary?!”
“M-Monsters? Peaceful?!”
The maids were horrified by the shocking career choice. Elysia frowned.
“…What’s the problem?”
“Everything’s the problem!!”
“How could a young lady of House Sempherion even think of being a mercenary?! Are you really planning to cut ties with your family?!”
The argument between Elysia and the maids was heating up when—
“M-Milady! This isn’t the time for this!”
Dora, the maid who had secretly given Elysia silver coins earlier, spoke up urgently.
“Soon the whole household will be here. If that happens, you won’t be able to get away.”
Just as she said, footsteps pounded up the stairs.
Thud thud thud!
Pale-faced, Dora opened the window.
“The front gate’s a no-go. Try escaping through here…!”
The other maids panicked at her suggestion.
“Dora, are you crazy?! You can’t send her out a window!”
“What if she gets hurt?!”
At their scolding, Dora flinched.
“I-I’m sorry! I guess I just remembered last time when she snuck out through a window too… I didn’t think…”
“……”
‘Are they trying to help or stop me?’
The maids were so flustered they didn’t know what to do. Finding them oddly cute, Elysia chuckled softly and reassured them.
“It’s okay, don’t worry. I was planning to go out the window anyway. Dora’s sharp.”
“N-No, milady! I-I was wrong! The window really is dangerous!”
When Elysia grabbed the window frame, Dora began hopping in panic.
“I’ll help you break through the front instead! And if you head to the main road, you can catch a carriage! Clothes… Ah, I should’ve packed a ball gown! But I don’t even know how to get you into the ball…!”
As Dora rushed toward the wardrobe, Elysia stopped her.
“No, it’s fine.”
Elysia calmly reassured the maids.
“The window’s fine, I don’t need a dress, and I’ll manage without a carriage. I even have a way to get into the ball.”
Then she returned the silver coin to Dora. All the maids, including Dora, stared in disbelief.
“Huh?”
“How are you going to manage all that?”
“…Haven’t you read fairy tales?”
Elysia asked.
“In fairy tales, there’s always someone who makes all that happen.”
The kind of person who shows up when Cinderella cries and instantly gives her a carriage, dress, and a way into the ball!
Climbing onto the windowsill, Elysia reached out in a precarious position. A wave of dazzling light spread from her fingertips and swirled around the room.
So vivid that each maid could see it clearly—then, the caster declared brightly:
“A wizard, of course!”
“……!”
Elysia’s red hair fluttered in the wind at the window, and her golden eyes sparkled mischievously.
And the next moment—
Whoosh.
She vanished out the window.
The maids, who had been holding their breath, finally let out gasps of awe.
“…Wow.”
Tap tap tap!
The moment she landed, Elysia sprinted without pause. She’d spoken boldly to the maids, but now she had to deal with the estate guards.
“Young lady, you can’t go this way!”
Had they split into teams? The knights seemed to have been waiting for her.
“Got her! …Huh?”
“You’re wrong. That’s my illusion.”
“W-What?! How?!”
Using illusion magic, Elysia created false copies to confuse the knights and slipped past them. Her absurdly high agility stat and illusion magic made it too easy to break their formation.
“This isn’t bad. If I mix this with swordplay, it might look like a martial art…”
Isn’t this just like a clone technique?
Passing the confused guards, Elysia gracefully leapt over the front gate.
“Okay, I got out of the house. Now I just need to find the Imperial Palace.”
After reaching a quiet forest, she dusted off her clothes. Thankfully, she’d changed in the morning—she wasn’t in pajamas, but it wasn’t a ball gown either.
“But I’ve got that covered. I came prepared.”
With a proud smile, she declared:
“No money needed—just this OP skill! Inventory!”
Shwoosh!
A beautiful dress and matching accessories appeared in her hands.
Of course, she’d secretly packed them at home.
“Time to change!”
She wrapped some cloth around a nearby tree to make a makeshift changing room and hummed as she changed.
“See you soon, everyone!”
The livestream had a built-in function to automatically disable video and audio during outfit changes.
Broadcast temporarily paused to protect player privacy!
Just in case, she manually shut off the camera too.
Elysia quickly changed into the dress. Unlike modern clothes, it took some effort—but after several runaway attempts, she’d gotten the hang of it.
“All done! Did you miss me?”
With the camera back on, she greeted her viewers.
Today’s outfit: a red gown!
Her accessories were gold earrings and a necklace adorned with red rubies.
The flowing skirt was elegant. The overall silhouette was lively and fresh like a blooming flower, with golden embellishments adding gravity. The sparkling jewels looked like flames.
“Whoa, the gown really brings out her beauty.”
“Are those real gold accessories?”
“She’s so pretty T_T”
“Huhu, I guess I really am a rich girl, huh?”
Back on day one, she’d yelled about selling her jewels and going home—but luckily she hadn’t, so now she still had earrings and necklaces to wear.
And the dress? It looked like an expensive item no one could easily afford.
“As expected of a duke’s daughter—such a high-end dress.”
Though she wasn’t sure about her fashion sense, she had taken viewer input the night before to choose this gown.
“I picked the one with the most votes. Even I love it.”
She nodded in satisfaction.
This dress had been hidden away. If viewers hadn’t pointed it out, she wouldn’t have found it.
‘…Was it hidden because it was special?’
It had been wrapped in golden fabric like a gift. Its durability stat was maxed out, and the gems sparkled like new.
“This outfit is legendary—who knew Elysia was this pretty?”
“She always was… she was just overshadowed by Prillian.”
“It suits her perfectly!”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to your advice—I couldn’t have picked the right one without you.”
This is why streaming was great.
“I only ever picked out armor or weapons. I wasn’t confident about formalwear.”
“So you’re confident in armor and weapons? lol”
“Lolol she was checking defense stats on the gown too haha”
“Ahem. You always check durability and defense stats first. Sure, I’ve got high HP and resistance, but low durability means clothes can tear or disappear mid-battle…”
She was about to launch into a full game mechanic explanation before snapping back to reality.
“Oh, right! No time for this! I’ll be late!”
She’d gotten too into the stream and nearly forgot her mission. Today was important—the prophecy about the Saintess could come at any time. Missing it would waste her whole effort.
With a grin, she said,
“Then, let’s go! Hope no one gets motion sickness!”
Long story short, she didn’t reach 400 km/h, but—
Elysia ran like the wind toward the Imperial Palace.
She grabbed her skirt to keep it from tangling and sprinted.
Of course, wearing heels would’ve destroyed them before she even arrived, so she stored them in her inventory.
Same with the jewelry. She packed it all away again to avoid damage.
“Ugh, I can’t run properly without ruining this dress. So annoying.”
She had to pace herself to avoid getting dirty or tearing the gown.
‘Well, I’ve handled worse.’
Good thing she hadn’t styled her hair in advance.
Near the palace, she slowed down, pulled out her jewelry and shoes, checked her hair in a mirror, and composed herself before heading to the entrance.
Then, a message popped up.
[Notification]
Special Location!
You have entered the Aystas Imperial Palace.
Solo Entry Requirement: Fame 800+ (Otherwise, you must provide a valid reason.)
Warning: You may be expelled if requirements are not met.
‘Right. I need 800 fame for solo entry.’
And Elysia’s current fame?
Fame: -999
“……Ha.”
“LOL criminal status confirmed”
“If she walks in, they’ll arrest her on sight”
Her fame was hopeless.
“Exactly. If I try to enter like this, I’ll get kicked out or caught.”
“NOW you realize that?!”
“Can she even raise fame at this point?”
“Unless she saves the empire, probably not.”
Chat exploded in panic.
Last time, she’d entered with Jerome on an official visit, so her low fame didn’t matter. If she’d come with the Duke or stayed as the Crown Prince’s partner, she’d have been fine.
“But I’m on my own now. Still—I’ve got a plan.”
She rummaged through her inventory.
[Inventory]
Ball Invitation
An official invitation to the palace ball bearing the imperial seal.
Show it to a guard.
(*Acts as valid entry even with low fame.)
The invitation passed down from Finn!
“This solves everything!”
Grinning, Elysia waved the elegant white invitation.
“Yep! This is what the entry requirement meant by ‘valid reason’!”
It was the same in Seiros Saga.
If you locked certain maps behind fame only, assassin or enemy characters couldn’t enter—which would ruin the game.
‘That’s why they allow access via special conditions—like being officially invited or having grounds for negotiation.’
She’d checked right away after getting the invitation—and as you can see, it worked.
“Time to go in!”
Holding the invitation proudly, Elysia strode toward the palace entrance.
“Halt! Identification, please—!”
A guard stepped forward, blinking in surprise.
“Huh? You didn’t arrive by carriage?”
“Nope.”
Elysia shrugged.
“Why does everyone always get shocked about that?”
“It’s just that…”
The guard blinked.
“Why would the great Lady Sempherion…?”
‘Oh, he knows me?’
Elysia arched a brow. Come to think of it, she’d met this guard before when visiting with Jerome.
“But House Sempherion’s group already passed through. You’ll need extra clearance to enter now…”
“It’s fine.”
Elysia held up the ornate white invitation.
“Today, I’m not here as the daughter of House Sempherion—”
“But as a mage of the Magic Tower.”
