Chapter 37
“You’re entering as… a mage?”
The guard who checked Elysia’s invitation blinked, his eyes going wide as saucers. He kept glancing between her and the invitation, clearly in disbelief.
“I heard you were good at swordsmanship too… and now magic…?”
“Um, I’m allowed to enter, right?”
“W-what? Of course…”
The guard nodded, still dazed. Elysia’s identity was already verified, and since the invitation was authentic, there was no reason to stop her.
“…Mage Elysia has arrived!”
The announcement echoed softly in the banquet hall.
Compared to others’ grand introductions, it was nearly a whisper—so quiet that anyone not paying close attention would miss it.
That was exactly what Elysia had requested.
“Please don’t announce my entrance.”
“Pardon? We have to—it’s protocol…”
“If you absolutely must, please keep your voice low. As quiet as possible.”
After all, she was technically on the run from home and had just rejected the Crown Prince’s invitation. She had no desire to draw attention.
As soon as she entered the banquet hall, Elysia slipped away from the crowd.
‘Let’s get to the lounge before the Duke shows up to scold me!’
She would dodge trouble as long as she could, listen to the temple prophecy, then head home!
Elysia spotted an empty lounge and dashed inside, locking the door behind her.
“Phew, now I just have to wait it out here! What a perfect hiding spot!”
She flopped onto the sofa with a satisfied grin. While stuffing imperial desserts from the banquet into her inventory, she muttered,
“Yes! Poison-free snacks! I’ll munch on these whenever I’m bored!”
Now that she was here, this banquet actually wasn’t so bad.
Spinning a cookie on her finger, she smiled brightly.
‘Most importantly—no poison in the food, no poison in the cake, and no poison in the drinks… it’s heaven.’
And the ballroom music playing softly in the background was like the perfect BGM.
Today might turn out to be a surprisingly pleasant outing.
That’s when it happened.
It’s a special day!
Are you enjoying the banquet?
A strange notification popped up in front of her.
Despite the chipper tone, the gray, flickering screen felt ominous.
“…What the heck?”
Nothing good ever followed a message like this.
As if responding to her suspicion, the notification blinked a few times in different colors.
Today is a special day!
You can now receive your Daily Quest!
“I’m not buying it!”
Elysia quickly shook her head after reading the content.
‘There’s no need to accept this right now.’
She was already overwhelmed with the main quest; the last thing she wanted was more on her plate.
“I’m not accepting it. Rejected! Go away! Shoo!”
As if she were chasing off a pigeon, she waved her hand—
No rejections allowed!
Daily Quest assigned!
“What?! Are you kidding me—?”
Ding!
A cheerful chime sounded regardless of her scowl.
Quest:
<Today’s Daily Quest>
Startle 50 people in the royal palace!
Progress: (0/50)
Success: Admin break ends
Failure: Player may be removed
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Elysia’s eyes narrowed at the absurd quest.
Startle fifty people in the royal palace?
If they were going to throw something like this at her, they should’ve done it earlier! She would’ve made a dramatic entrance and startled everyone from the start!
And the penalty… sounded like a thinly veiled death threat.
She stared at the screen for a long moment, then set her jaw.
“Alright then. Guess I’ll wait here until the perfect opportunity comes up.”
Just going to wait?
That sounds a little boring…
“Oh, I doubt it’ll be boring.”
Picking up a piece of chocolate, she rested her chin in her hand.
“While we wait, how about a special Q&A for the viewers? Ask away!”
Thus began a casual livestream session from inside the lounge.
“Yes, next question. Am I a transmigrator? Yep. But even if I say it, you won’t believe me anyway, right? No one ever does.”
She answered playfully.
“What, you want to see the lounge? Huh? Scratch the gold trim on the wall? Bite it to see if it’s real gold? Are you crazy? If my teeth break, there’s no dentist here!”
She showed off the luxurious lounge, shared fun anecdotes…
While everyone else danced outside, Elysia enjoyed a chatty little stream. She’d never learned how to dance anyway, so there was nothing for her to do out there.
A chance to relax on a comfy sofa, snack in peace, and stream uninterrupted? Not something that came by often.
Of course, even then, her sharp hearing kept track of what was going on beyond the door.
Quest:
<Today’s Daily Quest>
Startle 50 people in the royal palace!
Progress: (0/50)
‘Well, I do have to go out to complete it eventually.’
Elysia perked up her ears at the murmuring voices outside.
“Did you hear? The rumor that Lady Sempérion has become a mage!”
“Pfft, that’s obviously nonsense.”
“But she did enter as a mage earlier…”
Meanwhile, the nobles at the banquet were deep in gossip. Whispers floated behind fans with suspicious grace.
Among them, Nova Newvid, the young lady attending her very first banquet, shrank back without saying a word.
‘Th-this is as scary as they say. One wrong move and I’m done for.’
They laughed and chatted, but the rumors they exchanged were laced with poison. No one seemed worried about the consequences, as if they knew the words would vanish into thin air.
Or maybe their desire to speak now outweighed the fear of backlash—or maybe they had their own motives.
Whatever the case, rumors thrived wherever people gathered—especially if someone had a weakness.
‘And the current target is… Lady Elysia Sempérion.’
By now, nearly everyone in the hall had added a comment about her.
“She just now awakened as a mage? Sounds more like she bought a magic item for show.”
“Probably another attempt to get His Highness’s attention. Tsk. When will she learn?”
‘Is that really okay to say…?’
Nova looked uneasy. That was the Sempérion family they were talking about!
And besides,
‘She already entered earlier!’
The announcement had been quiet, but Nova heard it clearly—Lady Elysia had arrived.
What if she was nearby?!
The gossip was getting crueler. Nova glanced nervously at the center of it all—
‘Lady Meirani Lunsens!’
Lady Lunsens was infamous for leading gossip circles. People didn’t exactly like her, but they flocked to her stories, always scandalous and intriguing.
True to her reputation, she went a step further.
“If the Lady does show up, let’s ask her ourselves. I want to see her reaction!”
“I bet she’ll make a great face.”
Her voice grew louder with confidence, just as—
Creak…
A foreboding noise echoed.
Tap, tap.
Footsteps echoed slowly behind them.
Everyone in the hall froze.
Nova didn’t even need to turn around. She knew what was happening. Cold sweat ran down her back.
Someone whispered like a gasp.
‘…Elysia Sempérion!’
Elysia had appeared.
The subject of their gossip was now right in front of them. What a situation.
They tried to play it cool, forcing calm expressions.
“Ahem, what a surprise to see you outside the lounge, Lady Sempérion.”
They whispered again, low enough to avoid being heard. Their expressions were smug—confident that nothing serious could happen.
Nova looked at Elysia anxiously. What would she do? Yell? Curse? Maybe even punch someone…?
But—
‘Huh…?’
Nova froze.
Elysia was smiling.
And not just smiling—beaming.
‘What does that mean?’
Was she actually unbothered? Or just faking it?
Lady Lunsens, seeing her expression, stepped up.
“Lady Sempérion! How wonderful to see you! We just heard the most interesting rumor about you.”
“Hm?”
Elysia raised a brow, amused. Lady Lunsens couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.
“Is it true you can use magic?”
She asked brightly, but her eyes were filled with doubt. Beneath it, though, was a genuine desire to know.
At her question, the other ladies eagerly chimed in.
“She’s supposedly good at swordsmanship too!”
“Were you hiding your magic all this time?”
“We saw you enter as a mage! How did you do it?”
Nova watched it all unfold.
The very people who’d whispered behind Elysia’s back were now pressing her for answers.
“Could you show us your magic?”
“You’re not going to back out now, are you?”
Their excitement grew. Clearly, they wanted to see her humiliated—caught unable to deliver.
“…Hmm.”
Then, Elysia’s lips twitched.
Before anyone could interpret it, she covered her mouth and spoke sweetly.
“Oh my, I didn’t realize everyone was so interested in me.”
“Well, naturally…”
“You’re really curious about my magic?”
“…!”
Nova felt the hairs on her arms rise.
She couldn’t explain why, but she had a bad feeling.
‘S-someone stop them!’
It just felt like something awful was about to happen!
Even Lady Lunsens hesitated.
“Well, if you’d rather not—”
“Oh no, if you’re all so curious, I have to show you!”
“…What?”
“I really didn’t want to, but since you’re all begging—how could I refuse? Illusionis!”
“…!”
BOOM!
The ground beneath Elysia and Lady Lunsens trembled like an earthquake.
“W-what is happening?!”
Above Lady Lunsens, the royal ceiling cracked open, revealing a dark night sky—and something massive, brighter than the sun, falling fast.
Meteor X Aether.
Or at least… an illusion of it.
But thanks to Elysia’s mana and skill, it looked terrifyingly real.
A monstrous ball of fire descended toward the palace, and people screamed.
“Help!”
“KYAAA!”
“Oh gods!”
Panic.
People collapsed, screamed, or fainted.
Nova shook in place, her face pale.
‘It’s real?! She’s really a mage…!’
No—if that meteor hit, they’d all die!
Just then—
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. You were standing alone, weren’t you?”
A whisper touched her ear.
In a flash, Elysia leaned in, spoke, and vanished.
And with her—
Whoosh—
The illusion disappeared.
‘…Fake?’
The cracks, the meteor—gone like a lie. Nova let out a breath of relief.
But others still looked frozen in fear.
“S-someone help—”
“Oops… my bad, lost control for a moment!”
“Ugh… thud.”
Lady Lunsens collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
Elysia gently caught her.
“You’re awfully fragile. You should take better care of your health.”
“…”
No response.
Nova could only gape.
‘This is my first banquet, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned…’
Never, ever mess with Elysia Sempérion.
