Chapter 12.
Can I Enter the Royal Palace?
Tired.
Even though it felt like she had slept a lot, her whole body felt heavy.
Still, I have to get up.
Shanellika sluggishly sat up. But something was crusted around her eyes, making it hard to open them. After picking away the foreign matter with her fingers, she could finally see.
Blinking several times, she looked around. It was an unfamiliar room with just a bed and a table.
Ah, an inn. Not the Cartel mansion.
Only then did she grasp the situation. This was the lodging the man she met at the temple yesterday had guided her to. She had passed out on the bed the moment she arrived last night, so she hadn’t seen it clearly. But now that the sun was up, the whole room was plainly visible.
Smaller than I expected.
Whether it was from seeing the world through a dragon’s eyes or being used to the size of the Cartel mansion, the room felt way too small. The ceiling, especially—if Shanellika stood up straight on the bed, her head would bump into it.
“……”
As her head cleared, all the events from the day before flashed through her mind. She had left the Cartel mansion, walked to the temple, lost her money, and ended up relying on a strange man.
Sigh.
A sigh escaped her lips. One way or another, she had survived the day. She had even slept well.
I was lucky.
If she hadn’t met that handsome temple manager, she might’ve slept on the street and who knows what could’ve happened. Even now, her forehead felt slightly warm—her human body didn’t seem very sturdy. Though to be fair, she had pushed herself too hard.
Money. I need to make money…
She had gone to sleep thinking “that’s tomorrow’s problem,” but now tomorrow had become today. Once she left this inn, she’d have nowhere else to stay.
How am I supposed to make money?
Before discovering books, when she was just a hatchling tumbling around her lair, Shanellika had learned a basic overview of the human world from her friend Chell. Chell had returned just a few years before Shanellika’s birth, after a short ten-year dalliance with human society.
“The biggest continent in this world is called the Hures continent. Humans divide it into East and West around a central region called ‘Legenda.’ Oh, and they call it the ‘Land of Legends.’ That’s what ‘Legenda’ means in Ancient Tongue.”
According to Chell, various kingdoms and empires had risen and fallen repeatedly on the Hures continent. Nations, class systems, wars, politics, and culture—these fundamental systems had persisted for over 50,000 years.
50,000 years.
A time long enough for even a dragon to be born and die five times, assuming they lived to full term. From a human perspective, it was an unimaginably long time.
Shanellika thought the world was developing quite slowly. She still had a hazy recollection of the knowledge she possessed as a god, and knew that many strange and diverse worlds existed.
So, she could understand why this world lagged behind. Unlike those other rapidly advancing worlds driven by science and engineering, this one operated under fundamentally different rules. All life here was born with “mana,” and lived within the framework of “magic.” So any future development would remain confined within the bounds of magic.
In a world where progress was so limited, a rigid class system was inevitable. In other worlds’ histories, progress began when such systems were dismantled—but there was no sign of that happening here.
“So, status. Status is everything here.”
Shanellika muttered to herself. In this world, high status automatically brought wealth. But currently, she had nothing.
“Should’ve asked for status, not money…”
She groaned, frustrated. She knew how important status was, but hadn’t thought of it when she left the Cartel mansion. If only she had…
Then, a line she had said to the temple manager yesterday popped into her head:
“With a face like yours, you could do a lot better for yourself.”
Springing up from bed, Shanellika went straight to the mirror hanging on the wall.
Use what you’ve got. That line applied to her too, didn’t it?
Staring at her reflection for a long moment, Shanellika gave a faint smile.
She had used it instinctively yesterday to score dinner and a place to sleep. Though really, it wasn’t just her looks—it was her acting.
But now was the time to truly make use of it.
Her eyes sparkled.
Ten days later.
“Haa…”
On a dark night, Shanellika stepped outside for some air after work, letting out a deep sigh as she gazed at the sky.
Making money isn’t easy.
Ten days ago, filled with resolve after her mirror pep talk, Shanellika had gone down to the innkeeper and confidently asked for a job—any job she could do.
What the innkeeper offered was menial labor.
Shanellika knew the value of her appearance. She also knew how much appearances mattered in human society. But in a small inn on the outskirts of town, a pretty face didn’t seem to count for much.
Worse, her human body wasn’t exactly robust. Unsurprisingly, her lingering fever turned into a full-blown illness, leaving her bedridden for another three days. The innkeeper, being kind and also a relative of the blond young man from the temple, allowed her to stay a few more days.
Once she recovered, Shanellika declined the chores and went into the capital in search of a new job, promising to repay the favor.
She had one clear condition for the job: no physical labor.
Just one day of walking had put her out of commission for three more. Realizing how fragile her body was, she knew instinctively she had to avoid exhausting work.
First and foremost, she needed money for room and board. But non-labor jobs were scarce. And unless you had a skill, they didn’t want you.
“A job using your looks? You’re pretty, but… You’re not thinking about going to the red-light district at your age, are you?”
“The red-light district?”
“Nah, don’t even try. You’re clearly a foreigner, and they probably wouldn’t take you anyway. You’d be better off catching the eye of someone important and becoming a concubine. Ha!”
A flamboyantly dressed boutique owner puffed on a cigarette as she spoke. Ridiculous. Shanellika just needed enough money to live until she became an adult dragon.
After wandering around all day, night fell. Desperate, she took a menial job at an inn called Vista Inn. The job offered room and board in exchange for waitressing and cleaning at the tavern downstairs.
As expected, the work was tough. It ended late at night, and she woke up sore every morning. Despite all this, there was no extra pay. She slept curled up in an attic and barely survived on stale bread.
It was far from the life she’d imagined. Still, she didn’t give up. During her breaks in the daytime, she kept looking for better jobs.
And then she saw it—a royal notice hiring translators.
It was the perfect job for her. As a dragon, she could convert any language into the dragon tongue. It didn’t require physical labor either, so it was a perfect way to use her natural gifts.
But that didn’t go smoothly either. She was denied entry into the royal palace for lacking proper foreign identification.
“Yes, we’re hiring translators. But foreigners without verified ID can’t enter the palace. You might be a spy, you know? If you come with someone authorized for palace entry, we can let you in.”
So said the oddly-accented royal guard.
“It’s so hard…”
Shanellika groaned, her head drooping. Still, she kept massaging her aching arms out of habit—though it didn’t seem to help much.
Should I just go back to the Cartel mansion…?
As she looked up at the dark sky, Derwin’s black eyes flashed through her mind. Though leaving the mansion had been her choice, her aching body stirred a grudge toward him. If only he hadn’t lost his memory, none of this mess would’ve happened.
If she hadn’t lost her money, maybe she’d be traveling the world by now. Sigh. What a fate.
Still, going back to Derwin just to enter the palace would be defeating the entire purpose. She had left to earn money and gain freedom—not to stay caged up in a mansion.
“Shanell, aren’t you coming in?”
“Coming!”
Break time was over. The tavern was unusually crowded tonight. Despite being just a small inn’s bar, its beer was popular enough to attract customers—but never had it been this packed.
“The reserved table’s full?”
Shanellika asked the innkeeper lady. She’d never seen it occupied before. A large table in the middle of the bar had always been kept empty because it was “reserved.”
Tonight, though, it was filled with burly men—all wearing black capes fastened at the shoulders.
“That’s the commander and knights of the Kaisel Order.”
“Kaisel Order? What’s that?”
“You really are a foreigner, huh? They’re the strongest royal knights in our kingdom. The one in the center is the commander.”
“Commander? Then… can he enter the royal palace?”
“Of course. He’s part of the royal court.”
At the innkeeper’s words, Shanellika’s eyes lit up. A new hope had appeared—a way into the palace.
“I’ll serve that table tonight!”
It was time to finally make use of the pretty face she had gained through polymorph magic, Shanellika declared.
