Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 159
Chapter 159: Laura’s Request
Sora’s constantly active ?Insight? skill easily discerned the identity of the small girl who introduced herself as Laura at this point.
?Name? Laura Enoshigaios
?Race? Siren
?Level? 60
?Profession? Summoner
While the details about her character were classified as secret data and couldn’t be viewed, the name “Enoshigaios” that followed her name indicated she was from this country.
Additionally, the color of her hair and eyes served as indicators. This coastal nation, known for being a significant trade port, has a diverse array of races, including dog-eared and cat-eared tribes.
I had heard from the old water spirit at the port that among them, the royal family of the sea was characterized by beautiful light blue hair and sapphire-like eyes.
From these two points, I speculated that she was royalty from the sea country and my intuition suggested she might even be a princess.
“Sora, what will you do?”
“I’ll leave it to your judgment, Sora.”
Kuro and Inori looked at me, entrusting their decision regarding the NPC girl’s request.
At the same time, a square window screen appeared automatically in front of Sora, displaying a request from ?Mysterious Girl?.
This was an unusual situation.
It was undoubtedly related to a unique quest.
In that case, it would be essential for a gamer to avoid refusing and breaking the flag.
There was no need to deliberate between ?Yes? and ?No?.
There’s a saying: “No gain without risk.”
We were adventurers challenging the world, and we welcomed danger and difficulties.
Sora touched ?Yes? enthusiastically and smiled at the girl.
“Sure, nice to meet you, Laura.”
“Yes, thank you very much…”
Although her response was quite subdued, Laura had a faintly pleased expression on her face.
As Laura’s name was added to the party list in the upper left corner of my vision, the two girls greeted her.
“I’m Kuro. Nice to meet you, Laura-chan!”
“I am Inori. You look younger than us. As the elder here, I must take good care of you!”
“Thank you very much, Kuro-sama, Inori-sama…”
After finishing their greetings, the cheerful two girls quickly welcomed and accepted the young Laura.
Watching their heartwarming interaction, Sora suddenly thought about the information regarding her race that she had obtained from her earlier ?Insight? skill.
When it comes to sirens, the classic fantasy depiction features a woman’s upper body, wings, and a bird’s lower body.
However, there was not a single element of that in Laura’s appearance. She looked like an ordinary, cute human girl from any angle.
When the girl noticed my gaze, she suddenly had a startled expression and exclaimed, “It’s a lifelong embarrassment to be hiding my face from my companions…” After checking to see if anyone else was around, she removed her hood to reveal her head.
“Oh, this is…”
“Wow, so cute!”
“Hm, so you are a siren. That means you are of royal blood!”
Her shoulder-length blue hair framed her face.
Two small pairs of blue wings sprouted from each side.
In the central square where this country’s “Teleportation Gate” was located, there were statues of sirens, so Inori quickly arrived at the correct conclusion.
Upon hearing the word “royalty,” Laura blushed and immediately hid her head with her hood again.
“I-I’m sorry, but I would appreciate it if you could refrain from mentioning that I am of royal blood…”
Seeing her unusually vigilant demeanor, Sora quickly pieced things together.
“Ah, are you perhaps the type who sneaked out of the castle?”
“How did you know that…!? Sora-sama, do you possess the legendary *Mind Reading*…!?”
Given the way she said that, it seems reasonable to think this way, but it appears that this young lady has some quirks that rival those of the Wind Spirit Princess, Aria, with whom I previously adventured.
Moreover, if you think about it, in most fantasy stories, the plot of a princess sneaking out is a classic trope that has been overused since ancient times.
While it may lack novelty, it is a simple yet powerful element that boosts the heroine power of the story’s characters.
For now, I could understand that she was the cause of the commotion among the castle’s people.
Of course, if a princess of royal blood went missing, everyone would be in a frenzy.
So, if I had to guess, I’d say the next thing that’s going to happen is…
“…Please, Sora-sama. With your power that saved the two great nations, I want you to take me to the ‘temple beneath the sea’.”
“I understand. Then leave it to me… wait, a temple beneath the sea?”
As I tried to accept her request confidently, a question mark floated above my head at the unexpected term I had just heard.
A temple beneath the sea?
I had no idea what that was.
All the quests and dungeons in this country had been mapped out by adventurers.
Among the top-secret information I acquired from Rinne, I didn’t recall seeing a dungeon with that name.
Glancing at Kuro and Inori, they also shook their heads in confusion, clearly indicating they didn’t know either.
As Sora and the others tilted their heads in puzzlement, Laura let out a wry smile.
“It’s understandable that you don’t know about the temple beneath the sea. To reach it, you must leave this country by ship and dive into a dungeon located in a far-off island village.”
“Ah, so it’s a place we can only get to by ship. That makes sense that we wouldn’t know about it.”
Sora nodded at Laura’s explanation.
After all, currently, adventurers have no way to board the ships that NPCs use.
Not long after arriving at the “Sea Country”, there was a time when those who had taken the ninja profession tried to hide and sneak aboard the ships, as a last resort since they couldn’t get a ride.
However, all of them were suddenly discovered by a super muscle sailor who had just awakened, and before they could resist, they were thrown out of the ship.
In other words, the adventurers currently have no way to board the ships at the port and set sail, no matter how hard they try.
So, does her presence solve that problem?
When I brought this up, Laura answered with a smile.
“…In that case, it should be fine. You all have defeated the King Crab, one of the strongest species of the sea, and demonstrated your strength to the sailors. I don’t think they will refuse you boarding now.”
“I see, so that’s how it works.”
Understanding this, Sora realized that they needed to proactively accept any emergency quests that arose in the future.
“So when do we leave? We can go anytime.”
“…When I asked the port manager, he said it would take a full day to prepare. So, it would help if you could let me stay at your inn tonight.”
“Are you not going back even once? The people at the castle seemed worried.”
“…Don’t worry, I left a letter saying that I’m going on an adventure, so they don’t need to be concerned.”
I wondered if her family and retainers would still be worried.
While thinking this in my heart, Sora faced the unique quest titled ?The Princess of the Sea and the Blue Treasure Sleeping Beneath the Waves? that had appeared before her and had to decide whether to accept it or not.
Backing down here would be disgraceful for a gamer.
She eagerly tapped the ?Yes? button to accept the quest and smiled as she extended her hand for a handshake with Laura.
“Alright, from today onwards, I’ll be counting on you, Laura.”
“…Thank you very much.”
Blushing shyly, she hesitated for a moment before shaking hands.
And so, to pause their game for now, Sora and the others decided to take her back to the inn.
Since having four people in one room was out of the question, they planned to add another room, but…
Little did they know that all the available rooms were fully booked, forcing the four of them to sleep together on a cramped double bed.