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 170

Chapter 170: The Shy Princess of the Sea

That afternoon, when the ship arrived at the relay point, Rode Island, Sora and the others disembarked, deciding to stay for the day to resupply.

Inori remained on the ship with a female blacksmith from the cat-eared tribe to mass-produce new arrows, and since Sora wanted to give Kuro and her mother some time alone after their reunion of six months, she found herself on her own.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had time to myself,” Sora thought as she disembarked, pondering what to do next.

She considered starting at the skill shop, glancing at the map on her display, when the support system, ?Lucifel?, alerted her that someone was watching her through her ?Perception? skill.

Keeping her face focused on the map window, Sora shifted her gaze in the direction Lucifel indicated.

There, half-hidden behind a tree, stood a blue-haired Siren girl with her hood pulled low over her eyes.

The princess of the Sea Kingdom, Laura.

Sora wondered why she was hiding her face but found it a bit endearing, thinking she might be alone, too.

Her hesitant demeanor seemed to convey something like, ?I’d like to invite her to explore the town, but what if she says she’s too busy…?

?Why are you able to read her thoughts so accurately?? Lucifel asked, puzzled.

Sora explained, “First off, she’s hiding behind a tree, right? Anyone with the intent to ask someone out wouldn’t be lurking in the shadows. They’d come forward confidently.

“Second, she keeps glancing this way. If she didn’t intend to ask me along, she wouldn’t be watching me from over there. She’d either be waiting on the ship or wandering off somewhere else. She’s just stuck, wanting to ask but fearing rejection.”

After she quickly laid out her reasoning, Lucifel replied, after a brief pause, with an air of mild confusion, ?I think I understand. Given that the master was of a similar nature, you are able to provide such a detailed explanation.?

How did you reach that conclusion?!

Mentally, Sora felt the urge to retort, and Lucifel continued in her calm, detached tone.

?When exchanging information in the heavens, your sister once mentioned how you used to be so shy that, if not for Shin and Rou, you could hardly speak to others.?

“Why did she have to share *that* embarrassing detail…!”

In the real world, the support system Lucifel takes the form of a smartphone.

Apparently, she can move between devices, and recently, she’s even been spending time on her sister Shio’s phone. Sora was surprised to learn they’d been discussing her past. she resolved to make sure her sister kept quiet next time she returned to the real world.

With that vow, Sora closed the window screen and decided to talk to the troubled-looking Laura.

“Laura, is something wrong?” she asked.

“N-No! It’s n-nothing at all!” she stammered.

“Hold on a sec!”

As she spoke, Laura tried to leave, but Sora quickly grabbed her arm.

If she were still in her original male form, this might look suspicious, she thought, but she went straight to the point.

“I’m alone today,” she said. “If you’d like, want to go check things out together?”

“Are… are you sure? That you don’t mind me coming along…?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind at all.”

“T-Thank you, Sora-sama!”

Her previously anxious expression brightened, transforming into a radiant, flower-like smile.

Laura’s charm left Sora a little spellbound. A pretty girl’s smile was truly something special, and she found herself smiling along with her.

“Alright, where should we go first? Let’s go with ‘ladies first’ and have you choose.”

“Y-Yes! I understand! I’ve never done this before, but I’ll do my best!”

Sora couldn’t help but let out a wry smile at how serious Laura seemed about it.

Thus, the two of them, Sora and Laura, set out to explore the island town together.

The princess, determined, held onto the hand of the silver-haired adventurer and dashed straight toward a sweets shop.

………………………

Rode Island serves as the only stopover for heading from the country of ?Enoshigaios? on the Yggdrasil continent to Triton Island, which has an entrance to an underwater temple.

With cargo ships from other oceanic nations, Neptune and Aegir, bringing in a wealth of supplies for this transit point, it seems to be an indispensable place for the sea folk of the Yggdrasil continent, often referred to as the “Great Market on the Sea,” and the town was buzzing with activity.

Adventurers could find many interesting foods and items that they had never seen from other countries. If Inori were here, she would undoubtedly be buying up items from the nearby stalls that could be used for alchemy.

As Sora strolled around the lively market, enjoying sweet treats wrapped in crepe filled with plenty of cream and fruits, she and Laura were approached by an older woman at one of the stalls.

“Are you two girls dating?” she asked.

“No, we’re just traveling companions,” Sora replied.

“Oh, is that so? I thought you were dating since you’re holding hands.”

Now that she thought about it, it was strange how in this “Astral Online,” many female characters seemed to engage in rather suggestive interactions with one another.

Curious about this, Sora asked the support system Lucifel, who responded:

?Same-sex marriage is quite common, so it’s normal for same-sex relationships to exist in the Astral Online. By the way, it seems like yuri is trending lately.?

Trending?

Is yuri something that can be fashionable?

Hearing that left Sora with mixed feelings, as if she understood yet deepened the mystery at the same time.

Furthermore, despite not having known each other for long, why did Laura look so happy at the idea of them being in a relationship?

I don’t think we know much about each other yet.

“Um, why does Laura look so happy?”

“…Well, it means that at least I look like a friend, right?”

“……Huh?”

Wow, what a thing to say.

This was somehow a deeply heartfelt and sad story for Sora.

“Wait, but you do have interactions with Aria and Alice, right?”

“…Well, those are exchanges as princesses, so I’m not sure if I can call them friends. Even if I consider them friends, if they don’t see me that way, I can’t really hold onto that hopeful thought…”

“I understand the feeling of anxiety, but I think those two would be more than happy to call you their friend.”

“……Really? But we’ve only met a few times…”

“It’s fine, no problem.”

“…W-what if you’re lying? To put it mildly, I would never recover from that.”

“I’m not lying. I’m the one who met them, so you can trust me. Just think of it like being on a big ship.”

Sora confidently patted her chest, and Laura gulped and nodded weakly.

“…O-okay, after the journey, I’ll muster the courage to ask.”

With a very tense expression, the princess made light fists with both hands, showing her determination.

She really was a shy girl overall, and as Sora lightly clapped while watching her with an indescribable expression, a magic circle suddenly appeared in the empty space, and a slime emerged from the center of it.

“This little one… is a summoned beast?”

It had a spherical form, about 50 centimeters in length, and was a light blue color, squishy like pudding.

The slime had a ribbon on its head and vertical slit-like eyes. Once it landed on the ground, it nestled up closely to Laura’s feet.

She lifted the slime with both hands and introduced it lightly.

“…This is Sue-chan, the first slime I summoned. It’s a bit different from the others. It just appears on its own without needing to be called. It seems like it wants to explore the town with us.”

Sora couldn’t help but smile at the peculiar slime and granted permission for Sue-chan to accompany them.