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 89
Chapter 89: The Dragon King’s Daughter
The dragon princess puffed out her chest, as if to assert her presence, with a smug expression on her face and a fairly well-developed figure.
She introduced herself as Alice Fafnir.
At first glance, she appeared to be a beautiful dragon girl with red hair, standing just a little taller than me.
She looked about one or two years older than Kuro.
However, I had heard from the townspeople that dragonkin stop aging visibly after a certain point, so her actual age was unclear.
There’s a good chance she could be 20 years old, or even over 100.
Just to be sure, I used the skill ?Insight II? to check, and Alice’s level was 45, on par with Kuro.
I remembered that her earlier rapier attack, though lacking in precision, showed a high degree of skill.
Alice’s swordsmanship seemed solid.
But at the same time, her smug expression gave me a different sense of unease, separate from what I felt with Aria.
…She kind of gives off the vibe of an arrogant noblewoman.
Sora’s intuition, honed over many years as a VR gamer, predicted her personality from the way she carried herself.
Still, why has a princess who’s never left the castle before decided to show up now…?
Reflecting on my recent activities, I can only think of three possible reasons for the current situation.
First, it might be that completing yesterday’s raid event triggered some kind of follow-up event.
Second, there’s a chance it was a special quest triggered by an announcement from ?Yggdrasil?, and it just happened to activate because I logged in.
Third, since Aria’s name was mentioned, it’s possible that this is a special event that occurs when you form a bond with a specific character.
Or, it could be that all three of these factors are involved.
For now, I lowered my sword, sheathing it at my waist.
The surrounding soldiers, who had been watching me warily, seemed to relax and let out a sigh of relief.
Alice also sheathed her rapier and, turning to face me again, said:
“I apologize for testing you. But after seeing your swordsmanship, I’m convinced that you, who repelled the ?Calamity of Jealousy? and saved my dear friend Aria, can solve the problem we’re currently facing.”
“…You’re a friend of Aria?”
“Yes. Aria and I have been close since childhood, and we still occasionally take vacations together to the Aegir Kingdom by the sea.” [1]
A country by the sea, huh?
Naturally, where there’s a sea, there are sea monsters.
In every VR game, there’s nothing more terrifying than being underwater.
In fact, a game called ?VR Poseidon?, where the theme was escaping from the stars of the ocean by exploring the deep sea, was so terrifying with its gigantic deep-sea creatures that it caused numerous players to faint.
As a famous horror streamer once said: ?There’s nothing scarier than the deep sea.?
…But I digress. Let’s get back on topic.
Based on what Alice said, it seems ?Astral Online? has a sea, but I wonder just how extensive it is.
I really hope there aren’t underwater battles, since wielding weapons underwater is impossible…
Sora shook her head, trying to dispel the unpleasant images that had formed in her mind.
Just as Alice tilted her head and watched the scene from the sidelines, the black-haired girl she had logged in with, the adventurer Kuro in her black battle dress, came through the soldiers.
“Sora!”
She happily took her usual spot on Sora’s left side and immediately sent a party request.
When Sora accepted it without hesitation, Kuro noticed the princess standing in front of them, and a question mark practically appeared above her head.
“…Who’s this?”
“She seems to be the princess of this country.”
“Why would someone so important be here?”
“Well, I’m sure she’s about to explain.”
Sora turned her gaze toward Alice, and she nodded slightly.
“Yes, come to the castle. My father, King Otter Fafnir the Dragon King, has something very important to discuss with you.”
As she finished speaking, a quest notification appeared in front of Sora.
—– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —–
?Unique Quest? The Crisis of the Dragon Kingdom.
?Objective? First, hear what the Dragon King has to say.
?Requirements? Level 45 or higher.
—– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —–
After reading the details, Sora gasped.
…A quest with a level restriction?
Moreover, the quest can only be accepted if you’re at least level 45.
If the requirement isn’t based on the average level of the player party but instead on Alice, the dragon princess, then this level 45 restriction likely means that, at this point, only Kuro and I can take on the quest out of all the players in ?Astral Online?.
Considering that Aria was around level 10 at the start of the ?Forest of Spirits? quest, this one will undoubtedly be much harder than that.
Surprised, I scrolled down, and the usual option appeared: accept or decline the quest.
The familiar ?Yes/No? prompt appeared.
Without hesitation, Sora tapped ?Yes?.
Normally, that would be the end of the quest registration, but this time, a new message appeared: ?Player level confirmed. No issues.? Only then did the quest fully register.
Alice smiled happily and moved to Sora’s right, looping her arm through Sora’s.
“I’ve had a carriage prepared. Let’s ride it to the castle, and from there, I’ll personally guide you.”
“Wha!?”
Sora was startled by the unexpected action, and Kuro, standing on her left, visibly puffed her cheeks in displeasure.
“Muu!”
What exactly ignited this fire?
Compared to when we first met, Kuro was emitting an incomparably intense hostility that seemed to burn everything to the ground.
If the game had a system that manifested emotions physically, it wouldn’t be surprising if flames were literally erupting from her body.
Sora, feeling a pressure even greater than ?Leviathan? coming from right beside her, began to sweat profusely.
Unbelievably, Alice met Kuro’s intense glare with a completely calm expression.
It seems this dragon princess is not only strong in terms of level but also has a pretty solid mental fortitude.
Kuro, seemingly realizing that her glares weren’t getting through, laced her words with a dark, murderous tone as she spoke to Alice.
“…If it’s just the distance to the carriage, there’s no need to cling so close. Actually, don’t cling to Sora at all.”
“I think it’s my freedom to stand wherever I want. Is there something wrong with standing where I feel like being?”
“S-Sora… is mine!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Eh?”
Sora, who was suddenly addressed, looked back and forth between the two people beside her, not understanding what was going on.
Seeing that she wasn’t answering right away, Alice flashed a devilish smile.
“Seems like you can’t answer immediately.”
“…Sora?”
Uh-oh…
I don’t know what’s happening, but Kuro’s attention is now directed at me.
The cause of all this, Alice, wore a big, mischievous smile, clearly enjoying herself.
Did she set this up on purpose?
If so, she’s quite the schemer.
Sora wore a troubled expression, and Kuro glared at her with a resentful gaze.
There’s a saying: ?Caught between a rock and a hard place.?
Or in this case, ?Between the dragon on the right and the tiger on the left.?
Even if I wanted to run, I was stuck between the two girls, unable to escape.
Alice watched the situation for a moment before suddenly letting out a small laugh.
“—Sorry, I was just teasing. You two were so attached to each other, it was hard not to tease. But I never imagined you could be so dense.”
With that, she casually apologized, released her hold on Sora, and began walking toward the waiting carriage.
Dense, huh?
She must have meant me, didn’t she?
“C-Come on, let’s get going.”
“Hmph… Sora, you baka!”
“K-Kuro-san?”
After following Alice into the carriage, the coachman checked behind and slowly set off.
Sora remained puzzled the entire time until Kuro finally calmed down.
TL Note:
Aegir is the Norse god of the sea. He is often depicted as a giant, the king of all the oceans. Aegir was known for his hospitality and would often host lavish feasts for the other gods in his underwater hall.