Call Me Princess!

"Hoho, so this is your child?"

Deep within the Ministry of Magic, in a room buried in books and documents, dwelled Master Rufus.

Completely bald. A rich, white beard. Despite standing at the apex of magicians in the Casalia Kingdom, he put on no airs whatsoever. His age: an astounding 310 years. High-ranking magicians have long lifespans, after all.

"It has been a long time."

Agatha bowed her head politely. Ria followed suit with a bow of her own.

"So I just need to use Identify on this girl?"

"Yes, please start with that."

"Hmm."

Rufus nodded and raised his staff, then for some reason struck a dramatic pose.

"Identify!"

He shouted.

"… Hmm, no good."

"… Please take this seriously."

Agatha let out a deep sigh, and Ria nearly fell over.

"I am taking it seriously. The magic itself activated, so she must have Identify Resistance at level 8 or higher, or a Gift of similar nature."

"If she has one, could it be the Gift of Identify Nullification?"

"A Gift that powerful… it's possible, with the Millennium drawing near…"

At Rufus's grave murmur, Agatha spoke with a slight tremor in her voice.

"Could it be… is this child a hero?"

A hero. An existence beyond common sense that appears throughout history to battle the demon race.

Whether a sudden mutation, or one summoned from another world.

In the battles against the demon race during the Millennium, one invariably appears.

"She may well be one of the heroes. Her magic power alone already surpasses yours."

Separate from Identify, there exists a skill called Magic Sensing. While it doesn't provide precise numerical values, it allows one to perceive the relative magnitude of magic power, and Agatha had acquired it as well.

Ria didn't have it yet.

"Using analysis magic doesn't change anything either. But what should we do?"

Rufus groaned in thought. Agatha timidly spoke up.

"Um, while the fact that Identify doesn't work is certainly a problem, there's something else I'd like you to see."

"Oh?"

Agatha opened the chest of Ria's clothes, revealing four scales. Rufus, while eccentric, was not a pervert, so he had no reaction to a little girl's chest.

"These are… scales? But then… a dragonewt? No, even so…"

"When speaking of famous dragonewts in history, there's the Empire's Militant Emperor Ryuke Riana-sama and Casalia's founder Leyte Anaia-sama."

Both were legendary great figures, and both were women.

"I've heard that dragonewts are occasionally born in Leyte Anaia-sama's bloodline. This child might also…"

"Hmm. To think that divination would lead to such a result…"

Somehow the conversation was progressing into matters Ria knew nothing about. Ria herself, left with nothing to do, gazed at the spines of the books lining the room, when a wonderfully ominous title caught her eye.

(Necronomicon… I feel like I've heard that somewhere before…)

She rather wanted to read it, but was quite certain she wouldn't be given permission.

"As I thought, we have no choice but to speak with His Majesty about this."

"Yes. Reluctantly so."

The atmosphere had become rather unsettling.

From there, several more days passed peacefully.

Ria swung her wooden sword every morning and received magic lessons from Agatha.

But the content had changed somewhat. A seriousness that hadn't been there before had emerged. She could feel a killing intent from her teacher.

It was a familiar sensation. In her previous life, whenever she glimpsed the depths of swordsmanship, her masters would invariably emit that same aura.

What Agatha taught was truly magic for survival. Where before it had been convenient magic, valuable for daily life, this was magic essential for combat, purely for staying alive.

Magic for emergencies: body enhancement, continuous healing, paralysis resistance, poison resistance, underwater breathing.

Perhaps in response to this, Dragon's Bloodline also activated. A large number of physical enhancement Gifts awakened, and Gifts for increasing vitality were added one after another.

The dragons of this world were existences equal to gods, and a glimpse of that was certainly manifesting.

Half a month passed.

The signs had been apparent for some time.

On that particular day, a more extravagant dinner than usual was prepared, and Agatha and Fei were clearly nervous. And they were trying not to let it show.

This was as good as announcing that something was happening.

If she really were to be abandoned, she might be able to survive, but she would probably cry.

"Mother, did something happen?"

Even when she asked with her best innocent act, Agatha only smiled vaguely.

"Nothing at all. We're going out again tomorrow, so eat plenty."

Ah, I see, Ria thought with understanding.

This was probably her last supper.

She likely wouldn't be abandoned. But she might be sent somewhere… perhaps to a hero training facility or something similar.

Given how things had been going, that prediction wasn't far-fetched.

Something pressed against her heart. Even with memories from her previous life, this body was still only five years old. Her emotions were sensitive.

Even so, she shoveled down the feast to satisfy her appetite, though forcing herself somewhat.

When she thought about it, Agatha had been a kind mother. Even when Ria enjoyed swinging her wooden sword, her mother would smile with a troubled expression.

Fei had been like an older sister. If anything, Fei had looked after Ria more than Agatha had.

To think she would be separated from those two…

(Well, wherever I end up, I can just escape and come back.)

It was all about how you looked at things. Surely she wouldn't be thrown into a prison. If that was the case, she could always come visit.

Once she made up her mind about that, she simply focused on stuffing herself with food. Whatever happened tomorrow, you can't fight on an empty stomach.

The next day, before noon, Ria was once again dressed in her best clothes, swaying in the carriage alongside Agatha.

She had thought they might be heading to some facility in the outskirts, but the route was the same as before, leading toward the royal castle.

However, where they got off was different.

"Oh, good of you to come."

Waiting for them was once again the bald sage Rufus. The difference this time was that two knights appeared to be escorting him.

"Your magic power has increased even more since the other day."

"Is that so? When you see someone every day, you don't notice."

While conversing, they entered the castle. The interior, decorated with white marble, was adorned with lavish ornaments in abundance.

"Whoooa…"

She couldn't help but exclaim. Surely the royal palaces of Europe in her previous life must have been like this.

But being actually in use made all the difference in its grandeur.

The adults watched with warm smiles as Ria proceeded deeper with her mouth agape.

The group climbed the stairs and stepped into the innermost part of the royal palace.

"Welcome."

It was not an audience chamber lined with rows of courtiers… but rather something like a reception room, and a man was waiting there.

Rufus bowed his head, Agatha knelt, and the knights stood at rigid attention. Ria bowed her head for the time being.

"Be at ease. It has been a while, Agasarte."

"Y-Your Majesty also seems to be in good health."

Your Majesty. If he was called Your Majesty, he must be the king.

He looked to be in his early thirties. Blond hair and blue eyes were common in this country. His features were refined.

"And you must be Riana."

"Nice to meet you, Your Majesty."

She gave a small, childlike bow. She thought that acting gracefully here would actually have the opposite effect.

"Oh, what a good child."

That judgment proved correct, as the king's expression melted into a broad smile. He was positively doting.

"Such a lovely child. Her face greatly resembles her mother's."

The king, dressed in simple but clearly expensive white clothing, crouched down in front of Ria.

"Five years old, is it? That would make her the third. I wonder if her eyes look like mine?"

That was certainly a feature that didn't resemble Agatha.

The king's face… was similar to hers.

Following the flow of this context.

"Could it be… Your Majesty, are you my father?"

The king nodded magnanimously.

"That's right, Riana. I'm sorry for the hardships you've endured until now."

Eh.

Ehhhhh?!

I haven't really had any hardships, but more importantly, does this mean I'm a princess?!

Ria's eyes went wide as she screamed internally.