Preparations for Battle

Ryuke Riana Crystal Casalia, thirteen years old.

A turning point had arrived for her - the girl called the most beautiful in the country.

"It's about time we started thinking about your marriage partner…"

The moment her father said that at the breakfast table, Ria crushed the fork in her hand.

Though the maid behind her wore a strained expression, Ria opened her mouth with an emotionless face.

"Father, I believe I've said this before, but…"

At first she had called him things like "Daddy," but her manner of address changed after she began training alongside the knights.

"I. Like. Women."

How many times had she made this declaration now? After eight years of being taken in, she had no more reservations.

And so Neyas held his head in his hands.

"How did it come to this…"

"It's alright, Father, it's not your fault. I was simply born this way."

Her tone was gentle, but the content was anything but.

There was a reason the topic of Ria's marriage had come up in the first place.

First, there was the death of Master Rufus half a year ago.

Rufus had lived a full life of 318 years, but the impact of his death was significant.

For one thing, the Kingdom of Casalia lost its strongest magical combat power. Including his knowledge, it was an enormous loss. As an advisor to generations of kings, Rufus had contributed greatly to Casalia's prosperity.

Then, several months later, an epidemic struck the royal capital and spread even to the court, causing Neyas tremendous suffering.

The disease - which Rufus could likely have prevented - claimed the lives of his eldest son and second child.

In the eight years since Ria had entered the court, Neyas had gained three more children. And since each had a different mother, factions naturally formed. Until then, the eldest child born to the queen had been the natural choice for crown prince, but that arrangement had fallen apart.

As the eldest child, Ria might seem uninvolved since she had not been granted succession rights, but she was undoubtedly royalty. Anyone who married Ria would gain increased influence within the court.

The leading candidate for that was an older man - her younger brother's uncle.

Thirteen years since being reborn as a woman. Having gone through puberty, she had adapted to being female to some extent, but that was simply too much.

"I suppose it's time…"

Her days in the court had been enjoyable. Training together with the knights, attending Rufus's lectures, lightly harassing the cute maids, groping Lulu's surprisingly ample breasts for a half-elf.

All of it had been truly fun.

Even getting poisoned food and gaining Poison Resistance - now a fond memory.

"But there's one thing I regret."

Ria changed into her training clothes and headed to the training grounds. On her way through the palace to those facilities, she felt many gazes upon her.

"Ah, it's Ria-sama."

"Again, dressed like that…"

"Ahh, she's lovely today too!"

Despite being this beautiful, her reputation among the men was not favorable. Exactly as intended, though.

Normally she would whisper something suggestive into the ear of one of her entourage of court ladies, but she didn't have much time left.

Under the brilliant sunlight, the kingdom's elite knights clashed with blunted weapons. It was time for one-on-one combat training.

Ria headed straight for the half-elf man supervising them.

"Reyas, how are things?"

"Ah, Princess."

The knight gave only a slight bow. He was in the middle of training. That was proper etiquette.

The Vice-Captain of Casalia Kingdom's knight order was a long-lived half-elf and the strongest swordsman in the order.

"I thought today might be the day I finally score a point against you."

"I see. Allow me to be your opponent."

And Reyas readied his wooden sword and shield.

After dozens of exchanges, Ria had her wooden sword knocked from her hands.

Her breathing was rough - more from mental fatigue than physical. Reyas was also breathing heavily, but not as much as Ria.

"Ahh, lost again."

Ria sat down on the sand. Even with forty years of training counting her previous life, she still couldn't defeat a half-elf who had been swinging a sword for over half a century.

"You've improved remarkably compared to just a month ago. In another year or so, you'll likely surpass even me."

Using magic and skills for enhancement would be a different matter, but Reyas could do that too.

He surpassed her in pure technique. As expected of someone with Level 8 Swordsmanship. She was using skills like Mind's Eye and Evasion, but without body enhancement skills, she didn't seem able to win.

"How about it? Want another round?"

"That sounds good, but I have things to do today."

Waving goodbye to the knights, she headed for the Ministry of Magic.

Walking confidently through the familiar interior without a guide, she found Lulu sitting alone at the librarian's desk in the library.

Since Rufus had passed away, her workload had grown light. You could say she had been relegated to an idle position. She herself didn't seem to mind much, though.

"Hey, Lulu."

"Princess, please be quiet in the library."

Ria quickly circled behind Lulu as she gave her warning in a hushed voice, and gently groped her chest.

"P-Princess!"

"Lulu, please be quiet in the library."

Gently, ever so gently, she massaged and massaged, savoring them for a while before releasing her.

Lulu's porcelain-white complexion had turned bright red.

"So, what brings you here today? I may be idle, but I'm not completely without work, you know."

"Yeah, there's something I'd like to ask of you."

She whispered into Lulu's long ear. An elf's ears aren't actually an erogenous zone.

That sculpted beauty's face was colored with surprise.

"… Are you serious?"

"Of course. I couldn't joke about something like this."

Ria affirmed with a smile. After three years together, they had come to understand each other fairly well.

"I see. Very well. But in that case, I have a condition of my own."

The condition Lulu presented was unexpected even to Ria.

That day, Ria also visited her family home in the lower town and had a long conversation with Agatha.

When evening came, she went to the public bathhouse and admired the naked bodies of women young and old.

(Ahh… women really are wonderful…)

The discomfort of not having her 'son' still lingered, but she could also appreciate that being a woman was a wonderful thing.

Her modestly swelling breasts. Her slender, graceful limbs. The smooth curves from her shoulders to her waist. These were things impossible for a man to have.

As the town fell into complete darkness, Ria returned to the royal castle.

People walked quickly. Another day was coming to an end. This town, where she had lived her entire life since birth. She had grown attached to it.

But an irrepressible urge had been building within her.

She wanted to leave this town, this country.

She wanted to see the world and meet every strong person out there.

Her blood boiled. An incurable affliction carried over from her previous life.

Ria's adventure was about to begin.