“Hmm, Serveyia, is this the gap caused by different levels of proficiency?”
“Not really. I just used Disguise Magic so those weaker than me won’t notice anything unusual.”
Serveyia said it quite nonchalantly.
However, since it was debatable how many people in this Academy were stronger than her — or if anyone was at all — Serveyia’s actions gave Liuli the impression that she was, well, bragging.
“But Serveyia, why didn’t you just use Restoration Magic to get rid of my dark circles?”
Since there was a method to solve the problem directly, why choose to cover it up instead?
“Because this is your first time practicing magic, Little Fox. I didn’t want to simply brush it aside.”
“Serveyia…”
Should she say that Serveyia had become exceptionally sentimental at a time like this?
Liuli had been expecting a rational response, so hearing something so emotional moved her slightly.
“Liuli! I’m here — huh? Are you doing the Princess’s makeup?”
Liuli had intended to thank Serveyia formally, but Fina pushed the door open and entered.
Liuli noticed the smile vanish from Serveyia’s face as she looked at the uninvited guest with displeasure.
“Fina, even if you and Little Fox are friends, you should still knock when it’s appropriate, shouldn’t you?”
Liuli felt that the things Serveyia said with a calm expression could sometimes be quite terrifying.
Just like now; although Serveyia looked composed, Liuli felt it was merely the calm before the storm.
Fina was the one who had been invited, so Liuli felt she needed to explain.
Otherwise, who knew if a conflict would arise between the two?
“Serveyia, I’m the one who told Fina she didn’t need to knock. I figured since we’re friends and I wasn’t doing anything shameful, it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t knock, right?”
“Little Fox, are you sure that’s what you said?”
“Yes, there’s no need for such formalities between friends, is there?”
In truth, Liuli had never said anything of the sort.
However, to prevent a conflict from breaking out, Liuli felt she had to act as a peacemaker.
After all, Serveyia likely wouldn’t get angry with her.
“Little Fox, a princess should have her own private space. No, not just a princess; every noblewoman should have her own private space that remains undisturbed by others.”
“Does that mean even Serveyia shouldn’t disturb me?”
“Of course. Even those closest to you should not intrude.”
‘That’s not what you said back then,’ Liuli thought.
She hadn’t forgotten that when she first became a princess, Serveyia hadn’t given her any choice or any private space.
Seeing the resentful look in the little fox’s eyes, Serveyia knew exactly what she was thinking.
She patted Liuli’s head and added, “You had just finished your transformation back then, Little Fox, and you were at your most unstable. No one dared to leave you alone for fear that you might do something drastic. It would have been a great loss for Saint Laia.”
Fine.
Although Liuli suspected Serveyia was just making up an excuse on the spot, it sounded reasonable enough, so she could accept it.
“Forget it. Serveyia, can we head out now?”
“By the way, Liuli, did you not sleep well last night?”
“I — I’m fine. Why do you ask, Fina?”
“Because there are obvious magic traces on your face, concentrated around your eyes. I thought you might have had to use magic because you didn’t get enough rest.”
Well, Liuli had thought Serveyia’s magic wouldn’t be so easily discovered.
As it turned out, someone had seen through it before they even stepped out the door.
While Fina, being someone who could be friends with Serveyia, couldn’t strictly be categorized as an ordinary person, it still didn’t feel great to be caught before they had even left.
Seeing the little fox’s dejected look, Serveyia’s mood improved for no apparent reason.
She told Fina the truth: that Liuli hadn’t slept because she was too excited.
“Is that so? Our Princess is quite cute, just like a child looking forward to a field trip.”
As expected, once Fina heard the truth, she teased Liuli with a smile.
Although there was no malice behind it, the feeling of being teased still made her very shy.
“I… I was only that excited because I’ve never left the Human Empire before!”
At least, it wasn’t entirely because of her childish nature.
Liuli didn’t know why she felt the need to explain herself.
In fact, looking at the situation, didn’t this explanation just prove how childish she was?
“All right, all right. I’m starting to look forward to seeing what you’re like when we go to the Mermaid Kingdom, Liuli.”
“Is the Mermaid Kingdom… underwater?”
“It used to be. But recently, to accommodate contact with other races, a portion of our territory was moved above the water’s surface. However, that part is only for diplomacy and trade. The true heart of the kingdom is still underwater, so the Princess will have to come beneath the waves with us when the time comes.”
“But how is that possible?”
“It’s simple. We could either cast an Underwater Breathing Magic on you, but that method is too unstable. Personally, I prefer the second method.”
“What is the second method?”
To be fair, Liuli felt a bit of trepidation upon hearing about a second method.
Usually, in these situations, a second method was never anything simple.
“We use our Mermaid Secret Technique to temporarily turn the Princess into a mermaid. That way, you can move freely underwater.”
“Turn into… a mermaid?”
Liuli was becoming more and more interested in the Secret Arts of the Mermaid Race.
First, the Gender-changing Secret Technique Serveyia mentioned, and now the Race-changing Secret Technique Fina was telling her about.
It all sounded magical.
And based on their tone, these techniques didn’t seem particularly difficult to cast.
“Yes. After all, one must consider the unique ecology of the Mermaid Race. If a member of our race falls in love with someone from another race, we can’t exactly leave them separated in two different places, can we?”
Fine.
It seemed that lust was indeed the primary driver of progress.
To ensure a couple’s happiness, they even researched this kind of secret technique.
Was there anything they couldn’t do?
“Uh, so do members of the race who marry out also use this technique?”
Liuli couldn’t help but wonder.
If someone married a girl from the Mermaid Race but was turned into a lovely mermaid girl herself by her secret technique, what a wonderful sight (or maybe not?) that would be.
“That would be a bit of fun between the two of them, and not something for us to worry about~”
Although Fina said they didn’t need to worry about it, the expression on her face looked a bit excited.
It seemed Serveyia’s previous description of Fina was indeed accurate.