A Place Full of Stars 1

Even meeting a president in a democracy comes with protocol. So how much more tedious would it be to meet a royal bloodline appointed by a goddess, in a world where the divine right of kings was simply taken as fact?

"Her Highness has said that special formal attire will not be necessary — adventuring gear is perfectly acceptable."

"Her Highness has said that the heroes need not observe court etiquette—"

"Her Highness has said that the heroes——"

The one silver lining was that the princess seemed determined to advertise just how favorably she regarded the hero party — every last bothersome formality had been swept away.

Word came through the head maid that they could skip the security checks required to enter the palace, forgo the formal dress code, and dispense with the etiquette expected before royalty. Being allowed to walk into the presence of the royal family's most precious jewel while still wearing weapons — even for heroes endorsed by the Temple, that was extraordinary.

The maids who had been bustling about with preparations wilted visibly, gathering up the armfuls of dresses and jewelry they'd brought and filing back out. Roland watched them go as a carriage rolled to a natural stop in front of the villa, waiting to carry them.

"Haa… why am I this nervous over something like this?"

"…But seriously, are we really allowed to go meet a princess with swords on our hips?"

"Her Highness gave permission, so."

Katie muttered under her breath as she climbed into the carriage still in full armor, courtesy of the princess's request that they wear adventuring gear instead of formalwear. She looked thoroughly unconvinced. Still, as someone from a grand ducal house, she clearly understood just how unprecedented this was.

Never mind that she herself had packed up her family's treasures and run away from home the moment her coming-of-age ceremony was over.

Whether it was the distinctive character writing carried over from Heroes Chronicle, every prince, princess, and grand duchess in this world seemed to be missing a few screws. When that quirk collided with reality, the resulting picture got… strange.

"These are guests going to meet Her Highness. Clear the way."

"The Temple's heroes? Understood."

Even as that conversation continued inside, the carriage clattered smoothly along the well-paved road. Word had clearly gone ahead — a glimpse of the crest engraved on the carriage's side and the head maid seated beside the coachman was enough to open every gate like a highway express lane, no stops at all.

But as Roland gazed out the window, something felt off.

A subtle, uncanny dissonance — like walking into a tiger's den with its jaws wide open. It felt less like entering a palace and more like stepping into a dungeon, except there was no killing intent whatsoever, so neither danger nor anxiety registered.

"Uh, hey, this is kind of…?"

And that sense of wrongness was explained very simply.

The moment Han Se-ah opened a character info window out of curiosity, every single worker visible around them — from the instant they passed through the palace gates — had stars attached.

From the gatekeeper who had opened the doors, to the gardener pruning branches in the distance, to the laborers hauling cargo — there wasn't a single person who wasn't a gacha character. From the old man raking leaves to the handymen doing menial chores, every last one had at least two stars. A bizarre space.

In short, even those ten-year-old kids off in the distance, pausing mid-chore to gawk at the carriage, had enough talent that if you put a wooden sword in their hands they could thrash an ordinary village tough with no stars at all. This wasn't a palace so much as a den of monsters.

"Welcome, heroes. I am Paula Klein, head lady-in-waiting, here to attend you. It is an honor to meet those who have received a mission from the Goddess."

"…A pleasure."

"And this is Dame Beatrice, Her Highness's escort knight. As the one responsible for Her Highness's safety, she will be joining us for the banquet."

No — it really was a den of monsters.

Past the two- and three-star palace workers, they were shown into a guest annex. Waiting to receive them inside were, of course, more women loaded with stars.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Paula Klein, who introduced herself as head lady-in-waiting, was a beauty with brown hair and a warm, motherly smile. The monocle perched on her face alone was enough to convey that this maid was of noble birth — an elegant lady through and through.

Beside her stood a female knight in armor engraved with an ornate lily motif. She was a beauty whose strikingly bright, straw-colored brown hair and the long scar across her cheek left a strong impression. Of course, looking beautiful enough to rival a celebrity in this world was simply another way of saying she was a gacha character.

Which meant the princess's subordinates were on the same level as a Candidate Saint.

…If that was the case, then what about the princess herself?

"Uh, wow, the palace is kind of a terrifying neighborhood, huh? No wonder players ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can't even get near it. Once the Demon King shows up later and we start climbing the higher floors, the palace will help us out after the Temple, r-right? We won't have to fight these people, will we?"

Han Se-ah and her viewers were left speechless by the parade of stars that lined up every time a status window opened. Outside the palace, maybe two or three people out of ten had stars. Here, near the princess's annex, it was ten out of ten with a minimum of two stars. How were you supposed to process that?

"Hello, heroes? Hehe — may the Goddess's blessing be upon you."

"Ah — hello."

And if that princess was a natural-born six-star… all the more so.

Telling a natural-born six-star from a five-star who had achieved great deeds and risen to six was very simple. The color of the stars was completely different. Just as Roland had known Ambrose ascended to six-star on his own because their colors didn't match.

So the princess standing before them was a natural-born six-star character.

One of the three characters released alongside Roland.

You could tell just from the name.

The name was, without any pretense, that of the female knight who appeared in the Twelve Peers series alongside the Paladin Roland. In this Korean-fantasy world where Western-style names were tossed into a blender, sharing a name drawn from the same source material was not something you could casually overlook.

Viewers who immediately looked up the name Bradamante started showing off their knowledge, and Han Se-ah picked up on the fact right along with them. When nearly a thousand people were spamming "Twelve Peers, Twelve Peers" in chat, you couldn't help but see it even if you didn't want to.

"The Twelve Peers? So Roland-sensei's motif was pulled from some medieval legend, right? And Princess Bradamante is from the same story."

While the rest of the party was so tense they couldn't tell whether the simple but elegantly prepared dinner was going in through their noses or their mouths, Han Se-ah was cheerfully chatting away with her viewers.

Radiant golden hair cascading to her waist, eyes blue as gemstones. Hmm — in a way, she almost felt like a genderbent version of Roland, as if they'd been deliberately color-matched as a pair. What was certain was that from face to figure, she was a beauty without a single flaw to pick at.

The talk of her being kind and benevolent was clearly no empty flattery for the sake of appearances — throughout the meal she observed proper etiquette herself while never once correcting their party for their lack of it, smiling the entire time. On top of that, she asked to hear their adventure stories and made sure no one was left out of the conversation, attending carefully to each of them.

…She's so ideal it's almost terrifying.

Under her skillful conversation, Grace — who had been stiff as a board — broke into a goofy grin and launched into the story of planting arrows in a giant from her own family. Irene, who had been demurely observing every courtesy, lit up the moment the talk drifted toward religion and dove into a discussion of theology.

As for Katie — she'd been completely won over the moment the princess knight brought up swordsmanship. After a few exchanges about the knight order's monster subjugation campaigns she'd heard from her older ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brother, and the practical application of sword techniques, the corners of her mouth wouldn't come back down.

Did a "princess knight" have charm or silver tongue as a passive or something?

In the brief span of time it took Han Se-ah to search the word Bradamante, all three party members had already been played by that tongue. There was no malice he could sense, but watching three people get thoroughly cooked right in front of him, Roland couldn't help but feel on edge.

Sometimes excessive goodwill could be frightening in its own right.

"Sir Roland, I've heard you collect a great many magical tools. Hmm — does that sound like I've been investigating you?"

"Not at all. It's nothing I hide. Taking magical tools from nobles in place of commission fees is part of how I made a name for myself in the capital."

Having lightly enchanted the other three, the princess's next target wasn't Han Se-ah — it was him. Given that she was both a player and a hero, it seemed Roland had been saved for last.

"Is that so? I'm quite interested in magical tools myself… The mages of the Magic Tower have sent a great many of them to the royal family as tribute, you see."

With Grace, an approach that ignored status and drew close with genuine warmth. With Katie, talk of monster subjugation and swordsmanship. With Irene, the bearing of a devout believer who praised the Goddess and studied theology in earnest.

And for him — talk of magical tools? She had clearly done thorough background research on their party. His own interest was simple material greed, but she already ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew the personalities and topics that would delight the other three.

And thanks to that, the wariness inside him—

"Which is why — heroes can't stay at an inn forever, can they? I'll arrange a building under my name and send over magical tools I haven't had the chance to use yet. Would you care to try them?"

"We'll gratefully accept."

She said it to him without any formality at all.

This princess… might actually be a good person.