Chapter 24
Chapter 24
The morning after selecting the trait called Insight of the Elves.
For better or worse, I ended up attracting everyone’s attention.
“You seem different somehow?”
Bentley’s very first words upon seeing me proved it.
Normally, I could’ve just pretended ignorance and brushed it off.
Like, “How does someone change overnight?” or “Are your eyes broken?”
“…I guess?”
But this time, my appearance had changed too noticeably to dodge the topic.
It still looked like me, but it felt more like Sera 2.0.
Or Sera Season Two after a remake.
“…You. Were you actually a half-elf?”
Apparently Sir Rekun was equally bewildered.
For that oblivious old man’s eyes to widen like that, the change really must’ve been shocking.
Though, half-elf?
Ah, because of the eyes?
“Sera, you didn’t know either?”
“……”
At Eden’s question, I fell into brief thought.
I genuinely couldn’t tell whether it was better to say I knew or didn’t know.
Honestly, I myself was stunned.
I nearly jumped while washing my face this morning.
So should I strike a pose and go “Waaah~!?” like an actual child?
‘…No thanks.’
That kind of acting didn’t suit my personality at all.
So all I could do was stare awkwardly into the mirror.
“Haah…!”
It wasn’t like I had literally become a half-elf.
But I definitely became noticeably prettier.
Pretty enough that even someone as uninterested in appearance as me couldn’t help reacting.
Especially the eyes…
They now resembled Lady Luchester’s a little.
My facial features had become more refined, my lips slightly fuller with a faint pink tint.
At this rate, once I got older, I’d probably become the kind of face that made men cry.
Even my hair felt silkier somehow.
And my eyes sparkled like an elf carrying starlight within them.
Honestly speaking, a face this eye-catching was a bit too much for me.
“Waaah… Sera, you look like a princess!”
Anna was right.
My appearance had become flashy enough that strangers might mistake me for a noble lady at first glance.
Of course, compared to the absurdly handsome Eden or an actual elf like Lady Luchester, I was still nothing special.
But for a mere commoner, this appearance was excessive.
I was finally realizing just how absurd the Charm stat really was.
Normally, stats like Strength, Vitality, or Wisdom only fully developed after adulthood.
But appearance apparently worked differently.
Whether that was an advantage or disadvantage for me, though, I wasn’t sure.
‘The average Charm stat for women in this world was around 9, right?’
Considering everything, my current Charm stat was probably around 15 or 16.
I was born with 12 thanks to that ridiculous title, “Deep Woman.”
So what exactly did Charm 16 look like?
I couldn’t measure it precisely, but from the perspective of someone from modern society, it surpassed fully made-up idols.
And on top of that came the additional effects:
30% increased favorability.
30% increased persuasion.
Which meant other people probably saw my face as even prettier than I saw it myself.
So Anna’s shocked reaction made sense.
Before, I was simply “a pretty girl.”
Now I was probably at the level of “the beauty of a small city.”
Still, I seriously didn’t expect a trait called Insight of the Elves to literally give me elf-like eyes.
My brain, conditioned by years of standardized education, automatically interpreted it metaphorically.
“Hmm…”
Now that my dull brown eyes shimmered brightly, even I couldn’t stop glancing toward mirrors.
If even I reacted like this, how much more would other people?
Anyway, since I had no idea how to respond, I simply stayed silent afterward.
“Sera herself seems unaware she was a half-elf.”
“Most likely. Otherwise there’d be no reason to hide it until now.”
One misunderstanding was creating another.
But honestly, this was better for me.
Think about it.
Imagine a ten-year-old passionately explaining that she chose an option from a mysterious status window only she could see.
And claiming that becoming prettier was the result.
People would just think I was insane.
At best, they’d dismiss it as childish delusion.
“Elven eyes usually develop their starlike appearance from birth… but for half-elves, the change often occurs around adolescence, or even adulthood. My own children were the same, so this child is probably no different.”
Wait, seriously, old man!?
Hold on, this situation was unfolding way too conveniently.
Though from my perspective, it was a blessing.
“Mental and physical maturity also tend to develop a bit slower compared to humans…”
The truth was that I wasn’t some half-elf at all.
I only got the eyes.
But I remained silent.
If you couldn’t explain something, then sometimes you just had to live with the misunderstanding.
As they said, staying quiet at least kept you out of trouble.
So I simply stood there with a blank expression, raising both hands slightly like:
“Eeeeh~? What’s happening~?”
“Sera looks really shocked too. She can barely talk. Look at that dumbfounded face.”
Wait, dumbfounded face…? You wanna die, brat!?
“It’s a rather silly posture, but understandable. The child herself must be bewildered.”
Still, Eden and the old man were naturally creating a believable explanation all on their own.
The five little trainees nodding beside them only made it worse.
“……?”
But that bastard Bentley.
Why was he staring at me like that today?
The atmosphere was different from everyone else’s simple surprise.
He’d always had that kind of edge to him, but now it felt even stronger.
Did he hate half-elves or something?
Or was he annoyed that I was getting all the attention?
Which basically meant he wanted to fight, right?
‘…This bastard?’
I’d been letting things slide because he was young, but maybe it was time to reestablish the hierarchy.
His constant arrogance just because he was a knight trainee had already been annoying enough.
“Considering her ears are still fully round, perhaps she’s only a quarter-elf.”
Anyway, I appreciated the two of them continuing this extremely convenient misunderstanding.
But…
“I should send a letter to my wife soon. She’s more knowledgeable about this subject than I am…”
When exactly was this conversation going to end?
Watching everyone make a fuss over me wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
But after one hour.
Then two.
I was honestly starting to yawn.
“Hehe, if Sera’s a princess~ then Anna becomes the maid?”
Honestly, it was probably better to pay attention to Anna beside me instead.
Despite being older than me, she was still so tiny and adorable.
But me, a princess?
Absolutely not.
I’d never dreamed of that, and even if someone begged me a hundred times, I still wouldn’t want it.
“…As if.”
“Hm?”
“The princess should be Anna.”
“Eh?”
“Because Anna’s cuter and prettier.”
“Really!?”
I nodded at Anna’s delighted reaction.
I genuinely meant it.
Even if I somehow became twice as beautiful as I was now, that wouldn’t change.
Like I said before, I had no intention of becoming a narcissist.
And because of that, I had little interest in my own appearance.
Combat ability and beauty had no real connection.
Sure, life might become easier.
But beauty that stood out too much could also become poison.
Especially in a medieval world like this one.
Besides, the only reason I picked this trait was to persuade Sir Rekun.
There was no need to assign deeper meaning to it or get excited over becoming prettier.
“I’ll just become the knight who protects Anna instead.”
That sounded far better than becoming some princess I didn’t even want to be.
An older brother protecting his little sister.
Or a knight guarding a princess.
Wasn’t that cool and manly?
“……Sera.”
Hm?
Then why did Anna suddenly look like she was about to cry?
Women were difficult.
Children were even harder.
And Anna was somehow both at once, so I had no clue what caused that reaction.
“Let’s always stay together from now on… okay?”
“U-Uhm… sure?”
“Hehehe…”
I had a feeling I’d unknowingly just made some irreversible promise.
But what could I do?
Two tiny hands, delicate like a doll’s, gently rubbed against the back of my hand.
How could anyone ignore something so innocent and affectionate?
Looking at her like this, Anna really did seem more suited to being a princess.
‘Well, for Anna at least…’
I was confident I could support maybe two people, including Eden.
Of course, that depended on persuading Sir Rekun first.
Still, judging by today’s reactions, becoming his squire probably wasn’t too far away.
So honestly, if they wanted to misunderstand me as a half-elf, then lucky me.
Sir Rekun’s own children were half-elves too, which meant even if he found me irritating, he’d probably pay more attention to me now.
Anyway, since there wasn’t much left to do and lingering around felt awkward, I excused myself and headed toward the garden.
No matter how my appearance changed, my daily life of swinging a sword remained the same.
“Hey.”
Why the hell did Bentley follow me out here?
Anna clinging to me was fine because she was cute.
But when a guy did it, it just felt creepy.
Still, you couldn’t completely ignore someone after they called out to you.
I turned around and glared at him with obvious annoyance.
…Though honestly, why was his face red again today?
I’d never done anything particularly bad to him, yet he always looked at me like he was full of complaints.
At this point, maybe I shouldn’t have bothered being nice to him at all.
“What I’m about to say, don’t let it get to your head.”
“…What?”
“And don’t go wandering outside carelessly either—”
“…Who are you to tell me that?”
At his ridiculous meddling, I stepped closer with a scowl.
A very clear warning telling him to shut up while he still could.
“Uuugh—!”
Yet despite the warning, this idiot still didn’t seem to understand.
Sure, he flinched a little.
But then he glared back anyway?
“The-the moment you leave the territory, you’ll realize there are way prettier people everywhere and just get depressed!”
Well, I didn’t really know the outside world, so maybe that was true.
“If you look carefully, you’re not exactly ugly… but you still have a super common face!”
Why exactly was I being forced to hear this from him?