No More Mountain Hideaway!
"Stop telling me to descend the mountain?"
"Yawn." It was late afternoon, with the sun having crested the top of the window, pouring in only harsh rays. A single girl stirred from her belated awakening. Her silver-blue hair was a tangled mess, her appearance utterly bedraggled as she yawned. Her lavender eyes still looked drowsy, as if begging for more sleep.
At the sound of her yawn, a pure white spherical orb appeared from somewhere and approached her. On the tray atop the orb sat a cup filled with apple juice.
"Thanks, Bianca."
The round orb bobbed up and down as if to say it was no big deal. But then the cup on the tray tipped over...
"Ack, watch out!!!"
The apple juice spilled everywhere.
I quickly stripped off my apple-juice-soaked clothes.
"No clean clothes... just this robe, what a hassle. Guess I'll just wrap up in the blanket."
With that, I pulled the blanket over my naked body and flopped back onto the bed. I shot a gentle glance at the culprit behind this mess—the pristine white orb, Bianca.
The little guy seemed to know it had screwed up; it was trembling like an aspen leaf.
"Hmm... maybe it needs some upgrades after all..."
I muttered while eyeing Bianca, my so-called automata. I'd poured a ton of effort into creating it, but accidents like this were way too frequent. I'd made the thing to assist me when I was too lazy to move, but at this rate, it was useless.
Watching it cause a mishap once a week felt like dealing with a tomboyish kid. Still, I had no intention of smashing it. After all, it was my first artifact for the ultimate lounging life—rolling around all day.
I'd just tossed out the comment casually, but the white orb shook anxiously, as if it understood.
"Ah, no scrapping it. Up.grades. Upgrades! Upgrade! Oh, wrong world for that term, huh."
Come to think of it, I'm not from this world. Reincarnation? Possession? Isekai? Who knows what label fits my case.
One thing's for sure: this is the world from Medeia, the SRPG game I loved playing.
Back on Earth, I was a total workaholic slaving away six days a week, eighty-four hours nonstop—the only healing came from that game. (Though maybe the real point is that insane work schedule...)
The story was pretty standard: a protagonist attends an academy, sorting out various incidents along the way. Along the way, the male lead charms princesses, noble ladies, genius mages—you name it.
And I ended up dropped into that very world.
Following the clichés, did I possess the protagonist? Oh, how I wish.
For someone like me, whose only rationality back home was stabbing my boss's back, that dream scenario would've been perfection—no more wishes needed.
My name is Miriel. Picked up by my master and guardian, Rodis Bern, I was lucky enough to learn a bit of magic—but I'm not even an extra; just some random girl.
Even Master Rodis Bern isn't mentioned in the game, so how could his disciple Miriel show up?
Anyway, if it's reincarnation, there's no memory of Miriel's childhood. Heck, "Miriel" is a name Master Rodis gave me.
But if it's isekai? Nah, not quite—my body now is worlds apart from my Earth days.
Back then, I was a decent 178 cm, 70 kg, with enough muscle to turn heads... even if I never dated. Why? Uh... anyway.
Now I'm a tiny, fragile little girl, so not straight isekai. Possession? Doesn't feel like it—no original owner lingering inside, no memories.
I was found by Master naked in the middle of a brutal winter blizzard. And that's exactly when I first opened my eyes in this world.
So... closest thing is gender-swapped isekai, I guess.
Recalling that first moment still makes me dizzy. Without Master, I'd have frozen solid.
Oh, about Master Rodis Bern: total eccentric mage. His skill? Top-tier by my game knowledge. No clue why a guy like that hides out in these remote mountains.
If he'd been academy chairman, the protagonist wouldn't have needed to struggle at all.
This world has seven attributes for magic. One attribute: Beginner Mage. Two: Intermediate Mage. Three: Advanced Mage. Four or more: Archmage territory—tower lords, court mages, the elites.
The game's genius mage prodigy gets called a genius for handling three attributes at age 14.
But my master, Rodis Bern, wields five attributes. Isn't that basically the strongest? No idea why he's holed up in this godforsaken mountainside.
One day, he noticed my magic talent and started teaching me. That's why I call him Master.
So we've been living that chill, peaceful life deep in the uninhabited mountains, learning magic at our leisure.
Since it's the game world, shouldn't I head to the main stage and buddy up with the protagonist? Sure, I'm curious, but... why bother?
I'm just an extra—what can I even do? No guarantee of befriending the hero, and all those life-threatening events? Pass.
Absolutely not because it's a hassle. This mountainside is paradise, minus the boredom. Total freedom to nap and lounge!
Food, shelter, sleep—Master handles it. Unlike Earth, I sleep like a rock, roll around all day, no judgments. Why leave nirvana for suffering?
"Hehe."
No need to watch anyone else's mood. Being a kid means I can laze in bed till late—rolling around is the best—
"Miriel... are you awake?"
Tracing the familiar voice, there was Master Rodis Bern, hanging upside down from the ceiling.
Whoa... five attributes let you do that?
"Huh? Master? Why are you dangling from the ceiling?"
In that instant, my body floated into the air. Then the world flipped.
The blanket fell away... and the still-chilly midwinter wind whipped mercilessly over my bare skin.
"Hrrgh... achoo!!! Master, you perv!!!"
I hurriedly cast a spell to yank the blanket back over me. A quick glance showed Master staring at me like I was ridiculous.
"Aigoo... you hopeless disciple! Why are you naked? And why am I hearing that from you?"
"Because you were peeping at my bare body!"
Master sighed at my retort.
"Sigh... Miriel. Do you not remember the day we first met?"
"When you begged me to take you as a disciple?"
Suddenly, a surge of mana rippled above my head. I urgently deployed a barrier.
Thud—it was no mere magical clash; pure mana colliding raw.
Oh crap... my barrier's cracked...
"Master!! You trying to kill your only disciple?!"
"You rascal!! You're not the type to die from that, are you? With more mana than even me..."
"You're the weak one (in mana)."
...Though I didn't get any attribute blessings, sure.
"Sigh... if I'm weak, no mage in this world has a right to live..."
Master muttered in disbelief.
"From the start, did you think seeing a scrawny kid's body—like a granddaughter to me—would do anything? You were naked when I first found you too... and you've not grown a bit since then."
Tch. Says the 172 cm shorty!! Shorter than my original height!!!
To retort, I propped up on tiptoe, stretching taller. Ahem. Now my eyes hit around his chest level.
"I have grown! Two cm a year—now I'm 144 cm!"
"For 15, that's severely stunted growth... tsk tsk. Should've eaten balanced, not picky."
"Waaah!!!!!!"
"So, what's the point? Nom nom."
I shoved a huge steak chunk into my mouth. Om nom—so good. Elk from the wild, bled perfectly, magic-treated to kill the gamey smell: mountain steak perfection. This is why we live here. Om nom...
"Miriel. It's almost March, isn't it?"
"March is two whole months away. It's barely early January."
"Heh heh... two months feels eternal to a child like you, but to an old fogey like me, it's but a blink..."
Master closed his eyes briefly.
"Feels like yesterday I picked you up in the snowdrifts, yet already five years..."
"Already five years, yeah."
Time flies. Five years since meeting Master...
"So(oo)?"
I tilted my head.
"You rascal. Don't talk with food in your mouth."
Tch. So picky. How picky? Well...
Oh, Master's face is getting dangerous.
"Fuu... what to do with this wild tomboy..."
As he sighed, I was about to pop in another steak piece, using him as a side dish—
"My disciple Miriel, who possesses the qualities of an Archmage."
Huh? Sudden dementia?
Why the lavish praise? Sure, I'm kinda awesome... Hee hee.
I grinned around the steak in my mouth. And to that, Master unleashed the brutal verdict.
"It's time to descend the mountain, Miriel."
BOOM—lightning from a clear sky.