At Nicasia’s winter chalet, there are various events prepared aside from snowball fights and enjoying the hot springs.
Hey, it’s me, Murmur, singing during a survival event, and there’s also a quest to go on small adventures in the nearby town!
But there’s an order to things.
There’s no way we can experience absurd situations like witnessing Esme Bloodberry getting drunk during a chaotic event, going shopping in the city, watching a swordsmanship exhibition, and then surviving some disaster all in one go!
“Uuuuuh…!”
To summarize: even if you want to survive a disaster, there’s still an order to these events!
That’s why I, Murmur, was feeling quite relaxed.
Because I knew that by waiting patiently, I could enjoy all the events eventually.
“Huuuaaam… I’m still so sleepy.”
Here at the academy, we live differently; we all sleep together in one room.
No one knows where they got it from, but there was a bed big enough for all of us, and we stayed up late chatting and laughing.
“Are you alright, Esme?”
“Citrine told a scary story, yet you’re asking me this?!”
“But it was such a fun story!”
At first, I, Murmur, wasn’t interested, but once the story began, it seemed like it would never end.
We ended up sleeping two hours later than usual. Will Vesta scold us? Since Bianca hasn’t come to wake us up, maybe she’s giving us a little leeway because it’s the second day of winter break?
“Nicasia, Nicasia… It’s time to wake up.”
One by one, everyone woke up except Nicasia, who somehow managed to stay asleep while clinging to the edge of the bed.
Who would have thought I’d get to see the princess oversleeping?
Her tousled silver hair and half-undressed pajamas were kind of cute.
“Mmm… Riola… Let me sleep for ten more minutes…”
“Hurry! Wake up, Nicasia! Quickly!”
Citrine tried to lift her by slipping her hands under Nicasia’s armpits, but since it looked like she lacked strength, I, Murmur, joined in and forcibly woke her up.
“Ugh… Alright, I’m up… Huaaaam…”
Nicasia finally opened her eyes, looked at us, and covered her reddened face with both hands.
“I didn’t wake up last, right?!”
“Murmur was the first to wake up.”
“You were definitely the last one, Nicasia!!”
“I just woke up too~”
Nicasia fanned her face as she got up from the bed.
“Uh… First things first, today we’re making a snowman, so I need to wash up.”
“After washing, let’s eat cake! Pearl said we could have it for breakfast yesterday morning.”
Esme’s excitement made Monica nod.
“After eating lots of cake, we’ll happily build a snowman!”
“Afterward, how about visiting Notkritbruk? There might be food and entertainment only available in this region.”
“That sounds like a pretty good idea. We’ll get to see lots of pretty things!”
Everyone laughed brightly as they talked about the plan ahead, but…
Surely, they don’t intend to do all that, right?
Guys, a day only has 24 hours, and we don’t have the stamina to do everything! Let’s stick to one thing a day! One thing! How many events do you plan to cram into one day?!
“I want to eat lots of delicious things!”
Esme is already setting the flag for accidentally drinking alcohol again.
“Ah, now that I think about it, Sister Anna said we must visit Notkritbruk sometime.”
“Right? Besides, Monica is here not just to play at the chalet.”
It seems even Sister Anna couldn’t help it. The Holy Nation’s treasure, the Saintess, can’t just hang out at a friend’s house.
“Still, it’s fortunate that meeting the people of the Holy Nation in Notkritbruk will only take a few hours.”
“Yes~ Instead of sitting and smiling during strange festivals, we won’t have to do that!”
“Eh… Why would Monica do something like that? She’s not a doll or anything.”
Once the conversation started, it showed no signs of stopping.
Nicasia shoved her blanket and pillow between her legs and listened intently, while the other girls chatted excitedly in their pajamas.
Looks like the adults will have to appear soon and remind us it’s almost lunchtime.
“How about Monica trying different clothes instead of just her saint robes this winter break?”
“That’s right! Monica always wears the same outfit. Let’s try something else!”
“I’ve wanted to try something different too. But…”
“Don’t worry about clothes, Monica. There’s a wardrobe here at the chalet.”
As the kids laughed and chattered happily, I, Murmur, found myself lost in thought.
Who should receive the reward for the survival event?
Should it go to Citrine, my ever-present companion? Or to Nicasia, whose efficiency is off the charts? Or perhaps Monica, who worked so hard?
“Uummm…”
If only I could check each friend’s stats one by one on their status screen, it would be so helpful.
Still, I remember the initial settings clearly, so maybe I should think about it further.
Nicasia’s initial stats were probably…
[Nicasia Holimpia]
[Strength 12 Agility 12 Health 14 Intelligence 10 Wisdom 11 Charisma 12]
[Abilities]
{Royalty: Gains bonuses in Strength, Agility, Health, and Charisma tests.}
{Vigorous Blood: Draws one extra card during the card-drawing phase.}
This felt right, didn’t it?
The moment I checked her stats, it was clear Princess Nicasia was overpowered.
And Citrine’s were…
[Citrine]
[Strength 8 Agility 8 Health 8 Intelligence 10 Wisdom 12 Charisma 11]
[Abilities]
{Daughter of a Noble: Possesses an ‘Item Deck’ consisting of 15 ‘Item Cards.’}
{Cold Analysis: Draws one card every time a critical hit succeeds.}
This felt right too.
Compared to Nicasia, Citrine’s numbers dropped significantly, but remember, she’s only in fifth grade elementary unit.
An adult’s average strength is 10, so it’s natural for fifth-grader Citrine to have only 8.
On the contrary, Nicasia at 12 is the abnormal one!
Then what about Monica’s stats?
[Monica]
[Strength 8 Agility 8 Health 7 Intelligence 10 Wisdom 11 Charisma 14]
[Abilities]
{Treasure of the Holy Nation: Cannot suffer critical hits.}
{Saint: The first ‘Holy Magic’ used always returns to the hand.}
{Golden Eyes: Can avoid fatal choices.}
Our Saintess lived up to her title with charisma far surpassing ordinary humans from birth!
After a year of school life, her stats might have changed slightly, but her abilities remain the same.
Ugh, this is such a tough decision.
Thinking simply in terms of ‘Ability Enhancement,’ choosing Nicasia makes it even harder.
{Royalty+: Gains bonuses in Strength, Agility, Health, and Charisma tests. Additionally, deals 50% increased damage.}
{Vigorous Blood+: Draws two extra cards during the card-drawing phase.}
Whether enhanced or not, Nicasia’s abilities scream “overpowered.”
While it would undoubtedly be extremely helpful in reality, the problem is that Nicasia is the princess.
Unlike the other children, she gets called away for various reasons and isn’t always dependable as my steadfast ally.
So, the choice comes down to Citrine and Monica…
Between Citrine, who becomes amazing once her build is complete, and Monica, who’s consistently reliable—whom should I choose?!
“Uuuuugh…”
“Murmur? You’ve been silent for a while now. What are you thinking about?”
Esme pinched my cheeks with her cold hands.
“Ah, nothing really.”
“Is that so? You seemed to be deep in thought.”
“If you have any worries, please share them with us, Murmur.”
How do I ask who’s the best candidate for ability enhancement?!
Anyway, let me think about it some more.
It won’t hurt to decide after the survival event ends!
–Gurgle!
“The lively conversation made me hungry.”
Monica covered her stomach awkwardly with a shy smile.
“It’s natural after waking up and chatting for so long.”
“We slept in too!”
Esme jumped off the bed and pointed toward the door.
“But Nicasia, does being the princess mean no one can enter your room?”
“Um… Even at the dormitory, it’s not like it’s particularly special.”
Nicasia smiled as she stood up from her seat.
“Really? That’s strange. Pearl always wakes me up when I sleep this late.”
“Sister Anna sometimes doesn’t know what to do when waking me up too.”
“Doesn’t this feel a bit off?”
Citrine furrowed her eyebrows slightly and checked outside the door.
“There’s no one around.”
“What? No one is here?”
Nicasia was startled, dropped her blanket, and peeked outside just like Citrine.
“Riola? Maris! Brisa!!”
She cupped her hands and shouted loudly, but unlike usual, the trio of maids did not appear.
“Why is everyone acting so strange? Where are the other adults…?”
Esme stepped outside and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, rubbing them.
“Uuuuugh, it’s cold! Something feels off…”
“Sister Anna isn’t anywhere to be seen either?”
I, Murmur, anticipated this situation, so I wasn’t surprised.
But it’s not fun when the expected event happens so soon.
I didn’t want to see this in the first place.
How unfair, for it to trigger on the second day!
“Murmur thinks the adults aren’t around?”
Pushing the friends’ bottoms aside as they peered outside, I, Murmur, walked out into the hallway and spoke.
“If the adults aren’t here, we should go check.”
“That’s right. They wouldn’t have gone anywhere without telling us.”
“If they haven’t gone anywhere, isn’t it strange that we still don’t see them?”
Watching my troubled friends, I, Murmur, swallowed hard.
The suddenly colder chalet.
The missing adults!!
The blizzard raging outside the windows just in time!
There’s only one event these spoilers point to.
A terrifying murder mystery at the chalet has begun!
