### 5~This Semester’s Project Submission
“Princess Filisia, what in the world are you doing here in Ruglien at such a late hour? Are you here to train with the Demon Race? And what kind of training might that be?”
“Tillysha, were you following me?” A calmer Filisia had caught on.
“Can’t say.”
“Can’t say what?”
“I mean, if I hadn’t followed out of curiosity tonight, who knows what might have happened to Her Highness Princess Filisia.” Tillysha tilted her head slightly. “Those Orcs aren’t your average ones; they’re well-armed, battle-hardened, and carry many scars from old wounds, far stronger than the usual Orcs.”
Filisia lowered her head slightly.
Indeed, as Tillysha said, had Tillysha not been following her all along, she might have already been captured by the Orcs and forced to learn some… well, knowledge she shouldn’t have been exposed to……
“Oh, I meant knowledge, not poses,” Filisia corrected herself mentally.
“Good thing you didn’t venture too deep into Ruglien; just before the wasteland is the forest.” Tillysha scanned the quiet, shadowy tree clusters around them. “Otherwise, I might have had to stay behind and keep Princess Filisia company tonight.”
“I’m very sorry for troubling you.”
“Even though you’re sorry, you still don’t want to give a reasonable explanation?” Tillysha still wouldn’t let Filisia off.
Tillysha wasn’t exactly weak; carrying Filisia who was dressed in her realm attire—though a bit of a weight—was bearable.
“Does Filisia truly realize her mistake?”
“Mm-hm.” Filisia averted her eyes, silently nodding.
“I don’t think so.”
“Making a mistake isn’t the issue; the key is whether one learns from it. Filisia’s attitude of ‘I made a mistake, but I’ll do it again’ isn’t something I can agree with.”
“It’s getting late. Can we discuss this tomorrow?” Filisia tried to get off Tillysha, but she was exhausted and couldn’t break free of Tillysha’s strong embrace.
Filisia was attempting to prolong the confrontation, but Tillysha wouldn’t have any of it.
“What do you want?”
This was the first time someone had held her in such a humiliating manner. It felt like a very proud man being embraced by a princess. In terms of height, Filisia was slightly taller than Tillysha.
Caught between embarrassment and vexation, knowing she was in the wrong, her composed tone carried a tinge of shame and helplessness.
“It’s not what I want, Filisia. It’s about what you want.” Finished speaking, Tillysha remained silent, offering Filisia a mysterious smile. “Sneaking into Ruglien at night isn’t a small matter. Do you want me to report this to the school?”
“Please stop prying.”
“I respect individual privacy, but under these circumstances, does Filisia still think this is about personal choice?”
In the end, under Tillysha’s “intimidation,” Filisia sighed lightly.
“I’ll tell you. If you put me down first.”
“Good judgement.” Seeing Filisia give in, Tillysha wasn’t afraid of a reversal and placed her down.
Although it might’ve felt a little like coercion, these methods were necessary under these circumstances.
“Tillysha, how much do you know about the White Glass lineage?” Filisia regained her freedom, stepping away from Tillysha’s embrace. Perhaps the night air was a bit chilly, making her slightly uncomfortable.
She didn’t immediately answer Tillysha but instead asked another question.
“I assume that’s the royal bloodline of the White Glass Kingdom.”
“That’s common knowledge, but the origins of our clan remain largely unknown.”
“The ancestors of the Zosha clan can be traced back to the ancient empire’s era. Tillysha, do you know about the ancient dragon race?”
“Ancient dragons?” Tillysha recalled reading about them in history books, though the ancient race was only mentioned briefly. “I’ve heard the name.”
“Ancient dragons were the dominant forces of old, one of the ancient remnant races, along with the Elves, and were confirmed extinct many years ago. The reasons remain unclear.” Tillysha recited the history books’ description of ancient dragons.
“Yes, the ancient dragon race is extinct, but that doesn’t mean their bloodline ceased to exist.”
At this point, Filisia’s intended meaning was fairly clear.
“The Zosha clan is one of their descendants.”
“I see.” Tillysha understood immediately. In the common tongue, the word for ‘ancient dragon’ sounds like ‘Zogen’ (translated phonetically), while the surname of the White Glass royals is ‘Zosha’, which sounds very similar.
“Because of the ancient dragon bloodline, our clan has been gifted with formidable divine authority, but our human bodies can no longer bear the overwhelming power of the dragon bl**d.”
“The condition I am currently experiencing is called ‘Drakenesis,’ and it’s not the first time it’s happened.” Filisia moved her hands, her strength not fully restored yet.
“Drakenesis happens when one’s realm level reaches its limit without breaking through. Essentially, the phenomenon occurs.”
“Human flesh cannot contain the dragon bl**d, resulting in excessive energy and power with nowhere to channel. Practically speaking, it leads to feelings of restlessness, violence, anger, and cruelty.”
“I think that last one may not be an effect of Drakenesis. It still needs examination, doesn’t it?” Tillysha tilted her head, smiling as she interjected.
“…”
“Oops, my bad. That was a slip. I didn’t mean to.” Tillysha theatrically covered her mouth.
“So, Filisia, is this ‘Drakenesis’ phenomenon due to your inability to break through your current high limit at level 20?” Tillysha remembered the last time she checked Filisia’s realm level, it was almost hitting level 20. It’s been over a month, so a breakthrough would be expected.
“If only it were that easy.” Filisia shook her head and continued, her consciousness still somewhat clear. “The breakthrough conditions for members of the Zosha clan are extremely strict.”
“Go on.”
“You need five claws taken from different higher-tier Demon Race individuals, the heart of a Demon Race member, and… the bodily fluid of an ancient relic race king.”
“So, Filisia, were you headed to Ruglien because of these ingredients?” Tillysha considered the ingredient list.
The first requirement didn’t seem too difficult. The Demon Race heart doesn’t literally refer to a heart but a unique substance only found in specific Demon Race members.
Then there’s the bodily fluid of the ancient relic race king, which sounds nearly impossible, yet when you think about it, it might be relatively easy to obtain.
Who constitutes an ancient relic race? The Zosha clan, having adapted to human society, definitely doesn’t count.
The ancient dragons are extinct, as are nearly all other ancient relic races. Even if a few survived, they would be hiding deep in isolation.
On careful review, the only ancient relic race that has managed to exist until today appears to be the Elves.
Before the Demon invasion, the Elf Forest, under the protection of the Mother Goddess, was a practically unassailable stronghold. If they couldn’t fight, they could retreat back home and remain unharmed. Other ancient races weren’t so lucky.
If it’s about the Elves, then it’s a matter of getting a bit of bl**d from Aistride.
But… ancient relic race king’s bl**d? Is Aistride’s going to count?
“Pfft.” Tillysha tapped Filisia’s forehead with her knuckles. “This isn’t as big an issue as you make it out to be. Why didn’t Filisia just explain this properly to everyone from the start?”
Caught by surprise by the intimate gesture, Filisia was stunned for a moment before stiffly responding. “This isn’t a game; it’s too dangerous.”
“You know it’s dangerous and yet you came alone? Was your next line about to be a dramatic, self-righteous declaration of ‘I cannot allow my teammates to fall into danger because of me’?”
“This is my personal matter; I can handle it on my own.”
“Filisia almost turned into a breeding incubator for Orcs tonight. What nonsense is this? Has Filisia, who can’t let go of her pride, forgotten that she only survived because she accepted help from someone else?” The two faced each other, Tillysha slightly tilting her head higher due to the height difference.
“Earlier when you fought the Orcs, you couldn’t even properly summon your Divine Authority. In your current state, challenging Ruglien would mean one day we’d find you with empty eyes and missing parts in some Orc or Goblin den.” Tillysha’s tone became heavier, but the situation earlier had been critical. One misstep, and Filisia’s fate would’ve been unspeakable.
Tillysha’s impression of Filisia was still relatively good, and she didn’t want the princess lying lifelessly under some Orc forever.
“Even though this shouldn’t be said by me, humans are inherently communal creatures, you know.” After saying this, Tillysha turned to leave and, noticing Filisia standing frozen in place, turned back with a smirk. “Not heading back home? Filisia, surely you haven’t missed those Orcs, have you?”
Filisia silently followed, and her impression of Tillysha shifted from a proper young miss to someone more “snarky and manipulative.” Despite this, elegance and poison on the tongue didn’t necessarily conflict.
Whether it was her natural character or learned behavior was unclear.
“Tillysha, could you do me a favor?”
“What is it?”
“Please don’t tell anyone about this.”
“I’m not the type to gossip, nor am I interested in rumors. I’ll keep this within the team.”
Filisia caught a key phrase: ‘within the team.’
Sure enough, Tillysha hadn’t spoken of it to anyone else, but the next morning, during breakfast, their captain, Dillin, stood up, cleared his throat to grab everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, remember how our Brilliant Sun and Moon team’s project hadn’t been decided yet?”
“Yeah.” x2 (Tillysha absent)
“Then I have a good suggestion. Considering that alliances between strong teams are more effective, trivial tasks like chasing cats or dogs aren’t suitable. Instead of that, why don’t we choose the following? Let’s make our semester-long project a solo expedition into Ruglien to hunt down and destroy a special Demon who possesses a Demon heart. What do you think?”
“This project will silence those who criticize our team. Our project difficulty far surpasses theirs.”
“Agreed.” x2
“…” Watching Aistride and Wenfu quickly agree as though following cues, Filisia immediately knew Tillysha had already let the others in on her secret.
Discovering her weaknesses and inability to handle certain aspects was tough for Filisia to swallow. As the heir to the kingdom, she understood she shouldn’t admit weakness to anyone, nor rely on others—a notion instilled in her since childhood. Until now, every breakthrough had been done solely by her efforts; she’d never relied on anyone else.
Not wanting others to know her hardships stemmed from her aversion to showing her vulnerable side.
Yet…
Filisia silently sipped on the love-infused happiness soup poured by the catgirl.
Oddly enough, she should’ve felt bitter, but instead, watching her teammates jump in without hesitation and support her, she found this feeling of not having to bear it all alone quite pleasant…
“What do you think about this, Filisia?”
“Huh?” Upon being asked for her opinion directly by Dillin, Filisia shyly averted her gaze.
Sheesh, everyone already knows, yet they insist on asking her opinion.
“If Tillysha agrees, then I suppose it’s fine with me.”
With four votes, there was no changing the decision.
“Great. Looks like we have unanimous consent!”
“Then without delay, let’s submit this project immediately.” Dillin finalized.
In the afternoon, the group appeared in the school administration hall.
“What?!” Upon hearing Dillin’s project submission, the grading instructor’s eyes widened as if doubting his ears. “You’re going to make this in-depth exploration of Ruglien your semester project?!”
“Yes, please submit our information and evaluate the difficulty of our project.”
“Evaluate? There’s nothing to evaluate!” The instructor exclaimed incredulously. “Exploring Ruglien as a project test—this is your first semester, yet you have big mouths! Even upperclassmen in third year wouldn’t dare to do such a project alone. They go in group teams!”
“Not just bold, but reckless. You don’t know what Ruglien is, do you?!”
“Mister Instructor, we’re not being overly ambitious, but look at our team configuration. Doing ordinary projects would be beneath us,” Dillin pleaded.
“Still, Ruglien is not allowed as a project destination!” The instructor was firm. “Given that your team is the top at our school, I cannot allow you to take such a risk to explore such a perilous area!”
“Let’s call it off, then,” Filisia shrugged her shoulders.
“Sorry, but Instructor, we understand your concerns, but it’s necessary for us to go.” Here, Aistride stepped forward, her voice calm but exuding an authoritative aura that left no room for dissent.
Though her tone wasn’t confrontational, the hidden implication was clear: whether you agree or not, we’re going regardless.
###
