Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 9

Elincia was used to a life of luxury. Having spent her days living in Lady Sylvia's mansion, having maids wait on her hand and foot, and eating only the finest cuisine, residing in the servant's quarters was a startling change of pace.

The room that she slept in was tiny, being only about a third of the size of her room at Lady Sylvia's. While her bed was nice and comfortable, it didn't compare to the one in her room, which even most nobles could not afford. White carpet covered the floor, but it felt slightly coarse, rough, as if it was made from something other than carpet. The walls were beige, but some of the paint was chipping. The bathroom only had a single tiny shower unit and nothing else.

Elincia loved it. Here, in this place, with no one to look after her but herself, Elincia had freedom for the first time in many years.

Sunlight streamed in through the room. Rays of light warmed her bed. Elincia had woken up about an hour ago, but she hadn't wanted to move since the sun hadn't been up. With sunlight now brightening her room with its warm splendor, Elincia rose, sitting up in bed and stretching out her arms and legs.

Climbing out of bed, she slowly stumbled into the bathroom, where she slid out of her pink nightgown and took a warm shower.

Humans really are amazing, she marveled at the shower as hot water rained down from above. The shower was another piece of magical technology. Run on water-type spirit crystals and heated with fire-type spirit crystals, showers could be either hot or cold, depending on how much power one wanted to drain from the crystals. When the crystals ran out of power, they would be replaced.

Elves didn't have this kind of technology. Being the old-fashioned creatures that they were, elves believed themselves to be superior to everyone else and refused to adapt to the changes happening elsewhere in the world. As an elf herself, Elincia understood that better than anyone.

After spending nearly 15 minutes in the shower, enjoying the hot water, Elincia stepped out and wrapped a towel around her torso. Padding back into her bedroom, she wandered over to the full-body mirror that had been given to her by the headmaster.

She studied herself. Dripping wet blonde hair trailed over her left shoulder and went down to her hips. Wrapped around her slender body, the towel showed off the modest swell of her bosoms. Frowning, she hefted her chest up with her hands.

"They're not very big..."

She bit her lower lip. As an elf, she would never have a large bust. Elves were slender, not busty. However, she'd read in Sorceress Weekly that men, especially teenage boys, liked women who had larger chests.

Is that the kind of girl that Caspian likes? Elincia wondered before quickly shaking her head, berating herself for having such thoughts. Caspian wouldn't be so shallow.

"I mustn't think like that," she said to herself. She nodded several times, reaffirming her thoughts. "I'm sure that Caspian finds me attractive. He said so himself several days ago."

That's right. The day that she had arrived here, Caspian had told her that she was pretty. He'd never lied to her before, and she couldn't see him doing so now.

Elincia's heart warmed as she thought about Caspian. Being able to see her childhood friend—her only friend—after being apart for so long, was like a dream come true. Even though most of their time was spent in class, they always went off together afterward, either to the library or an unused courtyard where they could sit and talk. Her heart hadn't felt this light in years.

A knock at the door startled her.

"Elincia?" It was Caspian. "You ready?"

"J-just a second!" Elincia shouted as she scrambled to put on her clothes. She could practically feel her cheeks coloring. She couldn't believe she'd spent so long standing in front of the mirror. How embarrassing!