Starlia massaged her temples, completely ignoring my and Celestia's presence across the room, acting as if the mere existence of other people was giving her a migraine.
"Don't say that, my lady," the blonde woman—Serelya, I would later learn—chided gently. "Perhaps that person is also a genius. You are supposed to consider their welfare. You should respect others."
I blinked. Welfare? Respect? Someone actually brought HR guidelines to a monarchy. I liked her already.
Starlia scoffed, glaring up at her. "Now you are going to tell me what to do, huh?"
"No, it is not like that," Serelya replied calmly, completely unbothered by the royal tantrum. "I am not just here to protect you. I am your tutor, and you know that."
Starlia crossed her arms, a sudden spark of hopeful curiosity lighting up her face. "Hey, Serelya! Can I change my teammate?"
"No, you cannot."
The Princess's shoulders slumped in visible, dramatic disappointment. It was honestly a little insulting. I'm practically carrying a nuclear reactor in my chest, and she's treating me like a bad blind date.
Serelya's expression softened into an elegant, plotting smile. "Hey! What do you think... should we test him?"
Starlia's face instantly lit back up. "You bet. Let's go."
With a synchronized turn, the two of them marched straight toward where Celestia and I were sitting. I leaned back into the velvet sofa, crossing my arms, fully prepared to conduct a corporate performance review on this supposedly "genius" Princess of Alzaria.
"Mmhm." Serelya cleared her throat gracefully as they approached. "Commoners. Lady Starlia wants to meet you."
I raised an eyebrow, staying firmly planted in my seat. "I guess we're in the same room. She can walk a bit, can't she?"
Beside me, Celestia nearly choked on air. "Ragna! Show some respect!" she hissed, panic flashing in her golden eyes.
Serelya didn't look offended. In fact, that warm smile never left her face as she looked down at me. "Maybe you too can walk a bit, can't you?"
Smooth counter, I thought, the logical pragmatist in me deeply appreciating the verbal parry. But seriously, why is her presence so damn familiar? It was itching at the back of my brain.
"Alright, coming," I sighed.
I stood up, walked the three grueling paces to close the distance, and offered a deep, highly exaggerated bow to the twelve-year-old monarch. "Yes, my lady!"
It took every single ounce of my adult, former-billionaire willpower not to burst into giggles right there on the spot.
Starlia looked down her nose at me. "At least you have some etiquette," she huffed.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked, keeping my face perfectly deadpan even though my insides were violently vibrating with suppressed laughter.
Starlia stopped a few feet away, crossing her arms and looking me up and down. "Ragna, was it?"
I placed a hand over my heart and bowed again. "Yes! I am overflowing with grace that the Princess of Alzaria actually knows my name."
She didn't seem to catch the heavy layer of sarcasm dripping from my words. She just accepted it as her natural due. "So, what is your cultivation level and core type?" she demanded.
I paused. My mind raced through the tactical variables. I can't tell her my reality. If I drop the bomb that I have a custom-forged Elemento-Draco-Phoenix core and that my Qi density matches hers at Stage 3, she'll either assume I'm clinically insane or immediately view me as a political threat. The smartest strategy in any negotiation or combat scenario is information control. Let them underestimate you. I will show her my true capabilities only when I think it is absolutely necessary.
"It's Qi Refinement Stage 2," I lied smoothly. "And my core is an Elemental Phoenix Core, Your Highness." (Sorry, Mizuki. You're a secret for now).
Starlia let out a dismissive little sigh. "Good enough for you, I suppose, but quite low for me. Huh," she muttered, looking visibly disappointed. "Don't worry. I will manage it all alone. You don't have to do anything, and frankly, I don't want you to."
I widened my eyes, letting my face fall into an expression of sheer, pathetic relief. I even managed to force a slight quiver into my voice and squeezed out a genuine-looking tear. "I am so grateful for your immense kindness, Princess! Thank you!"
(Seriously, where is my Nobel Prize in acting?)I thought, wiping the fake tear away. (Unfortunately, there is no Nobel Prize category for 'Best Performance by a Reincarnated CEO Pretending to be a Helpless Peasant', but there really should be. How about an Oscar? Grammy? Nevermind, it's not Earth anyways. You don't have them here.)
Before Starlia could bask in her own charity any longer, the magical amplification array buzzed to life overhead.
"Team 7 and Team 3, please gather at the battle stadium for the test!" the announcer's voice echoed through the corridors.
"Let's go, commoner. Try to keep up," Starlia ordered, spinning on her heel and marching out.
We reached the battle stadium, stepping out onto the massive, sand-covered arena floor. The crowd in the stands roared, but I tuned them out, analyzing our opponents across the field.
It was a pair of older teenagers. A quick scan of their Qi circulation told me exactly what I needed to know: they were weak. Just a Qi Refinement Stage 1 and a Stage 2.
But it was their familiars that were interesting. Beside the Stage 2 kid stood a majestic lion wreathed in actual flame; its eyes emitted a piercing golden glow, and raw fire spilled from its jaws with every exhale. Beside the Stage 1 kid perched a Bennu—a mythological elemental bird that looked like a heron made of crackling energy.
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Starlia took one look at them and scoffed. She held a hand out to stop me.
"Stay right here," she commanded, not even looking back at me. "I'll take them both up. They are far too weak." She pointed at the blazing, golden-eyed beast. "Just a Stage 1 and a Stage 2 with a cute fiery kitty..." Then her nose wrinkled in pure aristocratic disgust as she looked at the Bennu. "...and a weird bird."
"Your wish is my order, Princess," I said, offering a crisp, obedient nod.
I stepped back and crossed my arms. Perfect. I get to sit back, conserve my mana, and fully analyze the combat efficiency of the Genius of the Century without lifting a single finger. Delegating work to overachieving interns is a skill I haven't lost.
Starlia walked forward, her eyes narrowing as she faced the opponents, her hands already moving in a fluid blur to weave the hand signs for her first spell
A massive surge of localized mana crystallized in the air above her, manifesting into a giant, glowing blue lotus flower.
I watched closely, my analytical mind instantly dissecting the construct. Celestia had briefed me on this. The Princess of Alzaria possessed a highly anomalous, ridiculously rare mutation known as the Blue Heavenly Lotus Core. Apparently, the First King himself had given it a title: the 'Divine Neelkamal' or 'Bramh Neelkamal' Core.
Side note: I actually know exactly what that Sanskrit translates to, thanks to my past life on Earth, but I'll keep that little linguistic advantage to myself. Though purely from an aesthetic and branding standpoint, blue is a weird choice. It really should have been pink to match her hair and dress. Visual synergy matters, people.
As Starlia stepped forward, the ambient Qi condensed around her physical form. Sleek, high-grade armor—stark white and deep blue—materialized over her dress, and an elegant sword formed directly in her grip out of thin air.
The giant blue lotus didn't just hover aimlessly; it floated in the air above her, tracking targets like a highly loyal, heavily armed pet. I had to admit, I was genuinely watching in awe. It was a brilliant construct of automated offensive and defensive mana distribution.
Across the arena, the two opponents initiated a pincer maneuver, charging from both sides alongside their familiars.
Big mistake.
Starlia didn't even flinch. She commanded her lotus to attack. The massive flower unleashed a concussive energy blast that slammed directly into the Stage 2 kid and his fiery cat—I mean, lion—blowing them completely away from each other and shattering their formation.
With the Stage 2 opponent isolated, the lotus acted as an independent tactical unit. It functioned simultaneously as a kinetic barrier to protect her flank and a turret releasing concentrated energy beams and blasts. This freed Starlia up to rush in and cross swords directly with the other opponent, the Stage 1 kid.
It was looking so absolutely marvelous that it led me to a very logical, pragmatic conclusion.
She did not need my help. At all.
So, what does a highly efficient individual do when their teammate is successfully soloing the enemy squad? I walked a few steps back, sat down cross-legged in the dirt, closed my eyes, and began cultivating my core. Time is a non-renewable resource, and ambient Qi doesn't absorb itself. I had no time to waste standing around like a cheerleader.
Over the hum of my own Qi circulation, I peaked open one glowing blue eye just in time to watch her trigger her next sequence.
"Lotus Blades!" she commanded.
The giant floating flower shed several of its petals. In a fraction of a second, she altered their molecular structure, sharpening the edges until they became lethal, hardened blades that shot straight toward the opponents.
The kids barely managed to dodge the initial volley, throwing themselves to the side. But Starlia wasn't giving them any breathing room to recover their footing.
She instantly chained her next attack. "Petal Dance!"
A massive swarm of newly summoned petals erupted from the lotus. Some sharpened into swords, while others primed to detonate upon impact, and she threw every single one of them at the opposing pair.
Caught completely off-guard in mid-air from their previous dodge, the human opponents were sitting ducks. There was no anatomical way they could contort to avoid the lethal storm.
But just before the storm connected, their familiars—the lion and the Bennu—leaped directly into the line of fire. They tanked the full brunt of the slashing and exploding petals to protect their masters, sustaining severe, bloody injuries in the process.
Starlia pressed the advantage immediately. She launched herself forward, sending a concentrated energy blast from the lotus that completely blew one of the opponents away. While she personally engaged one fighter in close combat, her majestic blue lotus autonomously handled the other, seamlessly releasing energy attacks and blocking incoming strikes like a highly efficient secondary unit.
She defeated the pair effortlessly. To finalize the absolute beatdown, she launched a special technique called "Iota".
My analytical brain immediately broke down the mechanics. It was an advanced offensive stage of the basic 'feather steps' movement art. By manipulating her Qi, she made her physical body incredibly light, multiplying her agility tenfold. But simultaneously, she condensed a highly dense aura around herself to drastically increase the kinetic damage of her strike.
It was a brilliant, contradictory application of physics—maximum velocity combined with maximum mass upon impact. She moved so fast that the opposing pair didn't even have the neurological response time to react. It was over in a flash.
With the match concluded, Starlia willed her sword and armor to disappear. She turned on her heel and started walking toward the exit, fully embodying the victorious monarch.
But suddenly, she stopped. She pivoted and started walking straight toward me.
I was still sitting cross-legged in the dirt, deep in my cultivation cycle, blissfully unaware that the fight was already over. She marched right up to me and crossed her arms.
"Hey! Commoner. Get up! The fight's over," she barked.
I slowly opened my eyes, letting the residual, dim glow of my core fade from my irises. I pushed myself up to my feet, dusting off my trousers.
"Yes, my princess," I said, offering another impeccably polite bow. "I'm sorry you had to walk up to here for waking me up."
Ah, damn it! Just a few more minutes of undisturbed meditation and I would have reached the 10% milestone for my next breakthrough! Interrupting a cultivator mid-cycle is like pulling the plug on a server update. Absolute hazard. But fine, smile and nod, Ragna.
"Yeah, that's true," Starlia huffed, completely validating her own superiority. "But I forgive you. Let's go. The next fight will be in an hour, and I have to recover for that."
I bit my tongue and followed a few paces behind her. We left the stadium and headed back to our assigned waiting room, where Celestia and Serelya were already waiting for us.
The moment the door clicked shut, Celestia practically bounced over to me.
"Ragna! How was it then? Did you win?" she asked eagerly, her golden eyes wide.
"Technically, she won," I stated flatly, pointing a thumb at the Princess. "She fought all alone."
Then, deciding to fully commit to my role as the useless, awe-struck peasant, I clasped my hands together and put on an incredibly dramatic, starry-eyed expression.
"Our princess is so, so, so awesome," I gushed, pitching my voice to sound perfectly pathetic. "And her beautiful blue lotus, it was so beautiful and so powerful," I continued, making sure my voice carried just enough fake awe. "Truly, she is a girl of unparalleled power, beauty..." I leaned in closer to Celestia, dropping the starry-eyed act instantly, "...and absolute arrogance," I whispered in a hushed tone so that only she could hear me.
At that exact moment, Starlia strode into the room, her chest puffed out with all the pride of a conquering monarch. "Yes. I took both of the opponents on and won," she declared, looking directly at her blonde tutor. "Now are you satisfied, Serelya?"
Serelya offered that same, unwavering warm smile. "Your skills are awesome, my lady," she said smoothly, her tone perfectly even. "But no, I'm not satisfied. You were supposed to do teamwork, but you didn't."
(Aha! Thank you, Serelya. Someone finally giving the CEO-level feedback this operation desperately needs.)
Starlia's face fell into a visible pout. "You always do this," she grumbled, looking thoroughly disappointed that she wasn't getting a parade. She waved a dismissive hand. "And don't call me formally. Call me by my name."
"But—" Serelya started, trying to maintain professional boundaries.
"And that's an order," Starlia snapped, cutting her off completely.
Serelya sighed softly, conceding the point. "Huh, as you say, my... I mean, Starlia."
"That's what I more like it," the Princess huffed, appeased for the moment.