My Childhood Friends Are Trying To Kill Me

Maybe they couldn’t tell because she was too small and ugly. Since returning from the temple she hadn't eaten properly, so she had lost weight.

"It’s okay, it doesn't matter anyway.'

Lelia escaped from her deep thoughts before becoming too depressed.

Near the tower were some soldiers, workers and servants.

As Damien said, Cedric really wanted to make the tower as a place to see constellations and give it to Juliana as a birthday present.

[… tch.]

Lelia bit her lip. For Juliana, they were stronger and better brothers than anyone else in the world. But for Lelia, they were villains.

[It's fine… I have friends who are stronger and cooler than Cedric and Damien.]

Besides, she was the captain of her friends.

[I don't have to be discouraged. Now I have this too.]

Lelia rubbed her necklace. She felt reassured.

But at that moment, a nerve-wracking thought popped up.

"How can I be sure it's not all a dream and this won’t show up again?'

Lelia gulped in fear and touched the blue pendant. Fortunately, the screen appeared intact.

At that time, the front-facing alchemy tool twitched and a speech bubble appeared.

[Master, we need to acquire new ingredients to clear the recipes. Currently, the owner has 0 ‘new materials' (•᷄⌓•᷅)… ]

“….”

[New material….]

Lelia, who was thinking for a while, checked the list of new recipes. The ingredients for the new recipes were all unavailable.

[System][!]New alchemy materials in this world. What kind of ingredients could it be? Go around and look for ingredients!]

Come to think of it, those unavailable materials were very annoying.

In her previous life, she remembered seeing those grey coloured names, thinking that it was quite irritating to see them, and played like mad just to get rid of them.

[Should I really walk around? Like an augmented reality game?]

Lelia began to walk in the opposite direction of the tower. Then, the alchemy tool spoke up again.

[~~Yeaa~! (ง˙∇˙)ว~(ว˙∇˙)ง Looking for materials~~]

[Oh, nice!]

Then again, now wasn't the time to be leisurely searching for new ingredients and unlocking recipes.

[Unfortunately, I’m busy today because I have to run away.]

The alchemy tool sent a new message, perhaps reading Lelia's mind.

[Do you want to proceed with auto-discovery? ʕ•̀ o•́ʔ]

[Is it possible to find it automatically?][I can automatically retrieve the materials that exist near you! The fee is 1 gold per hour   (๑•̀.•́๑)]

[I guess it can read my mind and answer…]

Lelia blinked in wonder. The alchemy tool began to spin excitedly.

[One gold per hour….]

Lelia looked at the gold amount stated at the bottom of the screen. It was money that could not be used in real life anyway.

[Would be a waste to keep this when I have a lot of money.]

She thought it was a good thing since she had nowhere to use it anyway.

[Then, I'll proceed with the auto-discovery.]

[Good choice, Master! I'll let you know as soon as I find the ingredients! ∠(･`_´･)]

[system: ‘auto-discovery' in progress–]

Lelia touched the pendant again, hid the screen, and walked forward.

She was headed to the place where the castle's servants came and went.

Standing behind a tree, near the entrance, Lelia noticed a large number of people near the small gate.

There's a lot of people passing through the gate.

Maybe it's because Juliana's birthday banquet is coming up.

[The original novel also had a huge birthday party…]

Lelia crouched down and approached the wagons.

The servants and merchants of the castle had no interest in anything but moving the materials. Booming yells were heard as they urged each other to hurry up.

Lelia hid herself in a warehouse that servants no longer use.

[I should sneak into a wagon leaving the castle and get out.]

It was a good idea. The wagons of merchants entering and leaving the Imperial Palace weren’t under surveillance. That is because they made daily visits.

[I guess this is my only option to escape.]

Because of the stress, her body was tense. As a matter of fact, she was afraid.

This wasn't a safe world for a ten-year-old girl to wander around.

[But with this necklace…]

At least there won't be any danger. Besides, if she was lucky, she could start a business.

[Alchemy is illegal, but…]

If she doesn't get caught, she'll be able to live quite well. High-ranking nobles secretly buy alchemy pills.

[I could always make explosives.]

There were quite a few recipes and ingredients available to protect herself.

[Let's not hesitate.]

Lelia made up her mind and peeked out through the cracks in the door.

A long time later, in the late afternoon, several soldiers showed up. They approached merchants trying to move their luggage and ask something.

The merchants shrugged and shook their heads.

The knights approached the servants this time with signs of trouble. It was right in front of the building where Lelia was hiding.

Thanks to this, Lelia was able to hear the conversation between the knights and the servants.

Perhaps they were acquainted, but a tall knight naturally called out to a servant.

"Hey."

"Oh, long time no see, sir."

"Yes, we’ll talk later…But first, have you seen a girl in a robe with silver hair and light green eyes?"

The male servant, who was moving luggage, tilted his head and replied.

"I haven't seen her at all. How else can I help you?”

"…it's not a big deal. The princes wants to find her. If you ever see her, bring her to me.”

"Y-yes sir."

When the knight turned, the servant bowed his head.

Lelia breath caught with shock and she barely breathed as the soldiers disappeared.

The twins were looking for her? Why?

The answer was simple, why not? The purpose of this harassment was clear.

[To show off in front of Juliana, to pretend to be a great brother, and to scold me, who is like a villain.]

What bad guys.

Lelia bit her lips and smothered her resentment.

In the original, the two brothers were not villains at all.

They were friendly brothers to Juliana and respected by the imperial people. Perfect beings who are generous to their subjects, and strict to their knights.

In addition, thanks to their handsome appearance and good manners, they were the ones who made the hearts of all the noble ladies flutter at balls.

Put simply, it was the princes themselves who set an example for others.

But for Lelia, the fear they brought to her was enough. Perhaps, they were even more frightening than Emperor Perseus.

The Emperor simply hated Lelia, but the princes believed that they could avenge their mother only if they bullied her.

[Because Empress Iris was a real pain in the a**…]

Lelia clenched her fists tightly. She got more impatient when she heard they were looking for her.

[I’ve got to get out of the city no matter what tonight.]

It was not long before the sun started to go down and late afternoon came.

Around that time the merchants began to leave the Imperial Palace, Lelia quietly escaped from the warehouse.

She crept like a thief and snuck into the back of a wagon.

Fortunately, there was a small space next to the big boxes, small enough for her to hide herself.

[I couldn't have hidden myself if I was even a little taller.]

Lelia curled herself into a ball, and waited for the carriage to depart.

She was nervous and sweating a lot, but it had been so easy to sneak out.

The wagon rattled through the gate and down the road.

Looking at the distant gate, she felt a strange sense of freedom and fear.

[Now I really need to get my act together.]

Unlike before, it was dangerous outside. However, the Imperial Castle was also dangerous to Lelia.

Lelia resolved her heart firmly and hugged her bag. The bag was light because she only packed precious things.

Her bunny doll, the fountain pen, her letters, and the wrist watch.

That was all.