The journey to the Capital continued in an uneventful fashion. We stopped in the next small town to make sure the traitorous puppy-napper was successfully brought in, but we didn't stay long after. The horses, of course, needed rest times, and James couldn't drive for hours on end alone, either.

I ended up learning a good deal about coaching a carriage from the farm boy. He seemed reluctant to teach me, at first, but he changed his tune when I threatened to flick him again. I wouldn't actually do it, but maybe it was better if he didn't know that.

The Princess was amenable and easy to travel with. She didn't bring up any difficult topics of discussion. I was thankful that she seemed to have some tact. Though, she did ask me about my skills again. I was glad I didn't give her the real number. Having to explain 7 to her was grueling enough by its own right. Besides, it wasn't like I completely understood all of my skills, either. It was far too dangerous to experiment with them anywhere near James or Lily. I'd been informed that the Academy had dedicated training grounds where I'd be able to practice to my heart's content. I could hold off on playi—Practicing—until we arrived.

All things considered, it wasn't a bad way to spend a few weeks. I learned quite a few things about James and Lily, too. I think James had a crush on the princess, though. I'd have to watch him in the future and make sure he didn't do anything to get himself in her bad graces. I'd seen bits and pieces of Lily's darker side in our passing conversations, and—if I'm being completely honest— that girl scared me a bit. I thought she was trying to appeal to my kinder nature, but she slipped up every now and then and say something rather brutal without flinching.

Throughout the trip, I kept expecting a group of bandits to pop out of the woods, or another horde of magical beasts to come running by. Neither happened. It was just a normal ride through the countryside with a couple of friends. I wondered if they considered me a friend, too.

[Solution: Data not found.]

'Yeah, I didn't expect you to know the answer to that one either, RED.' Still, I was almost glad I decided to go to the Academy now. If possible, once I got a handle on my powers, I would try to drag James and Lily to power-level them a bit. Going on a leveling journey with them sounded like it would be fun.

James's injuries healed rather quick. His constitution stat was in the 30's, so by normal human standards he was essentially a superhero. Lily also considered herself to be quite high leveled, too. She always tried to find chances to brag about it.

Apparently, level 18 was considered to be on the level of a genius in this world. Did that make James a super genius then?! I didn't think I wanted to live in a world where James was considered the epitome of humanity. I thought it was odd that neither James or Lily asked me about my level, though. Now that I thought about it, James had never brought up his level, either.

I decided to ask outright instead of speculating. "Lily, I've noticed that you often talk about your level. To be honest, I've never heard any other human brag about their level before. Is it a common practice among humans?" I did my best to keep a straight face.

"Oh. *Oh!*" she said. She seemed to come to a realization. "I'm sorry, Calliope, I sometimes forget that you're not human.. Because your appearance is.. Well, you know what I mean. Anyways, most humans never make it past level 10, so bragging about your level has sort of become a thing in military society."

"Oh. But James doesn't talk about his level, and his father is a knight," I said.

"I don't know why James doesn't brag about it. I secretly touched his hand while he was sleeping the other night in order to analyze him. He's actually even more outstanding than I am. Honestly, he has the prospects to become the next Knight Captain in my opinion.. But he must have his own reasons for not talking about it. When we get to the Academy you'll see how common bragging about levels really is."

'I see.' I wondered why James didn''t brag about his level. Maybe he didn't think his was all that high considering his was less than half his father's. Should I have asked him about it?

[Solution: Data not found.]

Yeah. He respected me enough to not pry into my situation so the least I could do was give him the same courtesy.

"That reminds me, Calliope. You never did tell me what level you were."

Oh shit. I shouldn't have brought it up, after all. 'Crap, what do I say?'

[Solution: In order to register for the Academy your level and number of unique skills will be publicly assessed by a Reading Stone anyway. This guide recommends telling the truth.]

That.. That was some necessary exposition you should have told me the minute I decided I would go to the Academy.

[Solution: The user has reaffirmed time and time again that they aren't trying to hide their strength.]

I'm.. But.. I didn't even know what to think anymore. I kind of hoped I wouldn't have to ever show my real level to anyone. What would they think when they find out?

[Solution: Data not found.]

And I've already lied to Lily about having only seven skills. Wouldn't she come to hate me if she found out I lied to her?

[Solution: Data not found.]

Was there any way to suppress or hide my level from the Reading Stone?

[Solution: No.]

Crap.

"Lily, I've heard that your level gets revealed when you're getting admitted to the school. If possible I want to keep mine a secret until then."

Lily looked at me and tilted her head to the side a bit. I could see confusion and questions lurking behind her expression. Despite her obvious curiosity, she didn't press me on the matter.

"Okay. That's fine. If you want to hide your strength I could order a secret test to be done for you as well," replied Lily.

This girl. This beautiful and wonderful girl. My face split into a bright smile.

"That would make me very happy, Lily."

"The only condition is I get to be there when it happens to see the results."

I almost choked on my own words. For some reason she looked like she was laughing to herself as she read my expression.

"Is—is it really necessary?" I asked.

"Yes. You're clearly hiding some fun things, and I'm terribly curious about them. The longer I hang around with you the more I come to like you, Calliope. I don't think friends should keep secrets between them. Do you?"

Ah. So she did consider me her friend. Did I just make my first real friend since coming to this world? Well, I didn't know if James considered me a friend. If he did, he'd technically be the first.

For now, though, I decided that Lily was my first. I knew, somewhere deep in my mind, that she was probably planning to manipulate me. Everything she said was probably a ploy to get me to lower my guard around her, but another part of me wanted to trust in her. There was no real harm in giving her a chance, was there? I mean, it wasn't like she could actually tie me to her country in any real way. No one was strong enough to do that. If I found out she was plotting behind my back, I could just leave.

"Okay. You can see the results. But I refuse to tell you before then," I said, making a child's promise.

When I replied, Lily's face bloomed into the most genuine smile I'd ever seen.

-

After two more days on the road, the Royal Capital could finally be seen on the horizon.