Novice Reincarnator

I didn’t care to find out why the administration building of Crystalline Caverns was noisy when I returned. My feet carried me to the transport crystal to take a bath, but a demon blocked my path. He was holding a bouquet of flowers and got down on one knee for some reason.

“My princess, please marry me!”

I didn’t have the energy to deal with this. My words lost all of their usual elegance.

“Fuck off.”

I walked past the stunned man and quickly entered the bathing facilities of the academy. Several girls in various states of undress filled the locker room. I didn’t pay them any extra attention and quickly claimed an empty locker. The hushed whispers surrounding me went ignored too.

“You must have encountered a terrifying monster, huh?”

A cheerful voice called out to me and a strong hand hit my back in a friendly manner. I glanced at the topless girl who looked strangely familiar. My eyes followed her gaze to my stained short shorts. I had been too tired to have Lime clean me up before I entered the bathhouse, so I was still in a terrible state.

“Yeah.”

“Everyone goes through that embarrassment. In fact, you should be proud. It is proof that you survived a daunting battle that most would perish in.”

“Mmm.”

I gave vague noises of agreement to whatever she was saying as I tried to take my hoodie off. It got stuck on my head and I had to get my nosy neighbor help to take it off.

“Are you sure you are okay? I could give you a healing spell.”

“No need.”

I was going to reincarnate and sleep off all the damage I took. A healing spell would be wasted on me. My clothes and underwear were basically ruined. I wasn’t sure if they could be saved and I wasn’t looking forward to my walk back to my dorm.

I stumbled to one of the open showers and nearly moaned in delight as the heat worked out the aching soreness that filled my body. My hands combed back my wet, short ice blue hair like I did every time I took a shower. Somehow, today produced a different result. My hands bumped into something hard on my head.

I blindly groped the hard something on the side of my head and it felt like a… horn? In fact, there was a strange object on both sides of my head. It was like I had a pair of horns. That was impossible. I was only a Hornless Demon after all. I muttered quietly under my breath.

“Detailed Status.”

 

Name: Ash

Gender: Female

Race: Demon Princess

Class: Novice

Level: 10/10

Personal Skills (3/3): [Weak Bladder], [Summoning Magic I], [Shadow’s Refuge II]

Racial Skills: [Contract IV], [Mana III], [Health II], [Gluttony]

Class Skills: [Novice]

 

The sight before my eyes stunned me. How did my race change from a Hornless Demon to a Demon Princess? Was it because of the experience I gained from fighting monsters far stronger than me? I spent some time frozen underneath the hot shower. Eventually, I gave up on thinking and closed my status. I was going to reincarnate anyways. My skills and race didn’t matter.

I absentmindedly looked down on my body. Perhaps it wasn’t just my imagination that I had gotten taller and that my breasts had grown bigger. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind and resumed washing myself.

I felt just a little less dead and a little more alive once I finished. My [Health] skill must have played a role by boosting my natural recovery.

“Over here.”

A loud shout caught my attention as soon as I exited the shower. The nosy girl from earlier was waving at me to join her in the bath. I didn’t see a reason to refuse. I walked over to her side and sank into the bath next to her.

“Mmnn…”

This time, I did actually moan in delight. It couldn’t be helped. This bath was too heavenly after the grueling battle I went through. A lot of girls were staring at me and my nosy neighbor was blushing.

“Y-you really are enjoying the bath.”

“It makes almost dying worth it if this is the reward waiting for me afterwards.”

“Hey! Don’t fight if it is almost going to get you killed. Every exploration should be planned out with a generous safety margin.”

“Mmm.”

“You aren’t listening to me!”

I closed my eyes and simply enjoyed being alive. I would be dancing with joy and throwing a big celebration party with Lime if I wasn’t so tired. For now, this bath was my celebration party.

“Claire, why did you go ahead? We are a party. We should stick together!”

“Ehehe. Sorry, Melissa. I couldn’t hold back my love for baths. Forgive me.”

“Geez, what am I going to do with you? Elizabeth, you should say something too.”

…Elizabeth? I was nodding off in the bath, but that name woke me up. My eyes shot open. The girl next to me, Claire, had a foolish smile on her lips. A strangely familiar, slender girl was standing besides Claire with a towel protecting her modesty. Beside her was someone I would never forget.

Elizabeth McDouglas had a troubled smile on her face as she looked at Claire and I. The bathhouse had suddenly fallen quiet without me noticing it. All I had to do was look beside Elizabeth to understand why.

Leah Maxwell, the Legendary Hero, had done nothing to cover up her needlessly radiant appearance. It was no wonder that I had thought Claire looked familiar. She was the Royal Paladin of Leah’s party.

“But it was worth it to rush in first. Meet my new friend, err…”

Claire turned to me awkwardly. Come to think of it, I had never given her my name. The entire hero party was looking at me. The only saving grace was that I was too tired to panic.

“Ash. Nice to meet you.”

“That is right. She is Ash. We became best buds in the locker room earlier.”

“I am sorry that our idiot bothered you.”

A voice spoke out from the other side of me and I nearly jumped. A girl with black hair and black eyes was in the bath with me. I didn’t know how long she had been there.

“Tabitha, don’t say that. I didn’t bother Ash at all. Right, Ash?”

“Mmm.”

The rest of the hero party entered the bath. I had somehow joined their circle. The conversation was rather lively and I mostly alternated between listening along and nodding off.

“Ah, I am so sick of undead.”

I spoke upon hearing Claire’s complaint.

“Catacombs of the Fallen, right?”

“How did you know?”

“I’ve watched you guys a few times.”

My words seemed to have filled Claire with happiness judging by how her face lit up. My best friend, Leah, entered the conversation.

“I didn’t know you were a fan.”

“It is pretty cute watching the normally cool headed Elizabeth squirm under your teasing.”

To my surprise, Leah agreed with me.

“She is cute, isn’t she.”

“Nonsense. A lady of the McDouglas line is noble and graceful at all times. The word cute simply doesn’t apply to me.”

I had never heard the old Leo call a girl cute. Leah had changed beyond belief. So much so that I found myself saying something that I never thought I would say.

“You were cute too. It was like I was watching a little boy tease his crush.”

Leah frantically waved her hands in front of her body, causing water to splash.

“It isn’t like that!”

“Oh, truly?”

“Of course! We are just friends.”

Elizabeth sighed at my best friend's cruel words. A strange impulse came over me. The rational part of my mind was too tired to dismiss this bad idea.

“If that is the case…”

I drew out my words as I languidly approached Leah.

“...how about I make you mine?”

I grabbed Leah by the shoulders and pushed her down against the side of the bath. My large breasts swayed in the air from my sudden movement and Leah’s gaze tracked their motion. 

From this close up, I could tell that her brilliant, clear blue eyes hadn’t changed at all. No matter what appearance she took, she was still the same best friend that I grew up with.

“Get off Leah, you boob demon!”

“Not fair!”

“Fufufu.”

The audience was noisy, but they didn’t matter. Leah was the only one I cared about. Her bright blue eyes widened in surprise and a faint blush graced her fair cheeks. She had none of her usual princely charm. Leah hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Do you perhaps like me?”

I chuckled at my foolish friend’s words. I threw her own words back at her.

“I was just teasing you, Hero. That is what friends do, right?”

After I said my piece, I let go of Leah and exited the bath. The expression of Leah’s party was a mixture of wariness, jealousy, and awe. With the exception of the noisy hero party, the rest of the room remained deathly silent.

About a quarter of the girls had fainted, a quarter of them watched me leave, and the remaining continued looking at the hero party. A particularly strong gaze from a certain hero on my rear never once left.

An explosion of noise filled the vacuum, but I no longer cared by that point. I returned to my locker. By some miracle, my dirty clothes had been returned into a somewhat presentable state. My bra was too small to fit me anymore, but I managed to wear everything else without any issues.

I dragged my tired body to the Teleport crystal and returned to the Crystalline Cavern administration building. A surprise was waiting for me there. Cecilia Snowlight grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the building with her.

“Hey.”

I was too tired to give more than a feeble protest that went ignored. Everyone stopped and stared at us as Cecilia dragged me to her waiting limo halfway across campus. I got in it without protest, allowing myself to be kidnapped a second time.

The last of the tension in my body disappeared. I was beside Cecilia Snowlight. There was not a safer place for me to be in the world. All of my contracted monster’s were within [Shadow’s Refuge]. There was nothing more left for me to do in this reincarnation.

My heavy eyes closed. My body tilted as my strength disappeared. Something soft caught me. With the last of my mental strength, I selected the reincarnate option in my status. Then, I knew no more.