"Rosa? Rosa? Wake up Rosa."
Rosalind stirred in her bed and her eyes fluttered open, taking in the environnt.
Warm rays of sunlight were trickling in through her bedroom window and the pleasant sound of a wind bell ringing could be heard in the distance.
She looked at her fingers and her eyebrows ca together in confusion.
Her hands were small and dainty, no bigger than the hands of a thirteen year old.
’Was I dreaming?’
She could not exactly recall what had happened but a part of her felt like she had been living a nightmare for a very long ti.
Rosa yawned, suddenly feeling sleepy and was about to lay back down when she felt a cold hand grasp onto her wrist.
"ROSALIND!"
Her eyes shot open and she was t with a foul ugly face, ominous red eyes and long black horns.
Rosalind imdiately sat up straight, her bedsheet wrapped around her body as she woke up.
’I was asleep?’
She squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden change... her forrly bright room was now shrouded in darkness, one so thick that she could not see her hands in front of her face.
In the darkness it was as though the shadows were brought to life, little sounds were intensified and the sound of her breathing echoed back to her hearing.
A soft tune then began to co from the side of her room. As ti went by, the tune began to intensify, growing louder and louder until it was right next to her.
Rosa, curled underneath her blanket, wrapping herself with it as though it could protect her from whatever fiend was in her room.
It was sothing worse than a demon, that was what her instincts told her, but she could not run, she was trapped here with it, made to endure its tornt without an end.
Rosa once again felt a hand gently grip her shoulders and shake her lightly.
She once again, for the third ti opened her eyes, but this ti she was not in a dark room, she was not looking at a fiend and she was not in a fantasy conjured by her mind.
Rosa was in a hall that spanned several ters long and in that hall, hundreds of beds were laid in a horizontal manner, spanning the entirety of the hall.
The air slled of disinfectant and depression, everywhere she turned she would be t with gazes from broken children filled with despair.
Her bed was small, crafted more for utility than comfort. It was, so tiny that if she rolled an inch she would fall off.
Beside her, on a bedside stool was a plate of cold gruel, a milky white substance that was their everyday al.
n dressed in black cloaks were moving around the room, inspecting children like her, taking a few with them as well as dropping off so.
Rosa once again heard that gentle whistling, but now it felt pleasing to her ears, it was a song that brought her comfort.
There was a man sitting next to her and he was the one responsible for the pleasant tune.
He was dressed a shimring golden armor with the image of a phoenix engraved on the chest plate.
His hair was long, soft and graceful, caressing his face with its beautiful golden strands. Scarlet eyes that contrasted sharply again his pale face and hair only made him appear even more beautiful.
He was like a sculpture, a human that had been moulded by divine hands and ushered on the path to perfection.
"Did you have a bad dream?" He asked, a concerned look on his perfect face.
Rosa grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him closer. He was her only friend, her only comfort in this pit of misery.
He was everyone’s hero, the person the children looked up to when they could no longer take the pain, when their minds teetered at the edge of no return.
He was their role model, he was a Hero.
"Can I leave?" Rosa pleaded, her words a whisper. "Ever since their treatnt started, I’ve been seeing things—"
"I feel like I am going mad."
The hero laughed as though he had heard the funniest thing ever. He then placed a hand on her small head, ruffling her hair before smiling.
"My dear Rosa, madness is part of the process."
Rosa felt her heart drop at his words.
"Don’t worry, very soon, even the madness will be forgotten."
"And when you are finally free of all your constraints, only then will you be made perfect."
Yes, she had forgotten all along...
The fiend she had seen in the room was her mind warning her of this man, screaming at her to see his true nature.
The hero... he was their only comfort.
As well as their curse.
•••
"H...hero."
That was all Rosa managed to say before her heart beat its last, her eyes lost their light and her body fell lifeless against him.
Wise slowly placed her on the floor and closed her eyes.
"Good night princess... May you find peace in your next life."
’Hero...’
That was more than enough.
To think that the very people who were ant to bring salvation to the world would do sothing so evil made Wise feel sick to his stomach.
There were hundreds of heroes in this world, but one of them was responsible for this.
And Wise would make them pay.
Leaving her body lying on the street, Wise gave her one final glance before he began to move away.
He had just walked a few steps away from her when the sky brightened up.
Whoosh!
A large ball of fire suddenly descended on Rosa’s body, engulfing it in flas.
Wise quickly looked up in the direction the spell had co from, only to see the old man, Akaza, staring down at him from the top of a roof.
Wise sprinted towards Akaza, jumping to the roof to corner him, but once he landed, Akaza’s figure shimred and disappeared.
He was gone.
And in the place where he had stood stood a simple card.
Wise picked the card and observed it under the light of the moon.
It was a glistening black colour with gold edges, and at the center of the card was a Golden Phoenix.
[End of Volu 1]
[The Dragon and the Princess]
A/N
Wheeeew!
Breathe in... Breathe out...
And with that the first volu cos to an end! (He says in the announcers voice XD)
Before you go on I just want to address a few things.
I know that character developnt for the princesses was not really heavy in this arc and the mc did not utilise the system to its full potential as it was still a bit early.
And so this next arc is going to feature more of the system with more quests, advancents and level ups, plus I’ll better introduce you guys to the Fl as well as reveal more details about the plot and his past.
Thank you for your suport so far!
Cheers!
Oh... and btw not every girl is part of the harem!
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