Chris finally reaches the long-awaited age of twelve, brimming with excitement at the thought, Now I can earn money to my heart’s content!

However, an unexpected truth awaits her…

* * *

Time passed once again and today I turned twelve.

Yes! I finally became twelve—the age I had been waiting for!!

When you turn twelve, the restrictions on the requests you can accept at the guild are lifted.

I had been counting down the days to this moment, eagerly waiting!!

“Yesss!!” I shouted in joy to myself as I rushed into the guild.

“Excuse me, I’d like to take this request.”

I’d grown tall enough that I could now easily reach the counter.

Perhaps thanks to always drinking lots of milk and focusing on a protein-centered diet, my current height is already 168 cm.

I’m far taller than boys my age.

“Oh my, hello, Fer-kun. Oh? This isn’t a job you can take, you know?”

“I turned twelve today!! So I can take it!!”

“Oh, so today’s your birthday. Congratulations!!”

“Thank you very much.”

“I see… Fer-kun is already twelve. You first came here when you were five, so it’s been seven years already…”

The young woman had completely slipped into reminiscing mode.

“Um… I’d really like to take the job…”

“Oh! Right, sorry. Let’s see… Red Wolf subjugation. They’re extremely quick, so be careful.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

After she stamped the request acceptance, I dashed off with light steps.

Red Wolves appear in the forest near the royal capital, but only deeper inside than the areas I usually went to.

That said, I’d actually been secretly going deep into the forest and hunting Red Wolves even before this.

I wanted the experience points.

However, I couldn’t sell the materials or drop items from the Red Wolves to the guild, so they’d just been sitting in my inventory the whole time.

This request was for subjugating five Red Wolves, so I could only sell materials from five—but that was fine.

Once I left the capital, I could sell as many as I wanted at other guilds.

That’s right—I had finally obtained the right to travel freely!!

* * *

I entered the forest, quickly defeated five Red Wolves and immediately returned to the guild.

“Hey, kid! What’ve you brought today?”

“This!”

I took out Red Wolf fangs, Red Wolf pelts and magic stones from my bag and showed them to him.

“Hey! Those are Red Wolf materials!”

“Yes! I turned twelve today!”

“Twelve, huh… So the request restrictions are gone! Hahaha! And you went straight out to hunt Red Wolves—still amazing, kid! Alright, I’ll buy these. Hang on a sec.”

The old man at the buyback counter took the materials into the back and after a short while returned with a pouch of money, just like always.

“This is a little bonus to celebrate you becoming a full-fledged adventurer.”

“Thank you very much!”

I accepted the pouch with a smile, thanked him and headed straight to the reception counter.

“Miss, I’ve finished the Red Wolf subjugation!”

“Huh?! Already?! You just left, didn’t you? It’s only been about two hours!”

“When I went deeper into the forest, five of them showed up all at once.”

“Really?! Were you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?!”

She worried about me as always.

“I’m fine! One claw just grazed me, but I brought healing potions, so it healed right away!”

In truth, I defeated them instantly without even getting grazed.

“Oh, thank goodness…”

She let out a deep sigh of relief, clearly worried from the bottom of her heart.

Sorry for always making you worry.

“Then please place your hand on the crystal as usual… Yes, subjugation confirmed! Request complete!”

After the usual completion process, she handed me the reward and I accepted it with a smile.

“Thank you very much! I’ll come again!”

“Don’t push yourself too hard!”

“Okaaay!”

Waving as I left the guild, I headed straight for the Little Bear Pavilion.

I’d continued helping out there all this time.

“Hello! I’m here to help.”

“Oh, Fer-boy, perfect timing. Can you help carry this with me?”

“Yes.”

I’d grown quite close with the proprietress.

“Hey, Fer-boy! Later, help carry the vegetables out back too.”

“Yes! Got it!”

I also got along well with the bear-like, shaggy-bearded owner-cook.

As usual, I cleaned the shop, peeled vegetables out back (I’d gotten really good at that) and once all the usual tasks were done, I had them sign my work slip.

“Oh right, Fer-boy. Take this with you.”

“Huh? Are you sure?”

They sometimes shared leftover ingredients with me.

Today it was boiled potatoes in a paper bag.

They tasted only like potatoes, but even so, the gesture itself made me happy.

After all, I’m supposed to be a child living in the slums—there’s nothing but gratitude for their kindness.

“Thank you very much! I’ll share them with my family!”

“No problem!”

The owner laughed loudly, his big belly shaking.

I gratefully accepted the potatoes and left the shop.

I’ll put these in my inventory.

There’s no passage of time there, so they’ll keep forever.

I already bought salt and honey earlier, so I’ll eat them with salt as a late-night snack while studying.

* * *

When I returned home, the dining room had been decorated and my birthday celebration was underway.

My parents, who hadn’t been home much lately, seemed to have made time especially for this.

“Happy birthday, Christina.”

“Thank you, Father.”

We hugged tightly, sharing the joy.

Incidentally, the height difference between Father and me is about ten centimeters—I’ll catch up soon.

“Happy birthday, Chris. This is from me.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

After hugging Mother, she handed me the gift she was holding.

“Happy birthday.”

“Thank you, Brother.”

I hugged my brother as well.

He’s almost ten centimeters taller than Father, so I still end up looking up at him.

“My present is over there, next to Father’s.”

“Yes, I’m very happy.”

“Big sis, happy birthday.”

Michael is only one year younger than me, but since I’m unusually tall for my age, he had to bend down a little to hug me.

“From me… this.”

What Michael showed me with a cute smile was a drawing of me sleeping together with Rob (dog).

After I regained consciousness, Rob and I had become very close.

Marie would get angry if he came inside, so they built a fairly large shed next to the mansion where Rob stays.

When I’m home, Rob roams freely in the garden, running around and napping with me—he must’ve drawn this then.

“Wow, thank you, Michael. You drew it so well. I’ll get a proper frame and display it in my room!”

“Hehe.”

Michael blushed shyly, smiling like a true angel.

He’s so cute I want to hug him tight—but I hold myself back.

Since he’s a capture target, I draw a clear line and avoid unnecessary closeness.

Normally we celebrate birthdays with just the family, but this year was different.

Someone who shouldn’t have been here was standing there, smiling with his usual fake-looking grin.

“Happy birthday, Lady Christina.”

Prince Alex was here.

“Y-Your Highness?!”

“Hahaha, surprise successful.”

He laughed mischievously.

“This is from me.”

He handed me a small box.

“This is?”

“Open it.”

I opened the box—and froze.

Th-this is… could it be… an engagement ring?

He gently took the ring and slid it onto my left ring finger.

Engagement ring—con-firmed!!!!

“See? I’m wearing one too.”

On the left ring finger he raised beside his smile, an identical ring glittered.

I want to cry.

“...Thank you very much.”

The fact that I managed to smile properly is honestly impressive.

Incidentally, Prince Alex is currently 158 cm tall—about ten centimeters shorter than me—but starting around academy enrollment, he’ll suddenly grow, eventually reaching 185 cm.

That’s information written in the official fanbook.

He stepped closer, rose slightly on his toes and whispered so only I could hear.

“This ring has special magic on it. Only the wearer can remove it. I won’t let you escape, Chris.”

A chill ran through me at those words.

Uoooooh!! The game’s forced narrative is pounding straight into my side!!

“That’s wonderful, Chris!”

Not wonderful at all!!

Mother was tearing up, Father looked like he might cry and my brother was smiling as if it were his own joy.

Ah… it feels like fate is tilting more and more in a bad direction.

Only Michael clung tightly to me, looking slightly resentfully at Prince Alex.

A younger brother jealous at the thought of losing his sister, perhaps.

I don’t remember doting on him that much, though.

I need to leave this country as soon as possible.

At this rate, my engagement to Prince Alex will be publicly announced and it’ll be straight down the game’s scenario.

“Y-Your Highness. About our promise.”

“Yes, I remember. As promised, until we graduate from the academy, you’ll be treated as just one ‘candidate,’ and the engagement won’t be made public.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Chris! You made such a promise with His Highness? I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness.”

Not knowing about the promise, Mother scolded me while apologizing and bowing to him.

“No matter. The engagement has already been formally approved by both families, so there’s no need to rush the announcement.”

There will never be a time to announce it, Your Highness. I won’t allow it.

I can’t afford to wait any longer.

I’d thought about getting a bit stronger first, but I might need to flee the country sooner rather than later.

* * *

The next morning, I slipped out of the house at dawn and headed to the Adventurer Guild.

“Good morning! I’d like to take this request.”

It was a material-gathering request from a dungeon located outside the country, involving monsters that only live there.

If I could take this, I could definitely leave the country legally!!

And since there was no specified submission guild, I could submit it abroad.

I deliberately selected this request and brought it to the counter, intending to leave the country as soon as possible.

“Oh, Fer-kun. Good morning. You’re early today. Let’s see… Hm? You can’t take this request.”

Once again, the young woman said something troublesome.

“Huh? I’m already twelve.”

“That’s not the issue. By law, minors under nineteen can’t leave the country without a parent accompanying them, a Minor Overseas Travel Permit signed by their parents, or a special royal permit. Do you have one?”

“I don’t…”

“Then you can’t take this request. Have your father or mother sign this form.”

She handed me a document titled “Minor Overseas Travel Permit Application.”

I slumped in despair.

You’ve got to be kidding… I didn’t know this country had such a law.

There’s no way Father or Mother would ever sign this.

At border checkpoints, there are forced magic cancellation systems like those at the academy, meant to prevent criminals from passing through—so sneaking through with invisibility won’t work.

That means I can’t leave this country!!!

Under nineteen means I can’t go abroad without permission until eighteen.

By the time I turn nineteen, I’ll definitely already be condemned…

I’m done… completely done…

My plan… my plan to flee the country… has completely fallen apart.

* * *

What… should I do?

I returned home in a slump, shut myself in my room and canceled all afternoon lessons, claiming I wasn’t feeling well.

I was truly depressed.

The engagement ring on my left ring finger glared at me as if saying it would never let me escape.

Curling up on a chair by the window, I buried my face in my knees.

‘At this rate, I’ll lose to the game’s forced narrative and head straight for condemnation…’

I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die!!

I’m not asking for luxury—just a calm, peaceful life.

To grow old quietly and die in my sleep.

Is that really asking too much?

* * *

Completely dispirited, Chris is at a loss.

Is there truly no way to escape fate?