Shining Star: Part One

”A true hero would never take the credit for his actions.”

Heroine Stella to Hero Nagoe.
The Song of Roland, Stella Von Sternenstaub, 12-24 AD

Inside the bathroom of a suite in the attic of the 1st-year segment of the Class-S Tower—the dormitory-classroom exclusive to Class S students—SS-Class ’Shining Star’ Astary Von Sternenstaub was taking a shower as cold as the polar waters of her motherland.

Despite the absence of steam, her privacy was ensured by a beam of light bright enough to blind any unwelcome observer. This was possible due to a rare genetic trait passed down through the female line of the Von Sternenstaub Family—Astary’s skin emitted light. Unlike regular magical spells, her innate ability was deeply influenced by strong emotions, where fear or stress triggered erratic glowing while relaxing moments, like this shower, harmonized her frequency. Red, blue, green—the whole spectrum of colors was now painted on the glass.

After concluding her daily ritual, Astary wrapped herself in a towel and faced the mirror to admire her reborn beauty. However, the sight was spoiled by a stain in the bottom-right corner of her glowing self-portrait. ”How many times have I told you to wait for your turn?” She yelled at the unwelcome guest.

”The future Queen of the Holy Rolandish Empire has her needs.” SS-Class ’Time Samurai’ Tsuki Hakka luxuriated in the warmth of the anteater milk overflowing from her bathtub, but instead of cookies, lotus flowers floated across its surface.

“Are you aware that a single cup of that milk costs as much as the rent for a decent apartment in Sternenhavn?” Astary remarked, bad-eyeing the steady stream of white liquid.

“If I close the tap, the milk will start to cool down.” With both of her feet over the tub’s edge, the Moon Princess of Joseong took a sip from a goblet of wine she held in one hand while flipping through the pages of a book with the other. ”Do you want your future Queen to freeze to death? Are you a traitor?”

The Moon Princess of Joseong was reading the masterpiece of Rolandish literature—’Romance of the Three Chrysanthemums.’ It was a novelization of the first twelve years of the Great Civil War, with SS-Class ’Shining Star’ Sasara Von Sternenstaub—Astary’s ancestor—as writer, narrator, and protagonist.

“Nice book you have there,” the ’Shining Star’ asked with a bit of nostalgia. She had long forgotten how many times the ’Hero’ had tested her patience with facts, anecdotes, and theories about that war. Still, the book fascinated her, especially after reading a study in her favorite psychology magazine—Seductive Lobotomy—which claimed that a person’s personality could be inferred from the faction they supported while reading it.

Supporters of Magnus I Rolandsson were well-balanced and pragmatic individuals.

Enthusiasts of Maximillian I Rolandsson were insecure and lacked emotional intelligence.

Loyalists of Draig? At best, schizoids. At worse, serial killers.

Backers of the Serenissima Repùblica took the word narcissist to new heights.

Fans of the Starship Commando were nymphomaniacs.

Followers of the Rogue Grenadiers worshipped their job like a religion.

Believers in the National Salvation Committee suffered from terminal delusions.

And lastly, the social outcasts who devoted themselves to Mario I Rolandsson or Mandrake I Rolandsson needed to immediately be interned in an asylum for collective safety—all of them were antisocial, schizophrenic, and misogynistic.

”As the future Queen of the Holy Rolandish Empire, I ought to embrace the heritage of my future subjects. ” Tsuki explained, emphasizing the word Queen.

Nevertheless, Astary kept her poker face. She wasn’t the first that had tried to steal Chad from her, and, clearly, she wouldn’t be the last. “A little question, Miss Hakka. Whom do you support in the Great Civil War?”

“Of course—the winner.” Her thin lips curved into a smirk, which she hid behind her goblet as she turned the page with her thumb.

“A very boring choice.” Astary released a bright ray of light straight into her nemesis’ almond eyes, causing her to spill wine into the bathtub, staining the white milk crimson. “Here’s a little piece of advice, my dear teammate—avoid giving Chad such a bland answer. For our ’Hero,’ a wrong opinion backed by an original argument is far more thrilling than a truism you picked up in some dusty textbook.”

After a last exchange of homicidal stares, Astary left the bathroom, retreating to her private chamber. There, in a small pool next to a majestic bed, a seal pup was waiting for her—its large eyes lighting up at the sight of ’Shining Star.’

“Did you miss me, Pingvindræber? Here’s Mommy’s milk.” She lifted the gray animal into her glowing arms, cradling the little seal like a loving mother as the warmth of her light gently heated its skin. Then, from her [Inventory], she pulled out a baby bottle full of seal milk, whose nipple was immediately bitten by Pingvindræber, delighting its mother as the small puppy emptied the bottle in just a few seconds.

This adorable puppy was the only offspring of Raseri, Astary’s old seal. She was her lifelong companion who had stood by her side from birth until she passed away just a year ago, leaving behind a massive hole in the heart of the ’Shining Star’ and a new life to fill it.

”Thanks, Adam, you’re here with me, Pingvindræber. I don’t know how I could have endured her otherwise.” As she fed the puppy its third bottle, Astary’s thoughts dimmed, losing their usual radiance. Nearly a week had passed since the Class Assignment, but Tsuki’s audacity had only grown. Her exotic looks, her fake accent, and that aura of mystery—all part of a carefully crafted act to steal from her the role of heroine of this story. And worse, it was working even on her charming prince. ”We trust Daddy, don’t we?” Still, Astary remained firm in her conviction for her first and only love.

Their destinies had been bound together even before they were born by a mix of tradition, Imperial law, and shrewd political agreements. Yet, their love story wasn’t some cynical theatrical adaptation, but a fairytale in truth and whole that began when Astary’s light first shone Chad’s diamond eyes. And despite a decade had passed since that fateful day, their feelings for each other had never changed…unlike the Empire’s politics.

The Emperor is the living embodiment of the Holy Rolandish Empire, and his will is also the nation’s. That was what Chad had always reminded her, and that was also why he hadn’t breathed a word of complaint when Tsuki’s father, backed by his allies at the Imperial court, took him away from her.

“Do you know the evil person who lives with us?” Astary whispered softly, holding Pingvindræber a little tighter. “She is trying to take away Daddy from us, but the ’Romantic Dreamer’ has heard my prayers. Now Mommy is the ’Shining Star,’ and Daddy is the ’Hero’—Adam himself has consecrated our love!” Now, as the reincarnation of Heroine Stella, Astary had secured the backing of the various religious factions, shifting the tides of what once seemed a one-sided war for the position of Queen.

*WARF!* *WARF!* *WARF!* The seal pup’s bark was weak but spirited, always supporting its mother during difficult moments.

“Sorry, Pingvindræber, but Mommy has to go now.” She kissed his gray forehead, then gently set him back into the pool. As she walked away, the seal’s large eyes grew damp, and she couldn’t help but smile—Pingvindræber truly thought she was his mother, and Astary was starting to believe it too.

After taking a selection of outfits from her walk-in closet—as large as three times the rooms of Jacques, Derserk, and Casimir combined—Astary raised the intensity of her glow, evaporating the remaining water droplets on her skin. Then, after a long self-debate, the ’Shining Star’ settled on a night-blue blouse embedded with diamond dust to mimic a starry sky. The dress was paired with penguin-leather pants—white in front, black in back—and ankle boots crafted from Raseri’s skin, which Astary had personally skinned during the seal’s funeral.

After finishing dressing, she proceeded to the suite’s kitchen, which featured a wall of windows that allowed the Starfolk lady to enjoy her breakfast while admiring the dawn rising over Miraval Lake. As Astary prepared whale bacon, scrambled pelican eggs, and fried penguin wings, Tsuki joined.

The Lawfullian Princess wore a red silk haori embroidered with purple three-tailed scorpions—the emblem of the Hakka Clan—and without uttering a word, she retrieved from the fridge a gourmet dish—steamed vegetables served with delicately spiced rice—prepared by her personal chef. Then, the two roommates sat at the same table, eating breakfast as silence ruled the scene.

The culprit behind this awkward situation was Mr. Durere, who thought it would be fun to put them on the same team. He wasn’t wrong—they were the perfect odd couple—but the decision had done little to ease their rivalry, and now, each meal was a turn in a game of psychological warfare.

”Only an hour left before our first Dungeon Raid,” Astary casually reminded her roomate. ”Are you sure just a salad will be enough?”

”I’m a vegetarian,” Tsuki replied without looking up. ”If anything, I’d be more worried about your skin—your greasy food will ruin your already miserable face with many pimples.”

”Don’t worry, my dear teammate.” In response, Astary’s skin radiated, blinding Tsuki. ”Unlike you, who spends hours in milk baths and other time-consuming treatments just to look mediocre, I can cleanse all skin impurities in an instant.” Tsuki’s raging expression, sweetened with three spoonfuls of enviousness, was the most delicious dessert she could wish for. Then silence returned, and neither girl spoke again until their plates were completely clean.

“Asty, do you remember what you told me in the bathroom? So, which faction does Chad support?” The ’Time Samurai’ casually asked as she rinsed her plate and cutlery in the sink.

“First, don’t call me Asty.” Astary opened coldly, then she, too, walked toward the sink but not to clean her greasy dish, which was still on the table, but to turn-on her most precious treasure. “Second, I need my coffee.” The ’Shining Star’ was one of the few beings lucky enough to own the most exclusive coffee machine ever commercialized—La Dolce Vita by Di Mario Espresso—personally designed, produced, and distributed by the reincarnation of Hero Mario—Rinaldo Di Mario. “Third, you don’t know? Seriously?” Astary poured a bag of handpicked coffee beans from the wet jungles of Southern Lawfullia into the machine’s side container. A mechanical hum followed as the beans were pulverized, then the air quickly filled with a burning yet rich aroma as a dark stream flowed into a porcelain mug. “That’s one of my boyfriend’s favorite discussion topics.”

Despite the provocation, Tsuki kept her composed expression. “My husband and I have been engaged in more…private conversations. So please, enlighten me on how he amuses his courtesans.”

Before answering, Astary took a long sip from her hot cappuccino. “FFF-Class ’Man’ Mario I Rolandsson.”

Tsuki blinked in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”

Astary fully understood her reaction. Mario was an unusual name for a Rolandsson, but his life fit the family name even less. It was a legendary journey, filled with events more suited to fiction than history, and thanks to a certain price, she remembered every one of them too well.

During their summers together at Sternenhavn, the ’Hero’ would exhaust the 'Shining Star' with long monologues about why the White Chrysanthemum was right about everything, and how the ’HRE’—now more than ever—needed a man willing to sacrifice everything for its future, just as Mario I had done nearly five hundred years ago—swearing to her that he would be that man one day.

So fervent was his devotion that one night, Astary decided to test it with a deceptively question—“What if you had to choose between your dream…and me?” However, Chad had not replied, staring silently at the sea of stars above their heads until both fell asleep—they never spoke of it again. Nevertheless, his indecision had pleased the girl.

“You’ll soon discover that our prince isn’t the easiest man to deal with, but I won’t ruin your surprise.” She sighed, almost pitying her roommate, as she raised the porcelain cup to her lips. However, before the cappuccino could touch her tongue—it vanished. “Wha—?”A second later, hot liquid streamed down over her head, followed by the sharp crash of ceramic shattering into hundreds of pieces. In shock, she looked down at the remains of her favorite cup—a limited-edition piece personally signed by Rinaldo himself, gifted to thank her for advertising his products across the Queendom of Constellation.

“Oh, poor Astary…” Tsuki’s voice was calm, but her eyes were laughing. “You ought to be more careful next time.”

“How dare you!” Astary shouted as a beam of light burst from her body, instantly evaporating every trace of coffee from her hair. Then, without hesitation, a ray of light was shot at the ’Time Samurai.’ When the glare faded, half the room had been reduced to scorched earth—furniture ablaze, walls blackened with soot, and the air thick with smoke. Yet Tsuki sat at the table, calm as ever, sipping sweet tea.

“I’m not cleaning this mess.” The ’Shining Star’ roared, unleashing another blast of light reduced the table to charcoal. But once again, Tsuki was left untouched, now casually reading Romance of the Three Chrysanthemums on the balcony. ”This book made me realize the Von Sternenstaub Family was the real villain all along. They’re a corrupt tumor at the heart of the Empire that spread through its bloodstream, infecting everything in its path. On my honor, I fully intend to eradicate every rotten cell of this cancer once I become Queen.” Astary threw every nasty word in her vocabulary at Tsuki, followed by countless beams of blinding light. Yet the pathetic scene repeated itself. Each time, Tsuki vanished at the last second only to reappear elsewhere, while Astary scorched another piece of their furniture into oblivion.

*BZZT!* A shrill acoustic signal from the ceiling speaker stopped the girls. “MOVE YOUR ASSES!” Mr. Anhogi’s enraged voice, distorted by static, thundered through the speaker.

Astary bad-eyed Tsuki, expressing all the humiliation she was feeling right now. Then, without a word, she turned and strode to the bathroom to clean the ashes off herself.

Fifteen minutes later, the two girls rode together in silence the elevator of the Class-S Tower, which was connected to the vast underground tunnel system beneath Miraval City—the mysterious location of the Miraval Institute of Magic and Technology.

Amid those shadowy corridors, the ’MIMT’s’ most secret and dangerous experiments were carried out, far from prying eyes—the true source of the Miraval Family’s power.

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