Erika bounced along the street in a new outfit, already more or less used to this body.

She might look soft and delicate, and her little arms and legs didn’t have much strength, but as long as she stayed by Gladys’s side, she probably wouldn’t run into any trouble in this world.

She slipped a small hand into her pocket. She still had a little over twenty silver coins left.

Erika had planned to treat herself to a huge meal, but after thinking it over, she decided against it.

Gladys didn’t seem to have eaten anything yet. Whenever there was food, she always gave it to Erika first. Erika had never seen her eat at all…

Besides, it seemed like Gladys was out of money, too. Could she be starving?

With that in mind,

Erika used the silver coins she had left to carefully pick out some fruit, planning to bring it back and treat Gladys.

The weather was hot, and after the tailor’s warning, she didn’t want to spend too long on the street. So she simply took the fruit back to the tavern.

…

…

By the time she returned, dusk had settled in.

A silver moon hung overhead, its clear light spilling across the town and draping everything in a silvery-white glow.

As night fell, the tavern grew lively. It was right around dinnertime, and one by one, plenty of drunkards had started filling the first-floor hall.

The moment Erika walked in, the sharp smell of alcohol hit her.

She quickly pinched her nose with one small hand, a look of disgust on her little face.

She wasn’t sure why, but she really didn’t like the smell of alcohol.

As soon as she entered the hall, the drunkards who were already having a great time started whistling at her.

“Hey, look! A little angel just walked in!”

“Damn, that girl’s a real knockout!”

“What the hell is wrong with you? She’s just a kid.”

“Ever heard of a child bride? Some nobles in the Imperial Capital do that all the time.”

…

The catcalls came one after another, making Erika feel more and more irritated. She hurried her steps, wanting to get out of there.

As she walked faster, Erika could feel more and more eyes gathering on her.

This is so annoying.

She quickly lowered her head, hoping they wouldn’t get a good look at her face.

Thump.

But she’d only taken a few steps when, since she wasn’t watching where she was going, she collided with someone in the aisle and landed hard on her bottom.

“Ow… that hurts…”

As Erika rubbed her sore bottom,

the person she’d bumped into helped her up. It was the tavern’s owner.

“Little girl, what’s the rush? Watch where you’re going.”

“Sorry…”

“Go on back upstairs. You’re alone at night—don’t hang around a place like this on the first floor.”

“Oh, okay.”

Like I want to be in a place like this…

Erika nodded and hurried toward the stairs.

…

“Did you hear that? Sounds like that girl’s alone.”

“I heard, I heard. She’s probably staying here.”

“I’ll put up twenty silver coins. Who’s got the guts to go hit on her?”

“I’m in! This is what I’m best at!”

…

As their chatter died down, a red-faced man reeking of booze ambled over to the stairs, blocking Erika’s way.

“Oh, beautiful lady~ I have to admit, your beauty has captivated me. On such a lovely evening, would you do me the honor of sharing a drink? Hic—”

He burped as he spoke. The heavy stench of alcohol made Erika, standing opposite him, pinch her nose in irritation again.

“I don’t drink, thank you.”

“You can learn! Hahaha. Not drinking fine wine is a sin!”

As he spoke, the man swayed on his feet and gave Erika a clumsy, drunken bow.

Erika frowned. The guy was already drunk, and she didn’t want to waste any more time talking to him. She quickly stepped forward, ready to slip past him and go upstairs.

“Don’t rush off, haha. I just want to have a drink with you. I mean no harm, hahaha… Hic—”

But the moment Erika moved, the drunk man moved too, reaching out to grab her.

Oh, absolutely not!

Erika jumped back several steps in fright. She wasn’t about to let a drunk like him touch her!

Thud!

Just then, a foot suddenly swung into view and planted itself right in the man’s face.

He was sent sprawling to the ground.

It was the tavern owner!

She frowned, hands on her hips, and glared at the drunk she’d kicked. “Taril, this isn’t the place for you to make a drunken scene. Don’t ruin my tavern’s reputation!”

The man wanted to get angry after being kicked, but when he saw it was the owner, he quickly shook his head.

Some of the flush had faded from his face. He didn’t dare lose his temper and could only force a smile.

“I’ve had too much to drink, haha. Sorry, ma’am.”

“If you make another drunken scene, get out of my tavern. Got it?”

“Got it, got it.”

…

After scolding the drunk, the owner let go of her anger, put on a smile, and reached out to pat Erika’s head.

Erika instinctively ducked back. She wasn’t sure why, but she hated having anyone but Gladys pat her head.

The owner gave an awkward little laugh. “Head on upstairs, little girl. Your mother just went out. She asked me to keep an eye on you when you got back.”

“My mother?”

Erika froze for a moment and blinked. Guessing the woman meant Gladys, she asked, “Where did she go?”

“I don’t know. She went out with several bottles of really effective healing potions, though.”

As she spoke, the owner pulled a bottle from inside her clothes. It was one of the bottles Gladys had taken out in their room earlier, filled with red liquid.

“This healing potion is top-tier. It’s incredibly valuable, and your mother’s pretty generous.

“Too bad all the guest rooms are full tonight. You’ll have to make do for one night. I’ll move you to a better room tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Erika answered, still curious about where Gladys had gotten these top-tier healing potions. When she’d seen them in the room earlier, the bottles had been empty.

“Oh, I almost forgot to give this to you. Here—this is the key your mother left with me. Go on upstairs. The tavern downstairs isn’t a place for you.”

Erika nodded and took the key. She didn’t want to stay here a moment longer, so she hurried back to her room.

The room was dark. The curtains were drawn, leaving everything so dim she could barely see where she was going.

By the moonlight peeking through the curtains, Erika set the fruit on the table.

The room was fairly spacious, with a bathing area of its own.

She’d worked up a sweat outside, and she didn’t want to dirty her new clothes, so she wanted to wash up right away.

But she couldn’t quite find the oil lamp. She looked toward the curtains, thinking she’d open them first and let in some moonlight.

But after taking just one step, she stopped.

…

…

“Hss…”

She sucked in a sharp breath.

In an instant, Erika’s breathing stopped. Her gaze was fixed on the curtains.

Her pupils contracted. Terror filled her face, and goosebumps broke out all over her body. Even the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Who’s there!?

The question rang through her mind.

She could just make out the shape of a person behind the curtains.

The figure was sitting cross-legged by the window. They had a sturdy build—nothing like Gladys. It was the silhouette of a man!

The figure was looking up at the moonlight, seemingly unaware of what was happening inside the room.

The shadow wasn’t very clear, but Erika was sure.

There was definitely someone behind the curtains!

Oh my god! What was going on?

Who could it be!?

No one but her and Gladys should’ve been able to get into this room.

Cold sweat trickled down her cheeks. Fear soaked the back of her clothes, and her body began to tremble despite herself.

She quickly clapped both hands over her mouth to keep herself from making a sound.

Stay calm… stay calm…

Erika kept repeating it to herself. She knew she was in a little girl’s body, and Gladys wasn’t here. If someone wanted to hurt her, she’d have no way to fight back.

The tailor’s words from earlier suddenly came back to her.

He’d said Luca Town wasn’t as safe as she might think. Could the person behind the curtains be that murderer?

But why would a murderer come here!?

Sure enough, no matter what… learning how to stay alive in another world was what mattered most.

There was nothing else Erika could do. She took a deep breath and slowly backed away, one step at a time, never taking her eyes off the curtains.

Under the moonlight, the man’s figure was still there, clear as day.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might leap into her throat. She was terrified the person behind the curtains would suddenly rush out and attack her.

Those few steps felt like the hardest ones she’d ever taken.