TSPGD 04

Chapter 4

Even after everything I had been through, I managed to sleep surprisingly well.

I had been flustered after suddenly encountering that pervert, but the inn itself was quite decent.

It was cleaner than I had expected, too.

“Have I been trained by someone like Viscount Carbon all this time?”

I felt a little sorry for myself as I realized how well I had adapted to such terrible living conditions.

Poor Arina. I should at least pat myself on the head.

“Good job.”

I praised myself for my weed-like vitality—the kind that made me feel like I could survive even if I were dropped in the middle of a desert.

I welcomed the morning with a mixture of melancholy and pride, then tied my hair up again and hid it beneath my hat.

The protagonist is busy again today!

Click.

I closed the door, went downstairs, and had a simple breakfast.

Then I bought some bread for lunch and left the inn.

I wanted to at least say goodbye to the people who helped me yesterday.

But naturally, they were nowhere to be seen that morning.

I’ll repay them if I ever run into them again.

I made that promise to myself and headed toward the shopping district to buy an outer garment.

They said the North was cold, so if I went there dressed like this, I might freeze to death.

“Cheapest one. Something thick.”

I hummed as I looked around for a cheap clothing store mainly used by commoners.

After wandering around for about two hours, I finally learned something I hadn’t known.

“Commoners…… don’t have clothing stores……?”

Just like in the world I had lived in, I had assumed there would be cheap clothing stores for different brands.

“Haa…… Fabric itself is precious in this world…….”

Although I was barely a noble in name, I was still technically a noblewoman, so I could enter boutiques.

Of course, I had never actually bought anything from one, but at least I was allowed inside.

“This place is so damn unfair…….”

In the end, if I wanted a thick coat, I either had to buy fabric and make one myself or ask someone skilled to make it for me.

“Haa…… That’s going to take too long.”

I couldn’t spend too much time looking for clothes.

I couldn’t afford to extend my journey, so I had to think of another solution.

I couldn’t simply go to the North and freeze to death, so I absolutely needed something warm to wear.

“Should I steal something……?”

Or maybe ask someone to lend me one.

While I was thinking, I spotted a pile of thick coats at the entrance of an alley.

“Huh?”

They say when you’re desperate enough, you start seeing things that aren’t there……

It definitely looked like an illusion, but I approached the pile of coats just in case.

Maybe…… just maybe they really don’t belong to anyone.

There was no way someone would simply throw away such valuable fabric, but I approached with a tiny bit of hope.

And, as expected, that hope betrayed me.

“What the? It’s a person.”

What had looked like a bundle of robes in the corner of the alley was actually a homeless person.

“Tsk.”

I was about to turn away, disappointed, when—

“Uuugh.”

A strange sound came from the pile of thick clothing.

“…….”

“Ugh…….”

The bundle of thick clothes groaned painfully.

Is he sick? Is he injured?

Normally, I would have been too busy worrying about my own problems to help.

But I had just received help from those intimidating men yesterday, so I found it difficult to turn away.

“Haa…… Excuse me? Are you okay?”

“Ugh, uuuugh.”

“Are you injured somewhere? Or are you unconscious?”

I grabbed the shoulder of the crouching man and pulled him upright.

Then I nearly had a heart attack.

“…….”

What the hell? Why are YOU here?

“Uuuuuugh. Kgh.”

The man, drenched in sweat and burning with fever, was……

The same robed pervert who had harassed me yesterday.

“Eek!”

I immediately yanked my hand away and stepped backward.

Thud.

As a result, the robed pervert slammed into the ground with a tremendous noise.

“…….”

“Ugh.”

I squeezed my eyes shut as I looked at the fallen man.

Dear God, why are You testing me like this?

I fell into deep contemplation.

Should I help this shameless robed pervert?

Or should I just leave him there, whether he lived or died?

As I agonized over the decision, the man slowly raised his enormous hand, trembling.

“P-Please…… save me…….”

“Damn it!”

At that point, I couldn’t bring myself to ignore him.

Reluctantly, I bit my lip and grabbed his hand.

Then the strange glowing light I had seen yesterday began bubbling up again.

“What…… What is that?!”

Startled once more, I tried to let go of his hand.

But suddenly, the man tightened his grip.

“Ugh.”

He squeezed so hard that my fingers nearly lost circulation.

As I struggled, the man finally opened his eyes with difficulty.

Then he forced out a few words.

“You…… what are you?”

That’s what I want to ask you.

What are YOU?

He was the one who had latched onto me, yet he was speaking as though I had done something to him.

He had even threatened me.

Wasn’t I the one who should be angry?

“L-Let go!”

“Ugh.”

The moment I yanked my hand away, the man’s hand—which had been gripping me so tightly just moments ago—dropped limply to the ground.

“…….”

It was an incredibly confusing situation.

“……What? Did he die?”

All I had done was tell him to let go, but he had collapsed unconscious.

“What did I even do?”

I hadn’t done anything, but I certainly didn’t want to become a murderer.

So I approached him and checked whether he was breathing.

“Khrrrr.”

Fortunately, he was still breathing.

In other words, he wasn’t dead.

Relieved, I checked him over to see if there were any wounds.

“Ugh.”

Thankfully, aside from the bloodstains on his half-gloves, there didn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong.

Only then did I sigh in relief and stand up.

I don’t want to get involved with him anymore.

He might be handsome, but he was a pervert who suspected I was a woman.

I needed to stay away from him.

I was just about to leave when—

“W-Wait…….”

The man grabbed my attention with his ragged voice.

But this time, he wasn’t forcing me to stay, so I could simply ignore him.

“Go find a doctor or something.”

My conscience pricked at me, so I put down the bread I had bought for lunch and walked away from him.

“At least eat this.”

Once I left the alley and returned to the shopping district, I let out a long breath.

“Whew. He’ll probably survive somehow.”

Judging by the strange glowing light he had produced and his incredible strength, he seemed to be either a mage or perhaps a magic swordsman.

I figured he would be fine and rubbed my still-racing heart.

“Right. I have enough problems of my own. Why should I worry about someone else?”

More importantly, the man was a pervert.

He had suddenly grabbed me and even used some kind of strange magic.

“What a bastard. Just wait until I see you again.”

Of course, if I ever saw him again, the only thing I could do would be run away, but I still ground my teeth in anger.

“Haa…… What’s the point of thinking about it anymore?”

I stood there trembling alone on the street before shaking my head vigorously, trying to chase away my negative thoughts.

“No. Right now, I don’t have the energy to think about that pervert.”

I couldn’t simply cut the memory of him away with scissors, but I decided to put the matter aside for now.

Instead of worrying about the pervert who was no longer in front of me, I needed to figure out how to obtain the clothing I desperately needed.

“I’ll just buy some fabric and wear it like a cloak.”

Since I didn’t have much time, I came up with a quick solution and immediately got to work.

I bought some cheap fabric, borrowed a needle and thread, and roughly stitched on a few buttons.

“Oh! This is actually pretty wearable!”

It was a simple piece sewn in the shape of a poncho.

Of course, it was crude, but it was better than wearing nothing.

“Looks like all that sewing I did to make a living is finally paying off!”

I convinced myself that this counted as a victory and moved to the carriage departure area.

The place where you could board carriages was similar to what I would have called a bus stop in my old world.

The difference was that passengers had to negotiate the carriage fare themselves.

Let’s see if you try to rip me off again.

Determined not to be treated like a sucker the way I had been at the inn, I opened my eyes wide.

And then—

Dun-dun.

Among the people heading north, I spotted a familiar silhouette.

Am I really seeing what I think I’m seeing?

By now, there was one particular presence I could recognize at a glance.

There’s no mistaking that build……!

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.

What the hell? What is THAT doing here?

I froze in confusion.

Then, instinctively, I slowly began backing away.

He recovered that quickly?

Just a few hours ago, he had looked like he was about to die, rolling around on the ground.

Yet now he looked completely fine.

I only spent about three hours getting this cloak ready…….

His identity had become even more suspicious, so I decided to avoid him as much as possible.

And there are barely any carriages going this way.

To reach the Brühlhardt Grand Duchy from Nobisim, I had to cross the Typhus Mountains.

But the Typhus Valley was the only route to the North, so bandits frequently appeared there.

Sometimes monsters appeared as well.

That’s why carriages heading that way are so rare.

As a result, most people traveling north joined merchant caravans or traveled together with groups of mercenaries.

I had worked incredibly hard to gather all this information.

After coming all this way with such difficulty, I would be furious if my schedule got messed up because of that robed pervert.

“All right. It’s not like I’m afraid of something just because it’s dirty.”

I walked forward confidently, prepared to scream if necessary.

Then I raised my hand toward a coachman heading north.

“Are you going to the North?”

“Yeah. Kid.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“Yeah, yeah. What a brave young man.”

And so the bargaining began.

“How much?”

“Thirty silver.”

It was an outrageous rip-off.

I’m not getting on.

But if the journey took longer, I would go over budget.

So I absolutely had to succeed next time.

“Haa…….”

I turned away and approached my next target.

And I got thoroughly rejected again.

After that, I sent away a total of three carriages.

Only one remained.

This time, I’ll try appealing to their emotions.

So I made something up on the spot.

“I have an older sister in the North. She’s sick, and I absolutely have to see her……. Sob.”

“…….”

“Her husband…… is addicted to gambling and alcohol. Sniff.”

“Oh dear.”

“My nieces and nephews are starving! Waaah!”

“Tsk, what kind of scoundrel is he?! Good grief! Fine, just pay ten silver and get on!”

“Oh! Yes! Thank you!”

Yes!

I celebrated my successful negotiation internally and climbed into the carriage.

I had gotten into the carriage feeling extremely pleased with myself.

But then I suddenly froze.

What the hell?

The robed pervert was sitting inside.