SYOV 01

“Stop wasting time and move!”

“If you don’t finish today’s quota, nobody eats!”

But when I opened my eyes, I had become a seven-year-old prisoner.

Under the prison guards’ harsh shouts and the occasional crack of their whips, the other prisoners and I worked hard, drenched in sweat.

This happened so suddenly that I didn’t even have time to be shocked.

The adults mined ore from the mine, while I gathered it, loaded it onto a cart, and carried it away.

Even though I had suddenly awakened in a completely unfamiliar world overnight, I wasn’t as scared as I was lost.

Then—

“Hm?”

A red name tag attached to my worn prison uniform caught my eye.

Everyone else’s is white. Why is mine red?

When I asked one of the older women who shared my room, she looked at me with pity before answering.

“A red tag means you’re serving a life sentence. It means you’ll spend the rest of your life here in exile. Only you and Miss Dallis over there have one.”

“…”

I turned toward where she pointed.

A young woman with white hair was staring blankly at me with empty, lifeless eyes.

“She was sent here for killing her husband and abusing her child. And she’s a little… um…”

“You mean she’s lost her mind?”

“Well… if you want to put it bluntly.”

Damn.

I wanted to lose my mind too.

Holding back my tears, I asked the question I wanted answered the most.

“T-Then… what crime did I commit?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know?”

“Yeah…”

The older prisoner’s eyes filled with pity again.

By the way, this kind woman’s name was Livi.

She had brown hair and brown eyes.

Her crime was robbery and murder.

“Attempted assassination of the Imperial Princess.”

For a moment, I thought I had heard wrong.

“Attempted… what?”

“Attempted assassination of the Imperial Princess.”

“…”

“Your whole family tried to kill Her Imperial Highness, but they failed.”

Then came the next sentence.

“You were brought here because of guilt by association.”

Guilt by association.

A system where the criminal’s family is punished as well.

So it’s like executing three generations of a family together.

A month had already passed since I became a seven-year-old prisoner sentenced through guilt by association.

“…Maybe exile suits me.”

I actually liked living in exile.

I had never lived such a comfortable and peaceful life before.

No wonder exiled scholars used to write literature.

Six hours of labor every day.

Breaks in between.

Fresh vegetables and meat at every meal.

Other than work, we were free for the rest of the day, and the guards hardly bothered us.

On top of that, the other prisoners were incredibly kind.

Even though each of them carried terrifying criminal charges, they were the gentlest and kindest people I had ever met.

Since I was small and clumsy, they always helped me.

Whenever food was served, they made sure my bowl had the biggest portions.

Whenever they found pretty wildflowers, they brought them to show me.

When hot water was prepared, they always let me bathe first.

Even my own family never treated me this well.

So my old life had been worse than exile.

Pushing those complicated thoughts aside, I walked alone to the creek and sat down, organizing everything I had learned so far.

First—

The identity of this small body I possessed.

Hebenia Clavis. Seven years old.

The youngest daughter of an incredibly wealthy family.

This world had a class system.

The Clavis family was so powerful that even nobles and the Imperial Family couldn’t interfere with them.

According to rumors, they had once received a noble title…

…but they gave it to their pet dog and became commoners instead.

Then why would such a family try to kill the Imperial Princess?

Even the prisoners found that hard to understand.

Anyway, because of that incident, every male member of the Clavis family was executed, while the women were scattered across different exile settlements.

Looks like I’m unlucky with family in every world.

I let out a deep sigh.

Then someone loudly called my name.

“Hebenia!”

“Ian.”

The young man with light purple hair had once been an Imperial Knight.

His crime was embezzlement and breach of trust.

“What are you doing out here? It’s almost dinner, so I came to find you.”

“I was looking at the forest.”

Ian sat beside me and looked toward the enormous forest surrounding the exile settlement.

A settlement surrounded by a forest.

The exile land, Exilium.

Only the most dangerous criminals were imprisoned here, yet the security was surprisingly loose.

The guards only watched us during labor.

The rest of the time, they left us alone.

Instead of prison cells, the prisoners built a village near the work site and lived there freely.

The reason this was possible…

…was that enormous forest surrounding the settlement.

“Ian, are there really monsters living in that forest?”

“They say it’s full of man-eating monsters. I’ve never seen one myself.”

“Then why don’t they come in here? The guards could get eaten too.”

“If that happens, we’ll probably meet again inside a monster’s stomach. Look.”

Ian picked up a small stone from the ground.

Then he threw it toward the forest with all his strength.

The stone flew straight ahead—

—and suddenly bounced away before reaching the trees.

“There’s a barrier.”

“Wow…”

No matter how many times I saw it, it was amazing.

Just like that, Exilium wasn’t impossible to escape because of monsters.

It was surrounded by an invisible barrier.

Only once every month—

On the night of the full moon—

A path connecting the settlement to the outside world temporarily opened.

That was when food and daily supplies were delivered.

Apparently, I had entered this place the same way a month ago, though I couldn’t remember it.

“Hebenia.”

“Hm?”

“Do you still remember nothing?”

“No.”

Right now, everyone believed I had lost my memory from the shock of being sentenced through guilt by association.

Since I knew nothing about this world and kept asking questions, the adults had come to that conclusion on their own.

Thanks to that, I didn’t have to pretend to be the real Hebenia Clavis.

“Shall we head back? It’s time for dinner.”

I stared at the hand Ian held out before taking it and standing up.

“Ian… do you want to leave this place?”

“If I could, sure. You probably won’t believe me, but I was framed.”

“The other adults all say the same thing.”

The dangerous criminals here were kind…

…but they didn’t have much shame.

Well, who cares?

As long as they’re good to me.

“Actually, there’s somewhere I’d like to go too.”

“Huh? You’d leave?”

“Yeah. I like living here. I was even thinking about spending the rest of my life in exile.”

But I probably couldn’t go back anyway.

For some reason… I’m certain I can never return to my original world.

Maybe that’s why I still had so many regrets.

I couldn’t tell anyone I came from another world…

…but I could at least tell them one of those regrets.

“I need to receive a package.”

“A… package? What’s that?”

“A limited edition Magic Milky from Magical Girl Milk Shake… It was made together with an overseas jewelry designer…”

The Eternal Heart Milky Way Straw Stick used in the final episode of Season 2…

…was supposed to arrive the very next day.

“I spent three million won on it…!”

“It’s okay. Everyone goes a little crazy after coming to exile.”

Thinking I had simply lost my mind, Ian gently patted my back while comforting me.

“Don’t look for a reason to help someone.”

“Even if you fall, as long as you stand up again, you can keep walking!”

“Even if it isn’t today, hope will definitely save you someday!”

I used to watch nothing but the robot cartoons my older brother liked.

Then one day, at a friend’s house, I accidentally watched a magical girl anime.

It completely changed me.

A girl my own age was saving the world.

Naturally, I fell in love with those strong and wonderful heroines.

If I had to transmigrate… becoming a magical girl would’ve been nice…

I reached down to pick up a dry branch by the creek.

Then stopped.

…Actually, maybe not.

I was far too materialistic to live like a magical girl.

Still… what a waste.

An entire bookshelf filled with magic wands.

It wasn’t just the money.

Each one held precious memories and effort.

Especially that limited edition magic wand worth three million won.

It even used real gemstones, making it incredibly detailed.

People kept asking if I was crazy when I emptied my savings to buy it.

Especially Senior, who had always been kind to me.

They looked at me with disappointed eyes, as if asking how someone with my salary could possibly buy something like that.

“…Senior must’ve been shocked.”

Since I had transmigrated, my body in the other world had probably died.

Trying to calm my complicated emotions, I sat quietly by the creek and stared into the forest.

“…Still, exile is better than working at my company. Even the prisoners are much kinder than my family. Once you grow attached to a place, doesn’t it become home?”

As I spoke to myself, I absentmindedly doodled on the ground.

An upside-down five-pointed star.

With a circle around it.

It was something I had drawn whenever I was bored since childhood.

My mother, who was a church elder, hated it.

She always called it the symbol of the devil.

She often cursed me, saying I was possessed by demons.

But drawing it always calms me down.

Maybe…

Maybe my mother had been right.

Maybe I really was possessed.

Otherwise, how could I become so comfortable around dangerous criminals?

How could I enjoy living in exile this much?

“Magical Girl Milk Shake, sweet and soft Milky Sugar…”

I quietly hummed the theme song while drawing over the doodle again.

Then—

A tiny drop of saliva fell onto the drawing.

“…Oops.”

Maybe it was because I had the body of a seven-year-old.

Sometimes I really did make childish mistakes like this.

I quickly wiped my mouth.

“Well… I should go—”

I gathered the branches and stood up.

Then I froze.

A luxurious bathtub with four legs had suddenly appeared in front of me.

Warm, fragrant steam filled the air.

Inside the bathtub…

A dark figure could barely be seen.

A long, muscular arm slowly emerged through the steam.

Startled, I tightened my grip on the bundle of branches.

As the steam cleared—

A man soaked from head to toe came into view.

He was unbelievably handsome.

Just looking at him felt almost disrespectful.

His sharp eyes stood out the most.

Combined with his muscular bare body and long black hair clinging to his skin, he gave off an overwhelming presence that made him difficult to approach.

Wait…

Why is he taking a bath outside?

The man also stared back at me in complete disbelief.

Eyes the color of a worn, faded sun looked directly into mine.

At that moment…

I instinctively knew.

He’s not human.

I slowly stepped backward.

For the first time since transmigrating, I felt genuine fear.

As I swallowed nervously—

“So… you’ve finally returned.”

The man slowly curled one corner of his lips into a smile.

What is he talking about?

“So, what’s your wish?”

“…Pardon?”

“Your wish.”

Resting his chin on the arm draped over the edge of the bathtub, the man spoke calmly.

“If you’ve summoned a demon, it’s only natural to make a wish.”

“N-No…”

I’m fine, thank you.

After politely refusing, I awkwardly bowed my head like a turtle stretching its neck…

…and immediately turned to run away.

Unfortunately—

My escape ended in complete failure.