For the first time in a long while, I could see my own reflection from a lake.

I no longer had shoes or socks on my bare feet, and my appearance was quite filthy.

Dirt and dried sweat were practically everywhere on my body, making my hair look much more muddled blue and my skin much more brown and grimy than it used to be.

If anyone were to look at me, they would automatically assume I was a runaway slave...perhaps an orphan from the slums...

Haha...

From a duke's daughter to a poor peasant's look-alike...

It was funny, right?

I honestly wanted to look at my surroundings more, but my eyes stung and complained under the light of the sun after months of pure darkness.

It was much too bright for my eyes to handle.

Was the world always this bright?

I closed my eyes to stop the sharp pain in my eyes and sat down in a patch of sharp grass as I tried to process everything that had just happened in the past few moments.

That dragon I had met in the end...what was she talking about?

Gadia might die?

There's a bad dude plotting world destruction?

None of her words made sense...but I had a few hunches here and there about what she was talking about.

Haha...This better not be some cliche plot where I, who have reincarnated from another world, needs to save all of humanity from destruction.

I don't know if anyone else knows this...but I'm not the most reliable person to work with.

...Anyway, the dragon's last words...

"Please, say hello to my son for me...when you see him again."

Her son...?

I could feel shivers go down my spine.

No way...there's just no way that...

...that gigantic dragon was his mother...right?

But...what if she was?

I just witnessed her death a few moments ago.

Just a few minutes ago...that dragon had died...and I could do nothing to save her.

If I had known...I would have...

I would have...

...No.

I don't even know for sure if she was Ace's mom.

I'm jumping to too many conclusions.

I'll think about these things later.

Right now, I need to examine my surroundings.

From what I could tell so far, the exit to the labyrinths that I were in had led me somewhere in the middle of a forest.

Even with my eyes closed, I could tell that there were hundreds, maybe thousands of trees stretching away from me in all directions.

The biggest question was...

How will I get back home...?

There were people waiting for me.

He was waiting for me.

Without a doubt, I knew from experience that my disappearance would cause quite a stir in the kingdom, especially with the all-so-powerful and annoying male leads having so much control over this world.

I stood up from my spot, with my eyes still closed, and scanned the area around me.

The closest city was about...1,800 miles(?) from the left of me.

Wow...I was stranded in the middle of nowhere.

I did my best to slightly open my eyelids, a small bit at a time, until I could get used to the brightness.

Through my pupils, I absorbed the sights of everything around me.

The luscious green trees, the swaying of grass as the wind blew, and the clear full blue sky in my sight.

The sky...it was the one thing I had wanted to see ever since I was locked up in those awful caves.

But...now that I could see it, I didn't know how to feel.

It was so beautiful...

It was so beautiful that a part of my heart wanted to just sit here and watch it quietly for the next few hours.

A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have been able to imagine being able to see anything again, much less the sky.

And, now that I could see, I felt as if though the chains and ropes that the caves had bonded me with had disappeared and were replaced with wings instead.

I reached out my hand into the blue sky.

It felt as if though I was on the verge of flying away.

I shook my head and turned away from the sky.

There were better things for me to be thinking about.

I grabbed the sword that had lasted me throughout the past three months or so.

This sword had become my journey companion and was the only reason why I made it out of those caves alive.

There was no way that I was going to leave it behind.

From that point on, I began my sprint to the nearest city.

Using my legs, I used my energy and launched forward with every leap I took.

And, to my surprise, it only took me...

...fifteen seconds.

I only needed fifteen seconds or so to reach the city.

I knew instinctively that I was much faster than before.

Still, I was certainly not faster than Ace, since his body and breed was literally designed to be fast, but I was certainly much...much...much faster than any other person I knew.

I was...stronger...

Thank goodness...

Thank goodness...that I grew stronger since then...

Thank god it was worth it.

Because if I went through all those labyrinths without improving at all...

...I wouldn't know what to do.

I had no idea how much stronger I really was since I had no one to compare myself to...but in comparison to my past self...

Well...

...I knew that I was a monster.

I sighed and scanned the area around me.

A few meters or so in front of me, I could see large stone city walls encircling a wide area of land.

I could see a large gate, guarded by soldiers and such, which I assumed was the only entrance into the city.

From somewhere behind me, I could hear the trotting of a horse and the sound of wooden wheels rolling over the rough dirt.

"Move out the way, you piece of sh-t! You're in the way of the road!" someone behind me yelled to me.

I turned around to see a merchant's caravan.

Sitting on his horse, there was a very large and bald man who had an extremely angry looking expression on his face.

He was tall and had huge muscles that were very much visible under his clothes.

"Oh..." I said.

My communication skills were still a little bit off, so I didn't attempt trying to talk in complete sentences.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?? I said to get off the freaking road! Walk away before I move you off myself," he growled as he crossed his arms in an intimidating manner.

I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying because there was something else distracting me.

His body was nearly two times bigger than the horse he was sitting on.

The horse looked like it was on the verge of death trying to carry this dude.

"Do you have something you want to say to me?! This is why peasants like you never end up anywhere in your life. They can't even understand a simple order," he said impatiently.

"...Poor...horse...his legs are breaking...trying to carry...that bald giant...It's so sad..." I said out loud by accident as I said exactly what I was thinking.

Whoops...

It had been so long since I'd talked to anyone that I forgot when it was appropriate to keep my mouth shut.

The bald man in front of me suddenly froze and I could visibly see him become even more enraged.

"What...did...you just call me...?! A bald giant?!" the man said loudly as he began to crack his knuckles.

"...Oh. S-sorry...didn't mean...saying that out loud...for saying...exactly what was...on my mind," I tried to say sorry but my words didn't flow well.

"How dare a roadside peasant insult me?! What do I look like to you?!"

I knew that he was asking a rhetorical question, but I actually seriously considered the answer to his question.

What did he look like to me...?

Hmm...

Actually, he really did remind me of something...

"Orc...? No...you look...like...ogre!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

I covered my mouth with my hands.

Oops.

I swear I wasn't doing this on purpose.

"..................You...are dead. I'm going to kill you. You think I won't hurt you because you're a weak little girl?!" the man said as he hopped off of his horse and walked toward me while cracking his neck.

W-Wait...!

Wasn't this guy overreacting a bit too much?!

I mean, I know I said things I that I shouldn't have...but that's no excuse for attempted murder, right????

"Sorry...I didn't...mean to say that...out loud...me...not very good...talking...so..." I tried to say as I backed off slowly from the dude.

I knew that I had gotten stronger over the past few months, but I still had no idea how much stronger I had gotten.

This dude was literally four times bigger than me.

And all I had was a very lethal sword...which wasn't useful at all because I didn't want to kill somebody.

Luckily, the sword was sheathed in its scabbard, so I doubt any accidents would happen with it around.

But...

I still wasn't in the best situation.

"Take a look at yourself, you filthy piece of crap. You're only a dumb peasant. No one would care if you die, and I doubt anyone would take legal action on me. You wanted to provoke me? Well now you did it," he said as he raised his fist against me.

I watched as he swung his fist down on me.

But all I could think was...how slow his punch was.

Slow...

...It was so slow.

In comparison to the consecutive lightning-fast lethal attacks of the labyrinths...this fist was moving so slow.

And since there was actually light on the surface, I could visibly see his fist moving toward me.

I took a single step to the side and watched as the man swung at the empty air.

He looked extremely confused for a moment and he turned his head to look at me.

"...Did you dodge...? No...you're only a puny girl. It was probably luck."

I stared back at him.

This was the strength of a buff guy like him?

Were his muscles just for show?

Why was I even wasting my time with him?

Actually, why was he even trying to kill me again?

I forgot...

"...Sorry...but I must go...I want...home..." I said slowly.

"Are you looking down on me?! I don't know how I managed to miss you, but you were just lucky," he said as he cracked his knuckles and prepared to punch me again.

I groaned.

This was going literally nowhere and I was becoming impatient.

I mean...I know I look super dirty and horrible right now, but that doesn't give him or anyone else the right to look down on me and try to kill me for literally no reason.

I grabbed the handle of the sword I had hanging over my back.

I didn't bother unsheathing the blade.

If I killed him in such a place with guards only a few dozen meters away, I would end up in a worse situation.

The man stared at the sword I had in my hands and his eyes widened.

"You had a sword this whole time? There's no way that a peasant would be able to afford a sword. You probably stole it, didn't you...? Hand it over and I'll forgive you," he said as he reached his hand out to grab it from me.

I moved the sword out of his reach.

This sword was an absolute beast in comparison to what you could get on the surface...and since he was a merchant, I bet he could tell by sight just how much this sword was worth.

There was no way I was just going to give it to him.

"You b-tch!!! How dare you?! First, you insult me. And now you're threatening me with that stolen sword!" he yelled.

"It's not...stolen...and you insulted me...first..." I replied.

"...I'll have the sword appraised later. Hand it over. Girls shouldn't be holding weapons in the first place," he said as lunged toward me.

I took a single step to the right and watched as he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

I stared down at the man.

...Disgusting.

I raised my sheathed sword high in the air and slammed it down on his leg.

There was a loud cracking sound and I was certain his leg was broken.

"AAGGHH!" he screamed in pain.

Even with a sheathed sword, if I smacked his head with it, he would've died.

To be safe, I aimed for his legs.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?! YOU DARE BREAK MY LEG?! WAIT UNTIL I CALL FOR A LAWYER! YOU'RE DEAD!" he screeched at me.

Hmm...

This reminded me of a scene in the past when a pair of assassins broke my leg as I tried to fight back and save Deux.

It seemed as if my role had completely switched though.

Instead of having my legs broken, I was breaking other people's legs so they couldn't run away.

"You attacked first...self-defense...call a lawyer if you want," I said.

"You're just an uneducated girl who doesn't even know how to talk properly!!! WHO THE HECK ARE YOU TO EXPLAIN THE RULES TO ME," he yelled as he tried to stand up.

I didn't let him though.

I raised my sword again and swung down on his other leg, breaking his knee and bursting his skin open, causing drops of blood to splash on my face.

The man let out another scream as his leg appeared to be on the verge of falling off.

The only thing keeping his leg attached to the rest of his body were pieces of his skin that refused to peel away from the rest of his body.

Even his flesh was completely detached from his upper leg.

"W-W-Who the heck are you?!" he said as he tried to sound brave, but I knew that he was in so much pain he couldn't think properly.

I looked down to see a pool of blood forming around his legs.

I think I overdid it...

There's a chance he'll be crippled for life if healer mages aren't able to heal him properly.

But he was weaker than I thought he was...

And I had no idea how much strength to use...

Besides, my blade wasn't even unsheathed...

So...how as I supposed to know that I was strong enough to chop off his leg without trying...??

And...

And...uh...

Yeah...I think I ran out of excuses to use.

I sighed and quickly swiped the blood off of my sword's scabbard by using the bald man's clothes and smeared the blood off of my face.

The man stared at me from the ground and froze.

"...D-demon..." the giant man squeaked as his face completely paled.

...Huh?

What the heck was this dude talking about?

I decided to ignore his words and walked over to his caravan.

"N-No...please...Don't take my merchandise...!" he begged as he tried to move toward me, but his legs slowed him down.

"I won't take anything...valuable...I just need...a hooded cape..." I murmured as I searched the cart.

Once I found what I needed, I took it and draped it over my shoulders, covering my face and concealing my hair in the process.

"I'll be taking this..." I said.

It would be bad if other people bothered me because of how I looked.

Besides, hooded capes were cheap, so I doubt that the merchant would mind if I took it...right?

"What in the world is going on here?!?!" I could hear someone yell as they approached us.

I turned and saw a few guards walking toward us as they gaped in horror while watching the bald man's injuries.

This was bad.

Before they could see me, I ran away as fast as I could to the city gates.

If they saw me and realized I was the one who hurt the dude...well...I'd be screwed.

I swiftly walked toward the entrance of the city wall and talked to a nearby guard so they could let me in before it was too late.

I made sure that my hooded coat covered my appearance completely.

"Do you have any identification?" the guard asked.

"...Um...no. Do I...need it?" I asked.

"If you don't have any then you can sign some papers over there. If you get in trouble in the gates without ID, the guards are allowed to kill you," he said.

Dang...that's brutal.

I never thought about it before...but killing was pretty normal in this world...

Even the bald man back there was trying to kill me too because I called him an ogre...

Well, either way, I signed the papers and entered the city without too many issues.

I was forced to wear a green bracelet around my arm to show that I was a visitor and to let the city guards know I didn't have any ID, but it didn't bother me too much.

I wasn't planning on getting in trouble here anyway.

The only thing I wanted was to find a way back to either Greenwood Academy or home and nothing else.

Getting in trouble now and being thrown in prison would only slow me down.

My stomach began to rumble.

Darn...I was hungry and I had no money.

The smell of bakeries and cafes weren't helping me either.

I wandered the streets for a while until I bumped into a nice lady.

She had a soft expression on her face and her hair was short and black. Her eyes were a calming shade of lavender and she walked over to me with a wide smile on her face.

From what I could tell, she was around my age.

"Hello! You aren't from around these parts, aren't you?" she asked me cheerfully.

"...How did...you know...?" I asked slowly.

"Haha...There's no need for you to be on so much alert. I can tell by that green bracelet you're wearing," she smiled.

"...Oh," I replied clumsily.

"You're a funny one. So? Do you have a reason for coming to a city like this one? We may be considered a 'city,' but we're much smaller than most and we hardly ever have people come here," she said.

"Yes...Do you know...what the quickest way to the capital...is?" I asked her.

She paused for a moment, a little confused by my question.

"I do, actually. But why would you want to go there now of all times?" she asked.

"Is there...a reason I shouldn't?" I asked.

"Yeah. Didn't you know? The capital's in chaos. I don't know all the details, but a month or two ago the royal family sent hundreds, maybe thousands, of royal guards around the whole kingdom! People in the capital are having a hard time with all of this..."

"Huh? Why...?"

"Like I said, I don't know all the details...but the king's ordered for anyone suspicious to be killed on the spot...things have calmed down a bit over there from what I've heard...but I wouldn't recommend visiting there for now. It's a bit risky."

I gulped.

I don't want to sound cocky or anything...but there's no way they did all of that because I went missing right?

What the heck were they thinking...

I sighed.

"It's alright. Either way, I have to head there no matter what...Can you tell me the general direction it's in?" I asked.

"Dear goodness! You aren't thinking of walking all the way there on foot, right? It'd take four whole days to get there by horse if you're lucky. Walking would take weeks! And there are plenty of monsters at night too...You might have a sword with you but..." she said with concern as she glanced at the blade behind my back.

"That won't be a problem. Can you please tell me?"

"Well...if you really want to know...it's around 4,000 or so miles away. Just go east of the gates," she said.

"Thank you so much," I said seriously.

It had been a while since I had met someone nice.

"Wait. Before you go, you'll need some food, right? You can't go on a couple week-long journey without food! You'll die!!" she exclaimed as she pushed me into a nearby restaurant.

I didn't want to tell her that it'd only take me around five minutes to reach the capital if I ran at a leisurely pace, so I simply went along with her.

"Here, I'll pay for your food. What would you like to eat?" she asked me.

This girl was way too nice for her own good.

I was a complete stranger...

I wouldn't be surprised if she was the type who got mugged often.

Normally, I would've refused her offer, but I hadn't eaten proper food for the past few months and the smell of actual meat was making my mouth water.

Slowly, I took a glance through the menu.

"Oh...sorry...Can you read?" she asked me.

I nodded my head.

Even if I looked like this, I was still a genius.

Humph.

"I'd like...a single rib-eye steak, please," I asked her.

"Of course," she smiled as she called for the waiter.

I would've ordered more...but she was the one paying...and she certainly wasn't as wealthy as a duke's family.

After a few minutes, the food came out and I stared at the meal in front of me.

It didn't smell rotten.

It was still hot.

It was cooked meat.

It was...food.

Unconsciously, I was about to grab the steak with my hands and eat it like how I used to eat monster meat...but then I remembered that I needed to use a fork and knife.

I carefully cut open a small piece with my knife, using my fork to pin it down, and dipped the steak into the house special sauce they had here.

I smelled it.

It smelled...so good...

I placed the meat on my tongue and began to chew on it.

The juice of the steak and the savoriness overwhelmed me.

The flavors of herbs and garlic intertwined with the meat and the flavor sent me over the moon.

This was the first time...I ate a proper meal...in so long...

It was as if the realization that I was actually on the surface finally hit me...

...that I wasn't stuck in a cave anymore...

...that I didn't have to fight for my life...

...that I was almost home...

A tear fell down my face.

"A-Are you okay??" the girl who brought me here asked with shock.

I nodded at her and smiled.

"...Thank you for the meal," I said as I ate the entire steak piece by piece until there was none left.

I drank the water they gave me and didn't leave a single drop behind.

"...You look beautiful when you smile," the girl said as she widened her eyes in awe.

"Huh...?" I asked her.

She didn't say anything as she looked at me.

"Are you okay...?" I asked just to be sure.

"Oh...It's nothing...It's just that you haven't smiled at all until just now..." she said.

"I see..." I murmured.

"You should smile more," she said softly to me.

"...If something good happens, I will," I promised her.

When she finished paying for the bill, I thanked her once again.

"Thank you so much, ma'am. I'll never forget your kindness," I said to her.

"No, don't worry about it! It's what people should do if they see someone with such a troubled look on their face wandering around on the streets," she said.

"I looked troubled to you?" I asked.

"Yes...extremely," she nodded.

"I see..." I mumbled.

"Let's go buy some journey supplies before you go an-"

"No, it's fine. I can't ask you for anything more," I said as I interrupted her.

"That's nonsense. You won't survive on the trip without rations an-"

"I won't need them...but thank you for being so kind," I smiled.

The girl looked concerned for a bit before she sighed and let me win.

"Alright, then. Good luck finding your way to the capital," she said as she waved me goodbye.

"Yes, if we ever meet again, I'll be sure to repay you," I said.

"Don't say that! If you ever earn money, be sure to keep it for yourself," she told me.

Haha...but she didn't know I was a duke's daughter.

I sighed, waved her goodbye as well, and left to the capital, the place where mayhem had hit.

"Let's go meet the royal family and clear things up I guess..." I murmured to myself.

Little did I know, the capital was more messed up than I thought.

-----------------------------------------------------

A/N: Cordelia seems to have gotten very strong~ Her character has changed from the screaming careless type to the: I'm just going to immediately break your legs type.

Also, who do you guys think that kind lady is? Is she someone important? Someone completely irrelevant? Or someone I just wrote in for fun? Who knows~ Tell me what you think!

I promise that Cordelia will be meeting the male leads very soon~! (Maybe in the next chapter...*wink*) I'd grab some popcorn for the next chapter if I were you~

Also, I regret ever saying that this school year was relaxing so far. Because...it's not. It's pure evil. Class schedules keep changing so fast that I don't even know what's happening anymore. Like...how am I supposed to know a teacher canceled class at last minute??

Gah...school sucks.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thanks, again, to my readers/voters/commenters for all the support you guys give~ You guys are always so sweet!

Stay safe, everyone~

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 4302