Chapter 3

"No way... What do you mean by 'villain'? No, this must be a dream. It's just a dream."

Who would want to be a villain?

What kind of world is this, where it's the same as a game?

I can't help but let out a dry laugh.

I thought it was just my brain concocting some weird fantasy while I was dreaming, but then I realize—

If I think about it in the way this world works, vivid and clearly remembered dreams are often considered prophetic dreams.

"The job of the monks in the church is to interpret dreams, you know!"

Most people, from the neighboring kingdom to the nearby towns, follow the holy teachings of Eremia.

Its teachings are the usual kind, urging people to live a pure and righteous life.

However, dream interpretation is not considered occult but rather a divine favor.

For example, if someone says, "I had a really vivid dream where my crush confessed to me! He must like me too!" in my previous life in Japan, they would be thought of as someone who can't tell the difference between dreams and reality.

But if I tell the monks here about the content of my dream, they would flip through their dream interpretation books and say things like,

"That might mean he has feelings for you."

or

"Unfortunately, this is what we call a reverse dream, which means you saw it because you admire him so much."

No one denies that dreams have a connection to reality.

If I apply this common sense, it means I must have seen the future in my dream.

The reason I want to dismiss it as just a fantasy is because of the belief from my previous life that 'there's no such thing as a prophetic dream.'

Feeling desperate in this dead-end situation, I try to find a reason to believe it's not a prophetic dream and start to verify the sudden increase in my memories.

"Right, in the game, Kiara was supposed to be a mage, but I can't use magic yet. And I haven't seen anyone else use it either."

I know magic exists in this world.

There are court mages who are protected by the state because they are valuable assets in battle.

However, mages are rare.

How to become one is a closely guarded secret, passed down from master to apprentice. There are even rumors that one must make a pact with a demon.

If this is a memory from my previous life and this world is exactly like the game, does that mean I will be forced to make a pact with a demon in the near future?

"I don't want to make a pact with a demon. I want to live a pure and righteous life."

I haven't been blessed with a family, and it's already decided that I won't be blessed with marriage.

The idea that I might be forced to do something like Faust is just too much.

I search for any evidence to deny this, but the names of the queen and the protagonist's family, the Evrard Margrave, match.

The names of the neighboring countries also match.

...It seems there's no way out.

Moreover, I'm the villain.

In the game, when the neighboring country's army, brought in by the queen, attacks the forts and towns, Kiara sometimes appears as an enemy.

Until the later stages, she creates giant earth golems in places where she can't be attacked, making her a troublesome enemy.

Later, in the battle near the royal castle, Kiara stays on the field and can be defeated by the protagonist and their party.

When Kiara uses earth golems, if the golem protecting her is destroyed, the scene changes to an animation of her being stabbed by someone's sword.

Well, they can't show a different death scene for each enemy.

Anyone in the protagonist's party can kill Kiara, so it's impossible to prepare a different scene for each person. She's not the final boss, after all.

Also, the protagonist's party can recruit a mage, and even if that mage uses magic to defeat Kiara, the same sword-stabbing animation plays.

It's probably a decision made by the developers to use just one scene.

Remembering that single death scene, I get goosebumps thinking it might be me.

"Ugh, I don't want to die young... Wait, what if I just don't get married?"

I don't have to become Kiara Credius.

If I can't use magic now, I'll probably be forced to make a pact with a demon after I get married.

If I can't use magic, maybe I can live as a regular person. And I won't be drafted into the war.

If the situation progresses as it did in my previous life, I can still survive.

—Alright, I'll run away.

Once I made the decision, I first pulled out the trunk I brought when I entered the boarding school from under my bed, unlocked it, and took out my purse.

Most things are sent by my adoptive family, but there are times when I need a little money. For example, when I need to ask the nun who is the dorm mother for a favor, like cleaning my room.

I had about 100,000 sients, which was 8 gold coins, 19 silver coins, and 10 copper coins.

I still had this much because I always cleaned my room myself and never asked anyone else to do it.

After all, I possess poison.

The Count of Patrician gave it to me.

He said it was for emergencies, but what did he want me to do with it... Fortunately, I never received any instructions.

I couldn't just throw it away because I was worried it might kill the flowers and trees in the garden. I was only taught how much would kill a person, not the ingredients, so I was at a loss.

...Right. Given that my adoptive family gave me poison, the possibility that they would force me to make a pact with a demon after I got married is very high.

Realizing this, I was disappointed in myself but still stuffed the purse into the pocket of my black skirt.

Since no one was in the room, I lifted my skirt and strapped a large knife and a bottle of poison to my thigh with a custom leather belt.

I was taught how to fight with a knife right after I was adopted by the Count. ...He said it was for self-defense, but the training was so intense and lasted for an hour every day that it didn't seem like self-defense in hindsight.

Considering that I was given poison and taught to fight with a knife, the Count of Patrician probably wanted to make me an assassin.

But from now on, I have to survive on my own.

In this rather dangerous world, I don't think I can survive without a weapon. I should be grateful that I was taught how to handle poison and knives.

With that, my preparations were complete.

I didn't take any other luggage. If someone saw me leaving the boarding school, I could say I was going to the classroom to get a textbook I forgot.

I didn't want to rely on anyone.

I had some acquaintances, but they were pure-blooded noble ladies. If I told them I was going to live on my own and defy my parents, they would be shocked and confused. They might even call my parents out of concern. So I couldn't talk to them carelessly.

I left the room and walked out of the boarding school as calmly as possible.

I moved to the edge of the church school grounds through a route where no one could see me, hiding behind the hedge and the stone wall of the school, feeling a bit relieved.

All that was left was to get out of here.

The nearest town from the hill where the church school is located is just a stone's throw away. If I blend into the crowd and change my clothes, I can hide the fact that I ran away from the church school.

After that, I need to get out of this territory as quickly as possible, as my adoptive family might come after me.

If possible, I want to go to another country, but this country is quite large. I should go to a famous city where I'm less likely to be found. They probably don't think a girl raised as a noble lady can live in a poor town.

"Let's go to the countryside. A slightly larger town with some wealthy merchants would be nice."

In such a place, even if I act a bit like a lady, I won't be seen as strange. And there should be some job opportunities.

With a rough plan in mind, I left the church school through a broken part of the wall before dusk.

The school is surrounded by a tall forest.

Just as I was about to cross it, I suddenly heard the neighing of horses. There were two... or four of them.

"...?"

It was near the gate.

Usually, no one visits the church school except when the priests come and go or when the food delivery cart arrives in the morning.

The only other times horses come are at the beginning and end of the semester when students are picked up or dropped off.

Did a student suddenly need to go home? Or did the Count of Patrician send a carriage along with a letter to bring me back immediately?

When I went to check, I was relieved to see a male student my age getting into one of the carriages.

He looked familiar.

Since only nobles and their relatives attend this church school, he must be a noble. So he was probably called back by his parents because something happened in the territory.

Feeling more relaxed knowing it wasn't related to me, I noticed the other carriage with luggage.

I couldn't see how much was inside, but could I hide in there?

If I could ride in the carriage, I could escape faster and more easily hide from my adoptive family if they came after me.

If I secretly hitch a ride and get off right after we leave the territory, I wouldn't cause much trouble for the other person.

Thinking it was a good idea, I waited for an opportunity. The boy who was about to get in turned back into the school, apparently forgetting something. A silver-haired boy who looked like a servant followed him, and the five knights on horseback were distracted.

—The goddess blew her flute.

When a good opportunity unexpectedly comes, people say the goddess blew her flute. It's as if a miracle has come, drawn by the beautiful sound of the goddess's flute.

At that moment, I felt as if I heard the sound of the flute.

Suddenly, I ran impulsively and got into the covered carriage.

Thanks to the goddess's miracle, no one seemed to notice me. After a while, the carriage started moving as if nothing had happened.

As the carriage began to rattle and the luggage inside started to shake, I moved to the back of the carriage.

This way, I was less likely to be found even if I made noise.

The covered carriage was packed with boxes of various sizes, leaving no room to stand, but I found a small shelf inside a large box wrapped in cloth, took it out, and placed it in a spot where I wouldn't roll off, then got inside.

Finding a hidden spot in the closed space, I took a deep breath.

As the tension eased, I suddenly felt sleepy.

I was dozing off when I heard voices from outside and realized we were passing through a checkpoint.

"Checkpoint?"

"Apparently, a series of thefts occurred at the same time as a pack of wind wolves appeared. If the thieves can control the wind wolves, it's a problem. They're checking to see if any of the thieves' accomplices are moving with stolen goods."

"Well, we'll just pass through... but we're in a hurry."

It seemed the knights were talking to the carriage driver near the covered carriage.

From the content, it sounded like a checkpoint to catch thieves.

I thought they wouldn't search the luggage of a noble, so I was as anxious as they were about the time.

I wanted to get as far away from the school as quickly as possible.

I had thought it was a great plan, but now I was reconsidering whether riding in someone else's carriage was a good idea.

The church school rarely sees carriages, and anyone would realize that a girl trying to run away might hitch a ride to get away faster than walking.

"I was careless..."

I thought this, but it was too late.

I really felt as if I heard the sound of the goddess's flute at that moment.

All I could do was pray, but the noble's carriage was given priority, and the wheels started turning after a while.

Good, if we pass the checkpoint quickly, we can get much farther today.

Feeling relieved, I became even sleepier.

In the moving carriage, I fell asleep without caring about the pain from bumping into the boxes.