Chapter 5

In my dream, I heard a strange voice.

"Let's choose this one♪"

"This one won't do♪"

"She'll be our new relative"

"Guiding a lone soul—♪"

"Hurry up, wake up♪"

It sounds like children are making a racket. It's good that they're energetic, but I wish they'd be a bit more considerate of my ears.

"Could you please play... outside!?"

As I said this while waking up, I realized there were no children around.

And I found myself in an unfamiliar place again.

It was different from where I woke up last time.

The windows were rectangular, and the room was small. Most importantly, the bed was wooden, with a mattress stuffed with something firm.

There were three similar beds, so it might be a hospital room.

In any case, it seemed I was away from the situation where I was almost killed for some unknown reason.

"Ah, that's good..."

It's a relief that my life isn't in danger. Honestly, just thinking about it makes me shudder in fear.

I think the handsome silver-haired man probably saved me.

"Still, the clothes... again..."

While I was sleeping, I was changed into new clothes again.

This time, it was a white dress with ribbons, and knee-length pants that looked like drawers.

After the second time, I started to feel resigned. There's nothing I can do about it since I was unconscious...

Then I noticed something different from last time.

The bedding smelled of herbs, like a mix of lavender and sage.

"So, this time, it's possible that a woman changed my clothes!"

I can't imagine the handsome man who saved me busily fumigating the room and sheets with herbs to keep bugs away. If he did, I'd like to see it.

...It would probably be quite amusing.

In any case, I think a woman took care of me this time.

That's why I heard children's voices earlier. They were probably playing outside, and I just had the illusion that they were nearby in my half-asleep state.

I felt a bit more cheerful. It's better to be seen naked by someone of the same gender.

Being seen by a man is scary for reasons beyond just being self-conscious about my body...

There's one more thing I realized.

Maybe I remembered my past life?

I didn't think about it much after I woke up last time because I was so focused on the danger... but this is a fantasy world, right? There's magic here.

"I must have been reborn in another world..."

As I muttered this, the door suddenly opened.

"Ah!"

Maybe because I was scared by the sudden appearance of someone last time, or because I'm naturally shy, I instinctively screamed and hid under the blanket.

But the person didn't seem to mind.

"Oh dear... You must have been scared by that strange group. It's okay, you're safe now. You're inside the castle."

It was a middle-aged woman's voice.

When I peeked out from under the blanket, I saw a plump middle-aged woman entering the room.

Her hair, a mix of gold and white, was tied back, and she wore a green skirt, a white shirt, and a brown apron. She looked to be in her late 50s.

She smiled at me.

"I'm glad you're awake. You didn't wake up no matter how much I shook you or changed your clothes."

From her words, I understood that she was the one who changed my clothes. I felt a huge sense of relief.

I decided to thank her properly.

Since I was reborn in this world, I've always been unnaturally nervous and stammered, making it hard to speak. This often frustrated others...

I used to help in my grandmother's shop because I didn't get nervous there, and I lived by helping out.

"Thank you. You even changed my clothes for me."

The words came out smoothly, surprising me.

Hmm. Could I really speak this well? It feels like my past self... Maybe it's because I remembered?

She didn't seem to mind my surprise and responded kindly.

"That dress belonged to my daughter. It's a bit loose on you, but please bear with it. By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Yura."

"I'm Helga. Since you're awake, drink the water over there and change into these clothes. I'll bring you some food."

"Ah, okay."

Helga handed me a set of clothes and left the room immediately.

"......Is this because I remembered my past life?"

I mused.

If I hadn't, I would have struggled to speak and made Helga uncomfortable.

People often tolerate such things at first but get annoyed if they don't improve quickly.

...In the village, even when I explained my social anxiety, many people assumed I was disliked and it caused me a lot of trouble.

Also, because of this social anxiety, I struggled after my grandmother passed away, wondering if I could run the shop on my own.

With my long-standing issues resolved, even after the terrible experience, my mood improved.

Thank you, past life. But if this is a cure, maybe there was a reason I couldn't communicate well in my early childhood.

Or perhaps it was due to the experiments at that strange place where I was kidnapped.

My throat was dry, so I drank the water on the table as instructed and looked at the clothes.

I was given a white dress, a blue bodice to wear over it, and a skirt.

Just as I finished changing, Helga returned.

"Ah, the size fits you well."

Helga placed a tray of food on the table and came over to me.

"First, eat. Then I'll call the captain."

"The captain?"

I tilted my head in confusion.

"This is the castle that serves as the headquarters of the Sigul Knights."

As the names were mentioned, the knowledge in my head was pulled out.

The Sigul Knights' territory is in the south of the Arrendahl Kingdom.

The reason I know this is that the founding legend of the Sigul Knights is also a popular children's fairy tale.

The story goes that when the king was about to be killed by evil people, he took refuge in the southern castle. The people who supported the king then formed the Sigul Knights.

There's something else familiar about this...

When I saw the handsome man's face, I had a similar feeling.

I don't really want to say it out loud because it sounds like a cheesy pick-up line, but I felt like asking, "Have we met before?"

But I don't have any acquaintances among the knights. I'm just the daughter of a small trinket shop.

"No..."

Actually, it's from my past life. I saw a lot of fantasy things and knew many faces of knights.

—Elfield Online.

It's a fantasy online game.