“You should understand. How well have we treated you all this time? We fed and sheltered you, who had no memories and nowhere to go…”

‘The criminal grandpa sure has a long tongue.’

I thought indifferently as I scooped up the soup.

The soup was thin without any solid ingredients, and the bread that came with it was hard enough to nail, but I had to eat even this to replenish my strength.

“You’re repaying our kindness. Not only that, you’re becoming the hero of our village. So don’t resent us…”

Clatter.

I pushed the soup bowl through the small hole in the door, scraping it clean to convey the meaning that he should leave soon.

Finally, the annoying mumbling stopped. The grandpa, who had been talking enthusiastically – the village chief – clicked his tongue and stood up with the bowl. The sound of footsteps faded away.

When it finally became completely quiet, I slightly opened the peephole to peek outside.

The village chief was gone, but instead, I could see two strong men guarding at the bottom of the stairs. A deep sigh escaped me.

‘Damn… They’re not giving me any chance to escape.’

After possessing and letting out a hefty scream, I was dragged by people and locked in this room.

A day has passed since then. The excitement of entering the novel has subsided considerably, and I’ve been able to gather some information about this body I’ve possessed.

I got up and stood in front of a nearby half-length mirror.

In the hazy mirror, a woman with wheat-field-like light brown short hair and bright brown eyes was reflected. The woman with a healthy white complexion had a pretty cute appearance.

And,

“No matter how I look at it, she seems to resemble me a bit.”

Surprisingly, she had facial features very similar to my original face.

To be more precise, if you were to adjust my face to fit into this world without feeling out of place, it would probably look like this.

Moreover, the height and build were similar too.

“A doppelganger from another world…?”

I’m not sure if it’s really a doppelganger or what, but anyway, thanks to this, I didn’t feel too awkward every time I looked in the mirror.

“Not bad at all.”

I was observing my new body, staring intently at the mirror. Suddenly, there was a rough rattling sound from the tightly closed door.

Soon after, the door opened, and a man with a vile smile entered.

Eyes that looked like they would welcome a rotten pollack as a friend, sagging under-eye flesh clumped with greed, a disgusting mouth reeking of alcohol.

I knew this man.

His name was Bigsir Buren.

He was the bastard who had thrown ‘this body’s’ life into the gutter.

“Hey, pretty one. Have you been well? Have you lost some weight? It’s not so good if you get too thin, there’s nothing to touch.”

The obscene teasing that spewed from that damned mouth made me nauseous. I bit my lip hard to keep from cursing.

Knocking out all of the other person’s visual, auditory, and olfactory senses in less than a minute of appearing, he truly was an extraordinary bastard.

Bigsir Buren whistled as he swaggered over and stood in front of me. I could feel his sticky gaze scanning me up and down.

“Not talking today? You were screaming so well yesterday. Come on, say something. Try being a bit coy while you’re at it.”

‘Is he crazy?’

The desire to pluck out all of that bastard’s twisted hair boiled like lava. But I had to endure for now.

I clenched my fists tightly and trembled all over, but I endured to the best of my ability. Regardless, he didn’t stop babbling.

“Or how about singing a song? Ahem, your voice was quite cute. Is it because your face is cute?”

Then he tapped the tip of my nose with his alcohol-soaked finger.

…My vast compassion and patience for this pervert trash had reached its limit right here.

I violently swatted his hand away and cupped my nose. Bigsir Buren chuckled.

“What? Are you shy? Well, no woman has ever maintained her composure in front of this body…”

“Your breath stinks.”

Silence fell in the small room.

Bigsir Buren’s mouth gaped stupidly. He asked in a daze.

“Wh-what?”

“I said your breath stinks. It smells fishy. Is something wrong with your kidneys?”

I stepped back about three paces, exaggeratedly coughing and waving my hand. Bigsir Buren’s mouth opened even wider.

Soon, he started trembling as if he had been thrown out naked in the middle of winter.

“Y-y-you insolent X! I was being nice to a lowborn wench who doesn’t even know her own name, and you dare, you dare to…!”

A lowborn wench who doesn’t even know her own name.

It was a vile insult. The problem was…

‘That it’s all true.’

I recalled the information I had gathered about the woman I had possessed while I was locked up.

From what I found out, this woman really had no name. Not only that, she had no family or friends. This wasn’t even her hometown.

About half a year ago from now, the woman suddenly appeared in this village one day.

Wearing good quality and neat clothes, she was in a state where she couldn’t remember anything about herself, and on top of that, she couldn’t speak.

The villagers were somewhat wary, but after discussion, they decided to accept the woman.

Her good clothes and proper demeanor, and above all, her strikingly pretty appearance, led to speculation that she might be from a noble family.

And so, the woman with no memories or name settled in the village. Thanks to her quite good handcraft skills, she was able to make ends meet by taking on sewing jobs and such.

It was a peaceful life. At least until some good-for-nothing bastard showed up in the village, swaggering around with a bottle of alcohol.

That scoundrel is the one standing here now, Bigsir Buren. He was the youngest son of the old lord who ruled this area.

As soon as Bigsir Buren saw the woman, he became smitten and started following her around, pestering her. Telling her to become his concubine.

However, the woman, who was well aware of Bigsir Buren’s notorious reputation, naturally shook her head… and Bigsir Buren, rejected, became enraged, his eyes spinning with fury.

It was at that moment that a gate to the world of monsters opened in the village. Seeing the gate, Bigsir Buren made a decision.

He would offer the insolent woman who dared to reject him as a sacrifice to the monsters.

And that’s how this current situation came to be.

“I was going to! Specially forgive you if you begged for forgiveness even now! Fine, let’s do this! I’m really looking forward to seeing how that pretty face of yours will distort in front of the monsters!”

Bigsir Buren, who had been jumping up and down in place while shouting, stomped out of the room. His pathetic display wasn’t scary at all.

Still, dealing with that noisy trash can was a bit tiring. I sluggishly walked to the bed and flopped down.

I thought about taking a nap, but…

“Hmm.”

As my body relaxed, my mind filled with worries. I guess it’s about time I seriously think about my uncertain future.

The mission window that appeared right in front of me when I possessed hovered in the air briefly that day, then automatically disappeared and never showed itself again.

It was the same even when I tried calling out “Mission window!” or “Status window!” on my own. Was it simply meant to inform me of my terminal condition without any other functions?

‘Then who sent it? Perhaps the author of ?’

There were many unknowns, but one thing was certain. The fact that if I ignore this mission window, I will really die.

My instincts were whispering that to me. So I decided to try to carry out this ridiculous mission of “Get Aspeiran Married.”

“To do that, first… I need to get to Aspeiran.”

But how?

Three worlds appear in . The world of Ellos where Aspeiran lives, the world of Elbas where the protagonists live, and the world of Tronos, the world of monsters between the two worlds.

According to the information I heard when I first possessed this body, I was currently in the Gransia Empire in Elbas. The country ruled by Yulisis, the male protagonist of .

In other words, it meant I had to cross worlds to get to Aspeiran.

“Actually, there is one fastest way I could do right now…”

It’s a reckless adventure that requires a large amount of luck, but if successful, I could meet Aspeiran right away.

I carefully pondered the contents of that I had read several times in my past life.

It seems possible.

“Should I give it a try?”

The decision was made quickly. I sprang up from my seat. Now that I’ve decided, it was time to lay the groundwork for a large amount of ‘luck’.

The village chief, patting his aching back, slowly moved his steps.

In his hand was a tray with some food for ‘that child’. The chief’s face darkened as he looked down at the bowl of thin soup.

‘Yes… it can’t be helped.’

Tronos, the newly discovered third world between the existing two worlds, Elbas and Ellos.

Tronos was a world that defied all common sense and a realm of ‘monsters’ where ordinary life forms could not live.

Originally, the three worlds were disconnected, but about 500 years ago, gates to Tronos began to open in Ellos and Elbas. And all sorts of monsters poured out through the gates and attacked people.

Monsters that could only be wounded by magic or aura were nothing short of a calamity. Especially in rural areas where magicians and aura users were extremely rare, it was as good as a death sentence the moment a gate opened.

So when a gate opened in this village, the chief nearly fainted.

Of course, now that thorough preparations against monsters have been made, a subjugation team would rush in as soon as a request for help is made to the imperial family.

However, the moment a battle with monsters breaks out, the village would surely become a mess.

No matter what method is taken, some damage to the village is inevitable. People exchanged anxious glances.

It was then. The young master of the lord, who had been frequenting the village recently, appeared, cackling.

− Why worry so much? No need to request help! Just offer a ‘human sacrifice’!

Human sacrifice.

A method of dealing with gates that started from an unfounded rumor: “If you offer a living human sacrifice before monsters come out of the gate, the gate will disappear.”

Although incredibly cruel, people had secretly used this method from ancient times because about seven out of ten times, the gate would close if a sacrifice was offered.

Certainly, if a human sacrifice is offered, there would be no chance for monsters to come out, so the village would be safe without any damage.

However, unlike in the past when it was tacitly allowed, now the newly enthroned Emperor Yulisis has strictly prohibited human sacrifices. If discovered, they would surely face severe punishment.

As the village chief hesitated, Bigsir Buren spoke as if frustrated.

− Don’t be a coward! If you all just keep your mouths shut, how would the emperor know what happens in this backwater village?

The chief’s heart leaned more and more towards the bold claim.

Moreover, the sacrifice Bigsir Buren pointed out was ‘that child’. A woman with no name or family, whom they had graciously taken in.

In the end, the village chief and the villagers nodded. This was an unavoidable choice for the sake of more people.

‘Of course. If we can protect the village, sacrificing just one person is no big deal. Honestly, shouldn’t she gladly offer herself for this?’

While he would never consider being that one person himself even if he died and came back to life, the village chief easily rationalized his actions like this.

Finally, as he approached the attic room where ‘that child’ was locked up, he saw a girl quietly walking down from above.

Surely the young master had ordered that no one should come, so who could it be? The chief narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the other person.

And when he finally confirmed the girl’s identity, the old man wrinkled his already wrinkled face even more and shouted loudly while waving his cane.

“You!”