Chapter 2: It's More Than an Unfamiliar Ceiling; It's the Goddess I'm Angry At

With a dull plop, Shouko landed in the new world.

Why? Because there was snow on the ground.

Looking down, she saw a pair of sturdy boots, the kind a village resident might wear, sinking into a few centimeters of snow. The boots were followed by beige trousers and a tunic, with a long-sleeved shirt visible underneath.

In other words—she was underdressed.

"Cold!"

The snow wasn’t just on the ground. It was swirling in the air, like a blizzard, and to make matters worse, it was nighttime.

"What do you mean, 'live a long life'? I'm about to die right now!"

Shouko screamed, immediately feeling the cold air sting her throat. Looking around desperately, she spotted a faint light in the distance. Whether it was real or just her imagination, she had no choice but to head towards it.

She trudged through the snow and wind, cursing the goddess.

"Damn her—wait, does ‘go bald’ even work as a curse on a woman? No… then what do you say to curse a woman? Wrinkles?"

Cursing someone was harder than she thought.

Her small body, now around ten years old, made walking difficult. The cold showed no mercy, sapping her body heat with each step. She felt like the light was getting closer, but just as she stepped out from between the trees, her vision went black.

"Today was such a long day," she thought, just before losing consciousness.

Before the snow could bury her collapsed body, a shadowed figure approached.

"Oi. Are you dead?"

No response—of course, she had blacked out.

But something in her body moved slightly, causing the figure to hastily scoop her up and rush toward the light—a small but sturdy mountain cabin.

The man, carrying Shouko in one arm, pushed open the door with his free hand and immediately lit the fireplace. The cabin had already been illuminated in anticipation of his return.

"She's freezing… Why the hell is a kid out here?"

Watching Shouko tremble violently from the cold, the man clicked his tongue.

"The fireplace alone won’t be enough. The bath, then."

One of the reasons he had accepted this job was that the cabin came with a hot spring.

"I don’t have any kid’s clothes… Guess mine will have to do."

As he stripped off her damp, snow-soaked clothes, he checked for injuries.

"She’s dressed like a villager, but her clothes aren’t dirty at all. Even her underwear is new. Her body is clean… wait—she’s a girl!"

After warming her in the bath until her shivering subsided, he dressed her in several layers of his clothes and tucked her into bed.

"Gotta keep her warm. But who the hell is she? No one entered the forest. She’s dressed like a villager, but her hands and feet are unblemished. Her body is too clean. Her hair is well-maintained. And she’s a girl."

It reeked of trouble.

"She hasn’t been killed, though. More like, someone wanted her gone but didn’t want to dirty their hands. Didn’t want to reveal her identity. They went out of their way to abandon someone with the distinctive black hair of the plains here, deep in the forest. Makes no sense..."

Scratching his head roughly, he muttered:

"Well, Leon’s coming tomorrow. I’ll talk to him about it."

With that, he crawled into bed next to Shouko. Setting up another room was too much hassle.

"Kids are surprisingly warm."

That thought carried him into sleep.

Somewhere, the goddess smiled—See? I made sure someone would help you.

"Screw you!"

Shouko shot upright, screaming.

She had lived peacefully—very peacefully—until the age of 28, and yet, in the span of a single day, she had already shouted in anger twice. Gasping for breath, she finally realized she was in a bed.

Wait. Her clothes were different.

"Oh, you're awake?"

Two men peeked through the door.

Who?

Frozen in place, Shouko stared at them.

The man with black hair and brown eyes spoke. His coloring was familiar, but his features were sharper than a Japanese person's.

"Do you remember collapsing in the snow yesterday?"

She remembered walking. But collapsing?

She tilted her head slightly, and the man continued.

"I picked you up and saved you."

So he had helped her.

Shouko lowered her head to thank him. Or at least, she tried to.

"…Ah… cough!"

Her voice was hoarse, and she started coughing. Probably from all that yelling earlier.

"Ah, don’t push yourself. If you’re up, you should eat."

Food!

Shouko nodded eagerly and moved to get out of bed.

The bed was high.

This is like an old European hotel, she thought, her mind briefly escaping reality.

The man, seeing her struggle, chuckled and effortlessly lifted her down by placing his hands under her arms.

"Your clothes are dry. Change and let me know when you’re done."

He handed her back the clothes from yesterday.

Underwear included.

They were the kind you tied with a string. Meaning—well, yeah. She had been saved. That was what mattered.

And she was ten now.

It was fine.

She stared blankly into the distance for a moment before getting dressed.

Noticing her thin outfit, the man threw an oversized shirt over her, rolling up the sleeves multiple times so her hands could stick out. Finally, she was seated at the dining table.

The table was high.

Seeing this, the man quickly folded a blanket multiple times and placed it on the chair for her to sit on.

The other man, meanwhile, was laughing loudly but still set the table properly.

This one had light blonde hair and gray eyes. He seemed to have a slight limp.

Soon, they handed her a steaming bowl of hearty soup and a piece of bread about the size of a grown man’s fist.

Pressing her hands together, she quietly said, Itadakimasu!

She scooped up some soup with her spoon and took a cautious sip.

Delicious. Warm.

She eagerly continued eating, taking her time before moving on to the bread.

…Hard.

She couldn’t break it with her hands.

Fine, she’d bite into it.

…Hard.

Her teeth didn’t even make a dent.

Turning the bread in her hands, she searched for a softer spot to bite.

Watching her struggle, the two men finally burst into laughter.

She looked exactly like a squirrel playing with a nut.

Everything about this girl was strange.

She had bowed deeply, which was not a custom from any country they knew.

Her sleeves were too long, and the table was too high—not surprising, since the cabin was made for adults. But for two men unfamiliar with children, everything she did seemed fresh and unusual.

She looked like a villager’s child, yet she used a spoon with delicate manners.

She stared at the dark bread like she had never seen it before.

She tried to bite it and failed, then spun it around in her hands, searching for a way to eat it.

It was hilarious.

Shouko, a bit sulky, handed her bread to the man, who easily sliced it in half with a knife before giving it back.

Realizing something, she quickly dipped it into her soup to soften it before taking a bite.

Correct answer.

The two men nodded in approval.

And they both thought the same thing.

"What an interesting little creature."