||

Finally, its time to visit the impoverished village.

The back of the mansion has surprisingly lax security, so I was able to easily make it past the guards without anyone noticing me.

Honestly, I was expecting a bit more of a thrilling escapade, so to be able to get past everyone so easily was actually anti-climactic. Quite the let down, really.

And now Im standing in front of the woods.

Somehow, being here at night. all alone. makes it feel almost eerie.

I dont believe in such unscientific things like ghosts but. The woods really do look like a ghost might appear at any moment. Its kind of scary.

..No, a villainess wouldnt be afraid. She wouldnt even think that something is scary. Such thoughts would disqualify her from being a villainess.

Villainesses are strong. Brave. To be frightened just by a couple of trees is unacceptable behavior.

I force myself to stop trembling and take a confident step into the woods.

Its pitch black, but thankfully I made sure to bring a lantern with me.

Honestly, since there isnt any sort of path, I have no way of knowing if Im going in the right direction or not.

I just have to trust my own intuition at this point. It might not be quick, but Im sure Ill get there eventually.

The lantern light casts a low glow around me, lighting my way, but the shadows it casts on the trees make them start to look like huge, grotesque monsters.

But I cant let myself be afraid. I refuse to give up that easily. Im definitely going to the impoverished village today.

And just because they look like monsters, doesnt mean that theyll attack me. In the end, theyre just trees.

As I get comfortable with the environment I pick up my pace until Im running at a decent speed.

Thanks to all the sword practice and physical training that Ive been doing, I seem to be in pretty good shape now. Even after running for quite a distance, Im not even out of breath.

Unsure of whether Im going the right way or not, I just focus on trying to run straight.

Thankfully, as I run, the ominous feeling that the woods had been giving me seems to recede into the background until I dont notice it at all anymore.

And after about an hour of this, I start to see what appears to be fog ahead of me.

But why would there only be fog right there? It almost looks as if its confined to that area only.. Could that be the magical barrier?

Does that mean I really found it!?

Awesome. Nice going, me! Theres no one around to praise me, so Ill just have to praise myself.

The important thing to note is that only something that possesses magical power should be able to pass through that barrier.

And while I cant actually use magic yet, I do still possess magical power so theoretically I should be able to get through it.

Well, for now lets just get closer to it.

Wow, I really cant see whats inside the barrier at all. The impoverished village really is just on the other side of all that fog though, right?

At night, the public order in a place like this is probably pretty bad

Ugh, no. I came here to observe the situation. I cant let myself be prejudiced like this before I even go inside.

For now, I should refrain from making any sort of judgments until Ive actually seen it.

As I stare into the fog, I can hear my heart pounding in my chest.

To calm myself, I take a deep breath, and then I walk into the haze.

||

T/N: The fact that shes running through a dark, scary forest all by herself at night, and probably didnt even bring her sword. Alicia!! Thats dangerous! What if you got lost?? What if you got hurt?? People wont even realize youre missing for HOURS.! And you usually go missing during the day anyway, so it could be even WORSE than that!

Im glad her sense of direction (or luck) seems better than mine, because I feel like I would have died of starvation/dehydration if I attempted what she just did lol.