What should I do, how can I possibly scrape together three thousand Denar in just three days?
In the cramped little room, Keti was troubled, lost deep in thought.
As a poor, silver-haired beauty, she never had any real savings to begin with, and all the money she earned from adventuring had already been spent on the team and her comrades.
Now, she was truly penniless—even if she gathered up every last coin she had left, it still wouldn’t be enough.
What’s more, she needed to save up some money for the trip back home, so the amount she needed was likely more than just three thousand—it would be even more.
So here came the problem: where on earth was she supposed to get the money?
A……
The first thing Keti thought of was her former comrades, or other acquaintances—maybe she could borrow a little from them…
Uh, no, that wouldn’t work!
Not looking like this!
They definitely wouldn’t recognize her, and besides, she didn’t dare go to them anymore.
Next, she thought about using her Alchemy skills to help people refine some materials or something…
But that wouldn’t work either.
Her appearance had changed, and it no longer matched the photo on her Alchemist Certificate.
In this line of work, that sort of thing mattered a lot, so it would be really hard for her to get any orders.
Besides, she’d never taken on such jobs before and had no channels to find them…
No matter how she thought about it, nothing seemed possible.
So, what on earth was she supposed to do?!
X…………
F……
Go into the “trade”?
A strange thought suddenly popped into her mind, making Keti’s face instantly flush with embarrassment.
She quickly shook her head, then took a deep, shocked breath.
Oh no, oh no, what am I thinking?!
Why would such weird images pop into my head?
Get rid of those scary ideas, forget them, forget them!
At last, after hesitating for a long time, Keti could only helplessly pat her forehead, then look over at the remaining materials and equipment in her Studio.
Forget it, there’s no way I’m going into that line of work.
I might as well just sell off everything I have left—maybe that’ll be enough to get by.
Anyway, she’d have to clear these things out sooner or later.
Bringing them home would just be a hassle.
Even though there were still many precious materials among them, all of which she’d painstakingly collected…
The silver-haired beauty let out a silent sigh.
What was the point anymore?
After all, Alice and the others didn’t need her anymore.
So, after quickly packing up what she had left, Keti carried her bags out the door, then found a random spot by the roadside on the night street, sat herself down, tucked her hands into her oversized sleeves, and waited for customers like a little figurine.
Stare——!
Time ticked by, second after second, Keti’s eyes wide open, but there were hardly any people on the street.
The occasional passerby didn’t linger at her stall at all.
The girl could only lift her head again and again, then lower it in disappointment.
A biting cold wind blew through the air, and the cruel chill of winter made Keti shrink into herself.
She’d thought she was wearing enough, but…the oversized men’s clothes let the cold wind slip right through the gaps and into her small body with ease.
A…………
Very soon, the freezing girl felt her whole body grow weak, even her eyelids heavy.
Her consciousness started to blur, and she could only force herself to shake her head, then silently took a Fire Match out of her pocket…
With a “snap,” a tiny flame flickered in the girl’s pupils.
Feeling that little bit of warmth, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until she could barely keep them open…
Extinguished.
A gust of cold wind blew by, snuffing out the Fire Match.
Keti could only gasp for breath and strike another match…only to have it blown out again.
When she struck the last Fire Match, Keti felt her consciousness growing fuzzier and fuzzier.
Sadness welled up in her mind as she stared at the match’s glow, until, within the firelight, a figure gradually took shape.
OKO……
How annoying…
Why, of all people, is it this person at the very end?
It’s been so long since I last saw her, hasn’t it?
That was her Grandmother…
Cough, cough, no, wait, this isn’t how the story is supposed to go!
“Hey, little girl, if you fall asleep out here on such a cold night, you really might freeze to death, you know!”
Suddenly, a familiar voice snapped Keti—who’d been dozing off after a day of packing and now looked like a little Match Girl—right out of her drowsiness!
The silver-haired girl forced her eyes open, only to realize that the figure reflected in the firelight wasn’t her Grandmother at all, but instead the tall, black-haired man standing right in front of her.
Hiss——!
I-I-I…
What the heck!
The moment she saw him, Keti’s messy silver hair practically stood on end from shock.
Her eyes went wide, her mouth formed a perfect O, and all her sleepiness vanished without a trace as she stared in disbelief at the man before her, leaving him at a bit of a loss himself.
It’s over!
Completely…completely over——!
Keti’s panic wasn’t without reason—she knew this man!
In fact, it was more than just “knowing”—they were old acquaintances.
How familiar?
…Well, let’s just say they were basically mortal enemies.
Th-this…isn’t this her old teacher from the Magic Academy, Lynn?!
At the sight of him, cold sweat instantly broke out on Keti’s forehead, and all sorts of unpleasant memories came flooding back.
She didn’t even have the courage to look at him, turning away in fright and not saying a single word in response to his concern, only daring to sneak a glance at him every now and then…
Just to check if there was anything surprising about him—like, maybe he’d secretly lost his legs without her knowing and now had prosthetics or something, cough, cough…
Ugh.
Why is this guy still so tall?
Well, you couldn’t really blame Keti for caring about that.
The fact was, Lynn really was too tall.
Back when Keti was still a boy, she couldn’t even compare with Lynn’s 1.88-meter height.
Now that she was a 1.5-meter-tall loli, standing next to Lynn made her look like a little figurine—she had to look up at him all the time!
So frustrating, ugh…
But right now, compared to frustration or annoyance, what she felt most was fear!
After all, if you asked Keti who she least wanted to find out she’d turned into a girl, Lynn would, without a doubt, be right after her former comrades…
She really did have a huge grudge with this guy.
After all, she’d done that sort of thing back then…
If he recognized her now—
Hiss…
Then, then it would really be the end.
If this guy wanted revenge on her current self, that outcome could be even scarier than if Alice and the others found out!
“Hmm…Little girl, do we…know each other?!”