🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 23~
…It was actually a relief.
Although I was still worried about Albert’s expression the last time I saw him, I decided not to care.
Traveling with the male leads had been uncomfortable. Now Albert wouldn’t bother me anymore.
“Now I can travel comfortably alone. Just like I originally planned!”
I put on the earplugs Sophie gave me.
Maybe because I felt happy to travel alone, the lace-patterned earplugs didn’t seem so bad.
I looked at Sophie and Deon, who were also wearing thick cloaks.
“Looks like we’re ready. Should we go now?”
“Yeah, sounds good!”
I nodded excitedly.
I wondered what kind of country Sinks would remind me of. I was already curious.
My heart beat with excitement about the new travel destination.
“It’s Russia.”
As soon as I left Sinks Station, I muttered softly.
A cold wind blew.
Some people leaving the station screamed,
“Ah! It’s so cold!”
“I need to buy warmer clothes! I should have brought thicker coats if I knew it would be this cold!”
I had never been to Russia in my past life, but I was sure.
“It really feels like Russia.”
The bear symbol, the cold weather—all pointed to it.
The only difference was that this place wasn’t a plain like real Russia.
The wind blew again.
“Ah, it’s so cold…”
I shivered and pulled my fur cloak tighter.
At first, the cloak felt too thick, but now it felt thin against the cold wind.
“Luckily, Sophie prepared thick clothes.”
Without the cloak, my weak Irene body wouldn’t handle the cold.
But since I had come all this way, I had to look around.
We decided to explore near the train station.
Passing the large square in front of the station, heading toward the town.
I noticed many bear symbols everywhere.
“Looks like it’s true that the people of Sinks worship bears, Sophie.”
Flags with bear symbols waved in the square, life-sized bear statues, and bear-shaped lamps…
“Isn’t this more like fan obsession than worship…?”
Sophie smiled and said,
“Yes, the people of Sinks love and respect bears very much.”
“They believe the bears living in the forest are warriors who protect them from wild animals.”
I nodded.
It felt nice and cute to see so many bear images around.
While walking, I stopped in front of a small shop where a teddy bear was in the window.
“Finn would like this.”
I thought quietly.
The cute bear doll reminded me of Finn.
Since Finn helped with the assassin situation, I wanted to buy him a bear doll as a gift later.
Suddenly, the souvenir shop door opened roughly with a bell.
A kid ran out fast.
A man, probably the owner, followed shouting,
“Thief! Thief! Catch the thief!”
A thief?
I frowned, watching the scene.
The owner was angry and pointed at the kid.
The kid ignored him and ran away, looking dirty like a stray.
“Even if he’s a kid, stealing is unacceptable.”
My hidden strict nature came out.
Stealing can’t be forgiven. They have to learn properly.
I was about to signal Deon to catch the kid when the kid suddenly stopped, closed his eyes, and bowed his head.
With a humming sound, a large portal appeared in front of him.
“Huh? That’s… magic?”
It was magic, a portal created by magic.
When I realized, the kid had disappeared into the portal.
I was stunned.
The owner sighed and came to me.
“You look like a traveler. Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. Sorry, if I was quicker, I could have caught him.”
“It’s okay. This happens often.”
He sighed again.
“Recently, illegal immigrants have started settling in Sinks. There have been many conflicts and incidents.”
“As you saw, they can use magic.”
He looked toward where the kid disappeared.
“They came from a place called Seddleton on the Rokiman continent.”
I had heard this country name in social meetings on the train.
There was a big war on Rokiman continent recently, so immigrants had arrived.
People in my continent all spoke the same common language, so traveling was easy.
But immigrants from another continent made things different.
“Also, recently, many bears have been dying in the forest, and no one knows why.”
“I saw bear corpses on the train tracks, which delayed the train because they had to be cleared.”
“Damn it, more corpses… those bastards…”
He clenched his fist angrily.
“We suspect these immigrants might be behind this, but we have no proof yet.”
“If you see any more bear corpses or immigrants bothering bears, please tell the locals.”
“Yes, I will if I find out.”
I murmured.
I doubted I would see such things while traveling.
I realized Sinks was a complicated place.
Maybe because of what the owner said, the atmosphere in Sinks felt bleak and tense.
The residents always seemed cautious.
Maybe because the place was cold and empty.
“This isn’t fun for traveling at all.”
I muttered while sitting alone on a café terrace.
It felt disappointing.
This was my first real solo trip, but the city’s atmosphere was gloomy.
I sipped coffee and looked around.
There were some bear decorations for an event, but the street felt empty.
“If only it snowed, it would feel like Christmas.”
Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice.
“My lady?”
I looked up and saw a large man—Eric.
