Finally, finally…!

I counted the gold coins in front of me with my finger. No matter how many times I counted—

—I can leave the church!

My expression relaxed after seeing the number of gold coins I had collected. Now I wouldn’t need to burden the Priest anymore. Ever since joining the guild, even though I bought food for myself, I still freeload in a room at the church.

Now, with that amount of money, I could live in the guild dormitory for a month.

Well, about half of that would go to food and clothes. It was hard to move with that ragged dress. I must buy some new clothes after leaving the church. As a Duchess, never would I have expected that I would be satisfied with this amount of money.

But it really was more enjoyable than I thought. I unexpectedly laughed.

The next day, as expected, Jean was sad because I left the church. But his expression brightened whenever I came back to play. The Priest also seemed relieved. Apparently, this generous Father was very concerned about me, too.

“Fern, may your future be blessed by God.”

I answered the Father’s blessing with a smile.

“Fern, take care of yourself, okay? Don’t forget to come back and play.”

“Yes. Wait for me.”

I smiled at the cheerful Father and left the church.

First, I need to go to the guild and requested my room’s number. The room may have already been prepared since I applied for it last night. I walked around the city, my brown hair aflutter.

Before going to the guild, I shall shop for some new garments.

It seemed that even though my environment had changed, my mind hadn’t. I didn’t want to stay in that ragged dress.

I asked the clothing store owner I met through a quest.

“Ganet, are you there?”

“Yes, oh! If it isn’t Fern! What’s wrong? Have you finally decided to step out of that rag?”

“Would you please stop referring to it as that…”

When I opened the door and entered the store, a good-looking woman came out. Her name was Ganet. She was a bewitching, married, woman. Her hair was dark brown and her eyes orange. I met her through a quest.

There was a monster on the mountain behind her home, and she asked me to get rid of it.

The request rank was the lowest—rank E. Because I thought it was suitable for the beginner me, I accepted it. That was how I get to know her.

I sighed and looked around the store. My current attire would soon be reduced to rag. I wanted clothes that were easy to move around with. I was scanning the store when Ganet’s eyes glowed brilliantly.

“Actually, I was awaiting your visit, Fern. I’ve already sewed you some clothes.”

“Eh, really?”

“Yes. You will be living in the guild dormitory soon, right? Therefore, I’m thinking of making you a new attire.”

Her guess was right on the mark. I was stunned.

“Please wait a moment, okay?”

She disappeared to the back of the store. When she came back, she was carrying black, mourning-like clothes.

“What’s that…?”

“As you can see, Fern’s clothes. You have a cute face, it’s a waste to not dress appropriately.”

Ganet spread the clothes. It was black. The front skirt was cut in half, revealing a deep crimson skirt underneath. There was red ribbon attached to the neck, and a double button on the chest…

…it was a design that would involuntarily tickle a girl’s heart.

“Wha—! How cute—!”

“Right—!? It suits Fern’s brown hair, right—!? I gave my all!”

“Ganet, you really made this—!? It’s really adorable!”

Ganet was truly skillful.

“Hmph, who do you think I am? This store is Lafran Lamine, one of the most popular shops in the city—of course I’m the one who tailored this!”

The shop—Lafran Lamine, was the only store in the downtown area that provided not only unusual, but also cheap clothes. Most stores preordered their products, but in that shop, even ordinary people could have clothes tailored. That said, it could get a little expensive…

…That was right, I had to pay. I grabbed my bag in a hurry.

“Ganet, how much is it? Is it expensive?”

“Due to our friendship, only 5 Dallies!”

“How cheap! Didn’t you make it from scratch!?”

Normally, something tailored like this would cost 30 Dallies at minimum. But, 5 Dallies—!?

I was surprised, and Ganet winked at me.

“It’s fine, because Fern is so cute. Won’t you think of it as a present from me? There’s also no problem with functionality. It should be easy to move in.”

“Ganet! Thank you! I’ll treasure this for the remainder of my life!”

“You’re exaggerating! As long as you come shop here again, all is fine!”

Ganet was laughing at me. I felt like crying.

When I first arrived at Talia, I had nothing. But I was blessed with the people around me.

At that time—chirin.

The door opened, and when I looked back, a man with black hair stood there.

“Luka, how unusual for you to be here!”

“I saw Fern from outside. Fern, there is a message for you.”

The black-haired man was Luka. His face was good-looking, which was rare here, to be honest.

He was also an adventurer, just like me. Sometimes, we worked together.

Luka, having black and blue hair, was popular amongst women—and he was aware of it.

Even after realizing it, he loved to playfully chalk it up as, “Ah, beauty is indeed a sin.”

Luka was a narcissist.

Luka was beautiful. The word ‘beautiful’ suited him more than ‘handsome’.

Honestly, I never thought we would become friends considering his personality. But, I also couldn’t hate him, either.

“Message? For me? What?”

“More importantly, you finally decide on buying new clothes, huh? I thought you would wear that rag forever.”

“All of you keep calling it rag… well, not like I have a choice, there’s no way I could splurge until after saving up enough money.”

Luka squinted, giving up on arguing. Then, he finally extended his arm to pat me on the shoulder. He was deliberately sighing, too.

“Poverty is indeed harsh. Tell me if you need anything. If it’s just a small fruit, I can give you that.”

“I’m sorry if I’m poor! What do you mean, small fruit!? If you truly feel sorry for me, buy me a meal instead of a small fruit!”

“Nope, it’s my money, why should I spend it on you? It would be considered a miracle if I ever treat you.”

“Shall I hit your head to inject some kindness into it!?”

Luka jumped back when I clenched my fist. Hey, I was joking.

Ganet was grinning at us… what could it mean?

“What is it, Ganet?”

“Nothing? Ah, it’s good to be young.”

“Even though Ganet can still be considered young?”

“That’s not what I mean…”

…what, what did she mean?

Ganet was young, I never thought of her as old. Maybe it was only her appearance, maybe she was actually really old?

“I’ll hit you if you continue thinking such outrageous things.”

“Oh no, she heard me.”

“I didn’t hear anything, but your thought pattern is easy to guess. So, what are you thinking about?”

“So you don’t know!”

“I know that you’re thinking about something really unpleasant, though!”

What, was she a sensor? I exhaled involuntarily.

---

***T/N: I CAN’T EVEN!!!! =====my expectation vs the author=====

///me: So, so this is the arc, right–!? This is the arc where you, Author-san, will be shedding more light to Tia’s character, to flesh her out–! You took her, a noble lady who is used to a pampered, sheltered life, out of her element, to a place where DEAD is an actual consequence she would face, especially because she’s a newbie! And along the way, we, the readers, will relate more to her–

///author: —yikes, no! That sounds too cruel for both Tia and the readers, to read of such hardships!! Instead, I have something EVEN better, she will be stranded on a kingdom where everyone is inexplicably kind to her and–

///me: — and she would finally learn, and also empathize more with the people!? Yay!! That’s absolutely necessary for a future queen–

///author: –DRESS UP, VANITY TALK!!!! Who doesn’t like a cute armor?!?! I gave my all to describe the armor, even more than when I describe the process, the adventure, the monsters–basically everything she went through to reach this point!!!

///me: I-I can see that… b, but wait, previously before she “acquired” this dress, she’s wearing such a raggedy clothes when winter is approaching in full swing for a MONTH and–//got cut off//

///author: then, EVEN MORE JUICY STUFF–BOY!!!!! A NEW HAREM MEMBER!!!!! NOW THERE’S MORE RIVALS FOR WILLIANT TO BEAT!!!!!!!!

///me: B-b-but, we still aren’t done with the previous characters, like Maria, or Amilia, Fern, or the recently mentioned one–Shal Ferpia, like, we barely even know them, to add more to the fray now would be…. meep. (((silently leave)))

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