The place I arrived at by carriage was called the Central Empire.

 

Fortunately, amid the misfortune, the language I spoke seemed to be understood by the people here.

 

Though the language was understandable, the common sense I knew didn’t apply here.

 

The setting seemed like something from the medieval era, but the level of civilization was higher than I had thought.

 

Surprisingly, this was a world where magic existed.

 

A world where any human could use magic and a supernatural substance called ‘mana’ existed.

 

Therefore, it was noticeable that they pioneered their new civilization focused on magic rather than science.

 

Even hair colors were diverse.

 

Perhaps silver hair wasn’t as special as I had thought.

 

“……”

 

But that wasn’t important right now.

 

It was good that I had found a human village.

 

It was also a great relief that I could communicate with them.

 

But I had no money.

 

Even in this world, you couldn’t do anything without money.

 

The fact that I had reached a village and could communicate was now utterly useless.

 

I still had to sit on the street all the same.

 

This was a particularly unsafe street in the Central Empire.

 

The place was called Dusty Lane.

 

It was a space for homeless people.

 

I wondered how the atmosphere could be different within the same Central Empire.

 

The scenery of the center and this street were completely different.

 

I realized that wealth disparity exists in any world.

 

Even in the place where I used to live, homeless people sitting on the streets were quite common.

 

Anyway, the first thing I saw was beggars sitting on the street.

 

Some of them, probably homeless too, were seen sleeping on the ground covered with garbage.

 

Rats were picking at food waste, and beggars were catching and eating the rats.

 

It was a nauseating sight just to look at.

 

Of course, I was homeless too, so this might be my future as well.

 

Shit.

 

Was there any point in coming into the village like this?

 

It was equally miserable whether I slept outside the village or in a place like this.

 

The only difference was between the presence of dangerous animals and potentially dangerous criminals.

 

‘…Still, people might be better than animals.’

 

It is very late now, but when tomorrow dawned, I might be able to find out something.

 

I closed my eyes while leaning against the wall.

 

Just in case, I held a piece of glass in my hand.

 

It was to swing it immediately if someone approached.

 

While closing my eyes, I remained alert to my surroundings and tried to get some sleep.

 

The first night in the Central Empire was the worst.

 

***

 

Fortunately, nothing happened while I was sleeping.

 

Maybe it was because I covered myself with some trash.

 

I thought, being small, even this much could hide me.

 

It was an unpleasant morning.

 

My hair was full of dust, and my whole body smelled like garbage.

 

But at least I wasn’t dead.

 

I still hadn’t woken up from this nightmare.

 

To survive, I had to get used to this trashy life, which I didn’t like.

 

Morning comes even to dirty places.

 

I might not have been welcoming this morning.

 

I wished that everything from yesterday was just a dream and that I would see the familiar ceiling I knew.

 

But reality is always cruel.

 

I got up.

 

Strangely, I wasn’t hungry.

 

Even though I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday.

 

Maybe this body didn’t need much food.

 

That was somewhat good news, I guess.

 

I decided to fulfill my duty as a beggar who had fallen into this world.

 

If I sat in the middle of the street in the Central Empire, maybe someone would throw me a coin.

 

“Do you have nowhere to go either?”

 

Someone stood in front of me.

 

It was a girl with pink hair.

 

Dressed in a shabby outfit similar to or even worse than mine, she smiled slightly when our eyes met.

 

She looked weaker than me, who had turned into a woman.

 

I didn’t completely let my guard down, but she looked easier to deal with than the other things around me.

 

Her name was Riana.

 

She was 17 years old.

 

She was a girl wandering in the slums after being abandoned by her parents who said they didn’t have money to feed her.

 

“…?”

 

I wondered how I knew all this.

 

When our eyes met, a flood of information rushed into my head, enough to make it hurt.

 

It was an unpleasant sensation.

 

It felt like I had directly absorbed someone’s memories.

 

My head was dizzy from this unfamiliar sensation I had never felt before.

 

My stomach churned, and I felt like I might throw up again.

 

“Wait?! Are you okay?!”

 

She caught my body as I collapsed for a moment.

 

This was the first friendly approach I had seen since coming to this world.

 

Whatever the principle was, after reading her memories, I knew she had no particular motive.

 

She seemed to feel a sense of kinship with me.

 

I guess even in a beggar’s life, connections are necessary.

 

I accepted her gesture.

 

***

 

Riana taught me how to live as a homeless person.

 

The most important thing in living here seemed to be food, and the second was hygiene.

 

I heard that in Dusty Lane, the street abandoned by people, as many people die from diseases as from starvation.

 

It was already a place with poor sanitary conditions, and it was dangerous not to wash for a long time while living in such a place.

 

If eating garbage was okay, the first problem wouldn’t be an issue, but we had to do some illegal things for the second.

 

Things like stealing or committing fraud.

 

I didn’t like it, but I tried to ignore the bit of conscience left in my heart.

 

There was no other way.

 

I didn’t come to this world because I wanted to.

 

I rationalized to myself that it was all the fault of whoever dropped me here.

 

That’s how I earned money, and with the money I earned, I rented an inn to wash myself.

 

Even though it was a cheap inn, I was satisfied just to be able to wash and sleep in a place with a ceiling.

 

I took off my tattered clothes and entered the bathroom.

 

There, I saw my reflection in the mirror.

 

Silver hair that had become dull from being covered in dust, red eyes, and skin so pale it looked almost white.

 

It was the first time I had seen myself since falling into this world.

 

Although I was dirty from being unable to wash, that alone couldn’t hide this body’s beauty.

 

I rubbed my eyes a few times and checked again, but it was indeed a beautiful appearance.

 

To what extent? It was beautiful enough to be unrivaled, even compared to everyone I had met.

 

Of course, this wasn’t a good thing.

 

While good looks might easily win people’s favor when you have ample funds, a penniless beauty was easily involved in various crimes.

 

“……”

 

Even if I had to fall, did it have to be with this appearance?

 

My gaze was naturally drawn to the beautiful appearance in the mirror, but when I thought this was me, I couldn’t help but sigh.

 

The name was Iria.

 

Age unknown, origin unknown, even species unknown.

 

It had been about three days since I fell into this world.

 

I had an ability that others didn’t have–I could read the memories of those I made eye contact with.

 

I made eye contact with the silver-haired woman reflected in the mirror.

 

The original owner of the body I had possessed was named Iria.

 

But for some reason, I couldn’t know anything else except the name.

 

Her memories were empty.

 

As if someone had deliberately erased them.

 

It was like an empty shell with only a name remaining.

 

Many questions arose in my mind, but none of them were properly resolved.

 

I had been desperate to survive, so I didn’t have many opportunities to think about it properly.

 

Who was Iria, and why had I possessed her body?

 

Where was this place, and by what principle had I fallen here?

 

And,

 

If I had possessed Iria’s body, what state was my original body in?

 

For now, I don’t know any of these things.

 

So, I decided to focus on washing my body for now.

 

Surviving now was more important than knowing why I had fallen here.

 

The priority had naturally been pushed back.

 

I stood under the falling water.

 

The temperature was warmer than I expected.

 

According to the innkeeper, it was heated by a fire magic stone installed in the system.

 

Of course, I didn’t understand anything about magic, so I didn’t really get it.

 

“Ugh……”

 

It was my first time seeing a beautiful woman’s body, so I couldn’t lower my gaze carelessly.

 

Even just washing my body made my face flush.

 

The body was unnecessarily soft and tender, so I hesitated several times before cleaning it thoroughly.

 

But I couldn’t not do it either.

 

I had already been rolling around in an unclean place, and I might get sick if I didn’t wash today as well.

 

Hygiene was a major issue.

 

Especially here.

 

I washed every nook and cranny of my body with my eyes half-closed.

 

The more sensitive parts were easier to get dirty, so I scrubbed them despite the embarrassment.

 

The cheap inn didn’t have any special bathing tools, so I had to wash with my hands.

 

This first shower after becoming a woman would be memorable in many ways.

 

I finished the most embarrassing shower.

 

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve heard your name yet. What’s your name?”

 

“……”

 

When I came out of the bathroom after washing, Riana asked.

 

I couldn’t use the name I used in the original world here.

 

“…It seems to be Iria.”

 

There was no need to think about it too much.

 

This body already had a name without me having to give it one.

 

I thought it would be disrespectful to the original owner to change the name as I pleased.

 

“Okay, Iria. My name is Riana. I realized I hadn’t told you before.”

 

I already knew it, but I reacted as if I didn’t know.

 

I was tired today and wanted to get some sleep soon.

 

But Riana seemed to have many questions for me today.

 

She sat next to me and asked.

 

“By the way, how did you do that earlier?”

 

“…?”

 

“When you won money at the gambling den. You bet money like someone really confident. Do you have some kind of secret?”

 

The money I used to rent the inn today was what I had won big at the gambling den.

 

A secret, huh.

 

I did have one.

 

In games that required psychological warfare, I read the opponent’s memories and only bet on games I could win.

 

Of course, I adjusted it appropriately so as not to arouse suspicion by winning money the same way multiple times.

 

But it wasn’t something I could explain to others.

 

It wasn’t a story that was easy to believe either.

 

“It was just luck.”

 

So I brushed it off casually.

 

Using the ability a lot made my eyes tired, so I turned my body with my eyes closed.

 

“By the way, are you really okay not eating anything? It’s not just a day or two. You’ll hurt your body if you keep this up.”

 

“…I’m fine. How should I put it? The food here just doesn’t seem to agree with me.”

 

Beyond not agreeing, my body was on the verge of rejecting it.

 

At first, I thought it was because I was eating food waste, but it was the same even when I tried proper food today.

 

The foods looked quite delicious on the outside, but I didn’t feel like eating them at all for some reason.

 

The foods of this world tasted terribly bad.

 

Maybe my taste buds were different from other people’s.

 

So I didn’t eat anything.

 

For as long as three days.

 

‘…I’m clearly hungry, though.’

 

It wasn’t that I didn’t feel hunger.

 

But I couldn’t eat normal foods.

 

Not knowing what I should eat, I just starved.

 

I could endure it better than I expected.

 

Considering I hadn’t eaten anything for three days, there wasn’t much wrong with my body.

 

I thought I should find food I could eat relatively soon.