save2. Outside the City Gates
save2. Outside the City Gates
"Hah, I ended up late after all."
I walked diligently with stats of Agility 10 and Stamina 10.
But despite all that effort, by the time I arrived at the Aurel Empire, the sun had already set and the moon was rising—it was night.
And since this was a small border town, the gates were shut sharply once the sun went down.
The guards had already gone inside, so there was no room for negotiation—I was going to end up sleeping outside.
"Come to think of it, I haven't eaten anything."
Kkoreureuk
No sooner had the words left my mouth than my stomach growled.
It was bad enough that I had to sleep rough, but now I was hungry too.
"Kkeueung... It was a miscalculation to base my timing on the first playthrough."
When I headed for the Aurel Empire during my first playthrough, I was already somewhat grown in stats.
I calculated the travel time to the Empire based on those stats, so it was only natural that I'd be delayed compared to my estimate with my pathetic current stats.
If I'd known this would happen, would it have been better to just head to a rural village in the Kingdom?
I never dreamed I'd end up sleeping rough right from the start, without even a sleeping bag.
And I especially never imagined I'd be starving on top of that.
'At this rate, wouldn't it be better to just start over from the beginning?'
Since things had gone wrong from the start—starving and sleeping rough—wouldn't it be better to load the 0 save and move more strategically?
That was the moment I thought that.
"Hey, young lady over there. Are you unable to get inside because you're late too?"
"...Yes? Me?"
A voice came from behind while I was agonizing near the closed city gates.
I was called by the title 'young lady,' something I rarely heard during my days as a hero, so my response was delayed.
Realizing the call belatedly, I turned around to find a kindly-looking middle-aged man looking at me with a pleased expression.
"Um... Who are you?"
A face I hadn't seen even during my first playthrough.
Without a doubt, it was a face I was seeing for the first time, so I reflexively stepped back, putting distance between myself and the man.
"Oh my. Pardon me. I didn't expect to see a girl like my own daughter in a place like this, so I ended up speaking to you."
"Is... that so?"
"That's right. Ah, let me introduce myself first. My name is Ajim, and I run a merchant caravan around here."
"...I'm Alice."
Since the man named Ajim introduced himself with a kind face, I at least gave him my name in return.
But it was still suspicious, so I kept my guard up and examined his appearance again under the faint moonlight.
A face like a typical friendly neighbor, the kind you'd call warm and good-natured.
Judging by his clothes, he did seem to be a merchant.
Looking around a bit more, I could also spot a cargo wagon that appeared to be his.
"I see. Alice-yang. It looks like you've arrived late and are in trouble—am I wrong?"
"That's true, but..."
"Then how about coming over to our side? We're just preparing a late meal—why don't you join us? I can't just stand by and watch a girl like my own daughter go hungry out in this cold."
Despite my wariness, Ajim smiled kindly and even offered me a meal.
'...What is this? Is he just a genuinely good person?'
His kind smile and warm impression, which seemed meant to lower my guard, left me confused.
Was that genuine kindness toward me, or was he a wolf in sheep's clothing after my body?
If I were an ordinary woman, I might have been able to distinguish between the two through instinct or experience.
But in my previous life, I lived as a man in South Korea.
And during my first playthrough in this other world, instead of distinguishing things myself, the surrounding priests took care of that sort of thing.
So I had no experience in discerning a man's goodwill from malicious intent, and it was quite difficult.
They say physiognomy is a science, but in reality, many criminals look ordinary or normal.
I'd even heard that in cases of fraud, clean-cut people were more common than obviously suspicious ones.
Judging the man before me from that perspective—no matter how warm his impression—accepting goodwill as goodwill was still dangerous.
But why was it?
'For an event like this to appear so early...'
Even though I was clearly in a dangerous situation, my body was strangely heating up.
What exactly was that man planning to do to me?
After inviting me to eat, what was he going to do next?
Maybe he was planning to drug the meal?
Countless fantasies flashed through my mind.
Every single one of them ended with a future where I was utterly violated.
A chilling cold ran down my spine.
Goosebumps rose on my arms.
But contrary to the cold flowing through my body, the inside of my body—
The lower part of my belly, where my womb is, began to grow hotter and hotter, as if being heated.
I know what this sensation and emotion are.
Excitement.
And excitement born from the fantasy that I might be violated by a complete stranger.
Could any woman in the world, even the most perverted, get excited at the thought of being violated?
The fragile virgin body that had never once touched a man was getting aroused on its own by lewd fantasies.
I could lose this pure body, this virginity, so futilely and miserably.
At worst, I could be kidnapped by men or sold into slavery, not just violated.
Yet I couldn't stop the excitement.
I'm truly a hopeless pervert.
And that pervert is me.
"Hey... Are you alright? You don't look well..."
"I'm... I'm fine."
'Save 2.'
[Saving to Save 2.]
save0. Start [Fixed]
save1. ★Happy Ending [Fixed]
save2. Outside the Aurel Empire City Gate
As soon as I felt this was a branching point, I made a save.
If I accepted that man Ajim's offer and ate with him now, a future where I was violated by him was surely waiting.
But unfortunately, I had no intention of losing my first experience in this place.
Still, if I was going to have my first time, I'd rather be violated more violently than being tricked and violated in such a boring way.
For example...
Yeah, like accidentally wandering into a back alley, having my underwear stripped off by thugs, being sexually harassed in every way, and then having my virginity taken.
Or like, when going to register with a guild, being picked a fight with by violent lowlifes and dragged to a secluded place.
Just because I came to the Empire specifically to be violated doesn't mean I can't choose my first experience myself, right?
If I'm going to be violated, I want it to be in a situation that fully reflects my tastes.
I don't hate the idea of that seemingly kind man changing his face and betraying me after offering goodwill, but it's not a genre I'd actively seek out.
"Sorry, but I'll decline your offer to eat together."
I deliberately rejected his proposal in a voice full of wariness.
"Is that so? Sorry. I was just meddling. Still, be careful. It's dangerous for a woman to be alone outside the city gates at this dark hour."
The most dangerous thing here right now is you.
...I didn't bother voicing that thought.
Instead, I just forced an awkward smile and let the conversation trail off awkwardly.
In that awkward atmosphere, Ajim turned around with an apologetic look and went back to his cargo wagon.
It seemed he gave up more easily than I expected.
Of course, that easy surrender made him even more suspicious.
He was probably planning to lull me into a false sense of security, then come sneaking over when I was asleep and touch me.
I decided to spend the time until sunrise in a place far away.
I put enough distance that the cargo wagon was no longer visible.
I looked around and confirmed no one was there.
At this distance, even if someone approached while I was sleeping, I'd be able to feel their presence, wake up, and deal with it.
"Where could I lie down... A rock would be bad for my back, and bare ground would get my clothes too dirty. Hah, if only I had a sleeping bag at least."
With nothing to my name, the only place I could lie down was on the grass.
Hard, bumpy rocks would leave me suffering for days if I slept on them.
If I lay on bare ground without grass, my clothes and face would get filthy, so my only remaining option was to spread some grass and lie down on it.
As soon as I lay down on the grass, my eyes closed.
I guess my body had accumulated a lot of fatigue.
Having walked quite a distance with pathetic stats on an empty stomach, it was only natural.
Once I lay down on the ground and closed my eyes, the fatigue washed over me, and I eventually fell asleep.
With the careless thought that if someone approached, I'd sense their presence somehow.
But there was something I hadn't anticipated.
"Huh? What's this woman?"
"Oh, she's pretty cute? And her tits are fucking huge."
First, outside the city gates, there weren't just people who arrived late and couldn't get inside—there were also plenty of bad sorts that the guards had 'refused to let in.'
"But look at her clothes—isn't she some nobleman's daughter or something?"
"You kidding? If she were, would she be out here sleeping alone? She'd have gotten inside somehow, or at least had an escort with her. But look around now..."
"There's no one, right?"
"Exactly. This is a total stroke of luck. Or should I say a whore that rolled into our laps?"
Second, contrary to my confidence that I'd sense the approach of someone with ill intent and wake up, my current body—with its pathetic stats and lack of experience—completely failed to notice the approach of men full of malice and lust, and I didn't wake up at all.