'This time, I'm a beggar...'
Fourth life.
Alyssa was born as a street orphan named 'Sarah'.
She blankly looked down at her hands, which were as rough as maple leaves.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
'I'm sick of it.'
She had only lived three lives, but she already felt like her mind had completely worn out.
Even breathing was painful.
It was so hard to still be stuck in this world like a ghost, unable to die.
And on top of that, the life of a beggar.
A life where you have to fight fiercely every day to survive.
Could anything be more horrible than this?
Alyssa, 'Sarah' did not want to fight. She had already experienced many failures and frustrations, but she could not let go of her longing for a comfortable death and eternal rest.
So, out of hope that something might happen, and because the fact that she was still on land was too painful, Sarah threw herself into the southern sea.
If she was lucky, she would die, and if she was unlucky, well... she would be captured by pirates and branded an undead monster.
‘But I don’t want it to hurt too much.’
With half anticipation and half resignation, when she opened her eyes again.
“...What is this place?”
She was alive and breathing quite well, and had arrived on the shores of some unfamiliar country.
‘All of her hair... is black. I think I see some brown hair sometimes, too.’
Sarah glanced around with wary eyes.
However, the others were glancing at her with eyes that were twice as fearful.
“Oh my god, her hair...”
“Is it gold?”
“Your eyes are bloodshot, oh my.”
“Are you a monster?”
“Hey man, how can a monster look exactly like a human! That’s ridiculous!”
“But if you think about it that way, then the concept of 'ki' doesn’t make sense either...”
“Did you come across the sea? But how can you cross that vast ocean alone without dying...?? Even with pirates running rampant?”
Fortunately, apart from the drastically different clothing, appearance, and street scenery.
Aside from the accent and a few words, the language the people used was not much different from Elvares.
After hearing the people’s chatter, Sarah realized how conspicuous she was with her curly golden hair and blue eyes, so she left the streets and returned to the beach. She had observed the appearances of the people here to some extent, so she thought she could use magic to change her face to something less noticeable.
However, it wasn’t a very good choice.
Before she could use her magic, the slave traders who heard the rumors spreading like wildfire through people’s mouths came rushing in and kidnapped her.
“Such splendid golden hair?”
“And even though she’s still young, her appearance is unusual. With this much, she could be sold for a price that could buy a country!”
“This is a fortune! This is a fortune!”
The slavers’ dazzling eyes never left Sarah.
She clicked her tongue without showing it, looking at the people who were watching her through the small hole in the door, never leaving her, in case she ran away.
‘Is magic power called 'ki' here? I thought it was just regular handcuffs and left them alone, but they’re restraints...’
Sarah glanced over her shoulder.
She saw the restraints holding her hands behind her back, tightening her wrists as if they were going to cut them off.
When the slavers came to the beach, Sarah obediently put on the handcuffs, thinking that it would be twice as complicated if she showed her magical abilities in front of someone. She planned to first let their guard down, then cut the handcuffs and run away without anyone noticing.
What...!
However, unexpectedly, what the slavers had put on her was exactly the same function as the magic restraints.
Sarah, who realized this only after putting on the restraints, struggled belatedly.
But because of the restraints, she couldn’t use magic, and with a body so small and thin that the slavers could just throw it at her, escape was impossible.
‘Ah...’
In the end, Sarah could do nothing but roll around on the floor helplessly and listen to the slavers chatter.
While waiting for someone to show up who would buy her for a large sum of money like the slavers wanted.
“So I got that guy...”
“Huh, is that true? I...”
Fortunately, there were always at least two slavers around where she was imprisoned.
Their chatter unintentionally gave Sarah a lot of information.
According to the slavers, this was a country called ‘Yeongchun.’
Instead of magic, there is 'qi', and instead of monsters, there are 'yokai'.
Unlike Elvares, a country where swordsmanship is more developed than magic.
'In fact, it seems that magic is all about the technology used to make restraints.'
The problem was that even Sarah couldn't break the restraints made by the slavers because of that.
It is said that the people here do not study magic circles, but only focus on making and developing restraints.
As a result, the variety of magic may be significantly lower, but the performance and number of restraints are bound to be superior to Elvares.
'I wish there were no buyers forever.'
Maybe because she was a valuable commodity. The slavers treated Sarah with some kind of care.
Of course, that meant they didn't beat or starve her like other slaves, but it didn't mean they treated her really well.
But Sarah was satisfied with that.
She thought it would be better to continue her life in prison, where someone would keep her breathing without her having to work hard.
How long had she been in that state of neither death nor life?
Sarah, who was half asleep, suddenly woke up to a faint noise ringing in her ears.
'...What is it?'
The sleepiness disappeared in an instant.
The instinct she had acquired through repeating her life rang an alarm bell.
'It's different from the atmosphere when guests come.'
Realizing this, Sarah quickly went to a corner on her knees and crouched down.
If that noise was a lifeline that would end her life, then that would be fine, but if not, it would only increase unnecessary pain.
Sarah didn't want to embrace unnecessary pain.
With her eyes closed, she curled up and buried her face in her knees.
Kwaang!
The prison door, which was surrounded by layers of iron bars, suddenly burst open with a loud noise.
Light poured into the dark prison in an instant.
A shadow of a person rose into the light.
"...What, you, monster?"
The next moment, a soft voice tickled her ear along with a small gasp.
Sarah, who flinched, opened her eyes slightly and turned her head.
“...”
A boy with long, pitch-black hair, standing with his back to the light, stared blankly in this direction. His warm-looking brown eyes trembled.
The shock and confusion in his eyes came into view clearly.
“...Are you trying to kill me?”
Sarah had no idea what the boy’s purpose was for coming here.
In the midst of all this, since she had even heard the word “monster,” it was only natural that the boy might think he was trying to kill her.
In fact, her appearance was so unique that it seemed strange to the people here.
Will that boy’s sword lead me to death, or to a life like hell?
Fourth life.
Alyssa was born as a street orphan named 'Sarah'.
She blankly looked down at her hands, which were as rough as maple leaves.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
'I'm sick of it.'
She had only lived three lives, but she already felt like her mind had completely worn out.
Even breathing was painful.
It was so hard to still be stuck in this world like a ghost, unable to die.
And on top of that, the life of a beggar.
A life where you have to fight fiercely every day to survive.
Could anything be more horrible than this?
Alyssa, 'Sarah' did not want to fight. She had already experienced many failures and frustrations, but she could not let go of her longing for a comfortable death and eternal rest.
So, out of hope that something might happen, and because the fact that she was still on land was too painful, Sarah threw herself into the southern sea.
If she was lucky, she would die, and if she was unlucky, well... she would be captured by pirates and branded an undead monster.
‘But I don’t want it to hurt too much.’
With half anticipation and half resignation, when she opened her eyes again.
“...What is this place?”
She was alive and breathing quite well, and had arrived on the shores of some unfamiliar country.
***
‘All of her hair... is black. I think I see some brown hair sometimes, too.’
Sarah glanced around with wary eyes.
However, the others were glancing at her with eyes that were twice as fearful.
“Oh my god, her hair...”
“Is it gold?”
“Your eyes are bloodshot, oh my.”
“Are you a monster?”
“Hey man, how can a monster look exactly like a human! That’s ridiculous!”
“But if you think about it that way, then the concept of 'ki' doesn’t make sense either...”
“Did you come across the sea? But how can you cross that vast ocean alone without dying...?? Even with pirates running rampant?”
Fortunately, apart from the drastically different clothing, appearance, and street scenery.
Aside from the accent and a few words, the language the people used was not much different from Elvares.
After hearing the people’s chatter, Sarah realized how conspicuous she was with her curly golden hair and blue eyes, so she left the streets and returned to the beach. She had observed the appearances of the people here to some extent, so she thought she could use magic to change her face to something less noticeable.
However, it wasn’t a very good choice.
Before she could use her magic, the slave traders who heard the rumors spreading like wildfire through people’s mouths came rushing in and kidnapped her.
“Such splendid golden hair?”
“And even though she’s still young, her appearance is unusual. With this much, she could be sold for a price that could buy a country!”
“This is a fortune! This is a fortune!”
The slavers’ dazzling eyes never left Sarah.
She clicked her tongue without showing it, looking at the people who were watching her through the small hole in the door, never leaving her, in case she ran away.
‘Is magic power called 'ki' here? I thought it was just regular handcuffs and left them alone, but they’re restraints...’
Sarah glanced over her shoulder.
She saw the restraints holding her hands behind her back, tightening her wrists as if they were going to cut them off.
When the slavers came to the beach, Sarah obediently put on the handcuffs, thinking that it would be twice as complicated if she showed her magical abilities in front of someone. She planned to first let their guard down, then cut the handcuffs and run away without anyone noticing.
What...!
However, unexpectedly, what the slavers had put on her was exactly the same function as the magic restraints.
Sarah, who realized this only after putting on the restraints, struggled belatedly.
But because of the restraints, she couldn’t use magic, and with a body so small and thin that the slavers could just throw it at her, escape was impossible.
‘Ah...’
In the end, Sarah could do nothing but roll around on the floor helplessly and listen to the slavers chatter.
While waiting for someone to show up who would buy her for a large sum of money like the slavers wanted.
“So I got that guy...”
“Huh, is that true? I...”
Fortunately, there were always at least two slavers around where she was imprisoned.
Their chatter unintentionally gave Sarah a lot of information.
According to the slavers, this was a country called ‘Yeongchun.’
Instead of magic, there is 'qi', and instead of monsters, there are 'yokai'.
Unlike Elvares, a country where swordsmanship is more developed than magic.
'In fact, it seems that magic is all about the technology used to make restraints.'
The problem was that even Sarah couldn't break the restraints made by the slavers because of that.
It is said that the people here do not study magic circles, but only focus on making and developing restraints.
As a result, the variety of magic may be significantly lower, but the performance and number of restraints are bound to be superior to Elvares.
'I wish there were no buyers forever.'
Maybe because she was a valuable commodity. The slavers treated Sarah with some kind of care.
Of course, that meant they didn't beat or starve her like other slaves, but it didn't mean they treated her really well.
But Sarah was satisfied with that.
She thought it would be better to continue her life in prison, where someone would keep her breathing without her having to work hard.
How long had she been in that state of neither death nor life?
Sarah, who was half asleep, suddenly woke up to a faint noise ringing in her ears.
'...What is it?'
The sleepiness disappeared in an instant.
The instinct she had acquired through repeating her life rang an alarm bell.
'It's different from the atmosphere when guests come.'
Realizing this, Sarah quickly went to a corner on her knees and crouched down.
If that noise was a lifeline that would end her life, then that would be fine, but if not, it would only increase unnecessary pain.
Sarah didn't want to embrace unnecessary pain.
With her eyes closed, she curled up and buried her face in her knees.
Kwaang!
The prison door, which was surrounded by layers of iron bars, suddenly burst open with a loud noise.
Light poured into the dark prison in an instant.
A shadow of a person rose into the light.
"...What, you, monster?"
The next moment, a soft voice tickled her ear along with a small gasp.
Sarah, who flinched, opened her eyes slightly and turned her head.
“...”
A boy with long, pitch-black hair, standing with his back to the light, stared blankly in this direction. His warm-looking brown eyes trembled.
The shock and confusion in his eyes came into view clearly.
“...Are you trying to kill me?”
Sarah had no idea what the boy’s purpose was for coming here.
In the midst of all this, since she had even heard the word “monster,” it was only natural that the boy might think he was trying to kill her.
In fact, her appearance was so unique that it seemed strange to the people here.
Will that boy’s sword lead me to death, or to a life like hell?
Just as Sarah was about to close her eyes with such resigned thoughts, she heard the sound of a long cloak fluttering, and the boy strode forward and sat down on one knee in front of Sarah.
With an extremely polite expression, he carefully extended the hand that was not holding the sword to her.
“Are you okay?”
At that attitude, Sarah blinked, momentarily unsure of how to treat him.
Just a moment ago, she called him a monster or something. Why was he suddenly being so affectionate?
While Sarah was confused, the boy furrowed his eyebrows awkwardly.
“You don’t have to be so wary. Just a moment ago... I was a little surprised and blurted out something without realizing it. I’m sorry.”
“...”
The boy apologized with sincerity. He continued with a soft smile.
“I came here to capture illegal slave traders here on His Majesty’s orders.”
“...”
“My name is Ha Yoon.”
For a moment, Sarah stared blankly at the boy, Ha Yoon, without realizing it.
It wasn’t for any other reason. It was just that the moment he opened his mouth to say his name.
‘...Water?’
It was because she felt a strange sensation as if the scent of soil soaked in rain was wafting in from somewhere and tickling her nose.
After breaking free of the damned restraints and listening to their story, Yoon said that he had come here to clean up illegal slave traders on the orders of the King of Yeongchun.
No matter how arrogant the slave traders were, they probably didn’t have the power to deal with the warriors dispatched by the King’s order.
The slave traders were defeated too easily, and Sarah and the others from Yeongchun who had been captured by them were all released.
“Oh my, thank you. Thank you, Young Master!”
“Oh my, the head of the Ha family himself...”
“How can I ever repay this favor...”
The released people were shocked and couldn’t straighten their backs as soon as they saw Yoon’s face.
Every time that happened, Yoon just shook his head with a friendly smile.
“I’m sorry I didn’t find them sooner.”
The people seemed even more impressed by those words.
The thanks to Yoon continued.
After that, most of those who had been captured by slave traders returned to their lost families with the help of the warriors. Those who had been caught wandering the streets and had nowhere to go were dispersed to temporary jobs they had found through the warriors.
However, Sarah could not go anywhere.
She was not a member of Yeongchun Kingdom. In other words, she was someone who had no reason to be saved by Yeongchun Kingdom’s laws.
With an extremely polite expression, he carefully extended the hand that was not holding the sword to her.
“Are you okay?”
At that attitude, Sarah blinked, momentarily unsure of how to treat him.
Just a moment ago, she called him a monster or something. Why was he suddenly being so affectionate?
While Sarah was confused, the boy furrowed his eyebrows awkwardly.
“You don’t have to be so wary. Just a moment ago... I was a little surprised and blurted out something without realizing it. I’m sorry.”
“...”
The boy apologized with sincerity. He continued with a soft smile.
“I came here to capture illegal slave traders here on His Majesty’s orders.”
“...”
“My name is Ha Yoon.”
For a moment, Sarah stared blankly at the boy, Ha Yoon, without realizing it.
It wasn’t for any other reason. It was just that the moment he opened his mouth to say his name.
‘...Water?’
It was because she felt a strange sensation as if the scent of soil soaked in rain was wafting in from somewhere and tickling her nose.
***
After breaking free of the damned restraints and listening to their story, Yoon said that he had come here to clean up illegal slave traders on the orders of the King of Yeongchun.
No matter how arrogant the slave traders were, they probably didn’t have the power to deal with the warriors dispatched by the King’s order.
The slave traders were defeated too easily, and Sarah and the others from Yeongchun who had been captured by them were all released.
“Oh my, thank you. Thank you, Young Master!”
“Oh my, the head of the Ha family himself...”
“How can I ever repay this favor...”
The released people were shocked and couldn’t straighten their backs as soon as they saw Yoon’s face.
Every time that happened, Yoon just shook his head with a friendly smile.
“I’m sorry I didn’t find them sooner.”
The people seemed even more impressed by those words.
The thanks to Yoon continued.
After that, most of those who had been captured by slave traders returned to their lost families with the help of the warriors. Those who had been caught wandering the streets and had nowhere to go were dispersed to temporary jobs they had found through the warriors.
However, Sarah could not go anywhere.
She was not a member of Yeongchun Kingdom. In other words, she was someone who had no reason to be saved by Yeongchun Kingdom’s laws.
“Hmm.”
Yoon looked back at Sarah, who was sitting on one side of the guesthouse, and let out an awkward groan. The warrior who was acting as his assistant quietly whispered.
“It would be different if she was from a foreign country that had traded with Yeongchun Kingdom, but she was from a country that we didn’t know about across the sea... They said she didn’t have a name. Even if she requested an identity card, it would take a long time to review it, and there’s no place to stay in the meantime. There’s no place to hire someone without an identity card.”
Yoon sighed and nodded. Sarah could hear their conversation because she used magic, but she turned her head away, pretending not to notice.
"What’s your name?"
"...No name."
When Yoon asked her name earlier. Sarah thought for a moment and answered that she didn’t have a name.
‘This name is too obvious.’
Sarah didn’t want to cross that vast ocean again and return to Elvares. After all, she had thrown herself into the sea as if running away from there. Even if she had secretly changed her appearance with magic and wandered around like she had originally planned, she would be caught right away since her accent was different and she had no knowledge of this place. To repeat, Sarah wanted to avoid the unnecessary pain that would come with death as much as possible. Because she had already experienced meaningless suffering enough in her second and third lives. So Sarah wanted to wait for death without being noticed, barely surviving without much effort. To do that, it seemed most efficient to use a boy named Yoon.
'He seemed like he was from a wealthy family. He seemed kind-hearted. Then, wouldn't he somehow be able to get me some kind of status badge or a place to stay through his connections?'
As Sarah was thinking about this, quite, no, quite shamelessly and gangster-like, Yoon let out a deep sigh, got up from his seat, and approached Sarah. Yoon crouched down in front of her, who was startled and hurriedly pushing away the thoughts in her head.
"You said you didn't have a name, right?"
"... Yes."
"Then, for now, I'll call you Nameless. The reason I'm not giving you a name right now is... "
A gentle voice settled in her ear like the spring sunlight.
"Later, when you meet really good people and a family, I want you to receive a name that has meaning to them and to you."
Sarah’s eyes widened slightly at those words. Yoon smiled happily when he finally saw the ‘childlike’ expression on Sarah’s face.
“First, how about working at my house until your ID card is issued? At the very least, I’ll make sure you have food and a place to sleep.”
Seeing Yoon’s smile in his eyes, the excitement in her heart grew stronger. That’s why Sarah’s answer came out a little late.
“...Yes.”
And so, their slightly strange life under one roof began.
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