Walking along the river valley in the rain, Dorothy, accompanied by her Corpse Puppet servants, did not have a smooth journey. The light rain from the sky and the complicated, slippery road conditions were obstacles. The old gas lamp's illumination in the dim environment was limited, and Dorothy encountered many troubles along the way.
The biggest trouble was how to climb from the muddy path up the steep slope back onto the carriage road. Because the path was steep and slippery with limited visibility, Dorothy nearly fell down several times while trying to go uphill.
Fortunately, Dorothy found the bandit she had pushed into the river and drowned earlier by the riverbank. Relying on the power of the Corpse Puppet Ring, Dorothy summoned a second Corpse Puppet. With the assistance of the two Corpse Puppets, Dorothy finally returned to the main road. During this process, she also understood that the Corpse Puppet Ring's limit for controlling Corpse Puppets was two.
Once she reached the carriage road, the journey became much easier. With her'servants', Dorothy walked along the road for about an hour. Just as she was about to be exhausted, she finally saw clusters of Light in the darkness in the distance.
Dorothy knew she had finally reached her temporary destination, Wokan Town...
After controlling the two Corpse Puppets to hide them outside the town, Dorothy put on her headscarf and held her umbrella as she entered the town, stepping onto the streets of Vokan.
Due to the night and the rain, there were very few people on the streets. The houses on both sides of the street were two or three-story wooden buildings with simple decorations. Although it was night, only a few windows flickered with Light. Although there were street Lights, they were far apart, and the Light flickered on and off. The muddy road was full of footprints and carriage tracks, and occasionally a carriage could be seen moving from one side of the street to the other.
'It's a bit desolate...'
After a slight sigh, Dorothy quickened her pace. She needed to find a place to rest quickly. Finally, at a crossroad near the Church in the town center, she found a seemingly decent inn.
Dorothy entered the inn. When the short, plump landlady behind the counter was about to send away the dirty little beggar who seemed to have come from nowhere, the few coins Dorothy placed on the counter immediately turned her annoyed expression into a kind smile. Then, she had a waiter lead Dorothy to the best room in the inn, without asking Dorothy for any identification during the process.
Dorothy found about five pound in cash on Edrick. According to the original Dorothy's memory, the common paper currency of the Preet Kingdom was the pound. One pound was equivalent to one gold coin, and also to one hundred iron mill coins. In Dorothy's impression, Hannah Aunt, who made a living by farming in the village, could earn about nine pound throughout the year, and Dorothy herself usually had no more than five coins on hand.
In other words, the cash Edrick carried was more than half a year's income for an average farmer. Compared to the cash Dorothy now had on hand, this room fee was simply a trifle.
Dorothy's room was on the upper floor of the inn, with decent decorations like a table Light, carpet, and paintings. Most importantly, it was clean and had a separate washroom with a bathtub for bathing.
The moment she closed the door, Dorothy relaxed so much she almost sat on the carpet. After resting enough, she immediately got up, took off all her clothes, and took a comfortable bath.
Since it was her first time facing her teenage body, Dorothy's bathing process was not smooth. During the bath, shyness and curiosity filled her heart together. In the bathtub, she seemed both awkward and bold, often splashing water noisily.
Prompted by curiosity, Dorothy's bath took a considerable amount of time. When she finished bathing, her face was flushed red.
After bathing, Dorothy went straight to bed, turned off the Light, and went to sleep. Just as the room became completely dark, however, she noticed a slight anomaly.
In the darkness, Dorothy found that her finger was emitting a faint silver Light. Initially, Dorothy thought the Corpse Puppet Ring might have a luminous effect, but upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't.
The glowing object was also a ring. Unlike the Corpse Puppet Ring, this ring had been on Dorothy's left index finger from the beginning.
It was a simple ring decorated with a plain crescent pattern on top. In the completely dark environment, it emitted faint silver Light.
Dorothy was not unfamiliar with this ring. In her memory, she had been wearing it since she was very young.
According to Hannah Aunt, this was the only possession left behind by her mother, who had heartlessly abandoned Dorothy and her brother. The original Dorothy had worn it ever since she received it.
"What a poor child..."
Looking at the silver-glowing ring on her hand, Dorothy didn't think too much about it. After a sigh, she lay down and fell asleep.
A night without dreams.
When Dorothy sat up in bed, yawning and rubbing her eyes, she saw the sunlight peeking through the gap in the curtains.
After a deep yawn, Dorothy quickly got up and washed herself. Then, she went downstairs wearing her clothes that hadn't completely dried. After eating the bread and milk provided by the inn for breakfast, she went straight out.
Wokan Town in the morning was much more lively than when Dorothy arrived at night. The rain had stopped, and the ground hadn't completely dried yet. Countless people were coming and going on the streets, and there were more carriages than before. Many ragged beggars could be seen begging on the streets, and in the distant sky, scattered chimneys could be seen spewing black smoke into the air.
The liveliness of Wokan Town was somewhat unexpected for Dorothy, especially the large number of carriages transporting goods and people.
In Dorothy's memory, the coachman who had once driven her and was now dead at the bottom of the valley had said that although Vokan was small, it was a relatively important transportation hub. Many caravans traveling from the Kingdom's west coast to Igwinte had to pass through here. Igwinte is an important city in the southwest of the Preet Kingdom, and it is also where Dorothy's brother is.
Now, Dorothy could just hop on any carriage here and go to Igwinte, continuing the original Dorothy's journey. However, she didn't do this.
Because the content of the two letters found on Edrick last night still lingered in her mind.
'Beneath the seemingly ordinary surface of this world... there exists extraordinary secrets... And in that secret world, someone has already set their sights on me. Although I don't know why, I cannot just sit back and wait for death...'
Walking on the lively street, Dorothy thought this. After experiencing what happened last night, she couldn't just take a carriage and leave peacefully, pretending to be an ostrich and ignoring the inexplicable threat she was facing.
If she couldn't figure out what that mysterious organization targeting her was, Dorothy felt she wouldn't be able to sleep soundly in the future.
'I can't just passively wait for those guys to come knocking again. I need to think of some way...'
Dorothy understood that being passive meant being at a disadvantage. Although she didn't know how those guys got information about her itinerary, if they could get it once, they could probably get it a second time. If they found her again, she didn't know what the consequences would be. The original Dorothy had died because of this, and she didn't want to die again.
Therefore, instead of waiting for them to come knocking at an unknown time, it would be better to take the initiative. At least she should figure out some information about them; that's better than knowing nothing at all.
Coincidentally, according to the letters on Edrick, some of those guys were currently in Wokan Town. For Dorothy, this was indeed an opportunity.
'But how should I take the initiative now? I'm just a thirteen-year-old girl...'
Dorothy thought with distress. A mysterious criminal organization, perhaps possessing some extraordinary power, was certainly not something a thirteen-year-old girl like herself could contend with, even if she knew a bit of Dragon Shout.
Obviously, a direct confrontation was impossible. As their target, it would be extremely dangerous for Dorothy just to approach those guys, let alone gather information.
"Heh... I can't just call the police, can I...? Can ordinary police handle something like this? If the other party really has some extraordinary abilities, the police might even get themselves involved..."
Walking on the road, Dorothy began to ponder how to deal with that mysterious organization. Due to the disparity in strength, she hadn't been able to come up with a good plan.
Just as Dorothy was considering whether to give up this opportunity and just take a carriage to escape, her eyes suddenly caught sight of a shopfront on the street, and then her eyes lit up.
That shopfront had a glass display window, and various black and white photos were pasted inside the window. Looking up, she saw a few words written on the shop's sign.
Henry's Photography Studio.