Shizuku was lost. Again.
To be fair, she had never not been lost since being unceremoniously yeeted into this cursed, sugarless wilderness. But this was a new level of disoriented. She was somewhere between "definitely not the road" and "probably inside a cursed forest." The trees were denser, the shadows longer, and the ambient sense of doom was at least +3 higher than usual.
Her stomach growled for the fourth time in five minutes. She groaned and flopped dramatically onto a mossy log.
"Day three in peasant-tier fantasy mode," she muttered. "Still no sweets. Still no map. Still being hunted like the tutorial boss. I'd give anything for a vending machine and a single pack of Pocky."
She sighed, gazing up at the canopy like it had answers. Spoiler: it didn't. It never did.
Dragging herself to her feet, she continued forward. She figured that statistically, if she kept walking in one direction, she'd either find people or die tragically. Either way, at least something would happen.
Then—miracle of miracles—she spotted a merchant caravan ahead on the road, just outside the treeline. Four wagons, two oxen, one campfire, and people who didn't look like pitchfork-wielding peasants.
She ducked behind a bush, eyes gleaming.
"Okay, think, Shizuku," she whispered. "You could ask for help like a normal person. Or you could dramatically collapse in front of them like a tragic anime heroine."
She paused.
Then flopped out of the bush with a theatrical moan.
"Uuuugh… sugar… must… have… sugar…"
The merchants immediately freaked out, dropping bundles and scrambling to grab weapons. One of them aimed a ladle at her like it was a holy relic.
"Demon?" a younger man whispered.
"No, no," said a kind-looking older merchant as he stepped forward cautiously. "She looks more like a cursed noble's daughter. Or possibly just very tired."
Shizuku cracked one eye open. "If you have chocolate, I'll marry you."
The man blinked. "Cho...co...what?"
She sat up, hair full of twigs and despair. "You don't have sugar? Candy? Not even hard candy that tastes like disappointment?"
The group stared. One offered her bread. She took it, stared at it with visible betrayal, and bit into it like it had personally wronged her.
She was about to thank them with a half-hearted "at least it's carbs" when one of the younger men frowned and whispered to the others.
"Wait. That's her. The one from the village to the north. The fire-wielding demon girl."
Shizuku's eye twitched.
"Oh, come on."
The air around them shifted. Hands moved subtly toward weapons. The warmth from a moment ago vanished faster than her patience.
"Right," she muttered. "Plan B."
She bolted into the forest before they could decide whether to chase or pray. Branches slapped her in the face. Roots conspired to trip her. Somewhere behind her, a squirrel screamed in what sounded like judgment.
After running for what felt like forever (and probably looked like a chaotic anime chase sequence), she stopped to catch her breath in a clearing—only to hear a low growl.
Of course. Monsters. Again.
This time, it was a trio of vine-covered wolf-things with red eyes and breath like rotting salad. They slithered out of the underbrush with far too much dramatic flair.
"Oh great," Shizuku muttered, raising her fists. "Three boss wolves, no inventory, and I'm at, like, 2 HP emotionally."
They lunged.
She dodged, screamed, kicked one in the face (which was more painful for her foot), and ran.
The chase lasted several agonizing minutes, involving two near-bites, one rock to the face (hers), and an accidental detour through what was definitely poison ivy.
Eventually, Shizuku scrambled up a boulder, turned, and shouted at the sky:
"This is NOT the magical kingdom you promised me, you glitter-coated cosmic gremlin!"
There was a very long silence.
Then a sparkle.
With a shimmer of light and a soft poof, the air above her exploded into confetti and glitter as Goddess Miriel floated down, upside-down and wearing star-covered pajamas. She looked like she had just rolled out of a celestial sleepover.
"Hi, Shizu~!" Miriel chimed, sipping from a floating teacup. "You called?"
"YOU REINCARNATED ME INTO THE WRONG WORLD!" Shizuku screamed, hurling a rock at her. It passed right through.
"No magic! No castles! No noble houses! Just soup, pitchforks, and monsters that breathe salad!"
Miriel blinked and tilted her head, squinting at the floating orb in her hand.
"Wait… oh. Oh! Oops! This is… not the magic kingdom I was supposed to send you to. Hehe. Classic me!"
Shizuku's jaw dropped.
"You air-fried angel reject! I am being hunted by peasants and plants!"
Miriel floated down beside her with a sheepish grin.
"Well… I did check in on you! You looked like you were being cared for, so I thought—'Oh, she's doing fine!' You were even eating soup!"
"That soup had no flavor! I've licked pavement walls with more seasoning!"
"O-Okay, yes, but technically you're alive! That counts as a success in celestial terms!"
"FIX IT! Put me in the right world! Now!"
Miriel winced.
"Yeah… about that… I can't. Not unless you die again. Rules and all that. Divine bureaucracy is a nightmare."
Shizuku stared at her, open-mouthed.
"I have to die again just to get back on track?!"
"Only if you really want to switch worlds," Miriel said with an apologetic shrug. "But you're doing such a great job here! You've unlocked fire magic, survived goblins, made forest enemies…"
"I also boiled moss for sugar, Miriel. MOSS."
Miriel gave her a comforting pat on the head.
"You're strong, witty, resourceful—and kind of terrifying when angry. You'll be just fine!"
"You're useless. You're so pretty and useless. I'm going to launch a fireball at your face when I find a way."
Miriel beamed.
"Love you too!"
And with another cheerful poof, the goddess vanished.
The moment she was gone, Shizuku let out a long groan and collapsed onto the boulder like a dying protagonist.
"This is my life now. Sugar-deprived. Demon-labeled. Babysat by glitter."
She sat in silence for a while.
Then, slowly, got up.
"Alright," she muttered, brushing off moss. "If I can't find the magic kingdom, I'll survive this one. Step one: find shelter. Step two: find something edible that doesn't scream. Step three: burn down an entire bakery if I don't get sugar soon."
And with that, she trudged deeper into the forest, cloak flapping dramatically behind her, looking every bit like the world's grumpiest isekai heroine on the brink of magical madness.
To be continued…