A Day in the Human World, and Shadows Closing In

“Wuwaa… wuwaa waa waa waa… wuwaa waa waa waa waa waa waa…”

On the second morning after arriving in the bustling border city of Gran City with the female adventurer Katie,

Following the strange incident where the window of their room had inexplicably opened at dawn—frightening Katie quite a bit—

Daisy first followed Katie downstairs to have a hearty breakfast,

And then, finally, under Katie’s lead, began her long-awaited journey of exploring the human world.

The sky was bright blue and clear, the sunlight warm and gentle.

Gran City in the daytime was even more lively and prosperous than at night.

In the distance, rows of towering stone buildings with pointed rooftops stood in neat succession, with tall towers rising among them.

Stone-paved roads stretched in all directions, and above the streets hung colorful decorative banners and ribbons.

All kinds of stalls lined the roads, crowds flowed endlessly, and carriages moved through the streets.

The bustling, vivid scenery left Daisy—who was seeing the outside world for the first time—in constant amazement.

“Little Daisy, Little Daisy! Look over there!”

In the crowded, noisy street, Katie held Daisy’s hand tightly to avoid getting separated.

As she navigated through the packed crowd, she kept looking around for interesting sights to show Daisy—and soon found one.

“Look there! That patrol soldier riding through the crowd—see the horse he’s riding? Do you see the feathers on it?”

In the direction Katie pointed, within the dense crowd, a patrol soldier was indeed forcing his way through on horseback.

Seemingly in a hurry, he tried to cut through the crowd, shouting rudely,

“Move aside, you lowlifes! Don’t block the way!”

But the indifferent, unmannered crowd refused to give way, blocking his path.

In the end, he had to use the sheathed sword in his hand to strike people aside one by one, forcing them to scatter in alarm.

The soldier wore plate armor, and the chestnut-colored horse he rode was clearly not ordinary.

“Wooah!”

Daisy bounced on her toes, peeking over the human wall formed by taller pedestrians.

Following Katie’s direction, she quickly spotted the horse.

Its body was covered in many feathers—though it had no wings, the strange feathers clearly distinguished it from a normal horse.

“That’s a Feathered Horse—a hybrid bred from ordinary horses and winged Pegasus-type monsters. It can’t fly, but it runs as fast as the wind!”

Katie explained vividly beside her.

But Daisy didn’t look particularly surprised.

“I know.”

She withdrew her gaze from the patrol horse and smiled brightly at Katie.

“Viola told me about it.”

“Huh? Really?”

Katie blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting Daisy to know so much about the outside world.

“Little Daisy, Little Daisy! Look over there again!”

After walking a bit further, Katie pointed toward a tall white cathedral where a crowd had gathered.

At the entrance, a priest-like old man was passionately preaching to passersby, practically foaming at the mouth.

“The god we worship is the one and only true god in this world! All other faiths are heresies spread by demons! Only the devout believers of our god may ascend to heaven! The unbelievers will fall into hell! Believe in our god now! Only our one true god can save humanity from original sin!”

The priest waved his arms wildly as he preached.

Although he drew a crowd, most people were simply watching for entertainment—hardly anyone looked truly devout.

“That’s the Church of the Divine Faith,” Katie explained.

“It’s the main religion of the Mirandel Kingdom. People pray there, and at night they shelter beggars and the homeless. Sometimes they even give out porridge—though it’s basically just water.”

“I know that too,” Daisy replied calmly.

“Viola told me. Weddings and funerals are also held there, right?”

“Uh… you really know a lot, Little Daisy…”

Katie looked slightly troubled, unsure what else she could introduce.

“But it’s fine! We’ll keep going—I, your expert Gran City guide, have everything covered!”

“Aren’t you an adventurer?”

“Little Daisy, Little Daisy, look at that person there! The one with blonde hair mixed with blue strands, playing a harp—”

“That’s a bard. They travel around singing stories and legends, earning tips and monthly support… Viola told me.”

“…You really know everything, don’t you?”

Katie muttered, half impressed, half defeated.

In truth, the areas Katie was showing Daisy were mostly the lively outer districts.

Just a few streets away lay the largest slum in Gran City.

There, poverty, hunger, and suffering painted a cruel picture of reality—ragged clothes, begging, starving people, and despair everywhere.

In this era of constant wars, religious conflicts, disasters, and monster threats, inequality and oppression were everywhere.

Katie had deliberately avoided those areas, carefully choosing where to take Daisy so as not to shatter her innocent worldview.

“Little Daisy, look over there! That’s a cake shop—I’ll treat you!”

Running out of things to introduce, Katie changed tactics and dragged Daisy into a bakery.

“Wuwaa… it smells so good… so many cakes!”

Even though Daisy had heard of cakes before, seeing them in person was a different experience.

Her eyes sparkled as she pressed against the display window, staring at the colorful varieties inside.

“Pick one! I just got five silver coins yesterday—I can afford anything you want!”

Katie finally felt a bit proud.

” Katie! I want that one! The vanilla one! It smells a bit like Viola!”

“Huh?! That dragon lady… smells like vanilla?!”

After wandering through the bustling streets,

Katie bought cakes and brought Daisy to a nearby fountain square.

They sat side by side on the edge of the fountain, each holding a small cake, eating while watching the crowds.

Some people strolled leisurely with pets or children, while others hurried past for work.

A clown-faced performer juggled balls in front of a crowd.

Nearby, ragged beggars knelt, some possibly genuine, others clinging to passersby to beg, causing screams—

Which soon attracted police officers who rushed over, shouting and swinging batons.

“Hey, Little Daisy…”

Katie spoke casually while holding her strawberry cake.

“This might sound sudden, but the world is dangerous. People are unpredictable, life is hard… Since you already know so much about the outside world, why take the risk of leaving that dragon lady and coming here with me?”

Daisy swallowed the last bite of her cake.

“Because… even if I know about it, I still want to see it with my own eyes.”

“…Yeah. That makes sense.”

Katie smiled faintly, a bit nostalgic.

She had once been the same—dreaming of the world beyond.

At that moment, a well-dressed family of three walked past, chatting happily.

The warm scene stirred something in both of them.

‘I want to see the world… together with Viola…’

Daisy murmured softly, feeling a quiet loneliness.

“Hey, don’t make that face.”

Katie forced a smile and gently patted Daisy’s hat.

“When you’re done playing, I’ll take you back. Just ask her to come with you next time—she’ll definitely agree.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Adventurer’s intuition.”

Daisy brightened again with a smile.

Yet among the crowd,

A man in a green coat and hat stood still, watching them from afar.

His gaze was strange, his smile unsettling.

That morning, Katie took Daisy around the city,

Before eventually returning her to the inn.

After making sure Daisy locked the door, Katie left alone for the Mountain Hawk Guild.

Inside the guild hall, other adventurers cast her unfriendly looks.

Rumors had spread—she was cursed, a bringer of misfortune.

Her team had died. Again.

Ignoring them, Katie searched desperately for a high-paying job.

“Katie.”

A young man approached—it was Gert, a top adventurer.

“I have a secret mission. The reward is… one hundred gold coins.”

“WHAT?!”

Katie froze.

The amount was life-changing.

Suspicious—but irresistible.

In the end, she followed him.

Meanwhile, far away in the forest where Daisy and Viola once lived—

The Two-Headed Serpent mercenary group had reached their destination.

Or rather… their end.

Explosions tore through the forest.

Men screamed as limbs were blown apart.

“It’s not a dragon—it’s a monster!!!”

Massive stone golems, covered in silver-gray dragon scales and glowing runes, advanced relentlessly, launching explosive fireballs.

The mercenary group was annihilated.

The few survivors fled—only to stumble upon Viola’s cave.

“The dragon’s gone?!”

Before they could process it—

A hidden magic circle activated beneath their feet.

Flames erupted.

A towering inferno consumed them instantly.

Nothing remained but death.

And in that forest—

Only mystery and danger lingered.