As she got closer to the bakery, she could smell the freshly baked bread! The buttery and salty scent on the crisp Autumn morning made her stomach start to growl! She assumed it was Autumn
because of the fall-colored leaves and the brown leaves that crunched as she walked towards the village.
She noticed a few villagers up and getting ready for the day. They gave her weary glances because of her unusual clothes and the color of her hair and eyes. It was also uncommon for a young lady to be walking alone. Most of the people she saw had tan skin and brown hair. Their eyes ranged from orange to brown. She stood out with her wind-swept strawberry blonde hair and tired aquamarine eyes.
She was wearing her most comfortable dress without a corset underneath. She refused to wear a cage! The villagers were mostly dressed in brown or patched clothes. They looked like poor commoners. She got a few strange looks but tried to ignore them as she was tired and hungry.
As soon as she walked up to the bakery, she saw cakes and pastries in the window. She almost drooled at the sight and smell! In her original body, she had too many allergies and intolerances to enjoy many foods. It made eating difficult, but this body had no such restrictions. She was excited to try all the delicious foods that were mentioned in the novel!
She was too busy trying to decide which pastry to eat first to notice a pair of purple eyes looking at her under a hooded cloak. Oh my God! They all look delicious! Which one should I get? Forget it, I'll get them all! I need food for the trip. I wonder how long they will stay good. I should stock up on other things, water, nuts, paper, wood….
She was making a mental list of supplies to bring on her trip when the attendant behind the counter called out to her, "What can I get for you today, my lady?" The question broke her train
of thought. She stuttered out, "Um, they all look so good, can I get them all?" The attendant looked shocked but noticed her dress was of better-quality materials. She looked like a noble lady, so maybe she could really afford to buy out the entire bakery.
When it came time to pay for the baked goods, Alisa remembered she didn't have any money. She remembered the jewels she had taken and fished in her bag to find the smallest one at the bottom of the knapsack. She pulled out a small ruby, about the size of a pea. She didn't notice the shifty eyes that had noticed all her gadgets and jewels in her bag as she shuffled them around.
"Can I pay with this? I don't have any coins." She casually asked the attendant. She didn't want to come across like she didn't know the currency of this country, or what country she was in, for that matter. The attendant looked shocked at the jewel. The Ruby Isles were far south compared to the Kingdom of Lancri, and a ruby this size would cost more than this entire bakery!
The bakery attendant didn't know what to do. She couldn't offend this rich noble lady, but there was no way she could make change for something that valuable. The bakery owner was out of town
this week, so she had no one to ask. Alisa noticed the shock on her face and casually told her, "It's ok, keep the change, I'm extremely hungry. Can I get the pastries now?"
The attendant took the ruby and quickly placed it in the safe below the register. She didn't want to be robbed. This lady told her to keep it, and she was in a hurry, so she guessed it would be ok. If not, she would let the owner deal with it when he returned. Alisa received the first bag of pastries and began to eat the first one happily. She also ordered tea to go with her pastries. They didn't have coffee or hot chocolate on this continent since chocolate came from Rowenhilde. Only the
royals in Shibatsu might be lucky enough to get chocolate when the trade ships came in the spring.
Alisa was too happy to eat her cherry croissant pastry to notice the group of dirty bandits that followed her out of the bakery. She told the attendant that she would be back to pick up the rest of the baked goods as she left in search of the other items she would need for her journey.
A man with purple eyes and silver hair hidden under a dark cloak followed behind the group of bandits that were too focused on the rich young lady to notice. As soon as Alisa turned down an
alleyway, the bandits surrounded her! She was startled at first and mentally berated herself for going into an alleyway alone in a foreign country! Ugh, Why did I do that? That was so stupid! She was so used to her modern society to remember that this was a novel world. They didn't have the same laws and government that she was used to.
She tried to turn around the way she had come, but one big, dirty man with rotten teeth blocked her way. He leered at her and whistled, "Don't worry, little lady, we won't hurt you as long as you hand over that there bag. We will take good care of you!" The other men laughed menacingly!
In her own world, in her youth, she had learned self-defense, but she was outnumbered by men who were much bigger than her. She tried to look for something to use as a weapon, forgetting that she had a bag full of things that could be threatening inside her bag! She picked up a broom that was leaning against the back door of a business and used it to warn the bandits. "Back off! I know how to use this, and I'm not afraid!" They all laughed at her.
One shouted, "Hey, Miss, are you going to sweep the floor for us? Be a good little lady and come with us quietly, like the boss said!" The first man who had spoken looked smugly at her as he
grabbed the handle of the broom. She panicked and tried to swing the broomstick at the man, but he was much stronger than her. She was about to scream for help when a hooded figure rushed over with a sword. He stabbed the boss and turned to look at the other bandits.