For foreigners like her who didn't know, wandering the side streets off the main road of Estagi was always dangerous. Thieves, bandits, and scammers infested every corner.

There wasn't a single point where she wasn't constantly accosted by guys trying to sell her all kinds of trinkets.

Objects dripping with ancient magic! It seemed to be the motto of all those street vendors.

Mostly, it was contraband or fakes. But among the many fools and swindlers, there were also unfortunate ones who ended up stumbling upon something truly ancient and terrible. But she didn't even know that yet.

"Hey you! Girl!"

She continued on her way, ignoring the guy trying to get her attention.

"HEY!"

A gust of foul odor and a sudden hand gripping her forearm forced her to turn.

"What is it? Are you deaf?"

The rusty-colored man's lecherous grin was so repulsive that just looking at him turned her stomach. His clothes were a patchwork of poorly sewn rags.

"Maybe you should learn some manneeeeAAHHH"

Her knee hit him right in the groin.

Fortunately, males of almost all humanoid races had their family jewels in the same place. There wasn't much danger of missing the target.

And indeed, he let go instantly.

She ran away, disappearing into the crowd that was watching the scene, somewhere between amused and disgusted.

She ran without stopping and without a destination for three or four alleys.

Enough to lose her bearings.

"Fantastic!" she muttered to herself.

She was furious.

With that man. With that crappy city. With the situation she had gotten herself into.

A girl with fair skin, long ochre hair with crimson highlights, not too tall for her age, in a dirty and sweaty red uniform from the Seekers' Academy.

The only other possession she had was a small brown shoulder bag. To say that her future life was inside it would be an understatement.

And now she was lost.

On that very day!

Just because a stupid ticket checker at the Astrostation made her miss her connecting ride that would have taken her straight to the center. She thought to herself, "What could go wrong if I take a stroll through the bazaar?"

How she wished she could have kneed that moron in the balls too.

"You should calm down! Anger is a bad counselor, especially when you're lost," someone nearby commented, amused.