At a far, far away place from the forest where Rayn and Daniel currently began hunting monsters and grinding levels.
"So classic..." A 14-year-old girl muttered under her breath, piles of books stacked before her, ready for her to read.
"Hm? What did you say, Anastasia?" A man, whom the current 'her' used to call 'father,' turned around from the board and asked her.
"Ah, no, it's nothing, Father. I am just feeling overwhelmed by the amount of books I should be studying from now, hahaha..." Anastasia replied, trying to suppress the uncomfortable feeling she felt.
"I see," her father nodded in response before turning back to the board.
He continued his explanation about nobility and the history of the Fatamar Kingdom. Anastasia listened while secretly clutching her fists.
'What just happened?' Anastasia thought inwardly.
'Why am I in this place? Where's Pria, Rayn, and Daniel? And these memories were that this body's memories?'
Anastasia—Dina Rosa, to be precise—suddenly woke up in this body. Other than her own memories, she also had memories of a girl named Anastasia Greyford, the first daughter of Marquis Greyford.
At first, she felt excited about this situation. Just like the protagonist of stories she likes, she also transmigrated into another world. But as time passed and the morning came, after her head cooled down, she realized that this situation was maybe not so cool the way she had thought it before.
Firstly, she remembered her parents. She knew her Mother would be okay, but how about her little brother? He had grown so close to her, would he be able to live as cheerfully as he used to, while she suddenly disappeared from his life like this?
Then there were also the rules and the responsibility of the Noble members. From her vast knowledge about fantasy novels alone, she was already aware enough about the restricted life of a Noble. As a Noble Lady, she would prepare herself for political matchmaking, married to a man whom she hadn't even known before the day they married, and many other uncomfortable situations.
Thinking about it alone already, so it's a pain in the ass. If her father didn't call her to the study room to continue her study, she would already be clutching her head in misery by now.
As the saying goes, "life was a comedy from afar, but a tragedy up close."
"Fatamar Kingdom had a shared untouchable territory at the utmost west side with the Theocracy. This special territory is called Barram Forest, which is named after the name of its forest lord, Barram the Magma Golem."
While she went deeper into pondering, the Marquis continued to explain, slowly spreading the knowledge about the Fatamir Kingdom that she should be aware of as a Noble Lady.
...
Moved even further to the west from the territory of the Greyford family, beyond the Barram Forest and the Theocracy, to a port town in a small seaside country.
From the ocean afar, a slave trader ship slowly approaches.
Inside the ship, tens of slaves are being cuffed in cages.
The slave trader himself is in the same room as the room where he stored his slaves. Why? Because he currently succeeded in capturing a rare Beastkin Race of Eagle Clan from the continent beyond the ocean. And a female one, no less.
Thinking about how much she would be worth alone had filled his mind with gold!
"We're gonna make it rich, surely!" The slave trader laughed gleefully.
His laughter echoed through the room along with a soft sobbing voice from a girl in her 10s that have a pair of eagle wings sprouting from her back, feathery arms, and fowl legs.
"I want to go home... And where are you guys..." The girl muttered softly, unheard by others.
The last memory she could remember before she woke up in this world as a strange bird girl was the moment she and her friends were doing a weird challenge at midnight in a classroom. A hole opened, and swallowed them.
She remembered it all. Her name's Pria Gatia.
However, in this world, she had another name. This body's name.
Zalumi.
Her memories and Zalumi's memories clashed. She feels confused. She feels overwhelmed. She didn't know what to do.
That's why she's crying.
Because that's the only one she could do for now.
'Help me...'
She's crying, while silently praying for help.