The Grim Reaper, shrouded in darkness, swears fealty to a lazy, greedy saint

Chapter 4 Into the woods

"......... what should I do?"

　I was determined to find my own way of life.

　Fortunately, the road was mostly a straight one, and I was able to reach a human settlement without too much trouble.

　It was the first time I had ever seen anyone other than my parents, the slavers, and my fellow slaves, but I did manage to try to have a conversation with them.

"I didn't expect they wouldn't even let me into the city .........."

　Apparently, discrimination against black hair, or rather against inferior hair, is more deeply rooted than I had imagined.

It has already been three days since the accident in which the carriage carrying the slaves, including me, fell off a cliff and killed everyone but me.

This evening, I found a town near this forest.

Although I had food, I wandered through the forest for a long time, and when I finally found it, my relief and excitement were indescribable.

But my elation was short-lived.

"Hey, there's a girl with black hair!

'Oh! You've got to be kidding me, there's no way they'd let a dark-haired girl into town!"

"Get the hell out of here!"

　The guards came running out with spears just as I showed up, and they were in an uproar, telling me to go away or they would stab me if I didn't leave quickly.

I am supposed to be five years old on the outside, not on the inside, but I didn't deserve that kind of treatment, did I?

　I've experienced many nightmarish things in my previous life, but wouldn't something like this normally be enough to traumatize someone for life.

　You may think it's terrible, but if you think about it calmly and consider the rarity of black hair, it's a natural reaction.

　Even in my previous world, racism still persists, and in Japan, colors other than black or dark brown hair were very conspicuous.

　In our world, the opposite is true: black hair is rare and even frowned upon, so it is understandable that people would react in this way.

　However

"Even though I have money, it's meaningless if I have nowhere to spend it, and food is scarce. With this hair color, I can't even use magic, and I can't even hunt because my physical ability as a five year old is so limited. ......... that, by any chance, is this a dead end?"

　So I can't just turn back and say, "Yes, I understand," and leave.

　I have my life on the line and no home to go back to. My parents sold me.

　But if I can't enter the city, the only way I can think of to survive is to live a self-sufficient life with my meager body.

　In a forest where I can't even distinguish between what I can eat and what I can't.

　I'm stuck. My second life seems to have ended before it even started.

I was walking through the woods near the town when the sun was already setting, carrying the little remaining food I had brought from the wagon to eat.

　The sun, which was setting as I walked, shone bright red through the trees.

It was as if it was denying my dark existence, and I sighed, feeling disgusted with myself for being so irritated with nature.

"Really, what am I going to do now .........?"

　It would soon be completely dark around here, and I would be embodying the proverb "Just ahead is darkness". (Tl note: 一寸先は闇 (issun saki wa yami) this is a proverb that basically means that no one knows what the future may hold.)

　In this situation without light, I may not even be able to see my own shadow, and I may be haunted by the rustling of the trees and the eerie sound of the wind.

　When I think of that, I feel ---.

"......... no, it doesn't depress me too much."

　When I think about it, I have never once been afraid of horror, ghosts, hauntings, or anything like that.

　I was more afraid of the pure violence that was so close at hand.

It's not really that unusual for people to flee into places like this when they first escaped at night, and I'm used to the absence of light. (Tl:*1)

When I calmly analyzed my current situation, I even felt that even if there was the problem of my age, it was better than back then, just because I didn't have those scummy parents.

It is true that I am in my current state I have nothing, but considering that I don't have too many negative aspects such as debts and toxic parents, I am happier now.

　No debt collectors. No violent parents or classmates who despise me in this world.

　Although I was sold by my parents in this world, I am living freely without being sold elsewhere.

"I have a low level of happiness."

　I don't think there are many people who can feel "happier than before" about being sold into slavery by their parents, falling off a cliff, being discriminated against because of the color of their hair when they are lucky enough to survive, or being left alone to fend for themselves in the forest like this.

But realistically speaking, we can't just sit here and do nothing.

I have at best two more days' worth of food, I am a growing child and need to stay healthy

　As for water, I'm running out.

　Thanks to the experiences I had in my previous life, I have some knowledge of survival, but the ecosystems in this world and the world I once lived in are very different.

　There are many plants that I have never seen before, and even those that are familiar to me, such as the mushrooms growing at my feet, that used to be edible in Japan, may in fact be extremely poisonous.

　I don't see any evidence of animal tracks, so I don't think I will suddenly be attacked by a ferocious beast, but on the other hand, there is no way to get meat.

　And I don't know how to set a trap.

　With zero knowledge of the ecology of this world, nothing is guaranteed to be "poison-free."

　There are many poisons that can be removed by heating, but I can't make a fire.

　Some poisons are only found on the surface and can be rinsed off, but there is no water to waste.

　I seriously cursed God, wondering why my hair color was not red or blue.

'Hah, it can't be helped. Let's go to bed today to conserve my energy as much as possible. The way to sleep in the woods, I think, is to put your feet up on a sack like this and sleep in a sitting position"(Tl*2)

"There she is, the devil!"

TL Notes

I don't want to bombard you all with my guesses on some of the translations and context so I'll leave this (Tl:* ) next to the section I think needs expanding on.

Tl*1 I think she may be referring to slaves who would flee from the slavers would often run to the woods as their main means of escape

Tl*2 There wasn't much to go off of from the translation but my assumption is that she would place a sack under her feet to elevate her legs so ground crawling insects don't climb up her pants legs though this is just a guess based on how other fantasy novels would depict children's clothing where girls would often also wear pants rather than skirts kinda wish the author would have elaborated a bit on what kind of clothes she is wearing now and I am guessing she is sleeping in a sitting position with her back against a tree

Also just a small general complaint but Author-san would it kill you to write this in order rather than playing tug of war between past and present it throws the pace all over the place