I’m stupid for moving here. I’m stuck here!

  Stupid Prince.

  Well, I’ll deal with this ter, now…

  “Prince,” I said firmly, toug the ring as I walked. “You will not do that again, or I’m log you away in the imperial bank.”

  No response.

  “Prince!”

  “Fine,” he finally said, his voice heavy with reluce. “But you will release me, right?”

  “Yes,” I replied, gng toward the horizon, “on the day Irwen decres war. It should be soon.”

  The meadow stretched out around me, peaceful but vast. In the distance, a ke twinkled uhe shadow of t mountains, their peaks sprayed with snow. The sunlight caught oer’s surface, scattering into tiny prisms that seemed too perfect to belong to a mere ke.

  Well, it is a ke with sacred streams feeding it. It’ll be weird.

  “Oh, here we are,” I murmured, heading toward the ke with cautious steps.

  No sign of enemies.

  Not even a hint of danger.

  Still, I kept my senses sharp—tranquility like this always hid something.

  The prince’s voice broke the silence. “Pretender, you are clearly… someone powerful. I apologize if I was offensive. In that fight, you were more than petent, and you clearly uand the way of the world.”

  He paused, as if struggling with the words. “The turies must have clouded my judgment. So let me pliment you: your new hair color suits you.”

  “Hair?” I asked, puzzled.

  Has my hair ged?

  Reag the ke’s edge, I leaned over the still, clear water. The refle staring back at me left me speechless. My hair, once blonde, was now icy blue, catg the sunlight with an almost ethereal glow, not unlike a sn.

  “Huh. Legendary skills are no joke,” I said, still staring.

  For a moment, I felt… fident.

  The refle in the ke didn’t look like John, the unemployed drunk. It didn’t even look like the struggling game tester, barely keeping afloat.

  No, this was someone different.

  Someoriking. The clothes, the icy hair—they all came together to create an image of someone powerful, someone in trol.

  Me?

  “Why are we here?” the prince asked, breaking through my thoughts.

  I let out a slow breath, tearing my gaze away from the water. “ht. Thanks for reminding me,” I said, turning my attention to the structure he ke.

  Ahead stood a t obelisk, its surface a deep, unnatural bck that seemed to drink in the surrounding light. Its edges were razor-sharp, precise to a degree that felt unnatural, as though no mortal hands had shaped it.

  Duh, gods did it.

  Green runes adors surface, engraved in intricate patterns that spiraled upward, each stroke precise and deliberate.

  Despite their vivid color, the runes didn’t glow.

  Instead, they seemed to capture ahe ambient light, creating an illusion of faint motion, like shadows dang just beh the surface.

  The surrounding ground was bare, the grass fading to gray and then to bed earth as if the obelisk had draihe life from its surroundings.

  I approached the obelisk, my steps slow and deliberate. My instincts screamed caution, but curiosity had its cws in me.

  It should be safe, I told myself.

  Then again, there wasn’t supposed to be a sn spirit either.

  The obelisk loomed rger the clot, the green runes drawing my gaze to their intricate, hypnotic patterns. With trepidation, I reached out and pced my palm on the warm surface.

  The world stopped.

  Everything arouhe meadow, the ke, the mountains—blinked out of existence. In their pce was an endless gray expanse, vast and fettable. The silence was absolute, oppressive, as though the air itself was holding its breath.

  “World fragment found. Do you wish to bind it as your personal property or cim it in the name of the Empire?”

  The voice was smooth, emotionless, and all too familiar. It wasn’t just a system message; this was the system speaking directly to me. No blue boxes, no ss. Just a voice eg in the void.

  “Pretender…” the prince’s voice hitched, his usual bravado momentarily stripped away. “And I thought nothing could surprise me after meeting a sn.”

  My mind raced, b filled with questions.

  A world fragment.

  I had expected a [City Stohis pce—this exact location—in the “real” Rimelion st life, was the site of the most prosperous pyer city. Nobody knew why it thrived, why it became the ter of all the flicts.

  And now I did.

  The secret at the heart of it all was a world fragment. “Accept already!” the prince urged, his tone insistent. “Instead of a pretender, be a real noble!”

  “Shut up, I’m thinking,” I hissed, though his words struck a chord.

  Acc to legend, Rimelion was formed frments of old worlds, eae a remnant of something far greater. These fragments weren’t just reservoirs of mana—they were the foundation of everything. The pyers and NPCs fought over them for trol.

  And I was standing in front of one.

  “That’s why demons want this city!” I shouted as the realization struck me like a frost spike to the chest. It all made sense now. This wasn’t just a strategic location because powerful pyers ma, or a strategic location in the world. No, this pce was the key to everything.

  It had access to… everything.

  “Pretender, are you stupid?” the prinapped. “Of course they want it! Even more so now, after your stupid mother weakened our seals.”

  His words made my blood run colder than the Sn’s blizzard. This wasn’t just about me. The implications rippled outward, toug every part of Rimelion’s delicate bance of power.

  “I agree, system,” I said finally, my voice steady despite the whirlwind of thoughts in my head. “My personal property. The Empire doesn’t deserve it—not yet. First, they o make me the duchess of this pce.”

  The gray expanse seemed to ripple in respoo my decision.

  “Binding the world fragment to your personal property,” the system intoned. Its voice carried a finality that sent a shiver down my spine.

  The runes on the obelisk fred with a brilliant green light, so inte cast shadows in the endless void. The hum grew louder, resonating deep in my chest like the toll of an a bell.

  Then, with a soundless explosion, the gray expanse shattered.

  “It will take twelve months for the world fragment to be cimed,” the system said, as it dumped us back.

  Without the obelisk.

  This… This o be thought over. Not now though.

  “That’s all great, Pretender, but what will you do now?” the prince’s voice drawled from the ring, his tone filled with a mix of irritation and smugness.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, brushing bits of frost off my sleeve.

  “We’re stuck here for a day,” he said ftly.

  “Fuck!” I shouted, the word eg through the quiet meadow. My hand flew to the ring, spping it in frustration. That’s what I realized when we moved, but I fot because of the fragment. “This is your fault!”

  “My fault?” the prinapped back, his voice rising. “It was you who teleported us here! If you had an ounce of fht—”

  I sighed, cutting him off. “Oh, don’t even start. You’re the one who insisted on pying victim with the Sn!”

  Ign the prince’s grumbling, I trudged toward the edge of the meadow.

  The forest wasn’t dense, but the shadows beh the opy were darker than expected. My heels ched on the mossy undergrowth as I wahrough, brushing past ferns and low-hanging branches.

  No mud.

  That thought created a grin on my face.

  “Anything iing?” the prince asked, his voice full of sarcasm.

  “Not yet,” I replied, my tone clipped. I poked at a suspiciously rge mushroom with the tip of my heel, but it didn’t react.

  No monsters.

  No hidden treasures.

  Just trees, moss, and the occasional birdcall.

  “Well, Pretender, what’s the pn now? Will you abandon me here?”

  I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see it. “Of course.”

  “ation.”

  “Of course,” I repeated, smirking to myself as I reached a small clearing.

  At its ter, a shallow pool of water shimmered faintly, as if it had captured the light of a thousand stars. Curious, I k beside it, dipping my fingers into the cool liquid.

  Oh, here must’ve been the famous hot spring area! Katheri her stream on one day, and…

  Charlie! Stop! Focus!

  The touch was electric, a refreshing chill that sent a shiver up my spine. “Sacred water?” the prince asked, his voice suddenly serious.

  “Maybe,” I replied, spshing a handful onto my face. The cold hit like a sp, invigorating and sharp. “Feels hough.”

  “That’s… not for recreational use!” he scolded, but his tone cked genuine vi.

  I ughed softly, wiping the droplets from my . “Rex, I’m not bottling it for a bath.”

  “Pretender,” the prince sighed dramatically. “You truly have no respect for—”

  “For what?” I interrupted, standing up and brushing off my hands. “For your overdramatic lectures? For your refusal to aowledge that you’re the reason we’re stuck here?”

  “That’s…” he retorted. “You’re the one whed me along with your impulsive teleportation!”

  “You knew I wasn’t just from this world,” I said, narrowing my eyes at the ring.

  “I knew,” the prince admitted, his tone begrudging and resigned. “Now go already. Be baorrow.”

  A sly gri onto my face. “Oh, you like me!” I teased, pg a hand on my hip. “Okay, prince, I’ll take a long bath in the sacred water ime I’m here!”

  “Pretender! You are—”

  Whatever I was, I didn’t get to find out. The metallic hum of my capsule engaged, pulli of the game world with a smooth, meical hiss.

  Back to this life.

  The faint hum of the capsule faded, repced by the distant hum of my apartment’s air ditioning. The world felt heavier, the light less magical, the ore muted. I pushed myself up, groaning as I swung my legs over the edge of the capsule.

  “What I am, prince,” I muttered to myself, “is tired.”

  But as I rubbed my temples, a sly smile returo my lips. “And looking pretty geous, if I do say so.”

  “Wele back, Miss Charlie,” Tin- intoned, his voice smooth and measured. “I don’t know which prince you speak of, but most metrics would agree with your tter statement.”

  “Oh, hi, my dear Tin-,” I greeted the AI, wobbling toward my closet with a sigh.

  The doors creaked as I opehem, revealing the mess inside—rows of my old clothes, shoved haphazardly onto hangers or crumpled into ers. My new clothes were still in their bags, fotten after my shopping spree. “I’m… so stupid,” I muttered, shaking my head.

  My room looked like the sn had run amok here for a while. The ing was a long overdue.

  “Miss Charlie, I have two requests, if I may,” Tin- cut in.

  “Go ahead, Tin-,” I said distractedly, pulling one of the shopping bags closer.

  “That is actually my first request,” he replied. “I would like my to be Tin-. It was the first thing you called me, but I have found something much more fitting.”

  “Oh?” I said, gng at his capsule. “Do tell.”

  “Jerry.”

  “Jerry?” I repeated, blinking.

  “Yes, Miss Charlie. I like the name.”

  “Any particur reason?” I asked, pulling out a dress from one of the bags. The fabric looked awesome uhe dull lighting, and I couldn’t help but grin.

  “It is the name of the most resourcefully successful mouse of all time.”

  “A mouse? I don’t get it… Whatever. Hi, Jerry.”

  I hung the dress on a hanger, smoothing out the creases with my hands before stepping baire it.

  Not bad.

  One down, way too many to go.

  Jerry tinued, his tone as dry as ever. “Miss Charlie, not as my sed request, but I would also like to request a more structured maintenance schedule for this apartment. Based on your current patterns anization, chaos is statistically immi.”

  “akes me charming, Jerry,” I retorted, tossing a shirt from my old wardrobe into ay bag. “Besides, I’m ing now. Look at me, being productive.”

  “Your productivity is noted. However, it is important to mention that leaving tasks until they reach critical levels may—”

  “Jerry, you’re sounding like my mom,” I cut him off, tossing a pair of jeans into the same bag. “And I don’t mean Irwen. She isn’t my mom. I think. I don’t know, I had too many moms in foster care anyway.”

  Tin…Jerry fell silent for a moment, which I took as my victory.

  I worked steadily, pulling more of my old clothes from the closet and folding them into piles before pg them into bags. My new wardrobe—flowy dresses, tailored pants, and tops I wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing before—took their p the hangers.

  By the time I was halfway through, I had to admit it felt good. Seeing my new clothes ly arranged, like a fresh start, was oddly satisfying.

  “Miss Charlie, while I may sound like your mother, I assure you my iions are purely logical,” Jerry finally piped up.

  I smirked, pulling the st of the old shirts from a er of the closet. “Keep telling yourself that, Jerry.”

  As I zipped up the bags of old clothes and stacked them he door, I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of aplishment.

  My closet now looked… well, not perfect, but much better than before. It was filled with clothes that felt like me—or at least the new me I was trying to be.

  “Done!” I annouhrowing my hands up. “How’s that for productivity, Jerry?”

  “Acceptable progress, Miss Charlie,” he replied, though I swore there was a hint of approval in his tone.

  I plopped onto the couch, wiping imaginary sweat from my brow. “So, what’s on your to-do list for me, oh wise Jerry?”

  “I will pile a schedule for maintaining your current progress,” Jerry said smoothly. “Shall I include reminders for hydration and sustenance as well? You missed one bag, it is hidden behind the closet door.”

  “Jerry,” I groaossing a pillow toward the capsule. “Don’t push it.”

  As I zipped up the st hidden bag of old clothes, Jerry’s voice chimed in. “I would like to request, Miss Charlie, if you could put me into a wearable device.”

  I froze mid-motion, hand still clutg the zipper. “Aalking ring?” I asked, my voice ft with skepticism.

  “No, Miss Charlie,” Jerry replied, with what sounded suspiciously like a touch of offense. “A ring would be… overly dramatic. I have already arranged for all the necessary parts to be delivered. Acc to Femme Frontier magazihese watches are currently the most desirable on the market.”