After walking through the woods for what seemed like an eternity with the boar in her arms, Rina finally reached her home, a house left behind by her late parents just outside the village of Mousa. After running away from the orphanage at the age of four, leaving them with one less mouth to feed, she made this her new home. Although it was a simple and small one-storey house, it could have easily accommodated three people if her parents were still alive.

It would have been more than enough for her... had it not been for the villagers of Mousa, who burned down half the house a year after she moved in. Now it was just a place for her to sleep and barely protected her from the rain. But even so, it was good enough for her, for now.

Entering her home, she went into the kitchen, or what was left of it, set the boar down, and began to skin it. But as her arms were too weak to cut through its thick skin, she increased the weight of the knife with her Dark magic in order to succeed. Once the hide was removed, the girl prepared the meat and threw a slice of it into a small pot, along with some herbs and vegetables she had gathered earlier. Then she lit the fire and cooked her meal.

When it was finished, Rina placed the food in a small bowl and sat down on the floor, swallowing the saliva that had formed in her mouth from the fragrance of the cooked meat. The last time she ate proteinaceous food was several weeks ago after all. Even with the survival and hunting skills she had developed over the past three years in order to live through the day on the streets, she was still in the body of a small girl, and a malnourished one at that. So there was no way that she could eat nutritious food on a regular basis. In fact, it was quite normal for her to have only one meal consisting of fruits and salad per day. Hunting and gathering in the woods was a really dangerous affair after all, especially for a child.

Well, maybe because it was to compensate for all the food, she had stuffed herself with in her previous life, 'only' to escape from bad thoughts and not to sate a hunger. That habit of hers, however, had changed with her new life. Now mealtime was one of the few moments in her current life that she cherished and enjoyed the most because it meant that she would not have to sleep with a grumbling stomach at night. Furthermore, only then was she calm enough to make plans for her future, as she usually had to be on her guard against dangers such as bandit, monster, or demon attacks. Not that it had ever happened, but you could never be too careful, especially as a seven-year-old girl.

With that being said, she enjoyed her meal and thought about what she would do from now on.

“It's somehow the same pattern as the day I died. Is this a sign?” She couldn't help but joke about the déjà vu first! Even death couldn't cure her tendency to self-mockery.

Yggildos is a dangerous place to live in, especially with the Demon Lord's invasion approaching. So the question was, what was her purpose in such a world? Her former life ended with a lot of regrets. She had led an insignificant life without being loved by anybody and more importantly without caring enough about anyone to change herself for them. There had even been a point where she had cursed the entire world and herself for what she had done, or rather not done.

The face of her former twin, Nina, came to her mind.

Now she had been given a second chance. So why not use it to redeem herself for the happy life she never had? With the lessons she had been forced to learn, she could do better this time. So instead of wanting to be loved or whatsoever, it was time to employ herself for the betterment of the world.

For that she needed power. At first, the strength to defend herself would be enough. She couldn't do anything if she was dead after all. But how? Rina had already concluded that her Dark magic was not an option. She needed an alternative. So what else was left to her except conventional means like a sword or some other weapon?

Luckily the village of Mousa was very close to the royal capital of the Valkyria Kingdom, Valhale, about twenty kilometres away. She could reach it on foot in two or three days, so why not go there and visit one of its military academies?

“Ah... I forgot that those are exclusive to the nobility again...,” she grumbled while once again cursing the stupid nobles for their actions.

And so the red-haired girl sat in the corner of the kitchen, contemplating her future plans over the meal she had finished eating long ago. Only when it got dark and cold, she came to the conclusion, that sitting there and brooding would lead to nothing. It had already been a personal flaw back in her first life and she wanted to change that. So she decided that as soon as the next morning arrived, she would make her way to Valhale and see what she could do there. With that problem solved, she curled into a small ball to protect herself from the cold night, as she always did, and closed her eyes.

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***

“Achooo!”

A sneeze forcibly woke Rina up from her sleep the next morning. She rubbed her eyes and looked out of the non-existent, burnt-down wall to check if the weather was acceptable for her journey to the capital. And indeed, the sun was shining. So she grabbed a small worn-out canvas bag and prepared to leave her home, her village, and everything her parents had left her, behind... until her eyes roamed to the remaining slices of boar meat.

At first, she was going to start the two to three day journey empty-handed, thinking it would be better to find fruit along the way. But when she saw the meat, she began to second-guess her decision, not because she wanted to eat it, but because she had killed the poor animal. She somehow felt discomfort, thinking that the boar's death had nearly no meaning except for a small meal for her. There was still well over 95 percent of the boar left.

“Maybe I can give the rest to the orphanage? After all, they raised me until I was four”

With that, she went back in, pushed out a cart to place all the meat on it, and headed towards the orphanage at the other end of the village. She had considered whether or not to take the most direct route through the main square, where most of the villagers were present at this time, but decided it was not worth taking a detour. Although almost everyone in the village would curse and insult her on sight, it was only a matter of ignoring them, which wasn't too difficult given her experiences in her previous life.

And indeed, as soon as Rina entered the main square, the people present began to whisper to each other. While some were loud enough for the young girl to hear, others were not.

“Look it's that cursed child again.” - “Dammit, why is she here? It's bad for our business”, two men tending their stalls murmured to each other.

“Mum! Mum! Look she has strange red hair!” - “Psst! Look away, or the demons will come and take you!” a mother chided her child who pointed at the girl.

“Mah! That girl is here again.” - “How is she still alive? Don't tell me... we have a traitor who feeds her?” - “Hmm I don't think so, I once saw her walking around in the woods to gather berries when I was working on the field. Look how dirty she is,” four housewives gossiped.

“Damn, that bastard's and that bitch's brat is wandering around again.” - “Tsk, seeing her somehow irks me, let's kill her!” - “Ah, wait, before that, I've got a better idea. She's that bitch's daughter, remember her? She was hot as hell. Clean that brat up and she'll be as beautiful” - “Wha..? Idiot, It's a kid!” - “Paaah! It's long since I had my last, I'll take anyone, as long as she's got a pussy.” “Dude, you're sick...” - “Better sick than frustrated! So? Are you guys in?” - “Hehe, of course!” - “Same!” - “I'm also in!” - “Then let's wait for the right moment!” the village's drunkards were up to no good as usual, maybe this time crossing a line they shouldn't have.

Still, ignoring all the noise around her, Rina pushed the cart full of meat through the village until she saw a familiar building, the orphanage where she had lived until the age of four. It was an old, rundown, but large house with a small front garden, which was used to grow food for a small degree of self-sufficiency. In it, an elderly woman, who was dressed like a nun, was harvesting vegetables and putting them in a basket on her back. When she saw Rina approaching, the nun smiled softly and walked over to the girl.

“Dear, Rina, welcome. How are you?” She motioned for the child to come over and gave her a quick hug.

“Good morning Sister Baal.” Letting go of the elderly woman, named Baal, Rina returned the greeting. “I'm fine. Thank you for asking.”

“You're as polite as ever...but that's good to hear.” The nun's eyes clouded a bit. “I'm sorry dear. I, unfortunately, can't invite you in. We don't have anything left, even though you might be hungry...”

“Is the situation that bad?”

“Yes”, the old woman nodded, “we will probably have to throw out a child in a few days, or else...”

Seeing the old woman almost crying, Rina couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She knew very well, that the lady in front of her loved all the children in the orphanage like her own. But because of the dire situation in the country, the directors of all such facilities ordered that the untalented children be thrown out on the streets to save money. Sister Baal could do nothing about these instructions. So in order to spare the nun from the grief of sending a child to its certain death, Rina had voluntarily left the orphanage.

As if Baal could read the girl's mind, she continued, “I'm sorry Rina. I know that you left, so no other child would be abandoned... You're like your mother, always thinking of the well-being of the others first... even though you're still so young, you are already so mature.”

“No, it's not it. I have my own selfish reasons,” Rina replied, receiving only a gentle smile in return. Not used to being praised, she quickly changed the subject. “Sister Baal, look, I have brought you boar meat. With that nobody will be abandoned for a while, won't they?”

“Y-you...” In tears, the elderly woman once again approached the girl and hugged her. “Y-yes, Thank you, dear... I won't ask where you got it, but why are you giving it away? You look malnourished yourself.”

“You've helped me a lot in the past and raised me.” Escaping from the embrace by lightly pushing her away, Rina answered with a blushing face, “I wanted to thank you for everything... for maybe the last time.”

“... What do you mean?” The nun looked astonished.

At that Rina smiled, radiating an aura that was usually impossible for a small girl of her age.

“I'm going to the Royal Capital.”