The sunlight slipped through the trees, warm and golden. Birds chirped in the distance.
Karli slowly opened her eyes.
She sat up and looked around.
Still in the forest. Still not in her world.
She let out a sigh.
"It wasn't a dream… ah."
The fire had gone out. The grass under her cloak was cool. She stretched her arms—and then stopped.
Something small and warm was lying next to her.
Her eyes widened.
A baby dragon.
Tiny, with shiny silver-blue scales, small horns, and soft wings. It was curled up like a cat, breathing gently.
Karli stared, wide-eyed.
"No way…"
She leaned closer, heart pounding.
The baby dragon made a soft snorting sound in its sleep.
It was… adorable. Dangerously adorable.
She had thought he was joking. Or avoiding the question. Or being unclear on purpose.
But no.
He wasn't lying.
"Dragons went extinct a long time ago." That's what the manga had said. That's what the world believed.
But now he was snuggled up beside her.
Without really thinking, she picked him up gently and hugged him against her chest.
"You're soooo cute."
Kaelir stirred in her arms. A soft grumble rumbled from his tiny body.
Then—
"Put. Me. Down."
Karli froze.
She stared down at the angry little dragon glaring up at her with glowing silver eyes.
"If you don't want to die, let me go. Right. Now."
His voice was the same — deep and low — but now it came from a body no bigger than a rabbit.
She blinked once.
Twice.
Then she slowly lowered him to the ground with exaggerated care.
"Ok, ok. Relax, Mighty Ancient One."
She coughed, turn away her gaze, trying not to smile.
(I take it back,) she thought silently.
(He's only cute when he's asleep.)
Kaelir shook himself off, tiny wings flapping once with annoyance, then fixed her with a glare that might've been intimidating… if it wasn't coming from a creature she could hold in one hand.
"You humans have no sense of respect."
Karli shrugged, lips twitching.
("Blame the stories. Dragons were either terrifying monsters or sparkly flying lizards. I didn't expect… this." )
He gave an annoy snort and turned his back to her, sitting beside the cold fire pit with as much dignity as a cat-sized dragon could muster.
She couldn't help it — she laughed.
A small, real laugh — the first in… what felt like forever.
Karli stretched and grabbed her small backpack— now stuffed with the herbs and flowers she had picked last night before nearly getting torn to shreds by a corrupted beast.
She looked over her shoulder at the baby dragon waddling after her, wings occasionally flapping as he kept up with her longer walk.
"Are you following me?" she asked, not even stopping.
Kaelir snorted softly.
"I am."
She raised an eyebrow, not looking back.
"Why, Mr. Mighty Dragon?"
"Because I want to," he said simply
She rolled her eyes and looked away, holding back a laugh.
(Great. A stubborn dragon.)
Soon, the trees opened up, and a small village appeared in the distance.
Stone roads, straw roofs, and thin smoke from chimneys. Peaceful. Quiet.
Karli smiled faintly.
"Vellp," she said.
"End of the Willxam Empire. A good place to hide."
She pulled her cloak tighter and tied her chest down with cloth. It helped her look like a boy — the way she had been pretending since she arrived here.
"Back to being Karlen…" she muttered.
Kaelir followed her into the village, unnoticed by most people. He stayed quiet, his small body moving with quiet grace.
---
The village was waking up. People opened shops, kids chased each other, and carts rolled by.
Karli walked past a bakery and her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since yesterday.
"Still poor," she mumbled.
"Even with magic."
---
At the edge of the village stood a crooked bar with a wooden sign:
🍺🍺 Morrin's Mug & Meal 🍺🍺
Karli pushed open the door. The smell of old beer and burnt food filled her nose.
Inside, only a few sleepy workers moved around.
A loud voice came from the kitchen.
"Karlen! Finally back? Where are the herbs?"
Karli stepped forward and dropped a pouch of herbs on the counter.
"Right here."
Morrin, the bar owner, came out. He was fat, sweaty, and always grumpy.
He barely looked at the herbs.
"Took you long enough. Clean the tables, carry the ale barrels, and sweep the floor. It's a mess."
Karli nodded and walked toward the back.
As she passed the fire pit, she frowned.
Her thoughts drifted again.
(So this is why Karli — the real one — fainted.)
She had read it in the manga. The girl often had gone into the forest to collect herbs for this very bar, overworked and underpaid.
She would have collapsed from exhaustion.
(Maybe… maybe that's when I entered this body.)
She gripped the broom tighter.
(But I won't collapse. I won't be forgotten.)
---
Outside, on the rooftop across the street, Kaelir sat watching — tiny, silver, and still.
His eyes followed her every move.
And for now…
He stayed.
---
Karli grabbed the old wooden broom and started sweeping the floor like always.
The dust clung to everything. Her arms already ached, and Morrin's loud voice still echoed in her ears.
In her anger she gripped the broom tighter — too tight.
CRACK.
She stared at the broken handle in her hands, eyes wide.
"…Oops."
Then, with a sheepish laugh:
"I really need to learn how to control my strength."
---
After sometime of thinking she got an idea.
Looking around quickly to make sure no one saw, Karli stepped behind the counter.
"Okay. Let's test something…"
She held out her hand and whispered, just like she did in the forest.
A soft stream of water shot out — spraying the floor like a fountain.
"Nice!" she grinned.
Then she focused harder.
She raised both hands, calling up a gentle breeze and a warm flame at the same time — careful not to burn anything.
The wind carried the heat around the room like a giant hairdryer.
In seconds, the wet floor was sparkling clean. Dry. Warm. Perfect.
---
Outside the window, Kaelir froze on the rooftop.
His silver eyes blinked.
Then narrowed.
"…She used three elements… at once?"
He dropped down and entered quietly through the back door.
Karli was still humming to herself, proud of her work.
He stepped forward and stared at her.
"What?" she asked, blinking at his intense gaze.
"Who taught you to use magic like that?"
She tilted her head and gave a small shrug.
"No one. I taught myself. Why?"
Kaelir stared. Then, to her surprise…
He burst out laughing.
A real laugh. Deep and soft — the kind that sounded like it hadn't been used in years.
Karli blinked in confusion.
"What? Are you impressed that I'm so intelligent?" she said with a playful smirk, tapping her head.
"Genius, right?"
Kaelir chuckled again, shaking his little dragon head.
"It takes years of training for most mages to balance even two elements. You did it like it was child's play."
"Lucky me." Karli grinned.
She glanced around the room — clean and shiny.
"I finished way too fast…"
She grabbed the broken broom, hid it behind a barrel in the corner, and quietly slipped toward the storeroom.
---
As she walked past the back door, she heard something.
Voices.
She paused, hiding behind the shelf, listening.
---
Morrin: "I'm telling you, he matches the poster. The pink eyes. The face. Even the build."
Laxic: "But… he's a boy. The poster says a girl was kidnapped."
Morrin: "So what? Do you think they're searching for her out of kindness? Who offers one million gold..."
Karli's eyes widened. Her heart skipped.
Laxic: "Still… dressing up a boy to look like her? That's risky."
Morrin: "It's worth the risk. If orphanage thinks Karlen's the girl, they'll hand him over. One million gold, Laxic. That's life-changing."
Karli backed away slowly, her breath shallow.
(Poster? One million gold? Pink hair? Pink eyes… That's me.)
Her head spun as she remembered the original Karli's past from the manga.
She had been sold to the Borne family — not powerful enough to start a kingdom-wide search. But...
(The orphanage.…...)
And then it clicked.
The orphanage was backed by Duke Scremp — the second most powerful man in the empire. Wealthy. Dangerous. Cruel.
Karli's stomach dropped.
(They're looking for me. Not to save me… but to sell me.)
She slipped out of the storeroom as quietly as she could, her thoughts racing.
This wasn't just about hiding anymore.
Now, someone had put a price on her life.
And the world was starting to take notice.
(I need to leave. Now.)
---
That night, Karli packed everything she had.
Kaelir followed silently.
"You're running?" he asked.
"I'm surviving."
But first… one more thing.
---
She crept upstairs and pushed open Morrin's bedroom door.
He was asleep, snoring loudly.
Her pendant was in the drawer of his table. Her money pouch too.
She grabbed both.
Then leaned close and whispered:
"Boo."
Morrin screamed, tumbling out of bed.
WHACK.
"That's for making me work double shifts."
WHACK.
"That's for lying about my pay."
WHACK.
"And this is for calling me lazy!"
Morrin groaned, rolling on the floor like a squashed tomato.
Kaelir peeked in.
"You might've broken his ribs."
"Oops," Karli said with a smile.
"Accidents happen."
---
Before dawn, she left the village with Kaelir by her side.
She knew where to go next.
There was still something hidden in this land — something only she knows.
Something the Crown Prince would've found in the old story.
But this time?
Karli would get to it first.