After barely escaping that limited-edition demon horse carriage, I went back to walking the road toward Matei.
The road was quiet. Too quiet.
Even the birds seemed to be on holiday that day.
Suddenly, from behind a bush—yes, a bush, because bushes in this world are basically the go-to spawn point for bad things—someone stepped out.
Tall. Wearing a cloak.
Face… hidden under a hood.
Oh no. Not this again.
This had to be one of three things:
1. A scammer.
2. A cultist.
3. A scammer cultist.
He waved at me.
"Good afternoon, Miss. You don't seem to be from around here."
Wow. Fantasy Sherlock Holmes in the flesh.
"Yeah, good afternoon to you too, Mr. Mysterious. I'm a tourist. A lost tourist with a shattered sense of faith."
He chuckled softly—one of those laughs that raises the goosebumps on your arms by 20 degrees.
"I just want to help. The road to Matei can be… dangerous. Lots of scammers, you know?"
"And who exactly are you? The Road Safety Dad?"
He pulled his hood back just a little, revealing a face way too symmetrical to be trusted.
"Let's just say I'm… a benefactor."
Oh no.
"Benefactor" in isekai terms usually means one of two things:
A genuinely nice person.
A genuinely nice person… right before selling you into a slave market.
"Thanks, Mr. Benefactor, but I already have my own moral compass—though it's probably broken."
I kept walking.
But he didn't stop following me.
"Then at least take this bit of advice, for free: in Matei, don't trust anyone who's too friendly. Including me."
He laughed again and turned back, disappearing into the forest.
And me?
I just stood there.
…INCLUDING HIM?!
What even was that? Some kind of mysterious side-quest NPC?
I scratched my head.
This world kept getting weirder.
But I kept walking—because that's life, right?
You keep going, even if the road is full of weirdos and ominous monologues.
A few hours after being left behind by the so-called "benefactor"—who honestly made me want to bathe in holy soap—I finally started seeing signs of life again.
And by "life," I mean wild animals and creepy sounds coming from the bushes.
But hey, that's still better than overly friendly humans in this world.
Just as the sun started leaning westward, I saw something in the distance.
Fog.
Wait.
Isn't it broad daylight?
Fog in broad daylight usually only shows up in two situations:
1. A horror movie.
2. Or a special RPG event.
And since I'm not an actress, we both know I'm walking into option number two.
I started walking more carefully, and then—
DING!
A soft bell-like sound rang near me.
I turned my head on reflex and—boom—there was a little girl standing not far from me.
Alone. In the middle of the road. Inside the fog.
"Big sis, wanna play hide and seek?"
She smiled. But her smile… was too symmetrical. Too clean.
Smiles like that in this world = god-tier danger.
So I politely declined,
"Sorry, kiddo, I'm currently on a fasting program from all forms of playtime."
She blinked. And then the fog behind her started to twist and spiral.
"Then let's play tag instead."
Oh.
My.
God.
I didn't even hesitate—I turned around and ran.
I ran with every fiber of my being, because there's no point trying to explain logic to a mysterious fog entity that materialized out of nowhere.
A few minutes later, I suddenly burst out of the fog.
Like it was only present in that one spot.
I looked back.
Nothing.
No little girl.
No sound.
Just the usual quiet road.
I clutched my chest and muttered,
"Okay. New rule: never trust kids in this world. Especially the ones who call you 'big sis' in a cutesy voice."
I kept walking—faster, more alert, and way more paranoid.
And finally, after a journey full of absurd NPCs, undercover cultists, and fog children from hell…
Matei—the Kingdom of Liars—came into view at the end of the road.
"Well... here's hoping it's not crazier than what I just went through."
And as always… I knew I'd be wrong.