Chapter 4: I Reincarnated as a Villainess…and Ended Up Stranded (3)

Previously on…

I was looking for a cozy nest and thought I’d found the perfect S-rank listing!

…Except I didn’t.

Turned out someone already owned the place.

And just my luck, the owner was a troll.

I almost died, barely survived by tumbling into some mysterious hole.

And then I found myself in a huge cavern with nothing but the ceiling high above me for a sky.

As if that wasn’t enough, I even got a roommate.

…A roommate that just so happened to be—

“I-Is this really… a human corpse…?”

A dried-up corpse, bleached white down to the bones.

“…Did they end up down here too, running from a troll like I did?”

The body lay neatly on its back, still clothed.

Judging by the worn, outdated clothing, this person probably wasn’t part of the airship crew.

Most of them wore noble finery, uniforms, or maid outfits—easy to spot.

Besides, it hadn’t even been three days since the crash.

A corpse weathered to this degree?

No way.

Not to mention, there’s no way a body from the airship would end up lying like this in a place like this.

“……”

Faced with death, I swallowed hard.

Judging by the blood—or lack thereof—and the way the bones were positioned, it looked like they starved to death.

Or maybe they ate raw fish out of desperation and died from parasites or food poisoning.

Right. Because this cave had both light and a small lake.

There were fish bones scattered near the corpse.

Apparently, fish lived in here too.

So if I didn’t find a way out, I’d end up the same way.

“…Hm?”

Then I noticed a small satchel beside the corpse.

Its contents had spilled out—a few potions, and a flintlock pistol.

A gun.

The strongest weapon, familiar to anyone from modern society.

Ironically, because of how powerful guns are, most fantasy settings exclude them outright, using all kinds of excuses to write them off.

This world—”The Four Divine Beasts Are Obsessed With Me”—was no exception.

Clatter.

I carefully picked up the small flintlock pistol.

In this world, guns were weapons used by commoners who couldn’t use magic.

Since magic was the superior alternative, firearms hadn’t progressed much.

Their range was even shorter than bows—practically on par with throwing daggers or hand axes.

Apparently, most didn’t even have rifling, so the accuracy was garbage.

But the power?

That was real.

Some adventurers used guns as a last-resort trump card.

Bandits out on the frontier loved them too.

Ah, wait… weren’t those guys more into revolvers?

I forget.

What?

Just shoot the troll with the gun?

…Are you stupid?

You think a tiny pea-shooter like this is gonna work on that thing?

“Still, no harm in keeping it.”

Looting a corpse might feel a little wrong, but hey, survival comes first, right?

Oh hey, it’s even a double-barrel.

…Nice.

“……”

“…Don’t look at me like that.”

Ignoring Kiriel’s stare, I took the belt from the coat and strapped it on, holstering the pistol.

As for the potions scattered on the ground—I decided not to take them.

Sure, potions are precious in the wild.

But these had obviously been sitting out for who knows how long.

They looked like medicine, but they were probably poison by now.

“Anything else in here?”

Since I’d already claimed the gun and the belt, I figured I might as well rummage through the bag.

Aside from a few more ancient-looking potions, there wasn’t anything useful.

In the end, my only real loot was the pistol.

Not that I’d need it much anyway, with Kiriel around—she’s way stronger than a measly gun.

I didn’t check the body’s clothes though.

Call it a shred of decency?

I mean, sure, I’m in a life-or-death situation, but still.

Even a villainess should have standards, right?

“……”

So yeah.

I got a gun.

Still totally screwed.

If anything, seeing what could easily be my future just made me more anxious.

Did my face go stiff without realizing it?

Kiriel looked worried as she stared at me.

“…It’s fine, Kiriel. A villainess must always keep her smile and her optimism! I’ll find a way out of here! Don’t worry!”

Right. Sitting around moping wouldn’t help.

There was still one thing I could do, while the beam of light still shone down from above.

“Keep an eye on the clothes for me, Kiriel.”

She’s a magical doll, so a little water wouldn’t break her.

Still, my modern instincts didn’t let go easily.

Since magitek resembled engineering, I couldn’t help but equate Kiriel to electronics.

Even if I knew she’d be fine, I still felt uneasy.

“Ah, forgot the necklace.”

The emerald pendant—same color as my eyes.

Not sure if it’s real, but it looked expensive.

I remembered a maid placing it gently around my neck when I first transmigrated onto the airship.

…Right now, though, it was just a pretty rock.

“W-Wait, what are you—”

Kiriel suddenly lunged to stop me from taking it off.

What the heck’s gotten into her?

Sure, it’s just a rock, but there’s no reason to lose it on purpose.

I don’t even know how deep that lake is—if I drop it, it’s gone for good!

“Okay, okay! I’ll keep it on!”

Kiriel was very insistent.

No matter how much I tried to explain, she clung to me like her life depended on it.

In the end, I gave in and wore the necklace while exploring the lake.

“If I lose this thing, that’s minus 10 maid points, got it.”

Kiriel made a face that basically screamed, “This idiot master of mine… what even is she saying…”

Seriously, her expressions are getting way too detailed.

You sure you’re a doll, Kiriel?

You’re not secretly human or something?

Even for a human, your face is expressive as hell…

Splash!

I tied my necktie around my hair and dove in with just my underwear on.

I don’t know if the girl I transmigrated into, Lin Rosegarden, was a good swimmer—but I’m the one using her body now.

Swimming through a calm lake like this?

Easy.

I scoured the underwater walls for any tunnels or passageways.

You see that kind of thing in movies all the time, right?

So it made sense a fantasy novel might have something like that too.

Blub blub…

I searched for a while, but found nothing but solid stone.

The depths below looked like a bottomless abyss—no way I was going down there.

…Wait. How long have I been underwater?

Pretty sure I’ve passed pro swimmer levels here.

Actually, I might be holding my breath for minutes now.

When I glanced at my chest, I noticed the necklace glowing faintly blue.

Focusing on the sensation, I realized it was feeding mana into my lungs—letting me breathe underwater.

Was that why Kiriel made such a fuss about it?

Puhah!

Thanks to the necklace’s magic, exploring the lake was easy.

But there was no exit—just the same hole I came through.

And the only entrance had a troll waiting above it.

It wasn’t even a proper exit, just a steep shaft with no footholds.

Climbing out? Impossible.

At least there were plenty of fish in the lake.

I had fire magic—barely enough to light a match—so maybe I could try grilling them.

“All right. Last thing to check…”

I squeezed out my dripping hair and underwear, then looked up.

There was a single hole high in the ceiling.

My only way out.

“Hey, Kiriel. Think you could lift me up there with wind magic?”

She shook her head with a helpless look.

Figures.

“Hmm…”

While I stood there frowning, Kiriel walked up and placed a hand on my necklace.

“H-Hey…?”

When she infused it with mana, I slowly began to rise into the air.

“Wha-wha-wha?! I’m floating! I’m actually floating, right now!”

I hovered about 10cm off the ground, then dropped with a thud when the magic ran out.

“Ah. Kiriel…!”

I turned to the sound of something flopping onto the floor—Kiriel had collapsed.

She’d used up all her mana.

“Wait there! I’ll get food!”

Splash!

The villainess’s necklace was special.

What I thought was a pretty rock turned out to be a magic gem that let me breathe underwater—and even fly.

…Splash!

Flap flap flap!

I dove in and came back with three fish in just a few seconds.

For a kid, Lin was surprisingly good at hunting.

Thanks to me, Kiriel quickly scarfed them down and restored her mana.

“You good to go again?”

She patted her full belly and nodded, but didn’t power up the necklace again.

“…Huh?”

Instead, she pointed right at me.

“You want me to do it?”

Kiriel nodded.

I didn’t know this, but the necklace was bound by ownership magic.

Only the rightful owner could use it.

That’s why Kiriel hesitated at first—forcing it to activate nearly destroyed her.

“Phew…”

I took a deep breath.

Controlling mana to light a spark was one thing.

Floating up to the ceiling?

Whole different level.

I focused intently on the flow of mana in my body, slowly channeling it into the necklace.

And just like that, I began to float.

Lift…

“Whoa… Whoooaaa…!”

As the owner, my efficiency was off the charts.

Even a tiny bit of mana sent me floating higher than my own height.

“All right! Now let’s get out of here—!”

“…!”

But beginner’s luck only goes so far.

The moment I thought, “Wait, am I secretly a magic prodigy?” I lost focus.

I twirled in the air, spun around twice, and crashed hard into the ground.

After some time, I survived on fish, practiced using the necklace, and eventually managed to escape.

Kiriel fetched firewood from outside.

Turns out, my fire magic wasn’t even strong enough to cook with…

She also found vines, which we dropped down like a ladder.

With those guiding me, I slowly climbed out over four days.

One thing was clear—I had no talent for magic.

Which is weird, considering I’m supposed to be a noble villainess.

Aren’t nobles usually good at magic?

Once outside, I figured I could freely come and go through the cave entrance.

Maybe use it as a hideout?

“Hmm…”

…Nah.

Bad idea.

What if the necklace breaks inside again?

I’d be trapped all over again.

Better to leave a bucket at the end of the vine and use it like a well if I ever needed water.

“You think so too, right?”

Kiriel nodded enthusiastically.

Yeah.

Trying to turn that place into a hideout would be crazy.

…But.

“……”

Just once—just one last time—I decided to go back inside.

No, I didn’t change my mind about living there.

The reason I returned wasn’t for shelter.

“…Lifting people feels easier than lifting myself.”

Back inside, I gently used magic to lift the lonely skeleton.

I was relieved.

I could finally bring this person out of the cave.

As I floated their bones up through the shaft, the scene looked almost like a soul ascending to heaven.

…Why do I keep doing pointless things like this?

I knew this meant nothing.

I didn’t know them.

They scared me, honestly.

But what was their crime?

A single misstep, and they died alone in a lightless cave.

That could’ve been me.

So I wanted them buried somewhere bright.

Somewhere dry.

“Kiriel! Did they make it out okay?”

I shouted upward—I couldn’t see from below.

Kiriel answered with a big circle made with her arms.

A safe landing.

“Haah… Finally, goodbye to that awful cave.”

As I grabbed the vine to climb out again, something new caught my eye.

Wait… What’s that?

I’d searched this cave thoroughly…

It was right where the skeleton had been.

Must’ve been hidden beneath them.

I didn’t touch the body out of respect, so I’d completely missed it.

As I walked over and looked closely—

“…A notebook?”

A leather-bound parchment journal lay on the ground.