Naive

In the following days, I slept deeply until late in the afternoon. I figured the old lady must've gone out to work in the fields. Feeling quite guilty for only eating and sleeping every day, I took it upon myself to clean the house, cook meals, and tidy up the garden. However, I made sure not to step even a foot beyond the fence, doing my best to avoid contact with the villagers.

My intention was to learn more about this world first, then look for books to see if there was any way to return. But that was a matter for later, right now, protecting myself was the priority.

This morning, as usual, the old lady headed out to the fields but was suddenly surrounded by a group of people.

"These days when I pass by your house, I smell something intoxicating... Are you hiding some kind of treasure?" someone asked.

Startled by the question, the old lady thought to herself, indeed, that young woman carried a mesmerizing fragrance. Even she, in her sleep, would unconsciously scoot closer to her.

"Haha… Of course not, I've just been trying out some new recipes lately."

The villagers seemed skeptical but couldn't get anything more out of her, so they slowly dispersed and went back to work. The old lady, however, was now deep in thought. Perhaps she should sell the girl soon. If a man came and snatched her away, things would get troublesome.

That summer evening was unusually cool, the sky exceptionally radiant, aglow with countless stars and a poetic full moon.

As always, when dusk fell, tiny stars would start appearing, lighting up the entire sky with a soft white glow. It wasn't just the stars that made the night sky so vivid, the moon played its part too. Sometimes it appeared as a thin crescent, other times it was round and full like a silver tray.

After taking a bath, I sat on the bed drying my hair. The old lady, sitting beside me, gently stroked my long hair and said: "You must be bored staying at home all the time. Why don't I take you to the county town tomorrow?"

Overjoyed, I jumped up and hugged her. To be honest, I had grown comfortable around her after spending some time together. She treated me well. Though she snored at night and wasn't exactly the cleanest, she didn't seem to have any serious bad habits.

"Hehe… Sure! Do we need to prepare anything? Are we going for a whole day or just half? I can cook something to bring along."

The old lady said there was no need to prepare anything, the county town wasn't far. That night, I was so excited I couldn't sleep. I wondered what the county town in this other world would look like. Would it be like the ancient towns on TV? With that hopeful thought, I eventually fell asleep.

The next morning, I got up early, dressed neatly, and even put on some light makeup. After all, it was my first time strolling around a town here, and I was a bit excited.

We set out at dawn. I asked why we were leaving so early instead of waiting for daylight. The old lady replied that it was because I was too beautiful and she was afraid the local men might harass me. It made sense, I had noticed there weren't many women in this godforsaken village. Maybe in the county town, there would be plenty of pretty women, and I wouldn't stand out as much.

Instead of taking the fields, we cut through a forest. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting playful shadows on the ground.

As we walked, I sang a little tune. The old lady glanced at me and said: "Not only are you beautiful, but your voice is also very pleasant."

Feeling at ease, I chatted with her: "You know, where I come from, there are a lot of amazing things, like phones and TVs… You could talk to someone even if they were billions of miles away."

The old lady was amazed: "Farther than even the Imperial Capital?"

"Hehe… Of course!"

After walking for half a day, we were nearly at the county town. From the main road, I saw a small city gate, with several groups of people slowly making their way into town.

Overjoyed, I jumped up: "Haha… we're here!"

As we joined the crowd to enter, people started sniffing the air and glancing around. Then they all turned to look at me. A chill ran down my spine. The old lady leaned over and whispered: "Cover your face with the scarf…"

We carefully entered the town. It was quite a primitive place. Men and women dressed very casually, everyone had their own style, with no uniformity. Some wore only a layer of animal hide, while others wore silk garments that bared their backs.

Passing through a few alleys, I noticed that most women here were tall, had dark yellow skin, and large hips and breasts that practically spilled out. One woman walking past us wore just a tiny strip of animal hide both above and below. Her hair was messy, her face rough, and she had a faint smell about her.

"Is everyone here dressed like that?"

"They dress like that to attract males for mating."

The old lady explained that in this world, once a mutant entered mating season, they would go out every day in search of a partner. That woman I saw was currently in heat, and that was her way of attracting males.

As we passed a few more alleys, I noticed that every man we encountered looked at me with eyes full of desire. It wasn't my imagination, I could feel it, even though I was completely covered, only my eyes visible.

"We're here."

The old lady stopped in front of a wooden house by the main street of the county town. The building had three floors.