The Girl Who Looted Tomorrow

“Which… one? Does it not look good?”

“No!” Euphemia took a deep breath and immediately gave a big thumbs-up. “It looks amazing! You have to wear it like this more often from now on!”

As she spoke, Euphemia tilted her head slightly and made a beeline for the bathroom, leaving a puzzled Freya behind. “If it looks good, why are you running off so fast?”

From inside the bathroom came Euphemia’s somewhat muffled voice. “Uh… my stomach hurts. It’s urgent, so of course I had to run!”

“Really?” Freya didn’t think much of it. Inside the bathroom, however, Euphemia wiped her nose with the back of her hand—only to find nothing there. “That was close. I thought I was about to get a nosebleed…”

In truth, Freya’s outfit wasn’t just attractive. To Euphemia, it also felt a little… erotic. Combined with Freya’s naturally pure and innocent appearance, the contrast created a powerful urge to pin the girl down and tease her properly.

Freya would probably protest with her mouth while her body squirmed wildly, her black-stockinged little feet kicking helplessly. But because she was so small and lacked strength, all her struggling would be useless. Just thinking about it made things even more exciting.

(P.S.: Of course, this would never actually happen. If she were truly in danger, War Freya would send the offender flying with a single slap.)

Euphemia quickly splashed cold water on her face to calm herself. Alright, here was a little secret buried deep in her heart: she was a huge looks-con, and she seemed to prefer girls over boys.

Especially the soft, sweet, adorable kind. That was another reason she had approached Freya the first time they met—Freya was exactly her type.

But another problem soon followed. Euphemia wasn’t sure how Freya felt. Even in Freya’s previous world, same-sex relationships had been a minority preference, let alone in this more conservative one.

She was afraid that if she confessed, Freya—a normal, straight girl—would end up disliking her, distancing herself, or becoming wary.

With those tangled feelings, Euphemia finished a quick wash-up and calmed her emotions. Only then did she slowly open the bathroom door. She peeked out cautiously, looking left and right like a thief. Hearing sounds from the kitchen, it seemed Freya had gone to prepare breakfast.

Euphemia dashed back to her room, got dressed, and by the time she emerged again, Freya had breakfast ready: a fried egg, a sausage, and a slice of bread.

While eating, Euphemia finally couldn’t hold back. “By the way, since everyone at school is around the same age, it must be easy to spark romance, right? Are there lots of couples?”

Freya thought for a moment. “Yeah, pretty much. Just in my class, I know of at least three pairs.”

Euphemia nodded. “Too bad I never got to experience school life. All my lessons as a child were taught by private tutors at home.”

Then she suddenly changed the subject. “Oh, right, Faye. You’ve been at school for a while now. Is there anyone in your class you like?”

Freya took a bite of bread without looking up and answered decisively, “Of course not. Honestly, there’s only one person in class I even talk to regularly.”

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Euphemia looked surprised. “Huh? How come? I thought you’d be the little sun who gets along with everyone.”

That wasn’t exactly true. The original Freya had been too poor; between work and studying, she’d had no time for socializing. As for the current Freya, the class had already formed tight-knit groups over two years, making it hard to join midway. Besides, she had no interest in forcing her way into those circles anyway.

Euphemia probed further. “So… what kind of boys do you like, Faye?”

Freya still didn’t sense anything off and treated it as normal girl talk—Amy had chatted about similar things before. She replied casually, “I don’t know.”

Then a popular meme from her previous life suddenly popped into Freya’s mind. She said with a smile, “Actually, I like you more than any boy, Effie~”

“Ah… huh?” Euphemia froze, her cheeks turning visibly red.

But Freya continued, “So please be my best friend for life~!”

Euphemia was completely stunned. After a long pause, a question mark practically appeared over her head. “Huh?”

Freya, however, thought nothing was strange about it. “You’re my best friend right now, Effie. You trust me unconditionally and have helped me so much. Of course I like you a lot~”

Euphemia’s emotions were incredibly mixed. She didn’t know whether to feel happy or disappointed. Happy because Freya had openly said she liked her, but disappointed because this wasn’t the kind of “like” she wanted.

Looking into Freya’s pure, innocent eyes, Euphemia could tell there wasn’t a single improper thought behind them. She genuinely meant it as friendship.

Still, the outcome was within acceptable range. Freya didn’t like any boys, and her favorability toward Euphemia was very high. There was still plenty of time ahead. If she took things slowly, maybe she could succeed!

After breakfast, Freya and Euphemia each slung on a bulging little backpack and hired a carriage heading to the south side of the city.

Auxerre City sat by the sea. The two of them planned to take a ship from here to a place called Union City, located at the westernmost edge of the Kingdom of Tarapaca—a border city.

From there, they would cross into the even farther west Fannipaca Empire. The similar-sounding names weren’t a coincidence; the early rulers of the two nations had apparently been brothers.

But that was centuries ago. Over time, the countries had gone their separate ways and even fought several wars.

Nowadays, the Fannipaca Empire was growing stronger while the Kingdom of Tarapaca grew weaker. As she explained the history, Euphemia remarked, “It probably won’t be long before the Empire launches a sudden war against the Kingdom.”

After all, the Empire had a legitimate claim to the Kingdom’s lands on paper.

Freya, however, couldn’t care less. She was just an ordinary citizen—what did the Kingdom’s survival have to do with her?

After finishing her overview of the Empire, Euphemia added, “There’s a well-known民间 organization inside the Empire called the Mind Research Society. If you have something you can’t figure out, or any mental troubles, you can go to them for help. Of course, it’s not free.”

“In short, it’s an organization made up of psychologists, and most of them are Mind Path extraordinaries. If you want to walk the Mind Path, they’re probably the fastest route.”

Freya murmured, “A organization? Then what’s the official path in the Empire?”

Euphemia answered instantly, “The Moon Path—or the Night Path. The Empire is a theocracy. The king is also the pope, every city lord is an archbishop, and even government officials are believers.”

As they talked, their carriage passed Three Cross Street. Freya poked her head out and glanced at the old blue warehouse, feeling a pang of emotion.

Soon they reached the southern docks. A massive iron-hulled ship was moored there, surrounded by a dense, bustling crowd.

Euphemia took Freya’s small hand. “Hurry, boarding time is almost here.”

It was worth noting that since Freya had nearly run out of money, she had opened a simulation before departure and borrowed another sum from Scarface. Her little treasury was full again.

The two wove through the crowd. The closer they got to the ship, the denser it became. Suddenly Freya bumped into someone. She quickly apologized, “Sorry! Sorry!”

The person looked down at her with a gentle expression. “It’s crowded here. Be careful.”

Then they passed each other. That man was Trigg, who had come to Auxerre City’s Earth Church per Jerome’s final request to meet Life Freya.

......

P.S.: Quick note—the world map in this story roughly matches the real world. The Pentagram Alliance is in Russia’s position, the Kingdom of Tarapaca is Germany, and the Fannipaca Empire is France. That should make things easier to picture!