Goddess

v. an angry tree god

"MY NAME IS TESSIA BLAKE, PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME!"

Tessia smiled radiantly, her sparkling azure eyes creasing gently at the corners. Her long, loosely braided silky raven black hair fluttered in the warm breeze, the hem of her loose white frock swishing against her slightly scruffed brown boots.

"I-Is she an angel?" one of the townsfolk whispered. The adults gazed down at her with flushed cheek and awe-struck eyes like she was some adorable little creature.

"I'll be in your care from now on!" Tessia said brightly, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind an ear while holding out a hand. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you too, Tessia!"

"Pfft," Minnie snickered. "You have them captivated."

"Can any of you lend me a map of this town?" Tessia asked. "I'm rather bad with directions and I tend to get lost easily, so I would be very grateful..."

"Here!" a young woman exclaimed, gently handing Tessia a scroll of parchment. "This is mine! You can keep it, though, it's just a spare!"

"Thank you! I'm sorry for all the trouble!"

"Ah, not at all, not at all!"

Tessia was interrupted by the sound of multiple wagons. She curiously looked at it. 

"It's the merchants!" The map lady said. "They're here to sell things again, I suppose."

"Hmm," Tessia said. She remembered that from the novel, there was a merchant mentioned. He was not actually a merchant, but a slave-trader who pretended to be a peddler. In the novel, a few days before Irene entered the academy, she stumbled upon a slave auction. Appalled, the kind heroine pretends to be an important noble by showcasing her light magic, and saves a particular slave. His name was Rey. And after Irene saves him, he falls in love with her, but doesn't see her for a while after because she leaves to go to Althea Academy. A bit later on in the story, the heroine in corner in a dark alleyway and none of the male leads are there to save her, when Rey, who was passing by, recognizes her as his savior and rescues her. After learning that multiple important heirs are in love with her, he believes he doesn't have a chance and instead pledges his loyalty to Irene and swears to protect her with his life, becoming her first knight.

However, he dies a heroic and tragic death in the end in order to save the heroine. And he always ended up getting hurt instead of Irene! Tessia thought that was a waste of his talents. Besides, Rey was one of her favorite characters, someone who loved Irene, but didn't give into his longing to become obsessed. Instead, he allowed Prince Jacob to have her, knowing that he wasn't the right one for her.

'I'll save him before Irene does, so he won't die in such a tragic way for the heroine.'

"Tessia?" map lady said worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yes," Tessia quickly assured her quickly. "Do you know who the merchant 'Kersey Ramani' is?"

"Ah, yes, I have," map lady said thoughtfully. "He's a very shady figure, and a rumored scammer. It's wise to be exceedingly cautious around that man."

"I see," Tessia nodded. He sounded like the right guy. "Do you happen to have any idea of which town he usually goes to?"

"He is mostly seen going into Eraliah Town," map lady said. "Here, I'll mark it for you on the map. It's quite a distance away."

The young woman took out a red pen and smoothed out the parchment, leaning it against the wall. She drew a large circle around an area of land that was in the Kiro Duchy, the dukedom that was besides the Eiarne Duchy, where she was now.