This small village nestled in the mountains had not seen rain for a long time. A few farmers who still clung to hope trudged listlessly through the fields with hoes over their shoulders, inspecting crops that could already be called critically ill.
The ground was dry and cracked. If this continued, this year's harvest would surely be dismal again.
More villagers simply stayed indoors to escape the heat.
At that moment, a young girl entered from outside the village.
Under the blazing sun, her figure was especially conspicuous. From afar, her attire instinctively filled the villagers with fear.
She had long purple hair and wore a standard warrior's outfit: blue and white garments, sleeves and arm guards on her arms, and a katana at her waist.
How could ordinary farmers have seen anything like this? As they watched the girl enter the village, they nervously tightened their grips on their farming tools.
Though they rarely left the mountains, they had heard that war raged outside and masterless wandering warriors were everywhere.
Most of those drifters were vicious criminals. If a conflict truly broke out, the farming tools in their hands would hardly be enough to protect them.
However, once the girl drew closer, some of the nearby villagers finally let out a slight sigh of relief.
—Her bearing was not that of a bloodthirsty desperado. If anything, she possessed the air of a princess.
Together with her lovely features, if not for her clothing, she would surely have been mistaken for a princess from some country.
Hmm... perhaps she really was an exiled princess from some nation in the Far East?
Some villagers had already begun speculating about her identity.
Furthermore, there was a small animal perched on the warrior girl's shoulder, further diminishing her threatening presence.
—It was an