### Chapter Twenty-Six: Eyes
What?
What did he say… what does that mean…
I felt a bit confused, my little head still not fully awake from the drowsiness threatening to lull me back to sleep. I just stared blankly at the drunken man in front of me, instinctively holding my hands over my chest, my eyes filled with utter bewilderment.
The man continued to close in on me. His waxy, yellowish face blurred into the dim light of the tavern, shifting colors under the influence of alcohol. His coarse pores were like tiny craters scattered across his cheeks and nose, making my heart skip a beat as I instinctively took a small step back.
Seeing my movement, the man grinned widely.
“Ha ha! Miss, don’t be scared. I’m a k-knight! A warrior of the Royal City, uh!”
He spoke as if he were chewing on his own tongue, suddenly letting out a loud belch midway through, bringing with it a wave of strong alcohol breath laced with a nasty fishy smell. I quickly held my breath, covering my mouth and nose with my hand.
“Hey hey.”
He chuckled stupidly.
His breath was heavy, and his bloodshot eyes were fixed unblinkingly on my face, filled with a kind of intense, desperate desire… as if he wanted to eat me.
“Please, come with me! Give me a chance to… uh, confess to the beautiful miss!”
Thud.
I had backed up against the bar, my back lightly bumping against the edge.
Confess…
The drowsy brain of mine took half a second to process, and suddenly I realized what he meant.
No way… this guy wants to X me…
My eyes went wide in shock, my mouth slightly agape, unable to utter a single coherent word.
Holy cr*p…
Every hair on my body felt like it was standing on end.
Even though I had accepted my current gender and identity, I had gradually recognized myself as a girl named Peilo, or maybe Silvya, surviving in this world without even noticing it.
Even so, I never thought I would be proposed to by a man.
And especially not by this stinky drunkard.
The feeling was utterly revolting, like swallowing a mouthful of flies, leaving a sticky sensation behind that made me want to vomit.
So disgusting.
Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting…
Suddenly, seeing me frozen in place, the drunken man grinned again and opened his arms, lunging towards me.
What is he doing… he wants to hug me!
“Ahhhhh—!!”
My whole body jolted, my mouth wide open as I let out a bl**d-curdling scream.
I was really scared.
It felt like my scalp had been hit by a jolt of electricity, buzzing like crazy. Shock, anger, shame, panic… all those tangled emotions erupted from my chest like a volcanic explosion.
Everything around me suddenly slowed down.
In my line of sight, the drunken man’s grotesque face quivered as he lunged towards me. A fat lady at the bar had just started to move out of the way, her eyes bulging in shock, her expression frozen in place. Nearby patrons—sitting or standing, ready to cheer—had their bacon beers raised, their surprise and excitement frozen in time.
I shut my eyes and swung a fist forward.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
Crash, crash—
A thud followed by the massive sound of overturned tables and chairs filled my ears, the clatter of dishes and glasses crashing to the floor. Time seemed to flow again, and the tavern erupted into chaos after a brief moment of silence.
“Oh my god!”
“Am I drunk? What did I just see…”
“One punch… just one punch, and that drunk John went flying…”
“Divine help, who is this girl…”
“Hey, hey, John isn’t dead, right…”
Someone’s voice pulled me back to reality as I slowly opened my eyes.
The drunken man was gone. In his place were several overturned tables and chairs lined up neatly, with a few people rolling on the ground, covered in spilled soup and scraps, crying out. At the end of the toppled furniture, a man was slumped against the tavern’s dilapidated wall, head bowed and completely still.
I recognized him as the drunken man who had been standing in front of me just moments ago.
I did that to him…
That last punch was an instinctive reaction from my extreme aversion to the situation.
I didn’t mean to…
But I panicked, and I wasn’t sure how much strength I used.
“John!”
The drunken man’s friend rushed over, propping him up. He opened his eyes and tremblingly held two fingers in front of his nose.
“Still breathing…”
A sigh of relief washed over me, my tense shoulders slumping down.
“Miss, you… you…”
The fat lady’s voice trembled beside me. I turned to face her, looking at her face contorted with shock and fear, and I lowered my head slightly.
“I’m sorry.”
Buzz buzz buzz…
My head was a tangled mess, like a swarm of flies buzzing around in my mind, and the scene in front of me started to blur.
My body felt unbearably hot, like I’d been thrown into boiling water.
“Miss, your… your eyes…”
Huh?
I shook my head vigorously.
What’s wrong with my eyes?
I rubbed them and blinked hard. When I focused again, the fat lady’s face looked even more distorted.
“Your eyes changed color… bl**d red…”
She seemed genuinely scared.
The men in the tavern were shouting non-stop, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Their voices faded, sounding like echoes from a distant dream, making it hard to distinguish between reality and illusion.
I didn’t know what was wrong with me. But I knew I couldn’t stay here any longer.
“Boss…”
I fished out some coins from my pouch, tossing them onto the bar without counting.
“This is… for your trouble. I’m sorry… I have to go, I feel awful…”
I really felt awful. I staggered towards the tavern exit, stopped, and turned back.
“That guy,” I pointed at where the drunken man had fallen, “send him to the church… tell them… Silvya… please heal him…”
After saying that, I continued forward.
Crash—
As I passed by, those men who had just mocked me earlier now scrambled back in panic, as if they’d seen a ferocious beast. I even heard the sound of dishes and glasses crashing to the ground again.
No one dared to stop me.
I wobbled my way to the tavern door, and just as I raised my hand to push it open, I heard the fat lady calling out behind me.
“Miss, your venison leg! Take it with you…”
The venison leg was just perfectly roasted.
The fat lady seemed a bit frightened but still shakily handed me the wrapped piece of meat. I couldn’t see her expression, but I could smell the delicious aroma of roasted meat.
I grabbed the venison leg and hugged it to my chest, tearing through the wrapping despite the heat and taking two vicious bites as I hurried out of the tavern.
“Are you! Miss Silvya!?”
In the distance, I heard the fat lady bravely shouting, but I wouldn’t respond.
I was already dizzy, completely exhausted.
My whole body felt as if it were on fire, hot enough that I felt I could spit flames. I started to jog, swallowing the still-chewy meat hastily while biting down on another piece.
I could no longer even recognize the shape of the venison leg. The streets of the Royal City blurred before me, the city lights morphing into hazy orbs—I felt like I was running through a mirage.
I just wanted to go home… as quickly as possible…
Thud.
I tripped over something—my body uncontrollably launched through the air before crashing down. The venison leg slipped from my grip, flying far away, one piece landing squarely in the drainage ditch by the curb.
“Ow…”
My knee burned like it was on fire.
I struggled to get up, picked up the remaining slightly dirty venison leg, took a bite, and continued to run.
By the time I returned to the mansion, even my breath was starting to tremble.
