I open the fancy-looking door and peer into the hallway.
The almost new-looking walls are plastered in expensive-looking paintings and sculptures stand on podiums of solid gold.
Even the seemingly simple-looking red carpet has gold trim and is immaculately clean as if nobody has ever walked on it.
Taking a deep breath to calm my shaking heart, feels similar to exploring a friend's house without asking. You know it's fine but it still feels wrong.
I try to search the previous owner's memories about the house layout but weirdly nothing seems to come up. The girl seemed to only remember the inside of her room…
Guess ill just pick a random direction then?
The red carpet feels incredibly soft as my feet sink into the fluff. I'm only wearing pajamas right now and I'm barefoot. I am a noble right? They are usually very uptight about their image so I wonder if it's fine walking around like this…
I wander around the house for a while but there's nobody here? It's like an abandoned house but perfectly clean without a speck of dust.
Slowly and carefully I open each door and poke my head around, yet nothing but immaculate rooms greet my eyes. This house is very large and reminds me of those manor houses of Europe.
During my adventure, I found 20 bedrooms all with king-sized beds yet none show any evidence of use. Even my room only had a few items placed around like the sword, but no clothes could be found.
I pass through the spotless kitchen and find the fridge and cupboards which to my surprise are completely empty.
Did the Goddess send me to the wrong world?
Deciding there is nothing else to find in the soulless empty house I open the heavy wooden doors and leave the mansion.
What greeted me was a gravel driveway with a marble water fountain in the middle. Crystal clear water softly fell from the top and dripped down to be caught in the bottom in a little pool.
I had seen fountains in the cities before and they always had murky green water with rusting copper coins stuck to the bottom. In contrast, there was not a single coin in sight and the water looked cleaner than tap water from Earth.
Beyond the circular gravel driveway with the fountain in the middle was a beautiful garden and a gravel road leading off into the distance. Flowers were everywhere and sculptured hedges lined the road.
I walk down the cold stone steps and wince a little from the pain of standing on gravel barefoot. I searched the entire mansion but couldn't find a single pair of shoes so I had no other choice.
The sublime garden helped elevate my mood and distract me from the pain of my delicate feet being pierced by the gravel below.
I soldiered on and made it to the end of the road. Again I look left and right and see a cobblestone road. Much easier to walk on than a gravel one but still not pleasant.
After walking for another 20 minutes, passing many grand mansions similar to my own I reached a strange bridge.
It was formed from solid gold and surrounded by waterfalls on either side. The water seemed to come from nowhere since I didn't see any mountains or cliff edges where the water could fall from.
I originally assumed I had been sent to a medieval world with magic but this seemed like some heaven-defying phenomenon found in cultivator novels.
This bridge gave an almost mystical or transcendent feel. As if it defies the laws of this world yet the world could only obey its creator's wishes.
I rubbed the dust and dirt off my feet and took careful steps across the bridge. I was terrified of breaking or even leaving a smudge on such a shiny and priceless piece of architecture.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how confused I am right now? I died and woke up in a strange new world after meeting a literal Goddess. I took over a girl's body who seems to have no knowledge other than her own room and some stories from her Grandfather.
Also, this girl seems to be abandoned by her family as not even a single maid was left behind to tend to her? Why is this place so quiet. I walked for a long time yet didn't meet a single another person.
There is nobody to ask for directions, I am literally a 12-year-old girl wandering around alone barefoot and in pajamas, and yet nobody has come to help me?
And just to top it all off, I am now walking across a solid gold bridge with floating waterfalls on either side…
I can feel a panic attack coming. This is all too weird. Should I just go back and hide in my bed? I can summon books for entertainment and it's not like High Humans need to eat, I can just absorb the mana in the air for food...
At the end of the bridge is a strange mist, almost like a dense fog late at night. I'm honestly tempted to run back but this was the only exit I had seen so far.
Do I go forward or head back?
Maybe I should use some skills first?
Looking at my list of skills I use [Lock/Unlock Home] to produce a barrier around myself. Protection is always important when exploring the unknown!
Upon activating the skill I feel a warm sensation as energy leaves my body and forms a thin translucent barrier around me. I poked it with my finger and despite it looking like a fluid it was extremely tough and I couldn't even leave a mark on it.
"Wow! So cool" I say out loud but quickly shut up hearing my high-pitched childish voice. Geez, that was cringe of me…
Refocus Emilia you got this. Next I use [Summon Undead] and think of a white skeleton man from horror movies and sure enough, a human skeleton with red glowing eyes appears before me.
Since I'm a short girl the skeleton easily towers over me but I feel no hostility from it so I feel relaxed despite its horrifying appearance.
"Go skeleton, scout the mist out for me," I say while pointing my finger. I have no idea if it understands speech let alone instructions but surprisingly it acknowledges my order and walks into the mist without hesitation.
I wait in anticipation for the eventual demise of my skeleton to the monsters in the mist yet nothing happens. Minutes go by yet I can still feel the link between myself and the skeleton.
"Hmm guess it really must be safe then?"
After another moment of hesitation, I slap my rosy cheeks and hype myself up before carefully walking into the dense mist.
Once the mist surrounds me I can't even see 1 centimeter in front of my eyes, luckily the obstruction of my vision only lasts a second before I make it out the other side.
The mist looked like it could be miles thick from the other side yet it took merely three steps to pass through? I guess my sense of reasoning completely fails me in this world!
"Little Miss, is this skeleton yours?" Surprised to hear a human's speech for the first time today I quickly twirl round in the direction of the mysterious voice.
Standing before me is a man in white robes. He has a handsome face with long black hair. I let out a little yelp in surprise after seeing his eyes.
Similar to my own they glowed with an unfathomable power but were pitch black. Both the man's pupil and iris were black as night giving an eerie feeling. Is this man a demon?
I followed the man's finger which was pointing at my summoned skeleton. The skeleton looked at me emotionlessly but then gave me a little wave like a lost kid.
Seeing my confusion the man continued "I don't think I have seen a little miss like you before? My names Calvin"
Letting out a sigh at how ridiculous the situation is I casually replied
"Emilia"
"Hm Emilia? Are you Emilia Reed the brain-dead child? How can you be walking around… very interesting" the man gave a weird expression of confusion but also interest.
W-Wait did he say brain dead?