Reincarnated as a... Completely Average Person?

Chapter 9 The Pole

Kotori awoke, parched and tied to a pole.

A rough fiber rope had bound her to it.

The rope had rubbed her wrists raw and she stood up so they no longer rubbed at her wrist.

When she looked around she saw that she was in the village. In the same clearing that the man was previously. Although the other man was gone which she thought was weird until she remembered that one of the count men who cut down her family last night said that he escaped

[I hope he's at least doing well]

It was unlikely that he was able to get away unscathed. There was very little chance he could run from the village, and even if he did she knew the nearest one was quite far away. The village her family was a part of was on the border between the northern countries of Faramouth and the southern country of Atlea. Incidentally, the village was located on the Atlea side.

Their village was rather isolated since most of the villages in the country were clustered together near the capital. Anyone who tried to leave would likely have to navigate through hordes of bandits and wildland that hasn't been settled by anyone.

This tended to serve as a natural border between the two countries and thus they rarely had any conflicts.

[My arms hurt]

Kotori, whose arms were raised as a result of being bound. Felt sore, unfortunately, unless she held them up they would hang against the rough. Her wrist was already getting raw from being bound against the rough rope. She tried to raise her hands to alleviate the pain, but that would mean that her arms would also get sore.

Kotori only did the bare minimum to avoid the pain. Her thoughts were filled with thoughts of her new family. She already saw her father and mother killed in front of her eyes. She wasn't sure where her brother went. The mere thought led her hearts to fill with grief and anger.

It was so unfair.

Her family had done nothing wrong and were punished for her own stupid actions. Kotori regretted ever helping the man. She now realized why the karma cost to help the man was so high. It indirectly caused her family to be eliminated.

She repeatedly cursed herself. Kotori had finally understood what it meant when people said "the world is cruel"

In her previous life, she had never really struggled. People let her do what she wanted and making inventions was simple for her. As a result, Kotori had grown up rather spoiled. She never understood the sort of people who would bemoan that the "the system" was unfair". Kotori wasn't malicious but she had realized how disconnected she was.

Kotori spent the rest of the day hanging on the pole and ruminating.

The villager who still walked the street hurried along finishing their business and leaving her alone. No one passed her a glance, Not that Kotori cared anyway. She viewed this as punishment for her own actions and didn't even bother thinking of a complaint.

The day grew long and soon the sun began to set. The Count's men who came with him all began to retire to their respective homes. People began to disperse and go home to their families.

It would've been a calming scene if Kotori had a family left to go back to, but she didn't.

The night came and she was still tied to the pole. Kotori didn't have any hope anymore and resigned herself to death at the pole and hoped it wouldn't hurt when her soul was erased by Gabriel.

She closed her eyes and waited for death.

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