Welcome to the Capital ran by a Church

In front of Ren's very eyes was something completely unlike the media he'd consumed about the so-called "Fantasy Lifestyle." A market stretched as far as he could see, swarming with people dressed exactly as you'd expect in an RPG.

The only difference was that in the very center, it wasn’t a castle—though it could’ve been mistaken for one. It was an enormous church. And now that Ren saw it, he noticed many women were wearing something he had only ever seen online—a habit, a nun’s habit.

"Are you just gonna stand there or enter? We have to close this barrier," one of the knights told the awestruck young man.

"Right, right! Sorry," Ren said, walking forward and turning around to watch the brilliant yellow light fall down like a waterfall.

He knew that this world probably had magic, but seeing it with his own eyes was insane. It wasn’t like CGI or special effects used in supernatural movies, wizard-based shows, or even incredibly well-made anime. It was jaw-dropping—like being a kid at an amusement park.

He turned to face the bustling market area, took a deep breath, and tried to steady his nerves.

"Alright, second objective: complete... Now what do I do?"

Ren stroked his chin, looking down with narrowed brows in deep thought.

Okay, I've made it to a village. But I never thought this far ahead. I can't just say random modern things—I’d either sound insane or like I was going against some deity. I don’t get why Isekai protagonists want to come to villages other than for safety. If this is some type of Vatican City, then I really can’t say anything about my own beliefs. So: no modern talk, and no modern beliefs.

After making these boundaries for himself, he squared his shoulders and walked forward.

As he walked, he got side-eyes—not of disgust, but of confusion and curiosity. Before long, it felt like with each step, ten more eyes turned to him in criticism.

"Look at his strange clothes..."

"Why does he look like that? Look at his trousers, tunic, overcoat, and footwear."

"Such unkempt and messy hair. I’ve never seen a man with such wildness. Is he from outside of Sanctivar’s Holy Barrier?"

Yeah, that’s right. Compared to everyone else, he looked barbaric. In his world’s terms, people would’ve whispered behind his back and pointed out everything wrong with him. Ren was used to it—and it was one of the reasons he stayed inside.

Inside the comfort of his own room, he never had to worry about the smell of his clothes because his nose was accustomed to his scent. He never had to care about his appearance because only he saw it. And he never had to hear all the things he criticized about himself being echoed by others.

He only had to show one of three faces: himself. But that was the entire reason he was so cynical about his world. Still, he couldn’t blame the townspeople. Compared to the trendy clothes everyone wore to look “cool,” he just looked completely out of place. He was as foreign to them as an American might be to the Japanese.

That didn’t soften the gazes, so he lifted his hands, grabbed the hood of his jacket, and hid his face—though it only made him feel even more judged.

Don’t they have anything better to look at? Look at that guy with the weird hair, huh? Look at your stupid clothes. Just... Just mind your own damn business.

Ren quickened his pace, swiftly passing by the locals, not apologizing, just trying to escape the stares. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an alley.

With a hurried step, he walked into it, clutching his chest to calm his pounding heart.

It’s fine... It’s fine... They were just curious, right? I mean, if I saw someone wearing weird clothes, I’d talk too. That’s right—I already do that, huh? Then why do I care so much when people say stuff about me? It’s stupid to get so nervous. As long as I’m not doing anything wrong, I should be fine.

He took a deep breath, straightened his posture, and looked down the alleyway—it gave him an idea.

"If I just go through this alleyway, I can cut across the back and not have to walk through the middle of that market... Yeah... Yeah!"

Ren nodded at his own quick thinking and gave a tired smile.

He began striding down the alley, not thinking much—until he was about to pass a corner and heard a booming voice that made him duck behind a wall. He peeked around to see what was going on.

He saw three men surrounding someone.

"Hey, would you look at what we have here? A nun on a holy errand run..." a slender, snakelike man said.

"I heard those women from the church got a loooot of money, Boss," a shorter man added, sounding like a small dog in Ren’s mind.

"Yeah, and looks like we caught one just in time. The guards left yesterday, so they're fair game now. How about it, pretty lady? Wanna give us everything, or do we take it by force?" the biggest and most muscular man said—the one Ren figured was the leader.

"P-Please, please... You don’t have to do this... These are donations for the church."

Ren heard the hesitant, soft voice, snapping his attention into focus. He saw a young lady around his age with a basket hooked over her forearm and her hands clasped in front of her.

When he saw her appearance, his heart melted, and his stomach dropped. She had long, brown, braided hair draped over her left shoulder. Her eyes were light brown and innocent, and her face was cutely round. She radiated an aura of innocence, goodness—and above all, the holiness expected of a nun.

Ren saw her narrowed brows and pleading expression, and it made him feel sick. How could anyone try to take from someone who was clearly doing good for society?

Usually, in his world, he’d avoid conflict and let others deal with their own problems. But this time, he felt anger. Real anger. He hated that these bastards were taking advantage of someone so good.

These bastards think they can just steal from a woman and get away with it? Screw that!

He wanted to step forward—but he couldn’t. His overthinking nature held him back.

What if I get hurt?

What if they have a weapon and stab me—or kill me?

I don’t want to die… Maybe I should just let her handle it.

Dammit, shut up! If I don’t move, that girl will get robbed—or worse…

As he battled himself, he slammed his fist against his leg multiple times.

Move, move! Just move! It shouldn’t matter what happens to me! I don’t want to regret not helping when I could’ve. I’ve already... I’ve already had my chance in my world to be something! Someone so beautiful shouldn’t have to have that innocence taken away!

With an unconscious step, he entered the open section behind the alleyway.

The nun gasped when she saw him, and the three men turned toward him.

"Huh? Who the hell are you, huh? If you don’t wanna die, then scram," the so-called boss said, turning back to the nun.

"Please, save yourself instead... I’ll be fine. Continue on your way," the nun called to Ren—but he could tell by her voice that she didn’t mean it. She only wanted to save him from trouble.

Screw that! I came out of hiding and now I’m supposed to leave? Hell no—I won’t walk away from someone else’s problems!

He checked his odds if he ran—but running wasn’t an option. He had to think of a tactic.

Right… There are three guys, all with different builds. First, I’ll go for the big one—punch him in the jaw. I heard that makes people spasm because it rattles the brain. Then the lanky one—I’ll hit him with a cool spinning back heel kick. That’ll drop him. Finally, the short one will panic and run after seeing the other two go down. That gives me time to grab the nun and run.

Yeah, that’s a foolproof plan! Time for my second step into this new world: Save this nun!

《END OF CHAPTER 2》

Note from the Author:
"I've switched to using my laptop to write instead of my phone (which I was using before). It feels like the ideas flow better while I type on a keyboard. That’s mostly what I wanted to say—except that I feel like the pacing might be getting worse. I’m still getting a feel for how I want to write, or what my style even is, so things might change a lot going forward. That’s all I wanted to say! Chapter 3 will be out tomorrow for those who are reading! Thank you! Bye Bye!"