Welcome to Norwenthia... Now to the prision

CLANG!
A prison door slammed shut right in front of my face.
Great.
Not exactly the grand welcome I expected upon setting foot in the city.

“You must be thrilled,” I said, glaring at Evelyn with the purest hatred I could muster. And yes, this entire mess was one hundred percent her fault.
We were now locked up in the dungeons of Norwenthia.
I'd give it five stars if not for a few tiny issues: rats fighting over crumbs, barely any lighting, and the bed (if you could even call it that) was harder than the actual floor.

Evelyn was lying face down, tail swaying lazily side to side without a care in the world.
I won’t lie—the view was dangerously good.
But this was no time to get distracted by the sinful body of my demon companion.

Now what the hell do we do to get out of here…
Who would’ve guessed this city was so religious?

...

Okay, maybe that massive cathedral rivaling the castle outside was a tiny little hint I completely ignored. Hehe.

“Hey, Ren,” Evelyn said without even looking at me. “When are you going to start pampering me like I deserve? Do you really think this place is worthy of someone like me?”

...

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?! IT’S NOT MY FAULT YOU’RE A SEXY DEMON AND WE GOT THROWN IN HERE BECAUSE OF IT!!”

This girl is gonna be the death of me.

I know what you’re thinking.
How the hell did we end up here?
Let me tell you.

A few hours earlier…

“Alright! We finally made it!” I said, bursting with joy.
Wow, the walls looked even more imposing up close.

A few guards in shiny iron armor and huge pikes were running some kind of checkpoint for everyone trying to enter the city.
Great… even here I can’t escape the line life.

An endless line of travelers moved forward at the speed of a half-dead turtle.
There was everything: humans from other regions, merchants, adventurers… and not just that. I spotted elves, dwarves… even draconics!
Okay, this place was on a whole different level.

After a wait that aged me emotionally by at least three years, it was finally our turn.

“Don’t say a word. Let me handle this. I’m an expert in these things,” I whispered to Evelyn with the confidence of a moron on autopilot.

“Halt!” the guard said in a booming voice.

“Hello, good sir! We’ve traveled from lands far, far away. We humbly request entrance into this majestic city to settle down… and maybe grab a bite.”

That performance was flawless. Even the king himself—or queen, if she’s hot—would let us in after that.

Or so I thought.

The guard looked at me like, “You seriously think this is gonna work, clown?”
Seriously?
Nothing?
Man, this guy was tougher than I thought.

Fine… plan B it is.

"Ahem. Ahem."

I cleared my throat for round two.

“Dear guard, as you can see… I’m not alone. I’ve brought with me a very special guest.”

I grabbed Evelyn’s hand and pulled her forward with all the confidence of a harem protagonist.
Come on, with that killer body of hers, they were bound to melt. I was a freakin’ genius.

A psychotic grin crept onto my face.
(Note: never smile like a psycho in front of armed guards.)

“FREEZE!” the guard yelled, pointing his pike at me.
This… was not how this was supposed to go.

“ARREST THEM!”

More guards poured out like someone had just thrown a Poké Ball full of soldiers.
They surrounded us in seconds.
Pikes everywhere.
No way to escape.

And that’s how we ended up here.

Turns out this city doesn’t take kindly to hot girls with horns, wings, and devil tails.
Though… okay, fair enough. Demons are trying to conquer the world.

“Well… I’ll think of something,” I said with all the optimism in the universe.
Spoiler: I didn’t.

We spent the next three days locked up eating a disgusting sludge that looked like goblin snot and tasted like soggy cardboard.

The dungeon rats, who had started out just staring at us from the shadows, had now formed an alliance and were clearly planning a large-scale assault to steal our food.

At this rate, we weren’t going to last much longer.

While I fought to defend our rations tooth and nail, Evelyn just laid there…
Tail swaying side to side.
As if we weren’t in the middle of a war.

And then, the moment of truth arrived.
The most important day of my life.
The final battle.

The rats lined up.
One of them looked like the leader.
I’m not sure, but it had a scar on its face and an eyepatch.
It moved like it had just marched out of the Ride of the Rohirrim scene in The Lord of the Rings.

The rat raised its claw and rallied the troops.
The attack was imminent.

On the other side, I waited…
Armed with a few pebbles tactically arranged around the mattress.
My last line of defense.

But just before the greatest war ever fought in a mid-range dungeon could begin...

A party-pooper soldier walked in.
Stomped his boot, shouted something, and scared off all the rats with the same ease as accidentally saving over your best game file.
Perfect… just when it was getting good…

Behind the soldier walked a man.
He radiated power.

He was older, with a long white beard, dressed in a dark blue robe covered in golden star patterns, and wore a pointy hat that flopped to one side with a little pom-pom at the end.
In his hands he held a thick book that looked as heavy as his wisdom.

A wizard.

“Greetings, traveler from lands very, very far away,” the man said in a deep, powerful voice.

“Yo,” I replied, raising my hand like we were old pals.

...

Awkward silence.
"Ahem, ahem."

The powerful wizard cleared his throat and continued.

“My name is Zaroth.”

No way. Even his name was cool. This guy had to be one hell of a wizard.

“And I’m the royal librarian.”

...

So much for the epic.

“I come by order of King Aldren Varelios the Third. He’s asked me to inquire about your intentions here in the city. More specifically… your companion’s,” said the old man —yes, he was now downgraded from wizard idol to old man— pointing at Evelyn, who was still lying there, totally detached from reality.

“Our intentions?” I repeated like someone had just reset my brain.

“That’s right. As you may know, we are currently at war with the demons. So showing up at the city gates with one at your side is… let’s say, suspicious.”

He had a point. And to think I believed Evelyn would be useful…

“Well, you see… I came to defeat the Demon King.”

And just like that.
No suspense.
No drama.
No subtlety.

“I see,” Zaroth said, nodding as if I had just uttered the dumbest thing anyone had ever told him in his long life.

Yeah… not taken seriously. At all.

But then something interesting happened.

“So, you’re here for the Demon King, huh? Then allow me to know your name, young man.”

“Kurosawa. Ren Kurosawa.”

“That’s a strange name,” the old man murmured, scratching his beard thoughtfully.

Honestly, it made him look smart.

“And where did you say you’re from?”

“Japan.”

What do you want me to say? I couldn’t think of anything else.

“Japan…?” Zaroth raised a brow, visibly surprised.

“Well then, Kurosawa Ren, we’ll allow you to leave… but you’ll be under surveillance,” he said, signaling the soldier to open the door.

“Hey, old man… why does a librarian have so much authority around here?”

That question was killing me. I had to ask.

Zaroth let out a soft chuckle. Elegant. The kind that makes you feel dumb and small.

“Because I’m not really a librarian…”

He spread his arms dramatically.

“I am the great Zaroth, royal mage and advisor!”

My eyes lit up like a kid meeting his childhood hero.
Wooooow… I knew it! He really is a wizard!

“For now, take this.”

He pulled a pouch from his robe and handed it to me.

“Here you have 5,000 argens. You may go to the city’s Adventurers’ Guild and register. You also have enough for a few nights at an inn and some proper meals. The rest… you’ll have to earn on your own.”

Now that’s how every good isekai begins.

“Thank you, Great Zaroth,” I said with a deep bow that seemed to please him more than he’d admit.

“Evelyn, we’re leaving,” I said, turning to her.

She was still sprawled out like a badly coded NPC, ignoring everything.

Since she wouldn’t respond, I used the only method guaranteed to get a reaction.

I grabbed her tail.
And sure enough…

That moan happened again.

...

And I blushed again.
As always.

“Come on, Evelyn… don’t get mad. It’s not my fault you ignore me.”

Evelyn was clearly annoyed.
Well, more annoyed than usual.
Guess grabbing her tail twice in one week wasn’t exactly something she took gracefully.

“Hmph,” she grumbled, arms crossed with that classic sexy-but-offended goddess face.

“Let’s go. We need to find the guild and ask for a place to stay.”

We walked through the streets of Norwenthia.
The city was full of life.
People everywhere, merchants shouting, blacksmiths hammering swords, bakers selling fresh bread, kids darting through alleys, guards in gleaming armor patrolling every corner…

It felt warm. Welcoming.
I almost forgot we were in prison just hours ago.

After a while, we finally arrived at the doors of the Adventurers’ Guild.

Before us stood a large building of dark stone and reinforced wood, two stories tall, with arched windows and a sloped roof covered in red tiles.
The main entrance had a massive double oak door adorned with golden fittings shaped like crossed swords.

Above the door hung a carved wooden sign with strange symbols and an emblem showing a feather, a sword, and a shield: the classic guild symbol.
On each side, enchanted torches glowed with a bluish flame that didn’t flicker even with the wind.

There was noise inside.
Laughter, shouting, mugs clinking, and the metallic sounds of armor shifting.

You could feel the tension, sure…
But also camaraderie.

It was the kind of place where you’d meet your best ally, your worst enemy… or die because you missed the fine print on a quest form.

Now this… this is starting to feel like a real isekai.