Chapter 9

The skies were already dark by the time they reached their destination. Large double doors formed the entrance to the village, but only one of them was open. Located in the middle of a large lake, the village was the primary route for travelers heading west. An alternative route exists, but it was much longer. People occasionally used the route during emergencies. For most people, resting in this village was the better option.

After arrival, they looked for an inn to stay at, but most of the inns were full. Apparently, they arrived at the wrong time. Storms in the west delayed travel, resulting in many carriages that arrived before curfew. Some carriages that could still leave before curfew decided to stay anyway, as they couldn’t get a significant distance before needing to camp.

The remaining options were expensive, so they decided to park at an empty part of the village reserved for carriages and sleep in the carriage. Neila had brought an extra sleeping bag, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable.

“...”

Kakashi couldn’t check the clock, but he was sure several hours had passed after he fell asleep. He pulled himself up. Neila and Astill were still asleep, sleeping next to each other, but the space next to him was empty. The skies outside were dark, stars twinkling in the distance.

Did… I dream about something?

Nightmares had become a common occurrence for him, but this time, he couldn’t remember. One thing is for sure: he woke up way too early. He pulled himself out of the sleeping bed and hopped off the carriage. The cold air assaulted him the second he stepped off, but it wasn’t the worst he experienced. If anything, it felt strangely comfortable.

There were some shops still open. Some of the occupants of the other carriages were sleeping, while others had gone off to enjoy the nightlife in town. He decided to look around for a bit and stepped away from the park. The roads were silent, most of the crowd inside the numerous buildings lining the streets.

He could hear the cheerful shouts and laughs of the crowd seeping through the windows of a tavern. He took a peek, looking at the many people cheerfully talking and having fun. Two groups surround a billiard table, which was a surprising sight. He decided against entering, however, primarily because he didn’t have a card, but also because he wasn’t sure what the nightlife in this world was like. Another reason was Neila. Considering how bad things got after she got drunk, he really wanted to avoid a similar situation.

He began taking steps away from that tavern when he heard the door open.

“Not going in?”

Kakashi turned around. Syorin stood there, her hand on the door handle.

“No.”

“Why?”

“I… I don’t know,” he answered, not sure which excuse he should use. “Were you inside?”

“I wanted to try some of the local drinks. Neila would absolutely be mad if she knew, though.”

Kakashi took a step away.

“Don’t worry, I handle my drinks well. I don’t think I ever get drunk, for that matter.”

“Neila also said she never got drunk…”

Syorin smirked. “You’re not wrong.” She let go of the handle, approached him, and stretched. “But I’m done anyway, so no need to worry.”

When she came closer, he noticed not the smell of alcohol, but the sweetness of strawberries. She gave him a sly grin. “I never said anything about drinking alcohol.”

“But you said…”

“Everything I said applies to strawberry smoothies.”

Kakashi tried recalling their conversation, and true enough, despite purposefully baiting him, none of the things she said applied solely to alcohol.

“Do you not like alcohol?” Kakashi asked.

“I never understood what’s so great about them. How about you?”

“I never drank alcohol before.”

Syorin raised her eyebrow. “Why?”

“I’m not old enough.”

“... How old are you?”

“Eighteen, by my world’s standards.”

The number of days within a year didn’t differ by much, though. In this world, the total number of days was 360, just slightly below Earth.

“Wait… How are you not allowed to drink? You should have had your first drink three years ago.”

“Where I came from, the minimum age is twenty.”

“I cannot imagine Neila waiting that long.”

“She probably should.”

“I can’t agree more on that.” Syorin snickered. “Well, since you’re not drinking, how about looking for a late-night snack instead?”

“Sure.”

The two began their walk around the village. Unlike Larela, most of the buildings in this village were built with stone. It still had wooden roofs painted in all sorts of bright colors, although discerning one color from the other was difficult thanks to the darkness.

“Anything you want to eat?” Syorin asked.

“I haven’t tasted much of this world’s food yet.”

While the fried chicken tasted similar, he could really taste the cream. A lot of the other foods were like that as well. Some of them felt familiar, while others were drastically different. He almost cried the other day because of the spicy barbecue, which was ridiculously spicy. He couldn’t imagine anyone on Earth taking on that level of spice willingly.

“How about looking for something warm? Noodles, for example.”

Noodles were a common food in his homeland, and he was very curious to see what noodles were like in this world.

“Sure. I would love to. Do you know a spot?”

Syorin tapped her chin. “I asked one of the guards earlier for a good tavern around here… but I haven’t asked anything about noodles.”

“Should we try asking them?”

“Maybe that’s a good idea.”

They turned around, heading back toward the gate. There, the guard recommended a place near the Northeast side of town. Tucked in a small alley, the place was filled with people. The smell of freshly cooked noodles floated all the way to the main street, making it impossible to miss.

There was a crowd gathered in front of the shop, waiting for their turn to order. Kakashi and Syorin joined the queue. Thanks to the chef’s fast moves, the long queue moved fast, and they didn’t wait for more than ten minutes for their turn to order. Syorin paid for the order with her card, and they took their bowls full of steaming hot noodles to an empty table.

The noodles themselves looked similar to noodles with curry, but instead of curry, the curry part had been replaced with a recipe that used chocolate. Kakashi looked at it curiously. The people around him were all enjoying it, but he couldn’t imagine what noodles with chocolate would taste like.

“Hmm… delicious,” Syorin said, letting out a sigh. At the end, his curiosity won out, and he took a spoonful of the noodles and brought it to his mouth.

“... This is not bad.”

The chocolate tasted sweet and sour, with a hint of bitterness, giving the noodle a refreshing taste. He wasn’t sure if it could be called chocolate in the first place, or maybe it was this world’s version of chocolate. Regardless of what the true ingredients were, it tasted great, and he scooped up some more. There were numerous ingredients, but all of them were balanced so that no one taste overpowered the other. Instead, it became a harmony of all the flavors coming together to create the delicious taste.

“No wonder this place is crowded.”

Other than the taste, the other selling point is how large the portions were. It was so large that the two of them ended up buying one bowl and splitting it between them. There was a smaller bowl option, but the larger ones had extra variations of vegetables, so they went for the larger one.

“I used to know someone who loves cooking.”

“Your family?”

“A brother, I guess.”

“I hope I can meet him one day.”

Syorin smiled. “You might. How about you, Kakashi? Do you have any siblings?”

“I have a cousin, but we're not close. I do have someone else… but I couldn't see him again.”

“You did die…”

It's easy for him to forget that he had, in fact, died. Several days have passed, and there were no signs of him ever returning to that world. He didn't want to, and hoped this wasn't just a dream.

To make sure, he slapped himself, which surprised Syorin.

“Kakashi?”

“In my world, if you slap yourself and feel pain, then it's not a dream.”

“I'm not sure how I'll feel if I find out I'm in your dream.” Syorin chuckled.

“You'll be one of the main characters, probably.”

She tilted her head. “Me? If I'm in your dream… shouldn't that make you the main character?” She stated as if it were obvious.

“I don't have the quality of main characters.”

“If you say that… then I have to wonder what the stories in your world are like,” Syorin laughed. Her laugh quickly faded, replaced by a soft smile.

“Still… I don't think you're a bad person, Kakashi.”

Kakashi was taken aback by Syorin’s words. “Why… Did you say that?”

“You’re worried about what Astill had been saying, aren’t you?”

While it’s true that Astill had been saying pretty harsh things to him, it didn’t affect him all that much. If anything, what she said made sense. She’s a stranger, after all. Of course, she would be wary of him. He faced harsher words from people who, blood relation-wise, were closer to him.

“She’s always like that, even from when we first met. Don’t worry about her.” Syorin mixed up some of the noodles with the chocolate and then scooped it up to her mouth. She chewed, a smile on her face.

“I don’t know why she acted like that, but I promise, she’s a kind person deep inside,” she said, her eyes on the noodles as she continued stirring them.

It was surprising to hear this from Syorin, who often fought with her.

“Do you know why she joined you on your travels?” he asked curiously.

Syorin reacted with a shrug. “I asked her about it, but she refused to give me an answer.”

“Then… Why did you travel?”

Syorin raised her face, then laughed. “It had been a while since someone last asked me that. Promise you wouldn’t laugh?”

“Promise.”

Syorin stopped stirring and smiled. “It’s simple, really. I just want to go around, travel the world.”

In this world, people don't travel for vacation often. While high-speed transportation did exist using dragons, they were expensive. Most dragons could carry only three to four people, including the pilot. Most people who traveled far were either merchants or adventurers, using slower methods of transport like carriages.

That may be a funny reason for the people of this world, but not for him.

“I… don’t think that’s funny at all.”

“You don’t? That’s good to hear, then. Since, you know, it’s not a common dream.”

Even most adventurers stayed within their province, so he understood why Syorin might consider it uncommon.

“Is that… your only reason?”

Syorin nodded. “Simple, isn’t it?”

For some reason, Kakashi felt something off, but she seemed sincere when she said that, so he probably misunderstood something. Just like how she misunderstood him being afraid of Astill.

“Anyway, let’s finish this and head back,” Syorin said, before he could ask anything else.

“Yeah.”

The two finished the rest of their noodles and returned to the carriage.