The World of Demi-Humans

After Both Shouya and Alisa introduced themselves, they talked to each other about their daily lives; their hobbies, their likes, everything they ever talked about. Although, being that Shouya is from a different world from this one, Alisa doesn’t understand what Shouya was talking about and she decides to laugh it off as a made up story.

After a short while, they heard a low growling noise. Alisa covered her mouth and let out a small chuckle.

“I guess you are hungry, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yeah, I guess so.”

Just after Shouya timidly answered Alisa’s question, there was another growling noise. This time, it came from Alisa’s stomach.

“But I guess it’s not just me who is hungry.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Do you guys serve food here?”

“Of course! Here, I’ll take you to the cafeteria.”

From there, Alisa begins to guide Shouya from the room. They toured across the hall and passed a couple of doors behind them and down the steps. Then they have entered a huge room with multiple empty tables scattered across the room.

Alisa spreads her left arm towards the large room as she presents it to Shouya.

“Here it is! This is the cafeteria. We’re about to prepare breakfast in the back, so do you mind waiting here? We’re about to make our breakfast special”

“Oh, sure. But what is ‘breakfast special’?”

“You’ll just have to find out.”

Alisa winks her right eye as she heads towards the kitchen to make breakfast for both her and Shouya. While he waits for Alisa, Shouya sits down at the nearest empty table close to him as he looks around the cafeteria around him. Although the tables were set up, not a single person is in the room, the only people here are both Shouya and Alisa.

Was it probably because everyone is still sleeping that it's too early to wake up? I guess that makes sense. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't even know what time it is.

Does this world have the same time system like in his world, or this world has a different time system that is unfamiliar to him? Shouya couldn’t tell from his own assumptions, but he assumes that would be the case. He reaches down to his pocket and notices that something was wrong.

“Huh? My phone...it’s gone?! I could’ve sworn I had it with me.”

Shouya searched both of his front and back pockets to search for his phone, but it was nowhere to be found. However, he feels a rough lump inside his pocket. To his surprise, it was his wallet that actually traveled with him in this new world. His wallet is his only means of survival. Without it, he can’t pay for food, clothes, or a place to stay.

“Oh, my wallet. Glad I still have it with me. Actually, I wonder how the currency system works in this world, too. Is it the same back in my world? Would’ve wanted to find out.”

He takes out his wallet from his pocket and looks inside to see if the contents are intact. However, Shouya gave a surprised “what the?!” as he found that it is not regular money, but rather a bundle of gold coins inside. Not only his money changed shape, but his wallet changed, as well. It was once a modern foldable wallet that he used from his world, now it’s a small hand-size brown bag.

Shouya’s wallet used to contain an assortment of coins and a large amount of money—twenty-eight hundred yen—as currency in his world. Somehow in this world, his wallet contains an assortment of thirty-nine gold coins.

The idea of converting his money from his own world into this world’s currency is rather strange, but it is also very useful to him. But who would do such a thing? Who would go on their way to transform his money into coins without Shouya’s permission?

“Oho! Who do we have here?”

Shouya's ears folded back as the booming, loud voice broke the room’s silence. He tries to find out where the source was coming from. Then, he turns around and he sees a tall, muscular-built man in his early-to-mid forties with dreadlocks on his hair in front of him. But unlike both Shouya and Alisa, whose appearance is based on anthropomorphic animals, he appears to look like a regular human. However, he also has wolf-like ears and a tail just like Shouya.

Shouya, astonished by man’s large, physique appearance, asks the braided wolf-human.

“W-Who are you?”

“Who, me? The name’s Gunther, I’m the owner of this inn.”

“Ah, so you’re the owner.”

Holy crap, you’re huge! As if Shouya wanted to say but couldn’t get it out as he didn’t expect that he would meet the owner himself face-to-face.

Gunther sat on the chair right next to Shouya and started a conversation with him.

“So what does a kid like you doing up early in the morning?”

“Well…”

But before Shouya can say anything, his stomach growls loudly. He was lucky that his stomach reminded him. Otherwise, he would be leaving this place without getting a chance to eat and he would die from hunger.

Gunther made a chuckle as he began to understand why Shouya was in the cafeteria in the first place.

“Well, that answers my question.”

“Guess you’re also here for the breakfast special, aren’t you?”

“That’s what Alisa-san just told me before I went to the kitchen to make it.”

“Really now? I was wondering where she went. Taking care of your old man, huh, Alisa?”

“How so?”

As Shouya asks him a question on what he was talking about, Gunther stares into space as he takes a trip down memory lane.

“Well, I’ve been working here as long as I can remember. When I first met her, she was just a little pup back then. She told me that her parents weren’t around anymore, so I decided to take her in and hire her. From then on, she brought joy and happiness, and even made friends with everyone around in this place. It brings a tear to my eye.”

“So she’s like the daughter you never had, huh?”

“And here I thought I was the only person who makes jokes around here.”

Gunther made a hearty laugh as he thought Shouya made a joke.

It seems that Shouya has figured out that both Gunther and Alisa are not blood related, but took care of her and adopted her like a stray dog on the street. He couldn’t imagine what would happen if no one took her in and left her on the street.

It’s a good thing she is lucky to have someone who actually cares for her; Shouya could not imagine if someone didn’t find her. He could not help but feel sympathy for her, but...

“I’m back!”

Before both Shouya and Gunther continued the conversation, Alisa’s voice rang as she came out from the kitchen.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Oh, good morning, Gunther. I didn’t know you were here with him.”

“Your friend and I are having a little conversation. I like him, he ain’t that bad of a kid after all.”

“Kid? I’m actually seventeen years old.”

“Well you do look like a kid from where I’m seeing, but I guess my eyes are failing me.”

“Well, I’m actually turning eighteen in a couple of weeks, so I can see why there’s a small difference.”

“How about I’ll give you a drink tonight? It’s on the house.”

“N-No thanks. I don’t drink alcohol.”

“You’re being responsible, I like that.”

Choosing to decline the offer was the right thing to do. What kind of a person would ever ask Shouya—a minor—to accept that kind of offer? Any adult would’ve known this by now. Is the age limit to drink different in this world?

Shouya had just remembered something and looked at Alisa.

“That reminds me. How did it go on your end, Alisa-san?”

“You’ll quite like this.”

Alisa claps her hands twice and shows him the big reveal. What came out of the kitchen is a cat-eared man pushing a cart of large variety types of breakfast to choose from; pancakes, eggs, toast, and even bacon. There’s no doubt about it, food in this world is indeed similar to the food in his world.

Shouya can do nothing but look at the food with sparkles in his eyes as the food comes closer and stops right beside Shouya’s table. The food just looks so mouth watering that he just wants to eat it whole.

The man placed the plate of food on the table and both Alisa and Gunther sat on their chairs next to Shouya.

The three of them placed their hands together and said “Thank you for the meal.” before they begin to eat their morning breakfast.

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“Hey, that is a funny story!”

Gunther bawled with laughter and slapped his own knee, as if he heard a hilarious joke.

Some time has passed since the three of them had begun eating their breakfast. Both Alisa and Gunther had already finished their food and Shouya had just started drinking his glass of milk. Of course, he nearly spat out because Alisa had told Gunther about the conversation that Shouya and Alisa had back in his room.

Like Alisa, Gunther did not believe what Shouya said and laughed it off. No matter how hard someone tries to tell the same story to someone, no one would ever believe in Shouya’s make-believe story.

“Th-That could be true, you know.”

“Listen, there’s no such thing as ‘another world’. It’s just mumbo jumbo that elves would’ve made up.”

“Elves...?”

Shouya murmured to himself as he did not expect to hear that elves actually existed in this world.

The Elf race are basically the typical, run-in-the-mill race of demi-humans that appears in every video game, anime, and light novel. They take the form of a regular human, except they have long, pointy ears, and they mostly live in forests as their preferred living habitat. They are also known as the archer class, honing their skills from generation to generation.

Since Shouya has been transported to a fantasy world, he’ll hopefully get to see one in person soon.

“Anyways, I guess I should open this place soon.”

“I’ll help out.”

Just as Gunther got up from the table, Alisa does the same and follows behind Gunther.

Now that I think about it, I don’t even know where this place is. If I’m in an inn, then I must be in a village. But this place has a high-quality city feel to them, so there’s no way I’m in a village. A city, maybe?

Shouya could not figure out where in the world he was. A town? Or maybe a city? He tries to guess based on the inn’s structure, but no matter how hard he tries, he does not have a clue where he is.

Shouya drank his last sip of milk before he got up from the table.

“I think I should head out, but I really don’t know where the exit is.”

“Well would you like to come with us? I was just about to open the doors.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Shouya agrees and decides to follow both Gunther and Alisa. From there, the three of them walked from the cafeteria and into the main hall.

The hall’s structure is very large compared to the second floor narrow and linear hallway, and the place is decorated with medieval-esque antiques hanging on the walls, such as a large clock, some severed animal heads, and even weapons such as shields and twin axes.

This is the first time that Shouya has seen something like this in person. He often sees it as background in every video game. They’re sometimes used for secret passages for hidden rewards, intel on the weapon’s lore, or serve no purpose to the story. Seeing this first hand makes the world feel alive.

Shouya, Alisa, and Gunther walked up to the nearest door right in front of them, and Gunther picked a key from his pocket, inserted the key and turned it, making a clicking sound.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, What city are we in?”

“We're in a city called Vincilos. One of the greatest cities in the world. Why'd you ask?”

“Honestly, I don’t know anything about this place. So I was wondering if you guys have any history here.”

As Alisa was puzzled why Shouya suddenly asked that question, he did bring up a good point. Having no knowledge of this city’s history and lore, and having that he’d just been transported into another world, it would make sense for Shouya to ask either Alisa or Gunther for information about this city—Vincilos.

While Shouya found out the name of the location, Gunther broke out a laugh.

“You’re very lucky to have me around. I’ve been here for more than twenty years or so. So if you’re asking for locations that I know, I’m your man.”

“Too bad for a man who's been here so long that his brain is starting to age fast.”

“Oh c’mon, don’t diss your old man like that.”

“Gwah! Okay! I give, I give!”

Gunther playfully pats Alisa’s fluffy, orange head with his huge hand. He patted her head so hard that it might explode at any moment. Luckily for her, it was a sign of affection. She is lucky to have someone to love and care for her.

Shouya gave a dry laugh at the situation between the two.

“Anyways, I’m interested to see what the city looks like.”

“Well you’re in luck, because this place is now open for business.”

From there, Gunther pushes the wooden door in front of him. A bright light begins to shine and enters the hall of the inn.

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It is truly a rare sight to see; it is so surreal that Shouya could not believe it. From the other side of the door, he can see a lot of people from different races of demi-humans passing by: dog-humans, cat-humans, elves, and even beast-humans that almost look just like Shouya and Alisa. He also saw some unfamiliar races that he has never seen before, such as the lizardmen and bird-people roaming on the streets.

Shouya was astonished when he saw how beautiful this city was around him. He even turns around to see a large number of buildings below him. And at the end of the city is the large, beautiful blue ocean.

This place is, indeed, a sight to remember.

“How do you like it?”

“I can see why you said ‘it’s one of the best.’”

He can’t take his eyes off at the awe-inspiring landscape. The city almost resembles an old landmark that he learned back in his own world. Man-made stone buildings, a shopping district, and he can even see some boats floating on the ocean from the distance. This is something that Shouya has never seen before, and yet, this city is eye-catching.

“This city is really gorgeous. It’s like you really...don’t want to...leave here.”

But as Shouya wanted to look a little more from the view, he collapsed on his knees as if gravity was pulling him in.

“Ah, Shouya! Are you okay?”

“This place...is so hot...”

His body is heavy, his blood is boiling, and his sweat is starting to fall out of his body. The heatwave is so strong that Shouya is unable to stand at this point. Shouya lays on the floor panting as he tries to beg someone to give him something to cool him off.

Alisa tries to fan Shouya with her hand, it is still not enough to cool him off.

“Stand back! This will help you right away!”

“Pwah!”

It was until Shouya’s body was hit with a pound of water splashed on top of him. Person who poured it on him is none other than Gunther. He was carrying a large wooden barrel on his shoulder; the water probably came from the barrel that he was holding. But since he used it to cool off Shouya, it is now just a regular, empty barrel.

It was enough to cool him off and he was relieved that his life was saved by the large beast-human. Without his help, Shouya would have died from the heat and he would’ve really been sent to another world—in other words, Heaven.

Shouya had just been transported into this world and did not know anything about this city, so he has no way of knowing how hot the city really is. What’s worse is that when he first entered into this world, his body had transformed into a human-like wolf with fur around his body. The fur around him made Shouya twice as hot. A mixture of heat and fur is not a very good combination.

“You’re a lifesaver. I almost died if you hadn't saved me.”

Shouya, now-drenched in water, thanks Gunther as he carries Shouya on his shoulder and brings him back to his inn.

“You don’t have to thank me. I came to help a friend in need.”

“A friend? But I just met you.”

“That’s right. That’s because everyone here is my friend, including you.”

“So basically, you are befriending me, even though you’ve just met me?”

“Exactly!”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

Shouya exclaimed how nonsense that logic was and Gunther roared out a laughter. Gunther placed Shouya on a chair while Alisa placed two glasses of water on the table in front of him.

“T-Thanks.”

With all the heat still inside Shouya, he couldn’t help it but take a sip of a glass of water and drink it. Then as Shouya was drinking, he started to notice something from the glass. Alisa slightly tilted her head as he was puzzled by Shouya’s reaction.

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I wonder how the water is still freezing cold without any ice in it?”

When Shouya took a sip of the glass, the water felt like the temperature was cold. However, there wasn’t any ice in it. How did they serve a cold glass of water without any ice in it?

“Now that I think about it, how is this inn cold while it is hot outside?”

When Shouya first entered this world, he didn’t think about what was cooling him off in the first place. The inn would’ve been hot at the same time he got into this world. Strangely enough, that did not happen.

Shouya would’ve thought that there was an air conditioner or something that keeps the inn cool, but that was out of the question. He could not see a single piece of modern technology that is present in this world. What was cooling this place? How did they manage it?

“Oh, haven’t you noticed?”

“Noticed what?”

As Shouya questions what Alisa was talking about, she puts her hand in her apron pocket and goes through what she is searching for. Gunther, too, searches for something from his pocket as well. Shouya quiescently tilted his head to the side to find out what they could be searching for.

They took out their hand from their pocket and showed it to Shouya. He sees a couple of diamond-shaped crystals glowing blue and green from the palms of their hands. Shouya’s eyes widened in amazement to see the crystals glow beautifully.

“These here are Magi-gems.”

“Magi-gems?”

“Mm-hm. They’re crystals that you can cast different types of elemental magic. They’re very common here in Vincilos. Each Magi-gem has a color that represents their element. Red is fire. Blue is water. Green is wind. Brown is earth. Yellow is light. And purple is darkness. What you’re seeing here is the Element of Water and the Element of Wind. Pretty basic.”

“Ah— I see...”

So they are basically special magic items.

He was very familiar with these basic items by playing an RPG (Role Playing Game) back in his own world. They are items that helps the main character that is in a tough situation, like potions if you are running out of HP (Health Points), or elixirs if you are running out of MP (Mana Points).

With the Magi-gems in hand, Alisa went on explaining, “Unlike mages, who use mana to cast a spell, Magi-gems don’t need mana. You can just cast a spell any time you want, and anyone can use them. The best part about them is that you can mix them up. That is how we mixed both water and wind Magi-gems to make cool water.”

Even without technology, they find a way to survive by using Magi-gems. And judging by its size, it can fit in a pocket so they can bring it on the go. It is indeed a handy item to have at their disposal.

“So you can use them as many times as you like, right?”

“That’s not entirely true.”

Gunther, who was listening to the lesson the entire time, spoke up and replied to Shouya. Alisa nodded to agree with Gunther's statements.

“He’s right. The downside to these things is how many times you can use it. Magi-gems are limited to how much you’ve used it up. If they have no color, then that means you can’t use them anymore. We even have to replace them every once a week for a new one.”

Replacing the Magi-gems with new ones every week can be a hassle because they would have to spend money every week to get new Magi-gems. It is basically like changing batteries for a remote control and replacing it with new ones.

“But can you charge the crystals?”

“You could. However, they can only be recharged if they meet certain conditions.”

“‘What are the conditions?”

“It depends on what the elements are based on. For example: if you want to recharge the Magi-gem of Fire, you need to heat it up where the temperature is hot, like, hold it on top of a fireplace, or throw it into a volcano and it will recharge it instantly.”

“But how on earth are you going to get it back?!”

Ignoring Shouya’s exclaim, she continued, “For Magi-gem of Water, you need to cool it where the temperature is cold, like, put it in cold water or in a freezer for a long time. For Magi-gem of Wind, you need to blow it with air. For Magi-gem of Earth, you need to put it with dirt. For Magi-gem of Light, you need to place it in direct sunlight. And lastly, for Magi-gem of Darkness, you need to put it where the light can’t contact it.”

Alisa has explained the guide on how Magi-gems actually work. It was a lot of information to take in, but Shouya got it handled quite well. Shouya now knows the layouts of what Magi-gems can and cannot do. It was the simplest piece of information that he had learned.

As Shouya now understands how Magi-gem works in this world, Alisa claps her hands together as she ends her explanation.

“And that concludes what I’ve said so far. Got any questions?”

With the explanation of how Magi-gems finished, Alisa asks if Shouya wants to know more about the gems. But before he can ask her a question, Gunther raises his hand before Shouya does. Why would he ask if he already knew how it works? Is it something that Alisa left out?

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“What is it?”

Gunther looks at Shouya with his sapphire blue eyes and he points his finger at him with a puzzled look on his face.

“What are you wearing?”

“—Ah!”

This is something that Shouya hasn’t noticed before. Unlike the clothings that both Alisa and Gunther wore, Shouya wears a cyan-blue school uniform with white highlights from his world. He hadn’t realized that he is wearing clothes from his world to a world that is different from his until Gunther pointed out just now.

He recalled when he came out of the inn and saw the city for the first time, he saw a lot of people wearing medieval-like clothes that he had never seen before. He remembered seeing people wearing iron-plated armor, some of them wore robes covered from head to toe, and some of them were wearing different kinds of tunics.

Compared to Shouya’s modern clothing from his world and this world’s medieval-like clothing, this makes him stand out the most.

In response to Gunther’s question, Shouya answers him as he already knows what it is.

“It’s my school uniform.”

“A school uniform? I’ve never seen a scholar wear clothing like that before.”

“I heard that there’s a school in the far east that wears a uniform that is similar to the one he is wearing. That could be the case.”

Just as Alisa strokes her chin with her fingers, Gunther nods in agreement.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. But why are you wearing such heavy clothing in a hot place like Vincilos? You’ll suffocate if you’re gonna keep wearing that outside.”

“I don’t know about it myself, honestly.”

Ever since Shouya got into this world, both his appearances and his money have changed drastically. The only thing that did not change was his clothing. Why did Shouya’s clothes remain the same? Shouldn’t it change into this world’s clothing as well?

As Gunther stated, wearing heavy clothing in hot weather is dangerous. If he is not careful enough, he will possibly be dealing with Death himself.

“Why not wrap the jacket around your waist?”

As Gunther offered Shouya a suggestion, Alisa snapped her fingers at Gunther’s brilliant and smart idea.

“Why didn’t I think of that? Why not do that for the time being? You’ll be more comfortable that way.”

“I guess that’ll work.”

Shouya begins to unbutton and take off his jacket, revealing a plain, white T-shirt on him. Then he grabs the sleeves of his jacket, wraps it around his waist, and ties it, making it into a knot. He tightened the sleeves and let go of them, letting them dangle on his waist.

The jacket obscures the view of his tail, but nonetheless, Shouya feels a little relieved to get some of the heat off of him.

“This should do it, I guess.”

“Oh, and take these with you on the way.”

Gunther reached out his hand to Shouya to show him two colored Magi-gems—green and blue—from his hand.

“A-Are you sure? But what about your business? Don’t you need them to keep your place cool?”

“Don’t you worry about me. We have more in the back just in case. Besides, you won’t know when you need them the most. ‘My friends come first before myself’ as they say.”

“You really think of me as a friend?”

“Of course I do.”

That still doesn’t make any sense! Shouya wanted to scream at Gunther, but he kept it to himself.

But Shouya was hesitant to believe that what Gunther said was true. Why would he go through on helping Shouya, even if he does not know anything about him? It’s like he does not have a care in the world to know about others.

Shouya sighs and decides to accept Gunther’s offer as he grabs the two Magi-gems and puts them in his pocket. Even though what Gunther said is nonsense, at least he gave Shouya something that is useful. But Shouya does not care. All that matters is if he can successfully survive in this world and return to his own world with his own body, he can finally live a peaceful normal life.

Just as after Gunther gave the Magi-gems to Shouya, Alisa clapped her hands together to grab their attention.

“Now then, shall we head off?”

“To where? And what do you mean ‘we?’”

“Well, you and me, of course.”

“Wait, why?”

“Obviously you need some help to pick out some clothes for you. You wouldn’t want to wear that forever, would you?”

Looking at himself and compared to the other people he saw, Alisa does indeed have a point. He may have taken off his jacket, but it is not enough to cool him down. He has to find a new set of clothes that feels comfortable in the hot weather. On top of that, he needs to wear this world's clothes so that he can blend with the people in this world. If he keeps wearing the school uniform in this world, it would make him feel out of place.

“I guess you’re right.”

Shouya has no choice but to accept Alisa's assistance. Alisa's cheery voice rang around the empty cafeteria.

“Alright, let’s head out!”

“You seemed excited about it.”

“Well not every day you get to go somewhere with someone by your side. Gunther and I usually go out to do errands and get some supplies for the inn, but we do sometimes take time off from work and enjoy ourselves. Anyways, let’s go! See you later, boss man!”

Alisa held Shouya's hand and both of them exited the cafeteria. Gunther waves goodbye as he sees them leaving from his sights. As both of them left, he sighs.

“That girl. What am I going to do with you?”

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Both Shouya and Alisa began walking along through the crowd of demi-humans around them. Some people walk on foot while others ride on wooden carriages with different shapes and sizes being pulled by either large lizards or a pack of dogs. He sees them being used for transporting civilians or valuable goods from one location to the next.

Seeing different races passing by and how unique this world is made Shouya’s eyes widened in spectacular as he was filled with wonder and excitement.

“Wow. This is a pretty nice city. I never imagined that I would get to see a city as amazing as this, Alisa-san”

“It sure is. This city is well known for its beautiful scenery. When I wake up in the morning, I look out the window and say ‘Good morning world! Another brand new day for work, isn’t it? Sounds to me like this is your first time here.”

“Well I haven't been outside of my country before, so this is all new to me.”

Other than traveling to different regions of Japan, Shouya had never visited any foreign countries of the world before. It was not because he didn't want to go to another country, it was due to the fact that his family was too busy with their jobs that they didn’t have time to do other stuff. His family works very hard and they don't get paid much, so Shouya gets paid very little from his allowance and often saves his money for stuff he wants.

“I can see why just by saying that word.”

“What word?”

“That word, ‘san’. What does it mean?”

“Ah—”

Not realizing it until now, Shouya has been using honorifics ever since he came into this world. This puts him in an awkward situation.

In the Japanese language, similar to “mister” or “missus” back in his world, someone would often call them “san”, “chan”, “sama”, “kun”, “dono”, or “sensei”, depending on who you are talking to. It is a suffix that represents that person’s rank and status, and it is also a sign of respect and the relationship to that person.

However, this is not Japan, this is a whole new world that Shouya is unfamiliar with, so using Japanese honorifics in this world would be out of place.

“I-It’s something that we say back in my country. But if it’s that annoying, I can stop saying it if you like.”

“Oh no, I don’t mind it. I’ve never heard of it before, but it’s kinda a cute nickname, actually.”

Alisa shakes her hand at Shouya as she thinks calling her “san” is cute. What’s so cute about an honorific? is what Shouya would’ve asked her, but he kept that question to himself.

“Hey, how about I give you one as well?”

“You don’t really have to.”

“Come on, it’ll be a cool one. Pretty please?”

Shouya looks at the poor fox-girl’s expression as she is pleading to him that she wants to give him a nickname for him. She is like a child who really wants a new toy so bad that they begged their parents to buy one for them.

Shouya couldn’t help it but to give in.

“If that is what you want, I suppose I’ll let you nickname me.”

Alisa gave a cheerful “yay” to express her joy that she get to nickname Shouya. He had never seen her this happy before, probably he had managed to make someone happy for the first time in his life. Shouya can do nothing but hold back a smile.

Alisa places her hand on the cheek and taps the temple with her finger, trying to think of a good nickname for Shouya. Then she snapped her fingers as she had found a nickname to give to Shouya.

“Oh, I know! How about I’ll call you ‘Sho’, if it’s okay with you?”

“I don’t mind it, actually.”

“Alright then, Sho it is! Let’s go Sho!”

After Alisa had given Shouya a nickname, they continued to walk down the streets of Vincilos. Then, they have arrived at the city’s main source of income; the shopping district. The place is filled with people that are selling goods from the stands, like; food, jewelry, furniture, and even Magi-gems are being sold to customers.

Shouya recalled that Alisa said that Magi-gems are very common in this city. She wasn’t lying, there are some stands selling Magi-gems at an affordable price. However, Shouya could not read the words that were written on the sign. Probably because there is a huge language barrier between his previous world and this world. That’s why he couldn’t understand it. Living in a world without any knowledge about this world’s language just makes it more difficult than he thought.

“Looks like we’re here.”

Upon arriving at their destination, Alisa announces the location and Shouya looks up to see the sign above him. Although he couldn’t read what it said, he could see the familiar picture right next to it.

“Is this a…”

Tailor? That is what Shouya wanted to say. Next to him, he sees a pair of mannequins wearing bright colored clothes behind the glass window. If this is a tailor store, then there have to be clothes inside there. But Shouya ponders as he is not sure how much it would cost for a piece of clothing.

He had been to the tailor store several times to buy materials for his cosplay for the convention. But now that Shouya is stuck in this world, his dream to go to the convention becomes wasted, and his opportunity to meet the boy and tell him the truth can never come true.

As Shouya thought about it for a while, Alisa called out to him.

“Hey, why are you standing around for Sho? First time?”

“No. I’ve been to these kinds of stores a couple of times.”

Well...not anymore now that I’m stuck here.

Both Shouya and Alisa enter the store and see a line of colorful clothes and material hanging on the side of the walls. He was blown back to see how many clothes he had never seen before. To Alisa, it was no surprise, but to Shouya, however, this is brand new to him.

“—Ah, welcome!”

The voice comes from a rack of clothes that was in front of them. There is a man in his late-twenties and his appearance is similar to Gunther. However, unlike Gunther, whose appearance closely resembles a dog with only dog ears and a tail, the man has cat ears on top of his head and tail that resembles a cat.

“Is there something I can help you with today?”

“I was hoping that you have some clothes for my friend here.”

“Alright, let me take a look at him, shall we?

The cat-eared man begins to reach down to his own pocket and takes out a small, hand-size measuring tape and begins to measure Shouya’s body.

Why am I getting the sense of deja vu?

Shouya recalled not too long ago, the boy from his school checked his body to figure out what was going on with him. The cat-eared human is doing the same thing, except he is checking out Shouya’s body to figure out his size and length.

The man measures around Shouya’s waist, his neck, he measures Shouya’s body from head-to-toe. While at the same time, he takes out a flipbook and a pencil and takes notes on Shouya’s size and height.

Alisa, on the other hand, looks around the store to see the various, colorful clothes that are hanging in the shop.

The cat-human retracts measuring tape and rolls it up, declaring that he has finished measuring Shouya's body.

“Alright, I’m all done! I think I have some clothes that might fit you. You can wait for me in the fitting room if you like. I’ll bring them to you right away.”

After he instructs Shouya to wait for his clothes to be brought, he begins to search what Shouya is going to wear. Shouya walks over to the fitting room as he suggested.

Alisa approaches Shouya while he waits for the cat-eared man to bring the clothes to him.

“I hope it looks pretty.”

“Yeah... Say, are you going to wear that?”

Shouya looks down and sees Alisa holding a short, amber-colored dress in her hands. The dress that she picked looked like she is ready to go out to a ball.

“Well I was going to try it out and see if it fits me, and I was wondering if I can get your opinion on it.”

“It does look good on you.”

“You really think so? I mean, my only complaint is that I don't really like the color, but I can't help it but love the design.”

Hearing Shouya’s opinion gives Alisa a joyful smile on her face as she chatters to herself about the dress.

After ten minutes of waiting, the cat-eared human returned to Shouya and Alisa with a couple of clothes in his hands.

“Alright, I’ve found a couple of clothes that you may like. It’s not much, but it’s all I have. Care to try some on?”

“S-Sure.”

He hands Shouya four different kinds of clothing that he is going to wear. Shouya heads towards one of the rooms, and he locks the door from the inside. He placed the clothes separately on a bench in front of him, dividing them into four sets.

Shouya thinks to himself as he is trying to think about what clothes he is going to wear.

Hmm, they all looked pretty good, and very colorful, too. But, I don’t know what I am going to wear.

This is a difficult decision for Shouya; the clothes that the cat-human picked out four sets of clothing for him are not familiar to his knowledge. He would’ve asked the man to singly give him different clothing one by one, but it’s already too late for it.

He looked at the first set. The first set has a green t-shirt with brown pants and brown boots.

This is like something that a military would wear. Almost everything is green, kinda like camouflage. Huh, weird…

Similar to military clothing back in his old world, they are usually used at boot camps to train people to become soldiers. After boot camp, they were given uniforms to match the environments. Of course, Shouya has seen this when he was watching anime, even movies that involve military stuff. He wanted to be strong just like them. However, he has no intention to work for the military anytime soon—or possibly, never.

Shouya turns his eyes and moves on to the second set of clothes. The second set has a short, orange t-shirt and brown shorts, along with toeless shoes and a red scarf as an accessory.

It’s a decent set, great for hot weather. I’m not a fan of shorts, but the shirt is okay, and the shoes? Ah, now that I think about it, most people I see in this world walk around almost barefooted. The reason being is that the claws on their toes would just rip the fabric. So it makes sense why they go around barefooted. But is the scarf really necessary? Actually, I don’t want to answer that.

Ignoring the small detail, he shakes his head and he moves on with the third set. The third set has a long-sleeved, dark-blue shirt with white highlights, gray pants and a pair of black shoes.

The design of it looks really good. It’s normal, it’s casual, and it almost looks similar to my school uniform. Well, ‘similar’ isn’t the right word I would phrase it. It almost feels like I’m back home. But still, I kind of like it.

Unlike the last two sets, Shouya somewhat actually likes the third set. Based on his expression, it is most likely this set may be his best choice.

He then moves on to the fourth and last set. And from there, he sees a set that has a long, red jacket, long khaki pants, and pairs of iron-plated boots. However, Shouya gave an odd sour face as if to say What the heck is this?

I’m not going to wear that. Not only does it look heavy, but it looks so flashy—no, too flashy. Not to mention that it’s so expensive. There is no way I’m going to wear that.

Without even trying on the outfit, Shouya chooses not to use the fourth set and moves it to the side, ignoring its existence. He is now left with only three sets of clothing. Shouya is now in deep thought about what he will wear in public.

Alright, I guess three of them are enough. All of them are nice, and I can easily fit in with everyone. But it's kinda hard to choose which one. Ugh, think Shouya, think.

“Are you alright in there?”

Shouya was so focused on what to wear that he had forgotten that he was still in the room for a while, and by the sound of the voice on what he heard, the cat-eared man was concerned about what might have happened to Shouya.

Shouya stopped thinking and responds to the cat-eared man with “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just thinking.”

“Alright, just making sure. Did you find what you are going to wear?”

“Actually, I have.”

Shouya has an idea that he has not thought of before, and with that, he now knows what clothes he is going to wear.

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋

“Ok, I’m ready!”

Shouya announces from the room, declaring that he has chosen what he is going to wear. He opens the door and sees both Alisa and the cat-eared man from the other side with their eyes widened in awe. Not only Shouya wears one set, but all three sets combined.

He wears a dark blue shirt, and under the jacket is the green t-shirt from the first set. From the waist down, he wears gray pants that were also from the third set and the pair of toeless shoes that were from the second set.

It is a perfect balance between his casual clothes that he used to back from his old world and this world’s medieval clothing, making it easier to blend in with the crowd.

Alisa highly admires Shouya's new appearance as she was astonished by how he looks.

“Wow, Shouya. You look really nice.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah, you almost look like an adventurer.”

“‘Almost’? What does that supposed to mean?!”

As Shouya tries to figure out what Alisa just said, she closes one eye and sticks out her tongue as if she is saying That's a secret.

Meanwhile, the cat-eared human broke up the conversation between the two and asks Shouya a question.

“How do you like them? Would you like to purchase them?”

“Yeah, I would like to.”

With Shouya's decision to buy the clothes he wanted, he is ready to pay with the money that he was given in this world as the cat-human leads Shouya to the register. The cat-eared human begins to tap the buttons on the register to calculate the total on how much the clothes cost.

“Alright, the total for the clothes is forty-five ercos.”

“‘Ercos’? —Wait, forty-five?!”

Shouya was shocked and his eyes went wide when he heard the total price for the clothes. He looked at the register to make sure the man was not mistaken and the numbers were miscalculated. But he wasn’t wrong. The number on top of the register shows the number “45” on it.

Oh, I guess he’s right.

“Is there a problem?”

“Well, all I have with me is this much.”

Shouya shows all of the money he has on the counter and the cat-eared man begins to count how many that Shouya has. He was given thirty-nine gold coins—or in this world, the currency is called “ercos”—when he first entered this world. If the clothes really do cost forty five ercos, then that means Shouya is six coins short. It isn’t enough to pay for the clothes he needed.

“Isn’t there a cheaper way?”

The cat-eared human thinks if there is another way to lower the price of the clothes. Shouya can try negotiating with him to lower the price, but he has no experience with that kind of skill. Then he let out a suggestion to the worry-felt Shouya.

“Why don't we trade? We'll work something out.”

“—Ah!

Actually, that’s not a bad idea! Trading could work in situations like this. I guess we could try.

Trading is usually uncommon in a fantasy game. Both the buyer and the seller would trade items with each other until both parties are satisfied.

“What do you want from me?”

“Well, you can always trade in that.”

The cat-eared man pointed at something Shouya was holding. It was Shouya's school uniform from his old world.

“You mean this?”

“Mind if I take a look at it?”

“Oh, sure.”

Following the cat-human's request, Shouya places his uniform on top of the counter next to the register. The man begins to investigate the layout of the clothes Shouya used to wear and feels the fabric of the clothes with his hands.

“It is rare to see clothes like this before. You mostly see these kinds of clothes in Miraziva.”

“‘Miraziva’? Is that the name of the city in the far east?”

“Yes. It is also called the City of Knowledge. That's where these clothes came from.”

“Is that so?”

Shouya recalled back in the inn with Alisa and Gunther, she mentioned that many students from the far east wear the same clothes that Shouya wore. He now understands where it originated.

The City of Knowledge? Maybe that’s my key to get out of this place.

If the city is called what it truly is, then that place must know how to transport Shouya back to his own world and turn him back into a human.

“However, this design and color are a bit outdated. I've read that students used to wear this kind of uniform dozens of years ago. Nowadays, many scholars wear multi-colored uniforms. I'm actually surprised that you still have this. This can be sold as an antique.”

“Really?”

He surprisingly didn’t know that his uniform was that rare until the cat-eared man pointed it out from its history. If he’d known his clothes were that rare, he could’ve sold it to someone at a higher price. But for now, trading is the only option.

“How about this? I'll trade you those clothes for seventy-five percent of the original price for this uniform, how does that sound?”

“S-Seventy five?!”

Shouya’s mouth went agape as he could not believe what he had heard. A trade between his uniform for the clothes he wanted for seventy-five percent of the original price. That is an affordable deal.

“Alright, I'll take it.”

As Shouya accepts the trade, the cat-eared man rings his register and the number changes from forty-five to eleven. Shouya gives him the uniform and pays him for the clothes, only leaving him with only twenty-eight ecros left in his wallet.

“Thank you for your patronage. Please come again.”

The cat-eared man bows as Shouya, along with Alisa, who was waiting in front of the door, begins to exit the store with his brand new appearance.