It's Like... My Waifu Got 3D Printed!

"Putri is a moonlighting scholar," Orym began, leaning back in his chair with a sigh, as if the mere thought of his daughter's routine exhausted him. "She's studying magical arts at the academy. Pretty impressive, eh?"

My eyes widened. "Wow, magic school? That's... definitely more exciting than the life of a baggage handler," I mused, my tone dripping with self-deprecation.

"Baggage handler?" Orym overheard my musing. "Did you handle people's baggage or what? What's baggage anyway?" Orym then gave a hearty laugh. "But aye, it is! But she doesn't stop at that. During the day, she works part-time at the local apothecary, mixing potions and remedies. Calls herself a 'daytime potion mixer'."

"A daytime potion mixer," I repeated, a grin spreading across my face. It seemed like something Putri, my Putri, would say.

It was in this moment that the door to the inn swung open.

There, standing in the doorway, was Putri Hirasawa, the spitting image of my original character. From her flowing hair to the vibrant colors of her attire, it was as if she had walked straight out of my sketchbook and into the real world.

My mouth went dry. My heart pounded in my chest.

"Speak of the devil," Orym said.

"Hi, Papa!" she greeted Orym, her voice ringing through the inn like a melodious chime.

I blinked, once, twice, then again, trying to process the surreal sight in front of me. It was one thing to imagine your creations in your mind, quite another to have them stand before you, as real as the chair I was sitting on.

Almost instantaneously, her eyes found Pyuan, lounging casually in a corner of the room. The moment Pyuan spotted Putri, she sprang up like a coiled spring, bounding towards her with an infectious energy.

"Putri!" Pyuan squealed, enveloping Putri in an enthusiastic hug, to which Putri responded with a warm, gentle laugh and a soft pat on Pyuan's head. "I missed you~pyu!"

"But, Pyu, I was only gone for a few hours," Putri chuckled, her eyes twinkling with amusement. She attempted to pry off Pyuan's clinging arms but the expression on her face indicated she didn't really mind it.

"Still!" Pyuan protested, not letting go. "A lot can happen in a few hours, you know! We even have a new traveler in town who arrived just yesterday. You've been too busy to meet him~pyu."

A knowing smile spread across Putri's face. "Alright, alright, Pyu. I'll spend time with you tomorrow. We can gather herbs together, okay?" Satisfied, she finally managed to free herself from Pyuan's iron grip, and turned her attention to me.

"Hi, I'm Putri," she introduced herself, extending her hand towards me. Her face lit up with a warm, inviting smile that was all too familiar, yet strangely new.

It took me a moment to snap out of my daze and take her hand. "I-I'm Nanang," I stuttered, trying my best to hide my shock, "Nice to meet you, Putri."

But little did she know, we had already met. In a different world, on a different canvas.

Putri's presence in the room was like a gentle breeze, carrying with it an aura of serene grace and warmth that seemed to lighten the ambiance of the rustic inn. As we made small talk and shared laughs, a peculiar sense of familiarity washed over me. I found myself secretly comparing her gestures, her expressions, to the ones I'd imagined while sketching my character.

The real Putri and my imagined one, they were startlingly similar yet pleasantly different in some ways. It was like meeting an old friend after a long time, where certain nuances have changed, but the essence of who they are remains intact.

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she remembered something. She quickly fished out a sketchbook from her bag, "Papa, look at this," she announced, placing the sketchbook on the table.

Orym leaned in to take a closer look, and so did I, from over his shoulder.

My sketchbook.

My heart started pounding like the bass drum in a death metal band. Of all the places, of all the people, she had to be the one to find my sketchbook. It was like a game of cosmic hide and seek where the universe was the cheeky kid, stashing my belongings in the most absurd places, only to be found by the very people I sketched in it.

"Where did you find this, Putri?" Orym asked, his gaze lingering on the pages of the sketchbook.

"Oh, I found it near the Elderwood grove when I was gathering herbs this morning," Putri replied nonchalantly.

Near the herb-gathering place, she said... could that be...  where I found myself when I first arrived in this world? 

The universe really was playing tricks on me.

"And look," she continued, flipping through the pages. My drawings of her, Pyuan, and many other characters from my manga filled the pages. "These pictures look like me. And there's Pyu, and..." her voice trailed off as she turned the pages.

"I've seen this guy around town," Orym pointed at a drawing of one of my secondary characters, "And this girl, she's... definitely the beautiful librarian, right?" He chuckled, pointing at another. "I mean, look at her chest!"

"Orym..." His wife's voice rang out, prompting a hearty laugh from Orym.

"Naughty Orym!" Pyu piped up, wagging her finger at him, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

I swallowed hard. This was it, the moment of truth. How was I going to retrieve my sketchbook without revealing its origin? I didn't want her to think I was some weirdo stalker who'd been drawing her... even though that's exactly what it looked like. So much for 'not judging a book by its cover.'

Finally, Putri turned to me, her eyes reflecting the curiosity welling up inside her. "It's as if the person who drew these has been observing the whole town," she mused, her delicate fingers tracing the intricate lines of the sketches. The lively marketplace, the bustling tavern, even the silent alleys, each had found a place in the sketchbook. "Interesting, right, Nanang?" She asked, her gaze meeting mine, filled with wonder and a hint of intrigue.

"Very," was all I could manage to say, plastering a smile on my face that I hoped didn't look too much like a grimace. Well, folks, if you thought your day was weird, just remember: my waifu found my sketchbook with her drawings, and I'm pretending like it's news to me.

Welp, here goes nothing, folks. Buckle up!

I'm in for a wild ride.

Lord, help me.