WTAW 08

Chapter 8 

The Beginning

〈8〉 My First Morning in Another World

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This morning, I nearly jumped out of my bed when the alarm on the waist pouch I’d left by my pillow started ringing!
For a second, I thought maybe everything that happened yesterday had just been a dream — but when I looked around for my phone, the sight of this otherworldly room made my heart sink a little. Yeah, it wasn’t a dream.

Last night, when I was about to sleep, I’d tried to take off the ID tag and the magatama pendant hanging from my neck, but my new elven ears got in the way — I couldn’t lie on my side comfortably.
In the end, I gave up and put the cord back around my neck before sleeping.
Man, don’t they make special elf pillows or something?

When I stopped the alarm and looked at my smartphone, it said it was already April — and the clock showed six in the morning.
Could the world clock feature have updated to match this place?
Just yesterday it was Christmas Eve when I went to bed.
But weirdly, the year only had three digits: “314.”
If that were the Gregorian calendar, that’d be around Japan’s Kofun period, right?
I couldn’t help mentally quipping at my phone, wondering, “So who’s ruling the world in this era?”

When I opened the world clock app, it automatically listed my current location as “Gasmania,” with “Tokyo” just below it.
Switching to Tokyo, I saw that it was still Christmas back there — and the familiar four-digit year was intact.
To keep things simple, I switched back to Gasmania time.
By the way, this phone was the one Mom had made me bring along.
It still listed me as the owner, but while it looked just like my friends’ fruit-logo phones, it wasn’t the same brand — nor was it the one with the robot logo either.
Sure, Mom’s an industrial designer, but there’s no way she could’ve made an entire smartphone, right? That’s just too much.

Anyway, while I was having this mild panic, Arisa was still asleep beside me.

Once the sun had climbed high enough, Arisa finally woke up.
We walked hand in hand through the morning market, buying food from the stalls for breakfast.
It was something like a soupy risotto — grains floating in a warm, broth-like porridge — served in a wooden cup with a wooden spoon.
We ate as we walked, scooping up spoonfuls. It was warm, delicious, and filling.
Apparently, you could return the wooden cup later to get a small refund — which explained why the terrace house kitchen had several lying around. Guess they hadn’t returned them yet.

Oh, and another thing: I figured out how to turn my “Appraisal” skill on and off.
Yesterday, I could only see info screens pop up next to things I touched — like Dominic, Arisa, chairs, and tables.
But this morning, when I woke up, everything in the room had glowing panels floating around it. I couldn’t even walk properly!
After some concentration, I managed to limit the display to just what I wanted to appraise.
Yeah, I worked hard this morning. Good thing Arisa was a late sleeper.

Behind the Adventurers’ Guild, there was a church, and next to it stood a three-story wooden building a bit smaller than the guild itself, along with a cute, kindergarten-like annex.
It turned out to be an orphanage, which also served as a local daycare.
The church doubled as a healing clinic for adventurers and townsfolk injured or ill.
The population here was small, so one facility had to juggle multiple roles — they might have enough space, but the staff must be overworked.
This world sure loves multitasking.

By the time we finished walking around, it was already past noon, so we went to the Adventurers’ Guild.
Unlike last night, the place was quiet, with only a few adventurers — mostly clients at the counter submitting requests.

At the same table where we’d eaten yesterday, Ulisa waved us over.
Standing beside her was the secretary I’d seen next to the Guildmaster yesterday.
Now that I looked closely, she seemed a little older than Ulisa.

“Sorry, Shunsuke,” Ulisa said. “We’ve been summoned along with the D-rank adventurers. Goda’s already left, and we’ll be heading out soon.”
“What happened, big brother?” Arisa asked, looking worried.
“A herd of Forest Boars showed up — they’re heading toward the neighboring village.”
“That’s bad! The fences there are weak — if they break through, that village’s done for!”
“That’s why I’ve asked this person to look after you today,” Ulisa said, gesturing toward the secretary before lifting me onto a chair again.
Ah… she set me up on the chair again. Ugh.

“I’m Cele, the vice guildmaster and the Guildmaster’s secretary,” she said.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Cele. I’m Shunsuke,” I replied.
“Then I’ll leave him in your care, Cele,” Ulisa said. “Sorry, Shunsuke.”
“It’s fine, Arisa. Please be careful out there, both of you.”
“‘We will! When we get back, it’s meat festival time!’” the siblings said in perfect unison.
Wow. Synchronized speech. They really were brother and sister.

“Oh, almost forgot,” Ulisa said, turning back.
“I forgot to give you this.”
She handed me a small, round, dark-silver coin.
“What’s this?”
“The money from selling that Gyon yesterday. You’re the one who took it down, after all.”
I had no idea what its value was, but I nodded.
“Thank you very much.”
“Use it carefully. Saving’s important too.”
“Yes!”
Man, what a dependable big brother type.
As an only child, I couldn’t help admiring that.

After the siblings left, the guild grew quiet again.

Then Cele spoke.
“Well then, Shunsuke. I have a message from the Guildmaster.
Until your mother comes to get you — or until either the Guildmaster or I decide that you’re ready to live on your own — you’ll be staying at the church orphanage.”
That made sense. I’d just be a burden to those three otherwise.
“I understand,” I said.
“But it seems like you’ll be able to become independent quite soon,” Cele said with a soft smile.
Wow, another beautiful woman.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes. For a five-year-old, you’re very mature in your responses — and you seem to understand everything I just said.”
Right… a normal five-year-old probably wouldn’t even know what “independent” means.

“I’d like to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and history,” I said boldly.
Cele tilted her head, thoughtful.
“Hmm. You might find the regular children’s classes too easy.
The guild actually runs study sessions for adventurers who want to improve their skills. You can join those.
Many adults in this country only learn to read and write after reaching adulthood, so those lessons move at a faster pace.”
That sounded perfect!
“Then please let me take that course,” I said.
“But there’s one problem — it’s not free,” Cele added.
Gah! The only thing I had was that dark coin Ulisa gave me.
“This isn’t enough, is it?” I asked.
“That iron coin would only buy about five of those fruits,” she said, pointing toward some apples displayed on the guild’s kitchen counter.
So this coin was worth maybe around five hundred yen? And it was made of iron, apparently.

I rummaged through my waist pouch.
This morning, I’d figured out how to open a small inventory screen — maybe I had something there.
Sure enough, a jewelry box appeared — it contained the pearl pendant I’d bought on a trip to Ise with Mom.
Well, technically, she bought it, but I was the one who picked it out.
It had a single 7mm pearl set in a platinum-colored floral frame — though the platinum was just plating. It had cost about thirty thousand yen.

When I focused on it, the appraisal screen appeared:
〈Cultured Pearl Necklace – Platinum Plating – Worth: Five Small Gold Coins〉

I opened the box. Still, I had no idea what “five small gold coins” really meant here.
“How about this?” I asked. “It’s one of my grandmother’s keepsakes.”
“…With this, you could join the study program for a full year — plus get martial arts training,” Cele said.
Seriously?
“Then, please accept it,” I said.
“Are you sure? It’s your grandmother’s keepsake,” she asked.
I’d never even met my grandmother. Sorry for the lie.
“It’s fine. If it helps me, she’d be happy about it.”
“I see… that’s a lovely way to think,” she said with a smile. “Alright, I’ll have it appraised properly.”
“Thank you.”
“But first, let’s stop by the orphanage.”

Sliding down from the big chair was easy enough.
Cele held out a hand to me.
“?”
“Let’s hold hands. It’s dangerous for children to walk alone.”
They really took child safety seriously here. Guess that means things could get dangerous if you weren’t careful.
“Okay. Please take care of me,” I said.

Cele’s hand was a little rougher than Arisa’s — slightly dry, but warm.