This is a problem. Obviously, it's not my fault I don't have any money, and it's not like I asked to be sent to another world, either, so it's not as if I could have prepared for this somehow before arriving. This world, like any other, isn't designed to have a full grown man appear without a single scrap of value or gold on him, and no connections to care for him until he can get onto his feet. That's probably some E rank world perk.
I suppose I should feel lucky I don't have an infinite gold coin or something...but even if I did, I'd refuse to use it anyway. Still, the end result comes back to: I have no money.
The problem is that it means I have no means to buy gear, either. This would easily be solved by the loot I left behind. Probably. But I hadn't thought about that when I left.
I was too angry, too upset with this world. And a certain useless assistant hadn't bothered to tell me that there was actually something at least possibly worth challenging left in this world, so the thought of gearing up for a future challenge was the furthest thing from my mind.
"Master!" The voice in my head gasps. "You didn't ask for that kind of information!"
Oh, sure. Now she cares about what I did or didn't ask her.
Ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as the fact that I made it all the way back to the town before remembering that shopping...requires money.
It's really not my fault. Even in my past life, I made all my purchases online. I signed up for subscriptions even on grocery stores so I wouldn't need to be bothered with remembering to go shopping every day. I never had to think about how much money I had because I didn't make big purchases and my streaming made me enough money that I'd always be okay, and most of before that I had parents to worry about money in my place. That's a long time to just not think about money.
Well, there's no doubt plenty of exploits to use if I wanted to, even without a dime to my name, not the least of which being that...charm aura thing. Whatever that is. But I don't want to do that. I won't use it any more than I'd use infinite gold. Cheating to buy gear you shouldn't be able to afford yet is just as bad as any other kind of cheat or exploit. I won't participate in that. Which is a problem, because I also don't have any money.
Elara laughs and shakes her head. "If you could see the look on your face...!"
I frown, shifting uncomfortably as she tries to put her arm around my shoulder. Her arm can't quite reach when I lean away from her, thanks to our difference in height, and instead falls around my waist. She's not that short, she just. Doesn't put her arm around my back or chest, she chooses my waist. Which makes it even worse.
I step away from her. "Touching isn't necessary."
She waves her hand then. "I'm trying to say~! I did pick up a little loot along the way while you were storming deeper and deeper into the dungeon. And it wouldn't be that hard to double back and just go get the loot so you can get your cut."
Kael huffs. "Not that you deserve it, with that ridiculous stunt you pulled."
I sigh and cross my arms.
"If we're going to be a party we need to split the riches anyway." Arin says, settling a hand on his hip. "We won't even make it to the death zone if we're too busy squabbling."
Death zone?
"Answer: The Death Zone is the area around the Demon King's primary territory! It's called that because no one who's ever entered it has returned alive~!" The System Helper chirps. "Except his people, of course!"
For once, her answer isn't annoying - or. It's not that annoying. The useless bit of information at the end was self-evident already. But it does sound promising. Like something I should prepare for. It better be. This world better not make a liar out of itself and try to disappoint me with a weakling demon king that's not a threat at all.
It's not that I WANT the demon king to be too strong for me. I don't want to lose. I don't want to die. But if it isn't a challenge, if I can't walk that thin line of almost too hard....it's utterly pointless to even try. I'll hate it and myself for bothering with doing it. It should be like walking a tightrope that's covered in spikes and if I slip in any direction but exactly forward and backward I'll fall to my death. That's the challenge. It's the fun part of a game. Struggling. Climbing. Knowing the slightest misstep, the briefest bit of lack of concentration will mean death, so that the moment you succeed, you feel a high unlike anything else.
It's those moments where the stakes are real, the slightest slip ends in humiliating failure, where it all looks helpless even when you do everything right, and then barely manage to take down the boss with a single sliver of health left.
That's the kind of thing that get a person addicted to games. That's the true satisfaction of this world and any other. Nothing else is even worth a second glance. It's so important and motivating that my irritation and discomfort have begun to melt away just thinking about the thrill of it.
Elara eyes me strangely for a long moment. Finally she speaks. "Well. Come on. You're new here, so I might as well show you to the best shop that's not a scam."
There are scammers here?
The others roll their eyes and groan in exasperation, but follow along beside me as we travel to...a house? It's not like the other obvious storefronts we pass along the way. It's simply a two story, cottage-like house. Not one that would blend in with....anything, mind. The walls are painted a truly eye-searing neon green, and the front door itself is cherry red. There are no signs on it to indicate it's a store, though. It seems to be employing the strategy of horrifying and driving away anyone who dare comes close and somehow hoping for a profit anyway.
Elara walks up the steps without hesitation. She knocks on the door, and then. Stands there, waiting.
Kael is the one to sigh and open it for her. This is probably the kind of behavior he's used to, though. As a rogue, there's no doubt that a simple locked door won't stand in his way.
Actually, he just opens the door. He doesn't even lock pick it. Apparently the door wasn't locked to begin with.
"HOLY SHI-!" A female voice yelps.
There's a crash inside. And then the voice speaks again. "It's you! I mean...uh!"
I'm starting to believe this isn't a shop but a break in robbery. Against my better judgment, I make my way up to the door and peer in anyway.
A dark haired girl with bright red eyes is sprawled out on the floor at the opposite side of the room, a scroll with scribblings of...some kind of word soup is scattered around her in loops of paper. The shelves to her back are filled with glass bottles - all various shades of green, red, and blue - with potion labels on them. There's also assorted dummies standing with various kinds of armor and weapons on them. And...just. Various random items I suppose are useful for adventurers.
The woman who must be the shopkeep is dressed in many colors, and what seems to be a long flowing robe pooled around her on the ground.
There's a cat on her head. This probably explains why she's still on the ground, face barely lifted. The cat doesn't appear to have noticed that the door is open and that she has guests, staring into space in the opposite direction.
...Is the cat some kind of...spirit creature? Maybe a magical familiar?
I tilt my head to the side and stare at the cat. Its tail sways lazily, swishing in the air. It is. Just a cat.
After a moment, the woman shoos the cat out of her hair, flailing her hands blindly over her head. It jumps down with a yowl and disappears behind a bookshelf.
Right. This is not the time to be staring at the cat. I shift my attention to the woman on the ground. Who now has her face planted on the ground, shoved violently there by the cat's paws on retreat.
What. The hell. Is happening.