I returned to my private room at the inn and collapsed onto the bed with a sigh.
Wow, my stomach is full.
Although it was called a private room, it was a narrow room, no larger than the space three futons would occupy when laid out, and the only things in it were a bed, a small table, and a simple chair.
"But for me, a luxury room... or rather, an inn that rents a private room to a low-class adventurer simply does not exist.
After all, inns offer rooms because they trust their guests, and they would never allow someone who poses a risk of escape or non-payment to stay.
And among all of them, low-class guests—especially men—are the ones with the least social credibility.
---
Although they are low-ranking adventurers, it is easier for women, as they share a dormitory. They can sleep while keeping their valuables safe and watching their surroundings. However, male adventurers cannot sleep there.
I mean, you know, on Earth it would be like a group of middle-aged, scruffy, poor men sleeping with a young girl. So, you know... it would be like erotic doujishi.
I've heard that it was quite common for men and women to sleep together in inns during the Edo period, and even though it was the Middle Ages, public order at that time was relatively good. The harshness of this world cannot be underestimated. If you leave something valuable and leave your room, it will surely disappear. Innkeepers will also steal from you. It's also not a good idea to leave your underwear out when you go out. Perverts will steal it... or rather, clothing is quite valuable at this level of civilization, and it usually costs a lot of money, so it's also valuable.
I've been gaining the trust of the guild with small jobs, and I've even rented a private room in an inn thanks to their good offices, but thefts are constant, even in inns like that, so. That's why I leave all my equipment, clothes, and anything else that could be considered the guild's property. If anything is missing from the guild's warehouse, they can hold me responsible. They deduct 20% of my salary each time, so I'll take advantage of every system at my disposal.
—After all, only you can protect yourself.
I'm feeling that —very strongly right now.
Specifically, my gaze subtly drifts to the wall.
"...Ah."
Trying not to show any sign that I had noticed, I stretched my body and looked over my shoulder at the wall.
Then I saw blue eyes peering out from a gloomy black hole.
There are customers here tonight too.
"Well, it's time to dry off and go to bed."
As I muttered this absentmindedly and put my hand on the hem of my jacket, I heard a creak... the thin walls of the inn creak. Hey, hey, it's okay to get excited, but don't knock down the walls!
Pretending not to notice the heavy breathing coming from the walls in front of and behind me, I took off my shirt. I soaked a cloth in the tub of water provided by the inn, wrung it out well, and began to wipe the sweat from my upper body. Ugh... it was heaven.
I'm a typical person, so I would love to soak my feet in a bathtub every day, but in this cultural environment, there is no custom of bathing daily. It seems that even aristocrats don't bathe daily. Actually, there are public baths, but they are only available as a service in high-class brothels, so a poor person like me wouldn't be allowed in. In fact, brothels in this world are places where male prostitutes serve their female clients.
—Tsk... I don't even want to think about it.
That's why I pay the inn to prepare boiled water for me.
After all, I sweat every day from physical labor, so I can't just go to bed like that.
And if I had to clean a sewer that day... it would be unfair to the inn for me to use their bed in that state.
...The view from the hole in the wall.
I really don't want to think about it anymore, but this room is a peep show room.
The rooms on either side of me were occupied by female guests who took turns staying there, and they kept staring at me while I changed clothes and bathed.
To be honest, I seriously considered blocking him, but it's not like that would change anything, so I let it go.
The truth is, I even wondered if they were really a guild, considering how they behaved at the same inn I got thanks to their help... but of course, it's not like I could get them another one.
In the end, I have nowhere else to go, so I gave up and decided to at least only show my upper body.
In my opinion, a man's bare torso is worthless. It's the same mentality I had in high school, when I would calmly change in front of the girls in gym class.
...As soon as I save up enough money, I'll move into a proper apartment.
"This is sudden, but let me explain!
By the way, that look has never left his face since he rented this room.
Despite his overly masculine name, Euguene Yuuji is a thin boy with little muscle mass, which makes him feel inferior, but in the values of this world, a body with his amount of muscle mass is considered the most proportionate and beautiful.
In other words, Yuuji looks like a femboy who in this world would be the erotic boy
But he still didn't know exactly how they perceived him...! He was the biggest duck in the world!
After drying myself off, I put my jacket back on.
—Then, suddenly, he lifted me up and pressed a black cloth against the hole in the wall, covering it with a bang.
"Ah... a little more..."
"Bastard!"
He heard the woman cursing from the other side of the wall, but he pretended not to hear her.
You've already masturbated watching other people's bathing scenes, so that's enough.
"Besides, I can't sleep well at night if someone sees me sleeping like this.
I've shown you what you need to see, I won't show you any more...!
First of all, I let you take a peek at the bathtub even though it didn't cost me a single silver coin. —You have no right to complain.
There are usually some things you don't want people to see.
After making sure no one was looking through the window, I closed the door and muttered under my breath.
"Come," machine [<
There was a crackling sound, and space deliberately rippled.
For a moment, the layers of reality blurred, as if several different scenes were superimposed on top of each other...
And then, a strange vending machine with a bright LCD panel emerged.
Nothing is displayed on the LCD panel, and there is only one button to buy, but it is definitely a vending machine.
The vending machine has an attached catalog listing all the items that can be purchased from the machine, all of which are exceptional treasures that cannot be obtained no matter how much gold you have in this world.
For example, legendary weapons, ancient magic formulas, or the sword techniques of warriors.
It was a vending machine where you could purchase so-called [golden rings]. Benefits of Reincarnation
But if there is a problem...
"...I haven't earned any coins today either."
I sighed as I rummaged through my pockets.
Since I was reincarnated into this world, I've been summoning this vending machine almost every day, but the coins I need to make purchases never seem to increase.
=======
====
==
Six months ago, I was in a traffic accident and suddenly found myself in a completely white space.
Normally, when you're transported to another world like this, you'd think some higher being—like an incredibly beautiful goddess, an angel, or even a suspiciously kind salesman to lower creatures—would appear to announce, politely and courteously:
"You died, but it was a mistake, so we'll reincarnate you in another world with certain advantages," right?
Well, no. There was none of that.
There was only a trick vending machine in the middle of a completely empty white space, with a note stuck on it saying that you could buy special abilities based on your achievements in life... and do whatever you wanted.
I'm really surprised.
I've read a lot of online novels, but I've never seen a reincarnation story as sloppy as this situation.
There are so many stories about reincarnation in other worlds these days that it's probably too much trouble for the higher beings to manage, or maybe the number of reincarnated people is too much to handle, so they've cut costs.
... Or maybe it's just a special deal reserved for heroes, sages, librarians, and other "protagonists" who save the world, and it would be a waste to spend that amount of money on an ordinary person like me. That seems most likely, and it's a shame.
—By the way, I had 16 coins to use.
Before I knew it, they put it in my pocket along with the bill.
Is my life only worth 16 coins? Isn't that a little low? I thought, but even so, this is the cheating reincarnation I always dreamed of! I did it! I forced the statement out with deep emotion in my heart.
[Not filial (died before their parents): minus 25 coins]
[No debt repayment: minus -10 coins]
The feeling of euphoria I had about the cheat and reincarnation disappeared in an instant.
My parents raised me until I went to college, and I died without being able to repay them... How disrespectful! Shit, I'm so sorry. I deserve a negative evaluation.
I hope you forgive me, as it was unintentional and an accident, but there is nothing you can do now that he is dead. Your son will somehow manage to live in another world, so please let that be my atonement.
I had no idea about the debt, but then I realized.
This is a scholarship. I had to pay it back after getting a job.
Well, basically it was a government loan. I guess it was a bit of a problem for my parents.
So what was the bonus?
<<[I won the gold prize in a book review contest when I was in elementary school: 1 coin]
<<[I picked up a stray dog and took care of it until it died of natural causes: 5 coins]
<<[I've had unrequited love from 12 people in my life: 6 coins]
—It was as if they were counting small achievements or good deeds.
Even he doesn't remember all his achievements... —Actually, he never realized he had unrequited love, so I wonder why no one confessed to him.
Damn it, if only one person had confessed their feelings to me, I wouldn't end up being a virgin for the rest of my life...!
Virgin all my life (remained chaste all my life): 25 coins
Was my virginity worth enough to compensate for my status?
Really? Is the machine a unicorn or something? I'd like to ask it directly.
Biologically speaking, isn't it a negative assessment not to have contributed to the prosperity of future generations? I can't help but feel that way. But anyway, I'll settle for what I can get...
To begin with, it's not like the 12 people who were in love with me were women. Damn it, I shouldn't have noticed.
Now, what should I use these 16 cheat tickets for? I leafed through the catalog hanging next to the vending machine.
And then, wow, all those cheat skills I had seen before started popping up one after another.
This is a limited edition for the first selection! With just 10 coins, you can have the ultimate power! You have no choice but to buy it! Exhibition [ShenronDragon] explosive
—This one really caught my eye. It's a legendary piece of equipment that I've seen countless times in ridiculous YouTube ads, but no one has ever managed to get their hands on it.
There were also other legendary abilities we all know about, such as a powerful spell born from the combination of fire and ice, a right hand that can nullify all supernatural powers, and a mysterious wave that can stop time for three seconds, but these were completely out of my reach. I guess you can't buy them unless you're at the level of the protagonist or their partner. I can really feel the difference between ordinary people and me.
After reviewing the catalog, I decided to spend my entire budget on the Magic Talent. "Magic is something people long for. It's a power that didn't exist in my world, so it's natural that I would want to try it.
I stood in front of the vending machine with my heart pounding, about to press the button...
"Is this really okay?" Suddenly, I became anxious.
Would I be able to survive going to another world with only the clothes I was wearing?
I mean, it's a different world where you can't communicate with the language. I studied German as a second foreign language in college, but even so, it was very difficult to get the credits. English was even more difficult when I took the entrance exam.
I hurriedly reread the catalog and found that the basics page clearly stated "Conversation in Another World." What a scare! I would have ended up in another world without being able to communicate in that language.
I reread it, wondering if I needed anything else, and found something called "Resistance to Disease." This is also absolutely necessary. It's hard to imagine that someone living in the modern world would have the same disease resistance as someone from another world.
<<[Mental Resistance]...I become mentally strong and less susceptible to mental interference from others. I'm mentally weak and tend to worry a lot, so if I miss home, I might not recover. I want it.
<<[Pain Tolerance]... Becomes physically and mentally resistant to pain. This is necessary if you want to be an adventurer in another world. I want it.
<<[Resistance to Drugs and Poisons]... Gains resistance to all poisons, both natural and chemical. In a world where medicine is underdeveloped, even simple food poisoning can be deadly. This is also necessary.
After all that, I ended up getting all the skills I needed, and I don't even know why I overlooked them, and now I have 10 coins worth.
Hmm, it costs the same as the legendary flame-breathing dragon set... I thought, but no matter how good the equipment is, it can't replace health.
Well, I say this now that I'm dead, but health is truly a treasure, and it's the kind of thing you only realize when it's too late.
A body and mind that never get sick is in itself an incredible deception. I bet some rich old man would be willing to pay hundreds of millions for it.
Now, I've put in 10 coins and bought conversation and endurance cards from another world.
What else should I buy? Maybe something related to magic this time?
With that in mind, I was flipping through the catalog looking for a way to use the remaining six cards, when at the last moment I found something important.
[Inheritance] You will not lose your personality or current abilities. It costs 6 coins.
That was close!
I almost became a different person and had to start from scratch!
If I hadn't kept reading, I definitely would have missed it.
I don't know why I missed it, but it's super important.
Well, I could forget everything and be reborn as a local, but I don't want to lose my current identity. Wouldn't that be like dying? ... No, I died in a traffic accident, hahaha.
... Something strange. Maybe the effects of [Mental Resistance] are starting to show?
Well, it's not bad now that I don't worry about it.
In the end, I feel it was a shame to have put all my effort into maintaining my resilience and self-esteem... I'm sure this opportunity to obtain such a valuable cheat skill will never come again.
Well, if you think about it, I've never seen anyone who actually retained memories of their past life while alive, and a healthy body must be something that people born with weak constitutions would desperately desire.
Isn't it amazing that I'm still alive after dying in a traffic accident? Yes, yes, I have to be positive above all else!
With that thought in mind, after purchasing the extra item, I headed toward the gate to the other world that had appeared without me noticing...
Just before crossing the gate, I noticed something strange that I hadn't noticed when I read the catalog earlier.
Limited edition! Explosive Flame Dragon Set! With just 10 coins, you can get the ultimate power! You have no choice but to buy it! First time
"...So, is there an ability that can be purchased later...?"