I feel so light.
I got my bag back and stepped outside.
My gut feeling told me it was better to carry the bag by hand than on my back, so that's what I did.
The clear blue sky, the street lined with strange shops I'd never seen before, and the fact that this was another world—all of it was surprising.
The writing on the shops looked like katakana from my world. I figured it was because I had received memories from Selitia-san earlier, which allowed my brain to translate the writing into a familiar script.
There was so much new stuff to see, and I couldn't hide my amazement.
I was excited and curious about what lay ahead... though I was a little bothered that a man was walking beside me.
The man next to me was smiling.
This was Dion, the gray-haired man who was with Selitia-san earlier.
He was the leader of the Knights of this city...
In other words, he was said to be the strongest person in this city.
He had come along to help me shop and to act as a bodyguard.
Dion seemed to be well-regarded in the city. People who passed by us looked at him, and some of them stared at me as well.
But from what I could tell, he didn't look like someone who would be respected by others. He seemed so laid-back, cheerful, and goofy, not strong at all. So I looked at him with suspicion.
Dion must have noticed my gaze, because he turned to me. The moment he did, a huge shock hit my back.
"What's with the staring? C'mon, say somethin'!"
Dion, speaking with an old man's accent, patted my back, but the force was so immense it felt like my back had been exploded by a bomb.
The shock made me choke.
I'm taking back what I said about him not being strong. This guy is super strong.
I'm glad I wasn't wearing my backpack...
I had to say something, so I searched my mind for a topic.
I looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful, clear blue... Huh? Blue sky?
When I was falling, I saw an orange dome. I couldn't see it from here.
"Um... when I was falling from the sky, I saw something orange around the wall..."
I decided to start with a question to keep the conversation going, and that's the first thing that came to mind.
"Oh, yeah! That's right, you fell from the sky, unlike the others.
That's a Zone, a barrier that the Pazele family has passed down for generations to protect this city.
It sounds an alarm at the castle if any unauthorized people come in, and it protects the city from outside attacks.
Inside the city, it's made to not ruin the view, but from the outside, it looks like a dome as a warning."
He explained it to me in a cheerful tone.
I had been a little intimidated by him because of his earlier demeanor and the hard pat on my back, but now I felt I could talk to him easily.
"When a normal transferred person arrives, they're judged to have been here from the start, so the Zone doesn't react. But in your case, you appeared outside the Zone and entered without permission, so it reacted to you."
The explanation wasn't over.
I see. So that's why I was treated differently from other transferred people.
"When I was in the sky, I saw other settlements besides this city. What are those?"
I remembered seeing other settlements from above.
"Oh, you saw those? Those are called Independent Settlements."
"Independent Settlements?"
"They're settlements where people who have a reason not to leave live. We sometimes visit them to trade goods."
The name "Independent Settlements" made me think it was related to discrimination, but it didn't seem to be the case.
This world has its own unique circumstances, it seems.
"And there's something else I want to tell you..."
"Don't think too badly of Church."
Church. He was probably the first man I met in this world.
The man with the thick beard who stabbed my leg with a spear.
Dion seemed to have something to say about him.
"That guy... his faith in Selitia is a bit too strong. The reason he went berserk was because he was worried that you might be one of the Kyoshinkai and wanted to keep a dangerous situation from happening. Please forgive him."
Kyoshinkai? That was another new word, but I'll ask about it later.
Hearing that changed my impression of Church a bit.
I could relate to his reason: he didn't want the person he admired to be in danger.
So the look of fear he had when Selitia-san appeared wasn't fear of her, but fear that she would be angry at him for his arbitrary actions. That's how I saw it.
With that reasoning, I couldn't be angry at him.
"It's okay. I think the misunderstanding is gone now, and besides, my wound has healed completely.
More importantly, there's something I want to ask you, Dion."
I forgave Church for what he did and changed the subject to something that interested me.
Dion, who didn't seem to expect me to have a question for him, tilted his head slightly.
"Do you call Selitia-san by her first name? ...Could it be that you're in a relationship...?"
I didn't know if this world had a concept of formal language, but I was curious about their relationship, so I asked.
"N-no, it's not like that! She's just my benefactor!"
He seemed flustered.
Even if they aren't in a relationship, I could tell from his expression that he had feelings for Selitia-san.
"Hah! Stop talking about that and let's go buy you some clothes! You're standing out in that outfit!"
Trying to change the subject, Dion dragged me to a nearby clothing store.
I looked at my outfit.
It was true that no one else in this world was wearing a uniform like mine. Plus, the hole in my pants from where I was stabbed was still there.
No wonder people were giving me weird looks.
So I was taken into the clothing store.
The clothing stores here were different from my world; there were no brand names like N○KE or AD○DAS, and the patterns were simple.
While I was choosing clothes, I overheard a conversation between Dion and the female shopkeeper. I couldn't understand much, but I did hear the word "transferred person."
Afterward, the shopkeeper came out with Dion and measured me for clothes. I could tell she was staring at me the whole time.
After she was done, Dion bought me some clothes, and I changed into them before heading back outside.
Dion told me that the academy uniform would be made and sent to me after I passed the entrance exam.
There were a few things that bothered me, but for now, I was enjoying myself. There were so many new things to see, and the people seemed kind... no, too kind.
Why are these people so nice to me, a person from another world? They don't have anything to gain from treating me so well...
"H-hey, there's something I wanted to ask..."
That's when it happened.
Dion's stomach rumbled so loud I could hear it.
Looking at the sun, it seemed to be lunchtime.
"Oops, sorry, I'm starving. Let's go get some food! We can talk there."
Dion suggested going to a restaurant.
It wasn't quite noon for me, as I had been transported here at night in my old world, but I was a little hungry, so I agreed.
Dion led me into a restaurant.
It looked more like a medieval tavern. The place was bustling with customers eating and drinking.
We sat down at a table in the corner.
A waiter came over with water.
Dion ordered for us without asking me what I wanted.
The waiter left, and it was just the two of us again.
"...So? What did you want to ask me?"
Dion looked at me and asked.
I took a deep breath and asked the question I had wanted to ask.
"Why are you guys so nice to a transferred person like me? Do you get something out of it?"
He looked like he wasn't expecting that question, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.
"Hmm... I guess I can tell you. It's not really a secret."
He thought about it for a moment, then decided to tell me.
"Before I answer that, let me ask you a question. What exists in your world but not in this one?"
Huh? A question? Something that exists in my world but not here? I had no idea.
I thought for a bit...
Comparing my old world to this one, the city felt a little medieval, which was different, but that wasn't the answer.
I had to think about other things.
Something that doesn't exist in this world? Is there anything like that? If anything, since this world has magic, my old world seems to have more things missing.
The streets were crowded with people and full of life... wait? There were a lot of people walking, but no cars or vehicles. Could it be?
"Is it cars?"
I told him the answer I had come up with.
I wasn't confident since I didn't know much about this world, but it was all I could think of.
"Hmm, you're halfway right. The answer isn't just cars; it's machinery in general. In this world, mechanical products, including the cars you mentioned, don't exist right now."
I was a little off... but machinery in general, huh? Now that he mentioned it, I hadn't seen any machines, and the stores were advertising with magic.
Still, I didn't understand why he was asking me this question in response to my own.
"I understand that machines don't exist in this world. But what does that have to do with you treating transferred people so well?"
I asked for the reason behind his question.
"Calm down. We heard about machines from a transferred person and decided to try to build them in this world. Then we thought, 'What if we learned about them from the people who actually use them?'"
Dion said.
But no one had asked me about machines since I arrived.
Maybe they were going to start asking me now?
"But some people might not be able to explain it well, or they might have the wrong information. So what do we do? We get the information from a reliable source.
With Selitia's magic to read other people's memories, we can."
Listening to Dion's explanation, I was struck with a realization.
He's right. If they read my memories, they can get the information reliably and quickly. When Selitia-san gave me the memories of their language, I learned it through something more like a feeling than just words.
And if reading memories is the same process as giving them, it's an easy thing to do.
I see. Now everything made sense.
"We got a lot of information about various machines using that method, but that would be an unfair trade, wouldn't it? We get everything, and you get nothing. So, as a thank you for letting us read your memories, transferred people receive help to live a stable life in this city."
Now my questions were answered.
So this treatment is a thank you for letting them read my memories. It's not a bad deal at all, as it's a win-win for both sides.
"Right now, we're working on making a car. Cars are great! In our world, we only have carriages, so travel is a pain, and cars can also be used as weapons, so we can finally corner those guys."
Cars as weapons...
I felt a surge of anger at the thought of them being used for something other than their original purpose.
I remembered a bad memory about cars, a past I could never forget... I felt sick just thinking about it.
No, these people have their own reasons. I told myself. It was better not to worry about it too much. I'll put this aside for now.
And "those guys"... does that mean they're at war with someone?
"Those guys...?"
I was a little shaken by what I heard and blurted out the words that came to my mind.
Who are "those guys"? Is it related to the Kyoshinkai he mentioned earlier?
"Oh, 'those guys' are an organization that's hostile to us, the Kyoshinkai.
They appeared about five or six years ago, and they're a pretty skilled bunch. We're doing our best to defeat them, but so far, we've only managed to kill three of their ten executives, the Jukkaishi, so we're struggling."
The Kyoshinkai... So an organization like that exists in this world... But I'm only here for a year, so I don't need to worry about it, right?
Still, if this person, who must be very strong, is having so much trouble, how powerful are they?
"Are the Jukkaishi that strong?"
Even if I told myself not to worry, I had to ask about the group's danger level, just in case.
"Yeah, they are! A single Jukkaishi can destroy a city all by themselves!
Just defeating one of them causes a lot of damage.
I've fought them, and they were pretty tough.
Oh, and there are rumors of other armed groups near the city, but you won't encounter them or the Kyoshinkai while you're here, so don't worry."
He added that last part to reassure me.
A single person can destroy a city that looks so huge?
The Jukkaishi must be really strong...
I looked through my bag to see if there was anything else I could offer.
I knew it probably wouldn't help much, but I thought that having a real-life object might be useful to them.
But there was nothing to give to Dion, so I closed my bag.
That's when I remembered the smartphone in my pocket.
I took my smartphone out of my pocket.
I turned it on... Since this was another world, there was no signal, so I could only use the camera.
"If you don't mind, I'd like you to have this. I think having a real object would be better."
Even though I could only use the camera, I thought that if I gave it to him, it might get a signal and become usable, even if only in this world. I held the smartphone out to Dion.
"Are you sure? It's yours, isn't it?"
Dion asked, as if he was worried about me.
It was fine. It was a small price to pay if it could help this world develop.
Thinking that, I handed him the phone.
Dion seemed to understand my feelings and took it without protest.
Just then, the food Dion had ordered arrived. It was a kind of bread and a large piece of meat.
We started eating.
...Wow! This is the best food I've ever eaten! The bread was so soft and fluffy, and the smell of it filled my mouth. The meat was juicy and savory, and it melted in my mouth, which made it go perfectly with the bread.
According to Dion, they don't use the fertilizers from my world for crops like wheat. There are magicians who specialize in cultivation who have been researching this, and their magic is more effective than the fertilizers from my world. They also feed the crops to the animals, which is why the bread and meat are so delicious. The only downside was that there didn't seem to be any rice in this world, which was a little disappointing.
When we finished eating, we went to leave the restaurant.
Dion handed the waiter two silver coins and received a few copper coins in return. It was probably the payment for the meal.
After leaving the restaurant, we went to buy some daily necessities and school supplies for the exam.
However, everywhere we went, Dion introduced me as a "transferred person," and the people in the stores would stare at me, making my face red with embarrassment.
Dion also kept teasing me everywhere we went, which was a little annoying.
We walked around with a lot of luggage from the shops.
Buying all the unique items from this world put me in a better mood.
"What are we buying next?"
I asked Dion.
"This is the last place! Next, we're going to buy the Maseirin you've been waiting for, so you can use magic!"
Dion said with a smile.