We stepped outside the store, I took a deep breath of the fresh air, the breeze ran through my fingers, slightly cold compared to the warm cozy inside I'd just been in.
"Let's make our way to the town hall, shall we? We'll go somewhere else from there~ Since it's the town's center, it makes a good reference point for anywhere you wanna go to."
I glanced around, the ring of lush trees made it impossible to see far beyond, only the smoke coming from the house chimneys could be seen above the mass of leaves.
Something about this place made me feel rather excited about taking a stroll across town. Back in Tokyo just the idea walking to the metro station made me feel dizzy.
In the map I'd seen the total area of Koruta. The whole thing barely scratched 0.3 square kilometers in size.
I walk at a pace of 5 kilometers per hour, One side of this town should be around 540 meters long. It wouldn't take me more than half an hour to walk a lap around the entire town.
The fresh coastal air almost cleansed my lungs. I was breathing in higher resolution. My brain had never felt this relaxed back in Japan.
We began walking, the crunch of the dirt filled in the atmosphere as Jaromi looked my way.
"So, Seito how were things back in your country~~? What was it called? Nipo? Niho~?"
Jaromi was trying to start a conversation between us, but my mind was busy trying to figure out if he had actually said 'Sato' or butchered it.
"Well... It was a little rough, city would be selling it short. It was a large metropolis, life was really stressful, and the air was nothing like the one here."
He smirked at my mention of the air quality. "You city dwellers have it rough~ this clean air is worth more than any precious gem!"
"It really is!" Kron remarked. "The one thing I've missed throughout all my travels has been air this clean."
We passed through the ring of trees, I finally got a better glance at the entire town.
The large stretch of beach was visible in the distance, the sound coming from the waves echoed through the town, from my distance it could only be faintly heard, like a simple white noise.
The clay roofs on every house were all a different color, red bricks, deep ocean blues, even a bright neon green.
I hadn't seen a view this green and peaceful since I left my parents' house after I graduated.
It reminded me of biking up and down the hills with my friends every day after school, especially during elementary when we were at our most energetic and childish.
We'd bike around all day, even performing some risky tricks. My most vivid memory was trying to stand on the bike's seat as I went downhill. I broke my arm that day.
After biking around we'd hang out together in the town's park. It was small and just a rusty playground with sand everywhere, but my friends made it the most special place in town.
"Hey~" Jaromi tapped my shoulder. I hadn't realized I was stood completely still, staring into the ocean, lost in thought.
"Gah! Sorry! I keep dozing off today..." I tilted my head in embarrassment.
"It's alright, you're just moving into a new town after all." Kron reassured.
In a blink of an eye, a butterfly had landed on my snout, it stood almost completely still, it's wings gently twitching as the only movement it showed.
I'd never seen a butterfly that beautiful. It's wings were coated in a bright purple, almost divided into upper and lower halves.
The top half was bordered with a blue glow, the bottom with a yellow one. The butterfly's body was crimson red, and awfully large.
"D-Don't move!" A villager shouted, sprinting towards us in a hurry.
I flicked my eyes towards them, trying my absolute hardest not to move and scare away the butterfly.
Due to my relaxed state it was easy to do so, although I did feel a small tickle at my snout's tip.
The person running towards us was a golden retriever. The golden wasn't an understatement, their coat shone under the white sun like gold itself.
Their fur slightly bounced around, fluffy as hell. Their eyes were a simple brown color.
As they got closed their step turned slower, I had just noticed they were carrying around a net, one you'd use to catch bugs.
"Please, don't move..." They began preparing their net, sharp eyes completely focused on the butterfly resting on my face.
Swoop.
In a single, precise movement they managed to catch the butterfly.
My eyes widened in surprise. That net skill was unmatched to anything I'd seen before, not even the most dedicated bug catchers I'd known back in my town were able to precisely move the net like that.
Somehow, my snout remained untouched from the net's grasp, that single swift movement had been precise to the millimeter.
The golden retriever gently took the butterfly into their hand, allowing it to rest on their finger before shoving it inside a jar.
Ding.
"Yes! That was the last bug for my quest!"
The canine's eyes glowed with joy and excitement, their muzzle turning into a wide grin.
He has just mentioned a quest, hadn't he? And that ding I heard... Were my previous attempts at summoning a menu not so far fetched!?
They stuffed the jar into their bag, patting at their knees to dust off some dirt.
"Oh, hi Jaromi! Akkesi came looking for you, he said he-"
"Save it. I've heard enough of that."
The canine's tail began rapidly wagging from side to side and their ears perked up. "Are my eyes deceiving me??" He stared at Kron in awe.
Kron looked both ways before realizing they were looking at him. Kron's body tensed up as if bracing for impact before-
The golden retriever pounced on Kron, slamming him onto the grass before hugging him like he wanted to break every bone of his.
"Yup, I knew you'd do that~~~"
"Help me-" Kron said, his voice was raspy and breathy.
"You've been away for so long, you don't know how much I've been missing you! Oh, we have so much catching up to do. Why do you never reply to my messages??? I keep thinking you died!!!"
The dog began rambling on, something about how Kron should visit the town more. Their tail kept wagging, almost turning into a simple blur behind them.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Jaromi patted all along Kron's back, small dirt clouds flying off their crimson sweater with every pat.
The canine rubbed the back of his head as their tail had slowed down now gently swaying from side to side. "I'm sorry, I just got really excited, hehe~"
"It's alright, I know how you are..." Kron glanced at me, giving a small jump of realization. "Oh, right. Sato, this is Musi. He'll be one of your neighbors."
Musi looked at me, his golden smile shining like the sun above us. He reached their hand out to greet me. "Nice to meet you, Sato!" Looking back at Kron he asked. "Is he moving in?"
"Yeah, I met him on the train, we're buddies and he'll be living in one of the vacant houses."
"He's lucky he met Kron~~~ If he was anyone else, he'd be sleeping under a tree tonight."
"So where is he from? Or did he just materialize on the train ride here?"
"He's from Nipo, some country northeast from here"
"Oh, Nipo. I know that place. My uncle lives there."
So it is an actual country. Something on the back of my head had convinced me that wasn't a real place and just an artifact from the reincarnation.
"He sends me pictures, I didn't know buildings could go that high."
Musi was right. That's the one thing I loved about Tokyo, anywhere I looked was sky-high apartment buildings, there was a mystical attractiveness to them.
My mind snapped back to the 'quest' Musi had mentioned before when he caught the butterfly.
"Back when you said you completed your quest... What were you referring to?"
Musi raised one ear and tilted his head in confusion. "Hm? You don't have a system?"
I KNEW IT! SYSTEMS ARE REAL!!! ALL THOSE WEBNOVELS I READ, THEY WERE TELLING THE TRUTH, I KNEW I WASN'T DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.
I cleared up my throat, trying to hide my excitement. "Uhm, uh... no... or I don't think so..."
"I'd heard something like this before." Jaromi interrupted. "Some regions in the world don't have 'systems' or they don't have them as we know it. The northeastern people's evolution never led to the need for systems."
"We can just give him one, right?"
Give me one? Give me a system? Yes please, god I'm so excited. If I had a system I'm sure it'd be a magic related one. Telekinesis would be perfect, considering my weak noodle arms.
"But it's a whole ordeal... We can do it later."
Okay, maybe I wouldn't receive it now. But I'd receive it eventually, perfect.