Thud! Thud! Thud!
Every knock grew louder as the shadow persisted outside the door. Otto grew more tense as he racked his mind on how to deal with this problem.
What should I do? Should I open the door or wait until they leave? His brow quivered. Now normally, it is a basic courtesy to answer the door right away. However, the problem was that it was happening very late into the night, and every knock was even louder than the previous one.
Otto wanted to ignore the call and pull his bedsheet—but he didn't.
He mustered every spark of courage he ever had and walked towards the door while muffling his footsteps. He noticed there was a peephole on the door and used it to examine the uninvited guest.
Outside revealed a stocky figure with a balding head and an unkempt beard. From his poor attire, Otto sighed in relief and opened the door. "How may I help you?"
The mysterious man immediately handed Otto a few coins. "You forgot some of these at the counter." Otto received the gift and saw that it was a total of 4 copper coins. When he looked up at the man again, he had already left and could be seen walking down the corridor.
However, he knew this man. He was the customer that ordered a drink beside Otto when he asked the bartender for a room. He shut the door and rubbed his temple; his expression went blank as he stared into the moon. That's weird; I swear I'd counted all of them right a few hours ago…
He decided to not pry much about it and shrugged it off before going back to his bed. But as he was about to touch the mattress, he realised something.
He quickly turned around and stared at the moon—its light was reflected across the land. That's when his heart grew uneasy.
The moon was the exact same as the one back in his home world.
Wait, what am I thinking? Of course, it would be the same; this place is an isekai world, after all! He turned around and chuckled it off before finally going back to bed and pulling his bedsheet. However, even if he laughed it off, he didn't feel better because of how similar the moon resembled his world.
…
A breeze went by as crowds of people were passing by. The cold air was perfect when combined with the morning sun. Otto noticed that in the far-right distance from the inn, market stalls could be seen with crowds of people coming over to buy their products. The rising sun could also be viewed behind the residential building as it half-covered the bright ball of fire. This also indicated that Otto was on the far west of the town since he came from the far left of the gate with Ryatt.
It was time to find the clergy that can teach him Yirtam—the language of this region.
He first did a full 180-degree turn to ask the bartender about where he could find the town's map.
"You don't need to tire yourself to find a big board of one. Just use this 'Crystamap' to guide you throughout your tour." The bartender gave a small frame to Otto; his face remained firm and expressionless.
Otto scratched his head before looking down at the frame—what was displayed brightened his eyes almost immediately. Inside the small frame was a panel of white crystal-like surface, and what was etched with black outlines on the surface was a detailed map of the town itself with a red dot that indicated his current location.
"How does it work?" Otto tilted the frame to view all sides of the map. He now understood the reality he was in. This world, in itself, has magic that altered any logic that he had learned back in his world. However, even that altered logic has its own logic in the first place.
"I don't know either, but if you want this item, it'll be 5 silver. I got the item exclusively from a miscellaneous shop. I hope you understand." The bartender leaned forward against the bar top edge with his forearm.
Otto slowly nodded before his movement came to a full stop. Ryatt only gave him 10 silver coins. Buying this Crystamap will result in his savings being reduced to half. Living in poverty was the last thing he would wish upon himself in this foreign land.
So as to save all his money, Otto quickly memorised only the most important part of the map before handing it back to the bartender. "I'm good, thank you for the offer."
The bartender glared at him for a while before turning around to continue on with his work. Otto then quickly exited the bar and went straight to the market street.
There, it was filled with vendors hawking their wares and smoke coming out of the food stalls. The street was wide enough for three horse carriages to drive through the street.
"Come and get your fresh vegetables!"
"Fresh fishes from the Sieyu River, only for 3 coppers per fish!"
"Smoke snake meat for 2 coppers a skewer!"
The alluring scent of meat managed to pull Otto's attention for a while before he shook his head and focused on the road ahead.
The dense crowd of people forced him to squeeze through to the other side of the street. It was a gruesome task which made him think that it will be a lot worse when people are coming home from their work. Wait, do they even work in shifts in this world? He didn't think much of it and continued to squeeze past the people.
After finally getting out of the market, which took so long, he finally managed to catch his breath and continued to push onwards.
After a while, he was met with an intersection. Without hesitation, he turned right as soon as he reached the turn. He was also surprised by the fact that he was able to memorise a part of the map this quickly since he was always known as someone who cannot even remember a shopping list without bringing one back in his world.
For a moment, he was glad to be reincarnated into a body capable of such skill. He would miss such a body if not for his guilt and homesickness building around him.
After a period of time, he finally arrived at his destination—the church. The silhouette of the spire cast a long, skeletal shadow across the street on which he stood. And faint echoes of someone preaching from the inside could also be heard. Its design could also be recognised by people walking by as that of a church.
Otto wasted no time on admiring the architecture and strode inside almost immediately. Rows of pews are arranged neatly on both sides, as colourful stained glass which depicts mysterious figures can be found on both sides of the wall.
On the chancel—specifically on the lectern—stood a middle-aged man with a black robe adorned with symbols, who was seen preaching a sermon to the people inside. There weren't as many people inside during this time; some were closing their eyes and clasping both of their hands, while some listened attentively to the priest's preaching.
Otto took a seat on one of the pews and waited for the sermon to finish.
…
The sermon soon came to an end as some people gathered in one line to donate their coins to the donation box.
Otto also joined in since his mission was to inquire with the priest that was standing beside the box. From his observation, most people will only bring out a few copper coins. But that is understandable from a peasant's perspective; if not, quite generous. If his guess was correct, most peasants can barely support their family in this medieval world.
It was soon his turn to donate to the box. To catch the priest's attention, Otto willingly pulled out three silver coins and put them in the box, slowly. It was an amount that was enough to catch people's attention and enough to not bankrupt him.
People behind him gasped as they mumbled to each other about who this man could be. The priest also caught sight of it, and his eyes widened. He clasped his hands and gave Otto the most genuine smile. "May the Goddess bless you."
Otto nodded before walking towards the priest. "I'm a traveller from a faraway land. Could you please teach me Yirtam? I heard that clergies are the most literate people besides the royalties."
The priest continued to smile. "Of course, the believers of the Goddess will always help a person in need."
Otto asked one more question. "By the way, can I stay here for a few nights? I will also do voluntary work while I'm at it."
The man nodded. "If that is your offer, then I'll gladly accept it."
Otto thanked the priest before going back to his seat. After a short period of time, all of the people had left, and it was just him and the priest who remained. Otto came up to the man that was carrying the donation box. "My name is Otto; how should I address you?"
"You can call me Father Gerav. But you can also call me however you want, depending on your comfort, of course. Now, follow me if you still want that work." Both of them exited the church and went south right after Father Gerav locked the church's front door.
Otto was sceptical about this. He only offered help to the church; then why did this man bring him far away from the church?
They soon went past the town's southern gate and entered the outskirts of Venim. The area was a vast land of green hills. There were people planting crops behind their homes, and others were tending their farm animals. A fresh breeze passed by as the evening sun shone at its finest.
Otto once dreamed of such a place to live in with his family, away from all sorts of troubles his world had offered. The fresh breeze of the western wind and the vast green to settle in, alongside the forest and river, accompanied the farmers in the far distance—all of which pricked his heart with a bunch of tiny needles, as he really doesn't own such a land.
"We're here." As Gerav was busy fumbling for the right key, Otto scrutinised the building in front of him. It was a small two-storey house with a vast green plain in the backyard.
"Aha, found it!" Gerav inserted the key into the keyhole and twisted it before the door finally opened. Both of them walked inside, which revealed a simple interior—a wooden table and chairs that were arranged on the left, while stairs that led upwards were on the right.
"Make yourself at home. I'll prepare us some dinner." Gerav went to the kitchen after taking off his shoe. Otto also noticed it and does the same before sitting on a wooden chair in the kitchen.
He looked at his surroundings—it was not a spacious kitchen, as one can take three steps to measure its width. There weren't any special decorations except for plants and religious symbols painted white on the wall, except for one.
He looked to his right, which was another room on the far-right side of the house with a fireplace, a rocking chair, and a bookshelf placed in the corner of the room. Above the fireplace was a worn-out sword hanging on the wall. It wasn't decorative. It has a worn grip and a worn-out edge.
Otto noticed the sword, and his heart grew wary. He looked at Gerav—the man was cutting vegetables with extreme precision. He immediately understood one thing—the priest in front of him was a swordsman; a real one.