Re:Zero, Am I Supposed to be Here?

CHAPTER- 1

A Typical Isekai Escapade

Some pretty bright lights were blaring at me, as the cool air of the concrete-made building wafted and drifted into my nose, and it a was pretty refreshing feeling, even if I come here almost every single evening just to buy some snacks and other stuff.

"I wonder how the author will wrap this up," I said to myself as my eyes finished scanning the last page of this chapter, closing the magazine as I placed it back on the rack that also contained the various other magazines from the same publishing company.

"I wonder when he'll publish another chapter? I heard this series has a ton of long and grueling hiatuses, so I'm probably strapping myself for the long haul" though one of my favorite manga series is also known for its long hiatuses.

"I think I'm gonna die before they even finish" I lightly sigh a breath as I walked away from the magazine rack and walked around the white, slippery tiles of the convenience store, the refreshing air never failing in permeating my nose as I continued to search for the isle I'm looking for.

And sure enough, I found just that, an aisle with multiple colorful racks filled with all kinds of snacks, both familiar and foreign, and most of the products placed here were just the usual snacks like chips, biscuits, and all the like.

"—I wonder where it is?" my eyes peered and scanned the entirety of both shelves, and it seems like those chips were pretty much out of stock from what I could tell "dammit.. I guess I'll just have this one" my hands glided and grabbed at the nearest bag of chips that somewhat looked appetizing.

"Mayonnaise flavor... I guess I'll just have this one, doesn't hurt to try out new things" even though mayonnaise isn't particularly my favorite type of condiment, it's still tasty enough.

And with that little pilgrimage for chips was over, I exited the sacred aisle of bagged airy snacks and headed to my right, with some other customers who were just school students passing by me.

And after a few more seconds of coordinated walking, I finally found myself at the aisle that was selling pre-packaged noodles, with different types of flavors and broths on each one.

"I also have to buy one for my uncle..." though he never told me which flavor he would like, but going off past experiences, I'd have to say he'd liked the pork-flavored cup of noodles.

And with task two completed, my third task has begun, and that's to buy my cup of noodles, using the money my uncle lent me...

"—Maybe I'll go for this one..." my hand hovered over the extra spicy chicken-flavored cup of noodles, but my hand stopped its motion as I hesitated to choose which one I would really want to eat out of the many flavors here.

"—I can just buy the ones that I want" though I really don't want to spend any more money than I have to (as I've already bought a bag of chips for myself) but my stomach and gluttony is just telling me otherwise... I'll just buy two for myself.

And with that seemingly rational conclusion that'll most definitely bite me in the ass in the near future, I walked over to cashier and successfully bought the snacks that I'll fling into my gullet that'll also happen in the near future.

The cashier lady placed all of my junk food on a flimsy plastic bag with the company logo on it and handed it over to me, without as much as a second glance, as she went back at fiddling around with her phone.

And without also looking back at her direction, I waddled my way through the automatic glass door, and exited the building with the refreshing air of the convenience store lingering as it also faded away, and all I could be a cold breezy air that didn't feel 'as' good.

"I also have tons of homework waiting for me back home.." a defeated frown crept up on my skin as the prospect of staying up all night studying and doing assignments gave me the feeling of dread.

I sighed... And I sighed again as a small pool of frustration built up inside of me, and at any moment now I felt like I was going to shout at the sky to vent of my vexation of being drowned in school work.

"I definitely shouldn't I'd just attract some unwanted attention" and I sighed again as I regained my composure, scrunching my face and muscles while doing so.

But something kind of feels off...

"I'm just really sleep deprived, best to just shake it off" a small yawn escaped from my mouth as I cocked my head towards the sky as my limbs instinctively stretched outwards, my eyes closed shortly after, with slight tears of exhaustion dripping down my face.

and after that yawn, another yawn that was much bigger escaped my lungs as I put a hand covering my face, my eyes still closed and my limbs still stretched out, but that feeling of unexplainable oddness came back.

And through my closed eyes, a bright beaming light slipped past the skin protecting my orbs and into my retinas.

"Must've been a car passing by" is what a normal person would think, but something just felt off about it.

The cool breeze of the moonlit air was completely non-existent as my body felt like I was out in daylight, and the sounds of footsteps against a hard surface came from all around, with various faceless voices coming in and out of my eardrums.

And by both my proclivity and curiosity, I opened my eyes, a bright blinding light blaring straight at my black pupils.

"Gah!"

I instantly closed my eyes out fear of losing my vision, my hand rubbing my closed eyes as the muscles in my face contracted, my grip on the plastic bag tightening, a warm feeling on my skin ever so increasing.

"What the fuck? Was that the sun!? But wasn't it evening just now!?" my hand balled into a fist as it continued rubbing my eyes, wiping away the assault on my eyeballs from the sun? as it continues to lightly heat up my body with the sounds of footsteps being just the same.

"Tch, what the hell is happening!?" confusion swirled around my head as I tried to comprehend as to how these sudden events even occured.

But slowly, I opened my eyes, with my head not jerked up into the sky, my grip on the grocery bag loosening, and as soon as I saw a glimpse of my surroundings, my eyes widened.

In place of the moonlight that lit the suburban streets of my neighborhood, the sun unapologetically shined down on a cobblestone path and into the windows of unfamiliar looking buildings and up into the roofs of said buildings.

And as my eyes adjusted to the bright light emanating from the sky, my pair of eyes caught the attention of the people passing by around me, they all wore alien looking cloths and garbs.

But what what really caught me off-guard were some of the passerbys... It looked like they had long ears, and a pointed face, and some had more noticeable animal-like features than the rest—

"Is that a lizard!?" a tall figure, with skin made out of slick green scales just passed by me, his brown cloak just swaying in his movement.

These are definitely demi-humans...

"—!? Have I been... No— How is that even possible!?" is this really happening to me? There's no way right? Have I really been isekai'd into another world!?... Yes, yes I am.

My initial shock of being isekai'd into another world settled down a bit, though admittedly I was still denying the fact of something like this even happening to me, but over the course of a few seconds that denial went away, and the only thing left was just smile.

Isekai... that's a word that fellow cultured NEET'S and Weebs will immediately recognize, the idea of being transported into another, unfamiliar world always exited me ever since I was just a kid, and for it to actually happen!

"But what am I going to do now?" I just continued to stand there, in the middle of the road made of cobblestone, and people continued to walk past me in all sorts of directions, and they would also give me a curious glance from time to time.

"Most likely from my clothes" I uttered to myself under my breath, my eyes tracing down to my plain white T-shirt... Well maybe plain isn't the right word for it, there's just three small colorful hot air balloons right to where my heart is.

These were always the clothes I wear if I ever decide to even go outside, along with my somewhat baggy black pants, and brown lace-less sport shoes...

"What am I supposed to do?" that question came back to me almost immediately as I remembered the current situation I was in. Being Isekai'd into another world.

"—It's been a while since I've watched or read anything that's remotely isekai, all I've been consuming lately is just Seinen stuff..." a hand hovered over to my chin as I tried to remember the usual tropes that come with the genre.

"Well from what I remember, one of the most common tropes of isekai is the heroine that summons you to another world where shortly after, they give you a quick overview of the plight the world is in, and they give you the task of saving that world... And if that's the case then she's really stretching my patience, It usually takes less than a minute for the exposition dump to happen"

A few minutes have passed since my recent isekai, and I just stood there, my arms at the pockets of my jacket and my sport shoes tapping on the cobblestone path that extended throughout from what I could see, an extensive road.

"—What's taking her so long?" a slight tone frustration pooled up, but that feeling just amounted to nothing, as I just sigh it out, my eyes looking all over the place for any sign of the heroine that's supposed to assist me in my adventures.

"If the heroine doesn't introduce themselves to me anytime soon, then the only conclusion I can really make, is that a random event will occur that'll somehow be the starting point of my grand quest.

And with that supposed proposition dangling in front of me, I optimistically took my first step towards my fate, eagerness sprouting up my head, accompanied by the sound of plastic colliding with each other.

A visible smile on my face showed itself, as I took my first step into an Unfamiliar World!

And that first step into fate led me to the cobblestone road that led to various directions, and by that I meant forward and backwards, just narrow road

And as usual, while not that many, civilians continued to walk around, the orange-roofed buildings providing shade to the passerbys, and at both sides of each roads, merchant stalls were erected selling all sorts of stuff both new and familiar.

And most of these stalls were built the same, with a large wooden front displaying the many products the vendors were selling with four moderately tall wooden beams on all four corners holding up a sheet to provide cover for the vendors.

With the only thing differentiating the next vendor to the last was of course, the products, and the way these vendors were presenting their goods, as they all took the opportunity to persuade a passerby to purchase their wares.

"Business will be business I guess"

My legs continued their forward motion through the road, my eyes darting around the architecture of this kingdom, the road I walked in was also slightly sloped and from what I could see, the road ahead of me slightly curved to the left.

"This place is definitely less crowded" I nonchalantly blurted out, my altitude slightly decreasing by the millimeters with each step I took... And after a few more minute I took more steps, and after more minutes I took even more steps.

"Man I'm beat... Never really was a physical person" my chest puffed out a sizable amount of air, my body leaning besides a nearby wall that also lead to a small alleyway.

And after a few more breathers, I continued to search for any sign of a plot point kicking in...

"That pub might be it..." the corner of my eye caught the glimpse of what seemed to be a pub, judging from how it was built, if that makes any sense, though I couldn't really make out what the dangling sign at the front even meant. It was just a mix of symbols and glyphs

"I can't even read this!" my shoulders slumped out of frustration "first I have to go participate in a wild goose chase just so I can get my adventures going, and now I have to learn a different language!?" horrid memories of trying to learn french back at home resurfaced.

"Why is this so damn difficult!? Wasn't I supposed to be summoned here just so I can save the world from an impending doom, and along my —Hey kid...— journeys I gather a loving harem composed of a Tsundere, Kuudere and a Dandere, and I'll be known as the hero who —Your being a pain in the ass, ya know that!?— saved the world!? A hero that people will make grand tales about! A hero beloved by all!?"

"HEY!!"

"Gah!!"

"You know you've been muttering to yourself for the past minute outside the pub huh!?"

"U-uh..."

"And ya also know that this place is strictly only for demi-humans right, or can't ya even read!? it's written right there at the sign buddy!"

"Man that was dumb of me... But I can't even read, so technically that wasn't my fault!" a wince came after as I placed a palm on my cheek, the pain from that dog-mans knuckle hurt like a bitch.

"I'm just exhausted... Before I even came here, all I did was just sit around the house playing video games all day" with a slumped shoulder, I just continued in my pilgrimage, the sound of the crinkling bag in my hand being mixed in with the footsteps and voices of the ordinary citizens.

And so after a bit of uncoordinated walking, I somehow found myself at a place with a fountain in the middle, the fountain it self was quite fancy if I had to say anything about it.

"Finally, a nearby bench" as I saw the sleek beauty of this bad boy that was right next to the fountain, and without hesitation I immediately threw my bag at it and plonked my ass on it.

"This is going nowhere fast..." first I just wasted my time and energy just walking around looking for that damn heroine for about an hour, then I get my face clocked in by some jerk.

A sigh... A sigh was all that I could muster out of myself, my entire body leaning on the wooden bench.

I placed a hand on my pocket, rummaging around the dusty interior, and it didn't take long before I found what I was looking for.

"Of course there's no reception, why would there be!?" man I'm really having a bad time here, or I'm just one of the most unluckiest person to ever be isekai'd... If should really find a place to stay huh?

I could find an inn to stay in... But where am I even going to get any money? I doubt this place would use yen... Maybe I could just sell my phone... But it's the only thing aside from my phone that reminds of home...

Tch, screw that, I'm definitely selling this thing but where am I even going to sell this? are there any pawn shops nearby, and even if there was, I doubt I could find one.

Man I'm pathetic.

"Hopefully homeless shelters exist in a medieval world because God knows I really need it ——Man this shit sucks!" this is nothing like what I expected, something should've happen by now, but nothing!

"—I should just go find some help." hopefully I can find some deus ex machina, but I really doubt that...

And with a huff and a sigh, I stood up from my seat and just wandered around like always.

I should just enjoy my enviorment, just moping around isn't really going to do anything of use ——!

*THUMP*

"—tch!" the cold hard ground of the cobblestone path was met with my ass _——Why can't I just get a damn break!

"I-I'm sorry about that sir! I didn't see you there, but you really should be aware of your surroundings... What do you mean it was my fault!?... What are you talking about!? I don't remember getting drunk last night!? —O- Oh please don't mind me sir."

"Man what a squeamish voice." I picked myself up the ground, dusting away any dirt on my shirt and pants, with my head hung low from both anger and embarrassment, but both of those emotions quickly subsided as I raised my head.

"Graaaaawwwww"

"Gaahh!! What the hell is that!" I recoiled from the shock of a sudden creature just appearing in front of me, it's face resembling a reptile with a small muzzle slapped in the middle of it's head... Why is it glaring at me!?

"I-I'm sure he didn't mean it Frufoo, um please don't mind us sir"

"W-Wait no I'm the one who should be sorry sir, I just acted in impulse" my head hinged low from shame, my face reddening at the prospect of onlookers staring at me in public.

"There's no need to apologize sir, all is forgiven, and besides it was... kind of my fault, so please, you can raise your head sir" and as ordered by the man, I lifted my head.

"Uh... thanks" was all I could really say, as my arm was behind my head "I'm really thankful for your forgiveness."

"You don't need to be so formal sir, I'm just a simple merchant heading out the capital of Lugnica" Lugnica huh? I guess that's what this kingdom is called, and didn't this guy say he was merchant?... I wonder what he looks like.

"That's some really strange attire..." first off the guy I was talking with donned a large green hat with a feather on it, his cloak was also green with outlined patterns at the rim, and in his hands held a leash —well more like a Rein that's connected to...

"Have you never seen a ground dragon before sir?" the guy with gray hair tilted his head, his voice laced in a slight hint of worry.

"O-Of course I have!" What the hell is a ground dragon?..

"Well okay... But I should really go now, you know business and all, so take care!"

"—Y-Yeah! Take care dude!"

A smile formed on his face as he whipped the reins, the four-legged ground dragon? walking towards the road, but not without it staring daggers at me.

*SNATCH*

"What am I supposed to do now?..." that's all that I've been thinking about lately huh? Always worrying... I should definitely be more optimistic, though I wonder who that guy was?... —but why do I feel like something is missing?

I feel like a non-existent draft in pants just formed... My hands drifted over to my pants...

My phone just got stolen...

"DAMMIT!"