A New Life Begins…

The heavenly glow disappeared and he once more felt gravity upon himself as his feet met with solid ground once more. Eyes bleary from the sudden change in lighting, he closed his eyes for a moment as he let them adjust to the reddish light that gleamed through ever so slightly.

While his eyes might not have been of any use in these seconds, he let his other senses take in this new environment for him.

First, he heard the sound of a whip crack and the sound of a cart being hauled away on a stone pathway nearby, followed by many sets of footsteps nearby, some heavier than others, and the clicking of metal rings and the scraping of metal plates, indicating there were soldiers or warriors of some kind walking along the road.

Then, he felt the suns radiance kiss his skin, and combined with a gentle breeze coming from the right, he would assume that it was either summer was in full swing or perhaps it was getting closer to autumn.

Finally, the area he was in smelt pleasant, as the aroma of freshly cooked meats and breads was quite strong, and the sweeter scents of gardens and assorted flowers.

Feeling that his eyes were acclimated, he opened his eyes to be greeted with a wonderful sight.

Unlike the dirt-gravel pathways and practical wood-paper structures that he had seen when he had traveled through the town of Fuchu during his thirtieth year of life, these roads were made out of finely carved bricks, whereas the homes were made of stone with glass windows.

Over the roofs of these buildings were towers that were taller than the pagoda temples and further off into the distance he could see what looked like walls which towered thrice as high of Edo castle.

A few moments passed before he finally decided to check his person for what he had.

First, he noticed that he had his clothes which he died in, feeling freshly laundered.

Next was the Scarlet Steel katana, with its masterfully crafted sheathe and grip.

And finally, were the two items he cherished most: the flute gifted to him as a child, and the fabric from his late wife's kimono.

Once he was certain that he had all his possessions, he began to move forward, remaining close to the edge of the road, taking in the sights of this walled settlement. As he passed by many households, he could see the square patches of grass that separated them from the roadway, in on them were often women either doing the work of the household or caring for young babes.

Not too far away he could see the figures of young children playing along a bridge and from the sounds of splashing he could assume that they were cooling off in a stream or river below.

As he walked along the roads he saw men, woman, and children of all kinds, these people looking much different than the people of Nihon, from their skin being many different colors both darker than lighter than his own, to others having different colors of hair, longer ears, and eyes of many vibrant hues.

And of these men and women, he could see a number of individuals with arms and armors of all types.

The first group reminded him of samurai retainers of a castle town who regularly patrolled the streets to maintain law and order. They wore uniform sets of armor he had never seen before, and had swords at the hilt, ready to deal with any danger that came their way.

The second group reminded him of the more irregular troops, individuals who wielded arms and armor seemingly unique to their small bands. These men and women were armed with a wide variety of weapons and armor, ranging from armor made of pure steel that covered head to toe, to those who were less than modestly dressed, with assortments of daggers and other items at the belt. There were even a number of what appeared to be a few holy men and women amongst their numbers if his assumptions were correct.

Passing by a house, he caught a glimpse of his reflection for just a moment, causing him to halt entirely.

Slowly turning towards the reflective surface, he moved up to it, and what he saw was surely the blessing that the Sun Goddess had given him.

Looking at his reflection, he saw not the aged and creviced face that he had grown accustomed to, nor did he see the silvery white strands of hair that he once had, rather he saw the youthful visage of his teenage years. His hair was once again black with the familiar red highlights he had secretly missed once his hair silvered, and feeling his face, his skin was as smooth as it was that day.

With a blink of the eyes, he accessed the Transparent World, one of the many boons of the Mark he was born with.

Everything around him coming to the pace of a turtles crawl as he looked down at his arms, legs, and chest. No longer did he see the wear and tear of the turning of time on his muscles and bone, rather it seemed that the Sun Goddess had indeed given him new vigor in hopes that he would be able to accomplish the task she had given to him.

The swordsman felt a tug at his sleeve.

Exiting the Transparent World, his head turning to the source. Looking down, he could see a young boy, who looked like he wasn't past his tenth year.

"Excuse me mister." The boy spoke in a strange language, however what was more surprising was that he understood it fluently. "My kite is stuck in a tree."

The boy pointed upwards, and looking to the direction, he could see that there was indeed a box shaped kite stuck in a tree. To the boy whose head reached slightly higher than his waist, it was certainly a lost cause if he wasn't willing to climb, however it would be in arms reach for him if he stood on his toes.

"Was playing until the wind pushed it in the tree." The kid pointed up once again. "I can't climb well like my brother."

Not sure how to respond, he spoke. "Do you want me to retrieve it?"

Yoriichi blinked in surprise when he found himself speaking fluently in their native tongue. Was this a blessing given to him by the gods?

The young voice spoke again, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"You're tall." The boy spoke once again as if that explained everything. "Please?"

With a nod, he began to move towards the tree. With his natural height, reached up, and after carefully maneuvering the kite so that its strings would not get tangled further in the branches, he retrieved the kite.

With it in hand, he brushed off a few leaves which had stuck and crouched down, handing it over.

"Thank you, mister!" The boy smiled as he looked at his kite.

"It was no problem."

After the boy was done inspecting his kite, he could see his eyes land on the obsidian-lacquered sheathe that held his blade.

"Are you an adventurer?" The boy asked, tilting his head in inquiry.

"Of a sort." Yoriichi nodded, standing to full height now. "I am new to this town and I find myself lost."

"Oh." To the young boy's mind, that made sense. "Are you looking for the Adventurers Guild?"

"Adventurers Guild?" Yoriichi inquired.

"People come here all the time because of it!" The youngling hopped in place with excitement. "They come here to get stronger and papa tells me that adventurers fight monsters and demons!"

"I see." The swordsmen nodded. "Where may I find this guild?"

"Its… um."

The child rested a free hand as he thought, closing his eyes as he focused on where it was.

Yoriichi stood silently, patiently waiting for the boy to recall.

"Mmm… aha!" The boy smiled as he remembered after a moment. "Its by the tower with horns coming out of it!"

"Tower with horns coming out of it?"

"Mhm! With all the other adventurers nearby entering and exiting you can't miss it" The boy affirmed while nodding, pointing down a roadway. "I could see them from the center marketplace when my mom took me!"

"Thank you." The swordsman dipped his head. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye mister!" The boy waved before running off towards a more open field.

"The tower with horns coming out of it…" His maroon eyes scanned the rooftops before spotting the building in question.

It was a distance away, however as long as he was able to see the building over the rooftops, he figured he would be able to reach it in a reasonable amount of time.

And if he lost sight of it, he supposed he'd just have to ask for directions.

…

It seemed that he didn't need to ask for directions after all, since it seemed to be a straight shot from where he got the directions before he arrived at the marketplace the young boy had directed him to.

From there, he looked for the tower with the horns protruding out of it, and from there simply followed the motley groups that he believed to be adventurers who were walking in the direction of the tower before finally reaching a large building which was without a doubt the guild hall.

There were a number of market stalls lining the stone pathway to the entrance of the guild hall, which was a large establishment made of stone with two large wooden doors separating the inside from the out. Above said door was a beautiful glass window which looked much like a chrysanthemum flower.

Walking up to the building, he pushed open one of the doors with ease, being immediately met with the rowdy sounds of what was many individuals shouting, not in any particular hostile manner, rather what was people trying to speak over the self-perpetuating cacophony.

The inside of said building was as spacious as the size led him to believe, a number of torch posts keeping the room illuminated, and over a dozen tables and a number of decorations such as a statue of a warrior clad in armor and the bones of a animal which he had never seen before.

"Oh hello there!" The voice of a young lady caught his attention. She was carrying a number of trays masterfully stacked atop of each other. "If you're here to eat, find a seat where you can, if you're looking for work, head over to the counter!"

"Thank you." With a nod, she walked off and went to do what he presumed to be her job.

"Hey! I've never seen you before!" A brutish voice called towards him now, and when he turned he could see a man with a mohawk whose facial hair was on his is upper lip and a line that followed his jawline. From his reclined position on a post, he continued "You got some funky cloths on ya."

"My apologies if I have offended you." Yoriichi apologized, wishing to avoid any form of conflict with the locals. "I am here because I was told adventurers hunt monsters and demons."

"Don't sweat it kid." The ruffian chuckled before crossing his arms. "If dying's what you want, dying is what you'll get, WELCOME TO THE GATES OF HELL!" The shoulder plates of his armor clacked as he gestured with a thumb. "Guild admissions are right over there."

With conflict avoided, Yoriichi gave a nod of gratitude before walking towards the counter.

At this time, it seemed that there was only one individual working at this time, the other counters having little signs with 'At lunch' written in the foreign script.

There he saw a woman standing on the opposite side of the counter, her hair and eyes a wonderful shade of gold and amber. While the standard of modesty seemed to be radically different than in his world, what confused him more was the purpose of the bow on her neck, as it was not clearly holding up any fabric.

"Welcome to the Adventurers Guild Branch of Axel." The receptionist greeted him, breaking him out of his thoughts. "How can I help you today?"

"I was informed that this is where guild admissions are done." Yoriichi began, his eyes staying above the neckline. "I was told that adventurers fight monsters and demons."

"That is correct!" She sat up straight, soon putting her hand out. "Please allow for me to inspect your adventurers' card."

"Adventurers card?" Confusion in his voice, he tilted his head.

"Oh? But your attire is strange and your eyes are red… even a strange tattoo." She tilted her head in confusion. "Do you not have an adventurers' card?"

"Should I have one?"

"I was led to believe that Crimson Demons created their own adventurers' cards in school?" She leaned over the counter again looking him up and down. "Unless… you're not a Crimson Demon?"

"Crimson Demon?" He looked at the golden-haired receptionist. "Are they minions of the Demon King?"

"No, they are staunch enemies of the Demon King last I heard." Her amber eyes looked down at her hands, thumbs twiddling now. "Well… you share a lot of physical similarities with people from the Crimson Demon Village." She bowed her head to apologize. "I am so sorry for any offence my statement might have caused."

"There is no offense. It was a coincidence that I shared many physical traits with these 'Crimson Demons'." He put a hand up to keep her from apologizing. "Please raise your head."

Once she had done so, he spoke again.

"I am new to this settlement, and was seeking admission to the Guild."

"Ok. I can help you with that." Her eyes closed and in a practiced manner she smiled. "All you need to do is pay the registration fee."

"Registration fee?"

"Yes, a one-time sum of one thousand Eris."

It had been a long time since Yoriichi had dealt with any form of physical currency. Despite his banishment from the Demon Slayer Corps, the Ubayashiki clan still provided him with the full extent of their financial assets, only having to send a crow to inform what damages or livelihoods had been destroyed or lost by demons, never using it for himself.

Even from time to time he labored and toiled to feed himself and to give to charity when he could.

Since his failure to defeat Kibutsuji, his existence in his last life could best be described as worldly.

"I do not have the necessary funds." Yoriichi simply stated, following up with a question. "May I ask where I can work to acquire funds for registration?"

"Well, this isn't the first time something like this has happened" The receptionist's brow had raised before she nodded. "Since things are usually peaceful here, without the guild it's unlikely you'll find a job that would use your specific skill set," She gestured to the blade at his hip, "you can try your luck at construction or working a market stall."

"And where might I find these employers?"

"Well the most prominent market is the town center, right around the corner." She nodded as she looked him up and down. "There's likely to be a crier for construction work in one of the marketplaces, after all, not everyone can be a merchant or adventurer."

"Thank you, you have been a great help." He dipped his head in gratitude. "I will return when I have the necessary funds."

"Good luck then sir." The receptionist stated with a smile before waving to him. "The Adventurers Guild look forward to your return!"

…

Yoriichi found himself at the site of what he was told was a restoration work on the town walls.

He was actually quite surprised how easy it was to find work, given that he had quickly found himself in the market square after leaving the guild hall, and only moments later did he find the crier that the receptionist spoke of.

Unlike other criers who seemed to be teenage sons and daughters who were to inherit their families respective trade, the crier for the construction work was a massive man with bulging muscles, skin tanned much like those that lived on the coastline.

"Help wanted for various construction projects around Axel!" The man flexed his absurdly large muscles. "Also digging holes to prepare foundations for the locations of guard houses and other buildings!"

He had moved up to the crier, who then looked him up and down.

"You looking to do construction work?" The crier had asked, and when he replied in the affirmative, the crier continued. "Well lucky for you we got a number of projects and not enough hands!" The strongman then flexed once again. "If you head towards that way," He posed pointing towards the west, "you'll find the boss, he'll send you to where you're needed."

With a nod, he began walking to the east, while the construction criers shouting got more and more distant.

Within fifteen minutes, he found where this 'boss' was, a large man at that, standing a head talle

More hands were needed with the restoration of the western wall, but since he'd be starting a few hours later than the rest of the laborers, he'd only be paid a half days salary, and every subsequent day he'd show to work he'd get a full day's worth.

And if he found new work or simply didn't want to work construction anymore, he'd be allowed to quit.

He'd accepted to those terms, after all, one needed to start somewhere.

Which brought him to where he was now.

There were at least thirty men and a few women working here, hauling bags of mortar and wheel barrels full of rubble or other items needed for the maintained of a wall this size.

"Hey you in the red!" A muscled man not as tanned as the crier called out to him from higher scaffolding, his brown locks peering out from underneath his headwrap. "You the new help?"

"I was told to come help with the restoration of the western wall."

"Then you're in the right place." The man hopped down from the higher platform and moved up to him, extending his hand out. "I'll be your supervisor; you can call me Cobb."

Confused by the gesture, he simply opted to greet this 'Cobb' as he normally would any other, with a bow. "Yoriichi."

"Ah, not from around?" Cobb retracted his hand and crossed his arms. "No problem, we'll get you up to speed in no time. Follow me."

Yoriichi followed the man, who led him to a wooden hut with a number of metal containers, all of which had locks, but only a number of them had keys with strings tied to them.

"Pick a metal crate and you can put away any items which might get in the way of your work." Cobb shook the one of the locks. "Don't worry, your goods will be fine in there."

Upon opening the box, he could see a set of fabrics in there too.

"A linen tunic and breeches, if don't want your outfit to get messy while you work, one size fits all, just tuck in the shirt and tie your pants at the ankles and so that they don't fall." His supervisor first pointed to the green pants and white shirt, before putting a thumbs up. "They're free to use since the adventurers at the guild started complaining when their fancy clothing got dirty when work dried up in the hall. Once the day's over, toss'em back in there and they'll be laundered for tomorrow."

With a nod, Cobb left and Yoriichi began to undress and change his outfit to the one provided to him for work. Once he had finished changing, he secured everything within the lockbox, memorizing the number on it before taking the key.

Walking out, he felt a pat on the back.

"Now that you look the part, we'll see what your made of first," The man continued to walk and he followed. "You got an adventurers card?"

"I do not."

"Eh its not a requirement but it would've made assigning you a task a lot easier." Cobb shrugged before looking him up and down before moving to a wooden pallet with a number of sacks on it. "Imma need you to pick up each one so I can gauge how strong you are, not to say you're a weakling or anything."

"I understand." Yoriichi knew that a leader needs to know the capabilities of those they led, and this was simply just that.

Looking down at the pallet, he could see of the sacks, there were four overall types, best described as small, medium, large, and huge.

"Now don't try to act tough, last thing I need is for an accident to happen on the job." To emphasize the point, he stood in front of the large and huge bags. "Pick up whichever one you feel comfortable with and move it to that platform over there." The burly man pointed to a pallet with rope attached to it. "We'll work up from there."

With a nod, he picked up the first medium sack with no difficulty, then followed up by picking a second stack.

"Alright." Cobb nodded with approval before shimming over slightly. "Put those down over there and try the next ones up."

Once he set those sacks down, he swiftly moved back to where the large bag now, he did the same thing, and like before, carrying two sacks in each arm, no issue.

Whistling, a smile grew on his face.

"Nice, nice!" Moving aside, he gestured to the last sack. "Now I won't fault ya if you can't pick it up but—"

Yoriichi crouched down, and picked up a single back and put it over his back.

"Whoa, alright, you can—"

Before he could finish, the marked man effortlessly picked up a second bag and walked over to the pallet, no issue.

When Yoriichi turned back to his supervisor, he could see him with a wide smile.

"Is something the matter sir?" Yoriichi tilted his head in confusion.

Now that he was paying attention to his surroundings, he could see that most workers in the immediate vicinity had stopped working to stare at the feat of strength he had just pulled off.

"You just lugged around four hundred pounds without breaking a sweat." With a thumbs up, Cobb nodded his head in approval. "You're quite strong kid!"

"It was not—" Yoriichi couldn't even finish his statement before he was cut off.

"No need to be modest, flaunt what you got." He tapped his shoulder before moving to a crate, which had a cone. Lifting it up to his face, he shouting into it. "Get back to work everyone!"

Many of the onlookers jumped and returned to their duties in a hurry.

"Now, begin moving a lot of these bags to that lift right over there, once you're done we'll see how good you're at masonry."

…

The rest of the work day passed without any issues, by the time the sun began to sink below the height of the wall, all the workers began to huddle around a lifted platform where Supervisor Cobb was.

"Alright, good work everyone!" Cobb stood there smile on his face and arms on his hips. "That's all we got for today, we're making good time, but you don't care about that."

He walked over to a lockbox, when picked up made a sound which indicated coins were within it.

"You want your hard-earned Eris!"

A wave of cheers erupted from everyone present.

Everyone lined up, he noticed that those that worked all day for ten coins, to those who worked a quarter of the day getting only two gold coins, two silver, and a bronze one.

While the workers were quick to collect their pay and go, Yoriichi stayed behind.

It didn't take for Supervisor Cobb to approach him.

"Excellent work today Yoriichi!" He patted the supposed younger of the two on the back. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes… it is about my pay."

"Whatcha mean?" The two of them began walking to the lockers.

"Boss, the other workers who worked half the day got five gold Eris from their pay today." Yoriichi put his pay on the bench next to his strong box. "I received an extra two gold Eris with mine."

"Ah that." Cobb immediately knew what he was talking about. "Well, like I said, you did excellent work, so I decided to throw in a bonus for giving it your all."

"But I only agreed to work for the half of a days pay."

"That you did, but you certainly did more than almost all the half-dayers by leagues above." Cobb continued to change out of those work clothes into a cleaner set of work clothes. "You're new in town right?"

When he nodded, his supervisor continued.

"Twenty-five hundred Eris isn't going to cover a simple meal, a bath, and a room at the local stables." Cobb gestured to the two gold Eris. "I'd hate to see one of our new hires have to choose between being fed, being clean, or having a roof over their head."

"Thank you, Boss." Yoriichi dipped his head in gratitude.

"Don't worry about it." The bulkier of the two waved. "Just rest up and be at work tomorrow ready to work hard, we still have a lot of work to do!"

…

As the evening turned into night, Yoriichi did exactly what he was told to do by Cobb.

A bath to wash away the dirt and grime from work and rejuvenate the body.

A meal to replenish the energy spent.

And finally, lodging at the stables to sleep.

As he reclined back into a clean patch of hay, Yoriichi knew he would need work a couple more days before he could acclimate and accustom himself to these new ways of life and the like, after all, he had figured that life in a new world would be a new experience, but there was so much to learn, and little time to do it.

Lux-sama had given him a task, and he would see it through.

No matter what, he would not fail.

He could not fail.

Closing his eyes, he let sleep take him.

No matter where you go, money is always be an issue.

Alright here's the second chapter, and I'll answer some reviews that had generalized questions about the story.

Endrake: I think it'd be a wacky situation because of how Yoriichi was born with all the cards stacked in his favor

Devad the Detective Overlord: They are very likely to cross paths given that he's in Axel, no solid interaction ideas yet, but I know Kazuma initial jealousy is likely because who wouldn't be jealous of Yoriichi's power?

I am open to suggestions on what interactions between him and characters might be

(Guest): Roughly around the same time as Kazuma, through I think writing Omakes of him being in the world like centuries prior would be an interesting idea.

Well, that's all for now folks, I'll see about getting this next chapter done in a short bit.

Tell me what you thought of this chapter and feel free to offer up suggestions or critiques!