From One Job to the Next

It had been roughly two weeks since he arrived in this new world.

The sun was just lowering down as Yoriichi found himself laying down brick and mortar once again on the western wall, the work progressing quite well having moved around two hundred and sixty-four jo from the original starting position.

Using the trowel, he'd lay down the mortar atop the line of bricks, feather the still wet mortar down the middle, and lay down the bricks in an orderly manner.

To him, this pace was perfectly suited to him, this simple rhythm he had found, however the other workers were astonished at the rate which he was able to work, without tiring out.

While many of his fellow day laborers appreciated the lightened workload, he could tell that they found it unnatural, and making it somewhat difficult to start conversation with some of his fellow man.

Of course, he still was able to talk with a few of them to learn information about this new land for the days he worked here.

First, he learned that the currency used in this land was called 'Eris', named after one of the deities of this land. It was a strange currency, as a single gold coin was referred to as 'five-hundred'. He had even heard that there were slips of paper which were officially recognized as money. When he had asked why that was, many people simply shrugged and said that's how it always was.

Regardless, his daily living expenses left him with roughly five hundred Eris after each shift, and occasionally bonuses due to his 'superb' work as Supervisor Cobb had told him, and while he could have just gotten admission from the Guild with the extra funds, he knew that it was better to have some funds saved rather than risk living hand to mouth.

And since this was the first time in many a year he truly had to worry about finances, he missed the expertise of the financiers of the Ubayashiki clan.

He learned that this town was considered a 'beginner town' for adventurers, with a storied history of aspiring heroes coming here to learn the ropes of adventurering before spreading their wings and making their names on various frontiers or fighting the minions of the Demon King.

Which meant that this place was not under active risk against this Demon King, yet if he'd wished to take a more proactive role in fighting against the Demon King, he'd need to find transit to the capital city, which was constantly under assault from the enemy army.

Finally, when asking about getting transit to the capital, he soon discovered that none of the caravans from here ever directly travelled to the capital, and the prices would steadily get higher as he got closer to the capital.

Whether it was because of the proximity of the Demon King's armies or because the merchants that ran the caravans purposely gouged the prices was unknown, but it provided a significant obstacle.

Some nights he had considered just taking his sparse belongings and making his way to the capital by his lonesome, but he neither knew the lay of the land, nor knew what threats lie in the wilderness.

Lux-sama had stated that this was a land of magic and monsters, and if the giant toads and the occasional rumbling followed by plumes of smoke he saw over the parapets of the wall were any indicator, there might be more danger to traveling these roads than he initially believed.

He truly was in a different world.

The ringing of a nearby bell snapped him out of his thoughts.

The workday was about to be officially over.

Finishing up with the brick and mortar he had here, he tapped the tools on the wooden board which had the dried-up mortar, and placed the tools in a makeshift bag. As he walked towards the ladder on the scaffolding, he could see everyone gathering at the spot where they would get paid.

"Good work everyone!" His boss, Cobb shouted atop of a lifted platform. "We're way ahead of schedule, and to reward this, the boss has decided to give us all a bonus!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as others began to chat amongst themselves about what they were going to spend it on after this shift.

"Now now settle down!" The man gestured for them to quiet down. "You all know the drill, and if you don't, it aint difficult!"

Like every day before this one, Cobb followed his routine of picking up the strongbox with the pay for the day, slightly deviating from the routine by picking out a second strongbox with the bonuses, and once everyone had lined up pay was handed out to each one of the workers.

Within a matter of minutes, he found himself at the front, the line having found itself moving rather quickly as it seemed that many people were ready to run off and spend their pay.

"Yoriichi." Cobbs' hazel eyes looked him up and down. "Like always, excellent work!" With a small cloth pouch, the Gold Eris was put in and tied tightly. "You know the drill."

"Thank you, boss." Taking the pay, he gave him a brief bow.

"I told you to stop it with the boss thing already." His boss rubbed the back of his head. "But I don't think you would even if I paid you the worlds gold."

Lifting his head now, he stepped to the right and began to move towards the hut designated 'workers storage'.

As he entered in, a number of the men were in various forms of clothing.

There was chatter amongst them, most of it being excitement over the bonus pay they had just received, but none of them made a move to speak to him.

Not that he minded, after all, if these people were happy, then he too could consider himself happy.

Most of the people cleared out, their vestments and clothes not being as layered nor as requiring a degree of precision as his kimono and hamaka.

Finally, as he tied the sarashi sash to his waist, Supervisor Cobb walked into the hut.

"Ah, just finishing up changing?"

"Yes sir." With a nod, he pulled his sword out from the box, placing it atop the bench while he shut the box. "I was about to leave."

"I see." The man looked him over. "So I've been hearing that you've been talking with the adventurers working temp jobs here?"

"I have." Leaving the key within the lock, he stood to full height, not taking the sword and placing it between the space of his waist and the sash. "I intend to join the adventurer's guild."

"Really now?" While his face was covered by his shirt, he could hear faint surprise, before jokingly speaking. "And here I thought the sword was for show. So, when do you plan on joining?"

"Tomorrow morning." He stated. "It would be inconvenient to the staff to apply tonight."

"And pointless, the guild desk is open at night only for job confirmations." Cobb pointed out, putting on his other clothes. "Still, it's gonna be a shame to see you go, you've been a godsend for us, only two weeks on the job and we've made so much more progress!"

"I apologize if this causing any inconveniences for my coworkers." With a low bow, he continued. "I thank you for this job opportunity, Cobb."

"Yoriichi please, no need to bow like that!" He could hear that Cobb speak with surprise. "Especially for a job like this."

After a couple of more seconds, Yoriichi raised his head.

"Now, let's get a meal in our bellies, and some rest, soon-to-be adventurer!"

Cobb patted his shoulder and the two of them walked out of the building.

…

After taking a bath and eating a simple and affordable meal comprised of toad soup and a bun of bread, he returned to the stables which he had been renting a room in to sleep.

The rest of the night was relatively uneventful, the only disturbance of note being the sound of a woman loudly proclaiming matters of faith, whatever matters they were had been lost to her slurred tone and the permeating scent of alcohol as her companion did his best to silence her, to little success.

They had only quieted down once the other tenants of this stable raised a fuss.

Still, it did not stop him from getting a full nights rest, and he still managed to wake up shortly before the days first light.

Dressed in his nagagi kimono with red haori atop, his hand loosely gripping the tsuka directly underneath the tsuba of his blade, he exited the stables and stood outside.

Looking around, he could see a thin layer of morning fog with a fresh layer of dew coating the grass and leaves around. The sky high above was still dark, yet the first tints of red were starting to show, giving little light to this morning.

With a breath in, he began to walk, the life of this settlement known as Axel slowly stirring to life as more individuals awoke to begin their daily labors, whether they be working in the fields or hard labor, or working their trades.

A few people greeted him with waves as he walked by, having helped out a number of people with simple tasks, whether they were helping them carry items to the marketplace or soothing rowdy horses.

Yoriichi simply gave them a half bow of acknowledgement before continuing his journey to the guild at a leisurely pace.

As he got closer to the Guild Hall, he could see a number of the stalls were still closed, the only ones currently open being those that sell morning foods or raw ingredients for early day meals, with tired people lining up for food or simply moving past.

Finally, he reached his destination, the Adventurers Guild Hall.

Walking up to the building, he pushed the solid oak doors open and was immediately greeted with complete silence barring the sounds of soft chatter and the scent of food being prepared in this guild's kitchen.

Following the path he first took when he arrived here two weeks ago, he could see that this hall was completely devoid of life.

Still, he was here for a reason.

As he moved to the counter, he could see all the desks had signs on them. Unlike before where their workers were 'at lunch', this time they state that they are 'closed'.

Only the first desk seemed to be open, and there was a bell in front of a sign that said 'ring for service'.

Looking at the bell inquisitively, he tapped the top, for a single ring to echo in the empty guildhall.

Yoriichi stood there in silence for maybe ten minutes at the most before a familiar voice called out.

"One moment!"

The sounds of footsteps echoing in the empty room got louder before finally a familiar face greeted him.

"Good morning, sir," She walked up to the chair at the booth, and bowed. "Please give me a moment to set up."

With a silent nod, he stood in the spot that he did once before, watching her deftly move papers and writing instruments around her workspace.

While observing her, he did not that her movement was seemingly sluggish and her the corners of her eyes seemed to have residual crust on them… had she just awoken from sleep? Did she live here?

"Apologies for the wait, it seems none of my coworkers have arrive yet." She finished up with a realignment of papers, before letting out a yawn into her hand. "Pardon me."

"It is not an issue." Yoriichi responded. "I wasn't here long."

"I see, thank you for your patience." A small smile formed before she sighed, entering what must've been routine for her. "How may the Adventurers Guild of Axel help you today?"

"I have returned with the funds for registration." Reaching into his sleeve, he pulled out a pouch, and from it pulled out two gold Eris. "I would have come sooner, but I needed time to familiarize myself with the area."

"That is quite alright sir." She smiled as she took the Eris, putting them up to a scale while nodding. "Like I told you before, it isn't the first time someone arrives to Axel without the funds needed." She once again put up her practiced smile, almost indistinguishable from a genuine one. "Now let me introduce myself before I begin."

Picking up a rectangular piece of parchment, she walked out of the booth and to the side.

"My name is Luna, Senior Guild Receptionist." With a bow, the lady known as 'Luna' continued. "Here is the Official Adventurers Guild Card." She gestured to the card in her hand. "It will record vital identification information such as your name and your appearance."

Her finger traced over certain areas of the card.

"This is an adventurers' best friend, as once you have an authentic Guild Registration Card you'll be eligible to take jobs from any branch of the Adventurers Guild across any country!" She continued her explanation of the card. "It keeps track of other important information too, such as your level, monsters vanquished, learned and unlearned skills, and your class."

"Class?" Yoriichi tilted his head. "Like social status?"

"Not like that." Luna mimicked his gesture in the opposite direction with a smile. "Each adventurer has his or her own job, which determines which skill sets they are allowed to utilize, this is known as a class." Placing the card under the nozzle of the machine she continued. "As you level up in your class, new skills and abilities will open up to you."

Yoriichi nodded along, interested in what this piece of parchment could supposedly do.

"Now you see that device with the crystal orb and gold rings?"

"I do." Yoriichi looked to the right of the window, to see the device in question, atop a frame made of a metal he did not know of. "What does it do?"

"It will analyze your stats and write down any pre-existing skills or traits you may have." Luna stated, while gesturing to the machine now. "Hold your hand directly over the device please, as it will do the rest."

Not sensing any deceit for what this device could supposedly do, he put his hand over the device.

Immediately, the crystal began to light up with a blue hue, the golden metals beginning to move and wiz about as it seemed to doing calibrations of some kind.

A moment passed before a blue beam came out of the nozzle and began to shine over the card, scribing in all of his information just like Luna stated.

"Use the information provided to select your desired class." She spoke over the hum of the machine. "It should be done right… about… now!"

Looking down, the blue beam began to dissipate as he caught his first glance of his 'Official Adventurers Guild Card' as it was labeled. The first thing that immediately caught his eye was the obsidian-like gemstone on one end of the card, and the other was a side profile portrait of himself, along with his katana pointing downwards.

"Yoriichi Tsugikuni." The golden-haired lady before him sounded confused. "That's a strange name…"

"I suppose around here it is." He didn't disagree, as the people of this land had strange names to him.

"Hmm… that is an oddly detailed portrait."

"Is that unusual?"

"Quite." She absentmindedly continued to read his card. "Many card images tend to resemble the bearer, but to this exten—"

Her golden eyes widened as she looked down at the card, her mouth slowly opening.

"Impossible."

Was the only thing she could whisper, seemingly to herself as her eyes continued to move left to right.

"Is something the matter Luna-sama?" Yoriichi stood there, unsure what was the matter.

"I thought we were lucky to get that level one Archpriest with a Tier X parameter in magic power but you…" She looked at the card and back to him, trying to find the words to explain but failing to. "You…"

"Please, I am no one speci—." Yoriichi tried to dissuade the thought, but was immediately cut off.

"Impossible!" She shouted now, her voice echoing in the empty hall. "Aside exemplary health and magic and average luck… your stats are all top tier!"

To emphasize this, she pointed at the section labeled parameters.

From what he saw, his parameter of health and magic were marked with a 'A', the former with a cross and the latter with a dash, and his parameter of luck marked with a 'c'. The remaining parameters of Strength, Vitality, Agility, Speed, and Intelligence were marked with a 'X'.

"It's unbelievable especially at level one! I've heard rumors that members of the royal family have one- or two-Tier X parameters on their cards, but to have multiple is absolutely unheard of!" She looked back at him. "You are surely blessed by the Gods!"

Yoriichi felt the corners of his lips point slightly downwards at the remark.

"Luna-sama." Yoriichi spoke a tad bit more firmly now, that spoke with finality. "Please don't exaggerate. I am not anyone special."

Her eyes scanned over him with incredulity, but seeing that he was unwilling to admit otherwise, she backed down.

"My apologies…" She bowed and her voice holding a different tone now, coughing into her fist. "It was improper for me to show such unprofessionalism… its just that I've never seen anything like this."

"I must ask that you do not treat me any different than you would any other." With a deep bow, he pleaded. "I am unworthy of such differential treatment."

While he could not see her face, he could hear how she shuffled in place, before sighing.

"If that is what you wish sir." She sighed once again, seemingly acquiescing to his request before looking at his card again. "I won't bring up your… unique parameters again."

A moment of silence passed between the two, as it seemed that Luna was still in the processing of what she had witnessed. Finally she spoke.

"Now for your class selection, you can select any class from the mundane like adventurer to the more specialized like sword master, crusader, archwizard, and even archpriest!"

Handing over the card to him, he looked down at the options he had to take.

There was a wide variety of choices to the guilds credit, so he selected his class.

"Now don't you lose your Adventurers Card." She put up her index figure as if to signify the importance of this specific statement. "While your first card is cheap at registration, losing your card will incur a ten-thousand Eris replacement fee."

She gestured to a sign next to the admissions desk, which stated the guild bylaws pertaining to it, about magic and other services required to deactivate a card.

In silence, he nodded.

"Where may I pick up jobs then?"

"The board directly to the right should have what you seek." The golden-haired woman gestured to it, and with a stern look, she spoke once more. "Please do keep in mind your level and abilities when taking a quest. Many an adventurer has died due to overestimating their own abilities, regardless of skill or stats."

Looking to the right, he could see a board with brass-like trimmings and script designating it as the 'Assignment Board'.

"If you need any more help or clarification, I will be right over here." Luna bowed, and returned to the area behind the counters.

"I will keep that in mind. Thank you."

With a curt bow, he turned to the board, and began looking it over.

While there were a number of posting on this board, a majority of them seemed to be requests for members for their 'adventuring parties', asking for individuals of specific adventurer classes.

Continuing to look through the papers posted, he saw a number of quests with a variety of skulls on them. There seemed to be a direct correlation between the number of skulls and the reward for completion.

Finally, he came across a single sheet with what appeared to be a frog or toad.

"Toads?"

"Giant Toads actually, pretty standard for rookies to take the quest." Luna stated as he looked at the request named 'Extermination'. "The Guild is offering one-hundred thousand for killing five of them in three days, and is willing to buy the toads themselves for five-thousand after transportation fees since mating season is right around the corner."

"Are these toads dangerous?"

"While they aren't as dangerous as some of the other beasts in the area, they can pose a threat due to their size. They prefer to eat goats, but they are known to swallow a person whole." Luna informed him from her seat. "It isn't uncommon for children to go missing if left unattended."

"I see."

Resting his grip underneath the sheathe of the blade, he turned towards the exit of the guildhall.

"Well, if that is everything, Yoriichi." She called out to him. "The Adventurers Guild is glad to have you here! May your endeavors be ever fruitful!"

Yoriichi had to start somewhere.

…

By the time the red-haired swordsman managed to reach the gatehouse that led out of Axel, the sun had risen high enough into the sky to illuminate all.

He first began his patrol at the west side of the wall, moving towards the north portion.

As he moved along the grassy plain, he couldn't help but notice the beauty of the land he was in.

Wide open spaces with many wildflowers growing, butterflies and other small insects flew about.

Off in the distance, he could farms and pasturelands raising their livestocks and crops, and see plentiful forests which seemed to span for many Ri.

This place was peaceful.

About half-way through his patrol, he felt the ground shake.

Stopping, he looked around, and once more the ground shook, getting closer.

After once more, he was able to discover where the source of these tremors was coming from.

Off in the distance was a Giant Toad, hopping along in no particular direction.

So he decided to approach the creature.

As he got closer, the toad stopped moving, and slowly turned to him.

While he was certain it could reach him with his tongue, the creature allowed for him to get closer… perhaps it had already eaten its fill?

Once the area between himself and the toad was roughly twenty-five shaku, he activated the Transparent World.

Entering into this world, the environment around him became black and white, and the toad in front of him became nothing more than a mass of muscle and bone.

Looking within, he quickly found the toad's stomach, and within it was a number of goats in various state of decay, and a corpse of a man which couldn't be more than a day old.

"I know you are simply trying to survive." Yoriichi spoke to the Giant Toad, it seemingly giving a croak in return, unrepentant because it did what instinct told it to do. "But I cannot allow for you to feast on anymore humans."

Without another word, he shot forward as he closed the distance between himself and the beast.

Unsheathing his blade, he could visualize the solar flames emanating off with such vigor, despite this being an elementary slash. It barely had time to even open its mouth before his attack from his crimson blade struck true effortlessly separated the head of the toad from its body.

With a thud, he turned to see a Toad in two.

Exiting the transparent world, the world returned to color as the green toad lie dead in front of him.

Yoriichi flicked the blood off and sheathed his katana in a single expert motion, hoping that the slice he dealt was relatively painless for the toad.

Putting his hands together, he gave a quick prayer to the Gods, for the victim who had been devoured by this Giant Toad, and an apology for slaying one of the Gods creations.

While he lamented that such magnificent creatures needed to die, he understood the necessity of it.

Feeling the earth below him rumble once more, his maroon eyes soon caught sight of more toads off in the distance, seemingly moving in his direction..

Beginning to move to the approaching toads, he prepared himself to do what was necessary to ensure that the people of Axel could live safely.

… …

Stories of the Sengoku Period: The Transparent World

"Hello readers! Lux here!" The porcelain skinned goddess waved to no particular direction, lounging on her lifted platform. "I'm here to tell you a tale from Yoriichi's time!"

"As you likely know, Yoriichi learned that he saw the world differently than everyone else from Uta, seeing the land around him as white silhouettes with black lines, and saw through people as if they were glass figures with red muscles and organs and white bones within them." The Sun Goddess waved her fan. "So Yoriichi spent the remainder of that night trying to figure out how to see as the rest of mortal men would."

An image of a younger Yoriichi appeared, as he was sitting outside at night, looking up at the stars.

"When dawn was about to break, Uta awoke and found him there, and upon learning it was to see the world like she did, she sat beside him and told him not to worry about it, that whether the world was see-through or not, she would not care.

So, the two of them sat until the sun rose. Her presence was soothing to him that it was enough to ease him out of it, allowing him to see the for the first time outside of this 'Transparent World'. The world was vibrant and filled with color, and the first one he saw outside of it was her, with the light of new day shining onto her.

For the remainder of his time with her at their home, he decided to only enter that see-through world, only doing so to ensure that they were both in good health, as for him, entering and exiting this world was like a snap of the finger." She lowered the fan from her face, a smile on it. "This is actually how he discovered that Uta was with child, which caused him to weep tears of joy."

The smile soon disappeared, with a somber look replacing it.

"The death of Uta and their unborn child had exacted a toll on his mind, so he retreated to the see-through world, so that he would not be reminded of the life that was stolen from them. Only after saving the Kamados and their firstborn did he find some reconciliation with the events of that tragic event that happened in that home years prior and began to return to the world which everyone else saw."

Looking to no particular direction, she lifted her fan back to her face.

"Next time, Yoriichi meets a few strangers here and there in this wonderful world!"

Terms Used

Shaku: Approximately 1 foot.

Jo: 10 Shaku, or approximately 10 feet.

Ri: 1296 Jo, or approximately 2.5 miles

I figured that since Yoriichi is from the Sengoku Period, he wouldn't use traditional Imperial Units of measurement, instead defaulting to his own. Note that even during his time, these units differed from province to province, so we'll say that this is the Musashi Province standard.

There you have it! Yoriichi's a certified member of the Adventurers Guild, causes a bit of a ruckus while no ones around, and finally engages in the time honored tradition of Toad Slaying.

I don't know whether to make him an adventurer, a preexisting class in the Konosuba universe, or give him the totally unique custom class treatment of 'Demon Slayer'

Also, our first 'Stories of the Sengoku Period', which I hope to use to either tell small entertaining snippets, or to explain Yorrichis abilities from Lux's perspective.

Now to answer a couple of reviews

Nehz XZX: I believe that Yoriichi had it active for the first 7 years (6 years on the old Calander) before Uta pointed out to him and then took him a short moment to process it and deactivate it to be 'more like everyone else'.

ShinySpiritomb (Guest): That is one of the reasons I was drawn to Yoriichi being in this setting. He's very calm and collected, probably the 3rd/4th person in this world with common sense now.

Raven Mordrake: While I have no plans set in stone for it, I feel that Yoriichi never found love after Uta for because the trauma of losing his wife and unborn son would be justifiably scarring to any person regardless of their mental fortitude, and the fear of that happening again to anyone else.

Though I do agree, Yoriichi deserves happiness.

Hazamo: I've thought about their interactions, but revealing those now could be spoilers, so I'll simply say for the time being that they'll be interesting to say the least.

And for the item he asked for, I spent a lot of time thinking what Yoriichi could ask for, since he is a man who technically had everything he needed for his trade, and he never seemed the type to ask for anything too much, so I figured that he would simply ask for his earrings again.

Well, that is everything! Feel free to tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, your opinion on characters and your possible headcanons for Yoriichi being in this world!

As always, I hope you all find good reads today!