"I guess I can say that's what has just happened."
The one who had just spoken scratched the back of his head, ruffling his black hair.
He had just found himself on the stony sidewalk of a busy road. A flood of people wearing brightly coloured clothes enveloped him, going here and there.
A woman in a crimson dress with golden edges gazed down at him without stopping or slowing herself, her long and blonde braid glimmering in the sunlight.
Judging by her dignified bearing, she had to be-
"Sorry, sir!"
"-!"
Some kids running around nearly bumped into him. As he instinctively turned his head to look at them, he noticed a brownish tail popping out a hole in the back of one of the children's green short-sleeved robes.
"It doesn't seem like a dream at all. It's too vivid and noisy, and I'm still aware of the weight in my hand."
He bent his right arm, raising a white grocery bag. Crispy snacks and instant ramen were so out of place at that moment.
"Even so, this is undoubtedly wrong."
A horse-sized lizard pulling a cart went down the cobbled street in front of him, emitting a high-pitched sound.
"A tracksuit and a pair of sneakers. Is this really my starting equipment?"
With a slight frown on his face, the boy checked his pockets.
"Hmm, I still have my wallet. In another situation, I would have been grateful for this, but I have the feeling that here my documents are no longer of any use. Also, I bet local shop owners would laugh at me if I tried to pay them with coloured pieces of paper… Oh!"
As his fingers brushed up against something hard, his nasty eyes widened.
"Back at home I was going to replace this piece of junk with a more recent model, but it's definitely worth a fortune in a medieval-like world!" The teenager considered in a loud voice while pulling out a grey flip phone.
"Oops, maybe I shouldn't have said that so loudly." The boy looked around nervously.
Busy people walked along the road, occasionally stealing curious glances. Even so, none of them spoke to him, just walking past in one direction or the other.
"Good. It seems people are minding their own business even there." The teenager mumbled as he put his mobile phone back in his pocket.
Raising his gaze, he saw an imponent castle towering upon the city from high ground. In a ring shape around it, several palaces that sang of their owners' wealth were shielded by solid walls. The city extended itself from its safe core, where probably lived the ones detaining power, to the plain area surrounding it.
"If I'm not mistaken, this seems to be an important city in this world. Probably it's ruled by an S tier noble family or a king himself. No wonder there is such high traffic here." The boy pondered, his chin in his left hand.
"Anyway, I wonder… where is the cute girl that summoned me?" He mumbled. "Shouldn't she be right there, teaching me how this world works? Or maybe she will come in a couple of minutes, screaming "I'm sorry!" over and over and proceeding to spend all the day showing me the city as payback, holding my hand in the meanwhile to guide me?" A bright smile appeared on his slightly blushed face. "Oh yes, it's surely going to happen!"
The enthusiastic sparkle in his eyes decreased more and more as seconds, then minutes, flowed uncaring of his hopeful waiting.
After the sun had disappeared behind the grey building overlooking the stretch of road in front of him, he resolved. "Well then! Since the main heroine isn't going to show herself and I still haven't any starting equipment, let's explore the zone. This seems like the place where you can go and find all kinds of shops."
"Ugh! It's been a while since I've walked so long!"
After looking around a little, the boy had discovered three important things.
First, even though he had apparently overheard people speaking perfect Japanese, he wasn't able to read the written form of their language.
Second, he had been wasting his time in the wrong part of the city. The commercial district was placed in the third 'layer' from the top, while apparently he had been moving far and wide in the commoner district, the one further down.
And third, getting information for free - yep, 'cause of course his money here were useful as a knife while eating a soup - wasn't easy at all. Despite the boy would have easily expected this kind of behaviour back on the busy streets of his hometown, he couldn't say he wasn't saddened by the lack of cooperation in this new world.
I should be the summoned hero here, or something like that. Why do people just ignore me? Where are the ones who performed the ritual to bring me here from my home?
Home.
The place where till hours ago he had been living with his-
No, I shouldn't start thinking this way. It won't be useful, and I've wasted more than enough time in the wrong place.
Sighing, the boy kept climbing along one of the roads that converged radially on the heart of the city.
The town wasn't comparable at all in width to the metropolitan area of Tokyo, but the absence of public transport dilated the travelling time.
Excluding nobles, who were supposed to have personal carriages, or merchants carrying supplies on their wagons for shops, the only way to move around in the city was putting one foot after the other.
At the end of the uphill there was an imponent gate, an arc built in light-coloured stone opened in a ring of the city walls.
"Uh… I guess I've arrived."
As the boy passed through the gate, he found himself in a large square that widened and closed on the same road he was walking on, that kept heading to the castle.
It had a rounded shape and two lesser streets departed from it to the left and the right.
There were trees and benches, and in the middle of them crystalline water sprouted for metres from a fountain.
But the most important thing for the Japanese teenager was the presence of several coloured signs. Hung above the doors of their shops or nailed at their side, they showed clearly to the ones walking nearby the presence of the store.
It's a pity I cannot read this language.
Resigned, he lowered his shoulders unconsciously.
Asking people what every shop here sells would probably take too long, and if I try to get info from the shop owners, there is always the chance they are going to lie to me in order to have me buy their goods instead of one of their rival's ones.
His gaze scanned all over the square.
If I had been stuck in a similar situation back on Earth, I would have looked for something similar to the police. Maybe there are guards here; it would make sense. We're in a big city, in an area with a lot of shops and an endless crowd moving in all directions.
A sparkle amongst the people caught his attention.
Well, this is surprisingly lucky.
The metallic helmet of a guard, holding a spear with a strange head -was that a poleaxe?- stood over the coloured human flood.
The black-haired boy made his way towards him through pedestrians and carts, always pulled by those strange horse-sized lizards.
As he got closer, a pair of grey eyes looked down on him. Locks of brownish hair came out from under the headpiece, and a shaggy beard of the same colour framed a face darkened by the sun.
"Uhm… Excuse me, sir-"
"What do you need, kiddo?"
"I… Well, I have something to sell a-and I need to buy some clothes and a weapon." The boy's voice grew more and more exciting.
"Yes, so? You're in the right district. Why are you telling me this?"
"I…." The teenager sighed. "I cannot read the signs. To be fair, I cannot read at all. I'm not from this city. I don't know where to go."
"So, you're not from this city…" The man's expression hardened a little. "With your black eyes and hair, are you from Volakia?"
"From where?"
"Are you kidding me?" The guard clenched his teeth, the rod of the poleaxe creaking in his right hand.
"I don't kno-" Wait, this shit is getting dangerous. He doesn't believe I don't know what Vollachia, or whatever, is. "My mother's family was from there. I've got my eyes from her."
The suspect in the man's eyes weakened a little.
The boy gulped. "Listen, please, I need to know where to sell this kind of item." He pulled out the phone from his socket. I don't have another way of making money, and I need it to buy some food and a place to sleep tonight."
That's not entirely a lie.
…
Wait, if the girl who summoned me, or anyone in general, isn't showing up, I need to find a room for tonight! I truly need money!
The soldier lost his aggressive temper. "Ugh- fine!"
He pointed a finger on his left, followed by the teenager's gaze. "On the opposite side of the square, there is a place that sells enchanted things, metias and whatever, I'm not familiar with these things. The owner is an eccentric one, but he's a nice guy. He would probably buy that thing at an honest price and give you some suggestions on where to get what you need here."
The black eyes shone in gratitude. "Thank yo-"
"Yes yes, now get lost! I don't have all this time!"
As he was scrammed by the guard, the boy headed to the place.
Well, in the end, I've got what I wanted.
A big tree near the store door made it impossible to lose sight of it, even in the moving crowd.
This is the first step along my road in this new world.
Nobody cared about him as he kept moving forward, under the warm sun, among the coloured clothes.
So why I am this sad?
So why my legs are harder to move?
His feet stopped before the door.
Oh, I get it.
His hand was still holding the device from another world.
I guess I want to see them one last time.
He unlocked it and opened the gallery.
Scrolling among screenshots from online games, chats and pic with not-so-dressed anime girls, he found what he was searching for.
I'll miss them.
It was just a photo, a family photo.
The father was standing on the left, grinning as he flexed his muscles. He seemed so big in that light green T-shirt, light dramatically reflected by his glasses and his shiny black hair.
Was this necessary, dad? We've always known you are big.
The mother, on the right, wore a warm smile and a stained white apron. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up and her hands held a yellowish cup of green peas.
Mom, you don't even like them, why were you holding this?
And in the middle there was the same boy holding the phone, trying to pout as the tsundere he was but showing through his reddened cheeks he was enjoying that.
And you…
The same boy who was fighting to fight a lonely tear wanting to fall down.
Couldn't you be a little more grateful and show them some appreciation, when you still had a chance to speak with them…
...Natsuki Subaru?
CLINK*
CLINK*
CLINK*
"Get down!"
Instinctively obeying an angelic voice, Subaru threw himself down. He rolled on his back, his arm covering his face.
THUD* *THUD *THUD*
As he opened his eyes, he saw pieces of ice pointed in the wall. They had been thrown with force, yet they had broken the wall instead of shattering themselves.
"...Magic?"
"Is that a metia? Cool! I bet it's worth a lot of holy coins!"
Another girl's words drew his attention. This one seemed more childish.
"Sorry bro, live strong!"
"Wha-"
A slender silhouette crossed his field of view in a couple of jumps, like if she was dancing in mid air.
Time seemed to slow down as Subaru noticed her.
Locks of golden hair were enlightened by sun rays, and two crimson sparks flashed for a moment on her face.
Anyway, as she grabbed the phone from his hand with ease and ran away, the moment suddenly lost all its charm.