"What even is this starting gear?!"
Subaru took off his water-soaked jacket before grabbing his plastic bag and going through the stuff he had with him.
Food, food, and a mobile phone that can be used for nothing in this place save taking pictures.
"Was I summoned accidentally by an airhead who didn't know what they were doing, or did a witch summon me here without giving me anything out of pure malice!"
In either case, the situation didn't look good for Subaru who hadn't awakened his powers, if there were any.
He wasn't granted any item upon being summoned, or at least he thought so until he felt a hard, rectangular object against his hands inside the plastic bag.
"A black book with no words or any picture on its cover, both front and back... I don't remember this."
Subaru pulled it out and took a look. The last thing one should've done in a dark, sinister alleyway was sitting down on the short stairs and reading a book, but Subaru figured perhaps he just needed some time to unlock his true potential and that was his way of passing the time.
"Tsk, all of the pages are empty."
Opening it and skimming the pages from the end of the book to its beginning revealed nothing. But as he flipped to the first page of the book and was about to throw it aside, words he could read appeared on the previously blank page.
"Wait, wait, wait! Ignoring the mechanism of how this works, why am I able to read this?"
Back at the fruit stand, and before that when he encountered signs as he was exploring the new world, he had realized he couldn't read anything, unlike the language the inhabitants spoke which he understood.
"Putting that aside, it says that I'll meet an important person in this alley, could it be the cute girl that summoned me here?!"
Subaru's head jolted up as he heard footsteps drawing closer and closer.
"There you are!"
He stood up to greet his summoner but ...
"What the hell is this weirdo blabbering about?"
"No, I don't think he knows what's happening."
"But that just makes it easier, doesn't it, ha!"
Those words were uttered by three, not so well dressed men who came in all sizes and shapes.
"Crap, it's one of those compulsory events."
Stunned as to how he was supposed to respond in a situation like this, Subaru didn't do anything as the lanky guy of the trio grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up.
"Cough up whatever you have in your pockets and wherever else!"
Subaru turned his face aside and closed his eyes to avoid the spit and salvia of the thug's mouth as he spoke.
"Unfortunately for you guys, I'm broke beyond compare. There is nothing to get out of me for you."
The lanky thug clenched his teeth at those words. Subaru couldn't see his two other companions behind the lanky thug but they probably hadn't taken kindly to those words either.
"Like hell we care! If that's the case, then we'll just take your clothes and -"
"Um, what is happening here?"
At the juvenile voice, the four people in the alleyway turned their head towards her.
She was a young girl in colorful clothing with short green hair. Were those words her attempt at saving Subaru from this situation?
"Don't butt your head in other's business. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not complaining at all!"
Smirks emerged on the faces of three thugs, ideas of abusing her clicking into their head. The lanky thug let go of Subaru and walked towards the girl without paying him attention. They were not worried about Subaru escaping, behind them was a dead end. But even then,
'That just means they think not even a surprise attack from me is dangerous!'
The girl took a few steps back until she came to a halt as her back touched the wall behind, cornered by the crude three.
"S-stay away!"
With an smirk still on his face, the lanky thug stepped towards the girl, reaching out his hand, not bothering to respond to those words.
Subaru couldn't bear to watch this scene; Even so, he stood up and grabbed the jacket he had put on the nearby box.
'Calm down Natsuki Subaru, if it's a matter of saving a helpless girl then this is definitely where your powers will unravel themselves. You throw away villains will regret ever underestimating the great Natsuki Subaru!'
Quickly putting on his orange and black tracksuit, he took a deep breath closed his eyes and smiled.
'I can already feel it in my veins, the gravity seems like a tenth of what it was back on Earth! This is where my journey as the hero of the new world be-'
"Just kidding, Hahaha!"
"AAAGH!"
Subaru's eyes shoot open at the sudden scream. Judging by its voice, it was the lanky thug. But he was nowhere to be seen. And in place of the maiden from before there stood a golden-haired girl with red eyes, looking not much older than Subaru, in inappropriate clothing and a puddle of weird liquid in front of her. Subaru didn't recognize the voice of the laugh just before the scream, so it must've been hers.
"Little girls look defenseless and easy prey, so no one's going to keep their guard up right?"
Those malicious words uttered with a smile, snapped everyone in the alleyway out of the shock they were in.
"What did you do to Rachins you bitch?!"
The large one in the trio took a battle stance and ran to the smiling girl.
"So even when you hear this lovely lady's evaluation, you can't figure it out, haaaah~? Seriously, how did you meatbags stay alive until now?"
She swiftly stepped out of the way of the large thug's collapsing legs that were separated from the upper portion of the body they belonged to. Cut by the tail of a dragon, the upper body of the thug fell to the ground unable to even mutter anything.
The last, short thug stumbled backward and fell as he felt the presence behind those crimson eyes focused on him.
"J-just who the hell are you?!"
Contrary to the thief's expectation, the girl flashed her teeth with a smile.
"A sin archbishop of the Witch's cult, representing lust, Capella Emerada Lugunica!"
Morphing her arms into those of a bear, she shredded him into pieces in one swift blow. With none of the trio left, Capella faced Subaru with a malicious smirk.
"The methods were a little bit cruel for my tastes, but who cares about some lumps of XP! That was a stellar performance!"
spoke Subaru without even realizing the gravity of the situation he was in. He expected a shy, quiet girl to be his summoner or something but it wasn't like he was going to complain. She just gave a little weird vibe, but he decided to ignore it.
"So you think trying to butter me up would save you?"
Capella laughed mockingly and crossed her arms.
"Although, you're a smart one, meatbag. After all, this lovely lady's existence is to be loved by all that is living in this world. It's only natural. So even if it's not genuine, I'll reward it, be grateful"
Uttering those words, the mysterious girl walked up to Subaru and extended her hand. Either the meatbag's sense of danger was completely off, or he was too shocked to realize what was about to happen, unable to move his limbs or take a step back. Not that it mattered, even if the wall behind him wasn't there escaping her was simply impossible. She reached out her hand toward his chest and -
"I don't really get what you're saying, but that just means you're the one that this book mentioned, right?!"
Her words were quite confusing, but Subaru understood that she hadn't realized he was the one who summoned so he needed a sign to show who he was. Extending his left hand, he held the black book toward her.
"A gospel... so you must be pride."
Her smile dropped and a cold gaze took the place of her excited look from before.
"Pride... right! That's who I am then."
Hearing Subaru's words, Capella concluded her assessment was right. The only natural order written in the gospel of a regular cultist regarding an archbishop would be to bow down without any words. No sane person would be so nonchalant just after hearing the introduction of a sin archbishop. And if they were putting on an act Capella would immediately notice.
"Another worthless irritating fly added to the bunch, great."
muttered Capella quietly, barely audible.
"But wait, if you're lust and I'm pride, then we're in the same rank... Does that mean you're not the one who summoned me?"
Subaru cast a questioning gaze toward his new, barely clothed companion and tilted his head.
"This lovely lady doesn't have any time to waste for your or those other good-for-nothing animals' nonsense."
"What's with that attitude?! Aren't we supposed to be coworkers or something?"
Subaru's words fell on deaf ears as Capella turned around and walked toward the streets.
"Hey, you didn't even ask my name! Wait a minute!"
He grabbed his plastic bag and ran toward her. Avoiding the weird liquid on the ground from before, he reached the edge of the alleyway and scanned the crowds walking the street to spot her without any success.
"With that appearance and clothes, there's no way to walk in broad daylight without causing a commotion... Maybe it's normal in this world? But I don't see anyone else like that."
Come to think of it, the way she transformed her arms, and that dragon tale or the different appearance she had when she first entered the alleyway, all pointed to shape-shifting abilities.
"So that's how her powers work. She changed her appearance. It's safe to assume there are five other sin archbishops, and from the way it sounds they all have some kind of ability. Hopefully, I'll figure out mine before meeting others..."
Saying those words, Natsuki Subaru started his journey as a sin archbishop in another world.