A/N: Hello, susintentions here! This will be my first ever chapter of my first ever story! I hope you enjoy the first Chapter!
"That'll be 750 yen."
Wordlessly reaching into his pocket, a young boy fished out a few coins and threw the money listlessly on the table.
"Thank you sir, please come again." The boy, donning black hair and dark, nasty eyes failed to look up at the cashier's face. He hadn't truly looked at someone in the eyes in what felt like months. Failing to verbally reply, he simply grunted in what could be construed as an affirmation.
The lack of sleep was really starting to take its toll on the boy. Insomnia is a bitch, he thought. As he walked outside of the convenience store near his home in modern day Japan, he tried to suppress a yawn. He failed, of course. Three days and only 6 hours of sleep between them will do that to a person.
The boy, Natsuki Subaru, yawned and rubbed his eyes.
When he opened them, he saw a sight that one would only see in an isekai manga or fantasy film.
Huge dragon-like lizards pulled wagons quickly across the cobbled streets. People and what could only be described as beast-people wore strange clothing. There was even a grand castle in the distance.
What the hell is this… am I dreaming? Just a second ago I was at the convenience store… I'm even holding the bag of snacks I bought there…
Subaru's thoughts were interrupted by a group of young children who pointed at him. They seemed to be these so-called beast people, or demi-humans you read about in Light Novels. More likely, they were probably just really detailed cosplayers with fake dog and cat ears. A young cat-girl, failing to be subtle, loudly "whispered" to a dog-boy near by, "Why is he dressed like that?"
The dog-boy lamented, "How should I know! I've never seen such strange clothing. Maybe he's a noble or a pervert. Probably a pervert."
Subaru felt like pushing the kid to the ground. "Hey, hey, hey I am *not* a pervert! I'm also not a noble-"
Noble? Weird… why are these children cosplaying as animals in such a busy street? This isn't making any sense. I know I haven't been sleeping well for the past few weeks, but…
Suddenly, it clicked.
I think I'm starting to get what's going on. Like a faucet that hasn't been turned on in months, a slow, unsteady stream of happiness began to flow within Subaru's body. It grew more and more rapidly until the well of excitement made him shake.
Subaru struck his signature pose and shouted, "YES! How could I have been so dense? I've been summoned to a parallel world!"
Needless to say, the children who were gawking at him earlier looked at each other and looked back at Subaru with even more confused faces. After looking at Subaru for just a few seconds, they ran away crying for their mothers.
"Finally, I'm finally going to not be a shut-in NEET anymore. I can do whatever I want! I can be a hero or a king! I'll manifest all the OP abilities I've been blessed by the beautiful, kind goddess-sama that summoned me. Better yet, I can conquest all the hot girls, make a harem a-and… have sex!" Okay, maybe that dog-boy from earlier was right. I am a bit of a pervert.
Subaru blurted out the more unscrupulous of his desires a bit louder than the beginning of his rant. He managed to steal the disgusted glances of several people nearby. Another child started to run away from him.
He froze, immediately noticing the group of onlookers, Shit, why did I say that out loud…?
Subaru closed his eyes and grimaced as he rubbed the back of his head. Damn, that was awkward. I guess my social skills haven't leveled up yet. The silence was deafening and just as it started to become unbearable for him, he heard a most gentlemanly voice call out.
"Good afternoon, sir. May I ask if everything is alright with you? You were making quite a commotion a moment ago and saying some rather… peculiar things."
Subaru quickly turned around and saw a man with red hair and kind, but dim blue eyes. His aura could only be described as noble, powerful, and… a bit sad. He was wearing black gloves and a white overcoat adorned with a purple trim. Underneath his overcoat, he wore a simple but elegant black tunic. Subaru couldn't help but think, what the hell is this guy wearing? He sort of looks like a knight, so I'll have to take notes from him when I start saving princesses. I think they'd like that outfit.
Just as Subaru was about to respond, the red headed man interjected, "Oh, forgive me. I realize I forgot to provide you with my name. I am the Legendary Sword Saint Reinhard van Astrea. While I typically am on duty during my stays at the Royal Capital, I happen to be off-duty today."
Wow, nice guy alert! My good guy radar is off the charts.
Subaru waved and said with the biggest smile he could muster, "Yo, Reinhard, my name is Natsuki Subaru!" He began to list the oddities of his situation out loud as he counted them on his fingers.
"I'm 99% sure I'm dreaming, I'm completely broke, I have no idea where I am, I have no friends here, and…. Oh! I have nowhere to stay tonight!" He finished off the short list raising his fifth and final finger. Subaru's smile faltered a bit as he realized how pathetic he seemed.
Reinhard frowned. "I'm sorry, Mr. Subaru. That sounds like a difficult situation. While I can't help you with some of what you stated, I can at least tell you that you are in the capital city of Lugunica." Subaru didn't know if the knightly man frowned out of kindness or pity.
Subaru attempted to wave off Reinhard's concern quickly. "Nah, I know it sounds bad but the Natsuki clan is known for their resilience. I'll figure something out quickly. It's important to not give up even when faced with tough or unfamiliar situations. Besides, it'll be especially easy because as a freshly Isekai'd protagonist, I can do anything I want, heh." He said that last part too quietly for Reinhard to hear.
"While I don't understand some of the words you say, Mr. Subaru, I commend your confidence. I know I have a long way to go, even as a royal knight and as the Sword Saint, when it comes to emotional maturity and conviction."
Subaru tried not to laugh. He thought to himself, Me? Emotionally mature? Never thought I'd hear those words be associated with me. This guy is nice but clearly his people skills aren't much better than mine. Subaru collected himself and began to speak, "Firstly, Reinhard, I would much prefer you call me Subaru. Mr. Subaru feels so wrong. Secondly, if I had even a fraction of the humility, assuredness, and will that you seem to exude, well, I think I would have had a much better life up until now…" Subaru trailed off.
Subaru shifted his weight, "A-anyway! How about this, let's both hold it to each other to improve ourselves and in a few weeks time if we meet again, we can see how far we got and help each other out as new friends!"
Pathetic. I just met this guy, well, not a guy but a "Legendary Sword Saint" and I'm already pleading to be his friend. Subaru began to bite down on the insides of cheeks, drawing a bit of blood.
Instead of laughing like Subaru expected, Reinhard simply smiled and repeated the words new friends quietly. For the first time since the conversation began, Subaru saw some brightness return to Reinhard's pale blue eyes. "I'd be honored to try to improve with you, my friend." It seemed Reinhard was grateful that Subaru didn't treat him as whatever the title "Sword Saint" meant, but instead as a normal guy.
He continued, "Listen, Subaru, I am busy today on my father Heinkel's orders but I would be happy to lend you a room in my mansion for a few days while you figure out your plans in greater detail. Of course you would owe me no debt, but unfortunately, I won't be able to escort you until sundown."
Did I just make a friend?
Subaru flashed his signature thumbs up and smile. With the happiness of making what seems like his first friend in many years, he gratefully exclaimed, "Reinhard, my man! Firstly, you gotta mansion? Wow, I'm extremely jealous. Secondly, that's an extremely kind offer. While I was planning on just wandering around until I found a few princesses and leveled up, I can't pass up the offer of staying the night at a new friend's house!" His voice softened a little, "Really, Reinhard… thank you."
"Subaru, again, I didn't understand a big chunk of what you said just now but my divine protections tell me that you were genuine and sincere. It is of no concern, Subaru. Oh, but do try to stay away from the Slums at night, they can be a bit dangerous. I'll come looking for you later tonight."
"Thanks for the tip, but how will you find me? I mean, this city seems gigantic!" Subaru was extremely grateful but how could a single person find him in such a big city. He wondered if Reinhard either knew parkour or had a screw loose.
"Well, the short answer is because as the Sword Saint, I'm afforded the luxury of having many divine protections that help me in everyday life as well as combat. The longer answer is…"
A few minutes into Reinhard's monologue, Subaru stopped listening. He thought to himself, Divine Protections? Blessings? How the hell do those even work. I'll have to ask Rein about it later… Maybe he's actually a prince and you train to receive "Divine Protections." A few more minutes went by and Reinhard finally wrapped up his speech on the 16 divine protections he could use to find Subaru in the city.
Feigning intense interest, Subaru nodded vigorously and gave a half-hearted affirmation to hopefully convince Reinhard he was listening the whole time.
Seemingly satisfied with his own explanation, Reinhard began to leave as the two new friends exchanged quick goodbyes.
Now what should I do? It seems I have a few hours before Reinhard will pick me up. After a few minutes of thinking, Subaru screamed internally in triumph: Let's see if my Isekai skills are good enough to find some hot girls around the city!
After strolling around the city for what felt like 30 minutes and failing to activate any of the OP "divine blessings" that Reinhard mentioned earlier, Subaru began to doubt his circumstances. Maybe I'm really not some manga protagonist. Besides, if I was, I'm sure I'd be more powerful. I've embarrassed myself enough in the past 30 minutes trying to activate magic and these so-called divine blessings. I've only succeeded at looking like a freak. Well, I guess I've always been a bit of a freak.
As he thought to himself, Subaru failed to notice he'd been wandering down a dark alleyway in a more isolated part of the city. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a searing voice just ahead of him.
"Hey Gaston, Camberely, it seems that we found ourselves a lost noble. An unarmed lost noble at that."
Subaru was interrupted by a lanky tall guy with nasty eyes like Subaru. He had blue colored hair and deathly pale skin. His eyes, devoid of kindness, narrowed and his lips twisted into a smile. He licked his lips with an inhumanly long tongue. His bony finger was pointing directly at Subaru.
There were two others with him, a short fat kid with dirty brown hair and an abnormally tall, buff guy with messy dark brown hair donning patchy facial hair. The short one snickered, "Looks like you're right, Rachins, we wouldn't want such an important noble getting hurt either. After all, it's rough around here. It'd be a shame if someone stole his bag and money."
Subaru immediately tensed up from the dangerous aura. These guys are no good. I just need to comply and everything will be fine, there's nothing on me that's worth the trouble. Time to slide the mask on and fake some confidence.
Subaru struck his signature pose, "Ay, Ton, Chin and Kan! Whaddup boys?" Listen, listen, I think I catch your drift. Firstly, I'm not a noble but I appreciate your–
The tall, buff Gaston caught Subaru off guard when he interrupted him with a polite, "Shut the fuck up!"
Rachins continued with a hiss, "Here's how this works. You shut the fuck up, you give us your bag and anything valuable on you and we'll consider not breaking every bone in your miserable, pathetic body."
Subaru wanted to call out to Reinhard because he knew that it was possible for him to get his location, but he couldn't let his new friend see how pathetic and powerless he was. Time to put the mask back on.
Subaru closed his eyes and sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so stupid just a second ago. I don't want any trouble with you guys-"
He couldn't even finish his sentence when he felt a fist connect square-center with the middle of his jaw. Subaru was blasted to the ground and hit the left side of his face on part of the cobblestone street. With a distinct cracking sound, he felt his back three molars and part of his jawbone was split. Searing pain radiated from the sight of impact as his blood started to pool in the back of his mouth.
The short kid Camberely looked annoyed, "What did we just say? You need to shut the fuck up."
Gaston walked towards Subaru who was still reeling from the pain on the ground and stomped on his pinky finger, instantly breaking it.
"Let's try this again. Give us everything you've got." Subaru didn't even know who said that. Nobody had ever hit him before and he certainly never broke a bone. Subaru just tried not to cry. As he was preparing to give his cellphone, a few Yen coins and his bag of snacks to the three thugs, he heard a pair of impossibly light footsteps approaching him from behind.
A young girl's voice yelled out, "Move! Move! You guys! Out of my way!"
Subaru turned around and saw a short girl with medium-length golden hair running towards him. It was unkempt, but still tied together with a tattered black bow. Her black top barely covered her small breasts and brought attention to her ribcage sticking out. Subaru immediately suspected she didn't have a reliable source of food. Her black pants were worn and the left pant was completely torn off. Her vest, gloves and especially brown shoes were in reprehensible condition from being worn. Perhaps the best kept clothing item was the red scarf the young girl donned. It was suspiciously better kept than the rest of her outfit. She had a small blade attached to her belt. Despite it being dull, Subaru could tell that it hadn't been used. However, Subaru was most drawn to the young girl's eyes. They were in between a blood and crimson color. They seemed to sparkle with light and the fire of an unknown determination even in the darkness of the alleyway.
Despite her shabby clothes, which indicated to Subaru she must have been living in the streets, the girl was undeniably cute. His heart began to beat just a little bit faster as he came to the conclusion that perhaps she was the one that summoned him to this parallel world. Sure, she was no princess and she wasn't wealthy, but she really was beautiful. Wow, even when I'm being mugged I still have the energy to appreciate a pretty girl. I just wish her boobs were bigger… but that can wait.
Subaru blurted out as she approached only a few feet away, "Is that the cute girl who summoned me?!"
The golden-haired girl slowed from a sprint to a jog, eventually to a stop right in front of him and the muggers.
She cocked her head to the side and looked confused, "Summoned? I dunno what you're talking about!" As if remembering what she was running from before, she broke out of her confusement at Subaru's question and put on a more frantic face.
She continued, "Sorry, I'm really busy, I gotta run. Live strong!"
Live strong?
The girl was about to start running again when Subaru instinctively grabbed her arm before she could escape.
I can't let her get away. If she is the girl that summoned me, only an idiot would let her out of his sight. Besides, I'm being mugged, she has a blade, and it's not like some beautiful silver-haired half-elf hottie is gonna come to the rescue or something.
"Listen, I really need your help."
Well, that does it for my first ever story and first ever chapter. I truly hope you enjoyed. Please review but as it is my first ever stab at writing, I hope you will be nice :).