He woke up to cold air caressing his cheeks, his body shivering. His vision blurred like usual when he awoke. Why is it so cold? Did I forget to close the window?
He rubbed his eyes, and his vision cleared.
"What the fuck?!"
He looked around, finding himself in an unknown alleyway, in an unknown neighborhood and sitting rather than lying down.
"Where am I? What is this place? Why do the walls look..."
He squinted at the wall in front of him—made of rough and gray stone bricks. "Why does this look medieval?"
The flapping of a piece of huge gray cloth drew his attention, crumpled a few feet away from him. Okay... From the cloth, the alleyway extended and turned right. That doesn't tell me where I am.
He looked to his right.
"WHAT THE F—"
His eyes widened. "Lizards? Lizards walking on two legs?! And a horse too— What the fuck! Wait a minute, pointy hats...? Did a wizard and a witch pass by? W-Were those... cat-ears on a family?"
He narrowed his gaze, frowning. "Wait... No..."
He shook his head in disbelief.
"Don't tell me. Don't tell me I've been isekaid (ee-sa-kite). The words felt absurd in his own thought. Was I teleported here by some external force? Did I die in my bed, only to reincarnate here?"
His hand met his forehead. "I don't believe it, I thought they only exist in animes."
Standing up, he dusted the grime from his short and shirt. "Have I been truly isekaid or am I in a vivid dream?"
He looked up to the fluffy clouds drifting across the blue sky, his head tilting slowly.
"They're... not morphing when I blink."
He blinked some more—his theory already confirmed a few blinks ago.
"So um... what now? Go to a hero's quest of saving the world? Find love in this world while I can't in my own? Become this world's renowned hero—famous in every state, continent, and kingdom? Or..."
He looked at his spot where he once sat.
"Just sit here and do nothing. Heh. Nah. Also, have I been really desensitized? I should be panicking but... I'm not."
He turned to the crumpled up cloth.
"Welp, nothing to do but to cloak up and leave the confines of the alleyway. Where will I go though...?"
He scratched his chin.
"I mean, when I thought of being in another world while watching the isekai genre, I always thought of going to the guild first to make money and start my life from there... Huh, the guild it is then."
He picked up the cloth. "Wow, conveniently big enough for a cloak."
Cloaking himself, he finally stepped into the strange, new world.
* * *
The wind kicked up dust, temporarily blinding him as he exited the alleyway.
Great! The world wants to reveal itself to its newcomer, blinding me to build anticipation.
He began rubbing his eyes. Okay world, I'm anticipated. Show me what you got.
His vision cleared and his eyes widened with awe. He found himself in a bustling street. Idle chatter filled the air—people, animal-eared people, and beastmen (full animals walking on two legs): families, couples, friends. The only thing common was their attire—medieval-style commoner's clothing.
Wow, this... this is amazing!
He looked at the passersby in awe. The locals here were all things of fiction, yet here he was, seeing them walk about. He heard the clatter of a cartwheel over cobblestone, a child with fox ears chasing a runaway apple. Heh, cute.
Inhaling, he caught the scent of baked bread and a perfume's fragrance.
Wait a second, perfumes! There are perfumes in this world? Bro... if I stay here in wonder, I'll weird the people out.
His head swiveled, his gaze falling on a fruit stand to the right of the alleyway he exited from.
There is the person of interest—no, fruit stand of interest.
Before him, an assortment of fruits formed mountains in large crates—apples, green apples, oranges, and tangerines.
No bananas? Did she run out?
The fruit vendor was refilling an already-full sack—about the size of a grocery bag—with apples and green apples. Finishing, she tied it with a small rope, handing it to a customer—a woman holding a baby.
"There you go, Valentina. Please, do return."
"Will do Ms. Applegate. See you later."
Applegate? The only Applegate I know is from Kindergarten, the videogame... with big boo— I'm gonna stop!
Finished with the customer, the fruit-stand lady's gaze shifted to him.
"How may I assist you, young man?"
Time to ask for directions. In addition, change my vocabulary to not look out of place.
"This is my first time being here in this kingdom, and I have to say..." He looked around him. "Pretty bustling this time of day. Any special occasion?"
"It is the weekend, hence the increase in folk wandering about. It's also the day we merchants reduce our prices to drive sales."
He scratched his chin. "Interesting... Where I come from they'd increase the price to increase profits but... that's off-topic. To the matter at hand, can you tell me where this kingdom's guild is?"
"Of course, you start by following this road..."
The directions were given—extensively so. So much he'd forgotten what came after the first two turns.
He waved at the fruit-stand lady. "Thank you for helping me!"
"Be sure to come back for fruits!"
"Haha. I will!"
The lady's directions were already a jumble in his head. Left at the blacksmith? Or was it right after the fountain?
Haaah. Where's the GPS when you need it.
* * *7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mUfUtlS8Q
and then Add to home screen.