The first friendly interaction in another world.

About thirty minutes passed since I offered to help her.

“――What the heck is going on?”

The investigation was going decidedly poorly.

The girl questioning me had a cold glare, and being subjected to her dissatisfied stare brought me an unsettling realization. Namely—

“To be looked at with such icy eyes and yet feel a thrill… Is it possible? Me, I am… a masochist…?”

“I don’t know whether you’re an M or whatever, but what you’re saying is super ridiculous.”

With her arms crossed, the girl sighed, making no effort to hide her exasperation.

Her harsh criticism might have been warranted given how my thirty minutes of contributions had turned out.

I had volunteered to help her find something, but the search faced some serious setbacks.

First, I had zero local knowledge.

I could only ask for understanding here as I had just been summoned to this strange world, but for the girl, unfamiliar with the area, this was a major blow.

The two of us wasted a good ten minutes wandering through alleys, both assuming the other knew the way. In hindsight, that’s pretty much the punchline.

Secondly, I couldn’t make heads or tails of the writing.

I had let my guard down because we could communicate, but when I looked around again, there were all these handwritten pictograms everywhere.

At first, I hadn’t noticed, but since they were on signs and whatnot, unless there’re some trendy curses or magical charms, those must be the characters in this world. Thanks to that, I couldn’t tell one store from another, nor could I ask for directions using a map.

In other words, the classic summoning trope of “somehow understandable language and readable characters!” only applied to the former.

If the latter hadn’t applied, I would probably just die on the street. So maybe this situation isn’t entirely bad.

“Still, the difficulty is unnecessarily raised way too high…”

Instead of an extravagant cheat story, I found everything riddled with incompetence everywhere.

And most importantly, I had earned the girl’s ire by the serious problem that was—

“By the way, you’ve been hiding behind me this whole time and haven’t been any help at all!”

“Because talking to someone I just met is a little scary…”

“You’re not a child anymore…”

She furrowed her beautifully shaped brows as if she had a headache, speaking in a voice that dripped with pity.

As Subaru had worried, the barrier for asking a stranger questions was absurdly high. I had been sprinting up the endless communication obstacle for the past year. I was like a shy child clinging to their mother, merely tagging along and keeping quiet.

Though I wanted to say something to comfort her disappointment, my own shortcomings weighed heavily on me, making it hard to find the words.

Just then, the little cat, which had stayed silent on her shoulder, wagged its tail and said—

“Don’t worry. …He doesn’t mean any harm at all.”

“Even more disappointing. It’d be more convincing if it was an act of sabotage. …Just useless goodwill is harder to deal with than malice.”

“That’s a real learning experience!”

The cat’s indifferent attitude made the girl sigh.

Then, shifting her gaze back to the street, she added, “That said…”

“Things seem pretty rough.”

Just like that, she muttered softly.

The location had shifted from the previous alleyway to the main street, and now we had entered the Poor District, far from the hustle and bustle of the shops.

Though her attitude was passive, the results of our inquiries had led us to this rough tracking.

“They say if you’re trying to sell stolen goods, it’ll be in the slums or Poor District…”

“Since we know the place and what the suspects look like, can’t we just leave it to the guards… or not guards but the soldiers? If we use a human wave tactic, we can nail this in no time!”

I heard from a shopkeeper two streets over about a narrow alley leading to the slums.

Though the sun was beginning to set, just one street apart, the atmosphere was gloomy due to everything but the light sources.

The damp air carried a stench, making Subaru cringe involuntarily.

“The air, the atmosphere, and probably the personalities of the people living here are bad. We should definitely call for help.”

“No way.”

I wasn’t being scared or backtracking; I was carefully assessing my capabilities as well as the girl’s safety. However, I was quickly shot down.

Seeing Subaru’s bewilderment at her firm rejection, she expressed a hint of remorse.

“I’m sorry. But it’s not possible. I can’t imagine the guards will do anything about such a minor theft… And besides, there are unusual circumstances where I can’t rely on the guards.”

She pursed her lips tightly and looked at Subaru as if begging, “I can’t tell you why.”

She must have really not wanted to be asked about her circumstances; seeing her gaze, Subaru raised his hands in a gesture of acquiescence. Originally, I wasn’t the type to pry into other people’s business, and getting too deeply involved seemed like a hassle.

If I could have been proactive in relationships, I wouldn’t have ended up being a recluse in the first place.

“So, what do we do now?”

Though I didn’t want to pry into her circumstances, I asked about our next course of action.

Asking for the reasons and deciding whether to continue cooperating were two separate issues. I didn’t know the girl’s story, but I definitely didn’t want to be ungrateful.

Surprised by my willingness to cooperate, she raised her eyebrows slightly.

On her shoulder, the cat took a light step on the spot and said, “See? I told you, he doesn’t mean any harm.”

With an utterly nonsensical expression, the cat joyfully pointed at Subaru with its paw.

But then, suddenly, the cat’s expression tightened into something serious.

“But make sure to make your decisions carefully. —It’s about to get dark, and I can’t lend a hand anymore. I’m not worried if it’s just muggers… but caution is key.”

“Right, I’ll think about it. But…”

The girl’s response to the cat’s suggestion was noncommittal.

While she was pondering, Subaru directed a sudden question at the cat.

“So, from what you just said, does that mean you can’t come out at night?”

“Not that I can’t come out, but since I’m a spirit with this cute appearance, just being manifested costs quite a bit of mana. So at night, I turn back to my vessel and focus on gathering mana. Ideally, I guess it’s best from nine to five.”

“Sounds just like a public servant’s schedule… The employment conditions of spirits aren’t as easy as I thought!”

Terminology like spirits and vessels flying around felt natural, but thanks to being a modern otaku influenced by anime and games, I could wrap my head around it just fine.

Anyway, the little cat—no, Pack couldn’t operate at night because of the contract. Though it looked dependable, given how the thugs in the alley seemed to fear it, it was evident that the existence of a “spirit” held considerable power.

The girl who can create ice blocks with magic has a presence even more feared than hers. Despite that exceptionally idyllic vibe, she might have some habits like “feeding on human flesh and loving the smell of blood!”

“Thinking of it that way suddenly feels terrifying. Just so you know, I totally don’t taste good because I’m all sinewy!!!”

“Since I can read a bit of your mind, I’ll tell you this… you’re pretty dumb, huh?”

Saying this without being able to sugarcoat it, Pack then furrowed its excessively fluffy brows.

“By the way, I haven’t asked for your name yet. I don’t think you introduced yourself either.”

“Now that you mention it. Alright, I’ll go first.”

Clearing my throat, I spun around once and struck a pose, pointing to the sky.

“My name is Natsuki Subaru! Know nothing about left or right and utterly broke! Nice to meet you!”

“If you just say that, it sounds like you’re in a desperate situation. And I’m Pack. Nice to meet you.”

In a show of friendly hands, Pack jumped into a dynamic handshake. From the perspective of an outside observer, it looked like Subaru was squashing Pack with one hand while the other was under it.

Relaxed by the fluffiness, Subaru’s gaze then shifted to the girl beside them. She was watching our exchange with a face that spoke of exasperation.

“Why can’t you separate that overly familiar attitude from ordinary situations?”

“Because I’m panicking and needing a lifeline, okay! Damn it, I’m definitely not letting this encounter slip through my fingers… I’ll depend on it to survive!”

“Such a ridiculously lame determination… You do remember why you’re accompanying us, right?”

“Of course! It started out with looking for something, but it turned into looking for a person. And the only one who knows the details of that person is me alone… There’s no way I’m getting thrown away; my lips are sealed!”

“During your inquiries, I heard you mumbling behind me, ‘Blonde hair, teeth… Oh, never mind.’ So you’ve already spilled the general characteristics.”

“You idiot!!!”

Subaru held his head, collapsing down.

It was like showing my cards in a poker game and calling that negotiation. I was utterly pathetic.

I had finally made the first friendly contact in this world, but I was feeling an anxious impatience that the thread I was supposed to cling to would snap. Watching Subaru struggle with this, Pack chuckled.

“Well, we all have our circumstances, y’know? As for yours, Subaru, I’ll ask about that later, but let’s wrap up our side first. By the way, that’s a rare name. It has a nice ring to it.”

“That’s right; around here, you don’t hear names like that. Speaking of which, your hair, eye color, and clothing are pretty unique, too… Where are you from?”

“Going by the typical answer, I probably came from a little country in the east!”

The classic trope for isekai stories. A hidden village to the east of the continent.

A country with almost no diplomatic relations with other nations, so when they hear I washed up here, most folks would just nod in understanding. It’s a magical and convenient trope.

However—

“Rugnica is the easternmost country on the continent map, so there’s nothing east of this country.”

“Wait, really!? This is the eastern edge!? Then I’m in my ideal Zipang!?”

“Not knowing where you are, dead broke, and scared to talk to people… I’m starting to worry about this guy’s future from every angle.”

As Subaru panicked, the girl began to look uneasily around.

Though she wasn’t being straightforward, she definitely radiated a kind of caretaking vibe. She was probably worried about how defenseless Subaru was acting.

Pack watched their mutual struggle with a smile, flicking his whiskers with his paw.

“For now, let’s put that aside for later. Right now, we need to go deeper… But I only have about an hour left to manifest. This is the point where I need you to make a decision.”

“——I’ll go. In any case, I’m not letting this chance slip away. It’ll be too late if they carry it off to some unreachable place.”

Responding to Pack’s request, the girl turned to Subaru.

“Okay, we’re headed out. But… Stay extra vigilant from this alley onward. It’s getting dark, and there’ll probably be some shady characters around since this is where people used to rough work live. If you’re scared, you can wait here, or just stick close behind me like before.”

“If you suggest waiting here, how chicken can I get? I’m going, okay? I’m right behind you like a spirit!”

“No option to go in front, huh… Well, that way I won’t have to worry about you as much.”

Another sigh from the girl; it seemed to have been like that since we met. Now that I think back, I still hadn’t seen her smile even once. Just that angry face. If she smiled, she would look super cute.

“An orange on top of an aluminum can!!”

“…What’s that about all of a sudden?”

“Something feels off. It doesn’t work, why… Ah! Shoot! There probably aren’t aluminum cans in this world! Um, um, then, a stove goes flying… Wait, no stove either!”

“Your behavior is suddenly getting bizarre… Is this because of the ‘curse’ or something?”

“No, it’s all voluntary. Though it’s rather intense in the completely useless direction…”

Having grasped the underlying struggle, Pack interpreted it quite positively. On the other hand, the girl only thought Subaru seemed to be going haywire.

While lamenting the excessive dad jokes limited to my original world, Subaru was desperately trying to keep his head in the game. Losing sight of the larger picture while becoming too concentrated on current circumstances was another of Subaru’s bad habits.

“How about saying my legs spazzed out, so I can’t go home?”

Finally, a pattern that didn’t rely on modern knowledge had come out, but the girl’s response was to turn away with a dismissive glance.

Her gaze fixed on the alley, signifying she wasn’t willing to put up with any more.

My spontaneous desire for a smile ended in a dud.

“—Are you done, Subaru?”

The girl called out, hitting peak levels of self-loathing as Subaru considered the outcome and process.

Feeling a slight thrill at having my name called for the first time and called without any honorifics by a girl, I managed to reply.

“O-oh. Y-yeah! I’m a- absolutely fine. Totally, I can totally do this!”

“Why are you so flustered… I get that it’s scary, but we haven’t entered yet. If it’s that scary, you could just wait out here.”

Worrying about something completely off base, the girl sighed softly and finally stopped her consideration toward Subaru.

Following her into the alley, I suddenly realized she didn’t intend to abandon me after she fulfilled her purpose.

“Wait here” implied that she planned to return after finding what she was looking for. I had understood she couldn’t craft a deceptive lie without calculating.

“Crap. I’m looking super lame.”

I offered to help but didn’t contribute a lick and ended up having the girl worry about my wellbeing after her goal was achieved. I was a total deadbeat.

Slapping my cheeks, I forced myself awake with the pain, fixing my gaze ahead.

Tears and complaints still hadn’t run dry. When you’re dropped into another world with no support, anyone could end up like this, wandering aimlessly. I didn’t think that was a bad thing, though—

“Relying on someone else is so uncool. At the very least, I should walk behind her on my own two feet.”

I’d stand on my own rather than lean on others.

—Even after awakening, my goals somehow seemed incredibly small.

“By the way, speaking of which…”

As I called out from diagonally behind, the girl glanced back, just enough to let her silver hair fall slightly.

Her casual glance was alluring, and though I hesitated, I threw a question at her white profile.

“In the end, I heard the name of your pet cat, but I realized I don’t know your name.”

After this playful question, the girl lapsed into silence, shifting her gaze back ahead.

Her demeanor made me panic internally as I thought, “Wait, did I mess that up!?” Not speaking up earlier might have meant she didn’t want to share her name.

As someone who couldn’t read a person’s heart or even a woman’s heart, my shortcomings had shone through once more.

“—Satella.”

“What?”

At her unexpected mutter, Subaru, mired in his inner conflict, snapped to attention.

Without even looking back, she emotionlessly said to him again.

“Just call me Satella.”

Having introduced herself, she still seemed to refuse to be addressed that way.

Desiring a more convenient family name to call her by, Subaru couldn’t outright say it and fell silent. For now, I supposed it was acceptable to address her by a second-person pronoun, accepting my own spinelessness.

In the background of their exchange, Pack nestled in her silver hair suddenly muttered—

“—That’s bad taste.”

But his comment went unheard by either Subaru or the girl.

 

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