This is a problem.

Obviously, it's not my fault I don't have any money, and it's not like I asked to be sent to another world, either.

I just have no money.

The problem is that it means I have no means to buy gear, either.

This would easily be solved by the loot I left behind.

Probably.

But I hadn't thought about that when I left.

I was too angry, too upset with this world. And a certain useless assistant hadn't bothered to tell me that there was actually something at least possibly worth challenging left in this world.

"Master!" The voice in my head gasps. "You didn't ask for that kind of information!"

Oh, sure.

Now she cares about what I did or didn't ask her.

Ridiculous.

Almost as ridiculous as the fact that I made it all the way back to the town before remembering that shopping...requires money.

It's really not my fault.

Even in my past life, I made all my purchases online. I signed up for subscriptions even on grocery stores so I wouldn't need to be bothered with remembering to go shopping every day. I never had to think about how much money I had because I didn't make big purchases and my streaming made me enough money that I'd always be okay.

That's a long time to just not think about money.

Of all the things not to give me an overpowered ability for...

The economy system is what I have to play fairly?!

Well, there's no doubt plenty of exploits to use if I wanted to, not the least of which being that...charm aura thing.

Whatever that is.

But I don't want to do that.

Which is a problem, because I also don't have any money.

Elara laughs and shakes her head. "If you could see the look on your face...!"

I frown, shifting uncomfortably as she tries to put her arm around my shoulder.

Her arm can't reach, thanks to our difference in height, and instead falls around my waist.

She's not that short, she just. Doesn't put her arm around my back or chest, she chooses my waist.

...Which makes it even worse.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I step away from her. "Touching isn't necessary."

She waves her hand then. "I'm trying to say~! It isn't like we just left the loot all there. You can have your cut of the loot anyway."

Kael huffs. "Not that you deserve it, with that ridiculous stunt you pulled."

I sigh and cross my arms.

"If we're going to be a party we need to split the riches anyway." Arin says, settling a hand on his hip. "We won't even make it to the death zone if we're too busy squabbling."

Death zone?

"The death zone is the area around the Demon King's territory, it's called that because no one who enters it ever leaves alive~!" The System Helper chirps.

For once, I don't mind it.

That does sound like something that needs preparing for.

It better be.

This world better not make a liar out of itself and try to disappoint me with a weakling demon king that's not a threat at all.

It's not that I WANT the demon king to be too strong for me.

I don't want to lose.

I don't want to die.

But if it isn't a challenge, if I can't walk that thin line of almost too hard....

It's utterly pointless to even try.

I'll hate it and myself for bothering with doing it.

It's like walking a tightrope that's covered in spikes and if I slip in any direction but exactly forward and backward I'll fall to my death.

That's the challenge.

It's the fun part of a game.

Struggling.

Climbing.

When the stakes are real and the enemy is mighty and the slightest slip will end in humiliating, frustrating failure.

Those moments where it feels hopeless, but you find just the right angle or method and you begin to overwhelm your opponent and feel your victory in your hands...

When you survive by a single pixel of dodging and just barely manage to take down the boss before you'd have died yourself.

That's the kind of thing that gets a person addicted to challenge games.

That's the true satisfaction of this world and any other.

Nothing else is even worth a second glance.

It's so important and motivating that my irritation and discomfort have begun to melt away just thinking about the thrill of it.

Elara eyes me strangely for a long moment. Finally she speaks. "Well. Come on. You're new here, so I might as well show you to the best shop that's not a scam."

...There are scammers here?

The others roll their eyes and groan in exasperation, but follow along beside me as we travel to...

A house?

Elara walks up the steps to the door of a wooden house, with a large red door that stands out in comparison to the green walls around it.

The whole thing stands out, actually.

It doesn't have any immediately noticeable signage indicating it's a store, but it definitely is a garish eyesore.

I wait.

She knocks on the door.

Kael is the one to sigh and open it for her.

This is probably the kind of behavior he's used to.

As a rogue.

...Actually.

He just opens the door.

He doesn't even lock pick it. Apparently the door wasn't locked to begin with.

"HOLY SHI-!" A female voice yelps. "It's you! I mean...uh!"

I'm starting to believe this isn't a shop but a break in robbery.

Against my better judgment, I make my way up to the door and peer in anyway.

A dark haired girl with bright red eyes is sprawled out on the floor at the opposite side of the room, a scroll with scribblings of...some kind of word soup? Scattered around her.

The shelves to her back are filled with glass bottles - all various shades of green, red, and blue - with potion labels on them.

There's also assorted dummies standing with various kinds of armor and weapons on them. And...just. Various random items I suppose are useful for adventurers.

The woman who must be the shopkeep is dressed in many colors, and what seems to be a long flowing robe pooled around her on the ground.

There's a cat on her head.

This probably explains why she's still on the ground.

The cat doesn't appear to have noticed that the door is open and that she has guests, staring into space in the opposite direction.

...Is the cat some kind of...spirit creature?

Maybe a magical familiar?

I tilt my head to the side and stare at the cat.

...Its tail sways happily, swishing in the air.

...This is just a cat.

After a moment, the woman shoos the cat out of her hair. It jumps down with a yowl and disappears behind a bookshelf.

...This is not the time to be staring at the cat.

I shift my attention to the woman on the ground.

Who now has her face planted on the ground, shoved violently there by the cat's paws on retreat.

What. The hell. Is happening.