"Ugh... Where am I?"

Bright light momentarily blinded me as I forced my heavy eyes open. Everyone was looking at me with their anxious expressions and worried looks.

I was wearing a plain white shirt and the pants I was wearing earlier. I spotted my armor tucked away neatly in one corner of the room with my sword placed beside it. 

It hasn't reverted back to its original form.

"Oh! He's awake! He's awake! Ow."

"Shut up, Olivia!"

My head hurts.

"Hey, what happened to me? Huh?"

My fingers tugged at the soft sheets underneath me and its familiar scent wafted into my nose.

"Ah! P-Please don't sniff my bedsheets!"

"I wasn't- Nevermind. I'm guessing I'm in Maria's bedroom?"

"Yes. Y-You're in my room."

"I see..."

"Wait! Don't move too much! Your mana lines are still damaged, you need to take it easy!"

Maria immediately rushed over to my side and gently tucked me back into her bed.

"If you move too much, it will hurt. So please take care of yourself."

Maria flashed me a warm smile like that of a mother taking care of her child while she pets my hair. 

"Still, this is troublesome... I was hoping to go on a quest today but it would seem Arthur here is out of commission."

Zel looked at me with a troubled expression as she paced around the small room.

Olivia let out a yawn while casting her powerful Heal. She had a wornout expression on her face.

"Even my heal is having trouble with your injuries. Just what did you do in the forest?"

"W-Well-"

"He risked his life to save..."

Everyone's gaze turned to the red-faced Jin, who was sitting idly at the foot of the bed.

"Is... Is that so? Well, I think it would be fair if Jin would be the one to accompany you for now."

"Eh?"

"Oh, right. Maria and I have some errands to do. We'll be back after a few hours."

Maria stood up and looked around the room. My gaze shifted towards her shelf filled with various books.

"Ara... I wonder where did I put it?"

"Your book or your sketchbook?"

"Oh, have you seen both, Jin?"

"Yeah, you placed it on the table over there."

Jin pointed towards a large book on the table as well as the leatherbound book that sat beside it.

"Arthur, you could read that if you like. I believe it will help ease your boredom."

"Thanks."

"Anyways, Maria and I will be going now. Jin, please take care of these two."

"Yeah, yeah. See ya' around later."

Maria and Zel promptly left the room and left the three of us to our own whims.

Almost immediately, Olivia pulled out some cards from who knows where and laid them on the bed.

"Cards? Anyone?"

"I'll pass. Can you hand me the book over there?"

A sigh left Jin's lips as she walked over to the table.

"Here."

"Thanks!"

Jin tossed me the heavy book and I managed to catch it with both of my hands.

"No title. Let's see..."

Olivia paid me no attention while she shuffled her cards, it looks like she was preparing to do some tricks.

"I see... it's an encyclopedia... or something."

"Hm? Oh! I know that one! We have a copy of that in the church archives! It's the Travels of Ryujin and Caesar!"

So this is basically an account of the adventures and travels of two famous heroes.

"The Church of Eliere had a history with those two heroes."

"Oh? Did they do something bad towards the Church?"

"Not at all! In fact, the two heroes were said to be chosen by the Goddess Illyria Herself. They carried the Tome of the Prophet Eliere with them wherever they went and spread the Love of the Goddess far and wide."

Olivia spoke like an excited kid. Her eyes shimmered as she stared at the book in my hands.

"I see. Anyways, can you help me with this? I'll probably have some trouble with this thing."

"Ufufu! Of course I will help you! The Travels is one of my favorite books after all!"

She immediately leapt to my side and pressed her back against the head of the bed.

I let out a sigh as I flipped through the table of contents and proceeded straight towards the main body of the text. The yellowed pages and faded texts means that this book is pretty old. Still, even if some of the letters are faded, I could clearly see and read the letters and words written in a language unfamiliar to me.

Thankfully, I could understand the words thanks to the Gods of this world. 

"Oh? So this is the 3rd volume."

"Wait, what? There's three volumes?!"

"7, actually. I already read them all. Although, there are rumors that there is a hidden 8th volume that details the territory of the Demon Lord's kingdom."

"I see... Anyways, what is this volume about?"

Olivia pondered for a few moments before snapping her fingers.

"The races! It's about the 9 Noble Races as well as the other creatures that they found in their travels."

Olivia took the book from my hands and rested it on her thighs before shifting her position to a more comfortable one.

"Look! This part's my favorite! The Hero Ryujin wrote this part and it's about the Nine Races!"

The page she was pointing to included high detailed illustrations and lengthy paragraphs. Ryujin must've worked pretty hard on this book.

I read the first few paragraphs of the page:

This chapter will be dedicated to my various observations of the Nine Races that my friend and I encountered in our travels. We were already familiar with 7 of the said races, but we were still intrigued about their various practices and cultures. I, myself, was curious about the appearance of the females of each race and thus my research was more biological and scientifically focused while Caesar, a student of the Humanities, was more focused on the cultural and societal aspects of each race. 

That is why, it is my personal belief that this book will serve as a guide for others about the behavior and appearance of the different races. Again, I apologize in advance if the book is Human-centric in nature. I will write about the Races in the manner of when we encountered them, hence it shall be written as follows;

Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, Faefolk, Giants, Merfolk, Automatons, and Lizardmen.

"So these are the 9 Races?"

"Yes. The Two Heroes went on a journey to offer their aid against the Demon Lord."

"I-Is that so?"

Looking at the illustrations now, it's clear to me that it was just the females of each race that was drawn here. In fact, I noticed a small note at the bottom of one of the pages.

Upon closer inspection, I let out a heavy sigh.

Written there was the Hero Ryujin's notes about Beastmen Catgirls and how soft their fur is.

"I don't think I want to read any further than this."

"Seriously? We haven't even reached the part where they talked about Elves!"

"... Okay, I'll read up on that then I'm going to read some more books."

It seems that this book is about two guys on a mission to find the best thing to bang. I feel sorry for the people of this world and the readers of this book who thought this was about some noble cause. 

Still, I will treasure the legacy you left me, Ryujin! I'll put this knowledge to good use!

"I'm back. Hm? What are you guys reading over there?"

"Oh, Jin! You're back! Arthur and I are reading the Travels of Ryujin and Caesar."

I glanced towards Jin, who was holding a tray with sandwiches for the three of us.

She placed down the tray on the table and approached us with a curious expression.

"Oh, I know about that. It's about two heroes trying to find something called a "waifu", right?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yup! Although they weren't able to find one, it seems they were able to find one close to it in the Elven Kingdoms and the Beastmen Tribes."

Nope. I'm pretty sure they found their fucking waifus alright.

"Arthur, what's with that expression on your face."

"Nothing. It's nothing."

I'm definitely going to Alfheim in the future. I want to taste Heaven as well.

"Anyways, I've read enough about Elf boobs and Beastmen "domestication" for today. I want to learn more about magic."

"E-Elf boobs?! What?!"

"What the fuck? Seriously?"

"Yeah, that book is all about their travels to fulfill their fantasies with women."

"I-Impossible! This book is about two heroes doing their part to bring knowledge to this world! H-How-"

Olivia was red faced as she flipped through the pages of the book to find things that would refute what I just said. Jin looked at me with disdain as I shakily stood up from the bed and stretched my arms.

"N-No way... It's not true! Not true at all! How could these two heroes be nothing more but perverts?! I refuse to believe it!"

"Look, the knowledge they wrote about is something to be treasured and I've got to say, Caesar is a pretty good artist."

I let out a chuckle as I picked up the book from Olivia's hands.

"But look here. In this part, they just talk about how to impress a Giantess. These just talks about where to pet a Wolf Girl. And this-"

"Fine! Fine! I got it! Thanks for ruining the image of my childhood heroes!"

"Ahaha! Sorry."

Olivia was already fuming so I decided to stop teasing her.

"I can't believe this man. Stop picking on her and just eat your lunch."

Jin sat down on the table and nibbled on her sandwich.

I took my sandwich from the plate before I walked over to the bookshelf. 

I broswed through the various titles. It was just a bunch of books related to magic and the like with some novels thrown in here and there. Beggars can't be choosers so I picked a random book on the top most shelf.

"This is interesting..."

"Hey, stop snooping around there. You might find Maria's diary there."

"Huh? Maria has a diary? Right, Maria's that kind of person."

Ignoring Olivia's comments, I put back the book about the Elven language. Maria is a very timid person, she probably has a diary in here somewhere.

"H-Hey! Cut that out! I was joking!"

"Fine. I'll- Hold on. What's this?"

No way, no fucking way. Is this what I think it is? 

I shakily stretched out my hand and reached out for the dusty book tucked away at the bottom of the shelf. My suspicions proved to be correct the moment I pulled it out.

To think that this thing could be brought over to this world...

"Hey! That's the book Maria bought from Ryoka!"

Jin smiled as she immediately grabbed it from my grasp.

I looked at her as she flipped through the pages of a light novel.

I used to read that a few years ago. Ah, the nostalgia. I couldn't help but smile as I reminisced about the times me and my friends would get into an argument over who is the best girl in that series.

But how the hell did Volume 3 of Magical Girl Aiko get here?

"I wonder when would Ryoka come back. I need to buy one of those things futon things that you could wrap around yourself."

"A blanket?"

"No, not that! It's like a blanket and a futon but you could go in it and sleep anywhere!"

"Oh! I also want one of those! What's it called?"

"It's a sleeping bag."

The pair's eyes shifted towards me as I watched them gush over normal, everyday things from my world.

"Wait, you know what those weird things are?"

"Yeah. It's pretty common from where I come from."

Right, this world is probably in the medieval ages level of technology. These two would probably be weirded out and fascinated by the things from my world.

"Really?! What elde do you have from your country?"

Jin asked excitedly, her eyes filled with anticipation while she waited for my answer.

"Let's see... We've got carriages that don't need horses, weapons called guns-"

"Guns? I'm pretty sure guns exist in this country as well."

"...Eh?"

"Yeah. People who wield them are those in the subclass of Gunslinger. There's also a class called Sniper that specializes in long range-"

"Wait, hold on a minute. Guns exist here?"

"Yeah. Guns exist in our country as well. We were the first to invent them after all."

The pair shot me a confused gaze as I stood dumbfounded.

How can guns exist in this-

Oh, right. The Heroes must've introduced them here.

"O-Okay... Anyway, how do they work?"

"I'm not really sure about those things since they're pretty noisy. It's best to stick to these bad boys!"

Jin pulled out her two daggers and twirled them around with flashy techniques. Olivia and I looked at her with unease as she performed a series of quick slashes in the air.

Seriously, this girl should be more careful with those things!

"W-Well, I only saw a gun once and I think it functioned by pumping mana into it? The person spoke of things like electric magic being used so I'm not really sure."

"Hmm. So they compensate with magic, huh? I see."

So the guns here don't use gunpowder, but relies on some sort of system that utilizes mana. It's impressive that they were able to create these modern weapons in this medieval world.

Maybe I should get a pistol in the future.

We spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around Maria's room. Currently, we were-

"Go fish!"

Playing cards. Shit, I lost again.

I let out a groan as I laid down on the soft bed. Olivia's blue eyes shimmered with excitement as she stood triumphantly, sticking her chest out in pride.

"Hahaha! Looks like you'll be treating the two of us to drinks!"

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I wonder what's taking them so-"

With a loud creak, the door flew open and a haggard and worn-out Zel entered the room with a tired expression. She held a box in her hands and with a loud thud, placed it on the table.

"H-Hello..." "Yo." "Hey, Zel! What do you have there?"

The three of us spoke at the same time and Zel replied with a weak smile.

"Maria bought some new books and asked me to carry them."

Zel smiled as she glanced at the box under her arm. 

"So, are you feeling fine, Arthur?"

"Y-Yeah. I think so."

"Hello. I'm back."

Maria entered the room carrying a small bag in her arms. The scent of freshly baked pastries filled the room.

"I bought some Sausage Rolls and Elven Flatbread for all of us."

"Aw man! Are these from Old Man Asbjorn's shop? I love these things!"

Jin was already rummaging through the bag.

"Y-Yes, but please save some for the others."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Oh! This is a big one!"

In Jin's hands is a large bread with a brown sausage protruding on both ends sprinkled with cheese on top. Just looking at it made me drool.

She took a small bite out of one end and placed a hand on her cheek as she chewed on the delicious treat. She would let out some moans and cute noises from time to time while she enjoyed her treat.

Olivia was snacking away on the plain looking flatbread while she rummaged through Maria's books.

"E-Erm, please be careful!Those books are valuable!"

"Eh? These are just bunch of romance novels. What do you- Mmm?"

Maria placed both of her hands on Olivia's mouth. 

"Romance novels? I thought we were buying books about magic?"

"Y-Yes! I just ordered these romance novels as well since it... well... erm..."

While those three were busy with the books Maria bought, I was fumbling through the pockets of my cloak to find my money as well as my Adventurer Card.

"Oi. Where are you going?"

Jin's piercing gaze locked onto me. I glanced away from her emerald eyes as I placed the valuables inside my pocket. 

"I'm going to the bath house. I'm also gonna buy some new clothes."

The other three must've heard me based on the glances the shot me.

"Well, why don't we eat first before going to the bath house together?"

What? Did I just hear that correctly? Did Zel really said that or is that just my imagination?

"A bath would be nice. Although..."

Maria rubbed her shoulders with a troubled expression.

"I could do with a massage later. My back and shoulders have been really stiff lately."

"I wonder why..."

Jin's gaze as well as mine was focused on the most likely source of her back pain. No wonder she's having back problems. But Jin's gaze is different from my curious one. Her emerald eyes glowed with envy while I noticed her fingers twitching a little bit while she shot daggers at Maria.

"Yeah, I'll go buy some clothes first. You guys go ahead to the guild without me. I'll catch up."

"Huh? W-Wait, are you sure?"

Zel asked as I passed by them. I grasped the door's brass handle before glancing back at them.

"Yeah, I just need to go somewhere."

----------------------------------------

In my right hand is a bagful of fresh clothes and towels that will last me for a week or so. I already stopped by the guild to collect my bounty so I wouldn't have to worry about lacking money to buy things.

Well, there's a different reason I wanted to roam around town.

I'm looking for a place to sleep. I was thinking of sleeping at the Elven temple again but I'm pretty sure Ea is a busy woman. But still, a place to sleep for a month would be good for me.

Thoughts about buying a house crossed my mind while I walked through the busy street. Of course, having a house would be impractical since I plan to travel around to get stronger, but a house would be a good place to store valuable items.

But the idea is pretty nice. A small house by the countryside could be a good retirement plan.

I let out a sigh as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"What to do, what to do..."

I murmured as another heavy sigh left my lips. 

"Maybe I should just marry into royalty."

While I was in the depths of concocting a plan to marry into nobility, the sound of something rummaging through scraps brought me back to reality. Without thinking, I glanced at the alleyway to my right. 

Immediately, at the worst possible moment, I locked eyes with a girl while she was going through scraps. 

"Ah!"

Oh boy. I should not have done that.

I immediately turned my head away and briskly walked forward. Hopefully, she didn't see m-

"Y-You there! Mister!"

Crap. She saw me. 

Instinctively, my legs bolted forward. Well, I was planning to run away anyways so I decided to just go with it.

"H-Huh? Wait! Why are you running?!"

I glanced over my shoulder and saw the girl chasing after me with incredible speed.

"Oh shit! Fuck!" 

I blurted out before I made a dash to my right. I immediately regretted that decision when I found myself facing a dead end. 

I was hoping that I could lose that girl in this alley but the moment I turned around, I saw her blocking the exit. Fuck, I just trapped myself

The girl kept standing there with her arms outstretched on either side. Her yellow eyes glistened in the orange hue of the afternoon and I could tell that those were the eyes of a fucking predator.

Thoughts of me being killed and my body being left in the alley ran through my mind. That's right, I could get killed by a fucking girl. Instead of dying a glorious death, I might waste my second life by being killed by a girl on my second day in this world.

Perhaps it was my fear of death or being robbed that my heart began to throb faster. Maybe it was because of the rush of adrenaline that  made me want to fight. 

Wait, maybe I don't need to fight.

Her stance reminded me of something from my world. Yes, this might fucking work against her.

"P-Please wait a mo-"

"I won't let you take my money!"

I took a deep breath.

"W-Wait! You got-"

"Dash."

I casted Dash and buffed my agility and movement speed. I tightly clutched the bag that contained my money and chraged head on towards the girl. 

The girl didn't seem fazed by my actions and instead it seems that she was even prepared to meet me head on...

What the actual fuck is her problem?! Is she just crazy?!

"I don't know who the fuck you are, but I'm about to break those ankles of yours if you don't move out of my way!"

"W-What?! Please wait! You got it all wrong!"

I immediately started to sidestep in the hopes of overtaking this girl. I don't know what came over me, but I kept casting the skill Dash while sidestepping in the hopes of either anklebreaking this girl or confusing her enough for me to bolt through either her right or left side.

What I didn't expect was her immediately tackling me as I tried to anklebreak her.

The moment I took a step to my right, I thought she was gonna block my path. It all played perfectly in my head while I was dashing to and fro earlier. She would block me as I sidestepped to the right then I'd immediately sidestep to the left and just bolt out of this place.

But no! That's not what fucking happened!

The moment I sidestepped to my right, I felt the crushing weight of her body on my abdomen as she tackled me to the ground. I could feel the air in my lungs being pressed out of me as her arms wrapped around my waist with a crushing force.

My back slammed down onto the ground below with a loud thud. The girl immediately shifted her postion and was now straddling me while pressing me down with her ridiculous strength.

Oh Gods! I'm about to be violated! I'm about to be violated by some girl I've never met! My first time! My first time like this! How fucking shameful!

Ea! Please! Save me! If you hear me, please save me!

I tried to struggle, but my arms were now pinned down. After a few moments of me struggling in vain, I closed my eyes and resigned myself to my fate.

"Please, be gentle with me..."

"You've got it all wrong..."

"Eh?"

I looked up at my assailant and got a good look at her face.

Her round, yellow eyes looked like that of a cat. Wait, no, they are a cat's eyes! In fact, I could see a pair of cat ears at the top of her head. Her ragged clothes covered her tan body and a cat 's tail sprung from her lower back.

She's a type of Beastman. A Cat Girl!

"I... I just want food..."

She slowly released her hold on my arms. I felt her tears drop on my cheeks before rolling down towards the ground. For a moment, I felt sorry for this little girl.

Only a moment.

The moment her grip weakened, I immediately pushed her off of me and bolted towards the street. With one last glance, I watched as the girl sat on the ground with a pitiful expression. Tears forming at the corners of her round eyes. 

Damn it! Stop looking at me like that.

"S-Sorry."

I muttered out to the Cat Girl as I made my way trough the crowd.

A sigh left my lips as I found myself running back towards the alley. 

*sobs* *sobs*

Thankfully, the girl is still there. She was curled up into a ball by the wall so approaching her was pretty easy.

"Hey. Get up."

Her crying gradually ceased until she was just silent. Looking at her now, she's probably around 11 or 12 years old.

"You want to eat or what?"

She hesitated for a moment, but I could see her sneaking peeks at me from time to time. I knelt infront of her and placed a hand on her head. She let out a squeak as I began to gently pet her head.

"I'm sorry for earlier. I was just scared."

She finally looked up and faced me. Her face is covered with grime, but I didn't mind. 

"A-Are you sure? You don't... hate me?"

She spoke in a soft murmur, her yellow eyes watching me closely as I continued petting her.

"Nope. Not at all."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now, how about I treat you to a meal?"

Her eyes widened and a cute smile formed on her face. 

"T-Thank you! Thank you!"

She threw her hands around me and gave me a hug. This feels nice... wait...

Ow! Ow! Ow!

She's squeezing me!

Sensing my distress, the girl let go of me and showed me a worried expression.

"A-Are you okay?"

I wheezed to take in some fresh air.

"...Yeah... I'm... fine."

"M-Mister doesn't sound fine to me."

Her ears dropped as I continued to pant for air.

"Nah, I'm fine. Anyways, why don't we take a bath first?"

She looked at me with a curious expression.

"A... Bath?"