Chapter 3: Solution
[Edited by: Arthur300000 and Deathbricks and Bunny]
After Mr. Anderson had finished questioning me, he brought me along to some kind of reception room. The walkway from the room I woke up in looked like it came from some sci-fi movie. Airlock, security check, blinking panel, rotating camera, you name it, they got it. What they lack is the laser beam that may come out of the wall and tear people to shreds.
The clothes I've been wearing since waking up was a one-piece hospital gown. Even so, the fabric seemed sturdy. In theory I was supposed to have enhanced strength, however I didn't think I could tear it apart the same way a pro wrestler would tear his T-shirt apart.
Due to my short legs, I had to jog to keep up with Mr. Anderson. However, after jogging for a while, he started to slow down, and I noticed he had a red face. Oooooh~. I understand you completely, Mr.Anderson. I don't blame you. In order to tease him a bit, I walked with exaggerated bounciness in my steps the rest of the way.
The inside of this “reception” room was somewhat familiar. It looked like a hotel room I've seen in western movies. A comfy looking couch, a big flat screen monitor, four small packages of snacks arranged neatly on a table, and wait, isn’t that a massage chair?
I have dreamed of trying a massage chair ever since I was a kid. Nevertheless, I never dared to try to use it. It makes you a target of attention if you use it in a public place. And for me being a target of attention was always bad news.
So, as you expected, I and a massage chair alone in the same room together... there are no other possible outcomes in this situation, right? I grabbed all the snacks and jumped onto the chair.
“Awa wa wa waaaa~” After a few minutes of sublime comfort in the massage chair, a sound leaked from my mouth. Unbelievably, the rubbing and shaking of this thing could make me feel this good. If I own private room in the future, I will install a massaging chair like this inside my room. On this day, I made my first goal in this new world.
The huge monitor on the wall displayed an animated rabbit character explaining this world. Well, all I got from Lady Rabbit was something about flying cars and a flying continent. The shaking and rubbing of the massage chair along with the flavor of the snacks I was chewing on got my full attention.
The snack I was chewing had the same texture as a gummy bear, but with mint, chocolate, and licorice flavor in it. I wouldn't call it delicious. However, it was something that kept me wanting for more. After I finished the first package, I opened the second one. It seems my new body has a sweet tooth huh?
The second package I tried was just a big nut inside ginseng flavored jelly. Moreover, inside the nut was some unknown syrup. I tried to figure out what flavor it was, but all I could say was that the taste was something in between strawberry and peach.
While enjoying the snacks, I tried to understand my newly acquired senses a little. My senses were a lot sharper than in my previous body. I could feel and see in more detail. However, I didn’t possess omniscience. To put it simply, if I were watching a basketball game and focused hard on the ball, I would see all the bumps on the surface rotating in slow motion. However, when I focused on something that much I wouldn’t know anything else at all. I wouldn’t know how many people were watching the game or what the referee was doing while I focused on the ball.
Currently, I could only focus on two things simultaneously. And of course, right now they are the kneading, rubbing, squeezing and shaking sensation all over my body and the flavors of the snack in my mouth.
When the monitor showed a flying whale, I opened the third package. Oops, I used too much strength. Everything inside the package scattered across the floor and massage chair. It had 12 tiny pieces; I counted from the sounds of impact. Should I use the 3 seconds rule and pick all of them up while I slow the time with the [slow time] shout? (Tiid-Klo-Ul)
While deliberating, someone walked into my room without knocking. There went my 3 seconds. She looked like an Asian girl, and she barged in while I was watching TV, huh? Let’s call her Ms. Sadako.
“Hello~ Kuro-chan~" Ms. Sadako talked to me like I was some elementary school kid. With the "chan" after my name, I deduced that she must be Japanese.
“Are you Japanese?” I asked her to confirm my assumption.
“Jay-pand-need? What are you talking about, Kuro-chan~?" Ms. Sadako tilted her head to the side. Huh? She doesn’t know?
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Where do you come from? No, where is your birthplace?” I almost sneezed because of the perfume she’s wearing. It’s lilac.
"Me? I was born in Ruberry town! It’s at the northern edge of Crescent floating continent you know?” Huh? Ruberry town? What nonsense was she talking about? Oh, that white rabbit also said something about a floating continent. I’m in a full-blown fantasy sci-fi world it seems.
“Then what do you mean ‘chan’?" If she's not a Japanese, I have to confirm the meaning of the word she's using.
“Oh! Chan? It’s what people in my town attach to the name of cute little girls like you to show our affection. It’s really popular these days, you know? Or do you prefer ‘tan’ or ‘chon’?” None of that, please. It feels good to have your affection, but it feels degrading to be called that. My heart is not prepared yet.
“Isn’t your town very far away? Does your town use the same language as us?” Yes "us," whatever language we are using now. I don’t know anymore.
“Didn’t you pay attention to Mr. Rabbit, Kuro-chan? Eons ago, a great grand wizard cast a spell called [Greater world unification], to get rid of all language barriers so everyone in the world can understand each other. However, some words you say may not exist in other people's dictionary. So you have to explain to them properly, ok?” I’m sorry, Mr. Massage chair, and Mr. Snack got my attention. By the way, that white rabbit was a Mr. Rabbit? I thought it was a lady though...
“Oh! I almost forgot~. Here is your ID card. We initially put 5,000 credits in your account. After that, you will get 1,000 credits on the 1st of each month until you’re 18 years old. Do you understand, Kuro-chan?" I nodded. I didn’t know what I could buy with 5,000 credits, but I didn't want to look like an idiot, so I nodded anyway.
“When you buy something, all you need to do is show this card to the shopkeeper. Please don’t lose it, ok?" I received my ID card from her and examined it. It looked like a glossy black plastic card. However, when I touched it, my picture and details appeared on the card.
Name: Kuro Age: 15 years old
Race: Human Gender: Female
Credits: 5,000
Note: If you find her alone in the public spaces, please contact the proper authorities within the area immediately.
What’s with that last line!? Why can’t I be alone in the public spaces? Is this discrimination? It’s racism! When I asked her, she just said. “It’s the policies~ come with me to meet your new family, Kuro-chan~" and turned the massage chair off. There goes my heaven. I tried to turn it back on, but it seemed to have some kind of child deterrent mechanism. I couldn’t turn it back on...
Thus, I grudgingly followed her while examining my hospital gown for a pocket, but found none. So I held my ID card in my right hand while having the last package of snacks in my left hand. Then I followed her to the next room.
There were three people sitting in this room. A middle-aged guy to the left smiled gently at me. He’s a kind of good-looking guy who you would have expected to find in a magazine or to be an entertainer. He’s the kind of guy who is envied by all virgins in the world. This kind of guy should just explode already.
The girl in the center who stared at me with wide eyes had hazelnut hair. Her look is the embodiment of a well-liked high school girl. The cheerleader-aura is strong with this one. She must be the kind of girl who constantly looks at others like they are cockroaches crawling in the mud. Mark my word, any guy who gets close to this sort of girl will get used and discarded like a toilet paper.
The dangerous looking guy to the right appeared to be the same age as the girl. Cool would describe his appearance best. He has unruly dark blonde hair, darker than his father’s and his body is packed with muscle. Well, he looks like the guy who beat and extorted money from other kids while I was studying in high school. So I hid my snacks behind my back.
It took a long time to explain. However, it was just a few seconds after I entered this room. Damn! Why didn't I get adopted by an elf or beastkin family? As you may have already noticed, I hate humans, not as a species but as individuals. Humanity is beautiful. They gave birth to a lot of beautiful works like The Sound of Music, Castle in the Sky and hentai anime. However, if you were to put me with some random person in a lawless land together, I would stab them in the back without batting an eye.
"Kuro-chan~. Here is your new family. Please do take your time to get along with them, ok?” Ms. Sadako said before she left.
Now it’s me VS my three new family members.
Sound of my gulping resounded through the entire room. For one on one communication, I don’t have a problem. It was necessary for me to talk to my landlord and shopkeeper to survive. However, if the situation required me to address more than one person at a time I was doomed.
Time continued to pass, one second after the other. My palms were getting sweaty and my legs were shaking. I licked my dry lips. I could hear my heart beating faster and faster.
"I-I-I-I... Ma-Ma-Maoy.....n-n-naME eats-" Sorry, you may call this lame. Me? I call this struggling.
“WAIIII~ KURO! SO CUTE!!!” *WHAM* Gah! The cheerleader jumped at me and started to rub her cheek against mine. I stood ramrod straight due to the unexpected turn of events. Normally, what I got from my self-introductions were eyes of pity or people laughing at me.
“Cute, so cute!” was all she said while rubbing my cheeks harder. Ah~ So this is what a woman feels like huh? So soft, her scent is also nice and warm. This is my first time being this close to a woman. I couldn’t help but start sniffing her hazelnut hair. Isn’t that vanilla?
Overwhelmed by my first close range encounter with the creature called a woman, my body began to relax.........and peed.