The next day, Touji woke up rather tense. He rubbed his sleepy eyes as he slowly twisted himself out of bed and into a sitting position. His feet rested on the cold laminated floor.

The reality was cold and hard. It had been over a month since his summoning yet no word or clues had been found as to his purpose. He had simply been waiting for the equivalent of the hero’s party to show up at his doorstep, but after asking Odja a series of questions along the same lines, it was discovered that no such concept as the hero or hero’s party existed. To put it simply there was no such thing as a demon lord to defeat or any equivalent and other than the occasional political squabbles which Touji was informed hadn't happened for centuries, the place seemed rather quiet in all respects. Also the concept of hero didn't really exist either as to be expected if the world lacked something which by it's defeat would Marit such a title.

With this frail knowledge, Touji wasn’t left with much to work with and resigned himself to waiting until he had enough money to survive on his own for a while. He could then start to worry about physical searching later down the road but for now he'd stick to info collecting.

Touji sluggishly changed his clothes and hobbled somewhat dazzed into the dining room. There he was met with a familiar smell of fried eggs and a smiling Claria.

"Good morning, Touji." Claria cheerfully greeted him as he entered the kitchen.

"How was your night?" She stood over a pan holding a wooden spatula and dressed in a straight apron and plain brown dress. Her pink hair glistened and sparkled in the sun's morning rays.

Touji sighed.

-I wish I had a wife like that. Actually, what’s stopping me from marrying her on the spot? Nothing!

This all seemed like a good idea until the thought of being related to Odja automatically dismissed it entirely.

"It was ok. Tiring, I guess. Though I heard that sleeping was supposed to have the opposite effect."

"Is that true?"

-Haaaaaaaaaaah. Don’t just take me at face value! It was sarcasm, ok?

"Are you worried about something?" She inquired, placing a cup of tea before him on the table. Then pulling up a chair she slid it beside his till their shoulders were almost touching.

-Way, way, waaaaay too close. Touji thought as he uncomfortably took his first sip of tea.

“I would say more like stressed than anything. Though stress is something for old people. Not young chaps like you and me.”

"What makes you stressed?"

-You! He screamed in his head.

"Stuff." He answered turning his head away till it faced the wall.

"That sounds rough. I never knew you were troubled."

-Rough? How did you get that from stuff? And don’t call me troubled. You make me sound like quite the questionable teenager.

"It's alright. It's getting better." He replied while slightly choking on the strange-tasting beverage.

"If you say so." She smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder in a reassuring manner, then stood up taking a hand-woven basket off the table.

“Well, I hope you’ll enjoy your breakfast. I have to go and collect eggs.”

Touji watched her leave as he finished his plate of bread and mostly cooked yokes.

“Ain't gonna marry no-body.” Touji instinctively said out loud.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"It's not hard to tell you're worried about something."

"Huh?" Touji turned to see Odja standing behind him.

"Look! I'm a father and I can tell when someone your age is having head troubles."

-Head troubles? That’s an odd way of putting it, but ok...

“It’s no big deal... ”

"It looks like it's big enough to mess with your sleep. Now I pose a suggestion. I'm going on a trip to the city to deliver some furs and crops to the merchants. I think you should accompany me. It would be a learning experience and it'll act a little like time off. Whatch’ya think?"

"I'll do it." He shoved the last morsel of bread in his mouth and washed it down with some water. It was quite clear to him that any form of time off was to be accepted with open arms and treated with the utmost respect. This trip was exactly the kind of opportunity Touji was searching for. If he was to get any information, it would be from a city. He also knew that the first trip to the city was always a huge turning point in an isekai protagonist’s life, so this was not to be wasted.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. Be ready by dawn."

"Roger that."

Once again, a day passed with not much advancement on any information to do with Touji's existence.

Because the family wasn't rich, they couldn't afford the 'regular' education. This resulted in them not being able to answer many of his questions regarding the Milivion world and the state of society as a whole. He twice returned to the underground structure from which he had first awoken, but there was nothing that gave him any clues or suggestions and he decided not to ask until he was more settled in.

The next day he saddled the horse and prepared the small wagon. They left early in the morning with a bag full of food and a couple of extra blankets. Touji was dressed in the clothing which he had been summoned in, mainly, his black sweatpants and his grass-green hoodie. He felt that if he stood out a little it would be more likely that the right person would notice him.

"So where are we heading?" Touji inquired as he placed the last of the cargo into the back of the cart and then took his seat beside that of the driver.

"The city of Shizma. After we sell the stuff in the back I also plan to buy some new equipment as well."

"Sounds interesting. Anything, in particular, you want to look for?" Touji asked.

"I'm looking for a new plough. Our old ones getting quite worn down."

"Yeah, I noticed that too."

Touji adjusted his position to something slightly more comfortable as the drive ahead would most certainly be a long one.

They travelled for about an hour down a small stone roadway covered on either side by a dense layer of trees. This continued for a short while until the trees finally split and the road widened till it merged into a sort of round-a-bout which marked the middle of a small town. It was a miniature village where only a thin layer of houses lined the sides of the inner circle.

There probably only lived around a hundred to two hundred people, but even with such a small population the one-way street seemed quite packed with villagers.

One detail that stood out to Touji, making him quite curious was that unlike Odja and his family, only a few townspeople had unnaturally coloured hair.

“Hey, old man. How come most of these people’s hair is brown or black like mine instead of hair colour similar to yours?”

“That’s because they're mostly from commoner families. It's a symbol of your heritage.”

“So, are you saying that if you are poor then your hair colour is darker?”

“That’s generally the case, yes.”

“What about you, then? I thought you said you’re from here.”

“I am. Just that many generations ago my family used to be part of a noble line. Of course, that was centuries ago. We lost our wealth at some point and were forced to become a commoner. Darra is still from a noble family, but she was disowned when she married me.”

“Looks like Romeo and Juliet, actually succeeded for once.” Touji knew this joke would never land but even this had a certain charm to it.

-Ah, but I get it now. He thought to himself. So basically, if someone has colored hair then there most likely noble. And I’m sure the VIP seat is pre-ordered for you everywhere they go. Interesting.

Touji laid back in his seat pondering the implications of such a sign being placed over his head stating 'poor'.

“Wait a minute. What if someone just dyed their hair? Then you could walk around town and people would believe you to be a noble. Is that how it works?”

“Well yes. It’s been done before, but if anyone asked for your family’s seal you would be found out, then you would be imprisoned and perhaps killed for impersonation.”

“I see.”

They slowly passed through the village until they reached an area with many horses and wagons lined up in a row behind some stalls.

"What are we doing here?"

"We have to wait for the other merchants to arrive. Then we can all leave as a group. It's safer that way. Plus, we’ll get assigned at least one guard."

"Why? Is it dangerous?"

"Oh, you know. Beasts and bandits. The usual."

-I almost forgot. I’m in an isekai. Of course, there are beasts.

After a few minutes of waiting, they received news from the stable manager that their companions had arrived. Not long after a whistle sounded, declaring their departure.

It was a long and arduous trip. Thankfully they didn't encounter any issues along the way. The guards stayed close by as they quickly moved through the thick and sullen forest leading up to the city of Shizma. The terrain barely changed along the whole way. It was like they were sailing in a sea of pine trees, though of the exact species of tree Touji wasn’t sure.