"To think I didn't try to object to such an atrocious deal..."

"I'm sure we wouldn't have had a choice either way, even if we objected to coming here."

While Alexander Webb groaned and held his head low, sulking about being transported to another world, Kobayashi Hachiman remained calm and even had a sense of enjoyment radiating from his presence. Despite being in a completely different environment compared to what he was familiar with, Kobayashi was enjoying the experience of being in another world.

"We don't even know where we're at! You're not even concerned in the slightest, and instead you're over here acting like this outrageous change is normal!" Alexander hissed angrily at Kobayashi, his voice like venom.

Despite Kobayashi being far out of control of what was happening, Alexander still pinned the blame on Kobayashi for being here. Kobayashi, however, paid no attention to the obvious anger and frustration of Alexander. In Kobayashi's mind, this was a blessing in disguise; Kobayashi no longer had to worry about the responsibility his clan. Sure, Kobayashi had a hint of worry for the few members of family he left behind, but it honestly didn't bother him much. Even if the clan was attacked at some point during his absence, Kobayashi had accepted that there was nothing he could do about it. Kobayshi's stress was all gone.

"When we fell from the mountain, I took in the surrounding area. I have a somewhat accurate image in my mind of the area and how it's laid out. I also believe I saw a town or civilization of some kind in the distance," Kobayashi said to Alexander after a brief silence between the two.

"Did you happen to see if there were any threats in this never ending green hell?" Alexander asked Kobayashi with frustration and sarcasm clearly evident in his voice.

"I saw no threats or hostile wildlife in the area."

The two walked silently for what seemed to be an eternity. They had already been walking for about 2 hours before now, and they were still surrounded by nothing except trees and brush. The smell of the wet, rainy forest had already begun to make Alexander feel sick, while it made Kobayashi internally smile happily at nature. The two continued wandering in silence until Alexander tripped on a root, instantly soaring into the mud beneath him. Now covered in mud, Alexander screamed in disbelief and anger. Alexander had always carried pride in his appearance.

"This is miserable! I hate this pathetic, useless, ugly, and disgusting wasteland! I'd rather die than spend another moment here!" Alexander announced his anger loud enough to scare away any nearby wildlife that might be around.

Alexand, who previously had straight, blonde hair and bright blue eyes now has messy hair covered in mud and had eyes tainted with anger.

"Trust me, I'd much rather you die here," Kobayashi mumbled quietly at the pathetic fit erupting behind him.

Kobayashi turned his back and looked at Alexander. Despite his face looking calm and relaxed, it was clear he was agitated by Alexander's childish antics. Alexander gulped and calmed down because of Kobayashi's facial expression. The look from Kobayashi was enough to make him finally shut up and stop his complaining.

"If I'm right, we should be drawing near to the town I saw in the distance. Of course, if I'm wrong and it was just an illusion, then we're probably going to die out here."

Alexander only nodded at Kobayashi and continued to stay silent, afraid of what Kobayashi might do to him if he were to keep complaining. The mud on Alexander dripped from the sleeves of his shirt and from his chin as the two walked through the forest.

"If you didn't catch my name at some point, I'm Alexander. You didn't seem to be listening when I introduced myself the first time..."

Kobayashi turned his attention to Alexander for a brief moment and went silent, debating if he should introduce himself as well. Coming to the conclusion there was no harm in handing out his name, Kobayashi introduced himself as well.

"I am Kobayashi Hachiman. My family name is Kobayashi and my given name is Hachiman. I'd prefer it if you were to call me by my family's name."

"I guess I can fulfill that request, Kobayashi..."

Alexander went silent after their introduction. It was clear that Alexander couldn't talk much unless it involved something that benefited himself or he was complaining. Either way, Kobayashi seemed pleased to see Alexander's complaining coming to a stop. Nobody would want to listen to Alexander complaining for such a long period of time. Anybody would feel sympathy for Kobayashi, who had to listen to Alexander for over 2 hours without a break.

"I think we've reached the destination..."

Kobayashi exited the forest, followed by Alexander. Exiting the lush forest, the duo was greeted with a bustling city, similar to that of medieval Europe, only bearing a few differences after further observation. This raised Alexander's hope, and he believed that perhaps everything from earlier had been a dream, or a nightmare in Alexander's own perspective. Either way, Alexander took no time to express his feelings.

"It was just a nightmare! A terrible, terrible nightmare that deceived us! I'm home! I'm still here!"

Alexander ran into a crowd of people, happily expressing his feelings to the entirety of the city. Nothing could've ever prepared him for what happened next—Alexander's hopes were soon crushed by a sign that was unreadable, written in an unknown writing system.

"No... it's supposed to be like home... Why can't I remember how to read and write? It was just a nightmare...r-right?"

"No, it wasn't a nightmare. You and me have no knowledge of the languages we used to communicate before coming here. Didn't Johan's words register to your brain?"

"Yes...his words registered in my mind."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Taking in this critical blow to Alexander's hope and happiness, silence was heard among the two. The only sound entering the two's ears was the chit chat between people wandering around the city. Alexander raised his hand in the air and made a fist, waving it around like a flag.

"You said you were transferring the language into our minds. Curse you, Johan, you damned liar!" Alexander said in anger as he waved his fist.

Alexander's outburst caught the attention of surrounding citizens who began to stare at him while Kobayashi sighed.

"He said he was indeed transferring the language into our minds, but only the 'original spoken language of humanity'. He didn't say he was going to pass on knowledge of how to read and write. I'm afraid we'll have to figure that part out for ourselves..." Kobayashi explained to the fuming Alexander, who then lowered his fist but still showed obvious signs of anger.

"He's an outrageous liar. How are we supposed to communicate with other people if we can't even gather basic knowledge ourselves?" Alexander asked Kobayashi through gritted teeth.

"It's simple—we'll teach ourselves how to read this foreign language and gather our knowledge from there."

"Yeah, right. Because I'm sure that's going to be so easy to do," Alexander said sarcastically.

"Our first priority, however, should be to find some shelter," Kobayashi said, examining their surroundings.

The city they were in was just about as much as you could expect from a medieval city. There were shops down every street, and markets littered the street sides. People wandered aimlessly through the streets, trading or buying with the market and shop owners. For Alexander, this was about the same as back home; nothing had changed. For Kobayashi, this environment was foreign and unfamiliar. Kobayashi had obvious discomfort and concern in his eyes.

"I think that over there is an inn..." Alexander said quietly.

"What's an 'inn' if you don't mind me asking you?"

"An inn is where you pay someone in exchange for shelter for however long you'd like. For example, if I gave someone a few pieces of silver, they would probably give me somewhere around 10-11 days to stay there."

"Interesting..."

Kobayashi scratched his chin for a moment, processing the concept of what an inn was. The concept was foreign to him, so he had not the slightest clue as to what an inn was prior to Alexander's explanation.

"Do you have any sort of valuables that you might be able to use in exchange for shelter, Alexander?"

"What does it look like?" Alexander asked with mild irritation while Kobayashi thought for a moment.

"Would this work perhaps?"

Despite seeming a bit reluctant, Kobayashi pulled out a dagger and presented it in front of Alexander.

"We don't know much about the weapons or culture here, but I'm sure this could be used for something else other than battle or fighting. I've had this for many years, but I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon here..."

Alexander took the dagger and scanned over it before letting out a small sigh.

"I suppose it might work. You might want to make it clear you don't mean any harm to them, I mean, pulling out a dagger in an inn wouldn't exactly go well where I come from."

"You don't think they'd like seeing me carrying a weapon?"

"Of course not, you imbecile."

Kobayashi seemed stunned at the fact he might induce fear among the people by flaunting his weapons like they weren't dangerous. Alexander seemed to be baffled at the fact someone could play it off as if it were normal to carry around a weapon unconcealed.

"Let's go find this inn you speak of."

With Kobayashi's announcement, the two carried on throughout the kingdom until reaching a building with strange writing. Although the two had no idea how to read, the large size of the building, followed by the rows of windows that indicated many rooms, made it easy for them to ultimately determine this was indeed an inn.

"This seems to be our place, Kobayashi," Alexander said confidently.

"Indeed..."

Kobayashi looked weary of entering the building, but ultimately decided to go after Alexander headed towards the entrance.

"Are you sure this is the place you spoke of? It looks a bit...rundown."

Kobayashi took no time in pointing out how the building was old and had vines growing on the walls. Even to someone like Alexander, it was easy to tell how Kobayashi found the place repulsive, judging by his voice and overall mood.

"I'm certain this is an inn, Kobayashi. Besides, what else would it be?"

As the two finally reached the upfront desk that was after the entrance, a middle-aged man greeted the two with a miserable look on his face. The man had no enthusiasm or interest in the two men in front of him, looking at them like he would rather die than be present.

"Welcome to Rafaeru no hoteru, the best (and only) inn located in the capital. What can I do for you two...gentlemen?"

The innkeeper, who had a forced and strained smile on his face, had a dry and tired voice. It sounded like he was sick or had some sort of illness burdening him.

"He looks so miserable that he most likely chases away any potential customers..." Kobayashi said under his breath.

It was crystal clear the innkeeper's gloomy mood was enough to wash away any positivity Kobayashi would have expressed in this moment.

"We'd like a room, please."

Alexander made the request for a room to the innkeeper, but they only snapped back with a snarky retort.

"I'm sure you two would like a room."

"That's not what I meant-" Alexander tried to explain why they were here, but the gloomy innkeeper only continued to ramble on.

"And we don't just let people stay here for free! Idiots like you come in here all the time and refuse to pay after their stay, so now we need payments upfront before your stay!"

The gloomy man's attitude began growing loud and angry, prompting Kobayashi to draw his dagger and drop it in front of the innkeeper's face.

"This can be the payment for our stay, sir. It's made out of the finest and purest materials from my land, and you can do with it as you please. We only request a room for the maximum amount of time possible in exchange."

The innkeeper's miserable facial expression stayed, but he picked up the small blade and examined it carefully. He seemed somewhat impressed by the dagger, his satisfaction shining through his previous gloomy expression.

"You two gentlemen get the entirety of two months for a stay. We have breakfast served at sunrise by missus Rafaeru, my mother-in-law, the former owner of this inn. Please keep quiet, or at least try your best. Your room is located at the end of the hall on the second floor. Here's the key."

With that, the innkeeper summed up what the schedule and rules were to the two and handed them the key, his previous miserable expression replaced with pleasure at his new small blade.

"Do you have any sort of reading material around here?" Kobayashi asked the innkeeper, who shook his head.

"No, but there's a library located in the center of the town."

The innkeeper answered honestly and continued to examine the miniature blade with interest.

The two men began making their way to the second floor before they were stopped by the innkeeper, who now had a look of suspicion on his face.

"This blade is an issued weapon from a long time ago. You're a veteran from the Enocharius purge 12 years ago, aren't you?" asked the innkeeper while pointing the dagger at Kobayashi.

"I'm not quite sure what that is, but-" Kobayashi began trying to explain, but was ultimately cut off by the innkeeper who had a sliver of disgust on his face.

"I'm not one to judge, but the things you people did to the kemono race, who had no chance of survival, disgusts me and everyone else who has a sense of morality. You're lucky I even consider letting you two stay here."

"I assure you we mean no harm to anyone around here, sir. We only need a place to stay for a while."

"Just get out of my sight before I change my mind..."

It was clear the innkeeper wasn't letting them stay here out of the compassion of his heart or kindness, but only because they gave him such an excellent payment in exchange for their stay.

"What was that about?"

"I'm not quite sure..."

Alexander and Kobayashi were both confused by the man's words.

The two decided to forget about the man's words for now and made their way up to the second floor, and eventually their room.

They unlocked their door and opened it, revealing-

"This place is complete and utter rubbish! And what's that smell?!"

Two stained, dirty, old beds that gave off a nauseating smell, filling the two's noses. Kobayashi's face was normal, but Alexander's contorted into a look of despair and agony.

In the corner of the room was the cleanest thing in the room—a simple wooden chair that looked brand new. The room also had curtains plagued with stains and spots, the curtains resembling the pattern of a zebra. The flooring was simple planks. In the corner of the room was a large patch of mold, covering the walls like a blanket.

"I seriously think we got scammed by that idiot out there! I'm going back to demand your dagger back and we're leaving!"

Alexander began to storm out, but Kobayashi stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.

"We mustn't worry about demanding for my dagger back. We have two months to stay here, and we also have access to free food. This is our best opportunity for survival as of now until we discover a better alternative."

"Fine..."

Alexander let out a huff and sat in the chair. He pointed to the beds, a look of disappointment on his face because of their given circumstances.

"You're sleeping on one of those beds, I'm taking this chair."

Alexander settled back into the chair while Kobayashi let out a silent sigh and put his hand on the door handle.

"I'm leaving to go to the library mentioned by the innkeeper. We might not be able to read, but I'm confident in my learning ability to pick up the basics and convey the information to you."

"I'm not an idiot! I'm sure I could learn it faster than you ever thought of!"

Alexander's pride felt wounded at Kobayashi mentioning helping him, even though Kobayashi was just trying to be kind.

"Okay, Alexander, I'll be off then."

And with that said, Kobayashi left the disgusting room to head to the library while Alexander slowly fell asleep in the chair.