“Mmm.”

It had been a while since Jun had gotten up. Taking advantage of the meager resources in the apartment, he would make himself a cup of coffee.

The woman with the horn was right when she said there were few supplies in the place, at most they would last him only two days. So he had to go out and stock up.

The problem was that he had no idea where he was. If he was where he came from, he could have easily found his way to a service store, but since he had apparently been transported to a completely different place, he didn't know where to start.

“That's it.”

Finishing brewing his cup of coffee, he went to lean against a window to take in the surroundings.

Although the problem of knowing how to locate himself was a priority, he had found another small problem.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Jun looked at the clock on his desk. It was nineteen past three in the morning.

Confirming that his drowsiness had passed, he turned his gaze skyward.

He had taken the opportunity to appreciate the starry sky and the radiant moon of a splendid night.

But there was one detail that made it impossible for him to do so.

“Ok... because it's still daytime.”

Jun was puzzled, even though it was supposed to be early morning, the light in the sky was exactly the same as it was supposed to be when he went to costar a few hours ago.

It had seemed strange to him that the day hadn't changed one bit from the time he walked into the public safety office until he was given his apartment. But now seeing that even in the early morning it was still the same, he was now completely sure that the sky hadn't changed a bit.

Besides that the haze was also still the same as before, making it difficult to see the surroundings.

'Mmm... maybe it's one of those natural phenomena How was it, midnight sun?'

Jun had heard of a similar occurrence happening at the poles, something that made the days last 24 hours.

But it was also supposed to be extremely cold in those places, and currently Jun only felt a spring-like coolness.

'Or maybe it's one of those abnormalities they've been constantly mentioning.'

Which raised other kinds of problems, which was that he had actually been taken to a completely different place from where he came from. So the idea of going back should be practically ruled out.

He was somewhat fond of the place, but the circumstances were beyond him.

'Ouch.'

Feeling that nagging pain again, Jun abandoned his thoughts and went to wash the cup after he had finished his coffee.

He had a lot of problems that he had to take care of little by little.

First he would have to find a place to restock with the card he had been given. He had no idea how much a credit was worth, but considering it was supposed to be a subsidy, it shouldn't be little.

Next, he would have to figure out what to do for the remaining 5 weeks of the subsidy before he was evicted.

He'll also have to figure out what to do after that, and a few other things.

'How boring.'

Still, that was a matter for the future. Right now he should concentrate first on resupplying food before he ran out.

But that, too, would have to wait a bit, for although the outside was fully lit up, there wasn't a single soul on the streets.

“Considering it's the wee hours of the morning, I guess that's to be expected.”

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

It would take some time to get used to the strange environment, but considering that he would apparently spend a good amount of time in that place, he would eventually get used to it.

“Well... now I have nothing to do.”

Since it was early in the morning, Jun didn't think any service stores would be open right now. So he would have to wait a while to go out and do some shopping.

He would go back to bed to continue resting, but since he drank a cup of coffee not too long ago, he wasn't particularly tired.

Feeling bored, Jun sat down in his desk chair and leaned back a bit.

Fixing his gaze on the ceiling of the apartment, he prepared to wait.

***

“Welcome.”

Having waited a few hours for the street to come back to life, Jun went asking around from person to person, also making sure not to get lost, until he managed to reach a service store.

The establishment was somewhat small, but should be enough for an emergency resupply.

Even so, before taking anything, Jun set out to see the prices of different items, he did not know how much value the credits had on his card, so first he had to look at the prices of the products in order to make an estimate.

After a while, Jun understood the use of the currency.

At first he had thought that credits was a way of referring to the subsidy currency, but apparently the currency they used here as such was called credits.

If I had understood correctly, it wasn't that complicated to calculate the value of things. With one credit, you could buy yourself a drink at a vending machine, and with 10, you could afford a decent lunch at a casual restaurant.

'It's not as much as I expected, but I guess it'll do.'

Understanding how the currency worked there, Jun got to work and started grabbing things he might need and putting them in a basket.

Some snacks, a few drinks, instant food, bath supplements and assorted items.

It wasn't a lot of stuff, but it would do for the moments.

Finishing choosing what he would take, Jun went to the cash register to process the payment.

As the cashier went through all the products, Jun saw several pamphlets displayed on the counter, focusing on the name of one in particular.

'Guide about abnormalities...'

As Jun appreciated the brochure, the cashier finished reviewing the products.

“That would be a total of 48 credits.”

Ignoring the cashier, Jun considered his current situation.

He had ended up in a strange place after being dragged through some kind of black space.

Then he had to fight a strange mass in an apartment.

Then he was captured by some sort of public security organization.

He had been offered to join that same organization, and after refusing, he had been given an apartment to stay in.

Actually, he was not supposed to associate with such abnormalities again.

And besides, he had also been told that the less he knew about these things, the better off he would be.

He understood that perfectly, for he was not a reckless person who would jump at danger... And he also knew that the less a person knew about certain things, the calmer he could live.

He understood that... but still...

...The truth was that he was also a bit curious.

Smiling, Jun turned to the cashier.

“Give me one of those brochures too.”

***

In his office, Callen was once and for all handling all the paperwork he had let accumulate for a while.

The task was not entirely comforting, but at some point he had to do it.

Suddenly.

Knock, knock.

Disturbing his concentration, someone was knocking on his office door.

Normally he would have said he was busy, but he had a feeling he knew who it was knocking, and even if he said he was busy, it wouldn't have mattered much.

“Come in.”

Opening the door, in walked a woman with white hair and a blank face.

Callen had mixed feelings about this person. She was someone who did her job very well and resolved conflicts as best she could, but she was also someone who was very strict and also took even the simplest problems very seriously.

Although that was also part of her charm.

She also had a horn, but she tried not to focus on that too much.

Callen put on a chuckling smile.

“Elei! What brings you here?”

Closing the door behind her, Elei stood in front of Callen.

“Why did you let her get away just like that?”

Callen made a face of disbelief, though he knew who she was referring to.

“Who are you talking about?”

Elei spat as she pointed at him.

“You know very well who I'm talking about.”

Callen shrugged.

“Oh, him? I thought I said there was no reason to keep him here.”

Elei made an annoyed face.

“Please, it's obvious he was hiding things! Besides, how could he possibly not even know rune magic. Even if that topic is openly avoided, still every person has at least a clear concept about it.”

Callen stopped what he was doing and focused on Elei.

“Look, I know you don't like it when things are done so superficially, but we're not only dealing with a case of runic magic, if what he said is true, it may also be related to a case of abnormality. We have to be especially careful.”

Elei's face calmed a little.

Sighing, Callen continued.

“So yes, it's obvious that this person was hiding things and that it's possible that he may have lied to us a bit, but there's not much we can do at present.”

Callen scratched his head.

“Besides... you must also remember that something similar happened to you as well.”

Elei's expression was darkening.

She was especially sensitive to such matters.

“Alright... Then, I'll take my leave.”

Elei turned around and opened the door to leave.

But before she closed it, Callen spoke.

“On the other hand, it's not like I haven't prepared anything.”

Elei narrowed her eyes as she looked at Callen....

Then, she closed the door.

***

Meanwhile, back at Jun's apartment.

'Ok... this really is something to keep in mind...'

Jun had a look of disbelief on his face after he finished reading the pamphlet he had gotten.

For its contents were not something very comforting.