Kapitel 23: Arc 2 - Chapter 2 - The Person from Another World (1/2)
"Even though I'm in a different world, I still look great."
After a week in a different world, Yu was still recovering and trying to get back to normal.
He put a smug smile on his face, as he used to do, trying to comfort himself with compliments. He was even aware that he was trying to deceive himself.
"Neko, give my appearance a score between ten and ten."
Neko was not happy that Yu had put a smile on her face. She was still mourning her mother and expected Yu to be unhappy too.
Of course Yu understood her and didn't expect her to forget what had happened. He too had been melancholy after the death of her older sisters and had not recovered.
But Yu was alone and Neko had someone with her. As that 'someone' Yu wanted to stand by her side and make her feel better.
"I can only give you ten points." Neko spoke again in an emotionless voice as she watched Yu trying on clothes in front of the mirror with her sweet but emotionless face.
"I can't rate myself lower than ten either." As he said this, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. The moment he locked eyes with his reflection, the fake smile on his face disappeared.
He thought of Rie, whom he had locked eyes with before she died. When he looked into her own violet eyes in the mirror, he saw Rie's red eyes, red with surprise and fear.
"Because of me..." He was a good actor, he could convince those around him that everything was fine with a smile on his elegant lips, even if he was bleeding inside. "It's not working..."
But he no longer had the strength to do that, he couldn't even fool himself.
"Don't I look like a butler when I wear this black and white suit? And you look like a noble little lady."
"Stop saying weird things." Neko rejected another of Yu's attempts to mingle. "But it's not bad that you know your place, someone like you could be my butler."
"Wow, you're so arrogant." Neko puffed out her chest with pride. It was the first time in the past week Yu had seen her feel anything other than grief. "And a little hurtful."
During his time here, Yu called his world the First World and this world the Second World.
There was racism in the Second World, just like in the First World. Although Rolderhelm was different from the rest of the world in terms of social problems such as racism, discrimination based on skin color was widespread in the world and this discrimination increased as you moved towards the western and northern countries.
Another form of racism was not based on skin color, but really on race. In this world, elves considered humans, humans considered half-humans and dwarves inferior.
Neko must also have faced racism because she had the appearance of a half-human. Even in Rolderhelm, where there are plenty of half-human, Yu could see that Neko was being watched when they entered a place.
"Half-human racism, I guess that cliché has to be in all fantasy universes." He hadn't seen any fantasy stories he'd seen or read that were the opposite. "Neko is a very sweet kid, and by ostracizing her, they're turning her into the tough person she is now."
It was not only because of her half-human appearance that Neko attracted people's gaze. Rolderhelm was a land of many different races and you could see many different species on the streets.
The most striking thing about Neko was her white hair. Because of her white hair, people saw her as a witch and shunned her.
"Which clothes are you going to wear?"
Ever since they arrived here, Neko had been wearing the loli cat girl t-shirt Yu had given her. At first she refused to wear it because it was belonged to Yu, but now she didn't want to take it off.
"I'm not denying that she's cute that way, but she can't wear the same outfit all the time."
On their second day at the inn, they went shopping and bought new clothes for themselves. Yu picked up two of the clothes he had bought for Neko.
"Which one do you want to wear? The purple one or the red one? I'll wear the red one, and if you wear the red one, we'll be a team, what do you think?"
"I want the purple one."
In Yu's world, before the industrial revolution, the color purple was hard to get, even for kings, and there was no industrial revolution in this world.
But in the Second World, the color purple was easier to obtain than in the First World. It was still expensive, but you didn't have to be a king to get it.
Yu had bought a purple dress for Neko. It had shoulder straps and an extravagant, frilly skirt. It was a bit expensive and he only wanted her to wear it for special occasions, but if Neko wanted it now, he wasn't going to refuse, it had been hard to convince her to come anyway.
"You've been so sweet, Neko," Yu smiled slightly.
"Normally."
He thought her white hair and the purple dress were a beautiful combination.
"Now it's my turn." Yu picked up his matching jacket and boots, and when he put on a pair of trousers, he would look like the nobility of this world.
He was happy to look good and to get people's praise. So he spent a lot of money on clothes and bought the best he could afford.
"I am always look perfect on all the ways."
During his time in Rolderhelm, he was able to learn new things about the country.
Rolderhelm was a principality consisting of four islands and named after the capital Rolderhelm, located on the central island.
But the Principality of Rolderhelm was a parliamentary monarchy. At least Yu thought he could call it that. The country had a princess, who held the top position, and a prime minister, who was one position below her. And the princess and the prime minister were married. In fact, for the first time ever, the husband of the princess was appointed prime minister.
The country's economy was very strong, and despite its small size, Rolderhelm was the richest of the neighboring countries.
Although Rolderhelm was expensive compared to other countries, its citizens had a high purchasing power. In Rolderhelm, there was a minimum wage standard and one was paid at least three gold pieces and twenty-five silver pieces for each job. In neighboring countries it was difficult to earn even twenty silver.
"We spent ten gold coins on clothes and stuff, eight gold coins for the rent here, that's eighteen. If we allocate the rent for the next two months, thirty-four gold coins are gone. We have sixteen gold coins left, I think it will last us for a while."
Breakfast and dinner were included and they didn't have to pay a bill, but they paid for lunch. In fact, it would be more accurate to call it a midnight meal because of their disturbed sleep patterns, because they were still sleeping during the day because they hadn't yet settled down to sleep.
If they had to travel, the travel costs would be a headache, but they would have to grit their teeth.
"Stupid human, I don't understand what you're saying, but I won't accept poverty. Find money for my comfort."
"That's easy for you to say," Yu threw himself on the chair.
If he had to, he could earn money by singing. He could play an instrument and had a beautiful voice. He also knew some small magic tricks, but he was not sure that the tricks he had learned in the First World could surprise people in this magical world.
But even if he could do that, there was also the question of what Neko would think. Neko believed that she would be reunited with her mother and expected Yu to serve that purpose.
Not only did she expect that, but she honored the unspoken agreement she and Yu had made. She regularly used healing magic every morning and evening to prevent the Blessings he received hurting him.
Neko also helped Yu with his epileptic seizures. Despite the medication, Yu had a seizure, but it was over before it started because Neko recognized it immediately. Her healing magic was literally a miracle for Yu.
"The same feeling again," Yu put his hand to his heart. He felt bad, the hole in his chest was hurting him, tearing something out of his heart. "I want to believe, but why can't I believe? I think I want to know more than I want to believe... It might be possible, but still... I don't know."
Turning back time might have been possible in the Second World, but the difficulty of the mission frightened Yu and damaged his frail faith. Yu found it hard to believe that they could turn back time, or even find a way.
"I realize my request is selfish, I apologize."
Yu had taken care of small children before, but Neko was different. For the first time a child was completely under his responsibility, he felt like a kind of father.
But he had no previous experience as a father, so he didn't know what to do.
Yu had made it a taboo to ask for help from strangers and never did it, but for the first time, for Neko, he broke his taboo and asked Lucia, who he thought would be experienced because of her age, even if he still didn't like asking it.
Lucia told Yu that there are festivals in Rolderhelm at the beginning of each season and that could improve the relationship between father and daughter there and invited him and Neko to the festival.
Yu had wanted advice on parenting, but Lucia seemed to have misunderstood. Nevertheless, he accepted, thinking that Lucia's offer would be effective in quenching his thirst for knowledge about this world.
But he still felt bad for dragging Neko, whose mother had just died, to a festival. He had the desire to give it up.
"Stupid human, selfish asshole."
"You only said that to insult me."
"Yes."
It was difficult to get close to Neko. Neko was an extremely difficult challenge for Yu, who normally found it difficult to be friends with anyone because he considered himself superior to everyone else.
"Neko, there's something I want to tell you."
They had spent a week with Neko and Yu thought they would spend more time together because he didn't want to leave her behind. So instead of waiting any longer, he was going to talk about his origins now.
When Lucia asked him about his hometown, he was always evasive and avoided telling the truth. The reason was that he didn't want to reveal his origins to everyone.
But with Neko it was different, he didn't want to keep it a secret from her as they would most probably be together in the future. If one day in the future they got along well and Neko found out Yu's identity from someone else, she might feel cheated and Yu didn't want that to happen so he would tell her right away.
Yu didn't think Neko would believe him right away, but as time passed and the bond of trust between them strengthened, Yu's words would become more and more convincing.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein