Standing in front of an admittedly simple bathroom mirror, Adam carefully adjusted the top buttons of a white dress shirt he had tried on, though he eventually decided to leave the top two unbuttoned. The fully buttoned collar felt too much like an actual collar for his liking whereas leaving it open felt more freeing like he was accustomed to. The fabric itself fit snugly but not too tight. Pressed black pants on his legs contrasted the white shirt.
Next to him, Eve quietly fumbled with the button on the right wrist of the dress shirt. Although she offered to help him, she was doing more ogling than helping at this point. That only brought a small smile to Adam's face, though.
"These fit surprisingly well," Adam offhandedly commented.
"Try on the other outfits in the closet, too," Eve replied. Her eyes shimmered with expectation while she imagined her husband the handful of outfits already prepared in their closet for him.
"Another time."
"Aw~ fine. I'll wait."
Fully dressed, Adam left the bathroom while holding Eve's hand. They walked back downstairs together toward the front door. Following some instincts from his third life as a normal man, he walked over to a small wooden table near the front door. Atop the small table sat a smooth wooden bowl containing a wallet and two house keys.
Curious, Adam tilted his head. Without releasing his grip on Eve's hand, he stashed one key into his pocket, leaving the other for Eve. He then picked up the wallet with his free hand and opened it. Within, he found several bills of Japanese Yen in the main fold and a Residence Card with a picture of himself on it in a side fold. His eyes scanned over all of the information in less than a second. The name on the card simply read 'Adam' with the surname empty. One specific section of the card caught his attention, though.
'Kuoh town? That world of all places? I doubt there are many stronger than Zeus in that world, though, if any at all.'
"Eve."
"Yes?"
"This world might have some strong people in it. I will try to obtain phones so that you can contact me in case of emergencies."
"Okay. Is it really dangerous?"
"Nothing I can't handle."
"Mhm. My husband is the strongest!"
Adam smiled and kissed his wife's forehead before saying, "I'll head out and take a look around. Stay safe while I'm gone."
"I will!"
Adam nodded and gave her a goodbye kiss before putting on a pair of black athletic dress shoes that fit him perfectly. He acquiesced to giving his wife another kiss before exiting through the front door, though.
Outside, he took in a picturesque sight a natural path sloping down a hill from their front door toward a forest. Beyond the trees, he spotted the city fairly close by.
"So, our house is on the outskirts," He commented.
"Mhm. It's quite pretty."
Adam smiled at the simple appreciation in his wife's tone. Then, he met her gaze and said, "I'm off. I'll be back soon."
"Stay safe, husband."
After a subtle nod, Adam strolled down the path toward the city. He occasionally glanced back to see Eve continuously waving goodbye from the doorway.
When Adam walked far enough into the treeline that Eve could no longer see him, she sighed, closed the door, and walked over to the back door leading to their new home's garden. Following a small stone path with a babbling brook next to it, she skipped toward a patch of berry bushes. Along the path, a subtle movement in the corner of her vision drew her attention.
Turning her gaze to see what kind of animal it might be, her smile vanished, and her eyes narrowed. Her arm flickered down to her dress. The fabric lifted just enough to show a row of kitchen knives strapped in sheaths around her thigh. One of the knives disappeared, and her arm whipped outward fast enough to crack the air.
*Schlunck!*
While her dress fluttered back down to its normal position, she stepped toward the creature that fell limp with a kitchen knife fully stabbed through its skull up to the hilt.
"All creatures are welcome in our garden except for snakes," Eve commented while yanking the knife out of the snake's head. "Hmm… maybe I'll try making snake stew for dinner?"
Meanwhile, Adam still sauntered along the forest path toward the city. A squirrel skittered up and hopped along next to him. It barked and squeaked like any other squirrel while following along.
"Hello to you as well, little one," Adam greeted it in response to its chattering. "Yes, indeed. It does seem to be a wonderful day for gathering."
Mid-sentence, a sparrow flew down and perched on his shoulder. The moment Adam's sentence ended, it chirped a few times.
"Hello to you as well, little bird. I believe you are more than capable of finding a mate in this forest. No need to give up hope just yet."
The sparrow chirped happily at Adam's response and hopped in a circle atop his shoulder before flying away with renewed spirit.
During his walk, several other animals like squirrels and birds flocked to him. Even a few deer approached and walked alongside him. One bird chirped about finding a new berry bush. Another sought encouragement. Some of the animals were too shy to make a peep. However, Adam patiently entertained all the little creatures one by one.
Closer to the city limit, many of the animals bid farewell and returned to the forest. Many showed clear hesitance or even fear at the prospect of approaching the town. Aside from a few small birds still perched on his shoulders, the other creatures left one by one. Each of them bowed their heads slightly before leaving.
"All of you should carry on with your individual flights," Adam spoke to the few remaining birds while passing onto a residential street at the edge of town. "No need for you to follow me all the way into town."
The remaining birds chirped in response as though unwilling but still flew away after a small bow.
Now alone, Adam continued down the street toward the city center. He explored the area with curiosity. Although many of the stores and businesses had Japanese signs, he had no trouble reading it as the first man who existed well before the Tower of Babel.
Since noon had yet to arrive at this point, he did not see too many people milling about, but the ones who saw him couldn't help staring at him or discussing him. Not only did he look like a foreigner, but some of the housewives or older ladies running errands in the area discussed with each other whether or not he was a foreign model or television star. Regardless of the discussions he overheard thanks to his strong senses, Adam paid them no heed.
Instead, he prioritized entering the first electronics store he found to purchase two cell phones. The process, although tedious, proceeded smoothly thanks to a female clerk showing unusual enthusiasm to help him. The fact that only flip phones were available made him raise a brow since his third self recalled that technology being rather outdated. It was better than nothing, though.
Having purchased two separate phones, Adam resumed his exploration of Kuoh Town. Although not a big city, it was still a decently sizable town.
Not wanting to spend too much time dilly-dallying, he looked around for a tall perch that could allow him to spot some major landmarks he might recognize. Before long, he found what looked like a large apartment building that stood a few stories above the other smaller buildings in the area.
Seeing nobody around, Adam nodded to himself and removed his socks and shoes and held them in one hand to avoid ruining them with what he planned to do. He then stretched his bare toes and pressed them into the soil below. Pushing off the ground from there, he casually vaulted the ten foot tall brick wall surrounding the complex.
Mid-jump, he scanned the entirety of the apartment looking for cameras or people in a fraction of a second. Seeing nothing that might spot him, his leg muscles stretched taut as he landed softly on the lawn on the other side of the wall. His momentum shifted the moment he touched the soil. Earth cratered beneath his foot in a small circumference, and he launched upward at a perfect velocity to perfectly step onto the edge of the apartment building's roof.
From his new vantage point, Adam smoothed out some of the wrinkles in his shirt from the force of jumping several stories while observing his surroundings. A short 360 degree turn imprinted the layout of the town in his mind. He also spotted a few notable landmarks, including the school his third self recognized from an anime called Highschool DxD.
"Hm. It might be possible to become a teacher there without having to go through any school or training."
Keeping that option in the back of his mind, Adam turned back and hopped off the edge of the building. Landing on the earth below cratered the dirt around him, but he dashed forward and hopped the fence again before any dirt landed on his clothes. He shook the dirt off his feet by vibrating his cells at a hypersonic frequency before putting his socks and shoes back on.
From there, he resumed his exploration of the town by beelining for the more notable locations he had spotted from atop the apartment building.
First, he stopped at the town's biggest market area, which he decided to bring Eve to on a date at some point. He felt like seeing his wife in a modern shopping center.
Next, he visited a train station to observe travel options and prices. Perhaps he could take Eve on a vacation somewhere at some point.
By the time he finished exploring those last two places, the sun waned well into the afternoon, and he finally arrived at a park with a large fountain in the center. It looked like a great place to bring Eve after a romantic dinner or to have a picnic.
Considering that afternoon had arrived, he noticed more people out and about than when he first started his walk. Even now, he spotted several students enjoying each others' company around the park.
"I should head home soon. Eve will be sad if I'm not back in time for dinner."
Just as he started to head home, his eyes landed on a pair of youngsters approaching the fountain. Even though he was not originally this world's Adam, he still felt his fatherly instincts toward all the humans he had met so far just as he had in his two lives as the first man. Regardless of the fact that he had traversed worlds, he still saw them as his descendants. After all, there was no original Adam in this world to protect his descendants, and he was more than happy to accept that role once again.
However, although his instincts registered the boy as one of his children, the young lady did not activate his fatherly instincts at all.
'She's not human,' Adam immediately concluded. 'Not a god, either.'
He quietly observed the couple while they approached the fountain. The more he looked at them, the more familiar they looked. Finally, he deduced the familiarity based on the memories of his third self.
'Ah, I see. It seems my instincts led me here last for a reason.'
While observing the pair, he felt a subtle wave pass by him that he immediately recognized as magic, though it paled in comparison to what the gods could use that he had confronted. He looked around again and noticed that all the pedestrians aside from himself and the young couple left the area with glazed expressions.
The young lady carried on leading the boy toward the fountain without realizing the first man completely ignored whatever magic she previously cast.
"Daring to target a child in front of his father? How foolish."
'Even if he is a pervert.'