Richelle had a medieval European townscape. The exterior was protected by walls, and entry was through a limited number of gates.
Mash and Mizuki safely arrived in town and found themselves in a clothing store. He decided to start with appearances so they would fit into this world.
The people on the streets were dressed more modernly than he'd imagined, but their suits and sailor uniforms stood out considerably.
The shop had been recommended by the busty priest, Ayla.
"I don't know what to wear."
Although the climate here varied greatly in temperature between summer and winter, it was said to be mild and comfortable. It was spring now. Mash randomly chose a plain shirt-like item and a pair of shorts.
"Don't dress embarrassingly! We're going on adventures."
Apparently his casual style was embarrassing.
"Even if you say that, I don't know what to choose."
It was a small store, but it had a wide variety of products. He'd thought it would be medieval-style clothing, but there were many items closer to their original world. It was probably culture brought by previous summoned heroes.
"Then I'll look for you."
"Are you my mom?"
"Mm, it's fine. Pick out your own underwear though."
In the end, he bought the clothes Mizuki had chosen and changed into them right there. He had a military look, while Mizuki wore a sailor-like outfit similar to her previous one.
There was something he wanted to say, but it was too much trouble so he stopped. Besides, if she wore a skirt, he might be able to see her panties again.
"They'll buy the clothes I was wearing for five silver coins," Mizuki said.
"Wait, you're going to sell them?"
"Huh? Because it's better to have money, right?"
"Then I'll buy your clothes for ten silver coins."
"Huh? I definitely don't want that. It's disgusting."
"Even if you sell them to a store, some creepier guy than me might buy your clothes. I might come and buy them secretly."
"Hmmm... That's enough. Stop being so mean."
Mizuki stopped arguing and handed him the clothes.
"Oh, will you sell them to me?"
"I don't need money. With this, I'll make up for the damage I caused you."
"Okay. I also want those light blue panties."
Mizuki's face flushed again.
Next, they stopped by the Adventurer's Guild. Free citizens could register as adventurers here and earn a living by completing quests.
First, you started as an F-rank adventurer. As you gained experience, you'd be promoted to E and then D. The term "F rank" was the same as used to refer to a certain university in their original world, which made Mash feel uncomfortable.
"Where is this Demon King?"
He asked the girl at the guild reception desk.
"Demon King, you say? There is a Demon Kingdom far to the east."
People gave him strange looks. It seemed to be common knowledge in this world.
"Isn't the king of the Demon Kingdom the Demon King?"
"He was defeated during an expedition by the Holy Knights one hundred years ago. Since then, the Demon Kingdom has been ruled by a triumvirate of powerful individuals. However, they have become stronger than when the Demon King was around."
"Is that so?"
"That's right," she said, nodding cutely.
Mizuki, who had already completed her registration, was talking with the members of Wind Blade who were in the guild. Mash didn't understand how she could talk so casually and friendly with people she'd just met. Come to think of it, she also boldly struck up conversations with him.
While he was there, he accepted a beginner's herb gathering quest. He also bought an herb encyclopedia made from pressed flowers. It cost him fifteen silver coins, but considering the effort involved, it seemed reasonable.
There were also dungeon exploration and monster slaying options, but after today's battle, these weren't viable options. The sun was starting to go down, so he planned to go out tomorrow. Looking back, it had been a long day.
After he finished registering, Mizuki came over to him.
"Hey, I was asked if I wanted to become a member of Wind Blade."
"Yeah, you can't do that."
Her expression was like that of a deflated balloon. She seemed not to have expected him to immediately say no.
"Why? If we join together, they can teach us many things, and we can defeat strong monsters. We can also level up and quickly adapt to this world."
"That's what I don't like. It's fine if you teach me, but nothing else. I want to work steadily until I get used to this world. I thought I was going to die in today's battle. I'm scared of fighting. Aren't you scared, Mizuki?"
"That's scary, but Wind Blade is a B-rank party, so it's safe, right?"
The party rank was determined by the leader's adventurer rank.
When Mash looked at the members of Wind Blade, his eyes met with Reid's. For some reason, Reid grinned at him. He didn't know how to respond.
It might be normal in this world, but he didn't like the idea of having two women serving him and a slave following him around. It would be tough to be constantly forced to watch that. He didn't think he could join that group.
"You must ensure your own safety."
"Mmhmm."
"No, I have no intention of forcing my ideas on you. Mizuki, you can just do what you think is best."
"Why? We're both summoned heroes."
"Well, we were strangers in our original world too. Anyway, I'll start gathering medicinal herbs tomorrow."
The events of today were so intense that it almost felt as though Mizuki and he had known each other for a long time. They must not forget that they were strangers.
"...I understand. I think I'll try exploring the dungeon with the Wind Blade people."
He wished she'd stop giving off that lonely vibe, even though she hated him. An old man like him couldn't make it in that party.
"I'm going to look for a place to stay."
"I'll talk to Reid a bit more."
Even though she said that, her joining was definite. They knew that Mizuki had almost single-handedly defeated a horde of goblins. Her addition would be welcome as she could be immediately counted on as a valuable asset.
He entered Daizaru-tei, a slightly luxurious inn for commoners that was recommended in Lachsel's "How to Travel the World."
"How to Travel the World" was thick and difficult to handle, and the aforementioned feature story took up half of it.
A night's stay cost seven silver coins and included breakfast, while dinner cost an additional silver coin. Alcohol cost five copper coins, and one silver coin got you ten drinks.
There was one bed per room. Water was drawn from a well. The toilet was on the first floor. There was no bath, but instead, a bucket for washing the body was provided.
The first floor was a bar and restaurant, and he ate there as well. It wasn't bad—rather tasty, actually. But it was a bit bland and lacked something.
While he was eating and reading "How to Travel the World," Mizuki and the members of Wind Blade arrived. It seemed they had also made this place their base. Mizuki quickly spotted him and approached.
"If we were staying at the same inn, you could have waited for me."
She immediately started complaining.
"I wanted to see the city as well."
In particular, it had been necessary to check out the red-light district. Just to confirm, unfortunately, he didn't have the communication skills to talk to women there.
"Yes."
Mizuki nodded.
"Are there no other warriors here?"
"...Beers went to a shared room inn."
Mizuki seemed to have difficulty saying it. Come to think of it, he was a slave.
"I've decided to join Wind Blade. I'll be exploring dungeons starting tomorrow."
They were probably going to a dungeon near the city.
Dungeons, like storage spaces, were said to be a type of spatial magic, but it was unknown why they appeared. There were many of them all over the world. They could appear anywhere. One day, they suddenly appeared. And monsters were born from dungeons.
The goblins they'd fought today had also been born in a dungeon and begun wandering the field.
In order to protect the safety of the world, it was necessary to conquer dungeons. They were made up of multiple floors, and the monsters became stronger with each floor. Each floor was home to powerful monsters called Area Guardians.
Up to six people could enter the space where the Area Guardian was located. For this reason, the maximum number of people in an adventurer's party was six. The dungeon would disappear if the Area Guardian was defeated and the crystal core at the deepest part was destroyed.
"I thought so... No, it's nothing."
It seemed Mizuki hadn't given up on getting him to join Wind Blade.
"Okay then, I'll go back to my room."
And with that, he parted ways with Mizuki.
Mash went back to his room and checked his character sheet. His adventurer level was now 4. He didn't know if the experience point increase skill was working or not. As a guideline, once you reached level 50 you became an A-class adventurer, but it took at least ten years. Occupations that mainly consumed magical power, such as wizards and priests, took twice as long.
You could change jobs repeatedly and acquire multiple jobs, but only your first job would level up with the experience points gained from defeating monsters.
He checked the Goddess Summoning help in the Skills section.
"Summoning the goddess Lachsel. She will unleash infinite arrows on swarming enemies and divine spear strikes on powerful foes. Be careful as this consumes a large amount of magical power."
Which was stronger, Goddess Summon or Mizuki's skill? The deciding factor in battle would be whether you could block the divine spear's attack with a super save.
Come to think of it, he'd never talked for such a long time with someone of the opposite sex who wasn't a relative. Even if you added up all the conversations he'd had with women up until now, it was possible that the time he'd spent talking to Mizuki was longer.
Mizuki disliked him, but still tried to communicate with him. That was something he couldn't imitate. She was cheeky and her comments could be annoying, but she offset that with beautiful appearance that anyone would agree was stunning. She also offered the added bonus of exposing her underwear to provide some material for his evening entertainment.
Mizuki belonged to Wind Blade now. He'd really wanted to stop it, but there was nothing he could do since she hated him.
He imagined Mizuki becoming close to Reid and the possibility of them falling in love like Ayla and Cecily. He shook his head, clearing his mind of the fantasy.
"Summon the goddess!"
He tried shouting, but nothing happened. Was it because there were no enemies? Or maybe he didn't have enough magical power? It was embarrassing, but there was no one around, so it was okay.
He was tired today. Tomorrow he'd be gathering medicinal herbs. He'd do his best.