The train came to a stop as it arrived at the station. It's design resembled the one of the train's inside, the entire structure was made out of wood planks with a cobblestone floor.
It wasn't spacious, probably having a maximum capacity of 10 people if you crammed them enough, like sardines.
This type of station was common in rural areas, in fact, my old town used to have one just like this. But the real one was... Ugly, and worn out with time, while this one seemed to have regular maintenance, looking spotless, the wood showed no splinters.
There was a small bench in front of where the train stopped, no one was waiting on it.
I stepped out of the train, before Kron tapped my shoulder. "Hey, you forgot this."
He handed me a travel bag, it was beige with slight blue details.
I didn't remember having that on me at any point. Maybe I was sat down on it? I definitely hadn't brought that with me from the other world. Before passing out, I was carrying my black briefcase around. I accepted the bag anyways, I wouldn't reject free stuff after all.
Sitting down on the bench, I rummaged through the bag, trying to take a look at what was hiding inside of it.
Clothes... Nail trimmer... Oh! A passport.
[ Name: Sato Molipana. Date of Birth: May 3rd 1862. Sex: Male. Country: Nipo. Height: 1.85m Species: Drake ]
Huh...? Molipana? 1862? Nipo? Drake!? Isn't that a rapper? What the hell is all this?
So, let's clear it up, my last name was changed, I'm guessing the people here have different naming traditions and the reincarnation system just... adapted my name to it? But why didn't it change Sato to something else? Maybe it just so happened to fit the local customs?
Second, 1862. I am 25 years old. So, is it currently 1887? I'll need to figure that out next. I'm sure I can take a look at a calendar somewhere around here.
Third, Nipo. Is that a country of this world? It sounds a hell of a lot like Nihon (Japanese word for Japan).
My head almost began to spin in confusion, it was way too much information to take in at once.
Damn, starting a new life is stressful.
Stuffing my passport back in my travel bag, a faint glint caught my eye, it seemed to come from the travel bag below a random white shirt.
I took out a beige cloth bag, damn, it was heavy. The faint sound of metal clinks caught my attention as I moved the bag around.
What the hell is inside this bag? I took a look inside, I swear my eyes were deceiving me.
It was full of gold coins. How much would all this be worth in my world? Millions of yens? Maybe millions of dollars? Was I actually hallucinating?
Kron noticed the disbelief in my eyes. "Hey, you good there?" They took a look inside my coin bag. "Oh are those your dabloons?"
"Dabloons? What are those?" I glanced over at Kron, curious.
"You don't know about them? They're this country's currency. A coin bag like the one you got there should be about 100 dabloons, or at least that's the standard."
"Is that a good amount of dabloons to have?"
"Eh, it's about 8 hours worth of minimum wage, but you should be able to live comfortably with that for the day, taking into account factors such as debt, meals, bills, etcetera."
Only a day? Please tell me there's more where that came from. I continued my rummaging, desperately trying to find another money bag. I couldn't find any, instead I found a rolled map.
I took it out and quickly scanned it. It was a map of Koruta. It seemed really basic, only showing off major spots such as the town hall, post office, tailor, and... Raccoon Discounts? What an odd thing to highlight, it must be some sort of store.
The town hall was right at the center of Koruta, just before a long river that traversed all the way across the whole town. The post office was right next to the town hall, the tailor on the far bottom-left corner and Raccoon Discounts just after the train station.
"That spot, Raccoon Discounts. My buddy Jaromi is the owner. It's just a nook & cranny with basic groceries too."
"So, is that the only store in town?"
"Well, pretty much. There used to be a train line that connected Koruta to the neighboring city of Kuzur, but I'm pretty sure if a train used said line nowadays it'd derail."
"Koruta, Kuzur... Their names sound oddly similar..."
A grin appeared on Kron's face, almost like he was disgustingly educated in this topic. "Well you see, hundreds of years ago the indigenous Kalesenian tribe used to have territory claims expanding the whole coastal area of Laminia. Over time, investors bought the land and turned it into modern towns or cities. There were 4 major spots. Kuzur, Kamari, Gerota, and Koruta. All fitting the naming traditions of the Kalesenian tribes."
Kalesenian? Investors? Laminia? God this is so much info to take in at once, after I get home I'll start studying this world's history, geography and global affairs.
"And then basically the Kalesenian began attacking the private investors, eventually protesting in Kuzur's town square, their main point was that their god, Karka had promised them the land and that they had no right to take them away from them, so after that-..."
Did he always sound muffled or am I beginning to disociate? Is he even saying something? My whole world felt as if I was progressively diving deeper and deeper into the sea, Kron's voice turning into nothing but a vague suggestion as he rambled on about global politics and Kalesenian history.
"And that's basically why socialism couldn't be implemented into Laminia... Uhm, Sato? You alright there?"
I hadn't noticed I had left my maw wide open as I dozed off listening to Kron's rambles.
"Hey." A sharp voice snapped me out of my trance, my eyes widening as I stared at the figure that spoke out.
A beige-green lizard was standing right next to the resting bench. He was tall, like, way too tall, way taller than me. He was looking down at us with his bright ocean eyes. His scales were dull and matt, unlike mine which were shiny and glossy.
I could tell he was on the older side, maybe close to hitting 60? A cranky facial expression, decoloured lamella, definitely an old geezer.
"Loitering isn't allowed at the station."
Reincarnating in another world wasn't enough to escape the stupid concept of 'loitering' to my misfortune.
"W-We're sorry, sir, my friend was just checking his bag."
Hmm, I had never heard Kron stutter once through our whole conversation, maybe he isn't as outgoing and confident as I had thought? Also, did he just call me his friend? Well, I do guess that's better than just saying 'This random guy I started talking to.'
We both stood up, I instinctively gave a small bow like I'd do back in my world.
"You're an odd one, kid." Yep, he was definitely talking to me. It took me a bit to realize I was the only one bowing down. Kron had raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in confusion at my gesture.
"Is that a tradition from your country?"
"Tradi... Yes, Yes! It's from my country of Nipo, it's a way of uhm, showing respect."
The lizard guy before us raised an eyebrow before crossing his arms. "Foreigner? Been a couple years since I've seen one."
"Yes, I met him on the train, he's from Nipo."
"Nipo..." The old man rubbed his temple trying to remember something. "Ah, that's northeast from here. It's an archipielago."
"... Yes, exactly, that's my country."
"I made a friend there twenty years ago, you Niponians got some weird customs."
"He's moving in to Koruta, I'm actually taking him to Jaromi so he can move into his own house."
The lizard's eyes widened at the mention of Jaromi. "That god damn raccoon. He's been missing for days. He owes me a thousand dabloons and the coward won't show his face."
"Really? I just talked with him on the phone, he didn't seem stressed or anything."
Huh? When did he do that? Oh right, he mentioned something about talking with Jaromi while we were on the train. Wait a moment. Phone!? Wasn't the current year 1887? This world is full of surprises.
"If you see him around, tell him I'm waiting for my dabloons." The lizard walked off into the forest, his form hiding behind the countless trees.
Kron let out a sigh of relief, relaxing his back and closing his eyes. "Akkesi... Why must you be so scary..."
"Akkesi?"
"That lizard guy. He's the town's local cranky old man. He's like 55 years old and his presence as a whole makes me nervous."
He did seem kinda aggresive in his tone... I'll see how things go after I move in.
"Anyways let's go to Jaromi's, we need to get you a house before sunset."
We started walking in sync, my first steps in my new home, the town of Koruta.