The sun was roasting over my head.
It was so strong, I figured this new world wouldn't even have an ozone layer. Obviously, I quickly discarded this preposterous hypothesis. After all, everyone was living peacefully, none of them bothered by the extravagant heat.
The city was so big, I didn't know where to start exploring first. So I used the technique my coworker taught me once when I got lost at an event the company did. He just put his hand on my shoulder and said, "So you don't get lost, just go with the flow." So I decided to opt for this technique. With a crowd of people passing by, I just followed them.
After following them, I stopped on a shopping street. There were so many shops and stalls, that I was scared at first, the large amount of people walking around there, it was incredible. Merchants screamed to get the attention of more customers. There were men and women, totally interested in buying something there. So I decided to walk there.
I went through several, and realized I was in the right place. There were businesses of all kinds, from clothing stores to potions. That meant, there was magic in this world, these potions were certainly not made just by mashing some herbs, they were even glowing.
During my relaxed walk, a child comes running and bumps into me. She drops to the ground and runs her hand over her head to see if she hasn't hurt too much. I reach out to help her up off the floor and see if she really was okay, or needed some doctor.
The child's brown hair was spiky, looked dirty. Her clothes were also very simple, she didn't look like some lost child, she just seemed to be playing.
But the moment she looks at me, her eyes widen, and she bends in front of me. She was shaking a lot, like bumping into me was the worst thing she could have done.
"I-I'm sorry, please forgive me!"
"Of course! You just didn't see it, did you? It's okay, just be careful not to get hurt."
The child nods in affirmation and starts running again.
I wanted to talk a little longer, but the young man didn't even give him the option. So just keep walking down the street. But there was something very strange, people and merchants looked at me with a frightened look, and soon began to despair. Some traders started opening their trades quickly. Some women and young people looked at me in surprise and with their hands over their mouths.
I could only question myself about one thing...
WILL I BECOME A SUPER BEAUTIFUL MAN?
Perhaps along with my immature thoughts, I have inadvertently made a slightly more appropriate pose. I sure also got my posture straightened out. The traders even decided to bow down in my presence, it really was a different day for me.
"Excuse me sir, but aren't you the new Lord of Lalario?"
A sweet voice disperses my lost thoughts. I look at the direction of the speaker, and am surprised. She was a young woman, with white hair, wearing her work uniform. She knelt in front of me, maintaining as much respect as possible.
But wait a minute... Sir? Lord? Is this girl confused? Did I look so beautiful that I can easily be mistaken for a noble person?
"You are Lord Aros Silverstein, are you not?"
Silverstein hoops? What a weird but chic name... I guess that's not mine, it's less likely that I've been reincarnated in the body of a nobleman. But the truth is, I don't know my name or my appearance here in this world, I just walked around town without worrying about it.
So I quickly look for some glass nearby, even if it's from a store I had in my surroundings. And then I find a window to my left side.
I got closer, almost kissing the window, I could see myself, and my appearance didn't deviate much from what I was before reincarnating. I was relatively taller, and had hair very close to Kirito's. My eyes were gray and my skin white enough to reflect sunlight.
I was wearing a blue cape, under the cape I wore a noble outfit, give it a gray color, it had golden buttons and resembled a chef. I had black pants and brown boots, which were beautiful. I felt a little uncomfortable as I was much better dressed than the people there.
But I confirmed the essential thing, I was extremely prettier.
But seeing this appearance, I felt that I had already seen it somewhere, I felt that I had seen it many times. When I look to the side of the glass, there is paper taped to the wall, and there is an engraving of my current appearance, identical. Underneath it was written:
"The new lord of the Kingdom of Lalarium is just a 17-year-old boy. Welcome Aros Silverstein!"
WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!?
Am I a lord? Me? Wait... How!?
"Sir? I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but does your lord need some help?"
The young woman comes back to talk to me, but she chides herself as if she is really afraid to speak rudely or something.
A lord? But what does it mean to be one? Am I like the owner of this realm now? And most importantly, how do you lead a kingdom? I don't remember a book about it. I must be pretty screwed. I also found out my name is Aros Silverstein, it's not that bad.
So I just followed the wave I was put on.
"Yes, it's me... don't need to be so formal, I want to talk normally."
The girl looks back at me, with a look of happiness, and gets carried away. At that moment I could see more of her face, and it was beautiful. The young woman had blinding crimson eyes, her face was almost whiter than the snow itself, her smile was so beautiful that she could spend hours admiring it.
"Thank you so much, Silverstein-sama! I appreciate you talking to me!"
Even though she didn't need formality, she still insists on treating me with respect. It doesn't bother me that much, but I just want to have a normal conversation.
"Silverstein-sama, do you want to go to my restaurant? It's near here."
"It's fine by me!"
I accepted only because the proposal came in a kind way. But it also served to me to see what kinds of food they eat here, being in a different world, everything could be contrary to the world I knew. I confess that I was a little scared. Money didn't seem to be the issue either, I had a belt around my waist, in it was a bag of coins, which seemed to be full.
This relieves me a lot, I see that in this world I'm not hard!
The girl took the lead, leading me to her establishment.
The restaurant appeared to be busy. At the entrance there was a huge bar like a bar, on the right side. The place was very spacious, the tables and chairs were organized and the smell of food appeared, fully filling my nostrils with a delicious aroma.
When I walk through the door, a bell rings, announcing that someone has entered. I take a few steps into the restaurant, taking in the establishment, which was very clean, even looked like something gourmet. And at the same time, customers began to stare at me, staring and aghast.
"It's Aros Silverstein!"
"It's him!"
"Aros Silverstein is in front of me!"
I would accompany the white-haired girl and she would lead me to a tidy table. The table was made of wood, like the others in the restaurant. But this one, the edges were made of gold, it was so golden it stung my eyes. The chair was different from the others, it had an accent with a fabric and a different color. Its edges were also made of gold. It was the cleanest table compared to the others.
"Please sit here, Silverstein-sama!"
The girl made a gesture by bending forward. With an open hand, she pointed to the fancy table she had spotted. All customers were staring at my arrival, although uncomfortable, I ignore them.
"It's alright girl! I sit here at the counter!"
Despite being a nice table, I had to decline his offer. There was nothing wrong, maybe all this respect that covered the atmosphere, it was because of my political position. I had just found out that I was the lord of that realm, it hadn't hit me yet. So it was a little uncomfortable getting all that respect without me having done anything yet.
Customers who witnessed the situation were shocked. The mood was filled with an awkward silence, which I could even feel I was the cause. Some of them even dropped their food back onto their plate.
"Aros Silverstein sat at the counter instead of the exclusive table?" They muttered.
The white-haired girl also gapes, she looks at the fancy table to see if she has any dirt or something, and again looks back at me.
"Are you sure, Silverstein-sama? That's the exclusive table, no one will bother you."
"I'm sure! By the way, what would your name be?"
"Is my name? It's... my name... my name... what's my name? My name is Asura Seith..."
My question seemed so unexpected to her, she'd almost forgotten her own name.
"Asura Seith... It's a pleasure to meet you!"
The girl doesn't say anything for a while, certainly many customers didn't ask her name. Maybe it was my mistake, I kept thinking that in this world people didn't ask the names of others like that for nothing. But just when I looked at the girl again, she was smirking and blushing.
"The pleasure is all mine, Silverstein-sama. I'm glad you came to my restaurant."
"It doesn't need so much formality, you can just call me Aros, alright?"
"Of course! A-Aros-sama!"
Asura is totally happier since we met. His excited smile sometimes infected the other customers of the restaurant.
"A-Aros-sama, would you like to order something? You can look at the menu!"
Asura stands behind the counter, her movements were still totally shy, maybe she wasn't really used to entertaining nobles in her restaurant. Behind it was a huge sheet, or rather it was a parchment that was attached to the wall with a rusty nail. It showed seventeen options, numbered and separated into blocks. That's when I realized I couldn't read anything.
Despite not being able to read a letter that was there, I figured for myself that the first block would be something to eat. The second was drinks and the third was side dishes, like any restaurant was.
"Hmm... I'll want this number four!"
As soon as I place my order, the air is swallowed again by the silence of the entire restaurant. Both Asura and the customers were stunned, no one could say a sentence. From everyone's reaction, I felt my body freeze with embarrassment. I figured that what I had asked for was not something to eat, something like a seasoning. I couldn't help but let a drop of sweat trickle down my face.
"Are you sure Aros-sama? This is the simplest dish in the restaurant. It consists of pasta with a soup in pork broth, with meat and egg on top. Are you sure?"
Asura was more or less trying to change my mind. I was obviously relieved, by what she said, it was something to eat yes, I just ordered the simplest. And of course, it wasn't bad at all, as I got used to it, when I work in the other world, simple food was always the best option.
From the characteristics that Asura says, I could conclude that this was the closest to the Ramen in my world.
"Yes, that's right! But of course, if you can't do it, I can order something else..."
I say this with the greatest possible concern, but soon find it unnecessary. She ties up the apron she was wearing, a little tighter than she already was. Asura completely changes her posture, for a real chef.
"It's for now, Aros-sama. I just ask you to wait a little while to prepare it!"
After those confident words, she enters the room behind the counter, which was probably something like a kitchen anyway.
Even though it was practically in another room, the wall had a hole, so we could see the cooks cooking. Asura then begins to prepare, with the same procedures as how to make a Ramen in my world. But she cooked so fast and beautifully, I couldn't describe step by step what she was doing—it could also be because I had no cooking experience. Since there weren't all the instruments that were in my world, it felt like they had a different way of cooking.
Asura looked at the place where she placed the pot, and extended her index finger close. So she recited a few words.
"For you to see, right? The City is huge!"
Our distracted conversation didn't last long, just the way I wanted it. After a session of laughs, the bell that announced the arrival of a new customer rang. The doors opened a little brutally, and armored men began to enter, all armed with swords of varying sizes.
"Look, it's the Guards, what are they doing here?"
"I didn't even know they came to restaurants like this..."
They were Lalario's guards. Their function was to prowl the city, trying to prevent crimes and even rebellions against the current government. But those who entered the restaurant didn't look as good as the name suggested, didn't look protective.
"Hey, what are you whispering, are you by any chance making fun of us?"
The one who appeared to be the leader interrogates the customers with a serious look. He was tall, his hair was short with a simple topknot. Muscles nearly bulged out of the armor plates, his face had a scar that ran from his cheek to above his eye. The guards behind him also displayed almost the same bearing, only a few seemed a little more relaxed.
They sit at a large table with an approximate seating capacity of seven. Everyone settles down and starts to laugh, none of them took the time to sit down, they dragged their chairs mercilessly back, scratching the restaurant's beautiful wooden floor.
"Hey girl come serve us! Want to make us wait until when?"
Asura got a little apprehensive, collected a notepad she had left on the counter. The guards came in very unconcerned, they didn't notice I was there. I didn't know if it would do much good to recognize me in that situation too. Even a little scared, Asura went to their table.
"Hello, Gentlemen Guards, what would you like to eat?"
"Look lady, there are several things we would like to try..."
The leader of the guards responds by rubbing his chin, probably looking at Asura's waist, with a rather disgusting look. All the guards began to laugh as if they understood the joke the leader had made.
That situation bothered me a lot. I could see Asura trembled a little, being in such a disgusting situation like that. I couldn't stay put. So I decide to take off my coat and put it on the bench at the counter, there was an employee who also looked down on the guards' attitude. I charitably borrowed her apron, put it on, and headed towards the problem table.
After reaching behind Asura, I place my hand on her shoulder, which makes her startle.
"A-Aros-...sama"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this table myself."
On my unexpected arrival, the guards freeze, some of them widen their eyes, perhaps saying in their minds that it had been a bad idea to provoke that attendant like that. The leader was the only one who didn't look sorry, he was still sitting awkwardly in the chair, not caring about anything.
"Well, well... If it's not the new lord working in a place like this... What a joke, and besides, it's not a child."
"Isn't it? Very hard to see a lord my age... but what really matters is how I manage this kingdom."
I didn't know where all that courage came from, but I said everything that came to my mind. Sensing my rude innuendo, the guard frowned. I managed to keep my serious expression longer, which certainly made a conflict in our eyes. The guards still haven't tried to react to anything, not even hints and much less physically, which surprised me.
"Well, it will be an honor for Lord Aros Silverstein to serve me some food..."
"Of course it will."
Asura was behind me, baffled by the size the situation had become. However, she didn't try to stop it, just lowered her head and let it happen. The customers who were there were able to witness one surprise event after another, so many stayed quiet and began to pay attention to the tension between me and the guard.
"What will you gentlemen want?"
My question goes to everyone, but none of the guards could form a word. That's because they had an impasse in their heads, whether to respond appropriately or also act like their leader, to try to intimidate me. I couldn't make any mocking faces in return, I just got serious like I really was an employee there.
"Hmm… what I would actually like was a pretty woman serving me, but you took it off now."
Asura shivers at the comment and widens her eyes. It was definitely the most disgusting comment I had heard so far. I frowned at the guard, but he wasn't intimidated.
"Let's do it like this, let's duel... After all, I really want to test the strength of the new Lord of Lalarium."
"And what do we gain if we win or lose?"
"It's very simple, if I win, the girl next door will be ours, let's take her away and do what we want... If you win, we'll leave. Simple, don't you think?"
A duel right when I reincarnated, the events were too clichéd to be true. Even more there was another problem, I didn't know what I could do, I may have reincarnated without any magic here, and as soon as I duel this guard, I will be shattered. But I needed to protect Asura, I felt it.
"I accept the challenge, you better fulfill your agreement... because I currently have more authority than you, exiling you from here won't be difficult."
I make some threats, but I didn't even know if I had all that authority. This to them might have sounded like a bluff, but I was really determined, I thought of all the tactics I could use against a big man like him. I could use my karate knowledge that I had practiced — a long time ago...
The leader gets up, and takes out a huge, heavy sword. I am not intimidated, as there has been a similar situation before. When the karate club fought with the kendo club for a space at the school.
"Those empty threats of yours just make me want to HUGE you!"
The Leader comes running towards me, sword raised, for some reason I felt a huge force in that sword. I sensed it would break the floor of Asura's restaurant. So I continued in my position, even though I was shaking with fear. I'm still in the same place to see if I can do anything, but the sword was coming faster and I hadn't thought of anything.
My body was throbbing, I felt like I was going to die again at that moment. And what would happen if I died again? Was I going to reincarnate again or was it really the end?
When the sword was already above my head, I confirmed that it was really the end of my little journey in this world. Even after a short time, I felt a frustration in leaving everything there.
"Don't move, let the sword fall on your shoulder and you will live"
A male, distorted voice speaks these words to me with great certainty. There was no one in the restaurant or outside. It was in my mind. Although the voice is very new to me, an unknown voice. At the moment he has nothing to do but trust her.
And just when the sword would come to my head, I'll throw myself a little to the side, to hit my shoulder. And the moment it hits, the sword is broken entirely.
The pieces of the blade flew along the walls. The leader who had hit me is too surprised and doesn't move an inch at all.
"W-What happened?"
Everyone around is surprised after what happened. Even me, I didn't imagine my body was made of steel, or was it just defensive magic, something I obviously didn't know about.
"You lost, now you can send your colleagues away."
The rest of the troop grab their weapons and walk out the door without even attacking me back, or questioning me. I turn to Asura to see if everything is alright, and indeed everything is normal. Just her face of surprise and happiness.
"It's over Asura, is everything alright?"
"Yes you are, Aros-sama, thank you so much!
When I was about to say something to her, something really loud knocks on the door and it opens. And looking at the entrance, I see a man with white hair thrown back. He was pretty old, maybe he was getting into his seventies, he had a white mustache too, wore a black suit, beige and white striped tie.
"Silverstein-sama, is he here?"
The old man was looking for me desperately, even his small round glasses fell from his face.
"I am here!"
"Oh my god Silverstein-sama!! I'm sorry it took so long, I had to lock all the castle doors, I'm sorry I got bored and came here!"
The Old Man kneels down and begs forgiveness.
"And who would you be?"
"Oh! Silverstein-sama, what a nice joke. But we don't have time, you need to know the Elven Kingdom to sign the treaty!"
I don't know this old man, but he seems to be part of my guard. He seems to me to be my butler. And wait a minute... Realm of the elves? Like the ones that appear in RPGs? The big tits?
"Here Asura, payment for today's food, thank you very much!"
I stand in front of him, take his hands and give him a number of coins. So I go back to the butler at the door.
"Very well, let's go! And Asura, I will come back more often!"
"Are you coming back, really? Thank you so much...snif...seriously it was an honor to meet you...snif."
Asura begins to wipe her tears and move her hand in a farewell gesture. I will definitely come back here, as it has become my favorite place.
The old man pulls me out of the restaurant and we head back to shopping street.
"Damn old man, if you're strong enough! Who are you?"
"Alright, Silverstein-sama, I'm going to join your game... My name is Sheisnougher, your butler."
In this world just have a weird name? He said the name and I forgot, I just remember the "Sheis". He still looked a little desperate, like we were late for something.
"Sorry, Sheis-whatever, but then you're my butler? That's nice."
"Yes, Silverstein-sama. And now we are going to the Elven Realms to sign the treaty of allies."
"Yeah? And how are we going to this Elven Realm anyway?"
I ask, but soon after, I look behind Sheis-whatever and see a movie-style carriage, written:
"Reserved for Silverstein Aros"
Yeah... it looks like my question was useless.
I get into the carriage and it's more comfortable than I thought, the seats are red made of leather but it was so soft it actually felt like a mattress. I sit on the bench and Shei-sei there closes the door. For a minute I thought he wouldn't come, but he sat down beside the coachman. And That space inside the carriage was all for me.
Before the coachman starts walking with the carriage, I hear screams outside the carriage, the sound was loud as the carriages didn't have glass like windows, they were just curtains. And whoever shouted outside was Asura.
"Aros-sama, I'm sorry to bother you again, but take this, this is a snack for you, even the Efa Kingdom is too far away, so I hope you feed on the way!"
"Thank you Asura! I really appreciate it, you can let me eat properly!"
The curtains on the carriage window close, and so he begins to walk. Through the curtain that was half transparent, I see Asura walking away, full of joy and jumping.
Just for a minute, tears fall from my eyes. It wasn't because I was moved by Asura, but that her attitude reminded me of my little sister, Sora.
Sora also made me lunch when I went to work, and it was exactly the same pot every day. And she left me a note every day.
Asura did the same, and left a note, but unfortunately I couldn't read it. I felt completely useless there, but figured it would be something like, "Good luck in the Elven Realm!" Or something like this.