A creepy girl with the ears of a cat.
Such was Yogiri's first impression.
Her height was close to Tomochika's, not particularly tall, and considering that her vitals were protected by light armor and her hip equipped with a sword she was probably some kind of warrior.
Yogiri recalled having seen her in the weapons dealer shop.
"Wow, your Japanese is so good!"
Tomochika voiced her admiration; she was genuinely impressed, although her amazement was most likely due to the contrast with the catgirl's first impression. Yogiri on the other hand was on guard, thinking that randomly being approached by a stranger was clearly suspicious.
"Of course, nya. Most of the girls in this city are studying it, after all, nya."
"Why's that?"
"For the sake of getting along with Japanese guys, nya! They're known for having good future prospects and being quick to fall in love and marry, nya."
"Is it normal to be this frank!?"
"Everyone's thinking like that, it's not really something to hide, nya."
"But wait, shouldn't it be the same the other way around? The guys we've seen so far haven't been that good at Japanese."
"Japanese girls don't even take notice of commoners, their target's obviously to marry into high society through nobles and princes, nya. Commoners wouldn't stand a chance even if they tried, nya."
"What's with that fixation… Although I guess I can see why they'd be after nobles and stuff."
"So, what did you want?"
Yogiri interrupted them as they were deep in discussion.
"Mhm! I was thinking maybe you could need some help, nya. Of course, this is also for the sake of marriage, nya. But I'm not after guys with girlfriends or anything, I just believe that steadily making new connections and properly spreading the good word about yourself is the secret to success, nya!"
"Ah, I'm not his girlfriend or anything, if that's what you meant. Although I'd still recommend finding someone different instead, he's an oddball. In more ways than one."
"Is he, nya? Doesn't look that bad, nya."
"What made you think it's our first time here?"
It seemed like the conversation was about to derail again, so Yogiri asked her about something he thought suspicious.
"Oh it's written all over your face, nya. Could tell the moment I saw you two, nya."
Yogiri had to admit that was probably the case; the way they stared at all the things they had never seen before most likely made it clear as day. It didn't look like there was any point in trying to fool her.
"You said you wanted to help us out?"
"Right! How about I show you around the city, nya? I'm guessing you only just got here and still don't know where everything is, nya."
"For sake of making connections?"
"That's it, nya."
"What do you think?"
Yogiri asked Tomochika.
The whole situation seemed exceedingly suspicious to him, but even if she was planning to trick them, it didn't look like she was going to do anything right away. Yogiri decided to leave it to Tomochika.
"Let's go along with it, I guess. Honestly, I have no clue what's where in this city."
Finding the weapons dealer could be called a stroke of luck. If there were places they wanted to go, then having a guide with them would speed things up a lot.
"Alright, we'll be relying on you."
"Thank you, nya! My name's Mireille. I'm actually a warrior, but when I'm in the city I'm working hard on finding a husband, nya. May I know your names, nya?"
"Yogiri Takatou."
"I'm Tomochika Dannoura, nice to meet you."
"Yogiri and Tomochika, got it. Nya."
They exchanged a quick round of introductions and Yogiri asked a vital question.
"So, did we actually have any places we needed to visit?"
"Personally I'd like to just see some more of the town before it gets dark."
"In that case how about I first show you around this neighborhood and after that we go eat dinner somewhere, nya?"
And that's what they did.
＊＊＊＊＊
After browsing a bunch of different shops and even making some purchases they went to a nearby restaurant.
"To think parallel universes were so comfortable! In fact, there's hardly any discomfort at all, what's up with that?"
Tomochika spoke as she ate her evening meal.
The city really was pleasant, appearing as though it had been influenced by Japanese culture in all core aspects of life; clothing, food and housing. So much that even Yogiri and Tomochika felt like they could continue their life normally here. The food they were currently being served wasn't too different from the Japanese dishes they were used to either.
"Only goes for reasonably large cities, nya. After heading out a bit into the country things quickly take a turn for the worse, nya."
"Turn for the worse?"
"Sages don't provide their celestial protection to random villages, nya. And because the villagers are busy defending themselves against the constant monster attacks they don't have time to expand, nya."
This world was swarming with monsters. It was safe in the areas protected by the sages, but outside of them it was dangerous wherever one went.
"Speaking of Sages, were you two not given a gift by them, nya?"
The system that the sages had installed in their classmates was known as
"the gift" among this world's natives.
Gifts could be inherited, meaning it was normal for children to receive the same power as their parents.
There were all kinds of them, but the ones bestowed by the sages were considered special, and so were the Japanese for their proficiency in them.
"What makes you think that?"
"It's pretty easy to tell, nya. Even if your analyze level is low, you can still tell whether the other party is strong or not, nya. In your case it's [Major Weak], nya."
This is bad.
Hanakawa had said that seeing other people's status was restricted to people with a high level in their analyze skill, but apparently even with a low level one could tell that Yogiri and Tomochika were weak.
Yogiri could feel his head starting to hurt as he thought of the headaches this would cause down the line.
"Aa! Are you maybe aiming for the Sword Saint's gift instead, nya? Now that would be understandable, nya. Although I think even just entering the Sword Saint's sight is going to be awfully difficult without a gift, nya."
Unable to find a good response Yogiri decided to brush the matter aside and continue his meal.
＊＊＊＊＊
"Well, I kind of expected it to turn out this way."
Yogiri and Tomochika had found themselves in a back alley's deadend. The entrance to that blind alley was currently being filled by a large number of beastmen; the result of following Mireille's lead after she proposed to lead them to a good place to stay the night.
"Oh so you knew, I see――. Hmmm――, well I'm sorry about that, going along with the kind little catgirl, thinking she was for real here!!"
Tomochika was surprised at first, but soon changed into being sulky instead.
"Well, just goes to show that the world isn't such a nice place, nya."
Mireille stood opposite of them, next to the rest of the beastmen, as if it were only natural.
It was already deep into the night, but thanks to the bright moonlight it was relatively easy for them to make out their attackers.
Before them there were ten beastmen of various gender, age and animal features. Among them stood one human, a man with a weapon he appeared more than used to. He also appeared plenty used to this kind of situation; Yogiri determined he was most likely a habitual criminal.
"Any chance we could talk?"
"Well aren't you gutsy. What do you wanna ask, eh?"
The human, apparently the leader of the gang, took a step forward and replied with mock in his voice. A large frame, black hair and black eyes, around 30 years old. He was covered in an air of violence, and based on his facial features he appeared to be Japanese.
"Are you after our money?"
Mireille seemed to have been interested in their financial standing as she guided them through the city. The fact they were carrying a fortune with them was probably exposed.
"Oh we're certainly going to take care of all your money, but that's not what we're after, not at all. Our top priority are you two ungifted Japanese. You gotta know, as a result of all us Japanese wreaking havoc in this world the nobles hate us big time. But too bad, the Japanese are too strong and there's nothing they can do against them; and that's where you come into play, that's what ungifted Japanese are useful for: For nobles to vent their anger!"
"Somehow this world is really lacking in people that aren't jerks."
"You say that, but… is it just me, or are almost all the jerks Japanese!?"
Yogiri could only nod in agreement.
"Anyway, I get what you guys are after now. I'm thinking of killing you all for it, still not budging?"
"Hooh? Ahh, don't you worry. We won't be killing you, aight? Then again, death would be a blessing compared to the future ahead of you!"
The leader sneered as he spoke and fell into a mocking laugh as he finished, soon the rest of the gang joined his bellowing.
Yogiri decided to murder them all.