"You are to go to another world and prevent the appearance of the Demon King!"
In a white space, a woman in fluffy clothes spoke to me.
It was the end of a workweek, on a weekend night. I had casually installed a smartphone game I found online, skipped through the tutorial, and clicked on the final [Go to Another World] button. That's when my memory cut off, and I found myself in this situation.
Come to think of it, this person looks exactly like the tutorial character from the game earlier.
Could this be...
"So, it's reincarnation into another world?"
"Close. It's a transfer to another world."
"What!"
I thought I'd finally get to dominate with cheat abilities, but wait. If it's a transfer, does that mean I stay as I am?
"I should ask, but... there are cheat abilities, right?"
I decided to speak politely since she seemed like a goddess. More like a goddess than a god.
"Of course. I'll give you the skills of understanding foreign languages and an item box."
"No, no, no, aren't those default? Isn't there something more amazing, like some super cheat skill...?"
I thought it would be tough to be thrown into another world with just standard equipment, but the person I assumed to be a goddess looked a bit troubled.
"Since it's a transfer and not a reincarnation, you can't use skills that are too far from your original abilities. Do you want to die and reincarnate instead?"
"I'd rather not."
"Then... let's see, I could consider a skill related to your life so far."
"A skill related to my life so far?"
I wonder what that could be. I think about myself. A 35-year-old single man. Living alone without a girlfriend. An ordinary salaryman with no martial arts background, just some light otaku hobbies, and no special skills.
"I can't really think of anything."
"What about hobbies or something like that?"
Hobbies, huh... My hobby on rare weekends is...
"Going to brothels, I guess?"
"That's terrible."
"Leave me alone."
"Then, is there anything that left an impression on you recently?"
Hmm...
"I pulled an SSR in a gacha game the other day."
"Well, well..."
The goddess looks at my face with a disappointed expression.
"...Alright, I'll give you that kind of cheat ability."
The goddess nodded as if she had an idea.
"What do you mean by 'that kind'?"
"Also, I'll give you money equivalent to 1 million yen. If you're in trouble, open your status."
"Huh?"
"Well then, do your best to save the world~"
As I think this explanation is insufficient, my vision gradually darkens. The tutorial goddess slowly fades to black and disappears.
***
When I came to, I was standing in the middle of a town. It feels like old Europe. Or maybe inside a fantasy game. I guess this is what they call a "narrow street."
Looking at myself, I see I'm dressed in the same style as the people around me.
But really, this otherworld transfer is too sloppy. No explanation at all.
Isn't there a guide or something? Ah, that's right. She said something about when I'm in trouble.
"Status Open! Whoa..."
A menu screen opened in mid-air.
There's a status display like you often see in games, and next to it, there's an "Items" display. There's also a "Gacha" label, but it's grayed out.
When I focus my consciousness on "Items," the display changes. It seems I can operate it by thinking.
There's something written there.
Gold coins: 80 pieces
Silver coins: 200 pieces
She said it was equivalent to 1 million yen, so is one gold coin 10,000 yen and one silver coin 1,000 yen?
That's probably about right.
When I focus my consciousness on the silver coin section, a silver coin appears in my hand. When I think "store," the coin in my hand disappears. Is this perhaps the item box skill she mentioned earlier?
On the other hand, the grayed-out "Gacha" can't be selected. Maybe some conditions aren't met? Or is it a paid feature? But what would be the paid element? It doesn't seem like I can pay with gold coins.
After looking through the status screen, I decided to walk around the town for now.
***
After walking around, I found that it wasn't such a big town.
It's not like a capital or anything like that. More like the countryside. Not a farming village, but more like a provincial town. It seems relatively prosperous, so maybe there's some industry...
Ah, could this be what games call the "starting town"?
I feel like the explanation is insufficient, but maybe that's because I skipped the tutorial.
Still, what do you do first in an otherworld transfer?
Secure a base? Or go to the adventurers' guild?
In the novels I've read, usually a kind person shows up in this situation...
I wander around the town.
As I pass through a winding road between buildings, a square opens up before me.
There are several shop-like buildings lined up, and the number of people around increases. This area might be the center of town.
As I'm pondering what to do while looking around the square, a girl suddenly crosses in front of me.
She's beautiful. Or rather, cute.
She looks about college or high school age. Fair-skinned with well-defined features and medium-long brown hair. The side-open dress offers a glimpse of side boob that catches the eye.
As I'm unconsciously following her with my eyes, the girl enters a building facing the square.
It's a large building with multiple floors and lined windows, where people occasionally enter and exit.
It doesn't seem to be an ordinary house, but it doesn't feel like a shop or restaurant either.
Could that be an inn?
Maybe I'll take a peek.
***
It does seem to be an inn.
There's a lobby, and behind the counter sits a young man.
"Can I stay here?"
"Yeah, you can stay too."
When I called out to the young man at the counter, it seems the language is understood normally. They did say I had the foreign language understanding cheat. The "too" in his response was a bit curious though.
"How much is it?"
"We have regular and deluxe."
"Then regular."
"One gold coin."
Despite seeming like a small town, the inn fee is surprisingly high. Is it a high-class establishment?
But it's the starting town, so there probably wouldn't be a rip-off right away.
Anyway, I'll settle down and think...
I quietly take out a gold coin from the item box into my hand, and casually hand it over as if I had been holding it all along. This looks suspicious without some kind of bag.
The young man at the counter hands me a jagged board.
It seems to be a key with a room number written on it. The numbers are readable too.
"It's on the second floor. Go on in."
I nod and climb the stairs in the lobby, then insert the key into the hole of the door with the matching number, and the door opens.
Inside the room is one large bed. It's a simple room. There's a small room in the back, and when I peek in, I see a water tank and a bucket. Probably a bathing area.
This seems expensive for one night at 10,000 yen, but I wonder about the price standards here.
Is it like a business hotel in Japan?
I don't know. I need to gather information first.
"Ah, what should I do?"
But how do I prevent the appearance of the Demon King from this situation?
I've already used 1/100 of my funds...
Oh, that goddess-like person said she'd give me some kind of cheat ability, didn't she?
Knock knock
As I was thinking about this, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in~"
The door to the room opens and three girls enter noisily.
A slightly chubby girl about high school age, a slender girl a bit older, and the beautiful brown-haired girl I saw earlier.
As I'm frozen in confusion, still sitting up on the bed, the young man from the counter comes in last and says,
"Now, choose one of them."
Eh...?
At this point, I finally understood.
This wasn't an inn, but a brothel.
No wonder it seemed expensive for an inn...
But well, although it turned out like this by chance, it might not be bad to have a thorough talk with one of the girls first. It could be good for gathering information.
Thinking about it that way, staying at a brothel doesn't seem so bad.
Come to think of it, I thought it was expensive earlier, but 10,000 yen for a night with a girl included is actually quite reasonable.
I can't help but glance at the girls lined up in front of me.
My eyes keep going back to the girl from earlier.
She still looks about college or high school age. She has a slightly girlish feel rather than womanly, but as I thought before, she's beautiful. And looking closely, her chest is quite large.
She has white skin and features somewhere between Caucasian and Asian. Semi-long brown hair.
Her height is about 160cm, about 10cm shorter than me.
Up close, her chest is large, but overall she has a slender, model-like figure.
She's really cute, this girl.
As I'm thinking this while looking at her, our eyes meet. She smiles back at me.
Um, what should I do now?
As I awkwardly point at her, the other two girls casually leave the room. Finally, as the man is leaving the room, he grins and says,
"Two times until morning is included in the fee. Anything more is a tip. Well then, enjoy yourselves."