Sayaka watched with sadness in her eyes as the kind soldier was taken away by one of the women. She had just met him, but she could tell he was a nice guy. There was no particular reason for that thought. Just like there never usually was a specific reason why she was either drawn towards or repulsed by some people back on Earth as well. It just seemed like an inherent ability that she had that could tell a person’s personality merely by looking at them.

“Ondo-san?” a voice called out to her. She turned her head to look at Sakura who was standing beside her.

“Yes, Katagiri-san?” Sayaka asked.

“Who was that guy?” Sakura asked with a confused look. “You don’t usually talk to anyone. He must’ve been special, huh?” she teased Sayaka with a grin.

A small smile graced her face as her heart skipped a beat. “He was just… kinder than most people,” she said, looking at the door that the soldier went through.

---

“Thank you,” I said, as the woman dropped the coin pouch into my hand.

“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile. “If you are ever in need of help, please feel free to come to us anytime. Douglas here,” she gestured to one of the three knights standing beside her, “shall guide you to the outskirts of the city.”

“I have to go to another city?” I asked her. It was weird that they even wanted me away from the city itself. Why can’t I just stay here?

“Yes. The capitol is only meant for nobles, and government officials to stay. No one else is allowed to reside here,” the woman said. “This is mainly due to security concerns.”

“Ah, I see,” I answered. Although I doubted what she said was completely true, it did make sense to me. Even when walking through the hallways of the palace, when I looked outside the windows, all I could see were residential buildings and a small marketplace in what looked like the outer part of the city. “Alright then,” I nodded to the woman and then looked over at the knight beside her. “Shall we get going?”

The knight nodded. He turned towards the woman and got on one knee while bowing his head. “By your leave, Princess Martha,” he said.

“Have a safe journey, Douglas,” the now identified princess said. “And I wish you luck, Mr. Bell,” she said to me.

“Yeah, thanks,” I replied.

The knight got on his feet and we finally took off.

---

“So, tell me more about this world. What’s it like?” I said to the knight as we walked on the dirt road to another town.

He glanced at me and began explaining. “The country that we are in right now, the Feld Empire, is one of the largest countries on this continent, located on the southern side, hence why it’s so warm. The largest country is the Kingdom of Siarus in the North. They also have the largest and strongest military, but with the summoned heroes and their powers on our side, I think we might come out on top if a war was to break out,” he said.

As he explained more, I began to get a grasp of this world’s environment.

Apparently, there were only two major continents in this world. The one I was on right now was shaped like an upside-down five-sided star. The top two elongated landmasses were the Kingdom of Siarus and the bottom elongated landmass was the Feld Empire. The other two landmasses on the other sides were other minor countries of their own and the middle of the star was where the so-called ‘Evil Lord’ resided.

“And… What makes this ‘Evil Lord’ so ‘Evil’?” I asked Douglas.

“Legend has it that he harbours demons, beastmen, and all other species that want to hurt humans and plans to one day enslave all of humanity,” he replied.

“So…” I said slowly, “tell me if I’m wrong, but ‘legend has it’ means that you do not know for sure, correct?” I asked, annoyed, but not really surprised that humans wanted to kill anyone that they were jealous of.

“Well, yes,” he said with a shrug. “After all, no one is allowed into his territory.”

“Riiiight… And is there any evidence that the other species want to hurt humans?” I asked.

“The archpriest has been blessed with visions of God that claim this, so yes, we do have evidence,” he said.

I immediately facepalmed. These guys are idiots. It was the right call for me to leave the palace as soon as I did.

“Alright, thanks a lot for the information,” I said, wanting to get as far away from this country as possible.

We continued in silence for a couple more hours before Douglas spoke again. He pointed in the direction of a town that came into sight as we neared a cliff. “There. That is Wamrith,” he said. “I apologize, but I must turn back now. You should be able to make it there from here. Just follow this path,” he said gesturing towards the trail that we were on. “I wish you a safe journey from here,” he said.

I nodded. “Likewise. Thank you very much for guiding me till here,” I said.

He nodded back and turned around, walking away towards the direction that we came from.

I waited until he was out of sight, then held out my hand and thought of my sidearm. Once again, just like earlier, a warm feeling spread through my chest, arm, and hand, and my Browning Hi-power appeared in my hand, just like how I had imagined it.

I made sure the safety was on and slid out the magazine. Fully loaded, just how I imagined it. I slid back the slide and checked. Yep, one in the chamber as well. Perfect.

As I started walking in the direction that Douglas had told me, I slid the magazine back in and imagined my pistol holster. This time, I felt the warm feeling in my leg and when I looked down, on my thigh was my favourite holster, already strapped on. I slid the pistol into the holster and continued on my way.

---

I could have also summoned a military motorcycle, maybe one of those that the Lithuanian special forces used, and just used that to make my way to the town. In hindsight, I probably should have done that… But instead, I wanted to walk and take in the forest scenery. I was even hoping to meet some locals on the way and talk to them. It’s just… These weren’t the type of locals that I was hoping to meet.

“Guys, c’mon,” I said, trying to sound nice. “I know what you’re doing, but I assure you, whatever you think you’re risking your lives for, it’s not worth it.”

“Shut it!” the biggest guy in the group shouted.

In front of me stood three muscular men, wearing tattered clothes and brandishing swords that looked fairly dull. C’mon, how cliche is this… But I guess that’s good. Cliche means predictable.

“Just give us everything you have, and we’ll let you live, little guy,” the shortest of the group said.

Little guy!? Dude, I was almost six feet tall. C’mon, why you gotta do me like this?

“Which means, strip!” the last guy, shouted. He had an eyepatch that looked like it had seen better times.

I sighed. “Are you really willing to risk your lives for some money?” I asked in an annoyed tone.

“We’ve been doing this for years and not even the city guards have been able to stop us. Ya think we’re scared of ya!?” the big guy said with a laugh as the two others laughed along with him.

I smiled. “Very well. You knew the risks and took the gamble,” I said, unholstering my pistol and turning off the safety. “Now face the consequences.” I raised my pistol and aimed at the big guy's head.

“Wh—” before he could finish his word, I squeezed the trigger. Once again, like during my last operation in Paraguay, the shot echoed a little bit and the man fell down with a thud.

Next, I aimed at the short guy who merely stood there, staring at the body of his comrade. Poor guy was probably paralyzed with fear. Once again, I squeezed the trigger, and another thud was heard as the body fell.

I looked at the eye patch bandit who had now soiled himself and was on the ground, crawling away from me.

“P-Please… please don’t,” he begged with tears streaming down his eyes as I walked towards him.

“I wonder how many others begged you to not kill them,” I said. The bandit went silent as his eyes widened. I raised my sidearm and put a round through his brain, just like I had for the other two.

“Hah,” I breathed a sigh of relief. I had a small fear that guns wouldn’t work in this world, but I guess the admin was a nice enough guy to allow it and not some evil genie that twisted your wishes.

I put my gun back in its holster and walked over to the short guy’s dead body. Now came the shitty part: checking for any valuables. Although I already had quite some money that the princess had given me, more money was always a welcome addition.

---

I couldn’t help but smile as finally, after hours of walking, the entrance to the town came into view at last. I hadn’t really planned what to do from here onwards. If everything went according to the cliches then hopefully I’d register as an adventurer, earn money, raise through the ranks, and maybe eventually go meet this so-called ‘Evil Lord’. He seemed like a chill guy from what the Knight had told me.

As I got closer to the giant doors of the town, I realized there was quite a long queue to enter. It seemed like the soldiers were checking everyone’s bags and… Papers? Hm… I might have to tell them they were stolen by bandits or something since I don’t know what they’d do if I said I was summoned by the king and then kicked out.

I caught up to the entrance and waited as the line progressed slowly.

“Hello there,” I heard. I looked up from my phone and saw one of the soldiers talking to me with a smile.

“Hi!” I replied enthusiastically as I put away my phone in my pocket.

“What was that?” he asked curiously.

“Oh, just something I bought from a peddler on the road. It looked interesting, but I still have no idea what it does,” I said nonchalantly as I shrugged.

“I see,” the soldier said. “Have you got any identification on you?” he asked.

“No, when I was travelling, I met some bandits and they tried to rob me,” I said in a depressed tone. “I ran away from them, but I think I dropped my papers during that time. I’m sorry.”

The smile stayed on the soldier’s face as he waved away my concerns. “Don’t worry about it!” he said and gestured to someone behind him. Another man, this one clad in full-length purple robes approached with a glass tablet like the one in the palace. “Just put your hand on here, and I’ll confirm you aren’t a criminal,” the soldier said with a thumbs up.

“Yeah, okay,” I said, nodding. I lifted my hand and placed my palm on the tablet. A warm feeling rushed through my arm and instantly the tablet turned green.

“Great! You’re good to go!” the soldier said. “Just make sure to either go to the Town Hall or the Guild to get another identification issued and even register as an adventurer.”

“I will. Thank you very much!” I replied as another soldier ushered me in to keep the crowd flowing.

As I walked through the town, I noticed right away the stares I was attracting. The green digital camo uniform that I had on was probably the weirdest thing the townspeople had seen anyone wearing. I’ll have to get a change of clothes as soon as possible. That also reminds me… I haven’t eaten anything for almost a full day.

“Hm…” I hummed. I should probably ask someone about this town.

---

“Holy shit,” I whispered, staring up at the giant building in front of me. It looked almost like a mini palace. Or even a giant mansion. I know the technology of this world wasn’t nearly as advanced as on Earth, but damn, if this ain’t proof of the ingenuity of humans, I don’t know what is.

 I noticed that the doors were already open, and from inside I could hear the voices of people, so I decided to just walk in.

As I stepped into the guild, the sight that greeted me was like one straight out of a fantasy manga. All around the guild floor, there were round tables with chairs that many people were seated on. On the far right, there was what looked like a bar with a few attractive women working as barmaids. On the far left, it looked like there was a gift shop of some sort. And in the back was a reception area with five men and women seated behind the long table, either talking to each other or doing some work. Overall, the atmosphere of the guild was loud and bustling, almost as if it was just another government office.

I guess the reception area is probably where I should ask to register.

As I walked towards the reception desk, slowly the noise around me died down and one-by-one everyone took an interest in me. Most likely because of my uniform that I was still wearing. I didn’t mind it too much though. I loved my uniform and would wear it proudly, no matter what.

“Excuse me,” I said to the woman who was seated in the middle.

“Yes, how may I help you?” she said as she looked up with a smile. She had golden eyes and long curly brown hair. It almost reminded me of Wiz from Konosuba, except her hair didn’t block her face at all.

“I’m just looking to register in the guild. I had my ID papers stolen during my journey,” I said, mirroring her smile.

“That can be done,” she said. “However, if you’re only looking to register to obtain identification, I believe the town hall may be better suited for that.”

I nodded. What she said made sense, but I didn’t only want an ID. “Yes, of course, but I would like to work as an adventurer also,” I replied.

“Hah!” came a loud shout from behind me somewhere. “You think you have what it takes, big man?”

And there it was. The confrontation I dreaded.

I decided to ignore the provocation for now and continue with the registration. “Is there a form I need to fill out or something? Or a test I need to do?” I asked the woman.

“Yes,” she answered and fetched a piece of paper… rather, parchment paper from under her desk. “All you need to fill out is your name, your level, and your hometown if you have one,” she said, handing it to me along with what looked like a pencil.

“OI! Don’t ignore me!” the person shouted from behind me again.

I ignored him once again and started filling out my information. For my name, I filled out Peter Bell. For my level, I filled out fifty-three. And for the hometown, I just left it blank.

“Here you go,” I said as I handed the paper back to her. I heard snickers and laughs from behind me as I kept ignoring the loud guy.

“Thank you,” she replied, putting the paper in a pile with others and bringing out a glass tablet from underneath the table. “You will need to put your palm on this, just to make sure you are not a criminal.”

As I lifted my hand, I heard the clattering of wood and the noise of a chair being pushed back. Juuuust great. I really hoped it wouldn’t come to this… but I guess I haven’t got a choice now. I’ll still try to end it without any fights though. I continued with my actions and placed my palm on the glass tablet. It turned green, just like the one at the town entrance.

“Perfect. You are good to go. Please return here later to pick up your Adventurer Card and complete the test,” the woman said just as I heard the footsteps behind me coming closer.

“What type of test?” I asked. And that was when a hand gripped my shoulder. It was quite a light grip and I could’ve shaken it off easily, but I wanted to make an example out of this guy.

“You will learn now why you should never ignore Faus the Wall,” the voice said.

I finally turned around to look at him. He was a tall muscular guy with a handlebar mustache and a bald head. He wore a large, thick shield on his back and his clothes looked just like any other adventurer’s clothes.

“I’m in the middle of something right now. I’ll deal with you later,” I said as I shook off his grip and turned to the receptionist. “Don’t you have some authority figure to deal with people like him?” I asked her.

The man snarled from behind me and yelled. “Oi!” But before he could say anything further, the receptionist spoke up.

“Actually, are you willing to do the test right now?” she asked me. “Because if so, we could just test your skills against Faus and assign you a rank and an Adventurer Card right away.”

The man laughed out loud before saying, “Yes! I’ll teach this prick what it means to be an adventurer!” he said and stomped off towards one of the doors at the back.

I saw him leave and then looked back at the receptionist. “Is there a chance I could die during this test?” I asked her.

“Yes. There is always a chance an Adventurer can die at any time. This is what we try to teach new adventurers. It is not an easy life,” she said.

I nodded. That makes sense. But the fact that she is trying to make me go up against someone who already hates me combined with the very real chance of death made me suspicious of her. “Why only him though?” I asked her. “Wasn’t there anyone else you could’ve set me up against?”

“No, I’m sorry,” she shook her head. “Faus was the only C-rank available right now.”

C-rank… of course. It’s always the C-ranks that are the cockiest. Oh well…

“And if during this fight, he dies because of me, will I get in trouble?” I asked finally.

“Not at all. Faus knows the risks and he willingly stepped up to be your opponent,” she said professionally, but I didn’t miss the small, amused smirk that flashed across her face.

It seems that she thinks he can’t lose. So not only did she seem like a bitch, but she’s also unprofessional. Very well. I didn’t want to do this, but if it’s a real test, it would only be fair that I go all out… Right?

“Great. Thanks a lot. Where is the test going to take place?” I asked, mentally preparing myself for this.

“Please, follow me,” she replied as she stood up and walked around the reception table.