Eternally Regressing in Another World

Chapter 29: Square 24: Reunion at the Run-Down Inn (1)

It was already past 19:00, and the surroundings had gone completely dark. I pulled up the hood Elizabeth had given me and wandered along the busiest streets I could find. My footsteps echoed against the roughly paved road as I stared absently at the letter of introduction Old Man Beard had given me.

"Now that I think about it, even with a carriage, I don’t really have anywhere to go, ...huh."

For now, I tucked the letter in with the rest of the papers in my bag. First things first, I needed to secure somewhere to sleep tonight. Whether it came to fighting or just surviving, none of it meant anything without food, clothing, and shelter secured. What I was looking for was somewhere absurdly cheap, ignoring cleanliness or atmosphere entirely. Since I wanted to save money, the cheaper the better. And sure enough, places like that exist everywhere.

"Found one... though, hm."

The sign was too worn to read. The walls had holes scattered here and there, rats came and went freely without a care, and mushrooms sprouted here and there too. Calling it a building at all felt questionable, that’s how run down it was. In exchange, one night cost a whopping 400 yen! My entire remaining fortune was 52,640 yen. Based on that, I could afford about four months of lodging here.

"No room to be picky at this point. Money’s going to matter a lot going forward, gotta be careful with it."

Steeling myself with that thought, I pushed open the door. The instant I did, a smell like rotting garbage hit me straight in the nose.

"Oogh!"

As I involuntarily scrunched up my face, the person leaning back at the front counter spoke up.

"Oh, a customer?"

Standing there was the innkeeper, eyes vacant like someone using something seriously unpleasant on a regular basis. Glaring at me with an extremely irritable expression, though the face was so wrinkled I honestly couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman. Countless needle marks lined the crossed arms, and flies buzzed around a greasy, shiny head.

"Um... ugh!?"

Stepping closer, I realized the garbage smell was coming straight from the innkeeper themselves. The overwhelming odor coming off their body made it impossible to breathe. Not wanting to open my mouth, I just nodded vertically. Honestly, I was already close to giving up.

"How many nights? 400 yen a night. Pay up already."

I wanted to run, but that stare was too terrifying to turn my back on. The moment I turned around, I half expected a blade to come flying at me. I set 400 yen down on the counter, keeping as much distance from the innkeeper as I could.

"Room 203, second floor. Use this for the key."

What came out was a rusted padlock. ...Of course it would be.

"Works from either side, in or out. And if you get robbed, that’s not my problem."

The smell was too overwhelming for much of what was said to actually register. Holding my breath, I nodded repeatedly and hurried up the stairs.

"Bwahh, haah, haah... what was that? Seriously, what was that?"

Whether they just hated baths or not, I have no idea, but you’d think a front desk clerk could at least manage basic cleanliness. Was this really what a truly cheap inn looked like? This other world was terrifying.

"Alright, here’s the real problem."

The room I’d be sleeping in tonight. Even if the innkeeper was terrifying, even reeking enough to make your nose fall off, even absurdly filthy, I could still stomach that. So please, at the very least, let this be a room fit for a human being! I steeled myself and opened the door.

"...Huh?"

The room was actually pretty tidy. Clean enough that I could comfortably live here if I had to. But there was one problem. Sitting quietly in the middle of the room, a small figure. There, reading a book, was a girl who looked about elementary school age. I recognized that figure immediately.

"...Shiran?"

"Ah, the tomato mister..."

This was the girl from the plaza. But why was she in this room? Just then, I heard footsteps rushing up the stairs.

"Hey, you! Sorry, got the room number wrong. Your room’s actually next door, 204."

Both Shiran and I pinched our noses against the awful smell wafting in.

"Well, that’s that."

Saying that, the innkeeper went back downstairs. Seriously careless person. And that smell.

"Hey, tomato mister."

"Hm? Ah, sorry for barging in like that."

"...Got any food?"

"Huh?"

Shiran’s stomach let out a small growl.

"...Are you hungry?"

Shiran nodded slightly.

"Your parents?"

"Not here. Mom died too."

"...Ah, sorry."

A rough place, this kingdom. Yu had only turned out fine because I happened to be there, purely by chance, in reality she would’ve ended up living all alone. This girl was probably in a similar situation. But what to do, the tomatoes from earlier were obviously long gone. ...Guess I’ll go buy some.

"What do you want to eat?"

"...You’ll go buy it?"

"Yeah, though nothing too expensive, that’d be a bit much."

"But it’s not fair, this late at night..."

"It’s fine. Besides, I’m hungry myself right now too. So this is just killing two birds with one stone."

"...Then, I want meat."

"Got it, I’ll be right back."

"Okay!"

Glowing stones hung from wooden posts in place of streetlights, casting a beautiful light over the town. A busier road at night meant a lower chance of getting jumped, at least somewhat. And I was taller than most people around here, so hopefully that meant I wasn’t a priority target. Well, that logic falls apart the moment you step into a back alley. Still, while keeping watch to avoid getting attacked myself, I passed by theft, assault, extortion, fights. Scenes that would’ve had police rushing over instantly back in Japan. Anything short of murder was probably just an everyday occurrence around here. For what it’s worth, the person being ganged up on earlier had been saved just by shouting for help loudly. Good enough, I’ll take it. But the crime happening right in front of me now, I wanted to stop this one somehow. Right nearby, a young woman was being held with her mouth covered by several men, being dragged toward a back alley. It wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen to her after that.

"Mmph!!! Mmmph!!!"

She struggled, but was still being dragged deeper into the alley. Should I try shouting for help like before? But there was no guarantee that would scare off the culprits this time. I checked inside my bag, and what caught my eye was the revolver Old Man Beard had given me. But that wouldn’t work. No way to aim properly in a dark place like this, and if I got unlucky, I might hit her instead. Something else, anything? No time left. ...Wait, I could use this!

Deep in the back alley, four men stood there breathing heavily. The woman thrashed desperately trying to escape, but it only seemed to excite the men further. Their grip tightened, a hand reaching toward her skirt. Right then, a sound echoed behind the men.

"What was that!?"

The man turned around to find a small, palm sized red object.

"What is this? A box?"

[Beep beep, 10]

"Hey, something’s making a weird noise."

[Beep beep, 9] [Beep beep, 8]

"Wait... don’t tell me this is..."

[Beep beep, 7] [Beep beep, 6]

"Th-that’s a bomb!?"