Chapter 12: Onwards to the City-State Morika

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TN: Remember from here on, please assume that Kelt uses watashi (feminine I) when speaking but ore (masculine I) for internal monologue. I will indicate with those colours, and if a different pronoun is used for some reason, I will indicate with small text above (ruby text) as it’s probably relevant in some way. I will do the same for other characters not using their usual pronoun.

Mouseover the text to read the romaji!


Leaving the inn, our party headed north. After walking for about 2 hours, a large building gradually came into view at the horizon. That must surely be the largest city, and capital of the Once Region, the city-state Morika.

As we continued to walk further, the sheer size of the city became apparent as we approached it. The city was surrounded by large walls, and at the entrance was a huge gatehouse with large sturdy doors that appeared to be made of Osmanthus or similarly heavy wood. The gate was guarded by men wearing heavy armour, who were probably soldiers of this country.

And so, we eventually came to the city’s entrance.

「Whoahh….. it’s really big yeah?」

「Wow, I’ve only ever seen something like this in games….. It’s far more impressive when seen for real…」

Sarah and Euvis look up at the towering gate.

「So jus’ how d’we go in?」

Dan turns his head left and right, looking around the entrance.

「Errr, first we have to go talk to the gatekeeper and pay the entrance fee to enter the city.」

「Wait, Sarah…. We have to pay a fee to enter the city?!」

「Yup! That’s why mom gave me enough money to cover everyone’s entrance fee, so we’ll be fine!」

「Eh? Elma-san did that?!」

「She figured you all didn’t even know about the entrance fee, so she gave me the money. Ah! Please don’t worry about it! The entrance fee is cheap, just 100G.」

Elma-san… what a nice person she is. To think she’d even cover the entrance fee for all of us, since we don’t know anything. I’ll have to properly thank her one of these days.

「Sarah, thanks for this. I mean it.」

When I bowed down to thank Sarah, she got a little flustered.

「It’s fine, really! Come on, let’s get on with the entry procedures!」

As we approach the gate, guards on either side step out to block the way. Seen up close, the armour the guards wear look to be of high quality and judging by how shiny their armour is, they must surely be top-notch knights. The guards used the spears in their hand to make a threatening gesture.

「This is Morika, the largest city in the Once Region, and home to our god Riveamur-sama. For what reason do you seek entry into this city?」

Sarah steps in front of us.

「We’ve come here to do some shopping! After all, Morika has an amazing variety of things on sale ♡」

「I see. Very well then, I expect you’re prepared to pay the tithe of 100G?」

「Yes, here you are!」

Sarah took out a small bag from her pocket and handed it to the gatekeeper. After counting the money, he indicated to the guards who then moved aside.

「Well received! I welcome you to the city protected by the god of love and good harvest!!」

At the sound of the gatekeepers voice, the large gate opens with a loud noise.

「Right, let’s head on in!」
-said Sarah as she proceeded through the gate. We too proceeded to follow her inside.

As soon as we entered the city, we were greeted by a crowded scenery, with many people bustling about. There was a large main street lined with shops and stalls, like you would see at a Japanese festival, selling all kinds of things from food, fruit and fish to necklaces and accessories. The large number of people was slightly disorienting, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Tokyo which I’d once visited in my past life.

「What’dya think?」

Sarah asks, looking right into my face. You could clearly see the excitement on her face.

「It’s a real surprise! We’ve barely encountered anyone until now, but there are so many people here」

「Of late it’s been getting dangerous to go outside, so unless they need to go out, everyone stays in the city. It’s like a year-round festival ♪」

「Sarah-chan, have you been here before?」

「Yup! When I was younger, my mom and dad would bring me here all the time! … but, after my dad died, my mom would take care of all the shopping herself, so I haven’t been here in awhile.」

Sarah’s expression turned sad for a moment, but she quickly raised her head and smiled.

「Though, thanks to Kelt-chan and all of you, I got a change to come here again! Thank you so much!」

This girl is really strong. Despite having lost a family member, she continues to be positive and moves forward with her life. Truly amazing. Elma-san is surely the same too.

I gently patted Sarah’s head.

「Kelt-chya~aan!!!!!!! ♡♡♡

「Stop hugging me out of the blue like that already!!」

Sarah waited until she calmed down. You need to stop with these surprise hug attacks already…

「Well then, I’m going to go ahead and do my shopping, so you guys should go check out the stores n’ stuff!」

「Sarah, will you be okay on your own? Isn’t it dangerous for a girl to go off on her own?」

Yushiris seems to have been concerned.

「Nah, I’m familiar with this place, so I’ll be fine on my own! There are all sorts of things here at this market ya know! Why don’t you all go take a look? Let’s meet back at that plaza there in an hour’s time, so you won’t have to worry about getting lost! 」

Sarah pointed to an open square just beyond this boulevard. The large fountain in the middle of the plaza made for a good landmark that was easy to find.

「Well then, I’m headed off!」

Saying thus, Sarah disappeared into the crowd with her basket in hand. After seeing Sarah off, Euvis said with a bitter smile-
「Well… if we stay on this street we won’t get lost as long as we don’t turn off anywhere. Why don’t we go have a look around?」

「Yea let’s go have a look see! There might be some interesting stuff around.」

As per Sarah’s suggestion, I decided to go take a look around this market. Some of the stuff being sold were things just like in our previous world, such as apples, bananas, oranges and even fish that looked like salmon. They all looked like that had been freshly picked and might be fresher and tastier than anything you’d find at a supermarket.

「Hey, you lot!! Not seen ya’ faces before. Ya’ll new in town? Give this a try!」

When we passed by a shop selling meat, a friendly uncle gave us some samples to try. They were skewers. Skewers of some lizard like creature that most definitely did not exist in our old world. Surprisingly, the guys all seemed bewildered at the thought of eating this unfamiliar food.

「Is this edible? It’s a lizard right?」

「Well, ya know, we’re experiencing a foreign culture for the first time. We shouldn’t judge it based purely on appearance…」

Ama and Euvis didn’t dare bring the roasted lizard to their mouth. Frankly, the skewered lizard looked rather grotesque and was far from appetizing. To put it simply, its just like Warasubo[1] .

Seeing the guys’ reactions, I just casually popped it into my mouth.

「*hup!*  *nom nom…*

Seeing me bite into it with gusto, they stopped and looked at me in shock.

「You really that hungry? Wuz it taste like?」

The meat of the lizard like thing was firm, but it tasted rather like chicken. Seasoned with a soy sauce like base, and fragrant spices, it was really tasty. This is good stuff.

Delish~♪  Ojisan, this is really good!!

「That’s good to know!! This Grilled Minilizard is one of this town’s specialities!! Lil’ girl, you’re really cute, so I’ll let ya have 6 o’ these for free!!」

Thanks, Ojichan ♪!

Seeing as we have no money, it’s really lucky to get these for free.

After that….

The auntie at the fruit shop also favoured me.

Ara~ ♡, You’re such a doll~ Here, have this!」
-and gave me a platter of fruits.

Even the uncle at the accessory shop,
「I have a granddaughter just as cute as you. You look just like her. I don’t need this necklace, here take it.」
-and gave me a necklace.

And on and on it went like that. I don’t know if it’s due to my mero-mero[2] power or what, but the people in this market seem to love to give cute girls things for free. You’d never dream of this happening in Japan. Everyone is so nice.

「You’re really something….. I mean yea, you’re really cute n all, but to think you’d go so far」

Euvis stared at me disapprovingly, but I was too busy enjoying the free lollipop I got from the candy store, to pay him any attention.

Tired of walking, we decided head early to the plaza to rest. The plaza had benches, so we sat down, and while enjoying some of the free food I got, we overheard a few aunties gossip, and tuned in to listen.

「Did you hear? Apparently slavers have even started coming to this city of late. They attack lone people where no one’s around, enslave them, and then cart them off elsewhere to be sold~」

「Oh, how frightening~  we’ve got to be more careful~」

It seems slavery still exists in this world.

At the time, all I knew about it was this ominous story that I’d just heard.


At a different place.

「ngh… where am I?」

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a dimly lit room. There was just a small lamp giving a faint illumination, such that I couldn’t see much around the room. All I knew was that I was in some sort of cage.

「Huh…? I think…. After parting with the guys, I went off shopping….」

I couldn’t remember what happened after that. Why am I here? My mind’s is sort of in a daze.

「Ah, you’re awake. Are you okay~?」

I heard a boy’s voice behind me, and surprised, I turned around to find a boy in the same cage as me.

「Who are you?」

Iboku am~ Ukyou, no…. now it’s Mefuyu. We’re in a slaver’s warehouse. Where did you come from~?」

I had no idea what was going on, but one thought immediately came to mind….

You guys…. please save me…



TN: Looks like Kelt is overflowing with kawaii power!! ^^
Also hmmm… Ukyou is a boy eh?


[1] Warasubo (Odontamblyopus lacepedii) is a kind of alien looking fish found in east asia – see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4begVbeRnc

[2] Meromero (メロメロ) roughly means to be enchanted or fall madly in love. It’s sort of an otaku term. You find it used at maid cafes n stuff.


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