A beam of light peered through the slight gap in the curtains. The morning sunshine fell directly on the Otherworlder’s eyes from the gap.

The Otherworlder’s eyes fluttered from the light as they opened up. He immediately squinted and flipped on his side to avoid the sunlight. Closing his eyes, the Otherworlder tried to sleep again.

“Ah, damn it.”

He was awake now, and letting the light come in bothered him. With gritted teeth, the Otherworlder pushed the blanket away and sat up on his bed. Strands of his long wheat hair stuck out from his head while his heavy eyes struggled to stay open. The Otherworlder sighed and closed the curtain.

The side table next to his single bed had a small table clock on it.

“6 AM. You’re fucking kidding me.”

With another sigh, the Otherworlder shuffled off the bed and went to wash his face. Two days had passed since he had returned from the dungeon after raiding the boss.

Though Aida had avoided any major injury, Vollrath had a broken rib that would take a couple of weeks to heal. On the brighter side, the rampage of the Boss used up so much of the dungeon’s energy that they harvested a much greater loot than they had imagined.

When the adventurer guild’s manager saw the amount of magic crystals they brought from the dungeon, he gasped in surprise. Apparently, this much was more than enough to weaken the artificial dungeon for almost an entire month. In the end, the situation ended with both Iatra and Sanguine Snakes gaining a lot of fame alongside Eilhard being promoted from a Wood to an Iron ranked adventurer.

The Sanguine Snakes had asked him to join their party permanently. A powerful group whom he had experience and good synergy with. There was no need to even think.

He turned them down in a heartbeat.

With a towel slung over his shoulders, the Otherworlder went up to a mirror and started brushing his messy hair. He really felt awake after drowning his eyes in water. He had woken up much earlier than usual. The Otherworlder had ended up with ample of time on his hand, not like he had anything special to do.

The Otherworlder set the comb on the table and went towards the small kitchen in the tiny room. He had been renting the room at this inn since before he went out to Andata to hunt for Necromancer Shil.

To think the whole city was burned down not soon after.

The Otherworlder pulled out the coffee and sugar from the overhead shelves as he began preparing a hot cup of coffee. He wasn’t a very passionate drinker of coffee, but enjoyed a good cup now and then.

Black coffee with two teaspoons of sugar.

He preferred it exactly like that.

Placing the cup in a saucer, the Otherworlder took it to the small coffee table and the single chair he had brought for his room. Then, he quickly grabbed the newspaper placed outside his door and fully opened up the curtains and the windows in his room.

The Otherworlder stretched his arms and back by lifting them up and finally took a seat. He crossed his legs and flipped open the newspaper, keeping it in one hand while sipping the coffee with the other.

“Early mornings don’t feel that bad. I should probably wake up early every day.”

As he said those words, his eyes narrowed.

Some things didn’t change even when one ended up in a different world. Just how many times had he told himself he would wake up early and go for a walk or wake up early and try out studying? It was a strange sensation.

Shaking his head, the Otherworlder took another sip of his coffee and put his attention back to the newspaper. The local newspaper had quite a lot of information about different things. From the fashion trends of nobility and celebrities to the details of monster invasions and events of terrorism in different places.

“Hm, a portal opened rather close by. That’s quite a lot of deaths.”

Events of portals and new dungeons alongside battles between powerful entities or acts of terrorism were barely a rarity. The Otherworlder briefly glanced through the titles and read whichever one interested him.

It seemed there was still nothing about the hero of the country and even the incident in Andata had been completely forgotten.

“Coo! Coo!”

The sound of cooing interrupted the Otherworlder. He turned towards the window to see a glowing blue pigeon sitting at the windowsill while bobbing its head front and back.

The Otherworlder lowered his newspaper and furrowed his eyebrows at the pigeon. Wasn’t their last meeting just a few days before he went to Andata? What did that person want now?

With a sigh, the Otherworlder placed the newspaper on the table and stood up. “Got it,” he said, and the pigeon flew away while cooing.

A good use had come up for his early morning.

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ ⟨ ⏣ ⟩ ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

Donning his mahogany coat over a new pair of a black shirt and trousers, the Otherworlder set out from his home and into the pleasant streets.

The morning sunlight felt much more inviting and pleasant than when it had woken him up. It was bright enough to give the sky a blue hue but also dark enough to feel soft on one’s eyes and skin. Rejuvenating even.

While it was a hassle, the Otherworlder didn’t dislike meeting his old friend again. And the morning air made it even more pleasant. He didn’t think it before leaving his home, but now he was slightly looking forward to it.

The Otherworlder walked through the stone streets with a steady gate. He passed by the beautiful buildings made of bricks and mortar and also many fountains carved with delicate stone art.

Old people sat around on the benches, sprinkling bits of bread here and there as dozens of birds gathered around them. Morning deliverymen were still making their rounds while staff from different cafes and restaurants readied up for their preparations. Sweepers dusted the dirt and fallen leaves off the stony roads while the smell of freshly baked breads wafted through the air.

The Otherworlder felt a stark difference between the town now and the town in the afternoon.

After a long walk, the Otherworlder found himself on the opposite end of the town in front of a small library. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Rows of shelves filled with books flooded the sunlit space, leaving just a narrow area to walk in. At the reception right next to the door was an old man cleaning his glasses. The Otherworlder lightly bowed his head at the man, who responded with a smile.

The Otherworlder walked through the rows of shelves and went straight to the farthest corner of the library.

A few books on magic and politics were stacked on the table. Reading one of the books at a leisurely pace was a robed person.

The Otherworlder pulled out a chair from the table and sat down next to the robed person. His eyes fell over the titles of the books on the table as the robed person spoke up.

“You are having an early morning today.”

“Of course. I didn’t want to miss your call…

…Transmigrator.“