I woke up with my face looking up at the ceiling. When I tried to stand up, I felt dizzy and wanted to vomit. I was out of energy, too, and my stomach loudly growled. Though I knew I was feeling under the weather, I still managed to sit myself upright in the somewhat comfy bed.

I started to look at the environment. My earlier suspicion turned into a horrifying fact as I noticed the room I was in wasn’t my room. I could see high quality furniture in the room such as couch, table, and a wardrobe. The door and windows were open to let the air come in. Overall, it was good enough for some rich person to sleep in.

I looked outside through the window. It was dawn. I vaguely saw houses and buildings that I didn’t recognize, cementing more the fact that I was in another world. The thought of being in another world was horrifying, I could barely accept the fact that I would be living here.

My hands trembled. I tried to keep them shut but the trembling wouldn’t stop. I didn't even have the strength to keep them closed for a long time.

“Are you okay?” I heard a voice.

As I was looking down at my hands, I raised my head up to find a girl with a tray on her hands. There was a bowl in it with smoke coming out on top of it.

“Y-Yes, I am —“

That was...strange. I tried to speak English but for some reason, it didn’t come out. What came out, though, was another language that I did not know but could speak it properly. I also understood what she said, the words I heard was English. Was this the skill that Shakna gave me? It sure was handy.

“Is there something wrong?” the girl asked.

“Yes. I’m sorry but where am I?”

“You’re in Arina’s orphanage. The owner, Ms. Arina, brought you here when she had found you unconscious on the street. You had been bedridden for two days and had a fever.” She gently placed the tray on my legs. “This is for you.”

“Thank you.” I kindly said. As I looked at the food, it was a soup. It was hot, so it was newly made. There was a couple of weird looking thing but overall, it looked edible. Heck, I’d eat anything right now just to shut up my growling stomach.

“No need to thank me. It was an order by my Master.” The girl indifferently said but for some reason, she was tense.

Master? Isn’t it a bit strange to call someone like that?

“I see…” Ignoring everything but my growling stomach, I started to eat.

As I was eating, the girl stood over there just like how maids did. It was an uncomfortable feeling, someone watching me eat.

“Uhm…would you like some?”

“No, thank you.”

“Is there a problem? I’m not really fond of someone watching me eat…”

“Is that so? Well then, I’ll take my leave.” She bowed and started to leave.

“Wait! Just don’t stare at me please. I still do have some questions…”

“I understand.” The girl then stood to the left side of the bed. She then sat down and faced towards the window. “What are your questions?”

“Well, I’d like to get your name first…”

“Merry.”

“I’m Terrin Tachibana. It’s nice to meet you.” I spoke amiably, hoping it would break the ice.

“I see. You have an odd name.” she quickly rebutted.

“That’s the first time I heard that, haha…Anyway, is Ms. Arina home? I would like to thank her for picking me up in the street.”

“Yes, sometimes my master does pick up weird people when she goes home. My master’s out right now but she’ll be coming home later.”

I looked at the girl that was seated at the bed. She had an average height for a woman, maybe five feet. The color of her hair was navy blue and she had her hair tied as a ponytail. She was wearing a long sleeve and pants. There was also a symbol on the back of her neck, a circle of some sort.

“You should eat that already and please, stop staring at me.”

“Ish nyelicius, my nya way.” I was munching on the meat-like food and it was delicious or maybe I was just really hungry.

“Please prioritize eating.”

I drunk the soup which tasted a bit sour and refreshing, it also wasn’t heavy but was enough to satisfy my hunger. She took the tray and started to leave.

“Hey, what am I supposed to do now?”

“If you’d like, you can take a look at the orphanage. I have something to do, so if you would excuse me.” She then pass through the door and disappeared.

What should I do? I'd always been that kind of guy who think first before what he should do. I was not the type to recklessly just charge in without doing some scouting first.

Bit by bit, strength was returning to my body and I could now move my body the way I wanted it to.

For now, I'd do some stretching.

I removed the blanket and got off the bed. The floor was a bit cold as it was made from stone. I was wearing a shirt and pants which were not mine. Incidentally, the clothes that I was wearing were also a shirt and pants, I also had a hoodie and a small bag which had my belongings in there.

I wonder if I lost my bag when I was unconscious.

I started to stretch my body, doing all the warm-ups that I could remember. The sounds of popping can be heard from my body as I stretched, which felt good.

After stretching, I decided to go outside of the room. Though I was still afraid of what I will find, nothing good was going to come out if I just stayed in the room. I stood before the door. I grabbed the handle and just stood there, hesitant whether to open it or not.

Opening this door would mean that I would be taking my first step outside of this room. I could just go back to the bed and sleep, hoping that this would all make sense. I remembered the woman that I was with in my dreams and somehow thinking of her gave me…courage. So, I opened the door and outside I went.

*

After exiting the room, I was in a hallway. It was dark. There were barely any lights and there was no window. I started grabbing to the wall. I made my way where there was light radiating under the door to the other end of the hallway.

I could hear sounds of screeching, laughter and shouting as I was getting nearer to the door. When I slowly opened the door to take a peek, I saw boys and girls cleaning a garden while others were playing. Eventually, a boy saw me and pointed his finger at me.

“Hey, the weird guy is awake!”

All the people that were cleaning and playing looked at me. After seeing me, they hurriedly went to me like a moth to a flame. With eyes of admiration, they asked me one by one.

“Where are you from?”

“Are you from another country?”

“What were those weird things you were wearing?”

“Mister, would you like a flower?”

Okay, the little girl with the flower was pretty cute. There were about four children flocking to me and asking me questions. Also, Merry, the girl from earlier, was in the corner, sweeping the leaves.

“Children, don’t bother him!” Someone shouted.

It was a young man, maybe the same age as me. All the children stopped and went back to what they were doing. He seemed to be the one looking after these children.

“I am truly sorry about that. Please forgive these children, milord.”

Milord?

“It’s all right.”

“Thank you for your kindness. Someone with your ranking should be treated with utmost care.” The man was weirdly polite.

Ranking?

“I think there’s some misunderstanding here.”

“Yes, you’re right, milord.” he glared at me for a second. “I can’t believe I haven’t returned your belongings!” he then looked at Merry and rudely told her to get my belongings. A few seconds later, I saw my clothes and my bag in her hands. She gave it to me respectfully, a complete contrast to her icy personality.

He didn’t need to be rude. The man was still smiling but I knew that was superficial, so it became irritating.

I checked my belongings and all my stuff was still there. Phone, charging cable, earphone, my wallet, a bottle of water, a bunch of candies and chocolate. As for the clothes, it was properly folded and taken care of, so I assume they’re still okay. My shoes were also there.

“Thank you, Merry.” I smiled. After that she bowed and quickly left. I asked the man. “Are you one of the owners of this orphanage?”

“I am but a humble servant. If you are looking for milady, she is out on an errand but should be coming back soon. For now, I shall be the one to take care of your needs, milord.”

“Okay. Do you know where I am?”

“Hmmm, maybe you’ve not yet recovered properly.” The man contemplated. “You are in the town of Roq. Shakna the Witch had been defeated recently and there was a festival in the town to celebrate it. You collapsed on the parade where the benelovent Lady Arisa had found you.”

So there was a parade. I wondered if I was summoned to this town because she was nearby.

“But isn’t it wonderful? One of those detestable witches was finally rid of this world! I would pay any amount of money just to see one of those detestable, loathsome, wicked witches being stabbed endlessly.” The man was in pure bliss.

For some reason, I really wanted to get a knife and stab this man repeatedly until he died.

What a weird feeling...

I must have done something because the man was palpably scared.

I blinked a few times and worryingly asked the man “Is there something wrong?”

“N-No…” he composed himself for about a second as I looked at him with complete confusion. “What would you like to do this morning?” he asked me.

“I think I’ll go back to my room for now. Call me when Ms. Arina is here.”

“As you wish.” He bowed and I went back to the room.

I really didn’t want to explore much of the orphanage, so when I went back to the room, I organize and took list of my stuff.

First, as usual, I went to check my phone. The phone I was holding in my hand was about a year old and was neither big nor small, it was also enough for me to browse the net and play games. I pressed the power button and it started up. I wondered if the time here was the same time in my world.

I typed my password and immediately saw the picture of my cat, which was my wallpaper. There were no signal and new messages. The battery percentage was at 80%, seeing that I didn’t use it much that day. I turned off the phone since I didn’t have a charger, saving the phone would be in my best interest.

I checked my wallet and saw that there were only eight of gold-colored coins.

Going out sure was costly.

I put down my wallet and stared at my belongings that was scattered in the bed.

So these are the only things I have to remind me of my world, huh? I wonder what happened after I disappeared. I wonder what that stupid cat is doing right now. Will my parents take care of him when I’m gone? Man, I also wanted to finish that series…

As I thought of the stuff that I left behind, a knock came from the door. When I said “Come in!” the servant came in or in other words, Merry came in. The girl wasn’t dressed in her previous attire but in her servant attire which consist of a bodice, black dress, white apron and a headband. It looked good on her.

“My master is here and she requests your presence.” The girl politely announced.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll be right there; I’ll just wear my clothes.”

As I was fixing my stuff, she just kept staring at me. After staring at me for awhile, with her hands behind her back and her cold eyes staring at me, she solemnly asked “Are you really a noble?”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense and I could feel something scary was happening.

What happened? Why is she being hostile right now? I stood still, not knowing what was happening.

“N-No, I am not. Who said I was, anyway?” My body decided to tell the truth. Not because it was the right thing but it was one of those moment where instinct took over.

Her body relaxed and life returned to her eyes. She put something in her pocket, though I didn’t see what it was.

“Yes, you’re way of handling yourself doesn’t remind me of a noble one bit. It’s more of a peasant.” With that last remark, she went outside the room.

She got no chill. I wore my clothes and headed outside, accompanied by Merry.

*

“Who are you?” in a low-pitch voice, she asked me.

Merry led me to the inner part of the orphanage. This time we were in a meeting room, with bookshelves and tables arrange beautifully and orderly. There was a woman who was seated in a couch and the man from before standing by her side.

You can describe the woman as having a plump body and one of those grumpy caretakers.

I seated on the opposite side and said “I’m just wandering traveler from another town looking for a job.”

That was right. I decided, while walking here, to come up with an excuse from where I came from.

She facepalmed herself. “I thought you were a noble or a rich merchant.” She said in a regretful way.

“Why did you think of that?”

“Your clothes and belongings are things I’ve never heard nor seen of. Your body is in great shape and your face doesn’t look like ragged, indicating that you’ve never work a thing in your life.”

Is that how people really perceive me?

“Anyway, just pay me the necessary fee for taking care of you in two days." she said as she sighed. "I thought I would get something from you.” She said in a dejected way.

“But I don’t have any money.”

“I don’t care. You either pay me or I tell the authorities.” She was being callous.

Well, I was in trouble. I didn’t have any money that was from this world and I didn't know how to get a job, let alone get paid for it.

“How about I work for you in a week? Surely that would be enough.”

“Hmmm…I do need Frunk’s help for the next couple of days…” She contemplated. “Okay, that would suffice.” I assume Frunk was the man standing ny her side. He was glaring at me with such malicious intent. His pride must have been damaged, respecting an inferior person like me. Arina’s mood changed and must be because she got something out of this.

“Since you’ll be working for me, Merry, her, will show you around.” She pointed at Merry. “You can get started tomorrow, so get out of my sight.”

With that being said, Merry and I left the room. She told me that I should move my items to where the servants sleep and accompanied me there. After that, she measured my body so that she can prepare my servants attire.

The next thing was we ate lunch. After eating and resting for a bit, Merry toured me all over the orphanage, explaining how things work around here. Lastly, we ate dinner and went to our rooms. By the way, all of that happened while she was treating me coldly.

I lied down on my bed with fatigue making it presence known in my mind and body. I covered myself with the blanket as the coldness dominated the room.

It was my first day here. There were a lot of things that I didn’t know which was scary and fun at the same time. I tried to think about what would happen tomorrow but as I was very sleepy, I couldn’t keep myself from thinking. The only thing I could remember before drifting away was…

“What will happen to me now…?”