Haruto stood still in the middle of a crowd, confused and scared, still carrying the cake he had bought for his mother.
"Where the hell am I?"
The question echoed in his mind as he looked around. The people nearby were wearing ancient clothes, something similar to the Roman Empire. But that wasn't what confused him the most.
"Hey, how much for this apple?"
A large man asked a seller while holding an apple. He looked at least six feet tall.
But that wasn't the strange part.
"Tails…?"
Not only did the man have a tail, but his body was covered in fur like a tiger's, while his face still looked completely human.
"Mommy, Mommy, I want that one!" Haruto heard a child begging his mother to buy something. He looked closely at the child. Strangely, the child looked completely human.
But how?
There was no way humans and animal-like humans could live together like this. Haruto couldn't understand why the humans here didn't seem afraid of them at all.
"If you don't have money, leave now!!" Another voice caught his attention from behind. When Haruto turned around, he saw two men arguing. No… not exactly.
One was human, and the other looked like an animal-like human. As he looked closer at the one who didn't have enough money to buy equipment, Haruto realized the man had green skin like a lizard. He stood proudly while gripping a sword in his hand.
"Where am I…?"
Haruto slowly fell to his knees.
"Why…?"Tears slowly rolled down his face as he thought about his mother, who was probably waiting for him at home.
"I should've listened to Mom!" Overwhelmed with guilt, he covered his eyes and began crying.
People walking past him looked at him like he was some strange homeless man. No one bothered to help him or even offer a hand.
Haruto continued crying as he thought about the person he loved more than anything.
His mother.
The person who had taught him how to be a man.
Lost in his thoughts and sobbing—
A voice suddenly called out to him.
"Need help, stranger?"The unfamiliar voice sounded warm."Don't worry. I won't bite."The person added jokingly with a feminine voice.
Haruto slowly looked up toward the person who had called him. The person was bending slightly toward him so they could face each other. Haruto wiped his tears and looked carefully.
"A… girl?"
"Yes, I'm a girl! What kind of question is that, dummy?"
The girl replied as she turned slightly.
She looked around 5'1". She had short white hair, almost like a wolf cut. She was wearing clothes similar to a mage or a priest, and her skin was as white as snow.
"…"
Haruto had no words to say as he stared into her diamond-blue eyes. This was probably the first time he had ever spoken to a girl other than his mother.
"Say something, stranger."The girl suddenly started blushing as Haruto continued staring at her."Wait a minute…"She suddenly snapped and quickly covered her chest."Are you thinking something naughty about me?!"The girl scolded him, not realizing he had been staring at her eyes the whole time.
"No! No! No! That's not true!"Haruto panicked, quickly trying to explain himself while still sitting on the ground.
"I wasn't looking at your boobs, I swear!"
Unfortunately, his explanation only made things worse.
"Pervert!!"The girl said coldly as she turned her back on him.
"Oh man…"Haruto muttered, too embarrassed to even stand up.
Strangely, the girl didn't leave. Even though she wasn't looking at him, she remained standing there.
Haruto soon realized she hadn't walked away. It almost seemed like she was waiting for someone.At first, he didn't want to bother her.
After about three minutes, Haruto slowly stood up. The girl was still standing in front of him.
What's wrong with this girl?He slowly approached her, wanting to apologize properly.
"Excuse m—"
"Sorry about tha—"
To Haruto's surprise, the girl suddenly turned around at the same time he spoke. Their eyes locked instantly.
They quickly realized their faces were extremely close—almost like they were about to kiss.
"S-Sorry about that," Haruto said, his voice shaking as he looked to the side, blushing.
"No… I was the one who was wrong," the girl replied while blushing as well.
Both of them quickly stepped back in embarrassment.
They apologized again but didn't say anything else for a moment.
Their silence was soon broken by the noise of the busy crowd around them.
Man… can this day get any worse?