Chapter 2 – The Initiation of Another World, or Eyes That Look Upon Trash
“Hey…”
“Wake up already.”
A cold sensation struck my cheek, and my consciousness surfaced to the sound of a voice—clear like a ringing bell, yet sharp and cutting.
I slowly opened my heavy eyelids.
Standing there was a beautiful girl, her golden hair glowing in the light of the setting sun.
Transparent blue eyes.
She was so beautiful it felt like an anime heroine had stepped straight out of the screen.
My heart leapt.
(I—I did it…! This really is another world. And my first event is a super beautiful girl…!)
“You awake now? Honestly, sleeping in the middle of the street—quite some nerve you’ve got.”
I hurriedly sat up and looked around.
Stone-paved roads.
A clock tower visible in the distance.
People walking by.
This wasn’t a dream.
Just as the goddess Inanna had said, this truly was another world.
“Um… excuse me. Where am I?”
“This is the Holy City of Inanna, a city under the goddess’s protection.
…I’m Iris. The elders sent me to check on trash like you.”
“Eh, Iris-chan…? That’s a cute name.”
I said it with a stupid grin.
Her expression froze instantly.
“Huh? Don’t call me that so casually.
…You’re disgusting.”
“Wha—”
“And don’t look at me with that filthy body of yours.
Just having you in my line of sight is unpleasant.”
Her words cut into my chest like knives.
Huh…?
This was nothing like the “warm welcome for reincarnators” I had imagined.
“Um… I’m actually a reincarnator. I came here from another world…”
“I know. Useless freeloaders like you pop up from time to time.
No idea where you crawl out from, but you’re all the same.”
Iris snorted in pure disgust.
“Let me be clear. To us, you people are nothing but a nuisance.
You can’t hunt. You can’t use magic. You’re useless at physical labor and give up immediately.
Even when you seem to have knowledge, it’s nothing but pointless delusions…”
“That’s not true…! I have knowledge from my original world!”
“That knowledge isn’t worth a single coin here.
…If you were a pretty girl, you might at least be sold as a toy.
But an ugly man like you isn’t even fit to feed livestock.”
With mechanical indifference, Iris continued the elders’ “verdict.”
“Listen carefully. Don’t die inside the city.
Disposing of corpses is a waste of tax money.
If you’re going to die, go do it outside the city on your own.
…Goodbye. I hope we never meet again.”
She walked away without once looking back.
Left behind was only me—
penniless, alone, in an unfamiliar city as night began to fall.
(…This isn’t like anime at all…)
My stomach growled.
My throat burned with thirst.
Panicking, I ran toward a sign that read INN—the familiar refuge of every RPG.
“Excuse me! Please let me stay the night!”
A large, well-built innkeeper emerged.
The moment she saw me, a deep crease formed between her brows.
“What is it? You one of those otherworlders?
Got any money?”
“Ah, no… I don’t…”
“Then get out! This isn’t a charity.”
“P-please! In my world, helping people in trouble is—”
She cut me off with an icy voice.
“…In your old world, could you stay at an inn without money?”
“No… I couldn’t.”
“Then why do you think it would work here?
Don’t be so entitled, you worthless freeloader!”
BANG!
The door slammed shut with a violent sound.
Night descended upon the city.
I trudged into a dark alleyway.
No cheats.
No harem.
There was only one thing here—
The crushing reality of my own worthlessness.
