When we stepped out of the building housing the teleportation magic circle, a bustling cityscape came into view.
The buildings were all European-style. There were no traditional Japanese houses or towering skyscrapers to be seen anywhere.
"Whoa... it’s beautiful. It really feels like I'm in a foreign country."
"I bet people from Japan feel that way even more than most," Frank remarked.
"It is a European-style cityscape, after all," Cedric added. "Even if it is a bit old-fashioned..."
I wondered if I was allowed to take photos here.
"Since this is the Commercial District, I assume there are plenty of shops?" I asked.
"Yeah," Frank said. "They sell everything from daily necessities to magic items. There are restaurants, and even bars and pubs."
"Though we can't exactly go into a bar," Cedric pointed out.
Well, that made sense. We were wearing school uniforms, after all.
"So, where are we heading?"
"A shop that sells magic items is probably more your speed," Frank suggested. "There’s a place that’s basically a department store for that stuff. Want to check it out?"
"By the way, do you have any money on you?" Cedric asked.
"Money... yeah, my dad gave me some."
I reached into my wallet and pulled out a black card.
"Yeah, that’s the one," Cedric said. "This town is entirely cashless, so you use that card to pay for everything."
"It's called Mana, right? I think I remember hearing that."
"How much did they give you?"
"Uh, let's see... I think I got about 100,000 Mana."
My parents had given me 20,000, my grandma on the La Forge side gave me 30,000, and my grandpa gave me another 50,000. When I called them to say thank you, they just told me to do my best.
"............100,000?"
"Is your family loaded?"
The two of them stared at me with exasperated expressions. Honestly, I was starting to get used to those looks.
"I don't really know the exchange rate. How much is it actually worth?"
"1,000 Mana is five pounds... or about 1,000 yen," Cedric explained. "Actually, you can pretty much just think of Mana as being equal to yen."
So it was 100,000 yen...
That was a huge amount.
"Maybe my parents and grandparents were just that happy to see me graduate from being a NEET..."
"Could be..." Frank muttered.
"It’s likely a celebratory gift," Cedric agreed.
I figured as much.
"I'll make sure to use it carefully."
"I wonder about that..."
"Who knows? Anyway, let's just go. It's right there."
We walked a short distance down the main street and entered a five-story building.
The interior looked like a general store with merchandise packed onto every shelf. People in school uniforms and others dressed exactly like mages were browsing the aisles.
"What is this place?"
"A shop for magic items," Frank said. "The first floor is for convenience goods. Like this, for example."
Frank picked up a table clock.
"A clock? Is it an alarm clock?"
"Supposedly, if you set an alarm with this thing, it's physically impossible for you not to wake up at that time."
"Whoa, awesome! How does it work?"
"It has a spell cast on it specifically designed to wake the sleeper."
Seriously? That would mean never oversleeping again.
"How much?"
"300,000 Mana."
"Are you stupid!?" I blurted out.
Don't mess with me. What kind of idiot would spend that much money on an alarm clock?
"Hey, it's actually quite useful," Frank defended. "But yeah, it's mostly adults who buy those. Students don't really need them, I guess..."
"Got any other recommendations?"
"How about this ornament?" Cedric suggested, picking up a strange bronze statue.
"What does that do?"
"If you just leave it in your room, it automatically collects all the dust."
It sounded convenient, but...
"I don't need it. My mom does the cleaning."
"Oh, right, you live at home... well, what about simple potions? You seem like the athletic type, so they're great for recovering from fatigue."
Shar usually gives me potions, though. Still, I was curious about what a normal potion tasted like.
"How much?"
"The cheap ones are about 1,000 Mana. The high-end ones can go for 100,000."
I wondered how much Shar’s were worth. I’d have to ask her next time.
"I'll try one of the 1,000 Mana ones."
I grabbed a shopping basket and tossed in the potion Cedric had pointed out.
"Wait, aren't potions supposed to be blue?"
The one I held was colorless and transparent.
"The blue ones are the expensive ones. The 100,000 Mana ones. Look, over there."
In the direction Cedric pointed, there were indeed blue potions on display.
"Heeh..."
Wait, what!? Those potions cost that much!? And I've just been tossing them back like they were nothing!?
"Wouldn't I make a fortune if I worked as an alchemist...?" I muttered.
Wouldn't that be the better career path? I'd be set for life.
"Do you want to be an alchemist?" Cedric asked. "It’s incredibly difficult. Personally, I don't think it's for you."
"No, I didn't mean me..."
Well, whatever.
"Sorry, my bad. Anything else? I've got the cash."
All 100,000 of it.
"Weren't you going to use it carefully?"
"He's exactly like I imagined... anyway, Tsukasa, if you eat this gummy, it turns water into cola."
"Seriously? I'm buying that."
With Frank and Cedric acting as my guides, I continued tossing various items into my basket.
"Maybe you should stop? You're buying way too much."
"It’s a bit rich coming from us since we're the ones who recommended them, but you're going to run out of money at this rate."
They were right.
"I'll go pay for these."
I went to the counter at the back of the store and joined the queue. When it was my turn, I settled the bill. The total came to 15,000 Mana.
"I definitely overdid it."
"Well, it is your first time," Cedric said.
"I get the excitement, but try to show some self-control from now on," Frank warned. "Otherwise, it'll be gone before you know it."
Too true.
"What’s on the other floors?"
"Upstairs? The second floor is a weapon shop, and the third sells staves. The fourth and fifth floors are for armor—stuff like plate mail and robes."
Wait, what?
"I can understand staves and robes, but why weapons and armor?"
This was starting to feel like an RPG.
"They sell them normally," Cedric said. "Magic isn't just an academic subject, after all."
"They just sell them? Like, weapons? You'd get arrested for that in Japan."
"This is the Otherworld, remember? I use a staff, but plenty of people carry weapons. Even Frank has some, right?"
"Wait, seriously?" I looked at Frank.
"Yeah, I have them," Frank confirmed. "I can't pull them out here, but I own a sword and a halberd."
A halberd?
"Are you planning on going to war or something?"
"My family is a military family," Frank explained. "We don't go to war, but I've been training with them since I was a kid. Besides, if you can use weapons, you can make a lot of money doing part-time jobs."
P-Part-time jobs?
"What kind of part-time jobs?"
I had a bad feeling about this.
"Ah, I guess you don't know about what's outside..."
"The outside?"
"There are monsters outside the town walls."
This really is another world...
I couldn't help but wonder if I'd accidentally stumbled into a video game.