🟠 chapter 05 :
"Really? Thank you, that's kind of you!"
The man smiled with a forced kindness and extended his hand, saying
"My name is Boral. I work as an independent guide... I help newcomers settle in Valoris in exchange for a few simple services. Let's start by finding you a job. What do you say?"
I began to sense something suspicious in his tone, though it was masked by an excessive politeness. But since I had no other choice...
"Alright, Mr. Boral. I appreciate any help."
"No need to be formal. Just call me Boral... Come with me. I know someone in the market who runs a small business and needs an extra hand."
We walked through the streets of Valoris. Although the place seemed peaceful, I started to notice people giving me odd looks. Was it my clothes? Or perhaps my Japanese face that looked out of place in this world?
Boral led me to a small stall selling drinks and simple food. He handed me three bronze coins and said
"Take these, buy something to eat. You'll feel better when we reach the master."
"Uh... thanks. But is this local currency?"
He laughed and replied
"Don't worry. It's noble coinage... It has weight in the market. Just don't go around bragging about it."
I went to the stall, bought some bread and a drink, and handed one of the coins to the vendor... He stared at it for a second, then smiled silently.
But just a few minutes later, two guards came rushing in and grabbed me firmly.
"You! Stay where you are! You're accused of using counterfeit currency!"
"What? Wait! I don't understand!"
"We have witnesses who saw the coin. This is a crime punishable by prison or worse!"
I looked around for Boral, but the man had vanished as if he evaporated into thin air.
But the man who gave me the coin...
"Everyone says that."
And so, on my first day in this world, I ended up in a filthy prison over a coin I never asked for...
If I ever meet Boral again, I'll show him how a human can build a factory on someone's head.
The guards dragged me to what looked like a fortress made of black stone. Its very walls spoke of cruelty. A sign above the gate read Valoris Correctional Prison but there was nothing corrective about it. It looked more like a factory that manufactures villains.
The escorting guard's voice was thunderous
"Move your feet, counterfeiter! Be grateful we didn't cut off your hand!"
"Counterfeiter?! I told you a hundred times, I didn't know the coin was fake! A man named Boral gave it to me!"
The guard struck my back to shut me up.
"Everyone has a story. Keep it to yourself."
We arrived at the prison's inner reception office a bald man whose face was as cold and expressionless as the prison walls was writing in a massive ledger.
He looked up with half interest and asked
"Name?"
"Takashi Takeru"
"Your name is as strange as you are."
He kept noting things down, and finally...
"Prisoner number 578."
Then he looked at the guard.
"Cell block..."
The guard led me through a long hallway. We could hear screams, laughter, and the sounds of fighting all coming from the cells. It felt like a madhouse.
Suddenly, we stopped. A rusty iron door creaked open, and I was pushed in.
The cell was empty... except for a stone bed, a bucket in the corner, and a small window barely big enough for air to pass through.
The guard who brought me smiled oddly and said
"Stay alive... You might leave here with a mission bigger than you think."
Then he shut the door behind me and walked away.
That was my first night in this place. I didn't realize I wasn't just imprisoned...
I had been cast into a play and I was the only actor without a script.