A short walk later, the Silver Moon sign came into view — a crescent moon logo. Easy to spot. The building was three stories, brick and timber, solidly built.
I pushed open the double doors. The first floor functioned as a tavern-cum-restaurant; counter on the right, stairs on the left.
“Welcome! Dining, or staying the night?”
The woman behind the counter called out. Red ponytail, brisk and bright. About twenty.
“Uh — I’d like to stay. What’s the rate for one night?”
“Two copper a night, three meals included. Paid up front.”
Two copper. No reference frame for whether that’s cheap or expensive. Cheaper than gold, sure, but I didn’t know the exchange rate.
I pulled out a gold coin and put it on the counter.
“How many nights does this get me?”
“How many…? Fifty, obviously?”
“Fifty!?”
“Can’t you do basic math?” her look said. I winced. Fifty nights — so 1 gold = 100 copper. With ten gold coins I could live 500 days — close to a year and a half — doing nothing. This might be a lot of money.
“So, what’ll it be?”
“Uh — one month, please.”
“Got it. Coming right up. Business has been slow lately, so this is a nice big bookings, thank you. We’re out of silver coins right now so I’ll have to give your change in copper, okay?”
She took the gold coin and handed me 40 copper back. So 60 copper for the month — meaning 30 days here too. Just like home.
She produced what looked like a guestbook and slid it in front of me along with an inked quill.
“Sign here, please.”
“Ah — sorry, I can’t write. Could you sign for me?”
“Really? All right. Name?”
“Mochizuki. Mochizuki Touya.”
“Mochizuki? Unusual name.”
“Touya is my given name. Mochizuki is my family name.”
“Oh — given name and family name reversed. Are you from Eashen?”
“Uh — yeah, something like that.”
I had no idea what Eashen was, but it was easier to roll with it. I’d check the map later.
“Here’s your room key. Don’t lose it. Top floor, last room on the left — best sunlight in the building. Toilet and bath on the first floor, meals here. Speaking of — lunch? Hungry?”
“Please — haven’t eaten since this morning.”
“I’ll make you something light. Go check the room and rest up first.”
“Got it.”
Key in hand, I climbed to the third floor. The room was about six tatami mats, with a bed, a desk, a chair, and a wardrobe. Opening the window gave me a view of the street out front. Nice view. Kids ran around outside, laughing.
In high spirits I locked the room and went back down. A good smell drifted up.
“Here we go!”
A sandwich, soup, and a salad arrived. The bread was a little hard, but my first meal in another world was satisfying. Cleared the plate. Now what.
I was going to be in town for a while. May as well look around.
“I’m going for a walk.”
“Sure thing! Have fun!”
The inn keeper (her name was Mika, it turned out) saw me off, and I went out to explore.
This was, after all, a town in another world. Every detail was novel and held my eye. My gaze kept darting around; the wary looks from passersby would snap me back to attention; then my gaze would start drifting again. Infinite loop. I needed to fix that.
I noticed something walking through town: a lot of people were carrying weapons. Swords, axes, knives, whips, the works. Looked dangerous, but maybe this was just normal here. Should I get a weapon too?
“First I need a way to earn money. Got to live in this world somehow.”
I had not anticipated entering the job market quite this soon. Some skill would have helped — but my best school subject was history, and detailed knowledge of another world’s history wasn’t going to do anything for me here.
“Hm?”
What was — noise? End of the main street, in the back alley. Voices arguing, intermittent.
”…Let’s go check.”
I stepped into the back alley.