13 Chapter 13 ~ Culture Shock

The sky was blue, and the sun was high. The noisy voices of people shouting and the sound of birds chipping resounded in every corner of the streets. Children, mothers, fathers, and old people can be seen walking on the streets, many of which are wearing casual Middle-Age-like clothes; there are also some that wear odd-looking clothes which consist of armors and some kind of weapons hanging on their waist.

If these streets were to be seen by a Japanese person for the very first time, they would think that they're in the old era of the west, but clearly, that was not the case.

Many bright and colorful shops and stalls stood beside the walls of the rowdy streets, where loaves of bread, vegetables, meat, fishes, weapons, armors, toys, and many others are being sold to the people who walk past them. Mostly, the stalls are being managed by old people, there were only a few being managed by younger ones.

In the sea of people, two people were sticking out like a sore thumb. Almost every eye on the streets were focused on them.

[ Vlad-sama, I must say, I'm overwhelmed by the number of people that had gathered here. ]

Amidst the noisy chatterings and shoutings of the people, one quiet but sweet voice dominated the ears of every person present. Looking at where the voice came from, they saw a short, yet a very beautiful girl with skin pale as snow. Her hair was black as the sky, and her eyes were deep and blue as the sea - one would wonder if she would ever melt under the heat of the brightest sun.

[ Yea, it can even compete with Japan's market places... ]

Hearing and seeing where the next voice came from, the people were only able to grasp in both shock and amazement.

~~~

The two people who had gathered everyone's attention were Vlad Alucard, and his servant Stella.

Shiro calmly took his walk without minding the stares and noise of the people around him. In his mind, he decided to just think of them as NPCs which functions the same way in the game. With that kind of thinking, he was able to get used to it in a short matter of time, and now, even if all of the people will look at him because of his appearance, he would not even blink an eye in shame.

( Hmm... I might be looking for blanks here... ) Shiro thought as he did his hobby of jerking his chin.

Shiro had decided to take a walk in the city to learn and look for any kind of information about why he was sent in this new world. For all he knows, he might already be dead and he's now only looking for a single ray of hope that might not even exist.

He was sent in this world without any kind of explanation, of course, his instinct will tell him to try and look at the city for any information that might explain his current situation.

[ Vlad-sama...? ] his servant, Stella, turned her head upward towards him and muttered.

Shiro met with her eyes, and he was instantly able to figure out what she was thinking - Stella was worried about him.

Knowing this, Shiro thought that maybe because of his silence that made Stella worried.

[ I'm fine. ] he said, forming a smile on his face.

[ Un... ] Stella only nodded, returning then her gaze in front.

( Now, that I think about it... ) muttered Shiro inside his head.

Shiro was mystified to the fact that not only Stella was able to read his emotion, but he was also able to read hers.

( It sounds weird, but... it feels like there's a cable between the two of us that connects our emotions... )

He was able to feel it when he first gave them their pendants back at his mansion. He felt their gratitude and respect for him at that moment. Then, when he and Stella were still back at the gate, he was somehow able to sense the shame and embarrassment of Stella - Shiro had reached that conclusion based on those two facts.

Realizing this, Shiro thought that maybe the reason for it was because of the fact that they have the relationship of Summoner and the summoned, same as that of a creator and the created.

With this thought inside his mind, Shiro continued to walk and Stella followed beside him.

Then, after a few minutes of walking, Shiro reached a large circular place with even more people than they have ever witnessed earlier.

[ This seems to be the City Square, Vlad-sama... ] muttered Stella to her master.

[ Un, I wasn't able to reach this place yesterday but... I did not expect it to be like this... ] Shiro whispered in a quiet voice.

What revealed in front of Shiro that made him surprised was the fact that the City Square was a lot more lively and colorful than any place in the city he was able to visit from his walk yesterday -

Houses with second-third floors filled the sky with hanging colorful paper flowers, the circular road was as bright as the sun, while troubadours and magicians entertained both the kids and the old people. It was not what he was expecting to see from a world where monsters and demons appear.

...

...

[ Well, how about it, Stella? I mentioned we're going on a date, right? ]

[ U-Un... Yes... You did, Vlad-sama. ] Stella answered with a fidget.

[ That's right. Well, Isn't this a good place to have our date? ]

Shiro said, smiling towards his servant, Stella.

And so -

At the Plaza, the people saw two gorgeous people innocently buying and eating the things they themselves were buying and feasting on every day. The two also enjoyed their culture and entertainment as if it was the first time they have saw and experienced it.

This scene made their faces smile, as they have never seen someone that might be a noble trying to enjoy the things they enjoy.

***

Shiro was able to learn some of the city's cultures while also having fun and interests to the new things he found.

There were things and kinds of entertainment that didn't exist in his previous world that he saw and experienced at the Plaza. But still, the fact that he wasn't able to find any kind of resemblance to the culture of this world to Japan made him a little lonely and rejected.

[ Well... I haven't found a single clue but... At least it was fun. ] Shiro muttered.

[ Un... ] Stella nodded to his words.

Shiro and Stella are now resting, sitting on a single bench. After they have finished visiting almost every single shops they were able to go to, Shiro decided to rest first as he was already mentally exhausted.

Despite not finding any single clue to how he got in this world, Shiro was able to buy books he thought he could use to learn more about this world itself.

( Haah... Maybe I should not think much about it... But still, people say that there's a reason for everything. Maybe I got transported here in this world because I have some kind of purpose... ) he thought, like a philosopher that was looking for reasons to live.

( Maybe I should just give up and continue to live my life here without any worries... )

With that ending thought, Shiro fixed his stare in the middle of the crowd.

...

...

[ Hey, have you heard? They say the party of the Hero is visiting at the guild to help them subjugate a vampire. I even heard they have arrived just this morning. ]

( !!! )

Hearing those words from the people that were chatting behind him, Shiro's ears twitched.

...

...

( To subjugate a vampire, you say? It's just a coincidence... right? )

[ Echolocation...! Advance Appraisal...! ]

With those spells, Shiro tried to appraise the city again.

( Advanced Appraisal: Result: )

( Altair City - )

( Population: 146104 - Humans96%/Anthropomorphs3%/Heteromorphs1% )

( MaximumLv:97 MinimunLv:1 )

[ 97... There's no doubt... ]

( That's the Hero. )