CH 4

Chiharu was the one who woke up first. There was a slight pain in her head that remained as proof that she had drunk way too much the previous night.

“I’m not in college anymore, that was dumb… Alcohol deserves better.”

She mumbled. Then chuckled over the fact that she should really be feeling apologetic toward that man who had caught her.

“That’s it!”

She sat up suddenly.

“Ah, aghhh!”

She held her head as she looked around the room. This room was about three times the size of her own room, and she was in a huge bed. She looked to her side, Maki was still sleeping. Chiharu fell back into the bed and assessed the situation.

Unfortunately, Chiharu had never lost memory of events no matter how hard she drank. Temple. Saintess. Two. Beast. Elf. This was too much to be some elaborate prank.

“We must have been summoned to another world. It must be…”

But then what should they do? Let’s organize things in order of priority. Also, when was Maki-chan going to get up? Chiharu became a little annoyed, and so she pinched Maki’s nose.

“Buwahh. Ouch! My head hurts a little!”

“Only a little! Good morning, Maki-chan.”

“Good morning. Hmm?”

Maki’s expression rapidly changed. Chiharu knew. Maki too never lost her memory no matter how much she drank. And so she said.

“Rasche.”

“Agh! Stop it, Chiharu! I might die of embarrassment.”

“Oh, you won’t die. The worst came after that.”

“Aghh. I wish I could erase that from my memory…”

Maki sunk back into the bed. Then she covered her eyes with her hands and mumbled.

“Hey, Chiharu.”

“Yeah.”

“People don’t have ears and tails like that right?”

“No.”

“I think he was over 2 meters tall.”

“Yes. The other one had long ears.”

“For real?”

They fell silent. They lay in the bed and stared at the ceiling.

“Chiharu.”

“Hm?”

“Do you think we will be able to go home?”

“I don’t know.”

“Chiharu.”

Maki’s voice was shaking now.

“Maki-chan.”

“What?”

“We can think of the bad things at night. We should focus on what to do know while it is still bright.”

“Oh, you’re so cool even at times like this.”

Maki said with just a slight sniff of her nose.

“It was a temple. Saintess. Two. The foreign people said so with perfect Japanese. Also, Rasche.”

“No, that’s a beastman.”

“I feel like he had gentle eyes.”

“Well, I haven’t seen any flaws yet.”

Chiharu suddenly looked less confident as she continued.

“Actually, we already proved to ourselves that we have horrible tastes.”

“Oh, right.”

They both looked at the ceiling again. Chiharu’s boyfriend was a tutor. He worked in the same department as her. He had been so dependable, and while a little on the serious side, she had really like him. She really had. The ceiling began to blur.

“Chiharu.”

“Hm?”

“We can think about the bad things at night.”

Chiharu also sniffed.

“Yes.”

“Now, what should we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do until we find out what is going on.”

“We should be careful not to answer anything until we have time to listen and think.”

“That’s true.”

“I’m just going to put this out there. I don’t want to fight no Demon Lord.”

“Exactly. Exactly!”

“And I won’t follow any marriage route either.”

“Exactly. Exactly!”

“Since it seems we came all the way to another world.”

“So it seems!”

They looked at each other.

“Good food and alcohol.”

“Beautiful sights and culture.”

“We can’t miss those.” “We can’t miss those.”

They giggled.

“Okay, but first we need to find work.”

“You really like to work, Chiharu. We should find out why we are here first. Let’s ask them and gather information.”

“You’re right.”

Chiharu rang the bell that was by her pillow. The door opened exactly one second later, and the two handmaids from the previous day entered the room. Chiharu froze, still holding the bell. That was fast. They smiled at her.

“How are you feeling this morning?”

They asked.

“Oh, I’m a little hungover, but I’m fine. Uh…”

“I am called Sera.”

“I am called Hanna.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Asou, this is Aida.”

“Assoo and Aiiida.”

“…Something like that.”

Chiharu had given their family names out of habit.

“We’re very sorry about last night.”

Maki said as her head popped out next to Chiharu.

“It is fine. We are happy to see that you look well this morning. Would you like to take your breakfast now?”

“Yes, please.”

Miso soup was the best for the day after drinking, but they couldn’t be too picky now. Wait, this was miso soup!

“The last Saintess had this made through various testing.”

“Saintess…”

“His Majesty will tell you the details.”

So saying, they prepared miso soup, rice balls, eggs and pickles for us. The miso soup had the kind of nostalgic taste that reminded you of your grandmother’s house. The broth smelled of dried sardines, kelp, and a little shiitake mushrooms. Chiharu and Maki ate their breakfast and enjoyed some black tea afterward.

“Your predecessor said that she wanted to drink grin tea, but we did not know how to make it. But she knew how to make miso, because she had made it where she came from.”

“Grin tea?”

“She said it was a light green and most fragrant tea.”

“Oh, green tea. It’s steamed instead of fermented.”

“Steamed?”

“Yeah. I think you steam it a little, and then squeeze and roast it repeatedly.”

Maki knew a lot, surprisingly.

“But I would think black tea is harder to make since it has to be fermented.”

Maki said as she cocked her head to the side.

“Oh! You must share this skill with the producers!”

Sera requested most passionately.

“Uh, I do know how it’s made. But I’m not sure if it will…”

“The craftsmen will cover for that through trial-and-error!”

And so it was somehow settled. Maki had gotten her first job here.

That aside, they needed to wash up and get changed after eating. They could get water at the press of a button here. The toilet didn’t have a flush, but it was immediately decomposed and turned into fertilizer. So it was very sanitary. Things were looking pretty good.

Apparently, the clothes that they had been wearing yesterday were being washed, so they had different clothes prepared for the day. First, they wore a cream colored one piece. It was loose around the arms and the hemline went down to their ankles. Over this, they wore a beautifully colored one piece that looked like a yukata without sleeves. This one went down to their calves. A belt went around their waist and it was done.

Their hair was just brushed and left untied. Chiharu and Maki stared at each other.

“This reminds of that thing.”

“Yeah, that thing.”

They couldn’t remember it.

“With the castle! And the dancing sea bream and flounders!”

“No. It’s Otohime-sama.”

“Oh, right!”

Sera was wearing a type of maid outfit. But it looked a little eastern? Chiharu thought.

Taking a closer look, their clothes were made of several layers and had quiet colors. Oh yes, the manners and customs of a foreign land! Chiharu became very happy.

“These were modeled after the garments of your predecessor’s country.”

Oh, I see! She was quite busy, eh? Well, she must have been treated very well then. That’s good.

“Preparations have finished. What will you do know?”

Sera asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I am sure you would like to know what is happening. You can either call his majesty here, or you can go and see him in his office. You may also choose to stay locked up in here and see no one until your heart is ready.”

“See no one?”

“It is said that the Saintess, I believe it was five generations ago, she was afraid of non-humans and never did get accustomed to living here. Your predecessor was also unable to be comfortable around the beastmen…”

“Oh, Rasche! Are there many of them?”

“Yes, they are about a tenth of the population.”

Maki became very excited.

“These beastmen, are there all kinds of…”

“Maki-chan, that can come later.”

Maki grew sullen.

Sorry. But, really.

This place was not their land. They were at a disadvantageous position. So…

“We will go and see him.”