Part 4: Unaccustomed to Things
AFTER I finished writing everything down, I ended up dwelling on lots of concerns I couldn’t do anything about. Then I fell into a deep sleep without even realizing it. When I woke up the next morning, I felt so refreshed from a good night’s sleep that I decided my killjoy mood of the previous night had probably been a result of my mental fatigue.
The bed I slept in was made of wood, with a bunch of parts that had been carved and fitted together. Very little metal was used, which made it a magnificent piece of craftsmanship. A mattress stuffed with dried plants or something of the sort rested on top of the frame. The fibers or whatever in the mattress were a little prickly, and it bothered me at first. But after a while lying there, the sensation went away, likely thanks to my body weight, and the bed turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.
To be perfectly honest, it felt a thousand times better than my decade-old futon, which had gotten hard and thin over the years. I had grown so used to it that I hadn’t even realized until now that it was basically the same as sleeping on the floor. In hindsight, that had probably been why I’d had such a hard time waking up every morning.
It was embarrassing to admit, but I’d never been good at spending money on myself. For appearances’ sake, I regularly bought well-tailored new suits for work, but my everyday fashion sense? God awful.
For example, the tracksuit and tank top I was currently wearing were pretty much at their limit. The elastic waistband of my pants was so loose I had to knot the string tightly or else my pants fell right down. Actually, while walking through the forest the previous day, my pants had started to drop and I’d almost panicked. My waist had slimmed considerably since finding myself in this new body.
I sat up in bed and stretched before turning my gaze to the window. Except I couldn’t see anything through the foggy glass. Nevertheless, the sunlight streamed through cheerfully, the rays strong enough to warm the room up a bit. I tried opening the window to breathe some fresh air, but it turned out to be the kind that didn’t open, so I gave up after a few seconds.
I got out of bed and the track jacket I had placed over myself as a substitute for a blanket fell to the floor. When I crouched to pick it up, I didn’t feel a single creak or ache anywhere. This body really was young.
Ralf had told me the inn served breakfast. I could eat it in the lobby or in my room, but either way, I had to go down to the first floor to get it. I decided to help myself before Ralf showed up.
Yawning, I walked down the stairs. By the time I reached the first floor, there was already a crowd of people eating breakfast. I headed to the small window attached to the inn’s kitchen to give my order, then looked around while I waited for it.
Compared to the people I’d seen around town the night before, most of the folks in here appeared well-dressed. And whenever anyone looked over at me, they’d look away quickly before glancing back like they didn’t want me to know they were looking. It made me uncomfortable. Clearly, dark elves really stand out around here.
Nobody was exactly ogling me or anything overt like that, but it still felt like I’d be disturbing their breakfast if I stayed. I didn’t want to make the atmosphere any more awkward than it already was, so I dejectedly trudged back to my room with my breakfast, which consisted of some hearty soup and a brown bread that smelled strongly of rye. I was so used to eating soft white bread that it was a bit of a shock to bite into something so flavorful, but it didn’t take me long to grow accustomed to it as I dipped it in the soup and ate. I didn’t hate it.
I normally skipped breakfast, so this was more than enough for me, and when I drank the last drop of soup, I couldn’t help the contented sigh that slipped out. I hadn’t remarked on the meal looking delicious or anything before I ate, because I was so used to eating alone, but I did press my hands together in silent gratitude out of habit once I finished.
✦ ✦ ✦
AS soon as I sat down on the bed to digest a little, there was a knock on the door. The young man, Ralf, was the only person in this entire world who had business with me. He’s earlier than I expected.
Or maybe I’d just woken up late. I wasn’t wearing a watch because I’d been dumped into this world with literally nothing but the clothes on my back. Every so often, I heard the sound of a bell coming from the town, and I suspected it told the people living here what time it was, but I didn’t know how the system worked, so at the moment it wasn’t much help.
I decided to tidy up after myself and let Ralf in at the same time. With the tray holding my empty dishes in one hand and my other hand wrapped around the doorknob, I called out to the other side of the door.
“One second!”
I pushed the door open slowly, and Ralf greeted me before he even saw my face. His voice was enthusiastic, like a fresh new employee who’d just started at a company. It warmed my heart a bit to hear it.
“Good morning. Are you ready to…”
When I stepped out into the hallway, he abruptly stopped talking. Huh?
“Good morning,” I said. “We can leave once I return this downstairs, and…is something wrong?”
“No, not at all,” he said awkwardly. “I’ll take care of that for you. And, um…I think you should put on your jacket.”
Ralf snatched the tray from my hand and strode briskly down the stairs, quickly vanishing from sight. It didn’t take a genius to understand what the problem had been. I quietly closed the door, and once back in my room, slid back into the jacket of my tracksuit. Then I zipped it all the way up, shaking my head at myself.
Roaming around town in this body wearing nothing but a raggedy tank top would definitely give the wrong impression. It struck me that the people downstairs hadn’t been staring at me because dark elves were unusual. The elderly gentleman, the rugged warrior, even the lovely blue-haired young lady had all had good reason for quickly looking away after first seeing me, before sneaking more glances.
The young lady in particular had scrutinized me for a good long while on her second look. I had just written her off as being a little strange, but she might have been silently trying to caution me. I had screwed up by going downstairs like I was taking a short walk to the mailbox to retrieve my morning newspaper. I’ll be more careful from now on.