Vol. 1 Chapter 2 - Reincarnated as an Orphan in the Slums

“Where is this…”

I woke up, feeling like I had just had a strange dream.

“No, it wasn’t a dream.”

I remember it clearly. My name is Kurohone Shuta. In my previous life, I ate poisoned bread and died. Then I met a girl who claimed to be a mature goddess named Itsuko and was reincarnated into this world.

“All right! I’ve probably been reincarnated as a noble or something. I can live a life with a full stomach every day… Huh?”

Now that I think about it, this place is quite dimly lit. And it smells a bit. The ground I’m sitting on is hard too.

It’s almost like an alley behind the restaurant I used to go to, where they dumped their trash…

“Wait, my clothes are the same as before. Did I really get reincarnated?”

I’m wearing the same T-shirt, shorts, and tattered sneakers that I had on before.

“For now, let’s go over there.”

There’s no point in just standing around here, so I move from the dimly lit alley to a brighter street.

“Wow…”

There are creatures with six legs, like horses, walking on the road carrying luggage and people. I’ve never seen fish or fruits like the ones sold in the surrounding stores.

When the people who seem like shopkeepers chant a spell, water flows like a fountain from a large jar and into the cups held by customers. There are also stalls with flames floating in the air, grilling meat and selling it.

“This is another world!”

*Growl…*

“I’m hungry…”

I want to eat something. Oh, those skewers look delicious.

“Hmm… I don’t have anything.”

When I was reincarnated, I didn’t have any belongings. I checked my pockets, but there was nothing in them.

“Hey, kid, are you buying?”

As I stood in front of the skewer stall, the shopkeeper spoke to me.

“I wanted to, but I don’t have any money.”

“Tch, are you a slum kid? If you’re not buying, go somewhere else. You’re bothering my business.”

A slum kid? What’s that?

“Hey, mister, what’s a slum?”

“What do you mean? It’s a place where kids like you and homeless people live.”

“Where is it?”

“What, aren’t you a kid from the slums?”

“My mom disappeared…”

“…Abandoned, huh?”

“It seems like it.”

“Sigh… That’s tough.”

The man sighed and took something out from behind the stall.

“I’ll give you this. It’s a gift for standing on your own. Cook it properly and eat it.”

“This… bones?”

The bag contained a lot of bones with a little meat left on them.

“The slums are over there. You can just toss the bones around, and the stray dogs will take care of them. Now go, there’s nothing I can sell to someone with no money.”

“Thanks, mister!”

“…Don’t die, kid.”

_ _ _

“So, this is the slums.”

When I arrived at the place the man told me about, it was like a garbage dump with collapsed buildings, broken furniture, and piles of debris.

It seems that unemployed vagrants, beggars, and orphaned children live here.

“Hmm, where should I rest?”

In my previous life, I used to go to the riverbank to look for edible wild plants, but there was an old homeless guy living there. When I tried to pick some grass, he yelled, “That’s my territory!” and chased me away.

I think the people living in this slum probably have their own territories too. I should choose a place carefully…

*Rustle, rustle…*

“Huh?”

“Meow.”

A stray cat was rummaging through the bag I got from the man.

“Hey, don’t go through that bag without permission, cat… Cat?”

It has three tails, and they’re really long. Maybe it’s not a cat…

“Hey, do you know of a place around here where I can rest? I’ll share some food with you, so please tell me.”

“Meow.”

The cat(?) skillfully twisted its tails and pointed towards a pile of debris.

“Are you asking me to follow you?”

“Meow.”