The abandoned workshop's morning was chilly. A cold breeze seemed to seep from the stone walls, and Daichi woke with a thin cloak still wrapped around his body. Ever since hearing about the intermediary certificate at the Bankai Civic Hall yesterday, something had been spinning endlessly in his head. A guarantor. Just one more person. That's all that was missing. "[excited]You're awake? Today's the day we make our move!" Lily was already standing there looking fully prepared. Her silver hair glimmered as it caught the morning light. Her turquoise eyes seemed to shine a little brighter than usual. Only her left eye held a thin golden hue—those mismatched eyes narrowed in what looked like amusement. "[surprised]That's early... What time is it?" "[excited]We need to plan our strategy before the market opens! First, we have to do something about your appearance, Daichi." Lily rummaged through her bag and pulled out a cloak. It was a hooded one, a bit worn, gray in color. "[serious]If you wear this, the hood will hide your ears. From a distance, you'll pass as an ordinary traveler." Daichi took it and put it on. ...The sleeves were too short. Not just his wrists, but his forearms were completely exposed halfway up. It was a textbook example of what happens when someone seventeen centimeters taller than the cloak's original owner wears it. When he pulled the hood up, his head felt too tight, and instead it made him look like he was actively trying to hide something. Daichi looked at his reflection in a water bucket. Arms showing. Hood stretched tight. No ears visible. No tail visible. "[sarcastic]...You really think this will work?" Lily nodded seriously. "[serious]It's all about the atmosphere. As long as you act confident, it'll be fine." Daichi had nothing to say. Before even considering confidence, his appearance was already hopeless. But there were no other options. "...Let's go." ――――― Havassa Board—the nickname for Havassa Central Grand Market, an outdoor marketplace with nearly six hundred permanent stalls—came alive at five in the morning. Colorful awnings were raised, and tables piled high with goods were set up one after another. Food ingredients, daily necessities, magical tools, fabric. The smell of stew drifting from afar, the creaking of cargo wagons, and merchants calling out to each other all blended together into one great wave. Daichi stood at the edge of that wave and took a deep breath. "[serious]Alright, let's go with the plan. I'll approach them, and Daichi, you just stay natural in the background." "[serious]Natural, got it." The first stall was run by a young beastman arranging vegetables. His dog-like ears stood straight up, and he had a friendly face. Lily approached with a smile. "[gentle]Excuse me, do you have a moment? It's about the guarantor for an intermediary certificate—" The young man looked at Daichi. He froze for a second. "Oh, I just remembered something I need to do." He grabbed his goods and ran off. Daichi and Lily exchanged glances. The second stall belonged to a stone-bodied merchant. Gray skin, sturdy build. The moment Lily tried to speak, the merchant rotated his table one hundred eighty degrees and turned his back. Silently. At sonic speed. The third was a young flower-kin merchant with small flowers blooming in her hair. When Lily began explaining about the guarantor, the merchant said with a troubled expression: "[sarcastic]Um... I'm not quite sure what a guarantor means." Lily tried to explain. "[sarcastic]Oh, actually, I still don't understand." There was no way she didn't understand. Watching from the side, Daichi felt an indescribable emotion. At the fourth stall, Lily said, "Let's try a different angle." She pushed Daichi forward and stood behind him. "[excited]Okay, Daichi, you talk to them first. I'll provide support!" She was waving energetically from behind. Daichi wasn't sure how that counted as support, but he called out anyway. The fifth stall owner—a middle-aged beastwoman—stopped and looked at Daichi. She didn't run away. A small step forward. Daichi took the plunge and opened his mouth. "[serious]Um, I'm human, but I'm not a bad person." Behind him, he heard Lily clutching her head saying, "That's the worst thing you could say!!!" The stall owner left with her goods two seconds later. ――――― Thirty minutes later. Potential guarantors: zero. Daichi and Lily sat slumped on the stone steps at the edge of the market. The steps were cold, and the voices of merchants drifted from afar. Silence stretched between them for a while. "[sad]I said atmosphere was important, but..." "[sarcastic]Don't blame me." "[sad]It was a strategy failure. I'm sorry." As Lily apologized beside him, Daichi gazed blankly at the market. There was a disposal basket nearby. A pile of grain scraps that the stalls were throwing away. The hardened stuff that wouldn't sell. Next to it, a bag of coarse salt was caught. Daichi's hands began moving on their own. He wasn't thinking about it particularly. His hands just remembered. The way the store manager had taught him while helping stock shelves at the convenience store. Grain in his left hand, a pinch of coarse salt. Shaping with his right hand while pressing from both sides to form a triangle. Repeat. Lily leaned in to watch. "[surprised]...What are you doing?" "The best-selling item in my original world." He finished three. They were clumsy, but they formed proper triangles. The coarse salt glimmered faintly on the surface. Lily tilted her head. "[surprised]...That's a cute shape. Is it food?" "Yeah. Onigiri. The best seller at the convenience store." "Convenience store..." Lily rolled the word around in her mouth. The convenient shop from Daichi's original world that he'd mentioned before. A place where you could buy anytime, things came in small packages, everything was neatly shaped, and they greeted you with smiles. "[curious]In this world, there's no culture of shaping food by hand and giving it like this, is there?" Now that she mentioned it, Daichi realized it was true. In the market, food was either sold by weight or in large chunks. Nobody shaped it by hand like this—he'd never seen anything like it. That's when. Someone stopped at the edge of his vision. An old woman. Flower-kin—a race with plant organs in their hair and skin—with white hair and several withered flowers tangled in it. Hands marked with cracks. Her back was bent, and among the market's noise, she alone had stopped moving. The old woman's gaze fell on the triangle in Daichi's hands. Daichi hesitated for a moment. In this world, if a cursed race made eye contact, people ran. Sometimes they threw stones. Yesterday and today, that's what happened. But this old woman didn't run. Daichi picked up one triangle and offered it to the old woman. The old woman stared at it for a while. Then, slowly, she took it. She took a bite. Just coarse salt, no special seasonings or anything. Hardened grain that was supposed to be discarded. He didn't even know if it tasted good. But. A few seconds later. A single tear fell from the old woman's eye. Daichi couldn't speak. Lily was frozen too. The old woman said nothing. She bowed her head quietly in gratitude. Then she disappeared into the crowd. The withered flowers tangled in her white hair melted into the market's waves of people and vanished from sight. Daichi and Lily sat there for a while longer. "..." "..." Neither of them could say anything. Daichi stared at the grain balls remaining in his hand. The grainy texture of the salt lingered on his fingertips. Food makes you remember things. That was all that quietly settled into Daichi's heart. He'd wanted to run a convenience store initially to survive in this world. Because his knowledge from the original world was useful. But now, something else was mixed in. He couldn't get the old woman's face out of his head. ――――― When they stood up from the stone steps and were walking back to the abandoned workshop, they passed a young man wearing a jacket with the Tolvarn Company flag. Tolvarn Company—the major merchant house that controlled sixty percent of Havassa's distribution, an old establishment founded one hundred thirty years ago—a beastman, dog-kin, looked to be in his twenties. He was saying something to his companion as he passed, and he glanced at Daichi. His eyes stopped for a second. Then he smirked slightly and whispered into his companion's ear. His voice was deliberately loud. "[sarcastic]Is that your human pet? That's quite the eccentric hobby." His companion laughed. They passed by without another word. Daichi stopped. He tried to say something back, opening his mouth. In that instant, Lily's hand pulled his arm. "[serious]We retreat for now." "..." "[gentle]We retreat for now." The second time, her voice was a bit lower. Daichi clenched his teeth and looked ahead. The merchant's laughter faded into the distance. ――――― Back at the abandoned workshop, Lily spread out a map. It was a map of Havassa, with a small area marked "Warehouse District" on the outer edge. It was about a ten-minute walk from the south gate. "[serious]If we can't find anyone at the market, we have no choice but to try the warehouse district on the outskirts." "Warehouse district?" "[serious]There are people who make their living in shipping and inventory management. There might be someone who keeps their distance from the merchant houses' distribution networks." Daichi leaned over the map. It was much further out than the market. There would probably be fewer people. "[curious]Do you know someone there?" Lily's expression changed slightly. "...There might be one person I can introduce you to." "Who?" "[serious]If the conditions are right, I'll introduce you." With that, Lily folded up the map. She clearly wasn't going to say more. Daichi tilted his head. It was unusual for Lily to speak this way. Usually she'd tell him everything, even without solid reasons. (What conditions?) Knowing she wouldn't answer if he asked, Daichi stayed quiet. That's when his chest pocket grew slightly warm. The crystal. The silver, transparent mass he'd been carrying since the transfer. It normally showed no reaction. But now it held a faint warmth. Daichi pressed his hand over the pocket. The heat faded quickly. He found himself thinking of the direction the old woman had disappeared. It was probably just his imagination. Definitely just his imagination. Daichi recalled the feeling of the grain balls in his hand once more. Tomorrow was the warehouse district. The guarantor count was still zero, time was finite, and the merchant house was starting to take notice of Daichi. The situation wasn't good at all. But he couldn't shake the old woman's expression. Just that alone made it feel like he'd moved forward one step today.