Sivrit attempted to catch up to Reginn on a peaceful, sunny Saturday. It had rained a bit the night before and the small pools glistened, nested along the stone path.

“Too slow!”

She sprinted as fast as she could, but even in an open street, she could not catch up to Reginn hopping along.

They were both in their casualwear, but since Reginn did not own any other articles of clothing, they had to pick some up at a store for him first. Sivrit’s family was wealthy so they could afford nice clothes even for a stranger.

Sivrit now sported a pair of jeans and a simple white shirt while Reginn switched out from ragged clothes to shorts and a tank top. Now they were truly ready to begin the tour.

“Think of this as stamina training!”

Sivrit panted as she dragged herself beside Reginn. They were now approaching a large mall. This one was the largest in the capital, and Sivrit was especially familiar with it.

“Anyways, why do you want to go to a mall? Why not some famous landmarks or monuments?”

“Nah, I’ve already seen those boring rocks. I’d much rather see what they have in store”

Sivrit could not understand Reginn at all but followed him into the building nonetheless.

At the first sight of the mall indoors, Reginn was genuinely impressed. He had never even seen a human structure this big other than the Royal Castle and this one had so many varieties of things in it. This was a whole new world for Reginn. He decided that he would visit every single store before sunset.

The first store he visited was a candy store run by an old lady. Attracted by the sweet smell, Reginn naturally chose this shop. He passed through the door and began looking around. The interior was vintage and had a comfy atmosphere, not that Reginn could understand that.

“What are these things?”

“Huh? You mean candies?”

Sivrit was dumbfounded, no matter how far into the countryside Reginn was from, he must’ve known what candies were. Perhaps he lived in the woods, at least he looked like he did.

Reginn picked up a few candies and turned toward the entrance, but was swiftly stopped by Sivrit grabbing him by his shoulder.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Uhh... Thank you?”

“You can’t just steal from a shop!”

Sivrit dragged Reginn to the counter. The total came to 10 Fare that was of course paid by Sivrit. She couldn’t help but feel that she was being used like a wallet.

“Well, since I paid for those treats, I’ll choose where we go next!”

“Ehh...”

Sivrit thought about where they could go. She knew a lot of good locations in the mall, which just made it harder for her to decide.

“I know, why don’t we go to a hair salon? Your hair is looking pretty long and messy, and I need a haircut as well”

Reginn thought for a second. He didn’t mind but then remembered something important as he ran his fingers through his red hair.

“Sorry, I got these braids from someone really important to me, and the thing is, I have no idea how to redo them if they come undone...”

Then how did he shower? Does he just not shower? She smelled the air but did not smell anything vile, was this magic? Sivrit thought this was a bit ridiculous but still encouraged him.

“Well, that’s just a simple braid, I can just do it for you if it comes undone”

“...Alright then, let’s go”

The pair made their way to Sivrit’s usual hair salon, run by a bald gentleman.

This was Reginn’s first experience at a barbershop, but everything turned out fine and now they both had a much tidier style. They sat on a bench and Sivrit helped rebraid Reginn’s hair. To fill the awkward silence and to learn more about Reginn, Sivrit asked about Reginn’s past.

“Hey, could you tell me a bit about the person that braided this?”

“...Sure,” Reginn replied “She was a lovely lady who took care of me every day. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I was pretty spoiled as a child and relied on her a lot. She isn’t with us anymore, but I’m glad I knew her while she was”

“I’m sorry”

“Well, that’s just how things are. I’m just glad I was there when she passed, and that she did so peacefully. She was like a mother to me”

While Sivrit felt that he was perhaps being too open about everything, she still sympathized with him. She did not lose that many close to her, only her grandfather. She remembered feeling greatly disoriented and distressed after hearing the news and grieved for the next few days. However, since then, she was able to accept death as people do to live.

“Could I ask you what her name was”

“Her name... I think it was ‘Caretaker’?”

Sivrit felt dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe Reginn saw her like a mother but still did not know her real name. Since she could tell that this conversation was going somewhere strange, she changed the topic.

“Anyways where do you want to go next?”

“There,” said Reginn while pointing at the game store.

Sivrit was not particularly familiar with video games, though she played board games and cards sometimes. She knew how to operate them, it was just that she was more of a book person.

“Alright, I’m done,” said Sivrit as she finished the final braid “Let’s go there then”

Reginn walked over to the nearest mirror at the entrance to a clothing store and smiled.

“Thanks!”

Sivrit had a strange, warm feeling blossoming in her heart when she saw this, but it also reminded her of his sadistic attitude against Brun. His crazy expression then contrasted his bright, genuine smile now. She wondered how those two expressions could form on the same face. But before she could think any longer, Reginn took Sivrit by her wrist and dragged her to the store.

At the store, Reginn looked around with visible curiosity. For him, this was an otherworldly experience, even the Goddess never showed him something like this. The lights shone on the black screen and danced around, creating an illusion of existence. The little man on the monitor was commanded by a weird device with many buttons, a truly curious activity this was. A worker there guided the pair to a demo of a new game on the latest console, ‘Gamebox 64’. Reginn decided on a game with a picture of warriors on it from the collection.

“A fighting game, huh...”

Sivrit considered herself bad at video games. Compared to her peers, it was like a senile elderly trying to compete in a tournament. She was especially bad at fighting games, but she thought perhaps she could at least beat Reginn.

Only a few minutes later, Reginn was destroyed, he lost 3 rounds in a row all perfect. Reginn’s face lay on the table while Sivrit look at him with disbelief.

“God, this is so dumb!”

“Are you sure you don’t want to read the instruction manual...“′

“...Reading is un-warrior-like! I’ll never do such a thing!”

The truth was that Reginn could never read. He never had to since the Goddess and the caretaker were around, but even if he could, the current language 10000 years after his time would be unrecognizable.

While Reginn was making a fuss, an air raid siren rang out and the customers and employees alike ran out in panic. While Regijn did not know what the siren meant, he could tell that danger was nearby.

“What the Hades is going on?”

Sivrit quickly grabbed Reginn by his arm and ran toward the exit, however, she was pulled back the moment Reginn stopped.

“Wait, I think I can see someone”

The ceiling of the mall was made of glass and he spotted the stairs to the rooftop. Reginn began running in the opposite direction from the crowd. Sivrit was split between 2 choices, either get to safety or follow Reginn. In the heat of the moment, he decided to follow Reginn. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for him and thought that the door was far too cramped anyways.

They eventually reached the rooftop. The wind was strong this high up, but the sky was clear. The only thing in sight was 3 bomber planes approaching and a long man in armour standing in opposition.

“That’s the hero, Siege! Thank goodness, we’re safe!”

Reginn decided to sit down and watch the battle unfold. He wanted to see what the 99th hero was capable of as well as his style. He only knew 1 other hero in his lifetime and also wondered what the strange metal beasts in the sky were.

The plane climbed much higher than the hero and eventually dropped its load right above him. The dozen or so bombs fell at an exponential speed, piecing the sound barrier, but with a single swing of his lance, he was able to detonate all the bombs. The hero watched the planes leave the kingdom.

While this display of strength was a spectacle for Sivrit, for Reginn it was a massive disappointment. He did not get to see any battle, rather, the hero just destroyed some projectiles and watched the enemy as they escaped. Reginn wondered if Siege had any greater plan in mind to warrant this. At least he knew that he was protecting the people, and he supposed that’s what’s truly important in a hero. At least he knew another potential hero that might not disappoint him.

As they returned to the ground floor and exited the empty mall, Reginn asked for Sivrit’s opinion.

“...What do you think of Sonosis, demon lord, or Pravuses in general?”

“Huh? Hmm... I suppose they’re our enemy right? But to be honest, since it’s peaceful around here, I don’t have any strong opinions about them”

“I see...”

Reginn was a bit disappointed by the answer. He believed this to be a sign of weakness among the people. What if the demon lord decided to actually attack? Perhaps that was their plan all along. But that was no matter, he was here after all.

While the hero was subpar, Reginn had tons of fun today. He came to appreciate Sivrit, perhaps being reincarnated in this strange new world was not too bad after all. After the sun began to set, the two parted ways. Reginn remembered that he was unable to visit all the shops due to the siren, but knew that there would be a next time.