Several days had passed since I heard that strange talk about people coming from anime and movie worlds into this one. I tried to push the idea out of my mind, but every time I saw someone carrying a strange sword or wearing shiny armor, I felt the world around me slowly changing.
Despite that, I focused on my only goal: survival. I worked hard every day, lifting heavy boxes, enduring tired and weary looks, then returning at night to the same spot in the forest. I would lie down on the cold ground and try to sleep.
But today, as I put my hand into my pocket after work, my fingertips touched something that made me smile despite myself...
One hundred dollars.
A whole hundred. A hundred I earned with my own sweat. No one gave it to me, and I didn't find it lying on the ground. I earned it.
I looked at my employer, who seemed calmer than usual.
He came closer and said:
"Good job this week. Don't think no one noticed your hard work... Tomorrow's a day off. Take your time."
I was surprised for a moment. Tomorrow... a day off? I didn't expect to get a day of rest in this world. I felt a strange happiness—not loud joy, but something quiet and warm, as if the world decided to give me a moment to breathe.
On my way to the forest, fatigue didn't weigh down my steps as usual. I sat near a tree I knew well, the one I lean on every night. I took out my phone, opened it, but didn't do anything with it. I just stared at its silent screen. No notification from the mysterious app this time, just the "Beyond the Unknown" icon glowing faintly in its usual corner, watching silently.
I closed my eyes.
"Tomorrow's a day off... maybe it's time to look for a cheap inn. A real bed... maybe a hot shower..."
I wasn't sure how much it would cost, but with a hundred dollars in my pocket, I felt like I could buy some comfort, even if just for one day.
I smiled and fell into a different kind of sleep than any before... a sleep filled with hope, and a simple plan for a better day.
...
I woke up early, unlike usual. No sounds of workers, no shouting or orders. Today really was a day off.
I washed my face at a nearby stream in the forest, tidied up my worn clothes as best I could, then stepped from the shadows into the sunlight, with one goal in mind: to find a cheap inn.
I was looking for a simple place. A bed, a roof, and maybe a wall to keep out the cold. Just three dollars. That was my budget, no more.
I headed to the market where people were buying and selling, shouting and arguing. I stopped by a man selling fruit and asked:
"Do you know a cheap inn? Something like three dollars?"
He looked at me as if I were crazy. "Three dollars? In your dreams."
I asked a young man sitting on the curb, then a woman selling bread, then a cleaner. All their answers ranged between "I don't know" and "There's no place for that price." Some ignored me completely.
But I didn't give up. I kept asking, honestly and persistently, until my feet could hardly carry me.
Then, as I sat at the side of the road, struggling to catch my breath, I heard a quiet voice behind me:
"You're looking for a cheap place."
I turned around, and there she was. An old woman with kind features and a face full of the wrinkles of time. She held a small basket of medicinal herbs.
"Yes!" I answered quickly, as if I had grabbed a lifeline.
She smiled and said, "There's a place... it's not famous, but it's safe. Run by a woman old like me. Come, I'll show you the way."
I stood up, feeling that this small moment was a new victory... a small path toward real warmth, even if just for one day.