Night fell.
Satoru Gojo leaned against the side of the street, looking at the road that had grown far quieter than it was during the day. He took two quick bites and finished the last piece of honey sponge cake in his hand, then stretched lazily, perfectly content.
"Mmm."
"The desserts in this world are actually pretty great."
He licked the lingering sweetness from the corner of his lips, brushed the crumbs from his hands, and reached into his pocket, pulling out three copper coins.
"Though it looks like I accidentally spent all my money."
Gojo scratched his head. Now that he was full, a faint wave of sleepiness crept in. Unfortunately, the three copper coins he had left were obviously not enough to find a place to stay for the night.
Still, Gojo felt this really was not his fault.
As a devoted dessert lover, there was no way he could resist tasting all the sweets he had never even heard of before in this other world.
It was just that desserts here were… a little on the expensive side.
And he might have bought a bit too many.
Well, it was understandable. In a medieval-style world like this, being able to eat your fill was already a blessing.
Desserts, things that brought pure happiness, counted as a luxury among food. Being pricey made sense.
"Seriously, can't heroes do something about dessert prices too, instead of just fighting witches?"
"Looks like I need to think of a solution, or I'll be sleeping on the street tonight."
Gojo pulled the last piece of candy from his pocket, popped it into his mouth, and started thinking.
But even as the number of people on the street dwindled, he remained standing there without any good ideas.
"Tch."
"If Suguru found out about this, he'd definitely laugh at me."
After thinking it over with no results, Gojo simply sat down on the steps by the roadside.
In a situation like this, there was really only one option. Once it got late enough, he could sneak into the estates of wealthy nobles or merchants.
Those mansions definitely had plenty of empty rooms. Picking one at random would be easy.
Besides, ordinary people would never notice him.
It was just… kind of annoying to resort to that.
As he was thinking, the sound of footsteps came from not far away, unusually clear in the quieting street.
Bored, Gojo looked in the direction of the sound and saw several figures approaching, dressed in crisp white uniforms.
At the front was a tall young man with flame-like red hair and clear blue eyes. His features were well-defined, his bearing outstanding.
Every movement he made looked like something straight out of a painting.
"Huh?"
When Gojo noticed him, the other man looked over at him at the same time.
Their gazes met in midair.
Instinctively.
The moment their eyes locked, the other man's presence registered in Gojo's senses.
Under the gaze of the Six Eyes, Gojo could clearly feel how exceptionally pure the aura around this young man was.
There was no malice in it, only an overwhelming vitality and a sense of order. Like a sword resting in its sheath, its edge hidden, yet impossible to ignore.
Feeling that presence, Gojo's eyes brightened behind his sunglasses.
He stood up at once and walked toward them.
"Hey, you guys are on patrol, right?"
Gojo waved cheerfully at the group, sounding completely at ease.
The red-haired man at the front wore a gentle expression and nodded politely. "We are knights of the order, currently carrying out a patrol. May I ask if you need something, sir?"
Hearing that, a smile spread across Gojo's face.
"Perfect. Then I've got the right people."
As he spoke, Gojo proactively held out both hands.
"Go ahead. Arrest me."
"Eh?"
The red-haired knight froze, clearly confused by Gojo's sudden and baffling request.
"It's fine, really. Just lock me up for the night."
Gojo yawned. "It's already late. Staying up isn't a good habit."
"Have you committed a crime and wish to turn yourself in?"
The red-haired knight stared at Gojo. Those clear, brilliant blue eyes seemed to carry a strange power that looked straight into a person's heart.
"Well, you could say that. You can take me back, lock me up, and interrogate me tomorrow."
Gojo stuck his hands out again, urging them on.
"I'm not sure why you would lie about committing a crime."
"But may I ask, are you facing some kind of trouble?"
The red-haired knight ignored Gojo's antics. He showed no agitation or impatience at all.
His tone remained calm as he looked at Gojo seriously.
"If there's anything within my ability to help with…"
Seeing that his half-hearted lie had been exposed and that the other man had no intention of arresting him, Gojo reached up and pulled his sunglasses down slightly, revealing a pair of unusual eyes that made even the red-haired knight take a second look.
"Well, now that you mention it, I actually do need some help."
"My name's Satoru Gojo. I'm a traveler from another land."
"You."
"Lend me some money."
At Gojo's words, the knights behind Reinhard exchanged glances. One of them stepped forward, clearly about to scold him.
From their point of view, this strange, flippant guy had perfectly good limbs. Instead of working to earn money, he was spouting nonsense here.
Before anyone could speak, though, the red-haired knight raised a hand to stop them.
"My name is Reinhard van Astrea. Since you're a traveler from afar, why do you have no money at all? Were you deceived?"
Unlike his companions, Reinhard showed no irritation. He asked carefully.
"Not really."
Gojo shrugged, sounding casual. "I ended up here all of a sudden. Didn't have time to prepare."
He did not explain further. Talking about things like being transported between worlds would be hard for anyone to accept.
Even he himself was still in the middle of figuring things out.
Though, given how everything was going, the odds seemed pretty high.
After hearing Gojo's explanation, Reinhard fell silent, as if thinking.
Seeing that he had not been rejected right away, Gojo pressed on.
"With your strength, you probably won't miss a little money like this, right?"
"I can owe you a favor. A favor from me is pretty valuable, you know."
Seeing how confident Gojo looked, Reinhard grew even more curious about the young man in front of him.
Under the influence of his Divine Protection, even without actively investigating, he could roughly tell that the man before him was not lying.