1: Suddenly, I Found Myself in an Unfamiliar Town

Suddenly, I found myself in an unfamiliar town.

“Huh?” I grunted in dumbstruck surprise.

Buildings lined the thoroughfare, dotted by stalls and shops. People were coming and going. Wagons rattled along, their wheels kicking up dust clouds.

But it was all wrong. The architecture. The color and feel of the stalls. Even the designs and patterns of the clothes people were wearing. None of it was familiar to me.

That said... judging by the blatant stares we were getting from passersby, it felt more likewe were the ones who were out of place. I couldn’t grok what about us seemed so strange, though.

I wore a shortsword on my belt and my entire outfit was peppered with jeweled amulets, but I was primarily dressed in a black cape and bandanna. I kinda stood out in such a bright and cheery place—or maybe brought it down—but that’s basically standard issue for a sorcerer.

Meanwhile, my companion was tall, blond, and handsome. Gourry didn’t exactly have the typical rough-and-tumble appearance of a swordsman, but his light mail and longsword were pretty on point.

Something beyond that must have pegged us as outsiders.

“Say, Lina... just throwing this out there...” Gourry muttered softly. “But is this not Latka City?”

“I was just wondering the same thing,” I replied, staring out into space.

“No