The Hidden World

Yuki was walking with Akira through the city of Fenrir. They had just finished their hunting for the day and now it was 20:00. They had two hours before the scheduled curfew.

“Let’s sell these monsters and then we’ll get something to eat,” Yuki said to Akira.

She was walking beside him, nearly touching, and was looking around at the city. She turned her head when Yuki spoke.

“That seems like a good idea, I’m a bit hungry after all of that exercise,” she replied. “Do you know where we’re supposed to go to sell out game? There wasn’t a hunter outpost at the hunting grounds.”

“No. But I can ask.”

Yuki’s hand went to his pocket and he took out a small ear piece that he slotted into his ear.

“Uriel, are you there?” he asked, tapping on the device.

“I’m always here,” she said. “What do you need boss?”

“Do you know where I need to go in Fenrir to sell some dead monsters?”

“If you were part of a guild then you would go to your guild house,” she answered. “But since you are not, I would recommend going to the GMD.”

“The Guild Management Department I take it?”

“Mhmm. It’s almost time for dinner so you will be eating soon as well, right?” Uriel asked.

“That’s correct.”

“Then this is perfect!” she exclaimed. “The GMD’s main headquarters also functions as a restaurant and bar. You need to be of legal age to eat there but I’m sure you’ll manage.”

“I will,” Yuki said.

During the operation to kidnap Ludwig, Yuki had hacked into government records with the help of Uriel and created a pair of fake IDs for him and Akira. They needed these in order to enter the club their target was at.

“Please show me the way.”

“It’s actually not that far from here. Just go straight down this path and you’ll see a building with a large sign that says GMD,” Uriel instructed.

“Thank you. I’ll contact you again if I need something,” Yuki said.

“Bye~.”

Yuki took out the earpiece and placed it back into his pocket. Then he glanced at Akira who was waiting for him to finish talking with Uriel.

“She said that we can sell them at the Guild Management Department,” he told her. “It’s also a restaurant so we can get food at the same time. It’s right down the street.”

“Great, let’s go,” Akira replied with a grin.

They walked down the brick paved road and in a few minutes found the building. Like Uriel had said, it had a large sign hanging in front of it that read “GMD: Bar and Grill” in large letters imprinted on a metal plate.

“Let’s go in,” Yuki said, pushing the door open.

As they walked in, Yuki knew that there was a sensor right above the door frame that was scanning everyone that entered the building. This sensor would identify whoever the person that just entered was and verify that they were of the right age to be at a bar. Yuki figured out that this was done by scanning a person’s personal devices for basic information like name, species, and birthday. This was then crossed referenced with the information in government servers.

What Yuki did was create a program that connected his watch to these government servers. When a sensor scanned his watch, the program would create a fake profile that would then be uploaded onto the servers. The sensor would find it and verify it, letting him enter. Then once he entered, the fake profile would be deleted from the servers.

‘It helps that they can’t use images of people since they can just change their appearances with magic.’

“I think I see where we sell out things,” Akira said right into his ear. It was quite loud inside. “I’ll go do it for you since I have the enchantment on my ring now. Just get us a seat and order some food.”

‘What do you want to eat?’ Yuki transmitted.

[Whatever, I trust your tastes.]

Then she walked off to the corner of the floor where a female receptionist with a white smile was talking with a burly dwarf who was displaying a dead monster. Yuki went to the bar and sat down. He tapped on the countertop and a bartender came to him.

“What can I get ya?” the elf asked, wiping a glass. “Haven’t seen you around here before, are you new?”

“You can say that. What do you have?” Yuki asked.

“Lemme get ya a menu real quick,” the male elf said, bending behind the counter. Then he stood up and placed a pane of glass in front of Yuki. “There ya go. Need some time before you decide?”

Yuki said nothing and tapped on the glass. It lit up and began to display a list of menu items. There were about ten dishes and when Yuki tapped on one, it would show a picture of the dish along with the ingredients that were used to make the food.

“I’ll take sandwich plate for myself and a steak meal for my partner who will be here soon.” Yuki ordered.

“Anything to drink?”

‘Akira, what do you want to drink?’

[Water is fine. Maybe some champagne if I’m in the mood later.]

“A glass of water and a bottle champagne.”

“Alrighty, I’ll be right back with your drinks,” the bartender said. “Your food will come out about five minutes later.”

The elf left and Yuki waited for Akira to return. He entertained himself by observing the people around him. They were a diverse bunch of people with elves, dwarves, and beastkin. Most seemed to be hunters of some sort with their weapons by their sides and their bodies dressed in light armor. They all seemed to be in high spirits, laughing and drinking with each other.

‘So this city seems to be pretty safe right now.’

[I’m back~,] Akira transmitted to Yuki.

Yuki felt someone sit next to him and turned to see her on the stool beside him.

[So, what did you get me?] she asked, her mouth moving as she sent the message.

‘Steak. I’m pretty sure that’s what you’ll want,’ Yuki told her, his mouth moving as well. ‘If not, then I can always switch it.’

[Steak seems good. This city is quite nice, isn’t it?]

Yuki glanced around the room again and looked outside the windows. It was dark and the metal street lights illuminated the paved roads. Inside the bar were people that were noisy but enjoying themselves without making a ruckus.

‘It is. I wouldn’t mind living here, honestly. It would make for a nice home and it seems like this city isn’t under constant surveillance like in Junction.’

[I was thinking the same. Someday, maybe.]

‘Someday.’ Yuki repeated.

Their drinks came out along with their food and they dug right in. Akira’s steak meal was a thick cut of steak with what looked to be rice, some pan fried vegetables, and side of soup. It looked very basic but it smelled quite nice to Yuki. His own dinner was just two sandwiches. Or really, one large sandwich that was cut diagonally in half. It was a rather fat sandwich with large slices of meat and layered with vegetables and cheese.

[The food here is pretty good,] Akira commented while munching on her meat. [I prefer yours though.]

‘It is pretty good. And if you really like my cooking, I can cook for you tomorrow if you’ll like.’

[I look forward to it.]

They continued to eat and Yuki stopped half way for a small break from his meal. He poured himself a cup of champagne and glanced around the room again. Then his eyes landed on a familiar face. One that he hadn’t seen since his time on Earth.

‘Akira, look who came by.’

She paused her eating and looked at the same direction that Yuki tilted his head towards. Her eyes widened momentarily before a smile bloomed along her face. Then she went back to her meal.

[Invite her over,] she told Yuki.

‘I was planning to,’ he replied. ‘Let’s say hi.’

He kept his eyes on the girl that had just walked into the bar and saw her glance over at his direction. He rose his hand a little, and gave a little wave.

‘Nice to see you again,’ he thought, his lips moving to form the same words. ‘I didn’t think that I would see you again so soon.’

The girl’s eyes widened and her mouth parted. She blinked, shook her head, and stared at Yuki again. Yuki raised his eyebrow in response.

“Yuki?” Erica mouthed.