"I'll be going out to buy some bread. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, alright?" said Donovan as he walked to the front door. He was dressed in a white t-shirt with gray pants.
"Hey, buy some ice cream for me." Layla was still seated on the sofa, immersed in a video game.
Upon leaving, Donovan was reminded of the days when he lived with his siblings. Rosalind would always order him around, sending him on errands.
Man, what the f**k is this situation… What have I gotten myself into?
Donovan exited his apartment building with his umbrella with him, and recalled where the nearest bakery was located. Inwardly, he prayed that nothing would go wrong.
He decided to walk instead of using Flight. He hasn't been getting any exercise lately. After seven minutes, he checked his watch.
9:24 a.m.
Four minutes later, he finally reached the bakery. It was a small and modest-looking bakery with almost no customers at all. Upon telling the cashier what he wanted, Donovan took out his wallet.
Galacreds didn't look that different from the currency in his previous life as Leon. The currency wasn't being made in paper bills, but it was made in thin, hard, metallic, rectangular-shaped bars. The texture of the Galacred was quite smooth to the touch, and they varied in color with each denomination. There was the word "HUT" engraved in the top-right corner of the Galacred bar.
The currency system in this universe is quite strange. Coins aren't being made at all, and only these strange-looking currencies called Galacreds are being made and circulated all throughout the cosmos.
I'm guessing that almost every major civilization, planet, or uh, organization in the universe has accepted and began to use Galacreds. The House of Universum Trade… The influence they have throughout the cosmos must be great, probably even greater than Umbrellas.
The Galacred had a total of 9 denominations. The 1 cred bar, the 5 cred bar, the 10 cred bar, the 50 cred bar, the 100 cred bar, the 500 cred bar, the 1,000 cred bar, and finally, high-tiers that were rarely carried physically: the 5,000 and 10,000 cred bar.
The 1 cred bar is green in color… Going by the order of each denomination from lowest to highest, the colors of each of them are: green, red, blue, dark-red, violet, cyan, silver, gold, and finally, black…
"That'll be sixty creds, please," said the female cashier.
Donovan took out a 50 cred bar, as well as a 10 cred bar, handing it to the cashier. Donovan had bought six pieces of bread with chocolate filling. Grabbing the paper bag, he left the bakery.
He began walking towards the ice cream store. Precisely five and a half minutes later, he entered the ice cream store.
Hm. What flavor does she even want? Chocolate… it's a pretty safe flavor, right? Or I could go for vanilla…
In the end, Donovan chose chocolate. He decided to go for the larger one, because he, too, also craved ice cream. The ice cream was packed in a medium-sized box container.
"That'll be three hundred and fifty."
With a nod, Donovan paid for the ice cream. Upon exiting the ice cream store, he heard the sounds of vehicles flying from high above, headed north.
Hm. I think they're starting to prepare for the upcoming concert. Hm… Oh, right, Lena Dove. If I remember correctly, her concert was going to be held on the 8th of February… That's only six days away! Sh*t, I need to buy a ticket, I completely forgot… Please don't let it be sold out…
I didn't bring my phone with me, I could just easily buy a ticket online… I should act quickly.
Donovan immediately called for a taxi. The car was yellow in color. Upon entering, Donovan said, "To the concert venue." He didn't need to explain which concert venue it was, because there was only one concert that would be held on Umbrellas.
The car rose up from the ground, and began to fly to their destination. About eleven minutes later, Donovan paid the taxi driver and got out. With the bread and ice cream in his right hand, he walked towards the concert stadium.
It was very large, and it looked like it could accommodate a million people, when in actuality, it can only hold 25,000, or maybe 50,000 people… Walking to the main entrance, and towards the ticket booth, he was glad that the tickets hadn't sold out yet. There were many people walking around. Thankfully, the line wasn't that long.
It wasn't long until it was Donovan's turn to buy a ticket. He was about to buy a single ticket when a certain someone came to mind. Miss Sylvia… I don't know if she's going to the concert or not, but, uh… I should still make sure, just in case… right?
Donovan bought two tickets. With a sigh of relief, he called for another taxi and told the driver his address.
Entering his apartment, Donovan found Layla still playing on the console. "Oh, welcome back," she said.
"Here." Donovan put the bread and ice cream on the table.
With a smile, Layla walked towards the table, found the ice cream, and opened it.
But soon, her smile slowly turned into a frown. "Hey! This has completely melted!"
Donovan, who was in the middle of drinking a glass of water, turned to look at her. Damn, I took too long to come back… "I had to take a detour…"
Layla sighed. "Whatever. Hey, your fridge is expensive, right?"
Before Donovan could answer, Layla placed the ice cream in the freezer. "What'd you do, anyway?"
"You know Lena Dove, that up and coming star? The really famous one?" asked Donovan.
"Oh, her. You bought a ticket?"
"I did."
"Show me."
Sighing, Donovan reluctantly… and stupidly showed her two tickets. Upon seeing this, Layla smiled. "Hey, you bought two! Sweet."
Oh no. Donovan hurriedly hid the tickets away. "Hey, this is for someone else."
She frowned. "What…? Oh, come on, you know that I can't leave this apartment, right? I haven't bought a ticket yet! Be a pal, and just give me that ticket…"
"You can just buy them online…" said Donovan.
"I don't have a phone, it went to the afterlife along with my apartment."
"I'll let you borrow mine."
"I forgot my account details."
"I'll create one for you."
"No."
"..." Donovan wanted to facepalm.
"Donovan, come on, don't you want to go to a concert with someone beautiful and pretty like me?" she said smugly.
Eventually, Donovan gave in. "Fine…"
"Whoo!" Layla received the ticket from him.
Donovan couldn't help but ask, "Why do you even want to go to the concert when you're too scared to come out?"
"To have fun, obviously. Besides, I'll just hide my face."
"Then…" Donovan shook his head with an exasperated sigh, not wanting to continue what he was going to say. But he continued his words in his mind. Then you could've just bought a ticket using the same method of hiding your face…
He sat beside her on the sofa, placing the paper bag full of bread on the small table in front. Donovan watched the game she was playing, and how she played it. He'd occasionally tell her what she was doing wrong.
They both finished the bread that Donovan had bought. After about an hour and fifteen minutes, Layla took out the ice cream from the freezer.
It was once again frozen, as though it had never melted in the first place. They thoroughly enjoyed the ice cream together. The two of them were now watching an action movie.
After the movie, Donovan grabbed the ice cream box that was now empty, and went to the sink to wash it.
Seeing this, Layla was curious. "You actually wash those?"
"I do. Why do you ask?"
"Me, I always just throw them away."
"That's wasteful."
"Mm…" Layla turned her gaze away from Donovan and focused on the TV.
Some time later, night had fallen on the city of Umbrellas. Donovan exited the bathroom in a fresh set of clothes. Layla was still seated on the sofa, playing a video game.
Is she just gonna play video games the entire time she's freeloading in my place? Sigh…
Donovan then decided to make dinner by himself. After the food was set on the table, Donovan and Layla shared a silent meal together. Immediately after eating dinner, Layla went back to the sofa.
Washing the dishes, Donovan couldn't help but sigh. If I had been just a bit more assertive at that time, maybe I wouldn't be letting her live here freely. I can be such a pushover sometimes… Scratch that, I'm a pushover at all times…
10:48 p.m.
Layla had fallen asleep on the sofa while the TV was still turned on. Donovan turned it off, as well as the lights, and covered her with a blanket.
He wasn't in the mood to sleep just yet, so he went to the balcony. The cold, night breeze swept through his body, sending chills down his spine.
A can of beer would hit the spot right now… No, stop that.
His gaze froze on the endless expanse of the city from below. Unfortunately, the view of the city was only half, because there was a tall building in front of his balcony with a bright billboard.
He's seen this exact same billboard a million times now ever since the day of the original Donovan's arrival on Umbrellas.
Ever since "I" arrived in Umbrellas to be a student at MTA, this billboard has engraved itself into my memories. I've never seen it turned off even once.
Well, I guess it's nice…? After all, the light it emits is enough to be a light source for my apartment, where I don't even need to turn on the lights…
As his gaze was stuck on the billboard, embracing the cold air of the night, he suddenly felt a strange melancholy sweep through his entire body.
In his previous life as Leon Valentin, he never wanted anyone to worry about him. The same could also be said for his current life as Donovan Volgard.
Now, this entire situation of waking up in a different body in an unfamiliar universe has thrown his entire being off balance.
I hope they're doing fine. Two things could be happening right now in my original world. Either getting transmigrated has caused my body to become an empty shell, having fallen into a "coma," or… my body could've just straight up disappeared, leading them to search for me constantly, a fruitless effort…
Hah, who am I kidding… The question is, in the second possible scenario, would they… even be searching for me at all? No, stop the self-deprecation, they'd definitely search for me. I mean, I hope so…
Donovan let out a heavy sigh. He then raised his head, looking up at the moon. His mind went to Layla.
How repulsive of me. Damn you, why are you actually expecting something to happen between you and her? She's nothing but a freeloader. She won't look at you that way, Donovan.
He scratched his head. Quit it, you bastard.
Suddenly, his mind went to a certain "someone." That "someone" being Sylvia Swan. At the same time, a prickle of guilt struck his heart.
Having dinner with a woman, and then letting a different woman live at your place, all in the same night… You're the f**king worst, Donovan. With a distasteful scoff that was directed at himself, Donovan pulled away from the railings, when he suddenly heard something that stopped him in his tracks and sent true chills down his spine.
"Quite the ugly situation you have yourself in, hm?"
The voice was all too familiar.
Donovan immediately turned around, but no one was there. He looked up and around him, only to find no one.
Hana Isabelle…
After precisely five seconds, Donovan smiled and chuckled. And as he walked towards the sliding glass door, he spoke in a low voice with a hint of resignation, "I know, right?"