=== START ===
"Well here's my home." Iger gestured with his hand to the small homey shed dug into the side of a small hill. Half the structure protruded from the ground, patched mud and old seasoned logs made up the walls while the roof was tied together with straw and other materials to retain the warmth inside while keeping water out.
Winter and Atago entered the small shelter and looked around. Aside from the small bedroom in the back, the living area was large enough to accommodate more than a few people. Hunting and other nifty old tools lined the walls. There was a half rotten table beside the wall with an earthen bowl accompanied by a matching mug. The center held a firepit with an empty metal pot- this eras version of a kitchen.
It only reinforced Winter's conclusion.
Not only were they in a different place, they were also possibly in a different time.
"I'll just bring this deer to the butcher. I'll bring food when I come back."
The thick wooden door closed behind them, leaving Winter and Atago alone in the orange-tinted interior courtesy of the afternoon sun.
"…"
"…"
The two stayed silent for a few moments as they registered everything. Atago walked around with wide eyes as she took in the place around them.
"Are we…really lost?"
"Beyond lost. I don't think we're in the same country." Winter wasn't even sure if medieval villages existed in the modern era. The entire settlement looked too perfect. It looked better and weirder than how the movies portrayed them. Movies only copied from records, which couldn't capture the exact atmosphere a real medieval village had.
"…"
The silence permitted for a moment longer as they came to terms with the situation.
"What do we do now…?" Atago whispered.
"Work." Winter looked out the window. Not much of one. It was a hole in the wall. There was a wooden board underneath it, most likely the cover used when the window needed to be closed. "Learn more about this place. Take it slow. We'll figure out things step by step."
"I'll just…I'll just go out and look around." Atago disappeared out the front door. Winter quietly followed behind her. He stayed at the doorway of Iger's small hut while the shipgirl stood outside. She stared at the village around them, taking it all in silently. Her expression was blank, but Winter understood the feelings she hid. He was also experiencing the same thing.
Overwhelmingly lost.
It was drowned out during the past few days while they focused on surviving in the forest, but seeing an old village from a bygone era only pushed it up to the surface.
They watched the village in silence. A sea of orange basked the houses under the dipping sun. The heavy feeling of their new reality set in as it lowered on the horizon.
It was half an hour later when Iger returned.
"You two look like hell. Is something wrong?" He grunted upon stopping in front of them.
"Just…a lot to take in…" Winter admitted. He didn't explain further. He wasn't sure if he should reveal anything about them yet.
"Never been outside the cities eh? You both look lost."
"No…not really." Winter shook his head. He's had a little time to accept the situation. "Can we ask for a favour…?"
"Depends on what you're asking."
"We don't have money…" It was a problem that surfaced on Winter's mind while he and Atago waited for Iger's return.
"I figured. You and the lassie weren't carrying anything with you." When Iger came across the two lost strangers, he picked apart their appearance. Both Winter and Atago looked drained from their time in the forest. Their clothes didn't come anywhere close to being suitable for the forest, and not to mention the constant sense of confusion coming from them.
Iger could instantly tell they weren't bandits. They didn't pose a threat so he waited for them.
"You're lucky you caught me right after a hunt. I just sold the deer to the butcher." Iger patted the pocket of his hunting coat where the money was. "But you can't expect me to pay for all your food. You have to work for it. This isn't enough to keep all of us fed for the week."
Or wait until your household finds you.
Iger didn't share those thoughts. From the way Winter and Atago carried themselves, he assumed that the two grew up sheltered from some decent well-off household. They looked too well-kept to have lived or grown amongst the people. Their atmosphere carried some naivety and inexperience that was too obvious to hide.
He was hoping that maybe their families would offer him a nice reward for keeping them safe.
Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case.
===
"We'll find something to do…" Winter looked around. He wasn't familiar with the jobs of the village, but he had seen enough movies to have a few ideas in mind.
"We have a pub. Dinner's on me. I bet you two are hungry, aye?" Iger grinned.
"Atago?" Winter nudged the shipgirl silently.
"...oh. Yeah, hungry." Atago mumbled blankly.
"Come on." Winter gently shook her shoulders. "Real food! Not fish like the past few days."
Iger led them through the village towards the pub. The admiral and shipgirl were still overwhelmed with recent discoveries. Anxiety filled them even after an hour since their arrival. The village's atmosphere was foreign to them just like the forest they left behind.
Just like earlier, their attention was drawn to the vividness of the village. Spending a few days in the forest waiting for rescue, only to discover that there was likely none. Followed by the discovery of a village too real to be called fake? It dawned on Winter and Atago that they were somewhere else entirely.
If anything, they were still trying to cling on to a small bit of hope that maybe this was a dream. Even if that sentiment was proven false on the first day.
Winter and Atago's eyes jumped on every detail they noticed. Most of the buildings were single-story homes of timber and straw roofs. The wood looked thick and old, but its age guaranteed that the structure lasted for quite some time already. A couple of them were different in that there was a second floor, or looked more stable with stone walls. The street was a basic path of compacted earth flattened from everyday use. It was uneven in some areas along with branching paths to other areas of the village. The main street they walked through was wider than the rest. It was not quite straight, winding through the village with a few turns. There were no visible streetlights. The closest Winter could identify were lamps hanging on buildings that aligned the street.
Eyes landed on them as they walked. Winter and Atago's attention went from gaping at the village to watching the people who took notice of them. How could they not? The villagers here knew each other quite well. The sight of strangers was enough to create a ruckus.
Atago flinched under the gaze of several men. She stepped closer to Winter, who was receiving just as many stares from the same gender. The women were already talking with one another, pointing and looking at them.
"Sorry about them. I already mentioned earlier, right? Your friend is practically an angel to us. It's not everyday we see such beauty." Iger chuckled. "They won't cause trouble. Trust me."
"If you say so…" Atago mumbled hesitantly. For one, the men were looking as if dazed. Even the marines back at the naval base didn't have such expressions. The women tried to hide it, but it was obvious from the constant glances that they were talking behind their hands.
They finally arrived at the pub just before sunset. The sky was shifting between hues of dark orange, red, and purple to prepare for the dark canvas of night. The lamps were lit, illuminating small patches of the street. The three of them stood outside a two-story building with a signboard out.
Winter blinked at the recognizable letters that formed the word "pub" on the small wooden plank hammered above the doors. His eyes widened after reading the word several times. English? Here? At least he could read something. Maybe they weren't so lost after all.
Iger held the door open and gestured for Winter and Atago to enter. The interior was warm and lively with villagers spread all over the place. Lamps hung off the ceiling and tables were filled with food and drink. Just like the people they had seen outside, the people here wore matching outfits that wouldn't look out of place in a historical movie.
Their arrival wasn't noticed except for a few nearby customers who glanced when Iger opened the door. Their attention returned back to their meals before they did a double take to look at them. Aware that a few eyes were being drawn their way, Atago ducked and quickly shuffled to one of the empty tables near the exit. Winter followed her while watching as Iger greeted some friends who saw him enter.
"There's so many people…" Atago uncomfortably hid her face behind her right hand as she settled down.
"Not as many as the base personnel during meal hours." Winter commented.
"But they keep looking at me." Atago mumbled with a pointed stare at him. "I don't like it."
"It's the same back in base no?"
"It's not the same!" Atago hissed while burying her face behind her arms. More customers were now looking in their direction while talking with company. Winter noticed as the attention on them grew as more people looked.
Atago peeked through a small gap between her elbow at the large number of people. Some were outright staring while others were trying to keep it low key by hiding their glances between drinks and bites. It was grinding on her nerves to have the attention of so many strangers. It felt different unlike those back in the base. Unlike the marines and personnel, the stares were pointed with a noticeable difference. Back at the base, the shipgirls may have gotten stares because of their looks, but many held them in respect for their contribution to protecting the waters around the naval bases.
Here? Atago felt like she was being watched like some sort of show.
"Hey, I'm back." Iger appeared in front of their table with a grin. "Do you have any food in mind?"
"Do you have a menu?" Winter asked. The food he saw from the other tables were half recognizable while a few others looked new.
"What's a menu?" Iger raised an eyebrow.
"A list of food." Winter then changed the wording when Iger gave him another confused expression. "What food you have here."
"Well not much. We have bread, vegetables, deer, and some fruits. Sometimes, we're lucky if we get salt and pepper." Iger rubbed his beard in thought.
Atago slowly raised her face from cover to look at Iger with a blank expression. Winter could see the gears turning in her mind. His mind was probably running on the same thought process. Salt? Pepper? He didn't know a lot about cooking, but those were just a few ingredients used compared to how much variety was needed to make food nowadays.
"Uhh…we'll take whatever you recommend." Winter nudged Atago's leg under the table with his. She glanced at him and saw his pointed expression.
"We don't really know your food here. We'll just pick what you think is best." Atago's expression formed into a smile.
It was devastating.
Winter watched with dawning horror as the people behind Iger froze. Iger, the poor bloke in front of a full powered Atago smile stumbled. To his credit, the aged hunter recovered with commendable speed. Winter remembered his first time meeting the shipgirls. The scientists behind the project held nothing bad when giving their experiments everything they had. Every shipgirl was like a piece of art. They could easily apply for modeling careers in different fields. Beautiful, sexy, elegant, cute, you name it, there were shipgirls who could fit every type.
Unlike Iger who held himself admirably, Winter remembered collapsing along with the other academy officers.
It was also the day they joined the shipgirl fan club.
Atago quickly ducked away and hid behind her arms when she noticed the large crowd staring at her with various expressions. Some even had their mouths drop open in surprise.
"IGER WHO IS SHE???"
"FUCKING LUCKY BASTARD-"
"YOU ASS-"
"PIPE DOWN WILL YA? YOU'RE SCARING HER!" Iger roared over the din. The pub atmosphere lowered a bit, but everyone's attention was still on the girl.
Atago just wanted the ground to swallow her up. Thankfully the order was stew- simple, economical, and already prepared. It was served with a piece of bread, not the kind Atago was familiar with, but was coarse and hard. The soup was a little better. It was basically a mix of meat and vegetables sprinkled with some salt. The heated broth drew the juices out of the meat and the softness of the vegetables into a passable meal. The bare addition of salt did a small favor to enhance the meal's flavor, though it was still far from the food the admiral and shipgirl were used to. The two rushed to finish their food and quickly disappeared out of the pub.
"What did I do?!" Atago groaned while covering her face in embarrassment.
"I can't blame them. I'd probably do the same if I've never seen you girls in real life." Winter chuckled slightly. Atago elbowed him in the gut lightly, but it was strong enough to force him on the ground.
"Yeah?" The shipgirl raised her tone. She was miffed that Winter was on their side.
"Think about the possibilities. We need money, right? You can work in the pub!" Winter stood up and raised his arms to placate the girl. "With all those people, we can learn more about this place!"
Atago froze. "You are not making me work here."
"As your admiral, I am. Besides, I also have to find work, you know." Winter glared at her. "I'm probably going to do something physical or worse."
"I'll kill you."
"Probably the better choice really." Winter wasn't looking forward to living life in a backwards era. Iger's home didn't even have a toilet! The villagers probably took a shit somewhere outside and just covered it up with soil, or worse, just left it out in the open.
Atago glared really hard at him before stomping off to Iger's home first.
=== CHOICE ===
Suggest some funny ideas you have in mind for the village work. Anything goes. Will use some fun ones if I like them.