Katsuko's POV
I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that this kid, Basilio Valencia, was from the Philippines…Woah…
A bit later, he finished his transaction with the owner of a small school supplies shop (That is, a wooden, handmade pen and a small notepad with pages of cotton paper) and went back with his Vamzom escorts. "Hey, do you have free time this afternoon?" he asked.
I then replied, "Yeah, not much to do this afternoon. Today is my day off from my part-time job as a city guard."
"Oh, so you work as a guard, too?"
"Yup, so I could pay for my rent and extra tuition, among other expenses…"
"Tuition? As in you're currently attending school?"
Kahraman then entered our conversation. "Yes, in the prestigious Saint Amar Academy here in Sárga Madár."
"Woah, a prestigious school?" Basilio asked back.
"Yup," I responded brightly, "and I was pretty lucky that I got a scholarship for that by the duke since I was an Otherworlder who entered this world all of a sudden, well, at least more than a year now…"
To that Basilio thinks for a while, probably about the scholarship thing…
But he snapped out and replied, "I see then…"
He then changed the topic. "Also, where do you live here?"
"Ah!" I was excited and willing to take him to my home. "Come with us. These siblings and I live nearby from each other."
Kahraman, Viviana, and I went to the neighborhood where we live, prompting Basilio and his escorts to follow from behind.
After a bit, we arrived at the street where our homes were. Kahraman and Viviana lived in a house surrounded by stone walls and accessible through a main gate, similar that of Korean or Japanese rural homes back in my past life, while I got a humble unit abode in a communal home. Yup, that thing is social housing, which was a thing in this world.
So, upon seeing my home, Basilio and his escorts couldn't help but be in awe and shock to see that. My home was one story and had one floor, surrounded by a common, communal area, and had a front, small yard that was gated. It was basically a community behind closed gates.
And then, as we entered through the front gate, my landlord, a young man named Valeria Matsukawa, came upon seeing our presence. "Welcome back, Katsuko-kun," he said to me directly. "How's your day at school?"
"Hey there, Matsukawa-san," I replied, "it's all good and…"
I then looked at Basilio-kun and his entourage of Vamzoms guards. "…check this out, I brought some new friends here."
"Greetings, sir," Basilio said to Valeria with a respectful tone, before bowing his head.
His guards did the same out of respect.
"Woah! You're Basilio Valencia, right?" Valeria was surprised by their response and presence. "Leader of a Vamzom country called Ruslav, right?"
(Oh, I guessed he focused on me and didn't notice them on the spot.)
"Yes, I am," responded Basilio back, "are you…?"
"I'm Matsukawa Valeria," Valeria replied with respect, "I am the landlord of this housing community."
Basilio and I became friends fast.