Chapter 1.1
01. Visitor from Another World
1-1. The First Time in Another World
"Whooooaaaaahhhhh!"
It was early afternoon, in a certain town. A wild unrestrained scream pierced the air.
It was a shout filled with astonishment and confusion.
The source of this uproar was a young boy. With black hair and dressed in a school uniform, he clutched the strap of his school bag which slung diagonally over his shoulder. His slightly shorter-than-average legs were spread in an unsteady stance, trembling with uncertainty.
I must reiterate, this was in the middle of the town. Moreover, there was a prominent large fountain nearby, and the public square was bustling with people passing by. Since it was the weekend, it was even busier than usual. The square was filled with numerous families and couples. In a place like this, what would happen if someone suddenly raised their voice like this?
The answer was something the boy would come to know firsthand. Peculiar gazes and blatant expressions of disdain were directed towards him all at once.
However, he paid no heed to the cold reaction from those around him. It wasn't because he possessed nerves of steel.
He simply had no room for it. The boy was in a state of utter confusion. Where in the world was this? After all, just a moment ago he should have been on his way home from school.
He had been trudging down the familiar route he walked every day, descending the slope that led to his home. He had made a slight detour to admire the cherry blossoms in the park, and the last thing he remembered was dozing off comfortably on a bench.
So, how on earth did he end up in a place like this? His surroundings were filled with unfamiliar sights.
At the very least, it was clear this wasn't something from Japan, but it also differed from Western-style scenes. The Street lamps lining the main road were all twisted into strange shapes, and the principle behind the fountain that autonomously overflowed water from a suspended sphere was completely incomprehensible.
Yet, the oddities didn't stop with just the townscape.
It extended to the people walking through the city.
A Fat, noble-looking baron with curly blond hair. There were cat-eared maids distributing flyers, and street vendors energetically calling out to attract customers. And then, on the other side of the street, there was a notably eye-catching group of four young men and women.
Leading the way was a young man with a billowing blue cape and a one-handed sword, followed by a burly man wearing full-body armor and carrying a shield as tall as himself. The petite girl bringing up the rear was unmistakably a priestess, dressed in predominantly white ceremonial robes and carrying a golden crosier.
"Adventurers, perhaps...?"
The word suddenly popped into his head, and he blurted it out. As he watched them, not much older than himself, the boy could only stand there in bewilderment. It wasn't until their figures disappeared into the crowd that the boy finally returned to his original thoughts. Where in the world was this?
There wouldn't be a Halloween event at this time of year, and he had no recollection of participating in such a large-scale cosplay event. Could his memory be playing tricks on him? Was there some fundamental misunderstanding?
However, this seemingly ordinary school uniform he was wearing proved that to be highly unlikely. But if that wasn't the case, what other possibilities remained? While Pressing his index finger against his forehead, the boy furrowed his brows and murmuring, he desperately tried to recall the events that led him to this point.
Truth be told, at this point, there was only one answer that came to mind. However, the boy immediately dismissed it from his thoughts. It couldn't possibly be true. Because It was utterly ridiculous.
He was already fed up with piling up black history through hasty assumptions and misconceptions. But if that wasn't the case, then what was this current situation? That's when his thoughts finally came to a dead end.
"Hey, you! What the hell are you doing over there!?"
A rough, angry voice descended from above his head.
"Huh?"
Wondering what on earth was happening, I looked up in the direction of the voice. At the same time, the boy realized something. Somehow, the surroundings had become strangely dim. No, that wasn't it.
The boy's shadow was caught within some other monstrously large shadow. The answer came as soon as the boy lifted his vague face.
It was a turtle. A tortoise as large as a truck, extended its long neck and looked down at the boy. It chewed on a bundle of straw piled high in its mouth.
"Ah, gah...!?"
the boy stiffened Suddenly confronted by a vastly superior being of the nature, unable take a single step.
What on earth was happening? How could he survive this situation? He didn't know. Unaware and feeling like he had been dragged out for eternity, a few seconds passed by, leaving him feeling completely detached from reality.
The consciousness of the boy, who was on the brink of collapse, was abruptly brought back to reality just in time.
"Hey, are you listening, you little brat?! I'm talking to you!!"
It was the same angry voice of the burly man he'd heard earlier. For a moment, he was struck by the illusion that the turtle had spoken.
However, he quickly realized that wasn't the case. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a small platform attached between the turtle's actual body and its hard, rock-like shell. The one who had actually raised his voice was the burly man who had taken position there, holding the reins.
"You're just standing there like an idiot in the middle of the road! Can't you see it's blocking me!?"
He swung his arm out as if leaning out from the platform, and in quick succession, he shouted angrily. And at that moment, the boy finally grasped the other's point.
"Huh, the road...?"
Checking his position with a sense of disbelief, he confirmed it. The spot where the boy had been standing was right in the middle of one of the multiple lanes of the main street. Apparently, while he was distracted by his surroundings, he had inadvertently stepped out of the sidewalk.
"Hurry up and move! You wanna get run over!?"
"S-Sorry!"
Under a barrage of angry shouts once again, the boy scrambled to move out of the way.
"Tch, brat."
The man on the platform flicked the reins with a bang. He glared with a mixture of clicking his tongue, and along with the tortoise's march, they moved on. With a resonant thud pounding against his chest, the colossal figure, boasting an overwhelming mass, crossed right in front of him and gradually receded into the distance.
For a long time, the boy sat on the side of the road, watching the departing figures. Unaware that he was once again drawing attention from those around him.
Eventually, when nobody showed any interest in him, he slowly stood up. He then lightly patted the dust that had settled on his hips and knees. In the midst of such deliberate movements, the boy was trying to somehow collect his thoughts, which had by now turned completely blank.
However, one would have to admit that such efforts were a reckless endeavor. After all, there was simply too much information to process. And a portion of it was taken up by that tortoise he had just seen.
He could state with certainty that a tortoise of that dinosauric size, no matter how vast the world may be, would never exist in the world he originally came from, not even if he were to go back to the Cretaceous period. With that in mind, if he were to insist on further confirmation...
It was already quite late for such a revelation, and it was certainly a rather classic method. With a determined grip, the boy pinched his right cheek and pulled it. From there, a faint but distinct pain began to spread.
"Ouch..."
Speaking the confirmed fact, the boy felt a sense of relief from the depths of his heart. After all, if it turned out to be some kind of dream at this point, he wouldn't have the confidence to recover. So, at that moment, the boy was finally able to be certain.
This was neither a dream nor an illusion, it was an undeniable reality. In other words, there was only one conclusion to be drawn. This was not the world the boy originally came from.
In other words...
"—A different, world."
Just a moment ago, it was a possibility that had occurred to the boy, but one he had promptly dismissed. The moment he spoke those words, the sense of reality rapidly took hold.
Before he knew it, an excitement swelling up within him, the boy raised his clenched fist with all his might.
"I've finally come to a different world!!!"
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