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Jiro Tanaka, 28 years old, single
Girlfriend: Suella Handelberg
Memoria Tris
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time employee)
Magic Aptitude: 8 (General Class)
Position: Warrior
Where in the world am I heading?
You might not understand what I’m saying all of a sudden, but don’t worry, I don’t understand either.
It’s already been a week since the business trip was mentioned.
Suella, Memoria, and the shopkeepers at Hands in the shopping street all gave me advice on traveling, and I’ve finally reached this day.
Well, setting aside the first two, I managed to sacrifice a couple of “Yukichi”s thanks to the latter group.
I can rationalize it as a lesson learned for the survival life called travel, and I can accept it for now, but when I calmly consider what I’ve learned.
Then, strangely, I realized that I was accumulating knowledge that wasn’t bound by common sense, to the extent that I question where my life is heading.
Since I changed jobs, in addition to the common sense of daily life in Japan, a second layer of common sense is now being built, like twin skyscrapers.
But whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’ll find out someday.
However, what I can say now is:
“Supervisor, what is this?”
“It’s a teleportation circle.”
“No, it looks like a trapdoor, no matter how you look at it. And the kind where you can’t see the bottom.”
At least, I can say for sure that I haven’t been learning how to travel to another world via a no-rope bungee jump.
In a certain room, though considering I’ve been through several spatial transfers, I have no idea where I am.
Perhaps I’m in a place that isn’t even within the company, with Memoria, the supervisor who doubles as escort and gate operator, and Suella.
The walls are uniformly white, with golden patterns like circuits spread across them.
I may have underestimated crossing the dimensional barrier.
Such scale, and the magic concentration filling the air, is orders of magnitude higher than anything I’ve felt before.
However, what was shown to me was a surprisingly plain-looking gate, in stark contrast to the fantastical atmosphere.
I was expecting a gate like the ones you enter dungeons, or perhaps to be sent off with some kind of magic circle, but the unexpected notion of a trapdoor exit caught me off guard, and I couldn’t hide the twitch at the corner of my mouth.
Despite the surroundings being neatly arranged and the magic circle written on it, the hole, which doesn’t match the mystical atmosphere, is not horizontal but downward.
There is a hole in the center, just wide enough for one person to pass through, as if to say, “Fall here.”
“It’s a temporary gate, so it can’t be helped that it’s this sloppy. It’s a plan for cost reduction and danger avoidance.”
“Danger avoidance?”
“From Isal’s side, this is a secret part of the Demon Lord’s Army. We can’t let them use the gate to attack us from the other side.”
“There have been several attacks using gates in the past, so this is a countermeasure.”
“I see.”
I nodded in agreement with Suella’s supplementary explanation, which followed the supervisor’s.
Dungeons are meant to be challenged, and those who maintain them must always be prepared for attacks.
Indeed, placing a fixed gate in enemy territory carries a high risk.
I can understand the reason once I hear it…
However,
“What about the return trip?”
From the sound of it, this gate is a one-way disposable item.
It’s unacceptable if I can’t come back after going.
“You can go from Isal to the Demon Lord’s continent, passing through several spaces. We will make arrangements for your return from there.”
The departure is a single step, but the return seems to be quite elaborate.
“Are you ready now?”
“Memoria, stop trying to calm yourself by escaping reality…”
“No, if we don’t go soon, Evia-sama will throw us!”
“OK, I’m ready. I’ll jump in myself, so please spare me that much.”
That look of dissatisfaction, as if saying “What a shame,” isn’t quite the same as that trio from elsewhere.
A man’s courage. I have no intention of retracting my previous statement. If what Memoria said is true, I don’t know what kind of bizarre method of crossing into another world I’ll experience, so I have no intention of deliberately creating trauma.
“Be careful, I’ll be waiting for your safe return.”
“Yeah.”
A kiss here might make it look cool, but in front of the supervisor…
“Don’t make a fuss over a kiss now, as long as you don’t take too long.”
Of course, I won’t, but the person herself gave the go-ahead, damn it.
In short, it means “Hurry up and do it.”
I’m used to the supervisor’s gestures that seem to read my mind.
I haven’t abandoned my sense of shame, and I did plenty yesterday, but, well, it’s fine.
“I’ll return safely.”
I plant a kiss, meet her gaze, and promise to return.
If Minami were here, she would surely be exclaiming, “A flag! A flag, gozaru!”
In fact, she tried to follow me (cling to me?) all the way to Isal.
It was difficult to pry her off once she latched on.
She even started using reinforcement magic.
“Then, I will too.”
“You’re coming with me, aren’t you?”
This naturally vampiric girl…
Although I appreciate her letting me off the hook for feeling embarrassed by a dramatic scene…
I readjust the leather bag on my back and stand before the gate.
“Hold hands so we don’t get separated. If we’re pulled apart in space, we’ll be wandering in subspace.”
“You should have said that earlier.”
The supervisor enjoys ruining the moment, doesn’t he?
However, without panicking, I extend my hand, and Memoria places her palm on mine.
Her cool hand, which I’ve held many times already, slowly envelops mine.
“Well then, shall we go? Memoria, please lead the way.”
“Yes, understood.”
Holding hands tightly, I wave one last time to Suella and step towards the hole.
With a gentle smile and a wave back from Suella, I take the first step towards the hole.
Once that happens, my body is easily pulled into the hole, yielding to gravity.
“It’s dense.”
“Please be careful with the magic within your body. If it leaks out, it will be absorbed all at once.”
“What happens if that occurs?”
“You’ll lose consciousness quite easily.”
“Then I’ll give it my all.”
The place I fell into was a vortex of light with fireflies dancing all around.
The first thing I felt was the density of magic.
It was a magic density rarely experienced even within dungeons, which is only natural for a passage connecting worlds.
It felt like the magic within my body was being pulled out, and though it wouldn’t affect my life, I could feel a sense of exhaustion.
The tunnel trip to another world, which felt like about a minute, ended with me being bathed in light, like being hit by a flash.
“Oh.”
“We’ve arrived.”
“Is this Isal… It’s a cave!”
“We can’t afford to transfer to conspicuous locations. If we were to transfer to a convenient spot, they would detect us from the other side. However, this spot isn’t suitable for anchoring a dungeon, but it is one of the places where coordinates can be fixed. We can’t open a gate large enough for most people to travel through, but it’s a convenient place for secret movement like this.”
“I see.”
I drop about a meter with a thud, and as I feel sand underfoot, my vision returns.
However, the scene before my eyes is dim, only bright enough to make out Memoria’s silhouette.
In dungeons, one or two dim areas are experienced.
Magic flows into the magic crest, and my night vision gradually begins to work.
And Memoria is a vampire, so dark places are her specialty. While I adjust, she finishes her explanation.
“Are your eyes adjusted?”
“Yeah, it’s about time.”
It took time because I went from bright surroundings to darkness all at once, but I could move enough.
The footing is somewhat maintained, so there’s no problem moving.
“Then, this way.”
“Understood.”
Still, her consideration is appreciated.
Even though I can move, I’m not at full capacity.
As I move, she slowly takes my hand and guides me towards the exit, and I obediently rely on her.
It’s about a hundred meters, I suppose. We walk silently down a road that’s reasonably wide, towards the exit, and after a while, the light of the exit appears.
“Wow.”
“Welcome to Isal.”
As I pass through, I’m greeted by a sea of trees, where trees that would be thousands of years old on Earth stand in a row.
And,
“The magic is dense, isn’t it?”
“Yes, magic resides in and is created by all things. That is this world.”
Even though I felt it in the cave, the air is saturated with magic.
The concentration is similar to how it felt inside the company.
“How is it? Your first time in another world?”
“Hmm, I thought I’d be more surprised, but maybe it’s because I’ve been entering dungeons every day.”
“You might not have fully realized it yet.”
“Yeah, that might be it.”
What’s different from Earth are these overgrowths of trees and the magic.
If magic beasts were to appear, it would be a different story, but for now, there’s no overwhelming emotion of having come to another world.
Perhaps it’s because I still don’t feel like I’ve come to another world.
“Still, the sky is bright.”
“It probably is. After all, there is no ‘night’ in this world.”
“Ah, that’s right. I recall that the phenomenon of night disappeared when your creator god, Ruune, left this world, right?”
“More precisely, the phenomenon of night disappeared when our creator god, Ruune-sama, departed from this world.”
A sky full of blue.
Looking up at the blue sky with a few scattered clouds from within the bright forest, I can’t quite believe the knowledge I learned beforehand.
No night.
That’s impossible.
Stars repeat the process of sunrise and sunset alternately due to their rotation around the Earth’s axis.
This is a natural phenomenon for a spherical celestial body.
Could it be possible that this doesn’t exist?
“You don’t know the details, do you?”
“Yes, it’s only proven by the fact that our creator god, Ruune-sama, states it, and no one knows the divine realm.”
“It’s truly like a fantasy, isn’t it?”
“From your perspective, Jiro-san, it would seem so. It’s a story from five thousand years ago that’s rarely left in any literature, so among the races living here now, only a small portion of the long-lived species would know this.”
“I took a while to accept it when I first heard it.”
When Suella and the others told me this as prior knowledge, I first recalled a diagram of a world resting on the shell of a giant turtle.
I thought geocentrism might be the mainstream since the heliocentric theory was rejected, but without convenient satellites, it doesn’t seem like a provable issue either way.
There are apparently factions that want to study Earth’s academics, but that will have to wait until I return to Isal.
Phenomena that could easily be dismissed with a simple “it’s magic” or “it’s gods” are commonplace in this world.
Considering the stories I learned about the continent where the majority of the Demon Lord’s Army lives, forming a world like a diorama by carving out islands, such phenomena are probably normal.
Rather, if I don’t accept them as they are, like learning a new formula, I’ll be dependent on headache and stomach medicine, as I learned earlier.
“Haa, so, where are we now?”
And there’s no need to discuss or find answers about the creation of this world here.
Acting on what I’ve learned, I take a deep breath to switch my mindset. Normally, I’d want a cigarette here, but the number of cigarettes I packed is limited.
I can’t replenish them, so I have to smoke them sparingly.
According to the plan, we’re supposed to confirm our current location based on the terrain, like mountains and rivers, and then head to the city where our base is located.
“It’s according to plan… but it’s still a long distance.”
“That’s because we’re aiming for a location far from populated areas to avoid detection.”
Memoria, being a vampire, and myself, though human, are affiliated with the Demon Lord’s Army.
This is enemy territory. We, intruders from another world, are unwelcome guests, so to speak.
We need to act with caution.
“It’s this way.”
“Yeah.”
And even if it’s far from the city, we should leave this place as soon as possible.
The possibility is not zero. To eliminate risks, we need to act quickly.
I take out a map and follow Memoria, who is confirming the direction.
“The place we’re going to is a trading hub, right?”
“Sakaru, a trading hub not affiliated with any country. It’s a city where various species interact.”
We don’t walk in silence; the conversation naturally turns to the city we’re heading to.
The trading city of Sakaru is a place everyone would want to control, but it’s an independent hub that has formed its own culture, not belonging to any country.
The public order is maintained by the city’s authorities, not by a nation.
Despite being surrounded by three great powers and a four-party coalition, it generates enough profit to maintain its culture.
With that kind of foundation, it can be said to be a city of merchants, where the balance is so delicate that although all countries want to intervene, if one country acts alone, it would be attacked by the others.
The fact that even people like us can find a loophole to enter, I was more convinced than surprised when I heard that various things are brewing behind the scenes.
“A theocratic nation to the north, an empire to the west, a kingdom to the east, and a coalition of small nations to the south. It’s a familiar city from novels. Indeed, using this as a base would fulfill the purpose of this business trip.”
“Considering the timeframe, we can probably visit at most two countries. Since we’ll be gathering information before acting, it might be less than that.”
“Safety first, that’s a prerequisite.”
We continue walking through the forest, occasionally clearing branches to make way and discussing our future plans.
It feels like a somewhat challenging hike right now.
If this is according to plan, it will last about five days. Naturally, in this kind of forest, there are no hotels or buildings to stay in, so we’ll have to camp.
Camping on a business trip is quite novel.
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
It seems the hiking mood is over.
The sound of trees falling in the distance and the cries of birds taking flight.
Two hours after we started walking, our footsteps stop abruptly, and instead, we look around, paying attention.
“It’s coming this way.”
“It seems to be following our scent.”
“A magic beast?”
“Yes.”
The sound of something massive moving, getting clearer and clearer, is coming from the path we were walking on.
Magic beasts, familiar existences from games and novels.
Since I’ve fought them in dungeons, I don’t feel particularly daunted, and the next option is quickly decided.
“Let’s run.”
“Yes, that would be the wise choice.”
Anyone who has read a novel about transferring to another world might wonder, “Huh?” at this point.
Most people would either fight or run, but only after they encounter it.
In the former case, it would be an event where they awaken their abilities in their first battle, or someone rushes in to help, and they are taken to a city.
The latter would be similar.
However, in my case, it’s different.
It’s one of the common sense principles for adults.
Don’t create unnecessary risks or extra work.
Considering the merits and demerits of fighting here and taking time to defeat the magic beast, the choice naturally leads to escape.
Don’t laugh at me for being cowardly.
Combat consumes time and energy through fighting.
Even if there were benefits like obtaining materials such as magic beast hide or strengthening magic crests, the current objective is to reach the city.
Using unnecessary time and energy would interfere with future plans.
Sometimes, retreating is also part of the job.
Conclusion: The action to take now is not to fight and defeat the magic beast, but to escape, conserve energy, and gain distance.
“Then, please.”
“Understood.”
Holding Memoria, who is severely restricting her abilities for this journey, in my arms, I reinforce my body with magic and start running.
The first job I did upon arriving in another world was to escape from a magic beast.
Jiro Tanaka, 28 years old, single
Girlfriend: Suella Handelberg
Memoria Tris
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time employee)
Magic Aptitude: 8 (General Class)
Position: Warrior
Today’s Word
Jiro and Memoria ran away!
That concludes today’s entry.
I’ve received various feedback and realized that this work can still be improved!
I will continue to strive for improvement.
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