Darkness spreads outward for eternity. Kouri Sora sinks towards the bottom of that dark s.p.a.ce. He can"t resist the downward pull and seeing his blood seep, boro boro, from his tattered body makes him fear his impending death.
He hates everything that lead him to this state. He was arbitrarily summoned, was told that he was worthless by being half killed, and was disposed of by being tossed into a void through the command of a detestable queen. He hates the soldier who stabbed him with the excuse that it couldn"t be helped because those were the queen"s orders. He hates the G.o.d who didn"t deem him worthy enough for an ability—
High school, some people enjoy it, others find it troublesome. Without a doubt, more than half are part of the latter and find it troublesome. All of them wish, If only the weekend could continue forever—
Kouri Sora is the same, but not because he finds school itself troublesome. For him, waking up early each morning is the ha.s.sle. Rather than saying he isn"t good with the morning, he finds it a painful experience. He"s always late to school.
That"s why today he again arrives at school during the middle of homeroom. The principle tells him, "You"re late," he gives a mild, "Excuse me," and dashes for his cla.s.sroom where he opens the door with all his strength.
—Kara kara, don!
Everyone turns in surprises upon hearing the forcefulness with which the door is opened. I"m already used to such reactions so I ignore them and head to my seat[1]. Since it"s by the window and in the back of the room, it"s the best seat in the cla.s.s.
My homeroom teacher calls out to me just as I reach it. "Hey, Sora! Are you going to just sit down without a word even though you"re late again?"
Why does my homeroom teacher keep bringing this up…? Should I give the same response?
"I"m late? …Ah, you"re right. Time on this world… flows differently than on Achilles."
"Haa, you came from the future yesterday… Today you"re from the world Achilles? —Submit a five page reflection later."
"What!? b.a.s.t.a.r.d, even though you"re a teacher, this—"
"Ah, that"ll be ten more pages."
"Yes, please excuse me."
This teacher is surprisingly gentle. Even though we perform this exchange every day, I don"t actually know my teacher"s name. That person teaches world history and supervises the basketball club while I"m in neither.
Once morning homeroom ends, a boy and girl come to my seat, like always. The boy, Shiragi Kaoru, has a smile that goes nico nico as he raises his hands up to his shoulders with a shrug. "You"re late, again~? As expected of the Tardy Devil[2]." He looks like an ikemen[3] with the personality to match, but in truth, he heavily leans towards little girls. In other words, he has a Lolita complex.
I say, "Shut it! Who"re you calling a Tardy Devil? At the very least, being a Tardy Devil should come with an awesome ruby, Kaoru (Lolicon)-san."
"Hey, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! That was a favor!!"
Sayama Rin makes a serious expression while asking, "Kaoru is a lolicon?" This person also looks like an ikemen, but is actually a girl. She even speaks somewhat like a man, but she"s really a girl.
I also thought she was a man at first until I accidently saw her getting changed. I was really surprised to find out she"s a woman. I went up to her later and confessed what I saw, but she said she didn"t mind. She"s as easy going as a man, but she"s an angel.
I say, "That"s right, this guy"s a Lolicon!"
"Oh, really!? Then I should start saying Kaoru Lolicon."
Kaoru says, "What!!"
Is.h.i.ta Nao shouts at me from across the room. She"s a ferocious, Yankee-like woman. "Shut up, Sora!!"
Kaoru lowers his voice so Nao can"t hear us. "That guy seriously hates you, Sora."
That"s no surprise. Whenever something goes wrong, Nao always blames me. Although, I don"t really know why. We used to be best friends back in the day. Maybe she found out that I"m actually number one in this cla.s.s?
Since I don"t want to be told off by anyone in cla.s.s, I return the favor. "It"s too loud? Well, what about your shouting, you b.i.t.c.h!"
"Huh!? What was that you—"
The cla.s.s representative, Takanashi Yui, interrupts us with a smile that fills her whole face. "Fighting is bad." With the nickname, "G.o.ddess," she"s not only the school"s number one beauty, she"s also kind to everyone she meets. As an honor"s student with a gentle touch, she takes the initiative on everything.
Being an honors student is the face she shows to everyone, anyway. She actually just like me. Discourses of kitchen talk unfold between us whenever we"re alone together.
I say, "Fuu! My friend, this is not a fight! This is— the war at the end of the world (Ragnarok)!"
"Na, the war at the end of the world (Ragnarok)? Ah— kohon, please don"t say things without knowing what they mean. Also, the bell will be ringing soon, so please take your seat. After that, tuck in your shirt. It"s messy."
My starting off with those two words reserved for our kitchen talk caught her of guard, but she instantly resumes her façade by pointing the flaws in my dress like a public morals committee member.
I say, "Oh, I never noticed."
Yui says, "What do you mean, "Never noticed?" You never tuck in your shirt."
Someone says, "That"s true, Sora"s shirt is always out."
"You agree? Yet, this person doesn"t take the time to fix it. In that case, it should stay tucked in from the beginning."
No, my shirt isn"t untucked because I untuck it… I"m in such a rush to get to school on time every morning that I run here and my shirt untucks itself.
"Hold on, everyone! The bell"s about to ring!!"
"Ack, the cla.s.s representative is ticked! Hey, hurry up and sit down."
"Bye[4]."
"Later."
—Kachi kachi kachi
That"s strange, the bell should have rung a while ago. Sensei hasn"t come either. My cla.s.smates are starting to get rowdy too.
Yui stands up. "One moment, everyone, I"m going to go call for a teacher." She tries to open the door, but it doesn"t budge. "Are? It won"t open…"
What is she doing? Being silly?
A male student gets up upon seeing Yui"s confusion. Upon reaching her side, he says, "Let me give you a hand." He"s my friend, Maetani, but I call him Tomo. He"s a jock from the baseball club and also my best friend.
Tomo tries to open the door, but again it doesn"t budge.
Seeing that makes me retort on reflex. "Hey, Tomo, quit goofing around."
"No, no, I"m not messing around! It seriously won"t move."
"Haa?"
"You try it, Sora."
"Fuu, are you sure? If I unleash my power, then that door will get reduced to splinters—"
"Hurry up."
"Fine," Although uncomfortable, I make my way to the door. Again, the door doesn"t budge just like with Yui and Tomo. "— —tch!?"
"Well?"
"You were serious… but, well, isn"t this fine?"
Yui says, "You can"t be serious…"
If sensei can"t come, we won"t have cla.s.s either. That doesn"t sound too bad.
Tomo says, "It"s fine… Do you really think that?"
Most of the cla.s.s looks happy. I lie down and start reading a book on my smartphone. At this spectacle, the cla.s.s representative, Yui, gets worried.
I notice and say, "Eh?"
Yui says, "What if the door never opens and we"re trapped forever? What if someone gets a stomach ache? What if someone gets hungry?"
"O- Oh…"
"Don"t just say, "Oh"!"
I lose to Yui"s pa.s.sion and say, "I get it, we"ll figure something out. Let"s keep trying, Tomo."
Tomo says, "Yeah."
Tomo and I cooperate with everyone to come up with a way to open the door. Everyone tries to one method or another. We try breaking the windows too, but something like a barrier prevents us from reaching them. I even try making a phone call, but I"m somehow out of service since I can"t connect to anywhere. Nothing works.
"Mm, what"s going on?"
Just as everyone is confused, a broadcast begins playing. The voice of a young boy speaks, "Ah, ah, ah." Everyone hears it and gets even more confused.
What the?
The boy says, "We finally connected! -Right, in that case, nice to meet you all, or not. Well, all of you can hear my voice. I"ve selected all of you to become Yuusha! Congratulations."
The boys in my cla.s.s vent out their irritation at being trapped. They say, "Haa? What are you talking about?" "What are you saying all of a sudden?" "That sounded like a brat." "Get out here you brat!"
"Haa, what foul mouths. Be quiet."
— —!? I really become unable to speak at the mysterious boy"s words. I try to talk, but my throat doesn"t move. I can"t even move my body.
What the! This is! I don"t like this!
"Fuu, that made everything peaceful. Well then, I"ll explain~ After this, all of you will become Yuusha to save the world. However! I will only grant one skill to each of you. Now, we"ll have one on one interviews~ Come on!"
Haa? What"s this guy saying? Yuusha? Save the world? Is this some pitiful child unable to distinguish reality from fantasy? —What the!?
Once the boy finishes his crude explanation, my cla.s.smate Takeyama vanishes. All my cla.s.smates disappear one after another every few seconds. Everyone vanishes and I"m left all alone. A few moments later and I find myself in a pure white s.p.a.ce.
Regardless of where I look, everything is white. A blue haired boy with white wings stands in front of me. He looks to be about 12.
Who is this guy? Despite his small size, his wings are large. The balance is off. Not cool at all.
The blue haired boy frowns as I have those thoughts. "You don"t get a skill since you don"t like it. Later."
"Eh?" Did he read my mind!? Isn"t not getting a skill bad? I"m probably the only one.
—My vision goes black.
Once I realize what"s going on, my cla.s.smates are going zawa zawa at their surroundings. I look around and confirm everyone is present. However, where is this? With that thought in mind, I look around.
A statue of an enormous angel is the first thing I see. It"s huge, maybe about 15 meters. Various pictures are drawn on the walls surrounding the statue. A meadow, a river, an ocean, a volcano, a mountain, and a whole bunch of other places.
As I look across the room, a wooden door opens and in enters an important-looking woman followed by many soldiers. The woman wears something like a tiara on her head. Maybe she"s a queen? All the soldiers carry spears.
My cla.s.smates become scared upon seeing them.
….Did we really come to another world?
While I"m having those thoughts, Yui speaks to me. "Hey, my friend. Isn"t this that?" The reason she says this is simple; Yui loves fantasy stories. A lot of our conversations revolve around other worlds.
"Looks like it, my friend. There"s no mistake that this is that."
"That," in other words, another world, a fantasy world. Since saying fantasy is too troublesome, Yui and I refer to it as "that."
Yui says, "Still, does anyone want to go up and greet the queen…?"
"I suppose you could say that"s the templet."
—Kohon
Everyone quiets down once the queen clears her throat. She says, "Greetings, Yuusha-sama. I am Carla Lizaril, queen of the Lizaril Kingdom. I give you my grat.i.tude for accepting our summons to come save this world at this time."
Some of my cla.s.smates say, "Accepted? We were forced!" "Don"t screw with us!" "Send us back!"
The queen sheds tears upon hearing their complaints.
Uwa, Yui really let loose with her displeasure. But regardless… it wasn"t something to cry over…
I soon realize she"s faking her tears. How? I"ve played a lot of dating sims. However, those unfamiliar with this trick will fall for it and become remorseful.
Some cla.s.smates apologize. Hey, don"t fall for those fake tears. Ah, this is getting embarra.s.sing… Where"s everyone"s guts?
As expected, I can"t stand to watch any longer. I say, "Hey, should a modern queen-sama cry awkward (…) fake tears?" I purposefully stress that her tears are fake.
The queen blushes upon hearing my critique, but keeps crying as she glares at me. Even though my surrounding cla.s.smates give various apologies, I don"t care. The queen just ignores my remark and continues her charade.
The flow is exactly like in the light novels I"ve borrowed from Yui. No way, the day I act like the main character of a light novel will never come…
As expected, the queen ignores Sora[5] and continues. "I have greatly troubled you Yuusha with this mistake of mine, however, I am unable to return you home until you save this world…"
The queen follows up with multiple reasons. First, we need to defeat the Maou if we want to return home. After that she tells us of all the other various troubles plaguing this world. She continues, "Well then, everyone will next be shown their statuses. They will be displayed on the status plates being distributed. Please enjoy."
Everyone is given a status plate. Since we"re all curious about it, we check them at once. Mine reads:
Name: Sora Kouri
Age: 15
Race: Human
Level: 1
Physical Strength: 100
Magical Power: 60
Attack Power: 20
Defense Power: 50
Agility: 20
Luck: 10
Skills
Abilities
t.i.tle
Uwa! This is amazing… As should be expected of another world.
Very normal statuses appear on my plate. I ask Yui to see her status plate out of curiosity. I see:
Name: Yui Takanashi
Age: 15
Race: Human
Level: 1
Physical Strength: 1000
Magical Power: 2000
Attack Power: 600
Defense Power: 900
Agility: 200
Luck: 20
Skills
-Large recover [Heal] Lv 1
-Fire [Fire] Lv 1
Abilities
-Divine protection Lv 1
t.i.tle
-Yuusha
"Haa?" The differences between Yui"s status plate and mine leave me shocked. They"re way too different.
Yui says, "What"s wrong, my friend?"
"Ye- Yeah, here, check mine."
Yui stares dumbfounded. That"s probably what she"s doing.
From Yui"s perspective, Sora"s status plate is just like a small fry"s.
Didn"t I also receive a skill? Since I was asked, I give an honest answer.
Yui says, "That brat of a G.o.d. How dare he not give my friend… d.a.m.n him!"
"Hey, you"re mask is crumbling."
"Ack… What will you do, my friend? With statuses like these, you can"t…"
"Ah, I know—"
The queen says, "Everyone, please present your plates so we may confirm your statuses." She confirms everyone"s status plates one at a time. She grins upon seeing Sora"s and says, "You, please remain here."
Once she finishes, she says, "All right, I"ve confirmed everyone"s status plates. You will make for magnificent Yuusha. Everyone except for one person is very powerful! Please follow the soldiers from the room. Yuusha Sora, I would like for you to please remain."
You b.i.t.c.h. Did you have to say that in front of everyone? Is this payback for earlier? How immature.
As everyone follows the soldiers out the room, Kaoru and the others voice their concerns to me. I don"t say anything, but Yui promises to explain everything to them later. In the end, the queen, a dozen of her soldiers, and myself are the only ones in the room.
"Yuusha Sora, you statuses are just like a small fry"s. This country does not need a small fry. Therefore, I shall have you disappear."
Uwa, so that"s her real face.
I say, ""Disappear," you said?"
"Correct— Do it."
"Haa?"
—Guza!
"—tch!"
A sharp pain spreads across my back. What? I turn to check and find a spear stabbed through it. A spear pierced through my body and reached the floor. I then realize that I"m riddled in spears.
—tch!!
The pain seals my voice. My blood spray from my body as the spears are pulled free. No longer able to stand, I collapse.
The queen says, "You all did well. Since cleaning up a corpse is troublesome, how about tossing him into the void?"
Some sort of magic darkness appears at the queen"s words and I"m kicked into it.
T/N: First thing"s first. Sora, hate to break it to you, but you"re already the main character of a web novel. Not the same as a light novel, but pretty close. Some case, web novels become light novels. What I"m trying to say is, no matter what you do, you"ll be behaving like the main character of a light novel.
So, what do all of you think about this story so far? Sound interesting, right? Truth be told, I"m not too fond of the whole level system, but maybe it"ll be written out as the story progresses. Anyway, I"ll be updating this on a bi-weekly basis alongside Isekai Mahou.
See you all later,
-Gandire Alea
[1] And it"s a sudden switch to first person. This will happen a few more times.
[2] I normally leave maou as maou, but Tardy Devil rolls off the tongue better than Tardy Maou.
[3] Ikemen: a good look or handsome fellow
[4] It said "aiyo." I"m not sure what that means, but my guess is that it"s slang for bye.
[5] It actually says "Sora." Why does it shift tenses? I"m still not sure. Maybe it"s just my immaturity as a translator shining through.