Chapter 151: Life in Another World “First Year”

365th day of life in another world – 43,096 points

Three days after Juri became my assistant

Today marks exactly one year since I arrived in this world—whether it can be called a commemoration or not.

Thrown into another world without any understanding, I was fortunate enough to have my entire home transferred, and thanks to the powerful ability called the Village Skill, I am still surviving. Among the Japanese who were transported together, there were quite a few unpleasant individuals. However, I am currently living happily with trustworthy villagers.

One could call it a convenient cheat, and that may be true. Nevertheless, within myself, I believe I’ve put in some effort. Regardless, I can only express gratitude to the companions I’ve encountered so far.

With those thoughts in mind—

On this day, which marks the “First Year” of my life in another world, I am engaged in cleaning my home. It was a long time ago, and I can’t recall exactly when, but I remembered Tsubaki mentioning, “How about organizing things like unused electrical appliances?”.

Since it’s the milestone of one year, leaving things as they are serves no purpose. I thought it would be a good opportunity to clean up.

Although I regularly cleaned the room, unused appliances were left untouched. Upon closer inspection, dust had accumulated quite a bit. I’ll say it again, I did clean regularly.

“Ugh, this is quite a lot… Well, I guess it’s natural after a year.”

“I’m sorry. I used to clean frequently, but I forgot recently because I’ve been busy.”

“No, no, it’s my fault for leaving it untouched for so long. Since it’s come to this, let’s thoroughly clean and store everything in the Universal Storage!”

“Sure. Once it’s cleaned, I’ll temporarily place them in the garden. Later, we can gather and move them to the warehouse.”

With Tsubaki, who finished her morning tasks, we carefully wiped each item before transporting them to the yard.

Television, rice cooker, mixer, dish drying machine… Many electrical appliances that had now turned into decorations. The only exception was the computer-related items, which I hadn’t touched. It’s scary to mess with them and render them unusable.

“Well, I’ll take this one outside too.”

“Yeah, thanks. The only thing left is this big thing… Tsubaki, can you put away the others first? I’ll join you after finishing this.”

While asking Tsubaki for a favor, I started working on the final boss—the maintenance of the refrigerator. It was an old-fashioned refrigerator, unnecessarily large in size but seemed worthwhile to clean.

Looking back, one year ago, it all began when I opened this thing.

Feeling nostalgic, while wiping the inside of the refrigerator, at the moment I absentmindedly opened the door—

The entire room was engulfed in an intense light, to the extent that everything appeared completely white. It was the same phenomenon as when I was transported from Japan.

◇◇◇

Five seconds later, the light subsided, just like back then.

Opening my eyes cautiously, the only thing in front of me was the refrigerator, but everything else was completely different from that time.

The refrigerator was certainly visible, but that was the only thing. There was nothing else—no kitchen, no living room, no flooring, and no walls. Just an endlessly extending white space in every direction.

(Is this a return to Japan? No, that can’t be. Alright, calm down. What is the most plausible explanation in this situation? The first candidate would be…)

“You finally arrived!”

In my attempt to calm down, I was suddenly, and at close range, spoken to with a loud voice near my ear.

“Whoa, that surprised me! I thought my heart had stopped…”

“I’m sorry; I got too excited.”

Turning around, there was a woman clad in pure white attire. Her appearance and voice were familiar. Undoubtedly, she was a goddess, but being stared at from such close proximity made an old man like me freeze. Let me clarify; it’s not in a weird sense.

“I understand that you’re probably a goddess, but please spare me the horror scenarios. I might seriously die.”

“Rest assured. You absolutely cannot die in this realm.”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way…”

“More importantly, you took quite a long time to come! It would have been nice if you had noticed a bit earlier…”

“Is that about this refrigerator?”

“Yes. You noticed when the color of the barrier changed, right? You could have come anytime since then!”

“Eh, it’s been that long… But, you know, I haven’t used this refrigerator at all…”

(I think the barrier changed its name to “Divine Blessing of the Earth” around that time. It was about three months after the transfer, if I recall correctly.)

“More precisely, it’s been 73 days since then. It was the day you established a church in the village.”

“Oh, Goddess… You can read minds and observe the world below, right?”

It’s a fact that I can read and see, but please refrain from using the term “setting.” I cannot go into details, but it involves a forbidden matter related to the fundamentals of the world.”

“I see. It’s that kind of thing.”

(In this sense, rather than a fantasy goddess, she might be more of an administrator of the world. Probably, no matter what I ask, she won’t answer. Well, let’s start with a greeting.)

“Nice to meet you again, Goddess. I’m Keisuke. I’m pleased to meet you. Thank you for taking care of the village and me.”

“…My name is Nanasia. I am recognized as the Earth Goddess in this world. I’ve been eagerly waiting for the day I could meet you.”

“Nanasia-sama, is it? By the way, is there any connection with Nanashi Village?”

“It’s not just related; it’s a crucial matter. If the village had a different name, I wouldn’t have been able to bestow this many blessings, you know?”

(What…? To think the name I casually gave had such a significant connection… It’s a relief I didn’t change it midway.)

“By the way, Goddess, is that over there my home’s computer desk?”

On the opposite side of where the refrigerator was, I saw a desk and a computer that looked exactly like mine, as if they had been there all along.

“I made it to match yours. I’ve been watching the villagers on that monitor all the time, you know? Of course, I can pick up clear audio too. Come here for a moment.”

Guided by Nanasia-sama, when I turned towards the front of the monitor, Nanashi Village was displayed from a downward perspective. The zoom function was available, and I could hear the conversations between the villagers clearly.

(Oh, Natsuki is eating sweet potatoes with Beritoa. Moreover, she’s laughing while making fun of me… Grr, I won’t forgive her. When I go back, I’ll definitely question her thoroughly.)

While marveling at the performance of the monitor, this old man vowed to lecture Natsuki and the others.

And at that moment… I suddenly noticed a time display in the lower right corner of the screen? Although it didn’t look like a clock, there were multiple digits lined up, changing every second as if ticking away.

“Um, Nanasia-sama, what is this clock-like thing? It doesn’t seem to be showing the time… Is it okay to ask about it?”

“…………”

“Oh, if you can’t tell me, it’s fine. Then, let me ask about something else. Since we finally meet, there are various things I want to know.”

“Well, actually…”

“Nanasia-sama?”

“Please listen calmly. And promise me you won’t get angry.”

“No, no, I won’t get angry with a goddess. I’m truly grateful.”

However, right after this, this old man would be astonished by the goddess’s words.

“These numbers represent your faith points. As long as you stay in this room, points are continuously being consumed. I’m sorry for not telling you a little sooner.”

“Um, if I may ask something strange… It seems like this number is decreasing by 10 every second…”

“That’s correct. But don’t worry, you can stay for another hour!”

“Wait, are you kidding me!? Bring me back right now! What is this place, some kind of extortionate shop! And I haven’t even had a glass of water!”

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