Kays Translations

Part 2: Village Chief Arc in Japan

Chapter 190: Incident of Transference to Another World

One summer’s beginning, Japan was engulfed in a mysterious light—

What happened without any warning would evolve into a disappearance incident involving a total of 1.2 million people.

Unprecedented in scale, the missing persons incident became nationwide news in Japan… and even made headlines worldwide.

“The Incident of Transference to Another World”

This event, as later revealed by testimonies, came to be known as such—

The disappearance incident occurred around the beginning of July.

According to eyewitness accounts, it seemed like, “They were there just a moment ago…” and “They suddenly disappeared right before my eyes.” Naturally, searches were conducted nationwide… but not a single person was found.

However, around the evening of that day—

Suddenly, without any warning, thousands of people reappeared.

All those found were in the same location, in the same condition as when they disappeared… seemingly having been there all along.

This marked the beginning, with people continuing to return one after another in the following days. According to their accounts, they remembered nothing, couldn’t believe they had disappeared, and wondered why only time had passed.

By the way, apart from the mysterious light phenomenon, while the cause remained unknown, there were some commonalities among the disappeared individuals:

– Ages ranged from 15 to 50, both men and women.

– No young children or elderly were affected.

– Personal belongings disappeared with them, but vehicles they were riding in were left behind.

– Miraculously, there were no reports of accidents, with no one driving at the time.

– Even those who disappeared from their homes left no signs of disturbance, simply vanishing from the spot.

A month after the disappearance incident, about 70% of the missing persons, around 850,000 people, had been accounted for.

A mass vanishing incident. Despite such headlines being reported daily, no one remembered anything about the time of their disappearance.

And it was during this uproar over the “mass vanishing” that something happened.

For the first time on this day, individuals who retained memories of their disappearance were discovered, prompted by a certain video.

To be precise, it was the disappeared individuals themselves who publicly shared their experiences through livestreams. Apparently, the initial uploader was a somewhat famous streamer. He livestreamed his experiences during and after the disappearance on his channel.

Being the first witness to testify and especially due to the shocking nature of his account, the video went viral.

“I was in another world.”

“There were many other Japanese people there.”

“There was a medieval-style town, where various races of beast people lived.”

“It was a world teeming with monsters. It was filled with fantasy of swords and magic.”

A streamer earnestly recounting such absurd stories. The video spread like wildfire, being viewed worldwide.

Naturally, public reactions were divided.

More inclined toward, “It’s delusional due to memory confusion,” or “It’s disrespectful to other missing persons.” However, on the other hand, there was a growing excitement online under titles like “The beginning of an otherworldly fantasy.”

Six months after the incident—

Following the individual who posted the video, people with memories began to be discovered every day. Within these six months, their numbers surpassed 5,000.

What’s more, surprisingly, the accounts of the returnees closely matched what the initial uploader had shared. This astonished the world, and the theory of transference to another world began to be widely discussed.

In an era where social media had become ubiquitous, such information spread endlessly—further embellished and proliferating with each retelling.

Furthermore, the content disseminated by the returnees was as follows. This information was widely known not only throughout Japan but also globally:

<Commonalities upon Return>

– They found themselves back in their original location after thinking they had died in another world.

– Memories of the moment of death were vague.

– The main causes of death were being killed by monsters, dying in accidents in the town, and succumbing to illness, in that order.

<Life in Another World>

– The language spoken by the people of the other world was Japanese, or at least sounded like Japanese.

– They underwent status appraisal in the town of the other world.

– They possessed occupations and skills.

– They defeated monsters to level up, resulting in enhanced physical abilities.

There were various other details, but these were the main points. Nevertheless, since there were no exceptions to these testimonies, their credibility was deemed extremely high.

It goes without saying, but individuals who didn’t retain memories of their disappearance had no such experiences. However, it seemed that there were sporadic instances of individuals with heightened physical abilities among them.

One year after the incident—

The number of returnees had finally exceeded 890,000. Although less than 10,000 returned with their memories intact, the fact of returning from another world seemed undeniable. Testimonies supporting this notion continued to emerge.

During this time, various analyses were conducted, leading to some conclusions about the conditions for returning to Japan. Currently, the following four conditions have been compiled:

1. If you die in another world, you can return to Japan. However, it’s said that not being killed by a human is a condition.

2. To return with memories of another world, it’s a condition to undergo appraisal by the statue of a goddess in the town.

3. Leveling up in another world is inherited upon returning to Japan.

4. Those who undergo appraisal by the statue of a goddess return to Japan while retaining special abilities.

According to additional information from returnees, most of them seemed to have died before reaching the town. As a result, it was concluded that they returned without memories.

Even those who were fortunate enough to reach the town were sometimes killed by someone. Those individuals have yet to return.

Furthermore, there are individuals who achieved independence in another world and established a nation. A group calling themselves the “Japanese Empire” consists mainly of Japanese people, with tens of thousands living there.

The central figures of the empire apparently hold titles like “Hero” or “Saint.” They are described as heroes who fled from the human kingdom and saved Japanese people on their own. Well, there are rumors circulating about them as well…

◇◇◇

“It’s quite something to see how things were after we disappeared.”

“I never imagined we’d return from death.”

“Yeah, no kidding. There seem to be conditions for returning, but returning with memories of another world…”

“Sakura, do you have any other points of concern?”

“Well… For now, I’m relieved that Sage and Ryunosuke haven’t returned. Although, whether it’s true or not is unclear.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Also, the fact that there are people with occupations and skills.”

“Whether they’re living normally or have been captured by the government. It’s definitely intriguing.”

Currently, they had safely returned to Keisuke’s home in Japan through the dimensional gate.

After passing through the gate with Sakura and arriving in front of the refrigerator, they proceeded directly to the living room and were searching the internet. By the way, the refrigerator door was closed. When they opened it again, it looked like a mirror on the other side, so they should be able to return anytime.

It was strange, though… Despite more than a year passing, the room was clean, and even the electricity, water, and internet were connected.

(If only I had brought my smartphone… I had forgotten about its existence after living in the other world for so long.)

“I’m surprised the internet is still functioning. Was it managed by someone in your family?”

“I think it’s probably grandpa.”

“In any case, I’m glad your house wasn’t vandalized or demolished.”

“I want to contact them, but I don’t have a landline… Let’s gather more information for now.”

“Yes. It seems like there have been various changes. Let’s investigate thoroughly, starting with gathering information.” 

They wanted to confirm the situation outside, including the barrier, but obtaining information was the priority for now.

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