Kays Translations

Chapter 1

Suddenly, in the night sky at an altitude of 10,000 meters, an object resembling an angel's halo appeared.

Shining in a golden color, it began to gently float down without anyone noticing, and a few minutes later, it landed on the ground.

Then, it was struck by a passing light truck, creating a graceful arc as it danced through the air—

A man was walking ahead of it.

On the way home after buying a bento from a convenience store, it's the fourth-year information science student, Mizuki Mitarai.

He's troubled because he hasn't prepared anything for tomorrow morning's "Thesis Progress Report Meeting

"I'll definitely be scolded if I've only decided on the title..."

While he did choose a trendy theme related to AI recently, he's been slacking off on his thesis work, immersing himself in mahjong and online games every night at a friend's house. He hasn't been making progress as a result.

In fact, he was even thinking of going to play mahjong again today.

A golden ring approaches him from behind. 

Then, as if precisely aimed, it neatly fits onto his head.

At that moment, his figure disappears from the spot in an instant.

　◆ ◆ ◆

"Huh! What's this!?"

I flinched for a moment, my body tensing up.

Feeling a sensation as if something had hit my head, I was startled, wondering if I had been hit by bird droppings as I gazed at the night sky.

However, birds don't fly at night.

Thinking that, I touched the back of my head and felt a momentary contact with something metallic, surprising me.

"Whoa! What's this!?"

I immediately tried to remove whatever prank it was, but it clung tightly and wouldn't come off easily.

It seems to be in the form of a ring.

"Darn it... What the heck is this... Won't come off, huh?!"

In my panic, it eventually disappeared from my head as if being sucked in.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!"

I encountered a creepy phenomenon and felt fear. I repeatedly touched my head to confirm that there was no abnormality.

"Oh... What on earth was that..."

As I calmed down and became more composed, I realized that something unusual was happening—

The entire area is pitch black!

"Whoa!?"

Streetlights have gone out, and there's no visible road beneath my feet.

The loud croaking of frogs that was there just moments ago is now completely silent.

As I step back, I hear a crackling sound beneath my feet. When I look down, it seems like I stepped on something like a small twig.

After a while, as my eyes adjust, I can see sporadic trees growing around.

Finally, I begin to comprehend the situation.

It seems like a completely different place from where I was just moments ago— I realize I'm in a forest.

"Heyyyyy!?"

I have no idea what has happened to me; the situation is entirely unclear.

A shiver runs down my entire body.

I hurriedly take out my smartphone from my pocket.

The time is 9:25 PM.

The screen's brightness slightly illuminates the surroundings, revealing scattered trees.

It's definitely a different place from where I was before.

When I look at the screen again, it shows "No signal."

Suddenly, fear grips me.

"Could this be a situation of being lost or stranded..."

Why am I in a completely different place all of a sudden?

I just wanted to get away from here.

"Heeyyyyy!"

I'm not used to shouting loudly.

At first, my voice was feeble, but as the darkness became more frightening, my voice grew louder.

"Heeeyyyyy! Is anyone there? Help!"

I waited for a while, but there was no response.

I aimlessly walked, using the flashlight on my phone to illuminate the surroundings.

Then, I reached an open area.

As I proceeded, I found a place with stones piled up like a levee, and someone was lying down on them.

"This is really a different place..."

I didn't want to believe it, but there was no choice but to accept it.

"It's cold!"

The stone I sat on was chilly.

"I got hit on the head... and then ended up here..."

In the end, all I know is that I found myself in the middle of the forest.

Suddenly, hunger overwhelms me.

The contents of the convenience store bag are a salmon bento, two bottles of water, two packs of cigarettes, and a lighter with oil.

Under the open night sky, I rely on the light from my smartphone to eat the bento.

Perhaps due to fear, all I can taste is the saltiness of the salmon...

Suddenly, tears well up in my eyes.

"Oh no..."

I unconsciously let out a sigh.

Having food in my stomach seems to have snapped the tension.

The realization of being thrown into an unfamiliar place in the middle of the night suddenly overwhelms me with fear.

I take out a cigarette from the waist pouch slung over my shoulder and light it up. 

The metallic click of the Zippo resonates in the surroundings.

Lying on a stone, I gaze at the night sky, trying to curl up and sleep, pretending not to be scared.

The next morning, I wake up in response to the brightening surroundings.

The sun is not visible yet, so it seems to be early morning.

Feeling oddly sore, I realize it's because I slept on the stone.

For a moment, I couldn't remember why I was here, but the memory of being stranded due to some supernatural phenomenon comes back to me.

I check my smartphone, and it displays "July 5th, 5:20 AM."

"I have to go to the professor's office today to explain the progress of my thesis. This is completely messed up."

I speak my plans out loud, even though there's no one around. 

I feel uneasy if I don't talk about something.

Since the battery is almost halfway, I take out a power bank from my waist pouch.

I genuinely rejoiced that I had a model with a solar panel.

"I'm really glad I had this in my bag."

It's a high-capacity battery, chargeable even on cloudy days, and it has a hand crank—truly a fantastic device.

Then I realized I was hungry, but at the same time, I confronted the fact that it was a problem—

There's no food!

It's obvious, but I don't know any survival skills, and I have no idea how to capture wild animals.

And even if I did catch something, what's the plan? Am I supposed to butcher and cook it? 

It's like, "What do you mean?" This is hard mode for a modern person.

Intensely overwhelmed by anxiety,

"Fortunately, there's water. If I drink it sparingly, it should last for a few days... But the lack of food..."

The time is 6:10 AM. I can see the sun rising from behind the trees.

Anyway, I need to find a town, get out of here.

I don't know which direction leads to escape, but for now, let's head toward where the sun is rising.

　◆ ◆ ◆

The Marzen Kingdom, located to the south of the continent, is currently composed of four territories.

The southernmost territory is Frantan Territory, and the city of Frantan was originally the capital but is now the only city.

About a 10-minute walk from the East Gate along East Avenue, there's a square. It's morning, so there are few people around, but several food stalls are set up.

On the left, in the back, there's a three-story building—the "Tiara Adventurer's Guild."

It's the oldest of the three adventurer's guilds in this city.

At the reception counter, a man in leather armor is receiving an explanation for a delivery request.

Behind him, three individuals who seem to be his companions wait with a bit of tension.

The receptionist places three sealed letters and two packages on the counter after providing the explanation.

"Alright, then. Three sealed letters and two packages, please."

The man checks the items and nods.

"Now, please sign here..."

Given a pen, he writes the name "Garam" in the signature column of the receipt, receives the packages, nods slightly, and then the four of them exit.

The other receptionist sitting next to her opens her mouth.

"Hey, Lily, is that the thing we talked about?"

"Yes. It seems to be going fine so far."

"Hmm... About a month?"

"Yes."

They confirmed that the adventurer who took the request seemed quite inexperienced.

The request they took is a simple delivery outside the city—just going down the road and coming back.

However, if they don't complete this, they won't be eligible for more lucrative requests such as escort missions or deliveries to distant places.

In essence, it's like a test to see if they can shed the novice mark as adventurers.

They enter a nearby diner to discuss.

Garam traces the route on the map while explaining the details of the route and schedule.

It's a straightforward request of simply walking down the road and returning.

Then, a male wizard expresses dissatisfaction with taking such a simple request, mentioning that it took a whole month to get one like this.

The archer similarly snorts, saying that if it were him, he could go and come back in a day.

Garam manages a wry smile, pacifying the two by explaining that it's more a matter of trust than capability. Reluctantly, they agree.

He adds as a clarification, 

"However, according to what I heard from the seniors, it's common to take a route through the forest on the way back and also collect medicinal herbs. After all, we're adventurers, and it seems like we should do at least that much."

Collecting medicinal herbs is generally acceptable at any time.

So, they frequently go herb gathering in the forests around Frantan City.

After all, adventurers are usually short on funds.

The motto is, if you're going outside, you should do whatever you can to earn.

"So, I'm thinking of taking some time to enter the forest on the way back for herb gathering."

The two who nodded were joined by the swordsman who seemed more concerned about the meal than the conversation, and he hurriedly nodded as well.

While enjoying the delivered dishes, they checked the belongings and wrote information about the route on another piece of paper.

After the meal, with the food supplies secured, the time had passed 9 AM.

"Well, let's go then."

They set off with high spirits.

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