《You Don't Want to Go to Another World, But You Still Want to Save It ??》


 Chapter 1: I Hate Isekais

    I¡¯ve always been paranoid. Just in general. With life, with love, with school, with friends, with everything honestly. However, there is one thing that¡¯s been keeping me up at night for these past few years, and I know that once I¡¯ll say it out loud, you, the reader, will surely laugh at me. So, this thing that¡¯s been keeping me wide-eyed is what is known as an Isekai. The word Isekai is a Japanese term to define ¡°another world.¡± But it has been used most recently as a conduit to write compelling stories of friendships, hardships, and adventures through the forms of light novels, manga, and anime.


    You must be asking yourself, why would I be so freaked out about something that happens on a screen or on the page of a book. Well, the answer is quite simple actually: Who says it can¡¯t happen in real life? Yes, I¡¯m serious. What if one day I got hit by a truck and woke up in an alternate dimension, or another world, with an special ability and a group of beautiful girls following me wherever I go, accompanied by one guy that we don¡¯t really talk about, but is still part of the crew, and who might be attracted to me? Right? Who says that can¡¯t happen? Who says that I¡¯m not going to be called upon by the forces of another world to go and defeat the evilest of evils? That¡¯s the type of stuff that I don¡¯t want to happen to me. That¡¯s the type stuff that I¡¯m paranoid about.


    You know all of those millions of people who have car accidents every year? No one can truly know what happens after that; perhaps they cross into another world. I just want to stay in my comfortable house in my comfortable room with my not too intrusive parents who love me moderately. Who wouldn¡¯t want to live a life like that?


    Well, I think that¡¯s probably enough existential talk for now, don¡¯t you think? Maybe I am just over thinking things, but I can¡¯t help but worry.


    Anyway, it¡¯s probably time to flush this thing out. I get up from my ¡°throne¡± and pull on the handle of the ivory white latrine filled to the brim in front of me, hopefully it will all pass. I glance at the red plunger next to me, hoping that the privy won¡¯t need it. ¡°Come on! Pull through! You can do it! Don¡¯t give up!¡±, I yell at the toilet with enthusiasm.


    The moment of truth is rearing its head, I can smell it. Or maybe that¡¯s just the smell coming from the toilet. Three, two, one. I glance one last time at the formidable plunger, and back to the white bowl, and¡­ ¡°It¡¯s gone! Yeah!¡±, I screamed out, accompanied by a little jump for joy.


    I attempt to kick the plunger over, but that didn¡¯t really go as planned, when my foot made contact with the handle of the plunger, I heard something crack, and then I proceeded to fall on the floor, squirming in pain.


    Bang! Bang! Oh, those were knocks on the door. ¡°What the hell are you doing in there, big brother? You¡¯ve been in there for like an hour! It¡¯s my turn, get out!¡± I decide to obey those commands (which I do pretty often do avoid any unnecessary risks, ladies ??). I unlock the door and open it only to see my little sister on the other side, her arms crossed and her disappointed stare stabbing me right in the heart. I can¡¯t help but smile back.


    ¡°There you go, it¡¯s all yours,¡± I say to her with a slight grin. ¡°It¡¯s about time. Humph! And wipe that smile off your face.¡± ¡°What ever could you be talking about, oh lovely sister of mine.¡± ¡°God, don¡¯t ever talk to me again, you creep!¡± She said as she slammed the bathroom door in my face. My smile just will not disappear for some reason.


    I decide to head downstairs and go to my room to cool off after that round of pure, but wonderful abuse. I lay on my bed and close my eyes, thinking of what my parents could possibly be making for dinner tonight: meatloaf or loafed meat. Yes, they are two different things. And also, yes, they are both disgusting. Okay, so next question! Yes, you in the back with the round glasses and brown hair. What¡¯s my name? Oh my God! That is so true, I barely introduced myself yet (imagine me slightly sticking out my tongue and slapping my forehead), silly me.


    My name is Ryu Goshoyama, the Kanjis in my name meaning ¡°The Dragon of the Imperial Palace Mountain¡± (just a little fact for all of you out there wondering) and I¡¯m a 17-year-old male high-school student. There¡¯s not much else to say really, except for the whole paranoia thing, but you already know about that.


    I get up from my bed and walk over to my desk. There, hanging on the wall in front of my workspace is a small mirror. My brown hair is slightly messed up, so I start playing with it to put it back in its rightful place! After that I start looking down at my facial features, which, to be honest, are nothing if not average or slightly above, like two millimeters above at best.


    So, what¡¯s so special about me, exactly? That¡¯s probably what you¡¯re asking yourself, right? Why write a whole book (or maybe even a series ??) based on a character as dull and boring as me? Well, you might actually be asking yourself this question a bit too early my friend, is it okay if I call you my friend? I think we¡¯re close enough for that now, right? But you didn¡¯t even finish the first chapter my friend, so let¡¯s calm down a bit. You¡¯re about to discover exactly the reason behind all of your questions in but a few moments.


    So, as I was gazing longingly into my subpar mug, my mom was yelling for me to come upstairs so, of course, I obeyed. I marched, double stepped, up the stairs.


    There, on the couch of our living room, was my sister who had just finished her shower, her slightly paler hair was still slightly wet, and she had a towel wrapped around her shoulders. She was wearing her favorite pajamas: a shirt with the design of a little cat on it which said ¡°Hang in There!¡± in bold letters, and she had her favorite shorts on.


    She turned her face away from the TV (which, at the time, was playing one of the most popular romance dramas: ¡°I Will Love You, Always¡±) towards me, swiftly, and gave me sight of her ¡°disgusted¡± face. ¡°What the hell are you looking at creep?¡± she questioned me. ¡°Oh, nothing, really. Just enjoying the show.¡± I replied quickly, maybe a bit too quickly. ¡°Disgusting sister-complex-pervert!¡± she retorqued, spit flying out of her mouth, and then turned her attention back towards the TV.


    I then turned to face my mom, who was cooking in the kitchen.


    ¡°So, what did you need mom?¡± I inquired. She looked away from her chopping board for a few seconds. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not much, it¡¯s just that we ran out of onions and potatoes for the meatloaf tonight.¡± Of course, I knew it, meatloaf tonight. ¡°Honey, could you run out really quick and go get your frail old mother some onions and potatoes at the super-market?¡±


    I froze. What could I say? I mean, she does know how I feel about going outside and running the risk of getting Isekaid. God I¡¯m so scared of it, I don¡¯t even want to say its name anymore.


    ¡°Now, honey, I know you don¡¯t like going outside because of your anime or something, but at least this once you could help your mother, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, couldn¡¯t you have at least asked Yui first?¡±, I asked desperately, while turning to point at my younger sister, but like a magic trick, she was gone from the couch, out of sight. I turned back and looked at my mom, she was staring back at me, it was almost like a scene from that drama on TV. ¡°Fine,¡± I said grudgingly, ¡°just this once, but after that I¡¯m never going outside again, well except for school, once that starts again.¡±


    But you see, dear reader, the thing with me, is that I¡¯m paranoid, but I also have trouble disobeying people or saying ¡°no¡± to people, and sometimes, these two aspects clash, resulting in funny, but sometimes awkward, situations. Do you see where I¡¯m getting at with this explanation. Oh, I¡¯m sure you do, looking at how smart you are. Just between you and me though, maybe this is a bit of foreshadowing for events to come later. But you didn¡¯t hear it from me, okay?


    I snaked my way to the door just a few feet away, put on my red and green coat (my favorite coat by the way). I then put on my red beanie and green gloves. You see, I¡¯m a matcher. I like matching colors; you then run less risk of being made fun of for not having matching colors.


    And then, I proceeded to envelop my whole body with reflective tape, so I¡¯m sure that every driver and walker is going to be able to see me clearly while I¡¯m walking the dark streets, without any issues whatsoever.


    Click. The sound of the front door unlocking sent shivers down my spine, like all of those other times I heard it. I opened it slowly. A slight breeze coming from the outside came in and enveloped the living room in a slight chill. ¡°God, I can¡¯t do this,¡± I say as I close the door. ¡°You got this honey, don¡¯t give up on your mother now when you¡¯re so close!¡± I hear my mom cheering me on from the pantry.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Okay, now that I¡¯ve built up my confidence once more, I reopen the door to be greeted by that same chill from the outside. I decide to take one step out, and then another, and then another. This wasn¡¯t too bad actually. The temperature was still chilly but not chilly enough to give you frostbite, and the roads had been recently cleaned from the piles of snow that were covering it. All in all, not a huge chance of dying of coldness or from slipping down.


    As I waddled my way to the super-market, my hands in my pockets, I was surprised at the fact that there wasn¡¯t a single a car in view. Not a single one. I did see this old man walking his dog though. Oh, and how can I forget the lovey-dovey couple in the alleyway. They were maybe a bit too lovey-dovey though, but I didn¡¯t interfere in their affairs, I just kept on my way to the store.


    Finally, after a few more minutes of walking, I finally made it to ¡°Rin¡¯s Super-Market¡±. There weren¡¯t even any cars in the parking lot in front of the store. This was truly my lucky day.


    I went inside, picked up a bag of the freshest potatoes I could find at six in the afternoon, and then picked up a bag of the biggest onions, brought them to the cash register, gave the cute blonde girl behind the counter a 20 dollar bill, and she gave me back 10 dollars and a few cents in change, with her long slender fingers. She gave a me the bag with all of my stuff in it, and then gave me a slight smile as a goodbye.


    I exited the store and began to look around immediately for any signs of a car or truck approaching my vicinity, but still no sign. I appreciate that God, thank you.


    I started making my way back towards my wonderfully comfortable house. But I think the excitement of going back to my safe place started to get to me, because, for some reason I began walking faster, and if only I hadn¡¯t started to walk faster maybe the following incident wouldn¡¯t have happened. Yes, the exact incident that you¡¯re thinking about. I got transported to another world.


    I was at the final crosswalk before the street where my house is, and the silence was frightening. Everything at that time was, almost, too quiet. And then out of nowhere, a truck, a bright red truck, came barreling down towards me, from my right.


    How could this have happened? I knew I was too lucky not having seen a single car up until now. But I¡¯m wearing my brightest clothes, plus a layer of reflective tape. Can the driver still not see me? Even with all of this on?


    Well, I guess my life was an okay one. I¡¯ve already accepted the fact that I¡¯m not going to be able to get out of this one alive. I¡¯ve lived my life in constant fear of most things. But let me able to live my afterlife in peace and please, oh please Lord, I¡¯m begging you, please don¡¯t let me be transported to another world, that¡¯s all I ask for. Oh yeah, and please take care of my mom and my little sister for me. I Know that Yui might seem pretty annoying at first, but she¡¯s a good kid who¡¯s just having a little bit of trouble getting used to the world of grown-ups. So, that¡¯s all. Those are my only requests. Do I regret living my life like I did? Perhaps. But it¡¯s a bit to late too change it now, right? But all I ask is, please, for the love of everything sacred in this world, don¡¯t transport me to another world.


    And then, nothing. Just darkness. An endless void of black. It was as though the safest environment I could have ever imagined surrounded my ¡°life¡± at the moment death. But then, suddenly, colors started popping up, then objects. There were signs pointing in different directions everywhere. However, there was one thing that definitely did catch my eye, and that was the huge line of people waiting to go somewhere. Did I know where? Of course, I didn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t read what any of the signs said, all of them were in a completely different language.


    And then, I found myself being pushed by a huge crowd of people behind me and suddenly I was part of the line myself. This line stretched on for what seemed like miles on end, and we were only moving about 1 step every two minutes, so this was going to take awhile.


    ***


    Three months had now passed, and there I was, still stuck in this damn lineup. I heard from some of the conversations around me that this was the ¡°Choosing Trial¡±. A very cool name for what is simply one person deciding whether you¡¯re going to Heaven or Hell. Well, now I know at least that Heaven and Hell are real, or at least a certain version of it.


    Fine, I guess I¡¯ll be stuck in this line for another while, since the end does not seem any closer to me than before.


    ***


    Six more months have now passed. God how much longer are they going to make us wait in this damn line. Well, I¡¯m not really complaining though, because, honestly, I don¡¯t have anything else to do right now, and this is quite the safe environment too, and I¡¯m already dead, so that in fact removes most dangers.


    And also, because I¡¯m dead, I don¡¯t feel anything: hunger, fatigue, the need to relieve myself, boredom, nothing at all. It¡¯s quite appeasing in many ways.


    And since I¡¯m already here, I¡¯ll give all of you a little update: I can finally see the end of the line from where I¡¯m standing. Finally! Good Lord! Well, it¡¯s still going to take a while before I can even get there, but it is getting closer every two minutes.


    ***


    And finally, after a full nine months of waiting in that God Forsaken lineup (and yes, I did count every single day; 270 days to be exact), I finally reached the end of the line, and it is, in fact, what I heard people say about it. At the end there are two massive separate doors: the one on the left had a radiant glow shining from the other side of it, and the one on the right had a solemn dark hue emanating from the other side (I think it¡¯s quite easy to determine which one leads to where). And, standing comfortably between these two doors was a beautiful woman with long golden locks flowing from the top of her head to behind her perfectly shaped shoulders. She was wearing a long white dress that touched the floor, and atop of her blond head rested a small crown of flowers.


    I could hear her high-pitched voice ask the person in front of me to step through the dark door. He followed her orders without any fuss and made his way through the entrance. Then, it was my turn. I moved up towards the stunning girl and looked at her wistfully. She looked like she was tired out of her mind, and as though she did not want to be there, sorting through person after person.


    ¡°Hello,¡± she took a quick glance at some papers that she was holding in her hands, ¡°Ryu Goshoyama. I see that you died nine months ago after having been hit by a truck moving at full speed through a residential area. Very unlucky.¡± She yawned and then wiped away a tear from her eye.


    I rose my hand, prepared to ask the most important question of my death to this woman.


    ¡°And yes, before you ask, I am God, and yes I am a woman. It¡¯s not that surprising, get over it.¡±


    I then lowered my hand, having received the answer to the most important question of my death.


    ¡°Well, since you did die in this fashion, I do have a special offer for you,¡± she continued. A hole in the ground opened up and from that hole came out a massive lever. With all of her strength, she pulled on it, and during this whole time all I could do was pray to¡­ her, and hope, for all that¡¯s good in this world, that it¡¯s not an option to be transported to another world.


    The two doors simply disappeared into nothingness, and a single door behind her opened up. ¡°You, Ryu Goshoyama, have been chosen to be transported to another world and be given the chance to save it, in other words: you¡¯ve been chosen to be Isekaid.¡± She said trying to put on a happy smile, but failed miserably. ¡°No, no, no,¡± I spoke, ¡°how can you do this to me, didn¡¯t you hear any of my prayers? This is the one thing that I absolutely didn¡¯t want to happen to me! I don¡¯t want to be transported to another world! Couldn¡¯t you ask the other people behind me at least?¡± I turned back to point at the massive line of people waiting behind me, but like magic, they were all gone, every last one out of sight.


    I turned back towards her with an exhausted look pasted on my face, there she was staring back at me. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± she asked me, ¡°You¡¯re the last one on my list for today, and why not take the opportunity? This is a fantastic chance to recreate yourself, because, from what I can see from the files we have on you, you haven¡¯t done much with your life up until now: no social life, no romantic relationships, and an incredibly odd and creepy relationship with your younger sister. I think you should take this opportunity, because the people of that world drastically need your help. So, please, reconsider, Ryu.¡±


    Oh no. What do I do now? My fear of being Isekaid and my trouble with disobeying orders are clashing with each other and I just don¡¯t know what to do anymore (you see, I told you this would come back in the plot). What should I do? Common Ryu think, think! You have to think of an answer an answer!


    ¡°Well, alright then, if you don¡¯t want to get transported to another world, I guess I¡¯ll send you to h-¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I yelled out. ¡°I¡¯ll go to that other world and help those people. But I¡¯ll be doing it fast, so once I¡¯m done helping them with their little problems, you better send me to a relaxing place afterwards. Alright?¡±


    ¡°Okay, so let me get this straight then: you don¡¯t want to go to another world, but you still want to save it?¡± she inquired, which is honestly not a bad question to ask. ¡°Yes,¡± I answered with as much of a smile I could muster. ¡°Well then, it¡¯s settled.¡± She answered, and then the door behind her opened wide letting out greenish-blueish rays of light.


    Yes. I had made my decision. In the end my urge to obey people overpowered my paranoia, and now I¡¯m being sent to the place I hate the most, another world.


    I took a few steps forward and peered through the entryway. I couldn¡¯t really see anything but a few colors and some blurred shapes in the distance. I will admit, I did hesitate to take those last few steps through the door. But, as I spun my head around to give one last farewell to God, I saw her running towards me at full speed, jump into the air, and then kick me in the back, pushing me through the doorway, ¡°Just go already!¡± she yelled. And then, after that, I was knocked-out cold.

 Chapter 2: Im in a New World... Bummer

    Once I finally came to, I was hit by the smell of fresh tea and lovely perfume. I opened my eyes and winced at the sight of the sun light coming in through the thin blinds on my right. Where in the hell am I? Well, I guess I can¡¯t completely lie to myself (or to you the reader); I do, in fact, know where I am. I¡¯m in another world! After all of my wishing and praying, of course life would throw me into this situation without an ounce of notice beforehand.


    I lifted my head up slightly to examine what kind of environment I was in. From what I could determine, I was in some kind of bedroom. And it was an enormous bedroom, if I may add. I was laying on a very comfortable bed, covered by mounds and mounds of sheets. Definitely too many sheets for what seemed like summer time seeping in through the East-side window. There was a small table to my left and, resting on it, an even smaller cup of tea, steam rising from within the cup.


    I had now successfully pinpointed the origin of the smell of fresh tea, but what about that lovely perfume I had sniffed as well. I examined the room one more time and there, sitting at the left of the bed, right by my feet, was a beautiful woman. Possibly one of the most beautiful women I¡¯d had ever seen in my entire new life. But what the hell am I supposed to say to her though? There she is, the prettiest girl of all time, just calmly reading a book while sipping on a cup of tea, and here I am: a subpar (at best) mess of a human being who just silently let out a fart under this mass of sheets.


    Okay man, just try to say something, come on! Your paranoia¡¯s coming back again! Just say ¡°Hi¡±. That¡¯s all. Alright here I go: ¡°Buuuurp!¡± Oh God. What was that? Was that me? Please tell me she didn¡¯t hear that! Holy crap!


    I try not to look at her so as not to get her attention, but I know for a fact that she put down her book and looked my way with a slight gasp (which was honestly very cute), but I didn¡¯t want to get her attention with that.


    Step. Step. Step. I could hear her footsteps getting closer to me. These sounded powerful, but at the same time very fragile, like they could easily curb stomp you, but at the same time she would get hurt (are you picking up what I¡¯m saying, reader?).


    And finally, she was right next to me. My heart couldn¡¯t stop beating fast. She knelt down next to the bed, and suddenly I could feel her warm breath on my cheek, still impregnated with the warm and comforting smell of leaf tea.


    She then came closer, and put her mouth right up to my ear. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± she whispered softly. ¡°I can get you something to eat if you want.¡± I then proceeded to nod hesitantly, and stupidly answer with: ¡°YeAh, I GUesS I cOUld Go fOR SOmE!¡± Am I really this bad at talking to girls!? I didn¡¯t have this much trouble when I was speaking to God, but God was not giving off this sensual vibe, unlike this girl.


    The girl then slowly got up and exited the large room. While she was walking away, I could see her long brown hair swaying sideways along the back of her exquisite black and red dress (which looked like an outfit that came straight from the Royal Family). Right below her swaying hair was a swaying tail. Well, it¡¯s honestly not that surprising considering I¡¯m in another world. And jutting from each side of her head were two pointy elf-like ears (I¡¯m sure those had a powerful range).


    The girl came back a few minutes later with a tray of food in her hands. I had already sat up in the bed, ready to dig in to whatever this world had to offer. Of course, I didn¡¯t really want to, but if I¡¯m going to be here for awhile, might as well enjoy some things.


    I tried to avoid making eye contact with her as much as possible, but that in itself was almost impossible; my eyes couldn¡¯t help but come back to her deep blue eyes. This girl was extremely pale though in all honesty, but that contrast worked well with her blue eyes (you could even say that they matched in a sense).


    With a final glance before she arrived next to me, she gave me one of the brightest smiles and then placed the tray in front of me. Honestly, I didn¡¯t know what to expect when she said food, but this¡­ this wasn¡¯t food in the slightest.


    It was a grotesque mix of uncooked fish and grilled bugs garnished with a few bits of vegetables that I had never even seen before.


    ¡°Looks good,¡± I said reluctantly, wishing I could be back at my house, eating some meatloaf. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to dig into this mean¡­ fish?¡± I looked for her for approval of the correct term, but she just sat next to me and gave me the cutest smile again.


    So, I then grabbed what looked like a fork on the tray and snapped off a piece of fish. I brought it up to my mouth. Sweat started to drip from my forehead. I opened my mouth, and took the bite.


    The taste is something that people (probably you, the reader) would describe as indescribable. The taste wasn¡¯t bad, per se. However, it also wasn¡¯t good, far from it.


    I think the girl saw how much trouble I had with eating the first bite, she must¡¯ve thought I was injured or something, because she came up on the bed and sat next to me. She took the tray away from me, as well as the fork. She then took a piece of the fish, a small bug, and a piece of what looked like a vegetable and brought it closer to my mouth. ¡°Watch out! The Hume and Carriage are coming! Open your mouth!¡± she exclaimed happily, as if I was a 3-year-old. But, how could I not obey such a pretty lady? So, as she so happily exclaimed, I opened my mouth and awaited the arrival of the carriage and the¡­ Hume? What¡¯s a Hume? I wanted to ask her that question, but the food she was bringing up to me was already in my mouth accompanied by the wooden fork.


    I chewed slowly, trying to keep it inside my mouth without puking it all up over her nice dress. ¡°Do you like it?¡± she questioned me. How the hell am I supposed to respond to that? If she¡¯s the one who cooked this, her cooking is god awful, but of course I can¡¯t say that to her, that would just hurt her feelings and probably make her cry. Well, all of that¡¯s assuming people in this new world are capable of emotions and crying.


    I turned towards her, my mouth still full of food, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s uh¡­ quite delicious, the best food I¡¯ve ever ha- Cough! Cough! Cough!¡± Oh God! A little insect leg just went to the back of my throat while I was talking and now, I¡¯m choking. I can just imagine; I must be doing the ugliest face ever.


    ¡°Oh no! Oh no!¡± the girl began to scream. She took off the black glove which was covering her right hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m going to have to do this to you! I swear, it¡¯ll only hurt for a second. She backed up a bit, pointed her hand towards my chest, and then a sudden flash of light exploded from her hand.


    That light then came rushing towards me. I can¡¯t think about anything. Am I supposed to move or not? The only thing that I can do now is just trust this beautiful maiden and hope that I don¡¯t die¡­ again.


    A slight pinch, and then nothing. I opened my eyes prepared for the worst, but it seemed as though everything around me was alright and still in its place. I patted my chest to see if anything had happened, and as I thought, nothing had changed. I looked up in surprise. There was the girl, putting the glove back on her delicate hand, one finger at a time.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Hopefully it didn¡¯t hurt you too much, did it?¡± she began. ¡°I tried my best not to miss this time around, and I think I finally have the hang of it.¡± She seemed happy and relieved after she¡¯d said that. ¡°So,¡± the young lady carried on, ¡°Shall I feed you some more, sire?¡±


    My hands became clammy for a second, and I shook my head. ¡°No,¡± I answered her, ¡°The food was great¡­ really, but I am beginning to feel kind of full after those few bites, so I think it¡¯s probably enough for now. Thanks.¡± I tried to end that sentence with a smile, trying to push down the fish from coming back up.


    She then nodded, took the tray away from me and brought it outside of the room. When she came back, she sat on her chair and began sipping her tea again. She was just about to pick up her book again when I asked her: ¡°Where am I?¡±


    She seemed surprised: ¡°How could you even think about asking such a question?¡± she said. ¡°This is the great Kingdom of Alrizia. The greatest kingdom of the northern region of Greschia to have ever existed. Hasn¡¯t God told you any of this before your arrival here?¡± I shook my head once again, since talking doesn¡¯t seem to do me much good. ¡°I suppose I could see her not telling you much, given how lazy she is. You know I thought me and her were friends, but she barely even comes to visit me anymore, and I just¡­ I just don¡¯t know how to feel about that. What do you think?¡± She looked deeply into my eyes trying to find an answer, but how the hell was I supposed to answer her? The whole subject has changed drastically fast.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± I started, trying to fumble some sort of answer, ¡°maybe you should try calling her once in a while. Maybe she feels sad about you not calling or visiting as well?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps the words you speak are the truth, but what is calling?¡± Oh man! I completely forgot that they probably don¡¯t have the same type of technology that we do in our world.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, don¡¯t worry about it. It was just something that we did in my old world.¡± She seemed to accept my answer, and brushed it off.


    ¡°But, going back to what we were talking about before. Where am I exactly in the kingdom of Alrisia? Whose house is this?¡± I asked, hoping to find a concrete answer.


    ¡°This is the great house of King Fiddler III.¡± She said so enthusiastically, as I tried to hide my slight snort.


    ¡°So, this isn¡¯t your house then, right?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°No. I am simply a maid of the household hoping to finally be able to get out of this place and one day, go on an adventure. However, once you got here, you were supposed to have a discussion with the king about your current mission, but it seems as though, with all of your sleeping, the King has grown slightly tired of waiting, so you better be ready soon,¡± she said getting up from her chair. ¡°So, I¡¯ll leave you to it then. Oh! And there¡¯s a pile of fresh clothes in the box at the foot of the bed,¡± she explained as she was walking out.


    I slowly crawled out of the bed, only to realise that I was¡­ completely naked? What the hell? Why? How? Who? When? Where?


    ¡°Why am I naked!¡± I tried yelling at the girl, but all I heard was a little laugh that fainted to nothing into the hallways outside of the door.


    I sighed, and tiptoed my way to the small wooden box that was simply placed at the foot of the bed. I reached inside and grabbed what seemed like a beige shirt and a pair of dark green pants. I quickly slipped all of it on and reached the room door.


    I peered outside to see if anyone was waiting for me there with a massive, blunt weapon. I mean, you never truly know what could happen. We all thought Rem was nice and look how that turned out. Well, I mean, I stopped watching Re:Zero during that second arc because I got too scared. But, I mean, she couldn¡¯t have gotten nice again, right?


    But there didn¡¯t seem to be anything too troubling waiting for me. So, with the most courage I could gather at a moment such as this, I took one step outside, and then another, and then another; all the while, closely examining the magnificently woven rugs of the possibly trapped floors, and the painting strewn walls (that could also possibly be trapped) of this long and twisting hallway.


    There were chandeliers hanging, what seemed to be, every meter, from the ceiling of the hallway. What if they were traps? What if a sensor went off and then one of them fell on me? I have to get out of this place as soon as possible, I really do.


    And finally, after what seemed like hours of walking (possibly because I was walking slowly, paying attention to everything around me), I could perceive a light from an entryway at the end of the hallway.


    I passed through the last few doors to my side, and penetrated into what looked like a throne room. Oh good! More of this bullshit that we¡¯ve all seen a million times over. What? Am I going to be the special ¡°Chosen One¡± or something? Honestly it was more like I got randomly chosen to come here more than anything, so I¡¯m not really sure why I¡¯d be the ¡°Chosen One¡± for this mission. Okay, enough rambling for now though.


    At the far end (of what I could still only guess is the throne room) sat a very frail and old looking man. And he was, indeed, sitting on a golden throne. He was bald and wore an extremely long and wrinkled purple gown. I couldn¡¯t exactly tell what kind of expression was on his face as I was walking into the room, because his long and bushy eyebrows covered his eyes, and they were almost long enough to be his beard too.


    He lifted up his shaking hand, and pointed his index in my direction.


    Hmm. I guess he could see me even with those long-ass eyebrows then.


    ¡°You! Young boy! Come closer!¡± the frail old man spoke.


    I turned around a few times in confusion and pointed to myself. ¡°Are you talking to me? Or are you talking to your two guards over there,¡± I said this as I pointed to the two bulky men guarding the front door of the throne room.


    He didn¡¯t say anything back to me.


    He then slowly began to stand up from the seat on which he sat with his ancient butt. Man, that thing must stink by now.


    He was still as silent, and by the time he had completely stood up (with the help of his cane) he stopped moving completely. Was he dead?


    I looked back at the guards, ¡°Hey guys! I think the old guy might need some help!¡±


    They were unfazed. They stood there, completely silent as well.


    I began making my way toward the old man, when suddenly out of nowhere, the whole room went dark.


    What the hell? Did someone just blow out all the candles or something?


    And then, what happened next, will stay with me for the rest of my life (or will it?).


    One single spotlight shone down on the old geezer. From where you ask? I couldn¡¯t tell you. I didn¡¯t even know spotlights existed in this world first of all.


    The old man raised his head slowly, very slowly. Is he going to breakdown into a song? Cause it really seems like that¡¯s about to happen right now.


    He then followed his slow head rise by striking a pose (I could almost see the menacing spinning around him).


    His chin flipped up in the air, one hand on his hip, the other pointing at me, and his legs in just an unbelievably indescribable position; I didn¡¯t think he could be that flexible, honestly.


    ¡°You, my son,¡± Oh! Finally, some words from him. ¡°You are the chosen one!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.¡±


    Noooooooooooo!


    I knew this shit was going to happen, it was only natural with all of this setup.


    ¡°You see, boy, in these lands there¡¯s a prophecy: that the one who is sent here by the gods has been chosen to bring the lands back to a sense of peace and humility. For now, times have been nothing but tough. The kingdoms to the east have been desecrating these lands for many a year now. So, wit¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! I get it,¡± I said, turning my back to him. ¡°But if it¡¯s gonna take you forever to explain what¡¯s going on, ?I¡¯m just gonna have to ask someone else.¡±


    The candles turned back on, as if there was a light switch controlling them, and blocking the way in front of me, were the two big and bulky guards who were protecting the entrance beforehand.


    ¡°And where do you think you¡¯re going exactly?!¡± A booming voice cried out from behind me. But that couldn¡¯t be the old guy¡¯s voice, right?


    I turned back, and was surprised by what I saw. The old man had grown a full head of hair, had grown 4 extra feet, had gained some muscle mass (enough to rip through his purple gown), and his long beard/eyebrows had become a simple mustache.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to listen to my little speech,¡± he yelled as he picked up an axe standing next to his throne. ¡°Or we could make God send another one of you, little rats. That¡¯s not a problem at all,¡± He seemed to peer deep into my soul, I was utterly speechless. ¡°And believe me, I¡¯m not scared of a little mess.¡±