Avengers of Ledia

. . . Everyone's here, right?

Surveying the faces of her subordinates, their expressions flickering in the candlelight, the girl who served as knight captain spoke those words.

In the sealed room, with doors and windows tightly shut, men and women of all ages stood shoulder to shoulder. Each had already prepared for battle, and now they waited only for their captain’s marching orders.

Their number: forty-seven in total, including the captain herself.

They were about to ride into enemy territory to avenge their fallen lord—into a demonic lair, where non-humans who had transcended mortal limits lay in wait.

Kitsch, could you take roll call, just to be sure?

Upon receiving the captain’s instruction, the boy in the school uniform shook his head and dismissed the idea.

This isn’t a school trip . . . Don’t worry, everyone’s here.

Really? It looks like there are only about thirty people here.

It’s fine. We’re already behind schedule, so just give your orders like a proper captain. You know—like Kuranosuke Oishi.

Who's that?

Your distinguished predecessor. He successfully led the raid as the leader of the forty-seven rōnin.

Oh, right. That famous revenge story from your world. His name’s kind of similar to mine, so I don’t feel like he’s a stranger.

Kuranosuke Oishi was an old man, you know.

At that point, Shuze Auston spoke up.

Just get on with it already.

After being scolded, the captain gave a small cough and cleared her throat. She looked around the room slowly, then spoke to her comrades with a serious expression.

You’ve endured many hardships and persevered well until today. On behalf of our late lord, King Inshoz Sharono, I offer you my sincere gratitude.

At that moment, a tall, white-haired general narrowed his eyes and praised the young leader.

It is you, Captain, who deserves praise for bringing us together so well. You have grown remarkably strong.

Immediately, a female knight with long, straight black hair raised an objection.

Isn’t that praise a little excessive? If she had been more reliable, we could have come together more quickly and firmly.

As soon as the knight finished speaking, a silver-haired female knight with medium-length hair quickly joined in criticizing the captain.

Rather, we should be questioning why the execution has been delayed for so long. That delay is solely due to the captain’s lack of leadership, popularity, and intelligence—isn’t it?

Seizing the opportunity, the others began voicing their complaints one after the other.

To begin with, Kranos is always demanding of others but doesn’t actually do much herself, right?

During a national crisis, the first thing she did was duel with a subordinate.

She should show a bit more feminine modesty, too . . .

Hehe. Come to think of it, Kranos, didn’t you once drunkenly pick a fight with a foreign king?

If she didn’t have those massive tits, I would’ve abandoned her long ago.

Can a seventeen-year-old girl even serve as knight captain?! Let me take over!

That’s right! We hereby demand Kranos’s removal as captain!

Yeah! Resign, you bumpkin knight!

Faced with this unexpected barrage of criticism, the captain herself faltered in confusion. She had meant to ignite everyone’s fighting spirit—but apparently, she’d set fire to the wrong thing.

W-wait a minute! We’re about to raid, remember? This isn’t the time for infighting! All right, everyone—state your number and name, one by one!

Kitsch interrupted.

Forget the roll call!

I told you—everyone’s here! And why did you cram us into this tiny room anyway? It’s like subway rush hour in here!

Secret strategy meetings are supposed to be like this! What’s this subway rush hour thing? Don’t use examples I don’t understand!

As the argument raged on, the sardine-packed room descended further into chaos.

Quiet down, all of you! We are the mighty Ledia Order of Knighthood, the strongest in the archipelago!

Ah, Vice-Captain! You’re so dashing and wonderful today, too . . .

How long are you all going to dawdle?! Can I just go raid by myself already?!

Let me fight already! I’ll even fight the people in here if I have to!

Cough, cough. . . Could I lie down for a bit? I’m not feeling well . . .

Who was that?! Who just touched my butt?! Do you even know whose ass this belongs to—the Black Knight Answay?!

Everyone, can’t we just get out of this room? We’re going to suffocate at this rate . . .

Damn, the door won’t open! It opens inward, but we’re packed in too tight!

What?! Then how did we even close it in the first place?!

Gross! Someone just farted!

These were the forty-seven elite knights of the Ledia Order of Knighthood.

They were about to ride into enemy territory to avenge their fallen lord—into a demonic lair where non-humans who had transcended mortal limits lay in wait.

They would be roughly an hour late because the door wouldn’t open.

One.

It was a Sunday, just after final exams had ended and with the long-awaited summer vacation right around the corner.

His mother, passing by, glanced at him.

If you're just going to laze around anyway, why don't you clean out the storage shed?

So, Kiichi Terasaka reluctantly headed out to the garden under the blazing sun.

The moment he stepped outside, sweat began pouring down his entire body. The ground shimmered with heat waves.

I wanted to refuse, but all my test scores are probably going to be terrible . . . so I guess I have no choice but to earn points through something other than tests.

Resigning himself to it, he grabbed a rag and a bucket, entered the storage shed, and began cleaning.

After organizing gardening supplies, car-washing equipment, a giant ceramic tanuki ornament, and other miscellaneous items, an hour passed quickly.

Suddenly, Kiichi noticed a suspicious paulownia wood box in one corner.

It was about the size of a monthly manga magazine. When he pulled it out, he could tell it was quite old. It was bound with a thick rope looped once horizontally and looked rather imposing.

When he untied the rope and opened the lid, he found a single book inside.

It was bound in traditional Japanese style. The paper had yellowed with age, and it was as weathered as the paulownia box itself. On the back cover was a complex symbol resembling a magic circle—something that felt out of place given the otherwise old-fashioned binding.

Could this be a forbidden spellbook? If I obtain this book, will I awaken great power and get caught up in a fierce battle between humanity and demons?

A high school sophomore still in the throes of eighth-grader syndrome, Kiichi quickly finished cleaning and returned to his room with the book, his heart racing with excitement.

Before reading, he changed into his school uniform—just to be safe.

As a high school student, when awakening to power, one must be wearing a school uniform. Holding the spellbook and looking at himself in the mirror, he really did look like the protagonist of a battle manga.

Okay, let’s try reading it. What does this cover say? Loyal retainer . . . Yoshi?

To conclude from the start: it wasn’t a spellbook.

When he flipped through it briefly, the words that caught his eye were “Ako,” “revenge,” “Asano,” “Kira,” “Oishi,” and the like. Kiichi immediately recognized what these terms meant.

What was written appeared to be the so-called The Forty-Seven Ronin.

The Forty-Seven Ronin is a famous story that has been the subject of countless films and television dramas, dramatizing the historical raid that took place during the Edo period.

Simply put, it’s the story of forty-seven loyal retainers avenging the death of their lord.

Kiichi had once watched a year-end special drama about it back in middle school. It was about five hours long, if he remembered correctly. He hadn’t been particularly interested, so he didn’t recall much of the content.

Tch, just the Forty-Seven Ronin . . . drawing some meaningful-looking magic circle on the back cover . . . And what’s with this title, The Forty-Seven Loyal?

Though disappointed, he decided to read from the beginning since he had it open anyway.

He intended to stop after a few pages, but he couldn’t put it down. Before he knew it, Kiichi was sitting on his bed, settling in for some serious reading.

What surprised him was how easily he could read the text.

Ancient books usually had crawling, worm-like characters that were practically unreadable. But this one was written in clear block letters and, moreover, in a straightforward, colloquial style.

Even more surprising was that The Forty-Seven Loyal was actually something remarkable.

It was a true memoir written by one of the raid’s participants.

My name is Kichiemon Terasaka.

I was an ashigaru foot soldier serving a samurai named Chuzaemon Yoshida in Banshu-Ako. Basically, I was a gofer handling odd jobs.

The truth is, I’m not from this world.

I was originally born in a country called Ledia and was a scholar researching spiritual arts in the Edukuf Empire.

I was transported to this strange archipelago, where the language is the same but everything else about the culture is completely different. Several years have passed, and I’m still confused by this hairstyle called a chonmage. What is that thing?

The one who took me in when I was wandering the streets was Lord Chuzaemon Yoshida, a samurai of the Ako Domain.

Not only did he cover my living expenses, but he also gave me the name Kichiemon Nobuyuki Terasaka. To be honest, it still doesn’t feel quite right, but since he’s my benefactor, I can’t complain. Sigh.

Now then, in this world, I became involved in a certain incident—

A major event that would disturb the reign of the Fifth Shogun, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa.

By the way, this Tsunayoshi Tokugawa fellow is, frankly speaking, a fool of a lord. Specifically, he’s such a massive fool that he’d spend two hundred thousand ryo just to build doghouses. The Edicts on Compassion for Living Things make no sense whatsoever.

Let me get back to the point. What I want to record here is nothing other than that incident I was involved in.

To tell this story, you first need to know three main characters:

Takuminokami Asano.

Kozukenosuke Kira.

And Kuranosuke Oishi.

Lord Asano was the master of my benefactor, Lord Chuzaemon Yoshida. He was the daimyo ruling Ako—essentially, the king of that land. Frankly, he was a troublemaker.

That bastard Kira was a stingy old geezer who served as something like a liaison between the imperial court and the shogunate—high in rank, but not much else. Basically, think of him as the final boss.

Lord Kuranosuke Oishi was Ako’s chief retainer, the top vassal of Lord Asano. Frankly, I was worked to the bone doing errands for this man too. Sigh.

The whole thing started when Lord Asano got into a dispute with that old geezer Kira.

Lord Asano flew into a rage and attacked Kira in Edo Castle—but he failed to finish him off. Frankly, pretty pathetic. You’d think he could at least take down an old man.

Edo Castle was a place where drawing swords was absolutely forbidden. Even placing your hand on a sword hilt was a serious crime.

Because of this, Lord Asano was forced to commit seppuku that very day. His house was disbanded, and the Ako Domain was confiscated.

Meanwhile, that old geezer Kira was treated as a complete victim and got off scot-free. Lord Asano claimed he had a grievance against Kira, but the shogunate didn’t even conduct a proper investigation.

This time, it was the Ako Domain retainers who flew into a rage. To avenge their late lord, Lord Asano, they launched a raid on that baboon geezer Kira’s mansion.

The members who participated in the raid numbered forty-seven in total.

The leader was, of course, Chief Retainer Kuranosuke Oishi.

I, Kichiemon Terasaka, joined them as well. I felt obligated to my benefactor, Lord Chuzaemon Yoshida, but by that time, I was already everyone’s comrade and friend.

And we successfully struck down that wrinkled old geezer Kira.

This act of revenge, which directly defied the shogunate’s ruling, won acclaim from the people of Edo. Frankly, we became something of heroes.

Public opinion was sympathetic to Lord Asano from the start, and everyone probably had grievances with the authorities. I mean, the Edicts on Compassion for Living Things? You couldn’t even kill mosquitoes or cockroaches!

However, Kuranosuke Oishi and the other raid members were forced to commit seppuku to take responsibility for the incident.

My comrades—my forty-six friends—are no longer in this world.

Kuranosuke Oishi, Lord Chuzaemon Yoshida, radical Horibe, sarcastic Kataoka, bumbling Takebayashi, haiku-loving Otaka—they’ve all departed for heaven.

But . . . why am I the only one still alive?

The truth is, I was going to be able to return to my original world. When everyone learned this, they secretly helped me escape after the raid.

This, too, could be called a reward for the loyalty I showed to Kuranosuke Oishi.

Honestly, I didn’t have any particular attachment to Lord Asano, but I think highly of Oishi. That man was amazing, despite having a round face and being called a daytime lantern.

It’s precisely because I was able to meet Kuranosuke Oishi, and because we succeeded in this revenge, that I can depart as well.

That’s exactly why I want to leave a record of this incident.

That’s my way of setting things right—and my farewell gift to this world.

. . . So, from the next page onward, I’ll tell you the whole story in detail, laying it all bare and being completely frank.

I’ll quietly tell you the truth about what this so-called Ako Incident really was.

You will see the Tears of Time—

Was this really written during the Edo period?

This was the tone right from the start.

Despite being transported from another world, there was somehow no tragic feeling. Also, he definitely overused frankly.

That bothered him, but by the time Kiichi finished reading the opening section, he was completely hooked on the memoir. Somehow, he’d developed an interest in the Forty-Seven Ronin.

Since he participated in the raid, this Kichiemon Terasaka was also one of the Forty-Seven Ronin of Ako. And since they shared the same surname, could he possibly be an ancestor?

He’s probably an ancestor. He says embarrassing things like coming from another world, and his eighth-grader syndrome is just like mine.

After that, even taking a break for dinner, Kiichi continued reading Memoirs of Kichiemon Terasaka with complete absorption. When he glanced at the clock, the date was already about to change.

Tomorrow was Monday. Naturally, there was school.

But just a little more, until a good stopping point . . . he thought—and ended up reading all the way to the end. This might have been the first time in his life he’d been so absorbed in reading.

Phew, that was interesting. I’m definitely at my limit with sleepiness . . . Hm? There’s some paper stuck at the end.

When he checked, it appeared to be a memo written by a descendant of Kichiemon Terasaka from a later era. In other words, for Kiichi, it really was from an ancestor.

I wish for The Forty-Seven Loyal to be preserved through all generations of the Terasaka family. The well-known Forty-Seven Ronin is actually a plagiarized version of The Forty-Seven Loyal, altered to make Kuranosuke Oishi the protagonist. Kabuki actors of the time, who adapted the memoir for performance, rearranged it in various ways. To prevent it from being plagiarized again, this memoir shall be kept strictly within the family. Furthermore, the author, Kichiemon, had some rather embarrassing aspects, and to keep these from becoming public knowledge, this too shall remain a family secret. After all, he was a hero. Moreover, after writing this memoir, Kichiemon disappeared, leaving behind a pregnant woman—but this, too, shall remain a family secret. Our branch family descends from that child. He probably didn’t really return to another world, but since running away would damage the Terasaka family’s reputation, the official story is that he spent his remaining years mourning the Ako ronin. The official record states he lived to eighty-three, so descendants should keep their stories straight. Also, any descendants with time on their hands would be appreciated if they investigated the magic circle on the back cover—

It wasn’t a spellbook, but in a different sense, it was forbidden to outsiders.

Come on, at this point there’s no question of plagiarizing the Forty-Seven Ronin. Still, I’d heard that the Forty-Seven Ronin story was heavily dramatized from the actual Ako Incident . . . but after reading this, it wasn’t as fictional as people say.

While pondering such thoughts, Kiichi drifted into sleep.

He dozed off before he knew it, still clutching The Forty-Seven Loyal to his chest.

Crap, I haven’t taken a bath . . . haven’t changed out of my uniform either . . . Huh, an earthquake?

He felt two strong jolts shake his entire body, but his consciousness paid no heed and continued sinking into the swamp of sleep, making it impossible to wake.

There didn’t seem to be any aftershocks, so it probably wasn’t anything serious.

Anyway, he just wanted to keep sleeping. Maybe he’d dream he’d become one of the Forty-Seven Ronin and raided Kira’s mansion . . .

. . . And then, he didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he woke up again—

Kiichi Terasaka was in another world.

Two.

Captain, you’re still in your office?

The sun had completely set, and now only the guards remained in the castle.

Called out by the large, elderly knight who had entered after knocking, the girl lifted her face from where she’d been slumped over her desk.

I’m here . . . I still have about thirty documents left to review. Hey, Vice-Captain, please help me out.

Hahaha, you’re slow with your work as always.

The girl glared resentfully at the old knight, who laughed while shaking his shoulders. Then she pursed her lips as much as she could.

It can’t be helped. I’ve only been captain for six months.

She complained with evident frustration.

She was a beautiful girl with blue eyes and blonde hair cut evenly at shoulder length.

At the exceptionally young age of just seventeen, she had assumed the position of captain of the Kingdom of Ledia’s knighthood. Following her grandfather and father, she now served as captain for the third generation.

However, the captain’s position was clearly too much for her to handle. She wasn’t suited for it by temperament, either.

Since it wasn’t exactly a hereditary system, the vice-captain could have been promoted instead . . . She still thought so, even now.

Though it was this very old knight, serving as vice-captain, who had strongly recommended her for the captain position.

Captain, please don’t rest your breasts on the desk. It’s unseemly.

They’re heavy.

With her voluptuous bust still pressed against the desk, Kranos reluctantly resumed checking the documents.

After a while, she asked the white-haired old knight—who had started helping despite his exasperation—as if she’d just recalled something:

Speaking of which, vice-captain, what happened to that him you mentioned before?

Yes. His confusion has finally settled recently, and he seems to be calming down. However, he truly appears to know nothing about the Kingdom of Ledia, let alone the Edukuf Empire . . .

He says he was transported from another world, right?

What’s conceivable is that he’s an immigrant from the continent. If he’s from the continent, we have a precedent in our knighthood with Yuina Brin.

Yuina, huh . . . I hope that scatterbrain isn’t causing trouble in the capital.

Exactly one week ago, the girl had received a certain report from the vice-captain.

The report concerned a specific matter.

I have taken in a boy wearing unfamiliar clothing.

That was the content of his report.

Apparently, the boy had been attacked by spies from another country in an alley of the castle town. The old knight rescued him, and since the boy had no home, no money, and nowhere else to go, the knight decided to take him in at his residence for a while.

His name is Kiichi. From his appearance, I thought he was fourteen or fifteen, but he claims to be a seventeen-year-old high schooler.

He’s seventeen—same as me.

He carries no weapons. As for possessions, just one old book; it was indecipherable. My son, Sawan, is looking after him now. Since he’s also seventeen, they seem to get along well.

Sawan, huh . . . I wish that guy would stop staring at my chest.

I’ll punch him when I get home.

As the old knight cracked his knuckles, as she watched.

Hahaha!

She laughed cheerfully.

Thanks to this caring vice-captain, she was somehow managing to serve as knight captain. Until six months ago, their roles had been reversed, and she had been scolded by him countless times.

I’m still not used to the vice-captain speaking formally to me, or to not using formal language myself.

There is such a thing as military discipline. Please understand.

That’s true, but . . .

Your hands have stopped moving. That’s why you end up staying late, you fool.

. . . What about military discipline?

With the old knight’s assistance, the work was finished in about an hour.

The vice-captain bowed to her, who was busily preparing to leave, then turned on his heel. But he immediately stopped and spoke to the young captain.

At some point, I would like to arrange for you to meet that boy, Captain.

Huh? Why? He’s just a regular citizen, isn’t he?

I need to investigate further before I can say for certain, but . . . that boy seems to possess extraordinary abilities.

At the vice-captain’s strange words, she furrowed.

Extraordinary abilities?

Yes, that boy Kiichi is incredibly fast on his feet.

So what? He’s not faster than a horse, is he?

Horses don’t even compare. He runs one hundred meters in under two seconds.

What?!

The old knight scratched his temple in response to the girl’s wide-eyed shock.

An archipelago ruled entirely by the Edukuf Empire, the western Kingdom of Ledia—among the various kingdoms under its jurisdiction—boasted the strongest knighthood.

Neither the girl nor the old knight had any idea that this country would soon face the crisis of national destruction.

The girl’s name was Kranos Auston.

The old knight’s name was Chuza Kiffild.

* * *

The next day was a pleasant, warm afternoon.

Unaware of the conversation that had taken place between Captain Kranos and Vice-Captain Chuza, Kiichi Terasaka strolled leisurely down the main street of the castle town.

. . . So that’s how this archipelago was unified by the Edukuf Empire. The age of warfare ended, and the twenty-odd surviving kingdoms have all been vassals of Edukuf for over three hundred years now.

The brown-haired boy walking beside him had been delivering this lecture for some time.

In response, Kiichi offered only minimal acknowledgment.

Huh.

I see.

These were about all Kiichi offered by way of response, while his eyes constantly scanned the bustling streets filled with people.

Stalls lined both sides of the street, selling vegetables and fruits, meat and seafood, bread and wine.

The ground was cobblestone, and the buildings were made of stone. There wasn’t a single utility pole, nor were there any cars or motorcycles running. Naturally, no one was carrying a smartphone either.

Well-maintained waterways, taverns from which sounds of revelry leaked, and the massive royal castle visible in the distance—it was exactly the medieval fantasy townscape Kiichi had imagined.

That said, there are still skirmishes between countries even now. The empire issued the Royal Family Ordinance mandating military downsizing, so they don't escalate into large-scale wars, but . . . Hey, are you listening, Kiichi?

When tapped on the shoulder, Kiichi turned his gaze from scanning his surroundings to his companion.

A droopy-eyed boy knight, about half a head taller than he, looked at him with displeasure. Despite the mild weather, he wore a coat and carried an imposing longsword at his waist.

His name was Sawan Kiffild.

He was the only son of the Kiffild family, who were currently taking care of Kiichi. His father was number two in the knighthood, and apparently Sawan had gained entry through that connection.

Being the same age—and sharing the same love of big breasts—they hit it off completely.

You said you don't know anything about this world, so I'm going out of my way to explain things to you. Listen carefully.

I am listening. Basically, the Edukuf Empire is like the shogunate, right? And the various kingdoms granted regional autonomy are like feudal domains.

That makes no sense . . . Is that some system from the world you came from?

It's an ancient system from my world. Anyway, Sawan, where are we going now?

To pick up girls, obviously. You can only truly understand this country by getting friendly with Ledian girls.

The Kingdom of Ledia—that was the name of the other world into which Kiichi Terasaka had wandered.

. . . The truth was that Kiichi recognized that name—and the Edukuf Empire too.

They were the names of countries in another world that Kichiemon Terasaka had written about in The Forty-Seven Loyal.

I was originally born in a country called Ledia and was a scholar researching spiritual arts in the Edukuf Empire.

. . . That's what Kichiemon had written.

So I was transported to the world Kichiemon was from—like a reverse version? Was that tall tale actually true?

It was hard to believe, but he had to believe it. Kichiemon Terasaka wasn't suffering from eighth-grader syndrome—he really was from another world. Long ago, he had come from this world to Japan's Genroku period.

This also matched the description in the memoir.

It is an archipelago where the language is the same, but everything else about the culture is completely different.

When they showed Kiichi a map of this world, it certainly had the same shape as the Japanese archipelago.

Ugh, why did this have to happen . . . How am I supposed to get back? That bastard Kichiemon didn't write anything about that in his memoir . . .

Kiichi sighed, as if for the hundredth time, and fell into another flashback that seemed just as repetitive.

That day, after reading The Forty-Seven Loyal—which he had discovered in the storage shed—and falling asleep, Kiichi woke around noon to find himself in a vast open field on the outskirts of Ledia’s castle town. His entire body was stark white; he was lying in a salt field.

Where the hell is this?! I was supposed to be in bed, in my room!

Even worse, he didn’t have his smartphone, wallet, or anything else. His only possession was The Forty-Seven Loyal, which he’d been clutching in his sleep.

Though panicking, he headed toward the nearby town—only to be even more shocked. The townscape, the people—everything was foreign.

Wh-wh-what’s going on?! Why aren’t there any police boxes? Why aren’t there any convenience stores or vending machines? Why are there people carrying broadswords at their waists?

People passing by stared intently at Kiichi as he stood frozen in the middle of the main street. There weren’t just blondes and brunettes, but also people with red, silver, and green hair. Their eye colors varied just as much.

Realizing his school uniform was making him stand out, Kiichi quickly retreated into a side alley.

Trying to avoid attention, he walked straight down the narrow path for a while. Up ahead, two figures stood with their backs turned, whispering to each other.

. . . How does it look? Think we can get into the castle?

It’ll be tough. The knights have the place locked down tight. Even if we do get in, they’ve got plenty of Red Ranks in there, including that captain of theirs. We’d better not underestimate what they’re capable of.

Fortunately, Kiichi could understand what they were saying, but their conversation was clearly suspicious. Just as he was about to turn and pretend he hadn’t heard anything, he unfortunately made eye contact with them.

Hey, you! How long have you been standing there?!

Damn, he heard us . . . No choice now.

Both men drew knives from inside their coats.

Bad news! Kiichi thought, reflexively spinning around. He wasn’t stupid enough to misunderstand what drawing blades meant. Nine times out of ten, they were going to silence him.

I've got to reach the main street! If I can get into the crowd—

The instant he broke into a run, he suddenly felt his legs burning with heat.

A stone wall appeared right in front of him, and Kiichi slammed into it—thud!

He soon realized it was the dead end of an alley on the opposite side of the main street.

Apparently, he had burst out of the side alley, shot across the main street, and ended up in the alley on the far side—about eighty meters in total, covered in just an instant.

Wh-what the hell?! What just happened?!

Panic piled on panic—Kiichi couldn’t even stand up anymore.

The two men came chasing after him.

Wh-what was that just now?

Incredible . . . What kind of leg strength is that?

They muttered in bewilderment.

Truly a desperate situation—just when his life was hanging by a thread.

That's enough, you two. Stand down.

In the end, Kiichi was saved by that very leg strength of his. An elderly knight who happened to be passing by had witnessed Kiichi shoot across the main street like a bullet.

That man was Chuza Kiffild—vice-captain of the knighthood and Sawan’s father.

He didn’t remember much about what happened after that. Chuza had driven off the pair, and Kiichi was taken to the mansion and given a meal—something along those lines.

That was quite an ordeal. Those two appear to have been spies from the neighboring Kingdom of Ocumont, and they still seem to hold a grudge from that incident two years ago.

Y-yes . . .

Even so, you say you're from another world? I don't quite understand it, but I can't simply abandon you. Stay at our house for a while.

I'll be in your debt . . .

And so, we arrive at the present.

Initially, he’d been depressed for about three days, but he had finally found the resolve to accept reality.

Right now, I've got no choice but to learn about this world. Since Kichiemon made the round trip, there's definitely a way back to the original world . . . I just have to find it.

He’d adapted to life enough to become that positive—in just one week. Quite impressive adaptability, if he did say so himself.

Meeting understanding people like Chuza and Sawan had been a blessing in disguise. There’s no point in lamenting. For now, I need to focus on surviving in this world!

Having made that renewed resolution, Kiichi turned his gaze and saw Sawan hitting on a girl—only to be shot down in two seconds.