Prologue
“I do hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I am sorry to say that you are dead.”
“I see.”
The old man bowed his head before me. There we were, in a sea of clouds. They stretched out as far as the eye could see, perhaps even farther than that. Amidst it all, we sat together on a small square of tatami mats. Four and a half tatami mats, to be precise. It was a simple little room, though that description was a loose fit since it lacked both walls and a roof, and was floating in the clouds. It was furnished with a small tea table, a set of drawers, an old CRT TV, and an old-fashioned telephone. It was all very classic, if nothing else.
But all that aside, back to Lord God. Or at least, the man who claimed to be God. This God guy claimed that I had died in some accident of his making. But honestly, for a dead man, I certainly didn’t feel very lifeless.
As I remembered, rain suddenly started pouring while I was on my way home from school. I was taking a detour through the local park, at which point I was assaulted by a blinding light and a thunderous roar.
“I am afraid to say that I have made a bit of a blunder when I dropped some lightning into the world below. Truly, I am sorry about my mistake. I never intended for it to strike anyone... the chances of it happening are so low to begin with! Really, I cannot apologize enough.”
“So the lightning scored a critical hit, which killed me? Well, that makes sense. So... is this Heaven, then?”
“Ah, no. This is actually far above Heaven. It is where all the Gods live. You could call it the Divine Realm, I suppose. I actually had to summon you here myself. Humans ordinarily cannot ever hope to come here, you see. Now, um, Mo... Mo-chi-zu-ki...”
“Ah, Mochizuki. Mochizuki Touya. Touya’s my given name.”
“Yes, yes, young Touya.” Old Man God addressed me as he poured us both a cup of tea.
Oh, look at that. My tea stalk’s upright. Lucky me, I thought.
“Young Touya, are you not a tad too calm in this situation? You are very much dead. I had thought you would have been more panicked, or perhaps even furious.”
“I’m a dead man talking. Quite frankly, I’m having a hard time believing this is even real. Still, what’s done is done. No use pointing fingers over it.”
“That is a rather philosophical outlook.”
Even so, I never thought I’d die at fifteen... I sipped my tea as that thought crossed my mind. Ah, delicious.
“So, what happens next? Heaven or Hell, which way are you sending me?”
“Oh, no. Perish the thought! This was all my fault, and I will gladly take responsibility for that. You’ll be resurrected in a moment, don’t you worry about that. But...” God stumbled over his words for a moment.
I couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong.
“I can certainly restore you to life, but I cannot simply place you back where you came from. There are rules about this kind of thing, you understand? Once again, allow me to profusely apologize for this situation... Now, to the point.”
“Go on,” I said, encouragingly.
“It is possible to grant you a life in a different world. A chance to begin anew, so to speak. Of course, I will understand if you don’t like the idea, but—”
“Sounds good to me.”
“...It does?” Finding his endless apology cut short, God’s face was now almost comically blank.
“If that’s the way it has to be, then that’s all there is to it. I’m honestly just happy I get another chance, so that’s fine by me.”
“You truly are an amazing young man... You definitely could have made something of yourself if you were still alive down there... Please forgive my carelessness.” Poor old God looked very downtrodden indeed. I was very close to my own grandfather, so it felt a bit bad for me as well.
I knew it was silly, but I definitely empathized with him. Besides, I was talking to God of all people. I had never been very religious, but I wasn’t so stupid as to get up and start yelling at the guy, demanding he make everything right again. I did feel very sad about never being able to see my family or friends ever again, but that wasn’t something that could be fixed by blaming God. My granddad told me to be a good person, the kind of person who forgave other people when they made mistakes. By all accounts, Gods were people as well. Probably.
“At least allow me to make it up to you somehow. I am permitted to grant you small favors like that... Does anything come to mind?”
“Hm... well, you’ve kind of put me on the spot here.” Being able to go home would be nice, but that was against the rules. As such, I had no choice but to think of something else. Something that could be of use to me in the new world.
“The world you’re sending me to... what kind of place is it?”
“Ah, in comparison to your world it is not quite as developed as of yet. Hm... your world was the one with the Middle Ages, correct? I suppose it is close to that level, on a societal standpoint. Well, half of it at least! It varies a bit by location.”
Well... that was certainly a drop as far as quality of life was concerned. Hearing that made me feel a little worried. Could I really survive just being thrown into that kind of landscape unawares, left to fend for myself? Oh, that’s it, I realized.
“Uhm, there is one thing.”
“Oh? There is? State it and I will see what can be done.”
“This, can you make it so I can still use it while I’m over there? ” I produced the item I desired from my uniform pocket. An object akin to a small metal board, the device known as the all-powerful cellular telephone! Well, really, it was just my smartphone.
“That is all? Well, I do suppose it is possible... I would have to impose some restrictions on its usage, however, if that is acceptable.”
“What kind?”
“You will not be able to directly communicate with anyone through it. In simpler terms, I should say that you cannot use it to interact with your old world. No texting, no posting to websites, and no outgoing calls. However, you will still be able to observe, browse, and use search functions and whatnot. What else... Oh, I will give you my telephone number as well.”
“Sounds good to me.” All the information from my old world would make for a powerful weapon. I didn’t exactly know how at the time, but I was sure that it would prove useful.
“I will link the battery directly to your magic so as to keep it charged at all times. You will not have to worry about it running out of power.”
“Sorry, did you just say magic? Are you telling me that the people in my new world can cast spells and stuff?”
“Well, yes. Fear not, you should be able to use it freely in due time.”
I was going to become a wizard. Amazing. I was really going to become a wizard as I started off a life in another world.
“All right, then. We should really see to getting you back on your feet now, eh?”
“Thank you for all of this, really.”
“Not at all. This whole situation was a result of my mistake to begin with. Ah, speaking of which, one last thing.” God gently raised his arm out toward me. I was wrapped in a warm, gentle light for a moment.
“It would be quite tragic indeed were you to die again immediately after being revived, so I have given all of your basic abilities a small boost. Your body will be stronger, your mind sharper, and so on. Either way, it should be considerably harder for you to die this time around. Well, unless some silly old God drops lightning on your head!” The kindly old coot smiled wryly. And I found myself smiling too.
“I will be unable to do much for you directly once you are down in the world below. So just consider tha
t a little present from me.”
“Thanks again.”
“I may not be able to interfere with the lower realms too much, but I can always offer you advice should you require it.” God pointed at my phone as he spoke.
This was a bit of a tough one. I couldn’t exactly call God every evening asking how to do this or that, so I figured I should hold off on calling him unless the situation was particularly serious.
“Well then, until next time.” God saw me off with a saintly smile, and I blacked out in an instant.
Chapter I: In Another World
I came to my senses, laying on my back and gazing up at the sky. The clouds were floating on gently by, and I could hear birds chirping in the distance.
I clambered to my feet, noticing my body didn’t hurt at all. As I surveyed my surroundings, I took note of mountains and grassy plains all around me. I could see a large tree in the distance. Plus, I thought I could make out a road next to it as well.
There was no mistaking it, I was in another world.
“Guess I’ll just walk the road and see if I run into anyone.” My immediate checkpoint in sight, I set off toward the big tree. Upon reaching it, I got a better look at things. I was right! There was a road nearby.
“Now... left or right, that is the question.” I pondered my options beneath the shade of the giant tree.
The nearest landmark to my right looked to be an hour’s walk away. Off to the left, I could make out a town. It was probably eight hours by foot... As I was lost in thought, my smartphone began to ring. The Caller ID was listed as “God”.
“Hello?”
“Ooh! It went through! I see that you have arrived safely.” I could hear God’s voice as I held the phone close to my ear. We’d only just parted, but it felt as though we were talking for the first time in forever.
“I forgot to mention one thing. The maps and compasses and such on your phone should be compatible with this world now. I hope they help you out some!”
“Wow, really? That’s great timing, actually. I was a little bit lost, and wondering where I should go.”
“I had assumed so. I could have just as easily dropped you in the middle of a town, but think of the panic that would ensue. I had thought you would rather avoid that, so I dropped you off where nobody would see you instead. Of course, that brings us to the problem of you being lost in the middle of nowhere.”
“Heh, yup,” I answered with a somewhat wry smile. It was only natural I’d be lost. I didn’t have a destination, a hometown, or even any acquaintances.
“If you follow your map, you should be able to reach the nearest town without incident. Do your best out there. Goodbye.”
“Will do. Later.” As the call ended, I went back to the home screen, located the map application, and opened it up. My location was displayed in the very center of the map. A road stretched out right alongside that point. This must have been the very road I was looking at. Zooming further out, I took note of the town to the west. It was... Reflet? The town of Reflet.
“Well, I guess that’s where I’m headed.” Firing up a simple compass app, I took heed and headed west.
After walking a fair bit, the reality of my situation finally began to sink in. To begin with, I had no food. Not to mention the fact that I had no water. Once I got into town, what then? I had no money. I still had my wallet, but what good was that? Was there an exchange rate for my country’s money? From a logical perspective, it was all worthless now. What to do...
As I was lost in thought, a sound steadily approached from behind. I turned around to check, and saw something off in the distance. It was heading this way, and it appeared to be... a horse-drawn carriage. I’d never seen a carriage before in my life, but it was generally something you’d find someone riding in.
This would be first contact with life in another world. Think, what should I do? Try and stop it? I could have asked for a ride into town, but I decided against the idea. Why? A simple enough reason.
As the carriage grew closer, I could tell at a glance that it was a very high-class vehicle. Its physical appearance showed that it was gorgeously adorned and built of the highest craftsmanship. Even I could tell at a glance that it was the sort of vehicle ridden by a noble, or at least some rich person of high status.
If I were to stop a carriage like that only to be met with a line like “Insolent knave! I’ll see you hanged for this!” then it’d be no laughing matter. I decided it was in my best interest to give way instead, so I simply moved to the edge of the road.
The carriage passed me by, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake. Good. I was glad I’d managed to avoid any trouble. However, as I turned to resume walking down the road, I noticed that it had come to a stop a short way ahead.
“You! Yes you, over there!” A man slammed the carriage door open and stepped out. He was an older gentleman with gray hair and a splendid mustache. He wore a stylish scarf and mantle, and a rose brooch shone on his chest.
“Uhm, yes? What is it...?” Clearly excited about something, the older gentleman made his way over. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was mostly just relieved that we seemed to be speaking the same language. The man firmly gripped my shoulders and held me in place. His eyes wandered all across my body as though slowly savoring something. Er, wait... what? This could be bad...
“Wh-Where in the world did you get these clothes?!”
“Sorry?” I was taken aback, left utterly baffled by his question. The gentleman was so immersed in scanning my school uniform from every angle that he didn’t even pay any attention to my confusion.
“I’ve never seen a design such as this. And the way this was sewn... How could this have been made...? Hrmm...”
And then it all started to make sense. To put it simply, my uniform was rare. Maybe nothing else like it existed in this world. In that case...
“You can have it, if you’d like.”
“Are you certain?!” The mustachioed gentleman took the bait.
“I acquired these clothes from a traveling merchant. If you would rather have them, I don’t mind handing them over. However, that puts me at a loss, as I’d have nothing to wear. If you might kindly take me into town and help me find a new set of clothes, I would be very grateful.”
I couldn’t possibly have told him that my clothes came from another world, so I was forced to come up with an excuse. If I somehow managed to sell my clothes and make a bit of money off of them, that was one problem solved. Plus, it would help me get clothes that didn’t stand out so much. Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.
“Very well! Step aboard and accompany me to town! I shall have new clothes prepared for you on the double. You may sell your current garments once that is taken care of.”
“Then we have a deal,” I sternly replied. The mustachioed gentleman firmly shook my hand in response.
After that, it only took three hours to reach the town of Reflet by carriage. During the journey, the gentleman, who introduced himself as Zanac, took my jacket and ran his hands over it several times, examining it down to every last seam. He seemed extremely interested in the make of the clothes. Once I learned of his job, it all made sense. Apparently Zanac worked in the fashion industry. That explained his initial reaction and all of his curious behavior. Today, too, it seemed he had been on his way back from a meeting of some kind.
As for me, I passed the time staring out of the carriage window. The scenery of a brand new world. A world which was my new home.
◇ ◇ ◇
It had been three hours since I first met Zanac. After a lot of rocking and shaking, the carriage safely arrived at Reflet.
A soldier, possibly some kind of gatekeeper, met us at the entrance and questioned us before promptly allowing us to pass. From his reaction, it seemed that Zanac was quite famous.
The carriage rattled loudly as we proceeded down the town streets. Since the roads were old cobblestone, it shook quite a bit. Carrying on, we made our way to wh
at seemed to be a prosperous shopping district with many stores all lined up in a row. The carriage stopped in front of one such shop.
“We’ve arrived! Come now, let’s see you into some new clothes.” I did as Zanac asked and stepped out onto the street. The store’s signboard sported a needle and thread design, but it was the writing below that had alerted me to an alarming fact.
“I can’t read it...” I couldn’t read what was written on the sign. That definitely wasn’t good news.
I had thought it might be okay since I was able to talk just fine, but that seemed not to be the case. It could’ve been worse, I supposed, since at least being able to converse meant I could still have somebody teach me to read and write. Day one in another world and I already had something to study...
Zanac led me into the shop, and several of the staff came to greet us.
“Welcome back, owner!” I was taken aback by what they said.
“Owner...?”
“Ah, I run this store. But that’s not important right now, let’s get you changed! Somebody pick out new clothes for this boy!” Zanac whisked me off into a changing room, which was an actual small room with a door, not just a box with a curtain dividing it off.
After that, he rushed back in with a pile of clothes. I removed my blazer, tie, and shirt so I could begin getting changed. I was wearing a simple black T-shirt underneath, and it seemed to have caught Zanac’s eye as well.
“M-Might I press you to sell me those undergarments as well...?!” The scoundrel.
In the end, I was made to sell every last thread off my back. Everything including my socks and shoes. By the time my underpants were added to his list of demands, I had become quite tired of the ordeal. I understood how he felt, I just wish he could’ve understood how I felt...
The clothes and shoes he’d prepared for me in return were comfy and easy to wear. I certainly had no complaints about them. Black pants and a white shirt, with a black jacket over the top. A chic outfit that also wasn’t too showy. I liked it. It kept me from standing out.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 1 Page 1
