――This has really turned into a serious mess.

His heart was filled with nothing but those words as he found himself broke and at a loss.

To say he was completely broke wasn’t exactly accurate. His wallet was still in his pocket, and aside from having a fair amount of coins and a shortage of bills, he still had some funds.

He could afford a bit of shopping at the nearest mall and even grab lunch. Still, the only way to express his situation was that he was broke.

After all,

“Seriously, the value of currency is totally different…”

He flicked the rare ten-yen coin, the so-called ‘Giza Ten’, with his finger as he let out a long sigh.

He was an unremarkable boy, with short black hair and an average height neither too tall nor too short. His physique was somewhat muscular, likely from some training, and combined with his cheap gray tracksuit, he resembled a sportsman.

His sharp, three-white-eyed gaze was striking, but even that gaze currently drooped without energy.

In a crowd, he would be lost in an instant, looking so mediocre.

Yet, the looks he received from those around him were filled with a perplexed curiosity akin to seeing something ‘strange.’

Naturally, this was only expected—there wasn’t a single ‘black-haired’ or ‘tracksuit-clad’ person among them.

Their hair ranged from blonde, white, brown, and even green and blue, and their outfits varied from armor to dancer-like garments to plain black robes, all of which were far too typical of ‘that’ genre.

Exposed to the wave of intrusive gazes, the boy could only cross his arms in acceptance.

“So, this means…”

Snapping his fingers and pointing towards the onlookers, he spoke,

“—this must be one of those isekai summonings.”

At that moment, a wagon-like vehicle pulled by a giant lizard-like creature crossed in front of him.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

Natsuki Subaru is a product of the Heisei era in Japan.

To tell his life story fully would require an entire seventeen years worth of time.

To summarize his current situation briefly, he was a ‘high school senior who had become a recluse.’

If elaborated, it would read something along the lines of ‘a hopeless loser who shut himself away, disregarding parental expectations right before exams.’

There was no particular reason he went into hiding.

One ordinary weekday, he simply thought, “Waking up today seems like a hassle,” and spontaneously decided to skip school.

From there, the absences piled up, and before he knew it, he had become a proper reclusive who made his parents cry.

He indulged in laziness all day long, continuing to sink deeper into the world of the internet, devoid of any communication—

“As a result, I ended up getting summoned to another world… What the hell, I don’t even get my own situation sometimes…”

Reconfirming his circumstances, Subaru sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Having moved from the street, where he was under curious gazes, to a slightly dim alleyway, he settled down.

The ground was paved and, although it was a rough job compared to modern Japan, it wasn’t too bad.

“Assuming my current predicament is an isekai fantasy, the civilization seems to be the usual medieval style? From what I can see, there’s no machinery, and the building materials are primarily stone or wood…”

He started organizing the information in his mind as he reflected on the scenes he saw before sitting down in the alley.

Thanks to the ample time spent daydreaming, his mental preparation for being ‘summoned to another world’ was top-notch.

First, I need to calmly analyze the civilization of this age and the differences in living, food, and clothing compared to modern Japan. I must also assess the physical phenomena and determine if I can communicate with the ‘humanoid beings’ inhabiting this world.

“Good job, me. It’s not for nothing that I space out with daydreams. Civilization level check? Well, for starters, money doesn’t seem to work here. Moreover, I was able to communicate with the shopkeeper, so no issues there.”

Upon realizing he had been summoned, Subaru’s first move was to negotiate with what seemed to be a ‘greengrocer.’ He had tried to buy an apple, but his Japanese yen was rejected.

From what he observed, it seemed that this world used gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins. The understanding of a currency system having intrinsic value was pretty typical of isekai fantasy.

“Well, with mixed or counterfeit coins rolling around, it’s bound to decline like a five-hundred-won coin.”

It was too heavy to carry around, he thought, as once again, lizard-drawn carts passed by in the street, kicking up clouds of dust, but the people bustling around seemed indifferent, as if they were used to it.

“Still, there seem to be fewer of them compared to cars. Speaking of, I haven’t seen any dogs or cats around yet.”

The massive lizard pulling that ‘cart’ was perhaps bigger than a horse. Although it looked slim, its overall mass didn’t seem like it changed much, but having a reptile that large was incredibly uncanny.

“Usually… right? The lizards and humans both just seem kinda out there.”

Finally getting around to confirming, he realized the peculiarities of human appearances in this world.

He admitted that the colorful hair was different. If dyed, any hair color was possible, and given that it was already an isekai fantasy, he was okay with that.

What he found problematic was something else, like ‘beast ears.’

From what he quickly surveyed, he spotted ‘dog ears’ and ‘cat ears.’ There were bunnies too, and he also thought he saw something resembling ‘lizardmen’.

Yet, there were humans that looked similar to him as well, which led to the conclusion—

“The genre is isekai fantasy, civilization follows typical medieval patterns, subhumans are everywhere, and there probably are wars or adventures too. There might be some differences in animals, but their roles don’t change—so there’s that.”

Having organized all that, Subaru exhaled a long breath that was distinct from just sighing.

Speaking his situation out loud made his brows furrow at the ridiculousness of it all.

In a typical set-up, he should be utilizing knowledge from the modern world to enact ‘I’m the best’ as he followed his imagined storyline, but the world he was thrust into differed just slightly from the knowledge he had prepared.

“The simulation for being thrown back to the warring states period was flawless, though… If I had been thrown back to that time, I would have helped Nobunaga take the world!”

In this isekai fantasy, the knowledge he could use seemed limited to the mixture ratios of black powder at most.

But even that would be meaningless, depending on the civilization level of this world. If there was ‘magic’, then gunpowder would just be treated like fireworks.

“Well, there’s also the trope that magic isn’t omnipotent. If there’s a chance to contribute to the advancement of science, I would give it my all… But for now, the main problem is—”

I have no idea why I was summoned or what the purpose of it all is.

He clearly remembered the events leading up to his summoning. He had briefly stepped out of the house and was on his way back home after buying instant noodles from a convenience store. He wasn’t in the mood to ride a bike, so he walked.

He remembered glancing up at the night sky and thinking, ‘The full moon is just a step away tonight.’

Then, he lowered his gaze, blinked, and suddenly it was daytime.

From night to day in an instant.

It was immediately apparent that something abnormal had transpired. That was all he could grasp.

He might seem calm now, but the panic he felt right after was a stammering disaster that deserved to be passed down through the generations.

“Well, if the eldest son goes missing, there’s nothing to hand down to future generations in the first place.”

Muttering to himself, Subaru once again checked his belongings.

In the context of an isekai fantasy, initial equipment is surprisingly important. At this moment, the fact he was still connected, however thin the thread might be, was crucial.

First, his cellphone (the battery’s about to die), his wallet (full of rental video store membership cards), the instant ramen he bought from the convenience store (tonkotsu soy sauce flavor), and the snack (corn potage flavor), his beloved gray tracksuit (not washed), well-worn sneakers (two years old)—that’s all he had.

“It’s over, isn’t it? Why don’t I have a single gun? What am I supposed to do?”

It seemed the only useful item was the snacks that might fill his stomach a bit. That’s all that could save him from hunger.

“The situation is desperate. And of course, the reason is unknown. I don’t remember crawling through any mirrors or falling into a pond, and above all, where’s the beautiful girl who summoned me?”

It’s like the absence of the main heroine. For the world of two dimensions, this is utterly unacceptable negligence.

To summon someone and then leave them aimlessly is akin to being discarded.

So now, having completed the current situation check, Subaru could hardly escape reality and could only hang his head in despair.

“Seriously, cut me some slack. What am I supposed to do?”

Weakness and complaints spilled out, and he felt as if he might crumble at any moment. All he could repeatedly think was that he wanted to go home.

Daydreams were best left as daydreams. The idea of being summoned to another world was fun when it was just in his head, while now being thrown into it, what else could he do except stall?

“Anyway, for now, my goal is to stay alive… but can level one me really pull this off?”

He hadn’t had an actual conversation with anyone aside from his family, save for a convenience store clerk. That was the lifestyle he had been living for nearly a year. He had completely forgotten how to gauge distances.

“Even if I can type at the speed of talking in chat…”

Fidgeting his fingers with anxiety about the future, Subaru’s expression suddenly changed. The reason was sound.

Suddenly, footfalls echoed in the alley—turning his gaze toward the entrance, he saw three men standing there, blocking the path.

 

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