Chapter 3

His vision shook. It looked like a purple cosmos.

He was hurtling somewhere at high speed.

There was a crack in the cosmos, and he was forcibly drawn into it as if sucked in──

“──Ah!”

When he opened his eyes, he was──standing on a green hill.

“Where… is this? What’s next?”

The place was almost like a wilderness. Around him, a carpet of fresh greenery stretched on.

“…What am I supposed to do? I’m just a regular guy, you know? I have parents and a life back home.”

Juuichi could only sigh.

…But still, it was clear that staying put wouldn’t help.

He could see a large structure in the distance. Not knowing what else to do, Juuichi got up and decided to head toward it.

Stepping through the grass, Juuichi began to walk.

“This makes no sense… Is this really one of those other worlds?”

If so, does that mean he can’t return? The misfortune weighed on him.

At present, Juuichi had nothing. Not even food.

As he walked toward the mysterious structure, Juuichi recalled the words of the ghostly voice.

“They mentioned three abilities. So what exactly am I able to do?”

With nothing else to rely on, he knew he had to figure out what sort of “divine blessing” that fast-talking voice had granted him.

For now, he held out his hand and spoke the words aloud.

“‘Inventory’…Whoa?”

A strange “window” appeared before Juuichi. A blue, tablet-like object was floating in the air.

When he poked at it with his finger, it seemed he could “touch” it. Each touch sent small ripples across the surface.

“Ah, I see. A storage space? So, I can put items in here?”

He picked a dandelion-like wildflower from the ground and held it up to the Inventory window.

As soon as the flower touched the window, it was smoothly drawn in, vanishing from Juuichi’s hand.

“So, if I touch it to the window, it gets stored.”

Juuichi continued experimenting with the Inventory’s other functions. When he imagined retrieving the flower, it appeared from the blue window.

“It responds to my thoughts… I have no idea how this even works, but it’s too late for that now.”

Compared to being abducted by a spirit and thrown into another world, this was hardly a big problem. It must be some kind of magical phenomenon.

“Magic is fine and all, but is it worth being separated from modern life for it…? Anyway, on to the next ability. ‘Past Replay,’ and something like ‘Immortal Forced Laborer’ they mentioned?

…Immortal? Seriously?”

Longevity didn’t bother him; long life could be a good thing.

Juuichi would welcome that, but immortality…?

And then there’s the matter of “forced labor.” He had no idea what kind of work that might involve.

Taken literally, it would mean that even if he wanted to die…or no matter how much time passed…

The voice had said he would never escape it, pitying him with elaborate explanations.

“No way…? Sure, that might mean I’ll always be safe, but there’s no way I’d be okay with that… Let’s not think about it. So, what does this ‘Past Replay’ do?”

Shaking off the grim thoughts, Juuichi tried saying “Past Replay” aloud, just as he had with the Inventory.

However, nothing happened.

Unlike with the Inventory, no mysterious window appeared.

“What’s going on? It was supposed to let me project past events in 3D… Maybe it needs something specific?”

Now that he thought about it, replaying the entire past could mean witnessing everything in history, watching it for just as long as it actually took.

That wouldn’t be practical. If it were meant for tracking, there would need to be a way to specify what to view.

When Juuichi examined his surroundings, he noticed what looked like footprints on the ground. They weren’t his.

“So someone walked through here. Judging by the size of the prints… a man, perhaps? Then… ‘Past Replay’ of whoever was here.”

Then a ghostly figure resembling a traveler materialized, rising from the ground.

He could even hear breathing sounds, making it feel as though someone was standing right beside him. When Juuichi tried to touch it, his hand went right through.

“So, this is how it works. It’s like some kind of ghostly vision. But… what’s this feeling…?”

An unfamiliar sensation overcame Juuichi, like he had a clock inside his head.

It allowed him to know exactly how many seconds had passed since the vision before him had happened.

This traveler had been here exactly 72 hours, 32 minutes, and 14 seconds ago.

Without a shred of doubt, he knew that.

“Ugh, this feels strange… It looks like it’ll take some getting used to. But it makes sense; knowing the time is necessary for tracking…”

Juuichi stopped walking.

As he got a better grasp of his abilities, he realized something critical.

“These powers… Even if I have storage space and the ability to see the past, I can’t do anything without food. That’s an issue right now… isn’t it?”

He felt a slight sense of despair.

Which left him with only “immortality” (or perhaps “curse”) as an ability.

With these three abilities, it seemed inevitable:

── “Juuichi’s suffering was just assumed as a given.”

That’s the only way it made sense.

“You’ve got to be kidding…”

Direct attack abilities were apparently to be “obtained locally,” meaning he had no guaranteed protection in the meantime.

Besides, Juuichi didn’t know the first thing about handling a sword—he was just an ordinary person.

If he was attacked now, he’d be done for. If that happened, his “immortality” would kick in as a sort of recovery.

So the assumption was a cycle of death and resurrection.

“Hey. I don’t want to ‘test out dying,’ alright? That’s too much.”

With heavy feelings, Juuichi continued walking.

As he got closer to the building, he saw that it was larger than he had initially thought.

When he arrived, he looked up at what appeared to be a crumbling stone castle or fortress. It didn’t look like anyone lived there.

“Is this an abandoned castle? I don’t know the historical context here, but I’ve heard that during the medieval or early modern periods, castles would sometimes be abandoned.”

It seemed unlikely he’d find food here. He would need to look for other signs of civilization.

“In that case, maybe I can follow the traveler’s tracks. Since they’re traveling, they must have a destination, so if I follow, I might reach a village or town.

And if that doesn’t work, I can look for other footprints. Ideally, I’ll meet a living person along the way—assuming they’re not dangerous…”

Staying calm might improve his odds somewhat.

To be honest, Juuichi was feeling fear, anxiety, and anger toward the absurdity of the situation. But panicking now wouldn’t help.

He had been told to gather some kind of white stones, but he wasn’t eager to go along with that after all this.

If he really couldn’t return without collecting them, he might have no choice… but for now…

“One step at a time. Maybe there’s something in this abandoned castle—supplies, weapons, shoes, maybe a bowl or two. A backpack…wait, I don’t need that. I can use this Inventory.”

Deciding to investigate, Juuichi stepped into the castle.

To begin with, it wasn’t an abandoned, empty castle after all.

Now, Juuichi found himself cornered against the wall, surrounded by two girls holding clubs and a crowd of children.

“You’ve got to be kidding…”

This was completely unexpected.

As he’d come to realize, underestimating the unknown in a strange world is unwise… Juuichi had just learned his first lesson here.

“──*******!!”

One of the girls shouted. He had no idea what she was saying.

Naturally, the language here didn’t make any sense to him in this otherworldly place.

And the girls were clearly not ordinary humans either – they had animal-like ears, with noses that resembled those of dogs. Their clothes were simple, akin to crude tunics made of rough fabric, and they were covered in thick fur.

Beastkin… he thought, noting their appearance.

When Juuichi entered the abandoned castle, he came upon a courtyard-like open space, with a field of flowers stretching out before him.

There, the girls and children had been gathered. When they noticed Juuichi, they panicked, with about half of them fleeing, while the others grabbed sticks and charged at him.

Juuichi tried to retreat, but as they chased him through the columns, he found himself cornered against the wall.

“Hold on, don’t hit me! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any harm, please forgive me.”

He’d already taken a few hits from their clubs.

Without understanding their language, there was no way to communicate. Even though he was trying to surrender, it was hard to tell if they would understand.

“*******?”

One of the girls tilted her head, looking at Juuichi as he crouched down, clearly larger than any of them.

Slowly, she approached him and began searching his pockets and clothes.

When she realized he had nothing on him, she lowered her weapon. She seemed to signal the others to do the same.

“…Huh? Did they decide to spare me?”

Surrounded, Juuichi was then led further inside.

It might have been possible to escape from two girls and a bunch of kids, but since he was the intruder here and they were beastkin with unknown abilities, he thought better of it.

If they had sharp claws, he’d be in trouble. For now, he decided to comply.

They reached a secluded area with a door, and he was pushed inside.

The door was locked behind him.

“Wait… Ah, great.”

While he was shaken, this outcome wasn’t too bad.

He wanted to bury his face in his hands in frustration, but considering this was his first encounter with locals who didn’t understand him, this could have gone worse.

In fact, surrendering and only taking a few hits from children might have been the best possible outcome. It was definitely better than getting surrounded and beaten up by a mob of large men.

The place looked like a storage room or an earthen cell, with a door that was old and worn, matching the abandoned castle’s vibe. If push came to shove, he could probably kick his way out.

There was a barred window in the wall, allowing him to see outside.

He could see the older girls from earlier, seemingly arguing outside the door. He still couldn’t understand a word.

The two noticed him watching and looked back.

He tried waving, giving them a troubled smile to show he meant no harm.

One of them glared, while the other looked somewhat apologetic. The two of them then walked off.

“Now then… what to do?”

Unexpectedly, he’d ended up in confinement.

For now, he decided to assess the situation.

He was locked in, but the room wasn’t escape-proof. If they piled sandbags in front of the door, it might be a problem, but he would notice if that happened.

The beastkin girls didn’t seem physically stronger than him; in fact, judging by their hits, they were weaker than he’d expected.

If they didn’t pull out any blades, he’d be able to escape easily.

As for the beastkin girls, they likely lived here or nearby.

“So, it’s really another world… But it’d be bad if there were adults around. There were about seven or eight kids, and it’s safe to assume there are adults taking care of them. If I’m surrounded, things might get dangerous.”

Juuichi was a tall man, standing at about 185 cm, but he wasn’t inclined to fight if surrounded by multiple people armed with blades.

Maybe it was better to show submission. At the very least, they seemed to have some basic empathy for those who didn’t resist. However, not speaking the language was problematic. Misunderstandings could easily arise.

If things got worse, he would have to make sure he had a way to escape quickly.

In his youth, Juuichi was relatively calm and gentle. Rather than resorting to violence, he preferred to avoid conflict.

“I could use some insurance. Then again, do I even have insurance here?”

Immortality. The power to revive in this world if he died – or so he’d been told.

If his inventory and time-rewind abilities worked here, it stood to reason that his revival ability would too. There was no reason to doubt it.

Unless that floating fireball had been lying for laughs.

“I’d rather not test that out, though.”

He couldn’t bear the thought of failing due to some misunderstanding. But given the assurances he’d received, that seemed unlikely.

Juuichi began to inspect the room.

In the corner, a brick was loose, letting light shine through from outside. Maybe an animal had created it.

“If I dig, I can get out. The soil isn’t too hard, either.”

Now he had an escape route if needed. It was questionable whether his captors even meant to hold him. After all, Juuichi had appeared out of nowhere, so a snap decision by a bunch of kids might lead to a situation like this.

If adults with weapons and clear hostility appeared or he got thrown into a more secure cell, he would escape, Juuichi decided.

As for weapons, it was probably better not to worry about that just yet. Being seen with one would only make the girls’ misunderstanding worse.

After all, he was the one who’d intruded on the children’s flower field, so he didn’t want to scare them any more than he already had.

“Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s just wait and see what happens.”