Book 1 Chapter 0 · It starts and ends. And then it starts again.
Humans, everyone has one or two secrets that no one can talk about. And i am of course one of them. The absurd secret of having been to a different world..
***
That day, on my 19th birthday typhoon was approaching. Even thought it was a birthday my lover didn’t celebrate with me, my family was 2 hours away, from here, by train.
However, a friend told me, “Let’s make a birthday party, i will join you by the night,” so that I would be able to escape the lonely birthday.
As it was Saturday, I was free during the day, so i decided to pass time while cleaning the room
And I noticed.
To the back of the closet, a hole is opening wide.
About 1 meter in diameter.
From what i knew there is a clothing room on the other side of the wall, so the hole would lead there. But it didn't.
Not knowing what i was doing that time, when i thrusted my hand inside.
It seemed that hole is very deep, even when i extended my hand to the full, i couldn't touch anything with my fingertips.
Wondering, i tilted my head.
"What is it?" I murmured.
At that moment, the hole gulped and distorted its shape, sucking me in whole.
After that it was predetermined to live in unfamiliar place.
I got a job of "kitchen lady" in a dorm-like facility.
At first I was disturbed, I wanted to go home and cry, but often said to myself "time is medicine", so after around a month I was already accustomed to living in a different world.
To tell the truth – it is big luck that there was something to do.
The first month was so busy that I had no time feel of nostalgic.
Although it is a different world,i could understand the speech and talk, but I could not read or write. I was a little handicapped, but the literacy rate of women in this world didn’t seem to be high in the first place, no one of my seniors could do it anyway.
My main job was peeling vegetables and washing dishes. I have never appreciated
my high school part time job at the restaurant.
Thank you, Boss. At that time, I was taught strictly, but thanks to that I made use of that experience for my current work.
The dormitory where i worked was a place where only boys of around the age of junior high school students lived, and only 50 or 60 of elementary school students.
Even in another world,, the amount boys eat at this age is tremendous. From morning until late night i was assisting in cooking and cleaning chores.
In kitchen there were four women of late age, they kindly taught me..me who knows neither right nor left.
Unties were gentle, but of course there were a few bad boys among the student's, who teased me.
Bath peeking, underwear thievery, night pranks etc. Some boys and kitchen ladies always stood up for me and punished evildoers. They sympathised me.
I still remember boy, who crawled into my room at night, i recognized his face when light in the room got turned on, after that he hurriedly run away and never bothered me again.
That place, with cheeky and cute, mean and gentle young boys was a school for future knights.
They studied swordsmanship, archery, body physics skills, and disciplines that i didn't really understood myself.
After studying the ways of the knights,15 years old or 12 years old, they graduated and joined the Knight Order. Where senior Knights taught them difference between theory and practice.
They have not gone far beyond the scope of children but already talked about protecting the country, sometimes they even got injuries from real swords.
I wanted to cheer for them, who practiced hard everyday.
10 month later I heard shocking news from the unties in the kitchen. That boys will participate in real war.
Kitchen ledies trembled and lamented in sorrow, “How could such a terrible thing..” “They are so young ..” .
As i couldn’t really apprehend a true meaning of "war" myself, i was in lost for words.
However, this was a school that country created for nurturing the knights.
Even if they were forced into war,they couldn't refuse it anyway.
Although we were told that it was never the front line,that it's only for transportation of goods and backline support, but no one knew how it could turn out.
Unties prayed to God every day for everyone to return safely.
About a month after they were sent, war has ended without even starting, so everyone returned to the dormitory. All personal, including me, cried and cheered.
For the day they come back, we repaired everything in the dorm, polished floor till it glittered, made futons clean and fluffy, and started preparation of a feast.
Making feast for dozens of boys who are prone to eating is a serious thing, main dish was pasta and soup with plenty of ingredients. I feel that we worked hard, but this time we prepared a lot of special dishes.
Even just soup of two kinds was made. Meat of birds and pigs too — No matter how special it was, we couldn't get beef for a few dozens boy's to eat. It’s expensive! — Soft fluffy white bread, plenty of boiled pasta, 3 types of sauce. I also made salads in the heap.
Specially for that day, i even went into the forest to pick strawberry for dessert.
Wild strawberry grows not far away from the dorm.
Therefore, when I told “I am going to pick up strawberries”,aunties smiled and said, “It will be great for dessert” and handed me a basket.
It is a place about 10 minutes walk from the dormitory.
Under the bright sun, red fruits are picking from the leaves.
I pinched them while smiling, till the whole basket was full.
'Huh,what is that hole in the ground?'
The hole that opened in the ground is about 1 meter in diameter, and I first thought that Someone dig this for the sake of a prank?
I lowered down a basket while looking at what kind of a bad boy would do something like this.
"What if someone falls unnoticed."
I crouched at the side of the hole and thought of filling it with the soil again.
When the hole began to distort.
"Oh, this is".
I came to my mind when I already was in a different world.
Right at that moment when was putting my hand into the closet hole and got pulled in.
Just like last time, the hole swallowed me again.
Thats how I came back. To my former world.
Everything was as it had been when i left, even the hands of the clock had not advanced for a second.
I placed my hand on the wall of the closet and regained my coolness.
For a moment, I could not understand what happened, I looked around.
Maybe it was a dream, but are there such a realistic dreams?
No matter how much i circled those questions..
“I thought it was a dream, but how can the ring that he got me shine on my finger?”
Deciding to live with my experience, even if it was just a dream.I didn't really save the world or fallen in love. For a year I was just preparing meals and had fun little days. This was my different world life.
That happened just a year ago.
But Today is my 20th birthday.
Unlike last year, this year ‘s birthday I have a date with my senior, lately there is a bit of good atmosphere around us. Ah what do i do? Maybe today he will confess to me! Certainly!
As I flew high in the skies, I was walking down the street wearing my favorite one piece.
We have a meeting near the station.He is already arriving in a couple of minutes.
"Oh, I’m feeling excited! Is it a skirt wrinkle? Ah~ will it be alright? "
Nervous I turn to the direction of the station that is right around the corner.
And then.
“Gya~ah”
I fell into the manhole.
No, it’s not a manhole. A distorted hole that leads to another world, my second time to start a different world trip.
Book 1 Chapter 0 · It starts and ends. And then it starts again.
Humans, everyone has one or two secrets that no one can talk about. And i am of course one of them. The absurd secret of having been to a different world..
***
That day, on my 19th birthday typhoon was approaching. Even thought it was a birthday my lover didn’t celebrate with me, my family was 2 hours away, from here, by train.
However, a friend told me, “Let’s make a birthday party, i will join you by the night,” so that I would be able to escape the lonely birthday.
As it was Saturday, I was free during the day, so i decided to pass time while cleaning the room
And I noticed.
To the back of the closet, a hole is opening wide.
About 1 meter in diameter.
From what i knew there is a clothing room on the other side of the wall, so the hole would lead there. But it didn't.
Not knowing what i was doing that time, when i thrusted my hand inside.
It seemed that hole is very deep, even when i extended my hand to the full, i couldn't touch anything with my fingertips.
Wondering, i tilted my head.
"What is it?" I murmured.
At that moment, the hole gulped and distorted its shape, sucking me in whole.
After that it was predetermined to live in unfamiliar place.
I got a job of "kitchen lady" in a dorm-like facility.
At first I was disturbed, I wanted to go home and cry, but often said to myself "time is medicine", so after around a month I was already accustomed to living in a different world.
To tell the truth – it is big luck that there was something to do.
The first month was so busy that I had no time feel of nostalgic.
Although it is a different world,i could understand the speech and talk, but I could not read or write. I was a little handicapped, but the literacy rate of women in this world didn’t seem to be high in the first place, no one of my seniors could do it anyway.
My main job was peeling vegetables and washing dishes. I have never appreciated
my high school part time job at the restaurant.
Thank you, Boss. At that time, I was taught strictly, but thanks to that I made use of that experience for my current work.
The dormitory where i worked was a place where only boys of around the age of junior high school students lived, and only 50 or 60 of elementary school students.
Even in another world,, the amount boys eat at this age is tremendous. From morning until late night i was assisting in cooking and cleaning chores.
In kitchen there were four women of late age, they kindly taught me..me who knows neither right nor left.
Unties were gentle, but of course there were a few bad boys among the student's, who teased me.
Bath peeking, underwear thievery, night pranks etc. Some boys and kitchen ladies always stood up for me and punished evildoers. They sympathised me.
I still remember boy, who crawled into my room at night, i recognized his face when light in the room got turned on, after that he hurriedly run away and never bothered me again.
That place, with cheeky and cute, mean and gentle young boys was a school for future knights.
They studied swordsmanship, archery, body physics skills, and disciplines that i didn't really understood myself.
After studying the ways of the knights,15 years old or 12 years old, they graduated and joined the Knight Order. Where senior Knights taught them difference between theory and practice.
They have not gone far beyond the scope of children but already talked about protecting the country, sometimes they even got injuries from real swords.
I wanted to cheer for them, who practiced hard everyday.
10 month later I heard shocking news from the unties in the kitchen. That boys will participate in real war.
Kitchen ledies trembled and lamented in sorrow, “How could such a terrible thing..” “They are so young ..” .
As i couldn’t really apprehend a true meaning of "war" myself, i was in lost for words.
However, this was a school that country created for nurturing the knights.
Even if they were forced into war,they couldn't refuse it anyway.
Although we were told that it was never the front line,that it's only for transportation of goods and backline support, but no one knew how it could turn out.
Unties prayed to God every day for everyone to return safely.
About a month after they were sent, war has ended without even starting, so everyone returned to the dormitory. All personal, including me, cried and cheered.
For the day they come back, we repaired everything in the dorm, polished floor till it glittered, made futons clean and fluffy, and started preparation of a feast.
Making feast for dozens of boys who are prone to eating is a serious thing, main dish was pasta and soup with plenty of ingredients. I feel that we worked hard, but this time we prepared a lot of special dishes.
Even just soup of two kinds was made. Meat of birds and pigs too — No matter how special it was, we couldn't get beef for a few dozens boy's to eat. It’s expensive! — Soft fluffy white bread, plenty of boiled pasta, 3 types of sauce. I also made salads in the heap.
Specially for that day, i even went into the forest to pick strawberry for dessert.
Wild strawberry grows not far away from the dorm.
Therefore, when I told “I am going to pick up strawberries”,aunties smiled and said, “It will be great for dessert” and handed me a basket.
It is a place about 10 minutes walk from the dormitory.
Under the bright sun, red fruits are picking from the leaves.
I pinched them while smiling, till the whole basket was full.
'Huh,what is that hole in the ground?'
The hole that opened in the ground is about 1 meter in diameter, and I first thought that Someone dig this for the sake of a prank?
I lowered down a basket while looking at what kind of a bad boy would do something like this.
"What if someone falls unnoticed."
I crouched at the side of the hole and thought of filling it with the soil again.
When the hole began to distort.
"Oh, this is".
I came to my mind when I already was in a different world.
Right at that moment when was putting my hand into the closet hole and got pulled in.
Just like last time, the hole swallowed me again.
Thats how I came back. To my former world.
Everything was as it had been when i left, even the hands of the clock had not advanced for a second.
I placed my hand on the wall of the closet and regained my coolness.
For a moment, I could not understand what happened, I looked around.
Maybe it was a dream, but are there such a realistic dreams?
No matter how much i circled those questions..
“I thought it was a dream, but how can the ring that he got me shine on my finger?”
Deciding to live with my experience, even if it was just a dream.I didn't really save the world or fallen in love. For a year I was just preparing meals and had fun little days. This was my different world life.
That happened just a year ago.
But Today is my 20th birthday.
Unlike last year, this year ‘s birthday I have a date with my senior, lately there is a bit of good atmosphere around us. Ah what do i do? Maybe today he will confess to me! Certainly!
As I flew high in the skies, I was walking down the street wearing my favorite one piece.
We have a meeting near the station.He is already arriving in a couple of minutes.
"Oh, I’m feeling excited! Is it a skirt wrinkle? Ah~ will it be alright? "
Nervous I turn to the direction of the station that is right around the corner.
And then.
“Gya~ah”
I fell into the manhole.
No, it’s not a manhole. A distorted hole that leads to another world, my second time to start a different world trip.
