Published: March 21, 2026
Sorry I'm late!
In this world, there's probably no one as ignorant as we are.
We were forbidden from reading books, so we knew nothing about this world. We didn't even know why it was forbidden. Money, politics, geography, history, traditions, culture, religion. Any of those are necessary knowledge for living in peace, and we had none of them. They didn't let us have them. We also didn't try to get them.
What would Akira have done? I dislike him, but I acknowledge his talent and effort.
Still, I...
"...H-hey, Sato!"
My consciousness, sunk into a sea of thought, shot back up in an instant. In front of me Asahina, with his pure white sword at his side, was shaking my shoulder.
"You okay?"
"No, sorry."
"Pull yourself together. If you go out, all of us will die, you know?"
Beside Asahina, Kazuki peered at me and said that. I laughed it off as exaggerated and stood up from the large rock I had been sitting on.
We had left the Reytis Kingdom and were heading for Yamato, the Human race territory that loved peace the most. We were taking a rest in a forest along the way.
According to a merchant we met on the road, Yamato is similar to Japan—or rather, it's a country founded by one of the generations of heroes summoned from Japan, so you could call it a second Japan. Of course they don't have modern science and technology; it's probably about the Edo period. They have rice, the staple of Japan. I'm not heading there because it reminds me of Japan; I'm tired of bread and missing rice, so that's why we're aiming for it.
"By the way, Asahina, why are you following me?"
I asked something I'd wanted to ask for a long time. Asahina went quiet, looking troubled.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, right? I'm just curious."
"You might get mad, okay?"
For a big guy he worries about small things a lot. He's the exact opposite of Akira, who doesn't care about details at all.
"It's to meet up with Akira. You and Akira are similar in some ways, so I thought if I followed you I'd eventually meet him."
Asahina watched my expression warily as he spoke, and I, in turn, asked cautiously.
"Similar? In what way, exactly?"
"...Well, it's hard to say exactly. Maybe just the vibe?"
Asahina tilted his head. But he was the one who said it.
I felt goosebumps. Could it be that the hostility I've felt toward Akira all this time was self-hatred toward one's own kind? No, that can't be.
"You mean you hate Akira because of self-hatred toward one's own kind?"
"Guh!!"
His words pierced deep into my chest. I had denied it to myself, but Asahina landed the decisive blow.
"I—there's no way I'd hate a classmate out of self-hatred toward my own kind!"
"Then what's your reason?"
For the first time, Asahina—who'd always asked questions out of innocent curiosity—seemed terrifying.
"Who knows. Anyway, break's over! Let's hurry!"
"Huh? Ah, right."
I dodged the question and called to my classmates lounging nearby, drinking water or lying down. They lazily answered and got up.
"Shi-kun, where's Yamato again?"
Hosoyama stood next to me and asked. Ueno-san was there as well. The two girls got along well without fighting. I hardly ever saw them talk together in class, but they apparently hit it off.
"Yamato's at the far east end of the Human race's territory, near the Elf race territory. Reytis Kingdom was far from other races, so it's not that far from there. Maybe another day or two to go."
I pictured the map the merchant had shown me in my head as I answered. Ueno pouted and said,
"I wish we had cars, planes, at least motorcycles. I didn't think walking would be this tough."
"When we get back to Japan, everyone will be amazed by technology."
Indeed, if things like that existed here, travel distances would increase and travel time would be greatly reduced.
"...Back, huh. This world's kind of fun too, but our home is Japan. It doesn't feel like home here."
One of the boys murmured sadly. I looked up at the sky and silently said to myself:
I want to go back. Back to Japan, back home.
To do that, we'll make this world peaceful by defeating the demon king. As the hero, the demon king must be defeated. Not Akira, but me—the hero—will do it. We'll triumphantly return to the castle, meet up with the rest of our classmates that Mr. Zeal arranged, and go home. The kings will probably know how to send us back.