New Life

A noisy sound fills the air.

When I open my eyes, two children are peeking at me.

This place seems to be indoors somewhere.

My body feels heavy and I can't move properly.

I manage to move my hand slightly and let out a quiet voice.

The children jump back in surprise and run off somewhere.

By the time I realize how hard it is to stay awake, I'm asleep again.

When I wake up naturally, an elderly man in his fifties arrives.

He has some gray hair beginning to show, but is well-built, resembling a soldier.

The old man sits down beside me while I'm sleeping.

He says something to me.

"You... a lost soul..."

I couldn't quite catch everything, but he spoke in words that sounded like Japanese—like listening to a regional dialect.

I tried to respond, but he seemed unable to understand my words either.

I tried speaking out a few words and phrases. My mind, sluggish from malnutrition, furrowed my brow as I managed to speak a little.

He seemed to understand better since the language was close—straining to catch what I was saying.

Noticing belongings nearby, I used the scattered stationery we’d both been thrown with to draw a simple picture, trying to convey my meaning.

Seeing the drawing, the old man responded by drawing a simple picture of his own to explain.

It seems they're a traveling merchant group, trading goods along the way.

They found me collapsed on the forest path and treated me.

Later, I learned that many people get lost in that forest just like me, and it's an unspoken agreement among them to rescue anyone they find unconscious along the route.

Otherwise, ferocious beasts that feed on flesh start prowling the path.

They call someone like me a "lost soul."

Though few people are transported to this world, stories about them remain, and apparently my explanation closely matches common legends.

I received treatment for two or three days. It wasn't severe, and I steadily recovered.

During that time, I thought about many things and missed my original world.

Eventually, I was able to wake up and move around again.

The children who had been peeking at me were Shibata Eri and Mike—the youngest among the caravan children.

I found it strange that their surnames were so distinctly Japanese, and even more curious that their given names didn't follow the same pattern, though I couldn't figure out why.

Eri had curly blond hair and blue eyes.

Mike was a boy with dark eyes and short black hair.

"Tarou-kun, how are you feeling?"

This man was Suzuki Jack.

The man who explained things to me when I woke up—he's the leader of this caravan.

"Yes. I'm feeling much better. Thank you for the meal."

Thanks to the similarity of languages, I was able to quickly learn basic conversation and understand written text.

"That's good. Many lost travelers don't survive. I'm glad you've recovered....Now, what do you plan to do next?"

This is something I've been thinking about ever since I started receiving treatment. If I continue on my own like this, I'll just end up collapsing again. I don't even know how to return to my original world. Then again...

"Please, let me work with your caravan. I'll do any job you assign me—I'll work hard."

"Hmm. It's pleasant to hear you say that. Just now, we were short on young men, as the others have married into neighboring villages. So, from now on, I'll be counting on you."

Starting the next day, I was able to move around outside, so I went around paying my respects.

From that day on, I managed tasks like carrying cargo, selling goods, and making purchases—things I’d never done in my previous life—while also learning the rules, culture, and language of this world.

Work was incredibly difficult, but I had no time to complain, so I worked like a draft horse.

~Six months later~

"Taro, once you’ve packed up the goods, you’re free to go for today. You’ve got free time until dinner."

This is Shibata Yūri, the father of Ellie and Mike.

For some reason, the kids took a liking to me, and before I knew it, I’d ended up acting like their direct supervisor.

He’s about Mike’s age—around 27—with dark hair cut short. Though he tends to be a bit vague in his words, he’s incredibly kind.

He swiftly secures the cargo with ropes and heaves it onto the cart with a loud thud.

The caravan members didn’t pry into my unclear origins and welcomed me warmly. I figured it was convenient, so I went along with it and pretended my memories were hazy.

After finishing work, I plunged into the small tent they’d given me.

From my bag, I pulled out a certain mineral—one I’d recently discovered and was now deeply drawn to.

Its name is Mekōseki, commonly referred to as "Makuseki." In this world, it serves as fuel and a source of energy.

The key point!

Though I don't understand how it works, when I focus on sending images or thoughts to the stone, it emits light or generates heat.

It's just like magic seen in anime or video games.

Makuseki is categorized by purity.

High-purity stones are extremely expensive but also possess strong abilities. Low-purity ones are cheap and can be produced in large quantities, but they have a short lifespan as magic stones and weak output.

When I was suddenly transported to another world and thought I was going to die, I was utterly astonished and thrilled when I first learned about such a mysterious phenomenon—so much so that I couldn't sleep.

Lately, I’ve been spending my entire day investigating the properties of this stone. Since I’ve always been fond of natural phenomena, I find this kind of thing fascinating too.

"Taro-nii. Still staring at the stone again? Read a book instead."

Ellie had quietly slipped into the tent and tugged at my clothes.

Though Ellie couldn't read words, she seemed to enjoy books.

I'd read to her for a while, just enough to keep her occupied until she got bored and wandered off to play. The books, incidentally, seemed to be extremely expensive, likely due to underdeveloped printing technology.

There were no picture books meant for young children, of course.

The book I'm reading now isn't something I'm carrying with me—it's a commercial product, so I'm reading it carefully not to soil it. The characters resemble hiragana and consist of fifty-one sounds.

The book I'm currently reading appears to be a written account of a local legend told in some region.

It tells a story of a dragon devastating towns, yet a few heroic men and women rise up to confront and ultimately subdue the dragon.

"Hey, hey, why is this woman glowing at the end?"

"The book says a holy maiden emitted a light of justice and destroyed the evil dragon. Afterwards, a large depression remained, which eventually became a lake," it reads.

"What happened to that woman?"

"I wonder what became of her? It seems the book mentions that the surrounding villages were rebuilt and went on to grow even larger."

Ellie doesn't seem satisfied.

I guess in the end, they ended up happily married to someone like a hero.

Though it wasn't in the story, I forced in something extra just to make sure they were satisfied. It seems to have worked out as planned.

Apparently, fairy tales about princesses and rags-to-riches stories are still very popular with girls.

Hey, watching over kids is tough, huh, young Taro?

I heard a voice I'd grown tired of hearing.