“What the... Huh? How... I don’t remember coming here. What do you mean, ‘another world’? This world...isn’t Japan?”
“Japan is...a country. I used to live there. I don’t remember anything about it, though. But I’ve heard about Japan, so it’s not like I know nothing.”
“Are you...from Japan too, then, Haru?”
“Apparently. I came to Grimgar from Japan.”
“Again with that... Uh, how?”
“I don’t even know.”
I wish I could tell you. I wanted to know myself, and I looked into it. But it didn’t go anywhere.
“I wouldn’t say there were a ton of people who came to Grimgar like you, but there were a fair number. They all said that they didn’t know. Even if they had memories from before coming, they never knew what they’d done—or what they’d done wrong—to end up here. That was true for every last one of them.”
“Hold on.” Manato crouched down and scratched his head. “Then, are there others...like you? Other people from Japan?”
“It might be better to say there were.”
“So...not anymore?”
“It’s been a long time.”
“A long time? Since what?”
“When someone crosses from Japan into Grimgar, they’re transported to that room in the ark. There’s a system in there that makes that happen. Or a machine, it might be better to say. Back when my group arrived, a number of people would arrive together every few years on average. Sometimes more than ten at once. But it became less and less frequent over time, and the numbers dwindled.”
“If you’re saying it’s been a while, then...no one’s come recently?”
“That’s right.”
“For about how long?”
“More than forty years.”
Once I said the words aloud, I couldn’t help but feel fresh shock over them. I was pretty sure no one who came here from Japan intended to. They were probably caught up in some unfortunate accident. That’s why, though I felt bad for them, I felt a certain kinship there. I won’t say I had been waiting eagerly. I can’t say that. But the arrival of Japanese people gave me something. It’s hard to express what, but it was something akin to a purpose in life.
“I guess it’s been close to five decades now, huh?”
“Fifty years? That’s...a long time, isn’t it? People don’t usually live that long. When mom and dad died, they weren’t even thirty. Don’t you think you’ve lived way too long, Haru?”
“It sounds like your folks died young, but as for me...yeah, you’ve got it right, Manato. I’ve definitely lived for too long.”
“Fifty years... So...back then, the last time a Japanese person came to Grimgar, were you still a kid?”
“Nah.”
“Then...how long have you lived, Haru? I mean...in Japan, if you make it thirty years, that’s already a pretty long life, you know? We’re all gonna die anyway, so nobody’s all that serious about keeping track of what age they are.”
“I’ve stopped counting too, Manato. Though for a different reason from your people. It sounds like the situation’s changed a lot.”
Something’s strange. But what? It’s clearly messed up. People dying before they hit thirty? I mean, sure, that’s not out of the realm of possibility. If it’s not natural causes. But what could have made it so that living to thirty is considered a long life? Also, why had Japanese people stopped crossing over to Grimgar? I’d had some vague thoughts on that. Like, there was some sort of abnormal phenomenon—an accident, disaster, or whatever—that was happening in Japan, and it had been sending people to Grimgar. But whatever the cause, it had eventually halted. Perhaps because of a drastic change in Japan.
If the life expectancy of people living in Japan was suddenly and drastically reduced, that’s a major change. Humans might not be as long-lived as dwarves or elves, but they can live for seventy or eighty years. That’s how it’s supposed to be. What in the world could have happened for that to be reduced by more than half? I have absolutely no idea.
“In just the last four decades...something must’ve happened to Japan. Has it really only been four decades? It feels like longer...”
When I came back to my senses, Manato had stood up. He was breathing, stretching, and flexing to both sides.
“What’re you doing?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’?”
Manato spread his legs wide. Then he leaned all the way back, and all the way forward again. He did it over and over.
“I’m moving my body. As long as you can move well, you won’t die in the near future.”
“Huh... Is that how it works?”
“For all your years, you’re still pretty spry, Haru. Isn’t that why you were able to live so long?”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Hey, got anything to eat? I see there’s a forest. Oh! And mountains too! They’re so tall!”
Manato was pointing to the mountain range south of where we were.
“Those are the Tenryu Mountains.”
Oh, yeah. I guess there aren’t many mountains that high in Japan. I remember someone who came from there saying that.
“Dragons live there,” I continued. “Not even the servants of the gods can enter those mountains.”
“What’re dragons? Wild beasts? Can you eat them?”
“It wouldn’t be easy... You’d get yourself eaten instead.”
“Huh. Is that a fact? But there’s animals in the forest, right?”
“Yeah. Well...”
“If they’re not that dangerous, then we just gotta kill ’em, and boil or roast ’em. Then we’ll have food. Oh, and there’ll also be mushrooms and berries and other stuff we can forage for. I mean, I figure a forest’s a forest, and a mountain’s a mountain, but maybe it’s different here than in Japan.”
“If you’re hungry, I can provide you with enough to eat for a while.”
“For real? Nice. Okay, guess things’ll work out, then.”
“You’re...not depressed at all?”
“Depressed? Why would I be? I’m alive, aren’t I?”
I laughed. Was he putting up a strong front? It didn’t feel like it. Manato flexed his knees and swiveled his neck. He jumped a little. Then he went for a much bigger leap after that.
“I’m worried about my comrades, but they’re probably alive. And as long as I keep living too, maybe we’ll meet again. Maybe not, though. But if I really want to see them, then I have to go to them. Do you think I can? Or is that impossible?”
I could only shake my head in response. “Sorry, I don’t know. But as far as I’m aware, no one’s ever returned to Japan.”
“Oh. I see.” Manato took a deep breath in, then let it out. His expression was filled with good cheer.
He said he’s around thirteen. Still just a kid. But he’s not built like one. He’s slender, but not because he’s underfed. It’s because his muscles are packed in as densely as possible. He’s taller than me too. It’s an odd mismatch. His body’s developed, but his face and expressions feel incongruously young.
“Well, maybe this...Grimgar, was it? Will surprise me. I might actually be more comfortable here. Though, if I had my comrades too, it’d be even better. But I don’t even know how I got here, so there’s nothing I can do about that.”
“You’re certainly positive.” I couldn’t help but smile, if only just a little. “Can I ask you something, Manato?”
“Sure.”
“What year was it in Japan? A.D., I mean. If you don’t know what that means, then you don’t need to answer.”
“A.D.” Manato pressed his fingers to his temples. “Twenty-one hundred...A.D.? It’s kind of foggy, but I remember mom saying something like that. Maybe it was in the papers. But that was a long time ago.”
“Twenty-one hundred...” I covered my mouth with my hand. Even though the relic mask was covering my face, I couldn’t stop myself from making gestures like that sometimes.
“All right then. In all likelihood, time flows at the same rate in Grimgar and Japan. Although, it sounds like Japan has changed a whole lot in the last four decades or so.”