Chapter 1: Too Strong, Banished to Another World
WHEN the dust settles, I find myself in a forest, in the same stance I was in when I punched the bear. My right hand tingles from the impact. I flex it a couple of times and feel the full sting on my knuckles.
I feel like a massive weight’s been lifted off me. Like I managed to get everything out in that one punch.
“Yep, I knew you’d pulverize him. I’m glad I asked what would happen first,” Kazuya says, examining the greenery around us. “Is this the other world? I wonder where we are. Looks like a forest? Is that a path over there? Why don’t we follow it for now?”
Kazuya’s the same as always. You’d never know he’s just been thrown into an incomprehensible situation.
“Kazuya, um, you can hit me if you want,” I say awkwardly. “After all, this is my fault, isn’t it?”
“What are you talking about? It’s not your fault. I… No, if anything, this is sort of fun. This place feels… Well, it’s normal enough. Besides, if I hit you, I’d break my hand.”
“Break your hand? Haha, what? I can’t believe you’re in such a joking mood already!” I laugh.
“I wasn’t joking…”
Never mind how he’s kidding around. He’s right… We’re in a whole new world. How exciting is that? When I think of it that way, it does start to feel fun.
No, it genuinely is fun. We should be enjoying ourselves!
I used to dream of being reborn as a delicate, cute girl getting married to a prince or something… Can you believe it? I’m actually getting that chance!
The teddy bear’s last words piqued my interest, too. It said there are many strong people in this world! Maybe there’ll be a lot of knights or princes or the like to come to my rescue!
“Kazuya, we’re in a new world, so I’ve made myself a new goal!” I declare.
“A goal? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”
“For years, I’ve always wanted to be a delicate girl!”
“What?”
“I’m only telling you this because it’s you. I’ve always wanted to be a princess who gets rescued by a prince. But in our old world, everybody knew about my family’s dojo. You don’t exactly picture me when you think of someone ‘weak,’ do you? I never got to be protected, or treated like a princess, or anything like that. Plus, guys go for damsels in distress, y’know? That’s the sort of girl I wanna be. So, yeah, I’ll just say it straight out: I want a boyfriend!”
“Is that why you asked the teddy bear if there are strong guys here…?”
“Yeah! I wanted to know if I might come across a guy who’ll protect me, so it slipped out!” I admit with a blush.
For some reason, Kazuya rolls his eyes. “I knew this was going to be a pointless conversation.”
“That’s mean! And after I bared my soul to you! So you’re not gonna help out your big sister?”
“‘Big sister’? You’re only one year older than me, and we’re not actually related.”
“We may not be related by blood, but I think of you as a treasured family member…”
Wait, am I the only one who considers us family? But I cherish him like a little brother! I’ll do anything to take care of him.
Kazuya heaves a huge, overdramatic sigh. “Well, whatever. I always knew this was going to be a long, uphill battle.”
What’s going to be a long, uphill battle? I have no idea what he’s talking about. Is he in a fight with somebody? Geez, if he’d just tell me, I’d beat them up for him.
Oh! No, I can’t think like that. I’m a weak maiden in this world! Yep, super fragile! Fragile girls don’t think about beating people up! Probably!
“Hey, since we’re in a new world, why don’t you try honing your body again, too?” I suggest. “It’s every girl’s dream to be protected by someone stronger than they are!”
“I used to want to do that, but I could never see myself getting stronger than the person I like, so I gave up,” he says.
“It’s too soon to give up! You still have room to improve… Wait, you like someone? Oh my gosh! You don’t have a girlfriend even though girls flock to you. You always just watch the male B.O. haze at my dojo and don’t even train, so who could you…” I trail off as it hits me.
Aha! I thought it was weird that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Of course! Kazuya’s into guys. Suddenly, everything falls into place.
If he can’t imagine getting stronger than the person he likes, it must be somebody at the dojo. Who’s the strongest person at my dojo? Maybe Mr. Watanabe? But he’s fifty-six years old. That’s quite the age difference… No, love is blind when it comes to age.
Oh, but Mr. Watanabe’s back in our original world! Kazuya and Mr. Watanabe are in different worlds now. Kazuya doesn’t look upset, but he could be nursing a broken heart. He’s been torn away from the person he loves.
“Who could I what? Why’d you trail off? I’m afraid of what you might be thinking.” Kazuya breaks my racing thoughts with a questioning look on his face.
I’d better stop dwelling on it. Kazuya told me he wants us to enjoy the new world. I can’t throw cold water on that sentiment. He’s trying to distract himself.
I know! He should find himself a rebound to crush on!
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter. Let me just say this: I’ll always be your family, no matter what team you play for!”
“Hey, quit it. Seriously, don’t go getting any weird ideas,” he says.
“Don’t worry. I’ll always be by your side. As long as you remember that, it’s all good.”
“Ugh! Will you at least listen to me?!” When I look warmly at Kazuya, he mumbles in embarrassment and sighs heavily. “Whatever. For now, let’s just follow this path,” he says wearily.
Just as I’m about to nod, I sense something in the bushes behind him. I step forward to get between him and it.
A creepy-looking creature shuffles out of the bushes. It has a head like an owl and a humanoid body covered in feathers. What is this thing?
“Is this one of the monsters the teddy bear was talking about?” Kazuya whispers, his voice strained.
Monster? Oh, yeah. The teddy bear said that there are creatures ranked higher than humans in the food chain that prey on them. It stares at us with drool spilling out of its mouth.
Hold up. Does this thing want to eat me and Kazuya?
No. It can’t eat Kazuya. He’s the only family I have left.
“Kazuya, stay back!” I shout.
The monster flies at me. Its arms are like wings with sharp talons on its hands. It swipes at my head. I duck just in time and, when I’m in range of its chest, my fist rips through the air.
A BOOM I’ve never heard before blares out and a round hole appears in the monster’s torso.
Huh? What?
I threw a totally normal punch, it wasn’t mystical or anything. But there’s no mistaking it. That attack was stronger than anything I’ve felt before.
Blood spurts out of the owl-headed monster’s beak and it falls forward. I hop aside to dodge as it face-plants on the ground with a thud.
There’s a huge hole in its torso from the back, too.
Did I do that? With a simple punch? Ew, that’s actually pretty gory!
The monster vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving a yellow jewel behind on the ground.
“Huh? It disappeared?” I say, stunned.
Kazuya picks up the gem that the monster left behind and examines it. “A crystal? It’s pristine; there’s no dirt or blood on it. Sakurako, do you have a bag or something to put it in?” He turns it over, holding it up to the light, perplexed.
I look around, but my bag is nowhere to be found. I’m wearing my school uniform—a navy blue blazer over a navy blue checkered skirt and red ribbon tie—so all I have is a handkerchief in my pocket. “Nope, no bag, I think it’s gone.”
“Oh. Mine, too. Oh, well.” Kazuya slips the stone into his pants pocket.
“What are you going to do with that? Do you think it’ll come in handy?” I ask him, curious.
“I’m not sure, but the teddy bear said you can get valuable items from monsters. This might be one of those.”
“Oooh, gotcha. Either way, it sure is beautiful the way it sparkles.”
“Not to change the topic or anything, but I thought you wanted to be delicate. I wouldn’t call anyone who can put a whistling hole in a huge monster like that delicate.” Kazuya muffles a snicker with a teasing smile.
“I-I had no choice! It came out of nowhere! Besides, there’s no point pretending to be weak in front of you! It’s not like you’d be fooled, and it’s a big sister’s job to protect her little brother. But most of all, as far as I could tell…I barely even hit it.”
I remember exactly how it felt on my knuckles. It was just a punch! I mean, of course, I put my heart into every shot I take. But it’s weird that it was that powerful.
Kazuya must notice that it’s bugging me, because he answers seriously, “I think it’s probably a skill thing. The teddy bear said this world operates according to game mechanics, with skills and magic. He said he was going to give us ample skills as an apology… I wish I knew more. Maybe there’s somewhere we can go to learn about it, like a library. We should start by finding a town, somewhere there are people. So, let’s go. If we stick to this path, we should come across a settlement eventually.” With that, Kazuya takes off ahead.
I rush to catch up…and get the odd feeling I’m lighter on my feet than normal. Is this also because of some sort of skill? I don’t really understand, but if so, skills are awesome!