I couldn’t really remember what my childhood dream was anymore. I’d thought that the future was endlessly vast, and that I would be able to do whatever I wanted when I grew up.
“But I was wrong...” I said to myself.
After graduating from college, I ended up working for a so-called “black company.” I was constantly bombarded with all manner of different tasks, which made leaving on time impossible. I’d return home on the last train every night and routinely be called into work on my days off. Needless to say, living that way meant I had no free time, and I devoted what few vacations I was allowed to idly lying around and watching videos on the internet. Every day, I felt that my life was a drag. But I never got up the courage to take the first step to change it. And in the end, I died from overwork.
Perhaps this outcome was only natural.
Well, my cause of death was apparently a god’s careless mistake, I thought, so maybe “natural” isn’t quite the right way to put it...
“Still, I didn’t expect to end up somewhere like this.”
A large forest stretched out before my eyes, and a somewhat choppy ocean behind me. Just a short while ago I’d been at work. Then I’d died and met a god who decided that I would be reincarnated. I’d asked to go somewhere without any people, and the end result was...
“So gods really are out there?” To be honest, I’d assumed that it had all been a dream or a hallucination brought on by exhaustion, but no dreams were this real.
I didn’t want to think about anything, so I hugged my knees while watching the ocean. When I closed my eyes, the sound of the waves receding on the sand began to put my mind at ease.
“Now then...”
That was enough reflecting on a past I didn’t want to remember. It was time to think about the future.
I was currently on an uninhabited island. I’d been given two cheats: a strong body immune to illness and injury, and the ability to copy someone’s skills and magic just by watching them. I had only asked for the first one, but the god had thrown in the second for some reason. Something about how it would lead to a greater sense of adventure.
“Well, I’ll take what I’m given. But what’s the point of a copy ability if I’m all alone here?”
I had been utterly dumbfounded when I’d heard that I, a former lowly office worker, was going to be reincarnated in another world because a god had carelessly let me die. But regardless, I really was grateful for these gifts that would allow me to live in the midst of nature.
“She really made me quite good-looking too. Is this another freebie? Not that I have anyone to show myself to.”
My reflection in the ocean had black hair, and my face was similar to how it used to be but with more slim and youthful features. I was originally thirty years old, but now I appeared to be around twenty. It was quite odd having a different body from the one I’d lived with for many years, but the feeling would probably resolve itself before long.
“Anyway, it sure is incredible that I don’t have to worry about getting hurt or sick.”
It felt liberating to think about how I wouldn’t have to wear out my body working like I used to, but I was worried about what I should do from now on. Well, it wouldn’t be anything too flashy. As long as I could rely on the strength of this new body to live in peaceful solitude, that was enough. I didn’t want to work. I was going to savor the leisurely rural living that I’d yearned for back in my days as a corporate grunt.
That’s what I decided before I was reborn, but...I know next to nothing about survival skills. Could living on an uninhabited island actually be quite demanding?
“No, there’s no point in saying that now! Let’s do this! I’m going to enjoy this peaceful life with all I’ve got!”
It all starts with a single step, I thought.
I rose to my feet and entered the forest.
✦ ✦ ✦
The first thing I felt upon entering the forest was how gracefully my body moved. My agility was completely different from before—the expression “born anew” fit to a T. It would normally have been a challenge just to walk down this game trail, but instead it was like strolling down a flat, paved road, and I swiftly moved ahead.
It was dark, with the sunlight significantly obscured by large, tall trees. But that didn’t mean it was hard for me to see; it was almost as if I were an animal with night vision.
“Hmm... But this island really does seem uninhabited.”
I couldn’t spot anything man-made in the forest, and I often caught sight of what looked to be footprints from animals using the trail. The smell was also quite intense.
“I’ll have to investigate what kind of island this is. But before that, I need to secure some food and water.”
It went without saying, but if there was no one living here, I would have to acquire provisions myself. For meat in particular, I would need to hunt wild animals. To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether an ordinary office worker like me would be able to do that. I had no idea how to actually prepare an animal in the first place; I’d only ever seen it in manga a long time ago.
I paused. “Actually, I’ll be fine. After all, I’ve got a strong body from a god.”
Surely she hadn’t sent me here to make up for her own mistake only to put me in a situation where I could easily die. But despite my wishful thinking, I couldn’t dispel my unease.
“Wild animals are scary, so why don’t I start with searching for some water, and also some plants that look edible?”
If I had any survival skills, I might’ve been able to make even seawater drinkable. But seeing as I couldn’t do that, I had to search for a river, lake, or anywhere else with clean water.
Twigs crunched under my feet with every step. Besides that and the occasional bird call from above, the forest was quiet, so those snapping sounds produced an odd dissonance which only made my anxiety worse.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of something else breaking a branch. I gasped and whirled around, but nothing was there.
“Actually, scratch that.”
Lowering my gaze, I saw a small, snow-white rabbit looking up at me with cute, beady eyes. The sight of this adorable creature released the tension from my body. At the same time, a thought came to mind: I can eat rabbits if I cook them, can’t I?
“Sorry,” I said to the rabbit.
It looked innocently at me, showing no signs of caution. I slowly approached it, and as I did, I decided that it would be my food for the day. I might not have known how to prepare a rabbit, but I was pretty sure that as long as I drained its blood, took out its internal organs, skinned it, and cooked it, I’d have a passable meal.
“Squee,” the rabbit quietly squeaked. Then, its eyes suddenly glinted and it headbutted me. There was a huge, dull thud, and the trees around us shook.
“Huh?”
“Squee?”
The rabbit and I regarded each other with curiosity.