“Arata Toudou, you have passed away.”
“...Huh?”
“There are various reasons for this, but just to tell you what happened, I—a god—have made a mistake.”
“A god?”
“Therefore, you will be reincarnated in another world after being granted anything you desire. I mean, if you don’t wish for anything, I’ll be banished from the realm of the gods! Now, gimme your wiiiiish!”
That was how I was reincarnated into another world: I made all the wishes I could while also getting various things foisted onto me.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Pwah?!” I yelled, waking up with a jolt.
It seemed that I had dozed off at some point while sitting in the pleasant sunlight and listening to the waves lapping against the shore.
My talk with that god sure was casual, I thought. I had only reincarnated yesterday, but I suddenly felt deeply moved.
Looking up at the sky, I saw that the sun had climbed overhead. Quite some time had passed since I had saved the girl.
“Is she all right?” I wondered aloud. The girl was asleep next to me and still showed no signs of waking. Though her breathing was steady, I was a bit worried that she would have lingering negative effects from my amateur attempts at rescuing her. But, my worries soon dissipated when she woke up.
“Mm-hmm...”
The girl slowly rose to her feet, then gently moved her body, checking for any abnormalities. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her. My clothes were baggy on her, but the way she wore them made them look like the latest fashion. Good-looking people are really in a league of their own, I thought, feeling impressed despite myself.
She looked at me again. “You said your name was Arata, right? Um...thanks for saving me.” Though she seemed somewhat strong-willed, she bowed her head and thanked me right away. The contrast between her tone of voice and the steadfast look in her eyes, and her respectful personality, gave me a favorable impression of her.
“I’m relieved that you’re all right,” I said.
I was also grateful that she’d instantly understood why she was wearing different clothes and wasn’t bringing it up. Her own clothes had dried by the time she woke up, though, so I gave them to her and then turned around without saying anything.
“Thanks,” she said.
The sound of her clothes rustling as she changed was slightly provocative. Even though I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I felt my heart beat a bit faster. She then gave me back my clothes, so I returned to the adventurer-style outfit I had been wearing at the start.
“Umm...first off, can you tell me your name?” I asked her.
Now that I got a good look at her, her white cloak made her fiery red hair stand out all the more. Unfortunately, some of the beach sand was clinging to her cloak, giving it a dull luster, but even in that state she was far and away the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I wondered why someone like her, who had an air of nobility, had washed up on the beach alone. As I did, she looked straight at me and began to speak.
“I’m Reina. I was on the way to explore a certain island, but...”
As I listened to her, it really did sink in that I was now in a fantasy world.
Reina was a first-class magician who had been en route to the Furthermost Lonely Isle, traveling on the king’s orders. In the middle of her journey, her boat had been hit by a fierce storm and sunk. Just when she had thought that she was going to die along with everyone else, she had washed up on these very shores.
“Thanks to you, I made it out alive,” she said.
“Yeah, about that... In order to save you, I had to, well...” When I remembered giving her mouth-to-mouth, my face burned with embarrassment. She had been unconscious, so maybe she hadn’t realized it, but I had stolen a kiss from a young lady—I couldn’t just not tell her.
“Th-That’s fine. You saved me, so how could I complain?!” Reina’s face reddened, and she sheepishly averted her eyes.
“O-Of course! I’m glad to hear that!”
She was obviously shaken, but I was truly grateful for her understanding. We both nervously fidgeted and blushed like chaste students, and it didn’t take long for us to silently agree not to press the issue any further.
“By the way, Arata, do you live on this island?”
“Actually...” I began, then suddenly wondered what I should say. Regardless of the circumstances, it was hard for me to directly reveal that I had met a god and that she had allowed me to reincarnate here from another world. That being said, I didn’t know a single thing about this island, so whatever I told Reina would be a lie.
“Before I knew it, I was just on this island,” I finally said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Ah, ha ha... I don’t really know either.”
Reina’s suspicious gaze made me sweat. I worried about what to say if she pressed me on my excessively vague response, but then her expression softened slightly and she smiled.
“Well, I guess everyone has their reasons. You saved me, and that’s all I need to know.”
“...Thanks.”
“Hey, that’s my line. By the way...” Reina shyly looked away and squirmed.
Her already short skirt fluttered, briefly exposing her pale, fit thighs, so there was no helping it if my eyes just so happened to briefly glance in that direction.
“Y-You didn’t do anything...weird...while I was unconscious, did you?” she asked.
“N-No, of course not!” I blurted out.
Perhaps because of my guilt over looking at her thighs, I was shaken in spite of myself and I reacted defensively.