Chapter 1:
The Other World and My Intrusion
EVERYTHING WENT BLACK. I saw nothing, my vision painted with darkness. If I had a body anymore, I couldn’t feel it. The fear of being swallowed up by the dark pulsed through me, but there was no use fighting it now. I was just glad Carol wasn’t the guinea pig. This was reckless—even for me—but I’d already wasted the last ten years of my life. Sacrificing myself for someone else wasn’t such a bad way to go. The thought that I could help the people I cared for deeply made the end more bearable.
“I wonder if they’ll be sad when they hear I’m dead. Mom, Dad, Sayuki…and Seika.”
Only a few months ago, I was nothing but a burden to my family. Back then, I figured they’d be happy if I died. What was the point of looking for work? I just squandered my time, anyway. But then I stepped outside. I became…well, not respectable, but I put some effort into my life. I began to believe that a time would come when I could repay my debt to my family and Seika. My life was back on track. Losing that was frustrating.
“I’m sorry, Dad, Mom, Sayuki, Seika.”
All I could do was send my desperate apologies into the void.
“Yoshio! Wake up! Wake up!”
Someone was calling my name. A girl’s familiar voice. I felt a wet sensation against my cheek. Whose voice was that? And what was this slimy feeling on my face?
“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” The desperation pulled me back to my senses.
I’m…Yoshio. I jumped through that portal into the darkness…
I remembered now. Who I was and what I’d done. My eyelids were as heavy as lead, and prying them open took effort. When I finally managed it, I saw Carol looking down at me, crying, and Destiny licking me with its long, thin tongue.
“Carol. Destiny,” I croaked.
Carol flung her arms around my neck. “You’re safe! I was so scared! You weren’t moving!”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” I sat up and patted Carol’s head, then Destiny’s, who was clinging to my chest and blinking up at me sweetly. I still felt woozy, and I took several deep breaths, filling my lungs. The air was cold, freezing me from the inside out. I could smell plants—lots of them.
We were surrounded by trees, the ground blanketed in short weeds. Frost covered everything, numbing my hands where they rested on the ground. Wherever this was, it wasn’t Isekai Connection. We weren’t in a building anymore, and the portal was nowhere in sight. We were in the great outdoors. We were—
“Who’s there?! W-wait. Carol?!”
A voice called out from behind us, the anger quickly draining away, replaced by surprise. I turned to find a man with a double-handed sword and a chiseled face. Behind him stood a fence made of logs, set with a wooden gate.
A log fence out here in the wilderness. A man wielding a sword, who recognized Carol.
I knew this place. I knew this man.
We made it.
My senses were returning to me now, so I resolved to lose my composure later. I needed to wrap my head around this miracle.
“Carol. You’re alive! Get away from that stranger, quick!” Gams’s look of relief was quickly replaced by anger, and I found myself facing the tip of his blade. I couldn’t blame him for finding me suspicious.
“Gams? What are you shouting—Carol?!” A young woman in religious dress appeared at Gams’s side.
Then, a timid-looking man and a red-haired woman raced up, their faces racked with emotion.
“Carol! Carol!”
“Carol! Is that you?!”
They cast their weapons aside. Carol leapt into their arms. “Mommy! Daddy!”
The three of them wailed and wept as they held each other. I knew then that it had all been worth it, just to see them reunited like this. I sighed and tried to suppress my own tears, trembling on the edge of escaping.
Thank God…
I wanted to keep watching Carol and her family and let relief wash over me, but I still had a glimmering blade in my face. “Who are you, and why are your clothes so strange? Why were you with Carol? Fair warning, a wrong answer will be deadly.”
Gams had a deep, masculine voice. I would have been afraid, but he wasn’t the type to hurt anyone thoughtlessly. I knew him better than that. I knew them all. The gentle girl hiding behind him and watching me warily, the embracing family of three, the bipedal red pandas who just showed up, and the beautiful androgynous elf. I could never forget a single one.
Just looking at them now made the tears flow from my eyes.
“Crying won’t get you out of this! Tell me who you are!”
“I’m…” I stopped. What was I supposed to say? I didn’t want to pretend I didn’t know who they were. Not now.
I knew the man with swords in both hands was their toughest fighter, Gams. I knew the pious girl behind him, so fond of her brother, was Chem. I knew the family of three were Carol, Rodice, and Lyra. I knew the one aiming her bow at me from a distance was Murus. I knew the two pointing their spears my way were Kan and Lan.
“You’re all safe, I see.” I was so happy I couldn’t stop crying. I’d wanted to meet them for so long, and now they were here in front of me. I couldn’t contain my joy.
“You sure are creepy. Since you’re not talking, how’s this?” Gams brought his blade so close to my face that it was touching my nose. If I so much as twitched, he would cut it right off. I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if it meant saving the others’ lives. He was just that kind of guy.
Come on, think! What’s the point if he mistakes you for a threat and you die here?!
“The truth is, I’m—”
“Don’t bully Yoshio, Gams!” Carol threw herself between us and flung her arms out to protect me.
“Carol! That’s dangerous!” Gams pulled his sword back swiftly.
Carol pouted and glared at him. “Yoshio’s helping the gods! He protected me this whole time!”
Carol was standing up for me against Gams, who she adored. My heart swelled with emotion.
Thanks. I’m feeling more confident now.
I put a hand on Carol’s shoulder and got to my feet. I held Gams’s gaze as I spoke. “It’s nice to meet you, chosen ones. My name is Yoshio, and I am a disciple of the God of Fate. I have come here to return Carol to you. She was placed in the Lord’s care in the World of Gods some days ago.” I didn’t dare show how nervous I was. I smiled to assure them I meant no harm. I wasn’t used to using my face muscles this much, and I could feel my cheeks twitching. This was the same story I’d used on Carol.
“A disciple of the Lord? And you think we’ll believe—”
“It’s true, Gams! We played together in the World of Gods! And I had loads of yummy food there!”
Destiny clambered up onto Carol’s shoulder and waved its foot and tail in support of her fervent argument.
“I dunno, Carol. And what’s that monster on your shoulder?” Gams frowned at the lizard.
“This is my friend, Destiny!”
Gams didn’t attempt to pull Destiny off her back, so he probably figured it wasn’t dangerous. Destiny looked almost divine with its body bathed in the sunlight. Its golden skin stood out against the trees.
“I understand your suspicions. This is a little sudden, after all. But first, please allow me to return this.” I pulled the holy book out of my bag and offered it to Chem.
“The book! You really are a disciple of the Lord!” Chem let out a cry of delight, fell to her knees, and bowed deeply. Gams immediately put away his weapons and knelt to join her. The next second, all the villagers were on their knees. Only Murus stayed standing with her arms folded, her gaze cool.
“Please forgive my ignorance and my rudeness!” Gams cried. “I’ll—I will take full responsibility! Just please, spare the other villagers! They’ve done nothing wrong!”
You’re totally overreacting.
“My brother was simply unaware! Please have mercy! I shall offer myself up, so please be kind in your judgment!” Chem begged, driving her forehead down into the ground.
Was this how it felt to be an all-powerful god? This was awful. This wasn’t what I wanted when I said I followed the God of Fate.
“Please get up. I am not angry in the slightest, and neither is the Lord. Gams, you have protected the village well. The Lord is pleased with you.” I wasn’t trying to lie—I really was filled with the utmost gratitude for him. “I am also glad to see everyone is safe.” Not particularly divine or poetic, but that was all I could come up with.
I was used to RPing a god from all the prophecies I’d sent, but speaking so politely and calmly on the spot was way harder. Arranging all the words together without a single slip-up was almost too much for me.
“Thank you! Please, we cannot stay out here in the cold. We are still carrying out repairs on our village, but please allow us to welcome you there.” Chem said, her eyes sparkling. She was a fervent believer of the God of Fate; my assumed persona was probably what she herself aspired to be. She and the other villagers stood up and beckoned me to follow them.
“Very well, I shall join you. I am eager to see how your village is faring, and I would like to tell you about Carol’s experience in the World of Gods.”
I followed them, looking around in wonder. I’d seen this view tons of times through my computer screen, but it was a completely different experience up close. The sun filtering through the gaps in the trees. The faces of my villagers. The feeling of the earth beneath my feet. The thick smell of vegetation and nature.