Chapter 1- Cold Start
By the edge of a massive lake surrounded by dense forest—the kind of place that looked like it had been built for a weekend camping trip—Natsume Todomeki was doing a terrible job keeping her temper in check.
She pulled out her usual Davidoff Escurio, flicked open an oil lighter that looked far too rugged for someone like her, and lit it. A thick cloud of violet smoke drifted into the air.
“Goddammit isekai transfer?” she muttered. “Seriously? Y’all gotta be kidding me. What is this, some bargain-bin late-night anime plot?”
“Natchan, calm down. Look at the good side. At least we ended up here together.”
The voice trying to bring her back down belonged to Kanon Kuze, her girlfriend.
“B-but… this world. They said there are monsters here, right? What are we supposed to do?”
Mako Kurosaki, her other girlfriend, held onto Natsume’s arm, her expression tense.
“Yeah. Some woman calling herself a goddess went on about monsters, magic, and fantasy crap. Then she handed us some kind of ‘gift’ and sent us here.”
Natsume exhaled smoke through her nose.
“So what’d y’all get? Mine’s called ‘Online Shopping.’ Apparently I can buy stuff from any site I had bookmarked before we got dragged here.”
“That’s actually useful,” Kanon said. “If this world is really medieval-like, I don’t think I could handle losing access to basic modern necessities.”
“Mine is a ‘Safe House.’ It creates a door connected to a Japanese-style apartment. Apparently, if I use something called mana stones, it can provide electricity, water, gas… even expand.”
“Hell, that’s better than nothing.”
Natsume crossed her arms.
“Problem is, my Online Shopping only accepts Japanese yen. Which means unless I figure out how to make money here, it’s useless.”
She looked toward Mako.
“What about you?”
“M-mine is ‘Streaming.’ It says I can broadcast back to Japan using our existing accounts. And… viewers can send Super Chats.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Natsume smiled slightly.
“Well. Ain’t that something.”
She looked at the three of them.
“Between the three of us, we actually got a way to survive.”
Her expression hardened.
“Now comes the real problem.”
Natsume’s eyes moved toward the crowd nearby.
Around forty Japanese men and women stood there, still trying to understand what had happened. They had been transported here the same way she had—from a campground in
Yamanashi.
But unlike Natsume, Kanon, and Mako, who had come prepared for serious bushcraft, these people had been enjoying a luxury glamping barbecue.
Board shorts. Sandals. Hawaiian shirts.
Beer cans still in their hands. Half-eaten food left on paper plates.
They had been dropped into a monster-filled forest exactly as they were.
“Problem?” Kanon asked. “Knowing you, Natchan, I doubt your first instinct is going to be teamwork.”
“Damn right it ain't.”
Natsume narrowed her eyes.
“I don't care what kind of skills that goddess gave them. They're sitting in a dangerous forest drinking beer like they're still at a Sunday barbecue. No awareness. No preparation. No clue what they're dealing with.”
She tapped ash from her cigarette.
“They ain't survivors. They're liabilities.”
Mako swallowed.
“But… they might need help.”
“Maybe.”
Natsume's voice stayed calm.
“But you gotta understand something. This ain't Japan anymore.”
She looked back at the crowd.
“Out here, nobody's coming to save us. We need to find civilization before monsters, weather, or starvation get us.”
A pause.
“And before somebody decides three women alone in a lawless world look like easy prey.”
She shifted the heavy pack on her shoulders.
“Y’all ready?”
From behind her back, she pulled out her gear.
海外サイトのROYAL ROAD掲載用に再構築した1話です。
もったいないので活用しこちらにも掲載しました。
海外サイトに掲載するにあたりセリフを「」ではなく””で囲み、文化の差を考慮し表現など変更を加えてあります。銃の説明部分は銃社会の人には不要なのでカットしました。
反響があれば2話以降も掲載しようと思います。たぶんない。日本語版ですら1PVあるかないかなので
