The Boy from Earth and the Girl from Another World

Tsukasa Mikogami’s awakening began with a touch. Specifically, the feel of a damp cloth wiping his hand. The sensation pulled his consciousness up from the depths of darkness. Tsukasa heeded it and slowly opened his eyelids. His heterochromatic eyes—one a frigid blue, the other a fiery red—began taking in light.

The first thing he saw…was a dull wooden ceiling. The next was a beautiful girl dazzling enough that he could make her out with perfect clarity despite his bleary vision.

Her outfit was predominantly white and light green, bearing a close resemblance to the dirndls he’d once seen in Germany. She was gently wiping his hand with a damp cloth.

“Ah…!”

Suddenly, their eyes met.

“You’re awake? Oh, thank goodness.”

As she spoke, a relieved smile spread across her youthful face.

How lovely…

Rather than a beauty, she’d be better described as a cutie.

Also, her ears were quite long. Perhaps it was some sort of genetic quirk.

She looks almost…like an elf. The kind you’d find in fantasy novels, thought Tsukasa.

But more importantly, who was she? She wasn’t anyone he recognized. And also, what was he doing…wherever it was he was? Why was he lying down? His memories were all jumbled up.

“Wh…ere…? OW!”

But when he tried to sit up and voice his confusion, a sharp pain ran through his entire body, like his bones were cracking. His body was so hot, he felt like he was burning up.

“Oh, no, you mustn’t! You’re badly wounded; you need to rest!”

Badly…wounded? Ah, that’s right. I was…

Upon hearing those words, Tsukasa finally remembered what had happened to him.

“I wanna write a special article on all of us High School Prodigies.”

An old acquaintance of his, the journalist Shinobu Sarutobi, had invited him. So he, Shinobu, and the five others had all crossed the Pacific aboard an airplane piloted by Ringo Oohoshi’s AI.

Midway through that flight, though, the plane had been abruptly engulfed by a massive thundercloud, rendering it impossible to navigate.

A shrill alarm had gone off.

Swallowed up by some sort of waterspout, they’d suffered severe turbulence. Then, as they’d watched themselves descend, a conspicuously large shock had rattled the plane.

That was everything that had happened before Tsukasa lost consciousness.

The moment he remembered, Tsukasa immediately ignored the pain burning through his body, wrenched himself up, and firmly grabbed the girl’s slim shoulders.

“Hwah—”

“Please…! Oh…”

He paused for a second, not sure what language to use when conversing with this clearly non-Japanese girl, but then pressed on after remembering that she herself had spoken in Japanese just a moment ago.

“Please, tell me! There were six other people on that plane…! Did they make it out…?!” Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face contorted in pain as Tsukasa asked about the well-being of the other passengers.

The girl had initially been confused at his sudden outburst, but she quickly gave him a soft smile to set his heart at ease.

“They’re all fine. Including you, we found seven people. All collapsed in the same place. We brought you all here to watch over you.” She glanced around the room as she answered the boy’s question.

When he followed her gaze, Tsukasa saw six familiar faces all bandaged up like him and sleeping on pelt beds.

“Don’t worry. They’re wounded, but it looks like they’re all going to make it.”

“Ah… Thank you…”

Given that they’d been in a plane crash, surviving would have practically taken a miracle. Knowing that, Tsukasa had been prepared for the worst. Upon hearing that everyone else had been rescued like he had, the tension drained from his body, and he collapsed back onto the bed.

“Oh man… Thank God…”

“You seem like a very kind person.” The girl gazed at him with eyes the color of lapis lazuli as she placed a cool, damp cloth on Tsukasa’s sweaty forehead.

“…Any public figure worries about the safety of his people.”

The cool rag helped relieve the heat and pain in his body. The sensation caused him to break out in a relaxed smile. He looked back at the girl taking care of him.

“Forgive me, I’ve forgotten my manners. My name is Tsukasa Mikogami. Might you do me the honor of telling me yours?”

“Who, me? I’m Lyrule.”

“Well, Lyrule, it would appear we owe you and your people a great debt. I speak for all of us when I express my gratitude for your generous, diligent treatment. Thank you.”

“Oh, we wouldn’t have dreamed of just leaving you there. We people of the mountain look out for one another.” Seemingly embarrassed at Tsukasa’s earnest words of thanks, Lyrule quickly stood up after replying. “It’ll take some time before your injuries are fully healed, but now that you’re awake, let’s see if we can get some food in you. Would you mind waiting here for a minute?”

And with that, Lyrule trotted out of the room. A few minutes later, she returned with a steaming pot in her hand.

“It’s a stew made from goat milk. Here, let me cool it down a bit.” She scooped up a piece of soft meat with a wooden spoon, then brought it up to her full pink lips and blew gently on it. After doing that a few times to clear the steam, she moved the spoon toward Tsukasa’s mouth.

“Here you go. Say ah.”

“It feels kinda like I’m a kid again.”

It was a little embarrassing. That said, his body did crave the nourishment.

Doing as instructed, Tsukasa opened his mouth wide to accept the soft chunk of meat. But the moment he tried to chew it, it immediately tumbled out. He couldn’t close his jaw well. Even with how soft the flank was, his body was too weak to bite through it.

“…My apologies. It would seem I haven’t recovered enough to eat just yet.”

However, Tsukasa’s weak words prompted Lyrule’s expression to sour slightly.

“Well, that won’t do. When you’re injured, you have to eat meat, or you won’t get better. Here, just a moment,” she said, picking up the dropped piece of goat meat with her fingers and popping it in her mouth. Then, after chewing it almost too thoroughly…

“Mmm…”

“Mph…!”

…she laid her lips over the prone Tsukasa’s.

Upon feeling her soft, supple lips placed gently against his, his eyes went wide in surprise. She slid her wet tongue into his mouth. Then she pressed down on Tsukasa’s teeth with the back of her tongue, opened his mouth, and poured in the masticated, mushy goat shank. Once the deed was done, she separated her mouth from his.

“This way, you’ll be able to get food down…right?” she asked, averting her gaze. Her face was so red it looked like it had caught fire.

It had doubtless been a deeply embarrassing act. However, she’d pushed through her shyness in order to help Tsukasa eat. A clear testament to how dedicated she was to his recovery.

“…Thank you. I suppose you’re right; that is one way I can eat.” Tsukasa elected to gratefully accept Lyrule’s kindness. Turning her down at this point would honestly come across as rude.

“Would it be all right if I depended on your goodwill for the time being?”

“…Why, yes. Of course. Let’s fill you up so you can go ahead and get better quickly.” Lyrule’s mood lightened, having seen that her unusual actions hadn’t given Tsukasa any strange impressions.

Her charming smile returned as she carried another spoonful of stew to her mouth. Then, just like before, she thoroughly chewed it up, and…

“Mmm—”

…brought her face close to Tsukasa’s so she could feed him mouth to mouth, but…

“Lyrule! Is it true that one of the stragglers we found woke up?!”

“Pfft—!”

…promptly spat it out, startled by a woman opening the door and entering the house. As Tsukasa’s face was directly in front of hers, what had been in her mouth was, naturally, sprayed all over him.

“Ahhh! Oh, Tsukasa, I’m so sorry! Here, I’ll clean that up right away!”

“Oh-ho? Am I getting in the way of something?”

“Wh—? No—that’s not it, Winona! That… It wasn’t what you think!” Lyrule tried frantically to explain the situation as she wiped at Tsukasa.

Tsukasa looked out from under the towel being pressed haphazardly against his face to take in their visitor. It was a woman in the prime of her youth with chestnut hair and a capricious, teasing smile dancing on her lips. Unlike Lyrule, whose features were more childish, the new woman was well deserving of being described as a beauty. It was easy to tell how voluptuous her breasts were even through her loose garments, further accentuating her womanly charm.

At that moment, though…Tsukasa couldn’t have cared less about that. What was monopolizing his attention was her butt—and the top of her head. The woman was sporting a pair of wolflike ears and a bushy tail.

…Are those some sort of regional accessories?

The world was a big place, after all. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility for there to be some ethnic group that customarily wore such things.

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Ma’am, I find myself unable to chew at the moment, so she was just grinding up the food for me. I would ask that you not poke fun at her for aiding me in my time of need.” Tsukasa’s gaze was focused straight on the woman, chiding her for teasing Lyrule. He knew that Lyrule had put aside her embarrassment in order to devote herself to nursing him back to health. Even though he could tell by their tones that the two were close, he still couldn’t let it slide.

“Tsukasa…”

“Oh dear, I’ve been told off. You seem awfully dependable, for a straggler…but I guess that’s a good thing. With that much spunk, all that’s left is to eat up, and you’ll be better in no time,” she said, flashing Tsukasa a pleased smile at his rebuke. She made her way over to sit down beside him.

“Call me Winona. I live in this village, just like Lyrule. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Tsukasa Mikogami. I heard a little bit from Lyrule, but it seems my friends and I owe you a great deal.”

“Oh, don’t give it a second thought. We all have to help one another out when we’re down, don’t we?”

“Still, a debt is a debt. Once I’ve returned to my country, I’ll be sure to thank you properly.”

“Oh my, you do seem dependable, especially considering you’re only about as old as my boy.”

“Oh, you have children my age? You look far too young for that to be the case.”

Going off appearances, Tsukasa would have pegged her as early twenties. Certainly not old enough to have kids his age. Tsukasa was honestly surprised, a fact that seemed to tickle Winona pink.

“Oh, you. Someone your age shouldn’t be allowed to be so smooth…” Delighted, she smiled bashfully like a young maiden. But as Tsukasa watched her, his eyes widened in surprise.

Much to his shock, her tail accessory was bobbing up and down in concert with her embarrassed smile like a dog’s would when it was happy. Its movements were so lifelike it was difficult to imagine them to be the work of a machine.

“…W-wait, is your tail…real?”

“Hmm? Real? Why wouldn’t it be? I am a byuma, you know. See?” Winona wagged her chestnut tail and patted Tsukasa’s cheek with it. The boy felt the unmistakable warmth of flesh and blood as it brushed his face.

Huh… It really is real.

That fact caused Tsukasa no small amount of consternation. After all, people with animal ears and tails…didn’t exist. If they did, it would turn the entire field of biology on its head. Humankind had reached the point where they were able to go up to outer space and gaze down at the Earth from on high. There was no way such an oddity could have passed unnoticed. Especially not in a culture that could communicate in Japanese. However, Tsukasa’s surprises didn’t end there.

“Have you really never seen a byuma before? That’s odd; you can find us pretty much everywhere in Freyjagard.”

“Their clothes were all really odd; maybe they’re from a foreign country.”

Frey…jagard?

“I’m not sure I follow, but we’re from Japan.”

“J’pan? I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it.”

The unexpected response sent Tsukasa into even more of a tizzy.

“Wh-what are you talking about? You two are speaking Japanese right now.”

“???”

“What are you talking about? We’ve all been talking in Altan this whole time.”

“…?!?!” He’d never even heard of that language before. At first, he thought they might be messing with him, but…

Their gazes, their breathing, their enunciation… There’s no sign either of them is lying…

As a genius high student turned prime minister, Tsukasa’s powers of observation were keen. However, what they were telling him only served to further his confusion.

What’s going on here?

There were people with animal ears and tails talking about a language he’d never heard of. And also…there was his initial impression when he first saw Lyrule devotedly nursing him. Tsukasa’s mind mixed together all the strange hints—and arrived at an unbelievable theory.

There’s…no way…!

It simply wasn’t possible. Not only was it unscientific, it seemed downright unreal. Surely it was just a delusion spurred on by Lyrule’s and Winona’s odd appearances.

Even so… Science had never conclusively proven this nightmarish phenomenon impossible.

I have to be sure…!

“Rgh—!”

“Wh—? No, no, you mustn’t move yet! Your wounds will reopen!”

“Lyrule’s absolutely right. You really need to get back in that bed.”

Lyrule and Winona scolded Tsukasa as they watched him hunch over in agony. But Tsukasa refused to back down.

“Sorry, but…I’m afraid I can’t do that right now. There’s something urgent I need to check. Do you know where my phone went?”

“What’s a fone?”

“It’s a flat black slab. There should have been one in my pocket.”

“Oh, you mean this?”

“Please, give it here!”

Tsukasa’s clothes were piled up beside his bed. Lyrule retrieved the smartphone from atop them and passed it to him. Tsukasa tried to use its GPS to determine his present location, but…

“Dammit, it’s not working…! It’s okay, though, there’s still a way…!”

Their plane had been equipped with GPS and satellite communication systems. Given that the crash hadn’t been serious enough to kill them, there was a good chance those features were still intact.

“Forgive me for imposing, you two, but could you take me to the crash site…or rather, the spot where you found us?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?! You’re in no state to be going any—”

“I’m well aware of that. But it’s a politician’s duty to push himself to the limit when his people are facing a crisis. If my insane hunch ends up being right, it’ll be my responsibility to take charge of the other six. In other words, it won’t do for me to end up just as alarmed as they’ll be… I need to be the first to fully understand the situation. So please, I beseech you…” His words of supplication and his expression brimmed with an unshakable will. Winona tried to glare him down but eventually heaved an exasperated sigh of defeat.

“…Fine. I’ll take you.”

“Winona?! You can’t; that’s crazy!”

“Look at his eyes. If we left him to his own devices, he’d crawl there on his hands and knees. It’s useless trying to stop a man with eyes like those… I don’t know what it is you want to check, but it’s that important to you, is it?”

“It is…” Tsukasa nodded.

“In that case…grit your teeth!” Winona slid her hand around Tsukasa’s back, then hoisted him to his feet.

“Rrr—!!!!”

“Does it hurt?”

“I’m…fine…!”

“Way to be a man about it. All right, let’s go. Watch your feet, now.”

“W-wait! I’m coming, too!”

And thus, the two of them helped bring Tsukasa to the spot where they’d found him and the others. With him borrowing their shoulders and taking it slow, it took them about fifteen minutes to get there. Houses were scattered along their path, all made of wood and limestone. There was no concrete to be seen, nor did he spot any cars or bicycles. The ground was free of tire tracks. It was like a mountain village straight out of the Middle Ages.

Several villagers came and talked to the three of them as they walked, but despite ostensibly looking human, they all had animal ears, tails, or both, like Winona. The absurdity of the scene made Tsukasa increasingly concerned that his impossible, illogical theory was on the mark. Then, when they reached a crag overlooking a valley near the village—Tsukasa gaped at what he saw.

“This here’s where we found you. Four days ago, there was a big sound in the middle of the night, like a landslide. We all rushed over and found that big birdlike frame shooting out fire with the seven of you collapsed beside it.”

“………”

Sure enough, he could make out the wreckage of a familiar airplane down at the bottom of the red valley Winona was pointing at.

The wreckage.

The nose of the plane had been crushed and had sunk into the exposed red clay of the valley’s side. The flames had done a number on it—all that was left were the frame and the destroyed passenger cabin. The wings and tail were torn clear off and their pieces scattered about. Tsukasa could tell in a single glance that the GPS and satellite comm systems were unsalvageable.

What truly worried the boy had little to do with the status of the plane’s navigational devices, however. It was the state of the crash site as a whole.

There’s no way we made it out of there…

The plane had been designed by Ringo Oohoshi, a genius inventor and member of the High School Prodigies. Up until now, Tsukasa had assumed they’d survived thanks to some subsystem designed to protect the passengers in the event of a crash.

However, that clearly hadn’t been the case.

It was physically impossible for anyone inside an airplane in that condition to have survived. The very fact that Tsukasa and the others were alive at all was an unnatural occurrence bordering on the inconceivable. Each new detail the boy was confronted with defied comprehension.

What in the world had happened to the seven of them?

At a loss, Tsukasa turned his gaze to the sky, and that’s when he saw it.

“………”

A massive figure descended from the clouds. Tsukasa had already encountered many surprises that day, but this was the first that left him completely dumbstruck.

Up in the sky…soared a winged lizard the size of a mountain, swimming through the air.

“Oh. We get smaller ones all the time, but it’s not often you see a dragon that big.”

“It isn’t, is it? We should pray for everyone’s safe recovery.”

“………”

Lyrule clasped her hands and began praying to the flying dragon. Winona appeared pleased, happily smiling at having been able to see something so seemingly rare. It was their reactions to that utterly unearthly sight that made Tsukasa finally realize his insane theory…actually matched his current situation.

“Man… I guess I just have to accept it, huh…”

“What do you mean, you have to ‘accept it’?” Lyrule tilted her head to the side, confused.

Rather than offering an excuse for his words, the boy answered quite honestly.

“Well, it would appear that my compatriots and I have arrived in a world entirely different from our own.”

And there they had it—the world Tsukasa and the others now found themselves lost in existed in a different dimension and had developed along a different path from Earth.

Banquet and Hostilities

Although the seven high school students had come from Earth, they’d crash-landed on another world, in a country called Freyjagard.

They’d all been wounded in the crash, but the diligent care they’d received from the villagers of a small mountain village called Elm had restored them to full health. Their emotions were on the mend, too. Although they’d initially been confused and overwhelmed by their strange predicament, their interactions with the villagers and the staunch leadership of Tsukasa Mikogami—the high school politician who’d gone on ahead and been the first to confirm the situation—had largely set their minds at ease.

A month later, on the day they all finished their recovery, the villagers threw them a celebratory banquet.

“Ahem! Now, then! A toast to the full recovery of our stragglers from another world!”

“““Cheers!!!!”””

The one who’d given the toast was an older man with wolf ears, a matching tail, and an impressive beard and sideburns. His name was Ulgar; he was the mayor of Elm Village and Winona’s father. The forty-odd other villagers and the guests of honor—Tsukasa and his six companions from Earth—all followed his example.

Having raised their beer steins into the air, the assemblage began helping themselves to the feast laid out on the floor of Mayor Ulgar’s house, which doubled as the local mayor’s office.

The main course was a freshly hunted wild boar roasted with herbs, but that wasn’t all. There were steamed potatoes with butter, as well as apples, pears, plums, and other fruits in honey that the villagers had bought from the city just for the occasion. Also, each person got their own serving of fresh-baked bread, a boiled egg, and two slices of goat cheese that had been made right in the village. Finally, there was the usual offal stew and sauerkraut.

The fruits proved especially popular, with adults and children alike rushing to grab them up. The region was largely populated with coniferous trees, so they rarely got to eat anything so sweet.

“Bwa-ha-ha-ha! I thought your clothes looked strange, but I never would have guessed that you lot were from a whole other world! Now there’s a shock!” Ulgar downed his stein in a single gulp, wiped the beer froth from his beard, and let out a stereotypically hearty woodsman’s laugh.

Masato Sanada, the genius businessman, responded with a sigh.

“If it was a shock for you guys, imagine how bad it was for us. When we woke up, not only were we being tended to by people with wolf ears and tails, Tsukasa goes and tells us that we aren’t even on Earth anymore. I’d always figured that nothing could make that guy lose his head, so hearing him say that scared the shit out of me.”

“Nya-ha-ha. True that. The first time I saw one of the villagers other than Lyrule, I was afraid I’d gone crazy or something.” Shinobu Sarutobi, the prodigious journalist, popped a plum in her mouth as she agreed with Masato.

“Oh yes, your reactions when you saw our ears and tails for the first time were hilarious. Tsukasa managed to keep a straight face, but the rest of you were all great. After a couple of you woke up, we started having fun with it. A bunch of us all got together and brainstormed about the best way to startle you.”

“A-and like I told you, telling an injured person who just woke up ‘I’m gonna gobble you up!’ is too much, even for a joke! Their situation is hard enough as it is!” Lyrule gave her frank opinion of the tasteless prank Winona and the others had been plotting.

Today, her scolding stopped there, but back when they’d actually been planning to play the prank, Lyrule had been quite indignant. She’d dragged Winona and the rest of the immature adults to the middle of the village, forced them to kneel on the ground, and lectured them like a magistrate judging the wicked until tears welled up in their eyes. Given that one of the adults in question was Mayor Ulgar, it was quite possible that the most powerful person in the village was secretly Lyrule.

“Nah, I think that mischievous side of Winona’s is kinda hot.”

“Oh my, Masato, was it? I see you’ve got quite the eye for women.”

“Good grief…” After a sidelong glance at Winona getting all full of herself off Masato’s flattery, Lyrule sighed and turned around to face Keine Kanzaki, the expert doctor.

“By the way, how are you doing? Are you starting to get used to life here in the village?”

“Yes, thank you,” Keine replied with a mature nod. Other than when she’d awoken, her smile had never broken during her tenure in the village. “It has been a whole month, after all. I’ve gotten used to life here, and I’ve come to terms with the fact that we’re in a different world. Now that I think about it, it might have been a good thing we got injured. If we’d been able to move about freely, some of us might have panicked and done something rash… That said, it appears one of us still seems rather distressed.” With that, Keine turned to look at the one person who hadn’t joined the banquet and was instead facing the wall. Prince Akatsuki, the brilliant magician, sat cradling his legs in his arms.

“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening. This is all just a dream. I’m just having a nightmare.”

They’d all been confused at first, but unlike the other six, who’d acclimated to the impossibility of it all over the past month, he was the only one who still refused to accept their situation. As a magician, perhaps the idea that conjuring “impossibilities” was his job was what made it so hard for him to come to grips with things.

However, the fact that Akatsuki kept cowering—

“““Grah! We’re gonna eat you all up!”””

“AHHHHHHH!!!! CAT EARS!!!! DOG EARS!”

—made him an excellent toy for the more mischievous kids of the village.

“I’m not looking! I’m not looking at it! This is all just a trick! It has to be! That morning TV station director must have set this all up! That asshole always comes up with crazy-elaborate plans to mess with me! This is just another one of their high-budget pranks; I’m sure of iiiit!!!!”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

“Miss, you’re funny!”

“Wh-wh-what, no, that’s wrong! I’m a guy! It’s ‘mister’!” Upon being called miss, Akatsuki finally stopped screaming long enough to correct one of the kids.

Indeed, his facial features were too pretty for a guy. Between that, his short stature, and his low muscle mass, he was often mistaken for a girl. So much so, in fact, that he’d developed a complex over it. It was so easy to get Akatsuki’s gender wrong that, in all his life, the only person who’d gotten it right on the first try had been the preeminently observant Tsukasa. And the people of the village were no different. Lyrule and the others all look shocked.

“Wait, Akatsuki, you’re a boy?!”

“Huh. For a boy, his face is pretty darn cute… Wait, hmm? But Lyrule, I dealt with the boys’ bedpans, and I left you to deal with the girls’, right? How did you not notice, then?”

“I assumed his chest was just on the flatter side… Nothing seemed particularly off, so I guess I just never realized…”

“Oh? So does that mean that it was just so small you couldn’t even see—?”

“Stoooooop! I’m gonna cryyyyyy!”

“““Graaah—!”””

“WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” He actually started crying.

“…Poor Akatsuki…” Master inventor Ringo Oohoshi unconsciously let out a sympathetic murmur at seeing the small boy so thoroughly mocked.

When Masato heard her, he quipped: “Hey, the kids are happy. What more could an entertainer ask for?”

“Hweh?!”

Not having expected to be heard, Ringo leaped in her seat, went as red as an apple, looked down, squirmed, and finally elected to immerse herself in her food. Due to her inherent disposition and limited opportunities for human interaction, she tended to be shy and anxious around others.

“Seeing how surprised he looks, I guess you all really did come from a world without byuma, huh?” Winona remarked.

“Back in our world, the prevailing theory is that humans evolved from monkeys.”

“So, Tsukasa, you’re saying that this Urth of yours only had hyuma?”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. What’s this about hyuma and byuma?” asked Shinobu.

“Oh, that’s right. You hadn’t woken up yet when we talked about this last time, had you? Basically, byuma have animal features, like the people from this village, whereas hyuma are apparently people like you and me who don’t,” replied Tsukasa.

“There are a few differences besides our appearances, too. Byuma tend to be stronger, but there are some rare hyuma who can use a strange power called magic.”

“Whoa! This place sounded like a fantasy world from the get-go, but you’ve even got magic here?”

“My, my, how surprising. Incidentally, what kinds of things can this magic do?” asked Keine.

“Well, they say that you can talk to spirits and control things like wind and fire… But I’m sorry, all I know is what I’ve heard from Winona’s husband,” replied Lyrule. “I’ve never actually seen magic myself or met anyone who can use it. It’s extremely rare, after all. But because there are so few with the gift, even commoners who can use it are respected among nobles.”

“Ah, I do remember him mentioning something about that…”

“…At any rate, it sounds like magic is something we’ll need to look into at some point,” Tsukasa murmured to himself.

During his life in the village over the past month, he’d come to learn that most of the civilization in this world roughly corresponded to life on Earth back before the Age of Discovery. However, he still knew almost nothing about magic. At some point, that lack of knowledge was liable to hinder their search for a way to get back home. And more importantly…

…It might hold the key to whatever fantastical phenomenon got us here in the first place.

Someone might have used magic to summon them. It sounded like a story straight out of pop fiction, but it was still the most plausible explanation. At that point in the conversation, Winona suddenly clapped her hands together.

“Ah, that’s it!” She then went on to say something truly outrageous. “You know, when you guys said you came from another world, I thought it sounded familiar, but I only just remembered where I’d heard it before. It was a story he told me back before we’d even gotten married. A tale about seven heroes who came from another world.”

“““?!”””

Everyone, even Akatsuki, who’d been plugging his ears and covering his eyes, turned to her in shock. It was a natural reaction. After all, the story she was talking about bore a striking resemblance to their current situation. It wasn’t something they could just ignore. They all started rushing toward Winona with questions.

Tsukasa, sensing that, raised his arm to cut the other six off. Having everyone pile on her at once would have been terribly poor manners. It was a politician’s job to keep his friends in line. Immediately realizing what he was doing, they swallowed their questions and plopped their butts back down on the ground. After making sure they were going to stay put, Tsukasa turned his attention back toward Winona, presenting himself as the group’s representative.

“Forgive us. Would you be so kind as to elaborate?”

However, Winona’s response wasn’t quite what they’d hoped for.

She leaned back and replied apologetically, “…Sorry, but I don’t know any of the specifics. My husband was a peddler who traveled the whole of Freyjagard, from up north around Elm Village to all the way down south. When he was working down there, he heard a story that began ‘Long ago, seven heroes arrived from another world and saved the continent from an evil dragon’s rule’…or something like that. But I’m afraid that’s about all I know.”

“Is your husband around here somewhere?”

“…He got caught up in the war and passed away three years ago.”

Tsukasa found himself at a loss for words.

“…I’m so sorry; I shouldn’t have.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. It sounded like an important clue toward getting you back to your world. I can hardly blame you for being eager about it. In fact, I’m the one who should be apologizing for not being able to help more.” An awkward silence hung over their banquet after Winona finished.

The reticence was suddenly shattered by a young man’s outburst.

“This is horseshit!” A biting shout suddenly cut through the room. Its source was a boy about Tsukasa’s and Lyrule’s age who’d been drinking beer alone and off to the side. He slammed his stein onto the table with a bang. Although they’d never personally talked, Tsukasa knew who he was. The boy’s name was Elch, Ulgar’s grandson and Winona’s son.

“What’s wrong, Elch?”

Elch responded to the mayor’s question in a tone dripping with irritation. “What’s wrong? Ha! Everything’s wrong, that’s what—you and Mom and Lyrule and everyone else in the village! These guys are all ‘Golly gee, we flew in from another world on an iron bird,’ and you’re taking them seriously! You guys actually buy this nonsense?! And also, the village’s coffers were running low because of how bad the harvest was this year, and you’re all throwing them a feast?! Now we’re flat broke and heading into winter! How do you expect us to make it till spring?! We’re certainly in no position to be taking in seven deadbeats!”

“What’s the harm? It’s a happy occasion.”

“As the village treasurer, it sure isn’t happy for me! We should have just left them there to die!”

“Elch. Watch your mouth. A mountain man of Elm should never say something so cowardly.”

“Rrr…” Elch winced after being scolded by his mother, Winona. His confidence quickly returned, however.

“A-anyway! You guys are all better now, so hurry up and get out of here! This village doesn’t have food for con artists like you!” Still making no efforts to conceal his animosity, he stormed out of the banquet hall with his shoulders squared. Shinobu grinned bitterly as she watched him go.

“Nya-ha-ha. He tells us to get out, then goes and leaves himself…”

“I’m so sorry about that. He knows his numbers and letters and is a natural with a bow, but…his character needs some work.”

“Don’t worry about what the kid said. You got thrown here out of the blue from another world, so you don’t have anywhere to go, right? You’re more than welcome to stay until you figure out a way home.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“There’s no rush, after all.”

“I’m sure you guys’ll figure something out eventually.”

The villagers all nodded in agreement, offering encouragement.

Help and support everyone, no matter who they are. A philosophy indispensable in these barren, conifer-filled mountains.

“We thank you for your kindness, good people of Elm,” Tsukasa said, bowing, grateful for their hospitality. The seven of them were in a completely unfamiliar world. Without this kind of home base, they might not even have been able to survive the night. As a result, Elm Village’s goodwill was a sorely needed blessing. That said…

“Still, Elch has a valid point. The soil around here is white, hard, and too infertile to grow even wheat. All you have are small fields of potato and other roots. I hear your feudal lord also collects taxes on the meat and pelts from the animals you hunt, leaving you with nothing but offal and scraps. I can’t imagine your lives are luxurious… And even if you did have a small surplus, asking a village of fifty-odd residents to take in seven new people and care for them for a whole month borders on insane.”

After all, that was a population increase of over 10 percent. Furthermore, the newcomers had been too injured to work. All they’d done was consume resources without giving anything back.

“…I can see that we’ve caused you quite a bit of inconvenience. We’re healthy enough to move around now, so please, let us help around the village starting tomorrow. If we’re going to live here, we need to at least earn our keep.”

Masato piped up to add on to Tsukasa’s declaration. “At least. I’ve got a policy of repaying both my debts and my grievances twice over.”

Ulgar seemed to take a liking to their assertiveness, as a broad smile spread across his face. “Ha-ha! I’ll take you up on that! All right, then, another toast for the new members of our village family!”

And with that, the villagers greeted their new residents by letting out another cheer.

“Cheers!”

The air was filled with beer steins and happy laughter. Amid the hustle and bustle, Lyrule scooted nimbly over to Tsukasa without standing up. She was holding a stein and making an adorably bashful smile.

“…I look forward to spending more time with you, Tsukasa.”

“Likewise, with you.” A quiet clink sounded out as they gently tapped their steins together.

And thus, the Seven High School Prodigies became members of Elm Village.

Unity and Orders

With the banquet over, the Seven Prodigies headed back to the house they’d been given, tossed some logs on the hearth, and warmed themselves beside it as they brushed their teeth with salt. Then, once they’d finished their evening routine, Tsukasa made a proposal to the group.

“All right, I think everyone’s stomachs have probably settled by now. It would be prudent to hold a meeting about the peculiar situation we’re in—the fact that we’re stranded in another world—and how best to deal with it.”

Five of the others nodded as one.

“We can move around now, and we’ve got a decent handle on what this world’s like. Seems as good a time as any.”

“I quite agree.”

However, one member of their number declined to join the conversation, instead remaining balled up under his fur bedding. The boy in question was the brilliant magician member of the Prodigies, Prince Akatsuki. Shinobu, never one to miss a beat, yanked the blanket off.

“C’mon out here already, Akatsuki!”

When she did, Akatsuki stood up, unable to bear it anymore, and let loose a flurry of complaints, choking back tears all the while.

“I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna! How are you guys all taking this in stride?! You go to one party, and now everything’s sunshine and rainbows?! This isn’t even Earth, remember?! There’re people with dog ears! Cat ears! There’s even one lady who looks like an elf! A-all that stuff’s impossible!”

“But it clearly is possible. We’re here, aren’t we?” replied Shinobu.

“And besides, it was never even impossible in the first place,” noted Masato. “Nobody’s ever disproven the existence of alternate worlds, y’know.”

Tsukasa was the last to chime in. “I respect that you’re shaken up, but you need to pull it together. If you keep insisting that stuff’s impossible, you’re going to miss what’s right before your eyes. Besides, Akatsuki, you saw that crash site. If anything’s impossible, it’s the fact that we’re even still alive.”

“But…”

“Now is no time to be closing our eyes and plugging our ears. We have to survive in this strange world however we can while searching for a way home. Right?”

“That’s…” After hearing so many logical arguments thrown at him one after another, Akatsuki’s mood deflated. Shinobu patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s gonna be okay, Akatsuki. It’s not like you’re here alone, remember? We’re all in this together. Working together, I’m sure we’ll figure something out!” Perhaps her words cheered him up; he seemed ready to come to terms with their situation at last.

“…Yeah, you’re right.” With that, the boy joined the circle and straightened his posture. With Akatsuki now engaged, Tsukasa reopened the discussion.

“Now, to the main topic… Like Shinobu just said, we’ll need all seven of us if we want to get through this. Given how little we know about this world, working independently would be too inefficient. Furthermore, I propose that we proceed as a team acting more or less under my command. Does anyone have any objections?”

“Thinking isn’t my strong suit, so I have no problem following your lead.”

Keine followed Aoi’s assent with her own. “I have no objections, either.”

“I mean, you’re clearly the right one for the job.” After Masato voiced his approval as well, Tsukasa moved the conversation along.

“I appreciate it. Now, as far as our fundamental approach goes, I suggest we remain in this village for the time being.”

Akatsuki yelped in surprise at the suggestion.

“Wh—? But why?! Shouldn’t we be trying to figure out how to get back as soon as possible?!”

Masato quickly offered a rebuttal. “Nah, Prince, I don’t think that’s the play. First, there’s no guarantee that the people everywhere else’ll be as welcoming as Winona and the others. More importantly, there’s just too much about this world we don’t know. We’d have no destination, no intel, and nowhere to sleep. Wandering aimlessly around a foreign land with nothing but the clothes on our backs is all risk, no reward.”

“Quite right,” agreed Keine. “As far as what we currently know goes…the culture is similar to Earth’s Middle Ages, but that’s just about it.”

“And even if we come up with points of reference from our world, that’s really all they are. There are sure to be loads of differences. I mean, this place has dragons and magic. That’s not a lot to go off.”

“It really isn’t. But hey, at least they have toilets, right?” remarked Shinobu.

“Preach.”

“I second the sentiment.”

“Although, I suppose a warm bath would have been too much to ask for…,” Aoi added wistfully.

“…And there you have it. While I certainly understand your impatience, I think it would be best if we limit our search to Elm Village for now. Do you understand where I’m coming from, Akatsuki?”

“Y-yeah. I’m with you.”

“Good. Now, within that plan, we should lay out our agenda. As I see it, there are three major points:

“The first is gathering information.

“As our favorite merchant just said, there’s too much about this world we don’t know. What kind of country is Freyjagard? What laws does it operate under? What kind of currency does it use, and how much do common goods cost? What religions exist, and what topics are considered taboo among its people? Also…what exactly is this magic Lyrule mentioned earlier? We’re going to start by using Elm Village as our base to gather information on things like that.

“The second major point, of course, is figuring out how to get back to Earth.”

“The only sorta-clue we’ve got on that front is the Seven Heroes story Winona told us about, right?”

“Pretty much. We should be able to look into that as we’re researching the other things from point one. Then, once we’ve learned more about this world, we can start actively prioritizing it.

“Finally…point three—and the most pressing matter of the bunch. Mending the village’s finances.”

Everyone nodded deeply in agreement.

“For sure. We can’t just screw up their lives and then go ‘Thanks for everything, see ya.’”

“Indeed! A meal and a roof beget debt enough, and they’ve given us that many times over! Failing to repay them would be a stain on our collective honor, that it would!”

“Well put. The point of the matter is: All three of these tasks are essential, so I was going to assign each of you a job that fits your skills. Does anyone have objections thus far?” Their resounding silence gave Tsukasa his answer. “In that case, I have individual orders for each of you. First, Aoi.”

“Me?”

“You’re the most skilled in combat out of all of us, so you could accompany the hunters without slowing them down. Could you join the village men and help bolster their stores?”

“Understood. In a stroke of good fortune, my trusty katana—Hoozukimaru—survived the crash. With it at my side, I can hunt even lions and tigers, that I can.”

“Well, I haven’t seen any lions lurking in the grass, but…according to the mayor, there’s a sixteen-foot-tall bear around these parts called the Lord of the Woods.”

“Yikes. What’s that, some kinda monster from an RPG?”

“Well, this world does have dragons. It wouldn’t be odd for it to have a monster or two, as well. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, Aoi, but be careful. Now, Ringo, you’re up next.”

“………”

The next one he addressed was Ringo Oohoshi, the genius inventor. Hearing her name, the girl twitched and stiffened.

“I want you to set us up with a comm system. We all have smartphones, but this world doesn’t have any Wi-Fi or 4G. As things stand, it’ll be hard for us to exchange information when we’re apart, and that won’t do. If possible, I’d like you to modify our existing phones so we can use them here. Can you do it?”

At Tsukasa’s question, Ringo’s gaze wandered hesitantly from one member of their group to another. Even though she’d known everyone there since middle school, Ringo was so shy that the only one she could even talk to was Tsukasa. She’d trusted him completely ever since a certain incident in middle school.

Sensing her trepidation, Tsukasa added, “If you don’t want to talk in front of everyone, you can come whisper your answer in my ear.”

Visibly relieved, she inched her butt right up next to his and brought her petite lips to his earlobe so that only he could hear.

“…Um…I…can do it. My laptop…survived…so if I take some materials from the plane…I should be able to manage…somehow.”

“Are you good for tools?”

Ringo nodded, then clapped her hands together.

In a flash, countless spiderlike manipulator arms extended out from her backpack, which had been lying inert by the wall.

“Wh-wh-whoa! Didn’t see that one coming!”

“Damn, that’s handy. Those arms have all sorts of tools on ’em.”

Masato was right. With just that one backpack, Ringo had access not just to normal tools, like drills and pliers, but also equipment for welding, lathing, laser machining, and pretty much every other type of manufacturing imaginable. She was definitely set when it came to equipment. That said…

“But whatcha gonna do for power? We’re a little short on outlets.”

Ringo responded to Shinobu’s concerns by whispering “That’s…okay” in Tsukasa’s ear. “I checked…the crash site…and I…didn’t detect any radiation.”

“The plane ran off one of your pocket nuclear fission reactors, so if that had been damaged, there would have been a radiation leak. Because there’s no radiation, we can infer that the reactor’s still functioning. Is that what you mean?”

“Yeah… The refined uranium won’t last forever…but we should be fine on power…for now.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. Could you go ahead and get started on that tomorrow?”

“…Y—Yeah…”

Hmm?

Ringo had agreed to his request, but she’d hesitated for a moment.

“What’s the matter? It sounds like you have something you want to say.”

“…!” Ringo’s shoulders twitched. Apparently, Tsukasa had hit the nail on the head.

There was something else she wanted to do, too. However, afraid that she’d end up upsetting Tsukasa somehow, she hadn’t been able to bring it up. The boy prime minister, however, was observant enough to pick up on even her subtlest tells. And because he knew she was the type to think too hard about other people’s moods and opinions, he knew just the way to get her to speak her mind.

“If you have an idea, by all means, let me know. I’m the one giving instructions, so it’d be a big help.”

It’d be a big help.

Hearing those words made Ringo relax a little. She leaned into Tsukasa’s ear again and said falteringly, “…Um, well, see? When I went to the crash site…I saw the red valley where the plane’s nose was…and I had a hunch. So I used these…to check.”

When she said “these,” she pointed at the work goggles affixed to her hat. Just like her backpack, they were one of her many inventions. They were equipped with a multitude of features, such as the ability to zoom in when doing precise work, to scan a machine and see its insides through its frame, and to analyze objects and gases to check their chemical compositions. After pointing at the goggles, she told Tsukasa about her surprising discovery.

“Oh, wow. That’s…”

“What’d she say?”

“Apparently, there’s a deposit of bauxite ore at the crash site.”

The unforeseen development caused Masato and Shinobu to ooh and aah as well.

Akatsuki, the only one who didn’t quite follow, turned to Masato and said, “Hey, Masato, could you remind me what bauxite is? It sounds familiar.”

“It’s the base ingredient for aluminum. It forms in warm, humid climates, but it’s not like biomes stay the same way forever. Depending on how far down you go, you can end up excavating it in cold places, too.”

“…I want…to use the bauxite here…and make aluminum. Without easy-to-craft metal…I’m not…very useful.”

“What’s she gonna do for a refinery, though?”

“She said, ‘I’ve got the blueprint for one in my head, so it’ll only take me three days to build.’” Tsukasa recited the words his friend had whispered in his ear.

“…Damn.” Masato was struck speechless.

One would expect nothing less of the genius who’d advanced human civilization by centuries.

“One problem. The pocket nuclear fission reactor will cover her power needs, but apparently, the scrap from the plane won’t be enough to make some ‘reduction pot’ she’ll need to process the aluminum.”

Hearing that last tidbit, Masato said “Heh” and flashed his pearly whites.

“Sounds like a job for me.”

“I’m glad you’re quick on the uptake. I heard that Elch, the treasurer, is going into the city next week to sell handicrafts the village women made. He’s going to use the proceeds to buy food for the winter. Merchant, your mission is to accompany him and figure out how to rake in some cash. Then, once you’ve bought enough to fill the village stores, use what you have left to buy as many of the materials Ringo needs as you can.”

“Sounds like a straightforward enough plan, but ‘rake in some cash’? Really? Couldn’t you have come up with a nicer way of putting it? Like ‘help Elch out of the goodness of your heart’ or something?”

“I have never in my life seen you help someone out of the goodness of your heart.”

“…Dammit, you know me too well. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised since we go back so far,” Masato said as his shoulders swayed gleefully. “As it long as it exists in this world, I’ll get it for ya, whether it’s for sale in that city or not… Although, that asshole kid doesn’t seem to have inherited any of Winona’s cuteness, so getting him to let me tag along is probably gonna be a struggle.”

“As far as that goes, I’ll discuss it with the mayor directly. Leave it to me.”

“Then, hey, it’ll be smooth sailing on my end.”

Tsukasa nodded at Masato’s response, then turned his gaze to Akatsuki and Keine.

“Now then, Akatsuki and Keine. You two are going to stay here in the village with me and lend Lyrule and the other village women a hand. If you don’t know what to do, just ask them. And if they don’t have work for you, you can help Ringo out with her project.”

“Very well.”

“Hey, I like these orders! Safe jobs are the best!”

“I…appreciate the honesty. And finally, Shinobu.”

“That’s me, Cap’n! What should I do nyeow?”

“I want you to go to the city with Merchant and collect as much information as you can on this world.”

“What should I focus on?”

“Everything. History, politics, culture, magic… Anything you can get your hands on. Even better would be if you could get details on the Seven Heroes story Winona mentioned. Just don’t do anything crazy.”

“Sha-sha. Leave it to me! Why have legs if not to pound pavement, that’s what I say!” As a journalist, there was hardly a better job one could think of for Shinobu. She took on the work with pleasure.

“I’m counting on you… Oh, and one other side mission for everyone except Merchant and Shinobu. Whenever you have downtime, I want you to learn these,” Tsukasa said, pulling a notepad from his breast pocket and handing it to Akatsuki.

When Akatsuki opened it, he was greeted by a script that could only be described as drunk earthworms wriggling about. The text was laid out next to some Japanese.

“Wait, is this the local language?”

“Altan, it’s called. Lyrule helped me put this together while I was recuperating. It’s a textbook on commonly used Altan words and grammar. Merchant and Shinobu are going to be interacting with language a lot, so I already had them learn it, but I want the rest of you to do the same. Being able to read and write will vastly increase our options going forward.”

“Aw, man… I hate studying. It’s weird, though. Why can they understand Japanese even though the writing is so different?”

Akatsuki’s question earned nothing more than a shake of the head from Tsukasa.

“Who knows? Maybe some astronomical coincidence happened and all the pronunciations and definitions just happened to line up. There could also be some supernatural power at work… Either way, we’re unlikely to figure out the answer anytime soon. At this point, throwing another bizarre anomaly or two on the pile isn’t going to make much of a difference.”

“Indeed. We should be thankful for our luck, that we should.”

“Also, even if we knew, it’s not like it’d help us get back home, so honestly, who really cares?”

“…You guys are really good at adjusting to all this,” Akatsuki remarked.

“Nya-ha-ha. We just figure there’s no point worrying about the unknowable, that’s all.”

“Shinobu sums it up succinctly. Now, then… You all have your orders. Any questions?”

Their silence was as good a response as any. Thus, the first course of action for the Seven High School Prodigies was set. Starting the next day, they’d begin working in earnest to get back to Earth. Tsukasa took a look at the group gathered around the hearth…and made one last speech.

“Everyone, I know we’ve been thrust into a thoroughly ridiculous situation with no warning or pretext, and I know you’re all probably worried about whether we’ll even be able to get home. Given that we don’t have any firm leads, I don’t blame you. But we have nothing to fear. Think back. How many countless times have we overcome the impossible, the futile, the unthinkable, the unrealistic? Besides, they call us High School Prodigies for a reason, and there are seven of us here. What obstacle could possibly stop us? In fact, I’d say we have too much to work with.”

“Heh-heh. I daresay you’re right.”

“You said it. Hell, if anything, I’m more worried we’re gonna run the tables on this quaint little place.”

“Right? So let’s try to take things nice and easy. If we go all out, we’re liable to break this world.”

Hearing Tsukasa’s confidence, the other six grinned fearlessly.

“““Yeah!!!!””” The cheer marked their vow to one another—a vow to return to Earth.