I was born and raised in a country called Japan, the planet Earth. The city I lived in was close to the sea, and I used to go to the sea and play on my way home from school and on holidays.
But that day.
They said you shouldn't go to the ocean because a typhoon is coming, and I'm gone. Because when I played the day before, I accidentally forgot my water bottle. I thought it would be all right if I went and took it. But... I got caught by the waves.
I remember hearing the water called Gobo Gobo and it was painful. But that's all. I didn't even have time to think about it. But I just knew I was gonna die like this. You didn't even want to die because you were too desperate to see a running light. I can't do anything, I just get flushed, and I don't even remember when I lost my mind.
When I realized that, I was launched to the beach. The fatigue was terrible, my whole body was soaking wet, but if I wasn't surprisingly clothed and dirty, I wouldn't have been hurt, so that was a dream, so I tried to go home. But something's going differently.
I thought it was a beach. This place was a riverbank, and surrounded by woodland scenery I'd never seen before. Were there any woods near my house? Oh, it could have been a mountain that looked far away, what a thought at first.
I must have walked, I knew. I thought I'd get to a place I knew, so I kept walking. But it's all trees, wet and cold and tired, and scattered. Besides, if you think you finally got to where you opened it... there's just a little cabin that can't be very pretty. I was so disappointed.
But there may be people out there, so don't worry about it. I have to ask for help first. That's what I thought and knocked on the cabin door.
When I saw a woman coming out of the cabin, I was very relieved. So I forgot all about explaining, and I cried out.
It didn't matter that it looked like a foreigner or that the woman looked suspicious. I think I got you in a lot of trouble. 'Cause if you think someone's here, a strange kid cried a lot wet. But you have no choice, do you? I was only six then.
The woman was Rabbi.
Rabbi looked like a pain in the ass, but he took me to the cabin and boiled the bath. I didn't get dressed, but he washed the clothes I was wearing and even fed me dinner. The words were understood as strange. I also knew it wasn't Japanese, but I could hear it for some reason, and I was going to be speaking Japanese, but I could speak the same language as Rabbi.
Now that I think about it, I think I know this is a different world at this point. I was just wondering at the time, and I didn't really care.
This is how they took care of me. Rabbi's treatment of me was messy, but he never abandoned me for being lost.
A few days later, there was a weird incident where I was surprised to find a weird bug that went out of the house and I would freeze that weird bug. Rabbi looked terribly surprised. But I think I looked more surprised. Because, wow!? Weird bug! Nobody thinks you're gonna get a weird beam out of it when you point it at it, right? I made a pretty big fuss about you two. What is that now?!? That's what we asked each other. Damn, now that I remember it, it was really an idiotic exchange.
Somehow, calm down, we had a cup of tea and slowly passed on the information we knew each other. Even so, I was still small, so I just answered what was asked.
Here's what Rabbi says. I have magic, and it was my magic that froze the bugs. People who can use witchcraft are valuable and easy to target. It's very valuable, but it's not strange to be here.
I heard that. I... despaired.
Because they reminded me that this is not Japan.
On the contrary, even in another world. Even though I was just a six-year-old kid, I just know that there's no way magic can be used in Japan. The fact that Rabbi, an adult, told me that this is really magic is also impossible if this is the Earth. No, there might be if it was a weird religion, I don't know...
Anyway, it turns out that you can't go home to me in the old world anymore. I've been pretending not to notice.
So, what happened? Well, I'm rough. Cry and call, hit Rabbi eight times.
"Who are you?" Get me home... Get me home!
'Yes, yes, then don't go home on your own. Live with masters. "
Was there such an exchange as every day? Every time I leave the cabin, I get lost somewhere and cry again. So...
'... yes, tired. Go home, have dinner, and fall asleep. "
I don't know how to find him, Rabbi always found me. I always took that hand and went back to the cabin because Rabbi gave me his hand.
How long has it been since Rabbi was my only family and it seemed natural that that abandoned cabin was my home?
Still lonely and sad every day, I snuck in bed crying at night, and I wanted to go home. But as I grew up, I gave up, and most importantly, I had a place, so I could stand it. There's only one place, Rabbi.
Yet.
"I'm not kidding. I've been acting to bring you here since the beginning."
What, are you saying...? From the beginning? When did that happen...
"Heh, you still believe that? Are you sure you're worried? But that worries me about the product. Of course, right?"
Products...? What, about me?
"I'm sorry I took care of the kid. If it's not a mission, who's gonna take care of the unidentified kid? You're under orders to trust me. It was hard, though the reward was good because I played it."
No, it's a lie...! 'Cause after the fight, you always told me. Because Richter is my brother. You said you wouldn't abandon me. He said he'd take care of you till the end!
"I can't believe you don't even doubt what I'm saying. Really, that's dumb... dumb, Richt"
'Cause you taught me.
He said there was a bad guy in the upper echelons of the country. People with magic are rare, so when the castle finds out, they get caught. Rabbi must have been the one who taught me the horror of human trafficking.
"It's worse to be fooled.... It's many times worse to fool!
What, that high laugh? I've never heard such a laugh before. You're disgusting, Rabbi.
The door closes and a locked noise sounds. Silence fell indoors.
Wait, wait, wait. Unchain me quickly. We all promised to go to the mine, didn't we? I'm just kidding.
"... don't go! Don't go, Rabbi! Give me... Don't leave me. Whoa!
- Don't leave me alone.
I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it. I held my fist tight and kept punching my fist on the ground until my hand hurt.
The feeling of gingin and painful hands made me realize that this was not a dream, even though I didn't like it.