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Translator: Barnnn
Thud.
The door groaned as it crept shut, the sound resonating through the small, dilapidated room. The pair stepped further inside before turning back, eyes glued to the door as if to reassure themselves it was truly closed.
Only when they were certain they were hidden from view did the weight in their shoulders begin to lift.
They had managed to make it here — to this forgotten room, tucked two towers away from the place where they had been summoned.
“Hah…”
“Phew…”
They exhaled in unison, a sigh of shared relief. Their eyes met, and despite everything, they exchanged a fleeting, wry smile.
“Oops, sorry,” the boy said, suddenly aware that he was still holding Izumi’s hand. He attempted to pull away, adding with a hint of sheepishness, “Thanks for sticking with me until we got here.”
“Ah…”
Izumi glanced down at their intertwined hands, but instead of releasing, her fingers tightened, clinging as if by some involuntary impulse.
A shiver ran through her hand, her emotions betraying her.
“Uh, I-I’m sorry,” she stammered, the flush of embarrassment creeping up her cheeks. The overwhelming relief, mixed with a delayed sense of fear, threatened to spill over into tears. “I’ll let go now…”
“Actually, do you think we could… stay like this just for a bit longer? You know, in case someone passes by.”
“Huh?”
“No need to hold on as tight as before — just enough to keep your Stealth up so we don’t get noticed.”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
Seemingly satisfied, the boy nodded. Then, he let his legs give out beneath him, collapsing unceremoniously onto the floor.
“Ahh, that was so freaking scary…” he muttered, tossing his suitcase aside and running his free left hand through his hair in exasperation. “Seriously, what the hell was that? Why does this always happen to me? My luck with summoning is non-existent! I mean, I’m alive, right? And this is real? Dying and getting reborn would’ve been awful, but this? This is just as bad!”
[Oh no. He’s bonkers,] the thought flitted through Izumi’s mind as she sat down beside him, pulled by their still-connected hands.
The boy’s rant was relentless, a stream of consciousness without pause for breath, but the content resonated with her deeply.
She couldn’t help but agree with his every word.
“Right? This is the absolute worst! Out of all the ways to get summoned to another world, this is the start we get?”
“You get it! I knew I wasn’t the only one!”
“Definitely!”
They nodded, their shared frustration gradually dissolving the tension from their joined hands.
“Oh…”
“Think it’s safe to disengage the skill now?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“All right — go ahead, then.”
With a casual flick of his wrist, the boy released Izumu’s hand, his easygoing attitude drawing a soft chuckle from her.
Despite how he looked now, there was a maturity to him that she hadn’t expected.
Feeling the atmosphere lighten, Izumi decided it was time to address the question that had been on her mind.
“There’s a lot I’d like to ask you.”
“Shoot.”
“But first, let’s start with introductions. I’m Ichikawa Izumi, second-year junior high student. I had a torn meniscus in my left knee, but somehow, it seems to have healed since we got here. As you already know, I’ve got a Stealth skill — and I think there might be a few more, but I haven’t checked everything yet. Thank you for stopping me from opening my status window back there.”
“Oh, uh, no problem. I should be thanking you for helping me out. Name’s Takada Haruka. I’m a supply manager for a big online grocery retailer. My job mostly involves running all over the country at my boss’s whim. As for skills, the strongest one I seem to have is Eye of Appraisal. The thing is, it says the level is ‘infinity.’ When it activated, I could see your skills too, which is why I asked you to use Stealth.”
“Makes sense.”
“I can’t see your stats anymore, though. Your Stealth is probably hiding it.”
“That might be it. There’s an infinity symbol next to it, so maybe it’s strong enough to block your Eye of Appraisal.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Still, I should be careful about appraising people without their consent. It’s kind of an invasion of privacy, you know? Though, in situations like the one we just escaped, it might be necessary.”
“Fair enough. By the way, when you hesitated to open your status window earlier — what made you do that? Did something seem suspicious?”
“Oh, well, it’s… to be honest, the nerd inside me kinda took over. The moment I got transported, my Eye of Appraisal kicked in. My first thought was, ‘I gotta check my stats,’ so I tried, and the info appeared. But THEN, that old lady started insisting we said ‘Status Open,’ and that’s when I panicked and asked for your help. I just had a bad feeling about it.”
“THAT was you panicking? You seemed perfectly calm to me.”
“Well, it was something very close to it, at least. But I’m certain we wouldn’t have made it out if not for your Stealth skill. I can’t thank you enough!”
“No, I should be the one thanking you. If my status window had opened back there, they would have noticed us for sure.”
“We got lucky — those high schoolers in front of us really drew their attention. The soldiers probably sensed us, but the old lady was so wrapped up in her speech that she couldn’t focus on anything else.”
“Speaking of which, why do you keep calling her an old lady? She looked pretty young to me.”
“Nah, she’s over fifty. Said so on her status window.”
“Fifty… WHAT!? She didn’t look it at all! I thought she was maybe twenty!”
“She’s definitely working hard to keep up appearances,” Takada observed with a wry smile. “Or maybe there’s some kind of youth-preserving elixir in this world, who knows?”
“Fifty…”
Caught up in the surprising revelation, Izumi repeated the number to herself again and again.
“Also…” Takada continued, “I only got a glimpse, but her job was listed as ‘Queen.’ The guy next to her must’ve been the king, but I didn’t have time to take a closer look.”
“Wow, they’re more important than I thought. I’d expected them to be wizards, like the ones that would show up in novels and stuff.”
“Yeah, that’s usually how it goes. Most of the time, it’s a young princess greeting you, but we got stuck with a queen trying to stay young. Our luck is just the worst, huh?”
“It’s still better than being dumped in the middle of a jungle.”
“True.”
They exchanged a few more complaints, a shared sigh escaping both of them as they allowed themselves a moment of respite.
After a brief silence, Izumi, still turning something over in her mind, gathered her courage to ask one of the questions that had been nagging at her.
“Takada-san,” she began cautiously, “if you don’t mind me asking… how old are you?”
“Huh? Oh, I’ll be thirty-two in a couple of weeks.”
“Thirty-two, huh…”
“Since you’re in junior high, I’m probably old enough to be a young uncle or something, huh? Wait, don’t tell me I’m the same age as your dad!”
“No! My dad’s already over forty! It’s just… well, it’s hard to explain, but…”
“Huh? Am I the same age as your mom, then?”
“No, it’s not that either.”
“Okay…”
“The thing is, Takada-san… right now, you look like you’re about my age.”
“WHAT.”
Takada’s bewilderment was plain on his face as he stared at Izumi, trying to process what she had just said. In turn, she locked her eyes onto his, the intensity of her gaze suggesting that it was no joke.
“When I first saw you in front of the elevator, you looked right for your age, but by the time we left that hall, I noticed that you looked much younger.”
“What? There’s no way… I mean, really? Status Open!”
The shocking reality she had noticed but held back now lay bare before them. Takada, who had entered this world as a man in his early thirties, appeared nearly two decades younger. Now that she was certain he hadn’t been aware of it, Izumi didn’t hesitate to tell him.
Takada, on the other hand, quickly summoned his status window, his eyes narrowing as they scanned the floating text.
And sure enough, it read…
Name: Takada Haruka
Age: 14
Just as he opened his mouth to scream, Izumi activated her Stealth skill at full power.
“WHAT IN THE FLYING FU–“
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