Chapter 1

A young woman who works at a home center lives a whimsical life in a different world.

Please enjoy.

"Ugh... I'm so tired..."

Holding a convenience store bag filled with dinner, I walked down the night street.

My name is Honda Makoto.

My job is a home center employee.

Today, I ran around the store all day and am now on my way home, utterly exhausted.

"I know the part-timers and temporary workers have quit, and we're short-staffed... but in the end, if there's no one to replace them, the remaining staff just get overworked..."

These days, everywhere is short-staffed.

However, that doesn't mean the work decreases.

I have to do the work that usually takes several people by myself. It's bound to be tough.

Today, I set up a new product display, organized the cash register rotation, watered the plants, handled customer complaints, and had meetings with salespeople and the head office SV. Of course, I also served nearly 100 customers during that time.

I'm completely drained.

"I can't take it anymore... I'm going to die..."

But tomorrow is my first day off in a long time.

After 13 hours of work (14 hours in reality, as there's no time for breaks) for six consecutive days, I can finally get some proper rest.

"Hehehe... When I get home, I'll watch the recorded *Cure, *Rider, and **Ranger..."

Let me explain.

I don't have weekends off.

That's because the busiest days for service industries are when everyone else is off!

For me, the greatest pleasure is watching recorded Sunday morning children's shows.

Among them, the one I look forward to the most is *Rider. I might as well say I live to watch *Rider every week.

I replay the preview from last week's episode in my head and imagine the main story, smiling to myself.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared from the shadow of a nearby telephone pole.

He had a bald head, wore glasses, and was covered in a long trench coat.

I immediately recognized him as a pervert.

"Hehehe... Miss, let me show you something good—"

"..."

I stared at the middle-aged man.

"Hihi?"

"..."

I stared at the middle-aged man.

"Hi?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Um"

"I'll kill you."

I said in a low, expressionless voice.

I didn't want to waste any more energy.

The middle-aged man's face turned pale, and he ran away in the opposite direction with all his might.

...Sigh, perverts are truly despicable creatures who target vulnerable women walking alone at night.

I hate them.

I wish they would learn from *Rider No. 1, Hongo Takeshi.

(No, Takeshi would never do something like that...)

After all that, I finally arrived at my apartment.

I unlocked the door, opened it, and entered the room.

"Phew..."

I took off my shoes and collapsed on the floor as soon as I stepped into the entrance.

My fatigue had taken a greater toll on my body than I imagined.

"Ah... No... I need to take off my makeup... and change clothes..."

But the feel of the doormat was so comfortable that I buried my face in it...

From the outside, I must look pretty pathetic...

"Ugh... Just a little... Just a little rest—"

My body wouldn't listen to my will.

My mind was fuzzy, and I couldn't think clearly.

Ah, I'm falling asleep... I'm passing out...

But, it feels more like my body is calming down rather than just feeling good...

...Wait... Am I still breathing?

It's hard... but I'm too tired to breathe...

This feels more like...

(I wish I could at least watch this week's *Rider...)

And with that, my consciousness faded into darkness—

* * * * *

"Ugh..."

A pleasant sensation caressed my skin.

...Oh, I was sleeping.

This feeling... is it a futon?

...Wait? When did I get to the futon?

Then, my sense of smell picked up a familiar scent.

No, this smell isn't from the futon... This feeling is...

"Grass?"

When I opened my eyes, I saw grass growing from the ground right in front of me.

The sensation on my skin was from the tips of the weeds and the wind blowing through.

Outside? Am I outside?

My mind was filled with question marks.

I sat up from my lying position.

A vast grassland, a clear blue sky with white clouds, and mountains in the distance.

"What... is this...?"

"Ah! You're awake!"

"Run!"

Voices came from nearby, and I turned my gaze.

They were children.

I could see two children running away from me.

"...The kids today, they look so strange..."

They had dog-like ears on their heads.

And their clothes... they looked like something out of a game or manga, with a fantasy vibe.

"Where... am I?"

I was sure I went home from work, collapsed from exhaustion, and fell asleep.

But it felt more like I had died...

If that's the case...

"Could this be heaven? Or a dream?"

I looked around.

The children were gone, and there was no one in sight.

Only a pastoral landscape stretched out.

"Um, where am I?"

I asked the empty world.

Of course, there was no answer.

...Or so I thought.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, words appeared in my mind.

A window-like frame with text appeared in my head, as if it were displayed right in front of me, even though my eyes were open.

"Is this... a status window?"

I'm not very knowledgeable about games, but I know this much.

It's like in RPG games.

I thought it was a status window because the text looked like it.

---

Name: Honda Makoto

Skills: None

Attributes: None

HP: 100/100

MP: 100/100

---

"Yep, this must be a dream."

It had to be.

Waking up in an unknown place and seeing a bunch of incomprehensible words and numbers in my head.

What else could this be if not a dream?

"Ah, I should wake up soon. My beloved Sunday morning shows are waiting for me... Huh?"

Then, I noticed something in the window that appeared in my head.

The last line of text caught my attention.

It seemed oddly real in this dream-like world.

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【Titles】《DIY Master》《Green Master》《Pet Master》

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