Chapter 1

"Can something like this really happen?"

I am now standing in the middle of a forest.

In front of me, a small town with a fantasy-like appearance is visible, and when I look up at the sky, there are two moons.

And when I turn around,

"There’s a Japanese-style room with grandma’s Buddhist altar."

I calm myself and take a deep breath.

"Stay calm. Stay calm, Nita Shiro. First, let’s sort out the situation."

I had just quit my job at a black company at the end of last month and moved into the house grandma left behind today.

After cleaning up, the moving company brought in the luggage.

As I started unpacking, I opened the closet in the Japanese-style room where grandma’s Buddhist altar (which was there from the beginning) was placed—

"It led to a fantasy world. Ha... I don’t get it. What kind of strange phenomenon is this? Am I tired or something?"

I returned to the Japanese-style room and closed the sliding door of the closet.

I made a strong cup of coffee in the kitchen, took a 10-minute break, and then tried opening the closet again,

"Still, it’s super fantasy-like."

It seems it wasn’t just an optical illusion.

Tonight must be a full moon, as the two moons were shining brightly.

I closed the sliding door again and offered incense to grandma’s Buddhist altar.

"Did grandma know about this?"

Of course, there was no answer.

The grandma in the portrait was just making a double peace sign with a slightly crazy face.

Grandma went missing three years ago and was finally declared dead by the government a year ago.

It was really tough at the time, but now the whole family has accepted grandma’s death.

"Shiro... I’ll tell you grandma’s secret someday."

Grandma, who said that, passed away with a double peace sign without revealing the ‘secret.’

"Could the thing grandma wanted to tell me be about what’s inside the closet?"

As I was lost in memories of grandma,

"Huh? This... is a letter?"

I found a letter wedged in the gap of the Buddhist altar.

I picked up the letter.

It read ‘To the Family.’

"Could this... be grandma’s will!?"

I tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter.

"This... is grandma’s handwriting. What, what—"

The letter grandma left began with the line, "What will happen if you go down this path?" and mainly contained six points.

1. The closet connects to a world different from Earth.

2. The other world has a low level of civilization, but instead, there are mysterious powers called ‘magic’ and ‘skills.’

3. There are dangerous monsters that don’t exist on Earth.

4. There are many species other than humans that can communicate.

5. A magic ring that allows you to understand the language of the other world is included with the letter.

6. Books from the other world are hidden behind the Buddhist altar, and you should read them after putting on the ring.

The letter concluded with the line, "Go without hesitation. You’ll understand when you go."

"Grandma..."

As written in the letter, a silver ring was inside the envelope.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be faintly glowing.

Next, I peeked behind the Buddhist altar,

"Books...?"

Sure enough, there were two books.

Since they were written in a mysterious language, I couldn’t read the titles or even the pages.

If what was written in the letter is true, this ring should allow me to understand this mysterious language—the language of the other world.

I put the ring on my left index finger.

The result—

"...The Book of Equivalent Exchange... and, the Book of Spatial Storage?"

The titles of the books, which I couldn’t read before, were now clearly readable.

The Book of Equivalent Exchange was about 30 pages thick and quite thin.

The Book of Spatial Storage was only about 10 pages.

The content was incomprehensible, but after reading it,

‘Skill, [Equivalent Exchange] obtained’

A voice echoed in my head.

"Who, who is that!?"

Looking around the room, there was only the Buddhist altar and grandma’s portrait making a double peace sign.

What is this? It’s super fantasy-like.

"Hmm. I don’t understand, but it seems I’ve obtained the [Equivalent Exchange] skill. It feels like something from a light novel or game."

I then read the Book of Spatial Storage.

‘Skill, [Spatial Storage] obtained’

The voice echoed again.

"It seems I hear a voice every time I obtain a skill."

Now, with the ring that allows me to understand the language of the other world, the [Equivalent Exchange] and [Spatial Storage] skills.

What should I do now that I have these?

I had just quit my job at a black company and was quite idle.

I had been overworked to the point of risking my life at the black company.

I plan to receive unemployment benefits properly.

I intended to live a lazy life during the benefit period, but now it seems a ‘different world’ is spreading in front of me—right in my home’s closet.

‘Go without hesitation. You’ll understand when you go.’

The legacy from grandma, as written in the letter.

I folded my arms and muttered,

"...What should I do? Me."