Chapter 2

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Uuuuuuuuuuun.

In the distance, the sound of a child crying could be heard.

The consciousness, which had been sinking, reacted to the sound and became slightly more awake.

（Ah... What is it...）

In the hazy state of mind, he thought.

With the sleep still lingering in his head, he vaguely wondered what time it was, but he had no intention of confirming it.

Uuuuuuuuuuun.

（... It’s a bit noisy. What are the parents doing...）

Due to the overwhelming drowsiness, he abandoned any further thoughts and tried to go back to sleep, turning over.

It seemed he had been lying face down, but when he changed his position, an impossible sensation came from the palm of his hand that was touching the bed.

Various sensations of discomfort flooded in all at once, and his consciousness rapidly began to awaken.

First, the sensation from his palm was not that of a sheet, but rather a hard feeling, as if he had placed his hand on the ground covered with gravel.

Then, he realized that this sensation was not only from his hand but also from his cheek.

And the smell. He could clearly sense the smell of dust, as if he were breathing in the air with dust particles swirling around.

Startled by the abnormal sensations, he immediately sat up and found himself on the bare ground.

What he had not expected was that the dry, dusty road extended endlessly, and on both sides, there seemed to be an endless expanse of fields.

“... Huh?”

He had no idea what was happening.

He thought he had been sleeping in his bed at home, but somehow he was outside.

Why am I in such a place? he tried to think hard amidst the confusion, but with no substantial information to work with, no useful thoughts came to mind.

As he continued to be confused, he noticed a slight headache.

Realizing he was in an unfamiliar place and now had a headache, the most plausible explanation based on the circumstantial evidence was one.

（... Did I drink that much yesterday?）

It was a ridiculous answer, but the most plausible one at the moment was that he had drunk too much, gotten drunk, and ended up here with no memory of it.

As his consciousness focused on the pain, he began to feel a throbbing headache.

He absentmindedly placed his hand on his forehead, and the sensation of gravel came back to his palm.

Looking at his palm, he saw something that looked like half-dried blood clearly attached to it.

（Oh no! Am I injured!?）

He was about to panic again due to the unexpected severity of the situation, but he consciously took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly, trying to calm himself down.

He took a few deep breaths and repeated to himself, "Calm down... Calm down..."

（I can’t panic. First, I need to assess the situation. Check for injuries. Determine the severity. Check for possessions. Identify the location.）

The first priority was to accurately assess the current situation, as the actions to take would depend on it.

If he had a smartphone and even a single utility pole nearby, the immediate problem would be almost solved.

He could call 110 and provide the utility pole number to get help.

With a clear plan of action, he regained a bit of his composure.

He sat on the ground, crossed his legs, and lightly tapped his hands and feet with his fists.

（There’s no particular pain... No fractures or serious injuries, it seems?）

Feeling a bit relieved, he slowly stood up and gently moved his shoulders, arms, neck, and waist.

There were no areas of intense pain, and it seemed he had no sprains or bruises for the moment.

（... So, the injuries are these.）

He sighed involuntarily.

This was because there were quite a few abrasions all over his body.

He had first noticed the injury on his forehead, but when he checked his limbs, he saw that his arms and knees were covered in dried blood and gravel.

He assumed his forehead was in a similar state and decided not to touch it.

It seemed he had fallen quite spectacularly. If it had been someone else, he might have laughed at the sight, but unfortunately, it was himself. There was no time for laughter.

However, without the means to treat the injuries, he decided to put them on hold for now.

In the current situation, any attempt to treat them might only make things worse.

While checking his physical condition, he noticed something else.

This was a more serious issue, but since there was nothing he could do about it at the moment, he decided to prioritize other checks.

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（No possessions. No clues to identify the location, for now.）

He had no smartphone, not even a wallet.

He searched the surroundings but found nothing.

This was a very serious situation, and it was almost certain that he could not resolve it on his own.

Unless he was closer to home than he thought, it would be difficult to solve the problem by himself.

He did not want to cause trouble for others, but in his current state, with injuries and in an unfamiliar place, he had no choice.

He wished he could minimize the trouble he would cause, but it was a futile wish.

He had no idea where he was. All around him were fields, with no houses, utility poles, or signs in sight.

Assuming the direction his head was facing when he was lying down was forward and the direction his feet were facing was backward.

However, whether he looked forward or backward, there was only one road. On both sides of the road, the fields were overgrown with vegetation taller than himself.

It reminded him of a photo of Hokkaido he had seen before, with fields stretching for kilometers and a single road running through them.

The road was wide enough for cars to pass, but the fields on both sides made the view so narrow that it felt like being in a giant maze.

（If only there was a place with a clear view or a high point, I could look for a convenience store or a house.）

In a situation where he knew almost nothing, he still had to decide on his next action.

He hoped someone would pass by, but he did not intend to rely solely on luck to resolve the situation.

（... I’ve never had good luck with lotteries.）

Thinking deeply, he remembered the bad luck he had experienced in the past due to lotteries.

He changed his mindset and carefully examined the road ahead.

Then he looked behind him.

He noticed something in the distance.

At the end of the road, the view was blocked by the fields, but the outline of a mountain could be seen above them.

He had been focusing on the tall vegetation, but now he could confirm that there was a mountain in that direction.

Looking forward again, he saw no mountains in the distance.

He then looked to the right.

Despite the obstruction from the vegetation, he could barely confirm that there was a mountain in the distance.

Looking to the left, there was nothing.

Hmm... He muttered, folding his arms and placing his hand on his chin.

It was a gesture he often made when deep in thought.

（... Mountains behind me, and to the right. A mountain range? Or separate mountains?）

He looked up. The sky was clear, and he could see that the sun was almost directly behind him.

It was early summer. He estimated the time based on the height of the sun and the length of the shadows.

（I can’t tell if it’s morning or afternoon, but the sun seems lower than its peak. It’s probably before 11 or after 1 PM. The temperature and the feel of the air suggest it might be morning, but I can’t be sure. It varies from day to day.）

He made a rough estimate to guide his actions.

He had no watch or compass.

If he couldn’t get accurate information immediately, it was enough to have a general direction.

He estimated the direction based on the time and the position of the sun.

Assuming the current direction of the sun was south, he picked up a stone and drew a symbol on the ground to indicate the direction.

（If I follow the road, I should head south towards the mountains, or north away from the mountains.）

Based on this information, he tried to think about his current location.

He knew it was impossible to narrow it down, but he wanted to have some idea of where he was to decide whether to move forward or backward.

“... Mountains to the south and east?”

Looking at the directions he had drawn on the ground, he suddenly realized something.

He lived in the city. His apartment was in the eastern part of Tokyo, near the border with Chiba Prefecture.

From his home, the south was the sea, and the east was Chiba Prefecture.

There were mountains in Tokyo, but they were concentrated on the western side of the long, narrow prefecture.

（It seems... I’m not in Tokyo.）

He had a vague feeling that something was off, but even a moment of thought revealed a very serious situation.

Could there be a place in Tokyo with mountains to the south and vast fields stretching for kilometers?

（A vast expanse of fields with no sign of houses, even in neighboring prefectures, would be rare.）

Trying to estimate his current location based on the information he had only added to his confusion.

However, it was not certain that his assumptions were correct, and he was an indoor person with little knowledge of leisure activities.

There were countless unknown mountains. There was probably a simple oversight or misunderstanding.

（It’s difficult to determine my current location, so...）

He looked around.

Regardless of whether he was in Tokyo or not, he didn’t think he was close to home.

（... How did I get here?）

He couldn’t just blame it on being drunk and having no memory.

It was unlikely that he could walk from his home to such a place while so drunk that he had no memory.

（Did I take a taxi? If so, it’s strange not to have a wallet. Besides, a taxi driver would probably take a drunk person to the police if they asked to be dropped off in such a place.）

It was normal to handle troublesome customers.

If a taxi driver mishandled a drunk customer and got involved in an incident, it would cause trouble later.

Therefore, taxi companies had a manual for dealing with such customers, which included taking them to the police station.

（Was I kidnapped? If so, the lack of a wallet and being in such a place would be easier to explain, but... What’s the point of kidnapping an old man like me? If they wanted my wallet, they could just take it. There’s no need to kidnap me.）

Trying to explain the situation logically, he found it impossible.

With the limited and uncertain information he had, he decided it was a waste of time to think about it. He decided to walk north, away from the mountains, reasoning that there would be more people in the plains than in the mountains.

It was a weak basis, but it was enough to guide his actions for now.

（... The abnormality of this situation goes beyond just the location and how I got here.）

With his body covered in abrasions and aching, he started walking slowly.

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He avoided the pudd