Chapter 4 of 100

Chapter 4

4 min read1,091 words

I've started a new serial.

After I, who worked at a black company, transferred to another world:

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n1336eh/

It's a story about a middle-aged man who worked for a company dealing with illegal goods, who is sent to another world and uses his illegal knowledge to dominate. Please enjoy this as well.

Major announcement!!

I've been working hard even to the point of interrupting the serial, but it seems that "What Should I Do Now That I've Arrived in Another World?" is being adapted into a manga.

It will start serialization this fall at Denshi Birz: http://denshi-birz.com/ !!

Finally, I can restart the serial!!

Please check the art style and details here:

https://twitter.com/n0885dc/status/913917731665190912

Also, on October 30th, the third volume of "What Should I Do Now That I've Arrived in Another World?" will be released.

I hope you enjoy it along with the manga adaptation. Finally, it's Tarou's turn. He's so cute!!

---

The alarm clock and smartphone rang loudly at 6:30.

This was a measure to ensure I could wake up, but my head hurt.

Today, there was a meeting in the morning, so I had set the alarm 30 minutes earlier than usual. With a half-asleep mind, I fumbled around on the bedside table. I pressed the switch on the alarm clock to stop the ringing. I had bought a loud one to force myself to wake up, but it was a nuisance to the neighbors.

I also stopped the alarm on my phone and opened the screen to check my emails.

There were no alerts about system failures. Good.

Just as I sighed in relief, the alarm clock started ringing again. Ah, I must have pressed the wrong switch in my drowsiness.

I flipped the alarm clock over and turned off the other switch.

"Ne... I'm so sleepy."

I shook my slightly pot-bellied stomach and slowly got out of bed. I missed the warmth of the futon.

Until two years ago, my wife used to wake me up, but after the divorce, I had to take care of everything on my own.

A feeling of emptiness welled up inside me.

"I'll just take a shower and eat breakfast at the office..."

I shivered in the cold air of winter as I waited for the water to heat up in the bathroom.

Since it's an old apartment, it takes about five minutes for the water to get hot.

"Today is the kick-off meeting for the company-wide annual phone system update. I hope he has all the materials ready."

I thought of my subordinate's face.

Ah, it's been days since the divorce, and my monologues have been increasing day by day.

Finally, the water started to heat up. I took off my pajamas and tossed them onto the futon.

I threw my underwear into the laundry basket and entered the bathroom.

I took a hot shower.

The cold feet I had since getting out of bed were now tingling with the heat.

"It's almost the end of the year, yet the days are so monotonous."

I smiled bitterly and roughly dried my body with a towel.

My hair is short, almost a buzz cut, so I don't need to style it.

I put on my underwear and shirt and slumped into my PC chair.

I checked today's news and my stock prices on my Apple phone.

"Another monotonous day. There's no big news. There were no major fluctuations yesterday either. It looks like things will stay the same for a while. It's too much trouble to buy and sell stocks anyway."

My morning routine was almost over, and it was time to leave for work.

"Alright, let's have a good day today."

I didn't know that the monotonous days I thought I was living would soon change dramatically.

I put on my suit, grabbed my briefcase, put on my leather shoes, and opened the apartment door.

The space in front of me was glowing white.

"Huh?"

There was no narrow hallway or stairs leading down to the first floor, just a white space stretching out in front of the door.

I turned around, but the apartment door I had just closed was gone.

"What is this? What's going on? Can someone explain?"

I asked the space a question that didn't really expect an answer, half in a daze.

A young, gender-neutral voice rang out clearly. It had no sweetness, sounding more like a harsh, electronic voice.

"Scholar?"

Scholar... conductor? Scholar? I had no idea what it meant.

I had just asked a question to understand the current situation, but this response only added to my confusion.

"I don't understand. I just want to confirm the current situation. Who are you? What situation am I in?"

I asked a question, but got a completely meaningless answer. It felt like I was talking to a poorly designed AI. I started to think it would be faster to just state my needs clearly.

"I want all the information about the current situation that I can get. Can you do that?"

For now, I just needed to gather as much information as possible to make a judgment. Then I could resolve the situation and go to work to return to my normal life.

That's what I thought as I asked for everything.

The answer was a gross misinterpretation. I could hear it, but it didn't feel like I was getting any useful information.

It was clear that this back-and-forth would get me nowhere.

"I want to be released from this white space. Is that possible?"

I asked the simplest and most straightforward question and request.

Here? There?

I just want to go back to my apartment and go to work.

<Then, have a good journey.>

As the entity calling itself the interface spoke its final words, the white space grew brighter, making it difficult to keep my eyes open.

"Hey, just send me back to where I was. Hey!"

The brightness increased, and I started to feel a floating sensation.

I was terrified by the unknown.

I realized I had lost consciousness when I found myself lying in an open area in the forest.