Chapter 2

"Ah!? Cough, cough, cough, ughh—"

Suddenly waking up, I felt a strange sensation as if something was stuck in my throat, even though I wasn't actually choking, and I ended up coughing.

"Where am I? I'm sure I... died, right?"

The view before me was completely white, clearly not a normal place. I was sitting there, all alone.

"You did die."

"Whoa!?"

Suddenly, a low yet somehow feminine voice spoke from behind me. I turned around to find...

God.

There was no doubt that the being in front of me was God. My instincts knew it the moment I saw it. I could confidently say that the entity before me was called God.

I prostrated myself on the ground faster than I had ever moved in my life. I think my movement was the fastest among all living beings in the world.

"Raise your head."

"Ah, yes!"

My spirit was broken, and my negative skills kicked in, making me feel utterly humiliated.

(No, no, no, this is impossible. What is this? How did it come to this? And to the protagonists of isekai novels who act so confidently in front of God, I really want to say, 'You guys are amazing. It's impossible. My reason and instincts are telling me that if I defy, I will die.')

"Let's start the conversation, Sakagami Koubu."

"..."

I was at a loss when asked to start a conversation so abruptly.

"First, let me briefly explain why you died. To put it simply, you lost a lot of blood, and your heart and other organs were damaged. Even if an ambulance had been right in front of you, you wouldn't have survived. Any questions so far?"

He explained my cause of death without me asking.

"Ah, ah, I'm sorry."

I already knew that. I had a gut feeling that this was impossible. More than anything, I just wanted to be freed from this situation.

"Alright, let me explain why I brought you here. I've been watching you for a while. The reason I watched you is that I found you interesting. Despite saving someone's life, you didn't care at all whether you had truly saved them, and you deeply regretted dying.

There aren't many people like that. Someone who saves a life but feels no sense of achievement."

God answered with a wry smile (I couldn't see his eyes, so I assume it was a smile).

(Watching me? Why? Isn't this a bit contradictory?)

The way he said it made it sound like he knew I was going to have an accident.

Ignoring my questions, God continued speaking.

"That's why I decided to reincarnate you."

Ignoring my many questions, he suddenly announced this.

"Huh? What? What did you just say?"

"I said I decided to reincarnate you in another world because you were interesting."

"Ha, ha!"

(Why? And you didn't mention the part about another world! What is another world? What kind of place is it?)

I believe in the existence of extraterrestrial beings, or aliens. I don't believe in the strange aliens often seen on TV.

But I believe that aliens must exist somewhere in this universe.

Of course, I've never seen them, but it's said that there are several nebulae and galaxies in this universe. Earth is apparently part of the Milky Way galaxy.

Given this knowledge, I want to ask, why do you think there are no aliens in this vast universe?

Because you haven't seen them?

Are you kidding? If that's the case, do you not believe the Earth is round? Have you seen the horizon and found it to be round? Maybe you just happened to see a round part? Have you traveled to every corner of the world to prove the Earth is round? No, right?

The sun might just be a light stuck in the sky. No one has ever touched it, and most people haven't been to space.

I think it's strange to believe that Earth is the only planet with life in this vast universe.

Because it hasn't been proven?

There are countless unexplained phenomena and events on Earth that haven't been proven.

This discussion could go on forever, but to sum up, I believe in the existence of aliens. Since I believe in aliens, I naturally believe in other worlds.

So, while I was surprised to suddenly hear about another world, I didn't doubt it.

"Then, let me answer your questions."

(What!? I didn't say anything!)

"Yes, I can read your mind."

(I wish you had said that first—!)

I ended up shouting in my mind.

"Regarding your first question, 'Why were you watching me?' Among the 7 billion people in the world, there was something unique about you. I was curious about it, so I watched you.

You thought, 'It sounds like you knew I was going to have an accident.' The answer is that I can see the future, so of course, I knew. So what?"

God said this matter-of-factly.

(…)

I had nothing to say. What could I say in response to that?

I can't really talk, but sometimes when people pray to God in a crisis and their prayers aren't answered, they say God is this or that.

But think about it. Among the 7 billion people in the world, did you do something that would make God get up from his throne and come to you?

You didn't, right? To expect something without doing anything is selfish.

Leaving me speechless,

"Next, 'What is another world?' is unnecessary. It's just another planet in this universe, as you thought.

Finally, 'What kind of place is it?' To put it simply, it's a fantasy world with skills, magic, and levels."

"Oh? Oh! Ohhhhh!"

I was so surprised I could only say "oh."

(A world where magic, skills, and levels determine everything—wow, I'm getting excited just thinking about it.)

I was hyped up inside, but for some reason, I wasn't excited at all.

"Thank you. Is this a reward for saving someone's life?"

"No."