chapter 1

“You are to be transferred to another world!” was what the girl standing before me in a world full of light had said.

Wait, what?

“No, no, don’t just say that with that out of the blue! Wait! Who the hell even are you? Where is this?”

I was definitely… coming home from school or something….

“I’m a novice goddess, Meryl! This is the Goddess Space. It is the residence of goddesses.”

Goddesses…?

This girl who’s about the same age as I am is a goddess?

Wait, is she even being serious?

“Hmph! That face tells me that you don’t believe me!”

“No, it’s just that you saying that you’re a goddess is somewhat hard to believe.”

It’s completely impossible. I waved my hand.

“B-but! I’m a real goddess! Even though I’m still new…”

So goddesses can be novices too….

“Well, first off, you just appeared suddenly and started out by saying that you’re a goddess…”

“Eh~ What should I do to convince you then?”

“Hm…”

I stroked my chin, thinking.

Well, to begin with, what do goddesses do anyway?

“What she’s saying is true, Asou Aruto-san.”

Having heard a voice come from behind me, I turned around and saw a woman.

Asou Aruto…

How does this woman know my name?!

“Ines-san!”

“Meryl… Do I seriously have to tell you this every time? You’re supposed to explain what’s going on to people who you transfer.”

“Uu… S-sorry…”

Meryl fell into a slump due to the warning issued by the woman called Ines.

From how things looked, Meryl probably had a lot of others that were above her around here…

“I’m terribly sorry, Aruto-san. I am Ines, Meryl’s superior in the Goddess Space.”

I tilted my head as I looked at Ines whose head was lowered. At this time I asked, “How do you know my name?”

“That’s because I’m a goddess!”

“No, that isn’t a valid reason.”

So even this person is a goddess too, huh….

“A goddess, huh…”

“It seems that you don’t believe me. However, I really am a goddess. With my power, I brought you over to this world.”

Ines brought me over here?

“Why did you bring me over here?”

“It’s less of ‘I brought you over,’ and more of ‘I had to bring you over.’”

Had to bring me over?

“It seems like you’ve already forgotten the feeling of being in shock. The truth is, you got hit by a truck and had been at the brink of death.”

“Eh?!”

Ines’ words deeply shocked me.

I was at… the brink of death…!?

“Meryl…”

“Yes. Aruto-san… these are your memories from right before you entered this world.”

Suddenly, taking control of a monitor that suddenly appeared, Meryl showed me some footage.

There I was, giving cover to a kid who was about to get run over. Just before I was about to get run over, the truck stopped dead in its tracks.

“This is…!”

“How is it? Do you remember now?”

Ah… I see!

I was on my way home from school when I saw a kid who was about to get run over. I couldn’t just stand by, so I went over to help him.

“I remember now… So I got into this awkward cross-world reincarnation thing through such an unfortunate turn of events, huh…”

“Eh? Cross-world reincarnation?”

“What? Didn’t I die?”

Strange, why did Ines question my words?

…Hm? Well, Meryl did say something about transferring to another world? Anyway, why did the footage stop there?

“Well, you’re not exactly dead. As you saw from the footage, when you made contact with that truck, I made the time in your world come to a halt.”

Stopping time… Now those were grounds that allowed me to believe that she truly is a goddess.

“So you still have doubts, huh…”

Ines scowled at me with sharp eyes…

She must have heard me.

“So, in other words, am I right in assuming that you stopped time and brought me over to this world?”

“Yes. You’re not dead, so this isn’t reincarnation. Instead, you’re being transferred to another world.”

…Isn’t that quite strange?

“No, no, there wasn’t any need to transfer me! Couldn’t you just save me and the kid I was protecting while time was stopped?”

As I said that, an apologetic-looking face emerged on both Meryl and Ines.

“We’re really sorry… the truth is, we can’t interfere in moments where people die that easily.”

Even though you’re goddesses?!

“However, I couldn’t just let you die that easily, so I decided to transfer you to another world.”

“Well, if you refuse, there’s a good chance that I’ll ask that child you were saving to go in your stead.”

What!?

“Huh!? That kid’s like five!”

And even then, you can’t just transfer him to another world full of monsters and such things!

“That’s why I chose to transfer you rather than him. If you do go over to that other world, I promise that I’ll help that child.”

This isn’t just a choice anymore…

It can’t be helped…

“I got it. I’ll… transfer over there!”

When they heard my decisive words, Ines and Meryl both smiled.

“We knew you’d say that!”

That’s true, but… you haven’t told me anything about the world to which you’re transferring me.

“By the way, what kind of world will I be transferred to?”

“You’ll understand when you get there. On top of that, there’ll be several privileges afforded to you!”

If someone who wished to be reincarnated into another world were here, they’d surely be over the moon.

Transfer privileges… There were many kinds, but most of them were usually cheat-level powers. Well, I’m just glad to have a bonus.

“These transferee privileges will be given to you once you reach the other side!”

It appears that there was a lot for me to look forward to.

As the preparations for the transfer commenced, Meryl said something to me from Ines’ side.

“Do your best, Aruto-san! I’ll… cheer you on from here!”

“Thanks for cheering me on, Meryl.”

“Ah, I forgot to say, Meryl, but you’ll be going along with Aruto-san too.”

Huh?!

“Eh… Ines-san, what’d you just say?”

“You’re going to be transferring along with Aruto-san.”

“Eh—!?”

Meryl’s surprised scream resounded throughout the space.

“W-why!?” Meryl said while backing away, while Ines continued.

“Goddesses are meant to lead people to other worlds. And since you’re still a novice…”

“With that, if you do well here, you’ll be able to commence activities as a legitimate goddess!”

“A legitimate goddess…!”

As Meryl heard this, her eyes sparkled beautifully.

To the point that they were actually shining…

“Aruto-san! Let’s do our best!”

“Wait, I have to agree to this first!”

I went and snapped back on my own, all of a sudden.

“Aruto-san… Meryl is clumsy and unlucky, but I hope you’ll still welcome her.”

Ines lowered her head apologetically… but the expression on her face was not that of a superior, but rather, one of a worried elder sister.

Seeing Ines’ expression, there was no way that I could refuse…

“Alright, I understand. I’ll protect Meryl when possible.”

“Thank you very much!”

Ines smiled brightly, relieved.

For some reason, Meryl’s cheeks turned red.

“With that, the preparations for the transference are complete. I’ll now be sending the both of you off.”

The transference is… something like warping, right?

With a sudden buzz, Meryl and I felt nothing under our feet. We looked down slowly and saw a gaping hole in the ground.

Meryl and I looked at each other, confused, as we started falling.

“Waaaaaaah!?”

“Kyaaaaaa!?”

As Meryl and I screamed, Ines looked down into the bottom of the hole one last time.

“Have a comfortable life in the other world!”

You could see her smiling in the distance…

In the end, I had just one thing to say.

“You should have told me from the start that we were going fall! Damn it!”

As my voice drifted further and further away from Ines, it became increasingly less audible.

Hands clasped in prayer, Ines watched the hole close, as she muttered to herself, “Please, Aruta-san, Meryl… The fate of this world is in your hands.”