Chapter 5

"Alright, it's getting late, everyone will sleep here while taking turns to watch the fire. That's all."

In this way, we ended up sleeping that night, each in our own way.

Taniizumi, who had taken on a leadership role, was taking half of the fire watch responsibility.

Everyone looked uncomfortable lying directly on the ground.

Damn... I can't believe I got the inferior version.

Is there no other way to make it work?

"I can't sleep..."

When I opened my eyes slightly, everyone seemed to be checking their abilities, unable to fall asleep.

Morishin was no different.

...Yeah, I guess. We don't know what will happen from here on out.

"Kousuke, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, thanks to the recovery spell from Himeno, I don't feel any pain at all."

My ability activates by consuming a magic power stat.

This magic power, which was also restored by Himeno's ability, is now full.

"It seems that with my blacksmithing, I can easily create quite powerful items as long as I have the materials and points."

"Is that so..."

Honestly, I'm envious.

My ability isn't a dud, but it's being treated as an inferior version.

Some people suggest that being a storage role would be suitable, but Taniizumi doesn't change his mocking attitude.

"I'm sure there's a good way to use Kousuke's ability. In games, there always is, right?"

"...Yeah."

That's right, he's trying to comfort me.

In this situation, I feel the warmth of human kindness.

Looking around, the others are also trying to find ways to adapt.

Then, Hiyama walks over to me.

"Habashira-kun"

"What?"

Hiyama sits next to me.

What's going on?

"Um... I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's fine. It's not your fault."

Honestly, it was just Taniizumi making fun of me.

It's not a big deal if I don't take it to heart.

At that moment, my stomach growled.

"Of course... you must be hungry."

Ugh... I'm embarrassed that she heard my stomach.

"I have some leftovers from lunch. Do you want to eat, Habashira-kun?"

"No, no, no!"

I understand why she's concerned, but in an emergency like this, I can't accept food from a girl. My conscience won't allow it!

"Rather, I should be the one sharing with Hiyama-san!"

However, I had only kept a little bit of the leftover lunch to stave off hunger.

It can't be stored for long.

At most, it would last until breakfast tomorrow.

"Are you hungry, Hiyama-san?"

In response to my question, Hiyama smiles brightly.

"I'm fine. You're so kind, Habashira-kun."

"No... I'm not really kind or anything..."

"You're worrying about me in this situation. I think that's kind."

I feel a bit embarrassed.

"Anyway, even in this situation, we have to try our best, right?"

Hiyama nods, looking up at the night sky.

"Yeah. We don't know what will happen next, but we have to try. Are you really okay, Habashira-kun?"

No... Hiyama-san, you don't need to worry about me!

As I think this, Morishin is making fun of me on the other side of Hiyama.

Shut up! Don't say that!

Hiyama is just concerned that I might be mocked by others because our abilities overlap.

"I'm fine. If you worry any more, you can have the leftover lunch, okay?"

Threatened by my own food, Hiyama nods with a smile.

"Okay. Then, um... get some rest."

Hiyama moves away, perhaps realizing that I might not let her rest if I stay next to her.

Phew... I wasn't particularly aware of it, but... when someone says something kind, it makes my chest tighten.

"Alright..."

I need to calm down. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep.

I should check if I can do anything with my ability.

I want to find a way to stand out.

So, I decide to experiment.

I pick up some firewood and think of a good way to use it.

...If I throw this at someone's body, it could be really dangerous.

While I'm thinking this and moving the cursor around, I realize I can target myself.

Huh?

In some games, you can only cast healing spells on yourself.

I target myself, assuming it will fail.

It will probably be like before, with no effect... but the target area is floating?

"Morishin, um...—"

Before I can say anything, I remember being mocked by Taniizumi and punched by Otsuka.

...What's the point of just targeting myself?

I'll just be mocked again.

It takes time to activate, and it won't surpass Hiyama's ability.

Hiyama isn't an enemy, and she has already shown me the difference in our abilities.

We're not competing. This isn't a competitive situation.

First, I need to experiment.

I need to think of a way to use it.

What can I do... I imagine a place I want to go... my room in Japan.

I probably can't go back.

In these kinds of other-world scenarios, you can't return until you achieve something.

But then, a sandglass appears, just like when I threw the firewood!

What? It didn't work with the hysterical Otsuka!

I stare at the sandglass... the sand... falls completely.

Suddenly, my vision changes, and I fall to the floor with a thud.

"Ouch!"

I endure the pain and look around.

It's my familiar room!

"Hey...!"

I look out the window.

It's the same unchanged Japanese scenery... It seems to be night, just like in the other world.

I rush out of the room to my parents.

"Dad, Mom!"

"Huh? What's wrong, Kousuke?"

My parents greet me as if nothing is out of the ordinary, tilting their heads.

Despite disappearing during the second period, their reaction is too calm.

Could the school be covering it up?

"What's going on? Don't you feel anything about me being here?"

"What are you talking about?"

"No, didn't you get a call from the school? About a group of students going somewhere?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Kousuke? You came home as usual in the evening."

...Huh?

A chill runs down my spine at the discrepancy in our conversation.

Is this... some kind of mind control or something?

Or did I end up in a different world in Japan... Various possibilities swirl in my mind.

"What about Morishin, my childhood friend? Don't you understand the explanation about the other world? Or that we went somewhere else?"

"Morishin...? Who's that?"

...What?

No way, they can't not know him.

How many times have I brought him home?

He's even stayed over.

"It's Morishin! My childhood friend since elementary school. You must know him, Mom and Dad. We're in the same class this year, right?"

"Who are you talking about? You don't have a friend like that."

Don't call me a loner! What's going on?

"Maybe you mean Marui-kun, whom you used to play with a lot in middle school?"

That's Morishin's friend!

A friend of a friend.

And he goes to a different high school now.

"Besides, Kousuke, your class... it's not just you, is it?"

"What are you talking about! There's no such class! Ah, this is getting us nowhere."

I take out an album and point to Morishin... but I'm speechless when I see a photo of me and Morishin together.

There... there's no trace of Morishin, as if he never existed.

Even in the school group photo, the same manipulation is evident.

In the class group photo, I'm standing alone.

But I'm not in the center.

It looks like everyone else has been cut out, an unnatural arrangement.

Such a distorted... photo.

"Ah, come on, then look at this!"

Despite coming from the other world to Japan, my vision still shows my status, and I can use my ability.

Without hesitation, I activate the transfer and return to Morishin and the others.

This will surely shock them when I suddenly disappear.

I land smoothly for the second time and look at Morishin, who was checking his ability.

"Hey"

"Huh?"

"Did you see me disappear right in front of you?"

"Huh?"

Morishin tilts his head, just like my parents.

"Kousuke, you've been in front of me the whole time, right?"

What... what does that mean!?

Should I explain that I can directly transfer to Morishin?

...I think he would believe me, but from the reactions of Otsuka and Taniizumi... it might be dangerous.

If I say I can return to Japan alone in this situation, Otsuka will definitely cause a commotion.

Moreover, the others might do anything.

They treated me getting punched by Otsuka as a joke.

We need to focus on understanding our abilities right now.

"No... that's right."

I dodge the question and use the transfer to fly back to my parents.

Sure enough... their reactions are the same.

They think I was there the whole time.

What's going on? It feels like a forced, unnatural force is at work.

My class group photo with only me.

The disappearance of any trace of Morishin and the others.

The incident hasn't even become a news story in Japan.

It's as if we never existed.

In this situation, I managed to return... and to balance it out, my parents' and Morishin's memories have been rewritten.

In any case, I... despite being involved in the class summoning, have somehow obtained a rare ability to return to Japan.