Chapter 2

At the nearest police station, I was repeatedly questioned about the situation when I was found, and I had to answer the same questions multiple times. I remember from crime dramas that if your answers waver, you might be suspected as a suspect, but is that really true?

To avoid unnecessary risks, I answered each time carefully and consistently. The detective, after repeatedly questioning me, seemed to be convinced and released me.

"Yes, I understand the situation. Thank you for your cooperation in the citizen rescue. You are free to go."

The middle-aged detective said this, gesturing toward the door with his palm. I smiled, bowed, and quickly left the room. I headed straight for the main entrance of the police station, making a call to Nada as I walked.

"Sorry, Ray. It's all because I asked you to run an errand."

"It's not your fault, Mr. Nada. I'm glad we could help Mr. Goto."

"You don't need to come back today. Go home and rest."

After ending the call, I smiled, thinking that Nada is a good boss.

When I got home, I finished eating the three bento boxes I bought on the way and am now leisurely drinking coffee. Releasing magic makes me extremely hungry.

When I was summoned away from my homeland, I felt despair, thinking, "Ah, I've been chosen. Will I have to fight monsters? Or will I be forced to work endlessly until the miasma is cleared?" However, the place I arrived at was Japan, a country with an incredibly high level of civilization and safety, where there were no monsters or miasma.

When I realized this, I laughed darkly, saying, "Ha-ha, you failed the summoning, didn't you? Serves you right."

Reika Ayukawa, also known as Alexandra Oriel, was a citizen of the Uge Kingdom, a country where magic was a common existence. In the Uge Kingdom, a young woman with strong magical power is taken away every sixty years.

Even though it happens every sixty years, how do they know? Because a white, glowing summoning magic circle appears about ten meters above the head of the chosen woman just before she is taken.

Once that magic circle appears, hiding in a basement or having a magician cast a barrier spell is ineffective. Amid the screams and despairing gazes of many people, the targeted woman gradually disappears over the course of about an hour from the moment the magic circle appears.

The magic circle that appears is identical to the ones used in the Uge Kingdom, suggesting that it is constructed by someone from a world that uses a similar magic system.

All the women who have been chosen in the past had high magical power. For those who take them, they are necessary personnel, but for those who are taken, it is a great inconvenience. Some have lovers or fiancés, and some hold important positions in the country. Reika was also an important worker at the national treatment facility.

Being taken away without any explanation or compensation is essentially kidnapping. The problems of one's own country should be resolved by the people of that country. In the Uge Kingdom, they have faced and solved national crises through their own efforts. Kidnapping high-magic individuals from other worlds to solve problems is just thievery.

Reika cannot forget the despair she felt when the magic circle appeared above her head.

"Father, Mother, please stay safe. Goodbye!"

She shouted this with a tragic resolve. Her mother watched, crying, and her father trembled with anger and sorrow. Her parents, unable to approach due to the magical barrier, watched helplessly as she gradually disappeared before their eyes. For her parents, it was a cruel end.

(I wonder how my parents are doing. I hope the neighbors and the country are helping them.)

She took a margarita out of the freezer and brought it to her mouth with a spoon, closing her eyes in delight at the rich milkiness and the slight bitterness of the matcha, which melted smoothly on her tongue. The matcha flavor is her recent favorite. The first time she tried it, she was so moved that she almost prayed.

She is always amazed by the wonderful freezers and refrigerators, which are found in almost every home. In Japan, there is no war or class system. There is a gap between the rich and the poor, but that exists in every world.

"I'm glad I was thrown into this country."

From the news and the internet, she knows that there are terrible dictatorships in this world. When she learned this, she was shaken by her own good fortune.

"Well, I think I'll go earn a little money."

She can live on the salary from Kikawa Metal, but if she doesn't release her magic appropriately, her health will suffer. Reika decided to become a fortune teller to release her excess magic and help people until she reaches her late forties, when her magic will naturally decline.

She changed into a long black dress and put on black, matte low-heeled shoes before leaving the house. Her outfit, which looks like she is going to a wake, is appropriate for her destination, a back alley in Kiyosumi. She is allowed to perform fortune-telling in a corner of a snack bar, thanks to the kindness of the bar's owner.

She orders proper meals and drinks, and there are customers who look forward to her fortune-telling and come to the bar specifically for it, making it a win-win situation.

She goes to the least conspicuous spot in the bar, which is her workplace.

"Good evening."

"Ray, you're here."

"Yukiko, thank you for having me tonight."

"Your customer is already waiting."

Yukiko whispered this to her, and Reika checked that her hat's black net was not askew using a compact mirror before heading to the designated seat.

"Good evening. I'm Reika."

"I've been waiting for you. I've been looking forward to this day."

The person waiting was a middle-aged man in a fine suit.