WELCOME TO STAR AWESOME X1

"vadjdjl......ddhjkas*30m@mfs." She finished uttering something and looked at him with gleaming eyes, awaiting a response.

She said something, but the words are weird. I'll rely on trusty ol' gestures.

He lifted his hand to his head as if saluting, Hello. 
He waved his hand to both sides, asking, 'How are you?' 
Finally lifting his index finger, he pointed in every direction, asking, Where am I?

The girl stood there in bewilderment. “Can you not talk… or are you still unable to comprehend?”

A female voice echoed within him. He knew that it was in his head, for he was experienced in talking to himself. But this voice was not his but hers. He looked at the girl who stood there looking at him.

“I am sorry; I shouldn’t have mind-contacted you.” She gently tilted her head. She took his hand in her small palms. “I know you are confused… because this is a completely new world, but trust me, you will love it here.”

She left his hand and took a step back. Closing her eyes with a bright smile. 
“Welcome to Star Awesome.”

“Star awesome?” What a weird pair of words. He decided not to say that out loud.

He realized the words he uttered were not in Japanese, yet familiar to him. In his actual world, he had never heard anything of this sort. But as long as he was able to communicate, he was at peace.

“I am glad you were able to grasp the Star Area language.”

"Yeah, same here." He added proudly.

“My name is Philomena, and what is yours?”

“I am Ren.”

"Let me show you the map to explain what this world is like."

Taking a few steps back. The palms of her hands began glowing. A comforting white light surrounded them. Flowing like water, the light displayed a map before them.

The map was dynamic, with globes floating in an orbit. There were deserts, forests, flames, and ice lands. But most of it was unrecognizable to him. There were many black areas all over the map. Huh? must be no-go zones. He slightly jumped back to reality as he heard her.

“Well, Ren, this is a fantasy realm, or you could say a dimension… the one you are probably from lacked magical abilities…” Tracing her fingertip along what seemed to be an enormous land. 

The whole dimension thing just took all the magic out of everything; it sounds like sci-fi now.

“U-um…ph-…ehmmm, can we skip on all that…I-I have watched plenty of isekai to understand the basics…"He paused, then took a deep breath.
With a smile, he continued. "I was summoned here as a warrior to defeat the demon king, right? Hmmm, I do wonder how I came here, but none of that matters now.”

The lightning disappeared; she looked at him, confused.

“Oh hey! Grandma”

The two of them turned around and saw a white-haired girl. She was about as tall as he, and her voice was slightly heavier compared to Philomena's. She walked up to them. There was one thing that stood out: her beautiful legs.

 She reached out to Philomena, wrapping her arm around the shorter girl’s shoulders. Philomena opened her mouth to speak, but the other one covered it. A smug look took over her face, leaning into Ren while keeping a grip on Philomena. She touched her nose to his.

"Hey, new guy." She snickered.

Ren went into a state of heavenly shock; his entire life, he was in the wrong world. This anime trope was all that he desired, all that he deserved—

He was shocked when he heard.

“Stay away from her.”

The taller girl took Philomena by the hand and waved him bye. Philomena tried arguing, but the two vanished into thin air. Leaving Ren alone. 

They left the 'new guy' alone just like that?

.

.

After the two girls left, Ren stood there for a second.
It's kind of lonely that they left.

He sat down on the floor, leaning his back gently against the wall. The moment he turned the knob, it flashed before his eyes. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. What exactly happened after that?

He scowled, trying to remember.
But couldn’t.
It felt like he had only blinked and appeared here.

A cool breeze ruffled his hair, and that’s when he took notice of his surroundings. He was in a white-walled verandah next to a garden. He could smell fragrance from nearby flowers, and the sound of rustling leaves filled the silence of the moment. 

I guess my life has changed now.

Closing his eyes, he thought about his life. 

A hazy image of his family came to his mind. 
I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing.

He clenched his fists. 
Brother.
I can't even remember him.
I wonder if I died too. 

He heard crunching in the grass near him. The sound kept getting louder. He got on his feet, looking around with caution. That’s when he perceived a door opposite to him. This seems different from the one I think I saw earlier. 

He paused and looked at it again.
What if it’s the same from the other end? 

His mind went blank 
But where was I? 

“Hey, you… You new?”

He heard yet another girl’s voice. He turned to her. She wore a tracksuit with a few drops of sweat on her forehead. 

“I am Riley. Welcome to Star Awesome. Did anyone welcome you yet?”

She offered her hand for a handshake. Maybe this world has women only. He hesitantly took her hand, shaking gently. He noticed she had a good grip.

“I am Ren. I was already welcomed by Phi-Phi… U-um.”
Ren shifted his gaze to the left, somewhat embarrassed.
"I can’t pronounce her name."

Riley chuckled, “She is Philomena; yeah, I know her name is hard to remember.”

Ren looked at her with a deadpan look. “It's just that I can't pronounce it, not that my memory isn't perfect or anything.”

Riley slightly laughed. She looked around the empty verandah.

“Why are you still here… Philomena must have explained everything to you.”

“No, she half-assed her job and vanished.”

She took a pause, “Should I give you a tour?”

He did need someone to explain matters to him.
So I start my isekai-hero life.
He stood giggling to himself.
“Yes, please.”

She went to that door in the verandah; his heart skipped a beat. She gestured for him to come. As she opened the door, he could feel his breath getting heavier.

“This is Star Awesome… It’s a place where you will live from now on.” Pointing in the direction of an enormous lounge-like area.

What a loss of suspense.

Ren walked a few steps ahead, while Riley closed the door behind them. He turned to see if this door was similar to the one in his vague memory.
No.

With an earnest voice, she began. "Now listen up, Ren, this world or dimension is called the fantasy realm."

That ph-girl said something about the fantasy thing too; hmm, must be important.

She continued, " 'Star Area' is one of the three parts this fantasy realm has. We are in the Star Area."

Ren added, "So I am in Star Area."

"Yes. Star Area is a kingdom with many sub-kingdoms. You are in the sub-kingdom called the capital kingdom, where the royal family of the entire Star Area lives."

She took another pause, allowing Ren to process everything. "In this capital kingdom, there is a place, or more accurately, a building called Star Awesome, where we live."

Ren beamed, "And I was welcomed here by two beautiful girls."

Riley chuckled softly. "Thanks, and the residents of Star Awesome are mostly referred to as the Star Awesome members."

"And is that it?" Ren pouted.

"We are all appreciated and celebrated as warriors because we have taken part in many wars, fighting alongside the army." She spoke proudly.

 Ren's eyes gleamed with excitement.

She went to the wall with the door leading to the verandah. It had many frames with group photographs. One thing about the pictures was that each frame had more people than the previous one.

She turned to him. “These are the Star Awesome members.”

“Did the number of people keep increasing, or if I am truly unlucky, is it decreasing?”

Riley looked at him with a serious look and patted his shoulder. “You are truly unlucky..... We kept on decreasing in number."

She pointed at the picture of four people. Ren noticed Philomena in it, and even the white-haired one.

Riley pointed at the picture with the most people. "This is the most recent; don't worry, we increased in number."

Most of the people were teenagers, except for three adults. To Ren’s disappointment and contrary to his earlier assumption, this place was more abundant in boys than in girls. Ren noticed that there was a black-haired man in almost four pictures but absent in the rest.

“Riley, this man seems to have gained invisibility.”

“He left, Star Awesome.”

“Why?”

“He made a friend in this world, so I guess he wanted to spend some time with his friend… He had been gone for years; that’s why he is missing in the rest.”

“Years?” He looked at the pictures again. “How could these pictures be taken years apart?” He looked back at her as her reflection in one of the pictures shone. “You look the same?”

“Only me?”

He recalled Philomena, who was still the same as well. From their heights to their hair lengths, they remained the same. Riley chuckled softly

“We love playing this game on newbies…. We all are non-agers; we cannot grow older than the age we came here with.”
She raised her hand and looked at her nails.
“Even our nails won’t grow.”

“Came here?”

“Wait, don’t tell me you were still thinking you were the only one who came to this world."

Bummer.