Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: Friend(?) Making Like a Pro

Numen

Morning. In the boy’s room, an alarm clock went off: BEEP! BEEP! He immediately slammed the
button and got out of bed.

I usually don’t have any problems.

The boy put on his uniform, washed up, and thundered down the stairs.

But now there’s a big one…

SICCSSS. The boy made his breakfast

put it on the table, and started eating it while silently staring at the wall. The apartment was filled with silence.

After breakfast, the boy put on his shoes and headed to school.

It’s not like I don’t have friends (online). I just don’t have any at school; I can’t talk properly to people. None of my classmates even know my name, and if they do talk to me, it’s only to say, “You’re on cleaning duty this week,” or “Sorry,” when they accidentally bump into me. Even in PE I’m always left alone for pair work.
Now you might be thinking, “Then why don’t you start talking to people?” Well, because I don’t have enough confidence. I try to be brave, but I’m scared I’ll say something stupid and...

At an intersection I stopped, because the light was red. Next to me, a little boy was holding a red ball and started tossing it up and down, while his mom stood beside him talking to another woman.

My whole day is so monotonous: I wake up, go to school, come home, sleep. I wish I had a friend I could have fun with - or even just a pet would be enough. And it would definitely be a cat, because I don’t really like dogs that much (one bit my hand once).

Ugh, when is it going to turn green? I thought.

The kid missed the ball, it rolled onto the road, and without thinking he ran after it. The mother didn’t even notice he’d left her side.

What is he doing?! He’s going to get hit! I looked around.

A truck was speeding down the road, and the driver looked half-asleep.

Shit! Shit! I have to save him!

My legs froze from fear. Stupid legs, move! If it hits him, he definitely won’t survive! I don’t want to just stand here and watch someone die - not like back then!

Then my legs finally moved. Yes! With a big burst of speed, I jumped.

I grabbed the kid and hugged him close. I couldn’t dodge the truck anymore. Shit! I turned around and shielded the kid with my body.

SCREEECH - PUFF

Please, God, if I die, let me reincarnate in another world with OP abilities…

I opened my eyes. Looks like the driver managed to swerve at the last second and crashed into the traffic light.

I sighed with relief. Guess this won’t be a trash isekai novel after all.

The brown-haired, glasses-wearing mother, her face full of worry, ran to her child.
“Ko-kun!” she yelled, hugging him tightly. The boy just cried while she tried to calm him.

Must’ve been terrifying for him.

“Is everyone okay?!” shouted the driver as he got out of the vehicle.

“We’re fine,” said the mother.

“I’m fine,” I wanted to say - but my breathing grew heavier, my vision darkened, my heart pounded, and my ears were ringing.

The mother checked if the kid was hurt. When she saw he was fine, she said something to him while they both looked at me - but because of the ringing in my ears, I couldn’t hear a word.

I started taking deep breaths to calm down. The ringing stopped.

They came over to me. The kid apologized, trying not to cry:

“Sorry! Hic! It was my fault! Hic!”

“It’s okay - just be more careful next time. And you, ma’am, please keep an eye on your child.”

“May I ask your name?” the mother asked.

Wait… when was the last time I talked to anyone?! My name! Don’t say something stupid!

“U- Unmei Kaito!” I stuttered.

Damn it - my voice cracked!

The woman apologized again, then went over to the driver to scold him properly.

Good thing I had time to run there… though it wouldn’t have changed that the driver swerved anyway.
Time? Wait - what time is it?!

I checked my phone. I still have 20 minutes to make it!

I couldn’t wait for the police anymore - I just sprinted to school.

In the end I still arrived late and got scolded. When I walked into the classroom, nobody greeted me - nobody even asked why I was late. (But who would care about someone as boring as me, anyway…)

All day I tried to make friends, or at least talk to someone, but I didn’t get the chance (which isn’t even true). This isn’t for me… I’ll just go to some new shop after school, somewhere I haven’t been yet!

I walked downtown, but couldn’t find any store I hadn’t already visited. Where could I find a newly opened one? (It’s behind him.)

Got it! TikTok, TikTok - show me where there’s a new shop around here! But first I’ll just watch one more video… this one with the banana…

Okay, one more won’t hurt.

1 hour later

On TikTok: “A new general store just opened! And where? Right behind you!”

Behind me? I turned around - huge arrows and big letters: “NEW GENERAL STORE!”

I went through the strange-looking door. Inside, a tiny space greeted me. It looked like something built in the 90s.
Four-shelf cabinets lined the sides, full of random junk nobody would ever need. In the back, an old man stood at the register,
and behind him another huge shelf full of even more useless stuff.

I walked up to the old man, trying to look tough.

“Hey, old man.”

“What?”

…A long silence.

Embarrassed, I crouched down and pretended to look at the lowest shelf. From behind, he probably just saw some dumb kid squatting there.

What do I do? This is so awkward. I can’t think of anything to say.

In the middle of this thought, my eyes fell on a red collar. I’d wanted a cat anyway - perfect topic!

I stood up, marched to the counter with the collar, and SLAMMED it down.

“I’ll take this.”

The old man muttered to himself: “I knew you’d pick that one.”

“I always wanted- wait, what?”

What’s with this “I can see the future” crap? Is this man okay?

“I’ll give it to you for free,” he said, “just take it to the inner shrine of Isei, the Sun God, and drop it into the donation box.”

That makes no sense. How is that free? Is this some kind of quest? No way I’m going.

“Fate will lead you there.” he said mysteriously.

“…Okay, then bye!”

And that’s how I got a free collar.

1 day later

Thanks to my curiosity, I came - but walking this far in the blazing heat was exhausting. I needed to rest somewhere.

Looking around, I spotted a tiny, hidden shrine among the trees. Judging by the dust, nobody had cleaned it in ages.

Alright, I’ll sit on this shrine. Hopefully nobody uses it anymore.

A metallic clank came from inside the donation box. I checked my pocket.

“Oh, shit - the collar fell into the shrine!”

Suddenly I heard bells. And opera music.

Where is that coming from? Did someone see me?

Behind me, a bright light appeared. I looked up - and saw a girl with angel wings, wearing a flowing white dress. Brown hair, aqua-blue eyes.

When she touched the ground, she said only one thing:

“Where am I?”

I stared and pointed. “An angel?!”

“Who are you? And pardon me, but I am a Numen,” she said proudly, pointing at herself.

“Numen? What’s that?”

“As you say it - a god.”

So… god, huh. I never really believed in gods - but I guess they exist. GOD?!

“Could you tell me where I am?”

“Uh… on Earth.”

“WHAT?! REALLY?!”

“Yeah?”

“No way! That’s so cool!”

This girl is really weird. Wait - I’m actually talking to someone!

(https://youtu.be/35hIVHwPCnk)

“Look! What is that - Five Guys?” She pointed at a blimp with a Five Guys ad on it.

“It’s a fast-food place. Famous for its burgers.”

Am I seriously talking with a god about hamburgers?

“But if you’re a god, how do you not know about burgers?”

“I know lots about Earth! I read many books!”

“Really? How old are those?”

“Books from 1364. I know they’re old, but I don’t think you’ve advanced that much since then!”

Oh my God. That’s… pretty old.

“And this burger - is it delicious?” she asked, drooling while staring at the burger in the ad.

You’ve got to be kidding me. A god who loves burgers? Sounds stupid...

“Bruh, yeah. It’s good.”

With a quick, “ 'Kay, see ya - I’m going to Five Guys!” she started walking off.

“Wait!”

She suddenly froze, as if someone else controlled her body. The red collar appeared around her neck.

“Uh… what’s this?”

She tried to keep walking, but the collar spoke:

“The servant disobeyed the master - punishment: shock.”

A timer appeared on the tiny screen.

“3”

“…uh-”

“2”

“…wai-”

“1”

“What in blazes?! Aaaah!”

I just stood there watching as she got electrocuted. Who even still says “what in blazes” I wondered. The shock lasted about three seconds. Just like in cartoons.

She collapsed.

“Should I help you?” I asked.

“Y-yeah… that… would be nice…” she whispered.

I lifted her up - no wounds anywhere.

“Are you... okay?”

“I’m fine! As you know, we Numens can regenerate - though it still hurt a lot!”

How would I know that? Still… pretty good ability.

“Why the heck is there a collar around my neck?!” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

The collar spoke again: “The servant must obey the master’s orders - otherwise, more shocks.”

The collar the old man gave me for free was actually a slave collar - and he wanted me to come here and toss it into the Sun God’s shrine, so it would capture someone - but I caught something else instead?! Is this Pokémon?! When I said I wanted a pet, I didn’t mean a god!

“Uh?” she looked at me like she was waiting for my name.

“Unmei Kaito.”

“I’m Emily.”

“So, Kai-kun, what’s going on?”

Already calling me “-kun,” bruh…

“I accidentally dropped the collar into your shrine. An old guy gave it to me, and it turned out it was a slave collar - so you became my poké- I mean, my servant.”

“I see… I see… well, that’s fucked - but okay.”

Gods can swear?

“How are you this calm?”

“I’M NOT- AAAH!” she yelled and ran off.

“Calm down and stop!”

She didn’t stop.

“3”

“Why did you say that, Kai-kun?! Help me take it off!”

“2”

“It wasn’t on purpose! I’m coming, wait!”

I grabbed a crowbar (totally stolen from Garry’s Mod) and tried to pry it off.

“1”