Prologue

Part 1

That afternoon was the most tragic I remember.

The fire raged uncontrolled, staining the sky a sickly orange. Blood spread across the dry earth, mixing with the mud. Dead animals lay among the wreckage, and my home—looted down to its foundations—was no longer the warm place I once knew. Among the ruins, I caught sight of the only keepsake I had left of my mother, being torn apart by black dogs clad in armor. Those beasts could belong to no one but an army at war with the kingdom.

I didn't understand why they had attacked such a peaceful village as ours. Over the years, I came to understand that we were nothing more than a resource to them. Food, goods, and also a place to satisfy their basest desires.

I was seven years old. I lived with my father, but that day he had gone to the capital to sell the village's goods. That was when everything happened.

First came the flaming arrows, setting one house after another ablaze. When we tried to flee, the army had already surrounded us completely. They seized the youngest girls of the village and violated them right there, in front of everyone, without a shred of mercy.

I still don't know if they had some sliver of compassion, or if my flat, childish body simply held no interest for them. They never touched me that way. But they didn't hold back when I tried to run.

The blows came one after another, and with each one I could only ask myself why this was happening to me. On my mother's birthday, of all days. I wished for it all to end right there.

I closed my eyes and waited for it to happen.

Then, a metallic sound pulled me back to reality.

The blows stopped all at once, as if someone had given the order. I opened my eyes slowly. What I found was no less terrible than what I had seen minutes before.

One of my attackers lay run through by a sword.

Whoever had done it looked more wounded than any of his victims. Deep cuts crossed his face, his leg, his stomach, his back—and yet he remained standing. He pulled the sword from the lifeless body and looked straight at me. A thread of blood ran from his mouth; his legs trembled, barely held up by the weight of his own weapon.

Through broken words, his voice nearly gone, he asked me a question.

"What's your name?"

Part 2

My name is Satoru Hatsuki. And today I came to pick up my package.

Walking out of the parcel center, I felt an enormous sense of relief. I'd been waiting for this since yesterday—some would say I have no social life, and they'd probably be right. After all, I'm the leader of a fairly well-known clan across this whole part of the map.

But knowing I finally had the deluxe edition of my favorite series in my hands made it all worth it. Carefully, I peeled the paper off the wrapping, eager to see what was inside.

"I can't believe it. Girls from a fantasy world are actually interested in me..." Finally, it's mine.

Just seeing it up close was enough to make me scream with excitement, if only in my head. I could already picture myself showing it off the moment I got home: hey guys, you'll never guess what I've got in my hands. They'd probably complain about waiting for it too, only for it to sell out in minutes. With any luck, I could even make back what I spent by reselling it later.

But first things first: getting home. I'd gone a good while without paying attention to the road, and that alone was dangerous. I didn't want anything bad happening to me on the way back.

Speaking of which.

The light turned red right in front of me. I looked left and right, waiting for my turn to cross, and without noticing, I started humming a song I hadn't sung in years. Before I could finish it, the light had already changed. I crossed alongside other people just as ordinary as me, thinking it would be just another quiet day in this life of mine.

So why was my instinct telling me, right now, to look to the right?

I turned, and saw a truck barreling toward me at full speed.

Wait, what?

...

By the time I reacted, it was already too late.

Lying on the asphalt, I couldn't feel anything below my waist. Why? My clothes were completely torn, and an unbearable cold spread through my entire body. When I tried to understand what had happened, I realized I no longer had legs—or rather, they'd been crushed along with most of my waist.

Beside me, I noticed that at least my package had survived.

Heh. So it really was worth paying for the more expensive edition. They said it was ultra durable...

Between the wail of ambulances and the screams of the people around me, I felt myself losing my senses, little by little.

So this is what dying feels like.

Damn it...