Read Novel Full prologue
Prologue
TLN: So, I just randomly stumbled upon this novel. Is it good? Is it bad? I have no idea. There are like, two reviews for this novel (quite positive though) and I can only read these things as I’m translating them on-the-fly. The premise seems interesting enough. Anyways, how often I update this or even if I continue it at all is up to you guys.
Author’s Note:
Just a note, this work is written by a junior high school student. There’s probably little writing ability and there are many places where expressions are underdeveloped. At least, that’s what I think, but you all will probably think that too.
I think the progression is also underdeveloped…
However, I’d be pleased if you’re able to enjoy it.
“─Hm? What’s going on…”
The hands of the clock in the classroom pointed at 8:19.
It was a minute after the beginning of morning activities, everyone was paying attention in their seats before the chime, all on standby, when something suddenly happened.
The floor is shining…! It’s bright…?!
Sitting two seats from the front of the window was Kondou Shun, and though he quickly noticed the abrupt event, the floor continued to further grow in brightness so he reflexively shut his eyes against the excessive shining.
Other people had also noticed the faint glimmer on the floor in the beginning, but at the moment where the glimmering instantly increased at a rate that couldn’t be compared to, the whole classroom finally began to notice the strange event.
“What’s this?!” “I…I can’t see!” “It’s too bright…!”
Everyone tried to block the light attacking their eyes using their arms, so since they lost their field of vision, they couldn’t find the position of the door to exit. It was a tough situation where they couldn’t exit the classroom even if they wanted to.
And a few seconds later, as the light overflowed in the classroom, there was an abrupt silence in the room.
▣ ▣ ▣ ▣ ▣ ▣
Our peaceful, everyday life soon came to be a thing of the past.
But accidents are unavoidable in life. For instance, the kind of situation where you forget to turn in your homework, have to resubmit it, do boring committee work, face the strict club activities advisor, the kind of routine that felt really long.
However, even if I call it my peaceful everyday life, I feel that these kinds of long days happened to me on almost a daily basis.
As usual in the morning, I succumbed to an assaulting drowsiness, having my head laying on my classroom desk───
“Kondou…good morning. Same as ever today, aren’t you? *Giggling*”
A beautiful girl smiled gently beside Shun’s desk.
“…Huh? Oh…ooh! Good morning, Minesaki! Sorry that I keep on dozing off…”
“It’s not something you need to apologize for, you know? I think you’re fine as is…Well then, I’m going to go over to my friends, see you later, okay?”
“Um, right…!”
*Giggles*
─Yeah.
The one everyone admires, excelling both academically and physically, the perfect beauty with an attractive face and figure, Minesaki Karin, talked to me for some reason.
Naturally, it was not just in the morning, and I don’t recall us becoming friends, yet she comes into contact with me, as if we’re friends, during breaks between classes and during lunch almost daily.
Due to that, Minesaki, the one everyone admires, walks to my desk during break time and comes into contact with me, a loner dozing off. This causes everyone in the class, along with whole grade, to direct irrationally ill-feelings towards me in envy.
Naturally, we’re not friends, as up until this point, I’ve had to live the life of a loner.
There’s still another person as well───
“Shun, were you sleeping again~? Did you play too many games during the night? You have to take good care of your body, right?”
“Oh, Yuuma is it? I couldn’t stop myself…I was so close to defeating the boss.”
“Well then. Let’s go and kill it together today. I also can’t beat the boss.”
“Sure. I’m free.”
“That so…? Whoops, morning activities are about to start. Well, I’ll return to my seat.”
Upon saying that, the problematic friend returned to his seat.
Asano Yuuma. He also had an attractive figure, excelling academically and physically. He felt exactly like a male-version of Minesaki. Being on good terms with him somehow came to be inevitable because he was a friend from elementary school, but the piercing gazes I get from the girls are seriously sharp.
It’s not my fault! It was inevitable!
I stopped myself from shouting that, but I wanted to complain to the point of yelling.
*Sigh*
As a result, I felt the large amount of piercing gazes from everyone but Minesaki and Yuuma, once again reminding me that I only have these two people on my side.
Those two surely were making a wasted effort, you could say that they were “casting their pearls before swine.”
Well actually, I’m not fat, I’m quite skinny, so perhaps it’d be better to say they were “casting their pearls before skinny swine.”
To tell the truth though, pigs are actually quite slim as they since they low body fat, but…
For the time being, I’ll move on from this pig talk.
Well anyways, due to that, I’ve been getting irrationally ill-feelings from everyone on a daily basis, and that’s why each day feels so long in my case.
“What did I do to everyone…?”
While holding such a question daily, I start each day off with the painful glares from everyone.
Even now and in the future, I, Shun, thought that such a daily life would continue.
“Huh? What’s this…?”
However, on this day, an accident suddenly appeared.
When the floor faintly shined, was it better for me to run away?
Or was it better not to run away?
▷ ▷ ▷ ▷ ▷ ▷
Confirming that he was still breathing, he felt relieved.
He opened my heavy eyelids slowly, and though the field of vision was dim, it was soon clear that this wasn’t the classroom.
The depth of the ceiling was definitely greater than that of the classroom, there was absolutely no graffiti, and various beautiful paintings spread across the walls.
The fluorescent lights, the electric fans, the usual white ceiling, and such were all gone. What was there were a chandelier, an abundance of small windows, and chiseled stone engravings on the ceiling.
“Where…am I?”
It’s appearance was really medieval-like, and the only thing that comes to mind for a place like this are the churches in Japan.
Did the church abduct everyone…?
However, taking a look at the wide interior, the elaborate framework of the structures does not match the image of a church.
Huh?! What’s with everyone?!
Realizing that for some reason, everyone in the class were sprawled and laying around the vicinity, a shocked Shun immediately rushed over to Yuuma and checked if he was breathing.
“…Whew, he’s still alive.”
He did not think he would see such a shocking image when getting up.
As Shun was thinking of such a thing, Yuuma’s sleeping stopped and he suddenly got up.
“…*Yawn*…hmm? Oh, Shun…? Huh…? Where are we?!”
“I’d like to hear that answer as well…I was also sleeping until a while ago.”
“I…I see. My bad.”
“It’s fine, although I didn’t say it, I’m also in quite a panic, so I don’t mind.”
With a bitter smile, Yuuma immediately got up and looked around.
It seemed like he was looking at the surrounding classmates that had fallen over.
“Everyone’s also been asleep. Alright Shun, first we have to wake everyone up.”
“Huh…you switch gears fast…”
“Don’t make that unpleasant face…let’s go.”
“…Yeah, yeah.”
So, Yuuma and Shun split up the work of waking everyone.
“Heeey. Get upー…I don’t even know if it’s morning, but just get up for now.”
Shun lazily shook the classmate’s body two or three times after speaking, going to wake up the other classmates in a similar manner.
People don’t really favor waking up someone they dislike…
Shun grew reluctant on waking up the classmates that treating him unpleasantly, but he controlled his patience and woke up five people.
Ah…
Suddenly, Shun, who was reluctant up until now, worked with the intent of quickly finishing. Minesaki was there somewhere…
Minesaki was there somewhere~…!
Then, he could see a glance of her beautiful, well-ordered face under the gaps of her long, silky, pretty black hair. Shun instinctively halted in front of Minesaki Karin’s exposed, beautiful body that could easily pass for a model.
“Wo…Woah…─”
Going on like a bell, words began overflowing, as if Shun’s brain had exploded, when seeing her faint breaths and innocent, lovely face:
W-w-w-what to do?! Yuuma only woken up six people who lied down so he wouldn’t come here soon for the time being…But is it okay for someone like me to wake up Minesaki?! No! Absolutely not! Minesaki’s a young girl…some pretty boy ought to wake her up! But no, it’s impolite to leave her lying down like this…! Just what do I do…?! To be honest, I want to wake her up…! Of course I do! But…no, can’t I, who faces unreasonable discrimination, get at least one reward?! Right…this is a reward. This is the fresh water that sprouts forth in a dried-out desert. There’s no idiot that would refuse the water necessary for life in the desert! So, I will enjoy this moment at this time!
─*Gulp…*
“Minesaki, Minesaki…get up”
Having been in his conflict for a mere ten seconds, Shun, whose brain had miraculously stopped its rapid onslaught of words, was no longer hesitant.
He gently shook her slender, soft shoulder.
“…Hmm….ah…? Ahh!? Y-your here, Kondou!?”
As her eyes slowly opened, they steadily focused on Shun, and she got up in a panic.
“Morning, Minesaki. It’s seems the roles have switched now, huh?”
Shun restrained his skyrocketing feelings, going through a delightful conversation and giving a smile to Karin while retaining his presence of mind.
“…!?….Um….”
Karin was fixedly staring at Shun’s face for some reason, her cheeks blushing.
“Uh? Minesaki? Are you feeling pain anywhere or something?”
“N, no no! That’s not it…Aside from that, do you know where this is, Kondou?”
Kain suddenly got up, opened her eyes wide, looked at her surroundings, and asked Shun that straightforward question.
“Ah…no, I don’t know either. I was asleep like you were until just a while ago…”
“Is that so…”
“Really, Minesaki…I was little surprised at the complete 180 the interior took.
Minesaki quickly replied while impressed,
“K, Kondou…that…”
“…?!”
Her cheeks feeling flushed, Minesaki, whose eyes drifted downwards, made Shun’s heart skyrocket like never before.
W, what’s going on?!
While Shun was nervous, Karin, who faced downwards, shifted back up to Shun, and began to speak,
“Um…t, thanks…for waking me up…”
“Huh? Oh, oh! It’s fine! It’s not particularly something to thank me for!”
“Y, yeah! I know that! But…I’m glad that it was you that woke m─”
“Hmm? You said something?”
“It, it was nothing!”
“…?”
“Shun! Are you finished over thereー?”
While tilting his head, Yuuma ran up while saying so, and upon being told that by Shun that he was done, he smiled while putting his hand on Shun’s shoulder, saying “I see.”
The classmates were hardly awake, so they waited five minutes.
And so five minutes passed.
“Okay! Is everyone up?”
“Yep”
While hearing similar responses here and there, Yuuma clapped his hands and began talking about them being here,
“First of all, if any of you knows why we were all sleeping together in this place, please say something.”
Yuuma said so, but nobody raised their hand.
“…I see…So it seems like everyone, including myself, doesn’t know. I can only think that this is some kind of abduction prank or something.”
“Yeah…”
Karin affirmed Yuuma’s words, nodded her head to the talk of abduction while harboring unease.
Afterwards, one after another, the classmates unanimously grew uneasy, but Yuuma came to a conclusion.
“I’ve been thinking about what happened…and I think it is indeed a kidnapping. In the first place, nobody hears about any pranks where you suddenly faint, and I’m not able to spot anything like a camera…That’s why I think it could only be a kidnapping. What do you guys think?”
Everyone nodded their head to that opinion.
And by nodding, everyone was scared that the worst-case scenario was, perhaps, turning out to be true.
This space that held 30 people was surrounded by eerie silence. But─
“─We have been waiting for you. Various saviors.”
“…?!” “…?!” “…?!”
─But all of a sudden, the classmates were surprised by a majestic voice, and forgot about the silence that once filled the room.
Just who was this old man…?!