I opened my eyes and saw a white ceiling.

The Primordial Dark will hasten its awakening, Omegaɑ’s words echoed in my ears.

“Crap! The battle!” I jumped up and looked around for any danger.

But I realized that things were somehow wrong when I saw a black-haired boy who was around my age.

“Mikage-kun! You’re finally awake!” he smiled.

“H-Haruto-kun?” I couldn’t believe my eyes.

He was the one and only Domyoji Haruto, my gaming friend in high school. What was he doing here? Was he summoned too?

“I was surprised to find out that you got involved in a car accident just after you bought Demon May Cry! I wondered why you weren’t online in Ancient Tales and when I visited your house, your mom said that you are in the hospital!” he patted my shoulder.

What was going on? Accident? Ancient Tales?

I ran towards the nearest window and opened it. Modern buildings were nearby and I could see cars. But the most surprising part was that when I saw the people, all of them were humans.

No one had horns, animal ears and tails, and all other weird things. They were wearing clothes that should be expected in the 21st century. And then I saw that there were signs with Japanese words.

“Hey… Haruto-kun… What happened?” I asked.

“You got involved in a car accident, dude. It was a rainy night so the driver couldn’t see clearly so he accidentally hit you. He immediately drove you to the hospital and you were saved. But you were unconscious for an entire day”, Haruto answered.

What? What’s going on? Was this a plot of the Unkindness? Could this be an illusion or a falsified reality?

I felt pain when I touched my head that had stitches. Anya once told me about one surefire way of getting out of falsified realities and that was the only thing I could do.

After taking a deep breath, I slammed my head on the wall.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” Haruto-kun ran towards me.

Blood came out of my head and the pain made me grit my teeth. Aside from that, nothing happened.

“This is reality”, I muttered.

I began laughing. So that’s what it was! It was all a dream!

Primordial Dark? Unkindness? Westa? Administrative officer?

Those were just fantasies. I wasn’t involved in anything strange. My life was just being a regular high school student who loved playing video games! I wasn’t in danger and I had no responsibilities like managing the paperwork of an entire knight unit! There was no organization who was out to take me and the Primordial Dark inside me! The Primordial Dark didn’t even exist in the first place!

“Mikage-kun… Are you okay?” Haruto-kun asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be? All my worries and anxieties are gone! I’m so relieved!” I continued laughing.

“Then why are you crying?”

I noticed a different warm feeling on my face. It was a different feeling from blood and when I touched it, I saw a clear liquid.

If that was all a dream… Then Anya, Temma, Captain Noel, Oga, and all the other friends I had weren’t real… That meant Amelia also wasn’t real.

Tears flowed down my eyes as an indescribable pain clenched my heart. Why? I should be relieved that I was just a normal high school student so why was I wishing to be back in that dangerous world?

No… I knew the answer.

I just wanted to see my friends.

###

“Are you okay, Mikage-kun?” Haruto-kun asked as we walked out of the hospital.

“Yeah… I’m fine”, I answered.

Three days have already passed since I woke up in this world and little by little, I was beginning to accept reality. Everything matched up to what I can remember before I was summoned. This was really my world.

“We can play Ancient Tales tonight! It’s been some time since we partied together so we can kick ass!” Haruto-kun said.

“Yeah”, I replied.

We arrived at the park and saw a black-haired man looking for something below a pole that had a clock on it. Even though the last time I saw him was the day before I got into an accident, it felt like several weeks had passed.

It was most likely because I spent so much time in that little dream I had.

“What are you doing, Takagi-san?” I asked.

He looked up and saw Haruto and me. His name was Kamishiro Takagi, my older cousin who was a police officer.

“Ah. Mikage-kun! And Haruto-kun! Fancy meeting you here!” he said.

“What are you looking for, Takagi-san? Aren’t you supposed to be on duty?” Haruto-kun asked.

I could see sweat forming on his face as he had a troubled expression. After thinking about it, he sighed and moved close to us in order to whisper something.

“I lost my police notebook”, he said.

Ah… This was troubling. A police notebook was important for officers like him since they contain sensitive information about the cases they were handling. I could imagine how much trouble he could get into if his superiors find out.

“I’ve been looking all over this park the whole day but I can’t find it”, Takagi-san sighed.

“Why this park?” I asked.

“This is the last time I was sure I had it. I stopped a fight between two men by showing my police notebook and telling them I’m a cop. I already turned my apartment upside down and I still couldn’t find it so I thought this park might have it.”

“Then couldn’t those men have picked it up?” Haruto-kun suggested.

“I don’t really remember their names. All I knew is that one of them was a singer of some sort threatening to kill the older man who might be his manager because his MV wasn’t going to be published. I stepped in because murder threats are serious business.”

“You didn’t get their names?” I asked.

“I wanted to go home as soon as possible so I let them off with a warning. But if I remember correctly, the singer was named Musashi.”

“That’s really helpful. Let’s just knock all the houses that had people with ‘Musashi’ in their names. If we’re lucky, there’s only like hundreds of them in Sanada City”, Haruto-kun sarcastically said.

If Amelia was here, what would she do? What kind of deduction could she make from the limited information?

“Do you remember what their feet were wearing?” I asked.

Takagi-san thought a bit.

“The older man was wearing black leather shoes while Musashi-san was wearing sandals”, he said.

“Then that means Musashi-san lives nearby”, I replied.

“Ah!” Takagi-san and Haruto-kun exclaimed when they heard me say that.

After all, shoes were a common footwear for most adults in Japan. The only time when an adult would wear sandals was when they were taking a casual stroll in their neighborhood.

We walked towards a nearby payphone and read the phone book. But despite spending several minutes reading it, we couldn’t find someone named Musashi.

“Maybe it’s their first name?” Takagi-san asked.

“This phone book has more than 1000 pages with even more names. It’s not even guaranteed that Musashi-san would place his number in a public document like this”, I answered.

“Then why don’t we ask the music companies in this city? We can narrow it down”, Haruto-kun suggested.

“It won’t work. There are like many music companies here and they might not be willing to give information even if we got a cop on our side.”

“Hey, Mikage-kun. Since when were you this reliable in investigations?” Takagi-san asked.

“This is what Amelia would do.”

“Who’s Amelia?” Haruto-kun was confused.

Ah…

“She… was a friend”, I answered.

That’s right. She never existed in the first place…

“What should we do? Ask the locals in case they might know him?” Haruto-kun asked.

“Let’s try to find it in the park again. There’s no guarantee that Musashi-san has his notebook so let’s not invest too much in finding him”, I said.

We returned to the park and were about to continue looking for it when we saw someone approach us with a smiling face.

“It’s the police officer from yesterday! How are you?” the man said.

“Y-You’re Musashi-san!” Takagi-san exclaimed.

Ah. Looks like we were blessed by luck today.

Luck is still my ally. You are right, Anya, I smiled.

“Is something wrong, police officer?” Musashi-san asked.

“Did you by chance see a police notebook here yesterday?” Takagi-san looked at him desperately.

“Sorry but I didn’t pick up a notebook. If you’re looking for it, I can help you!”

Musashi-san immediately crouched down and started looking. He seemed to be very enthusiastic.

“My manager has an appointment with me today but he hasn't arrived yet. He’s a huge drinker so I’m not surprised that he got drunk again last night. I decided to kill time by walking around here”, he said.

“Then why didn’t you go to his apartment to check?” Takagi-san asked.

“He lives alone far away and it’ll be a one hour drive if I take the car! He is really helpless and useless but I will not give up on him.”

“Really? You were threatening to kill him yesterday though.”

“I was just angry. That’s why I am thankful that you stopped us before I did something stupid that will make me regret things for the rest of my life. With that, I’ll make sure to thank you by sticking with you until you find your police notebook!”

“There’s no need for that. I already looked all over the park so it’s hopeless. I’ll just apologize to the chief.”

“What’s that on your pants?” Haruto-kun asked.

We looked down and saw a green paste on the bottom part of his pants. Musashi-san wiped it and smiled.

“It’s probably shampoo. I cleaned my bathroom so it probably got there”, he explained.

“Is that so?” I asked.

“By the way, officer. What time is it?”

“It’s 1 PM”, Takagi-san answered after looking at his watch.

“Ah, crap! It’s already 1 PM! I haven’t had lunch yet! Let’s go to the nearby buffet place! It’s an all-you-can-eat for two hours! I’ll be treating you three!”

“Sorry. I already ate lunch and I need to find my police notebook in other places.”

“Pass”, Haruto-kun said.

“Same here”, I added.

Musashi-san sighed but after that, he smiled.

“I’ll be eating lunch at that buffet store! I’ll be spending two whole hours there and eating my heart out!”

After waving goodbye, Musashi-san skipped while smiling happily.

“He’s a creepy guy”, Takagi-san said.

“Creepy? My gut feeling says he’s suspicious”, Haruto-kun added.

“It’s just a gut feeling anyways. Let’s ignore that.”

“No! Don’t underestimate your gut feeling. A good detective values his gut feeling. Your subconscious can see the inconsistencies and odd parts in this situation before your logical mind can fully notice and understand them. There is something wrong and we just need to find the right angle to crack this case down”, I said.

Takagi-san and Haruto-kun looked at each other and frowned.

“That’s a cool quote. Where did you hear that one from?” Haruto-kun asked.

Ah.

“From a friend… That’s what she would say if she’s here”, I answered.

Wait a minute… If Amelia was here, she could see what was wrong. I just needed to think like her.

I closed my eyes and tried to think about what I observed. Every single thing was a clue. I just needed to piece things together

“Musashi-san is a murderer”, I muttered.

“What?” Takagi-san was confused by what I said.

“Isn’t it weird that he asked you what time it is? If he lives near this area, then he should know that there’s a clock in this park.”

“And that makes him a murderer?” Haruto-kun asked.

“The shampoo on his pants. It’s common knowledge that people would roll up their pants when they are cleaning their bathroom. But he said that shampoo got into his pants despite that. It could only mean that he’s lying.”

Takagi-san had a serious expression on his face and Haruto-kun looked interested.

“Musashi-san probably brought his manager along to his apartment and killed him. After that, he went to this park to find someone who can solidify his alibi. That’s why he asked you what time it is to leave an impression on your mind and will help him greatly in his trick.”

“But what is his trick?” Haruto-kun asked.

“He killed the manager and walked around town. Once the night comes, he would move the corpse to his manager’s house and leave it there. He’ll make it look like it’s an accident and since the manager lives alone, the body’s discovery will be delayed.”

“I see! If the police would do forensic analysis on his body, they can conclude that he died sometime around 1 PM. Musashi-san said that it’s a one-hour drive from here to his manager’s apartment so if he’s spotted walking around like this, his alibi will be good!”

Takagi-san sighed and patted my head.

“Good effort in the deduction, Mikage-kun. But it’s not enough”, he said.

“What do you mean?”

“You said it’s common knowledge that the pants should be rolled up when cleaning the bathroom, right? I don’t do it cause it’s a hassle.”

“Oh yeah. Dad doesn’t do it too”, Haruto-kun muttered.

“Also, it’s an accident that I lost my notebook. So if he was going to solidify his alibi, he should’ve gone to the restaurant immediately instead of talking to me like that, right? A deduction is only good if the foundations are solid. Otherwise, you’ll be making far leaps of logic.”

I clenched my fist as I acknowledged that he was correct. But for some reason, I wasn’t satisfied. My gut feeling was telling me that something was wrong.

“Let’s just ask him then!” Haruto-kun walked towards the restaurant.

“H-Hey!” Takagi-san tried to stop him but he failed.

It didn’t take long for us to arrive at the buffet restaurant. But more questions appeared in my mind when I saw Musashi-san who was seated in the window seat.

“That’s weird. He’s not touching his food. What is he doing wasting time in a buffet like that?” Haruto-kun asked.

The more important question was what Musashi-san was currently doing. He was anxiously looking at the clock as if he was waiting for something.

And then it clicked to me on what might be happening.

“I’m just half-correct”, I muttered.

I sprinted from that place and desperately asked the locals for Musashi-san’s address. There was no way I could ask him that since he would just try to buy time. After all, his plan was very simple.

It was a mistake to not let him introduce himself. I had problems trying to learn his location because all I could ask was about a singer who had the name ‘Musashi.’ The problem was that he wasn’t really famous because no one even heard of him.

I see. That could be the motive, I thought.

An old lady was walking and I approached to ask her the same question I’ve been asking for the past few minutes.

“Excuse me… Do you know where a singer named ‘Musashi-san’ is living? I need to talk to him”, I asked.

“Musashi-san?? Ah! That enka singer!” she exclaimed.

Jackpot!

“Do you know where he lives, ma’am?”

“No. I just see him hanging around here.”

Damn. That wasn’t a jackpot.

“But he is a weird one. Last night, I saw him buy a huge block of ice. After he left the store, he took a concrete brick from a nearby construction site.”

I then realized what kind of trick he was going to use and that made things even urgent because there was no time left! I had to find his apartment if I wanted to save his manager!

“Sakuyake Apartment Complex”, Takagi-san’s voice said behind me.

“Eh?”

“Musashi-san lives in Sakuyake Apartment Complex. We just asked a nearby pub which he visits regularly.”

“Why are you here?”

“It’s the first time I saw you putting on that serious expression, Mikage-kun. That’s why I convinced Takagi-san to help you”, Haruto-kun answered.

I then sprinted towards the Sakuyake Apartment Complex while Haruto-kun and Takagi-san were following me.

“Are you really sure that he’s a murderer?” Takagi-san asked.

“No! He’s not yet a murderer! We can still save the manager!” I answered.

“What do you mean by that?” Haruto-kun asked.

“Last night, he bought a large block of ice and stole a concrete brick! He’s going to hang that brick using a rope and tie it to the ice block. Over time, the ice would melt and once it’s weak enough, the brick will fall on the manager’s body!”

“So that’s why he was anxious about the time! He is trying to build a good alibi. If the brick falls down while he was seen doing something, then he’ll be out of the suspect lists!” Haruto-kun exclaimed.

“That’s right! Once the manager is dead, he’ll just place his body at a different place and make it look like an accident! And even if the police would suspect any foul play, he is still off the suspect list!”

We arrived in front of his apartment’s room and as I expected, the door was locked.

“Let’s go, Anya!” I shouted.

However, a kris sword didn’t appear. I then realized that I still didn’t move on from my fantasies and clenched my fists.

Thinking there was no other choice, I kicked down the door and dashed inside. I entered the bathroom and I was relieved to find the manager tied up inside the bathtub with a piece of concrete hanging above him.

Wait… I was relieved to see him still alive. I wasn’t happy that he was in that situation.

I got him out of harm's way and untied him. Takagi-san was surprised to see that I was correct while Haruto-kun looked amazed.

“Thank you, Officer Kamishiro”, he bowed down after he was safe.

“Wait. How did you know my name?” Takagi-san asked.

“Well, of course. I saw it written here.”

The manager took out a notebook from his pocket and Takagi-san laughed. Looks like two cases were closed.

###

Everything was resolved nicely. Takagi-san reported this to his chief and Musashi-san was arrested. All should be well but Takagi-san was reprimanded for lying to the chief that he was sick so he had to take a day off and he got in even more trouble for losing his notebook.

When the chief’s lecture was finished, Takagi-san dejectedly walked towards us.

“This isn’t a completely happy ending, huh?” Haruto-kun grinned.

“Let’s just be glad that we saved a life”, I said.

“It’s thanks to you, Mikage-kun. You really are amazing”, Takagi-san patted my shoulder.

“Yeah! You’re like a really cool detective! You should pursue a career in that!” Haruto-kun agreed.

“I’m still not good enough. I know a detective who can easily solve a case like this in a flash.”

“What are you saying, Mikage? You’re already exceptional! If there are better detectives, they must be in fiction or a dream!” Takagi-san laughed.

Dream.

Good job, Mikage. I’m proud of you, I heard Amelia’s voice.

From the distance, I thought I saw several people. Anya, Temma, Captain Noel, Oga, Suisei, and all other people I met in that dream were smiling back at me. In front of them was a blonde woman in a brown coat and cap.

She took off her cap and winked at me.

Goodbye, I could hear Amelia’s voice.

A car sped by and I could no longer see them.

That’s right.

I am just Kamishiro Mikage, a former delinquent and now an avid video game fan. I got involved in an accident one rainy night and had the best dream I ever had. It was a dream I could never forget and even if they weren’t real, I knew my feelings for the friends I made there were.

This is my story. I am just another person in this world.

I am not from another world.

[FROM ANOTHER WORLD END]