Abandoned

English Ver. (Translation by Nico)

Chapter One: Abandoned

When I opened my eyes, I was supposed to be a hero in an isekai, an alternate reality. Or, I could have been abducted by terrorists and killed. It would have been a lot easier to explain had either of those been the case.

The fading-orange sky of dawn extended into the horizon. The temperature was low, and gusts of wind intermittently kicked sand up into my face.

Frankly, I have absolutely no idea how I ended up here. My field of vision suddenly warped, and it was as if I was swallowed up by a dark, swirling something. My mind was also completely blank as to what I was up to just before this happened—I couldn’t seem to recall a thing.

Whatever the case, with the reality of the surrounding desert, and daybreak coming soon, I realized this was a matter of life or death for me.

“Alright, well… what do I do now?”

Flying sand shot into my mouth with coarseness. Yet, while I mumbled to myself, there was no mistaking that I was alone for dozens of miles.

Fortunately, at the very least, it was not completely desert, but trees were growing here and there. If I hid myself in the scant greenery as I went on, I could have avoided direct sunlight, possibly preventing some exhaustion.

It’s actually surprising how level-headed I felt, but given these circumstances, I didn’t really have a sense of reality.

I was completely naked until I stumbled upon two dried-out, mummified even, corpses, whose clothes I graciously received near the area I woke up. However, there was nothing on them—nothing worth anything, no maps, and so no way to get anywhere nearby. I didn't even know what country this was. Perhaps this truly was an isekai, but there wasn’t a hint of people or even the slightest sign of civilization.

It’s no good. I’m completely screwed.

All I could do was laugh at how hopeless the situation was.

Did I do something that caused someone to bear such a grudge against me? It’s hard to believe: a mere office worker, like myself, could do something to earn enough scorn that I would be damned to the ends of the earth like this.

I pinched and slapped my face as if it was a scene from a manga or a novel, and it hurt quite a bit. This was, unfortunately, not a dream.

The sun-rays were exceptionally harsh, roasting my skin at a scorching rate. I tried to walk a bit around the area, but the shoes I got from the corpses weren’t amazing at protecting me from the heat of the ground, and each step was met with an assault of sand entering inside of them.

I could see a gentle flock of birds in the distant sky. My sense of escapism wouldn’t stop—I thought to myself, If only I had wings I could easily get out...Maybe this is just a dream after all... But the desert extended three-hundred-sixty degrees all around, and as I walked aimlessly I felt I could pass out from the torrid state.

The word “death” popped into my mind. If things went on like this, would I end up as one of its meals?

But wait! The fact that there are corpses and living things means, certainly, somewhere nearby—how close, I don’t know—people are living.

With new-found determination, I began to take bold steps off into the great desert yonder, not knowing my destination.

Let’s try and fight against fate. Who knows how long I can hold up.