Chapter 1 OOG Vol. 1 Prologue

Prologue

“Chief Okuno, I’m heading out for the day.”

“Good work. Get home safe.”

The last rookie finally left, leaving me alone in the office for the night.

“Looks like I’m the last one here again today. Oh well. It’s not like anyone’s waiting up for me, so it’s less complicated this way.”

Muttering to myself, I turned my eyes back to the PC monitor.

Recent labor laws have placed strict limits on overtime. Even so, there are still times when you just have to get the work done. The main problem is that, for me, those ‘times’ seem to happen far too often.

“…Alright, I guess I’ll call it a night here.”

An hour had passed since the rookie left. I let out an exhausted sigh and shut down my PC.

I drained the last of my water bottle, pulled my shoulder bag out from under the desk, and pushed myself up from the chair. My body protests when I move too suddenly, though the complaints aren’t too loud just yet. Actually, come to think of it, there was a time when my shoulders felt like they were screaming.

I checked the time on my phone, signed my name and the time on the final exit log, and left the office.

I always take the stairs down from the third floor; it’s my small attempt at staying healthy. I have no idea if it actually makes a difference, but it’s got to be better than nothing.

As I went to set my foot on the first step, I hesitated for some reason. It felt as if I had already taken that step.

While caught in this strange sensation, I heard a familiar voice calling from somewhere far away.

“…Soshi-sama, Soshi-sama.”

It was the lovely voice of a young girl, calling my name.

“…Ah, right. This is a dream…”

I pulled my foot back and focused my consciousness intently on the voice. My surroundings seemed to dissolve into light. Come to think of it, I feel like I experienced a similar light back then, too…

“Soshi-sama, good morning.”

“Ah, morning. Sorry, did I oversleep?”

Peering down at me with a worried expression was a beautiful girl with golden hair and striking blue eyes. I answered her as I slowly sat up. Unlike my ‘dream’ self, there wasn’t a single ache in my body. Instead, this lean, muscular form moved perfectly, exactly as I commanded it.

“You seemed to be having a bit of a nightmare. Were you dreaming of something unpleasant?”

“Unpleasant… Yeah, you could say that. But it’s fine. I’m okay, really.”

I looked around and saw I was in a small space enclosed by thick canvas. Only then did I remember that we had pitched tents for the night.

I got to my feet and followed the girl outside the tent.

We were standing on a wide-open plain. A forest lay in the distance, and beyond that, a range of mountains stretched across the horizon. It was untamed nature as far as the eye could see, with the cobblestone road we were camped near being the only sign of civilization.

“Oh, Soshi, morning! It’s rare for you to be up so late.”

Another girl bounded over, her purple hair bouncing. A pair of wolf-like ears twitched on her head, and a thick, fluffy tail wagged behind her. She, too, was an adorable girl I’d certainly never met in my ‘dream.’

“I was having a weird dream. That’s probably why.”

“Oh? What kind of dream?”

“One where I was forced to work late every night for terrible pay.”

“That sounds like a total nightmare! You already work too hard as it is, Soshi. You should at least get to relax in your dreams.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

The girl didn’t seem to notice the bitter smile that crossed my face as I answered.

The wolf-eared girl bounded back to where a large pot was steaming over a camp stove. I walked over and peered inside.

“That smells fantastic. Nothing like a good hot meal to start the day.”

At my words, the third girl, who was handling the cooking, looked up.

She was another beautiful girl, with silver hair tied back in a ponytail and features so perfect she looked like a doll. Her pointed ears only served to enhance her otherworldly beauty.

“We managed to get some good meat from the last dungeon. Traveling the roads is always so much more enjoyable when you’re with us, Soshi. We always eat well.”

“I feel the same way. It’s because you’re all here that even camping out like this is fun. If I were alone, I’d never even consider spending the night in a place like this.”

“Hehe, you’re right. It’s definitely fun because we’re all together. By the way, your story about that dream… it sounded so much like you, I couldn’t help but laugh.”

“I know, right? I’m just glad it was only a dream.”

Still smiling wryly, I walked a short distance away and did some light stretches.

No aching shoulders, no creaking back, no sore knees. This world was completely different from the ‘dream.’ I was no longer a corporate employee working for someone else. I was no longer the workaholic who’d buried himself in his job until even his wife had given up on him.

I thought the word Item Box, and a black void opened in the empty air before me.

I reached inside and pulled out a massive metal mace and a tower shield large enough to hide my entire body. Both weighed well over a hundred kilograms. They were not objects any normal person could possibly wield, let alone with one hand.

And yet, I could swing them both as effortlessly as if they were children’s toys.

“…I really do belong to this world now, don’t I?”

I looked up at the piercing blue sky and muttered to myself.

Maybe that ‘dream’ really was just a dream after all.

Maybe I was born and raised in this world from the very beginning. Just like these girls.

Believing that… it felt like it would be easier to live earnestly.

“Soshi-sama, the food is ready!”

“I’ll be right there.”

I stored my weapons back in the Item Box and headed over to the girls.

Not as Soshi Okuno, the man from the ‘dream,’ but as Soshi Okuno, the man of this world.

“…Being able to think like this… it’s probably because I formed a party with them.”

Back when I first came to this world, when I was still working alone, I don’t think I ever felt this refreshed.

Yes, not back in those days, right after I’d been thrown into this world, all alone.