Chapter 1:You have to die to get home

“Tch, it hurts like hell.”

I was sure the most powerful handgun in the world would be enough to kill me.
But it just hurts like crazy, and far from dying, not a drop of blood comes out.

I tucked the .44 Magnum back into its holster and decided to gaze at the sky again.

“The sky’s so damn clear~ Unlike my heart, which is anything but.”

Sora, huh? Sora.
Maybe it would’ve been better to name it Kumori Zora instead.

Yeah, Sora (空), meaning “sky”—that’s my name in this place.

So why is a purebred Korean like me using a Japanese-style name?

Why, you ask? Because I was forcibly reincarnated, that’s why.
And not just anywhere—into a Korean game called Blue Archive.[^1]

“Damn it… Where the hell am I…?”

Back then, I’d just finished a tough job and was definitely asleep in my own home.
But when I opened my eyes, I found myself waking up in Kivotos.

And not just that—my body had changed into a younger version of myself, with long sky-blue hair and sky-blue eyes.

[We’re truly sorry for suddenly bringing you here.]

Along with a strange message floating in front of me.

[But you, and only you, are the one who can fulfill my request, so we had no choice but to summon you.]

[You are currently in Abidos, an autonomous district. It’s undergoing desertification and facing great hardship.]

[Not only that, but due to the desertification, many residents have left, leaving this place nearly abandoned.
On top of that, Abidos High School, once the wealthiest in the area, is now burdened with a staggering 900 million yen in debt from massive loans—a place that’s hard to call good by any stretch.]

[My request is simple: please save Takanotsume Hoshino, the girl who’s been silently holding on alone at Abidos High School. I beg you.]

[You don’t need to do anything grand. You don’t have to pay off the debt or stop the desertification.]

[Just… just being by her side is enough.]

[Please, don’t let that girl be left alone.]

[Of course, it might be tough. Maybe, just maybe, your life could be in danger.]

[But don’t worry. Even if you lose your life, you’ll simply return to your original world without any change in time.]

[So, I’m truly, truly sorry to ask this of you, but please.]

[Save her. Save Hoshino.]

The message ended there.

And my reaction to it was, naturally:

“Stop screwing around and send me home, damn it…!”

It could only be negative.

You forcibly reincarnate me into Kivotos with a gender swap, and now what? Save her?
Save who? I’m the one who needs saving here!

And above all:

“Hoshino gets saved later anyway…”

I’ve played Blue Archive, so I know exactly who Hoshino is.

Her name is Takanotsume Hoshino. A third-year student in the original story, the leader of the Abidos Countermeasures Committee, and Kivotos’ most mysterious character.

She has a tragic past but is eventually saved by her juniors and someone called “Teacher.”

So even if she’s alone now, her juniors will join her soon enough. Why the hell do I need to save her?

I only know her one-sidedly from the game. I don’t have the slightest connection or memory with her.

What? You think she’s pitiful? Just invest three years, you say? If you die, you’ll return to your original world with no time change, so it’s fine, right?

That’s easy to say when you don’t know the full picture.

What if that message is a lie? What if it’s just a fabrication to make me act without worry, promising something impossible? How can I be sure it’s true?

And above all, this [if you die, you’ll return] thing is the biggest headache.

When does a person usually die?

Let’s say around 100 years old.

If my current body is about 15, that means I’d have to live here for 85 years.

Could you keep your memories of your original world intact for that long?

I don’t think I could.

Even if it’s just three years and then I die, three years isn’t short. And more than that:

“Dying’s not exactly easy, is it…?”

It’s scary, for one thing. And with a Halo that even bullets can’t penetrate, how the hell am I supposed to die easily?

But…

“If I can’t die, I can’t go home…”

It’s an unfair situation, but in the end, there’s only one choice.

To go home, I have to die.

And I have to do it while I still hold onto my memories of my original world.