Chapter Text
Prologue
arrival
A girl with dark brown and blue highlighted short hair at the back, shoulder length at the sides with curtain bangs sat while looking down, her attire just like the other students, in the hall as all of them were attending the graduation ceremony.
It was Mirai’s graduation day. She sat alone, waiting for her name to be called. Her parents weren’t there, just as they hadn’t been for most of her life.
“Takeda Mirai!”
The voice rang out over the intercom, echoing through the ceremony hall. Mirai rose to her feet and made her way to the stage. As she walked, her eyes scanned the crowd, clinging to a sliver of hope that her parents might have come after all. But they hadn’t. The seats she wished they’d occupy were empty.
She accepted her certificate with a practiced smile, one that felt more like a mask than anything genuine. When the ceremony ended, her friends invited her to join the graduation party. Mirai declined with polite thanks, though the truth was far more complicated. She had made up her mind, today, she would confront her parents.
For years, she had felt like a burden, overshadowed and unseen. Her parents had never acknowledged her achievements, and her older brother, Hiiro, had grown distant after leaving for college. He couldn’t even attend her graduation, tied up with work as always.
As Mirai walked home, her phone in hand, she distracted herself by chatting with her friends, trying to hold on to the fleeting connections she feared might be her last. Her heart weighed heavy, and though she held onto a fragile thread of hope that her parents would finally listen, she had already braced herself for the worst.
"Heyy, Miraii."
"What?"
"Why didn’t you come to the party? Breathe for a second, will you?"
"Sorry, I have plans... By the way..."
"（∵）?"
"If I die today… tell my parents it’s all their fault, cuz like... just do it, Idk how to explain it"
"What’s with the sudden...??!! Σ(ﾟДﾟ；)"
"Just do that for me, alright?, also tell hiiro it aint his fault"
Mirai sent the last message and stared at the screen. A few moments passed, and she noticed the message wasn’t getting delivered. Frowning, she tapped to retry, but it still wouldn’t go through. Frustrated, she glanced up from her phone to check if she was on the right road home, only to freeze.
The familiar streets and buildings were gone. In their place stood an unfamiliar forest, towering trees casting long shadows in the dim light. Mirai’s heart raced as she turned in circles, realizing she had no idea where she was, or how she had ended up there.
"What in the actual fuck…?! "
Mirai exclaimed in pure shock, her mind spiraling into chaos. Just moments ago, she had been on a familiar neighborhood road, and now she was in the middle of an unfamiliar forest. Panic surged through her as she frantically tried to make sense of the situation. The first thing she did was dial the emergency number on her phone, but the call wouldn’t connect. No signal, no help, nothing. Her chest tightened as the full realization hit her: she might never make it back to her world.
As night fell quicker than expected, though it might have only seemed that way because of her growing panic, Mirai forced herself to focus. If this was some strange new world, she needed to survive. Her mind raced for ideas, and then it hit her: if she climbed one of the massive trees, she might be able to spot lights and signs of civilization. Without wasting a second, she scrambled up a tree.
Her hunch was right. While the forest stretched endlessly across the horizon, Mirai spotted a faint glimmer of light in the distance, still within the forest. It was far, but it was her only hope. With sheer determination, Mirai began her trek toward the light.
For two months, Mirai pushed through the forest, walking tirelessly and sometimes losing her way, only to quickly reorient herself. Hunger and exhaustion became her constant companions, but she clung to the hope of finding someone, anyone who could help her.
A week into her journey, her fragile survival was suddenly threatened. She stumbled upon a bear, no, not just any bear, a monstrous creature with spikes protruding from its back. Its glowing red eyes locked onto her, and it immediately charged.
“Oh, come on!!” Mirai shouted as she bolted in the opposite direction. Her heart pounded wildly, the beast’s heavy footsteps shaking the ground behind her. Desperation clawed at her as she tried to think of a way out.
Shit! I need to kill this thing or I’m done for! But how? She ran through her options, her thoughts racing. Isn’t there anything in my bag I can tweak to fight it? She fumbled with her bag, praying she could find something or anything to help her survive this nightmare.
[[Confirmed. Unique skill "Designer"… successfully acquired.]]
Mirai froze for a moment, her mind still racing from the bear’s relentless pursuit. Then, an idea struck her. Wait! The power bank… maybe I can use it to explode that thing!
Without hesitation, she scrambled up a tree to put her desperate plan into action. Pulling the power bank from her bag, she lit it on fire with her lighter and hurled it toward the bear below. She held her breath as the power bank ignited, the lithium catching fire before exploding with a loud bang. The blast injured the bear, forcing it to retreat into the woods.
Mirai slumped against the tree trunk, her entire body trembling. Oh my god… I could’ve died just now. What was that thing?! Her thoughts spiraled as she tried to process what had just happened, but there was no time to dwell on it. Survival came first.
The next two months were nothing short of hell. Mirai survived on random wild fruits, praying they weren’t poisonous, and relied on rainwater to keep herself hydrated. Her newfound skill, "Designer," gave her some hope, though she was still figuring out how to use it effectively.
Every step of the journey was a battle. She was constantly on edge, dodging attacks from magical beasts, tripping over rocks, and accumulating cuts and bruises. There was no proper way to treat her injuries, her makeshift solutions barely helped. God… everything hurts so much. How long have I been walking? How much farther is this stupid city?
Her body screamed for rest, but Mirai kept pushing forward. At times, the pain was so intense she thought her bones might crack if someone so much as touched her. Just as she felt like she couldn’t go on any longer, she saw it, a light piercing through the trees.
Her heart swelled with relief as she sprinted toward it. Breaking through the dense forest, she stumbled onto what looked like… a highway? No, it wasn’t quite like the highways back home, but it was close enough.
Her thoughts raced with questions. What is this place? Could it lead to civilization? But she was too exhausted to think any further. With her body finally giving in, Mirai collapsed onto the tiles of the road.
At least… at least someone will find me now… That glimmer of hope was the last thought in her mind before everything went dark.
A few hours later, Mirai stirred as a bright light filtered through her closed eyelids. Slowly, she opened her eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the brightness. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, and standing nearby were two figures.
One was a girl with soft pink hair, kind pink eyes, and two small horns protruding from her forehead. She wore traditional shrine maiden attire, an outfit that stirred a faint sense of nostalgia in Mirai, it had been weeks since she’d seen anything remotely comforting. Beside her stood a green-skinned man with a stocky build. Green skin? Is that… a goblin? Mirai’s dazed thoughts swirled as she tried to piece everything together. Both of them visibly relaxed the moment her eyes fluttered open.
“Are you feeling better?” the pink-haired girl asked gently, her voice warm and soothing.
“We found you lying on the road during our patrol,” the man added, his tone steady but concerned.
Mirai blinked sluggishly, her throat dry and her voice hoarse. “I… where… where am I?”
“You’re in the capital city, Rimuru,” the girl replied, her calm smile doing little to ease Mirai’s confusion. “You were hurt pretty badly when we found you.”
Mirai sat up slowly, wincing at the lingering weakness in her body. Yet the sharp pain she remembered from the forest was gone, as though it had been dulled or completely healed. She glanced around. The room was modest, with wooden walls and the faint scent of incense lingering in the air. She was lying on a futon, and sunlight streamed softly through the window.
“Capital?” Mirai croaked, her brow furrowed. “What… what country is this?”
“The Jura Tempest Federation,” the girl said, her tone patient.
Mirai stared at her, trying to process the unfamiliar name. Nothing about it made sense. Jura Tempest? It sounded like something out of a fantasy novel. The memories of the past two months, the forest, the beasts, the exhaustion, crashed down on her all at once.
“I healed most of your injuries,” the girl continued softly, “but your body needs time to recover.”
Mirai rubbed her eyes and groaned faintly. “How long have I been out?”
“Just a few hours,” the man replied. His voice was firm but kind, and Mirai couldn’t help but glance at his features again, he really did look like a goblin. “You’re safe now.”
Mirai tried to swing her legs off the futon, but the moment she did, they wobbled beneath her. Her body, still worn down from weeks of survival, wasn’t ready. The pink-haired girl stepped forward quickly, steadying her with a careful hand.
“Don’t push yourself,” she said gently. “You need to rest.”
Mirai sighed in frustration, leaning back onto the futon. Her mind raced despite her exhaustion. So this is a different world. Fantasy creatures, shrine maidens with horns, and… whatever the Jura Tempest Federation is. None of this feels real.
“Thank you… for helping me,” Mirai murmured after a moment, her voice barely above a whisper.
The pink-haired girl smiled warmly. “I’m Shuna. It’s no trouble. For now, just focus on recovering. You’ll have plenty of time for questions later.”
Mirai nodded weakly, allowing her body to relax. Though her thoughts were tangled with questions and uncertainty, she couldn’t deny the small sense of relief creeping into her chest. For the first time in what felt like forever, she wasn’t fighting to survive alone.
As her heavy eyelids drifted shut again, a quiet hum resonated in the back of her mind, a faint echo of her unique skill, Designer. The feeling was subtle, yet it seemed to remind her of the opportunities and challenges awaiting her in this strange new world.