This chapter is updated by wuxiaworld.eu
Have you ever felt alone in the worldā¦ā¦ Well, I suppose Iām not the only one whoās ever felt this way. However, I guess there arenāt too many people like me who have felt alone in two worlds huh?
I was born into a normal family that wasnāt particularly wealthy or poor, and grew up in a normal way.
For better or worse, I think my life has been really normal. I donāt think I have any special skills, my studies were just above average, and my hobby was cookingā¦ā¦ I really donāt think thereās anything worth special mention.
I was close to my parents and had a good number of friends. Even though I didnāt have anything special, I was able to live a substantial life.
But one day, without warning, my life fell apart.
Mom died suddenly in a car accident. Up until that morning, she was smiling at me as usual and telling me to study harder as I headed to school.
Not even in my wildest dreams have I ever thought that that would be the last conversation I would have with Mom. I was so shocked that my mind wasnāt able to register what happened right awayā¦ā¦ but it was Dad who was more grieved and sad than I was.
Mom and Dad had gotten married while being passionately in love with each other, and they were really lovey-dovey even after all these yearsā¦ā¦ I think thatās why Dad couldnāt accept Momās death.
As a result, Dad lost his grip on everything, drowned himself in alcoholā¦ā¦ and in the end, he suddenly disappeared. Leaving me all aloneā¦ā¦
Not even a year had passed since Mom died. In that very short amount of time, all the happiness that I took for grantedā¦ā¦ disappeared.
Honestly, my thoughts werenāt able to keep up with whatās happening. How? Why did this happen? I think thatās all I was thinking about.
My Mom and Dadā¦ā¦ even my grandparents, from both Mom and Dadās side, had already passed away, and I was truly alone in the world.
With my parents gone, I was shuffled around to different relativesā homes. As it was difficult for me to be independent right away, I needed a guardian, but I couldnāt find any relatives of mine who were willing to be my guardian.
I was treated as a complete nuisance. I guess that was obvious. Even if I were the one asked to do such a thing, I would certainly not like to take custody of a senior high school girl out of the blue.
Eventually, it was decided that I would be temporarily placed in the care of an institution, and after that, I would be placed in the care of a guardian appointed by the Family Court.
By that time, I didnāt have energy left in my heart, and I didnāt care about anything anymore. I was alone in the world and no one needed meā¦ā¦ that was what I had in mind.
During those days, I was suddenly summoned to another world to play the role of Hero. I was surprised and confusedā¦ā¦ but I decided to accept the role of Hero.
How should I say thisā¦ā¦ Even if it was for such a role, I suppose I did feel a little happy that I was needed.
Everyone around me was kind to me, and my troubled heart was healed a lot during the year I spent as the Hero.
When I finished fulfilling my role as the Hero, it was time for me to choose whether to return to the original world or immigrate to this world. At that time, I simply didnāt want to go back to my original world. I feel really alone in that world, so I chose to immigrate.
But at the same time, I was scared. I was afraid that after I fulfilled my role as Hero, I would become a nuisance hereā¦ā¦ I didnāt have any special skills after all.
Moreover, deciding that I would immigrate was fine and allā¦ā¦ but I didnāt have anything I wanted to do. The only reason I decided to immigrate was that I didnāt want to go back to that worldā¦ā¦ I didnāt know what to do from now onwards.
The person who kindly approached me when I was like that was Archlesiaās current Emperorā¦ā¦ Chris-san.
Though I say that, when I was summoned as a Hero, she wasnāt the Emperor yet and was a Treasurerā¦ā¦ I remember that she kindly talked with me about many things.
Around that time, Chris-san suggested that I travel around until I found something I wanted to do while sightseeing. She told me how she herself had a personal problem, and after traveling around for a few years, she was able to find her answer.
In the end, I decided to follow Chris-sanās suggestion and went on a sightseeing trip, and she gave me more than enough money to go on a trip.
She even told me to send her a letter if I ran out of money and she would give me additional funds, so I could have fun without worrying. I really appreciate Chris-sanās kindness.
As I traveled around the world, I tried many different things. I stayed in one city for a few months and tried to work something like a part-time job at a restaurant, and I also tried studying magic.
However, I couldnāt find anything that I really wanted to do, so I wandered around for years. I just couldnāt seem to find a place where āI felt like it was okay for me to be hereā, and even though there were indeed many people that were kind to me, I still felt like I was a useless person who couldnāt find my answerā¦ā¦ In spite of everything, even in this world, I felt alone.
In the end, I wondered how long I had been searching for myself, taking advantage of Chris-sanās kindnessā¦ā¦ I think it was around 8 years. It was in the frontier of Hydra Kingdom that I happened upon the event that changed my life.
There, I happened to meet Okura Shigenobu-sanā¦ā¦ Shige-san, who played the role of Hero in the past and was an immigrant like me.
He was about 60 years older than me, but we had never met each other before, and as we were both from the same country, we had a great conversation.
I was invited to his house and was treated to a meal prepared by Shigeru-sanās wife. At that time, I ate pickles made from the vegetables from Shige-sanās farm, and they tasted really goodā¦ā¦ It was then I started to cry.
It wasnāt that I was sad. It was justā¦ā¦ just when I thought I was all alone in this worldā¦ā¦ I felt happy that I was able to get a taste of Japan.
It isnāt that I was feeling homesick though. I didnāt regret moving out of Japan, and I still donāt want to go back to my former worldā¦ā¦ but somehowā¦ā¦ how should I say thisā¦ā¦ I still feel that Japan was my spiritual home.
It was a simple trigger, but it was enough to clear the fog before my eyesā¦ā¦ and I decided what I wanted to do.
I didnāt know if there were other immigrants besides Shige-san, but I wouldnāt be surprised if there were otherworlders who choose to immigrate to this world in the future, just like me.
Iād like to talk with the children from my home world. Just as I felt the taste of my old home by talking with Shige-san, I wanted to make my kouhais who appear in the future feel the taste of home as well.
After a few days under their care, I thanked Shige-san and his wife, and returned to the Archlesia Empire, where I told Chris-san, who had become Emperor, that I had found something I wanted to do.
Chris-san was as happy as I was, and she offered me assistance with her personal assets as I tried to settle down in the Friendship City, Hikari for my purpose. Iāll really never be able to repay her, not even with all my life.
Anyhow, with Chris-sanās help, I opened a small restaurant in Friendship City, Hikari, making use of my specialty cuisine. It was a rice-only set meal restaurant, which was rare in this world.
I thought that if I set up a store like this in the Friendship City, Hikari, the children who played the role of Hero might find itā¦ā¦ and stop byā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦I suppose that really was the case huh. Normally, the time when those who play the role of Hero come to Friendship City is at the Festival of Heroesā¦ā¦ Then, they wouldnāt have the time to look around the festival! Heck, I experienced this myself!]
Yes, I miscalculatedā¦ā¦ I was an idiot. I enthusiastically welcomed the years when the Festival of Heroes was held, but unfortunately, the children playing the role of Hero were unable to visit my store.
No, in the first place, even if they had the time to go sightseeing, it would be difficult for them to find a small store in this vast Friendship City.
I did write the storeās sign using kanji to make it easier for them to find butā¦ā¦ Mnghh.
[Ugghhhā¦ā¦ Shige-san only comes once a year, and I want to talk with the children from my home world. I wanna get excited talking about stuff back in Japanā¦ā¦ Also, I want to be a senpai to them. Iād like to say stuff like ātodayās my treatā, and serve them the most expensive meal in my restaurant.]
Well, my shop is just a set meal restaurant, so the most expensive dish is only about 1300 yenā¦ā¦
The world isnāt going well. Lifeās difficultā¦ā¦ I wonder if I could ask Chris-san to introduce someone who plays the role of Hero to this restaurantā¦ā¦ No, that wonāt do. I canāt do that.
She already helped me a lot when I made this store. I canāt bother her any more than thisā¦ā¦ In the first place, itās also become hard to send a letter to Chris-san, whoās now the Emperor, and itās quite expensive to go to Archlesia Empireā¦ā¦ Ahh, lifeās tough.
[I wonder if the otherworlders who have migrated to this world will come here in the Friendship City for sightseeingā¦ā¦]
As I found myself grumbling, I prepared to open the store once again.
Before I knew it, I really didnāt feel so alone in this world anymore, and now, I was just looking forward to the time that my otherworlder kouhais would visitā¦ā¦ holding onto a wish that they really will visit me.
[Alright! Letās do our best again today!]