CH 337

Chapter 337 – Spirit Impact

『I don’t think there’s that much to talk about.』Selica started.『Do you know that there’s a national road that runs right by our station?』

『Yeah, it cuts through the forest park, right? And it goes underneath the railway line.』

『Yes, that’s right. It was an insanely hot summer day. I just finished my final exams and summer vacation was right around the corner… You know it feels like I’m talking about something from ages ago, but it’s actually fairly recent.』

Selica stopped eating her cake and wiped her mouth. With a downcast look, she gently opened her mouth to speak, as though taking out a precious treasure tucked away in a drawer.

『So yeah, I was talking to Hazuki on the phone about something trivial like eating the ice cream I had in our freezer once I got home. I wonder what happened to it. It’s a huge ice cream by the way, you know, the bucket-sized ones. I guess my stupid sister ate it.』

Even though she just called her sister stupid, Selica wore a gentle expression.

『I think I cut off the call with Hazuki then. You know how there’s a side road that goes down from the national road to the lower road, right? So yeah, I was on the side road. The park was right beside me, trees as far as the eye can see. That forest there is so huge that it felt like I was alone. And then I heard the sound of a vehicle closing in.』

It made sense, as there was always a constant stream of traffic in the national road. It wouldn’t be strange at all for a vehicle to drive through the side road as well.

『I heard a loud noise from behind me. The truck hit the guardrail only for a split second, but the sound it produced was too loud Iike “bang bang” “pewsh pewsh” or something. Surprised, I turned around to see the truck right before my eyes.』

Selica shuddered at the memory. She held her body tight.

『The next thing I knew, I was in a forest. I thought I had miraculously survived. I found it strange that I didn’t feel any pain, but then I thought maybe the bag with my gym clothes inside cushioned the crash or something.』

『Oh, you thought you were sent flying into the park.』

『Correct. But I quickly realized something was off. Not because of the vegetation or anything, but because I walked and walked and I couldn’t get out of the woods.』

『That’s when you arrived here.』

『Yup. That’s all from me. Told you it wasn’t gonna be much.』Selica said as she took a sip of her tea.

『Nah, that is actually very interesting. I’d like to hear a little more. It’s just, I don’t know. It’s like there’s something bothering me.』

『Bothering you? You mean Hazuki?』

『Not her…』

『Hazuki likes ice cream too. She only eats chocolate-flavored ones, though.』

『Really? Wait, I don’t really care about that.』

『Okay, fine. By the way, I like either matcha or chocolate mint.』

『I couldn’t care less.』

『What?! How dare you! You’re very rude, you know that. I’ll have you know, I’m pretty famous here. Keep talking like that, and you might end up on the headlines tomorrow as a victim of a violent crime.』

Hikaru gave a start.

『Oh, come on. You’re overreacting. I was just kidding. You’re supposed to say “there’s no TV here” or something.』

『That’s it. The news.』

『Hmm?』

『That’s what was bothering me!』Hikaru half-rose to his feet.『I remember. A traffic accident on a national highway. A tanker loaded with petroleum went off the road, crashed into a forest park, and blew up.』

『Really? That made the news? I guess it would.』

『Still, it’s weird.』Hikaru sat back down.『I believe the only casualty was the driver. I don’t think your name was mentioned. And if a high school girl had been involved and died, it would have left a lasting impression on me.』

『Wait a minute. Do they think I’m missing then?』

『Probably. You arrived here with a bag and a uniform and all that, didn’t you? If that’s the case, then it wasn’t just your soul that came here, but your whole body.』

『Hmm… I guess if you put it that way. I see. I’m missing, huh? My parents must be worried.』

『I would think so, yeah. Though I’m not sure which is rougher: thinking you’re dead, or that you’re missing or were kidnapped.』

Hikaru thought back about what happened to him. There should be a corpse in his case. How did his parents feel? Were they heartbroken? Or perhaps they were relieved…

He clasped his hands tight. That’s all in the past. I don’t plan on going back anyway. I just want to solve the mystery, if it can be solved at all.

『Maybe the physical energy from the explosion opened a portal to this world.』Hikaru said.

『Is that even possible? But then what about earthquakes and nuclear power generation? Those create enormous amounts of energy too.』

『You’re right…』

Hikaru was also in a traffic accident, but there was no explosion involved. Even the notes of someone else from Japan, Masaki Oota, mentioned he fell down the stairs and the next thing he knew, he was in this world.

It didn’t seem like energy was the key.

『Then we can only assume that this world can somehow interact with our world. This is where the soul’s connections come into play. I’m sure you were transported here because there is something about your soul that conforms to this world.』

『Like what?』

『I dunno. Your strong will to survive off of monster meat?』

『Forget about that already.』Selica pouted, and Hikaru chuckled.『Oh, by the way, it’s not that I forgot to tell you this, but before I was hit by a truck—』

『A tanker.』

『Same thing.』

『Not even close. And?』

『It felt like my body was being pulled. Maybe that’s what you mean by this ‘soul attraction’ thing.』

Soul Attraction? Not even a lot of thought went into naming it, but it fit well.

『Let’s put together what we’ve gathered so far. You didn’t get run over by a tanker. Instead some kind of interaction occurred that pulled you to this world.』

『I felt lucky when I found out I was alive. But if I wasn’t actually ran over, I guess I celebrated for nothing.』

『If you weren’t transported, your mangled corpse would be lying somewhere back in Japan. You were lucky, if you ask me.』

『Fair enough.』Selica nodded and resumed eating her pound cake.

So we got nothing, huh? I guess not exactly.

This world can interact with our world, to the extent that one person can be brought into this place.

So can our world interact with this world?

It’s safe to say no, I think. After all, there’s no such thing as magic over there.

Hikaru could only perceive the existence of this far-fetched thing called “souls” because he actually died, experienced this world’s magic, and came into contact with other supernatural items.

There were no such things back in Japan.

Perhaps it was a natural occurrence that allowed this world to connect with our world. But even natural phenomenon can be reproduced artificially by humans.

By using an item here that has something to do with souls.

The spell to cross worlds was nearing completion.