Chapter 2: The World of Knight of the Giant
What would you do if you came to the world you longed for?
Any Japanese boy has probably played a game where they wished they could go to that world at least once.
At least, that was the case for me.
That world was the world of Knight of the Giant.
So, what happens when that actually comes true?
The answer is this.
“…Huh?”
My jaw dropped and wouldn’t close.
I could only stare at the scenery visible through the window for a while.
I still couldn’t believe this was real, and I pinched my cheek repeatedly, but all I felt was pain.
“Seriously? No way, huh? Really?”
Full dive? A prank? Hypnosis?
I tried to deny the scene with every possibility.
But.
“It’s real, isn’t it?”
My eyes, my nose, my ears.
All my senses were hammering home that this was reality.
I remembered the last message.
‘A NEW Route has been unlocked, will you challenge it?’
If I took that message at face value.
Then, this must be that world.
The world of the game where I spent all my youth.
And Kenyya looked at the envelope placed on the desk once more.
Inside was a student ID and an admission certificate.
“The entrance date is April 1st, and this school is the one that was the setting for the game, right?”
What was in the envelope was a school pamphlet.
The more I looked at it, the more it was the school where the protagonist in KOG had enrolled.
Its official name was the Aasgard Empire 13th Military Training Academy.
It was a school that trained soldiers.
And not just any soldiers, but a training school for pilots who could handle KOGs.
“I should have read all the settings, but there’s no way I could have predicted this.”
It seems I really have been transferred to the world of KOG.
I don’t know the current situation well, but I can’t just stay confused.
Because I don’t know this world well.
Is it anxiety, or is it anticipation?
My heart was pounding, so much so that I thought the sound of my heartbeat could be heard in my ears.
Kenyya was excited.
“By the way, what time is it now? Or rather, what day is it?”
I instinctively touched my pocket for my smartphone.
But it wasn’t there.
Instead, a similar device was placed on the desk.
“Is this, like, that thing? The smartphone-like device the protagonists had?”
Kenyya touched it to activate it.
Then, the screen lit up and displayed today’s date.
“Umm, Imperial Year 320… April 1st!?”
April 1st, 8:00 AM.
The entrance ceremony starts at 8:30 AM, so I need to hurry.
I don’t understand what’s going on, but I still have to attend the entrance ceremony.
I don’t know what this world is, but I don’t want to get noticed for being late on the first day.
“I don’t really understand what’s happening, but I guess I’ll go for now. Maybe I’ll find something out.”
Kenyya was a shut-in, but it’s not like he couldn’t leave the house.
He even went shopping normally.
He simply didn’t find school enjoyable, and the biggest reason was that there was someone he disliked… or rather, someone who disliked him.
I wondered, am I still me in this world?
Kenyya stood in front of the mirror, wondering if he had been reincarnated as someone else.
But it was a needless worry.
There stood Kenyya from his previous life? No, since he hadn’t died, it was the Kenyya from the original world.
He was fresh, like a first-year high school student, and wearing an unfamiliar military-like uniform.
“They even prepared a uniform for me…”
The uniform was the same one worn by the students of the pilot training school.
I gathered everything on the desk, stuffed it into my bag, and opened the door.
The sun shone on Kenyya as always.
Bathed in the dazzling morning sun, I desperately tried to make sense of my still-unbelieving mind and headed to my destination.
It seemed that Kenyya was in a school dormitory.
People who seemed to be new students were coming out of the same building.
Although it was a world with robots, the buildings weren’t futuristic.
It was just a normal Western-style residential area.
Looking around, I jogged towards the school, which was a little distance away, while looking at the map.
(Even so… the atmosphere is a little different from Japan…)
The scenery around me, the clothes of the people.
Everything was from the world of KOG, making me feel out of place.
“…I’m here, this is it.”
Following the map in the pamphlet, I ran straight to my destination, and there it was, the building that looked like a military base that I had seen from the window earlier.
I opened the device—from now on, I’ll call it the KOG Device—and checked the time, it was 8:15 AM.
It seemed like I still had some time, and a few students like me were passing through the gate.
Then, a student surrounded by multiple followers entered.
“Lord! Here is your schedule for today.”
“Ah…”
“Lord! To be chosen to give the entrance address, as expected of you.”
“Ah…”
“Lord!” “Lord!”
A blond, handsome, but small boy being praised by his followers.
“Is that… Lord!?”
The one surrounded was Lord Aasgard.
The second prince of the Aasgard Empire.
He should be one of the main characters in the game.
A strategist, a victorious military commander in the KOG world setting.
And he was a realist who valued ability over race.
I vaguely remember that he wasn’t a KOG pilot, so I don’t remember him that well.
Kenyya stood there blankly, staring at Lord.
“Hey! You!”
Then, one of the followers noticed him and called out.
Kenyya pointed at himself, looking like, “Me?”
“You, you! You inferior race!”
“Me?”
Kenyya pointed at himself.
The surroundings started to buzz, and when I looked around, I saw several students kneeling and looking down.
“You black-haired one! You’re a Second-Class, aren’t you! Why aren’t you kneeling!”
(What are they talking about?)
Kenyya tilted his head.
“Very well, inferior race. So you’re saying you’ll resist after all.”
The follower suddenly drew the sword he was carrying at his waist.
“I don’t mind, but…”
“Your Highness, please don’t stop me. We need to make an example.”
“Huh!?”
“You inferior race from a defeated nation! Bow your head before royalty!”
(Seriously?)
“I’M SO SORRY!!”
“Ugh!!”
Just before the follower swung his sword.
Kenyya was drop-kicked from behind.
Kenyya’s head was grabbed and rubbed against the ground.
“I-I’m sorry! This guy’s a bit of an airhead! I’ll make sure to teach him properly. Please, let us off the hook this time!”
“H-Hey!”
“Be quiet! Now! You apologize too.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Overwhelmed by the intensity, Kenyya felt it was best to obey for now and apologized.
“Hmph! It’s good that you understand. From now on, you’ll become the hands and feet of our Empire and scatter your useless life.”
Then, the followers left.
“Are you stupid!? We have to bow our heads before royalty, or we can be killed for disrespect without any complaints!?”
A girl was angrily scolding Kenyya, who had raised his head.
Black hair, semi-long, healthy legs extending from a short skirt.
A sharp-looking, strong-willed cat-eyed girl.
Her chest… well, it’s not there, but her well-trained limbs are toned.
She wore a military-like uniform, like a high school uniform, and crossed her arms in front of Kenyya.
Let’s be clear, she was cute.
I had seen her many times, even in my dreams.
But reality was different.
The girl I saw with my own eyes was incomparable to the virtual image.
She was several times cuter.
Her rough temperament was the same, but she was actually a kind girl.
One of the heroines of this game.
Kurokami Kaguya was standing there.
Kenyya slowly approached.
He reached out his hand, unable to believe it.
Tears of emotion welled up in his eyes.
And then.
“Kaguyaaa!!”
He hugged her.
“Kyaaa!! What are you doing! You pervert!!”
She slapped him, sending him flying.
After that, she kicked and stomped on him a lot.
In our industry, that’s a reward.
I had hugged her several times in the game.
Maybe that’s why my body moved on its own, I’m definitely not a pervert.
“Haa haa haa, so you weren’t just stupid, you were a pervert. I wasted my time helping you.”
Kaguya, with her arms crossed, looked down at Kenyya, who was sitting in seiza, with eyes that looked at trash.
Her tsundere attitude was as usual.
I’ve only ever seen her tsun side though.
“S-Sorry. I just… But thank you for helping me. I’m Kenyu Mitsurugi. Nice to meet you.”
Kaguya looked at the outstretched hand with eyes that looked at filth.
Don’t look at me like that, it makes me tingle.
“Haa… well, whatever, you’re one of the few Japanese people. And I understand how you feel.”
(Huh? You understand how I feel? Does that mean Kaguya wanted to hug me too?)
Kaguya grabbed the hand I offered and shook it.
Her eyes looked a little lonely.
“I understand that you don’t want to bow your head, but you can’t. My stomach is boiling too. But I’ll acknowledge your guts.”
(Ah, so that’s what she meant…)
And with Kaguya’s words, Kenyya remembered.
The situation of this world, the current state of this country.
“Ah, right. I remember…”
The meaning of the words “Second-Class Aasgard Empire Citizen” written on the admission certificate.
This world.
No, this country.
I looked up at the national flag hoisted at the school.
But it wasn’t the familiar Hinomaru, but a completely different flag.
A shield and sword emblem.
In other words, this country, the former Japan.
“That’s right, it was occupied by the Aasgard Empire.”