BRAK! A stack of papers slammed onto the desk by a senior.
"Finish this today."
Startled, Sorano could only nod silently. What else could she do? A corporate slave still has to eat.
"I'll be working overtime again..." Sorano thought to herself.
Sorano, 25 years old, an employee at the company m∆koID. She was forced to do her senior's tasks and had worked overtime for 7 nights in a row.
"Ah damn, I was too scared to say no!" She thought.
"Ah..." Blood dripped from her nose. Staying up night after night obviously had consequences.
"I need to go to the bathroom."
Sorano wiped the blood away and sat in the office restroom.
"Oh God, I can't take this... Why am I being treated like this..."
She cried. She had to cry. If not, she would surely lose her mind.
Ten minutes passed, time to get back to work. Sorano opened the restroom door but—
"What...?"
Sorano froze, confused about what had happened to his office.
"What is this? Where am I? God, I don't have time for this... I need to finish my task or I'll miss my train home!"
She turned around—
The office restroom had vanished!
"What the—"
"You over there."
The voice cut through Sorano's monologue. Who?
"Can you help me?"
A man suddenly appeared behind her. He approached Sorano and introduced himself.
"Ah, how rude of me. I'm Yukamushu Konashi. If you're willing to help me, I'll give you whatever you need," Konashi smiled.
"W-what.. W-where am I? What is this place? What do you need...?"
Sorano was deeply confused. It was all so strange—but it felt real.
Sorano, overwhelmed, tried to hold back her dizziness and tears. She couldn't. She was exhausted. She wanted to go home and rest. She hadn't even finished her work, and that made her more anxious. She feared her senior's and boss's anger if she didn't complete it.
Seeing Sorano cry, Konashi gently wiped her tears.
Sorano collapsed as Konashi asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Konashi snapped his fingers. "Let's go somewhere else."
And just like that, they were inside a wooden house.
"I-I'm sorry... I'm just tired... I shouldn't be crying... Please forgive me..."
Konashi didn't understand.
"What are you apologizing for? It's normal to cry. Anyway, welcome to my home. Would you like a glass of water?"
Konashi twisted his wrist, and magically, a glass of water appeared in his hand.
"W-what is this? How did you do that?"
Sorano asked, still sobbing.
"Calm yourself, then we'll talk," Konashi replied.
Eventually, Sorano composed herself and they began talking.
Sorano: "Sorry, where am I?"
Konashi: "Are you calm now? This is my home. Let's get straight to the point—I need your help."
Sorano: "Wait, I still don't understand. Where am I? Where's the office where I work?"
Konashi: "Office? You'll go back there later! Right now, I need your help!"
Sorano: "What do you mean? How will I get back? What are you? How did you do those things earlier?"
Konashi: "Ah, my apologies. I must've confused you. I'm a man on a mission. I have to complete my mission so my abilities can grow. But... this mission needs a partner."
Sorano: "So... you don't have any friends?"
Konashi hesitated to admit it, but continued.
"Everyone in this village has different powers and missions."
Sorano: "Then why not ask someone else?"
Konashi: "I want help only if I can also help in return!"
Sorano: "What... do you mean?"
Konashi: "Remember what I said? If you help me, I'll give you whatever you need."
Konashi seemed genuinely hopeful for Sorano's help.
Sorano took a deep breath and decided not to care about his office job for now.
"Whatever I need?"
She stood up.
"I'll help you."
Sorano's answer made Konashi smile with relief.
"Great! Let's go!"
Konashi snapped his fingers again and they vanished in an instant.
"Alright, first stop! Destroy the slime monsters! Ah, you'll need different clothes."
Konashi grabbed Sorano's shoulders and spun her around, changing her office outfit into armor.
Sorano was amazed.
"You'll need this too."
From who knows where, Konashi pulled out a sword.
But Sorano had already made up his mind to finish whatever this was and get what she wanted.
Sorano: "W-wait, I don't know how to use a sword??"
Konashi: "Just swing it! Believe in yourself! We don't have much time! If we don't defeat them all in 1 hour, we'll explode here!"
Sorano: "WHAT?! Uh... Can I really...?"
Konashi: "Believe! Look, like this! HYAK!"
Sorano: "Uh... HYAK!!"
Sorano swung her sword—the monster was destroyed!
Sorano: "HUH, WHY ARE THERE MORE?!"
Konashi: "Ehehe, it depends on their size—they divide until they reach their smallest form. Sorry for not telling you earlier. I'll do the splitting, you destroy the tiny ones!"
Sorano: "Oh my god, alright then!"
45 minutes passed. Sorano was exhausted.
How was Konashi still swinging his sword with the same energy?
Sorano: "Konashi! Aren't you tired? They just keep coming! Why not use your powers to finish them all?"
Konashi: "That's forbidden! If I could, I wouldn't need your help! Don't worry, they're decreasing! This is the last big slime! Hang in there!"
Hearing that, Sorano pushed through.
"At least this sword feels lighter now."
Konashi: "WE DID IT!"
Sorano: "Oh thank god! It's finally over!"
Sorano collapsed onto the remains of the destroyed slime, thinking it was all done.
Konashi: "Now for the next mission!"
Sorano sighed. This time, Konashi explained a little about it.
For this mission, they had to be perfectly in sync. A monster would test their coordination.
Sorano: "What kind of test?"
Konashi: "I don't know, that's all the info I got."
Without another word, Konashi snapped his fingers, and they were suddenly at the next place.
There, they saw several pairs of floating stones, and beneath them—an extremely deep pit. So deep, all you could see was black.
Konashi: "Seems like the monster is waiting at the end of this obstacle."
Sorano: "This is so high... Do we have to jump on those floating stones?"
Konashi: "There's no other way—let's go!"
Sorano: "Wait!"
Sorano picked up a nearby pebble and tossed it at one of the adjacent stones.
As she suspected, the stone fell instantly.
"The jumps are short, and the stones come in pairs. It's too easy unless there's a trap," Sorano said critically.
Konashi: "Hmm, you're smart. Then we'll need lots of pebbles."
So they tested every stone before stepping. The strategy worked, and they reached the last pair with a leafy tree pattern on them.
But they ran out of pebbles. Only one pair of stones left!
Konashi offered to try his stone first, but Sorano refused.
"No. I said I'd help you. I'll test it."
Sorano leapt onto the stone, and the leafy pattern glowed.
BRRAK!
"Ah! A-AHH!"
Sorano lost balance—so did Konashi. Suddenly, a wall appeared in front of them.
Luckily, they regained their balance.
Sorano: "What was that?"
Konashi: "Huh?"
Konashi jumped to the opposite stone with the same pattern.
Sorano: "DON'T— huh?"
Konashi: "These two stones are safe. Look! A tiny chunk fell onto mine."
Sorano: "But your stone didn't glow like mine did."
Sorano returned to her previous stone, and Konashi's stone lit up!
Then Sorano tried again—this time, only Konashi's glowed.
When Konashi returned to his earlier stone, Sorano's glowed again.
But the one not being stepped on went dark. The wall stayed.
Finally, they both shouted, "We have to step on them together!"
Sorano readied herself, waiting for the perfect moment to jump together with Konashi.
DAHK!
They did it! Both stones lit up and the wall vanished!
Worried the wall would return, they held hands and leapt together to the end. Turns out, twin monsters were already waiting for them.
Monster I: "See! I knew they would make it!"
Monster II: "Ugh, they just got lucky!"
The monsters continued arguing over their opinions and completely ignored Sorano and Konashi. Konashi then whispered to Sorano, "It ends here! Let's move on!" and snapped his fingers again. Sorano's heart pounded, but this time it wasn't fear—it was adrenaline she hadn't felt in a long time.
Sorano: "This is so fun!"
Konashi: "Ahahaha, I'm glad you're enjoying it! Now for the final mission, and I'll keep my promise!"
Hearing that, a hint of sadness crept into Sorano's heart. "Yeah!" was all she could say.
The next mission was a riddle challenge. Pretty simple—they just had to answer the prepared riddles, and they'd win!
Sorano: "It's like a crossword..."
Konashi: "A what?"
Sorano: "A crossword puzzle. There are vertical and horizontal clues."
Konashi: "Ah, is that what you call it? Hmm, it says this is level 1 out of 3."
Sorano: "There are three levels?"
Konashi: "Ah, and one impossible level."
Sorano: "Impossible?! I... I don't think I can help... I'm not very good with general knowledge..."
And yet, they made it to the final level.
"Whoa! Those questions nearly drove me crazy! Who would've thought there'd be math problems? Good thing I brought you, Sorano! You're smart at this stuff!"
Before Sorano could reply, an earthquake struck, and a chaotic monster appeared, covered with various types of questions all over its body.
"That must be the 'impossible' level," said Konashi.
"ONE MINUTE PER QUESTION." The monster spoke loud and clear.
Sorano began to panic as the timer started counting down.
"Sorano! Don't panic—you can do this! Remember, go for the questions you can answer, and skip the rest!" shouted Konashi.
"B-but how?? The time—AAKH!"
One minute had passed, and without warning, the ground began to shake violently. Luckily, they only suffered some scrapes.
Konashi quickly scanned for questions he could answer. He knew Sorano needed time to calm down, so he did everything he could to buy time.
One by one, the questions were answered. Finally, Sorano pointed to one of the problems and gave the answer.
Konashi smiled—Sorano was back to normal. Together, they tackled the remaining questions.
Then came the final minute.
"What can get you out of here?" That was the last riddle from the monster.
"An answer!" Wrong.
"Magic?" Wrong.
"A spell?" Wrong.
"Wisdom!" Wrong.
"Intelligence!" Wrong.
"ALL OF YOUR ANSWERS ARE WRONG. IN 30 SECONDS, THIS PLACE WILL COLLAPSE."
The shaking started again. Everything was beginning to fall apart.
"Destruction?" Konashi threw out his answer.
What else could get them out of there?
The shaking subsided slightly, but they were still trapped.
Sorano: "The shaking slowed down!"
Konashi: "I don't know any other answers! We're still stuck here!"
Sorano: "No, no! That's the answer! Destruction!"
Konashi confirmed Sorano's intent. She really meant to destroy the monster! Konashi immediately summoned weapons for them to fight.
Sorano: "We're going to do this—I know it's the right answer!"
Konashi: "Sometimes, we have to prove our answers, right?"
They swiftly slashed the monster to pieces. The monster's death triggered a massive explosion. Sorano and Konashi fell freely through the void, destination unknown.
Sorano felt satisfied, knowing they got the answer right. They had truly escaped that place.
As they fell rapidly, Konashi held Sorano close so they wouldn't be separated.
Konashi: "Thank you. You helped me. Now I'll keep my promise—you'll return to your world."
Sorano: "What? What about you? We're still falling!"
Konashi: "Ahahaha, I'll be fine! I know where I'll land. But you—it's time for you to go home."
Konashi poked Sorano's nose.
"wanna see a magic?"
Konashi's final words saddened Sorano. "Wait! What are you giving me?"
Konashi leaned in and whispered in Sorano's ear:
"One week of paid leave!"
"WHAT—?! Hhh haha, hhh ha..."
Sorano woke up to find herself in a hospital bed.
She had been found unconscious in the bathroom and brought to the hospital by her coworkers. The company covered the hospital costs and gave her a full week of paid leave.
"That was so fun, hahaha," Sorano laughed on the white bed, enjoying the gift she had received.
THE END.