My name is Akaba Zenichi, an ordinary university student— or so I thought.
“……Where am I?”
A brightly illuminated white space. However, it was clear that this was neither my room nor the university infirmary.
What I had been lying in until now was not a soft bed, but a bathtub filled with lukewarm water. Its quite rectangular design resembled a coffin, but it still had a stylish feel to it. I wouldn’t want one at home, though.
In this unnecessarily vast room, there were several coffin-like bathtubs lined up, just like the one I was using. What a unique bathroom it was.
By the way, I had noticed that I was sitting up, in a position similar to half-body bathing. Of course, I was completely naked since I was submerged in the water.
This is bad; if I stay like this, I’m definitely going to catch a cold… No, wait, I don’t even understand the situation at all.
“Calm down, I’m not at an age where I should be losing it… Remember what happened today…”
As far as my memory goes, today’s date is May 14th. It’s the infamous Monday after a two-day weekend spent working part-time, a notorious day for students.
However, for me, it was a long-awaited Monday, in other words, a day to go to university.
Because I have a proud, truly proud, extraordinarily cute girlfriend who is the most beautiful girl in the world.
Even as a university student, her black twin tails suit her perfectly, and her small, fragile body arouses a man’s protective instincts. Such a delicate and ephemeral girl, and she even makes handmade bento for me—so diligent and kind. She is the ultimate ideal girlfriend.
For someone like me, having her as a girlfriend is almost too good to be true, but she is still my girlfriend!
That’s right, so I was looking forward to her homemade bento and went to university today. Classes? I don’t remember; I attended, but I have no recollection. It doesn’t even matter.
Then came the long-awaited lunch break. The location was some random classroom at the university. Usually, we would have had a wonderful lunch time at our secret spot outside, but rain was falling heavily as if to curse our fateful love.
Well, it doesn’t change the fact that I could eat her homemade bento, so it was a trivial issue.
“Here, Zenichi-kun.”
And just as I opened the bento box handed to me with her usual doll-like beauty and expressionlessness, disaster struck me once again.
“W-What is this…?”
The entire bento was brown. The color and nutritional balance didn’t seem to have been considered much; it felt like a message saying, “Just eat this, hungry high school boys!”
This is strange. She always makes me a straight-up love bento with a heart shape made from mysterious pink flakes on top of white rice.
She wouldn’t skimp on the side dishes either; frozen food was out of the question. She considers color and nutritional balance, making the presentation of the bento something special. The sausages would be shaped like octopuses, and the apples would be shaped like rabbits.
Yet, from this bento before me, I could feel nothing but obligation and duty, as if it was made with the sentiment of “I made this just because I had to.”
Could it be that I’m getting dumped today…?
“I-I’m so sorry! It seems my mother mistakenly gave this to my little brother…”
At that moment, she apologetically explained, an unusual hint of panic in her demeanor.
I see, she lives at home, and I had heard before that her little brother, due to her appearance, sometimes causes misunderstandings, but he’s actually a really good kid.
In the busy morning hours, it’s not unusual for such mix-ups to happen.
“Well, if that’s the case, it can’t be helped, so I don’t mind!”
If there hadn’t been a reasonable explanation, I might have cried the next moment. Seriously.
“By the way, is it okay for me to eat this bento?”
“Uh, um… I want you to only eat what I make… but it’s fine.”
The fact that she wished for me to eat only the things she made is a line that truly pleases a man. It’s fine; with just that feeling, I’ll show you I can make anything taste good!
While trembling with emotion, I was about to say “Itadakimasu”—ah, that’s right, this moment.
“—!?”
I was hit with a headache. It was so severe that calling it terrible was an understatement; it was intensely strong.
An unprecedented, extraordinary pain that turned everything upside down, but what actually turned upside down was only the brown stamina bento and my body.
I was rolling helplessly on the classroom floor, overwhelmed by the pain that made me forget everything, even such a simple recognition.
Yet, I clearly remember the face of my girlfriend clinging to me and crying out in despair. This is the worst; I made her cry like that—regretting it from the bottom of my heart, my consciousness faded to black.
And when I realized it, I woke up in this mysterious bathroom. At least, in my memory, that’s the connection.
In any case, I had to see her quickly. I’m sorry for making you worry; I’m fine, so please don’t cry anymore.
However, this mysterious situation wouldn’t allow me to take that action.
If I were just in a hospital room, I could have dashed out right away. But I had no idea where I was. Where could I go to see her? No, more fundamentally, where am I right now?
While my head was filled with such questions, I concluded that I had to act instead of think.
“Whoa! You really woke up!?”
The high-pitched voice of a girl echoed throughout the room.
Turning to look, I saw a girl with long blue hair reminiscent of the vast ocean standing there.
Her striking hair color caught my attention, but what intrigued me even more was her outfit. She appeared to be a knight who had stepped out of some RPG, clad in heavy armor.
I wanted to say what a passionate cosplay it was, but her armor, white and adorned with bright blue lines like her hair, shimmered with authentic metal and had the ruggedness of being battle-worn. Each step she took produced a resonance of weighty sounds from her arms and legs.
“Wow, what should I do… I thought I just messed with it casually…”
Muttering to herself, the blue-haired knight approached me, her shining golden eyes fixed directly on me.
“I am Fiora. What is your name? Oh, wait, a newly awakened android wouldn’t be able to answer—”
“I am Akaba Zenichi. Could you tell me where exactly this place is?”
—
And so, I met her. Her real name, Fiora Teo Nanablast.
She would later become my wife, but the memories with her do not need to be recorded here. Many citizens of Rune already know of them, and they are documented in the official records at both the Rune Royal Castle and the Adventurer Guild.
What I write in this diary is purely personal feelings, emotions that nobody, including my wife, needs to know.
This is also a longing for my homeland, Japan, that I will never be able to return to. However, what I regret the most is the memory of the girl I loved back when I was just an ordinary student.
I loved her from the bottom of my heart; there were no lies. I still dream about her from time to time.
Though it was just a coincidence, an accident, to suddenly disappear without a trace from her life is something I cannot shake off my conscience.
Yes, the regret of having made her cry when I first awakened in this another world continues to smolder deep within me, even now that I am over fifty.
Therefore, I decided to write. Knowing full well that I can never atone for it, I still hope that perhaps another foreigner who reads this might convey my feelings to her.
My beloved girlfriend. Her name is—Kuroha Mana.
If you’re wondering who Kuroha Mana is, please refer to the prologue.
And also, please confirm that May 14th is the initial publication date of the “Black Demon King.”