If you wrote it in kanji, it'd be Nanahoshi Shizuka.
She was a tripper.
A tripper, in other words, was someone who'd been transported here.
If you counted me as a reincarnator—someone who died and was reborn as a baby in this world—then she was more like a lost wanderer.
Alongside that revelation, I also confessed that I was a reincarnator.
Not a tripper, but a reincarnator.
As for cause of death, it was an accident.
But I kept the specifics vague.
What I'd looked like in my previous life was... rough.
If it ever came up, she'd surely look at me with prejudice.
Appearances matter, after all.
Though, well, there was a chance Nanahoshi had tripped over to this world because of me.
I didn't want to be pressed on that point either.
--- I talked with Nanahoshi.
In that nostalgic Japanese of ours.
Since neither of us knew the other, I had Fitz-senpai sit in as well.
But the language we spoke was Japanese.
Fitz-senpai must have endured some truly dull time.
I felt bad about that.
At the start of our conversation, she declared this: "I have no interest in this world.
I have no intention of using knowledge from my old world to bring prosperity here, like in some ridiculous isekai manga or light novel.
It's purely for myself. I'll devote everything I have to getting back to my original world."
That way of thinking was the polar opposite of mine—I, who had resolved to live on in this world.
Being told "ridiculous" over and over was, frankly, irksome even for me.
But I understood where she was coming from.
She had surely never felt like she belonged.
When you're in a place where you have no footing, dismissing the things you have no interest in as "ridiculous"—I could sympathize with that feeling.
So I had no intention of trying to correct her thinking on that matter.
But Nanahoshi was wary of me.
Her non-cooperative stance right out of the gate had probably been the wrong move.
She'd been keeping secrets about things she likely knew.
Can't blame her, really.
When you don't know if someone's an enemy or an ally, you don't just hand over your full trust.
I was wary of Nanahoshi too.
That said, I did think I'd handled things a bit poorly.
If I hadn't run off after seeing her face back then, and instead said something like "I plan to stay in this world, but I'll help you find a way home," she might have let her guard down a little.
Oh well. No use crying over spilt milk.
--- Apparently, when Nanahoshi came to, she was in the
She'd appeared in an empty grassland. She only found out it was the Asura Kingdom after the fact.
She was all alone, with nobody around, and didn't know what to do. That was when
"Why Orsted of all people?"
"…Who knows. But it doesn't seem like he was the one who summoned me."
She'd apparently learned about this world while staying in the Asura Kingdom.
Starting with language, then the existence of magic, currency, customs—everything.
That part was the same as me.
What was impressive was that she'd apparently mastered the human language in about a year.
Since Orsted was a cursed outcast whom everyone despised, she'd needed to learn fast.
When necessity drove you, anyone could pick things up quickly.
She spent another year in the Asura Kingdom.
During that time, she taught cooking and clothing techniques to earn money.
She set up a system where the profits would keep rolling in.
She advertised that the Dragon God of the Seven Great Powers was backing her, earned people's trust, and used her own silver tongue to establish distribution routes.
By now, she apparently had enough assets to live off for the rest of her life.
Impressive.
She'd learned the language, built a financial foundation.
All of that was nothing more than a stepping stone toward returning to her original world.
Orsted took her along, and she spent about a year traveling the world to gather information about going home—plus checking whether her two acquaintances might have tripped here as well.
Orsted had enemies, and apparently ran into fights everywhere he went.
Orsted was strong, and he cut down most opponents in a single blow.
My fight with him was one of those.
But apparently, I alone had been oddly different, so Orsted had listened to her advice and let me live.
For that, I'd thanked her sincerely.
No matter the cause or the process, without Nanahoshi's word, I would have died.
"All the same, why is Orsted fighting the Human God?
It was so sudden—it really caught me off guard."
"I don't know the details myself. But he said it was a personal grudge.
Also, apparently the Human God's apostles grow more powerful if you leave them alone, so you're supposed to strike them down early."
Being attacked out of personal grudge sounded like a nightmare.
And for the record, I wasn't an apostle of the Human God.
I'd been somewhat compliant lately, but we only met about once a year.
Not exactly an intimate relationship.
Anyway, she'd traveled the whole world and met all sorts of people.
Orsted was despised, but the name Dragon God was useful for leverage.
With just a letter from him, she'd been able to meet renowned mages, knight-commanders, kings, and the like.
"You traveled the entire world in a year…?"
That part snagged my attention.
It had taken me three years to circle the globe.
"Yes, using a special method."
"What kind of method?"
"Well, to put it simply, a teleportation device."
A transport gate.
"In this world, they called it a 'teleportation magic circle.' Have you heard of it?"
"I've at least heard the name."
When was that again?
Oh, right—when I was returning from the Demon Continent.
Lijerd had told me. Those were the days.
"I heard teleportation magic circles no longer exist?"
"There are some left in ruins from the Human-Demon Great War era."
"Wow, ruins. Where are they?"
"That's classified, so I can't say. Apparently it's a taboo in this world—not something you should tell just anyone."
"…I see."
"Though, really, I was just tagging along, so I don't remember much."
Or so it seemed.
Even though she'd traveled the world, it had been a trip of walking from one teleportation magic circle to another.
Saying she didn't remember was probably no lie.
Dragged around by teleportation after teleportation without even a map—you wouldn't exactly pin down where you'd been.
Ideally, I'd like to know about something that useful myself.
You never knew when something might happen.
Anyway, back to the story.
Nanahoshi hadn't managed to find the people she was looking for.
But she'd met plenty of notable figures along the way.
One of them had told her this: *'You may have been summoned to this world by someone's hand.'* "Who was this person?"
"I can't say. I was told not to tell anyone I'd met them."
"Why?"
"They said, 'If people find out you're connected to me, all sorts of troublesome types will come knocking. If you don't want trouble, keep my name out of it.'"
A person whose name she couldn't reveal.
But this person was apparently the world's foremost authority on summoning magic.
Even so, even for them, there was no术 to summon humans from another world.
Heck, even without crossing worlds, humans couldn't be summoned in the first place.
Regardless, she decided to set up base at the Magic University to research summoning magic.
She made a massive donation with her earned money and purchased the position of B-rank in the Magic Guild, along with the status of special student.
Furthermore, she used her connections in the Asura Kingdom to introduce student uniforms and the like.
She overhauled the education system and replaced all the tools used in teaching.
Before anyone knew it, she'd climbed to A-rank in the Magic Guild.
There'd even been talk of offering her an S-rank position if she'd provide more of her knowledge.
But she turned it down.
"I'll say it one more time: I have no intention of making this world better, or of rising to the top here.
Not in the slightest."
So she'd only create and provide what she herself needed.
That was her declaration.
I was a little dissatisfied.
Making the world more convenient wasn't exactly a bad thing.
Picking up on my mood, perhaps, Nanahoshi let out a sigh and said: "You see, we're foreign bodies in this world. If we do something that alters history too dramatically, the world might reject us."
"Reject us? What do you mean?"
"Have you never read any science fiction? Basically, it's a force that tries to return things to their original, natural course of history."
A force that tries to return things to their natural course of history.
Come to think of it, I had a vague memory of reading a manga about that once.
They'd called it causality or something, right?
"…Does something like that really exist?"
"I don't know. But I think we should be cautious."
That's what she said.
Things like that were something for people who'd time-slipped into the past to worry about.
Wouldn't people like us, who'd come to another world, not need to care quite as much?
…Oh well.
Everyone was free to act however they pleased.
Having set up an environment where nobody would interfere, she'd begun her research on summoning.
She used a pseudonym because, apparently, people kept coming after her when she went by Nanahoshi.
All things considered, "Silent Sevenstar" wasn't exactly the most creative alias.
I mean, you could at least be a little more inventive…
Oh, right—she'd chosen it so the remaining two would recognize it if they heard it.
Wait, were there two others?
I'd never heard names besides Nanahoshi's, though…
--- Research into summoning magic.
To start, she'd needed to learn the fundamentals of magic circles.
Summoning magic in this world was performed primarily through magic circles.
While dynamic magic like attacks and healing relied mainly on incantations, static magic like summoning and barrier construction relied primarily on magic circles.
She devoured every document she could get her hands on and learned what magic circles were.
Not by asking teachers—she'd acquired the knowledge independently, from books and historical documents.
"People in this world are stuck in their ways of thinking.
I suppose that can't be helped for day-to-day life, but when you're trying to do something that's never been done before, you won't get there just by following someone's teaching."
Hearing that made me wonder—what did that make me, who'd always been taught by others?
Well, I wasn't trying to do anything that had never been done before, so I guessed it was fine.
"Besides, we don't have mana, do we?
So when people talk to me assuming mana exists, it puts me in a tough spot."
"…Huh?"
Even I was surprised by the sound that came out of my mouth.
What?
No mana?
"What's wrong? Did I say something weird?"
"I have mana. I can use magic too.
Just the other day, someone told me I had top-tier mana in this world."
When I said that, she pressed her hand to her mask.
I couldn't read her expression because of the mask, but I could tell there'd been a shift in her emotions.
"……Oh, right. Because you're a reincarnator, it's different for you, isn't it?
My total mana capacity… is apparently zero."
Total mana capacity of zero.
Completely unable to use any magic at all.
"By the way, apparently in this world, literally everything has mana—even random corpses lying around. I came from a world without magic, so I figured that was only natural, but…"
Even random corpses had mana.
I'd had no idea.
But if that was the case, then having zero mana must be an incredibly harsh handicap.
"Oh, and—this probably doesn't apply to you either, huh."
She said that, and removed her mask.
A nostalgic, Japanese face.
Not quite what you'd call a beauty, but a notch above average, I'd say.
Then again, since coming to this world, I'd seen plenty of gorgeous faces.
Maybe Nanahoshi was, like, the first or second most attractive girl in her class back home.
"I came to this world five years ago, but I haven't aged a bit."
Ageless.
Five years.
She must have been sixteen or seventeen.
"That's enviable."
When I said that, she scowled.
Then she laughed briefly and put the mask back on.
"……Well, I suppose it's better than withering away in a foreign land."
Come to think of it, the me in the Human God's dreams hadn't aged either.
I'd looked just as I had in my previous life.
Did reincarnators basically not age?
"I don't know the principle behind it, but it's ridiculous."
"I'm aging normally, though."
"…Really. Maybe it's a bodily issue. We should investigate if we get another chance.
It might be a clue to something."
Nanahoshi said that and started writing something in the notebook in her lap.
Noting things she'd observed, or topics to research later, presumably.
Maybe I—someone who forgot things the moment I thought of them—should take a page out of her book.
"All right, let's get back to the topic."
She had mastered magic circles.
Apparently, magic circles were drawn using paint made from powdered mana crystals mixed with several specific ingredients.
Once the paint adhered to a surface, it fused with the material and couldn't be easily removed.
When mana flowed through the paint, it amplified that power and produced an effect matching the shape of the magic circle.
In basic terms, the paint evaporated after a single use.
Furthermore, the materials for the paint were determined by what kind of magic you intended to cast.
For large-scale magic at the king-class tier or above, apparently you needed special paint—and preparing it cost about as much as a national budget.
"So the teleportation magic circles in the ruins—they'd vanish after one use too?"
"Those were made with different paint, so it's a separate matter."
Or so she said.
Magic circles using paint were simply the current standard.
Back in the golden age of magic circles, there had been many more variations.
Some of those methods still existed today—for instance, carving a magic circle into stone and flowing mana directly through it.
Nanahoshi hadn't looked into it deeply since she couldn't use them herself, but apparently such techniques were used when crafting magical tools.
"Wait, actually, isn't that more fundamental?"
"If I can't use it, it doesn't matter."
What a thing to say.
Magic circles, given the right shape, paint, and mana, could realize almost any spell.
But there was one problem.
The 'shapes' of magic circles had been transmitted orally, and most had already been lost.
Nobody today could create a new magic circle from scratch.
Only by copying them from murals deep within ruins, or from scrolls forgotten in the back of an ancient king's treasure vault, could new magic circles be born.
But Nanahoshi had overturned that situation.
She'd studied the underlying principles of magic circles, drawn enormous numbers of them, and run experiment after experiment— and had apparently succeeded in developing several original spells.
That was seriously impressive.
I definitely wanted her to teach me.
That was when she laid down the groundwork: "But the things I've researched… I can't just hand over freely."
I thought, dang it.
She pressed on: "Let's make a deal."
It was as if she'd been building up to this from the start.
"I have no mana, no fighting ability, and probably—though I'm ageless—I'm not immortal."
"Right."
"I hate this world. There's nothing real about it. The food is terrible.
The moral compass is off. It's inconvenient…
…You probably know this, but this world doesn't even have shampoo?
And back in my original world, there are people I left behind.
So I want to go home.
What about you?"
When she asked, I answered immediately.
"I like this world. I have lots of acquaintances here. I don't want to go back."
"I see. So you don't have family left behind in your original world?"
"No attachments whatsoever."
I didn't even want to think about my previous life.
I'd decided to make my way in this world.
Fifteen years had passed since then.
A lot had happened in that time.
Good things and bad things alike.
But overall, I'd lived a pretty fulfilling life.
Even if someone told me to go back now, I'd resist with everything I had.
"So you had a good life, then."
Nanahoshi nodded to herself, accepting that.
For the record, I still hadn't told her that I'd been one of the people who'd jumped in front of her.
I'd said the cause of death was an accident, but kept the specifics hidden.
"You and I have different objectives.
But each of us has something the other wants.
So. Let's make a deal."
"Something I have that you want, Nanahoshi?"
"You said it yourself earlier, didn't you? Top-tier mana."
She wanted my mana.
I see.
But her lab had seemed to be full of mana crystals.
Were those not enough?
"You'll help me with my experiments.
And in return, I'll teach you whatever you want to know.
If I don't know something, I'll look it up. I'm well-connected, and I'm confident in my research skills.
I'll help with other things too, if needed."
"So basically—we establish a give-and-take relationship?"
"Exactly. Quick on the uptake. I like that."
She seemed clever enough that she might not even need my help.
That was what I thought, anyway.
But when you were from the same world, there was something to be said for that.
She had said something about fellow Earthlings being dependable.
"Alright, then let's cooperate."
"Good. Thank you. I'm glad to hear you say that.
Before we start—no backing out later, saying you changed your mind."
"A man doesn't go back on his word."
"……Hearing Japanese phrases like that always gets me a little emotional."
"Nobody here would get the reference."
Nanahoshi said "Well then," and settled back into her chair.
She pulled a ring from her pocket and put it on.
Three of them.
What was she imitating?
She cleared her throat with a little cough.
"So—anything you'd like to know right off the bat?
I heard you've been looking into the teleportation incident."
"Uh, who told you about that?"
I glanced over at Fitz-senpai, who hadn't been able to join our conversation and was looking a bit sulky.
Ah, so he'd talked with her a bit while I'd been unconscious.
*'Um, what? What's wrong?'* He tilted his head uneasily as my gaze landed on him.
*'I'd like to hear about that incident now. Nanahoshi, from here on, let's use the human language, please.'* *'Fine.'* Fitz-senpai sat down beside me.
I turned to face Nanahoshi.
From here on, it was human language, not Japanese.
"I don't know the mechanism behind the incident in question.
But it lines up exactly with five years ago—right around when I came to this world."
Nanahoshi was speaking somewhat reluctantly.
Five years ago. The Asura Kingdom.
Even as dense as I was, the implication was already clear by this point.
And she had probably heard from Fitz-senpai that I'd been teleported elsewhere as well.
"So you mean…?"
"That incident was most likely a backlash from when I came to this world. In other words…"
Nanahoshi paused there for a moment.
And then said: "In other words… it's possible that I'm the cause."
Just as I'd suspected.
An answer I'd half-expected already.
The similarity between summoning and teleportation.
And the fact that Nanahoshi had been summoned.
Even if I was an idiot, once all the pieces lined up, it was obvious.
Relief, even—that I wasn't the cause.
But Fitz-senpai was not so composed.
"It's all your—aaaaaagh!"
In a voice louder than anything I'd ever heard from him, he screamed and raised his hand toward Nanahoshi.
"…Over there!?"
Nanahoshi raised her ringed hand.
The ring glowed.
Fitz-senpai's magic wouldn't activate.
What were those rings?
"We suffered—my family suffered so much because of that disaster!
My father—my mother…!
It's because of yoooou!"
The instant he realized his magic wouldn't work, Fitz-senpai lunged at Nanahoshi.
But the second ring glowed, and his fist slammed into something in midair with a solid thunk.
Were those rings magical tools?
"Hey,
Nanahoshi's panicked voice.
Fitz-senpai, still panting heavily, raised his fist to strike again.
I grabbed his hand.
"Fitz-senpai, please calm down."
"How can I possibly be calm right now?!
She just said it herself—she's the one who caused it!
How can you just stand there so composed?!
You—you went through hell too, didn't you?!"
Fitz-senpai was more agitated than I'd ever seen him.
He usually kept such a composed demeanor, but in the teleportation incident, he had lost someone dear to him.
Five years had passed, and he'd made his peace with it to some degree, but there was no way he could stay calm with the person responsible standing right in front of him.
However, based on what I'd been told, Nanahoshi hadn't caused the incident.
I had been present at the moment she was transported—I'd seen it happen in my previous life.
Which meant she, too, had simply been caught up in it.
Ah, right.
All of that had been explained in Japanese.
Fitz-senpai hadn't heard any of it.
No wonder he'd jumped to conclusions.
"I'm sorry. I didn't explain enough.
Apparently, she didn't come here of her own volition either.
She's a victim too."
"A victim… Is—Is that so?"
Fitz-senpai was still breathing hard.
But perhaps he believed my words—he let out a long breath and sank into his chair.
"I'm sorry. My wording was thoughtless. I apologize."
"No—I'm the one who's sorry. I just flew off the handle like that."
Nanahoshi had put on those rings thinking I might snap and attack her.
She was surprisingly resilient.
Actually, those rings were pretty handy.
Self-defense tools, presumably?
I wouldn't mind having one of those myself.
"In any case, I don't fully understand the incident either.
It's true that the incident is what summoned me here, but who orchestrated it, for what purpose, and how it turned into that disaster— nobody seems to know."
"Didn't… Orsted say anything?"
"All he said was that this was unprecedented."
So he didn't know either.
Well, if even someone with "God" in his title didn't have answers, it wasn't going to be solved easily.
The Human God had said something about Orsted being the one who caused it, I thought…
But Orsted was afflicted with a curse that made people despise him, and the Human God hated Orsted because of that curse too.
Orsted also seemed to harbor a personal grudge, and their relationship was clearly hostile.
For all I knew, the Human God had spoken from prejudice.
If I took Nanahoshi's account at face value, there was no way Orsted had caused this.
He'd gone to the trouble of summoning her, then fully supported her efforts to go home? That made no sense.
"Then why did you say you were the cause?"
"I'd rather tell you upfront than have you find out later and flip out at me.
So I told you in advance: I'm likely the cause."
"I see."
Better to disclose it upfront rather than hide it.
Then, when it turned out to be different, she could correct it.
People tended to be calmer when correcting a mistake than when discovering a hidden truth.
That was a smart move, actually.
Though my ears were stinging a little.
I should also keep in mind the possibility that either Nanahoshi or Orsted might be lying.
"But really, you have no idea at all?"
"No idea. But I've got a lead on the research."
"So once you make progress on the research, we'll know the truth behind the teleportation incident?"
"At the very least, it should be theoretically explainable."
She wouldn't commit to saying we'd know for certain.
That was actually more trustworthy.
"That requires a lot of mana, though."
"So my existence was just what you needed—a godsend."
"A godsend… Heh, yes. That's exactly right."
Our conversation was making Fitz-senpai visibly displeased.
Was he still suspicious of Nanahoshi?
I'd explain everything to him properly later.
But honestly—who would've thought that gentle, mild-mannered Fitz-senpai could lose it like that.
She'd said she'd found one of her acquaintances… so his father and mother had both died, had they?
Maybe I should give him some time to cool down before pressing further.
"Understood, Nanahoshi.
I'm still sorting through everything myself, so I'll come back another day to ask more.
We can discuss the specifics of how I'll help at that time."
"Sounds good. Well then."
We exchanged a few final words, and I left with Fitz-senpai.
--- After I explained Nanahoshi's situation to Fitz-senpai from the beginning, he calmed down considerably.
When I told him she'd been forcibly dragged into this world and was desperately trying to get back, his anger seemed to settle.
But at the very end, he asked me one question: "So, Rudeus—what do you think of her?"
What did I think of her.
This wasn't about her face, obviously.
It was about whether to trust her or not.
For me, a reincarnator myself, her story was easy enough to swallow.
But for Fitz-senpai, who'd been born and raised in this world, it might be a harder pill.
Still, the way Nanahoshi spoke gave me the distinct impression that she couldn't care less about this world.
Like she just wanted to finish her business and go home already.
Unlike me, she'd been on a winning streak since arriving here.
She might be taking things a little too lightly.
I wasn't about to brag about my hardships or anything…
But still—something about it bugged me.
"To be honest, there are parts that rub me the wrong way, but I trust her for the most part."
"…Hmm, rubs you the wrong way… Yeah, that's fine then."
Fitz-senpai smiled wryly.
If I'd said I trusted Nanahoshi completely, he probably would have warned me to be more cautious.
I didn't exactly think she'd come barging in to scam us…
But then again, her story was pretty out there.
I could understand why he was worried about me being too trusting.
"You were worried about me, weren't you, senpai? Thank you."
"Wha—! I-I wasn't—worried, exactly, just—mm… y-you're welcome."
Fitz-senpai stammering and fumbling for words.
That was kind of heartwarming.
--- Anyway, Nanahoshi and I had formed a cooperative partnership.
There was still plenty I wanted to ask, but there was no rush.
I'd just take it piece by piece.