The woman who appeared was watching me intently.
Beside her stood a short man with sharp eyes, whose mouth was covered with cloth, and a burly, gray-haired man who looked a bit absent-minded.
The woman spoke to the two men.
After she said something to them, one of the men left, and the other one walked into the cell toward me.
On his way over, he held out his right hand just like the bearded man.
This man's right index finger also had a gemstone ring on it.
Then, his ring glowed.
I looked away for a moment from the bright light, then looked back at him.
In his hand was not a spear but a cross-shaped object.
At that moment, the bearded man, who had been watching from the corner of the cell, approached the black-haired man to protest.
However, the black-haired man glared at him and said something.
Naturally, I couldn't understand what they were saying.
The bearded man, intimidated by the glare, immediately left the cell with the man who had accompanied him.
The man with the cross approached me.
He held the cross lightly over the leg the bearded man had stabbed, then closed his eyes.
The cross emitted a light.
The moment the cross glowed, the intense pain in my leg began to subside.
What's more, the wound was healing before my eyes. Before I knew it, the pain was completely gone, and the wound had healed as if nothing had happened, allowing me to move my leg normally.
After confirming that my wound was healed, he went behind me and untied the ropes.
"Oh, thank you very much."
I was still confused by the situation, but I managed to express my gratitude.
The man who had healed me bowed silently, left the cell, and returned to the woman's side.
Then the woman started walking toward me.
My restraints were off, and I could have run, but I was so captivated by the beauty of the woman slowly approaching me that I couldn't move.
When she reached me, she knelt on the ground and brought her face close to mine as I sat there.
My heart fluttered at how close her face was.
Her beauty was so divine that if there were a god in this world, anyone would fall in love with her at first sight.
She opened her mouth and spoke to me, who was still in a daze.
"Please don't worry. You're safe now, Yuto-san."
Japan...ese?
Did she just speak Japanese?
The men before her had spoken an incomprehensible language, but for some reason, this person was speaking Japanese, the language I knew.
And she knew my name?
A flurry of questions filled my mind. The woman smiled and spoke to my bewildered state.
"I'm sure you have many questions, but for now, please allow me to introduce myself."
"I am Selitia Pazele, the administrator of this city, Pazele."
Selitia Pazele.
This beautiful woman, who introduced herself by name, held out her right hand, showing me a gemstone ring just like the men had.
Selitia-san's gem was a beautiful golden color, just like her hair.
"Wh-what's that ring?"
I had been unable to ask because we couldn't communicate, but the question that had been on my mind finally came out.
Selitia-san answered my question.
"This is an artifact we call a Maseirin, which is necessary for us to use magic."
Magic. It was a concept I'd only ever seen in anime, movies, and novels. I thought it was fiction, but what I had witnessed just now was more than enough to convince me otherwise.
Then, Selitia-san's Maseirin glowed, and a pure white staff, exquisitely decorated, appeared in her hand.
"Please excuse me for a moment."
Selitia-san placed her left hand and the staff she held in her right on top of my head and closed her eyes.
I was worried about what she was going to do, but more than that...
When she knelt, her face was close to mine, which meant that...
Two large, soft-looking mounds were right in front of my eyes.
I'm a teenage boy in the prime of his life. When something that magnificent is right in front of me, anyone would get flustered.
A moment of silence passed.
"I see... so that's it."
After a while, Selitia-san pulled her head back and looked at me with a slightly pitiful expression.
"First, I must apologize.
I am truly sorry that my subordinate, Church, caused you harm earlier."
Selitia-san apologized for the man who had stabbed my leg.
It was a sincere and heartfelt apology, so much so that it almost made me feel like I was the one in the wrong.
"N-no, it's okay. My leg is fine now."
I told Selitia-san this.
"Is that so? If you say so, Yuto-san.
Then, do you have any questions?"
Her pitiful expression changed to a smile, and she spoke to me in a gentle tone.
"Well, first, where am I?"
I started by asking about my location.
I asked about the city I saw from the sky and the cell I was currently in.
Selitia-san listened to my question and began to explain.
"First, I need to explain this world to you. This is not the world you came from. This is what you would call another world."
...Another world?
Is that like the ones I see in anime?
Well, since magic exists, it's not so strange for another world to exist, is it?
"Then, what am I?"
If this isn't my world, but another world.
Then, that means I'm...
"Yes, you are what we call a transferred person."
Selitia-san answered my question calmly as if it were a normal thing.
Her calm demeanor made me wonder.
"You're very composed about this."
I felt a little rude for asking, as she was being so kind, but her attitude bothered me, so I just had to ask.
"Transferred people are rare, but people from your world come here regularly. There are a few living in this city even now."
O-oh, I see.
So there are other transferred people besides me.
I felt a little complicated. For a moment, just for a moment, I thought I was a special person.
"You came to this world in a different way than others, and that's why this happened."
Selitia-san continued her explanation.
"Normally, people from other worlds appear suddenly somewhere in the city, and we protect them. But you..."
Ah, that's right. When I came to this world, I wasn't in the city; I was in the sky.
That difference must have caused this.
"And this is the underground dungeon of the castle in the center of the city of Pazele."
Selitia-san explained the location clearly.
So I'm in an underground dungeon.
She's mentioned the "city" several times. If it's the one surrounded by the wall and the dome I saw from the sky...
"Are there other cities?"
I remembered seeing similar structures in the distance when I was falling, so I asked.
"Yes, there are. Besides Pazele, there are other cities, and each one has its own unique characteristics and specialties."
So there really were other cities.
Okay, I've got the basics about the location.
There's something else I want to know, so I'll ask about that next.
"I think I understand the location now. My next question is.
I understand the languages are different in this world and my old one, so why can you speak both?"
I knew firsthand that the languages were different.
So I wondered why I could have a conversation with Selitia-san.
"That's a good question. It has to do with my magic.
My magic allows me to read other people's memories and give my memories to others."
"Using that magic, I've learned the Japanese language you use from the people who have come to this world. And by giving my memories to them, I've taught them the language of this world so they can live here."
I see. So she uses her magic to read the memories of transferred people to understand Japanese, and then gives her memories to them so they can live in this world.
This means that if I get the memories of this world's language from her, I'll be fine living here. I felt a sense of relief.
Then I asked my final question.
"Just one last question.
Have any transferred people ever returned to their original world? Can I go back to my world?"
This was a very important question for me.
It had been on my mind since I found out this was another world.
I was worried that I might have to spend the rest of my life in this world, leaving my family to worry about me.
Selitia-san smiled slightly at my question.
"It's alright. There is a way to go back. In fact, there have been people who returned to their original world."
That was a very happy surprise.
In most stories about being transported to another world, you can't go back.
If I can go back, there's only one thing left to ask.
"How can I get back to my world?"
If I can return, I want to.
This world is fascinating with its magic, but I have a sister and parents in my original world.
I have to go back to the world where they're waiting for me.
So I asked Selitia-san how to get back.
She looked a little troubled as she began to speak.
"There is a way to return... but it's difficult to go back right away. The gate that connects this world and yours only appears periodically."
Periodically? So, once the gate opens and closes, it won't appear for a while?
And since I just came to this world, the gate must have opened, which means it won't open again for a while.
Now that I think about it, Selitia-san did say that transferred people come here periodically.
There was one more thing I needed to know.
"What do you mean by 'periodically'? When will the gate open next?"
I needed to know when the gate would open again.
Hoping for a short interval, I asked Selitia-san.
"Well, after you arrived, the next time the gate opens will be... about one year from now."
"One year?!"
I was so surprised by her answer that I blurted it out.
A year isn't that long, but does that mean I'll be missing for a year in my old world?
And how am I supposed to live in this world for a whole year?!
"Even though it's one year here, the time flow is different. One year here is about one month in your world. And we will take care of you during that time."
Selitia-san explained, sensing my panic.
A month. My family would still be worried, but it was far better than having no way to return at all. I shouldn't be so selfish.
Besides, she's offering to take care of me. It's not all bad. I'll think positively. There's magic in this world, so it probably won't be a boring life.
Then, Selitia-san made an offer.
"Given your age, if you're interested, would you like to come to the magic academy where I am the headmistress?
You will have to take the entrance exam, though, due to our rules."
A magic academy. Normally, school isn't a place I'd want to go, but adding the word "magic" makes me want to go.
"Are you serious? If I can, I'd love to take the test!"
I answered immediately.
Selitia-san smiled at my response and continued.
"I'm glad you're happy. In that case, let's go shopping for what you'll need for your daily life. Oh, and regarding your name..."
Selitia-san seemed a little hesitant. Huh? My name? Is something wrong with it?
Selitia-san continued to explain.
"The names in this world and your world are a bit different. I'd like you to change your name slightly so it's easier to live here.
It's just switching your first and last names."
I see, I understand.
Just switching the order of my first and last names. That's no problem at all.
"Okay. So, I'll be Yuto Shindo, right?"
Selitia-san's face brightened, as if she was happy I understood her so quickly.
"Yes, exactly. Thank you for understanding so fast. And, oh, they're here."
The two men who had left earlier at Selitia-san's request returned. For some reason, they were carrying a wooden bucket.
Why? And if it's just one bucket, couldn't one person have brought it? I wondered, but Selitia-san immediately provided the answer.
"I asked them to leave so we could talk alone, so I gave them a chore that was necessary for you."
Selitia-san smiled at me. I was a little flustered by her smile and the fact that she wanted to talk to me alone.
But wait a minute, a chore that was necessary for me?
That wooden bucket?
The gray-haired man just came into the cell and put the bucket in front of me.
What kind of joke is this?
"Well, you see, my magic isn't difficult when I'm reading someone's memories.
But I'm not very good at giving my memories to others. Even a little bit of information can cause people to throw up.
So please use this bucket when you need to. Now, here we go!"
She said this with a slight blush, picked up the staff from the floor, and placed it on my head, holding it there.
Wait, what?
I didn't have time to object. I was busy grabbing the bucket and pulling it closer.
The bucket smelled like vomit, as if other transferred people had used it. Is this really necessary? I thought, then something started flowing into my head.
A massive amount of unfamiliar characters poured into my brain, and I was forced to understand them instantly.
My stomach churned...
And finally, just as Selitia-san had said...
"B-bleh... urrrrgh..."
I threw up into the bucket.