Kikori no Isekai Tan

“This is Nirgen….”

The boy, with a crude axe on his back, looked at the enormous city and muttered in astonishment.

Countless houses, massive walls that seemed to stretch on forever.

The sight of the enormous city, known as the Defense City, filled the boy with a slight sense of wonder.

“If it is here, even someone like me can survive too. I don’t know if I can become an adventurer, though…”

The boy was aware that he was reincarnated.

When was it that he first realized this?

The memories of his life in a world called Japan on Earth awakened, and everything started to go wrong.

The memories of his previous life swept over him, and he was ostracized as “the guy who says things that don’t make sense”.

Trying to forget but unable to, his past life memories, mixed with his current memories, overwrote his previous self, and now even his parents were unable to understand him.

When did people start saying he was possessed by a demon?

The elderly priest at the temple declared that he wasn’t possessed but that didn’t put an end to the matter.

Feeling uncomfortable under the gazes of those around him every day, the priest told him, “You should go on a journey”.

He was given the axe he was using for chopping wood and some money as a parting gift, and the name of the town he was told was the Defense City of Nirgen.

Nirgen, the front line against monsters, widely sought people with an adventurous spirit—in other words, adventurers, regardless of their origin.

No one cared if you were a little strange in your speech and conduct. It was that kind of place.

“Hold on, wait there.”

The boy was stopped by a guard in front of the huge gate of the Defense City of Nirgen.

“Boy, is this your first time here?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your purpose in coming here?”

“To become an adventurer.”

After the boy answered, the guard let out a “Hmm”.

“I can’t even describe how tough it is. Some people died soon after.”

“I’m prepared for that.”

It can’t be helped. That’s why the guard let out a small sigh after hearing the boy’s answer.

“I really don’t want to see children die. But well, we’re always short on manpower. So, welcome to the city.”

“Thank you very much.”

“You’re a solid kid. Most of the kids that come here are either wild or with eyes full of pointless hope.”

Well, I guess kids are like that, the boy thought.

The priest had told him many good things, but fighting monsters couldn’t possibly be a decent job.

Did the priest think cutting down monsters was the same as chopping down trees, or did he think that the boy would die soon anyway?

Well, the boy wanted to believe that it was simply an act of goodwill.

And, if it was.

“So, boy. What’s your name?”

“It’s Kikori1.”

That’s what the boy decided to call himself.

Like how a lumberjack chops wood, he will live by slaying monsters.

The guard lightly scratched his cheek when the boy introduced himself as Kikori but eventually wrote something down and handed Kikori a wooden tag.

“Welcome to the Defense City of Nirgen, Kikori. Do your best to survive.”

Translator Notes:

1. Kikori = 木こり. As you can probably already guess, the name literally means lumberjack.

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