*poke poke*

"Is he dead, papa?"

"Dead? Nah. He has probably just inhaled some paruga spores. They make you see things, and make you sleepy."

"Oh! So he's just sleeping?"

"Probably, sweetheart. If you look at the grass near his mouth and nose you see he's breathing calmly. He probably just needs some rest."

As if waking from a deep slumber, the faint voices became clearer and clearer. Another sound too: a calm breeze. His other senses had also started to kick in. The sensation of warmth beaming down upon him and warming his body, and the smell of fresh grass that was tickling his side that lay against the ground. Finally, after taking in the new atmosphere, Isaac opened his eyes.

True enough, he was lying on a patch of grass. Looking forward, he saw trees, seeming to get denser and denser the further he gazed. So he was at the edge of a forest. Sunlight was beaming down from behind him, and he could feel another presence coming from that same direction. Turning around, he again felt grass tickle his body. Wait, body? Isaac stopped and looked down. He realized his clothes, which he had previously been wearing, were no longer there. Instead, he had been covered with a large piece of cloth. Its texture was slightly rough, and it looked handmade. Before his mind could ask any questions, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey there, kiddo! I see you've woken up!"

The manly voice Isaac had heard when waking from his dream spoke. Looking to where it came from, he shielded his eyes which were hit with the bright image of the sun, which was now beaming down on his face. Below it, a silhouette. Actually, two silhouettes, though they were clustered together. The second one was much smaller and seemed to be behind the first. Rubbing his eyes in hopes of seeing better, Isaac saw that the two figures were a man and a child.

The man was large and muscular. He had a full, brown beard, but short hair. His face was square, but his hazel eyes had the gentle look of a loving father, that didn't quite fit the rest of his stern-looking physique. His outfit was what Isaac would describe as a medieval farmer outfit: A maroon short coat with a cold beige tunic underneath, as well as a belt and brown pants. His tunic, however, seemed a size too small, so his muscular body was pressed against the cloth. The man smiled warmly at Isaac and didn't seem to mind at all the fact that Isaac was wearing only a piece of cloth around himself. When he thought it through, Isaac realized it was probably the man who covered him in the first place.

Behind the man, the little figure seemed to be hiding behind his right leg. From what Isaac could see, she was wearing what could be described as a medieval equivalent of a summer dress. It was light blue with white ribbons, and like the cloth around Isaac, it looked handmade. Her unkempt hair was the shade of caramel and reached down to just below her shoulders. One deep blue eye was peeking out from behind the man's leg, and she was gazing shyly yet intently at Isaac.

Comparing the girl's summer dress and his piece of cloth, it made more and more sense that the man had supplied Isaac with the current garments that covered his body. Looking around, he could not see his old clothes anywhere. There was no sign of them, and judging by the body language of the man and child, it did not seem like they had stolen his clothes. Which meant...

"When we found you, you had no clothes on. You were shivering, so I figured you were cold. Therefore I had to cover you with something while my wife ran back home to get you some proper clothes. She'll be back any minute now, so don't worry!"

As if to confirm Isaac's question, the man must've seen the confusion and sudden realization in his eyes and thus tried to explain. They had found him like he was, naked. Isaac got red-faced and awkward, and didn't know what he could do. Looking up at the man, he felt the need to apologize, but the words wouldn't come out. The man's expression became puzzled, as if, by some logic, Isaac's reaction was unnatural. Then, he jumped, as if he had just remembered something. He slapped his hand to his forehead before continuing.

"Oh, right, we haven't even introduced ourselves. I'm Kit."

He then gestured to the little girl behind him and continued, jokingly:

"And this little creature is Emryn, my daughter. Say hi, sweetie."

The man, who had addressed himself as Kit, looked behind and down at the girl he had introduced as Emryn, encouraging her to stop hiding by moving a hand down to lead her in front. However, the girl's grip on her father's clothes tightened, and she stood still, refusing to reveal herself fully. Isaac could hear a quiet noise coming from her though.

"H-hello..."

Isaac tried to hide his embarrassment as best he could by putting on as genuine a smile as he could muster, before awkwardly answering the two.

"I-... uh, Isaac."

Though he could not see her full face, the eye poking out from behind Kit seemed to indicate she started smiling.

"We don't see that many strangers around these parts, Isaac, so please forgive her for being a tad bit shy. Anyways, we live on that farm down there, that's where my wife went to get you some clothes."

Kit pointed his thumb behind him. Looking behind the man and child, Isaac saw a field of green and yellow, as well as a cluster of stone buildings with straw roofs. Like Kit had said, it was clear that it was a farm. Of what exactly, Isaac's untrained eye could not see. Corn, barley or wheat, whatever it was, the field was big, and the houses of different sizes all seemed to each be made with a purpose in mind.

Then something else caught his eye. In the distance, another figure, coming from the direction of the farm. Kit and Emryn must've seen his eyes shift their focus, because they started following his gaze. Once Emryn noticed the person approaching, she bolted off in that direction.

As the figure drew nearer, Isaac saw it was a woman. He didn't have to put two and two together to realize who it was. Her caramel brown hair was long and straight, and she was also wearing a handmade summer dress that was of similar quality to Emryn's, though hers was forest green, with a white underdress underneath. Of course, her clothes were made adult size, while her daughter's was made kid size. She was carrying a straw basket with a few articles of clothing visibly hanging out over the top.

"Ah, there she is."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

As Emryn reached her mother, they both stopped and seemed to talk a little. Isaac couldn't hear what they said, but he thought he could hear a childish giggle coming from the smaller one. Finally, Emryn grabbed her mother's hand and led her to where Kit and Isaac were. When they arrived, the mother stood beside her husband, who introduced her.

"Isaac, This is my lovely wife, Elyse."

The mother, Elyse, did a small bow as if to affirm Kit's introduction. Now that Isaac could see her face clearly, he could see where Emryn got her looks from. Elyse seemed to be in her early to mid-thirties, though her face did have an unusually youthful look. Isaac thought Kit was spot on with his wording: 'Lovely' was the perfect word to describe her gentle smile and graceful posture. It had been years, but Isaac still remembered his mother's smile and the comfort it had given him. When she had died, no one had been able to reach him with that kind of feeling again. Yet somehow, he felt hints of those emotions radiating from the woman now standing in front of him. Somehow, he saw glimpses of familiarity in this person he was seeing for the first time, and it all made him speechless.

While Isaac just sat there, trying to make sense of these unusual feelings, Kit turned back to his wife and continued.

"Elyse, this boy's name is Isaac."

At the mention of his name once again, Isaac snapped back into the present and nodded affirmatively at what Kit had just said.

"Lovely to meet you, Isaac. I brought you something to wear, I hope they fit you nicely."

Elyse bowed once again, this time lowering herself towards Isaac. She reached out her arms, holding the picnic basket containing the clothing she had found for him. With another smile, she sat it down on the grass.

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Though the clothes Elyse had brought for Isaac were certainly not tailored with him in mind, they fit him surprisingly well. Kit had told Isaac that the cloth that previously had covered him was supposed to be used as a picnic blanket, and he and his family had planned to go on a picnic when they stumbled upon him. Isaac couldn't help but wonder how it must've looked to them, a happy family done with their day's work and heading to the forest to celebrate. Then, those plans were immediately interrupted by the unusual sight of a naked boy lying passed out in their way. He tried his best not thinking about what a sight that must've been for them, but strangely enough they hadn't brought it up, or even seemed to react all that much from it. They were probably just avoiding the subject in order not to embarrass him.

On the way to the farmhouse, it had finally started to sink in for Isaac that he was no longer in his own, or should he say old world. Sure, that meeting with the self-proclaimed god of death, Spectre, could've just been a very vivid dream, but this? He felt more awake than one could ever feel in a dream, maybe even more awake than he ever had in his old world.

That realization alone had started filling his mind with questions, and he was currently trying to find the answer to as many of them as possible, as quickly as possible.

If this world is my new home, does that mean my old life is over forever? Should I embrace this new life that has been given to me, or should I strive to find a way back to my old world? I mean, according to this 'Spectre' guy, I died, so is that even possible? Also, if I died and was brought here, what happened to the rest of my class? did they all get sent to their fantasy universes too? Or was I the only one, and they’re all dead for good?

More and more questions started piling on top of the ones Isaac was already thinking, and all those thoughts became so overwhelming it made him dizzy. He was suddenly snapped out of it when he heard his name being called.

"Isaac?"

Walking beside him was Elyse, she looked at him with a curious expression.

"Are you feeling okay? You were kind of waddling, are you dizzy?"

"N-no, thank you. I am just a bit overwhelmed by all of this. It sort of feels like... I don't know how to describe it... Like my whole life up until now has been a dream and I've finally woken up."

Kit, who was walking in front, carrying Emryn on his back, turned his head.

"Yep, Paruga spores can do that to you when you inhale too much. You need to be careful not to walk too close to them when you're in a forest."

Isaac had never heard of these spores Kit was talking about, but he could guess they came from some sort of plant, and inhaling them would cause you to hallucinate. There was nothing like that back in his old world, at least not in the area he had lived in. It would only be natural that Kit thought Isaac was of this world, but he didn't want to sound like a madman by trying to explain how he ended up there, so he quietly nodded and continued walking.

"Well, in any case, you're here now, and we'll take care of you until you're ready to head home. We have a spare room and everything, so don't you worry!"

Home? That word stuck in Isaac's head.

"Oh, uh... I don't... Actually... Have a home."

Isaac's answer was quiet as if he thought it was strange, and he was afraid it would only bring more questions he didn't have a good answer to, but Kit's reaction to his answer caught him off guard.

"You don't have a home? Well, in that case, stay with us for as long as you'd like! If you're willing to help out with the farm, you can consider this your home if you want."

Isaac wasn't sure how to react. Wasn't Kit's suggestion a little... Forward? He has just invited this stranger he found in the woods, naked and with no place to go, into his house and live with him? Sure, it was in exchange for work, but this level of trust was completely unfamiliar to him. In his old world, if the situation had been the same, the people who had found the stranger would either call the cops or leave him alone.

Of course, Isaac didn't mind the hospitality, but he knew what one said about something being too good to be true. Nevertheless, he accepted.

"That would be of much help, thank you... But... Are you sure it's okay to let someone you just met live in your home for an undefined amount of time?"

This time it was Elyse who answered Isaac.

"Of course! Othrys teaches us to be hospitable towards those who are lost."

Othrys? Is that another deity in this world, like Spectre?

Isaac didn't want to sound stupid, so he refrained from asking. He simply nodded, pretending to understand again, thinking that was the best choice. After all, the way Elyse had talked made it seem like common knowledge.

So, if Othrys is another deity, that means the deities of this world are not only real, but are also worshipped. I wonder if they have any proof that they exist, or if the whole system is based on belief, like the religions of my old world.

As they continued walking through the field of green and yellow, which Isaac realized was filled with a type of crop that didn't exist back on earth, he could hear Emryn whispering to her dad, in what he thought was a failed attempt for him not to hear her.

"Papa? Does that mean I have a new big brother?"

"Hahaha, maybe it does, sweetheart!"

Kit, however, did not whisper back. Isaac noticed that Emryn was shyly tilting her head around to look at him. Her eyes were adorable, and he could see that she was in a good mood. He smiled at her, but when she noticed he was looking, she quickly turned back in embarrassment. Isaac couldn't help but chuckle a little at her cute reaction. Elyse probably saw as well, because she chuckled with him. This must've made Emryn even more embarrassed, because she clutched her father. Kit probably realized what had happened, because he chuckled as well, before rustling his daughter's hair.

"Well, it looks like you'll get along just fine. Then it's settled. Isaac, Our home is now your home."