Kichirou slowly opened his eyes. It was bright—very bright, and as his eyes began to adjust, a small voice escaped him: “Huh?”

As he surveyed his surroundings, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He was sitting on a grass plain stretching as far as the eye can see.

What the hell?

What is this place? Could I be dreaming?

No. It's funny how this line of questioning would always come up in a movie or book because, in reality, it was very easy to differentiate between what was real and what were simply fabrics of imagination. He was awake, that much was for certain.

Confusion and anxiety coursed through Kichirou’s mind as he struggled to recall the events of the night prior.

Given the bright sky, he must have passed out for the night. But just a moment ago he was at the restaurant, how did he end up on this grass field? No matter how hard he tried to recall what happened, everything was blank. The only thing he could remember was a flash of white.

Kichirou sighed in defeat as he laid back on the grass, trying to relax his heart rate. There was no point in stressing over what he couldn’t remember, all that was left was to figure out what to do from here on out.

My phone!

Feeling slightly stupid that he didn’t think of it sooner, he pulled out his phone.

Kichirou rejoiced with a slight smirk as his phone screen lit up. But in the very next moment, the screen shut off along with the phone.

"Noooo, damn it!"

It was nothing short of a rollercoaster of emotions. Smartphones these days can't even last one night out! A night out… his friends! He was at Oma with his friends, could they also be here?

Kichirou immediately scanned his surroundings once more, but there was nothing, not a single figure in the distance.

His friends were nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't the only trouble lingering in his mind.

There was an irritating warmth, and it wasn't from an internal source like psychological shock or hyperventilation. Kichirou felt it, a warm summer-like breeze. It wasn't just his imagination.

It's still winter in Japan.

Kichirou squeezed Kurosho and took a few deep breaths, calming himself down to focus on the problem in front of him.

The human mind is a curious thing, it gives way for anxiety, fear, and worry. And with these feelings, people spend most of their time doing things that are irrelevant, binding them from working on what matters, like dealing with the problem itself.

But fear would not triumph, his head was still clear as day.

Before anything, he needed to figure out where he was. It's mid-December, there isn't a single place in Japan that could have this summer-like weather. He couldn't have left Japan overnight, but then, where could this be? His mind raced until his head metaphorically went up in smoke as his headache pounded against his rational thought.

The only place that could be this warm at this time of year should be the tropics, but the grass and landscape before him suggested that this was a temperate region.

This is impossible.

As much as he would love to deny it, this couldn't be Japan. But if it wasn’t Japan, then where could he have ended up? Kichirou did not know the answer, in fact, he knew full well that he would probably not be able to find out no matter how much more thought he poured into it.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Despite his valiant effort, the sense of terror that crept in now blossomed to full-blown fear of his situation.

Not only was Kichirou lost, he was probably in some foreign country.

Right before panic took control of his senses, he felt a small but chilling sensation graced his hand.

Kichirou looked up in confusion and saw a grey and lifeless sky. Clouds covered every vacancy as if the azure sky and the welcoming breeze were nothing but an illusion.

He sat there staring at the sky, dumbfounded, uttering a single: “Huh?”

As if waiting for his small and confused voice, a blanket of white appeared.

It was snow.

It appeared to have happened in an instant. Just a moment ago, the sun was high in the sky with no clouds in sight. But now the grass was no more, covered by a thick sheet of snow.

As the gentle and soothing snowflakes covered him from head to toe, he thought to himself: What the hell is going on?

Ever since he woke in this strange land, nothing has made any logical sense whatsoever. Where did this drastic change of weather come from? He couldn't answer it. But nevertheless, his fears grew more emollient with each cold touch.

As his consciousness waned and fears faded, he closed his eyes and drifted away.

At that moment, Kichirou felt as if he belonged there, a feeling that this place welcomed him with a promise of eternal tranquility.

His mind drifted, and he saw pure emptiness lying ahead. There was no pain, no suffering, no anger, no joy, and no laughter, yet to Kichirou, it felt so inviting—until a wet sensation on his face interrupted him. It was a familiar feeling, and it brought him back from the edge of that empty abyss.

He raised his hands up and held back the pile of fluff that slobbered all over his face.

“Hahaha, stop it!”

The bright summer sun welcomed his sight as he opened his eyes. Before him was a dog of pure white fluffiness, wagging its tail furiously.

“Wynter?!??”

“Woof!”

No, she's gone. Upon a second look, this dog was quite similar, but it wasn’t Wynter. Wynter was a mix between Alaskan malamute and Samoyed, with her coat of almost pure white and a single spot of black fur on her left ear. This dog was probably a purebred Samoyed. Other than that, the only notable difference would be their size, this Samoyed was larger, much like a wolf dog.

…

She's in a better place now.

“Woof woof!” The dog rolled over on its back as if to invite Kichirou to a friendly belly rub.

Of course, with such a gracious offer, he couldn't turn it down.

As Kichirou rubbed the dog's belly, he breathed a sigh of relief. Based on how the dog was behaving, it must be someone’s pet, which ruled out the possibility of being isolated in a remote location. Despite his confusion, as long as he was near civilization his situation could be resolved.

But still, what was that? The snow, and that feeling. As real as it may have seemed, it must have been a dream or a form of hallucination. Kichirou had heard that sometimes dreams and hallucinations could be strong enough that a person could actually experience their own delusions. That must have been it. That was the only acceptable conclusion he could reach.

As he pondered to himself, a soft whistling came from the distance.

The dog’s ears perked up with the sound, causing Kichirou to instinctively pull back his hand in response to the sudden movement.

Then, without even taking another look at Kichirou, it ran off.

Following the direction it was running towards, Kichirou saw the silhouette of a young girl.

Finally, Kichirou could get some answers. Perhaps even find out that he was just in a very secluded area of Japan, an area with unique weather patterns.

At first, all he saw was a distant silhouette with gleaming golden hair. Kichirou initially thought it was just due to the glare of the sun, however, as he got closer it was evident that it was not the case. The girl’s golden hair looked very natural, and with a white dress and the radiant sun—she had quite an angelic appearance.

She was a foreigner.

That would mean Kichirou really did end up somewhere outside of Japan. How could that be possible? Despite the overwhelming evidence that suggested so, a part of him refused to believe it and hung onto the slither of hope that it wasn't the case.

Forget it. I'll just ask where this place is and figure out the rest later. Wait a second, how am I even going to ask her?

At that very thought, Kichirou stopped in his tracks. If this was not Japan, there was little to no chance that such a young girl would have learned a second language, and especially not Japanese.

Could she be Russian, Scandinavian, or perhaps American? How would I ask in English anyway? Let's see... Wait, what if she doesn't even speak English? AHHHHHHHHHH! What am I supposed to do if she can't understand me? Do I just gesture something and follow her to town? I’m gonna seem like a freaking pedophile following a little girl in the middle of nowhere, crap...

This entire time he was standing still, staring right at her, and he was close enough for her to tell. Kichirou must have seemed like a lion stalking an antelope, getting ready to pounce.

Shit... Now I actually seem like a creep, or suspicious at the least. What if she just runs away now?

If Kichirou was in her shoes that would certainly be his course of action. And it wouldn't be surprising in the least. After all, every parent tells their kids to avoid strangers.

Though, even if she were to run, at least he would know which direction was towards civilization. And if rumours were to spread of a weird guy stalking children, surely it would be cleared up eventually. Still, that was something he would hope to avoid, especially given the possible language barrier.

Thankfully, the girl didn't seem too worried. Perhaps it was because she had her dog with her. Though that wouldn't last forever, even the most confident person in the world would get creeped out if this staring contest continued.

As he approached her, he forced a smile on his face, suggesting his friendly nature. But in reality, his awkward smile made him look more creepy than anything else.

A nervous look grew on her face as she saw Kichirou’s.