Another boring day at work, office drone Ayame Soto thought to herself. When I get home, I’m going to eat ramen and play games for the whole weekend!
After graduating from university, Soto-san got a job as a data processor for a tech company in Tokyo. She wasn’t that invested in the work, but it paid well enough to pay her bills as well as support her otaku lifestyle. Anime, manga, light novels, eroge, video games; if it had cute girls, she needed it in her life. As a result, she hated how mundane her work was compared to the epic fantasies from manga and the Otome games she played.
As a child, Soto-san rarely saw her parents and had trouble making friends at school, so she took refuge in the fantastical worlds that only anime and manga provided. She quickly turned into a full-blown otaku and graduated to playing Otome fantasy RPGs in her spare time. She would dream of being reincarnated in another world, just like the main characters from Isekai series she loved, where she could start over in a world that she actually fit in.
Alas, her dreams of becoming the MC of her very own Isekai had been dashed upon the rocks of reality and she succumbed to the mundanity of real life. However, technological advancements in virtual reality allowed her to keep that dream on life support. Every evening after she got off work, she would eat a quick meal and then engross herself in the world of a recent VRMMORPG that allowed her to live the life she always dreamed of.
An unfortunate side effect of her otaku lifestyle was that she never made friends. After four years of college and three years at her job, she had yet to go past the acquaintanceship phase of any interpersonal relationship. She was used to being an awkward outcast and had given up on trying to get along with people she interacted with in the real world. In her mind, all the company she needed was just a click away at home.
“Excuse me, Soto-san.” Fellow office drone Chika Kitamura interrupted Ayame-san’s precious daydreaming. “Would you look over my spreadsheets again? There’s no rush, just whenever you can get to them! Thanks!” Kitamura-san walked away giddily without waiting for Soto-san to reply.
On the opposite side of the personality spectrum as Soto-san was Kitamura-san. Despite only working three desks away from Soto-san, the two rarely spoke about anything other than work. Kitamura-san was the kind of person who never had time for things like anime or video games. Instead, she hung out with her friends from college and high school, spent time with her family, and she was always trying some new hobby to fill the gaps in her already busy schedule.
Also, unlike Soto-san, Kitamura-san enjoyed her work and had a good relationship with everyone at the office, except for Soto-san. She was regularly asked to go to meetings with clients as a representative because of her outgoing nature and shrewd negotiation skills. Instead of avoiding people in the real world, she sought them out and tried to put a smile on everyone’s face.
However, despite how she presented herself to her coworkers, she had a bratty side as well. As the only daughter from a wealthy family, she always got whatever she wanted. Whether it be designer shoes, exclusive concert tickets, or dinner at an extremely expensive restaurant, she always got what she wanted. Whenever someone tried to push back on her demands, she would attack the person by pointing out the things that they were most ashamed of. Anyone who got close to her soon learned that it was better to give into her demands than feel her wrath.
Even though she only sat three desks from Soto-san, she never gave her much thought. She saw Soto-san as a pushover whom she could dump any unwanted work onto. While Kitamura-san was complimented multiple times a day for how beautiful and stylish she was, Soto-san was the embodiment of a plain dork. She wore her hair in a tight bun, wore glasses that she chose for their function and not for fashion, and wore cheap clothes that she got on sale. Thus, Kitamura-san never gave her more than cursory glance and would often forget that Soto-san existed until she needed her.
“Kitamura-san, can I speak with you?” Her boss summoned her before she left for her lunch break.
“Of course! What can I do for you?” She asked in her fake excited voice that people thought was genuine.
“Can you take Soto-san and meet with the representatives from the bank? She’s good with numbers so she can do the math while you negotiate the deal.”
It took her a moment to recall who Soto-san was despite talking to her just a few minutes before. Their boss rarely sent Soto-san on business deals, but no one else was willing to sacrifice their lunch hour to talk to bankers.
“You got it, boss! Just leave it to us!” Kitamura-san was adept at sucking up to her boss, knowing that if she got on his good side, she would be able to get away with things later.
Kitamura-san approached Soto-san who was still busy at work, totally unaware that her co-worker was staring at her.
“Soto-san, we’re going to meet with the bankers for lunch. Let’s go.” Kitamura-san had no interest in being more friendly than she needed to be with Soto-san. There was nothing she would gain from a healthier working relationship with her, so she wasn’t worth the effort to be polite.
“Huh? Really? Why me?” Soto-san was too surprised to notice Kitamura-san’s annoyed tone. None of her co-workers ever asked to have lunch with her let alone meet with a client.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“Yeah, really. Now get your stuff and let’s go.”
“Oh, right…” Soto-san packed up her second-hand handbag and clumsily stood up from her desk. She was used to sitting for extended periods of time at work and at home, so getting up so quickly made her head spin for a moment.
The two walked in complete silence, neither cared enough to fill the time with idle conversation. They were so focused on other things that talking wasn’t ever a thought that crossed either of their minds.
Oh great, I get to spend my afternoon with the gloomy loner from my office. How could this day get any worse, Kitamura-san thought to herself.
Soto-san was thinking something completely different from Kitamura-san. This is so great! I’m having lunch with Kitamura-san! I’ve never gone out with someone so pretty before! Is this a date!? No, it’s a work meeting… But there may be a few minutes before the bankers arrive that it’ll be just the two of us! I’m so nervous, I could throw up!
The two were off in their own little worlds, ignorant of the events going on around them. As such, neither of them heard the out-of-control truck that was careening towards them as they crossed the street.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Soto-san opened her eyes to find herself in front of a gorgeous woman clad in a white tunic. The moment Soto-san saw her, she knew exactly who the woman was.
“Are you God? Did I die!? Oh! Is this one of those reincarnation things!?” Soto-san could barely contain her excitement at the prospect of making her lifelong dream a reality.
God was taken aback by how gleeful Soto-san was at the news that she was dead. No one ever learned of their demise and cheered for their own death.
“Your final words before you died were ‘at least I won’t be alone anymore,’ so I am here to give you another chance at life.”
Soto-san wasn’t interested in any of what God was saying, she only wanted to know what kind of world she was going to be reborn into. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, got it. So, what of world am I going to!? Is it one of those fantasy lands with magic and orcs!? Oh! Is it a super futuristic world with robots and flying cars!?”
“Uh, the first one.” God was confused but she was gathering that the woman in front of her was familiar with the idea of reincarnation. “The world you’ll wake up in is called Mystheria. As you are familiar with the premise, you know the basics of the world. There’s skill levels, magic, enchanted swords and staffs, potions, monsters that were only myths in your world, and it will never progress in technology past where it currently is. I suppose it would be like those games you used to play in your world.”
“Yes! Those are the best kind of worlds to be reincarnated in! So can I ask for whatever I want or are there rules about what kind of things you can grant me?”
“Well… Technically, we aren’t supposed to grant certain wishes in order to protect the stability of the world in which you’ll be reincarnated. However, since you clearly know how this kind of thing goes, I trust you wouldn’t do anything to alter the world too much.”
“You can count on me, God, I just want to be a simple adventurer and help those in need! I’m not the kind to conquer or rule over kingdoms.” Soto-san was the kind of gamer who always played as a lawful-good character and always followed her morals as opposed to destroying everything in her wake.
“Then I shall grant all that I can.”
“Awesome! Since I was a weak loser, I wanna be totally maxed on skills and magic, like the strongest being in that world. Oh, and I want to be immortal! I don’t want to be reincarnated and then die because I got into a fight with a bear on my way to the nearest village. And if it’s not already a spell, I want to be able to heal people! Don’t worry, I won’t use it to save every single person, but I want to help my friends if they’re in trouble. Oh! I almost forgot, I want to be beautiful and unageing, preferably younger than I am now. And umm… Yeah, that’s about it! Cool gear and stuff would be nice too, but I don’t want to be too greedy.”
God found the woman’s requests humorous but acceptable. “Alright, you shall have all you have wished for and more. You will wake up in a small house in the countryside where you will be able to live the idyllic life you have always dreamed of. Don’t worry, I guarantee that you won’t be lonely in your new life.”
With a sly wink, God imbued Soto-san with everything she asked for and sent her down to her new world.
“Now that she’s out of the way, I should see about the other one.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kitamura-san opened her eyes and yawned. She felt refreshed, like she just had the best sleep she’s had in ages. When she looked around to figure out where she was, she found that she was on a cloud surrounded by a night sky with thousands of stars.
“Huh? Where the heck am I?”
“You’re here.” God’s voice came unexpectedly which caused her to jump up in shock.
“Ah! Where did you come from!? And where’s here!?”
“I am God. Unfortunately, your life on Earth has ended, but you will be reincarnated in a new world.”
“What? I’m…dead? But I liked my life, can’t I just go back instead of being reincarnated?”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. However, I will grant you whatever you like for your life in your new world.”
Kitamura-san took a moment to think about everything God had told her. It was hard enough to learn that she was dead, but now she had to plan for her life in a new world that she knew nothing about.
“Umm, I guess just give me whatever I need to live a normal life. Oh, and I don’t want to die again so can you make it so I don’t die? And not age as well, I want a long, happy life in whatever world you’re tossing me into.”
God considered her request for a moment. It was obvious that Kitamura-san had no clue what to ask for and normally God would tell her about the world a bit. However, God was in a mischievous mood and decided to give Kitamura-san what she asked for without question. However, God decided to have fun with Kitamura-san’s wording and made it so that she couldn’t die, but she could still get hurt. God knew that Soto-san would be in the same world, so she wasn’t worried about Kitamura-san not being able to survive. God was sure that Soto-san would look after her once they found each other.
“As you wish, Kitamura-san. Don’t worry, you won’t be alone.”
Before Kitamura-san can ask what God meant by her final statement, she was sent down to her new world. God decided to place her in the middle of a forest, not too far from the home that Soto-san would soon be waking up in.
“I’m looking forward to how those two get along. Kitamura-san is in for a lot of surprises.” With a final chuckle, God set about making the finishing touches to what was to be a very entertaining reincarnation.