“Are there many people like us who cross over to this world?”
“Well, it happens several times a year.”
“Th-That many? Then are there lots of Japanese people in the lower world?”
“No, the entrance from one world only connects to the same shrine. People from Japan come through the ‘Yodo Shrine,’ but I’ve heard it opened for the first time in over a decade.”
It seems there are still some Japanese people in this world.
There are many shrines, and apparently, the way each shrine opens is different. Some shrines open every year, while others open once every decade or so, like those from Japan. There are even shrines that haven’t opened for hundreds of years.
I’ve heard that some shrines tend to produce dangerous individuals.
By the time I finished pondering this, my meal was over, and I was to be guided to the Chief Priest.
As we walked through the building, there was a large room like a gymnasium on the lower floor. There, students were learning swordsmanship and other skills from people who looked like warriors of this world. I unconsciously stopped and gazed at the students through the open door. Seeing this, Miree laughed and explained.
“Today, they’re explaining how to use weapons. Some people wanted to learn spears, but most of them chose swords.”
“Well, they practiced swordsmanship in Japan. It’s good that they’re getting proper instruction.”
After observing for a while, we left the gymnasium-like room and continued following Miree.
“They’re all quite talented. Especially Kyohei-san, I hear he’s already five digits in the rankings even though he hasn’t raised his tier yet. He’s a once-in-a-century talent.”
“Hm? Rankings? What’s that?”
“There’s something called the Divine People’s Ranking. It’s a ranking system based on… strength, I suppose. It measures magical power and physical abilities of everyone living in this world.”
“…The strength of everyone in the world?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s the… current ranking.”
“Wow…”
A ranking of strength… Is this for real?
As I was surprised, Miree walked out of the building. She headed towards something like a suspension bridge connecting to another floating island.
Ugh… Seriously? This suspension bridge… is it swaying?
Miree noticed that I had stopped in my tracks and approached me with a concerned look.
“Shigeto-san, are you perhaps not good with heights?”
“I’m not very fond of them, I’m embarrassed to say.”
“No need to be embarrassed. We’re used to it, but it seems most newcomers are hesitant.”
Saying this, Miree took my arm. She was probably trying to ease my anxiety. We crossed the bridge, which was wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
To put it mildly, Miree was beautiful. I felt the soft, feminine touch through my arm, feeling flustered. Forgetting my fear of heights, I realized we had already crossed the bridge. Miree smiled at me, saying, “You did well,” making me feel a sense of admiration.
After crossing the suspension bridge, we entered what appeared to be a temple building.
We were led to a large room with a massive round table. The table, which could seat dozens of people, had an elderly priest and three middle-aged priests sitting around it, discussing something. On the table were various mysterious objects like crystals and compass-like devices.
“Chief Priest, I’ve brought a transferee.”
“Welcome. I am Gregory Bartolo, serving as the Chief Priest.”
“Ah, yes… Thank you. My name is Shigeto Kusunoki.”
Gregory greeted me with a kind smile that reminded me of a gentle grandfather.
“As you may have heard, we’ll conduct a brief ability assessment. Knowing your abilities will help you plan your future life here.”
“I understand. Please, go ahead.”
With that, the priest next to him pointed to a crystal-like orb on the table.
“Then, could you please touch this orb first?”
And so, the assessment began.
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The first orb I was asked to touch was used to measure “mana,” the source of magical power. Apparently, this mana is essential for using magic. I touched the transparent orb with a bit of nervousness.
As I started to wonder how long I should keep touching it, a faint light began to glow around the orb.
“Hmm. That’s good. It seems some mana has settled in you.”
“R-really? Are there people who can’t use mana?”
“While all inhabitants of this world possess mana, there are cases where people from other worlds don’t develop mana even after receiving divine light. The probability increases with age.”
“I see…”
Then I was asked to touch different orbs. There were several, used to determine the tendency of magical attributes. After touching all the orbs, the priest took notes and explained:
“Your attribute tendency seems to be non-elemental. There’s a slight affinity for wind, though.”
“I see.”
Eventually, tools to measure physical abilities were brought out. These must also be magical devices. However, none of the results elicited an “Oh!” kind of reaction, and the process continued matter-of-factly.
I learned that they determine a sort of rank based on the brightness of the assessment tools and the priest’s experience. There were no dazzling lights, just a continuous faint glow.
“Thank you for your patience. That concludes the assessment.”
As the series of tests ended, I asked about something that had been on my mind.
“Um, what was my ranking?”
“Ranking? …Oh, you mean the Divine People’s Ranking? That hasn’t been determined yet. It appears when you register as a divine citizen of this world. Would you like to do that today?”
“Eh? Divine citizen registration? What’s that exactly?”
“It’s like an ID. Almost everyone in this world, beyond national boundaries, is registered.”
Although I felt some resistance to having my personal information held, I was told that the students had already registered. As a Japanese person weak to peer pressure, it was unbearable to make a fuss at this point.
“Then please, go ahead. I’d rather not cross that suspension bridge again anyway.”
When I said this, the priest’s face showed relief. It seems some people do refuse.
Afterwards, I was guided to a different room. As we walked, I looked around the building, but it didn’t feel like a temple. It felt more like some kind of government office.
When we entered the room, Miree was chatting happily with a female priest behind the counter. The priest who had guided me cleared his throat with a “Ahem,” and the two quickly stopped their conversation. Miree turned around, noticed me, and smiled.
“Shigeto-san, good work. Did the assessment go well?”
“Ah, yes. Somehow.”
As I was soothed by Miree’s smile, the priest who had guided me spoke to the female priest.
“Please handle Shigeto-san’s divine citizen registration.”
“Yes, understood.”
The woman quickly switched to work mode and turned to face me.
After confirming that I was still willing to register, the female priest took my left hand, rolled up my sleeve, and seemed to be considering a location, as if preparing for an injection.
“It’s better not to have it too visible, so most people choose the inside of their arm or near the shoulder.”
I nodded without really understanding, and… the woman decided on the shoulder area.
“This might hurt a little, please bear with it.”
At that moment, I felt a slight prick. It wasn’t particularly painful, but I reflexively pulled my arm away. Unfortunately, my left hand, held firmly by the woman, didn’t budge.
The pain was momentary, and I soon calmed down to peek at my shoulder. Glowing characters had appeared on my skin, swirling around. I was so stunned by this bizarre phenomenon that I could only stare silently. Eventually, the movement of the characters slowed down and began to change into a geometric pattern. When the characters stopped moving, they had settled into a tattoo-like inscription on my arm.
“There. The creation of your divine citizen record is complete.”
“Divine citizen record?”
The woman rolled up the sleeve of her priest robe to show me a tattoo similar to the one I had just received.
“Now, if you do this…”
She demonstrated by pressing and pinching a part of the tattoo near a corner where the pattern had formed into a shape. As I watched, wondering what she was doing, the tattoo peeled off like a card.
“What?!”
The woman, enjoying my surprised expression, showed me the divine citizen record she had peeled off.
“It’s fascinating when you first see it, isn’t it? Now, let’s try it.”
Following her instructions, I peeled off my own divine citizen record from my arm. The process wasn’t particularly difficult. And when the record was placed back in its original position, it returned to its tattoo-like state.
“You seem to have got the hang of it. Now, would you like to take a look at your divine citizen record?”
“Ah, yes.”
As instructed, I looked at the divine citizen record and saw some information written on it.
Rank: 79,539,831
Name: Kusunoki Shigeto
[Guardian] Orient
[Tier] One
[Other World Skill] Chrysanthemum Water Scenic Flow [Middle-level] Concentration
Huh? One, ten, hundred… almost 80 million in rank… I don’t understand. I’m not sure about the population of this world, but what does this mean? Didn’t they say Domoto was five digits or something…?
As I pondered, the woman peered at my divine citizen record and began to explain.
“The Guardian refers to the spirit guardian that is always assigned to those who transfer to this world.”
“Spirit guardian?”
TL Note: The first chapter of this novel is mostly an info dump, but it gets really good later. Please be patient.
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