Chapter 2: A Life in Another World that is Far from Free

Episode 60: Prologue

I, Mihiro Maki, am in another world.  

It’s not the same country I’m in now, but I was summoned along with my entire class as part of a Hero Summoning in the Kingdom of Shriden, ruled by a worthless king. I ended up being exiled.  

They teleported me to a place called the Forest of Demons, where powerful monsters roam, but somehow, I managed to survive through all kinds of challenges.  

Skipping the details, I’m now being taken care of by Alicia Yamato, who shares the same ancestors from another world.  

After surviving the Forest of Demons, I even reunited with my teacher and two classmates, who were also summoned to this world. And I thought I’d finally gained my freedom… or so I believed.  

“We need to save everyone else too!”  

That’s what my childhood friend, Yachiyo Madoka, insisted.  

Madoka, who had been exiled with her friend Kondō Yuria, explained the current situation in the kingdom of Shriden to me.  

The two had been exiled right after me and our math teacher, Akigase Haruka, so they knew the most recent details about the kingdom.  

According to them, it seems like the rest of our classmates were being controlled by something.  

“If they’re being forced to obey, we absolutely have to help them!”  

“But we don’t have the means to do that.”  

The one opposing Madoka’s opinion was Alicia, who had saved me.  

Alicia is the lord of Granzawall, a fortress city that borders the Forest of Demons in the Kingdom of Adelreed, where I am now.  

“But still!”  

“Yachiyo, don’t push too hard,” 

Sensei said, placing her hands on Madoka’s shoulders to calm her down.  

“…Hey, Maki.” 

At that moment, it was Yuria who called out to me.  

“What is it?”  

“You’ve told us about your profession and skills, right? Can’t you figure out a way to save the rest of the class with them?”  

“Yeah, Maki-kun, please!”  

Hey, don’t throw this at me all of a sudden.  

Sure, I told them about my profession and skills after things had calmed down a bit. But I didn’t explain everything.  

“That’s impossible.”  

“Why not?”  

“Because I can’t use my Appraisal.”  

“Huh? You can’t, Mihiro-kun?”  

Sensei seemed surprised, as it looked like she had also hoped my Appraisal skill could help.  

Well, I hadn’t explained the results of my testing to anyone here, so it’s understandable.  

“After I was exiled, everything was chaotic, and I was just experimenting as I went along. Once the Transfer Shrine was built, I started testing my skills, and that’s when I realized it wasn’t possible.”  

“What do you mean?”  

And so, I began explaining.  

My Appraisal skill—or rather, my profession as an Appraiser (Divine Eye)—is incredibly versatile. If used correctly, I could potentially take over a country or even the world.  

However, I’ve also found that there’s no way I can do something on that scale right now… Not that I’d ever do something like that—it sounds like a hassle.  

“First of all, the distance between me and what I’m trying to Appraise is important. The further away it is, the more mana it consumes. So far, I’ve only been Appraising things that were relatively close by, so there was no problem. But when it comes to something that’s two countries away, my mana won’t last.”  

I figured this out after a tip from Vil Thomas, one of the soldiers from Granzawall when we were heading to the Forest of Demons.  

At that time, I was testing whether the amount of mana consumed would change depending on the target of the Appraisal. From there, I experimented further and realized that the distance also affected mana consumption.  

“When did you run that test?”  

“Oh, uh… Sorry. It was when Alicia went to the capital to report on the situation in the Forest of Demons.”  

I had continuously Appraised Alicia’s location every time she moved away.  

The further she went, the more mana it consumed. And by the time she was almost at the capital, I couldn’t Appraise her anymore.  

“And I ended up passing out because I used up all my mana during one of the Appraisals.”  

As I explained the results, Alicia, for some reason, turned bright red and looked at me.  

“S-Sorry, you’re mad, right? I was Appraising you without permission, so—”  

“That’s not it! What were you thinking, pushing yourself to the point of passing out for a test like that!”  

“I mean, it wasn’t a bad thing, was it? It’s important to understand my own abilities.”  

“Yes, but! What if something had happened to you?”  

“I made sure to take precautions. Right, Glenn?”  

“…Huh?”  

Alicia, Madoka, Yuria, and Sensei all turned their eyes to Glenn Yamato, who had been silently standing by the wall.  

“…Glenn, you knew about this?”  

“Well… yeah… sort of…”  

“Why didn’t you tell us?”  

“I-I thought Maki had already told you! This isn’t my fault, okay!”  

Alicia and Glenn are siblings.

If it weren’t for them, I probably wouldn’t be here right now, and I can only feel gratitude.

However, Glenn seems to have a penchant for mischief, and I had a history of nearly dying because of it.

This little bit of revenge should be fine.

“So, it’s impossible for me to use my Appraisal to help everyone. Madoka, don’t trouble Alicia and the others too much.”

At my words, Madoka looked down sadly.