One year had passed since Makoto fainted. He was now a second-year high school student. School had started just a few days after Makoto visited the dojo to meet his master. Makoto lived his daily life as usual—going to school, participating in the archery club, and reading books he borrowed from the library. On holidays, he trained in martial arts with his sensei, learning how to use a katana, spear, aikido, and other combat techniques. Although Makoto did not have much talent in martial arts other than archery, he continued to study them diligently.
What still sent chills down his spine was his survival training.
During summer vacation, his sensei took Makoto deep into the forest.
"Sensei, what are we going to do in the middle of the forest?" Makoto asked as he looked around. All he could see were trees, the sounds of insects, and occasionally small animals such as squirrels or birds perched on branches.
The sensei smiled and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to learn how to survive?"
Makoto felt something was off, and his instincts warned him that something bad was about to happen.
"What exactly are you going to teach me, Sensei?" Makoto asked nervously.
"You'll live here alone for one week," the sensei replied, his smile never fading.
Makoto swallowed hard. "Sensei… are you serious?"
The sensei only smiled and took all of his camping equipment away, leaving Makoto with nothing but a bottle of water, a knife, and a rope.
That very day, the young man named Makoto Misumi began a summer vacation he would never forget.
After enduring countless hardships for an entire week, Makoto finally reunited with his sensei.
"So, how did it feel living alone in the forest for a week?" the sensei asked while looking at Makoto, who now resembled a homeless man.
Makoto couldn't say a word. He simply sat down and drank a small amount of water he had collected from morning dew.
It wasn't that Makoto hadn't found a water source. He had discovered a small river about an hour's walk away. Although the river wasn't very dirty, it wasn't clean enough to drink directly. Makoto tried many ways to boil the water. He searched for bamboo to use as a container but found none. He also attempted to make pots from clay. Although he managed to make several clay pots and harden them using fire created with a bow drill, every pot ended up with small cracks. Worse still, the water boiled in those clay pots tasted strange. In the end, Makoto preferred drinking morning dew—though he could only collect a little, it was enough for one or two sips.
Food, however, was not a problem. Thanks to the biology books he had read beforehand, Makoto was able to identify edible mushrooms, wild fruits, and plants, many of which grew near the river.
After one week of surviving alone in the forest, Makoto spent another week learning hunting techniques from his sensei—how to set traps, track wild animals such as wild boars whose footprints they found in the forest, and other essential survival skills.
The rest of summer vacation was spent training in martial arts at the dojo and reading books at the library.
During winter vacation, Makoto spent his time learning how to cook, reading cookbooks, and watching historical dramas and anime. He knew Tomoe and Mio would love them. Even though he had not met them yet, Makoto already considered them family.
After the opening ceremony and returning to class, Makoto felt as if he had forgotten something important. However, since class had already begun, he forced himself to focus on his lessons. It was only during archery club activities that he finally realized what he had forgotten—a girl named Nukumi Hasegawa.
She was the girl who had confessed her love to him and made her cry.
In his previous life, Makoto had wondered why, in the anime, he rejected Hasegawa so coldly if he truly did not want to accept her feelings. After all, she had been the first girl to ever confess to him.
Now, however, Makoto felt conflicted about how to respond to Hasegawa's feelings, because he knew he would soon be leaving for another world. His lack of focus during archery practice eventually earned him a scolding from the club captain.
After returning home and thinking things through, Makoto decided to leave it to fate. Even though he was a transmigrator, in his previous life he had never been in a relationship, having focused entirely on his career.
Days passed as Makoto continued his routine. One day, when he arrived at the archery club, he saw Hasegawa registering to join.
Makoto could only think that fate was truly unpredictable. In the anime, Hasegawa had said she joined the archery club because she admired the way Makoto practiced archery.
From that day on, consciously or unconsciously, Makoto began paying attention to his surroundings during practice, hoping that if he saw Hasegawa, he would stop training and take a break. Yet not once did he see her come near or pass by the archery club, which left him amazed by the workings of fate.
Makoto treated Hasegawa normally. He felt that giving her special treatment would only be toying with her feelings. Even though he did not know when he would meet the god Tsukuyomi, seeing Hasegawa join the archery club made him feel that the meeting was not far off.
He also noticed Otonashi Hibiki from afar—the person who would later be summoned as a hero to another world. If one had to say anything, the heroes chosen by the goddess of another world were always exceptionally beautiful or handsome.
One afternoon after club activities ended, the place was unusually quiet. Normally there would still be one or two students around. As Makoto prepared to go home, he noticed Hasegawa standing not far from him.
"This is why Sensei always says I focus too much during archery practice and ignore my surroundings," Makoto thought to himself.
"Why haven't you gone home yet, Hasegawa? Did you forget something?" Makoto asked as he looked around the empty area.
"No. I'm waiting for you, Misumi-senpai," Hasegawa replied, holding her hands behind her back.
"Do you need something from me?" Makoto asked, noticing how nervous she looked."So the moment has finally come," he thought.
"MISUMI-SENPAI, I LIKE YOU!" Hasegawa shouted, as if she had gathered all her courage. Her voice trembled, and her body leaned slightly forward.
"If I may ask, what made you like me? Compared to the other club members, I'm very ordinary. There's nothing special about me," Makoto said, while thinking of how to reject her gently—without making her cry like in the anime.
"I like the way you practice archery, Misumi-senpai. I can feel how much you truly love archery," Hasegawa said, staring straight at him.
Makoto fell silent and took a small breath.
"I'm sorry, Hasegawa. I can't accept your feelings. It's not that I dislike you," Makoto paused, then decided to be honest. "Before long, I'll be going somewhere far away, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to return," he said seriously while looking into her eyes.
Hasegawa lowered her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks. After a moment, she wiped her tears and looked up again.
"Then… can we start by being friends?" she asked, her eyes slightly red.
"Yes, Hasegawa," Makoto replied, feeling somewhat relieved. She was still crying, but at least it was better than in the anime.
"Not Hasegawa—Nukumi," she said, pointing at herself.
Makoto was startled. "Ah… yes, Nukumi," he replied with a weak smile.
"Then I'll be going now, Makoto-senpai," Nukumi said as she waved and walked away. Makoto could see tears falling again as she turned her back.
Makoto let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky."At least the outcome was better than I expected," he thought.
The next day, when Makoto met Nukumi at the archery club, she had returned to her cheerful self.
"Good afternoon, Makoto-senpai," Nukumi greeted him.
"Good afternoon, Nukumi," he replied.
Instantly, the once lively club fell silent. Everyone looked at Makoto, then at Nukumi. Soon, they began asking what had happened between the two of them. Makoto and Nukumi exchanged glances and answered at the same time that nothing had happened. No one believed them, and the archery club soon resumed its usual activities.
Several days later, while Makoto was reading in his room, the space around him suddenly changed, and his body began floating in the air. When he looked up and around, it felt as though he was staring at a night sky filled with countless shining stars.
When Makoto looked ahead, he saw a glowing white sphere.
"I didn't expect you to be this calm," the glowing sphere said.
"Who are you?" Makoto asked in confusion.
"If I say I'm a god, would you believe me?" the sphere replied.
"Yes, I would," Makoto answered without hesitation.
"After this, you will go to another world. Very well—please sign the agreement," the glowing sphere said.
"Being told to suddenly go to another world is troublesome," Makoto thought honestly. He hadn't even packed the things he wanted to bring.
"That's strange. I heard you had already been informed," the sphere replied, sounding confused.
"Excuse me—"
Suddenly, the sphere shone brightly and transformed into a handsome man radiating an elegant aura.
"Excuse me… who are you?" Makoto asked, even though he already knew this was the god Tsukuyomi. It was his first time meeting him.
"My name is Tsukuyomi," the god replied with a gentle smile.
"Tsukuyomi? Are you truly the god Tsukuyomi, the moon god from Japanese mythology?"
"Yes, that is me. I've come to hand you over to the goddess of another world as a hero," Tsukuyomi said calmly.
"But why you, Lord Tsukuyomi?" Makoto asked, wanting to know the origin of his parents.
"You truly know nothing," Tsukuyomi said with a sigh.
"First of all, your parents are from another world."
Makoto wasn't surprised.
"I heard your parents signed a contract with the goddess of another world and came to Japan. One day, they would give us one of the most precious things they had. That was the content of the contract," Tsukuyomi explained.
"Then… where exactly are my parents from?" Makoto asked nervously.
"If I remember correctly, your father was a noble from Kaleneon, and your mother was a priestess in that country," Tsukuyomi replied.
"Thank you for the information. May I prepare myself first?" Makoto asked.
"Of course," Tsukuyomi answered with a smile.
After preparing and packing his belongings, Makoto signed the contract Tsukuyomi gave him. He also entrusted a letter for his family to Tsukuyomi. The god raised his hand, and Makoto's body was enveloped in light.
"This will strip away things from your previous world. I will grant you as much of my power as I can," Tsukuyomi said.
"Thank you very much," Makoto replied happily.
As Makoto expressed his gratitude, his body began to fade.
"Goddess, are you going to take him without even greeting me?" Tsukuyomi said loudly.
"Makoto, you will meet a rather troublesome goddess. But I want you to tolerate her as much as you can," Tsukuyomi added.
"Alright, if that's what you say, Lord Tsukuyomi," Makoto replied with a smile.
Then, Makoto's body disappeared completely.