Chapter 2

A two-story house with a garden. The property, surrounded by a hedge, is reasonably spacious, but it is a common size in northern Kanto. It is an ordinary house with white walls and a tiled roof.

In the garden of this house, a cherry tree blooms proudly in spring. Yuji, who has been the sole resident for a week, wakes up.

"Hmm... So this day has finally come..."

Kita Yuji, 30 years old. A proud hikikomori who hasn't left the house for 10 years. After the death of his parents, he decided to break free from his hikikomori life today.

"Clothes... Jeans and a hoodie should be fine. I plan to go to the nearby supermarket for some rehabilitation. My hair... It's grown out, so I'll tie it back in an all-back style. Cleanliness is important, yeah."

Yuji is 175 cm tall and weighs 65 kg. Thanks to the continuous workouts he did even while being a hikikomori, he is neither fat nor particularly handsome, but if he can do something about his unruly hair, he has a decent appearance.

After washing his face, brushing his teeth, and shaving his beard, he is ready. He sits on the bed, calming his quickening heartbeat and trembling hands, and resolves to finally go outside.

"Listen, me. This is probably the last chance. Go outside. Live. I can do it. I can do it alone. I am the kind of person who can do it if I try. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it..."

He is a bit of a dangerous guy who talks to himself a lot. Ten years of hikikomori life have increased the frequency of his monologues and made them louder. It can't be helped.

Finally, Yuji, having made up his mind, heads for the front door. However, there are no shoes at the entrance. He didn't need them for 10 years. He knew they were in the room, but he felt that if he went back, he might not go outside. "Can't be helped," he mutters and puts on the garden sandals.

"It's okay, the outside isn't scary. It's not scary. I have no enemies. No one has any enemies. A true warrior doesn't need a sword. I can do it. I can do it alone."

Trembling, Yuji mutters the famous lines of some former demon. What is a warrior? He is clearly delusional. Despite his brave words, his hand on the sliding door of the entrance doesn't move. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Just as the words "I'll get serious from tomorrow" start to float in Yuji's mind—

Hon!

The bark, or rather, the roar heard through the door, easily opens the door. The voice that moved the door, which Yuji couldn't open alone. Four powerful paws stamping the ground, a tail wagging so hard it might break. A light brown coat with round, spirited eyes, but the mouth is half-open, and the tongue hangs lazily.

It's Kotaro. By the way, she is female.

Kotaro licks Yuji's hand, still standing dumbfounded at the entrance, and turns back as if to say, "Well, come on!" before heading outside. She is a tough one. Even though she is female.

"So... I wasn't alone. You were here, Kotaro!"

Yuji, 30 years old and unemployed, hugs his beloved dog Kotaro. Before he knows it, he is out of the entrance. After a while of petting and playing with Kotaro like Mr. Mungoro, Yuji comes to his senses and stands up.

He raises his head and looks beyond the gate, outside the property.

He tilts his head.

He closes his eyes and shakes his head. Slowly opening his eyes, he looks outside the property again.

The scenery hasn't changed.

It was a forest.

Outside the property, it was a forest.

As far as the eye could see, it was a forest.

"What is this...?"