Chapter 1


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    “Where… Am I?”


    My name is Keigo Okuda. I’m 35 years old.


    I was working as a trading company employee of a certain financial conglomerate. The company I worked for was based in Tokyo and I used to travel to Singapore and Australia because I was in charge of managing the business of importing coal from overseas. I won one billion at the year-end Jumbo Lottery. Though it might sound like a lie, it’s actually the truth.


    After I didn’t have to worry about money anymore, I threw my letter of resignation to my arrogant and shitty boss who kept on shouting about how we had to meet the quota target. Then on my way home, I threw my mobile phone from the bridge. In that moment, I put an end to an overly superficial relationship I had with other people. The relationship that I kept for the sake of keeping up with appearances alone, the one that I had gotten sick of. I ended it right here and there.


    I would like to say I was feeling ecstatic about it but at the same time, I was also feeling somewhat sad about it. Before I knew it, the scenery before my eyes became distorted. I couldn’t even remember when was the last time I ever cried spontaneously like that.


    Although I had kept on whining about my life as a corporate slave, it was only after I actually resigned from the company that I realized I wasn’t only working for the sake of money.


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    After leaving the company, I bought an abandoned house in the rural area of Hokkaido and took up farming as a hobby while enjoying my life by ordering delicious food from the internet. By the way, I only had one friend I talked to on social media. It really made me want to throw a snide remark at myself, like just how severe is your misanthropy?


    I also sent a postcard to my parents.


    “I’ve decided to become a farmer. Please do not worry about me.”


    That was what I had written in the postcard.


    Then one day, an incident occurred.


    Before breakfast, I planned on taking care of the chickens first. I went into the chicken coop that worked as a tool shed as well, to let out the chicken from the coop. When I was leaving the shed along with the chickens, the scenery around me had completely changed.


    First, the main building was nowhere to be seen. There was a forest near me and a grass plain. In the distance, I could see what seemed to be a town. Then in a far, far away distance, I could see the silhouette of something swinging something.


    For the time being, I decided to return to the chicken coop in order to cool my confused head.


    I could see the silhouette of a person from afar so I would try to talk to them though it looked like they were fighting something so I should take extra precautions in the middle of these unusual situations I was in. Better safe than be sorry after all.


    Since I was inside the tool shed, I had my hoe, sickle and pointed shovel. For now, I decided to bring the sickle and the shovel. I locked the shed before I cautiously approached the person who appeared to be fighting against something.


    There, I saw a man fighting with a dagger in hand against something small that didn’t seem like a human. That thing was about 1 meter tall, kept on letting out grating sounds like gigigigi, had red eyes, green skin and pointed ears.


    That thing was wearing poor-looking clothes made from leather and brandishing its club in one hand against the swordsman. Apparently, I had come to the other world.


    Because I loved fantasy stories and RPG games, I knew well what that thing was. Most probably, that thing was a monster called ‘goblin’. The fact that I was able to remain comparatively calm must be due to this knowledge I had.


    I was somehow in a place I didn’t know. There was a monster in front of me. With those facts alone, I was able to reach the conclusion that I had come to the other world.


    In front of me, a muscular looking warrior that appeared to be an adventurer was fighting against a goblin. In my hands, I had my sickle and shovel.


    Sorry for not living up to your expectations but for now, I decided to run away. I ran, ran as fast as I could. I ran away with snots and tears running down my face.


    No,no,no. Impossible. That frightening monster. It’s just plain terrifying. I’m just an ordinary and good citizen.


    — Let me ask you myself, can you even fight against a monster with a shovel?


    I ran back to the shed and locked it from inside.


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    T/N: My first shounen novel! ╰(*′︶`*)╯? I love how the MC not afraid to admit he ran away with snots and tears dripping down his face. Definitely relatable and understandable. ( ??? )