Chapter 1: Anomaly Catching Anomaly

Homecoming

There are things you only realize after losing them.

Like the regret over a past lover, or the longing for deceased parents.

These feelings that belatedly arrive after something is gone often leave a person's heart heavy, along with the thought of why they couldn't have realized it before losing it.

In my case, it was the longing for the hometown I had left.

Well, it's not like my hometown suddenly disappeared or anything.

It wasn't like that movie where a person becomes stateless due to a sudden civil war in their country,

Nor was it like my homeland was suddenly annexed by another country after being invaded.

It's just that I myself had moved so far away from my hometown, to a place from which I could never return.

Having lived an unremarkable life, I met an unremarkable death.

My soul left my body, departing from the world I had always known.

But, as the saying goes, life is full of twists and turns.

I, who didn't even believe in religion, let alone the existence of an afterlife, questioned my consciousness that remained even after death.

And finally, I realized that I had come to a world completely different from my previous home.

So, what I'm saying is,

I ended up getting reincarnated into another world. That's what this is.

...Wow, it's actually pretty embarrassing to say that out loud.

But what can I do?

It's a fact that I've come to another world, and I don't know a more appropriate term than "isekai reincarnation" to describe this phenomenon to others.

Maybe some eminent scholar or someone who seems to have eaten nothing but college textbooks for every meal could express it differently,

But I, who didn't have a very high level of education, didn't know any better way to put it.

And frankly, I don't think even those people could come up with some grand name to explain this phenomenon...

Anyway, back to the story.

I was reincarnated into another world with a form quite different from my previous life, and—

...No, never mind. I think it's better to skip over this part.

When I think about it, no matter how much I ramble on about my old stories, it'll only end up sounding like some third-rate web novel.

Someone gets reincarnated into another world, embarks on an adventure due to some chance event, experiences incredible things along the way, saves the world, blah blah blah.

It's such a predictable and boring plot that you can figure it out after reading just the first ten lines of the novel.

Still, if I skip the whole story entirely, you won't be able to understand what I'm about to say,

So, let me at least summarize the stories I've experienced so far—

I had a happy ending with a typical fantasy story in a fantasy world.

But like a neatly concluded work starting an unwelcome introduction in a sequel,

I abandoned everything I had achieved in my second home and began wandering through other dimensions,

And even after a very long time, I was still repeating the same thing.

No, how could that be?

Being dropped into a fantasy world in the first place is something that many people would welcome with open arms.

Dark fantasy or fantasy with some realistic elements might not lead to a very enjoyable life,

But at least the world I was reincarnated into wasn't that harsh, so I was able to enjoy a pretty decent fantasy life.

I even became quite famous towards the end, and I had built a solid foundation that would at least ensure I wouldn't have to worry about making a living.

So, abandoning the world I lived in and crossing over to other dimensions was the dumbest thing I could have done.

And surprisingly, the person who committed that stupid act was right here.

Reason?

Well, there are several reasons for this, but

If I had to pick the most important one, it would be nostalgia for my hometown.

That's a lie, isn't it?

You've been rambling on about how you've lived such a mediocre life, and now you're saying you miss your hometown?

Even if I ask myself that, it can't be helped.

Even if I have companions who have had my back for a long time, achievements I've built up over a lifetime, and wealth and fame I never even imagined in my previous life,

Sometimes I miss my friends from school who somehow managed to make time for drinking even after becoming working adults, my parents, and the scenery I saw in my hometown.

And realizing that I had left without even saying a proper goodbye to those memories,

I decided to embark on another adventure with the intention of somehow setting foot in my hometown again, at least to say hello.

Honestly, I didn't think it was that stupid of a thing to do.

It's not like I was making some grand declaration or going on a pilgrimage to some distant land from which I could never return.

I would just look for a way to return to my home dimension, and if I got lonely, I could just return to the place where people were waiting for me.

Yeah.

That's what I was planning to do.

The troublesome accidents I experienced while traveling through other dimensions and the resulting destruction of my sense of time.

And because of several unfortunate factors, such as the fact that time flows differently between dimensions,

When I finally returned there, so much time had passed that the world had already been destroyed.

No dreams, no fun, no emotion.

Only a meaningless ending awaited me.

Thanks to that, all that's left for me now is to somehow find my home dimension.

Of course, I had already given up on the expectations for my homeland, which was the biggest reason for doing this in the first place.

My second home dimension had already been destroyed, so hoping that my homeland would still be intact was too much to ask.

And thinking about it again, I don't think I could have an emotional reunion with my old friends and parents in this body.

Nevertheless, the reason I keep doing this is

Partly because I've already paid a high price in sunk costs to find my hometown,

But more than anything, it was because I couldn't settle down in other dimensions.

Of course, unlike what you see in many anime, the common language of all dimensions is not Japanese.

In the first place, there were many dimensions where there wasn't even a language to speak, let alone a common language, so I inevitably experienced great inconvenience in communicating with beings from other dimensions.

The customs, societies, and cultures of the creatures living in each dimension were also vastly different, and there were hardly any places with values similar to mine.

And above all, it wasn't very common to find creatures that looked like humans, let alone humanoids.

So, even though I traveled through countless dimensions, I couldn't settle down anywhere.

I couldn't even manage to become personally close to anyone.

In that sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that my reincarnation into my second home was an incredibly huge coincidence...

Well, what can I do?

I had already kicked away the chance to live and die there.

So.

If you ask why I'm now recounting a story full of regrets, the kind of thing an old man in his twilight years would do,

Wouldn't it be natural for people to want to share with others how hard it was to achieve something they had long desired, whether it was a planned or unplanned coincidence?

Familiar shapes and people sharing familiar languages.

Familiar clothing, and concrete buildings built in a familiar architectural style.

That's right.

After a long time of repeating the foolish act of looking for a needle in a haystack,

I had finally found my home dimension among the countless dimensions that exist like stars.

Actually, I was rambling on earlier, pretending not to expect anything, saying that I wouldn't be very moved.

But when I actually set foot in my homeland, I couldn't help but feel something welling up from deep inside, and I guess that's just human nature.

Anyway, unless you have some special animosity towards your hometown, isn't it normal to feel comfortable when you return to the place where you were born?

Even if there's no one waving at me, it's only natural to feel happy just seeing the familiar scenery.

Yeah.

That's definitely how it should have been.

—Click!

Why is it that I'm being threatened by countless gun barrels, with other people being used as hostages, as soon as I arrive in my hometown?

"E-eh, wait a minute."

The chilling sound of the bolt moving forward and a bullet being loaded into the chamber.

I knew what that sound meant, so I reflexively and quickly raised both hands above my head.

My hometown, which I had returned to after a long time,

Seemed to have a slightly extreme way of welcoming me.

Report
Date: September 4, ████

A new entity has emerged from the deactivated anomaly, "Dimensional Gate."

The subject entity resembles a ██-year-old girl of human appearance and seems capable of basic communication.

While it does not display aggression, considering the dangerous nature of past incidents caused by entities emerging from this anomaly, a minimum alert level of Hazard Level II or higher will be maintained.

Currently, it is awaiting at Outpost 17, and an assigned agent will conduct an interview.

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