Chapter 1 (1/2)

Translator's Note:

FUNA is having all three of his web novels published! So to celebrate I’ll be MTLing his first web novel and be advertising the novel on booklive. Why booklive, it’s because I can’t buy it anywhere else.

Author's Note:

This is my first post. Thank you.

The R-15 is insurance.

Mitsuha goes to Another World

The girl put her hand on an old wooden fence next to a steep cliff. No, she wasn't thinking about committing suicide. Yamano Mitsuha is 18 years old. With straight black hair stretched to the edge of her shoulder blade that shines naturally, a pretty low height for her age at 152 centimeters and a baby face, is a little girl who can be mistaken for a middle school student, or even an elementary school when being crude.

Mitsuha lost her parents and two years older brother in an accident six months ago and suddenly became alone. Although she has relatives like aunts and uncles, she has only met them a few times, and will never meet them again in the future.

As soon as the end of the funeral and post-events finished, Mitsuha had to fight against her uncle trying to steal her inheritance and insurance money that her parents left her. And while living alone she had to reject the school's delinquents advances, who wanted to make money by using her house as a hangout. The time and the mental burdens were large and so she failed her university entrance exam.

Mitsuha who was very attached to her brother suffered greatly after losing both him and her parents. She was able to manage herself at first because she was so busy but afterward the depression was terrible and she wasn't able to concentrate on her studies.

And so after the pain of failing the exam is subsided to some degree, the gloomy Mitsuha came here looking for a change of pace. With a fence made from a simple tree on the edge of a good vantage point, and only a coin insertion binocular telescope and a public toilet nearby, she was vaguely looking at the sea from a “lookout”. Because it is afternoon on a weekday, besides Mitsuha there are only college couples, elderly couples, and Chara(チャラ男) people with bad heads around. Although there were only three young men that fit in the last category.

(tl note: Chara is j.a.panese slang for men who are players and constantly try to pick up girls)

Even after failing the exam, there are still a number of universities that Mitsuha could go to with her test scores. However, there was only one university she could attend from her parent’s house which was a very difficult school. It wasn't at a level that Mitsuha couldn't get into normally but she was in her worst condition when taking the exam. Originally she had planned to commute to a university from a boarding house or dormitory but now that she's alone she didn’t feel like leaving the house where her family lived and picked the one college that she could attend from home.

(Oh, I wonder what I’ll do…)

Mitsuha was troubled. Should she challenge the university again next year or should she get a job with her high school education…?

The remainder of the loan for the house was paid in full with her father's life insurance. Although there was still a lot of money, school expenses for four years in a university, the cost of living, the maintenance of the House, and other many things will consume a good portion of it.

How about keeping her money and look for employment as is? Her income may fall somewhat compared to a college graduate but it isn't like there is a big enterprise where she can attend from home in this town, and coming out of a university wouldn't necessarily get her good employment in this age. If she gets married and has children, it will be difficult to keep working as a regular employee, and thinking about the cost of a four-year college and the amount she could earn in that time, she doesn't really have to go to college.

Mitsuha who didn't have a dream job thought vaguely while looking at a beautiful sea.

“Hey, are you skipping school in a place like this?”

When Mitsuha turned to the sudden voice behind, there were three men standing and laughing with bad grins on their faces. One of them, a man about twenty years old who dyes his hair blond, has spoken to her.