The Story of Gothic Lady Who Met a Grave Keeper in Another World - Chapter 8

I thought I saw a man who spoke fluent Japanese, but then he performed a miracle by mistaking “foreign country” for “other world”.
Oh well.
It’s a trivial matter in front of the advantage of being in front of a Japanese speaker that this scuttlebutt mistakes the words “country” and “world” incorrectly.
Thank you, global society.
Thank you, technological superpower Japan.

He said many other things that made little sense to me, but I don’t want to go into them.
What stuck out to me the most was the meaning of the phrase “I can’t go back to Germany.”
Because we are in Germany, right?
What? No?
Could it be that we crossed the border without knowing it? Geographically impossible?
But then again, I had a drug-induced bad trip and saw zombies.

I was supposed to be in the middle of Agra Park, but when I came to, I was standing in the woods, right?
That’s a strange thing to do, isn’t it?
So, you know what?
I bought a drink at a stall in Agra Park, and there was some kind of strange drug in it.
And I was kidnapped without my knowledge, crossed the border, and left for some reason in the woods of a strange country.
Yeah, probably something like this.
That would explain why the map that Mr. Thorden had was in an unknown language, and why I couldn’t see Agra Park or Leipzig on it.
To tell the truth, I have no idea what it means, but there are no other possibilities.

So, this country is similar to Germany.
He said it is because people come from Germany.
But I can’t go back to Germany. Maybe–maybe that.
” Cause I don’t have a passport, right? That means I can’t go back to Germany because I’m in the country illegally, right? Well, in this case, yes, I think it would be best to contact the …… embassy or something like that. …… If you could lend me your phone for a minute… …”
I suggested to Mr Sciuto, who was talking with Mr Thorden about something.
Mr. Sciuto’s unhealthy face twisted into an even more unhealthy expression and he let out a deep, deep sigh.
Ugh…… I know that’s a pain in the ass, but please don’t sigh like that…… I’m a victim of a kidnapping incident, you know?

“I told you it’s a different world, little girl. You can walk to the end of the earth and never get back to where you belong. You said “phone.” The existence of that technology was documented by a rare visitor, but I couldn’t get him to tell me what kind of technology it was made of, so there are no telephones in this world.”

Oh no.
I’m fluent in Japanese, but I have no idea what he’s saying.
Well, Mr Sciuto must have mistaken “world” and “country” in his memory…

“Miss.”

Sciuto-san calls me with a strong tone of voice.
Yes, I heard you. It’s all right.
So don’t make such a scary face.
Don’t make a scary voice.

No, no, no, because you don’t, do you?
I don’t think I’ve entered another world when I attended a Gothic festival.
Did I do drugs?
Or have I lost my mind?
Otherwise, Mr Sciuto would be an intellectual type who speaks fluent Japanese.

“Um…”

I put on my typical archaic smile.
I smiled in that typical way, the kind of smile that makes you laugh even though you’re not happy or happy about something.

“I mean, what’s going to happen to me ……?”

Well, here it is.
Whether we are in Germany or not, in another country or in another world, this is what happens in the extreme.
I was told I could not go back to Germany. Then I cannot go back to the hotel, get an airline ticket, and return to Japan via the airport.
What would happen then?
Where am I supposed to sleep? Because I have no money on hand. I don’t have the currency of this country, to begin with.
I have a wallet, but can I use a credit card? I have a feeling that it will be impossible.

If there is no phone, there must be no internet.
So I can’t even contact the company.
I am fired.
Even if I were to be detained in this country or the world for a few months, and even if I somehow managed to return to Japan, I would be fired for being absent without leave.
Fortunately, I don’t get along with my parents, so they won’t even notice if I don’t come back, but if I fail to pay the rent, I will be kicked out of my house.

Oh, but I wonder if the company will file a police report?
Wouldn’t there then be a move to search for me in Germany?
If so, I might be able to build a new foundation for my life as a “woman who survived a mysterious abduction” if I could return to Japan.
Or, perhaps, I have been transferred to another world? Or perhaps a transfer to another world?
I am a gothic person, so I have a certain amount of geekiness as well. I also read manga about battles between dolls in pretend costumes. I love it.
So I have some knowledge of the recently popular “other world” thing.
I have never thought that it exists.
I never thought it would happen to me.

I was thinking about it.
I was thinking about all kinds of things, thinking furiously.
If I didn’t think about it, I would have fainted at any moment.
I was already having trouble breathing. I’m going to hyperventilate. Hiccup, hiccup, hiccup.
Calm down, calm down, it’s okay.
People can survive anywhere. At least there are people who can speak Japanese. That alone was much more reassuring than when I was alone with Mr Thorden.

“He’ll decide what to do with you.”

What? Why?
Because I was the first one to find him?
But don’t I usually get turned over to the government in cases like this?
I turned to Mr Thorden.
For some reason, Mr Thorden turned pale and took a half step backwards.
He took a half step backwards.
” —? —!”
Mr Thorden shouted at Mr Sciuto.
Mr Sciuto responded with two or three words in a cold, almost ruthless manner.
Mr Thorden bit his lip with a bitter expression and looked at me with eyes that seemed to beg for forgiveness.

“Miss.”

Mr Sciuto called me again.
Yes, yes, what is it?
I’m not even old enough to be called “Miss,” but in Sciuto’s eyes, I’m still a ‘Miss.’
He is a good-looking guy who looks like an unhealthy villain in a movie.
He looks like the famous doctor who eats people when he was young.
I like him. I like him even more because he speaks Japanese.

“Do you have any special skills?
“Well, I don’t have any special skills.”
I answered automatically.
I am the one who remembers being stumped because there was so little to write in the “Hobbies and Special Skills” section when I was working part-time.
My current job is general office work.
But if PC, Excel, and the like don’t exist, you can’t say, “General office work is my speciality.
You’re not a technician or engineer, are you? You don’t know how telephones work, for example, or know how to mix drugs, do you?
“Ha, sorry, I’m just a regular clerk. ……”

Mr Sciuto nodded lightly and returned to his conversation with Mr Thorden.
I’m sorry, sir, I’m just a regular clerk.
Mr. Thorden yelled.
That’s scary.
He’s really scary when he’s angry.
I mean, what is it? What are these two fighting about?
Is it my fault? Oh, are they pushing me around?
Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

I’m sure you’re not the kind of person who would be lost in another world like I am.
I guess they must have had some wisdom or knowledge that could be useful to this country.
The only thing I can do is to make Gothic costumes.
I don’t have any knowledge or skills that would be useful to the world.

“We’ve got something to talk about, sweetie.”
Whoo!
“Thorden will take you in. But in exchange, I will give you a piece of paper and a pen, and I want you to write down your daily life in the other world. The state will buy it for a certain amount.”
“…… whaaa?”

What? So I’m going back to the old house hotel?
Or rather, Mr Thorden’s house? I knew it was Mr Thorden’s house.
“Well, well, well, well… …… When you said that Mr Thorden would take me in, did you mean like a guardian? Like a homestay?”
“No, it’s not. You are a person without citizenship who was picked up by Thorden. In other words, you are a slave. Thorden gave you the choice of selling you to the state or taking you in. Since you don’t seem to have any special skills, the country will take you back and resell you as a slave.”
What? What a hard life!
I shouted.
Oh no, being sold into slavery is straight out of an erotic manga! Oh no, no, no, absolutely not! I hate it too much!

Thorden chose not to sell me, but to take me in.
Thank you, Mr. Thorden! You’re really a very nice person, aren’t you?
I know I don’t understand the language, but I unintentionally thanked him with all my might.
If Mr Thorden had chosen to sell me to the country here, it would have been too dark a future for me, no matter how well I could speak Japanese.
“I’m telling you this because Thorden told me to tell you. You will become Thorden’s property, but if you buy citizenship with the money you receive from the state, you will become a free citizen. After you become a free citizen, you can do whatever you want, but …… you don’t understand the language of this country.”
“Yes, you are ……. ……”
“If you qualify as a freeman, I can hire you as my assistant. But there is one condition.”
Girl, condition ……

“Never let anyone know that you were under Thorden’s care. No one will want to get close to the woman who was at the tomb guard’s place.”

I blinked my eyes.
I realized once again that the tomb guard was a lowborn.
They are very imposing for lowborn people, but I guess they are treated not so differently from the grave-keepers I know in medieval Europe.
Or maybe they are treated like executioners. ……

“You are going to live as a slave of Thorden. I will arrange a mask for you now, so put it on, cover your head with a sheet, and go back to your tomb with your face down. You must wear the mask whenever you go outside. When you successfully obtain the money and become a free man, I will issue you citizenship.”
“Yes, sir! Thank you!”
“You’re lucky it was Thorden who picked you up. Normally, you don’t give up ownership of a slave you pick up. If the master doesn’t give up ownership, you don’t get citizenship.”
Laughing lightly, Mr Sciuto ruffled my hair.
“Well, a child like you wouldn’t understand much if I told you,” he said.

A child.
He called me a child.
Oh, I see. I was mistaken for a teenager in Germany.
Well, I’m not a child.

“I am twenty-eight years old,” I said.
Mr Sciuto stopped patting my head.

“What did you say?”
“I’m twenty-eight,” I said,
“…… what?”

Oh? You are not communicating in Japanese?
Suddenly the language is not understood?
Mr. Sciuto removed his hand from my head and looked me over again, up and down.
He opens his mouth, closes it, and says something to Mr Thorden.
Mr. Thorden said, “Huh!” He raised his voice. I know I know what that voice means, even though I don’t understand the language.

“….. miss, no, ma’am.”
Mr. Sciuto looked weird.
“You’re seven years older than Thorden,…… and the same age as me,…….”

To be honest, I was more surprised than when I found out that I had come to another world.