Otherworld Truck Accident Case, No Time to Wait!!
I should have died....
I've read countless novels that started with this kind of opening. Well, the reason I died was pretty much the same as those novels.
Mountains of overtime work and a section chief who sucked up to his superiors while treating his subordinates like slaves. I was of marriageable age, so there was no way my parents and relatives would leave me alone. I was forced to attend a matchmaking frenzy day after day, night after night.
You also have it, right? That one relative who loves to act as a matchmaker.
Apparently, the next successful matchmaking would be her 100th, so she was really determined to make it happen at all costs. I was chosen for this role as a result.
On the way to my hometown, as I turned a corner on a snowy mountain pass, there was a sudden whiteout. Then a truck was coming from the opposite direction, with the driver dozing off. That was when I realized that my life in this world was about to end.
I could still clearly remember the truck driver's expression as he came back to his sense and the movement of his lips as he muttered something.
"Oh shit, I dozed off and got the wrong target‼︎"
"Huh!? What did he just say?"
There was a sudden impact and the car I was driving pitifully dived off the cliff. But before that, I caught a glimpse of writing on the body of the truck.
“Damn it, I'll survive and sue your company.”
Oddly enough, my mind was clearer than I thought it would be even in the face of possible death. The name of the company written on the truck was: ‘Otherworld Trucks Ltd. We will deliver any soul directly to our customers!’
“What the!? Are you kidding me? Do you think this is some kind of fantasy novel?”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
A white space. There was no heaven or earth, simply a pure white space. I was currently standing in such a place.
"Oh, welcome.... Welcome to the place between heaven and earth, the transit hub of the souls. You will now be judged as to whether you are headed for heaven or hell."
"Is this where King Enma holds a trial?"
"Hahaha. King Enma has too many trials scheduled today. That's why we, the Divine Integrated Management, are in charge of managing the souls of irregular souls like you."
"I see. I will be in your care then."
As I gave my greeting, a woman who seemed to be the owner of the voice suddenly appeared in front of me. Then she handed me the binder she was holding and said just one thing.
"Alright, let’s start with a simple questionnaire first."
I was wondering what was going to happen, and the goddess suddenly handed me a questionnaire. I read each field before filling it.
There are the usual fields like address and name. However, this is more like a resume than a questionnaire, right? There are also rewards and punishments, work history, and so on.
Oops, I made a mistake in the gender field. I'm a male, but I circled 'female'.
I mean, why is it listed differently from the Japanese standard forms?
Why is the first choice 'female'?
Is this a measure to counter feminists?
I can't believe they have this kind of problem even here.
Around 10 minutes later, I had almost filled everything and only the last field was left.
The last one is 'cause of death'.
Can I really write it here? I was hit by a truck and fell off a cliff.
Okay, I'm done.
"Is this everything?"
"Yes, let me check it...."
Having said that, the goddess took the binder to her desk, turned on her computer, and started working on something.
When did she bring that desk out?
After a while, the goddess brought in a small tray with something on it.
"Now we will decided the otherworld reincarnation bonus!"
*dumdudududumm*
The goddess raised her right hand high as a festive drum sound reverberated, with a touch of over-the-top visual effect. Then, right behind her, a giant dart target appeared.
If I look closely, the target is divided into small sections, with numbers written on them. Besides the numbers, I can also see three-letter katakana characters here and there.
"These are darts, right? Those numbers are probably assigned to skills, but what is this 'scrubbing brush' with a 1/2 probability?"
"Well, scrubbing brush is scrubbing brush. You humans also do this kind of thing, right? It's just to make things more fun."
"I hope you don't include scrubbing brushes in something that can affect someone's fate."
"It's been a while since I've seen someone with such a serious reaction like you. Most people make a big fuss about the scrubbing brush, and I was looking forward to it...."
The goddess muttered something like that to me with a dissatisfied tone. Then she handed me three gold darts, three silver darts, and three copper darts from the tray.
"Throw them at the target to get skills, items, or whatever is written there. By the way, if you miss the target, you will receive a penalty, so be prepared for that."
"What kind of penalty are you talking about?"
"Gender change. If you want to go back, you have to miss it again on purpose, so it will become two loses."
I have to get serious about this. Let's concentrate and shoot!
Copper darts:- Initial Otherworld Set (auto-translation skill and initial equipment)
- Money Bonus (copper, so a single digit plus)
- Basic Magical Power (copper, so a single digit plus)
- Appraisal Eyes (silver, so level 5)
- Alchemy (silver, so level 5)
- Alchemy (duplicated, + level 5 = level 10)
- Ability Value Bonus (gold, so all abilities value are double digits plus)
- Alchemy (duplicated, over limit)
- The last gold dart hit the center of the target.
*clang-clang-clang*
"Congratulations! You hit the center of the target. You will receive a super cheat reward equivalent to the power of god."
"So, what do I get?"
"Here they are!"
The center of the target expanded and further divided into several sections. Looking more closely, it contained things like Qualities of Sage, Blacksmith of the Age of the Gods, Legendary Divine Sword, Lineage of the Duke's Family, and so on.
"What are these?"
"These are god-tier jobs and items. Normally, a person's job or occupation is automatically assigned based on the highest level of their life skill, such as Villager or Farmer. If you continue as you are now, your job will be either Alchemist or Adventurer."
"From your explanation, I got the impression of Medieval Europe setting with quite a few fantasy game elements mixed in."
"Oh, it seems you know your stuff."
"My big sister loved such games. I just played it a little. So, I just need to throw it at the target again, right?"
"Yes, go ahead. By the way, if you miss the target, you'll receive the Scrubbing Brush Evangelist job."
"What the hell is Scrubbing Brush Evangelist!?"
*bang*
I instinctively threw the golden dart with all my might. Then, as the target slowly came to a halt, I found out that my third golden dart had also hit the target successfully.
"Congratulations! You will be granted the god-tier item Mobile Battleship. The strongest mobile battleship in the other world. There's no need to fear the great powers, and world domination is no longer a dream with this."
"Why a mobile battleship, though?"
"Now, now, I will give you my support later, so please stamp this document for now. Oh, a thumbprint is also fine."
A document was taken out of nowhere and I was told to sign it. The tittle of the document was Receipt for Granted Skills and Items.
Oh well, I guess everything has already been decided and whining about it won't get me anywhere.
I put some vermilion ink on my thumb and stamped the document. Then the document turned to light and entered my body.
"The procedure is complete with this. Now then, I will send you to another world.... *cough* You died a horrible death in a truck accident, but I'm sure you will find happiness in your new life in the other world!"
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the white space, and an even more divine goddess appeared before me. Holding a giant paper fan with both hand, she swung it like a two-handed sword.
*smack*
"Hey, Fasnir! Have you checked the cause of this person's death properly? It says it was a truck accident, but the person in charge of the otherworld truck company just came to apologize."
"Huh? Isn't this person from the Otherworld Trucks Project?"
"No, he is not. Apparently, the driver of the otherworld truck company dozed off and ran over someone unrelated, someone who was not on their list. In addition, it seems that he tried to cover it up to clear his quota. The creator god of another world is now suing the trucking company."
These two are talking about my unfortunate case while ignoring my presence. I really have a bad feeling about this....
"Is that so...? That's right, I haven't gotten your signature on this Consent to Reincarnate in Another World, so I will send you back to Earth. Thanks and bye-bye!!"
"Hey, wait, wait, we haven't retrieve his divine blessing yet. I guess it's too late...."
Oh, my body is glowing.
Well, if I can return to my original world, that's fine.
Reincarnating into another world would have been fun, but I still prefer Earth.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"*beep*.... *beep*.... *beep*...."
What's that sound?
It's an electronic sound, so maybe a smartphone alarm?
So everything was just a dream, after all.
Oh well, it was quite a fun dream.
"I need to get up soon and get ready to go to work at that stupid black company again today...?"
I got up from my bed get ready to go to work --- or that was my morning routine usually be. However, I suddenly found myself in some kind of room like a typical anime battleship bridge. I jumped to my feet and looked around my surroundings.
"Was the dream I just had actually real!?"
I shouted without thinking. In a high-pitched voice.
Huh!? Was that my voice just now...?
"Okay, calm down, let's assess the current situation first.... I'm now inside a battleship bridge, right? Is this the mobile battleship from the story earlier?"
"From the Operation Center. Master's awakening has been confirmed. Transferring to the Mother System."
"Understood. Transferring from the Mother System to the Magical Brain. From here on, please follow Master's orders."
"Understood. This is the Magical Brain Octa One. Now we will start the registration process.... Master, please sit in the captain's seat."
Voices came from all over the room. When I turned around, sure enough, there was some kind of chair floating in the center of the room.
"Is this it?"
I sat down on the seat timidly, and screens began to float in front of me one after another.
"*beep*.... Commencing Astral Search.... Master's soul has been connected to the mobile battleship. From now on, the mobile battleship is Master's property and has become Master's alter ego. Please register Master's name."
Hmm, this floating screen in front of me is a status window that's a staple in stories about reincarnation in another world, right? My name hasn't been registered yet, and my gender is female.
Eh!? Female? Why is my gender female?
"Hey, hold on, why did I become a woman?"
"*beep*.... You are registered as a female in your soul resume. Therefore, when constructing the reincarnated body, the gender was set accordingly."
"Umm, can I change it back...?"
"Fasnir from the Divine Integrated Management has accepted your genealogy. Therefore, it can't be changed."
If that's the case, I guess it can't be helped. I have to give up on that. Just because my body has become that of a woman, it doesn't mean that I will change, too.... right?
"Name, huh. My name is Koichiro Tendo, but I guess I can't use that name."
"*beep*.... Your previous body has died and the cremation has been completed."
"In other words, Koichiro Tendo doesn't exist in this world anymore. Then, I was reincarnated as a woman and got this giant battleship, right?"
"Yes. Please register your name to complete the procedure."
"Hmm, Misaki.... My name is Misaki Tendo. Or Tendo Misaki.if you write it in kanji"
This is a name that my dad used to tell me. He said that he had prepared two names before I was born, Koichiro for a baby boy and Misaki for a baby girl.
“*beep*.... The registration complete. Captain Misaki, please register the name of this mobile battleship next."
"Mobile Battleship Na...."
Oops, I almost said Nadeshiko. There's also Yamamoto Yohko. My knowledge of anime is going wild when I think about a name for mobile battleship. That's no good. I have to come up with something original.
"Mobile Battleship...."
This is a mobile battleship given to me by God.
Speaking of God....
Suddenly, I remembered about a certain name.
“The name of this mobile battleship is Ama no Murakumo.... Mobile Battleship Ama no Murakumo."
The whole room suddenly lit up as I declared so. Then, the way to operate this mobile battleship, the floor plan, the equipment, and other information came into my head. I was currently on the main bridge.
"Deploy the monitors and show me the outside."
"Understood. Full monitor, open!"
Monitors spread out in front of me, left and right, above and below. What was displayed there was Sapporo's Odori Park. The Mobile Battleship Ama no Murakumo was floating above the city of Sapporo.