In 1963, Tokyo was undergoing rapid development in preparation for the upcoming Olympics.
The era had just entered its high-growth period. The sound of hammers rang out everywhere as the city transformed day by day.
In a boarding house located in Kogaicho, M Ward, Tokyo, a young man was packing his belongings.
"It’s a bit of a waste, but I probably won't be using these in medical school anyway."
The items in question were academic books.
"Let’s see... History of Technology, General Mechanics, Elementary Organic Chemistry, Sequences and Matrices, Basic Mathematics, Introduction to Mechanisms, Introduction to Structural Mechanics, Materials Science, and Fundamentals of Fluid Dynamics... all right."
He tied them together with string.
"I guess that’s about it. I don’t know how much they’ll fetch. Oh, I’ll take these magazines too."
Muttering to himself, the young man finished his packing.
He wrapped the bundle in a furoshiki cloth, hoisted it up, and stood.
A single bicycle was parked in front of the boarding house.
"Landlady, I’m borrowing the bike for a bit."
When the young man called out, a middle-aged woman poked her head out the window.
"Oh, Tsutsui-san, go right ahead. Are you heading somewhere?"
The young man, Tsutsui, gave a quick nod.
"Yes. I thought I’d take some books I no longer need to the used bookstore."
"A used bookstore... Oh, the one on the other side of the Kasumicho intersection?"
"Yes, that's the one."
"Well, you've become a doctor now, after all."
"Yes, and that means I have plenty of new expenses to cover."
"I understand. You'll be back for lunch, won't you? I'll have some hiyamugi noodles waiting for you."
"Thank you very much."
With that, the young man set off on the bicycle.
He pedaled hard along the foothills of a massive public cemetery at Mt. A in M Ward, Tokyo.
"Development has really progressed here, too..."
Ever since the roads had been asphalt Hardened, it had become remarkably easier to ride through the city.
"Now then, I wonder what these will bring in."
At the university he had attended, the first two years consisted of a general education curriculum. Regardless of their specific department, students were expected to study a wide range of disciplines.
From the third year onward, he was set to attend the medical school in S-machi for four years.
This spring, he—Shuuki Tsutsui—had successfully graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and become an intern.
Since he was about to devote himself entirely to his medical career, he had decided to sell the academic textbooks he no longer deemed necessary.
He turned off from Kogaicho onto a back street.
Though it was a back street, the road had been widened significantly due to construction that had begun the previous year.
Eventually, it was expected to be designated as Ring Road No. 4.
Until recently, it had been a narrow path skirting the edge of the cemetery, barely wide enough for a single car to pass.
It had been a lonely, desolate place where taxi drivers refused to go deep into even if requested at night.
Following the newly renovated street and turning right at the intersection below the cemetery would soon bring him to the Kasumicho intersection.
As a side note, the name "Kasumicho" was often confused with the recently built "Kasumigaoka Danchi," and taxi drivers reportedly made mistakes quite frequently.
Shuuki pedaled toward the Kasumicho intersection.
Directly beside him ran the Toden streetcar tracks. This was Line 7, the route connecting Shinagawa Station and Yotsuya Sanchome, which Shuuki used to commute to medical school.
He reached the intersection. Just as he veered slightly toward the Toden tracks to prepare for a right turn—
With a deafening roar, the Toden streetcar toppled over onto him.
A runaway truck coming down the slope from the upper right had ignored a red light and slammed into the side of the streetcar.
Without even time to scream, Shuuki's world went black.
＊ ＊ ＊
"..."
Shuuki regained consciousness.
Even as he marveled at the fact that he was still alive, he found it suspicious that his body didn't hurt anywhere.
He gingerly opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling... or rather, he realized he was in a room unlike any he had ever seen.
It wasn't the familiar wooden ceiling of his boarding house, nor was it the dull concrete of the medical school.
"Where... am I?"
Finding that his body was indeed free of pain, he pushed himself up.
He had been lying on a bed. It wasn't covered with a sheet, but with the short-haired pelt of an animal.
He sat up and surveyed the room. There were no windows. The only furniture was something resembling a sideboard; Shuuki found it a very strange setup for a hospital room.
Checking himself, he realized he was wearing only his underwear. His clothes were folded on a small table by the bedside, but...
"...They're in tatters."
His shirt and trousers were torn and shredded in several places.
Looking at his underwear again, he saw they were also quite damaged.
"There's no blood... but looking at this mess, that disaster couldn't have been a dream..."
He shuddered as he recalled the sight of the Toden streetcar falling toward him.
At that moment, the door opened.
"＊＊, ＊＊＊＊＊＊?"
Uttering words in a language he had never heard, a woman entered the room.
She looked to be in her late teens. Her long, bright blonde hair was tied casually behind her head.
Her eyes were emerald green. A light dusting of freckles crossed the bridge of her nose.
She was petite, standing only slightly taller than 150 centimeters.
"Um, were you the one who rescued me?"
"＊＊＊? ＊＊＊＊! ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊"
"Can you speak English?"
"＊＊. ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊. ＊＊＊＊＊?"
"Kannst du Deutsch sprechen?"
"＊＊＊＊? ＊＊＊, ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊"
Japanese, English, and German were all met with blank looks. Shuuki was at a complete loss.
Then—
"『＊＊＊＊. ＊＊＊＊＊』!"
The woman chanted something.
"!!"
In the next instant, a massive influx of information flooded Shuuki's brain.
It was knowledge of the language of this world.
"...I wonder if the 'Send Info' magic worked? Do you understand me now?"
"...Ah, ah. I... understand. Gi... give me... a little... time."
Stunned by the sheer volume of information—enough to cause a dull throb in his head—Shuuki felt the knowledge settle and become his own as the seconds passed.
At the same time, the phrase "Send Info magic" stuck in his mind.
He was staggered by the fact that fluency in a foreign language could be granted in such a short span of time.
However, Shuuki managed to suppress his overwhelming curiosity for the moment.
"...Whew, I think I've composed myself....Um, is this language correct?"
He tried speaking the language he had just acquired. Phonetically, it felt closer to German than Japanese.
"My name is Shuuki Tsutsui. And you are?"
"Shuuki Tsutsui? What a strange name. I am Adriana. Is Tsutsui your given name?"
"Ah, in that case, my name is Shuuki. It's Shuuki Tsutsui."
"Shuuki Tsutsui, I see. Hmm... Tsu-tsui... Tsutsui... Tsu-tsui... Tsetse... Oh, that's quite a mouthful. Do you mind if I just call you Shuuki?"
"Yes, please do."
"Good. Then you should just call me Adriana. Now then, Shuuki... who exactly are you?"
It was a question that cut straight to the core of the matter, but even Shuuki didn't have a clear answer.
"I'm a Nihonjin and an Igakusee. I'll be twenty-five this year."
That was the only answer he could give.
"Nihonjin? Igakusee? What are those?"
As expected, the terms meant nothing to her. Shuuki began to explain his circumstances in greater detail.