A Construction Company In Another World?

A man’s home is his castle.

—Edward Coke, Institutes

It was April of my third year of high school, and I still hadn’t settled into my new class.

I was still searching for a place where I belonged.

An introvert? An extrovert? I didn’t think I was either.

I enjoyed having fun and making a racket with others, and I also loved indulging in my hobbies with fellow enthusiasts.

But somehow, I felt like something wasn’t quite right.

Since I was neither particularly outgoing nor particularly withdrawn, I thought it was impossible to categorize someone like me.

If I had to describe myself, maybe I was like a bat, neither bird nor beast?

An eighteen-year-old who didn’t quite fit in anywhere.

Someone who could never completely blend in with any group and was always searching for a place to belong. That was me.

And even after arriving in another world, I still ended up being someone who was a little different from everyone else.

Our school field trip bus had gotten into an accident.

We had been on our way to visit some company or other that had relocated its headquarters into the mountains.

I didn’t know what had caused the accident.

All I knew was that the bus carrying the twenty-four students of Class 3-2 had failed to negotiate a sharp bend on a steep slope, smashed through the guardrail, and plunged into a deep ravine.

I thought I was going to die right then and there.

But when I came to, all twenty-four of us found ourselves in an unfamiliar place.

We were in something resembling the great hall of a castle, surrounded by people who looked like characters straight out of a fantasy anime.

“Oh… The summoning was a success. Although this was the first simultaneous summoning of heroes in history, we managed to summon twenty-four people from another world.”

An elderly man wearing a long robe was quietly brimming with excitement.

We looked around in bewilderment, but surrounded by countless soldiers and people dressed in extravagant clothing, we couldn’t even bring ourselves to speak.

However, the anime and light novel fans were the first to figure out what was happening.

“Don’t tell me… We’ve been reincarnated into another world…”

“Wouldn’t you call this being transported to another world instead?”

Either way, that wasn’t important. The real question was whether any of this was actually happening.

Could I have been dreaming?

But everything before my eyes was far too realistic to be a dream.

Even the latest gaming consoles couldn’t reproduce something like this.

More than anything, I wanted answers.

I wanted to know what on earth was going on.

But nobody dared to ask.

This was exactly when I wished the adults would step up, but for some reason, neither our teacher nor the bus driver was anywhere to be seen.

The elderly man from earlier stepped forward.

“Everyone from the other world, please remain calm. I shall explain the circumstances, so would you kindly come this way?”

Nobody resisted.

Even Takenotsuka, the biggest troublemaker in our class, quietly took a seat where he was instructed.

“My name is Ragona Ekista, and I am the Chief Court Magician. We have performed a Grand Summoning Spell to bring all of you into our world.”

“What exactly is a Grand Summoning Spell?”

Hirai, our class representative, asked the question.

Hirai’s composure and boldness were a tremendous help in situations like this.

“Simply put, it is magic that brings people from another world into this one.”

The students began murmuring among themselves.

They were probably relieved to realize that we weren’t in any immediate danger.

The chatter gradually grew louder.

Eventually, Hirai directed another question at Ekista-san.

He seemed somewhat agitated as he rose from his seat and clenched his fists.

“You can’t just suddenly tell us we’ve been summoned here. We have families and futures ahead of us. I have entrance exams coming up myself. We’d like you to send us back to our original world…”

Ekista-san nodded repeatedly.

“I understand that each of you has a life of your own. It would be perfectly reasonable for you to condemn us for summoning you without your consent. Of course, anyone who wishes to return may do so.”

We all felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

I didn’t know what kind of world this was, but at least it seemed we wouldn’t be trapped here forever, unable to return to Japan.

However, Ekista-san then confronted us with a cruel truth.

“There is one condition, however. You will return to the moment immediately before your deaths.”

“What…?”

Ekista-san gently patted the speechless Hirai on the shoulder.

“We are not demons, after all. We had no intention of summoning you at the cost of sacrificing your futures. We specifically summoned people who were on the verge of death. Surely you can recall something that might explain why you were chosen?”

That was right. The bus we had been riding had been plummeting headfirst toward the bottom of a ravine.

Within another few seconds, we might all have died when it slammed into the ground.

Did we really want to go back inside that bus?

Not a single one of us wanted that.

“Since you have been granted a second chance at life, why not put your abilities to good use here in this world?”

“Um…”

Kawakami, one of the otaku in our class, timidly raised his hand.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Since we’re people from another world, do we have cheat abilities… you know, some kind of special powers?”

Ekista-san smiled warmly at Kawakami’s question.

“That is precisely what I was about to explain. As you suspected, everyone from another world possesses something called a special Job. For example, you there. If you’ll excuse me…”

Ekista-san smoothly reached out and placed his hand firmly against Kawakami’s forehead.

“Hmm. You possess the Job of ‘Frost Mage,’ a practitioner of ice magic. If you master your abilities, you may eventually be able to wield even the ultimate ice spell, Absolute Zero. There is not a single magician in our kingdom capable of such a feat.”

“Me… a mage…”

Kawakami wore a faint grin as he listened to the explanation of his extraordinary abilities.

Next, Ekista-san placed his hand against the forehead of our class representative, Hirai.

“Oho! Now this is unusual.”

“Uh, um, I’m…”

“You are a practitioner of gravity magic. Gravity magic is an ancient art whose very teachings have been lost to time. You may well become someone whose name will be remembered for generations to come.”

“My name… remembered for generations…”

Although visibly bewildered, Hirai also seemed rather pleased.

In this fashion, Ekista-san proceeded to reveal our Jobs one after another.

Even Takenotsuka was beside himself with excitement after discovering that he was a Paladin, a high-ranking knight.

Well, that was understandable.

Until just a little while ago, we had all been ordinary high school students, nobody particularly special.

Then, out of nowhere, we had been granted these things called Jobs and transformed into extraordinary individuals.

It was only natural for everyone to get a little carried away.

“Now then, as for you…”

Ekista-san approached me.

“Let us examine your Job next. There is no need to be nervous. Just relax.”

He could tell me not to be nervous all he wanted, but everyone around me had been given incredible Jobs.

We had only just discovered that Imanaka-san, a girl who had barely stood out in class, was actually a Saintess.

My expectations were rising, but so was my anxiety.

Ekista-san pressed his hand firmly against my forehead.

I felt a faint, tickling sensation, as though something were gently probing the inside of my brain.

“Hmm…?”

Huh?

He had identified everyone else’s Jobs almost immediately, but now Ekista-san was frowning and tilting his head in confusion.

What did that mean?

Had I gotten an incredible Job, or was mine a dud…?

Since Ekista-san wasn’t saying anything, I decided to ask him myself.

“Is something wrong?”

“Hmm. I must admit, I am somewhat perplexed because this is a Job I have never encountered before.”

“A Job you’ve never seen before?”

Could it be that I’d landed an unbelievably rare Job!?

For one brief moment, I let my hopes soar, but they were promptly shattered into a thousand pieces.

Well, that was just how the world worked, wasn’t it?

Yeah, I should’ve known…

“Actually, there is something I would like to ask you. What exactly is this Job called ‘Construction Company’? Do you happen to know anything about it?”

A construction company!?

Of course I knew what that was.

I certainly did, but I had no idea whether it meant the same thing as the construction companies I was familiar with.