[Touken Ranbu/.../Limbus Company] A Guide to Becoming a Saniwa

It really was an ordinary day, one unremarkable afternoon during summer vacation. You were walking along a familiar road. Yes, you were still young back then, your head full of... cough, youthful passion, and it hadn't dried out yet. ...Mm.

Then you suffered the greatest defeat of your life. How was that fair? It wasn't. You'd left the house on a whim, rushed back in a panic, and then seen a fox appear like something straight out of a meme. A talking fox, no less! Worse, you knew this fox. Wasn't it Konnosuke, the mascot of the eternal battlefield, the roadblock that couldn't be shaken off your game screen, the thing that couldn't hang itself, the destroyer of fried tofu?!

But shouldn't this fox be doing its job as a mascot on the game screen? No matter what, a fox can... well, at the very least, it shouldn't show up right in front of you! This wasn't meta anymore. It was a direct assault on your understanding of reality! Maybe you should call the police??

Then this fox, challenging your twenty-plus years of materialist beliefs, calmly told you the least calming thing imaginable: that electronic potted-plant, cyber-sword-raising, chaotic PPT training game you'd played day in and day out for ten years, which had recently gotten a second wind and was still waiting on auto-marching despite not even being pay-to-win, had become real.

Seriously? This was a PPT game you'd played for ten years, one that had only just added auto-marching, so until now you still had to tap everything yourself. How could it become real? What could make it real? Were they going to tell you that you could go register at the neighborhood office right now and get certified for the job? Surely they were joking, right? You know you're in a hurry, but don't panic just yet. It's not Halloween yet, is it?

"You don't need to register at the neighborhood office, but you will have to report to the Time Government later, Saniwa-sama."

...In the end, you went anyway. And then...

Konnosuke! You didn't tell me this was an actual job?! You never said this was a real, write-your-KPIs-and-year-end-review, office-drone kind of job! You didn't say it meant dealing with over a hundred people and holding meetings, either?!

...Oh, so there's overseas fieldwork too. This job even... requires you to push your body to its limits (meaning, don't get so grossed out that you throw up)...?

What does that even mean?

.

.

.

Spoke too soon. So "overseas" means being sent to another world??

It's fine. You've calmed down. Right now, only "Tetsukabana" can soothe your soul.

.What do you mean, "passive skills let you cross worlds"??

Apologize to this materialist world!

Formal blurb:

In 2205 AD, those born from swords and known as "Sword Warriors" continue to fight in the gaps of history, striving to destroy the Time Retrograde Army, which seeks to alter the past.

...But that's not the story we're telling. We're telling the story of one girl, in this setting, as time moves forward.

Mm. It's the story of "you," on ■/■/20■■ AD.

An ordinary person encounters something extraordinary. A mortal is welcomed into a realm beyond humanity.

A story that begins at the twilight hour, when spirits and mortals meet.

Note: Updates resume on March 29. The story after that will probably involve various dungeons, depending on what novels I reread... like Detective Conan, for example... It's a dream, after all!

P.S. (Important!) I got a bit carried away, so there'll probably be various dungeons later, not just Touken Ranbu... Just read it as a dream, haha.

I couldn't help myself. I've already tried hard to hold back, but I want to write it, so I'm going to! (Resolutely.) I'll write as much as I can and treat it as stress relief. By the way, I have a personal grudge against Mikazuki, so he'll probably show up quite often. Don't mind that.

There's technically no main plot, but it's possible one might suddenly grow as I write. (Later addition: It grew! I mean the main plot.)

Second-person, all-character romance. The protagonist does have her own distinct setup, though. This story is mainly for stress relief, so I'll write whatever feels easiest.

The Saniwa's name will later be changed to "Akitsu" for clarity.

This is really a dreamlike story. It's a fairy tale written for myself, and dedicated to everyone who, despite their pain, has decided to keep living. This really is a dream; we both know this kind of thing isn't possible in reality. But if this dream can make you smile, then that's why this story exists.

There won't be a serious plotline most of the time, but it's probably impossible to have no serious plotline at all. In other words, if an IF route or a bad ending comes up, it'll be explained in the next chapter. I can't help it. I like emotions that are just a little twisted. ...Healthy love is comforting, sure, but twisted love is a real treat!

Finally, I hope you enjoy reading. That's all.

Theme: What is happiness? Everyone has their own answer.