I used to be a delinquent. Because of that, I would make frequent trips to clinics and hospitals to treat my injuries from fights. It wasn't because I liked fighting or anything. Apparently, my eyes had a natural "mean look" on them that irked other delinquents. Just one look at them and people would pick a fight with me.
Luckily, my family moved to another city when I was about to enter high school. There weren't any delinquents in that city and so, I was able to start a new life. I lived a low profile and developed a liking to video games.
Until one day, I got hit by a car. It was raining hard so I couldn't possibly blame the driver since he probably couldn't see properly. If I had been more mindful of my surroundings instead of getting too excited for my new game, I would've avoided it. The last thing I could remember was the coldness of the rain.
Now, I was probably in a hospital room. It was surprising that I didn't have any fractures and I couldn't feel any stitches in my head despite the fact that I was bleeding during the accident.
"Ah. You're already awake?" a voice called out.
She was probably a nurse... I think. Her outfit wasn't like the white uniform nurses usually wear. Instead, she was wearing a long blue dress with a white apron. A white cap with a silver cross embroidered was on her head.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"I'm fine... I guess", I answered.
This was an odd hospital now that I thought about it. For one, there was no air conditioning or even an electric fan. And now there was a nurse in a weird uniform.
"Please wait here for a moment. I was told to inform them if you woke up", the nurse said.
After a while, a silver-haired woman entered the room. Could she be the one who hit me? Is she a cosplayer who is about to go to an event or something? I mean.... She was wearing fancy-looking clothes. Not to mention that she was wearing armor on her arms, legs, and chest and a mace was hanging on her left waist.
"Good day. I am Noel Shirogane, captain of the 13th unit of the Westa Knight Order", she introduced herself.
Is she trying to stay in-character? Or could she be one of the people who hasn't graduated from their chuunibyou? She looked 18 years old or something. What should I do in this situation?
"H-Hello. I'm Mikage Kamishiro", I managed to keep a straight face and introduce myself.
"Could you please tell me about yourself?" she asked.
That was a weird question. Shouldn't she apologize first for crashing into me?
"I'm just a regular student of Sanada North High School. I was on my way home until the accident happened", I said.
"Sanada North High School? Where is that? Are you not from Westa?"
Westa? Where's that? Is that a place in her fantasy or something?
"No... You know, the school near the mountainside? Sanada North?" I said trying to tell her where my school was.
Noel frowned. She looked like she had no idea what I was talking about. Was she for real?
"Sanada North! Come on. It's one of the few public high schools in this city", I said.
"There are no schools with that name here in Westa."
What the hell is Westa? Was she trying hard to stick to her character? If that was the case, I would be really angry.
I got up from my bed and headed to the nearest window. When I opened it, I couldn't believe what my eyes saw.
Normally when looking out, tall buildings would be seen in the city I lived in. However, instead of concrete buildings, I saw brick and wooden houses. In the distance was a huge wall. No matter how I looked at it, I was definitely not in my city.
Even if the people were wearing clothes that looked modern, the buildings were weird. I thought that it was the weirdest part until I saw a passerby who had an animal's ears and tail. I would usually just think they were cosplayers or something but the ears were twitching and the tail was moving. Either technology was advanced or...
"Hey... How did you find me?" I asked.
"We were investigating a summoner who have gone rogue and found out that he was attempting to do a large-scale summoning ritual. However, when we arrived at the site, we found you lying down on a magic circle while the summoner was nowhere to be seen", Noel answered.
I had a hunch on what happened to me but it was impossible... But from what she said, there could be no other explanation.
"Do you know of a place called Japan?" I asked her just to be sure.
"No. I haven't heard of such a place."
Unless this was a really far place from Japan without any connection to other countries, it only meant one thing: I got summoned to another world. I never thought of it as possible. I mean, I didn't think that other worlds exist. But once I eliminated the impossible, whatever remained, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.. And the truth was that I got summoned.
"Ummm... You might think of me as crazy but..."
I explained my situation to her. It was the only option I had. I needed information about this world and possibly a bit of help too since I was an outsider who didn't have anybody.
"Another world? Are you saying that you've been summoned?" Noel asked.
"Yeah. It's hard to believe but it's the truth. This city is far too different from my city. Not to mention that in my world, there are no animal-eared people. This is the only possible explanation even if you might think it's too far off", I answered.
If she would think of me as someone who was out of his mind, it would be bad. I hope that mental asylums here would take good care of their patients.
"I see", Noel said after thinking for a while.
"Wait. You believe me?" I asked.
"Well. You wouldn't have a reason to lie. Besides, it's too tiring to think too much about it", she answered.
Wasn't she supposed to be a knight captain or something? An irresponsible attitude like that would be bad.
"So what are your plans?" she asked.
"I actually have no idea. Right now, I have no home, no family, no friends, and no money", I said.
"This a tough situation. There are no known protocols about dealing with people from other worlds and you can't possibly stay in this hospital forever."
Noel pressed her finger on her forehead as she tried to think. Currently, I was broke and had no information about this world. I needed a place to stay and maybe a job to support myself.
"Say... How about becoming a knight?" she suggested.
....
"What?"