All that remained was the charred remains of the orc, along with its armor and large sword, which had melted slightly from the intense heat.

"...That advanced magic was probably overkill."

Looking at the orc’s remains, which hadn’t even retained its shape, I felt like I could’ve defeated it with intermediate magic. Maybe the staff made by the Great Mage had amplified the magic’s power. For now, the armor and sword were still hot, so I decided to come back later to retrieve them.

With the threat gone, all the strength drained from my body. And… I was starving. Now that I thought about it, more than half a day had passed since I arrived in this world. The door in the ceiling was still open, and I had left my suicide note on the desk.

“I should go back.”

I’d noticed earlier that there wasn’t any food in the Great Mage’s house. I’ll head back, grab something to eat, and think about what to do next.

I walked through the black door that connected the Great Mage’s house to my original world. According to the Great Mage’s letter, the door was supposed to stay open indefinitely, but since quite some time had passed, I wasn’t sure if that was true. He mentioned he’d left books about it, so I’ll check them out later.

When I returned to my world, it was just after noon. Since I entered the other world at midnight, it seemed time passed the same in both worlds. I quickly closed the curtains, which I’d left open, and tore up the suicide note I’d left on the desk. I didn’t need it anymore.

“Now, I wonder if I can use magic in this world too?”

There was a chance magic could only be used in the other world due to the presence of mana there.

“Light.”

I cast a basic household spell that had no offensive properties and simply illuminated the area. The spell activated normally, confirming that I could indeed use magic here as well.

Since Dad passed away and Mom usually comes home late from work, I’m used to making simple meals for myself. As I prepared something to eat, I started thinking about what to do next.

The bullying situation? I can handle that however I want. Even if they hit me, it won’t hurt anymore, and I could always threaten them back with force. If they try to blackmail me by using the hospital where Mom works, I could physically destroy the place if I felt like it. I now have that much power.

...In fact, I could even kill them if I wanted to. I could use magic to take them out, and since no one here knows about magic, I’d never be caught. Thinking back on all the terrible things they did to me filled me with rage, and I felt the urge to go kill them right now.

But I stopped myself, just barely. I knew that if I did something like that, I’d never be able to live a normal life again. Even if I wasn’t caught, the fact that I killed someone would stay with me forever.

If Dad were still alive, he’d never allow me to do something like that. Mom would definitely stop me, too. No, I can’t do it. I have to promise myself that I won’t kill them.

After finishing my meal and cleaning up, I felt incredibly sleepy. I hadn’t slept in almost 30 hours, and I was exhausted. First, I needed to rest. So much had happened, I could barely keep up. I crawled into bed and reflected on the events of the day.

I was about to die, then the ceiling collapsed, revealing a door to another world. I entered that world and found myself in the house of a Great Mage. I read a letter that triggered the forced activation of an inheritance spell, and after enduring excruciating pain, I gained the ability to use magic and skills. My physical strength increased, and I instantly lost weight. Then, a terrifying orc appeared, and I managed to defeat it using advanced magic. Thinking back on it all, it seemed so surreal, like a dream.

“Whoa!”

I woke up with a start and jumped out of bed.

“...Light.”

A small ball of light appeared before me. Looking up, I saw that the ceiling still had a hole in it, with the black door to the other world beyond it. When I looked at my hands, they were no longer chubby but slender and long.

“So it wasn’t a dream…”

It’s hard to believe that using magic would be the proof I needed to realize this wasn’t a dream, but here I was.

“Oh no, it’s already morning!”

I had fallen asleep yesterday afternoon and slept straight through until the next morning. I guess it makes sense—I was exhausted after everything that had happened the day before.

“First, I need to fix the ceiling and get some new clothes.”

The ceiling was still damaged from yesterday. At the very least, I needed to cover it up so no one else would enter. If Mom somehow went through the door and encountered a monster like that orc, it would be a disaster.

...Should I tell anyone about this? No, it’s too risky. No one would believe me, and it would only cause problems. At least until I figure out more about that other world, I can’t tell anyone. Even then, I might not be able to.

After eating breakfast, I returned to my room and started fixing the ceiling. Fortunately, I had a skill for woodworking, so I was able to make a cover that could be easily opened and closed. I folded up the stepladder and stored it behind the closet door. Now, even if Mom entered my room, she wouldn’t accidentally stumble into the other world.

“Alright, now I need to go buy clothes.”

I had lost so much weight that none of my old clothes fit me anymore. I inherited skills that let me work with metal and wood, but there were no skills for working with fabric.

I needed everyday clothes, but more importantly, I needed a new uniform and underwear for school tomorrow. My pants could probably be tightened enough with a belt to manage, so I just needed shirts, a white dress shirt, and underwear.

I rummaged through the closet and pulled out the smallest shirt and pants I had. They were still baggy, but barely decent enough to wear outside.

Despite the bullies taking most of my allowance, I still had a secret stash—an emergency 10,000-yen bill. It wasn’t much, but if I went to a cheap store, I could probably get a few shirts and a full set of clothes.

As I walked to the clothing store, I noticed that many women I passed kept glancing at me. I must look pretty weird in my oversized clothes.

I entered a cheap clothing chain store. They often sold out-of-season shirts for under 1,000 yen, and you could get packs of underwear and white shirts for around the same price. Pants were about 3,000 yen, so I’d just barely make it under budget.

The problem was that I had no idea what size I needed. I’d have to ask a store clerk for help. Looking around, there were only female staff members. Normally, I’d be nervous about talking to a female clerk, since I usually got weird looks for being overweight, but I decided to muster up some courage and ask.

“Uh, excuse me…”

“Y-yes!”

Huh? That’s not the reaction I was expecting. Usually, I’d get a cold look for being overweight, but this time the clerk seemed nervous. Maybe I just looked really suspicious in my baggy clothes.

“Well, I lost a lot of weight recently and don’t know my size anymore. Would it be possible for you to measure me?”

I hope this goes well. There have been times when I asked for help, only to be told they’d “get someone” and then left waiting forever.

“Yes! You need a size check, right? Please follow me!”

Phew, looks like she’s willing to help. I have to say, she’s a model employee for handling this with such a great smile.

She led me to a fitting room and measured my clothes and pants size with a tape measure.

“Your shoulder width is about this, and your inseam is roughly that. You’re quite slim, so I think this size will fit you perfectly.”

“Thank you very much for your help.”

Great, now I know my size. I’ve never been called "slim" before. It’s always been awkward smiles and "you’re quite large."

“No problem! By the way, you’re really handsome! We don’t get many customers like you in this chain store.”

Huh? Did she just call me handsome? What is this clerk talking about? No one has called me handsome since preschool. But still, hearing that felt kind of nice, even if it’s just a compliment.

“Oh, no way! But it makes me happy to hear that from a beautiful woman like you.”

“Wha-what! You’re flattering me! I may not fall for sweet words, even if you are such a good-looking guy! Anyway, feel free to call me if you need anything else.”

She said that with a bright red face before quickly exiting the fitting room. What is she talking about? Sure, I’ve lost weight and maybe I look better now, but calling me "good-looking" is definitely over the top.

“Hm?”

Curious, I looked at myself in the mirror in the fitting room. Staring back at me was a guy with messy hair, but undeniably handsome features. Wait… that’s me?!

“Whaaaat!?”

But why? I understand losing weight due to the Body Optimization skill I inherited from the Great Mage, but did my facial features change too?

...Actually, on closer inspection, the small details of my face are still the same as before. Even the position of my moles hasn’t changed. Does this mean I was a good-looking guy all along, but just hidden under all that fat?

Now that I think about it, when I was in preschool and still skinny, I used to get called handsome by the girls. But ever since I started gaining weight in elementary school, no one said that anymore. I thought my "handsome days" ended in preschool, but now that I’m fit again, do I still have a chance?

...No way