Exhausted, I was running away from someone, from something. “Where am I?” On the way, I saw strange, frightening trees around me. It was my first time seeing it.

“What is this place?”

Darkness covered the place as trees covered the light coming from the sun. The foul smell of a dead creature scattered everywhere, irritating my nose. Eerie sounds of wild animals nearby enveloped the forest, producing a spine-chilling music.

Without looking forward, I dashed and stumbled into something hard, but furry. As I looked up, a bear-like monster stood in front of me. Staring at his face, I saw a predator ready to devour his prey. My body stopped moving. The last thing I remembered was its right paw hitting me with full force.

“Ahhh.” Suddenly, I found myself sitting in the middle of a forest.

“Where am I? Was that a dream? Ahhg.”

The surroundings looks familiar yet my head aches each time I try to remember it.

“This place is kinda creepy.”

Wait, what happened to the school?

“There should be a plane crash around here somewhere. Also, why am I still alive?”

Or maybe... This is the afterlife?

“Wait. Nevermind that.”

“How in the world could a plane even crash on me like that?”

Standing up, I got a glimpse of my right hand touching the ground.

“AHHHHHHHHH---!!!” There was no flesh.

“Shit. What is this?! Why are my hands just bones?! Am I decomposing? But, it doesn’t hurt.”

Just like normal, I could feel my heart beating faster, however, as I touched my chest, I felt my fingers sliding through the intervals of my ribs; my heart was gone.

“Aaaaah!” Panicking, I heard a girl’s voice behind me.

“Ahm...”

Something touched my right shoulder; my body froze. Slowly, I moved my gaze, and saw a hand wrapped in white bandage. “Ah!” Immediately, I smacked the hand and moved away.

“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” It was a girl apologizing while she repeatedly bowed.

A girl? In this place?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” My feet walked towards her. “Are you hurt? Ahm?” She then lifted her head allowing me to see her face.

Cute.

It was a girl with an angelic face; a beautiful woman dressed in a black robe. She was about my shoulder level. Her scarlet hair captivated me as it was styled in a bob-cut coiffure. She was trembling as she looked at me with her eyes as blue as the sky beneath the black rims of her eyeglasses. As she stood wearing a black pointy hat, her right arm held a stick with a skull and two red crystals for its eyes while the other clasped her wrist.

Wait, a minute. What’s happening? Where am I? That’s definitely a scepter, like those from the mangas I read at home. Also... she looks like a witch—a cute and beautiful witch. Oh, she’s also flat.

“Ahm. G-good morning,” the girl stuttered. ”Ahm… M-my name is Emily Scarlet. I-I’m a necromancer and... Ahm… I reanimated you from the dead.”

Wait, a minute.

“Re...animated? What? Who? Me? So, I really died? Wait, you’re a necromancer?” Looking left and right, my heart was beating fast. Oh, I don’t have a heart, but I could somehow feel myself panicking.

The girl’s eyes were close to crying. “Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.” She bowed again while apologizing.

“Wait. Please, don’t cry.” My bony hands clapped. “I’m sorry.” She stopped.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes with the long sleeve of her robe.

Looking at her, I asked. “Uhm. Could you please explain everything?”

“I-I’m a necromancer… Ahm… Ahm…”

I think she’s nervous. I’m really sorry.

“I have the ability to revive a dead person using magic. It’s called reanimation. Ahm... I-I’ve been trying to practice this for weeks. I found your corpse in this forest so I tried to reanimate you.”

“I… I see.”

Wait, a minute. Reanimation? Magic? What the heck is happening? Where am I? Is this place even on earth?

“Ahm,” the girl interrupted.

“Oh. I’m sorry. Anyway, my name is Hiiro... Hiiro Aki...” Before I finished my sentence, she began to cry loudly.

“Ehhhh. Scarlet-san?” Shocked, I raised my hands, attempting to hold her. “Why?”

What should I do? I’m weak to a crying girl.

“I’m sorry. Why are you crying?”

“It’s just that... I'm always alone and… I’m just happy to finally talk to someone... I reanimated you thinking we could be friends,” she replied while wiping the tears using her robe.

However, her tears kept flowing from her eyes. “You’re not alone anymore,” I shouted. Looking at her, I patted her head. “You’re not alone anymore. I will be here for you.”

I don’t know what happened to her, but this is the least I can do for her as the one who reanimated me.

She wiped her tears again and she looked at me. “T-Then, will you be my friend?”

“Of course.”

A loud crash echoed all over the place. When I came back to my senses, I found my body smashed into pieces. My bones were all over the place. With my skull lying on the ground, I saw a monster, standing as smoke came out from his mouth. He then let out a terrifying roar.

“What just happened? Is that a bear. Ughh.”

My head hurts for some reason. He seems familiar. Did I saw this monster before?

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you,” Emily spoke in a different tone. She raised her scepter, looked at the monster and began writing in the air.

“Scarlet-san?”

Wait, is that a magic rune?

“Phantom Gun!!!” Pointing her scepter, she called out a spell. Some sort of a green light appeared from the rune and pierced the monster in the heart.

Whoa. Is that magic?! It’s so cool.

Blushing, she looked at me. “Ahm.”

“Oh. Sorry, Scarlet-san, the monster interrupted us earlier. I’m Hiiro. Hiiro Akira.”

“H-Hiiro…” she stuttered. “C-can you call me... ‘Emily’?”

Cute. For the one who summoned me here, whoever you are, thank you.

“Emily.”

“Hiiro.”

“Emily.”

“Hiiro.”

“Emily.”

“Hiiro.”

A bit awkward, we both didn’t know what to say.

“I… I think we should go somewhere safe before something else appears again.”

She’s too cute for me.

“I-I see. Y-You’re right. We should go to my house.” She then looked away, hiding her blushing face. Afterwards, she cast magic to put my bones back into place. We then walked away from the forest.

It was already nightfall when we arrived at a small and worn-out house similar to a witch’s house. Amazed, for I always thought that necromancers lived in cemeteries. A tall tree stood beside the building with its leaves slowly withering. The nauseous smell of the swamp engulfed the whole area. How can I be irritated when I don’t have a nose? These thoughts quickly traveled in my my mind. A non-existent beating heart, an imaginary nose that could smell, everything seemed impossible, but it was real.

After opening the door, Emily turned to me and smiled. “Welcome to my home.”

The interior of the house seemed very old as the walls were made of wood. There was a table in the middle with two chairs on adjacent sides. On the left side of the house, there was a fireplace. On the right side, there seemed to be a collection of books. On the remaining side, there was a door.

I guess that’s the kitchen.

Not far from that door, there was a ladder going up.

By the layout of the first floor, perhaps that’s her bedroom.

“H-Hiiro, I’ll cook something good; wait for a bit.” Emily happily walked towards the other door.

“I’m a skeleton, though, I don't know if I can even eat.”

“I see. Y-you’re right.” She then looked down, and continued to walk into that door. Moments later, she came back still looking down.

She brought a plate with food, but it looked like those were leftovers from a previous meal.

It looks delicious; I want to taste it. But, I guess it's impossible since I don't even have a tongue. Or maybe I can? Since, I can smell without a nose. But I don’t have a stomach. Ahhh.

“H-Hiiro?”

“I’m sorry. Please, don't mind me. Go on and eat. I know you’ve been tired of walking.” Emily started eating. “I’m sorry if I made you sad.”

Emily chewed and swallowed her food then talked, “i-it’s okay. Sorry, I was so excited that I forgot you're still a skeleton.”

Still?

“So, does that mean I can have my normal body back?”

”Y-yes, however, I will need a lot more practice. For now, I can only reanimate your bones.”

“I see. I will be looking forward to it then; the day when you can fully reanimate my body. You will be surprised at how handsome I am.” Boasting, I tucked my hands on my pelvic bone.

“T-Then, when I bring back your whole body, will you eat my cooking?” she asked looking at me. Her eyes seemed to be sparkling.

“Of course.”

“I-I will practice hard then.”

Did I just dig my own grave? I know my former self was not that handsome. Oh well, as long as I can eat her cooking, nothing else matters.

“Hahaha.”

“Why are you laughing?” Emily pouted as she looked away.

“Nothing, nothing. I’m just happy because I’m talking to a very cute girl right now.”

“I-I see.” She then looked down and covered her face with her hands.

“Is there something wrong?”

“N-Nothing. I was just surprised because you said I’m c-cute.”

Realizing this, I also turned around.

I can't believe I just said that. The only time I said that to someone was when Lily…

“Hiiro? Is there something wrong?” She looked at me as she bend her neck sideways.

“Nothing... Sorry, I just… I just remembered someone.”

“I see. Whoever that is, he or she must be very dear to you,” she replied.

“Well… It’s all in the past now.”

Why did I suddenly remember Lily? Well, I did love her for a very long time. But... I should forget her. Also, I think it’s impossible to meet her again, if I’m really in another world.

Realizing something, I asked Emily, “by the way, Emily, are you the only one who live here?”

“Yes. I don’t have a father and my mother... is already dead,” she replied in a soft voice.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry. Ahm. I started learning reanimation so that I could bring my mother back to life. Unfortunately, I still can't find her remains,” she added.

“I’m sorry. You used such a great spell for me. I guess you just wasted it.”

“No. Actually…” Her fingertips touched each other as she spoke. “I’m glad I used it on you, Hiiro. B-because of that, I met you.”

Emily...

“I was so happy when you said we could be friends,” she added.

“Thank you. I’m also happy I met you.”

I almost forgot. I need to ask her something.

“By the way, where am I? I mean where is this place located?”

First, I need to know this world.

“Ahm. We are in Dover, located in the eastern part of the Demon Kingdom.”

Wait, did I just hear Demon Kingdom?

“So, are there other kingdoms?” Emily remained silent. “Ahm?”

“I-I’m sorry,” she apologized. “It’s just that, I didn’t expect there’s someone who didn’t know about the kingdoms.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, when I was still alive I lived in the mountains. Haha.” Averting my gaze, I scratch the back of my head

You probably won't believe me if I say I came from another world.

“Well, there are a lot of kingdoms but the four most notable kingdoms are: the Human Kingdom, the Demon Kingdom, the Elven Kingdom and the Dragon Kingdom”

Dragons? I want to see them.

“Hiiro, you’re from the Human Kingdom right?” she asked. “How did you end up here?”

Actually, I came from the Human “World”, Earth.

“I… ah. I was travelling.”

Should I ask her for more information? She seems to be suspecting me though.

Looking around, I saw the books on the shelf.

I think, I’ll just research about this world on my own, for now.

Emily and I chatted for a bit.

“Well. Since it’s already night. I think we should sleep.”

“Okay. B-but there’s only one bed,” Emily replied.

“Let’s sleep together then,” I said that as a joke.

“O-okay. I-I think that’s only normal since the bed is for t-two people,” she stuttered as she blushed.

“Wait. Wait. Wait. I’m just joking, you know. Even though I’m just all bones, I’m still a man. You can't just let me sleep beside you.”

Since I am a perverted gentleman.

“I-I see.” Emily looked down.

Please, don’t do that.

“Ahhh. Okay. Okay. Okay. Just this once. Okay? After this, no more sleeping together.”

“Okay.” She smiled.

Time passed, I couldn’t sleep.

Do I even need to sleep?

“So, I’m in another world now. What will happen to me in the future? Is this... really ok?”

“Mother… Where are you? Mother.” It was a voice of a woman.

Curious, I looked at Emily; she was sleep talking.

“Mother...” As her tears began to fall, I held her hands.

I see. She was longing for her mother. I wonder if that’s the reason she wanted to sleep with me.

“Mother... Father,” I whispered, looking at the ceiling. I hope you’re okay. I won't be coming home anymore.

That night, I barely slept.