My name is Komari Eita.

I was an ordinary salaryman with a huge appetite who loved delicious food.

Whether it was cooking or eating, I enjoyed both.

That day, I was sitting at my desk at work, absentmindedly grumbling as usual while working.

“Ah… another day of overtime…”

“I really want a bowl of ramen from that shop in front of the station…”

The only sound in the office was the lonely clacking of my laptop keyboard.

It was already late May, with spring nearly over.

Yet for some reason, the air felt strangely cold that day.

“Whoa!”

“It’s freezing!”

Unable to bear the chill, I hurried over to the air conditioner by the window to raise the temperature.

As I glanced outside, I saw snow gently falling despite the season.

“Unseasonal snow!?”

Without thinking, I placed my hand against the window and leaned closer.

The next instant…

Crack!

A fracture spread across the glass.

Then…

My vision turned completely white.

A moment later…

Everything went dark.

When I came to, I found myself inside a cramped, pitch-black space barely large enough to hold me.

Feeling around with my hands, I realized the walls were made of wood.

‘Why am I in a place like this?’

Small beams of light seeped through narrow gaps.

Peering outside, I caught sight of what looked like a person’s arm.

After watching for a while, I realized I was inside a wooden box, with someone lying on top of it.

From what little I could see, it looked like the inside of a house.

There wasn’t even a door.

Or perhaps it had been destroyed.

Even through the gaps in the box, I could clearly see outside.

The walls were wooden and looked terribly worn down.

I pushed upward against the lid of the box.

There was resistance because someone was lying on top of it, but it moved slightly.

‘If I put more strength into it… I might be able to open it.’

“Gyah!”

“Gyah!”

“Gyagyah!”

Just as I tried to lift the lid, strange screeches echoed from outside.

Turning toward the sound, I saw three hideous green creatures standing outside the house.

Each one carried a bloodstained blade-like weapon.

They looked extremely dangerous.

‘If they come in here… they’ll kill me!’

Holding my breath, I waited for them to leave.

After a while, the creatures wandered off somewhere else.

Carefully, I pushed the lid open as quietly as I could.

Thud!!

The person lying on top of the box toppled sideways the moment the lid opened.

‘Crap!’

‘Will they hear that!?’

I froze and waited.

Fortunately, the green creatures never returned.

I looked toward the person who had fallen onto the floor.

It was a giant woman dressed in an old-fashioned brown and white apron dress reminiscent of the Middle Ages.

She had brown hair tied into a ponytail beneath a triangular headscarf.

Her face was turned away, making it impossible to see clearly.

‘She’s… huge.’

‘Is she over twice my height?’

There were signs that an enormous amount of blood had poured from her abdomen.

I checked whether she was still breathing.

She wasn’t.

‘She’s… dead…’

‘Did those green things kill her?’

The next moment, tears began streaming uncontrollably down my face.

‘What’s happening?’

‘Why can’t I stop crying?’

I wiped away my tears.

Only then did I notice something strange about my own body.

My hands had become tiny, like little maple leaves.

Startled, I looked down at my feet.

They had shrunk as well.

They looked like those of a toddler.

I was barefoot.

Looking at my clothes, I found myself wearing a simple one-piece dress.

My hair had also grown long enough to reach my waist.

Only then did it finally hit me.

I had been reincarnated.

And…

The part that made me a man…

…was gone.

Apparently…

I had somehow been reincarnated as a little girl.

Then the woman lying dead on the floor…

She was probably this girl’s mother.

It wasn’t that she was gigantic.

I was simply tiny.

For some reason, I had absolutely none of this little girl’s memories.

‘Did I lose them because of the shock?’

More importantly…

I needed to secure my safety.

Otherwise, those green creatures would eventually find me and kill me too.

‘If this world is anything like those isekai light novels I used to read…’

‘Then maybe…’

‘That phrase will work.’

“Status Open.”

The moment I spoke…

‘Yes!’

‘It worked!’

A status window appeared before me.

Its design was mysterious and almost divine.

The text flickered constantly, but I could barely make out the Japanese characters.

‘Why is it written in Japanese?’

‘…Forget that for now.’

If this little girl was going to survive, she needed powerful magic or a useful skill.

[Name: Rinne (Female)]

[Health: Weak]

[Magic Power: ?]

[Physical Attack: Weak]

[Magic Power: ?]

[Magic Affinity]

[Earth Magic]

[Learned Spell: Earth Sword]

[Special Talent: Running]

‘That’s… a pretty vague status screen.’

‘Couldn’t they at least use numbers?’

What caught my attention most was the Earth Magic spell, Earth Sword.

I decided to pour every ounce of strength I had into casting it.

‘I remember reading that compressing earth is the key to earth magic.’

Keeping that image firmly in mind, I focused with everything I had.

“Earth Sword!”

A gigantic stone sword nearly three times my height instantly appeared in my right hand.

‘What the…’

‘How am I supposed to use something this huge!?’

‘I’m just a little girl!’

Even so, when I applied a bit of strength…

The enormous sword rose effortlessly.

‘No way…’

‘Is it just hollow?’

Because it felt so light despite its size, I assumed it must be made of something like Styrofoam.

Or maybe it was just an empty prop made of paper.

Thinking that, I raised the giant sword overhead and swung it into the wall.

“Take this!”

BOOOOOOM!!

The colossal blade smashed straight through the wall and ceiling.

I stood there in stunned silence.

Rather than cutting…

It had simply crushed everything in its path.

Calling it a sword almost felt wrong.

It was closer to a gigantic blunt weapon.

Although it looked like stone, it was probably just heavily compressed earth.

Still…

I finally had a way to fight.

“Gyagyagya!!”

The green creatures rushed toward the entrance of the house.

The tremendous noise had attracted them.

There were three of them.

Every one wore a savage expression.

But now that I had a weapon…

I didn’t hesitate.

I thrust the Earth Sword straight through the entrance, smashing both the doorway and the monsters together.

“Hyaa!”

BOOM!!

All three creatures were blasted away.

Green blood sprayed into the air as they tumbled across the ground.

Even though they were hideous monsters, attacking living beings with such overwhelming force left a bad taste in my mouth.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

I cautiously approached to finish them off.

There was nothing left.

Their bodies had been torn apart.

‘I… overdid it.’

“Urgh…”

The gruesome sight made me feel sick.

I almost threw up.

But if I was going to survive in this world, I’d probably witness scenes like this countless times.

I swallowed it back down.

There might still be more of those creatures nearby.

Stepping outside, I surveyed my surroundings.

It looked like a village.

There were fields and wooden houses scattered around.

At least for now, none of the green creatures were in sight.

That was a relief.

But without food or water, I’d eventually die anyway.

‘Maybe someone in the village can help me.’

Remaining alert for the monsters, I began exploring the area.

The Earth Sword was too conspicuous.

It would only get in the way.

‘How do I even make this thing disappear?’

For now, I simply left it where it was.

If more monsters showed up, I’d summon another one.

Boom!

I laid the giant sword on the ground.

The loud thud instantly put me on edge.

I looked around nervously before moving on.

As I walked, I kept close to the buildings, using them as cover.

If I was ambushed…

A frail little girl like me wouldn’t stand a chance.

I’d probably die in a single hit.

I searched the house I’d come from first.

Aside from rubble, there was nothing.

No food.

No water.

The monsters must have taken everything.

Next, I checked another house.

Its door had also been destroyed.

No survivors.

No supplies.

Everything edible was gone.

“Did those things raid this village for food?”

It seemed the monsters had looted every last bit of food in the village.

House after house…

The situation was exactly the same.

Eventually, I reached what looked like the village square.

Around thirty of the green creatures had gathered there.

They were watching their surroundings cautiously.

At that moment…

A surge of anger welled up inside me.

Maybe it wasn’t my own.

Maybe it belonged to this little girl…

Whose family…

Whose entire village…

Had been slaughtered.

Before I realized it, I was already charging straight toward them.

Pat!

Pat!

Pat!

Pat!

Pat!

The monsters noticed how tiny I was.

Leering at me with filthy grins, they looked as though they were wondering how best to torment the last surviving child.

“Earth Sword!”

The instant I got close enough, I summoned the massive blade.

Using the momentum of nearly tripping forward, I spun and unleashed a sweeping slash.

BOOOOOM!!

The gigantic Earth Sword slammed directly into the unsuspecting monsters.

Five or six of them were swept away instantly.

Their flying bodies crashed into others, creating a devastating chain reaction.

Blue blood splattered everywhere.

The entire square became a scene straight out of hell.

The destruction…

The sheer violence…

Far exceeded anything I had imagined.

Only then did I truly understand just how terrifying the Earth Sword really was.

A moment later…

My stomach hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Looking around, I saw blood and chunks of flesh scattered everywhere.

Corpses littered the area.

Both the monsters and I stood frozen for several long moments.

“Gyaaaaaaa!!”

One terrified scream shattered the silence.

The surviving monsters immediately scattered in every direction, fleeing in panic.

Soon…

Everything became silent again.

Coming back to my senses, I slowly stood up and brushed the dirt from my stomach.

I couldn’t stand here forever staring at the carnage.

If I didn’t keep moving…

I might not survive.

Food.

Water.

A safe place to stay.

Until I secured those…

I couldn’t relax.

After searching the village a little longer, I found no trace of the monsters.

Finally, I entered the largest stone building in the village.

It was probably the home of someone wealthy.

Fragments of luxurious furniture lay scattered everywhere.

There wasn’t a single person inside.

They had either escaped…

Or…

For now, I focused on finding food.

Instead, I found a strange pouch.

When I opened it and looked inside…

There was a space roughly the size of two tatami mats.

‘No way…’

‘The classic isekai storage item?’

Inside sat a large sack and a single barrel.

I tried sticking my head inside, but the opening was too small even for me.

When I reached my hand in…

I somehow felt myself grabbing the sack.

It should have been far beyond my reach.

Yet…

Pulling gently, it slid right out.

The sack was enormous.

There was no way something that big should have fit inside such a tiny pouch.

Opening it revealed flour.

Next, I pulled out the barrel.

It was filled with water.

I took a cautious sip.

It had a slight odor…

But it was perfectly drinkable.

“Yes!”

“Water!”

At least I wouldn’t have to worry about drinking water for a while.

‘With flour and water…’

‘I could probably make udon… or maybe crepes.’

‘If I can find yeast… I might even be able to bake bread.’

When I placed the sack and barrel beneath the pouch…

They slipped smoothly back inside.

I decided to call it the Storage Pouch.

After putting it into my pocket, I continued searching the room.

That’s when I found an iron hatch built into the stone floor.

‘An escape tunnel?’

No one had been inside this house.

Maybe they’d escaped through the underground passage.

Or at least…

It might serve as a good hiding place.

“Gyagyagya!!”

The monsters’ voices echoed outside once again.

Maybe they had returned with reinforcements.

Or perhaps they had brought something even stronger.

Until now, I’d been fighting recklessly.

I still had no idea what my magical limits were.

If I ran out of magic halfway through a battle…

Or encountered an enemy the Earth Sword couldn’t defeat…

I’d be finished.

Having reached that conclusion, I decided to hide underground.

I grabbed the iron hatch and pulled.

It wouldn’t budge.

It was locked.

‘Maybe I can pry it open with the Earth Sword?’

Summoning the blade once more, I drove it beneath the hatch and into the stone floor.

Crash!!

The iron hatch was ripped clean off.

Beneath it appeared a staircase leading underground.

‘It really is an escape passage.’

Even if it wasn’t…

It would still make a perfect hiding place.

‘Once I’m inside…’

‘I’ll collapse the entrance so those monsters can’t follow me.’

Boom!

Rumble…

After descending the stairs, I smashed the entrance shut with the Earth Sword.

The underground passage was pitch black.

Fortunately, glowing stones had been embedded along the tunnel, lighting the way.

It almost felt as though they were guiding me.

“Gyagyagya!!”

“Gyaaa!!”

As I walked deeper inside, I heard the monsters shouting near the entrance.

After destroying it so thoroughly…

There was no way they’d find the passage.

And even if they did…

The rubble would keep them out.

I continued deeper underground.

Eventually…

Their voices faded away completely.

After walking for quite some time, I reached a dead end.

Sunlight streamed down from above.

Looking up, I saw a circular opening with the sky beyond it.

‘An abandoned well…?’

A wooden ladder led upward.

Climbing it, I found myself inside what really did appear to be an old well.

Peeking outside, I spotted a wooden wall far off in the distance.

‘That must be the wall surrounding the village.’

‘Then…’

‘I’m outside the village now.’

Before the monsters noticed me, I needed to get as far away as possible.

Nearby, I found what looked like a road.

I decided to follow it.

Ahead of me stretched a forest filled with thick trees and wildflowers.

‘I just hope there aren’t any wild beasts waiting for me…’

Anyone would probably say the same thing after seeing a forest like that.

But there was a reason people talked about raising flags.

Without realizing it…

I’d just raised one.

Because not long afterward…

I came face to face with…

A bear.