Otherworld Labor Standards Inspection Office ~Even if You Go to a Fantasy World, the Labor Standards Inspection Office is Still the Labor Standards Inspection Office~

Eguchi Masaomi, a Chief Supervisor of the 4th Sector at the Shimamoto Labor Standards Inspection Office, is tasked by his director to take a second-year supervisor, Saito-kun, on an on-site inspection at a 15-story reinforced concrete apartment building construction site to mentor him. Eguchi has extensive experience in safety and health inspections, having handled crane collapses, fatal accidents, and scaffold failures. He teaches Saito how to properly wear a full harness and a waist belt, emphasizing correct positioning. They bring equipment including a camera, WBGT thermometer, tape measure, and law books. Upon arriving at the site, they greet the site manager and climb the external scaffolding to the 13th floor, the current top floor. Eguchi notices a gaping elevator shaft opening without guardrails or lifelines. While searching for the second shaft, Saito steps onto formwork material that collapses, revealing another hole. Eguchi shoves Saito to safety but falls backward into the elevator shaft himself, plummeting from the 13th floor. During the fall, he experiences pain in his armpits and crotch as his full harness catches on something, suspending him mid-air. He regains consciousness to find himself in a fantasy world, dangling from the D-ring of his harness, held by a massive, dark-skinned, pointed-eared man over 2.5 meters tall, reminiscent of an Uruk-hai, with a woman named Karika watching. The man questions Eguchi about his strange armor—his hard hat, harness, and leather gloves—and his identity. Eguchi realizes he is no longer in Japan; the surroundings feature two-story brick buildings, earthen roads, and diverse races including elves, dwarves, and humans. He deduces he has crossed into another world. Despite his confusion, he answers politely, introducing himself as Eguchi Masaomi. The man suspects he might be a Frank-Godion person or a criminal due to his unusual equipment. Eguchi attempts to explain that he comes from a completely different world, but the concept of surnames and given names is foreign to them. The pair decide to take him to the Patrol Team station for further questioning. They search his bag, finding objects unfamiliar to them: thick books (Industrial Safety and Health Act handbooks), a transparent plastic ruler, a calculator, a smartphone, a green leather wallet, and other items. They note no weapons and permit him to keep the luggage but insist on escorting him. Eguchi complies, walking between the two guards, noting their efficient two-man cell formation. Meanwhile, in the parallel real world, the Health and Safety Division of the Shimamoto Office receives a call from the Tokuyama Police Station regarding a fatal accident at a theater: a stuntman fell 8 meters from a ceiling rig to the stage. Health and Safety Division Manager Horiuchi instructs Tateyama-specialist to accompany a Labor Standards Inspector for technical inspection. Eguchi, who is present in the office, volunteers to go. He and Tateyama drive to the theater parking lot, where two young police officers block their entry, misunderstanding the jurisdiction of the Labor Standards Office. Despite Eguchi explaining they were called by Inspector Yamada and are there to conduct a joint on-site investigation, the officers refuse them access until they confirm with the detective in charge. After running to the stage, the detective orders them to be brought in, acknowledging the Labor Standards Office's expertise in fall accidents. The officers guide Eguchi and Tateyama onto the stage, where the investigation proceeds. The story thus juxtaposes Eguchi's surreal transmigration into a fantasy realm with the ongoing routine of labor safety enforcement in his own world, setting up parallel narratives of his otherworldly ordeal and the grounded professional duties that continue in his absence.