Vol 1 Chapter 15 – Listlessness is the Default Setting for the Hero Class

“Okay. Got it. I don’t want to do anything.”

“Oh, come on.“

I’m not the type to have grand fantasies about being isekai’d. The reason is obvious — the world just doesn’t work that way.

Listen. Live for twenty years, and you’ll see it. The world is mostly unreasonable, and the whole giggling-with-girls thing is exclusively for the top tier of the social hierarchy.

I want to make this label catch on, so I’ll say it as many times as necessary — being average-to-below-average gives you a pretty consistent stomachache. A world that’s kind to socially awkward guys simply does not exist!

In this world, being a Hero is something you’re born into — which makes it impressive, but also means that anyone with Hero aptitude has no freedom to choose another path. And that thing they told me about — routes — apparently, they mostly only carry a vague, prophecy-like effect. Under normal circumstances, anyway.

“Heroes deserve human rights too.”

“The answer is no.”

Brutal.

“Utaki’s aptitude is so high it’s like you were literally born to be a Hero. As long as you exist, no other Hero-class individual will be born in this world — so the Demon Lord’s forces will just keep destroying towns one by one.”

“You said, class.“

What was I supposed to do from here? In theory, I’d need to get weapons and armor, gear up, recruit companions, and head out. But I had nothing to start with, and who in their right mind would volunteer to help some random guy who just transferred in — transmigrated? Wait, mine’s a transfer, not a reincarnation — show up out of nowhere?

If these are the routes being presented to me, I’d honestly prefer to build an all-male party on purpose. If it ends up all women and I accidentally have some lucky-pervert moment with one of them, I’m dead on the spot. Never mind the Demon Lord. Dying in another world due to a love-triangle incident — what kind of embarrassing cause of death is that?

“I’ll help you, Utaki. Tactically speaking, I’d love to have the Red Rose with us — but she’s far too aggressive toward you. Asking her would probably be a dead end.”

“Even if she did agree to come — I’m pretty sure it’d be to kill me, not the Demon Lord.”

The chill down my spine was definitely not my imagination.

“I really hate pain, so — is there any way to settle things with the Demon Lord through negotiation?”

“A simple sit-down isn’t really an option. They say the eighteenth and thirty-fourth pairs resolved it through something like a board game, but—”

“Out of forty-something generations and only two pairs did it that way?! Why are the legendary Heroes all so bloodthirsty?!”

I found out later that retired demons and humans are now thick as thieves — going on trips together, playing croquet, and at drinking parties trading lines like “This guy lost to me like this, I’m telling you” and “Come on, that was ages ago—” It’s all remarkably warm and fuzzy. Don’t use your actual war stories as bar talk. Apparently, the people listening just nod along, going “Ah, yes, those were the days.” Hey — these are the same guys who showed up to demolish your neighborhoods. What are you doing?

“The previous Demon Lord was a woman — by our reckoning, she’d be in her late forties now.”

“Demon-folk are long-lived, right?”

“Compared to us, yes. Her actual age was around six thousand, if I recall.”

My head was starting to throb. Japan’s average lifespan is around 80, and she’s 6,000? How old is this world? Didn’t they say humans existed all the way back to the first Demon Lord? What kind of timeline is this? If I have to study that history, I will literally die.

“The previous Demon Lord achieved world conquest, so it was a win for the Demon Lord’s side.”

“Huh? Hold on — if they lost, why is everything so peaceful? Shouldn’t we be under someone’s rule?”

“The Hero defeats the Demon Lord, and the Demon Lord defeats the Hero. One shot each. Once that’s settled, it’s over — the next generation comes along, and the whole thing repeats. Perfectly normal, isn’t it?”

So in other words.

This nation had been playing a territorial game for generations, and that game itself was tied to the very reason society existed. Kings were installed for governance, but in practice, the heads of every nation were probably mostly figureheads. The roles of Hero and Demon Lord had been assigned to a deeply political problem — which meant… in other words…

“So Hero’s aptitude is basically a prime ministerial election.”

“Shuso-senkyo?“

This was more complicated — and more significant — than I’d expected. I want to go home.

Vol 1 Chapter 16 – Just Go On Your Journey Already

Most readers are probably thinking exactly that. Some of you are probably going, This is supposed to be an isekai — what the hell is this? I’m thinking it too. So is the author. Too meta? Shut up. I couldn’t cope with this world any other way.

Anyway — I crammed too much in from day one, and sure enough, I crashed. When I came to, Cleo was beside me, swapping out a water pitcher. According to them, about a week had passed. Apparently, I’d been unconscious for an entire week from the mental strain. The realization that I was that fragile made me want to die.

“Clara and Elena-san took turns watching over you, but you kept muttering the word tani over and over — rather resentfully, I might add.”

“I’m a college student.”

“Is it common for daigakusei to resent tani?”

“Depends on the class. Some credits are easy, or at least ones you actually like.”

“To be thought of so deeply by Utaki-san… how enviable.”

I have no idea what misunderstanding led them there, but college students and their credits are inseparable, and agonizing over them isn’t unique to me. Also — that just settled it. Cleo’s voice dropped noticeably right then, which means Cleo is officially, conclusively confirmed on my route as the femboy option. Thank you very much, and I’m so sorry.

“What will you do from here? Apparently, monster attacks have been breaking out across town since yesterday.”

“…Can’t exactly say no to that, can I?”

“There’s something I’ve always wondered about, actually.”

“What’s that?”

Cleo furrowed their brow, twirling the end of their hair between their fingers. Their mouth opened halfway, then closed. They licked their lips and started again, then stopped — repeating the cycle several times. They were choosing their words carefully. Whatever it was that he found so puzzling, the fact that it was this hard to say was puzzling in itself.

“In this world, the authority and title of Hero is granted primarily to men. Women can receive it too, but they’re rare. The job is the same either way — defeating the Demon Lord.”

“Is that what you find strange?”

“No — I’ve always wondered why this world is structured around conflict as a prerequisite. It’s only when enemies exist that the economy turns. But doesn’t that mean the Demon Lord exists precisely so that we can live our lives? And the reverse is true — we powerless humans exist precisely because the Demon Lord does.”

“But this country’s a kingdom, right?”

“The kings have all been people of genuine character, generation after generation — but none of them can become Heroes. A ruler who can’t fight feels more like a symbol than anything.”

In RPGs, the king is basically a mechanism to dispatch the Hero and send them on their way — and sure, royalty did feel tacked-on and decorative in that sense. But this was a literal other world, not a game. I vaguely remembered a light novel with a premise like that, but I’m no cheat character, and there are no status windows or parameter screens in this world.

So this world isn’t a game. And it’s equally strange.

Looking at it from the outside, the fact that Cleo questioned all of this at all was a little unusual. After all, Elena had said it with complete ease: Perfectly normal, isn’t it?

And she was right. It was normal. Here, that was simply how life was supposed to be.

I never questioned my daily life back home. I studied for entrance exams without really thinking about it, enrolled in university, had small arguments with my parents, joined a club without much passion, and none of it ever struck me as wrong.

That’s why Cleo hesitated.

“Honestly, I’ve got nothing but questions — way more than you. And I’d bet your dad feels the same way.”

“So it really is like that…”

“…It’s fine.”

“What?”

“I mean — what can you do, right? I’ll go on the journey too. Defeat the Demon Lord. Maybe something will finally make sense. And if it does, I’ll come back and tell you. That works, doesn’t it?”

“Utaki-san… I — I didn’t expect…”

Cleo started crying — soft, steady tears rolling down their cheeks. Hold on. I have absolutely no idea how to handle this. What am I supposed to do here? God of popular guys everywhere, descend upon me, just this once.

For now — by this time next chapter, I’d already be on the road. First things first: sit down with Elena and work out the details… except, Cleo, you are crying way too much.

“Come on, stop crying — did I say something wrong?”

“But I said such strange things, and you were still… a man being this kind to me… it’s the first time anyone has ever…”

“Well, you’re a guy too, so — I mean, you look incredibly cute though.”

“C — cu — Cute?! I’m cute?!“

“Yeah.”

“~~~! I’m so happy — I want to lock you away forever…”

Oh no. And there goes the mood, completely obliterated. Seriously?