Chapter 1: The world I returned to is somehow strange

In school days, everything except studying is fun.

Games are undoubtedly fun, and as long as it’s not studying, I can also enjoy books like novels, comics, and other printed text.

I enjoy not only the common martial arts and fantasy genres that men typically read, but also the cringy love comedies, making me a so-called “jack of all trades” fan.

Realistically speaking, rather than living a fierce or glorious life, I thought a comfortable and cheerful life like a love comedy might suit me better.

I occasionally thought about it.

Ahhhh.

[“The balance of order and causality summons the hero.”]

“…Huh?”

Because I was that kind of person, even when I was suddenly enveloped by light and summoned to an unknown place, I didn’t wander for long.

Of course, I blinked in surprise.

But soon, a goddess’ incredibly beautiful appearance entered my view.

I realized it immediately.

Is this, by any chance, a hero summoning?

Nodding,

The goddess smiled kindly, as if confirming my thoughts were correct.

Though I was a bit taken aback by the suddenness of it all, to be honest, my heart started to race.

‘Is this the start of a harem hero party?’

Of course, it could also be the start of a dark fantasy, so I couldn’t let my guard down completely.

[There is no way you will die.]

The contract conditions were unusually good.

Though I would hunt monsters as an endlessly growing vessel, the goddess’s church would fully support me, so I would almost never die.

And she also swore that she would never abandon me like a dog after using me.

The goddess herself took the initiative and swore this.

She said if I began to doubt my allies, I wouldn’t be able to focus on the greater cause.

She even promised that once everything was finished here, she would grant me a wish.

‘If this is true, it’s not a bad deal.’

In fact, being half-kidnapped, I didn’t have much choice.

If the negotiations fell through, I’d be the one who suffered.

For now, since the pact had been made decently, I decided to trust her.

[The contract is established.]

To think that we were already in sync from the start.

Considering the recent decline of hero parties in fictional works, where they end up hating or exploiting each other, how wonderful a beginning this was without such things.

She and I exchanged a bright smile and shook hands.

[Now, you must form your party.]

“Oh.”

So, it’s finally time to form the hero party.

“Yo, nice to meet you.”

As the goddess said, the support was top-notch.

She had gathered the best fighters from the continent to form the hero party.

“This kid is the hero?”

“So cute.”

“You should level up.”

“Hehe, we’ll guide you well.”

Alongside the strongest barbarian warrior from the north, an all-around dwarf creator, an elf prince with firm bowstrings and forearms, a cardinal-level priest, and the king of the underworld thieves—

Also known as the god of exploration and assassination.

It was truly a party that only considered teamwork, character, and current skill, undoubtedly the strongest party on the fantasy continent.

‘It’s a bit strange that there isn’t a single woman here.’

It’s fine for warriors, but don’t they usually include at least one female archer?

Or even a saintess.

But there were no special recruits, just veterans who were the strongest in their respective fields.

The party was filled with muscular, burly men.

‘There’s no way I’m going to die.’

Well, if I didn’t die as she said, that was good for me.

In reality, I didn’t feel any danger even when I was hunting a horde of mutated monsters or killing the demon lord who had been scheming behind the scenes.

And since there was no shortage of support, like food and resources, sometimes I even felt like I had entered a virtual reality game where I was the protagonist.

There were no female characters, though, just a full party of muscle-bound men.

‘Well, whatever. I can meet women after I’ve done my duty as a hero.’

By the time I had become familiar with the life of a hero, I was already thinking that while breaking through the monster army.

They said awakening an aura would also slow aging, so I had plenty of time ahead of me.

Once peace comes, I’ll write the legend of a paradise.

Although it seemed like a distant future.

“Yuseong! Hurry up! The sausages are getting cold!”

“Wow! The beer tastes amazing!”

“Hey, could you massage my shoulders?”

“…No, I’ve already been here long enough.”

“Hey hey, it’s because your hands are too weak. I’ll send you to the kingdom’s full-course later!”

Third year of the hero life.

I believed that one day, I would escape from this muscle-bound party.

But there was one thing I was grateful for: in some works, things escalate into love triangles, and people betray each other, but here, everyone was warm and loyal.

‘Yeah, fighting monsters with these uncles for a few years wouldn’t be so bad.’

Sometimes, when the smell of sweat and blood became tiresome, I thought that as long as peace hadn’t come to this world, it was necessary to join forces as part of the hero party.

“This time it’s real, right? If you lie again, no more freebies next time?”

“Hey! Don’t you trust me?!”

“Okay! I’ll trust you just one more time!”

“Hahaha!”

I never imagined that we’d be together for 20 years.

The reason the time was so long was simple.

The origin of the demon race that had been burning this world wasn’t another place—it was a completely different planet.

They were extraterrestrial life forms, just like the Zerg from StarCraft long ago.

‘What the hell is this nonsense?’

At first, I thought it was just a load of crap.

I even grabbed the collar of the continent’s strongest magic engineer and demanded an explanation.

But the fact that the demons were extraterrestrial life forms remained unchanged.

They kept showing up, and I found out they were sending demons periodically from another planet outside of our galaxy, intending to build a base here.

I wanted to slap myself for thinking this was just a normal monster vs. hero party situation.

‘So, it was a scale that needed us to go to space?’

The goddess who summoned me, of course, and the whole world and fate seemed to be mocking me.

Ah, damn contract.

It would have been great if there were no risks, plenty of support, and a structure where I could dip out during the campaign.

[Huh? Couldn’t be, right?]

“….”

I suddenly wanted to escape from the party, but it was a little too late to back out now.

Since it was a delicate balance of strength, I kept going, even though I wanted to quit.

I kept going until I wiped out the demon army and destroyed their base.

It took 20 years to do that.

After adding the goddess’s power to the rocket, I flew between stars and found the demons’ stronghold, wiped them out, and finally, peace came to this damn world.

By then, the muscle uncle party had always been with me.

“Yuto! The combination of beer and sausages is the best in the world!”

These guys were almost superhuman, and even as they grew older, they remained the same.

To be honest, at this point, I was so close to them that it was more about fun than anything else.

Still, I thought, maybe a beautiful elf archer, or a saintess, or even a rogue could have been included as a cool, calm character.

‘Damn, my harem hero party.’

For a moment, all the frustrations I had built up surged.

“Even if I think about it again, it’s too much, but I will never blame the goddess. Everything is my fault. Yep, that’s right.”

[Ahem, hum.]

‘Saving the world and being hailed as a hero is actually a rare experience, right?’

Our party, who saved the world, became a living legend, and especially as I completed my term as a full-fledged hero, I was revered like a figure from myth.

I went to another planet and wiped out the demons, didn’t I?

Honestly, this is an achievement so great that I could have been crowned as a god by a religion.

“Even the emperor of the empire, the pope of the goddess, and the proud high elf leader all treat me with respect. They don’t look at me like just another human, do they? Well, in the end, I could destroy a whole planet, so they almost look at me like a god descended upon the earth.”

It was natural.

I was the war hero who saved the world, and maybe even the universe, so it made sense for me to be revered as a figure from myth rather than an equal human.

Honestly, being evaluated as a great person didn’t make me feel bad at all.

If there was a small issue,

‘It’s that I can’t do anything rude because I became too famous.’

I didn’t have any plans to do anything bad, but as I was being hailed as a savior, I couldn’t enjoy the kingdom’s full-course meal, couldn’t drink at bars, and meeting women wasn’t easy.

“No, they see me not as a man or a hero, but as some kind of avatar of destruction.”

They were seeing me too highly.

I wasn’t just a human anymore. I was almost a legendary hero, a transcendent being about to become a constellation in the sky, a god.

In fact, if I commanded it, I was sure I’d get someone to serve me at night.

But what I really wanted after escaping the muscle-bound uncle party wasn’t to serve a god; I just wanted a normal, heart-fluttering romance…!

But right now, it was all completely ruined.

There was no way to have a normal relationship. The moment I stepped out of the temple, everyone would kneel and worship me.

Even worse, my portraits were plastered everywhere and statues were erected, so everyone knew my face.

At least I was lucky that I had accumulated so much wealth and fame that I didn’t feel envious of anyone.

But I hadn’t really been able to spend any of it due to all the work, so what was the point?

[Ah, yes… I’ve made a huge mistake. You came here when you were so young.]

“I’m not blaming the goddess, but the atmosphere surrounding me right now is getting a little too heated.”

[No, no. It’s my fault. I didn’t know the origin of the demons, and I kept you here for so long.]

The goddess quickly responded and then absentmindedly touched her lips as if she was deep in thought.

After some time, she spoke in a voice full of beauty and seriousness.

[It seems like I need to fix this. Would you prefer I make everyone forget about you so that your existence is no longer recognized?]

“Uh, that’s a bit…”

I had gone through so much hardship, so wouldn’t it be a bit too harsh to make everyone forget about it?

I could live like a spy with a double identity, but that didn’t quite feel like me.

After continuing to deliberate like her, I finally made my decision and spoke.

“I just… miss modern things. Could you send me there, so I can live happily?”

It wasn’t so bad living in a fantasy world where everyone acknowledged me.

But I had enjoyed it for 20 years.

No matter how fun it was, constantly repeating the same content would eventually make you sick of it.

Besides, I had a wish left from the first contract, didn’t I?

“I’ll show my face when those old guys die. They’re in their seventies and still looking for me?”

[Hmm, is that okay?]

“I’ve been through a lot, so please make sure to give me a good performance bonus. Oh, and if I could take some of the power with me, that’d be great.”

[Yes, I understand. I’ll make arrangements.]

“Hmm, really?”

The power I had accumulated was at a transcendental level, unmatched by anything except for gods.

Even taking a little of it would make things convenient, and there would be no chance of dying from accidents or illness.

I thought she might be a bit picky about this part because of the laws of causality, but…

“Can I trust you?”

[Of course. And about that love comedy, I’ll make sure to help you with romance too.]

You’ve been singing love songs for 20 years, after all. The warrior’s wish for romance is something I understand well.

“Hey, how often have I said it?”

[Now you’re pretending to be shy? Where else can you have an honest conversation like this, between a goddess and a hero? Just ask for what you want.]

“Hmm.”

It seems she was the type to keep things inside too.

But now, it was all over.

I didn’t expect her to take care of it like this, but I was more satisfied than I thought.

I would take part of my power, get support without worrying about money, and receive blessings for everything, including romance.

‘It feels like things are going too smoothly, but it makes me remember the first meeting.’

Still, the soul contract was something even gods couldn’t break, and it had already been 20 years, so it was a long connection.

I believed that this time, it would all go well.

I believed it.

***

“Ah, damn it.”

Yeah, I guess it’s my fault for believing.

[Cheongryong Guild, safely returned without casualties in an A-level dungeon, showcasing the standard for dungeon raids.]

[Boy’s Days, dominates domestic and international music charts with ‘Male President’!]

[Geomje, has been reclusive for 10 years. The reason seems to be the long-term illness of his only daughter…]

“No, goddess?”

The world I returned to seems strange.