Ch.1Hero Agency (1)

After a fierce battle with the Demon King, I ultimately died.

In stories like these, the protagonist is usually close to being a hero. But unfortunately, I’m just an ordinary student.

Below average grades, ordinary social relationships, ordinary personality. Ordinary appearance. Even my family is completely ordinary.

I’ve been doing sports for a long time, but I’m still just ordinary.

Such an ordinary person couldn’t possibly save the world.

Anyway, the reason I’m suddenly saying all this is…

“Why don’t you try finding someone else instead of me?”

“No.”

I’m desperately trying to persuade the Goddess because I don’t want to struggle in another world.

***

I died in a fire. To be more specific…

First, a fire suddenly broke out at the high school I attended.

Most people evacuated the building, but quite a few were still inside.

Among them was exactly one student who was so kind-hearted that they stayed behind at the fire scene to help others evacuate.

Thanks to that student, many people’s lives were saved, but they couldn’t escape and died.

“Why don’t you reincarnate that kid instead? They’re righteous and kind, so they could definitely save the world.”

For reference, I was outside when I got crushed to death by falling debris from the building.

“That person has already been reincarnated.”

“Then there’s no need for me to go, right?”

“Well, they say the more the merrier.”

“Too many cooks spoil the broth.”

After continuing to argue with the Goddess, I finally succeeded in persuading her.

“Alright. I’ll reincarnate you into another world. Please tell me if any of these worlds appeal to you.”

The Goddess sighed and made a gesture, and various worlds appeared before my eyes.

A world with only zombies and no humans, a world where machines rule over humans, a dystopia without even freedom of thought, a world where there’s no food except mint chocolate.

Every single one is a terrible world, especially the last one.

“If none of these appeal to you, then mint chocolate…”

“I’ll go save the world right now.”

“Good choice.”

I’m certain that struggling to save the world would be much happier than going to any of those worlds.

Then various information began flowing into my mind.

***

The world you’re going to is a blend of fantasy and modern society.

Some people in that world are born with special abilities that only they can use, commonly known as Supernatural Powers.

And fortunately, you have one such power.

Your ability is to create firearms, and you can use something of yours as ammunition.

You can use various things as ammunition, from mana and blood to abstract things like emotions.

Your goal is to stop the Demon King and save the world. The Demon King will appear in one month.

Since I judged it impossible to defeat the Demon King alone, I’ve prepared companions who will join you through an Oracle.

Leo, the Holy Sword Hero who defeated the Demon King single-handedly.

Rebecca, the Holy Maiden blessed by us gods.

Agath, known as the strongest shield in history.

These three are your companions. However, they all have slight mental issues, so please be careful.

If you succeed in saving the world, I will grant you one wish.

***

According to the information in my head, I don’t seem to have anything particularly special compared to others.

Don’t they usually give amazing abilities like a Status Window and then ask you to save the world?

“Surely this isn’t the extent of my abilities, right?”

“Well… we’re on a budget, so that’s all for your abilities.”

“Budget?”

“I’m not an omnipotent god, so my powers are limited… Even if I wanted to give you more abilities, I can’t…”

I said earlier that even if an ordinary person like me were given amazing abilities, they couldn’t change the world. Then what if I’m not even given amazing abilities?

I absolutely cannot save the world.

“Can I really save the world with such a pathetic ability?”

“No. But if you fight together with your companions, you might be able to defeat the Demon King.”

“Then how strong are these companions?”

“If they fight seriously, they might be stronger than the Demon King. So you need to persuade them well.”

I just need to play my role as a decent supporting character. This much should be possible even for an ordinary person.

She said they have slight mental issues, but how bad could it be?

“Oh right, every Sunday night… Ah, time’s up. Things will be tough from now on, but I wish you all the best.”

As soon as the Goddess finished speaking, light appeared from somewhere and began gathering around me.

And the Goddess hurriedly took out something like a mobile phone and started talking to someone.

“I’ve sent four people to world 1517! I’ll start working on world 5124 right away! …Another night shift today? No! I’m not tired at all!”

This is completely different from my image of a god.

My original image of a god was someone omnipotent, but now it feels like I’m watching an overworked employee at a black company.

Anyway, I was transported somewhere.

***

This is a ceiling I’ve never seen before.

“So I really was summoned like the Goddess said?”

“There’s no Goddess in this world.”

“A big-breasted beautiful girl? Possible.”

“Would you please shut up.”

Three people were whispering among themselves about me right in front of me. These people must be my companions.

“…Hello?”

A thin, girlish voice flowed from my mouth.

…Thin?

“Ah, aah, aaah.”

Is this really my voice?

“The soy sauce factory factory manager is the soy sauce factory manager, and the soybean paste factory factory… no, the soybean paste factory manager factory is…”

The tongue-twister sounds exactly like me, but the voice feels so unfamiliar that it doesn’t feel like mine.

Besides that, I felt several other strange sensations. My chest felt a bit heavy, and there was something missing down below. My body felt different from usual.

When I looked down to examine my body, a strange sight unfolded.

Something large protruding from my chest, long hair, slender arms and legs.

And all the clothes I was wearing had changed. I was definitely wearing a school uniform before, but now I’m wearing a white shirt, brown vest, black skirt, and even flesh-colored stockings.

“What on earth is this…?”

Again, a thin… no, a girlish voice came out of my mouth.

Something major has happened to my body. I’m not sure what, but something is definitely wrong.

There’s a mirror over there. Let me objectively check what’s wrong with it.

Standing in front of the mirror, I saw not myself but another woman.

The woman had a beautiful appearance, brown hair that fell to her collarbone, and amber eyes that shone like topaz.

That can’t be me. It must be a coincidence that we’re wearing the same clothes.

Just to be sure, I raised my arm as a test, and the woman in the mirror raised her arm too.

This must still be a coincidence. After all, raising an arm is a common action.

I tried making a bizarre pose, and the woman made the same bizarre pose.

An ominous feeling began to creep in.

This time, I tried to do five consecutive aerial flips, failed, and collapsed on the floor. The woman did exactly the same.

“Aaagh…”

The sweet voice that escaped due to pain also proved that the woman was me.

It seems I’ve been gender-swapped when reincarnating into this world.

…Surely I must be seeing things wrong. It must be wrong.

“It seems the Goddess has sent us someone a bit strange…”

“She’s mentally unstable, but it’s possible.”

“Please just shut up.”

The red-haired man and the pink-haired woman were having some kind of conversation.

And I, clutching at straws, asked the people here a question.

“Excuse me… how do I appear to you all?”

“Well, like a mentally ill girl?”

The red-haired man looked at me with suspicious eyes as he spoke.

Even from a third-person perspective, it’s confirmed that I’ve become a woman.

And something snapped inside me.

***

When I regained consciousness, I was tied to a chair.

Why does the back of my head hurt so much?

Anyway, in front of me was a man with red hair and red eyes, holding a wooden stick.

“Why am I tied up?”

“You suddenly started cursing the Goddess and going wild, so I subdued you with magic.”

“And what’s that in your hand?”

“It’s my magic wand.”

Anyone can see it’s just a wooden stick. It’s definitely not a magic wand.

“What are you planning to do with that big, sturdy magic wand? Don’t tell me you’re going to use it to train her…”

“Would you please shut up, you crazy woman.”

“I’m hurt…”

The woman with pink hair and yellow eyes went to a corner and crouched down, but the man continued speaking without caring.

“So, have you come to your senses now?”

“I think so.”

“Then let me ask you a few questions. First, the Goddess sent you to this world…”

“There’s no way a goddess exists in this world.”

A beautiful woman with golden hair and glowing yellow eyes, dressed in a nun’s habit, interrupted the conversation.

“If you don’t want your head cracked like hers, go sit in the corner for a moment.”

“Alright, call me if you need me.”

When the man threatened her lightly with the wooden stick, the woman in the nun’s habit also went to the corner.

“So, why did the Goddess send you to this world?”

“She said a Demon King will appear in a month, and she sent me here to stop it.”

“A Demon King… that’s going to be tough.”

The man patted my shoulder to encourage me.

“It’s going to be a difficult journey, but I’m sure you can do it!”

“…The Goddess said you all would be my companions.”

“Since the Goddess asked, I’ll accept you as a companion, but I didn’t agree to defeat the Demon King.”

“So it’s okay if the Demon King destroys the world?”

“I don’t particularly care.”

The Goddess said that if my companions fight seriously, they could defeat the Demon King.

But the state of my companions is strange across the board. I didn’t know it would be this serious.

Still, there’s a month left. I’ll have to figure something out in that time.

“Then my second question. Tell me about yourself.”

“…Why should I tell you that?”

“I’ll accept you as a companion, but it would be troublesome if you have strange ideologies.”

It feels bad to be suspected, but I guess it’s fortunate that they’ll accept me as a companion?

Anyway, after I told him everything about myself, the man looked at me with a cold gaze.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Haven’t you considered that what you’ve said has no basis in reality?”

“No, it’s all true.”

“…Agath, come here for a moment.”

The man sighed deeply and called someone, and the pink-haired woman who had been crouching in the corner walked over.

“Are you starting the training?”

“Stop talking nonsense and do some lie detection.”

“You’ll do the training next, right?”

“…Just shut up and do it.”

Light emanated from the woman’s hand, and a yellow sphere appeared above my head.

“If you lie, judgment will fall from there. So if you want to live, answer truthfully.”

“…Isn’t this a bit too much?”

“You should have answered properly in the first place. So, what exactly are you?”

“I told you already.”

Since I had only told the truth, there was no judgment falling.

And the man spoke in a voice that seemed greatly shocked.

“…So it’s not a lie but the truth?”

“It’s all true, are we done now?”

“…Wait a moment. Let me organize my thoughts.”

The man sat on the sofa with his chin resting on his hand. And I’m still tied to the chair.

…I think we got off on the wrong foot.