Chapter 1 – Catching the Bread Thief (1)

Imagine being summoned to another world.

The king kneels before you, hailing you as the hero destined to vanquish the Demon King. You assemble the quintessential party, each member with their own intricate backstory. After beheading the Demon King, what comes next?

In my former world, countless alternate futures were crafted daily by keyboard warriors, but my path became one of those myriad possibilities.

The Demon King didn’t resurrect. The king didn’t backstab the hero. The hero didn’t marry the princess. Yet, in the end, he achieved his dream.

What was that dream, you ask?

Returning to Earth would have been nice, but regardless of location, my aspiration remained constant.

It was to become a god.

“P-please, spare me! I was wrong!”

Of course, I don’t mean becoming an absolute being who derives satisfaction from making a young girl kneel. I’m talking about becoming a landlord.

“I-I’ll never do it again. Please don’t cut off my hands…!”

“Who said anything about cutting them off?”

“M-my Mana… it vanished…”

Ah, that. I released Adela’s hand as she wept.

<End of Magic>

Dispelling is quite the headache, and it seems the immobility spell etched into her body had taken effect.

“Is it back now?”

“Y-yes… oh…”

Anyway, back to our tale. After hanging the Demon King’s corpse atop the castle and keeping his head as a memento, I retired.

Due to the post-war arrangements and reward ceremonies, I purchased a small plot in a tranquil countryside far from the capital, which had become a den of wolves—a place called ‘Farencia’.

My life as an absolute being was supposed to be peaceful, watching the sunrise while tending to crops, much like that purple-chinned alien who wiped out half the universe’s life. However, that idyllic expectation shattered all too soon.

That lunatic King Baor built an entire academy around my land without even offering to purchase it, arbitrarily amending kingdom laws and buying up all the surrounding property. I was left with no means of sustenance.

Finally, unable to endure, I sought out the royal family—the root of this predicament—to voice my grievances. Fortunately, they proved to be reasonable interlocutors.

After extensive negotiations, during which I metaphorically bent three of the seven highest mage towers in the Pennheim Kingdom like drinking straws, we reached a dramatic agreement.

I would work in a role related to the academy, and in return, they would provide me with maximum convenience.

That’s the backstory of how I, a student abruptly summoned from Earth 15 years ago, came to run a convenience store in an educational institution of another world, a place where I had no connections.

Speaking of which…

I gazed at the first-year student bowing profusely in gratitude before me.

What caught my eye first was her hair—a blue-jade hue, cut as cleanly as a wave.

The green cape draped lightly over her shoulders marked her as a new academy student, while the brooch on her chest indicated her family lineage.

Though I’m not well-versed in all noble family crests, in this post-war era, a family’s standing is determined by merit rather than title.

The geometric emblem of three overlapping triangles with four laurel leaves rising behind it—the four-leaf merit badge.

It signified the Grand Officier rank, second highest in the kingdom.

Whether she had distinguished herself in the minor war against the Sacred Kingdom of Monarch or, like me, had fought the demon race for humanity’s sake, the honor of having laurel leaves on one’s crest wasn’t bestowed lightly.

In other words, this young lady—who hadn’t even made her societal debut, judging by her single pierced ear—was a high-ranking noble I ordinarily wouldn’t dare to look at.

And such a noble was stealing bread from a convenience store? Was there a famine I was unaware of?

It defied my common sense.

“…I’ll let it slide this once, so just go.”

“Huh?”

But I didn’t bother asking for a reason.

It was probably just some prank among friends.

Had she not been a first-year, there would have been no forgiveness. But since the entrance ceremony hadn’t even begun, I was inclined to issue a lenient warning just this once.

Don’t try to understand or meddle in the eccentricities of nobles.

That was a frequent piece of advice from my former companion, Terra.

My comrades often offered such counsel when I struggled to adapt to this world.

Their words still lived on in my heart, having become part of my very essence.

“Go on, get out of here.”

“Y-yes! Thank you so much!”

It’s been ages since I’ve had any news from them. For some reason, my contribution to defeating the Demon King wasn’t properly recognized, leaving me to squabble over a loaf of bread in a store. But I’m certain they’d greet me warmly if we were to meet again.

I replaced the bread on the shelf and began my day.

***

At the heart of the Pentagon in the United States, there’s a small café that sells hot dogs and drinks.

Farencia Academy, while not as tightly structured as the Pentagon, bore a similar layout.

The grounds were divided into five sections, housing classrooms for each year, dormitories, administrative facilities, and restricted areas.

Of course, this included grand halls for banquets and events, state parks for recreation, and a formidable library with stringent entry requirements.

About a twenty-minute carriage ride from the main gate, you’d find my small but precious convenience store at the very center of the academy.

A stone building: one basement level, three floors above ground. In practice, only the ground floor was used for business.

Outside, the store stocked all necessary daily items for academy life, materials for experiments, and simple snacks.

Inside, you’d find a surprisingly high-ceilinged interior that belied its ground floor status, displaying pricier items—magical artifacts, perfumes imported from the royal capital, and a few treasures I’d collected in my younger days.

Indeed, given that the clientele wasn’t neighborhood children, at first glance it resembled a museum or botanical garden more than a humble shop.

The second floor was my personal living space. I’d decorated it to evoke the feeling of a rented room in Korea—a nostalgia for a life I’d never actually lived.

It was truly my sweet home.

But maintaining this lifestyle demanded corresponding effort.

For instance, the bread Adela had attempted to pilfer wasn’t of my making—it had to be sourced from outside.

In fact, most items in the store were like that.

So, come evening, I locked up and ventured into the streets of Farencia.

Just as the supermarkets near schools bustle during the new semester, this was a hectic period.

While some professors delegated the task of procuring educational materials for magic research or experiments to their indentured graduate students, when lectures became too numerous, they simply instructed students to obtain items from the store.

Though they grumbled, students came to the store to purchase materials for their classes.

Rounding the imposing building that served as a salon for nobles, I entered a small alley at the entrance to the western commercial district.

With practiced steps, I approached a shabby house and knocked.

The clamorous ringing of the chime bell hung at eye level was followed by a click as the locking spell disengaged.

“Kayno, I’m coming in.”

“Welcome, Louis. What brings you here?”

The alchemist, engrossed in heating a flask, was a friend I’d known since settling in Farencia.

The cluttered laboratory was strewn with jarred frogs and dreamcatchers woven from beast feathers.

The acrid stench made me wrinkle my nose instinctively.

“I’m here for those items I requested. The scroll with the Shock magic inscription, the celestial model snow globe, and what was the other thing…”

“The Lit-Vice test papers? They’re in that drawer. I prepared them in advance.”

“Ah, right. Those and some cigarettes.”

Let’s see—

As Kayno had said, opening the drawer revealed a box filled with finger-sized white papers. Using nearby tongs, I carefully transferred them to my bag before approaching her.

“What are you up to?”

“Don’t interrupt. I’m refining magic stone crystals.”

“Magic stones? From beasts?”

“Yes. This experiment seems quite promising. I might be close to creating the Philosopher’s Stone.”

I see. It was a task intrinsic to an alchemist’s calling, and Kayno’s face was etched with utter seriousness.

Not wanting to disturb her, I sat beside her and voiced a thought that had suddenly occurred to me.

“Oh, right. Do you know much about family crests?”

“I told you not to disturb—in all my years in Farencia, I’ve never met anyone as disinterested in nobles as you. How do you even manage that store of yours?”

“So you do know? Then, are you familiar with a family crest featuring three overlapping triangles?”

“I said don’t disturb me—That’s just the symbol for the Three Originals, the fundamental principle of magic. There are over ten such families throughout Pennheim.”

“It looked like the Mercedes-Benz logo. It also had four laurel leaves.”

“Do you have a death wish!? I don’t know what a Benz is, but there’s only one family with the Three Originals *and* four laurel leaves, you idiot! The Rochears! The Ice Empress of the North Sea!”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Responding to my silent demand for clarification, Kayno clicked her tongue and set down her flask.

“Failed again, tch. They’re a military family known for decimating demon remnants lately. A true prestigious lineage, even possessing unique magic.”

“I see.”

“How can you be so oblivious? Are you truly a citizen of this kingdom? Not recognizing a family name is a grave insult to nobles. You might find yourself on the wrong end of a blade.”

I couldn’t bring myself to answer that question.

The truth was, even after 15 years in this world, I remained woefully ignorant, as Kayno pointed out.

There was a reason for this, though it might sound like an excuse.

During my days as a clueless summoned hero, my primary sphere of activity wasn’t the kingdom or holy nation, but Heljeb, the demon lands.

Living and breathing in the demon realm meant I had few opportunities to experience the various cultures of this world.

And when I first settled in Farencia post-retirement, it was truly a rural backwater.

It was countryside where people raised cattle and milled grain, nothing more.

Even when the royal family initiated their urban development project, little changed.

Having vanquished the Demon King at great cost, my shattered psyche led me to hole up on the third floor of what is now my store for several years.

On the rare occasions I ventured out and saw overturned earth, I simply assumed, *Oh, they must be preparing new fields.*

Then one day, some mustachioed official from the land ministry or whatnot knocked on my door, asking me to step outside. Lo and behold, an academy stood where there had been nothing before.

They informed me they planned to demolish my house, at which point I exploded in anger.

After the situation somewhat stabilized, watching buildings sprout up with a sigh, I decided to open a store—one has to make a living, after all.

The rural town, once devoid of noble connections, had transformed completely in just a few years. Such was the might of magical engineering.

If only that might had been slightly greater, they could have crafted bombers to blast Farencia back to the Stone Age.

I miss you, General Richard Lee Armitage.

In the heart of this parallel world’s Pentagon, the convenience store owner yearns for your presence.

“There were… circumstances.”

“It’s not too late to start learning now. Anyway, is your business concluded? Get out, I’m busy.”

How brusque.

I found myself half-ejected from Kayno’s workshop.

Learn step by step, huh?

When I traveled with my comrades, they compensated for my shortcomings, but perhaps it was time I stood on my own two feet.

Heaving a deep sigh, I made my way home.

***

“So, you couldn’t get the bread?”

“I-I got caught… I’m so sorry!”

Ansen sneered at Adela, who was bowing repeatedly before him.

“If you want bread that badly, I can give you money to buy it outside…!”

“Wow, this won’t do. Hey, you think I’m joking?”

Bang!

A light kick sent an empty cart in the warehouse clattering noisily, eliciting a small scream.

“Who the hell do you think I am? You think I’m making you do this because I’m short on cash? I’m just checking if you can follow through on a friend’s request.”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“Enough. Go steal it again tomorrow. If you don’t get it before the last lecture ends, be prepared for the consequences.”

“Y-yes…”

He dismissed Adela with what amounted to a coercive threat.

Though it was meaningless bullying, Ansen remained unfazed. Rather, his lackeys seemed slightly unnerved as they questioned him.

“Hey, Ansen. Is this really okay?”

“What?”

“That girl. She’s a Rochear.”

“So what?”

“What do you mean, ‘so what’?! The Rochear Count’s family is…!”

“Yeah, so what?”

The chilling tone plunged the warehouse into silence.

I understood these guys’ trepidation. For the daughter of a Grand Officier medal-holding count’s family, one even possessing unique magic—this initiation ritual was wildly disproportionate.

“Come on, it’s not a big deal. She’s the one who wanted to join the salon, right?”

“But still…”

“Don’t sweat it. No one’s going to give a damn about Adela. Didn’t you see? She calls herself a magician but can’t even swipe a loaf of bread from a store.”

“That’s… true.”

“But Ansen, what if Adela gets caught again and they convene a disciplinary committee?”

Is *that* the concern now? Indeed, with so many scions of prominent families among this year’s freshmen, some are excessively cautious about even the slightest action.

If they considered for a moment who stood behind them, they’d realize there was no need for such wariness.

“You guys fret over everything. You think the student council would believe that the Rochear family’s young lady got caught pilfering bread?”

“…”

“If they actually try to report it, we’ll just rough them up a bit.”

Ansen tapped his scabbard, a sly grin spreading across his face.

“They’re not guards or professors, just a measly store owner. Right?”