episode_0045

Wish.

It’s a miraculous right that lets you achieve almost anything.

So, I pondered.

‘What should I wish for?’

Many things came to mind,

but when it comes to wishes, it’s gotta be this.

“Make it so I can have ten wishes.”

[You knew that wouldn’t work, didn’t you?]

“Yeah.”

Trying to increase the number of wishes didn’t fly.

That’s a bit disappointing.

‘Hmm…’

I thought seriously.

‘Stamina enhancement?’

Considering what comes after defeating the Demon King, stamina enhancement isn’t just an option—it’s a necessity.

But.

It’s something that can be solved by finding stamina-boosting items.

No need to waste a wish on it.

‘Become stronger?’

This isn’t a world where strength is everything,

but strength can solve most problems.

Still.

I’ve got the world’s strongest allies by my side.

No need for me to get stronger myself.

‘A time-stop ability sounds nice too…’

It’d be useful in fights,

for escaping,

and even for saving others.

And, well, for doing lewd things like in those adult videos—

Ahem!

Anyway.

Asking for a cool special ability would be fun, but…

‘Using a wish just to get one special ability feels like a waste.’

Special abilities.

Every man dreams of having one at least once,

but since magic exists here,

I don’t need to waste a wish on it.

‘Hmm…’

I considered many other things,

but no matter how much I thought about it, there was only one thing I truly wanted.

‘To see my favorite character get a happy ending.’

But.

I wasn’t going to make that wish right away.

‘No need to use my trump card now.’

If everyone accepts the succubus as the heroine, I can use my wish for something else.

And if things go wrong, I can always fix it with my wish.

With that in mind, I spoke up.

“Can I save my wish for later?”

[That’s fine.]

[But I can only wait until after the Demon King is defeated and the other hero parties make their wishes.]

“And after that?”

[I might grant simple wishes,]

[but anything requiring serious power won’t be possible.]

“So the reason you grant wishes is based on contributions in defeating the Demon King?”

[Exactly.]

A wish.

It’s not something the Goddess of Light, Serena, hands out randomly just because she likes someone.

A wish is an honor—a reward—given to great heroes who avert world-ending crises.

But.

I’m not that much of a hero.

Fixing a body Serena could possess?

Becoming her first friend?

Sure, those are things she’d be happy and grateful for,

but they don’t make me a great hero.

In other words.

I lack justification.

‘Just like a king needs a plausible reason to grant a commoner a title,’

‘a god needs a plausible reason to grant a human a wish.’

If a king gave a commoner a title just because they were close, the nobles would throw a fit.

So, a convincing reason is necessary.

The same goes for gods.

If Serena granted wishes just because she liked someone, problems would erupt everywhere.

‘Not sure what kind of problems, but…’

‘The setting implies they’d be pretty annoying.’

Thus.

I need a great enough achievement to justify a wish.

And that’s easy to manipulate.

I contributed to the Demon King’s defeat.

I didn’t slay the Demon King myself,

but I was the great mentor who trained the hero party that did,

and the brilliant strategist who devised the plan to defeat the Demon King.

That’s the narrative I’ll craft.

‘It’s not even a lie.’

But.

If, after the Demon King’s defeat, Serena suddenly declared me worthy of a wish, it’d look suspicious.

So, it’s better to decide on the wish beforehand.

…Or so Serena explained.

“Got it.”

“I’ll decide before the Demon King’s defeat, when everyone makes their wishes together.”

With that settled,

I moved on to what I originally wanted to ask.

“I’ve got a lot of questions—mind if I ask?”

[Go ahead.]

“Were you the one who reincarnated me?”

[Yes.]

[I brought you here.]

“Why me?”

[Because you fit the conditions perfectly.]

“Conditions?”

[I scattered prophecy books across other worlds.]

[Among those who studied the prophecies most diligently, I guided the souls of the deceased here and reincarnated them.]

[That’s roughly how I brought you all over.]

“So you brought over the person who played the Prophecy RPG the hardest?”

[Prophecy RPG?]

“You don’t know the Prophecy RPG?”

[What I scattered were prophecy books,]

[but when they reach another world, they take on a form that’s easiest for the locals to understand.]

“So they can change into forms you don’t know?”

[Exactly.]

Serena doesn’t know what games or RPGs are,

but if playing a game is easier to understand than reading a book, the prophecies adapt automatically.

That’s why, instead of a book,

it spread as the Prophecy RPG.

But…

The fact that she doesn’t know what games or RPGs are…

Does that mean she knows nothing about our world?

I thought about it and asked.

[I know your world has humans,]

[but beyond that, I know nothing.]

She genuinely knew nothing.

‘Ignorance is bliss, I guess.’

While many played the Prophecy RPG normally,

a fair number treated it as an adult game.

Losing to goblins and getting violated.

Losing to tentacles and getting violated.

Losing to bandits and getting violated.

Etc., etc.

Getting defeated and ravaged was practically routine.

Then there were cursed items used to corrupt characters,

or all sorts of lewd acts to turn female characters depraved.

People got creative.

And since Ria’s the protagonist,

she’s the one who appears most in those adult scenarios.

If Serena found out, she’d sob uncontrollably.

‘And that’s not all…’

People also made R-18 doujinshi of Prophecy RPG characters,

along with lewd fan art.

It’s better if the people of this world never learn about ours.

With that in mind, I asked:

“Is it possible to use my wish to return to my original world?”

[No.]

[You’re already dead there.]

“So I can’t go back?”

[I could force your soul back with some effort… but the success rate of reincarnation would be… uh… 0.3%?]

Returning home wasn’t even an option.

‘Well…’

‘Not like I wanted to go back anyway.’

My parents passed away before me,

and I have no relatives.

The only “friends” I had were the guys I hung out with in the Prophecy RPG community.

So.

No reason to return.

‘Not being able to play new games…’

‘And losing modern comforts is a bit sad, but…’

I can summon some modern amenities with the Holy Grail of Sacrifice,

and I’ve got a harem of beautiful girls—something I could never have back in Korea.

Plus, my favorite character is here too.

At this point, going back would be more of a loss.

“One more thing.”

“Why Cain’s body?”

[Because it fit the conditions perfectly.]

“Conditions?”

[The body of someone who matched the desires of the person who studied the prophecies most,]

[and was fated to die soon.]

Cain fit those conditions perfectly.

There were three key requirements for saving my favorite character:

1. Someone unrelated to the hero party. 2. Someone who could reach her village without dying. 3. A handsome man.

Roughly those.

The first one’s a bit iffy,

but after the tutorial, Cain had no connection to the hero party.

I’m the one who tangled things up.

If the story had progressed normally, we’d have parted ways cleanly.

The second is also a bit iffy,

but with the knowledge of a Prophecy RPG veteran, even a weakling like Cain could survive the trip.

The third…

Hmm…

A handsome face helps when wooing my favorite character.

And Cain’s looks are top-tier,

so he passes.

Add in his doomed fate,

and possessing Cain was clearly the best choice.

“Good.”

“Then, last question.”

[Go ahead.]

“You’re really okay with me marrying your daughter?”

[I’m fine with it.]

[She says she’s happiest with you.]

“Hehe…”

Ria giggled brightly behind me.

Well…

If she’s happy and her mom approves,

there’s no reason to refuse.

“Alright.”

“Then that’s all for—”

I was about to say that when I felt like I’d missed something.

‘Wait.’

‘Did I forget to ask something?’

What was it?

What didn’t I ask?

I recalled Serena’s words.

‘I scattered prophecy books across other worlds.’

‘Among those who studied the prophecies most diligently, I guided the souls of the deceased here and reincarnated them.’

‘That’s roughly how I brought you all over.’

‘You all?’

Why the plural?

I asked:

[That’s right.]

[There are others besides you who were reincarnated.]

“There are?!”

[I brought five people from your world.]

[The first was reincarnated a year ago, and the last was you.]

I was the last?

The first was reincarnated a year ago?

At that point, anything could’ve happened by now!

‘But…’

‘A year ago?’

Serena said she brought over the souls of those who studied the Prophecy RPG the most before dying.

‘Who could it be?’

If they studied the Prophecy RPG that hard,

they must’ve been from the community.

And among them, someone who vanished a year ago…

‘Wait…’

Thinking about it, four well-known figures from the Prophecy RPG community suddenly disappeared.

‘Damn…’

‘This is insane…’

I had a rough idea of who got reincarnated.

The Four Heavenly Kings of the Prophecy RPG community.

They were called the East-West-North-South Bastards because they collected endings where Serena sobbed in every direction.

Top-tier community users,

who vanished without a trace.

Back then, we assumed they quit after seeing all the endings,

but they’d been reincarnated.