Everything is fun except studying during school days.
Games are obviously fun, and as long as it’s not studying, I can also enjoy books with text, like novels and comics.
I’m what you’d call an “all-rounder otaku,” enjoying everything from martial arts and fantasy—popular among guys—to cringeworthy romantic comedies.
Realistically speaking, wouldn’t a comfortable and cheerful life, like a romantic comedy, suit me better than living fiercely or tragically?
I used to think about that from time to time.
—Whoosh.
[‘The Balance of Order and Causality’ is summoning a hero.]
“……Huh?”
Because I was that kind of person, I didn’t wander for too long when I was suddenly enveloped in light and summoned to an unknown place.
Of course, I blinked in shock, but my vision was quickly filled with the breathtaking beauty of a goddess.
I immediately realized it.
—Wait, is this a hero summoning?
Nod.
The goddess smiled gently and nodded as if to confirm my thoughts.
I was taken aback by the sudden situation, but honestly, my heart started racing.
‘Is this the beginning of a harem hero party?’
Of course, there was always the possibility of a dark fantasy setting, so I couldn’t let my guard down completely.
[You will not die.]
Strangely enough, the contract conditions were incredibly favorable.
I was a vessel with infinite growth potential, and although I had to hunt monsters, the Goddess’ church would provide full support, making my death almost impossible.
She even swore upfront that they wouldn’t betray me later and discard me like a used pawn.
She reasoned that if I started doubting my allies, I wouldn’t be able to focus on the greater cause.
On top of that, she promised to grant me a wish after everything was over.
‘If she’s telling the truth, this isn’t bad at all.’
Honestly, since I was halfway kidnapped, I had no real choice.
If negotiations broke down, I’d be the only one in trouble.
Since we managed to reach a reasonable agreement through the contract, I had no choice but to trust it for now.
[The contract is established.]
To think we were so in sync right from the start.
Considering all the horror stories about hero parties in recent creations—where members end up hating and exploiting each other—this was an excellent beginning.
The goddess and I exchanged bright smiles and shook hands.
[Now, it’s time to form your party.]
“Oh.”
So the harem party is finally coming together.
“Yo, nice to meet ya.”
Just as the goddess had said, the support was exceptional.
They had gathered the continent’s finest warriors to form my hero party.
“This little guy is the hero?”
“Kinda cute.”
“Just focus on leveling up, kid.”
“Haha, don’t worry, we old men will take good care of you.”
The party consisted of:
- The strongest barbarian warrior from the north
- A master dwarf craftsman
- An elf prince with sturdy forearms and a taut bowstring
- A high-ranking cardinal-level priest
- The king of thieves, renowned as the god of stealth and assassination
It was the ultimate fantasy party, built purely on teamwork, skill, and reliability.
‘But how come there’s not a single woman in the group? That’s a little odd.’
I mean, sure, warriors are usually men, but shouldn’t there at least be a female archer?
Or maybe a saintess?
But no.
There were no special exceptions—only seasoned veterans who were the strongest in their fields.
And all of them were burly, muscle-bound old men.
[You will not die.]
“Well, as long as that’s true, I guess I have nothing to complain about.”
Indeed, even as I hunted mutant monsters and took down demons scheming in the shadows, I never felt any real danger.
With ample supplies and support, I sometimes wondered if I had been transported into a VR game where
I was the protagonist.
Except there were no female characters, just a full party of muscle-bound old men.
‘Well, whatever. I can meet women after fulfilling my hero duties.’
As I grew more accustomed to my hero role, even while cutting through armies of monsters, those thoughts lingered in my mind.
Since I had awakened aura and even slowed down aging, I had more than enough time.
When peace finally arrives, I’ll make sure to write my own legendary tale of indulgence and luxury.
Of course, that still seemed far off for now.
“Yuseong! Hurry up! The sausages are getting cold!”
“Ahh! The beer tastes absolutely amazing!”
“Hey, come over here and give your big bro a shoulder massage!”
“…Wait, but I’ve been in the party for years now.”
“Nah, nah, it’s because your hands have that magic touch. I promise, I’ll send you on a full-course vacation in the kingdom later!”
Three years into being a hero.
I always believed that one day, I would escape from this party full of muscle-bound old men.
But at least there was one silver lining—unlike in some stories where heroes end up dealing with love triangles, betrayals, and backstabbing, here, everyone was friendly and loyal.
‘Yeah, fighting alongside these old men against the demon race for a few years should be fine.’
Sure, sometimes I got sick of the stench of sweat and blood, but as long as there were demons threatening the world, I had no choice but to stick with my party until peace was restored.
“This time, you’re serious, right? If you’re lying again, I’m not giving out any more free massages!”
“Come on! Don’t you trust me?!”
“Okay! Just this one last time!”
“Khahaha!”
Back then, I never imagined that I’d be stuck with them for twenty years.
The reason it dragged on for so long was simple.
The source of the demonic invasion—the one that was setting the entire world on fire—wasn’t even from this world.
It was an entirely different planet.
Like some alien species straight out of Starcraft, these bastards were extraterrestrial beings.
‘What kind of absolute bullshit is this?’
At first, I thought it was nonsense.
I even grabbed the collar of the continent’s greatest magitech engineer and demanded an explanation.
But no matter how much I raged, the truth didn’t change—the demons were aliens.
So that’s why they kept appearing out of nowhere.
They were literally being sent from another planet, trying to expand their influence here like they were setting up a multiplayer base.
I wanted to slap myself for thinking it was just a simple Hero vs. Demon Lord scenario.
‘Wait… So I have to go to space, too?’
At that moment, I felt like the goddess who summoned me, the world, and fate itself were all out to screw me over.
…Damn contract.
If only there was a clause that let me quit midway, this wouldn’t be so bad.
[Oh? You’re not thinking of backing out now, are you?]
I wanted to run, but by the time I seriously considered it, it was already too late.
The balance was just right—not too easy, not too hard—so I kept getting dragged along.
And so, we wiped out the demons on the continent, then launched an interstellar war to destroy their homeworld.
That took twenty years.
With magitech rockets powered by the goddess’s divine energy, we flew through space, tracked down the demons’ main base, and burned it to the ground.
And finally—peace returned to this godforsaken world.
Of course, through it all, the musclehead uncle squad never left my side.
“Hahaha!!”
“Beer and sausages—the greatest combo in the world!”
These guys were half-immortal at this point, still as lively as ever despite their age.
Honestly, after all these years, we were more like family now.
It was actually kind of fun.
But still…
Would it really have killed them to add a beautiful elf archer?
Or a saintess?
Or at least a cool, aloof female rogue?!
‘Goddamn it, what happened to my harem hero party?!’
The frustration I had buried for twenty years surged up for a moment.
“Looking back, this was way too much to ask of me as a human…
But of course, I would never blame the goddess. This is all entirely my fault. Yup. Absolutely.”
[…Ahem.]
“Saving the world and being revered as a hero is actually a rare experience, isn’t it?”
Our party, which had saved the world, became a living legend.
And as the one who completed my journey and became a full-fledged hero, I was regarded almost like a mythical figure.
I mean, in this primitive era, I literally flew to another planet and wiped out the demons.
Honestly, at this point, my achievements were great enough to be worshipped as a god.
“The Emperor of the Empire, the Pope of the Goddess’s Church, even the proud High Elf chieftain—they all speak to me with the utmost respect. They don’t see me as just another human. By the end, I was strong enough to cut down an entire planet, so yeah, they basically look at me like I’m some divine being that descended to Earth.”
It made sense, really.
I wasn’t just some war hero who saved a kingdom or a continent—I protected the world, maybe even the entire universe.
Being revered not as a mere human but as a mythical figure was only natural.
Not that I minded being treated as a legendary figure.
The only problem was…
“I’m too damn famous to do anything inappropriate.”
It’s not like I had plans to go wild or commit any crimes, but—
As the world’s savior, I couldn’t even enjoy the full royal treatment I had been promised, let alone casually drink at a bar.
Meeting women? Forget about it.
“At this point, they don’t even see me as a man or a hero, but some kind of Avatar of Destruction.”
Their reverence was way too much.
I wasn’t just an admired hero anymore—
I was an ascended, god-like being, a celestial figure, a living deity.
If I commanded it, people would gladly offer up their daughters to serve me.
But after finally escaping my musclehead party, I didn’t want to be treated like some divine idol—
I just wanted a normal, heart-fluttering romance…!
Too bad that was completely out of the question now.
I couldn’t even take a step out of the temple without entire crowds kneeling in worship.
To make things worse, my portraits and statues were everywhere.
Everyone knew my face.
I guess the only upside was that I had more wealth and honor than I could ever need.
But what was the point? I had been working non-stop for twenty years and never got to enjoy any of it.
[Oh… I see now. This is largely my fault. You were still so young when you first arrived here…]
“I’m not exactly blaming you, Goddess, but the way this world treats me is… a little too much, you know?”
[No, no, this is entirely my fault. I should have figured out the demon’s origins sooner instead of keeping you here for so long…]
The Goddess, looking flustered, began touching her lips in thought.
After a moment of silence, she finally spoke in a beautiful yet solemn voice.
[It seems I must resolve this situation. Tell me, would you prefer if… everyone simply forgot about your existence?]
“Uh… yeah, no.”
I had suffered too much for that.
I didn’t go through twenty years of hell just to be erased from history like some fantasy-world Spider-Man.
I could live a double life, but somehow, that didn’t really feel right either.
After thinking it over, I finally made my decision.
“You know what? I miss modern civilization. Just send me back there so I can live peacefully and happily.”
Living in this fantasy world, where everyone recognized my greatness, wasn’t bad per se.
But after twenty years, I had seen enough.
No matter how fun a game is, if you grind the same content for too long, it gets boring.
And besides—
I had one last wish left from my original contract.
“I’ll drop by again when those old men finally die. Can you believe they’re all in their seventies now and still looking for me?”
[Hmm… Are you sure about this?]
“Just load me up with a nice severance package for all my hard work. Oh, and if possible, let me keep some of my powers.”
[Hmm… Alright. I’ll make the arrangements.]
“Oh, seriously?!”
The power I had accumulated was on a divine level, surpassing anything but the gods themselves.
Even keeping just a fraction of it would make my life a whole lot easier—
No sickness, no accidents, practically immortal.
I expected the Goddess to be stingy about this, citing some “laws of causality” nonsense, but—
[Also, I’ll make sure your love life in that world goes smoothly.]
“…Wait, for real?”
[Of course! You’ve been singing about ‘love love’ for twenty years now. I know exactly what my eternally youthful hero desires.]
“Hey, it’s not like I mentioned it that often—”
[Hah! Don’t be shy now. You and I have been through a lot together. You can be honest with me.]
“…Ahem.”
So she had been holding back her true thoughts as well, huh?
Well—
It was all over now.
I never expected her to go this far for me, but the outcome was far better than I had imagined.
I got to keep some of my divine powers,
I had more money than I’d ever need,
And I even got a blessing for a smooth love life in my new world.
‘…This almost feels too perfect. Kind of reminds me of how things started.’
Still, a contract of the soul was something that even a god couldn’t break.
And after twenty years, we had built a long-standing relationship.
Surely—surely—she would do right by me this time.
I truly believed that.
Until—
“Oh, you’ve GOT to be shitting me.”
Because the moment I returned, I saw:
[Blue Dragon Guild clears A-Rank Dungeon with zero casualties, demonstrating the ideal dungeon strategy!]
[BoyzDays dominates domestic and international music charts with their hit song ‘Manly President’!]
[Sword Saint disappears for ten years—rumors suggest it’s due to his only daughter’s long illness…]
“Uh… Goddess?”
Something was seriously wrong with this world.
To Be Continued