CH 1.1

Chapter 1 Part 1

Suddenly, a white light burned into Eisuke’s retinas, blocking his vision.

He felt as if the world had turned upside down. The stinging pain in his eyes gradually eased, and when he opened his eyelids….

“Wait… what the hell is thiiiiiiiiiiis…?!”

What appeared before his eyes was a blue ocean stretching out endlessly. A huge island of floating vegetation. Cities and towns could be seen in many places.

He was thrown head first into the air at an altitude of about 3,000 meters.

“Wait, wait, wait, this has got to be a joke, hey…!”

Eisuke was forced to parachute, but without a parachute. The force of the wind hitting his whole body felt painful, and the intense feeling of floating tried to dull his consciousness. Gritting his teeth against the fierce gravitational acceleration acting on his body, his eyes were riveted on the unfamiliar landscape of the world before him.

The huge continent was not the Japanese archipelago, whichever way you looked at it. The surface of the ocean was getting closer and closer, and the resolution of the view was increasing as if it were a magnified photograph.

Then Eisuke caught his breath and his eyes blinked several times.

“What the hell… is that?”

There was a mysterious girl on the beach with a seven-colored holy light radiating from her entire body. With her hands outstretched like a benevolent goddess, and her clear eyes staring at Eisuke, it was as if she was trying to welcome him into her heart as he crashed headlong from the sky.

The distance between her and Eisuke was getting smaller and smaller. After less than a hundred meters, when her silhouette was clearly visible… softly, the acceleration Eisuke had been experiencing was instantly reduced to zero.

“W-wow…!?”

Eisuke’s body floated as if in weightless space in front of the girl’s eyes, who hugged him tightly.

“Finally we meet…!”

“Eh…?!”

Eisuke couldn’t hide his confusion when he was suddenly passionately embraced by a girl he didn’t know. The girl hugging Eisuke’s chest was looking at him with tears at the corners of her eyes. He could only swallow saliva.

She had long, silky blonde hair that reflected the sunlight like gold dust. Her blue eyes were as clear and beautiful as jewels. Her bare skin was as white as snow, and her body so slender that it looked as if it would break at the slightest touch. Her moist eyes gave off an air of fragile beauty, but the way she smiled softly exuded a touch of elegance. She was a stunningly beautiful girl.

“…Ah! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be so rude…!”

The girl finally realized her bold action and blushed. She hurriedly pulled away from Eisuke with a huff and then cleared her throat.

“Ah… I really don’t mind, but first I want to ask you something.”

“…?”

Eisuke frowned and asked the puzzled girl.

“Where am I?”

The girl’s face changed to a serious expression at his words.

“…This is a different world from the one you used to live in. You could say it’s another world from your point of view.”

Eisuke swallowed saliva and turned around to take another look at this world.

The horizon stretched on forever. The sky was clear and blue, with bright white clouds. Two suns peeked out from where he stood. To top it off, in the distant sky, a creature that could only be called a dragon was flying with its wings flapping calmly.

No, he didn’t need to check again. Suddenly, he was brought across the sky, had a bird’s eye view of a continent he had never seen before, and… met a beautiful and mysterious girl. With all these elements, there was no room for doubt: This was a different world.

“Is this real?” Eisuke involuntarily mumbled.

“I’m Marie… funyu!?”

In this state of stupefaction, Eisuke pulled the cheeks on both sides of the face of the girl in front of him.

“Hyah, his hihen ha heam.”

“Yes, I see it’s not a dream. So it really is a different world.”

“He-hease, eho hit how!”

The girl’s reaction was funny, as she didn’t try to force Eisuke away, and to which he was satisfied and let her go.

“Whoops, sorry, sorry, I thought I was dreaming.”

“Hey, don’t you usually check it with your own cheeks?”

“I have a habit of wanting to pull anything that looks soft.”

“Is that really a habit? Doing that with people you’ve just met will leave a bad impression on them.”

“I’m trying to be more honest with myself. Don’t get so upset. Your beautiful blonde hair is going to fall out.”

“It’s not going to fall out! And this is not the time to do this!” The girl who had been carried away by Eisuke’s lighthearted tone was quick to shake her head. “Well, if I may be so bold, may I ask your name?”

“Hey, hey, did you just summon a guy whose name you don’t even know?”

The girl giggled at Eisuke’s jaw-dropping comment.

“Hahaha… Actually, I know who you are.”

“…Huh?”

Eisuke’s mood changed with the girl’s answer, and he looked at her with a questioning look. She instead answered him in a more serious tone.

“We need you here. You, who have a strength superior to the common people.”

…She knew that Eisuke was a person with strength beyond humans.

It was not by coincidence or miracle, but Eisuke was summoned with a clear reason that had to do with him.

“Who are you? Let me hear your name first.” Eisuke’s face took on an amused expression and he asked irreverently. However, his eyes were not smiling at all. They were the eyes of a man who was coldly trying to determine whether she was a friend or an enemy.

“Well, you’re the one who interrupted me by pulling my cheeks when I tried to say my name first…” The girl let out a small sigh, saying resentfully. She bowed reverently and looked up again. In contrast to Eisuke’s dark eyes, her blue eyes were full of expectation and a light that expressed willpower. “I am… Marielle. Marielle Lay Arestina. I am the princess of the Arestina Empire, and… I am the reincarnation of a goddess of this world.”

Eisuke was stunned. This was the first girl he had met since he came to this other world. The person who brought him to this world was the princess of a country, and a reincarnated goddess.

“So, I’ll leave the details for later…”

“Wait, wait, wait, are you serious? You’ve got to be kidding me. You can’t ask me not to be curious if you tell me you’re the reincarnation of a goddess.”

Marielle tried to move on, but Eisuke couldn’t help but raise his voice at her words.

“But right now, there’s something more urgent…”

“My-My lady… guh…!”

What emerged from some bushes behind the beach with a rustling sound was a beautiful woman with wounds all over her body.

“Rukino!” Marielle rushed over to her as she saw her collapse on the beach. Eisuke also looked at her in surprise.

She was a beautiful woman with a dignified face, with a mature and intelligent appearance. Her straight, brown, medium-length hair gave off an air of nobility, and she was much more mature than Eisuke. But more than the visual, Eisuke was glued to the fine sword at her waist.

…A knight. That’s what Eisuke thought as soon as he saw her.

“I-I’m sorry…! I’m sorry I lost, to mercenaries…!”

“This is terrible… Wait, I’m going to cast a healing spell on you now…!”

The knight named Rukino had her light medieval noblewoman’s clothes torn, and painful scars like burns peeked out of the holes. Marielle extended her hand towards her, looking as if she was in a hurry.

At that moment, a slight light emanated from Marielle’s small palm, turning Rukino’s wound into beautiful white skin again in a matter of seconds. No trace of the wound remained.

“That’s magic, isn’t it…? Then this really is a different world…?”

“Huh…?” Rukino reacted to Eisuke’s surprised murmur. As soon as she saw his face, her eyes widened, “You’re…? So, you’ve successfully performed the summoning, my lady!”

“Yes! It’s thanks to Rukino and the others who were able to buy me some time!”

Marielle said to Rukino with joy. Eisuke, who didn’t know what was going on, asked the girls with wide-eyed surprise.

“Hey, wait, explain to me first. What’s the situation?”

“M-My name is Rukino…! I’m an imperial knight in the service of my lady…! From now on let’s get along… gah…!

“Rukino, please rest!”

“No, I don’t need such an exaggerated self-introduction at this time! Anyway, let me explain first….”

“There they are!”

The discussion between Eisuke and the others was interrupted by a threatening voice.

Four strong men came out of the forest. With swords, bows and clubs in their hands, they stood in front of Marielle and Rukino, licking their lips and laughing.

“Surrender now, Princess Marielle… or should I say ex-princess?”

“P-please stop it now! Why are you doing this…!?”

“Why? Because of that generous man! Wasn’t it nice of him to hire some thugs like us!”

Marielle complained with a saddened face, but the men only raised vulgar voices.

“But-but, he…!”

“Haha, I see. I see.”

“Huh?”

Marielle raised her voice in confusion. Because in the middle of the exchange between Marielle and the men, words were heard spoken in a serious voice from her side. At the same time the owner of that voice finished saying those words, he jumped from Marielle’s side at high speed.

“Hyaah!?”

Marielle’s blonde hair fluttered in the wild wind. She squinted her eyes for a moment and when she could look…

…One of the men was thrown off by a flying kick.

After the unannounced kick came out of nowhere, Eisuke grabbed two of the three remaining men by the head and smashed them into each other’s, then quickly jumped to the side of the remaining man and hurled him like a cannonball towards the other two from before. He then launched a running kick at the three that were piled up. As if they had been hit by a super-heavy object, they were thrown off with great force, rolled and stopped moving. This happened in just three seconds.

…In a matter of seconds, Eisuke had subdued the four thugs.

He waved his hands in boredom.

“Well, it’s done.”

“Huh… eh…!?”

Marielle was simply surprised. Since it seemed that Eisuke, who still didn’t know anything about this world, was confused, but still threw kicks and flying kicks without hesitation. And then, he spoke as if nothing had happened.

“I know the kind of people you can beat up without mercy or remorse. Like these. They’re a group of four big guys chasing you. Same modus operandi as the yankees. And that’s just what I specialize in.”

“Yan, kees…?”

Marielle tilted her head as the word was unfamiliar to her. She had summoned him without knowing his name. Then of course she wouldn’t know what he did daily. He was fairly well known for being the “Yankee hunter”.

“Well, now that there’s nothing to interrupt us, let’s hear the rest of that beautiful story, shall we?”

“Huh?”

“No ‘huh?’. You didn’t bring me here just to beat up these small fries, did you?”

Marielle was speechless as Eisuke shrugged. He easily called the strong thugs that Rukino, Princess Marielle’s knight, had had difficulty fighting, even though they outnumbered him, small fries. He did not mean it as hyperbole, exaggeration, or a facade, as could be seen by the silence of the men lying on the other side.

“The reason you summoned me. …Who do you want me to help you defeat? Of course, that’s what I want to hear.” Eisuke smiled sarcastically.

Marielle swallowed.

She let out a small sigh and answered in a low tone.

“…I’ll tell you the story. Not long ago, a demon king ruled this world.”

The moment he heard that, Eisuke silently knelt down on the spot and made a pump fist.

“…Um, what are you doing?”

“…As you can see, I’m so excited that I can’t stop shaking…” Eisuke replied to the bewildered Marielle without moving a muscle in his pose.

“…Well, maybe our concepts of Demon King are different. Here, the Demon King is the worst of the worst, and he sent demons to various places to invade this continent and began a regime of tyranny…”

“Yes, that kind of Demon King I imagined.”

“What, really!? Then why are you happy?!”

“Of course I’d be happy! I’m sure he’s the kind of asshole you can punch and no one would complain, in fact, they’d cheer for you! Well, I totally get it! I just have to punch him until I’ve had enough! Otherwise, why would I be brought from another world?!”

Marielle’s face tightened as Eisuke approached her with an excited expression on his face.

“Um, no, that’s not…”

“It’s okay, no problem! I’ll give that damn bastard a good beating, don’t worry! And where is this Demon King? That way? Is it that way!?”

“P-Please! You need to calm down! You’re wrong! You’re jumping to conclusions too fast! The Demon King has already been defeated!”

“Huh?” Eisuke stiffened like a rock.

“…No, no way, what about what you just said? All that stuff you said about the Demon King, what was it for?”

“I thought to explain it in order! The Demon King has been defeated and sealed a long time ago!”

“W-who was it!? Who would do such a thing without me!?”

Eisuke’s words grew louder in frustration and surprise. Marielle lowered her eyes a little and answered in a low voice.

“…It was the Heroes.”

“…Heroes?”

“In this world, there were already people who were summoned from the same world as you to defeat the Demon King, people who have obtained different abilities: Heroes. They joined forces and defeated the Demon King.”

“What was… what you just said…?”

Eisuke was mortified, and this time his knees gave way. It was impossible for anyone not to be surprised to hear that the Demon King had already been defeated by the heroes. Marielle smiled bitterly, half amused, and spoke fluently.

“I-I told you I’m the reincarnation of a goddess, didn’t I? When the coming of the Demon King is foretold, according to tradition, the goddess reincarnates through the blood of Arestina’s royal family. Therefore, I was born with the ability to give the divine power of the goddess to those who are qualified to defeat the Demon King. The general term for those who are chosen by that power is ‘Heroes’.”

“Wait a minute, then what’s the reason you summoned me? Don’t tell me you want me to help those Heroes or clean up their mess?”

Eisuke asked resentfully. Marielle then let her gaze wander.

“…No. I want you to stop them.”

“…What?”

Eisuke couldn’t believe his ears. Marielle exhaled sharply and told him:

“The one to stop is the Heroes who defeated the Demon King and took over our country.”

The young people who were summoned from the same world as Eisuke… the beings called Heroes had taken over this country. Eisuke swallowed unconsciously.

“Drunk by the immense power they had acquired, after defeating the Demon King, they refused to return to their original world and took over every city in the entire Arestine Empire. …Even the imperial capital where we used to live.”  Marielle lowered her eyes and looked at him with a piercing expression. “…Please. We have no choice but to rely on your power that is beyond human. I have already summoned two beings like you, but their abilities were not enough to stand against the immense power of the heroes. But your ability is…”

“…Hmm?” Eisuke then interrupted Marielle. It was because he heard something she said that didn’t help but cause him surprise. He opened his eyes and asked: “Did you just say that there are two people like me…?!”.

“Y-yes. You are the last person I summoned to this world, the third one to be exact.”

“The last…? The third…?”

It was the biggest surprise of the day to Eisuke. It was no wonder. He thought he was the only one.

“People with abilities beyond human limits, like you, are already fighting for us.”

“Like me…?”

A person whose growth rate was abnormal and had no concept of human limits. He was not the only one. They were summoned before him. Eisuke was surprised by this fact.