The Summoned Hero

—"Demon King."

It was an existence that often appeared in all kinds of myths and legends.

A symbol of evil.

A byword for brutality.

A figure who endangered the world and humanity, brought fear and disaster to countless beings, and plunged the world into chaos.

Such a figure was the Demon King.

And in countless myths and legends, in order to defeat the Demon King, the gods would usually seek out a hero, grant him all manner of aid, and have him save the world.

More than that, it was practically a convention for the gods to summon a hero from Another World and have him come defeat the Demon King.

Therefore—

"So I'm the unlucky bastard who got chosen?"

"You can think of it that way."

That was how the above exchange came about.

This was the heart of an unknown temple.

There were no resplendent decorations in the temple, nor was there any sacred, solemn atmosphere. It was simply a pure white structure.

At this moment, there were two figures within the temple.

One of them was a figure that stood at the very center of the temple, as though she had been there forever.

She was a Goddess.

Yes, a Goddess.

Because there was no other word that could possibly describe her.

She possessed long, silvery-white hair that fell along the alluring curve of her back all the way to the backs of her knees. It swayed gently despite the absence of wind, giving off a faint glow.

Her eyes were pure blue, like an azure planet. She wore a holy white dress, while her jade-like white feet were completely bare against the ground. Paired with her utterly flawless curves and graceful figure, she was so beautiful that she did not seem like an existence that should belong to this world at all. Looking at her was like gazing upon the highest form of completed art, filled with a dreamlike yet unreal quality.

Such beauty, such holiness, such dreamlike unreality—only a word like "Goddess" could fully describe it.

At least, that was what the other figure in the temple thought—the "person" floating in midair like an incorporeal ghost.

At first, "he" had been unable to stop himself from staring blankly at her.

Until the Goddess said this to "him."

"Though this is abrupt, please allow me to get straight to the point."

What point?

To sum it up—

"You have already died, but I hope you will come to my world and defeat the Demon King. Therefore, I intend to revive you, make you a Hero, and send you to the world of swords and magic—Omnipotens."

That was the situation.

And so, the exchange at the beginning took place.

To be honest, "he" was not very willing to believe it.

A Goddess?

A Demon King?

A Hero?

A world of swords and magic?

It was not as though "he" did not understand those words.

But when those words became real events happening to "him," all "he" could feel was utter bewilderment.

"He" did not even know how long it took "him" to accept such a setup.

There was only one thing "he" knew for certain.

"I don't have any other choice, do I?"

If things were as the Goddess said, then "he" should already be dead. If "he" did not accept her proposal, the only outcome would be to vanish just like this.

If so, what choice was there left?

Incidentally, the reason "he" said "should" was entirely because "he" did not remember whether "he" had truly died.

No, it would be more accurate to say that "he" remembered nothing about himself at all.

Why was that?

The answer was simple.

"No matter what you choose, those things are unnecessary."

That was what the Goddess said.

There was no helping it.

If "he" refused the Goddess's request, his fate had already been mentioned.

If "he" chose to accept, then not retaining those memories was a clean solution—both to prevent attachment to his previous life from affecting his new one, and to prevent the technology and knowledge of his former world from penetrating too deeply into Another World.

For that reason, "he" no longer remembered anything about himself. As for knowledge of the world where he had originally lived, he retained only common-sense information. For example, he knew the internet existed and knew its functions and uses, but did not know the principles behind its existence or the conditions required to create it.

This was not caused by the Goddess.

"Once a person dies, they quickly disappear without leaving anything behind, including their existence and memories. It was only because I needed you that I summoned the existence known as 'you,' then restored memories at the level of common sense so that you would not be unable to understand the present situation and what will happen next."

The Goddess watched "him" with eyes as bright and beautiful as stars, smiling faintly as she explained.

"Since you are already dead, the memories of your previous life no longer concern you. Even if you choose to go to Another World, I do not want your attachment to your previous life to affect your second life. Nor do I want the technology and knowledge of the world where you lived in your last life to have an excessive impact on my world."

In other words, no matter what, the memories of "his" previous life could never return.

"He" had no complaints.

For one thing, since "he" had already forgotten those memories, "he" naturally had no attachment to them.

For another, even if "he" objected, it would accomplish nothing.

As had been said, "he" was already dead and should have disappeared. Since she intended to revive "him" and grant "him" a second life, a second existence, how could "he" ask for more?

Being able to live, being able to have a second life and a second existence—this was already a gift.

"He" ought to be content.

"It seems you have made your decision."

As though she could see through "his" thoughts, the Goddess nodded nonchalantly and extended her flawless hand toward "him."

"Then, in the name of God, I hereby grant you, one from Another World, life once more."

Accompanied by a solemn voice that seemed capable of resounding throughout the entire temple, light bloomed from the transparent figure in midair.

That light was as dazzling as the sun, as brilliant as starlight.

Under those circumstances, an equally radiant and dazzling "sword" emerged from the transparent figure.

"From now on, you shall be called Shien."

"Do not disappoint me."

"My Hero, for whom I have waited a thousand years."

As her words fell, the "person" and the "sword" floating in midair vanished from the temple together.

Only after doing all this did the Goddess withdraw her hand.

However, her eyes remained fixed on the empty air, as though she were still looking at that figure, and she murmured softly.

"This is the first time I have ever seen such intense light. I hope he can fulfill my long-cherished wish."

Leaving behind that murmur, the Goddess closed her eyes and returned the temple to silence.

And with that, the story announced its beginning.

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