"A ceiling I haven't seen before… not!"

There wasn't even a ceiling.

An infinite expanse of space. Within it, two tatami mats floated. The protagonist was lying on one mat, while an elderly man resembling Master RXxXshi without his sunglasses was typing on a laptop on the other mat.

"Umm…"

"Mmph, so you woke up. Do you understand what happened to you?"

"Eh…?"

He thought back. He'd been on the way to his kendo dojo after coming back from school, chasing after a little girl who'd almost been run over by a truck…

"Th-that girl, is she okay!?"

"Mmph, she's fine now, thanks to you. She just got a little scraped knee, that's all."

"Phew, that's good… That trucker, what was he thinking…"

"The driver had a heart attack and died. He can't be blamed for that."

"That's… not something I can blame him for, I guess. Sooo, uhh, am I dead?"

Floating in the two-tatami space of the universe, the boy felt that the elderly man wearing a Hawaiian shirt in front of him was somewhat like a god.

"Mmph, how about we start with your name?"

With the question in the air, the boy realized he hadn't introduced himself.

Sitting up straight on the tatami mats, he made a proper greeting.

"My name is Sei Kojima."

"Mmph, good. As you may have noticed, I am a god."

It was as he'd expected.

"Umm, so about what happened just now, did I die?"

"No, you're not dead. But you're not alive either. You exist between life and death."

According to the god, Sei's soul was in a state that was halfway between being alive and dead. If left alone, he would eventually become one or the other, but there would be problems even if he managed to survive.

"Most likely, you'd have to live with severe disabilities."

Meaning that he'd either be paraplegic or a vegetable.

"That's…"

He thought about his parents and his sister. How much trouble would they have to go through? Would it not be better for him to just die?

Yeah, that's right. They'll back sad temporarily, but it's better than me burdening my family for the rest of my life.

"Then, why don't you just kill me? I'll have been an unfillial son, but… it was an accident, so what can I do?"

"Wait a minute. You have a family that will be sad if you die, but that's not all you need to consider."

The god replied, handing Sei a cup of tea.

"Ah, thank you."

"Think about it. If you die, you'll be a burden on the child you saved and her parents for the rest of their lives. Don't you think so?"

Leave it to a god to be so caring about something like that.

But wouldn't it be the same even if he survived with severe disabilities?

"Then, I have a proposal for you. It's more of a request than a proposal, to be fair."

So even gods had to ask for help from humans?

"There is another world, different from Earth. In that world, various evil gods such as demons and malevolent deities have been revived."

"Eh? You want me to defeat them or something?"

He has confidence in fighting, but he didn't think he could stand up to a god.

"No, I wouldn't request something that ridiculous. In that world, a ritual to summon heroes was performed in order to oppose the various gods."

"Are you wanting me to fight against gods alongside the heroes then?"

That was just as impossible though wasn't it?

Sei Kojima. His specialty was kendo. His hobby was shogi.

"No, not that at all."

The god shook his head. But from the flow of the conversation, it was clear what he was asking for.

"I want to you go to that world—"

Uh huh, and?

"—and kill all of the heroes."

…

"WHAT???"

 

*

 

According to the god, whenever something with a soul—especially a human soul—was summoned from another world, a line would be drawn between the two worlds.

Although the line was faint, it could become a solid anchor if left alone and eventually cause the two worlds to collide.

"Worlds colliding… meaning that both worlds would be destroyed, right?"

"No, that's not it. The goddess on the other side has more power than the gods here, so it would be one-sided destruction."

The god's expression was somewhat shameful as he admitted that.

"That's a huge problem!"

"Mmph, that's why I want the heroes brought back to this world. Or rather, I want you to kill them. If their souls are destroyed, the connection will disappear."

"Umm, you want me to kill the heroes?"

"Mmph, there are three ways to do it. You can either kill them, half-kill them and force them to come back, or bring them back here with their consent."

Sei brought up something that had been bothering him.

"How many heroes are we talking about here?"

"Mmph, there are 36 heroes."

Sei was speechless at the number of heroes.

Well, given the sheer number, there would doubtlessly be at least a few who could be reasoned with into coming back.

"You have ten years. For each hero killed or returned, the period will be extended by one year. As for the reward, I'll start with the injuries you sustained in this accident. I'll also grant you my protection for the rest of your life on Earth. How does that sound?"

The reward was very attractive. Not only would he not have any aftereffects, but the rest of his life would be protected by a god.

"During those ten years, what will happen to me here?"

"I will adjust the flow of time so that no time passes here."

Time adjustment… he really was a god.

"Umm, I have one more question. What happens if I die in the other world?"

"You will die here as well. It will be as you wished."

In that case, it might be better to just think about it as having died in the first place. Even if it's difficult to convince 36 people, they're just normal humans. There might be some living out their excessive dreams of grandeur, but…

"Huh? Come to think of it, are the heroes stronger in the other world than they were here?"

"Mmph, they are likely around level 30 to 40."

"So there are levels… By the way, what's my level now?"

"Five, give or take."

"What a busted game!"

The god was surprised by Sei's outburst.

"Perhaps you should ask someone else to do this instead…"

After all, the world was in danger of being destroyed. It wasn't something Sei felt he could shoulder.

"To be honest, I don't think there's anyone more suitable than you."

The god spoke, obviously troubled.

"Are there any conditions or something?"

"First, you have to be Japanese. It's not about your race or anything, but the language you use is very compatible with the magic used in the other world."

Oh, it may have been obvious before but I guess there really is magic in that other world?

"Secondly, you've already risked your life for the sake of another person. That's why I'd like someone like you to go there… it would be trouble if whoever we sent did something reckless."

My body just moved on its own. If you told me to do it again, I probably wouldn't be able to.

"Furthermore, there's the strength of your soul. The mental strength needed to overcome difficulties. It's very strong."

Being praised was nice and all, but the real issue was whether or not it was possible.

"However, there's a huge difference between level 30 and 5. If they refuse to come back to Earth, I won't be able to do anything."

"That's where my gift comes in. I'll be giving you a blessing."

"A blessing?"

"Yes, a blessing. They're best referred to as gifts, mysterious powers that normal humans don't have."

"Something magical like what belongs in light novels?"

"Depending on how you use it, it's more powerful than magic… but I won't be giving you anything that directly affects your combat ability. If I give you something too powerful, the connection between this world and the other world will become stronger."

"Let me get this straight. You're going to give me a mysterious power that doesn't affect my combat ability, and I'm going to go to that other world and try to convince the heroes to come back, or half-kill them, or kill them all? That's impossible."

"No, once you go to the other world, you'll also receive a blessing from its goddess. It shouldn't be impossible. The goddess will also be reluctant to destroy a world, so she'll give you as much of a blessing as she can."

That sounded pretty good actually.

"Also, you don't have to immediately meet the heroes when you go to the other world. The ten year duration is to help with that."

So I have to get stronger than the heroes in ten years.

… I don't think I can do it though?

But I don't think I have another choice here. If I refuse the god's request, I'll either die or become a cripple.

Topping that off was the threat of the world's destruction.

And the fact that there was no one more suitable for the job.

"Alright."

Sei made his decision.

He would protect the Earth. It felt like he didn't understand the situation well enough, but he would just have to accept it.

"I'll go to that world."

"Ooh! You've accepted my request!"

The god took Sei's hand, obviously pleased.

"Then let's get started with the selection of your gift right away."

And so began a long conversation with the god.