Chapter 49: The World’s Unlikely Champion

I opened my eyes expecting three things.

A bed.

A blanket.

And a naked crown princess sleeping beside me after spending most of the night proving that the word delicate had been falsely attached to her by generations of royal propaganda.

Instead, I got none of those.

Well.

Technically I still had pants.

That was something.

I stood completely still.

Around me stretched nothing.

Not darkness.

Not emptiness.

Light.

Endless light.

Every direction I looked was filled with the same pale brilliance, stretching so far that distance itself seemed to have given up and gone home.

No walls.

No floor that I could properly see, although I was somehow standing on something.

No ceiling.

No horizon.

Nothing except white radiance.

I looked down at myself.

Bare feet.

Pants.

No shirt.

Apparently whoever abducted me into the glowing cosmic waiting room had enough manners to avoid bringing me completely naked.

I appreciated professional standards.

I turned around.

Nothing.

“Leyra?”

No answer.

I looked left.

Right.

Still nothing.

“Hello?”

My voice traveled strangely.

It didn't echo.

It simply seemed to disappear into the brightness.

Fantastic.

Either I was dreaming, dead again, or had somehow been kidnapped by an extremely aggressive lamp.

Considering my history, all three possibilities deserved serious consideration.

Then I heard a voice.

Soft.

Female.

Close.

Far.

Everywhere.

“My child…”

I froze.

The voice didn't come from behind me.

Or ahead.

It seemed to exist throughout the space itself.

I slowly looked around again.

“If this is death, I’d like to formally complain about the lack of instructions.”

No response.

Then the light changed.

A few meters in front of me, tiny golden-white particles began gathering.

At first they looked like dust floating through sunlight.

Then more appeared.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

They spiraled toward one point, slowly forming an outline.

Feet.

Legs.

A body.

Arms.

A face.

Golden hair appeared last, flowing down around the figure as the remaining particles settled into place.

A woman stood before me.

And my brain immediately produced two observations.

One, she was beautiful.

Two, she looked human.

Actually human.

No ears on top of her head.

No tail.

No horns.

No scales.

No wing-shaped markings that I could see.

Just a woman.

I had gotten so used to Beastkin, Spriggans, and everything else in Aphrodasia that seeing someone who looked completely human again felt strangely unnatural.

Which was impressive considering I was the human.

Her skin was pale.

Long blonde hair framed a gentle face.

Golden eyes watched me with an expression that somehow felt kind before she even smiled.

White silk covered her body.

Covered was being generous.

The material wrapped elegantly around her curvy figure, but whoever designed divine clothing had clearly considered modesty an optional feature.

The fabric flowed like liquid light across her full shape.

I stared.

Mostly because she had materialized from the air.

Mostly.

Her expression remained gentle.

I recovered enough brain function to speak.

“Who are you?”

The woman stepped closer.

Not threateningly.

Everything about her seemed calm.

“I am Mediya.”

I waited.

She continued.

“The Goddess of Knowledge.”

Ah.

Goddess.

Of course.

Why would my morning be normal?

Mediya placed one hand lightly against her chest.

“I am one of Aphrodasia’s guardians.”

Her golden eyes held mine.

“One of those who watches over the balance and peace of this world.”

I slowly nodded.

That sounded important.

Then she said the sentence that immediately reorganized several unanswered questions in my life.

“I am also the one who brought you to Aphrodasia.”

I stared.

For several seconds, I forgot to joke.

The enormous divine hand.

Zeria's vision.

My impossible arrival.

Waking in a grassland without knowing how I had crossed from Earth into another world.

There had always been a giant unanswered question hanging over all of it.

Who brought me here?

Apparently the answer was standing directly in front of me wearing white silk and divine confidence.

I pointed at her.

“You.”

“Yes.”

“You’re the reason I’m here.”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“Huh.”

Mediya waited.

I rubbed my chin.

“That just answered an unreasonable number of questions.”

“I know you have many more.”

“Very many.”

Her expression became more serious.

“But I do not have enough time to answer them.”

Naturally.

Cosmic beings always had terrible schedules.

I crossed my arms.

“Then I’ll listen.”

Mediya nodded.

“Please do.”

Something about her tone changed.

The kindness remained.

But the weight behind it became heavier.

“My child…”

There was that again.

Apparently being transported between worlds came with automatic divine adoption.

“The greatest war Aphrodasia has ever faced is approaching.”

My humor disappeared by one degree.

Not entirely.

That would require surgery.

But enough.

I watched her.

Mediya continued.

“A being known as the Dragon Conqueror has begun to make his move.”

Dragon Conqueror.

That sounded healthy.

Anyone with Conqueror attached to their name was usually not building orphanages.

“And you believe he’s going to start this war.”

“He will be at the center of what is coming.”

I studied her face.

She did not look afraid.

Goddess.

Probably difficult to frighten.

But she looked concerned.

Deeply concerned.

Mediya stepped closer.

“You are the only one who can stand against him.”

Silence.

I blinked.

“Me.”

“Yes.”

“The guy who died falling from a building.”

Her expression didn't change.

“Yes.”

“Interesting recruitment standards.”

“Caled.”

Okay.

Serious.

I straightened.

“So that's why you brought me here.”

“Yes.”

“To stop him.”

“Yes.”

Simple.

Extremely simple.

Disturbingly simple.

Mediya continued before I could ask another question.

“And he will not be the only threat.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“There are others?”

“There will be those who follow after him.”

Her voice carried through the endless light.

“Others who will attempt to destroy the balance of Aphrodasia.”

No names.

No explanations.

Nothing more.

I could tell she wasn't going to provide any either.

Great.

My future apparently contained multiple world-threatening problems.

I had been hoping for a vacation.

Maybe fishing.

Possibly visiting that Kitsune nation and investigating why people there had names that made my Earth instincts start screaming.

Instead I had Dragon Conqueror.

I sighed.

“So you brought a human into this world to preserve balance.”

Mediya tilted her head.

“Yes.”

“That sounds slightly contradictory.”

Her lips curved faintly.

“How?”

“Humans are supposedly extinct here.”

“Yes.”

“The last time humans were around, according to every historical record I've encountered, we were powerful enough to make entire civilizations remember us thousands of years later.”

“Yes.”

“And your solution to an incoming imbalance was to throw one back into the world.”

Mediya paused.

Then said simply, “It was the only choice available to us.”

I looked at her.

Then laughed quietly.

“You know what?”

Her eyebrows lifted.

“That actually explains a lot too.”

She waited.

“My entire life since arriving here has felt like somebody selected the most unreasonable option and said, ‘That one. Do that.’”

Mediya smiled.

I gestured around us.

“Apparently that person was a goddess.”

Her smile grew slightly.

Then faded as she returned to the important part.

“Your purpose is to protect the peace of this world.”

There it was.

Mission statement.

Very concise.

“Those who seek to destroy that peace must be stopped.”

I nodded slowly.

“Stopped how?”

Mediya's golden eyes remained steady.

“Whatever way is necessary.”

Interesting.

No speech about purity.

No rule requiring heroic posing.

No demand that I solve every problem while wearing white armor and refusing to swear.

Just results.

I liked that.

She continued.

“If someone threatens the balance of Aphrodasia, destroy the threat before it consumes this world.”

I exhaled.

“Well.”

Mediya waited.

“It's not like I'm currently doing anything contradictory.”

Her eyebrows rose.

I shrugged.

“I’m already traveling toward Agran to stop two kingdoms from turning their border into a very large graveyard.”

Mediya smiled.

Warmly.

“Exactly.”

I tilted my head.

“What?”

“The path you have chosen.”

She looked genuinely pleased.

“It tells me choosing you was correct.”

I stared.

Of everything she had told me so far, that was the statement requiring the most investigation.

“I’m sorry.”

Mediya blinked.

“You think choosing me was the correct decision?”

“Yes.”

“That makes less sense than the glowing void.”

Her expression became curious.

“Why?”

I laughed once.

Then gestured toward myself.

“Have you been watching me?”

“Yes.”

“That makes your decision worse.”

Mediya almost smiled.

I continued.

“I’m not a hero.”

She remained quiet.

“I wasn’t one on Earth.”

Still quiet.

“And arriving here didn't magically transform me into some noble saint.”

I started counting on my fingers.

“I drink.”

“Sometimes.”

“I chase women.”

Her eyebrows rose.

“Constantly.”

Mediya's lips twitched.

“I’ve made enough bad decisions involving women that one of them literally contributed to my death.”

That was a historical fact.

A humiliating one, but still history.

“I lie when I need to.”

“Sometimes when I don’t.”

“I enjoy fighting more than I probably should.”

I spread my hands.

“And I have approximately zero qualifications for being the chosen savior of anything.”

Mediya listened without interrupting.

“So why me?”

That was the real question.

Not why a human.

Why this human?

There had to be people on Earth who volunteered at shelters.

Doctors.

Soldiers.

Teachers.

People whose first response to divine selection wouldn't be asking whether goddesses had privacy policies.

Mediya stared into my eyes.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she stepped closer.

“Because you do not desire to rule.”

I blinked.

“That’s it?”

“No.”

She looked toward my chest.

“But it is the most important part.”

Interesting.

Mediya continued.

“You are flawed.”

I smiled.

“Strong opening.”

“Very flawed.”

“Starting to feel personal.”

She ignored me.

“You are selfish in many ways.”

“Accurate.”

“Reckless.”

“Occasionally.”

“Frequently.”

“Fine.”

“Your desires often control your judgment.”

I thought about the last several nights.

“Objection withdrawn.”

Mediya's eyes softened.

“But none of those flaws change what I needed most.”

I stopped joking.

She stepped directly in front of me.

“You do not crave dominion.”

Her voice was quiet.

But in that endless space, every word carried enormous weight.

“You do not look at power and ask how many people you can place beneath yourself.”

I thought about King Viar offering me a place in his kingdom.

My reaction to Leyra suggesting I could rule.

The throne.

Responsibility.

Control.

None of it interested me.

Mediya continued.

“You desire freedom.”

That caught me.

Exactly what I had told Leyra yesterday.

“I do.”

“You want the ability to choose your own path.”

“Yes.”

“To go where you wish.”

“Yes.”

“To live as you choose.”

“Yes.”

“But not to take that choice from everyone else.”

I remained silent.

Mediya lifted one hand.

Her index finger touched the center of my bare chest.

Light warmth spread from the contact.

“That is why.”

I looked down at her finger.

Then back at her.

Mediya continued.

“Humans are extraordinarily ambitious.”

I smiled faintly.

“That sounds polite.”

“It is neither praise nor criticism.”

Fair.

“It is part of your nature.”

Her finger remained against my chest.

“When humans gain strength, wealth, knowledge, authority, or influence, they often seek more.”

“Sounds familiar.”

“Expansion.”

“Control.”

“Dominion.”

She nodded.

“It is one of humanity’s greatest strengths.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Conquest?”

“Ambition.”

Difference.

Important one.

Mediya's expression remained gentle.

“It drives your people to build.”

“To explore.”

“To overcome boundaries.”

“To create things that did not exist before.”

Her eyes sharpened.

“But uncontrolled ambition also produces conquerors.”

There we go.

“A human who possesses great power often develops the desire to rule with it.”

I nodded.

“Most people are only stopped because they can't.”

Mediya slowly nodded.

“Exactly.”

She removed her finger from my chest.

“The inability to conquer is not the same as lacking the desire.”

That was unpleasantly true.

“Many who call themselves humble simply never received enough power to discover what they would become.”

I looked at my hands.

Power.

I had a lot now.

More every time I saw someone use something new.

I had already copied abilities that armies would kill to possess.

I could fly.

Use magic.

Fight generals.

Store things in another dimension.

Become invisible.

And that list kept growing.

But the thought of sitting on a throne?

Horrifying.

Not because I was afraid of responsibility.

Okay, partly.

Mostly because it sounded like a prison with expensive furniture.

Mediya watched me.

“In you, I found no desire for conquest.”

I looked back.

“None?”

“None.”

“Not even a little?”

“No.”

I smiled.

“I do enjoy winning arguments.”

“That is not the same thing.”

“Good distinction.”

Mediya continued.

“You possess the nature required to become extraordinarily powerful.”

My humor faded again.

“Yet you do not dream of forcing the world beneath you.”

I shrugged.

“Sounds exhausting.”

Mediya laughed softly.

Actual laughter.

Then she said, “That is precisely why you were so difficult to find.”

I blinked.

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“How rare are we talking?”

Her expression became almost apologetic.

“Extremely.”

That was mildly insulting to humanity.

Probably deserved.

Mediya looked directly at me.

“To find a human capable of gaining immense power who simultaneously lacks any meaningful desire to dominate others…”

She paused.

“It is so rare that it approaches impossibility.”

I whistled.

“Humanity getting roasted by the Goddess of Knowledge.”

“I am simply stating what I observed.”

“Even worse.”

She smiled.

“That quality allowed me to overlook your flaws.”

I placed one hand over my heart.

“All of them?”

Mediya hesitated.

“That required effort.”

I laughed.

There we go.

“You had to think about it.”

“Briefly.”

“That's fair.”

Her smile returned.

“But yes.”

She stepped back.

“The absence of conquest in your heart outweighed everything else.”

I nodded slowly.

“That may be the strangest compliment I've ever received.”

“You should accept it.”

“I think I will.”

I pointed at myself.

“So my heroic qualification is basically that I have enough problems already and don't need a kingdom.”

Mediya looked amused.

“That is a crude interpretation.”

“Accurate?”

She paused.

“Mostly.”

Excellent.

Suddenly the light around her began changing.

Particles lifted from the edges of her body.

Her fingers first.

Then the ends of her golden hair.

Tiny sparks drifting upward.

I straightened.

“You're disappearing.”

“Our time is ending.”

Of course.

Goddesses apparently operated on strict appointment schedules.

“I still have several hundred questions.”

“I know.”

“Can I submit them in writing?”

Mediya smiled.

“Another time.”

Very inconvenient customer service.

She continued dissolving.

The white silk became light.

Her shoulders started fading.

“I will watch over your journey.”

That statement immediately created a problem.

I raised one finger.

“About that.”

Mediya's eyebrows lifted.

“Please don't watch all of it.”

She paused.

I gave her a meaningful look.

It took approximately one second.

Understanding appeared in her golden eyes.

“Oh.”

“Yes.”

Mediya smiled.

“I will look away during those moments.”

I nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Rest assured.”

“That's genuinely reassuring.”

Considering the last week, divine privacy had become a significant concern.

More of her body vanished into glowing particles.

Only her upper figure remained clearly visible.

Mediya looked at me with that same gentle expression she had carried when she appeared.

“Continue as you have.”

I tilted my head.

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Trust yourself.”

“That sounds even more dangerous.”

Her smile widened.

Then her voice softened.

“Farewell for now…”

The light gathered around her.

“My champion.”

And then she disappeared.

The endless white space vanished with her.

My eyes opened.

Ceiling.

Actual ceiling.

Wooden beams.

Morning light leaking through the curtains.

I blinked several times.

Bed.

Blanket.

Good.

Reality had returned.

Or the version of reality where I was an extinct human sleeping beside a secretly violent crown princess while traveling toward a Tigerkin kingdom to prevent war.

Normality had become relative.

I looked down.

My naked body was beneath the blanket.

So the pants had apparently been dream-meeting attire.

Beside me, Leyra slept peacefully.

Also naked beneath the covers.

One arm wrapped around me.

Her face rested against my shoulder.

Golden hair spread across the pillow in a beautiful disaster.

She looked incredibly innocent.

Lies.

Absolute lies.

This woman had spent last night trying to destroy the inn's structural integrity through enthusiasm.

Now she looked like she had never done anything wrong in her life.

I stared at her.

Then at the ceiling.

The Dragon Conqueror.

The greatest war Aphrodasia would ever face.

Guardians.

Balance.

Peace.

My champion.

Fantastic.

I had officially been promoted from accidental isekai tourist to divine problem solver.

No salary discussion.

No benefits package.

No vacation policy.

Typical employment.

Morning continued regardless of my existential promotion.

We eventually prepared and resumed our journey.

The knights behaved normally.

Completely normally.

Suspiciously normally.

Nobody mentioned last night.

Nobody looked directly at Leyra for longer than necessary.

Nobody asked whether she had recovered from her mysterious habit of repeatedly tripping in places where I happened to be present.

Professional men.

Heroes, every one of them.

The carriage rolled back onto the road.

We continued through the remaining territory of Inizio.

Fields passed.

Forests.

Small settlements.

Distant mountains.

The capital was far behind us now.

Agran somewhere ahead.

Inside the carriage, Leyra sat opposite me.

Princess mode had returned.

Fully restored.

Elegant clothing.

Perfect posture.

Hair neatly arranged.

Hands resting gracefully.

Anyone looking through the window would see Crown Princess Leyra Goldmane traveling with dignified composure toward an important diplomatic meeting.

Nobody would guess what she had been yelling through the walls several hours earlier.

Remarkable recovery.

Leyra watched the scenery through the window.

I watched her.

But I wasn't really thinking about her.

Not entirely.

My mind remained inside that endless field of light.

Mediya.

The goddess who had brought me here.

So Zeria's vision had been real in the most literal way possible.

A divine being had reached into another world and placed me here.

Not randomly.

Not accidentally.

Purposefully.

Because something was coming.

Something bad enough that a goddess responsible for knowledge and peace had decided importing an extinct human was the best available option.

That was not comforting.

Then there was the part about me.

The only one who could stand against the Dragon Conqueror.

That sentence carried an unreasonable amount of responsibility.

The strange part?

I wasn't terrified.

Concerned?

Absolutely.

Curious?

Extremely.

But somehow, without realizing it, I was already moving in the direction she wanted.

Keep the peace.

I had saved Silverclaw.

Not because of a divine mission.

Because people there had become my friends.

I was trying to stop Inizio and Agran from tearing each other apart.

Not because a goddess ordered me.

Because war sounded miserable and unnecessary.

Maybe that was exactly why she chose me.

I hadn't needed orders to start doing what she wanted.

My eyes remained on Leyra while my thoughts traveled several continents away.

Eventually she turned.

Caught me staring.

Her blue eyes narrowed slightly.

“You've been looking at me for a very long time.”

My brain snapped back into the carriage.

“Hm?”

Leyra raised an eyebrow.

“You were staring.”

“Oh.”

I leaned back.

“I was thinking.”

“About me?”

Technically no.

Dangerous answer.

I smiled.

“Yes.”

Leyra studied my face.

“What were you thinking?”

I gave her the first useful truth available.

“That you're beautiful.”

Her expression softened immediately.

A smile appeared.

Small.

Warm.

Then she looked away.

“Don't say things like that.”

“Why?”

She glanced back.

“You know why.”

“I really don't.”

Leyra's smile became mischievous.

“You'll create trouble.”

Ah.

I nodded.

“Right.”

Then I leaned forward slightly.

“I know I'm irresistible, Princess.”

Her eyebrows rose.

“But you're going to need to control yourself.”

She stared.

“We are currently on the road.”

Leyra laughed.

A real laugh.

The royal posture cracked for just a moment.

“You're unbelievable.”

“I've been told.”

She shook her head and turned back toward the window.

I smiled.

Then my gaze drifted outside too.

Trees moved past the carriage.

The road stretched toward Agran.

Toward Queen Firsa.

Toward a war I was trying to prevent.

And apparently, somewhere beyond all of that, toward something much larger.

I lowered my voice until the words were barely more than breath.

“Keep the peace, huh?”