Chapter 2: The God Who Read His Mind

"Um, about me being chosen... what exactly does that mean?"

"Ah, right, right, that’s what I was talking about! You were chosen by us! So we are going to give you a new life!"

"A new... life?"

"I took a look at your past, and it seems you have lived a rather restricted life up until now. So, as a small gift from us to someone as pure hearted as you, we want you to enjoy a brand new life in a brand new world."

The self proclaimed God spoke rapidly, barely pausing between words.

However, the more Qiu Nuoya listened to those words, the more suspicious the whole thing seemed.

"Um, is this... some new kind of religious recruitment? I should warn you, I don’t have any money."

"Huh?"

"I don’t worship any particular God and I don’t plan on getting involved with anything like that in the future either..."

"No, no, no! How did you come to that conclusion?! This is a chance to be reincarnated in another world! A new life! Yahoo! This is the part where you are supposed to celebrate becoming overpowered with cheat abilities and building a harem!!"

"Sorry, but I’m not really interested in that sort of thing."

Qiu Nuoya liked reading stories.

He knew that recently there had been an increase in stories where the protagonist was overwhelmingly powerful, the kind of "I’m insanely strong!" stories where the main character dominated everyone around them.

However, he deliberately avoided those kinds of stories.

If anything, he preferred the old fashioned stories about steadily improving one’s abilities through effort, perseverance, and hard work.

He had always felt that many recent stories did not quite match his tastes.

That did not mean he never read them, though.

"You like that kind of thing? No way. Are you a masochist?"

The God said that as if he had once again read Qiu Nuoya’s thoughts.

But calling him a masochist was going too far.

That was just rude.

"I simply prefer steadily building things up over suddenly receiving some mysterious power that surprises everyone around me. And besides, I’m not a masochist!"

"Oh, so maybe you like those work oriented games?"

"Work oriented games...?"

"Like making your own farm, finding a wife, and gradually expanding your farm."

Ah, those kinds of games.

A certain farming simulation game came to mind.

It was true that, in the sense of repeatedly performing the same tasks as a routine, those games suited Qiu Nuoya’s personality.

Recently, more games that could be casually played on smartphones had appeared, so he occasionally played those types of games.

However, games like that tended to become boring rather quickly.

The problem with those kinds of games was that they had no true ending.

The destination was something each player had to decide for themselves, and eventually, simply repeating the same actions over and over would stop being enjoyable.

Once playing started to feel like a chore, that was usually the sign that the player was beginning to lose interest.

At most, Qiu Nuoya would usually last about a month.

Of course, it was probably better for people who could constantly set their own goals and find enjoyment that way.

However, Qiu Nuoya was not particularly good at deciding his own goals.

That was why he did not dislike those kinds of games, but he could not say that he loved them either.

"You are surprisingly complicated."

The God sounded exasperated, probably after reading Qiu Nuoya’s thoughts again.

It was not like he knew how to respond to being criticized for that, though...

"Then how about something like a romance simulation game? A world where you are extremely popular and have a harem?"

"Ah, I don’t really like harem stories."

Qiu Nuoya wanted to be faithful to the person he loved.

Once he decided that someone was the one for him, he wanted to love only that person for the rest of his life.

Because of that, he did not enjoy games or stories where someone flirted with multiple people at the same time.

That being said, he was interested in romance.

After all, he had not had much experience with it.

"Hmm, hmm. So you are interested in romance."

"What kind of interview is this supposed to be? More importantly, I would really like to go home now."

"Ah, that’s impossible."

"Why!?"

"Earlier, I said you weren’t dead, but I was talking about your soul. In your original world, you died from a myocardial infarction, so you can’t return there anymore."

What?!

It was true that Qiu Nuoya had felt a little heavier and more tired lately.

Come to think of it, he had ignored the results of his health checkup that said he needed further examination and never went to the hospital.

But a myocardial infarction...

He had probably died in his sleep, but he suddenly became worried about whether anyone would find his body before it started to decay.

He lived alone in a small apartment.

He talked with his landlord occasionally, but he was not particularly close with his neighbors.

The people at work were not close enough to be called friends and there was no one who even knew his home address.

If he continued to be absent without notice, would someone eventually come to check on him?

"Die on my birthday... that’s not something I can really laugh about. Though... I guess it might become a funny story in a strange way..."

"Huh? It’s your birthday today?"

"Yeah, well. I finally reached fourty years old."

In a way, Qiu Nuoya wondered if this encounter with a God was a birthday present granted from above.

However, apparently that was not the case either.

If that was true, then he would not become a wizard or a sage after all.

"What? Are you interested in magic?"

He read my mind again.

"There’s nothing I can do about it. Your thoughts are just like words spoken aloud to us. We can hear them clearly. More importantly, do you want to become a wizard? Or a sage?"