Chapter 3: No Hero, Just a New Life

"Uh... I don’t really mind either way. I am a little interested in magic, though."

"Hmm, hmm. So you are interested in magic. By the way, how about becoming a hero and defeating the Demon King?"

A typical scenario appeared!

"Becoming a hero, defeating the Demon King, fighting while carrying the fate of the entire world on my shoulders... that’s far too much for me!"

"Oh, okay. Then we will leave that out."

That was accepted surprisingly easily.

"Of course. We are here to support your new life, after all, so we will respect your wishes to a certain extent. However, that does not mean the world you are going to does not have a Demon King."

"Eh..."

"Well, we cannot exactly introduce you to an unlimited number of worlds. Besides, I am the one in charge of this transfer, and my world happens to have a Demon King, so there is not much I can do about that. But I will arrange things so that you do not have to get too involved with the Demon King, so don’t worry."

So it could be arranged?!

"Well, the most I can do is transfer you to a place as far away from the Demon King’s castle as possible. But it is a relatively peaceful world to begin with, so you should be fine. There are more uncontrolled monsters in places far from the Demon King’s influence, but I will adjust things so that your skills can handle that. So don’t worry."

"There is absolutely nothing reassuring about that... Also, what exactly are these skills?"

"Oh, are you curious? You’re curious, aren’t you?"

For some reason, the self proclaimed God sounded delighted.

Why was that something to get excited about?

"Fufu, anyway, try saying, ’Open Status!’"

"Eh..."

That was something that appeared often in anime these days.

The thing that happened when someone got transported into a game-like world.

"Do I really have to say it out loud...?"

"Hm? You can just say it in your mind if you want, but at first, don’t you want to shout something cool like, ’Open Status!’? Everyone before you happily did it."

"Sorry, but I am not that young anymore..."

If Qiu Nuoya had been in middle or high school, he probably would have shouted it at maximum excitement. But at his current age, doing something like that required far too much courage.

Still, if he only had to say it in his mind, that was probably acceptable.

But status...

Status, huh...

"Why do you look so dissatisfied with the idea of a status screen?"

"No, it’s not that. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it just feels strange. Like, the idea of turning a person’s abilities into something visible feels a little uncomfortable. In a game, that’s perfectly fine. But in real life, having something like a status screen feels weird, doesn’t it? I can’t really put it into words."

"You say surprisingly old fashioned things."

A painful blow struck his heart again.

Yes, yes, Qiu Nuoya was aware that he sounded like an old man.

"Well, whatever. I will make some adjustments on my side, so you can look at it whenever you actually want to."

After saying that, the God ignored Qiu Nuoya for a while and began muttering to himself.

"This should be like this, and this should be around this level... His age is a little problematic as it is now, so I should take that into consideration too."

Qiu Nuoya who was completely abandoned, waited for several dozen minutes.

Then, along with the God’s voice saying, "Done!", the already completely white space began to sparkle as if it were glowing.

"Whoa! What? What’s happening?!"

"The time for your departure has finally arrived. Go and enjoy your new life without regrets."

Along with those words, the scenery surrounding Qiu Nuoya suddenly changed completely.

After the God said goodbye to him unilaterally, Qiu Nuoya closed his eyes because of the overwhelming brightness.

When the light finally settled down, he cautiously opened his eyes.

The scenery before him was completely green.

A vast grassland stretched endlessly in front of him, while behind him stood a dense forest.

Where was this place?

A town...?

Wait.

Was he really starting with survival right from the beginning?

Food?

A place to sleep?

Qiu Nuoya counted the bare necessities required for daily life and became overwhelmed.

If he was going to be thrown somewhere, he wished the God had chosen the location a little more carefully.

No matter which direction he looked, there was no sign of any people.

However, simply standing there would not solve anything, so Qiu Nuoya began walking toward the grassland.

There was no way he had the courage to enter the dense forest.

After all, the God had said that this world had monsters.

After walking only a few steps, Qiu Nuoya noticed something strange.

His viewpoint felt unusually low.

When he looked closer, he realized his body was smaller.

He did not have anything like a mirror with him, so he touched his own body carefully.

His skin felt much smoother than usual.

It was a texture impossible for someone like him, who usually suffered from dry skin.

Come to think of it, had the God said something about taking his age into consideration?

Could it be that he had become younger?

The area around his chin, which was normally rough with stubble, was now completely smooth and soft.

When he looked at his palm, it was much smaller than he remembered.

Could this mean he had not just become younger, but had completely become a child?

Being thrown into another world as a young adult would already be difficult, but being sent here alone as a child.

Wasn’t that making survival a little too difficult?

Qiu Nuoya had no idea how old he had become, but since it had already happened, there was nothing he could do about it.

He continued walking.

After several dozen minutes of steadily moving forward, he saw a wall beyond the grassland.