"And with that... The End," Kurenai said softly, her voice carrying a dramatic whisper as she gently snapped the heavy, leather-bound book shut.
A small cloud of dust danced in the ambient light of the room before settling down. She looked down at me, her eyes shining with excitement, clearly waiting for her three-year-old son to gasp in awe or clap his tiny hands at the grand finale of the world's greatest legend.
Instead, my forty-five-year-old brain was running a full-scale corporate risk assessment.
Three thousand years ago, I thought, staring blankly at the stylized, hand-drawn illustration of a dark silhouette on the book's cover. According to the history of this bizarre universe, a monstrous entity known only as the Demon King had completely subjugated the planet. He hadn't just fought; he had systematically crushed every legendary mage, shattered kingdoms, and bent the entire global hierarchy to his absolute will.
The turning point of the war sounded like a desperate, last-ditch corporate merger. A handful of surviving elite mages had pooled every ounce of their remaining lifeforce to execute a suicide mission. In exchange for their own lives, they managed to weave a massive, intricate seal, trapping the Demon King beneath the currents of time.
But it was the final part of the story—the prophecy—that made my inner businessman incredibly skeptical.
As the story went, one of the dying elites, a master of Light Magic, received a fleeting, chaotic glimpse of the future. With his final breath, he left behind a statement that managed to give the populace both a profound sense of relief and a lingering, existential dread.
"The seal is not absolute. It lacks the strength to bind the Demon King for eternity," the dying mage had warned, his words echoing across generations. "But do not despair. On the fateful day the shadow breaks free, a Hero blessed with unparalleled cosmic energy and mastery over every elemental magic will be born into this world. He will execute the Demon King once and for all. Therefore... place your absolute faith in the Hero."
I leaned back against Kurenai's shoulder, suppressing a cynical scoff.
As a former entrepreneur who had built a financial empire from scratch in Mumbai, I hated bad management, and this prophecy was the definition of a flawed contingency plan. Relying on an unborn, hypothetical savior to fix a world-ending threat that you failed to permanently delete? That wasn't a strategy; it was a gamble.
Furthermore, as a fan of the Isekai tropes my son used to binge-watch, this setup felt dangerously familiar. The ancient evil, the fragile seal, the prophesied hero... everything was aligned for a massive, catastrophic conflict.
And right now, I was a defenseless three-year-old child living in a town governed by a magic-fueled system, with absolutely zero combat experience in this life. If that seal decided to crack anytime soon, my plans for a quiet, carefree, and luxurious second life would go straight down the drain.
"Wow, Mom..." I forced out, widening my eyes into an expression of pure, unadulterated childhood wonder while keeping my voice pitched high. "The Hero sounds so amazing! Do you think the Demon King will really come back?"
Kurenai's expression softened into a warm, protective smile. She pulled me a bit closer, stroking my messy black hair. "You don't need to worry about that, my little Kurayami. It's been three thousand years. Even if the shadow stirs, our world is protected by strong walls, powerful clans, and your father. Besides, the Hero will always protect us."
Right. Rely on a prophecy, I thought internally, offering her a sweet, compliant nod while my mind plotted a completely different trajectory. No offense to the legendary Hero, but I've never relied on anyone else to secure my assets. If this world is a ticking time bomb, I need to figure out how to handle magic—and fast.