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Hayato died in a truck accident on his way home from the market and was stunned when the lust goddess Yurihime chose him as her hero to save her world.
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Hayato:
"Finally! I didn't mishear it, right? I'm isekaied?"
The goddess looked at me for a moment in surprise. She seemed so unfamiliar with the word I said, and I honestly didn't know how to explain it either.
Goddess:
"Ise... kai?"
Mumbling to myself, I tried to explain while she came closer and patted my head. I first thought it was some kind of motherly gesture, but she was actually reading my memories.
Hayato:
"Ah, um... how should I put it, like-"
Goddess:
"Oh yes, yes. Isekai. So that is what you call it... Wonderful! Then you are already familiar with this, aren't you?"
The goddess smiled, her eyes shining as I spoke with the confidence of an otaku who had stacks of isekai manga piled under his bed, like I'd been training my whole life for this exact moment.
Hayato:
"Sure. Now you'll give me a goddess blessing, maybe some overpowered skills, then I'll defeat the demon lord and save the world!"
As soon as I finished, I noticed the goddess avoiding my eyes with a guilty look. She seemed nervous, and it made me nervous too.
Hayato:
"R-right...?"
Goddess:
"Well, um, actually... not quite like that."
Silence fell over the space as she slowly walked to her throne and sat down without saying a word, letting out a quiet, defeated sigh.
Then I saw sparks from a cracked orb by her throne, black smoke curling up like a messed-up spell. When she realized, she jumped from her throne and kicked it away, making it vanish into nothingness.
Goddess:
"Ahahaha... anyway."
She stepped closer, leaned in, and met my eyes with a nervous smile. Her innocent gaze and, of course, her stunning figure kept me from feeling any hostility. Then she began to explain.
Goddess:
"You're not actually the first hero I called here."
Ha! I was expecting something like that. I sensed something was off, but stayed quiet, listening closely to catch exactly what she meant.
Her voice dropped, softer than before, she kept talking as she paced around me tensely. It was obvious from the start that whatever she was about to say wouldn't be pleasant.
Goddess:
"The hero I summoned before you was way much skillful. He did great things and even defeated the demon lord-"
Hayato:
"The demon lord is defeated? Then why need me-"
Goddess:
"It's a bit complicated..."
She cut me off and took a deep breath, struggling to find her words. The cheerful lightness she had shown earlier vanished, replaced by a heavier air. Whatever she was recalling clearly troubled her.
Goddess:
"At first, everything went great, just as I said. But after defeating the demon lord and reaching absolute glory, things went wrong. The hero was consumed by his own power, slowly poisoned by it. Now he's doing more damage to the world than the demon lord ever did."
The pieces were slowly coming together. I mostly understood the situation, it was the kind of thing politicians in our world often faced. Apparently, other worlds had the same problem too.
Hayato:
"I see... this is a common situation. So what do you want me to do? I mean there's no demon lord anymore... wait, could it be...?"
She nodded in agreement, came to my side, and touched my shoulder, asking with deep sincerity.
Goddess:
"Because I sent him as a hero, my people blame me for every harm he causes. I can't bear it anymore... and sadly, goddesses can't directly interfere in their worlds. Please... will you stop him for me?"
Suddenly, a strange excitement grew inside me. The goddess's honest request and my own wish for an isekai adventure came together, and before I knew it, my arms were open and my eyes were closed. I was completely ready.
Hayato:
"Alright then, bless me and send me off!"
Goddess:
"Oh, right away? Thank you so much, j-just a moment..."
That "moment" went on for several minutes. When I finally opened my eyes, bored of waiting, I saw the goddess struggling to bless me, failing again and again. It was hard to believe she had ever done this before.
Hayato:
"Uh, are you sure this isn't your first time? Just asking..."
Goddess:
"N-no, of course it's not."
After a few more attempts, she gave up and returned to her throne, pulled out an old spellbook and flipped through it, muttering things I couldn't understand well.
Goddess:
"Side effects... dizziness... nausea... no, not that..."
Finished scanning the book, she let out a deep sigh and spoke with a defeated look on her face.
Goddess:
"I think... I can't bless you."
Hayato:
"Whaat? Why?"
Goddess:
"According to this, there's always a small chance that heroes summoned with this method can't be blessed. I think... that's what's happening here."
Hayato:
"What? Then why did you even use this method? You're a goddess, couldn't you find a safer summoning?"
Goddess:
"There actually was one... but I already used it on previous hero. By the laws of hero-summoning, I can't use that method again, so I had no choice but to rely on a far risky and outdated method-"
Hayato:
"Far risky and utdated?! Wait... so all that arm-checking and everything okay stuff? You're telling me I could've shown up here with one arm gone, or even three legs?!"
The goddess sank into her throne, full of shame, avoiding my eyes. Clearly, maturity wasn't her strong suit. Seeing her near tears, I let go of my anger and took a deep breath.
Hayato:
"Alright... so what do we do now? I mean, I'm already dead, and I know I can't go back either."
My calm tone seemed to give her a bit of courage. She walked toward me in a relatively better mood.
Goddess:
"Ha, you're right. In the end, you will be granted a new life. That's still something, isn't it?"
She tried to hide her tension behind her forced smile, struggling to convince me desperately. But honestly, I didn't need much convincing. I was determined to experience this isekai adventure no matter what.
After all, a second life is still a second life, right? Though I wasn't sure if that was a gift or not. To lighten the mood, I muttered.
Hayato:
"At least... I don't know, isn't there, like, some kind of spell guide or... a world handbook or any useful stuff? So I won't go there completely blind..."
Goddess:
"Oh, uh, sure... I guess I can... at least do that."
She snapped her fingers, and a tiny handbook popped up. She tucked it into my pocket like a mom slipping some money. It was like she was still rooting for me to be the hero, even if she couldn't say it out loud.
And maybe... just maybe, I could make it happen. We both wanted it, but neither of us had the courage say it.
Our eyes drifted, heavy with unspoken thoughts. Then it seemed like something important came to her mind, and she tried to say it...
Goddess:
"So, one more thing-"
POOF!
Well, I should've expected it. Such a broken and outdated summoning spell made it only natural that I'd be thrown into that world at a random time, in a random way, and of course, right in the middle of sentence!