"Hey, Arin! It's already 8 PM. Aren't you heading home?"
Mr. Arthur's voice came from behind the counter.
I looked up from the clipboard. "Yeah. Just finishing the stock check. It's almost done. I'll leave after this."
"Alright. Don't stay too long. Lock up properly."
"Got it."
The store gradually emptied as the last few customers left. The noise faded, leaving behind the usual quiet. Shelves were arranged neatly, everything in place.
I finished the remaining entries, returned the clipboard, and stepped out.
—
8:30 PM.
The mall was still open, but the crowd had thinned. A few people were heading out—some talking, some just walking without much urgency.
I passed through the glass doors and stepped outside.
The air felt cooler.
Streetlights were already on. Vehicles moved steadily on the road, headlights passing by one after another. Nothing unusual.
I started walking toward my apartment.
Same route as always.
The pavement wasn't perfectly even. Some lights flickered. A couple of shops nearby were already closed.
I checked my phone again.
8:30.
A bit late.
Not that it makes much difference.
There's no one waiting at home.
So being late doesn't really change anything.
…
I should probably introduce myself. My name is Arin Carter. I'm 20 years old. An engineering student. I work part-time at that mall to cover my college expenses.
It's manageable.
As for family…I don't have one. I live alone. It's not difficult all the time. You just get used to handling things on your own.
Cooking. Cleaning. Managing expenses. The rest is just routine.
I kept walking. My footsteps echoed lightly on the road. A stray dog was lying near a shuttered shop. It didn't react as I passed. Everything felt normal. Quiet, but normal.
—
Then I noticed it.
A faint glow.Right beneath my feet.
I stopped.
"…What?"
At first, I thought it was just light reflecting from somewhere. But it didn't disappear. Instead, it spread.
Thin lines formed across the ground, moving outward in patterns I didn't recognize.
I stepped back. The lines followed. Or maybe they were expanding.
The light grew brighter. The air around me felt… different.
Like a low vibration. "This isn't—"
Before I could finish—
The glow intensified. Too bright. I raised my hand to block it.
"I can't see—"
The ground felt unstable. Or maybe it was just me. Everything turned white.
"Wait—what is happening—?!"
—
Silence.
—
My head felt heavy. I tried to open my eyes. It took a moment for my vision to adjust. The air felt cooler.
Still. Different. Not the city.
I pushed myself slightly, looking around.
Stone.
Walls.
Dim lighting.
This definitely wasn't where I was a moment ago.
"…Where am I?"
My voice sounded unfamiliar in the silence.
Then—
"Hero! Hero! Are you alright?!"
A voice.
Close.
I looked up.
A man stood in front of me, wearing robes I didn't recognize.
He looked… relieved.
And confused.
I stared at him for a second.
"…Who are you?"
"Hero! Are you alright?!"
The voice reached me before my vision fully cleared.
Hero?
For a moment, I didn't react. The word didn't feel like it belonged to me. I tried to focus, but everything still felt… off. My head was heavy, and my surroundings didn't make sense yet.
Where am I?
—
"You must be confused," the man said. His voice was steady, controlled. "That is understandable. Please remain calm. You are safe here. We will explain everything."
Safe.
I didn't know if I believed that, but arguing wouldn't change anything right now.
—
Some time later—
—
I was moved to another room.
It was quieter here. Not the usual kind of quiet from late nights in the city, but something deeper. Still.
The walls were made of stone. Not polished—uneven, aged. The kind of texture you don't really see anymore. Light came from mounted lanterns, their flames steady but dim, casting shadows that shifted slightly as the air moved.
No switches. No wires. Nothing familiar.
I took a moment to look around properly this time.
Wherever this was—
It wasn't my world.
—
The man standing in front of me introduced himself as Rowan Ranister.
Chief Advisor of the Kingdom of Valenford.
I didn't interrupt him while he spoke. It was easier to just listen and piece things together after.
From what I understood—
This place was called TERRA CHRONICA. A supercontinent.
And I was currently in a kingdom named Valenford, located along its western shore.
A small kingdom. And from the way he described it—Not a stable one.
Their neighboring nation, Velkyria, had already launched an attack. At the same time, their king had died unexpectedly. No clear successor. No proper leadership.
If things continued like this—Valenford would fall.
—
I processed that quietly.
War. Internal instability. Power vacuum.
It didn't sound like something from a story.
It sounded like a system breaking down.
—
To prevent that, Rowan explained, they had used something they weren't supposed to.
A summoning ritual. A forbidden one.
And somehow—
That resulted in me being here.
—
"…Alright," I said after a moment.
Not because everything made sense.
But because enough of it did.
I looked at him.
"But why me?"
"If your king has passed away, then someone from your own kingdom should be able to take control. Why bring someone from another world?"
Rowan shook his head.
"No."
"Valenford follows its laws strictly. Only a member of the royal family can ascend the throne."
He paused briefly.
"Unless the summoned Hero becomes part of the royal family."
I didn't respond immediately.
So that's the logic.
Not necessarily a good one—but it explains the decision.
—
"You mentioned earlier that the ritual was forbidden," I said. "If it's meant to solve something this critical, then why was it forbidden?"
This time, Rowan didn't answer immediately.
"It was attempted twice before," he said. "Roughly three hundred years ago."
"And?"
"…Both attempts failed."
I waited.
"The summoned Heroes did not survive."
—
That was enough.
If both previous attempts ended in death—
And they still chose to try again—
Then whatever brought me here wasn't guaranteed.
I looked down at my hands for a moment.
Still there.
Still working.
"…So I just got lucky," I said quietly.
No one corrected me.
—
I leaned back slightly.
"…Alright."
"If I help you stabilize the kingdom… fix whatever situation you're dealing with…"
I looked at him again.
"Then I can go back. Right?"
—
There was a pause.
Long enough to be noticeable.
"…No."
The answer came calmly.
"The summoning ritual is a one-way process. Once someone is brought into this world…"
"They cannot return."
—
I didn't react immediately.
I just looked at him.
Waiting.
As if there was something else he was going to add.
There wasn't.
—
"…I see."
There wasn't much else to say.
No argument would change that.
For now—
It was just another fact I had to deal with.
"If what you said is true…"
I paused for a moment, trying to organize everything properly before speaking again.
"You mentioned that the summoned Hero needs to become part of the royal family."
Rowan nodded.
"…How exactly does that work?"
There were only a few logical options.
Adoption, maybe. Some kind of honorary title. A formal declaration.
That would make sense.
—
Rowan hesitated.
"…It will be done through marriage."
I blinked once.
Marriage.
The word registered.
It just didn't connect.
"…Marriage?" I repeated.
"Yes."
His tone didn't change. No hesitation. No uncertainty.
"You will be wed to the Imperial Princess of Valenford. That is the only way for you to be formally recognized as part of the royal family under our laws."
—
For a few seconds, I didn't say anything.
Not because I accepted it.
Because my brain was still trying to decide whether this was serious.
Marriage.
To a princess.
In another world.
Right after finishing a stock check.
—
"…I see."
That was the first thing that came out.
Mostly because I didn't have anything better prepared.
—
Wait.
No.
That didn't sound right.
—
"…Wait."
I looked at him again.
"You're serious."
Rowan didn't react.
Which, unfortunately, confirmed it.
—
I leaned back slightly, staring at the ceiling for a moment.
Marriage.
At twenty.
To someone I haven't met.
In a world I didn't even know existed minutes ago.
That… escalated faster than expected.
—
"…That doesn't make sense."
I looked back at him.
"You're asking me to marry someone I've never even spoken to."
There were multiple problems with that.
"But more importantly—what about her?"
I paused briefly.
"Does her consent not matter in this?"
—
Rowan's expression shifted slightly.
Not discomfort. Just acknowledgment.
"You need not concern yourself with that," he said. "Both Her Majesty the Queen and the Imperial Princess have already given their consent."
—
I didn't respond immediately.
They agreed.
Without meeting me.
—
"…I see."
That answer didn't help as much as he probably thought it did.
—
For a moment, I tried to imagine the situation from the other side.
If I were in her position—
Suddenly told to marry someone from another world—
Someone you've never seen—
Someone who was summoned through a ritual that had already failed twice—
…
Yeah. That didn't sound normal from any angle.
—
"…Right."
I exhaled slowly.
From their perspective, though, it made sense.
A kingdom without a ruler.
An ongoing war.
No legal successor.
So they found a workaround.
—
And somehow—I ended up being that workaround.
—
"…Alright," I said after a moment.
Not agreement.
Just acknowledgment.
"I understand your position."
That didn't mean I was comfortable with it.
But arguing right now wouldn't change anything.
Later—
The decision moved quickly.
Faster than I expected.
Official notices were prepared and distributed among the upper ranks of Valenford—nobles, military leaders, and key officials.
Not public.
Not yet.
Probably to avoid unnecessary chaos.
—
An engagement.
Between a summoned outsider—
And the Imperial Princess.
—
I heard it repeated a few times.
Each time, it sounded slightly less unreal.
Not normal.
Just… less unreal.
—
I stood there for a moment, thinking about it.
A few hours ago, I was walking home after work.
Trying to decide what to eat for dinner.
Now—I was apparently getting engaged to a princess.
"…That's one way to skip a few steps."
I muttered under my breath.
—
There wasn't much reaction beyond that.
No point in overthinking something I didn't have control over.
—
Things had already started moving.
Without asking me.
Without waiting.
—
And just like that—
My situation had shifted.
—
From a part-time worker trying to manage expenses—
To someone being positioned inside a royal family.
—
"…I guess this is where it starts."
Not something I chose.
Not something I planned.
—
Just something that happened.
And now—
I had to deal with it.