Prologue: Death and Desires
Prologue: Death and Desires
Morning.
On the way to his high school, Takashi Suzuki became involved in an accident.
He was crossing the crosswalk after the traffic light turned green, but the sound of a tremendous impact and a crash hit his ears, and the next thing he knew... he was standing in a completely white space.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Suzuki. I am a goddess," said a woman with wings on her back in a clear voice as her gaze went back and forth between a file in a binder and Takashi's face. "Mr. Suzuki, you died in an unfortunate way. I hope you will lead an ideal life in your next lifetime."
"Ho, a goddess, for real...? Or rather, I died? And my next lifetime?" Takashi muttered, confused from receiving a lot of information.
While his mind was still completely unorganized, the self-proclaimed goddess kept her eyes on the file and continued in a clerical tone.
"By the way, it wasn't just that you were unhappy at the time of your death. You grew up as an orphan with no relatives and never had a girlfriend. Your only purpose in life was reading isekai novels on novel posting sites. Isn't that right?"
"Y--Yes..."
The goddess had an accurate insight into Takashi's life. She was a radiant beauty, and the wings on her back didn't seem artificial. He could conclude that she must really be a goddess.
Wait a moment! He definitely enjoyed reading novels on the internet. That's for sure. But he didn't think it was the only thing that made his life worth living!
"And finally, you got hit by a drunk driver on your way to school. You were so pathetic that the Supreme Deity took pity on you. Now, Mr. Suzuki, please tell me what you desire or wish for."
"Huh. Hmm. Even if you tell me that all of a sudden..." Takashi trailed off, struggling to get a grasp of the current situation. While he was gawking, a thick voice sounded from behind him.
"Bastard, stop being so slow and decide quickly. I'll murder you."
Takashi turned around and became even more dismayed. Facing him was a strong-looking man with a massive frame, a bald head, and sunglasses with his tattooed arms crossed.
"Yow--!? Are you perhaps a god, too, by any chance?"
"Eh? What are you saying, you bastard? I'll murder you."
The goddess pointed with her beautiful hand at the man who kept ending his sentences with 'I'll murder you.'
"This is Mr. Sasaki. He, like Mr. Suzuki, passed away just a short moment ago. It's so busy these days that the gods don't have time to devote themselves to one-on-one meetings. So we're having a three-way conference."
While Takashi wondered what she meant by "three-way conference," the goddess flipped through the files in her binder. Eventually, she stopped and looked down at one file.
"Mr. Sasaki was a motorcycle delinquent gang member in his youth, and even until his death, he worked a job with his head submerged in organized crime. The Sasaki Gumi Clan, which started out with three members, has become one of Japan's leading designated crime organizations. In recognition of this achievement, we are pleased to award him."
(No, that's not an achievement, you know!? Isn't it more like an evil deed!?)
However, Takashi couldn't voice such a comment in front of the person in question. Then the goddess asked, "Then, Mr. Sasaki, would you please tell us what you would like to request?"
"Oh! Then, make me absurdly strong!"
"Yes. The ability to be absurdly strong, right?" repeated the goddess as she smoothly slid her fountain pen over the documents in the file. "For the place to be reincarnated in, what kind of other-world would you prefer?"
"Right. I want the wildly disorganized, chaotic feeling of an end-of-the-world place. There'll be a bunch of bad folks out there. I'm going to murder them all myself!"
"An end-of-the-world feeling other-world with bad people... so you can trash and murder them.... Is that right?"
"Yeah! I'll conquer the whole world!"
Takashi was dumbstruck, listening to Sasaki's story. Was it okay for a grown man of a mature age to wish for such things as being absurdly strong and aiming for world conquest?
Twirling a fountain pen around her slender fingers, the goddess asked, "Then, would a very bloody other-world be acceptable? The difficulty level of survival is quite high because of all the strong opponents, but..."
"Bring it on! The more powerful folks, the more it gets my blood pumping, ya know!" Sasaki declared.
"Certainly!" After giving Sasaki an affirmative, the goddess turned to Takashi as she placed her fountain pen on the binder. "Would you also be satisfied with an other-world with the same feeling, Mr. Suzuki?"
"N--no. It wouldn't be good at all! I'd like to live a more laid-back life in a more peaceful and heartwarming other-world!"
"Laid-back and heartwarming, is it?"
While Takashi's hobby was reading internet novels, they were mainly peaceful, otherworldly stories with few battle descriptions. As the goddess had said, he was an orphan and had always longed for an ordinary life. The most mundane life. One with parents, good friends, and no need to move from one place to another.
"Then, what should we do about your abilities? Do you want to become absurdly strong like Mr. Sasaki?"
"I don't think I need anything. I just want to do some things in another world---raising cute monsters, growing crops, and the like."
"That's troublesome! I have to give everyone an ability per regulations, you know," replied the goddess. She frowned a little and then looked at Takashi's whole body with a peeved expression on her face. "Mr. Suzuki's appearance looks too ordinary. So, how about enhancing your charm as a human being?"
"Huh. Then, will I become good-looking or something?"
"No, you will be reincarnated as you are appearance-wise. But you'll receive the 'Captivate The Opposite Sex' ability. Every woman you meet in the other world will unconditionally fall in love with you, Mr. Suzuki!"
Then it might be easier to live a heartwarming otherworldly life. Takashi did not feel all that bad about her proposal, but Sasaki, who had been silent until now, snorted and spat on the white floor.
"What a bastard. You talked all nice, but in the end, you're tryin' to build a harem? This perverted brat. I'll murder you!"
"T--that's not it! It's not like that!" Takashi hastily denied it. Seeing this, the goddess also put her finger to her chin and tilted her head in contemplation.
"Then, let's change the ability into 'Be Loved Unconditionally By The Local Race.' That way, it should prevent the situation from becoming a blatant harem."
"Uhm. What's the difference?" he asked.
"It's---"
Just as she was about to explain, Sasaki stepped in between the goddess and Takashi. He brought his rugged face close to Takashi's, then glowered, "What a pain in the ass! Chop-chop! Get on with it already! I'll murder you!"
"Y--Yes! I'm sorry!"
"In that case, let's chop-chop. Then, let's start with you, Mr. Sasaki. Are you ready?" the goddess interjected.
"Oh! I don't know if it's another world or whatnot, but I'm gonna murder them all!" 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒐𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝒎
"Then, off you go!"
The goddess snapped her fingers. Then Sasaki suddenly vanished without a trace. It was so unexpected and instantaneous as blowing out a candle with a puff of breath.
"Next is Mr. Suzuki, isn't it?"
"Ehh... Can I contact you if I have any problems over there?" he hesitantly asked.
"No. This is where we say goodbye. We may meet again when Mr. Suzuki dies again."
And then the goddess snapped her fingers.