Chapter 2: If You’re a Goddess, Then Be a Little Nicer

“Hey! Wait up, Yuto!”

Just when I was enjoying a bit of peace on my own, a familiar voice called out behind me.

It was Raiga.

“…That was fast.”

It hadn’t even been ten minutes.

I figured it would’ve taken longer for him to finish paying and catch up with me.

Then again, Raiga’s the athletic type, and I’m just strolling along at a slow pace. If he ran, closing the gap wouldn’t be hard.

“Seriously, give me a break. Getting yelled at in front of everyone for something I didn’t even do—what was that about?”

He was grumbling, and I almost told him, “You’re always that flashy anyway,” but I kept my mouth shut. Wasting energy on a pointless back-and-forth didn’t appeal to me.

“Huh.”

I gave him a vague response.

“Man, that’s a pretty indifferent reply.”

He sounded a little exasperated, but judging by the tone of his voice, he wasn’t actually annoyed.

Well, this was typical of our interactions.

As I was thinking that, the ground beneath me flashed pure white—

“Eh!?”

“Wh-what the hell!?”

It spread rapidly.

And just like that, the world was engulfed—

“Hello.”

“Uh… hello?”

A world of nothing but pure white. Just an endless blank void.

In front of me, a sphere hovered in place. Glowing with light, it continued speaking, though I couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from.

“I am the overseer of this world—or rather, of multiple worlds. In terms you’d understand, I’m a goddess.”

…Am I dreaming?

It’s not like I’m sleep-deprived enough to hallucinate. Actually, I pride myself on being one of those rare high schoolers who doesn’t stay up late and gets a solid twelve hours of sleep every night.

“Please, don’t stand on ceremony. Just call me ‘Goddess’ if you like.”

“W-What the hell is going on!?”

I turned toward the voice beside me… and saw another sphere.

Compared to the goddess’s, this one was much smaller. The light it gave off was weak—well, the goddess’s was absurdly bright, so maybe that’s not a fair comparison.

“No way… Raiga?”

Something told me it was him, so I called out—

“Yuto!? Is that you!?”

—and got a response.

So it was him.

“What happened to you? You’ve gone all round.”

“Hey, you’re a sphere too, you know!?”

“…?”

That unexpected reply made me glance down at myself—and realize that I no longer had a human body.

It’s hard to describe, but yeah—I was a sphere too. I could still imagine myself moving like I normally would, and my view would respond accordingly. I could speak just fine. And yet… I had no eyes, no mouth.

It made no sense.

Under normal circumstances, anyone would’ve freaked out. But strangely enough, I remained calm. Maybe when things get too abnormal, your brain just… adapts. Or maybe I was already halfway into denial.

“That’s your soul you’re looking at.”

“My soul?”

“Yes. The thing that animated your physical body. That concept exists in your world too, doesn’t it?”

I never imagined I’d end up being part of some philosophical or religious notion.

“I’ll get straight to the point. From here on, the two of you will be transported to another world to act as ‘heroes’ and save it.”

Without waiting for our response, the goddess went on.

“‘Heroes’? What does that even mean?”

My voice came out low and strained.

I had a very bad feeling about this—and whatever calm I’d had vanished instantly.

“It refers to individuals with strong souls. Unfortunately, that other world is running short on heroes. So we’ve resorted to importing souls from other worlds. All souls are interchangeable across dimensions, you see. Think of them like memory cards—they need to have high capacity, or they won’t do.”

The goddess explained it so matter-of-factly.

“The name of the world is Twin Star Realm. A place where humans and demons once fought, and now coexist. It’s a peaceful world, but it’s on the brink of a great disaster. In the elven kingdom of Elgrand, they’re currently performing a hero summoning ritual. …It’s probably going to fail, though. So we’re taking advantage of that to send you in.”

“And what exactly are we supposed to do?”

“Your objective, let’s see… would be to defeat the ‘Demon Dragon’ threatening Elgrand.”

This time, I respond.

“This is… like a fantasy.”

“It’s reality,”

the goddess answered playfully to my muttering.

“When it’s over… can we go back?”

“No, that’s impossible. However, in the Twin Star Realm, heroes who achieve great deeds are treated with the utmost respect. If you defeat the Demon Dragon, you’ll be rewarded with enough wealth and honor to live comfortably for the rest of your life.”

“That’s…”

A crushing sense of despair washed over me.

I’ve just been living my life day by day without much thought, but still… I have feelings for the town I was born and raised in—for my home.

“What if… we refuse?”

“That, too, is impossible.”

The response came immediately.

“I don’t want to fight!”

The thought of seeing blood made me shudder. I shouted.

But—

“There is no right to refuse.”

The goddess’s tone turned threatening.

So cold, it sent a chill down my spine.

“Why…?”

“Your bodies in the world you came from have already been destroyed. Transporting both body and soul between worlds is extremely difficult. Forcing it would damage the dimensional walls. Extracting just the soul is the easiest method.”

Hearing her say it like it was nothing stirred anger in me. Normally I’d grit my teeth and wait for it to pass, but as just a soul, I couldn’t do anything.

“…If we’ve got no choice, then let’s do it.”

Raiga, who’d been silent this whole time, finally spoke up.

“Goddess, I get that you’re being unreasonable, but there’s nothing we can do about it now, right?”

“Correct. If you still insist on refusing, I will erase your soul’s memory and reincarnate you as a different person in that world.”

That was outright blackmail.

“If Yuto can’t fight, then I’ll protect him.”

Raiga’s words… brought me a sense of relief, despite myself.

Even though I usually treat him coldly, now I was clinging to him. How pathetic can I be?

“—Yes. That will work. I’m glad. I feel much more reassured now.”

The goddess’s voice, watching us, oddly enough, held a note of joy.

“But how’s this going to work? We’re just ordinary guys, and right now we’re nothing but souls.”

“Ah, that. No need to worry.”

She responded cheerfully to Raiga’s question.

“We’ll prepare new physical bodies for you in the Twin Star Realm, and transfer your souls into them. They’ll be more than capable of fighting. As long as there are no objections… your appearances will match your former selves.”

“…Got it. One last thing—do we stand a chance?”

“I summoned you from another world for a reason. I don’t do things pointlessly. Of course you’ll win. Perhaps even instantly.”

That was the end of the conversation.

The moment we heard a loud clap, like someone clapping their hands, our consciousness faded.

“—Perfect timing. For a moment I was worried about bringing an extra one along. Well, since I got my hands on an exceptional soul, I suppose it all evens out.”

The goddess’s muttered words, laced with mockery, never reached our ears—

When I woke up, I sat up.

The floor where I had been lying just moments ago was marked with a large emblem. A magic circle.

—Fantasy.

I forced my still-groggy brain into gear and looked around.

I was surrounded by a crowd.

Upon closer inspection, every single one of them had pointed ears.

They must be elves, just like the goddess said. Which means… this is Elgrand.

All eyes were on me.

I almost shrank under the pressure.

Usually, when I’m with Raiga, we end up drawing attention whether we want to or not—but that attention is always directed at him. I’m just a bystander, something barely worth noticing in the background.

But this time, it’s different.

There’s no doubt—I’m the center of attention.

“Two summoned at once? That’s unheard of… And wasn’t the ‘hero’ supposed to be male?”

“She’s… a lovely maiden.”

The murmuring crowd said something I couldn’t ignore.

I nervously looked down at my own body.

—I had breasts.

I couldn’t bring myself to touch them in this situation, though.

—This has to be a joke, right?

“Yuto, you okay…? Ugh, my head…”

Holding his head, Raiga sat up.

Then he looked at me—and froze.

With everyone staring at me—

“What the hell is going on—?!”

I could only scream.