My third year of middle school turned out to be far busier than I had expected.
At first, I thought it would be easy. Study a little, finish the exams, move on. Simple.
Unfortunately, my mother had other plans.
One evening she casually announced, "Renji, I enrolled you in a private computer course."
I blinked.
"You… what?"
"It'll help your future," she said proudly.
"When does it start?"
"Tomorrow."
"…Tomorrow?!"
She simply smiled and handed me the schedule.
That's when my peaceful life truly began to collapse.
School during the day.
Computer classes in the evening.
Assignments piling up faster than I could finish them.
By the time the final term arrived, I had accumulated fifteen assignments.
Fifteen.
I stared at the stack of papers on my desk and sighed.
"Well… this is my life now."
For four straight days I worked like a machine.
08:00 in the morning.
01:00… sometimes even 02:00 at night.
Sleep became optional.
Coffee became necessary.
By the fourth day, my room looked like a battlefield.
Books everywhere.
Loose papers scattered across the floor.
My laptop is humming endlessly on the desk.
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my eyes.
"…Two left."
Only two assignments remained.
My brain felt like it had melted.
I glanced at the clock.
01:30 AM.
Monday had practically turned into Tuesday.
"Good enough," I muttered.
I shut the laptop and collapsed onto my bed without even turning off the light.
Exhaustion swallowed me instantly.
Within seconds, I was asleep.
At the time…
I had no idea that the next morning would bring a storm powerful enough to change my life forever.
The dreams started almost immediately.
Strange ones.
Confusing ones.
Terrifying ones.
At first, I woke up without my body.
Then, I woke up inside someone else's body.
It took me a moment to realize whose body it was.
My mother's.
I looked down at unfamiliar hands and whispered,
"…What the heck?"
Before I could understand what was happening, the dream shattered.
The next moment I was standing alone in the middle of a vast ocean.
No land.
No boat.
Nothing but endless waves.
The sky above was gray and heavy.
Wind roared across the water.
"Hello?" I shouted.
No answer.
Then the waves rose higher.
And higher.
And higher.
A towering wall of water crashed down on me.
Cold.
Heavy.
Merciless.
I struggled to breathe as the ocean swallowed me whole.
The waves twisted around my body like living creatures.
It felt almost deliberate.
As if the ocean itself wanted me gone.
I sank deeper.
And deeper.
And deeper.
Just before darkness consumed everything, one thought crossed my mind.
This can't be real.
But the dreams didn't stop there.
They kept shifting.
Changing.
Breaking apart like fragments of a shattered mirror.
At one point I was falling endlessly through the sky.
At another I was wandering through a city that looked like my hometown—but every building was empty.
No people.
No sound.
No life.
It felt like I was trapped inside a simulation designed only to confuse me.
A world that existed solely to play with my mind.
And then…
The dreams ended.
When I finally woke up, it was morning.
Sunlight spilled through the window.
Birds chirped outside.
Everything looked normal.
Except for one thing.
My body felt… wrong.
I slowly sat up.
"…What?"
Something was different.
Not painful.
Not exactly uncomfortable either.
Just… unfamiliar.
Like wearing a body that wasn't entirely human.
That's when I learned the truth.
Without warning, the Demon Lord of Zeraphia had cursed me.
Just like that.
My normal life had been torn away.
The revelations didn't stop there.
Apparently, my father—Haruka Yamamoto—was originally from Zeraphia.
Not just from there.
He had been an SS-rank hero.
The strongest human of his era.
I remember staring at Mizuki when she told me that.
"You're joking," I said.
She shook her head calmly.
"I am not."
"So my father was basically a legendary hero?"
"Yes."
I leaned back and groaned.
"…Great."
Instead of feeling proud, I felt irritated.
"Why didn't he tell me any of this?"
Mizuki didn't answer immediately.
Her expression softened.
"Perhaps he wanted to protect you."
I sighed.
"Yeah… well, that didn't work."
Mizuki herself was another mystery.
She had been with me for years.
Inside me.
And I never even noticed.
"Wait," I said once.
"You've been inside me this whole time?"
"Yes."
"And you never thought to mention it?"
"You never asked."
"…That's not how that works!"
She only smiled.
Her past was tragic.
Her entire village had been destroyed by monsters.
She was on the brink of death when my father saved her.
Somehow, through magic I still didn't understand, she became a spirit bound to me.
"How does that even work?" I asked.
She shrugged lightly.
"Even I do not know the full answer."
That was comforting.
Eventually, Mizuki guided me to Zeraphia.
A world overflowing with magic, danger, and creatures I had only seen in fantasy stories.
Before we entered civilization, she cast an illusion spell.
A faint light surrounded me.
"Hold still," she said.
The magic settled over my body like a thin veil.
"There," she continued. "Now you appear human again."
"Again?"
"Yes."
"…I'm afraid to ask."
Everything after that happened quickly.
Too quickly.
Before I could process anything, I found myself standing in the Adventurers' Guild.
That's where I met Rika Aihara.
She worked as the receptionist.
Friendly.
Confident.
And apparently…
Connected to my father.
One evening, I overheard a conversation between her and Mizuki.
They thought I was not listening.
I was.
Rika whispered quietly,
"So… Yamamoto-sensei really chose me?"
Mizuki nodded.
"Yes."
"Chosen you for what?" Rika asked nervously.
Mizuki answered calmly.
"To become Renji's future wife."
I nearly choked trying to stay silent.
Excuse me—what?
They had no idea I heard everything.
And just like that…
My peaceful life vanished.
I used to have a simple routine.
School.
Home.
Assignments.
Sleep.
No chaos.
No danger.
No destiny hanging over my head.
But now?
The fate of an entire world rested on my shoulders.
I stared up at the sky one night and muttered,
"Why me?"
Why curse someone who didn't even care about that world?
The Demon Lord considered me a threat.
But I didn't even know him.
Or his kingdom.
Or his war.
Still…
I had no choice.
I sighed and looked at my hands.
"Fine."
"I'll save this world."
"And when it's done…"
"I'm going home."
That was the short version of everything that happened during the past three days.
Three days.
From an ordinary student…
To potential hero.
Life changes quickly.
Too quickly.