CH 3

“Kuu… What the hell?”

Although my body was invincible in the other world due to a large number of banishment skills, in this “white world” where all skills were ineffective, I was just a human being. If I get hit in the head by a thick book, it would hurt and I would get teary-eyed.

I crouched down, holding my head, and looked down at my feet. … There was an additional book that had just fallen on my head… It looked like the same plain white book, but I don’t think the contents were the same.

” …, You mean I should read. Oh?”

I picked up the white book and opened the cover. The book itself was a hollowed-out box with a delicately crafted gold key inside.

“A key? Is that how you use it?”

It was a box with no name, but there was a text written on the back of the cover. According to it, this was a “complete banishment commemoration” service. ….There’s got to be another name for it, right? Oh well. So, the important thing is …

[You can use this key to open the door to any world you want. By using this key on the door of that world, you will return there. The key will disappear and the door to the world will open. Now, revisit your most memorable places and get motivated to return!]

“Yeah, what is this service I don’t want ….”

It was like I just wanted to drink some water because I was thirsty, but it came with a mountain of set meals. Do you know, God? An unrequested service mentality was just an imposition, you know?

“Huh, okay. This condition can be achieved by going to the appropriate world and coming back immediately. … So, what do I do?”

If I wanted to leave right away, I could go through any door. If that’s the case, I could just open the 001 door that’s right next to it…The memories that came back to my mind made me stop moving.

“… I had a hard time.”

The first door, the first world. A mediocre miscellaneous mercenary…A handyman who mainly dealt with the extermination of dangerous magical beasts rather than people…I had finally reached the point where I could be called a full-fledged professional, but of course, my true ability was not that great.

The first banishment skill that I received was “Accidental Flagmaker,” which I received for the shitty reason that I was forcefully summoned from the world I was born into, and I was able to join the party of the hero, but that only gave me a chance.

I didn’t have any special skills or abilities that would earn the trust of the people, so I struggled to keep up with the hero party for at least six months to avoid being kicked out. … As a result, we ended up traveling together for a year and a half.

Yeah, I did a good job. I didn’t know how I was going to get back here after being expelled in the first place, so I took a lot of care to make sure I was expelled in a safe place, just in case. … Well, that was ruined by an incident.

“In the end, I didn’t stay in one world longer than that until the end. …. So what happened after I was gone?”

I looked at the number engraved below the door number, and it seemed that about ten years had passed since I was banished from this world. In ten years, the Demon King would probably have been defeated and the world would be at peace.

“So, does that mean that the hero is now king? Ugh, I don’t want to meet him. …”

The laughter of a proud hero popped into my head. I thought this was one of those things because it was the first world, but being a prince of the greatest country in the world and a hero at the same time was too much to aim for. Well, it sounded like the heroes were chosen by the gods, so any god that would forcefully summon people would have definitely targeted them.

“Oh, well. I’m probably stronger than you right now, and even if you’re the king, you’ll never see me. If I’m going to go through all this trouble, it would be a shame to leave right away, so I’ll just do some sightseeing in the capital and then go home.”

If they sold hero-themed buns or something, I’d buy a few. With such a feeling of lightness, I inserted the key into the door of the 001 and twisted it until I heard a click. Then the shiny gold key began to fade, and even at a glance, I could see that it had lost its power.

“I see, it will break if I use it one more time. Now, let’s see what the world looks like after 10 years.”

As I stepped out of the door, the door behind me disappeared and I was thrown out into a familiar meadow. Remembering my vague memories, I turned around and saw a rather large town behind me. …. Oh, there it was.

I tried to activate all of the banishment skills that I’d been able to use since entering the other world. The first was [Invisible], which allowed me to create a powerful physical barrier, and the second was [Magia Soap], which absorbed and nullified attack magic. I think I’ll set them …… to always be active.

I reached into the Stranger Box, took out a well-maintained steel sword, and fastened it to my waist. It was not that I didn’t have holy swords and magic swords, but they were designed to be used by the strongest people in the world, so they were not a good match for an outsider like me.

In this respect, it was wonderful to see that it was just a sword without any special characteristics. It never stood out as strange because it existed in every world and everyone uses it, and Even across the world, that way of looking at things does not change. The irony was that the mere fact that it was a piece of steel made it more reliable.

“Yeah, yeah, I like steel that’s been forged properly. No matter how I use it, it always fits perfectly in my hand. …… Maybe I’ll make a few more of these if there’s a forge to rent.”

There were probably 300 of these in the Stranger Box, but a stockpile was never too much to ask. I could make money quickly now. …… Hmm?

“What is that?”

I tilted my head and muttered to myself. Because the town that I could see from a distance seemed to be in a state of chaos.

“Oh, my God! No way were they attacked by a magical beast!?”

I hurriedly activated my banishment skill, “Hermes Dash,” and the town that I had seen in the distance quickly approached. When I got there, I found that half of the stone walls covering the town had collapsed, and almost all of the buildings inside had collapsed as well.

“Wait a minute, wasn’t this supposed to be a big town? Then what is this. ….”

Judging from the weathering of the broken buildings, it must have been a year or two since the town was destroyed. So the first thing that came to mind was a war between humans. ……

“Hey, You!”

And then a voice unexpectedly called out to me. I turned my head to look at him, and an old man in ragged clothes, carrying a large bag on his back, appeared from the shadows of the rubble.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? …. No, it’s more like, if you know, tell me. Why is this town destroyed?”

“What? What are you talking about? It’s been two years since this town was invaded and destroyed by the Demon Lord’s army.”

“……………… Ha?”

The suspicious old man’s words made me raise my voice in a dumb way.

“The Demon Lord’s Army?! Is the Demon Lord still alive?”

“It’s not like they’re just alive, the Demon Lord’s army has been on the rampage for over ten years now. How remote are you from the countryside to ask such a thing now?”

“All this time……? Not remnants or anything, but for the past ten years, they are ruling ……?”

That meant that the Demon Lord had not been defeated. Then what about the hero? What about the prince that shitty prince who snubbed me so much ……?

“Hey, hey. Then there was …. ten years ago, what about the hero? What happened to him?”

“Of course, he’s long dead. It’s been five years.”

“Dead …… Alexis is dead ……………………?”

The brave and princely figure of Alexis, who had been smiling broadly in my memories, shattered with a cracking sound.

“T-then…. what happened to the rest of the hero party?”

“Of course, they’re all dead. Isn’t that obvious?”

The old man’s voice sounded confused. The only thing I could do was stand there stunned …. at the words that could not be misinterpreted in any way.