Chapter 1 - I’m a Hero!? (1/2)

It had been two days since he was reincarnated as a human male child, this was when Artpe came to a decision.

“I have to kill the Demon King.”

It was a really fucked up situation, but he had to kill the Demon King.

Why?

The reason was obvious. A Demon King's 1st priority was to kill all of humanity.

Artpe was a human now!

Would it have been better being reborn into the Demon race? No way.

The reason why the bastard was trying to kill all of humanity was because his Innate Ability didn't allow him to dominate humans. His Innate Ability only worked on the Demon race, and the Demon King had been thorough in catching all demons. He had put all the Demons under his rule.

Since the Demon King existed in the same era as him, there was no way he would become free unless he killed the Demon King.

Artpe had lamented when he was confronted with this decision. He wanted to be alive to see the hopes and dreams of the future.

‘Why in the hell did I have to be sent back to the past! If I was born 3 years after the hero killed the Demon King, I could have lived in the countryside without any ambitions. I could have just lived while tending cows!’

He could somewhat guess at the mechanism behind his reincarnation. His Read All Creation had evolved into its second stage. He didn’t know the exact cause, but he knew this was all related to his ability.

He always knew his ability was unusual, but he never expected it to be able to bend time and space. No, the fact that there even was a Step 2 to his Innate Ability was a surprise for him!

However, the problem he now faced was the fact that his Innate Ability had distorted not only time, but the cause-and-effect relationship of events.

“Artpe!”

The door opened in the same fashion as two days ago. A bright light entered the hut and Artpe already knew the name of the girl who opened the door.

“I knew you would come, ‘Maetel’.”

“You were waiting for me! I'm so happy!”

The girl let out a bright smile in front of Artpe. She looked very young, but he was sure she was one of the heroes who had invaded the Demon King’s castle in his memories. He had also verified this fact through his Read All Creation ability, so it was irrefutable.

“Why would I wait for you? Just looking at you make me feel anxious.”

“Anxious? ...ah, jeez~ Artpe~”

The 12 year old hero was under a false impression when she heard Artpe's words. She squirmed and twisted her body in embarrassment. Artpe groaned when he saw the young hero fall into a delusion.

During his past role as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army, the Demon King had ordered Artpe to gather information about the hero. In truth, it was a task beneath even the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings, but that fact wasn’t important right now.

The important part was the fact that the past hero didn’t have a childhood friend.

“Let's go play being heroes, Artpe!”

“I'm sorry, but I'm sick of both the heroes and the Demon King.”

“Then you can be one of the Demon King army's Four Heavenly Kings!”

“That is one thing I'll never do!”

Artpe pushed aside the hero, who came at him in a playful manner, while letting out a sigh. He had wished for a life where he wasn’t entangled with the Demon King, so this time around he was entangled with the hero. If he had the opportunity to meet the goddess of fate, he would most definitely flip her off!

Instead of being entangled with the hero, he would have preferred to live life as the normal Villager A. Then he would be able to focus on his profession while leaving all the problems of this world to the hero. He could just put his trust in the hero, since her unlimited growth potential would let her overcome everything.

If he was unlucky enough to chance upon the hero’s party, he would just say, ‘If you follow down this road, you will come upon the Demon King’s Castle!’ Or he would tell them, ‘Our town’s population of wildcats has gotten out of control, could you help us catch them?’

He would just tell them some half-assed excuse to get rid of them!

‘This world is already different from the past I knew.’

To be precise, Artpe had reincarnated as the hero’s childhood friend. From this point on, the future would be in a flux. Even if he ran away from the hero right now, the changed timeline wouldn’t revert, it wasn’t a realistic possibility.

“Eh-whew, Artpe is trying to play by himself again. Then I have no choice, I'll stick by your side.”

“No, I really don't need you right now, could you leave me alone?”

“But I need Artpe.”

Artpe despaired. What the hell did he do before he became aware of his previous life’s memories? Why was he in such a good relationship with the hero! It was so bad that even if he managed to run away, he worried that the hero would track him down!

“You...”

“Ehehe.”

The hero let out a simple and honest laugh as she sat next to Artpe. It seemed like events weren’t going to proceed in accordance to Artpe’s wishes.

This was a problem. Artpe’s biggest worry was the relationship he had with the hero.

A hero was literally a walking box of storm and calamity, even the most peaceful town would be put in danger when the hero became involved. Moreover, anyone who encountered the hero became embroiled in the hero’s business.

In the past, there was a very famous story about the hero taking every valuable item when passing through each town. The most insidious part about this story was the fact the townspeople had an irresistible urge to give whatever they possessed to the hero. If the hero fulfilled a request, one would have to give up a treasure as recompense!

So what would his life be like as the childhood friend of the hero?

‘No, I don’t know how the future will unfold. This girl might not awaken to become a hero.’

If a Demon King existed, a hero always appeared. However, Artpe had reincarnated as a human, so the future had changed. It wasn’t a certainty that Maetel would awaken as a hero.

“Still, I wouldn’t bet on it.”

Maetel would become a hero, and as her childhood friend, he would get swept up in her business.

In truth, that scenario was the most likely one to come true. In this world, the most talented person was chosen to become the hero. Artpe had used his Read All Creation to verify the talent possessed by the 12 year old Maetel, she was so outstanding that it made one wonder if the gods made a mistake in creating her.

He followed this thread of logic to come to his previous conclusion.

He had to kill the Demon King.

“My life as a demon… No. My life as a human is really…”

Artpe wrapped his head with his hands as he despaired. Maetel consoled him.

“Hang in there, Artpe! We have to endure, and we have to live five times the life we have already lived!”

“Where did you learn such a phrase?”

“I learned it from Artpe.”

It seemed he wasn’t a normal guy even before he recovered his memories! Artpe’s head started to hurt more. Maetel, who didn’t know his inner thoughts, kept smiling.