Chapter 1 - I’m a Hero!? (2/2)

“I only want to live a quiet life.”

“You always say those words, Artpe.”

“However, the world won’t leave me alone.”

“That is also one of your favorite phrases.”

“It isn’t really important how I got here. How should I proceed from now on… Mmmm?”

He grumbled as he started responding to Maetel when a flash of light illuminated the inside of his mind.

Until now, he had assumed that the future was distorted because he had reincarnated as the hero’s childhood friend. However, was that actually true?

In the past, Artpe had used his Read All Creation to track the hero’s whereabouts. Of course, he also had a complete grasp of what developed in the human world.

Would everything he remembered change just because of Artpe’s presence? He was only a single person.

‘There’s no way that would happen.’

Yes. At best, an additional male child was born in a mountain village, there was no way such an event would cause the war to be canceled or a king to be poisoned!

However, how could that be the only implication? He knew the location of a legendary thief’s grave, filled with riches. He also knew the locations of the Archmage’s ruin, Balrok’s Nest, and Archmage Rain of Louin’s Magic Tome. They would be in the same place as the locations in his memories!

“My god.”

He finally realized the whole truth, and a shiver ran up his body. His Read All Creation ability allowed him to remember what had happened in the human world and the demon world. It didn’t matter if a lot of events in his future would change, he still had much information that he could use to his advantage!

There were many riches, many magic spells, many skills and many hidden hunting grounds!

“If I can acquire all of this with her….”

“Ah, Artpe.”

Maetel’s cheeks turned red. Artpe had mumbled his words, and it seemed another big misunderstanding had occurred. However, Artpe was too excited to worry about it.

“If that happens, maybe...”

He would be able to compress the development process of the hero, and she would be able to gain items that were never in the possession of her previous self. If he could let her gain everything he figured out with his Read All Creation ability, the killing of the Demon King might not be a problem!

If he could make that happen, he would be free! Moreover, he could use the position of being the hero’s childhood friend to lead a peaceful life!

The future he could foresee was letting out a radiant golden light. Artpe suddenly stood up from his seat. Maetel also stood up.

“All right. Leave everything to me, hero.”

“Hero? As expected, you do want to play hero!”

“I'm not talking about playing house with you. I’ve never been as serious as this moment in my life.”

“······ah, all right.”

The hero’s face had turned red, and she kept nodding her head.

“I'll leave everything to Artpe.”

“You just nodded your head. You can’t take it back.”

“This is true for Artpe as well! You can’t back out of this!”

Artpe was satisfied with Maetel’s answer. At this point in time, the two of them completely misunderstood what each of them was promising. Artpe was dreaming about a peaceful future, so he hadn’t realized this fact.

“All right, then you should head back for now. I’ll have to be thorough in making a plan for us.”

“A plan... You are being very earnest about this. All right, I’ll go wait patiently for you!”

Maetel turned around and opened the door of the hut. She was about to exit when she said, “Oh”, as if she had just remembered something. She called out towards Artpe.

“You do know what is happening in the afternoon, right? Baptism Ritual!”

“Baptism Ritual? Ah!”

When one was born into the Demon race, they possessed all of their abilities from the start. Demons had to be ready to fight as soon as they were born, however, humans were different. Humans had to contact the gods through the priests, and a Class was given to each human. The Classes ranged from carpenter to farmer, adventurer, warrior, etc. A human’s station in life was determined at that point, and the humans called it the Baptism Ritual.

“What Class will I receive? I’m looking forward to it!”

“I’m also looking forward to it, but I could already guess what my Class is.”

“That's amazing, Artpe!”

There was limit on what Class one could acquire, and it depended on their station in life and one’s ability. One couldn't become a knight unless they were a noble. One couldn't become the heir to the throne unless they were the son of a king. If one didn’t have the ability to manipulate Mana, they couldn’t become a mage.

Still, it didn’t mean one couldn’t escape an already chosen Class...

Artpe smiled as he felt the unrefined Mana circulate around his body.

Was it because he was a Demon in the past? Currently, he was only a 12 year old child, yet he had a large reserve of Mana. Moreover, he could wield the Mana freely. Unless something went wrong, he would probably become a mage.

“You’ll probably become a hero.”

“Hero? Of course, I do like to pretend and play at being a hero, but…..”

Maetel let out a timid laugh.

“Truthfully, there is one thing I want more than me being a hero.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“I would love it if Artpe was able to become a hero!”

“Pffft.”

Artpe couldn't hold back his laughter when he heard those words.

“Yes. It would be hilarious if that happened.”

“Oh god, please give guidance to this child's path!”

“Yeah yeah, I beg of you. ”

[You've earned the 'Hero' Class.]

“...uh?”

When he really became a hero, Artpe could no longer laugh.