Chapter 2: The Weight of Choices

“Jeongun joined the military.”

“What? Why would he enlist? What does he have to be dissatisfied about?”

“You know that thing that happened during the online class a while ago? That was Jeongun.”

“Oh.”

I immediately understood why my friend was changing the subject.

“You mean, his girlfriend cheated on him?”

“Yeah, the technical term is NTR.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s when someone steals someone else’s girl.”

“Gross.”

This wasn’t exactly the kind of conversation you’d expect to have in a café, especially one near campus.

To put it briefly, something happened that could easily be a rumor on the news or on the internet.

Or maybe it’s something that happens more often in college than people think.

If this were a drama, it’d be the kind of plot that shows up in a show like *Love and War*.

His girlfriend cheated.

During an online class, she did something she shouldn’t have.

Her mic was on, and the professor didn’t know how to mute it.

But the twist? The woman’s boyfriend was attending the same online class from his own place.

“Hey! Who’s there with you? Who’s next to you?!”

So, who was her partner?

Well, you get the picture.

“So, you see, that’s why you shouldn’t date a classmate. Even though the girl did something wrong, it’s the guy who ends up getting hurt.”

“What are you saying? You don’t avoid stepping in dog poop because you’re afraid of it, but because it’s disgusting.”

And with that, another friend of mine ended up joining the military.

“Hey, I heard it’s really easy to be in the army right now. Want to enlist with me? Let’s go together.”

“Easy? Isn’t it uncomfortable as hell? And why are you talking about the military before the first semester’s even over?”

“You have to go eventually.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure yet.”

Most people go after their first year, right? But there are things holding me back from just leaving now.

“Is it because of your girlfriend?”

“Worried she’ll start seeing someone else while you’re gone?”

“You think I’m putting off enlisting because I’m scared she’ll dump me? That’s absurd.”

“Really? You act like you can’t live without her.”

“It’s not like that.”

Delaying enlistment because of a girlfriend?

People say their girlfriends wait for them during the two years they’re gone.

And now that we’re allowed to take our phones with us, we can stay in touch regularly.

I’m sure she’ll wait for me after I enlist.

Probably.

“I’ll think about it when I get my draft notice.”

“Has it not come yet?”

“It should be soon, but not yet, so it’s fine. Be honest, would you want to enlist after just one semester? You’ve got to at least finish a full year.”

Since I hadn’t experienced it yet, I couldn’t give a definite answer, and the thought of military service still felt distant, so I didn’t take it too seriously.

“Anyway, let’s go. Class is about to start. I’ll cover the coffee.”

“Oh, did you get your part-time pay?”

“Nope. I ranked up to Diamond 5.”

“You’re insane… Your girlfriend doesn’t say anything about that?”

“We had chicken together to celebrate my rank-up yesterday.”

“Damn it. I’m such an idiot for suggesting we enlist in the military. Sigh, let’s just head to the classroom. …Doesn’t the classroom seem a bit… shiny?”

“Why? Do you think it’s some kind of sacred place?”

“No, that’s not it… It’s just that…”

“It’s because we’re wasting time talking about the military. Haah. I was thinking about going on a trip after finals.”

— Hey, damn it, I told you to enlist…

— Don’t say that, you crazy bastard! I’m bleeding!!

— Ha, damn it. If I had known I’d be reincarnated in another world, I would have just enlisted in the military…

He said that the reason the goddess summoned us was that it was based on “space.”

While entire high school classrooms often get reincarnated into another world, it was likely that we were the only ones with a college classroom being summoned.

Based on our classroom, 108 heroes were summoned.

38 men and 70 women.

Why were we summoned with such an imbalanced gender ratio?

— Excuse me, where were you? I was in Art Building Room 102…

— I was in Room 202.

—I was in Room 302…

The goddess summoned exactly 108 people who were in that building at the time.

It was like scooping a spoon into a massive anthill, with three lecture halls filled with students being pulled into another realm.

Coincidentally, only college students.

There were no professors yet, as it was before class started, and there were no janitors cleaning the classrooms either.

Even if there were adults around, they wouldn’t have been much different from us in the face of this “otherworldly summoning” situation.

— No way, what the hell is this…

— Hey, listen carefully. This is something that often happens in manga; it’s called reincarnation into another world.

What’s that supposed to mean?!

—I never thought my otaku knowledge would actually be useful in life. In short, we’re all screwed.

It was actually my friend’s otaku knowledge that helped.

— All 108 of us are heroes summoned to a fantasy world by a goddess, and we can’t go home until we defeat the Demon King. Forever.

— Where’s that even possible?!

— This is the kind of thing you’d expect to see in a movie. …We can only hope that all 108 of us can survive.

Well.

That was now a thing of the past.

In the end, he died.

Ambushed by orcs, a knife plunged into his back.

After he died, I often recalled his words and replayed them in my mind.

If there was one thing I regretted while living in this world, it was that I should have just gone to the military sooner.

Then I wouldn’t have had to witness the deaths of so many of my peers and acquaintances.

Out of the 108 summoned, only five of us, including me, survived.

And I can’t help but think.

— Do you know who dies first in a war? The incompetent generals? No. It’s the patriotic young soldiers who fight for their country.

That was something one of the professors said.

— Some of you listening might think, “Ah, the professor is just talking nonsense again.” “He’s just trying to push his political agenda.” But you see, this is a history class. Human history has repeated itself many times.

In the end, those who die are the ones fighting on the front lines, while those who survive are the ones hiding behind them.

Looking at it from a consequentialist perspective, it seems about right.

Even though I was weak, I fought on the front lines.

The four who didn’t participate in the fight against the Demon King.

All those who wanted to win against the Demon King died, while those who tried to stay back and enjoy the rewards survived.

If I had another chance…

But such thoughts are meaningless now.

It’s already over.

Perhaps because everything has ended, I keep reminiscing about the past.

Memories of everything that has happened since before we entered this place to today flash through my mind in fragments.

There’s really no specific reason for it.

If I had to think of a reason, it would be because of this black-and-white ring that the goddess entrusted to me.

“What do you think?” the saintess asked.

“…It’s a difficult question.”

With her blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a typical white nun’s robe, she was a quintessential inhabitant of this world. She had received orders from the goddess and helped us who had fallen into this world in every way possible.

“I’ve treated many heroes up until now.”

With divine powers that could heal wounds even after suffering near-fatal injuries.

“If I had to pick the ten who were hurt the most, I would definitely start with you, the undertaker.”

I had also received a lot of help from her divine powers.

Unfortunately, the restrictions on the saintess meant she couldn’t revive those who died on the battlefield.

While she possessed absolute divine powers within the order, she couldn’t take a single step outside it.

She had treated many people in this order, but…

“I’ve rarely met the four surviving female heroes.”

The saintess openly displayed her discomfort.

She had silently listened even when we were cursing and blaming one another at the goddess’s command.

Even she seemed uncomfortable.

“To be honest, I don’t believe they defeated the Demon King. I realized this only after hearing the heroes’ words; they were merely side characters.”

After the battle.

While I was unconscious, they explained the situation to those who rushed to the Demon King’s castle.

A false narrative entirely different from the truth.

“The heroes were merely present after the Demon King was defeated; they didn’t play any part in bringing him down. You want to say that, don’t you?”

“Exactly, saintess.”

That was indeed the case.

“What did those women say?”

“…They claimed they fought the Demon King too.”

Truth is always swayed before lies and manipulation.

“They said they suddenly disappeared because they were summoned during the final battle, that they fought with all their might, that you delivered the final blow to the Demon King, so the goddess gave you the choice, claiming they were the true heroes who defeated the Demon King.”

“What nonsense.”

“It doesn’t make sense, but it can be made to sound plausible. None of them had any combat prowess, yet they possessed ‘power.’”

“Ha.”

Power.

While the assault team was bleeding and fighting on the front lines, they were busy looking out for themselves from the back.

“When you told me to imprison them, I was genuinely surprised. Just look at her…”

“Is it because she’s a noble lady who thrives only when the tyrant emperor is alive?”

“…Yes.”

For example, one of them gained the political power to put even the emperor of the empire beneath her heel.

“She was infamous for her ‘fishing’.”

In reality, she was a woman who could manipulate men like a servant.

Not only the emperor but also the owner of the magic tower, the empire’s greatest knight, and even the head of the assassin guild would be made to lick her boots.

“I almost fell for it once. It wasn’t a good experience at all; I’d rather not see her face.”

If news spread that she was imprisoned now, powerful figures, including the emperor, would rush to the order.

“Yeah. …I trust you, hero. But just as I trust you, they will trust her.”

“They exist.” They were men who had been gaslighted.

There was no way to convince them.

Even if they knew the truth, they’d likely think it was love to close their eyes and block their ears for their woman, and she had made them that way.

“Saintess.”

I sat across from the saintess and held her hand.

“Thanks to you, I’ve been saved at least more than ten times.”

“…I’ve treated you 84 times.”

“Do you remember all of that?”

“I can see it.”

Ah.

It’s about the system.

The goddess also bestowed the blessing of the system upon the saintess.

Though her abilities were specialized in healing, perhaps her eyes could see the number of times she healed me.

“I have received help from you 84 times, saintess. And I’m asking for your final help.”

“What is it?”

“I’m going to leave.”

Holding two rings.

“Without anyone knowing, quietly.”

“…I can be your shield. I’ll protect you. No matter the emperor—”

“I can’t stand to see you in trouble because of those women. And I need time to gather my thoughts.”

It’s not about who I’m returning to Earth with.

“…I’m trying to find a way.”

I needed to find a way to leave for Earth with one of my ‘companions,’ not my ‘peers.’

“I don’t want to give those women the rings.”

Even if it means I go to Earth alone.