The sunlight spread over the green earth, where there was a large garden. Near the garden stood a long palace, a magnificent one, yet so quiet it seemed abandoned. Still, the palace doors remained open. Inside, the place was spotless, with furniture everywhere. On one of the couches, a young man with black hair and luxurious clothes lay reading a book.
Hah, another day, another slay… This is the life I wanted. A comfy couch, some books, and a safe home. And honestly, I think I got more than I even asked for. The funny part is, those fuckers who see themselves as heroes live in the king's palace and have special rooms. They're basically servants. But me, the NPC, I live in my own palace with my lovely wife.
"Laos, come! Lunch is ready!" Maris's voice called from afar.
Alright, I'm not trying to brag, but the kitchen is seriously far away. Of course, that's because my palace is huge. Hahaha, I'm just so happy! I strolled around in my fancy clothes, and for a second, I felt like stripping and walking around naked—because this is my own home. Something no one else has. You hear me, "heroes"?
"W Maris," I muttered the moment I saw the lunch table—it was amazing, filled with incredible dishes.
"What?" Maris murmured. Well, of course, she wouldn't understand this kind of nonsense.
"Listen, if I say 'W', it means you did great, something amazing. If I say 'L', it's the opposite—it means you messed up. It's just stuff from my old world," I explained as I sat down at the table.
"So, you liked the lunch?"
"Of course! Just looking at it is amazing. And the smell—unbelievable!" I said excitedly as I cut a piece of steak and dipped it into a broth I couldn't even recognize.
Mmmm… Yooooh!!! This is incredible! The broth was delicious, and the steak melted in my mouth. It was insanely good. How did Maris get this good at cooking?! Absolutely amazing. Alright, alright, let's see what else we've got… Hmm, is that sweet bread? Is this soup?! Yooooh, there's all kinds of dishes here… I feel guilty, honestly. Is this wasteful?
"So, what will you do about the decision to join the war?" Maris asked.
"Oh, I'm still thinking… or actually, I'm not really thinking. I've just been enjoying my life here. And besides, I've been busy these past few days making that servant clean the palace. So much stuff to do."
"Then let's talk about it now… Laos, I really don't want you to get involved in the war," Maris said seriously.
"You still don't trust me? I defeated the strongest dragon."
"I'm still scared… scared of losing you…"
At that moment, my thoughts drifted to Ponier. But he deserved it—he killed a huge number of adventurers. But when I found out he killed Ralce… that was terrifying news. Maybe even more terrifying than finding out Ponier was the killer. He killed the strongest adventurer. That fucking criminal… He was the Dark Eye this whole time. All this time! He'd been doing quests with me… It's all so shocking.
"Laos, are you listening?"
"Oh, I spaced out," I replied suddenly.
"Ugh… Let me just say this about the war. If I'm not going because you're scared of losing me, then that's a silly reason. Because right now, I'm one of the strongest people in the kingdom."
"One of the strongest in the kingdom? … You're getting cocky… By the way, has Thalesa woken up?"
"No, not yet. She probably needs another week," I answered.
The war, huh? I don't even have a strategic mind. So if I do participate, I'll just be a pawn under the command of some knight. I don't even know if I'd survive in a war environment. I've never been in anything like that in my life. I didn't even like war games. But I'm a huge fan of novels like Highserk and Wortenia, so I guess it'll be kind of like that. All I have to do is follow the strategists' plans.
But the word "war" implies another country, so naturally, there'll be other soldiers. And it's possible Deryal might summon heroes from our world too. Maybe Japanese heroes this time. But I think I'll still be stronger. And we also have Linda. She has the "Hero" class—the strongest class in this world. So… I think Yarum will win.
Speaking of Linda and the others, I haven't even talked to them yet. And weirdly enough, they haven't come to visit me either. Are they jealous that I got my own house? What a bunch of fuckers. Also, Stephanie and Linda look amazing. They're seriously beautiful. I don't think they looked like that in our past lives. Or maybe I just didn't notice?
I kept devouring those amazing, varied dishes, feeling happiness in every part of my body—until I remembered something cursed: my right toes, the ones I lost… Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!! I hate my life when I see that. Even walking feels weird now. I can't live like this. I need someone to restore my toes.
"Maris, you said there are people with healing magic who can restore lost limbs?"
"Yes… but in your case, it's impossible. They can only do it right after the injury. But your toes have been gone for more than five days. There's no way to bring them back."
"Noooooooo," I groaned in despair, banging my head on the table.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Maris got up quickly and went to answer. And not to brag again, but the door was really far, and she had to walk a long distance to get there—because my palace is huge. Who could it be? In that moment, silence filled the place. Could it be an assassin? Fuck, no!! I ran quickly to the door, and that's when I saw who had come.
There were a lot of them. All familiar faces. It was them—Malin, Linda, all of them were here. Maris glanced at me like she was saying, "Ugh, deal with your annoying friends." I stepped toward them, and it looked like they were carrying boxes, and some had fruit baskets. Gifts! They finally came to visit me.
"Hey, it's been a while," said Kevin as he stepped forward and handed me a box full of meat.
"Hey Laos!" Susan called out cheerfully, giving me a basket of fruit.
"A private palace? That's insane," muttered Malin, staring around.
"Hey, haven't seen you in a while," added John, stepping up with his gift.
"Hey hey!" Tom shouted.
"Looks like the NPC was hiding a lot up his sleeve," said Sebastian as he set his gift down. Near him was a demi-human with orange ears and hair. Was that his wife?
"How are you?" said a girl with blond hair. She was beautiful, and her round boobs were seriously appetizing. It was Linda. Her gift was also a fruit basket, it seemed.
Finally, another girl stepped forward shyly. Her short green hair swayed as she carried a large sack. Was that money? She walked nervously, eyes mostly on the ground, occasionally glancing at me. Oh my god… Stephanie's still as shy as she was in the past. She handed me the sack and stammered: "H-hi Laos… I hope y-you're doing well."
"Hey everyone, looks like you're all here," I said as I placed the gifts down.
"Yo, is that your wife, or your personal maid like Sebastian's?" Malin suddenly asked.
"No, no, she's my wife. Maris. She's a demi-human from the cowfolk race. Maris, these are my friends from the other world."
"Nice to meet you," Maris said with a warm smile.
"Man, what's so special about demi-humans? Why are you all into them?" Tom said.
"I don't think it's about race. I didn't marry Maris just because she's a demi-human," I replied.
"Yeah, same here. I mean, seriously, who would love someone just because they've got cute ears?" Sebastian added.
So… what do I do now? I'm really nervous. Should I invite them to lunch? The table's still full. For a second, I didn't even feel like letting them in. All I wanted was for them to leave. That's weird. I used to feel great talking to Malin and the others, but now… is it because they're all here?
"Please come in, lunch is ready," Maris suddenly said while I was lost in thought... Damn it!
They came in cheerfully, and some of them even smiled at Maris. We walked for a while—and I'll say it again—the palace is huge, so the walk from the front door to the kitchen is long. That just goes to show how massive my palace is. Once we reached the table, everyone started showing their own reactions of surprise.
"Yooo, this is amazing!" Malin shouted.
"This looks like a royal feast," John muttered.
"Pretty cool, right?" I said with a laugh.
"Laos, can you tell us how you turned your life around like this? Just a few months ago, you were just a servant. How did you end up killing the strongest dragon in the kingdom—while still being classified as an NPC?" Malin asked after everyone had taken a seat.
"Umm… well, when I was still at the palace, I met a spirit. It was one of the seven spirits. Spirits are a power system in this world, like magic and rune. So I became a spirit user. Then I escaped the palace and became an adventurer. And eventually, I grew strong enough to reach this level."
"Amazing," Susan whispered.
"Show us your stats," Linda said.
"Stats?"
"Yeah, don't you have your own stat window?" Kevin asked.
"No, I don't. Show me yours."
"Stats," Linda said.
At that moment, a square window appeared. It glowed slightly, with a white, semi-transparent color. It looked just like the stat windows you'd see in anime or games—with fields like Magic, Defense, and more. This is unreal. Where's mine? After that, everyone started displaying their own stat windows, like they were saying, "Look, I have one and you don't." Fuck you all!
"Stats," I said suddenly. But nothing showed up.
"Looks like I don't have one because I'm an NPC."
"Maybe. But stat windows are useful, they let you see what you're good at and lots of other stuff," Linda replied.
"Alright, enough of that. Laos, are you joining the war?" Malin asked.
"..."
"I'm still thinking. But what about you guys? You're all busy dealing with demons. What will you do?"
"We heard we're going to be split into groups," Susan answered.
"Don't forget, Laos. You've become one of the strongest people in the kingdom. If you don't join, it'll be a big loss for the army," Malin said.
"I don't know. Going to war just doesn't feel right for me. I don't know why… I want to think it through for a while."
"You killed the strongest dragon and now you're saying war doesn't feel right? What the fuck?" Sebastian said.
"It's not because I'm weak or scared. It's just that the idea of war doesn't sit well with me. I'm not used to it like you guys are," I replied.
And with that, we moved on to other topics. We talked about stuff from our old world, while Maris just sat there, unable to understand anything. The atmosphere during that talk was nice—I liked it. And with that delicious lunch, I guess it was worth offering them a meal. It also felt comforting to talk with people from the same world as you, especially after living so long among strangers.
But the question of the war still lingers in my mind. I really want to refuse… but I also want to say yes. A part of me wants to become the strongest hero. Damn, I'm so greedy. I became the strongest adventurer and achieved my goal, but I don't know… I still have this intense urge to rise even higher. Should I really become the strongest hero? Or should I aim for a normal life, far away from this obsession with power?