W-Wait a second? What the hell is going on right now? Is Shizuka Hiratsuka—who's always remained single—talking to someone?
Was she just monologuing in her own head? Had she gone schizophrenic?
Did she sleep wrong? Maybe she got tipsy again? After all, last night before bed, she had found that bottle of sake the brat had hidden, thinking she lost it.
So she drank it, got a little drunk—liquid courage, right? Did she get wasted and start hallucinating?
And now she's still in that drunken stupor? Or maybe she realized what a fool she made of herself and had a mental breakdown? Now she's spiraling into nonsense and denial?
No, no—Shizuka Hiratsuka insisted she wasn't drunk. She was completely sober. She wasn't suffering from any mental break, either.
But she was talking to someone, and that someone was exactly who she referred to as "Lady Goddess"—a bona fide, legit goddess.
So… what the heck is going on?
To explain that, we have to go back to last night, when Shizuka Hiratsuka fell asleep watching anime.
At first, she thought she was dreaming. She found herself in some kind of mystical place—like the dwelling of a god.
Then, a being of beauty beyond human comprehension appeared before her, like some mythological goddess of beauty.
The goddess had golden, short bobbed hair that glimmered like starlight. Even her silky strands shimmered with glowing halos. Her deep, oceanic-blue eyes were filled with kindness, as if she held unconditional love for the whole world.
Her graceful, gentle form was wrapped in a simple, elegant white dress, emphasizing her pure, divine beauty. Behind her stretched wings like those of an angel, reinforcing that sacred and untouchable presence.
The goddess's crystal-clear feet lightly touched the ground, as if she were a dragonfly skimming water, weightless and graceful as she floated toward Hiratsuka.
She was stunning. Honestly, if Shizuka had been a man, she would've fallen head over heels at first sight.
"So beautiful…"
The words slipped from her lips before she realized it. The goddess gave her a charming smile in return, then gently parted her soft, pink lips to speak.
"You must be Shizuka Hiratsuka, yes? Hmm, although you are a bit older, that's fine. You actually have excellent qualities to become a hero."
The goddess tilted her head.
Her words might've sounded a bit rude at first, but her voice was so soft and soothing that Shizuka couldn't bring herself to feel offended. Still, she was confused by what the goddess said next.
"Looks like Azu had good instincts after all."
"Azu?"
Who was she talking about? Who's Azu? Wait… there was a college classmate she had named—
"Yes, Azusa Aizawa—your former university friend."
The goddess's reply confirmed Shizuka's suspicion—and made her eyes go wide.
Yes, she did have a close friend in university named Azusa Aizawa. They'd been really close. But tragically, Azusa passed away at just 27 years old due to overwork.
It had devastated her.
Now she was hearing her friend's name from the mouth of this goddess? What was going on here? Was this still a dream?
"It is a dream. But it's a real dream,"
the goddess said cheerfully, waving her hand. Suddenly, a glowing screen floated beside Shizuka, like a TV displaying a video. The screen showed a blonde girl battling slimes.
Apparently noticing the screen, the golden-haired girl leaned in closer, her vivid turquoise eyes—bright like peridot—blinking at her through the screen.
"Hey, Shizu!"
She waved in a super-friendly way.
Wait—did she know this blonde beauty? Based on what the goddess had said earlier, and the strangely familiar vibe she was getting from the girl…
"You—you're Azusa?!"
"Bingo~!"
What the hell is going on? Shizuka was completely baffled. This dream was seriously messed up.
"It's not a dream, Shizuka Hiratsuka. Actually…"
came the gentle voice of the golden-haired goddess. As she explained everything, Shizuka's eyes widened further.
Her friend Azusa had been greeted by this goddess after death, and reincarnated in another world where she could live carefree—along with a beautiful body forever stuck at age seventeen.
Azusa had then begun a relaxed life in that fantasy world.
Sure, she fought monsters and leveled up, but only against beginner mobs like slimes. It was absurdly easy.
In a peaceful little village, she had already lived happily for nearly three hundred years.
"T-Three hundred years?!"
Shizuka's lip twitched.
If it were her, she wouldn't have that kind of patience at all.
"Yup! Then one day, Lady Goddess contacted me, saying there was a huge crisis back home. I panicked! But traveling across dimensions to get back is really complicated… so I figured you, Shizu, definitely had the potential to be a hero and recommended you!"
So that's why the goddess came looking for her? What kind of crazy dream was this?
Wait—
"There's a problem back home? You mean our world is in danger?!"
"That part,"
the goddess said, now with a more serious expression,
"Allow me to explain."
With another graceful motion, a new glowing screen appeared, showing an incredible scene that looked straight out of a mythological war.
A massive dragon led an army of dragons and fallen angels, invading a world. Brave heroes fought back. The skies and earth themselves screamed under the destruction—like the apocalypse was unfolding.
Then came a different kind of scene—tiny, black-hole-like rifts opened, and smaller demonic dragons flew through them.
The scene shifted to a modern city full of skyscrapers. A rift appeared in the air, twisting space like a watery mirror, and the evil dragon burst through.
But what truly made Shizuka gasp was something else on the screen—a building she immediately recognized.
"Isn't that… Sobu High?!"
she exclaimed in disbelief.
Then, the goddess gently touched her forehead, and a small point of light sank into it. In that instant, Shizuka understood. She grasped the full picture—and the goddess's reason for coming to her.
"Now then, Miss Shizuka Hiratsuka,"
the goddess asked gently,
"Will you become the hero who protects the innocent from evil?"