The Goddess's Chosen Reincarnator Becomes the Doomed Heroine of the Apocalypse (1)
Time rewound slightly. While Ju Joyeon, unable to contain his curiosity, had set his destination for the "university" and was on the move, a pure white space existed where the gods watching over the world had gathered. The Modern God and the Magic God sat together, gazing down at the "Fusion World" where the world fusion had occurred.
"Hihihi! I never thought having so much to watch would be this fun. It's been ages since I felt this way~"
"Still, things aren't escalating as much as I expected. The modern humans are acting far more passive than I thought."
"That's just how they are. Can't be helped. Unlike your magic world, theirs has no monsters and almost no wars of invasion. They always prioritize assessing the situation until things get truly dangerous. But it'll all blow up before long."
Though only two short months had passed, the events that unfolded during that time had been entertaining enough that the two gods lost track of time while watching the world below.
"Hey, Magic. Got a second?"
A goddess approached the pair. When Magic and Modern turned around, they found the Ability God standing there with an irritated expression.
"Magic, you. Do you remember the conversation we had?"
"...Huh? What are you talking about?"
When Magic responded as if he had no idea, Ability's eyes widened in surprise before she exploded in anger.
"I was supposed to reincarnate one of my world's children into your side! Don't tell me you forgot?!"
"...Ah."
"Don't you 'ah' me!! You promised to make them the protagonist of an era! I put so much thought into choosing that child! And now you're suddenly pulling this fusion stunt with Modern and forgetting our promise?!"
Ability grabbed Magic by the collar and shook him violently, making him flop around like a ragdoll.
"W-wait... don't worry... I-if they come to the Fusion World, it'll be fine. There won't be any... urgh... let go for a sec..."
"Are you sure there won't be a problem?! You'll still make them the protagonist, right?!"
"Huh? Hold on, that's not possible. That kind of parachute-style protagonist selection doesn't work in our world."
While Magic was being shaken like a doll, Modern—who had been watching the Fusion World—answered in his place. Ability, still gripping Magic's collar, turned her furious gaze on Modern.
"...Why not?"
"Because the Fusion World contains the modern world I managed. I've never selected a protagonist there, so the Fusion World shouldn't have one either... though that's just an excuse. The Fusion World is full of possibilities right now. Forcibly deciding a protagonist like that would block all those possibilities. I can't allow it."
"But you're fine with Magic breaking his promise?"
"Ability, calm down. You said the child you chose to reincarnate was someone you carefully selected, right? Even without making them the protagonist, they'll surely become at least a supporting character."
"Supporting character won't do. They have to be the protagonist! You promised!"
Modern's expression soured at Ability's petulant outburst.
"...No means no. We can't change the rules now. Or you can wait here with that child for a hundred years. Once an era shift happens, we can adjust the world's rules to some extent."
"A hundred years?! A human can't survive that long here!"
"Those are your only options. Either give them the reincarnator benefits and join our Fusion World, or endure a hundred years here before joining as the protagonist."
"Don't act like there are two choices when there's only one!"
"Can't be helped. It's just one human to you, but to us it's two worlds."
Ability understood what Modern meant—she was also a god managing her own world. No matter how unfair it felt, she couldn't push any further.
"...Fine. So the only thing you can give is 'reincarnator benefits'?"
"Yeah, but... we've already given almost every human something similar to reincarnator benefits, so I'm not sure it even counts as a benefit anymore..."
"What? What did you give them?"
"Language translation, inventory, and a traits window."
"Huh? What the— So you gave them everything except the 'interdimensional pocket space.' And inventory can basically substitute for that, can't it?"
Modern nodded at Ability's confirming question. Since everyone already possessed abilities comparable to reincarnator benefits, Ability grew angry at how meaningless it all seemed.
"Then it's no different from giving nothing at all! This is ridiculous. There's no point in reincarnating them at this rate. Let me give them something extra. You two should at least compromise this much."
"...Haa. Alright. How about this—we'll allow you to grant a 'blessing.' You haven't given one yet, right?"
A blessing. While protagonist selection granted one human the role of being the center of the world until their death, a blessing bestowed a single special power upon one human until their death. Since each god could only grant one protagonist selection and one blessing, most gods chose a protagonist first, then blessed that protagonist's heroine.
"...If I do that, the heroine from my world won't receive a blessing."
"Honestly, she doesn't need one. Blessing a heroine is just insurance in case she might die, but as long as she's with the protagonist, that almost never happens. A quick heads-up from you to your world's protagonist would be more than enough."
Modern's words made sense, so Ability fell into brief contemplation. After thinking it over, she concluded that her world showed no signs of major incidents this era, so skipping the blessing wouldn't be an issue.
"Fine. I'll do that. With my blessing, that child might even aim to become the protagonist of your world. Lastly, I can choose where that child falls in your world, right?"
"Of course. That's the reincarnating god's authority. Where are you thinking of sending them?"
Assuming the matter was mostly settled, Modern gestured toward the Fusion World he had been observing. Magic, who had been quietly watching while crumpled up, cautiously joined in as well. Guided by Modern, Ability seriously considered the best location for her child.
"Somewhere safe first. A place without hostility toward reincarnators... Why is everything such a mess? Incidents keep happening everywhere... Ah, I'll go with this. An absolute neutral zone."
The place Ability chose was one of the few locations in the Fusion World where modern humans and magic users coexisted—the "National Central Hospital" in Korea.
****
"Lara, how far have we walked?"
Ju Joyeon asked Lara Tiasia as they leisurely walked through the strange landscape where city and forest alternated.
"I believe we're nearly there. We've already been walking for a week. That's twice the estimated travel time written on the map."
"My legs hurt..."
"Would you like me to carry you?"
"Forget it! I'd rather rest than get carried by Larahamte."
Ju Joyeon said this and promptly plopped down on the ground. When they first began heading to the hospital, Lara Tiasia had scolded him for complaining too much, but after walking for over a week, she could no longer say anything. Especially since this journey included "monsters." Beasts, goblins, orcs, trolls, and more attacked Ju Joyeon day and night. At first, Ju Joyeon had been tense and excited to finally see real monsters, but compared to his followers, they were so weak that there was no need to resurrect them. They had simply become obstacles disrupting his sleep and schedule.
"Haa... At the university, only animal-type monsters appeared, so I thought it'd be nice if humanoid monsters showed up... But now that I need a mount, not a single animal-type monster appears~"
After walking for about three days, he had planned to resurrect and ride monsters that looked like horses or bears, but none appeared in a suitable form, so he had continued marching on his own two legs until now.
—Master! If Lara Tiasia is uncomfortable, how about me? I'm a maid, after all. Carrying Master on my back is only natural!
"No thanks. You're a skeleton, May. Too bony."
—I-I see...
May's voice sounded completely dejected, as if the May in the grave had wilted entirely.
"Aah... How much farther? I need to know how much is left if I'm going to keep walking..."
—Master.
—I sense presences.
—Someone is nearby.
—They seem human?
While Ju Joyeon was lamenting to the sky, his followers sent warnings. Lara Tiasia seemed to have noticed as well and cautiously stepped in front of Ju Joyeon, keeping an eye on the forest ahead. Ju Joyeon stared blankly at Lara Tiasia and the bushes in front.
Rustle. Rustle.
As the followers said, people emerged from the bushes. Four men and women. Wearing leather armor and carrying weapons, they were clearly magic users. Lara Tiasia tensed slightly upon recognizing them as such. However, the four magic users showed no particular hostility toward Ju Joyeon and Lara Tiasia, who obviously looked like modern humans.
"...Who are you?"
Ju Joyeon spoke first. The four exchanged glances before the man who seemed to be the leader stepped forward.
"Are you also heading to the place called the 'Hospital of the Neutral Saint'?"
"...Huh? Neutral Saint? We're on our way to the National Central Hospital, though?"
After Ju Joyeon casually stated their destination, the man discussed it with his companions before nodding.
"That's what it's also called. Seems we have the same destination. Would you like to travel together for a while?"
"Travel together?"
While Ju Joyeon pondered the unexpected offer, Lara Tiasia leaned in close and whispered in his ear.
"Master, traveling with strangers could be dangerous, but they seem to know more about the hospital and the current situation than we do."
"So we should go with them?"
"Do as you wish, Master. I am merely making a suggestion. May alone is enough to handle their strength, so it shouldn't be too dangerous."
—I'll protect you!
'...I don't even know how strong May is.'
—She's the weakest among the followers, but she's more than enough to subdue them, Master.
'They look like an experienced adventuring party... and you're saying a regular maid could beat them?'
—Having received Master's grace, of course she can.
—She even did combat training in her spare time.
—All to protect you!
"...Alright. Let's go together. I have a lot of questions anyway."
Ju Joyeon decided to travel with the four-person party.