The Beginning of the Journey

"Has your wish truly remained unchanged?"

"Yes. It has."

"I cannot understand. In this place, you are a hero. Far more noble and dignified than the kings of this land. You have earned the right to enjoy that glory as well. If you so desire, you could become the emperor of this land and live in splendor until the day you die. Yet you truly wish to abandon all of that and return to your home world?"

"I have done everything I needed to do in this land. The emperor's crown is not a garment that fits me, so I have no need for it. I simply wish to fulfill the dreams I could not achieve in my homeland before I die."

"What is that dream?"

"...It's a secret."

"Huu... Very well. Park Yeon. I shall accompany you on that foolish wish of yours until the day you die."

It was a run-of-the-mill hero fantasy story.

The kind where you meet a goddess right before dying in a traffic accident. There were more than ten thousand similar tales in which she offers you a second chance at life if you become a hero and save the world.

Like the protagonist in those stories, I became a hero, gathered companions, grew through countless adventures, and defeated the Demon King.

In an ordinary tale, it would have ended right there.

Either remain in this world as the hero and bask in glory, or ask the goddess for a wish and return home.

Anything after that would be a trivial epilogue or side story.

I too had dreamed of such a simple ending, but there was a problem.

Ribbon, the Goddess of Destiny.

The sole remaining goddess of this world told me that summoning a hero from another dimension to save this land was not difficult for her.

Sending that summoned person onward to yet another dimension was equally simple, she said.

But returning a human summoned to this world precisely to their original home world was nearly impossible.

"The coordinates of dimensions are not fixed. Moreover, my power does not specify individuals or dimensions. It merely lends strength to the path destiny weaves. Sending one specific person to one specific coordinate lies beyond my ability."

The goddess had promised to grant the hero who saved the world any wish, yet the wish I spoke was beyond her power.

Still, I refused to give up easily.

When I asked whether there might be a way since she had not declared it outright impossible, the goddess answered with clear reluctance.

"You could simply continue dimensional travel until you reach your original world. But that would be an unimaginably long journey. So long ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that you might even forget the goal itself."

Jumping through random dimensions. Repeating the process until arriving at the home world.

Since there were nearly infinite dimensions, it was practically impossible.

But.

"With your ability and my authority, it might truly be possible? Hmm... Perhaps. But is this truly that important to you?"

The goddess was clearly unwilling.

I understood her hesitation. After saving the world, I was asking to leave it behind. It was only natural for her to hesitate.

Yet after long persuasion, I finally won her consent.

I immediately shared the joyful news with my companions.

"You're returning? Why... Sob. Why are you trying to leave us?"

Saintess Lily.

My precious companion who had stood with me from the very beginning of our adventures in this world.

She could not hold back her tears the moment I finished speaking.

"I see. I finally understand. The reason the hero has been rejecting us. It was because he never intended to remain in this world from the start."

Elf Mage Yunia.

The companion who had been my emotional support whenever I grew exhausted and wanted to give up.

She muttered to herself, trying to reach her own understanding.

"I cannot permit it. If you truly wish to leave this world, plant your seed in this body and go."

Knight Sakaha.

Though she joined later, she was the companion whose heart aligned most closely with mine.

Her eyes blazed as she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠declared her will.

"Doesn't matter. I'll follow you too."

Raha, the half-dragon with horns and a tail.

The companion who had been the greatest source of strength throughout the hero's journey.

She offered a different path from the others.

"There was such a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠method!"

The other companions' faces brightened at once.

We immediately sought an audience with the goddess and asked whether traveling together would be possible.

The goddess answered that it was.

"Whether I take one or five makes little difference. However, aside from the hero who has reached half-transcendence, the rest of you may age and die during the journey. Are you certain?"

"It doesn't matter. If I can grow old and die at the hero's side, that is everything I could wish for."

"Hehe. Shall we go greet her, then? My mother-in-law."

"You can't run away anymore, Hero. I won't give up even in death."

I was not unaware of my companions' feelings.

Yet I could not answer those feelings.

I was someone who would eventually return home, and their lives after I left would be far longer.

But now I could no longer look away from their hearts.

"Thank you. Truly. Honestly, I also loved the time we spent together. I wanted to stay with you longer."

"Hero! At last!"

"Then let us turn those feelings into action right now!"

The goddess stopped Sakaha as the knight rushed forward.

"One should not commit sacrilege inside a sacred temple. The journey will be long, so there is no need to hurry."

The goddess spoke while ushering the companions out of the audience chamber.

"We can depart as early as tomorrow, so prepare quickly. Since you will never return to this land, be sure to bid farewell to those dear to you."

Once the companions had left the audience chamber and I was about to follow, the goddess caught my hand.

"To fulfill your wish, I, the chief goddess of this land, must leave it. Do you understand the weight of that decision and stand ready to take responsibility for me?"

"Yes. I understand completely."

"I have always preferred action to words."

The goddess's face drew near.

Our lips met, and for a brief moment time itself seemed to stop.

"Paha. You are the first to steal the goddess's kiss. And do not forget that this body and this heart now belong to you."

Her arrogant yet lovely words nearly caused the desire I had suppressed for so long to explode.

I barely held it back.

We would have a long time together from now on.

There was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no need to rush.

Ten days were granted for preparing the journey and bidding farewell.

Each companion represented a major faction or race, so they were frantically busy ensuring their absence would not cause chaos.

I too visited the connections I had made during the long campaign against the Demon King and exchanged goodbyes.

Those ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

"You will never be able to return. You have left no regrets, correct?"

"Yes!"

Lily's energetic reply made it sound as though she were heading on a picnic.

"All right. We are ready. Everyone hold hands and close your eyes."

I held the goddess's hand with one of mine while the companions squabbled over the other.

"I was faster. Don't interfere!"

"My heart is pounding so badly. Could you please yield just this once?"

"Ha. As if your chest would ever pound for someone like her!"

The childish quarrel between the saintess and the knight.

The victor was Raha, who silently claimed the spot while the other two argued.

"A woman's jealousy is utterly unsightly. I am content simply to remain by my husband's side and receive his gaze."

Yunia, the elf mage, deliberately stepped back and appealed to her own composure.

I realized I would need to sort out these relationships during our travels.

"Enough joking. Listen carefully from now on. Even for me, a goddess, crossing dimensions is no easy feat. As a side effect of dimensional travel, we will lose our powers for one week. Our strength will slowly return after that week, and after another week, all power will be fully restored."

"We'll need to be careful while powerless for a week."

Losing our power. Would that include my own authority?

"The dimension we arrive in may contain gods or beings equal to them. To avoid detection or interference, we must leave that dimension within two weeks without fail."

Beware of gods in the new world.

The maximum time we could stay in any single world was roughly two weeks.

"That is all the essential information for now. Details will differ in each dimension, so remain vigilant at all times."

That concluded the basic explanation.

With the authority of Ribbon, the Goddess of Destiny who weaves fate, we began our first dimensional journey.

The ground vanished beneath our feet. A strange floating sensation engulfed us.

Without panic, we entrusted ourselves to the goddess's guidance and were swept into a vast current, drifting helplessly along.

"Uwek. Ugh. Uuugh."

"Euuuuuugh. Lily... Heal, please..."

"So dizzy... I can't stand up."

When I regained consciousness, my companions lay sprawled across the dirt, writhing in pain.

The only ones who seemed fine were myself, Ribbon, and, surprisingly, the mage Yunia.

"Are you all right?"

Yunia nodded at my question.

"Compared to the vertigo of ultra-long-distance spatial teleportation, this is merely eleven or twelve times more painful. This level is... Uwek."

Even Yunia could not hold back in the end.

It was difficult to keep watching them suffer, so I steadied my spinning mind and attempted to use my power.

Basic divine magic. Heal.

I recited the incantation, but nothing happened.

"I truly cannot use any power."

"Our bodies have been reconstructed to match this world. It cannot be helped that recovery will take time."

Accepting the goddess's words, I helped the companions lie more comfortably and gave them water.

After roughly an hour, they slowly began to stabilize.

Once they had regained their senses, the goddess spoke.

"While crossing the dimensions I gathered some information about this world. The land we are on is Mount Taeo in the Yeon Nation. There is a large city at the foot of the mountain. The people here wield a power called Neigong. It is probably similar to the aura used by knights. Hmm... The greatest difference from our world of Terra is simply how many people there are. Their clothing and architecture differ slightly, but that is all."

The companions looked lost at the unfamiliar concepts.

I felt I understood a little.

The country name, the concept of Neigong, and the overwhelming population.

It might not be the China of Earth, but it seemed to be the martial world those people had always imagined.