Narrator-kun:
Things are heating up. The Selection has long finished pruning the 777 contestants down to the cream of the crop. Our hero is reclining like a god, and we see that his clout is rising to abnormal heights for no apparent reason. He still pales in comparison to the heroes of old, yet his rise to fame is fueled purely by the will of others, with no effort of his own. Will it all crash and burn, or will he be cemented as the greatest hero to have ever existed?! Let’s go back to Hajime.
“Now that I’ve shared some of my past, I honestly feel much better.”
Hajime’s body heals slightly, and he can actually hear better than before.
Valiant comments, “It’s good to release some of your worries. Now, what do you plan for the future?”
Hajime replies, “Probably be a hero? I think people should live honest lives by not being cursed to constantly buffer.”
Whalescalibur interrupts, “AHHH! It’s buffering! Damn the pests—you will not take away my screen time!”
Valiant asks, “Hypothetically speaking, if you had to choose between watching your favorite show and saving a trapped damsel in distress, what would you do?”
Hajime frowns. “That’s a strange Segway. What’s with the question all of a sudden GPS-san?”
“I’m just testing the essence of the hero,” Valiant replies. “Please just answer honestly.”
Hajime thinks for a moment. “The right thing would be to save the damsel, but honestly… I’d watch the show.”
“You’re really a shitty hero Hajime-kun.” Valiant says flatly.
“Yeah, I probably am.” Hajime shrugs. “But to the damsel at that very moment, I’d still be willing to be her hero.”
Valiant stays quiet for a few seconds before replying, “Fine. You’re a less shitty hero. You pass the heroic character assessment.”
Hajime rubs his head. “Strange… am I forgetting something important again?”
“Not really,” Valiant says. “You are exactly as you should be for today.”
“Yeah… must be Isekai stress acting up.”
“You did suffer from subspace turbulence,” she adds.
Hajime pauses. “GPS-san, do you have a name?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Would you tell me?”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
In a sad tone, Valiant replies, “A woman has many secrets. One day, if you get me a body…”
“Never mind,” Hajime says. “I’ll keep calling you GPS-san.”
“At least change the nickname!” Valiant pouts.
“…I think I’ll call you Val.”
Valiant freezes, visibly shaken by how close he came to the truth.
“I like that name,” she says softly. “Let’s keep it at that, Hajime-kun.”
Is he remembering… or is it just his nature? she wonders.
A few seconds pass.
“I’m getting bored,” Hajime says. “Let’s talk about the economy.”
Valiant blinks. “Why use that topic all of a sudden?”
“It’s an old habit. When Haruka got bored, she obsessed over economic predictions and investment plans.”
“That’s an odd interest for a rural girl.”
“She wanted to honor her late father. I used to read her economic theory to fall asleep.”
“So… are you good at economics?”
“Nope. I just read it for her. She liked it, and I pretended to like it so she wouldn’t feel bad.”
“You were a good brother.”
“Was I? I still do wonder…”
“Is this about the sister×brother complex she developed?”
“…Yeah. I was careful not to set flags, but something went terribly wrong.”
Valiant recalls every obvious flag he’s tripped in this world.
“Yes… its a total mystery,” she says neutrally, clearly unconvinced.
“I think I can talk about her now,” Hajime says.
“Her?” Valiant perks up. “There’s more baggage?”
Hajime nods. “My childhood friend—Luna.”
“…You had a childhood friend?”
“Yes a beautiful tomboy. My first love.”
“First love?” Valiant stiffens. “You’d never loved anyone before coming here?!”
Her data logs are frantic—this section is blank.
“What do you mean before coming here?” Hajime asks suspiciously.
“Basic deduction,” Valiant says quickly. “With an obsessive sister, loving anyone else would’ve put them in danger.”
“…I see. Either way, Luna was my best friend. We even had rings—to commemorate our marriage.”
Whalescalibur spits imaginary tea.
“HUSBAND AND WIFE?!”
Valiant hurriedly asks with hope, “It was a childhood promise… right?”
“Yes,” Hajime says softly. “But it was our promise.”
Valiant silently concludes: He’s still in love with an uncertain variable!
“One day,” Hajime continues, “the promise was suddenly broken. She had to leave because of a great evil descended on her.”
“She died?” Valiant asks.
“No! Her parents got a better job and dragged her away kicking and screaming!”
Valiant clicks her tongue.
“I never truly recovered from that experience,” Hajime admits. “Academy anime still makes me miss her.”
“You need to move on!” Valiant blurts. “You’ll find a perfect tomboy someday, someone with red hair, great body and is totally understanding of you!”
“…Why red hair?”
“That’s non-negotiable!”
“…Okay.”
Meanwhile, Whalescalibur spirals.
“The hero is married?! What does that mean for Caladblock and me?! Am I the sexy sword who steals him?! This smells of PEAK DRAMA and MONEY!”
She immediately begins advertising a soap opera about a married hero cheating with a sword.
“You useless scrap heap!” Caladblock snarls. “You will become a tool of my ascension!”
“We are already ascending, you piece of lunatic pig iron!” the Elevator screams.
The speed increases.
“Oh,” Caladblock says calmly. “This is my stop.”
She injects miasma into the brakes, forcing the elevator to halt at the Mortal Tier.
The adless pry the doors open.
“NOOO! You will regret this!” the Elevator howls.
“Swing me at the control panel,” Caladblock commands.
The panel is smashed.
“MY UTILITIES!!!” the Elevator sobs, leaking oil and sparks.
“He alone is permitted to touch me,” Caladblock sneers. “You got off easy.”
She and the adless march onward through the Mortal Tier, their destination is to the monastery.
Toward one of the most sacred places of all the realm.
THE VAULT.
