In the end, I was just an unlucky guy dumped into this world by a useless goddess using some cheap second hand summoning service. My first day reward was getting left in a wasteland full of giant monsters. And let’s not even talk about that parachute free fall from the sky.

  On the other hand, even though the Demon Lord tried to take me over and would probably kill me in the process, he somehow ended up handing me his power and naming me his heir.

  If I had to pick a side, which I really hate, I might as well back him. Thanks to his legacy and that devouring domain, I can use magic and pretend I’m brave enough to help others. So yeah, my choice was already made.

  “Alright,” I said. “I’ll take charge of this from now on.”

  “But, young lord, shouldn’t you get a bit more practice with your domain first—” the old man said, tense.

  “I think I’ve mastered it enough.” I cut him. “And if it’s a boss level monster, all I need to do is drain its mana. Maybe I won’t even need to fight.”

  He could only nod. After seeing me drain all of Midori’s mana that morning, he had no room to argue. “Very well,” he muttered. “If you say so…”

  “I’ll be there too,” Midori said, looping her arm around my neck and patting my head, drunk as hell. “You didn’t think I’d let this idiot go alone, did you?”

  Her way too friendly and totally unwanted touching was making me tense. The old man and the general suddenly got really interested in the ground. I copied them, yanked my poor head free, and acted like none of this ever happened while trying to focus on the actual problem.

  “But,” I said, turning to the general, “I still don’t really get what kind of threat we’re dealing with. Can you tell me more details?”

  “Of course, my lord,” the general said. He paused, gathered his thoughts, then continued. “Since the great war, a dense mana field has been spreading from the mountains. Years ago, it even forced us to leave our home at the foothills. Whatever is up there keeps growing, draining everything in its way like a cold death.”

  “You’ve probably seen it on your travels, young lord,” the old man said, his expression heavy. “These lands are dying…”

  “I haven’t really traveled much, but… I guess I got a bird’s eye view, and yes, it wasn’t heartwarming.”

  “You can fly too, my lord?” the old man asked, eyes wide. The general looked just as surprised.

  “Oh, no,” I said, scratching the back of my neck with a nervous smile. “I was mostly falling. Not something I want to remember... Either way, whatever is waiting for us isn’t a simple threat.”

  “Are you sure it’s just a boss level monster?” Midori asked. “This sounds like something far worse to me.”

  “You’re right, young lady,” the old man said. “After seeing you up close, I’m sure of it. Whatever is up there, it’s far beyond that.”

  First the general. Then Midori. Now the old man. Each word planted more fear in me. I almost backed out.

  “Has no one seen it?” I asked, swallowing hard. “Not even from a distance?”

  “No,” the general said. “Only terrifying roars when we got too close. The mana gets so dense that after a while we can’t even see each other. But we suspect it’s a dragon. Or something just as bad.”

  “Okay… we’ll see it for ourselves anyway,” I said, clearly demotivated. Then I turned to Midori. “Can you take us there?”

  “Right now? No,” she said. “You drained all my mana today. I need some time to recover. But I’ve been near that mountain before. I can get us close, maybe tomorrow, or the day after at the earliest.”

  “How long would it take on foot?” I asked, turning to the general.

  “Two full weeks, my lord,” he said. “And that’s with our fastest wild boars.”

  “Waiting for a few more days won’t kill us,” Midori said, smacking my back. “And you can train more while we wait.”

  “Young lady is right, my lord,” the old man said. “No need to rush. And I apologize for involving you in this problem while you’re still recovering…”

  “What do you mean? If you see me as your lord, then this is my problem too.” I paused, then added, “And if even one kid here goes to sleep hungry, I don’t deserve this lord title.”

  The old man looked at me, eyes softening. “The more I get to know you, young lord, the more I understand why our lord chose you as his heir,” he said. “You speak just like him… It feels like I’m hearing his voice again.”

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Well, that was pure coincidence. I had zero in common with him. Not that I hated the idea, but let’s be real, it was impossible. He only picked me after way too much thinking and realizing he had no other options. I was just lucky there wasn’t a snail or a frog lying around to steal my spot.

  Of course, I wasn’t going to tell him that. I’d guard this accidental honor to the end. I avoided the old man’s eyes while Midori yawned, clearly exhausted. The old man he glanced at the general, and just like that, the two of them stood and headed for the door.

  “Let us leave for now, young lord. You’ve had a long day,” the old man said.

  Soon after they left, a young demon woman in charge of the household duties came to the door. She bowed lightly and called out to us.

  “Your room is ready, my lord, my lady,” she said.

  If I heard correctly, she said room, not rooms. A weird suspicion crept in. Not entirely sure, I followed anyway. We were led upstairs into a big room. The moment we stepped in, the door clicked shut behind us, and, of course… just as my instincts had screamed, there was only one bed. For two people. Perfect.

  “Oh wow, I’m dead tired,” Midori said, throwing herself onto the warm bed.

  I just stood by the door, frozen, replaying my whole life and every bad choice I had ever made. I tried to figure out which one led me here. Probably all thanks to the old man misreading things, I guessed. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she suddenly started taking off her clothes.

  “Hey, hey! What are you doing?!” I shouted, stopping her just in time.

  “What? It’s bothering me,” she said, careless.

  “You don’t take off your clothes to sleep, especially with someone else in the room!”

  She shot me a mildly annoyed look and pulled her kimono back up. “Fine,” she muttered, flopping back down. Lucky for me, she was too drunk and tired to argue.

  “Besides,” I muttered, frustrated, “after carrying that giant shell on your back for decades, it’s kind of funny that you’d get bothered by a thin dress…”

  “If I could, I’d probably take it off too.” she mumbled, half-asleep. “Aren’t you sleeping? There’s enough bed for both of us.”

  “No, I… uh…” I grabbed the chair in the corner, dragged it over, and sank into it. “I’m fine here.”

  “If you say so…” she mumbled, yawning as she dozed off.

  I stayed in the chair, arms crossed, glancing at the warm, empty side of the bed. I could’ve curled up in the corner, but it felt like I’d sat on wet paint, I just didn’t want to move.

  I woke up the next day with sunlight hitting my face and nearly slid off the chair like melting ice cream. When I looked around, Midori was already gone. I yawned and stepped outside, only to run into the young servant in the hallway.

  “Good morning, my lord,” she said, bowing. “I’ll have your breakfast ready soon.”

  “No, thank you. Actually, have you seen Midori?”

  “The young lady is in the library downstairs, my lord.”

  “Oh, thanks!”

  As I headed down, still wondering why I hadn’t asked exactly where the library was, a loud crash boomed from a corner room. I went to see what it was, and the moment I opened the door, something slammed into my stomach. I tumbled back and landed on my butt.

  I sat there, a palm-sized rock in my lap, watching Midori give me a guilty little grin. I pushed the rock aside and saw other demons running from the library like a monster had shown up. Well… she actually was one. Peeking through the door, the place looked like a total disaster zone.

  “I… was just practicing,” Midori said, avoiding my gaze.

  “In the library?” I asked, looking at the sand, rocks, and toppled shelves scattered among ruined books.

  “Yeah, I read a few books and learned some amazing new spells, so I just had to try them—”

  “You could’ve done this outside as well,” I muttered.

  “Oops,” she said, shameless. “Anyway, look what I’ll show you—”

  "Wait!" I cut her off fast. I really did not want the mansion to collapse today. “Maybe,” I said, forcing a smile, “you show it in the backyard instead. Yeah?”

  Thankfully, she nodded and followed me out, all bubbly and excited. Once we got there, she pointed at an empty spot on the ground.

  “Now watch this,” she said, holding out her arm, and suddenly, stones of every size lifted into the air.

  “Amazing, right?” she said, eyes shining as she looked at me.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I muttered, still unsure what she was trying to do.

  Then, in one swift move, she sent all the stones flying at me like bullets. I threw up my arms, hid my face, and peeked through squinted eyes. The stones stopped right in front of my nose, then slowly dropped back to the ground.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you,” Midori said. “At least, not yet.”

  “What do you mean, not yet?” I asked, tensing up.

  “I was thinking,” she said, stepping closer. “Last night you were really bold. I didn’t hate it, but…” She looped her arm around my neck. “If you want to face a monster stronger than me, at least beat me first. Fair, right?”

  A pit of dread settled in my stomach. I already had a pretty good idea of how much of a lunatic Midori could be. But damn it, she was right.

  “I— I thought… I’d just drain its mana,” I mumbled, barely convincing even myself.

  “You sure? The kind that can blanket a whole mountain and shake an entire town, even?” she asked, circling in front of me like she was ready to declare a duel. “I don’t think so.”

  “All right… so what do we do then? What’s the plan?”

  “Like I said,” she said, grinning, “we don’t go there until someone beats me in a duel. And no using your domain!”

  “But I have no mana. How do you expect me to fight without it?”

  “Oh, you’re right,” she said with that dumb grin on her face. “Wait a second.” She dashed back toward the building.

  I just stood there, staring at the sad, half-dead tree in the corner. For a moment, we shared the same desire to keep existing. Then Midori returned, shoving the old man and the general toward me.

  “Here’s your source! Use as much as you want!” she said, like she was handing over some non-human batteries.

  They looked at me with no idea what was happening, and I mirrored that same stunned expression. Then, without a word, Midori unilaterally declared war, tossing a tiny rock straight at my head.

  “Ouch, what the—”

  Before I could react, another rock hit. I spun around and saw an entire airborne army of stones floating right behind her, all eager to meet my poor face. She hurled them all at me like a rainstorm.

  I ran, but the stones slammed into me at random. I barely managed to hide behind a rock, taking a deep breath… when a shadow loomed over me. I looked up and saw the very rock I was hiding behind now hanging above me, ready to turn me into a human rug.