Chapter 1: The Curtain Rises

"We shall now proceed with the execution of the Rebel Summoner—Reima Kariya!"

Life was a joke.

That was the conclusion reached by the Transferee, Reima Kariya.

In the winter of my final year of middle school, I thought I’d been crushed in a rockfall. Instead, I was summoned to another world. Since I possessed the talent of a Summoner, I set out on a journey to subjugate the Demon King, all for the sake of returning to my original world.

I spent three years on that journey. I saved the world alongside the Summoned Beasts who had contracted with me—and now, at this very moment, I was about to be executed.

Magic items imbued with weakening curses weighed down my arms, and a magic-sealing collar was clamped tight around my throat. They were using heavy-duty equipment to keep me suppressed.

What did I do wrong? I wondered, but the answer came to me immediately.

A Summoner powerful enough to kill a Demon King was a liability. To the people of this world, it was only natural to be afraid.

I understood that, logically. But I still wasn't used to the sheer hostility radiating from the very people I’d spent years protecting. I didn't know how to respond.

Yeah. My life really was a piece of trash.

"Hey, King. Get on with it. There’s no point in dragging this out, is there?"

There was no overturning this sentence now. I had no reason to struggle; I just wanted to go home.

Still, even for someone like me, there was one regret.

I wonder if they’ll be okay.

I was worried about my Summoned Beasts. They were a lonely bunch; I hoped they weren't crying. I just hoped they wouldn't grow to hate the people of this world. That was my only prayer.

"Then, farewell—Lord Reima."

The sword swung down in a slow arc.

It was strange. I was about to die, yet I felt no real resentment. I was just worried about my friends. My only regret was that I wouldn't see them again.

"I’m sorry I was such a pathetic master, everyone."

I’d always thought my life was a pointless waste. But when I thought of the comrades and Summoned Beasts who had traveled with me, I felt like there had been a reason for me to come here. A reason for me to be born.

With a sincere apology echoing from the bottom of my heart, my consciousness flickered and died before I could even feel the pain.

"The afterlife is... warmer than I expected."

I stared up at a white ceiling. Looking at the familiar scenery, that was the first thought that came to mind. I had clear memories of the moment of my death, so why was I still conscious?

My memory wasn't clouded. I remembered being summoned, saving the other world, and being executed. I remembered it all.

Which only made this situation weirder.

The question of why I was still alive filled my head. I looked around and realized I was in a hospital room. The interior looked exactly like the one I’d been in back in Japan.

Does this mean I’m back?

It felt like everything that happened might have been a dream, but the experiences were carved into me. Most of all, I couldn't forget the sensation of dying.

"Well, no point overthinking what I don't understand."

After being summoned to another world and living through something out of a light novel, I wasn't about to be shocked by a little bit of weirdness. Besides, the things my Summoned Beasts could do were far more nonsensical than this.

"First, I need to check the situation."

I tried to sit up, but a dull ache shot through me. My joints screamed in protest. I wasn't going anywhere like this.

"Wait... are these broken bones?"

I’d wondered why I was in a hospital, but the injuries explained it. Before I was summoned, I’d been at death’s door after that accident. It made a certain kind of sense.

"...[Heal]."

I tried the recovery magic on a whim. It worked perfectly.

No way.

But the glow of the spell confirmed it: everything that happened was real. Even if the end was a disaster, I didn't want to believe the path I’d walked was just some delusion.

"By the way, what's the date?"

I’d been gone for three years. It wouldn't be strange if a lot of time had passed.

I stretched my stiff limbs. The mountain of questions was starting to get to me, so I walked over and pushed open the hospital window.

"……What?"

The word slipped out before I could stop it.

The view outside wasn't a city. Spread out before me was a landscape that looked exactly like the Dungeons I’d grown used to in the other world.

And that wasn't all. Soaring through the sky were monsters that definitely had no business being in modern Japan.