The Hero Festival had been held a hundred times in the past, and each time, individuals were summoned from another world to fill the Hero-role. Once their duties were fulfilled, they were given the choice to either return to their original world or immigrate to Trinia.
Among them, forty-seven otherworlders had chosen to immigrate thus far. Roughly half of those summoned had opted to stay in this world rather than return home.
There were specific reasons for this. To begin with, the selection process for the Hero-role summoned by the Hero Summoning Magic Circle followed certain criteria.
First was the age range. The candidates were generally chosen from a pool within two years of the First Hero Hikari Kujo's age at the time of her summoning. Since Hikari had been seventeen, the selection usually targeted those between fifteen and nineteen.
Furthermore, the magic sought out those who harbored a sincere wish to go to another world or a desire to disappear from their own. So long as they were not wicked at heart, such individuals were chosen and summoned as the Hero-role.
The only exceptions to this rule were the three who had been caught up in the summoning by accident—Aoi Kusunoki, Hina Yuzuki, and Kaito Miyama. Every other Hero-role had been selected based on those established standards.
Just as Seigi Mitsunaga had privately wished to escape to another world due to his unhappy home environment, many of the past Hero-roles had harbored similar burdens.
Even so, while some still wished to return to their original world, others chose to begin their lives anew.
The world wasn't fair. No matter how many pretty words someone strung together or how loudly they shouted their ideals, that was just a fact of life. There were gaps that no amount of effort could ever bridge.
The house I was born into was hopelessly poor. My Pop and Mom worked desperately from dawn till dusk, yet we still struggled to even put food on the table.
Looking back now, I can see they were both just bad at living. They were used and tossed aside for a pittance. I can think of plenty of better ways they could have handled things.
But back then, I was just a brat who didn't know a thing about how society worked. I didn't understand any of that. I just had memories of how hard things were for Pop and Mom.
I tried to help out around the house as much as I could, and I tried not to be selfish. If I do say so myself, by the time I finished elementary school, I’d already developed a pretty adult way of thinking.
I knew that finishing middle school was the best I could hope for; we couldn't afford high school. I started working as soon as I graduated. I guess you could call it a job, but in reality, I was just scraping by on odd jobs. Just like Pop and Mom, I began a life of working from dawn till dusk for measly wages.
Logically, you’d think life would get easier once I started contributing. Right? My tuition costs were gone, and the number of breadwinners had increased to three. Even if we stayed poor, you’d think we could at least live a more decent life than before, wouldn't you?
But less than six months after I started working, both Pop and Mom just up and died from overwork. Of course I was sad, but more than that, I was overwhelmed by the terrifying realization that I had no idea how I was going to survive.
I was only sixteen, and I knew nothing of the world. In that state, I was suddenly forced to fend for myself.
It felt as if the lights had truly gone out right in front of my eyes. With no idea what to do or where to go, I simply cursed my own fate.
That was when I was summoned to another world—to Trinia.
At first, I honestly thought I was dreaming. I accepted the Hero-role without really understanding what was happening, and I was suddenly treated like a princess from a storybook—something I’d never experienced in my life.
To be honest, the pampered treatment made my skin crawl, but the constant stream of surprises was exactly what my sinking heart needed. Being the Hero-role kept me busy, so I didn't have much time to dwell on dark thoughts anyway.
I traveled the world as the Hero-role and saw all sorts of things. It wasn't just that everything was fresh because it was another world... I realized just how narrow my own world had been until then.
There were all kinds of people living all kinds of ways. I saw folks who were poor but lived with a smile, and I saw folks who were filthy rich but looked bored out of their minds.
My horizons broadened. As I learned about the world, a desire finally welled up inside me to start moving forward, one step at a time.
When the Hero Festival ended, I chose to immigrate to Trinia. I figured I’d rather start over here than go back to my old life. I wanted to think for myself and live a life I could be proud of.
Well, they told me I could have a noble title if I wanted, but I turned them down. Being a noble wasn't my style at all. It's not that I liked being poor, but a life of excessive luxury didn't sit right with me either.
Instead of taking a title, I had them put in a good word for me at a large trading company. I learned the ropes of the business while working as an apprentice, and after about five years, I went independent and founded the Mikumo Trading Company.
Admittedly, I ended up getting a massive amount of help from Chrome-sama back then, so I’ll be forever in her debt.
It’s a strange thing. Once I started thinking positively and actually getting things moving, everything suddenly started going my way. It wasn't a huge success right from the start, but I made decent sales, and more than anything, I was blessed with good people.
I found a maid who’s a bit cheeky but incredibly talented, capable of handling everything from housework to combat; and my employees are all high-spirited, if a bit eccentric. Honestly, I think I’ve built a pretty great company.
"Chairman? What's the matter? Why are you suddenly smi—wearing such a creepy face?"
"Why did you go out of your way to change 'smiling' to 'creepy,' you brat? It's nothing. I just thought that, well, my life right now is pretty good."
"Is that so? Personally, I think it would be a much better life if my salary went up just a little more."
"That depends on your performance. I’ve got high hopes for you, so earn it."
The world wasn't fair... but being unequal didn't necessarily mean it was bad. No two people live the exact same way, and if you can find a way to enjoy your own life, I reckon that counts as a win.
"Chairman, how about that high-end chocolate shop over there for a souvenir?"
"Don't be daft, I can't afford something that expensive! Baby Castella will do just fine. It's cheap."
"Could you please stop making such perfectly difficult-to-criticize choices?"
"Hahaha, Chrome-sama loves them, after all."
Truly, living in this world... isn't bad at all.
Serious-senpai: "...Hmm? Since this is '1,' does that mean the other two immigrants are going to show up too?"