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Chapter 1 Apparently, I was Thrown into Another World as Junk
The inorganic smell of concrete mixed with the humid night air and stings my nose.
Late at night, having long since missed the last train, the asphalt silently absorbed my footsteps, as if showing no interest in my existence.
“… Ah.”
An involuntary sigh escaped my lips, dissipating into thin air like white smoke.
After finishing my late-night shift at a convenience store, I trudged toward my cheap apartment, clutching the envelope containing the scholarship information—the collar of repayment obligations provided by my university.
I had no parents.
Raised in an institution from the time I was old enough to understand, I clung to the status of university student on what little money I had, living expenses earned from part-time work, and debts for the future.
While the surrounding kids were enjoying their youth with clubs and romance, I had no time for any of that.
Lectures, part-time work, sleep. And sometimes, assignments.
It’s an endless loop.
I’m like a hamster on a wheel with no way out.
If only I had money…
Everyone says money isn’t omnipotent.
But it’s also true that 90% of the world’s problems can be overcome with the power of money.
If I had money, I wouldn’t be wandering around so carelessly in the middle of the night.
I could sleep in a warm bed and enjoy a chat with a friend at a cafe every once in a while.
Such an ordinary dream.
This wish, so far removed from reality, makes me smile in self-deprecation.
Perhaps it was a mistake to be so absent-minded about such things.
“–!?”
A truck came lurching out of the back alley, its engine roaring.
The violent light of its headlights burned my retina.
Was my sudden inability to move due to fatigue, or was it just a case of giving up on life?
The sound of brakes screeching and the dull thud of something breaking were the last words before my consciousness suddenly faded.
◇◇◇
I regained consciousness.
I opened my eyes and found myself in an endless white space.
No floor, walls, or ceiling.
A completely empty space, devoid of sound, smell, or even gravity.
“Where…? Is this heaven?”
As I, who was supposed to be dead, muttered, the space before me began to glow faintly.
Particles of light gathered together, eventually forming the shape of a woman.
A beauty so unreal it could not be real.
A pure white robe that generously exposed her voluptuous body.
And majestic wings of light unfolded from her back.
A goddess, indeed.
“Oh? You’re awake. You’re much earlier than expected.”
A voice like the ringing of bells.
However, there was a cold, businesslike tone to her tone.
“Um… you?”
“Me? The Goddess Rhea. I’m in charge of managing souls like yours from the lower world, so I guess I’m like a middle manager.”
The goddess is a middle manager…
As I was confused by her words, she sighed in annoyance.
“I’ll cut straight to the point. Your soul was supposed to have disappeared along with you in that accident. But there was an error in our teleportation system, and you ended up in my jurisdiction by mistake. It was a mistake, a mistake.”
“W-a mistake…?”
“Yes. Right now, the other world I’m managing is in a bit of a pinch because of something called the Demon King’s army. I was in the middle of quickly sending in a few hero candidates. It’s like I got hit by a stray bullet. You’re just unlucky.”
You’re not unlucky! It’s not your fault!
I desperately swallow the insult that was about to rise to my throat.
After all, he’s a god.
“So, what will happen to me now? Will I be erased…”
“That won’t happen. It was my mistake, and it would be a pain to clean up afterward. Instead, out of kindness, I’ll reincarnate you into that world. Be grateful.”
A ray of hope seemed to shine upon his words.
Right, reincarnation! Then, what about that last wish?
“Please! To a wealthy family! Preferably, as a young lady with kind parents and a life of luxury!”
“Ah, that’s impossible.”
My hopes were shattered in an instant.
“What!? Why?”
“Why? Because there aren’t any vacancies. Excellent souls with hero aptitude are all prioritized and allocated to those good families. It’s common sense, right?”
I don’t know what that common sense is!
“No, that’s not true…”
“In the first place, a soul with zero aptitude like yours wouldn’t be able to make it, even if there were vacancies. Even if you were born with mediocre stats, it would be difficult to survive in that world. Only the best souls get the best. That’s just how the world is.”
Ah, I see.
So the world of the gods is ultimately the same as the world I came from.
Those who have it get even better things.
Those who don’t have it are forced to endure the leftovers.
I felt like hell.
Rhea boringly snapped her fingers.
My body floated gently into the air.
“Okay, enough talking. Do your best to survive. I doubt you’ll last a week, though.”
“Wait, Rhea! You’re still a goddess!? At least say some words of encouragement…!”
“Huh?”
Rhea looked down at me, genuinely annoyed, as if I were trash.
“I don’t have the kind words to say to a useless piece of junk.”
With those final words, my consciousness was rapidly sucked back into the darkness.
It was as if I was sinking to the bottom of a lightless ocean.
That evil goddess…!
I don’t know what kind of hell I’ll be reincarnated into.
But I will absolutely survive.
And one day, I’ll prove that woman wrong.
With this new determination in my heart, my consciousness once again faded into the darkness.
◇◇◇
“…Eris-sama, Eris-sama”
Someone’s calling me.
A soft, feminine voice.
As I slowly open my eyes, the first thing that catches my eye is an unfamiliar ceiling.
An unusually high, carved ceiling.
Hanging from it are not fluorescent lights, but glittering, reflective chandeliers.
“Huh…?”
As I try to sit up, I realize how small it is.
It’s not my body. It’s a child’s.
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