My death was the result of overwork at my grueling office job—at least, that was what I had thought, but it was actually because of a god’s careless mistake, something even less likely than winning the lottery. From the perspective of an omnipotent being, a human is only one of the many life-forms out there as numerous as the stars, and their fate can be changed by the twitch of a finger. But unlike one of the gods you might see as final bosses in manga or video games, this one was kind and had even profusely apologized while prostrating herself before me. Because of her, I had ended up reincarnating in another world, and receiving a special reincarnation bonus.
When this god told me about reincarnating, I had been simply exhausted from all the stress of my job and my personal relationships—exhausted enough to hallucinate that I had died of overwork. So, I had wished to be given a healthy body and to be sent to a place without any people. My originally unhealthy thirty-year-old body turned into one that was around twenty, and I found myself reborn on an island without any humans.
It had now been two months since I’d first gazed up at this star-filled sky without any artificial light, and set my heart on living on this island alone, and—
“Yeah, people are just hopeless when they’re tired,” I said to myself as I lazily lounged in a hammock strung between two forest trees.
“What’s this all of a sudden?” Reina asked, lifting her face up from her book and looking at me curiously. As she sat nearby at an outdoor table, any stranger would have assumed she was an ordinary young woman enjoying camping. However, her real identity was as one of the Seven Celestial Archmages, the most powerful magicians on the continent.
“I was just thinking about how my mindset has changed a lot in the two months since I met you, Reina,” I said.
“Are you referring to how you talked about wanting to live alone in a place without anyone else?”
“You’re sharp.”
“Well, we have been spending every day together, Arata. I can pick up on what you’re thinking.”
Until reincarnating on this otherworld island, I had thought that I didn’t want to have anything to do with others. I had wished for a solitary life outdoors. However, after meeting Reina, who had washed up on this island, I gradually had a change of heart as we spent time together.
Getting out of my favorite hammock, I sat down across from Reina, and she smoothly poured me a cup of coffee. We had been given the slightly bitter coffee beans by a Divine Beastfolk friend of ours who was a native of the island, and the taste was quite addicting.
The breeze was calm; as I enjoyed this simple, blissful leisure time to the sound of the rustling forest trees, I sensed a powerful energy from far away.
“Now then,” I said, getting out of the chair and readying myself.
Reina chuckled, amused. “Hang in there.”
Both of us knew what was going to happen next.
“Mister Arataaa!”
“Daaarliiing!”
The two girls shouting from some distance away—the Divine Beastfolk Luna and the Ancient Dragonfolk Tailtiu—raced over to us, each vying to be first.
“All right, come at me!” I said, spreading my arms and waiting.
“Yaaay!”
“Hmph!”
The two of them arrived at the same time, each wrapping their arms around me. There was an intense crash, like the sound of two semitrucks colliding, and the once-still forest trees violently swayed from the shock of the impact as if battered by a hurricane. Both girls looked like regular children, but the power they contained within made them worthy of being called “paramounts,” stronger than any giant monster.
Luna and Tailtiu giggled. “Eheh heh heh!”
“Welcome, both of you,” Reina said.
They hugged me and nuzzled their heads up against me like puppies. It was adorable, but at the same time I felt that they were a bit too old to be acting so shamelessly. So, after they seemed to have their fill, I pulled them off of me. As I did, Reina was just setting out cookies on the table as a snack.
Before I know it, she’s always bringing something out.
Reina used a bit of water magic, then took out hand towels and gave them to us. “Arata, Luna, Tailtiu. Once you all wipe your hands, let’s have snacks.”
“Okaaay!” Luna said.
“Mhmm!” Tailtiu said.
“Aha ha!” I let out a laugh. They looked just like children as they obediently received their towels from Reina. I followed their lead and wiped my hands as well, then sat down around the table with everyone. Then, in what had become a ritual for them, Luna and Tailtiu let out shouts after digging in.
“De-lish!!!”
“Mhmm! It’s good!!!”
In sharp contrast with their appearances, the two girls were actually ultrapowerful beings whose mere presence struck fear into others. Their shouts alone were enough to radiate mana out into the surrounding area, making the entire forest tremble and frightening Calamity-class monsters.
“I want seconds!” Luna said.
“Me too!” Tailtiu chimed in.
“Yeah, yeah...” Reina said.
Be that as it may, they were our good friends.
“Hey, Arata! There’s still some left for me, right?!” Elga said. The great Divine Beastfolk warrior rushed over, probably because he had heard Luna’s and Tailtiu’s shouts. On his shoulders he was carrying an unconscious cow monster as a gift.
“If you’re fine with cookies, some of them are still—” I turned around, but all of the cookies that had been on the table were now gone. “Hey, Tailtiu?”
Though she usually behaved like a spoiled child with me, Tailtiu turned away, ignoring my voice.
“What about you, Luna?” I said.
She turned away too.
I grabbed both of them by the scruffs of their necks, lifted them up, and looked at their faces. Their cheeks were stuffed full to bursting with cookies. What are you, hamsters?
“Whoooa?! Are you kidding me?!” Elga shouted. At the same time, the two gulped down the cookies in their mouths, then tilted their heads in confusion as if nothing had happened at all.
“What is it?” they asked simultaneously.
“All right, it’s oooooon!”
Thus began a great war between the three paramounts.
“It sure is peaceful,” I remarked. However, one thing I couldn’t forget was to stand in front of Reina to protect her from the mana of the three, which was so powerful that it was harmful to her. Though of course, things had gotten much better compared to before, now that they adjusted their power and placed some distance between themselves and her.
As Elga and the two kids fought, Reina prepared the cow monster. She looked just like a professional chef as she briskly worked. Her gaze was sharp; there was nothing she couldn’t intimidate if it tried to get in the way of her cooking. In fact, she had driven Tailtiu to tears multiple times, and the paramounts were so afraid of her in this mode that none dared approach her. In a certain sense, she was really the strongest being on the island.
“And...done,” Reina said. “C’mon, you three! Finish up and come have food!”
Attracted by the savory scent of meat, the three scrambled over to sit at the table, then...
“Yeeeeeaaaaahhh!!!”
As always, they roared.
In normal society, this everyday scene would be a nuisance, but I liked it. Humans were different species from Divine Beastfolk and Ancient Dragonfolk, but even so, we all got along well.