Narrator POV 

  

  

  

  

Stella and Luna Nightfall are E-ranked adventurers. 

The two had gained popularity amongst their peers during the Monster stampede incident in Altus. 

Luna showed her ability by using her skills as a Magic Knight. 

She uses Ice type magic to defeat her opponent leaving them broken into pieces or in-caged inside a prison of ice crystal. 

Stella on the other hand uses her stealthy skill and manipulation of projectile weapons with the "Throw" skill. 

She moves in the dark with the use of her “Shadow Movement” skill and skillfully deals with her opponent by finishing them off in 1 strike. 

In other people's eyes, they are just another pair of promising adventurers that is on the rise. 

  

  

They act like adventurers but in reality, Stella and Luna are in fact goddesses. 

Stella was originally the goddess who manages the souls coming from another dimension. 

She was the goddess who gives speeches while welcoming the “Hero” on their journey into the world of “Sword and Magic”. 

She is the same goddess who asks the Heroes to choose a “cheat-like” ability and be reincarnated into this alternate world. 

Her power to freely manipulate souls can give them such ability. 

Stella was the stereotypical goddess who appears in most Isekai stories where the hero died because he or she was hit by a truck. 

  

  

On the other hand. 

Luna is the goddess who was responsible for transporting their souls across dimensions. 

She’s also responsible for the heroes who had to live their lives once again because of some “unfortunate” event happening during their lifetime. 

In short, people who are "Reborn" or "went back in time". 

In actuality, she also had the responsibility to return these people to their original world if they wish to return to their old world after they manage to fulfill their roles of defeating the demon king. 

But, for some “unfortunate circumstances”, NONE had ever returned. 

In most cases, the heroes would die before they could even fight the demon king. 

And for the few who managed to reach the point where they were able to defeat their nemesis. 

It was either they never want to go back to their world or they became demon kings themselves. 

Again, another stereotypical development in an Isekai story. 

  

  

In the march of the undead in the forest of Altus city. 

The incident that the two goddesses instigated. 

  

  

Stella had been using one of her many abilities related to souls. 

The ability to control people by manipulating their thoughts and feeling. 

She had been using this ability to make sure that no one would interfere in Kazue's battle with the ghoul she created with her powers. 

  

  

The Ghoul. 

The ghoul itself was made from the use of Stella’s authority as well. 

She used the soul of a dead adventurer who died inside the “Undead King’s Lair”. 

The adventurer made a contract with Stella to give him a chance to reunite with his loved ones resulting in him turning into a Ghoul. 

The content of the contract was simple. 

It was to follow Stella's orders during the stampede event. 

  

  

During the time Kazue was fighting with this ghoul. 

Stella had been manipulating people's minds with her (God's Ability) without them even realizing it. 

By using this power, she made the people in the area around Kazue and the Ghoul ignore and avoid the battle that was taking place. 

They even failed to notice that there was a battle happening nearby. 

This was despite the loud noise coming from the battle, it did not reach their ears. 

They should have noticed it in normal circumstances but they simply couldn’t because of Stella’s manipulations. 

Likewise, she used this ability on the mother and child that Kazue saved and made them "forget" to ask others for help. 

  

  

In the mids of the battle. 

Luna asked Stella to deactivate her ability, this allowed other people to notice the battle. 

Kazue was exhausted, her mana was depleted and as a result, she was struggling to get herself to stand up. 

When Stella deactivated her ability, someone was already nearby to help Kazue. 

It was Tamashiro Naofumi, one of Kazue's former classmates. 

  

  

Tamashiro Naofumi was actually under the influence of Stella's power for a while now. 

Although he was only several meters away from where Kazue and the ghoul were fighting, he could not perceive that there was a battle happening nearby. 

He was running in circles around the area without even noticing the sound coming from the intense battle nearby. 

The sound simply passed through his ears. 

When he was about to turn a corner and find the area where Kazue and the Ghoul were fighting, he would subconsciously turn around and look somewhere else. 

This continued to happen for around 10 minutes until Stella decided to release him from her control 

When Stella released him from her control, he immediately noticed a crashing sound nearby. 

  

  

He tried to help but was defeated immediately by the ghoul. 

Luna went over him to awaken his true potential as “The God of Spacetime's Oracle.” 

He lost consciousness as a result. 

  

  

--------------------------------------- 

“They’re leaving.” <Stella> 

“Yup.” <Luna> 

  

  

Several days had passed since the battle in the forest of Altus city. 

The Hero and his party members together with the brave adventures and soldiers of Altus city defeated the “Undead King”. 

After the defeat of the “Undead King”, the adventurers and soldiers of Altus City were able to push back, suppress, and eventually neutralize the undead. 

Thus, the problem was solved. 

  

  

Right now, a caravan of merchants is preparing to leave the city. 

This caravan was sent by the Scale Atelier, the largest atelier in the whole world. 

Originally the caravan should have left a week ago and because of the incident that happened, they were forced to delay their return. 

Today the caravan will be returning to the imperial capital. 

  

  

The caravan left the city. 

As the caravan moved forward, two girls watched them from afar from within the city. 

While one watched them with a smile, the other was looking at them looking uninterested. 

It was Stella and Luna, the two individuals that caused all of the commotions that happened in Altus in the past few days. 

  

  

At the moment, Stella is using her soul manipulation ability to make everyone around them ignore their presence. 

This is for them to freely talk while preventing others from overhearing their conversation. 

“I wonder when will be the next time we could play with the heroes again. I feel that we haven’t done enough to play with them.” <Stella> 

Stella said with a longing smile on her face. 

“Well… the only purpose of this event is to assess the abilities of the heroes that the Empire summoned.” <Luna> 

Luna dropped her usual expressionless act. 

  

  

“Assess??… Oh Right…! That was our original objective. I almost forgot. Fufufu…” <Stella> 

Although Stella did not change her expression at all... 

Luna knew that behind that gentle smile was something sinister in nature. 

-sigh- 

Luna thought 

[Despite how she looks. Stella has a despicable personality. I did not expect her to hate them that much.] 

Luna was forced to show disgust from that smile 

Luna knew that Stella harbored ill-feeling toward these individuals who call themselves “Heroes” recently. 

  

  

“Yeah, it was for Assessment.” <Luna> 

“Ohohoho~” <Stella> 

While looking at Stella’s mock-like laughter, Luna thought. 

[She’s acting like it was nothing but she made it harder than necessary. Even though Themis wanted us to not mess with Kazue. She deliberately made it harder for her. She made the unique ghoul fight with her. She deliberately made their fight longer than necessary by warding off people to help Kazue. We could have helped earlier but she waited until Kazue ran out of gas.] 

Luna forced a sigh. 

  

  

“Well, how did they do? The Heroes.” <Stella> 

Stella asked Luna. 

-sigh-  

Luna sighed before she answered. 

  

  

"To be honest I am a bit disappointed.” <Luna> 

Luna looked at the empty air while trying to remember the things the Heroes have done during this incident. 

“Disappointed?” <Stella> 

“yes” <Luna> 

“Oh, my. I think they are interesting enough though.” <Stella> 

“Interesting? You mean amusing right? You only see them as toys… at the very least I don’t intend to make them suffer.” <Luna> 

“Ara~ you make it sound like I enjoy making them suffer?” <Stella> 

“Do you?” <Luna> 

Luna gave Stella a mischievous gaze. 

Stella did not even react and returned Luna’s gaze with an innocent smile. 

Luna clicked her tongue. 

  

  

“Leaving Kazue aside. I am disappointed with the rest of them. Ability-wise I was expecting more from the Hero and his party members. I would have appreciated it if they could at least contribute more to the fight. At the very least I wanted to see them “try” to fight the “Undead Dragon” or the “Undead King”. I do not mind it even if they were defeated. But what? They did not even try to engage in battle against it.” <Luna> 

“Fufufu~ Now, now Luna. I think you’re asking too much of them.” <Stella> 

“Tsk, you don’t get it, do you? In the stories, I read about the other world. This is the time when the hero would step up and become more powerful. If they were lucky, they could have awakened some “hidden” abilities.” <Luna> 

“Hmnn~ is that how it works??” <Stella> 

“It is!”<Luna> 

Luna pumps her fist and burns with passion. 

  

  

“Heroes should be passionate! Courageous! And does not avoid challenges! Next time I will make sure that they would have no choice but to face stronger opponents. I will not allow them to depend on others to do their jobs as heroes.” <Luna> 

“Oh~ if that is the case, I can help…” <Stella> 

“When the time comes, I will be counting on you. Just... Just don’t overdo it, Kay. Our objective is not to kill them.” <Luna> 

“I know, I know… geez, Luna you’re overthinking things.” <Stella> 

Stella waved her hands at Luna 

“Am, I?” <Luna> 

“You are~ You are.” <Stella> 

While still in doubt Luna gave Stella a pass for now. 

  

  

“How about the others?” <Stella> 

“Others huh… Well, none of them stood out like Kazue did but... I do find a few of them worth the look.” <Luna> 

“Oh! Me too! By the way who among them caught your attention.” <Stella> 

“Hmnn, Right~ I do like Ishibashi Minato and Yanase Yokuami. How about you?” <Luna> 

“I like, Uesaka Shino and Hayasaki Keikain. I guess?” <Stella> 

“hee~ I guess Shino is alright but that Keikain? Why?” <Luna> 

“Just as you said earlier, I do find him amusing. It would be fun playing with him. His overconfidence and narcissism make him thirst for power. I would love to break… ---ahem--- I mean play with his “will”.” <Stella> 

  

  

Luna felt chills and made a disgusted face from seeing the sadistic smile on Stella’s face. 

Stella shook off that expression, she might have noticed that her face twisted showing her true feelings. 

Instead, she continued explaining her reason for picking the two. 

“… As for Shino, I love how opportunistic she is. I just love how she utilizes her skill well and took this incident as an opportunity to make herself stronger. I like the way she thinks.” <Stella> 

  

  

Luna nodded at Stella’s reasoning. 

“At the very least, I have a better impression of Shino than the Hero and her party members after all. I agree.” <Luna> 

“Right! Well, how about you? Why did those two interest you?” <Stella> 

“Ah~ First is Yanase. I do like her “reserved” attitude of not showing off. She may not look like it but I feel that she has potential. She’s level-headed and has a good awareness of what’s happening around her. I would have preferred it if she showed more of what she can do. But I guess the situation did not allow her to do so. I feel that her skill set is best suited for fighting fewer enemies. I would love to see her in a situation where she can show what she can do. Second is Ishibashi Minato.” <Luna> 

“The one with the pet slime, right?” <Stella> 

“Yeah, I like how creative he is with his slime familiars. I don’t know the reason why he picked slimes as familiar, there’s a lot of better familiar for tamers like him out there. But putting that aside. Positioning, tactical approach of fighting. Cunning way of dealing with a monster. I found them very intriguing to watch. But I guess when he keeps on insisting on using slimes as familiars, he will soon hit a wall. When that time comes, I wonder what he’ll do?” <Luna> 

  

  

Stella blinked several times. 

“hee~ you sure have a lot to say. I guess you observed them closely huh?” <Stella> 

“I guess that’s true.” <Luna> 

“Oh, right…” <Stella> 

Stella remembered something and looked directly at Luna. 

  

  

“What about him?” <Stella> 

Stella said while raising her index finger. 

“Him?” <Luna> 

“You know, your oracle.” <Stella> 

“Ahh… him? I was so disappointed that I tried to forget about him. He’s pathetic, did you see when he charged the unique ghoul? He could not even react. He was defeated like a clown. If I am to describe him, he looked like a comedic relief character. What is my future "self" thinking, what did I see in him anyway?” <Luna> 

“Oh, come on, he did give me a good show in my opinion.” <Stella> 

“Yeah right, for laughs.” <Luna> 

Luna rolled her eyes as she replied. 

  

  

Stella crossed her arm under her chest 

She turned her gaze and was looking at a person from afar. 

“Ara~ speaking of the devil” <Stella> 

Standing there was a boy who was in his mid-teens 

He had messy black hair and wear clothes that are mostly color black. 

[Wow, are you some kind of an edge-lord character?]  

Luna thought 

  

  

A few days ago, he received his so-called “Awakening” after meeting Luna. 

The boy’s name is Tamashiro Naofumi, one of the 28 heroes that were summoned by the imperial capital. 

A few days ago, he fell into a deep sleep after getting his ass beat by a unique ghoul that he and his companion encountered during the incident that happened in Altus city. 

He just woke up this morning and the first thing he did was to confirm his situation. 

He then looked for a certain individual. 

The person who gave him a very special gift. 

  

  

Stella was aware of his intention and let him be aware of their presence. 

Naofumi slowly approached the two who is sitting on a bench near the city plaza where a lot of people were gathering. 

Just like Stella and Luna, people started to ignore Naofumi’s presence due to the effect of Stella’s power. 

They were there but it was as if all the other people around them were not there with them. 

Naofumi felt that if he tried to touch one of them with his hands it would simply pass through them. 

Despite having this curious thought, Naofumi stopped himself from doing that and walked forward to deal with a more important task. 

  

  

In just a span of a few days. 

The individual, Tamashiro Naofumi seems to be a different person than he was compared to a few days ago. 

After coming in contact with Luna, the Goddess of Spacetime, Naofumi gained power beyond what he had before. 

No, it was rather he “regained” that power. 

  

  

He approached Luna and Stella. 

When he was about a few meters away from them, he kneeled on his feet to show his respects. 

“I came to say my thanks, Luna-sama.” <Naofumi> 

Luna looked down at Naofumi who was kneeling at her. 

“Raise your head, my kindred.” <Luna> 

“Yes as you wish, Luna-sama” <Naofumi> 

“How are you feeling?” <Luna> 

“I feel younger than ever, all thanks to you.” <Naofumi> 

Luna snorts at the simple joke Naofumi said. 

  

  

“You may already know this but the “Me” right now is ignorant of the “future”. Just so you know, I am not interested in knowing the facts that will happen in the future. Well, since “you” have returned to the past means that “you” want something to be changed. Your actions will lead to a different future. I still can see “that” future but I choose not to since I hate “spoilers” the most. But I am curious, why did “I” choose you to become an Oracle. To be honest, I can’t see anything that would make me want to make you one of my “oracles” and yet here you are. I want to know, Tamashiro Naofumi.” <Luna> 

  

  

Naofumi looked at Luna with a straight eye. 

It was the eyes of a person determined to do everything in his power to make something happen. 

“Yes, Luna sama. The future "you" said to me that “Themis” asked you to make me an oracle. To give me a chance to change the future.” <Naofumi> 

“EEEee?!!~ Themis asked me. That’s something.” <Luna> 

Luna and Stella were surprised.  

“That's unexpected, Indeed.” <Stella> 

Stella asked with a playful tone. 

  

  

“That makes me what to know. What is that future you want to change?” <Stella> 

“That…” <Naofumi> 

A look of longing was painted on Naofumi’s face. 

Sadness and regret. 

Anger. 

These emotions were mixed and showed in his expression after Stella asked for the thing he wanted to change. 

Then the look of determination returned to his face as he answered Stella with resolve. 

“To prevent Mizusawa Kazue’s death” <Naofumi> 

  

  

“Heee~” <Luna> 

“Oh my~” <Stella> 

Stella made an amused look on her face while Luna was intrigued. 

  

  

  

“I WILL DEFINITELY CHANGE HER FATE.” <Naofumi> 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Note: 

AND… That’s the end of Arc 1 

Arc 2 will be focusing on Kazue’s journey to the country of Riles 

  

  

Side note: 

As you may have known. 

Originally, I did not intend for Kazue to become the Main Character of this story but I just fell in love with writing from her perspective. 

To be honest I was just writing this story to have an idea of how “actually writing a novel” feels like. 

The pain of checking grammar and typos. (Where after re-reading the past chapters, I still found a lot.) 

How to write smoothly. 

How to make it more readable. 

Establishing plot points. 

Characterization. 

-sigh- to be honest it was hard, but at the same time, it was fun! 

I feel like I’m studying “English” once again. 

  

  

Going back to the topic. “Kazue as the MC” 

I originally planned to make all 28 heroes the “MC” of the story. 

But then I realized. 

The plot was moving at an AGONIZINGLY slow pace, SO I dropped that idea and just chose to focus on Kazue’s Story, thus making her the MC. (No problem!) 

So, after writing chapter 15? 16? I’m not sure but it was around that time that I decided to just focus on Kazue’s storyline and just make the other’s story as “Side stories”. 

(Maybe I should just write a separate story for them later?) 

  

What are the sides stories you say? 

 

  

  

I will do 2 more Side Story chapters before proceeding with the next arc! 

Right! I will try to make a new cover page if “TIME” allows me to do so. 

  

 

  

Thanks for reading!