Chapter 2

In the temple where a heavy, oppressive aura spread, Haruto Nishijo stood.

Before him stood a man who called himself a demon god and a girl who followed him.

"So, you're saying that I will be killed by you and then reincarnated into the world you rule—Is that it?"

"Yes."

Haruto, who had somehow found himself in this temple, was initially flustered but gradually began to grasp his situation as he listened to the demon god. The demon god had interfered with Haruto's fate and taken his life. Despite this, the overwhelming presence of the demon god in this space naturally made Haruto use polite language.

"Was there any reason to kill me? Couldn't you have brought me here without killing me, since you're a god?"

Haruto had died when he was hit by a car driven by a drowsy driver on his way back from school. He seemed to have been transferred to this world at the moment of his death, and he hardly felt any pain. However, the terror of the car speeding towards him was still vivid in his mind, and it seemed likely to become a trauma.

"To bring you to this world, it was necessary to utilize the negative energy of fear and despair at the moment of your death."

Originally, only the creator god had the power to transfer or reincarnate humans from another world. However, the demon god could reincarnate humans from another world by using the energy of the divine realm and the energy of the human being brought to this world as a trigger.

"Did I really die...?"

Currently, Haruto's body was translucent, apparently in a spirit-like state.

In the case of a transfer, the body is brought to this world along with the soul, but in the case of reincarnation, the body is left behind in the original world, and only the soul is brought to this world. The reincarnation is completed when the soul enters a body prepared by the god in this world. Seeing his semi-transparent body, Haruto was beginning to realize that he was dead.

However, he was not despairing.

The demon god had said he would be reincarnated, which meant he could live a second life. He had no particular dissatisfaction with his life in the original world, nor did he lack dreams, but he had always been fascinated by the idea of reincarnation.

"Um... If I'm going to be reincarnated, will I get some skills or special abilities?"

Haruto had read web novels about reincarnation in the original world and was looking forward to what would happen next.

Yes, the god-like abilities that could be obtained from the god.

Strength that could overwhelm monsters.

Magic power that would never run out, even when using the most powerful magic.

Defense that would not budge no matter how much it was attacked.

Smithing skills to create one-hit kill swords.

All of these were abilities that made his heart leap. Haruto had things he wanted to do with these abilities.

Facing a large army alone and turning a hopeless battle around.

Hiding his strength in daily life and overwhelming a powerful enemy with a sigh when the time came.

Saving a beautiful girl in distress and getting along well with her...

As if responding to Haruto's hopes, the demon god spoke.

"Yes. I have something to give you."

"Here it comes! Skills? Special abilities? Or maybe some cheat-like stats? Well, I'll make the best of whatever ability I get."

Even if it was a useless skill, it could be used to dominate the world with the right approach. After all, in the web novels he had read, the protagonist who was reincarnated into another world always dominated the world in various ways.

And Haruto was reincarnated, which meant he was the protagonist of this world.

—That's what he thought.

However, Haruto had forgotten one thing.

The one who reincarnated him was not a creator god or a goddess like those in the web novels he often read, but a demon god.

The demon god, watching Haruto's innocent excitement, spoke.

The corners of the demon god's mouth were smiling, but there was a sinister look in his eyes.

"What I will give you is a curse."

"…Huh?"

Haruto's thoughts stopped, unable to understand what the demon god was saying.

"I don't want you to be active in our world. I will place a 'Status Fix' curse on you."

"Why a curse!? And what does 'Status Fix' mean!?"

"It means exactly what it says. In the world you will go to, you can become stronger by defeating monsters and leveling up. However, with my curse, no matter how many monsters you defeat, your level will not increase."

"Wh-What!? No way!! Why would you—"

As Haruto tried to confront the demon god, his movements became slower the closer he got to the demon god. He could think normally, but his body wouldn't move as he wanted.

"In this space, it's impossible for someone like you to get close to me. Well, it's time for you to be reincarnated into our world."

"Hey, wait!"

As the demon god pointed his finger at Haruto, Haruto's body began to crumble.

"Could you at least explain a bit more—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Haruto was reincarnated by the demon god.

When reincarnating Haruto, the demon god placed a curse on his soul. The curse was so powerful that even the demon god couldn't remove it once it was placed, and it was infused with a large amount of divine realm energy and most of the demon god's power, making it resistant to interference from the creator god.

"This should ensure that he won't gain any significant power for a while."

The shikigami, who had silently watched the exchange between the demon god and Haruto, spoke to the demon god.

"Yes, I used a considerable amount of divine realm energy to reincarnate and curse him. Ideally, I would have made his job a low-level one, but the rules of the divine domain created by the old man made him a 'Third-Class Job' by default."

"Even as a Third-Class Job, with his status fixed, he won't be strong enough to defeat the Demon King, and he might even lose to low-level monsters. We don't need to worry about him anymore."

"That's true."

Saying this, the demon god slumped into a chair in the temple, looking exhausted.

"I used a lot of power... I need to rest. Take care of the rest."

"Understood."

The demon god fell asleep.

The fact that the curse he placed on Haruto could not be removed even by himself.

The fact that Haruto's job happened to be 'Sage'.

The fact that the demon god had made a mistake when placing the curse.

These factors would become miraculous good fortune for Haruto and the cause of the demon god's downfall—

The demon god would realize this only a little later.