Unexpected Survey

"Mother, Father, do you know what will happen tomorrow?" I asked during dinner.

It was very abrupt, and unexpected coming from me who was usually silent while the family was eating. The sudden question left Child's parents confused, but after a moment Villager (Father) answered hesitantly. "You'll be 10…"

"That's right." I nodded before continuing. "I'm going to the temple tomorrow, to undergo the Awakening Ritual."

When I arrived at this world, I didn't plan on telling them about my plans and wanted to rely on Peddler in case they wanted to stop me. But now I was strong, so they couldn't stop me physically, and my lack of emotional investment, even after five years, left them with little authority over me. The other kind of authority that parents would hold over their children would be food and shelter, which were meaningless to me.

Besides, I knew that if I push strongly enough, they'll easily cave. I was Local Hero, so everybody in the village was friendly towards me, and it would place Child's parents in an awkward position if our relationship turned sour.

"Wait, are you serious?" Villager (Father) exclaimed, loudly though not as surprised as I expected him to be. Perhaps they already considered the possibility that I would say such a thing. "We can't afford it, you know? You have a lot of talent, your whole future ahead of you… Such potential… But it doesn't mean you have the Awakening Potential. Strength doesn't mean that you're trained enough, and Hunter isn't a training master… If you were to fail, you would be-"

No, it wasn't a perhaps. They certainly considered the possibility. The argument was too eloquent for Villager (Father) to come up with on the spot. Under normal circumstances, he would be right, but I decided to cut him off.

"A slave, I know that. I have no intentions of becoming a slave, and even if I didn't awaken, it wouldn't happen. I have enough to pay."

Besides paying 5 gold for the ritual, there was another way. I was always aware of it, but it would have been the last resort for me. Without the gold, Child's parents would put up more resistance to me undergoing the ritual, so I wanted to avoid it.

"Even with the rewa-" "No, I have enough. I worked for Owner, remember? I was paid well." To shorten the argument, I pulled out a leather pouch, revealing five gold coins. Whenever drawing money from my Inventory, I could make it come in a pouch, made of leather or cloth. The material was good, and I thought that I could abuse the system when I discovered it, but it would simply disintegrate whenever the gold was taken out, or something else was placed within.

"With this much, you could pay for an apprenticeship! Then you'll easily be able to undergo the ritual without a chance of failure! Why wou-"

I thought that I would be questioned regarding the gold, as earning so much after four years of working as a shop assistant was definitely suspicious, but for some reason they didn't ask. After all that, it was still unbelievable to them that I would have Awakening Potential, so it seemed like I was throwing away a lot of gold.

"Father, that's my decision. It was made five years ago, when I started working. I am telling you my decision, not asking for permission."

Villager (Father) was left speechless. It was a long and awkward minute before Villager (Mother) spoke softly. "Good luck."

I nodded. She realized that there was nothing they could say, so she accepted it.

"If the ritual is successful… What do you plan to do?" She asked after a while.

"I'll leave." My reply was perhaps too short, but I didn't see the point of going into further detail. If they knew how lacking my plans truly were, what would they do?

"Can you… Will you perhaps stay, a while longer?" She asked, pleading.

That reaction surprised me, as it was too intense for someone who didn't believe that I would be able to Awaken. I decided to not pursue that, and asked something else. "How much longer?"

"Five years?" Her eyes were hopeful, but I shook my head.

"Five years is too long. I won't be able to grow here…" I replied stiffly.

"The- Then 3 years! Think about it!" She was practically begging at this point. I was confused, as the last five years our interactions were so limited that we were practically strangers. "It will be harder for you, people won't take you seriously! Even with strength, 10 years is too young… 13, you'll be nearly an adult, with the strength you'll have by then, it will be much easier!"

I wasn't sure about that, and it showed on my face. There is a chance I'll hit the second stage of growth by then, but it wasn't certain. If I looked like a 5 years old at 13, then would people really take me seriously? The strength point wasn't completely wrong. If I leave right away, I'll be level 1, but I didn't need three years in order to gain enough levels to be considered strong.

I sighed. "Fine. I can't promise that it will be three years, but I'll stay for at least one year, and I'll tell you when I'm going to leave. I… Can't offer more than that."

"Thank you!" She said, barely able to hold the tears. For this woman that I have hardly known, that I didn't care for, I felt worse than ever. I felt like scum, taking away her child. I underestimated the bond between a mother and her son, thought that it would weaken after the long years of maintaining distance, but Child, who was long gone, was still cherished dearly.

I shook my head, unable to comfort myself or Mother, and ended up wishing Child's- No, my, parents, good night.

The next day, after breakfast, accompanied by my parents I left towards the church. Both Owner and Peddler were waiting for me there, welcoming me.

"Can't wait to lose, can't you?" I said, smiling to Peddler.

"Confident as ever, aren't you, Hero?" He laughed, patting my head. "I see that you dealt with things by yourself, huh?" Peddler asked, looking at my parents.

"Yup!" I answered with a bright smile and pushed open the door to the church, leading the small pack.

A plain looking, young level 2 priest was sitting at the front row, praying. As I caught his attention, he rose to welcome me. I was confused by his embarrassed expression when he seemed to have realized who I was.

"I didn't expect you to come so soon… I was meaning to visit later." He confessed apologetically.

"Ah… That's… Okay?" I really had no idea how I was supposed to respond to that. "No, more importantly, why?"

"Right, I should have started with that!" The priest seemed flustered at my question. "Your deed, or more importantly, your name, has been reported to the High Priests and hearing your circumstances, they've bestowed upon you a certain privilege." He explained.

I was annoyed at the pause. You're going to explain the privilege anyway, why are you baiting for a response? "Privilege?"

"Indeed!" The priest continued excitedly, ignoring my annoyance. "The title of Local Hero is very rare, even if one were to ignore your circumstances. As it's important to cultivate such talent, it was decided that you will be exempt from the ritual fees! And even if you were to fail to Awaken, you'll be allowed to freely attempt the ritual once a year, even in future tiers."

"Oh…" I was quite disappointed by that. The work I put into getting the gold wasn't pointless even if it wasn't required, but to be noticed by the higher ups of the church and get something so dull…

The priest noticed my downcast eyes and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Uhm… Nothing, nothing." I coughed and shook my head. Explaining will be bothersome, so I ended up telling the priest that I'm very grateful for the kindness they are showing to me, that I hope not to disappoint them and tried to move on with the ritual.

The ritual was simple and required no preparation, as the magic circle was engraved into the temple's floor. Larger temples would have more circles, as the rising tiers required more complex circles, but nobody above tier 1 was expected to be in such a small village, so only the cheapest circle was engraved. Even that one was rarely used, but a temple had to have at least that much. Fortunately, the tier 1 circle was enough for me.

I stood on the circle as the priest spoke words of prayer while pouring mana into the spell, and the circle shone brightly underneath my shoes.

The brightness increased to a painful level, but nobody around me seemed to react, as if the light was within my mind and not around me. Even decreasing the brightness didn't help, and soon I was engulfed in the light. Since I wasn't told that this might happen, I was panicking a little, afraid that something may have gone wrong, but I was frozen by my indecisiveness and stayed still, only closing my eyes in an attempt to shut off the light that seemed to pierce through my eyelids.

After what felt like an impossibly long time, the intensity of the light seemed to fade and I opened my eyes, finding myself in an unfamiliar place. Did the circle teleport me?

I was in a room that reminded me of a professor's office, and a messy one at that. Books and papers were messily shoved into drawers, while on the table in front of me a computer with two screens faced a man that was looking at me with a warm smile.

"Huh?" A voice leaked out of my mouth as I stared at the man. "Me?"

That's right. The man that was seated before me had my appearance, the way I remember myself looking before I came to this world. It wasn't a face that I thought I'd see again, and it wasn't a face I welcomed either. I didn't hold myself in high regard, and facing myself in such a way only made me feel ashamed.

The Me shook his head, laughing lightly. "I'm not you, don't worry. I don't have a real body, either, so I decided to pick an appearance that you are familiar with, something that might make you more comfortable… Though it seems like I failed at that, huh?"

"There are plenty of familiar faces that you could have worn if you wanted to make me feel comfortable!" I couldn't help but retort. Knowing that situations such as this one weren't that rare within Isekai novels, I considered that this might be some high level divine being that I shouldn't mess with, but the easygoing attitude didn't give an impression that this thing demanded anything from me.

"Ah, that's right, I could have, but I was afraid that you'll think that I'm actually that person and that the appearance wasn't borrowed. With this, it's easy to understand that I'm not really you, right? I promise that I won't look like you if there's a next time, alright?"

I nodded at that. There wasn't much to object to, and the way that my body moved was eerie, as if the being that wore my skin wasn't actually alive, so there was no way that I would think that this was really Me. Still, to think that looking at myself like that would make me comfortable? It was not a human, that's for sure.

"What are you?" I asked after organizing my thoughts.

The Me placed his fingers on Me's chin, thinking. "Hmmm, no, you weren't called in for this at this time. Don't bother asking questions, as none will be answered. I need to fill some paperwork, so just stay there for a moment… Oh, you can sit."

I was dumbfounded by that reaction. I could accept not getting answers, but to be called here just to look at my body filling paperwork?

Staring at my body working more diligently than I ever did back in the modern world, I didn't know what to do with myself. Even my HUD was gone, so I could not play with the menus, and I had no idea how long it took until Me was done.

Finally, Me cleared his throat with a fake cough. "I only have a little remaining… While at that, tell me, why didn't you hesitate at all when you came to the new world, fully embracing it straight away?"

"Can't you at least tell me why you want to know such a thing?" I asked, but Me simply smiled, waiting.

"Wouldn't it go easier if we at least pretend that this is a give-and-take?" I tried again, but Me continued smiling. He was really giving me nothing, and I understood that only one of us is capable of giving in. Will I be stuck here forever, if I were stubborn?

I sighed as I looked at Me's face. It had a much more intense expression than my face should be able to produce, and that smile only made it more overwhelming. Looking at Me, I realized that a halfhearted answer wouldn't work.

"I was indulging myself in these stories for a while in the previous world, so perhaps I didn't find it too shocking… Well, it's still a strange experience, but I assumed that it was easier due to the system, and that I wasn't fully human anymore? I didn't see the point of thinking that this is a dream or that I'm going insane… I wasn't remarkable or noteworthy in the previous world, I felt stuck and unhappy with the world and myself, I used these novels to escape from reality and kept imagining myself in the shoes of the MCs... A world where I have actual ability, and if I work hard then the world itself will notice me! In the modern world, even if I wasn't a lazy shithead, excuse me, even if I would have worked hard, I wouldn't have gained a lot from it. Live comfortably, sure… But I wasn't happy. I wasn't sure that I'm capable of being happy. This fear… I still have it, even hear, but I also have hope. When I came here, I was able to throw myself into the mundane routine of training, even if it was assisted, because I had this hope… I couldn't bring myself to stop hoping that perhaps this is my chance to be the main character. "

Me listened to me while filling paperwork, simply nodding with an unchanging expression. "So, if you find out that you aren't the main character, if the concept even exists within this new world, what will you do? Will you give up?"

I considered the question for a while. Me didn't seem to intend to rush me, so I knew that it wanted a sincere answer.

"I… No. Even a side character can shine, can be happy…" I replied, nodding to myself.

"And if you were a mob character? Just an insignificant one, unnoticed by anyone…" Me pushed.

"Is this a theoretical question, or perhaps a philosophical one? With my stats and title as Local Hero, I don't think it's possible… Unless this is a test, and answering incorrectly will lead to all of what I gained in the last five years to be taken away." I asked, feeling a sudden chill.

"Ah… Hmmm…" Me let out simple sounds, but did not intend to answer, sticking to his earlier declaration.

I was left to my own assumptions. This might be as important as a customer survey, or it could be a test that would determine my future. If it's the latter, then should I be sincere? In real life, bullshitting your way to success is a real strategy, one that usually has a higher chance than sincerity… But would that even work in front of this being?

"I… I already felt like a mob character back in the previous world… If I was one here, I would probably act in a similar fashion. I wouldn't strive to be the top of the mob, I would aim to live a comfortable life while indulging in whatever I'm curious about in this world, as long as it didn't put my life at risk." I said, hoping that I made the right choice.

Me nodded as he put aside the stack of papers and selected a single sheet out of them. "Well, your grade is B, which isn't too bad. So… Goodbye for now?"

"Wait, wait! Why B? What does it mean?" I exclaimed, surprised by the sudden change in the direction of the conversation, if one can call it a conversation.

Me paused, thinking about it. "Well, exploring the system, training yourself, your interactions with the peddler and shop owner, as well as the hunter, and saving the village from the goblin, those worked for you. Hardly interacting with anyone in the village, not eating anything unless it is to keep up appearances, not reading any of the lore seriously and just to raise the intelligence stat, not reacting to the first time you killed, those worked against you."

"Uhm… I can understand the other stuff, but why is not eating bad? Not sleeping isn't on the list…"

"Ah, some care about that. I can't say more…"

But… I don't want to focus on food… Why are you forcing food into my Isekai adventure? I couldn't help but complain, but didn't dare voice it.

"And what's the problem with the goblin death?"

"Hmm, that? Well, it's the first time you kill. You didn't show hesitation or regret, nor bloodlust and joy. It didn't register at all that you killed a living being, you know? Quite worrying… Well, it's not going to influence your grade in the future, so there's that. Though, if you kill a humanoid, it will be different. If you care about your grade, then at least pretend to care." Me answered lightheartedly.

"But what does the grade signify?" I asked after a moment. The deal with the killing… I didn't react, right? That's…

Me looked at me with a faint smile, then looked at his hand as if looking at a watch, only to realize that there is no watch there. I didn't wear a watch, so it made sense that the one wearing my appearance wouldn't wear one either. Me scoffed at that, and turned an accusing gaze at me. "Goodbye."

"Wait, just because I don't have a watch, you'll not answer my question?!" I pleaded, but bright light appeared underneath me, forcing me to close my eyes yet again.