I have a cousin who is five years older than me. He’s my paternal cousin, Tohma Date . Being the oldest among all my cousins, he takes care of us.
Some of the ill-tempered relatives call him a misfit of the Date family, but we respect him because he’s the kind of cousin who can do anything.
Isn’t it amazing that he can do anything?
Tohma Date is quick-witted, and he can learn most things just by watching them once.
From my perspective, as someone who’s often ridiculed as a musclehead, it feels incredible.
If we’re talking about intelligence, my younger cousin Akimi is also quite smart, being elected as a student council officer, but I’ve heard that his nature is different from Tohma Date ‘s.
Even though Tohma Date sighs in frustration, he still takes care of us.
Whenever there’s a family gathering, the adults get so absorbed in the party that they neglect the children.
At times like that, Tohma Date is the one who looks after all of us younger kids.
He knows the personalities of all our cousins, second cousins, and even third cousins, and he patiently joins us in games that each of us likes.
Thanks to him, we were able to find hobbies and sports that suited us.
I personally took a liking to martial arts, especially judo, which I’m really into now. It was Tohma Date who first taught me, and he also recognized the talents of Natsuki and Akimi.
The wise adults have noticed Tohma Date ‘s talent for “raising people.” That’s why they try to leave their children in his care.
But for Tohma Date , that’s a real nuisance.
Despite that, he’s kind and continues to look after us kids.
It’s not that fun for us, though.
After all, Tohma Date is like an older brother to us. The closest bond is between the four of us—me, Natsuki , and Akimi, the Shiki trio.
We knew it was childish, but even Natsuki and Akimi, who are usually mature and sharp-tongued, would say the same thing, so we’re all equally guilty.
To make sure that Tohma Date isn’t taken away by other relatives, we try to spend as much time with him as possible.
We hang out in Tohma Date ’s apartment, and I even worked things out so we could spend the last Golden Week of our student days together.
Other relatives were frustrated, but I couldn’t care less. During Golden Week, Tohma Date was all ours.
We were so excited that we prepared for the camping trip like fools.
But we never imagined what would happen next.
Before we knew it, the three of us found ourselves standing in a blank, white space.
A fluffy, dandelion-like creature greeted us with a smile.
“Welcome, heroes! Please defeat the evil dragon trying to destroy our world!”
I thought it was some kind of joke.
The fluffy thing—who apparently claimed to be the god of creation from another world—said that we were summoned as heroes to this new world.
“You’re the only ones who can defeat the evil dragon. After searching across countless worlds, I found you, who are compatible with the Savior’s skill I can grant, and who can defeat that fallen dragon god. I finally found you!”
While the fluffy creature was excited, we weren’t thrilled at all.
Another world? Heroes? It sounds fun if it were just a fictional story.
But we had no desire to be the protagonists.
Being dragged here without consent and treated like pawns was not something we were going to agree to.
Noticing the cold looks we were giving it, the fluffy creature seemed troubled.
“Oh? I can give you the magic and skills you desire, and the place you’ll be summoned to is a religious nation that worships me—the god of creation, so you can live a luxurious life…”
“I’m not interested.”
“Right. Send us back to our world.”
Akimi and Natsuki coldly rejected the offer.
I agreed. Magic sounded fun, but we had no intention of risking our lives to fight for a world we didn’t know.
“If you defeat the evil dragon, I’ll send you back to your world. I’ll give you gold, silver, treasures—anything you want! Please, save my world!”
“Why don’t you do it yourself? You’re a god of creation, so you should be strong enough to take care of it, right?”
Suspicious of the desperate tone, I asked the fluffy creature, which then deflated and seemed downcast.
“I wanted to, but that dragon is part of me, born from me. I am the creator, and it is the destroyer. We were supposed to rule our own domains, but that dragon started desiring to destroy everything…”
As the creator god, I couldn’t defeat the god of destruction. Only the saviors sent from other worlds can do that. So, I traveled across worlds looking for heroes.
“So, we’re the ones you finally found?”
“I’m sorry for forcibly summoning you, but I was desperate. I’ll do my best to grant your wishes, so please… Save my world.”
The fluffy creature spoke earnestly, and I sighed. I understood the situation, but for high schoolers like us, this was too much to handle.
Besides, matters like this were always Tohma Date ’s responsibility.
“Wait… Where’s Tohma Date ?”
Natsuki gasped. Akimi furrowed his brows in confusion.
For some reason, we had completely forgotten, but we had been on our way to the campsite in Tohma Date ’s car.
“That’s right… Suddenly, the ground started glowing, and we were sucked into the light. Tohma tried to reach out to me to help, and then…”
Akimi muttered in disbelief. His voice was trembling. Natsuki let out a silent scream.
I also remembered that moment as I followed Akimi’s recollection.
“The car… it couldn’t withstand the impact and bounced over the guardrail… with Tohma Date still inside.”
“No way… Hey, didn’t you summon Tohma Date too? Where is he?”
“Did anyone else other than you three arrive there? I wasn’t aware of anyone else, as I was focusing on summoning you here.”
“Then go check immediately if Tohma is okay!”
“Understood… Earth… Japan. The summoning location is—Ah…”
The fluffy creature sighed.
We twisted our faces in dread.
“Unfortunately, the person you’re referring to is already dead. His soul just left his body.”
“‘Bring him back to life.’”
The three of us spoke at once.
We were more angry than sad.
We glared at the one who had abducted us and taken the life of someone important to us.
“It’s impossible. His life is within the domain of the gods of Earth and Japan, so I can’t just bring him back.”
“Then we won’t cooperate with you.”
Akimi said flatly.
His eyes, sharp behind his glasses, gleamed as he boldly confronted the god.
“If you bring Tohma back to life, maybe we’ll consider fighting the dragon.”
“Really? Okay, then I’ll negotiate with the gods of Japan!”
The fluffy creature fluttered into the air and disappeared. It was easy to deal with. From its childish voice and somewhat squeaky tone, I wondered if this world’s god was still young.
“Hey, Haruto Natsuki siblings. If we’re going to bring Tohma back to life and return to Japan together, we’ll reluctantly become heroes.”
Akimi said with a serious look.
We knew what our answer would be.
“Yeah, leave it to me.”
“I don’t care if I have to become a hero or a demon king. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Just like a true sibling. No hesitation.”
Akimi smirked as he twisted his lips into a smile.
That’s right. If it’s for bringing back our precious older brother, we’ll do whatever it takes.
“The fluffy thing said we could have our wish granted if we defeat the evil dragon and save this world. So let’s take it back.”
We exchanged glances and nodded decisively.
Thus, we reluctantly became summoned heroes in another world.
