Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

Back on Earth, Marcus pulled his car over to the curb right in front of his two-story house. He sprinted down the driveway because he saw movers carrying his sofa out the front door.

”Hey! What on earth is going on here?” Marcus demanded, confronting the two movers hauling the sofa.

”Afternoon, sir. Your wife asked us to take a few pieces of furniture to a storage unit,” one of the movers explained.

”What? My wife told you to do this?” Marcus asked, unable to believe his ears.

”Here’s the work order, sir. Feel free to ask her inside,” the mover replied, looking thoroughly unbothered as he held out the receipt.

Marcus snatched the paper and scanned the lines. It was true. His wife had bought a brand-new sofa, relegating his old one to a storage locker.

”What’s taking so long out there?”

Marcus turned toward the porch. He saw his wife wearing jeans and a tank top, holding their five-year-old daughter, their third child, in her arms. Without a second thought, Marcus marched onto the porch.

”Tessa... what is this?! You bought a new sofa on my credit card and tossed my grandmother’s heirloom couch into storage?!” Marcus snapped.

”The kids needed a new sofa. They could get hurt playing on that worn-out antique of yours,” Tessa shot back.

”Why didn’t you discuss this with me first?! You know our credit is maxed out, and our finances aren’t nearly as stable as they used to be!” Marcus demanded an explanation.

”Oh, please! Jacob almost cracked his skull on the exposed wood of that ripped armrest when his toy car rolled under it! Don’t complain, I did this for the kids,” Tessa said in annoyance.

Marcus pulled up his banking app on his smartphone to check the price of the sofa. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he spotted a $2,000 charge from a shop owned by Tessa’s brother.

”What?! $2,000 for a sofa?! What kind of sofa costs that much?!” Marcus protested.

”A safe sofa that won’t endanger our children! That’s enough, I don’t want to hear another word about this right now,” Tessa replied, slapping a piece of paper onto Marcus’s chest.

He looked down at the sheet, which turned out to be the monthly rental contract and receipt for the storage unit housing his grandmother’s sofa and heirlooms. Stepping inside, his expression darkened completely. His home felt utterly unrecognizable. The furniture inherited from his grandmother, the keepsakes passed down by his father, the gifts from his relatives—Tessa had replaced every single item without his knowledge.

”It’s all brand-new, kid-friendly furniture! If you want to complain, complain to yourself for not being able to keep your hands off me and making me give birth three times! Ugh!” Tessa vented as she carried their daughter upstairs.

Marcus’s already dismal expression darkened even further. His mind spiraled in utter turmoil under the weight of his daily struggles and a marriage that had turned into a living nightmare. Finally, he turned around, grabbed his keys off the counter, and headed back out to his car.

***

”Whoaaah!”

Dion bolted upright in bed, gasping for air. His eyes were wide, his face deathly pale, his chest heaving as sweat poured off him. He looked around the room frantically.

”Oh... right... I’m in another world now... This is my house... I’m not Marcus anymore... I’m Dion,” Dion thought to himself, slowly realizing he was in the present and that his past life was nothing more than a lingering dream.

He climbed out of bed, realizing he had passed out in the back shed the night before. Looking down, he noticed his clothes were clean and free of dirt.

”Hmm... my golems must have carried me back in here,” Dion thought to himself.

He walked over to the window to take in the view outside. Looking down at the mansion’s main driveway, he was shocked to see Mei squatting on the ground, carefully laying cobblestones into the path, while a golem stood behind her nodding in approval. Looking off to the right, he spotted Luna busily clearing tall wild grass, followed by two golems watching her every move.

Glancing toward the village, he saw Sheila working alongside three golems, helping the former slaves who were now his villagers construct new homes.

”Huh... are they... trying to overhaul my whole property and remodel it to match their own tastes?” Dion thought to himself, his mind still clouded by the trauma of his previous life.

Without another thought, Dion bolted out of his room, rushed down the stairs, and burst through the lobby doors. He marched straight up to Mei, who was still busy setting stones into the walkway. But as he drew near,

”Is this the right way to set it?” Mei asked, placing a stone firmly into the soil.

Dion watched the golem behind her nod in agreement. Mei then noticed Dion standing behind the construct. She immediately stood up, her face lighting up with excitement.

”You’re awake!” Mei said, stepping over to him.

”What... what are you doing?” Dion asked bluntly.

”Oh! I’m learning how to lay cobblestones for the driveway. I was just amazed at how fast and precise they are, there isn’t a single gap between the stones,” Mei replied casually.

”Oh... I see,” Dion muttered, swallowing his jumpy assumptions.

Dion turned on his heel and walked over toward Luna, who was clearing wild grass nearby. Mei trailed closely behind him.

”Luna!”

Luna turned to see Dion walking toward her. Her face was slightly smudged with dirt, but her expression brightened instantly as she handed her scythe to the golem standing behind her. She trotted over to meet him.

”Hey! You’re up?” Luna asked.

”What are you doing? What are you trying to build in the front yard?” Dion pressed.

”Oh! I’m just helping them clear away the weeds and overgrown grass so it’s easier for them to landscape the gardens. Why?” Luna asked innocently.

Once again, Dion swallowed his frustration, observing Luna’s dirty face. Mei stepped up beside Luna, facing Dion.

”What’s wrong? Why do you look so upset?” Mei asked, confused.

”Oh... nothing... it’s nothing,” Dion replied.

”We just wanted to help out and learn what the golems are doing. We don’t want to dump the entire burden of managing our domain on your shoulders alone,” Luna added softly.

”Ah... okay,” Dion stammered, completely disarmed by Luna’s words. ”I... I’ll go see what Sheila’s up to,” Dion said, gesturing toward the main gate.

”Alright! We’ll get back to work then,” Luna replied cheerfully.

”Yeah! If you’re still tired, go get some rest. Don’t worry, I’ll have one of the golems brew some tea for you,” Mei chimed in.

”Ah... okay,” Dion replied.

Dion walked toward the front gates with mixed emotions. He made his way toward Sheila, but as he drew closer, he overheard her discussing plans with the villagers while three accompanying golems nodded along. She was explaining that she wanted to renovate several houses, asking the residents to temporarily relocate while she and the golems rebuilt the village.

Hearing that, Dion decided against confronting Sheila. Instead, he quietly backtracked toward the mansion’s perimeter wall and slipped back inside. He watched Mei resume her stonework while Luna grew even dirtier, sweating as she cleared the brush with single-minded focus. But what brought Dion immense relief was seeing how happy and energetic all three girls looked.

”That’s right... they aren’t Tessa... they’re completely different people. Damn nightmare... just messing with my head,” Dion thought to himself.

***

Meanwhile, around the exact same time, inside the Adventurer Guild of the capital city of Lutherias, Cleo sat on a sofa inside the Guild Master’s office. Across from her sat a burly, middle-aged man wearing a military-style uniform. He had a tight buzzcut, and his face and arms were covered in deep weapon scars, the mark of a hardened veteran who had spent a lifetime on the battlefield.

”So the king wants us to hunt down this black dragon and is offering 1,000,000 gold coins to anyone who slays it?” the man asked, inspecting the document in his hands and tapping it with a finger.

”That is correct, Guild Master Bertrand. And there’s one more thing,” Cleo stated.

Bertrand examined the second sheet of paper. It featured nothing more than a black silhouette of a man with a white question mark stamped over it. The bounty offered 2,000,000 gold coins to anyone who could bring the man in alive.

”What is this dragon, exactly? And who is this man? Mind filling me in on the details, Royal Mage?” Bertrand asked.

”Sigh...” Cleo let out a weary breath. She explained that the black dragon was Gemmeth, who had flown off to the north, while the silhouette of the man represented the Ancient One, who needed to be persuaded and brought back to the kingdom alive. Listening to Cleo’s explanation, Bertrand’s face darkened instantly. He looked ten years older in the span of five minutes. Letting out a heavy sigh, he rubbed his bald head.

”Listen to me, Royal Mage. When it comes to dragons of legend and mythical entities beyond human understanding, hunting them down is an absolute impossibility for ordinary adventurers. We don’t have hero-class individuals or SS-ranks sitting around here,” Bertrand grumbled.

”It is a direct order from the crown,” Cleo countered firmly.

”Sigh... fine. Here’s what we’ll do. Since the adventurer guilds across all five kingdoms are interconnected and every city houses a branch, I’ll broadcast this notice to every realm, especially Minatheras, which is now directly visible from our kingdom ever since the mountain vanished,” Bertrand said.

”Understood, Guild Master. I’ll take my leave now,” Cleo said, standing up.

Cleo walked toward the door, but before she stepped out, Bertrand spoke up. ”Don’t hold your breath, Royal Mage.”

Cleo exited the office, walking down the corridor to head downstairs. Her cold composure immediately crumbled into a stressed grimace.

”Dion... you’ve really thrown my life into complete chaos... If this mission fails, I’m going to be in deep trouble with the crown... If I end up getting fired or executed because of this, I’m holding you responsible for the rest of my life... sob,” she thought to herself.