The Bag a Hero Takes on Their Journey

"O-oh, it's almost New Year's in my world."

'You were celebrating Christmas last time, so don't act so surprised.'

"For now, let's make some soba. Heave-ho."

'That's a good idea, but it's almost time for your reincarnation in another world.'

"Maybe I'll be back again before long?"

'Just so you know, by default, as much time passes in your world as you spend reincarnated in another one.'

"I feel like centuries passed when I was the dirt in front of the dungeon and when I was the World Tree."

'That much time has passed. Gugugedurestaph, your souvenir, has grown to human size, too.'

※The name of a demon from I Want to Live Safely in Another World Syndrome. It disappeared after a few chapters, so here it's been reused as the name of the World Tree (Mandragora).

"I didn't really notice since most of my other souvenirs haven't changed much."

'I'm using the Goddess's powers to make things work out somehow.'

"As expected of a goddess who grants cheat abilities."

'Praise and respect me more.'

"Then shall I make you a statue?"

'I don't want a statue of myself in my own space.'

"Well, time for the customary suggestion box. It's been getting bigger lately."

'I occasionally shake it to check how full it is, and it has indeed grown. It's horrifying.'

"But you don't throw any away."

'Because coming up with your ridiculous reincarnation destinations is a pain.'

"I love an honest goddess, too. Maybe it's time to renovate this suggestion box. From Himajin-san: 'The Bag a Hero Takes on Their Journey.'"

'Following the curry plate, another possession belonging to a Hero.'

"When it's a bag, I'd like it to actually be carried around on an adventure."

'Let's choose the options. This time, how about a male Hero?'

"I'd prefer a female Hero, if possible. Then she'd put her change of clothes in me and all."

'That's exactly why I'm choosing a male Hero.'

"That's harsh. But there's still hope. The heroine's and companions' clothes, for instance."

'In modern reincarnation stories, there aren't many scenes of people changing clothes during an adventure.'

"That's true. If you put in frequent changing scenes, it turns into fanservice."

'Which you'd be in favor of, I imagine.'

"Too much skin exposure lowers my motivation."

'Such a fussy lecher.'

"But what I really want to think about is the material."

'What we should really be thinking about is this reincarnation system.'

"Plastic is out of the question."

'A plastic bag would certainly be awful for a Hero on an adventure.'

"If he reached the Demon King like that, the Demon King might think he'd just stopped by after a convenience-store run. It'd be disrespectful."

'That would be true in a world with convenience stores.'

"We can't ruin a battle that will decide the world's future with a plastic bag."

'I'm getting flashbacks to the battles that decided the fate of worlds you ruined.'

"Bright colors wouldn't serve much purpose, so an ordinary cloth bag should do."

'That's right. Adding the option to grow legs wouldn't be ordinary.'

"What? Then how am I supposed to move?"

'The bag isn't supposed to move.'

◇

'It's almost New Year's, isn't it? Perhaps I should make soba for a change. I hope I can recreate the taste of the soba he made.'

"I'm back."

'Oh, perfect timing. Make some soba, please.'

"Huh? I thought I made soba before I reincarnated."

'How many years do you think have passed?'

"So I showed up on the same day, a few years later?"

'A few decades later. Gugugedurestaph has grown ten centimeters, too.'

"But I haven't aged."

'Oh? Are you saying you want to become soba?'

"I mean me. It's been a while since I died, but my body hasn't grown at all."

'Oh, you weren't talking about me. That's because your soul likes that shape. Once you have no regrets, you'll take a new form and move on to the afterlife.'

"That's a setting that came out of nowhere."

'I just thought of it.'

"I don't mind that casualness. Then I'll give my report while making soba. Heave-ho."

'The bag a Hero takes on their journey, right?'

"Yes. It was a young man named Namoshin. Heave-ho."

'Do you have to say "heave-ho" to make soba?'

"No, not really."

'Then stop saying it.'

"Got it. Namoshin was an ordinary Hero. He set out on an adventure as a Hero when he was fifteen."

'The previous Hero was a cheat, so I take it he wasn't that strong?'

"This time, he was killed by bandits."

'That's a terrible spoiler.'

"It's okay. It happened three days after he set out. He had one of those death-return abilities you sometimes see in fantasy Heroes."

'Oh, those exist. The kind where the person you killed comes back unharmed, still holding a grudge. From the other person's perspective, it's nothing but horror.'

"The bandits must've been fed up when the Hero's possessions disappeared the moment they killed him, so I made him drop half his money."

'That's a system I've heard of somewhere.'

"Oh, by the way, the Hero carried me on his back as an ordinary bag. Like this."

'There isn't much inside, but it looks like Santa's sack. And what a serene smile that Hero has.'

"Namoshin was a kindhearted young man who couldn't kill a single bug."

'That's fatal for a Hero.'

"He kept going to talk things out with villains, convinced they'd understand if he just explained. They killed him every time."

'From the villains' perspective, seeing him come back no matter how many times they killed him must've been terrifying.'

"Most villains' resolve crumbled when they saw Namoshin trying to persuade them with a smile the whole time."

'In a way, he was worthy of being a Hero.'

"There were even evil kings who, out of fear, tried to keep him from entering by refusing him at the gate."

'They weren't worth dealing with anyway.'

"But he was a Hero, so he could casually destroy a castle gate."

'An ordinary Hero? That's a cheat.'

"No, he got certified as a demolition technician and blew it up with explosives."

'That was ordinary? No such certification exists in a fantasy world.'

"I was the one who gave it to him, of course."

'That smug look is annoying.'

"One of my options was 'randomly (with intent) transform items placed inside me.' I transformed Namoshin's Hero's Sword into a useful study guide for the demolition technician certification."

'How could you do that to the Hero's Sword?'

"Namoshin wouldn't even hold a sword, so I figured he didn't need one he wouldn't use."

'Well, I suppose that's true.'

"But it was fun preparing items to help him overcome the challenges he'd encounter as a Hero."

'Hmm. So you were a bag that gave items to help a Hero who disliked fighting. When you put it that way, it might be interesting.'

"At first, Namoshin found me strange, but he treasured me as a bag that produced things to help him get out of a bind."

'It must be hard to set out as a Hero if you can't fight.'

"I gave him all sorts of things. Since he died so often, I gave him things like resurrection points."

'Resurrection points?'

"He revived at a place called the Spring of Resurrection in the first castle, but going back there every time was a hassle. So I prepared resurrection points he could choose himself."

'If he placed one before a battle, he could save himself the trouble of traveling back. That's a fairly convenient item for an isekai story.'

"Namoshin placed them in the middle of battle and respawned right there."

'To his enemies, he must've seemed like an immortal monster.'

"And he kept smiling the whole time, even while being stabbed."

'He has by far the strongest mentality of any Hero so far.'

"No matter how little he fought back, unless the villains repented, he'd keep coming back without resting for three days and three nights."

'Not just psychological warfare—he wore them down physically, too. But if he was that troublesome, why not capture him instead of killing him?'

"Namoshin's specialty was a suicide spell that killed him in 0.1 seconds. Then he'd revive immediately and escape."

'And that's ordinary?'

"In situations where combat is inevitable, you have to frighten your opponent to some extent, or there'll be people you can't save. He handled everyday troubles normally."

'He was a wise Hero.'

"When he reached a village starving in a famine, he used his own body as bait."

'And that's ordinary? Enlightened people have done that, but it's grotesque.'

"No, he used himself as bait to lure monsters so the villagers could hunt them."

'That was ordinary, then. Even though he couldn't kill a single bug, he could take part in a hunt?'

"He said killing to survive couldn't be helped."

'He really does sound more and more like an enlightened person.'

"But it was a hassle, so I told him that if he put pebbles in me, they'd turn into bread."

'Now it's a reference to the man who was crucified? Is this story going to be all right?'

"Namoshin was surprised. His bag had suddenly started talking, and the Goddess didn't even chime in."

'I'm not obligated to react every time an inanimate object starts talking.'

"After I explained the general situation, Namoshin threw all kinds of things into me, turned them into food, and handed it out to the village."

'It's unusual for you to be genuinely helpful.'

"Thinking that, I mixed in some bread filled with plenty of wasabi."

'You did it.'

"By the way, it was the village chief who ate it. He was so happy he cried."

'I'm sure he cried.'

"I provided enough food for the time being, farming tools, reference books, and other supplies, and the famine-stricken village was saved."

'Apart from the damage to the village chief, that was a good deed.'

"When we came across a broken bridge, he got certified as a first-class architect and built a new one."

'That's ordinary. Was the certification really necessary?'

"There's a difference in trustworthiness between a bridge built by a Hero (amateur) and one built by a Hero (first-class architect)."

'That's true.'

"Namoshin was so earnest that he shut down almost all my jokes, so he was a little hard to deal with."

'From what you've told me, he sounds like a saint.'

"Even when I swapped a blanket for a slightly sexy photo of the Goddess from my private collection, he didn't react at all."

'Show me that photo right now. I'll dispose of it.'

"We overcame every hardship by combining Namoshin's earnestness with my transformations as a bag, but there were tough times, too."

'It sounded like smooth sailing.'

"Like the sealed gate that would only open if we held up the Hero's Sword, the audience with the queen who wouldn't recognize him as a Hero unless he showed her the sword, and the golem that could only be destroyed with the Hero's Sword."

'Wasn't it turned into a study guide for the demolition technician certification? Couldn't you turn it back?'

"The Hero's Sword had special power, so I could turn things that had been transformed from the sword back into it, but I couldn't turn other things into the Hero's Sword."

'Where did the study guide go?'

"I turned it into bread with plenty of wasabi."

'Into the village chief's stomach?'

"Just to try it out, we brought the village chief along and held him up, and the sealed gate opened."

'The scene is starting to feel familiar.'

"When we showed the queen the village chief, she recognized him as the Hero."

'What was going through her mind when she acknowledged him?'

"Apparently, he was her type."

'What does that have to do with the Hero's Sword?'

"Naturally, everyone thought that if the village chief could do that, he could defeat the golem, too."

'They did. But that wasn't the case, was it?'

"The village chief was weak."

'He was a villager, after all.'

"Namoshin couldn't persuade the golem, since it was an inanimate object with no will. So he decided to train the village chief."

'A village chief trained by a Hero.'

"Apparently, he was sixty years old."

'That's a pretty high hurdle for starting training.'

"Namoshin got certified as a sports trainer and trained the village chief."

'The genre's starting to wander.'

"I also prepared the diet favored by athletes and cheered him on."

'You should've thought of some other alternative.'

"Of course, I snuck wasabi into his food now and then."

'Is there any reason for your harassment of the village chief?'

"He said the Goddess looked rather plain when I showed him your photo."

'I forgive him. In fact, that was too lenient.'

"Namoshin mastered the theory and coached the village chief, while the know-how of an otherworldly reincarnator was added to the mix. The village chief grew stronger before our eyes, until he could smash a golem with one hand."

'You made him too strong.'

"But a new problem arose. The village chief, now empowered, defeated the Demon King and took his place as the new Demon King."

'That was more than just making him too strong.'

"With the Hero's Sword's blessing, the village chief was strong enough to be called a Demon King."

'I can sense the sword's resentment, after barely being mentioned before it was turned into a book, then bread, then fed to the village chief.'

"But when it came to fighting people, there was no one who could beat Hero Namoshin."

'He was immortal, too.'

"Namoshin kept feeding the village chief enormous amounts of wasabi while trying to persuade him."

'Was that torture?'

"And he kept smiling the whole time."

'It was torture.'

"The village chief cried and suffered. As it turned out, his weakness was wasabi, which he'd once eaten in such quantities that his body nearly developed a rejection response."

'That was your fault.'

"While the village chief was distracted, Namoshin covered him with me."

'You intended to transform the village chief?'

"Exactly. With my power, the village chief lost the Hero's Sword's power and transformed into an ordinary, dashing middle-aged man."

'You made him younger for no reason.'

"At Namoshin's request, we decided his accomplishments—destroying the golem and defeating the Demon King—should be recognized."

'That's reasonable.'

"Afterward, the village chief married the queen, but let's leave that aside."

'Right, he was her type.'

"Namoshin saved the world, but the world didn't give much credit to someone who saved it without fighting. Some heartless people even said he had merely done what anyone could do."

'I don't think just anyone could keep coming back after being killed and walk toward people with a smile.'

"Only the villains knew that."

'That's pretty harsh.'

"But Namoshin didn't mind. He traveled the world, preaching that he'd saved it without doing anything special—which meant anyone could save someone."

'He really was more like an enlightened person than a Hero.'

"In the end, Namoshin never asked me for anything special. He only asked for things like food or books."

'You could even transform the Hero's Sword, after all. You could've made all sorts of things if you'd wanted.'

"I even prepared a sword that could turn a continent into subatomic particles with a single swing."

'That's a weapon of mass destruction.'

"In the end, when a heartless person told him that without that miraculous bag he couldn't do anything, he smiled and set me on fire."

'It doesn't sound like he was taking the bait.'

"He said, 'You're right. If I rely on a bag that can work miracles, I won't set an example for everyone. Then, as an ordinary person with nothing, I'll show everyone the way.'"

'He was a person who made you wonder if he could really be called a Hero, right to the end.'

"No, he was a Hero. After everyone else had left, he gathered up my ashes and cried as he apologized. He showed the courage to leave behind a partner who'd been with him for years so he could guide so many people."

'I see. He was a Hero.'

"If I hadn't been an inanimate object, we might've had a different kind of drama. But this was a moving farewell that could only happen because I was inanimate."

'That was a pretty good report for a story before New Year's.'

"The soba's ready, so let's sit under the kotatsu and eat together. Which should we watch, Kohaku Uta Gassen or the comedy show on the rival channel?"

'Kohaku. Let's record the other show and watch it afterward.'

"Now, to cut the soba. Oops, I don't have a knife. Well, I can use this Hero's Sword souvenir."

'What a thing to use. Well, the Hero in that world probably doesn't need it anymore.'