The Hero is Too Busy Paying His Rent!Chapter 1: The Chosen One is Late for His ShiftI woke up to the sound of an explosion.

  Not the gentle, comforting kind of explosion, like fireworks or a microwave mishap—this one shook my entire apartment.

  The walls rattled, the ceiling fan spun like it was trying to escape its own existence, and my neighbor, Mr. Tanaka, shouted, “STOP SUMMONING DEMONS AT 3 AM!”

  I wasn’t summoning demons. I was just trying to sleep.

  And yet, when I opened my eyes, I found myself floating in a blinding, golden void.

  The Prophecy (That I Didn’t Sign Up For)A giant, bearded old man wearing a cosmic bathrobe hovered in front of me. Behind him, twelve glowing angelic beings pyed trumpets, harps, and, for some reason, a kazoo.

  “Rento Kazuma!” the old man bellowed, his voice shaking the heavens.

  I blinked. “...Yes?”

  “You have been chosen as the Hero of Light! The world is in peril! The Demon King rises once more, and only you can—”

  “Yeah, yeah, cool, cool,” I interrupted. “Can we speed this up? I have a shift at Burger Castle in ten minutes.”

  The divine figure stared at me like I had just insulted his entire bloodline. “But you are the Chosen One. You must embark on your grand quest—”

  “Uh-huh. How much does it pay?”

  A long silence. Even the kazoo guy stopped pying.

  “...Pay?” the old man repeated.

  “Yes, you know—money. Currency. Gold. Rupees. Do I get a sary for this, or is this one of those ‘for the greater good’ unpaid internship deals?”

  More silence.

  Then, the old man turned to his angelic council. After a long, awkward discussion full of uncomfortable throat-clearing, he turned back to me.

  “The satisfaction of saving the world is its own reward.”

  I immediately turned around and started walking away from the golden void.

  “WAIT!” the old man cried.

  I paused. “Are there at least any benefits? Free food? Dental?”

  “You will gain immense strength, magical abilities beyond human comprehension, and—”

  “Can I use those abilities to pay my rent?”

  “...No.”

  “Then I’ll have to pass. Have a good day, sir.”

  I snapped my fingers, and suddenly, the golden void colpsed like a cheap video game bug.

  Back to My Miserable LifeI woke up on the floor of my apartment. My arm clock was still bring.

  I was te.

  Scrambling to my feet, I threw on my grease-stained Burger Castle uniform, grabbed my name tag (which read "Rento, Professional Meat Flipper"), and sprinted out the door.

  As I ran down the street, dodging rogue pigeons and a man selling cursed turnips, I noticed a dark storm forming over the horizon.

  A massive, floating skull castle hovered above the city. Purple lightning crackled around it. Demons rained down like it was Bck Friday at a shopping mall.

  Pedestrians screamed. Buildings exploded. A massive fire-breathing wyvern nded right in front of me, its glowing red eyes filled with unholy rage.

  “TREMBLE, MORTAL!” the wyvern roared. “THE AGE OF HUMANS IS OVER! YOUR WORLD NOW BELONGS TO—”

  I shoved past him.

  “Yeah, yeah, very scary, Mr. Lizard. I am already te for work, please move.”

  The wyvern blinked. “D-Did you just ignore me?”

  “No offense, man, but unless you’re ordering fries, I don’t have time for this.”

  I sprinted past the burning streets, narrowly dodging a demonic goat with ser eyes and a group of heroes who were dramatically posing for their anime opening sequence.

  Welcome to Burger Castle (Where Your Soul Dies for Minimum Wage)By the time I arrived at work, the entire city was in chaos.

  Fireballs rained from the sky. Demons dueled knights in the streets. The Demon King himself sat on a floating throne, ughing maniacally.

  But inside Burger Castle?

  Business as usual.

  “Rento! You’re te!” shouted my manager, Karen (yes, that’s her real name). “Get on the register!”

  I stumbled behind the counter, sweat dripping from my forehead. A 12-foot-tall demon stepped forward, smming his cwed fist on the counter.

  “I DEMAND A MIGHTY MEGA MEAT MONSTER MEAL!” he roared.

  “Would you like fries with that?” I asked automatically.

  “DO I LOOK LIKE I NEED FRIES?!”

  “Sir, it’s a combo.”

  The demon hesitated. “Oh. Uh… then yes, I’ll take the combo.”

  “Large drink?”

  “Blood of my enemies.”

  “We only have Coke.”

  “Fine.”

  I rang up his order. Outside, legendary warriors cshed in an epic battle of destiny. Inside, I was being paid minimum wage to serve eldritch horrors fast food.

  A Hero's Duty (Apparently I Don’t Get a Say in This)Just as I was about to go on break, a massive explosion blew the roof off the restaurant.

  Through the smoke, a gleaming golden sword fell from the sky… and nded directly in my hands.

  The world froze. The background music swelled. A glowing system message appeared in front of me:

  [CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE AWAKENED AS THE HERO OF LIGHT!]

  I stared at the sword. Then at the floating text. Then at my manager, Karen.

  “Rento,” she said. “Did you just cause a workpce accident?”

  “No?”

  Before I could react, the Demon King himself descended from the sky, pointing directly at me.

  “THERE YOU ARE, CHOSEN HERO!” he roared. “FIGHT ME, OR YOUR WORLD SHALL BE DESTROYED!”

  I slowly turned back to Karen.

  “...Can I take my break now?”

  “No.”

  I sighed.

  Then, gripping my divine sword in one hand and a Burger Castle spatu in the other, I stepped forward.

  “Alright,” I muttered. “Let’s get this over with.”

  The Demon King raised his fming warhammer.

  I raised my deep-fried spatu.

  And thus, my heroic adventure… began at the worst possible time.

  To Be Continued…