The Former Hero, Now a High Schooler, Checks Into a Love Hotel with Riena (1)
“You know, there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“How’d you pay for this place? Did you have Japanese yen, Riena?”
“That was a breeze, thanks to the all-powerful goddess Athena’s divine superpowers. Poof, just like that.”
“I won’t ask for details on what you did, but please—whatever it was, make sure it’s not illegal. I’m trying to live a clean-cut, upstanding life even in this world, alright?”
“Just so you know, I also have official registry documents. I was informed by Hero-sama that lacking a legal identity could be troublesome in this country.”
“No way!? Goddess Athena is seriously incredible!?"
“? I mean, she can traverse worlds and grant blessings that transcend human understanding. Isn’t this sort of thing well within her capabilities?”
“Well, when you put it like that… I guess it tracks. But it still feels like a whole different kind of incredible. I mean, sure—getting a legal ID and jumping between worlds are both crazy feats. But something about bending bureaucracy to your will feels even more surreal.”
I’d gotten so used to the idea of jumping to another world and back that I’d stopped thinking about how insane that really was.
Traveling between dimensions—it’s supposed to be a miracle, not an errand run.
And here I was, once again struck with awe at Goddess Athena, the omniscient, omnipotent deity revered as the Supreme God in Orphermaus.
So there we were, casually talking about all this… right in front of a love hotel.
A man who looked to be in his 40s and a girl who looked like a college student—definitely a sugar-daddy situation—glanced at us with suspicion as they walked by.
(Crap. This looks really bad. A high school guy in uniform chatting about otherworldly stuff with a foreign-looking lady dressed like a priestess in a pure white robe—that’s basically cosplay from a late-night anime. Anyone seeing this would report us without a second thought.)
“Riena, we can’t stay out here. Let’s head inside. This isn’t exactly a place minors are supposed to hang around. If a cop sees me in my school uniform out here, I’m getting picked up on the spot.”
With that, I wrapped my arm around Riena’s back and practically pushed her along as we ducked into the love hotel like fugitives on the run.
(…Wait—am I being watched?)
For just a second, I thought I felt someone’s gaze from far off.
Honestly, given how blatantly suspicious we looked as a pair, it was only natural to draw attention. All the more reason to make getting inside our top priority.
Thankfully, the place Riena picked wasn’t one of those lock-you-in-until-checkout, pay-after dens. It ran on a pay-first, come-and-go-freely system—exactly what we needed. I covered my share and made my way to the room she’d reserved.
Turns out, Riena had gone for a special “long-stay business trip plan.” Yeah, in a love hotel.
(Huh. So love hotels offer discounted long-stay business plans now? Gotta file that one away for future reference.)
Naturally, I just paid the short-term “rest” fee.
I’m not planning to stay overnight or anything, okay? Let’s be clear—I’m not that kind of guy… though I have no idea who I’m trying to explain myself to.
(Man… I really just walked into a love hotel. And as a high schooler, no less. My first time, and there’s not even a whiff of romance in the air.)
As I was lost in that thought, Riena suddenly leaned in and studied my face closely.
“Um, there’s something that’s been bothering me for a while now…”
“What is it, Riena?”
“Well, compared to when we last parted ways, your face looks a lot more… youthful. And you mentioned earlier that you were a minor? If I recall, Hero-sama was sixteen when you first came to Orphermaus, and after five years, you had become an adult, hadn’t you?”
“Yeah, about that… When I came back to this world, I reverted to the age I was when I first got transported.”
“Oh, I see. So physically, Hero-sama is sixteen again?”
“Pretty much. And it’s not just my body—even the timeline reset. I returned to five years ago, right after my original disappearance.”
“So even the flow of time itself was altered…”
“Yeah. The only one I can think of with that kind of power is Goddess Athena. What do you think? Maybe it was her way of rewarding me for defeating the Demon Lord. You’re a high priestess of her church—any insights?”
Taking advantage of the moment, I finally asked the question that had been gnawing at me since my return.