Unlimited Ambition

And so, in every battle, I would try to have my men form some simple formations and do things that other demons would consider “stupid, cowardly, and weak”: I tried to command them instead of letting them charge at me.

And so, I spent thousands of years in this world where heaven and hell are opposed, and I've pretty much figured out everything about this entire plane.

First and foremost, there is no way to reverse time here.

Secondly, in this plane, both Heaven and Hell are very "democratic." Their power structures are in the form of parliaments. However, Heaven values ​​"wisdom" more, while Hell values ​​individual strength more.

Third, this hellish regime is utterly terrible. Terrible democracy and constitutionalism, terrible government organization, a terrible army, terrible officers, terrible people, terrible equipment, terrible logistics. Nothing about it is good—and worst of all, these devils actually think it's all wonderful!

My God.

Having experienced several world power struggles, I've become quite indifferent to power. Of course, I still readily accepted the generous offer of a council seat from the Hell Council, becoming its 148,069,959th councilor. At this point, I had recovered almost half of my former strength. I was truly a six-winged fallen angel.

The devils are obsessed with politics. As a result, meetings, big and small, are held day after day, year after year, wasting all their time on spitting at each other. Fortunately, it's up to the members of parliament whether they attend the meetings or not.

So that magnificent parliament building, the only brightly lit building in the entire hell, is the place I visit least often in the whole hell—unless I have insomnia.

At this time, I would come here with my bedding, make a makeshift bed on the floor, and fall asleep soundly, listening to the impassioned speeches or loud curses from the side.

Because of my disrespectful behavior towards democracy and the rule of law, the parliament even held a special meeting to discuss whether to strip me of my parliamentary title.

The affirmative side delivered a passionate speech, arguing that someone like me is a disgrace to hell, an obstacle to the construction of democracy and the rule of law in hell, and an object that every demon in hell should despise.

The opposing side in the debate countered sharply, arguing that expelling a free man from parliament was, in effect, a trampling of democracy and the rule of law. They claimed it was the tyranny of the majority over the minority, a historical regression, and so on.

This time, however, things are different from before. This time, I'm the main character, so being late or leaving early is absolutely out of the question. Every day, hundreds of archangel-level demons drag me to the council like I'm being led to my execution. I can't even sleep when I want to; there are always demons watching over me, responsible for waking me up when I'm drowsy.

This kind of life lasted for three years. I couldn't take it anymore—no! I really couldn't take it anymore! I was going to go crazy if I stayed like this! I'd rather go back and fight to the death with the Heavenly faction than stay here any longer.

Another year passed like this. Just as I was contemplating committing suicide and returning to the amusement park, ignoring Bellica's mockery, a war initiated by Heaven saved me from a near mental breakdown.

Therefore, the Hell Council immediately declared a state of emergency. Setting aside the matter of punishing me, they began discussing war with Heaven.

It's over. This nightmare is finally over.

After leaving the Hell Council, I felt a sense of déjà vu, and I couldn't help but want to burst into tears—I had to get out of here! I absolutely, positively had to escape!

This was my first thought after that.

However, this entire plane is half heaven and half hell, so finding a secluded paradise is absolutely impossible. I also don't have the ability to travel between planes. I'm somewhat at a loss.

During these days of bewilderment, news of repeated crushing defeats came from the front lines. I attended several parliamentary sessions as observers, and the monstrous members of parliament were utterly terrified of the tyrannical paradise trampling on the democratic hell. Remarkably, they managed to agree on a countermeasure within a few months.

This is a record from the exploration notes left by Magellan, a philosopher from billions of years ago, when Hell was still in the Enlightenment era.

The ancients once inadvertently discovered a passage connecting to another plane. It was a low-level plane with low magic and martial arts. The only difference was that the immense energy and laws of that plane would randomly and unconsciously lurk within the human individuals within it, accompanying them throughout their entire lives. Unintentionally, this endowed these individuals with powerful abilities, akin to those of a plane's supreme deity.

However, this creature itself is still an ordinary creature; it eats when it's hungry, drinks when it's thirsty, sleeps when it's tired, and dies if it's stabbed.

The power of a plane does not guarantee the life of its host.

"Therefore, as long as one person is sent, there is a high probability that they will obtain the power of an entire plane."

This was the final conclusion reached by those damned councilors. Of course, no demon was willing to undertake such a perilous task as traversing different dimensions. Especially considering that their ancestor Magellan was swept away by a spacetime turbulence and his body was never recovered halfway through his journey.

Learn from past mistakes.

"Therefore, we should select the most useless person, the one who least adheres to hellish democracy and the rule of law, the one whose death would not cause any heartache, to accomplish this feat."

Then, all the demons looked at me...

Chapter Two: What the hell?!

And so, I pretended to be extremely unwilling and helpless, but in reality, I was cheering a million times over inside as I accepted the task.

Finally, I can leave! Finally, I can leave! Finally, I can escape this hell! Hahahaha! Forget about democracy, I might as well become a dictatorship from now on.

Of course, my overly reluctant demeanor also had some backlash. Seeing my excellent acting skills, the demon race, whose minds were deeply rooted in democratic and legal consciousness, suddenly realized the truth.

A citizen cannot persecute another citizen or force him to do something he does not want to do.

That's roughly the idea.

Then, I was horrified to discover that those devilish councilors hesitated at the last minute—they even seemed to want to hold another meeting to continue discussing the matter!

Holy crap!!!

I immediately declared that although this mission was fraught with peril and would mean a long absence from my beloved Hell, it was all for the sake of democracy and the rule of law in Hell. It was all to oppose the tyranny of Heaven. I was so ignorant before. Now I deeply understand the importance of Hell—therefore, I will fight for it. No more hesitation, it's me! Take me to that place quickly and let me go!!! Anyone who tries to stop me will face my wrath!!!

This was my first speech in Parliament, and very likely my last—I hope so. The speech wasn't very long, but it was surprisingly effective. A large number of the demonic councilors wept bitterly, regretting their misjudgment of me. They promised that after my death, my bust would be placed in Valhalla.

—Do you really want me to die?

However, at least I finally left this place, this damn hell of democracy and the rule of law.

Spacetime turbulence might be deadly for others, but for me, it's commonplace. Including this time, I've traversed dimensions seven times. Aside from intense dizziness, I haven't experienced any other discomfort. As for the death of that ancient sage Magellan… well, he probably brought it on himself? He found spacetime turbulence novel and wanted to get involved—and ended up dying.

So, there's no need to feel sorry for this kind of idiot.

And so, I woke up again—suddenly finding myself with tiny arms and legs again. I couldn't speak when I opened my mouth. All I could do was cry out, "Ah, ah."

Wow, I've been reincarnated as a baby again!

Well, thankfully it's still the same soul. Otherwise, I would have smashed my head against a wall and died on the spot.

Well, after experiencing such a terrible thing, what I want to do most now is to live a normal life for a while, to live a normal life, just normal, as long as it's normal, ah, normal is the best.

However, things weren't as simple as I imagined. Sometimes, even the ordinary becomes a luxury.

Around the time I was six years old, about to start elementary school, my adopted younger sister was born. The differences between my adoptive parents were growing increasingly pronounced.

Because of me.

To be precise, it's because I'm just too handsome.

To be more precise, I look nothing like my cheap dad, but it's the result of the body I'm used to using. In Wright Baldwin mode, I'm just too handsome.

He doesn't believe I'm his biological son.

Of course, in a sense, he is right; I am indeed not his biological child—but DNA testing can never detect anything about reincarnation.

Therefore, my adoptive mother divorced my adoptive father, despite his heartbreaking cries. The court ruled that custody of me and my adoptive sister was awarded to my adoptive mother.

And so, with two children in tow, my cheap mom's single life began once again.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. Because I lost my father at a young age, I became exceptionally sensible, playing the role of a good child in front of my mother. I got first place in my class, first place in my grade, first place in my school, first place in all of Japan, and then globally... oh right, there's no such ranking globally.

Besides, taking on part-time jobs during holidays is commonplace. Working as a greeter at a hotel can earn you more money than you would have earned in a month as a teacher in your past life (that phrase just sounds awkward). Speaking of which, the hotel owner is truly a kind person.

It's that auntie named Yakumo Yukari.

Ah, I meant the older sister.

Of course, as usual, the money I earned working there was given to my mom to handle. Although my mom had complained, "The landlady there doesn't seem like a good person at all. Does she have some bad intentions towards you? You're only in junior high school. If anything is really wrong, you must call the police."

some type of.

My younger sister, who hasn't started elementary school yet, complained that I spend less and less time with her, that I always just give her perfunctory stories every night, and that I don't bathe with her anymore. And so on.

Kids these days are so precocious! She's still just a little girl, but she's already so cunning. Lately, she's stopped calling me "brother." Instead, she started calling me "Ah Xu" after my aunt casually remarked during a visit, "Ah Xu has grown so much!"

So, what exactly is Kyon? Can you eat him? Or, to put it another way, if you stop calling me "Onii-chan," it means we're not related by blood anymore. Does that mean we can just naturally do all sorts of harmonious and loving things from now on?

Could it be? I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the way my sister looks at me doesn't seem like the way a sister looks at her brother.

—No, think back to the previous world, that brat who poisoned me with a cup of poisoned tea. Now look at my sister, she's just a well-behaved, ordinary little girl. —And think back to the world before that, that yuri pervert who, despite having no blood relation to me, still called me "Onii-chan" just to enjoy the thrill of random "beeping" —ah, my sister really is well-behaved to a certain extent.

As I thought this, a smile crept onto my lips. Indeed, the smile of such an adorable thirteen-year-old boy must be incredibly dazzling and cute from any angle.

But there just happens to be a fool in my life who doesn't know how to appreciate things.

"Hey! You idiot, Kyon, what are you grinning about again?" The girl to my left said this as she swung her backpack at my head—of course, with her average skills, she couldn't possibly hit me. I easily dodged it.

"Can't you just stand still and let me hit you once?"

The girl shouted arrogantly, as if it were all my fault.

“Alright, Haruhi, stop making things difficult for Kyon.” A girl who looked more demure came to my rescue—of course, I would be even more grateful if you could call me by my real name instead of Kyon.

"What did you say, Sasaki? Idiots like him should be given a good whack on the head so they'll learn their lesson." That's what the girl called Haruhi replied—her full name is Haruhi Suzumiya, the girl who lived next door to my mom in the new house we moved into after her mom's divorce. She was my childhood friend, with whom I spent five years of elementary school.

"Yes, yes..." the girl called Sasaki replied with a smile. She was the girl next door in the new house my mother moved into after her divorce. She was also my childhood friend, with whom I spent five years of elementary school.

Today was an ordinary spring day, with cherry blossoms falling from the sky. As usual, my younger sister, following Mom's orders, ran to my room, complaining about my blanket—completely disregarding my habit of sleeping naked. Then she woke me up.

Then, after eating the simple breakfast my mom prepared, I went to school shoulder to shoulder with Kasuga and Sasaki, who were already waiting at the door. Apart from the fact that we had all moved up to junior high school, everything was the same as usual.

On the way to school, Kasuga would steal glances at me, saying one thing but meaning another. Sasaki would also steal glances at me with a smile. The two of them, one on each side, sandwiched me in the middle, just like the layout of our three houses.

This has been going on for five years. And perhaps it will continue indefinitely. Four years of junior high, three years of high school, four years of university. Maybe during this time, I'll choose one of them and have a brief romance. Maybe the other one will get jealous. Maybe a strange love triangle will form.

In time, I might choose to marry one of them and have children. The other might be heartbroken, or she might give up and marry someone she doesn't love. And then, she might have an affair with me (hey!).

But that's all in the future. There are countless possibilities involved. It's even possible that our relationship will gradually fade, perhaps even becoming like strangers. But at this moment, we are the best of friends, neighbors, and childhood sweethearts.

Thinking back, when we were younger, Kasuga and Sasaki, true to their childlike nature, once said they wanted to marry me. Of course, after learning that Japanese marriage law is monogamous, they both cried and threw tantrums. At the time, I half-jokingly said: "When I grow up, I'll run for Prime Minister of Japan, then amend the marriage law, and then marry both of you at the same time."

For a long time, my joking remark became a pillar of support for two innocent girls. Many times, when their parents teased them about me, they would repeat my promise.

The consequence was that, when I was only nine years old, I almost got beaten up by my two future fathers-in-law after they got drunk—of course, the final result was that I stirred them up with a few words and they started fighting. Then, fueled by alcohol, they got into a fight—and in the end, my two future mothers-in-law dragged me home by the ears and made me kneel on a washboard.

However, they're middle school students now, after all. They've probably forgotten that joke from back then...

Thinking about this made me feel irritated. The smile on my lips vanished. This scene, of course, was witnessed by the two girls.

“Kyon, you look better when you smile,” Sasaki said.

“Yes, you look better with that silly grin than with that mournful face,” Haruhi said.

"Is that so?" A smile returned to my lips.

Forget it, let's deal with the future later. The most important thing is the present, and the people who are with me now.

Chapter 3 Haruhi Suzumiya's Anxiety

And so, time seemed to stand still. I repeated this simple life every day, and I enjoyed it immensely. My two future fathers-in-law, after the last incident, seemed to have had an epiphany. They stopped using threats and started using bribes instead.

So, basically, aside from going to nightclubs, they would invite me, along with Kasuga or Sasaki, to any good thing that happened. They would deliberately create opportunities for the two of us, or just the two of us, to be alone together. And they would subtly try to get information out of me, wanting me to make a series of "promises."

Until one day, Haruhi's father made a wrong decision. This decision inadvertently destroyed Haruhi's self-confidence and also ruined my daily life.

It was an incredibly boring baseball game to me. So boring, utterly boring. And the view wasn't great either; it was quite far back, you practically needed binoculars to see anything. Honestly, I'd rather watch it on TV.

However, it seems that many people have different opinions from mine. The entire sports stadium, which is said to be able to hold 50,000 people, was almost full, and cheers frequently erupted as the two teams performed.