If I had known that running into traffic would get me reincarnated, I would've at least brushed my hair.
But no. I had to go full anime cliché. Messy bedhead? Check. Curry bread in my mouth? Check. A freaking child chasing a cat into the middle of a busy street? Double check.
And me? I just had to jump in like some bootleg superhero, right? No hesitation. Not even a scream. I remember the kid's eyes widening, the horns blaring, and then—
Black.
Pure, cold black.
And then...
A voice.
[System Notice: You have died. Cause of Death: Stupidity noble sacrifice.]
[You are eligible for reincarnation. Assigning class: Hero's Shadow.]
Wait, what?
Hero's Shadow?
I blinked.
[You are not the Hero.]
Rude.
[You exist to support the Hero from the shadows. Your role is to silently assist, protect, and occasionally carry the entire kingdom's burdens while receiving zero recognition.]
Excuse me WHAT?!
---
When I woke up, I was inside a coffin.
You heard me right.
A COFFIN.
Wooden, old, and smelled like someone had marinated it in damp sadness for fifty years. I sat up too fast and cracked my forehead against the lid. Cursed. Then tried again with less enthusiasm.
The lid creaked open.
I sat up dramatically, gasping like a horror movie ghost.
"Ah. You're awake," an old man said casually, holding a teacup.
He was sitting cross-legged in a graveyard. Just chilling. Like seeing someone rise from a coffin was his Tuesday routine.
"You must be the new 'Shadow.'" He slurped his tea. "You're late."
"I—I'm sorry?" I croaked. "Wait, late for what?! I just died like five minutes ago!"
"It's been three days," he said. "We thought the summoning failed. Again."
Three. Days.
I'd been in the coffin for three days.
Alive.
I nearly threw up.
---
Turns out the old man was a priest. A really lazy one. He dusted me off, handed me a cloak, and explained my so-called "fate."
Apparently, in this world—Elyndor—the gods pick "Heroes" to save the realm from whatever flavor of evil is trending this century. Demon kings, undead legions, corruption from within, you name it.
And the Hero always comes with a "Shadow."
A mysterious protector who works behind the scenes. Fixes what the Hero breaks. Fights what the Hero can't. Basically the glue holding the fantasy world together.
So of course, that's me now.
Lucky me.
---
My new name? Ren Amagi, still. Thank the gods.
My role? Shadow to the Hero of this generation.
My powers? Apparently I can manipulate shadows, blink around in darkness, and copy someone's attack for ten seconds after I witness it.
Cool on paper.
Except no one told me who the Hero is. Or where they are. Or what I'm supposed to be doing.
So the priest just waved and said, "Well, good luck! The kingdom's that way," and sent me off with bread and a rusty dagger.
I hate this world already.
---
The kingdom's capital was… actually beautiful.
Sprawling white stone walls, glittering rivers, cobbled streets with street performers, mages hurling fireworks into the air for coin. Kids chasing enchanted paper birds. Vendors shouting about grilled skewers and apple cider.
It smelled like spices, steel, and warm bread.
And horse poop.
Let's be real.
I wandered until my feet hurt, asking random people about the "Hero," which, shockingly, didn't get me arrested. Turns out she's a bit of a celebrity.
Elise Arvendale. Daughter of a noble house. Sealed a dungeon at age ten. Wields a mythical sword. Top of her class in the Royal Academy.
And… apparently a total introvert.
I found her in a training yard, alone, slashing at a training dummy with terrifying precision. Blonde hair in a braid. Sword glowing faintly with holy runes. Face completely unreadable.
And then she turned. Looked right at me.
"Are you the new Shadow?" she asked in a voice as flat as a pancake.
I blinked. "Uh… yeah?"
"Good." She paused. "Don't talk to me unless it's important."
…
"Cool," I muttered. "Off to a great start."
---
Let me tell you something about Elise.
She's amazing. Like, scary amazing.
But she's also got the social skills of a wet spoon.
For example, she didn't say a word to me for three whole days.
Not even "good morning."
Not even "please stop trying to pet that griffin, Ren."
I started narrating my life to myself just to stay sane.
"Oh look," I muttered on day four, "the noble heroine has once again passed me by without acknowledging my existence. Truly, we are bonding."
She didn't even flinch.
But on day five, something changed.
We got ambushed.
And guess who saved her?
Yup.
This guy.
---
Why Are We Getting Ambushed?! I Just Wanted Bread!
It started like every other awkward morning between me and Elise.
I woke up in the stone barracks they gave me, which was basically a glorified closet with a bed and a window the size of a soup bowl. Did I complain? Yes. Did anyone listen? No. Elise didn't even acknowledge my daily rants about pillow softness rankings.
After I got dressed, shadow-jumped down two floors for fun (and nearly broke my ankle), I met her in the usual spot: the courtyard, where she was already halfway through slashing some poor training dummy into stuffing.
"Morning, Your Hero-ness," I called, offering a wave.
She looked at me. Said nothing. Went back to slicing wood.
Right. Good talk.
We were supposed to head into town today. Something about checking on magical supply routes. Easy job. Perfect time for character development, bonding moments, and maybe—just maybe—a lunch that didn't taste like disappointment.
We got halfway to the merchant quarter when I felt it.
That itch on the back of your neck. Like the air got heavier.
Something was wrong.
"Elise," I whispered. "We're being followed."
She stopped walking.
Without looking back, she said, "How many?"
"At least four. Two on the rooftops. One in that alley. One trailing our rear."
She nodded.
I blinked.
Wait—how did I know that?
[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Sense (Passive)]
[You can now detect hostile intent within 30 meters.]
Neat.
Not the time, though.
Suddenly, the alley guy lunged.
Dark cloak, jagged dagger, glowing green eyes.
He went straight for Elise—
And I moved.
Instinct, adrenaline, dumb loyalty—call it whatever you want. But one second he was diving, and the next, I was in front of her, blade drawn, shadows coiling up my arm.
I blocked him.
Barely.
The force sent me stumbling back, and the guy grinned like a maniac. "Heh… so the Shadow is awake. How delightful."
"Wow, creepy villain voice," I said, panting. "Ten out of ten for effort. Minus ten for hygiene."
He hissed and came at me again.
This time, I countered.
My shadow extended and lashed out like a whip, catching his leg. He fell face-first into the cobblestone.
"Holy crap, that worked?!" I gasped.
Elise finally moved.
In a single smooth motion, she unsheathed her sword, stepped forward, and—
Shink.
The guy dropped. Unconscious. Not dead, but definitely rethinking life choices.
I turned to her, adrenaline still buzzing. "What the hell was that?! Ambushes on a supply run?! Is this normal?!"
She was calm. Too calm. Like murder was on her to-do list between breakfast and tea.
"Elven assassins," she said flatly. "They've been testing me for months."
I stared. "This is normal for you?!"
She shrugged.
I took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of my nose, and muttered, "Man, I died once and life somehow got more stressful."
More figures appeared—three this time. They landed like ninja, blades drawn, surrounding us.
"Elise," I said. "Permission to go full anime?"
She blinked. "…What does that mean?"
I grinned.
"It means—" I leapt into the shadows, "—I do something awesome and definitely reckless."
---
I popped out behind one of the assassins, mimicking the way Elise swung her sword.
[Shadow Copy: Heroic Slash]
The energy surged down my arm as I mimicked her attack—and with a burst of light, I sent the enemy flying.
My arm burned. I winced. It wasn't perfect. But hey, flashy sword light. Cool sound effects. I'll take it.
Elise handled the second one. No flair, just raw skill.
I teamed up with her for the third—me distracting, her slicing.
In less than a minute, the fight was over.
We stood panting in the middle of the alley.
Five enemies down.
And for the first time since I got here… she looked at me.
Like, really looked.
"You moved fast," she said.
"I'm a Shadow. It's kind of my thing."
"You copied my technique."
"Uh, yeah. Shadow magic. Pretty neat, right?"
"…You didn't even hesitate."
"I mean, you're my Hero. Not saving you would be kind of awkward."
There was a long pause.
Then…
"…Thanks."
My brain froze.
Did—did Elise Arvendale, cold noble prodigy, just thank me?!
I nearly cried.
"You're welcome," I said, sniffling dramatically. "Gods, you do have emotions. I was starting to think you were secretly a golem."
She sighed and turned away. "You're loud."
"And you're emotionally constipated."
"…I'm not."
"Oh? Then let's talk about how we almost died and grew closer through mutual danger."
"I'll report the ambush to the Captain."
"Elise—"
"Stop talking."
"See? That's your love language."
She walked faster.
I followed, grinning like an idiot.
---
And just like that, something shifted.
For the first time, I wasn't just a background character. I wasn't just the "Shadow."
I was someone who stood beside her.
Maybe… just maybe… this reincarnation thing wasn't going to suck.
Too much.
---
So Apparently I Have a Pet Slime Now?!
I didn't expect to be rewarded for surviving an assassination attempt with a trip to the royal bathhouse, but hey, life is full of surprises.
The guards arrived late—shockingly useless, by the way—and Elise filed her report with all the emotional range of a stale rice cracker. I expected her to downplay the fact that I saved her (twice, thank you very much), but to my shock, she actually mentioned it.
Direct quote:
"The Shadow performed adequately."
Adequately.
I'll take it.
That's like… a standing ovation in Elise-language.
I was riding the high of that compliment (and by "riding" I mean skipping like an idiot down the hallway while humming an anime opening), when I saw it.
A blob.
A little blue blob bouncing around in the garden behind the barracks.
At first, I thought it was a weird water balloon. Then it blinked at me.
I blinked back.
"…Are you a slime?"
It wobbled.
"Are you a friendly slime?"
It bounced once.
"Do you want food?"
It launched into the air and landed on my shoe with a happy squeak.
That's how I accidentally adopted a sentient gelatinous marshmallow.
---
I named him Blobbert.
Elise said that was stupid.
I said her soul is a locked room with no windows and Blobbert is the sunlight she didn't know she needed.
She said I was banned from speaking for the rest of the day.
Blobbert, on the other hand, loved me unconditionally. He squeaked every time I fed him bread crumbs and made a purring sound when I let him sit on my head like a weird jelly hat.
Turns out slimes in this world are normally pests—like magical pigeons, but stickier. Most people shoo them away or splatter them.
But Blobbert was… different.
He understood words. Emotions. And after I stubbed my toe on a bench and screamed obscenities in three languages, he tried to cast Heal on me.
A SLIME.
Casting HEAL.
That's not normal.
Which meant—
"Oh no," I said, holding him up. "You're gonna be important later, aren't you?"
He wobbled innocently.
---
That evening, Elise found us in the courtyard. Me, lying in the grass. Blobbert, sitting on my chest. We were stargazing.
Yes, I was stargazing with a slime. I'm a simple man.
"You look ridiculous," she said, arms folded.
"Thank you. I work hard at it."
She stared at the slime. "What is that?"
"Blobbert. He's my son now."
"That's a pest."
"He's a miracle of nature, and you will treat him with respect."
Blobbert squeaked on cue.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why do I feel like this is going to become a problem?"
"Oh, it absolutely will. I can feel the plot building."
---
After a long pause, she sat down next to me.
Like, actually sat. No six-foot noble distance. No standing over me like I'm a peasant.
Just… quietly sat beside me.
We both looked up at the stars.
Elyndor's night sky was different from Earth's. Bigger. Brighter. With constellations I didn't recognize. And three moons. Because of course there are three.
"I used to watch the stars with my sister," Elise said softly.
My eyes widened.
She'd never shared anything personal before.
"Before she died."
My heart stuttered.
"I'm sorry," I said.
She nodded. "You remind me of her."
Now I really didn't know what to say.
"She was loud. Stubborn. Always doing the opposite of what I told her. Just like you."
I smiled. "Sounds like she was awesome."
"She was."
We sat in silence for a while.
Even Blobbert was quiet, gently pulsing with a soft glow on my chest.
Then Elise said, barely audible, "I'm glad you're my Shadow."
My throat tightened.
"…I'm glad you're my Hero."
She didn't respond.
But she didn't get up and walk away, either.
---
That night, I lay awake in my stone closet of a room, staring at the ceiling.
So much had happened.
I saved the Hero. Got a new slime son. Got complimented twice.
Was this really my life now?
Somehow, it felt… good.
Like, for the first time in forever, I belonged somewhere.
I'm not the main character.
But maybe I don't need to be.
Because this world?
It's already way more exciting than anything I ever lived through on Earth.
And tomorrow?
Tomorrow we've got a supply run, an alchemy class, and a cursed goose to deal with.
Bring it on.
---
[End of Chapter 1]