I decided to head back home on foot.

A few passersby recognized my figure and waved at me. I was wearing casual clothing instead of my usual wizard attire, but my blond hair stood out among the masses.

I waved back at them and even gratified some cute girls of my most charming smile.

As I approached my home’s doorstep, I noticed an unusually large amount of mud on the doormat.

Yeah, I noticed that kind of thing. I was what you would call a clean freak. I loved when the house was neat and tidy. And so, such filth on my doormat was unforgivable.

**Breeze**

A small gust of wind blew the dirt away. The doormat recovered its spotless purity.

**Much better.**

With that taken care of, I opened the door and crossed the doorstep.

Loud voices erupted from the kitchen.

“Hey, step back!” yelled a familiar high-pitched voice. “It’s my turn!”

**Intruders?!**

“One at a time, there’s enough for everybody,” said Anastacia gently. “Do not push, please! Hey, you! Do not run away with the entire thing! Come back here, you jerk!”

I spotted a tall man running rapidly toward the diner table, holding what appeared to be a large meat pie.

When he spotted me, he stopped and shouted, “Hey Lynch! What’s up?”

“Albert?! What are you doing here?”

The man in front of me was Albert, a warrior from the Crown’s Overseers of which I was the leader.

“Your wife kindly invited us for diner! Isn’t she sweet?”

“You should give her the meat pie back before she smacks you.”

I saw my wife from the corner of my eye. She was brandishing a kitchen knife and her eyes were blazing dangerously.

When Albert detected the kitchen knife, he started sweating profusely as he hastily dropped the meat pie on the table and fell down on his knees. With his head bowed down on the ground, he begged for his life while my lovely spouse was staring him down.

Apparently, Anastacia was serving them a slice of meat pie one at a time while they were waiting in line. Albert, who couldn’t wait any longer, shoved Élise out of the way and dashed off with the meat pie.

**And he dares call himself a grown-up.**

With that commotion handled, we sat down around the diner table.

Albert, Lilliana, Élise, Rich, Anastacia, and I enjoyed a delicious meal.

“Hey, Lynch!” called out Élise blatantly. “Remember that time during the Insurrection when I shot an arrow up your ass? You wailed like a little kid!”

“I remember no such thing!” I answered. “Your delusions know no bounds.”

**Sure, the meal is delicious, but these idiots are noisy as hell.**

“Lynch, you shouldn’t lie like that,” spoke Lilliana softly. “You were crying when I pulled the arrow out and healed the wound.”

“Haha! I would have loved to see that!” declared Rich, laughing vehemently.

**This is embarrassing.**

My wife was looking at my flustered face fondly while chuckling tenderly.

Albert, Élise, and Rich were laughing their ass off. At some point, even Lilliana joined them.

The evening passed by. We were drinking merrily, talking about the past and other trivial matters.

No one mentioned the future. In the end, we had no idea what it would bring us.

As I started yawning, “We have a big day tomorrow. Let’s get some rest while we can.”

They left the house. Élise could barely stand on her own, so Rich was supporting her. That dwarf had an impressive resistance to this nefarious drink. He was hardly dazed despite drinking more than any of us.

Albert was supporting himself with his greatsword, leaving dents in the pavement.

**Why did he even bring his weapon**

Lilliana appeared absolutely fine. She probably used a purification spell to get rid of the intoxication. She could have used it on the others too, but she didn’t want them to become too dependant on her care.

The friendly intruders now repelled; I laid down in bed next to Anastacia.

“100 000 mutants designed for battle against 4000 rusty human soldiers. And us, the legendary and most respected Crown’s Overseers.” I spoke. “The odds don’t look so bad.”

I may have looked desperate at this moment, but my confidence didn’t leave me.

She turned sideways, her skin shining under the moonlight. I could feel her breath on my neck.

“It’s exciting, isn’t it? A battle we can’t escape, against unfavorable odds. I won’t even be part of the battle. Hell, I won’t even see it because I’ll be hidden in the shelter, but still… I can’t help but feel thrilled.”

“For a long time, I thought I was brought here to put the world back on track during the Insurrection.” I stayed silent for a moment, thinking carefully about my following words. “I was satisfied with that. Having accomplished my duty and achieved world peace, I could relax and enjoy raising my family.”

“But the world isn’t done with you now, is it?”

“Looks like it. Strangely, I feel thrilled, just like you. I’ve been given a new challenge, a way to test my limits.”

“Let’s hope you don’t reach these limits too early in the battle. We’re relying on you.”

A sad smile clouded her face. Unforgivable.

“Who the hell do you think I am? Do you think they even stand a chance?”

I tried to lift my fist in the air in a heroic way but laid down as I was, it failed.

“Now that I think about it,” I continued. “You’ve never seen me in action, did you?”

“I heard about your accomplishments in battle from your subordinates, so I know without a doubt that you’re the strongest wizard in the world. But these enemies, they’re not from this world, are they?”

“Does it really matter which world they’re from? As long as they bleed.”

“I feel better now your soothing words have given me courage.”

**Soothing words? These were soothing words?**

“Oh, I’m not done. Earlier, we were talking about limits, right? The thing is, I’ve never reached the bottom of my mana pool yet. I throw spell after spell after spell, but I never seem to exhaust my mana. If I want to burn through my mana pool, I need to use massive spells and every single time I tried, complaints flew at me like an angry woman throwing utensils.”

I took a short pause to catch my breath and stock enough oxygen in my lungs to finish my rant in a single shot.

“The dwarfs don’t want me to blow up their mountains. The elves don’t want me to raze their forests. The humans don’t want me to ravage fertile lands. Even the fucking fishermen don’t want me to use some magic in the ocean. They say it scares the fish.”

“You know,” she suggested. “It might be a good opportunity to vent some frustration.”

“Am I frustrated?”

“I don’t know, are you?

“I might be. It’s been months since we last made love.”

“Well well,” she said, licking her pink lips. “Maybe I can do something about that myself.”

I was still laid down in bed but now profoundly satisfied. Anastacia looked at me, sweat dripping from her forehead.

“We’re counting on you, sweetheart.”

“I know. I won’t disappoint you.”

**Tomorrow, they’ll learn the meaning of overwhelming power.**

I didn’t feel crushed by these expectations. Not one bit.

I fell asleep, carefree, and untroubled.