The Hero is Too Busy Paying His Rent!Chapter 14: A Completely Normal Day (For Once?!)Prologue: Today Will Be Chaos. Right?I woke up with one certainty in my soul.

  Today would be a disaster.

  It was just how my life worked.

  Every single day:

  Demonic invasions.Reality-breaking nonsense.Minimum wage suffering.It was like the universe had a personal grudge against me.

  So, as I rolled out of bed, I braced myself for the inevitable disaster.

  Any second now.

  …

  Any second now.

  …

  Weird.

  Morning: Nothing Explodes (Which is Suspicious)Kenji yawned as he entered the kitchen. “Morning, bro.”

  I nodded. “Morning.”

  I cautiously opened the fridge.

  And…

  There was actual food inside.

  I froze.

  Kenji raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

  I slowly turned to him. “Did you… buy groceries?”

  Kenji scratched his head. “Yeah? We were out, so I figured I should do it.”

  I blinked.

  He… remembered to buy groceries?

  The same Kenji who once spent our entire food budget on a single rare trading card?

  Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  I cautiously grabbed a slice of bread. “Okay, but… is something gonna happen today?”

  Kenji shrugged. “Dunno. Probably just another regur workday.”

  Regur?

  REGULAR?!

  Kenji spread some butter on his toast. “I mean, why would anything crazy happen?”

  I stared at him.

  “…Are you messing with me?”

  Kenji blinked. “No?”

  I slowly backed away.

  Something terrible was going to happen today. I could feel it.

  The Walk to Work: A Suspicious Lack of StupidityMelodia joined us as we walked to Burger Castle.

  “Morning,” she said.

  I narrowed my eyes. “Something’s wrong.”

  Melodia tilted her head. “What?”

  I gestured at the world. “Everything. It’s… normal.”

  Melodia frowned. “And that’s bad because…?”

  I crossed my arms. “Let’s review:

  No goblins have tried to rob me today.No wizards have accidentally teleported me to another dimension.No random fantasy warriors have challenged me to a duel.Kenji actually bought groceries.”Melodia gasped. “Wait. Kenji bought groceries?!”

  Kenji groaned. “Why is that the most unbelievable part?”

  I ignored him. “The point is: something insane always happens.”

  Melodia smirked. “Maybe today’s the exception?”

  I scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

  Then we arrived at Burger Castle.

  And everything was still normal.

  …

  I didn’t trust this.

  At Work: The Curse of a Normal ShiftWe clocked in.

  The kitchen was not on fire.

  The ice cream machine was working.

  Even the customers were shockingly polite.

  A man in a wizard robe stepped up.

  “I’d like a burger, please,” he said.

  I braced myself.

  Here it comes. Some weird magical nonsense. Some reality-breaking spell. Some—

  “…With extra pickles.”

  I blinked. “That’s it?”

  The wizard nodded. “Yes.”

  I cautiously rang up the order. “Uh… sure. One burger with extra pickles.”

  Nothing exploded.

  Nothing transformed.

  The wizard just paid and waited for his food.

  …

  Kenji leaned over. “Dude, you okay? You look pale.”

  I whispered, “This isn’t natural.”

  Kenji snorted. “Bro. We’re literally having a normal work shift. That’s a good thing.”

  I wasn’t convinced.

  Lunch Rush: A Customer Crisis (That… Doesn’t Happen?)The lunch rush began.

  I braced myself.

  This was when absolute chaos would break out.

  Last week, a necromancer raised an army of skeletons in the dining area.

  The week before that, a time traveler got stuck in a forever-loop of ordering the same meal.

  But today?

  …

  Nothing.

  Customers ordered.

  We gave them food.

  They left.

  No one screamed. No one started a fight. No one accidentally summoned a demon lord.

  Melodia nudged me. “Hey, maybe today is just… normal.”

  I squinted at her. “You’re telling me you don’t find this suspicious?”

  Melodia shrugged. “I mean, I kinda like it.”

  Kenji grinned. “Yeah, dude. Chill. Not every day has to be chaos.”

  I folded my arms. “I refuse to accept this.”

  Kenji sighed. “You’re literally upset that nothing bad is happening.”

  I jabbed a finger toward the ceiling. “Because that means something worse is coming.”

  Kenji rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, bro.”

  Then the Demon King walked in.

  The Demon King… is Also Normal?!The Demon King sat at his usual table.

  He casually sipped his coffee.

  I cautiously approached. “Uh… anything weird happening today?”

  The Demon King shook his head. “Not at all.”

  I frowned. “No disasters? No invasions? No apocalyptic threats?”

  The Demon King took another sip. “Nope.”

  I slowly sat down. “Not even a minor catastrophe?”

  The Demon King sighed. “Rento. I just came to enjoy my coffee. Not every day has to be a world-ending event.”

  I blinked.

  Was I…

  Overreacting?

  …

  No. That’s crazy.

  I folded my arms. “Fine. But when something inevitably explodes, I want a full refund on this conversation.”

  The Demon King smirked. “Deal.”

  Closing Time: The Moment of TruthWe locked up Burger Castle.

  I stood outside, waiting.

  Kenji sighed. “Bro. The day is over.”

  Melodia nodded. “No disasters. No chaos. Just a normal, peaceful shift.”

  I crossed my arms. “I don’t trust it.”

  Kenji groaned. “Dude. You’re mad because nothing bad happened.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “This is the calm before the storm.”

  Kenji rolled his eyes. “Sure it is.”

  Melodia chuckled. “See you tomorrow, guys.”

  We went our separate ways.

  I cautiously walked home.

  Still nothing.

  …

  I entered my apartment.

  Locked the door.

  Laid in bed.

  Still nothing.

  …

  I frowned.

  Was today actually… just normal?

  …

  Huh.

  I guess I was worried over noth—

  BOOM.

  Epilogue: The PunchlineI jumped out of bed.

  Smoke billowed from the kitchen.

  I rushed in—

  Kenji stood there, completely unfazed.

  “Hey, bro,” he said. “I tried to cook.”

  …

  I sighed.

  Of course.

  I should’ve known.

  I should have always known.

  No matter what… Kenji would find a way to ruin everything.

  To Be Continued…