Lazy but the strongest in the dimension

001 Prologue

Seoul lay in ruins.

The charred corpses of demons were scattered in all directions. The crowning jewel of the scene was the Demon King’s head, held in my hand.

“Huff… Huff…”

The taste of blood filled my mouth as I gasped for breath.

At long last, my thirty-year journey had come to an end.

Over that long time, I had witnessed countless deaths, and my humanity had gradually worn away. Feeling any kind of emotion had become difficult, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to rest.

The only reason I had made it this far was because of the divine being, Erna.

She was once worshipped as a goddess, but after losing her battle against the Demon King, she had been stripped of most of her power. In search of a savior, she had fused with me.

I am Han Sung-geun.

Though she had granted me various powers, the journey had been nothing short of hellish. I had lost count of how many crises I barely survived.

Despite being naturally lazy, the daily battles had been mentally exhausting. Eventually, I even became accustomed to the suffering. Now, I felt nothing at all.

How did things end up like this? My original reason for fighting was now nothing more than a faint memory. I hadn’t fought for others—I had fought simply to survive.

—You have accumulated mythical deeds. A divine reward shall be bestowed.

A beautiful, ethereal voice resonated in my mind, but my voice came out hoarse and cracked in response.

“…Is that so.”

—Do you have any particular wish?

“A particular wish?”

When Erna first fused with me, I had been nothing more than an ordinary job seeker. A jobless man in his early thirties.

Even after demons invaded the world, society’s systems somehow continued to function. Back then, I had thought that if I accomplished great mythical feats, I could finally become rich.

But as time passed, I started to wonder—what meaning did wealth hold?

Now, riches and absolute power meant nothing to me. All I had done was struggle to survive, and deep in my heart, all I truly desired was to rest.

I looked around.

Not just Seoul but the entire Earth had been reduced to a wasteland. How many survivors were even left? At most, 13 million people remained. Civilization itself had crumbled, and humanity had effectively been sent back to the Stone Age. Life on Earth had lost all meaning.

“I want to be lazy. I want to sleep in, wake up late, and have people take care of everything for me.”

—Is that your condition for the divine reward?

“Yeah. I’m exhausted. I just want to rest. My dream was always to be a ‘shutter man’—to have money, meet a beautiful woman, and live a carefree life drinking to my heart’s content.”

—…What a garbage dream. Living off a woman’s earnings? Seriously?

Sometimes, Erna had a way of stabbing right at the heart of the matter.

But so what?

That’s just how I used to think. Besides, I had done more than enough. Only 13 million people remained, but I had saved humanity, hadn’t I?

“That’s just what my dream was. Can’t I rest now?”

—Even with a rotten mindset, I can’t deny your achievements. You’ve done well. The divine reward will now be granted.

“Who exactly is giving this reward?”

—I’m not entirely sure, but probably the Supreme God? Though I imagine there will be conditions attached.

“What kind of conditions?”

—If you fail to meet the conditions of your divine reward, there will be penalties. In the realm of the gods, this is known as the ‘Inevitable Fate.’ Depending on the circumstances, it might be quite inconvenient for you.

“Erna, have you gone crazy from being stuck with me for so long? If I understand you correctly, I just have to live as lazily as possible. If I don’t, the Inevitable Fate penalty will trigger. And if I do meet the conditions?”

—Then you’ll accumulate divine deeds and receive bonuses. Ultimately, once enough divine deeds are gathered, you’ll ascend to godhood. As long as you don’t collapse along the way, you’ll become an eternal, immortal being.

“So, my divine trait has been chosen?”

—Yes, that’s right. If you ascend as a god, you’ll probably become the ‘God of the Lazy.’

“The God of the Lazy, huh? I love it. If I can live like that forever, there’s nothing more I could want. Alright, then. Let’s start stacking up my divine deeds according to my nature.”

—Surrender yourself to the great will.

I let go of everything around me.

The Demon King’s head rolled across the ruins, my sword and armor crumbled into dust, and finally, my very flesh began to dissolve.

My entire body disintegrated into primal energy, vanishing into nothingness.

A distant voice faintly echoed in my ears.

[……The ‘Cycle of Karma’ will be applied until your divinity is fully realized.]
[To complete your divinity, you must accumulate ‘deeds.’ If you fail to reach the required amount in a single lifetime, you will receive severe penalties.]
[If you do not complete your divinity in this life, you may be subjected to an endless cycle of reincarnation…]

***

I don’t know if this can truly be called reincarnation.

Back on Earth, I had accumulated mythical achievements and received a divine reward.

Heroes who received divine rewards could choose a nature aligned with their character. By honing this nature further, they could eventually ascend to divinity.

Those who accumulated virtuous deeds were granted the right to become celestial gods, while those who amassed evil deeds could become dark gods.

At first glance, it seemed like an extraordinary opportunity. But there were crucial drawbacks.

If one failed to accumulate enough deeds to reach divinity in their current life, they would suffer extreme penalties. If the required karma for divinity was 100 in this life, it would increase to 200 in the next, then 400 in the one after that. If luck was not on one’s side, life could end up repeating infinitely.

For someone like me, whose very soul was exhausted from endless battles, this was a dire rule.

I was already mentally drained. If such a life were to repeat endlessly, I would likely go insane in the end.

So, where did I stand on the spectrum of good and evil?

Even Erna wasn’t sure.

She said laziness wasn’t categorized as either good or evil. I would likely end up as some kind of neutral god, balanced between the two.

Despite the potential issues, this life was proving to be quite satisfying. I even felt like I might be able to fulfill all my required deeds in this lifetime.

My soul had descended upon the continent of Perso, a world with a civilization equivalent to the medieval era. More specifically, I had been reborn into a noble family within the Holy Caldona Empire—the most powerful nation on the continent.

And not just in any position—I was the second son of a count’s household.

The eldest son was responsible for inheriting the family estate and was constantly busy managing affairs. If I had been born as the firstborn, my laziness status would have steadily declined. My accumulated deeds would have been reduced, delaying my ascension to divinity until my next life.

The original owner of this body had been naturally lazy. If he hadn’t been unlucky enough to be dragged to a hunting tournament and fallen off his horse, he would have spent his entire life in luxury and leisure.

While the body’s original owner lay on the brink of death, I took over his body and absorbed his memories.

As I reviewed his past, I was amazed at how similar he was to me in personality.

His name was Valen von Rynas.

From childhood, he had abhorred anything troublesome. Thanks to his unwavering dedication to idleness, he had become infamous not just in his domain but throughout the entire empire as a notorious slacker.

Because of this reputation, no one would question it if I spent my days lounging around in a spot that overlooked the entire estate, simply enjoying life.

—Your laziness stat has reached its maximum. Strength has increased by +1. You have it easy, don’t you? Who would have thought of using laziness as a means of accumulating divine deeds?

“If you’re jealous, just say so. The real problem is that you chose ‘love’ as your path to divinity. Of all things, why love? How much true love do humans even experience in their lives? Don’t tell me you had your karma reduced because the man you loved betrayed you.”

—Stop provoking me.

“Ha, I knew it. My guess was right.”

Isn’t this the perfect setup?

Once my older brother inherited the domain, he would probably grant me a quiet rural estate. I could settle down there, live in comfort, and have attendants cater to my every need.

“Master! Master!”

My attendant, Andrew, came rushing toward me.

As always, he was in a hurry. Honestly, unless someone’s life was at stake, I didn’t see why he needed to move so fast.

Naturally, I didn’t bother getting out of my hammock.

Stepping down from this tightly woven, supremely comfortable net would be a crime against laziness itself.

Even slight movements brought on a wave of fatigue, so I only turned my head slightly and spoke indifferently.

“What is it?”

I lazily wiggled my finger, and a waiting-maid immediately brought water to my lips.

Since this world lacked straws, I had carved a bamboo tube to function as one. Thanks to that, I no longer had to go through the trouble of lifting a cup to drink.

Sip, sip, sip!

The sweet water, lightly mixed with honey, flowed down my throat. Satisfied, I finally turned my gaze to Andrew.

“Master! T-There’s trouble!”

“What kind of trouble?”

“You heard the rumors about the growing tensions, didn’t you?”

“I heard something about friction with the Mage Federation. But what about it?”

I genuinely couldn’t understand what the fuss was about.

The second son of a noble family does not go to war. When war breaks out, it is customary for the eldest son to enlist in exchange for inheriting the estate—unless there is an unavoidable reason preventing it.

If the eldest son is too young or has a valid excuse to avoid service, then the lord himself must take up arms. In other words, if my older brother were unable to go, my father, Count Rynas, would have to take his place.

But why would my brother refuse? He was set to inherit the estate, and rejecting military service would be the same as giving up his claim to the title of lord.

Unlike me, my brother was diligent and ambitious. There was no way he would pass up this opportunity. War was a chance to prove himself as a rightful successor, and if he was lucky, he could even earn a title promotion.

No matter how I looked at it, there was no reason for this to affect me.

“You must hurry to the main estate, my lord! You’ve been summoned immediately! A conscription order has been issued!”

“What nonsense is that? Explain properly unless you want a beating.”

I tilted my head in confusion.

Andrew must have misheard.

If a conscription order was issued, it should have been for my brother, not me. There was no logical reason why I would receive one. My dim-witted attendant was mistaken.

“I’m telling you, it’s true! The whole estate is in an uproar because of it. A royal decree has been issued!”

“…A royal decree?”

“Yes! That’s what I’m saying! A royal envoy is here with the official edict!”

“…The fuck?”

I couldn’t help but curse.