A Quest NPC Wants to Become a Casual Player [Western Fantasy]

The title has been changed. Original title: I Was the Protagonist of the Previous Game, but Became an NPC in the Rebooted Sequel [Next story, Dodging Straightforward Confessions Every Day. Blurb at the very bottom!] Alaie was supposed to be the hero who completed his mission to defeat the Demon King. He was a legendary figure: powerful and brave, noble and humble, never faltering in the face of hardship. But after he slept for a while, the world changed beyond recognition. The legendary hero Alaie had failed to defeat the Demon King, and had sealed him away with everything he had. But less than ten years later, the seal was on the verge of breaking. So thousands upon thousands of people who had gained the [Power of the Chosen] and the ability to kill the Demon King came pouring out of the woodwork. They called themselves Alaie's younger brothers and sisters. Alaie drew a deep breath, completely dumbfounded. His younger brothers and sisters could probably drown the Demon King with just one mouthful of water each. What was the point of him getting involved? At his sponsor's friendly suggestion, Alaie decided to grab a frying pan, flint, a bow, and a one-handed sword, then travel the world and experience the food and culture he'd missed out on before. He was having a wonderful time. One day, a [World Announcement] appeared: Someone has triggered the mystery of Hero Alaie's seal. All players, investigate the truth from ten years ago. His old friends, who'd all said they were retiring for good, came rushing out of the woodwork, offering huge rewards for information. Alaie had just slaughtered every frenzied long-eared rabbit in the hunting grounds. He borrowed a pot from a player and started cooking right there in the wilderness, under the gaze of the area's boss. Alaie: ...? What truth? . Ludwig was highborn and highly influential, the most promising prodigy among the candidates for hero, and a notorious trash-talker on the player forums. His greatest hits included: [With that crooked face and your clumsy, frivolous manner, you think you can succeed Alaie?] [Even ants know when a road is blocked and go around. Looks like an ant's brain is bigger than yours.] Ludwig had always believed he would accomplish the mission that the former hero, Alaie, couldn't. He worked and struggled toward that goal. Until the day he received a set of memories. Memories of Alaie's legendary life. Alaie had been noble and virtuous, undefeated throughout his life. Everyone could only follow in his footsteps, watching him forge ahead. Just as everyone had imagined, he was said to have acquired the True Eye, perfectly completed his mission, and ended the Demon King's life. He became the last hero in history and returned to the Goddess's side. Alaie had accomplished Ludwig's life's ambition. He had lived the life Ludwig dreamed of, the life he would always yearn for. Ludwig stared at the young hero sleeping in a sack: ... He couldn't let it go. Someone had effortlessly stolen the goal he'd spent his whole life working toward. Ludwig made a decision: he would make the young hero lose himself in a life of pleasure. Because he was the only one who could become a hero. [Reading Guide] * If anything makes you uncomfortable, run. The writing is amateurish. * The author has a lot of chuunibyou tendencies and kinks. * The setting is original, with my own take on game mechanics. It includes a little fourth-wall-breaking, food, farming, and saving the world. The main focus is travel and food. * The first game is an RPG, and the second is an open-world online game. The two timelines diverge based on whether the first-generation hero defeated the Demon King. * The protagonist is the strongest in the world. [Important Notice]: One-on-one romance. A proud, tsundere, fate-defying, foul-mouthed, brooding man versus the strongest gluttonous hero who saves two worlds. Ludwig respects Alaie and envies him. Alaie is Ludwig's obsession, as well as the person he looks up to. They both feel a duty and conviction to save the world. If my personal kinks aren't your thing, don't read. You can criticize anything else, but not my kinks. If you do, I'll call you tasteless. This idea was screenshotted and saved on Weibo on May 22, 2023, as proof of ownership. Please do not plagiarize or steal the premise. [Next story: Dodging Straightforward Confessions Every Day, by Lin Xian. Blurb below] I transmigrated into a domineering hero novel, and unfortunately, I was a disposable character on his path to power. The good news: I transmigrated along with my childhood friend. We share a System, but have different abilities. The bad news: Our families are sworn enemies. Whenever one of us spots someone from the other family, we have to spit. Romeo and Juliet had it easy compared to us. We act like we can't stand each other, but secretly we work together. The two of us spend every day huddled together in private, trying to figure out how to escape the plot's control and stay alive. One day, we took down the domineering hero. Our families joined hands to welcome a new future, and the elders wanted to arrange a marriage between us. I said sincerely, "Just thinking about a future with you makes me feel sick." Cen Changdong: "Funny. I feel exactly the same way about that." I decided this couldn't go on. After getting injured, I came up with a devious plan: I pretended to have amnesia. I've never felt so brilliant in my life. When I woke up, everything was in chaos. Cen Changdong stared straight at me for a long time before saying, "You've lost your memory?" "We're engaged. You really like me, so much that you insist on marrying only me. After you begged me desperately, I agreed to your proposal." The moment I saw the smile in his eyes, I understood. Damn it, he'd figured out I was faking my amnesia. Cen Changdong: "0V0 So, when are you ready to get married?" I couldn't go along with him, but I couldn't say I hadn't lost my memory either. So I gritted my teeth and said, "We don't know each other very well. Isn't it a little soon to get married?" #I hate that you're such a blockhead# #Thanks for giving me the chance to shed the childhood-friend label# Theme: Hold fast to your convictions and nothing can stop you