My mind simply kept spinning. My body felt suspended, yet heavy. There was a feeling of motion swaying my senses, but I couldn't figure out what was happening. It was too dark for me to see myself, even if I looked down. The only thing that was working were my ears, picking up some echoes in the far distance.

Where the hell was I? What am I doing here?

I tried tracing my memories to figure out how I managed to get here, but I was met with a troubling roadblock. I couldn't remember a single thing. Those memories were filled with emptiness, yet I was certain that I existed at some point. The more I pushed on in an attempt to find something, the more tired I became. It was as if an outside force was stopping me from remembering.

I don't understand this one bit. Seriously, what's going on here?

In the distance, a light suddenly shined through as the echoes rang louder in my ears. In the matter of seconds, the entire area was devoured by that blinding light and the voice became a deafening screech.

And then—

—nothing.

…

…

"Ah, the summoning ritual has been a success!"

A loud voice woke me from my deep slumber. I really wanted to rip out a great, big yawn and tell the person off from disturbing my rest. Sleep was really important and it wasn't to be undermined like this! However, my eyes managed to open up before my mouth could have the chance to do so, making me shut up before I could consider my unfiltered words.

Something really weird is going on here.

I don't ever remember walking into a room like this before. If the unfamiliar stone bricks and decor around the wide room wasn't a red flag, perhaps it might have been the pedestal I was still lying down on or even the shining lights that formed a magic circle underneath my body.

Maybe it's for the best if I keep quiet and figure out what I landed myself into. Hopefully, I didn't sign up for some ridiculous cult in the time I blacked out, but when I saw all those robed men standing before me, those hopes started dwindling just a tiny bit.

If they're going to kill me and sacrifice me as some tribute, please make it quick.

However, I started hearing other voices beside me. As I slowly stood onto my feet, my head naturally turned over to see who had been my companions on this fateful day. If we were together like this, I expect that I would have at least known them, but another shocking twist came in the form that they were all strangers.

A black-haired kid, sixteen years old, named Ren Amaki. He was the Sword Hero summoned to Melromarc and had some problems concerning his social anxiety.

A curly-haired kid, seventeen years old, named Itsuki Kawasumi. He was the Bow Hero summoned to Melromarc and despite his earnest attitude, he had some stubbornness in the way he thinks.

And there was the pony-tailed guy, twenty years old, named Motoyasu Kitamura in which—

—wait.

Didn't I just say they were complete strangers?

Why do I know their names?

My head started to hurt a bit when I tried searching for that answer. It became a bit troublesome, so I stopped that line of thought. I'll probably come across that bridge when I get to it.

"What's all this?"

"Huh?"

As the others needed their own time to figure out their own situation, I noticed a shield being attached to my arm. It was recognizable from the green orb that was centered in the middle of it, but the name that came to my mind had been Naofumi Iwatani.

He was supposed to be one here, not me.

And with that name, there came another name that paired with it hand-in-hand.

Rising of the Shield Hero. This was the setting of a light novel series.

I'm starting to get the idea of what happened to me. My clothes didn't look like anything that Naofumi started out with. Instead of that green hoodie of his, I still had my grey jacket, so replacing his mind wasn't the circumstances here. I myself was summoned to this world.

I must have entirely replaced his existence, though if my memories served me correctly, I was in for a hell of a reckoning in the coming days. There was a betrayal, a healthy dose of hatred, and probably being on mostly everyone's hate list - best of all, it was served on a silver platter to me. Erhm, to Naofumi. I guess it's going to be me if I don't do anything about it.

Alright. I got this. If I'm prepared to deal with the incoming days and the enemies that will make themselves present before me, then I'll be in a better shape that Naofumi was in.

With the leading robed man stepping up for his little spiel for us to save this world from the waves of destruction or whatnot.

"Oh Heroes! Please—!"

"What did you do with Father, I say!?"

"Hold up. What?"

A sudden shout came from beside me and when I turned around, a spear was being thrusted to my neck so suddenly. I instinctively raised my hands as he looked over to the spear's wielder, Motoyasu Kitamura. I don't know what was going on, but the intensity in his eyes showed no mercy behind it. Whatever happened, he was definitely angry.

And so, million things were running through my mind.

Most importantly, one thing managed to rest soundly in my thoughts—

—that this wasn't how Rising of the Shield Hero starts.

"H-Hey, let's calm down and put the spear down—!"

"[Brionac X]!"

A skill came out from the spear and ripped me to shreds, leaving almost nothing in its wake. I would have screamed in pain if I was able to see it coming, but it was so fast that we probably skipped a few steps somewhere such as THE REASON AS TO WHY I'M ALREADY DYING!? HELLO!?

It's literally been a single minute! Am I speedrunning this!?

The other heroes looked completely speechless and scared about what they just saw, but before my body could the ground and my life could completely escape from me, the colours all disappeared. With only black and white serving to outline everything, time seemingly stopped and the sound of a clock rang in the distance.

I guess I didn't get to have my adventure as the Shield Hero, after all.

Death lured me in as I closed my eyes.

However, I found myself on the ground once again.

Feeling the movements in my arm and, pretty much everything else that was apparently blown away, I started having questions. I was sure that Motoyasu killed me in cold blood, but my arm was still there. I even got up quicker this time to check if everything was working and sure enough, nothing was missing. With confusion stricken in my mind, I knew for certain that was still alive somehow.

That was probably some crazy fever dream, but as I looked up, I noticed the cluster of rober men again. This was the same room from that dream, so perhaps this wasn't a dream…?

Then what exactly just happened?

"Ah, the summoning ritual has been a success!"

"What's all this?"

"Huh?"

Everything was playing back the same way that crazy dream had been going like it was some rehearsed skit. I tried to shake off the insanity of it all, thinking that I must have been way too tired to process everything properly until I heard Motoyasu shout at me once more.

"How are you still here!? Where is Father, I say!?"

On cue, the spear came back up to my chest, but I realized that the only difference was that Motoyasu's sentence was different. It was as if he recognized that he just killed me, but I ended up raising my arms up like a puppet being pulled by strings.

"W-Wait, I don't even know what's going—!"

"[Brionac X]!"

Once again, my body was completely obliterated.

I don't think I can keep taking this type of physical trauma, but just as before, my body never hit the ground. Movements stopped and the world shifted to black and white once more and in the distance a clock struck. It turned out that it wasn't just a dream, but these things were really happening.

I don't understand, but I do know one thing.

"Ah, the summoning ritual has been a success!"

That I am already getting sick of this! I'm not looking to die for the third time before the anime opening ends! I don't know how the hell I can stop this though! Motoyasu apparently one-shots me and that's pretty crazy considering that we were supposed to start off as Level 1! What am I supposed to do against that!? Keep dying this until the guy gets bored!?

Yeah, that ain't gonna get old fast!

I have to think of something before he unleashed that stupid skill in my face again. My eyes rolled over to Motoyasu who immediately turned his head like some eldritch horror to check to see who the Shield Hero was. His eyes were almost glowing with red bloodlust and one thing was for certain.

I am so going to have nightmares of that.

That is, if I can get the chance to sleep!

"Hold up, Motoyasu!" I leapt up onto my feet to try and initiate the conversation first and demonstrate that I just wanted to peacefully talk things out. "I don't mean any harm, but can we please—!"

"[Brionac X]!"

I'm not even going to fucking describe what happened next.

Slamming myself upwards onto my feet, I needed to weigh my options clearly and concisely as to what I can do to stop this lovestruck madman from keeping me in a constant death loop!

Wait, what did I just say?

Love… struck...?

No, no. He was just a skirt-chaser, right? He had that naivety towards females and especially those that he chose to trust in, but he never had that moment in the light novels where he became lovestruck, right? He never had an unhealthy obsession about someone, right?

My head started pulsing again. I couldn't remember any details surrounding that, but maybe it had to do what he was calling me. No, I'm wrong. He was apparently calling Naofumi by father, but that didn't seem like something outlandish to me.

Were the details of the series surging back into my memories during the adrenaline that I was experiencing here? If so, I should probably die a few more times to get the full story back in my hands, but I'm not going to lie. I still don't want to do it.

Dying is uncomfortable.

I don't want to get used to

Goddamn it, Motoyasu!

Let me finish my inner thought process! I didn't even get to put a period or even a dash at the end of the sentence! You didn't even shout out your skill this time! How was that fair!?

However, I turned to the Spear Hero in a hot-headed rush and without even thinking about what I was going to say, I spat out my anger and disbelief that he kept on doing this.

You would think after a few times, Motoyasu would figure out that this shit isn't working! I know he's a smart guy underneath all that angel-obsessing skin, so what the hell is stopping him from realizing the issue with rinsing and repeating!? Does it not bother him that he's casually committing a world record of how much one can kill a single person in a few minutes!?

With the spear being raised up quicker than I could spill out another full sentence, I realized that I just went over the main reason as to why he was doing this in the first place. The name didn't come to my name immediately, but when I uttered it out, it was already forming.

"I know you want Filo-tan! So please, stop killing me!"

…

…

… Hey, what do you know? I'm not instantly dead.

Use the name of the person, or demon monster, that he's obsessed with and you get to have him spare your life. Not sure if that's worth celebrating yet. I suppose I would find out in a few seconds before he inevitably murders me again.

But still, I'm never saying something as embarrassing as that nickname ever again.

Feeling the adrenaline of facing death after death, I found myself collapsing on the ground and looking up to Motoyasu. His spear never moved away from my neck, but at least he was willing to hear me out, but that probably wasn't it. He likely had more questions for me than I did for him now.

Raising my hands as a sign of surrendering and peace, not that it ever did anything for me so far, I decided to slowly start an actual line of communication. As sure as hell, I wasn't going to waste any words on this chance.

"Look. I don't know why I'm here," I breathed heavily. Sweat dripped down my forehead. "I don't know why the hell I've taken Naofumi's place, but it seems obvious to me that you already know who Naofumi is. I want to know what the hell is going on as much as you do, but we can't figure that out if you keep killing me!"

Motoyasu blinked in surprise. For some reason, it stopped seeming like he was concerned about me mentioning Filo and my suspicions were corrected.

"You remember what happened?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't I?" Does he think I'm dumb or something!? "You keep killing me! It's really not difficult to have that engraved into my memory!"

Motoyasu glared at me like I was some lowlife scum, but I don't think he's going to do anything to me. He was filled with more curiosity if anything. The robed men were already trying to figure out why the Spear Hero was being so aggressive and the other two heroes were just as perplexed, not understanding what's going on next to them.

My hands slowly dropped down as I finally was able to take a breath—

"[Brionac X]."

Son of a—

The moment I got up, I was about to scream at the top of my lungs, but Motoyasu changed from his aggressive stance. Of course, there was still a great amount of animosity, but he merely gave me a glance before whispering under his breath.

"We'll talk later, I say. You will tell me what happened to Father."

"I'll…" I sighed, having my arm be held behind my back for this one. "I'll try, but I'm not sure how much of a help I can be. I'm as lost as you are right—"

Motoyasu's spear lifted up slightly.

"Y-Yes, okay!" I violently whispered back. "I'll tell you everything! Please don't kill me again!"

"Ah, the summoning ritual has been a success!"

This was not how I envisioned this would be going. Never thought the sentence "and then I died five more times" would ever be able to summarize a situation I find myself in, but here we are. I'm not looking for a sixth time, so I kept myself quiet as everyone got debriefed.

If the conversation was supposed to be the same, the other heroes would have been demanding some type of compensation and that's how it transpired to have an audience with the king. I didn't actually listen, for I was too focused on making sure that I wasn't going to be blasted by [Brionac X] again. Well, not that I could do anything against it anyways.

Of course, the only outlier to how everyone was acting was Motoyasu himself.

I still don't understand what's the deal with him.

Before any longer, he managed to reach the throne room and an old man sat himself upon the seat of the house. He raised his hand with an air of confidence and spoke with the same level of nobility. Although, I already knew better. The king had some vendetta against the Shield Hero, so I had to make sure I could assure myself beforehand by trying to make a good impression. Though it might be for nothing, there isn't anything worth winning if I act sour towards him.

"My name is Aultcray Melromarc XXII and I am the king of this country that called on the heroes. Tell me, what are your names?"

Everyone started introducing themselves accordingly.

"My name is Ren Amaki. I'm sixteen and I'm a high-schooler."

"I'm Itsuki Kawasumi, seventeen. I'm also a high-school student."

"My name is Motoyasu Kitamura and I'm twenty-one, I say! I'm a Love Hunter!"

No, no. You were supposed to say that you were a college student, weren't you? What's with this Love Hunter business here? That makes you sound like you're terribly unemployed and when I gave the other two heroes a glance, they seemed to be sharing the same sentiments and reactions. However, something about that introduce threw me off. Wasn't he supposed be twenty? I must be overthinking myself here.

I guess it's my turn to introduce myself.

"It's my turn. My name is…"

I blinked slowly.

"My… My name is…"

The words refused to continue.

"I…What…?"

All eyes were suddenly turning to me, but I couldn't pay much attention to those stares. I was too busy being in my own world on the dilemma I tripped upon. My head started to pulse again, as if it was trying to not let me continue with the conversation. The difference was that this pain was stronger than before. If I wasn't careful, it felt like it might have burst. That's how bad the sudden headache was.

"I… I don't remember…"

I found myself muttering at a loss.

"I don't remember my name. Not even my age or what I was doing. I… I don't remember anything before I was summoned…"

Who was I? Why am I here? What's going on!? How do I know the light novel series of "Rising of the Shield Hero", but not know my own damn name!?

It seemed like my problems in this world weren't going to start in a few days. Fate wasn't so kind for things to be easy for me to move onwards into the future, using what hindsight I had for the incoming events. I could even feel the glaring of the spear aiming towards me, but with the amount of distress I was showing, perhaps he was genuinely curious as to if I was lying or not.

I truly wished I was.

Unfortunately, this was the real deal.

I couldn't remember.

And so, my problems didn't start in a few days.

It started now.

Author's Notes : Welcome to [The Reason I'm Here], a little thing I threw together for April Fools.

I'm not sure if I want to continue this, but the idea is a twist on the entire category of self-insert/original characters stories in the Shield Hero fanfiction category. Many self-insert/original character stories always like to tackle the idea of "reflecting into a story", basically having them play through the story of Shield Hero in their own unique way.

Not this particular one.

In this story, we're asking the real questions here.

Instead of "a great adventure of fantasy", the idea of this story is "the mystery of his existence".

And if you haven't noticed already, this isn't the original story of Shield Hero, but instead, our character is swapping in for Naofumi in the spin-off title, Reprise of the Spear Hero. This is taking place during an undetermined time loop of Motoyasu and most importantly, Motoyasu knows something's wrong here since Naofumi isn't here.

I do want to do at least one or two more chapters for this later down the road to further expand on the situation that's going on, but for now - I supposed this should be fine. This isn't going to be a prioritized story. I don't even have the good roadmap as of yet, only the basic concept of the first few chapters, but maybe that will change in the future.

Anyways! Have fun and responsible with your April Fool jokes!