The Accidental Rise of a Retired Hero

Kaito woke up to an unexpected and utterly absurd sight the next morning.

The sun had just begun to filter through the trees, casting a soft glow over the village. Birds chirped from the treetops, and the gentle rustle of leaves greeted him as he stretched, ready to face another peaceful day of not being a leader.

He was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes when he stepped outside. A few villagers were already up and about, tending to their usual tasks—feeding chickens, fixing roofs, and preparing breakfast. But something felt... off. The air was different. The energy in the village was more electric, charged with a strange intensity.

"Hey, Kaito!" the fox girl called out cheerfully from across the street, her voice sounding a little... deeper than usual.

Kaito blinked, still not fully awake. "Hey... wait." He rubbed his eyes again, staring at her.

The fox girl—no, woman—stood before him, but something was wrong. She was taller, her body more defined, her features sharper. Her golden fox ears twitched atop her head, now larger and more expressive, and her tail—oh, her tail was thick and fluffy, longer and wilder. It swayed behind her like an agitated animal's. But it wasn't just that.

She wasn't the only one.

Kaito turned to see the others. The raccoon-man from yesterday was now almost twice as large, with sharp claws poking from his hands and his fur much thicker than before. The bear-man stood proudly nearby, towering even more over Kaito, his muscles rippling under his fur as his bear ears twitched with a keen alertness.

And then he saw the biggest shocker yet—the villagers. Every single one of them, from the rabbit-woman knitting flags to the squirrel-man carrying firewood, had changed. Their features had altered overnight. They now had animal-like ears, tails, and even some additional physical traits like sharper senses or longer limbs. They all had evolved into some version of humanoid beasts—beastfolk.

Kaito stumbled backward, his jaw slack in disbelief. "What the hell happened overnight?"

His voice carried through the village, drawing the attention of the entire crowd. Everyone paused in what they were doing, turning toward him with wide, expectant eyes. The fox girl grinned, now looking even more cheerful than before, but with an undeniable fierceness in her new, sharper gaze.

"We're all... beastfolk now," she said, her tail flicking with excitement. "This is amazing, Kaito! We feel stronger, faster, and more alive than ever!"

Kaito gaped at her. "Beastfolk?! You—you can't just... evolve overnight!" He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "This isn't real! This... this is some kind of joke, right?"

But as he looked around, his jaw clenched in disbelief. It wasn't a joke. The raccoon, the rabbit, the squirrel—every last villager was now a mix of humanoid and animal, their senses sharper, their features distinctly beastly. Their muscles rippled with newfound strength, and their movements were fluid and graceful, like predators on the prowl.

"Uh, Chief?" the bear-man boomed, his voice now even more gravelly. "We've... we've all noticed it. We're all stronger now. We can feel the mana surging through us, thanks to you. It's like... it's like it awakened something inside us."

Kaito's eyes flicked to the bear-man's now larger form and muscular frame. The raccoon was practically vibrating with energy, his eyes glowing with newfound intensity. They were all too strong, too different.

He turned his gaze to the fox girl, who had now fully adopted a playful grin, her eyes flashing with mischief. "What do you mean, awakened something inside you? I didn't do anything!" Kaito rubbed his temples. "I just wanted a peaceful life! I don't know anything about evolving people!"

"Don't be so humble, Kaito," the fox laughed, flicking her tail. "This is all because of your mana overflow. It's been building up for weeks, and now it's... it's like you've given us all a gift. You're the one who started it, whether you like it or not."

"I didn't start it!" Kaito groaned, feeling like his mind was about to explode. "I didn't ask for any of this!"

"But look at us!" the fox girl said, standing proudly. "We're strong, we're healthy, and we're ready to do whatever you want—whether it's building more houses or protecting the village from any threats."

Kaito turned in a slow circle, his eyes scanning the newly transformed villagers, who were now eagerly awaiting his next words, their animal features giving them a fiercer edge. "I didn't want anything to do with leading a village! I just wanted peace! How did my mana overflow turn you all into—into this?!"

The villagers all stepped forward as one, their ears perked up in a synchronized motion. Even the air felt different now—charged with new power, new energy.

"It's all because of you, Kaito," the raccoon man said, his voice reverberating with strength. "The mana you've been unconsciously feeding us—our bodies were just waiting for it to overflow."

Kaito's mind raced. Mana overflow? He'd been overflowing mana for days, maybe weeks, without even realizing it. But to think that it had altered the entire village, turned them into something far stronger and more dangerous...

"This isn't what I wanted," Kaito muttered to himself, his hands shaking slightly. He had always kept his mana in check, but now—now, it seemed impossible to control. Every time he tried to relax, his power leaked out, spilling over into the land and now, apparently, into the people around him.

Suddenly, there was a low growl in the distance. The sound of it sent a shiver down Kaito's spine.

The villagers, now with heightened senses, turned instantly toward the noise, their postures shifting into defensive stances.

Kaito, however, was still in shock. "What now? What's happening now?"

The fox girl turned back to him, her eyes gleaming. "Looks like a beast from the forest is coming. No worries, Chief—we've got it covered."

Kaito shook his head, still trying to process what was happening. "I didn't ask for this... any of this. Why is everything turning into a damn adventure?!"

But as he watched the villagers gather, their newfound powers crackling in the air, Kaito realized something. He had truly, utterly, lost control of everything. And now, with the village on the verge of becoming something more than it had ever been, he was undeniably at the center of it all.

It seemed like retirement wasn't going to be as peaceful as he had hoped.