by Locusts That Love Watermelon
Roland Cael Fyodor had already decided how his life would end. At twenty years old, he was exhausted. After losing his parents, he gave up on college, worked himself to the bone, raised his younger brother, and spent years wearing a flawless corporate mask to pretend he was a functioning human being. To his office, he was dependable. Responsible. Normal. Inside, he was simply waiting for the final ledger to close so he could disappear. That day never came. Instead, Roland and twenty-eight of his Indonesian coworkers were violently summoned to another world. A world of ancient magic, warring kingdoms, and a cruel system that desperately demands heroes. While his companions chase power, purpose, and a way back to Earth, Roland finds himself trapped in a reality he never asked to manage. He wants nothing more than to stay unnoticed and fade into the background. Unfortunately, the universe seems determined to keep assigning him new administrative problems. For the first time in years, people rely on him. For the first time in years, he has friends whose company he genuinely enjoys. For the first time in years, he begins to wonder if the life he wanted to abandon might have been worth fighting for after all. Then the impossible starts happening. Political tensions rise. Forgotten horrors awaken. And the ghosts of things that haven't happened yet begin to bleed into Roland's vision. As reality unravels and the line between memory, prophecy, and madness grows thinner, he is forced to confront a question far more terrifying than death: What happens when a man who wanted to die starts finding reasons to live? IRAE is a dark, character-driven psychological isekai about burnout, trauma, adult friendship, self-acceptance, and the difficult search for meaning in a world that refuses to let go of broken people. Because sometimes, living is the hardest contract to fulfill.
