I do agree with everyone else about MC being a dumbass.
But I can also see it from his perspective.
When you stop and think about it, he's done his bit for king and country. And now? Now he'd just rather wash his hands of it all. Fuck you, get off ma lawn, don't come 'round here no more.
And granted, while he has the blessings of the Goddess... I strongly suspect that she's been secretly paving the way for him to, if not take revenge, then at least denounce the people who took credit for his achievement.
And I'm pretty sure that this is what the Goddess wants. Because, stop and consider: her own freakin' Saintess has gone against her. Her very own soldier against the darkness, committing blasphemy and treachery against Her.
(It worries me somewhat that the Saintess is supposedly already pregnant. The words "Cursed Seed" come to mind, and I'd hate to see what that poor kid's life will be like if that's the case.)
All that said...
One of my favorite authors, Diane Duane, likes to do little 'flavor text' quotations from the setting of her Young Wizards series. (Great series of books, BTW. If you love modern fantasy
plus science fiction, as well as characters who just jump right off the pages at you, then this is your read.)
One such quote for the third novel in the series,
High Wizardry goes like this...
Those who refuse to serve the Powers,
become the tool of the Powers.
Those who agree to serve the Powers,
Themselves become the Powers.
Beware the choice! Beware refusing it!
I get the sneaking suspicion that it's gonna be like that for MC. The Goddess may have said he could go ahead and reclain his village, but she never said anything about sitting on his ass the whole time. And now she's whacking him over the head with a clue-by-four by having the holy queen of the theocracy that venerates Her come straight to his door and say, "Get in, loser. We're going to war."
And just to clarify things, here's the relevant text from the Flame Scans translation of Chapter 1:
Goddess: "...What do you plan to do from now on?"
MC: "To be honest, I can't think of anything right now. Until my emotions calm down, I want to live a peaceful life."
Goddess: "Well then! You should first return to your home town and think of your future actions."
MC, you have had plenty of time to cool off. You have your happy home, full of friends and loved ones. And now, the time has come once again to protect what you love.
Are you going to become the Goddess's tool? Or are you gonna become her agent?