Though it wasnāt particularly a sign of an omen of some sort, it wasnāt a sight seen in everyday life either. If there was anything different from my everyday life, then it would be seeing students wear the uniform of the school I once went to on my way home after my college classes under the beating sun in the early afternoon.
There were two boys and two girls. Perhaps they were in the same club, but the four of them walking right in front of me were engaging in such a lively conversation that was blinding to a lonely elitist like me. In particular, the two female students were cute enough to definitely be called the cutest of their class, and I felt jealous of the boys who were walking with them.
Since they were exactly two boys and two girls, it wouldnāt be a surprise if they added up to be two couplesā¦ā¦ I wish normies like this would just go explode.
Yes, it truly was an uneventful way back home. That was until I reached the red light at the pedestrian crossing behind that group of four, and though I was a few paces behind them, I had stepped on something like a strange magic circleć¼
Before I could even wonder what in the world this is, the scenery around me became blurred with static as my surroundings began to change. The ground, which shouldāve been asphalt, had been replaced with stone, and the annoyingly hot sun that was beating down on me was replaced with a dimā¦ lamp? Hold on, I donāt understand.
[Welcome and thank you for coming, āāHeroā.]
Before I got lost in a chaotic situation to which I didnāt understand, I heard a voice as beautiful as a bell ring in my ears. When I looked behind me, there was a beautiful woman donning a white dress without a speck of dirt, paired with long, blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes. Out of the group of four I was walking behind, the two girls and one of the boys were there too.
Arehh? What happened to the other one?
[We understand that it was abrupt, butāāāāā Eh?]
The blonde beauty looked at all of us, and while expressing an unknowingly enchanting smile on her face, she opened her mouthā¦ā¦ but soon stopped her sentence midway.
Then there was silenceā¦.. Not only were the three high school students and I felt like we were lost in our current situation, but the beautiful woman who had stopped herself from speaking and the people in robes in the vicinity had frozen in place as if time stopped, silence dominating the room.
[ā¦ā¦U- Ummm, Milady, Iām seeing four people hereā¦ā¦]
[ā¦ā¦What a coincidence, Luna. Thatās what Iām seeing tooā¦ā¦]
As if they had gathered their thoughts, one of the robed people spoke to the beautiful woman, and she returned their words in a somewhat perplexed manner. Unfortunately, my thoughts were still unable to catch up after my daily life was suddenly struck by what felt like a Dempsey Roll. If I was a computer, then my mouse icon would look like an hourglass. I shouldāve bought an int*l insteadā¦ā¦ No, no, what the heck am I thinking?
When I shift my gaze over to the three high school students who are in the same situation, they seem to be in a similar state as me, glancing at me with confused expressions on their faces.
[T- This is that, right!? Three of them just got caught up in the 'summoningā, or something like that, right!?]
[M- Most probablyā¦ What should we do about this, Millady?]
[What should we do, you ask? Itās not like I can just say āI messed up, teehee~~ā so for now, why donāt we explain the situation to everyoneā¦ Ah, but first, we need to figure out who the hero isā¦]
[Teehee~~ā¦ you say. Milady, I believe youāre a bit too old to do such a thing nowā¦ā
[Why are you calmly retorting about that!?]
I donāt know why, but it feels like this disappointing conversation is chipping away at my sense of urgency for being in this unknown situationā¦ā¦ The two high school girls even looked flabbergasted, while the high school boyāāāā- Wait, why is he pumping his fist. Seriously? Fist pumping in a situation like this?
Unnn? Wait a momentā¦ Hero? Summoning? Caught up? I feel like familiar words have leaped their ways into my ears. Think, was there something like that recently that hadāāāā
[Erhem. Once again, welcome and thaāāā-]
[Sorry. Iām thinking about something here, so can you please keep quiet?]
[Ah, yes. I apologize.]
I heard a voice interrupting my thoughts, so I asked them to wait for a moment and thought about this matter again. Ah, I see. I remember. This is just like the light novel that I read recently!
Iām not that hardcore to profess myself as one, but Iām somewhat of an otaku, or at least I have a hobby that would warrant me getting called that. Iām just a half-assed otaku that loves games, fairly often read light novels, but doesnāt watch animeā¦ Anyway, my point is that this situation reminds me of a light novel I read recently. Itās a fairly simple story about a hero getting summoned to another world and fighting the Demon Lord, but thinking back on it, I remember seeing many stories like that.
[ā¦ā¦U- Ummmā¦ā¦]
Ahh, but even though all those stories were about being teleported to another world, each of them had all sorts of variations. While there were some that were a cut and dry story about a hero defeating the Demon Lord, there were others where the royalty who summoned them were actually the evil ones. And yet, there are others about how ordinary people who were summoned and labeled as incompetent actually had cheat skillsā¦
[ā¦ā¦Errr, excuse me~~]
With that being the case, I guess what we really need now is information? Even if thereās that phrase āthe truth is stranger than fiction,ā I canāt just conclude that Iāve just been transported to a different world. Itās obvious that Iām currently in an extraordinary situation, so for the time being, we need to figure out whatās going onā¦ā¦ Arehh? Am I forgetting something?
[ā¦ā¦Errrā¦ā¦]
[ā¦ā¦Eh?]
At that moment, the sight of the blonde beautyās face with both confusion and anxiety had finally reached my eyes. It then hit me that I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I had interrupted the woman in front of me, making me turn pale.
[ā¦ā¦Iād like to move the topic forwardā¦ā¦Would that be alright?ā
[I- Iām sorry!!! Iāve always had this habit of ignoring my surroundings when I delve deep into my thoughtsā¦:]
In response to her bewildered words, I hurriedly bowed my head. I messed upā¦ I did that bad habit once again. Ever since I was young, I had the habit of completely ignoring my surroundings when I get absorbed into something. You can positively say that Iām focused, but you can also negatively say that Iām narrow-minded.
But at the end of the day, I messed up once again. I even feel like the two high school girls are looking at me with astonishment, and the robed people around the blonde beauty seemed to be giggling at me. The high school boy isā¦ looking down, seemingly muttering about somethingā¦ā¦ Ahh, I feel like I can be friends with this guy.
[No, I canāt fault you for being confused by the suddenness of the situation. Once again, everyone from another world, we welcome you to the āSymphonia Kingdomā.]
After she gleaned a soft smile to my apologetic self, the beauty picked up the hem of her skirt and bowed gracefully. Then, I donāt know if I should say that itās just as I had expected or not, but itās a kingdom from another world.
[My name is Lilia Albert. Please accept my apologies for summoning you out of the blue. Iām sure youāre confused by the suddenness of the situation, but I understand that I should explain the situation to you firstā¦ā¦. However, Iām very ashamed for asking this for my own convenience, but before I explain, would it be alright to ask for everyoneās names?]
[ā¦ā¦Ah, yes. Errrā¦ā¦ Iām Miyama Kaito.]
To the beautyā¦ The woman named Liliaās question, I decided to answer her first as I was the eldest of us. In novels, there are those whoād lash out on their surroundings and there are those whoād scream in confusion, but when it comes to our current situation, the chaos and confusion is so great that answering calmly is somehow possible.
[ā¦ Iām Kusunoki Aoi.]
[ā¦Yuzuki Hina.]
[ā¦Mitsunaga Seigi.]
As if to follow my lead, the three high school students also named themselves. Rather, that boyās name is cool. That totally sounds like the name of a Hero. Being named Seigi is like being born just to become a Heroā¦ Well, maybe because he wears glasses, but he looks like someone who studies humanities.
(T/N: Seigi means Justice.)
[Miyama-sama, Kusunoki-sama, Yuzuki-sama, Mitsunaga-sama, right? Nice to meet you all. Pardon me, but please wait here for a moment.]
While saying so, Lilia-san exchanged glances with a different robed person, and that person took out something that looked like a crystal ball. Though my body stiffened watching their actions indicate that something was going to happen.
[Please donāt worry, I wonāt do you any harm.]
Seemingly noticing my anxiousness, Lilia-san explained. It felt like it wouldnāt be a good idea to move rashly from there, so I stayed in place.
[ā¦ It seems that Mitsunaga-dono was the summoned hero. The others were just caught up in the summoning.ā
[As I had thought.]
It seems the hero really is Mitsunaga Seigi. Although it went exactly as I predicted itād be, I wonder what will happen now? In this confusing situation weāre in, itās kinda amazing how Mitsunaga-kun still manages to subtlety fist pump to himself even after he suddenly gets named as the hero. Youāre the best, number one. Please do your best in challenging whateverās troubling them.
[Well then, would you explain things to the Hero over there?]
[Yes, letās do that. Lilia-sama, please explain the situation to the other three people.]
After hearing that conversation of theirs, Lilia-san told us that the explanation for Mitsunaga-kunāāā- the Hero and the explanation of the circumstances for us three are different, so they will be done separately.
[Please wait a minute. Why is Mitsunaga-kunās different?]
[What are you going to do with him?ā]
[As expected, they had objected to this. Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san isā¦ā¦
The most important issue right now thoughā¦ Lilia-san, who is soothing Kusunoki-san and Yuki-san before me. I want to know what kind of person she is and what she intends to do with us.
It may be wrong to compare everything to the development in light novels, but in this kind of story, the royalty who summoned the Hero tries to use the Hero like a slave and treating those who arenāt coldly is the most common of the most common isekai tropes. In reality, even now, she says that she will give a separate explanation towards Mitsunaga-kun, whoās the Hero, so I canāt help but wonder if thereās something sheās hiding from us.
[I understand that youāre feeling anxious, but I swear that I will never harm you. I know that this is an extremely selfish response on my part, but I hope you can understand.]
Saying this, Lilia-san deeply bowed her head. Seeing the way she apologized, which seemed to be the same even in this different world, although not fully convinced yet, Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san also stopped objecting, and Mitsunaga-kun nodded quietly. Of course, I nodded too.
Iām sure the other three already know, but resistance is probably meaningless. With just a glance, you could tell that there are more than twice as many people in robes compared to us, and, if you believe her story completely, weāre in a different worldā¦ thereās a possibility that this world had something like magic.
Although Mitsunaga-kun, who was named the Hero, may be able to wield some special power, I wouldnāt know if I, someone who just got caught up in this, would also have one. In this case, the only option I can choose here for my own self-protection is to listen to what she has to say.
Guided by Lilia-san, we left what seemed to be a dimly lit basement, and arrived at a luxuriously decorated guest room. It looks like the explanation for the Hero, Mitsunaga-kun will be given here, making him stay behind here together with the people dressed in white clothes reminiscent of a clergyman. Meanwhile, the two girls and I will be guided to a seperate room. ..
The room was less than half the size of the previous guest room, but it was large enough and the interior was reminiscent of medieval European with large rectangular tables and chairs inside of it. There hasnāt been an otherworld-like feeling until now though, so I donāt really feel like I have been teleported to another world.
[Please take a seat. Luna, can you bring drinks to our three guests.ā¦..]
[I understand.]
While urging us to sit down, Lilia-san gave instructions to the woman wearing a maid outfit beside her, apparently named Luna-san, and who had taken off her robe without any of us noticing. Because we were in a dimly lit room and she was wearing a hood, I didnāt know this, but Luna-san was a woman with beautiful light blue hair. ā¦ā¦There it is, now this really feels like Iām in a different world.
""
After seeing Luna-san leave the room with a bow, chairs were cautiously pulled out. Firstly, I sat in front of Lilia-sanā¦ and a bit to her right, while Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san sat about two seats away from me.
Some time passed, and Luna-san came back while pushing a cart with tea on it. After placing the tea cups in front of us, she went to stand behind Lilia-san. Seeing that, Lilia nodded once and began to speak in a gentle tone.
[First of all, I apologize again. Iām truly sorry that I suddenly summoned you here to a different world, as well as taking so long to explain the situation to you due to our sideās circumstances..]
[Ah, noā¦]
[Well, whatā¦ is going to happen to us?]
Kusunoki-san was the first to voice the biggest question that was going on in my head. She has long, shiny black hair and is of a high stature, and compared to me, she looked a little calmer than me. Iām sure sheās a strong woman, and this isnāt me comparing her to my wimpy self.
[As a major premise, I swear by the name of āthe Albert Duchyā that we will not allow harm to come your way, including Mitsunaga-sama.]
[ā¦ Albertā¦ Duchy?]
[Ahh, please excuse me. I should have explained my status first. Once again, my name is Lilia Albert. In the Symphonia Kingdom, I hold the title of Dukeā¦ In other words, Iām a noble.]
[Milady Lilia is the half-sister of the current King and, in addition to her title, is fourth in line to the succession of the throne. Therefore, when she claims something on behalf of her name, she claims it on behalf of the Kingdom. There is no problem in accepting her words.]
Duke!? Succession to the throne!? A part of me had already guessed it, but she really is a high ranking person.
[By the way, sheās 22 years old, which is a rare for a Duke in the Symphonia Kingdom as it is common to get married between the ages of 15 and 19.]
[ā¦ Luna? Why did you have to tell them that? Itās not relevant to whatās happening here, no?]
[No, I was just thinking that itās almost a bit of a stretch to still refer to you as āladyā in your ageā¦]
[ā¦ā¦I need to have a talk with you about this later.]
I wonder what this is? This elegant beautyās behavior and tone of voice is quite polite, butā¦ she has quite the disappointing feel around herā¦ā¦ also, Luna-san is quite a pretty merciless person.
[ā¦ā¦Returning to the topic at hand, allow me to answer Kusunoki-samaās original question.Ā I believe that the thing that you are most worried about is whether you can return to your previous world, but please be assured of that point..]
[W- We can return to our worldā¦?]
The one who asked that was Yuzuki-san, whose voice had a hint of fear laced in it. Her semi-short chestnut hair was reminiscent of the cuteness of a small animal. I donāt know if it probably was because of Kusunoki-san holding her hand, or because of Yuzuki-sanās petite figure, but the two feel like they have a senpai-kouhai relationship. However, Yuzuki-sanās breasts are much moreā¦ No, no, what the heck am I thinking!?
[Yes, Itās justā¦ ummmā¦ā¦]
When Yuzuki-san had asked that, it felt like Lilia-san was finding difficulty in responding. I suppose it would be like that trope huh? We probably canāt be sent home unless the Demon Lord is defeated or something like that?
If thatās the case, then I really canāt accept Lilia-sanās words at face valueā¦ā¦
[It will be around a year until the magic circle can be used againā¦]
[A- A year!?]
Arehh? This is kinda different from what I was expecting. Kusunoki-san, who shouted out her response, was most definitely shocked after hearing that, but I was shocked in a different sense of the word. Yes, the terms why they canāt sound rather laxā¦ā¦
Normally, with these kinds of developments, I thought that the only way to get back home is to defeat the Demon Lord. Ahh, maybe that would be the case for Mitsunaga-kun. If so, it makes sense why only he is receiving a different explanation.
Although these terms are lax, being away from our original world for a whole year isnāt something to gloss over considering the effects it may cause in that world.
[ā¦ā¦But I was supposed to represent my team in the upcoming 5000-meter distance run in the upcoming competitionā¦]
[Hina-chan, thatās not the problem hereā¦ā¦]
Is Yuzuki-san airheaded? Itās impressive that she could worry about club activities in a time like this.
[Ahh, please do not worry. According to the āGoddess,ā it seems that the flow of time is different between our worlds, and so when you return, youāll be sent back to the exact time you got summoned in this world.Ā Your bodies that have grown in this one-year period would also be returned to their condition before you were summoned, so there will be no problem..ā
Just when my worries had been quickly resolved, a new unknown variable, the Goddess, appeared.
Errr, in other words, it takes a year to return to the original world. But you donāt have to worry about the passage of time over there, and even if you suddenly gain weight in this world, that Goddess will bring us back to our original form..
[Of course, we will guarantee your safety, clothing, food and shelter while you are here. Itās not anything particularly grandois, but I guarantee you three a life without inconvenience.]
[ā¦H- Huhhā¦]
[Errr, t- thanks.]
I donāt know if I should say that we were dumbfounded or not, but the information that was relayed to us was so advantageous that Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san were also bewildered. Itās to the point where I thanked her without realizingā¦
However, I canāt let my guard down yet. Yes, itās because the issue surrounding Mitsunaga-kun has not been resolved. If he was a Hero summoned to fight the Demon Lord, then it goes to show how dangerous this world is.
[ā¦ā¦May I ask you a question?]
[Of course, Miyama-sama.]
[Errr, about the boy listening to another explanation in another room, Mitsunaga-kun, was it? You all called him the Hero. I suppose that must mean thereās something like a Demon Lord here, and he needs to fight against it, right?]
Resolving myself, I asked. This would be the situationās turning point. Whether Lilia-san speaks honestly or not will give me some direction on what my next move will be. Now then, how will she respond?
With my heart racing inside of my chest, I waited for their answerā¦ only for both Lilia-san and Luna-san to tilt their heads out of confusion.
[The Demon Lord, you ask? The First Hero has already defeated them a thousand years ago though.]
[ā¦ā¦Ehh? Errr, are Demons hostile towards Humans or something like that then?]
[No, Humans and Demons have a very good relationship. Cultural exchange and trade are thriving.]
[ā¦ā¦What about war?]
[As far as I know, there hasnāt been one in the last 800 years.]
[ā¦ā¦Is the world brimming with monsters everywhere?]
[Monsters do exist, but subjugating them is a job for the Adventurerās Guild and the Chivalric Order, so, including Mitsunaga-sama, none of you have to fight.]
[ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦..]
Arehh? Whatās with this conversation? Wait a minute. Please, let me think for a moment!
Errr, there isnāt a Demon Lord? The Humansā relationships with the Demons are friendly? War hasnāt happened for 800 years? There are monsters, but we donāt need to meddle ourselves with that?
[ā¦.. Then what is the purpose of summoning a Hero?]
[A thousand years ago, 1009 years to be exact, the First Hero who defeated the Demon Lord became the bridge that connected Humans and Demons together. In honor of the First Hero and to pray for a peaceful future, every 10 years, we invite a Hero from the same world the First Hero came from and hold grand festivals. Incidentally, the person in charge of summoning heroes changes year by year, and this year, I am the person in charge.]
[ā¦ā¦A festival?
[Yes. Mitsunaga-kun was summoned here so that he can be the star of the āFestival of Heroesā in a year. We had him receive his explanation in another room so we can brief him on how he will participate and how he will need to visit every country. Of course, weāll respect his wishes, so he could also decline if he so wishes.]
[Ahh, so declining is an option huh.]
[Yes, there have been those that have declined in the past, so weāve had stand-ins for those people. If one decides to take on this role, then they will be treated luxuriously as a national guest for the year leading up to the hero festival.. Even if you decline, your livelihood is guaranteed, and youād simply be sent home after essentially sightseeing for a year. ]
[ā¦ā¦Errr, in other wordsā¦ what we will be doing from now onā¦]
[Yesā¦ I know that you may be confused for now, but I hope you can enjoy this world that holds a different culture from yours. After experiencing all this world has to offer to its fullest, from sightseeing to cultural exchanges, to even exploring the once-in-a-decade grand festival this world hostsā¦ā¦ You will safely be returned to your original world.]
[ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦..]
Dear Mother, Fatherāāāā- I got caught up in a hero summoning, but that worldāāāā was at peace.