The scene wasn’t ominous, nor was it anything out of the ordinary. If there was any small difference from the usual, it was simply that, on my way back from university, I happened to see a group of boys and girls wearing the uniforms of my old school.
Two boys and two girls. The four high school students walking just ahead of me seemed to be having a lively conversation, and to an elite loner like me, it was almost blinding to watch. The two girls, in particular, were so pretty they could easily pass for the class beauties. I couldn’t help but envy the boys walking beside them. With that perfect one-to-one gender ratio, they might even be two couples…… Ugh, these riajuus could just explode for all I care……
Yes, it really was just an ordinary walk home. That is, until I stopped a few steps behind the group of four at a red light at the crosswalk————–and a strange magic circle appeared below our feet————–
Before I could even begin to wonder what was happening, the scenery in front of me flickered like a static-filled screen. The asphalt beneath my feet turned to stone, and the harsh midday sunlight gave way to the dim glow of…… lamps? Wait a second, I had no idea what was happening.
[I bid you welcome, “Hero-sama.”]
Before I could even feel confused, a clear, bell-like voice reached my ears, pulling my gaze toward it. There, in a pristine white dress without a speck of dirt, stood a beautiful woman with long golden hair and striking blue eyes. In front of her were three of the four people I’d seen earlier———-a pair of high school girls and one high school boy. Arehh? Wasn’t there another guy in their group?
[Given the suddenness of the situation, we understand that———–Eh?]
The golden-haired woman smiled captivatingly as she began to speak, but she abruptly stopped mid-sentence. Silence fell over the scene, freezing not just me and the three high school students but also the figures dressed in outdated robes around her. A stillness like time had stopped enveloped us all.
[……U-Umm, Milady? Is it just me or I’m seeing four people here?]
[……What a coincidence, Luna. I see the same thing.]
One of the robed figures, apparently trying to make sense of the situation, spoke up, and the beauty, now looking a bit confused, responded. Unfortunately, my mind is still too scrambled to keep up with this overwhelming, absurd situation. If this were a computer, I’d be seeing the loading icon right now. I should’ve installed an anti-virus but…… wait, what am I even thinking?
Shifting my gaze to the three high school students, I see they’re in the same state as me, glancing over at me with confused expressions.
[W-W-W-What do we do now?! This is definitely that, isn’t it!? Three of them had been caught up in the “summoning”, right!?]
[M-Most probably, yes…… what should we do, Milady?]
[Even if you ask me that, we can’t just fix this with a “We blundered. Tehee~~”, so we’ll have to explain the situation to everyone first…… Ahh, but before that, we should figure out who the Hero is……]
[Tehee…… Milady, acting like that at your age is just……]
[Why are you calmly retorting that!?]
What is going on with this disappointing conversation? My sense of danger about the situation seems to be slowly fading…… The two high school girls are just staring blankly, and the high school boy———why is he doing a fist pump? In this situation, a fist pump?
Unn? Wait a minute…… Hero-sama? Summoning? Caught up in it? Those words sound really familiar. Think, I feel like I’ve heard something like this recently———-
[Ahem. Once again, I bid you———-]
[Sorry, I’m kind of thinking right now, could you please be quiet for a moment?]
[Ah, yes. My apologies.]
A voice interrupted my train of thought, and I asked for a moment of silence to think. Oh, I remember now. This is exactly like a light novel I read recently!
It’s not something I’d shout about, but I’m something of an otaku myself. I like games, I read light novels, but I don’t watch anime, so I’m a bit of a half-hearted otaku…… Anyway, the current situation seems to be straight out of a light novel. A hero summoned to another world, fighting against the Demon King———–this kind of story is just the classic. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen similar plots in lots of novels.
[……U-Umm……]
Ah, but wait, even with a story like this, there are different types of isekai plots. There are some where the Hero really does fight the Demon King, but there are others where the royalty that summoned them actually turns out to be the villains, or the regular person who gets caught up in it turns out to have some cheat power……
[……Errr, excuse me……]
So, what we need right now is information, right? As the saying goes, “truth is stranger than fiction”, but I can’t just decide that I’m really in another world for sure yet. However, I’m definitely in some kind of unusual situation, so I need to understand what’s going on here———–Arehh? Did I forget something?
[……Errr……]
[……Eh?]
Finally, I noticed the blonde beauty, her face a mixture of confusion and concern, looking at me, and my awareness suddenly snapped back from my thoughts to the reality around me.
As my focus returned to the present, I remembered that I had interrupted the woman in front of me while I was deep in thought, and I could feel my face turning pale.
[……If it’s alright, I’d like to proceed with the conversation soon…… Is that okay?]
[I-I’m sorry! I have this habit where when I’m thinking, I don’t notice what’s happening around me……]
I quickly bowed my head in apology. I’ve done it again…… that bad habit of mine. Since I was young, when I get absorbed in one thing, I stop noticing everything around me. If I were to put it in a good light, you could say I’m highly focused, but if I put it badly, it means I have a narrow field of vision.
In any case, I messed up. The two high school girls are looking at me with slightly exasperated expressions, and the robed figures surrounding the woman seem to be smiling wryly. The high school boy…… he’s muttering to himself while looking down———-ah, I think I could be friends with this guy.
[No, it’s perfectly understandable to be confused by the suddenness of the situation. Once again, Otherworlders. Welcome to “Symphonia Kingdom.”]
After I apologized, the beauty smiled gently and then gracefully curtsied, holding the hem of her skirt. And, as expected, there’s the isekai’s kingdom.
Hmm, given how dignified she seems, and how she was called “Milady” earlier, could she be a noble? Maybe even a princess?
[I am Lilia Albert. First, I apologize for summoning you so suddenly. I understand this must be confusing. I will explain the situation shortly…… but before I do, may I ask for your names?]
[……Ah, yes. Err…… I’m Miyama Kaito.]
In response to the beauty———Lilia’s question, I, being the oldest of the group, spoke up first. In novels, there are often characters who argue or panic in situations like this…… but here, with all the confusion and shock, it feels like I’m answering calmly instead.
[……Kusunoki Aoi.]
[……Yuzuki Hina.]
[……Mitsunaga Seigi.]
Following my lead, the three high schoolers also introduced themselves. Speaking of, the boy’s name is really cool. You might declare yourself the Hero. A name holding the meaning “eternal light” and “justice” ———–it’s like he was born to be a hero…… that said, he seems more like the bookish type.
[Miyama-sama, Kusunoki-sama, Yuzuki-sama, and Mitsunaga-sama, correct? It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please excuse me for a moment, but could you wait for a short while?]
Saying this, Lilia-san signals to a person in a different robe from earlier, and the robed person takes out something like a crystal ball. It seems like they are about to do something, which makes my body tense up, but Lilia-san hastily explains “No harm will come to you”, so I stay put, deciding it’s best not to make any unnecessary moves…… not that I lack the courage to speak out.
[……It seems Mitsunaga-dono has been summoned as the hero. The others would be the ones caught up in the summoning.]
[As I thought.]
It appears the hero is Mitsunaga Seigi-kun. If I’m being honest, I had a hunch that was the case but…… what will happen now? In this completely unknown situation, Mitsunaga-kun, who’s being called the hero all of a sudden, making a small victory pose is rather amazing. You’re number one, dude. Please go and challenge those troublesome problems or something.
[Then, shall the explanation for the Hero be over there?]
[Yes, let’s do that. Lilia-sama, please explain the situation to the caught up three.]
After hearing this conversation, Lilia-san informs us that the explanations for Mitsunaga-kun———the Hero, and for us will be different, and she says she’ll handle them separately.
I couldn’t help but voice my disagreement here———-Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san…… Me? My mind was too preoccupied with other things to care about that.
Honestly, I’m no saint or anything, and I don’t have the mental space to worry about the future of these unfamiliar kids when things are this abnormal. The most important issue for me right now is…… Lilia-san, who’s trying to calm Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san. I need to figure out what kind of person she is and what she intends to do with us.
So far, she seems like a modest person, at least not a bad person, but she still hasn’t explained why she summoned a Hero, and I have no idea where she stands or what position she holds.
I may be wrong, but in light novels, it’s a classic trope where the royalty are the bad guys, trying to use the Hero like a slave, or treating everyone except the Hero poorly.
Right now, Lilia-san is separating us and the Hero Mitsunaga-kun for explanations, and I can’t help but wonder if she’s hiding something from us.
Unfortunately, the sad truth is that since she holds all the clues to break out of this situation, I don’t have any choice but to follow her lead.
[I understand your concerns. However, I swear on my name that I will not harm any of you. I apologize for the circumstances and the actions taken without regard, but please, I ask for your understanding.]
After Lilia-san said that and bowed deeply, Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san, though still not fully satisfied, stopped voicing their objections. Mitsunaga-kun also quietly nodded. Of course, I did too.
The other three must understand this as well. Resistance would likely be futile. Judging by the numbers alone, the robed individuals outnumber us by more than double. Additionally, if we trust Lilia-san’s words, this is another world, so it’s clear that some kind of magical power is at play here.
Of course, there might be some special powers that Mitsunaga-kun, the hero, possesses, but as for me, who was just dragged into this mess, I doubt I have anything like that. In that case, the only choice for my own self-preservation is to listen to what they have to say.
Guided by Lilia-san, we exited what appeared to be a dimly lit basement and arrived at a grand hall with luxurious decor. It seemed that the explanation for Mitsunaga-kun, the Hero, would take place here, and he remained in the room with people dressed in white clothing, which gave off a priestly vibe. As for me and the two girls, we were taken to a separate room.
The room we entered was smaller than the previous hall, about half its size, but it was still spacious enough. The interior had a medieval style with a large table and chairs———-there wasn’t much of an isekai feel to it, so it didn’t really feel like I’m in another world.
[Please, feel free to sit down. Luna, could you get drinks for the three of them?]
[Understood.]
Lilia-san sat directly across from us, and Luna-san, a woman in a maid outfit who had apparently removed her robe, was given instructions. Earlier, I hadn’t been able to identify her because of the hooded robe, but now I could see that Luna-san had light blue hair cut neatly at shoulder length….. Now, that felt a bit more isekai.
After Luna-san bowed and left the room, we hesitantly took our seats. I sat directly in front of Lilia-san———well, slightly to her right, while Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san sat two seats away from me.
[First, I must apologize again. I’m truly sorry for summoning you to this world so suddenly and for taking so long to explain the situation due to our own circumstances.]
[Ah, no……]
[Um, what…… what’s going to happen to us?]
The question that had been on all our minds was voiced by Kusunoki-san. With her long, glossy black hair and tall, slender figure, she looked like a true Yamato Nadeshiko, and her expression seemed much calmer than mine. She was probably a woman with a strong core, unlike me, who was a bit of a coward.
[First and foremost, I swear on the name and honor of our “Albert Duchy”, that neither I nor anyone else here will harm you, including Mitsunaga-sama.]
[……Albert…… Duchy?]
[Ah, my apologies. I should have explained my position first. Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Lilia Albert. I am a noble…… holding the title of Duke in Symphonia Kingdom.]
[Lady Lilia-sama is the half-sister of the current King and along with her noble title, she holds the fourth in line to the throne. Therefore, the words she spoke earlier, swearing on her family name, should be taken as the will of the nation.]
A Duke!? The fourth heir to the throne!? I’d expected something like this, but this is way too noble.
[By the way, she’s 22 years old. In Symphonia Kingdom, it’s common to marry between the ages of 15 and 19, so it’s quite rare for a Duchess like her to remain unmarried.]
[……Luna? Why are you adding that information? That’s completely unnecessary in this context, don’t you think?]
[No, I thought it’s about time I stop calling you “Milady” now……]
[……We’ll talk about this later.]
What’s this? She looks like a super noble beauty, and her behavior and speech are so polite…… but there’s this disappointing vibe about her…… Also, Luna-san is surprisingly merciless.
[……L-Let’s get back to the topic. To answer Kusunoki-san’s earlier concern, I’m sure the most pressing worry is whether or not you’ll be able to return to your original world. Please rest assured, you will be able to return.]
[W-We can go back……?]
The question was asked in a slightly fearful voice by Yuzuki-san, whose short, chestnut-colored hair gave her a cute, small animal-like charm. Kusunoki-san was gently holding her hand, and due to Yuzuki-san’s smaller stature, they looked like a senior-junior pair. But compared to the latter, Yuzuki-san’s chest was more———–wait, what am I thinking!?
[Yes…… It’s just, well……]
When Lilia-san heard Yuzuki-san’s words, she looked slightly uncomfortable. Could it be the typical “defeat the Demon King to return home” situation?
In that case, maybe we shouldn’t trust Lilia-san after all……
[The summoning magic circle can only be used again after one year.]
[O-One year!?]
Arehh? That wasn’t what I was expecting. The others were likely shocked by the length of time, but I was surprised for a different reason. Yes, the conditions seemed too lenient……
Usually, in this kind of scenario, don’t they make you stay until you defeat a Demon King or something? Ah, maybe Mitsunaga-kun’s situation is different. Perhaps that’s why he’s getting a separate explanation.
Even though it’s a lenient condition, I still can’t easily accept being in another world for an entire year, considering the impact it could have on our original world.
[……But the tournament is coming up……]
[Hina-chan, that’s not the issue right now……]
Is Yuzuki-san airheaded? I’m impressed that she can worry about her club tournament in this situation.
[Ah, please don’t worry. According to the “Goddess”, the flow of time in this world is different from that of your world. When you’re sent back, you’ll return to the exact moment when you were summoned. So, even though you’ll have aged a year, the Goddess will return you to your state before the summoning, so there’s no problem.]
[……]
It seems I’ve been caught in an intense whirlwind of resolving uncertainties, only for a new unknown element, a Goddess, to emerge.
So, in short, it will take a year to return to our original world. But there’s no need to worry about time passing on the other side, and even if we somehow gain a lot of weight here, the Goddess will apparently restore us.
[Of course, while you are here, I will guarantee your safety, as well as your living arrangements, food, and clothing. It may not be overly luxurious, but I will ensure a comfortable and secure life.]
[……H-Huh……]
[Errr, t-thank you very much.]
If I were to describe it, it’s like being disarmed———-Lilia-san keeps presenting information so advantageous to us that even Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san seem bewildered. It’s to the point where they reflexively thanked her……
Still, I can’t let my guard down just yet. After all, there’s still the matter of Mitsunaga-kun. If the reason we were summoned here is for a Hero to fight a Demon King, then this world is inherently dangerous.
[……May I ask a question?]
[Of course, Miyama-sama.]
[Errr, the one being briefed in the other room…… Mitsunaga-kun. You call him the Hero. Does that mean there’s a Demon King or something similar that he’s supposed to fight?]
I decided to ask, bracing myself. This is likely a turning point. Depending on whether Lilia-san answers truthfully or dodges the question, I can gauge my next steps. Now, how will she respond?
While I nervously awaited her response, both Lilia-san and Luna-san…… tilted their heads, looking puzzled.
[A Demon King? The First Hero-sama defeated the Demon King around 1,000 years ago.]
[……Eh? Errr, then are demons hostile toward humans or something?]
[No, Humans and Demons have a very amicable relationship. There’s plenty of interaction and trade between us.]
[……What about wars?]
[As far as I know, there haven’t been any wars in the past 800 years.]
[……Are there an overwhelming number of monsters around?]
[Monsters do exist, but subjugating them is the job of the Adventurers’ Guild and the Knight Order. You and the others, Mitsunaga-sama included, won’t need to fight them.]
[………………………]
Arehh? What’s with this conversation? Hold on, give me a moment———-just a moment to process this!
Errr, there’s no Demon King? Humans and Demons get along well? There hasn’t been a war in 800 years? And while monsters exist, we won’t have to deal with them?
[……Then, what’s the purpose of the hero summoning?]
[About 1,000 years ago———-more precisely, 1,009 years ago———The First Hero-sama defeated the Demon King and became a bridge of harmony between Humans and Demons. To honor her achievements and pray for continued peace, we hold a grand festival every 10 years, inviting a Hero from another world just like the First Hero.]
[……A festival?]
[Yes. As for Mitsunaga-sama, he’s being briefed in the other room about becoming the leading actor of the “Festival of Heroes”, which will be held exactly one year from now. This includes participating in ceremonies and visiting various countries. Of course, his decision will be respected, and he may decline if he wishes.]
[Ah, so declining is an option?]
[Yes. There have been cases in the past where substitutes were appointed to play as the Hero Actor in the festival. If he agrees, he’ll be treated as a state guest for the year leading up to the festival. Even if he declines, his living arrangements will still be guaranteed, and after a year of sightseeing in this world, he will be returned home.]
[……Errr, essentially…… regarding our future……]
[Yes…… I understand it may be confusing, but I hope you’ll enjoy this world, with its cultural differences, to your heart’s content…… You’ll have the chance to explore, interact, and experience the grand festival held once every 10 years before safely returning to your original world.]
[…………………….]
Dear Mother, Father————I’ve been caught up in an otherworld summoning. But the other world was———-at peace.