"Success, Your Majesty!" "We've finally done it!"
My consciousness returned, and I opened my eyes. I found myself standing straight in a place I didn't recognize at all.
An old man stood right in front of me, wearing a neat brown robe and sporting a long white beard.
Next to him was a beautiful woman in a pure white dress. She had glossy blonde hair and flawless, porcelain skin. She kept repeating "We did it!" in pure excitement.
The two of them stood on either side of a throne-like chair covered in red fabric trimmed with gold. Seated deeply in it was a blond man with a beard, looking down at us with clear arrogance. He had an air of real authority.
"Albert, your long efforts have finally borne fruit." The old man wiped tears from his sleeve and bowed. "Such kind words, Your Majesty. I am unworthy."
The king smiled gently. "It's fine, Albert."
"What the hell are you even saying?"
A loud shout cut through the room. I turned toward the voice. It was Saeki. Most of the students from class 2-3 seemed to be gathered there too.
"What's this nonsense about demons and war? You're messing up our lives here. Lunch break ruined, and you guys get that this is kidnapping, right?"
This place looked like a classic RPG throne room. Soldiers in silver armor stood in front of each pillar, spears at the ready. It all felt very staged.
"What hero summoning? Stop screwing around and let us go already!"
Saeki yelled at the throne like a thug. Apparently, some explanation had happened while I was unconscious. I had no idea what he was so mad about.
"How dare you speak to His Majesty like that!"
Several guards surrounded Saeki and pointed their spears at him. Even someone as cocky as Saeki froze, his face twitching in fear. Kida trembled behind him.
"Enough."
At the king's calm voice, the guards lowered their weapons right away and returned to their positions. They were clearly well-trained.
"We have fought the demon race for many years, but the war shows no sign of ending. Their magic is terrifyingly powerful. We have managed to hold our own with our strength, but our numbers are dwindling to nothing. Ancient texts say those summoned as heroes receive divine blessings and great abilities. Please, lend us your power."
"Send us back where we came from."
"I am truly sorry, but there is no way to return those we summon. You must live here now."
"That's impossible. Quit mocking us with this summoning crap."
According to Saeki, we had all been kidnapped. To another world, no less.
Saeki glared at the king with pure fury. The king quietly raised his palm toward him. Saeki frowned and shot back a defiant stare. The king murmured something softly.
Saeki thought he was being interrupted. "Speak up clearer!" he snapped.
Suddenly, the king's palm glowed blue. A moment later, a shockwave rippled through the air as a glowing blue orb shot from his hand. It flew toward us, then exploded at Saeki's feet in a small burst of light and vanished.
Saeki looked down in panic. A scorched mark remained on the floor, and the smell of burning filled the air.
"I apologize for startling you. This is called magic. It is difficult to explain to those who do not believe, but I only ask that you trust me. Please forgive me."
The king spoke quietly, his expression calm and gentle.
"By the way, what is your name?"
"Saeki."
There was a short pause before he answered. The king spoke directly to Saeki, then looked at the rest of us and began explaining about the kingdom.
Before I knew it, I was getting excited by the story. Another world, magic, a king, unknown races. It was thrilling.
"What are you even trying to say? Spit it out already."
For Saeki, though, it clearly wasn't exciting. He looked a bit intimidated by the magic, but he was back to his usual self.
"You've been talking forever."
Another student jumped in.
"Saeki-kun."
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty... I need to say something to him first."
It was Ichijo Yukimura, the handsome guy who always had girls around him, living the perfect school life. What was a guy like him planning?
"Saeki-kun, we're surrounded by guards with weapons. That means the king could have us killed with one word. We were dragged here without asking, but it's done now. We don't know anything about this place. For now, drop the rude attitude and listen to the end. You can yell afterward if you want."
As Ichijo spoke, two girls clung to his arms: Majima and Kihara. They looked up at him with starry, lovestruck eyes.
"Saeki, you're reading the room so badly~"
The one on his right arm was Majima Kyoka, tanned skin, brown hair tied back, pink sweater tied around her waist.
"Yeah, just be quiet for a minute."
On the left was Kihara Madoka, pale skin, bleached blonde hair that looked a bit damaged, same pink sweater around her waist. Probably matching on purpose.
"Enough."
The king cut off their chatter calmly. Ichijo bowed and said, "Sorry." Saeki turned back with a sulky expression.
"We mean you no harm. We only ask you to help us against the demons. We have prepared beds, food, clothes, everything you need. But if you step even one foot outside the kingdom, it becomes unknown territory. You are not ready to face it yet."
Stay here, and you can live safely and enjoy life in this world. That was the king's promise.
"The texts say summoned ones know nothing of our world. Is that true? Then the answer is clear. There is no safer place than here."
The blonde beauty, the white-bearded old man, and the king all turned to us formally.
"Please... save our kingdom. We beg you, heroes."
The king bowed his head with a pained expression.
"We're just high school students. This is way too much of a joke."
Saeki said it mockingly.
"It is no joke. I told you this was no ordinary summoning."
"Right, hero summoning."
The king nodded.
"Those summoned by hero summoning gain high abilities and advanced jobs, as I said. And anyone with the 'Hero' job receives power that surpasses even that."
"Let me explain from here."
The blonde beauty, standing to the left of the throne, stepped forward. Her name was apparently Aries. She took over the explanation. Her beauty and figure almost distracted me for a second, but I quickly looked away and kept my composure.
"First, please check your status and look at the 'Job' field."
"Excuse me, how do we check status?"
Ichijo asked. Majima and Kihara tilted their heads and looked at each other in confusion.
"Just say 'Status' out loud. It should appear in front of you."
After that simple instruction, everyone started saying it right away. They checked the job field on their displayed status screens.
"Aries-san, come take a look!"
A show-off voice called out. Of course, it was Saeki. The same guy who had been rude earlier was now using polite language. He smiled happily. As Aries leaned in to check his status, he had this sleazy grin, stretching his face like an idiot.
"This is..."
Aries let out a joyful cry.
"Your Majesty, Saeki-sama's job is Sage! His stats are unbelievable for level 1, and he has already learned an advanced fire magic, Volcanic Hammer Divolcade!"
"Name"Saeki Kenta "Level"1 "Job"Sage "Race"Human "Life Force"70 "Magic Power"60 "Attack"15 "Defense"17 "Magic Attack"25 "Magic Defense"20 "Stamina"15 "Agility"13 "Intelligence"17 "Title"Hero "Magic"Volcanic Hammer Divolcade
The king shared the joy with Albert beside him.
"Your Majesty, a Hero has appeared! A true Hero!"
More cheers rang out. The hall grew quiet at first, then even the guards started murmuring along with Albert and the king.
The center of it all was the handsome popular guy, Ichijo.
"Stats that are hard to believe no matter where you look. And astonishingly, Ichijo-sama has a unique skill and even a unique magic!"
"Name"Ichijo Yukimura "Level"1 "Job"Hero "Race"Human "Life Force"100 "Magic Power"100 "Attack"20 "Defense"20 "Magic Attack"20 "Magic Defense"20 "Stamina"20 "Agility"20 "Intelligence"20 "Title"Hero "Unique Skill"Hero's Sword Excalibur "Magic"Fire / Water Stream / Thunder Bolt / Wind Blade Solid / Sand Spear Suble Lance "Unique Magic"Explosive Fury Explosion
Slowly, the strength drained from my body. The world is cruel. And unfair. Even in this world, the popular guy gets special treatment. The blessed get even more blessings. What a joke.
But getting jealous wouldn't help. Ichijo was the Hero. That was decided.
Now it was my turn. Even if not Hero, maybe Sage like Saeki. Or something else powerful. I hoped.
"Status."
Wait a second. Everyone else seemed to understand it fine, but would we be able to read the contents? The language might be different. Different letters would mean we couldn't read it.
But the status screen appeared, and the job field showed the same harsh reality as before.
Job: "Healer".
That was the blessing given to me.