Chapter 1: Dragged into Another World!
Halfway conscious, I felt the cold floor beneath me. I opened my eyes.
“Huh? Where am I?” I whispered.
I found myself in a spacious, luxurious hall.
There was a bearded man sitting in a large chair in front of me, surrounded by a good number of elderly men. It was impossible to comprehend what was going on since I was still half-conscious. When I focused a little more on the bearded man, I realized that he was sitting on some sort of throne. He was clad in lavish, foreign clothes and wearing a crown.
The old men behind him are dressed like royal attendants from my RPGs!
As my eyes shifted from the old men to my other surroundings, a group of different men came into view. Adorned in armor and Western-looking swords, the men appeared to be soldiers standing in a line side by side.
“Hey. Are you okay, Usato?” asked Kazuki. He was seated next to me and had an apprehensive look in his eyes.
Thank goodness the three of us didn’t get separated. If Kazuki’s here, that probably means that senpai’s close by.
“Kazuki . . . what happened?” I asked, surveying the room. I discovered that Inukami was sitting beside me and had already waken up.
Sleepy-eyed senpai is so sexy!
I was merely avoiding reality by filling my head with pervy thoughts.
“I’m not sure. All I know is that when I woke up, I was surrounded by people who were wearing weird clothes.”
“Gotcha. Are you okay, senpai?”
“Oh, no need to worry. I am completely unharmed.”
The man in the crown noticed that we were awake and was staring right at us. His solemn gaze was a little intimidating.
“It appears they have awoken,” he said.
The man looked incredibly important, so I couldn’t imagine what he could have wanted from students like us. With my head still in a daze, I slowly looked around the room to get a grasp on the situation. Kazuki cautiously turned to the man in the crown.
“Who the hell’re all of you?” Kazuki said.
The kingly figure’s guards weren’t pleased with his presumptuous tone. “You cur! How dare you disrespect His Majesty!” they shouted. But the kingly figure quieted his attendants with a wave of his hand.
“No matter. Saying such things is only natural when you suddenly find yourself in a place like this. Do not look down on them, Sergio.”
“B-But . . . understood,” Sergio replied.
“Pardon him. He is quite stubborn,” remarked the crowned figure.
“Y-Yes, your majesty . . .” Sergio admitted.
“My name is Lloyd Vulgast Llinger, king of Llinger Kingdom.”
Llinger Kingdom . . . nope, never heard of that country before. Not that I know the name of every country in the world, anyway.
“Allow me to speak frankly. You have been summoned to Llinger Kingdom to serve as our heroes,” said the king.
“Did you just say heroes?” asked Kazuki in disbelief.
Just then, I heard someone next to me whisper “I knew it!”
I’m just gonna believe senpai didn’t say that just now. Senpai, please don’t destroy your image as a cold-hearted queen any more than you already have! Kazuki’s being serious, so calm yourself down!
“Indeed. In this world, the Demon Lord, the being who reigns supreme over all demons, has been resurrected. He commands an army that is quickly recruiting soldiers across the land. Two years ago, the people of Llinger Kingdom took part in a battle that they knew would likely cost them their lives. Although we fought with great vigor, we barely survived against the Demon Lord’s powerful forces.”
“D-Demon Lord?” Kazuki stammered.
“At the end of that frantic struggle, we somehow managed to drive their forces away. However, there is no telling when they might strike next. Therefore, we had no choice but to turn to our last resort—to use forbidden techniques and summon otherworldly beings capable of vanquishing the Demon Lord.”
Senpai, I know you’re hyped, but now’s not the time to be happily slapping your legs! My image of you is crumbling—no, it’s crumbled. Now it’s just a pile of dust.
“We’re ‘capable’?” Inukami muttered.
“The magic circle summons those who are capable of being heroes and transports them to our world. When you were being summoned, did you not hear the sound of a bell?”
“So that’s what that sound was. But that means Usato—” Kazuki turned to me. He looked like he felt sorry for me.
It was a ringing sound that only those who are capable can hear. In other words, I couldn’t hear it, so I wasn’t capable.
“Was I . . . brought here by accident?” I inquired.
It was the only reasonable conclusion.
It’s okay, guys. I don’t mind! Plus, I’ve got plenty of redeeming qualities. I reaaally hate losing and I’ll never give up!
Inukami and Kazuki stared at me with perplexed looks on their faces. From that alone, I could tell that I didn’t belong in this world. Knowing that I was sent here by accident felt like it was going to shatter my heart. The king noticed that I was holding my chest in pain and gravely closed his eyes.
Oh no. They’re gonna get rid of me because I can’t help them, aren’t they? Why am I the only one who has to play on hard mode?!
“Indeed, you were caught up in the summoning,” the king said. “As much as we would like to send you home, an otherworldly summoning is a one-way operation. We can bring outsiders here, but we cannot send them back. That goes for you two as well.”
Hey, this king seems pretty nice. Actually, never mind. Hero summoning or not, I can’t rush to conclusions about a guy who selfishly drags heroes into his own mess.
But I began to tell him that there were no hard feelings, anyway. “Don’t worry ab—”
“This is bullshit!” shouted Kazuki, cutting me off. In response to Kazuki’s anger, the soldiers reached for the swords on their hips.
H-Hold up! I get that you’re angry, Kazuki, but keep it cool, will ya?! Don’t provoke the soldiers unless you wanna get killed!
Kazuki continued. “What’s supposed to happen to us?! I’ve got a family back home! And so does senpai and Usato!”
“I truly am sorry,” the king said solemnly, “but we were desperate.”
Kazuki clenched his fist and took a step toward the king. We had just become friends, but I began to see what a great guy Kazuki was. Here he was fighting for us, and there I was, such a screwball that I couldn’t even get serious.
“Calm down, Kazuki,” I said. “Lashing out won’t help us.”
“Hmph. If you say so, Usato.”
My words seemed to affect him more than I’d thought.
The king stood up, then descended from his throne and approached us. He bowed deeply, remorsefully. “I understand it was selfish, but I promise you that I will find a way to send you back home. Until then, I beg you . . . please lend us your power.”
As this bizarre scene played out, Kazuki quickly calmed down. He heaved a hopeless sigh and bowed to the king. “I apologize for the outburst. Please tell us everything. We’ll take it from there.”
“We are grateful for your forgiveness,” said the king.
Kazuki turned to me and Inukami and nodded. Giving a thumbs up, Inukami flashed a smile that was more invigorated than I’d ever seen her at school. She was definitely having the most fun out of all of us.