Hmm, but I wonder… Why wind? Why go out of the way to utilize an element as an intermediary and increase the workload just to open a door? No matter how you look at it, using a three-verse chant so impractically is just completely over the top, isn’t it?
Rather than being stunned at the fact that magic existed, he was puzzled at how inefficiently it was being used. The porter was talented, certainly, but Suimei could only describe what he’d done as wasteful. Optimizing the available mana, he could have invoked a movement spell, and that would have been that.
Suimei just couldn’t figure why anyone would use a wind spell to achieve the same effect in a roundabout way. It would increase the length of the chant that much more, and increase the mana required for the invocation.
And since a spell like that took more time and mana than necessary, Suimei couldn’t see any merit to it. Speaking frankly, a task that simple shouldn’t have even required a chant. If Suimei had done it—or if any other magician he knew had done it—opening a door with magicka shouldn’t have taken any more effort than snapping his fingers. He decided not to dwell on it, but just how much excess mana had been wasted merely to open a door? Honestly, Suimei just couldn’t get his head around it.
Maybe the porter just likes going the extra mile for flair?
He left it at that. Perhaps the royal porter simply enjoyed being showy. If that were the case, it would be a little easier to understand. He had no real reason to nitpick the man’s style anyway, but whenever Suimei saw magicka in action, he had a habit of analyzing its practicality and efficiency. But while he was turning that over, Titania suddenly started talking to him.
“Suimei-sama, you are not surprised by magic, are you?”
Crap.
“Oh, me? I’m just too shocked to say anything… Hahaha.”
“Oh my, is that so? Just wait until you see the court mages training right before your eyes—you may just lose the strength in your legs.”
“Is it that amazing? Wow, I can’t wait to see it…”
“Heehee…”
Titania giggled in a cheerful, yet ladylike manner. This was indeed all surprising to Suimei, but not in the way she assumed. As she and Suimei continued to talk, Felmenia called out to her.
“Your Highness, it is about time.”
“Yes. Now then, Hero-sama, Mizuki-sama, Suimei-sama. Please follow me.”
With that, the group followed after Titania as she passed through the open door. On the other side was an enormous hall. The large, rectangular room had thick stone pillars piercing through it. It had clearly taken much more work to make than the passage they’d used to get there. This, apparently, was the audience chamber.
“Wow…”
“Amazing…”
“Oooh…”
The three friends couldn’t help but ooh and aah in admiration. The audience chamber was just that impressive. Even Suimei, who had been underwhelmed by the magicka earlier, was completely fascinated by this.
Sitting atop a throne at the raised center of the innermost part of the audience chamber was a rather intense-looking man who radiated an air of authority. This was likely the king, Almadious Root Astel. He had neatly-groomed, short, golden hair and a splendid beard. To his side was an elderly man who appeared to be his advisor. On either side of the throne was a line of other important-looking people as well.
Titania proceeded directly forward without even offering a glance at anyone but the man seated on the throne. Then, after ascending a single step of the raised platform, she knelt before the king. Following her example, Felmenia also knelt down. Deciding to take a hint from their actions, Suimei and the others followed suit in a hurry. Once everyone knelt down before the king, Titania finally addressed him.
“I, Titania Root Astel, have brought forth the hero summoned from another world by the hero summoning ritual.”
“Excellent. You have been of great assistance, Titania. However, why are there three heroes present?”
The king clearly seemed puzzled, but it was Felmenia that answered his question.
“You see, Your Majesty, the other two in the hero’s company are friends of his. It seems that they were also caught in the ritual and dragged with him at the time of the summoning.”
“What?! They were dragged with him?!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Most likely.”
With that, the king’s intense expression became one of utter shock. The murmurings of “How could that be?” and “I’ve never heard of this” grew louder from the other people present. The king then turned to address Felmenia properly.
“Is such a thing truly possible? The hero summoning ritual has been performed by various countries for centuries, but I have never once heard of such a thing.”
“That is… I am but a fledgling with limited knowledge, Your Majesty, but I cannot deny the presence of the people who stand before you now. And as such…”
“You’re suggesting we have no choice but to believe it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After his exchange with Felmenia, the king’s expression turned grim. With that, Mizuki whispered to the others.
“He’s talking about this summoning thing like it happens all the time, even in other countries. Does that mean there are people like us all over the place?”
“Based on what he said, maybe. But more importantly, just how many Demon Lords are springing up in this world…?”
Suimei replied with a disconcerted expression to Mizuki’s question. He felt sorry for anyone else who’d been snatched out of their own world, but if they’d really had to summon that many heroes that many times… something was seriously, outrageously wrong here.
“Moreover, our situation seems to be a first for them.”
“Ahaha… We’re the ones people should be feeling sorry for…”
As they finished their whispered exchange, the conversation between Felmenia and the king came to an end. His grim expression was now resolute as he turned his gaze on the three friends.
“Hero-dono, I must apologize for calling you to such a place so abruptly. I am the thirteenth king of the Kingdom of Astel, Almadious Root Astel. And this is my castle, Royal Castle Camellia. Though I can only imagine how you must feel attending a royal audience with no prior notification, I implore you to be at ease.”
The king sounded rather gracious as he spoke, and when he was finished, Titania whispered something into Reiji’s ear. Suimei assumed she was cluing him in on how to properly address the king, but in complete contrast to that expectation, Reiji stood bolt upright in apparent shock.
“What?!”
Suimei was bewildered, and it seemed everyone else was as well. The room was abuzz again. In short, the unthinkable had happened. It might have been hard for a modern person to understand, but in a medieval country like this, kings held absolute authority. They were regarded nearly as gods, and to stand in front of one so casually without permission was a flagrant act of disrespect. Surely nothing good would come of it.
“It is alright. The hero is an esteemed gentleman who has been summoned from another world to save ours. We should be the ones respectfully yielding to him. You needn’t worry about him addressing my father on equal standing.”
“I-Is that so…?”