“U gh, I’m soooooo tired!”
“Come now, Longman-san, don’t be so rude.”
“Cut me some slack, will you? First, we had to kill those demon things, and then that Lord guy—it took a lot outta me!”
In one of the palace’s many guest rooms, a small party of four was assembled. One of them—Longman, a man in heavy armor—was sprawled languidly on the bed. The priestess was clearly upset with him.
Yuuto chuckled at the sight as he rested his sword beside the door. “I think we’re all tired. Try not to be too harsh on him, Mary.”
The last of the unusual crew—a young woman named Maho—watched them in silence.
“I must admit, you all did marvelously!” Mary, the priestess, declared, looking around at her three companions and applauding politely. “I still can’t believe you defeated Dos of the Four Lords so easily!”
Yuuto grimaced awkwardly. “We didn’t, though. He ran away.”
“What’re you talking about?” Longman stood up to give Yuuto a hearty slap on the back. “Even the king congratulated us for being the first people ever to push a Lord back! Go on, show a little pride in your work!”
Longman let out a loud, guffawing laugh. He had a point—apparently, the Kingdom had suffered one crippling loss after another before they stepped onto the scene. They were the Hero’s Party—also called Heroes, although only one of them coined the title itself—and they made it all happen.
“Hey,” Maho finally said, a little awkwardly, as if hesitant to ruin the mood. “Are we really sure about this?”
Yuuto and Mary’s faces both clouded with doubt, but Longman only snorted indignantly.
“Just drop it, will you? We already talked about this a hundred times.”
“B-But how can we know we’ll get to go home after we beat the Demon King’s Army—back to our world, I mean?!”
Tears brimmed in her eyes, her voice hoarse.
Yuuto averted his gaze. He, Maho, and Longman had been summoned from another world. They didn’t belong there.
“How do we even know the king’s telling us the truth?!” she shouted. “I mean, he drags us here against our will and wants us to fight some Demon King? How is that fair to us?!”
“A-And we feel awful for summoning you,” Mary hurriedly reassured them. “But our whole country—everything we hold dear—is at risk of disappearing forever. Please don’t be too mad at us.”
Mary was the only member of the party who was a native of this world. She served as their guide, teaching them the basics of the world and how to properly conduct themselves. In battle, she supported them from the rear.
“That’s your problem!” Maho hissed. “Why won’t you leave us out of it?!”
“Please stop arguing.” Yuuto’s expression was stern and noble as he chided his friend. “If we don’t fight, who knows how many innocent people will pay the price? I want to help them.”
Maho’s eyes widened with fury. “How can you just throw away your life for a bunch of people who aren’t even from Earth?! I just want to live a normal life!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Longman bellowed, closing in until his massive, muscular body was right in front of her, but she didn’t seem at all intimidated. He glared down at her, tears of frustration brimming in his eyes. “What’s your fucking problem?! The king gives us good grub and all the women we ask for! Stop bitching at the people who’re trying to help us!”
Longman was different from the rest of them in that he’d come to that strange world before them. He’d changed his name since, and from the firmness in his voice, it was clear he was more than content with his circumstances. He had been an office worker in a dead-end job back on Earth, and he was enjoying being waited on hand and foot.
“Aren’t you at all suspicious?!” She challenged him angrily. “Don’t you remember what they just told us? Why do they want us to take on some dark guild now—Yerkchira or whatever?! Last time I checked, they have nothing to do with the Demon King! Face it, we’re just tools to them!”
“I… Well…” Yuuto floundered about for a response. He’d been thinking the exact same thing.
No sooner than they’d reported their success against the Demon King’s Army, the king told them to take out Yerkchira next. Apparently, a squad of Royal Knights had been dispatched to dispose of the dark guild, but none of them returned. A rescue party found a single survivor, but he was so deeply traumatized by whatever he’d encountered that he couldn’t even tell them what happened. Whatever dwelt in those woods was horrifying beyond description.
“Still,” Yuuto finally mustered, “it’s for the good of the poor people of this country. It’s only right to fight for them.”
Maho looked at Yuuto in disbelief, then up at Longman’s unbudging glare. Her pleas had fallen on deaf ears.
“Oh, whatever! Screw you guys!” she shouted angrily, stomping out of the room, tears spilling down her face.
Why don’t they get it? Don’t they want to go home? That’s all I want! Her thoughts were in shambles as she ran through the corridor.
She passed flustered maids and baffled knights as she fled, but she didn’t have the energy to compose herself for them. She had never asked to be taken to this world, and the very thought of fighting for her life terrified her. They obviously hadn’t taught her any combat skills at her high school, and everything about her life there made her miserable.
Somebody save me!
She inwardly screamed in fear and pain as she ran, but her plea went unanswered.
What she didn’t know was that she would get exactly what she wished for soon enough.