This is the imperial castle? So that means the shrine I was summoned to was inside the imperial castle too. Aki thoughtfully took in the information and memorized their location before looking up at Elias standing several inches over six feet.
“I had the preconception castles were quiet. There are more people than I would expect here.”
People dressed in different clothing styles busily came and went through the hallways, corridor, and courtyard. Some people had even stopped to idly chat, happily exchanging information. Aki had imagined a castle as a quiet space with just a few soldiers, maids, and servants here and there, but this castle was jam-packed with enough people to fill a small city. From the vast difference in appearance and clothing, she guessed people from different countries and cultures gathered in groups inside the castle grounds.
“Yeah, we might have more people than your typical castle. Especially since our royal family has opened a section of the imperial castle to outsiders. Many scholars, researchers, and exchange students have come from other countries for scholarly reasons.”
“Wow. You have an open-minded king.”
Opening not only the imperial capital, but the imperial castle to people from foreign countries must mean this world is fairly stable and peaceful. It’s hard to believe this is a world where a war is regularly fought between the Hero and Dark Lord. Are the world’s peace and the Hero and Dark Lord’s battle unrelated?
Aki walked alongside Elias as they slipped out of the courtyard and moved to a separate brick building inside the castle grounds. Elias stopped in front of the first wooden door once they entered the building. He stretched out his long arm and lightly knocked on the door.
“Johann, are you here?”
“Is that you, Elias? The door is unlocked. Come in,” answered a pellucid, boyish voice from inside the room.
Elias pushed the door open to reveal the boy called Johann standing inside the unadorned room. The pretty boy possessed smooth silver hair that touched his shoulders, blue eyes, and androgynous facial features. He was clad in pure-white vestments that nearly reached the floor.
Wow, another pretty boy joins the ranks of good-looking people I’ve met in this world. Aki stared at the boy, blinking several times to confirm he was real. She thought both Elias and Leo were handsome, but Johann had a captivatingly beautiful face too. His fair skin coupled with the pure-white robe decorated with gold embroidery gave him the effect of a radiant angel.
Johann glanced at the speechless Aki, who was enraptured by his looks, and turned his attention back to Elias. “Elias, is this lady the Hero’s Right-hand for this generation?”
“Yes. Her name is Aki. She’s going to be my secretary.”
Johann blinked at Elias’ remark. “Do you mean she is going to be the Hero’s secretary? That is an interesting way of thinking.”
“Apparently, she worked as a secretary in the parallel world. She wants to use that special skill for us.”
“I see. That sounds promising.” Johann nodded at Elias’ introduction and surprisingly broke out in the cutest broad smile. He walked over to Aki and held out his right hand. “My name is Johann Clarence. I warmly welcome you to our world, Miss Aki.”
Aki took hold of Johann’s snow-white hand and shook it. “Thank you. I am still inexperienced at all of this, but I hope we can get along, Johann.”
Johann looked Aki in the eyes and smiled. Elias, who had been watching over them, turned on his heel to leave. “All right, Johann, I’ll excuse myself here.”
“Very well.”
“Wait, Elias? Where are—”
Elias flashed a smile at Aki and left the room before she could stop him. She had been under the impression he was going to listen to what Johann had to say with her. Catching onto Aki’s sudden disconsolate feeling of being lost over what to do without Elias, Johann’s kind smile reassured her.
“You needn’t worry, Miss Aki. What I am about to discuss with you would be hard to talk about with the ‘Hero’ present. Elias must have left beforehand out of consideration for us. Please take a seat.”
Aki nodded and perched on the edge of the red cushioned bench he gestured toward. He sat directly across from her, his gaze piercing right through her. She swallowed hard, wondering what he was about to tell her.
“Allow me to cut to the chase and frankly ask you: what do you think of Elias? Isn’t he a fine man?”
“…Beg your pardon?”
What is he suddenly asking me? Aki’s cheeks turned slightly pink at his unfathomable question. I can’t deny Elias is handsome and has a sweet personality. Not to mention, he’s a young man the world views as a hero. With all those charming points, he is undoubtedly suited to being defined as a fine man.
“I-I guess so. He seems kind and cool.”
“Doesn’t he? The ‘Hero’ is made to be just such a person.”
“…What?” Aki’s head jerked up at Johann’s casual remark. She carefully examined his face.
What did he just say? The Hero is made to be that way?
“…Um, what do you mean?”
“Both the Hero and the Dark Lord are people brought into existence by the necessity of having to fulfill those roles. They are created with an attractiveness to catch the eyes of the masses and expert skill in both literary and military arts. They are meant to be the center of the entire world’s attention after all.”
“H-Hang on a minute!” Aki jumped from the bench. “Are you saying the Hero and the Dark Lord were intentionally created?”
“Exactly. You could call them artificial life, however it is not the people of this world who created them, but the one we call Goddess who fabricated this very world.”
“Goddess…” The shock was so great Aki flopped back against the bench’s backrest.
Is he talking about the same Goddess I failed to meet on my way to this world? If what he says is true, Elias is an artificial life intentionally created by the Goddess. Does Elias know he was created?
“…Of course, Elias is aware he is an artificially created life-form. The only people who know of this are Elias, Leo, myself—members of the party joining the Hero on his journey—the kingdom’s most powerful person, the king, and select members of his consul. Normal citizens only view the Hero as someone who has come to arms to protect the world by defeating the Dark Lord. However…” Johann paused.
“The fateful battle between Hero and Dark Lord was not established for such an enigmatic reason. You were summoned to this world to serve as Hero Elias’ Right-hand. As such, you need to know the truth behind the roles they bear,” he continued, testing her with his words. Aki kept silent.
The Hero and Dark Lord of this world were created by someone or something they called a goddess. Some deep meaning was hidden within the grand battle taking place between them over the generations. From what Johann said, Aki and her younger sister were about to be pulled into a grand-scale war. But Aki recklessly came to this world to save Nako. She couldn’t return home without her.
Aki returned his gaze and shook her head. “…Honestly, there is so much I don’t understand yet, and I’m concerned about how much I can do here. But I resolutely came to this world to rescue my younger sister. So please allow me to do whatever I can to the best of my ability!”
Johann’s eyes widened in surprise at her as she keenly clenched her fists.
“Thank you… To tell you the truth, you were only led to this world because you chased after your younger sister, resulting in you essentially being pulled into our circumstances. I did not want to force you to help us, but you seem like a dependable person. Please assist Elias the best you can.” Johann deeply bowed his head.
He deliberately stood from the bench and grabbed an antiquated book from a wooden bookshelf in the back of the room. He returned to the low table resting between them and spread the book out for her to see.
“In that case, Miss Aki—no, Aki—allow me to tell you about the secret truth behind the Hero and Dark Lord’s true role…”