Upon their arrival to a different world via summoning, the princess appeared with a request to save the world. In this unnatural, restrained atmosphere, this development had apparently been delayed. It could not help but have a resigned confusion.

While they were shocked over understanding what she had just asked, Titania too, had asked, as if she was a little confused.

Titania: “I’m sorry since this is so abrupt, but which one of you is the hero?”

Reiji: “Um…”

Mizuki: “That is…”

At this question, Reiji and Mizuki exchanged glances with troubled faces. It couldn’t be that one of them was the hero. They were originally just normal people. If they asked “What do you mean by hero?”, then it would inevitably be the equivalent of “I’m definitely not the hero.” Thus, there would be no meaning to asking that question, but their lack of understanding of what had been asked was still a problem.

Suimei, on the other hand, planned to obtain information from the one who had summoned them here, and asked, “May I (speak)?”

Titania: “Yes, please go ahead.”

Suimei: “You guys summoned us to get a hero – aren’t there any signs that identify one as a hero?”

Titania: “Signs of a hero…was it?”

Suimei: “Yes.”

Following that, Titania glanced at the quiet Felmenia, who nodded and turned towards the three.

Felmenia: “There is such a thing. The hero that was summoned by the ceremony, that calls forth great men, upon crossing over to this world, is given divine protection by the elements, and this mighty power is kept within his body. Are any of you in a similar situation?”

“If that’s the case, then I think it’s me. After I came here, I’ve felt unbelievable power bursting forth from within me,” Reiji answered. The surrounding soldiers began to murmur amongst themselves. Yes, right here, the power had manifested in him. However, both Mizuki and Suimei were the same in that no power had revealed itself.

Be that as it may…

“From the elements, huh,” Suimei muttered to himself, suspicious of their true motives. The elements were also present in their own world, and there were four or five main ones: earth, water, fire, and wind. *Besides those, magic, which plays an important part, may also be considered one.*

*But, given Felmenia’s tone just then, it was as if it was certain that there would be a person like that. The foundation of the belief in ghosts is magic. Even if the spirit magic was part of the foundation, it was still a little strange. Or, possibly, if magic here is as she had said –*

Titania: “You’re the hero, right?”

Reiji: “Uh… Yes.”

While Suimei was thinking, Titania, as if enraptured, had been staring at Reiji. As Reiji was the hero, she might have developed some sort of longing for him. Furthermore, besides his (handsome) face, there was a certain gracefulness. Reiji, who was facing her, was a little puzzled.

And then, Titania abruptly took Reiji’s hand.

Titania: “Hero, please, somehow, please, please help.”

Reiji: “Eeeeeh!?”

Felmenia: “Pri-princess…”

The abrupt event had caused even the robed Felmenia to be astonished. In an impatient voice, she called out to Titania.

Titania: “Ahh..Sorry, Hero…What I had just done was rude… After this, I think my father will explain to you in the audience room, so please answer then.”

Reiji: “Un..understood.”

Titania: “Well then, this way please. I will lead the way.”

At Titania’s words, the soldiers once again orderly lined up, opening a path for Suimei and his friends.

☆

While following the soldiers, they gradually became used to the passage as they walked. As Titania had said, the audience room was fairly close, somewhere inside the castle.

When they followed, from the gloomy stone passage that was illuminated by candles, they exited into a bright marble passage.

On the paths they had taken thus so far, there hadn’t been such exquisite, pretty ornaments. Here and there, there were arrangements of pieces of art, drawings of never before seen creatures, and saw new kinds of armor. This really was a new world, a sword and magic fantasy world. Well, that was the impression the objects in the immediate vicinity had given. On the other side, there was a person who said, well, even the things that were here were not very varied.

The soldiers walked with an admirable gait, as if to protect them. Their scrupulous attention to their training was evident; there wasn’t even a murmur amongst them.

Next to the princess was someone who seemed to be a so-called palace guard. The guard’s rugged look evoked the same feeling as that of a rock.

And, for the sake of making a good impression on Reiji, Titania walked next to and continually spoke to him. She began with asking what kind of place it was that he came from, to asking about his age, and then to the likes of asking what he was good at.

However, Mizuki also walked next to him, and she was probably agitated. Although she was not Reiji’s lover, she was the one closest to being considered his lover. She was currently, certainly, aiming for that position.

If a beautiful girl of a high social position stuck to him, how do you think she would feel?

Even though her stoic facial expression did not show much, there was a certain sullenness in her that could be seen.

And there was another person: Imperial Court Mage Felmenia…

Suimei : “Is there something wrong with me?”

Felmenia: “…No”

Since earlier, she had turned towards him god knows how many times, glancing at him furtively, and gave up on her curiosity that was mixed with a little hostility. But, she just continued to face forward as if nothing had happened.

“Having been on guard with magic was a mistake. In that situation, it is probable that they have seen that I can use magic,” Suimei groaned to himself silently.

He had made mistake after mistake. He currently just wanted to go hide himself in a hole.

The existence of magicians and magic should be hidden. In his old world, the present had been dominated by science, and magic was, no matter what, considered heretical. This was common sense in the old world after the suppression of magicians had finished. However, in this world, how did treatment towards magic become like this? An existence that became an imperial court mage was together with a princess? That was on the level of royalty. However, the ordinary status for mages and magic was not yet entirely clear.

It would be a simple matter to reveal the existence of magic in the old world, but foolish. First of all, it would be unacceptable for Reiji and Mizuki to learn of such things, even if they were good friends with him.

In that case, the top priority was how to stop that information from being divulged. This, even if it could be leaving them out, was a needed countermeasure.

Titania: “We’ve arrived. Here is my father’s audience room; let’s go in.”

Between the passage and the room, they arrived at a huge, grandiose door, and Titania urged them inside.

One of the soldiers quickly called out to the guard at the door, who muttered something in reply.

Before long, the magnificent door slowly opened.

Reiji: “Wha-!?”

Mizuki: “Eeh!?”

Reiji and Mizuki were shocked. The door suddenly opening had come as a surprise.

The guard hadn’t even touched the door, and they hadn’t seen any automatic opening or closing mechanism. They didn’t completely understand what had just happened.

While holding back his surprise, Reiji hastily asked Titania, “Ho-How did it open?”

“…It was by magic. Was it that surprising?”

“Ah… In the world we lived in, magic didn’t exist.”

“Really? So then that was your first time seeing it?”

Titania was smiling ear to ear upon hearing his impressed voice.

On the other hand, Mizuki’s eyes began to sparkle.

“…Amazing. Magic really does exist.”

Mizuki seemed to hold an interest in magic. *She was a girl who liked stories involving magic.*

And Suimei over here had, of course, noticed the use of magic. Although he hadn’t caught what the guard had mumbled, *the spell’s composition, the magic formula’s expansion, the assignment of the spell, the results, and the magic’s invocation, he had all noticed.*

“Wind, huh,” he thought to himself.

The thing that had opened the door was simple magic. The incantation was three sections long, and the magic was wind attribute and just physical displacement. However-

Even though it was only to open the door, why did using a single attribute take so much time? No matter how many of those spells of that degree were to be casted, using a three-section chant for one is too impractical…

Suimei seemed to be the only person shocked by such flawed magic.

All that was needed, to open even that unusual door, was simple magic. By converting magic power into an optimal state, one would only need to construct the barest minimum of magic formulas, and by invoking it, the same result would have occurred.

Even though that was all that was required, the guard had even went so far as to forcibly apply the wind attribute, and thus Suimei did not understand. Not only would it increase the length of the incantation, it would also increase the required magic power.

In other words, it was completely impractical. It’s common sense that such a spell wouldn’t even require chanting. If it was Suimei, he would only need to move a finger, and the door would have opened “by itself” in the same manner it had done so before.

Who in the world would invest so much into opening the door in such a senseless manner? To Suimei, it was incomprehensible.

“Well, I guess it’s just something the guard wanted to do…”

Suimei rationalized such thoughts as this, saying the guard just wanted to use the wind attribute for opening and closing the door.

While Suimei was thinking about such things, Titania abruptly spoke.

“Suimei-sama isn’t surprised about magic?”

Shit.

“Eh? Oh, I don’t really get surprised at many things…Hahaha.”

“Oh, is that so? But, if this degree can’t surprise you, did you know, if you see an imperial court mage training, (s)he might even be able to omit the chant?”

“That amazing? Ah…I give up.”

“Ufufufu…” laughed Titania, merrily and in a lady-like manner. However, Titania had misunderstood; Suimei had been surprised for a different reason.

The door took its time to open. Felmenia’s voice rang out as she called to Titania.

“Princess, any time now.”

“Yes. Well then, Hero-sama, Mizuki-sama, and Suimei-sama, after me,” said Titania as she took the lead and went through the door.

Then, they came into an enormous, spacious room. *The rectangular, spacious room had countless stone pillars that were penetrated by powerfully drawn lines that separated the road from the rooms.* This was the audience room.

“Uwah…”

“Amazing…”

“Ooh..”

The three could not help but let out their surprise. In the audience room, there was a majestic building. Even Suimei, who was thinking about the magic from just then, was fascinated by it.

In the center of the room there was a magnificent throne, with a person seated on it. He was probably the king, Almadias Root Astel. Next to him, a confidant well past his prime could be seen, as well as a number of many other important people.

Without so much as a glance at her surroundings, only looking forward, Titania walked on ahead. She kneeled to the king, who was on an elevation one level higher than the rest. The next to kneel was Felmenia. The three hastily followed suit.

After the king nodded approval after seeing that everyone was there, Titania began her report.

“Titania Root Astel has brought the summoned heroes.”

“Good, my dear Titania. But…why are there three heroes?”

The puzzled king asked, and Felmenia answered this in Titania’s stead.

“These two are Yuusha-dono’s friends; they were somehow dragged into the summoning.”

“What!? Dragged in!?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

Upon hearing her answer, the king hid his surprise by putting on an intrepid face. After that, the surroundings quickly became strife with confusion; questions such as “What do we do now!?” and “I hadn’t heard of anything like this!” could be heard from amongst the chaotic shouts.

King: “But, can such a thing really happen? The summoning of heroes has been performed countless times up till now, by various countries, but such a thing has never been heard of, has it not?”

Felmenia: “That is…Even I don’t know why the reason that such youths are here, with such limited information, but, the reality is that they are standing here. That’s why… Even though it is unfortunate to have been dragged in, there’s no changing it.”

In the midst of his conversation with Felmenia, the king had changed his facial expression to a grim one.

The already predicted external affairs with other countries would presumably be rendered useless and thrown into confusion because of them.

Then, Suimei mumbled to himself.

“*Various things had occurred as I had expected*, but, other than us here, various other places have also summoned people? Since it appears that was what he meant, it was possible.” In other words, they were needed since, in this world, a Maou had appeared.

*To ask this of Mizuki, Suimei became fed up. Abruptly, and forcibly, summoning people from another world, essentially turning them into refugees, would stress them, but the fact that the existence said to be able to destroy the world does not summon a hero, and is forced to come out is a ridiculous story.*

“Moreover, it looks like our situation is the first of its kind.”

“I feel sorry for these people…”

While Suimei was whispering to himself, the the king and Felmenia’s conversation had seemingly ended. It consisted of questions like, “Who’s the hero?” and “Do the other people also have divine protection?”

And, this time, the king’s expression had completely changed from one of grim seriousness to one of unyielding fortitude. With the return of his kingly face, he started speaking.

“Hero, I am sorry for abruptly summoning you to this kind of place. I am the thirteenth king of the Astel Kingdom, Almadias Root Astel. And this is my castle, the royal Castle Calmenia.”

After the king had showed his subtly implied appreciation in his words, Titania whispered something to Reiji. It was probably something to do with propriety in such a case as this. Reiji immediately stood up.

“Ah?”

Suimei was confused, and the surroundings buzzed with noise. Clearly, the current state of affairs was unbelievable. An unthinkable story in the present day, but in this kind of world in the medieval age, the king is essentially considered the same as a god. In the company of such a person, and in a public place, such an act was tantamount to blasphemy.

Titania: “It’s all right! Reiji-sama is the hero that was summonsed to save the world, so he has a lofty position. That’s why, in this place, in front of my Father, he can speak as equals; there’s no problem.”

Suimei: “Is-Is that so?”

Titania had seemingly noticed and answered Suimei’s fears. It seemed, somehow, there was no problem. There was a temporary unease as to what would happen, but now there was a feeling of relief.

Accepting the king’s thanks, Reiji spoke.

“I am Reiji Shana, your majesty. I am honored to have such a prestigious welcoming (audience).”

“Are you the hero?”

“Yes.”

After Reiji addressed the king’s inquiry, the surroundings stirred again. Questions such as “That person is the hero?”, “What a divine countenance”, and thoughts about how fascinating Reiji was spilled out.

When the surrounding voices had eventually died out, the king spoke.

“So, are the two people behind you your friends?”

“Yes. I am his friend Anou Mizuki.”

“I’m Yakagi Suimei.”

Mizuki and Suimei answered while raising their heads as they were on their knees. Since they were not heroes, they could not behave in the same manner as Reiji, or there would be problems.

“I see. I’m sorry for summoning you two as well. The fault lies in our side, but is there anything we can do for you in apology?”

“Yes.”

“Huh?”

While the king was sitting on his throne, such a short answer had been given in reply.

The king, in his own way, had apologized, but their ignoring it had somewhat annoyed him.

The surroundings became bustling with noise again, with censure such as “What sacrilegious words!”; there was a wide difference between the time Reiji had spoken to the king and now.

“Ahem. I still have lots to discuss with the hero, but I guess here will do. It was an abrupt summoning. The hero is probably still confused.”

“Eh–”

“Hero and his friends. After this, I will prepare seats for you at the evening party in the reception hall. As soon as the preparations are finished, come, and we will discuss the main problem tomorrow.”

The hospitality would extend past that one night. This was the king’s special consideration. Having abruptly been summoned, they might need special care.

At these words, the tension in the atmosphere dissipated. However, there was one person who dissented.

“No, your majesty. If it’s possible, can we talk about the main issue here and now?”

“Are you sure, hero? You’ve just come here, and you have probably not steadied your resolve, right?”

“Yes. After all, this is the pattern in which we have to confront the devil king. I wish to ask about it as soon as possible.”

The king showed his consideration for the hero’s request after pondering over it.

“…Understood. Since that’s what you, the hero, wish for, I’ll tell the story.”

But, that happened way too fast. It was impatient and abrupt. They still hadn’t discussed about this unprecedented case with three people yet.

Suimei, driven by his impatience, asked Reiji in a whisper, “O-oi, Reiji! What do you intend to do? Do you have to answer after hearing this? Rather, it’s a matter of course-”

“Suimei. That’s enough, just leave it to me.”

“What? Leave what to yo-Reijiiii!”

Before they finished talking, Reiji stepped out, with Suimei hot on his heels, whispering his dissent.

This was something Suimei absolutely did not want to be responsible for. To suppress the demon king — what the heck kind of fantasy story was this!? Provoking a fight with people who had basically zero combat potential and experience was not only insane, but also, in the first place, they were not obligated to do such a thing anyway.

Moreover, Suimei had a reason to quickly return. *He had promised his late father to leave behind the legacy of his new proposal about magic theory.* While it may be true that magicians are fated to always be at the risk of losing their lives, it doesn’t mean that they would risk their life for anything.

While thinking such thoughts, he anxiously looked at Reiji’s back. Although there was no reasonable reason for them to take responsibility, there was a soft-hearted person who deviated from the norm. He could not help but agree.

The king asked Reiji who had previously stepped forward.

“Until what part of the story have you already heard about?”

“Earlier, from the princess, I heard that you wanted me to defeat the Demon King. Besides that, I have heard nothing else.”

“Is that so? Well then, Gless.”

The king glanced at the temperate, elderly man that was nearby, who nodded. The man called Gless stepped out.

“I am Gless Duress, the Prime Minister of Astel. Well then, first, I will explain, starting from the current state of affairs.”

“Please.”

“To the north of here, the Astel Kingdom, about three countries away, there was a frigid country called Noxius. The northern Noxius was the boundary between demon territory and human territory, and the people who had been thwarting the invasion of the demons for a long time had been called to the northernmost bastion about half a year ago. However, the demons’ lightning-like invasion had caused the capital to capitulate, and brought about the fall of Noxius.”

With a grimness that leaked into the atmosphere, Prime Minister Gless continued the story.

“In spite of the fact that the people of Noxius lived in such a tense atmosphere, *they boasted a strength not inferior to that of the flat lands*, with a strong national army, but when faced with the invasion of the million-man demon army they couldn’t stand tooth to tooth and they fell in less than a month.”

Then, Mizuki, seemingly with difficulty, asked for the details.

“Um… Regarding the fall of Noxius, the people…”

“The demons have no need to take prisoners of war. At the time of the invasion, most of the citizens were killed by the demons, and those who survived the initial onslaught were hunted down. The few who survived had survived because of their good luck. *The Noxians, as a people, no longer exist.*”

“Man hunts, you said? That’s…”

“Those are the kind of monsters that demons are. They completely look down on humanity, treat humans as if they were worms, *and they have more than enough strength to back it up.* We tried to negotiate, but their response was far from a reconciliation; rather, they did the reverse, and attacked us.”

After Mizuki heard Gress’s story, her face turned blue. Perhaps she didn’t think there could be a story as cruel as that. *If the demons that were introduced to the girl often had friends, a bottomless (heretical doctrine?) pit thing, something about animals with help/salvation.*

Currently, everything was progressing like as if it were a story. *Including me, when there is a story-like devleopment, there is often salvation, and we were still optimistic.*

However, the demons in this world are completely different from those in stories.

Although it was impossible to swallow the entire story, the fact remains that everything from the massacre to the complete annihilation of Noxius was true, and they had to cross paths with such monsters.

“Then after that, according to the Salvation Church’s Oracle, the ruling demon changed to one called Nakshatra. He believes that if the demons are to be able to live freely, then humanity would need to be destroyed.”

“Countries that saw how dire the situation was each began to develop their own countermeasures. But, Noxius had already fallen, and they were essentially forced to assume that according to the scale of the demon army, their ideas that would break the deadlock could not work and plans disappeared one by one. That is how much we humans lacked the power to fight against the indomitable wizards.”

Pausing here, Gress looked at (the grandiose) Reiji.

“Thus, from time immemorial, each nation has relied upon summoning a hero from a different world. Originally, only the Magic Guild and the Salvation Church were able to hold this hero summoning ceremony, and under their agreement, this ceremony was only to be held when humanity fell into a great crisis, establishing a firm precedent. If each country were to only prioritize its own national interest and hold the summoning, then the world would become chaotic.”

“This world has that many problems…?” Reiji scrunched his eyebrows. (I really can’t think of the actual phrase here; it’s like when you’re “wtf” and your eyebrows go up and together). *He might just start crying too if Demon Kings kept sprouting up.*

“Yes. According to what has been passed down, two monsters (giants) that eat every and any living thing have appeared twice. Tyrants have attempted to grasp the world in their hands three times. This time’s attack on the Demon King will make it six times in total. And to avoid a crisis of this degree, Astel Kingdom is one of the four countries that is to perform the hero summoning ceremony.”

“Four countries…”

Upon hearing this unexpected news, Suimei started to mumble to himself. *They could possibly pressure some sorry other guys with such a ridiculous request as suppressing the demon king. When they refuse, they could always come up with some other safety measure, and Suimei and the others wouldn’t have to be entrusted with an impossible task.*

“And we are the summoned ones?”

When Reiji asked about the heart of the matter, Gless closed his eyes and confirmed.

“It is as you have said.”

And, Gless put on a grim face again.

“Currently, the demon army’s invasion has slowed down, but in the near future, the human countries in the world, and thus our country, will be trampled down by the humongous demon army. Like how Noxius was destroyed.”

Gless’s face lost its color, and his voice became heavy. It was an act that evoked sympathy. It was sly and somewhat disgusting, but if it the summoning was an international agreement, then failure would result not only in their loss of diplomatic face, but also in the loss of the people’s faith. *As the prime minister who had no choice but to worry over the country, he had no plan, and he couldn’t suppress the seeds of irritation in his mentality.*

After Gless had finished his story, seeing as good a time as any, the King spoke.

“Hero. This matter has absolutely nothing to do with you who came from another world, but, for the sake of saving this world’s people, can you somehow help?”

“….”

“Please…Somehow or another?”

The King implored a second time to Reiji, whose head was facing downwards as if in deep thought.

“The King is, well of course, determinedly asking Reiji,” thought Suimei.

But of course, Suimei, who didn’t want to have anything to do with this matter, secretly prayed for Reiji. Since he was a magician, for the sake of protecting both himself and his research, although he did have combat experience, did not really want to take part in such a ridiculous fight. He, of course, did not want to die.

Suimei, as if brushing aside his sliver of anxiety, earnestly prayed to the gods that Reiji would not accept.

Nobody dared to even gulp. After a brief period of silence, Reiji raised his resolute face.

And-

“I accept.”

“Of course. He won’t do it. He won’t — Wait what?” thought Suimei.

He accepted. He actually accepted. What Suimei had thought he heard was just a figment of his own imagination.

“Is that so! That’s-”

“WAIT A SECONDDDD!”

Suimei couldn’t accept it. Completely drowning out the King’s elated voice from before, his shout resounded throughout the audience room.

*Suimei revealed his inner thoughts with his shout, and stunned everyone in the audience room. Interrupting the King’s voice was rude, but the abruptness of the shout and the incredulity of the people led to nobody to criticize Suimei.

The soft-hearted person who had accepted had a look of utter confusion on his face.

“Wha-what happened Suimei? Raising your voice so suddenly…”

“This dim-witted person! The one who accepted and has a rotten brain is you! You just said you’d fight a dangerous guy who’d destroy the world! Why do we have to fight a guy who has an army of god knows how many millions of demons!? Is it weird for me to shout out in a loud voice when you didnt even consult us about it!?”

Suimei had shouted incessantly, all without taking a breath. Reiji, with unyielding eyes, looked at Suimei who was now panting for breath.

“But, because of that Demon King, lots of people have had unfortunate experiences, and more will experience the same. Thus, the people’s last resort was to summon a hero, and they called me. That’s why I’ll do anything and everything within my limits to help.”

“How did it become like this!? We have absolutely no reason to help!”

“Yeah. It’s undeniable that today is the first time we came to this world. It is as you said; we have no obligation to help. But there is hope. *Hope is the essence of every person. Aren’t humans just a pile of hope?* Moreover, a sense of duty isn’t present from the beginning; isn’t it something you create?”

Reiji answered in a somewhat cool, philosophical manner. *no idea here*

“That is certainly true, but…Rather, that kind of philosophy has nothing to do with the matter at hand! First of all, how can you possible do it by yourself!?”

Just now, the question thrust at him by Suimei stopped Reiji in his tracks. Reiji was just a student. Unlike Suimei’s case, Reiji had no experience with fighting. Without even speaking of his ability to fight, any means to win could not be seen.

But even then, Reiji shook his head.

“You don’t understand. There’s an amazing power in me right now. I might be able to defeat the Demon King if I have this power.”

*And thus, the matter was settled.*

“What amazing powerrrrrr!? There’s no way you could even TRY to beat him! You’re basically saying great things like “Let’s fight against their huge numbers, Aniki!” indifferently! No matter how much power you have, there’s no way you can fight against an army of several million!”

“No, I can’t tell without having tried. The people who have been summoned into this world have the power to save it.”

That is certainly what is said to be the case. *However, in the end, that might just be a story passed down by humanity.*

Thus.

*“So that’s how it is.”*

“This kind of result is unchangeable. I cannot abandon troubled people. It may not be smart, but I wish to cooperate with the people of this world.”

“Reiji. Again, you…”

Suimei, upon hearing Reiji’s sincere words, lowered his tone. After that, there may have been a hint of compassion. This could be said to be Reiji’s weakness. He cannot neglect people in trouble. It’s been like that since the olden days. He’s been like that since the day Suimei had met him.

He would run about, trying to save someone, drag in someone else like him, but he would save everyone in the end. He was a man who could not discard this weakness. That is the person known as Shana Reiji.

Since he was his good friend, Suimei understood Reiji’s character quite well.

“Suimei. If you think it’s unpleasant, you don’t have to. Honestly if you’re with me, it’s reassuring, but the one who received power is me. You don’t have to come with me.”

“You… Certainly, I don’t want to go, but that…!”

“Yeah. I know. You’ll worry about me right? You were always the one who followed up for me if I wasn’t enough.”

Saying it in such a way was kind of sneaky. Exactly since Reiji was this type of guy, Suimei could not ignore him and started to hang out with him.

But still, this time-

“I’m definitely not going. Dragging me into this kind of mess…I don’t want to die yet.”

As expected, he still declined. There was no choice. However one could think about it, it was too reckless.

“Okay. Sorry, Suimei.”

“If you’re going to apologize, you might as well not do it…” said Suimei, as if done speaking, with his voice having returned to that of one without surprise or resignation.

Now, Reiji turned to Mizuki.

“I’m going to go defeat the Demon King. Thus, I want you to stay with Suimei, Mizuki.”

In front of the Reiji’s display of determination, Mizuki’s face was cast down, and she was shaking. She was thinking about something.

There was no reply for a brief period of time, but before long, Mizuki, who had stopped shaking, raised her resolute face and looked at Reiji.

“…No, I’ll go with you.”

“Mizuki…”

“You too, Mizuki,” Suimei had said in a puzzled voice. He did not think another one of his friends would possibly say such an unrealistic thing. The same unrealistic thing as what Reiji had said.

“Mizuki, you can’t. What I’m about to do is life-threatening. That’s why I can’t bring you with me. I don’t want to put you in danger.”

When Reiji had refused Mizuki’s request, she shook her head.

“Since there won’t be peace anyway if you don’t defeat the Demon King, everywhere is dangerous. That’s why, even if it’s a little, I want to help you. I’m not sure if I can do anything or even if I understand, nor do I understand if I have the same feeling you do, to help the people of this world, but I still want to go with you.”

“It’ll be dangerous. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to protect you.”

“Okay. I won’t mind even if you abandon me. So please…” That was undoubtedly not what Mizuki wanted. However, to stay with her important one, she had lied.

Reiji, after some consideration, spoke.

“Okay. If you’re going so far as to say that, let’s go together. However, I will never, no matter what happens, throw you away, okay?”

“Okay…” answered Mizuki. *no idea* She was happy, but in her eyes you could see a faint resolve, and some tears.*

“Your Majesty, the King. The matter concerning the Demon King, I will take on. The two of us will face him.”

“Understood. Mizuki, are you really sure about this?”

“Yes!”

The King sent a happy-kind of like towards Mizuki who had responded so cheerfully, and then turned his gaze to Suimei.

“Suimei, you still…”

“I cannot fight against such an absurd amount of troops. I won’t go with them.”

“Is that so…” His voice had a somewhat apologetic tone, rather than one of regret. As expected, *he had somewhat mixed feelings regarding the summoning.*

Despite the King’s reaction, the surrounding criticized Suimei. Things like “Even though that girl is going, that boy…” and “He has no pride whatsoever” could be heard.

“These guys that don’t move out of their safe spots say whatever they like. Well, I’m not really in the position to say anything, since I decided I wouldn’t go… There’s a more important matter to attend to, after all.” thought Suimei.

Suimei released his pent up frustration with a sigh, and paused for a bit, before asking the King for a favor he needed at any cost.

“Your Majesty, the King. I have but one favor to ask; may I?”

The surroundings became bustling with noise again, and such exclamations as “What insolence!” and “You’re in no position to ask His Majesty the King for a favor!” but they were ignored.

The King, in particular, did not seem to mind; he did not raise his voice and responded.

“Go ahead.”

“Okay. Since I won’t go help suppress the Demon King, I want to find a way to return to our original world.”

He would not go fight. Thus, there would be no reason for him to stop in this world. He wanted to use the summoning ceremony again to quickly return to his own world.

However, for some reason, the King did not reply.

“…………”

Instead, a heavy silence swept over the room. If one were to look at the surroundings, one would see Reiji with a puzzled look, and Mizuki with a face as if she had just realized something. Titania and Felmenia’s faces were of a poor complexion, and were as if they had just eaten a bug.

The source of this was something bad. Suimei had just asked to return. Then, their faces had become like this.

Then, a hypothesis had popped into Suimei’s mind.

“Hey, wait. It couldn’t be…”

Suimei no longer used honorifics. It was natural, as his guess did not hit far from the target.

Before long, the King opened his mouth with resolution.

“Sorry, but you cannot return to your original world. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I don’t want to return you. Rather, a method to send you back does not exist.”

“What the FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!?”

Suimei’s second scream of the day resounded throughout the audience room.