Chapter 1: Hero Summoning and Imperial Capital Banishment

Chapter 1: Hero Summoning and Imperial Capital Banishment

When class ends and preparations to return home are nearly finished, the view suddenly changes.

The usual classroom transforms into a large, medieval European-style hall. When I look around, I see fellow students from the same class nearby. There are also students from other years and some teachers a short distance away.

[Is this a dream?]

It seems like one of those rumored daydreams. No—this is a lucid dream with self-awareness. However, the information coming through my five senses is far too vivid. At that moment, I concluded that it wasn’t a dream and decided to analyze the situation.

Among the people nearby, half are panicking while the other half are dazed. Wow, one of my childhood friends (male) looks as calm as ever. That guy is fearless. I’ve never seen him shaken.

I notice people observing us from farther away. They’re wearing medieval European-style clothes and are clearly not students from our school. Some are in robes (TL Note: Priest clothes, I guess), some in suits, and others look like soldiers clad in iron armor. Standing in this Middle Ages-style building, our modern clothes look completely out of place.

In the meantime, one of the people steps forward.

[Everyone, please listen to me.]

The voice belongs to a girl, probably around our age. She’s wearing a gorgeous dress, and her presence is striking—even though others are dressed similarly. Oh wow... just from a few words, you can tell she’s a princess. Thank you. By the way, there’s an old man next to her who looks like a king, but he’s completely overshadowed by her.

[I am Princess Christia of the Eludia Kingdom. This world is called “Arcs.” It is different from your own. All of you were summoned here through a hero summoning ceremony.]

She really is a princess.

She picks up the hem of her skirt and bows gracefully as she introduces herself. Most of the boys blush and are clearly captivated. Most of the girls are just as enthralled.

Me? I think she’s beautiful, but I’m not that affected. My childhood friend (male) is the same way.

I can more or less grasp the situation from the princess’s words. It’s the classic “summoned to another world” scenario. Usually in novels, the next thing they say is a request to defeat a demon king or some evil deity.

[I want everyone to save this country and defeat the Demon King.]

Yep. This is the typical fantasy setup... Even though I already confirmed that it’s not a dream, I still feel uneasy.

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

Just to be sure, I try pinching my cheek. Ouch—it hurts. Definitely not a dream.

[What is this?! Why did you suddenly bring us here?!]

A boy from another school year shouts. It’s a natural reaction. However, he’s the only one reacting so strongly. Strangely, the others around him don’t seem to support his outburst. Normally, if one person reacts, it would trigger a crowd.

[We apologize for summoning all of you here for our own selfish reasons. We are truly sorry.]

Princess Christia bows deeply. When she looks up again, I see tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

[Ugh…]

The male student who shouted flinches. Making a beautiful girl cry will definitely hurt your image—especially with the girls you’re not close to.

However, something about the princess’s tears feels off to me. [Spec: I read too many novels not to know what this means. XD]

[However, the goddess told us that the only way for humanity to survive was to summon heroes!]

The princess cries out in a sorrowful voice. The boy who raised his voice is now being glared at coldly by the surrounding students. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

The word “goddess”… That sounds important. Yep, this is classic fantasy.

Maybe there’s even a holy sword involved?

[I’m sorry for the confusion. Could you explain the details to everyone?]

[Please leave it to me. I will explain in place of the princess.]

A civil officer takes over for the teary-eyed princess and begins explaining the situation.

To summarize—because that guy’s explanation was overly grand:

This is a fantasy world of swords, magic, demons, and a Demon King.

1. The Demon King seeks to destroy humanity.

2. The Demon King is the enemy of the goddess.

3. The hero summoning was performed based on the goddess’s oracle.

4. Everyone from our school was summoned here as heroes.

5. Those summoned will receive blessings (Gifts) from the goddess.

6. The blessings (Gifts) are special abilities or skills.

7. The method to return to our original world is currently unknown.

8. If the Demon King is defeated, the oracle will reveal the way back.

When everyone hears there’s no way to return, they fall into despair. But then we’re told the method will be revealed by the goddess’s oracle after the Demon King is defeated. That just makes it worse—like some scam trick.

I think it’s dangerous to trust everything just because it came from a single source. Especially that part about the oracle—it sounds way too convenient for them. For all we know, the people who summoned us might not have good intentions. In some stories, the summoning country turns out to be the final boss.

However, since we know so little about this world, I guess the safest course of action is to go along with what they say for now—at least until we’ve gained some strength and knowledge.

First, it needs to be checked what kind of blessing (Gift) we, the heroes, have. There is a magic tool (magic item) called the “Sacred Gem of Blessing” in this country. It looks like a large crystal. When the holder of a blessing (Gift) places their hand on it, it shines and displays what kind of power they have.

Right now, we have to wait in line because the country only has 10 Sacred Gems of Blessing. There are 800 people in our school. Assuming it takes 1 minute per person, it should take around 80 minutes.

By the way, the spoken and written language here is completely in Japanese. It matches up with hiragana, katakana, kanji, and simple English (Japanized English) from our world. I thought it might be due to translation magic, but it’s just standard Japanese.

Was this world made by Japanese people?

My turn finally comes. I’m about the 60th person. In other words, it’s been about an hour since the summoning. I place my hand on the Sacred Gem the same way as everyone else.

I hear excited voices from the people waiting for their turn. It’s that strong-minded girl group from the next class. Nothing good ever happened if you got involved with them back in our world.

I think there was a timid girl in the same class as them. Maybe.

The leader girl is mocking the timid girl.

[Why don’t you have any blessing (Gift)? You really are garbage.]

[Seriously, everyone else received a blessing (Gift) except you.]

[That is…]

The timid girl looks pale. A nearby soldier gives instructions in a hurry.

[Inform the king and princess immediately.]

It seems that timid girl doesn’t have a blessing (Gift) for some reason. I assumed that might be possible based on what the civil officer explained, but judging from the soldier’s reaction, it’s a big deal.

Also, from how those girls are talking, it’s obvious she was bullied back in our world too. Something like that was happening right next to my class… It’s just sad.

By the way, the timid girl is quite cute. She has braided hair, glasses, and a book committee-style outfit, but the material is noticeably high quality.

[Huh?]

It doesn’t shine when I place my hand on the Sacred Gem either. It’s been a while too. Still no reaction. It looks like I’m in the same situation as that timid girl.

[There’s another one here without a blessing (Gift)!]

The soldier in front of the Sacred Gem raises his voice. Looks like they’ll report me to the king too. I’ve got a bad feeling. A really bad feeling.

Shortly after that, the king and princess rush over. The old man next to the princess is the king, after all. The timid girl and I are lined up in front of them.

[Are these the two who didn’t receive a blessing (Gift)?]

[Yes, the Sacred Gem didn’t shine.]

At the soldier’s confirmation, the king and princess look troubled.

[All heroes summoned from another world should have received a blessing (Gift) from the oracle of the goddess.]

[Umm… I can’t believe the oracle was wrong.]

[The goddess can’t be wrong. She is an absolute existence.] [Spec: I’ve seen a lot of this kind of mistake before. :P]

No, how can she be absolute when there’s a demon king running around? It seems the princess blindly believes in the goddess. Faith is one thing, but ignoring reality isn’t wise.

[Then, these people aren’t heroes.]

[Umm… maybe they’re low-born or committed a great crime in their world.]

The king and princess start saying whatever they want, completely based on their own assumptions. Of course, I’m not some criminal. At least, I don’t think so.

They summoned us for their own convenience, and now they’re treating us as worthless just because we don’t have powers. Uh, that boy who shouted earlier was right. At this point, my opinion of this country is firmly in the negative. And the goddess who caused all this? Same score—minus.

The looks we’re getting from the others are unnatural. Like we’re criminals. Even my acquaintances are among them. There’s a childhood friend (female) who has known me since we were kids. Childhood friend (male)? His expression hasn’t changed, but he doesn’t try to help either. That’s just how he is.

This whole conversation is going downhill fast. Speaking of which, maybe they’ve all been brainwashed.

Meanwhile, the timid girl who had been staring at the ground suddenly speaks up.

[I-I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m sure the goddess just forgot to give us a blessing!]

She couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted. I agree with her, but criticizing a religious figure in front of a fanatic might not be the smartest move...

[You dare insult the goddess! Such people cannot be heroes! Kick them out of the castle immediately!]

As I feared, the princess gets furious. And even though I didn’t say anything, I’m being kicked out too.

The fact that no one tries to stop this proves it: the summoned students have been brainwashed. Anyone not brainwashed would clearly see what’s happening. These people summoned us for their own benefit and now cast us out. They don’t have good intentions.

The soldiers grab my and the timid girl’s arms. My childhood friend (male)? He still doesn’t move.

[No! Let me go!]

The timid girl and I are dragged away by the soldiers and escorted out of the castle. I feel somewhat relieved, honestly. She said some pretty bold things. These people really don’t have our best interests in mind. If they’d decided to kill us on the spot, it wouldn’t have been surprising. In that sense, being thrown out is much better. Actually, if they had killed us in front of the others, maybe it would’ve broken their brainwashing...

Of course, if they try to kill us, we’re not going down without a fight.

Everyone abandoned us because they’ve been brainwashed. I shouldn't dwell on it. Their fate probably won’t be any better than ours.

While I’m thinking that, we leave the imperial castle. Well, should we explore the town first? The royal family and nobles are trash, but maybe the townspeople are better. According to the civil officer, this is the imperial capital. Either way, we shouldn’t stay here long.

[We’re out of the castle now. Can you release me?]

I ask the soldier. He replies with a disgusting smile.

[No. You two aren’t just banned from the castle, but also from the capital.]

[A true exile. Go die on the road outside the city.]

From those words, I finally understood just how rotten this country is.

They kicked us out not just to be rid of us, but to make sure we don’t meet the other heroes again. If people without blessings are forced outside the city where demons roam, their chances of survival are slim. Even worse for people like us, who were summoned from another world, know nothing about this place, and have no blessings.

That’s enough. I don’t need to tolerate this anymore. These people have given me more than enough reason to abandon this country.

Let’s prepare ourselves. Prepare to live in this world.

While we were being taken by the soldiers, I confirmed the state of the city. It is medieval European style, just like the castle. I wanted to go sightseeing and see some of the beautiful buildings inside the capital if I could. However, with our current situation, I don’t want to come here ever again.

This city is surrounded by walls and has one gate on each side. We arrived at the north gate.

[Get away quickly.]

[Why were those guys summoned here...?]

The soldiers released us outside the gate. It was basically abuse. Moreover, they told the gatekeeper not to let us near the imperial capital.

[gusu~, gusu~]

The timid girl sits down on the spot and cries bitterly. I want to leave quickly... but I couldn’t just leave her alone.

I try to approach her as gently (not gently) as possible.

[I’m 2-B Shindo Jin. What is your name?]

The timid girl looks up at me. Her features are nice when I see her up close. Her crying face ruins it a little, but her good looks don’t change...

[gusu~. I’m, 2-C Kinoshita Sakura... desu.]

[Kinoshita-san, right? What will Kinoshita-san do from now on?]

When Kinoshita-san hears my question, her expression turns to despair.

[It can’t be helped... being thrown out into a place like this... I’m going to die...]

Her mind seems greatly weakened. Uh, it's natural to think like that. We are penniless in a different world. We have no connections. And we’re in a hostile relationship with the royal family. It’s checkmate. Truly checkmated.

[Kinoshita-san. I’m going to walk along this road and try to reach another village or city.]

Kinoshita-san looks back at me, confused after I said that.

[There are demons outside! We’ll be killed before reaching a village! Besides... if I stay here, someone might help me enter the city. Maybe people from our school will come, and the soldiers at the gate will defeat the demons...]

That’s wishful thinking. Weren’t you driven out of the castle by this country? It’s really sad—I could shoot down every hope Kinoshita-san is clinging to.

[It might be impossible. I think traffic will decrease soon because it’s getting dark. The people from our school don’t know we’re outside the capital, and they won’t leave the city right away since they aren’t heroes yet. The gatekeepers were ordered not to let us in, so they might not help if we’re attacked. And above all...]

[Above all?]

[I don’t want to be in this city. I don’t want to be in debt to this city. What about Kinoshita-san? Do you want to stay here, or do you want to help me?]

If she’s unhappy, I’ll go alone. Kinoshita-san looks down and thinks after hearing my words. Then, ten seconds later, she looks up, resolved.

[I also... don’t want to be in this unpleasant city. If I accept help from here, I probably won’t be able to go to another city—or no, I want to go to another country.]

Kinoshita-san has the same idea as me. Right now, we don’t just hate this city—we also hate the royal family who sits at the top of it. We simply hate this whole country.

Kinoshita-san keeps looking at me and speaks.

[Please. Please take me with you. I’ll do anything. I’ll try hard not to drag you down. So, could you...]

[Understood. Let’s go together.]

[Eh?]

Kinoshita-san looks dumbfounded. Well, when you ask for something and get a yes, isn’t it strange to act like that?

[Is it okay? As you can see, I’m slow. Even though I said I’ll work hard, I probably will drag you down.]

She suddenly changed. It seems she has no self-confidence. She’s really a girl with low self-esteem.

[From the beginning, even if Kinoshita-san didn’t say anything, I planned to invite you. Isn’t it natural for people who were thrown out like this to help each other?]

[Ah...]

When I said that, tears spilled from Kinoshita-san’s eyes.

[W-What’s wrong? You’re crying again—what’s the problem?]

[No... I haven’t heard such kind words in a long time... These are tears of joy...]

The environment that surrounded Kinoshita-san must have been harsher than I thought. The bullying in the class next door made her this emotional just from hearing a kind word. Such an unfortunate person is vulnerable to kindness. Kinoshita-san’s tearful eyes glitter as she looks at me.

[So we’re settled. Let’s move quickly. We should reach another village before the sun sets...]

[Understood. I will follow you. Err, what would you do if I wanted to defeat the demon king and return to our world?]

Just because we don’t follow this country doesn’t mean we’ve given up.

[Just because the demon king is defeated, it doesn’t mean we can return. There’s no guarantee of what the goddess or princess said.]

[There was certainly no evidence.]

If I’m not mistaken, there could be another way.

[So, as the princess said, when the hero defeats the demon king, the oracle from the goddess will come and inform us of the method to return.]

[Yes. She said that.]

Everyone heard that. I felt a sense of incompatibility at the time...

[I didn’t hear a single word from the goddess during that conversation. In other words, it’s possible that the goddess knows the method of return.]

[Ah...]

I arranged the words clearly.

[I don’t think the goddess will teach us the method to return, even if we defeat the demon king, since we don’t meet the requirements of being heroes. Then we might as well look for it ourselves. Although we don’t know if we can return or not, let’s hang it out there as bait for the time being. The possibility might not be that low either.]

[That’s amazing. I never thought of that...]

You may praise me more.

[You’re totally different from me, who could only cry...]

These are sorrowful tears now. Sad cry → Happy cry → Sad cry. You do nothing but cry, Kinoshita-san.

It’s good to be praised, but it’s a problem when it turns into self-pity. I have to help Kinoshita-san.

[Don’t worry. Because I will protect Kinoshita-san. So, let’s go together.] [Spec: flag is raised!!!]

She wipes her tears and replies.

[......Understood. Although I’m a careless person, I’ll be in your care from now on, Shindo-kun.]

[Same here, Kinoshita-san.]

Although there’s a slight awkwardness in our greeting, Kinoshita-san ends up taking my hand. She puts in some effort and stands up.

Thus, me and Kinoshita-san—who were driven out of the imperial capital—begin our journey through this different world.