A student walked down the school corridor, the air filled with the low drone of mundane chatter—people exchanging gossip and careless thoughts. Everything was as predictably ordinary as it could be.
"Good Morning."
The voice belonged to Andre Crux, a third-year high school student with sleek black hair. Though he was a healthy teenage male, his refined, almost delicate features often led people to mistake him for a girl. His black, shiny hair and unusually long eyelashes were his most distinguishing traits.
Compared to his peers, Andre seemed almost fragile. At a mere 4'5", with a body as thin as a bamboo shoot, he looked more like a sixth-grader. Some students mockingly called him "bansot" (a derogatory term for someone small and stunted).
Andre entered his classroom with his usual friendly smile, but stumbled, colliding with the boy directly in front of him.
Harvi Mendoza was the polar opposite of Andre: spiky red hair and fiery red eyes. Harvi was bad-tempered, easily irritated, and despised weakness. Their dynamic was always antagonistic: Harvi was the bully, and Andre was the victim.
"Oh! Look, it's the weakling," Harvi sneered, his eyes narrowing. "Got some guts now, huh, to run into me?"
Without a second thought, Harvi grabbed Andre's collar and lifted him effortlessly into the air.
"Of course not. Why would I dare?" Andre replied calmly, returning a friendly, almost placid smile. "You are too strong for me, and I am just weak."
For Andre, this was a normal occurrence. He usually let it go, agreeing to avoid any unnecessary trouble. But the calm smile on Andre's face seemed to make Harvi immediately lose his temper.
"Damn you!"
Harvi raised his fist, ready to throw a punch.
"What are you doing, Harvi? Stop immediately, or I'll report you!"
The punch froze mid-air as a girl's sharp voice rang out. Reina Kirasaki glared fiercely at Harvi. She was the class president and Andre's childhood friend—the acknowledged "gem" of the class. Her lustrous golden hair waved around a perfectly sculpted face that complimented her snow-white skin and perfectly fit figure. Her red eyes, shimmering like polished gems, made every boy in the class stare in awe and earned her the idolatry of the girls.
"Tch! You're pretty lucky today, weakling!" Harvi threw a final glare, roughly shoving Andre before retreating to his seat.
"Calm as always, Andre-kun." Reina helped him straighten up.
"Not really. Sorry for the trouble, Rei." He smiled gently and brushed the dust from his uniform.
In the middle of their quiet exchange, a blinding, bright light suddenly engulfed the entire room, plunging everyone into confusion.
"W-what's happening?!" Distressed cries filled the air.
👓 Andre's POV
When the bright light vanished, my vision was filled with people dressed in strange, unfamiliar clothing.
I quickly scanned my surroundings and felt a wave of relief seeing my classmates—all of us wearing the same uniform. 'Thank God, we're safe,' I thought.
"OHHH…" A chorus of admiring voices shattered the silence.
"Where are we?" Panic flared as my classmates looked around frantically.
They all appeared unable to process the situation, and I, just a normal high school student, was also reeling from the shock.
I restlessly examined the unfamiliar environment. The walls weren't concrete; they were made of perfectly aligned and polished bricks—a setup often seen in medieval movies.
Pinch. I pinched my arm sharply to distinguish reality from delusion. The pain was immediate and real.
I looked up at the unfamiliar high ceiling and realized: 'If this is real... then there's only one possibility.'
We've been summoned to another world.
But how in the world did that happen?!
My eyes began to search the floor for evidence to support my theory. Below me, painted in fluorescent material, was the concrete proof: various geometric patterns, symbols that resembled the magic circles and summoning diagrams I'd only read about in books.
'Looks like I was right,' I concluded.
Realizing I was the only one who seemed to have grasped the situation, I immediately raised my voice, directing it toward the nearest figure.
"Excuse me. Can you tell us where we are? I assume you are the one responsible for this, correct?" I asked calmly. Gathering necessary information was the best first step.
"H-hey, Andre!" Reina looked at me with open worry, reaching out.
I quickly reassured her. "It's okay, Rei. I'm just asking. No need to worry."
"Are you sure?" She slowly let go of my hand, but her anxiety was palpable.
"Heroes! Please save this world!" the glamorous robed man exclaimed, completely ignoring my question.
"What?!" The entire class exclaimed in unison.
"What do you mean by that?" I pressed, recognizing the trope. This was like those typical fantasy stories.
"Due to our difficult circumstances, we resorted to the summoning of otherworldly heroes. We plead with you all to help us save our lands."
"Summoned?"
"Are you kidding me!?" one of my classmates cried out.
The shocking revelation made my classmates even more anxious, but they quieted when the robed man continued his plea.
"The threat of the new Demon Lord is imminent, and the minions of darkness are continuously ravaging the land. It is only a matter of time before the continent falls. Almighty heroes, please lend us your might!"
"C-can we still go back?"
"Do you intend for us to fight?!"
"What do you mean by this?!"
My classmates peppered him with questions, their worried voices escalating. The robed man—who I now realized was a mage—stayed silent for a while, perhaps considering his reply.
"Before answering all of your questions, heroes, let us proceed to the throne room. His Majesty the King will explain every detail."
At the throne room, a luxurious red carpet ran down the center. Guards in noble-like armor stood on both sides, spears held at attention. At the farthest end sat a middle-aged man on the throne, who rose immediately upon our arrival.
The middle-aged man smiled brightly as he welcomed us. For some reason, he struck me as a humble and kind person.
"First of all, I welcome you to Emperia Castle, heroes. And I am deeply sorry for causing you trouble. Please forgive this old man."
The King immediately bowed his head, causing the guards and the robed man beside us to gasp in distress.
"Y-Your Majesty! Why are you bowing? You are the King of this country! If you bow like that, your name will be tarnished!" the robed man cried in panic.
"Don't mind it, Marion," the King said gently. "If we don't show our sincerity, how can we earn the trust of these people? Not only that, but these children were forcefully summoned, so we owe them an apology."
'So this is the King of this country,' I thought. 'He is honest and kind. He seems like a genuinely great king.'
"Sorry for the late introduction. I am Leon Vivre Emperia IV, King of the Emperia Empire. I believe you already know the reason all of you were summoned, yes?"
The King answered all our questions and explained the situation in detail. In short: we were needed to defeat the new Demon Lord. Because of the resurrection of this Demon Lord, minions of darkness were already on the move and building up forces in the north end of the continent. A neighboring country had already fallen, but they had failed to take over the border connecting to the Emperia Empire.
The robed man, introduced as Marion el Rifalf, the court magician responsible for the summoning, stated that they had no immediate means of returning us to Earth. However, he assured us they would search for a way once the war was over.
Many of the students looked on the verge of despair, but the King's final words brought a measure of relief.
"Don't worry, heroes. I, as your King, will welcome you and never abandon you. I will not force you to fight, but I still beg you to save this world. I do not want to see this world fall into ruin. All of you possess tremendous power to save those who need to be saved."
The King bowed once again, lower than before, sincerely asking for our help.
"What do you think, guys?" asked my classmate, Alfred de Leon, a complete 'muscle brain' and one of the physically strongest people in our year.
"If we really have that kind of power, then I will gladly help," another student announced.
"Me too."
"I-If we truly don't have a way to go back yet, then we don't have a choice but to fight," another reasoned.
"Yeah! We'll still be involved even if we try to stay out of the fight."
And so, we made our decision. The group would fight for this world because that was the only choice we currently had. I knew I was already dragged into this mess, so I decided to go with the flow for now. But one thought remained fixed: I still need to find a way to go back.
"I am truly thankful to you, brave heroes. I know you must be tired, so I have prepared a banquet and rooms for you. Please, at least enjoy this night."
"It's my first time at a banquet!"
"Me too!"
"Me three!"
The general anxiety slowly began to diminish, replaced by excitement.
"Tomorrow morning, you will meet with an instructor at the training ground for testing," the King added as we exited the throne room.
Late that night, I was in my assigned room, still trying to digest the incredible situation, when a loud, insistent knock brought me back to my senses.
When I opened the door, Reina stood outside, her yellow hair slightly mussed.
"Rei, do you need something?"
"C-can I come in, Andre-kun? I can't sleep. I... I need someone to talk to." She said, her face slightly flushed pink.
"Come in, then." I stepped aside. "You can sit on the bed."
She only nodded and sat down carefully.
"What's the problem, Rei?" I asked. I guessed she was scared of this unknown place. Even I, despite my calm demeanor, struggled to accept the situation.
"I want to go back," she whispered as tears slowly began to fall down her beautiful face. "Mom and Dad will be so worried, and Misa-chan too."
"I want to go back as well," I admitted softly. "I still have my mother and Misa. I cannot stay here forever." My mother and little sister need me. I have to go home.
I reached out and gently patted her head. She looked up at me with a tinge of shyness, then gave a cute pout, perhaps embarrassed by the gesture now that we were older.
"I'm really envious," she murmured. "You're still so calm, even though we're in this unfamiliar place."
Suddenly, she leaned forward and placed her head in my lap, making it a lap pillow. She used to do this all the time when we were kids but had stopped when we reached high school.
"Not really," I confessed. "Even though I look calm, I'm still panicking inside. I just force myself to think things through."
I continued to gently caress her silky smooth hair. Then, she looked up, meeting my eyes directly.
"Even though you are ridiculously weak physically, Andre-kun is the most reliable person that I know."
"That hurts, even if it's true," I chuckled.
I looked up at the starlit sky and the two beautifully aligned moons visible outside the window.
"Don't worry," I promised. "I'll try my best to look for a way back. If I can't find a way, then I will make one."
"Hmm." She only nodded, a satisfied look spreading across her face, and within moments, she was deeply asleep in my lap.
(A/N: If you read this, I will be happy if you give any comment or feedback to me in order for me to improve. thank you so much )