The classroom was loud in the way classrooms always are before homeroom.
Not chaotic. Just… alive.
"I'm not doing the homework."
"You never do the homework."
"Exactly."
A few laughs. A chair scraping too loudly. Someone tossing a pen across the aisle and immediately regretting it when it smacked into someone's forehead.
Near the windows, two girls were whispering.
"I'm telling you, he looked at you."
"He did not."
"He did."
"He was looking at the clock."
"Same thing."
Up front, someone was arguing about whether convenience store curry counted as "real food."
It didn't.
In the very back corner of the room, next to the window where the sunlight didn't quite reach, Haruto Oda was asleep. Not pretending, not resting his eyes.
Gone.
Head tilted slightly against the wall, arms folded. His breathing steady. Completely detached from the sound of life happening around him.
If there were a competition for "Most Unbothered Human Alive," he'd win it accidentally.
The door slid open.
"Good morning."
Mr. Takahashi stepped in with the posture of a man who had already accepted that his authority was mostly decorative.
"Take your seats."
No one moved.
A pause.
"I said, take your seats."
Chairs shifted. Bags dropped. Conversations lowered in volume but did not disappear.
Mr. Takahashi set his attendance sheet down and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Quiet down. Homeroom is about to start."
Someone in the middle row kept talking.
"I'm serious, if I fail that test..."
"Quiet down."
Still talking.
"Class!" He raised his voice just slightly.
"Quiet down..."
Suddenly, the floor lit up. It started faintly. A thin silver line tracing between tiles. No one noticed at first, but then, another line curved outward, then another.
Until the entire classroom floor was covered in glowing symbols.
"…Uh," someone near the front muttered.
A desk leg vibrated.
A phone slid off a table.
The light brightened.
Symbols twisted and shifted like they were alive.
"What is that..?"
Mr. Takahashi turned mid-sentence.
"Everyone, stay calm..."
The air grew heavy.
Like pressure before a storm.
The glow swallowed the room.
There was a flash...
Haruto's eyes opened halfway.
"…huh."
The floor wasn't tile anymore.
It was polished marble.
The air smelled different. Cleaner. Colder.
Voices echoed strangely.
He blinked once.
Twice.
They were no longer in a classroom.
They were standing in a massive throne room.
High ceilings arched overhead, painted with gold inlays and intricate patterns. Tall pillars lined both sides, banners hanging between them. Knights in full armor stood in formation along the walls, weapons drawn but lowered.
At the far end of the room sat a man on a throne; the presence he emanated told everyone that he was in charge.
The class erupted.
"WHERE ARE WE?!"
"What is this?!"
"IS THIS A PRANK?!"
"WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!"
Someone grabbed onto someone else.
One girl started crying.
One guy immediately tried to record everything.
Mr. Takahashi stumbled forward, nearly tripping over his own feet.
"Everyone, calm down! Please remain..."
His voice echoed uselessly in the cavernous room.
Haruto looked around slowly.
Thirty students.
All here.
Including the teacher.
He glanced down at the floor.
No desks.
No bags.
Just them.
"…that's annoying, my lunch was in my bag," he muttered quietly.
On the throne, the king stood.
"Welcome, heroes."
The word echoed.
The room went still.
Even the crying paused.
"You have been summoned to our world."
A beat.
"To save it."
Silence.
Then...
"WHAT?!"
Haruto closed his eyes again.
This felt like work, a lot of work.
(All I goit thre options. Option one: panic. Option two: listen carefully. Option three: go back to sleep and hope it resolves itself.) Haruto thought to himself as he heard the king
He shifted slightly.
Option three sounded reasonable.
Behind him, someone grabbed his shoulder.
"Oda! Are you seeing this?!"
"…unfortunately," he replied without opening his eyes.
The king continued speaking about demons, war, destiny, blessings, and glory.
The words blurred together.
Haruto only caught fragments.
Demon Lord, great threat, divine protection, return home with one wish
Return home.
He opened one eye again.
They were offering a wish?
That sounded expensive.
And defeating a Demon Lord?
That sounded even more expensive, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
He exhaled softly.
"…this is definitely mandatory, isn't it?"
On the throne, the king spread his arms.
"You, chosen heroes, are our only hope. I know we have no right to ask, but I beg you save our world." The king spoke as he stood from his throne and bowed to the students
The class looked shaken.
Afraid.
Excited.
Determined.
"I mean, since we are already here, we should help," the class leader, Aoi Nakamura, spoke as she stepped forward
"Yeah...and we get a wish after we beat this demon lord guy...I'm down," the captain of the baseball team, Daichi Sakamoto, said with a grin
Seeing the two most popular kids agreeing, the students, one by one, also agreed to help the king fight against the demon lord.
"I can't leave my student to fight this battle alone, so of course I will help," Mr.Takahashi added
With everyone in better spirits and agreeing, the king smiled, and a young girl dressed like a princess stepped forward.
"Thank you all truly...," but before she could continue, a voice spoke out from the back of the group of students.
"Hey, it seems like you have enough people to fight this demon lord guy. Can I leave?" Haruto spoke as he still sat on the floor
"W...what was that young man?" an old man dressed as a priest asked.
"Can I leave...this all sounds like alot of work, and that's not really my thing, so can I just leave?"
"Young man, you mean to tell me you won't be aiding us?" the king asked
"I mean, I'm not a fighter, so I would only get in your way, and all the fighting we will have to do sounds like a drain," Haruto replied with a yawn
"Oda, you can't just help. The only way we can go home is if we defeat the demon lord," Nakamura spoke
"Well, you guys can go do that. I'm not going home. Dealing with the missing person question and the police seems like a drag, and plus I don't have much for me when I get back."
"What about your family?" a student asked
"Not a good relationship," Haruto replied
"School?"
"I'm not the sharpest tool in the shead and I'm not good at sports as you can tell,"
"Friends"
"Let's be serious...don't have any,"
"Do you really have no desire to return home?" Mr.Takahashi asked with surprise
"Nope, nor do I wish to fight someone else's battle. Can I just be free to leave?" Haurto asked
"How can one person be this lazy?" the priest asked
"Whoa...I'm not lazy, I'm just dedicated to my craft."
"And what would that be?" the king asked
"Doing as little work as possible," Haruto replied proudly
"So being lazy!?" The preiets yelled back, getting annoyed by Haruto
"Alright, alright, Bishop Headmond, please calm down...okay, young man, what is your name?" The king asked
"Oda Haruto,"
"Okay, young Oda...I want you to understand that if you don't defeat the demon king even when the others go home, I won't be abel tos end you home per the contract with the goddess," The king explained
"Yeah, I'm fine with that," Haruto answered with a struge
"But if you help them and stay, you will get the merit, rewards, and fame that come with killing a demon king,"
"That sounds like speaking with alot of people and dealing with crowds, so I'm good,"
"...Very well, still, I can't just allow you to go to a world you don't know. My advisor will provide you with some money and some basic information you should know," The king spoke as he rubbed his temple
"If you would please follow me," A middle-aged man dressed as a butler spoke with a slight bow
"Wait, Oda, are you really leaving?" Sakamoto said as he placed a hand on Haruto's shoulder
"Look, you guys will be fine, and I will figure something out...Good luck on your demon-hunting quest. I believe in you," Haruto said with a small smile, and he walked away while waving them goodbye
"I can't believe that just happened," a student said