“We have a few questions before we give our final answer, is that alright?” asked curvy.

“That won’t be a problem, please ask anything that comes to mind,” insisted the king.

“Is there any way we can go back home?” enquired shorty. She had retained her nervous demeanour since the moment she was summoned, and looked quite desperate as she asked that question.

“I apologize, but we have no way of sending you back. The previous heroes also asked after this topic, and the only way for you to return to your homelands is for someone to summon you back. Forgive us, but we truly require your help for our survival” explained the king.

He was being very polite to these heroes, probably afraid that they’d go off on their own and forsake us. Without the heroes to stage the final assault on the shadows, we would be hard pressed to put down the uprising. They really are ridiculous existences when it comes to raw power.

All three looked stunned at the statement the king had just made. Even the previously excited average guy turned pale for a moment.

“B-but, what about our family and friends! Will we never see them again?!” choked the shorty, she had tears streaming down her face at this point.

The king adopted an apologetic expression, once again stating that they couldn’t return home, and would never see their families again. This is the moment where we’d see if they break or persevere. The average guy began to console the shorty while curvy glared angrily at us.

“What gave you the right to take us away from our homes?!” she asked, her voice icy.

“Once again, I can only apologize on behalf of the kingdom of Sol. We’ll do everything we can to accommodate you. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I still request your assistance on behalf of this kingdom” replied the king, his devotion to his country and subjects evident in the humility he displayed before these potential heroes.

“Since we can’t go back home, we should help them. What’s done is done, so we can only do our best in this new world.” said the average guy.

He said something surprisingly sensible and level headed, maybe his appearance doesn’t match his personality. Wait… No, it does match his personality. He was discreetly taking peeks at all the females in the room and had regained his excited expression. He’s probably thinking he can make a good impression on the women by stepping up as a man. Like that would work. Hold on a moment… Mary, why are your eyes gleaming like that?

“I suppose”, “I’ll follow Yuki-kun…” responded curvy and shorty respectively.

“Thank you young heroes. Now that you’ve made your decision, let’s make our introductions. I am the king of the country of Sol, Theodore Solan the third. The beautiful woman by my side is my wife, Alexia Solan.” said the king.

Both he and his wife directed their smiles towards the heroes. Yuki even blushed when he met the queen’s gaze. The three of them then responded in kind, introducing themselves as Sasaki Yuki (the guy), Mori Rin (shorty), and Tamura Hina (curvy). Unlike in our kingdom, heroes always introduced their family names first, for whatever cultural reason they had. In the future it would be interesting to ask about their customs in more depth; the church library only held so much information.

It was then the royal guard’s turn to introduce themselves. The older guards introduced themselves first, after which it was the nominee’s turn.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Deane, no family name. I will be in your care in the future, and will do my utmost to ensure your safety until you’re powerful enough to protect yourselves.” said Deane.

The girls seemed quite taken by his feminine appearance and knightly manner, whereas Yuki didn’t seem to show any particular like or dislike. The heroes were initially confused by what he said about accompanying them, but the situation of the heroes’ party was quickly explained to the three. They then made their way over to the adventurer’s representative group. The gorillas and the bear introduced themselves, after which it was that fierce looking woman.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Catherine Wellard, you can call me Cath for short.”

She shook each of their hands, and basically had the Yuki fellow drooling over her. Despite her fierceness, it seems like she wasn’t as unfriendly as I had first assumed her to be. I was expecting her to be like a wild animal or something, or maybe a quiet person like Serenity. Although her atmosphere would be completely different, kind of like a silent hunter, stalking its prey. Serenity has a more mysterious and calm aura to her. Serenity’s the best!

…

Hehehe, she’s being shy (probably not ignoring me). The heroes then came towards our group, and after greeting stone-face, Mary, Gant and I were up. When Mary introduced herself in a stuttering voice, Yuki’s nose started to inexplicably bleed, casing quite the panic, whereas the two girls squealed and started to hug her like a doll… Damn, it’s not looking good for me. Next up was Gant who seemed to intimidate Yuki, but mesmerise the two girls. Alright, I’m up. Time to use special move.

“It truly is a pleasure to make all you. My name is Cyne Wight, a newly graduated inspector of god. To think a simple devotee to Sol like myself would have the opportunity to lay eyes on the future heroes of this generation. I must say, you all look the part.” I began. I then turned to Yuki.

“The decisiveness you showed earlier when making the decision to help our kingdom, was truly magnificent, nothing less than what one would expect from someone chosen to be a hero!” I flattered Yuki. He started to look a bit embarrassed. I then turned to Rin.

“And, despite being in such an unfamiliar place, you swallowed your fear and pressed on. It was an admirable display. If I was in the same position, I don’t know if I could have done the same.” Rin, started to get a bit flustered and fiddled with her short hair, replying with a barely audible “Thank you”. After that I turned to their final companion.

“You too showed skills required to be a hero. To be able to level-headedly analyse your situation as you did was truly fortuitous. Thanks to you, communication was properly established between our groups.” She had a less exaggerated reaction than the others, but seemed pleased with what I had said.

“Even if you do not choose me as your companion, I can only be grateful that our kingdom was blessed with such capable heroes.” I finished.

I then revealed my most sincere and grateful smile ever. It was on the level of temporarily blinding those who saw it, a special move I’d developed over the past decade. Yuki visibly relaxed when he saw it, while Rin turned a deeper red and quickly turned away, avoiding eye contact. Hina on the other hand seemed to hold a level of resistance against my smile, and only responded with an appreciative smile of her own. She would probably be the hardest to manipulate in the future.

I was sure that I had made a good impression on them, but my selection wasn’t for sure. If only there was some way I could brainwash them, or control their minds. Unfortunately life’s not that easy. Unless… Do you have any spells to control minds Serenity?

None that would be applicable here, or that you would be capable of using.

But you actually have some? Do tell.

I only have one within your capacity to eventually learn. It won’t be very useful to you now, but once you’re able to cast tier 6 spells, I’ll teach you. It grants you the ability to send people into a deep sleep whereupon you can manipulate their bodies. Until the spell ends they won’t wake up regardless of what they experience. As your ability to control magic increases you’ll be able to control more people at once.

That sounds very interesting, but not so much controlling their minds but their bodies. I decided that I would practice my ability to manipulate magical energy with due haste to reach be able to cast tier 6 spells. After the introductions were done, all those present were lead to the hall at which the banquet would be held. We quickly arrived at the location, which had two long tables with a variety of extravagant foods piled up for the taking. The room itself was lavishly decorated with a variety of banners and ancient depictions of the previous battles against shadows, and the appearances of the previous heroes.

The evening progressed quickly, during which I was unable to get close enough to the heroes to start a conversation. A number of high ranking officials, advisors and nobles had been invited, and were practically swarming the newly summoned heroes. In the end I stood at the side of the hall, rather peeved by my lack of progress, but still enjoying the well cooked food. Now that I think about it, each companion gets to bring an attendant don’t they? If I’m chosen, I’ll have to go and hire one. Being the only one without would just be embarrassing, and even if I end up the only one to bring one then no harm done; better safe than sorry. I don’t really want to hire, so I’ll probably go down to purchase a slave later to save some money.

After making my plans, I heard a loud dinging sound. I looked over to see the king had raised his glass and was gathering everyone’s attention by tapping at it with a spoon. Looks like it’s time for the main event. Soon everyone hushed down and the previously loud hall was silent.

“Today is a good day. Today we summoned our heroes! Today we ensured this kingdom’s future; our future; the people’s future! These young heroes hold our hope on their shoulders. It is too absurd to ask them to take it on alone, so now they will be given the opportunity to choose their companions!”

The hall erupted in applause as the king gestured towards the heroes. They began to shuffle around, embarrassed by the exaggerated display. The king then went down and led them personally to the front of the hall, for the king to do such a thing was quite the honour, the nobles and other guests present practically had their eyes bulging out of their sockets. This simple action made it clear to the crowd that the king respected these new heroes, something which wasn’t always the case. At these banquets, it was widely acknowledged that how the king treated the heroes, indicated how worthy they were of the title.

Now that I think back, they didn’t really make that great an impression, did they? Thinking about it, it was probably my fault. When I started to flatter them I did notice the king nodding his head in agreement to my words. Isn’t this guy a bit too easy to lead on?

The heroes had made their way to the front and stood there awkwardly in front of the admiring gazes of those present in the hall. Yuki took a step forward, and began to speak.

“We decided that each of us would choose one companion. I accepted the position to formally accept, the royal guard’s nominee. Our first companion will be Deane, we look forward to having you as a comrade.”

Deane nodded from the crowd and made his way to the front to stand alongside them. Does that really count as choosing a companion? He looks like a guy easy to push around, so the others probably forced him into that position to choose their favourites. The culprit was most likely Hina. Yuki took a step back and Rin took over.

“I-I was allowed to choose a companion from the adventurer’s guild nominees. I’d like to invite Cath to join our party.”

Allowed? I guess Hina really was responsible for the peculiar way the heroes had decided to select their companions.

Cath nodded with a friendly smile on her face and made her way to the front. Standing alongside the heroes as Deane had also done. Unlike the stiff and proper Deane, she stood more casually, looking as though she’d be ready to spring into action at any moment. She looks like a dangerous one.

Rin then stepped back and Hina came forward to finish off the selection process.

“And finally, I chose from the church’s nominees. To accompany us in the future, I’d like to formally invite…”

Here it comes!

“…Mary”

… WHAT?!