Summoned to Another... Another World

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Heiligh Kingdom. 

When the students and teachers who were spirited away from their classroom opened their eyes after the bright light from the glowing magic circle forced them closed, the first thing they saw was a large mural on the wall in front of them. 

The mural depicted a blond, long-haired, androgynous person wearing a breath-taking smile standing before a beautiful landscape consisting of mountains, lakes, and plains. And the person in the mural had his arms spread wide, as if he were trying to embrace it all. 

However, despite how beautiful the scene in the mural was, because by most world's standards, this mural would be considered an artistic masterpiece, those with keen intuitions felt a sense of dread when looking at the smiling person's face. Unfortunately, the number of people who could feel that dread only amounted to four. 

Those people were Tatsuo, Sumire, James, and surprisingly, Hajime. 

Although Tatsuo, Sumire, and James already knew that the person depicted in the mural was Ehit, the god of this world responsible for summoning them, even if they had no information, their intuitions as people who had been through many life and death situations would have warned them. 

But Hajime, who had lived a peaceful life as an average human, was also feeling the same dread as the aforementioned three. But the reason for that was not something amazing like he had the predisposition to become a hero, or something of that nature. Rather, it was because of all the anime, manga, video games, and movies he had consumed over his seventeen years of life. 

After taking in the sight of the mural, the students and teachers continued to scan their surroundings. And they all quickly noticed that they were in a large hall… No, a cathedral. The entire place was made of what appeared to be marble with large marble bricks stacked together making up the walls while tall, round marble pillars held up the dome-shaped ceiling. 

After that, they noticed they were standing in the center of this cathedral and were located on a pedestal, high off the floor. Next, they all saw the same dumbfounded expressions they were sure they were wearing, as well, on the faces of their classmates and teachers, or students in Sumire and Aiko's cases. 

Lastly, everyone noticed around thirty people surrounding the pedestal, all adopting the same pose with their hands clasped in front of their chests and kneeling on the floor as if they were in prayer. They all wore the same attire consisting of beautiful white religious robes with golden embroidery. To each of these men's sides, there was a stave lying next to them, as well. 

These staves all had an identical design. On one end of each stave, there was a golden ornament that spread out in the shape of a fan with several circular discs connected to the fanned-out portion. 

*Jingle!* *Jingle!* 

Eventually, an elderly man standing at the front most portion of the pedestal stood from his kneeling position, picked up his staff, and stepped forward. And as the staff moved, it created a melodious sound that had the effect of putting everyone's mind at ease, somewhat. 

This man appeared to be in his early fifties, though his actual age was in his seventies, with long white hair, a long white beard, and blue eyes. On top of the previously mentioned religious garments and staff, he also wore a foot tall headdress that resembled a mitre with golden trim. 

"Allow me, Ishtar Langbard, the currently appointed Pope of the Holy Church, to welcome the Hero and his companions to Tortus." The elderly man, Ishgar Langbard, said in a majestic tone. "We have been expecting you ever since we received the revelation from our lord, Ehit. Please, we hope to get along with you all, and there is no need for you to be too polite with us." 

After speaking his piece, Ishtar put on a grandfatherly smile that was commonly associated with kind, elderly people. However, it caused those who felt a sense of dread from the mural to feel as though that smile was hiding something behind it. 

After Ishtar finished introducing himself, he and the other people who surrounded the pedestal ushered the teachers and students out of the cathedral. As the group walked through the halls of what could only be a grand church, they passed several halls with grand decorations and long tables. And the room they eventually came to was no different. 

After entering the room, Ishtar sat at the head of the main table while Kouki and his group of four sat to his right and Aiko and Sumire sat to his left. Everyone else took seats randomly, with Hajime, Tatsuo, and James sitting the furthest away from Ishtar. 

Until everyone sat down, not one of these who had just appeared in this world had spoken a word. More than likely, they were overwhelmed by the situation they found themselves in. But they did not panic, because three of the most notable students in the class, Tatsuo, James, and Kouki had remained calm throughout, which seemed to give them a little peace of mind. 

At the moment the last student sat down, maids, real maids, not those seen in maid cafes pushed trollies into the hall. And each trolly carried several platters with glasses felled with an unknown, yet pleasantly scented, beverage atop them. And when most of the male students saw these maids, their male instincts took over, as they stared at the young, beautiful women with passionate gazes. 

Naturally, when the female students saw the gazes their male classmates used to look at those maids, they all glared at them disdainfully. However, there were three exceptions among the male students. 

The first was Hajime, who intended to look at the maids like all his other male classmates. However, before he could even get a good look, he felt a dangerous gaze land on him, making him look straight ahead in fear. 

However, Hajime had no idea that the dangerous gaze he felt came from kaori. But the other two males who were not gawking at the maids did. And they both snickered. 

The second of the male students who was not captivated by the maids was Tatsuo. However, after spending every day around beautiful women like Mai and Kasumi, or even Christie and a beautiful scientist named Lisa when he was in captivity, he had built up quite the immunity to beautiful women. 

As for the third exception among the male students, it was James. Like Tatsuo, he had also built up an immunity to beauty because of all the women in his life. On top of that, he had two stellar maids living in his home, as well. 

'Hmph! These bimbos can't hold a candle to Grayfia or Zest.' James thought disdainfully. 'I bet all these bumpkins would cream their pants immediately if they ever saw those two.' 

*Ting!* *Ting!* 

Once everyone had been served, Ishtar tapped a fork against his glass to gather everyone's attention. 

"I'm sure you must all be confused." Ishtar said as he began his explanation of the situation they all found themselves in. "But I intend to clear your doubts. All that I ask is that you listen to the end. I will answer any questions you may have after my explanation." 

Once he received nods from all those present, Ishtar began his explanation in earnest. And it was quite fantastical for all those present. First of all, the world they had been transported to was called Tortus. And Tortus was inhabited by three prominent factions. First was the humans who lived in the north of the only continent on the planet. Second was the demons who lived to the south. Lastly were the demi-humans, a race of humanoids with animal traits, who lived in the wilderness to the east. 

On top of that, there was an ongoing, centuries-long war between the humans and the demons. And the two sides had been in a stalemate for just as long. Although the humans outnumbered the demons by a considerable amount, the demons were more powerful individually. Though, the two sides had not engaged in large scale war in decades, something had changed on the demon side in recent years. The demons had been deploying magic beasts along with their forces. 

Magic beasts were believed to come about when normal animals absorbed magic power into their bodies. And when they did, they each gained unique magic abilities that made them quite dangerous and ferocious. 

With the powerful magic beasts added to their ranks, the demons were starting to take the upper hand in the war. Meaning, the humans were facing a crisis, the likes of which they had never seen before. 

"And this is where you all come in to the picture." Ishgar said, wrapping up his explanation. "Lord Ehit, the Patron God of the Holy Church and the Supreme God who created this world, has more than likely already noticed, if things were to continue as they are, humanity would be driven to extinction. Therefore, you have been summoned to this world to prevent that outcome. The world you come from his higher ranked than ours. So, you should have powers and abilities that make you several to dozens of times stronger than the inhabitants of this world." 

Seeing the dumbfounded expressions on almost everyone's faces, Ishtar took a deep breath before continuing. 

"Shortly before you were summoned, Lord Ishtar sent down an oracle stating that you are the salvation he sent to mankind." Ishtar said loudly in a sonorous voice. "Thus, by the will of Lord Ehit, bring out your potential, unearth your latent powers and protect mankind from the threat of the demons." 

Though he was speaking passionately, Ishgar's eyes were glazed over, most likely from remembering when he received the oracle from his god. Of course, there was no way he would ever doubt the will of his lord. In fact, he was euphoric from being able to hear the lord's voice personally. 

However, it did not take long for a voice expressing an objection to sound throughout the hall. 

"Absolutely not!" Aiko, a petite, twenty-five year old, young woman standing at 4'8" tall with a baby face, short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a child-like figure wearing a white blouse, a gray blazer, a white scarf around her neck, a grey skirt, brown stockings, and black low heeled shoes, shouted in protest. "You basically just said that you brought these children here to fight your war! That's absolutely out of the question! As their teacher, I will absolutely not allow such a thing! In fact, what you've done is kidnapping! Just send us home! Their families must be worried sick about them!" 

By the time Aiko finished with her rant, she was panting angrily from exertion. Meanwhile, the students could not help but smile at the caring teacher who they often referred to as Ai-Chan-Sensei endearingly. Though, if the person in question heard it, she would get angry. Still, all the students appreciated how hard Aiko worked for their sakes on a daily basis. 

'Ooh! Ai-Chan-Sensei is really trying her best for us again.' Many students thought while getting a warm fuzzy feeling after hearing Aiko's outburst. 

Unfortunately, Ishtar's retort caused all of them to feel a sense of crisis once again. 

"I understand how you must feel." Ishtar said calmly. Unfortunately, it is impossible for you to return now." 

"I-I-Impossible!" Aiko shouted in agitation. "If you summoned us here, you should be able to send us back!" 

"As I said before, Lord Ehit was the one who summoned you." Ishtar replied. "Humans do not have the power to summon anyone or anything from another world. In other words, if you are to be able to return to your world, only Lord Ehit can decide that." 

"No… way…" Aiko said powerlessly as she slumped into her chair. 

"How is this possible?' 

"Does this mean we're stuck here for the rest of our lives?" 

"No, I wanna go home!" 

"What the hell? Why should we have to fight in a war?" 

"Why? Why? Why?" 

After receiving the cold truth from Ishtar, the students started to make an uproar. And no one could blame them. Despite that, Ishtar simply watched the students with a hint of disdain in his gaze. He probably could not understand why they would be against Lord Ehit's orders. 

Still, there were several students who remained calm, and Hajime was one of them. And the reason for that was once again all the otaku culture he had consumed. Because of that, things were not as bad as they could have been in his imagination. At least they were not summoned as slaves, right? 

*Bang!* 

And one of the other people who did not fall into panic was Kouki, who just slammed his hand on the table, drawing everyone's attention on himself. 

'Ugh! Here he goes again with is hero act.' Tatsuo, Sumire, and James thought simultaneously. 

"Everyone, there's no point panicking like this in front of Ishtar-San." Kouki said once he had everyone's attention. "Like he said, it was not his choice… What I'm trying to say is, let's fight. The humans of this world are facing a crisis, and I can't stand this. Besides, we were summoned just for that purpose. And if we complete it, we might be able to go back. Isn't that right, Ishtar-San?" 

"That's right, I believe that Lord Ehit will definitely answer the wishes of the saviors of humanity." Ishtar replied in a completely pious tone. 

"We all have special powers, right?" Kouki asked while clenching and unclenching his fists. "I've felt something unfathomable welling up inside of me ever since we arrived in this world." 

'Such a cliché hero line.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'He really is the prototypical, can do no wrong, type of hero. The type I can't stand at all. The type that makes a story boring and uninteresting' 

James was having similar thoughts as Tatsuo. Meanwhile, Sumire just felt that every word that came out of Kouki's mouth was super-cringe. 

"Yes, that's right." Ishtar replied to Kouki's question. "As I said before, each of you should have powers several to a dozens of times stronger than those of the people in this world." 

"In that case, I'll fight.' Kouki said in a passionate tone. "I'll save the people, and then we can go back to our own world. Regardless of this world or everyone from our world, I'll save them all!" 

As he spoke, Kouki clenched his fists tightly while his teeth seemed to sparkle. On top of that, his natural charisma and leadership took effect… or rather, it should have. 

While the students who had given up all hope only a moment ago gradually regained their vigor, and half of the female students were looking at Kouki feverishly, a voice with a dissenting opinion sounded out from the other side of the table. 

"Fuck you and fuck the people of this world!" James shouted angrily. "Don't give me that shit just because you wanna play hero. Like Ai-Chan-Sensei said…" 

"don't' call me Ai-Chan-Sensei!" Aiko shouted in protest, completely forgetting to reprimand James for his use of colorful language. "It's Hatayama-Sensei! Hatayama-Sensei!" 

"… we were just fucking kidnapped from our world to be weapons for these sons of bitches." James continued, completely undeterred by Aiko's protest. "On top of that, what do this guy's words even count for?" 

As he asked his last question, James pointed straight at Ishtar before continuing. 

"Did your Lord Ehit tell you that he would send us back after we were done in his oracle?" James asked sharply. "Or did you just say that to pacify us? Or maybe you thought to speak on your lord's behalf. Because if that's the case, that sounds pretty fucking blasphemous to me. Meaning, we shouldn't trust the shit you say, anyway." 

By the end of James' tirade, Ishtar's beard was bristling because of his anger. Despite that, he did not say a word. It was true that he did not receive any words about sending the summoned people back to their world in the oracle. He had only said what he said to pacify them. 

On top of that, James' words made all the students think about their situation more clearly. Though, Nakamura Eri's gaze was filled with so much murderous intent when she looked at James that he almost took one of his weapons, a katana made from the sea beast that Scáthach crafted her spears from, out of his [Spatial Magic Space] and cut her head off on reflex. 

"Chill out, James." Tatsuo said as he patted James on the shoulder. "Although he just tried to pull one over on us, it's true that we have to fight. Because if we don't', there's no way we'll survive long enough to go home." 

After saying that, Tatsuo looked around at the rest of the students in the hall solemnly. 

"Because I doubt the demons will care that we're from another world when they come to conquer the human territory." Tatsuo continued. "The only thing they'll see are humans. And that alone would be enough to mark us as their targets… Their enemies." 

Hearing that, the students finally started to understand the gravity of the situation they were in. Meanwhile, Kouki gritted his teeth in anger. First for being cursed at like James had just done. And second because Tatsuo had stolen his moment, though he was unaware of his feelings on the matter, as he had never experienced being jealous before. 

Meanwhile, Hajime was impressed by Tatsuo's and James' act. That's right, their act. Hajime had realized right away that they were trying to make the others understand just how dangerous the situation they were in was. And although James' disdain for Kouki's self-righteous attitude was real, it still served its purpose. 

Not only that, but Hajime also noticed how Ishtar's expression had turned quite solemn after Tatsuo gave his speech, as if he thought controlling this group would be much more difficult when they were thinking clearly like they were at this moment. 

Even so, Ishtar did not say a word to object to anything either Tatsuo or James said. And that was because the goal of getting everyone to fight for the humans had been achieved. Still, Hajime put Ishtar on his list of people to be wary of in this world.