ANOTHER WORLD

Looking at the mural in front of him, Ivan lamented the events that occurred in the past few minutes.

"A magic circle, a bright light, and now we have found ourselves in a location completely unknown… how unscientific." Crossing his right arm in front of his chest and holding his left palm to his cheek, Ivan closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

Rather than the why, Ivan was more concerned in the how. Peering over to his classmates, he found momentarily amusement in their reactions. In their confusement they wandered in awe taking in the sight of their surroundings.

Marble as far as the eye can see, massive pillars that seemed to support the dome shaped ceiling, and finally the raised platform in the middle of the room they were standing on, etched with the same circle they saw briefly in their classroom.

It wasn't long before they noticed the 30 or so people surrounding them, clad in their white robes and each equipped with staves, at least all but one who particularly stood out.

Taking a step forward was one old man dressed more lavishly than his peers, adorning a monk's cap that stood 30 centimeters tall (That's almost 1ft tall!) If not for his wrinkled face and aged eyes he'd seem like a man only in his early fifties.

"Welcome to Tortus, brave heroes. It is our pleasure to welcome you here. I am the pope of the Holy Church, Ishtar Langbard. It is an honor to make your acquaintances." The old man named Ishtar spoke courteously to the students, and yet Ivan felt as those he spoke in a manner as if he was coaxing children,

'Well I suppose he actually is…' Ivan thought to himself.

"Now, I'm aware you must all have questions but I imagine you all need a moment to settle down. If you would all accompany me to our banquet hall, I'm sure we can calmly discuss there." With a good-natured smile Ishtar led the confused students to another room furnished with long tables and numerous chairs.

Beckoning the students to take a seat, Ishtar silently made eye contact with his fellow priests. With a nod the 30 or so priests lined themselves out along the edges of the room, blocking any doors or windows.

Shifting his eyes around the room, Ivan made a stern decision.

"Ivan-kun, why don't you take a seat?" Having his thoughts broken by his teacher, Ivan only glanced at her before moving his eyes over to the class-star, Kouki Amanogawa. It was this class-star that managed to settle down the panicking students, with brown hair blue eyes and a disposition for justice many of his classmates depended on him.

At least that's what he discerned from the intel he received from his classmates and the half-school day he spent observing him.

'It seems that his standing is even higher in the eyes of our classmates than our teacher.'

"Sorry, sensei. But I'd prefer to be standing for this. For some reason my legs seem to be a little cramped, perhaps because I was seated when we were brought here. Don't mind me though, a little bit of stretching and I'll be fine." Brushing off his teacher's inquiry with a smile, Ivan stretched his legs as an attempt to seem more convincing.

This only incurred the inquisitive gaze of pope Ishtar, and for a slight moment his and Ivan's gaze locked together. Ishtar quickly looked away before recomposing his 'kind-smile' from earlier. This only raised Ivan's suspicions.

If possible Ivan wanted to stand as closest as he can to an exit as he can without arousing suspicion, but his plan was foiled the moment he heard *click*

His exits were locked, and that included windows too, it seems his little interaction with Ishatr was enough to put the old man on high alert.

The moment Ivan was about to say something, the doors to the banquet hall were pushed open, and out came a number of carts each carrying delectable food and desserts. But that's not all, in fact these carts were being pushed by actual maids.

As soon as Ivan received his refreshments, he had half a mind to restrain himself from climbing underneath the sheets of the cart and making a stealthy getaway. But he was certain that such an action would incur the wrath of pope Ishtar.

So, coming up with a plan as to how he was going to avoid eating or drinking anything this place served him, Ivan stealthily dumped his food and beverage onto a fellow classmate who seemed preoccupied with ogling at the maids.

"Now then, I am certain you all must be feeling very confused about the situation you've found yourselves in. I shall explain everything, starting from the beginning. All I ask is that you hear me out till the end." Taking advantage of the fact that all his guests had their faces stuffed and were unable to refute him, pope Ishtar tightly clasped his hands and began retelling an old tale.

"Welcome to Tortus, within Tortus lives three different races: humans, demons, and demi-humans." Ishtar took a breath to wipe away his feelings of disgust and anger at mentioning the last two races, "For hundreds of years we humans have been in a strenuous war with the demons, currently however we have been locked in a stalemate, at least until now. These demons, to make up for their lack of numbers, have somehow managed to tame monsters."

Ishtar took a moment to gauge the reaction of the students before resuming his tale.

"Us humans, one advantage has always been numbers, but now that it has been taken away, we stand at the risk of humanity being threatened to extinction!"

"The one who summoned you all here was the blessed lord, Ehit. He is the guardian deity of us humans, and the one true god of the Holy Church. The supreme leader who created the world itself. I suppose Lord Ehit grew aware of our plight. He realized humanity was doomed to annihilation, so he summoned you here in order to prevent such a disaster. You humans are from a world greater than ours, and therefore carry within you strength that surpasses the humans of this world."

Ishtar paused for a moment before continuing hesitantly. "Or at least, that is what was shown to me in a divine revelation."

"Regardless, I implore you all to do as Lord Ehit has willed you. Please, defeat the demons and save the human race from destruction." And with that the sermon of Ishtar was at an end, and in this sermon two things were made very clear to Ivan: One, they were kidnapped by some 'god' to battle another civilization in the name of humanity, and two, it seemed great expectations were held for Ivan and his group, and he could only imagine misfortune shall fall upon them shall they fail to meet them.

Now two decisions came to Ivan's mind: either he takes a chance to run away and risk incurring the wrath of the Holy Church, a force backed by 90% of humanity that reveres their god, Ehit. Or he conducts the bidding of the Holy Church under their watchful eyes.

To Ivan, neither proposition inspired hope in him, so of course he decided he himself shall create a third opportunity, one that won't piss off the Holy Church while still having his freedom intact.

"Wait!" Just as he was wrapping up his thoughts, a voice broke out that demanded his attention, that voice of course belonging to his teacher, Aiko.

"You can't possibly be serious! You're telling these children to go fight in a war!? That's absolutely unacceptable! As a teacher, I cannot allow it! Send us back right this instant! These kids all have families back home who must be worried sick! You can't just kidnap them like this!" In a fit of rage Aiko slammed her hands on the table and stood up from her seat, the content expression she showed while eating vanished in an instant. The anger in her words clear as she stared at pope Ishtar dead in the eyes.

It had only been half a day since meeting her, and yet Ivan had a more favorable opinion of her than he did towards his classmates. While the other students looked down on her for her stature, they found her dedication to her students' happiness endearing, even Ivan himself was touched by Aiko's concern.

And yet though they hold her in high esteem, her actions in their eyes only ever amount as something admirable, other than that they tend to disregard her feelings and play them off as unhelpful.

To Ivan this was something that was incomprehensible, how could they hold her in such high esteem and yet never take her seriously? As much as he disliked human relations, he found it simply disrespectful to brush off her earnest emotions.

And so while expressing his thanks to Aiko silently, Ivan made a step forward.

"I agree with Aiko-sensei, though we sympathize with your plight we come from a world completely different from yours. A world where regular students like us have no place in combat, politics, and warfare. I ask that you expend your resources elsewhere, not on children who've never had to face anything other than books and sheets of paper."

Coming off as sincere as he could, Ivan carefully steered the conversation in a way that would least likely come off as disrespectful. Rather than seeming more concerned with their own wellbeing, Ivan focused the topic of the conversation on the importance of not expending resources on total noobs. With this he hoped to deter the Holy Church and maybe, just maybe, convince the Holy Church to return them to their world.

While this world seemed interesting as well as bountiful in new discoveries to Ivan, the price of being a dog of some fervent group of cultists was not on his to do list. Not only that but what would be the point of making advancements in his profession if his motivation to master it resided in another world.

And who was he to drag the rest of his classmates into a warzone just to satisfy his curiosity.

The students' mumbling grew fervent as hope was ignited in them, and yet that same hope would be doused by Ishtar in a single moment.

"I understand your feelings, however… I am unable to return you to your world at present."

Silence ensued, the faces of the children were drained of color in an instant.

"Wh-What do you mean… you're unable!? If you called us here, you should be able to send us back, shouldn't you!?" Aiko recollected herself before immediately going in to tear into Ishtar once again.

"As I stated earlier, it is Lord Ehit who summoned you here. The only reason we were in that room at all was to greet you heroes, and to offer up our prayers to Lord Ehit. We humans do not possess the power to interfere with other worlds, so whether or not you can return also depends on His will." Ishtar spoke disinterestedly, as if this conversation was something he had already expected.

Aiko slumped back into her chair, and just like that panic ensued among the class.

'Great, spirited away to another world only to be put at the mercy of some 'god,' I guess I gotta stick to the plan then.' Ivan returned to his corner of the room before taking looks at Ishtar, though Ishtar up till now has been a hard book to read, this time the contempt in his eyes was on clear display for Ivan to see.

"Everyone, there's no point in complaining to Ishtar. There's nothing he can do about it now. And… And I, at least, have decided to stand and fight. These people are about to be annihilated. Knowing that, how can I possibly leave them to such a tragic fate? And besides, if we've been summoned here to save humanity, it's possible we'll be allowed to go back once we've saved them.. Well, Ishtar-san? Do you think that's possible?" It was at this moment the class star, Kouki Amanogawa, spoke to enter his foot in the ring, making his standpoint obvious to his classmates that adored him.

But to Ivan his line of thinking made no sense, 'Why would the Holy Church allow us to leave Tortus after expending resources to cultivate us into the perfect weapons?' To him the answer was simple, they wouldn't.

And yet Ishtar went ahead with Kouki's line of thought, and reassured them of their return once their mission was complete, something he had no authority over if his words were to be true.

The class rang in cheers, all commending Kouki and volunteering to join him in his endeavor to 'save humanity.'

Ivan observed quietly as his eyes followed Aiko's figure as she ran in between the students pleading with them to stop.

As Ivan had stated earlier, they were all just students. They had no idea what war was really like. In a sense, they might have been trying to escape from reality to preserve their own sanity.

Ishtar had seen through Kouki's character almost instantly, and without hesitation manipulated him into convincing the other students to join the Holy Church's forces.

Ivan though had no intention in playing along with this farce, so while making a reminder to speak privately with Aiko-sensei, he followed Ishtar and the rest of his fellow students to the temple's front gate.

They were to be brought to the King and introduced to their instructors. From there a grand banquet was held in the castle, one part to welcome the heroes from another world, another to strengthen the bonds the heroes felt for the kingdom.

Later that night they were escorted to their individual rooms. Ivan, who was used to the cramped style of his room in his world, was quite unnerved by the vastness of his quarters.

'Tomorrow we begin training, once I get my bearings I can act out my plan.' Ivan closed his eyes and drifted away in his sleep, dreaming of another world.