Opportunistic

"Raien left the room and Cienn settled in.

I lay down on my bed feeling hot and uncomfortable. This room wasn't equipped with air-conditioning of any form so the room is unbelievably humid and damp.

The windows aren't helping either since they can't be opened from the outside. Quite the opposite, in fact, it only adds fuel to the flame as the sun's rays pass through the glass.

I have already swapped my tracksuit for thinner clothing but the poor ventilation still made me wag my notebook for much-needed air.

Cienn is in the other "room" doing his things but he hasn't said a word ever since he came in. All I can think of why is he probably thinks I'm gonna slug his face if he dares open his mouth.

"My god this room is burning..." I complained helplessly. The only thing in my mind, as I lay down, is going out of this goddamn room.

I lied, that's not the only thing in my mind. The other thing is (how in the world do I use my skills?)

I have 5 magic that I can use in total and the rest are passive in which [Sense Danger] has already been activated once.

Sophia used her skill earlier but I forgot to ask how she does it. Or course, our skills are completely different but a bit of guidance would come a long way.

Right now, I have one of my arms stretched out (while the other is waving my notebook back and forth for air) doing all sorts of hand signs in hopes of using magic.

The idea of using magic is cool but the actual execution is more of a problem than what I have read from fiction.

I thought I just need to stretch out my arms and imagine what magic I'd use and that's it. Maybe throw a chant in the mix and bam... Yeah, a chanting spell! Chanting are basically the meat and potatoes of magic, how could I forget that?

"Fire Ball... Set ablaze... Come forth: Fire arrow... Spirits born since the dawn of time, lend me your burning power and set thy sinners in your crimson flames! Melt their swords and incinerate their houses under the flaming banner! Cover the land in a sea of flames and leave nothing but a dark and ashen land! Searing Flames!" (Guess random words don't work either...)

While I was attempting to burn this place on fire, Cienn peeked in my place with fearful eyes and asked, "W-w-what a-a-are you d-d-doing..?" In his hands is a small, silver, and pointed thing which he points at me.

"Oi! What's that you're holding?!" I immediately screamed upon seeing the small blade in his hands.

I've got no idea how he has one of those but that certainly means no good.

"Y-y-you were talking by yourself about burning this place..!"

Did we perhaps come to a misunderstanding? Phew, I definitely thought he has some kind of ulterior motive when I saw him. After all, he voluntarily became my roommate who is known for being violent. "Y-you scared me..." I sighed.

"B-because you suddenly reciting that ominous words!"

"C-calm down..." I couldn't help but stutter. I for sure am afraid of him even if he says otherwise. He's got a butterfly knife readily pointed at me. "I was just trying my skills. You know, magic and stuff." I set my intentions straight and he finally lowered down his weapon.

"I-I'm sorry I m-mi-misunderstood," he slowly put away the blade and slumped down on the floor.

"You don't have to apologize. I guess it's my fault to start spouting danger all of a sudden."

"S-sorry for disturbing you," he went back to his room silently.

That was something. It hadn't occurred to me that he's gonna react. Maybe that's the obvious reaction for someone who's alone with a sinister individual.

Though he may have raised that knife but will he actually use it on me if I'd done something dubious? If I'm in his situation, can I actually do it?

On that note, why in the world did he have a knife with him?

With that in mind, I shot up on my feet and went to his room. There he was breathing sighs of relief. His clothes are scattered on the bed, half of it is folded neatly. If it wasn't obvious, he's settling his clothes.

"Cie—"

"Wha!!!" he suddenly yelled while pointing his knife towards me which wasn't even open. The horror in his eyes is genuine and I was flabbergasted by it.

"Hey, calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you." is what the person would say when their intentions meant otherwise.

"W-w-w-w-w-w—"

"I just want to ask you something, okay?" I tried to sound caring and soft but his upheld arms didn't move an inch.

"All of a sudden, the door burst open and a bunch of my classmates entered in and stepped between us.

(This has escalated quickly...)

●●●

Thankfully, the misunderstanding was cleared and it didn't cause any more inconvenience.

Miria wasn't here either so she hadn't amplified the non-existent feud to another level. Even if we apologize to each other, I still have memories of her overexaggerating everything in her favor and causing me a lot of trouble.

Cienn apologized for being restless while I apologize for crossing his bounds.

We wrapped things up and everybody left the room.

My gosh, I thought it was going to be another long session of who's gonna share the room with me again.

Cienn went to his room while I still had to ask what reason could he possibly have to possess such a sharp object to a camping overnight.

"Hey," this time, I opted to ask behind the curtains to avoid another of that ordeal.

I heard him shriek a little and responded to me reluctantly. "Y-yes..?"

"Can I ask why you have a knife on you?"

a little pause followed but he responded. "M-my father said that the forest isn't safe regardless of the place so I should b-bring this just in case."

"Hmm..." bringing a knife on a camping trip. That sparked the alarm bells in my head on. Not the skill, obviously. On that note, what is the trigger for that? Earlier, it clearly activated but it hasn't since it stopped. Well, that's a topic for another day.

In my mind, I think that he must be onto something malicious but I couldn't think of why and who in the world is he gonna use it for.

As far as I can remember, although I don't see him interact with anyone often, unlike me, he wasn't stigmatized for being alone. In fact, he's casually approached and talked to by others but it is he who avoids deep contact.

I had to wonder why did he end up like this. Is it because of bullying I was never aware of? I doubt it.

But! If there's something I have to think of that he openly showed fear, there is one. Someone whose name resounded and was well-known throughout the school's history. A name so powerful, everybody who hears it trembles in fear. It is none other than yours truly, me.

How can you blame me for overthinking so much? We were suddenly slapped into this world expected to be heroes for their own good.

(Okay, stop that.)

"Really, I'm not planning on doing something horrible," he said from the other side.

"Oh, no, I believe you." that was a lie, of course.

"B-but..." he's clearly afraid I am doubting him, which in fact I am but he doesn't know that.

"Trust me," I assured. "I was just thinking why didn't they search our stuff? It seems to me that they trusted their flimsy hypnosis so much they didn't even bother it." that was my other thought. I lied, I came up with that on the spot. Still, that's a thought worthy of a few words.

When they asked us to grab our things, in my mind for sure they're gonna search them. I was busy talking to Sophia that I pushed it to the back of my mind.

"Y-yeah... You're right. They must really have purposely hypnotized us, weren't they?" that is the leading theory at least.

"Hey, Cienn," I called.

"Y-yes?" the dude is still on the edge of his seat every time I speak. I hope sometime soon he stopped himself on high alert every time I speak.

"I had a theory about this ordeal."

"O-okay... I-I'll hear you out," he wasn't delighted by the sounds of it but at least he's willing to listen. That in itself is good, I think? Guess he wants this conversation to end quickly.

"See, when the priest told us how to see our skills, he said that we have to 'pull our emotions out and spell the words [Spellbook: Ell]." it was a ridiculous way to use "status" unlike other stories.

"Yes, that is right."

"But I didn't say any of those words. Just pulled off my desire and the book appeared. Could it be that they want to know our name but are hesitant to ask so they use a roundabout way to learn them?" it is so simple that I couldn't wrap my head around how this "spellbook" works.

"O-oh... That's odd. If they knew we're hypnotized, wouldn't it be easier for them to ask?"

"Yeah, but that assuming they knew how spellbooks work. After all, they only have secondhand information about it." of course, my theory can easily be rebutted but I just want to loosen his nerves. Being stressed out for a long period of time would be bad for his health, and for my mental well-being as well. That knife gave me a lot to think about.

"I still think they did it on purpose."

"Well, we can rule that out. Hmm... you are uncharacteristically talkative, is that a side-effect of the hypnosis, maybe?" I pointed it out. Ever since we talked about my speculation, he responds to my every word. At first, I thought he was being considerate but he doesn't sound like it.

"I-I'm sorry for being too full of myself!"

"N-no, I don't hate it. I prefer you keep at it,"

"O-okay..."

"..."

We stopped talking rather abruptly and that prompted me to delve into my own thoughts. I had a lot in my mind, and my questions are even more.

First in order is language. Conversing with them is as natural as I am with my classmate. By which I mean we spoke the same tongue. There are a lot of possibilities such as "it's because of magic" or "the gods that brought us here gave us auto-translation" but I can't say for certain.

There's also the idea that we may have just coincidentally spoken the same but what are the odds for that? More than five thousand different languages are spoken back on Earth plus those who lived before us.

Or perhaps, it is rather absurd, the first hero must've taught them our language. That means the first hero came from our country.

Who could he be? Might he be one of those missing people I often see online? Or maybe... No, no, no, I shan't follow this train of thought.

The next thing in my mind is magic. Seriously? Magic? Back when I was 14 years old, I was an avid bookworm myself. Granted, all I read is fictional stories of heroism and edginess, but I was still fairly knowledgeable in that department.

As a kid drawn purely by the "cool" factor of the story rather than the actual plot, the genre I devoted most of my time to is none other than Fantasy.

I was attracted to the cool concept of magic. Firing off balls of fire, storming the land with gusts of wind, flooding the earth with water, and hurling boulders without effort; is surely a great thing to imagine. The person who thought about the concept deserved to be on a pedestal, really.

Given I was a kid, how magic works doesn't really bother me. As long as the main character annihilates their foes with enormous explosions, the details are irrelevant to me. I was there for the thing so the process is only there to please the nerds.

As I grew up, reading those tires me. Like for example, there's a story of a guy who can only use beginner magic in exchange for infinite mana. Sure that might be "fair?" but the guy just adds more mana to his magic and "BAM!" he can use advanced magic after all.

I was pissed by it thinking to myself, "What is the point of 'intermediate' and 'advanced' when a few mana more mana added to beginner's magic is basically the same thing?" Beginner magic is just "intermediate" and "advanced" but flashier. Sure, the latter two have some more details but does it really matter? That particular series' concept is about "fight, fight, fight" anyways so should flashiness really matter?

Anyway, now that I am basically in their shoes, I want to learn more about magic so I can see whether their concept stands up to the real thing.

So I ask, what is magic in this world? Is it purely phenomenal that they consider it a blessing from the gods? That would be disappointing but not a cause for discouragement.

In my mind, magic is like a computer. You put your input, in that case, mana, add conditions and restrictions, and the output would be magic. It is a simple thought but it sure had something in it.

Before, I was only imagining if the real thing would exist, what the maths behind it would be like. But now, I am here, an eye-witness to magic in a form of a floating book.

I was laying on my bed, book hovering around as a scan the content. My eyes are drawn not to the glowing skill names suggesting the "Special Skill" category but to the four that had the word "mage" in them. Namely fire, water, wind, and earth.

I want to learn about this interesting concept. I wanna do research on this fascinating stuff. Well, at least if I can. Who knows what'll happen to us?

Lastly, the behavior of those royals. We didn't introduce ourselves, yes, but it is rude for them not to do so. Besides, they didn't ask ours and were not sure we should tell them. The others introduced themselves to us with open minds and those who didn't clearly don't trust us.

If they don't trust us, that opens a huge array of possibilities. It's possible that the hypnosis are merely effects of magic to us which is unknown to them. They may not have cast anything on us like what we suspect.

I didn't tell my classmates earlier because it's possible that they don't find the need for an introduction since we're hypnotized. My classmates didn't point it out either so I don't feel the need to bring this up. After all, there are a bunch of different people in the world. But later, I'll be sure to bring this up if we had another discussion.

I need to keep my guard up around them.

"Ahh..." my roommate let out a long breath. So hot,"

While my thought is hot on this topic, I had forgotten about the humid air. It was when Cienn complained that I realize I was dripping wet. I quickly took my clothes off and change to another shirt. I know I wasn't being efficient in my use of inventory but I'd rather have that than suffocate to this scorching joke of a room.

This house is huge and all but the ventilation suggest rudeness. See? Even I, the tolerable Ell, am complaining about this. (Just kidding, I am extremely grateful for the hospitality you've shown us.)

I happen to catch a glimpse of the window and noticed that it was getting dark.

"Hey," I called out.

"Yes..?" this time, Cienn did not jerk out.

"Wanna go out? I am toasting in here."

"W-with me? I-is that alright with you? To go out with me?" (Dude, stop acting like a cute girl being asked out by a handsome guy.)

"Sure, why not. In fact, I rather have someone to be with me. Who knows what they'd do if they found me wandering alone."

"you're right..."

"Well, if you have something to do, I won't force you to."

"N-no, I am free."

With that, we decided to wander around the mansion.

I have 2 purposes for doing this; I'm not merely sightseeing. First, I want to gather information. Now that all of us are on the same page about this place, I want to gather information, detective-style. Hey, I'm not playing around, my intentions are pure and true.

Secondly, I want to know how far can we go without getting warned. Along with that, I will be letting them see us walking around. I'll even ask a few questions for my first goal. What would they do if they found out that I am not hypnotized? Would they put me back? If they do that, surely my classmates would notice and realize what's going on. As a cherry on top, I'll even tell Sophia what we're gonna do. Yeah, that sounds good. What a foolproof plan, as expected of me.

I stood up, my reliable plan running in my head, and headed for the door. The door is visible on both mine and Cienn's side of the room so once he sees me, he'll just stand up right away.

I opened the door naturally but a person awaits me from outside.

He's a huge man wearing a tuxedo, with no beard, and is bald. Did he think this kind of passion would appeal to women? Cause I sure don't.

Back to the topic, the butler is here to see... me? Us?

"Oh, hero... pardon me but may I know your name?" he put an arm on his chest and gave a slight bow before asking me my name.

"Ell," I replied. Oh yeah, I didn't tell them my name earlier.

"Master Ell, the pontiff is inviting you for a warm dinner in the dining hall. Your friends are already preparing themselves, may I know if you are coming?" (Oh, dinner?)

I guess it's a natural act of hospitality. I'm an idiot for being surprised. But I'm ticked off at the fact that he calls the others my friends. Way to go assuming that, butler.

"Is everyone coming?"

"Yes. No one declined my invitation and I highly encourage you to attend as well. We realized our rudeness for not serving you a meal earlier."

Yeah, that's pretty rude.

"I-I'm coming, as well as my roommate."

"The dining hall is in the left wing of the first floor. The largest door to the end. I will await your presence there, Master Ell." with that, he bowed and left. Just in case, I peek outside and everyone's door is tightly closed.

I went inside and told Cienn what happened.

"I guess we're postponing our trip, huh..." Much to my surprise, he seemed looking forward to it.

"Yup. Let's do that on another day."

I am planning on changing to something formal (if I have any) but decided not to after seeing two of my clothes drenched in sweat. I'll be wearing this I guess.

I opened the door once again and stepped outside. Cienn followed me immediately.

The doors are still closed but I can see my classmates clumping near the stairs.

Our room is placed furthest to the left of the stairs. There are four rooms between us and the stairs but I didn't think it of a hassle.

Cienn and I look at each other and decided to go along with my other classmates.

From what I can tell, Cienn has somewhat loosened up. Gladly it is the case else it wouldn't be comfortable sleeping. However, the knife is still in my mind so I couldn't do so anyway.

They talk to themselves as they await our arrival. Since all of them are here, I assumed we were the last to be called.

"How long are you gonna come out?" Sophia asked, her audacious mouth still gunning at me.

I didn't reply as I have nothing better to say. I listened to the discussion happening in this hall just above the stairs where just about everyone can listen to us and we wouldn't know about it.

Before we arrived, they started addressing the fact that they may or may not hypnotize us.

They speculated that the butler must've noticed our sanity and are about to put us back into our enchanted state.

But much to my surprise, the opinion is split into two groups. There are some who believe in the innocence of our captors. Their basis? Apparently, the two of them decided to take our chances and ask our way to the bathroom. This is an incredibly risky move but they couldn't help their growling stomach.

On the way, they asked the butler Gaer the way, talked to the maids, and explored the premise without anything happening to them. They basically beat me and Cienn to the punch.

"Did you really think so just because you get to wander a little?"

"They sound genuine though..."

"Will you shut up, Ron?! Whadja' you always refute everything she says?! Allen and Sophia haven't said anything! Why are you blabbering around like yer' the boss?"

"Duh? Because of the absurdity of her claim? They hadn't said anything because it's obvious she was being deceived!" it sounded like a fight is gonna broke out.

"'Duh', your ass! Acting some kind of bigshot detective when you're just a mob character," followed with a "Hmmp!"

"What did you say?!" Ron is fuming. Probably because his rebuttal wasn't responded to. Instead, mockery came his way. I would be fuming too.

"Just as Ell implied, they are far too suspicious, we can't afford to be hypnotized again. Do you want me to drill that inside your thick skull?!"

"Ell, yeah, Ell. Why don't you join him like the bunch of crap that you are!" 'Now' I'm included? I haven't said a word.

I opted to listen instead and avoid getting in the middle of their heated battle. Ron and Reena, the two who are fighting, don't seem to be backing off anytime soon. Allen and Sophia weren't much help in terms of separating the two either. I wonder why.

"I'm starting to feel weird about you, Reena... Don't tell me you're... You wouldn't be, of course. That's just how a blockhead like you acts in a situation like this." Ron provokes her even more.

Reena merely glared at him, either she has nothing to say that resembles a debate or she just wish to stay silent. Either way, it is clear that Allen and Sohpia, the leader we all unanimously decided without a vote, left them to resolve their bickering.

We are in a serious predicament in which laws no longer apply. And yet, here we are arguing what could be solved in simple matters.

I, as one who's known and voluntarily avoided, participate as much as I could without stepping out of my boundaries.

Looking at them makes me think they're ridiculous. Why don't we just stay united and act as one? Utterly ridiculous.

That is in my mind, at least. But I personally know that when in a serious, a person may not think rationally, especially when distrust loomed around.

I looked at Raien and recalled the past. A past that I wanted to forget.

After receiving the silent treatment, Ron exploded and insulted Reena. In turn, she returned the words and the back and forth wasn't going to end.

The others merely look at them, didn't know what to do. A fight like this almost never happened before, and when it does, it is quickly resolved due to their bonds together. Well, except for one individual, at least.

"RIdiculous," I spat. "Arguing with your only allies where everyone can hear. And here I am trying to cooperate for the sake of unity. Disappointing," I am disappointed. But I doubt they'd take it to heart. In fact, they might even use it against me. I never listened to what Miria had to say, and she does too, to me.

At my words, the two stopped and looked at me, unsure of what to do. I don't plan on waiting for them to have a go at it again so I want to ask Allen what's in my mind.

Cienn has already disappeared into the background as soon as we arrived.

"Allen," I called. He observed what had transpired and turned to nod at me. "What did that butler say to you?" (I'm just checking if my thoughts were true, why are you looking at me like I'm a spokesperson?)

"Hmm...?" he's probably not sure what to say.

"Just checkin' something," I admit. "What did he say, exactly?"

"Hmm... he's pretty polite, for one thing. His exact words are, 'Master Allen, the Pontiff has invited you to dine with them. He is deeply ashamed for not being able to provide you other than rooms to stay so he wanted to speak further about what will happen moving forward.' that's what he said." he knows Allen and not me. Perhaps my initial thoughtless theory may have some grounds, actually.

"How about you Raien? Sophia?" I turned to ask about their interactions.

"It's me who responded," Sophia said. "he basically said the same thing," she said.

I turned to Raien and she just shook her head.

"The same? How so? Did he call you your name?"

"Mhmm." I looked around to see their reaction. It seems that they know what I meant and they nodded altogether.

"What of it, Ell?" Allen asked.

"Nothing," I replied immediately.

"You can be more specific than that, y'know?"

"Just wanna know if he said anything different, that's all." it's half of what my intentions so it's true.

"You're not telling the whole thing, do you?" he pressed on. His knowledge of me came since childhood so his perception of my words is spot on.

"I'll tell you later," then I backed off from the crowd who are surrounding me. In the past, I never would've expected to be centered by everyone. With the exception of a big fight with me in the middle, at least.

"Hey!" somebody called. It was Gil with his intimidating pose; his signature folded-arms pose. "You intend on keeping us in the dark, huh?"

"No one listened to me before, so why bother?" he clearly doesn't accept this kind of reply. His veins on his forehead are bulging but he kept his pose.

"Tell us too, Ell,"

"We deserve to know about it too, don't we?" at Gil's lead, everyone also pressed for an answer. Now, they're swarming me with glares and questions.

"Hey, calm down..." Sophia tried to calm the mass but was accused instead.

"You're in on it too, don't you, Sophia?"

"n-no... I..."

"Whatever unity you were spouting earlier, clearly wasn't in your dictionary either." Gil sneered.

"It wasn't and it never has," I replied. "despite that, at least I am capable of thinking like a sane, logical, and normal person, unlike someone." I provoked. Gil had just been on the list of people where the likes of Miria reside. When dealing with them, I have no intention of staying quiet or holding back.

"Kyah!" he sneered again. "Sane? Logical? Yeah, big words coming from a lunatic,"

"It seems my actions are rather complex for a person who have a bean for a brain. Let me reiterate clearly so that even you could understand." I cleared my throat. Gil glared daggers at me but I wasn't about to stop. "What I am saying is I am capable of understanding the situation and cooperating accordingly. Unlike a certain someone, I don't plan on keeping quiet and naive and just follow where everybody goes without thinking." I tried to sound polite but it is definitely an insult to anybody's listening.

After my initial reply, nobody said a word. Now that there's no teacher to stop this farce, they're probably afraid to step in and take the force themselves.

"Capable of cooperation, my ass. Haven't seen any," he spouted. Clearly, this man is on the verge of going insane. His nose is visible fuming. "If the cooperation of four is what you're talking about, that is."

"Gil is right,"

"Yeah, yeah," the majority of whispers appeared to be in favor of this illogical gorilla.

"Shouldn't he just tell us all since we can do more?" (What is this now? Are Allen and Sophia being cast out? Is this why they're not acting as they should be?) This is a dangerous development indeed.

"I'd rather tell my small group of four rather than you lot who are readily blabbing for all to hear," I specifically glanced at Ron and Reena who is now refusing to meet my gaze.

I walked away heading for the dining room without glancing back. Gil seems to be saying something but I chose to ignore him.

Although my interactions with my classmates is negative, at the very least, it wasn't fruitless.

I don't plan on going buddy-buddy with them but I am willing to cooperate. If that's what they're gonna do anyways, I'd just think for my own and Raien.

I look behind to see Raien following me.

"Heyaa~" she greeted merrily. I just had an unpleasant interaction with my classmates yet she doesn't care at all.

She strode with me side by side as we descend the stairs. Below, there are maids doing their thing which I made sure to take note of.

It doesn't take the smartest to know that they'd been listening.

They bowed at us and I ignore them.

"Fashionable as ever, aren't we?" I started off.

"Unlike you, I still care about how I look." she is right. I was just wearing black shorts and a brown shirt. My daily attire. Comfortable and easy to move. What's wrong with that?

"Are you okay with your room?" I asked.

"Yup, all good. Sophia is pushy and talkative though," she doesn't consider her as a friend. They just got their first interaction today after all. "What about you? Settled with... uh... Ciel..? Cienn, was it?"

"Yeah. I don't think I'll have a problem with him." Cienn is a cool guy. He listens and responds. A good man indeed.

We proceed to walk to the left hallway like the butler told us.

The sun has already set looking from the window. It's a strange sight since we were just preparing to sleep before coming here and now it just turns nighttime.

"I don't feel exhausted, somehow..." she muttered. I don't either.

We reached a large door at the end and waited there. I'm not sure when to enter the room. I was expecting to just follow my classmates.

"Open it up, Ell." Raien commanded.

I don't know what to expect upon entering this door. Will we just sit down before the supposed priest and bear the silence or hit a conversation? I don't know.

While I was contemplating, my classmates arrived as well, led by Allen.

"Hey Ell," he called me. "We talked it out and realized our mistakes. We can talk about what you realize as a group, okay?" it looks like they've discussed it and were ready to listen and set aside their fight.

I don't really care though. When he said it like that, I feel like I was leading them, and my actions and decisions are what they should follow.

I, myself, want the opposite. I just want to follow their lead while offering my opinions. I just snapped earlier because they're shouting and yelling outside their room. Not that the room itself is soundproof, but still...

"Yeah, yeah, leave that for later. We're here..." I pointed out. They look at each other, and their concerns vanished. "You seem relieved. I don't know about you but I have no idea what to expect entering this door."

"You see, Ell, we realized that your judgment and way of thinking is what we needed right now. You're frank and unafraid so we can't afford to lose your opinion." Sophia told me but I don't know what to feel about it.

"Like I said, leave that for later." I pointed it out again. "We're outside the door, do we enter or what?" at my words, confused expressions on their faces.

"H-how do you know that..?" Sophia asked.

"Didn't the butler tell you?" I replied, also confused.

"No, I thought we were supposed to wait for him up the stairs," she replied.

I look at everyone again and they seemed to think of the same. I look at Cienn and he doesn't know how to react. I told him what the butler told me and I'm sure he's confused as well.

"Interesting..." I murmured. "Anyway, let's go," without missing a beat, I turned around and open the large door.

The inside is huge. Huge, huge. Even bigger than the hall we were in earlier.

Chandeliers on top, windows taller than us, and a live cooking show further behind.

The chefs are quick to move doing their thing, the maids are busy laying out the table.

In the middle, there's a table vertical from the door. The maid stood near the walls waiting for the chefs to cook.

The table consists of twenty-six chairs. Ten on each two sides and three on the shorter sides.

I was in awe of this place. I didn't expect anything like this.

My classmates are in shock as well. I'm not the only one who's mesmerized by this. They really put an effort to impress us and they absolutely did.

While I was staring around, butler Gaer came and bowed his head.

"Impressive, right? The pontiff spend the time earlier to prepare the you best treatment." he complimented. "Please follow me to your seats."

We all follow one by one.

I immediately assumed that the priest will be sitting furthest from us so I chose to sit at the opposite end. I don't want to sit close to him with all the suspicion I got. I don't wanna dig my own grave. Gotta play it safe.

There're still three seat adjacent to me. For some reason, the butler told us not to sit on them. Perhaps because it's audacious of us to sit opposite of the priest so I abide by it.

Rain sat beside me, as expected, with her cool and composed look. I don't want to embarrass myself so I straighten my back and wait patiently.

The butler arranged our seats prior to coming here and he put us in a rather specific arrangement.

All of us students fit in the twenty seats on either side so the six chairs remaining must be for somebody else.

"Odd, right?"

"Mhmm... Wonder who,"

"The royals are gonna sit on those empty seats, I'm calling it."

"Yeah, glad I'm in the middle," Raien wasn't good at conversing so she must be relieved to be in the middle.

Likewise, I'm not good either, I know it myself. I am frank, unable to hold back what I wanted to say. If the person sitting here turns out to be a big shot, I don't know if I can hold my mouth.

Her expression, although unchanging at first glance, seemed down. Something must be in her mind and I can guess what it is.

"Anyways, Raien." I look at her in the eyes. "Come to our room later."

"Hmm?! Your room?!" she slammed the table and look at me in pure shock.

I leaned closer to her and whispered. "Idiot, it's not what you think. You heard about what Sophia and I talked about earlier, right? I just want to make sure you're okay."

She was bright red and visibly stunned.

"O-Oh... Y-y-yeah, y-you're right..! W-what am I thinking? Y-Yeah, you were talking about that earlier..! Yeah..."

"Honestly, you..." I flicked her forehead to bring her back to her senses. Everyone looks at us silently. For me, I'm just glad none of those higher-ups are here. With our personalities, I don't know if we could apologize by ourselves.

This scene wasn't new to my classmates. Raien and I would often bicker or do something together so naturally, everyone should just ignore us. After all, we're quite famous in our school as the 'Two lovey-loners'.

With that in mind, y'all should just go back to what were you doing.

But why are you whispering to yourselves while looking at us?!

"What did he just say? 'Come to our room'?"

"He's getting more brazen now that we're here."

"Yeah. He even talked to Sophia comfortably earlier. He's targeting other girls now?"

"That guy... Just because Raien's listening to him doesn't mean he can do anything to her."

"I bet he's threatening her."

(Ah... How good to be back...) Yeah, that's right. That should be the natural response, shouldn't it?

"Now, everyone, settle down. This is no time for hate and hostility towards Ell. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

(Sigh... I envy you, Allen.) Even though I'm not treating him likable, he still tries to go on his way to help me bridge the gap between me and my classmates.)

Soon, the door burst open and the priest walks inside.

"Welcome, heroes from another world!" he greeted. "Pardon us for the harsh treatment you've received earlier. I am deeply ashamed of what happened." he bowed deeply.

This priest, the priest earlier, the pope, bowed his head apologetically.

I held Raien's hand and told her to stay alert. I glance at Allen and he gets what I said.

"Please excuse me." he strolled past behind us directly to the other end of the table. He took a quick look at us he seemed to notice the looming heavy air. "Now, now, this unexpected," he commented.

(What is? What is it? Is it the cold atmosphere? Or the hypn—I don't wanna say it!)

He walked right past us without saying more.

He sat in the middle to the end where he look at us with a serious expression. (This isn't good,) I thought.

My classmates who are in his vicinity are sweating profusely.

(Glad he didn't sit near me.) I am extremely grateful that he didn't sit here.

Whilst I am feeling relief, the door burst open once again.

People in fancy attire came in one by one with a wide age range. Some of them are, young, and bearded, and some are in their thirties, perhaps.

Not all of them though. Only the... Ahem! 'Virgin Queen' of Undine and the family of Tserra are present.

The others aren't here to eat with us. Not that I'm begging to eat with royalty though.

It's still pretty rude of them to act that way. At least those who're still here should eat with us. Weren't you praising us as heroes earlier? Where's the energy before?

Still, at least these two leaders decided to stay with us. What could they want from us?

Well, not that I'm complaining. At least we have a 'Virgin Queen' and a princess to stare at while we're eating.

The three royals sat beside me with his family.

The 'Virgin Queen' meanwhile looks at each of us carefully. She sat beside the pontiff and both are keenly keeping us in their gazes.

Immediately after this family of three sat here, I now face-to-face with the sharp eyes of this middle-aged man, the king of Tserra. He's a huge guy but because he's wearing a black sleeve tucked in his pants, his muscles are showing. For a king, he doesn't match the description at all. His wife and daughter fit the bill but he? I might mistake him for a knight. Why aren't you a knight anyway? Wait, you're country value strength over blood, right? That must be why.

His eyes were locked on me. I tried my best not to flinch in front of his strong aura. (I can barely hold myself from sweating, y'know? I would appreciate you not staring at my soul.)

I don't know if time has stopped or if this guy was still looking at me after 5 minutes.

(Are you a pervert?) Tch. This guy never wavers. I guess I should stare at his soul, too.

Before, I was looking from wherever. From Raien to the utensils, to my other classmates who were so awkward they didn't even bat me an eye.

I stared into his eyes and we were in a locked situation. Whoever averts first loses. I'm not sure if he even sees me as an opponent but I clearly do. The stakes are high. I just don't know what.

We're both peering into each other's heart and we're not moving an inch.

He folded his arms and slumped his back on the chair like a boss while I'm sitting here, hands on the table closed together.

After 10 minutes or so, we're still deadlocked. Why hasn't the food been delivered yet? That's the only thing that could stop this intense match. Gosh, that's my only chance to draw this. This king won't budge... Or yes.

"Pretty fierce look you have there," he spoke first. Does this mean I won? I won, right? I won!

Everyone, including our esteemed 'Virgin Queen' and this guy's family, looked at us.

"I won't lose in a staring contest," I replied.

I know, I'm being rude to the king but he started it first. Besides, he's talking like I'm the one glaring at him first. I am innocent.

He raised his brow after my remark. My classmates were flabbergasted. I, too, am wondering why I suddenly said that.

(Shit! It's not my fault! I bet this world's air is doing something with my brain. I'm usually a dovish person. I'd never start a dispute. Especially to the king.)

"Hmp. Rude and young," he exclaimed.

(How dare he. This guy knew how to get on my nerves. But no matter how pissed I am, I wouldn't dare to open my mouth once again. I learned from my mistakes, who knows what would happen if I dare talk shit again.)

I kept my mouth shut and mimic his posture. I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew, I was sweating bullets.

"Huh, bold, aren't we? If we're in our country, we would've taken this to the arena, or the court, even."

(Fuck... I didn't know this king is a sore loser. You crossed the line, we're just bickering as lunchmates, alright? No pulling the "I'm the king" card.)

""Ptff!"" The whole family laughs for some reason.

(Why are they laughing? Could it be... No, no, no. That can't be. No, no, noooo!)

I'm dead. There's no escaping this. I can only do one thing.

Disregarding the glares I receive from my classmates, I swiftly pushed away my chair and prostrate myself a little away from the table so they could see me. Everyone was shocked, Raien had her eyes wide open, and everyone was silent.

"I won't do it again please don't read my mind!" I pleaded.

"Ahaha! So you noticed?" the blonde queen of Tserra spoke first.

"Man, I never thought someone who knew my position would insult me like that." I was sweating bullets. I could feel my damp clothes sticking to my skin. Everyone as well looked aghast and unable to do or say anything.

"Please, father. Stop harassing our heroes." the princess spoke to the king. (Goddess...) "Please raise your head and take a seat," she told me.

I did as she told me and sat back down. I'm still sweating bullets because they can read my mind.

"Don't worry, Ell, was it? Only the five of us can read minds." my face went white as a sheet after hearing that anxiety-inducing assurance. "That is assuming everyone in that hall earlier doesn't have the skill for it." I feel my soul escaping from me. (Please kill me.)

It was the 'Virgin Queen' who assured me. If you can call it assuring, that is.

"Enough of the worries, please continue what you're doing earlier. I'm merely trying to provoke you," the king said followed by a laugh. "Don't worry everyone, it's nothing serious. He just said that I'm a sore loser king pulling the 'I'm the King' card, that's all."

(This guy... I lost, okay? Please stop humiliating me.)

"Anyway, we stop by here to ask you if you and that girl you were talking to earlier to see us later."

(A-are they going to kill us?)

"No, no. We would never. We just want to talk to both of you about something."

U-understood." I meekly replied. Gosh, I never knew world leaders are so scary.

After that exchange, it becomes silent and the royals sharing the table with us didn't wish to continue the conversation. It also makes difficult for us to open our mouths thus the room was listless.

After a short while, the tables are filled with food. Maids came non-stop to serve us different kinds of food, some of which I haven't seen anything like.

Notable, that fish-like dish covered with purple, disgusting goo. 'Eeeiyuuck!'

I'm not a person who judges by appearance alone but this purple goo doesn't look very appetizing, and I wanna avoid that at all cost.

After the surge of food finally ended, the table is completely filled. As far as I can see, there's a lot of food I am familiar with. Rice, meatballs in red sauce, even this Filipino dish which I absolutely love. What is it called again? Adobo? Yeah, that. I wonder why such a dish exists here. Maybe the first hero brought familiar food from other parts of the world. Or perhaps they're Filipino?

One thing I noticed is that most of the food, at least those that are closer to me, consists of familiar seafood. Fish, shells, muscles, you name it. There's not much poultry and beef is nowhere to be seen. Maybe those don't exist here?

Despite all these appetizing, familiar food, my eyes are still drawn to food with unfamiliar colors. Namely blue, purple, and green. In fact, looking around, all of the colors in the rainbow exist on the table in one form or another.

Well, that is assuming we're gonna eat with them. I mean, will these royals allow us to eat with them after my wild interactions? Hopefully yes but the odds are not in my favor.

After all the food are set, the maids now turned to fill our glasses with yellow wine. Really? Yellow wine?

It looks like the common food and beverage colors differ a lot from the food I know back on Earth.

After everything is done, the pontiff hit his glass with a table knife to get our attention.

"Ahem. First off, I welcome the heroes who heed our call and came to our world. I understand that this is rather abrupt and inflicted you with confusion and doubt, but I want to show you what we are hopefully before this dinner ends." he said. His expression remains calm and a smile hides what he feels inside. Doubt still remains my foreboding thought and I don't think this table-sharing approach will clear that up.

He continued his speech. "Next, I want to show my gratitude to all the leaders who come here despite the distance. I am not ignorant that the roads are uncomfortable and in desperate need of attention. For that, I apologize for not being able to help with such exhausting travel." his attentions are now on the leaders.

Everyone except us students raises their glass in response.

The pope allowed us to eat now but nobody took any. The tension is still alive. I've embarrassed myself pretty hard so I can't afford to do anything silly so I wasn't moving either.

Seeing that, the 'Virgin Queen' spoke to loosen our nerves down.

"Everyone, please, the food is gonna get cold. It is depressing to see food from my own home country being avoided. I assure you, they are all delicious! Please, help yourselves." she looked sad, but not genuinely sad. Her mouth, despite being a royal, is full of fish with odd colors.

(S-so these colors are normal...)

Even after her encouragement, I don't feel any appetite for putting this food in my stomach.

Maybe I should just take a little and wash them down with water? What if the flavor doesn't disappear though? I haven't eaten anything with rainbow colors so I don't know... But what if we're being rude to them? They might put us on the chopping block for disrespecting their food. After all, food is something that should be respected, even by the rich.

While I was contemplating, lost in thought, food suddenly appear on my plate. The purple goo was covering my whole plate like some kind of failed experiment you'd see on TV.

"Wha—?!" after realizing it, I turn up just to see King Donovan of Tserra has given me the food in front.

I don't know what to say. I'm appalled. Is this his punishment for me? If so, he's cruel.

I can't put it back now that it's on my plate. It's also rude if I returned it. I wanna live longer after all. I can't eat it either based on appearance. On closer inspection, it also has a strong smell which absolutely killed off my appetite.

I look around at my classmates and I saw their pitying eyes.

When I turned to Raien, she averted my gaze and turned the other way. She has abandoned me. I'm all alone. In this harsh world surrounded by cruel people.

Like adding salt to the wound, the royals looked at me with high expectations.

Should I ignore them and return my food? That would be a death sentence.

How about telling them I'm allergic to fish? That would be unwise, they read my mind.

How about tell them telepathically that I can't eat such disgusting food? The 'Virgin Queen would kill me.

There's only one thing I can do. "I-I have to go to the bath—" I tried to stand up but before I could finish, I saw the king clenched his hand.

I quickly sat back down. The king glared at me locking me in my position.

(I'm a man, I can do this. I'm a man, I can do this. I'm a man, I can do this.) With that rite, I picked up my spoon and scoop some of the goo.

(God, if you exist, help me.)

It looks disgusting but I have no other choice. I can practically see it melting my spoon.

I held my breath, bracing myself for the torture that I expect.

I raise it to my mouth, and everyone is looking at me with expectation.

Slowly, I put the spoon in my mouth, still holding my breath.

At long last, it's in my mouth, but I can't taste it yet. I reached for water but realized there only thing in front is the yellow wine. (Fuck!)

I accepted this devastating realization and grab the wine anyways. But before I can drink any, my taste buds had decided to work and I tasted the food that was in my mouth. (Delicious...)

I stared at it in shock. I never expected it to taste this way. It has a mixture of sweetness and sourness to it. The texture is pleasant in my mouth.

"See?" the king said with a smug. "Just because it doesn't suit your eyes means it can't be good." he's right. It looks absolutely disgusting, food meant for the trash, but it actually tastes good.

"H-how was it..?" Raien anxiously asked.

"It's actually quite good," I said, scooping a little from my plate and turning it towards her.

"Y-you sure..?"

"I would never lie to you," I pushed my spoon.

She nervously accept it and ate the food on my spoon.

"D-delicious..." she exclaimed.

"See? 'Just because it doesn't suit your eyes means it can't be good'."

"Hmmp!" the king snorted. I think I've gone too far. "I like your guts," he said. "I wouldn't oppose if you take my daughter's hand."

"Please, stop joking around, your majesty." I tried to brush him off. "I am but a commoner, the likes of me are not suited to take the hands of a princess."

"I was once a commoner too," he argued. "you just need to beat me in a fight and you can be the king. I'll even show you my support," he said.

I heard about it earlier along with his introduction. He said that after twenty years of service, the king will hold a tournament yearly until he was beaten. The victor can either take the hands of the princess if they do not have a wife. That's how he marries his wife. I don't know why he went on his way to explain that but hey, it doesn't hurt to tell.

"Well, the offer is alluring, to say the least. What kind of support will I receive, your majesty?"

Everyone is looking at us while ignoring the food in front of them. The 'Virgin Queen' is looking at us with a smile on her face while the pope is observing with a serious look.

"So you are interested?" I nodded. "My reign as a king will end in two years. If the time comes that you challenge me to a duel, I'll be sure to go easy. As I recall, your skills are that of a mage. Close combat will be a disadvantage for you,"

(Oh? I can be a king? But the king's job is hard and exhausting, isn't it?)

"Indeed, it is. But my daughter is taught how to be a proper queen since she was young. I'm sure her support will help you greatly."

(Hmm... I forgot he can read my mind.)

"Then..." I look at him seriously in the eye. "Can you promise me when the time comes, you'll do just as you said?" with a serious expression on my face, I asked him.

I am walking on thin ice right now. My classmates looked at me with a shocked expressions. Raien was shocked as well.

"By my name, King Donoval Anselsy Tserra, I shall promise you that I will provide my whole support. Should I see talent in you, I will be there to pass the throne." he declared with pride. The 'Virgin Queen' look at us with a pleased expression, and the pope remains sharp.

I win.

Suddenly, a throbbing pain assaulted my brain.

I clutched my head trying to mitigate but to no avail.

Everyone looked at me with worry but I raise a hand to try and assure them.

I can feel my head bursting but I manage to say, "D-don't worry, t-this is normal to me. I haven't taken my medicine yet... I-I should be fine once I take some from my room..."

"Take him to his quarters," the pope said without lag.

One of the maids hastily went to my side and supported me as I shakily stand up.

"Ell..?" Raien called.

"I-I'm okay..." I assured her, patting her head.

We walked out of the dining hall and headed for my room immediately.

The pain hasn't gone anywhere. There are some glitching images overlapping in my head that portrayed the dining hall. (I shouldn't be there anymore...)

The maid helped me lay on my bed and asked me where my medicine is. I pointed my the small pocket of my bag and she frantically searched.

"I-I must apologize but I cannot open this..." she took the bag and put it beside me.

Zippers must not exist here.

I zipped it open and took a bottle half-full of pills and open it.

The maid stormed out of the room and came back with a glass of water. (How considerate...)

I accepted the glass and took a sip after consuming the medicine.

The pain hasn't diminished but I gave her a relieved look and said, "I'll be okay after a rest. Thank you." I gave her a smile of assurance and she immediately bowed.

"I understand. I'll be waiting outside if you need me. Excuse me." she then left the room and closed the door.

"I-I win..."I mumbled. I then lost consciousness but I'd done a good job. Knowing that, the pain is absolutely worth it. I slept peacefully despite the throbbing pain.