Scheme

At night, John and Sandra were having a secretive conversation in their birthday suit.

"John, I want Alexander to get exiled from this place," said Sandra with a seducing smile. She went to John's room to persuade him so that they could kick Alex out of the castle.

"That is a good idea, but how do we have him exiled?" John asked while furrowing his eyebrows.

Sandra rested her head onto John's arm and looked at his face. "We can just ask the king. He won't protect someone with that low status, right?"

"Are you sure that will work? I mean, the king didn't show any bad reactions toward Alexander's status…"

"I heard those people who had joined our summoning earlier were ministers of this kingdom. We can just manipulate them by telling them a fake story… Maybe we can say Alexander has a grudge against me because I dumped him in our world. Then, we can fabricate a lie that he actually has a tendency to go to an extreme length. I'm sure the ministers would take our side and support us after we spread that kind of story…" Sandra smiled evilly.

John thought for a moment and shook his head. "He will be killed if you say that."

If Alexander was someone who would go to an extreme length, the king wouldn't be satisfied just by expelling him out of this castle. He surely would consider a lot more severe punishment such as death punishment. Although his status was so low, he still had knowledge about Earth and he might come back to haunt them.

"I don't want him to be killed. I want to see him suffer!" Sandra said. "He makes me sick, he's so disgusting! How come someone like him has a sister like that? If I was Alexander, I would make sure to control my sister well to fight my parents for me! Besides, how come someone has that low performance? He has the time to learn about academics, but he chose to have part-time jobs, learn useless things outside school subjects, and so on."

"I see that you are just frustrated by his actions. If he makes the right choice and succeeds, will you go back to him?" John glanced at her with a cold gaze.

"No way!" Sandra's body shook before she snorted. "A person like him won't do any good in the future! That's why I want him to suffer first, so he will commit suicide."

"Humph. I can enhance your plan so the king doesn't have to kill him. But I have to see your performance tonight first." John smirked before placing his hand on Sandra's thigh.

"Of course. Everything you want, Babe!" Sandra started kissing him again as the passionate night began for them.

Meanwhile,

Alex was silently looking at the beautiful moon outside his window. He had no trace of emotion as if he had given up on his life. However, the thought about Sandra and John was the one that kept him alive until now.

After thinking things thoroughly, he realized that they had no way to go home, so he could take revenge on him without having his sister suffer from his actions in the real world. However, he still didn't know what to do since he was just a lowly peasant while John had become a hero.

Suddenly, the sounds of knocking doors echoed across his room.

*Knock Knock!*

He was startled and his body shook for a second because he never expected that someone would visit him, especially in the middle of the night. Alex thought Sandra or John might be behind the door and was planning to mock him again.

"Al… Alexander… Can we talk?" A woman's voice was heard behind the door.

Alex opened his mouth in surprise. He recognized this voice and thought, 'Maria Fergina? Is she also going to mock me this time?'

Since Maria had never bullied him either in the current world or the previous one, he thought it was fine to open the door first and listen to what she wanted to say.

Alex walked toward the door and opened it. Maria was still wearing her uniform as she was too occupied with the thought of Alex and Sandra. She wanted to say something to him first before relaxing in her room.

"Please come in."

Maria stared at his face that had no expression and bit her lips. She came inside the room but she didn't reach any chair or whatsoever. Instead, she looked at Alex while clenching her hands before bowing her head.

"Alexander… I want to apologize for everything that has happened between you and Sandra." Maria was her childhood friend, so she felt the need to apologize on her behalf.

"It was not even your fault. Why did you even apologize to me? Weren't you also against it when I was going to be Sandra's boyfriend back then?" Alex still had no expression on his face.

"At first, I was indeed against the idea. However, I changed my mind when I overheard someone say you bought her Golden Necklace for her with your own money you earned through part-time jobs. Unfortunately, I also heard that she destroyed the relationship in the worst way possible." Maria closed her eyes and bit her lips.

"With my own ability and status, it was already good enough for me to even dream of having her as my girlfriend. I don't have any purpose on Earth now. But if possible, I wish to try to restart my life once again." Alex said with a little determination in his eyes.

"If you need help, just ask me. At the very least, I can repay you for everything my childhood friend has done to you."

Alex shook his head. "You don't have to do that since you won't get a chance… probably."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Alex shook his head before looking at the moon again and sighing as if he had resigned from his fate.

Unlike Sandra, Maria didn't know why Alex chose to not study school subjects. In fact, she didn't know that Alex actually read many books, but they all just weren't related to school.

"Since it's already late, you better go back to your room." Alex opened the door again.

Maria stared at Alex for a few seconds before sighing. She walked out of his room while saying, "Good… Good night, Alexander."

Alex nodded, closed the door, and walked toward the window again. He got back to staring at the moon. "I may not have a long time in this castle… So it's useless for you to worry about me. Although she doesn't recognize me as one, I still understand how her personality is… No, I may only recognize her true nature because I am not blinded by the so-called love again…"

…

The next day,

*Knock knock!*

Alexander had woken up earlier since he got used to starting his day early. He was thinking of warming up his body with a couple of exercises. And the sudden knocks made his heart skip a beat.

He reached the door and opened it, only to find a soldier in full-body armor. The armor looked so shiny after reflecting the sunlight from behind him, albeit Alex had no time to care about it as the soldier immediately said.

"The king is requesting your presence."

Having no need for preparation, Alex nodded. "Lead the way."

"This way." The guard then stretched his hand and started walking, leading Alex to the previous hall where the king, the ministers, and the other four heroes were waiting for him.

The atmosphere looked tense as everyone showed an angry and disappointed expression. After noticing John and Sandra's mocking expressions and Maria's guilty face, Alex thought, 'I never thought this day will come this fast…'

"I apologize for being late," said Alex while bowing his head slightly as a basic courtesy.

Knowing that the situation couldn't be resolved so soon, the king decided to cut to the chase, declaring loudly. "Mr. Alexander, after a thorough discussion, we have decided to banish you from the castle."

There was no change of expression on Alex's face as if he knew it would happen. This piqued the king a little bit.

"Are you not angry?" said the king while narrowing his eyes, trying to see through this man called Alexander Sirius.

"Not really." Alex shook his head and he glanced at Sandra while thinking, 'Having seen her true nature, I somehow know it is bound to come sooner or later. Unfortunately, I can't do a single thing and can't even say anything.'

"Even though you are banished, I am still responsible for bringing you to this world. Hence, I will allow you to request one thing from me to compensate for this." The king could only shake his head, pitying Alex. He thought, 'If he had better status, it would be worth it to protect him. Unfortunately, without anything to rely on, he would die out there sooner or later.'

Alex thought for a moment. There was no way he could request something extraordinary and to restart his life here would require…

"May I ask for money to last me a while?" Alex uttered his request.

"Guards!" A little surprised with his request, he immediately ordered guards to prepare the money.

After getting the money, Alex was escorted outside. He took the last glimpse of their expression and found Maria's sad and guilty expressions.

Maria could still remember what happened earlier and closed her eyes in regret, recalling the scene.

One hour earlier,

The king was having a meeting with his ministers before the guard informed him.

"Your Majesty, Hero, and his companions wish to see you."

"Invite them in." Not thinking about anything, he ordered the guard to open the gate and let them in.

The guards immediately opened the gate upon his order as the king rose from his seat and asked with a happy tone. "Heroes, how was your sleep last night? I hope you enjoyed your room."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. We slept well last night." John humbly said.

"Good! Then, can you explain as to why you wish to see me this early?"

"We have one problem that might require your assistance, Your Majesty."

"Oh! Please do tell. I will help you as long as it's within my ability." The king didn't know what kind of trouble he might have, even though this was only their second day in the castle.

"I wish to request Your Majesty to exile Alexander Sirius."

*Thud—!* The room fell into silence, and the ministers stopped whatever they were doing before looking at them dumbfoundedly. They had thought Alex was useless, but not to the point they needed to exile him. The king also had the same opinion. Yet, the one who was shocked the most was…

"What?!" Maria abruptly shouted. John came to her earlier, asking her to follow him to meet the king because of an important matter. She had no idea that they were going to see the king so that they can ask him this kind of request.

She just apologized last night, but all of her effort to apologize on behalf of Sandra became nothing now that John wanted to exile Alex. The memory about everything that had happened the day before flashed in her mind, especially the part where Alex said he had predicted something bad would happen to him sooner or later.

*Gasp—!* Maria looked at Sandra, who seemed to be involved in this as well. Little did she know that Sandra was the mastermind behind all of this. She grabbed Sandra's shoulder and shook her. "Sandra, why do you keep treating him like this? He-"

Sandra cut her in before Maria said anything more. "Don't you know what happened in the past between him and me?"

"What is this all about, Heroes?" The king couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"Actually, this Alexander chased my girlfriend, Sandra, in our previous world. His personality and actions truly scared her. I'm also afraid that he would do something crazy to her because Alex couldn't handle the stress and pressure of being summoned here. I simply want to protect my girlfriend, Your Majesty." John righteously said, but his thought said otherwise. 'One man is enough here.'

The king fell into deep thought. Looking at how Alexander behaved yesterday, he couldn't picture him doing something this terrible. However, the minister beside him suddenly whispered.

"Your Majesty. I think you should agree to his request. Much to my dismay, Alexander Sirius is a useless person. I'm sure Your Majesty has the same opinion due to his status. On the other hand, if we agree to the hero's request, we can make him happy so he can put more effort into his task. Remember Your Majesty, a good ambition will always require a sacrifice."

The minister's words made sense to him. Even though Alex was one of the summoned people among the heroes, he wouldn't be a threat to him, especially in this world where strength and status ruled. Alex might even die before he could advance his status or rank. Hence, the hero should be his priority.

He contemplated for a few minutes before looking at the heroes with a solemn expression. "I understand. I will grant your request."

"Sandra!" Maria shouted once more, shaking her childhood friend.

"It's okay, Maria. This is for a better future." Sandra smiled evilly while pushing Maria's hands away.

Having no hope from her childhood friend, she turned to the king. "Your Majesty, I believe there is no need to banish him from this place."

The king hesitated once more. Arch Priest was very important to her.

Suddenly, Sandra grabbed Maria from behind and closed her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry. She is such a good-hearted person. Please, don't listen to anything she is saying."

The king looked at them for a moment, he gritted his teeth and raised his hand.

"The decision is final… Guard! Bring Alexander Sirius here!"

"Mhmmhm!" Maria wanted to protest but to no avail.

…

While she recalled the scene, Alex was already out of the castle and walking around the city. He had yet to decide his next step, so he was planning to have a place to stay first.

"Hey, Mister. Do you want to stay in our inn?" A young guy approached him and pointed his finger at the building behind him.

Alex looked at the placard and found out it was an inn. Without much thinking, he nodded to the boy.

"Come in!" The boy led him inside before shouting to a middle-aged lady at the counter. "Mother, we have a customer."

"Oh, boy!" The mother looked so happy as if Alex was their one and only customer.

"I want to stay for a night, is that alright, Ma'am?" Alex asked.

"Of course." She was slightly surprised that Alex wanted to stay, but she quickly served him like other customers. "You need three coppers for a night."

Alex opened the pouch he got from the king. Inside were a few golds, silver, and copper coins.

In this world, the money was divided into four coins: copper, silver, gold, and royal coins. 100 copper=1 silver, 100silver=1 gold, and 100 gold=1 royal.

Hence, the king decided to give it this way to make it easier for buying daily necessities… Or maybe the guard was the one who did it out of pity.

"What is your name? I will record it for you."

"Alexander."

The lady nodded and gave him a key. "Your room is on the second floor, the second room on your right."

"I will lead you to your room!" The boy was quite happy that Alex decided to stay, so he guided him voluntarily.

"Thank you." Alex nodded to the kid as he followed him upstairs and entered the room.

There was only basic furniture such as a bed along with one table and its chair inside. The wardrobe was quite small as well, but Alex didn't care much about it.

The energy that kept him going this whole time finally disappeared as Alex fell to the bed.

"What should I do now? I don't have anyone to rely on or good talent to advance further. My first goal is to survive in this world, but how can I do it?" Alex turned around and looked at the ceiling.

Suddenly, a blue screen appeared in front of him.

[Initiating Good Luck Gacha System.]

[1%… 20%… 70%… 100%]

[Initiating is completed.]

[Greetings, Host.]