Explanations in the tent

糞

"Hello everyone, I'm Ted," the man introduced himself as if what he said a moment before didn't take place. "I'm here to explain the situation to you," he said before moving a bit deeper into the tent and sitting down directly on the ground, just like everyone else.

"First of all, I'm here to apologize. Not on my own behalf, as I have nothing to do with the entire situation, but on behalf of the Tadkarian Explorers' Empire," he said, lowering his head so low that one could question the health of his spine.

"So it's you guys that brought us here," Casper, one of Nat's classmates, said. His face was twisted in a clash of anguish, excitement, and anger, hinting at how he really felt about the entire situation.

"Yes and no," Ted said only to release a deep, long sigh a moment later. "It is true that we are responsible for the summoning. But it's not like we went and attempted to summon ten thousand random people!" he shouted, making a face as if that fact alone should be obvious to anyone.

"I mean no disrespect," he started after taking a moment to regain his breath, "but look at yourself!" he said in a slightly aggrieved tone. "Can you see anything in yourself that would make it worth to summon you to this world?" he asked.

"Not only you summoned us here, but now you are going to insult us?" Pavlo said. Ever since the man entered, he did not attempt to get closer to Nat again. Understanding the situation they were in took priority over patching things up with her from the looks of things. "We all had bright futures back in the world you kidnapped us from!" he added, allowing his emotions to infuse themselves into his voice.

"Allow me to explain what really happened first," Ted said, not even bothering to hide the guilt in his voice. "It is true that my nation is responsible for the summoning, but we are not responsible for what happened. It wasn't our intention, but an intervention of the demons," he said before pointing his hand back in the direction of the recent battle. "Those demons that were all so eager to kill and then eat you," he said.

For a moment, everyone in the tent turned silent. Even though they still only knew a little about what happened, they all belonged to the group that was innately forced to escape to safety instead of fighting. As such, the information about the battle itself they had was scarce at best.

"What demons? Weren't they just some mindless monsters?" Jack Taharsky, the president of their class, finally said something.

'Isn't he a little too silent?' Natalie thought, trying her best to stay put and observe the situation. This was one of the habits she picked up by constantly observing Kilian. Rather than acting upon her emotions and allowing them to take the reins of her life, she waited to gather more information and make an appropriate judgment instead. 'Just what is he thinking?' she thought, trying to figure out the sudden change in the class president's changed behavior.

"I'm impressed that you managed to notice that," Ted said, looking at Jack with a mix of awe and surprise. "From what we saw, all those who didn't join the fight were somehow forced to escape to our camp without looking back," he said before leaning his head over the shoulder. "It's really impressive for you to manage to break through that compulsion. From what our mages found out so far, this spell was quite potent!" he said as a small smile surfaced on his lips.

"That doesn't answer my question," Jack said, squinting his eyes as he looked at the local man.

'Wrong!' Nat commented in her thoughts. 'Even if... No, especially if you are suspicious, you should do everything in your power not to show it!' she screamed out in her thoughts, forcibly stopping her hand from slapping her own forehead.

"Yeah, sorry for that digression. And yeah, your observations were correct," Ted said, spreading his arms out as if to show that he had nothing to hide. "Just like we keep our mages in the backline, so do demons. The monsters that you saw on the battlefield were nothing more but a horde, a massive number of mindless monsters tasked with swarming the enemy," the man said, pulling his arms back together. "In which case, that would mean us, humans," he added as his smile soured.

"Wait a second," Yuren, another of Nat's classmates, suddenly interjected, raising his plump head as if he was still in the school. "Did you just say mages?" he asked, his eyes exploding with curiosity and passion.

'So there are people like him too,' Nat thought, forcing her disgust back into the depths of her soul. 'Losers who think that an appearance of an external factor will somehow change who they really are,' she thought, taking a mental note. 'I need to be wary of him. It's people like him that are prone to turn into the greatest danger,' she thought, lowering her face.

Even if it was only a little, it was better to stay below that nerd's radar. 'After all, no one knows if he won't fit this place like a fish fits a water,' she thoughts, pulling the cloth of her shirt up to cover the tiny cleavage she had.

"Yes, magic," Ted replied with a rejuvenated smile on his lips. "From what I read in the books, there are some words without it. From your question, I assume your world is one of them," he said, taking up a face of a kind uncle happily hiding a candy for their beloved nephew. "Who knows, maybe even you will be..." he attempted to say something, only for Nat's patience to run dry.

"Excuse me," she said, raising her hand just like Yuren before. "I remember that when I was directed here, we were told the explanations would only start once everyone gathers in the tent," she pointed out, bringing the words of the old lady from before.

"Yeah, that's the idea and the reason why I likely won't get to have my fair share of sleep anytime soon," Ted replied jokingly.

"If that's the case, then where is everyone else?" Nat asked. Even though she knew it was risky to put herself on a pedestal of everyone's attention like that, she still had to do it. Because even if she didn't voice who exactly she had on mind, she couldn't leave Kil's matter out in the void.

"That's true," Jack said, nodding his head with a dumb look of enlightenment on his face. "There should be three more. Sebian, Kilian, and Sylvia are missing!" he shouted after scanning the faces of the small crowd in the tent.

"So that's the case," Ted replied, lowering his head and averting his eyes. "Sadly, I can't bring in good news yet. Most likely, the three you mentioned were in the group that rushed to the fight," he said, not pulling back his words at all. "I'm not saying they are dead!" Ted quickly added as he noticed the changes on everyone's faces. "It's just that dealing with the combatants..." he was about to say something important when a sudden commotion from outside the tent forced his words down his throat.

"Give me a moment," Ted said, rushing out of the tent.

But the commotion didn't cease. Rather than that, it continued to grow to the dismay of everyone left in the tent.

"There is something wrong with this place, with those people," Jack lowered his voice, clearly aware that it wasn't something Ted should hear from them. "For now, this is just a feeling, but there are a few things that are making me worried. So for now..." he cut his words short when the opening of the tent fluttered, only for Ted to enter it with a distressed look on his face.

"I'm sorry, everyone, but I won't be able to explain anything else for now," he said before biting on his lips. But instead of depressing all over, his face lit up a moment later.

'As if he came up with an idea to turn a disaster into positive information,' Nat thought, constantly adding on to her observations.

"We just found out where the demons hid! Right now, the entire army is mobilizing for the invasion!" Ted shouted, raising his fist in a gesture of excitement. "So don't you worry," he said, lowering his hand and looking at the kids in the tent again. "I will be one of the people that will take revenge on them for your kidnapping!"