Summoning (4)

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**??? POV**

"Please don't joke around! In the end, these children will be fighting in a war! I won't allow such a thing! I will absolutely not allow such a thing! Please let us return! Surely, their families will be worried about them! What you have done is merely kidnapping!" Aiko-sensei exploded in anger.

For her students' sake, even she, who often maintained a timely manner, stood up for them, which was adorable in its own way. This was also the reason students often called her Ai-chan.

'Ah! Ai-chan...' Every student looking at Aiko-sensei was moved, including Hajime. However, Ishtar froze, and the rest of the students, except Hajime who expected something like this, were stunned.

"I sympathize with your feelings. Unfortunately, we have no way to return you."

Silence filled the halls. They gazed at Ishtar in disbelief.

"Impossible! What do you mean, 'not possible'?! If you can summon us, can't you send us back? Is this a joke?" Aiko went fully mad, hearing him.

"As I said earlier, it was Ehit-sama who summoned you. The magic that interferes with other worlds is a magic we humans cannot use. Whether or not you can return is up to Ehit-sama to decide."

"Such a thing..." Aiko lost her strength and dropped into her chair like a stone, holding her head and not accepting reality. Meanwhile, the students started becoming restless.

"L-Lies! Why can't we return?"

"Uwaaaa. I just want to go home!"

"Don't mess with me!"

"Why, why, why…"

The students started to panic at the situation. Hajime noticed Ishtar hiding a dark expression, betting that Ishtar was thinking something like, 'It's their honor to be used by God, blah, blah, blah...'

However, Hajime tried to appear calm. Inside, being an otaku in both his lives, he had a general idea of the danger that was yet to come. He had read many situations like this before, so he expected that something was wrong with the church or the god itself. But it was not the worst pattern.

That's why he was a lot calmer than the other students. Incidentally, one of the worst plot patterns is slavery. While Hajime checked if there was any kind of spell or curse used on him or anyone using Raphael, he remained cautious. Expect the unexpected, after all. That's why he was waiting until he was alone to open the starter pack.

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While Hajime was pondering his plan, ignoring everyone's panic, which did not settle down, Kouki stood up and slammed the table with a bang. The sound surprised the students and got their attention. After he had everyone's attention, Kouki began to talk like some politician.

"Everyone, there is no reason to make so much noise in front of Ishtar-san. He had nothing to do with it. I'm going to fight. The humans of this world are facing a crisis; that is a fact. Knowing that, I cannot ignore their pleas for help. If I was summoned to save humans, we may be able to return after we have saved them. Ishtar-san, how about it?"

This caused everyone to admire him. But hearing Kouki, Hajime had the urge to roll his eyes. Kouki might not even remember the girl they saved at the bridge, but that's a story for another time. Listening to Kouki, Ishtar was greatly pleased.

"He is right. Ehit-sama will answer the wishes of the saviors."

This caused Kouki to puff his chest like a peacock. He started to believe him.

"We all have special powers, right? Since I came here, I've been feeling this sense of power," Kouki asked.

"Yes, that's right. Roughly, each of you have power that is several times higher than the people from this world."

"Then it's okay. I'll fight. I'll save the people, and then we can all go home. I'll save the world and everyone, you'll see!"

Kouki gripped his fist tightly as he declared this and showed his bright smile that sparkled. No, I mean, he's sparkling literally. And I have no idea how this works, only explanation: DAO of fiction.

The students, who earlier had an expression of despair, began to regain calmness after hearing Kouki's nonsense. Their eyes shined brightly, seeming to have found hope in this situation. Half of the school girls sent admiring glances at him. Hajime mentally sighed. They were overly idealistic. If he had to guess, at least half the class would die in war or betrayal before the story ended.

"I thought you would say something like that. If you were to do it alone, I would worry about you. I'll also fight."

"Ryutaro."

"At this moment, that is all we can do. It's not like I hate it; I'll fight too."

"Shizuku."

"Eh, if Shizuku-chan is going, I'll try my best."

"Kaori."

The usual group of four agreed with Kaori. The rest of the classmates seemed to approve and went with the flow. While Aiko-sensei tried to argue against it with watery eyes, Kouki's display rendered her efforts useless.

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After all, it seemed that everyone was taking going to war as some game, except for Shizuku, as Hajime knew her since childhood. 'Bunch of fools… they didn't even realize that's hell they're walking into...' Hajime thought, making an Archer reference.

But most of the time, his eyes observed Ishtar. The priest had a very satisfied expression on his face. Something was telling Hajime that things were more than he had been told.

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**First POV**

Since we all 'agreed' to participate in the war, which I didn't like but still had to go with the flow, they would train us to fight. Even if we had a lot of extra power and potential, in the end, we were just a bunch of regular high school students.

Also, this church is located on "God's Mountain," and at its foot is the "Hairihi Kingdom," which arranged for this. The kingdom had a very close relationship with the Church. The god they worshipped was the God of Creation, Ehit, and this country was founded by the family of Charm Byrne. The relationship was strong because the church supported this country.

We went out the front gate of the church, descending the mountain to visit the Hairihi Kingdom. The church was located at the summit of "God's Mountain." When the majestic church gates opened, a sea of clouds greeted us. Even if it was very high, I did not feel the effects of the high altitude. Maybe it was because magic made it a more comfortable living environment.

I must say, this was the most beautiful scenery I had seen in both my lives: the blue sky, the sparkling sun, and the sea of clouds. Ishtar was boasting about something regarding God's grace, but I kept myself in check, not saying anything that might cause this god-obsessed pope to get behind my ass, as it's a typical set of protagonist vs. religion or corrupted church.

Eventually, a circular white pedestal surrounded by fences came into view. The beautiful corridor was made of the same material as seen in the cathedral. After approaching the pedestal, we rode on it. On the pedestal, there were huge magic formations carved into it. Because there was a sea of clouds on the other side of the fence, the students gathered in the center restlessly. Ishtar started to chant.

"The road that leads opens for the faithful, 'Tendou.'"

As soon as he said that, the magic formation started to shine. For the students, seeing magic for the first time made them excited. When the pedestal broke through the clouds, it caused an uproar. Eventually, it passed through the clouds, and the ground could be seen. We saw a big town underneath. A huge castle was built into the mountain, and the castle town spread from the castle. This was the Hairihi Kingdom. The pedestal led us to the roof of a very expensive tower connected to the royal palace.

I was having fun with the production value on display. Anyone want to do something magical? I also didn't forget to order Raphael to analyze the magic. This not only presented the students in a good light for the people but also the members of the church.

I still remember how religion uses this type of miraculous scene. After all, religion and politics were closely tied together. Both kept order and morality in people by using the fear of God and laws.

There was a likelihood that it would lead to trouble later on. However, this world may be even more strained. After all, this world had the power to touch other worlds while following the "Will of God." The possibility of us returning all relied on saving the world and the feelings of their god. While looking over the capital city, I suppressed the uneasiness I was feeling due to plot armor warning me of danger, which caused me unknown excitement.

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