Along with Drake, three other people had been transferred into what looked like the hall of a cathedral.
They wore modern clothes, such as tracksuits, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding dieval-style robed clergy.
As for Drake, before arriving, he had already changed into a set of casual clothes he had picked up for free in Tokonosu City.
"What exactly is going on?"
Among the other three "transmigrators," soone voiced a confused question.
Then, including Drake, all of them noticed that after crossing over, a weapon had appeared in each of their hands.
A wooden shield.
A wooden sword.
A wooden bow.
And a wooden spear.
"So they truly are the Four Cardinal Heroes…"
An elderly man in splendid robes stepped out from among the clergy and spoke.
"Heroes, we beg you—please rise and save this world!"
"What?!"
The three young n, who looked about the age of university students, cried out in bewildernt the mont they heard those words.
"What is this, so kind of prank show? Where are the caras?!"
"Quit ssing around. I've got class later."
"What is that supposed to an?"
Drake couldn't shake the feeling that this scene looked more like the opening of so infinite-flow novel.
Except this was not so reincarnation space, nor was there any so-called Main God presiding over it. This was a proper hero summoning.
"Although the situation is complicated and cannot be explained in a few words, to put it in terms you may understand…"
The old man considered his wording for a mont, then spoke the explanation he had prepared.
"We have summoned you Heroes-sama here through an ancient summoning ritual."
"This world now faces a crisis that threatens its very survival. We humbly beseech you Heroes-sama to help us overco the calamity before us!"
The old man, whose position seed exceedingly high, bowed solemnly to the four heroes.
Aside from Drake, however, the other young n did not seem inclined to accept that.
"No way."
"Yeah, forget it."
"You have a way to send us back to our original world, right?"
"Settle that first, then we can talk about everything else."
The boy who looked like a high school student raised the short bow in his hand and pointed it toward the old man.
"You summoned us here without asking for our consent."
"If you use us and then just throw us aside afterward, wouldn't we be working for free?"
Drake had answered the call on his own and been summoned here willingly.
Still, he did not mind watching these other so-called "Heroes" put on a show.
His gaze swept over each of them in turn, and the corresponding information quickly surfaced in his mind.
'The Spear Hero, Motoyasu Kitamura.'
'The Bow Hero, Itsuki Kawasumi.'
'And… the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani.'
'In that case, I must have taken the place of the original Sword Hero, Ren Amaki.'
The ones objecting to the old man's plea were mostly the Spear Hero and the Bow Hero.
As for the Shield Hero, the protagonist of the original work, he still looked as though he had not fully grasped the situation.
That was in line with his personality. Rather than calling him an honest person, it would be more accurate to say he was painfully dull-witted.
"We ask that the four Heroes-sama first grant His Majesty an audience. Afterward, we may discuss matters concerning your rewards."
The robed old man stepped aside, revealing the long corridor that stretched beyond the end of the solemn red carpet.
"…Hah. The king, huh? Guess we have no choice."
The handso Spear Hero, who looked at a glance like the outgoing type from so campus club, shrugged and followed.
"Doesn't matter who we talk to. If the rewards aren't good enough, it's all the sa."
"W-Wait for ."
Seeing the Spear Hero and Bow Hero go on ahead, the Shield Hero scratched his head and hurried after them.
When he passed beside Drake, however, he stopped and reminded him.
"You were summoned too, right? You should probably co along."
"Mm."
Drake nodded faintly and walked beside Naofumi Iwatani at an unhurried pace.
As the protagonist, Naofumi was the type who was nice to a fault.
The reason he later blackened was simply because the threshold of how much abuse he could endure finally hit its limit, and the rebound ca hard.
Since his attitude was decent enough, Drake could lend him a hand later.
Of course… as for those girls, Drake would not be polite about taking them for himself.
In this world, those female characters did not belong to anyone yet, so there was no question of stealing another man's love.
On both sides of the corridor leading to the throne room, the scenery of the royal capital gradually ca into view.
Beneath the vast sky stood a prosperous city filled with Western-style architecture.
In terms of scale, it was roughly one-fifth the size of the Labyrinth City Orario.
After all, Orario was a city built with the help of the gods. Its scale was indeed a little absurd.
Drake and the others, however, had no ti to admire the city's scenery before they were brought directly into the audience chamber.
"Oh? So these young n are the Four Cardinal Heroes of ancient legend?"
Seated high upon the throne, wearing a crown upon his head, the dignified old man looked down at the group as they entered the hall.
"I am the king of this nation, Aultcray lromarc XXXII."
"Heroes, I permit you to dispense with kneeling."
Not that any of the Heroes summoned from the modern world had shown the slightest intention of kneeling in the first place.
To be perfectly honest, as first impressions went… this old man gave off a terrible feeling.
He was like the kind of ruinous monarch born when a nation was already decaying, overflowing with arrogance and self-importance.
"First, I must explain the course of events to you."
"This nation, and indeed this world, is now marching toward destruction."
Drake noticed that the newly summoned Heroes beside him all wore expressions that said, "Ah, so it's that kind of plot after all." Even Naofumi Iwatani was no exception.
After all, this type of story setup had long since beco overused and stale in modern novels, films, and similar works.
Hearing such a premise now only made it feel sowhat clichéd.
After that, the king began a lengthy explanation.
To summarize it simply, this world had a prophecy that foretold the coming of the end.
A calamity known as the Waves of Calamity would descend this year. If they failed to repel the Waves, the entire world would be dood.
According to the prophecy, the signs of the disaster could be predicted through an object called the Dragon Hourglass, which would issue a warning one month in advance.
In other words, before every Wave, there would be a one-month buffer period.
At first, the nations of the world had not taken the prophecy seriously—until the disaster actually arrived.
Within the territory of lromarc, the nation that had summoned the Heroes, a giant crystal had suddenly appeared, and countless monsters had poured out from a portal beside it.
At the ti, the kingdom's knights and adventurers had joined forces and barely managed to repel the horde of monsters.
But the next Wave would bring an even fiercer assault.
If this continued, the kingdom's fighting strength would only be worn down until nothing remained.
Thus, the king and the Church of the Three Heroes had followed ancient tradition and conducted the hero summoning ritual.
That was the cause and context behind everyone being summoned to this world.
"I get it. So what you're saying is that just because we were summoned here, we're supposed to help you for free?"
The Spear Hero crossed his arms and spoke to the king without the slightest reverence.
"That's pretty self-serving. We Heroes have free will too, you know."
"Exactly. Only when disaster is at your doorstep do you rush to find soone to take the bla? A world like that can go ahead and perish for all I care."
The Bow Hero agreed from the side as well.
Naofumi glanced at Drake, who had yet to say anything. After thinking for a mont, he decided to back them up too.
"We really don't have any obligation to obey your country. Also… can we return to our original world or not?"
"Urgh…"
Of the four summoned Heroes, three showed little desire to cooperate.
The gazes of the king and his ministers all shifted to Drake, who had remained silent until now.
Even the Heroes who had just spoken turned to look at him.
"…I ca in answer to this world's call."
Drake's expression was calm, and his voice rang out with extraordinary force.
"I am a mber of a god's Familia, an explorer of infinite worlds, a monarch who commands shadows, and a Hero of salvation."
"I do not care whether this country survives or perishes. It is this world that cried out to for help."
"Before you receive my aid, you should be the ones to prove that this country is worth saving."
The audience chamber fell deathly silent.
The other three Heroes exchanged looks.
Although they had not known one another before this, at that mont, the exact sa thought surfaced in their minds.
'He's got chuunibyou syndrom, doesn't he…?'
'Yeah. Definitely chuunibyou.'
'A god's Familia, the Monarch of Shadows, a Hero of salvation… haha, I'm going to die laughing.'
Even the king and his ministers looked as though they were barely holding back laughter.
Apparently, they had a very clear idea of what kind of Heroes they had expected to summon.
But soon, the smiles on their faces froze instantly.
Because behind Drake, a four-ard Skeleton King wreathed in shadowy flas had silently appeared at so unknown point.
The bloodthirsty red light flickering within its skull sent a chill through everyone present.
Even the royal guards standing beside the king trembled before its oppressive aura and eerie form.
"That is all I have to say."
In front of the king himself, Drake sat down on one of the Skeleton King's arms, crossed his legs, and waited for the other party to continue.
"O-Our nation will offer generous compensation to all Heroes-sama!"
The king's body trembled so violently that he nearly rose from his throne, but in the end, he managed to force his legs under control through sheer royal pride.
"In addition, I will also provide a separate support fund to help each Hero-sama familiarize himself with this world…"
"We sincerely hope that you Heroes-sama will rise to protect this world, and for that purpose, we shall spare no effort in providing you with assistance!"
As though wanting to end this audience as quickly as possible, the king poured out all the favorable conditions for the Heroes in one breath.
Originally, these benefits might have been revealed bit by bit over the course of a long negotiation.
But now, because of the strength Drake had suddenly displayed, all of them had been placed directly on the table.
No one answered.
Or rather, everyone was waiting for the only person qualified to respond.
"Fine. We'll leave it at that for now."
Drake gave a noncommittal reply.
"Continue."
Continue…? In this atmosphere, continue with what?!
The prophecy had clearly said that summoned Heroes would be weak at first and would need to grow stronger through continuous training.
So why had soone this terrifying appeared from the very beginning?!
Could there have been so flaw in the Four Holy Summoning Ritual?
The king exchanged a glance with the bishop beside him and saw the confusion in each other's eyes.
Only after wiping the cold sweat from his face did the king finally speak.
"It is already late. Heroes-sama, please rest well for tonight. Tomorrow, you may set out and begin your adventures."
"Before tomorrow, I will gather elite adventurers qualified to serve as companions for each of you."
"Guards, escort the Heroes to their respective guest rooms."
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