- King Abdel's POV-
May the gods have mercy on my soul.
How did this happen? Why? What have I done wrong? Do the gods really wish for my country to fall into the eternal abyss of damnation this badly?
It all begun when the sovereign country who protected Marderitia in the past thousand years has fallen under the hands of a certain Demon Lord that appeared out of nowhere 52 years ago in this land.
It was rumored that she was a monster of a 7 digit country with the power to enter 6 digits ranking at will... Against something like that, there is no 9 digits empire who could hold its wits.
Right now the Demonic army is at our borders. We can't hold on. It's impossible. But we have to. Otherwise, there will be millions of deaths. If we run away, all the innocents from the villages will die a dog's death. That can't be allowed.
I must protect my country.
"I MUST!!!" [King Abdel]
'Sigh'
There is only a way that might save us. But by doing this, a poor innocent will have to risk his life, give up on his family, friends, and their world help us. Hero summoning!
In the ancient times, this was a common practice. But then, a little more than two thousand years ago, a hero was summoned to this world. Instead of helping the country that... Well, abducted him I guess... He went on a rampage annihilating empire after empire without mercy.
Since then, Hero Summoning Ritual has become something Taboo!
Still, there is no choice. Taking the best decision for the country's sake is the responsibility of a king.
If in the future the summoned one will seek vengeance, I will gladly give him my life. As long as our country is safe, I don't mind dying.
"Warmer, this is an order! Prepare the hero summoning ritual right away. We don't have time to waste!" [King Abdel].
I try to be as decisive as possible, but I am sure that Warmer could feel the hesitation in my voice. Still, this is necessary! Even if the Hero goes on a rampage, at least he will have to fight for his life against the Demon Lord. This might allow us to save a few more innocent citizens!
"As you wish, your majesty!" [Warmer]
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How could something like this happen??? Why??? I don't understand... There was not even enough power and still...
The ritual was a success in itself, but instead of a single hero, 13 have been summoned.
To make things worse, not even one of them have been blessed by the gods.
But I don't understand. We did everything like it was in the ancient tomes. The summoning worked, but why did 13 heroes been summoned.. What was our mistake?
' Someone... Please... Answer me!!!! '
I scream inside my head, but obviously, no one will answer. Now I am responsible for taking the lives of 13 innocents from a different world that have nothing to do with our war. This will haunt me forever. But mistakes have been made. Now all we can do is to help them with everything we can.
First, I must tell them everything. Nothing good will come from lying in this kind of situation. After that, we must take them out of the country to a safe place where protection is guaranteed.
This will be the last thing I will do as a king. I will protect this poor unlucky summoned beings with everything I've got.
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Right now we are in the royal conference room.
I can see in their eyes, two main kinds of feeling: happiness and excitement. Too bad it won't last long...
Warmer urges them to take a seat. After everyone has sat down, we present ourselves and the discussions starts as planned. Or not...
One of them asks me the question that I was most afraid of. "Is there a way to go home? " .
Even so, I won't lie to them. Not now, nor ever!
" No, there is no way! "
In that second their faces changed and distorted. The happiness turned into fear and the excitement into despair. I can't blame them...
I turn my head a bit and look in the eyes of the one that asked me that question.
'Ehhh.... '
I was expecting to see the same thing that I saw in the others, but in his case, the feeling is not fear or despair but coldness.
'Shiver... '
I am afraid. Why? I don't know... But I am afraid.
I take a better look at him. If I think a little and compare him, to those twelve kids, he seems different.
That guy is almost 2 meters tall, but is not bulky. Some muscles can be seen here and there, but not much to be honest. He has black hair that goes to his shoulders. His eyes are also black with a tinge of green.
He looks exactly like a scholar from our top academies. But what distinguish him from the other 12 are his clothes. The others are dressed in some kind of uniform, quite well made from top notch materials. It is something that even our royal tailor would have trouble making from scratch. This shows that they are not ordinary people.
Furthermore, considering the way they react in this situation, it can be seen that they are educated and disciplined. From this information, I can deduct that those twelve are some kind of nobles on that Mythical Planet called Earth.
But that guy wears only a simple shirt with short pants and slippers on his feet. Furthermore, he sits cross-legged, with a bored expression on his face and no respect to those around him.
Maybe he is a baggage carrier or something like that. And those twelve are his masters or employers... Or maybe... No... No more wild guessing... It doesn't help my situation!
I mean, what the hell was that feeling... For a second I was terrified... When I looked in his eyes, I saw for a second a beast capable of tearing me apart limb to limb... But now he seems to be only a simple commoner... Maybe it was only my imagination?
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Almost two hours have passed, but finally, I've told them pretty much all they have to know about this world.
Now I should prepare a carriage and some soldiers and send them far away through the teleportation circle. After that, I will start evacuating all the villages around while the army will do its best to keep the demons at bay.
I won't run away. I will get my old rusty sword and stand in front of the incoming waves. Maybe a demon will stop and take my head. In the meantime, 100 women and children might be able to flee. This is my duty.
Well then let's start moving....
"King – San, may I ask you one more question?" [Andel]
Oh, him again. I tell him to ask me anything he wants. I won't hold back on any kind of information. Even if he is only a commoner, this doesn't mean that he is less of a human being than any of us.
"Where can I find a big pond around here? " [Andel]
.... .... ....
The hell????
What... What is this question? What in the name of all gods is he asking me?
I can't answer. That caught me totally off guard, and it seems I am not the only one... Everyone is dumbfounded...
In the end, my wife Ellaine answers him. Thank you, my love, you saved my face there.
Andel rises from his seat and starts walking to the exit... Calm down and assess the situation!
'DO IT!'
I encourage myself and, in the end, manage to calm down and ask him.
"Andel–San, excuse me, but can you tell us what you want to do at that pond? If there is anything..." [King Abdel]
He interrupts me in the middle of the sentence. Quite rude I might add, but that is not a problem considering the situation.
Still... His answer... Is... At least said unexpected...
"Fishing. I am going to fish for a little bit. " [Andel]
This time, I am not as shocked as before. I keep my calm and ask him to tell me why would he want to do something like that.
His answer was... Simple and enlightening.
"Relaxing. Fishing is relaxing. I need to think about some things right now... " [Andel]
"I see... " [King Abdel]
That is true. Many things happened today and I didn't take into account the mental fatigue they have experienced.
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One hour later, I finished the preparations and took Ellaine, Warmer, the 12 summoned humans and 100 or so guards and went to the pond where Andel should be.
He is actually fishing...
Eh...
Where did he get a fishing rod from? There shouldn't be any fishermen so close to the Temple!
Well, whatever... A bit of relaxation is needed once in a while I guess...
'Glu Glu Glu '
What is that??? The surface of the lake starts swelling up as something big seems to be coming from underneath. What the hell could that massive thing be?
'Hyaaaa... aa..'
A deafening sound can be heard.
"Oh no!!! That is..." [King Abdel]
Why is something like that here??? Why now of all times??? Do the gods really hate me this much? Something like this didn't occur in this place for tens of years and now, out of the sudden, it happened... This is definitely my unlucky day!
"Andel!!!! RUN!!!"
If he dies, my soul will definitely be burnt in the blue fires of the Purgatory Realm for the whole eternity. Please, gods, have a bit of mercy on my soul and help him!