I passed out asleep as soon as I settled within my quarters. I didn't care that it was probably midday. I was exhausted. Really exhausted.
It was easy to say that I had already experienced enough stress for one day. I had woken up worrying about the upcoming final exams, and I had fallen asleep realizing how comical and insignificant those worries actually were. It was no longer a matter of possible humiliation anymore. It was now a matter of life and death. I had to watch every word and every action that I did from now on, because from now on, one single mistake would bring me straight to the executioner's block. Sure, I was confident in my intelligence and my wits, but still, I was treading a very, very thin line.
So it wasn't without reason that I passed out immediately.
And besides, the mattress was actually really comfy!
I grew up sleeping on some twenty dollar rock-hard mattress from Ikea! It would be an offense to the mattress if I didn't give it my due reverence! Right?
Unfortunately, my beauty rest didn't last long. In fact, I was woken up…rather…abruptly…
BANG!
I jolted up from my mattress, my head still in a drowsy daze.
What was that noise?
Was someone knocking on the door to my room? And where was I? This wasn't home!
"My prince!" A woman called out. "It is close to the setting of the Sun. You are needed with the Hero's Party promptly!"
Memory of the recent events suddenly came rushing back to my head. That's right. My class was teleported to another world, and I was essentially fucked. I groaned aloud. For fuck's sake! Can't you let me escape from reality for just a bit longer?
A team of maids immediately barged into my room to answer my question.
No. Too much to ask for Emmett. Too much to ask for.
"We must dress you immediately. The King will certainly have your head off if you are not guarding the Hero's Party in the dining hall tonight."
A shiver ran down my spine as I heard her words. I guess advocating for my beauty sleep right now would bring me nothing more than my own death.
"Try these clothes my prince." A maid in her later years said, placing a fine pair of trousers on top of button-up linen dress-shirt beside me on the mattress. "You wrinkled your own clothes from sleeping in them, so it would be best if you changed into these."
I blankly stared at the clothes beside me for a moments. I was supposed to wear this around? Just so that I could protect a group of hooligan students? I mean, I knew I was a prince now, but still, I couldn't possibly wear something so expensive!
"My prince! You are courting death by sitting there staring at your clothes!"
Well…maybe I could actually. I jumped up from my mattress and began unbuttoning my crimson jacket I wore in bed. But then I realized something.
There were four maids attending to me right now.
How the hell was I supposed to get changed with four maids in the room?
I would die of embarrassment!
"My prince, there is no need for you to undress yourself." A youthful maid with straight black hair said, drawing closer to me. "Here, let us unbutton you, my prince."
I felt my face heat up immediately as the maids began to unbutton both my shirt and my trousers.
What the fuck was this?!
Was I dreaming, stuck in some weird sexual fantasy?
I had to be! The maids were undressing me! This wasn't normal in any reality!
And wasn't Hermes supposed to be some perverted scum?!
Wait…
No.
Don't tell me that this is leading to where I think it is…
Oh no…
I'm only a young boy Mommy…
I can't do this yet. I can't-
"Your clothes are off, my prince." The same maid called out, suddenly stepping away from me. "Please dress yourself and we'll handle the finishing touches."
My eyes widened as I heard their words. They weren't going to do…that?
I let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that I was only catastrophizing this time.
I had maintained my purity for yet another day.
Victory once again.
Nevertheless, this sudden turnaround did raise a few questions.
Why did they even undress me in the first place? If what Milia and the King said was true, then everyone including the maids should despise me and avoid me at all costs.
So was it just a strange custom in this world?
Or maybe-
I quickly shook off the thought, and slung on the fine black trousers lying on the mattress. For the first time I had come to this world, I had found a question that I didn't want answered. Maybe I would stumble upon the answer one day, but for now, I had much more pressing questions to answer.
That included determining how long my new schlong would be, a question that was ripe for answering as I began to button up my trousers. Of course, I couldn't exactly completely strip in front of four maids, but nevertheless, the slight bulge on my breeches gave me a rough guess as to how substantial my shaft really was.
And needless to say, it was definitely an upgrade from my previous body.
Cracking a triumphant grin, I finished buttoning up my trousers and started doing up my shirt. As I meticulously latched on the buttons not only on the placket but also on the cuff, I decided to examine my new upper body. The first thing I noticed was that I was lean. I was definitely not corded with muscle, but I wasn't scrawny either. And I felt somewhat…fit. I never really played sports back in my old body, so it felt…satisfying. Really satisfying.
"Are you finished clothing yourself, my prince? We must fit your armor and sword on immediately."
I snapped out of my trance and tilted my head towards the young maid with the black hair. Armor? Like the stuff the knights used to wear in medieval times? I was going to have to wear that?
"Ah yes." I answered, trying to sound dignified. "Fit the armor on with haste please."
The maids surrounded me as soon as I gave the command, swathing me with various pieces of foreign equipment.
Two over-sized gauntlets stretching up both of my forearms.
A shortsword strapped in a leather sheathe against my left thigh.
A signet of shield pinned to my right breast pocket.
I nearly laughed aloud as the maids stepped away from me to signal that they were finished. That was all the armor I needed! Just two gauntlets! Hell, I thought I was going to have tread around in 50 pounds of metal!
This wasn't too bad!
"Would you like to brush your hair today, or would you prefer your hair untidy again, my prince."
I looked back at the maid in confusion. Brush my hair? I didn't know that Hermes' hair was untidy-
Wait!
I haven't even seen my new face yet!
"Bring me a mirror." I ordered with urgency, wanting to see my new face. "I must have a look first before I decide."
The maid nodded her head and dashed into the closet to find the mirror. A well of anticipation rose from inside of me.
Would I be handsome or ugly? Freckled or clear-skinned? Would my untidy hair be revolting, or would it look charming?
The maid dashed over to me with the mirror in her hand, and for the first time, I gazed upon my new face.
My jaw dropped.
Wavy jet black hair covered the top of my head, sprouting haphazardly in random directions to cover my ears and my forehead. My skin was astonishingly white, so much so that it seemed to reflect the light shining towards it. And surprisingly, despite appearing to be a teenager, not one freckle or pimple blemished my skin, rendering my facial features to near-perfection.
"Is everything alright, my prince?"
I nearly broke down laughing where I stood.
Am I alright?
Of course I am!
Look at me! I could be a model with my looks!
Heck, I'd be the envy of every boy back on Earth!
Was my beauty probably the results of generations of royal inbreeding?
Most definitely!
But I can't complain!
This was awesome!
"My prince, we must get moving." The older maid spoke up, her words tainted with haste. "The Hero's Party will not wait forever."
I nodded slowly, my mind still reeling in joy. For the first time today, no, in a long time actually, I felt like I had hope.
Sure, I might have gotten the short end of the stick for many things in this world.
Sure, I was despised.
Sure, I was chained by my own life to protect the Hero's Party,
And sure, I would be killed if anyone discovered that I was the 20th hero.
But at least I had something more than I did back in my old life.
Intelligence alone had accomplished nothing for me on Earth.
But now, I had both intelligence and charm.
I had another asset to jump over all the hurdles before me, to ram down all the doors standing my way.
And sure, it wasn't going to be easy.
It wasn't going to be a walk in the park.
But at least I had another chance.
Another chance to overcome my adversities.
Another chance to overcome the scumbags standing in my way of success.
Yes.
I had another chance.
And I would use that chance.
And I would succeed.
"Of course." I declared with a jolt of optimism, a newfound confidence in my voice. "To the Hero's Party we go."