Following the awakening, we receive invitations to a banquet in our honor, officially welcoming us as the newfound heroes. The air buzzes with excitement as the royal banquet begins. The hall is ornate, bathed in the golden glow of countless chandeliers. Long, luxurious tables are laden with a plethora of fancy dishes.
King Alaric stands, raising his goblet. "To our newly arrived heroes! May your bravery and strength lead us to victory against the forces that threaten our world!"
The room erupts in cheers.
"Glory to our new heroes!"
"Glory to the King!"
"Glory to Valeria!"
And the banquet begins.
As live orchestrated music starts to play, people immediately flock towards Hiroshi and Takumi. The kingdom's nobles, top warriors, and scholars are all eager to hear more about the boys' blood talent. The two boys have become instant celebrities. Many people line up to meet them, bringing expensive gifts, leaving them with not even a single minute to sit and enjoy the food.
On the other hand, Yumi sits quietly at the dining table, lost in thought, twirling a strand of her hair absently.
"Hey, are you not enjoying the banquet?" I approach her.
"No, it's just…" Yumi's voice is tinged with sadness, "I've been thinking about what I should do from now on. Should I go back to our world, or should I stay? I don't even know if they ever need me or not, since my talent is not that impressive compared to the guys."
"Hmm, I don't think it's that bad to be honest," I reply.
Despite her talent being deemed inferior, her rank is still Heroic regardless. That's already better than 99% of people in this world! Her affinity with the nature element may not be useful in combat and is not highly valued, but it's still useful for many other things. Like Seraphina said, she can train to become a spirit user or a herbalist!
Therefore, I want to recruit Yumi to my team if possible. I need allies, especially ones with great talents like her.
But well, that's only if she wants to stay here in the first place.
"Yumi, you need to think about it carefully," I advise her. "Do you really want to stay? Or do you want to go back? You have your family at home, don't you? Shouldn't they be very worried right now?"
But Yumi's expression dims at my words.
"Actually, I... I don't..." Yumi's voice falters. "My family... I... I'm not sure if they're worried about me..." She bites her lip, her hands fidgeting nervously. "I... um... never mind..."
I immediately regret my presumption. On the surface, Yumi seems like a cheerful girl, always kind to others and frequently smiling. But beneath that façade, this girl clearly has been dealing with some issues that might be hard to talk about. And it might not be a good idea to delve into that further.
"Oh, I'm sorry…"
"No, it's okay…" Yumi replies, but with a half-hearted smile. "That aside, what about you, Jack? Are you planning to go back?" she deftly shifts the focus onto me.
"No, I'm staying here," I answer with confident.
"Heh? But you seem to have a good life back there!" Yumi exclaims.
Well, she isn't wrong. To anyone else, I appear to be the kind of man many aspire to be. Fit, well-dressed—in other words, everything about my appearance suggests that I'm a wealthy, successful man. Yet, here, I'm just a useless guy, one with a blood talent even below the worst rank. From Yumi's point of view, there's no reason for me to stay. And I can't tell her the real reason for my stay—not yet, anyway.
"Hmmm, I know, I just love to stay. The reason is simple: This is a fantasy world, after all. Ever since I was a child, I've always fantasized about being in a world like this. And now, there's a whole new realm waiting for me to explore. How can I say no to that?"
"Oh, I see!" Yumi exclaims, nodding her head in response. "I totally understand. But it still takes a lot of courage to abandon everything and chase your dreams. You're quite something, Jack. If I were you, I don't think I could ever do this…"
"Well, it does suck a little bit, not having any superpowers, haha," I reply. "But that doesn't really matter much. In fact, to me, life is the most fun when it's challenging! Even without the cheat abilities, I think I can still make it!"
"Yep, I believe you can do it too!"
As the conversation goes on, we get closer and move to some more light-hearted topics like anime and music, getting to know each other more. We chat and eat, enjoying the festive music and the delicious food as much as we can.
Meanwhile, the King and Grand Mage Seraphina are sit together, discussing something in secret.