Haruki looked around again, trying to make sense of his surroundings. His eyes landed on a woman standing not too far from them. She was dressed in a long, elegant gown that looked nothing like modern fashion in Japan. Is she cosplaying? Haruki wondered, narrowing his eyes. Behind her stood a group of men in full plate armor, holding pikes and swords, looking like something straight out of a medieval fantasy.
What the hell is this? Haruki thought, growing more confused by the second.
He glanced back at the other men who had been brought here with him. About seven of them, all looking just as lost and bewildered as he was.
The woman stepped forward, her expression calm and composed. "Welcome, summoned heroes," she said in a regal voice.
Haruki blinked, trying to process her words. Summoned heroes? The fuck this bitch talk about?
"I'm sorry if you're all confused," the woman said, her tone gentle but firm. "You were summoned to our world to help us. The details will be explained later."
Haruki, still in a drunken haze, tried to make sense of her words but ended up just nodding along. The woman gestured for him and the other summoned men to follow her. Haruki, still tipsy, shuffled behind the group, not really caring at the moment, just going along with whatever was happening. He ended up at the back, his head still spinning from the alcohol.
As they walked, the woman introduced herself as one of the royal mages responsible for the summoning ritual. "You all will have an audience with the King" she explained.
Haruki, still in his own world. His focus was more on keeping himself upright and not tripping over his own feet. His mind was foggy, and all this talk of kings and nobles was just background noise to him.
Suddenly, without warning, a strange status window appeared in front of his eyes. Haruki blinked, thinking maybe the alcohol was messing with his vision, but the window stayed there, floating in his view. It displayed his basic profile and stats:
Name: Haruki Nakamoto
Age: 27
Class: Wanderer
HP : 250 / 250 ( 4500/4500)
MP : 38 / 38 ( ∞ )
Stats:
Str : 18 ( 300 )
Agi : 17 ( 280 )
Int : 14 ( 295 )
Skills:
Magic Storage (Allows the user to store items in an invisible space)
Slavery Nullification (Nullifies any form of forced slavery or contract slavery on the user)
Haruki stared at the window for a moment. "The hell is this…?" he muttered, still unsure if this was real or just a weird dream.
This doesn't make sense. Why would something like this just appear out of nowhere? It felt too real to be a hallucination.
Trying to shake off his confusion, he closed the window with a thought and continued following the group, still unsure of what exactly was going on.
"Whatever.." Haruki thought, brushing it off. He couldn't be bothered to figure it out right now. The woman continued explaining things to the other men who had been summoned with him, talking about heroes, responsibilities, and something about saving the kingdom. Haruki barely listened, his focus drifting.
The others seemed interested, nodding along to what she was saying. But for Haruki, none of it mattered. "This is probably just some weird dream', he thought, still feeling the haze. He walked along, not paying attention to a single word coming from the woman mouth, his mind more concerned with how soon he could get some rest.
They all arrived in a grand waiting room, lavishly decorated, with a long table set with food and wine. The woman gestured to the spread, "Please help yourselves while you wait for your audience with the king." After that,she left them inside.
The other summoned men nodded eagerly, excitement clearly written on their faces. Some of them immediately started chatting about games they'd played, comparing this situation to the ones they'd experienced in those virtual worlds. "Man, this is just like that RPG!" one of them exclaimed. "I've been waiting for something like this my whole life!" another added.
Haruki raised an eyebrow, his irritation flaring up. "Games? Waiting for what? What are this brat talking about?" he thought, annoyed. They seriously think this is some kind of game? To him, this was all a confusing mess, not something to get excited about. "Fucking brat."
Without a word, Haruki casually walked over to the food table, grabbing whatever was in front of him. He began eating and drinking the wine, not caring about the situation or what was to come. At least the food was good, and for now, that was all he needed.
As the summoned men continued their chatter, they started introducing themselves to each other. From what Haruki overheard, most of them were around 17 or 18 years old—a bunch of kids. No wonder they think this is just like a game, he thought, chewing on a piece of meat.
One of the younger ones, walked up to Haruki and asked, "Hey, what's your name? You haven't introduced yourself yet!"
Haruki barely looked up, casually taking a sip of his wine before responding, "Don't you see I'm eating here? Where's your manners?" His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that made the kid hesitate.
The others went quiet for a moment, not sure how to react, but he didn't care. He was here for the food and drink, not for making friends.
Haruki glanced at the kid and sighed, clearly uninterested in their little social gathering. "Haruki," he said flatly, then motioned to the food in front of him. "So if you don't mind, I'm eating. You guys should eat too."
The others exchanged glances, unsure whether to take his advice or just leave him alone. Some nodded and went back to their own meals, while a few quietly whispered among themselves. Haruki didn't care. He grabbed another slice of meat and continued eating, completely unbothered by their stares. He thought. "I'm not here to play."
(End of chapter 2 )