"Sorry for the impoliteness our Deputy Commander showed you, Honored Hero."
Elegance, Beauty, and a commanding aura defined the woman standing in front of Yuuji. But something wasn't quite right. Her attitude seemed to be that of someone who's noble and from the way she was dressed it was quite possible–
"I'm Thoka Smith, Lord of this kingdom." She introduced herself with a warm smile.
When Yuuji first heard of "Lord" he thought it'd definitely be a man whose hair was grey and with a long beard wearing some fancy clothes, however the person– the "Lord" in front of him was in fact a woman.
He was too used to that trope in novels. An old dying man would meet the hero and be kind to them, only to then stab the hero in the back and banish him from the kingdom and call him some absurd name like a devil or something. Only for then the actual leader who was on a secret long mission to come back and fix everything with the hero.
Loose long green hair with a part of it put in a ponytail, reddish orange eyes, a long dress with a metal plate protecting the chest part.
It wasn't just her attitude, even her look was elegant, it felt like she'd come from a high-ranking noble house with that attitude.
The place lacked attendants, not the sort of thing you'd expect in a mansion this big that also houses the Lord of the kingdom.
"No need to apologize, Miss Thoka!" Amilia panicked as she replied
Thoka giggled at Amilia's panic and followed it up with a "It's fine, It's fine."
"Alright. Let's get to the matters at hand. Please, follow me, Hero." Thoka clapped her hands to grab everyone's attention once again.
"Please, call me Yuuji. Just Yuuji." Yuuji replied back to Thoka.
Yuuji's tone of voice was one disregarding all formalities and all manners talking to someone higher ranked than him. He disliked that type of thing back in Japan. As the saying goes, In the land you know no one in, bring out your true self.
Sweat beads formed on Amilia's forehead at that attitude that could get him in trouble. Sure, she knows how kind Thoka was, but it was not a way to talk to a Lord.
It didn't make it any better how Thoka's expression changed into complete shock, which quickly got overwritten by a mischievous smile.
"Mhm. That's good. Just as I had hoped" she closed her eyes then turned around while still standing on the staircase.
With that situation all calming down, they finally started heading to wherever Thoka was leading them. Three minutes and they found themselves in front of a decently sized door.
Two guards stood in front of the room to serve as protection to their Lady– or in this case Lord. With well-timed strikes of their spears they saluted their Lord as she headed inside the meeting room with her guests following suit.
A spacious room which felt like it was made for more major events than this. A massive round table stood in the middle of the room with twenty chairs surrounding it. One of the chairs looked different than the others, showing whom it belonged to. A large-circular window stood behind said chair illuminating it slightly enough to make sure the lord always outshines everyone. Clearly the interior designer for this place had some very ego lifting ideas.
Yuuji's first thought was to open his mouth in awe. The scenery could be even said to be straight up out of a movie from how unbelievable it was.
Cutting into his thoughts, Thoka smiled "Do you like it, Yuuji?"
Yuuji nodded "It really looks well planned and well maintained, Miss Thoka."
"No need for formalities. Isn't that what you already stated giving your name down there?" Thoka giggled mischievously.
"Larson," Thoka called out to someone.
The knight in silver armor immediately stepped inside the room with a sound form
"Make sure no one comes in unless it's an emergency."
"Yes, Lord Thoka!"
The guard hit his spear on the ground to show his compliance and left the room. With that done, Thoka clapped her hand to grab everyone's attention in the room.
"Everyone, take a seat" Thoka sat down first then gestured to everyone to sit down.
What Yuuji failed to notice was the two giants already in the room, he let his guard down due to how amazing the room looked. Clearly an oversight on his behalf.
A bearded man and a ginger beastkin sat down with them on the same table. Before Yuuji could even ask, Thoka interjected
"These two are General Marcus and General Rüdiger," Thoka pointed at the two men sitting next to each other.
At that gesture, The bearded man stood up first.
"Esteemed guests of Wintervale, My name is Marcus Dominic. Please call me Marcus."
The man bowed respectfully like a noble and sat down. Straight away, The ginger-haired beastkin stood up with the same pose as Marcus
"My name is Raphael Rüdiger. From the proud family of Rüdiger. We serve loyally as royal guards."
The man seemed to boast a little but nothing out of bounds. The moment he finished and before he sat down, Marcus gave him an elbow to the side.
"Why are you boasting, Raph?" Marcus' tone seemed to be very light-hearted.
'Maybe he's trying to lighten up the mood a little. It does feel a little suffocating with many people here.' Yuuji thought to himself.
Yuuji was good at talking to anyone, one on one. But when it came to talking to crowds or in meetings, he felt an immense weight on him.
It showed when he spoke with his teachers one on one during his school time or when he used to do martial arts.
"With introductions out of the wa– No wait, our hero hasn't introduced himself to you two"
Thoka glanced towards Yuuji who started to sweat a little. His second worst nightmare after terminator frogs with their robotic features, public introduction.
"M-My name is Yuu–" before he could even continue, Marcus' voice boomed loudly
"AH! I heard the Lord calling your name already don't worry about it" with a little dismissive wave of his hands he gestured for Yuuji to sit back down
"That's a little rude, Marcus." and Raphael wasn't letting it go either.
A loud clap could be heard and it came from Thoka's side of the table. Clearly, she wanted to get to the heart of the matter. While breaking the ice was nice and all, she wanted to get to the point due to other pressing matters.
"I'm sure you have many questions for me, Yuuji." She narrowed her eyes at Yuuji, whilst resting her chin on her hands. A creepy mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face.
She indeed read his mind, the amount of questions he had was not something to be laughed at. Though he needed to choose what to ask and what not to ask, it didn't look like they had any spare time.
"Indeed." Yuuji paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Why did you bring me here? Also what's these colored crystals that you all have? And why would I be the perfect candidate?"
No shots spared, he launched these questions out immediately, these were the pressing matters at hand for him at least. He really couldn't be bothered much about their pressing matters, he was the one trapped here away from home.
Thoka's eyes widened with surprise at Yuuji's questions. She let out a sigh, narrowing her eyes once again.
She clearly wasn't ready for him to go all out, but she also half expected these questions. She didn't expect him to go all at once, but the questions were not that absurd sounding.
"Let's start off with something simple." She paused, "The crystals are blessings granted to those who are deemed worthy… We don't understand what's worthy enough to be granted such special magic, but nonetheless it's given only to certain people."
"Though, that's just the textbook explanation. These crystals are just catalysts that enhance your ability to use a certain type of magic." She then looked at Amilia's side. "Amilia's here is ice. Sure, she can use other elements but definitely not as great as ice. Thus, most people just learn magic related to their 'Element' and nothing else to save time." She continued explaining.
Yuuji looked at Amilia who shrugged her shoulders when she felt his gaze as in "There's no other answer"
Thoka chuckled upon that scene "You should be trusting me more, you know?"
She then left him no room for complaining as she jumped to his next question. "As to why exactly you.." Her voice trailed off a little "Perhaps, You could call it fate"
That sounded suspicious to him. There was clearly something else about it, at least, that's what he felt. Her demeanor and the way she smiles did make her seem like a villain who's hiding something from the main protagonist in one of those animes he watched before. He couldn't recall the name, but it wasn't what he was focused on at the moment.
"I know my answer may not be satisfactory to you, Yuuji. But that's about all I know."
Her tone seemed sincere, Yuuji wasn't about to completely abandon his suspicions but he'll try his best to believe her, try being the keyword here.
"Now for why you're needed here.. We need you to–"
As soon as Thoka was about to finish her sentence, One of the guards rushed through the door.
"LORD THOKA!" The guard could barely catch his breath "The kingdom walls are being attacked!"
Thoka stood up immediately and looked at Yuuji "Looks like your answer came fast huh.."
Thoka's voice was filled with anxiety. To her, this man right there could just about refuse to help her completely and they'd not be able to force him. However–
It took Yuuji no hesitation to make a decision at that point. He's no hero, he's not an anime protagonist, he's not too nice as to offer himself out to die somewhere he didn't even know or had any relation with. In fact, he'd prefer to never put himself on the line for no real reason.
Even so, seeing the people at the market enjoying their lives and having a normal day. Not really thinking about anything other than what they'll make for dinner, where they'd take their wives out tonight, how they'd surprise their kids on their birthday party.
That alone changed Yuuji's decision from completely rejecting to–
"I'll go with you. Please, prepare a sword for me." Yuuji confidently stood up slamming his hands on the round table.
And that relieved Thoka's anxiety as if the attack was fully subdued.