Published: March 21, 2026
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――In a conference room inside the castle
A few hours after the summons, about half of the twenty-seven chairs were occupied.
Everyone has looked pale and thin since coming to this world, with dark circles under their eyes. The only ones who seemed energetic were me, Ms. Ueno, and Kyosuke Asahina, a samurai by profession and the strongest in class after me.
Then again, Asahina was always taciturn and expressionless, so it was hard to tell if he was feeling unwell. Even back in Japan, I’d rarely seen him speak—he was a mysterious guy. In our class he was close to Akira; Akira would talk at length while Asahina would just nod in response. He’s the kendo club captain and is apparently very well liked by his clubmates.
Come to think of it, Asahina has been in the same class as Akira the whole time too. Quite a coincidence. That mysteriousness of his feels even sharper since coming to this world.
“...I knew not everyone would be here. We’ll start with this number.”
I stood up and said that, and the already quiet air tightened further. Sharp gazes pierced me.
“What are you gonna say now, hero-sama?”
Katsumi Watanabe, who triggered a trap in the labyrinth, glared at me. I’d thought we’d grown closer as the hero squad since coming from Japan, but I guess that was just my illusion.
I returned his look with equal intensity. A few people flinched at that alone. There’s no one stronger than me here. Since Akira disappeared, Mr. Zeal, the new commander of the knights order, has been training me. I won’t lose easily. As the hero, I can’t lose. Not to anyone but Akira.
“This is about what we do next.”
The twenty-seven classmates—minus Akira—meet periodically in this conference room to exchange information. At the first meeting we swapped details about everyone’s professions. Of course we included Akira even though he wasn’t present then. That’s how I knew Akira’s profession. I’d pretty much guessed it, though.
“You mean from now on?”
“Hey, you know better than anyone how we’re doing, right? Don’t tell me you’re going to go take on the demon king?”
That was the tall female warrior and former ace of the girls’ volleyball team, Natsumi Sakata, and Kaichi Tanaka, the baseball team’s cleanup batter and a necromancer. Both were drafted into the hero squad for their athletic prowess. Now they’re leading the opposition against me.
The princess is ruthless. She’s executing a plan to undermine from within without hesitation—to shake me.
“That is exactly what I mean. I promised the king I would go defeat the demon king. I’m looking for people who will come with me.”
The conference room fell silent, then erupted a moment later.
“No way.”
“In this situation?”
“You’ve gotta be kidding.”
“You’re the one who caused this situation, aren’t you?”
“So you’re running away?”
“The name of the hero will be disgraced.”
“Ugh, running away is so lame!”
When people are silent, they’ll say whatever they want.
I struck the pure white marble table, carved from solid stone, with measured force. Maybe because I was careful not to crack it, the loud sound silenced the chatter without leaving even a hairline fracture. I didn’t want to break something that looked so expensive and then be hit with a huge bill later.
“…Hah. Fine. I didn’t expect anything from you.”
I sighed deeply. I hadn’t expected anything. But this made one thing clear.
“I’m leaving you all now. Do as you please—laze around or fight among yourselves.”
I stood from the seat of honor.
This is my choice. It seems the king and the princess will try to force me to comply by any means. So I’m leaving the castle. I won’t be anyone’s puppet.
“I’ll go with you.”
A voice I didn’t expect rang through the silent conference room. Looking toward it, I saw Asahina standing. That must have been his voice. It was the first time I’d heard him speak aloud.
Asahina standing caused several who’d been silent to stand as well. Among them were Ms. Ueno and Mr. Hosoyama.