I own nothing.
Hajime, who'd covered his eyes with both hands and kept them tightly shut, timidly opened his eyes. He was struck dumb at the sight of his surroundings.
The first thing his eyes registered was a massive mural. The mural, which stretched ten meters long, depicted a faintly smiling figure, whose gender seemed indeterminable, wreathed in a halo, their blond hair flowing freely behind them. Behind them in the background were plains, lakes, and mountains. The figure had both arms spread wide as if trying to grab hold of all of it. It was a truly beautiful, awe inspiring work of art. But for some reason, Hajime felt something cold in its eyes and smile and he quickly averted his gaze.
As he examined the rest of his surroundings, he quickly realized that he was in a vast chamber. The entire room was constructed of a gleaming white stone that seemed smooth to the touch. Marble, possibly. Massive pillars with sculptures carved into them rose up to the towering domed ceiling. The room resembled some sort of grand cathedral. Hajime and the others were standing atop a type of plinth located in the deepest recesses of the room. They were raised above their immediate surroundings. Hajime's classmates were all looking around dumbfounded, just like him. It looks like whatever happened had affected the entire class.
Hajime turned around, looking to see what lay behind him. As he'd expected, Kaori was slumped on the ground. She didn't seem to have any injuries, so Hajime breathed a sigh of confirming her safety, Hajime returned his gaze to the crowd of people surrounding them, who he assumed would be the ones to provide an explanation for their current situation.
Around thirty or so people were standing before the plinth Hajime and the others were on. It looked as if they were all praying, their hands crossed about their chests. They were all clad in white robes decorated with gold embroidery. At their sides were something resembling a bishop's stave.
Eventually, one of the priests stepped forward. He was an old man in his seventies, dressed even more lavishly than his peers, with a richly decorated monk's cap that stood about thirty centimeters tall.
His staff jingled as he walked, clear soothing notes reverberating throughout the halls all the while. Finally, he spoke. "Welcome to Tortus, brave heroes. It is our pleasure to welcome you here. I am the pope of the Holy Church, Ishtar Langbard. It is an honor to make your acquaintances." The old man, who called himself Ishtar, broke out into a good-natured smile. He then led the still confused group of students into another room that was furnished with numerous chairs and long tables, saying it would be easier to speak calmly there.
The new room he'd guided the students to was just as lavishly built as the first. The exemplary craftsmanship of the furniture and the tapestries hanging on the walls was evident even to the students' untrained eyes. The layout of the room implied that it was some manner of banquet hall. Aiko Hatayama and Kouki's group of four all claimed seats at the head of their respective tables, and their followers all arranged themselves around them. Hajime ended up at the very end of his table. The reason no one had made a fuss so far was because everyone was still too busy processing what had just happened. Besides, Ishtar had just said he would explain what had happened and Kouki, with his max-level charisma, had managed to calm everyone down. Aiko-sensei had tears in her eyes as she watched a student do what should have been the teacher's job.
The moment everyone had finished seating themselves, a number of carts entered the room, pushed along by a retinue of maids. Actual maids,to boot! Not those sham maids found in a certain electronics holy land, nor those old, plump maids that could still be found in various European countries. They were bona-fide maids, the kind every man dreamed of meeting!Even in such an incomprehensible situation, their insatiable curiosity and libido drove most of the boys to gaze longingly at the beautiful maids. When the girls saw how they melted over the maids, they glared at the boys in a manner cold enough to freeze hell itself. Hajime was also just about ready to ogle the maid who started serving him a drink, but he felt a glacial stare piercing his back and decided to keep his gaze fixed straight ahead. After a moment, he risked a glance back in the direction he'd felt the stare from, only to see Kaori beaming happily at him. He decided to pretend he'd never felt anything odd.
Ishtar finally began talking once everyone had been served their refreshments.
"Now then, I am certain you all must be feeling very confused about the situation you've found yourselves in. I shall explain everything, starting from the beginning. All I ask is that you hear me out until the end."
Ishtar's explanation was so generic and unreasonable that it seemed as if it'd come out of a fantasy book template. In short, this was what he said— First, that this world was called Tortus, the continent Fendahan. There were various races and sentient beings who lived here. Humans controlled the Northern side of the continent while devils the Southern side. The other races weren't so numerous and lived in small groups spread by all the continent except by Fae Bergen a city made by an alliance of races in the middle of Haltina Woods in the Eastern side.
Humans and devils had a strained relationship, having been at war for hundreds of years. Though devils lacked the sheer numbers humans possessed, their individual strength far surpassed that of most humans, balancing out the difference nicely. Both sides were currently locked in a stalemate, and a major battle hadn't broken out in decades. However, there had been disturbing movements among the demons as of late. Namely, a sudden increase in the number of tamed monsters. Monsters were supposedly wild animals that have undergone a magical metamorphosis after having the ambient mana poured into them. Though it seemed that humans had yet to fully understand the biology of monsters, so they weren't quite sure. They were apparently very powerful and even capable of using abilities unique to them. Also they attacked any other being close to them, specially sentient beings, what made them a serious threat.
Monsters were very difficult of control. Humans who could were rare and at their best could tame a dozen of weak monsters or one particular strong monster. Devils however knew more about monsters than the human did and most of them were able of tame monsters, but only two or three because even tamed monsters still wished for the lives of all sentient.
Now, the situation had changed, reports about devils commanding hundreds of monsters and marauding the border of their territory, the number of monsters growing in each report. Which meant that the only advantage the humans had over the demons, numbers, had been eliminated. As such, humans faced an unprecedented crisis that threatened the existence of their very race.
"The one who summoned you all here was the blessed lord, Ehit. He is the guardian deity of us humans, and the one true god of the Holy Church. The supreme ruler who created the world itself. I suspect Lord Ehit grew aware of our plight. He realized that humanity was doomed to annihilation, so he summoned you here in order to prevent such a disaster. You heroes are humans chosen by our god, blessed by him, and therefore carry within you strength that surpasses the humans of this world."
Ishtar paused for a moment before continuing hesitantly. "Or at least, that is what was shown to me in a divine revelation."
"Regardless, I implore you all to do as Lord Ehit has willed you. Please, defeat the demons and save the human race from destruction." He seemed almost in a trance as he said that. He had to have been remembering the time he received that divine revelation.
According to Ishtar, over 80% of humans revered the creator god Ehit, and those who received his divine visions were without exception given high-ranking positions in the Holy Church. While Hajime was mulling over how twisted a world must be for people to happily believe in "the will of god" without question, and how dangerous such a belief was, someone stood up and began hotly protesting Ishtar's words. That someone was the teacher Aiko.
"You can't possibly be serious! You're telling children to go fight in a war!? That's absolutely unacceptable! As a teacher, I cannot allow it! Send us back right this instant! These kids all have families back home who must be worried sick! You can't just kidnap them like this!" Each of her words dripped with rather evident anger.
Aiko, the mid-twenties social studies teacher, was very popular with the kids. She stood only 140 centimeters tall, with a baby face and her hair kept in a neat bob cut. Her childlike appearance, and her tendency to run around doing everything she could for the sake of her students, though most of her efforts were for naught, had endeared her to many. The gap between how hard she tried and how helpful she actually ended up being had made most of the students see her as a kid that needed to be protected more than an adult to be respected. Many of them had taken to calling her by the nickname Ai-chan, though she always grew angry when they did. Since she was aiming to be a respected teacher, she disliked being called by familiar nicknames. This time too, she flared up at Ishtar to protest the unreasonable forced summoning in order to look like a proper teacher. Unfortunately, the students regarded her the same as always, thinking something to the effect of "Look, Ai-chan's at it again. Always trying so hard," as she tore into Ishtar. However, Ishtar's next words froze everyone's blood cold.
"I understand your feelings, however… I am unable to return you to your world at present."
Silence filled the room. The oppressive atmosphere was felt by everyone present. They all stared at Ishtar blankly, unable to properly process what he had just said.
"Wh-What do you mean… you're unable!? If you called us here, you should be able to send us back, shouldn't you!?" Aiko-sensei screamed loudly.
"As I stated earlier, it is Lord Ehit who summoned you here. The only reason we were in that room at all was to greet you heroes, and to offer up our prayers to Lord Ehit. We humans do not possess the power to interfere with other worlds, so whether or not you can return also depends on his will."
"N-No way…" Aiko slumped back into her chair, all the strength drained out of her. The other students all started yelling as the truth of Ishtar's words sank in.
"You've gotta be kidding me? What do you mean we can't go back!?"
"You can't do this! Please, just send us back somehow!"
"A war!? You can't be serious! Take us the fuck back right now!"
"This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening…"
The entire class fell into a panic. Hajime was shaken by this development as well, but because he was an otaku, he had at least seen countless books and games that had the same premise. Which was why he was able to determine that it was not the worst possible scenario, and that was the reason he was at least somewhat calmer than the other students. For reference, the worst case scenario he was imagining was the one in which they all got summoned as said nothing and silently watched on as all of the students panicked. Though Ishtar was silent, Hajime could see the contempt hidden within the depths of the old man's eyes. Hajime presumed he was thinking "These people were chosen by god, why are they not rejoicing?" or something along those lines.
Kouki stood up amidst the hysterical group of students and slammed his fist down onto the table with a bang. That managed to get the attention of most of them. Once he had confirmed that everyone's eyes were on him, Kouki began speaking.
"Everyone, there's no point in complaining to Ishtar. There's nothing he can do about it now. And… And I, at least, have decided to stand and fight. These people are in trouble and might be annihilated. Knowing that, how can I possibly leave them to such a tragic fate? And besides, if we've been summoned here to save humanity, it's possible we'll be allowed to go back once we've saved them… Well, Ishtar-san? Do you think that's possible?"
"It is as you say. Lord Ehit is not so unkind that he would ignore a request from his chosen heroes."
"And we've all gained some amazing powers, right? Ever since I arrived here, it's felt like I've somehow grown way stronger."
"Yes, that is correct. Lord Ehit choose you all and give you the power to save humanity on this time of crisis."
"Alright, then we should be fine. I'm going to fight. If we save everyone, then we can go home. So just you watch! I'm going to save everyone, including us!" Kouki clenches his fists tightly as he proclaimed his noble intentions, flashing an almost sickeningly dazzling smile at the end.
Kouki charisma kicked in and the students suddenly felt hope and regained the composure, all their attention was in Amanogawa who was now unofficially recognized as the leader of the class.
"Heh, I knew you'd say that. Still, I'd be worried letting you go off on your own… Which is why I'm coming with you."
"Ryutarou…"
"Looks like that's the only choice we have right now. It pisses me off that we don't get any real say in the matter, but… I'll help too."
"Shizuku…"
"I-If Shizuku-chan's going to fight, then I will too!"
"Kaori…"
Swept along by the flow, the rest of the students naturally all agreed to fight as well. Aiko-sensei was in tears as she ran between her students, imploring them to stop. However, she was ultimately powerless, completely unable to keep Kouki's charisma from infecting them all.
In the end, everyone agreed to help fight in this world conflict. However, most students probably had no idea what war was really like, nor did they even want to fathom it. In a sense, they might have just been trying to escape from reality to preserve their own sanity.
Hajime was considering all of those factors as he observed Ishtar out of the corner of his eye. Ishtar had a rather satisfied smile on his face, something which Hajime took note of.
Ishtar had been discreetly monitoring Kouki as he had given his speech, mentally jotting down how he reacted to which words. Kouki, who had always had a strong sense of justice, had reacted quickly when Ishtar spoke of the tragedy that had befallen the human race. And Ishtar had made sure to emphasize the cruelty and brutality of the demons when he saw Kouki's reaction to his words.
After all, it was obvious that Ishtar had seen right through Kouki's personality. He had realized who among their group held the most influence.
Hajime supposed that as the top leader of a global religious institution, it stood to reason that Ishtar would be so discerning, but he still mentally filed him away as someone to watch out for.