Chapter 3 is ready

I don't own Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

Since they had chosen to assist the humans in their war, they now needed to learn how to fight. No matter how amazing their newfound powers were, they were still high school students that had been living in the peaceful country of Japan. It would've been impossible for them to just start fighting against demons and monsters without any training.

However, it seemed Ishtar had prepared for that eventuality as well, since he explained to the students that there were people ready to receive them in the Heiligh Kingdom. Said kingdom was apparently at the foot of the divine mountain, and the temple they were currently in was the head temple of the Holy Church that stood at its summit.

Hajime and the others headed for the temple's front gate. They were about to embark on their journey to the kingdom below. As they walked through the grand triumphal arcs that comprised the main gate of the temple, they were greeted by an endless sea of clouds. Because no one had suffered from altitude sickness, they hadn't realized they'd been up so high up. Hajime assumed that magic had something to do with making the environment around the temple habitable. They all stood in wonder as they stared at the clear blue sky and the waves of clouds sparkling in the sunlight.

Ishtar looked on proudly as everyone gawked, before urging them onward. As they made their way forward, they came upon a massive white circular pedestal that was surrounded by a fence. They walked through a lavish hallway made of the same white stone as the cathedral and stepped up onto the pedestal.

Engraved within the stone of the pedestal was a large magic circle. On the other side of the fence lay a steep drop to the clouds below, so most students huddled as close to the center of the pedestal as they could. But they were unable to restrain their curiosity, and timidly glanced around their surroundings despite their fear.

As they were looking around, the entire pedestal began gliding down toward the ground, as if attached to some invisible cable.

When they passed through the sea of clouds, the students could finally make out the ground below. Directly below them was a huge city, or rather a small kingdom. A huge castle that looked as if it were jutting out of the mountainside lay at its center, with the rest of the city spreading outward in a circle.

The capital city of Heiligh.

There was a faint glimmer barely visible in the sky, it covered the whole city in the form of a dome. That was the great barrier, an ancient artifact that had protected the capital since it was founded. Did they founded the kingdom, then they built the barrier, or the barrier was there so they built a kingdom? A mystery that still made lot of discussions for scholars of the kingdom.

The magical cable car seemingly ran from the Holy Church down to the roof of one of the castle's towers via some aerial pathway. Hajime smiled sardonically at the extravagant theatrics. The entire journey had clearly been crafted to resemble "God's disciples descending down from heaven," or some such feat. It was quite likely that with a display so ostentatious, some of the more ardent believers would come to worship not just Hajime and his companions, but the priests of the Church who had escorted them down as well.

Hajime recalled what he had read in history books about pre-war Japan. A time when religion and politics were very closely tied to each other. And it was those very ties that had brought about a great tragedy. In the end, it was quite possible that this world was even more twisted than ancient Japan was. After all, this was a world in which a supernatural being powerful enough to interfere with other worlds existed. It wouldn't have been surprising at all if the whole world literally revolved around God's will.

This entire world, including everyone's chances of returning home, all rested in the palm of God's hand. As the outline of the capital grew more detailed, Hajime felt an inexplicable sense of unease well up inside him. He shook away the oppressive thoughts and reminded himself that he had to focus on doing what he could for the time being.

The moment they landed atop the royal palace, Hajime and the others were escorted to the throne room. The hallways they passed on their way were every bit as ostentatious as the temple had been. Along the way they passed by knights, servants, maids, and government officials. Everyone who passed gazed at the students with a mixture of awe and wonder. It seemed that most people were aware of who the students were.

Hajime's sense of unease continued to increase, and he furtively followed behind everyone at the end of the procession.

Ishtar and the party of heroes finally found themselves standing before a pair of massive double doors, into which numerous beautiful designs had been engraved. Two guards were standing at attention on either side of the door, and they loudly announced the group's arrival to whomever was waiting within. Then, without waiting for a reply, they swung the doors open.

Ishtar leisurely passed through the entrance, clearly at ease. All of the students timidly followed behind him, with the exception of Kouki and his friends, who were seemingly unaffected by the splendor surrounding them.

Within the room stretched a long red carpet that ended at the far wall. At its end lay a magnificent chair—or rather throne. Standing in front of the throne was a middle aged man who radiated an aura of dignity.

Next to him was presumably the queen, and next to her were a boy and a girl, both with blond hair and striking blue eyes. The boy, who was the younger of the two, seemed no more than ten years old, while the girl must have been around fourteen or fifteen. On the left side of the carpet was a line of soldiers, all clad in armor and uniform. On the right, a line of civil officers. Altogether, there were probably around thirty people waiting in the room.

Once they were directly before the throne, Ishtar left the students and went to stand beside the king. He then proffered his hand to the king, who took it reverently and kissed it with the slightest brush of his lips. It looked like the pope was even more important than the king. Hajime sighed inwardly, as he was now certain that "God" ran the kingdom.

A flurry of self-introductions followed after that. The king's name was Eliheid S. B. Heiligh, and his wife the queen was called Luluaria. The blond boy was the prince Randel, and the girl the princess Liliana.

Then came introductions for the knight captain, the prime minister, and other important dignitaries.

The knight captain, a man called Meld Loggins, was particularly enthusiastic about met them. He presented himself with and air which seemed to say 'I want to be friends' that made most of the class relax and get along.

Finished the introductions, the king offered a feast to celebrate the Heroes Arrival, so the students took seas and tried to not embarrass themselves . Prince Randel took seat next to Kaori and passed the meal talking with with her, obviously attracted to Kaori. The boys who saw this were glaring seriously the prince while Hajime felt better with his classmates attention and jealousy in someone else and dared to hope it stayed like that. Though the chances of the ten years old prince with Kaori were very unlikely.

After they finished their meal, Hajime and the others were introduced to the instructors they would be training with. Their instructors chosen were the best of the active and retired knights and magicians of the kingdom. The king probably wanted to strengthen the relationship between the students and his kingdom for the inevitable war to come.

Once dinner and introductions were finished, everyone was led to their own individual rooms. Hajime was certain he wasn't the only one who was dumbstruck by the huge canopy bed he found in his room. The room was so luxurious that he couldn't fully relax, but he'd already experienced quite the hectic day, so he was tired.

Before sleep Hajime thought about his parents and the worried they must be about his sudden disappearance. Negative thoughts began to appear in his mind about never see them again, but Hajime dismissed such thoughts and instead tried to cheer himself with self motivation phrases. Then a wave of drowsiness hit him and decided to sleep, he flopped down on his bed and fell asleep almost instantly as the tension drained out of him.

"Can that group of kids really help us to win the war? They don't look like people ready for battle, instead they look like ordinary people a single soldier could kill."

"Are you doubting of Ehit-sama Eliheid, after all he has give you?"

Somewhere in the castle, two people were discussing.

"Of course not, but well, they aren't what I was expecting, honestly I am a little disappointed."

The king of Heiligh.

"They are Ehit-sama chosen and he said they would save humanity, that is the only thing should matter, now this conversation is over, you still need more faith."

"You are right, excuse me by take your time Ishtar-dono."

And the pope of the holy church.

"No problem his highness."

After their meeting Ishtar returned to the church in god mountain.

"It was done as you said Apostle-sama."

"..."

"The schedule for the training is already made and the next two weeks will be dedicated to training here before sending them to Orcus Dungeon to learn real fight."

"..."

In the chamber where the summoning of the students had place Ishtar meet with someone else.

"Apostle-sama? "

"... Ehit-sama is satisfied with your work."

"I live to make his will"

Though Ishtar said it with a straight face it was obvious the happy he was for satisfying his god.

The other person in the room remained quiet, observing him until Ishtar left the room. Then the figure banished in a flash of silver.