Prologue Arc

Arifureta Shokugyō de Sekai Saikyō © Shirakome Ryo and Takayaki

Fukushima Tsubasa, Hasegawa Airi © Me

Hello, everyone! My name is IndraAshura and welcome to Arifureta: Alter (Sorry I can't think another name). If you've read the announcement in Five-Elemental Bride, I'm sure you already know that I want to write Ariureta fanfic right? It looks like I finally did it.

I plan on updating at least once per two weeks (once per a week for a chapter with more than 3,000 words is too much even for me) but in case I might not be able to update at all, I'll upload a notice about it. This fanfiction more or less will follow the plot of light novel but with some alteration of course, hence the name and there will be some OC characters.

This story will be rated M so I can write some word freely without any restriction and the nature of this anime. Well, without further ado, let's get on with it. Here We Go!

Summary: High-schooler Nagumo Hajime is bullied by his classmate for his relationship with the class idol, Shirasaki Kaori, though Hajime's best friends; Fukushima Tsubasa and Hasegawa Airi are the only ones who always defend Hajime from his bully. When he and the rest of his class are transported to a fantasy world, all of his classmates get powerful magical abilities, while Hajime only gains the basic alchemical magic to transmute solid materials, a common ability usually found in craftsmen and smiths. During a dungeon raid, he; along with his best friends are betrayed by one of their classmates and dropped to the bottom of the dungeon. They survive the fall and keep moving forward to escape the dungeon and become stronger. On their journey, they meet with the imprisoned vampire Yue, and later by the bunny-eared Shea, the perverted dragon Tio, and others. *Inspired from Re:Arifureta - From Commonplace to the World's Strongest by Void's Record and Re: Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou- A Retelling of sorts by Seiichi Yotsuba

"He is…" = Speaking

[He is….] = Thinking

{He is…} = Flashback

("He is…") = Author's quip

(Chidori) = Technique, skill or something like mana

Chapter 1: Unexpected Situations

Start from before Hajime fall to the abyss!

Monday is a very annoying day…let me reiterate, Monday is the most annoying day of the week. Many people ("Including me") were always groaning due to them had to end their treasured weekend. Nagumo Hajime isn't an exception but in his case; his annoyed expression was multiplied with the fact that he would walk to the torturing place called classroom.

Like usual, Hajime almost late to the school with his sleepy face. And after dragging his fatigued body somehow, he made his way to the classroom which after he arrived there, he proceeded to open the door. And like usual, the students were glaring dagger and clicked their tongues when Hajime entered the classroom. Hajime would think it's better if the girls didn't glare at him but unfortunately, they did it anyway.

Though it's important to note that there're 4 students who didn't looked Hajime in contempt; 1 of them is a boy while the rest are the girls.

Hajime did his best to ignore their glares and went to his seat. But like usual (Just how many times I had to write these words?) there're some of the students who couldn't pass up the chance to bully Hajime.

"Yoo, Filthy Otaku. Did you spend an all night to play video game again? I'm sure the game that you played was the eroge (erotic game)." A boy whom Hajime knew him as Hiyama Daisuke (The bastard) mocked.

"Wuah, disgusting; you really are a disgusting creep if you spend all night to play an eroge." A boy whom Hajime knew him as Kondou Reichi finished.

Daisuke, Reichi and two students near them; Hajime knew them as Saitou Yoshiki and Nakano Shinji laughed at that.

I had to admit this but Daisuke was right in one point; Hajime is an otaku but he always looks clean and proper so the name 'filthy otaku' isn't really fit with him. Plus, Hajime isn't a talkative person so and he doesn't really talk much with other people; except if he's talking about some specific things that he liked which are manga, anime, novel, film, and video game.

Before Daisuke and his buddies started bullying Hajime again, they felt their shoulders were touched. They looked behind and they saw a boy with dark blue spiky hair frowning and a girl with long blond hair smiling at them though in reality she was scowling at Daisuke and his buddies.

"Ha…Hasegawa-san." Daisuke and his buddies stuttered. Hajime knew the girl as Hasegawa Airi and he considered her and the boy beside her; Fukushima Tsubasa his genuine friends and best friends.

Hasegawa Airi, one of the most popular girls in the school due to her beauty and her prowess. Her beauty always exuded elegance to the point many people even worshipped her. She's also very friendly to other people but if you dare to insulted Tsubasa and Hajime in front of her, she would look at the offender either with cold look or with deathly sweet smile. Even worse, she would use violence if the offender has gone too far, which is why many people at the same time also feared Airi. Speaking of violence, she had some fighting skill; taught by her boyfriend.

Fukushima Tsubasa, Airi's boyfriend and Airi's master in fighting skill. Many people also feared him because they knew his skill in hand-to-hand combat is above of Airi's so they always refrained themselves from getting too comfy with Airi whenever Tsubasa is present. Tsubasa is also much crueler than Airi regarding violence so he won't stop UNLESS Airi asked him to. Both of them were also very great at giving glares to intimidate someone or people.

And not many people knew that Tsubasa and Airi were childhood friends; in fact, Hajime was the only who knew this among the students in this class.

"We want to talk about something with Hajime-kun so do you mind if you-" Airi smiled as her smile faltered slowly before becoming cold glare.

"Get out of our way now…unless you want us to kick your ass again." Tsubasa finished as he cracked his knuckles while growling.

Daisuke and buddies hurriedly ran away after hearing Tsubasa's threat. Tsubasa and Airi then made their way as he mumbled "In the end the bullies are just another kind of weaklings huh?"

"Tsubasa-kun, hush!" Airi reprimanded her boyfriend. As she and Tsubasa reached Hajime's seat, she began "Good morning, Hajime-kun!"

"Good morning, Hajime!" Tsubasa greeted his best friend "Oh thanks for your tips; I finally could finish the game because of you."

"It's okay, Tsubasa. I'm glad I could help you." Hajime replied in smile. "Oh, and good morning to you two, Tsubasa and Airi-san!"

"Mou, I thought I already permit you to call me without honorifics, right?" Airi admonished with a cute pout.

Hajime could only rub his head sheepishly while Tsubasa defended him as he said "Why? You also still call me with honorifics even though I'm your boyfriend so you had no room to talk about it"

Airi immediately blushed at the thought of calling her boyfriend without honorific before she covered her face as she mumbled "B…but…it's embarrassing you know? Calling a boy and even more; you without honorific."

Meanwhile, most of the boys felt jealous seeing Airi blushed and mumbled shyly like that because it's so rare seeing Airi blushed in public but they held their jealousy because they didn't want Tsubasa beat them up.

Airi then remembered 'the tips' that Hajime and Tsubasa talked about so she snapped out of her flushed features before she asked "W…wait, Hajime-kun. What 'tips' you and Tsubasa-kun meant earlier?"

"Ah, Tsubasa called me last night to ask me how to beat a stage bosses so I told him the steps." Hajime replied.

Airi received that reply before she looked at Tsubasa with a smile like earlier "Ne, Tsubasa-kun?"

"Yes?" Tsubasa replied in fear even though he didn't understand why his girlfriend was pissed.

"Could it be that you lied to me when I called you last night to ask that very same question?" Airi interrogated with a deathly sweet smile.

"Wait, you're wrong. You see, when you called me last night, I honestly didn't know how to defeat the bosses and I told you I'll call you if I know about it. Then I called Hajime about it and he told me about it and I…proceeded…to…finish…the game…until…I…fell asleep." Tsubasa said as he slowly realized why his girlfriend pissed at him.

"…So, you conveniently fell asleep without telling your ol' girlfriend the information that she was looking for, hmm? Ne, Tsubasa-kun? ~" Airi further inquired.

Tsubasa could only keep silent and he averted his eyes from Airi as he realized he was in deep shit. Meanwhile, Hajime looked all of this with a slight smile; feeling strangely happy despite what transpired in front of him as he had some genuine friends in this torturing place.

Yeah, just like Hajime, Tsubasa and Airi also an otaku and they really liked things like manga, anime, novel, film, and video game. Before they started dating…Heck, even before they befriended Hajime, they were an otaku. That's one of the reasons why these three could easily become best friends. Hajime also became the first person to knew the fact that they were dating.

Before Airi could do something to Tsubasa, they heard a voice "Good morning, Hajime-kun, Airi-chan and Fukushima-kun! Hajime-kun, you almost late again today. I think you should've gone to the school much earlier."

Hajime, Tsubasa and Airi looked at a girl who was approaching them. Tsubasa and Airi knew that girl is one of the few people in the school who treated Hajime kindly. They also realized that this girl — her name is Shirasaki Kaori — was unfortunately; the true reason why almost everyone despised him.

Shirasaki Kaori, one of the most popular girls in the school and she's very beautiful to the point many people considered her a goddess. Not to mention, her beauty rival that of Airi's. Kaori always had a smile on her face, and her trait to take care of the others multiplied with her strong sense of responsibility made her one of the most respected people in this school. Unlike Airi, Kaori never use violence on the others or even considered on using violence; hence why there isn't any reason for people to fear her. Kaori is also much more tolerant and forgiving than Airi, let alone than Tsubasa; making her kinda naïve in a way.

And for some reason, Kaori always watched over Hajime. Most students considered Hajime as a creep for always sleeping on the class due to lack of sleeps even though his average score surprisingly high. And because of her trait to take care of the others, they were sure that's the reason Kaori talked to Hajime, though Tsubasa and Airi knew why Kaori always watched over Hajime.

If Kaori managed to persuade Hajime to become a better student or if he was naturally more handsome, the other boys won't think too far of Kaori's fixation toward Hajime. But Hajime more or less ignored the offer since he was one of those 'hobbyists' so Hajime most likely won't change this part. Most of the boys felt jealous because Hajime was very close with Kaori [Why him of all people?] More or less that's what they thought. On the other hand, the girls felt pissed at Hajime for not changing his habit.

"Good morning Shirasaki-san/Kaori-chan!" Tsubasa and Airi replied in tandem.

"A…ah, g…good morning, Shirasaki-san!" Hajime replied nervously while he momentarily felt many bloodlust glares from his classmates. Because Hajime was too distracted due to Kaori, he didn't notice the glares that Tsubasa and Airi sent to their classmates.

Kaori smiled happily when Hajime returned her greetings. [Wait, why did you always look at me like that?]

Hajime really confused at why one of the most beautiful girls in this school keep approaching them. Sure, he could understand why Tsubasa and Airi approaching them but he couldn't find any reason for Kaori to care about him though he somehow knew it's not because one of her traits.

Of course, Hajime isn't so arrogant to think that Kaori had a romantic fixation toward him ("Unfortunately its true"). He realized it too well that he had given up many things so he could live his current lifestyle. He knew his score and his athletic prowess were very average. There're many people who were overall better than him to be Kaori's lover; like Tsubasa. Of course, he didn't want Airi to find out that he had thought like that. That's why Hajime felt confused.

[Honestly, I just want you to realize that you were the reason why almost everyone hates me now!] That's what Hajime want to said but he withheld it within himself as the situation would get worse if he said it out loud.

Meanwhile, Tsubasa and Airi could only watch all of this and the only thing they could do was glare back at whoever that glared at Hajime. They also wanted to enlighten Kaori about the reason why almost everyone hated Hajime but they stopped themselves because they knew Hajime couldn't risk hurting Kaori's feeling after all of the kindness that she showed.

Then three people started approaching them. They purposefully waited until Hajime and Kaori done talking. Tsubasa and Airi knew that there is one person among them that was just like Kaori; treating Hajime with kindness.

"Good morning, Nagumo-kun! It's not a healthy habit to stay up all night every day, you know?" The girl — her name is Yaegashi Shizuku — greeted.

Many people also considered her as one of the most popular girls in the school. She's also one of the few people who treat Hajime kindly. Shizuku also had a rather firm body which unusual for girls at her age. Because of it, many people even called her as a samurai which it isn't too far-fetched as her family actually ran a dojo that taught Kenjutsu – Yaegashi Style and Shizuku herself is a peerless swordswoman who never lost in every kendou tournament. Aside from that, Shizuku had a trait of cool beauty as she was much more composed than Kaori but much less scary than Airi. Shizuku also had a quite hectic fanbase. She was also dubbed as 'The beautiful modern samurai'. Heck, many underclasswomen even called her as 'Onee-sama' ("Kinda remind me how Kuroko kept calling Misaka like that").

"You met him again, Kaori? Your goodness is wasted on someone like that." The boy — his name is Amanogawa Kouki — chastised.

Kouki is one of the people that Hajime thought was much better than him. He's practically perfect in everything; have a good look, skilled in sports, he had very good scores and in addition he's nice to everyone ("If so, why did he chastise Hajime earlier?"). Even his name is kinda perfect and blinding for someone who had a strong justice…or so that's what he thought.

Like Shizuku, Kouki had attended Yaegashi dojo since they were elementary-schooler and quite skillful to able to competed in a national tournament. Kouki and Shizuku are the childhood friends. Tens of girls had fallen in love with him but since he's often hangs out around Kaori and Shizuku, only a few of them who actually confessed to Kouki but he still received some confession from the girls in a different school. He's truly a Casablanca…no, no I mean Casanova.

"Geez…talking with that failure is such a huge waste of time." The boy — his name is Sakagami Ryutarou — added his chastise.

Ryuuarou is Kouki's best friend and his figure resembles of bear. If you want a short explanation about him, let's just say that he's a muscle brained-boy who liked hard work and hot-blooded action ("Just like Maito Guy and Rock Lee") and despise person who preferred to relax; like Hajime.

Before Hajime could respond to their greetings, Airi asked "Amanogawa-kun, Sakagami-kun. Did you…by any chance bring a helmet or some kind of head protector?"

Kouki and Ryutarou were confused at first but they remembered that they chastised Hajime in front of his best friends and they began getting paler. Ryutarou then replied "Y…yeah. We had some of those…why?"

A deathly sweet smile appeared on Airi's face before she said "I'm glad that you have those. It's just that you'll need it very much when I stomped your heads on the floor before I spit on your heads for what you two just said to Hajime-kun."

Everyone in that class felt shiver ran down through their spines hearing that. Tsubasa then thought [Is it just me or not but…ooh I see now.]

What Tsubasa realized was that Airi had purposely didn't hit him when she was pissed because he didn't share the info about the stage bosses to her. As much as she wanted to beat him up, she couldn't hit her boyfriend for that kind of reason. Because of that, she settled with giving a deathly sweet smile at Tsubasa. Though, after Airi saw Kouki and Ryutarou chastised Hajime earlier, she decided to mix her current anger and her anger from earlier and vent it all to Kouki and Ryutarou.

Knowing that, Tsubasa decided to keep quiet as he didn't want Airi to reconsider her decision of sparing him.

"P…please calm down, Airi-san. Y…you didn't need to get angry about it." Hajime tried to calm Airi down.

Airi then looked at Hajime and after a moment, she harrumphed as she turned around while crossing her hands below her voluptuous breasts; sulking because she couldn't vent her anger to Kouki and Ryutarou while Tsubasa tried his best to soothe the sulking Airi.

"Eh…good morning, Yaegashi-san, Amanogawa-kun, and Sakagami-kun. I think this is what they meant with 'you reap what you sow' and this is my fault for always staying up all night." Hajime said with sour smile. Most of the people there wanted to glare at Hajime for talking so casually with Shizuku but remembering Airi's threat and the possibility she's still pissed off, they withheld it.

"If you know that this is a problem, why didn't you try to change yourself? Kaori can't spend all of her time to spoil you, Nagumo." Kouki warned Hajime sternly.

[What are you talking about? She didn't spoil me! And hey I actually prefer it more if she leaves me alone!] Hajime wanted to retort like that but he knew that Kouki's sense of justice was so big to the point he always viewed himself as 'the right one' so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Meanwhile, Tsubasa and Airi (she's no longer sulking thanks to Tsubasa) were staring plainly at Kouki. They also knew that correcting Kouki's statement would result to annoying arguments; they also decided to keep quiet.

Putting that aside, Hajime honestly didn't feel he had something to 'fix'. Hajime had decided to make his hobbies as the core of his life ("If only I could do it too"). Hajime's father is a game designer while his mother is a mangaka, so he works part time in their places to acquire field experience.

With his experience and his interest, many companies wanted to recruit him because he won't need an extra training, and his future plans are all neatly arranged. In fact, among him, Tsubasa and Airi, Hajime is the only one who had a clearest plan regarding his future while the other two were still struggling to think about it.

Before Hajime could respond to Kouki's warning, a bell signaling the start of the lesson has finally rang. Kouki and Ryutarou immediately returned to their seats as they wanted to get away from Hajime while Kaori, Airi and Tsubasa returned to their seats after saying some 'see you later' to Hajime. Shizuku apologized for Kouki and Ryutarou's behaviors which Hajime shrugged before she made her way to her seat. Hajime then looked out the window and then he detached himself from reality.

The teacher entered the class and proceeded to start the lesson. As soon as the lesson started, Hajime flew away to the dreamland. Kaori smiled at this. Shizuku stared at Hajime in awe at the fact Hajime was really terrifying in a certain way. The boys wanted to make fun of him while the girls wanted to give him ridiculing looks, though due to Tsubasa and Airi unleashed their bloodlust stares to everyone there (except the teacher, Kaori and Shizuku), they didn't do it.

Lunch time,

Hajime woke up from his sleep during the lunch time. His body has adapted itself to memorize when to wake up naturally. Tsubasa and Airi went to his seat and they asked if its okay for them to sit with him, Hajime immediately allowed them to sit near him.

Tsubasa and Airi borrowed the nearby students' chairs 'politely' (Politely here means they asked the students nicely with the bonus of terrifying looks) while Hajime rummaged his bag to bring out his lunch, a simple lunch that can be finished in 10 seconds. Apparently, some of the students chose to go to the cafeteria to buy some lunch since some of them gone from the class.

Majority of the class usually brought a lunch box, that's why most of them still in the class. Well, not all of them stayed in the class for lunch since some of them asked some questions to their social studies teacher, Hatayama Aiko or some of them even played around with her podium.

*Sluuurp!* *Gulp!*

By the time Tsubasa and Airi returned to Hajime's seat, they sweatdropped at how Hajime finished his 'lunch' without at least waiting for them which Hajime noticed before he sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Sorry?"

Tsubasa and Airi could only sigh before they smiled and pulled their borrowed chairs near Hajime's seat. They then sat down before Airi softly asked "I know it's a dumb question but…are you going to sleep again, Hajime-kun?" Hajime nodded at that.

"Its okay, Hajime, take your sleep. We're always here for you." Tsubasa reassured as he and Airi smiled at Hajime. Hajime really happy because he found some friends who not only have same hobbies as them and they didn't ridicule him for it, they even kept encouraging him to continue his lifestyle despite what the others said because they knew about Hajime's future plans and because they knew Hajime had steeled his resolve about this.

Hajime then made a mental note to try persuading his parents to recruit Tsubasa and Airi and give them some training in their places to repay all of their kindness and their supports. Hajime knew Tsubasa and Airi would tell him not to worry about it and even though he knew he could never repay all of their kindness and their supports; he still wants to do something for them; his best friends. Hajime returned the lover's smiles before he wanted to close his eyes to go to the dreamland.

Though before he could fully close his eyes, he heard Tsubasa asked "Oh is there something you need from us, Shirasaki-san?"

Hajime groaned inwardly at that. Monday must've evaporated all of his common sense. Usually he'd eat his lunch hurriedly before he (along with Tsubasa and Airi) ran off to find some secluded place for Hajime's sleep. But it looks like staying up all night for two days in a row started taking the toll on Hajime's body.

"Yes, Fukushima-kun, I want to know if Hajime-kun had lunch or not?" Kaori asked innocently. Airi then glared discreetly at her classmates who tried to glare at Hajime. Wanting to get this over with, Hajime responded.

"Ah, thank you for the offer, Shirasaki-san. But I already had my lunch, so why don't you eat your lunch with Amanogawa-kun?" Hajime showed Kaori the remaining of his lunch.

Seeing that Hajime's lunch was so…insufficient in her eyes, Kaori stubbornly ("And obliviously") replied "That's all Hajime-kun had for your lunch? I won't let you go to sleep without some decent food! I can give you some of mine if you want."

[Please, just please let me take a rest already! Why did you have to be this oblivious? Please read the mood!] Hajime cried inwardly at that. Tsubasa then joined Airi to glare discreetly at their classmates who tried to glare at Hajime once again.

Then much to Hajime's silent relief, he saw some unwilling saviors in the forms of Kouki, Shizuku and Ryutarou.

"Kaori, let's have lunch together. It looks like Nagumo need some more sleeps. It doesn't look like he can eat something while half asleep like that" Kouki said with a bright smile. Actually Kouki wanted to add some more words but seeing Tsubasa and Airi were present, he refrain from doing so.

And speaking about Kouki's bright smile, Airi unfazed by that because she never see Kouki as a crush — unlike many girls — because she always considered her boyfriend as the best in this school and she never even had any interest to Kouki. For Kaori, she only looks confused. Kaori is kinda…slowpokes or if I had to be harsher, she's kinda a dunce, so Kouki's attractiveness is useless for Kaori.

"Hmm? Why would I need Kouki-kun's permission to eat my lunch with Hajime-kun?" Kaori refuted innocently. A silence dawned upon them before Tsubasa covered his face with his hand as he started snickering which made Airi and Shizuku started laughing at that.

Hearing the 2 girls' laughter, Kouki could only laugh awkwardly and tried to change the topic. Seeing there are some famous students (excluding Tsubasa and Airi) with him now, Hajime heaved a sigh silently while Tsubasa and Airi continued to silently comfort Hajime.

[I really hope all of them will get summoned to the other world or some kind of that. I mean…just look at them, they really are a perfect party. I think they're the kind of a group that will get summoned to the other world. Can't the god, the priest or a princess transport them from here?] Hajime thought while grumbling. ("Dude, I'm sorry to say this but…you have triggered a flag")

Hajime once again wanted to detach himself from reality but before he did it, he heard Airi shrieked in fright.

Before any of them asked Airi what happened, Tsubasa shouted "EVERYONE, LOOK DOWN!"

Everyone in the class looked down as Tsubasa said and they saw a big luminous silver circle with some geometric pattern engraved on it and all of sudden everyone there couldn't move at all. Everyone felt confused about that circle but they decided to consider it as magic circle since they have no better suitable words for it.

As the magic circle started glowing brighter until the light enveloped thee whole class, all of students started screaming. Aiko who was still in the class then shouted "EVERYONE! GET OUT OF THE CLASSROOM!"

Though it was too late as after some seconds or some minutes, the light started fading but strangely, everyone in that class have disappeared from that class; leaving all of their belongings like their bags, their lunch boxes or etc.

This incident regarding the mysterious disappearance of everyone in this class caused uproar in the entire world but I think it'll be best to save that story for another time.

Hajime, who closed his eyes tightly, slowly realized that the people around him start murmuring something and he opened his eyes fearfully. He kinda looked dumb yet adorable as he looked around him.

The first thing Hajime saw was a big wall painting. If Hajime had to describe the painting, he would say something like 'It's a very beautiful and amazing art'…at least that's what Hajime wanted to say but as he looked at the painting, he felt shiver ran down through his spines, so he decided to avert his eyes.

When he looked around, he immediately noticed that he's in a very big room; resembling a big cathedral because everything in this room heavily resembles with cathedral that he knew.

Hajime and the others now stood on some kind of pedestal in the deepest part of the room as they were looking around while they gaped in awe. Apparently, whatever happened here has influenced all of them.

Hajime then turned around to find the whereabouts of Tsubasa, Airi, and Kaori. Much to his relief, he found Kaori relatively unharmed even though she fell hard on the ground. And after that, Tsubasa and Airi approached them while Airi gave him a friend hug which Hajime thanked her for that. Hajime, Tsubasa and Airi then saw at least 30 people who looks like catholic bishops were praying in front of the students.

Finally the pope has stepped forward. He's an elderly man who is 70 years old. If it weren't for his wrinkled eyes and wrinkled face, people would think he's early 50s. Finally he opened his damn mouth and said "Welcome to the Trotus, O' you brave heroes! It's our pleasure to welcome you here. I'm the pope of the holy church, Ishtar Langbard. It's our honor to get acquainted with you all." The elderly man; now named as Ishtar smiled with a kind heart. Then this old bas…I mean Ishtar lead the still-confused students to another room that has been equipped with many chairs and a long table so they could converse more calmly there.

The new room itself isn't inferior to the previous room in any way and judging from the furniture, most likely this is a room that was used for banquet. Each and every one of them took their seats silently. Tsubasa, Airi, and Hajime decided to stick close to each other so they sat not too far from each other.

The reason why the students didn't create any ruckus when they took their seat because they still warped their heads on what happened right now though the Ishtar had promised to explain everything and with Kouki's top notch charisma, managed to calm most of his classmates (With the exception of Hajime, Tsubasa, Airi and Shizuku as they were still wary). Meanwhile, Aiko cried some anime tears at the fact her students chose to listen to Kouki rather than to her.

After that, some maids entered the rooms while pushing some trolleys. Some REAL maids, mind you! Not the fake ones that you could find easily at some place. They really are REAL MAIDS, the dreams of every boy.

Naturally, despite the situation, most of the boys there stared at the maids. When the girls noticed the boys' stare, they then glared at the boys coldly to the point they could freeze time itself.

Being an otaku, Hajime and Tsubasa obviously were the most familiar with maids ("At least that's what I know") and they were more than ready to stare at them. That's it…until they felt some absolute zero sensations on them. For Tsubasa's case, it was obviously from Airi who used her usual deathly sweet smiled on him. For Hajime's case, it was (half-surprisingly and half-unsurprisingly) from Kaori who beamed happily at him. They decided to pretend they didn't want to stare at the maids since they still treasured their lives.

As soon as everyone there got their drinks, Ishtar then spoke "Now, I'm sure all of you feel confused about this situation. I'll explain everything, from the beginning. I ask you all to listen to me until the end." Ishtar then started explaining and as expected, Ishtar's explanation totally lack of common sense and it sounds like it came from a fantasy book.

These are the summaries of Ishtar's explanation: first, the name of this world is Tortus. Inside Tortus, there are three different races: human, demon, and demi-human or half-human. Humans live on the northern part of the continent, demons on the southern part while half-human on the eastern part.

Humans and demons have a strained relationship, they are at war for hundreds years. Even if demons lost to the humans in quantity but demons far surpassed humans in term of quality, making them overall balanced with each other. Both of the sides currently at stalemates but there are some disturbing movements on the demons' side which is the fact that they could tame monsters.

Monsters were presumed to be wild beasts that had experienced metamorphosis after (mana) was being poured into them. Well, they weren't really sure since human could not fully understand monsters' anatomy. Those monsters apparently very strong and could use magic which made them very dangerous.

Until now, there were very few people who could tame monsters and they couldn't handle two or three of them at the same time. In other words, Humans' advantage to demons regarding quantity has gone null. That being said, humans have reached a crisis that never happen before that could threaten the existence of human race.

"The one who has called all of you here is our blessed god, Ehito. He's the protector god of our human race, and the only true god of the holy church, a supreme ruler who created this world. I presume Ehito-sama realize our situation. He realized that the humans were destined to perish, so he summoned all of you here to prevent it. You, the heroes are humans from a world bigger than ours' have a power within you that surpass the people of this world."

Ishtar paused for a moment before he continued hesitantly "Or at least, that's what the divine revelation has shown to me."

"However, I beg of you to do what Ehito-sama wants from you and please save the human race from extinction by defeating demon race." Ishtar pleaded with strangely subtle pissed off tone which was noticed by Tsubasa and Airi.

[Why did he sound pissed? Something doesn't feel right here.] Tsubasa and Airi thought at the same time before they nodded at each other. Meanwhile, Hajime and Shizuku couldn't help but feel this might be more dangerous than what it seems. Then the only sensei present — Aiko — stood up from her seat before she protested heatedly.

"You can't be serious! Are you telling these kids to fight in a war? That's absolutely unacceptable! As a teacher, I can't accept it! Send us back immediately! All of these kids have family in their home that definitely worried about them. You can't just drag us here like that!" It's understandable that Aiko wouldn't want the students to get dragged into battlefield.

Hatayama Aiko, a social studies teacher who is in middle 20s, she's very popular among the students. Regarding her appearance, long story short, if you didn't know her well enough, you'd definitely think she's an elementary-schooler. Even so, Aiko's a very dedicated teacher as she often ran around to help her students, even though most of her efforts were in vain, that's what made her so loved. Unfortunately, Aiko's students loved her not as respectable adult but as a little kid who need to be protected; hence why the students chose to heard Kouki's words rather than her, much to her chagrin ("Poor Aiko-sensei").

Many of them even called Aiko like 'Ai-chan' or 'Ai-chan-sensei' even though it always pissed her off as she doesn't like it when her students called her with nicknames since she want to become a respectable teacher. Hearing Aiko's outburst, the students who didn't give Aiko her deserved respect, like always didn't take seriously her outburst. That's it…until they heard Ishtar's reply.

"I understand your feelings; however…I can't send you back to your world now."

As expected, silence dawned upon everyone in that room. Everyone stared at Ishtar blankly; incapable to process what he just said.

Aiko then shouted "W…what do you mean by…'you can'? IF YOU CALLED US HERE, YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEND US BACK, RIGHT?"

"As I said, Ehito-sama was the one who sent all of you to this world. The only reason we're here is to greet all of you heroes and to offer our prayers to Ehito-sama. We humans didn't have power like that and whether you all can return to your world or not is Ehito-sama's will." Ishtar replied.

"N…no way…"

Aiko slumped back to her seat; all of her power left her body. The students started screaming when they knew they were basically stuck in this world.

"You must be joking right? What do you mean 'we can't return'?!"

"You can't do this. Please just send us back!"

"To hell with the war!? You can't be serious! Send us back right now!"

"This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening…"

The whole class started panicking. Hajime, Tsubasa and Airi were shaken due to this development but since they were an otaku, at least they had seen some books and games with this kind of plot. Because of that, they honestly didn't think that kinda situation isn't the worst; hence why they're calmer than their classmates. As references, they actually thought they were summoned as a slave (That's the last thing that Tsubasa wanted).

Tsubasa and Airi opted to continue their observation on Ishtar as he's still a suspicious old man in their books.

Ishtar didn't say anything as he silently observed the panicking students. Strangely, even if Ishtar keep his damn mouth shut, Hajime could've swore that he saw hidden disgusting look in Ishtar's which Tsubasa and Airi noticed it and it could only raise their suspicion. Hajime also could guess what Ishtar thought, which is 'these people were chosen by Ehito-sama, why these guys didn't feel overjoyed?' or something like that.

Kouki stood up gallantly ("Or maybe stupidly?") among the hysteric students before he slammed his fist on the table with a loud sound; making most of his classmates looked at him. As he was sure everyone's attention focused on him, Kouki started talking.

"Everyone, it's no use complaining to Ishtar-san. There's nothing we can do now. And at least I…I chose to stand up and fight. These people will get exterminated. Knowing that, how can I allow them experience such tragic fates? Besides, if we're called here to save humanity, maybe we can come home as soon as we save them…is that right, Ishtar-san? Do you think it's possible?"

[I had some bad feelings about this!] Tsubasa and Airi thought.

"As you just said, Ehito-sama isn't that evil to the point he won't fulfill the wish from his chosen heroes." Ishtar said.

"And all of us get extraordinary power, right? Since arriving here, I can sense I had grown stronger."

"Yes, you're right. It's safe to assume each of you have power on par with a dozen of ordinary man."

"Alright, if that's the case, then it's okay. I'll fight! If we want to save everyone, so we can come home! So I'll save everyone including us, you'll see!" Kouki proclaimed as he clench his fist tightly. He also had his usual charm smile on his face.

As expected, the despairing students started regaining their confidence. They all saw Kouki with awe since in their eyes, as if they saw Kouki as an embodiment of 'hope'. Most of the girls — especially a certain person ("Please don't reveal who's this person in review") — adore Kouki even more because of that.

"Heh, I know you'll say it, but I'm worried leaving you fight alone…that's why I'm coming with you."

"Ryutarou…"

"It looks like this is our only choice. I'm still miffed at the fact we didn't get a reasonable answer…but I'll help."

"Shizuku…"

"I…if Shizuku-chan will fight, then I'll fight too."

"Kaori…"

Seeing Kouki managed to make Kaori and Shizuku, most of their classmates agreed to participate in this war, despite Aiko pleaded them to reconsider. The problem is, most of the students didn't know the true meaning of something like 'fight' and 'war' and maybe they didn't want to understand it. In some ways, maybe it's their way to detach themselves from reality.

Hajime thought all of that when he glanced at Ishtar. Hajime, Tsubasa, and Airi could see Ishtar had a quite satisfying smile on his face.

Tsubasa and Airi actually noticed all along that Ishtar silently monitored Kouki when Ishtar explained the situation while he mentally wrote Kouki's reaction about his explanation. Kouki, who had a very strong justice, has reacted quickly when Ishtar talked about humanity's tragedy. And Ishtar even made sure to emphasizing demons' cruelty and brutality when he saw Kouki's agitated expression.

All in all, it's clear that Ishtar could see through Kouki's personality and he also realized that he's the most influential man in their team.

Hajime considered that since Ishtar was pope and a pontifex, it was given that Ishar was so intelligent though he considered Ishtar as someone to watch out for. For Tsubasa and Airi, they felt that they have more than enough proof from their observation that Ishtar wasn't trustworthy and definitely not a good person. Besides, they could've swear that Ishtar still hiding something from them.

Nevertheless Tsubasa and Airi decided to fight too since they didn't want to let Hajime alone and they didn't have any other choice.

Since the students decided to help the human in this world in their war (It's not like Hajime, Tsubasa and Airi could protest since they're surely outvoted), now they need to learn how to fight. However amazing the students' newfound power, they're still people who were used to peaceful atmosphere so they still need some training to fight against demons and monsters but it looks like Ishtar had already anticipated it.

Ishtar told the students that the kingdom had took care of it. The church was located at the summit of God's mountain and at the foot is this kingdom which is Heiligh Kingdom. It turn out that Heiligh Kingdom had a very close relationship with the holy church as according to the legend, one of Ehito's descendant; Charm Byrne was the founder of this kingdom. The fact that the holy church always supported Heiligh Kingdom further emphasizing just how close their relationship is.

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 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 to proceed. 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.

On the pedestal, there were huge magic formations carved into it. Because there was a sea of clouds on the other side of the fence, the students gathered in the center restlessly.

Ishtar started to chant.

"The road that leads; open for the faithful, (Celestial Path)."

As soon as he said that, the magic formation started to shine. The pedestal started to move smoothly like it was on a ropeway, it moved diagonally towards the ground. Apparently, the "chant" empowered the magic formation engraved into the pedestal. The pedestal was most likely a ropeway. For the students, seeing magic the first time made them excited. When the pedestal broke into the clouds, it caused uproar.

Eventually, it passed through the clouds and the ground could be seen. They could see a big town underneath. A huge castle was built into the mountain and the castle town spread from the castle. This was the Heiligh Kingdom. The pedestal leads them to the roof of a very expensive tower that was connected to the royal palace.

Hajime cynically laughed at the production value at display. To descend from the heavens through the sea of clouds, they were being presented as the Chosen of God. They just didn't present the students in a good light, but also the members of the church while Tsubasa and Airi silently groaned at the fact that they were labeled as members of church.

Hajime remembered the pre-war Japan days. At that time religion and politics were closely tied together. There was a likelihood that it would lead to trouble later on. However, this world may be even more strained. After all, this world had the power to touch other worlds, all the while following the "Will of God".

The possibility of them returning depended on saving the world for their god. While looking over the Capital city and its view becoming clearer, Hajime suppressed the uneasiness he felt in his heart. Anyway, he was going to do what he can.

When they arrived at the Royal Palace, they were ushered into the throne room straight away. They walked through the corridors and could not help but notice the beauty of the decorations. Along the way, they saw someone dressed up like a knight. They also passed by some maids, everyone was fully uniformed. They looked at the students with awe. The students seemed to be popular or known already.

Hajime seemed uncomfortable so he stuck around at the end of the group. They arrived in front of a set of huge double doors that was designed beautifully, two Soldiers stood at attention on both sides of the door when Ishtar and the party came. Without waiting for a reply, they opened the door.

Ishtar just leisurely entered like it was the natural thing to do. Students filed in feeling a little uneasy, with the exception of Tsubasa, Airi and Kouki.

At that point I entered the doorway too. There was a red carpet that led from the entrance all the way to a luxurious throne. On the throne sat a middle aged man that conveyed ambition and dignity. They all stood before the throne and waited. There was a woman next to the throne that seemed to be the queen. Next to her was a 10 year old boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. A 14-15 year old beautiful girl was next to him. There were people that looked like civil officers on the right side of the carpet; on the left were what looked like to be military officers.

Arriving in front of the throne, Hajime's group stopped, while Ishtar proceeded next to the king. The king lightly kissed the pope's hand as a sign of respect. Apparently, the pope was the top dog here. This just confirmed Hajime's theory that the country was run by this Ehito, he sighed inwardly at that while Tsubasa and Airi resisted the urge to groan at the display since they were the one who didn't find the pope trustworthy.

From there, they introduced themselves. The King's name was Ellheid S. B. Heiligh and the wife; also the Queen named Luluaria. The blond boy is Prince Lundel while the blond girl is Princess Liliana. After that the prime minister, the knight commander, and other high status people introduced themselves. It seemed that Kaori's charm was universal because the young prince was gazing admiringly at her.

A banquet was held after and they were able to enjoy this world's cuisine. The appearance of this kingdom was very similar to olden Europeans of Earth. The drink they served was pink in color but glistened like a rainbow, it was very delicious.

The prince seemed to take a liking to Kaori because he was often talking to Kaori, and this got a lot of the boys fretting. Hajime actually hoped that their jealousy could move to that boy permanently though he didn't expect much since the prince was just 10 years old.

Tsubasa and Airi could enjoy today's banquet ("Well even if they never consider themselves as ally of the church, they didn't see any harm of enjoying the banquet") and they could relax themselves for once since the glares was directed to the little prince instead of Hajime.

In the royal palace, they were introduced to the instructors that would train them. They also provided shelter, food, and clothing for all of them. The instructors were handpicked from the knights, imperial court mages, and much more. This would allow them to develop friendships for the forthcoming war though Tsubasa and Airi doubted that the 'develop friendship' part will succeed.

After they were finished with the dinner, each person was lead to their own room. Hajime wasn't the only one to be amazed by the bed that had a canopy over it. Hajime was uncomfortable in such a luxurious room. Still the room allowed for all the strain and stress they got today to melt away. He lay on the bed and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

To Be Continued

I'm sorry if this is too long but I can't help it since my policy to make the first and last chapter of the arc of my story longer than the others. And I'm sorry if this chapter didn't have so much of dialogue but I can say next chapter will have much more dialogue than this one

Next: Status Plates (If you didn't like this part, I can remove it in the next chapter)

Thanks for Reading This.

Review Onegai shimasu (Please)

Till' We Meet Again, Guys.