Chapter 1: The Royal (Demon) Summoning (Kidnaping)


Tachibana remembered being on a plane flying to America and reading a book Yukimura gave her. It wasn't even anything weird, just some fantasy novel. At least till the book started glowing. Tachibana felt herself fall and found herself in an odd place with some glowing sign on the floor. She quickly got up and saw some cloaked people talking nonsense about some heroes and saving the world. Tachibana then noticed some weird shield on her arm. Immediately, she tried to take it off, but it was stuck as if someone glued it there.

She noticed three other people with similar problems. Small dark-blue-haired boy in a blue school uniform with a red ribbon holding a bow; a blue-haired man? Woman? Wearing a blue jacket, brown trousers and a hat with a sword; and a tall man with light-blue gravity-defying hair wearing a weird white suit holding a spear.

"Where am I? Who are you people?" asked the person with the sword.

"Oh, honourable heroes! Please, save our world!" said the leader of the cloaked people.

"Huh?" they replied in unison.

"That does not answer the question" muttered the person with a sword.

"Ok" said the boy with the bow.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean by that?" questioned the spearman.

"There is a long and complicated story behind this" started the leader, "but we've summoned you Four Cardinal Heroes here using an ancient ritual. Our world tathers on the brink of destruction. We beg you, O brave heroes! Please, help us!"

"Alright!" said the archer.

"I guess we could hear you out, at least" answered the person with a sword.

"Get me back home, you kidnapers!" screamed Tachibana.

"Exactly! Don't you guys have any shame at all, suddenly dragging us here without our permission? Send us back!" agreed the spearman with a glare.

"Even if you send us home when the job is done, that's basically just using us as slave labour, you know?" said Tachibana.

"You get where we're coming from, right? Keep in mind that depending on your answer we might have to become your enemies" stated the sword hero smirking.

"F-First, we'd like you to have an audience with the king of our country, Melromarc. You can negotiate your reward afterwards, so please... "

"Fine. I guess we can talk to the king" replied the sword hero.

The heroes were led outside through the stairs. The scenery that could be seen was something incredible. It resembled the landscapes of medieval Europe, but there were some noticeable differences, for example, the weird creatures.


Finally, the heroes arrived before the king. He was seated on a throne on a podium in a gigantic hall. There were lots of members of the palace guard standing around. There were also some nobles and other significant individuals. The king was old. His hair and beard were grey and his clothes looked like something from the Middle Ages. On his head was a simple golden crown with a large purple crystal.

"So these are the Four Cardinal Heroes of ancient legend? I am the king of Melromarc, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII" stated the king. "Now then, Heroes. Tell me your names" he ordered.

"Shiota Nagisa, 23 years old, High-School Homeroom Teacher" started the sword hero.

"I'm Shirakumo Oboro. 30 years old. Pro-Hero. My hero name is Loud Cloud" said the spear hero.

"I guess it's my turn. I am Iruma of The House of Sullivan. I'm 15 years old and a 1st-year student of Babyls" introduced himself the bow hero.

"And lastly, me I'm... " the shield hero was interrupted by the king.

"I see. Nagisa, Oboro and Iruma, huh?"

"Hey! It's impolite to interrupt when someone is introducing themselves! You're worse than my class" scolded Nagisa. "It is also rude to refer to someone by birth name without their permission. And without any honorifics at that."

"Oh, forgive me" he said, not sorry at all.

"Well, as I was saying. My name is Tachibana Hotaru, 17 years old, high school student."

"Now... I suppose I owe you an explanation" said the king.

"More than just an explanation" muttered Tachibana.

"My country, Melromarc, and the entire world are headed toward destruction."


And then he provided a verbose story about some oracle about world destruction, something about 'Waves' and Four Cardinal Heroes saving the day.


"We underestimated the prophesied Waves. We realized once we actually experienced one that only the Four Cardinal Heroes could counter them. And so, we followed the legend and summoned you four. We have no time to lose!"

"'We have no time to lose!' And that's why we're wasting it on lengthy storytelling and being rude" thought Tachibana. "Wait. Tachibana know that story from somewhere. It's the same as in that novel Yukimura-san gave me!" She checked out her bag, looking for the book. "Huh... that's weird... Where is it?"

"I think we get the gist of it, now" said Nagisa. "Anyway, what's the reward? I hope you know that getting us back home isn't enough."

"Of course, once you repel all the Waves, we shall reward you handsomely" said a noble standing near the king.

"Fine" said Nagisa. "That doesn't mean that I trust you" he thought.

The rest of the heroes agreed.

"I trust we have an agreement" said the king. "Then, heroes, you should all check your statuses."

"Em... What's a status?" asked Iruma.

Tachibana and Shirakumo also didn't look like they knew.

"Seriously? That's the first thing you should've noticed" said Nagisa. "Didn't you find it weird that there is an icon floating in the corner of your vision? If you focus on it you'll see your status like in a game."

"Huh... You're right!" said Shirakumo. "But why is my level only one?"

"Me too. Won't it be hard to fight like that?" voiced his concern Iruma.

"What is it, anyway?" asked Tachibana.

"Do you not have Status Magic in your word, Heroes? Here, it is something anybody can use" explained the noble.

"So what are we supposed to do?" questioned Iruma.

"You must leave on an adventure to develop and upgrade the legendary weapons that you have equipped."

"Aren't they legendary?" asked Nagisa.

"Couldn't we just wield different weapons?" implored Tachibana.

"We can figure it out later. Either way, it looks like our future is full of training" stated Shirakumo.

"Yeah... We'll have to level up a lot" agreed Tachibana.

"Together!" cheerfully exclaimed Iruma.

"One moment, heroes. You will each recruit and adventure separately."

"Why?" asked Shirakumo.

"It is said that the legendary weapons repel one another by nature. If you work together, it apparently hinders their development."

"Huh... He's not lying" agreed Nagisa. "And the weapons are translating everything for us."

"The sun is about to set. Rest up tonight and set forth tomorrow. In the meantime, we will gather the best of the best to form your parties" King dismissed the heroes.

"We've prepared rooms for you. Please come this way." said a maid gesturing to follow her. She led heroes to their rooms.


"I guess being a hero of the legend gets you special privileges" said Nagisa.

"The whole 'Status Magic' kinda reminds me of games" commented Tachibana.

"Yeah! It's like that game I played with friends in high school. I think the name was 'Emerald Online'" responded Shirakumo.

"Huh? What's that game?" Tachibana was confused.

"Seriously? I thought it was famous. Don't you remember it at all?"

"What are you talking about? The only thing similar to this was that console game I played with Lied" said Iruma.

"No? It's a VRMMO. It's nearly the same as 'Brave Star Online'. Even the map looks the same, although I can't read anything. Look."

Nagisa unfolded a map on the table.

"Where did you get the map from?" asked Shirakumo.

"I asked the maid for one on the way here" answered Nagisa. "I also asked for some paper and something to write with."

"It looks like we're from different worlds" commented Iruma.

"What do you mean?" asked Tachibana.

"I mean, in my world, VR was invented only recently, and there is no such a job as Pro-Hero."

"You're right. Tachibana have never heard about anything like that" said Tachibana. "Just to be sure, let's check our general knowledge. Who's the person on the thousand yen bill?"

"I don't live in Japan" said Iruma. "I live in The Netherworld."

"Ok. Never mind. We're definitely from different worlds" stated Nagisa. "I have another idea. Let's write out what we think is important from our worlds on paper, and then everyone can read it."

"Let's write our status windows too" added Shirakumo. "We'll need it when the Waves come. It'll be easier if we know each other's strong and weak points."

"OK."

It took the heroes some time to write everything.


Tachibana Hotaru

Tachibana got here when Tachibana was on a plane to America through a glowing book. The book was about this country and The Four Cardinal Heroes. Tachibana is 17 years old high-school girl. Tachibana was Student Council President in my High School and a member of Toy GunGun - survival games team.

The Shield Heroine [P. Def. +6; M. Def. +4]

Level 1

Small Shield (Legendary Weapon[P. Def. +3])

Attack: 20

Magic: 0

P. Defence: 6

M. Defence: 0

Dexterity: 23

Fire: 0

Water: 0

Ice: 0

Wind: 0

Earth: 0

Lightning: 0

Light: 0

Dark: 0


Shirakumo Oboro

I don't really remember how I got here. Actually, I don't really remember the last 14 years. I'm 31. In my world, there are superpowers we call Quirks. Nearly everyone has one. My Ouirk is Cloud. My Ouirk grants me the ability to generate clouds. These clouds are dense enough to be touched and can carry a relatively large amount of weight. I can fly on my clouds through the air and even use them to store objects. My job (Pro-Hero) is a little like the Police Force but with using Ouirks. My hero name is Loud Cloud. I'm trained with Quarterstaff.

The Spear Hero [Att. +6; Dex. +4]

Level 1

Small Spear (Legendary Weapon[Att. +6; P. Def. +3])

Attack: 34

Magic: 98

P. Defence: 9

M. Defence: 4

Dexterity: 21

Fire: 0

Water: 48

Ice: 0

Wind: 22

Earth: 0

Lightning: 7

Light: 0

Dark: 21


Shiota Nagisa

I'm 23. Homeroom Teacher of Class 3-5 in Paradise High School. I'd prefer it if you called me Nagisa. During my last year in high school, a terrorist blew up 70% of the moon and my class additionally had assassination lessons. At the time, my codename was Androgynous due to my feminine appearance. I can use guns and knives, prepare an ambush, negotiate, teach, threaten someone and sneak around. I can also tell when someone is lying. Before waking up here, I was walking home from school.

The Sword Hero [Att. +6; P. Def. +4]

Level 1

Small Sword (Legendary Weapon[Att. +3; Dex. +3])

Attack: 35

Magic: 0

P. Defence: 18

M. Defence: 3

Dexterity: 36

Fire: 0

Water: 0

Ice: 0

Wind: 0

Earth: 0

Lightning: 0

Light: 0

Dark: 0


Iruma of The House of Sullivan

I just went to bed and woke up here. I'm 15. The Netherworld, which I came from, is a demon world. We have a ranking system from 1 to 10 in which 1 is the weakest and 10 strongest. My Rank is He(5), and I'm a Student in 1st year of Babyls Demon School. I'm also a member of the Magical Tools Research Division and one of the candidates to become the next Demon King. The Demon King is the ruler of The Netherworld. The next after him are The Three Greats and The Thirteen Crowns. My grandpa is one of The Three Greats.

The Bow Hero [Dex. +6; Att. +4]

Level 1

Small Bow (Legendary Weapon[Dex. +3])

Attack: 33

Magic: 666

P. Defence: 8

M. Defence: 13

Dexterity: 99

Fire: 11

Water: 11

Ice: 11

Wind: 11

Earth: 11

Lightning: 11

Light: 0

Dark: 600


Tachibana POV

"Let's have a look... My stats are pretty good for level 1. Tachibana do not have anything in magic, but that's expected"

"OK. It looks like everyone finished" stated Shiota-san. "Now, let's trade the notes. Just give it to the person on your right"

We traded the papers, and now I had Shirakumo-san's notes.

"Shirakumo-san is really unlucky to forget 14 years. He has high Magic stats, but that's probably because of that 'Quirk' of his. And he's a Pro-Hero."

Tachibana looked at others. It seems like they already finished reading. Shirakumo-san looked a little unsettled, but he passed over the notes.

"Shiota-san has good stats. Oh... I guess I should call him Nagisa-san. If only we could play survival games together."

Shirakumo-san looked defeated. Tachibana wonders what made him look like that. Tachibana took the paper from his hands.

"Wow! His dexterity is really high and his magic is on another level. Wait... If The Netherworld is a demon's world, doesn't that mean Iruma is a demon? Weird, he doesn't look like a demon from legends or books."

We all finished reading.

"You're a demon, Iruma-san?" Tachibana couldn't restrain herself.

"Y-Yes? I mean... My wings are really small and I don't have horns, but I'm a demon" he (lied) answered. "In The Netherworld, humans are only a myth, so..."

"How is it that you use Japanese?" asked Nagisa-san.

"Ah... I'm not. Grandpa cast a translation spell on me just in case something happens."

"So you can read the map?" questioned Shirakumo-san.

"Y-Yes."

"Lucky" commented Tachibana.

"I'll ask the maid to bring us the laws of this kingdom to translate" stated Nagisa-san and went to do it. He came back with a thick book and more paper. "Here. Could you translate it for us Iruma-kun?"

"Of course!" said Iruma-san and started writing.


3rd person POV

The three unoccupied heroes started planning. Their conversation continued for a few hours. Finally, Iruma finished writing and used a spell to duplicate the finished work.

"Well. I think it'd be nice if we could spend at least the first week together. We'll need to be in the capitol either way, and this could help us adapt." suggested Nagisa.

"Yeah! It'd be nice." agreed Shirakumo. "Then tomorrow evening, let's meet up before the castle. We can find an inn to stay then and chat."

"Alright! It's quite late. Let's go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a great day!" said Tachibana.

"Goodnight!"

The heroes went to sleep.


In the morning, the heroes went to see the King and to meet their new companions. There were noticeably more people than yesterday. Before the throne stood 12 people.

"We have gathered brave warriors who will fight the Waves with you Legendary Heroes" started the King. "Now, our future champions! Time to begin your journey!"

The 12 warriors moved to stand behind the heroes they'd chosen. To Shirakumo went 4 girls, to Nagisa went 8 people and to Iruma and Tachibana 0.

"Hey! How is that fair?" shouted Tachibana.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this" said the King. "So there have been rumours."

"Did something happen?" asked Iruma.

"Well, rumours that the Shield Hero is ignorant of this world have spread around town, as well as rummages of the Bow Hero being a demon" said King.

"Huh?"

"Legend says that the Heroes come with a firm understanding of our lands. And they seem to think he doesn't meet that criteria."

"They were spying on us last night" whispered Nagisa.

"Really? Spying? That must be against the law" whispered back Shirakumo.

"Not really. Tachibana read the laws last night. There wasn't anything about it. And besides, we don't have proof" muttered Tachibana.

"I don't need them anyway. I'll just summon my familiar if there's a need for it" said Iruma.

"Well, Tachibana do not have that option. Can't any of you come with me?" Asked Tachibana. "You want Tachibana to go alone?"

"Hero-sama! Would you allow me to join the Shield Hero?" asked a redhead who previously went to Shirakumo.

"If you really want to" said Tachibana.

"Are there any others who wouldn't mind joining Tachibana-dono or Iruma-dono?" questioned the King. "I suppose we'll have to take other measures. Iruma-dono, Tachibana-dono, you will have to recruit for your party yourselves."

"All right" they both answered.

"Every month, we shall provide each hero with the funds they require" stated the King. "This month, Iruma-dono's and Tachibana-dono's payments will be higher than the others. Here are your initial war chests. Please accept them."

At the King's signal, the heroes were presented with four full moneybags.

"Iruma-sama gets 900 silver coins, Tachibana-sama 800 and Shirakumo-sama and Shiota-sama each get 600" said the King. "Use this to procure all necessary equipment and set forth on your journey."

"Yes" answered the Heroes.

The Heroes left the palace.


"Later!" said Nagisa. "Good luck with recruiting!"

"Yeah... See you!" Said Shirakumo.

"Bye!" said Iruma.

"See you soon guys!" answered Tachibana.

And the heroes parted their ways.

"Um... Shield Hero" the redhead started a conversation. "My name is Myne Sophia. It is an honour to fight by your side."

"Tachibana Hotaru is my name. It's nice to meet you" greeted Tachibana with a nod.

"My pleasure!"

"Shall we get going, uh, Myne-san?"

"Yes, Hero-sama"

"Let me show you around the castle town to start with." Myne led Tachibana to a market.

"Looking closer, it really gets to you that this is another world."

"What shall we do now, Hero-sama?"

"I think it'd be best to buy some armour and other equipment first."

"That makes sense" quickly agreed Myne. "With that much money, you can buy some fine equipment. I'll take you to a shop I trust, then."

"Thank you. Then lead the way."

"Sure thing! Follow me!" she started jogging.


They went inside a shop.

"I wholeheartedly recommend this place."

"So this is what a weapons shop is like here" said Tachibana.

"Welcome" greeted the owner. "Is it your first time inside a weapons shop? You sure know how to pick'em."

"No, it's not. Just first in this country. Actually, she brought me here."

"Have we met before, Miss?" asked the owner. "Why do you look so familiar?"

"I've come shopping here before" answered Myne and side-hugged Tachibana. "Your shop is quite famous, you know."

"Ain't that nice of ya" stated the owner. "By the way, who's your companion with the funny outfit?"

"Can't you tell, Oyaji?" asked Myne.

"You mean you're one of the Heroes? Ah, I see you've got a shield. You must be a dud."

"I'm Tachibana Hotaru, The Shield Hero. It's nice to meet you" she greeted with a nod.

"Hotaru, eh? Well, if you'll be a regular, I don't give two hoots if you wield a shield or what. Nice to meet ya, kid!"

"Anyway, Oyaji, could you provide Hero-sama with the equipment he needs? Our budget is, let's see... Around 250 silvers. "

"Left to right, that's iron, magic iron, magic steel, and silver iron in ascending order of cost" the owner presented four swords. "I guarantee they're all quality swords, though."

"I see." Tachibana reached for one. When she picked it up weird lightning-like thing paralysed her, and she dropped the handle. "What's going on?"

"I don't know either." said the owner.

" It looked like it just flew out of your hands" observed Myne.

"What?" Tachibana saw a system window saying 'Legendary Weapon Rule Violation: Holding non-assigned weapon. A hero may not hold, with intent to fight, any weapon other than their assigned legendary weapon.' "'Rule Violation'? What the hell? Well... It looks like Tachibana can't use any weapons other than my shield."

"How does that work?" asked the shop owner, and looked at the shield with a magic magnifier. "It looks like any other small shield at first glance. Doesn't this thing come off?" he tried to take off the shield.

"Tachibana can move it around but can't seem to remove it from Tachibana's body" answered Tachibana.

"That's so weird" said the owner. "I sense a great amount of power in this thing," he commented, pointing at the large green crystal in the centre of the shield, "but even my appraisal magic isn't telling me much. Well, thanks for showing me something interesting. Want to buy some armour instead?"

The owner led Tachibana to the fitting room and gave her a chainmail.

"Thank you."

"How much is it?" asked Myne.

"I'll give you a discount. 120 silvers."

"How much would you buy it for?"

"Huh? Well... If it's mostly new, I'd pay 100 silvers."

"All right. We'll take it" said Myne.

"Thanks! I'll throw in some innerwear to show my gratitude!"

"Ah... Could you make my clothes into armour?"

"I don't know... Let's see... I think I'll be able to."

"How much would it cost?"

"If you bring me some materials, it'd be around 200 silvers."

"Then Tachibana will bring it here till the end of the month."

"Shall we head off to battle now, Hero-sama?" asked Myne.

"Yes. Let's go. Thank you for the armour, Oyaji-san!" Tachibana said, walking out.

"See ya!" called after them the owner.


Tachibana and Myne went on a grassy hunting ground.

"Let me add you to the party."

"Of course, Hero-sama" agreed Myne.

"Ok. First, Tachibana needs to figure out how strong Tachibana is, so please stay back for a little Myne-san."

There were 3 enemies. They looked like orange balloons with teeth. They attacked Tachibana. Tachibana punched one, and it exploded, but the other bit her. She prepared herself for pain, but she felt nothing. She saw her level go up.

"Yes. Let's do it! We can definitely level up today" enthusiastically called Tachibana.


She spent the next hour punching the balloon monsters. Tachibana stopped for a while and saw Nagisa hunting balloons nearby. She waved to him. Nagisa smiled and waved back before he went back to hunting. After that, Myne took out her sword and helped Tachibana with hunting. Tachibana managed to level up a lot.


Later in the afternoon, Myne and Tachibana collected the scraps from balloons. Tachibana gave them to her shield for absorption.

"Wow. There's no limit to how much it can absorb" commented Myne. "This must be the power of a legendary weapon."

"Yes. This must be why Tachibana don't feel pain when is bitten, too. Looks like it'd need a lot more of it to unlock another shield."

"I see."

"By the way, can we sell these orange balloon fragments?"

"Yes, but only for one copper coin at most."

"Well, it's enough work for today."

"Let's call it a day and head back to the weapons shop" said Myne. "If we buy me some new equipment, we can go that much farther tomorrow."

"If you say so."


"Equipment for the lady, huh?" questioned the shop owner. "Sure, you'll be much stronger with good equipment."

"Right?" said Myne, looking for it.

"Could we maybe get a discount?" asked Tachibana.

"We'll see..."

Myne put her chosen equipment on the counter and smiled.

"Oyaji-san, how much is that in total? With a discount" asked Tachibana.

"480 silvers. I can't go any lower" he answered.

"That'd leave us with 200 silvers." muttered Tachibana, then she said loudly "Thank you, Oyaji-san. We'll buy it."

"No, Thank you" said the shop owner. "I see our hero's got a real nose for good deals."

"Thank you, Hero-sama" said Myne.

"Oyaji-san, do you know if these would be any good for remaking my old clothes?" asked Tachibana, showing collected earlier balloon scraps.

"Yes. But not as much as ya will probably gather in the next month, and ya will need to collect other materials, too."

"Ah... Then, Oyaji-san, do you know a place that'll buy these fragments?"

"There are shops for monster materials. They'll buy most things off of ya" he answered.

"Thank you!" said Tachibana. "See you later!"

"See ya, hero!"


The four heroes and their parties meet up before the castle gates.

"Hey! How was your day?" asked Shirakumo.

"It was fine" Tachibana answered. "Still, can't get used to this situation. It's just that weird."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, do any of you know a place where we could stay the night?" asked Nagisa.

"No" answered other heroes.

"Um, I may know a place, Hero-sama" said Myne.

"Thank you, uh... What's your name?" questioned Shirakumo.

"My name is Myne Sophia."

"It's nice to meet you, Myne-san!" greeted Nagisa.

"Yeah! Nice to meet you! Could you show us the way, please, Myne-san?" said Iruma enthusiastically and motioned for her to lead. The group followed.

"How was your day, everyone?"

"Not bad. I managed to buy myself some armour and test out my team's abilities. It'll take some time to get used to a longer blade."

"I have a similar problem. I have to learn a whole new weapon" complained Shirakumo. "At least I levelled up a bit."

"Tachibana levelled up a little, too, and bought equipment. Myne-san introduced Tachibana to a great blacksmith."


They talked all the time on their way to the inn. After they've rented rooms for themselves and their companions, the heroes went to eat dinner in a tavern next door. They discussed their plans over the meal and parted for their rooms soon after finishing it. Before going to sleep Tachibana took off her armour and checked out her stats once again.


Tachibana Hotaru

The Shield Heroine [P. Def. +6; M. Def. +4]

Level: 10

Small Shield (Legendary Weapon[P. Def. +3])

Attack: 20

Magic: 54

P. Defence: 276

M. Defence: 162

Dexterity: 95

Fire: 0

Water: 0

Ice: 0

Wind: 0

Earth: 0

Lightning: 0

Light: 0

Dark: 0


While doing this Tachibana noticed another button. When she tried it out, it showed an empty inventory. She decided to put most of the money left in it, leaving out only some to buy breakfast the following day. She fell asleep quickly, exhausted by the day's work.