As we entered the dining area, the first thing we noticed was the sheer size of it all. The entire room was at least the size of a football field! Not only was the room large, but so were the tables. Looking at there layout, there were 5 rows of 6 tables across, each easily seating well over 100 people. But even with so much capacity, not many people were actually inside the dining area at this time, though I would assume that's just because the guards and servants eat earlier, so they can be ready by the time any of the royal family, or bureaucrats are awake.

During our walk to the separate dining area, Toal was stopped by different soldiers and servants alike, chatting with them about the morning, and how things were going for them. One soldier even handed him a basket of baked goods his wife had made for him, as thanks for when he helped them fix their roof. It was honestly rather nice to see people sincerely thank someone, and to go out of their way just to see how they were doing. It showed just how much, at least as far as the people of the castle are concerned, they genuinely liked the prince.

After about another 20 or so minutes of small talk with anyone who happened by us, we finally reached the other side of the room, to the door to yet another room. You know, I understand why you want the important people in another room, and in a secure space, but did they HAVE to put the room so far away!? Well anyway, once he opened the door for us, he ushered us into the room, to which we were greeted with a rather simple table, large enough for maybe 10 people, and a beautiful woman seated at it's apex.

"Good morning, Lady Sarah, Sir Jacob. Did you find everything well last night?" She asked with a radiant smile. How can she look so good so early in the morning, when i can barely look presentable by noon?

"Good Morning, Mother. I went to fetch them, but was a little side-tracked talking to the palace workers." Toal had said, awkwardly laughing.

"Hello, Queen Marcia" My brother and I greeted the Queen, giving small courteous bows.

"The beds in the palace are so soft and roomy! If it weren't for the maid and guards entering the room to wake me, I honestly wouldn't have woken up on my own" I told the Queen. Even with my alarm set, I'd have probably slept far longer than I had in that bed. After falling asleep last night, the only thing I even remember was placing my phone down, then blacking out. But we also JUST had multiple bombs dropped on us after being kidnapped from our homes, so that may have had a pretty big part in it.

"Just as my sis said, those beds are really nice! Most beds in my world aren't big enough for me unless they're at least a full size, but these ones can hold at least two of me!' My brother went on. First the Prince, now the Queen again. Does he really not know how to speak to Royalty, or even anyone with a high social standing? Is he just a meat-head?

"Well it's good to hear you two find our accommodations satisfactory." She had said, with a warm smile. "Now please, sit down and have some breakfast. We have much to discuss."

We took her up on the offer, and made our way to the table. Toal seated himself on the right side of the table near the Queen, and we sat directly across from him. Placed at each seat were plates, basic utensils, and cups. The food, to our surprise, wasn't actually on the plates already, but in more of a buffet style fashion, with multiple different foods to choose from in the middle of us. Even stranger was the food actually being served. It was rather modest, for a Royal Breakfast, comprising plates of toast, eggs, what looked like English muffins, assorted roasted meats, and coffee.

"Now, you're probably wondering this, like others have," Toal started, "but normally, the Royal Family tries not to eat any more lavishly than the people of our country. It helps for when we either have a shortage of food, and for showing the people that we too, are like them. We live and breathe the same air, from the same country, just like them."

"Though Toal and I are fine with these arrangements, I just wish your sister and father would learn to be OK with it by now." The Queen added, with an obviously exasperated look on her face.

"Well, neither here, nor there, Mother. What's important now, is what the heroes here plan to do." Toal said, handing the metaphorical mic over to us.

"Well, I've made my decision already." My brother started. "After sleeping on it, giving it some more thought, and hearing what Toal had to say...I still stand by my decision to help out your kingdom to the best of my ability."

"Do you truly mean this, Sir Jacob? You still wish to aid our cause, even after we stole you from your friends and family?" The Queen had a solemn look on her face, but you could see the glimmer of hope she had in her eyes.

"Indeed, Queen Marcia. Though I may not be able to go back home and enjoy the trip to see my family now, I would rather be out helping others, and enjoying life here, if I can." He had a resolute look on his face. Even though I worry about him for his rash decision making, once he's made up his mind, it's almost impossible to stop him. "Also, if you don't mind, you can just call me Jacob. Same for Sis, just call her Sarah. Formalities like those are pretty uncomfortable from where we're from, so it'd make us feel more welcome if you could."

"Don't just throw me into your own declarations, you gorilla!" I was giving him a rather dirty look, pointing my fork at him. "But he's not wrong. Being called "Lady Sarah", is rather uncomfortable, so just Sarah would be great. And don't worry, we will call Toal by his name as well, but since you're the Queen and all, I think it'd cause some problems if we were to be too formal with you." Knowing her, she'd probably wish for us to call her Marcia only, as a sign of trust and gratitude, but I don't think that'd fly with the others of nobility.

"Well, I see your point, La-, I mean, Sarah." She had stopped and corrected herself. "Well how about, behind closed doors, you may call me Marcia. Think of it as our little show of friendship." She had a rather coy smile on her face.

"Thank you, Marcia. We greatly appreciate your kindness." I said on our behalf.

"Well, now that we have names sorted out, and we've heard what Jacob wants to do. What about yourself, Sarah? What conclusions have you come to?" Toal asked, giving me a rather inquisitive look.

"To be frank with you, I have not. But Marcia, I have a request for you."

"And what is your request?"

"I wish to go around the castle town, and see what it's like. I want to see how they live, what their lives are like, and what life is like here." I wanted to interact with the people of this country, and see what they were like. Though I can't go around to all the territories of the kingdom, I could at least see what the people were like in the capital.

"Hmmm...So you wish to visit the castle town, and interact with the citizens before you make your final decision, is that it?" She asked.

"Yes, that's exactly it. Partly because I'm still unsure, but also so I can find the firm resolve for that decision I make. I mean, not only is this whole situation life changing, but if I choose to help, it also becomes life threatning."

To be honest, though, even after seeing the area, and learning more about the people, I still don't feel like I could come to a concrete decision. Now matter how I look at it, this whole situation still seems so surreal to me. I'm casually have breakfast with the Queen and Prince of a kingdom with my brother, figuring out whether or not I'm going to fight in a war to defend a world I'm not even from.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

And here, all I wanted to do was sing songs with the bands in the bars, and maybe find a cute guy to flirt with. Where have my dreams gone? I thought to myself, crying internally.

The Queen sat there, pondering my request. "Toal, is Alex available right now?" She asked.

"Yes, Mother. In fact, he's actually on castle grounds as we speak."

"Good. Have someone fetch him. He will be Sarah's escort, as well as guard in the town. No one should give her any trouble is he's there with her." She gave her orders, then turning to me. "Sarah, I will grant your request to explore the castle town. I will have a reliable guard and escort waiting for you at the castle gates. He will also have an amount of funds at your disposal. But we haven't really talked about how our currency works here, have we?"

"No, I don't believe we've been told how money works here yet." I wonder, do they use bills like we do, or was it maybe coin based?

"I'm not sure what kind of currency you used where you come from," Toal started, placing 3 coins on the table, "but here, we use copper, silver and gold as our standard." Pointing to each coin, he explained their value. "First, copper is lowest value we have. 10 copper coins will make one silver coin, which is more valuable. 100 silver coins will get you one gold coin, which is the highest valued currency we use. So, you can surmise that 1000 copper coins would make one gold coin, but it's much easier to trade them into silver, rather than use gold or copper, since most inns and taverns would run you only a few silver. But I would say that's basic enough knowledge to travel around town with. If anything, your guide will help stop swindlers, and anyone trying to take advantage of you."

"Now, what kind of person is this...'Alex', you're talking about?" My Brother had asked, with an uncharacteristically stern look on his face. "I can't just let some random guy keep watch over my sister."

"Jake! I'm 19, for Christ's sake! I can handle being alone with what would essentially be a tour guide!" I snapped at him.

"There's no need to worry, Jacob." The Queen laughed. "You should have no worries about Alex. He's well trained, and would never go against my orders, so long as he lived. I can personally guarantee your sister's safety with him." And with that, Jacob seemed to settle down a little.

"Well, if you say so, I guess I can be at ease a little more."

"So, with that, after we finish eating, head to the front gates and you should find him there already." Marcia had started. "And what of you, Jacob? since you already made your decision to fight, will you also go to the town and explore the surroundings?" She asked him.

"Actually, I think I will stay here and spar with some of the soldiers." He wants to fight people who are trained to kill!? Is he crazy!?

"You may be a Hero, but please realize that my troops, whether rank and file or commanders, are all well trained warriors." She stated, with an almost smug grin on her face.

"indeed, Jacob." Toal added. "Even with your increased physical capabilities from the summoning, that won't keep you safe from sustaining lasting damage." His concerns were justified, that's for sure.

"Oh, you two needn't worry. Same for you, Sis." He noticed my rather perturbed look. "I believe I explained to you guys before, but in our world, I'm a trained fighter. Something like a mercenary to this world, but we fight to knock people unconscious, rather than kill anyone. Aside from that, I also brought extra sparring gear, so as long it's hand-to-hand, no one should get too hurt."

"Oh yeah, you did bring another bag with you. It had your training gear in it?" I asked. If he had his padded gear with him, and it was just hand-to-hand, then I don't have much to worry about at that point. Even if they're trained killers, without protection, I doubt the average soldier could best him at martial arts.

"Well, if you're so confident in your skills, I might as well join in the fun." Toal had said with a mischievous look. "Though I may not look it, I'm rather experienced in martial arts, and would dare say I rival a few of the officers." That does come by as a surprise. He may not look weak, but his personality doesn't scream "Fighter".

The fact that my brother even proposed that he wanted to spar shouldn't have really come as a surprise to me. Hell, last year when we went to visit family, he brought his gear with him, and challenged our cousins to practice all the time. I'm more shocked that I was shocked at his proposal. Well, all I can do is hope that either they don't beat him too badly, or that he doesn't beat them too badly. It would be a shame to make the Queen upset by beating her soldiers after talking them up like that.

"Well, now that we know your plans for the day, we might as well explain a little more about this world, and our Kingdom, shall we?" And with that, the Queen, with help from Toal, gave us a crash course of the world, and their home.

First things first, the issues I had with the bathrooms here. Apparently in this world, they do have what is akin to modern day amenities like showers and sinks, but they are utilized by pouring mana into them. Something which neither my brother or I have any experience in. The reason they run on mana is due to them all being magical artifacts that were recently developed within the last 100 or so years. Most homes don't have the luxury of having showers and psuedo-plumbing like the nobility and royal family, but if they have an affinity for fire, or a heating magic tool, they can more or less still have hot water in their homes, but it's less convenient.

Second, aforementioned magic, will be taught to us upon my return to the castle, at least at the level for us to use the amenities without issue. Most residents of this world can use magic to some degree, but not everyone can be a mage, which we were told would be explained in deeper detail at another time. Now, the only people of this world who can't use any magic, or rather, have no affinities, are the beastmen, who can only manipulate mana, and strengthen their already above-average physical abilities with it. Other than that, magic and mana manipulation is a rather normal occurrence, and with these psuedo-technological advances, the average citizenry morale has increased greatly.

And finally, we were informed of the religious tendencies of this world. Somewhat like our own world, this one has multiple regions, and multiple different gods. The Kingdom of Ysella has a national religion, being Virgo Sancta, or the Church of the Holy Maiden. Even though they have a national religion, a majority of the royal family have ties to the following of the Den Mother, and follow their teachings. Because of this, even with the national religion, more than half of the country still follow the teachings of the Den Mother. Other than these two religions, there were quite a few others, but from the looks of things, rather than polytheistic, they were all monotheistic in that they believe in only their one true God, or in some cases, Leader.

Other things were touched upon as well, to some degree. We learned a little more about the economic situation of the kingdom, and the surrounding territories, as well as the kinds of political stances the kingdom takes. Though the most shocking thing we learned was that, though the kingdom was a monarchy, only those who held the blood of the Ysella family held absolute rule over the country. Though it was explained briefly before, it still came a shock to us. That being said, Marcia, the Queen of the kingdom, held such rule. Though her husband, King Landers, still held an amount of authority, Marcia could disregard anything he said or does, and the nobility and citizenry alike would follow her command. The only thing she herself lets him handle over her, is the control over the Royal Guard. Though they have sworn allegiance to the bloodline of the royal family over all else, the new head of the guard apparently had differing views from the past leaders, and fully supported the Queen's decision.

After all that talk and explaining, we all finished eating, and began preparing for the rest of the day. Marcia began preparations for our lessons tonight, where as Toal and my brother headed back to his room to get his gear, and prepare for their sparring matches, which left me to get ready and head to the castle gates.

I decided that I should probably bring my phone with me, and headed back to my room first. Though I may not be able to use it for it's intended purposes. I can still take photos and videos with it, though I'd probably have to be careful when I do, since the people of this world would have no idea what it is, and I would probably be bombarded with questions and unwanted attention. But it's all a risk I'm willing to take.

After somehow managing to remember my way back to my room and retrieving my phone, I asked a nearby maid for directions towards the castle gates, and made my way there. Lucky for me, the layout of the castle was rather easy to understand, so even if I managed to get lost, if I found myself in an open area, I could probably manage to find my way to the gates easily enough.

Approaching the gates, they were rather large, about 15 meters wide, and probably 5 meters tall. It was a pretty normal looking gate, apart from it's size, and had 2 guard posts on either side. Getting a little closer, I could see someone's back on the other side of the post.