“I have to fight in a war…?”

An image of me being ripped to shreds suddenly comes into my mind and I shudder. I didn’t sign up for any of this! I was brought here without being consulted first and now I have to fight for THEM in THEIR war?

As I was still processing this, I suddenly heard murmurs from the people that were standing beside the king. I could feel their piercing gazes without even looking at them and it just made me feel a lot more nervous.

‘Does he not want to fight?’

‘Can he even fight?’

‘He looks like a coward.’

Since I can't hear them, I can only imagine what must be going on in their heads. All of a sudden I feel like the weight of the entire world is on my shoulders and I struggle to breathe.

The king must’ve recognized this, so he spoke in a calm voice.

“I get that this must be frightening to hear all of a sudden because trust me when I tell you, that it is the same for all of us present in this hall at this moment. The thought of us or our children and dear ones dying as a consequence of this war is not something we even want to imagine. “

“However, there are some things in life that we cannot run from and regrettably, this is precisely that sort of a situation. Luckily, we know just the way to deal with this. “

“All of this has come to pass because of the devils at Ceartus. They betrayed our ancestors and staged a coup. As a result of which, they seized a piece of the land which rightfully belongs to Liberia. Ceartus is the region of devils, yes even though they are humans, they are no different than the worst of those devils. They do nothing but look down on everyone and mercilessly slaughter everyone they hate.”

For the first time since we began talking, I felt scared seeing the King’s face. The only way in which one could define his emotion would be - rage.

“We have lost countless people of this beautiful country to their meaningless slaughter, and I truly wish that this upcoming war can put an end to this misery once and for all. It is imperative that they be taken down so that the smiles return to the land and that the blood which we shed in this upcoming war, is the last of it.”

He slowly walked towards me and with every step he took, his image in my mind grew larger. He stopped when he was standing right in front of me. The king’s face now changed from a twisted, violent expression to a more mellow and hopeful one. He gently put his hands on my shoulders and spoke again.

“I feel terrible asking you to fight in this war. I truly do, son. You are just about as old as my kids, but we are left with no choice. This war has gone on for far too long and far too much blood has already been shed. For as long as I can remember, I have always felt hopeless about the prospects of ending this war. However, the moment I looked at you with my own two eyes, that lost hope seems to have found its way back into my soul. I truly believe that you have everything that is needed to make it happen! I can feel it in my chest!”

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"I-"

I don’t want to pretend like I am a strong person or as if I can have any lasting impact in this war. This is too far above my punching grade. However…just maybe.

Call me gullible but hearing him speak like that makes me feel like I can truly make a difference in their lives and ease their suffering even just a little bit. Deep inside my heart, there is some part of me that wants to rebel. Rebel against my evaluation of my own abilities. Rebel against the life that I led until now. I never thought a day would come where I would experience it but here it is. I could finally see it.

A way in which I would be needed by the people around me.

I don’t have any words to respond with when I am hit with emotions as pure as this. I am by no means a hero. I am useless. More useless than anyone else to ever do it before me but…

I don’t know if this is the right thing to feel… but even if it only lasts for a little while…I want to feel… needed.

Feeling a little worried over my silence, the king asked yet again.

“Will you lend us your aid, Hero Arwin?”

Hero Arwin.

“I- I have never fought before. I d- don’t know how I can be useful on the battlefield. However, i- if you still want me to be a part of your force, then I would be h- honored to work alongside you.”

Everyone's faces lit up in a flash. The people in the back looked at each other and shared their happiness as if they weren’t just badmouthing me.

“Splendid. That is just what we all wanted to hear! Glad to have you on our side, Hero Arwin. Oh, also please don’t worry about your battle-readiness. We will start by discovering and then working on your mana class and traits starting tomorrow. Please prepare yourself for some tough love.”

“Mana classes…traits..?”

“Indeed. Those are the attributes that separates a hero from the rest of us. Do not worry about them right now. We shall go over it in detail starting tomorrow. We don’t want your head to be overloaded with information when it’s this late at night.”

“Uh…yeah. Thanks. That is very thoughtful of you.”

The queen spoke in a delighted voice, “Ah this is the best day of our lives! Forget the demons, I’m sure that even their hero is no match for our Hero Arwin!”

Hmm?!

“Their hero?”

Surprised by me being surprised, the queen replied, “Did we not mention that those dregs of Ceartus have summoned a hero of their own?”

NO YOU DIDN’T.

The king continued, “Yes. Indeed, they have befriended the demons form Eredyk and also summoned a hero of their own.”

So, there is someone else from Earth? That makes me feel really good, but I MUST NOT show it on my face because he is with the enemy!

“Another person like me…I wonder what type of a man he is..”

In a displeased voice, the king said, “He is said to be a ruthless man that is feared by friends and foe alike. Only 7 days after being summoned, he subjugated a notorious demon queen and made her his ally.“

“He is strong, huh? But he sounds like a bad dude..”

“Indeed. He is the biggest thorn on our side. We must eliminate him using any means possible. He has evaded all of our attempts at ending him thus far. That hideous hero’s name is…”

—-

(Outside the Castle of Ceartus)

A masked man slowly walks towards the castle along with a woman tagging along behind him. She can also be seen wearing a mask that is identical to the one which the man is wearing. They both have dark green cloaks on.

As they near the castle, they take their masks off and quickly hide it somewhere inside their clothes. They are greeted by a multitude of knights who are guarding the entrance of the Castle, and they silently make their way inside while acknowledging them.

“Good night, Hero.”

“Thanks for your efforts as always, Lord Hero.”

As soon as they enter the castle, they are greeted by a woman who seemed as if she was awaiting their arrival.

“Welcome back, Hero Sirius. Lady Luna. I hope you both had a pleasant walk around the city.”

Luna gives her a slight nod. With a polite smile, Sirius says, “Yeah. It was great, Helen. What’s up?”

“Forgive me for the haste, Lord Hero. However, his highness, King Edward wanted a word with you. It seems that the matter is of utmost importance.”

As if they both immediately understood why they were being summoned, they gave her a nod.

“Of course. Lead the way.”