He closed his eyes and focused, and again, he felt the warm pulse beginning to course through his body. First from his heart, then his shoulder, and again through his elbow to his hand. And once it reached his hand, he had to concentrate even harder to let it travel to his fingertips and into the Interceptor. Once his mana touched the Interceptor, he did not need to concentrate anymore as it began to suck mana out of him on its own.

After a second, the Interceptor made a subtle ring and stopped eating away at his mana. Issac put the Interceptor back on the sink and crouched down immediately, exhausted. He was sweating worse than before, making it look like he had lost weight. He panted heavily as sweat fell from his temples onto the bathroom floor. Even his legs began to hurt from crouching, and he sat down cross-legged on the floor.

After a while, Issac got up and washed his face with water again. He used another towel to dry his face and body from the sweat. Once he was satisfied, he shoved the Interceptor back in his pocket and left the bathroom.

Hearing the door open, his friends’ eyes all fell on him. Under their gazes, he walked over to one of the sofas and sat down on it. Tugging on his collar, he tried to let some air into his shirt and cool himself down.

“Man, you look like you just took a bath,” Ethan pinched his drenched shirt.

“Ah, no. The water went through my nose, and this is the result of that.”

“Dumbass,” Ray called him out.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t nag.” Issac’s eyes went to the showpiece on the coffee table in front of him. It was the same crystal lion he had shattered once, as well as the same eye and ear symbol floating above it. Feigning surprise, he asked, “Woah, do all of you guys have one of these!?”

Ray was slightly taken aback at the sudden turn of topics, “Y-Yeah, at least, I do. I don’t know about the others, though.”

“I have it too.”

“Me too.”

“Me three!” the other three chimed in.

“I have one in my room too. Is the lion their national symbol?” Issac stealthily placed the Interceptor under the figure. The Interceptor made a ding sound in his mind as it clicked in place.

“Could be,” Ethan stroked his chin. “I mean, no other reason for them to put one in each and every room.”

Issac placed the figure down, yawned, and looked around. “What time is it?” he asked.

Ray looked at the clock that hung above the door outside; it read- 11:15. “Well, the clock says 11:15. We’ve been talking a lot.”

“Well, Issac was in the bathroom for most of the time!” Janet poked Issac on the shoulder and laughed.

“Can’t help it.” He suddenly held his head and groaned, “We have to go out tomorrow as well….”

“Hey, you’re exploring a new place, don’t be such a downer.”

“I just wanna laze around,” Issac yawned again.

“Go to bed if you’re sleepy,” June grabbed his hand and pulled. Issac stood up, and June pushed his back towards the door.

“Okay, okay, I’m going!” Issac started walking on his own and grabbed the door handle. He opened the door and waved the others goodbye, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow then.” He closed the door behind him.

“Since it made a sound in my mind, then….” Issac closed his eyes and thought about the Interceptor. It felt like it was connected to him by an invisible thread. Soon, he could see a 360° view of the room which felt pretty weird to him as normal eyes don’t work like that. He could even hear the voices of his friends from inside the room directly in his mind.

“Guys, Issac looked a bit weird,” he heard June say.

“I’m sure he’s still a little bit on edge after coming here,” he saw Ray shake his head, “This summoning has affected him more than anyone now.”

On the sofa, Ethan bent forward and looked at the ground, “Ah, he must be dying to go back, back to Lucy.”

“There’s nothing we can do. At least, not right now,” Janet poured herself a glass of water and drank it all in one go. “Even I want to go back to Victoria, but….”

“Have you given up hope?” June asked her.

“No, I just… I-I’m just a bit lost, if that’s even the right word.”

“I suppose we all, more or less, feel like that,” Ray added, “And I don’t think that it’s fair for only Issac to lash out at us without even understanding what we feel like.”

“There’s no compromise for family to him,” June sighed. “You guys should know that.”

Ethan frowned at her words, “But don’t we all have families too? People who cherish us, people waiting for us, and people who’ll cry for us? It hurts me to say this, but he isn’t special, June. We all have families back home.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Not me,” Janet interjected, “My folks wouldn’t even know I’m missing, so I’m in no position to judge him. I’m just worried about Victoria.”

“Everyone here is worried about someone,” Ray exhaled deeply. “That’s why I’m saying that we should do as the Queen instructs and defeat the 『Demon Lords』. Then we can leave this world.”

“If we can even leave at all,” Janet said cynically.

“Hey, don’t say that!” June snapped at her, but Issac knew she was trying to comfort everyone.

“Speaking of the Queen, did she do something to Issac?” Ethan stroked his chin, “I don’t see any reason for him to call her a bitch.”

“He’s just unloading on the Queen,” Ray rubbed his eyes in frustration.

“Yeah, but the Queen’s reaction makes me think she understood what he called her.”

“Yeah? That just means the previous 『Heroes』 also came from Earth.”

“I think that we’ll see some things from Earth recreated here,” June added.

Issac opened his eyes. They were no longer talking about useful things. He heaved a sigh of relief, “So, even Ethan picked up that the Queen understands English…they still aren’t too far gone, I hope.”

He slowly made his way back to his room and shut the door behind him. Taking off his still-wet shirt, he spread it over the sofa’s backrest. He slicked his hair back and got ready to take a shower.

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Veronica’s attendants opened the doors in front of her, and she walked inside with her royal mantle flowing behind her. In the room was a huge conference table with people seated on chairs. She elegantly walked over to the head of the table and sat down, her two attendants standing slightly behind her.

Every motion of hers bore the bearing of royalty, and her manners were impeccable. Veronica’s imperial-red hair swayed slightly as she looked at the people present with a smile, “So, tell me, how goes the process?”

Vista spoke, “Your highness, Sir Ethan is becoming progressively more enchanted by Mir and the history behind our world. He hopes to get his 『Blessing』, learn how to do magic, and research it as well. The 『Malice』 surrounding him has grown stronger.”

“Very good,” the Queen nodded in satisfaction. “Enamor him more.”

Vista bowed, “I will try my best, your highness!”

“Then Viola,” she looked at Viola, who had a notepad in her hand and was reading off it.

“Ah yes, your highness!” Viola snapped her eyes away from her notepad and bowed at the Queen, “Miss June seems to pity the slum-dwellers greatly. Much of her gold has been spent feeding the needy in the slums.”

“She’s spent gold on feeding those useless pieces of garbage?” the Queen scoffed in disgust. “A load of bread is one copper, a hundred copper is one silver, and a hundred silvers are one gold. Is she going to feed all of those things?” She snorted, “We know who the healer’s going to be….”

Viola pushed her glasses up nervously and said, “Um…your highness, it seems Miss June is also becoming suspicious of the lack of children in the slums.”

“Ugh, tell Karzak to sprinkle some children in amidst the slums. Make sure it’s children he can trust and won’t mess up.”

“I-If he refuses? Karzak has his own set of-”

“Rules? Hah!” the Queen covered her mouth and laughed. “That low-life has rules? It is by my grace that his sorry ass can conduct business in the capital. He better be willing to accept my order.” The Queen gestured towards Jeana, who was looking at the ring on her finger, “Jeana, your report?”

“Yes, your highness!” Jeana giggled. “Janet has taken-” before she could finish her words, Veronica’s sharp glare made her break into a cold sweat.

“Listen,” she said forcefully with a heavy air of authority, “despite what we are doing, they are still the 『Heroes』 who will save humanity. Do not think yourself to be above them.”

“Y-Yes…” Jeana hung her head and averted eye contact.

“I’ll hear about Janet later, but for now, you should stop speaking. Beryl, your report.”

Beryl swept her hair behind her ear and spoke, “Sir Ray is very eager at the prospect of becoming an adventurer and going on an adventure. I propose we lure him in with the novelty of this world.”

“That sounds like a good plan, Beryl. I’ll put you in charge of that. Do not fail me.”

Beryl patted her chest, “Leave it to me, your highness!”

“Good!” Veronica clapped her hands and looked toward Bayes, “Finally, Bayes. How is it on your end?”

“Sir Issac hasn’t shown any particular interest towards any one thing like the others, your highness. Other than some odd behavior on the first day, he spent yesterday and today simply walking around the city. However, he has shown a keen interest in our music, listening intently as the bards play music.”

Veronica sighed, “Bayes, you said that like it’s some important knowledge I had to know. But just what do you reckon I’m supposed to do with this information?”

“If I may be as impudent as to ask, your highness, just what is our end goal for this? I see nothing good coming from having the 『Heroes』 fall to 『Malice』.”

“Listen,” the Queen said forcefully, “it’s the decisive period for humanity. The Seventh Human-Demon War might just be the one to decide the future and the fate of humans in Mir, whether that be prosperity or annihilation.”

“Your highness, Demon Queen Laufey has been proposing to us a treaty for peace for at least three years now. But your highness has consistently denied her. Why? I see no downsides to this.”

“Bayes…you need to understand- we cannot take that proposal. What do you think happened to my great-great-grandfather, Jean-Paul, in the Fifth Human-Demon War? Zephyr, the King of that time- didn’t he also try to make us sign a peace treaty? And that ended with two swords in Jean-Paul’s back. Must I say more?”

“But-”

“Also, if you didn’t know, Laufey has been overthrown.”

“What?” a series of gasps and expressions of shock rang throughout the room.

“Indeed,” Veronica nodded grimly, “and replaced by her hawk faction little sister Louhi. So, any possible peace treaty is probably off the table right now.”

“So, Demon Queen Laufey is dead? Just like that?” Bayes and the others couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

“Maybe, but some of our spies in the higher posts say she’s been imprisoned though nothing’s clear. But with Louhi on the helm, it’s safe to say this is going to be a bloody war.”

No one in the room refuted the Queen’s words. They knew just how terrible this Louhi was. Her horrendous acts would make even the Devils proud. The atmosphere in the room became stagnant as everyone inside became occupied with their thoughts.

“And to answer your question, Bayes-” Veronica’s sudden call made him look at her, “-we’re trying to make them fall into 『Malice』 because I can’t afford to make the same mistakes that those before me did for six wars. 『Malice』 will change them into worse people, but people under my control. Even if I have to make them my puppets, I will win this war!” The Queen slammed her hands on the table and left the room with her attendants.

Despite knowing what they were doing was wrong, Bayes and the other guides couldn’t help but strengthen their resolve after this.

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