Felix’s POV

...It feels so comfortable…

What’s this…? It’s so bouncy and soft…

Ahh, am I in heaven...?

“A.h..h...H..ero… Her...o… W..a..ke… up..”

Ahh... It’s so cozy that I don’t want to get up. However, the uncomfortable feeling of being rocked back and forth finally made me open my eyes, albeit a bit reluctant. The first thing I saw after I opened my eyes was the sight of a very beautiful gorgeous looking girl. She had long wavy brown hair that reaches her shoulders, and her red face was also very cute.

Uhh, wait, why is her face red?

I lowered my sight and saw that my right hand was placed upon the sacred peak. So the soft sensation I felt earlier was actually…

Thinking up to this point, I stiffened. Did I just…

After realizing what I have done, I immediately leaped out from the bed like my pants were on fire.

“Uwaaah!” “Kyaaa!”

However, it actually gave birth into a more awkward position where I was actually on top of this beautiful angel. Of course, as a gentleman, I immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, miss! Sorry! It was an accident! I swear!” and looked at her face, only to see that her originally red face became even redder like a ripe tomato.

Is she mad at me? Uhh, this is bad.

“Sorry, Sorry!” I shouted, but she refused to spare me even a single glance.

As I became more and more anxious, the words ‘I’m sorry’ increased both in volume and quantity. It wasn’t until a while later did she say in a weak voice, “U-umm, could you p-please m-move a little?”

“Eh,” I blanked out and muttered, “ Of course…”

Thus, I stood up and lent her a hand.

“T-thank you,” She managed to stutter out words as she took my outstretched hand.

“Your welcome,” I replied with a slight smile.

That beautiful face of hers turned red once again.

“Is there something wrong with my face?” I asked.

“N-no, no! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your face!” She said flusteredly while waving her hands.

Why is it that everyone always turn red whenever I smile? When I asked Sophie, she would only reply with, ‘It’s because you’re an idiot!’. I’m having a serious blow to my confidence here.

After a long pause of awkwardness, her face finally became normal again. Grabbing the hems of her maid dress, she said, “Hero, please follow me,” and led me outside. More like stormed off the place without delay. Did I do something wrong again? Scratching my face awkwardly, I followed after her.

When I got outside, however, I was stunned. Big, spacious corridors filled with countless adornments filled my vision. On every corner, there are many different kinds of potteries and ceramics that exuded ancient auras. Looking up, chandeliers that hung from the high ceiling had jewels and diamonds embedded on them. Not only that, there were also a lot of weird looking plants that I have never seen before, but still exquisite nonetheless.

What... is… this…? I immediately forgot about the questions I was going to ask earlier.

Thus, I absentmindedly followed behind that beautiful big sis. The ‘tour’ was very silent, but I did not even realize it as my mind was occupied with the grandness of this place. Say, aren’t those things worth a bunch? I think that even 5-star hotels won’t have the luxury to amass such things and throw them everywhere like cabbages...

If they had, then wouldn’t those hotels be bankrupt by now? That being said, where am I right now? I just noticed, but wasn’t I in school before? Also, where are Ivan, Sophie, Lyra, and Brian? I remember that I was walking with them…

Just as I was about to ask something, the big sister announced, “We have arrived, hero,” and opened a majestic-looking double door. Unknowingly, it seems that we have reached our destination. She respectfully stood at the side and gestured me to come inside. It seems that I could only swallow my questions this time. Well, there should be more opportunities to ask in the future.

Flashing a smile, I said, “Thanks.”

Again, she turned red all the while saying, “N-no, i-it is my h-honor, Hero.”

I walked past her into the room right away. Being escorted means that there are probably people inside, right? Better not keep them waiting then.

---------

Ivan’s POV

I woke up, only to see a stranger attending me at my side. Using that idiot’s standard, then this person would without a doubt be considered beautiful. She is wearing a one-piece maid dress that reaches up to her knees, and even though she wasn’t stunning, her beauty was still quite apparent.

But, I feel nauseated looking at her.

She didn’t look very surprised at the fact that I woke up, and only said, “The king has assigned me to be your maid, Hero.”

...King? ...Maid? ...Hero? There are so many things that I could retort to, but most importantly,

“Where am I?” I inquired while looking at her with a deadpan stare.

Without averting her gaze, she calmly replied, “In the castle’s guest lodging room.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Castle? What castle? I don’t think that there are any ‘castles’ in the neighborhood...

Feeling my doubtful gaze, she continued, “Hero, I know that you must have a lot of questions in mind. However, I am incapable of answering all those questions. But please note this, I or rather, all us here are not your enemies.”

Will a thief admit that he is the thief? I sneered inwardly. But, fine ah, I still don’t even know what their motives are. Heck, I don’t even know where I am right now. Rather than thinking about a problem that currently has no solutions, it’s better if I follow their arrangements. At least, for now.

“...Fair enough,” I stood up and said, “Then, what am I supposed to do now?”

“Now, I shall personally escort you to the dining room," she answered while folding my blanket in a very practiced manner. Then she added, “Your friends are probably there already.”

Friends? The corners of my mouth twitched slightly, but I didn’t bother correcting her.

“Please follow me,” she said as she opened the door for me.

I stepped outside, only to have my eyes blinded from the lavishly decorated hall. Countless priceless treasures were displayed everywhere. Golden rimmed frames, golden chandeliers, golden potteries. It was golden everywhere! Are you putting your riches on full display!? It was terrible, like seriously. To the point that I even felt the urge to put on sunglasses to shield my eyes from these blinding ornaments.

‘Do you guys even know what modesty is!?’ I roared inside my mind.

The maid closed the door silently and bowed before taking me to where the dining hall is. On the way there, except for several maids and people who looked like guards, I didn’t manage to see anybody else. The atmosphere was very silent, too. Is it midnight right now? There weren’t any windows so I’m not too clear about the time.

In about 5 minutes, we arrived.

She opened a really big double door, approximately 4 meters in height and width, and gestured me to enter. From her body language, it appears that she didn’t plan to enter with me. Thus, I calmly walked into the room.

Inside, the space spanned the size of a small auditorium. I think that 200 people would fit just fine. With the seat of honor placed on the furthest, there were over 50 chairs put on the really long table. In three of those seats, there sat the three party members of that idiot. Upon my arrival, they looked at me with subtle gazes. There were obvious traces of restlessness inside their eyes.

Just to be safe, I tried looking around, but it seems that he hasn’t arrived yet. Since there were so many seats, I was free to choose where to sit on. Even though I don’t really like them, for a lot of reasons, I picked out the one directly facing them.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward, but I don’t really mind since I was busy observing the whole place. Apart from the door where I came from, there are 3 other exact doors on each side of the wall. Also, compared to the halls, this place was less decorated, but still gives off a sense of vanity.

Perhaps, because they weren’t able to hold the awkwardness anymore, the shortest girl with black hair opened up a conversation.

“U-umm, hello. Ivan, by any chance, d-do you know where we are right now?” She tried to converse with me using stuttering words and upturned eyes.

I sneered inwardly. You think that’s cute? Girl, you need to polish up your acting a bit. Even though your speech and gesture may be all that cutesy, your facial expression did not even conceal your dislike nor your derision to me.

Though, even if you did, that ‘thing’ around you will still betray you.

Also, if I accounted for the troubles that you caused me in the past, I would be having a big hole in my brain if I were to treat you kindly, yeah? So, against this one hell of a girl, I replied curtly, “In a castle.”

“I-I know that we’re in a c-castle,” she said as she fiddled her fingers, “But, w-where exactly?”

...Hey girl, you think I would hella know?

“Why don’t you just ask your mother?”

With my sentence, the somewhat subtle atmosphere turned frigid in an instant. The guy that has the short trimmed hair glared fiercely at me,

“To Sophie, you…”

“I what?” I returned his gaze with the same indifferent look that I had since the beginning. It was as if our gazes had collided and created sparks in the air.

Finally, the slightly older girl took measures and tried to calm us down.

“Eh, it’s fine, it’s fine,” She said, “Let’s not continue this anymore alright? We shouldn’t have asked Ivan this question. After all, he was also taken without any explanations like us, right?”

“Yes, I’m sorry too. It’s also my fault for not thinking about his situation,” that annoying girl chimed in with some tears in her eyes.

Heh, crocodile tears.

The somewhat scary looking guy backed off with a snort, and that useless girl only hung her head down.

“Hmph! Sophie, it’s because you’re too soft that people are taking advantage of you! You need to know when to advance, especially against guys like him!”

“En,” she replied with a small nod.

Then, that hoodlum glared at me again. Looking at this scene, that slightly older looking girl could only wryly smile.

What a farce. So, I’m the villain now? I feel like I’m watching a stupid, tasteless mary sue drama.

Just then, the door opened and that annoying idiot came in with a smile. That useless girl’s eyes immediately sparkled and a smile blossomed on her face.

“Felix!” She said while clapping her hands excitedly. Even though the other two did nothing, the glimmer in their eyes told me that they share the same sentiment.

“Sophie! Lyra! Brian! And also, Ivan!” He shouted our names one by one. Ugh, can it not be worse than this? For the first time in the day, I rubbed my temples.

He took the seat next to me like it was the natural thing to do. That useless girl, upon seeing this, bit her lips and stared at me resentfully like I owed her a huge deal of money. Of course, that idiot is totally oblivious to the change and I was too lazy to care about it.

In a bright voice, he asked, “Hey guys, do any of you know where we are right now?”

The three of them shook their heads in unison.

“What about you, Ivan?”

At his question, I rolled my eyes and when I was about to rebuke him, that useless girl cut in with, “We’ve already asked him earlier. He also doesn’t know.”

...Are you really that desperate in vying for his attention? I rolled my eyes again. Don’t worry girl, I won’t snatch him away from you. After all, dumb people are best paired with one another.

“Is that so…” The idiot replied disheartened, “Then, what are we going to do now?”

Speak of the devil, just as he spoke so, the door behind opened with a creak, and a group of people came marching in. Seeing a girl in her teens leading them and also those weird armors, I could tell that they were the same group as the ones that I saw previously.

“Sorry for the wait, heroes.” The girl said lightly. Then, she walked towards the seat of honor with graceful steps. Every movement that she took exuded a certain noble aura that made people captivated.

It seems that by looking at her blue colored hair that swayed in the wind and that elegant poise of hers caused our idiotic acquaintance here to be stunned silly. I could even hear a certain somebody clenching her teeth, but oh well.

She sat on the highest seat and immediately said, “First and foremost, I am both saying sorry and thank you to the five of you,” looking at our faces one by one, she continued, “Sorry for summoning you arbitrarily, and thank you for coming here today.”

Can you be any more shameless than this? The corners of my lips twitched incessantly. Basically, you’re kidnapping us and now you’re thanking us for accepting to be kidnapped. But, looking at the uninterrupted solemn atmosphere, I bet that these guys’ minds are not here at the moment.

But, what do you mean, summoned? And also, that hero, king, and maid thing?

“First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Selena Blackwinter, the second princess of the Blackwinter empire,” she declared, “Today, I gathered you all here to explain why you had been summoned.”

It seems that her explanation will be something that I wouldn’t be able to forget in this near future...