It was a normal sunny day.

Some classes in the morning, a neighbor asking to find her dog, and a request to deliver some boxes across the city while at it. Hayato did all that, but it wasn’t anything special, even if a bit tiring. But that was only until he stopped to take a break in the small park at his school’s complex area.

A good building and a good school, but the boy wasn't fond of it. It was more like a means to an end to him. A place that didn’t have anything special other than how expensive-looking it was and how people talked about it, but a place that would fit well in his resume. For this, he could stand the pompous and rich that surrounded him.

A den of elites, as some called it, with a few odd ones like the brown-haired boy.

For him, though, none of that was relevant since he could see a weirdly eye-catching figure sitting at the edge of the main building’s rooftop. She was only sitting there and watching the city, but the boy couldn’t avoid having a bad feeling about it. And if his bad feeling was right, Hayato had to move.

So, with his head filled with the hope nothing bad would happen while moving, the boy rushed towards the rooftop.

Getting there didn’t take long. His physical was very good, and this place was like the back of his hand. It barely took a minute to reach the overly stylized blonde hair of the ledge girl. To reach the younger girl who once saved his life even if she wouldn’t remember so.

This time, he would repay her. Or at least, he would try to.

It could very well be some useless worry, though. She was an ‘eccentric’ person, so it wasn’t sure she was doing something dumb. This utter beauty could not need help at all, but Hayato wouldn’t risk it.

Especially as she was sighing and leaning forward more and more as time passed.

Apologies would be for later.

So, the local hero moved forward as fast as he could and tried to pull the blondie away from the ledge. The moment he reached, though, the scenario changed around them.

He wasn’t on the rooftop anymore. Instead, he was at some medieval-looking place full of knights and other people in weird clothes. It looked like one of those films from the European medieval ages.

This whole situation felt weird, and Hayato knew to not trust things like this. Still, the only explanation he could find was that I was in one of those weird anime settings. The ones where someone gets hit by a truck and gets a harem or something...

Not really his thing, but something he knew a little.

He was more worried about the person from earlier yet... How he wasn’t holding her when the scenario changed, but what if she fell after that? It would be worse than letting her do something dumb by herself...

His worries had to be for later still. One can’t worry about others when they aren’t safe, so settling this situation was more important.

“Who are you people?” The boy called out to the person in the middle of the room while keeping a cautious stance. His policy was to hear first and talk later.

“I’m King Hellion IV of Prourene, hero.” The king presented himself in a powerful voice that reminded his more influential contractors. “I apologize for the forced travel, but there was little we could do. It is, as sadly as possible, a necessity that we bring someone from another world to save ours from time to time.”

“So that’s it… You can call me Hayato. But why am I here?”

“You see, Mr. Hayato, we brought you here as a last resort to a growing problem in our world... We need you to be a hero and defeat the demons that threaten our civilization.”

“As I said, I’m a simple student, Your Highness. I’m good at solving problems, but all I do is deliver things, take care of pets, or other odd jobs...” He explained even if only to probe the situation first. “Being a hero, or fighting demons, or whatever else, isn’t something I can do.”

“That, my boy, is where you are wrong…”

The king then explained this place’s system and what was happening. A lot of it went way over his head, but the boy got the gist of it. Receiving magic and killing some monsters in exchange for whatever he wants. Basically, a dangerous job with a proportional, or even much bigger, payout in sight.

Putting himself in danger for a job wasn’t unusual anyway, but having someone pay this well was. And since he could go back home later while also doing the weird things fantasy characters could do, it seemed like a good job.

The problem was not going back right away... No way to check if he repaid what was due or made things worse instead. Not that he could do anything about it other than shake it away from his head and move on.

Some buttering up with a banquet wouldn’t be bad either. It was almost lunchtime when it all happened, so why not take the food? No real bad sides to it. Before he could, though, a voice popped out from behind him as if it was there all along.

“Excuse me…”

The sudden appearance made Hayato jump away in surprise and turned the whole room on high alert. It was as if a ghost had popped, which made the young hero worry about having to fight before knowing his powers, but then, he saw the quivering figure that was there. How she was there made him second-guess everything and, with how everyone else in the room was acting, it seemed that, somehow, no one noticed her until now.

The surprise made his reactions slow and he was sure the girl’s name wasn't what she told the king, but that wasn't the point. She was someone he knew, and the same one he tried to save moments ago.

It was a little too much to take on right away.

“W-wait! You! The roof?! Emi...” He tried to say, but the words were cut halfway as she answered in a surprisingly friendly tone, which only made him more confused. Seeing someone who never bothered to talk or made signs of remembering you act like this was weird.

“That was me indeed, big boy! Nice to properly meet you, Mr. Busybody… Or Mr. Hero fits better now?” The blondie bubbly answered after recovering herself from the shock was too fast. “Can we go rest and leave the talk for later, though? I’m quite sure you people have things to talk about without us around too, right? Right? Please say right.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

If it wasn’t for how she made him feel as if she was on the brink of having a panic attack, Hayato would’ve asked more. But he thought they could talk later… It wasn’t as if she would vanish for no reason anyway.

*****

Staying put was something the young hero had huge trouble doing. He was way too hyperactive for it. And so, waiting until the next event was ready wasn’t easy for him. It was better if they gave him an assignment right away, even if it was some menial job, which was why the boy ended up joining the closest maid he could after waking up.

He was causing a lot of trouble for them, having a guest help wasn’t normal, but he was being helpful. Still, after noticing the stares and weirdness, Hayato eventually decided to change jobs and go help some people who were carrying materials.

So, after a little misunderstanding while moving food crates, he ended up being conscripted by the kitchen. One of the cooks asked for help with preparations for dinner, and he complied, doing a lot more this time. He was someone who cooked quite well as he trained a lot in cooking for himself.

Eventually, though, the chief cook appeared and noticed who he was, apologizing for the whole mess and sending the hero away with some knights. Knights he managed to convince to go for breakfast with him, something they didn’t seem used to doing.

By then, the hero already had a group following him as he tried to get more things to do and ignored those trying to argue against it. It was also when his eyes found another person walking around with a posse. A very beautiful young lady wearing a silver and red dress. Someone he could feel was familiar, but couldn’t point out the where as he stood there mesmerized.

“Good morning, hero.” The princess gave a small curtsy and then continued to what seemed to be the real reason for the talk. “Father has asked for you as it's time for your test. I didn’t expect to find you in this area of the castle, though.”

“This late already…” He looked around, failing to find any way to know the time. “Could you lead the way? And if possible, call me Fu… I mean, call me Hayato, please.”

The European-like setting and how everyone could understand him without a problem was a little weird to Hayato, but he was managing fine. He was only a little prone to presenting himself as he would in Japan.

“If you wish, Mr. Hayato, I shall do so. And you can call me Valiria.” The gorgeous princess answered in a very refined tone. “Are these your escorts?”

“More like people who I was helping around, I think…”

“Is that so? Seems someone forgot to assign proper attendants to you then...” She turned to a smiling red-haired maid who was in her own group, making the girl close her smile and try to look away. “Sigh… I will have it solved later. Let us all go to the throne room for now.”

“Yes, we can... Wait! What about Ms. Emi… I mean, what about Ms. Illia? The other summoned hero.” He asked while trying to not mutter the name the blonde girl was using here.

“She’ll be going there too. My sister’s attendant was dispatched to such… I only wonder if her master will appear or hide around.”

After that, nothing much happened. Hayato did some small talk with Valiria and the head-butler joined the group after the princess called to, but nothing much until we arrived. And that was when the person he wanted to see all morning popped out of thin air just like she did the day earlier.

“Hello there, Mr. Hero! How you doing on this dreadful day?”

“Huh? Oh! Good morning, Illia, but do you really have to call me ‘Mr. Hero’ now?” He tried to keep the surprise in check and ignore the ‘dreadful’ part of her phrase as he answered, a little surprised. “And were you always like this? I mean… Errr… I can’t get the right words right now…”

Saying she was too happy didn’t feel right, but that was the only thing he could think of. Her eyes seemed a little puffy and her hair wasn’t as perfectly done as usual, but the way she was talking was the weirdest. It barely matched her expression for one. Was also very different from what the boy knew from the rumors.

“Don’t mind, don’t mind. And why wouldn’t I call the protagonist what he is? It’s much cooler than saying ‘Hayato’ anyway… And by the way, hello to all your groupies too, although I’m sure a bunch of you don’t even know me.”

“Now that you say, I didn’t see much of you today…" He noted again while under the barrage of the weirdly happy blondie. "Even during breakfast, you weren’t there. Are you doing fine?”

“Oh? Worried about me, are you? You shouldn’t do that, Mr. Hero. I’m used to changing where I live all the time, so don’t worry.”

She was a foreign student for sure, but something still felt wrong with what she was saying. And considering the whole thing at the rooftop, Hayato couldn’t avoid worrying.

He was sure she needed some help still and that it would be bad if no one gave it, but he couldn’t see a way across the walls. All the young hero could do was hope for the best and accept it.

“Hmmm… Okay.”

However, things got more worrying later.

First, Illia decided to rush through the door without caring about her safety and then started to talk with the king just like that, shocking almost everyone. Then, some old guy explained magic and the thing that made it work, leaving Hayato very confused as Illia hid behind him.

At least using the device felt easy.

It was as easy as touching the table and hearing a voice explain in a much simpler way how to use magic and what ‘skills’, as it called, Hayato had. More even, it seemed like he was very powerful, even if everyone looked at it as if that was only the expected. Which was very good for the handyboy as he could solve the problems here easily.

The problem there was Illia.

Right away, she was unable to activate the crystals, and even if she seemed to be fine with it, it was already dangerous enough. For a moment, the boy was even ready to call everything off and ask to have them both returned. That ended shelved, though, as the old man brought a new device soon after. One she managed to activate, making the same old man almost jump in excitement and calming the hero down.

The king was fast to try and check if both would be helping or not after that, but the hero wasn’t that sure if it would be a good idea. The more he thought, the worse the idea of risking someone he forced to come here was. And that got them to a standstill.

One that the quiet blond girl decided to break.

“Let me say a thing, your highness…”

“Do go on, please.”

“So, you there, Mr. Hero,” She pointed a finger at him with an expression that was almost shouting in anger. “Are you really thinking about this?! It may not be my place to say much, but these people are in enough danger to force a stranger into their lands and beg for help, right? Do you really have the gall to not accept?! You, someone who’s famous for going around helping people with things no one wants to do, are now trying to not be the hero of a whole country? Do you have any idea of how many people would do anything to be in your place? Heck! I know you yourself want to do this, but are only holding back for some stupid reason…”

“My reason isn’t…” The boy tried to explain, but he was easily overpowered. “I mean, don’t you worry about your home or…”

“I. Am. Fine. Got it?!” Illia barked out as if to make it as clear as possible, letting her will to not go back home slip away. “If you want to go back so much, you can do so after you finish saving this place. And by then, forget about me and whatever you think I did. Now shut up and go save the world! If anything happens, I’ll help you… Whenever I can... A little… I guess…”

She lost steam at the end for some reason, but the message was clear. She wanted to help these people and would push me to do so with all she had. And that was fine by the hero.

“This… The rumors about you weren’t accurate at all, were they? I was sure you were a more troublesome girl…” He smiled at how different Illia was from the rumors, and the ‘incidents’ she was involved. “But since you’re so adamant on this, I’ll follow my instincts and help these people.”

“Please do so.”

Everything seemed to go well after that. Randoul gave another explanation that Hayato didn’t get still but somehow got Illia energetic out of the blue, so she rushed forward with a shout and started to shine…

But then she fainted almost right away.

It was too sudden for anyone to react properly as she fell to the ground, but the room went into a small panic right after. They weren’t sure of what happened, so, whoever could, rushed to take their second hero to the palace’s infirmary and leave the testing for later.

In the meanwhile, all Hayato could think was that, maybe, this wasn’t a good idea anymore.