Chapter 1

“You, who have answered my call... Welcome!”

As my vision cleared, I found myself in a place I’d never been before. Last I remembered, I’d been on the train heading to my high school, but now my school bag was gone, and my uniform pockets were empty... Ah, except for my handkerchief. That was still there.

Before me stood an extravagantly dressed older man. He was quivering in excitement, his arms outstretched dramatically...and was that a crown on his head? He was surrounded by a group of men—large, middle-aged, and bearded—who themselves were flanked by armor-clad, knightlike men who eyed me cautiously.

I, meanwhile, was surrounded by people dressed...well, similarly to me. School uniforms, business suits, casual outing wear... There were seven of us in all; three men (myself included) and four women. The others all seemed disoriented, and some even looked uneasy.

I couldn’t remember answering anyone’s “call,” so I was thinking that we’d actually been dragged here against our will somehow or other.

“Where are we? And who are you?” asked one of the men—a student like me, I suspected—taking a step forward.

One of the knights moved in response, but the central figure raised a hand to stop them. “This is the Kingdom of Elesia, and I am its king. I brought you here with Otherworldly Summoning, a secret technique handed down through our kingdom.”

After this, he proceeded to subject us to a long-winded monologue. The long and short of it was that summoned people were gifted spectacular skills, which they were expected to use to slay the revived Demon King.

The student asked if