97. Hero Summoning 3

"Uh? Where the hell am I?" Kotone’s consciousness flickered back.

Lying on the floor, Kotone pushed herself up and looked around.

Scanning the area, she first noticed patterns and characters drawn on the floor, faintly glowing.

To her immediate left, Mizuki lay sprawled out. To her right, Makoto. Beyond him, Masaki was stretched out.

"Hey, Mizuki!" Kotone shook Mizuki’s body.

"Uuuuh..." Mizuki groaned, then slowly blinked awake.

"Kotone? Wait... What were we doing again?" Mizuki looked dazed.

Makoto and Masaki stirred and opened their eyes.

They both sat up almost simultaneously. The moment Makoto locked eyes with Masaki lying beside him, he flopped back down with a sigh. "Unbelievable, this celestial—” he started, then got kicked in the ribs by Masaki. "Get serious."

Furious, Makoto lunged back, aiming a kick of his own. "Shut up—what’s the point of saying that if you don’t?" "Hey, you two, what’s with the sudden horseplay?" Kotone snapped.

The figure standing in the room, clearly the leader, stared in stunned silence for a moment. Then, regaining composure, he stammered, "H-hello, Heroes!"

The room itself was sizable—roughly the size of two school classrooms. Summoning practitioners lined the walls, their formation arranged in a neat row. The summoning array sat at the center of the chamber. They approached the newly arrived heroes.

"Can you understand our language?"

One of them spoke up.

He wore a heavy robe. His exposed skin was unnaturally pale—paler than anything found on Earth.

Masaki noticed the small horn atop his head.

Kotone and the others exchanged glances.

Within seconds, Masaki nodded subtly and whispered, "I’ll handle this."

Makoto muttered something like, "Is that the Demon King?" but snapped to attention at Masaki’s words, whispering to Kotone and Mizuki, "Leave it to him—he knows the other world better than anyone."

Hearing that, Kotone and Mizuki decided to trust him for now.

"Yes, understood. Um, where exactly are we?" Masaki asked, stepping forward as the spokesperson.

"Oh, language works. This is the Kingdom of Oxdonia, a magical academy city. You're inside the Magic Academy University, in its capital, Cambria. I am Enrico Lagrange, the academy’s headmaster," Enrico said. Then,

"Currently, our nation faces a dire threat from a vicious magical beast. We’re in a state of emergency. We ask for your help, heroic ones!" He bowed deeply.

Masaki and Makoto exchanged glances. They scanned their surroundings, muttering under their breath, "Where’s the beautiful princess?"—earning sharp stares from Kotone and Mizuki.

"...?" Enrico was baffled. He couldn’t tell if they were serious or just fooling around.

"Um, I get the situation. But we were suddenly yanked into this world and now asked to help? We’re students from our original world. No combat experience at all. So, can we talk it over first? Until then, can we keep our answer on hold?" Masaki replied briskly.

Kotone and Mizuki were stunned—this was not the reaction they expected from a high schooler.

Makoto piped up, "Hey, you know, Masaki’s probably an emissary from another world or something," earning a glare from Masaki.

"...Ah, yes. That’s fine. For now, we’ll treat you with proper hospitality," Enrico said.

"Ah—actually, one question," Masaki said.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Are there people called Apostles in this world?" Masaki asked,

“Wait— you know of the Master? Ah, there you are. Where did you hear of him?” Enrico said.

"Could you please tell the goddess I’d like to meet her, if possible?" Masaki requested.

"By the Saintess...? Understood. I'll arrange this promptly. The Apostle is currently stationed in another country. I'll contact them to confirm their availability to come here," said Enrico.

Masaki watched the scene unfold and relaxed, at least for now—nothing like the worst-case scenario summoning, it seemed.

"Good day, heroes. I am Ida. In this world, we have a magic known as 'status,' which allows you to check your own stats and skills," the woman standing beside Enrico said, addressing Kotone and the others.

White skin, no horns. Just like a beautiful secretary-type older sister.

Makoto muttered under his breath, "Ooh, Steal-Kitar, beauty-kita." The three glared at him. "……Sorry. Gotta rein it in. Got carried away," Makoto said, unusually apologetic.

Aida hesitates, just slightly, then presses on.

"…Um, this paper is called a鉴定 paper—it shows the user’s stats when magic passes through it. I’d like to check your status, Heroes. No need to go into detail. Normally, only the individual can see their own stats. If you could just share your职业, that’d be great," she explained.

What should we do, Kotone? They consulted, but Makoto said, “Whatever, right? You can’t avoid a status check, can you?” Kotone and Mizuki had no idea what to do, so they said it didn’t matter. Masaki said, “If we’re gonna survive in this world, it’s essential. Information’s a weapon,” so they did as told. But—

“Um, I don’t get how to channel magic energy through… We didn’t have magic in the world we came from,” Masaki explained.

“Eh? Really? That’s a problem…” Ida said, visibly flustered.

Then Makoto said, “Hey, lend me that paper for a sec,” took it, and muttered something.

Instantly, the鉴定 paper glowed faintly, and something appeared on it.

“Ah—got it. Just focus on feeling something—don’t know what, but like power—coming from inside your body, and mentally guide it through your arm to the paper,” Makoto explained to everyone.

“…Seriously, only an otaku from another world would know this,” Masaki muttered.

“Hmph. Obviously. This is basic,” Makoto puffed up proudly.

“……” Kotone and Mizuki were barely keeping up.

Still, they weren’t entirely lost—both were modern Japanese high school girls. Even if they’d never been to another world, they’d heard of it. They’d skimmed a few things, so they had a general idea.

Kotone, Mizuki, and Masaki each picked up a鉴定 paper and tried it.

All three displayed their stats perfectly on the paper.

“Hey—wait, I’m a hero! And Masaki’s a sage? Mizuki’s a sorceress? Kotone-senpai’s… a modeler? What’s that even mean?”

Makoto announced loudly.

“Whoa—really a hero,” someone nearby exclaimed in surprise.

Hearing that, Masaki—

—Really? So they didn’t know they were summoning heroes when they did it? Makoto thought, suddenly wondering.

Kotone and the others would be living in the school’s special dormitory for the time being. The accommodations were exceptional—anything they needed, they had ready at hand.

Since the summoned heroes were young students, a temporary homeroom teacher was assigned on short notice. A woman named Ida Lagrange, the current headmaster’s daughter, who had brought them a鉴定 sheet.

She specialized in magical devices and rune arrays. She was currently teaching the S-class of year K6.

K6 generally referred to the standard curriculum for human students around the age of sixteen.

After some time of confusion, Kotone and the others gradually adjusted, learning various things and growing accustomed to dorm life—when suddenly, they received word that a guest lecturer, the Apostle, would be arriving.

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