01 Episode: The Unexpected Banquet

Head felt heavy as lead, consciousness flickering faintly.

Like the haze after a sleepless night spent until evening, or the sensation of fever nearing forty degrees.

Consciousness was so blurred, so dim.

Groaning, twisting slightly, a cold stone sensation brushed against the back.

Apparently lying on a hard stone floor.

A faint sense of comfort, yet discomfort remained.

— Why am I sleeping on the floor?

In a fogged mind, memories from last night resurfaced.

A celebration was held to mark the Empire’s defeat of the Demon King. Expensive wine barrels were poured without restraint.

‘To transcend dimensions is to gain special power.’

For that reason, I had been summoned to a human nation in a world with medieval-level civilization.

Summoning required immense magical energy. Summonings occurred approximately once every ten years.

I was summoned three years ago. I am the youngest among those summoned.

Yet I possess physical strength comparable to a grizzly bear, sacred magic utilizing magical energy, and a unique ability known as spatial storage.

Physical strength appears to increase over time. The man summoned thirteen years ago, who recently fought the Demon King to a standstill, now possesses strength equivalent to that of an African elephant.

Sacred magic heals wounds and illness. I learned it after arriving here.

Spatial storage allows me to store the equivalent of ten rooms of eight tatami mats each, or ten twenty-foot containers. It is a special ability accessible only to those summoned.

These abilities were the reason we were conscripted.

— The Empire’s decision to eliminate the Demon King was clearly correct.

The Imperial Army, victorious in war, returned in triumph.

I recall being invited to a banquet at the castle and drinking without being able to refuse.

A general. A marquis. No way to decline under such circumstances.

When I woke, I was lying on stone tiles.

But why had the castle servants brought me to such a place?

Shaking off the fog in my mind, I opened my eyes slightly. The space was identical to the summoning chamber I had been brought to when first summoned to this world.

A magic circle was drawn on the floor. Clerics stood in attendance, conducting a ritual.

"Hey, he’s awake. What’s going on?"

"Apologies. The dosage of the drug was insufficient. He should have been paralyzed and unable to move for half a day."

In the haze of my consciousness, incomprehensible words reached my ears.

Turning my gaze, I saw the figure of the chancellor among the clerics.

The chancellor exhaled, eyes cold and devoid of feeling, looking down at me. As if observing a stray dog lying in the dirt. No recognition of humanity in that gaze.

"You heard it. Hayato, of Kumakura. I will return you to your original world."

The chancellor spoke, addressing my suspicion.

"The war has concluded. You are no longer needed. The wild beasts remain. It would be dangerous."

He stated this with the air of someone explaining something obvious, his tone one of weary disbelief.

What I had expected to hear was a promotion in the military, a noble title, land, and marriage to a noblewoman befitting my station.

But I was the only summoned soldier still alive.

If I were sent back, the promise would no longer need to be kept.

A nation once destroyed those it had summoned, rendering summoning impossible. Thus, I shall let you live and return. Be grateful for the noble sacrifice of those who came before.

I could not say no after hearing that.

Staying meant certain disaster, as clear as daylight.

A dying empire where death awaited, versus Japan, where graduation was complete but three years of absence remained. Which was the lesser evil?

Seeing me silent, the chancellor gave a small, contemptuous snort.

"The military supplies in your spatial storage are yours as severance pay. Now, begin."

The chancellor’s words were answered by the priests around me, who began their incantation.

The spell was clear and loud, as if reading from a text.

Beneath my body, the magic circle glowed pale blue.

Light wrapped around me, seeped into my flesh, and I felt as though I were being broken apart.

There was no way to resist. I was swallowed by the light, erased.