“...I understand. If you’re willing to go that far, then let’s do this together. But I need to make one thing clear. I will never, no matter what happens, abandon you, Mizuki.”
“Mm...”
Mizuki smiled. Perhaps it was because Reiji had accepted her. She seemed somewhat happy, but even after mustering all her courage, there were tears welling in her eyes.
“Your Majesty. Regarding the subjugation of the demons, I will indeed accept your request. Mizuki and I will do our best.”
“Understood. Mizuki-dono, are you truly alright with this?”
“Yes!”
Seeing Mizuki reply so enthusiastically, the king gave her a delighted smile. He then turned his attention to Suimei.
“Suimei-dono, after all this...”
“No, I’m not going to fight against an absurdly oversized army of monsters. Indeed, I will not be going with these two.”
“I see...”
The king sounded somewhat disappointed, or really, apologetic. Perhaps that was to be expected since he felt responsible for their summoning. But in stark contrast to the king’s attitude, the response from the surrounding audience towards Suimei was ice cold. Whispers of exasperated disbelief and irritation could be heard from the crowd. “Even that girl decided to follow along, yet that young man...” and “It’s like he has no backbone,” they said.
For people who won’t do anything to defend themselves, they really just say whatever the fuck they want. Well, since I’m not doing anything either, I can’t really talk, but... Wait, that’s not at all what’s important here.
After internally griping for a moment, Suimei moved on to something he needed to ask the king no matter what.
“Your Majesty. I have a single request to make of you. Is that alright?”
The people kept whispering. Suimei could hear them hiss “How unbelievably impudent!” and “A bastard like you is not in a position to make a request of His Majesty!” Suimei, however, ignored them. And the king replied without so much as raising his voice.
“Let us hear it.”
“Alright. I won’t be taking part in subjugating the Demon Lord, so I want you to send me back to my world.”
He had no intention of helping with the counteroffensive, so there was no need for him to stay here. He wanted them to invert the hero summoning ritual and send him home as quickly as possible. He thought it was a simple enough request, but the king made no reply.
“...”
Instead of an answer, a heavy silence fell over the room. When Suimei looked around, he saw Reiji standing there looking like he didn’t have a single clue what was going on, and Mizuki looking like she at least had a faint idea. As for Titania and Felmenia, they were both pale and had sour looks on their faces. It was pretty clear something was up. They hadn’t looked like that until Suimei asked to be returned home. In other words, his request was the cause. Realizing that much, a terrible hypothesis crossed Suimei’s mind.
“Hey, wait a sec. Don’t tell me...”
Suimei had long lost the composure to stay polite, but his behavior was understandable. If his hypothesis was correct, what he was asking was out of the question. The silence lingered in the air for another few moments before the king resolutely spoke up.
“My apologies, but I cannot return you to your own world. It is not that I do not wish to do so. It’s simply that there exists no such way to do so.”
Hearing those words, Suimei’s temple began twitching. And then, knowing full well it was disrespectful, he decided to go all in on asking just one more time.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you very well. Could you please repeat that one more time?”
“There exists no method to return you to your own world. Thus, we are unable to send you home.”
There it was. That was the decisive blow. Suimei spontaneously stomped his foot on the ground so hard he almost put a hole through the floor.
“Wha... DON’T FUCK WITH MEEEEEEEEEEE!”
Suimei’s second shriek of the day rang out through the audience chamber.
★
After the incident in the audience chamber, an uproar broke out that was unprecedented since the founding of the Kingdom of Astel. After hearing the king tell him he couldn’t be returned to his world, Suimei screamed and broke out into a royal rage. “Aren’t you just a fucking idiot to summon someone when you can’t send them back?!” and “No matter how you put it, that’s just too selfish, you moron!” were some of the gems that left his mouth in his outburst. And after hurling all manner of verbal abuse at the king, he approached the throne. At that point, Suimei had gone completely berserk. He was no longer thinking rationally, and he didn’t give so much as a second thought to where he was and what consequences his actions had—he was that mad. However, considering the circumstances and what he’d just been told, it was perhaps a normal enough reaction.
But to those present, this was a frightening situation. They had no idea what the summoned party was capable of, and whether or not Suimei would harm the king. As he approached the throne, the leaders and soldiers present came running over to stop him by force. Things were on the verge of escalating into an irreversibly serious affair, but once Reiji and Mizuki sensed the tension in the room, they held Suimei back and somehow managed to avoid any further problems.
And then, before his rage had even cooled, Suimei was frantically carried away, just about crammed into a room that was given to him, and shut inside alone. That was where he found himself now—his emotions still unsettled and his stomach churning nonstop.
“Shit, seriously? Seriously...?”
At his wits’ end, Suimei doubted the reality of it all a countless number of times. However, no matter how many times he pinched his cheeks, he just wouldn’t wake up in his own bed. No matter how many times he looked out of the window, the foreign scenery remained unchanged. Being so confronted with the ugly truth of it all only multiplied his anguish. Suimei screamed out, cursing the culprits who were no longer there with him.
“Aaaaaaaargh! What the hell do I do now?! I don’t know the equation for a fucking spell that can cross the boundaries between worlds!”
The summoning spell that brought them to this world was different from a normal summoning spell. The function was the same in theory, but in order for it to work across dimensions, the scale of it was nearly unthinkable. If they’d summoned him to the astral plane, it would be a different story, but to summon a target whose location couldn’t even be verified in a parallel world was something Suimei had never even heard of back home.
Even assuming these two worlds were bound to one another by a causal relationship based on the fact that they’d already traveled between them once, using such a connection as the basis for teleportation magicka would be incredibly weak. It would be like sending a train out on rickety, brittle tracks and hoping to reach your destination on faith alone. It was just as likely to go flying off course and lose absolutely everything in the process.
“Ugh...”
Suimei let out a pained groan. Since he was summoned here, even if it was by accident, he knew some kind of path had to exist. Even if it was grasping at straws, if he could somehow make that work...
“Please connect, Mary...”
Communication magicka—thanks to the widespread use of cell phones, it was a fossil of magicka that was rarely ever used nowadays. But with it, Suimei tried to establish a connection with one of his acquaintances, Hydemary Alzybayne. She was the girl he had completed the most jobs for the Society with back on Earth, and if he could get through to her, it would be possible to solidify the connection. That way, even in the worst-case scenario that he really couldn’t return home, he could at least let her know what had happened to him.
“Shit!”
But the attempt was fruitless. The distance between this plane and his was just too great, and he couldn’t establish a connection.
“If it’s come to this, I’ll have to make a way back myself, huh
?”
The difficult challenge weighed on his shoulders like nothing he had ever faced before, and he fired out a tremendous sigh. There was always the option of giving up, but in order to accomplish what he needed to do, he absolutely had to find a way home.
“Hahh...”
Suimei took a deep breath in, and then...
“I’M DEFINITELY GOING BACK, YOU HEAR MEEEEEEEEEEE?!”
He released his determination as a roar.
★
A few days after Suimei and the others were summoned to this strange new world, Reiji and Mizuki stood before the royal knights and court mages in the outdoor training grounds of Royal Castle Camellia.
“Finally, huh, Reiji-kun?”
“Yeah.”
Mizuki was unable to contain her enthusiasm. After all, they were about to begin their magic training with Titania and the royal mages and knights. It was no surprise that Mizuki was ecstatic, but Reiji was also unable to hide the fact that his blood was pumping with excitement.
“Magic, huh? I never thought the day would come when we’d be able to use it.”
In their world, something like that was completely unthinkable. It was just a dream that anybody could have, but no one could accomplish. It was merely a fictional power that only existed in fantasy. But no longer.
“I guess we really are in a different world, huh?”
Mizuki hung her head as her heart was seized with loneliness and the feelings that she was hiding within her escaped her lips. In truth, this was difficult for her. But that was perfectly understandable. Suimei certainly wasn’t the only one who was shocked to hear they couldn’t return home. Though Mizuki had decided to follow Reiji, she felt the same way. Even Reiji felt the weighty sadness of never being able to see his loved ones again.
“Mizuki...”
“Ah, I’m s-sorry! I just got a little gloomy.”
“No, it’s fine. I know how you feel...”
“Yeah...”
“But relax. I’m going to protect you, remember?”
That was right. Reiji was the one who’d made the decision to undertake all this, and he’d promised to support Mizuki in the process. But when she thought about that and what it meant, she began blushing furiously.
“R-Reiji-kun! D-Do you mean...”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“What I’m asking, um, is...”
“...?”
“Ah... That’s right. You are Reiji-kun, after all...”
Just what was wrong with her? After realizing something, Mizuki grumbled to herself in a disappointed and somewhat exasperated voice. Reiji didn’t know what drove her to behave like that, but Mizuki suddenly recalled a different anxiety and shared her thoughts with Reiji.
“I wonder if Suimei-kun’s okay...”
Her thoughts had wandered to their friend who wasn’t with them: her classmate Yakagi Suimei. After the scene in the audience chamber, he’d shut himself in the room given to him and wouldn’t come out. Perhaps not being able to return to their world was just that much of a shock to him. Even when Reiji and Mizuki tried to talk to him through the door as concerned friends, he would only give them listless replies. They still didn’t really know what condition he was in. But to alleviate Mizuki’s worries, Reiji smiled at her.
“I don’t really think you need to worry about him. It’s Suimei we’re talking about. After a few days, he’ll come out of his room and act like nothing happened, you know?”
“Yeah... I hope so.”
Reiji’s kind words helped, but Mizuki was still anxious. The situation was just that complex and alarming. Her concern for Suimei and her concerns about what would happen from here on out fed off of each other. But those feelings were only natural, all things considered. It was just as Suimei had said in the audience chamber that day. Was it really okay for Reiji to make a decision like that on his own without consulting them?
“It seems everybody has gathered, so let us begin. Reiji-sama, are you finished with your preparations?”
While Reiji was pondering for himself whether or not he’d made the right choice, Titania looked around at the line of court mages and suggested starting their practice. Her words brought Reiji out of his thoughts.
“Yes, I’m ready at any time.”
“I do apologize for keeping you waiting.”
“No, it’s no problem.”
“You’re so gracious and kind, Reiji-sama.”
Titania offered a grand smile. Reiji hadn’t known her for that long, but she had been courteous with them all this time. Perhaps that was just her nature. Despite being royalty, she didn’t give off even a hint of arrogance, and was quite personable. While Reiji was admiring her qualities, Titania gracefully spun around on the spot.
“Then to start, I shall introduce the court mages who will be watching over your progress. First, White Flame-dono—forgive me—Lady Stingray.”
Titania had to correct herself since she wasn’t used to addressing Felmenia that way. Felmenia took a step forward from the line as her name was called out, and made a respectful bow before Reiji.
“This will be the third time I’ve introduced myself, but please allow me this formality. My name is Felmenia Stingray. I may be the most inexperienced of Astel’s court mages, but please do treat me well.”
“I look forward to working with you.”
Reiji returned her polite greeting in kind. This first mage that Titania had introduced was none other than the mage who had summoned him to this world. That was likely why the princess had called on her first, but Felmenia Stingray stood out on her own. Her most remarkable feature was her beautiful silver hair. And though she called herself inexperienced, she was collected and came off as wise. She was no Princess Titania, but Felmenia was also an exceptional beauty. Furthermore, her pronounced chest was— Reiji gulped.
“To the left is Lord Malfous, then Lord Kran...”
“Huh?”
Mesmerized by Felmenia’s body, Reiji missed Titania’s introduction of the other court mages. Titania realized that he seemed lost, and read far too much into the confused sound that escaped his lips. She was worried something had happened.
“Um, Reiji-sama, is something the matter?”
“N-No, um...”
“Are you not feeling well?”
“I’m fine. Really, it’s nothing, hahaha...”
Having difficulty smoothing this over, Reiji forced a laugh. He couldn’t possibly admit that he wasn’t listening to her because he was staring at Felmenia. That would be far too lame.
“Is that so? Well, that’s all for the introductions, but— Oh, now that I recall, there is still something that I must inquire about, Reiji-sama.”
Remembering something she wanted to ask him, Titania clapped her hands together and turned to Reiji.
“Let me see. If I remember correctly, the world you two hail from doesn’t have any magic, so...”
“It’s true. Instead, our world has a power known as science.”
It was common knowledge—or at least commonly believed—on Earth that there was no such thing as magic. But to the people of this world, that was almost unimaginable. Mutterings like “What’s science?” and “I haven’t ever heard of that” could be heard here and there in the gathered crowed, but it was Felmenia that finally spoke up with a dubious expression.
“I apologize for cutting in on the conversation, but Hero-dono, is that really the truth?”
“Yes, it is, but... Is something wrong with that?”
“No, I was just a little curious... Forgive me for asking again, but there is no falsehood in what you say?”
As Felmenia asked for confirmation once more, one of the court mages in the line deliberately cleared his throat. And then, with plenty of sarcasm in his voice, he rebuked her.
“Lady Stingray, are you not being a little discourteous to the hero who has been conferred the task of saving this world?”
“My apologies.”
Felmenia
politely bowed her head in response to the criticism, but she looked perturbed. There seemed to be something bothering her. Reiji had no idea what she was getting at by questioning him like that, so Mizuki took it upon herself to explain things to Felmenia.
“In our world, the concept of magic exists, but it only has a place in works of fiction. Sadly, in our world, there really is no magic.”
To them, magic was nothing but a product of the imagination used in literary works. Authors created it to make their stories more interesting; it was literally fiction. Like Reiji, Titania thought Felmenia’s questions on the matter seemed strange, and grew curious as to her motivation.
“White Flame-dono, is something the matter?”
“No... It’s nothing. I apologize for putting a damper on the conversation.”
“Truly? If you insist, that’s fine, but...”
As Titania tilted her head to the side, the attendant standing next to her whispered something in her ear. It seemed she was being urged to move things along, because Titania then recollected herself and continued the original conversation.
“Well, it’s about time we begin. This will be Reiji-sama’s first real encounter with magic, so I would like for somebody to present a simple demonstration and explanation. As such...”
Before Titania could even finish making her request, the court mage who had reprimanded Felmenia earlier stepped forward full of confidence. If Reiji recalled correctly, this was the man Titania had introduced as Lord Kran. Whoever he was, he had a distinctly thin figure and long hair. Quite bluntly, he was a gloomy-looking fellow. He seemed to be concerned about his appearance, however, as he had been persistently fidgeting with his bangs right up until he stepped forward. Reiji suspected he was either offering his opinion, or saying that he would answer Titania’s request himself. His latter prediction turned out to be correct.
“Though it may be presumptuous of me, I shall gladly teach our hero the basics of magic.”
“...You will?”
“I’m at your service, Your Highness.”
The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! Volume 1 Page 5