A procession of white-robed figures entered the chamber as the doors opened. We huddled close together, wary of any strange movements. Then a booming voice thundered from the procession.

“Welcome chosen heroes!” exclaimed an elderly man with robes of pure white with gold fixtures. His arms wide open while carrying a staff affixed with a religious icon similar to a cross, but with a X over it.

We all looked at each other: suspicion, expectation, fear, anger, and a variety of emotions all merged shown in our faces. After a few seconds of silence, the one with thickest skin went forth.

“I-I'm Henry, if you don’t mind answering a few questions…” Henry said.

“Greetings Sir Henry, I am Termich Vale Hugh Vlobime, the Maxime Pontiff of the Temple of Hvilsear, the God of Light. I am the one, under the Divine Oracle of God of Light Himself, that have summoned you all here. I am sure you all have many questions, but please follow me. His Majesty is waiting for you,” the elderly man proclaimed. He then beckoned us all to follow and led the group of robed men out.

As we were without any real clear plan or a way out, we followed.

This palace was ridiculously big. The walk from the summoning chamber, located in underground in the southeast section, under defense tower #32 to the throne room took the better part of forty minutes. We were exhausted with all the stairs, chambers, corridors, and halls we had to pass through, strangely enough only mentally not physically. The priests were all fine, including Termich, who looked not a day younger than eighty, despite wearing heavy robes and heavy looking jewelry and carrying a large religious looking iconography.

Finally, we reached a series of double doors that slowly opened to reveal a massive audience chamber. A soft looking red carpet led up to a pair of massive thrones. The line of red was flanked by knights wearing heavy armor and spears. More men in white robes were within along with a hundred well-dressed men and women, Nobles and dignitaries of the country I assume.

Sitting in a rigid and poised manner on the larger throne was a handsome man with black hair in his late 30’s early 40’s. He wore a sagacious robe of dark purple and red and a crown that seemed to glow brightly, reminiscent of a halo. A large sword laid by the side of the throne and he carried a bright gold scepter with glowing letters that floated and danced around his hand and along the shaft of the scepter.

By his side, sitting on the other throne was a beautiful woman of roughly early 30’s. She wore a green dress garnished with gold and bright jewels that seemed to change color as it refracted the light. To her left were three people that I assumed were the prince and princesses as they shared features with the two adults.

We were stunned at the wealth and opulence that was shown to us. We stood there until Termich whispered encouragingly to Henry and gently nudged us forward.

We walked forward in slow, hesitant steps. Everyone’s eyes were on us. Though fortunately, the majority were focused on Henry. He was a good-looking fellow and since he was in the front as if he was our leader, such attention was inevitable. I eventually managed to settle down to take a more careful look around.  We were flanked by armored soldiers with short spears; a group of robed men with wands and staves stood near the walls and columns at fixed intervals with a stern and sharp demeanor; and behind us, even more white robed men with strange staffs joined Termich, effectively blocking the only noticeable exit of the chamber. We were unarmed, with non-existent combat skills, and outnumbered; our chances of both fighting our way out or negotiating from an advantaged position was zero.

We reached a certain point when the King stood up and loudly said, “Greetings Heroes, We are Levinn Duralt Ehe Chromalos, the King of Chromalos!” His voice echoed across the wide chamber even without the use of a microphone. He seemed to be are using the Royal We, a term used by royalty and other high-status figures back during the Medieval and Renaissance period of Europe.

“We understand that you have many questions, but please listen to what We have to say: the world is in danger from the Demon King, please help us defeat him, brave heroes!”

He said it... he actually said it with a straight face... I want to laugh so badly but I can't because of the atmosphere...

He then went into a long-winded exposition monologue, but the main points were as follows:

• The human kingdoms have been fighting with a race of horned red-skinned humanoids known as Demons for the past thousand years.
• The Demons have the ability to command monsters, as well as possessing superior magical and physical abilities compared to humans.
• Recently, an entity known as the Demon King has been escalating the war.
• A major battle group formed out of an alliance between the human Kingdoms already been wiped out almost single handedly by the Demon King.
• Desperate, Termich and the other high Priests requested aid from the Gods and have received a reply containing an one-use summoning spell.
• And that's where we were now...

“Oh, brave Heroes, Champions of the Heavens, please lend us your power!” the King finished after the lengthy exposition.

No, deal with it yourselves and let us go home… how wonderful it would be if I can just say that, but our circumstances were not that kind.

We all looked at each other. Hitoshi had a face that, while scared, had the exhausted and exasperated look of someone who heard the same story too many times.

“This is a lot to take in, so please allow us to discuss this amongst ourselves,” requested Henry.

“Absolutely, please take as long as you need,” the King said.

Henry looked around expectantly at the knights and retainers around, but nothing happened. I grabbed him by the shoulder and beckoned him to join us.

“I don’t think they’re letting us leave this hall until we give them an answer,” I whispered immediately.

“Seriously? I thought it was strange that no was escorting us to a room or anything. So, we aren't going to get any privacy huh?” Henry stated.

“It's a standard tactic used by salesmen, overwhelm a client with information and flattery then press for an immediate answer. With that, it's easier to get a favorable response. There're also guards moved near the exit when we started huddling together,” I warned. Everyone else turned to look back and saw a line of armored knights standing shoulder to shoulder to with Termich and his priests.

“So, what do we do?” Annalise asked.

“I think we should say yes…” said Henry.

We all looked at him.

“These people need our help, it’s to the point that a god had to intervene, I wouldn’t feel right if we just leave these people be,” Henry defended himself. I looked at him and deducted a few points from him in my mind.

“It’s natural to want to help, but their situation does not concern us. Worse, we have three minors here, are you saying that they should fight as soldiers?” I responded coldly.

“I’m with Josh, we have nothing to do with this,” Dominic said.

“But would they let us go if we said no?” Maria asked hesitantly, her eyes not leaving surrounding knights.

“Probably not, no,” I replied.

“Whose side are you on?” Lucas asked, glaring at me.

“I’m just stating the facts here,” I said, glaring back.

“Sounds like to me you are just poking fun at everyone’s solution without giving one yourself,” Lucas said. This kid was going to be a bigger pain than I thought.

“You guys said we would have powers; can we use them to get out of here?” Annalise quickly asked to detract from our fight.

“Does anyone know how to use them; does anyone feel different?” I questioned.

Murmurs of 'I do feel stronger… I can see better than before…' and similar comments erupted from everyone. I’ve also noticed that I feel physically stronger. My mental faculties seem to have improved as well; I could even think multiple trains of thought simultaneously.

“So right now, we all feel a little stronger, but do any of us know how to fight?” Hitoshi asked. From the looks on everyone faces, no one was confident in their fighting skills. I took karate for a few years and was a black belt, but I doubted I could take on armored knights.

“Not only that, but we don’t know the extent of their magical abilities. Everyone should've noticed by now, when the King was speaking, his voice was coming from everywhere, but he has no microphone or anything, and there weren’t anyone moving those doors when we came in. I don’t see any mechanism or gears capable of moving metal doors that large,” I pointed out.

“I think we should say yes,” Lucas said, he had an excited look in his eyes. This kid’s trouble.

“That's the only option we have if we want to move forward,” I agreed dejectedly.

Slowly, Henry and Lucas convinced the rest of us. Dominic was the most adamant on not getting involved, but both Henry and I convinced him that it’s better to agree for now. I also pointed out that if he was the only to say no then he might be separated from us and detained.

“After discussing with everyone, we will help you. Our skills may be lacking, but we will fight by your side,” Henry addressed the King on our behalf. I locked eyes with Hitoshi and saw that he had the same incredulous expression as me on his face. Henry was already the generic Isekai Hero character.

“We thank you, oh great heroes! Our servants will escort you to chambers, you have had a long day and you will need your rest,” said the King, sweeping his gaze over us individually.

I noticed that he was looking favorably at Henry and Lucas, but his gaze turned cold when he saw me and Dominic. I thought there was a chance, they used some kind of magic or tool to listen to our conversation.

We were escorted out of the chamber to our own independent rooms… that took an hour to reach from the throne room. This palace was ridiculous.

“Good evening my lord, I am Helena, I have been assigned to you by His Majesty as your personal maid, I look forward to serving you,” said a young lady in a form-fitting maid uniform. The uniform was largely Victorian in appearance with smaller frills. On the way to our rooms we came across seven maids and butlers that were waiting for us.

I immediately grew guarded. It’s very clear what the Royal Family was trying to do. Honey traps that doubled as monitoring devices. The servants were all strikingly good looking and were assigned to those close to us in age. They even crammed what looked like a ten-year-old girl in pigtails into a maid uniform for Lucas. I also notice that Henry’s and Hitoshi’s maids, as well as Maria’s butler, were all much more attractive than the rest of servants. It was obvious to see whom the Royal family was favoring.

Helena was still a beauty though. Chestnut colored hair drew back into a ponytail that reached the small of her back, lightly tanned angular facial features with just enough roundness to stop from looking sharp. Hazel eyes that flashed green in the light. Freckles playfully dotted her nose and cheekbones like little stars. A little thin, but still with enough curves to keep a certain detached part of my mind captivated. If this was the old me, I would no doubt be a stammering mess. Now, thanks to the fact that I can now form multiple trains of thought, I was able to keep calm and communicate with her in a cold manner while another part of my mind has already pictured her naked and named our future children. …The other parts of my mind were looking at that part with cold eyes somehow…

After a brief meal of some meat stew and bread, we went our separate ways. I needed some time to process everything alone, I asked Helena to leave me for the evening, she curtsied and departed. My room was fairly large. It resembled a hotel room designed as a luxury suite for celebrities looking for the royal European treatment.

I sat down on a chair near a table. It had quills and ink wells, several sheets of paper too. I don't know if these were already here, or our hosts were being considerate. Still, the fact that there were no windows here was prominent. 

As I sat down, I processed everything that has happened. The reality that I was basically kidnapped to fight a war struck me like a punch. A weight seemed to plant itself in my gut. A lightheaded feeling caused my head to feel disorientated and dizzy. The room spun around me. I had trouble breathing, my shoulders shook as I struggled to breathe and settle my nerves. The faces of my parents, my sister, my friends from Earth swam in my mind. I couldn't see anything for a while, if it weren't for the chair, I would've fallen on to the floor. I was ready to throw up what I just ate.

Focus, I need to focus. Don't feel, don't remember about what's been done to you. Think about what you need to do. Think. Only think.

After taking a deep, forced breathe. I calmed down. I won't say that I got better, but I was able to move. I was able to act.

The first step of any plan is to first collect information. What is this place? What are the people like?

A sizable bookshelf filled with books lined a wall near the dresser. I took one by curiosity and looked through it. It seemed that the Language Comprehension ability also worked on the written word. It was a textbook detailing the history of the Kingdom and the war against Demon kind. I immediately mentally catalogued it in into the same category as I usually do for less reputable News networks. If this country resembled anything like Medieval Europe or the Dark Ages of Earth, then I need to consider most commercially historical texts available to be extremely biased. Especially since phrases like “fiendish Demons” or “heavenly ordained Monarch” were peppered heavily throughout the volume. Granted, Demons do exist in this world as corporeal entities and gods seem to take a more active role here compared to Earth, but still, such texts were better akin to propaganda. I'll have to read it to understand the mindset of the locals, but I need to be guarded and be on the lookout for a more reliable source.

Reading and taking notes of historical and cultural textbooks like it’s the day before a final exam, that’s how spent my first night in a new world.