We met up in Henry’s room afterwards. We asked the servants for some privacy, but were denied. As everyone else tried to convince their servant to leave, I asked Helena to fetch me several maps of the country and the surrounding territories, and a snack.

“…You sure got used to bossing your maid around,” Maria observed, as she looked towards me a little harshly.

“If you want them to leave you alone for a while it’s best if you give them a chore to do. That and I need to study the local geography to better understand the war climate,” I replied, ignoring her glare.

Helena returned shortly with several maps rolled up neatly into a bundle. As well as fresh pot of tea and a plate of sweets that resembled gingerbread cookies. They were still warm.

Super-maid Helena, how capable.

I sat on a padded chair reading the maps and comparing them to the notes I made the previous night as I sipped tea and ate some cookies. Helena quietly stood behind me with the pot of tea at hand Everyone else tried to make their servants leave. Me revealing the trick didn't help since I announced it in front of everyone and therefore all their orders sounded like lame excuses for privacy, which they were.

Finally, Annalise asked all the servants to prepare clothes for us to wear. We were still wearing what we were summoned here with. We'll have to change eventually. Seeing the necessity of the suggestion, the servants cleared out after getting our sizes and preferences. A collective sigh of relief escaped from the others when the servants left. Lucas was asleep on Henry's bed before anyone noticed.

“…So that was eventful,” Dominic said in a listless voice, sarcasm bleeding from his expression. He pulled a blanket over Lucas.

“Tell me about it. Also, the jerk with the robe? Did you see how that guy was looking at us?” Maria noted Lindel’s expression towards them, particularly towards her.

“He’s supposed to be our magic instructor, is it ok for him to be like that?” Hitoshi asked while reaching for the plate of cookies Helena brought me. I immediately slapped his hand away with a quill pen. …I am not being petty; I’m just hungry.

“Based on what I read about this country and the Temples, I doubt he has anything to substantial teach us,” I reported, putting down the pen and rescuing the cookies to relative safety.

I explained that the majority of mid to high tier magic available to the general public and the government were the product of arrays provided by the Gods over the course of eons. These arrays were responsible for everything from vitals services such as running clean water to strategic military assets. In addition, there were no large independent research labs or development centers actively studying magic. Furthermore, since the arrays were treasures given by Gods, they’re treated as divine relics and not tampered with, nor deeply studied. Merely copying and attaching an array on an item or affixing it to a location required permission from a high-ranking official from the overseeing Temple and a fee.

The Mages Association sound rather grand and impressive in name, but from the books I read, it functioned as a mere subsidiary of the Temples and was only responsible for the distribution of magic arrays and procurement of materials for the manufacture of magic items. Which were also made by the Temples.

“My guess is that he's there only to prepare the magic items and materials that will be of most use to us. The Temples from our corresponding blessings will probably in charge of actually teaching us magic,” I said, concluding my description.

“I see, I’m glad that he won’t be a bother, but what are we going to do? Everyone seems to be blessed with something special,” Annalise asked with a troubled expression.

That was an understatement. Termich was brought back to consciousness and he explained the significance of the results.

The least troublesome affinity, Lucas, was already one that’s rarely seen, maybe only appearing once a generation or two on the entire continent. Maria’s fire element, a very common affinity, was on a level that most people spent their entire lives failing to reach. Hitoshi was basically chosen as the water goddess’s personal champion. Annalise’s blessing was, we were told, geared toward massive area of effect destruction spells and her predecessors were considered to be walking natural disasters. Dominic had the blessing of the most enigmatic god in the world. Henry’s, though affinities and blessings from the God of Light were common, shined with an intensity like the sun rather than the humble glow most people usually get. I learned that the last person documented to have the Life Affinity was over a thousand years ago, long before the founding of this country. That person was currently worshiped at the Temple of Gwenivere as a figure similar to the Virgin Mary from our world.

“I’m not looking forward to that, how did the characters in those stories handle people like this?” Henry asked. He’s definitely the most troubled out of any us since he already seen the mania of his sponsoring Temple.

“Generally, religion is treated as an enemy in most stories,” Hitoshi answered.

“More accurately, organized religions. A lot of arcs and story elements revolve around removing harmful teachings and corrupt figures from a religious group and encouraging new, more peaceful view towards the world,” I elaborated.

Most Isekai stories were power fantasies, and there’s a certain rush of power at the idea of moving the hearts and minds of the people and overcoming a powerful tyrannical group.

Realistically though, asking whether a single person can change all that within one generation was a ridiculous question. People don’t change easily, centuries of behavior and indoctrination will not be overwritten because one insanely powerful person said so, or just because some influential figures disappeared. A religious civil war was far more likely to develop, like the Protestant Reformation. We might possess blessings and affinities not seen in centuries, but we were ultimately outsiders, I doubt our words will carry much weight with the Temples’ leadership unless we put in decades of hard service for them.

I warned as such to everyone in the room, in case they start getting dangerous ideas.

“So what, we just bear it?” Maria asked.

“We may have no choice but to…” Annalise responded.

Everyone sighed tiredly at that.

“Have anyone tried to experiment with magic, or learned anything?” Henry changed the topic.

“I spent most of last night reading the history books available in my room. I can’t guarantee its accuracy, but it was still informative,” I replied. Henry and Annalise nodded in approval.

“I tried to see if there was a status screen…,” Hitoshi admitted, his face turning red.

Henry and Maria looked confused, but I explained the prevalence of status screens and other video game elements in Isekai stories. During which, Hitoshi seemed to curl into a ball of embarrassment. Annalise patted him in the back to help him get over it. Still, Maria and the others looked at him as if he was a bit touched in the head. That made him retreat even further into his ball. 

“I talked with you for a bit and headed off to sleep,” Dominic answered looking at Henry, and affirmed by Henry’s nod.

“I went to bed immediately, it was a lot to take in yesterday,” Annalise said, Maria followed up with a “Same.”

“Josh has anything happen to you yesterday?” Dominic asked.

“No, why?” I replied.

“The King had on odd look on his face yesterday, I was worried if someone tried to do anything to you.”

“Ah, you noticed that too, huh.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Maria asked.

Dominic and I explained that the King stared at us in a way that showed he knew who was and was not for saying yes in the audience chamber.

“Wait, then how do we know if he isn’t listening to us right now?” Maria exclaimed, looking around.

“I don’t think so; I talked with a priest while waiting for everyone to show up. I asked a few questions concerning the magic that the King used yesterday to amplify his voice. I mentioned sound waves a few times and the priest seemed to have no idea what I was talking about. He told me it was all due to a magic array from the Wind God. If what Josh said is right, then those arrays are pretty rare and expensive. I doubt he would have many of those to spare and place wherever he wants, especially if he needs to have other types of arrays as well,” Dominic assured.

I felt that was a little naïve. It all hinged on the King not considering us a major priority for surveillance. If he did, or he has already reached a deal with the Temples, he could have already bugged our rooms easily. Who knows, maybe he made illegal copies of the array. The conflict between the authorities of religion and state were universal, no matter how harmonious they act.

Still, while it’s best to be cautious, there’s a limit of what we can achieve if we kept seeing shadows everywhere. I kept my counterargument to myself.

“We need to better understand what this country is like. Josh, do you have anything?” Henry prompted.

I finished the plate of cookies and poured myself a fresh cup of tea as I went over what I learned last night.

Chromalos was situated in the northwestern part of the continent known as Ura. It’s the biggest human country on the continent, surrounded by a group of smaller countries that largely act as vassals and a buffer towards the Demons and the only other major human power, the Empire of Quast. I showed everyone the maps and pointed out the specific areas. The Demons occupy the entire southern part of the continent and details about their culture were non-existent. At least, details that seemed to be somewhat unbiased. The Demons have the ability to infect the landscape with a mist-like entity known as the Miasma. It was toxic to animals with low to weak mana capacity. For humans, the Miasma was a disastrous hazard as few had the necessary mana reserves to move unimpeded within by its effects. The Demons, with their superior magical abilities, have significantly less problems moving through it in large numbers. 

The Miasma was the primary reason why the war has lasted so long and why the Demons control almost 75% of the continent. One of the few things known about Demons was that they were not a numerous species , but the Miasma prevented humans from fighting with superior numbers. Soldiers with weak mana reserves would just get sick and die once exposed. It limited the manpower capable of fighting in Demon territory and increased the difficulty of invading. Coupled with the naturally superior abilities that Demons had over the baseline human, it was inevitable that the Demons to be on the winning side.

Demons also worshiped a being called Avan. It’s unknown as to what element or aspect the god ruled over, so he was just referred to as the Demon God.

On the northeastern side of the continent was a territory known as the Wildlands. An untamed and undeveloped wilderness that was occupied by roving tribes of Beastmen, humanoids with animal like characteristics.

The Beastmen were territorial and small wars erupt often between them and the Empire. Most humans seem to regard them as savages and little more than animals. Beastmen Slaves were a commodity in the Empire. Human slaves were also observed on the Beastmen side. Some of the more carnivorous Beastmen like Tigermen were reported to be using them as livestock, though I doubt that.

Elves and Dwarves also existed in this world. Dwarves lived peacefully and has sort of integrated into human society. They once ruled a vast empire atop a mountain range to the south, one that spanned the entire continent and effectively divided the landmass in two. The entire range was conquered by the Demons several hundred years ago. The Dwarves were accredited to be powerful warriors and smiths, but they too lacked high mana reserves so were left vulnerable by the Miasma. There was no Dwarven country, but there were various mentions of prominent Dwarves in many of the history texts listing statesmen, generals, and Nobles. According to a very, very dull book titled 'Genealogy of the Line from Radiant Kings' (it was as tedious to read as it sounds) that detailed the royal family of Chromalos, His Majesty Levinn was a quarter-Dwarf. 

Elves were viewed much less favorably. They reportedly possessed superior magical abilities that rivaled Demons and the ability to tame spirits easily. They were known to have other-worldly beauty and long-lifespans. Not much else was known about them as they were isolationists that lived on an island far north of here. All attempts of dialogue with the Elves have ended in bloodshed. Elves were reported to be racial supremacists, often raiding and attacking settlements, leaving no survivors unless driven off. While I had no idea that if any of that was true or not, the fact that the books went into significant length about the Elves' crimes and cruelty demonstrated the hostility human society held towards them.

Neither species were heavily involved in the war effort. The Elves were far too removed geographically speaking. The Dwarves were too divided, the books seemed to regard the list of named Dwarves as something of an exception. As special persons who earned human gratitude and respect for their individual actions rather than the collective actions of their race.

I concluded my lesson with a rough overview of basic cultural norms and a list of popular Gods, and the Temples associated with them. The servants came back towards the end and Lucas woke up halfway my lecture.

The group were all silent for a while from my presentation as they digested everything. Henry asked a few questions, but that was the sum of their response. The others seemed a bit... overwhelmed by everything. A world where Demons, Elves, Beastmen, and Dwarves all existed was thrust on us. Hearing from me that those beings weren't just stories but actual living creatures with history and presence in this world drove in the reality of the situation. Worse was that many of them seem to want to kill us. 

The responses from everyone varied. Henry and Dominic seemed lost in thought. Lucas looked excited. Annalise looked terrified. Hitoshi seemed to alternate between amazement and fear. Maria, for some reason, looked at me in a cold manner, like I reminded her of something horrible. I didn't care as to why she was angry with me so I ignored her glare, I had things more pressing than a moody teenager.

We decided to call it a day, but the servants said that the Royal family wished eat supper with us tonight. We weren't in a position to decline.