Ed: Steelz

I was an introverted high school student who spent my free time playing games and earning money by uploading videos on the internet. One of the games I played was Arknights, a gacha game.

One day, without realizing it, my surroundings suddenly changed. I had just finished battling Mephisto in the game when I lost connection and went to check my router. To my surprise, I discovered that I wasn't in my room anymore. Panic started to creep in, but then I heard a feminine voice behind me.

???: Oh, hero, can you he-

As I turned to look at her, she began to stumble over her words, clearly nervous and flustered.

???: H-he...

Once again, she fell silent when I looked at her, and I noticed she started trembling. I misunderstood her behavior as a warning, assuming it followed the typical pattern of hero summons in anime.

???: Haa-haaa.

Her breathing became heavy, and I took a few steps back, maintaining a cautious gaze within the confines of the small room. Suddenly, she leaped at me out of nowhere.

Instinctively, I evaded her charge, causing her to fall to the floor.

???: Aa!! Hero, why would you avoid it?

Caught off guard by the bizarre events unfolding before me, I failed to immediately grasp that I was in an entirely different place now.

She began to rise to her feet once more.

???: Hero, please don't do that~

She spoke in an odd tone, almost sounding excited.

???: Don't worry, everything will be fine~

This development unnerved me to the point where I contemplated escaping from the dark room. I spotted a door leading to a source of light and hastily made my way towards it.

As I passed through the door, I was confronted by medieval knights, their spears pointed at me.

Me: Uh, hello?

I stood there, feeling a force impact me from behind.

???: Aaaaa!! Hero, your scent gets me so excited!

I found myself perplexed by the female priest who clung to my back, but I dared not move due to the menacing presence of the knights.

Whispers could be heard among the knights.

"Hey, is that really the Holy Maiden? She's acting weird."

"You! You did something to her, didn't you, hero?!"

"Yeah, it certainly seems that way."

As they closed in on me, the Holy Maiden ordered them to stop.

Holy Maiden: Stop! Hero, let us enter the king's hall to introduce you to His Majesty.

...

Accompanied by the Holy Maiden, who was oddly attached to me, I was guided to the king's hall. She instructed the knights not to follow us, though I wasn't sure why.

Upon our arrival, a massive door stood before me. The Holy Maiden opened it, revealing a line of people who greeted me with enthusiasm.

"Welcome, Hero!"

I scanned the room and spotted a man and a woman wearing crowns, identifying them as the king and queen. Standing beside them was a young woman who appeared to be around 15 to 17 years old, presumably their daughter.

The Holy Maiden guided me toward the king and queen.

As we approached, she reluctantly separated from me, and the king began his speech.

King: Hero, welcome. I am King Maldehorn Heldur. This is my wife, Queen Frantis Heldur, and our daughter, Princess Sherly Heldur. Hero, we have summoned you here from the heavens to help us defeat the Devils that plague this world.

The queen attempted to follow up with her own speech but abruptly stopped, just like the Holy Maiden.

To save the queen from her predicament, the "princess?"

continued the speech.

Princess: Sorry for my mother, hero...

I noticed that whenever I looked at them and they noticed my gaze, they would similarly halt their speech, much like the queen and the Holy Maiden.

However, what puzzled me were the stares they gave me after their sudden silences.

The king believed that their reactions were due to this being their first encounter with a real hero.

King: Ahem, sorry, Hero. As she said, we are running low on the war potential needed to fight the devils that are conquering this continent. So, Hero, we would like your help and your powers to aid us in defeating the Devils.

Since this scenario resembled those typical summoning clichés, I decided to introduce myself first.

Me: I am Maverick James Pailter, but you can call me James for short.

King: James, huh? It seems you have some noble bloodline.

James: Is it because of my last name?

King: Indeed, that is correct.

Just for the sake of simplicity, I confirmed the king's assumption.

James: You guessed right.

Feeling overwhelmed by everything that had transpired, I asked the king if we could conclude for now, while expressing my need for a break.

The king agreed.

King: Lead Hero James to his room.

...

I was escorted to my room, which by modern standards would be considered quite normal, but from a medieval perspective, it was rather luxurious.

I lay down on the bed, which was comfortable but not quite as good as my bed back in the modern world. Although I felt a sense of attachment to my old world, I realized that there was nothing else of importance there.

Mentally exhausted, I drifted off to sleep.

...

I was having a pleasant dream, finally acquiring Silverash and Eyja in a 10x headhunt card. However, my dream was abruptly interrupted when I felt something pressing down on me.

Startled, I woke up and immediately recalled my memories. To my surprise, I sensed a weight on top of me, and when I looked, I saw the naked princess.

Princess: Oh, you're awake, Hero. This is perfect.

She whispered to me in a low and excited voice.

Princess: Shh, don't make a sound. They haven't noticed that I'm with you. Now, let us continue.

(Wait... What the actual... WTF)