I had barely walked down a single corridor before I noticed that something was amiss. The palace was abuzz with commotion and excitement, and the servants were whispering amongst each other like chittering squirrels. Of course, the maids and butlers were normally much more prim and proper in the presence of the nobility, but the façade was instantly dropped whenever our managers stepped out of earshot.

"Hana!! Did you hear the news?" An excited maid bounded up to me like an enthusiastic puppy. "The Grand Archbishop finally got the Hero Summoning ritual to work! They've arrived!! In fact, there's a whole dozen of them!!"

"Ah, is that so...?"

My eyes were slightly blank and disinterested.

If I searched through Hanamarie's memories, it was well-known gossip that the Grand Archbishop had been attempting the Hero Summoning ritual for decades. However, all of the prior attempts had been failures, and the Kingdom of Galuterica had gradually slipped into an economic depression over the years. Many of humanity's great cities fell to monsters, and most trade routes had closed since it was no longer safe to travel outside without a personal army.

Once every thousand years, it was written in the history books that it was possible to summon a hero from another world.

This 'hero' is fabled to possess the ability to slay the Demon Lord, who is otherwise rumored to be immortal. There are eight recorded instances of heroes being summoned in the past, and in each case the 'hero' saved the world and made everything sparkly, dazzling, and happily ever after. With a 100% success rate, it's somewhat understandable why everyone is so excited about the arrival of the hero of this generation. Heroes are idolized almost like gods, and they are basically worshipped by the citizens of humanity.

That said...

...These 'heroes' are just my high school classmates.

You must understand that I didn't feel a single droplet of enthusiasm.

For example, my classmate Sha Guadi, who sits in front of me in homeroom, picks his nose with his pencil. He thinks that nobody notices since we sit near the back of the room, but I can see it as clear as day... Likewise, Ma Qingyue plays games on her phone all day during class, and during exams she'll raise her hand to go to the toilet multiple times to look up the answers on her smartphone.

I'm not the type of person to snitch on others, but I think you can probably tell that I don't have the best opinion of my acquaintances.

Honestly, we're just ordinary high school students who are spoiled by the incredible luxury of modern kitchen appliances. I don't think any of us could slaughter a chicken, let alone slay a demon lord. It's a bit ridiculous to even think of my classmates as 'heroes', and somehow I'm extremely skeptical of this new over-glorified isekai status. Surely, it can't be good for their inflated egos.

In fact, it makes my stomach hurt simply to think about it.

"I hope I'm not assigned to cleaning their rooms..." I sighed with an ugly grimace.

Lucia, the excited maid who approached me, looked almost shocked.

"Why not?!" She exclaimed. "This is a once is a lifetime opportunity! Once the heroes defeat the Demon Lord, they'll be granted titles and land. They're future dukes and royalty with their future essentially laid out for them, and if you marry one, it's a free ticket straight into the ranks of nobility!"

Indeed, based on Hanamarie's memories, this was absolutely true. In the Kingdom of Galuterica, normally it was impossible for a peasant to marry an aristocrat. However, otherworldly heroes were an exception to the rule, and there were many popular Cinderella-like fairy tales about a hero in shining armor rescuing a baker's daughter, who subsequently got married and became royalty. These legends were based on true historical events, so it's understandable that many young girls would fantasize about these possibilities.

However, as for me...

...Absolutely no.

No way in hell!

Even the thought of affectionately snuggling up with Sha Guadi makes me want to vomit.

This is insane! Who would want to marry their own high school classmate?!

My mind was racing, and I was quickly plotting an excuse to steer clear from my classmates as much as possible.

∎