Chapter 2 - I Wasn’t a Hero
Three high school students and one unimpressive salaryman... If someone were to ask who was the outlier among us, it would undoubtedly be the latter. In fact, I was already receiving suspicious looks from the king and the group in robes. Their doubtful hearts seemed to be asking, Could this guy really be a hero?
"A-anyway, let's try the appraisal crystal! That should reveal the results!"
Although the atmosphere was strange, those words from the princess caused the group in robes to spring into action.
The robed men brought over a pedestal with a transparent crystal placed on it.
According to the princess, if we placed our hands over this crystal, it would display our stats and show what kind of abilities we had.
It felt like a world out of a game.
Thus, the three high school students and I, the unimpressive salaryman, were subjected to the appraisal.
Where was this place, and why had we been summoned here?
There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but around the king and princess, knights, like those from an RPG, stood in rows holding swords and spears, exuding an overwhelming presence.
With nothing but our bare hands, we had no choice but to comply.
The three high school students took their turns, one by one, to touch the crystal.
"Oh! Just like a hero! Their stats are over a thousand from the start, and their unique skills are all top-tier! They also possess multiple advanced attribute magics, including light magic!"
It seemed that the three high school students had very high stats, and their unique skills, or whatever they were called, were numerous. They even seemed to have magical talents.
"Now, finally, please go ahead."
Encouraged by the princess’s smile, I placed my hand over the so-called appraisal crystal.
Suddenly, a semi-transparent window appeared in front of me, displaying my stats.
[Kirishima Tooru]
Level 1
HP: 80
MP: 80
Attack: 45
Defense: 35
Speed: 52
Intelligence: 45
Luck: 120
Title: [The Unchosen One]
Skills: [Appraisal] [Otherworld Language]
Unique Skill: [Vehicle Summoning]
...Huh? Aren't my numbers so abnormally low?
I’d heard that the high school students who went before me had stats well over 500, but mine were less than a tenth of that.
The only stat that seemed unusually high was my luck, but everything else seemed fairly average, as if I were a regular person.
"The Unchosen One? I-It seems Kirishima-sama is not a hero..."
The princess, looking uncomfortable, spoke up after viewing my stats.
As expected. It was clear that I was the only one who didn’t resemble a hero at all.
It looked like I wasn’t a hero after all, just a regular person caught up in something.
A subtle, awkward silence hung in the air.
"Unique Skill [Vehicle Summoning]? I’ve never seen anything like that before. What could it possibly mean?"
To us, the first thing that came to mind was something like a car or some other form of transportation, but the lack of such a thing in this world meant that there were likely no cars here.
If that’s the case, the only means of transportation might be something like a carriage?
In that case, my unique skill, which could summon modern vehicles, could actually be very useful.
Maybe I could even summon the camper van I had just bought.
As I entertained that hope, I heard a soft chuckle from the high school students standing beside me.
"Vehicle Summoning? That's seriously hilarious."
"Hey, old man. You can summon a car, right? Even if you’re not a chosen hero, if you listen to what we say, we’ll use you as a ride."
"Stop it, both of you. He’s our senior, you know..."
The young man with a kind face tried to reprimand them, but it was clearly just a façade. Inside, he was just as contemptuous as the two others who had mocked me. I could tell he was looking down on me, the one who wasn’t a hero.
Even though I had been dragged into this incomprehensible world, it was unlucky to have such people from my hometown..
Thanks to the appraisal crystal, I was the only one deemed not to be a hero, but for now, I was about to hear from the king the reason why they did the hero summoning.
There were eight countries on this continent, home to various races such as humans, beastmen, elves, dwarves, and demons.
The new Demon Lord born in the demon country, Belgios, had begun to assert dominance over the continent and was waging war against the neighboring Kingdom of Othelonia.
Though the kingdom's army had managed to hold them back for now, the battle was taking a toll, and in desperation, they had summoned us, the ones with special powers, using the Hero Summoning Ritual.
By the way, to activate the magic that could send us back to our world, it was tied to the lunar calendar, and it wouldn't be possible until ten years from now. Until then, they wanted us to help save the kingdom.
...It felt very suspicious.
Was this kingdom really under threat from a Demon Lord?
Despite the supposed war, there wasn’t a hint of panic from the king, queen, or princess.
The king’s belly was round and slack, and the queen wore flashy, glistening jewelry, showing no sign of financial strain.
The king’s tone, too, lacked any real sense of urgency about the war. It felt more like they had summoned heroes to win the war easily without putting in the effort themselves.
It didn’t sit right with me that they were trying to solve their national crisis by summoning people from another world and using their power.
Still, he was the king of a nation.
If I said something like that to his face, I didn’t know what he might do.
Since I clearly wasn’t a hero and lacked the strength to fight, my value was very low, and I could easily be beheaded for disrespect. If this world was at a medieval European civilization level, they might even make an example of me.
If that was the case, then what I should do here is...
"...Um, I’m not a hero, and my stats are pretty average. I can’t fight the Demon Lord, so I plan to live as an ordinary person in this world. Could you provide me with enough funds to survive for the time being? After that, I’ll manage on my own..."
"Huh? That’s...?"
"Alright, I understand. We’ll make sure Kirishima-dono has enough money to live on for now."
"I am deeply grateful for your majesty’s generosity."
The princess seemed hesitant about throwing me out, but the king, probably happy to be rid of the inconvenience, cheerfully gave instructions to the knights.
And so, I was made to leave the castle in this world I had been summoned to.
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