I wake up in an unfamiliar room.
That's right.
This is another world.
I and several other people were ripped away from our world and brought here. And, to make matters worse, there's that embarrassing incident from last night...
I hope my mind forgets it forever.
The creepy maid was standing there.
No.
Rather, she was staring at me in an unsettling way.
Then she approached the door.
Uwahh...
That smile she had...
It was dangerous.
“Miss Asagao, by His Majesty’s order, you are to wear appropriate attire at all times from now on. Therefore, I, Milin, have prepared the most suitable outfit for you.”
She quickly presented me with a dress.
A Gothic Lolita style, with an absurd amount of frills and ribbons!
It’s also sleeveless, leaving my shoulders exposed. You could practically say the dress starts from the chest down. Its color combination is dark blue and black.
It also comes with knee-high stockings adorned with elegant frills and a pair of cute leather shoes.
I can handle whatever they throw at me.
The only problem...
Is that she’s also giving me these... pumpkin panties.
As you can imagine, they aren't exactly normal panties, but rather some strange, fluffy, puffed-up undergarment.
“Miss Asagao, since your arrival took us completely by surprise, we were unable to prepare standard underwear for you immediately. Therefore, please wear this set, which I personally sewed last night.”
I can practically see smoke coming out of her nose.
If you know how to sew underwear, make a normal pair, you pervert!
Although...
Wait.
You spent the entire night personally making these?
Could you at least put that kind of dedication toward something more serious?
I...
I need to protect myself!
“I’ll change by myself! Get out!”
I tried to glare at her with as much disgust as I could muster.
No!
Don't tremble!
Why does your face look like you're in heaven?
Can I please have a normal maid?
“Thank you so much, Asagao-ojou-sama! As head maid, I promise to fulfill all of your requests!”
Head maid?
Are you serious?!
Well, at least she obediently left the room.
I waited.
One...
Two...
Three...
As soon as I heard the door close completely, I rushed over and locked it as if my life depended on it.
Haaa...
Finally.
As for the clothes, I suppose I'll wear this Gothic Lolita style.
And as for the... pumpkin panties...
Well.
This is her effort for my sake.
I noticed she had fairly pronounced dark circles under her eyes.
Maybe she really has already shown me her true personality, but...
At least she isn't a bad person.
That's what I want to believe.
Oh...
Oh...
OH!
The pumpkin panties were comfortable!
They're soft and easy to wear.
The knee-high stockings don't bother me at all, either. After all, they're made of silk.
The dress itself isn't bad, either.
I look into the mirror.
And then... Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
A small girl dressed in an elegant Gothic outfit looks back at me.
White hair.
Blue eyes.
I can't believe this is me now.
My skin doesn't have a single imperfection. It's as smooth as porcelain, so pale that I even look sickly.
My hair is white, yet silky and healthy. Each strand feels like a thread of the highest quality.
My eyes...
They're so clear and beautiful.
My eyelashes are long and delicate.
And finally, my body...
It's soft and still retains some of the baby fat typical of a young girl, while being thin and delicate at the same time.
My arm is so thin that it looks like it could break at any moment.
“Miss Asagao! It's time to go!”
“Ah, right!”
Milin-san, the head maid, called out from behind the door.
Looks like I took too long.
Now we're going to have breakfast.
I left the room, with Milin-san accompanying me to the dining hall.
The other heroes were already there, sitting around and chatting.
It seems I was the only one they were waiting for.
Then I saw the available seat.
Phew!
It looks like they deliberately reserved one for me...
Right next to the king.
What a bright-and-early smile you have, Your Majesty!
Although...
I don't dislike it.
.
.
.
Yeah.
Right now, I have a dilemma of my own.
Of course, with my new battle gear, everyone is staring at me.
The moment I entered the room, everyone's eyes instinctively turned toward me.
But...
They're staring for way too long.
Way too long.
I run.
I run while looking down, unwilling to meet anyone's gaze.
Then...
I trip.
This is what happens when you run around without looking where you're going, you know?!
“Watch out, Asagao!”
“Huh?”
Oh!
I’m saved!
She caught me by the shirt!
Wait...
Why are you still wearing a shirt?
Ugh...
Her breasts are bigger than I thought.
It was...
A rather pleasant touch.
If I were a man.
“Thank you, Big Sis!”
“Un! Remember! Don't run inside the school... house... I mean... castle!”
She lightly scolded me.
Since I couldn't remember her name, I didn't know what to call her.
Thank goodness I managed to get by with “Big Sis.”
From now on, I'd better try to remember everyone's names.
After that, they took me to my special seat.
.
.
.
“What is it, Hero Ichirou Nagasaki?”
“Your Majesty, you don't have to call me that. Just Ichirou is fine. By the way, where are your Royal Guards?”
“Are you curious about that? Well, from now on, you can be informal with me too, Ichirou. You can call me Fon. We don't seem to be that far apart in age.”
“Un. Understood, King Fon.”
“As for the Royal Guards, Lily and Edelweiss wake up before everyone else to have breakfast. Although they're my personal guards, they use that time to train the soldiers and their own units. Not to mention, they eat quite a lot.”
“And Miss Violetta?”
“She'll join us later.”
“I see.”
It seems this Ichirou is interested in one of the Royal Guards, huh?
After that, we continued eating peacefully.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, we were taken to a conference room.
There, matters concerning our future and the plan we would follow from this point onward would be discussed.
Violetta was already waiting for us.
Milin-san, head maid...
Please go away already.
At Violetta's request, we took our seats.
King Fon, on the other hand, playfully gestured for me to sit on his lap.
I ignored him.
It was far too embarrassing.
And that seemed to hurt him quite a bit.
I ended up sitting beside Listless.
Uwaah...
Is he dead?
Of all the heroes, he was the one who showed the least interest in me, so I suppose sitting beside him isn't so bad.
“Good morning, everyone. As His Majesty said yesterday, my name is Violetta. And this old man here, the councilor, is Ishtal.”
No.
I didn't see him there.
None of us heroes saw him there.
Was he there the entire time?
We all had complicated expressions.
We wanted to say something.
But, not wanting to hurt the old man's feelings, we remained silent.
I felt the same way.
Who would have the courage to say something like that?
“Old Man Ishtal, it seems none of them noticed you standing there until I pointed you out. Your presence really is incredibly faint!”
“Young people these days...”
Uwaah...
Despair is written all over his face!
Hang in there, Old Man Ishtal!
“Well then, heroes. Let us begin this discussion.”
Violetta's expression turned serious.
“The king already explained the purpose of your summoning yesterday, but I shall remind you all. You have been summoned to defeat the demons emerging from the Central Continent.”
The room fell silent.
“To accomplish that, you brave heroes will require training. This training will, of course, consist of combat and magic practice. Thanks to the blessing of the Goddess Spirit, each of you has received the Hero's Blessing, which grants you an enormous amount of magical energy and the ability to wield Soul Weapons.”
No one interrupted.
We all listened attentively.
“For the next three months, we will teach and train you in everything necessary to face battle with sound judgment. You will also learn what you need to survive in the wilderness.”
Violetta paused briefly.
“After that, you will embark on a journey, visiting the domain of each Race Lord. There, you will receive training and learn their unique skills and abilities—abilities that ordinary humans cannot adapt to.”
Her tone became firmer.
“I will make this clear now: we cannot interfere with the decisions of each race's leader regarding the training they wish to provide you. However, we assure you that you will be treated fairly and equitably. Just as in our own continent, we do not discriminate against any race.”
She continued.
“Keep in mind that during your journey, actual combat against magical beasts, and even demons, will be inevitable.”
I swallowed.
Actual combat?
This no longer sounded like school training.
“Once you complete your training, you will return to the capital. At that point, we will begin the assault on the Central Continent with the combined armies of all the Race Lords across the world.”
The atmosphere grew even heavier.
“Only you, the heroes, possess such extraordinary powers thanks to the Blessing of the Goddess Spirit.”
Violetta gave a small bow.
“That is all for now, heroes. Thank you for listening.”
She raised her head.
“Now, I will answer your questions.”