The Seventh Anti-Demon Overlord Expeditionary Force had failed, just like all the others before it. Men, arrows, magic... Nothing could break the barrier surrounding the Demon Overlord’s island, and the demons he’d summoned tore the army apart.

The Overlord’s armies were appearing all over the land, causing chaos wherever they went. The kingdom no longer had the strength left to oppose him. That’s why everyone was hoping for the return of the hero of legend.

“A-A-A-A-All right, I will now b-b-b-begin the cross-world summoning!” Harissa’s voice shook terribly as she stood there, clad in wizard’s robes. The king and his chief minister stood in front of her, and to the side stood his other advisors and the military’s leaders. She was expected to pull off the magical feat of the century in front of all of them. It was a legendary ritual passed down in the royal family which would summon a hero from another world.

I... I... I have to make this work! Harissa gripped her staff with both hands, and green magical energy poured from its tip into the summoning circle. If she poured enough magic into the circle that it went critical, a hero would appear from another world to defeat the Demon Overlord. At least, in theory. If the royal family’s legends were right.

Aw... I’m starting to think I can’t do this. There was a reason that Harissa had to make this summoning succeed, no matter what, but as she looked at the unchanging summoning circle, she started to get nervous.

But she couldn’t stop pouring in energy. Suddenly, as she prayed, the circle began to shine.

The magical energy turned from a flickering green into a dazzling light, which spread through the royal throne room.

“Wh-What’s going on?!”

“What did you do, Harissa Hope?!”

“I... I just did what you told me!” For half a minute or so, the room was filled with sobs and angry yells.

The light coming from the circle suddenly stopped, and in its center sat a boy who hadn’t been there a moment ago.

That was the one change— there was now a boy in the center of the circle.

“Huh? What? Where am I?” He looked around in confusion.

His clothes were of a strange sort that you would find nowhere on the continent.

All the important men started to trade suspicious glances and doubts.

“A foreigner?”

“A boy?”

“Have you ever seen him before?”

“Another world?”

“Was he summoned?”

“Success?”

Their thoughts all came together into a single answer.

“A hero?”

“A hero!”

Harissa, the one who had summoned him, leaped forward before anyone else could.

She ran up and hugged the boy, who was still standing there in confusion

There were tears of joy in her eyes, and she looked at him with admiration and awe. He was an ordinary-looking boy, but to her, he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

“Huh? Wh-Why are you crying?”

“Hero! What is your name?” She cut him off before he could finish. She already sounded like a girl dreaming of a prince on a white horse.

He stammered out a response, looking a little overwhelmed.

“My name’s Rekka Namidare, but... where am I?”