“So… this is how desperate it's gotten?”
I looked at her majesty as she looked back at us three with a somber expression
“Truly… we need time… and… this is currently the best idea we have come up with…”
Tetra and Lance looked at me with strained expressions. A summoning ritual. A very risky yet powerful magic capable of bringing someone elf from somewhere else here. I tried to rationalize the benefits to the cost of such magic but soon Tetra spoke
“Why? If we need more time can’t we…”
She trailed off as she tried to come up with an idea when I heard Lance swear under his breath
“I’m sorry, but this is the best idea we have. I will ensure your safety, Rose, as I know how risky this magic is, so you needn’t worry. The reason I have brought you here isn’t just because Rose will be casting the spell, I also wish you will help acclimate the new… guest to our world.”
We stared at the queen in silence before Lance spoke once more
“So babysitting?”
The queen had a wry smile
“Better than going to the front lines, no?”
We each analyzed her words as she spoke
“Head to the temple now, they have already begun the preparations for the ritual, I will meet you there soon, I just have a few… less than happy counsel members to deal with.”
The queen stood up, her platinum blond hair draped over her shoulders as a showdown covered her pearlescent eyes. At times, it was easy for us to forget her dignity as we three were training to be royal guards before the war but… each of us also knew that due to her strength, we wouldn’t be needed as a guard. As we got off our knees we looked at each other and sighed. Tetra looked at me with her green eyes as she asked
“Rose… are you-“
“Fine with this?”
I shrugged
“The risk is not enough resources to cast the spell, I doubt her majesty would cheap out on something like this.”
Some of Tetra’s green hair covered her eyes as I looked at Lance who was watching me warily. His purple eyes and violet hair with that distinctive red streak were always eye-catching to any woman due to his handsome features but
“This sucks.”
His personality wasn’t the best. I and Tetra laughed at his little outburst as he sighed
“This is stupid, what if we summon a useless prick?”
“We lack people but have materials.”
I answered I knew he already knew this and was just worried but I already knew how the queen had come to this conclusion. As we slowly made our way out of the castle in silence I thought back to our days in school, training to be the best soldier, and laughed
“Who here thought that the best 3 students of the royal guard classes would end up babysitting?”
Lance shook his head but Tetra smirked
“I had an inkling of that thought but not like this.”
I and Lance looked at Tetra as she smiled mischievously
“Maybe someone would do a service to the queen.”
We laughed as we understood her words
“You know the queen isn’t likely to do anything like that, Tetra.”
I spoke, still suppressing the giggles. She smiled as she spoke
“It would make sense though.”
I rolled my eyes as I glared at her
“Don’t be like that Rose.”
Lance’s voice chimed
“We will always pick on you.”
I sighed as I shook my head. The two continued to laugh at my misery as we passed food stalls and item shops, my gaze lingering on the sweets and magic items but the other two continued ahead of me.
“We best hurry.”
Lance spoke
“The queen will be pissed if she gets there first.”
We laughed a bit as we picked up the pace, but all I could notice is how much fewer people walked the streets. The war on the demon king has been different from former demon kings. In the past, we only had to worry about a few strong enemies, but this demon king could raise the dead, and every soldier had to kill at least 2 enemies less the numbers of the enemy army would grow after their death. It was a war of attrition. It left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth as the enemy you fought was your former friend as they stared at you with lifeless eyes as they butchered you to join the demon king's army. Such a threat had never been recorded so we all knew that the best bet was to bring someone just as unique into this world to counteract the enemies' capabilities
“Rose!?”
I heard my name called and looked up at the other two who had worried expressions, before either could speak I told them
“I was just thinking about what our ‘savior’ will be like… after all… the war can’t continue.”
Both their faces grew dim but soon Tetra smiled
“Maybe bring yourself a lover so he can help you relax.”
I felt my face flush red as Lance laughed at my embarrassment right as we got to the temple's entrance
“What took you so long?”
The queen sat at the end of the empty temple, a circular ritualistic area covering a majority of the center of the building. The shape wasn’t entirely circular and more oblong or ovular to accommodate 2 people in the center. I took a deep breath as I looked at the intricate markings when the queen spoke
“500 pounds of Mana crystals were used to make this… which is double the last summoning.”
I nodded my head as I carefully made my way to the center of the oval, making sure not to break the magic circuit that the mana crystals dust had formed. The last time a summon had been performed the priestess in charge lost her life as the material sacrifice was too minimal and it seemed like the queen didn’t want the same mistake to happen. I took a deep breath as I rested my hand in the one broken gap of the circle at the center and spoke
“I invoke the right of the goddess to deny the natural order of the world.”
As a good light permeated from my bad, it traced the oval as mana seeped from my body, as one of the few people capable of using holy magic, I was one of the few capable of casting the summoning ritual, the gold light followed the intricate pattern of the circle, and once the light engulfed everything, the room became a blinding bright blue as a golden light shimmered a few feet in front of me before
“Oof”
Someone felt it as the mana dust that made the circle fade to nothing. We all looked at the messy black hair of the man in front of me, Tetra had her hand on her spear as Lance had his hammer out and the queen had an orb in hand. The room was silent as he looked over each one of us before speaking
“I… don’t remember taking drugs or falling asleep.”
He finally stood from his prone position as he looked around the room again analyzing each of us. His clothes were unique, and his brown eyes gazed at each of us with disinterest and confusion.
“What the heck is happening?”
He asked, We all stared at the stranger who continued to glance between each of us before he sighed
“This is a hella realistic dream…”
He spoke, rubbing his elbow that he landed on when I summoned him. Before I could speak the queen spoke
“This isn’t a-“
“Dream?”
He spoke, he was looking away from me as he stared at the queen. He sighed as he spoke one more
“It’s a dream, it has to be.”
He stopped and looked at us but rather at the remnant sparkling blue mana, he began to reach into his pockets as he spoke
“If this wasn’t a dream I would still have-“
He pulled out a thin black slab from his pocket a bit bigger than the size of his hand. He looked at it before fiddling with it before he asked a question
“What is the square root of 4?”
I looked at her majesty just as the man had begun to do then he looked at me
“What is today's date?”
I was confused but I knew he was as well so spoke
“The 3 16 348.”
I told him but he stared at me before narrowing his eyes
“Numbers… no names or times? You can’t answer the square root and I have my phone.”
He began to massage the bridge of his nose as he looked each of us over again. It was as if he were looking for something to prove this a falsehood but the queen soon spoke
“We are sorry… but we need your help with-”
She began to speak but was cut off as he raised his hand
“You say this isn’t a dream, I have proven that this isn’t a dream to my knowledge, but I refuse to play along.”
He stared at us coldly for a moment before asking
“Is there a library? And information that I wouldn’t know or understand?”
We raised an eyebrow at the unknown person but he sighed
“Let me guess, this is a world of magic and monsters, you brought me here to help you kill some big bad dragon or something.”
He spoke nonchalantly while maintaining eye contact with the queen. He seemed to have noticed that I and her were the only ones he could get information out of but her majesty smiled at his comment as she spoke
“Well, looks like we have someone who has the experience, we got lucky.”
“Sure you did.”
The man spoke, but for the first time, actual disdain came from his mouth. Although I couldn’t see his face, with how the queen's face fell I knew his expression was cold.
“Either I’m in a coma, or this is real. Either way, time will tell me what the answer is, but till then, either answer isn’t much to my liking.”
He spoke as he slid that black tablet into his pants once more, sighing. He saw the benches lined up against the wall of the building as he made his way to them, opposite Tetra and Lance. He quickly took a seat and asked
“I’ll play along with this game for a while, either I’m screwed or dead. So, what’s the TLDR?”
He looked at us as we all looked at him in confusion
“TL… dr?”
Tetra muttered, the man raised an eyebrow at us again before he said
“Too long, didn’t read. Give me a short explanation, I can see if any faults in logic may mean that this is all a dream.”
“Aren’t you defiant to this idea a bit too much?”
Lance spoke but the Queen silenced him as she spoke
“There is a demon king who has many undead in his army and can raise the dead. We lack people and can’t keep throwing people at this problem so we used a summoning ritual to bring you from your world to help us.”
“Then, if I succeed, you send me home and we all have bourbon and sake.”
He spoke in a sarcastic tone both mocking the queen and himself. Although I had no clue what those two words he spoke were, I understood the idea that he meant a party. I sighed as I spoke
“Due to how the ritual works, we can’t send you home.”
He looked at me with a cold expression as he spoke
“Suuuureeee….”
His sarcasm was almost palpable as he continued to look at each of us when Tetra spoke
“Can’t you stop being such an obstinate bastard?! This is real, there’s a war and we need help!”
She shouted but the man looked at her with a cold gaze as he spoke
“Two options, this is a coma and nothing matters, or you committed human trafficking in the expectation that I will help your hands down. What sort of back words bullshit weed did you smoke to get so high to rationalize this shit?”
“Oh…”
Tetra spoke and we all realized one small fault in our plan
“So we may need the help, but it’s a major loss to you…”
The queen spoke as the man shrugged
“Well, given our new positions and such, where is that library? If I can read stuff that I have no clue about or experience things that the mind can’t create, then I’ll know this is all real and will start helping in earnest.”
“I’ll make you a deal on that deal.”
The queen spoke
“We will guide you to the library and help you figure out if this is real or not, but first you have to take a little test.”
“To test my aptitude for magic I’m guessing.”
The queen smiled
“Did you have-“
“Not a chance.”
The man spoke as he stood up
“This whole set is just a common trope or fantasy from my ‘home’, thus why it seems so fake.”
He spoke callously but now I had a vague clue why
“Are you acting cold because you assume us to be fake?”
He looked at me as he spoke
“Careful, she’s learning.”
I felt my blood boil at his remark but didn’t do anything as we didn’t know what he was capable of. The man walked up to the queen and asked
“What’s the test?”
Her majesty smiled as she tossed him the orb in her hand
“Hold this in your hands for a few seconds, depending on how it glows it will determine your abilities. Depending on the color we can know what abilities you have.”
We all watched with bated breaths as he held the orb in his hand, he looked at it with distinct curiosity but after a few dozen seconds spoke
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