"I can't feel my legs. I literally cannot feel my legs. If a demon attacked us right now, I would just lay here and let it eat my ass."
Toru Makabe, the newly christened [Pyromancer], was sprawled face-down on the manicured grass of the Royal Courtyard. He looked like a corpse that had been dropped from a great height. Beside him, Hinata Moriyama—the [Assassin]—was busy wringing sweat out of his shirt like a wet dishrag.
"Stop whining, you little bitch," Hinata panted, though he looked just as wrecked. "At least you get to stand back and throw fireballs. The Stealth Instructor made me crouch-walk for three fucking hours. My quads are on fire."
"Three hours?" Toru rolled over, his face stained with grass. "Dude, I singed my own eyebrows off. Look at this shit!" He pointed to his forehead, where his left eyebrow was indeed noticeably shorter than the right. "I'm a fire hazard to myself."
It was midday, the break between the morning conditioning drills and the afternoon theory classes. The "Hero's Party"—minus the girls, who were training in the Mage Tower—had collapsed in a heap near the armory.
Daigo Shun sat on a bench, chugging a wooden bucket of water like it was a shot glass. "You guys are soft," the [Vanguard] grinned, wiping his mouth with a massive forearm. "Today was leg day. Best day."
"Easy for you to say, meathead," Riku Kamishiro muttered. The [Artificer] was sitting in the shade of an oak tree, fiddling with a small, brass gyroscope he'd pilfered from the workshop. "While you were lifting rocks, the Engineering Corps had me memorizing rune schematics. Do you know how boring magical calculus is? It's basically math, but the numbers try to explode if you carry the one wrong."
"Indubitably," Tobias "Toby" Okoro chimed in. He was standing upright, trying to polish a dent out of his breastplate with a silk handkerchief. He looked ridiculous—sweaty, disheveled, but refusing to sit down because "Knights do not lounge."
"Toby, sit the fuck down," Toru groaned. "You're making me tired just looking at you."
"A Squire must remain vigilant," Toby said, puffing out his chest. "Sir Reiji might require hydration."
Reiji Narukami, the [Paladin], was sitting quietly on the stone steps, reading a scroll. He looked up and smiled, looking annoyingly fresh compared to the others. "I'm fine, Toby. Sit down before you pass out."
Ren sat a little apart from them, leaning back against the cool stone wall of the armory. His arms felt like lead jelly. Sir Valdorn hadn't let up. Swing. Fail. Kick. Repeat. Ren looked at his palms; they were wrapped in bandages, but he could feel the blisters throbbing underneath.
"Hey," Hinata leaned in, lowering his voice. "Speaking of passing out... did you guys hear the rumor from the West Wing?"
Ren's ears perked up instantly. "The West Wing?"
"Yeah," Hinata nodded, looking gleeful to have gossip. "One of the guards in the Stealth training hall was talking about the Outer Barracks. Apparently, the recruits down there are going through hell. Mud pits, fighting with rusty gear, eating slop."
"Sounds about right," Riku muttered, spinning his gyroscope.
"No, listen," Hinata hissed. "The guard said there's this one recruit. A 'scrawny kid with dead eyes.' Said he got thrown into the pit with a guy twice his size yesterday. No mana. No weapon."
"And?" Daigo leaned forward, his face serious.
"And apparently, the kid fought dirty as fuck," Hinata whispered. "Threw sand in the big guy's eyes, bit his ear, and choked him out with his own belt. The Sergeant didn't even stop it. They're calling him the 'Rat' down there."
Ren felt a cold knot tighten in his stomach. Sora.
"Bit his ear?" Toru winced. "Jesus. That's savage."
"He's alive," Ren whispered, mostly to himself. "He's surviving."
"If it is him," Riku said quietly, catching the gyroscope in his hand. "Then he's not just surviving. He's adapting. The Sora we knew would have forfeited. This new version? Sounds pissed off."
Before they could dig deeper, the heavy oak doors of the Royal Library—located across the courtyard—swung open. Two figures stepped out, flanked by guards in polished silver armor.
The conversation died instantly.
"Holy shit," Toru whispered, scrambling to a sitting position. "Target acquired. Twelve o'clock. Goddess approaching."
It was a girl. She looked to be about their age, maybe a year younger. She wore a dress of pale blue silk that flowed around her like water, embroidered with silver thread. Her hair was a cascading waterfall of golden curls, and her eyes were a startling, vibrant violet. She was beautiful in a way that made looking at her feel like staring at the sun—painful, but impossible to look away.
Walking beside her was a boy who looked like her mirror image, but colder. Sharp cheekbones, neatly trimmed blond hair, and glasses that framed intelligent, calculating blue eyes. He wore a crisp navy uniform with the royal crest.
"That's them," Reiji whispered, standing up and dusting off his pants. "Prince Valerius and Princess Elara. The King's children."
"She is..." Toby adjusted his tie, his face turning bright red. "She is the epitome of ethereal radiance."
"She's hot," Toru corrected, running a hand through his sweaty, messed-up hair. "Okay, watch and learn, boys. The Chaos Duo is going in."
"Don't do it," Daigo warned. "You smell like a locker room."
"Pheromones, baby," Toru winked. He stood up, nudging Hinata. "Come on. Wingman me."
Ren watched in horror as Toru and Hinata strutted—or tried to strut—toward the Royals. They intercepted the path just as the Prince and Princess were passing the fountain.
"Yo! Your Highnesses!" Toru called out, leaning against the fountain with what he thought was a cool pose. He slipped slightly on a wet patch of moss but recovered. "Lovely day for a stroll, huh? I'm Toru. Pyromancer. Maybe you've heard of me? I'm the guy who makes fire look good."
Hinata face-palmed but stood next to him. "Sup. I'm Hinata. Assassin. If anyone bothers you, I can, like, stab them. Or whatever."
The Prince stopped. He looked at Toru, then at Hinata. His expression didn't change. It was perfectly blank, like he was looking at two interesting species of bugs.
"Pyromancer Toru. Assassin Hinata," Prince Valerius said. His voice was calm, polite, and utterly devoid of interest. "I believe your Instructors are looking for you. You have a lecture on Elemental Theory in ten minutes."
"Oh, we got time," Toru grinned, turning his attention to the Princess. "So, Princess Elara, right? I gotta say, this castle is nice, but it was missing something until you walked out. You know, like a centerpiece."
Ren groaned and covered his face. Please stop. This is painful.
Princess Elara didn't look offended. She didn't look disgusted. Instead, she smiled. It was a warm, gentle smile that reached her violet eyes. She clasped her hands together and gave a small, graceful curtsy.
"It is an honor to meet the Heroes from another world," she said. Her voice sounded like wind chimes. "Toru Makabe. Hinata Moriyama. I have heard of your arrival. My father speaks highly of your potential."
Toru froze. He blinked. "Uh. Yeah. Potential. That's me. Mr. Potential."
"Please," she continued, "do not let us distract you from your training. The Kingdom relies on your strength." She gave them another dazzling smile. "Good day, brave warriors."
She stepped around them with the grace of a dancer. Toru and Hinata just stood there, stunned, their mouths slightly open.
"She called me brave," Toru whispered, clutching his chest. "I think I'm in love. I'm converting. I worship the Church of Elara now."
Prince Valerius adjusted his glasses and looked past the idiots, his eyes locking onto the group under the tree. He walked over, ignoring Daigo and Toby, and stopped in front of Itsuki and Riku.
"You," the Prince said, pointing at the book in Itsuki's lap. "History of the Third Era?"
Itsuki looked up, pushing his own glasses up his nose. "Yes. The sociopolitical climate leading to the Goblin Wars is fascinating. Altherion has a habit of repeating its mistakes."
The Prince's eyes lit up—just a fraction. A spark of genuine interest. "Precisely. Chapter four details the trade embargo that caused the famine. Most people skip it for the battle scenes." He looked at Riku's gyroscope. "And that. A Mk-IV stabilizer?"
"Modified," Riku said, not standing up. "The stock balance was trash. I recalibrated it."
The Prince nodded, a small smile touching his lips. "Impressive. If you two ever tire of the brute force drills, the Royal Library has a restricted section on ancient mechanics. I could grant you access."
"We might take you up on that," Itsuki said.
"Good." The Prince nodded once, stiffly, then turned and walked away to catch up with his sister. "Study hard."
"What the hell?" Toru complained, walking back to the group. "We pour our hearts out and get 'Good day,' but the nerds get an invite to the library? This world is broken."
"It's called intelligence, Toru," Riku smirked. "Try acquiring some."
As the Prince and Princess walked past the group, Ren tried to shrink into the wall. He was covered in dirt, his hair was a mess, and he smelled like sweat and old leather. He just wanted to disappear.
But Princess Elara stopped.
She turned, her violet eyes scanning the group until they landed on him. Ren froze. She walked toward him, ignoring the mud on the ground that threatened to stain her dress.
"You are Ren Takashi," she said softly.
Ren scrambled to stand up, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Uh—yes! Yes, Your Highness. I mean… yeah."
She looked at him with an intensity that made his skin prickle. It wasn't the analytical look of Valdorn or the pitying look of the King. It was… hope. Pure, unadulterated hope.
"The Hero," she whispered. She reached out and, shocking everyone, took Ren's dirty, bandaged hand in hers. Her skin was soft and cool. "I have prayed for your arrival every night since the darkness began to spread."
"Princess, I…" Ren stammered. "I'm not… I mean, I'm just a student. I'm not really a hero yet."
"You are here," she said firmly. "That is enough. My father carries the weight of the crown, and Sir Valdorn carries the weight of the sword. But you… you carry our future." She squeezed his hand. "Please. Save us."
She let go and stepped back, offering him a deep bow—deeper than the one she gave the others. Then she turned and followed her brother back toward the castle keep.
Ren stood there, his hand tingling where she had touched him. The boys were silent.
"Dude," Daigo whispered. "The Princess just held your hand."
"She smells like vanilla," Toru whimpered. "Why does the Hero get all the good scenes? I want to be the Hero."
Ren stared at his hand. He didn't feel lucky. He felt sick. Save us. She said it so easily. As if he wasn't just a kid who got his ass kicked by a wooden sword ten minutes ago.
Up on the second-floor balcony of the Mage Tower, overlooking the courtyard, two girls were watching.
Rika Aizawa gripped the stone railing so hard her fingernails scraped against the rock.
"She's perfect," Rika muttered. Her voice was tight, laced with something ugly. "Look at her. Perfect hair. Perfect dress. Everyone loves her."
Ayaka Fujino stood beside her, looking concerned. "Rika? Are you okay?"
"Did you see the way she looked at him?" Rika asked, not turning around. "Like he belongs to her. Like he's her Hero."
"She's the Princess, Rika. She's just being polite."
"No," Rika shook her head. A flash of red mana sparked around her fingers, uncontrolled. "It's not just her. It's this whole place. The King, Valdorn, the Princess… they're all trying to take him. They're turning him into something else. Something that isn't… ours."
Rika stared down at Ren, who was still looking at the spot where the Princess had stood. A pang of jealousy—hot and sharp—twisted in her chest. It wasn't just about romance. It was about safety. Ren was her anchor. If the Kingdom took him, if the Princess took him… who would protect her?
"He promised," Rika whispered, her voice trembling. "He promised we'd go home together."
"We will," Ayaka said soothingly, placing a hand on Rika's back.
"Not if they get their way," Rika snapped. She turned away from the balcony, her eyes wet but furious. "I hate this place, Ayaka. I fucking hate it."