Arthur was thinking about what to do as the sounds of moaning and bed squeaking got louder.
Maids took turns, one by one, lying on the bed with Daniel and doing stuff Arthur was too shy to properly look at.
He swallowed and lay back down stiffly. He tried to cover his ears with a pillow to muffle the sound. It helped a little bit, but the situation was enticing enough to keep him awake regardless.
The night stretched on longer than it should have. In between, he did sleep for a few hours, but to Arthur, it felt like he was awake through the entire night.
The dawn was marked by a sharp knock on the door.
Arthur quickly stood up from his bed. He looked around the room as he went to check up on the door.
All the maids were gone. Daniel was asleep on his bed, lying on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes.
His cloak had been neatly folded at the edge of the mattress. Arthur stared at him for a long moment. 'Did this bastard even sleep?'
Ryan was still turned toward the wall, breathing steadily. Elena lay curled slightly on her side, her blue cloak draped carefully over the bed frame.
Knocking grew louder, making Arthur walk faster to open the door.
As he pulled the handle, outside, a lady with milky white hair was standing. She wore long ceremonial robes layered in ivory and faint gold, and that wasn't even the part that drew Arthur's attention; it was her emerald green eyes.
'Beautiful…' That was the word that came into Arthur's mind after seeing her.
Behind her stood two armored knights.
Slightly to her right was a young man with neatly kept brown hair and sharp features, dressed in royal blue with gold trim. A short mantle rested over his shoulders, clasped with a crest Arthur recognized from the banners in the hall.
The prince.
The young man's gaze swept over Arthur with open assessment.
The white-haired woman spoke first.
"So these are the 44th generation," she said calmly.
The prince gave a faint smile. "Yes. The 44th."
Arthur blinked. "Generation?"
The prince stepped forward slightly. "You are the forty-fourth group of summoned heroes in history since the God Eye Eclipse… when the monsters were born out of nowhere."
Arthur frowned. "God... Eye... What?"
Seraphine's gaze shifted past him into the room, where everyone else was still lying motionless.
"Your Grimoires have already manifested," she said. "We are here to summon you."
Arthur's confusion deepened. "Summon us where?"
"To the Grand Hall," the prince answered. "All major nobles, military commanders, the twelve keys of the state, and the heads of the three churches will be present."
"For what?" Arthur asked, squinting his eyes from the headache he was feeling from not sleeping properly.
"To see," Seraphine replied smoothly. "What this nation has been gifted by the gods!"
Arthur stared at them. "You want… a show?"
The prince's expression hardened slightly. "It is not a show. It is tradition."
Seraphine's eyes flickered briefly toward the prince before returning to Arthur. "You will be presentable," she said evenly. "The king will explain everything today."
Arthur hesitated. "Explain what?"
Prince Alric answered this time. "Your duties. The state of the kingdom. And why the 44th generation was summoned."
"What duties… I just want to go back home." Arthur muttered quietly to himself.
Neither the prince nor Seraphine reacted. If they heard him, they chose not to acknowledge it.
Prince Alric adjusted the mantle on his shoulder. "We will await you in the Grand Hall."
Seraphine inclined her head slightly. "Do not delay."
With that, they turned.
The two armored knights followed in their steps behind them. The soft echo of their boots faded down the corridor.
The door closed.
For a moment, the room was silent again.
Then the maids who had been waiting in the hallway hurried inside, bowing respectfully as they passed Arthur.
"Good morning, Hero," one of them said softly.
Before Arthur could respond, two of them moved toward the red crystal near the entrance.
The moment it was kept in the circle again, the chandelier above flared back to life.
Warm golden light flooded the room.
Ryan groaned immediately, rolling onto his back. "Why is it so bright… is this light here to take me back to my world?"
"Everyone we need to wake up… we are being called," Arthur shouted to jolt everyone up.
Elena blinked rapidly, pushing herself upright.
Daniel shifted, lowering his arm from his eyes and squinting at the ceiling.
The maids worked quickly.
The floating crystal table in the center of the room lit up as one of them activated the circuitry.
Plates, fruits, bread, slices of roasted meat, and small cups of steaming tea were arranged neatly. The table began its slow rotation again.
Daniel was the first one to leave the bed and get into the bathroom, which shocked Arthur more than it should have.
'Does this bastard not require any sleep… entire night spent with six different women and he wakes up without any hint of exhaustion.'
Pushing the thoughts behind him, Arthur took his seat at the crystal table; Ryan and Elena joined him shortly after.
"So anything happened in the morning; I could hear you talking to someone," Ryan asked, picking the food up and putting it on his plate.
"So you could hear it and still didn't bother waking up and checking? I thought you were more mature than that." Arthur responded a bit grumpily because of the headache.
"Well, yesterday I didn't know who you were, but now that I know you all a little bit, I know whom I can depend on and trust," Ryan responded with a smirk.
Arthur was too tired to fully understand what Ryan said, so he just smiled back in response and focused on the food.
As they were done with breakfast, Daniel came out of the shower.
Seeing them finish up their plates, he winced slightly.
He said nothing.
He simply walked to the table and sat down as the others began to rise.
Ryan raised a brow. "You could've joined us five minutes ago."
Daniel ignored him and reached for a cup of tea.
Before anyone could say anything else, one of the maids stepped forward, looking more anxious than before.
"I don't think there's enough time for everyone to get ready…"
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to her; she swallowed, seeing all the heroes' eyes on her.
"We were instructed directly by His Majesty to get you all into the Grand Hall within twenty minutes."
"Twenty?" Ryan repeated. "Well, here goes another day of me not showering."
Arthur nodded so as to agree with what Ryan said.
Elena and Daniel both made a disgusted face, but even after noticing it, Ryan just laughed it off.
Maids quickly swarmed around them, fixing their clothes, helping them apply potions to hide their smell, and applying different herbs to their faces to enhance their natural looks.