After all that’s said and done, what am I supposed to do? Should I just go along with it? I do look human after all. Japanese demons all have a human form, unlike our European brethren. Of course, being the queen of all Japanese demons AKA youkai, gives me an even higher advantage. The more powerful youkai become, the more human they get. It’s to blend into modern society where humans dominate everything. Still, I may have a human form, but I really don’t feel anything for humans besides them being food. With this war with the demons of this world, the humans are going to be giving off a lot of fear and hate, too. Exactly the thing that youkai feed on. Maybe I should just go along for the free meal…

The kingly person once again addresses us. I still wonder at how much of a stereotypical king he looks. Short blonde hair graying at the sides, stern blue eyes, and dressed in your typical royal clothing.

“You three must have a lot of questions on your mind. Before that though, let us all introduce ourselves. I am King Frederick Vincent of the great human kingdom of Alvera. These four with me are my most powerful retainers,” he makes a flourishing motion towards the four people standing beside him.

The imposing woman on the far right is dressed in heavy silver armor. She towers above the others with a sword on her hip and a shield on her back. Her brown hair is cropped short, framing her emotionless but regal face. Her green eyes have a glint in them as she stares us down. Her eyes flickered down for a split second when they landed on me. I internally smirk at that. A fellow comrade perhaps? I do have a great body, and considering I’m only wearing a bikini, it doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Actually, do I see some red at the tips of her ears? Hehe, maybe this will end up interesting after all.

“I am Ser Melisandre, the commander of the king’s royal guard,” she says in a monotone.

The man next to her speaks up next. He is dressed in brown leather armor with a short sword on his hip and a bow and quiver on his back. He has a relaxed aura about him, his boyish good looks add to that atmosphere. His unruly black hair and kind looking blue eyes adds to this aura. He scans over the three of us and his eyes didn’t once dip down. Is he the rumored pure boy? A cinnamon roll, too good, too pure for this world?

“I am Alphonse, the commander of the king’s scouts and rangers. It’s nice to meet you all,” he says with a smile.

I am certain he is a cinnamon roll.

Now onto the next, the older woman to the king’s left speaks up. She is dressed in a similar robe as the mages surrounding the circle, except the quality is clearly superior. The purple robe also has a high concentration of magical energy, most likely due to enchantments. Her white hair clearly shows her age, even if her face looks deceptively youthful. Her eyes are also a strange color, a dark purple that matches her robe. In her hand is a staff that looks like it was made from mahogany, except the red is much darker.

“I am Malory Elizabeth, the royal archmage and court wizard,” she says in a wise voice.

How does someone’s voice sound wise? I don’t know how she’s doing it, but it sure is an interesting trick. I feel like she’s probably really old, but nowhere near as old as me of course. My feeling of superiority immediately plummets as I realize what I was comparing. Ah…being old…sure is fun…

The last person to introduce themselves is a short man, the shortest of the four. He has on leather armor too, except his is all black and he has a hood that covers his hair and obscures his face along with a mask to completely hide his identity. This guy is definitely a spy or assassin. He even has two daggers on his hips, everything about him screams that he’s an assassin. For some reason though, I am getting this feeling that this man is a prankster, he has a mischievous aura about him. He reminds me of one of my closest friends, a troublesome kitsune that likes to play tricks on people.

“Call me his majesty’s Shadow, for that is what I am. I am the blade in the dark against those that oppose him,” he says flat out.

You’re not supposed to just tell people you’re an assassin you know? Isn’t this guy too carefree about that? Rather, isn’t the king too carefree about letting people know he has assassins? We’re strangers from another world you know? Does he not care what we think at all?

“Now, why don’t the three of you introduce yourselves?” the king implores.

The boy standing next to me seems to jump at the chance. His eyes were steadily gaining a star struck expression the longer the five figures in front of us spoke. He looks like he’s about to burst from his skin from the excitement. This boy is your stereotypical gamer boy who always wanted to be summoned to another world isn’t he? His blonde hair, blue eyes look makes him like a relative of the king and he’s definitely not Japanese at all. He looks European, maybe even American?

“I’m John Wilson! I’ve always wanted to be a hero! If you need help defeating the [Demon King], then you can count me in!”

This boy is really excitable. Hopefully he tones it down, or I might just eat him, and not in the pleasant way either. Also, John Wilson? That’s a really American name, I’ll just assume that he’s American until further notice.

The girl next to his left looks over at me to see if I was going to go next. At my silence, she decides to speak up. Yeah, I’d rather go last before I decide what to do. This girl is also probably not Japanese. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, but she also has brown skin and her face does not look Asian at all. She looks more Hispanic than anything. She’s probably from somewhere in South America. Isn’t this group actually really diverse? As I ponder that, she introduces herself.

“Um… I’m Alicia Gonzalez. I don’t really understand what’s going on, but if you guys need help, I’ll do my best.”

Wow, what an earnest girl. I think we’ll get along fine. Doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes either. And now it’s down to me. I’m your typical Japanese beauty, with the long black hair and crimson eyes… So maybe not typical, but hey, close enough right?

“I suppose you can call me Misaki Miyamoto. I don’t particularly want to be a hero, but I don’t have a choice, do I? Can your mages reverse the summoning?”

“It is as you say, there is no way to reverse the summoning. The [Demon King] is rumored to have an artifact that can reverse the effects of spells, so that is your best bet if you wish to return home,” says the king.

So, no matter what, we would have been forced to fight the [Demon King] huh? Well too bad, I have the ability to return whenever I want. Being a gap demon is certainly a great blessing in these situations. Though…I don’t actually know where I am? Maybe I won’t be able to return after all then…Well, enough worrying about that, the gods heard me lament my boredom, and isn’t this the perfect opportunity to go on a grand adventure? I will stick with these people for now, until I find out more about this world and how it works.

The king tells us to rest, as tomorrow will be the start of their education and training on how to defeat demons. He calls forth maids to take us to our rooms. He also makes a comment about giving us appropriate clothing to wear. Is he trying to say something about my bikini? Excuse me, but this black two-piece was really expensive, and it certainly drew a lot of eyes when I was on the beach. It’s not my fault they summoned me while I was on vacation.

As we followed the maids to our quarters, John and Alicia both started making conversation.

“Hey, since we’re all going to become heroes, let’s get along! I’m John and I’m from the States! Uh…I’m a senior in high school so I’m 17 and I’ve always wanted to be a hero! I’ve read all of the books about heroes being summoned to another world and I’ve played as many RPG games as I could. So, if you girls need any help with anything, just ask me!” he grins and puffs out his chest.

This kid is pretty earnest too. Maybe he won’t be so bad. But really…calling me a girl…

“It’s nice to meet you John, I’m Alicia and I’m from Peru. I’m currently on an exchange program to America right now, so I’m also a high school student. I’m a junior, so I’m a year younger than you. I’ve never played video games before, but I have read some fantasy novels. I’ll be relying on you for knowledge, John,” she says with a smile.

Such a polite girl. Well, I might as well participate.

“I’m Misaki, but since you’re both much younger than me, call me Miss Miyamoto. I’m from Japan and I work as an…office lady,” I say.

John starts clamoring about how cool it is that I’m Japanese. It seems he’s a huge fan of JRPGs and Japanese light novels. This…is going to be troublesome. Thankfully, we reach our rooms before they can bother me anymore and we all head our separate ways.

The room I enter is huge for lack of a better word. It’s as big as a luxury suite, with a huge bed in the middle and a large wardrobe on one side and a dresser on the other. I don’t pay much attention to the details as I plop down on the bed immediately. It’s made from silk… Isn’t this a bit much for some strangers? The king really wants us to fight the [Demon King] huh? It’s been a tiring day, so I decide to just rest for now.