Heroes. Although they could be born among the people, when times required it, they were also summoned from Otherworlds. The reasons for that was not fully known, but there was some talk about it being easier for the gods to transcribe great power on souls that travel between realities. Other theories were that the souls of Otherworlders held more magical power, and some believed they simply obtained that power from something inbetween worlds itself.

In the end, all they knew for sure is that when Otherworlders were summoned, they would have a far greater potential. Their power did not always appear so simply, and sometimes it took its time to manifest or had to be trained. But, these heroes without a doubt helped them survive.

There were only two issues. They could only summon the souls of heroes. Not any of their belongings or equipment. If they could, they would probably summon those weapons instead, and use them to arm their own people. The second was age. The younger the hero summoned, the more power they seemed to get. Which was probably why the strongest hero ever summoned, Sati, was six years old when he was summoned. Although, that proved that while summoning too old was useless, summoning too young could be dangerous. Since the stronger one was, the more dangerous and unstable they could be.

That was why right now, the King and one of his attendents, Jezre, were going over the details. King Edolus was in his late fourties, and although he was still rather lively, his age was starting to show on him. He wore grand robes that both looked elegant and kingly, and also looked quite comfortable. His clothes were also of the royal colors, golden and royal red, and his crown shined with rubies and a golden gleam upon his head. His blonde hair flowed downwards, but he had no facial hair to speak of.

Meanwhile, Jezre was wearing a rather elegant servant attire. There were noble servants, and commoner servants. Noble servants outranked the commoner ones, although the treatment of commoner servants varied depending on the tastes, opinions, and ideologies of them. Noble servants like him wore a full black butler appearance, with long sleeves and pants, elegant shoes, a white dress shirt, and a red bowtie. They were trusted individuals, and they held quite a bit of power within the Imperial Capital. As for Jezre, he took the extra time to meticulously groom his black hair, and always show a pleasant and soothing appearance for the king.

And yet, as he looked at a report he was given, the king was far too busy to notice that right now. After all, the latest events had been quite a stir. A Demon Lord attack that was repelled, a heroic weapon released from its prison, and other matters such as the werewolf one popping up, although the werewolf incident seems to have stopped in recent nights. He had to wonder if another hero had been born into this world, around the time they had prepared to do a summoning. Or maybe even several.

"A low ranked adventurer, doing all that? And his party is skilled as well, without a doubt".

"Will we still go through with the Summoning Ceremony?"

"Of course. We dont know how skilled they are after all, and we only have a handful of people skilled enough to fight the coming threats, such as the reviving Demon King. And that is even if we count S Rank Adventurers".

S Rank Adventurers held no allegiance to any one country, and were employed by the Protector Organization, which also was known as the collective Adventurer Guilds. The Protector Organization was dedicated to defending all of humanity from the threat of monsters and the Demon Lords, and preserving their future. The organization itself avoided taking part in such wars, although one could hire adventurers directly to work for them in a war between people, very few did so. They would take on bandits though, since bandits were a direct threat to the people, could harm supply lines, and so on.

In this country right now, there were four. Ciel, who was named after the God of Status and Reincarnation, and who reached S-Rank Status before the current king took the throne thirty years ago. Although he had the unaging body of a young boy, he was actually older then the king.

He might have been older then the previous king as well. Such a reason was why when they realized who he was, him being named after the God of Status and Reincarnation made sense. Especially since the legends say that the god Ciel was not only one of the oldest gods, but was one of the best fighters out of all the gods.

"Perhaps this is a sign, Altier" the king muttered as he looked at a few more documents. "Between these natural born prodigies that have been on the rise, and with the rituals ready for hero summonings across the allied kingdoms, we may just be able to rid ourselves of not just the Demon King, but even those Thirteen Demon Lords which are enemies of our Surpeme God, Taktos,and the rest of the Pantheon".

"Indeed, your majesty. Should I make any adjustments to the schedule?"

"Yes. Tomorrow, I wish to meet the one who pulled the spear out of the ice personally, before having him attend the party the following day. Make sure he is versed enough in manners, since it would be a shame for talent like that to have friction with royals and the nobility. SInce they are adventurers and commoners though, make sure they have a good deal of freedom, but also make sure they are cleaned up properly and are dressed well for the party. Use the royal facilities should you have to. And, I will need you to arrange some good one on one time with the leader as well for me".

"Of course, your grace. Anything else?"

"Yes. See if you can get the previous hero, Darius, to attend. Although he is getting older, he should still be lively enough to attend, and I think it would be interesting to see his thoughts on the one who claimed his spear".

"Very well".

"As for the rest of the schedule, I think the day after the party, we will hold the Hero Summoning Ceremony. We will need to prepare clothing and equipment of all shapes and sizes though, so make sure preparations are made. That should be all, for now".

"Understood, then I will see to the tasks at once" the man said, leaving the king to his business. He left the royal hall, where two young servants, Haru and Dace, were waiting for him. Unlike him, they were two young boys, and commoners. This could be seen from their attire. Commoners working in or visiting the Noble District, the King's Castle, and other such areas, wore special chokers around their necks, that could not be removed except by their employer, the lord of the area, or other certain individuals.

Their clothes were also different. They wore black sweatervests and dress shorts that cut off around the knee, a white collared dress short sleeve shirt, white socks, and nice but sturdy black shoes. Haru and Dace were both thirteen, but Haru was a bit short while Dace was a bit tall, so it made them appear as if there was a year or two difference in age when they were together. Of course, for special occcasions, the dress code would change.

"You commoner brats" Jezre said in a hostile tone, as he suddenly kicked Haru in the chest and knocked him against the wall. "How dare you, dont think I didn't notice. The papers were not properly aligned. I told you to properly bring them without reading them!"

Dace trembled as Haru groaned, having been hurt rather badly.

"What, have nothing to say for yourselves, both of you? Wont you say? Whose fault is it? I will only have to punish one of you if you tell me".

Although he said that, Dace and Haru remained tight lipped. They were trembling, and even crying a bit, but it couldn't be helped.

I know this is bad...but I chose this. We both chose this, its our best chance...

"Well then, I suppose I will have the both of you face punishment then, but first, I must attend to the matters of the king. You had best perform these tasks perfectly" he said, his voice icey and yet rage filled as they felt humiliation and punishment in their future. "I suppose first of all, I should deal with those adventurers".

The next day, after they had finally arrived...

"Ahhh, what a soft bed" Rikuo said, as his small body appeared to sink a bit into the bed. At the moment, they were in a very high class guest residence of the Imperial Palace. They were actually sharing this single room with this ridiculously large bed, but it was fine either way.

"I can tell...my intuition is telling me this will be nothing but trouble..." Herra mentioned, completely unphased by her friend's cute appearance. Arila meanwhile actually noticed it was kind of cute, while Sora was looking out the window with Ruuruu, who was floating.

"You sense anything?"

"There are a ridiculous amount of barriers thrown up around the castle, but as far as I can tell, there is no one spying on us".

"Seems like we are clear".

The two turned around, and saw that Rikuo was sinking further into the mattress. It was large enough to fit them all with room to spare for a few more people, so it was an absolute ridiculous and adorable sight. He had an expression the others had not really seen on his face yet, but it stirred up some feelings of wanting to protect him.

It was bliss.

So far, everything had been so serious. Escape the vampire, get supplies and establish themselves as adventurers, the heist, the chase, the dragon rides, even what Ciel said right before he left them.

"For the otherworlders, you should try and flow and go with the common sense of this world as much as possible. Those who dont tend to stand out more, and end up meeting particularly bad fates".

Those parting words were something to keep in mind. But right now, for the first time, Rikuo really felt like he was relaxing. An expression of bliss and joy, of happiness. It radiated a warm feeling that spoke deep within the cores of their spirits.

Seeing that, Ruuruu came over and returned to his human form, laying on the bed with him, although he still didn't have any clothes he wrapped himself in the sheets. Sora decided to join them, deciding to let loose as well and laugh with them.

"Do you want to join them? You have had hardships yourself after all" Arila asked, showing a surprising awareness she usually didn't have.

"Nah, leave the boys to be boys. Besides, Ruuruu's mental health would weaken if we girls came over" she mentioned.

Arila just shrugged, seemingly clueless again. Herra felt like she was being honest, despite the fact she should have realized some things by now. Arila was a mystery, even to her.

"Besides, I am sure their mental stress will raise again soon" Herra added.

"Eh, why is that?"

"We are all commoners, being invited to talk with a King. The maids and servants are probably going to forcibly scrub us down, and then dress us in the nicest clothes they have available to them that will fit us. Depending on the type of ceremony used, it might be really embarassing for them. And if the people in charge are heavily discriminate to commoners, we might catch hell or get in trouble over the slightest thing".

"I see...so, let them rest while they can".

Herra nodded, feeling a bit triumphant Arila successfully understood her.

"So basically, noble clothes might be really uncomfortable".

And then Herra realized she might have made the wrong assumption.

That said, although it was a bit pointless, there was one thing that bothered Herra.

If it was a King and not an Emperor, why was it called the Imperial Capital?

Meanwhile, in the Dragon Knights Barracks, after having gotten back successfully they were all being kept quite busy. Paladin Remarse especially was worried, as he waited upon news from Darius or Ciel about the situation he was in.

"Paladin, are you okay?"

A boy asked him that, as he handed him a plate with some fruit on it. Remarse turned to face him, and he saw the newest recruit of the Dragon Knight Barracks, where all the Dragon Knights of the city were stationed out of. Cadet Second Class, Aer. He had brownish blonde hair, and green eyes, a good and honest thirteen year old boy. Of course, he was a bit short for a boy, but that likely had something to do with the manifestation of his magic. And like all Dragon Riders, he had a Dragon Mark, with it appearing as a small Dragon on his right hip.

A Dragon Mark was something that when inactive, appeared small and was like a small Dragon. When it activated though, the mark would glow and grow in size, sometimes even reaching from head to toe. It was proof that one had bonded with a Dragon as a Dracora Rider.

"Ah, just tired is all...I am missing my family right now" he said, when he remembered who he was speaking to. "Ah, my apologies..."

"...no, its fine" Aer mentioned, trying to smile as best he could. "I am sure they would be happy for me, if they were still here".

Since he was a commoner, and the Dragon Knights Barracks was in the Noble District, he wore a choker like all the other commoners who worked in the noble and royal areas.

"How is your Dragon by the way?"

"Saphri is doing well. Our training has progressed as well, although its been hard".

"Don't tell me its more discrimination from the Knights again? You are a cadet, and you will be a Knight soon. Once that happens, you will take a surname and become a noble, even if its a low ranking one, they shouldn't treat you like garbage. Especially since you are someone who will help protect the realm".

Although Remarse was a firm believer in superior classes being above lower ones, he also believed that they should behave at least a little more like their station at least, and he especially felt it was wrong for Knights of any rank to pick on Knights, or even Cadets, as they were those who put their lives on the line to protect their fellows and maintain the peace of the kingdom.

"...by the way, what is that smell?" Remarse asked.

"...I may have been pushed into Dragon Dung...but I cant abandon my duties without the sayso of a superior officer..."

"...those guys. Okay, go. You are done for today. But please, use the showers in the stables first. You can bathe Saphri while you are at it. Its still early, but given the hell they gave you, you can take the rest of the day off. Oh, but please do your laundry too".

"Thanks!"

Aer quickly ran out, and encountered a small blue Dragon, just a tiny bit smaller if you didn't count the wings or tail.

"Come on Saphri, I got permission to use the stable showers with you, so lets go get cleaned off!"

Aer was so happy to hear that. Although he prefered baths, anything to get that horrid stuff out of him completely would be best. And so, he ran into the showers and stripped off his clothes, making sure to set them aside to wash. The stable showers were quite large, and had various sizes. That was only natural though, because they were used for dragons of all sizes, as well as people as well.

The tiling was nice as well, with a white and blue tiling, and there was a magic tool that helped reduce the smell and clean itself over time. They also had an extensive drainage system, so everything dirt related, or in this case poo related, would get washed off.

If there was only one thing that Aer was not a fan of...

"Okay Saphri, you ready?" he asked, as the two stood in a long hallway full of large nozzles. There was only one way in and out of this area, and it had some benches, brushes, and other such things.

Saphri just nodded, nuzzling his body a bit and making him ticklish.

"Ah! Alright alright, I get it! You love taking baths and showers with me...well, here goes nothing".

He turned the knob, and then soon afterwards, the water gushed forward like crazy.

Rather then a shower, it was more like a power hose. Although it was not too intense, it was enough to instinctively make him cover his face as it turned on, and the water blasted them with enough force to definently remove all the filth off of both of them.

And with that, Saphri's beautiful blue scales really began to shine, as Aer proceeded to brush and soap her as well as himself a little.

A few knights walked past, snickering or sneering at him, but Aer was learning not to mind it.

I know this is way different then my previous life, but that knowledge doesn't make it any less embarrassing. There is absolutely no privacy here!

Aer thought that, remembering his previous world.

After all, he was one of Rikuo's classmates, a Reincarnator. As for what had caused his death...

"So you are still here, brat. I thought you would have learned your lesson already" a noble Knight said, glaring at him from the outside. He was only fifteen years old, two years older then him, but because of his tall and noble look, the difference in age looked more like four or five years, especially when factoring in Aer's shortness. Commoners were typically shorter then nobles on average though, since Nobles had better diets.

Either way, this guy loved to pick on Aer, enough that he tortured Aer in duels repeatedly, and once made a mistake and killed Aer, although his reincarnation revived him.

He should still be being punished though! Why is he here, why wont anyone stop him from embarassing me?!

"Shouldn't you be in the middle of your duties right now? It seems I might need to teach you some manners again".

Suddenly, a magical force made Aer float upwards, and towards the knight that was harassing him. He covered up out of embarassment, but the knight began to use his magic to forcibly move his limbs.

"Knight Heywood" a voice said from behind him, causing the knight to lose concentration and drop Aer on his butt right in front of everyone. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, I just thought that the boy here should be less embarassed and more proud, and show off those cute hips and shoulders of his" Heywood managed to say, simultainously sounding like he was mocking Aer and making a bad excuse.

"Leaving aside that he does have those cute features..." Remarse added, believing that honestly complimenting Aer would make him feel better. "However, you were clearly trying to torture and force him to do something. He is a Cadet, you give him guidance, you take care of him, and you make him do some menial tasks you dont want to do. Even some teasing is fine. But this is clearly too far".

Aer felt like the one person trying to protect him just dealt him severe psychological damage, but it seemed he had stepped in just in time.

"You know, if you have this much free time to make up such things, maybe the menial tasks we leave to the Cadets should be done by you instead?"

Heywood's pride seemed to be hurt by that comment, but he remembered who his opponent was and didn't speak out.

"In any case, the rest of you, go deal with your tasks...as for you, Aer. Someone has come to visit, and so I thought you and him might get along a bit better, being from the same age and all. Sorry if its an awkward time, but I will now introduce to you the son of Margrave Crowley, a young but talented boy, Raevin Crowley and his servant, Iosi".

Aer quickly scrambled upwards and then took a knee, enduring his present condition as he looked up...and felt a pang of familiarity.

The same one that Raevin Crowley felt right now. And they could instinctively feel it.

Reincarnator!

And so was the meeting of Raevin and Aer.